Treasures of the East/Egypt

ALEXANDRIA. This large city, founded by and named

after Alexander the Great in 332 B. C., was the foremost seat of learning, and was the home of many famous philoso

Alexandria — Ruins of the Ancient Library and Museum

phers, such as, Ptolemy the father of Astronomy, Apollos and Barnabas the companions of St. Paul, and also of St. Mark, who wrote one of the four Gospels.

Alexandria’s greatest pride was its museum and library of which but few ruins remain. Overzealous Christians and Muhammadans burned most of the books in their efforts to rout from the face of the earth all pagan writings.

Modern Alexandria is a prosperous, bustling, up-to-date [Page 16]16 TREASURES OF THE EAST

city. Many of its streets are wide and well-paved, and electricity is available. But the north section of the city, where only the natives live, one can see the real fascinating life and environment of the Orient. Ramleh, one of the city’s summer resorts, is a very delightful place on the Mediterranean coast.

EGYPTIAN CITIES. Whether we are in Alexandria or

Port Said

Cairo, Jerusalem or Baghdad, the old sections and the environments of all the cities are very much alike. This is because in past ages, every city and town was either engaged in battle or being threatened with hostile invasions. They had to be built in a style that would protect them from the onslaught of constant warfares throughout the ages. Moreover, just as the Occident likes to follow new fashions, the Orient prefers the old. Therefore, when I describe what I have seen of one [Page 17]TREASURES OF THE EAST 17

Egyptian city, I am describing in a general way, the scenes of other cities, the country over.

Picture yourself walking in the heart of an Egyptian city. You will pass through wide and narrow streets, winding alleys, and markets. Though dark and crowded, neverthe less the sight of picturesque old buildings, arched walls, streams of all types of human beings in all kinds of garments, all are indeed exceedingly charming, even with all the domestic animals that are always on the streets. Here you find Egyptians, Copts, Arabs, Turks, Negroes, and Berbers.

There is the modern Egyptian wearing everything like an American except that he retains the Tarboosh, ‘Fez’, on his head. But most of the natives wear white turbans, the “Quftan”, a simple robe with or without a coat, and shoes are heelless, soft leather slippers. There comes the “Fellah”, peasant, barefooted.

The Egyptian woman on the street appears enshrouded with the “izar’, a silk, cotton, or woolen outer covering whereby nothing of her garments can be seen, and her face is either concealed under the ‘““Mandil’’, veil, or else the veil is so drawn that only the long-lashed, dark eyes gleam out and remain uncovered. The poor women, barelegged like the poor men, shuffle along in heavy-soled, soft leather, heelless slippers.

“Balak! Balak!” Look out! Look out! shouts a driver on foot, as he beats his donkey, mule, or camel into the thick crowd. ed |

The Oriental Bazaar may be compared to a one-story department store, extending over many blocks, with numerous owners. The city streets correspond to aisles, each one offering similar goods by competing merchants. The shopper will find silks along one street, jewelry along another, and so on. In other words, each craft has its own street.

j “ [Page 18]18 TREASURES OF THE EAST

Here are the tailors, most of whom sit on the floor without a chair or table and sew furiously. In the next street busy workers hammer at the bright copper and brass pots and

Cairo — Grocery Store

tall water vessels, denting beautiful patterns into them with sharp, pointed instruments struck with mallets. Tinsmiths display piles of hand-made saucepans, coffee-pots, and various hardware articles. The next street is the “Souk "Al ’Attarine”’, [Page 19]TREASURES OF THE EAST 19

the perfumers market. Here is the source of all the genuine perfumes and the famous Oriental spices. You do not need to ask what kind of street this is, your nose knows all about it. In the next, cobblers stitch rapidly at the native slippers, or work beautiful designs with gold and silver threads and spangles on dainty shoes for women. The next street blazes with color. Here are Jews displaying a wealth of rainbowhued, long fringed silk shawls, gay colored jackets, skirts, and other garments, pink, blue, yellow, and red, and leather, gold-buckled belts, and gold embroidered, long, white wool or silk gowns. Then come the streets of the jewelers. Many of the shops have glass windows, displaying massive gold and silver rings, earrings, heavy gold and silver bracelets, weighty anklets, and huge necklaces. What a delightful street for women and girls! Most of the Oriental women, especially the Arabs and Egyptians, wear turquoise rings to bring them good luck.

