A Tour of 19th Century Cairo - It's Mosque, Muslim Faith, and the Local Bazaar Described by Amelia Edwards During the 19th Century

Amelia Edwards wrote about 19th century Cairo Bazaars, and the street vendors in her book,
'A Thousand Miles up the Nile:

 'Every shop-front, every street corner, every turbaned group is a ready-made picture. The old Turk who sets up his cake-stall in the recess of a sculptured doorway,the donkey-boy with his gaily caparisoned ass, waiting for customers, the beggar asleep on the steps of the mosque, the veiled woman filling her water jar at the public fountain – they all look as if they had been put there expressly to be painted.'


'The houses are high and narrow. The upper stories project, and from these again jut windows of delicate turned latticework in old brown wood, like big bird-cages. The street is roofed in overhead with long rafters and pieces of matting, through which a dusty sunbeam struggles here and there, casting patches of light upon the moving crowd. The unpaved thoroughfare – a mere narrow lane, full of ruts and watered profusely twice or thrice a day – is lined with little wooden shop-fronts, like open cabinets full of shelves, where the merchants sit cross-legged in the midst of their goods, looking out at the passers-by and smoking shisha in silence. Meanwhile, native women of the poorer class, in black veils that leave only the eyes uncovered, and long trailing garments of dark blue and black striped cotton, dervishes in patchwork coats.'


Looking up this Cairo street, you can see the second storey windows have a  moucharabieh, this is kind of wood grid turned, sculpted and assembled, covering windows that would allow women to see outside without being seen. Most date from the Mamluk period, the last three centuries, and many have now disappeared.

This photograph of a typical street in Cairo in the 19th century was taken by Felix Adrien Bonfils, (8 March 1831 -1885). Bonfils was a French photographer and writer who was active in the Middle East. He was one of the first commercial photographers to produce images of the Middle East on a large scale, and he was amongst the first to employ a new method of colour photography, that was developed in 1860.
This photograph of a Muslim man and his wife and child was taken about 1865 in a street in Cairo by Adelphoi Zangaki (Brother's Zangaki photography). The lady wears a burqa to express her devotion and piety for the Muslim faith.

The two brothers Zangaki were of Greek origin, they  were active as photographers in Egypt and Algeria, from 1860's through to the 1890's, and who specialized in photographing ancient monuments and scenes of everyday life producing prints for the tourist trade.

Islam began as a small faith community in the Arabian Peninsula. The community was established  by the Prophet Mohammed (c.570 - 632 CE). From Medina it spread across the Middle East and Europe.

Amelia Edwards description of her visit to a mosque in Cairo, and her observations of the Muslim faith : 'This was the first time we had seen Muslims at prayer, and we could not but be impressed by their profound and unaffected devotion. Some lay prostrate, their foreheads touching the ground ; others were kneeling ; others bowing in the prescribed attitudes of prayer. So absorbed were they, that not even our unhallowed presence seemed to disturb them. We did not then know that the pious Muslim is as devout out of the mosque as in it ; or that it is his habit to pray when the appointed hours come round, no matter where he may be, or how occupied. We soon became so familiar, however, with this obvious trait of Mohammedan life, that it seemed quite a matter of course that the camel-driver should dismount and lay his forehead in the dust by the roadside ; or the merchant spread his prayer-carpet on the narrow mastabah of his little shop in the public bazaar'


This photo shows women street vendors sat outside the Mosque of Suliman Agha Al Selhadar, that was built in 1839 on El Moez street, Cairo. The mosque was relatively new when this photo was taken by Jean Pascal Sebah, who was the son of Pascal Sebha who opened a photographic studio in Cairo from the mid - 1850's. The Sebah Studio earned a reputation for the foremost Orientalist photography in the region.

