you meet at every turn, begging. Some of the most pitiable-looking
creatures! It makes the heart sick. If a man could be a many times
millionaire with a heart to give, this would be a splendid field for
him.
The Nile seems to be the pride of Egypt. The people all come to it with
their herds to water, also to drink themselves. Their washings are done
on its shores.
Money seems to be worth more than in America, and is in smaller
denominations. They have here parion, millims, and piastres. The
parion is a small copper coin, value one-eighth of a cent. Two parion,
a larger piece, one-fourth of a cent. The millim is very small, with
silver in it, value one-half cent. Two millim, one cent. A piastre is
a trifle over five cents, then there is one-half piastre. The five
piastre piece, twenty-six cents, is the size of our quarter. The ten
piastre piece, fifty-two cents, and twenty piastre piece, one dollar
and four cents, correspond to our half-dollars and dollars. The quality
of their silver is better than ours, and stands on equal footing with
French gold.
We remain here about ten days, then go into Palestine, where horses
take the place of donkeys.
V.
CAIRO, April 5, 1895.
The Congregational Oriental party is at this time nicely located at the
D’Angleterre and new hotels that would do credit to any American city.
Many of the clerks and waiters speak English, and are very polite and
attentive. While we expect to remain here until the 13th, yet we are
not anxious to have the hour of our departure arrive.
Cairo seems to be the Chicago of Egypt, a place of some four hundred
thousand inhabitants, about twenty thousand of them English and
Americans. The bulk of the residents are Mohammedans. This place was
founded about A.D. 850. Touloun, a Moslem, was its first governor.
In 1170 the famous Saladin usurped the throne; in 1250 the Mamelukes
took possession; in 1517 it was stormed and captured by the sultan,
Selim. To-day England has a powerful grip on Egypt. The khedive ran the
country badly in debt. England took the bond until she stepped in, and
said, “We must control the property.” The Egyptian army is officered
by English. In fact, they keep many of their soldiers here, and Egypt
feeds them; yet England can take them away any time she chooses. The
khedive lives in Cairo, and rules some six millions of people; yet he
is ready to take off his hat to Johnny Bull whenever he meets him.
The six millions of people in Egypt are largely Mohammedans, some
half million Coptics. Here and there you will find people from Nubia,
Soudan, and India. The people are a copper color, excepting those from
Soudan, they being black and shiny, but, unlike the negro, have not
the thick lips and curly hair. The Egyptians are straight, fine forms,
white teeth; and many of them, aside from color, are handsome. They are
not vicious, and are easily managed by those in authority.
The condition of women in the country is deplorable. The laws of the
Mohammedans give a man a right to have four wives if he wishes for
them. He buys them, the usual price being twenty-five dollars, paid
for in any kind of goods the man may happen to have. If he wishes to
get rid of them, the law requires him to support them nine months; and
the woman has to take care of and support the children until eight
years old. So you see divorce is an easy matter; and they are sure to
send the wives off when they get to be old, and take young wives in
their place. The law in these matters is a mere letter, and many of
the well-to-do Arabs have twenty wives instead of four; and many times
they are sent off with a piastre (five cents) instead of nine months’
support. The man rides his camel or donkey, and the wife walks or runs
behind. Sometimes they send them out on a two-wheel cart to air them.
The marriageable age for girls is twelve, boys eighteen. We have seen
many a young wife about that age with her baby in her arms. They never
educate the girls.
The laws of the Coptics are different. Only one wife is allowed.
When the prow of our steamer was headed northward on the Nile, we
had but little to do upon our return but watch the scenery and
the villages. There are a few towns that show thrift, with some
modern-looking buildings; but the majority are the old mud houses, and
the walls are built up some seven feet high, then poles thrown across
and a covering of straw to keep the sun out. Not having rain up the
Nile, the roof is of minor importance. We went through many of those
villages, and into some of the houses, where you will find in one room
donkeys, pigs, hens, and the natives all living together; and a good,
nice Vermont hog-pen is a palace to some places we saw.
