The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-09-22
Visit to the biggest University of Northern Africa at Assiomt
.testa sta.cs.Ea.sa.sa.Ea.o.C .
Copyright, 1907. by Frank c. carpenter)

Copyright, 1907, by Frank c. Carpenter.)
 Assiout, Upper Egypt.
 4 T Assiout, away up the Nile val "A ley. about as far south of the Mediterranean as Washington is sonth of Buffalo, some of the most enter nrising of our charitable Americans have established a training college for young Egyptians which is doing a wonderful work in the valley of the Nile. l came here from Cairo to see it, winding my way in and out along the great river The Nile valley is narrow above Cairo. It's width is from three 10 nine miles, and as the railroad took me up it | could see everywhere the yellow sand on both sides We were at times far out in the desert and at times moving in and out of the irrigated lands. We passed mud villages at every turn of the car wheels The border the river and the larger canals, and the date trees which hang over them are now loaded with yellow fruit. Upper Egypt has vast numbers of date trees. There are in the whole country something like S,000000 of these palms, and they bring in, at a rough estimate, $1 to every tree every year.
 Assiout is the largest city in Egypt south of Cairo. It is the capital of this part of the Nile valley and is the chief center of it's commerce and trade. Be- fore the railroad was built caravans from the Soudan brought great quantities of merchandise from Central Africa to the point and transferred it to other caravans bound for Tripoli. Cairo or Suez. The railroad now carries the most of this trade and the iron tracks have been extended from here southward with but one short break, supplied by steamers on the river, to the city of Khartoum.
 The Nile valley above Cairo is eX- ceedingly fertile. There is not an acre of irrigated land in It worth less than $2oo, and most of it would bring $500 per acre under the hammer The whole region Is prosperous and the beggars are now compara lively few.
 Assout itself has many new buildings. Not far from the railroad station are brick houses of two and three stories which would be considered fine anywhere. They are owned by Copts, who started life poor and have become millionaires. The most of the houses of the city are Egyptian in character They are flat roofed buildings of one, two and three stories, facing the street. Many of them are new and substantially built. The ba- zars are far better than when I visited Asslout twenty-five years ago, and the town, which now has over ,0O0 people, is double the size 1t was then.
 But sta arted out to tell you about tins big American college It is doing so much good for Egypt that 1t is com mended by the British government and by every tourist who learns anything of Egyptian affairs. It Is known the Assiout Training college. It was found- ed about forty years ago and its first work was done in a donkey stable. It now has seven large two and three story buildings, which cover two acres. running around a campus shaded by date palms, and among its professors are graduates of the best of our col leges including Princeton and Yale. It has now between seven and eight hundred students, who come from all parts of Egypt and even from the Soudan and the other countries of northern Africa. The students repre- sent more than 100 towns throughout the Nile valley. The graduates are scattered all over Egypt. Many of them are influential business men, some are lawyers, doctors and teach CTS, and oth- CTS are government officials. The grad uates of tn school are anXiously sought by the government as clerks. Their training is considered better than that of the government colleges, where no religion except the Koran Is taught, and they are found to be more trustworthy and of a higher moral character.
 Managed By Presbyterians.
 This college is a missionary institu- ton, but it gives good general edu- cation It is run upon broad lines and has among it's students Copts, Moham- medans and Christians. 1t is supoprt- ed by the United Presbyterian church of the United States. This is about the only one of our Protestant denomina- tions which is doing work here, the