GOSSIP FROM EGYPT

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2379, 8 February 1915, Page 7

GOSSIP FROM EGYPT

EXTRACTS FROM A NEW ZEALANDER'S LETTER

The following extracts are taken from a letter written Homo a day or two bofore Christmas by a Wellington man with tho Main Expeditionary Force in Egypt:— Since I last wrote, which, if my memory serves mo right, was from Aden, wo havo passed through some . strenuous times. Wo left Aden on November 26. and after two hours steam arrivod off Perini, and passed quite close to tho Turkish forts that the British had taken tho day before, when they captured six guns, and put to flight the 400 Turks that were thore. We then entered the Rod Sea, and during the whole of the journey tiirough there was a continual line _ of other troopships passing us on their way, so we presumed, back to India for more troops. We arrived at Suez at 5 p.m. qn the 30tb, and it was here that we learnt definitely that we were bound for Cairo. Word came through during the journey across tho Ited Sea that the Australian Force was to go there, but the message did not contain any instructions regarding us. After waiting at Suez for the fixing of a searchlight on the bow of our boat, we entered the Canal at J p.m.. It was a beautiful moonlight night, and the .effect was a very; pretty one. During the night some shots were fired at our light, which naturally caused some excitement, and an armed guard was called out to deal with any further attacks. Before daybreali in the morning's very thick fog appeared, and our ship was compelled to anchor until 10 arm!, when the fog lifted, and we were able to proceed. \\ e then discovered that the Indian troops were encamped in large forces at intervals for the whole length of the Canal, a large camel corps being a novel sight for us. Tho Indian troops gave us a great reception as wo passed, and needless to say the men on our ship replied with much enthusiasm. We arrived at Port Said at 5 p.m. on December 1, and it was here that we saw what one might call our first Continental city. You will note that I said "saw," and os there was absolutely no leave granted, the word-is applicable in every sonse. As I have been repeatedly told, a feature of one's visit to Port Said is to see the natives coaling, and this is certainly a very weird performance. It took the whole of tho night -to coal our ship, and the noise was something terrific, and sleep was quite out of the question. I omitted to say, before that, when we were half-way across the Red Sea our ship, accompanied by the Orvieto, proceeded at full speed, and soon left the remainder of the Expedition, behind. We,did not see our ships aagin until they arrived at' Port Said on . December 1. Tn the afternoon, at about 4 o'clock, we continued on our way, our destination being. Alexandria. There were three French warships anchored at Port Said, also a big British warship,, and as we had. to pass quite close to them on our way out to sea it can be readily imagined what sort of reception they gave u&—especially, the French. Our journey to Alexandria was quite uneventful, and the,task.of disembarking was commenced on our arrival on December 3; The Headquarters > Staff was the first to disembark, and by 5 p.m our horses were all tracked ready.' for the -ail journey to Cairo. The train left at 7 p.m., and after a rather-uncomfortable trip of nearly sjhours we finally arrived at our destination at Zeitun ,'tation.- I should mention here that the men. had disembarked carrying their complete marching kit, and 24-hour rations. On arrival at Zertun the horses were immediately unloaded and taken to the camp, which is about two miles from the station. Then our.baggage was unloaded and conveyed by about 30 mule-drawn carte to the scene of the camp. By this time it was 2.30 a.m., and we then had to unload everything. Naturally there was a good deal of confusion, and it was' extremely difficult to "find one's kit. Fortunately I was one of the lucky ones, and at 5 o'clock I lay down on the Egyptian desert, to get a little rest. Reveille went at 6.30 a.m., and we were going hard all day pitching tents, etc., until dark. At this time we were still living on the rations that: were served us before leavng the ship, or at least what was left of them, and we were all very glad when the cook happened along accompanied by his cooking apparatus. ■ As the days go by we keep improving , our i conditions, and gradually becoming' as comfortable as can be expected on active service. General Godley was very pleased _ at tho manner in which our disembarkation was carried out, and especially at the splendid condition in which the horses were at the end of their long and trying journey.' They are now almost fit to work agani, and in fact some of them are in better' fettle than when they were shipped in Wellington. Zeitun is six miles from Cairo, but is served by an excellent tram service, and also a very cheap train service. :The faro into town by the tram is equal to about lid., and by the railway 2Jd., so travelling is not beyond even a soldier's purse. We are all very short of money, and are looking forward to our next pay', as it is understood that we are to be paid the balance of our half-pay, ■which was held back while we were on tho ship . , I was unable to finish this before, and consequently have ■ not touched it _ for several days. We have since received our pay in full, and considering the Impecuniosity that we suffered for the last ten days we all now feel like millionaires. One .finds that although things, are comparatively cheap, one s money' goes quickly. English silver is very hard to cash, but gold is eageTly sought after. The change for a sovereign :is 97i piastres, so you <an work it out for yourself. An Egyptian, banknote is issued, being worth 100 piastres. . . I feel quite unablo to describe adequately ray impressions of Cairo. It is so very different from our life in New Zealand. The Egyptians with their quaint dress, creeds, and manners are a continual source of interest to me. The educated Egyptian is not a bad sort of fellow at all, and those whom I havo spoken to display a lively knowledge of the world in general. The lower classes, of course, still continue to respect all the old customs that have been handed down to them for centuries, and one can appreciate more readily what is writtenin the Scriptures - when one is able to ,watch the customs of the people. Wo are quite near Heliopolis, which you may possibly have heard of as being the home of the wealthy tourists during the winter months in the Old Country- and the Continent. - The buildings are simply glorious—one hotel alone having accommodation for over 3000 ■ guests. In fact it does not open unless there, are 3000 guests there. The war has naturally spoilt the season, and holders of property must be loising thousands or pounds. . The tradespeople are not so badly off, for the soldiers are distributing their money froely enough, that is to say what little they have. Encamped beside us wo have a few thousand English Territorials (Mancheaters and Lancashires), and they have beon particularly good tc us while our vhrious equipment has been coming to hand. They opened their messes to us, and supplied us with a solid meal when it was most acceptable. One of our men died of pneumonia sineo arriving in camp, but considering the many changes of living we have passed through since leaving NcW Zealand the health of our troops is remarkably good. Tho Australians are camped at Mona, which is Tight at t.he foot of tba Pmmtda. Th<? is over jomss from V&irOvi.

