DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.11715#0037
ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO.
consoler of the embarrassed! O pips!' A curious cry of the seller of a kind
of sweetmeat composed of treacle fried with some other ingredients, is, ' For a
nail, O sweetmeat!' He is said to be half a thief; children and servants often
steal implements of iron, etc., from the house in which they live, and give them to him
in exchange for his sweetmeat. The hawker of oranges cries, 'Honey! O oranges!
honey!' And similar cries are used by the sellers of other fruit and vegetables, so
that it is sometimes impossible to guess what the person announces for sale, as when
we here the cry of' Sycamore-figs ! O grapes! ' except by the rule that what is for
sale is the least excellent of the fruits, etc., mentioned ; as sycamore-figs are not as
good as grapes. A very singular cry is used by the sellers of roses : ' The rose was
a thorn; from the sweat of the Prophet it blossomed.' This alludes to a miracle
related of the Prophet. The fragrant flowers of the henna-tree are carried about for
sale, and the seller cries, 'Odors of Paradise! O flowers of the henna!' A kind of
cotton-cloth, made by machinery which is put in mo-
tion by a bull, is announced by the cry of ' The work
of the bull 3 O maidens !' " 1
A familarcry in the streets of Cairo is that of the
water-carrier. Sometimes he uses almost the very
words of the prophet Isaiah : ' O ye thirsty, water ? '
He does not, however, go on to say, " without mo-
ney and without price ; "2 but for a small coin, less than
an English farthing, he fills one of the brass cups which
he chinks incessantly as he walks along. A more
ambiguous cry, but one in common use is, "Oh, may
God compensate me!" More frequently he exclaims,
"The gift of Cod!" recalling the words of our Lord,
speaking to the Samaritan woman of the Holy Spirit :
"If thou knewest the gift of God, and who is it that
saith to thee, Give Me to drink ; thou wouldest have
asked of Him, and He would have given thee living
water."3
As we leave the Mooskee behind us, and enter the A caireiste woman and child..
purely native quarter, the streets become narrower, till
at length a laden camel can scarcely pass, its burden touching the wall on either side
The upper stories of the houses, which project as they ascend, almost meet overhead,
leaving only a narrow strip of sky visible. But even yet we have not penetrated into
the innermost arcana of the bazaars. I was several days searching for the goldsmiths'
bazaar before I could find it. At length, passing out of a very narrow street, through
a dark and filthy archway, I found myself in a gloomy passage, in which it was impos-
sible for two persons to walk abreast. On either side the goldsmiths were busy, each
with his charcoal fire, blowpipe and anvil, producing the exquisite jewelery for which
Cairo is so justly famous. Filigree work, fine as the finest lace, jeweled necklaces
and nose rings, head-dresses inlaid with diamonds and pearls, were offered for sale,
in dirty holes and corners, by men black with the smoke of the forge at which they
1 Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians. By E. W. Lane, pp. 318, 319.
8 Isaiah Iv. 1. 3 John iv. 10. .
33
consoler of the embarrassed! O pips!' A curious cry of the seller of a kind
of sweetmeat composed of treacle fried with some other ingredients, is, ' For a
nail, O sweetmeat!' He is said to be half a thief; children and servants often
steal implements of iron, etc., from the house in which they live, and give them to him
in exchange for his sweetmeat. The hawker of oranges cries, 'Honey! O oranges!
honey!' And similar cries are used by the sellers of other fruit and vegetables, so
that it is sometimes impossible to guess what the person announces for sale, as when
we here the cry of' Sycamore-figs ! O grapes! ' except by the rule that what is for
sale is the least excellent of the fruits, etc., mentioned ; as sycamore-figs are not as
good as grapes. A very singular cry is used by the sellers of roses : ' The rose was
a thorn; from the sweat of the Prophet it blossomed.' This alludes to a miracle
related of the Prophet. The fragrant flowers of the henna-tree are carried about for
sale, and the seller cries, 'Odors of Paradise! O flowers of the henna!' A kind of
cotton-cloth, made by machinery which is put in mo-
tion by a bull, is announced by the cry of ' The work
of the bull 3 O maidens !' " 1
A familarcry in the streets of Cairo is that of the
water-carrier. Sometimes he uses almost the very
words of the prophet Isaiah : ' O ye thirsty, water ? '
He does not, however, go on to say, " without mo-
ney and without price ; "2 but for a small coin, less than
an English farthing, he fills one of the brass cups which
he chinks incessantly as he walks along. A more
ambiguous cry, but one in common use is, "Oh, may
God compensate me!" More frequently he exclaims,
"The gift of Cod!" recalling the words of our Lord,
speaking to the Samaritan woman of the Holy Spirit :
"If thou knewest the gift of God, and who is it that
saith to thee, Give Me to drink ; thou wouldest have
asked of Him, and He would have given thee living
water."3
As we leave the Mooskee behind us, and enter the A caireiste woman and child..
purely native quarter, the streets become narrower, till
at length a laden camel can scarcely pass, its burden touching the wall on either side
The upper stories of the houses, which project as they ascend, almost meet overhead,
leaving only a narrow strip of sky visible. But even yet we have not penetrated into
the innermost arcana of the bazaars. I was several days searching for the goldsmiths'
bazaar before I could find it. At length, passing out of a very narrow street, through
a dark and filthy archway, I found myself in a gloomy passage, in which it was impos-
sible for two persons to walk abreast. On either side the goldsmiths were busy, each
with his charcoal fire, blowpipe and anvil, producing the exquisite jewelery for which
Cairo is so justly famous. Filigree work, fine as the finest lace, jeweled necklaces
and nose rings, head-dresses inlaid with diamonds and pearls, were offered for sale,
in dirty holes and corners, by men black with the smoke of the forge at which they
1 Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians. By E. W. Lane, pp. 318, 319.
8 Isaiah Iv. 1. 3 John iv. 10. .
33