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-} -} -.iw2 { - width: 1000px; -} -@media screen and (max-width: 1500px) { -.iw2 { - width: 800px; -} -} -.iw3 { - width: 940px; -} -@media screen and (max-width: 1500px) { -.iw3 { - width: 800px; -} -} -.iw4 { - width: 870px; -} -.iw5 { - width: 680px; -} -@media screen and (max-width: 1500px) { -.iw5 { - width: 450px; -} -} -.x-ebookmaker .iw5 { - max-width: 65%; -} -.iw6 { - width: 640px; -} -@media screen and (max-width: 1500px) { -.iw6 { - width: 425px; -} -} -.x-ebookmaker .iw6 { - max-width: 65%; -} -.iw7 { - width: 620px; -} -@media screen and (max-width: 1500px) { -.iw7 { - width: 400px; -} -} -.x-ebookmaker .iw7 { - max-width: 65%; -} -.iw8 { - width: 600px; -} -@media screen and (max-width: 1500px) { -.iw8 { - width: 400px; -} -} -</style> -</head> -<body> -<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 74874 ***</div> -<div class="margins"> -<div class="page"> -<p class="center">SIWA</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw5"> -<figure id="i01"><img src='images/i01.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">THE WALLS OF SIWA</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<div class="title-page"> -<h1><span class="xxxlarge letter-spaced02">SIWA</span><br> -<span class="large word-spaced03">THE OASIS OF JUPITER AMMON</span> -</h1> - -<p class="center spaced17 no-space-above"><span class= -"large word-spaced08">BY C. DALRYMPLE BELGRAVE</span><br> -<span class="word-spaced07 letter-spaced01">WITH AN INTRODUCTION -BY</span><br> -<span class="word-spaced05">GENERAL SIR REGINALD WINGATE</span><br> -BART., G.C.B., ETC. ETC. ILLUSTRATED<br> -WITH SKETCHES AND PHOTOGRAPHS<br> -BY THE AUTHOR</p> - -<div class="publisher"> -<p class="publisher">JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD LTD.<br> -LONDON: VIGO STREET, W. 1</p> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<div class="page"> -<p class="center vsmall"><em>First Published in 1923</em> -</p> - -<p class="center vsmall space-above">Printed in Great Britain -at<br> -<em>The Mayflower Press, Plymouth</em>. William Brendon & Son, -Ltd.</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<div class="page"> -<p class="center spaced17"><span class="less">TO</span><br> -<span class="large">MY MOTHER</span> -</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<h2><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">[vii]</span>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table class="toc"> -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc large sect1"><a href="#c01">CHAPTER -I</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc sect05">THE COAST</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">Siwa — Whereabouts — The ex-Khedive and -Germans — The ancient Libyans — The coastal belt — The Mariut -Railway — Mersa Matruh — The Bay — Antony and Cleopatra — Greek -Traders — Motor Maniacs — Sponge fishers — From Matruh to Sollum — -Barrani and Bagbag — Sollum Bay — Western Desert Arabs, -characteristics, tents, carpets, appearance, marriage customs, -women — An Arab meal — “Gold tooth” — Buried money — Horses — -Hawking — Silugi hounds — Hunting — Shooting — The Scarp — Flowers -— The Rains — Houses — The Cruiser <em>Abdel Moneim</em> — A -tripper</td> -<td class="tdr-bot">1</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc large sect1"><a href="#c02">CHAPTER -II</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc sect05">THE DESERT</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">The Frontier Districts Administration — -The Camel Corps — Harimat — Story of a stove — The Booza Camp — The -men — Diary of trek from Sollum to Siwa — Departure — Augerin, a -Roman cistern — Bir Hamed — A desert dance — Ascent of Scarp — Qur -el Beid — Camel riding — Evening on the desert — Camp — Utter -desert — Mud pans — Mirage — “Khuz” bread — Desert tracks — -Bisharin trackers — Night marching — A caravan — “The country of -Dogs” — Among the ravines — The Megahiz Spring — Siwa — District -Officer’s House — “Taking over” wives — A typical day — Siwan -manners — The Sheikhs — The staff — View from Siwa — Aghourmi -village — A slave woman — A rifle raid</td> -<td class="tdr-bot">37</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc large sect1"><span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_viii">[viii]</span><a href="#c03">CHAPTER III</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc sect05">THE HISTORY OF SIWA</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc less"><a href="#c03s1">FIRST PERIOD. THE -TEMPLE OF JUPITER AMMON</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">The Siwan Deity — A local religion — -Legendary origin of the God — Herodotus — The Kingdom of the -Ammonians — Lysander’s visit — Cambyses — A lost army — Cimon’s -death foretold — The “Fountain of the Sun” — The temples — The -King’s court — The temple to-day — Alexander visits Siwa — His -adventures on the way — Ritual of the temple — Decline of its fame -— Strabo’s theory — The Romans — Christianity</td> -<td class="tdr-bot">74</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc less sect075"><a href="#c03s2">SECOND -PERIOD. MEDIÆVAL SIWA</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">Arab invasion of Egypt — Attempts to -subjugate the oasis — Arab historians — The marvels of Siwa — -Hidden cities — Emerald mines — Siwans become Mohammedans — King -Rashwan — “The Thirty” — Sidi Suliman — Legends about him — Style -of living — Quarrel between east and west — Civil wars — Recent -disturbance — Browne at Siwa — Hornemann</td> -<td class="tdr-bot">89</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc less sect075"><a href="#c03s3">THIRD -PERIOD. THE TURKISH RULE</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">Invasion of Siwa — Hassein Bey — Colonel -Butin — Ali Balli, the Omda — Hamilton at Siwa, his imprisonment — -Punitive expedition — Death of Yousif Ali — Turkish mamurs — A -desert firebrand — “The Widow’s War” — Osman Habun — Abdel Arti, -smuggler — Death of “The Habun”</td> -<td class="tdr-bot">102</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc less sect075"><a href="#c03s4">FOURTH -PERIOD. SIWA AND THE WAR</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">The Italians in Tripoli — German -intrigues — The Senussi confraternity — Mohammed el Senussi, his -life at Siwa — Caves of the Kasr Hassuna — Growth of the Senussi — -Mohammed el Mahdi — Sayed Ahmed — The situation in 1915 — -Evacuation of Sollum — Capture of the crew of the <em>Tara</em> — -Matruh — Battle on Christmas Day — Wadi Majid — Battle of Agagia -and occupation of Barrani — Sayed Ahmed at Siwa — Occupation of -Sollum — Sayed Ahmed goes to Dakhla and back — Siwans revolt — -Battle of Girba — Occupation of Siwa — Rescue of <em>Tara</em> crew -by Duke of Westminster — Sayed Ahmed retires to Constantinople</td> -<td class="tdr-bot">117</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc large sect1"><span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_ix">[ix]</span><a href="#c04">CHAPTER IV</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc sect05">SIWA TOWN</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">The town — Architecture — Wells — Custom -of whitewash — Date Markets — Mosques — School — Shops — Interior -of houses — The Roofs — “Dululas” — The Siwan race — Men — Women — -Appearance — Clothes — Religious sects — Springs, gardens, -irrigation, water rights — Salt lakes — Fever — Spring cleaning — -“Sultan Mousa” — A luncheon party — The ceremony of tea — Appetites -— Dog eaters — Life of an Englishman in Siwa — Two “cases” — Women -witnesses — Bakshish</td> -<td class="tdr-bot">133</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc large sect1"><a href="#c05">CHAPTER -V</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc sect05">SUBURBAN OASES</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">Zeitoun and Kareished — The oasis of Gara -— The village — The curse of Sheikh Abdel Sayed — A legend of Gara -— The Mejberry pass — El Areg and Bahrein — The Arabs of Maragi — -The northern oases — Jerabub — Sheikh Ithneini and his treasures — -<em>Terra incognita</em> — Kufra — Excavating in Siwa — The “Oldest -Inhabitant” his wedding — Industries, baskets, mats, and -earthenware — The “Bedouin Industries” — Animals and birds — -Snakes, snake charming</td> -<td class="tdr-bot">177</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc large sect1"><a href="#c06">CHAPTER -VI</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc sect05">CUSTOMS AND SUPERSTITIONS</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">Belief in Superstitions — Divine and -Satanic magic — Demons — A birthday — Naming the child — Women — -Marriage and divorce — A wedding, the bride’s bath, fetching the -bride, presents — “Ghrula,” customs of a widow — The Town Crier — -Funerals — Cemeteries — Evil Eye, charms to avert the curse — A -visit to a witch — Methods used to obtain a husband — Invoking -demons — Discovering stolen property — Exposing a thief — -Divination and fortune telling — Sacrificing a bull — The -Pilgrimage, rolling the bangles, to ensure a safe journey — “Yom el -Asher,” the children’s “Christmas”</td> -<td class="tdr-bot">207</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc large sect1"><a href="#c07"><span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_x">[x]</span>CHAPTER VII</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td colspan="2" class="tdc sect05">“FANTASIAS”</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">Social life in Siwa — Games — “Lubki” -drinkers — Giving alms to the poor — Sheikhs in fiction and in fact -— “Beit el Mal” — Ramadan, the Mohammedan Lent — The Mulid of Sidi -Suliman — Paying calls — Etiquette of eating — The religious dance -of the Medinia — The “Zikr” — Bacchanalian revels — Siwan music and -singing — Women dancers</td> -<td class="tdr-bot">239</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p class="space-above2"> -</p> - -<div class="container"> -<div class="addit-box"> -<p class="center less"><a href="#conc">CONCLUSION</a> -</p> - -<p class="center less"><a href="#biblio">BIBLIOGRAPHY</a> -</p> - -<p class="center less space-above15"><a href="#ind">INDEX</a> -</p> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<h2><span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_xi">[xi]</span>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - -<table class="toi"> -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">The Walls of Siwa</td> -<td colspan="3" class="tdc-bot less"><a href= -"#i01">Frontispiece</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">Col. The Honble. M. G. Talbot, C.B.; -Sheikh Idris el Senussi; and The Idrisi of Luxor</td> -<td class="tdc-bot less no-wrap">to face</td> -<td colspan="2" class="tdr-bot less"><a href="#i02">foreword</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">The Author</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot less">page</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i03">2</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">A Falconer outside a Bedouin Camp</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i04">26</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">Silugi Hounds</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i05">30</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">Camel Corps</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i06">44</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">Camel Corps trekking to Siwa, near -Megahiz Pass</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i07">58</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">Sheikh Mahdi Abdel Nebi, of Aghourmi, -with his Daughter and Cousin</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i08">70</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">Ruins of “Omm Beyda,” The Temple of -Jupiter Ammon</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i09">86</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">The Citadel and Mosque of El Atik</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i10">98</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">Gate into the Western Quarter</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i11">112</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">“Kasr Hassuna,” The District Officer’s -House</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i12">120</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">Sheikh Mohammed Idris, the Chief of the -Senussi</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i13">132</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">The Western Quarter from an Eastern -Roof</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i14">144</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">Cleaning Tamousy Spring</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i15">160</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">In the Western Quarter</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i16">176</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">The Spring of Zeitoun</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i17">178</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">Siwa Town from the South</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i18">200</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">A Bride—The Daughter of Bashu Habun -before her Wedding</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i19">214</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">The Town-Crier’s Daughter</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i20">222</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">A Little Siwan Girl</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i21">238</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl-top hang1">A “Fantasia” at the tomb of Sidi -Suliman</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdc-bot">„</td> -<td class="tdr-bot"><a href="#i22">252</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl"><a href="#map">Map.</a> -</td> -<td> -</td> -<td> -</td> -<td> -</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw4"> -<figure id="i02"><img src='images/i02.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">COL. THE HONBLE. M. G. TALBOT, C.B.; SHEIKH IDRIS EL -SENUSSI; AND THE IDRISI OF LUXOR</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<h2><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xiii">[xiii]</span>FOREWORD</h2> - -<div class="sign"> -<p class="pad-right8"><span class="sc">Knockenhair,</span> -</p> - -<p class="pad-right4"><span class="sc">Dunbar</span>,</p> - -<p><em>2nd November</em>, 1922.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="sc">Dear Mr. Belgrave</span>,</p> - -<p class="ind4">When you begged me to write a “Foreword” for your -first book on Siwa, you asked me if I remembered you as a Junior -Officer in the British Camel Company at Khartoum in the early days -of the Great War—and later in the Camel Corps of the Frontier -Districts Administration of Egypt. My answer is that I remember you -well in both capacities, and I have a very happy recollection of -the excellent services rendered by both the units in which you -served. The appearance of British soldiers patrolling on camels up -the White and Blue Niles had the best possible effect in cementing -and consolidating the good relations existing between the Sudanese -populations and our troops and confirming that spirit of loyalty -and goodwill which, throughout the war, characterized the once -fanatical Dervishes of Mahdist times—a truly marvellous -transformation which had changed them from a fierce and ruthless -enemy into loyal and brave soldiers and peaceful inhabitants, who -were enabled to render the British cause wholehearted and ready -support at a most critical period of our history.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xiv">[xiv]</span>Your transfer to -the Frontier Districts Administration of Egypt also interests me, -for it may not be known to you that one of the first reforms I -instituted on my own transfer from the Governor-Generalship of the -Sudan to the High Commissionership of Egypt at the end of 1916 was -the organization of the new Administration to which you were -appointed.</p> - -<p>Before our reconquest of the Sudan I had, as Director of -Military Intelligence in Egypt, some connection with the oases of -the Libyan Desert and the activities of the Senussi, as well as -with the government of the Sinai Peninsula. In those early days of -the British occupation of Egypt, Turkish rule prevailed in Tripoli, -and the actual frontier between that province and Egypt was often -in dispute—whilst a somewhat similar condition existed on Egypt’s -eastern frontier in Sinai. It was thought politically desirable at -that time to maintain the <em>status quo</em> and to avoid trouble -with the Turkish authorities to whom Egypt still owed a nominal -Suzerainty—that this was not always feasible is evidenced by the -celebrated “Akaba incident” which at one time threatened to disturb -the peace between the two countries. The preservation of the -<em>status quo</em> to which I refer, meant the maintenance on the -extreme eastern and western frontiers of Egypt of the purely -Egyptian administrative control which, owing to the almost total -absence of supervision, was of the lightest and could hardly be -designated as efficient. The necessity of inaugurating some -improvement in both directions<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_xv">[xv]</span> had frequently been mooted, but it was not -until the advent of the Great War and the military operations -against the Turks in Sinai, on the one hand, and against the -Senussi invasion of Egypt, on the other, that the long-postponed -reorganization became possible. By that time Italian had given -place to Turkish control in Tripoli, whilst it was also evident -that Palestine and Arabia were no longer to remain an integral -portion of the Turkish Empire.</p> - -<p>These facts made it very desirable to establish a closer -Administrative Control in both directions, and it is to me a matter -of great satisfaction that an organization known as the Frontiers -District Administration materialized, under the able direction of -Colonel G. G. Hunter and his efficient staff of British and -Egyptian officers and officials, with its well-equipped Camel -Corps, its patrolling system, and its more intimate and sympathetic -government of the oases and of the somewhat unruly nomad tribes on -both western and eastern frontiers.</p> - -<p>The mere fact that you, as one of these District Officers, have -been resident for nearly two years in the important, though remote -and little-known, Oasis of Siwa, and have been able to write a very -interesting and useful account of your experiences—together with an -admirable survey of its ancient, mediæval and recent history—its -customs, superstitions and its social life, is but one proof -amongst many others of the value of this new organization which, in -spite of the various political changes in Egypt, has, I hope, come -to stay.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xvi">[xvi]</span>As an ex-officer -and one who was lately in Egypt, you are wise to avoid in your book -all reference to recent political events and the complicated -situations to which they have given rise. In this letter I shall -observe a similar reticence, and the more so having regard to the -positions I have held in Egypt and the Sudan. Remarks on so -controversial a subject must be complete and detailed if they are -to assist the general public in forming a true estimate of the -“tangled skein” which the political situation now represents—a -situation in which truth and fiction are almost inextricably -involved.</p> - -<p>The perusal of the proof sheets you have sent me, together with -your excellent series of illustrations (and here may I congratulate -you on the artistic skill of the charming sketches displayed in the -coloured reproductions?), recall that “lure of the desert” which is -so fascinating to all of us whose lot has been cast in those -countries bordering on the Great Nile waterway and the illimitable -stretches of sandy desert beyond. Your apt quotations at the -beginning of each chapter show that the “lure” has seized you also, -and I can well understand your desire to undertake further service -in those regions which so evidently attract you, and in which you -have won the sympathy and respect of the nomad Arab and sedentary -Berber tribes of the Western Desert.</p> - -<p>The title of your book is well explained in Part I, Chapter III, -and you are wise to add a bibliography of the various works you -have consulted, for there is no subject more debatable than the -origin of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xvii">[xvii]</span> -Berber tribes of whom you write. “This crossing to Africa by the -Northern Mediterranean peoples,” says Professor Breasted in his -<em>History of Egypt</em>, “is but one of the many such ventures -which in prehistoric ages brought over the white race whom we know -as Libyans.” His remarks refer to events in the thirteenth century -<span class="sc2">B.C.</span>, when people known as the Tehenu -lived on the western borders of the Delta of Egypt, beyond them -were the Libyans, and still further to the west were the Meshwesh -or Maxyes of Herodotus—all of them doubtless ancestors of the great -Berber tribes of North Africa.</p> - -<p>In the reign of the Pharaoh Mereneptah, the successor of Rameses -the Great, it appears that one Meryey, King of the Libyans, forced -the Tehenu to join him, and supported by roving bands of maritime -adventurers from the coast (the Sherden or Sardinians, the Sikeli, -natives of early Sicily, the Lysians and the Etruscans), invaded -Egypt. It is with these wandering marauders that the peoples of -Europe emerge for the first time upon the arena of history.</p> - -<p>It is probable that not long before this invasion a great -Canaanite migration into Libya had taken place, for it is recorded -by the historian Procopius, a native of Cæsarea (565 <span class= -"sc2">B.C.</span>), how the Hebrews, after quitting Egypt, attacked -Palestine from beyond Jordan under Joshua. After the capture of -Jericho they advanced westwards, drove out the Gergazites, -Jebusites and other tribes inhabiting the eastern shores of the -Mediterranean, and forced them to flee into Egypt, where they were -not allowed to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xviii">[xviii]</span> -settle, but were obliged to move westwards along the North African -coast and into the oases. There is also evidence that some of these -emigrants, under Roman pressure, were forced further westwards to -Morocco and were called Moors. Later on they, in their turn, were -followed by a similar migration of Jews from Palestine.</p> - -<p>Thus it would appear that as far back as the thirteenth century -<span class="sc2">B.C.</span> the original Libyans, a warlike race, -became co-mingled with maritime adventurers from Southern Europe, -with Canaanites, Jews and Egyptians—a truly wonderful admixture of -Asiatics, Africans and Europeans, and it is with the ancestors of -this international potpourri that you deal so interestingly when -you trace onwards, through the ages down to the present day, the -history of those desert nomads and those sedentary dwellers of the -Oasis of Jupiter Ammon. Surely your story will stimulate interest -not only in the archæologist, but in all who desire to trace the -manners, customs and characteristics of present-day peoples to -their original sources. Those Siwans of whom you make a special -study are of all people perhaps the most interesting, for, living, -as it were, on an island, in a sea of desert, they—like the -Abyssinians on the east—have been less affected by the -world-changes than those who inhabit the main highways of the great -African continent. The cult of Ammon and the seat of the Great -Oracle, it is true, brought countless hordes of strangers to that -mystic depression lying some seventy feet below the level of the -Mediterranean, but the leading characteristics of the<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_xix">[xix]</span> inhabitants have probably -altered little, and religion—from Ammon worship to Islam, with an -occasional admixture of Christian, Jewish and Pagan rites (the last -brought by countless slaves from Central Africa)—has remained the -all-absorbing interest of these oases dwellers.</p> - -<p>As you truly say, the origin of the branching-horned ram as the -fleshly symbol of the great God Ammon, “the King of the Gods,” “the -unrevealed,” “the hidden one,” still remains a mystery. We know -that the solar god Ra, whose supremacy in the “Old Kingdom” was so -marked, from the Fifth Dynasty onwards and was at its zenith in the -Twelfth Dynasty, became linked in the religion of the “Middle -Kingdom” with Ammon, hitherto an obscure local god of Thebes who -attained some prominence in the political rise of the city and was -called by the priests Ammon-Ra. His cult gradually spread over the -civilized world, and in the Roman period he was worshipped as -Jupiter Ammon. He was essentially the god of Oracles, but how he -came to have his special sanctuary in the Western Desert is still a -mystery, though your account of this in the legends of the Arabic -history of Siwa (Chapter III) throws an interesting light on the -subject. Herodotus, we know, gave to Siwa the name of Oasis -(probably derived from the Coptic word Ouahe, to dwell, from which -the Arabic Wa is derived)—that is to say a fertile spot surrounded -by desert, and thus from Siwa all other oases have derived their -names.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xx">[xx]</span>To Siwa then came -kings and wise men of the East, merchants and pilgrims, all -bringing offerings to the temple of the god and soliciting the -advice of the Oracle on their mundane affairs. For a thousand years -and more these treasures were accumulating, but where are they now? -As Egyptian research has yielded up unexpected buried treasure, may -not the ancient god still have something in reserve for the -archæologist and treasure-seeker who is bold enough to undertake -excavation work in the little village of Aghourmi, some two miles -east of Siwa, where the ruins of the Temple of Ammon still exist? -Your interesting account of these ruins and the legends you have so -sedulously culled from the Siwans, cannot fail again to create -interest in the hidden treasures of the desert. One who has had -some terrible experiences at the hands of the Senussi Arabs during -the war—I refer to the gallant and gifted author of that thrilling -story, <em>Prisoners of the Red Desert</em>, Captain -Gwatkin-Williams, R.N.—writes, “It may be that this twentieth -century of ours, this era of fish and bird men, may see lifted the -mystery which shrouds the hidden treasure of Ammon, the -‘Unrevealed,’ for, so far as our limited modern information goes, -those treasures have never yet been discovered.”</p> - -<p>Your interesting account of the visit of Alexander the Great -(331 <span class="sc2">B.C.</span>) to the Oracle, when, marching -along the coast to Matruh, he turned south and underwent great -hardships before reaching his destination, recalls a very different -journey I made to Sollum in 1917. Leaving Alexandria by -train<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxi">[xxi]</span> for Behig, I -there found a fleet of armoured motorcars awaiting me, and the -journey to and from Sollum, then garrisoned by British troops, was -comfortably accomplished in four days. To my great regret I was too -pressed for time to be able to visit Siwa, where, “on all hands -springs of water gushed forth . . . that human ants’ nest, -fabricated for the most part of rock-salt, mud and palm trunks . . -. to which the Great War surging round the world had brought the -drone of aeroplanes, the hum of armoured cars and rattle of machine -guns.”</p> - -<p>Your reference in Chapter V to the wonderful work carried on by -Miss Nina Baird amongst the bedouin women and children rendered -destitute in consequence of the Senussi invasion, recalls several -visits Lady Wingate and I made to Amria—the village in the desert -west of Alexandria and not far from Lake Mariut, where, as you say, -this courageous lady worked practically singlehanded in teaching -these desert waifs and strays to make carpets—thus starting an -industry and giving the women and children a means of livelihood -and a form of protection which for ever will be remembered with -gratitude by the Western Arabs. A daughter of that well-known and -greatly respected Scotsman, Sir Alexander Baird, an excellent -horsewoman, a good Arabic scholar, and one who performed important -services in the Egyptian troubles in the spring of 1919, Miss -Baird’s energetic efforts throughout the war utterly exhausted her -strength, and she fell an easy victim to typhoid soon after—to be -followed a few months later by her talented<span class="pagenum" -id="Page_xxii">[xxii]</span> father, and thus was the British -community in Egypt deprived of two valuable lives who had endeared -themselves to Europeans and natives alike and whose loss is -deplored by all. On my last visit the carpet-making industry was -about to be removed from Amria to an imposing structure built by -Captain Jennings Bramley at Behig, the headquarters of the Eastern -District of the Western Desert. Here this energetic official had -also constructed, out of the ruins of an old building, a -mediæval-looking stronghold, where we spent a few days and visited -the ruined church of St. Menas, to which you make a passing -reference in Chapter I. This buried Christian city is locally known -as Abu Menas, and for long defied discovery, as it had not occurred -to those in search of it to connect it with the Arab name of -Abumna, until the German explorer, Kauffmann, and his companion -lighted on the historic spot, which lies from fifty to fifty-five -miles south-west of Alexandria. Your readers may be interested to -know that Menas was an Egyptian in the Roman army who became a -Christian and took the opportunity of a great public function to -make an avowal of his faith which was proscribed under the Emperor -Diocletian. He was tortured and eventually beheaded. His friends -begged or stole his body, tied it on a camel and determined to -found a settlement wherever the camel should lie down. Menas before -death had expressed a wish to be buried near Lake Mariut, and here -surely enough the camel insisted on lying down, and could not be -induced to go further—so his<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_xxiii">[xxiii]</span> followers buried the body on the spot. -Many miracles were reported of his tomb, the settlement became a -large Christian city with a magnificent cathedral built of granite -from Assuan and marble from Italy. For some centuries the place -became a resort for pilgrimage from all parts of the near East, but -soon after the Arab conquest it was despoiled to provide material -for the mosques in Alexandria and Cairo. Gradually the ruins were -silted up with the ever-shifting sand, becoming mere mounds, and it -was the chance discovery of a small terra-cotta plaque imprinted -with the figure of Menas, standing erect with arms outstretched -between two kneeling camels and a rough inscription, that led Herr -Kauffmann and his friend to unearth the great basilica which had -contained the tomb. The walls of the cathedral appear to have been -lined with marble, whilst small pieces of mosaic on the floor give -the impression that the dome was probably adorned in the same way. -Some of the bases and capitals of the pillars are decorated after -the Greek style with acanthus leaf ornaments, others in the -stricter Roman method of straight panels. The dwelling-houses are -small and constructed in blocks separated by narrow streets. Not -far distant, on the coast, stand the ruins of Abusir (the Taposiris -Magna of the Romans) which was evidently used as a port of arrival -and departure by the thousands of pilgrims who came across the sea -to pay their vows in this hallowed sanctuary. When I visited this -place it was garrisoned by the very efficient Indian Camel Corps -which the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxiv">[xxiv]</span> -Maharajah of Bikaner had sent as his contribution to the Egyptian -Expeditionary Force.</p> - -<p>Your interesting sketch of the rise of the great Senussi, the -establishment of his now widespread confraternity and his invasion, -at the instigation of German and Turkish officers and officials, of -Egypt in 1915; his hostile occupation of the oases and the -successful campaign so ably directed by General Sir W. Peyton, -which finally drove his forces across the frontier and -re-established Egyptian domination in the Western Desert, merits -careful perusal if the reader wishes to understand the last of that -series of invasions from the West which began in the days of the -Pharaoh Mereneptah, nearly three thousand five hundred years ago, -and which, given favourable conditions, may yet be repeated.</p> - -<p>All you so interestingly describe recalls my long connection -with the doings of the Confraternity when Sayed Mohammed el Mahdi, -the son of Sayed Ben Ali, the virtual founder of the order, was its -titular head. To him, in 1883, the Sudan Mahdi wrote, offering the -position of third Khalifa in his new hierarchy. Had Sayed Mohammed -accepted, it is possible that, in addition to the Sudan revolt, the -whole of North Africa might have been ablaze; but the Senussi Mahdi -aimed at peaceful penetration rather than military occupation: his -zawias (religious rest-houses) had gradually been extended to -Central and West Africa, they “were neutral meeting-places where -difficulties, tribal, commercial, legal or religious, could be -settled by an unbiassed authority. His akhwan were judges as well -as missionaries.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxv">[xxv]</span> -They defined tribal areas, settled water and grazing rights as well -as meting out the justice of the Koran to those who infringed the -code of Islam.”</p> - -<p>The interest of the Turkish Government in this great movement -dates back many years, and I well remember when the late Ghazi -Mukhtar Pasha (then Turkish High Commissioner in Egypt) procured -the original manuscript Senussi prayer-book, had one thousand -copies lithographed in a private printing press in Cairo, and -dispatched them as a present to the Senussi with a request in the -title-page for the great religious leader’s “help in prayer.”</p> - -<p>Sayed Mohammed died on the 1st June, 1902. I had full knowledge -of the dispatch to Kufara—the then headquarters of the Order—of his -tombstone which had been secretly cut and engraved in Cairo by an -expert native stonemason; but if I digress in this manner I shall -soon exceed the limits of a “Foreword,” and so must rapidly pass -over these early experiences which, nevertheless, proved useful -when the Great War let loose all the hidden forces of hostility and -revealed the immense influence of Islamic teaching for good or ill -as applied in the interests of the various opponents. That, on the -one hand, Sayed Ahmed, the uncle and successor of Sayed Mohammed, -should have espoused the Turco-German cause and harboured Enver -Pasha and other notable Turkish officers who had crossed to the -north coast of Africa in submarines, to organize the Senussi -campaigns against Egypt and the Sudan; whilst, on the other hand, -British influence and<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_xxvi">[xxvi]</span> British officers were enabled to assist -the Sherif of Mecca—the Guardian of the Holy Places of Islam—in his -successful revolt against Turkish rule in Arabia, are interesting -and little-understood features in the history of the great world -upheaval from which we have but recently emerged, and no doubt they -will be chronicled in due course by those concerned in these -“side-shows,” as they are somewhat inadequately described. It must -not, however, be forgotten that—insignificant as they may appear in -comparison with the terrific clash of arms in Western Europe—they -have resulted in giving Egypt tranquillity on its western frontier, -in restoring to the Sudan the great lost province of Darfur, and in -freeing the Arabian Peninsula—results which in pre-war days would -have been characterized as epoch-making events, but which have -passed almost unnoticed in the great changes which have taken place -in the territorial redistributions of the Treaty of Versailles.</p> - -<p>To touch on but one little-known detail, you refer to the Talbot -Mission. This has not attracted the attention it deserves, but I -venture to think history will credit Colonel Milo Talbot with no -mean achievement when it is realized that his mission effected the -triangular treaties between Great Britain, Italy and the present -head of the Senussi Confraternity, Sayed Mohammed el Idrisi, -whereby both Egypt and Tripoli have secured, let us hope, a trusted -ally.</p> - -<p>Incidentally—through the good offices of Colonel Talbot’s able -Egyptian coadjutor, Hassanein Bey—<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_xxvii">[xxvii]</span> that intrepid lady, Rosita Forbes, -accompanied by the Bey, was enabled to penetrate to the Oasis of -Kufara in 1921. Another member of the Talbot Mission—Mr. Francis -Rodd—is also utilizing his experiences of the Senussi Confraternity -and the Western Desert by making a prolonged and important journey -with Mr. Buchanan from West Africa, which should throw much new and -interesting light on many still obscure localities.</p> - -<p>In these days of improved communications—when the two ends of -the great iron road destined to connect South with North Africa are -gradually approaching one another, and when other railways are -either under construction or projected to connect the Atlantic with -the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea—the time may not be far distant -when the great Sahara and Libyan Deserts, too, will be traversed -from north to south and east to west, and the undoubted mineral -wealth and raw products of Central Africa will be brought to the -nearest ports for shipment to all parts of the world. Your remarks, -therefore, on mining, industries, trade and the means of -communication southwards from the Mediterranean through the oases -which you and others have visited, will doubtless prove of value -and merit careful consideration.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, much good work remains to be done by officers and -officials like yourself who take a keen interest in the welfare of -the sparse nomad and sedentary populations of these still remote -districts, fostering amongst them those feelings of confidence and -goodwill which will go far towards<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_xxviii">[xxviii]</span> preparing them for the advent of the -amenities of civilization which must come with the inevitable -development of the no longer Dark Continent. Now, however, that the -clash of arms is past and, let us hope, a new era of peaceful -development set in, I might well have prefaced my remarks with this -quotation:</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="line indent0">“God’s benison go with you, and with -those</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> That would make good of bad and -friends of foes.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">The immortal poet’s words seem to me not only to -synchronize with the pleasantly conversational style of your own -narrative which has induced the somewhat novel method I have -adopted of writing you a letter by way of an introduction—but they -also express the spirit which will, I trust, animate us in our -present and future relations with those nations and peoples of the -Near East who unfortunately for themselves espoused our enemies’ -cause in the Great War, but whose best interests lie—now and -henceforth—in the friendship and goodwill of the Allies.</p> - -<p>Your chapters on the customs, superstitions and “fantasias” of -the Siwans recall much that is similar amongst the Sudan tribes and -peoples—especially those of the Moslem Faith—and your account of -the “zikr” is particularly interesting. In the words of an Islamic -writer, by means of this religious exercise “the whole world and -all its attractions disappears from the vision of the faithful -worshipper, and he is enabled to behold the excellence of the Most -High. Nothing must be<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_xxix">[xxix]</span> allowed to distract his attention from -its performance, and ultimately he attains by its medium a proper -conception of the Tauhid, or unity of God. . . . To enter Paradise -one must say after every prayer ‘God is Holy’ ten times, ‘Praised -be God’ ten times, and ‘God is great’ ten times.”</p> - -<p>If the age of miracles has not gone for ever then these Moslem -devotees—the descendants of the ancient warriors of the Libyan -Desert, side by side with their courageous and resourceful British -helpers—may yet cause the great Oracle of Jupiter Ammon to reveal -the secrets of that old-time sanctuary with which your book deals -so interestingly.</p> - -<div class="figright iw8"> -<figure id="isign"><img src='images/isign.jpg' alt='[Signature]'> -<p class="cp1">Yours sincerely<br> -Reginald Wingate.</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<div class="page"> -<p class="space-above"> -</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="line indent0">“On grassy slopes the twining vine boughs -grew</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> And hoary olives ’twixt far -mountains blue,</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> And many a green-necked bird sung -to his mate</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Within the slim-leaved thorny -pomegranate</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> That flung its unstrung rubies on -the grass.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="line indent0">“But a desert stretched and stricken left -and right, left and right,</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Where the piled mirages thicken -under white-hot light—</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> A skull beneath a sandhill and a -viper coiled inside—</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> And a red wind out of Libya roaring -‘Run and hide.’”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<div class="page"> -<p class="center large">SIWA</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="center space-above pb spaced15"><span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_1">[1]</span><span class="xxlarge">SIWA</span><br> -<span class="xlarge">THE OASIS OF JUPITER AMMON</span> -</p> - -<h2 class="nopb"><a id="c01"></a>CHAPTER I</h2> - -<p class="sch">THE COAST</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group2"> -<div class="line indent0">“. . . Some strip of herbage strown</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> That just divides the desert from -the sown.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="dcap">SIWA—pronounced “Seewah”—is a little-known oasis in -the Libyan Desert on the borders of Egypt and Tripoli. It lies 200 -miles south of Sollum, the Egypt-Tripoli frontier port on the -Mediterranean coast, and almost 400 miles west of the Nile Valley. -Siwa is the northernmost oasis of a string of oases which stretch -from Egypt into the middle of Tripoli. These “Islands of the -Blessed”—as they were called by the ancients—are natural -depressions in the great Libyan table-land which are preserved from -the inroads of shifting sand by the high limestone cliffs that -surround them, and are made fertile and habitable by numbers of -sweet water springs. Siwa consists of a little group of oases in a -depression about 30 miles long and 6 miles wide, lying 72 feet -below the level<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[2]</span> of the -sea, surrounded by a vast barren table-land, parched and -featureless, where rain rarely falls, which can only be crossed if -one carries sufficient water for the whole journey.</p> - -<p>Siwa is one of the least known and most interesting places in -North Africa, but owing to its inaccessibility very few Europeans -had visited it prior to the outbreak of the Great War. It has a -population of between three and four thousand inhabitants, who are -not Arabs but the remains of an older race, of Berber origin. They -have a language of their own, which is only spoken, not written, -and has survived among the dwellers of the oasis from many -centuries before the Arab invasion, owing to the remoteness of the -country and the slight communication between Siwa and the outer -world. At present the birth-rate is considerably lower than the -death-rate, so it appears likely that in course of time the Siwan -race will become extinct.</p> - -<p>It was my fortune, after spending a year or so on the coast, to -be stationed at Siwa, during 1920-21, in command of a section of -the Frontier Districts Administration Camel Corps, and for some -time as the District Officer of the oasis. Under the present regime -there has been one British officer, seconded from the Army for -service under the Egyptian Government, posted alone in the Siwa -oasis. While I was there I spent my spare time in discovering as -much as possible about the history of the place, and the manners -and customs of this desert community, which differ very -considerably from those of the<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_3">[3]</span> Arabs or the people of Egypt. No history, from -its earliest times to the present day, has ever been written of -this strange place, and it appears probable that now, when British -officials are being withdrawn from Egypt, Siwa will once more sink -back into obscurity.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw5"> -<figure id="i03"><img src='images/i03.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">THE AUTHOR</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p>The oasis is most easily reached from Sollum, or from Matruh, -another port on the Mediterranean coast west of Alexandria. The -journey can be done in two days by car, when the rough desert track -that is called a road is in good order; it takes six days on a -trotting camel, and about ten days with a bedouin caravan of slow -walking camels. The Arab covers the whole distance on foot, living -on a surprisingly small quantity of dates, water and camel milk. -The desert is quite waterless, except for the first few miles, -where there are occasional rock cisterns which fill during the -rains and provide a little water during the first few months of the -hot weather.