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 Explore Cairo

as it was known by its great medieval historian al-Maqrizi. Overlaid upon modern Cairo are the outlines of the city in the 15th century. Many of the mosques, madrasas and khanqahs written about by al-Maqrizi are marked. Click on a triangle and you will find a translation of what al-Maqrizi had to say about a particular building, as well as a slideshow of what it looks like today.

Translations are from the Khitat by al-Maqrizi, a work that details 15th century Cairo neighborhood by neighborhood and mosque by mosque. This site makes portions of al-Maqrizi’s great topographic work available for the first time.
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Taqi al-Din Ahmad ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Maqrizi

Al-Maqrizi was born in 1342 A.D. in Harat al-Barjawan in the center of historic Cairo.

In 1384 al-Maqrizi switched from the Hanbali school of Islamic law to the Shafi‘i school. Possibly he saw conversion to the Shafi‘i school—the dominant legal school in Cairo—as a path to career advancement.

Served as preacher at Mosque of ‘Amr ibn al-‘As and Madrasa of Sultan Hasan. He was imam and overseer at the Mosque of al-Hakim.

During the reign of Sultan al-Mu’ayyad (r. 1412-21) al-Maqrizi began to withdraw from public life in favor of full-time work on historical scholarship. Nasser Rabbat writes about this period: “It marked his transformation from a client to one or the other among the Mamluk grandees, to an independent, even aloof, scholar and historian and a pessimistic observer recognizing the corrupt structure of power and chiding its perpetrators.”

Al-Maqrizi died in Cairo in 1442 and was buried in the cemetery north of Bab al-Nasir. Between 1430 and 1435 he spent significant time in Mecca.

The design of this site, the photos, the translations, and other writing is by Martyn Smith, assistant professor of religious studies at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, who has lots of happy memories from Cairo. Please e-mail comments or suggestions to martyn [dot] smith [at] lawrence [dot] edu.

My thanks to the following:
A summer stipend from the National Endowment for the Humanities allowed me to visit Cairo and work on these translations.

In the summer of 2006 I was a fellow at the American Research Center in Egypt and did the translation for Maqrizi’s section on the pyramids.

Lawrence University supported my work with a sabbatical term in the fall of 2009. I received valuable technical assistance at Lawrence from Ben Willard and David Berk.

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The author of this website has for almost four years maintained Old Roads Blog, which often carries posts on Cairo or al-Maqrizi.

Editions of the Khitat:

Bulaq edition

The principal edition of al-Maqrizi's Khitat since 1854 has been the two volume edition known as the Bulaq edition. The pagination from this edition has become the standard way to reference the Khitat, and each translation presented on this site will be accompanied by the page numbers from this edition. A new edition of the Arabic text of the Khitat is now available in the six volume edition edited by Ayman Fu'ad Sayyid. This edition makes some needed corrections and is certainly much easier on the eyes to read. These welcome new volumes (published by the Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, London) were used in the process of this translation.

Maqrizi and Google Maps

There may be no book better structured for presentation on the Internet than al-Maqrizi’s Khitat. Al-Maqrizi put together a book that only awkwardly fits into modern notions of reading and that can find its proper environment in the non-linear and visual capabilities of the Internet. Here are three arguments as to why his Khitat is uniquely suitable for presentation on the Internet:

1) place-based
According to his brief methodological introduction to the Khitat, al-Maqrizi found his way to its topographical structure because of the nature of his material. As he inquired into historical reports about Egypt he found them scattered and diffused in many works. In his time the two most popular models for assembling a work of history were the year-by-year chronicle or the biographical dictionary, but neither of these models could work for al-Maqrizi because the historical reports were often difficult to date exactly or settle under the heading of a person. So al-Maqrizi organized his material under “khitat” (districts) and “asar” (remains)—which I take as a poetic way of denoting physical spaces and buildings. This choice, which al-Maqrizi presents as inevitable given his material, makes the Khitat a unique reading experience. It does not take the plot of history or the social interactions of individuals as the organizing force, instead it puts place in the primary role as the generator of history.

2) loose structure
The choice of place as organizing principle led to some pressure on the structure of his book. We typically think of history as an unfolding narrative filled with human actors, but if spaces and buildings take the center, then human actions get told in segments as they happen to intersect with those spaces and buildings. This structure results necessarily in repetition since various characters and actions need to be mentioned in different spatial contexts. In the methodological introduction al-Maqrizi hopes that literary types will not reject his book on account of this repetition and begin skipping over sections. Here we see al-Maqrizi battling with the formal expectations of a book. It is a bit of a paradox: what is path-breaking about al-Maqrizi’s work is its spatial structure, but precisely that structure leads to a disjointed reading experience. The Internet is the medium that would have allowed al-Maqrizi to dispense with the expectations of book reading and present his material in the loose fashion he is striving toward.

