Note 374 — TALE OF NÚR AL-DÍN ALÍ & HIS SON BADR AL-DÍN HASAN
Richard Francis Burton translation · Edition 2
Even as late as 1852, when I first saw Cairo, the city was girt by waste lands and the climate was excellent. Now cultivation comes up to the house walls; while the Mahmudiyah Canal, the planting the streets with avenues and over-watering have seriously injured it; those who want the air of former Cairo must go to Thebes. Gout, rheumatism and hydrophobia (before unknown) have become common of late years.