The herald., 1896-06-07

.
and recelleeti0ns the people of Egypt
from the filth, lUaths6me eye disease,
| and the general degradation which are
| their Accomplishments, it is nevertheless
an indisputable fact that the Egyptians
| awaken far keener interest in the or
dinary tourist than the vastly superior
Arab races. While this IL Of course
| largely due to the historic environment
ofthis ancient race, much of the attrac-
tl6n Which they possess for the travel.
ers who flock I'd their country from all
quarters of the globe may be attributed
to the more or less close relations with
the natives into which a so1ourn IN
Egypt occasionally brings one.
/ The pleasures of travel in Egypt are
offset by so many drawbacks of every
kind as to render stay in that country
truly enjoyable in retrospect only. while
the terrific winds and the clouds Of dust
| with which you have to contend, even
on what is apparently a perfect day.
and the debilitating effects of a climate
which consists of sudden changes, as
trying as they are treacherous, riidks 1t
hard to see why Egypt should be reconi-
mended as health resort. Here is an
example of what Cook terms luxurious
travelling. and an illustration Of the
rapid changes In Temperature to
+ which one is subjected. We left
Cairo for Girgeh, en- route for Luxor,
on the evening or the 23d of February.
1t had been a day Of such sultry and
glaring heat that we remained indoors
as much az possible. yet hardly had we
| boarded the train de luxe" when we
seemed transported to Greenland. The
accommodate which our sleeping
! compartment offered were two hard pill
lows, small and rock like, two hard. mar
row sofas and four thin horse bienkets.
We We're the only passengers or the ear.
| every window and door of which Was
! widn II EA,,ijffiv,r Il G 1
! and suffocating streams Of dust and the
egyptian porter Into whose charge we
had been given understood nc language
/ save his own. and our sign language
least of all. Nearly an hour elapsed be-
fore we could induce the grinnng gnome
10 smut out the fierce elements, our own
efforts to do so having proved of no
avail That was a night we shall not
easily forget, although Its discomforts
| were almost counterbalanced by the hti.
NOR of the situation.
:, "A stay of some weeks in Egypt gives
the tourist rich store of interesting and
varied experiences, The sights in and
about Cairo alone are welienial1 inex.
haustible. and time there has wings In
oeed, albeit one Is at loss to know
what becomes of 1t. The fact Is, the fasc-
nations of Cairo are such that existence
" that city is constant waking dream.
Wnen you are not actively sight-sein
| =. NAAN'ii'SACNoiJ iudulSc DdSSIVely IN
1t; for native life as seen from the ho-
tel windows or terraces Is quite as en-
PERTAINING as elsewhere and cosinopoli-
tan life is nowhere SO we'll represented
as In the intermingling of nationalities
which you see in Cairo.
EGYPT presents kaIeidOscopic asnect
| from Whatever point it may be viewed,
ana although the costumes of both sexes
snow very little or no variety of style.
ana are seen In setting which lacks the
color and the brilliancy peculiar to other
tropical climcs. no two scenes are ever
quite alike, and no scene is the same for
tne space of more than a few seconds
Ihe love of motion and the insa BILE
curiosity to know what is going on
Wnlch characterize the Egyptians are
constantly introducing new features into
these typical pictures of native life.
The Egyptian quarter of Cairo, with
lts endless dirty, winding streets-streets
which are often no better than alley
Ways-its small, open shops, and the
closely packed houses which crowd upon
each other, has the air of huge human
peehiVe. In drive or walk through the
district every turn brings you into con-
tact with hundreds of people and hun
dreds of camels and donkeys, the beasts
being quite as picturesque and frequent
ly more attractive. The men almost all
wear the national bright blue costume,
ana turban, which is usually white,
NitliS tllt WOlllGIl are IODeu III very Qark
blue overdress and are so closely yelled
that hardly more than the eyes are visi-
BILE. The little boys, and the girls who
have not yet reached the age when GUS
tom demands the wearing of a veil, af-
feet the gayest colors and materials,
/ yellow being the favorite and predomi-
mating hue. Babes are carried astride
their mothers shoulders up to the age
of two years, and sometimes without
support of any kind, which, custom ap-
pears to give to the little ones a free,
bold carriage. The supercilious camels
and interesting dorkeys are SO intimate
ly associated with the Egyptian people
that a scene where both the human and
the animal elements are not found side
by side seems unnatural. Both the white
camel and. the White donkey are the
handsomest of their kind especially
when richly caparisoned, although every
camel looks imposing when heavily
laden with the beautiful alfalfa grass
which alone gives freshness to the re-
voting surroundings of the Egyptians
When there is to be wedding the streets
and houses are decorated with quaint
little red flags which give festive air
to the scene But the ever-changing
panorama of Cairo, typical as it is, aside
from the squalor and disease which per-
wade everything. seems poor and mean
when compared with that which Tunis
or Constantine presents.
1t is pleasant change to drive away
from the incessant noise and hustle of
Cairo, over the splendid Ghesireh bridge
through some of the broad avenues of
lofty lebbeck trees which are sandy
Egypt's greatest adornment, to the
beautiful park and gardens adjoining
the museum of Gizeh. Those tourists
who desire complete rest and retirement
from the gaietas of Cairo go to Mena,
where they spend quiet days in the in
spring neighborhood of the Sphinx and
the Pyramids. One of the most novel
sights we saw while in Egypt was par
ty of young people mounted on drome-
daries, the men in dress suits, and the
women in full ball dress, which we met
making the tour of the Pyramids and
paying their respects to the Sphinx by
the light of the full moon.
Our excursion to Sakkara was surpas-
singly interesting and entertaining. We
hour from Cairo, wrapped in furs, under
the escort of our dragoman, who had
decked himself out in toggery which
looked like that of bandit, fireman and
diver combined. and quite upset our
gravity. But when we reached Sakkara,
about two hours later, we were glad
enough to shed our heavy coats and
shawls and appear in the lightest OF
summer costumes, for the sun was al
ready high above the horizon, and the
prospect of spending hours under its
scorching rays demanded the best pos
sible preparation. Our arrival at the
station was the signal for a riot among
the natives of Sakkara, every individual
one of whom was determined that we
should have his donkey and that he