</p> - -<p>The coastal belt of Western Egypt was comparatively unknown -country before the war, though by no means as remote as the inland -oases. Strangely enough, excepting the few officials of the -Egyptian Coastguards Administration, the Europeans who seemed to -know most about this country before the war were Germans, who were -encouraged by Abbas Helmi, the ex-Khedive, in their attempts to -exploit the commercial and agricultural possibilities of the coast. -In 1913 Herr Ewart Falls published a book called <em>Three Years in -the Libyan Desert</em> which was an account of some archæological -works carried out by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[4]</span> -him and his colleagues—Germans—on the site of the ancient city of -St. Menas, south-west of Alexandria. In this book he describes how -he accompanied the Khedive on his visit to Siwa in 1905. He gives a -flamboyant description of the Royal progress. The party consisted -of the Khedive, four Europeans, twenty soldiers, a number of -servants, 62 riding camels, horses, and 288 baggage camels, which -seem an incredibly large number. The Khedive drove the whole -way—200 miles—in a carriage, a species of phaeton, constantly -changing horses. Herr Falls mentions the intense enthusiasm of the -natives on the occasion of the Kaiser’s birthday, and discusses the -possibilities of a Pan-islamic rising against the much hated -English who “curtail the Khedive’s political activities.” He gives -statistics on the fighting forces of the Arabs, and considers that -the time is ripe for stirring up sedition. One of his theories is -that the Arab tribe “Senagra” originate from a German boy, called -Singer, who was wrecked on the coast. There is a photograph in his -book of one of the main streets in the old town of Siwa which he -calls “Interior of an ancient tomb”! It is really a very remarkable -book and gives one a good insight into German ideas in Egypt before -the war.</p> - -<p>In ancient days the coast west of Alexandria was inhabited by -various Libyan tribes, the most famous being the Nasamonians, who -lived by the plunder of wrecks, and the Lotophagi, who are -immortalized in Tennyson’s famous poem “The Lotus-Eaters,” dwellers -of a land “In which it seemed always afternoon.”<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_5">[5]</span> These two tribes lived on the -coast that lies west of the present frontier. The coast which lies -between the present frontier and Alexandria was thinly populated by -wandering tribes of Libyans, a nomadic people, who depended, as the -bedouins do now, on the rains to feed their flocks. The inland -country was a land of mystery vaguely described as being the haunt -of strange wild beasts, although nowadays this waterless tract -nourishes few wild creatures of any description. In later times -Persians, Greeks, Romans and Byzantines established some centres of -civilization on the coast, but this strip immediately west of -Alexandria was never thickly populated, and one finds few signs of -any former civilization. The Arabs, after planting Mohammedanism in -Egypt, continued their victorious course westward along the coast, -forcing their religion on the people at the point of the sword, or -driving the natives inland to the oases, which remained unconquered -till a later date. Thus, the Arabs of the desert have always -considered themselves to be the conquerors, and the oasis dwellers -to be the conquered.</p> - -<p>The coastal belt from Alexandria to the sea slopes gently -upwards in strips of undulating country till it reaches the foot of -the ledge of the great Libyan plateau. This narrow strip of fairly -fertile country between the desert and the Mediterranean gradually -diminishes in width, from east to west, till at Sollum the cliffs -of the Libyan plateau reach the sea. At its widest part, near -Alexandria, the coastal belt stretches inland for nearly 40 miles -before merging into the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[6]</span> -desert. The coast is inhabited by Arabs of the Awlad Ali tribe, who -move about with their flocks and camels from well to well, having -only a transitory interest in the soil, which they sow with a -little barley in the places where it will grow, and depending on -the rains, which are very heavy on the coast, to fill their wells -and cisterns, and to water the wild vegetation that feeds their -herds. The land is most fertile close to the sea, but for the first -10 or 20 miles on the high desert plateau above the cliffs there is -flat scrub-covered country that makes a good grazing-ground for -sheep and camels. Farther south one sees less vegetation, and very -soon the real desert begins, which stretches hard and dry under the -blazing sun for 200 miles down to Siwa, and beyond Siwa over -unexplored country till it reaches the distant Sudan.</p> - -<p>As one goes farther west from Alexandria the country becomes -wilder and one sees fewer people, but there are several little -towns, or settlements, along the coast. The ex-Khedive had a -project of opening up this district and, aided by German -enterprise, he built a railway which was destined to connect -Alexandria with his western frontier at Sollum, and shorten the sea -journey from Europe to Egypt. But the line only got as far as Bir -Fuca, about 100 miles west of Alexandria. The Khedive found that -his agricultural experiments in the Western Desert were not a -success and, realizing this, he tried to sell the railway to a -German firm, but Lord Kitchener, who was then High -Commissioner,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span> stepped -in and secured it for Egypt. There is a motor road, known as the -Khedival Road, from Alexandria to beyond Matruh, and another road, -of very inferior quality, from Matruh to Sollum.</p> - -<p>Mersa Matruh—Mersa means a harbour—a small town on the coast -about 200 miles west of Alexandria, is where the Governor of the -Western Desert has his headquarters. Matruh is the ancient -Parætonium, sometimes called Ammonia, and was the port for Siwa in -the days when that place was known as the oasis of Ammon. Matruh -consists of a few dozen little one-storied stone houses, plastered -and painted white, with gay shutters, yellow, green and blue, -inhabited by Greek colonists who do a thriving business by trading -with the Arabs, and exporting barley and sheep to Alexandria. There -is a picturesque mosque on the cliffs above the bay, whose minaret -forms a landmark for many miles, a hospital, police barracks, the -Governor’s house, and a number of Government offices and houses of -Government officials. There are large numbers of resident Arabs in -the neighbourhood who remain near Matruh, as it is the commercial -centre of the desert. At most times, especially in the summer, -Matruh is a singularly attractive little place, but when it is -visited by a “khamsin” wind, which blows up the fine white sand—and -this is not unfrequent—it becomes a more detestable spot than -anywhere else on the desert. The cliffs at Matruh suddenly cease -and are carried on by a reef of partly submerged jagged rocks which -protect the large harbour. The entrance—between two<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span> rocks—is so narrow that only ships -of moderate size can pass, and when a heavy sea is running outside -the entrance is impassable. The bay is 1½ miles long and half a -mile wide, but in places where there are shoals the water is only 2 -fathoms deep. To the east and west of the harbour there are a -series of lagoons separated from the sea by a line of low cliffs, -and divided from each other by narrow spits of sand. On the cliff -above the bay, commanding the entrance, there is an old ruined -Turkish fort, a yellow castellated building, which was occupied -during the war by a detachment of Royal Artillery. The houses are -on the southern shore, behind them there is a low rocky ridge -crowned with some little forts which were built during the Senussi -rising in 1916, when Matruh was for some time the British base. The -bay is surrounded by firm white sands sloping gently down to the -brilliantly coloured water. It is well sheltered and, consequently, -never very rough; the varying depths of the water cause it to -assume different colours—in some cases almost as brilliant as those -of the kingfishers who fly up and down the shore; at times it is -incredibly blue, so blue that the open sea outside looks black in -comparison, and at other times it is vividly green, with long -streaks of purple where the dark seaweed shows through the water. -Matruh is a pleasant place in summer-time, the bathing is ideal, -and the climate is cooler than Alexandria, which is the summer -resort of all Egypt. But the great disadvantage is the lack of -water; there are several wells, but the water in them<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span> is of an indifferent quality, so -at present it is brought by boat from Alexandria, at great expense, -and pumped into tanks on the shore.</p> - -<p>Some signs of former civilization are still visible, and it is -evident that the Romans, with their usual appreciation of beautiful -places, realized the attraction of this smooth, brilliant bay. -There are ruins of several villas on the banks of the lagoons, and -in places flights of steps have been cut through the rock leading -down to the water. The Governor’s bungalow is built on the site of -a villa that was once inhabited by Cleopatra. According to -tradition, Antony retired there after his defeat at Actium and -found solace in the embraces of Cleopatra. One can scarcely imagine -a more ideal spot than this for the site of the villa. It stood -among low sand-hills a few feet above the harbour, right on the -edge of the bay, so near that the rippling water must have sounded -through the marble halls of the villa. From the windows of the -present building one looks over the gorgeously blue bay to a line -of sharp black rocks where the white waves break, and beyond to the -deep blue open sea. At night, when the water shines silver in the -moonlight, and the little waves creep up the white shore and break -with phosphorescent splashes on the sands, one can easily picture -Antony and Cleopatra gliding smoothly in a boat through the -lagoons, which were connected by channels in those days, or -feasting superbly to the sound of</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="line indent0">“Some Egyptian royal love-lilt</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Some Sidonian refrain,”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span>in -the villa above the bay. In the summer quantities of “Mex Lilies” -(Amaryllis) grow on the hills and scent the air with their heavy -perfume. A short time before the war an American archæologist made -some valuable finds among the foundations of Cleopatra’s villa, and -on several occasions coins have been unearthed in the -neighbourhood.</p> - -<p>The present-day Greek colonists of Matruh are not very -attractive people. They are very clever at their trade and seem to -become prosperous in a remarkably short time. They make their money -by squeezing the Arabs, who are forced to deal with them, as there -is nobody else from whom they can buy necessities such as tea, -sugar, rice, etc. The Greeks have the monopoly of trade and sell -their goods at a prohibitive price, quite out of proportion to -their worth, even considering the cost of transport. Their -favourite system is to buy whole crops of barley from the Arabs -before it is ripe, when the owner is particularly hard up. The -Administration, to a certain extent, is able to check excessive -profiteering, but there are innumerable ways in which the Greek is -able to “do” the Arab. It seems a pity, because, in my estimation, -the Arab is a much better man than the Greek trader. Not -unnaturally, Greeks are very unpopular. Farther along the coast, in -Tunis and Algeria, their place is taken by the Jews, but on the -Western Desert there are no Jews—so the Greeks have it all their -own way.</p> - -<p>There are generally two or three English officials at Matruh, -and possibly their wives, so there is<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_11">[11]</span> usually more going on there than at any other -place on the coast; in fact, Matruh is a sort of metropolis of the -desert, but at the same time it is very much a desert station. -Lately, when I was staying there, there arrived one evening an -enormous new American car containing two English officers on leave, -and a very smartly dressed lady, wife of one of them. By amazing -good luck they had managed to get through from Alexandria without -mishap, stopping a night <em>en route</em>. On arrival at Matruh -they asked to be directed to the “Hotel,” which they had heard was -“small, but very clean and comfortable.” They looked exceedingly -blank when we told them there was no hotel—and never had been—but -they were conducted to the rest house, where they settled down. -Next day they complained that the rest house was neither clean nor -comfortable. The greatest disadvantage, to my mind, in all the rest -houses on the Western Desert is the multitude of fleas which -nothing that one can do is able to destroy or even keep under. This -car was not the kind used by the Administration on the desert; the -party had brought no spare parts for it, no servant, no provisions -except some biscuits and a tin or two of peaches, only a few glass -bottles of water, which were naturally almost boiling after some -hours in the heat of an August day, and none of them could speak -any Arabic. At dinner that night they all appeared in full evening -dress which they had brought with them, and, to everybody’s horror, -they announced their intention of “running down to Siwa” on the -next<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span> day. We -explained carefully that to reach Siwa they would have to cross 200 -miles of waterless desert, and no car ever attempted the trip -alone. But nothing seemed to daunt them. Finally, however, the -Governor heard of their plan and forbade it forthwith; they started -off to Alexandria on the following day, with an escort of two cars, -and as they went they murmured indignantly about “red tape and -absurd restrictions.” It is amazing what a strange idea of the -desert some people seem to have.</p> - -<p>Matruh is the centre of the sponge fishing industry which is -carried on during certain months of the year along the coast. The -sponge fishers are mostly Italians, and a fine-looking lot of men. -They have a little fleet of sailing-boats, and one steam-tug. The -boats put out for several days at a time, working up and down the -coast. They use no diving-bells, but when a man dives he holds on -to a heavy stone, which sinks rapidly; he makes a jab at the -sponges, cutting off one, and then lets go of the stone and rises -to the surface. Sometimes the men seem to bound out of the water -when they rise to the top. They are able to remain submerged for -several minutes. But the work tells on their health; they are -highly paid, but they say themselves that they usually die at about -forty, and there is always the horrid possibility of being attacked -by sharks, which are more plentiful in the Mediterranean than they -used to be before the war. At Sollum there are several graves of -sponge fishers who were killed in<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_13">[13]</span> this way. I never bought a single sponge -myself during the whole time I was on the Western Desert. When I -was at Sollum I used to ride out along the shore with a syce -carrying a bag after every heavy storm and we would usually pick up -about a dozen first-class sponges worth about half a guinea each at -home. Fortunately, the Arabs had no use for such things as sponges. -One found pumice stone lying about the shore also. During the war -an enormous amount of wreckage was swept ashore and collected by -patrols of Camel Corps for building purposes and firewood. -Sometimes the whole coast would be littered with cotton from a -wrecked ship carrying cotton to Europe; another time we collected -stacks of good brown paper, which is still being used on the -Western Desert, and another time a number of casks of wine and rum -were picked up.</p> - -<p>Between Matruh and Sollum there is a little place called Sidi -Barrani, which consists of a police barracks and a high gaunt -building which is a rest house and office, and about half a dozen -white bungalows belonging to Greek traders. Each of these places -has either a British officer or, if it is not sufficiently -important, an Egyptian mamur who is responsible for keeping order, -etc. Barrani is a desolate place, but very beautiful in springtime -when the country is ablaze with flowers and green budding corn. -Rest houses in Egypt and the Sudan correspond to the Dak Bungalows -in India. Those on the Western Desert are quite comfortably -furnished and well provided with plate and linen. An old -Sudanese<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span> soldier -looks after each rest house. It is a relief after trekking along -the coast by car or camel to arrive at a place where everything is -ready and, in winter-time, to get a roof over one’s head, though -probably a leaky one.</p> - -<p>Two roads run from Barrani to Sollum; one goes along the coast -among the strangely white sand-hills which are a feature of the -district, and the other, which is less liable to be flooded in -winter, is higher and farther inland. The country that one passes -on the upper road between Barrani and Sollum, between the blue -Mediterranean and the high rocky Scarp that runs parallel to the -sea, is very attractive, especially in the soft evening light. In -the heat of the day it looks dry and parched, except during a month -or two immediately after the rains. One meets very few travellers -on the narrow road that winds up and down, round low hills which -are covered with heathery undergrowth, and often topped with rough -stone cairns. Some places are very like a Scotch moor, or a stretch -of Dartmoor. There is a certain plant which is the colour of purple -heather, and another that looks from a distance like withered -bracken. In summer-time, especially on the lower road, one is -constantly deceived by the vivid mirage that hovers above some salt -swamps close to the white sand-hills on the shore.</p> - -<p>Occasionally, one passes a party of Arabs, with their skirts -tucked high above the knees, stalking along behind their woolly -shuffling camels, or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span> -perhaps one meets a patrol of Camel Corps, black Sudanese, in khaki -uniforms, trotting briskly along on fast riding camels; then an old -bedouin sheikh, wrapped in his long silk shawl, ambles past on his -Arab pony. Farther on, one smells the sharp sweet scent of burning -brushwood that comes from the fires outside the low black tents -where some Arabs are camping, and one can see them squatting round -the flame in the tent doors, with their white woollen cloaks pulled -over them, while in the distance a boy drives the camels and sheep -close up to the camp for the night. On the lower road, near the -shore, between Barrani and Sollum, there is a lonely little hill -crowned by a rough block-house where there used to be a detachment -of the Camel Corps. This place is called Bagbag and was used as a -frontier post before the war in Tripoli between the Italians and -the Turks. As one approaches Sollum the escarpment on the left -comes nearer, the foot-hills cease, and the road runs across a mile -or two of flat country within sound and sight of the sea right at -the foot of the towering cliffs. Before arriving at the camp the -road crosses several deep water-courses which come “from thymy -hills down to the sea-beat shore” through rocky ravines in the -Scarp; they are dry and sandy in summer, but during the rains they -become rushing torrents, quite impossible to cross in a car. Riding -home in the evening, one sees a number of twinkling fires in the -bedouin camp, and above them, sharply outlined against the -primrose-coloured sky, is the top of the great rocky<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span> Scarp, like a dark wall that one -has to ascend before reaching the desert.</p> - -<p>Sollum consists of about a score of little buildings, and a -large bedouin encampment, situated on the shore of a bay in an -angle made by the sea and the Scarp which rises to a height of over -600 feet immediately behind the camp, and juts out into the sea in -a rocky promontory. There are several wells at Sollum and one -little orchard of fig-trees which breaks the monotony of the -brown-coloured soil. Most of the buildings, including a large Camel -Corps barracks, were erected since the war. There are one or two -little shops, owned by Greeks, and a rough native café presided -over by an evil-looking, one-eyed Egyptian, who is also the barber -of the place. For a long time there was a British garrison, but -this was recently withdrawn, leaving a force of Camel Corps and a -small detachment of Light Cars in the old Turkish fort on the top -of the cliffs above the bay. At one time there were about a dozen -officers quartered here, and five or six of them had their wives -with them. Sollum became quite like an Indian hill station—perhaps -even worse, and when a certain elderly general, well known as a -misogynist, inspected the place, he stated in his report that there -were six officers’ wives and six different sets, the result being -that they were very shortly moved and replaced by unmarried -officers.</p> - -<p>One gets to feel hemmed in at Sollum. On the north lies the sea, -and on the south and west rise the rocky cliffs of the Scarp. The -only open country is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span> -along the coast towards the east. A steep twisting motor road, like -a Swiss mountain pass, leads up the face of the cliff on the track -of an old Roman road, and several very precipitous paths ascend the -Scarp behind the camp to the high table-land above. But once one -has climbed the Scarp and reached the top there is a great flat -plain stretching out into the distance, which is good country for -riding, and full of hares and gazelle. This is the bedouins’ -grazing ground, and every few miles one comes across great herds of -camel and sheep, and large camps of Arabs. There are a few rock -cisterns on the northern edge of the plateau and from these the -Arabs get their water. They often camp 10 or 15 miles away from a -well and send in a party of women and boys to fill the water-skins -every other day. Arabs seldom bathe, even when they are camped -close to the sea, but fortunately the sun is a wonderful -purifier.</p> - -<p>The nomad Arabs of the Western Desert are a hardy, picturesque -race, very different from the fellahin of Egypt. Their active -open-air life makes them strong and healthy. Patriarchalism is a -dominant system among them; they are divided into a number of -tribes and sub-tribes, each under its own sheikh who is responsible -to the Government for the good behaviour of his people.</p> - -<p>These tribal divisions breed factions, enmities and lifelong -feuds, which result in occasional raids and forays on neighbouring -tribes, and the carrying off of camels. Another source of dispute -are the rights<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span> and -ownerships of wells, which cause frequent fights, so a District -Officer on the coast needs to be well acquainted with the tribal -politics of the Arabs in his area. One of the greatest grievances -of the Arabs on the Egyptian side of the frontier is the fact that, -since the Senussi rebellion in 1916, they are not allowed to be in -possession of fire-arms, but their neighbours, over the border in -Tripoli, are under no such restrictions. The Arabs on the Egyptian -desert argue, quite rightly, that they are liable to suffer from -raids by the western Arabs who can dash across the frontier, drive -off a herd of camels, and retire again into Tripoli where they will -be safe from pursuit, as the Italians have very little influence -outside their coastal towns, and of course if anybody belonging to -the Egyptian Administration ventured across the frontier without an -invitation, and was caught, it might almost lead to international -complications. But the Egyptian Government considers that the -forces of the Administration are sufficient to keep order on the -frontier and protect the Arabs. (The situation is not dissimilar to -that in Ireland during 1920.)</p> - -<p>The Arabs are a pastoral people. As the Siwans depend almost -entirely upon their date palms, so do the Arabs depend on their -camels and sheep, and to a lesser extent on the barley crop. Their -tents, called “kreish,” in which they live, are made of camel wool, -woven into long strips and fastened together, supported in the -middle by two poles about 6 feet high, sloping down to about 3 -feet<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span> above the -ground, with a movable fringe hung round the sides from the bottom -of the roof-piece. These tents are very comfortable, especially in -summer-time when the sides are kept open, propped up with short -poles. There is no furniture inside them, but the floor is covered -with matting and bedouin carpets, which are made of finely spun -wool, white sheep’s wool—sometimes dyed scarlet, brown, grey—yellow -camel’s wool, and black goat’s hair. They are woven in stripes and -geometrical designs, and ornamented with black and red tassels. The -largest tents are often 20 or 30 feet long and 10 feet wide, -sometimes divided into two parts by a striped Tripoli blanket which -is hung across the middle. One can be very comfortable in one of -these tents, with no furniture except a heap of carpets and -rugs.</p> - -<p>Each bedouin has two sets of tents, a thin summer one, and a -thicker one which is used during the winter; the latter is lined -with a wonderful patchwork made from pieces of coloured cotton and -linen, like an old-fashioned patchwork quilt. When it rains the -wool of the roof swells and tightens, and the water slides off the -steep sides of the tent as it does from the proverbial duck’s back. -Being so low they are not torn up by the wind, and I have seen a -whole camp of army tents laid flat by a hurricane which tore many -of them to pieces, while the Arab ones remained standing and dry -within.</p> - -<p>In appearance the Western Desert Arabs are fairer than the Arabs -of Arabia and Palestine. This<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_20">[20]</span> is probably due to the fact that when they -originally took the country it was occupied by Berbers, a -blue-eyed, fair-haired type, who are supposed to have crossed over -from Europe into Africa at some remote period several thousand -years ago. The Arabs are slightly darker than the Egyptians with -features that are distinctly Semitic, expressing more intelligence -than the fellahin. They are of a finer build and more wiry. Some of -the Arab women are very handsome, and their costume is particularly -becoming. They usually wear a long black robe with full sleeves, -but on special occasions the robe is of striped silk, and a red -woollen belt, several yards long, twisted round the waist like a -cummerbund. Their head-dress consists of a coloured silk -handkerchief tied tightly over the head, but allowing two coils of -braided hair to appear on both sides of the face, then, above this, -a long black scarf with a coloured fringe and a red and yellow -border twisted into a high head-dress, folded like a mediæval coif -below the chin, with the fringed ends hanging down behind. Soft -scarlet leather boots complete the costume. Almost all the women -tattoo their chins and often their foreheads with a blue pattern; -this is considered by them to be very ornamental, but to European -eyes it is singularly ugly. Old women dye their hair a brilliant -orange colour, and men sometimes tint the tips of their beards, as -well as their horses’ tails, with henna, presumably following what -one sees advertised as “The henna cult of beauty.”</p> - -<p>As in most Eastern countries when an Arab<span class="pagenum" -id="Page_21">[21]</span> marries he pays “marriage money” to the -parents or guardians of the bride. So a daughter is a source of -riches to her parents if she is attractive enough to be worth a -handsome dowry. The amount varies on the Western Desert from about -five to a hundred pounds, according to the age, appearance and -position of the girl. Half is paid on marriage, and the remainder -is paid later by instalments, and it is liable to be forfeited if -the wife does not behave well, but if the husband divorces the wife -he must pay up the residue of the money to her parents. This makes -a man very careful in the choice of a wife. In many ways the plan -of buying a wife on the instalment system is a good one. Arabs have -more freedom in these matters than many other Orientals. Women are -not veiled, and men and girls have plenty of opportunities of -seeing each other, and even speaking together, before marriage, -though the actual negotiations are always carried out by a third -person representing each party. Arabs rarely have more than two -wives, though their religion allows them to have four, and divorce -is not so very common among them. The women have a certain amount -of influence which they exert without the men quite knowing it, but -although their position is better than that of the Egyptian women, -and infinitely better than that of Siwan women, they have a very -hard time. They weave wool and make tents and carpets; they milk -the flocks and make butter and cheese; they grind corn on rough -mill-stones for making bread; they fetch water, often from a well -many miles<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span> distant; -and they collect wood every day for the camp fires; all this in -addition to looking after their children and cooking. Mohammedan -women of all classes are not expected to concern themselves with -religion; they are not allowed to enter mosques, except on one day -of the year, and during seven years in the Sudan and Egypt I only -twice saw a Mohammedan woman praying in public. There are very -definite social divisions among the Arabs, especially among their -women. The wives of respectable Arabs never associate with or speak -to women whose morals are considered doubtful. These ladies of the -<em>demi-monde</em> inhabit tents, generally on the outskirts of -the camps, and are conspicuous, as in every part of the world, by -the brilliant colours of their clothes, and their many -ornaments.</p> - -<p>The Arabs are a kindly, hospitable people, not phlegmatic like -the fellahin, but easily moved. I had some very good friends among -them. When I was out on trek, if I came across an encampment, they -would see us from a long distance off and invariably come out and -invite me to dismount and rest awhile, and “fadhl” in their camp. -“Fadhl” is an untranslatable word which means roughly “Stop and -pass the time of day.” Sometimes I used to accept their hospitality -for a few hours in the heat of the day, and rest in a cool dark -tent, or wait talking in the tents in the evening while my men rode -on ahead and prepared my camp a little distance away. One could -never camp near bedouins, as their camels generally had mange, -which is very catching, and<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_23">[23]</span> their dogs were a nuisance at night, being -“snappers up of unconsidered trifles” in the way of food, etc., and -not always “unconsidered” either. These dogs are white or yellow -woolly creatures who guard the flocks with great apparent courage, -and attack any stranger, but when threatened they run yelping away -with their tails between their legs. When I dismounted I would wait -for a minute or so talking to the men, so as to give the Arabs a -chance to arrange things. Women would run frantically from tent to -tent carrying mats and carpets, and shooing away sheep and goats -and small brown children; then the sheikh would lead me to the -largest tent, spread with black and scarlet carpets, with probably -a long striped blanket hung across the centre and screening one -side of it. Or on warm summer nights the carpets were spread in -front of the tents, on the open desert under the stars. Unless I -specially asked to be excused the finest kid of the herd would be -caught and killed and an hour or so later it would be brought in, -boiled, on an enormous wooden dish, and I would be expected to eat -“heavily” of this, also of the “asida” that followed. Asida, a dish -which I always had the greatest difficulty in pretending to eat, -consists of lightly cooked flour dough, with a hole scooped in the -middle full of oil or melted fat and sugar, however, <em>de -gustibus non disputandum</em>. The sheikh, and perhaps one or two -of his relations, would join in the feast, watched with the -greatest interest by the ladies of the camp who would collect on -the other side of the curtain, and gaze firmly at<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span> me from underneath it, -whispering, giggling and tinkling their bangles and ornaments as -they moved. If I knew the people well they would not bother about -hanging up a curtain, and women and children would creep into the -tent and sit staring from the far end, or carry on their usual -occupations—milking goats, spinning or making semna—but no woman -would ever eat in the presence of a man out of respect to him, and -a son would never think of sitting down and eating with his father -unless he was specially invited to do so. Generally the sons waited -on the party, and ate afterwards.</p> - -<p>Semna is a kind of cheese made from goat’s milk. In the morning -the sheep and goats are milked into wooden bowls, the milk is -poured into a water-skin and rolled vigorously up and down by two -women seated on the ground till it thickens into a sort of butter. -The addition of a certain herb is needed if it is to be made into -cheese. One kind of white butter made by the Arabs is very good and -forms an excellent substitute for real butter, and a change from -the tinned species.</p> - -<p>Arabs are very free in their conversation, and personal remarks -are not considered to be ill-mannered. They usually ask one’s age, -and inquire whether people are married or not. The idea of a man -being over twenty and still unmarried surprises them enormously; -they think that he can’t afford to buy a wife. They always show a -keen interest in what they consider the peculiar habits of -Europeans. Hardly any of them can read or write, and very -few<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span> have ever been -off the desert. When a bedouin gets to Alexandria he is like a -countryman in London. The bedouin are superstitious, but not as -intensely so as the oasis dwellers. In every tent one notices a -little bundle of charms hung on one of the tent poles to avert the -Evil Eye. One such collection would consist of a black cock’s leg, -a red rag, a dried frog, two bones, and a little leather charm, -tied together and hung on the pole.</p> - -<p>One day I was sitting talking to some Arabs in a tent when -suddenly I realized that everybody was staring in a fascinated way -at my mouth. I wondered what was the matter. Then I heard the women -whispering to themselves: “He must be a very wealthy one; see how -he adorns himself with gold.” I couldn’t imagine what they meant as -I was only wearing a shirt, shorts and stockings, nothing very -remarkable in the way of clothes. Then I heard something about -“Gold tooth,” and I realized that their attention had been caught -by a hideous gold crown that had been put over one of my front -teeth in a great hurry just before I left Cairo the last time I was -on leave. They thought it a most attractive and novel form of -decoration.</p> - -<p>When Arabs get money they either invest it in sheep and camels -or bury it in the ground. Some of these men who lead the most -primitive lives, living in a tent and feeding on a meagre diet of -milk, bread, rice and dates, are the owners of many thousands of -sheep and hundreds of camels. Sheep are generally worth two or -three pounds, and camels about fifteen<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_26">[26]</span> pounds each. Besides this, they often have a -little bag of gold buried somewhere in the desert. They never spend -their money on creature comforts, and the poorest and the richest -men live practically in the same way. My Sudanese Camel Corps men -used to criticize them, saying what a waste it seemed that they had -so much money, and apparently didn’t know how to enjoy it, whereas -in the Sudan when a man made money he would build a house, feed -better and live in a more comfortable way than his neighbours. An -Arab when he was “mabsout” (well off) didn’t seem to know how to be -“mabsout”—meaning also “happy.”</p> - -<p>Once I was camped near some Arabs and one of them, an old -sheikh, was ill and considered by his relations likely to die. He -was known to possess some money buried somewhere in the -neighbourhood, and his relatives were most anxious that he should -not die until he had disclosed the hiding-place. But the old man -obstinately refused to tell them where it was. A deputation of his -heirs called on me and asked me to make him speak. I agreed that it -was unfortunate for them, but I could do nothing. When I suggested -that they should take him to the hospital at Sollum, they were -quite indignant and said that evidently Allah willed that he should -die; the only distressing thing was his obstinacy about the money. -This went on for several days, and then, to every one’s surprise, -the old gentleman suddenly recovered. Some of his relations seemed -sorry, and some relieved. When I<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_27">[27]</span> last saw him he was watching a “fantasia” -which was being held in honour of his recovery, with a pleased, -benignant expression. Personally, I always had a faint idea that -the money never existed, but all his people firmly believe in it, -and he has kept the secret to this day.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw5"> -<figure id="i04"><img src='images/i04.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">A FALCONER OUTSIDE A BEDOUIN CAMP</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p>One rather associates the idea of an Arab with his steed, a -wonderful fiery creature that skims across the desert like a bird. -The ponies on the Western Desert are a somewhat sorry collection. -Only a few of the well-to-do Arabs keep horses. They are small -hardy ponies very unlike the Arab steed of fiction. But they look -better when they are ridden, with their high scarlet saddles, great -iron stirrups and gaily tasselled bridles. The Arabs ride them -either at an uncomfortable jog trot or at a tearing gallop. They -have some curious ideas on the “points” of a pony; certain things -are considered lucky or unlucky; for instance, if a pony has white -stockings on both forelegs it is much esteemed, but a white -stocking on one fore and one hind leg is exceedingly unlucky. There -are many stretches of hard stony ground along the coast, so horses -have to be shod; this is done by covering the whole of the foot -with a flat piece of iron, and results in a terrific noise when -they gallop over stony ground.</p> - -<p>There is very little sport to be had on this part of the desert. -The only form that the Arabs indulge in is the ancient pastime of -hawking. Certain men of each tribe are proficient in training and -hunting with hawks. Skill as a falconer seems to be hereditary -in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span> the same way as -snake charming, fortune telling and various other practices. The -Arabs prefer catching a full-grown bird and training it, to taking -a young bird from the nest, which would appear to be the easiest -plan. The method of trapping them is rather clever. When an Arab -wants to catch a hawk, he takes a pigeon, slightly clips its wings -to prevent its escape, and fastens a number of horsehair loops -round its body, then he releases the pigeon, which flutters away. A -hawk sights the pigeon, swoops down and becomes entangled in the -meshes of the horsehair, so that the Arab is able to run up and -secure it. The hawk takes many months to train. Gradually it -becomes accustomed to its master, who invariably feeds it himself, -and whistles when he gives it food in a way that it learns to know. -Later he takes the bird on his wrist, hooded, and fastened by a -leather thong; by degrees it becomes accustomed to his wrist and -then he carries it about with him, still hooded. Finally he removes -the hood and lets it tackle a hare or two which he brings to it, -then one day he takes it out on to the desert and looses it at a -running hare. The bird attacks the hare, brings it down, and sits -on its prey till the master arrives, or if it flies up he draws it -back by whistling and flinging a lump of meat into the air. -Sometimes an Arab will catch over a dozen hares in a day’s hawking, -but occasionally, after months of training, when he looses his bird -for the first time it will fly away and never return. One sees a -tethered hawk outside a tent in almost all the big encampments. A -well-trained<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span> bird is -worth several pounds among the Arabs, and it is very difficult to -persuade them to part with one; they are used to catch pigeons, -quail and other birds, besides hares.</p> - -<p>Another sport which we went in for along the coast was coursing -hares with Silugi dogs. These dogs are gazelle hounds and came -originally from Arabia. There are now a certain number of them in -Egypt, and all the officials on the Western Desert keep one or two. -Silugis are very similar to greyhounds, generally white or pale -coffee colour, with feathery tails and long-haired, silky ears. -They are very fast indeed, but have no sense of scent, and hunt -entirely by sight. They are rather delicate and very nervous, and -in most cases they show little affection for human beings. At -Matruh there was quite a pack which included a couple of -fox-hounds, silugis, several terriers—of sorts—and a few -nondescript bedouin pariahs. The Matruh pack specialized in foxes, -but at Sollum there were more hares than foxes. The desert hares -are rather smaller than the English ones, but they seemed to be -faster.</p> - -<p>The open country above the Scarp stretches over alternate -patches of hard stony ground, and strips covered with low -vegetation where a certain plant that smells like thyme -predominates. Generally two or three of us went hunting together, -or if there were only two Englishmen we took a couple of Sudanese -syces or servants, who thoroughly enjoy all forms of hunting, all -mounted on ponies, and accompanied by four or five dogs. We rode in -extended order<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span> with -intervals of about thirty yards between each rider, the dogs -generally trotting along in front. Whoever raised a hare gave a -wild yell and galloped after it, “hell for leather,” the rest -following. The hounds would sight the hare and fling themselves in -pursuit. Quite often the hare got away before they saw it, or -managed to reach a bit of cover well ahead of the hounds, and then -they would slacken down, at a loss, and wait till the riders came -up and scoured the country round to put up the hare again. It -sounds rather unsporting, but the hare stood a very good chance; in -fact, generally more than half of them got away, and it gave one -some splendid long gallops across the country. Sometimes we would -raise a gazelle, and give chase, but few dogs or ponies can catch -up a gazelle when it gets a little start and is really moving. I -think the scale of speed was, gazelle, silugi, hare and ponies. It -was a primitive form of hunting, but one liked it none the less, -and jugged hare made a welcome change in the menu.</p> - -<p>There were a certain number of gazelle on the desert quite close -to the top of the Scarp and it was occasionally possible to get a -shot at them, but they were very shy, and needed careful stalking -over country that was almost without cover. When anybody went out -specially to shoot gazelle none would appear, but when riding along -on a camel one saw numbers of them; however, by the time one had -dismounted and loaded the gazelle would be out of range, probably -standing a long distance away “at gaze.” Gazelle do not mind camels -if they have no<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span> -people on them, and the Arabs sometimes get quite close to a -gazelle by stalking it from among a number of grazing camels. At -one time, after the war, the men of the Light Car Patrols took to -hunting gazelle in Ford cars with a machine-gun; fortunately this -practice was forbidden, but it scared the gazelle from the -neighbourhood for a considerable time.</p> - -<p>Numbers of rock pigeons nested among the cliffs on the coast, -and quantities of them collected round the camel lines and fed off -the refuse grain. In the autumn thousands of quail arrived on the -coast from Europe; they were often so exhausted that the Arab boys -could catch them in their hands. The natives netted them for sale -to the Greeks, who exported them alive in crates to Alexandria. One -got very tired of eating quail during the month or two that they -were in season; still, at first they were extremely good. Among the -wadis in the Scarp there were occasional coveys of red-legged -partridge, and lately there have been a few sand-grouse about the -high country; once or twice I have seen duck on the marshes near -the sea, and an occasional bustard, but, on the whole, there was -very little to be had in the way of shooting.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw5"> -<figure id="i05"><img src='images/i05.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">SILUGI HOUNDS</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p>A number of jackals and a few wild cats lived in the caves among -the wadis in the Scarp. Their mournful wailings echoed through the -rocky ravines, and owing to its eeriness at night the bedouins -thought that it was haunted by evil spirits. But in the daytime -they climbed about it quite unconcernedly, and their goats snatched -a scanty pasturage among<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_32">[32]</span> the rocks. During most of the year the Scarp -looks harsh and forbidding, but after the rains a change comes over -it; one notices a faint green tinge about the cliffs, and a closer -examination shows that it is covered with blossoming flowers and -rock plants. The slopes become gay with mauve, pink, yellow and -blue flowers, saltworts, samphires, sea lavender, yellow nettle, -campanulas, little irises, marigolds, ranunculas, Spanish broom, -masses of night-scented stock and a quantity of other little -flowering plants which clothe the grim rocks in a robe of brilliant -colour. The flat country, too, blossoms out into colour. One sees -scarlet poppies, mallows, and tall scabious among the budding corn, -and fields of swaying asphodel, and the whole desert is scented in -the evening by the night-scented stock.</p> - -<p>The rain that causes this transformation falls occasionally -during the winter months from November till about March. During -this time there are clouds in the sky, and sometimes terrific -downpours. The Arabs greet the first rain of the season with great -delight, the men sing and shout, and the women raise piercing -shrieks to show their pleasure. Unless there is a good rainfall -none of the barley grows, and the grazing on which the sheep and -camels depend is insufficient. When it rains the wadis become -rushing torrents, roads are impassable, every house leaks, and many -of the roofs subside. The camels have to be led from their flooded -lines to the higher ground where they stand shivering. Camels hate -rain. If one is out on trek and a really stiff<span class="pagenum" -id="Page_33">[33]</span> shower comes on the camels barrack down, -with their backs towards the direction of the rain, and nothing -will make them budge till it is over. One just has to wait till it -stops. If the track is muddy and wet the camels slither and slide -and one must dismount and lead them; they were made for hot, dry -countries, not for a damp, wet climate. Hardly any of the houses at -Matruh or Sollum are watertight, and it was nothing out of the -ordinary when one called on a man to find him camped out in the -middle of his most watertight room, surrounded by his perishable -belongings, with a sort of canopy consisting of a waterproof sheet -and a mackintosh or two stretched out above him. But though rain -storms were very violent they did not last long, and the sun soon -came out and dried everything up again. When, however, one was -caught by a bad storm out on trek on the desert, with only a thin -tent, and no change of clothes, it was very disagreeable.