My dear Friend,

From the city, you must now accompany me, in imagination, to the citadel. If you could do so in reality, you would be amply repaid for the trouble of ascending its steep acclivities; not by the sight of any very remarkable object within its walls, but by gazing on one of the most striking and interesting views in the Eastern world. The citadel (El-Kat’ah) is situated at the southeastern extremity of the metropolis, upon an extensive, flat-topped, rocky eminence, about 250 feet above the level of the plain, and near the point of Mount Mukattam, which completely commands it. It was founded by SalÁh-ed-Deen (the famous Saladin), in the year of the Flight 572 (A.D. 1176–7); but not finished till 604; since which latter period it has been the usual residence of the sultans and governors of Egypt. Before it is a spacious square, called the Rumeyleh, where a market is held, and where conjurers, musicians, and storytellers are often seen, each surrounded by a ring of idlers.

The Bab el-’Azab is the principal gate of the citadel. Within this is a steep and narrow road, partly cut through the rock; so steep, that in some parts steps are cut to render the ascent and descent less difficult than it would otherwise be for the horses and camels, &c. This confined road was the chief scene of the massacre of the Memlooks in the year 1811. I may perhaps have something to say, on a future occasion, respecting that tragedy.

A great part of the interior of the citadel is obstructed by ruins and rubbish, and there are many dwelling-houses and some shops within it. The most remarkable monument that it contains is a great mosque, built by the SultÁn Ibn-Kala’-oon, in the early part of the eighth century after the Flight (or the fourteenth of our era). It is in a ruinous state, and no longer used as a place of worship. It consists of porticoes, surrounding a square court.

On the northwest of this mosque, stood, about twelve or thirteen years ago, a noble ruin—an old palace, commonly called Kasr Yoosuf, or DeewÁn Yoosuf, and believed to have been the palace of Yoosuf SalÁh-ed-Deen; but erroneously. European travellers adopted the same opinion, and called it “Joseph’s Hall.” My brother informs me, on the authority of El-Makreezee, that this noble structure was built by the prince before mentioned.^[32] Huge ancient columns of granite were employed in its construction; their capitals of various kinds, and ill-wrought, but the shafts very fine. It had a large dome, which had fallen some time before the ruin was taken down. On entering it was observed, in the centre of the southeastern side, a niche, marking the direction of Mekkeh, like that of a mosque, which in other respects this building did not much resemble. Both within and without are remains of Arabic inscriptions, in large letters of wood; but of which many had fallen long before its demolition.

A little to the west of the site of the old palace were the remains of a very massive building, called “the house of Yoosuf SalÁh-ed-Deen,” partly on the brow, and partly on the declivity of the hill. From this spot, on the edge of the hill, we have a most remarkable view of the metropolis and its environs. Its numerous mÁd’nehs and domes, its flat-topped houses, with the sloping sheds which serve as ventilators, and a few palms and other trees among the houses, give it an appearance quite unlike that of any European city. Beyond the metropolis we see the Nile, intersecting a verdant plain; with the towns of BoolÁk, Masr Ateekah, and El-Geezeh; on the south, the aqueduct, and the mounds of rubbish which occupy the site of El-FustÁt, and in the distance, all the pyramids of Memphis, and the palm-groves on the site of that city. On the north of the metropolis are seen the plains of Heliopolis and Goshen. No one with a spark of feeling can look unmoved on such a prospect: the physical sight has enough to charm it; but the deepest interest is felt while, in gazing on this scene, the mind’s eye runs rapidly over the historic pages of the Word of God. The oppression and the deliverance of the tribes of Israel, and the miracles which marked that deliverance, all these events are overwhelmingly present to the memory, while looking on the scenes they have consecrated—their subsequent prosperity, disobedience, and punishment, all pass in melancholy review. O! that the power of Almighty God may be present with those who labour for their restoration, and “may they at length,” as Mr. Wilberforce beautifully expresses his petition on their behalf “may they at length acknowledge their long-neglected Saviour.” Well have they been described as “tribes of the wandering foot and weary breast.” Often “houseless, homeless, and proscribed,” they endure every indignity and become inured to every hardship; but the eye of God is still upon them, and his ear is open to their prayers. How true it is, that hitherto “they will not turn to Him that they might receive mercy,” but they are not forsaken; and while we hear with thankfulness of the zeal of many from among their own people in the cause of Christianity, we trust that the day is not far off when, rather than

we shall rejoice in the prospect of that blessed time when the Lord God shall “give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;” when all nations of the earth shall “rejoice with Jerusalem, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.”

