November, 1842.

My dear Friend,

I have already attempted to describe to you my impressions on my first entry into Cairo. My ideas of it, for a considerable time, were very confused; it seemed to me, for the most part, a labyrinth of ruined and half-ruined houses, of the most singular construction; and in appearance so old, that I was surprised at being informed that, only a few years ago, it presented a far less unhappy aspect.

Cairo is dignified with the name of Umm-ed-Dunya (the Mother of the World) and other sounding appellations. Though it has much declined since the discovery of the passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope, and more especially of late years, it is still one of the most considerable cities in the East. It is altogether an Arabian city; and the very finest specimens of Arabian architecture are found within its walls. The private houses are in general moderately large; the lower part of stone, and the superstructure of brick; but some are little better than huts.

The streets are unpaved, and very narrow, generally from five to ten feet wide. Some are even less than four feet in width; but there are others as much as forty or fifty feet wide, though not for any great length. I must describe the streets under their different appellations.

A shÁrË’, or great thoroughfare-street, is generally somewhat irregular both in its direction and width. In most parts the width is scarcely more than sufficient for two loaded camels to proceed at a time; and hence much inconvenience is often occasioned to the passenger, though carriages are very rarely encountered. All burdens are borne by camels, if too heavy for asses; and vast numbers of the former, as well as many of the latter, are employed in supplying the inhabitants of Cairo with the water of the Nile, which is conveyed in skins, the camel carrying a pair of skin bags, and the ass a goat-skin, tied round at the neck. The great thoroughfare-streets being often half obstructed by these animals, and generally crowded with passengers, some on foot, and others riding, present striking scenes of bustle and confusion, particularly when two long trains of camels happen to meet each other where there is barely room enough for them to pass, which is often the case. Asses are in very general use, and most convenient for riding through such streets as those of Cairo, and are always to be procured for hire. They are preferred to horses even by some men of the wealthier classes of the Egyptians. Their paces are quick and easy; and the kind of saddle with which they are furnished is a very comfortable seat: it is a broad, party-coloured pack-saddle. A servant generally runs with the donkey; and exerts himself, by almost incessant bawling, to clear the way for his master. The horseman proceeds with less comfort, and less speed,—seldom beyond the rate of a slow walk; and though preceded by a servant, and sometimes by two servants to clear his way, he is often obliged to turn back: it is, therefore, not often that a numerous cavalcade is seen in the more frequented streets; and there are some streets so contracted that a person on horseback cannot pass through them. It is not uncommon for individuals of the higher and middle classes in Cairo to exchange salutations in the streets, though unacquainted with each other. Thus the Muslim salutation was often given to my brother, a fact which I mention merely to show the fallacy of the opinion that the natives of the East can easily detect, even by a glance, a European in Oriental disguise.

A stranger, with lofty ideas of Eastern magnificence, must be surprised at the number of meanly-dressed persons whom he meets in the streets of Cairo. Blue is the prevailing colour; as the principal article of dress, both of the men and women of the lower orders, is a full shirt of cotton or linen, dyed with indigo, which is the production of the country. The blue shirts of the men, particularly of the servants, often conceal vests of silk and cloth. Some persons are so poor as not even to possess a ragged turban; their only head-dress being a close-fitting cap of white, or brown felt, or an old tarboosh;^[24] and many are without shoes. Christians and Jews are distinguished by a black, or blue, or light-brown turban. The costumes of the women, and especially of the ladies, are the most remarkable in the eyes of the European stranger. The elegant dress which they wear at home is concealed whenever they appear in public by a very full silk gown (called tÓb), and a large black silk covering (called habarah) enveloping almost the whole person; or, instead of the latter, in the case of unmarried ladies, a white silk covering: the face veil (burko’) is of white muslin; it is narrow, and reaches from the eyes nearly to the feet. Thus encumbered, it is with some difficulty that the ladies shuffle along in their slippers; but they are seldom seen in the crowded streets on foot: well-trained donkeys are hired for their convenience, and are furnished, for this purpose, with a high and broad saddle, covered with a carpet, upon which the lady sits astride, attended by a servant on each side. A long train of ladies, and female slaves attired in the same manner, one behind another, a whole hareem, is often seen thus mounted; and passengers of all ranks make way for them with the utmost respect. The women of the inferior classes wear a black face veil, which I think much more becoming than the white. It is sometimes adorned with gold coins and beads; or they draw a part of the head veil before the face, leaving only one eye visible.

Numbers of blind persons are seen in the streets of Cairo; and many more with a bandage over one eye; but I seldom see a woman with diseased eyes.

Shops, which (I have before remarked) are merely small recesses, and most of which are poorly stocked, generally occupy the front part of the ground-floor of each house in a great street; and the houses, with few exceptions, are two or three stories high. Their fronts, above the ground-floor, projecting about two feet, and the windows of wooden lattice-work projecting still further, render the streets gloomy, but shady and cool. On either side of the great streets are by-streets and quarters.

