The odd notes of a rather simple person!: A trip to part of Islamic Cairo

Walking further inside the southern part of El Mu3ez Le Deen Ellah street, I passed by many unidentifiable monuments, some of them were disguised by makeshift stalls for variable goods. Then I continued my stroll in the street till I reached Souq el Aqqadin. There to my delight, I discovered the presence of Sabil of Mohammed Ali Pasha. I had a previous knowledge about Sabils, as a salient feature of Islamic Architecture - being an act of benevolence done by rulers or wealthy people towards the poor - their components, function and their association sometimes to Kuttabs (Quranic schools). The monument was well preserved and open to public visit. It was restored few years ago in 2004, thanks to a donation from USAID, the European Union and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Cairo, through the American Research Center in Cairo by specialists led by the Polish historical conservation architect, Agnieszka Dobrowolska. She produced a book on her experience in this successful project that was published by the AUC press.

Mohammed Ali Pasha, the viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1848, is generally considered the founder of modern Egypt, viewing the deep change that he brought. Despite being a foreigner, he did for the country what many of its original descendants didn’t. Being a visionary, a leader, a very smart individual endowed with many talents to govern and plan, he succeeded to build the basis for new industries, sent educational missions abroad, attracted talents from around the world to serve his ambitions to ameliorate and even to excel above many countries. He did put emphasis on the agriculture sector taking it to a higher, disciplined order, with new crops and abundant production. Exports of Egypt rose to unprecedented level. New cities, ports, were established. An indigenous powerful army and modern navy were formed. Government institutions, ministries and circles were arranged. To protect Egypt’s interests, he sought to protect its water resources, both inside the country and outside it by trying to explore the origins of the Nile. He noticed the dangers surrounding his country, so decided to expand Egypt’s borders, and entered many wars for that reason and to satisfy his ambition of being the ruler of an independent state. He was too a great builder and left many public works and magnificent monuments, for different purposes. One of them is his Sabil which was erected as a memorial to his deceased son (Prince Tusun) who died of bubonic plague in 1817.

The Mohammed Ali Sabil’s, is one of the still remaining few in Egypt, having an Ottoman style. It is very beautiful both from inside and outside. And though it has been built in 1820, it is so attractive that it is worth visiting despite that it is in a busy commercial part of the street and only reachable by foot. Strangely, few tourists visit it, and it is off the usual or planned path for any touristic itinerary whether local or international. Covered with marble panels mostly from the outside of its bowed structure, having bronze doors, topped with its lead-covered dome, the Sabil is both robust and majestic. The façade shows panels of poetic verses written in Ottoman Turkish, including the name of the Sultan Mahmud the second, and mentioned because Egypt was a part of the Ottoman empire at that time. The arched windows have grilles which were once gold covered meant to impress those who were entering to have a cup of cold clean water from the marble basin behind. I didn’t enter because while walking, I decided to expand my tour to visit many more monuments in the short time period available. But I learnt later that from the inside, the dome is ornamented with Turkish landscape paintings, not Egyptian one. Also that one can get to the upper floor to see the unused classroom with its wooden desks, waiting for students desperately. Below the main hall of the Sabil there is the cistern of water that supplies the basins and which can be visited through a small stair. On exhibition inside is the story of Mohammed Ali Pasha, his deeds and his family. Many posters showing the conservation process that took place to preserve the Sabil and many that talk about water, are on display, as I discovered from researching on the subject.

I was impressed for sure and refrained from getting in and continued walking in the street seeking its end just to pass by the Wekalet Nafisa Al Bayda, and took a rapid incomplete side glimpse of it, and postponed visiting it too and its associated Sabil, because it also needs much time. It lies in al-Sukariyya street off El Mu3ez Street and before few meters of Bab Zuweila. It is as far as I know one of the other conservation projects also done by Agnieszka Dobrowolska and her team. Nafisa Al Bayda was the beautiful white slave of unknown certain origin, turned lady due to her marriage to first Ali Bey Al-Kabir then to his slayer, Murad Bey who fought against the French occupation forces led by Napoleon. She was a wealthy, good, charitable woman, intelligent, cultured who could read and write in Arabic and Ottoman Turkish and spoke French. She built her vast Wekala and Sabil in 1796 two years before the French Expedition to Egypt.

Then in the end of the street I reached the important gate of old Fatimid Cairo, Bab Zuweila, from where the yearly pilgrimage ceremonies to Mecca took place. The Mahmal, the caravan carrying the cloth cover of the Ka3ba which was sewn and ornamented in Egypt, started its journey towards Mecca from here. This was also the site of hanging of the last Burgi Memluk Tuman Bay, by the invading Ottoman forces of Selim the first in 1517. To be noted that Zuweila was a Moroccan tribe coming as worriers with the armies of the Fatimid, who conquered Egypt and established a ruling dynasty in 969 AD. But the gate itself was constructed in 1092. There were a terrible prison beside the towers of the gate and there was another Burgi Memluk, who was imprisoned there, and vowed that if he was ever to become Sultan, that he will destruct the prison and build a mosque instead. He was the Emir turned Sultan, called al-Mu’ayyad who reigned in 1412 and built the magnificent and important complex mosque-madrasa-mausoleum in 1415. This became an important academic institution in the 15^th century throughout the middle east. Two fine minarets were erected, one above each tower of the gate, characterizing Bab Zuweila over any other gate of the Fatimid Cairo.