MOSQUES, DERVISHES, AND SCHOOLS.—EDUCATION IN EGYPT.
From the Bab-el-Nasr our friends returned, by the direction of the guide, through a street that led them past several of the famous mosques of Cairo. They entered the Mosque of Tooloon, which is the oldest in the city, and said to be modelled after the Kaaba at Mecca; according to the historians it was built about a.d. 879, and there are several legends concerning it. One is that it stands on the spot where Abraham sacrificed a goat in place of his son, and another puts it on the site where Noah's ark ran aground, though the general belief of the Moslems locates the latter event near Moosool, in Syria.
The mosque has been neglected in the latter centuries of its existence, and at present is not specially inviting. It covers a very large area (about six hundred square feet), and consists of a series of arcades running around a court-yard, which has a fountain in the centre. On the east side there are five rows of these arcades, but on the other three sides there are only two rows. The west, north, and south sides are used as lodgings for poor people, and their continual begging renders a visit the reverse of agreeable. The east side is the holiest part of the edifice, but at the time our friends went there it was not easy to discover that it was any more respected than the other sections.
The guide said there were not far from four hundred mosques in Cairo, and that a good many of them were in ruins, and not likely to be repaired. The government does not build any new ones, as it has more practical uses for its money, and the followers of Mohammed seem to be growing more and more indifferent to religious observances every year. The Moslem Sabbath is on Friday; the mosques are tolerably filled on that day, but during the rest of the week the attendance is very light. Formerly it was difficult or even dangerous to enter some of the mosques, but at present the whole matter can be arranged on payment of a backsheesh. Once in a while a fanatic insults a stranger, but he is generally suppressed immediately by his friends.
Frank and Fred found that the general plan of the mosques was the same, and the difference was mainly in the outer walls and the style of architecture. In every mosque there is a mihrab, or alcove, usually opposite the entrance, and this mihrab points toward Mecca, so that the faithful may know how to direct their faces when saying their prayers. Near the alcove is a pulpit with a steep flight of steps ascending to it, and over the pulpit there is generally a column, like the spire of a church in miniature. On each side of the alcove is an enormous candlestick, and there is generally a frame with swinging lamps, not more than eight or ten feet from the floor. There are many of these lamps, and also a great many ostrich eggs, and altogether they present a curious effect.
There is very little interior decoration in the mosque, as the religion of Mohammed forbids its believers to make a representation of anything that has life. It was formerly very difficult to induce a Moslem to allow his portrait to be made. The writer of this book once sought in vain to induce a wild native of Central Asia to sit for his photograph, the reason being that the man feared the portrait might get to Paradise ahead of him, and prevent his own admission within the gates. The more intelligent of the Moslems pay no heed to this superstition, but the decorators of the mosques adhere to it most carefully, consequently all the ornamentation of the walls consists of scroll-work or of sentences from the Koran.[3]
From the Mosque of Tooloon our friends went to the Mosque of Sultan Hassan, which is considered the finest in the city. It was built of stone taken from the pyramids of Gizeh, and was begun in the year 1356. According to the traditions it occupied three years in building, and was considered so fine that the Sultan ordered the hands of the architect to be cut off, in order that he should not be able to construct another equal to it. The story is of doubtful authenticity, and has been told in various ways, and concerning other buildings in many parts of the world. Whether it be true or not, the building is certainly a fine one, and has been greatly admired during all the centuries that it has been in existence. One of its minarets is the tallest in Cairo, and probably in all the lands where the Moslem religion prevails. It is two hundred and eighty feet high, and from its top there is a fine view of Cairo, but, unfortunately, it is considered unsafe, and no one is allowed to ascend it.
By the time they had finished with the Mosque of Sultan Hassan our friends were weary, and glad to return to the hotel. The next day was Friday, the Moslem Sunday, and at the suggestion of the Doctor they went to see the whirling dervishes, who perform only on that day. We will let the boys tell the story of their visit to these singular people.
"The dervishes are religious devotees corresponding to the monks of the Catholic Church, whom they resemble in some of their practices. They are supposed to be wholly occupied with religious matters, and there are several branches or orders of them, who are distinguished by their dress. They have property set apart for their use, and some of the societies are very wealthy; the most numerous, and at the same time the richest, are the Mevlevies, who can be recognized by their tall caps of gray felt, with jackets and robes of the same color. The lower part of the robe is like a lady's skirt, as it is made in folds, and will spread out into a large circle when the wearer whirls rapidly. They are the most respectable of all the orders of dervishes, and some of them are men of education and former high position.
"There are many independent dervishes who are simply religious beggars, belonging to no sect or order: they go around soliciting charity, or sit at the street corners or in public places, dressed in a way to attract attention. We passed one yesterday who had the saw of a saw-fish in one hand and an instrument resembling a child's rattle in the other; a cocoa-nut shell hung on his breast, to hold the donations of the charitable, and he sat on a box that resembled a rude bird-cage. He was extremely dirty in appearance, his legs were bare, and his hair was long and uncombed; he stared at us, and shouted something we did not understand, and when we passed by without giving him anything, he shook his rattle in an angry way. The guide says these men often go into the houses of rich people, and the latter are afraid to turn them out because of their so-called holy character. They are the most impudent beggars you can find anywhere, and many of them are said to be thieves and murderers, who disguise their true character under the cloak of religion.
"We went to see the Mevlevies, and on the way to their temple the Doctor told us that the whirling was a part of their religious observance, like the dancing of the Shakers in America, and the practices of other sects, whose fervor is often followed by insensibility. The dizziness that results from whirling is considered a state of religious devotion, and the most suited to the contemplation of heavenly things, and hence their efforts to throw themselves into this ecstatic condition.
"When we entered their mosque we removed our shoes, or rather exchanged them for the slippers we had brought along, as we knew beforehand that we would need them. The building was circular, with a railed space in the centre; outside of the rail the floor was covered with matting, but inside it was polished like the floor of a dancing-hall.
"Some of the dervishes were already seated in the ring when we entered, and others came in soon after. When all was ready the sheik or chief of the party rose and stood in the centre of the floor; the others bowed to him one after another, and then stood near