</p> - -<p>The word “house” is misleading. People imagine at least a large -comfortable bungalow. But on the Western Desert the average house -occupied by an English official, with possibly a wife, was a -three-roomed stone hut, with plastered walls and a wooden roof, -with a very thin layer of cement. The largest room would be about -twelve feet square, the plaster invariably crumbled off the walls -owing to the salt in it, and the cement invariably cracked in the -summer so that the rain poured through the roof in the winter. -Cement for some reason was almost impossible to get. One always -heard that for “next<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span> -year” the Administration had included the building of real houses -for its officials in the Budget, but this item was always one of -the first to be struck out on the grounds of economy. Nobody has -yet discovered an ideal roofing for the Western Desert, where there -are extremes of heat and cold and occasional terrific hurricanes -and downpours. So far, the best type of abode seems to be the -bedouin tent.</p> - -<p>One of the chief events on the coast was the arrival of the -cruiser, <em>Abdel Moneim</em>, which came up from Alexandria about -once every fortnight or three weeks bringing mails, supplies and -sometimes high officials on tours of inspection. She spent a day or -two in harbour at Matruh and Sollum on each trip. This little -cruiser was built in Scotland for the Egyptian Government, and with -two other boats comprises the navy of Egypt. She was a neat-looking -grey ship, always very spick and span with fresh paint and shining -brass, manned by a crew of Egyptians in white or blue sailors’ -uniform and red tarbooshes. Her captain was an English bimbashi in -the Egyptian Coastguards Administration, whose uniform was somewhat -confusing, as he wore, besides the naval rank on his sleeve, a -crown and star on his shoulder. The cruiser was carefully built so -as to allow a spacious saloon and two state cabins, for the -accommodation of the Director-General. Two machine-guns were posted -fore and aft. The <em>Abdel Moneim</em> had the well-deserved -reputation of being warranted to make the very best sailor seasick, -even in comparatively calm weather. She<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_35">[35]</span> rolled and pitched simultaneously in a more -horrid manner than any ship I have ever known. The result was that, -when people went down the coast to Alexandria on leave, they -arrived in Egypt looking and feeling like nothing on earth, and -spent the first few days of their all too short leave recovering -from the evil after-effects of the voyage. I have never yet met -anyone who really enjoyed a trip on the cruiser. Personally, the -only time that I felt comfortable on board was when we were firmly -moored to the quay at Matruh or Sollum. When the high officials -landed after a sea trip they were generally feeling so ill that -their visits were not entirely a pleasure to the people who were -being inspected.</p> - -<p>Occasionally misguided individuals, who knew nothing about it, -got permission to go up to Sollum and back by cruiser, hoping for a -pleasant little trip on the Mediterranean. Generally, when they -arrived at Matruh, they inquired anxiously whether it was possible -to return to Alexandria by car, or even by camel. Some queer -visitors sometimes came on these “joy rides,” but very little joy -was left in them by the time they reached Sollum. On one occasion, -a Mr. B. of the Labour Corps, a Board School master in private -life, arrived by cruiser at Matruh. He announced that he had come -to study the coast and the Arabs. He was just the type that Kipling -describes so well in his poems. The Governor invited him to lunch; -he arrived in spurs, belt, etc., though it was the summer and every -one else was wearing the fewest and thinnest clothes; -however,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span> that may -have been politeness. There happened to be three or four other men -present. At lunch Mr. B. proceeded to air his views on how the -desert should be run; we heard some startling facts about it; he -disapproved of the Administration, and told us so; he then -proceeded to tell us about the Sudan, as he had lately spent one -week in an hotel at Khartoum. The Governor had been recently -transferred from the Sudan, where he had been Governor of one of -the largest provinces, and as it happened every single man present -had served there for some considerable time, so, naturally, we were -interested to be told a few facts about it!</p> - -<p>A couple of days later I happened to go down the coast with Mr. -B. and a certain District Officer. The latter spent his whole time, -when he wasn’t ill, telling Mr. B. the most outrageously impossible -stories of camels, Arabs and the desert, which he swallowed -unblinkingly and noted down in a copybook in order to give -lectures, so he told us, at his club when he returned home. That -club must have heard some startling stories. One of the facts—or -fictions—that interested him particularly was a description of -“watch camels which are posted by the Arabs round their flocks and -when a stranger appears they gallop across to the camp and warn -their masters.” Another very vivid story was the description of a -whole herd of camels going mad from hydrophobia. It is wonderful -how credulous some people can be, but I think he deserved it.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<h2><span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span><a id= -"c02"></a>CHAPTER II</h2> - -<p class="sch">THE DESERT</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group2"> -<div class="line indent0">“So on, ever on, spreads the path of the -Desert,</div> - -<div class="line indent0 center">Wearily, wearily,</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Sand, ever sand—not a gleam of the -fountain;</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Sun, ever sun—not a shade from the -mountain;</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> As a sea on a sea flows the width -of the Desert</div> - -<div class="line indent0 center">Drearily, drearily.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="dcap">THE Western Desert of Egypt is regulated by the -Frontier Districts Administration, a comparatively new department -of the Egyptian Government which was formed during the war and took -over many of the duties of the old Egyptian Coastguards -Administration. The F.D.A. is a military Administration with -British officers, and is responsible for the Western Desert, Sinai -and the country between the Red Sea coast and the Nile. In each of -these provinces there is a Governor and several District Officers -and officers of the Camel Corps. The Military Administrator at the -head of the whole Administration is Colonel G. G. Hunter, C.B., -C.M.G., and the Governor of the Western Desert is at present -Colonel M. S. Macdonnell. The forces of the F.D.A. consist of a -Sudanese Camel Corps and local police.</p> - -<p>On the Western Desert there is one company of Camel Corps, about -170 strong, divided into three<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_38">[38]</span> sections, of which two are stationed on the -coast and one in the Siwa oasis. The duties of the Camel Corps are -practically those of mounted police, patrolling the coast and -frontier, preventing smuggling and gun running, and keeping order -among the Arabs in case of any disturbance or trouble. But since -the successful termination of the British operations against the -Senussi in 1917 the Western Desert has been very peaceable, and the -Arabs seem to be thoroughly satisfied with the organization by -which they are now governed. During all the trouble in Egypt in -1919-21, when the country was seething with anti-British -agitations, there were absolutely no disturbances or demonstrations -among the Arabs of the Western Desert, and I have heard them in -their tents discussing, quite genuinely, the foolishness of the -goings-on in Egypt.</p> - -<p>The F.D.A. Camel Corps was originally formed of Sudanese men -from the Coastguard Camel Corps, with a large proportion of “yellow -bellies” (Egyptians) who were gradually weeded out and replaced by -Sudanese and Sudan Arabs, who were enlisted on the borders of -Egypt, as the Sudan Government does not allow recruiting inside its -territories except for the Egyptian Army. The F.D.A. Camel Corps is -supposed to consist entirely of Sudanese, but a certain number of -the men who were enlisted in the regions of Luxor and Kom Ombo are -not real Sudanis. They are very well paid, provided with good -uniforms and rations, and a certain percentage are allowed to have -their wives with them on the<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_39">[39]</span> coast. Every camp has its “harimat”—married -quarters—where the married men and their families live. But before -a man is allowed to marry he has to pass a test in musketry. Many -of the men marry Arab women, and this sometimes caused considerable -trouble among the Sudanese wives, who are by no means fond of their -Arab “sisters.” As they all live close together in rather cramped -quarters they have a very lively time. One’s office hours are often -occupied in endeavouring to pacify some irate old Sudanese lady who -brings a furious complaint that the Arab wife of her next-door -neighbour is “carrying on” with her husband. Or one gets a long -involved case like the following story to inquire into, generally -when there is a great deal of other work to be done.</p> - -<p>Ombashi (corporal) Suliman Hassan married an Arab lady called -Halima bint—daughter of—Ahmed Abu Taleb; when she married her -father gave her an old primus stove, a favourite possession of the -Arabs at Sollum, which he had bought from the servant of one of the -English officers—this incidentally caused another inquiry. The -marriage was not a success, and after six months of unhappy married -life Ombashi Suliman divorced his wife. Apparently he “celebrated” -the divorce “not wisely but too well,” because on the next day he -got a month’s hard labour for being drunk on duty. He took the -primus with him when he went to prison. Halima retired to Bagbag -with her goods and chattels, and after a suitable interval she -married another Camel<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span> -Corps man, this time a “naffer”—private—who brought her back with -him to Sollum.</p> - -<p>Ombashi Suliman had also consoled himself, and presented the -primus stove, now very worn and shaky, to his new wife, a buxom -Sudanese. She sold it to her married sister. It exploded and set a -tent on fire; so the sister gave it to her little girl Zumzum, a -small black infant with tight curls and one pink garment. Then one -day Halima saw the primus, her primus, in the hands of the small -Zumzum, and remembered about it. She rushed home to her new husband -and stirred him to action; so he arrived at my office with a long -incoherent complaint, demanding justice and the return of the -stove.</p> - -<p>I had to spend an entire morning unravelling this history and -examining endless witnesses, who all wished to talk about any -subject except the one I was getting at. When the present wife and -the divorced wife of Ombashi Suliman met outside the office they -were with difficulty restrained from fighting, and the lurid -details which were wafted through the window, about the lives and -antecedents of both ladies, were interesting, but quite -unprintable. Eventually the small Zumzum, now in a state of -inaudible terror, produced the primus, which was found to be worn -out, irreparable, and absolutely useless.</p> - -<p>One of the features of Sollum is a little cluster of tents and -huts, near the Camel Corps Camp, which is known as the “Booza -Camp.” It is run by about a dozen elderly Sudanese widows and -divorcees who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span> -manufacture “marissa,” a drink made from barley. The men are -allowed here at certain times and on holidays, as marissa is not -permitted to be brewed in the camp. The wives have the strongest -objection to this institution which attracts their husbands away -from home, as a public-house does in England, though the dusky -barmaids could not possibly be called attractive. One can rightly -say of the Sudanese that their favourite diversions are wine, women -and song.</p> - -<p>The Sudanis of the Camel Corps are a very likeable lot. They are -thoroughly sporting and have a strong sense of humour, but in many -ways they are very like children. They have an aptitude for drill -and soldiering, but are useless without British officers owing to -their lack of initiative. They are faithful and become very -attached to Englishmen, but they have a keen sense of -discrimination. Like all native troops there is a tendency for each -man to consider himself a born leader, and offer his advice and -opinion on all occasions; this takes a long time to subdue. But -with careful training they become efficient soldiers, and they look -very smart in their khaki uniform, which is rather similar to an -Indian’s. Physically many of them are splendid men, very powerful -and muscular, like bronze statues, but although the climate of -their own country is intensely hot they are by no means immune from -the effects of sun, and they seem to be almost more liable to catch -fever than an Englishman.</p> - -<p>The three sections take it in turns to go to Siwa,<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span> where they generally remain from -six to nine months. It is not a popular place, in spite of the fact -that every man is allowed to marry, with no restrictions, such as -first having to pass a musketry test. The men much prefer being on -the coast where there is more going on, as they are at heart -intensely sociable, and also, though living is cheap at Siwa, the -climate has a bad reputation.</p> - -<p>The best time to go to Siwa is in the spring, when the weather -is cool and there is probably water on the road. The trip needs a -good deal of preparing for, especially as one has to take down -stores for many months. A camel patrol from Siwa used to meet a -patrol from the coast at the half-way point on the road once every -month, and in this way the mails were sent down to the oasis. A car -patrol was supposed to go down at certain intervals, but they were -very irregular, and sometimes, on the few occasions when they did -come, they forgot to bring the mail. One depended so much on -letters at Siwa that this was an intense disappointment. The -following is a rough diary of a trek down to Siwa in the hot -weather.</p> - -<p class="nind space-above15 space-below1"><em>Saturday, July -24th.</em> -</p> - -<p>Spent a busy morning making final arrangements for the trip and -seeing that everything was ready. We moved off from Sollum at 3.30 -p.m., myself, 39 men, 50 camels, and one dog. The whole camp turned -out to see us off, including many small black babies belonging to -the men. Some of the men wept<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_43">[43]</span> profusely at parting with their wives, but -almost before we were out of Sollum I heard them gaily discussing -which of the Siwan ladies they would honour by marriage. Saturday -is a fortunate day to start on a journey. Apparently the prophet -Mohammed favoured Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, but Saturdays -most of all. Another good omen was the appearance of two crows -which we passed just outside the camp; a single crow would have -been cause for anxiety, and to see a running hare before camping at -night is considered a very serious piece of ill-luck. I think this -started from the idea that a running hare was a sign of people on -the move close at hand, probably enemies.</p> - -<p>We marched along the bottom of the Scarp and reached Bir -Augerin, where we camped for the night, at sunset. At Augerin there -is one of the many rock cisterns that one finds on the coast. These -cisterns are large rectangular underground tanks, often 40 feet -square and 20 feet high, with one or two square holes in the roof -large enough to admit a man. The Arabs draw the water up in leather -buckets on the end of a rope, or if the supply is low one man goes -down and fills the bucket which is drawn up by the man above. They -are always built in the middle of a hollow with several stone -runnels that carry the rain water down from the higher ground. -Generally there is a mound near the well with a sheikh’s tomb on -the top of it, a cairn surrounded by a low wall, ornamented with a -few little white flags which are contributed by passing travellers -as a thank-offering<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span> -for the water. According to M. Maspero, the cisterns along the -coast were built by the Romans in the second century A.D., and were -in use until the middle or end of the fourth century. Most of them -are now so out of repair that they only hold water for a very short -time after the rains have ceased, and when they are dry they become -the home of snakes, bats and owls; however, I believe it is -proposed to restore several of the most useful of them.</p> - -<p>We camped near the well at Augerin. I had an indifferent dinner. -My new cook, Abdel Aziz, seems to be a fool and unaccustomed to -being on trek. He is a Berberin, a despised “gins”—race—but always -considered to be good cooks. The men I have got with me are a fine -lot, all “blacks” and mostly “Shaigis”—from the North Sudan. The -old Bash-Shawish—sergeant-major—was previously in the Coastguards -and knows the country well. I did not bother to put up a tent, but -slept in the open under the stars, which were gorgeous. Not a very -hot night.</p> - -<p class="nind space-above15 space-below1"><em>25th.</em> -</p> - -<p>Moved off at 4.30 a.m. by chilly but brilliant moonlight. Led -the camels and walked for the first hour, then mounted and rode. -The men made a long line riding along in file. Arrived at Bir -Hamed, another cistern, at about 8 a.m. We stay here till to-morrow -morning in order to give the camels a good day’s grazing and -watering, as this is the last well before<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_45">[45]</span> the real desert. Bir Hamed is a very wild, -picturesque place among the rocky foot-hills below the Scarp. In -the spring it becomes one mass of flowers, but now it looks dry and -barren. The camels drank frantically and then went out to graze. -There is still a fair amount of water in the well, which is icy -cold and very refreshing. I, and almost all the men, had a bath, as -it is the last opportunity till we get to Siwa. I spent a lazy day -in my tent and the men slept most of the time. At four o’clock the -camels were driven in to drink again, this time they were less -eager to get to the water and sipped it in a mincing way like an -affected old lady drinking tea.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw5"> -<figure id="i06"><img src='images/i06.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">CAMEL CORPS</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p>After dinner, when I was sitting outside my tent in the -moonlight, I heard a faint sound of shouting in the distance. I -took a couple of men and walked in the direction the sound came -from. About a mile from the camp we sighted a large number of black -Arab tents that showed up clear in the moonlight on a slight rise -in the ground. There had been a marriage in the tribe and the -festivities were being concluded by a dance.</p> - -<p>Two girls were slowly revolving round in the centre of an -enormous circle of white-robed bedouins each holding in her hand, -above her head, a long cane which she flourished in the manner that -a dancer uses a bouquet of flowers. The girls wore the usual Arab -dress, the black, long-sleeved robe and scarlet waist-band, but -their faces were hidden by long black veils, and they wore white -shawls fastened in flounces round the waist, which stuck out almost -like a ballet<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span> girl’s -skirt. The moon flashed on the heavy silver bangles on their arms -and on their silver necklaces and earrings.</p> - -<p>The audience were divided into four parties, the object of each -party being to attract the dancers to them by the enthusiasm of -their singing and hand-clapping. A man playing on a flute and -another with a drum led the tune, which was wearily monotonous but -strangely attractive and a fitting accompaniment to the scene. -Gradually the singing became faster and louder, the white-robed -Arabs swayed to and fro urging the dancers to fresh exertions; the -girls revolved more rapidly and one of them began the “Dance de -ventre,” which consists of rather sensuous quivering movements, not -attractive to a European, but much admired by natives. The singing -and hand-clapping became more violent and finally culminated in -frenzied shouting when one of the girls halted, swaying, before the -loudest section of the audience, and several men flung themselves -on their knees, kissing her feet and exclaiming at her beauty, -which if it existed was quite invisible to me, and praising her -skill in dancing with high-flown speeches and compliments. Outside -the circle of brown-faced, white-clad Arabs, and in the doors of -the tents, there were a crowd of women watching the performance, -and a group of dancing girls stood whispering to each other under -their black veils, tinkling their ornaments, as they waited to step -into the circle and relieve their companions.</p> - -<p>I stood watching the dancing for a long time, and<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span> then returned to my tent. As I -walked away I heard hoarse shouts of “Ya Ayesha—ya Khadiga,” as two -new girls began to dance, and the whistle and the drum struck up -another queer little melody. Not until almost dawn did quiet reign -again on the desert, broken only by the occasional wail of a -wandering jackal.</p> - -<p class="nind space-above15 space-below1"><em>26th.</em> -</p> - -<p>Moved off at 4 a.m. and marched till 9.30. We led the camels for -the first two hours along the rocky, difficult ground below the -Scarp, and then up a steep, stony pass to the top. I reached the -top just as the “false dawn” glimmered with a streak of pale light -in the east. There was a heavy dew; all the country down below -looked grey and misty. Gradually the long, twisting line of led -camels reached the summit, and as we rode off across the level -upland towards Siwa the real sunrise began and the stars faded in -the sky. The dew was so thick that the spiders’ webs on the bushes -all sparkled. By midday it was intolerably hot. We halted at a -place called Qur el Beid, a most depressing spot consisting of -three low sand-hills and a tiny patch of vegetation which the -camels sniffed at contemptuously, probably comparing it in their -minds to the much superior grazing near Bir Hamed. I lunched -lightly and lay sweating in my tent with Howa, my Silugi dog, lying -openmouthed and panting at my side till we moved on again for the -afternoon “shid”—march.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span>The first hour of -the afternoon “shid” is the worst of the day. The swaying motion of -the camel, the glare, and the burning sun beating down, makes one -terribly inclined to sleep, and the hard, yellowish brown desert is -absolutely monotonous. A good “hagin”—riding camel—is very -comfortable to ride when it is trotting, but not at a walk. Its -action is peculiar, first the two off legs move together, and then -the two near legs; this is what causes the swinging motion. There -is an idea that when people first ride a camel they are afflicted -by a sort of sea-sickness, but although I am a bad sailor I have -never felt this, nor have I yet met anyone who did. Camels are very -easy to ride; one just sits on the saddle with legs crossed over -the front pummel, and there is very little chance of falling off as -long as the camel behaves itself. The usual way of mounting is to -make the camel kneel down and then step on to the saddle, but if -one is long-legged and active it is possible to spring up into the -saddle from the ground, which is much quicker and useful when the -ground is hard and unsuitable for the camel to kneel on. A camel’s -usual pace is a slow trot, about 4½-5 miles an hour, and they can -keep up this pace for hours on end. Of course they can go at a sort -of gallop, if they like, and when they do this they cover the -ground at a terrific speed, but it is rather difficult to ride -them, and they have an unpleasant trick of suddenly swerving which -generally shoots one over the camel’s head on to the ground. I have -known, too, camels that bucked, and others that suddenly knelt down -when one did not expect it,<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_49">[49]</span> both very disconcerting tricks. They are not -affectionate animals and they never seem to know their own masters; -there was only one among mine that had any “parlour tricks,” and he -used to inhale tobacco smoke through his nose, apparently with the -greatest appreciation.</p> - -<p>We saw several gazelle in the afternoon, but all too far away -for a shot. Halted for the night at a place where there were about -four small tufts of vegetation. The camels are less fastidious now -and condescended to nibble at them.</p> - -<p>The best time of the day is the evening when the sun sinks low, -the desert becomes a pinkish colour, and our shadows stretch like -huge monsters for yards across the ground. Then I begin to look out -for a camping place, anywhere where there are a few scraps of -dried-up vegetation, or, failing that, a soft-looking patch of -ground where the camels will be comfortable. When we halt the -baggage is unloaded and the camels are allowed to roam about and -eat what they can find; in five minutes my tent is pitched, chair -and table unfolded, and dinner is being prepared. Some of the men -begin measuring out the camels’ dhurra—millet—and others go and -collect bits of stick for the fires, or if there is no wood they -use dry camel dung, which is an excellent fuel. Then the camels are -driven in again, unsaddled and tied down in a long line; at a given -signal the men run along the line and place each one’s food on a -sack in front of its nose. Every man squats down by his own camel -and watches it eat, preventing the ones who<span class="pagenum" -id="Page_50">[50]</span> eat fast from snatching at their -neighbour’s grain. Afterwards the men have their own -supper—lentils, onions, bread and tea, and soon roll themselves up -in their blankets, covering face and all, and go to sleep behind -their saddles, which they use as shelters against the night wind. -The only sound is the munching of the camels and an occasional -hollow gurgle as they chew the cud, and the footsteps of the sentry -as he moves up and down the line, “till the dawn comes in with -golden sandals.”</p> - -<p>Abdel Aziz is improving; he produced quite a decent -dinner—sausages, fried onions and potatoes, omelette and coffee, -followed by a cigar. One sleeps splendidly on the desert. Even in -the hottest weather the nights are fairly cool. Towards morning, -just before the “false dawn,” a little cool breeze blows over the -sand and stirs the flaps of one’s tent, like a sort of warning that -soon it will be time to get on the move again.</p> - -<p class="nind space-above15 space-below1"><em>27th.</em> -</p> - -<p>We marched for six hours in the morning and about four hours in -the afternoon, and camped for the night at the half-way point -between Sollum and Siwa, which is a mound ornamented by a few empty -tins. The temperature in my tent at midday must have been about 120 -degrees, and not a scrap of breeze or fresh air. This is real -desert; there is not a vestige of any living thing, animal or -vegetable. The ground is hard limestone covered with dark, shining -pebbles, and in some places there are<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_51">[51]</span> stretches of dried mud, left from the -standing water after the rains. These mud pans are impassable in -wet weather, and one has to make a wide detour to avoid them. Now -they are cracked by the sun into a number of little fissures of a -uniform size, about 6 inches square. The effect is very -curious.</p> - -<p>I once motored down to Siwa in a car driven by an English A.S.C. -private who had never been out in the desert before. When we were -running over one of these mud pans he remarked to me, “It seems -wonderful how they have laid bits of this road with paving -blocks—don’t it, sir!” I thought he was trying to be funny, but -when I looked at him I saw that he was perfectly serious, so I -agreed that it was indeed wonderful. Nobody believed the story when -I told it afterwards, but it really did happen.</p> - -<p>The mirage is very vivid. Almost all the time one sees what -appears to be a sheet of shining water ahead in the distance, and -one can distinguish bays and islands on it; gradually, as one gets -nearer, it recedes and then fades away. It is like the shimmering -heat that one sometimes sees at home on a hot day, but greatly -intensified. Distances look out of proportion on the desert; little -mounds, too small to be called hills, appear like huge mountains. -About every thirty miles there seem to be slight rises of a -terrace-like formation.</p> - -<p>Every evening the men make bread, which they call “khuz.” It is -very simply done and quite good when freshly baked. They take flour -and a little salt and mix it together with water, in a basin or on -a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span> clean sack, -kneading it into dough with their hands. When it is solid and firm -they smooth it out into a flat, round loaf about 1½ inches thick. -Then they go to the fire, scrape aside all the embers, and lay the -loaf on the hot sand. Then they put the embers back on the top of -the loaf. After a few minutes’ cooking they rake aside the fire -again and turn the loaf, replacing the fire on the top as before. -The time taken in cooking depends on the heat, but is generally -about ten minutes. The bread lasts until the following evening.</p> - -<p>All the way we are following what is known as a “mashrab,” a -desert road, which consists of a narrow rut about a foot wide, worn -by the passage of camels through many centuries. Without specially -looking for them one would hardly notice these mashrabs, which are -almost identical to the “gazelle paths” that wind aimlessly about -the desert, but one is helped by the cairns of stones which are -raised by the Arabs on every bit of high ground, sometimes to show -the way and sometimes to mark the lonely grave of a less fortunate -traveller. Each of these twisting desert tracks is known to the -Arabs by a different name. There is the “Mashrab el Khamisa,” from -Bagbag to Siwa, called thus because there are five wells on the -way; there is the “Mashrab el Akhwan”—the Brothers’ Road, from -Jerabub to the coast, which was used by the Senussi Brethren when -they travelled from their Zowia at Jerabub into Egypt; and the -“Mashrab el Abd”—the Slave’s Road, as according to legend, once -upon a time, in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span> the -dim ages, a slave who was captured and brought by this route into -Egypt from his home in the west, returned to the west and led an -army against Egypt by the very road that he had come by as a -captive. Often the mashrab seems to fade away, and then the -trackers have to ride on ahead and pick it up again. A number of -Bisharin from the North-East Sudan were specially enlisted in the -Camel Corps as trackers and guides. They are thought to be more -skilful at this work than any other tribe, though personally I -think a bedouin is cleverer. But when working in a bedouin country -it is best not to employ local natives. Some of the Bisharin are -almost unnaturally clever, they can follow a footstep over hard, -broken ground where anyone else would see no sign of anything. -These men have a natural instinct for finding the way, a sort of -abnormal bump of locality. When they first arrived on the coast -some of them were wearing the usual clothes of their country and -the fuzzy-wuzzy coiffure that is so remarkable a characteristic of -their race. The Arabs had never seen this type of Sudanese and were -intensely interested in them. Small bedouin boys used to stand and -stare at these tall brown men with the great mops of woolly hair -ornamented with a few skewer-like objects, but the Bisharin were -absolutely indifferent.</p> - -<p class="nind space-above15 space-below1"><em>28th.</em> -</p> - -<p>Left “Keimat en Nus”—the half-way tent—at a very early hour and -rode for a long time by moonlight;<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_54">[54]</span> one can cover more ground when it is cold, -but there is a danger of going off the track. The mashrab is faint -enough in the daytime, but almost invisible at night. When we start -off in the morning all the men shout together three times, “Ya Sidi -Abdel Gader,” invoking a certain sheikh who is the patron sheikh of -travellers. One of my men told me that he was born in Berber “min -zaman”—a long time ago—and used to travel about the Sudan deserts -without water or food. His descendants still live at Berber where -he is buried.</p> - -<p>For the first hour or two the men are very lively and rouse the -desert with their singing. Usually one man sings the refrain in a -rather drawling falsetto voice, and then the whole lot take up the -chorus with a real swing, and some of them have very good voices, -too. Sometimes the song is the history of a certain Abu Zeyed, a -legendary character and an exceedingly lewd fellow, from all I -could hear of his doings. Sometimes they would sing stories from -the Thousand and One Nights, or sometimes the songs would be chants -that reminded one of the Gregorian music in a very “High” church at -home. Often I used to ride on ahead, almost out of sight, and then -wait while the chanting voices gradually grew louder, and the long -line of camels came into sight across the white moonlit sands. -There was something very fascinating in the sound of the singing as -we rode through the African desert at night.</p> - -<p>But later on, when the sun began to warm up,<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span> nobody felt like singing. -Occasionally somebody started, and a few voices joined in, but they -very soon subsided again. At the midday halt the men rigged up -rough bivouacs with blankets, and rifles as tent poles, then for -several hours one lay in the scanty shade, feeling like a pat of -butter that had been left out in the sun by mistake.</p> - -<p>Howa is getting very tired. I picked her up and carried her on -the saddle across my knees for several hours to-day. She is quite -fit, but 200 miles in the hot weather does take it out of a dog. -The camels are in good condition but much looking forward to water, -their flanks are beginning to look “tucked in,” and at night some -of them groan and gurgle horribly. To-morrow we should be in the -oasis at the first well. This evening I functioned with the -medicine chest; I gave several of the men pills and Eno’s, which -they enjoyed, and dressed a foot with a bad cut on it. My own knees -are like raw beef from the sun, though I’ve been wearing shorts all -the summer. We have to be “canny” with the water as several of the -“fanatis”—water-cans—are leaking. Fortunately I have trained myself -only to drink a little in the morning and evening, and I can wash -quite thoroughly in two cups of water.</p> - -<p>Sometimes in the evening I walk right away from the camp into -the utter quiet of the desert, out of sight of camels and men. It -is a wonderful sensation to be in such absolute silence, with -nothing to see but the horizon and “the rolling heaven itself.” -Then I retrace my footsteps to the camp<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_56">[56]</span> and enjoy the pleasant feeling of seeing the -twinkling fires in the distance, and arriving at a neatly laid -dinner-table right in the middle of nowhere.</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="line indent10">“Daylight dies,</div> - -<div class="line indent0">The camp fires redden like angry -eyes,</div> - -<div class="line indent4">The tents show white</div> - -<div class="line indent4">In the glimmering light,</div> - -<div class="line indent0">Spirals of tremulous smoke arise, to the -purple skies,</div> - -<div class="line indent0">And the hum of the camp sounds like the -sea</div> - -<div class="line indent4">Drifting over the desert to me.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="nind space-above15 space-below1"><em>29th.</em> -</p> - -<p>In the early morning, before dawn, we passed a caravan going -north. I rode over to see who they were and found that it was a -party of Mogabara Arabs on their way up to the coast, and thence -into Egypt. One of them, Ibrahaim el Bishari, is quite a well-known -merchant who travels about Egypt, Tripoli and the Sudan. He had -come lately up from Darfur, via Kufra, Jalow and Jerabub, and was -going down to the Sudan again after spending some time in Egypt. He -talked about people I knew in Darfur and carried “chits” from a -number of Englishmen. His fellows looked a fine lot of men, very -different to the few Siwans who were travelling with them. I should -have liked to have seen the stuff in his loads; he said he had some -good carpets that he hoped to sell in Egypt. We wished each other a -prosperous journey, and so parted “like ships that pass in the -night.”</p> - -<p>We camped at midday within sight of the high country above the -oasis. This morning one of my<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_57">[57]</span> men was talking about the Sudan and touched -on the “Bilad el Kelab”—the Country of Dogs. All Sudanese believe -that this place exists somewhere down in the south of the Sudan -towards Uganda. I have seen them draw maps on the sand to show its -position. In this mysterious country all the men become dogs at -sunset time and roam about the gloomy forests like the werewolves -of mediæval fiction. I have heard the men yarning over the camp -fires and saying how their cousin’s wife’s brother—or some such -distant relation—actually reached this country and returned alive. -Of course it is always somebody else who saw it, but the story is -firmly believed by all Sudanese, and so it is a very favourite -topic of conversation. Sometimes they enlarge on it and tell how -So-and-So married a wife from that country and one night a number -of dogs arrived at his hut and carried the woman away with -them.</p> - -<p>This afternoon we ascended from the desert to the high limestone -range that forms a rampart to the oasis on the north, and then we -started crawling down into the Siwa valley. The desert plateau is -about 600 feet above sea-level, and the oasis is 72 feet below it, -and as the height of the hills is considerable there is a big drop -down into the oasis. The track winds in and out through strange -rocky passes, among weirdly shaped cliffs whose tortured shapes -remind one of Gustave Doré’s illustration of the Inferno. These -wild ravines are utterly desolate, even in the spring no vegetation -grows among them.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span> -This is a land of broken stone where huge boulders seem to have -been hurled about by giant hands. The sun sank low before we had -escaped from the mountains, and the fantastically shaped crags were -silhouetted with monstrous shadows against the yellow sky. -Sometimes the narrow road seemed to cling to the side of a towering -cliff, and at other times it twined in and out through deep, -echoing valleys in the shadow of the overhanging, jagged rocks. In -places the camels had to be led in single file. Once the men began -to sing, but the dismal echoes among the caves sounded almost -inhumanly depressing, so they gave it up, and we marched along in -silence. Finally a line of far distant green appeared down below -between two great cliffs, and one could see, very faintly, the -masses of graceful palms nodding their crests over the murmuring -oasis. To weary men after a six days’ camel ride across the desert -the first glimpse of Siwa is like the sight of the sea to those -ancient Greeks on the far-away shores of the Euxine.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw2"> -<figure id="i07"><img src='images/i07.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">CAMEL CORPS TREKKING TO SIWA, NEAR MEGAHIZ PASS</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p>When all the camels had come out from the last valley among the -rocks we “got mounted” and rode for about half a mile, past groups -of palm trees, already heavy with clusters of yellow dates, to Ein -Magahiz, which is the first spring in the oasis. Here we camped for -the night, watered the camels, who simply revelled in the water, -and I enjoyed a luxurious bathe in the deep cool spring which rises -among a cluster of palm trees. All night we could<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span> hear the thudding of tom-toms in -Siwa town, which is only a mile or so away.</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="line indent0">“The cadenced throbbing of a drum,</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Now softly distant, now more -near,</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> And in an almost human -fashion</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> It, plaintive, wistful, seems to -come</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Laden with sighs of fitful -passion.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="nind space-above15 space-below1"><em>30th.</em> -</p> - -<p>The mosquitoes last night were a reminder that we are no longer -up on the high desert; they were maddening, in spite of a net. This -morning everybody bathed and shaved and generally polished up. We -rode across to the town in great style; past the palm-shaded -gardens with fences of yellow “gerida”—palm branches; past the -white rest house, on the terraced side of a curious conical hill -called “The Hill of the Dead,” honeycombed with rock tombs; past -the long low “Markaz,” where the mamur and the police guard turned -out to see us; across the wide market square, and through the -narrow streets between tall houses of sunbaked clay below the -enormous high walls of the old town. The heat was already great, -and the streets were almost deserted, except for a few recumbent -figures in a shady corner of the market-place, who scrambled up as -we rode by and then hurried off to tell their friends that the -“Hagana”—Camel Corps—had arrived.</p> - -<p>The Camel Corps barracks and the District Officer’s house are -out on the sand about half a mile south of the town. They occupy -two isolated rocks about a quarter of a mile apart, which were -formerly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span> the -strongholds of two Siwan sheikhs. The District Officer’s house -stands on a limestone rock about 50 feet high. It is a high house -built of mud and palm log beams. To reach it one goes up a steep -path in the rock with roughly cut steps on to a little terrace with -a sort of loggia that opens through the building into the large -courtyard behind, which is surrounded by a high loopholed wall. -There are two rooms on the ground floor, both high and long, about -30 by 15 feet, and two more rooms above with a roofed loggia and an -open roof. The rooms have three windows in each, with glass in -them, the only glass in Siwa, facing north and looking across the -grove of palm trees below the house to the strange-looking town on -its two rocks. The house was built by the former District Officer, -who added to the old Siwan fortress which existed there; it has a -wonderful position and is high enough to be free from -mosquitoes.</p> - -<p>I spent a busy day settling down and fixing up things with S——, -who starts with his section for the coast in two days. S——is -heartily sick of Siwa and longing to see the last of it. We dined -on the terrace outside—to the accompaniment of throbbing tom-toms -over in the town—on soup, chicken, caramel pudding and a dish of -every sort of fruit, which was a pleasant change after months on -the coast without any. Caramel pudding is the “pièce de résistance” -of every cook in Egypt; unless one orders the meal it always -appears on the menu. S——’s cook is an indifferent one. Out -here<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span> I have noticed a -universal habit of considering, or pretending to consider, one’s -own servants absolute paragons of virtue, honesty, cleanliness and -skill, and invariably running down everybody else’s. I have heard -men hold forth for hours on the excellent qualities of their -Mohammed, or Abdel, knowing myself that Mohammed—or Abdel—or -whatever his name may be, was a double-dyed villain and swindling -his master right and left—but now I am doing it myself!</p> - -<p class="space-above15">I think what impressed me most on arriving -at Siwa was the intense heat, the excellent bathing, the enormous -height and strange appearance of the town, and the incessant sound -of tom-toms from sunset onwards. One misses “the slow shrill creak -of the water wheels, a mournful cry, half groan, half wail,” which -is such a feature of Egypt and the Sudan. The average temperature -in the summer was about 108 degrees in the shade, or on warmer days -110 degrees or 112 degrees, but the nights were cool, and every -evening regularly at about eight o’clock a little breeze blew -across from the east and freshened things up. The only way to keep -the house cool was by leaving the doors and windows open all night, -and keeping them closed and tightly shuttered during the day. It -resulted in dark rooms, but at least they were fairly cool and free -from flies. I soon made the house very comfortable with some rough -home-made furniture and a few carpets and mats.