A HOLIDAY IN EGYPT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13386, 12 September 1905, Page 6

A HOLIDAY IN EGYPT.

Br THE Rev. A. Cameron,;M.A; ;• . CAIRO. « With only a few days to spend in Egypt, Hie first question to bo deoided is-Wherc? Aro they to be given to Cairo, tho capital,which lies r.oar at hand, or should they bo given to the exploration of tho magnificent nuns of Thebes, the ancient capital, which lies 'on tho hanks of the Nile, 450 miles south from Cairo?.. , I was particularly anxious to visit Thebes,, and see tho ruins of Luxor find Karnak, of which it is said that (or splendour and magnitude they are (ho ,mosfc magnificent group of ruins in tlio world, but for various reasons I had to content myself with Cairo and its environs. FROM PORT SAID TO CAIRO. a For Cairo, then, I took train from Port oQid oil the 26th March. Tho journey con, scarcely bo called exciting, yet it. is not without interest to one who is making his first entrance into-Egypt. The first part of the, journey is t along tho west bank of tho canal, so that occasionally a gliinpso is caught of steamers passing through it.'-' And hero and tlicro dredges are seen clearing and improving 'this gi;cat waterway. After a run'of" an hour rati a-half wo reached Ismailiya, and then turned off into the desert in a- S.W. direction. I was greatly interested in seeing at ono of tho railway stations—Za.qazik—two New Zealand posters proclaiming" the beauties of New Zealand lako and mountain scenery. It was like tho sight of an old friond, and set me watching tor the same at other stations, but'none was to bo seen. I have been pleased to find that people everywhere havo a most favourable opinion of New Zealand. Its beauty and its climate aro in everyone's month. I tell them that wc havo variety of climate and 6cenery something liko that of Europe; and ono of tho finest countries in tho wprld. , At the same time it is amusing to find tho strango notions that prevail regarding-our far-off land. One of tho first questions put to mo in Berlin was, " Is not that where the cannibals live?" Then one delightful German. music teacher asked me rin all seriousness, " Ave thero any pianos in Now Zealand?" I replied, "Wo have ono or two." I think tho best of all the questions put to mo was that of tho sheriff of a large t;:vn in the North of Ensrland, who asked, " ]>o vou sneak tho English languago in Now Zealand?" This samo sheriff was as proud as possible of the fact that a few days before he had had tho honour to represent his city' at "Windsor and to shako hands with tho Queen and Frinco' of Wales. Evidcnt-lv tho sohcolmaster as well as _ the photographer is nr-cded to pivo a right impr<ssion about New Zealand oven in our beloved Motherland. The mention of our small population excites no end of surprise. ■ Tcl-el-Kebir awakened more than passing interest' n/; tho train ran into it. Here is the site of the battle in which Lord Wok-cloy broke up Arabi'Pasha's armv'on tlio 13th September, 1882, and crushed the reballion which threatened to bring down in ruins tlio whole fabric ot civilised society in Egypt. There, at tho station gate, is tho cemetery in which lie the remain.? of the oftiers and. men killed in that action. Hapnv tho country that has no history, we are told, and certainly tiirio? happy the countrvthat has no battlefields to show. Inthfc thrice happy condition is our southern island; and yet perhaps tho absence of battle fields in our midst increases the interest- in ono when wo see it abroad. At Tcl-cl-Kcbir, as we look over these sands, we see the marshalled forces—black and white contending with one another— and amid tho roar of cannon and crack of muskets hear the groans of the dying, and see the whitened faces of the dead, and turn away sick at heart, bacause in these later days wo aro still far from tho time wlicn men shall learn the art of war no more. Between Ismailiya and Tel-el-Kebir lies a Tel wliero Jr. Naville made interesting discoveries in 1880, which led to 'its identification with the city Pithom, in which Ramses ii constructed his great storehouses. This is one of the citiw.in building which tho Israelites suffered at' tho hands of Pharoah. Thus Exodus i tells us, "And thev built for Pharoah storo cities—Pithom and Raamses. And the Egyptians made tho children nf Israel'to servo with rigour; and they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all manner of service in tlio field, all their service, wherein they niado them servo with rigour." It requires an effort of the imagination to ropcopki the desert, with , the slave labourers smarting under the cruel lash, as tjicy toiled in the blazing sun to make bricks and build cities for Egypt's proud 1,-ins*. And yet this -desolate region is tho birthplace of the world's later progress, for thence went up the cry of sorrow which brought help to Iswl from above. Hero were endued the birth throes of the nation in which all nations of tho earth havo been blessed.

