A VISIT TO CAIRO.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13205, 11 February 1905, Page 2

A VISIT TO CAIRO.

SOMFj tmtkessions by a wellknown DUisKDIN'ITE.

We liave received a chatty letter from Mr T. W. Kempfhoriie, written on hoard tho s.s; Orniu'/., in the Arabian Sea, and dated January B;—■ Sinco writing you last, on the 19th December, 1904, from Naples, when I told you that I was just leaving for Messina, Sicily, and havo sinco paid a visit to Cairo.

After a pleasant, run of 16 hours from Naples I reached Messina. Like many other Italian towns, it nestles at the foot of high ranges. A good esplanade runs along the shore for about two miles, which is the main street of tho place, and on which the largest commercial houses are built. Fivo other streets of goad width run Irahind this up tho ranges, with cross streets of similar dimensions. This gives the town, from the harbour, a very picturesque appearance. I went ashore at night and had a good look over tho place. Tho streets are well paved, well lighted, and very clean. The cathedral and churehcs arc tho most prominent buildings. There are, however, some very good shops, well stocked, and with attractive windows. A large number of small steamers and sailers are moored alongside of the esplauado wharf; hut the larger boats anchor out auont half a mile from \tho shore, and passengers havo to land in boats, of which there is a great number. Tho fixed legal faro is one franc for taking yon ashore and bringing yon back to your steamer; in this respcet. it is the cheapest placo I havo visited. It was a pcrfect moonlight night, the water in tho bay was as smooth as a mirror's face, and the whole appearance what ono expects to sec in a fairyland.

At night very few women aro seen in tho streets. My guide told mo that tho young women seldom ventured out at night, and when they do arc voiled, and aro never without, a male guardian. I saw a goodly number, however, who had passed the meridian of life, who were not voiled, but had male protector?, I agnin went ashore in the morning, when there was great activity: and flu* morning's light confirmed tho moonlight's appearance of its beauty. The Sicilians are somewhat darker in completion than other citizens of Italy, and pride themselves, 1 was informed, as a very select section of the Italian nation. Tho land here is closely cultivated, as in Italy itself. Sicily has tlio reputation of producing the- tinest fruits, oranges, and lemons, the production of essential oils therefrom being ono of their chief industries and lines of export. Loft .Messina at midday, on a calm sea, and had a good departing view of this pleasant placo. In a few hours it became cloudy, and unfortunately we got only a partial view of Mount Etna. The wind rose very suddenly, nud we were soon in a very heavy sea, and got considerably knocked about, although no serious damage was sustained. This was tho only rough weather I experienced since leaving New Zealand. By noon next day wo again sot into comparatively smooth water, which continued to Port Said, which I readied on Christmas live at 4 p.m. I had a smart drive round through the place; found it by no means attractive, so lo.ft ihc-sumo Evening at 6.45 o'clock for Cairo, which I reached at midnight. Tho railway skirts the canal for a considerable distance. On reaching Cairo I drove for the Continental Hotel, and promptly retired. Tho Continental is a very fine hotel, in the best, position in Cairo. Across tho street, directly opposite, is tho recreation ground and pub'io garden Ezbskiyeh, a great resort and a very beautiful reserve.