</p> - -<p>When a new Section of Camel Corps arrived at<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span> Siwa one of the first events -that occurred was the “taking over” of wives. In most cases the men -who were leaving handed on their wives to the new men, in the same -way as the stores, barracks, camels, etc., were officially handed -over by the officer who was going away to his relief. On the day -before the new Section rode in all the ladies retired from the camp -<em>en masse</em> to the houses of their relations in the town; the -new men then entered into negotiations with the retiring Section -for the taking over of the wives. A few of the men sought fresh -pastures, but most of them took on the wife of a man they knew well -in the other Section. On the day that the departing Section left -Siwa all the ladies assembled on the road that they would pass, -carrying their boxes and belongings, and when the camels came by -they shrieked and wept, throwing dust on their heads, beating their -breasts, pretending to tear their clothes, and showing signs of the -most frantic sorrow at the departure of the men. As soon as the -camels were round the corner out of sight they brushed off the -dust, put on their bracelets, tidied themselves up and hurried -merrily across to the “harimat” outside the barracks, followed by -boys carrying their boxes, to their new husbands who were waiting -for them. This performance happened regularly whenever there was an -exchange of Sections. I used to watch the little tragi-comedy from -my terrace. The harimat of Siwa consisted of a number of rush huts -below the rock on which the fort was built. If any of the wives -caused trouble, and they often did, they were<span class="pagenum" -id="Page_63">[63]</span> ejected and never allowed to marry a -soldier again. Polygamy was forbidden, and each lady, before she -married, was required to produce a certificate stating that she was -a respectable person, signed by several sheikhs and notables of the -town. The Siwans had no objection to these alliances between -Sudanese soldiers and Siwan women, as women in Siwa outnumber the -men at the rate of three to one.</p> - -<p>The daily routine at Siwa did not vary very much. In the summer -I was generally called at 5.30, in time to run down from the house -and have one plunge in the cool deep bathing pool in the palm grove -below the rock before dressing. Clothes were a very minor matter; -one wore simply shirt, shorts, shoes and stockings, all of the -thinnest material. Then I used to walk over to the C.C. barracks -and take the parade, sometimes mounted drill, sometimes dismounted. -We did mounted drill on a stretch of firm white sand among the -dunes south of the barracks. Breakfast was at about eight—eggs, -coffee, bread and jam, the eggs being even smaller than Egyptian -ones, about the size of bantam’s eggs, so one needed a lot for a -meal. After breakfast I went across to the barracks again, and then -rode down through the town on my pony to the Markaz.</p> - -<p>The path to the town passed over a disused cemetery where the -pony was very liable to stick its foot through the thin layer of -soil above the graves, under an archway and into the street that -divides the Eastern and Western quarters. The street itself was -hard rock and very steep in parts, but owing to the<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span> height of the tall houses on -each side it was generally cool and shady and a favourite -resting-place of the inhabitants, many of whom lay stretched full -length across the street taking their siesta. But the clattering -hoofs of my pony generally roused them, and they scrambled out of -the way when I came. The Siwans are well mannered, a virtue that -one never sees in Egypt nowadays, and even in the Sudan it is on -the wane. When I rode or walked in the town everybody would stand -up as I passed, and if I met people riding they would dismount -until I had gone on. I have heard people at home say what a scandal -it is that in some places the poor downtrodden natives have to -stand up and move off the path for an Englishman, but after all -they would do exactly the same for their own Pashas, and apart from -being an Englishman one was entitled to respect as being the -representative of the Egyptian Government in Siwa. Once I was badly -“had” over this. I was riding through the market with some -policemen following me on my way to make an inspection. There was a -group of Siwans sitting talking on the ground, and as I passed they -all stood up—except one man who remained comfortably seated in the -shade right in the middle of the path. I ordered one of the -policemen to see who he was and to bring him along to the Markaz to -answer for his bad manners. A few minutes later the man from the -market was led into the office. He was stone blind!</p> - -<p>The Markaz is a large building outside the town with square -courtyard surrounded by prisons, stores<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_65">[65]</span> and offices. It has a permanent guard of -locally enlisted police; they are quite smart men, but of little -use when there is trouble in the town, and always at enmity with -the Sudanese Camel Corps. At the Markaz I would usually find a -number of petitions to be read and examined, some cases to be -tried, and probably people applying for permits to cross the -frontier who would have to be questioned and seen. Then the sheikhs -would arrive and there would be discussions about various -things—taxes, labour, work on the drains or Government buildings, -new regulations and orders, and then perhaps the merchants would be -summoned, and a heated controversy would follow about the price of -sugar, or the butchers would come to complain of the cost of meat. -It was like a daily meeting of a town council, and complicated by -innumerable interests, rivalries and intrigues. All these matters, -though they sound very small, were of considerable importance to -the Siwans.</p> - -<p>There were six sheikhs recognized by the Administration, three -of them eastern, and three western. Sheikh Saleh Said was the most -influential and the most unbiassed by personal considerations. He -was a big handsome man with a dark moustache and features that -might have been copied from the bust of a Roman consul. He always -wore a long blue robe, and was the most dignified and impressive of -the sheikhs. I never saw him in a hurry or at all excited. Sheikh -Thomi was a little dark fellow, and reputed to be the richest man -in Siwa. He had a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span> -queer, quick way of speaking, was intensely obstinate, a staunch -Westerner, but honest—as far as I ever knew. I once offended him -very grievously. One day he sent me a basket of grapes, the first -that had ripened in his vineyards. I gave the servant boy a piastre -for bringing them. The boy returned and presented the piastre to -Sheikh Thomi, who was very hurt at being sent 2½d. when he had made -me a gift of fruit. Sheikh Thomi was a man of means and worth -several thousand pounds. I heard about the piastre incident and -explained it to him. To offer to pay for what is meant as a present -is a real breach of good manners, much worse than refusing it.</p> - -<p>Sheikh Mohammed Abdel Rahman was a venerable white-bearded -individual who had been to Mecca and apparently lived on his -reputation of excessive sanctity; he always agreed with everything -I said, and then if I veered round and deliberately contradicted -myself he did the same—it was not helpful!</p> - -<p>Abdulla Hemeid was a sly, fat, greedy man with a pale face and -blue eyes. He was very stingy and always complaining against -taxation or anything that affected his pocket. He never gave an -entertainment, but I always noticed him eating heartily in other -people’s houses. His family were much esteemed and he had succeeded -his father, who had been a very famous man in Siwa.</p> - -<p>Mohammed Ragah was a thin, dark, hawk-like man, more like an -Arab than a Siwan. He was very badly off for a sheikh, but keen and -clever, and not above doing a bit of hard work with his own hands. -He<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span> was the only man -in Siwa at whose house one was given good coffee. He had shown -great courage during the Senussi occupation in protecting some -Egyptian officials who were in Siwa.</p> - -<p>Mahdi Abdel Nebi, Sheikh of Aghourmi, was the youngest of the -sheikhs, and the most reasonable and intelligent, though he had -never been out of Siwa. He was a cheerful, pleasant fellow, but -cordially disliked by the rest of the sheikhs. These six were the -men who to a certain extent controlled the destinies of Siwa.</p> - -<p>About once every week when I arrived at the Markaz I would find -the doctor, or the mamur, or the clerk waiting for me in a state of -tearful hysterics, begging me to forward his resignation to the -Governor, as he could exist no longer in the company of his -colleagues—the two other officials. Then would follow a long -infantile complaint. If I could not smooth him down I had to bring -in the other two, who would also dissolve into tears, and try and -get to the bottom of the affair, which was always absolutely -childish and ridiculous. On one occasion the mamur had refused to -allow the doctor to have a watchman to escort him home past a -certain graveyard which alarmed him, or the clerk accused the mamur -of inveigling his cook into his service, or something equally -small. Unfortunately the clerk was a Copt, the doctor a Syrian, and -the mamur was a Cairene. It went on unceasingly, the most -preposterous things served to bring one of them weeping to my -office. And when they were relieved their<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_68">[68]</span> successors were just the same. Yet they were -good men at their work; the clerk had a heavy amount of office work -and did it well; the doctor was quite clever and had been trained -in America; and the mamur was good at his job. Exactly the same -thing occurred among the native officials on the coast, so it was -not only the effect of Siwan solitude.</p> - -<p>From the Markaz I rode home, and after a light lunch either -painted, read, or went to sleep till about four, when I had another -bathe, followed by tea. After tea I went over to the Camel Corps -for “stables,” and then generally out for a walk. Sometimes I went -to Gebel Muta, the Hill of the Dead, a rocky hill on the north of -the town full of tombs hewn out of the living rock, some of them -being large and lofty with as many as eight coffin spaces round the -sides. In one of them there were the remains of a coloured wall -painting with figures of men and animals. Other times I climbed up -to the top of the town. The view from the flat roofs of the highest -houses on the rock is very wonderful, especially at sunset. On the -south of the town there is a long ridge of rolling yellow -sand-hills which change their contours when the desert winds sweep -across them, and become pink and salmon-coloured in the evenings; -towards the north one looks across a sea of palm groves and -brilliant green cultivation to the jagged range of mountains that -separate Siwa from the desert; on the west there is a great square -mountain with a gleaming silver salt lake at its foot, and in the -east one sees the little village of Aghourmi<span class="pagenum" -id="Page_69">[69]</span> crowning another high rock which rises -above the tree-tops.</p> - -<p>At sunset the scene is exquisite, the hills turn from pink to -mauve, and from mauve to purple, and their peaks are sharply -outlined against the gold and crimson sky; long violet shadows -spread across the rosy-tinted sand-hills, and the palm groves seem -to take on a more vivid shade of green. The smoke ascends in thin -spirals from the evening fires, and a low murmur rises from the -streets and squares below; then suddenly the prayer of the muezzin -sounds from the many mosques, and one can see the white-robed -figures swaying to and fro on the narrow pinnacles of the round -towers that in Siwa take the place of minarets. When the call to -prayer is over and the last mournful chant has echoed across the -oasis, and the glow in the sky is fading away, one hears far down -beneath the soft thudding of a tom-tom and perhaps the faint whine -of a reed pipe. When the deep blue Libyan night covers the city the -music becomes louder and seems to throb like a feverish pulse from -the heart of the town.</p> - -<p>Often in the evening I rode out and called on the Sheikh of -Aghourmi, which is the little village on another rock two miles -from Siwa. Mahdi Abdel Nebi had recently succeeded to his father as -Sheikh of Aghourmi and was having some difficulty in sustaining his -authority, even with the support of the Administration, against the -plots and intrigues of an old cousin of his, one Haj Mohammed -Hammam, a sly old man who was rich, influential, and a -thorough<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span> scoundrel, -and wished to oust his cousin and become sheikh himself. After the -war Haj Hammam had carefully cultivated the acquaintance of any -British officers who came to Siwa, and he was inordinately proud of -knowing their names and of certain small gifts that they had given -him—a broken compass, a highly coloured biscuit tin and some -photographs. These he showed on every occasion, and also remarked -that they used always to call him “<em>The</em> Sheikh of -Aghourmi”—this apparently being his only claim to the title.</p> - -<p>Hammam used to employ people to let him know immediately when I -was riding out to Aghourmi, so that he, and not the sheikh, should -be waiting to receive me at the gates; then he would try to -persuade me to accept his hospitality instead of the sheikh’s. -Sheikh Mahdi always invited his old cousin to the tea drinking, -though I could well have dispensed with him, but one could not -object to the presence of another guest. Sheikh Mahdi’s house was -the only one in which a woman ever appeared when I was there. She -was an old Sudanese slave woman who had been brought many years ago -from the Sudan. Once I got her to tell me her story, but she spoke -such a queer mixture of Arabic and Siwan that it was difficult to -follow.</p> - -<p>It appeared that when she was about eight years old she and her -small brother were playing outside their village somewhere in the -North-West Sudan, and a band of Arabs—slave raiders—swooped down -and carried them off. They were taken up into<span class="pagenum" -id="Page_71">[71]</span> Tripoli and there she was sold to another -Arab who brought her to Siwa on his way to Egypt. She fell ill and -almost died, so the Arab, who did not want to delay, sold her cheap -to the Sheikh of Aghourmi, father of the present one; he handed her -over to his wife who cured the child. She remained at Aghourmi for -the rest of her life. She was a lively old body and told the story -in a very cheerful way, giggling and laughing, not apparently -feeling any wish to return to her own land.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw5"> -<figure id="i08"><img src='images/i08.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">SHEIKH MAHDI ABDEL NEBI, OF AGHOURMI WITH HIS -DAUGHTER AND COUSIN</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p>Aghourmi is almost more picturesque than Siwa. The road to the -gate passes below the overhanging rock on which the houses stand, -which is thickly surrounded by a luxuriant wilderness of apricot, -fig and palm trees. The steep path to the village goes under three -archways, each with an enormous wooden gateway, and this path is -the only possible means of entering the place. Above one of the -gates there is a high tower, and the houses alongside the path are -loopholed so that an enemy making an attack could be safely fired -at from all sides by the defenders. Inside the town there is the -same dark maze of narrow streets as in Siwa, with wells and olive -presses, but all on a smaller scale than those in Siwa town. There -are a few houses below the walls. The sheikh lives in the middle of -the town in a big, high house with a roof that has as fine a view -as any that I have seen.</p> - -<p>I got home after sunset and often had another bathe—by -moonlight—before changing into flannels for dinner, which I had on -the terrace in front of the<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_72">[72]</span> house. I slept upstairs, on the roof, but I -always kept a spare bed ready in the room as quite often a wild -“haboob”—sand-storm—would blow up in the middle of the night, and -even indoors one would be smothered and choked with sand. Such was -the average day at Siwa, and by nine or ten o’clock one was glad to -turn in.</p> - -<p>Occasionally after dinner one of the natives who were employed -as secret service agents would arrive very mysteriously at the -house on some excuse and report that there were fire-arms in the -house of So-and-So. Sometimes the information was no more than an -exaggerated rumour, but if it sounded true I would make a night -raid on the person who was supposed to have rifles. These night -raids were very dramatic, but did not always yield the harvest that -was expected. The informer would lead the way, disguised by a -turban pulled low over his head and a scarf muffling his eyes. I -followed with a dozen armed Sudanese. The difficulty was to prevent -the owner of the house getting wind of us before we surrounded the -building, and to surround a Siwan house which has dozens of doors -and passages and exits over roofs is no easy matter. It was not a -matter of entering a hostile town, but of surprising a household. -We would pad silently into the town, and anybody who we met roaming -the streets would be attached to the party to prevent his giving -warning. On reaching the house the guide slipped away in the -darkness, and I surrounded the house with men; then at a whistle -each man<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span> lit a torch -and I beat on the door and demanded admittance.</p> - -<p>Immediately the wildest hullabaloo began inside—men shouting, -women yelling, donkeys braying and hens cackling. Sometimes this -was done in order to distract our attention from somebody who tried -to slip out and remove the rifles to a safe hiding-place. When the -door was opened all the male occupants were marched outside and the -harem sent into one room, where they sat on the floor with shawls -over their heads and reviled us—but in Siwan, so nobody was any the -wiser. The house was searched from top to bottom, the ceilings -probed, the mats raised, and every room examined. Sometimes the -rifles were buried in the floor, or hidden in bales of hay. -Occasionally a modern rifle and some ammunition was found, but -usually some old Arab guns and a bag or two of shot and gunpowder. -If we had a successful haul the master of the house would be -marched off in custody to the jail in the Markaz, and next day he -would be tried, and probably heavily fined or imprisoned.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<h2><span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span><a id= -"c03"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> - -<p class="sch">THE HISTORY OF SIWA</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group2"> -<div class="line indent0">“Cities have been, and vanished; fanes -have sunk,</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Heaped into shapeless ruin; sands -o’erspread.</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Fields that were Edens; millions -too have shrunk</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> To a few starving hundreds, or have -fled</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> From off the page of being.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="dcap">SIWA lies thickly covered with “the Dust of -History,” and its story is difficult to trace. For certain periods -one is able to collect information on the subject, but during many -centuries nothing is known. Some of the leading sheikhs have in -their possession ancient documents and treaties which have been -handed down through many generations from father to son. There is -also an old Arabic history of Siwa, which appears to have been -written some time during the fifteenth century, kept by the family -whose members have always held a position corresponding to that of -a town clerk, but this old history is so interwoven with curious -legends and fables that it is difficult to separate fact from -fiction. I used to sit in the garden of the old sheikh who owned -the book and listen while he read. He was a venerable but rascally -old fellow in flowing white robes, the green turban of a “Haj,” and -huge horn spectacles. The<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_75">[75]</span> book itself was a muddled collection of loose -sheets of manuscript kept in a leather bag.</p> - -<p>Roughly the history of Siwa can be divided into four periods. -The first, which is also the greatest period, dates from the -foundation of the Temple of Jupiter Ammon. The second period begins -at the Mohammedan invasion in the seventh century <span class= -"sc2">A.D.</span> The third period commences with the subjugation -of Siwa by Mohammed Ali, early in the nineteenth century; and the -fourth and last period is the history of Siwa during the Great -War.</p> - -<h3><a id="c03s1"></a>(1)</h3> - -<p class="sch3">FIRST PERIOD</p> - -<p class="sch2">The Temple of Jupiter Ammon</p> - -<p>According to the late Professor Maspero, the great authority on -Egyptian antiquities, the oasis of Siwa was not connected with -Egypt until about the sixteenth century <span class= -"sc2">B.C.</span> In about 1175 <span class="sc2">B.C.</span> the -Egyptian oases, of which Siwa is one, were colonized by Rameses -III, but very little authentic information is available on the -history of Siwa until it came definitely under the influence of -Egypt in the sixth century <span class="sc2">B.C.</span> Mr. Oric -Bates, in his exhaustive work, <em>The Eastern Libyans</em>, states -that the original deity of the oasis was a sun god, a protector of -flocks, probably with the form of a bull. The African poet -Coreippus, mentions a ram-headed Libyan divinity<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span> called Gurzil who was -represented as being the offspring of the original prophetic God of -Siwa. His priests fought in battles, and the emblem of the god was -carried by the Libyans in the fray. A sacred stone at Siwa is -referred to by Pliny, which when touched by an irreverent hand -stirred at once a strong and harmful sand-wind. The theory of sun -worship, and the idea of an evil wind directed by some spirit in a -stone is substantiated by the local customs and legends which are -prevalent in Siwa at the present time.</p> - -<p>It is certain that when the Egyptians occupied Siwa, in about -550 <span class="sc2">B.C.</span>, according to Mr. Bates, they -discovered a local Libyan god firmly established and supported by a -powerful but barbarous cult. So great was its reputation that King -Crœsus of Lydia travelled to Siwa and consulted the oracle a little -before, or at the time of, the Egyptian occupation. The Egyptians -identified the local god of the oasis with their own Ammon. In the -fourth century <span class="sc2">B.C.</span> the god Ammon, of the -Ammonians, for this was the name by which the people of Siwa were -now known, had become one of the most famous oracles of the ancient -world. At the time when the Egyptians recognized and worshipped the -god of the oasis, a number of stories became prevalent, tending to -prove that the deity at Siwa originated from the Ammon of Thebes, -and one legend even went so far as to assert that the Ammon of -Thebes was himself originally a Libyan herdsman who was deified by -Dionysius. The following are some of the many legends -which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span> relate the -origin of the Siwan god, and which suggest its connection with the -Theban Ammon.</p> - -<p>Herodotus, in whose works there are frequent allusions to the -Ammonians, describes the inhabitants of the oasis of Ammon as being -colonists from Egypt and Ethiopia, speaking a mixed language, and -calling themselves Ammonians, owing to the Egyptians worshipping -Jupiter under the name of Ammon. He relates that the colonists -instituted an oracle in imitation of the famous one on the Isle of -Meroë, and mentions the following account of its origin. Two black -girls who served in the Temple of Jupiter Ammon at Thebes were -carried away by Phœnician merchants. One of them was taken to -Greece, where she afterwards founded the Temple of Dodona, which -became a well-known oracle; the other was sold into Libya and -eventually arrived at the kingdom of the Ammonians. Owing to her -strange language, which resembled “the twittering of a bird,” she -was supposed by the inhabitants to possess supernatural qualities; -her reputation increased, and her utterances came to be regarded as -the words of an oracle. There is a different version of the same -fable in which the girls are represented as two black doves, one -flying to Greece, the other to Libya.</p> - -<p>According to Diodorus Siculus the Temple of Jupiter Ammon was -built as far back as 1385 <span class="sc2">B.C.</span>, by Danaus -the Egyptian. Rollins, in his <em>History of the Ancient -World</em>, names Ham, the son of Noah, as the deity in whose -honour the temple was built by<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_78">[78]</span> the Ammonians. Another legend tells that -Dionysius was lost in the desert on one of his fantastic -expeditions and nearly died from thirst when suddenly a ram -appeared, which led the party to a bubbling spring. They built a -temple on the spot, in gratitude, and ornamented it with -representations of a ram’s head. It is interesting to compare this -story with one of the legends written in the Arabic history of -Siwa. A Siwan, journeying in the desert, was led by a ram to a -mysterious city where he found an avenue of black stone lions. He -returned home, and set out again at a later date, meaning to -rediscover the place, but he never found it again. In both cases it -is a ram that led the way, and the god of Siwa is represented as -having a ram’s head.</p> - -<p>The temple, whose ruins are to be seen at the village of -Aghourmi, near Siwa, was built probably during the sixth century -<span class="sc2">B.C.</span> The date is decided by the style of -its architecture. This temple was known to the Egyptians as “Sakhit -Amouou,” the “Field of Palms,” owing to its situation among groves -of palm trees. It is evident that at this time Siwa was the -principal island in a desert archipelago consisting of several -oases, most of which are now uninhabited, obeying a common king and -owing their prosperity to the great temple of the oracle. Such a -cluster of islands would invest the dynasty to which King Clearchus -and King Lybis belonged with considerable importance. Herodotus -tells how certain Cyrenians held a conversation with Clearchus, -King of the Ammonians, who told them that a party<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span> of young men had set off on an -expedition from his country to the west, through a wild region full -of savage animals, eventually arriving at a great river where they -found a race of small black men. They supposed this river to be a -branch or tributary of the Nile, but it was actually the river -Niger. Thus it is shown that at this period Siwa was an independent -monarchy. The Ammonians lived under the rule of their own kings and -priests, and chieftainship was associated with priesthood. Silius -Italicus describes the warrior priest Nabis, an Ammonian chief, -“fearless and splendidly armed,” riding in the army of -Hannibal.</p> - -<p>Another early visitor to the oasis was Lysander the Spartan. -Being disappointed by the oracle of Dodona he travelled to Siwa, -under colour of making a vow at the temple, but hoping to bribe the -priests to his interests. Notwithstanding “the fullness of his -purse” and the great friendship between his father and Lybis, King -of the Ammonians, he was totally unsuccessful, and the priests sent -ambassadors to Sparta accusing Lysander of attempting to bribe the -holy oracle. But “he so subtly managed his defence that he got off -clear.” The Greeks held the oracle of Ammon in great veneration. -The Athenians kept a special galley in which they conveyed -questions across the sea to Libya. Mersa Matruh, sometimes called -Ammonia, was the port for Siwa, and it was here that the -ambassadors and visitors disembarked and started on their desert -journey to the oasis. The poet Pindar dedicated an ode to Jupiter -Ammon,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span> which was -preserved under the altar of the temple for some six hundred years; -and the sculptor Calamis set up a statue to the god of the -Ammonians in the Temple of Thebes at Karnak.</p> - -<p>In 525 <span class="sc2">B.C.</span>, Cambyses, wishing to -consolidate his newly acquired dominions in Northern Africa, -dispatched two expeditions, one against Carthage, the other into -Ethiopia. He made Memphis his base of operations and sent 50,000 -men as an advance party to occupy the oasis of Ammon. His generals -had orders to rob and burn the temple, make captives of the people -and to prepare halting-places for the bulk of the army. They passed -the oasis of Khargeh and proceeded north-west. But the whole army -was lost in the sea of desert that lies between Siwa and Khargeh. -The Ammonians, on inquiries being made, reported that the army was -overwhelmed by a violent sand-storm during a midday halt. But it is -more probable that they lost their way during one of the periodical -sand-storms which are so prevalent in this desert region, and were -overcome by thirst in the waterless, trackless desert. There was no -further news; they never reached the temple, and not one of the -soldiers returned to Egypt. This huge army still lies buried -somewhere in that torrid waste, and perhaps some fortunate -traveller may at a future date stumble unawares on the remains of -the once mighty host. In the old Arabic history there are two other -stories of armies that were lost in the desert. In one case it was -a Siwan army which opposed the<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_81">[81]</span> Mohammedan invaders, and in the other case an -army of raiders from Tebu were lost on their way to attack the -oasis.</p> - -<p>In 500 <span class="sc2">B.C.</span>, Siwa and the other oases -were subjected to Persia, and in the following year Cimon, the -celebrated Athenian general, sent a secret embassy to the oracle -while he was besieging Citium in Cyprus. The deputation was greeted -by the oracle with the words, “Cimon is already with me,” and on -their return it was found that Cimon had himself perished in -battle. The foretelling of Cimon’s death augmented considerably the -reputation of the oracle.</p> - -<p>Oracles were most frequently situated in the vicinity of some -natural phenomena; this at Siwa consisted of a sacred spring known -as “Fons Solis,” the “Fountain of the Sun,” which by its -strangeness contributed to the divine qualities of the temple. Very -probably it was the “Ein el Hammam” which lies about a quarter of a -mile south of the temple ruins and is to-day one of the largest and -most beautiful springs in the oasis. Ancient writers describe its -waters as being warm in the morning, cold at noon and boiling hot -at midnight. Blind, black fish lived in the pool, according to the -Arabic history, which was connected with the rites of the temple. -The water to-day is a trifle warmer than most of the springs, and -for that reason it is the favourite bathing-place of the -inhabitants of Aghourmi. I have stood by the spring at midnight and -tested its warmth, but it seemed in no way to<span class="pagenum" -id="Page_82">[82]</span> differ from the other springs, except that -it was a very little warmer.</p> - -<p>There are many contemporary descriptions of the actual temple, -and antiquarians have from time to time disputed as to its original -size and form. It appears to have consisted of a main building, or -sanctuary, surrounded by triple walls which enclosed the -dwelling-places of the king, priests and the guards, standing on a -rocky eminence among the palm groves. A smaller temple stood a few -hundred yards south of the acropolis. The rock on which the village -of Aghourmi now stands was evidently the site of the original -temple and fortress, and the ruins below the village, known as “Omm -Beyda,” are those of the minor temple. The two temples were -connected by an underground passage.</p> - -<p>The old history of Siwa gives a detailed description of the -court of the king. The following is a rough translation. “At one -period Siwa ranked among the important towns of the Egyptian -sovereigns. It was ruled by a king called Meneclush who built a -town and cultivated the land. He made the men drill and inaugurated -a seven days’ feast in commemoration of his succession. The people -of King Meneclush dressed richly and wore golden ornaments. The -king lived in a stone and granite palace, and assembled his people -in a great square which had four different courts, and in each -court there was a statue which caught the sun at different times of -the day, and when the sun shone upon the statues they spoke. When -the people assembled<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span> -they stood on seven steps. On the highest step sat the king, below, -in succession, the king’s family, priests, astrologers and -magicians, generals and courtiers, architects, soldiers, and, -below, the people. Each step was inscribed with these words, ‘Look -down, not towards the step above, lest ye become proud’—thus -inculcating the principle of modesty. The king lived in a palace -called Kreibein, inside the walls. In those days there were many -buildings in Siwa, spreading from Omm Beyda to Gebel Dakrour. King -Meneclush was stabbed by a girl and is buried, with his horse, in -the Khazeena, underneath Aghourmi. . . . At a later period Siwa was -divided into two parts ruled by two princes called Ferik and Ibrik. -Afterwards a queen called Khamissa ruled in Siwa and gave her name -to the square hill at the end of the Western lake.”</p> - -<p>Much of the history is missing, and at times it plunges into -descriptions of neighbouring countries, but it is interesting to -find mention of “statues that speak” when touched by the sun.</p> - -<p>As recently as 1837 there was a considerable portion of the -smaller temple standing. Travellers described the roof, made of -massive blocks of stone, the coloured ceilings, and the walls -covered with hieroglyphics and sculptured figures. But the -depredations of Arab treasure hunters, and a Turkish Governor who -committed an unpardonable vandalism by blowing up the temple with -gunpowder in order to obtain stone for building an office, have -reduced the once imposing building to a single<span class="pagenum" -id="Page_84">[84]</span> ruined pylon, or gateway, which towers -above the surrounding gardens, a pathetic reminder of its former -grandeur. This solitary ruin, and two massive stone gateways almost -hidden by mud buildings in the middle of the village of Aghourmi, -is all that remains of the temple that was once famous throughout -the world. In a way the ruins are symbolic of Siwa which was once a -powerful dominion, but is now nothing more than a wretched desert -station with three or four thousand degenerate inhabitants.</p> - -<p>In 331 <span class="sc2">B.C.</span> the fame of the oracle -reached its zenith, owing to Alexander the Great visiting it after -having settled his affairs in Egypt. The visit to the famous oracle -was undertaken in order to inquire into the mysterious origin of -his birth. Probably at the same time Alexander wished to emulate -the deeds of Hercules, from whom he claimed descent, and who was -supposed during his wanderings to have visited the oasis. He -marched along the coast to Parætonium—Matruh—where he was met by -ambassadors from Cyrene, a wealthy city on the coast some 400 miles -further west, who presented him gifts of chariots and war horses. -He then turned south across the desert into a region “where there -was nothing but heaps of sand.” After journeying four days the -water supply, carried in skins, gave out, and the army was in -danger of perishing from thirst when, by a fortunate chance, or by -the direct interposition of the gods, the sky became black with -clouds, rain fell, and by this miraculous means the army was -preserved from destruction.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span>A little later the -expedition lost its way, and after wandering for miles was saved by -the appearance of a number of ravens who, flying before the army, -guided them eventually to the temple. They found the oasis “full of -pleasant fountains, watered with running streams, richly planted -with all sorts of trees bearing fruit, surrounded by a vast dry and -sandy desert, waste and untilled . . . the temperature of the air -was like spring, yet all the place around it was dry and scorching -. . . a most healthful climate.” Alexander was received by the -oracle with divine honours, and returned to Egypt satisfied that he -was indeed the authentic son of Zeus. As the son of the god he -became a legitimate Pharoah, and adopted the pschent crown and its -accompanying rites.</p> - -<p>About this time various nations applied to the oracle for -permission to deify their rulers, and on the death of his friend -Hephistion, Alexander dispatched another embassy asking that -Hephistion might be ranked as a hero. When Alexander died, in 323 -<span class="sc2">B.C.</span>, it was suggested that he should be -buried at Siwa. However, the suggestion was not carried out and he -was buried at Alexandria, the city to which he gave his name. One -of the hills in the desert near Siwa is still called “Gebel -Sekunder,” and tradition has it that from this hill Alexander saw -the ravens which led him to the temple.</p> - -<p>The ritual of the temple was somewhat similar to several other -oracular temples. The actual oracle was made in human figure, with -a ram’s head, richly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span> -ornamented with emeralds and other precious stones. The figure of -the god appears to have been shown as though wrapped for burial, -and this dead god, who was a god of prophecy, may possibly have set -the fashion of menes-worship which one still sees in Siwa when -natives resort to the graves of their ancestors in order to learn -the future. When a distinguished pilgrim arrived for a consultation -the symbol of the god was brought up from the inmost sanctuary of -the temple and carried on a golden barque, hung with votive cups of -silver, followed by a procession of eighty priests and many singing -girls, “who chanted uncouth songs after the manner of their -country,” in order to propitiate the deity and induce him to return -a satisfactory answer. The god directed the priests who carried the -barque which way they should proceed, and spoke by tremulous -shocks, communicated to the bearers, and by movements of the head -and body, which were interpreted by the priests.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw5"> -<figure id="i09"><img src='images/i09.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">RUINS OF “OMM BEYDA” THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER AMMON</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p>Those spaces among the palm groves at Aghourmi must have -witnessed in ancient days many a splendid spectacle. One can -imagine the magnificent ceremonies and the awe-inspiring rites -which were solemnized among the shady vistas of tall palm trees, in -the shadow of the great temple on the rock, the processions of -chanting priests, the savage music of conches and cymbals, and the -gorgeous caravans of Eastern monarchs, carrying offerings of -fabulous treasure to lay before the mystic oracle of the oasis, -whose infallible answers were regarded by the whole<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span> world with profound respect. In -those days caravans from the West, and from the savage countries of -the Sudan, brought slaves and merchandize to Siwa, and the -barbarian followers of African chieftains mingled with the -courtiers of Eastern potentates, and gazed with awe on the -white-robed priests and the troops of pale singing girls. To-day -the people of Aghourmi build their fires against the great -crumbling archways that gave access to the holiest altar of -Ammonium, and shepherds graze their flocks among the ruins of the -smaller temple.</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="line indent0">“The Oracles are dumb</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> No voice or hideous hum</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Runs through the arched roof in -words deceiving.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Towards the end of the third century <span class= -"sc2">B.C.</span> the fame of the oracle declined, although, -according to Juvenal, the answers of Ammon were esteemed in the -solution of difficult problems until long after the cessation of -the oracle at Delphi. But in the second century <span class= -"sc2">B.C.</span> the oracle was almost extinct. Strabo, writing -when its fame was on the wane, advances a theory in his -<em>Geography</em> that the Temple of Ammon was originally close to -the sea. He bases his argument on the existence of large salt lakes -at Siwa and the quantities of shells which are to be found near the -temple. He considers that Siwa would never have become so -illustrious, or possessed with such credit as it once enjoyed, if -it had always been such a distance from the coast, therefore the -land between Siwa and the sea must have been created<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span> comparatively recently by -deposits from the ocean. Undoubtedly at some remote period the -whole of the northern part of the Libyan Desert was under the sea, -but there is nothing to prove that even then Siwa was a coast town, -because one finds shells and fossils, such as Strabo mentions, over -a hundred miles south of Siwa.</p> - -<p>The Romans neglected Oriental oracles, especially those of -Ammon. They preferred the auguries of birds, the inspection of -victims and the warnings of heaven to the longer process of -oracular consultation. In the reign of Augustus, Siwa had become a -place of banishment for political criminals. Timasius, an eminent -general, was sent there in <span class="sc2">A.D.</span> 396 and -Athanasius addresses several letters to his disciples who were -banished to the oases, “a place unfrequented and inspiring horror.” -The French poet Fénelon, in his play, <em>The Adventures of -Telemachus</em>, makes the mistake of describing Siwa as a place -where one sees “snow that never melts, making an endless winter on -the mountain tops.”</p> - -<p>Somewhere about the fourth century Christianity penetrated to -Siwa, and the ruins of a church, or monastery, built probably at -this time, where one can still distinguish the Coptic cross carved -in stone, are visible at Biled el Roumi, near Khamissa. The ruin is -described in the Arabic history as the place where “bad people” -lived. But apparently Christianity was never embraced with much -zeal. During the Berber uprisings in the sixth century Siwa -relapsed into barbarism, and the Siwans probably<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span> took part with the Berbers in -their struggles against the Byzantine rule which flourished on the -coast. Early in the seventh century, when the Arab army invaded -Egypt, the inland country west of Egypt was practically -independent, the Berber tribes having won back their freedom.</p> - -<h3><a id="c03s2"></a>(2)</h3> - -<p class="sch3">SECOND PERIOD</p> - -<p class="sch2">Mediæval Siwa</p> - -<p>The second period of Siwa’s history is the most difficult to -trace, especially with regard to the fixing of definite dates. One -has to depend on the Arabic history at Siwa, and occasional highly -coloured references to the oasis by the Arab historians and -geographers. Siwa was known to the Arab writers as “Schantaria,” or -“Santrieh,” spelt in various ways, which at a later date became -“Siouah,” and finally “Siwa.”</p> - -<p>In 640 Egypt was invaded by a Mohammedan army commanded by -Amrou, who seized the country from the feeble grasp of the -representatives of Heraclius. The tide of conquest swept west along -the northern coast of Africa. The disunion of the Berber tribes -made the conquest of the country more easy for the host of Islam. -Fugitives from the Arabs fled inland to the remote places such as -the oases, and it was not until several centuries later that the -Arabs<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span> established -their religion in Siwa. According to the Arabic history when Egypt -was invaded by the Mohammedans the Siwans sent an army to help -repel the enemy, but this army, like many others, was lost in the -desert.</p> - -<p>Mohammed Ben Ayas, an Arab historian who wrote in 1637, gives an -account of the mysterious country of “Santarieh,” and describes how -Moussa Ibn Nosseir was repulsed from its gates. In 708 Moussa -attempted to reduce Siwa. He crossed the desert from Egypt in seven -days. On arrival he found that all the Siwans had retired into -their fortified town, which was surrounded by enormously high -walls, with four iron gates. Finding it impossible to force an -entrance he ordered his men to scale the walls and see what lay on -the other side. With the aid of ladders they managed to reach the -battlements, but each man who scaled the wall immediately -disappeared over the other side and was never seen again. Moussa -was so discouraged by this that he renounced his project and -returned to Egypt, having lost a large number of soldiers. In 710 -Tharic Ben Sayed, another Arab general, was also repulsed.</p> - -<p>The mediæval Arab writers have many stories to tell of the -strange things at Siwa. Among the wonders of the country was a -magic lake over which no bird could fly without falling in, and it -could only escape from the water if drawn out by a human hand. The -four gates of the town were surmounted by four brass statues. When -a stranger entered the gates a<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_91">[91]</span> deep sleep fell upon him, and he remained in -this state until one of the inhabitants came and blew upon his -face. Without this attention he lay unconscious at the foot of the -statue until death claimed him. There was a sacred stone in the -town which was called “The Lover,” because of its strange power of -attracting men. It drew them towards itself, and then when they -touched it their limbs stuck to the stone. Struggles were of no -avail, their only release was death. The neighbouring country was -full of wild beasts, and serpents of prodigious length, with bodies -as thick as palm trunks, dwelt among the hills and devoured sheep, -cattle and human beings. Another species was particularly fond of -eating camels. In one of the gardens there flourished a marvellous -orange tree which bore 14,000 oranges, not including those that -fell to the ground, every year. The author who mentions this tree -asserts that he saw it himself!</p> - -<p>All the Arab writers mention the mines at Siwa. Among the -mountains that enclose the oasis people found iron, lapis lazulis -and emeralds, which they sold in Egypt. They also exported the salt -which they picked up on the ground, and obtained barley from Egypt -in exchange. The only manufactures were leather carpets of great -beauty, which were much prized by Egyptians.