WE must have a glance at Cairo, the ancient capital of Egypt, before we conclude.
In, reality there are now two parts to it, one occupied by Europeans and resembling a fashionable continental resort, the other a native part, where everything remains much as it used to be, only one misses the picturesque dress of the olden days.
The confusion of tongues which began at Babel is here much in evidence, and on, certain occasions gentlemen knowing several languages may be quite unable, to make themselves understood. Cairo still retains the character of being dusty, and watering the streets is very necessary. The men who undertake this work carry goatskins on their backs filled with water. In their left hands they hold the neck of the skin and are thus able to squirt out the water in any direction, and it is possible for an unwary passenger to come in for a little shower. Sometimes a camel or even a donkey may serve as a water carrier.
In 1856 a well-known traveler called our attention to the houses, with their latticed windows and ornamental doors. Few windows have glass, but have lattices instead, similar to diamond-shaped laths of a dairy window. All the windows are high up, so that they may not be overlooked. There are also balconies projecting from the upper stories, and in the center of the balcony a small door to which references are made in scripture. They are used to see what is passing, or to converse with any one below. There is, however, a larger door for going in or out, and at the entrance stands the porter. The bedchamber must not be omitted from this little description of the house, on account of its peculiarity. There are no iron bedsteads, as the usual custom is simply to have mattresses, which are rolled up in the mornings and kept for night. We must also notice the reception room, which is on the ground floor, paved with tiles. Opposite the door, and raised a few inches, is a part for the divans with a Turkey carpet in the center.
The roofs of the houses are almost always flat and protected by battlements, as God afterward directed the Israelites to build. (Deut. 22:88When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence. (Deuteronomy 22:8).) "Thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence." Outside the houses in the streets may be heard dismal cries as there were formerly. And at night people are obliged to carry a light of some kind.
In Cairo are to be found plenty of Turkish baths, which are indeed quite necessary, as Cairo is certainly a dusty place. One cannot take up all the details of this remarkable city; there is much that might be added about the various insects, so irritating and distressing to one's comfort, and the dreadful use of the whip, and of mutilations as punishments for the slightest offenses, which are really alarming and too dreadful for description.
If we could walk outside Cairo and recline on the banks of the Nile, taking our Bibles with us, how we should think of the ancient prophecy of Ezekiel and see its fulfillment, for now it is indeed a base kingdom, though not independent; and without a prince. (Ezek. 29, 30) Many changes have taken place, and, in these days travelers are conveyed by the railway, which enables a journey, across the waste of sand to be performed in a few hours.