o, a greater claim may be made for the mosques, in
which the city abounds; for they represent political changes, social
evolution, and artistic development, as history proves. To substantiate
this claim of the mosques, a brief digression is necessary.

The origin of Cairo dates back to the Muslim invasion in 640; the
original Arab settlement was called Fustat, the "Town of the Tent,"
which is substantially the old Cairo of to-day. Here was erected almost
at once the first mosque, that of Amr, sometimes called Amru. In 751 a
northeast suburb was added, called El Askar; this was to be the
residence of the Governor, and here also was erected the Mosque of El
Askar. Keeping still to the northeast, another city was added, in 860,
by the first independent Muslim King of Egypt, Ibn Tulun, called El
Katai; the "wards" became divided into separate quarters for various
nations and classes, and here was erected the remarkable Mosque of Ibn
Tulun. A fourth city still farther northeast was added a little over a
century later, called El Kahira (the Cairo of to-day); this did not
become the commercial capital of Egypt, but occupied the same relation
to Fustat that El Askar and Katai held. The Town of the Tent, resting on
the bank of the Nile, still remained the metropolis, as it did after the
fall of both El Askar and Katai--the disaster to these latter cities
giving additional prestige to El Kahira.

[Illustration: _The Mosque of Amr_]

The building of a mosque[1] was regarded by the rulers not only as an
expression of religious zeal, but as a contribution to the life of the
State. Several mosques were erected during the two centuries of Arab
rule, but Amr was the first and most important. It is situated near the
site of the old Roman city of Misr, where Amr first pitched his tent, on
the invasion of Egypt. The outside of the old mosque is not imposing,
but, with the vast court forty thousand feet in area, surrounded by
colonnades consisting of numberless columns with every variety of
capitals (taken from Christian churches), it excites our admiration.
Wooden beams, stretched from column to column, formerly supported one
hundred and eighty thousand hanging lamps which illuminated the edifice
every night, while throngs of learned men, professors, and persons of
many conditions gathered there daily for lectures and discussion. The
great convocation was on Friday, when a sermon and prayers were the
order of the day, the immense court