CAIRO. Cairo is said to bo tlio socond city in tho Turkish Empire, its population numbering over 500,000. Hero wo see (ho Mending' of and West in a remarkable manner. In somequarters we, have a modern' Paris; indeed, it was tho ambition of tho Khedive Ismail to ronvovfc his oriental capital into a kind of African Paris. In this ouarter we have all the improvements of modern civilisation—fine' lighted with electricity, clcetrio cars ninninir to all parts of tho city with • surprisingly cheap fares, cabs' and carriages eipwding the busy streets, and shops filled with wares to meet the need.or fancy of tlio visitor. Whan first I passed through theso crovwlwl streets in which whito and,.black rubbed shoulders, ami seldom a word of English was to bo heard. I was quite, bewildered, but soon I began to find my way about even in this strange eity. Of course there wore guides to bo had by the dozen. I had not stepped out of tlio hotel omnibus lioforo, two or three guides wished to be enenge'd for the next day. But I have found by experience that tho best way to know a town is to wander about it and learn to know it for oneself. This means more time, of course. A guide can hurry you by the shortest way from place to placo, but after it is over you can hardly remember the way you liavo gone. I remember an experience I once had in I had spent about a week sightseeing with a. friend who know every part of tho'city like the palm of his hand, and I bad'come to think that I, too, .could- find my way ulono; hut ono day.when I had seen my friend off in a train I went away in tlio opposite direction from that in which I wished to go. Somo' of tho finest buildings in Cairo aro the great hotels. They aro equal in accommodation—and in prico too for that matter —to tho finest hotels in Europe. Those hotels form the centre of Cairo's sooial life, as visitors of the highest, rank make them their homes during their stay in Cairo. At ono of them tho ex-empress Eugene and tho Duke and Duchess of Devonshire were staying during March. If we turn from modern Cairo to its native quarters all is so changcd that oiie can easily believo himself baok in the titnes of tho Arabian. Nights. Never-ending crowds of natives in many coloured costumes fill the narrow, dirty, winding streets, sit in the tiny shops filled with iiativo merchandise, or busy themselves with tho manufacture o! nativo goods. It is a strange, fascinatintr sight which wo will como again to see when wo visit tho harnrs.

CAIRO AS A HEALTH RESORT. I do not supposo anyono is likely to conio from New Zealand to Cairo for his health. Wo have health -resorts within our own borders; yet it may interest your readers to hear something of this famous gathering placo of " the sick and halt and blind." One authority soys: "Cairo itself cannot bo unreservedly recommended as a health'-resort puro and simple. . .• An over-crowded city of over half a million inhabitants, with its unsatisfactory hygienic conditions and appallingly primitive and unsanitary system of drainage—if system it can bo called,—the occasional visitation of cholera, etc,, teems indeed the last place to which tho health-seeker should be sent. Tlio official returns show that in 19M over tho whole of Egypt there were 4255 cases of smallpox, of which 854 terminated - fatally. And of plague cases 855 were reported, of whom 501 died. Yet in spito of theso facts peoplo orowd to Cairo for their health, Its warm, long, dry. days attract them. In the depth of winter thero aro 10 hours of daylight. And the average rainfall for the yqar is -lira, the days on which rain falls averaging nine or 10. Tho. rainfall ( for 1905 will certainly total lr.oro thaii liin, for oil one day during my stay in Cairo wo had a terrific thunderstorm, duping which tho rain poured down in-torrents. Tho streets were soon flooded, and shopkeepers .wero Busy sweeping back the flood from tho pavements to prevent the flooding of their shops. Tho lightning was wonderfully beautiful, as it rent the heavens, now -with.a zigzag thrust from heaven-to earth,. and now with a horizontal sweep as of tho' sword of an archangel. Its nearness .was all too evident from the-swift-following peals of thunder which rolled and crashed as if tho'heavers wero falling in ruins about' our 'heads.' One flash. of lightniae: struck : ono of the great PyramidE—tlio2nd—and did, slight damage"near tho top. Next day ono of tho! papers paid" it would be to go

back to Noah to find a storm to equal it. IVhilo somo seek Cairo ,for health, .somo como to it for pleaaiiro and for Bight-socniß.First it is ; thq ' gateway through which tlio tourist passes up tho Nilo to fcq tho buried glory of tho past; then at its ,doors lio tho pyramids; and within itself is a world of interest Forliaps tho 'rcador will mo as wo visit somo of tho sights of Cairo. ; . • ITS BAZAARS. -

