View of casinos along the canal near the Bab-el-Charyeh (Vue des Casins sur le Canal El-Khalyg, hors la Porte Bab-el-Charyeh), color plate XXIII
This chromolithograph from Coste’s Architecture arabe captures public leisures along a canal at Bab al-Sha‛riyah, a quarter in eastern Cairo. There, men smoke opium and water pipes in the open-air terraces that line the banks, as others enjoy a ride in caiques. Above this bustling scene, the windows of elite homes project outwards, encased by delicate wooden screens known as mashrabiyyāt. Such screens not only facilitated air circulation, they also allowed unseen inhabitants, like women and children, to watch the activities below while remaining hidden from prying eyes. On the right, intricate stucco windows crown the mashrabiyyāt, which bear yellow split palmettes in blue, red, and green frames. Such examples suggest that stained- glass windows were often double-sided to conceal the maker’s side that revealed the production process on the back. Thus both interior and exterior viewers of these windows could appreciate their stunning patterns.
Pascal Xavier Coste, Architecture arabe; ou, Monuments du Kaire, mesurés et dessinés, de 1818 à 1826. Paris: Typ. de Firmin Didot frères et compagnie, 1839.
Chromolithograph
Rotch Library Limited Access Collection, Department of Distinctive Collections, MIT Libraries: 10391413