3) imagined spaces
A difficulty in reading the Khitat is its description of past configurations of Cairo in terms of the 15th century cityscape known to al-Maqrizi. This is most evident in the sections detailing the structures within Fatimid Cairo. The following passage is typical:

As for the large Eastern Palace it was entered from the Golden Door—its place now is the site for the mihrab of the Madrasa of Zahir...

Maqrizi is describing a palace that no longer existed, and doing so by exactly detailing where it stood in relation to contemporary buildings. Despite the immense influence of the Khitat, it has never been translated into a European language, and one reason is that it is difficult to read unless one can mentally follow his references to various locales in Cairo. In short, it is a book that demands a visual commentary. The Internet partially solves this by providing a tool like Google Maps that allows for a kind of running visual commentary and even a re-creation of the historic cityscape. If Google Maps feels like the natural setting for the Khitat it might be because al-Maqrizi operated with a medieval Google-Maps-Cairo running in his head that precisely stacked the historic layers of Cairo so that he could see their interrelation.


 

About Maqrizi.com

This site is an attempt to present the landscape of Cairo as seen through the eyes of its greatest medieval historian, Taqi al-Din Ahmad al-Maqrizi. What al-Maqrizi finds notable about the elements of his cityscape are often surprising and hardly what we would choose to emphasize, but that is the point: his text helps us to understand the categories and associations that underlie the medieval view of Cairo. In presenting these translations from al-Maqrizi's Khitat it's not the facts about Cairo that are being made available, but the stories, legal arguments, and poetry that came to al-Maqrizi’s mind as he focused on each individual element of his city. Given the historic popularity of his Khitat (evidenced by numerous manuscript copies), it is clear that al-Maqrizi’s view of Cairo struck a chord with contemporaries and exerted a steady pull on the way others after him would view it.

This site is not meant to be approached as a work of history. In al-Maqrizi’s sections on the pyramids or even on the Islamic conquest of Egypt 700 years before his time, what we discover are not historical facts as would be presented by a modern historian, but rather a collection of stories that tell us something about the self-understanding of Cairenes. No effort is made to break in and correct al-Maqrizi. The Khitat is the indispensable work for understanding almost any aspect of medieval Cairo, but the argument here is that it should be understood as more than a mine for facts. It is a work of the imagination as well.. a textualization of a city, and one of the most complex and ingenious examples of accomplishing that task in all world literature.

As of October 2009 the first stage of this work will go live. It is the first stage of a multi-year project. To begin with I have concentrated on the mosques and other religious structures that make up the heart of Islamic Cairo. This includes such important structures as the al-Azhar Mosque, the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, and the Mosque of Sultan Hasan. I have also included a translation of the section on the pyramids, since it is a fascinating glimpse of the speculations that surrounded the remnants of ancient Egypt. From this first platform I am hoping to expand steadily over the next few years.

My goals in order of priority are below:

1. Old Cairo or Fustat: a translation from the Khitat of the sections on the Mosque of ‘Amr ibn al-‘As, Coptic churches, the Jewish synagogue, the remains of the Byzantine fortress, and the Nilometer. This is the goal for summer 2010.

2. Introduction to the Khitat: the methodological introduction by al-Maqrizi as well as the earliest Arabic biographical passages on al-Maqrizi.

3. The Citadel: the history of the construction of the Citadel under Salah al-Din and the various structures al-Maqrizi knew there.

4. Fatimid Cairo: Al-Maqrizi spends a lot of space in the Khitat describing the original Cairo laid out by the Fatimids. Eventually I hope to present a translation of these sections on a map overlay dedicated solely to Fatimid Cairo.