For,the Racial siclo of tho city wo liavo neither timo nor taste. Wo leavo its dinners and,its dances,' its afternoon teas and concerts for. others. ~ These can bo had elsewhere J hut its bazaars aro reckoned among tho most interesting anywliero to be .seen. Here wo find shops or booths grouped together whoro only one kind of food is sold. Hero is tho carpet bazaar, whero carpets, rugs, and embroidered stuffs may. bo bought at a bargain, if you have time and patience and senso: enough not to be cheated by tlio cunning merchant,' who will asb you four or fivo times the valuo of the goods you admiro." Further on wo Jmvo tho goldsmiths' bazaar, whero workmen make and sell their wares, and aro not slow to pawn off worthless articles 011 tlio unwary purchaser if possible. Then htiro is the bazaar for Red Sea. traders, whero perfumes, spices, mother of pearl, and attar of roses aro sold. Tlion there aro bazaars for booksellers, glassworkers, ctcl, etc.' Howoyer, it is not the goods they : sell, but-tlio people that make and soil them, and the orowds that fill their streets, we have como to see. Wo are .recommended to go without guide or plan, if we would ;feel tlio real charm of a visit to tlio bazaars; but before wo start wo aro to fix in our minds by a careful study of the guido book a few geographical facts. That is easily dono in the hotel, and so early next, morning wo start off with a sharp eye | for the streets wo have studied on the plan. Down tho first street wo make a bold plunge, scon to. discover that something has gono wrong—the guide book names and those on tho buildings at tho street corners do not agree, and so wo find ourselves in very deed without a plan. Still wo go on, charmed with the crowd that surges round us. If we have eyes to see, and come often enough to note tlio dress and features of tho crowds, we will find hero "a living diorama that is quite unique. " " This is how one writer doscribcs it:— 1 "Not even in Constantinople, tho most, cosmopolitan city, in a spectacular sense, in Europo, can we find a greater variety of nationalities. One seems to meet hero every costume of Europe, Asia, and Africa; and tho kaleidescopio varieties of brilliant and fantast-io colouring aro bewildering to a stranger. - Solemn and im-passive-looking Turks, gently ambling past on gailv.caparisoned mules, grinning negroes from tho Soudan,, melancholy-looking fellahs in their scanty blue kaftans, cunning-featured Levantines, green-turbaned Shereefs, and picturesque Bedouins from the desert, stalking past in, their make up the mass of this restless throng. A sakkah, or watercarrier, carrying his picturesque goatskin filled with Nile wator, while other dramatis person® of tho ' Arabian Nights' are tho vendors of sweets and other edibles; gorgeously arrayed Jowesses, fierce-lookine Albanians bristling with weapons, and pelt-icoatcd Greeks givo variety of colour to this living kinetoseopc." That, or some: thing like it, is what we ought to see; but I fear wo fail from lack of timo. knowledge, and imagination to see much of it. And yet wo wander on fascinated by tho ever-changing groups that meet us. Here we are in the iewellors' bazaar. Men and lads aro at work making brooches and chains and other trinkets, and in our curiosity wo turn down one of tho narrower lanes, soon to find that it goes liko tlio brook—in and out and roundabout—but seems to have no outlet, and soon it becomes 60 narrow that there is scarcely room for_ two persons to paps without, touching. It is charmmg to he alivo in such a quarter as tiiis, Tho blood begins to run cold down one's baok, and at every turn you expect to seo a dark-visaged son of tho desert spring out with flashing eyes and flaming blade to make an,end of you. And so you begin to think it timo to got. back and out of. the jewellers' bazaar without waiting to mako any purchases. In tho booksellers' bazaar we find nothing of. interest, as,our education lias been ncglected m tho matter of Arabic. And yet wo can scarco refrain from, feeling as if wo had suffered w#>ng somehow as wo hear tho natives chatter merrily in Arabic, which wo would so gladly know and don't. It docs not need rain to mako muddy streets in this quarter of Cairo. Tho drainage runs, or, rather, is thrown, into tho streets, and so oiio has to keep a lookout for mudholos while ho admires the gay head-dress of some passer-by. And so we wander on from bazaar to bazaar, not sorry at last to find ourselves safely -out of the. crowd- and tho dirt; all tho moro so that the street 'wo liavo taken has brought us to tlio gates of the greatest Mohammedan University in the world—tho ■llosquo , El-Azhar. Of . this famous seat 1 of learning wo will have moro to say in our next letter. (To bo continued.)