Читать книгу Islamic Monuments in Cairo - Caroline Williams - Страница 10
ОглавлениеThe Island of Roda and Old Cairo
Nilometer ***
Mosque of Sultan Qaytbay
Manyal Palace Museum **
Tomb of Sulayman Pasha al-Faransawi *
Mosque of ‘Amr *
al-Fustat
Fortress of Babylon *
al-Mu‘allaqa Church *
Coptic Museum ***
Grand Hall in the Convent of Saint George
Church of Saint Sergius
Church of Saint Barbara
Ben Ezra Synagogue
Mamluk Aqueduct **
See map 1
Nilometer*** (No. 79) 861/247. Built after the Arab conquest, this is the oldest monument in Cairo that survives in its original form. It is situated on the southern tip of the island of Roda. The Nilometer is housed in a little building with a pointed roof, which is a recent reconstruction of a Turkish original. The pavilion, on the west, is all that remains of the Palace of Hasan Pasha al-Munastirli, built around 1830. It was part of the salamlik, or public area, and is now used by the government for official receptions and concerts. On the east is the new Umm Kulthum Museum, which commemorates the life and art of Egypt’s most famous singer (1898–1975).
As its name suggests, the Nilometer was designed to measure the river’s annual August-September flood. The Nilometer has been altered and repaired on numerous occasions, but the basic structure dates from 861, when it was built on the order of the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil. It is a stone-lined pit that goes down well below the level of the Nile. Three tunnels lead into it from the river at different levels. In the center of the pit is a column graduated into sixteen cubits, about fifty-four centimeters each. When the water rose during the flood in August, it was possible to tell by the highest point it reached on the column whether it would be a year of too much, too little, or just enough water. When the water level reached sixteen cubits, this was the signal for cutting the dam that held the water back from the Khalig, the canal that once flowed through Cairo along the route of the present-day Sharia Port Said. This task was performed with much ceremony during the Festival of the Opening of the Canal, a celebration of the flood that was a holdover from antiquity. In 1899, when the Khalig was filled, the festival ceased. The tunnels to the river are now blocked up, and the Nilometer no longer functions.
Enter the building and go down the steps to the level of the upper tunnel, the widest of the three levels. The pointed arches in the recesses are apparently from the original structure and thus antedate by some three hundred years the appearance of this arch shape in European architecture. As you go back up, notice the Qur’anic inscriptions in Kufic script that run around the pit. These inscriptions are verses about rain, crops, and abundance: “We send down water from heaven as a blessing, causing gardens to grow, and grain for harvest” (50:9); “See you not how God sends down water from heaven, so that the earth becomes green?” (22:63).
Originally this frieze ended with a short dedicatory inscription saying that the structure was built in 861. This was removed in 872 and replaced by more verses from the Qur’an, perhaps by Ibn Tulun as a way of asserting his independence from Abbasid Baghdad.
The painted decorations of the lantern ceiling, from the middle of the Muhammad ‘Ali period, handsomely illustrate the lush imagery of the Qur’anic passages.
Mosque of Sultan Qaytbay (No. 519) 1481–90/886–96. Of the many medieval structures once found on the island of Roda, such as the palaces and barracks of the early Mamluk period, this mosque and the Nilometer are all that survive. Even so, the mosque, which has been restored several times, most recently in 2005, is perhaps primarily of interest to the dedicated art historian, since it is hard to find, and for a royal mosque it is very plain. At No. 85 Sharia al-Manyal, turn left into Suq al-Hamrawi. This street is famous for its vegetable and fruit market, and it provides a lively and colorful shopping experience. At the end of the street, turn left for the mosque.
Manyal Palace Museum ** Set in a garden surrounded by a great wall of compact limestone, the complex was the residence of Prince Muhammad ‘Ali, the younger son of Khedive Tawfiq and for a time the heir to King Farouk. The palace was constructed between 1901 and 1929, a period of intense nationalism, and one of its purposes was to revive and honor Islamic arts. After the prince’s death it was bequeathed to the Egyptian nation as a museum. The whole area was originally part of Ibrahim Pasha’s Roda palace, and the garden was once noted for its fabulous collection of trees and plants from around the world, but today only the cactus and ornamental plants survive. The palace is composed of several buildings:
1. The reception area, through which one enters, consists of a series of rooms elaborately and lavishly decorated in a compendium of late Islamic ornament.
2. The mosque, built in 1933, has seven tiled panels in which some of the ninety-nine names of God are written in mirror-image script. This type of script is especially popular in Turkey, and is another example of the flexibility and beauty of Arabic calligraphy.
