SIX MONTHS ABROAD.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 95, 23 April 1926, Page 6

SIX MONTHS ABROAD.

MR. N, ALFRED NATHAN'S TOUR

EGYPT AND PALESTINE.

A WAR TIME RAILWAY.

During the six months lie was away Mr. N. Alfred Nathan, who has just returned to Auckland, visited Java, Egypt, England, and Palestine. Accompanied by Mrs. Nathan and two daughters, he joined a Dutch boat at Sydney, landed at Surabaya, and had a most interesting motor tour of twelve days, ending up at Batavia, where he embarked on another Dutch boat, a big 1*2.000 tonner. The Aucklanclers found the Dutch boats excellent, though the food was strange, and they felt the lack of British people among the passengers. Most of the travellers were Dutch going home to Holland, and there was' also an interesting party of native royalties to take part in the celebrations connected with the jubilee of the Queen of Holland. The food was sometimes rather strange to British taste, notably a dish of rice and a sort of curry, surrounded by twenty or thirty tiny plates of all sorts of things the diner was supposed to mix with the main dish. That alone was more than sufficient for British appetites, but with the Dutch it was only a part of the menu. The Dutch habit of making the mid-day meal the largest of the three also took some getting used to.

I An interesting day was spent at Singapore, where Mr. Nathan was much struck with the wonderbul orchids j growing as prolifically as water cress in 'New Zealand. He said he had never imagined such wonderful colouring. At Port Said the party left the I steamer and took train to Cairo, where 1 they joined a Cook's steamer and went up " tlie Nile as far as Luxor. Mr. Nathan said it was most interesting, though he must confess that one temple . looked very much like another jvhen j you saw so many of them. Then he | was told that the 'Egyptian sunsets were | marvellous, but he thought he had soon j quite as beautiful in our own New Zea- | land. They returned by rail to Cairo, j All signs of the recent disturbances in I Egypt had disappeared. The tourist ! traffic is just the same as it was in j the past, and sitting on the terrace at I Shephard's it was impossible to visual-

; ise the recent disturbed state of the country. British troops were still in the country, of course, but they appeared as little as possible and the police' work was done by tho native gendarmerie. j From Egypt the party went on to London, where Miss Nathan was marI ried. In his exhortation to the newlymarried couple the officiating minister reminded the bride that 42 years previously her parents had been married under the same canopy in the same'

synagogue. j To Jerusalem by Rail. I Mr. Nathan . took his passage in the I new P. and O. liner Moldavia, r particu- ; larly fine vessel. Algiers is now included in the itinerary of these boats at certain times of the year, owing to the great popularity of that country with tourists. At Port Said 113 left the steamer and visited Palestine. In the ok} days tho usual way of getting to thp Holy Land was through the port of Jaffa, which is an open roadstead, and often provided a very rough landing. $ow the traveller can reach Jerusalem by the fine broadgauge railway built by the* British during the Leaving Port Said at six in the evening, the traveller has a fouri hour weary wait at Kantara, on the Suez Canal, a spot familiar to thousands of New Zeaalnders when it was. a busy and important point in the army's* communications. The railway station and refreshment rooms are all that Kantara boasts of to-day. Leaving there at midnight the traveller was in Jerusalem jat 9.30 next morning, half an hour late, i which waa rather good time, considering ; the easy-going nature of the Eastern people. j In the course of an eight days' tour, 1 Mr. Nathan was able to-sec quite a lot ;of the country, thanks to the motor car, jHe was much impressed by tbe new Jew-: j ish university on Mount Scopus, everything being very up-to-date. The instrac-' tion was all in Hebrew. In fact, right j through the country where the Zionist I movement is repatriating the Jews, nothing struck the visitor so puich as I hearing Hebrew, practically a dpad lam j guage, used in every day converse op all i hands. j Freedom Appreciated, j Marked progress has been made in the j various villages started under the ; Zionist movement, and the visitor could not help noticing the difference between the energy and scientific methods of tlie Jews and the obsolete methods of their , neighbours, the Arabs. Many of the Jews had como from countries whero ! they were under disadvantages, and wherever Mr. Nathan went in Palestine he found the keenest appreciation of the liberty they enjoyed tinder the British rule. This inspiration had led to remarkable activity, and the country was already -showing the results. At Riehon le Zion, where the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade camped on several . occasions, there was much prosperity, and the New ZeaTanders will be interested to hear * that the people ! have recently gone in for dairying to a 1 certain extent. The ' go.ws . are the j projreny of imported bulls and the native j cows. Riehon is perhaps best remem- | bered by the New Zealanders for its vineyards and wine-press (which comprises some of the largest vats in the wine world), and Mr. Nathan says the people find a ready market for all the wine tbey can make. Tel Aviv is another very successful Zionist settlement, and near Haifa, now a most important port, there is a cement works employing ISO men and women, and an oil factory where excellent soap is turned out. Both these industries belong to the Jewish people and both are as husy as they can j be.

Naturally Mr. Nathan made inquiries concerning the Plunket Nurse scheme organised and financed by New Zealand for Palestine, and he was glad" to find it was greatly appreciated. ° There was an appalling infantile mortality in the country, and there was no doubt about the necessity for such work Wherever he went Mr. Nathan was very much impressed with the industry and keenness of the people in the Zionist settlements, and tbe plentiful evidence of tlieir work.

Wellington is to have still another picture theatre, in one of the main streets of the city. It is announced that negotiations have just been con eluded for the purchase of a valuable site in Manners Street, near the Willis Street corner, with the object of erecting a large and up-to-date cinema house. A syndicate embracing New Zea land and Australian capital is behind the venture.