Mosque. Dazzling white in the brilliant sunshine are the walls of a mosque. In the mosque you see the beautiful Egyptian and Arabian style of architecture at its best. The slender, tall “Minaret’’, tower, rises high above the wide dome. On entering, you pass into dark, cool shadows, a silent interior, inspiring and restful. Through the great centuries, Muhammadans have gathered here to pray five times a day — at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and at eventide. Those who do not have time to go to the mosque every day, usually attend the Friday noon prayers, because it is their Sabbath. Instead of ringing a bell, the people hear the

• ““Muezzin”, who, from the balcony of the minaret, calls them

by a special chant.

“The Hammam’, the public or Turkish bath, is a very interesting building throughout all Eastern countries. It con[Page 20]20 TREASURES OF THE EAST

sists of a carved marble portal leading into a hall floored with marble or tiles. Its door is open for men until noon, to women in the afternoon. The fair ones flock to it with their children, carrying bundles of their clean garments and lunch baskets, for it is their lounge, their club, their glimpse of social life, their gossip exchange. I can never forget my last bath with my mother when I was at the age of six. “Give

Caire (Esypt)

Cairo — The Interior of the Mosque

me your hand, son, I am afraid you may fall, because it is too slippery here.” I protested, because I thought it embarrassing for me to be led like a baby before all the women and children. However, she grabbed my hand and in two paces she slipped and fell on top of me. As she was heavy and weighed about 240 pounds, I surely felt the weight, and a surgeon had to sew her scalp wound.

“The Qahwa’’, coffee-shop, to the Egyptian is more than [Page 21]TREASURES OF THE EAST 21

the ice cream parlor or saloon to the American. Imagine the Egyptians of all classes and ages, inside and outside the coffeeshop, seated on benches or low chairs against the wall and around little tables, conversing, playing cards, dominoes, “Dama”, a game like checkers with dice. They hold tiny cups of black coffee in their. hands and drink it slowly. Many smoke the “Narghile”, water pipe.

In better establishments, one often finds an orchestra with men and women playing music, singing and dancing for the customers. The musicians play on a big guitar, a drum called ““Tabl”, a long drum, the “Derbakka” — similar to an

Indian tom-tom, a tambourine, and a lyre called “Ud”, “Nai”, flute, and ““Kamengeh”,, fiddle.

The dancing girl moves on her toes, but barely raises them from the platform. In her hands she holds a silk handkerchief behind her head, or waves it occasionally in the air. But feet and hands, legs and arms do not enter much into the dance. She performs chiefly with the muscles of her neck, breast, abdomen, and hips. All her artistic motions keep time with the music, while her companions clap their hands and cheer. The eyes of the interested spectators sparkle as they gloat on the dancer’s charms and movements. To them she is the poetry of motion, and they watch with appreciative silence.

Here, too, is the professional story-teller, the letter writer, the snake charmer, and the fakir.

In large towns and cities, amusements are more varied. Here American moving pictures are shown, and traveling circuses are found.

The refreshment vendor is the soda fountain that moves in all the Oriental streets. As he makes his way through the crowded streets ringing his bell or rattling two brass saucers, [Page 22]22 TREASURES OF THE EAST

children and thirsty merchants, who cannot leave their shops to go to the drinking fountain, buy a cooling drink from the clay or glass jar, or goatskin bag with the shining brass nozzle.

