HAREM LIFE IN THE EAST.--FROM LUXOR TO ASSOUAN.
A surprise was in store for Frank and Fred when they returned from their
excursion to the tombs of the kings.
Several ladies of the party had declined to visit the tombs, partly on
account of the fatigue of the journey, and partly because they had been
invited to see the harem of the English consul at Luxor, and did not
wish to miss the opportunity of learning how the women of the East pass
their time. When our friends returned to the boat the ladies had only
been back a short time from the harem, and there was an active
interchange of accumulated information until dinner was announced.
After dinner Frank tried to persuade one of the ladies to write an
account of what she saw in the harem, as he wished to send it home for
his sister and Miss Effie to read. She was unwilling to write, but
promised that she would tell him the next day, while they were steaming
up the river, and then he might write it out for himself.
Frank accepted the conditions, and next morning he sat down, pencil in
hand, to take the story from the lady's lips. He thought it would be
more interesting in her words than in his, and, as he was a rapid
writer, he managed to get down a good part of the story just as she told
it.
Here is the result of his work:
"We went to the office," said the lady, "and found the consul was all
ready for us. We walked from there to his house, which is quite pretty
when you get inside of it, and has a nice little garden on a balcony;
from this balcony we went into the harem, accompanied by the consul's
son, who speaks English. The consul remained outside with the husband of
one of the ladies, as it would have been a great outrage upon Oriental
etiquette for a foreign gentleman to step inside the sacred spot.
"The son of the consul only stayed long enough to introduce us, and then
we were left to take care of ourselves. There were half a dozen women,
some of them the wives of the consul, and others married to his son: we
couldn't remember them all separately, and so when the young man left us
we didn't know which was which. But it was of no particular consequence
that we forgot, as we had to do all our talking by signs; the women
spoke only Arabic, and not one of us knew a dozen words of that
language. The only word I could think of was _empshy!_ (clear out!),
which you say to beggars when you want to be rid of them, and that
wasn't exactly the kind of language to use when you are introduced to
strangers.
[Illustration: AN ORIENTAL LADY AT HOME.]
"When we entered the room they saluted us in Arabic, and invited us to
sit on the carpet, which we did as well as we could. There were divans
around the sides of the room, and a fine carpet in the centre, and we
sat more on the carpet than on the divans. We wanted to do as nearly
like our entertainers as we could, and when they invited us to the
carpet we thought it would be rudeness to decline. Of course we were
rather awkward about it, and laughed at our clumsiness, so as to give
them a chance to laugh with us if they wanted to.
"They were dressed loosely in the flowing robes such as you see the Arab
women wear in the streets, but they had no veils on their faces. There
was one who did not seem to be more than fifteen years old, and I
presume she was the favorite wife of the consul's son. She wore a dress
embroidered more richly than any other, and the material was of a costly
silk. I wanted to ask her where it was made, and how much it cost, as I
fancied it would be a nice one to take home and excite the envy of my
friends. But then, you know, it might have been impolite to put such a
question, and, besides, I didn't know how to ask in Arabic. All things
considered, I didn't ask at all.
"As soon as we sat down on the carpet they began to examine us; they
looked very intently into our faces, they scanned our clothing and
boots, loosened our hair, took out our ear-drops, and appeared as
curious and innocent as children. We returned the compliment by
examining them, and they seemed greatly pleased that we did so.
"What excited their curiosity more than anything else was Mrs. ----'s
hair. They pinched it and twisted it in all sorts of ways, passed it
through their hands, and were not contented until they satisfied
themselves that it grew naturally on her head. Even then they kept
touching it and looking at it closely every few minutes, all the time we
were in the harem."
[Illustration: EASTERN LADIES LISTENING TO MUSIC.]
Frank made a memorandum, for the benefit of his sister and Miss Effie,
that the lady in question was English, and had hair of the purest
blonde. It was rich and glossy, of the hue of old gold, and was
doubtless the first hair of the kind these Arab ladies had ever seen. It
was no wonder that their curiosity was roused by it. Black hair is
universal among the Arabs, and the tricks of the bleachers of London and
New York are unknown in Egypt.
"Before we knew what they were doing," the lady continued, "they had our
heads in their laps, and were staining our eyelids. They wanted to stain
our finger-nails and tattoo our chins, but we declined the honor, as we
did not like the effect of the coloring matter, which will not wash off.
