The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-06-29
SUPPED WITH AN ARAB.
UNUSUAL TREAT OF SOME AM.
ERICAN WOMEN IN EGYPT.

ERICAN WOMEN IN EGYPT.
No Forks, No Dishes. Mo Chairs, No
Lights But the Moon-The Fare
Good if Not Quite Comprehensive
Washed After Each Course.
Egypt is place where woman, visit
Ing woman, that is, has some extra
perquisites. Supping in the bosom of
An Arab family is one of them. If the
tourist is on good terms with some,
dragoman, and is willing to loosen her
purse strings a little, she ought to
manage an invitation to one of these
little suppers without much trouble
We went more than four hundred
= miles up the Nile and tasted joy and
dozen other even more unfamiliar
fayors at Luxor We felt none the
worse for it, either, except perhaps
stiffness of the knees, none of us hay
ing been brought up to it tailorwise.
Luxor is u hideous Arab village,
squatted on small part of the ancient
site of Thebes. The houses are roof
less, rambling hutS of Nile mud, with
queer round turrets for the storing of
grain. Most of the inhabitants are
squalid and dirty.
1t doesn't sound inviting, and we
defy contradiction when we say that
it doesn't look inviting. Our drago-
man, whom we will call Hassan be-
cause that was not his name, was
about twenty years old, and could
speak English
The supper was arranged to come
on certain evening, and about 6
o'clock Hassan piloted us from the ho-
tel through a labyrinth of lanes to his
house. Hasson summoned his female
relatives, consisting of quite Il collec-
ton of sisters, sisters-in-law, and an
aunt or two
The Arabs evidently think that stars
were made before lamps. Later, when
the moon climbed up and looked over
the mud wall at us, we were glad that
the lighting of the feast had been left
to nature. Instead of bringing in the
!. lamps which we expected Hassan
brought in an immense brass tray,
which he placed on folding supports.
1t wasn't more than two feet high, this
dining table. but with considerable
cracking of joints we sat down on the
cushions which the female relatives
placed for us. One sister sat down
with us, so that we were five at the
table. The female relations with the
exception Of the sister who ate with
us, retired to the kitchen to accomplish
the supper. Hassan, rid of his dusty
outer garments, served the meal.
First he brought napkins, and then
he brought in one hand a brass bowl,
In the other brass pitcher of warm
water. We held cur hands in turn
over the bowl and Hassan poured the
water over them, after which we dried
them on car napkins and wondered
what would come next. What did come
was so much like what it would have
been at home that we had bad mo-
ment. 1t was sort of bouillon, but
was served in brass cups instead of
china ones. The resemblance to SOU
venir luncheons ended there.
Hassan soon appeared with the Sec
Ond course. 1t was big bowl of rice,
and was deposited in the middle of the
table, while large piece of bread was
placed in front of each of us. Not be-
ing up in Arab etiquette, we observed
discreet inactivity We expected
|. lplates, but were in doubt whether they
would be accompanied by knives, forks
or spoons. Our hostess solved our
doubts by taking handful of rice
from the bowl and putting it in the
hand of her next neighbor Having
fitted each of us with a sticky fiStful,
she took one herself, and we all fell to.
., Much to our relief, Hassan brought
sthe bowl and pitcher round again after
The rice episode, and we had a good
wash and felt better The female rela-
tives bad not put in an appearance for
s quite while, and when the next
course arrived we knew it was because
4 they had been too busy. Hassan
q plOuShJ i've DOWlS llllS Ilulc, anu SET
4 them down in a steaming circle before
A us. More discreet inactivity on our
, part, broken again by the hostess tax
ing from one of the dishes various
I chicken joints and putting them into
z our hands. BY this time we had given
3 up any foolish fancy relative to plates
s and knives and forks.
The stuff certainly was good. There
was one dish of chicken cooked some
| thing after the style of fricassee
3 There was dish of pigeons. There
) was a dish of veal fried with some
4. thing which defied Hassan's limited
& vocabulary, and must. therefore, be
Snameless. There was cooked vegeta-
Sble which was something like celery,
seut wasn't celery. And finally there
evas a stew whose ingredients we fore
bore to ask, for it tasted very good,
End we didn't want to lose our appe-
site for it. Everything was seasoned,
Joined the hostess in wiping up. with
pieces of bread, the bits which re
NAMED in the bowls and eating them
=. with final demonstrations of satisfac-
ton. The skill displayed by the party
after the first attempt led to mutual
i accusations of previous experience in
q "sopping."
Another wash-up (Which was much
=