Egyptian Dancer

Egyptian Women. How little the outside world knows about them. Generally speaking, the Egyptian woman is distinguished by her erect bearing and delicately chiseled features. She is dignified and never loses her temper. She is [Page 23]TREASURES OF THE EAST 23

humble, and to her, life brings nothing unusual. In her words and deeds, she uses the Arabic word, ““Malesh”, meaning, that is all right, never mind, matters not. She believes in “Kismet”, fate and destiny, and is, therefore, very contented. But on the other hand, the Egyptian and all Oriental women have one great pleasure, namely, the diversion of wearing jewelry. To them jewelry represents real prosperity and wealth. That is why there are more jewelry shops in Cairo than in any other city of its size in the world. There are reasons outside of vanity why popular taste runs to jewelry. The Muhammadan law forbids lending money at interest. The countryman is suspicious of banks. There are no industrial enterprises to attract investment. Therefore, savings are either buried in the ground or invested in jewelry.

An Egyptian heiress may carry her entire fortune displayed in the form of solid gold and silver bracelets, anklets, and rich festoons which, when strung from neck and shoulder, descend in opulent strings upon the person. The poorer countrywomen, of course, must content herself with cheaper ornaments.

Misinformed .writers and certain self-interested fanatic missionaries have always branded the Orientals as bigamists and the women as slaves. The truth is that the women of today are occupying a commanding place in Egypt and in most of the Oriental countries. For the law in Egypt “permits the wife to do with her assets whatever she pleases without consulting her husband, who in such matters has no greater rights than any perfect stranger”.

There are several American states and various European countries which even now refuse to honor the signature of a married woman. On the other hand, the husband of an Egyptian woman cannot sell or incumber his wife's property and cannot hold her responsible for debts, and under the law [Page 24]24 TREASURES OF THE EAST

she can do without his signature anything that suits her pleasure in regard to her personal property.

Moreover, the Baha’i Egyptian women enjoy equal rights with men, because the equality of the sexes is one of the basic principles of the Baha’i Movement.

The Muhammadan law of marriage is, “Marry of the women what you please, two, three, or four, but if you are just, then marry only one”. This law was given to the people when men used to marry without any limit to the number of wives. Of course, the old kings and the idle rich can afford to marry more than one. However, this custom is rapidly vanishing in all Oriental countries with the exception of some tribes who inhabit the African and Arabian deserts, whose very existence depends on manpower, and, therefore, every man believes he must have many sons.

Mode of Egyptian Living. Egypt possesses no copper, no iron ore, no forests, no precious minerals or metals, no coal, and is practically rainless. Though only one-fourth of Egypt (12,000 square miles) is capable of cultivation, yet 14,000,000 are happily thriving within its boundaries. This is because Egypt is the most perfect and extensive farming land that the world has yet seen. The country presents a spectacle of three uniformities — climate, soil, moisture. While the American farmer gambles with nature and the weather, the Egyptian is free from worrying about rain storms, say nothing about frost, and is, today, the world’s principal producer of long staple cotton.

Besides the annual overflowing of the Nile, 1,000 miles long, flooding its agricultural plains, bestowing moisture and fertility, the great stone Dam of Aswan is able to supply the whole valley with the necessary water during the dry season.

From two to three and a half acres represents the average

Egyptian farm, and all tillage is done by hand. The “‘Fellah”, [Page 25]TREASURES OF THE EAST DD

peasant, plants his staple foods — corn, sweet potatoes, and so on, which grow the year round. In the matter of diet and agricultural technique, he stands just about where his ancestors were in the days of the Pharaohs. For example, the threshing of grain in Egypt today is done precisely as it was five thousand years ago. Likewise the modern Egyptian plow is the same as it was before Biblical times. The plowing is accomplished with bullock or camel-drawn wooden implements. The implement is guided by a single, wooden, upright arm, and the operator walks by the side of the plow.

How strange it must seem to the American farmer to see a people who for five thousand years have never lost their customs and methods. Just imagine the half-naked peasant with his ox-drawn wooden plow, his primitive threshing-floor, sowing seeds and lifting water by hand,-sweating in the African sun, and attacking the soil like a busy ant.

The tenant farmer usually leases a piece of land for two or three years. The owner furnishes seed and work animals, and takes his share of the crop. Cotton, sugar-cane, corn, wheat, dates, rice, and sweet potatoes are among the staples. Water-buffaloes, camels, and oxen, are the chief work animals on the farm. Most of the horses and donkeys in Egypt are owned by the townspeople.

