Delta; there are some fine specimens of vestments to be seen there.

A short distance from the Mûski is a Dêr containing the churches of the Virgin, St. George, and the chapel of Abu's Sêfên. The church of the Virgin occupies the lower half of the building, and is the oldest in Cairo. The chapel of Abu's Sêfên is reached through a door in the north-west corner of the building, and contains a wooden pulpit inlaid with ivory. The church of St. George occupies the upper part of the building, and is over the church of the Virgin.

In the Greek (Byzantine) quarter of Cairo is the Dêr elTadrus, which contains the churches of St. George and the Virgin.

The Coptic churches of Cairo contain a great deal that is interesting, and are well worth many visits. Though the fabrics of many of them are not older than the sixth, seventh, or eighth century of our era, it may well be assumed that the sites were occupied by Coptic churches long before this period.

THE MOSQUES OF CAIRO.

Speaking generally there are three types of mosque* in Cairo 1, the court-yard surrounded by colonnades, as the Mosques of 'Amr and Țulûn; 2, the court yard surrounded by four gigantic arches, as in the Mosque of Sulțân Ḥasan, etc.; and 3, the covered yard beneath a dome, as in the Mosque of Muhammad 'Ali.

The Mosque of 'AMR in Fosțâț, or Old Cairo, is the oldest mosque in Egypt, its foundation having been laid A.H. 21= A.D. 643. The land upon which it was built was given by 'Amr ibn el-'Ași and his friends after they had become masters of the fortress of Babylon. Of 'Amr's edifice very

* The word "mosque" is derived from the Arabic

مسجد

little remains, for nearly all the building was burnt down at the end of the ninth century. Towards the end of the third quarter of the tenth century the mosque was enlarged and rebuilt, and it was subsequently decorated with paintings, etc.; the splendour of the mosque is much dwelt upon by Makrîzî. The court measures 350 feet × 400 feet. The building contains 366 pillars-one row on the west side, three rows on the north and south sides, and six rows on the east side; one of the pillars bears the name of Muḥammad. In the north-east corner is the tomb of 'Abdallah, the son of 'Amr.

The Mosque of AḤMED IBN TULÛN (died A.D. 884) is the oldest in Masr el-Ķâhira or New Cairo, having been built A.D. 879, under the rule of Khalif Mu'tamid (A.D. 870– 892). It is said to be a copy of the Ka'ba at Mecca, and to have taken two or three years to build. The open court is square, and measures about 300 feet from side to side; in

or fountain for the

(حنفية) the centre is the Hanafiyyeh

Turks. On the north, west, and south side is an arcade with walls pierced with arches; on the east side are five arcades divided by walls pierced with arches. The wooden pulpit is a famous specimen of wood carving, and dates from the thirteenth century. Around the outside of the minaret of this mosque is a spiral staircase, which is said to have been suggested by its founder. The mosque is called the "Fortress of the Goat," because it is said to mark the spot where Abraham offered up the ram; others say that the ark rested here.

The Mosque of HAKIM (A.D. 996-1020), the third Fâțimite Khalif, was built on the plan of mosque of ibn Tulûn (see above); the date over one of the gates is A.H. 393 = A.D. 1003. The Museum of Arab art is

located here.

The Mosque EL-AZHAR is said to have been founded

by Jôhar, the general of Mu'izz, about A.D. 980. The plan of the principal part was the same as that of the mosque of ‘Amr, but very little of the original building remains. It was made a university by the Khalif ‘Aziz (a.D. 975–996), and great alterations were made in the building by different Sulțâns in the twelfth, thirteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and eighteenth centuries; Sa‘îd Pasha made the last in A.D. 1848. The minarets belong to different periods; the mosque has six gates, and at the principal of these, the “Gate of the Barbers,” is the entrance. On three of the sides of the open court are compartments, each of which is reserved for the worshippers who belong to a certain country. The Lîwân of the mosque is huge, and its ceiling is supported upon 380 pillars of various kinds of stone; it is here that the greater part of the students of the university carry on their studies. The number of students varies from 10,000 to 13,000, and the education, from the Muhammedan point of view, is perhaps the most thorough in the whole world.