Following the death of Jean's father the studio continued in business, and then in 1888 Jean went on to run the studio with other photographers. The firm developed a reputation as the leading representative of Orientalist photography and in 1889 was appointed the Photographers by Appointment to the Prussian Court

Amelia's tour of the Bazaar continues : 'Now comes a sweetmeat-vendor with a tray of that gummy compound known to English children as 'Lumps of Delight' and now an Egyptian lady on a large grey donkey led by a servant with a showy sabre at his side. The lady wears a rose-coloured silk dress and white veil, besides a black silk outer garment, which, being cloak, hood, and veil all in one, fills out with the wind as she rides, like a balloon. She sits astride ; her naked feet, in their violet velvet slippers, just resting on the stirrups. She takes care to display a plump brown arm laden with massive gold bracelets, and, to judge by the way in which she uses a pair of liquid black eyes, would not be sorry to let her face be seen also. Nor is the steed less well dressed than his mistress. His close-shaven legs and hindquarters are painted in blue and white zigzags picked out with bands of pale yellow ; his high-pommelled saddle is resplendent with velvet and embroidery ; and his headgear is all tags, tassels, and fringes. Such a donkey as this is worth from sixty to a hundred pounds sterling.

Amelia wrote : ' a water-carrier goes by, bending under the weight of his newly replenished goatskin, the legs of which being tied up, the neck fitted with a brass cock, and the hair left on, looks horribly bloated and life-like.'

Most amusing of all, however, are those bazaars in which each trade occupies its separate quarter. You pass through an old stone gateway or down a narrow turning, and find yourself amid a colony of saddlers stitching, hammering, punching, riveting. You walk up one alley and down another, between shop-fronts hung round with tasselled head-gear and hump-backed saddles of all qualities and colours. Here are ladies' saddles, military saddles, donkey-saddles, and saddles for great officers of state ; saddles covered with red leather, with crimson and violet velvet, with maroon, and grey, and purple cloth ; saddles embroidered with gold and silver, studded with brass-headed nails, or trimmed with braid.'

This photo was taken by Henri Bechard c.1860-80 of a water vendor in the street of Cairo.

Henri Bechard was a French photographer who opened a professional photographic studio in the Ezbekia Garden district of Cairo in 1869, He took many photographs of daily life in Cairo, and the monuments.

Amelia Edwards continues her description of the Cairo Bazaar: 'Another turn or two, and you are in the slipper bazaar, walking down avenues of red and yellow morocco slippers ; the former of home manufacture, the latter from Tunis. Here are slippers with pointed toes, turned-up toes, and toes as round and flat as horse-shoes ; walking slippers with thick soles, and soft yellow slippers to be worn as inside socks, which have no soles at all. These absurd little scarlet bluchers with tassels are for little boys ; the brown morocco shoes are for grooms ; the velvet slippers embroidered with gold and beads and seed-pearls are for wealthy harems, and are sold at prices varying from five shillings to five pounds the pair.

This photograph of the Bazaar at Khan el-Khalili in Cairo was taken by Pascal Sebah

Amelia Edwards describes the Carpet Bazaar: 'consists of a network of alleys and counter-alleys opening off to the right of the Muski, which is the Regent Street of Cairo. The houses in most of these alleys are rich in antique lattice-windows and Saracenic doorways. One little square is tapestried all round with Persian and Syrian rugs, Damascus saddle-bags, and Turkish prayer-carpets. The merchants sit and smoke in the midst of their goods ; and up in one corner an old 'Kahwagee,' ( coffee-seller), plies his humble trade. He has set up his little stove and hanging-shelf beside the doorway of a dilapidated Khan, the walls of which are faced with Arabesque panellings in old carved stone. The striped carpets of Tunis ; the dim grey and blue, or grey and red fabrics of Algiers ; the shaggy rugs of Laodicea and Smyrna ; the rich blues and greens and subdued reds of Turkey ; and the wonderfully varied, harmonious patterns of Persia, have each their local habitation in the neighbouring alleys. One is never tired of traversing these half-lighted avenues all aglow with gorgeous color and peopled with figures that come and go like the actors in some Christmas piece of Oriental pageantry.

