IBN HAWQAL

The Maghribis have just founded a town outside Fustat called Cairo. Jawhar, the Maghribis general, staked it out on his arrival in Egypt for his army, stores, and retinue. It now has different quarters and markets, as well as places for breeding livestock, facilities such as baths and inns, and even well-built palaces and useful facilities. Jawhar has surrounded it with a strong, high wall, which encloses a space three times greater than the built-up area: these are parks kept in reserve for the livestock in case of outside attack. Inside are offices for the administrators of Egypt, and a beautiful elegant congregational mosque tended by an abundance of clerics and muezzins.

The houses have five, six, or even seven stories, and as many as 200 people may live in a building.

The houses have five, six, or even seven stories, and as many as 200 people may live in a building.

The Maghribis have just founded a town outside Fustat called Cairo. Jawhar, the Maghribis general, staked it out on his arrival in Egypt for his army, stores, and retinue. It now has different quarters and markets, as well as places for breeding livestock, facilities such as baths and inns, and even well-built palaces and useful facilities. Jawhar has surrounded it with a strong, high wall, which encloses a space three times greater than the built-up area: these are parks kept in reserve for the livestock in case of outside attack. Inside are offices for the administrators of Egypt, and a beautiful elegant congregational mosque tended by an abundance of clerics and muezzins.