Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-03-22
NOTES ON THE WY.
I'm the Old Country.
CAIRO. FEYPT- EehrI,ar

CAIRO. EGYPT, February. 1879
After newspaper man has spent something
like siv weeks In Egypt it win probably be ex-
Tected that lie Will at once proceed to write up
the country, its ancient history. its antiquities
ruins, ard customs, its present condition aud its
future prospects. But am afraid Shall rot be
able TO meet such an expectation, il il exists in
the present case. To my mind the theme,
tempting as 1t is. is a little too vast for trelt-
ment in the hurried letters when must. from
the nature Of things, be written for daily
newspaper Besides. the subject has been rather
overdoIe, as well by those competent as those
Incompetent to do il Justice. The reader who
wants the ancient history of Egypt will lind it
in HerodotuS Those who desire an account or
its antiquities will ind all they want to kn NV
! in IepstuS, Champoilion and Mariette Bav.
oIdersed summaries OF both topics are fir-
nished i'll the hand books OF Baedeker and MIR
ray, while the SlOD and gllSh or rather, perh aDS.
Tie froth Cf travel in the country will be found
IN Curtis nile Notes of liowadHn O1 the
whole, however, / think that Miss Edwards
s.Thousapd Miles up the Nile gives the best
con bna,iOn OF information and sentiment con-
cerpipg the river OF mysteries and the atJrac-
t1crS on iIs banks. and to H. / commend all
readers interested In the subject.
Yet having visited Egypt and ascended the
\ lie as far as Nubia It might be thought was
worth writing about, II passed 1t by in silence.
such an inference would, however II enter
tained be far from correct ! consider E"ypt.
indeed, as by far the most interesting country
have ever seen, aid / doubt If any other in
the world viii so we'll repay a visit. But, as
said before, the general subject is too extensive
newspaper letter. What shall say therefore
viii be rather In regard 10 the trip itself than
concerning It's objects and what IL yields In the
way OF pleasure ard information.
Travellers to the "Old Country" have the
choice OF four lines from Europe, as follows
Ky he British line OF steamers from BrInd'si; by
an Austrian line from Trieste; by French or
lta1a line from MarsellleS or Naples. Neither
OF them, may add. parentheticiy, are first
class, In the American Interpretation OF that
tenn. The sea trip Is made TO Alexandria In
from 1Our 10 six days, according to the port of
departure, and depending, likewise, somewhat
Oh tie weather.
Tie city or Alexandria itself presents little to
detan the tourist To Egypt, whether travelling
for pleasure or research. Excepting PomDey ;
Pillar which is rather fine shaft everything
picturesque or interesting there will be found
Cairo, or further up til" Nile. The distance
from Alexandria TO Cairo is between one hun
dled and thirty and one hundred and forty
miles. by rail- the journey being made In from
four 10 eight hours, accordingly as the pa5sea-
ger takes an express or accommodation train
The road runs through the broad rich close
cultivated valley OF the Nile all the way and /,
perfectly level and nearly straight the entire
distance. For the benefit OF those who a,e
curious to know, will add that the total ex-
lense OF the trip from Paris to Cairo, exclusive
VI LHSdtS NbDc liastlIS Dy rail-, was ODD francs.
Cairo and the country Immediately about IL.
including the delta OF the Nile, the pyramids OF
Gh1Zeh and Sakkarah: the Sphinx, the ruins Of
Memphis and Heliopols, and the peJriiied for
estS close by, are alone worth a trip to Egypt to
see. Yet, after all, the Nile, with the many and
magnificent ruins dOttingits banks is the great
central feature of'the country, and no one who
can afford the time and money necessary to do
1t should visit tie country without also going
up the river at least as far as the first cataract
Row THE NILE TRIP Is MADE
Under existing circumstances there are only
two ways In which the Nile trip can be made.
One Of these is by dahabeah; the other by oae
OF the Khedive's steamers at present run un.
der the auspices and control OF Thomas Cook &
Son, the we'll known English tourist manager
TIE dapabeah is a sort OF combination Of sat.
ana row boat peculiar In its construction an
arrangement, and quite unlike any other Craft
In appearance. 1t viii accommodate from fOu
10 ten persons. according to It's size and plan
The time 1t requires to go to the first cataract,
SIX hundred miles, and return, Will averag
Learly three months; to the second, two hun
dred miles farther, from four to six week
longer: The length OF time for both Will de
pend, however, somewhat on the taste OF it
occupants, but Still more on the wind. The cos
to each passenger by dahabeah will averag
between six and seven dollars per day, cover
Ing all expenses; but this, too, depends largely
On the means and taste OF the traveller. For eX-
ample. when our party returned to Cairo W.
learned that an American railway king, with
party Of five, had that day lefJwith dahabeah
and retinue which cost the round sum OF e3OO
Per month.
To those whose sole object in life is to Kill
time, without regard to cost In money; to in
valids who require warm drv climate; and to
artists. who can set up their easel and paint
wnlie necalmed at undesirable places on the
sents mus nerSan os9E no me the dahaoeah pre-
on Its waters; but for those who wish to con-
tro! their moments in accordance with their
fse ana n and Who to
steamer line Will be found much more desir-
able. In this way they are able to spend all the
and TO az any poe or
estlng reaches, without regard to winds and
currents, which those travelling by the other
is less danger of misunderstanding and quar-
relS among passengers by steamer than by da-
beah,-unless the latter contains, as it
should, only single family, controlled by one
head, whose Will as to movements, delays, de-
tours, etc., is law for the whole party. When
steamer starts, her program for the whole
trip is made known In advance, and as 1t Is
arranged for the best possible disposition OF the
allotted t;me there Is nothing to do but carry
1t out, and all hands are satisfied. On the other
hand, In miscellaneous party by dahabeah it
is impossible to control winds and currents,
and each one is apt to think that his idea OF
how the available time ought to be employed is
as good as that OF any other, so that there Is no
end to the possibilities of row, and am told
that 1t is no unusual thing for parties travelling
in that way TO finally break up in bitter and
irreconcilable quarrel
NILE TOURISTS.
OF course, whether travelling by steamer or
dahabeab, pleasant company is OF the first
consequence, or rather much OF the pie easure In
either case will depend upon having congenial
society during the trip. In this respect the
party that made up our passenger list on the
''Reheran' last month, was, If not all that
could be desired, at least all that could be ex-
| pected. 1t consisted OF forty one persons In
all, nine OF whom were ladies. In Nationality
1t was divided as follows: English, 81; Ameri-
can, I; French, 6; German, 3: Austrian, 2; Po-
| l1sh, Pa Prince and Princess. or the ladies;
! six were English, two American, and one PO.
| lish, or rather French by birth, and Polish by
| marriage. Considering that the Americans
| had ali odds OF three thousand miles against
them In the start, 1t must be admitted tnat they
mustered pretty fair proportion OF the whole
| party, and the per centage of Americans on
| this boat was not larger, was told, than the
| average on Nile trips, one season with another
Indeed was informed by our Consul General
at CAIRO That large majority OF the dahabeahs
going up the Nile every year are chartered and
| occupied by Americans.
| AS is usually the case On such occasions, the
! passengers on the boat constituted very Ia
| tercsting study,-hardly less so In fact, than
| the scenery and ruins along the banks Of the
liver we We're sailing upon. The Americans
were an average, every day lot, so to speak,
4 1rf