Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1914-06-17
SCENES IN EGYPT
FOOD FOR TOURISTS
Different Cities 81 Interest Visited
by A. @. Baker in Egypt Gra-
phically Described by Him.
IMMENSE $45,OOO,OOO DAM
GREATEST EVER CONSTRUCTED
One Hundred and Eighty Gates Con.
troll the Water, and in Season
Are Opened to Flood the
Parched Valley.

Our little boat Victoria carries
comfortably about one hundred peo-
pie. It's crew are entirely Arabs
and Abyssinians. AS we are seated
on upper deck with a temperature of
about seventy and a mild breeze,
enc feels comfortable and is in a
mood to observe intelligently the
passing scenes.
About the only trees seen are the
date palm, and to the Arab they fur
nish more than half his entire living
though perhaps less in this valley
than elsewhere To raise the date
requires lots of water at its root and
a hot dry air above They commence
bearing at about ten years from the
graft and bear about thirty years,
when they are tapped and from the
sap miserable intoxicant is fer
mented; soon after the tree dies.
To the horticulturist it was mat
ter of interest to see the process of
producing this fruit. The male tree
blossoms earlier than the female,
and to have the blossom fertilized
they cut the blossom pods just be-
fore they open On the male tree and
let the pollen dry and when the fe-
male tree blossoms they climb up
and blow this pollen on the blossom
In this way they get perfect fruit
while without, it would only produce
the naked seed. When we were rid
ing up the stream We saw them as
this process was being performed, A
grown date tree produces from $50
to 800 pounds of fruit.
From our boat we observe the ir-
rigation as employed in this valley.
Two of these date posts are set in
the earth and a cross bar placed on
top, balancing on this is lever
with perhaps fifty pounds of dried
clay on one end, supported there by
coarse cloth, from the other end
hangs a basket made of goats skin.
This basket holds nearly a bushel
this is pulled down so as to fill with
water, the mud ball raises it and it is
emptied into a through perhaps
twenty feet above, where it was
dipped from to run on the next lift
where the same process is gone over
until the water is raised to the gen.
eral level, where it is distributed over
the valley. ! make mention of this
as the living of this valley depends
on the raising of this water and at
least one third of all the population
are doing this work. With only a
breech clout for clothing these peo-
pie labor twelve hours a day and
never did / observe such incessant
labor. The laborer of this country
would not for one hour keep up that
hurried motion. They receive fifteen
cents day, or in their money, three
piasters.
Their food consists of dates and
barley bread and they are surely a
muscular being; we see no corpulen,
stomachs here.
AS we sit upon the deck looking
down on the lower deck we have
the opportunity Of seeing the Mo-
hammedan worshipper at his reli-
gious rites.
A board, looking much like ar
ironing board, is brought on deck
stepping on one end of this board
with his face towards Mecca the
worshipper throws his hands direct
ly above his head and standing erect
(these people have the pose of the
American Indian) he falters for 9
moment, drops en- his knees, touch
es his head to the board, arises anG
again goes through this same move
ment seven times, when he give.
place to another of these rough look
ing deck hands. Five times a day
this same religious rite is gone over
they showing no difference at appear
ing before their foreign observers.
The writer took the liberty anC
had the pleasure of receiving from
one of these natives something of hi.
religious belief.
His description of Mecca impressed
me much and | give as remember
Ia short description. From where
we are now it Is perhaps three hun
dred miles across the desert to tn,
Red Sea and Mecca just across. Her,
he went and here he saw that hol.
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