Los Angeles herald., 1909-06-10

Then there is the city and the desert
Sunset upon the desert was impressive
and beautiful when Egypt was young
and the oldest of the pyramids had no
place in the dreams of men. one may
sit comfortably upon the roof of his
hotel and witness the spectacle. The
tall masts of the dahabeahs rise above
the level of the roof, and the Nile, CIV
ing back the slanting rays of the sun.
stretches far out towards Roda, where
Moses was found in the ark of bull
rushes and toward the island of Chi
zireh, made beautiful by the reckless
extravaganza of Ismail Pasha. Against
the still brilliant heavens upon one side
of the Nile are etched the slender min
arets of the Alabaster mosque. While
q stately Arab or Soudanese in flowing
robes is serving ones appetizer the
sun sinks below the long line of brown
desert hills, and a Hichens afterglow,
or marvellous tints and long duration,
battles the heavens in fire. When the
pyramids at Gizeh have faded gradu-
ally into the purple shadows of the
deepening dusk 1t Is time to dress for
dinner
If one insists on going to the desert
for his sunset there are circumstances
with one hump or camelS with two,
with gaits that wrench the back of a
civilized man. But motor car may be
depended upon to convey one thither In
comfort. A dozen motor cars parked
under the shadow of Cheops is no I'M
usual sight. Comeback excursions into
the desert form an especially popular
diversion of visitors from the Occident.
Riding a camel is like having chronic
rheumattsm-on gets used to 1t but
can never be said to really enjoy 1t.
But desert rides are the fad of the
period and the torture is undergone
unmurmuringly. Sand carts usually
convey the chaperon, while the inter-
ested couples trek ahead on the camels.
A number of Bedouins may be hired to
precede the caravan and sing songs in
Arabic while the prehistoric looking
ship of the desert" and the modern
sand cart vie with one another in sway
ing the excursionist to and fro as If to
discover the secret of why the verte-
brae of the human spinal column stick
together.
Viewing the pyramids by moonlight
forms another feature of social activity
in Cairo. , Thanks to the largeness of
the late Ismail Pasha's ideas, fine
macadamized boulevard, built upon a
"fl." traverses the plain between the
Nile and Gizeh. eAntiquarians objected
some years ago when trolley line was
projected to the pyramids, but mas
much as the Egyptian trolley car adj
vances toward its terminal station at a
pace sufficiently decorous to suggest
genuine reverence for historic ruins in
| its vicinity there is no cause for a
quarrel with this manifestation OF
progress at Gizeh.
After the tourist has visited the
pyramids in the daytime he does not
wonder that Napoleon chose midnight
as the hour to pay his visit and utter
his invocation-there were fewer pes
| tiferous guides to annoy him with
offers of service. Nowadays the noe
turnal visitor is compelled to use vio-
lent language to rid himself of the
"watchman' who proposes for a shtl-
| ling to burn a magnesium wire to light
up the monument upon which the daz-
cling light of the full moon is shining.
A boy in a flowing robe solemnly tells
you that Napoleon shot off the nose of
the sphinx with three cannon shots
and that he was there and saw 1t done.
A young man of athletic disposition
proposes to run to the top quick in
seven minutes like Mr.. Mark Twain" "
and others would rent you a donkey