The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-05-31
Twentieth Century Egypt
THE Gateway of the East.
BY FREDERIC j. HAsKIN.

Of dirt. where the donkey and the camel
where the law OF the prophet is the only
police regulation needed. These are or
the east eastern
The khedive lives in splendor but il is
Occidental and not Oriental splendOT. His
palace is European, there is but one wife
in his harem and he speaks French or
English with his most intimate associ-
ates. Not so Westernized is the Arab hoy
who serves you in your hotel room-an
extra dollar month or an Unusually
liberal tip will justify him in taking
another wife TO his bosom. thus charging
his harem.
one sees "a black man i'm gay dress
with three deep scars in each cheek-he
is a slave. Slavery still exists in Egypt
despite the conscience Of England, but
in d form which emphasizes the paradox
ical character of the country Any slave
may have his freedom by asking for IT,
| There is no other requirement whatever.
Strange TO say there are many slaves
who do not make the request
The harem of the wealthy pasha is
guarded by slave eunuchs just as i'm the
time when the good Haroun al RasChid
rOamed the streets Of Cairo by night.
Egypt is the gateway TO the east and
Cairo is the market place before the
gate. In the Orient great significance
Is attached to the gate of a city and its
adjoining court IL was so in the early
days of Israel when Eli and his sons
f
it is so today when the Young Turks
gather at the Damascus gate i'm Jerusa b.
lem TO talk politics. From the earliest
dawn Of history the gate has been the
general meeting place for Orientals. Cairo
well supports its share in the metaphor.
Its streets are thrOnged with people
from almost every nation Of the world.
east and west. and there is "a goodly
number who are literally men without a
country. The most daring stage director
would not presume TO dress a comic opera
cast in as many varied c0lors and cos
tunes as are worn in the EZbekieh gar
dens Of Cairo on any Sunday afternoon.
nor could all the grease paint on Broad
way. conjure up such a variety of COM
pleXions
Carlo is the capital OF modern Egypt.
built by the Arab couqUerors i'm the
eighth century with sight of the
ruins of Memphis. the capital of the
glories of ancient Egypt Three hours
distant by railway train is Alexandria,
the Greek capital of Egypt and for CEN
turtles the center Of education and culture
for the whole world. In another direc-
ton. and about the same distance away,
is the modern city of Port Said
Port said was built at the northern
entrance to the Suez canal and for forty
years has giOried i'm the title Of the
'turnstile of the nations. This is the
true gateway to the east and here lies
the dead body of the national aspira-
tiOns of Egypt. When the great com
merce of India had to be tTanshipped at
Suez carried overland to Alexandria and
there again transhipped, Egypt was pros
porous and out Of debt The canal prof.
ect so burdened the country with debts
that il lost its independence under bank
ruptcy proceedings. 1t was all for moth
ing. for when the isthmUs was cut
through there was no more commerce for
Egypt an the great commercial ports of
Suez and Alexandria dwindled in i'm
portance.
In Cairo the Oriental and the Occidental
peoples mingle with each other. take
something from each other, study each
other. and sometimes delude themselves
into thinking they understand each other.
But after ain there is the barrier which
is never broken down. Il is because of
this changeless and interchangeable differ
ence that Egypt is so thoroughly fascin-
ating. For, as the Orient-lOving kipling
has written:
East is east. and west is west. and
never the twain shall meet
Till earth and sky stand presently at
Gods great judgment seat.
Copyright, 1860. by Frederic J. Haskin)
TOmOrTOw-Twent Century Egypt
H. The Streets OF Cairo