</p> - -<p>The inhabitants of Siwa were Berbers; they worked naked in their -gardens; the country was independent, thinly populated and showed -signs of a former civilization. A strange breed of -savage<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span> donkey, -striped black and white—zebras—lived in the oasis. These animals -allowed no one to mount them, and when taken to Egypt they died at -once.</p> - -<p>People used to find enchanted cities in the desert near Siwa, -but latterly they have disappeared and their positions are now only -marked by mounds of sand. Abdel Melik, Ibn Merouan, made an -excursion from Egypt into the desert near Siwa, where he discovered -a ruined city and a tree that bore every known fruit. He gathered -some fruit and returned to Fostat—Cairo. A Copt told him that this -city contained much treasure, so he sent out the Copt with a number -of men provisioned for thirty days to rediscover the place, but -they failed to find it. On another occasion an Arab was journeying -near Siwa and suddenly saw a loaded camel disappear into a deep, -rocky valley in the middle of the desert. He followed it and -arrived at an oasis watered by a spring where there were people -cultivating the land. They had never seen a stranger before. He -returned to Egypt and reported the matter to the collector of -taxes, who immediately sent out men to visit this oasis, but, as -usual, they never found it.</p> - -<p>There are innumerable stories of hidden cities in the desert -near Siwa. This idea, and that of buried treasure, appeals strongly -to an Oriental mind. Siwa itself, owing to its history, probably -does contain a great deal that could be advantageously excavated. -It is a field that would yield many treasures, as up to now no -really thorough work has been carried out, though various people -who have happened to be<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_93">[93]</span> there have “done a little digging.” The -ex-Khedive spent some money in uncovering some old ruins near one -of the lakes, but really there is a great deal that has never been -touched. Labour, and the difficulty of reaching Siwa, are the most -formidable obstacles to any excavating projects.</p> - -<p>It is interesting to note that nearly all the mediæval Arab -historians mention the emerald mines at Siwa, and in these days the -natives still hold a belief in their existence. In the time of the -Temple of Jupiter Ammon the figure of the god was decorated with -emeralds, which were probably found in the country. According to a -Siwan tradition there exists a cave in the hill called Gebel -Dakrour, south of Aghourmi, which contains precious stones. But its -entrance is guarded by a jinn, who makes it invisible except to a -person who has drunk from the water of a certain spring among the -sand-dunes south of Siwa. The spring is unknown in these days, but -I have seen it marked on an old map of the desert. Possibly some of -the peculiar shafts that pierce the hills round Siwa are the -remains of old mines; it is difficult to imagine what else they -could be.</p> - -<p>In 1048 the tribes of Hilal and Ben Soleim, who had been -transported from Arabia as a punishment, and were living in the -country between the Nile and the Red Sea, were given permission to -cross the Nile and advance into Tripoli. Some 200,000 of them -hastened like hungry wolves with their wives and families from -Egypt to the west. They overran Tripoli and pushed on towards the -shores of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span> -Atlantic. It was some of these colonists who eventually forced Siwa -to accept the Mohammedan rule, and by 1100, according to the Arab -historians, the Koran flourished within the precincts of the Temple -of Ammon. From that date onwards Siwa has been fanatically -Mohammedan. The Siwans were not swept into oblivion by this great -Arab invasion; apparently only a very few Arabs remained in the -oasis, and very shortly they themselves became indistinguishable -from the Siwans. From this time the Berbers, as a nation, ceased to -exist, but they remained Berbers, not Arabs, and in a few -out-of-the-way places, such as Siwa, they retained much of their -original language.</p> - -<p>The history at Siwa tells how one Rashwan was King of Siwa when -the Mohammedan army arrived, commanded by the Prophet’s khalifa. -Rashwan summoned his priests and magicians and consulted them as to -how the enemy were to be repelled. Acting on their advice he -removed all the bodies from “Gebel Muta,” a hill near Siwa which is -honeycombed with rock tombs, and cast them into the springs in -order to poison the enemy. Then he retired into the town, depending -on the wells inside the walls. The Mohammedan army arrived, but the -water of the springs did them no harm. They stormed the town and -captured it after a strenuous fight; Rashwan was killed, and the -inhabitants embraced the faith of Islam at the sword’s point.</p> - -<p>During the period that followed the Arab invasion very little is -known of Siwa. The oasis was inhabited<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_95">[95]</span> by a mixture of Berbers and Arabs, the -Berbers predominating. Occasional caravans of slave-traders passed -northwards along the main desert routes, and some of the slaves, -having been bought by the Siwans, remained in the oasis and -intermarried with the inhabitants. The Siwans, diminished in -numbers and in power, began to suffer from raids by the Arabs from -the west and from the coast.</p> - -<p>According to the old history, which is preserved at Siwa, there -was another small incursion from the east at a later date. About -the middle of the fifteenth century there was a great plague which -carried off a number of Siwans. A certain devout man in Egypt -dreamed that the ground at Siwa was very rich. He came to the oasis -and settled there, planting a special kind of date palm which he -brought from Upper Egypt; he also grew dates for the -“Wakf”—religious foundation—of the Prophet, which custom still -continues. Later he made the pilgrimage and described the country -of Siwa to the people of Mecca, who had never heard of it. They did -him great honour. He returned to Siwa accompanied by thirty men, -Berbers and Arabs, who settled in Siwa. They built an olive press -in the centre of the high town and inscribed their names thereon. -From these men, and their Siwan wives, certain of the present -inhabitants are descended, and some Siwans boast to-day that their -forebears came with “The Thirty” whose names were inscribed on the -old olive press. “The Thirty” occupied the western part of -the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span> town, and the -original Siwans remained in the eastern quarter and in the village -of Aghourmi. Later the Siwans elected a council and chose a -“Kadi”—judge—who drew up a code of laws.</p> - -<p>Under this government the population increased and the people -flourished again; they treated travellers well, especially pilgrims -from the west on their way to Mecca. The people of Tripoli came to -hear of them, and they made an alliance together. Siwa became a -“Zawia”—religious dependency—of Tripoli, and the Siwans fought in -the army of Tripoli. Siwa once more became a market for slaves and -a halting-place for the caravans from the south and the west. -Slaves came in great numbers from Wadai and the Sudan, via Kufra, -Jalo and Jerabub. Egyptian merchants came to Siwa bringing -merchandise, and returned to Egypt with slaves and dates. From the -Sudan came ivory, gold, leather and ostrich feathers.</p> - -<p>During the time of Sidi Suliman, a very devout Kadi, the savage -people of Tebu, in the south, made constant raids upon Siwa, and -troubled the people greatly. On one occasion it was known that a -large army of the enemy were advancing on the oasis. The venerable -judge offered up prayers for help against the enemy, and every man -in Siwa went to the mosques. As a consequence the whole army was -buried in the sand and the road they came by was blotted out. Sidi -Suliman encouraged his people to show hospitality to strangers, but -some years after his death the people, forgetting his -injunctions,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span> drove -away from the gates some poor Arab pilgrims who sought their -hospitality. It is said that the door of Sidi Suliman’s tomb -miraculously closed, marking the strong displeasure of the saint, -nor did it open until the Arabs had been brought in and hospitably -entertained. According to another legend Sidi Suliman, whilst -walking near the town, suddenly became thirsty. There was no water -at hand so he struck the ground seven times with his staff, and -fresh water gushed forth, which flows in that place to-day. Before -Sidi Suliman was born his mother felt a frantic desire to eat some -fish. There was none in the town, and the sea lay 200 miles -distant. The woman seemed on the point of death. Suddenly a pigeon -flew through the open window of her room and deposited a large fish -on the floor. She ate the fish, recovered, and Sidi Suliman was -born. For this reason all Siwan women eat fish when they are -pregnant, hoping that their offspring may be such another as Sidi -Suliman. These, and many other legends, are told of Sidi Suliman, -who has become the most venerated patron sheikh of the Siwans.</p> - -<p>The system of living in Siwa in those days was very curious. The -high town existed, with a thin fringe of buildings huddled at the -foot of the walls. None of the suburbs, such as Sebukh or Manshia, -were built. At night all flocks and cattle were driven within the -walls. Married men only, with their wives and families, lived in -the high town. Unmarried men, youths over fifteen years of age -and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span> widowers shaved -their heads, as a distinction, and occupied the houses outside the -walls. The town was one vast harem. After sunset no bachelors were -allowed inside the gates, and any man who divorced his wife was -cast out—until he bought a new one. The bachelors, who were known -as “Zigale,” formed a kind of town guard. On the approach of -strangers they sallied out to meet them and detained them until the -council of sheikhs had decided whether they were to be permitted to -enter the town. Strangers were almost always accommodated outside -the walls. There was one family of Siwans who were always -interpreters, for in those days, unlike to-day, hardly any of the -natives spoke any language but their own. The council of sheikhs -met in a room close to the main gate of the town, and near it there -was a deep, dark pit which served as a prison.</p> - -<p>After Sidi Suliman a number of other kadis ruled in the oasis. -One of them was called Hassan Mitnana, and during his lifetime a -great quarrel arose between the eastern and western factions of the -town. This began in about the year 1700. The dispute originated -about a road which divides the town into two parts. A family on the -eastern side wished to enlarge their house by building out into the -street. Their opposite neighbours objected to the public -thoroughfare being narrowed merely in order to enlarge a private -dwelling-place. There was a dispute, a quarrel, and a fight in -which the two sides of the street took part. One side called -themselves “Sherkyn”—the Easterners—and the other<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span> side called themselves -“Gharbyn”—the Westerners. The whole population took up the quarrel, -which developed into a permanent civil war. At times it died down -and seemed on the point of extinction, then, quite suddenly, it -flamed up, ending in pitched battles in the space before the town, -where the casualties were often very severe considering the -smallness of the population.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw7"> -<figure id="i10"><img src='images/i10.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">THE CITADEL AND THE MOSQUE OF EL ATIK</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p>Before the days of gunpowder these battles were fought in an -open space below the walls of the town. On an appointed day the two -opposing armies faced one another. The men stood in front, armed -with swords and spears, the women collected behind the men, -carrying bags full of stones which they hurled at the enemy, or at -anyone on their own side who showed signs of cowardice. Platoons, -each of a few dozen men, advanced in turn and fought in the space -midway between the two armies, then gradually the whole of both -forces became engaged. The women displayed great fierceness; they -often joined in the fray, beating out the life from any of their -enemies who they found lying wounded, with sharp stones. It seems -amazing that, notwithstanding these frequent battles, the Siwans -managed to live in such a confined space, so close together.</p> - -<p>It is only during the last few years of peaceful government, -since the war, that the violent animosity between the two parties -has died down. A few families of opposing parties have -intermarried, but even now one rarely meets a western sheikh -in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span> the eastern -quarter, or vice versa. Both quarters are entirely self-supporting. -They have their own wells, olive presses, mosques and date -markets.</p> - -<p>At the time of writing I hear from Siwa that a few months after -I left there was another outbreak between east and west. Some -eastern men were riding home from their gardens, excited by -“lubki”—palm wine. They rode through the streets of the western -quarter, shouting and singing. The western people took this as an -insult and attacked them. In ten minutes 800 men had collected in -the square, the east and the west facing each other. A fierce fight -began, but fortunately, as the men were only armed with sticks and -tools, there were no fatal injuries. The local police and the mamur -were unable to do anything, and the Egyptian officials retired to -the Markaz—Government Office. A few minutes later the Camel Corps -arrived with fixed bayonets and dispersed the crowd. There were -about fifty cases needing hospital treatment, some of them being -quite severe.</p> - -<p>Such were the lively conditions of internecine warfare when -Browne, the first Englishman to visit Siwa, arrived at the oasis in -1792. He came in disguise with a caravan from Egypt. But against an -infidel, a common foe, the Siwans stood united. Browne’s identity -was discovered; he was received with stones and abuse, roughly -treated, and sent back to Egypt without having seen much of the -oasis. But during his brief stay he formed no favourable opinion of -the people. They were notorious for<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_101">[101]</span> their monstrous arrogance, intense bigotry -and gross immorality.</p> - -<p>Six years later Hornemann, of the African Association, arrived -at Siwa, travelling in the guise of a young mameluke, with a -pilgrim caravan on its way from Mecca to the kingdom of Fezzan. He -described Siwa as a small independent state, acknowledging the -Sultan, but paying no tribute. He estimated the population at 8000 -persons. The Siwans were governed by a council of sheikhs, who held -their meetings and trials in public, and flew to arms on the -slightest provocation when they disagreed. When Hornemann left Siwa -he was followed by the inhabitants who apparently suspected his -identity. “The braying of several hundred asses heralded the -approach of the Siwan Army.” With great difficulty he persuaded the -sheikhs that his passport from Napoleon Buonaparte was really a -firman from the Sultan. They finally allowed him to proceed on his -way. He sent his papers to Europe from Tripoli, but he himself -perished while exploring North Africa. It is very curious that most -of the few Europeans who visited Siwa in the eighteenth and -nineteenth centuries were Germans.</p> - -<p>The difficulties that meet a European travelling in the guise of -a Mohammedan are not so formidable as they would appear. Knowledge -of the language would seem to be the greatest stumbling-block. But -in North Africa there are so many dialects, and so many different -pronunciations, that an Arab from one part of the desert would find -it difficult to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span> -understand an Arab from another district, and the difference in the -accent or pronunciation of an Egyptian from Cairo and a European -speaking Arabic, would not be recognized in many of the more remote -districts.</p> - -<h3><a id="c03s3"></a>(3)</h3> - -<p class="sch3">THIRD PERIOD</p> - -<p class="sch2">The Turkish Rule</p> - -<p class="center less spaced2">“A house divided against itself -cannot stand.”</p> - -<p>In the year 1816 there was a great fight between the two -factions, in which the easterners gained the day. Ali Balli, a -western sheikh, went to Egypt and described to the Government the -independent state of Siwa and the condition of anarchy prevalent -there. In 1820 Mohammed Ali invaded the Sudan. In order to protect -his western flank he sent a force of 1300 men, with some cannon, -commanded by Hassein Bey Shemishera, one of his generals, against -the fanatical population of Siwa. They crossed the desert via Wadi -Natrun and the oasis of Gara. A few of the western faction welcomed -the army, but most of the population prepared to fight. After a -desperate battle, lasting for several hours, the Siwans were -severely beaten, and from that date Siwa was permanently secured to -Egypt. The Turks entered the town, seized the principal men, and in -course of time some sixty of the notables were executed -by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span> Hassein Bey, who -punished by death on the least suspicion of rebellion or revolt. A -tribute was imposed on Siwa, and Sheikh Ali Balli was made omda, -supported by the Turks. After some time Hassein Bey and the army -returned to Egypt. The Siwans promptly refused to pay tribute, so -in 1827 Hassein Bey returned with a force of 800 men, occupied the -town after a brief contest, executed eighteen of the notables, -confiscated their property, but paid the widows of the unfortunate -men ten pounds each as full compensation for the life of a Siwan -notable. He also banished twenty of the sheikhs, increased the -tribute, and appointed a Turkish officer as Governor of Siwa, with -a small force. Under Hassein Bey the Siwans suffered considerably. -He seized their money, slaves, dates and silver ornaments, which he -sent to his home in Egypt. He built the first “Markaz”—Government -Office—whose ruins stand behind the Kasr Hassuna, the present -District Officer’s house, where I lived.</p> - -<p>During the nineteenth century several Europeans visited Siwa, -but they met with no encouragement and were in most cases badly -treated. One of them, Butin, a French colonel, carried on his -camels a collapsible boat in which he hoped to reach the island on -the salt lake of Arashieh, which according to legends contained -fabulous treasure and the sword and seal of Mohammed. He managed to -bring the boat to Siwa, but the natives refused to let him embark. -These early travellers all mention the<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_104">[104]</span> subterranean passages connecting Aghourmi -and Omm Beyda, also between Siwa town and the Hill of the Dead. The -natives described these passages as having “biute”—houses—or -possibly burying spaces, opening out on either side. The entrances -have now in all cases been blocked up by stones and rubbish, but -with a little labour they could easily be excavated. Several old -men in Siwa know the exact position of the entrances to these -passages, which I have seen myself.</p> - -<p>The successor of Hassein Bey was Farag Kashif, who built a -causeway across one of the salt lakes, making each family work on -it in turn. It is a useful piece of work, a narrow path, wide -enough for two camels to pass abreast, supported by rough stakes -and palm logs, crossing the salt bog which would otherwise be -impassable. Several more mamurs were appointed, but they were mere -figureheads, as all the power lay in the hands of the omda, Ali -Balli. Each year that the taxes were unpaid, and this was frequent, -a punitive expedition arrived from Egypt.</p> - -<p>The omda was hated by most of the Siwans, who held him -responsible for the Turkish occupation, and the years of -oppression. Knowing his unpopularity he never left his house after -sunset. Certain of the eastern sheikhs bribed two young western men -to lure him from his house at night. They persuaded him to come to -Mesamia, a narrow tunnel in the western quarter, and there they -stabbed him to death. Yousif Ali, the omda’s son, demanded blood -money, or the surrender of his father’s murderers, but -the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span> eastern sheikhs -refused and secretly sent the men to Derna. Then followed a few -years with neither omda nor mamur, and a government, of sorts, by a -council of sheikhs.</p> - -<p>Yousif Ali was a clever, ambitious man. Bayle St. John, who -visited Siwa in 1849, described him as “a broad, pale-faced man, -with a sly, good-humoured expression, of ambitious character, with -speech full of elegant compliments.” He wore a tarbouch, a white -burnous and carried a blunderbuss. Except for the blunderbuss the -description would suit several of the present-day Siwan notables. -For seven years he went every winter to Cairo, trying to persuade -the Government to make him omda in place of his father. He earned -the nickname of “The Schemer.” He spent a great deal of money on -bribes in Egypt, but was always unsuccessful.</p> - -<p>In the year 1852 Hamilton, an English traveller, came to Siwa on -his way back to Egypt, after journeying in Tripoli and North -Africa. In his <em>Wanderings in North Africa</em> he devotes -several pages to his experiences in Siwa. The following version of -what happened to him is told there now by the Siwans. He pitched -his camp near the Markaz, half a mile south of the town. The Siwans -bitterly resented any European visitors, so Yousif Ali, knowing -this, collected the fighting men and deliberately inflamed their -anger against the stranger who had come to spy out their land; he -urged them that it was their duty to kill the “Unbeliever,” so they -determined to make a night attack on Hamilton’s camp. -Then<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span> Yousif Ali -secretly warned Hamilton of the intended attack, and persuaded him -to take shelter in his house. Hamilton left his tents standing -empty, and during the night the “Zigale”—fighting men—opened fire -on them, but the Englishman was safely lodged in Yousif Ali’s -house. Thus Yousif Ali gained credit for having saved Hamilton from -the attack which he himself had instigated. This is a -characteristic example of Siwan diplomacy.</p> - -<p>After the attack the Siwans refused to let Hamilton leave the -town, and for six weeks he was practically a prisoner in a little -house adjoining that of Yousif Ali. During this time the people -amused themselves by shooting and throwing stones at his windows, -and collecting in crowds to stare and jeer at the -“Nosrani”—Christian. Matters became worse and the most fanatical -sheikhs on the town council advocated his execution. With great -difficulty he managed to send two letters, by slaves, to the -Viceroy of Egypt; but he spent an anxious time as the days passed -and no answer came. The Siwans found out about the letters, and as -time passed and it became more and more probable that the -messengers were lost, so the people became more and more insolent. -Some of the sheikhs offered to lend him camels to escape from the -town, on the condition that he first wrote to the Viceroy saying -that he had been well treated. They intended to murder him as soon -as he left the town, and to secure his baggage for themselves, but -he discovered the plot and refused to leave.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span>One day an -abnormally hot wind rose from the south and blew with great -violence for three days. This was taken as a serious omen of coming -disaster. The idea that a sudden violent wind, stirred by an evil -“jinn,” foreshadows a catastrophe, is implicitly believed by the -Siwans and by all Berbers. A number of Siwans who had been most -aggressive hurriedly left the town, and the remainder endeavoured, -to the best of their ability, to conciliate Hamilton. The sheikhs -who had been most vindictive now fawned upon their “guest,” who -became a person to be conciliated instead of a despised Christian. -Evidently they had secret news of the approach of a party of -cavalry from Egypt. On the 14th March, 1852, two sheikhs arrived -and announced the approach of 150 irregular cavalry, who with 14 -officers had been dispatched by the Viceroy to effect his release, -in response to Hamilton’s letter. A week later, with much -“fantasia” and display, the army left Siwa accompanied by Hamilton -and Yousif Ali. The Turkish Commandant, with typically stupid -obstinacy, refused to take any prisoners, but bound over a number -of the sheikhs to appear in Egypt in two months’ time. Needless to -say they failed to appear.</p> - -<p>Shortly after Hamilton arrived in Cairo the Viceroy sent another -expedition of 200 men to bring back a number of Siwan notables to -answer for their conduct. The army reached the oasis and camped at -Ain Megahiz. The Siwans retired into their fortress town. A certain -Arab sheikh, who knew<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_108">[108]</span> Siwa and was with the Turkish expedition, -went down to the town and persuaded forty of the leading men to -come out to the camp and see the Commandant. He successfully -tricked them with a promise of a favourable treaty, and they -believed him. On arrival at the camp they were arrested and thrown -into chains; the army entered the town without opposition, as the -people, having lost their leaders, had no heart to fight. As -before, the Turks spoiled the people, the soldiers robbed the -inhabitants, seized the women, and shot down anyone who opposed -them. Then at last Sheikh Yousif Ali was appointed Omda of Siwa by -the Government of Egypt.</p> - -<p>Some years later, in 1854, Abbas, son of Mohammed Ali, died, and -was succeeded by his son, Said Pasha. The latter, on his accession, -granted an amnesty under which the Siwan notables, who had been -condemned to hard labour and were working as prisoners, were -released. They hurried back to their oasis, eager to be revenged on -Yousif Ali. On arrival they were joined by their slaves and -retainers, but met with considerable opposition from the -westerners. For three days there was sporadic fighting, then they -surrounded the omda’s house. But Yousif Ali had fled to the house -of one of his supporters in the suburb, called Manshiah, and -garrisoned it with his few remaining slaves. His friends among the -western sheikhs deserted him, seeing that popular opinion was -entirely against him. From the house in Manshiah, which is a -miniature fortress, he sent his two young daughters to -bribe<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span> the mamur to -help him. The mamur was the same Arab who had betrayed the forty -sheikhs, and was busy enough looking after himself. The two girls -were caught by the eastern sheikhs. One of them was persuaded to go -back to her father’s house, and at a given signal to let in the -enemy. They surrounded Manshiah and forced an entry to the house. -The slaves stopped fighting and surrendered. Yousif Ali was caught -on the roof, trying to escape; he was dragged down through the -house, out into the street and strangled.</p> - -<p>The news of this outrage reached Egypt, and in 1857 a new mamur -arrived with a detachment of soldiers. The system of two omdas -ruling at once, one eastern and one western, was tried, but found -to be a failure. The force under the mamur was quite inadequate to -collect the taxes or to keep order. The post was an unpopular one, -and was considered, as it is now, a form of exile by the Egyptian -mamurs who detest a place that has not the liveliness and -amusements of Cairo, or a provincial town. All the mamurs at Siwa -used constantly to say to me, “Saire—Siwa ees what you call -exile!”</p> - -<p>There followed in quick succession a series of somewhat -incompetent Turkish mamurs who were in most cases quite powerless -to keep under this turbulent town and population. To add to their -difficulties the power of the Senussi sect was beginning to make -itself firmly felt, and this complicated still more the political -situation in the oasis. The<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_110">[110]</span> Senussi brethren at Jerabub were regarded -by the Siwans as the ultimate arbitrators in any disputes which -arose among the people, thus ignoring the jurisdiction of the -Turkish Government officials. One mamur married, on the day of his -arrival, a girl of the eastern quarter, and oppressed the -westerners to such a degree that they obtained his recall from -Egypt. He was sent back to Egypt, and as he entered the Governor’s -house in Alexandria one of his men stepped forward and shot him. -Another mamur infuriated the people by wishing to demolish the tomb -of Sidi Suliman, in order to build a house on the site. He made all -preparations for the work, but on the night before the building -began he died mysteriously, possibly from poison. Another mamur -imitated the Siwans in every way—eating, dressing and speaking as -one. He kept his position for fourteen years, becoming very popular -on account of the interest he took in the well-being of the people. -But few of the mamurs were liked; they generally sided definitely -with one faction or the other, which resulted in intrigue against -them by the opposite faction, who tried to procure their -dismissal.</p> - -<p>In 1896 Mustapha Mahr, Governor of the Behera Province, was -dispatched to Siwa, with fifty soldiers, to inquire into certain -disorders. He arrived to find Siwa in an uproar, the administration -of justice at a standstill, and three years’ taxes unpaid. A -powerful western sheikh, Hassuna Mansur, had retired to his -stronghold, Kasr<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span> -Hassuna, a fortress on an isolated rock south of the town, with a -large number of slaves and adherents. He refused to pay taxes and -defied the Egyptian Government. This individual became the nucleus -of opposition. He was besieged; but friends among the besiegers -supplied him with water, and even helped him when he sallied out -from his fortress and carried away corn, sheep and cattle from the -neighbourhood. The Turkish official was helpless. Mustapha Mahr and -his fifty men were unable to cope with the rebel. On the advice of -the sheikhs he appealed to the Senussi brethren at Jerabub, and -very soon Sheikh Ahmed Ibn Idris, a relation by marriage to Sheikh -El Senussi, appeared on the scene. The Turkish Commandant asked his -assistance. Sheikh Ahmed ordered Hassuna to surrender, which he did -at once, and after much discussion an agreement was made, signed by -the Senussi sheikh, by which the Siwans promised to pay taxes, but -on the condition that they should not be retrospective. The Senussi -sheikh then returned triumphantly to Jerabub. This illustrates -conclusively the power of the Senussi at this period. A few months -later another dispute arose, about some goats, which ended in a -battle between east and west, in which Hassuna Mansur was slain, -and with him over 100 Siwans.</p> - -<p>In 1898, five years after the death of this firebrand of the -desert, another affair began which is known as the “Widow’s War.” -The Omda of Siwa died leaving a son, Mohammed Said, and a wealthy -young<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span> widow of -great personal attractions. An eastern Siwan, named Ahmed Hamza, -wished to marry her. It was considered a suitable match, and all -her relations approved, except her stepson, Mohammed Said, who was -supported by the Medinia sect of Siwans, who had another -prospective husband. One night she disappeared. It was found that -she had fled to the house of Osman Habun, a very powerful western -sheikh, the most influential man in Siwa, who was the -representative of the Senussi. The son demanded his mother from the -Habun family, who refused to surrender her. The war drums were -beaten, and a fight between east and west was imminent. But at the -last moment Habun surrendered the woman, who returned to her own -house. On the next day she ran away again; this time she went to -the house of a western Siwan, called Abdulla Mansur, whom she -wished to marry, although she herself should have held no views on -the subject. The whole town was disturbed by the widow’s unseemly -behaviour. Finally her stepson forced her to marry the man whom he -had chosen, and the widow retired from the scene.</p> - -<p>But Ahmed Hamza resented losing her, and in revenge, some of his -friends attacked some relations of Mohammed Said’s, on the road to -Aghourmi, and killed two of them. Then Mohammed Said, with the -easterners, raided the western gardens, and the westerners -retaliated by carrying off sheep and cattle. The war drums were -beaten, which signal meant that every man must be ready and armed -within<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span> twenty-four -hours; flags were displayed on the western hill and on the highest -fort of the eastern quarter, and the doors leading into the street -that divides the town were barred with palm logs. At the end of the -twenty-four hours the eastern force assembled on Shali—the high -town—and the western forces stationed themselves on their rock. The -easterners opened fire and shot, by mistake, a small Arab boy. A -truce was called while both parties discussed the compensation. But -during the truce an eastern man, going out to his garden, was -killed by a party of westerners, so the fight began again, both -sides firing across the street with long, Arab guns and -old-fashioned blunderbusses. The Turkish mamur and his little force -retired to the Markaz, well out of harm’s way.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw3"> -<figure id="i11"><img src='images/i11.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">GATE INTO THE WESTERN QUARTER</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p>The westerners had only one good spring within convenient reach -of the town. They posted a guard round it, and the easterners, not -expecting to meet with resistance, made a sortie, intending to -capture the spring. The attacking party was beaten off and driven -away from the town towards the gardens. The rest of the easterners, -seeing their comrades in flight, came down from the town and -followed after them. Then the entire western force, led by their -chief, Osman Habun, on his great white war-horse, the only one in -Siwa, surged out of the town, through the narrow gates, firing and -shrieking, waving swords and spears, followed by their women -throwing stones. Every able-bodied man and woman joined in the -battle beneath the walls, and only a<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_114">[114]</span> few old men and children remained on the -battlements watching the fight.</p> - -<p>After a fierce combat, lasting for nearly a day, resulting in -many casualties, the western force was beaten back towards the -town, and “The Habun” found himself in danger of being captured. -The western women had followed their men out from the town and were -watching the battle from the gardens. Habun’s mother, seeing her -son in danger, collected a dozen women of his house and managed to -get near him. He left his horse and slipped into the gardens where -he joined the women. They dressed him as a girl, and with them he -escaped to the tomb of Sidi Suliman, where he hid. While in hiding -Habun communicated with the Senussi brethren at Jerabub, who -intervened and patched up a peace. Nowadays, if one wants to insult -one of the Habun family, there is no surer method than by inquiring -who it was who escaped from a battle disguised as a woman.</p> - -<p>After this the Egyptian Government realized that a stronger -force was needed to keep order in Siwa, so they sent some more men -and a few cavalry. The Senussi Government also tried to make a -lasting peace between east and west. Sheikh Osman Habun, agent of -the Senussi in Siwa, was at this time the most wealthy and powerful -man in the oasis. He was a large landowner and employed a small -army of slaves. He was related by marriage to most of the western -sheikhs, and many of the Siwan notables were beholden to him for -financial assistance. From his large fortified house in -the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span> town he -dominated the western faction, and his armoury included some modern -weapons which he had stolen from a certain English traveller. In -appearance he was a fine, handsome man, with a masterful manner and -a commanding presence. When he went abroad a numerous retinue -followed him, and he received visitors to his house with almost -regal state. He married several times, and had nine sons and -daughters.</p> - -<p>Several years before the Great War a certain Arab called Abdel -Arti, a notorious smuggler of hashish between Egypt and Tripoli, -made a raid on some bedouins who camped at Lubbok, a little oasis -where there is water and good grazing about eight miles south of -Siwa, among the sand-dunes. He called at Lubbok to get water on his -way to Egypt via the oasis of Bahrein. One of the bedouins came to -Siwa and warned the mamur, who summoned the sheikhs and the people. -Osman Habun was at this time an ally of Abdel Arti and knew his -plans. The eastern people assembled, but the westerners delayed. -Eventually, after many absurd excuses, Osman Habun arrived and -accompanied the mamur and an armed party to Lubbok; but they found -that the smugglers had escaped, carrying off several women and -leaving two of the bedouins dead on the field. The delay caused by -Osman Habun had saved Abdel Arti from capture. When they returned -the mamur held a court on Osman Habun and threatened to depose him -and make another man omda in his place. Habun retired to his -house<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span> and sulked, -refusing to appear again when summoned by the mamur. One of Habun’s -sons was ordered to bring his father to the Markaz, but he returned -with a message that being the month of Ramadan his father was -fasting and could not go out.</p> - -<p>Then the mamur, with his few soldiers and some Sudanese camel -corps, followed by a shouting mob of Siwans, went up the steep, -dark streets that lead to the house of “The Habun.” By the time -that they had arrived night had fallen. They found the great wooden -door locked and barred, and the house full of armed men, but they -managed to break in the door and enter the ground floor. But the -stairs were strongly barricaded, so they went outside and lit -lanterns while they discussed what to do. Then the soldiers started -firing up at the windows, and the defenders fired back, people in -the adjoining houses joining in. The soldiers retreated under some -buildings across the lane, but as they did this the mamur was shot -and left lying in the narrow alley. A Camel Corps man dashed out -and dragged him into shelter. Meanwhile Osman Habun had escaped by -a private door through the mosque behind the house. Eventually the -soldiers entered the building and captured the defenders. Osman -Habun attempted to escape through the town to Jerabub, but he was -caught by Sheikh Mohammed Said, his rival of the eastern faction, -and brought a prisoner to the Markaz where the mamur lay dying. He -was tried for the murder of the mamur, found<span class="pagenum" -id="Page_117">[117]</span> guilty, and hanged, and his eldest son, -Hammado, was awarded penal servitude. He is still alive, in prison -at Tura.</p> - -<p>Osman Habun was one of the biggest men that Siwa ever produced, -though he had many bad qualities. The Siwans say that he sacrificed -himself for his son, Hammado, being an old man and not willing to -see his son hanged, though Hammado is said to have killed the -mamur. Abdel Arti, the cause of the trouble, had a fight with some -of the Egyptian Coastguard Camel Corps, and killed one of them. -They met him again among the desolate sand-dunes south of Siwa, and -killed him, together with several of his followers. Their graves -are distinguishable—rough stone cairns—on the unmapped desert where -a route from Egypt to Tripoli is still called “Abdel Arti’s -Road.”</p> - -<h3><a id="c03s4"></a>(4)</h3> - -<p class="sch">FOURTH PERIOD</p> - -<p class="sch2">Siwa and the War</p> - -<p>The history of the British operations on the Western Desert of -Egypt against the Senussi in 1915-1917 has been well described in -several books, and by people who were actually present at the -various engagements. I was not there at the time, so I am unable to -give a first-hand account of it, but no history of Siwa would be -complete without a sketch of the principal events of that campaign, -which was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span> one of -the most brilliant and successful “side-shows” of the Great War, -and has left a lasting impression on the Arabs of the Western -Desert, which will be remembered for many years to come.</p> - -<p>After the war in Tripoli between the Italians and the Turks, in -1911, the suzerainty of Italy over Tripoli was formally -acknowledged at the Treaty of Lausanne, but although the whole of -the country became an Italian possession only the coastal towns -were held firmly. The Arabs in the south, and the Berber -inhabitants of the various oases, strongly resented the Italian -rule, and for this reason the seeds of propaganda sown by Turkish -and German agents found fertile soil among the natives of -Tripoli.</p> - -<p>Germany had for a long time cast envious eyes on North Africa, -and early in the war the Germans seem to have hoped that by their -influence in the country they could stir the Arabs to sweep their -much-hated Italian masters off the coast, and to advance against -Egypt from the west. At the outbreak of war the Arabs in the south -listened readily to the Turkish agents, who encouraged them with -arms and money to revolt against the Italians and to take part in -the Holy War, which was declared by the Sultan of Turkey against -the English and the Allies. But the most important military and -political factor on the Libyan Desert was the Senussi -confraternity, and they, up to this time, had been decidedly -pro-British.</p> - -<p>The Senussi confraternity was founded by Sidi Mohammed Ben Ali -es Senussi, who was born of<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_119">[119]</span> Berber stock, but claimed descent from the -Prophet, in Algeria, in 1787. In 1821 he went to Fez and became -known as an ascetic religious who held severely to the simple -teachings of the Koran. Just before the French occupation of -Algeria he left his country and began travelling in North Africa, -teaching his doctrine of a pure form of Islam. The occupation of -his native country by Unbelievers probably contributed to the -dislike of Christians which characterized his later life. After -spending some years in North Africa he went to Cairo and settled at -El Azhar, the great Mohammedan university of Egypt, but his strict -ideals found no favour and his teaching was condemned by the Ulema. -From Cairo he went to Mecca, where he studied with Sidi Ahmed Ibn -Idris el Fasi, the leader of the Khadria confraternity, which had -some influence in Morocco. On the death of Sidi Ahmed, Mohammed es -Senussi became head of the sect and travelled for some years among -the bedouins of the Hedjaz. But his doctrines were too peaceable -for these fierce Arabs, and in 1838 he returned to the west and -settled at Siwa.</p> - -<p>In Siwa he inhabited the caves in the limestone rock below the -Kasr Hassuna, living in one of them and using the other as an -oratory. With his own hands he carved out the nitch—or -“mihrab”—which faces Mecca. During his sojourn at Siwa he became -very ill and at one time he almost died. The people of Siwa -accepted his teachings with enthusiasm, and since then the greater -proportion of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span> the -population have been ardent Senussiya. For this reason it has -always been considered very dangerous for anybody who is not -exceedingly religious and virtuous to inhabit these caves in the -Kasr Hassuna.</p> - -<p>When I was in the Kasr one of my servants asked for permission -to live in the cave. I reminded him of the superstition, but -allowed him to do so. It was most disastrous; after about a month -he moved out and complained to me of the persistent misfortune that -had dogged him. His wife ran away, he became ill, he had some money -stolen from him, and was badly bitten by a tarantula. Another man, -who had a reputation in the Section for being particularly -religious, moved in, but he only remained a week, and after that -the caves were left severely alone. None of the Siwans would live -in this place under any consideration, and the Siwan wife of my -Sudanese orderly lived in a little hut outside the entrance.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw1"> -<figure id="i12"><img src='images/i12.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">“KASR HASSUNA,” THE DISTRICT OFFICER’S HOUSE</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p>After eight months in Siwa Mohammed es Senussi went on to Jalo -and came into contact with the Zouias, a fierce and warlike race of -Arabs who held various oases in southern Tripoli. They adopted his -teachings, and in 1844 he founded his first zawia—religious -centre—at El Beda, where his eldest son was born. From this centre -the Senussi brethren carried their teachings all over Africa, -travelling with the great caravans of the merchants who traded in -slaves, ivory, arms, etc., between the Sudan, Tripoli, Wadai and -Egypt. Gradually they grew to be regarded as arbitrators in -disputes, and important cases were brought to Mohammed es Senussi -for his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span> judgment. -They successfully combined the duties of merchants and magistrates, -acquiring great wealth and great influence. The Senussi were at all -times opposed to luxury and intolerant of Unbelievers; they claimed -that their form of Mohammedanism was more pure than any other, and -as far as possible they kept aloof from politics.</p> - -<p>In 1852 Mohammed es Senussi returned to Mecca, and shortly -afterwards he formally excommunicated the Sultan of Turkey. In 1856 -he came, for the last time, to Jerabub, ninety miles west of Siwa. -He died here three years later and was buried in the tomb in the -mosque. At the time of his death his prestige was enormous; -pilgrims travelled many thousands of miles to visit Jerabub, and -Senussism had spread all over Central and North Africa. The Senussi -zawias became rich from the profits of trading and owned large -numbers of slaves, also arms and ammunition were imported from -Turkey, landed on the Tripoli coast and taken down to the south. -One of the greatest authorities on the Senussi estimated their -numbers at between one and a half and three millions at the time of -the death of Mohammed es Senussi. But their importance as a -military factor was not great; being spread over such a vast area -they lacked cohesion, and any combined action would be almost an -impossibility.