Adjacent to the Kasr Yoosuf is a very large mosque, not yet completed; a costly structure, with a profusion of alabaster columns; but of a mixed style of architecture, which I cannot much admire, though the effect of the building, when it is finished, will certainly be grand. I need hardly add, that the founder of this sumptuous edifice is Mohammad ’Alee, by whose name it is to be called.

The famous well of Yoosuf SalÁh-ed-Deen, so called because it was excavated in the reign of that SultÁn, is near the southern angle of the old great mosque. It is entirely cut in the calcareous rock, and consists of two rectangular shafts, one below the other; with a winding stairway round each to the bottom. In descending the first shaft my heart and limbs failed me, and I contented myself with seeing as much as I could through the large apertures between the stairs and the well. Our guide bore a most picturesque aspect; she was a young girl, and if I might judge by her beautiful dark eyes, her countenance must have been lovely. She held a lighted taper in each hand, and stepped backwards before us, down the dark and (in my opinion) dangerous descent. Accustomed to the winding way, she continued fearlessly through the gloom, while her light and graceful figure receded slowly, and the glimmer of her tapers shone on the damp rock on either side, and made the darkness seem intense.

The upper shaft is about 155 feet deep, and the lower about 125; therefore the whole depth of the well is about 280 feet. The water, which is rather brackish, is raised by a sÁkiyeh at the top of each shaft.

There are several large edifices in the modern Turkish style, worthy in this country of being called palaces, in the southern quarter of the citadel, and in the quarter of the Janisaries, which did not form a part of the old citadel, and which lies to the east of the latter. Some of the walls, together with many houses, on the northern slope of the hill, were overthrown by the explosion of a magazine of powder, in the year 1824. On the western slope of the hill is an arsenal, with a cannon-foundry, &c.

Mount Mukattam overlooks both the town and citadel of Cairo, and is composed of a yellowish calcareous rock, abounding with testaceous fossils: it is entirely destitute of verdure. Upon its flat summit, a strong fort has been erected, with a steep causeway, upon high narrow arches ascending to it. On each side of this causeway, the rock has been extensively quarried. On the western side of the mountain are many ancient sepulchral grottoes; but they are difficult of access, and I do not propose visiting them. My brother has seen them, and he could find no traces of hieroglyphics, or other decorations, in any of them.

On the north of the metropolis are many gardens, and, in the season of the inundation, many lakes, in one of which (Birket er Ratlee) abundance of lotus plants are seen in blossom in the month of September. In the same tract is a ruined mosque, which was founded by Ez-ZÁhir Beybars, in the year of the Flight 665 (A. D. 1266–7). The French converted it into a fort.

Opposite the BÁb en-Nasr is a large cemetery, occupying a desert tract; and here is the tomb of the lamented Burckhardt.

The great Eastern cemetery, in the sandy waste between the metropolis and the mountain, contains the tombs of many of the Memlook SultÁns. Some of these mausolea (which have been erroneously regarded by some travellers as the tombs of the Khaleefehs) are very noble buildings; particularly those of the SultÁns Barkook,^[33] and KÁid-Bey,^[34] or KÁitbey. None of the tombs of the Khaleefehs of Egypt now exist: KhÁn el-Khaleelee (as I have mentioned in a former letter) occupies their site. The central part of this cemetery contains several almshouses, and is commonly called KÁid-Bey. Here, and for some distance towards the citadel, the tombs are closely crowded together, and the whole cemetery, being intersected by roads, like streets in a town, may justly be called a Necropolis, or City of the Dead. All the tract is desert; and few persons are to be met here, excepting on the Friday morning, when it is the custom of the Muslims to visit the tombs of their relations and friends. Numerous groups of women are then seen repairing to the cemetery; each bearing a palm-branch, to lay upon the tomb she is about to visit.

On the south of the metropolis is another great cemetery, called El-KarÁfeh, still more extensive, but not containing such grand mausolea. This, also, is in a desert plain. Many of its tombs are very beautiful: one kind is particularly elegant, consisting of an oblong monument, generally of marble, canopied by a cupola, or by a pyramidal roof, supported by marble columns. In the southern part of this cemetery is the tomb of the celebrated ImÁm Esh-ShÁfe’ee, the founder of one of the four orthodox sects of El-IslÁm, that sect to which the people of Cairo chiefly belong. This ImÁm died in the year of the Flight 204 (A. D. 819–20.) The present mosque which covers his tomb, is a plain whitewashed building, with a dome cased with lead. This mosque has been twice rebuilt, the present being the third building, and about two centuries and a half old. A little to the north of it is a low building, which is the burial-place of the present Pasha’s family. Between this cemetery and the mountain are many ancient mummy-pits choked with rubbish. They evidently show that this tract was the Necropolis of Egyptian Babylon.

