DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5073#0029
IS
CAIRO.
fine chestnut horse, with a saddle-cloth splendid in gold
embroidery, himself in bright coloured silks, satin, and
cloth, smoking his long pipe as he goes, — or this Turk
of high degree, on a tall white donkey, whose bit and
bridle are strings of gold cord, hung as thickly as they
can hold them, with heavy gold sequins, and whose
saddle is of cherry-coloured velvet embroidered in gold
and pearls. You are bending forward to look at the
jewels on his sword sheath, when you suddenly see a
camel's ugly nose just over your own, and you start
back while he lazily pushes on, flattening you to the
wall with his huge burden of green fodder, or stones,
or bales of calico. In another minute half a dozen
men, carrying on their shoulders a deal box, daubed
over with red paint, saunter by, chanting a discordant
song, and your donkey boy looks up with a grin, and
says, " Dead man in there;" and you turn away to
decline a quantity of sweetmeats in smoking hot pastry,
suddenly thrust up to your mouth by a boy in rags,
trying not to seem to see or hear the score of brown
hands thrust out on whichever side you move your face,
while the owners scream out" Baksheesh ! baksheesh ! "
till you are glad to move on, though every third person
assails you with the same wearying word as you pass.
We stayed in the bazaars till we were perfectly be-
wildered and were glad to go back to our dahabieh,
which had in the meantime moved to the palm-grove
opposite Cairo, leaving the rest of our shopping to be
accomplished on the following day, when we had the
pleasure of making acquaintance with the Eev. Mr.
and Mrs. Frankland Hood, who kindly offered to
" keep company " with our boat, as we were strangers,
and they were spending their fifth winter on the Nile.
We moved on a little way the last day of the old year,
CAIRO.
fine chestnut horse, with a saddle-cloth splendid in gold
embroidery, himself in bright coloured silks, satin, and
cloth, smoking his long pipe as he goes, — or this Turk
of high degree, on a tall white donkey, whose bit and
bridle are strings of gold cord, hung as thickly as they
can hold them, with heavy gold sequins, and whose
saddle is of cherry-coloured velvet embroidered in gold
and pearls. You are bending forward to look at the
jewels on his sword sheath, when you suddenly see a
camel's ugly nose just over your own, and you start
back while he lazily pushes on, flattening you to the
wall with his huge burden of green fodder, or stones,
or bales of calico. In another minute half a dozen
men, carrying on their shoulders a deal box, daubed
over with red paint, saunter by, chanting a discordant
song, and your donkey boy looks up with a grin, and
says, " Dead man in there;" and you turn away to
decline a quantity of sweetmeats in smoking hot pastry,
suddenly thrust up to your mouth by a boy in rags,
trying not to seem to see or hear the score of brown
hands thrust out on whichever side you move your face,
while the owners scream out" Baksheesh ! baksheesh ! "
till you are glad to move on, though every third person
assails you with the same wearying word as you pass.
We stayed in the bazaars till we were perfectly be-
wildered and were glad to go back to our dahabieh,
which had in the meantime moved to the palm-grove
opposite Cairo, leaving the rest of our shopping to be
accomplished on the following day, when we had the
pleasure of making acquaintance with the Eev. Mr.
and Mrs. Frankland Hood, who kindly offered to
" keep company " with our boat, as we were strangers,
and they were spending their fifth winter on the Nile.
We moved on a little way the last day of the old year,