The translations that accompany this site are also meant to serve as a beginning platform for later work. In book form a project like this would evolve over the course of a number of years and the final product would be just that, final. In this attempt to do scholarship through the Web one change is in the finality of what is presented. As I translate more of these sections from al-Maqrizi I will settle on some additional editorial practices, correct some things that are unclear, and generally improve what is here. If and when this project reaches finality I hope to have a decent portion of the Khitat available for anyone with an interest in Cairo.
Cairo André Raymond The best general introduction to the history of Cairo, ranging from its foundation as the garrison town of Fustat in 642 A.D. to its modern sprawling incarnation. Includes a chapter entitled "Maqrizi's Cairo" of obvious utility for the subject of this website.
Islamic Architecture in Cairo: An Introduction Doris Behrens-Abouseif An indispensible book for understanding Islamic Cairo. Behrens-Abouseif moves chronologically through the eras of Cairo's history and describes every building of historic importance that remains, down to the Ottoman Period. Also contains an introduction to stylistic features of Islamic architecture in Cairo.
Cairo of the Mamluks: A History of the Architecture and Its Culture Doris Behrens-Abouseif This book takes the style of her previous book (above) but this time focuses exclusively on the Mamluk period (1250-1517 A.D.). The introductory chapters on patronage and court culture are great overviews of the political and social system in which al-Maqrizi lived. The most up-to-date historical information on just about every Mamluk construction. Beautifully illustrated.
The Middle East in the Middle Ages: The Early Mamluk Sultanate 1250-1382 Robert Irwin A short and highly readable account of the line of Mamluk Sultans known as the Bahri Mamluks. The Mamluk system of governance was complex and an introduction such as this book to the names, titles, and basic contour of events is necessary for an informed reading of al-Maqrizi. Other academic works on Mamluk history exist, but this is the place to start.
Arts of the City Victorious Islamic Art and Architecture in Fatimid North Africa and Egypt Jonathan Bloom Al-Maqrizi was deeply engaged with the Fatimid dynasty, which had disappeared 200 years before his time. In this interest al-Maqrizi is most clearly the antiquarian, preserving many accounts that are otherwise lost and showing a fascination for this bygone world. Bloom in this book provides a critical introduction to the Fatimid mosques and shrines that al-Maqrizi would take up in his own work.
The Citadel of Cairo: A New Interpretation of Royal Mamluk Architecture Nasser Rabbat The Citadel was the seat of government in Cairo from the time of Salah al-Din through the Mamluk period. Al-Maqrizi in writing about Mamluk history time and again writes about emirs and Sultans coming down from the Citadel to important places in Cairo. The Citadel in al-Maqrizi's time was a virtual city in itself, but it has been transformed so many times it can be hard to make out its contours in any particular time. Rabbat's book is a careful reconstruction of the changes to the Citadel. It is a book al-Maqrizi would have loved.
Al-Fustat, Its Foundation and Early Urban Development
 Wladyslaw B. Kubiak This is another book on a limited period in Cairo's history. Kubiak examines the founding of Fustat during the Arab conquest in 642 A.D. Archeological and literary evidence are both used to describe what can be known about the earliest Islamic settlement in what is now Cairo. Al-Maqrizi tells an expanded and heroic version of this Arab conquest and of course devotes considerable attention to structures such as the Mosque of 'Amr ibn al-As.
An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians Edward William Lane This book was written in the 1830s before Cairo had undergone some of the wrenching and destructive changes that would come over the next century and a half. While Lane's close description of customs and people should be read with caution when thinking about al-Maqrizi's Cairo 400 years earlier, it nevertheless catches Cairo when it was stlil a recognizable version of what al-Maqrizi knew. This book concentrates on social customs as opposed to structural particularities of buildings.
A Mediterranean Society: An Abridgment in One Volume S.D. Goitein Goitein examines the Jewish community that lived in Cairo and whose daily lives were brought to light by the Geniza documents, most of which date from the 11th-14th centuries. Goitein fleshes out the social patterns of the Jewish communtiy, who would have worshipped in the synagogues that al-Maqrizi writes about at the end of the Khitat. In addition this intimate knowledge of Jewish life brings much light to the segmented social pattern of medieval Cairo as a whole.
Popular Culture in Medieval Cairo Boaz Shoshan Al-Maqrizi was part of an educated elite, and while his values and those of his peers are relatively accessible from their books, it can be much more difficult to discern how the average Cairene saw their world. This book is an examination of several key entrance points for understanding how the people with whom al-Maqrizi rubbed shoulders felt and thought. This book is particularly insightful on popular Sufism.
A History of the Ayyubid Sultans of Egypt al-Maqrizi, translated by R.J.C. Broadhurst A translation of a section of the Suluk by al-Maqrizi. The translation covers just the beginning of this lengthy historical chronicle. It is of a quite different character than the Khitat, being in form a more traditional and chronology-based account. This along with a short tract published under the title Mamluk Economics are the two most easily accessible works by al-Maqrizi in English.
