The Lexington advertiser. [volume] (Lexington, Miss.) 1904-1985, 1950-07-06
THROUGH
HAZEL
EYES
by Hazel Brannon Smith
Cairo, Egypt
Delayed)

kDelayeuJ
From a high balcony in the ia
NOUS Mohamed Ally mosque we
gazed down upon the city of Cal
70. No other city we had visited
during this voyage around the
world had SO much to tell us of
the past.
The panorama which greeted
our eyes was breath-taking--t the
ancient city walls, miles of deli
cately carved minarets and DOM
es-the winding streets of the
Oriental quarter bursting with
narrow brown houses with pro-
jeoting balconies-the European
quarter with its many green
trees lying along the Nile river
for backdrop the Pyramids tow
eling against the horizon and to
the east the peaks Of barren cliffs
outlining sharply the brown
wastes. of the desert.
The Mohamed Ally mosque is
Enthusiastically beautiful-nowhere
in Malaga or India had we seen
anything like 1.-THE interiors
brilliantly colored with intricate
tile work and hundreds of STAIN
ed glass windows-the floors
covered with deep, fine carpeting
deliberately lighted with humid
reds of electric lights contained
in crystal-clear globes which re-
sembled huge soap bubbles. These
lights 60 in circular fashion seve-
raj rows deep around a gigantic
chandelier. When the light comes
on it transforms the Mosque in
to veritable fairy land.
There are no chairs in these
mosques and people entering
must remove their shoes. Outside
in the large forecourt is foun-
tain where those who come to
worship wash their feet. We were
allowed to enter with large can
vas wrappers over our shoes
and we resembled so many ducks
as we waddled along trying to
walk and at the same time keep
our feet covered
The mosques of Cairo in beau
ty and grandeur easily rival the
most famous churches and cathe-
drals in Europe and England.
Cairo is city of over one mil
lion people, the largest city in
Africa. As city it has been in
existence almost thousand
years. It was taken by the Turks
in 1917 and in 1898 was captured
by the Preach, only vto pHss again
under Turkish rule.
England declared protecto-
rate over Egypt after World War
l which lasted until 1922. At this
time a new Egyptian government
was formed with the Sultan as
Stunning the title of King Fouad
!.
As the capital of Egypt, Cairo
houses the many government
buildings.
The constitution provides for a
Senate and a Chamber of Depu-
ties. Two-fifths of the senators
are appointed by the King, the
remainder and the Deputies are
elected directly by the people.
An election was being held
while we were there and the sit
uation was very tense. We were
warned not to be on the streets
when the political demonstrations
were taking place. In fact, we
were given very strict instruct
ions by the American Express a.
gents who We're in charge of
showing us around the city that
we must not 60 into certain areas
of the city-that it was danger
Gus.
Arrangements had been origi-
nally made for the Monroe pas
sengers to see Cairo by private
limousine in parties of three and
four with English-speaking
guides and chauffeurs. But by
the time we arrived the situation
was so disturbed that we were
put in buses and accompanied by
the police and army officers on
our sightseeing trips.
There were strict rules against
tourists taking any pictures in
Egypt-but because we had po-
lice and military escort we were
allowed to take a few pictures.
All mail is still censored in
Egypt, both incoming and out
going. This applies to all tourists
as well as residents and citizens
pf that country-and explains
why it takes so long for mail to
get out of Egypt. Every piece of
mail is read by the censors-and
they always stay weeks behind
in their work.
Egypt seems about ready to
blow its top politically.
Everywhere we went the peo-
pie were bitterly anti-British.