Chapter II: Preface

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The desire of shortening the period of my separation from a beloved brother, was the first and strongest motive that induced me to think of accompanying him to the country in which I am now writing, and which he was preparing to visit for the third time. An eager curiosity, mainly excited by his own publications, greatly increased this desire; and little persuasion on his part was necessary to draw me to a decision; but the idea was no sooner formed than he found numerous arguments in its favour. The opportunities I might enjoy of obtaining an insight into the mode of life of the higher classes of the ladies in this country, and of seeing many things highly interesting in themselves, and rendered more so by their being accessible only to a lady, suggested to him the idea that I might both gratify my own curiosity, and collect much information of a novel and interesting nature, which he proposed I should embody in a series of familiar letters to a friend. To encourage me to attempt this latter object, he placed at my disposal a large collection of his own unpublished notes, that I might extract from them, and insert in my letters whatever I might think fit; and in order that I might record my impressions and observations with less restraint than I should experience if always feeling that I was writing for the press, he promised me that he would select those letters which he should esteem suitable for publication, and mark them to be copied. The present selection has been made by him; and I fear the reader may think that affection has sometimes biased his judgment; but am encouraged to hope for their favourable reception, for the sake of the more solid matter with which they are interspersed, from the notes of one to whom Egypt has become almost as familiar as England.

SOPHIA POOLE.

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CONTENTS.

LETTER I.

Approach to Alexandria—Old and new 13
harbours—General aspect of the town—Costume and
appearance of the inhabitants—Shops and
shopkeepers—European part of town—Pharos (or
lighthouse)

LETTER II.

Situation and construction of Alexandria—Supply of 21
water—Climate and degree of
salubrity—Telegraphs—City wall—Cleopatra’s
Needle—Pompey’s Pillar—Tradition respecting the
burning of the Alexandrian Library—Necropolis of
Alexandria

LETTER III.

Voyage from Alexandria to Cairo—Canal from 31
Alexandria to the Nile—Boats on the Nile—Town of
Fooweh—Village of Shubra Kheet—Ancient town of
Sais, and present state of the remains—Egyptian
festivals—Voyage up the Nile—Boats and
boatmen—Instances of mirage—Banks of the
Nile—Arrival at Boulak, and equipment in
Egyptian costume—Ride from Boulak to Cairo

LETTER IV.

Arrival at Cairo—Bridal processions—Funeral 43
processions—General form of construction of the
better class of houses in Cairo—Annoyance
arising from the supposed visits of an ’efreet
(evil spirit or ghost)—Extraordinary noises made
by the supposed ’efreet—Want of cleanliness of
the female servants

LETTER V.

General physical sketch of Egypt—Lower Egypt—The 52
Nile—The valleys of the Nile—Soil and
cultivation—Annual inundation of Lower Egypt by
the Nile—Gradual rise and decrease of the
river—Use of the water for drinking—Rapidity of
the current, and navigation of the river

LETTER VI.

Physical sketch of Egypt, continued—Climate of 59
Egypt—Heat—Infrequency of rain—Prevalence of
northwesterly winds—Other winds—Khamáseen
winds—The Samoom—Whirling pillars of sand—The
‘saráb,’ or mirage—Irrigation of the
fields—Physical and agricultural calendar of
Egypt for each month of the year

LETTER VII.

The Ramadán, or month of abstinence—Severity of 70
the fasting—Imposing effect of the night-call to
prayer by the Mueddins—Meals at night during the
Ramadán—Oppressive heat, and annoyance
occasioned by insects and vermin—Flies,
musquitoes, bugs, fleas, rats, lizards, spiders,
scorpions—Extraordinary storm of wind—Unusual
rise of the Nile—Murrain among the cattle

LETTER VIII.

Danger in travelling through the streets of 76
Cairo—Prejudice against Europeans, and
oppressive treatment of Christians and
Jews—Procession of the Mahmal, preparatory to
the departure of the great caravan of pilgrims
for Mekkah—Origin of the ceremony of the Mahmal

LETTER IX.

General appearance of Cairo—Narrowness of the 81
‘shárës,’ or great thoroughfare-streets, and
inconveniences of transit through them—Costume
of the inhabitants, as seen in the
streets—Shops—‘Darbs,’ or by-streets—‘Sooks,’ or
markets—Kháns—Khán
El-Khaleelee—‘Wekáleh-el-Gellábeh,’ or market of
the slave-merchants—Quarters of the Jews,
Greeks, Copts, and Franks—Vacant spaces, lakes,
cemeteries, and gardens of the
city—‘El-Khaleeg,’ the canal which traverses the
city—General description of the mosques

LETTER X.

Difficulty experienced by Europeans of obtaining 91
access to the interiors of the principal
mosques—Mosque of the Hasaneyn—Custom of taking
off the shoes or slippers—El-Záme-el-Azhar, or
‘the splendid mosque’—Paupers supported in the
mosques—Variety of scenes presented by
worshippers, lecturers, and students—Mosque of
Mohammed Bey—Ruinous state of the mosque of the
Khaleefeh El-Hákim

LETTER XI.

Collegiate mosque called Barkookeeyeh—Tomb, 97
mosque, and hospital of the Sultán
Kalá-oon—State and treatment of the lunatics
confined in the máristán, or hospital—Anecdotes
concerning the lunatics—Mosques of the Sultán
El-Ghóree, the Sultán El-Mu-eiyad, and the
Sultán Hasan—Mosque of Ibn-Tooloon—Ruined castle
or palace called Kal’at-el-Kebsh, or Castle of
the Ram—Sebeels, or public fountains—Hods, or
watering-places for beasts of burden—Hammáms, or
public baths—Kahwehs, or coffee-shops

LETTER XII.

