The Portland daily press., 1870-01-20
DAILY PRESS.
ND
Thursday Morning, January 20, 1870.
CORTLAND
Letter from Egypi--No. a.

about, in every quarter Of Egypts chief city
| has posted me well up, / think, in its charac-
| teristics and interests. 1t contains nearly
half million OF inhabitants, over 100000 Of
whom aTe Egyptians, 10000 Europeans. and
the remainder Greeks. Turks, Jews, Nu-
bians, and what not.
With its second-rate theatres and casinos
dancing almehs, singing moonshids. living
pictures, and an extra amount of diableyje
IN general, it is pretty bad town, And vet
it has it ledeemins religious AMI educatio Il |
features. For, besides its four hundred
mosques in which the different sects of The
Musslemans worship, there are here Cath
olic, Greek, a Coptlc, Lutheran, and an
Episcopal church. Then it has University
THAT OF El Azhar), in which an almost in
credible number of students from all parts OF
OF The country ale educated, NEARLY three
thousand of them at the public expense
with corps of two hundred and sixty pro-
fessors, one hundred and sixty of whom are
supported at the cost of the government!
lPlease don't accuse me OF romancing-I got
the foregoing statement from printed public
documeEt.l
OF course suci colossal establishment
must have sources from which its yearly
drainage of students can be made good
These are furnished in "cvii" schools OF six
grades, in the lowest of which the scholars
are taught to and read wIite Arabic, to ci-
pher, and to write and speak the French or
some other ioieign language.
The streets of Cairo, flor the most part
without sldewalksl wind about and double
on each other in the most perpexiug man.
ner, so that stranger is often utterly at a
loss as to his whereabouts; and in some
places are SO narrow as TO be impossible by
carriages. while the high buildings on either
side, shutting out the sunbeams, make them
noisome as we'll es obscure. All the day and
far into the night they are thronged with peo-
ple-men, women and children-who go
driving about as if always in a hurry, yet SCI
dom seem to have anything to do!
But the busiest localities are the bazaars.
These are long, narrow passage. ways, in some
places partly rooted with scantliug, in hers
BY basket work of palm branches. They
are differently designated, according to the
nationality OF the people who occupy them,
as the Egyptian, Turkish, Arabian, Tunisian,
and French; and conjoin each other, so as
to extend for miles! Here, besides all the
manufactures AMI productions of Syria, Sou
dan, Meroe, Nubla and Senaar, are displayed
the richest and most costly productions, in
silk, tapestry, icwelry, &C., of Europe and
the far East. Indeed it world be difficult to
name anything known TO any country that
could not. in some quarter of some of the
bazaars, be obtained.
These long, shady avenues are constantly
thronged with citizens and strangers; and in
the press OF the multitude, intermineled
with carriages, horses, camels, mules, bullocks
asses, and the omLipresent dogs, it seems i'm.
possible for one TO get any wherein particu
lar. But mounted ON donkey, your donke.
boy by an adroilness at dodgine, swaying t.
and fro, backing down and rushing forwar,
In turn, which can but excite your admira
ton, will invariably contrive to put yo,
through, wherever you like.
The "conlusion of tongues" in these mos
popular resorts could find a parallel only i
| that referred to the building Of Babel; fo
| what.ver may he said of the capacity of OH
o. rational bipeds in vocal dissonance, ther
is no doubt that the native Egyptians an
Arabs beat the world in this particular. The
never see n to talk TO each other like othe
people, but shout with all their vioor; an,
while they rarely indulge in whit Hiberniar
would consider the luxury of fight, they
seem to be ever engaged in quarrel.
For example,-passing along through one
oi the busiest localities to-day saw cadi
sitting Cross-lessed on table, at the side OF
the street, examining into complaint made
by female against another of her sex. Each
woman had male counsel-in fact, to all
appearances, two or three hepe1s,- and the
Cadi, women and attorneys we've all gesticu.
lating and shouting at the top of their lungs
together
Tue thronss in the street continue till late
at night, in fact, never wholly cease; and the
lower classes who go towards making them
np.-small peddlers, boot blacks, errand-boys
slatterns, ,begsars and vagabonds, when tired
roll themselves and effects up in their latter.
ed habilinents, and go 10 sleep under the
nearest wall; and owing 10 the dryness of the
atmosphere, this cheap mode OF lodging seems
in DO wise detrimental to their health. In
the course of an hours walk at night, have
passed scores thus laid away.
The singular admixture of costumes in the
crowd here, cannot fill OF attracting the ro'
tice OF the strangef-the coarse bornoose OF
the Arao, the blue cotton shirt of the bare
headed Abyssinian, generally his only gar
ment, the SNOWY carmese and shaggy capote"
ofthe Greek, the full trowsers, embroidered
jacket and vaiiesated turban of the Turk, in
termugled with the snug'y fitting frock, wan
breeches and shiny golgotha OF the western
adventurer!
Some OF the costumes are very becoming 10
their particularly those of the Turk
ish txquisites, who have substituted the Fez-
zan cap for the turban, and wear their diirt-
lily embroidered jackets, and flowing trowsers
of subdued tint,-purple, lavender or brow,,
with their gold watch chains negligently
displayed from the shoulder in front. Indeed,
handsomer specimens of humanity than some
OF these thus attired, it would be difficult to
find in any country.
The women of the different nationaiities-
many OF them finely moulded and beautiful
exceedingly dress quite as diversely as .he
men. But whatever dress female adopts,
she will contrive, by some tasteful arrange.
ment, some jaunty air, to cheat one into the
opinion that ii Is becoming! And even the
belles OF the harem, although they concea
their faces, and envelope their lorms in vol.
umnious black silk robes, that seem like halc
inflated balloons, manage 10 show theli
piercing dark eyes, and small dainty feet anS
hands, especially when riding astrde thei
donkeys, and thereby leave the impression
that they are quite as symmetrical and capt.
waiting as their foreign compeers!
have taken much pains t. observe tn,
manner in which the mechanics and artizan
do their work; and have often framed excuse
tor entering their shops. They apply them
selves to their tasks with much assiduity, bu
use none of the imp ovements, by which il
other cou7 tries, work is facilitated. And il
many cases even the shoemakers, saddlers
coppersmiths and carvers sat cioss-legged a
their labors while the carpenters stand il
front Of their plains and saws, and work in (