Along the western side of the metropolis are several lakes and gardens. The most remarkable of the latter are those of Ibraheem Pasha; but these I might more properly call plantations. I have mentioned them in a former letter. A great portion of the tract they occupy was, a few years ago, covered by extensive mounds of rubbish, which, though not so large nor so lofty as those on the east and south, concealed much of the town from the view of persons approaching it in this direction. All the camels, asses, &c., that die in the metropolis are cast upon the surrounding hills of rubbish, where hungry dogs and vultures feed on them.

On the bank of the river, between BoolÁk and Masr el-’Ateekah, are several palaces, or mansions, among which is one belonging to Ibraheem Pasha, besides a large square building called Kasr El-’Eynee (which is an establishment for the education of youths destined for the service of the government,) and a small convent of Darweeshes. A little to the south of these buildings is the entrance of the khaleeg, or canal of Cairo; and just above this commences the aqueduct by which the water of the Nile is conveyed to the Citadel. A large hexagonal building, about sixty or seventy feet high, contains the sÁkiyehs, which raise the water to the channel of the aqueduct. The whole length of the aqueduct is about two miles. It is built of stone; and consists of a series of narrow arches, very gradually decreasing in height, as the ground has a slight ascent, imperceptible to the eye. The water, towards the end of its course, enters a subterranean channel, and is raised from a well in the Citadel. This aqueduct was built (in the place of a former one of wood) in the early part of the tenth century after the Flight (or the sixteenth of our era.) To the south of the aqueduct lies the town of Masr el-’Ateekah, the principal houses of which face the river, and the island of Er-RÓdah.

This island (the name of which signifies the Island of the Garden) is about a mile and three-quarters in length, and a third of a mile in breadth. The branch of the river on its eastern side is very narrow; and when the Nile is at its lowest point, the bed of this narrow branch becomes nearly dry. The island contains several pleasure-houses and gardens; and the palm, the orange, the lime, the citron, the pomegranate, the vine, the sycamore, (which affords a deep and broad shade,) and the banana, form a luxuriant variety. The banana is especially beautiful; its long leaves spreading and drooping from the summit of the stem, like the branches of the palm-tree. On this verdant island we find also the henna-tree, so much esteemed by the women of this country for the dye afforded by its leaves, and so justly valued by persons of all countries for the delicious perfume which its flowers exhale. But the great charm of Er-RÓdah is a garden belonging to Ibraheem Pasha, under the able superintendence of Mr. Traill, who has rendered it the most attractive thing of its kind in the neighbourhood of Cairo.

Masr el-’Ateekah, though more than a mile in length, is a small straggling town, lying along the bank of the Nile, and occupying a part of the site of El-FustÁt. Many of the vessels from Upper Egypt unload here; and a constant intercourse is kept up, by means of numerous ferryboats, between this town and El-Geezeh. Behind the town are extensive low mounds of rubbishy covering the rest of the site of El-FustÁt. In this desolate tract are situated the Mosque of ’Amr, the Kasr esh-Shema, and several Christian convents.

The Mosque of ’Amr has been so often repaired and rebuilt, that almost every part of it may now be regarded as modern: yet there is something very imposing in the associations connected with this building, where the conqueror of Egypt, surrounded by “companions of the Prophet,” so often prayed.

The building occupies a space about 350 feet square; its plan is a square court, surrounded by porticoes, and its whole appearance very simple and plain. The exterior is formed by high bare walls of brick. The portico at the end of the court towards Mekkeh has six rows of columns; that on the left side, four rows; that on the right, three; and on the entrance side only one row. The columns are of veined marble; some, being too small, have an additional plinth, or an inverted capital, at the base. The capitals are of many different kinds, having been taken, as also the columns, from various ancient buildings.