Citadel of Cairo—Ruins of the old palace called 108
Kasr Yoosuf, or Deewán Yoosuf—Remarkable view of
Cairo from the edge of the hill on which are the
remains of ‘the house of Yoosuf
Saláh-ed-Deen’—The celebrated well of Yoosuf
Saláh-ed-Deen—Mount Mukattam—Cemeteries—Lakes
and gardens—Aqueduct by which the water of the
Nile is conveyed to the citadel—Island of
Er-Ródah, or ‘island of the garden’—Town of Masr
el-’Ateekah—Mosque of ’Amr—Kasr esh-Shema, an
old Roman fortress—Town of El-Geezeh—Shubra, the
favourite country residence of the Pasha—Site of
Heliopolis—Village of El-Khánkeh

LETTER XIII.

Various noises made in “the haunted house” by the 119
supposed ’efreet—Appearances and proceedings of
the pretended spirit—is shot at by one of the
servants

LETTER XIV.

Visits to some of the principal hareems—Necessity 124
of riding the high ass in paying visits to the
high hareems—Hareem apartments—Costume of the
Turkish ladies—Ceremonial observance—Use of the
Turkish and Arabic languages—Manners and customs
of the ladies of the East—Fountains and
baths—Ceremony of re-attiring and taking leave

LETTER XV.

The “haunted house”—Climate of Egypt—State of the 131
poor—Respect paid to the mother of a family—The
wife—Preparation of food and manner of
eating—Eastern etiquette—Dinner
arrangements—Sacredness of the hareem, and
respect paid to females—Usage of marrying
without having seen the future wife

LETTER XVI.

Treatment of slaves in Egypt—Dancing and 139
singing—Influence and power of wives among the
higher classes, and tyranny of husbands among
the lower classes—Employments of females in the
hareem—Beauty of the embroidery executed by
them—Can seldom read and write

LETTER XVII.

Plague in Egypt—Means used to ascertain whether 144
the disease be contagious or not—Enforcement of
quarantine—Egypt visited by pestilence, murrain,
and locusts—Extravagance of marriage
festivities—Fondness of the Egyptians for
gardens and water—Extreme heat

LETTER XVIII.

Distress exhibited by the females of the hareem of 149
a Turkish grandee, in consequence of his
imprisonment—Fear of the ‘evil eye’—Interest
which the ladies of the hareem take in
politics—Courteous manners of the chief ladies,
and dress and ornaments worn by them—Large
serpent—Serpent-charmers—Intended repairs of
Cairo—An instance of pretended death and burial.

LETTER XIX.

Visit to the hareem of Mohammad ’Alee—Decorations 156
of the rooms and splendour of the
furniture—Reception by the wives of the
Pasha—Dinner, dinner-arrangements, and courtesy
displayed by the chief ladies—Number of
beautiful women in the hareem of Mohammad
’Alee—Description of the dress worn by the
Turkish ladies in Egypt

LETTER XX.

Etiquette of the hareems as to order and 164
precedence—Arrangement of the apartments, and
doorkeepers—Facility of admission to the houses
of grandees, as distinct from the
hareems—Turkish etiquette and French
politeness—Organization of the hareems—Modesty
of the females—Prejudices against
Christianity—Maternal tenderness, and
superstitions of the ‘evil eye,’—Uncouth dresses
worn by the females in winter—Climate in winter,
and storm of thunder and rain

LETTER XXI.

Visit to the eldest daughter of Mohammad 172
’Alee—Affability of the reception, company
present, and general ceremonial of visiting—Her
Highness’s pipes—Bridal processions among the
middle classes—Ignominious punishment of four
lawyers—Circumstances connected with the early
marriage of females

LETTER XXII.

Treatment of females in the hareems—Cruelty 178
practised by the middle and lower
orders—Missionary Society in Cairo—Instances of
cruel treatment of wives, children and slaves
Muslim ceremonies with respect to the dead—hired
mourners, &c.—Cemeteries and tombs—Tombs of the
family of Mohammed ’Alee

LETTER XXIII.

Visit to the pyramids—Approach to the pyramids, 186
and inadequate idea of their dimensions—Tombs
occupied as dwellings—Circumstances connected
with Mr. Lane’s visit to the pyramids in
1825—Guards and attendants at the present
visit—Description of the Great Pyramid—Dr.
Lepsius’s account of the mode of
construction—Present state of the exterior of
the Great Pyramid—View from the top—Dangers to
which visitors to the pyramids are exposed

LETTER XXIV.

Description of the interior of the Great 201
Pyramid—Opinions concerning it

LETTER XXV.

Description of the Second Pyramid—The Third 213
Pyramid—Other Pyramids—The Great Sphinx—Bedawees

LETTER XXVI.

Performances of the celebrated magician of the 219
city of Cairo

LETTER XXVII.

Description of the baths for females in the city 225
of Cairo—Arrangement of the apartments, and
appearance of the females—Operations of the bath

LETTER XXVIII.

Wives of Mohammad ’Alee—Visit to his hareem in the 228
citadel—Apartments and reception—Ceremony on
quitting this hareem—Visit to the hareem of
Habeeb Efendee—Courteous behaviour of his wife
and daughters, and political conversation with
them—Mrs. Damer’s “Tour”

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THE

ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT.

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