We Were, Of Course, Objects Of Great Surprise And Curiosity; The
Sudden Appearance Of Two European Ladies, The Only Women Present, At
Eleven O'clock At Night, Riding On Donkeys Through The Fair, Could Not
Fail To Create A Sensation.
Our boy with the lanthorn walked first,
followed by the janissary, who, flourishing his silver stick, made
room for us through the crowd.
Had we not been accompanied by this
respectable official, we should scarcely have dared to venture in such
a place, and at such a period. Mohammed and the donkey-man attended
at the side of Miss E. and myself, and though some of the people could
not help laughing at the oddity of our appearance, we met with no
sort of insult or hinderance, but made our way through without the
slightest difficulty, much more easily, in fact, than two Arabs in
their native costume, even if attended by a policeman, would have
traversed a fair in England.
The scene was altogether very singular, and we thought ourselves
fortunate in having had an opportunity of witnessing a native fair
under such novel circumstances. We could scarcely believe that we were
in a Mohammedan city, noted for its intolerance, and could not help
feeling grateful to the reigning power which had produced so striking
a change in the manners and conduct of the people. Upon leaving the
fair, we turned into dark streets, dimly illumined by the light of the
lanthorn we carried; occasionally, but very seldom, we met some
grave personage, preceded also by a lanthorn, who looked with great
astonishment at our party as we passed. At length we came to the door
of our hotel, and having knocked loudly, we were admitted into the
court-yard, when, dismounting, we proceeded up a flight of stone steps
to a verandah, which led into some very good-sized apartments. The
principal one, a large dining-room, was furnished at the upper end
in the Egyptian fashion, with divans all round; it was, however, also
well supplied with European chairs and tables, and in a few minutes
cold turkey and ham, and other good things, appeared upon the board.
Being the first arrivals from the steamer, we had to answer numerous
questions before we could retire to bed. Upon asking to be conducted
to our chamber, we were shown up another flight of stone stairs,
leading to a second and much larger verandah, which was screened off
in departments serving as ante-chambers to the bed-rooms. There was
sufficient space on the terraces of this floor, for the descent of a
few steps led to another platform, to afford a walk of some extent,
but of this we were not aware until the morning. We found a very
comfortable two-bedded room, supplied with glass windows, and
everything belonging to it in excellent repair, and apparently free
from vermin; most thankfully did we lie down to enjoy the repose which
our late exertions had rendered so needful.
Our trusty Mohammed had engaged donkeys for us the next day, and
promised to take us to every place worth seeing in the city. We were
strongly tempted to visit the Pyramids, but were deterred by the
danger of losing the steamer at Suez, and by the difficulties of the
undertaking. We were told that the Nile was not sufficiently flooded
to admit of our approach in a boat, and that we should be up to the
donkey's knees in mud if we attempted to go upon the backs of those
animals. We, therefore, reluctantly relinquished the idea, and
contented ourselves with what we could see of Cairo.
Our first visit was directed to the Citadel, a place which, I do not
scruple to say, was to me quite as interesting as any of the monuments
of ancient art that Egypt contains. The remains of ages long past, and
whose history is involved in unfathomable obscurity, excite our wonder
and admiration, and fill us with an almost painful curiosity to draw
aside the veil which time has thrown around them, and to learn secrets
that all the learning of man has hitherto been unable to unfold.
The citadel of Cairo, on the contrary, has been the theatre of
comparatively recent events; it is filled with recollections of the
hero whose exploits, narrated by the most eloquent pens, have charmed
us in our childhood, and still continue to excite interest in our
breasts - the Sultan Saladin. Here are the remains of a palace which he
once inhabited, and here is a well which bears his name. Who could sit
under the broken pillars of that roofless palace, or drink the water
from the deep recesses of that well, without allowing their thoughts
to wander back to the days of the Crusades, those chivalric times, in
which love, and war, and religion, swayed the hearts and the actions
of men; when all that was honoured and coveted was to be found in a
soldier of the cross, and when half-frantic enthusiasts, pursuing the
vainest of hopes, the recovery of the Holy Land, brought away with
them what they did not go to seek, the arts, and learning, and science
of the East! The janissary, who was with us, pointed out the direction
in which Damietta now stands, and I was instantly filled with a desire
to see Damietta, of which I had heard and read so much.
The most exciting romance of Oriental history is to be found amid the
deserts that surround Egypt; and even if the most spirit-stirring tale
of all, the Talisman, had not been written, the scenes in which our
own lion-hearted Richard figured, and which witnessed the exploits of
the Templars and the knights of St. John of Jerusalem, could not fail
to create the highest degree of pleasurable feeling in minds capable
of enjoying such brilliant reveries of the past. The Citadel of Cairo
is also fraught with the recollections of an event which startled
all Europe within the memory of many of the present generation - the
massacre of the Mamelukes.
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