New-York tribune., 1874-04-25
EGYPT REVISITED
Inn TAYLOR IN CAIRO.

FVL p"N' c,ppr spoNpFNT OF THE rRlBuNE'J
f',oo March 9O.-It is not quite easy 10 man
.CAihO' h;ob Cairo has undergone during the Ias'
lhsns'S 90 any one who is not acquainted WIN
II eye"s IA o,nearapce of the city ut that time'
%e or original starting point, was the Oi.aue''
Ne, .ro,vns the extremity OF low spur W tno
s..,am Hills about three miles Hoh 'i'o N',U'
h.rherc the mosque built by Saladin ana tiic wen
".ovated IN the limestone rock are SUN III eAiS'-
The Sarlcenic city Of the Middle ayes gre"
nee "a .ho western aud southern base of this
n..-oss admitting COptic, jewish ana fIalN Pua,
II %"0> n,oad and as commercial intercourse with
es q ta,t practical tolerance to its rulers and
b~y The western suburb thus always repre-
wv .,o latest phase of growth, and the stranger
T.as T"', excessively older belts of history as he
T.,,,od eastward toward the Citadel But even
F"ar, added by Mohammed Ali, including the
". s.rs Of the Ezbekeeyeh. was more Oriental than
ss"anoor in character The native Carenes adopted
ground for rest and gossip, and always
,,ouded its open-a air CAFES.
10 tsio the houses on the western side of the ~
N.koeveh were the end of Cairo IN that direc'lon'
p.ond tbcn Won entered the broad road TWO lnlles
- sbaded with acacia and plane trees whlch ied
,,Ronlak then shabby little town, and chiefly lhl-
,ortant as the point of embarkation on the Me- !
inew. of course that the open space between Oa'ro
,,1 Boulak mast have been greatly encroached
'1 So, hy ,be growth of the captal: bat | was not
..nareA for the astonishing changes in the phySi-
,cnomv of the latter which find, and which seem
20 he but the prelude TO greater TRANSFORMATIONS
NJ first day OF two here really quite bewider-
ns IrecoQnzcd here and there an old landmark
hut II was torn away from Its former adJuncts or
,uuonndings What has been added is of charac-
,so different that il suggests another land, an
u /. Il. 90 80 How frrIiA harfnn-
,ize with what already existed-whether, indeed,
will veritably harmonic for a long while TO come
an ouestions which one need not try TO answer.
his unite evident that the present ASPECT of Egypt
ndue 10 the personal viii of the Khedive rather
than 70 the material development of the country,
and that the population. now patiently submitting
thereto would be equally ready 10 obey reaction
sry successor.
Ifthe plan of destroying the purely Oriental char
seer Of Cairo and turning il into mimic European
eam.al. were fully carried ont, one might, possibly,
bemore easily rcconciled TO the change; but the
city is inst now in that hideous period of transition
when the Oll is falling into rum and the New has
not illed its place. Outside of the close, compact
ancient quarters there Is a broad border of unsghtly
mbbsh: where it Is wholly cleared away, blocks of
new rectangular. utterly unpictureSQue buildings
have reached tue first OF second stOry-and IN both
eases the result Is dust, stones scatOlding mpedl-
meuts. At least four square miles Of the former
fields and gardens between Cairo and the Nile are
DOW laid ont in broad streets. raised high and dry
above iuundation mark Tudely macadamized, and
lighted with gas lamps. Boulak and Rhoda are thus
practically joined to the city, squares and fountains,
st lacking water and trees placed at intervals
and a sort Of aristocratc, semi-European t0ub0urg
suggesting France and Italy at the same time, is
.l, on
whether TO weep or rejoice The houses, certainly
are more comfortable homes than Cairo ever before
knew the gardens around them are a new and de-
hghtful features the broad. fiery streets will event
uAly become avenues of shade, and free currents
q air from every quarter will make the city
kalthv residence; butt Will not be the Cairo OF
The Cahphs and the Namelukes.
The evening of my arrival made inquiries for my
hitLful dragOman. Achmet, Of whose death had
beard. some years ago, but whom l stubbOrnly re-
fused to believe dead. An instinct stronger than
reason told me should see him again. and when he
actually came aud stood before me-a little grayer
after twenty-five years. but as good a MOslem, as
honest a man. and as faithful a friend ever-l
vassuTprised at the fufllment my OwnpredictioD.
He has pTOspered In the meantime: he is the owner
Of several houses, and no longer needs 10 accompany
The Frank traveller his eccentric pigrimages, but
IL all else he IS unchanged. / come back to verify
ny old experience of human nature in Christian or
Moslem. Jew or Buddhist, the true man is true and
the false is false not the creed as an abstraction
but It's practical exempihcaiOn in life Is the gauge
Of religion. Achmct, and various Mohammedan
priests whom / nave known, promise me Tee en-
trance into their heaven !, III turn, hope to welcome
them in mine.
But am straying from the theme. Through my
old friend, have been trying 10 learn how the
native Cairenes look upon the innovations OF the
Khediye the transformations going on IN their be-
loved city, II is easy 10 get to the bottom OF the
truth the Oriental j. prone to accept without re-
1eeting. The old orthodox Moslem element, sus-
pect Is discontented and perhaps scandalized; the
mass Of the people fond of show, Of the display of
wealth and the indirect largesse which accompanies
it. are diverted for the present and therefore satis-
fed. The Future is an unknown factor ID the calcu-
ation of the latter class They viii cheerfny loaf
all day in the sun if but single farthing is lett
them for supper. It really seems as if the donkey
boys and others who prey upon travellers conceive
their business as a lottery, for they will refuse the
offers in the morning which after lost hours Of idle
ness they accept IN the afternoon.
Our hotel in the old Frank quarter, a little way
off the M1ostel lies within the undsturbed region.
II turn to the right on issuing from it, presently
into the ancient bazars, sweet with smothered
scents Of aloe and sandaw shaded, stately with
grave merchants and offering pictures which still
recall the Arabian Nights at every turn. There are
tul carved Saracenic portals, cool, mysterious
courts arcades where the grave tailors or jewelers.
ply their trade, sunny glimpses OF mosques and
fountains and the usual procession of veiled women.
eunuchs ebony slaves from Dar-Fur and the Faith
iul of the East and West Turn TO the left however,
and in few minutes you reach dusty square
where Ibrahm Pasha--the Lion of Egypt--checks
his horse III bronze and stretches bis bronze arm
toward the modern quarters Of the city. 90,
Egyptianw said 10 a native; what do the people
think of this 2" 80 stTanger~ he answered, they