The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1904-02-11
THE METROPOLIS OF EGYPT.
Cairo, the Ancient City, Is Full of
Wonders to Interest the Trav-
eIer from Abroad.

Cairo reminds one of an impression
list picture. 1t is so unreal; the colors
are SO unnaturally bright, and the cos
tunes and the manners of the people
80 different from what we are accus-
toned to. The scenery as well as the
actors appears to belong to another
world, writes William E. Curtis, in
special correspondence of the Chicago
Record-Herald. For the first few days
after your arrival you are satisfied to
sit on the terrace of Shepherds hotel
and watch the noisy, restless, ever
changing croWd-half oriental half
European-that passes back and forth
on foot, on horseback, in carriages, on
camels and astride diminutive donkeys.
Every nation of the earth seems to be
represented, and the present touches
fingers with the past wherever you
may look. Under the glare of an cleo
trio light you see venerable Arab
sheiks wearing the same robes and
leaning upon the same sort of staff
that was used when Abraham was a
boy; and scribes with inkstands made
from the horns of cattle and pens
whitfield from reeds sit at the Street
corners and at the threshold of the post
office, writing letters at the dictation
Of patrons whose fingers have never
been taught to frame their thought in
words. Go block from the most mod
ern Of modern hotels and clubs, and
you will come face to face with stately
patriarchal figures in ample turbans,
long vests of Syrian silk and outer
robes of cashmere that seem to have
stepped out of an illustrated Bible, and
as the sun goes down you hear the call
of the muzzein from the balcony Of the
minarets, and devout Moslems drop
down on the pavement to pray. Water
carriers with the same sheepskin and
pigskin bottles that were used by the
patriarchs rub up against English
grooms in top boots and silk hats;
sherbet and licorice water and lemon
ade sellers, with tin cans and brass
cups, which they clink like castanets,
gossip with peddlers of post cards and
wax matches. Merchants, bankers,
lawyers, soldiers, beggars, guides, po-
licemen meet and dodge each other.
Officials from the foreign office and the
treasury conscious of their Importance
and responsibility, and dressed in the
smartest of modern French tailoring,
halt at the crossing to avoid an Egyp-
ian lady riding astride upon donkey,
with her bare feet in velvet slippers
and her face covered with rusty black
veil. Syrians in long baggy trousers
and braided jackets; Bedouins in flow
ing robes of brown and white stripes,
whose turbans indicate the clan to
which they belong; Persians with tall
caps of brown camel's hair; Nubians
with faces as black as coal; Egyptian
fellaheen in ragged blue shirts and
fezzes of red felt; Copt priests in long
black gowns like those worn by our
judiciary, and sharp-edged stovepipe
hats; Englishmen in pith helmets and
khaki suits; keen-eyed Algerians in
white robes, and representatives OF
every other race and nation elbow each
other as they pass along the sidewalk,
talking with nervous gesticulations.
There is nothing like it elsewhere in
the world. 1t is new and rovcl to the
Oldest traveller, and one must have
seen the strange picture for himself 10
appreciate how unique and how fas-
cinating it is.