We rode for some distance along the valley of the Nile, which varies from two to twelve miles in width. It is very fertile, the soil being more than forty feet deep. It is only needful to sow the seed immediately after the inundation, and in about four months the harvest is ready to be gathered. The plough in use is a very primitive article; but the looseness of the soil renders stronger ploughs unnecessary. In many places as we went along we saw the natives irrigating by means of the bucket and pole, with a counterbalance at the end (shadouf), raising water from the Nile and sending it along the channels over the fields. In one field we saw agriculture being carried on as Adam would have done before the Fall, had it been necessary, the men being quite naked, and digging the earth with their hands.
Returning to the city we took a walk through old Cairo, along the narrow streets, passing many little workshops where various trades were being carried on, the owners appearing pleased at our noticing them at work. In one place some men were grinding beans with a huge pestle and mortar, and showed us some of the meal. In a secluded corner we saw about a dozen old fellows in every variety of costume sitting on the ground listening to a very animated story being told by one of the party. They appeared to be greatly interested, every now and then lifting up their hands in amazement. These professional story-tellers are a great institution in Cairo.
Passing down one of the narrow streets our attention was arrested by the busy hum of children’s’ voices, which we found proceeded from an upper room, the casement of which was open. Our guide told us it was a school, and that the children were repeating passages from the Koran.
One of our party, who had not forgotten the pranks of his boyhood, threw a number of new threepenny pieces into the midst of the boys, causing great excitement and confusion. Presently an old man, with a fringe of white hair encircling his dark face, and wearing a huge pair of brass-framed spectacles, appeared at the open window brandishing his cane at us, but in a moment his whole attitude changed, and holding out his hand he uttered the familiar cry of—backsheesh.
Our walk took us through one of the bazaars, which consist of very narrow lanes full of shops, with dealers in every variety of goods, most of which are made in the open. We were particularly struck with the beautiful embroideries of gold and silver thread, and the expeditious way in which the workmen executed the various designs. All were very anxious we should buy, and I overheard one old rascal offer our Coptic guide ten per cent. commission on our purchases. We, however, made none. In passing the carpet bazaar we saw an English party buying dingy carpets.
The most interesting part of our day’s experiences was spent in the manufacturing quarter. There are no large factories in Cairo, and I question if more than half a dozen people are employed at any one place. The work is carried on in the most primitive fashion in the little shops facing the street.
There can be but few secrets in the various trades, as the workshops are all shallow, and open to the streets. All the jewellers are in one street about 8ft. in width, each of them being provided with a safe, obviously of English manufacture. I do not think, however, that the bellows used by them were made in Birmingham, for it was curious to note that they had no valves. At the end of the jewellers’ street sits an old fellow like Abraham or Isaac, weighing precious metals in a pair of evidently very accurate scales. This man acted as general weigher for the trade, and his operations were carried on in the face of the public. Leaving the bazaars we met a crowd of natives gesticulating, shouting, and frolicking in a very excited manner. Standing aside to allow the throng to pass, we found it was a bridal procession conducting a bride to her husband’s home. A few tattered minstrels walked in front, making a hideous noise on pipes and drums, while a gang of young men jumped and danced about, and indulged in the wildest horse-play. The women were ornamented with strips of gilt paper and coloured ribbons, and had their cheeks thickly coated with rouge. The bride walked under a canopy consisting of four poles covered with canvas and was quite enclosed. Sometimes this portable tent would collapse upon the fair one, whose struggles were prominently manifested by bulges in the canvas. The whole party seemed to be making the most of the occasion.