so that wo aro much hotter off in that r °l l T<mt out to tho Pyramids last Sunday in chargo of a squivd, and m s say that thoro is plcnly of tood lor thought thoro. ,We paid a guido equal to ono shilling to tuko ua round (• Arab), and it was tho cheapest and most intorostiug outing 1 havo yet bad. tne tombs aro wondorful with thoii" J US 0 blooks of marble, beautliully hiusliou, ■mid laid so oxtromoly accuratcly. ine Sphinx is rather smaller than what l oxpcctcd, and tho photographs that wo havo boon accustomed to see of it woro evidently takon from a huge gully immediately in front of it, and consequently this makes it appear much largor than it roally ia. yuite a number or tho men climbed up to the top ot tno largest I'yramids, tnis boiug possible on account of the alabaster having a 1 tallcn off tho blocks of stones of wliicli tho Pyramid is made. It is not. a very comfortablo job, as oach slop is about 4ft. above the other. Parties were also being takou insido this Pyramid, but as it was necessary to practically take ono s clothes off, on account of it being so dirty, I did not tackle it. I mtend to pay another visit at the first opportunity, and then I will inspcct every place of interest. Tho old guide was a most interesting old fellow, and had some very weird ideas. : ' About sixty men were sent back to Now Zealand yesterday by the Athemc, for various reasons—principally for refusing anti-typhoid inoculation. General Godley spoke very reasonably to tbeiu tho evening before, and riglit up to tho last moment gav.e them every opportunity of changing their minds- ' A great event took placo today, when tho ceremony of installing the new Sultain of ISgypt was enacted. Only 6000 of our troops paraded, included in which were 1600 of the New Zealand Force. The rest of us were not allowed out of camp, so I cannot say anything about what the ceremony was like. The authorities were prepared for any trouble that might occur, as some of th.e inhabitants wero not altogether friendly about, the matter. 1 understand, however, that there was no disturbance of any kind, and general leave up till 10.30 p.m. has been granted. l'leaso note that lam spending the time in writing my New Zealand mail. A mail arrived from New 6ea.land early yesterday morning, and up till now I have not received a single letter. I cannot understand it, for all fche fellows I,know have received several. It has been a great disappointment, for I was looking forward to receiving quite a number. Some of the letters were posted as lato as November 2, and, indeed, some were in answer to letters posted by our troops at Hobart. lam consoling myself with the hope that mine have been detained somewhere, and consequently I will get an extra dose next mail. Although the natives are not allowed in camp, there are a number of them who havo special passes, and have opened up in their weird mathouses as barbers, tailors, and general storekeepers. They are very submissive to the soldiers, and ono, is struck with the fact that a man wearing the King's uniform can go anywhere without the slightest fear of being molested. I have been down one of the veriest slums at night, where I am tola a, civilian would Tim a grave risk of being attacked, and have seen the roughest characters one would imagine, and have been treated with the greatest respect. This is only another instance _ of the greatness of our glorious Empire, and the far-reaching effect of its influence. There is no word of our moving as yet' and it is generally understood that we will be here for at least six months.