The Nile Excursion

On the Nile, Jan. 14th., 1867

Cairo, as one of the most thoroughly oriental cities in the world, offers numberless objects of study and entertainment, even to the unpoetical traveler whose imagination does not specially luxuriate in the stories of the Arabian Nights, and revert to the times of Haroon Al Raschid as the Golden Age. Many of these objects, as intimated in my last letter, I was compelled for the time to pass by, in order to make preparation for the intended Nile voyage. The latter is, indeed, the great concern of most excursionists in Egypt, in the end of autumn or beginning of winter. Could any of my readers have looked in at Shepheard’s at the close of dinner, a month ago, and glanced down the long table set with earthen water-jars and a varied dessert, he would have found that an excursion up the Nile was the prominent subject of conversation, among the many groups munching mandarin oranges, fresh figs and dried dates, or supping their little cups of muddy coffee.

The Nile excursion is commonly made from Cairo, seldom from Alexandria. Its destination up the river is sometimes Thebes, four hundred and fifty miles distant; most frequently Assouan, at the foot of the “First Cataract,” six hundred miles; not unfrequently “Wady Halfeh,” or the foot of the “Second Cataract,” eight hundred miles. The object of some in making the excursion is mainly pleasure; of others, the gratification of an antiquarian curiosity; of others still, health. The excursion, as commonly reported, affords the highest luxury of travel; it also carries one among the most wonderful ruins and monuments of remote antiquity; while for invalids, especially those whose breathing and vocal organs need strengthening, it affords a dry, invigorating, summer-like atmosphere, fresh from the great deserts, more free from changes, perhaps, than any accessible climate in the world.

For those who simply wish to examine in a cursory manner the chief antiquities of Egypt, expending as little time as possible in so doing, a convenient way is now afforded by the steamers which every week or two, in winter, run from Cairo to Assouan.

Not a few excursionists take the steamers, although not so large a proportion as I had imagined. The round trip is made in twenty days; the boat running by a fixed schedule, always lying by at night, and stopping a reasonable length of time at each prominent place of interest. The fare for the round trip is about two hundred dollars, besides incidental expenses in the way of donkeys, guides, etc., for side excursions to the ruins.

As I desired to remain some time in Upper Egypt, breathing its wholesome air, it did not best suit my plans to ascend the Nile by steamer. Yet, for the sake of pleasant company, I stood ready to take the steamer, in case the friends who came with me from Naples concluded on even so brief an excursion and would accompany me; intending in such case to supplement the Nile trip by a desert journey to Sinai, or otherwise. But my friends having decided against the Nile trip altogether and in favor of pushing on directly to Jerusalem, I reverted to my original plan of going by private boat. The destination which I preferred was Assouan. To Thebes and back would occupy only five or six weeks; to the Second Cataract, ten or twelve weeks; but to Assouan, the time would be from seven to eight weeks, which would consume the body of the winter and enable me to enter Syria by the short desert early in March – just what I wished.

The thing, then, first to be done was to find some persons who were like-minded with me, who would join me, or whom I could join, in making the proposed excursion. Traveling by myself would be lonely, and, besides, enormously expensive. For the sake both of company and economy, the party ought to number at least three or four, while as many as five or six would be still better. On inquiry, no prospect opened for a party to Assouan just at the time; but a party of three was found who had agreed on a passage to the Second Cataract and hack, and who were anxious to secure an addition of two to their number. This party having their preparations considerably advanced and promising to he a very desirable company, and having made a conditional contract for the excursion on favorable terms, I concluded to join them, rather than wait on further contingencies. Shortly after, a fifth person was secured, completing the desired number.

These personal details are given, not because they are supposed to be interesting in themselves, but only by way of illustrating the usual experiences of that considerable and increasing class of our countrymen, who, once in their lives, attempt the visit of this ancient land by its still more ancient river. With the same view I may, perhaps, be indulged in some further details in regard to the chief preliminaries of the voyage.