A darb, or by-street, differs from a shÁrË’ in being narrower, and not so long. In most cases, the darb is about six or eight feet wide, is a thoroughfare, and has, at each end, a gateway, with a large wooden door, which is always closed at night. Some darbs consist only of private houses; others contain shops.

A hÁrat, or quarter, is a particular district consisting of one or more streets or lanes. In general, a small quarter contains only private houses, and has but one entrance, with a wooden gate, which, like that of a darb, is closed at night.

The sooks, or markets, are short streets, or short portions of streets, having shops on either side. In some of them, all the shops are occupied by persons of the same trade. Many sooks are covered overhead by matting, extended upon rafters, resembling those I observed at Alexandria, and some have a roof of wood. Most of the great thoroughfare-streets, and many by-streets, consist wholly, or for the most part, of a succession of sooks.

Many of the khÁns of Cairo are similar to the sooks just described; but in general, a khÁn consists of shops or magazines surrounding a square or oblong court.

KhÁn El-Khaleelee, which is situated in the centre of that part which constituted the original city, a little to the east of the main street, and occupies the site of the cemetery of the FawÁtim (the Khaleefehs^[25] of Egypt), particularly deserves to be mentioned, being one of the chief marts of Cairo. It consists of a series of short lanes, with several turnings, and has four entrances from different quarters. The shops in this khÁn are mostly occupied by Turks, who deal in ready-made clothes and other articles of dress, together with arms of various kinds, the small prayer-carpets used by the Muslims, and other commodities. Public auctions are held there (as in many other markets in Cairo) twice in the week, on Monday and Thursday, on which occasions the khÁn is so crowded, that, in some parts, it is difficult for a passenger to push his way through. The sale begins early in the morning, and lasts till the noon-prayers. Clothes (old as well as new), shawls, arms, pipes, and a variety of other goods, are offered for sale in this manner by brokers, who carry them up and down the market. Several water-carriers, each with a goat-skin of water on his back, and a brass cup for the use of any one who would drink, attend on these occasions. Sherbet of raisins, and bread (in round, flat cakes), with other eatables, are also cried up and down the market; and on every auction day, several real or pretended idiots, with a distressing number of other beggars, frequent the khÁn .

Another of the principal khÁn of Cairo is that called the KamzÁwee, which is the principal market of the drapers and silk-mercers.

There are few other khÁns in Cairo, or rather few other buildings so designated; but there are numerous buildings called wekÁlehs, which are of the same description as most of the khÁns, a wekÁleh generally consisting of magazines surrounding a square court.

The WekÁlet el-GellÁbeh (or WekÁleh of the slave-merchants), which is near the KhÁn El-Khaleelee, has lately ceased to be the market for black slaves. It surrounds a spacious square court, in which were generally seen several groups of male and female slaves, besmeared with grease (of which they are very fond), and nearly in a state of nudity, excepting in winter, when they were better clad, and kept within doors. As there is a thoroughfare through this wekÁleh, the slaves were much exposed to public view. The market for black slaves is now at KÁid-Bey, which is a city of the dead, comprising a few old habitations for the living, between the metropolis and the neighbouring mountain. The slave-merchants were obliged to transfer their unfortunate captives to this cemetery in the desert in consequence of its having been represented to the government that epidemic diseases originated in the slave-market in Cairo. I have not visited them, nor do I intend to do so; for although slavery in the East is seen under the most favourable circumstances, I am not disposed to try my feelings when I can do no good. But I am told that they appear careless and happy; for their greatest troubles are past, and they know that the slave of the Muslim fares even better than the free servant. Some of the more valuable of the female slaves (as the white female slaves, to whom another wekÁleh is appropriated) are only shown to those persons who express a desire to become purchasers.

Having now described the streets and markets of Cairo, I may mention some particular quarters, &c. There are some parts which are inhabited exclusively by persons of the same religion or nation. Many quarters are inhabited only by Muslims.^[26]

The quarter of the Jews (HÁrat el-Yahood) is situated in the western half of that portion of the metropolis which composed the original city. It is very extensive, but close and dirty. Some of its streets, or rather lanes, are so narrow, that two persons can barely pass each other in them; and in some parts, the soil has risen by the accumulation of rubbish a foot or more above the thresholds of the doors.

The Greeks have two quarters, and the Copts have several, of which some are very extensive. The Franks inhabit not only what is called the quarter of the Franks (HÁrat el-Ifreng), but are interspersed throughout a considerable district, situated between the canal (which runs through the city) and the Ezbekeeyeh, of which latter I shall presently give you a description.

