The cats most likely did not see him, but every afternoon he watched as they gathered in the garden of the High Court to sample the food that people brought by the basketful. It was the 1830’s and the man was E.W. Lane, a British writer living in Cairo, Egypt. He was amazed at how many cats came for a free meal.
The custom of bringing food for the felines, Lane learned, dated back to the 1200’s and the rule of the Mamluk sultan al-Zahir Baybars. This cat-loving monarch had endowed a “cats’ garden” where the cats of Cairo would find everything they needed and liked. Over the centuries, the place had been sold and resold, changed and rebuilt. Still, the law required that the sultan’s endowment should be honored. Who better then the qadi, or judge, to execute the king’s will and take care of the cats?
More: Saudi Aramco World : Young Reader’s World : Cairo Cats.
About Annemarie Schimmel at IIS – Related search at Ismailimail
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