It would be not a little awkward for a Cincinnatian to provide at the city landing for a pleasant voyage for himself and friends, in a private sail-boat, up the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers to Olean; or for a St. Louis person to do the same thing for a voyage up the Mississippi to the Falls of St. Anthony. But for a winter excursion eight hundred miles up the Nile, strangers in Cairo find every thing prepared; yet the preparations are just such as never would exist at Cincinnati or St. Louis.

First and foremost, a dragoman must be secured. This is the grand preliminary. Into the hands of this functionary, when secured, the ordering and execution of the expedition will be mainly committed. He will take charge of the party – as their interpreter, their guide, their purveyor – as the person responsible for the boat on which they sail, for the lives and property of those on board, and for the good conduct of its officers and crew.

A plenty of dragomen in Cairo wait for employment. The difficulty is one of selection. All have the most satisfactory testimonials, in any language you please, from princes and lords and ordinary gentlemen. The party which I joined had already secured the services of an Egyptian – a young, active fellow, recommended by some well-known persons in Egypt as well as by numberless strangers. His name is – why might it not be any thing else as well ? – Achmet or Ahmad. However, his surname helps to identify him. It reduces him from the general class of Johns to the particular class of John Smiths, being Ahmad Ramadan, lie speaks tolerable English, but prefers, in the use of all substantives, a plural form of the word. He stops at the villages along the river to get a “sheeps” and some “milks.” He is willing and obliging, but can not readily command his temper. When the wind is fair and the speed of the boat rapid, his good humor overflows; but the wind ahead and the voyage promising to be protracted, his countenance becomes perfectly woe-begone. It will be seen presently that this is due to a sensitive “pocket-nerve.”

The dragoman being engaged, the next thing is, in connection with him and by his aid, to secure a suitable boat. The sort of a boat required is the “Dahabieh,” (the word is pronounced as if spelled Dah-hah-bee-ah, with the accent on the third syllable) which I may at some future time describe. By the shore at Boulak, in the season of excursions, maybe seen a long string of these, head on, like steamers at a Western landing. They are of slightly different sizes, made for larger or smaller companies; some being too large to go up the first cataract, others being small enough to admit making the passage. They are furnished, painted, officered and manned, and generally equipped, so as to be ready to sail at a few days notice. The friends whom I joined had, again and again, visited the score of Dahabiehs at Boulak, and had agreed with the dragoman on the “Bulbul,” (Arabic for nightingale,) a boat sufficiently commodious, yet not too large to make the ascent of the rapids. It belongs to the dragoman to contract for the boat, and the Bulbul could be had – captain, crew and all – for the sum of one thousand dollars, for the round trip to the second cataract and back, or for seven hundred and fifty dollars to Assouan and back. This was the sum at which our dragoman secured the boat, when our party came to terms with him for their own expenses. Every thing in this uncertain country is done by formal contract; and our contract with the dragoman, with its multitudinous provisions, and its imposing array of “the said party of the first part and the said party of the second part,” looks sufficiently formal and formidable, as one of the friends remarked, for a treaty among the high European powers. I am not sure but a full copy of this contract would be instructive or amusing, or possibly both, to some of my readers, but I will content myself with a “lifeless abstract” of its main provisions.

By this contract, the dragoman agrees to place at our service the boat Nightingale, fully manned and comfortably furnished; to supply provisions and stores of the best quality, and to cook and serve them as we may require; to procure for us all needed guides, guards, donkeys, etc., for making our side excursions; and to make all presents which are usual – the endless backsheesh business, in other words, being turned over to him. The dragoman thus assumes, by the contract, to pay all the expenses of the voyage, so that we are not to put our hands into our pockets for any thing. Then, in consideration of all this, we engage to pay him for the whole trip, whether made in longer or shorter time, the sum of four hundred pounds sterling, or nearly two thousand dollars.

We provide, in the contract, to go no farther than Assouan, unless we choose. If we make that point our destination, we pay three hundred and twenty pounds, or nearly sixteen hundred dollars. We also stipulate for several days’ stoppage of the boat, so that we may visit the ruins at our leisure; and we take out this time when and where we please.

This contract was witnessed to by the American Consul at Cairo; “the said party of the first part” signing their names, and “the said Ahmad Ramadan, the party of the second part,” for himself sealing it with his own seal dipped in ink. In case of any difference or difficulty between the high contracting parties, the case is to be submitted to the American Consul General.

