Between Alexandria and Cairo

In the afternoon of the 19th [April, 1826], attended by the Janissary Selim, we mounted our donkeys and rode to the Canal of Mahmoudieh, where our Maash was waiting for us. The Camseen had sunk, the moon shone brightly, the evening was delightful, we talked of Cleopatra, and we agreed that every thing was very novel, pleasant, and agreeable. We met several boats laden with cotton; it required some dexterity to keep clear of each other, arid, in passing rapidly, the rigging not unfrequently caught, to the mutual detriment of both vessels. On a slight dispute arising, Selim caught up his silver stick, his badge of authority, and silence on its appearance immediately ensued. A heavy dew beginning to fall, C. recommended my retiring to the cabin, which was about six feet square, and four feet high, so that for the first time in my life I positively found myself too tall! On the lamp being lighted, to my great consternation, we discovered thousands and ten thousands of cock-roaches running merrily about in every direction, and absolutely over our couches; and we had also the pleasure of finding our boat was infested by rats, which paid us repeated visits during the night.

The morning beamed fresh and lovely, and, about noon, we reached the point where we were to disembark, and to proceed to the Nile overland, as the water in the Canal was not deep enough for us to continue upon it; several boats were moored there, chiefly laden with cotton. A rude tent was pitched, beneath which reclined Turks, and Arabs, and Egyptian Fellahs, in their various costumes, the green turban betokening the wearer to be a descendant of Mahomet. Arab women were on the banks, in their blue robes, and half naked infants were crawling and running about in every direction. Whilst they were moving our luggage, we had a couple of chairs placed beneath some dwarf willows, which gave just enough shade to make us sigh for more, it being intensely hot. Numerous water-mills emitted a droning sound; several kites hovered over our heads, flapping heavily their wings. The children crowded round us, sat down, eyeing us with looks of curiosity, and held out their hands for “bucksheesh;” whilst some respectable men, approaching us, would fain have entered into conversation with us, had we understood their language.

The Janissary hired, or, perhaps, rather seized ten camels for us, in the name of the Government, upon which all the drivers simultaneously ran away, expecting that they were to have, in consequence, no remuneration. This caused considerable delay, and more than an hour elapsed ere our little caravan was ready, and I now found my side-saddle of the greatest use. C. and I rode at the head, my donkey attended by Selim, and the ten camels, tied together, led by Sheik Chaund, followed with our luggage, whilst the rest of our attendants brought up the rear. The first adventure was my donkey endeavouring to run under the camels, and it was with some difficulty Selim rescued me from the impending danger. Then crash came down one of the camel’s loads. It proved to be the property of Mr. Salt’s gardener, who had asked permission to accompany us to Cairo, but, though a faithful Mussulman, the fall betrayed the cargo to be wine! We then entered a desert tract, where not a shrub or blade of grass were to be seen, and the soil resembled the fissured surface of a horse-pond when dried up by intense heat. All around us appeared the mirage, a most beautiful delusion; lakes in the distance were apparently to be seen, and a fine river, on whose calm bosom trees and buildings were distinctly reflected; so complete was the deception, that it was some time before we could be convinced it was not the Nile we beheld.

In about three hours’ time we reached El Aft, but as we had outstripped the camels, and a date-tree was our only shelter from the ardent rays of the afternoon sun. C. asked for a house. “What for, want house?” asked Selim, with much naïveté, who seemed to think a house was only to sleep in. In one we attempted to enter, the owner was shaving, and sherbet was preparing; I was, therefore, put into the cabin of a Cangia, which was neither high enough for me to stand in, nor was there any description of seat to sit upon, so that I was forced, bon grè mal grè, to lie down upon the floor upon my cloak; but whilst waiting for our baggage to come up, I became so faint from want of refreshment, some hours having elapsed since breakfast, that C. was obliged to go in search of some, saying “Haram” to the Reis as he left me. “Haram,” we were told, means secret, and is always held sacred. Though there were none but rude sailors on board, none of them attempted to intrude upon me, or to molest me, whilst I was alone; and the Reis roughly reproved a man, who, not knowing the cabin was occupied, was about to enter.