Let us now pause for a moment and watch the Egyptian working on his farm, scratching the earth with his crude hoe. Look at his boy or girl of eight leading the ox in the field. The children, too, herd goats and sheep and aid in cottonpicking.

Although many motor-driven pumps are in use, on account of the scarcity and high price of gasoline, the average farmer must water his little patch of land with the “Jaduf”, a primitive balancing apparatus wherein a long pole with a [Page 26]26 TREASURES OF THE EAST

rock weight on one end and a pail on the other, is used to lift water from the canals.

Now let us return to the business section of the city and watch the Egyptian business man. In Egypt the shopkeeper sits, the opera singer sits, the merchant and tradesmen sit, business is not done in an office, but sitting in a coffee-shop. His motto is, “the spirit of speed and hurry going comes from the devil, while the spirit of going slow comes from the merciful Lord”.

The kings and armies of the Shepherds, Thebians, Ethiopians, Assyrians, Persians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, French, and Turks have attacked and plundered the land, and the Egyptians had to watch with the patience of Job and the Sphinx. Indeed, the Egyptian has learned how to sit through every storm and emerge as much an Egyptian as he ever was. Though the Persian conquest, about 521 B. C., ended the period of native rule, the mental and physical aspects of the modern Egyptian are exactly as in the days of the Pharaohs, except that in those old days his ancestors worshiped everything but God, now through his prophet Muhammad, he has become a believer in God, Jesus, and Moses, and the Biblical prophets.

Although today Egypt has its own king, it is still under the British protection.

Turning our eyes away from the business section of the city and looking toward the Nile, we see a native girl walking along the banks of the great river. She is erect as an arrow, slim-limbed, barefooted, carrying herself in all the unconscious dignity of her ancient race. Her toes, like her fingers, are stained with henna. On her head she carries a water jar. About her little form flows the black folds of the loose, primitive robe. When she glances at you from over the rim of her veil, with the most wonderful, lustrous, long-lashed, [Page 27]TREASURES OF THE EAST 27

brown eyes — eyes set under heavy, straight brows, then you realize the peerless eyes and eyebrows of old Egypt. One of the most pleasant ways to travel on the Nile is

Egypt — Daughters of the Nile

by the “Dahabiyeh”, Golden, steam or sailboats. They are comfortable and luxurious.

Before starting on our way to see other cities and the wonderful treasures of Egypt, it is necessary to refresh the [Page 28]28 TREASURES OF THE EAST

memory with a wee bit of the geography and history of the land.

Egypt or “The Black Earth”, so named by the old inhabitants to distinguish it from the dazzling Libyan Desert, is a long fruitful valley which the Greeks called “A gift of the Nile”, because it owes its very existence to that celebrated river.

Geographically, this valley of the Nile was divided into three parts. First, Upper Egypt, where the vast and striking ruins of Thebes are found, with their gigantic statues and columns, their colossal sphinxes, and the tombs of the kings. Secondly, Middle Egypt. Here are the great Pyramids which to this hour are gazed upon with amazed awe as the very miracles of architectural science. Thirdly, Lower Egypt with its ancient metropolis, Alexandria. Two branches of the Nile enclose Lower Egypt, and together with the sea, give it the triangular form whereby it derives its name, Delta.

Egypt was civilized and knew culture of fine arts and science when cave men were yet clubbing their prey and eating it raw on the continent of Europe.

Cairo. Now let us go to Cairo which is only 130 miles from Alexandria. Cairo is the Capital of Egypt where King Fouad now rules. It is located at the head of the Nile Delta and considered to be the largest city, not only in Egypt, but in all Africa. It combines the ancient and the modern style in everything.

While there, I stopped at Shepherd Hotel, an establishment well-known to tourists.

A splendid view of Cairo may be had from the Mokattam hills which lie to the southwest of the city. In the foreground is the great mosque of M. ’Ali Pasha.

The famous mosque and University of Al-Azhar, the [Page 29]TREASURES OF THE EAST 29

chief seat of learning and center of political thought of the Muhammadang, is located in this city.