| Sunday Morning (Christmas Day).—On ; going out on to tho platform of the hotel, j on which hundreds of people can sit, and : which is up a few steps from the street path, ' you can sco everylhiiig that is going on, as it is Ihe very busiest part of Cairo; .it . was indeed ft ?!rani'o and extraordinary i cceno. All the shops v.fre open, carriages in great numbers passing, driven fast; carts, camels laden, and simply with riders; donkeys and mules by tho hundreds, all ] with loads, or ennying men, women, or j children. Lorries with wool, sugar cane. and nther merchandise,' vegetable and fruit ! carts. Arab platform waggons, crammed : with Arab* to full currying capacity, shouting, clinfliii". laughing; . they mnko a terrific mm.:. Women jugglers, snake charmers, and others performing amazing . tricks of deception. Water and sherljert • men with demijohn and glasses. Street 1 awkers all calling at the top of their voices the things for sal:\ All that, made a lively show. Then tho variety in dresses and colour is indeed remarkable. The married ; women wear nose reels gilded, which looks ; somewhat liko ail ordinary small cotton reel, this they stit.-k on one side of the nose attached to their black veils. The,young women wear whito ve ; ls and manMes ot muslin. All have loose gowns, and the men : all wear loose-flowing garments, in combina- ' tioii of every colour under the sun, but. white and red combination is the moit prominent. The children are carricd 'iy the . women astride on the left or right slioukk". You sco here, as you cannot s.ee auy- ! where elso out of Cairo, uassing before • your eyes, in full activity, the best and busiest representation of Arab ami Kgyntian i life. To see it. for llio first time is indeed a fascinating event. In the Arab, old Cairo section, most of the Artizans have their ■ workshops in arched or snuarc divisions. ! Holes iu the wall you might call them, as they aro very small and go back from i tho inner edge of the footpath. You see | them at their work—shoemakers, tailors, tinsmiths, bookbinders, plumbers, and It. is all hand labour. They do not appeal' to havo any labour-saving machinery. Possibly, it they bad, many would be unemployed, and they appear lo bo perfectly happy as they are, 'D'ov have also their cooking shops or stalls along the margris , of the footpaths, where t.hc.y bake their j bread, and fry their fish and other animal ! food, their pastry and other necessaries of ; life. The appliances aro very simple: fryi ing-pans and shallow ovens, covered and ' fired from above and below, the fuel being ! wood or coke. Their customers come along, order or buy what they want, and most of them stand by the cooking stand and consume what they have ordered. If they buv bread only they take it in their, hands and devour it as they, march on. They do not appear to have any definite time for rest at their meats.

