carried on in a very picturesque
street, called the "Suk-en-Nahassin," or street of the coppersmiths,
where in tiny little shops 4 or 5 feet square, most of the copper and
brass industry of Cairo is carried on. Opening out of this street are
other bazaars, many very ancient, and each built for some special
trade. So we have the shoemaker's bazaar, the oil, spice, Persian and
goldsmith's bazaars, and many others, each different in character, and
generally interesting as architecture. The Persian bazaar is now
nearly demolished, and the "Khan Khalili," once the centre of the
carpet trade, and the most beautiful of all, is now split up into a
number of small curio shops, for the people are becoming Europeanized,
and the Government, alas! appear to have no interest in the
preservation of buildings of great historic interest and beauty.

One other feature of old Cairo I must notice before leaving the
subject. In the old days of long caravan journeys, when merchants from
Persia, India, and China brought their wares to Cairo overland, it was
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 Saladin 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 citade