The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-06-10
Twentieth Century Egypt
xI-caire as a Social Center
sYFREDERIc J. HAskIN.


The ANTIQUARIAN made Of Cairo stop
ming Mace and 3 workshop; society OF
four continents has made it a social cap
itsl The British army OF oceupa ~
made the Egyptian metropolis haoitapiSs
and the .wintering' public has made u
4 city of splendid hostelries frequenteq
by the socially notable OF every elVlllSea
country. The Egyptologist sun camps ~
Cairo. but he is submerged Densath the
Contrast is the chief charm Of Cairo
The luxurious caravsnsaries suloih w
domiciles OF the sons Of the soil, IN whose
domestic economy the bath tup mas nc
place 1t is here that the elite OF africa
meet the elite Of every other continent
The Egyptian, cream-cOiored OF hloueI
ately brown, wearing his fez indoors aIio
outdoors, mingles with western eIs;
though. OF course, the Circassian ladies or
hts household are never seen at social
affairs. The bathrooms are brilliant Win
relocated officers OF the army OF occu-
patton, and Respondent with the amazing
plaids of the officers Of the scotch reel-
ments. Members Of the British NOBILITY
and representatives of the American
''aristOcracy OF wealth cOngregatv az
these functions and lend an effect varied
Then there is the city and the desert.
Sunset upon the desert was impressive
and beautiful when Egypt was young ana
the oldest Of the pyramids had no place
in the dreams of men, One may sit CONF
fortsblv upon the roof OF his hotel and
witness the spectacle. The tall masts or
the dahabeahs rise above the level OF the
roof and the Nile, giving back the slant
ing rays Of the sun, stretches far out
towards Roda, where Moses was found IN
the ark of bulrushes. and towards the
island of Ghizireh, made beautifui by tne
reckless extrdVa gance or IsTnail Edhud.
Against the still brilliant heavens upon
one side of the Nile are etched the slen'
der minarets OF the alabaster mosque
While a stately Arab or Soudanese IN
flowing robes IS serving ones ape
tier" the sun sinks below the long line
Of brown desert hills. and a Hichens
afterglow, of marvellous ttnts and long
duration, bathes the heavens in flFe,
When the pyramids at Gizeh have FADED
gradually into the purple shadows Of the
deepening dusk 1t Is time to dress for din
ner.
II one insists on going to the desert for
hls sunset there are dromedaries with one
hump or camels with two, with gaits that
wrench the back of a civilized man But
a motor car may be depended upon TO
convey one thither in comfort. A dozen
motor cars parked under the shadow Of
Cheops is no unusual sight. Comeback
excursions into the desert form an es-
pecially popular diversion of visitors from
the Occident. Riding camel is Ike
having chronic Theumatism-one gets used
to it, but can never be said to really en-
joy it. But desert rides are the fad Of
the period and the torture is undergone
unmurmurinsly. Sand carts usually con-
Ney the chaperOn. while the interested
couples trek ahead on the camels. A
number OF BeG0uins may be hired to pre-
cede 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 sWaying the eX-
cuTsiOnist to and fro as If to discover
the secret Of why the vertebrae OF the
human spinal column stick together
Viewing the pyramids by moonlight
forms another feature OF social activity
in Cairo. Thanks to the laTgeness OF the
late Ismail PashsS ideas, fine mac
adamized boulevard, built upon a Fill, -"
traverses the plain between the Nile and
Gizeh. Anti4uarians objected some years
ago when a trolley line was projected
20 the pyramids, but inasmuch as the
Egyptian trolley car advances 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 manifesto
ton Of progress at Gizeh
After the tourist has visited the pvra-
mids in the daytime he does not wonder
that Napoleon chose midnight as tn
hour to pay his visit and utter his invO-
cation-there were fewer pestiferous
guides 10 annoy him with offers or seryy
ice. Nowadays. the nocturnal visitor is
compelled to use violent language to rid
himself Of the Waterman who pro-
poses for shilling, to burn magnesium
wire to light up the monument uuo1
which the dazzling light of the fun moon
is shining. boy In a flowing robe sol
EMMY tells you that Napoleon shot off
the nose OF the Sphinx with thTel CANON
shots, and that he was there and saw Il
done. A young man OF athletic DISPOSE
ton proposes to run to the top quick I'm
seven min ties ike Mr.. Mark Twain" and
others would rent you a donkey or tell
your fortune or sell you little blue
scarabs, the workmanship of which sug-
gests a French or Italian factory. When
one journeys 5000 miles to contemplate
the pyramids and solve the riddle of the