The Muqaddimah, An Introduction to History Ibn Khaldun A brilliant theoretical introduction to the study of history. In its concern for patterns and system it foreshadows many later theoretical questions in history and sociology. Ibn Khaldun is of particular interest for students of al-Maqrizi since he was one of al-Maqrizi's teachers. He does not have an overt place in the Khitat, but it can be argued that his cyclical and pessimistic theory of history informs the way al-Maqrizi portrays the history of Cairo.
Umar ibn al-Farid: Sufi Verse, Saintly Life Umar ibn al-Farid, translated by Th. Emil Homerin A wonderful translation of perhaps the greatest medieval Egyptian poet, Umar ibn al-Farid (1181-1235 A.D.). At the end of the volume comes a short biographical essay entitled "Adorned Proem to the Diwan." This biographical essay contains many interesting views of Sufi practices that would have made up part of the popular culture surrounding al-Maqrizi.
Making Cairo Medieval ed. by Nezar AlSayyad, Irene A. Bierman, Nasser O. Rabbat This book sets its focus on the 19th century and the process by which Cairo became "medieval" as opposed to "modern." Several of the essays are particularly useful for their backward glance to al-Maqrizi and an earlier Cairo (which hardly thought of itself as "medieval"). Two essays to look for are 1) "The Medieval Link: Maqrizi's Khitat and Modern Narratives of Cairo" by Nasser Rabbat, and 2) "Disciplining the Eye: Perceiving Medieval Cairo" by Irene Bierman.
The Cairo Heritage: Essays in Honor of Laila Ali Ibrahim ed. by Doris Behrens-Abouseif Almost everything in this edited volume holds some interest for the student of al-Maqrizi. Two essays take al-Maqrizi as their explicit topic: 1) "Al-Maqrizi's Khitat, an Egyptian Lieu de Memoire" by Nasser Rabbat, and 2) Al-Maqrizi's Reinvention of Egyptian Historiography through Architectural History" by Sabri Jarrar. Both of those last two essays are important for work on al-Maqrizi. Finally we should mention the sad final essay "The Present Situation of the Historic City: A Road Not Taken" by Max Rodenbeck. This essay gives a sense of the great loss that has come with the mismangement of Cairo's heritage.
In Praise of Books: a Cultural History of Cairo's Middle Class, Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century Nelly Hanna This book takes up the changes to Cairene culture that begin a century after the death of al-Maqrizi. But in Hanna's emphasis on book culture we gain a glimpse of the culture in which copies of al-Maqrizi's Khitat would multiply and gain a level of canonicity.
Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East Juan Cole With one eye on developments in our own time (America in Iraq) Juan Cole vividly recounts the hubris and grandiosity of the French invasion of Egypt under Napoleon. While it would be an overstatement to claim that the French invasion marked the entrance of the modern world into Egypt, it certainly set the stage for Muhammad Ali and later efforts to modernize and transform Cairo.
Description de L'Egypte   If al-Maqrizi's Khitat has a direct competitor in the ambition of textualizing the city of Cairo, then it would undoubtedly be the massive Description de l'Egypte, containing information and images gathered by French scientists and artists during the occupation of Egypt. This single volume contains the complete plates for this series of volumes and in the section on the Etat Moderne there are images and maps that mark the appearance of Cairo in 1800.
The following four books are not directly about Cairo, but take up the topic of Islamic cities or society in general. As such I consider them essential to understanding the Cairo of al-Maqrizi's time.
Cities and Caliphs: On the Genesis of Arab Muslim Urbanism Nezar AlSayyad AlSayyad examines the specific factors that led to the layout of different urban centers that we think of as Islamic cities. AlSayyad is especially strong in thinking through the way political power and ideals led to the layout of the city. This emphasis on context allows AlSayyad to break out of generalizations about Islamic cities. AlSayyad has useful discussion of the garrison city of Fustat as well as the succession of royal cities that culminated in the founding of Cairo by the Fatimids.
Muslim Cities in the Later Middle Ages Ira Lapidus Lapidus examines the Islamic city not so much as a physical phenomenon, but rather as a social one. He highlights the informal networks of the religious elite, known in Arabic as the ulema, which provide so much of the characteristic feel of the medieval Islamic city. This book is perhaps the single most important book for anyone seeking to understand the social system in which al-Maqrizi lived. From one point of view, the architecture and physical layout of Cairo was a direct result of this complex way of organizing a society.
Muslim Society Ernest Gellner This book consists of a series of essays written by Gellner on aspects of Muslim society. Of particular interest is his opening essay "Flux and Reflux in the Faith of Men", in which he takes up the thought of ibn Khaldun on the cyclical nature of dynasties and the contrast between cities and the countryside. Gellner finds ibn Khaldun remarkably insightful on his own medieval culture, although the applicability of his theories to other times and places is problematic. Gellner gives an ambitious and always suggestive look at the segmented social world that grew up in the Middle East.
Knowledge and Social Practice in Medieval Damascus, 1190-1350 Michael Chamberlain Really a continuation of the work of Ira Lapidus in considering the social system of medieval Islam. Chamberlain focuses on Damascus, but his insights are equally valid for the scholarly world and its productions in Cairo. Of interest to Chamberlain are the biographical dictionaries and other books that dominated medieval scholarly output. He concludes that these books are reflective of the social system in which the religious elite lived. The Khitat of al-Maqrizi is likewise a part of this output, although it rearranges the information into geographic headings. This book illumines why al-Maqrizi finds certain subjects notable and ignores other things that we might now want to know.