Travel
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Travel in Egypt
IT is better, if you can, to land at Port Said. At Alexandria yon will be torn limb from liinb by hordes of shrieking porters, and your luggage will be scattered to the windS ; at least you will feel like that. For the sake of your dignity and nerves, Nell yourself body and luggage to some travel agency, and resolutely look the other way till you find yourself through the customs and safe in your railway carriage. Your luggage
will really be perfectly undamaged. • • Neither Port Said nor Alexandria is worth staying at, unless you have friends at one or the other : Port Said is no
lOnger even the wickedest place in the world, though you may like to see the Suez Canal, and the statue of M. de Lesseps with, as Mr. Forster has said, bunches of bananas for fingers. Alexandria is worth driving round, if only to enjoy- the. splendid curve of the old harbour ; indeed, the town is worth two or three days if you have plenty of time. Get Mr. Forster's Guide if you can. The train journey to Cairo is comfortable, but if you can drive up it is interesting to see the real Delta country, and non-Europeanized towns such as Da manhour and Tantah. Cairo, however, is your first objective. You need not stay at any of the hotels de luxe, Shepheard's, the Continental, or the riverside Semiramis, lire there are several good first-class hotels, and the prices throughout have been considerably reduced in the last year. The suburb of Heliopolis has its points ; the hotels are quiet, and the architecture is amusing, but as a garden city it has not come up to expectations. Still it is comparatively removed from bustle. The most pleasant thing of all, however, is to stay at the Mena House Hotel, under the Pyramids ; but that means a long drive into Cairo. Previous visitors to Egypt are reminded that there is now no Kasr-en- Nil bridge : either you ferry across, or go round by the Bulaq Bridge. Helouan, about an hour away, is a pleasant spa, with golf-links in the desert.
There are two worlds to be explored in Cairo ; the ancient Egyptian and the Saracenic. Suppose we begin with the Egyptian. I suggest that one morning spent at the.Egyptian Museum (do not forget that Friday is Sunday) In a cursory view is enough to begin with. Then, I think, the Pyramids. 'they are more impressive at a distance, and more interesting close to. The Sphinx is best seen by full moon, but must not be missed even by daylight. Cars can get very close, or you may ride a camel ; but if you go on foot provide 3,Our- self with the most authoritative-looking guide you can find, otherwise you will be pestered to death by aspirants for your favour, and sellers of sham antiques. The best Egyptological expedition, however, is to Sakhara, by car. Go by the Giza road, and come back by way of Memphis and the Colossus; the drive each way is extremely pleasant ; going, along the strip which separates the desert from the sown, returning, through palm groves. At Sakhara, under the step pyramid, pin will see the earliest of all fluted columns, recently dis- (livered by the late Mr. Firth, and other fascinating discoveries; while a little farther in the desert there are the portentous Apis tombs, and other exquisitely decorated ones discovered, years ago by Mariette Pasha. Co for the day, and take your lu'nchcon with you.
But the thing to do in Cairo, unless you wish merely to idle happily in the streets admiring the pseudo-American archi- tecture, is to investigate the Saracenic work. Cairo is in many ways a very beautiful town, and its architecture, of its kind, (you may not like it) unsurpassed. If you go to the mujski or bazaar (of which more later) you can get a good preliminary idea of its delights in a very small area. Within a few hundred yards or so you can see the quite different mosques of Hakem, by the Salaclin gate, Bab-el-Futuh, of Barque', and of Qalaim, besides other smaller monuments including a., private house. You can then, if you are attracted, visit Itai Tobin, El -Moyyad with its twin minarets, and, gem of gems, Sultan Hassan, to name only a few, besides the glories of. the Dead City. The difficulty is guides ; they know nothing. You can, however, go with Mrs. Devonshire, either on her weekly party trips, or by engaging her privately ; you will then have a scholar of reputation to show you either what you want to see, or to take you to things you ought to see.- The Arabic Museum is pleasantly arranged, and contains, moreover, the best collection of mosque lamps in the world ; there is none left in the mosques.