About the first thing a tourist does on arrival in Cairo is to prepare to leave for the Great Pyramids at Gizeh.

The Great Pyramids and Sphinx. In all Egypt there are some 170 pyramids, but the great

Cairo (Egypt)

Cairo — Railway Station

est and the largest is the one built by King Cheops at Gizeh. They begin immediately south of Cairo and continue south at various intervals for 70 miles.

I considered myself very fortunate, indeed, for having a true native Egyptian, Riad Effendi Salim, who was a university student, as my guide and companion on my first visit to the Great Pyramid in 1909.

This marvelous monument is 450 feet high and measures [Page 30]30 7 TREASURES OF THE EAST

about '704 feet on each side of its base. The interior of the Pyramids contain narrow passages, halls, and chambers, and served as the burial place of the kings who caused them to be constructed. The entrances to these Pyramids are raised considerably above the level of the base and blocked by a portcullis of granite, so as to be inaccessible on ordinary occasions. In the Great Pyramid of Cheops, the entrance is

a

Cairo — Celebration of the Sacred Carpet Festivals

47 feet 6 inches above the base. It took the labor of 100,000 workmen for forty years to have it built. It required about 2,300,000 separate blocks of stone, averaging more than two and a half tons each in weight. The stones, therefore, in the Great Pyramid would load 115,000 American steel gondola cars of 100,000 pounds capacity. In other words, the train make-up of the material in the Great Pyramid would require a solid freight train from Chicago to Philadelphia. These [Page 31]TREASURES OF THE EAST 31

heavy stones were quarried, transported across the Nile Valley, heaved up into place on the edge of the plateau marking the beginning of the Libyan Desert, and laid so true in the

Cairo — Street and Mosque

structure that the blade of a knife cannot find its way into the crevices between the blocks. Indeed, the Great Pyramids are the most stupendous monuments ever constructed by man. They have stood the centuries and ages as a monument to [Page 32]32 TREASURES OF THE EAST

the engineering skill of the early Egyptians, reflecting 5000 years of history.

The Pyramid of Cheops is the lure of Mother Egypt. In addition to the romance and mystery of Egypt’s mighty past, expressed on every hand by colossal statues and ancient customs, there is the elusive charm of the East and the soft

oy an.

Egypt — The Great Pyramid and Sphinx

coloring in pastel shades at eventide which give to the Occidental visitor a never-to-be-forgotten impression of the Land of the Nile.

Now let us go about a quarter of a mile southeast of the Great Pyramid to see the Sphinx.

_ The Sphinx. This famous monument, hewn out of the natural rock, is still wearing an impressive expression of strength and majesty. It was probably in the beginning an [Page 33]TREASURES OF THE EAST 33

enormous rock shaped like a lion, and the engineers, while building the tomb of King Khafa, noticed the similarity and improved it, carving the face in the likeness of their ruler, the figure implying the union of physical and intellectual force. The Sphinx is about 56 feet high and measures 172 feet 6 inches at the base.

The feet of the mysterious Sphinx are now on exhibition for the first time in forty years. The Egyptian government has undertaken the mighty task of clearing away some of the mountain of sand that has drifted around the famous statue.

The Valley of the Kings. The next important place to visit in Egypt is the Valley of the Kings, in which the tomb of King Tutenkhamen was discovered by Lord Carnarvon and Mr. Howard Carter, with its royal furnishings intact.

The Valley of the Kings, “the cities of the dead”’, and the Pyramids are on the west bank of the Nile. Ancient Egyptians liked to bury their dead on the west bank where their Sun-God went to sleep. On the contrary, the Caliphs, who were Muhammadan conquerors of Egypt, did not believe in such superstitions, and, therefore, they built their cemetery near Cairo.

The train leaves from Cairo at 8:30 p. m. for Luxor. It arrives at 9 o'clock the next morning. Here you cross the Nile in a small boat. The donkey would be waiting on the far side to take you to the tomb of Tutenkhamen.