It remains on for several days, and when it begins to wear off it makes
the hands very dingy. They were as much amused at the whiteness of our
finger-nails as we were at the dark color of theirs.
"They wore their hair loose, with bands around the head to keep it in
place, and the youngest of them had a very rich head-dress with many
pieces of gold attached to it. They served us with pipes and coffee soon
after we entered, and seemed much surprised at our refusal to smoke. One
of us tried a few whiffs from a nargileh, and it made them laugh very
much when the smoke choked her and set her to coughing.
"Our visit lasted about half an hour. They embraced us when we came
away, but did not offer to kiss us, and the last thing they did was to
give a farewell pinch to Mrs. ----'s hair. They intimated by signs that
they would like to come to the boat to see us; but of course that would
not be according to Eastern usage, and they are not at all likely to
come."
Frank gathered other details about the life of Eastern women which he
appended to his account of the visit we have just described. A few of
them will not be out of place in this narrative.
"According to all I can learn," wrote Frank, "the life of an Eastern
woman must be very monotonous. She goes out very little, and after she
is married can only rarely visit her relatives. Day and night her place
is in the harem, and she never speaks to any man except her husband--not
even to his most intimate friends or to her own brothers. The time must
hang very heavily on her hands, especially when, as is generally the
case, she is unable to read, and cannot obtain the consolation which
books afford.
[Illustration: AN ORIENTAL DANCING GIRL.]
"I have told you of the marriage ceremonies among the modern Egyptians;
they are practically the same in most of the Moslem countries, and have
the same result among all except the poorer classes. The wife of a man
who can afford the expense of a harem passes the most of her time there,
and only goes out on rare occasions. Ladies of her own rank may call on
her, and she can return their visits, but they are not very frequent,
and she passes the most of the time entirely among the other women of
her house. These include the servants or slaves, and possibly the other
wives of her husband.
"Speaking of other wives, let me say here that, according to the Koran,
an Arab or Turk may have four wives, provided he can take care of them,
but by custom he sometimes has more. Doctor Bronson says the intercourse
of the East with Europe has caused a great many men to adopt the customs
of the latter country and have only one wife. Some of the high officers
of Egypt have done so, and they are occasionally seen in public with
their wives, which is a great innovation upon the old habits of the
land.
"Where a man has two or more wives each of them is entitled to separate
apartments, and to servants whose whole business is to wait on her;
consequently, a harem is an expensive luxury, and there are not many who
can afford it. Perhaps the saving of expense has something to do with
the spread of European ideas among the Orientals. And then, too, there
are apt to be quarrels among the occupants of the harem which the master
is called upon to settle, and with a sufficient number of them his life
is anything but a happy one.
[Illustration: AN EASTERN STORY-TELLER.]
"The amusements of the ladies of the harem consist of music and
story-telling, and for this there are professional narrators and
performers who go from house to house, and are paid for their services.
Of course these are women, as no man except the master of the house can
enter the harem. Their visits are always welcome, as they greatly assist
in passing away the time. When a story-teller is present the women
gather about her, and sometimes the master of the house is seated in a
balcony, where he can hear the performance and look upon the assemblage
below. For the musical entertainments there are generally two or more
performers, one of them playing on the flute and the other on the
guitar. Then there are women who sing in addition to playing, or, if
singers cannot play, they bring their own accompanists.
"A lady in Moslem countries gives a party very much like one in New
York, with the difference that all the visitors are ladies. Generally
these parties are in the afternoon, though they sometimes take place in
the evening. In either case the guests come at an appointed hour and are
received by the hostess, who is in evening costume and without a veil.
Her visitors having come through the streets on their way to the house
are of course veiled when they arrive, but the veil is laid aside with
the shawls and cloaks, and the guests make themselves at home, very much
as in Christian countries.
"If the hostess is the wife of an official, or merchant having business
with foreigners, she sends invitations to their wives or sisters--in
fact, to any ladies she knows, whether they are of her religion or not.
In this way European ladies are introduced to the harems, and it often
happens that warm friendships are formed between women of different
religions, just as they are formed among men.
[Illustration: A RECEPTION IN A HAREM.]