</p> - -<p>Mohammed es Senussi left two sons, Mohammed el Mahdi and -Mohammed el Sherif. The former succeeded his father as the leader -of the Senussi. He spent a considerable part of his life at -Jerabub,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span> acquiring -great wealth and strengthening his influence by peaceable -penetration. In 1884 he refused to help the Sudanese Mahdi, who -appealed to the Senussi for assistance in driving the English out -of Egypt. If the Senussi had risen then and joined with the -Sudanese the position of Egypt would have been very dangerous. -Mohammed el Mahdi died in 1902 and was succeeded by his nephew, -Sayed Ahmed, as the son of Mohammed el Mahdi was still a boy.</p> - -<p>When Sayed Ahmed succeeded, the French were pushing their -conquests inland from the coast, and the Turks were also advancing -southwards in Tripoli. Sayed Ahmed did all he could to oppose them, -but gradually he was forced to retire. One by one the various -zawias were occupied, till finally the Senussi chief was driven -back to Kufra and Jerabub. In 1911 Sayed Ahmed allied himself to -the Turks, although the Senussi had always been at enmity with -them, and when the Italians landed on the Tripoli coast the Senussi -supported the Turks in the war against the Italians, and when the -Turks were finally beaten the Senussi in the interior became once -more practically independent.</p> - -<p>In the summer of 1915 the Senussi were still ostensibly at peace -with Egypt and Britain, but the pro-German agents had successfully -fomented an anti-British feeling, and the Arabs were being armed -and organized by German and Turkish officers who landed in -submarines—from Constantinople—evaded the Italians on the coast, -and went down south into<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_123">[123]</span> the Senussi country. The British and -Italian alliance was an incentive to the Arabs in Tripoli, who -bitterly resented the Italian occupation of their country.</p> - -<p>Sollum, the frontier post, was garrisoned by a small detachment -of the Egyptian army and the Coastguards, native troops with two or -three English officers. In August, 1915, the crews of two English -submarines, wrecked on the coast west of Sollum, were fired upon by -the Senussi, but Sayed Ahmed apologized and declared that he did -not know what nationality the men were. In the autumn it was known -that the British attempt at Gallipoli was doomed; there was a -danger of disturbances in Egypt, and the Turks attacked the Suez -Canal.</p> - -<p>On November 5th the <em>Tara</em>, an armed patrol boat, was -torpedoed off Sollum. Three of her boats came ashore a few miles -west of the frontier, and ninety-two men of the crew were captured -by some Senussi Arabs and carried inland to a place called Bir -Hakim, a well which lies about seventy miles south of the coast; -here they were kept prisoners for several months, and during this -time they suffered the most excessive privations at the hands of -their captors. They were so badly fed that they were forced to eat -snails, which are very plentiful in some parts of the desert; -several men died, and their attempts to escape were in all cases -unsuccessful. The history of their sufferings and adventures forms -the subject of two books written by one of the survivors on his -return home. Even after this incident Sidi Ahmed<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span> continued to protest his -friendship for the British, and disclaimed any knowledge of the -whereabouts of the <em>Tara</em>’s crew.</p> - -<p>About this time large numbers of Arabs began to collect on the -high desert above Sollum. The garrison was slightly reinforced and -some armoured cars came up the coast from Egypt. On November 23rd -Sollum was attacked by a numerous force of Senussi, armed with a -miscellaneous collection of fire-arms and some old guns. The -garrison was evacuated on to the <em>Rasheed</em>, an Egyptian -gunboat, during a heavy sand-storm, and on the same day the -garrison of Barrani was taken down the coast on another boat. They -landed at Matruh, which was put into a state of defence, and the -garrison was very soon considerably augmented by British troops who -were hurried up from Alexandria in trawlers and in cars from the -railhead. A few days after they arrived at Matruh some of the men -of the Egyptian Coastguards went over to the enemy, and Colonel -Snow Bey, of the Coastguards, was shot while speaking to some -so-called friendly Arabs on a reconnaissance.</p> - -<p>Colonel Snow and Major Royle, another officer of the Coastguards -who lost his life later in the war, after joining the Flying Corps, -were both very well known on the Western Desert. As a rule, the -bedouins do not talk much of the Englishmen who lived and served -among them, but even now, several years later, one constantly hears -these two names mentioned round the camp fires of the Arabs.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span>While the -British force was building up the defences of Matruh, the Senussi -collected a few miles west of the town. On December 13th the -garrison advanced against the enemy, and a force of about 1300 -Senussi was cleared out from a long wadi and driven off with heavy -casualties. On this occasion a squadron of Yeomanry, who were fired -on from a gully, charged at the enemy and came suddenly on a deep -and unexpected drop.</p> - -<p>Towards the end of the month another large force of Arabs, under -the command of Gaffar Pasha, a Germanized Turk and a very capable -officer, occupied a valley called Wadi Majid, near Matruh. It -appeared that they intended attacking Matruh on Christmas Day, when -they supposed that the garrison would be eating and -drinking—though, as it happened, there was not even any beer in the -town. On Christmas Eve the British force, consisting of part of a -New Zealand brigade, some Sikhs, Australian Light Horse and British -Yeomanry, supported by aeroplanes and naval ships, which shelled -the enemy from the coast, went out of Matruh and fought a -successful action on Christmas Day. The Arab camp was destroyed, -and the enemy were beaten off with heavy casualties. After the -engagement the British force returned to Matruh. By this time the -usual winter weather had begun; floods of rain fell on the coast, -filling the wadis, swamping the roads and turning the country into -a morass. Once again the enemy concentrated, at a place about 26 -miles west of Matruh. They were located by<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_126">[126]</span> aeroplanes, attacked and again driven -westward. On February 26th another engagement took place at Agagia, -near Barrani. The enemy lost heavily and Gaffar Pasha, the -Commander of the Senussi army, was captured during a brilliant -charge which was made by the Dorset Yeomanry. After this defeat -Sayed Ahmed, the Senussi chief, with a number of his supporters and -a huge quantity of baggage, retired from the coast, which was -getting too hot for him, and trekked across the desert down to -Siwa, travelling in great comfort with gramophones, clocks, brass -bedsteads and a large harem!</p> - -<p>On arrival at Siwa he settled himself in the Kasr Hassuna, but -he lived in a very different style to his ancestor, the original -Mohammed es Senussi. A renegade Coastguard officer, Mohammed -Effendi Saleh, was appointed as his second in command. At first the -Siwans welcomed Sayed Ahmed with great enthusiasm, but their -feelings rapidly changed when the ill-disciplined mob that made up -his army took to spoiling the gardens and robbing the people. -Mohammed Saleh had been in Siwa before and he knew exactly how much -money the various inhabitants had. This acquaintance with -everybody’s financial position was of great use when he began to -extort money from the natives. Those who could not or would not pay -were beaten in the market-place and forcibly enlisted into the -army; those who paid a little were made corporals and officers, and -only the people who gave much money were exempt from service. The -richest sheikhs and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span> -merchants were presented with Turkish and German medals and orders -and promoted to Pashas and Beys. The officers of the Senussi force -attired themselves in bright green putties, which they manufactured -from the green baize tablecloths in the offices of the Markaz; all -the files and the Government furniture, etc., was seized by Sayed -Ahmed, who carried it about with him during the rest of the -campaign, eventually leaving it at Jerabub when he finally left the -country.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the campaign on the coast was going badly for the -Senussi. Barrani was occupied after the battle of Agagia, and from -there the British force, reinforced by the Duke of Westminster and -his armoured cars, pushed on towards Sollum, which was occupied on -the 14th of March. Sollum was captured by a rear attack from above -the Scarp, armoured cars and troops having managed to find a way up -the cliffs by a steep, precipitous pass known as “Negb Halfia,” or -“Hell Fire Pass,” as it was afterwards called. The Senussi blew up -their large ammunition dump at Bir Wær, on the frontier, and the -remains of their army were driven over the desert for many miles, -pursued by the British cars, which scattered them far and wide and -inspired all the Arabs with a holy dread of -“Trombiles”—motors—which will never be forgotten. The capture of -Sollum virtually ended the fighting on the coast; after that only -Siwa remained to be cleared out. The country was full of fugitives -and their starving families, who were fed and provided for by -the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span> British. Arab -women flocked round the garrisons at Sollum and Matruh offering -their silver ornaments and jewellery in exchange for food.</p> - -<p>On April 16th, much to the relief of the inhabitants, Sayed -Ahmed left Siwa <em>en route</em> for the Dakhla oasis. He took -with him most of the able-bodied men in the place, as well as a -number of Senussi soldiers and many camel loads of luggage. The -Siwans were expected to bring their own food, but by this time they -were reduced to such a state of poverty that they had not even -enough dates to support themselves. A number of men died on the -road, and still more deserted and made their way back to the oasis. -Sayed Ahmed stayed for several months at Dakhla and then returned -to Siwa, hurrying back like a hunted hare. On each of these little -desert trips the Grand Sheikh shed a little of his baggage.</p> - -<p>During his absence from Siwa the sheikhs of the Medinia sect -organized a very successful little rebellion. The people revolted -against the Senussi sheikhs who had been left in charge, drove them -into the Markaz, and besieged them for two days. Eventually peace -was made, but not before the Senussi sheikhs had sent frantic -messages to Sayed Ahmed complaining of the scandalous behaviour of -the Siwans and imploring him to return. The Siwans at the same time -sent letters to Sayed Ahmed with complaints against his sheikhs who -had stayed in Siwa to keep order. The messengers met on the road -and journeyed together till they came upon<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_129">[129]</span> Sayed Ahmed and his party between Dakhla -and Siwa. They handed their letters to the sheikh and he read them -together. The news of the “goings-on” at Siwa hastened his -return.</p> - -<p>Once again he established himself in the Kasr Hassuna. Here he -indulged in severe religious observances and urged the people to -pray for divine help against the Unbelievers who had destroyed the -Senussi army on the coast. In January Sayed Ahmed and Mohammed -Saleh, his second in command, were considering retiring to Jerabub, -so as to be still further away from the British. On the 2nd of -February a force of armoured cars, lorries and light cars arrived a -few miles north of Girba, a little oasis in a deep rocky valley -north-west of Siwa. On the following day the cars successfully -descended the pass and attacked the enemy camp at Girba. The -Senussi were absolutely astounded. They had already learnt to fear -the British cars, but they never for one moment thought it possible -that a large force of motors could dash across the desert from the -coast, almost 200 miles, and attack them in their stronghold. Owing -to the rocky ground the cars were unable to get at close quarters -with the enemy. The action lasted a whole day. The Senussi, who -numbered about 800, were under the command of Mohammed Saleh, and -another force of about 500 men were at Siwa with Sayed Ahmed. At -the first alarm the Grand Sheikh bundled himself and his belongings -on to camels and fled frantically over the sand-dunes towards -Jerabub, followed by a straggling<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_130">[130]</span> mob of Arabs. On the evening of the 4th the -enemy began to retire from their position at Girba, burning arms -and ammunition before evacuating, and on the 5th of February the -cars entered Siwa and the British force was received by the sheikhs -and notables at the Markaz with expressions of relief and goodwill. -The column left the town on the same day and reached “Concentration -Point,” north of Girba, on the following day.</p> - -<p>Another detachment had been sent to a pass above the western end -of the oasis in order to intercept the fugitives, but only a few -cars were able to get down from the high country above, but the one -Light Car Patrol which did descend managed to cut off a number of -the enemy who were retreating to the west. On the 8th February the -whole column went back to Sollum. The enemy’s losses were 40 -killed, including 2 Senussi officers, and 200 wounded, including 5 -Turkish officers. Sayed Ahmed and Mohammed Saleh both escaped, but -after this crushing defeat, and the capture of the Siwa oasis, all -danger from the Senussi forces was at an end.</p> - -<p>Some time previously, after the occupation of Sollum by the -British, information was found as to the whereabouts of the -prisoners from the <em>Tara</em>, who had been joined by the -survivors of the <em>Moorina</em>, who had also landed on the coast -and had been captured by the Arabs. A force of armoured cars and -other cars, under the command of the Duke of Westminster, set off -on the 17th from Sollum with a native guide. They dashed across the -desert to Bir<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span> -Hakim, rescued the prisoners and brought them back to Sollum, -having travelled across some 120 miles of unknown desert and -attacked an enemy whose numbers they did not know. This gallant -enterprise was perhaps the most brilliant affair which occurred -during the operations on the Western Desert. The Duke of -Westminster received the D.S.O. for his exploit, and was -recommended for the Victoria Cross.</p> - -<p>After the capture of Siwa there was no more fighting on the -Western Desert. Sollum, Matruh and the various stations on the -coast were garrisoned with British infantry, gunners and Camel -Corps, and a standing camp of Light Cars was made at Siwa, where -they remained for some time. The F.D.A. took over the -Administration of the Western Desert, and gradually the garrisons -were withdrawn and replaced by F.D.A. Camel Corps. To-day there -only remains one small detachment of Light Car Patrols in the fort -at Sollum.</p> - -<p>Sayed Ahmed and Mohammed Saleh were never captured. The Grand -Sheikh’s progress terminated on the Tripoli coast, where he was met -by a Turkish submarine and carried over to Constantinople. He was -received by the Sultan and has remained there ever since, an exile -from his native land, probably regretting that he ever allowed -himself to be persuaded to throw in his lot with the Turks.</p> - -<p>Sayed Ahmed did not distinguish himself in this campaign. -Whenever he thought that the fighting was too near he hurriedly -retired to some more distant place. His cowardly conduct was to -a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span> certain extent -responsible for the failure of his troops; he never took part in -the fighting and never led them in person. His behaviour was very -different to that of Ali Dinar, Sultan of Darfur, in the Sudan, who -was also persuaded by the Turks to rebel against the English at the -same time. The latter showed considerable personal courage, and was -killed on the field at the end of the war. Sayed Ahmed was -succeeded by his cousin, Sidi Mohammed Idris, the son of Mohammed -el Madhi, who had always shown himself to be strongly pro-British, -and had carefully refrained from taking any part in the Senussi -rising and the subsequent campaign. An agreement was drawn up by -the British and the Italians which arranged that Idris should be -responsible for keeping order inland, and that he should receive -money and assistance. This arrangement has been in force up to now, -and is in every way a success.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw5"> -<figure id="i13"><img src='images/i13.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">SHEIKH MOHAMMED IDRIS, THE CHIEF OF THE SENUSSI</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<h2><span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span><a id= -"c04"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2> - -<p class="sch">SIWA TOWN</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group2"> -<div class="line indent0">“Through sun-proof alleys,</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> In a lone, sand hemm’d</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> City of Africa.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="dcap">SIWA town is like no other place that I have seen -either in Egypt, Palestine or the Sudan. It is built on a great -rock in the centre of the oasis, and from a distance it resembles -an ancient castle whose rugged battlements tower above the forests -of waving palm trees, and the rich green cultivation. It is -somewhat similar to St. Michael’s Mount, but the inside of the town -reminds one more of those enormous ant hills which are found in -Central Africa. The houses are built of mud, mixed with salt, with -occasional large blocks of stone from the temples let into the -walls. The builder works without a line, gradually adding to the -wall, sitting astride the part which he has completed, so few of -the walls are straight. Another architectural peculiarity is that -owing to the necessity of constructing walls thicker at the base -than at the top most of the houses, especially the minarets of the -mosques, become narrower towards the summit. The houses are built -one above the other against the face of the rock, and the outer -walls form one great<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_134">[134]</span> line of battlements, pierced by little -groups of windows, encircling the town, and rising sheer above the -ground, in some places to a height of almost 200 feet. The original -site of the town was the summit and sides of two limestone rocks -which rise abruptly from the level of the plain; but as the -population increased more houses were built on the top of the old -ones, and the town, instead of spreading, began to ascend into the -air, house upon house, street upon street, and quarter upon -quarter, till it became more like a bee-hive than a town. Fathers -built houses for their sons above the parental abode, till their -great-grandsons reached a dizzy height on the topmost battlements. -The mud of which the walls were built gradually hardened and became -almost of the consistency of the original rock.</p> - -<p>In course of time the inside of the town has become a vast -warren of houses connected by steep, twisting tunnels, very similar -to the workings in a coal mine, where one needs to carry a light -even in daytime, and two persons can scarcely walk abreast. This -labyrinthine maze of dark, narrow passages, with little low doors -of split palm logs opening into them from the tenements above, -forms the old town of Siwa. In some places the walls are partly -ruined and one gets little views of the green oasis, or the lower -part of the town with its flat roofs and square enclosures, framed -by the jagged ruined masonry. It took me nearly two years to know -my way about this part of the town, at the expense of -hitting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span> my head -many times against the palm log beams supporting the low roofs -which are in most cases only about 5 feet high.</p> - -<p>This human warren is surprisingly clean and free from the smells -that one would expect in a place where there is such an absence of -light and ventilation. One of the most curious things that one -notices is the subdued hum of human voices, from invisible people, -and the perpetual sound of stone-grinding mills, above, below and -all around. When one meets people, groping along these tortuous -passages, they loom into sight, silently, white robed, like ghosts, -and pass with a murmured greeting to their gloomy homes. It is a -great relief after stooping and slipping and barking one’s shins to -reach the open roof on the highest tower of the town where, for a -moment, the brilliant sunlight dazzles one’s eyes, accustomed to -the murky gloom of the lower regions. When, on rare occasions, I -had visitors, I used always to take them up to see the view from -the highest battlements, with a few stout Sudanese Camel Corps men -to help pull, push and propel the sightseers. But most of them, -especially the elderly colonel type, were too hot and exhausted to -appreciate the view when they finally arrived, so I eventually kept -this “sight” for only the most active visitors.</p> - -<p>High up in the heart of the town, in a little open space -surrounded by tall grim houses, there is an ancient well cut out of -the solid rock. It contains excellent water. Apparently there is a -spring in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span> -centre of the rock which supplies the well, and two smaller ones -close by. Half-way down the well, about 30 feet from the top, just -above the level of the water, there is a small entrance, wide -enough to admit a boy, which leads into a narrow tunnel bored -through the rock, terminating in the precincts of a mosque on the -level ground. Nobody has traversed this passage for many years, -owing to fear of snakes—which certainly exist, also jinns and -afreets. The tunnel is about 150 yards long, and must have taken -years to complete, but it is difficult to guess its original -object. This old well is specially popular with women, as by -drawing water here they can avoid going out to the springs where -they would necessarily meet with men. Often when I passed out from -the narrow entrance of a passage I would see a dozen women busy -with their pitchers, veils cast aside, laughing and chattering—in a -moment, like magic, every one would have silently vanished, and -only the eyes peering from the adjoining windows would show any -signs of life.</p> - -<p>Below the old high town, huddled at the base of the mighty -walls, there are more houses, and these, too, are surrounded by an -outer wall. Beyond this more modern houses have been built when -there was less fear of raids from hostile Arabs. Most of the -sheikhs and the rich merchants have deserted the high town and -built large, comfortable houses down below, or among the gardens in -the adjoining suburbs of Sebukh and Manshia. Many of them have also -country houses, where they retire in the<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_137">[137]</span> summer when the heat in the town becomes -intolerable, on their estates in different parts of the oasis. -Residences of sheikhs and notables are distinguished by a strip of -whitewash across the front, but woe betide a poor man if he -decorates his house in a like manner. Tombs of sheikhs and holy men -are whitewashed all over every year, at public expense. One of the -most wealthy, and most unpopular, merchants covered the whole of -his house with whitewash. This innovation caused grave disapproval -among the conservative sheikhs of Siwa. They complained to me, -saying that from time immemorial the notables had distinguished -their houses by the strip of whitewash, but nobody had ever -whitened the whole house—therefore nobody should! When a few days -later some thieves broke into the “whitewashed sepulchre” and stole -twelve pounds, the whole population agreed that it was a just -retribution on unseemly pride.</p> - -<p>The three date markets are large walled-in squares where every -merchant and family have a space to spread their dates for sale; -one of them is common, the other two belong to east and west -respectively. There is a little house by the entrance of each -market where an old Sudanese watchman lives, paid in kind by -contributions from everybody who uses the market. In the autumn -thousands of Arabs come from Egypt and the west to buy dates, which -are considered among the best in Egypt. Round the markets there are -enclosures for camels and lodgings for the Arabs, who are only -tolerated in the town<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_138">[138]</span> because they come to trade. At the height -of the season there is a busy scene. Hundreds of white-robed Arabs -wander among the heaps of red, brown and yellow dates, arguing and -bargaining loudly, while their camels gurgle and snarl outside, and -over everything there rises a swarm of flies. Half-naked negroes -toil and sweat as they load the camels with white palm-leaf baskets -pressed down and full with sticky dates. Lively diversions occur -when a shrill-voiced she-camel shakes off her load and runs wildly -through the crowd, scattering the people, with her long neck -stretched out like an agitated goose. Arab ponies squeal and -shriek, donkeys bray and the pariah dogs snarl and yelp. There is a -custom in Siwa that anybody may eat freely from the dates in the -markets, but nobody is allowed to take any away; so the beggars, -who are very numerous, crawl in among the buyers, clutching -greedily with filthy hands at the best dates, and adding their -whining complaints to the general din. Also all the dogs, children, -chickens, goats and pigeons feed from the dates before the owners -sell them. The most popular form of date food is a sort of “mush,” -which consists of a solid mass of compressed dates with most, but -not all, of the stones removed. I used to like dates, but after an -hour in the markets one never wishes to eat another.</p> - -<p>The square white tomb of Sidi Suliman dominates the date -markets. Although not actually a mosque it is the most venerated -building in Siwa. Around it there are a few white tombstones, and -on most nights<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span> the -building is illuminated with candles burnt by votaries at the -shrine of the saint. Close by there is a large unfinished mosque -which was built by the ex-Khedive, who left off the work owing to -lack of funds. Mosques in Siwa are conspicuous by their curious -minarets, which remind one of small factory chimneys, or brick -kilns; otherwise they are very similar to houses, except that they -generally include a large court with a roof supported by mud -pillars. In several of the mosques there are schools, and one sees -a number of small boys sitting on the ground, with bored -expressions, droning long verses of the Koran in imitation of the -old sheikh who teaches them.</p> - -<p>Lately the “Powers that Be” decided that a regular school would -be beneficial to the youth of Siwa. With some difficulty I secured -a building and a teacher. The school began in great style. Almost -every boy in the town attended. They learnt reading and writing, -and after sunset they did “physical jerks” and drill, marching -round the market square, much to the admiration of their parents. -But the novelty palled. Attendance diminished. Attendance at school -was to be quite voluntary, so I could do nothing. In about a month -it had ceased to exist, and the little boys sat again at the feet -of the old sheikhs in the mosque schools. Such is the conservatism -of Siwa.</p> - -<p>Shopping in Siwa is very simple. Each shop is a general shop and -contains exactly the same as the others. Prices do not vary, so one -deals exclusively<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span> -with one merchant; the shops are sprinkled about the town and the -customers of each are the people who live nearest. The shops -themselves are hardly noticeable. There is no display of goods, -nothing in fact to distinguish a shop. One enters a little door and -the room inside looks rather more like a storeroom than a living -room; sometimes there is a rough counter, some shelves and a -weighing machine, but measures consist mostly of little baskets -which are recognized as containing certain quantities. The sacks -and cases round the room contain flour, beans, tea, rice and sugar; -in one corner there are some rolls of calico and a bundle of -coloured handkerchiefs hung on a nail from the ceiling.</p> - -<p>In the storeroom which opens out of the shop there are more -sacks, tins of oil, and perhaps a bundle of bedouin blankets. Yet -some of the Siwan merchants clear over a thousand pounds a year by -their shops and a little trade in dates. Egyptian money is used, -the silver being much preferred to the paper currency, and credit -is allowed, which enables the merchants to obtain mortgages and -eventually possession of some of their customers’ gardens.</p> - -<p>The merchants’ wives attend to the lady customers. There is a -side door in every shop which leads to an upper room, and here the -Siwan ladies buy their clothes, served by the wife or mother of the -merchant. Their purchases are mainly “kohl” for darkening the eyes, -henna for ornamenting fingers and hands, silver ornaments, soft -scarlet leather<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span> -shoes and boots, blue cotton material manufactured at Kerdassa, -near Gizeh, grey shawls, silks for embroidery, dyes for colouring -baskets and very expensive flashy silk handkerchiefs made in -Manchester, which they wear round their heads when indoors. Some of -the merchants’ wives sell charms and amulets besides clothes. The -women are very conservative in their fashions, only certain colours -being worn. I once wanted a piece of green material to use in -making a flag. I sent to every single shop in the town, but without -success. However, it caused great excitement, and I heard, on the -following day, that the gossips of the town had come to the -conclusion that I was going to marry, and the green stuff was to be -part of the lady’s trousseau. They were disappointed.</p> - -<p>There is nothing in Siwa that compares with the gorgeous bazaars -of Cairo, or the gaily decked shops in the markets of provincial -towns. These dark little shops have no colour, only a queer, rather -pleasant smell, a potpourri of incense, spices, herbs, onions, -olive oil and coffee. Meat is bought direct from the butchers, who -combine and kill a sheep or a camel. Sugar and tea are the most -popular necessities on the market. During the war, and for some -time after, there was a sugar shortage. The supply for Siwa arrived -at the coast, but rarely reached the oasis. When a small quantity -did reach Siwa it was bought up immediately, and the merchants who -obtained it took to gross profiteering. The price of an oke (2½ -lbs.) reached as much as 40 piastres (8s.),<span class="pagenum" -id="Page_142">[142]</span> which in Egypt is an excessively high -price. Eventually the sale of sugar was supervised by the -Government and sugar tickets were issued. Even then there were -cases of sugar being smuggled across the frontier to Tripoli, where -the shortage was even more severe. Arabs or Siwans are simply -miserable if they have to go without sugar in their tea. It makes -them cross and tiresome, and they say themselves that it injures -their health. For the rest people depend on their garden produce, -on dates, onions, fruit and coarse native bread. The women make -their own clothes, and generally their husbands’ too, sometimes -weaving the wool for the long “jibbas,” worn by the working men, on -rough handlooms. There is a carpenter in the town and several -masons, but as a shopping “centre” Siwa is not much of a catch.</p> - -<p>Although Siwan houses are unprepossessing from the outside their -interiors are comparatively comfortable. What I personally objected -to was the exceeding lowness of the doors, and yet the Siwans on -the whole are tall. They told me that doors were made small for the -sake of warmth. Roughly the houses are built on the usual Arab -pattern; on the ground floor there are storerooms, stables, and -servants’ quarters, upstairs there are guest-rooms, harem, and -living rooms. The entrance hall has seats of mud similar to the -walls, and is usually screened from sight by a corner inside the -door. Stairs are steep and narrow with sudden sharp turnings; they -are always pitch dark, as only the rooms in the outer<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span> walls receive any light. Each -house consists of two or three storeys and above them there is an -open roof, sometimes with several rooms built on to it. The old -houses of the high town are different, only those on the topmost -level have open roofs. The immense thickness of the walls makes the -houses cool in summer when the temperature often reaches 112 -degrees in the shade, and warm in winter when icy winds sweep down -from the high desert plateau. The rooms in the houses of the better -classes are large and high, lit by little square windows, which are -made in groups of three, one above and two below in order not to -put unnecessary strain on the masonry. Each window has four -divisions with a shutter to each division; these shutters are kept -open in summer-time. The windows are very low, a few feet above the -level of the floor, which allows people sitting on the ground to -see out of them. The ceilings are made of palm trunks covered with -rushes and a layer of mud; the ends of the trunks, if they are too -long, project outside the walls and serve as pegs on which to hang -bundles of bones to avert the “Evil Eye.” Mud, which becomes as -hard as cement, is used not only for the walls, but for the stairs, -the divans, ovens, and most of the kitchen utensils. Old stone -coffins, discovered near the temple or in some of the rock tombs, -are utilized as water-troughs in most houses. The floors are -covered with palm matting, and an occasional old Turkish or Persian -carpet; the divans are furnished with a few cushions, white -bolster-like objects, or beautifully stamped<span class="pagenum" -id="Page_144">[144]</span> leather from the Sudan. The walls are -whitewashed and sometimes ornamented with crude coloured frescoes, -and in almost every room there are several heavy wooden chests, -handsomely carved, sometimes of great age, which are used for -keeping valuables. Occasionally one sees a couple of chairs and a -round tin table, like those which are used outside cafes, but -personally I have always felt much more comfortable sitting -cross-legged on a heap of cushions near the window than perched up -on a rickety chair above my hosts. A brass tray, a low round table, -a few baskets and an earthenware lamp hanging on the wall, -completes the furniture of a guest-room. I have spent many pleasant -hours sitting in one of these high rooms looking out over the -feathery palm trees and watching the colours change as the sun sank -behind the mountains, gossiping to some old sheikh, puffing a -cigarette, and drinking little cups of sweet, green tea.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw2"> -<figure id="i14"><img src='images/i14.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">THE WESTERN QUARTER FROM AN EASTERN ROOF</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p>In summer-time the people sleep on the flat roofs of their -houses, which for that reason are surrounded by low mud walls to -ensure privacy from the neighbours. They lie on the roofs, men, -women and children, always with their faces covered from the moon, -because they say moonlight on sleeping faces causes madness. In the -daytime the women gossip on the housetops and carry on intrigues, -for there is nothing easier than hopping over the walls from one -roof to the other, and it is not considered <em>comme il faut</em> -for husbands to frequent the roofs in daytime. Often when I climbed -up to the citadel and looked<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_145">[145]</span> down over the town I saw a group of girls -sitting on the roofs, generally singing and dressing each other’s -hair. When they caught sight of an intruder watching them from -above they bolted down the steep stairs like rabbits to their -burrows. One sees real rabbits, too. Almost all the natives breed -them, and for safety’s sake they are kept on the housetops.</p> - -<p>One of the features of Siwa town are the “Dululas,” or sun -shelters. They consist of spaces shaded from the sun by a roof of -rushes and mud, supported by mud pillars. Often in the centre there -is a stone basin containing water, which is kept always full at the -expense of one of the sheikhs in memory of a deceased relation. -Here the greybeards of the town assemble in the evenings, strangers -sit and gossip when they visit the town, and the Camel Corps men -wander through to hear the latest news. It is a sort of public -club, and one hears even more gossip than at a club at home. The -largest of these sun shelters has become a little market, and a few -decrepit old men spread out their wares in its shade—a few baskets, -a dozen onions, an old silk, tattered waistcoat and some red pepper -would be the stock-in-trade of one of these hawkers. What they say -in the “suk” corresponds to the “bazaar talk” in India, and it is -incredible how soon the most secret facts are known there.</p> - -<p>The Siwans are a distinct race quite apart from the Arabs of the -Western Desert, but in appearance they differ very slightly from -their bedouin neighbours. Owing to their isolated dwelling-place -they have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span> retained -their original language, which appears to be an aboriginal Berber -dialect. They are unquestionably the remnants of an aboriginal -people of Berber stock, but constant intermarriage with outsiders -has obliterated any universal feature in their appearance, and -through intermarriage with Sudanese they have acquired a darker -complexion and in some few cases negroid features. On the whole one -does not see the Arab type, or the Fellah, or the Coptic type among -the Siwans.</p> - -<p>The men are tall and powerfully built, with slightly fairer -complexions than the Arabs. In some cases they have light straight -hair and blue eyes, and one whole family has red hair and pink -cheeks, though they themselves do not know where this originated. -Most of the younger men are singularly ugly and have a fierce and -bestial expression, but with age they improve, and the elders of -the town are pleasant, dignified-looking men, though effeminate in -their manners. The children are pallid and unhealthy in appearance. -The Siwans have high cheek-bones, straight noses, and short, weak -chins. They are very conceited and think much of their looks; on -feast days even the oldest men darken their eyes with “kohl” and -soak themselves with evil-smelling scent.</p> - -<p>The wealthy Siwans wear the usual Arab dress—white robes, a long -silk shawl twisted round the body and flung over one shoulder, a -soft red, blue-tasselled cap and yellow leather shoes. On gala days -they appear in brilliant silks from Cairo, and coloured<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span> robes from Tripoli and -Morocco, but on ordinary occasions the predominating colour is -white. The servants and labourers, who form the bulk of the -population, and include many Sudanese who were brought from the -south as slaves, wear a long white shirt, white drawers, a skull -cap and sometimes a curious sack-like garment made of locally spun -wool ornamented by brightly coloured patterns in silk or dye. Siwa -is the only place in Egypt where one does not see the natives -apeing European dress or slouching about in khaki trousers or -tunics—remnants of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.</p> - -<p>The women are small and slender, and very pale owing to the -inactivity of strict seclusion. The palest women are the most -admired. Their large black eyes are ornamented with “kohl,” and -their small hands are tinted with henna. In public they wear a -universal dress which is quite distinctive. It consists of a dark -blue striped robe, reaching below the knees, with full sleeves, cut -square and embroidered round the neck, white drawers with a strip -of embroidery round the ankles, and a large square grey shawl with -a dark blue border, which covers them when they go abroad. Their -ornaments consist of innumerable silver ear-rings, with bunches of -silver chains and little bells, silver bangles, anklets, and -necklaces. An unmarried girl is distinguished by a “virginity -disc,” which is an engraved silver disc about the size of a saucer, -suspended round the neck by a heavy silver ring. These rings are -generally very old and beautifully engraved with<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span> arabesques. When a Siwan woman -is wearing all her silver ornaments she tinkles like a tinsmith’s -cart, but her husband poetically compares her to a caparisoned -pony. Their general appearance is quite pleasing, but they are very -unlike the handsome, healthy-looking Arab women of the coast.</p> - -<p>At home the wealthier women wear coloured silks and richer -clothes. They wear their straight black hair thickly oiled and -dressed in a complicated coiffure. A fringe of short curls hangs -above the eyes, and a number of plaited braids are worn on each -side of the face, like the fringe of a mop. Strips of scarlet -leather are twisted into the tresses, which must always be of an -uneven number, and on the ends of the leather are hung silver -bells, rings and amulets. One of the first travellers to Siwa -remarked on the strength of an ear that could bear such heavy -silver ear-rings, but instead of hanging from the actual ear the -rings are fastened to a leather band across the top of the head. -All the material for women’s clothes is made by one family of -Egyptian merchants at Kerdassa, near the Pyramids. One brother has -a shop in Siwa, and the others live in Egypt. Owing to this the -price of clothing is very great, yet none of the Siwan merchants -have ever considered setting up an opposition trade.</p> - -<p>Women of the upper classes rarely appear in public during the -day, except at funerals, when hundreds of them squat round the -house, like a crowd of grey crows, howling and shrieking. When one -rides past<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span> they hop -up from the ground and run a few steps, with long grey shawls -trailing behind them on the ground, and then they squat down again, -like vultures scared off a carcase. They never work in the fields -or drive the flocks to pasturage like the Arab women, or the -fellahin, but occupy themselves in making baskets, or pottery, and -in household duties. When one woman calls on another she wears all -the clothes she possesses, and gradually discards them in order to -impress the people she is visiting with her wealth. When I met a -woman in the streets she would scuttle into the nearest doorway, or -if there was not one handy she would pull a shawl over her face and -flatten herself against a wall; even hideous old harridans affected -an ecstasy of shyness on seeing an Englishman. Hardly any of the -women can speak Arabic, and it is owing to their strange secretive -lives that the Siwans have retained their language and are so -unprogressive to-day. They resolutely oppose all innovations, -refusing even the help and advice of the Egyptian Government -doctor. It is to their influence as mothers that the women owe what -power they have, because Siwan men care very little for their -wives. Most men keep one wife only at a time, but they often marry -as many as twenty or thirty, if they can afford to, divorcing each -one when she ceases to please.</p> - -<p>The Siwans are typically Oriental. They are hospitable, -dishonest, lazy, picturesque, ignorant, superstitious, cheerful, -cunning, easily moved to joy or anger, fond of intrigue and ultra -conservative. They<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span> -are not immoral, they simply have no morals. The men are -notoriously degenerate and resemble in their habits the Pathans of -India. They seem to consider that every vice and indulgence is -lawful. It is strange that these people who are among the most -fanatical Mohammedans of Africa should have become the most -vicious. Yet most of the Siwans are Senussi, members of that -Mohammedan sect which corresponds in a way to the Puritanism of -Christianity. It advocates a simple and abstemious life, and -condemns severely smoking, drinking and luxury. Yet the most -religious sheikhs are generally the most flagrantly outrageous.</p> - -<p>In spite of their unenviable reputation the Siwans are quite -satisfied with themselves, and speak with tolerant pity of the -Arabs and the Sudanese. The Siwan Sudanese have become like their -original masters, and do not seem to object to being called -“slaves,” but there are constantly furious rows between the natives -and the Camel Corps originating with the word “slave” being used -with reference to the latter. The Arabs, and to a greater extent -the Siwans, consider themselves very superior to the Sudanese who, -until quite recently, they could buy and sell.</p> - -<p>The population is divided into two classes, the one consisting -of the sheikhs, merchants and landowners, the other of the servants -and labourers. The former class is an all-powerful minority. There -is no middle class. There is also a religious division; the Senussi -predominate in numbers, but<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_151">[151]</span> the Medinia sect is the richest. The latter -sect is said to be the successor of the Wahhabi confraternity; it -is connected with the Dirkawi, which was founded by Sheikh Arabi el -Dirkawi. It was established about one hundred years ago by Sheikh -Zafer el Medani, who was born at Medina in Arabia. His doctrines -found favour in Tripoli and were adopted by the Siwans some time -before the arrival of the Senussi, and Sheikh Zafer himself visited -Siwa on several occasions. The two sects are very similar. The -Medinia have still several religious centres in Egypt and Tripoli, -but they lost ground considerably on the advent of Senussiism. In -spite of their similarities the two sects are by no means well -disposed to each other. Membership is hereditary, and no one has -been known to change from one party to the other. They have their -own mosques, sheikhs and funds, and on religious festivals they -hold their meetings in different parts of the town. I used always -to make a point of visiting the gatherings of each sect. There are -two other less important religious bodies known as the “Arusia” and -the “Sudania,” but they only consist of a few dozen old men who -perform strange dances on festivals in honour of their particular -saints. The Siwans are very religious, more so than the average -Arab, but this is probably owing to the fact that their mosques are -conveniently near, and if one is absent from mosque the neighbours -notice, and talk about it! One has heard of such things at -home.