Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-03-27
DESCENDENT OF MOHAMMED.
Chick Ell sADAT, OF CAIRO, CLAIMS
TO BE THE ONLY ONE LIVING.
He Is Said, Too, to Have n Violent,
U~ngovernable Temper, and Has
. Wide Berth When In
Bad Mood.

There is living in one Of the labyrin-
THAN streets of old Cairo a man who
claims to be the only male descendent of
the Great Prophet. He is ordinarily spoken
Of as Chick e. Sadat. but when addressed
officially his whole name and title are used
thus: Elsaid Ahmed Effindi Abdel Kahlek.
Chick Ell Sadat. How much is name and
how much is title is more than I know.
writes Laura Starr in Philadelphia Press.
but I am certain that it is correct, for I
have copied it from his card.
A friend, an acquaintance of the chicks.
who speaks the language of the people.
took us to see this celebrated man to whom
attaches a peculiar interest. Our Arab
driver banged o n the gate with the butt Of
his whip; there was no bell, for did not
Mohammed of blessed memory declare that
bells were the inventions Of the devils?
The gate was opened by the boab, who
conducted us across the court where the
The house inclosed the court on three sides;
between the fourth and the street there
rose a high brick wall which completely
hid the house and court from the passer-by.
fountain of running water for the necessary
additions before the five daily prayers. Not
a spear of grass. nor plant. nor flower. was
seen; nothing but a gnarled old sycamore
with wide-spreading branches.
Several ~overhanging windows Of mushra-
bieh-the beautiful latticework of the coun-
ITy-lOOkeo lutO lu6 CouTL, dHu lIOIH De
hind these we knew the women of the ha-
rem might even then be looking down upon
us. The door leading to the women's
apartments is carefully covered with a
long. lank and lean-a veritable human
blackbird.
Long Established I'm Egypt.
As the family of the chick has been es-
tablished in Egypt since the fifth, century.
the house is of great antiquity and natu-
rally a type of the best Arabian houses.
The court is exactly as it has been for hun
dreds Of years. but the house shows many
an innovation.
In one room we found the old and the
new elbowing each other in the most ri
diculous fashion, soft Persian rugs and car
pets had given way to the ugliest of Euro
pean floor and furniture coverings. The
beautiful beaten brass and silver bowls had
been put away to make room for the most
meretricious china, lacquer and cloisonai.
sharp "hello'' seemed wonderfully out of
place in this half darkened room. filled with
memories and precious relics Of other days.
The chick Is a man Of huge proportions,
a very red face. He seldom walks, and
when he does he waddles. I saw him walk
in Ismail Pasha's funeral procession. with
the dervishes of which he is the head. He
wore an immense outer garment reaching
to his heels, which was lined and trimmed
with sable, and although the day was suf-
IOCdtlHS lol. olHlIl "Oulu udNc IIluuCeu
him to put it off. for it was a sign of his
social and official position.
At his own house and whenever ] saw
him elsewhere he wore what seemed to me
an unnecessary number of solft, silken gar
ments bound around the waist with a cir
die Of finest cashmere. The sleeves of the
gabbeh were long and had deep open cuffs
which fell over the hand in a very slovenly
manner. Like the Chinaman. the Egyptian
uses the long sleeves as a refuge for the
hands when the wearer is in the presence
of a person of superior rank.
Chicks Costume and Appearance.
The chick wore a fine green turban mys-
teriously wound around his perspiring
head. This turban marked the man as a
~descendent of Mohammed: told the story
to one of the orders of dervishes. Whether
it was the color of the turban, its texture
or the style of wearing it that told all this
to the initiated / could not learn.
The chick wears a short curling beard,
sparsely sprinkled with gray. His beady,
black yes look out upon the world from
under heavy lids. which seldom lift them
selves when the chick is talking. This
habit is a common one with Bedouins and
all others who live much in the strong
light OF the sun.
sensual face, thick lips and heavy jaws.
He was very gracious to us when 1t had
been explained that we had not come to
see him out of idle curiosity, but because
We Soi hSiiN 49, Ahhi VI
| veins courses the blood of the Prophet.
He told our friend to show us the whole
place and asked us to come another day
to visit his harem, as the ladies were not
at home then. We went ramidam and had
a most interesting visit.
Some of the skeptical Europeans living
in Cairo seem to doubt whether the chicks
| ancestry can be traced directly back to
| Mohammed but as an unprecedented obser-
| yer. I am inclined to think his claim is gen.
| uine. and that he is really a lineal descend
ant of the man who gave Islamism to the
| world.
The Egyptians themselves recognize him
as the head of this branch of the house.
| The sultan and three khedives have dec
| Grated him, and it is said that the rank
| and file of the people look upon him with
| more awe and reverence than they bestow
upon the occupant Of the khedivial throne.
They are certainly afraid of him. for upon
two occasions he has been accused of muir
der by the foreigners. but no Arab can be
| found to testify against him.. He is a man
| of violent and u~ngorernabie temper and
| whoever comes within his reach when he
is in a rage must suffer. It is needless to
| say that all who know him give him a
l wide berth when he is in a a mood.