hosiar_nooraddin

THE CASE OF

AL-FINA'

IN CAIRO

177

The common image of the traditional Islamic cities is that

its urban design was inward oriented. This was true only in the

residential area, but the commercial areas had a different

character.

The space of shops and other structures was apen to

the public and to the space of al-fina' of the street.

The open

architectural solution of the shops

with

the street space made

the street a continuous and integrated part of the commercial

area (figure 4.9, 4.10). This is the opposite of the residential

streets

(ha'rah),

where the walls divided between the inner space

of the houses and the street space. Each shop had a small area

about 6x6 feet. It was composed of one room or two rooms behind

each other.

The coffeehouse was an important focal point where the

people could spend their time for different purposes

•

Chabrol

and Lane

240

estimated the number of the coffee shops in Cairo

to be about 1,000-1,200 at the end of the 18th century. This

large number of coffee shops reflects their important role in the

city as attractive public centers for the urban society. The

coffee shop had a small area. Wooden benches and mats were put

inside the shop and its

fina'

was used as sitting places for the

people.

Mobile Vendors:

The space of

al-fina'

could also be occupied

by different types of sellers (i.e. cloth, food, bread, and

vegetables) who had no shops but used the open street space

between the shops. They were among the important settings which

�9Minutoli maintained that: The number of coffee houses, public baths,

and bazars is immense; the crowd which fills the latter, at all hours of the

day, would not permit a woman to pass through them on foot, unless she would

run the risk of losing a limb.

Minutoli, Wolfradin (von der Schulenburg) von Watzdorf. 1827,

Recollections of Egypt.

Translated by s. H. L.,

Carey, and Lea, Cary,

Philadelphia. p. 44.

See also: Jomard, E. F.,

Description of Cairo.

pp. 310-312.

de Chabrol, G., 1829,

Description of Egypt.

Translated into Arabic by

Al-Shayib Zuhir, 1993, A'mon, Cairo. pp. 152-155.

Lane Edward William,

Modern Egyptians.

pp. 341-346.

240

de Chabrol,

Description of Egypt.