[Cairo Islamic Monuments Map] Kharitat al-Qahira tubayyinu al-athaar al-Islamiyya

Cartographer(s): Survey Department
Date: 1948
Place: Cairo
Dimensions: Each sheet: 101.5 x 75 cm (40 x 29.5 in)
Condition Rating: VG+

Out of stock

SKU: NL-00699 Categories: ,

Fine large-format city plan of Cairo with Islamic monuments color-coded by era.

Details

خريطة القاهرة تبين الاثار الاسلامية

Rare map of Cairo published in 1948 and made by the Survey Department. This map focuses on the eras of urban and religious development in Cairo, revealing which Islamic monuments were constructed in which era throughout Egyptian history.

With Roda Island shown in the bottom left corner of the second sheet, the map shows the expanse of Cairo east of the Nile. The city’s sprawl is colored in dark yellow, with brighter colors marking specific buildings. These are Islamic monuments built at different times in Cairo’s history, as explained below.

All of the text and labels are written in Arabic. At the bottom right corner of the second sheet, there is a green insignia with the number 401 inside of it. There is a graphic scale bar at the bottom of the second sheet and a legend to its left. Each color indicated on the legend represents a different era of Islamic monuments. It translates to the following (from top to bottom):

Brown – The Two States of Abbasi and Touloni (212-292 lunar / 827-904 Christ)

Red – The Fatmi Era (358-567 lunar / 969-1171 Christ)

Green – The Ayubi Era (567-648 lunar / 1171-1282 Christ)

Orange – Mamluks Maritime Era (648-784 lunar / 1282-1382 Christ)

Blue – Mamluks Circassian Era (784-923 lunar / 1382-1517 Christ)

Purple – Turkish and Muhammed Ali Era (923-1265 lunar / 1517-1848 Christ)

Gray – The Modern Era (1265-1364 lunar / 1848-1945 Christ)

Cartographer(s):

Condition Description

Two sheets, unjoined. Some wear and chipping at the edges.

References

W. J. A. Survey of Egypt: Survey Department Papers. No. 49, The Egyptian Desert and Its Antiquity, No. 50, The Survey of Egypt, 1898-1948. By GW Murray (Cairo, 1950; Geological Magazine 88, no. 3 1951, 221-21).