There seems to be a disease of the eyes among the children in Egypt,
and the flies gather on them. We have seen children with their eyes so
covered with flies you could hardly tell whether they had eyes or not;
and they seem to make no effort to keep them off. This, I think, is the
reason why there are so many blind people here. It is said that one
in twenty is blind, either one eye or both. There are no hospitals or
places for the poor, so all they can do is to sit and beg. It seems as
though the condition of the people in Upper Egypt is worse than here in
Cairo.
I have been wandering with you through the country. I will now try to
give you a glimpse of Cairo. While there are camels and donkeys here,
you will see some of the streets full of fine horses and carriages.
The officers of the government and many of the wealthy have their fine
turnouts. They have their sais, who are the most sylph-like beings
imaginable. They can run hours without tiring. They wear a richly
decorated garment, embroidered in gold arabesques, a wide silk sash
with ends floating in the air, with loose gauze sleeves, white, falling
to the waist, and a short skirt coming to the knees of same material. A
wealthy man will have two of these men, who run abreast of each other.
Sometimes you will see one alone. They carry a wand some five feet
long, brought against the shoulder, when they run before the carriage.
The coachman drives his team rapidly. The sais run with great speed,
keeping about one hundred feet in advance, shouting to anything or
anybody that is in the way to clear the track. I have never come in
contact with them; but I enjoy watching them exceedingly, they look so
fine and run so gracefully.
The new part of Cairo where we are located is modern in appearance,
broad streets, fine public buildings, stores filled with fine-looking
goods, etc.; and, if it was not for the Oriental toggery going through
the streets, you would almost think you were the other side of the
Atlantic.
When you leave your hotel, the first thing you meet is an Arab with a
donkey. He knows a few words of English; and he says: “Fine donkey,
nice donkey to ride. Donkey take you to bazaar. Fine donkey, ride easy,
good donkey.” No matter how strong your assertions are that you do not
wish to ride, he will follow you a long distance. Another conveyance is
the pasta Baluak. This annoys no one. It looks like a small street-car,
seats running crosswise, so you enter on the side. The car is much
wider than the running gear. There are four small wheels underneath.
They hitch on a pair of horses, and go where they please in the
highway. The passengers get on and off at their pleasure, paying for
their ride. Very convenient where there are no horse or electric cars,
things we have not seen in Egypt.
Cairo is said to have a thousand mosques. It seems to be a city of
domes and minarets, some of them very handsome. We have been in several
of them. They differ from the Catholic cathedrals, being entirely free
from statuary, figures, or pictures. The Mohammedans are decidedly
opposed to anything of the kind. In one of the squares of Cairo is
a statue, upon a horse, of Abram Pasha; but, when it was erected, it
met with great opposition. The alabaster mosque is one of the finest,
solid columns of pure alabaster. In every one of these buildings on
the east side is a circular recess, beautifully inlaid; and in this
mosque this was solid onyx of the finest quality. Toward this recess
every one faces when he worships: this points him toward Mecca. In the
front court of this alabaster mosque is a closed fountain, some fifteen
feet in diameter, with a canopy top. Around the outside are round
onyx stones, about twelve inches high and twenty inches in diameter.
In front of each one of these stones is a faucet. Before the man is
allowed to worship in the mosque, he kneels on one of those stones,
opens the faucet and washes his feet, face, head, mouth, nose, and
ears. Then he enters the mosque, and performs his devotions. The floor
is covered with mattings or carpets. The building is profusely lighted,
having more or less colored glass, and must look fine in the evening
when lighted.
We visited the oldest church in Cairo, built over one thousand years
ago. It is a Coptic church, still in use. We also visited a mosque
built about the same time.
Our dragoman, Hasham, is a Mohammedan; and we have a chance to study
theology with him. They believe that Christ was a prophet, but Mohammed
was a greater and later one. Many of them are very devoted, but their
religion does not seem to bring them upon a very high plane of moral
living. Hasham says he is coming to America. I have the impression
that he is beginning to think that there is a better religion than he
is now acquainted with.
