orientalcairocit00sladuoft

'
35^ Appendix II
of the East ; naturally they are haunted by Efrits and other
mischievous Jinn, who frighten away God-fearing tenants.
Its mediaeval monuments transport one to the golden age of
Arabian art and culture. Among its mosques and the fragments
of its palaces are the noblest examples of Saracenic
architecture that can be seen in all the wide empire of Islam.
Damascus and Baghdad, Delhi and Gaur, Seville and Cordova,
possess elements of beauty that Cairo has not, and serve to
complete the history of Arabian art ; but to sec that art in
its perfection, uncorrupted b)' the mechanical detail of the
Alhambra, free from the distorted outlines of India, we must
study the mosque and tombs of Cairo—the beautiful city
extolled throughout the Arabian literature, insomuch that the
Jewish physician, in the story of the Humpback, protests that
'he who hath not seen Cairo hath not seen the world. Her
soil is gold ; her Nile is a marvel ; her women are as the
damsels of paradise ; her houses are palaces ; and her air is
soft, sweet-smelling as aloes-wood, refreshing the heart— and
how can Cairo
World
be otherwise, when she is the Mother of the
?
"The historian of the Mamluks is fond of telling how the
Sultan made his progresses, held reviews of his troops, led
a charge in battle, or joined in the games at home. The
Mamluks were ardent votaries of sport and athletic exercises.
En-Nasir was devoted to the chase, and imported numbers
of sunkurs, sakers, falcons, hawks, and other birds of prey,
and would present valuable feofs to his falconers, who rode
beside him, hawk on wrist. Bcybars was a keen archer,
and a skilful hand at making arrow.s. He erected an
archery-ground outside the Gate of Victory at Cairo, and
here he would stay from noon till sunset, encouraging the
Amirs in their practice. The pursuit of archery became the
chief occupation of the lords of his Court. But Beybars,
like most of the Mamluks, was catholic in his tastes ; he
was fond of racing horses ; spent two days in the week at
polo ; was famous for his management of the lance in the
tournaments which formed one of the amusements of the
day ; and was so good a swimmer that he once swam across