CAIRO, EGYPT

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20734, 18 February 1939, Page 21 (Supplement)

CAIRO, EGYPT

I don’t remember ever having told you about Cairo so now picture an enormous citadel, now’ an army barracks, overlooking an entire city. The old city of Cairo was rather tumbleddown and dirty, containing thousands of gravestones of the inhabitants of over 200 years ago, who died in some great plague. These stones are everywhere, inside the so-called "houses" and outside, and this is called the "Dead City." Now the new Cairo is an up-to-date town, or a-s near up-to-date as this type of people can get. The inhabitants are cosmopolitan, the three main peoples beinig English, French and Greek, but the more modern and civilised Egyptian naturally has hts fair share of his chief city. In the centre of the town is a big municipal garden well laid and set out, and a modern opera house. Further into the Arab quarter, is the "Moosky” or market and here every smell, language

and dress under the sun may tie found, forming- a colourful and ezpretsloned scene. To the east runs the Suez Road, about 200 miles long, starting from the Port Said end of Cairo and cutting through sheer desert for *ll but about ten miles. At different Intervals along this road are customs and camel corps posts, who patrol the desert for smugglers and brigand,, which, for all the modernity, are still rife. But back to the town. We walk along the pavements lined with shops, and but for the red tarbuaeh or Ge* and a few flowery robes, one would stin think they were In London. Of course the Arabs in this quarter wear suits—as good as—and belter than many—but they still wear the headgear of their religion, so you may see it is a very motley city. To the west overshadowing the city, are the famous Pyramids and Sphinx, built some 2000 years or more ago, as a shrine for all the Kings and Queens of that dynaaty. Climbing inside these to the top one can see a magnificent view of Cairo, hut otherwise all that can be eeen t* the vast mileage of barren doeert lands.