3. The game, or hunting, museum, opened in 1963, contains King Farouk’s mounted game trophies and curios.
4. The residence of Prince Muhammad ‘Ali affords an interesting look at the living arrangements and furnishings of the Egyptian upper class before the revolution. As one enters any of the downstairs reception rooms, the initial impression is rather overpowering: marble floors and dadoes, wood paneling—carved, painted, and glided—on walls and ceilings, stained-glass windows; tiled fireplaces, carpets and rich coverings on floors and benches, wooden lattice screens, inlaid furniture gleaming with mother of pearl. This illustrates the fact that the main effect in a late Islamic room was achieved by massing together a variety of materials. The sleeping quarters are upstairs.
5. The throne room of Muhammad ‘Ali Pasha is a replica of the one located in the Citadel, complete with original furniture and portraits.
6. Prince Muhammad ‘Ali was a great collector, and a special fourteen-room museum was built in the southern part of the garden to house his collection. It contains a variety of objects, many of which are two hundred years old, including calligraphy, photographs of Istanbul, family portraits, furniture, textiles, glass, silver, costumes, porcelain, rugs, and personal articles. It is well worth a visit.
Public facilities, a recent addition, are also located on the grounds. In 2007 the museum was closed for restoration.
Tomb of Sulayman Pasha al-Faransawi * d. 1859/1276. North of the Nilometer and past the wooden connecting bridge to the Nile corniche, turn right into the fourth side street. On the Nile bank on your left will be a stand of date palms and mango trees; on your right, looking down the street, you can see the tomb two short blocks away.
Sulayman Pasha was originally a French colonel named Sèves, who, jobless at the end of the Napoleonic wars, was one of several thousand European advisers and technicians who came to Egypt during the reign of Muhammad ‘Ali. As chief of staff Sèves was responsible for training Egypt’s new conscript army. He became a Muslim and for more than thirty-five years loyally served his adopted country. Sharia Sulayman Pasha, now Tal‘at Harb, in downtown Cairo, honored his services. Sèves had a wonderful mansion and garden on the Nile at this point, where he hosted visiting French dignitaries and literati. His great-granddaughter Nazli was the mother of King Farouk.
The tomb is a charming pavilion of cast-iron arches designed by Carl von Diebitsch, responsible also for the 1863 cast-iron façade of Isma‘il Pasha’s palace on Gezira (now the Marriott Hotel). The inside, recently restored, is a confection of white stucco and colored tiles. Nearby lies his widow (d. 1894), Dame Maryam. Her tomb is unremarkable, but her story is romantic. She was a young Greek, and a great beauty. At the time of the Egyptian expedition to Greece (1825–27), Sulayman rescued her from a boat that was to take her and other women to Alexandria, and married her himself.
Mosque of ‘Amr * (No. 319) 827/212. An easy way to get there is to take the Metro (subway) to Mar Girgis (the Coptic Museum) and walk north along Sharia Sidi Hasan al-Anwar. The mosque entrance faces the street.
‘Amr ibn al-‘As was the Muslim general who conquered Egypt in AD 641. The building that bears his name has been much expanded and rebuilt. In the process, all traces of the original have been swept away, but the monument, still revered as the first mosque built in Egypt, has interesting historical associations. It was the starting point of the country’s conversion to Islam, and was for centuries the religious and social center of the thriving and cosmopolitan city of al-Fustat.
The mosque’s first restoration was made by ‘Abd Allah ibn Tahir, in 827, and thereafter by Salah al-Din after the Fustat fire of 1168, by the amir Salar after the great earthquake of 1303 (who marked his restoration with a fine stucco panel on the façade), by Sultan Barquq in 1399, by Sultan Qaytbay in the fifteenth century, by Murad Bey in 1798 just before the Napoleonic invasion, by Muhammad ‘Ali in 1845, and again in the 1930s, 1977, and 2001. In 1977, the façade was rebuilt by the Ministry of Awqaf (or pious foundations), which added the entrance salient with its anachronistic keel arch niches, stalactites, and carved arabesque decoration, while defining more precisely the shape of the windows with colonnettes and carved wood, the originals of which are in the south wall of the sanctuary and probably date from the first enlargement of 827. The minarets are part of Murad Bey’s restorations. The round brick tubs and the protective iron grille are from 2001. Thus today, the mosque contains little that is either old or of special architectural interest. The dimensions of the mosque date from 827, when the original structure was doubled in size by order of the Arab governor. At this time the seven aisles of the sanctuary were parallel with the qibla wall and the last column in each row was engaged to the wall by a wooden architrave carved with a late Hellenistic frieze. These, the oldest parts of the mosque, can still be seen along the right-hand (southeast) wall. The columns in the qibla arcade were reused from churches (although some have since been replaced by modern copies).