The official opening of King Tutenkhamen’s tomb was on February 18, 1923. Among the most distinguished visitors were Her Majesty, Elizabeth, the Queen of Belgium, Lord Allenby, Lord Carnarvon and his niece, and Dr. J. M. Hall, the American Minister to Egypt. This was the scene: Steep steps led down to an incline which ended at the iron gate of the antechamber. Behind the iron gate, the antechamber alone contained 167 objects of importance. There was a life [Page 34]34 TREASURES OF THE EAST

size figure of the king himself, attending as a guard at the gate, a gilt mace in one hand and a long gilt staff in the other. On the other side of the way, two more figures of the king appeared, standing on either side of the entrance of the inner chamber, and facing each other. There was a large funeral bouquet, a casket containing the king’s raiment, a box or

Egypt — Ancient Temple

linen chest containing the king’s undergarments, a couch, a stool of ebony and ivory mounted with gold, the king’s throne plated with gold and silver and studded with precious stones, four royal chariots, a tray of preserved meats and poultry, _ three alabaster vases filled with perfumes, and other ornaments. The inner chamber contained the precious gold and bejeweled sarcophagus, decorated in the utmost perfection.

The mummies of all royal and noble Egyptians were en[Page 35]TREASURES OF THE EAST 35

closed in several coffins, the innermost being carved in the likeness of the deceased.

He who wishes to see the largest hall in any temple of the world, let him visit the ruins of the great temple at Karnak. It measures 50,000 square feet. The roof, which has now fallen in, was supported by 134 columns in 16 rows. The larger columns, in the middle, are 33 feet in circumference and 80 feet high. And he who wishes to see the larg

Egypt —The Colossi of Memnon — Thebes, Egypt

est statues in the world, let him visit the two sandstone images of King Rameses II at Simbel, which are more than 65 feet high, King Amenhotep III, the colossi of Memnon, rising 65 feet above the ground and measuring 20 feet across the shoulders.

A VISIT TO THE BIG GAME COUNTRY. South of Sudan, in central Africa, is the big game country. Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, is 1000 miles south of Cairo. This vast country is inhabited by the negroes. There are more than one [Page 36]36 TREASURES OF THE EAST

hundred million negroes in Africa. Many of them who have intermarried with Arabs and Egyptians and other races have advanced in every way. In fact, wherever there is freedom

Statue of King Rameses II, Pharaoh of Egypt

and no prejudice, the colored people have shown their capacity and efficiency in no way less than other races.

As we go farther south up the Nile, we approach central Africa. The natives in these wild regions live easily. They [Page 37]TREASURES OF THE EAST 37

seem to wish for nothing that is not free and under their hand. They live in grass and mud huts, and most of them go naked to the waist. Some of them have fine herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats. They eat the sheep and the goats, but they use the cattle for currency. So many cows buys a wife. You can buy a nice, plump young wife for not more than ten cows, but the thin girl is much cheaper there. They find amusement in having children, hunting, fishing, decorating their bodies, singing, and dancing. In the African native village you see wild dancing and hear the sound of the tom-tom. Men and women dance and sing together. These dances are given on the first moonlight nights immediately following the rains.

This is what they call dancing: A wide-flung circle of black bucks starts the movement. They make a terrible din, beating gourds, horns, pieces of hard wood, singing and shouting in unison. As they sing, they dance furiously, stifflegged, with feet wide apart. They shake and shimmy their shoulders and arms. They are naked except at the waist. Their bodies and legs are painted in patterns. They have feathers in their hair. They sing and dance a verse, then repeat a chorus. One of their songs is something like, “Yangaboni — Eftikala. Ragadoni — Banga- Wala. Kiva-viva, vexo-vetti. Bango-Bango, Zino-Zetti.” And the chorus, “E-ya! Bola-Bola! WiggleWiggle walk.” This is how it sounds, but I wish I knew what it means in the African language.

Around and around they circle at high speed and with roaring hubbub. This dance begins with the rising of the moon and ends with its setting.

