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[Illustration: THE SPHINX BY MOONLIGHT]




[Illustration]

  AN ARTIST IN EGYPT

  BY
  WALTER TYNDALE R.I.

  HODDER & STOUGHTON
  NEW YORK & LONDON




PREFACE


I endeavoured, in a former book on Egypt, to give my first impressions
while the glamour of the East had not been dimmed by familiarity; and
the kind reception of that, my first literary attempt, has encouraged
me to write again after spending some years in the Nile Valley. Though
first impressions may have a charm which familiarity lacks, it would
be astonishing if a country so full of beauty, and of such varied
interests as is Egypt, had caused familiarity to breed contempt. I
may safely say that it has not had that result. A lengthened stay has
certainly added to my experiences as well as to my stock of drawings,
and I trust it has also given me some insight into the character of the
people amidst whom I dwelt.

Mediæval Cairo is doubtless year by year the poorer by many picturesque
‘bits’ which have vanished. But Cairo is a large city, and happily many
years may elapse before artists will cease to go there for material.
What is still untouched by the jerry builder, or has not been allowed
to fall into ruin, is probably more beautiful than anything other
oriental cities can show. Less change is seen in the smaller towns,
and the villages are much the same in aspect as when the Saracen
invaders first occupied the valley of the Nile.

Every season adds to the knowledge of Ancient Egypt, and gives us
something which for centuries lay hid beneath the desert sands. It was
my good fortune to spend some winters at Thebes while some of the most
interesting of recent discoveries were made, and through the courtesy
of Mr. Weigall, the Chief Inspector of Upper Egypt, I was enabled to
dwell and do my work in these congenial surroundings. I have also to
thank him for the unique opportunities which our desert journey, from
the Nile to the Red Sea, offered; of all my experiences in Egypt, none
has given me more pleasure in recalling.

  HASLEMERE, 1912.




CONTENTS


  CHAPTER I
                                                  PAGE

  CAIRO REVISITED                                    1


  CHAPTER II

  RENEWAL OF MY ACQUAINTANCE WITH MOHAMMED
    BROWN AND SOME REFLECTIONS
    ON MATRIMONY                                    11


  CHAPTER III

  THE MOSQUE OF MURISTÂN KALAÛN, MY EXPERIENCE
    WITH THE FAKÍR, AND A DIGRESSION
    ON THE SUBJECT OF DERVISHES                     22


  CHAPTER IV

  THE FESTIVAL OF THE ‘HASANEYN’ AND THE
    STORY OF THE PRINCESS ZOHRA                     31


  CHAPTER V

  OF THE OLD AND THE NEW CAIRO, AND OF A
    VISIT TO THE SHEYKH AMMIN SAHEIME               43

  CHAPTER VI

  MY SECOND VISIT TO THE SHEYKH AND MY
   EXPERIENCES WITH AN UNFAITHFUL SERVANT           57


  CHAPTER VII

  IN WHICH I GET ANOTHER SERVANT AND HUNT
    FOR A CROCODILE; ALSO A CONTINUATION
    OF THE STORY OF PRINCESS ZOHRA                  67


  CHAPTER VIII

  OF A CAIRO CAFÉ AND OTHER MATTERS                 78


  CHAPTER IX

  THE COPTIC CONVENTS OF WADI NATRUN                90


  CHAPTER X

  THE MOSQUE OF ES-SALIH TALAI                     104


  CHAPTER XI

  THE BLUE MOSQUE AND KASR-ESH-SHEMA               116


  CHAPTER XII

  THE SPHINX, AND A DISSERTATION ON TOMMY
    ATKINS                                         127

  CHAPTER XIII

  THE HAMSEEN, THE LAMP-SHOP, AND THE
    ACCESSION OF SAID PASHA                        136


  CHAPTER XIV

  MOHAMMEDAN FESTIVALS: THE HOLY CARPET--THE
    FAST OF RAMADAN AND THE ASHURA                 151


  CHAPTER XV

  MORE RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES, SPRING’S AWAKENING,
    AND THE CAIRENE HOUSE OF COUNT ZOGHEB          170


  CHAPTER XVI

  DER EL-BAHRI, AND SOME INCIDENTS WHICH
    TOOK PLACE DURING MY STAY THERE                178


  CHAPTER XVII

  DER EL-BAHRI (_continued_)                       194


  CHAPTER XVIII

  THE CROSS DESERT JOURNEY TO KOSSEIR              206

  CHAPTER XIX

  THE VALLEY OF HAMMAMÂT                           221


  CHAPTER XX

  THE WADI FOWAKIYEH AND BÎR HAGI SULIMAN          231


  CHAPTER XXI

  KOSSEIR                                          245


  CHAPTER XXII

  EDFU AND THE QUARRIES OF GEBEL SILSILEH          258


  CHAPTER XXIII

  MY EXPERIENCES AS AN INMATE OF A NATIVE
    HOSPITAL                                       270




ILLUSTRATIONS


                                                  PAGE

  THE SPHINX BY MOONLIGHT               _Frontispiece_

  WATER MELON SELLER                                 8

  AN ARAB WEDDING PROCESSION                        16

  A CHEAP RIDE                                      24

  THE KHAN KHALIL, CAIRO                            32

  SUK ES-SELAH, CAIRO                               48

  ENTRANCE TO THE HAREEM                            56

  THE TAKHTABOSH                                    64

  MOSQUE OF MOHAMMED BEY                            72

  A CAIRENE CAFÉ                                    80

  THE TOMB OF SHEYKH ABD-EL-DEYM                    88

  ARAB SCHOOL                                      104

  THE BLUE MOSQUE                                  112

  PERSIAN ALMSHOUSES                               128

  THE STORE OF NASSÁN                              136

  RETURN OF THE HOLY CARPET                        144

  A FRUIT-STALL AT BULAK                           152

  A THEBAN HOMESTEAD                               168

  THE JACARANDA                                    176

  THE BIRTH COLONNADE IN THE TEMPLE OF
    HATSHEPSU                                      184

  THE HAIRDRESSER                                  192

  A MARKET ON THE EDGE OF THE DESERT               208

  THE TOMBS OF THE KHALIFS                         216

  THE MOSQUE AT KOSSEIR                            232

  DOORWAY IN THE TEMPLE OF ISIS                    240

  POTTERY BAZAAR IN A NILE VILLAGE                 264

  THE VILLAGE OF MARG                              272




CHAPTER I

CAIRO REVISITED


After a lapse of some years, I returned to Cairo to attempt once again
to paint its ancient buildings, as well as the picturesque incidents
seen in the shadows they cast or bathed in light against their sunlit
walls.

I made an early start on the first morning after my arrival, partly to
look for a subject, and more particularly to see whether the pictorial
side of the old quarters of the city would still impress me as it did
on my first visit. It was a fateful morning, for had what I saw failed
to stir up my former enthusiasm, I was resolved to pack up my traps,
and try my hand in Upper Egypt.

I hurried along the Mousky as fast as its usual crowd