We visited to-day the Palace Hotel, being shown all through it. This
was built by the khedive for a palace, and cost eleven millions; but
he found out that he had more palaces than he could support, and sold
this one to a French syndicate for a hotel. The grounds are extensive,
finely laid out with flowers, fountains, statuary, many beautiful
trees, and about one hundred electric lights, with large globes
to light the grounds in the evening, which must make it a perfect
fairyland when lighted. It is located on the banks of the Nile, and
their prices are from three to five dollars per day. They can take care
of some two hundred, and have not been able to accommodate half that
wish to stop with them. One hundred more rooms are to be added this
summer. If you wish for the finest thing in Cairo, send in your name.
You will not get nearer paradise in this section of country than there.
We saw one arrangement that was beautiful. On some of the mirrors were
painted vines and flowers, and it made it appear as though you were
looking into a conservatory. It is the cheapest conservatory one can
have, no danger of frost, and you will always have vines in blossom.
VI.
CAIRO, April 6, 1895.
This has been a great day in Cairo. The tomb of Mohammed in Mecca
is kept covered with beautiful carpets of tapestry and embroidery,
which are renewed every two years. This is the year for renewal, and
they have with great labor and skill been prepared; and the 6th might
be called the day of dedication. All business in Cairo came to a
stand-still: everybody and everything was in gay attire.
8 A.M. was the hour to meet on Citadel Hill. We were there with our
carriages promptly on time. Many of those beautiful carpets were spread
over oval top stretchers, carried by men. Then there was a canopy for
the tomb that was gorgeous and dazzling. This was on a sacred camel,
and entirely covered the animal, the top being some ten feet above
the camel’s back. These all passed close by our carriage. Some two
thousand soldiers, with a large amount of cavalry, artillery, etc., all
beautifully uniformed, and large bands of music. The khedive was in the
procession. The people and carriages covered acres. The coverings for
the tomb were taken from the citadel to a mosque; and in a few weeks
another day will be set apart, and the goods will start for Mecca.
The night before the 6th they had what they call a feast. These goods
were placed in one of the public buildings, brilliantly lighted; and
eatables also were added, and all that wished went in. It was like a
grand reception. When the whole thing was over, we decided we were
lucky to hit so rare an occasion.
When we visited the oldest mosque, we saw the column with Mohammed’s
hand holding a whip imprinted on it. They claim this column flew from
Mecca to Cairo,--quite a flight.
When on Citadel Hill, we saw the place where Mameluke jumped his horse
off a precipice, killing his horse, but by a miracle, as it were, saved
his own life. This was when Mohammed Ali made a banquet, and invited
all the head men of the different provinces, and at the right moment
let his soldiers in upon them, killing several hundred, this Mameluke
being the only one to escape.
When Abraham walked the plains of Mamre with the angels, and pursued
the captors of Lot, Egypt had her large cities, and was the centre of
art and learning. Even Rome and Athens had their first instalment of
knowledge and science from this old country.
Saturday we took carriages, and drove ten miles to Heliopolis. Here
was located the great institution of learning in the time of Pharaoh,
the place where Moses and Joseph received their education. Here is the
oldest obelisk in Egypt, and the old sycamore tree, said to be growing
on the spot where the holy family rested, when they went down to Egypt
to escape the wrath of Herod.
The more you travel here in Egypt, the more you are impressed with its
ancient historical interest.