There is a wonderfully .marked diffarenc between the old and the now 'iu tlio Cit of Cairo. Tho Cairo of to-day is forgin: ahead with extraordinary rapidity. It i simply jumping! Most of the miles', o sandy deserts outsido of tho old crty, oi which were scattered at long distances apar military barracks, is now being laid out' ii good, wide, straight' streets and ope: squares, with splendid Buildings going u] in all directum The people -have confi denco and security under British Govern ment, and tho local capitalist.is.now invest ing his savings and outsiders are rushing in This eagorness is unduly advancing th price of land, which in most instances is 2 times the value it was even 10 years ago; a all events it is fetching this advance, i large number of canals and water course are now constructed and being extended into which the overflow water of the Nile i directed, and from these, now water-course continuous irrigation is going on. Apar from this, water springs have, been di's covered by boring—in many instances at i depth of 50ft. You see hundreds of thesi wells. The water is raised from thea springs by wooden cogged-wheel inachiner; and whims revolved by bullock, horso, o m\de. They tie a piece of sacking ove the animal's face and eyes, I suppose ti relievo tho monotony of tho continuou daily round. On the revolving wheels thi troughs or cisterns for drawing up the wate are earthenware (small olive oil jars), whicl as tho wheel revolves upset the contents i] a large cistern, and from this reservoir the; send the water on the land wherever re quired. We know that whore water flow there is life, and these old sandy •waste' are now areas of amazing fertility, yieldini two, and sometimes three, crops in eael year. There are still not far from Cain and near the pyramids immense sand; areas and desert that may never be cropped but the improvements now manifest ii large cultivated plains that were formerlj sandy wastes show the marvellous jxjssi bilities of improved prospects where wate: is- obtainable. The Khedive, who is said to he the riches man in gypt, has an immense farm, hi residence being on the property. I wen to see it, and drove over it for many miles It is well roaded. Tho growing corn, vegc tables, sugar cane, and fruit, trees affor< striking evidence of the land's - fertility Nothing could exoel it. About and aroum his residence he has large plantations o oranges and •lemons. The oranges are rip< and the lemons soon will he—good crops which will give a plenteous return. Tin Khedive's farm is representative of all tlij land within the range of vision in thi part, and, in fact, from Cairo to nea Ismailia you have tlio same rich' land, will abundance of water. The cultivated oountr; is nearly a dead level. Beyond Ismalia ti Port Said you get into the sandy desert. The Arabs are to be seen at,, work every where, and they appear to lw very indits trious. They are as straight as an nrrow strong as mules, and as active and supple a cats. To go back to Cairo. Tlie mosques am oraceful minarets nro tlie most, prominen erections in tho city. I visited five mosques Die chief being Mnhomined Ali and Smtai Hasan, Mahommed Ali, unlike most o (ho others, has an internal building fo worship. It is of great beauty, with i splendid roof and dome. Most of the otlie mosques are rectangular in shape, the uppe portion of the building on the outer sidi of tlie squares projecting about 25ft into tin square, the remainder being open court t< tlie sky, and in these recesses or corridor tlio service is held. On entering the* mosques von have not to take off your shoe or hoots as formerly, as the custodians of tin mosque supply you with loose slippers o: sandals, which they tie over boot or shoe and for which you pay from Is to 2s. Tin object of these protecting slippers, so fa as I could learn, was not strictly hecausi you are travelling over holy ground, bit as a protection to keep the mosque floor clean, as tho Mohommedans in worship kneel or prostrate themselves, their forehead touching the floor, or ground, and to shieli them from dirt is the chief object of thesi nrotecting slippers. The mosque Mahommei Ali is mostly constructed of Egyptiai alr.haster, the interior all polished, .ft ha a splendid dome nnc) minarets. The pulpit in the open buildings are raised to a heigh close to the floor covering tho prayer re cesses, which gives tlio speakers a complete view of his audience. I found tlicm all con strnctcd in the same way. I saw a numbe of worshippers prostrate and sitting on tin carpets or mats. In one insianeo tin speaker was sitting in the midst. of hi people, and my Arabic guide told me tha lie was a lecturer and lenelier explninitii the Koran to his students. They all ap poareitto be very devout,, and to be taking i k«>n interest in the proceedings. Fron the Citadel, close to Mahommed Ali, whicl is the highest point in the city of Cairo you have an uninterrupted view. not out, of' Cairo, "hut of Ihc ]livor Nile runninj through this section, and tho Pyramids .o Ghiv.a and Memphis, and the whole eonntr; bounded by the horizon. Ilcre yoiVr at,ten tion is also called to a pit or shaft close ti the Citadel called ,lamb's Well, and i is said to be the identical pit that- ,Tosei)l was put into by his brethren. Wonderfu to relate, liowewr, they di not show yoi any portion of his garment of many colours To the Pyramids from Cairo is a charm ing drive occupying about two hours, 'i splendid road—an avenue, in fact,—the whol, way being planted with acacias, now o large size, forming in many places a com nlnte arch over the road line. Tho tram (electrical) also go to tho Pyramids. Oi arrival at the hotel, or acoommodatioi house, near the Pyramids, which is a y grea trysting ground, you ongage vonr guide camel or donkey. The cost of guide am animal you select is about 5s each. Iwa in company with three other gentlemen tint], having secured our animals and drivers wo' mounted the asses, and loveiy pairs w< looked.. The driver follows immediate]: behind, and often luis the donkey's tail ii ono hand and a switch in the other. Tin day we went there were hundreds of pcopli —men and women—mounted on donkeys oi camels, and this march to the Pyramids ovei the heavy, sandy desert was a curious ant comical sight. The Arab drivers make a great noise when talking to the animals, and brine tho switch sharply down on tho postorioi of the beast at the same time to stimulate his movements. The donkeys are musical, and occasionallysoiindalon:; bray. Wlwtliei this is answer to the driver's anathemas, calling to another animal friend on the inarch, or a personal appeal to the rider to got off I don't know; I do know, however, that it is immense fun to be in this Pyramid cavalcade. Possibly the clever fellows who designed tho Pyramids had prophetic vision and were struck with the idea that .something of this sort would happen, and that millions of idiots, out of sheer curiosity, from a.U parts of the earth, would in the time to come bo pilgrims to these piles of stones. What strikes one forcibly is tlio change lietHcen the past and the presentnamely, tlie autocratic powor held by those tnonarchs of tho past, to have been able to plunder their subjects and to control labour to tho extent necessary to build up these prodigious landmarks for. the fitorago of brains, bones, and treasure, and to gratify a purely selfish ambition. Away with these reflections I I doubtless feel ns other multitudes doubtless have done and will do in future: retain on memory's impress delightful thoughts of the pleasure given by tho handiwork of. thoae past lnonarchs in founding for posterity so attractive a rendezvous for rest and change from the turmoil of tho world elsewhere.