Leaving the village of central Africa’s natives, and continuing our journey in the midst of the big game country, we see hundreds of hippos peeping at us from the water, little hippos riding on their mothers’ backs. On the bank of the [Page 38]38 TREASURES OF THE EAST

river we see fierce-looking crocodiles, sunning themselves lazily. We see storks and cranes, herons, eagles and hawks, ducks, pelicans and scores of other wild birds that we cannot name. We see swarms of all kinds of insects. The natives at night hold a torch over a hole in the ground. The light attracts the hordes of flying insects which are scorched and drop in. When the hole is filled, the feast begins. The natives eat them as you would eat pop corn or peanuts!

Among the dreadful insects is the tsetse fly, the bite of which causes sleeping sickness. It is a little larger than the ordinary house fly. When one is bitten by this fly, it means certain death. The natives call it ““Doo-Doo”.

Troops of giant baboons and monkeys are found along creeks and thick jungles in these wild regions. They are gray in color, about 4 feet high and weigh about 100 pounds.

The most relentless hunter will not shoot a monkey or baboon, if he can possibly avoid it. When shot, they cry like babies and try to tear the bullet out of the wound with their hands —a distressing sight!

When a couple of old monkeys see you, they bark at you as dogs, then vanish from your sight, only to return with a regiment of their neighbors. If they become too noisy and try to come near you, fire your gun in the air and watch them run away frightened to death.

LION HUNTING. Going farther south in these wild regions, we stop at the resthouses which are mud huts surrounded by stockades of saplings to keep out prowling animals. Here the days are very hot, and the nights are rather cool and windy.

Imagine the spectacle of animals within the radius of a few hundred yards of you, grazing peacefully, such animals as you usually see in the zoo. Just imagine, for example, a herd of giant zebras standing still and staring at you. [Page 39]TREASURES OF THE EAST 39

Lion hunting requires a native guide, a good gun, and a good deal of courage and patience. Also a bait, because lions must be baited. The hunter usually shoots a zebra for the lion’s bait.

After preparing the lion’s bait, you have to build for yourself a “Boma”’,a shelter. A Boma is a tiny fort made of thorn bushes in the form of a complete circle, where you sit up all night with the bait in front of you and wait for the lion to come along and settle down to the banquet. Once in the Boma you must be as still as death itself. Of course that is easy for an hour or so. But not to speak, not to stir, for hours, is a different task.

The first time you hear the terrifying roars of the beast an indelible impression will be made — those dreadful, coughing, choking, threatening, insolent, thundering, earth-shocking roars. One who has never heard a lion roar on the plains of Africa has not heard the most awe-inspiring sound in all the world.

You have to turn out at three or four in the morning to catch the lion on the bait at the first flush of daylight. You have to remember the cold fact that a lion charges furiously when wounded, and he moves with startling speed. All hunters agree that the lion can overtake any human being or animal in a race of 80 yards or less. For that distance he is the swiftest beast alive. The hunter and the lion have to fight it out before sunrise, and only one of the couple is going to enjoy his breakfast.

As you turn out at that early hour, your guide may whisper the alarm to you excitedly, “Simba! Simba!”, the lion! the lion! You take a good aim and you fire. Should you miss or only wound him, your guide or companions must act quickly and empty their guns on the enraged king of the beasts. [Page 40]40 TREASURES OF THE EAST

My advice is that every hunter should let the shot lion have another bullet before coming close to him. Even if the lion seems to be fatally wounded or dead, it is better to play safe.

I know of a sad instance when an Arab went too close to a lion he had shot, shouting, “You lion of the desert, shame on you, shame on you, you should be called the dog of the desert!” As he went closer and tried to give him a slap on the face, the wounded lion grabbed the thoughtless Arab by the neck, and in less than a minute there was the dead beast and under him just a heap of human flesh and crushed bones.

Crossinc THE LipyAN DeEsERT

Few, indeed, are those who have crossed the great Libyan Desert and returned safely. The long hazardous distance, intense heat, scarcity of water, and sand storms, explain why so many travelers and explorers never returned to tell the story. However, the distance from Cairo to El’ Abeid, on the southwest border of Egypt, — the farthest oasis of the desert, covers more than 2500 miles by camels and horses, with only a few oases between the two points.

