Cairene Topography: El Qarafa according to Ibn Ez Zaiyat

Extract

El Kawâkib as Saiyâra, by Ibn Ez Zaiyât, was written in 804 a.h. = a.d. 1410, and published by the Egyptian Government Press in 1907. It is a guide in Arabic to the Qarâfa—the whole of the cemetery region situated south of the citadel of Cairo and between Fusṭâṭ and El Muqaṭṭam. Nothing appears to be recorded of the author beyond his name, but his book shows that he was well acquainted with the place himself and had studied the earlier works on the subject. Of these he names (p. 4) some thirty, of which not one appears to have survived. Several of them appear to be known only by his mention, while others are alluded to or cited by other extant authors.