A
Roman Column
Al-Qahira
The many faces of Cairo -1
Neeman
Sobhan
The
Egyptians call their land Al-Misr and their city Al-Qahira,
and how the people of this ancient land who trace their lineage
from the pharaohs ended up with a capital whose name is not
Coptic (the ancient language of the Nile dwellers) but Arabic
and which was corrupted into its present form by the west
is the story of unending conquests and military subjugations.
The
medieval history of the fertile and rich Nile valley was of
a hard working and passive people who, unfortunately, were
always under foreign military rule. Modern Cairo evolved from
a series of military settlements of which the first was the
fortress of Babylon built by the conquering Romans to strengthen
their hold on this valuable province of the eastern part of
their sprawling empire. Roman rule was highly unpopular but
the occupying legions found the unarmed population easy to
control, as did the Arabs who conquered Egypt in the 7th century,
639 to be exact. The Romans had stationed their garrison on
a spur of the Muqattam Hills near Babylon and the Nile. It
was on this same hill that Salah-ad-Din, in the late 12th
century, would build the Cairo citadel as the fortress home
of Egypt's Muslim rulers.
But
before that came the first Muslim garrison city named Al-Fustat
to the north of Babylon during the time Egypt was ruled by
a series of governors appointed by the Caliphs in Damascus.
In 750, after the Abbasid family seized control of the Caliphate
and moved their capital to Baghdad, an enlarged army suburb
called Al-Laskar was created. When Ahmad Ibn Tulun, in 868,
declared independence and established the first autonomous
Muslim state on the Nile valley, the royal city Al-Qatai was
added. The Mosque of Ibn Tulun is the only remaining souvenir
of the Abbasid period since the entire city was destroyed
by the Baghdad authorities as exemplary punishment for future
usurpers. Next came the shi'ite Fatimids descending from the
Prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatima. They built a new fortified
royal enclosure called Al-Qahira, later corrupted by Italian
merchants into 'Cairo'.
The
Fatimids found their nemesis in the Seljuk Turks. The Seljuks
stopped the Fatimid practice of allowing Christians to make
pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and caused the Crusades which brought
onto the stage Saladin.
The
history of the citadel starts with him and continues through
successive dynasties and periods ranging from the Bahri and
Circassian Mamluks (1250-1517), the Ottoman Turks (1517-1798),
a period of French occupation (1798-1801), the reign of Mohammad
Ali (1805-1849) when westernisation started, Khedive Ismail
(1863-1879), the British occupation (1882-1952) till independence.]
From
my 18th floor room at the Sheraton Cairo on the Nile I have
not only a view of the elegant skyscrapers along the river
and the older apartments blocks congesting the horizon but,
beyond the river, of the ancient bulk of the Mukattam hills
in the distance where the historical Citadel nestles.
I
have been inside it before but that was years ago, and I wish
to go over it again.
Magda
is taking me around Cairo today to see whatever face of this
city I wish to see. I have told her that I want to renew my
acquaintanceship with Islamic Cairo and also explore Christian
Cairo. Apart from the citadel, I request that we walk around
the medieval Al Fustat area to see the Hanging Church of Babylon
(yes, I mean church not the hanging gardens which are a different
thing in a different location entirely) suspended from one
of the towers of the Roman fortress; the church of Abu Serga
which is the cosily localized Arabic name for Saint Sergius
(where the Holy family took refuge during their Egyptian exile
when they were fleeing King Herod's infanticide; and visit
the Mosque of Ibn Tulun. I also remember that an English major
Gayer-Anderson had a house nearby which preserved an 18th
century house intact with the typical furniture of the time
and full of Mashrebbeya lattice work balconies and secret
nooks and crannies which I remember vaguely from a long ago
visit, twenty years ago. What I recall clearly was that it
was a fascinating house built on many levels. I want to revisit
my enchantment to see if the charm was in the place or in
my youth.
Magda
pays me a compliment. "Your choice of places to visit
is so refreshingly different from the run-of-the mill guided
tours I give. I'm looking forward to my day out with you for
I'll be visiting places that even I haven't been to in a while."
I
have read my history of Cairo and am ready for the Citadel.
When we finally arrive and look around us from our elevated
position, the modern city of Cairo spreads and shimmers far
below in the August sun. We walk around the inner streets,
walkways, ramps, ramparts and terraces and end up inevitably
posing for photos outside the many domed and silvery Ottoman
splendour of the Mohammad Ali Mosque (now a landmark of the
city and which was mistakenly captioned 'Mosque of Ibn Tulun'
in the internet version of Farhan Quddus's excellent Egyptian
Journal). Taking off our shoes we enter. I'm not big on churches
and mosques however grand but I make the right noises of appreciation
over the glitzy gilt covered pulpit, the enormous ceiling,
the architectural details and decorations which are a marriage
of frilly European Rococo and the arabesque and geometric
of Ottoman baroque etc. Then, exhausted visually though not
physically, I sit down on the carpeted floor for a moment
of peace, but feeling no particular sense of godliness I idly
watch groups of tourists. One over-enthusiastic Muslim man
looks upward and suddenly with his hands cupping his mouth
lets out a loud 'Allah Wakbar!' to set it echoing and frightens
a sleeping baby. I want to scold him for shouting in a place
of prayer and to tell him that Allah can hear the whisper
of a worshipping heart just as clearly; and that He does not
necessarily reside in the filigreed domes decreed by Kings.
(To be continued.)
NEXT WEEK: AL QAHIRA: James Bond's Cairo
and
more.
Copyright
(R) thedailystar.net 2004
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