The motley population of the part of the metropolis where most of the Franks reside, gives it the appearance of a quarter in a sea-port town, like Alexandria. Some of the Franks retain their national costume; others adopt partly or wholly the Turkish dress. The chief thoroughfare street in this part of the town is the market, called the Mooskee, where are a few shops fitted up in the European style, with glass fronts, and occupied by Franks, who deal in various European commodities. The HÁrat el-Ifreng is a short street leading out of the Mooskee, on the southern side.

There are several vacant spaces of considerable extent in the interior of the metropolis, some of which, during the season of the inundation (the autumn), become lakes. The principal of these I must here mention.

The great place which bears the name of the Ezbekeeyeh is an irregular tract, the greatest length of which is nearly half a mile, and the greatest breadth about a third of a mile. It is a very favourite resort of mine, as my children are there secure from the many dangers which I fancy surround them in the crowded streets.

On the south are two modern Turkish palaces, with gardens. On the west is a plain wall (part of the wall of the metropolis), and another Turkish palace, occupying the site of the mansion of the famous Memlook Bey El-Elfee, which became the residence of Napoleon, and of Kleber, who was assassinated in the adjacent garden. On the north side is a Christian quarter, presenting a long row of lofty but neglected houses. During the season of the inundation, the Nile enters this extensive tract by a canal, and the place is partially inundated; the water remains three or four months, after which the ground is sown. It was formerly, during the season of the inundation, one extensive lake, but is now converted into something like a garden, with an agreeable mixture of trees and water. I am told that the place has a much more pleasing appearance when entirely clothed with green, than it had when it was a lake; and so I should imagine, for the water is very turbid.

The Birket el-Feel (or Lake of the Elephant) also receives the water of the Nile, during the season of the inundation. Only a small part of it is open to the public.

There are two small lakes in the western part of the metropolis, and several others in its vicinity. There are also several cemeteries in the eastern part of the town,^[27] and many large gardens. These gardens are chiefly stocked with palm-trees, acacias, sycamores, oranges, limes, pomegranates, &c. Little arrangement is displayed in them. They have generally one or more sÁkiyehs, which raise the water for their irrigation from wells.

The canal^[28] (El-Khaleeg) which traverses the metropolis is no ornament to it. In most parts of its course through the town, it is closely hemmed in on each side by the backs of houses; therefore it cannot be seen, excepting in a few places, by the passengers in the streets. Most of the bridges over it are moreover lined with shops on both sides, so that a person passing over cannot see that he is crossing the canal. The water of the Nile is admitted into the canal in August, and the entrance is closed by a dam of earth not long after the river has begun to subside; consequently, after three or four months, only stagnant puddles remain in it. While it continues open, boats enter it from the Nile, and pass through the whole length of the metropolis.

Of the public buildings of Cairo, the most interesting certainly are the mosques, the more remarkable of which I have described to you. They are extremely picturesque, and exquisite taste is displayed in the variety and elegance of their mÁd’nehs or menarets: but the beauty of these and other parts is, in my opinion, much injured by the prevalent fashion of daubing the alternate courses of stone with whitewash and dark-red ochre. The central part of a great mosque is, in general, a square court, which is surrounded by porticoes, the columns of which are, in few cases, uniform; for they are mostly the spoils of ancient temples, as are also the rich marble slabs, &c., which have been employed to decorate the pavements and the lower portions of the inner faces of the walls in many of the mosques.

The domes are beautiful in form, and, in some instances, in their decorations. The pulpits, also, deserve to be mentioned for their elegant forms, and their curious intricate panel-work. The pulpit is placed with its back against the wall in which is the niche; is surmounted by a small cupola, and has a flight of steps leading directly (never tortuously nor sideways) up to the little platform which is the station of the preacher. The congregation range themselves in parallel rows upon the matted or carpeted pavement, all facing that side of the mosque in which is the niche. These few general remarks will enable you better to understand the accounts of particular mosques, or to supply some deficiencies in my descriptions.

Many of these buildings are doubtless monuments of sincere piety; but not a few have certainly originated in ways far from creditable to their founders. I passed by one, a handsome building, respecting which I was told the following anecdote. The founder, on the first occasion of opening his mosque for the ceremonials of the Friday prayers, invited the chief ’Ulama to attend the service, and each of these congratulated him before the congregation, by reciting some tradition of the Prophet, or by some other words of an apposite nature, excepting one. This man the founder addressed, asking wherefore he was silent. “Hast thou nothing to say,” he asked, “befitting this occasion?” The man thus invited readily answered, “Yes. If thou has built this mosque with money lawfully acquired, and with a good intention, know that God hath built for thee a mansion in Paradise, and great will be thy felicity. But if thou raised this temple by means of wealth unlawfully obtained, by money exacted from the poor by oppression and tyranny, know that there is prepared for thee a place in hell, and evil will be the transit thither.” The latter was the case; and within a few hours after he had thus spoken, the only one among the company of ’Ulama who had dared to utter the language of truth on this occasion—to do which, indeed, required no little courage—suddenly died, a victim, as was well known, of poison.