In the Citadel are:-1. The Mosque of Salâḥeddîn Yûsuf, built A.D. 1171-1198; 2. The Mosque of Sulêmân Pasha or Sulțân Selîm, built A.H. 391 = A.D 1001.

The Muristân Kalaûn, originally a hospital, contains the tomb of El-Manşûr Kalaûn (A.D. 1279-1290), which is decorated with marble mosaics.

The Mosque-tomb of Muhammad en-Nâşir (A.D. 12931341), son of Ķalaûn, stands near that of Ķalaûn.

The Mosque of SULTAN HASAN, built of stone taken from the pyramids of Gizeh, is close to the citadel, and is generally considered to be the grandest in Cairo. It was built by Hasan, one of the younger sons of Sultân Nâșir, and its construction occupied three years, A.D. 1356-1358. It is said that when the building was finished the architect's hands were cut off to prevent his executing a similar work again. This story, though probably false, shows that the mosque was considered of great beauty, and the judgment

of competent critics of to-day endorses the opinion of it which was prevalent in Hasan's time. Hasan's tomb is

situated on the east side of the building. The remaining minaret* is about 280 feet high, the greatest length of the mosque is about 320 feet, and the width about 200 feet. In the open court are two fountains which were formerly used, one by the Egyptians, and one by the Turks. On the eastern side are still to be seen a few of the balls which were fired at the mosque by the army of Napoleon.

The Mosque of Barkûk (A.D. 1382-1399) contains the tomb of the daughter of Barkûk.

The Mosque of MUAIYAD, one of the Circassian Mamelukes, was founded between the years 1412-1420; it is also known as the "Red Mosque," from the colour of the walls outside. Externally it measures about 300 feet by 250, and possesses an internal court, surrounded by double colonnades on three sides, and a triple range of arches on the side looking towards Mecca, where also are situated- -as in that of Barkûk—the tombs of the founder and his family. A considerable number of ancient columns have been used in the erection of the building, but the superstructure is so light and elegant, that the effect is agreeable." + The bronze gate in front belonged originally to the mosque of Sulțân Hasan.

The Mosque of KAIT Bey (A.D. 1468-1496), one of the last independent Mameluke sulțâns of Egypt, is about eighty feet long and seventy feet wide; it has some fine mosaics, and is usually considered the finest piece of architecture in Cairo.

The Mosque el-Ghûri was built by the Sulțân Kansuweh el-Ghûri early in the sixteenth century; it is one of the most beautiful mosques in Cairo.

* From the

منارة Arabic

+ Fergusson, Hist. of Architecture, Vol. II., p. 516.

The Mosque of Sittah Zênab was begun late in the last century; it contains the tomb of Zênab, the granddaughter of the Prophet.

The Mosque begun by Muḥammad 'Ali in the Citadel, was finished in 1857 by Sa'id Pasha, after the death (in 1849) of that ruler; it is built of alabaster from the quarries of Beni Suêf. As with nearly all mosques built by the Turks, the church of the Hagia Sophia at Constantinople served as the model, but the building is not considered of remarkable beauty. The mosque is also a square covered by a large dome and four small ones. In the south-east corner is the tomb of Muḥammad 'Ali, and close by is the mimbar or pulpit; in the recess on the east side is the

(منبر)

(قبلة) Kibla

or spot to which the Muhammedan turns

his face during his prayers. The court is square, with one row of pillars on each of its four sides, and in the centre is the fountain for the Turks; the clock in the tower on the western side was presented to Muḥammad 'Ali by Louis Philippe.

The Mosque of el-Hasanên, i.e., the mosque of Ḥasan and Ḥusên, the sons of 'Ali the son-in-law of the Prophet, is said to contain the head of Ḥusên who was slain at Kerbela A.D. 680; the head was first sent to Damascus and afterwards brought to Cairo.

In the Mosque of el-Akbar the dancing dervishes perform.

THE TOMBS OF THE KHALIFS.*

These beautiful buildings are situated on the eastern side of the city, and contain the tombs of the members of the

The word “Khalif,” Arabic äe, Khalifah, means

suc

cesssor" (of Muḥammad) or "vicar" (of God upon earth), and was a title applied to the head of the Muslim world. The last Khalifah died in Egypt about A.D. 1517.