There Is Not Much In The Way Of Public Buildings To Admire At
Cairo, But I Saw One Handsome Mosque, To Which An Instructive
History Is Attached.
A Hindustanee merchant having amassed an
immense fortune settled in Cairo, and soon found that his riches in
the then state of the political world gave him vast power in the
city - power, however, the exercise of which was much restrained by
the counteracting influence of other wealthy men.
With a view to
extinguish every attempt at rivalry the Hindustanee merchant built
this magnificent mosque at his own expense. When the work was
complete, he invited all the leading men of the city to join him in
prayer within the walls of the newly built temple, and he then
caused to be massacred all those who were sufficiently influential
to cause him any jealousy or uneasiness - in short, all "the
respectable men" of the place; after this he possessed undisputed
power in the city and was greatly revered - he is revered to this
day. It seemed to me that there was a touching simplicity in the
mode which this man so successfully adopted for gaining the
confidence and goodwill of his fellow-citizens. There seems to be
some improbability in the story (though not nearly so gross as it
might appear to an European ignorant of the East, for witness
Mehemet Ali's destruction of the Mamelukes, a closely similar act,
and attended with the like brilliant success {34}), but even if the
story be false as a mere fact, it is perfectly true as an
illustration - it is a true exposition of the means by which the
respect and affection of Orientals may be conciliated.
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