An interesting part of the mosque is the supposed tomb of ‘Abd Allah, the son of ‘Amr ibn al-‘As, in the far corner of the left-hand (west) side of the sanctuary, the area that is used by women for prayer. ‘Abd Allah died in his house and was buried there, a common practice in early Islam. When the mosque was enlarged in 827, the house and tomb were incorporated into it.
Next to the mosque is the Suq al-Fustat, a center for traditional handicrafts, which has a restaurant/café.
Al-Fustat 641–1168/21–563. The ruins lie in the back (east) of the Mosque of ‘Amr and the Fortress of Babylon. Follow Sharia ‘Ain al-Sira (between ‘Amr and the Coptic nexus) until just before it bends to the right. On the left is a large, unmarked gate opening on to a path that leads to the ruins.
Al-Fustat was the first city founded by the Muslims in Egypt. The name is derived from fossatum, meaning an entrenched encampment, and the site chosen was that upon which ‘Amr had pitched his tent during the siege of Babylon. The ruins date from many periods, with Fatimid predominant. Al-Fustat, which extended six kilometers along the eastern bank of the Nile, had a water supply and sanitation facilities then undreamed of in Europe. As a center for artisanal manufacturing, it was famous for its glassware and ceramics as well as for the wealth and variety of its markets; as a port city, its goods were actively traded throughout the Mediterranean. No monuments can be seen here, but there are some very interesting examples of domestic architecture and water supply.
In 1168 al-Fustat, one of the wealthiest cities of the world, with a population of two hundred thousand, was threatened by an attack from a Crusader force led by Amaury, King of Jerusalem. Because the city was unfortified, the Fatimid wazir ordered that it be burned. For fifty-four days and nights the fire raged, and most of the population fled or was killed. In later centuries attempts to rebuild al-Fustat were made, but the city never recovered its former status. It remains a vast field of rubble and debris to the south of the medieval city, with visible building foundations and remnants of water canals and cisterns. On its eastern boundary parts of the Ayyubid wall of Salah al-Din still stand. This vast archaeological area is being whittled away, however, as the city’s needs for housing and open spaces grow.
Fortress of Babylon. * One of the towers of the southern gate of the fortress stands to the right at the garden entrance to the Coptic Museum. The other tower is visible as the foundation of the Church of Saint George on the left.
The present fortress was built by the emperor Trajan, around AD 100, on what was then the east bank of the Nile, to guard the canal that linked the river with the Red Sea. It was refortified by Diocletian in AD 300. The name derives from Bab il-On (‘gate of On’), the ancient sanctuary of the sun god at Heliopolis. It became the center of Byzantine administration and Coptic religion. The fortress has several interesting associations with Islamic Cairo. Quartered here was the Byzantine garrison that ‘Amr ibn al-‘As defeated before making Egypt an Islamic country. The use of polychrome masonry, which is a hallmark of Mamluk architecture, is derived from the Roman tradition of building with alternating courses of brick and stone. This technique is visible in these towers in the layers of red brick and yellow limestone. Finally, although only two of the towers of the fortress are readily visible, the area it occupied is quite vast, and most of the churches of Old Cairo are built on its foundations. Several churches in this area, rebuilt in the Fatimid period, contain interesting relics in the Islamic style.
Al-Mu‘allaqa Church, or the Hanging Church. * This Coptic church was built c. 690 above the east tower of the south gate of the Fortress of Babylon. In the eleventh century it became the residence of the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria. It is the woodwork—the thirteenth-century ebony panels around the icon of Saint Mark on the right wall, and the fifteenth-century iconostasis—that is of interest here. Except for the crosses that mark the prayer screen, the beautifully carved star pattern, with polychrome accents in bone and ivory, is an example of the uniformity of the decorative arts of Egypt: the same careful craftsmanship and intricate patterns appear on similar objects whether they are intended for Christians or Muslims, for secular or religious use.
Coptic Museum *** The museum was founded in 1910 by Marcus Simaika and is thus the most recent of Cairo’s major museums. It was reopened in July 2006, after a massive overhaul. The collection contains antiquities primarily of the Coptic period (AD 300 to 1000) or of Christian usage, and is one of the richest collections of Coptic art in the world. Many of these artifacts are of interest to students of Islamic Cairo, because they either influenced the making of Islamic objects or were themselves made under Islamic dynasties.
