~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From The Museum Journal, Volume X, December, 1919, Philadelphia: The University Museum, 1919, pp. 190-191.



The Museum Journal
December, 1919.

190

THE DIRECTOR IN EGYPT






Black and white photograph of El Kala, Cairo, built by Saladin, 1166 A.D. A medieval fortress with crenellations and a mosque and two minarets in the background.

THE CITADEL OF CAIRO
191





THE Citadel of Cairo (El Kala) stands on a spur of the Mokattam hills and occupies the southeastern corner of the city. It was built by Saladin about A. D. 1166 and is a fine example of Arabic Military Architecture. The alabaster mosque with its two slender pointed minarets was built by Mehamet Ali (1805-1848). Its dome and slender pointed minarets, rising above the city, can be seen from the distance with very fine effect. The view from the ramparts of the citadel is one of the finest and most picturesque in the world. Below is spread the city, with its ancient walls and towered gates, its hundreds of mosques surmounted by dome and minaret; its gardens, palaces and squares, the valley of the Nile, with its palm groves; the Nile itself, most majestic river in the world; the pyramids on the horizon to the West, and on the East the stark cliffs that fringe the desert.









~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~