The Kasr esh-Shema is an old Roman fortress, which was the stronghold of Egyptian Babylon, and the headquarters of the Greek army, which the Arabs, under ’Amr, contended with and vanquished. It is said that this building was, in ancient times, illuminated with candles on the first night of every month; and hence it derived the name it now bears, which signifies “the pavilion of the candles.” The area which it occupies extends about a thousand feet from north to south, and six or seven hundred feet from east to west. Its walls are very lofty, constructed of brick with several courses of stone, and strengthened by round towers. The interior is crowded with houses and shops, occupied by Christians, and it contains several churches; among which is that of St. Sergius, where a small grotto, somewhat resembling an oven, is shown as the retreat of the Holy Family. The Egyptian Babylon was situated on a rocky eminence, on the southeast of the Kasr esh-Shema. El-Makreezee and other Arab historians prove that this was the Masr which ’Amr besieged and took. There was another fortress here, besides the Kasr esh-Shema, called the Kasr BÁbel-yoon (or the pavilion of Babylon.) This, I am told, was the spacious square building since called Istabl ’Antar (or the stable of Antar,) which in later times became a convent, and is now converted into a powder-magazine. To the west of the hill of Babylon, and close to the Nile, is the small village of Atar em-Nebee; so called from a stone, bearing the impression of the Prophet’s foot, preserved in a small mosque, which rises, with a picturesque effect, from the verge of the river.

El-Geezeh, which is opposite to Masr el-Ateekah, is a small poor town, surrounded, excepting on the side towards the river, by a mean wall, which would scarcely avail to defend it from a party of Bedawees. It has been supposed to occupy a part of the site of Memphis; but this conjecture is known to be erroneous.

I must mention also a few places north of the metropolis. A fine straight road, bordered by mulberry trees, sycamores, and acacias, leads to Shubra, the favourite country residence of the Pasha, rather more than three miles from Cairo. The palace of Shubra is situated by the Nile. Its exterior is picturesque, especially as viewed from the river, and it has an extensive garden laid out with much taste.

About six miles distant from the northern gates of the metropolis, towards the north-northeast, is the site of Heliopolis, the City of the Sun, called by the Egyptians, “On;” and by the Arabs, “Eyn-Shems,” or, “the fountain of the sun;” though, to bear this signification, the name should, I am told, be written “Eyn esh-Shems,” which may also be interpreted, “the rays, or light of the sun.” The route from Cairo to the site of Heliopolis lies along the desert; but near the limits of the cultivable soil. This part of the desert is a sandy flat, strewed with pebbles, and with petrified wood, pudding-stone, red sandstone, &c. A small mountain of red sandstone, called “El-Gebel el-Ahmar” (or “the red mountain,”) lies at a short distance to the right, or east. On approaching within a mile of the site of Heliopolis, the traveller passes by the village of El-Matareeyeh, where are pointed out an old sycamore, under the shade of which (according to tradition,) the Holy Family reposed, and a well which afforded them drink. The balsam-tree was formerly cultivated in the neighbouring fields: it thrived no where else in Egypt; and it was believed that it flourished in this part because it was watered from the neighbouring well. The name given by the Arabs to Heliopolis was perhaps derived from this well. In a space above half a mile square, surrounded by walls of crude brick, which now appear like ridges of earth, were situated the sacred edifices of Heliopolis. The only remaining monument appearing above the soil is a fine obelisk, standing in the midst of the enclosure. The Arabs call it “the obelisk of Pharaoh.” It is formed of a single block of red granite, about sixty-two feet in height, and six feet square at the lower part. The soil has risen four or five feet above its base; for, in the season of the inundation, the water of the Nile enters the enclosure by a branch of the canal of Cairo. Upon each of its sides is sculptured the same hieroglyphic inscription, bearing the name of Osirtesen the First, who reigned not very long after the age when the pyramids were constructed. There are a few other monuments of his time: the obelisk of the Feryoo’m is one of them. ’Abd El-Lateef, in speaking of Eyn-Shems, says that he saw there (about the end of the twelfth century of the Christian era) the remains of several colossal statues, and two great obelisks, one of which had fallen, and was broken in two pieces. These statues, and the broken obelisk, probably now lie beneath the accumulated soil.

Such are the poor remains of Heliopolis, that celebrated seat of learning, where Eudoxus and Plato studied thirteen years, and where Herodotus derived much of his information respecting Egypt. In the time of Strabo, the city was altogether deserted; but the famous temple of the sun still remained, though much injured by Cambyses. The bull Mevis was worshipped at Heliopolis, as Apis was at Memphis. It is probable that the “land of Goshen” was immediately adjacent to the province of Heliopolis, on the north-northeast.

Thirteen miles from Cairo, in the same direction as Heliopolis, is the village of El-KhÁnkeh, once a large town, and long the camp of the regular troops. El-KhÁnkeh is two miles to the north of the Lake of the Pilgrims, which is so called because the pilgrims collect and encamp by it before they proceed in a body to Mekkeh. This lake is more than two miles in length, from west to east, and a mile in breadth. It is filled by the canal of Cairo during the season of the inundation.