Cairo Genizah : Letter

Cairo Genizah

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Recto: Judaeo-Arabic letter from a young cantor in Malīj to his mother (spelled defectively as waladatī) in Fusṭāṭ (Miṣr), addressed to Hillel al-Fuqqāʿī. He informs his mother of his travels: 'I inform you that I left Fusṭāṭ in a boat, and I arrived at Silīs.’ He then seems to have gone from Silīs to Malīj to stay with his uncle, from where he set off for Šubrā, and later Ramsīs. He writes that she should not worry about him: he has recently led a congregation in Šubrā and sung at a wedding in Damsīs, on each occasion receiving a quarter dinar. He sends greetings to his teacher, also a cantor, and to his uncle, sisters and 'whomever surrounds you'. The address is written at the bottom of the leaf, upside down in relation to the main text. The sender’s name is obscured by a tear. Verso: Arabic-script letter, headed with the basmala, addressed to ʿAbd al-Karīm Naṣr Allah al-Wakīl ('the agent').</p>