Peeps at Many Lands: Egypt

not so. Cairo is essentially different from anything else in Egypt, not only in i

es which rise above the orange groves, the domes and minarets of the native quarter gleam golden in the sunlight. Behind is the citadel, crowned by Mohammed Ali's tomb-mosque of white marble, whose tall twin minarets seem to tower above the rosy-tinted heights of the Mokattam Hills. Even here the noise of the city reaches you in a subdued hu

ant suburb

f the west end, built for and almost entirely occupied by Europeans, and the purely native town,

gardens of the west end have entirely disappeared to make way for streets of commercial buildings, while the new districts of Kasr-el-Dubara and Ghezireh have arisen to house the well-to-

native Cairo; its life is so varied and its inte

utiful buildings whose dark shadows lend additional glory to the sunlight. Richly carved doorways give glimpses o

B CAFé

pick up a living in the streets, clearing it of garbage, and often feeding more generously, though surreptitiously, from a fruit or vegetable shop. Hawks and pigeons wheel and circle in the air

life of the streets, and a pleasant way in which to do so is to seat oneself on the high

ht colour and open to the street. Outside are the "dekkas," or high benches, on which, sitting cross-legged, the customer enjoys his coffee or his pipe. Indoors are a few chairs, and the square tiled platform on which are placed the cooking-pots and little charcoal fire of the café-keeper. Gen

h few of his European guests would care to regale themselves with the curiously shaped water-pipes with which t

rdle of coloured cloth. Stuck jauntily on the back of his head is the red "tarbūsh," or fez, universal in the towns, or, if married, he we

rtably and try and distinguish the various types which go to fo

d on in the streets, most prominent of all being that of the water-s

e hand to prevent the water from escaping. He is the poorest of them all, barefooted and wearing an often ragged blue gelabieh, while a leather apron protects his back from the dripping goa

the brass drinking-cups, which he cleverly tinkles as he walks, he has simply to bend forward until the water runs out of t

h shoulders well set back, carries, slung in a broad leather belt, a terra-cotta jar. This is the "sussi," who sells liq

ass mounted, and cooled by a large lump of ice held in a cradle at the neck, dispenses sherbet, lemonade, or

ung upon wands which project from the rim of a basket; or on a tray of wicker-wor

ried in baskets on his head, are often raided by the thieving hawk or crow, while deliciou

d in flowing "khaftan" of coloured cloth or silk, over which, hanging lo

ed in baskets or on shelves covered with papers of different tints. Even the tallow-chandler renders his shop attractive by means of festoons of candles, some of enormous size, and all tinted in pattern

lic bath, while the shop of the barber, chief gossip and story-teller of his quarter, is easily distinguished by the fine-meshed net hung across the entrance as a protecti

in the street calls his wares, while drivers of vehicles are incessant in their cries of warning to foot-passengers. All the sounds are not unmusical, howe

ave patterns on the legs and snout, which are often coloured. The saddles are of red leather and cloth, and from them hang long tassels which swing as they canter through the streets, while the musical rattle of

raceful dignity. Her features are hidden by the "bourka," or veil, which is generally worn, but her beautiful eyes fascinate; nor does the vol

uildings which enclose them, and the great glory of Cairo

limestone or rubble covered with white plaster, and the lower courses are often coloured in stripes of yellow, white, and red. Handsome carved doorways open from the street, and the doors are panelled in bold arabesque design, or enriched by metal studs and knockers

frequently carved. This method of building has two advantages, for the projecting upper storeys afford a little shade in th

iginally they were simply small cages of plain lattice-work in which the water jars were placed to cool, but as prosperity increased and the homes of the people became more ornate, first the edges of the lattice-work were cut so as to form a pattern, and the little cages presently developed int

t is to home decoration, and the dealers in Cairo eagerly buy up all that can be obtained to be

most touch across the street, and make it so dark as to be almost like a tunnel. The handsome doorways also are often half buried in the débris which for three hundred years or more has been accumulating in the narrow lanes, so much so that in many cases the doors cannot be opene