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"Shortcut?"
asked the taxi driver while looking for a new cassette of the legendary Oum Kalthoum.
I answered yes while the black cassette player threatened to eat the cassette he
just had selected from his unorganized collection. Then, to the relief of both of
us the song "Elf Leila wa leila" (thousand
and one night)
started to fill the taxi.
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| In
the middle of the road. |
Between
two autostradas was our "shortcut road" - and in the middle of this road
a beautiful monument. A domed building standing proud in a city of exhaust, dreams
and legends. Built in medieval times for a lovely woman from the ruling class - well
she just had to have been beautiful to match such a monument?
Passed
this monuments often on my way from Heliopolis to downdown, but next day I knew all
would change somehow. The monument in the middle of the road would then turn into
the entrance to
nothing less than the "City
of the Dead"!
City
of the Dead or the Qarafa Cemetery
has become famous through many newspaper and television reportages focusing on the
people living here among tombs and monuments. But to understand the importance of
this area of Cairo, let's give a short background:
When
general Amr ibn al-As in 639 AD came to Egypt with his army and the teaching of Islam,
it was seven years after the death of Prophet Mohamed. Ancient Egypt became part
of the Islamic empire after having been ruled the last three hundred years by the
East Roman Empire.
There
was no Cairo as we know it, the ancient capital Memphis was located among pyramids
on the west bank of the Nile and on the east bank was legendary On (Heliopolis).
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| The
only remaining obelisk in On. Two is abroad, one in London and the other in Rome. |
Between
Memphis and On, directly on the east side of the Nilebank at a strategic junction
between the Nile Valley and the Delta the Roman fortress Babylon was located. After
the Romans were defeated the Arabs put up their garrison city Al-Fustat (the
Entrenched Camp)
just north of Babylon.
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Sufihostel,
Sultan al Ashraf Barsbay
1432
AD (835 AH) |
An
area close to Muqattam Hills (north
of today's Citadel)
was chosen as cemetery for Al-Fustat and it soon covered an area that was over six
kilometres long. When the Fatmids came to Egypt in year 969 they established the
fortified royal enclosure Al-Qahira (the
Subduer or the Victorious)
that was the start of what is Cairo today.
Later
important Sufi orders choose the area outside Al-Qahira for their spiritual seeking
and when important Sufi Sheikhs was buried close to the settlement these tombs became
places for pilgrimages.
Qarafa
(the
city of the dead)
became a real important burial ground during the Bahri Mamluks (1250-1382) and Circassian
Mamluks (1382-1517).
Mamluks
in Arabic mean "possessed" and the Mamluks was slave soldiers coming from
Turkey and Black Sea area brought to Egypt as young boys. Then raised in the household
of the sultan. When they reached maturity they were freed and remained the sultans
loyal advisors and lifeguards, a kind of elite army so to say.
The
last Ayyubid sultan died when the Sixth Crusade invaded Egypt, and his wife Shaggarat
El Dorr took control and the Mamluks captured the French king in 1250. Shaggarat
El Dorr marry later the Mamluk leader As-Salih and becomes the first (and
only)
Muslim Sultana. Her story could be books, but important here is that from her death
Egypt becomes ruled by Mamluks. It's a strong area in Egypt's long history with its
unique Mamluk architecture and the City of the Dead is maybe the best place to witness
the remains of this period.
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| Mosque,
Sultan Qait Bay - 1474 AD (878 AH) |
Please
note:
Monuments
in the City of the Dead is not accessible for tourist busses, and it's not advisable
to go her without someone who know the City of the Dead well. The only real option
through Qarafa is a walking tour together with a professional guide - so read the
second part of this article and see more photo's of monument to understand what one
can miss if one only follows the main tourist stream while in Cairo.
turer - hotell - ekspedisjoner
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Article
& photos, Arnvid Aakre
Copyright
© EgyptMyWay 2003
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