CAIRO

[s. 144] : A city of Egypt, situated about mne miles south of the apex of the delta, where the Nile divides into the eastern, or Damietta, branch and the western, or Rosetta, branch. The city extends from the edge of the desert at the base of the Mokattam Hills on the east to the river on the west, and southward until it joins Old Cairo (Misr Atika) on the site of the ancient city Festat. This was the site of New Babylon, said to have been founded by the Babylonians after the conquest of Egypt by Cambyses, about 525 B. c. The new city, Cairo, was founded by Johar, the It was general of the Fatimite Caliph Mu’izz. called Misr el Kahira because it is said that at the precise time when the foundation of the walls was being laid, the planet Mars, which by the Arabs is called Kahir, cro ed the meridian of the new city, and Mu’izz accordingly named it from this event. The city grew rapidly because of its position and the facility with which building material was found. It has become the largest city on the continent of Africa, and the second in the Turkish Empire, having a population of from 400,000 to 500,000. Cairo was made the capital of Egypt in 973, and has continued to enjoy this preeminence during the many vici itudes of 917 years. From January 26, 1517, when the Ottoman Sultan Selim I. entered the city in triumph, until July 22, 1798, when, after the battle of the Pyramids, Napoleon I. entered the city, nothing of sufficient importance seems to have occurred And it was not until to merit a place in history. after Mehemet Ali was established as Viceroy of Egypt that the city began anew to enjoy prosperity. Is mail Pasha while Khedive made great and Important improvements in and around the capsuch ital, as extending the city so as to form the new part called for him Is mail i yeh, improving the Esbekiyeh public gardens, planting trees in and about the city, and uniting Cairo with the western bank of the river by a magnificent iron bridge. Since the British occupation of Egypt, in 1882, the city has been very much improved and many handsome buildings have been erected. Among the objects of interest to the mi ionary, besides the Boulak Museum, is Jama-el-Azhar, which was changed from its original use as a mosque to a “university” by Caliph Aiz Billah on the suggestion of his vizier, Abu’l Farag Ya’kub, in the year 378 of the Hegira, and has become the most important Mohammedan institution of learning in the world. There is nothing imposing in the appearance of the buildings, which have an old and dilapidated aspect. They occupy a large piece of ground, and consist of an open court with colonnades on the north and south sides, which are set apart for students from West Africa, East Africa, Syria, Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt, the Sudan, and 188 other parts of the Mohammedan world. On the east of the court is the Liwanel Jama, or sanctuary, which covers an area of about 3,600 square yards, and has a low ceiling supported by 380’ columns of granite and marble, but not uniformly arranged, as if they were not in their original places. Here the prayers are repeated and instruction given to groups of students who sit on mats This “university” has an before their teachers. enrolment of from 10,000 to 12, OOO students, four fifths of whom are from 12 to 18 years of age and who are taught by 321 Sheikhs or profe ors. The president is called Sheikh el Azhar, and receives a salary of about $500. The students spend from two to six years in the university, while some continue longer. No fees are paid by them, as all expenses are met from the endowments of the mosque, which are of great value. The whole system of education consists of committing facts to memory, without exercises which train the mind to discern the truth and detect error, or lead to the forming of independent opinion. Mathematics and astronomy, which were studied by the ancient Egyptians, are not in the curriculum of this modern university of Islamism. And yet the profe ors and students are proud of their attainments, and look down with feelings akin to disdain upon the and religious attainments of Western Christians. As a close observer has remarked, this education develops “a personality which is usele for any other occupation than that of teaching Arabic phonetics, grammar, and the scientific Koran.” Mi ionary effort in Cairo is carried on by six Protestant societies. Of these the United Presbyterian Church of North America made it a center and station for their operations in 1854. This Society now (1902) has at that point and its dependencies 14 mi ionaries, men and women, 23 native workers, men and women, 4 Sunday schools, 5 high schools, 1 theological seminary, 1 book depot, and 690 Harim (Zenana) pupils. Cairo is a station also of the CMS (1882), with 12 mi ionaries, men and women, 13 native workers, men and women, 1 village school, 1 high school and 1 book depot. Also station of the Kaiserswerth Deacone es (1884), with 8 deacone es and a hospital. Also a station of the International Medical and Benevolent A ociation There (1900), with 1 mi ionary and his wife. are also two English societies working for the, in this Jews city. It has not been po ible to secure details of their work. Whately (Mi M. L.), Ragged Life in Egypt (two series in one vol.), London, 1870; Poole (S. L.), Cairo, 3d. ed., London, 1897; Hartman (M.), The Arabic Pre of Egypt, London, 1899; Charmes (G.),Five Months in Cairo and Lower Egypt, London, 1883; Duff-Gordon (Lady), Letters from Egypt, revised ed., London, 1902. CAKAUDROVE. See Cacaudrovb. 144