There Are 36 Caravanserais At Suez, 33 Small Ones For
Merchandise, And 3 For Travellers; Of These The Best Is That Of Sayyid
Hashim.
The pilgrim, however, must not expect much comfort or
convenience, even at Sayyid Hashim's.
[P.160]CHAPTER IX.
SUEZ.
EARLY on the morning after my arrival, I arose, and consulted my new
acquaintances about the means of recovering the missing property. They
unanimously advised a visit to the governor, whom, however, they
described to be a "Kalb ibn kalb," (dog, son of a dog,) who never
returned Moslems' salutations, and who thought all men dirt to be
trodden under foot by the Turks. The boy Mohammed showed his savoir
faire by extracting from his huge Sahara-box a fine embroidered cap,
and a grand peach-coloured coat, with which I was instantly invested;
he dressed himself with similar magnificence, and we then set out to
the "palace."
Ja'afar Bey,-he has since been deposed,-then occupied the position of
judge, officer commanding, collector of customs, and magistrate of
Suez. He was a Mir-liwa, or brigadier-general, and had some reputation
as a soldier, together with a slight tincture of European science and
language. The large old Turk received me most superciliously, disdained
all return of salam, and, fixing upon me two little eyes like gimlets,
demanded my business. I stated that one Shaykh Nur, my Hindi servant,
had played me false; therefore I required permission to break into the
room supposed to contain my effects.
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