Omaha daily bee., 1893-06-04
JUST A LITTLE BIT OF EGYPT
Cairo Street and Its Dusky Inhabitants from
the Desert
SCENES IN THE WORLDS FAIR VILLAGE
What is Tone TO Amuse and Entertain the
People Who visit tho Quaint Attrao-
tion on Midway Plaisance-
Notes OF the Fair.

CHICAGO, Ill, June 3.-[Special to THE
BEE. - Away from the monotonous magnif-
cence, the incomprehensive expanse of the
vast white palaces turns the crowd. The
throngs in the state buildings and the
masses on the plaisance are evidence of the
popular inclination. The foreign groups and
the freaks" of the Midway paisance are
the attractions above all now.
In Cairo Street.
All else in the Midway, which is broad
statement too, has been overshadowed since
the opening of Cairo street. The portals of
the miniature Egyptian metropolis are daily
| besieged by as many thousands as visit the
| plaisance, for Cairo" is an attraction most
| irresistible. From the exterior there is a
| view OF the mosque and its beautiful mi ma
ret, with an occasional glimpse of the love-
| sick mezzin, who lost his heart to an Ohio
typewriter, as he is calling the followers of
Mahomet to prayer The entrance fee is
trihe, though before the pilgrim
concludes it is the old story of cost
ing a penny to get in and
within wheels. Yet three hours may be
spent in the street without a thought of the
passing time. 1t is no representation of any
| particular street, the idea carried out by the
khediveal architect being to reproduce vari.
| Gus styles of structures of various ages.
The mosque is copy of that of Sultan kait
Bay, and its graceful minaret that of Abou
Bahke Mazar: Across the way, there is tho
structure that was palace in the days when
Canaan ell dinel Yahter, a wealthy
was 800 years ago. 1t is said to be a faithful
reproduction. In large court yard, to
which runs a narrow and crooked street
from the under portion where are the
| numerous bazaars a number of attractions
are grouped. There are in the front of it
two obelisks seventy-fve feet in height,
covered with hieroglyphcs. The interior
decoration is given up to description of
men who lived about the time
of the second Rameses. In the rear
are the statue of Thir and the sarco-
phagus of the sacred bulls. A dozen
musicians make matters lively in this vicin-
ity. In another portion of the grand court
an astrooger's tent is located. The boss
fakir stands in front and balances an empty
egg on the tip of his nose until a sufficient
| crowd gathers, when he takes the party into
his tent and performs in q manner that is
warranted TO result in nervous prostration of
the timid spectator. The conjuror sticks
spikes through his cheeks, gouges out his
eyes and replaces them, and all in all earns
the petty stipend of backsheesh conceded
by the manager of the street.
They Form Weird Collection.
The Nubian and Soudanese dancers" so
called, in nuts having triangular entrances
and requiring acrobatic exertion to penc-
trate, are weird collection. Three genera
year-old babe executing the distinctively
African steps and the balance of the party
maintaining monotonous humping on
pigskin tom-toms, containing about as much
music as there is in a hoarse bullfrog after a
bad night The chief buck wears q heavy
mating of goat hoofs on the south when he
is not facing that way, and when visitor
fails to drop nickel in the slot the inky
imp bout faces and rattles the Dones under
his very nose. The charcoal beauties and
the picaninnies manage to busy themselves
collecting backheesh, all of which is turned
in forthwith to the treasurer for there is a
man in each hut who acts in that capacity.
One of the girls said in fairly good English
that he was the "father" of the entire
party. These people dwell continually in
their huts. They subsist from general pot
OF pork and beans and sleep on q shelf
which forms the second story Of the huts
Cairo also has its Egyptian theaters. The
stage is much wider than the average
stage of American theaters, but
|, A half dozen jet-black eunuchs lolling lazily
on luxurious looking divans render the
music, the same distinctive Oriental sing
song that is heard in the Turkish theater
, Dancing forms the chicfest portion of the
entertainment here. A number Of really
beautiful types of Cairo girls who are pr O.
ticient in their particular style Of beating
time give frequent performances. The
feature of the show IS the act of Mile.
Phrydon. AS many people know the Egyp-
tian girl dances upon the theory of there
being just as much poetry in the motion of
her body as in the tripping of the feet. Miss
:. Phrydon picks up a chair with her teeth
q and holds it i'll a perpendicular position
} as she trips about. After awhile she
qys cbar still Upon the hs, 09r with
and then goes through series of body
motions that are altogether fantastic and of
, questionable propriety The Turkish theater
, draws-but more men than women go. The
women are tossing many quarter to the
grizzled old fakir who squats in the sand
goes through strange motions and reads his
: customers future in the stars He has an
r interpreter. Children revel IN rides about
the street on Egyptian donkeys. There is a
breed OF camels, too, with native drivers
who have doubtless oft traversed
Sahara's arid waste, There Is every
, thing thing ,,agg Imaginable that could , come
from package of sinking cigarettes to a
, copy Of the Aikoran of Mahommed. There
is photograph gallery, where photographs
dive, may be purchased for 81. They are
copyrighted. Caias street abounds in at
traction and interest. 1t is the best of al
the plaisance side shows.
Amusing in Their Ignorance.
Amusing in the extreme is the conception
some people who have never been here have
formed of the extent of the exposi
a tion. Many who look as if the,
!, ought to know better will display tn,
; most amazing ignorance. l heard party o
lalr women gong out on an Illinois Centra
j. train planning the days trip. 1t was abou
10 o'clock.
First we must go through the art gal
lery," one remarked.
Z Sightseer No 2 said the best thing to d.
after that was to make an inspection OF th
state buildings.
+ -"And then We'll see what's in the Manu-
factures building and the Transportation
We must see those funny old towns, yol
know and want 10 see the ceramics"
The other woman said that if they spent
q little while on the Midway Plaisance tina
ought TO complete pretty good days trip
The others agreed that it would.
8 Perhaps they could accomplish it in thre
weeks If they didn't examine eyerythin,
minutely, 1t is in line with an actual occur
;, renee here the past week. A ST. Pau
woman wrote to q friend here saying sh
would be at the fair certain day an,
she desired to meet her friend "in the Man
ufactures building!' She might as wei
}. | have made it more definite by saying, "pl
l. meet YOU in Chicago" People get lost il
;. the main building.
The two biggest fights of the exposition
aside from the Sunday closing war-hay
| been settled. AS was written here som