or less highbrow entertainments there are, of course, the bazaars. The mujski is run largely for the benefit of
Europeans (and, naturally, of the shopkeepers) it is picturesque, the smells vary from the delicious to the nauseating, there are good things to buy (if you are not
expert, seek advice), and you -will, if you buy anything, be offered very good tea. You must, of course, bargain ; that is the fun of the thing. If you really want to see a native bazaar, however, go to the other side of the Mujski Street, to the spice -bazaar, and the Algerian bazaar. These are far pleasanter, less noisy and the real thing. You can still see the Dervishes dance on Fridays, but now they gyrate very slowly. Expeditions from Cairo, besides that to Sakhara, are to 'the Delta Barrage with its fine gardens ; and, if you want• to see the-desert, the splendid drive to Suez and back. A longer expedition is that to the monasteries of the Wadi Natriin, and it is .piissible to go to the mysterious Siwa ; but these forays need organizing.
You will want to go South. If you have time, I should strongly recommend a short stay in the oasis of the Fayina ; there is now a good hotel—One. The country is quite different from anything else in Egypt, with waterfalls, olives and a lake the people are also different. Purchases at the Goverament arts -and crafts school there are well worth making ; I mean such things as silks and suit-cases. If you are there at the beginning of Ramadan, you will see a wonderfully gay and noisy mediaeval procession of the guilds. - Then, it goes without saying, Luxor and Aswan; at neither of which places is it necessary to stay at the Grand Babylon Hotel : unless you are an ardent Egyptologist . you will not _want to delay over Abydos, Edfu and such places, where, besides, accommodation is poor. Luxor is tremendous. You will, alas! be harried by guides and such-like, but do not try on them your recently-acquired terms of abuse, or objurgation to go-away very swiftly.; they will have no effect. Say simply, in a detached way, ana baladi—I am of the Countryj—and you will be left in comparative peace. Luxor temple is impressive, but Karnak is more so ; and do not miss there the statue of Sekmet, one of the most awesome, even terrifying things, sculpture has ever pro- duced. You will naturally go across the river to Thebes, and motor to the Ramasseum and other sites, to the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings, to the Tombs of the Queens, and so on ; but much is to be said for going on a donkey if you can stand it : you will then go over the hill instead of round. The scenery is as exciting as the tombs. Do not miss Medinet Habig, which, though late and therefore subject to the scorn of archaeologists, is a gem. Once you have seen Luxor, you will be able to spend your time more enjoyably in the -Cairo Museum.
Aswan is one of the most charming places in the world. You are. comparatively free of archaeology there, and can enjoy the country. For inland sightseeing' the camel is recommended, but you should spend most of your time on the water, round Elephantine Island and so on. Go by boat to the great dam, up by the lock and *down by the rapids : you will not see much of Philae in the winter, but no matter. With any luck you will get quite hot at Aswan in the daytime ; but Egypt in the winter is a cool climate ; it is cold every night, and-you must at all costs take winter clothes with you, though you may want lighter things for the daytime.
Travel to Egypt is much cheaper than it was, and you are advised to get the pamphlet from the Egyptian Travel Bureau, 00 Regent Street, for all details. To give a rough idea, for a six-weeks' trip from Marseilles and return, you can take a de luxe tour, including Cairo, Luxor and Aswan, for £98, first-class one for £84. You can go for three weeks in a " B ' category for £52. This includes all hotel and travel expenses. The first-clasS hotels are the Metropolitan* in Cairo, the Grand' at Helouan, Mena House,' ' TheLuxor ' at Luxor, and the Grand ' at Aswan. The last three I can recommend from personal experience. The situations are excellent, the food good, and the service all you can want. '..There is a scheme on foot, by now probably ratified, for thit4e hotels to provide pension at the rate of £25 a month ; so if you want to make a longer stay the cost will not be excessive. If You want to make your own way there, I believe it is now possible to get to Egypt by all sea route for £14 odd. The quickest way is by Venice ; or if you hate the sea you can pick up the boat at Brindisi ; or you can go from Naples. But at any rate, once you have been to Egypt you will want to go there again.
BONAitY DOBRPE.
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