I have given you thus far in this letter more of the new Cairo than of
the old. There is a part of this city that is as ancient seemingly
as are the eternal hills that are around it, and there is no way that
you will get more of the Oriental life than to go with me through the
bazaars. Here you will enter streets miles in length, some of them so
narrow that only pedestrians and equestrians enter them. Each side
is full of stalls, many of them not more than six by ten feet. On
the floor is usually a rug, on which sit the merchants, many of them
smoking their nargileh. These boxes or stores, and occasionally larger
ones, are packed full of goods, many of the richest quality. In these
bazaars you will find them manufacturing shoes, garments, silver and
copper ware, etc., using the crudest tools imaginable, yet their work
is fine. We saw articles in silver that were exquisite. The natives and
their donkeys are going to and fro, good-naturedly jostling each other;
and you can rejoice in one thing, that the large, fat people do not
live in Egypt. If you are buying goods, you should pay about two-thirds
the asking price. In buying expensive articles, it takes usually about
three days and several cups of coffee to complete the bargain. You will
find stores filled with attar of roses and the sweet-scented perfumes
of Arabia and the Oriental country. The buildings usually jut over
above the first story, the merchants living upstairs, the buildings so
near together you can almost shake hands across the street; and, as you
are aware there are acres covered in this way, you will have some idea
of the wealth and stock in trade in Cairo.
While making our way through one of these streets, we turned to
our right into a narrow lane, and entered an establishment for
manufacturing furniture, saw beautiful fret-work and inlaid pearl.
There was a scaffold in the shop that was ten by fifty feet. We went
up a ladder to get on it, and I counted forty men and boys working on
that space. Some were carving, others were working on inlaid pearl; but
the work which interested us most was turning beaded work. They had a
fillbow, the string around the piece of wood they were turning. With
one hand they kept the piece of wood in motion. With the other hand
and the toes of the left foot they held the chisel, and you would be
surprised to see them sit there and rapidly perform that work. I have a
piece of the work in my pocket-book that I shall take to America.
In the bazaars you will see the natives selling water, lemonade,
licorice water, etc. You will hear them in all directions. They have a
fancy glass bottle holding about a gallon, trimmed with brass chains
and dangles. This they carry on the side with a strap or chain over
the shoulder. Then with two bright copper or brass saucers in one hand
they strike or chime them together in a musical way, being heard a long
distance, and with the cup or tumbler that is hung to the bottle will,
for half a piastre, let you have all you want. I drank some of the
licorice water once, but have not been dry since.
The donkeys, many of them, have a necklace around the neck with a
thousand or less little brass or nickel charms or tinklets. It is very
nice in these crowded bazaars; for you will hear them as they come
rushing along behind you, giving you a chance to take care of number
one. While you are here, you had better go through the lace, tassel,
and embroidery departments where they are manufacturing these goods by
hand, then, as you leave for your hotel, come through the perfumery and
spice bazaars. They will give you a chance to sample their goods; and
you will return with the sweet odors of Mecca, attar of roses, etc.,
that will be about you the rest of the day.
We have visited the ostrich farm, thirteen hundred and fifty birds, a
sight to behold, saying nothing about the eggs and feathers.
Monday, the 8th, we took carriages, and drove to the Pyramids, a drive
of ten miles, one of the finest roads in the country, six miles as
level and straight as you could draw a line, lined each side with the
libbek trees, resembling our locust. This road was built by the khedive
when the Suez Canal was opened; and Empress Eugénie came here, and was
the first to ride over it. We are ready to take off our hat to the
empress. The pyramid we visited, and most of the party went to the top.
It was some four hundred and eighty feet high, and seven hundred and
sixty feet square at the base, twenty feet square at the top. On the
corners the stones were laid in a way to make steps some three feet
high. So two Arabs would take a person, and in a short time walk them
to the top.
On our way out to the Pyramids we met two hundred and seventy camels
with produce going into Cairo. Met seventy on the bridge as we cross
the Nile, twelve hundred sixty feet long. This would be quite a show
if it was not in Egypt.
There are a large number of pyramids in Egypt, both small and great.
