CAI RO (Arabic, Jfusr el Kahiralt, "the victorious capital"), the capital of modern Egypt, is situated iu lat.30' 2' n.. and long. 31°16' e., iu a sandy plain betwixt the right bank of the Nile and the ridge of Mokattam, and near the point of the delta of the Nile. From the foundation of the city in 959, the Fatimite caliphs of Africa, who brought the bones of their ancestors with them from Kairon, reigned for ten generations over the land of Egypt. The caliph Hakem, who built a mosque near Bab-el-Nassr, and who is the supposed founder of the Druse religion, was the third in the succession. In the year 1171, Saladin usurped the throne from the last of the Fathnites. His descend ant, Moosa el-Ashref, was deposed in his turn in 1250; from that time till the year 1517, when the city was stormed and taken by sultan Selim, C. was governed by a succes sion of Mameluke kings.
The city of C. occupies about 3 sq.m., and is surrounded by a low wall. Of late years it has been greatly improved. It is lighted with gas, and many fine broad streets have been opened through the crowded districts. The bazaars are well and richly supplied. The houses, which are generally two or three stories high, are all built of variegated brick, with interlinings of wood, and have flat roofs. The city is divided into different quarters, One quarter being appropriated to the Turks, one to the Christians, one to the Jews, etc.; so that every religious sect bas its own quarter, which is separated from the adjoining one by strong gates at the end of the streets; these are closed at night, and guarded by a porter, who opens the gate when any one wants to pass.
The most remarkable buildings in the city of C. are its minarets and mosques. The minarets are the most beautiful of any in the Levant, of a prodigious height, and built of alternate layers of red and white stone. The most ancient of all the minarets is that attached to the great mosque of sultan Tayloon. This mosque was built in the year of the Hegira 265 (879 A.O.), before the foundation of the city, and consists of an immense cloister or arcade built on pointed arches, being the earliest extant in that form. Another magnificent mosque is that of the sultan Hassan, situated in the place of the Roumityli, near the citadel, and which was finished about the year 1362 A.D. It has two very elegant and high minarets, and the mosque, in consequence of its size, and the thickness of its walls, was frequently seized and made use of as a fortress by the incur rents in the numerous rebellions and insurrections which were always taking place at C. under the rule of the Mameluke kings. Stains of blood are still to be traced on the
marble walls of the courtyard.
The population of C. consists of the class, who are all Turks; Arabs, the former conquerors of the land, who form the bulk of the population, all the petty trades men and cultivators of the soil being of Arab origin; Copts, who are descended from the original lords of the land, the ancient Egyptians; Jews, Armenians., Syrians, Afri cans, and Europeans. Pop. '72, 350,000. The Copts, a mere fraction of the popula tion, completed, in 1867, a tine, lofty, spacious church. Since 1803, the part of C. occu pied by Europeans has been handsomely rebuilt. In 1876, C. was connected by rail with 'Moan, one of the numerous bathing-places lying to the south.
Of objects worthy of note in the environs of C., there may be mentioned the tombs of the caliphs, situated about a mile beyond the walls, which are magnificent and impos ing buildings, forming beautiful specimens of Arabian architecture. The mausoleum of sultan Bergook is a triumph of Saracenic architecture. The public gardens, which consist of groves of orange, citron, palms, and vines, are very beautiful. The trade of C. is rapidly increasing. The exports consist mainly of native products, such as ivory, gum, wood, hides, ostrich feathers, cotton, and sugar; while the imports are cotton and woolen goods, prints, hardware, cloth, furniture, shawls, indigo, sheep, tobacco, etc. The manufactures of C. embrace silk and cotton fabrics, gunpowder, glass lamps, sugar, sal ammoniac, weapons, and iron ware. C. is a great seat of learning, and popular edu cation has recently advanced. The government college and the national schools are largely attended, while several thousand pupils attend the theological university attached to the mosque of Ezher. The schools comprise a commercial and juridical school at the Darb Algamftiniz, a school of arts and industry at Boolak (q.v.), and military schools at the Abbasseeyah. The language spoken at C. is Arabic, which, though not the pur est, is superior in pronunciation to that spoken in Syria. C. is the official residence of the khedive of Egypt, and the residence of a consul-general from Great Britain, France, etc. C. has railway connection with Alexandria and Suez, and there is also a line to upper Egypt.