"When there is a large party, some are seated on the divans and others
on the carpet. Coffee and cigarettes are served, and those who desire
pipes to smoke can be accommodated, as the long-stemmed nargileh abounds
in every harem, and is very much in use. Conversation is very brisk, and
it is said that the ladies of the East are quite as fluent with their
tongues as their Western sisters.
"After a little time has been devoted to conversation the hostess gives
a signal, and the entertainment provided for the occasion begins. If the
lady has slaves that can sing they seat themselves on the floor and
begin a song, but if there is not sufficient talent among them a party
of professionals is especially engaged. The singing is followed by
dancing, and this is almost always by professional dancing girls, and
the affair is said to be much like the one we saw at Keneh.
"Dancing follows singing, and singing follows dancing, and now and then
a story-teller is introduced for the amusement of those who like them.
Sweetmeats and cakes are liberally served, and so are coffee and
sherbet, which are taken from tiny cups such as we would disdain in our
own country.
"In addition to these amusements they have cards and checkers, and many
of the Eastern ladies are said to be very skilful at these games. In
various ways the afternoon or evening is worn away, and, if the affair
is a specially fine one, a supper is served on a large platter placed on
a stand in the centre of the room. It consists mostly of preserved
fruits and other dainties, and is not so extensive as the supper at a
party of the same sort in America. Nobody is expected to leave until
some of the most fashionable or distinguished ladies give the signal.
The hostess pretends to be very sorry to have them go, but is no doubt
wishing to herself that they would make haste and leave her alone.
"So much for harem life in Egypt. I'm sorry I can't tell more about it,
but all my information must come from somebody else, and therefore you
must consider it second-hand. The condition of women in the East is
improving, but it is yet far behind that of Europe and America. The
progress is more rapid in Egypt than in Turkey and other Moslem lands,
and the example of the rulers of this country in establishing schools
for girls will have an effect in the right direction. But it will take a
long time to overcome the prejudices that exist in consequence of the
religion of the East, not only among the men but among the women
themselves. Many of the Egyptian and Turkish ladies have told their
foreign visitors that they would not desire to change places with them:
they enjoy their life of indolence and seclusion, as it gives them a
feeling of protection they would not have if the customs of Europe
prevailed among them."
Esneh was the first stopping-place above Luxor, and the object of
interest was a temple partly cleared out and partly covered by the
houses of the town. The only part to be seen was the portico, which was
reached by a flight of steps descending to it. Nobody knows the extent
of the temple, as it was covered for many hundred years with heaps of
rubbish. The attempts to clear it out were made quite recently, but
enough has not been excavated to give even the outline of the original
edifice.
[Illustration: SCULPTURES MUTILATED BY THE PERSIANS.]
The boys observed here, as they had already done at Luxor and other
places, that the sculptures were frequently injured by the destruction
of the faces of the figures that had been engraved with so much care.
They asked the Doctor how this was done, and he thus explained it:
"The Persians," said he, "had a great objection to seeing figures on the
walls of the temples, and when they overran Egypt they mutilated them in
the way you perceive. Happily the sculptures were so numerous that they
did not have sufficient time to destroy them all, or even a goodly
portion of them.
"The early Christians, in their zeal for removing the evidences of
paganism, continued the work which the Persians began. In some instances
they plastered the figures over so as to conceal them, and thus
unintentionally caused them to be preserved. Where the plaster is
removed the figures are found in excellent condition."
It did not require a long time for the visit to the Temple of Esneh, as
the curiosity of the travellers concerning Egyptian temples had
somewhat diminished since their stay at Thebes, and the many
explorations they had made. After seeing the temple they strolled
through the town, and listened to the songs of a group of Arabs at the
_cafés_ which line the bank of the river near the landing-place.
Just as the whistle of the steamer gave the signal for continuing the
journey, Frank's attention was attracted by what he pronounced a thing
of beauty.
[Illustration: A THING OF BEAUTY.]
It was not a girl, or a painting, or a temple, or even a scarabæus: it
was a mule.
Both the boys pronounced it the handsomest beast of the kind they had
seen in Egypt, and were sorry their time was so limited they could not
study the animal closely. Its color was pure white, and Fred suggested
that the mule was probably kalsomined every morning, and was evidently
treated with great care.