These at Gizeh that we visited are the largest, and were built in the
third and fourth dynasty, nothing standing to-day that dates back
beyond them. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob gazed on them probably with as
much wonder as the people of to-day. There has been some speculation by
different writers as to what they were built for, but there is hardly
a shadow of doubt that they were built as tombs for the kings. There
are many passageways and apartments in them. The ancient kings had an
idea of immortality, and that the body must be preserved, in order to
save the soul. Hence, as soon as they had the power, they commenced to
prepare for the future. This largest pyramid was built by Cheops, and
was some twenty years building. It took ten years to build the roads to
transport the stone. At times there were one hundred and sixty thousand
men at work on it. Cheops was a tyrant, and his subjects disliked him
cordially; and, knowing this feeling to exist, he did not dare to have
his body placed in this wonderful tomb or pyramid he spent so many
years building. He gave orders to his few friends to have him buried in
some secret place. The monument remains, but its builder is forgotten.
If you wake up to-morrow morning at four o’clock or, in fact, any
morning, and your windows are open, you will hear the muezzins from all
directions, calling the hour of prayer. They are in the mosques, upon
the balconies of the minarets. The call lasts but a few minutes, and
sounds like chanting in an unknown tongue.
We all of us seem to be creatures of circumstances. That article
seemed to strike the Oriental party favorably. Yesterday we were all
invited to visit the residence of one of the noted sheiks of Egypt.
He is a descendant of the Prophet, is very wealthy, has four hundred
houses in Cairo to rent, besides large land estates. His name is El
Sadatt. He has fifty servants in his residence, some three hundred
in all. He received us very cordially. We found him sitting in the
court. We had an interpreter; and his servants ushered us into a
large reception-room, and passed the cigarettes and coffee. Every one
partook of the latter, and was invited into his gardens. The gentlemen
would have been glad to have seen the ladies of the house, but that
was not allowable. A eunuch was called, and took the ladies into the
harem, where they found a wife and two pretty daughters, and several
girl-servants, probably slaves. When we departed, we gave him our
cards; and he gave each of us one of his. We returned, feeling that we
had seen some of the higher life of Egypt, as well as the low.
[Illustration: SHEIK EL SADATT.]
In the evening we were invited to a reception at Dr. Grant’s, who is
a Scotchman. His wife was from Pennsylvania, U.S.A., and had been a
schoolmate of one of our Oriental party. The doctor has been here
twenty-nine years. He has a mania for collecting Egyptian relics, and
his residence is a perfect museum. He read us a paper that he had
prepared on Egyptian music, which was considered fine. Certainly,
it showed study. Coffee, tea, lemonade, cake, etc., were a part of the
programme. We reached our hotel at 11.30 P.M., and called it a full day.
We have enjoyed our ten days’ touring here in Cairo. Most of them have
been busy ones. We have been pretty thoroughly through the museum,
which is very extensive, but almost wholly Egyptian.
But I have had you jostling against the natives, so much on donkeys
and camels, in temples and tombs, etc., so I will not detain you long
in that building, but will call your attention to a few things that
interest me most. First was the statue of a man, his face having a
splendid expression, well formed, fine muscle and joints, well dressed
for this climate, seemingly perfect in all his parts, but, when you
come to inquire for his name and what material he is made from, you
will discover, by close examination, that he is nothing but wood. Quite
a marvel! I think Cab Ellis must have dreamed about him before he
invented his jointed doll.
The 16th of February, the day we left New York, the natives found in
a tomb at Doshua, up the Nile, two gold crowns of an empress, gold
chains, bracelets, and all the paraphernalia for a beautiful queen.
This we saw in the museum. The workmanship was exquisite, and they
looked as bright as though they had just come out of a jewelry shop.
The museum building was formerly a palace, built by the khedive; and
parts of it are fine of themselves, and the rooms number one hundred.
It also has a garden connected with it, and a part has been made
zoölogical. So, when you come to Cairo, be sure and take it in. It is
about three miles out of the city.
We visited while here in Cairo, the howling dervishes. Their
performance is what they call worship. They howl and bend, sway in
every direction; and some of them will whirl around like a top. There
were about twenty of them on a platform; and some fifty people went in
to see them, with admission fee. The question with me was which was the
bigger fools, the audience or the performers.
Saturday we leave here for Port Saïd by rail, there take the boat for
Jaffa, and then to Jerusalem, which place we shall probably reach about
the middle of next week; and I will write you from that place.