A LETTER FROM ABROAD.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXVII, Issue 10682, 27 June 1913, Page 7

A LETTER FROM ABROAD.

(Continued from pape 6.)

told. * We get a beautiful view of the surrounding country from the Pyramids, and away towards the Kile, what looks like millions of acres of irrigated country, while behind us just sand, as many million acre3.as you like. Now back to the cars, and again cross the Nile into Cairo. Here we arw driven, though the old part of the town, that is, where the streets are wide enough for a car. Ac one place we get out and walked down a street quite six feet wide and all corners and balconies overhead. This street leads lo a church, temple or mosque, don't know which, bat know the whole thing is very dirty. Our guide takes us down some steps to an underground place where he shows us stall sort of place 3, where he informs us Christ, Joseph and Mary took refuge when they fled to Egypt when Heiod ordered the destruction of all children under two years old. The place is very old and rather smelly, so don't stop long, and besides have a great deal to get through yet. Into the cars again, and for miles through narrow streets, cio.'ded with people, some sheep and conkeys and vaoat of all with filch and smells. However, after a time we get out of this sort of thing and set off for the citadel and barracks, and a Moslem temple or mosque. At this mosque we have to put on slippers over our boots before entering. This is the most wonderful building. A courtyard,

afraid to say how big, aud all pavea with marble, in the centre a fountain wbere all worshippers! are sup-

posed to -wash their feet before entering the temple. Then the temple—ail built of alabaster stoue oi the most gorgeous colour, floor all marble, but completely covered with Turkey carpets. It almost makes one giddy to look to the top dome, but oue does so, as the colours are marvellous. Oue cau imagine the size of this room when oue kuows that it- takes over 3000 electric lights to light it up. The electric lights hove strike oue as rather a mixture?) of ancient and

modern. No woman is allowed into the building to pray, only men. Oar ladies think this is rather rough, but we tell them women are kept in their proper place in Cairo, Then off with the slippers, and outside again Here our guide tells us to have a look at the town, and a splendid sight it is—all quaint-shaped houses, flat-topped, and look only half finished, with minarets or praying towers every here and there These seem to inn up about 100 or 150 ft,, and are the towers the

I priests go up to pray in four or live { times :a day. For rny part, if a I priest, I siiculd live up there, and I have ray meals sent up. In a climate j like this, cliiabirj& these towers can't Ibe '.funny. Away in the distance 1 can be seen the Pyramids and sand, | while on the other hand irrigated S country ss j-- ;n - ;j s one can see, in the S va\levV>i the Nile. Then we look | jtiGt above oui heada, and see the | citadel with guns—and British at | that—trained on t„ Cairo, and one | of the guidey tells us that they could s blow all the native quarter to

(aouiewiiere) iu ten nimutes if it

ever became necessary. This just

gives one a peep at the power of the Britishers, ;'aud doesn't it make oue feel proud to be one ! You know I felt rather as if I would like to have turned those suns on for ten mintitos, and cleaned the place up a bit. Now for the car:; again, and off to see more temples', narrow streets and dirt, but we jib ; and want some afternoon tea which we have sitting in the street on chairs Nov/ to have a look at some Cairo shops which are quite interesting, but I am in too bad a temper to buy anything from natives as they have pestered ns to such an extent all day, 3ither for money or to purchase some rotten thing from them, for which they ask about 10s, and then sell it to you for sixpence or a shilling at most Now time to get to the station, and get a good seat back to Port Said where we hope to find the Drama, which we left at Suez this morning. The train starts at 7.530 p.m., and it is soon dark. However, we have decent seats and tiie weather is cooler. This finishes our

afternoon in Cairo, which would have been most 'enjoyable, but I lost my tobacco afc lunch time and couldn’t get any till about 6.30. Really sad, %vasu’fc it? Also our eyes and boots are full of sand. Our boots we empty iui'fche railway carriage. Also 1 lost my bat—a new Panama —out of the window. The trains are quite comfortable and run very smoothly; also have access to dining-car at any time, an improvement on Ceylon, and they give you a real good feed for dinner. We arrived afc at .'1 a. m. , fgofc on a boat which had just arrived, went to bunk and slept. Good-bye, don’t want a drink, weather too cool now. B. P. LETHBRIDGE. P.S. —Am afraid Miss Ross, who transcribed this forme has taken out a number of my forcible and pet expressions re natives and climate, but she says they really wern’fc fit for publication in a decent paper like the Advocate.