DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4996#0213
180 TAILORS—WATER-CARRIERS.
or money-brokers. We often see one of the humbler sort, plying
the immemorial vocation of his tribe, and possibly wealthier than his
sordid appearance would warrant one in believing.
In the drapers' shops, the goods are laid away on shelves; but
the more attractive articles, such as embroidered handkerchiefs, are
slung temptingly from above: on the shop-board in front sits the
proprietor, engaged in tailoring, with his pipe by his side, to fill up
the intervals of his labour. The shop in Cairo is merely a recess
consisting of one or two divisions enclosed with shutters, which are
opened in the day ; in front is a " mastabah," or small raised plat-
form, covered with a mat, carpet, and cushions, on which the pro-
prietor sits, eats, works, smokes, and takes his noonday nap, or per-
forms his devotions in public. The customer is generally welcomed
with pipe and coffee, and the negotiation for an article usually
lasts till it is finished, at the least. .Another and a very com-
mon character at Cairo, is the water-carrier. The supply of
Nile water, which is preferable to that obtained at the foun-
tains, is quite a trade ; it is brought from the river in skins, on
the backs of camels and asses, with whom a rencontre, as before
observed, is anything but agreeable; and it is then retailed about
the streets. Sherbet and other refreshing drinks are carried about
much in the same manner ; and its itinerant venders have a
characteristic cry, generally of a religious nature.
Elegant gateways give access to the " Wekuiehs,"* or, as they
are called in Constantinople, " Khans," large square courts, with
a single entrance, surrounded with buildings, the lower story of
which is appropriated to the reception of merchandise, w-hile the
upper serves for lodgings for the proprietor. Of these there are a
great number in the city, and the deep gateways which conduct into
them from the main street are generally beautiful specimens of
Arabian architecture, adding very much to the striking character of
the streets ; a large chain is slung across the entry, and the heavy
portal locked at night. Branching out of the principal bazaars, or
" sooks," are numerous smaller ones, very narrow, and, like those in
* Lane.
or money-brokers. We often see one of the humbler sort, plying
the immemorial vocation of his tribe, and possibly wealthier than his
sordid appearance would warrant one in believing.
In the drapers' shops, the goods are laid away on shelves; but
the more attractive articles, such as embroidered handkerchiefs, are
slung temptingly from above: on the shop-board in front sits the
proprietor, engaged in tailoring, with his pipe by his side, to fill up
the intervals of his labour. The shop in Cairo is merely a recess
consisting of one or two divisions enclosed with shutters, which are
opened in the day ; in front is a " mastabah," or small raised plat-
form, covered with a mat, carpet, and cushions, on which the pro-
prietor sits, eats, works, smokes, and takes his noonday nap, or per-
forms his devotions in public. The customer is generally welcomed
with pipe and coffee, and the negotiation for an article usually
lasts till it is finished, at the least. .Another and a very com-
mon character at Cairo, is the water-carrier. The supply of
Nile water, which is preferable to that obtained at the foun-
tains, is quite a trade ; it is brought from the river in skins, on
the backs of camels and asses, with whom a rencontre, as before
observed, is anything but agreeable; and it is then retailed about
the streets. Sherbet and other refreshing drinks are carried about
much in the same manner ; and its itinerant venders have a
characteristic cry, generally of a religious nature.
Elegant gateways give access to the " Wekuiehs,"* or, as they
are called in Constantinople, " Khans," large square courts, with
a single entrance, surrounded with buildings, the lower story of
which is appropriated to the reception of merchandise, w-hile the
upper serves for lodgings for the proprietor. Of these there are a
great number in the city, and the deep gateways which conduct into
them from the main street are generally beautiful specimens of
Arabian architecture, adding very much to the striking character of
the streets ; a large chain is slung across the entry, and the heavy
portal locked at night. Branching out of the principal bazaars, or
" sooks," are numerous smaller ones, very narrow, and, like those in
* Lane.