palaces of the Memlūks, 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