Ali Pasha Mubarak - Writings

Writings

'Ali Mubarak is considered by many to be “Pioneer among Egyptian historians” because of his influential writing. He cited new scientific research and draws upon European research in his work, which is completely written in Arabic. 'Ali Mubarak is perhaps most well known for his completion of the twenty volume “Al-Khitat al-Tawfiqiyah.” In al khitat, 'Ali Mubarak gives a historical and topographical description of Cairo. He gives a very detailed description of the locations of the buildings and streets of Cairo. However, in addition to classifying and ordering the locations of Cairo, 'Ali Mubarak also provides a commentary on institutions in Cairo.

In organizing al-Khitat, 'Ali Mubarak organized the history of Cairo into dynasties. He saw the development that Cairo experienced in the second half of the nineteenth century as positive progress while criticizing the state of the city when it was under Ottoman rule. In his opinion, the Ottomans did not take sufficient care of the city when they controlled most of the government. Streets, buildings, and squares were not adequately taken care of resulting in copious amounts of dust and odors overtaking many parts of they city. Mubarak believed this to be a health concern and emphasized the need for modern city throughout his writings.