Travel
Wintering in Egypt
" EGYPT," said Herodotus 2,500 years ago, " contains more wonders than any other land," Much has happened since then, so much that we have almost lost our sense of wonder. The ' Graf Zeppelin' and countless aeroplanes have flown above the Pyramids and mocked those monuments " doting with age ; luxurious Nile steamers will take you from Cairo to the First Cataract and back in twenty' days. Even the flow of the Nile is regulated by the modern dam.
And yet the old wonders still remain-the Pyramids (despite the picture postcards and the aeroplanes), the step pyramid of Sakkara (" rival " as Kinglake called it, " for the full-grown monster at Ghizeh "), the temples and the colossi. And, despite your trousered effendi, the fellah still works his fields as when Herodotus saw him, and the Egyptian countryside remains the true Biblical scene. The tired farmer still leads his cattle home with the sun setting along the dusty road (that sunset whose colours were the despair of Turner-they change too quickly for the eye, let alone the brush-and those im- plissible-looki ig daubs of Hassell's, shrieking with violent colour, were nearer the truth than anything more subtle ever could be).
It is the brightness of the day, the unreality of the colour- ings-this very un-Westernness-that the visitor to Egypt finds so refreshing. The cld body is sloughed off, as it were, and even the common lamp-post in a Cairo street takes on an air of mystery, of something almost sinister. An hotel such as Shepheard's-a caravanserai so famous that I may, I trust, escape the impeachment of " log-rolling "-owes everything to atmosphere. There is something in the air, the pulses quicken-and one expects to find romance waiting behind a pillar.
But some of us are made of sterner stuff and remain in- sensible to and uninterested in, atmosphere, and Shepheard's might as well be any other hotel of the Grand, Splendide or Majestic type. And, after all, my title, " Wintering in Egypt," demands something a little more concrete.
An ideal climate-that is first. For those who like statistics -an annual inch of rainfall, a daily eight hours sun (during the winter months), an average winter temperature of over 60° F. But it can be cold at night, and warm clothing should be packed at the expense of a tropical outfit.
Accommodation is excellent. If you cannot find an hotel to suit your taste or purse (which is unlikely) there are now many excellent pensions, a large number of them English- managed. Egypt has long had an unenviable reputation for being expensive. It need not be so,- but care is necessary, especially in such matters as " extras " and " purchases ' from the Musky and bazaars. The attractions from the antiquarian and Egyptology point of view need no emphasis here. The most delightful way of seeing the antiquities is, of course, by Nile steamer, with almost daily land excursions. So far as standards of comfort and cuisine will allow, the cost of a Nile trip has been kept as low as possible.
In Cairo itself-and also to a lesser degree in Alexandria, Luxor and Assuan-there are magnificent opportunities for sport. In Cairo race meetings are held each Saturday and Sunday. The events are well-endowed and the cards well- filled. At practically every meeting there is an event for gentlemen riders. At the Gezira Sporting Club (which is in the front rank of the world's sporting clubs) there are facilities for every conceivable game from polo to croquet. Visitors, properly introduced, may join for the period of their stay. There is a -certain amount -of sailing on, the Nile (an annu41, regatta at Assuan), and there is swimming in the clubs and at the hotels. Duck, snipe and other _ shooting may be had near Cairo.
There is plenty of dancing at the hotels and restaurants during the season, and there are one or two cabarets of repute.' At the Royal Opera House in Cairo there is usually a season of first-class Italian and French opera. The cinema is very popular, and several of the notable films of recent years have been seen in Cairo and Alexandria before their date of release in other countries.
For the hale and hearty and also for those in only moderate health there is much to do and much to see. For those in indifferent health or definitely ill, Heluan, at the gates of Cairo, may well prove an ideal health resort. The waters of Heluan have been sought for their healing properties since, the time of Amenhotep (3.c. 1600). The thermal bath estab- lishments are as modern as 1934. H. R.
The -1934-35 edition of Egypt and the Sudan, the official publication of the Tourist Development Association of Egypt, is now -available. Copies may be had on application to the Secretary, Egypt Travel Information Bureau, 29 Regent Street, Lor don, S.W. 1.
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