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[152]</span>The prosperity -of the people depends almost entirely on the date harvest. The date -groves, which form the wealth of the oasis, are watered by some two -hundred fresh-water springs. The water rises through natural -fissures, or artificial bore-holes, from a sandstone bed about 400 -feet below the surface. The largest springs, such as the “Fountain -of the Sun,” measure as much as 50 yards in diameter, with a depth -of about 40 feet. Each basin is fed by a group of little -water-holes, and the water comes up from the ground sometimes in -continuous streams of bubbles, and sometimes with sudden bursts, so -the surface seems constantly moving. There is a theory that an -underground river flows east towards the Nile and its water comes -to the surface in the various oases between Egypt and Tripoli. The -fact that Siwa lies considerably below the level of the desert -plateau, and even below sea-level, supports this theory. Or -possibly the water comes from the high desert plateau north of -Siwa, where there is a heavy rainfall; but the water supply never -varies, and has never been known to run dry. The water in the -springs differs considerably. In some it is very brackish, in -others it is quite sweet, and some springs are flavoured with -sulphur; again, some springs are warm, and others are several -degrees colder, so one can chose a bathing-place, hot or cold, -according to inclination. Many springs, often the sweetest ones, -rise a few feet away from the salt marshes, and one spring, which -used to be salt, has now become sweet. The largest springs are -edged<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[153]</span> to a certain -depth with squared stones and blocks of masonry, which looks as if -it might have been finished yesterday, though it was probably built -almost a thousand years ago. The basins are generally round, shaded -by a ring of palm trees, beyond which lie the gardens.</p> - -<p>The sides of the basins have been gradually built higher and -higher, so that the surface of the water is now several feet above -the level ground, and little brooks run down from the spring heads -into the gardens in all directions. They are regulated by rough -sluice gates, made generally of a large flat stone, which is -removed to allow the water to flow, and replaced, with a plaster of -mud, when the water is no longer needed. Each spring forms the -nucleus of a garden which belongs to a number of different people. -The gardens are divided into little beds of a uniform size, about 8 -feet square, lying an inch or two lower than the level of the -ground. These beds are known as “hods.” When the water is flowing -the labourer goes in turn to each “hod” and scoops a passage with -his hands connecting the “hod” with the water channel, which is on -a higher level, then he makes a rough dam across the channel so -that the water flows into the “hod” and fills it; afterwards he -closes the entrance of the “hod” with a handful of mud, pushes -aside the mud dam, and the stream flows on to the next “hod,” where -the same thing occurs. I have seen little boys at the seaside doing -just the same sort of thing. In<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_154">[154]</span> some cases two water channels cross, and -then one of them flows through a hollowed palm trunk.</p> - -<p>The cultivation round every spring is made up of a number of -gardens owned by different men, some of them consisting of no more -than half a dozen palm trees and a couple of “hods.” All the ground -is watered by the central spring, so a careful water system has -been evolved by which the water is divided and portioned out to -each piece of garden. For each spring there is a ponderous tome -called “Daftar el Ain”—the Book of the Spring, which records the -exact quantity of water, or rather the time of water, that each -garden is allowed. This is followed with the greatest care by the -Keeper of the Spring, who regulates the irrigation, and is paid by -the owners of the adjoining garden in proportion to the number of -trees that they own. Each day is divided into two halves, from -sunrise to sunset, and sunset to sunrise; this again is subdivided -into eighths, and each subdivision is called a “wagabah.” Thus if -Osman Daud’s garden receives an allowance of four “wagabah” every -other day, it means that he receives the full strength of the water -from the springs for twelve hours on consecutive days.</p> - -<p>When one buys a garden the water rights are included, but men -often sell part of their water right to a neighbour, this, of -course, being recorded in the Book of the Spring, which is kept by -one of the sheikhs. The “Ghaffir el Ain,” or Guardian of the -Spring, takes his time from the call of the muezzin, or in distant -gardens by the sun and the stars. At<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_155">[155]</span> night a special muezzin calls from one of -the mosques for the benefit of the watchmen on the springs out in -the gardens. The system has been in force for so many centuries -that there are very rarely any disputes on the subject. All -questions are referred to the books, which serve also as records of -ownership of the gardens.</p> - -<p>Each Siwan, however poor, keeps a book of his own in which he -enters, or rather pays a scribe to record, an account of his -property. It states the boundaries, number of trees and water -rights of his garden. When a man buys a garden he writes down the -particulars in his “daftar,” and this is signed by the person who -sold the garden, and witnessed by several responsible sheikhs or -“nas tayebin”—respectable people. This entry serves as a title-deed -for the purchase. When I was at Siwa there was a lengthy and -involved law case about the ownership of some property, in which -one party, in order to prove inheritance, forged an entry in his -“daftar.” But cases of forgery were not frequent—fortunately, as -they added considerable complications to an already difficult -case.</p> - -<p>There is more water in Siwa than is required for irrigating the -gardens, and in many cases sweet water flows to waste among the -salt marshes. The Siwans are unenterprising. They only cultivate -just sufficient for their own needs, and not always that: they only -work in the gardens where the soil, after centuries of watering and -manuring, has become very rich. They grow a very little wheat and -barley, but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[156]</span> not -enough to supply the population, who depend on imported barley from -the coast, yet there are many fertile plots of land which would -raise corn, and which could easily be irrigated. Lack of labour and -implements is their excuse when one questions them, but in the -spring numbers of Siwans go up to the coast and hire themselves out -to the bedouins as labourers, preferring to work on the coast -instead of increasing the cultivation in their oasis.</p> - -<p>The palm groves of Siwa are very beautiful. It seems a veritable -Garden of Hesperides when one arrives there after a long trek on -the waterless desert which surrounds the oasis. One appreciates the -slumberous shade of the luxuriant gardens, long, lazy bathes in the -deep cool springs, and feasts of fruit on the banks of little -rushing streams. Perhaps it is not surprising that the Siwans are -lazy and indolent, for their country is in many ways a land of -Lotus Eaters. The natives have a happy-go-lucky Omar Khayyámish -outlook on life which is accentuated by the place they inhabit.</p> - -<p>The gardens consist mainly of date groves with some olive -orchards. But among the date palms there are many other trees—figs, -pomegranates, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, apples, prickly -pears, limes and sweet lemons. The numerous vineyards produce -quantities of exceptionally fine grapes, which last for several -months and are so plentiful that large quantities rot on the -branches. The natives are not very fond of them and no wine is made -in Siwa, except “araki,” which is distilled from ripe -dates.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[157]</span> Dates and a -little olive oil are the only exports, and it is on the produce of -the date palms that the life of the people depends. The poorer -Siwans live almost entirely on dates; the beams and the doors of -the houses are made from palm trunks; mats, baskets and fences are -made from palm fronds; saddle crossbars are made from the wood; -saddle packing consists of the thick fibre, the branches are used -for fuel; the young white heart of the budding leaves is eaten as a -special delicacy, and the sap of the palm makes “lubki,” a drink -which is much liked by natives. The wealth of the whole community -is derived from the sale of dates, so it is not surprising that -they watch anxiously in springtime to see if the crop will be a -good one. Generally, on alternate years, there is a good crop, then -a fair crop, and when dates are plentiful olives are few. Nature -seems to have made this careful arrangement.</p> - -<p>The cultivation of dates is by no means as simple as it would -appear. The trees need careful watering, manuring and trimming, and -one notices very clearly the difference in crops from well or badly -cared for gardens. In the early spring the work of artificial -pollination is carried out by special men who are skilled in the -process. A branch is cut from the male date tree, which bears no -fruit, sharpened, and thrust into the trunk of the female tree. -Unless this is done to every tree the fruit becomes small and -worthless. There are about 170,000 trees, each of which bears, -after the fifth year, an average of three hundred pounds of fruit. -Little attention is paid to the other<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_158">[158]</span> fruits which deteriorate from lack of -pruning, but with a little trouble and proper methods they would -improve. Formerly the oasis produced rice, oranges, bananas and -sugar canes, but these no longer grow as they needed more trouble -to cultivate. Only dates and olives are sold, and it is considered -very shameful for a man to sell other fruit; the same idea applies -to milk. Siwans either eat fruit themselves, give it to their -friends, or let it rot; only the very poor natives sell any. I had -considerable difficulty in getting a regular supply, but eventually -I accepted “gifts” daily from certain men, and repaid them with -sugar, which they liked, though if I had offered them money they -would have considered themselves grievously insulted.</p> - -<p>While at Siwa I dried large quantities of figs and -apricots—mish-mish—which were very successful, and especially -useful for taking out on trek when fresh fruit is unobtainable. -None of the natives had attempted drying fruit, though the -excessive heat and the flat roofs offer excellent opportunities, -and quite an industry could be developed in this way. A variety of -vegetables are grown, but only by a very few people. The most -common are onions, watercress, radishes, pepper, cucumbers, -gherkins, egg fruit, mint, parsley and garlic.</p> - -<p>The gardens are manured with dry leaves and dried bundles of a -thorny plant called “argoul,” which grows about the oasis and is -much liked by camels. Bundles of it are cut and left for some -months to dry, and finally dug into the soil round the<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_159">[159]</span> fruit trees. The streets, -markets and stables are all swept carefully, and the manure is sold -to owners of gardens. The contents of public and private latrines -are all collected and used as manure in the gardens. It is a good -system, as it ensures sanitary arrangements being promptly carried -out. The soil of Siwa is strongly impregnated with salt. In many -places there are stretches of “sebukh” which consists of earth -hardened by a strong proportion of salt which feels, and looks, -like a ploughed field after a black frost. It is almost impassable, -and the occasional deep water-holes, hidden by a layer of thin -soil, make walking as dangerous as it is difficult. Two large salt -lakes lie one on the east and one on the west of the town. The -water in these lakes rises irregularly during the winter months, -and subsides in the summer, leaving a glistening white surface of -pure salt which looks exactly like ice, especially in places where -the dark water shows between cracks in the salt. One can lift up -white slabs of salt in the same way as ice, and send a piece -skimming across the surface, like stones on a frozen pond at home. -Sometimes there are deep pools in the midst of the marshes where -the white salt and the vivid blue sky combine to colour the water -with the most brilliant greens and blues. Causeways built by the -natives traverse the marshes, and by these alone it is possible to -cross them. In ancient days the Ammonians sent a tribute of salt to -the kings of Persia, and such was the quality of the salt that it -was used for certain special religious rites. The glitter of the -salt lakes in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[160]</span> the -middle of the day is intensely trying to the eyes, but at sunset -they reflect and seem to exaggerate every colour of the brilliant -sky.</p> - -<p>The salt lakes, the numerous springs, and the stagnant water -lying about the gardens bred mosquitoes and fevers. Formerly this -low-lying oasis was a hotbed of typhoid and malaria. Its evil -reputation was known to the bedouins who never stayed there a day -longer than was necessary, and even now they speak of almost every -fever as “Siwan fever.” The natives themselves attributed the fever -to fruit, and still call it “mish-mish fever,” owing to its -prevalence during the season when apricots are ripe. But nowadays -conditions are enormously improved. Typhoid is practically unknown, -the malarial mosquito has been banished from Siwa, though it still -swarms in the neighbouring oases; several thousand pounds has been -spent by the Egyptian Government in draining and filling up -stagnant pools, and fish have been imported by the Ministry of -Health which breed in the springs and feed upon the mosquitoes’ -eggs. The town is kept clean and there are very strict regulations -about sanitation, and thousands of sugar-coated quinine tablets are -distributed to the people each week. They have discovered now just -how much of the sugar can be licked off before the quinine begins -to taste. The result is that since the war there have been very few -new cases of malaria, though many of the people are so sodden with -fever that it is impossible to cure them.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw2"> -<figure id="i15"><img src='images/i15.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">CLEANING TAMOUSY SPRING</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[161]</span>It is supposed -that the fever is a form of malaria, but when I got it myself, very -badly, and had several blood tests taken in Cairo, no germ of any -known fever was found. The same thing happened to three other -Englishmen who caught the fever in Siwa. So far no careful analysis -has been made of the disease, which is spoken of as “malaria” -because it is certain that malaria exists in the oasis.</p> - -<p>Each spring in Siwa is cleaned out once in every two years in -the summer-time. On these occasions the owners of the gardens give -a free meal to the labourers, and a luncheon party to their -friends. It is a popular and pleasant entertainment. Almost all the -men in the town turn out and work in relays of fifty or a hundred, -baling out the water from the springs with old kerosene tins, -leather buckets and earthenware pitchers. It is a slow proceeding; -some of the largest springs take several days to finish, and the -work must be continuous, as the basins are continually filling. The -men and boys, covered with mud, shout and sing as they work, every -now and then diving into the water and swimming round. Every man, -woman and child in Siwa can swim, and most of them are expert -divers. The women swim like dogs, with much splashing, but the men -are very good. A pump would drain a well in a single day and save -much labour and wasted time. As the water sinks masons and -carpenters repair the sides of the basin, fitting in new stones and -patching up old ones. A curious custom terminates these occasions. -Each guest and labourer is presented by the owners<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_162">[162]</span> of the spring with a handful -of berseem—clover—as a partial payment for his labour. When the men -ride home in the evening they twist the clover in wreaths round -their heads and round the donkeys’ ears, then, when they arrive at -the town, the donkeys are allowed to eat it.</p> - -<p>One of the “characters” of Siwa, always very much in evidence on -these occasions, was an old, half-witted man known as “Sultan -Musa.” He suffered from a delusion that he was the Sultan of Siwa, -but I fancy that he was trifle less foolish than he pretended to -be. He played the part of court jester at all entertainments. The -Siwans found him intensely comic; they asked him questions—how old -was he, how many wives, and what he had done; when he mumbled that -he was 100 years old and had 20 wives, and various other domestic -details, they simply shrieked with laughter. I got heartily sick of -the old imbecile and announced that I did not wish to see him when -I went anywhere. Sometimes when I arrived at a party I would catch -sight of him being hurriedly bundled out of sight, and later I -heard the servants in the background laughing hilariously at his -dreary witticisms.</p> - -<p>A few days after my arrival at Siwa I received an invitation to -a luncheon in the garden of one of the leading sheikhs. The -messenger announced that Sheikh Thomi would call for me at eight -o’clock on the following morning; I wondered at the hour—but -accepted the invitation. The next morning, while shaving before -breakfast, I was disturbed by a<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_163">[163]</span> terrific hullabaloo. My dogs, who strongly -object to unknown natives, a trait which I encouraged, were -circling furiously round a party of Siwans who sat on their donkeys -below the house. My servants went out and rescued them, explaining -that I would be down soon; a few minutes later I joined them. After -many salutations and polite inquiries I was introduced to the other -guests, a crafty-looking, one-eyed merchant, two venerable, -white-bearded sheikhs and several notables of the town. They were -all dressed very distinctly in their best, wearing coloured silks -or spotless white robes. Sheikh Thomi, a cheerful, rotund little -man, with the reputation of being the richest sheikh in Siwa, wore -a long white burnous and a gorgeously embroidered scarlet silk -scarf, and rode a big black donkey with a satanic expression. I was -offered the choice of a number of donkeys. I picked out the largest -one, and off we went. The donkeys have no bridles or reins; one -steers them by beating their necks with a stick, and very -occasionally they go the way one wants them to. Mine was the -fastest, so I led the cavalcade, hoping that my mount was -sure-footed. We dashed through the town with a tremendous clatter -and a cloud of dust, scattering children, hens and old women, out -on to the roads, and then for a mile or so at a hard gallop towards -some gardens. My donkey knew the way. We arrived at the garden as -it was beginning to grow hot, and were met at the entrance by a -troop of servants who took the donkeys.</p> - -<p>Sheikh Thomi led me, slightly dishevelled, through<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_164">[164]</span> a thick palm grove, followed -by the rest of the party, to a large summer-house built of logs and -thatch, set on the edge of a round spring from whose green-blue -depths constant streams of silver bubbles rose to the surface. -Little green frogs swam in the water and numbers of scarlet -dragon-flies hovered over it. The walls of the summer-house were -hung with gaily striped Tripoli blankets—vermilion, white and -green—the floor was covered with beautiful old Persian carpets, and -cushions were ranged round the sides. Through the open ends of the -building I saw long vistas of palm trunks, and the sun caught the -scarlet blossoms of the pomegranates and the shining, purple grapes -on their trellis frames. The air was heavy with the scent of orange -blossom and “tamar-el-hindi,” and the deep shade inside the hut was -a welcome relief. Outside the white-robed servants hurried to and -fro, carrying baskets and dishes, while two boys, in the distance, -sang curious Siwan songs, answering each other back as they swung -to and fro high up on two palm trees. Sheikh Thomi, with much -whispering and smiling, went outside. I leant back on my cushions -lulled by “the liquid lapse of murmuring streams,” thinking how -absolutely Eastern the whole scene was.</p> - -<p>Suddenly—to my horror—I heard a hideous grinding sound and a -shrill, raucous voice with a pronounced American accent began -singing, “Waiting for the Robert E. Lee,” a tune which I always -object to. It was a gramophone, very old and decrepit, the most -prized possession of Sheikh Thomi. I tried to<span class="pagenum" -id="Page_165">[165]</span> look as if I enjoyed the tune, which was -played over and over again for about half an hour, and followed by -some slightly less repulsive records of native music.</p> - -<p>After listening to this musical interlude a servant brought in a -bunch of pink and white sweetly scented China roses which were -distributed among the guests, and then the meal began. A dozen boys -served as waiters, carrying the dishes from an open-air fire round -the corner where several cooks presided over the food. At first it -was suggested that I should eat alone, in solitary state, but I -protested, so Sheikh Thomi and three others ate with me, while the -rest of the guests retired outside to eat later, probably with more -ease in my absence. We sat cross-legged on the ground, a position -that without considerable practice causes the most agonising “pins -and needles.” The meal was eaten almost in silence, broken only by -the noisy sounds of eating.</p> - -<p>A round wooden table was placed in the centre, and each guest -was provided with several flat round wheaten loaves, which served -as plates, and some strips of thin native bread, which looks rather -like pancake, only darker and more solid. The meal consisted mostly -of mutton, cooked in various ways—boiled, fried and stewed—with -different kinds of vegetables, salads, spices, curries and -flavourings. One of the dishes, a very excellent one, was stewed -doves, eaten with fresh grapes. The pudding was the least -appetising dish on the menu, it was made<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_166">[166]</span> of crumbled bread, mixed into a sticky mass -with “semna” oil and sugar. There were about a dozen courses. Each -one was brought in in a big dish of polished ebony and placed on -the table. The guests ate from the central dish, using the thin -bread to pick up the meat. One takes a piece of thin bread between -finger and thumb, dips into the dish, sandwiching the meat in the -bread. It sounds a messy proceeding, but after a little practice I -found it quite simple. Servants brought round a brass ewer, and -each guest washed his hands after every course; the Siwans also -rinsed their mouths—noisily. Every now and then some one would fish -out an extra succulent morsel and hand it to me, or if one man had -secured a tasty bone he would tear off the meat and heap it on to -my loaf. Towards the end of the meal a few loud hiccoughs are not -considered amiss, and to loosen one’s belt, very obviously, is -thought most complimentary. One needs it too!</p> - -<p>The food was very good, excellently cooked, and so tender that -there was no difficulty in separating the meat from the bones. When -I thought, and felt, that we had finished, there followed an -enormous dish heaped high with perfectly plain boiled rice. This is -called “Shawish”—The Sergeant—because it clears away the other -dishes! Afterwards an enormous copper tray was carried in by two -boys loaded with every kind of fruit—plums, peaches, pears, grapes, -apricots and figs. Last of all came tea, and bowls of palm wine for -those who liked it. It is made from the sap of the date palm, and -when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[167]</span> freshly drawn -it tastes like sweet ginger-beer, but a little goes a very long -way.</p> - -<p>Tea-drinking in Siwa is as solemn a ceremony as after-dinner -port at home. The host either dispenses it himself, or as a -compliment invites one of the guests to pour out. Towards the end -of my time at Siwa I was thought to have acquired sufficient -experience, and occasionally I poured out myself. The guest -invariably pretends to refuse, protests that he is not worthy, but -eventually accepts the honour. The pourer-out is called the -“Sultan” of the party, and every “Sultan” tries to make the best -tea in the town. People are very critical, and opinions vary as to -who is the super Sultan in Siwa. As soon as the “Sultan” takes over -the job he becomes, for the time, master of the house. He calls -loudly for more sugar, boiling water, and scolds the servants as if -they were his own. If he doesn’t like the quality of the tea, he -says so and the host apologises. A servant brings a low table with -a number of little glasses about 4 inches high, a locked chest -containing three divisions for red and green tea, and sugar, and a -bowl of hot water to rinse the cups. One is asked which kind of tea -is preferred, red or green, and the safest and most popular reply -is “A mixture of both.” The “Sultan” then very deliberately rinses -the glasses from a kettle of boiling water which stands on a little -brazier at his side, measures out the tea into the pot, adds a -little water, pours it away, then carefully makes the tea, pours -out a little, tastes it, and finally, if he approves of<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_168">[168]</span> the flavour, hands one -glassful to each guest. The tea is drunk with no milk; the first -brew is rather bitter, with a very little sugar, the second is very -sweet, and the third, and best, is flavoured with rose petals, -orange blossom, or fresh mint. Each guest drinks one glass only of -each brew, and what is over is poured out and sent to the servants, -or into the harem. It should be sipped noisily, and satisfaction -expressed in the sound of drinking. One drinks either three -glasses, six, or nine. I have known twelve, but that is considered -rather an excess in polite society. Personally I consider it one of -the best drinks I know, but at first people dislike it.</p> - -<p>The Siwans are greedy, when they get the chance, and on these -occasions their appetites are enormous. They have the greatest -admiration for anyone who eats copiously. A certain Government -official, whose fondness for large meals was famous, came down to -Siwa. He attended a luncheon party, which was given in his honour -by some of the sheikhs. The meal was a matter of some dozen or -fifteen courses. I myself, by using the greatest discretion, and -only eating a few mouthfuls of each dish, managed to last out. But -the guest of the day took, and ate, a liberal helping of each -course. The Siwans themselves became a trifle languid towards the -end of the meal, but he persevered. Even the plain boiled rice did -not daunt him, or the sticky oily pudding. It earned him an -everlasting admiration in Siwa, and his name is always mentioned -at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[169]</span> Siwan parties as -a really fine fellow, “The Englishman who ate of everything.”</p> - -<p>Meat is difficult to get in the oasis. When a bedouin convoy -arrives the Arabs often slaughter and sell a camel. There are a few -sheep and goats imported from the coast, but the price of meat -makes it impossible for the poorer folk to buy it. I had with me a -number of dogs. One of them, an attractive mongrel, produced a -litter of pups. Several people asked me to give them one, and I did -so. I was pleased to see how well their new owners looked after -them; they appeared even fatter and fitter than when I had them. -Then I went into Cairo on local leave. When I returned, about a -month or so later, I inquired after the puppies. One of the men who -had taken one told me, “They were fine, so fat and so large——” But -“Where are they now?” I asked. He looked surprised, pointed to his -stomach, which was a very obvious one, and explained that they had -all been eaten last month on the “Eid el Kebir,” one of the -Mohammedan festivals. He said that nobody could ever imagine that I -had given them away for any other reason than for eating. There was -nothing to be done, but I never gave away another puppy. I drowned -the next litter, and it was considered extremely wasteful.</p> - -<p>The Siwans eat cats too, and mice and rats. At one time there -were many cats in Siwa and no rats. Now there are rats but no cats. -Cats were easier to catch than rats, so they went first. One man, a -merchant, complained that his house and shop<span class="pagenum" -id="Page_170">[170]</span> was overrun with mice and rats. He had -gone to great trouble and brought a cat from Egypt, but as soon as -it was full grown it disappeared! Dogs are considered “unclean” by -the Mohammedan religion, and they are never eaten in any other -places in Egypt.</p> - -<p>Dogs are useful at Siwa both as watch-dogs and companions. My -dogs used to sleep on the high terrace of the house, and they -always gave one warning of anybody coming over the half mile of -sand from the town. Besides, dogs are the most human and -affectionate of all animals, and one gets to feel the need of -companionship at Siwa. It is a solitary life. One either likes it -or hates it; there is no compromise, and most men hate it. -Sometimes one does not see a single white man for several months, -and then, when a car patrol arrives, they stay a few hours in the -town and dash back on the same day. One needs a certain temperament -to stand living at Siwa. In the summer the heat is so great that -one does not go out much in the middle of the day, unless there is -urgent necessity, consequently for many hours every day there is -nothing to do. If one sleeps much in the daytime one is unable to -sleep at night. A man at Siwa must have some form of hobby in which -he can interest himself without needing the assistance of other -people. Painting, writing, photography and reading all serve the -purpose. I mention them as they formed my own spare-time -occupations. But without something of this kind life becomes -unbearable. It is an ideal place<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_171">[171]</span> for painting and photography. The strangely -varied scenery, the brilliant sunshine, the picturesque natives, -and the wonderful colouring, especially the sunsets, provide a -variety of subjects on every side. Siwan men quite enjoy being -photographed, but the women strongly dislike it. Eventually by -teaching my Sudanese servant to use a camera I managed to secure a -few indifferent photos of women. When one “snaps” people they -immediately demand a copy of the photo, imagining that the camera -is also a simultaneous printer and developer.</p> - -<p>According to the proverb “Two is company, three is none,” but I -think most men who have experienced it would agree that in an -isolated district three is generally company and two is purgatory. -The odds are one in a thousand that “the other man” will be -congenial, and if he is not life is insufferable. If there is a -third man things feel better, but to live for months on end with -one other man, who one does not really like, results in mutual -detestation. This may sound morbid and unnatural, but one sees so -many examples. I knew two quite ordinary normal men posted in a -lonely district where they rarely saw another Englishman. For the -first month they lived together quite happily, in the second month -they quarrelled, in the third month they took to living in separate -houses, and at the end of four months they were not on speaking -terms! Then there are other men who cannot stand living alone. They -have no personal occupation, they become depressed, take to whiskey -in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[172]</span> large -quantities—or worse, and therein lies the way to madness.</p> - -<p>Then there is the question of marriage. In most cases the -authorities do not encourage, or rather do not allow, men to marry. -They very reasonably consider that married men are unsuitable for -desert work; they either leave their wives in Egypt, and worry -about them, which is not surprising, or they manage to “wangle” a -permission out of the powers that be and take their wives out to -the desert. Then, of course, a married man is stationed in a -pleasanter place than one who has no wife. It is a difficult -problem, and in most cases results in men wasting the prime of -their life in a bachelor condition on the desert.</p> - -<p>But one was kept fairly busily employed at Siwa. A considerable -part of the work consisted in judging cases, similar to the duties -of a magistrate at home (this, to my mind, was the most interesting -part of the routine); also there was a section of Camel Corps to -keep in training, and the local police. I went out on patrol for a -few days every month, but after once exploring the whole -neighbourhood these “treks” were not exciting. Most of the law -cases were not of great interest; they consisted mainly of petty -thefts, assaults and infringement of Government regulations. -Divorce and questions of inheritance were not supposed to be dealt -with by me, as they came before a special Mohammedan court, whose -representative, an old kadi, went on circuit every year, though he -always avoided Siwa, owing to the tedious journey<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_173">[173]</span> and the huge file of cases -that were waiting for his decision. The Siwans knew almost to the -penny how much they would have to give him for a favourable -decision on any case.</p> - -<p>Sometimes, however, I did get curious cases, and the following -one illustrates the social conditions in the town.</p> - -<p>A young Siwan woman called Booba, about fifteen years old, after -a series of very varied matrimonial experiences, married an Arab -who was settled in the town. Although she had been married many -times she was considered a very respectable person and related to -one of the leading sheikhs. Divorce is considered no disgrace, and -a divorced woman does not lose caste as in other parts of the -country. Very soon the Arab husband died. This occurred in January, -by the end of March she had married again; this time her husband -was a Siwan merchant. He quickly grew tired of her and divorced her -after a month of married life, but he treated her well and paid the -residue of her marriage money to her brother who was her nearest -male relation. She returned to her brother’s family, who were by no -means pleased to see her. Being an exceptionally good-looking girl -she was courted again by another man, the young son of a sheikh, -who was considered rather a “catch.” He married her in June, and -very soon after she gave birth to a child. As the child was a girl, -the husband divorced her two days after its birth. The wretched -woman was turned out of the house in the night by her late -mother-in-law. She managed to get to her<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_174">[174]</span> own home, but her brother’s wife refused to -let her in. The brother himself was away. Eventually she found a -lodging with an old woman, a relative of one of the earlier -husbands, who had, it seemed, some liking for the girl. While -staying here the child died—possibly from exposure, possibly from -other reasons.</p> - -<p>Immediately the families of the last three husbands hurried to -give information against her, and charged her with murdering the -child. The doctor examined it and found signs of possible -suffocation. I listened for several days to the evidence of a -number of witnesses, mostly repulsive old women who enlarged with -horrid keenness on the most disagreeable details. But eventually -nothing was proved, and the girl was acquitted. It was a -disagreeable case, but one could almost find parallels to it in the -English police-court news.</p> - -<p>Female witnesses at Siwa were very difficult to manage. They -never spoke or understood any Arabic, so the six sheikhs, who acted -as a jury, interpreted for them. I used to sit on a platform at one -end of the room, and the six sheikhs occupied a bench along one -side. Women pretended to hate coming into the court-house, but I -think they really rather enjoyed it. The orderly, one of the -police, would firmly propel the lady into the middle of the room, -she being completely covered from head to foot with clothes. As -soon as the orderly retired she sidled over to the wall and propped -herself against it, generally with her back turned on me. The -sheikhs<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[175]</span> would -remonstrate, “For shame, turn round Ayesha, daughter of Osman, and -speak to the noble officer.” The lady would wriggle round a little -and allow one eye to appear through the drapery. When questioned -she mumbled inaudible replies, growing slightly more coherent if -she was personally concerned in the case, but if there was another -woman giving evidence she would gradually lower her veils, speak -louder, and finally show her whole face as she shrieked abuse at -her opponent—quite regardless of the eyes of the court. The sheikhs -were invaluable on these occasions; it would have been very -difficult to work without them.</p> - -<p>One woman, who sued her neighbour for throwing stones at her -hens, disturbed the court considerably. When she was led in by the -policeman she appeared particularly cumbered with clothes. Suddenly -a terrific disturbance began among her shawls and draperies; she -gave a shrill squeal and two hens disentangled themselves from her -clothes and dashed madly round the court-house. Two of my dogs, who -were lying at my feet, sprang after the birds and chased them round -the room, which plunged the proceedings into the wildest confusion. -The woman had carried in the hens intending to confront her -opponent, at the critical moment, with the injured victims. Judging -from their activity they had not been much injured.</p> - -<p>One man, Bashu Habun, son of the old sheikh who was hanged, -caused more legal work than the whole of the rest of the population -together. He spent his<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_176">[176]</span> time appropriating the property of one of -his brothers who was in prison. The brother had an agent in Siwa, a -foolish old sheikh called Soud, who was too honest, or stupid, to -withstand the sly cleverness of Bashu Habun. At one time there were -seven cases between them, involving many hundreds of pounds. I -settled the first three, but found that the latter dealt with -inheritance, and so were beyond my jurisdiction, but I got heartily -sick of the sharp, foxy face of Bashu Habun and the noisy, foolish -obstinacy of old Sheikh Soud. Both of them tried to secure my -support by sending donkey-loads of fruit to my house before the -cases were tried, and on one occasion the servants met both -bringing presents, and returned together with their offerings to -the town. The idea of “baksheesh” is so firmly planted in the -native mind that it takes a long while to die out. Still, one finds -that the natives really appreciate and prefer an impartial -administration of justice, in place of justice—of sorts—which -depends on which of the two parties can offer the highest bribe to -the judge. The Senussi were by no means above this method, but they -let political considerations weigh equally with “baksheesh” on -their scale of justice. In the days when a Turkish governor ruled -in Siwa he made his money by accepting and extorting bribes, and -if, when British Administration retires from Egypt, the oasis is -ruled again by a native mamur, the same system will possibly -flourish.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw5"> -<figure id="i16"><img src='images/i16.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">IN THE WESTERN QUARTER</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<h2><span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[177]</span><a id= -"c05"></a>CHAPTER V</h2> - -<p class="sch">SUBURBAN OASES</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group2"> -<div class="line indent10">“. . . tufted isles</div> - -<div class="line indent0">That verdant rise amid the Libyan -wild.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="dcap">SIWA itself is the largest, richest and most -important oasis in a little group of oases which are mostly -uninhabited. Similar oases, such as the Kufra group and the Augila -group, are scattered at intervals, few and very far between, over -the vast arid surface of the great Sahara desert. In most of them -there are fresh-water springs surrounded by small patches of green, -which have an appearance of almost magical beauty to those who -arrive at them, weary after days of travel over the hot and barren -solitudes of the desert. Ancient poets compared the yellow desert -to a leopard’s tawny skin, spotted with occasional oases. Doubtless -when Siwa was more thickly populated than it is to-day each of the -outlying ones was inhabited, but now the ever-shrinking population -is insufficient even to cultivate all the gardens in the immediate -vicinity of Siwa itself.</p> - -<p>About 20 miles east of Siwa town, at one end of a long salt -lake, there is a village called Zeitoun, and close by it a cluster -of rich gardens which are the<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_178">[178]</span> finest and best cared-for in the oasis, -famous for the olives which give the place its name. In the whole -of Siwa there are about 40,000 fruit-bearing olive trees, and a -large quantity of olive oil is manufactured locally. Rough wooden -olive presses are used by the natives, which are so primitive that -a large proportion of the oil is wasted. The oil is of an excellent -quality and is very profitable when exported, but owing to the -difficulty of obtaining suitable tins and vessels to store it in -only a small amount is sent up to the coast. It is bought by the -Greeks at Matruh and Sollum, who dilute it and sell it at an -enormous profit to the Arabs.</p> - -<p>Along the shores of the lake there are several other groups of -gardens, and at one of them the ex-Khedive proposed to start a -model farm, but as usual he got no further in his scheme than -erecting some huts for the labourers to live in. He also did a -certain amount of excavating in this neighbourhood, and according -to hearsay he carried away camel-loads of “antikas” which he dug up -among some ruins at a place called Kareished. Some of the gardens -slope right down to the shores of the lake, and there are several -fine springs among them. I often thought that Kareished would be -quite a pleasant place to live in if one built a good house and had -a boat to cross the lake to Siwa. The people in these outlying -villages ride into Siwa town every few days to do their shopping, -across a long causeway which divides the lake and the mud -swamp.</p> - -<p>North-east of Zeitoun, across 90 miles of high<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_179">[179]</span> desert tableland, one comes to -the oasis of Gara, or “Um es Sogheir”—the Little Mother. The word -“Um”—mother—is used indiscriminately by the Arabs in names of -places, hills, valleys and rocks. According to one theory this -practice originates from very ancient times when places were named -after certain female deities or goddesses. Gara is a lonely valley -about 10 miles long and 5 miles wide, surrounded by precipitous -cliffs that one can only descend in a few places, sprinkled with -vast isolated masses of rock, upon one of which the village is -perched. Many of the rocks have had their bases so worn away that -they look like gigantic mushrooms, and one can camp most -comfortably in their shade as under an umbrella. There are nine -wells and springs in the oasis, but the water has an unpleasant -bitter taste, which is mentioned in the accounts of Alexander’s -journey to Siwa. Owing to the bad water and lack of labour the -Garites are unable to grow anything except dates of a poor quality -and a few onions and tomatoes. Grapes and fruit trees will not -flourish in the oasis. The people eke out a miserable existence by -selling dates, mats and baskets to the caravans which pass between -Siwa and Egypt. They are wretchedly poor, exceedingly dirty and -very distinctly darker in complexion than the Siwans. In former -days they were too weak-spirited to be aggressive and too poor to -be attacked, although owing to the position of Gara on the -Siwa-Egypt caravan route they might easily have made themselves -very awkward to travellers by levying a toll on<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_180">[180]</span> convoys calling at Gara for -water on their way to Egypt.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw3"> -<figure id="i17"><img src='images/i17.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">THE SPRING OF ZEITOUN</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p>But on the one solitary occasion when the Garites did attempt to -do this they fared very badly. According to the tradition a famous -religious sheikh called Abdel Sayed was travelling from Tripoli to -join the pilgrim caravan at Cairo. He had with him a few attendants -and some devout men who were also on their way to do the -Pilgrimage. When they halted at Gara the inhabitants, instead of -feeling honoured and entertaining the travellers, came out of the -town and attacked them. The sheikh and his followers managed to -escape, and when they were safely out of the valley the venerable -Abdel Sayed stood on a rock and solemnly cursed the people of Gara, -swearing that there should never be more than forty men alive in -the village at once. Since then, although the total number of -inhabitants is over a hundred, there have never been more than -forty full-grown men. When the number exceeds forty, one of them -dies. On this account the Garites have a great objection to -strangers, and when I arrived, with a dozen fully grown Camel Corps -men, the sheikh anxiously begged me to forbid them to enter the -village, but as there were under forty men living there at the time -I myself and an orderly went up into the town. Presumably if we had -all walked up several of the Garites must have died.