The quarter comprised between the two main streets leading from the
Egyptian and Syrian gates to the mosque, are, Es-Saha, Komet Hasheyfe,
El Belát, Zogág el Towál, (here is situated the Mekkam, or house of the
Kadhy, and several pleasant gardens are attached to the larger
buildings;) Zogág el Dhorra, Sakyfet Shakhy, Zogág el Bakar.
The quarters lying to the north of the street El Belát, extending to the north of the mosque, as far as the gate El Djoma, are:—El Hamáta, Zogág el Habs, Zogág Ankyny, Zogág es Semáhedy, Háret el Meyda, Haret es Shershoura, Zogág el Bedour, Haret el Agowat, where the eunuchs of the mosque live.
The quarters from the gate El Djoma, along the southern parts of the town, as far as the Egyptian gate, and the great market-street, are: Derwan, Es-Salehye, Zogág Yáhou, Háret Ahmed Heydar, Háret Beni Hosseyn, the tribe of Beni Hosseyn living here; Háret el Besough, Háret Sakyfet, Er-Resás, Zogág el Zerendy, Zogág el Kibreit,
[p.325] Zogág el Hadjamyn, Háret Sydy Málek, where Málek ibn Anes, the founder of the Malekite sect, had his house, and Háret el Kamáshyn.
Very few large buildings, or public edifices, are found in the precincts of the town. The great mosque, containing the tomb of Mohammed, is the only temple. A fine public school, called Medrese el Hamdye, in the street El Belát; a similar one, near the mosque, where the Sheikh el Haram, or its guardian, lives; a large corn-magazine, enclosing a wide yard, in the southern quarter of the town; a bath, (the only one,) not far distant from it, built in A.H. 973, by Mohammed Pasha, vizier of Sultan Soleyman, are all the public buildings which fell under my observation. [The historian of Medina mentions several Okals, or public khans, in this town; but I saw none, nor do I believe that they now exist] This want of splendid monuments was likewise remarked by me at Mekka. The Arabians, in general, have little taste for architecture; and even their chiefs content themselves in their mansions with what is merely necessary. Whatever public edifices are still found in Mekka and Medina, are the work of the Sultans of Egypt or of Constantinople; and the necessary expenses incurred annually by these distant sovereigns, for the sake of the two holy cities, were too great to allow of any augmentation for mere show. For the want of public buildings, however, in the town, a compensation is made by the number of pretty private habitations, having small gardens, with wells, the water of which is used in irrigation, and fills marble basins, round which, in summer- time, the owners pass the hours of noon under lofty sheds.
The castle, which I have mentioned above, is surrounded by very strong walls, and several high and solid towers. I was not permitted to enter it, on applying at the gate. It contains sufficient space for six or eight hundred men; has many arched rooms, bomb-proof; and, if well garrisoned, and furnished with provisions, may be deemed impregnable by an Arabian force, as it is built upon a rock, and therefore cannot be undermined. To European artillery, however, it would appear an insignificant fort. It contains a deep well of good water.
[p.326] Two or three, guns only are at present mounted on its towers; nor were there more than a dozen serviceable guns to defend the whole town.
On the west and south of the town extend the suburbs, which cover more ground than the town itself. They are separated from it by an open space, narrow on the south side, but widening on the west, before the Cairo gate, where it forms a large public place, called Monákh; a name implying that caravans alight there, which is really the case, as it is always crowded with camels and Bedouins. Several rows of small huts and sheds are erected here, in which provisions are sold, principally corn, dates, vegetables, and butter; and a number of coffee-huts, which are beset the whole day with visiters. The side of the suburbs fronting the Monakh has no walls; but on the outside, to the west and south, they are enclosed by a wall, of inferior size and strength to the interior town wall. In several parts it is completely ruined; on the south side only it is defended by small towers. Four gates lead from the suburbs into the open country; they are small wooden doors, of no strength, except that leading from the Cairo gate, which is larger and better built than the rest.
The greater part of the suburbs consists in large court-yards, with low apartments built round them, on the ground-floor, and separated from each other by gardens and plantations. These are called Hosh, (plur. Hyshan,) and are inhabited by all the lower classes of the town, many Bedouins who have become settlers here, and all those who are engaged in agriculture. Each hosh contains thirty or forty families; thus forming so many small separate hamlets, which, in times of unsettled government, are frequently engaged in desperate feuds with each other. The cattle is kept in the midst of the court-yard, in each of which is a large well; and the only gate of entrance is regularly shut at night. On the S. and N.W. sides of the town, within the precincts of the wall, the suburbs consist entirely of similar court-yards, with extensive gardens between and behind them. On the west side, directly opposite the Cairo gate and the Monakh, the suburb consists of regular and well-built streets, with houses resembling those of the
[p.327] interior of the town. The broad street, called El Ambarye, crosses this part of the suburb, and has good buildings on both sides. In this neighbourhood lived Tousoun Pasha, in a private dwelling; and near it, in the best house of the town, belonging to the rich merchant Abd el Shekour, lived the Pashas mother, the wife of Mohammed Aly, and his own women, who had lately come on a visit.