The main door of the museum is in a handsome limestone façade that bears a great resemblance to the façade of the Mosque of al-Aqmar. This is an evocation of the creative relationship between the Copts and their Muslim rulers during the Fatimid period. After entering, turn left into the new wing, built in 1947. The collection (in Rooms 2–9 plus the new atrium court) shows how many styles and themes, such as geometric designs, scrolls of acanthus and vine leaves, and friezes, inhabited by rabbits, peacocks, birds, and rural activities, passed from the Hellenistic and Coptic legacy into the Islamic artistic vocabulary of Egypt. It is most likely that the niche in the Christian monk’s cell that oriented him in prayer toward Jerusalem inspired the shape of the mihrab in an Egyptian mosque, and that the stair shape of the Egyptian minbar was derived from the pre-Islamic Coptic bishop’s throne.
The old wing of the museum, an architectural museum in its own right, contains lovely wood remnants from old Coptic houses, such as finely worked mashrabiya windows, painted ceiling scenes, decorated tiles, inlaid doors, and pieces of furniture. Of special note, in the Room of the Old Churches of Cairo, off the courtyard, is the sanctuary screen of sycomore wood from the Church of Saint Barbara. The panels, with human and animal figures against a foliate arabesque background, are recognizable as having been crafted in the Fatimid period, in the eleventh or twelfth century.
Grand Hall in the Convent of Saint George. Just next to the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George, steps lead down into the Coptic compound of Old Cairo. The door through which one passes and the narrow alley into which it leads are typical of medieval gates and streets. About ten meters along the alley on the left is the entrance to the convent. Cross the courtyard filled with citrus trees and enter into a vast qa‘a, or reception hall, whose central section is higher than the two side sections. The qa‘a was most probably part of a wealthy merchant’s grand house built in the early fourteenth century. An enormous door leads to the chapel of the convent, now housed in one of the arms of the qa‘a, and a continuing place of visitation and pilgrimage to relics of Saint George. The sixty-six panels of the door are from the Fatimid period. They are similar to panels in the Museum of Islamic Art that depict court activities (drinking, hunting, and dancing) against an arabesque background. The painted ceilings of the present shrine belong to the Mamluk period. In the later Middle Ages, when the commercial community moved away from this part of the city, the church acquired the building.
The Church of Saint Sergius and the Church of Saint Barbara, both built c. AD 690. The central sections of the iconostases in both churches have woodwork from the period of Sultan Qaytbay, which are beautiful examples of late fifteenth-century geometric Mamluk carving.
Ben Ezra Synagogue. This is the oldest synagogue in Egypt (although not in its present form). It was supposedly built on the site where Moses appealed to God to bring the hail and plague to an end. The synagogue is especially famous for the Geniza (or storeroom) documents, stored there since 1041, rediscovered after 1864, and since 1896 mostly located in the Cambridge University Library. These papers—court depositions, deeds, titles, business contracts, petitions, letters, inventories, religious questions, and rulings—represent the most complete documentation of any society unearthed. As transcribed by S.D. Goitein in A Mediterranean Society, they describe al-Fustat as a vibrant capitalist society engaging in commerce around the Mediterranean. Immigrants from North Africa and Palestine were attracted by the religious tolerance of the Fatimid regime and the affluence of al-Fustat. The documents provide a unique source for the history of the area for the period from the eleventh to the sixteenth century.
Mamluk Aqueduct **Opposite the National Cancer Institute, where Sharia Qasr al-‘Ayni branches off the corniche, is Fumm al-Khalig, the mouth of the canal that once wound along the route of Sharia Port Said all the way to the Red Sea. The hexagonal tower was the intake for an aqueduct built originally in the era of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad, about 1311/711, and subsequently extended to its present length by Sultan al-Ghuri in 1507/911 to provide water for the showpiece gardens he had planted below the Citadel. The sixteenth-century intake tower housed huge waterwheels, of a type still used in Syria, which lifted water from the Nile up to the top of the tower, from where it flowed to the base of the Citadel. The slots into which these wheels fitted can be seen on the west side of the tower. Outside, stairs lead to the top of the tower, where one sees the horizontal wheel (one of an original six) that an ox or water buffalo turned to provide the power to engage the main waterwheel. A superb view looking west over Roda Island and east to the Muqattam range, also awaits the climber. The aqueduct and the Khalig canal served as Cairo’s principal water supply until 1872. Plans in 2008 include a museum of water distribution.
The aqueduct can still be followed almost all the way to the Citadel. About one and a half kilometers from the Nile the section credited to al-Ghuri ends and that of al-Nasir begins. From about five hundred meters beyond the point where the aqueduct and the road turn northeast, the aqueduct is built on the city wall that dates from Salah al-Din’s time (1176–93/572–89). At about this juncture (near the Maydan of Sayyida Nafisa) the prominent minaret visible on the left (east) belongs to the early sixteenth-century Mosque of Azdumur (No. 174).