From the town of Sallum on the Mediterranean, the journey starts southward to Siwa, a distance of nine days. The next stop after Siwa is Jaghbub, the great educational center of the Senusi Sect. From here to Jalo is eight days, and from Jalo to Kufra is 18 days. From here to El’Abeid is about five months, the hardest part of the journey.

THE DWELLERS OF THE DESERT. The Libyan Desert is inhabited in the north by Bedawi (Bedouin) Arabs. The Arabic word, Bedawi, means the “dweller of the desert” as contrary to the “dweller of the city”.

In America a Sheik (Shaykh) means something very terrible and fascinating; but 90 per cent of the Shaykhs of the [Page 41]TREASURES OF THE EAST 41

desert are as unlikely to run away with a beautiful lady as the same per cent of the idle-rich in the Occidental countries. The word Shaykh in Arabic means “an old man — the chief of a tribe — the head of a religion”.

The chief occupation of the dwellers of the desert is the cultivation of date palms, olive trees, the production of olive oil, and the collection of ostrich feathers and ivory. These goods they trade with merchants from Egypt, Tripoli, and other African provinces.

Connected with the desert are the Senusi Arabs —a sect of the Muhammadan religion, embracing all the tribes of these regions. Its founder, Sidi Muhammad ibn “Ali EL Senusi, came from Algeria a little more than a hundred years’ ago. He established a university at Jaghbub and preached a very primitive and pure form of Islam, shorn of all luxuries. The devotees were not even allowed to drink coffee or smoke, and up to a few years ago, the man caught smoking was severely punished, often to the extent of having one of his hands cut off. They refuse to let foreigners enter their country, for they say foreigners mean domination, domination means slavery and paying taxes, and they want to avoid both.

THE DESERT GUIDE. It is very interesting to watch the guide of the caravan who walks ahead. Compare him with your compass to see him going in that vast desert without wavering or deviating a yard from the right course. During the day the guide uses his own shadow for a compass, and at night, the stars.

WATER AND FOOD. Two or three glasses would be sufficient for one man a day. A horse requires from one-half to one goatskinful of water a day. A camel, the most patient animal, can remain without water from three to seven days and without food from seven to fourteen days. On march [Page 42]42 TREASURES OF THE EAST

the camel is more patient and goes best with his load of 300 to 600 pounds when his driver sings. Grass and barley are given to him, but when these are not obtainable, they give him two handfuls of dried dates twice a day. The camel is

serviceable up to 25 years of age and is valued at from $50 to $100.

With the Ship of the Great Desert

The food for the traveler in the desert consists of rice, bread, dates, butter (in liquid form) made from sheep’s milk. The stand-by of the desert traveler is tea which he drinks very hot, very strong, and very sweet. This of course will keep him rather awake and act asa real tonic. As it is said: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”, I say, when in the desert, eat and drink the same as the dwellers of the desert. [Page 43]TREASURES OF THE EAST 43

Every climate requires its own special diet and attire.

THE DESERT SAND STORM. The desert is usually very calm with occasional breezes, which become stronger and stronger. Then gradually the sand looks as if it had been fitted with pipes emitting steam. When the sand rises as high as a man’s head, it becomes distressing and probably dangerous if you have to face it.

You have to keep moving. To stop means to be drowned in the sand. Even the camels know this, and in the severest storms they keep on moving slowly.

After such severe wind bombardment, the storm and wind stop dead as when you stop the engine of your car. Then the air clears, and everything calms down.

Leaving Egypt for Palestine. A through train, “The Milk and Honey Express”, goes from Cairo to Palestine, starting from El Kantara at the Suez Canal, pushing forward through the sand and the desert levels of the Sinai Peninsula. The road penetrates Palestine and traverses the fertile plains of Gaza. From Ludd a branch climbs the mountains to Jerusalem, 200 miles from the Suez Canal. The main line, running through the generally fertile and level area between the mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, has its terminal at the seaport of Haifa, beneath the stately slopes of Mount Carmel.

As we cross the wilderness, our sympathy goes back to the children of Israel who wandered here for forty years. But today we can make this journey (from Egypt to Jerusalem) in less than twelve hours.