their custom to travel in strong companies capable of resisting
possible attacks by the wild desert tribes, and in Cairo special
"khans," or inns, were built to accommodate the different
nationalities or trades. In the central court the horses and camels of
the different caravans were tethered; surrounding it, and raised
several feet above the ground, were numerous bays in which the goods
were exposed for sale. Above, several storeys provided sleeping
accommodation for the travellers. Like the bazaars, many of these
khans are very ancient, and are most interesting architecturally as
well as being fast disappearing relics of days which, until the
introduction of railways and steamers, perpetuated in our own time
conditions of life and trade which had continued uninterruptedly since
that time so long ago when Joseph first built his store cities and
granaries in Egypt.

It is impossible in a few pages to convey any real impression of
Cairo, and I have only attempted to describe a few of its most
characteristic features. There is, however, a great deal more to
see--the citadel, built by that same Saladīn against whom our
crusaders fought in Palestine, and which contains many ancient mosques
and other buildings of historic interest, and the curious well called
Joseph's Well, where, by means of many hundreds of stone steps, the
visitor descends into the heart of the rock upon which the citadel is
built, and which until recently supplied it with water. Close by is
the parapet from which the last of the Memlūks made his desperate
leap for freedom, and became sole survivor of his class so
treacherously murdered by Mohammed Ali; behind, crowning the Mokhattam
Hills, is the little fort built by Napoleon the Great to command the
city, while in every direction are views almost impossible of
description. To the east is that glorious cemetery known as the "tombs