It will be seen by “the attentive reader” that it is to the interest of the dragoman to hasten the voyage as much as possible; since the longer the voyage, the longer he must board us. The same subtle principle pervades all the negotiations which pertain to the excursion – possibly in consideration of the infirmities of Arab character – for the owner of the boat employs the officers and crew by the round trip, involving their interest in the speed of the expedition.

The time has gone by when an excursion on the Nile, to use Stevens’ phrase, was “ridiculously cheap.” Prices doubled within fifteen years from Stevens’ time, and they have nearly doubled again in the fifteen years which have since followed. As they now rule, our contract is very reasonable; perhaps the most so of any yet made this winter.

Preparations for a voyage up the Nile are much like those made for a voyage of the same length at sea. In general, every thing required in the way of personal conveniences must be had before starting. These can not be supplied on the upper river. What a shopping time, then, awaited us among the bazaars of the city!

Provision must be made, even in midwinter, against warm weather and blinding sunlight; so we procure light, untanned shoes, straw hats wrapped with white muslin, and green spectacles. Medicines must be had – and especially eye-water, in case of being attacked with ophthalmia, the most frequent disease of the country. Not less necessary is insect powder, for the destruction of various sorts of vermin which still abound here, and which may still be reckoned among the “plagues of Egypt.” Persons who smoke do not fail to supply themselves with plenty of “Latakía” tobacco and “chibbouks,” with long stems of cherry wood or jessamine. Then the requisite amount and variety of stationery must by no means be overlooked; while fire-arms and ammunition, and fishing-tackle, for those of sporting tastes, will be deemed important.

Not only the bazaars, but one’s bankers must be visited. Small purchases on one’s own account will need to be made tip the river, of antiques and what not, and for this only the small change current in Upper Egypt (piastres, etc.) will answer. Also, the bankers are to be instructed concerning the forwarding of letters, so that one may not be excluded from communication with the outside world during the entire time of the voyage.

Moreover, books must be secured, for without these time will inevitably hang heavy on the hands, however many time pleasures of the voyage.

All these matters were duly attended to, interspersed with various rides from our hotel to the boat, for overseeing the preparations there in progress. I found, on inquiry at my bankers, that letters arriving for me in Cairo could be forwarded by mail to any important point on the river which I might indicate, and that from any such point I could post letters by the Egyptian mail to my bankers in Cairo, to be posted by them for America. In regard to books, we were supplied very handsomely. At the American Mission, the Revs. Drs. Lansing and Barnett placed their libraries at my disposal, while one of our party obtained valuable works from the library of Hekekyan Bey, to whom he had letters of introduction. Some of these books are full treatises on Ancient and Modern Egypt, the monuments, the hieroglyphics, the mythology, etc., – so that if we do not come out learned Egyptologists at the end of our excursion it will not be for want of the means of instruction.

Meanwhile our personal preparations went on more rapidly than those at the boat. The time stipulated for our setting sail arrived, yet the “Nightingale” was not ready for our reception. I might relate our frequent visits to the boat, in which we found that the work of putting the cabin and state rooms in living condition was going forward at only an invisible rate – our lectures to the dragoman and our interviews with the owner, which habitually resulted in our having every thing promised and nothing performed – our astounding discoveries of multitudinous living beings which had taken passage on the Dahabieh in advance of us and were disposed to insist on accompanying us, and the war of extermination which we forthwith waged against them.

We could, of course, do little with the owner of the boat, except through the dragoman. So, as soon as possible, we moved ourselves into the boat, by way of quickening his motions; for having us on his hands to board, he earnestly desired to begin the voyage, and we steadily refused to set sail until the owner of the boat had made her comfortable according to contract.

