Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-07
Copyright, 1907. by Frank G. Carpsnter)

CAIRO, Egypt
TAND with me on the Hill OF the
citadel and take q look over Cairo
We are high above the River Nile,
and far above the mfnarets Of
mosques which rise out of the
vast plain of houses below. We are as
high up az the tops OF the Pyramids. which
stand out upon the yellow desert away off
at the left. The sun Is blazing and there
is a smoky haze over the Nile valley but
1t is not dense enough to hide Cairo. Inc
city, which lies right under u.s. Is the lars-
est on this continent, and one OF the might
lest Of tho world. 1t now contains MIL
Hon inhabitants; and. IN size. 1t Is fast ap-
proxlmating Hellopolis and Memphis in the
height of their glory.
OF all the Mohammelan cities OF the
world. Cairo is now growing the fastest. IT
already has only 100000 less people than
ConstantinOple. 1t IS four times as Dig as
Damascus. eight times as big as BaSiao
and fifteen or twenty times the SIZE o!
either Mecca or Medina, where the Prophet
Mphammed born and died. 1t has
more than doubled its population since
last visited 1t. and with my g.ass l can now
see the sCaffoding about the new bWhings
which are rising here and there over the
plains The town now covers an area eduaf
to fifty quartersection farmsf ana It's puliu-
ings are so crowded together that they form
trees to be seen are those in the new French
quarter, which lies on the outskirts
Mohammedan Cairo.
The most of the city is of Arabian archi-
lecture. 1t is fat rooted, and is made UP
OF yellowish- white buildings crowded
along narrow streets that they can hardly
be seen at this distance. Here and there
out OF the field OF white, rise tall, round
stone towers with galleries running about
them. They dominate the whole city, and
under each Is q mosque. Those mosques
are the Mohammedan churches. There are
hundreds OF them IN Cairo, and not a few
have been recently erected. Every one has
its worshipers. and upon every tower. nVe
times day. the shrill-voiced Arabian priest
calls out ;or the people to come to prayers
There is q man now calling from the NINA
ret OF the Mosque of Sultan Hasan, which
Is just under us. The mosque Itself covers
more than two acres, md the mlnaret is
about half as high as the Washington
Monument. The priest is standing on gal
lery with scaffoding above and below him
His mosque is being repaired, and 100000
will be spent upon 1t when the present
plans are completed. Just next 1t is another
mosque, recently begun. and all about US
we can see evidences that Mohammedan-
ism is by no means dead, and that these
people worship God with their pockets as
well as with their tongues.
In the Alabaster mosque, which stands -
my back fifty men are now praying. and
washing themselves before they go in to
make their vows of repentance to God and
the Prophet. Not far below me l can see
the mosque el-Azhar. which has been q
Mohammedan university for more than
thousand years. and where something like
1900 students are now learning the Koran
and Koranic law.
During my stay in T>unis the Mohamme-
dams were celebrating their Lent or Rama
dan, and not q OF tho vast population
of Tunsia who believe in the Prophet
would take a bite TO eat from sunrise to
sunset. and the more devout would not even
swallow their spittle. Here at Cairo l
have seen the people preparing to take
their pilgrimage to Mecca, rich and poor
starting out on that long journey into the
Arabian desert. At present many go part
of the way by water. The ships leaving
Alexandria and SueZ are crowded with Pill
grims, and there is regular exodus from
Port Sudan and other places on this side
OF the Red sea. They go across to Jeddah
and there lay off their costly clothing and
make their way inland, clad only in aprons
and piece OF cloth over the left shoulder
This is so of the rich and the poor. Many OF
the former carry gifts and other offerings
for the sacred city, and such gifts cost the
Egy ptian government alone quarter OF
million dollars year. Not only the hhe-