The animal was the property of the governor, and his trappings were in
keeping with his fine appearance. Some of the travellers regarded the
saddle quite as much as they did the animal that carried it. Frank said
he could understand why the Arabs are such excellent horsemen, when the
saddles are so formed that it is very difficult to throw a rider out of
them.
[Illustration: VIEW IN THE TEMPLE OF EDFOO.]
From Esneh to the foot of the first cataract there was no incident of
importance. The boat stopped at two or three places where there were
ruined temples, the most interesting being that of Edfoo. It was cleared
out in 1864 by order of the Egyptian Government, and the rubbish that
had been there thousands of years lay piled around it. The rubbish had
tended to the preservation of the sculptures, and after the clearing was
completed they were found to be in better condition than in most of the
other temples.
The general plan of the building was much like that of the Temple of
Denderah, and it was dedicated to the worship of the hawk. In the
sanctuary is a cage hewn from a single block of granite, which was once
the home of the sacred bird, who, no doubt, received the adoration of
the faithful much against his will. He would have preferred freedom and
a flock of chickens to the homage of the Egyptians, unless he was unlike
the hawks of modern days.
[Illustration: HAGAR SILSILIS.]
At Hagar Silsilis, or "the Rock of the Chain," the boat stopped to give
an opportunity for seeing the quarries, whence great quantities of stone
were taken for the construction of the temples at Esneh, Edfoo, Karnak,
and other places. The excavations where the stones were cut have been
partly filled by drifting sand, but enough of them remain to show how
the work was done. The Nile is here only a little more than a thousand
feet wide at its narrowest part, and there is a tradition that when
ancient Egypt was threatened with invasion a chain was stretched across
the river to prevent the passage of hostile boats. Frank made a hasty
sketch of the place, and included in his drawing the column of rock
where the chain is said to have been fastened.
There was once a flourishing town at this place, but at present little
remains of it; and even the ruins have been so covered with sand that
they cannot be readily found. The desert comes down on both sides of the
river at Hagar Silsilis, and the fertile land of the Nile disappears
altogether. To the stranger ascending the river for the first time it
seems as though he had reached the head of the Nile, and his journey was
to come suddenly to an end; but a turn of the stream undeceives him, and
his eye rests upon a more agreeable scene.
[Illustration: THE FOOT OF THE FIRST CATARACT.]
On and on went the boat, and the scenery became more and more
picturesque as the sandstone formation disappeared and granite took its
place. The barren shores of Hagar Silsilis were forgotten in the
fertility of the soil below Assouan and the brightness of the verdure on
the island of Elephantine, which lies at the foot of the first cataract
of the Nile. The hills around the cataract were crowned with little
shrines and tombs of Moslem saints, and there was a fringe of barren
hills directly back of the town in sharp contrast to the fertility of
the soil below it. The sun shone brightly on the water, which appeared
quiet as a lake enclosed in the mountains; the black rocks that rose
here and there on the bank of the river seemed to threaten danger to any
boat that ventured near them, since it was not easy to know what might
be concealed below the surface. Beyond Elephantine Island the river was
broken and lost, and our friends had no difficulty in comprehending that
they were in a part of the Nile quite unlike anything they had seen
before.
The steamer swung sharply around at the foot of the island, and in a few
minutes was at the landing-place of Assouan, the Syene of the ancients.
Not only were our friends among new scenes of rocks and hills, but the
crowds of natives that welcomed them were different from any they had
seen before. It was a mingling of Arabs and Nubians: the former were
nothing new, but the latter had put in an appearance for the first time.
They were scantily dressed, their skins were black as ink, and their
woolly hair was done up in little ringlets, like pen-holders, and
apparently soaked in grease. The goods they offered for sale were
ostrich feathers, Nubian dresses, arrows, old coins, knives, and kindred
things, and they were as shrewd in making bargains as their friends the
Arabs. Whips and canes of the hide of the hippopotamus were liberally
offered, and nearly every passenger made purchases of these articles.
The hippopotamus whip is called a _courbash_ by the Arabs, and has the
reputation of being the most cruel whip in the world. It is much like
the "green hide" that was in use in the Southern States of North America
during the days of slavery, and a blow from it is to be dreaded and long
remembered by man or beast.
It was late in the afternoon when our friends arrived at Assouan, and
there was only time to stroll through the bazaars before sunset. Plans
were made for an excursion to the island of Philæ on the following day,
and everybody went early to bed.