Peeps at Many Lands: Egypt | Page 8

the already

narrow thoroughfares.
These upper storeys are very picturesque, for all the windows are filled
with lattice-work, and large window balconies supported on carved
wooden beams project far over the street. These are called
"mushrabiyehs," a name which is derived from an Arabic word which
means "the place for drink." Originally they were simply small cages of
plain lattice-work in which the water jars were placed to cool, but as
prosperity increased and the homes of the people became more ornate,
first the edges of the lattice-work were cut so as to form a pattern, and
the little cages presently developed into these large balconies, which in
place of simple lattice-work were enclosed by screens formed of
innumerable small pieces of turned wood built up so as to form designs
of great beauty, and behind which the ladies of the harim might sit and
enjoy the air and the animation of the streets unseen.
Unfortunately this beautiful work is fast disappearing; visitors have
discovered how adaptable it is to home decoration, and the dealers in
Cairo eagerly buy up all that can be obtained to be converted into those
many articles of Arab furniture with which we are now so familiar in
England.
Picturesque as all the streets of Cairo are, they are not all so animated
as those I have described, and in many quarters one may ride for miles
through streets so narrow that no vehicle could pass, and so silent as to
appear deserted. Very often their projecting upper storeys almost touch
across the street, and make it so dark as to be almost like a tunnel. The
handsome doorways also are often half buried in the débris which for
three hundred years or more has been accumulating in the narrow lanes,
so much so that in many cases the doors cannot be opened at all. There
is an air of decay and sadness in many of these quarters, for these half
ruinous houses, once the palaces of the Memluks, are now the
habitations of the lowest of the people, and poverty and squalor reign
where once had been gaiety and the fashionable life of Cairo.
CHAPTER IV

CAIRO--II
Fascinating though the streets of Cairo are, continuous sight-seeing in
the heat and glare is tiring, and it is always a pleasant change to escape
from the movement and bustle outside, and enjoy the quietude of some
cool mosque or palace courtyard.
Having described the exterior of the native house, it will interest you to
know what it is like inside. Entering from the street, one usually has to
descend one or more steps to the entrance hall or passage, which, in the
case of the older houses, is invariably built with at least one turning, so
that no one from the street could see into the interior court or garden
should the door be open, for privacy was always jealously guarded by
the Mohammedans. On one side is a raised stone platform, seat for the
"boab" or door-keeper, and other servants of the house. Passing through
this passage, we reach the courtyard, which is often very large and open
to the sky, and into which most of the windows of the house open. On
one side is a large recess or bay raised slightly above the pavement of
the court, and furnished with benches of carved wood. The beams of
the ceiling and handsome cornice are richly ornamented with carving
and illumination, and the heavy beam which spans the entrance is
supported by a pillar of elegant shape and proportion. Here, or in the
"mandara"[3] inside the house, the Arab host receives his male guests.
On the most shady side of the court are placed the "zirs," while several
doors lead to the harim, as the ladies' quarters are called, and the
various offices and reception-rooms of the house. These doors are
always panelled in elaborate geometrical designs, and the principal one,
which is reached by a short flight of stone steps, is set in a lofty recess,
the trefoil head of which is richly carved. This gives access to the
reception-room on the first floor. One side is entirely open to the air,
and through three archways connected by a low balustrade of
perforated stonework overlooks the court. The floor is paved in tiles or
marble of various colours, usually in some large design, in the centre of
which is a shallow basin in which a fountain plays. Round the three
walls is a raised dais called "lewan," covered with rugs or mattresses,
on which the guests recline. Little recesses in the walls, which in the
homes of the wealthy are elaborately decorated with mosaic or tile

work, contain the water jars, and the "tisht wa abrik," or water-jug and
basin, used for the ceremonial washing of hands