CAIRO. 



217 



f.iro. After breakfast, visitors arrive. His equal* are pla- 

 \ !e himself, with th<-ir legs crossed ; his infe- 



riors, in a kneeling posture, sit upon their heel* ; 

 whilst those of very high rank are seated on a raised 

 sofa overlooking the company. Towards the end of 

 the vi.sit, a slave goes round with a silver plate, in 

 which odoriferous essences are kept burning : each 

 in his turn perfume* his beard, and sprinkles his head 

 and hands with rose water. About noon dinner is 

 announced ; which is served in a large tray, and con- 

 sists chiefly of rice and poultry, with melons, cu- 

 cumbers, and other refreshing fruits. The guests 

 arranging themselves round the table, sit down on 

 the carpet, and convey the morsels to their mouth 

 with their finders, the use of knives and forks being 

 here unknown. To remedy this inconvenience, a 

 slave, with a pitcher in one hand, and a bason in the 

 other, is ready to present water, in which the guests 

 .occasionally dip their hands. After dinner, a rich 

 Egyptian retires to his harem* where he passes some 

 hours in sleep or amusement, among his women and 

 children ; afterwards, a short walk among the orange 

 and sycamore trees, which grow in great luxuriance 

 on the banks of the Nile, occupies part of his time 

 in the cool of the evening ; and about an hour after 

 sunset, supper appears, consisting chiefly of rice and 

 fruit. 



The people here are extravagantly fond of the 

 bath. The women, eagerly seizing on every mo- 

 ment of liberty which they can command, meet in 

 .parties twice a week at the baths, when they make 

 an ostentatious display to each other of their finery. 

 In Cairo is practised, in its greatest perfection, the 

 bathing operation, called massing: this luxury con- 

 sists in having your body rubbed all over by servants, 

 who at the same time knead and press the limbs and 

 joints till they crack, after being exposed to the hot 

 -or vapour bath. Europeans have described, in terms 

 of rapture, the sensations which they have felt after 

 this operation ; though too frequent indulgence, w* 

 should suppose, must relax and debilitate the body. 

 At Constantinople, and other oriental cities, the la- 

 dies have it in their power to take an airing in car- 

 nages ; here, however, nothing of the kind is known ; 

 so that women of all ranks are obliged to ride asses, 

 which are to be had in great numbers, saddled, bri- 

 dled, and ready in the streets. A Jew or a Christian 

 dares not ride a horse in this metropolis of pride, that 

 being thought too great an honour for any but true 

 believers ; and if he do not alight from his ass imme- 

 diately, on seeing a bey, or great man pass by, he is 

 certain of being bastinadoed on the spot. The Chris- 

 tian and Jewish ladies, however, are exempted from 

 this homage, out of regard for their sex. 



One of the greatest sources of recreation here is 

 the Nik, on which hundreds of elegant barks, with 

 their long sail-yards and fantastic sails, are seen fly- 

 ing with great velocity in all directions. They are 

 ingeniously carved and painted, and, being fitted up 

 with tine cabins, carpeted over, afford a delightful 

 shelter from the heat. Here, reclining in luxurious 

 ease, the wealthy, sometimes accompanied by their 

 whole harems, enjoy the delicious coolness of the 

 water, and admire the ever-varying landscape pre- 

 sented to their eyes, as they pursue the frequent 



VOL. V. PAKT I. 



winding! of this renowned river. Pedestrian parties 

 re alto seen frequently promenading along tin- biukt, 

 which are here adorned with a pntu*i<... f oraam 

 tree*, n, and the pomegranate, punted with- 



out order, and growing high and tutted : their* to* 

 grther with the palm and the tycamure, towering 

 above the rest in all the magnificence of their dark- 

 green foliage, afford an agreeable retreat from the 

 dust and noise of the city, and from the fierce efful- 

 gence of an almost vertical MM. 



The other amotenuntb >-f Cairo are neither nume- 

 rous nor interesting. Rope-dancers, fire raters* and 

 tumblers of surprising agility* serve to amuse the 

 populace. There are alto to be seen some wretched 

 actors, puppet-shows, and dancing monkiet ; these 

 last being dressed, to make them the more ridiculous* 

 in European habits, with their tails hanging down 

 like swords, excite the merriment of the people at 

 the expence of the Franks, who are here held in the 

 utmoot contempt. Fireworks are sometimes dis- 

 played on public occasions. The principal games 

 are polish drafts and chess. 



Though the diseases of Cairo are common to all 

 Egypt, they are perhaps aggravated by local circum- 

 stances. The mean annual heat here is 73* and is 

 not a little increased by the vicinity of mount Mo- 

 kaddem, a dry nuked rock which overlooks the city, 

 and powerfully reflects the rays of the sun. This 

 circumstance, together with the white glittering sand 

 which every where covers the soil, produces deBuxions 

 in the eyes, often terminating in blindness. The 

 other prevalent diseases are, a cutaneous eruption, 

 proceeding, it is supposed, from the use of brackish 

 water, but not much affecting the health ; a virulent 

 smallpox, malignant fevers, hydroctle, and venereal 

 disorders. These last are said to be here rendered 

 mild by the frequent use of the hot bath ; though, 

 at the same time, they are extremely obstinate* and 

 often prove dangerous oir removing to a colder cli- 

 mate. The frequency of hydrocele is ascribed to 

 these, and to the relaxing qualities of. the hot bath : 

 Denon thinks it is often produced by drinking 

 brandy distilled from figs, or the fruit of the syca- 

 more tire. From the tilth, poverty, and famine pre- 

 valent among the lower orders, the diseases of the 

 place are certainly not a little exasperated ; and to 

 the same causes it is owing, that there are a greater 

 number of deformed beggars, and emaciated sickly 

 children, to be seen here than in any other city in the 

 world. But of all the calamities and diseases to 

 which Cairo is subject, the plague is undoubtedly 

 the most terrible. It is not yet ascertaiaed whether 

 this scourge of the East originates in the filth of 

 Cairo, or is imported from Constantinople. It ge- 

 nerally rages in Egypt once in every four or five 

 years, and continues only during the u inter seafon* 

 when it has been known to sweep off 1500 souls a- 

 day from the population of Cairo alone. It is re- 

 markable enough, that the Europeans, who reside on 

 the very banks of the canal, are less subject to it 

 than the natives. Their cleanliness, however, and 

 the precautions which they adopt, sufficiently ac- 

 count for this circumstance ; Tor no sooner doc* the 

 plague appear, than they shut themselves up in their 

 nouses, often for several months, fumigating or wasU- 





