The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-09-10

g. r. ~ q $50 - 80 u #a[
better classes are clad in cIoak~ Of
black bombazine made so full that
they hide every outline OF the per
son. Some have their cloaks tied in
at the waist. and they look Ike black
bed-ticks walking OF upon legs. Here
one raises her skirts. and you see that
she has on zouave DIoouers which
fall to her ankles. they make me
think OF the fourteen-yard breeches
worn BY the girls OF Als1ers- The
poorer women wear gowns OF blue
cotton, and a single gown and veil
make up a whole costume. some %
them carry babies a4stride their hips
or their shoulders. and the babies are
often as naked as when they were
born. Not a few Of the ladies have
eunuchs 10 e about with them. The
latter are as black as my hat. and as
sour as the Sphinx. They are 10 keep
the $0ung women from flirting. as
they shop in the bazaars.
Nearly all Of the women have their
faces covered In the oriental quar-
tiers you viii not meet any. except the
very lowest Of the peasants. who has
not q long veil OF black crepe six
inches wide reaching from just below
her eyes TO her ankles This Is
stitched at the corners 10 her head
dress, ard fastened IN the center by
a brass spool four inches long. which
covers the bridge OF the ncse. The
/ "a u must OF the women are
b~lackened with kohl. they have thick
black eyelashes. and one often mag
ines them beautiful until the win
blows away a veil and you find cut
the contrary.
The New Cairo.
In striking contrast with Egyptian
cairo Is the new European section
which has grown up off its edge.
That part of the CITY is having a
/ hDOr o. and lots which cold for STa a
square yard two years ago are now
bringing $50. There are instances
where ground is selling for eighteen
times as much as it did in 1905.
property is going up all over this sec
ton. and an enormous amount OF
building is being done. Rents are so
rising that the poorer Europeans are
moving out into the suburbs. and this
city promises to have a suburban de-
velopment just as we have about our
American towns.
European Cairo is a city Of wide
streets, paved with asphalt. 1t is a
city Of electric lights and sanitary i'm
Drovements. It has fine residences.
surrounded by gardens filled with
tropical plants and trees: and its
better stores carry goods which would
sell readily in Paris or New York. One
can buy almost anything from any
where in the world at these stores.
This IS especially so of such wares as
are in demand by the tourists and the
rich do-nothing class. The peddler
of antiquities and fine china. Of
jeWelry and of oriental rugs is also
here in all his glory. and during the
season he does a big business.
Cairo has many doctors and den
lists. h doctors charge So a visit
whether you see them at their Of
fees or at your hotel. The dentists
not here for their health The town
is n Of newspapers, Libraries and
clubs. 1t has it's daily journals, in
which you a read the kilograms in
French. English and Arabic; and it
has it's loud-mouthed newsboys, who
cry the papers on the streets. My
shoes are BACKED every morning by
a boy wearing a turban. and his
charge is two cents a shine.
Cairo has a good postal system,
with a letter delivery several times a
day, and it has hundreds of police
men. both on foot and on horseback.
A policeman stands in the center of
every street crossing to see that all
carriages go to the left instead of the
right; and there are enough police
in every section to make life and
property safe.
Cairo's Big Hotels.
Cairo is one of the winter resorts
Of the world. 1t is thronged during
the season with Europeans and Amer
leans. There are thousands of our
rich citizens here every year. and they
leave millions of dollars in Egypt.
Thirty thousand tourists visited the
valley of the Nile last winter. and it
is safe to say that they left upwards
Of s10.0G0.0Q0.
The hotels Of Cairo increase in size
and number every year. hey are run
by syndicates with large capital and
they pay big dividends. Shepherds,
which is so well known everywhere.
has 400 e The Savoy has $50.
The Hotel Continental 500, the
Ghezireh Palace can accommodate
400 guests at one time. and the Mena
Hotel, right under the Pyramids, has
$50 rooms. All these hotels have
modern improvements and they
charge roundly for them. At Shep-
heard's I pay SIS a day for a double
bedded room for myself and son. and
in addition there is a charge of 10
cents a day for electric lights. If l
have my breakfast in my room that
is an extra. and II ! am not in the
dining room, at just the moment hen
dinner begins, I find the doors closed,
and have to go to the grill room and
->ay extra for whatever | order. Four
five dollars per person per day
for room and board is the usual price
at the frstclass Egyptian hotels. and
this is so at Alexandria and all up
and down the Nile valley. The prices
are somewhat less during the summer
and fall; but at such times many OF
the hotels are closed. the most Of
them running only during December,
January. February and March.
Many people come here to spend
the winter, and many find 1t SO cold
that they have to leave. 1t seems to
me- that the advantages of Cairo as
a heath resort have been greatly
oyerrated. For the last year or SO the
civ has had an epidemic of dengue
or breakbone fever during the winter,
and there is scarcely a man, woman
or child who has escaped. The climate
is better farther UP the Nile valley.
FRANK G.. CARPENTER.
RYAN BUYING MUCH LAND