The only boat large enough to be safe, was a Cangia, in miserable repair, which, to add to its delights, had but lately had a cargo of sugar, so that the ceiling was positively encrusted with flies, and the floor was swarming with fleas; however, as we hoped to reach Cairo on the following day, and having no other alternative than to return to Alexandria, we resolved to engage it. About 6 p.m. we got under weigh, and our escort Selim returned to Alexandria, leaving us with our two Indian attendants, and our Maltese servants. As C. spoke Hindoostanee, and I myself Italian, and Sheik Chaund and Giovanni, Arabic, they served as interpreters between us and the crew. We passed Foua and Salwyah at sun-set, and on the following morning we found ourselves under the lee of a sand-bank, opposite Khafir Daour. The wind being too strong to proceed without danger of foundering, our Cangia, with two or three others that accompanied us, was aground, and their respective crews upon shore, fast asleep. We were forced to adopt “patienza” for our motto, and we amused ourselves with taking a walk on the banks of the river, though it was with difficulty we avoided treading on the men who were lying scattered about in every direction, wrapped in immense cloaks. As soon as our Reis perceived our intention, he insisted on accompanying us, as he made signs it was unsafe for us to venture alone; and, after attempting for some time to converse with us, kissing C.’s hand, he ran and collected some flowers which he presented to him. A Frenchman would have offered them to me; however, every nation has its customs, and I am convinced the Reis intended them for me, whose property they immediately became. In our walks, the women in the villages, and on the banks, eyed us with the most intense curiosity. Some of them were much ornamented with gold, and their veils were tied up between the eyes with a string of small silver bells. Their chief occupation appeared to be the drawing and carrying of water; the children, generally in a complete state of nature, were frequently much frightened at our appearance, and one of them, on meeting us, ran quickly away, crying out “Mamma, Mamma,” in as broad a tone as any little Scotch boy could have done. The men laughed good-naturedly, but not disrespectfully at our foreign appearance, and turned away their eyes, exclaiming, “Haram!”. One morning, I felt myself suddenly caught hold of, and turning, in some degree of alarm, I beheld a woman in the blue dress of the country, completely veiled, offering her hand, and exclaiming, at the utmost pitch of her voice,” Salamat! Salamat!” I returned the salutation, and gave her my hand in return, upon which she made signs for me to follow her to her house, in a village at a little distance, but I was afraid of accompanying her, as the invitation did not extend to C. She, however, offered her hand to him in a very friendly manner, and seemed very well pleased at his putting some piastres into it.

We saw nothing of the so much boasted fertility of the Delta, and the country was by no means as luxuriant as is customary in the immediate vicinity of rivers in general. The land appeared all arable, and a very light soil; there was no pasture; but there were wheat, barley, flax, and quantities of melon beds, with which many of the numerous islets were entirely covered. The Nile was very low, and the sailors were constantly obliged to jump into the water, to push the boat off a sandbank, or to tow it along the banks. We passed numerous buffaloes wallowing in the water, their noses upturned to Heaven, quaffing the ambient air; and there were beautiful white batta birds, standing and admiring themselves in the river. The scenery, on the whole, was very monotonous, but the climate was delightful, the heat being pleasantly attempered by fresh breezes. A fine cloudless sky – a wide dusky-brown river, which frequently assumed the appearance of a lake – low shelving banks-small mud villages, with a few date and other fruit-trees – alone mosque – Fellahs tilling the ground, and planting melons – half naked countrymen fishing-women in their blue dress carrying water – the ox turning water-mills – the cooing of doves – the cawing of rooks – the cry of the pee-wit – and the sweet notes of the bulbul – were the chief sounds and sights that greeted us between Alexandria and Cairo. The banks were occasionally perforated most regularly and curiously in perfectly straight lines, by the sand swallow, to the number, perhaps, of a thousand holes, and the male birds kept watch in front of each domicile. At Sallaggar the ground was covered with the Convolvulus arvensis; I thought of Rousseau, and “voila la pervanche,” as home and all its charms rose to my mind, and I involuntarily exclaimed, “This grows at Windmill Hill!”.