To those who ilosiro to visit the tomln of tho Khalifs and Mamelukes, and havo a, liking for sarcophagi, or to enter the stuffy interior of tho Pyramids, evory opportunity is given. It is purely a question of inclination, payment of fesfi, and remuneration of your guide—and tiie smelling of something unusual.

Tho big Sphinx near tho pyramid Cheops is getting to look tho worse for exposure, gradually crumbling away. Tho outline now in very imperfect, and from the decay now going on it is evident that the time is not far distant when it will he merely a hugo block of stone, resembling nothing but what your imagination is pleased to picture. So, if any- other New Zcalimdor is anxious for an interview, he had better.hufry up.

I went to Ileliopolis to see the Obelisk, said to 1)0 the oldest in Kgypt-. dating somo 4500 B.C. It is a solid nioce of granito 66ft high, over sft square at the base nnd about, 2ft 9in at the top, and was conveyed, record save, 500 miles to its present position. It bears numerous inscriptions. How was the transit made? They mnst have had appliances more powerful for handling such weights lhaji wo have to-day. • In the eamo district is tlio " Virgin tree," which they call a sycamore, but it bears no resemblance whatever to our 6yeaniore. If it was over of large dimeusions, and is the ago 1 represented, then old ago lias so shrunken its trunk and branches that it now looks a miserable specimen of ; emaciated decay. It is said that.thc Virgin and Child wero concealed in this troo. during their persecution in Egypt. Tho narrative is impressive; the tree, looks a fraud. They have it carefully fenced round, and will continue to collect backshish from visitors. In this neighborhood t.hero is an ostrich farm well worth going to see. It belongs to a French companj-, whose present stock consists of 1400 birds, ranging in ago {rom six months to 40 odd years. I learned from the k«oper that the birds commence to yield payable feathers when two .years old, the plucking season being annual in the month of May. Tlie birds' when hatched aro all gray'in colour, and l do not change till two years old, when tho male birds'

| feathers turn black, fhe female, irrespective ■of ago, always remaining gray. They commeuco to. lay eggs at five years old, tho number laid (hiring a season being from 15: to'2o eggs from each layer. They sit on tlio eggs six weeks, the oggs being on the 6and. The male and female bird each takes the same interest in sitting on tho eggs, threo hours each alternately till hatched out. Two of, the old birds, now 40 years each, were taught in their youthful days to imitate howling dervishes, and still perform with great vigour. Tho keopor calls the birds, then passes a command, and this starts them off to extend every feather in their bodies, and lash their head and nock about over each of their sides that you can only supposo they aro going mad or intend suicide. Then tho.keeper calls, "Hold, enough'," and immediately they raiso their majestio heads an<t necks, and march off with the coolest dignity, as if nothing had happened. Tlio Zoological. Gardens in Cairo should also be visited. They have a splendid collection of wild and tamo animals and rare birds, such as you do not find elsewhere. The grounds are indeed lovely. Tho paths aro about 6ft wide, and'are laid with small pebbles about lin long'by Jin thick, every pebble being hand-laid in cement in a floral or other design (Mosaio work on footpaths). All these pebbles wero brought from the Upper Nile—colours blaelc, brown, and white, tho border of the paths being wbito polished marble. This work was one of thp extraordinary exrravangancios of Jslnnail Pacha—possibly" you could not find anything to match this wasto in our planets. The cost must have been fabulous. No visitor tc Cairo should miss seeing tho Zoological Gardens. I should say that December and January are the best months to visit Egypt—mornings and evenings somewhat cold, but by no means unpleasant, and the middlo of the day, from half-past 10 a.m. till 4. p.m. is quite hot auougli to be pleasant. Visitors flow in till the end of April, I was informed, but then it is too hot for enjoyment. After this Egypt is deserted, tourist travelling ending for the season. In coming through the Canal ono is struck by the unprotected condition of the sides. Where they have protected the slopes by stone pitchers' they are not carried high ; enough, and the wash of each steamer as she passes through gets behind the protective nitchers, and down they go into the Canal, and much sand, necessitating constant and costly dredging, Had a fairly good trip through the Red Sea, but too hot for ' comfort, even though it is tho beginning of January. I expect in a few days to ! land at Ceylon, and have a run through this Island and India.