Ah! What lessons in Egyptian character we learned! Fully as amusing as vexatious; for as yet the wind was blowing steadily from the south, and we could not really have sailed had the boat been ready. A carpenter would be sent to nail up sundry shelves and stop suspicious holes, and, unable or unwilling to understand what was needed, he would sit by and smoke his pipe, and beg for backsheesh, while some of our number appropriated his tools and materials and performed the work. Our dining-table was the grand centre of difficulty and detention. Too infirm of legs to sustain without great straining its own weight, and only large enough well to accommodate such a single dish as that from which the Arabs make their meals, we insisted on something better. Against the expense of a new table the owner of the boat was fully resolved. And until the table question should be satisfactorily adjusted we refused to start. Thus the issue was joined, and not for some three days was the ease fully tried and even temporarily settled. Meanwhile the dragoman was nigh to despair. A favorable wind sprang up; our boat was shoved out into the stream and anchored; other boats which had been delayed by the adverse wind set sail – their national flags flying and their passengers firing salutes.

We were all by this time anxious to leave, and while the carpenter still hammered away at the old table, trying to extend and strengthen it, some of our party went up to the city and procured, on our own account, such a table as we needed; and then, as soon as possible, we hoisted our flags – the Stars and Stripes and the red flag and Cross of St. George – the company being partly American and partly English, and bore away for our long flight southward. Whether, on our return, we shall dispose of the new table for what we can get, and pocket the loss in trade; or, whether we shall leave it on board and make the dragoman settle for it with the owner of the boat, has not yet been decided. The hope, however, is entertained that the final adjustment will be effected without complicating the American and British governments with the viceroyalty of this country.

While we lingered, I had ample opportunity of observing what was going on in this principal port of Cairo. The scene on shore was always busy. Not a little boat-building was in progress. A din of hammering on steam-boilers sounded like an echo of modern civilization. Steamers of the Viceroy were seen every hour or two moving up or down the river, leaving dense clouds of smoke in the rear and having the look of progress. Yet these tokens seemed more than counterbalanced in the constant sight presented by the multitudes of natives who resorted to the river’s brink for a supply of Nile water. I never wearied looking at them. The shore was fairly lined with them from morning till night. A few men would come with carts and donkeys and water-casks. Others would bring only donkeys; each with a goat-skin to be filled and balanced on the donkey’s back. Others still would come with a goat-skin on their own back, which they filled and bore away.

But the principal water-carriers were women and girls. These outnumbered the men and boys four or five to one. The procession of these never flagged by daylight, and look out when I would, there would be a half dozen of them, in the small space between our boat’s head and that of the next boat, filling their water-jars. And such costume and such jars! The costume was almost abolutely uniform. It consists of two articles – both of dark-blue cotton – a tunic, reaching to the ankles, and a long scarf, or shawl, thrown over the head and wrapping the body. Neither men nor women at Boulak are guilty of shoes – water-carriers or others; and while the costume of the women may be considered sufficiently simple, that of the men is no less so, consisting of the same sort of tunic, and a turban instead of scarf. But the jars! Such enormous masses of crockery! Why they did not crush in the skulls and break down the spinal columns of those slender girls, I often wondered. Yet a huge jar, which the girl would tug up the hill only with great difficulty, she would seem to sustain and carry with the greatest ease when once it surmounted her head. No wonder the Egyptian women are erect of form.

These water-carriers dipped the water from the edge of time river, where, from the constant tramping, mud and water freely mingled. Not only so, they commonly washed themselves in the water, and performed in it various personal offices previous to dipping it. And I have no idea that they filtered the water before using it. Our crew had no hesitation in drawing the odious mixture from the side of the boat and drinking it.

By the token of such primitive means for obtaining the indispensable water-supply of Cairo; and at the same time of such beastly drudgery – of such filthiness of habits – of such degradation of woman – I thought the upward march of civilization not so very promising at the capital of Egypt, notwithstanding the hammering on steam-engines and the sight of the Viceroy’s steamboats.

Perhaps this account of our tedious outfitting and delays may be tedious in the reading. However, I leave my readers at the point where we are fairly under-weigh for our voyage; and if in subsequent letters I can impart to them ever so small a share of the pleasure which the voyage on the grand and ancient river is yielding me, possibly they may consider it a compensation for this chapter of annoyances, even as I consider the pleasures of the voyage infinitely worthy the incidental pains.

From The Far East
by N.C. Burt, 1868.