The image above of Carpet seller's displaying their carpet was taken in the bazaar of Cairo c.1880

The Khan Khaleel, ' the place of the gold and silversmiths' bazaar, there is found, on the contrary, scarcely any display of goods for sale. The alleys are so narrow in this part that two persons can with difficulty walk in them abreast ; and the shops, tinier than ever, are mere cupboards with about three feet of frontage. The back of each cupboard is fitted with tiers of little drawers and pigeon-holes, and in front is a kind of matted stone step, called a mastabah, which serves for seat and counter. The customer sits on the edge of the mastabah ; the merchant squats, cross-legged, inside. In this position he can, without rising, take out drawer after drawer ; and thus the space between the two becomes piled with gold and silver ornaments. These differ from each other only in the metal, the patterns being identical ; and they are sold by weight, with a due margin for profit. In dealing with strangers who do not understand the Egyptian system of weights, silver articles are commonly weighed against rupees or five-franc pieces, and gold articles against napoleons or sovereigns. The ornaments made in Cairo consist chiefly of chains and earrings, anklets, bangles, necklaces strung with coins or tusk-shaped pendants, amulet-cases of filigree or repoussé work, and penannular bracelets of rude execution, but rich and ancient designs. As for the merchants, their civility and patience are inexhaustible. One may turn over their whole stock, try on all their bracelets, go away again and again without buying, and yet be always welcomed and dismissed with smiles.

This photograph of a lady with her baby selling bangles, was taken in the streets of Cairo by Henri Berchard c.1875

'There were many  special bazaars in 19th century Cairo, the Sweetmeat Bazaar , the Hardware Bazaar , the Tobacco Bazaar, the Sword-mounters' and Coppersmiths' Bazaars, the Moorish Bazaar, where fez caps, burnouses, and Barbary goods are sold, and some extensive bazaars for the sale of English and French Muslims.'

The image of a pot vendor was taken in Cairo c.1880 by Gabriel Lekegian, who was an Armenian photographer,working in the Middle East from 1870 to 1890. Moving to Cairo he established his studio opposite the Shepard's Hotel in the heart of Cairo's European district

Lekegian became a favoured photographer for the Egyptian Royalty, many of whom, including the Princess Nazli had her portrait taken by him. and his work thrived. Lekegian then became the official photographer of Egypt's British Army, this led to numerous commissions to illustrate books and uniquely, provide 'reportage' shots on the massive government operations in the region.

A donkey cart transports four muslim women through the streets of Cairo in 1880, the house in the background has moucharabieh screens over the windows. The photograph was taken by the Zangaki Brothers.

Cairo vendors work and display their trade of tent-making, since Khayyam means tent-maker in Arabic. This vibrant colour art on cotton cloth has been used to create decorated tents for ceremonial events and has been made in Cairo since the days of the Ottoman Empire. One of the uses of the tents by Egyptians today is to use these vibrant tents to sit in to show respect for the death of an Egyptian. During the hours of the day the men will congregate in the tent, and then at night it is the turn of the women. When I lived in Luxor I was woken up one night at 1.30 am in the morning to the sounds of horrendous wailing, I started to panic because I didn't no what was happening, and I woke my husband up to ask him what was happening, he told me that someone had died. Ten minutes later his phone rang and it was one of his relations that had died, so he got up and went to console his wailing relations. 

This photograph was taken by the Zangaki Brothers Photography in 1880 in the streets of Cairo. It shows two men playing the board game of  Mangali. To this day Egyptians still play board games in the coffee shops. The man on the right has a water pipe that he can smoke tobacco on.

This photograph shows a Moucharabieh craftsman at work  in Cairo c 1880 - The photo was taken by Gabriel Lekegian 

An Egyptian man has his head shaved in the Barber shop in Cairo. To this day there are many barber shops in Cairo and Luxor. You will notice in the background a young boy helping, even today it is accepted for children to work in the streets as vendors, in Egypt, some of the work I have seen them do is selling food and drinks, selling goods on the bazaars, wet wipes on the ferry, bicycles for hire,assisting the tourists on donkey and camel rides, helping their fathers in the sugar cane fields.