At Nadir we saw one of the telegraphic towers, which are to be built every twelve miles, for the purpose of giving information what boats ascend and descend the river. Near Kal el Gazi, we stopped for fire-wood, and pomegranate was brought, rich in all its scarlet honours. Whilst waiting, I accidentally turned my eyes to the shore, where was the Reis, who at first I actually thought was possessed. There stood the old man, sometimes lifting up his hands, as if in an attitude of astonishment, sometimes wiping his beard, then prostrating himself on the ground, and touching it with his forehead. Anon, jumping up, he began again, and went through the whole of the mummery anew. I at last found out he was at his devotions, not, perhaps, the less fervently performed from perceiving he was observed. Whilst this holy farce was acting, a very different scene was carrying on at a little distance. A party of native women approached with their merchandise, chiefly consisting of some flat wheaten cakes. The dusky belles at first cautiously kept their dirty sarrees, or mantillas, over their faces with their teeth, but in the eagerness of chaffering, the envious veils that obscured their dingy charms from the garish eye of day, by degrees deserted their posts, and disclosed their features to view. Their eyes were small, and sunk in their heads; their noses flat; their mouths good, and with very fine teeth, which were much set off by the darkness of their complexions. There was a vivacity and archness in the expression of their countenances, which saved them from being absolutely plain. One or two of them wore gold bangles, necklaces, and ear-rings; the rest were attired in the common blue dress of the country, the lower part of the face being dyed with indigo, and their nails stained with henna. Whilst they were bargaining, a coarse-looking sailor, one of our crew, flung himself on the grass, and kept on humming a song, evidently sarcastic and pointed, which made some look ashamed, and forced others to laugh. After the marketing was over, the women all sat down, huddled together, on the ground, and the sailor approached them, and seated himself among them. His sullen countenance suddenly brightened up, and he cocked his chin in the air, as importantly as any dandy in town showing off to an admiring circle of demoiselles. With an air of familiar gallantry, he patted one on the shoulder, which was coquettishly repulsed. He then put his hand into his vest, and produced a dirty rag, and a coloured cord, which were as eagerly contended for, as the famed apple of the Goddess Atè by the three rival goddesses. With a very self-satisfied and triumphant manner, but with a contemptuous and sarcastic look, he bestowed them on the favoured fair, who, evidently gratified with this distinguishing mark of attention, tore them in pieces, and distributed them to her companions, who all crowded round their hero, as if he were a little god. It was an excellent scene, and as good a satire upon flirting as I ever saw. Flirting in Egypt!

The dandy was suddenly summoned to the boat. What a transformation! No more smiles, no more graces; he once more became a coarse-looking, ill-conditioned sailor, doffed his clothes, and fell to towing.

At midnight we were roused by a noise of fighting and quarrelling. The knight of the rag, the hero, had got soundly bastinadoed, because he had accidentally laid his hand upon some fruit in another vessel. It seemed to be the husbands of the ladies who had been flirting with him, who took this opportunity of avenging themselves. Our servants tried to stop the clamour, by telling them there were a Cowasjee and a Mhurra (a gentleman and a lady) in the cabin, but they would not be pacified, till the Cowasjee made his appearance in propriâ personâ among them.

On the morning of the 23d we came in sight of the Mokattam Mountains, in the vicinity of Grand Cairo. The Nile was here covered with small islets, and we passed the wrecks of some boats, which justified the Reis’s precaution in so frequently coming to anchor. By his own account, he seemed troubled with every disorder under the sun, and would need have C. prescribe for him. In vain did C. assure him he was not a medical man; a Frank and a physician are synonymous in the imagination of an Oriental, and he asserted “the Cowasjee knew every thing.”

This being St. George’s day, we gave Giovanni a glass of brandy in honour of the King. “La festa del Re d’Inghilterra,” exclaimed he, with the utmost glee, promising to drink it “al suo salute.” On the principle of the earth that dwelt with the rose till it imbibed its fragrance, poor Giovanni should have been a great man, for he had lived with several distinguished characters. He had been Cameriere to Napoleon when in Egypt, had personally attended him, and constantly slept in his room; he told us, it was his custom to walk up and down half the night thinking, till, overcome with sleep, Giovanni, who remained in attendance to take off his boots, would venture to rouse him from his reverie. He described him, as “fastidioso, come una Signora, per la pulizia,” and spoke of him as a very kind and considerate master; and once, when he was wounded, he informed us, that he (Napoleon) used to insist on his taking his medicines, and “gave him water in his own silver goblet.”

Giovanni had also lived with Lewis Buonaparte, with Menou, and likewise with several distinguished Englishmen. In describing one of his numerous masters, he said, “He always dressed like a lady,” and maintained his assertion, saying, “at least he always wore a faldetta.” On farther inquiry, it turned out to be the Highland costume, which he imagined to be a lady’s dress! What would the martial Highlanders say to this? However, I think Mrs. Graham mentions that the South American heroine assumed this attire when fighting, as the most feminine she could adopt. He had also lived with Sir Frederick Henniker, and was with him when he was attacked in Syria; likewise with Dr. Bromhead and Mr. Cooke; he attended the latter when he expired on his camel and was interred at Elim; and with the garrulity of old age, he was very fond of taking every opportunity of reciting his adventures.

At 3 p.m. we came in sight of Cairo, or Misr, as it is termed by the Arabs; and after passing Soubra, the Pasha’s Garden house, in the evening we anchored off Boulac, having been five days and nights in our crazy Cangia, instead of the twenty-four hours we had anticipated when we embarked.

from Narrative of a Journey Overland from England, by the Continent of Europe, Egypt, and the Red Sea, to India; including a residence there, and voyage home, in the Years 1825, 26, 27, and 28.
by Mrs. Colonel Elwood, 1830