Abstract
ABSTRACT Up until the nineteenth century, various natural and artificial hollows (Ar. birak; sing. birka ) were scattered around the urban centres of pre-modern Cairo. During the Nile plenitude, these hollows were filled with water and turned into ponds, while during the winter and spring months they became large green spaces. In the Mamlūk period (648–923 AH/1250–1517 CE), the birkas of Cairo played an important role as the centres of new quarters financed by urban elites. They also represented valuable agricultural land and pastures, and were frequently favoured as recreational areas by the local population. This article analyses the most important spatial and socio-economic aspects of these Cairene ponds, focusing on the eighth/thirteenth and ninth/fifteenth centuries, during which Cairo, as the beating heart of the Sultanate, experienced various phases of expansion and crisis.
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