</p> - -<p>The village is a miserable imitation of Aghourmi, but dirty and -squalid. A steep winding pathway<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_181">[181]</span> leads up the rock to the gateway, and in -the centre there is a square open market where nothing is ever -bought or sold as nobody has any money except the sheikh, and he -spends it at Siwa when he rides in every fortnight on a donkey to -report at the Markaz. The sheikh himself is an intelligent man, but -scarcely able to speak any Arabic. One of his duties is to look -after the telephone from Siwa which passes Gara on its way to -Matruh. This telephone was erected by the army after the Senussi -operations, and is remarkably clear considering the distance of -desert which it crosses. My visit caused a great sensation, as the -people had not seen an Englishman for a very long time. The -inhabitants came out to my camp and sat in silent rows gazing at -us, until they were politely “moved on,” and the women spent the -whole day looking down on us from the roofs. I believe, during the -war, a car patrol visited the place, but as the sheikh said, “They -came—whirrrr—and they went—brrrrr!”</p> - -<p>According to another legend some bedouin raiders once attacked -Gara. The people retired to the village, shut the gates, and prayed -to the patron sheikh, who is buried outside, for help. The spirit -of the dead sheikh rose to the occasion and so dazzled the eyes of -the enemy that they wandered round and round the rock and were -totally incapable of finding the gate. Eventually they became so -exhausted that the Garites were emboldened to come down from the -town and kill them. The old muezzin of the mosque of Gara related -this story to me, and an<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_182">[182]</span> audience of Garites, who evidently knew it -well, with what I considered unjustifiable pride, and he did not -seem to think at all that his forebears had played rather a -cowardly part in this signal victory.</p> - -<p>Between Siwa and Gara there is a pass through a rocky gorge -called Negb el Mejberry. Across the track there is a line of fifty -little heaps of stones, each a few feet high. Once, many years ago, -a rich caravan set out from Siwa to the coast, via Gara. They -reached the negb (pass) at twilight and noticed the heaps of -stones, but thought nothing of it. Suddenly, when they were quite -close to them, a bedouin leaped up from behind each heap and rushed -on the caravan. With great difficulty the merchants beat off the -robbers, and the ambuscade failed, but not without several men -being killed. The merchants buried them close to the place, which -is haunted to-day by the ghosts of the brigands who still appear -lurking behind the stone heaps. The pass has an evil reputation, -and natives prefer to cross it in broad daylight, and not when the -sinking sun plays strange tricks with the shadows of the rocks, or -when the moon lends an air of mystery to the rugged ravine.</p> - -<p>Due west of Zeitoun there is a string of “sebukha”—salt -marshes—which lie at the foot of a line of cliffs, a continuation -of the mountains that surround Siwa on the north. In this country, -which is rarely crossed, one finds little plantations of gum trees -that remind one of the Sudan, and also patches<span class="pagenum" -id="Page_183">[183]</span> of camel thorn bushes. I have not seen -these growing in any other part of the Western Desert. Possibly -they may have grown from seeds dropped by caravans passing up from -the Sudan. There is no fresh water in this area, but the country is -very full of gazelle.</p> - -<p>South-west of Siwa there are two other uninhabited oases, El -Areg and Bahrein—the two lakes. El Areg is a very surprising place. -Riding along the flat rocky stretch of country on the east of the -Pacho mountains, named after a European explorer who visited Siwa -in the early nineteenth century, one arrives suddenly on the brink -of a precipice which is the top of the cliffs that surround the -oasis. There are two steep, difficult paths leading down between -enormously high white rocks with bunches of straggling, overgrown -palm trees at their foot. Much of the oasis is a salt marsh, but at -one end there is a mass of bushes and tall palm trees, with two -springs of drinkable water among them. The cliffs are very high -indeed, and their whiteness makes them look strange at night. In -places there are stretches of fossilized sea-shells, and I -especially noticed sea-urchins and starfish. In a kind of bay in -the cliff, between two enormous high rocks, there is a natural -terrace, and in the centre of the terrace there are remains of a -building; in the surrounding cliffs, sometimes so high up on the -face that one wonders how and why they were made, there are the -square entrances of rock tombs or dwellings. Some of them are quite -large, but in all cases very low. All the<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_184">[184]</span> lower ones are full of skulls and human -skeletons, but many are so covered with sand-drifts that I could -not get inside. The oasis is full of gazelle, which feed on the -luscious vegetation round the marshes.</p> - -<p>At Bahrein there are two long, brilliantly blue salt lakes, -fringed with a tangled mass of vegetation and palm trees, -surrounded by yellow sand-dunes. Bahrein always reminded me of</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="line indent4">“A tideless, dolorous, midland sea;</div> - -<div class="line indent0">In a land of summer, and sand, and -gold.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">Here also are rock tombs in some of the cliffs, and -in one of them I discovered the remains of a coloured mural -painting, a picture very much obliterated, of a cow and some palm -trees with large clusters of dates on them, roughly done in brown -and blue colours. Evidently at one time the oasis was inhabited, -and if one sought complete seclusion it would be quite a pleasant -place to live in. There are several thousands of date palms at El -Areg and Bahrein which would produce fruit if they were pruned and -looked after. At one time men used to come out from Siwa and tend -the trees, collecting the fruit later on, but now there is not -enough labour in Siwa to cultivate all the gardens, so both these -oases are deserted. The route from Siwa to Farafra passes through -El Areg and Bahrein, and there is another caravan track from El -Areg to the Baharia oasis, and thence to the valley of the Nile, -which it touches somewhere near Assiut. But practically no -travellers pass this way, and the Mashrabs are almost lost to -knowledge.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[185]</span>West of Siwa -town, at the end of the lake, at the foot of an enormous -flat-topped mountain, there is a little hamlet called Kamissa, and -a number of gardens. Beyond this, if one crosses the cliffs by a -rocky pass, one arrives at a valley called Maragi, where there is -another salt lake surrounded by gardens which belong to a colony of -about sixty Arabs who settled here some fifty years ago and have -remained ever since. They do not intermarry with the Siwans but -“keep themselves to themselves,” as they consider that they are -very superior to the natives. They live in tents and breed sheep -and cattle, and are to all appearances similar to the Arabs on the -coast, except that they have no camels. At one time two of these -Arabs moved into Siwa and settled in houses, but they were regarded -as renegades by the remainder. Further west there is yet another -salt lake called Shyata, a long patch of blue among the yellow -sand-hills, with good grazing around it and fresh water which can -be obtained by digging in certain places, which one needs to know -from experience, as there is no indication of its whereabouts.</p> - -<p>North-west of Shyata there is a cluster of uninhabited oases, -Gagub, Melfa and Exabia. They are queer wild places with wonderful -rock scenery, huge towering limestone cliffs, deep morasses, and -stretches of shining water, edged with rotting palm trees, like</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="line indent6">“. . . That dim lake</div> - -<div class="line indent0">Where sinful souls their farewell -take</div> - -<div class="line indent0">Of this sad world.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_186">[186]</span>These oases have a strangely evil -appearance, one could well imagine the witches of Macbeth -celebrating their midnight orgies in such places. At night a -feverish miasma rises from the dark rotting vegetation, and with it -myriads of venomous mosquitoes. By moonlight the scene is even more -<em>macabre</em>; the gigantic masses of strangely shaped rocks -take on the appearance of</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="line indent0">“Dome, pyramid, and pinnacle,</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> A city of death, distinct with many -a tower</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> And wall impregnable——.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">and the dead branches on the gaunt palm trunks sway -like corpses on a gallows tree. When I trekked in these parts I -always tried to camp for the night above the cliffs, but this was -no easy matter, as in places they rose perpendicularly from the -ground.</p> - -<p>Yet the presence of innumerable sepulchral chambers cut in the -cliffs shows that these melancholy valleys were once inhabited. The -water here is practically undrinkable. At Gagub there is a well, -and on one occasion my men all drank from it, but it was so -strongly impregnated with sulphur that it had the same effect as a -very powerful dose of physic! There is a great difference between -these deep gloomy valleys, with their oozing marshes and dead -funereal palm trees, and Siwa itself, with its rich gardens, cool -defiles and long green vistas among the trees. From the top of a -hill near Melfa, the westernmost oasis, one can see the dome of the -mosque at Jerabub. In Siwa the mosques have no domes, so one -becomes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[187]</span> -unaccustomed to the sight of them, and for this reason the dome at -Jerabub looks quite impressive, though it is actually only about -the size of those that one sees over tombs in numbers of the -cemeteries of Cairo.</p> - -<p>Jerabub used to be the Mecca of Senussiism, but what glory it -ever had has now passed away. To-day it only contains about a -hundred half-starving natives, and a few old sheikhs who still -teach the children in the zowia (religious school). Lately the -people were in such sore straits that the Senussi Wakil, Sidi -Ahmed, had to send down a convoy of grain from the coast, and the -Siwans who rode into Jerabub to sell things returned with their -goods and complained that nobody had any money to spend. The dates -in the Jerabub gardens are very inferior, so the Siwans export -quite a lot of dates to their neighbours.</p> - -<p>The only man of any wealth in Jerabub was an old retired -merchant called Mohammed el Ithneini. He was so old, and so -enormously fat, that he was unable to walk, and had to be carried -about by his slaves in a litter. In his day he had been a great -merchant, travelling between Tripoli, Wadai, Egypt and the Sudan, -and in course of time he had amassed considerable riches. But -lately, finding himself short of cash, with a large family to -support, he began to raise money on his belongings.</p> - -<p>One day I got information that two men from Jerabub had passed -through Siwa on their way to the coast and Egypt without coming to -the office to see whether they had anything on which to -pay<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[188]</span> customs. -Customs are collected at Siwa on imports from the west. I sent a -patrol after them and brought them back to the Markaz. One of them -was a grandson of the old sheikh, and the other was his cousin. I -examined their camels, and ordered them to turn out their bags, -which they did very reluctantly. They spread the contents out on -the steps of the Markaz. It was quite like a scene from the Arabian -Nights. There were heavy silver anklets, curiously chased bangles, -silver earrings shaped like a young moon with filigree bosses from -which hung long silver chains with little pendants, rings, -brooches, necklaces, several small lumps of gold, two complete sets -of trappings and armour for an Arab horse made of silver-gilt and -gold-fringed velvet, filigree ornaments and cases for charms and a -little bag full of seed pearls; all this was emptied out of two -dirty old leather bags. It made a fine show shining in the sunlight -and I longed to make a bid for some of it, but I came to the -conclusion that it couldn’t be done. They were taking it to sell to -a certain merchant in Cairo, so I sent them up with a Camel Corps -patrol who were going to the coast, as already the Siwans were -casting envious eyes on the stuff. The men returned two months -later and told me that they got £140 for the lot, which I myself -had estimated as being worth a very great deal more. For several -years the old merchant had been sending stuff to be sold in Cairo, -and every year I imagine he received as small a price.</p> - -<p>Among the valuables in his house there are a<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_189">[189]</span> number of old Persian and -Turkish carpets, but these he keeps as they are too heavy to send -about. I had entered into negotiations with him about some of -these, but just when the bargain was being completed I got a bad -“go” of fever and had to leave for the coast. A few of the Siwan -sheikhs have good carpets, but they know their worth and are very -unwilling to part with them. Other household articles that some -Siwans possess and are very proud of are large brass Turkish -samovars which they use with charcoal for making tea. Their owners -say that they were originally brought from Constantinople, but now -they have become quite like heirlooms, and curiously enough they do -not seem to wear out.</p> - -<p>South of Siwa, beyond the shifting yellow sand-hills, there is a -vast stretch of desert without a single shred of vegetation which -reaches down to the Sudan. Only the first hundred miles has been -explored, beyond that is <em>terra incognita</em>. The Arabs call -this the Devil’s country, and rightly so. In these huge silent -spaces one sees incessant mirage, for which the native name is -Devil’s water, and frequently “the genii of the storm, urging the -rage of whirlwind,” sends a high hurricane of hot stinging sand -tearing across the desert, smothering men and beasts in blinding -dust, snatching up anything that is loose and bearing it away.</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="line indent0">“In solitary length the Desert -lies,</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Where Desolation keeps his empty -court.</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> No bloom of spring, o’er all the -thirsty vast</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Nor spiry grass is found; but sands -instead</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> <span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_190">[190]</span>In sterile hills, and rough rocks rising -grey.</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> A land of fears! where visionary -forms,</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Of grisly spectres from air, flood -and fire</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Swarm; and before them speechless -Horror stalks.</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Here, night by night, beneath the -starless dusk,</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> The secret hag and sorcerer -unblest</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Their Sabbath hold, and potent -spells compose,</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Spoils of the violated -graves——”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>I once trekked down here in summer-time on the track of some -gun-runners who were supposed to be making for Egypt from the west. -It is a dreary region, horribly dead and monotonous, consisting of -alternate stretches of hard ground covered with shining black -pebbles, and white sand-dunes, stretching east and west, where the -sand is so soft and powdery that camels and men sink deep into it, -and the surface is so hot that one can hardly bear to feel it. -There are no tracks or mashrabs, and we were the first party to set -up cairns on the hills, wherever there were stones. If one -travelled on and on for about a thousand miles one would arrive at -Darfur, in the north-west corner of the Sudan. Until the war Darfur -was an independent kingdom whose Sultan, Ali Dinar, reigned from -his capital El Fasher in a similar manner to the Sultan of -Wadai.</p> - -<p>The Kufra, sometimes spelt “Kufara,” group of oases lie -south-west of Siwa, but owing to its distance from all civilization -Kufra was never of any importance historically or politically, -though comparatively lately it has become a convenient retreat for -some of the Senussi sheikhs. Quite a number of natives who had -recently been in Kufra visited Siwa during the time that I was -there, and when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[191]</span> I -questioned them, and various Siwans who knew Kufra well, they all -described it as being very thinly populated, less fertile and very -inferior to the Siwa oasis—from their point of view. When I -discussed the possibilities of visiting it they were exceedingly -surprised at the idea of anybody wishing to see Kufra, which they -described as being “muskeen”—wretched—but at the same time they -said that the people in Kufra would certainly not object to anybody -going there, as it was in no way a sacred place like Jerabub used -to be at one time. At Kufra there is no strange metropolis like -that of Siwa, and as recently as 1854 an English traveller who -visited Jalow and Augila stated that Kufra was practically -uninhabited, except during a certain month of the year when natives -from the other oases went there in order to gather the dates.</p> - -<p>There is a great fascination in travelling over unexplored -desert; somehow I always had the feeling that perhaps beyond the -rocky skyline, or perhaps over the next ridge of sand-hills, there -might possibly appear the languidly swaying palm trees of some -unknown oasis. Nobody has penetrated into the heart of this desert, -and it is not beyond the realms of possibility that there are -oases, either inhabited like the lost land of Atlantis or like the -mysterious desert cities that the story-tellers describe to their -evening audience in the market-place, hidden away among those -unmapped plains of the Sahara.</p> - -<p>There are still great possibilities of excavating at Siwa, and -in the outlying oases, which have been<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_192">[192]</span> even less explored, but I myself had -neither the leisure nor the money to do any serious digging. In -many parts of the oasis, sometimes in the middle of a palm grove, -one finds what appear to be the foundations of ancient buildings, -made of well-squared stones; and many of the rock tombs, especially -in the cliffs of the more distant oases, still contain mummies. I -examined a number of them myself, but with no luck, as they were, -apparently, of a very inferior class and had no ornaments buried -with them. Near some of them there were broken earthenware pots of -an antique shape not made in Siwa to-day. All the tombs whose -entrances are visible in the Hill of the Dead, the great rock -mausoleum outside Siwa town, have been rifled many year ago and -nothing is left except scattered bones, skulls and scraps of grave -wrappings. A few of the finest tombs have been converted into -dwellings by some poor Siwans who are courageous enough to brave -the demons of the hill in order to secure a freehold residence, -cool in summer and warm in winter, and scented with the</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="line indent2">“——Faint sweetness from some old</div> - -<div class="line indent0">Egyptian fine worm-eaten shroud</div> - -<div class="line indent0">Which breaks to dust when once -unrolled.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">But on the whole Siwans strongly disapprove of -interfering with the tombs, although they firmly believe that some -of the hills near the town contain hidden treasure, more -valuable</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="line indent0">“Than all Bocara’s vaunted gold</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Than all the gems of -Samarcand.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[193]</span>All -the more obvious places, such as the ruins of the Temple of Jupiter -Ammon, at Omm Beyda, have been thoroughly dug about, but after -spending some time in the oasis one comes across various places -that appear to be untouched—virgin soil for the excavator.</p> - -<p>Behind the hill on which my house, Kasr Hassuna, was built there -stood another great, isolated, limestone rock about 70 feet high -with a circumference of about 400 yards. One evening, when I was -climbing on this rock looking for a hawk’s nest, I came across the -entrance of what I supposed to be a cave right at the top. I went -in, but as I found that it stretched far into the rock I sent for -my servants and an electric torch; then armed with this I pushed on -into the darkness. There was a narrow tunnel about 5 feet high and -3 feet wide cut out of solid rock, and sloping downwards so steeply -that in some places one could almost have sat down and tobogganed -along. The tunnel, which was about 10 or 11 yards long, terminated -at the mouth of a deep, dark shaft like a well, going straight down -into the depths of the earth. I did no more exploring that day.</p> - -<p>On the next morning some of the sheikhs, who had evidently heard -of my discovery from the servants, told me the following story very -solemnly. Many years ago, in the time of their grandfathers, Sheikh -Hassuna, the owner of the kasr—castle—discovered, as I had, the -tunnel in the rock. He naturally supposed that it was the entrance -to a place<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[194]</span> of -hidden treasure, but he did not like the idea of going down the -shaft himself, and he could find nobody else who would. There was -at this time a very venerated Fiki in Siwa, and eventually Sheikh -Hassuna persuaded him to make the first descent, in order that he -might exorcise the jinns and make it safe for the sheikh to secure -the treasure. The Fiki was lowered at the end of a rope, with a -torch, a Koran and a supply of incense. A few seconds afterwards -the people who were in the tunnel and looking into the pit were -startled by a rushing of wings and a great cloud of black smoke, -which was the jinns escaping from the place. When they hauled up -the Fiki he told them the following tale. At the bottom of the pit -there was a vast chamber hewn out of stone, and at one end of it -there was an iron door. When the Fiki began to read from the Koran -the door swung open and two terrible jinns passed out of it, -escaped up the shaft, and another jinn, a female, with huge wings, -appeared and ordered him to depart and to warn all others never to -visit the place again. So since that day nobody in Siwa disturbed -the genii of the hill. Finally, the sheikhs advised me, if I would -go down, to take with me somebody who could read the Koran.</p> - -<p>The same afternoon I called on an old Sudanese Fiki, called Haj -Gabreen, and invited him to come exploring with me. He was a -stalwart old Sudani about sixty years old, much respected by his -compatriots of the Camel Corps and reputed skilful in doctoring and -magic. He was decidedly nervous,<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_195">[195]</span> but at length agreed to come, mainly, I -suppose, owing to the audience of Camel Corps men who were -listening. The affair was now, to my mind, patronized by the -Church. I got a dozen of my stoutest men and a long rope. They -lowered me down first, then a couple of men, followed by the Fiki -who bumped from side to side with many groans and ejaculations of -“Ya salaam”—“wallahi.” It was very disappointing. The shaft was -about 25 feet deep, narrow at the top, but widening as it got -lower. At the bottom there certainly was a sort of chamber cut out -of the rock, but very roughly done; the floor of it was covered -with a mass of loose stone and rubble which had evidently fallen in -at some time, possibly during one of the earthquakes which are -mentioned as occurring frequently at Siwa by the eighteenth-century -travellers who visited the oasis. There was absolutely nothing in -the shape of a door or a tomb, but one could not tell what there -was further down as it was choked with loose stuff.</p> - -<p>I had men working at it for several days, trying to clear out -the debris, but there seemed to be no end to it, and as one had to -haul up every basket of stone to the top and then pass it from hand -to hand along the tunnel, the difficulty was very great. The -atmosphere, too, was very close and hot. Eventually we came to some -large pieces of detached rock which we were unable to raise, and as -the work had no appreciable result I finally gave it up.</p> - -<p>Some time afterwards I went to see the tombs of the kings at -Thebes. My orderly, who had been at<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_196">[196]</span> Siwa, was with me, and we were both struck -by the similarity between the tombs of the kings and the -underground place at Siwa, the latter of course being on a very -small scale. Later, when I discovered that Siwa was at one time -famous for its emerald mines, the idea suggested itself that this -might have been an old mine. Unfortunately, not being an -archæologist, I was unable to determine from the size and -construction of the place whether it was likely to be a tomb or -not. I afterwards discovered another passage, narrow but higher, -cut into the outside of the rock about half-way down, apparently -with the idea of tapping the shaft, but it only reached a few yards -and then seemed to have been left uncompleted.</p> - -<p>Haj Gabreen, the old Fiki who went down the shaft with me, -evidently spread a very fantastic rumour of my discoveries, because -after I left Siwa I got messages from the Governor inquiring -whether I really had found an iron door in the middle of the -hill.</p> - -<p>There seemed to be an abnormally large number of old men in -Siwa, as the climate is apparently conducive to old age. Siwans, -like many other natives, are very vague about their own ages. Often -if one asks them how old they are they reply, “Whatever age you -would wish,” or sometimes, “The same age as your Excellency”—which -they seem to consider a polite answer. Certainly most of the deaths -that occur are those of young children or very old people. -Considerable deference is paid to old age, although it may not -always be accompanied by corresponding<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_197">[197]</span> virtue. When I was at Siwa the “Oldest -Inhabitant” was a wrinkled old man called Haj Suliman, the -grandfather of one of the principal merchants. He used to spend -most of his time sitting outside his house gossiping to the -passers-by, and I often stopped to talk to him. Unfortunately he -was deaf and had no teeth, so conversation between us was not very -brisk. He and his relations told me that he was 102 years old; he -looked about 90, and could not have been less than 85. He used to -tell me about his one and only visit to Cairo, some sixty years -ago, on his way home from Mecca. He also remembered and described -quite clearly the visit of a certain English traveller to Siwa in -1869.</p> - -<p>One day I heard a great deal of noise in the neighbourhood of -Haj Suliman’s house; on inquiry I was told that there was a -“fantasia” going on, so I strolled over to see it. I found a number -of dancers, music in the shape of drums and whistles, and free -“lubki” being handed round. Carpets were spread in the courtyard -and Haj Suliman, very gaily dressed, was receiving the company, -surrounded by his sons and grandchildren. He looked very pleased -with himself and invited me to drink tea, which I did. All the time -he stood near, evidently expecting me to say something to him. -Eventually I asked him why he was giving a “fantasia”—at which the -whole family began talking and telling me that it was for a -wedding. “But where is the bridegroom?” I asked, and Haj Suliman -leant forward with a silly grin on his antique face. Then, to my -amazement,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[198]</span> they -told me that the old gentleman himself was the bridegroom, this -being his thirty-sixth wedding and the bride was 14 years old. I -realized that he had been expecting my congratulations, so I -offered them, as he was evidently not of the opinion that “crabbed -age and youth cannot live together.” He died suddenly about eight -months later, “a victim of connubiality.” I had seen him the day -before in his garden working hard with an enormous iron hoe as big -as a spade, which is much used in Siwa.</p> - -<p>Another very old man in Siwa was an aged Sudani who sold a queer -little collection of oddments in a corner of the market. At one -time he had acted as postman for the Senussi between Siwa and -Kufra. He told me, and I heard it besides from various sources, -that he used to go alone to Kufra by a track across the sand-dunes -south of Siwa. He was paid three pounds for each trip, but the -danger was enormous; if his camel had strayed or fallen ill he -would have been absolutely done for. Another queer old character -was an old woman called Hanoui, who was at one time a secret agent -and remarkably clever at acquiring information. She was also useful -when one wanted to get baskets made.</p> - -<p>The only real industry in Siwa, and it is not an important one, -is the making of mats and basket work from palm fronds. Mats and -large coarse hampers for carrying dates on camels are made by men. -The mats are usually round, very strong, lasting and useful. The -Arabs buy large quantities<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_199">[199]</span> of them when they come down for dates in -the autumn. The baskets are made entirely by women. They are -manufactured from thin strips of palm leaves which become like -raffia; sometimes they are coloured with dye, but the better kinds -are ornamented with minute patterns of coloured silk worked into -the sides, and decorated with tassels of variegated coloured silks -and scarlet leather flaps in which to fasten cords for holding -them.</p> - -<p>The work is very fine indeed, so fine that in some cases the -baskets will even hold water. They are made in various shapes, but -generally round with a conical cover. Besides baskets they make -dishes and platters with covers to them, which are used for -carrying food and fruit. These baskets are exceedingly attractive -and useful and command a high price in Cairo and in England. They -are very light and can be made in “nests” of five or six, in order -to be more easily conveyed. They are very distinctive and quite -different to those that are made at Assuan, in Sinai, or the -Sudan.</p> - -<p>Siwan women also make a rough kind of pottery. They get the clay -from a hill near Siwa, and another kind of clay which they make -into paint from another place on the oasis. The pottery is all made -by hand, not on a wheel, so it is very rough, but it acquires a -good colour and a slight glaze. It is used for making bowls, -dishes, pitchers and little braziers for a charcoal fire on which -the kettle is kept hot when the Siwans make tea. These utensils are -ornamented with rude patterns of a darker colour, the -ground<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[200]</span> being -generally yellow, or a reddish brown. I found that there was one -old man in Siwa who was a professional toy-maker, which is an -occupation that one rarely comes across among Mohammedans, all -forms of statues or images being forbidden by the Koran as tending -towards the worship of idols. But the Siwan children have dolls and -toy animals, and they are very cleverly made, too. This old man -made them chiefly of rags stuffed with sawdust, and they really -compared very favourably with the “Teddy bears” and other -monstrosities that one sees at home. Siwan children are queer -little things, very solemn and not as lively as the small Sudanese. -They start working at an early age, and before that they seem to -spend most of their time dabbling about in the streams among the -gardens. One difference that one notices between these small -children and ones of the same age at home is that the former are -not given to the tiresome habit of continually asking -questions.</p> - -<p>In trying to develop the basket-making industry one meets with -many difficulties. The women are casual and lazy, so that it is -almost impossible to ensure a definite supply of baskets by a -certain date. The fact that the baskets are made only by women who -live in strict seclusion is a great disadvantage, as one has to -explain everything through a third person. Once as a great -privilege I was allowed to see a woman at work on some baskets. She -was the mother of one of the policemen, quite a venerable old -thing, but for the occasion she sat swathed in a thick<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_201">[201]</span> veil with only one eye -showing, and thus with great difficulty she gave a demonstration of -how baskets were made. I suggested several new shapes and patterns -which she very quickly understood and taught to the others.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw2"> -<figure id="i18"><img src='images/i18.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">SIWA TOWN FROM THE SOUTH</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p>With the bedouin women it is different. During the war, -especially at the close of the Senussi operations, there was great -destitution among the Arabs. Numbers of men who had served with the -Senussi were killed, and many others retired over the frontier and -never returned. Their wives and children were left unprovided for. -As usual the English, against whom they had been fighting, turned -and helped these refugees. Miss Baird, the daughter of the late Sir -Alexander Baird, collected a number of these women and their -children at Amria, in the desert west of Alexandria, and in -conjunction with the F.D.A. started a carpet-making industry. She -lived amongst them herself, superintended the work, and by degrees -she acquired a wonderful influence over them. She became somewhat -like Lady Hester Stanhope in the Lebanon, only her influence was -not due to religious superstition. I once stopped at Amria on my -way from Cairo to Sollum by camel in the early days of the -industry, and I shall never forget my first impression of the four -or five hundred wild bedouin women working away at the carpets like -girls in a factory at home, absolutely controlled by one young -Englishwoman right out in the desert. Miss Baird’s death in 1919 -was a very great loss, but the work that she began is still being -carried on by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[202]</span> the -F.D.A., who have moved the factory from Amria and installed it in -an imposing building at Behig, which is the headquarters of the -Eastern District of the Western Desert.</p> - -<p>One of the things that is noticeable at Siwa is the absence of -flowers. Owing to there being no rain there is no sudden burst of -vegetation in the spring, as there is along the coast. At certain -times there is blossom in the gardens on the various trees—apples, -almonds, pomegranates, lemons, etc.—and for a month or two there -are roses and a very heavily scented flowering shrub called -“tamar-el-hindi.” But one does not see the riot of colour that -follows on the track of the rains. There are very few wild animals, -too. In the neighbouring oases one sees gazelle and a few foxes, -and in Siwa itself there are quantities of jackals. According to -the natives an animal which they call “Bakhr wahash”—wild ox—is to -be found at a place called Gagub, an uninhabited oasis, consisting -of a salt lake surrounded by sterile palm trees, between Siwa and -Jerabub. But when I went there I saw no signs of the creature. It -is described as being the size of a donkey, of a yellowish brown -colour, with two horns like a cow’s.</p> - -<p>In Siwa there are very few domestic animals. None of the people -keep camels, partly because they have no need for them, and partly -owing to the presence of the “ghaffar” fly which inoculates camels -and horses with a disease that shortens their life very -considerably. For this reason one set of camels belonging to the -F.D.A. remain permanently<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_203">[203]</span> at Siwa in order to avoid spreading the -disease among the camels on the coast. Almost every man in Siwa has -a donkey, and some of the large landowners have thirty or forty. -One meets them everywhere, in the streets trotting along under -enormous loads, but carrying them apparently with the greatest -ease. The Siwans rarely walk any distance, they always ride. The -donkeys are stout little beasts and are better treated on the whole -than in Egypt. They are imported by the Gawazi Arabs from Upper -Egypt and the Fayum, via Farafra, the oasis of “Bubbling Springs,” -which lies south-east of Siwa, but they breed freely in Siwa, and -their diet of dry dates seems to suit them well.</p> - -<p>Donkeys are also used as a threshing machine. When the barley is -ripe it is cut and collected and spread out in a circle on a -smooth, hard piece of ground. Ten or fifteen donkeys are harnessed -abreast, in line, and driven round and round over the barley; when -they wheel the innermost donkey moves very slowly, and the outer -ones trot fast. In this way the corn is crushed out of the husks. -Afterwards it is winnowed by the simple process of throwing it up -into the air so that the straw blows away and leaves only grain. -There are about a hundred cows in Siwa; they are small animals, -about the size of a Jersey, but they give very good milk.</p> - -<p>At certain times one sees quite a number of birds at Siwa, but -they are mostly migratory. I have noticed crane, duck, flamingo and -geese on the salt lakes; hawks, crows, ravens and owls among -the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[204]</span> cliffs; doves, -pigeon, hoopoes, wagtails and several varieties of small singing -birds in the gardens. Some of them nest in the oasis, and I -collected about a dozen different kinds of eggs, but unfortunately -they all got broken. There is one bird which is, I believe, -indigenous to Siwa, it is known by the natives as “Haj Mawla.” It -is about the size of a thrush, black with white feathers in its -tail, and a very pretty song somewhat similar to the note of a -robin.</p> - -<p>Lately the Administration has installed lofts of carrier pigeons -along the coast and at Siwa. On the coast they have been quite -successful, but so far no pigeons have been trained to cross the -desert. The hawks at Siwa are a serious menace to them, and quite a -number have been killed. In former days the Libyan Desert produced -ostriches. Browne, in 1792, mentions that he saw broken eggs and -tracks of ostriches on his way to Siwa. But nowadays there are -none. Many of the lions that were used in the arenas of Rome were -brought from Libya, but these too are now extinct.</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="line indent0">“So some fierce lion on the Libyan -plain,</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Rolls its red eyes, and shakes its -tawny mane.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">But the Arabs who travel between the Sudan and -Tripoli tell of a long wadi, with water and vegetation, north of -Darfur, which takes three days to cross by camel, and this wadi, so -they say, is full of wild animals—lions, tigers, giraffe, -etc.—which have never been hunted.</p> - -<p>Siwa is a bad place for snakes, scorpions and tarantulas. The -cerestes, or horned viper, is very<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_205">[205]</span> common, as well as several other poisonous -species. One of the most deadly is a little light-coloured snake -with a hard prong at the end of its tail like a scorpion, which -lies half covered with sand. I also saw a specimen of the puff -adder. My house seemed to be a favourite abode of snakes, which may -possibly have been because I had a pigeon loft close to it. Several -times I was awakened in the night by my dog barking in the room and -found a big snake slithering along the floor, or underneath the -edge of the matting. Three men were bitten by snakes while I was -there and died as a result; in each case they had stepped on a -snake with bare feet. Strabo relates that in these parts of Africa -the workmen had to wear boots and rub garlic over their feet to -protect themselves. The local cure, which seems quite ineffective, -is to rub the powdered stems of a broombush on to the bite. Nothing -will induce the natives to touch a snake, dead or alive, with their -fingers, as they say the smell sticks to them and attracts other -snakes. I was only once bitten by a scorpion, and unfortunately I -was out on trek without a first-aid box. It was a large, blackish -green scorpion, one of the worst kind, and it caught me on the end -of one of my fingers. But my men knew what to do from previous -experience. They tied my arm tightly at the elbow and the wrist -with a tourniquet, and then cut several gashes with a razor blade -across the finger which had been bitten. It was very painful during -the night, and I had a good deal of fever, but I was none the worse -for it after a couple of days. The cure for a scorpion -bite<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[206]</span> is a powder -made from a snake’s tail, cooked and pounded, and a few of the -natives specialize in making this powder.</p> - -<p>There are no snake charmers in Siwa, and I have seen none -anywhere on the Western Desert. In Egypt one meets many, the most -famous perhaps is a man at Luxor. I saw him perform a few days -before I left Egypt, and I was most impressed by his exhibition. -One evening, without any warning, I took him out with me to a place -near Karnak, having first examined him and satisfied myself that he -had no snakes hidden about his clothes. In about a quarter of an -hour he discovered seven or eight snakes. He used no whistle, but -walked about in a very small area muttering to himself, stopping -dead every now and then in front of a stone or a bush, thrusting -his hand into it and withdrawing it clasping a writhing lively -snake. Several of the snakes were known to me as being venomous. He -took two of these, one by one, held them to his wrist, and let them -bite him so that when he pulled them off his flesh they left blood -on his hand. Anybody else would have suffered severely, and would -probably have died, but the snake charmer was immune. His father -and his grandfather had practised the same trade before him, and -according to him they had neither of them suffered in any way by -their profession.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<h2><span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[207]</span><a id= -"c06"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2> - -<p class="sch">CUSTOMS AND SUPERSTITIONS</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group2"> -<div class="line indent0">“. . . Tell the laughing world</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Of what these wonder-working charms -are made. . . .</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Fern root cut small, and tied with -many a knot,</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Old teeth extracted from a white -man’s skull.</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> A lizard’s skeleton, a serpent’s -head:</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> . . . O’er these the leach</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Mutters strange jargons and wild -circles forms.”</div> - -<div class="line indent0 space-above1">“Custom is King, nay tyrant, -in primitive society.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="dcap">AFTER being some time at Siwa one cannot help -noticing how very much the life of the people is influenced by -their belief in superstitions and magic arts. To every ordinary -accident or natural phenomenon they seem to attach a supernatural -explanation, and they constantly carry out little rites, which have -no apparent purpose, whose origin and reason they do not know, but -which they explain has been the custom “min zamaan.” To believe, as -they do, without knowing, is the grossest form of superstition. -They have a number of purely local customs and practices which are -entirely different to those which are prevalent in Egypt, or among -the Arabs of the Western Desert. The Siwans are Mohammedans, and -strictly religious in most of their observances, but in some of -their habits one can trace a faint resemblance to rites -that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[208]</span> have survived -from former times, long before the people adopted their present -religion. But most of the apparently meaningless practices are -founded on the inherent fear of evil spirits, which are implicitly -believed in by all the inhabitants.</p> - -<p>These fabulous beings are of many kinds, and have various -characteristics; there are jinns, in whose veins runs fire instead -of blood, who once inhabited the earth, but sinned and were driven -away by the angels of God; Sheytans, who are children of Iblis, the -Devil; Afreets, Marids; and Ghouls, who are female demons and live -among deserts and graveyards, assuming various forms and luring men -to death. These creatures are usually found in caves, tombs, wells, -empty houses, latrines, and at cross roads. Sometimes they assume -the shapes of men and sometimes they appear in the forms of -domestic animals; in Siwa they are said to favour most the disguise -of a cow.</p> - -<p>Among the most ignorant natives one meets with a decided -reluctance to discuss things that are supernatural, but the more -educated men are willing to speak of them. As in all countries the -lower classes are the most credulous. For instance, in the case of -certain old women who are reputed to be witches, the poor people -avowedly believe in them, while the upper classes pretend not to; -but when there is a birth or a wedding in the family of a sheikh, -or a notable, they send presents to these old women saying that it -is merely charity, although at heart they consider it safer to -propitiate them in order to<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_209">[209]</span> avert possible misfortune. It is rather -like the lady in church who always bowed at the name of the Devil, -because she thought it safer to be on the right side!</p> - -<p>The difference between the customs and superstitions of the -Siwans and those of the Arabs on the desert which surrounds them is -due to the fact that the former are of Berber origin. Their whole -system of living is different, too. The Siwans are town dwellers -whose dominant principle has been a sort of communism, whereas the -Arabs are nomads, who adopted patriarchalism as their method of -rule. The Siwans fought on foot, the Arabs were essentially -cavalry. There are sheikhs in Siwa, but they are more like the -members of a town council, while the real Arab sheikh corresponds -to the feudal lord of the Middle Ages. It is strange to find the -Siwans, with such a definite, different scheme of living, existing -in the midst of a desert whose Arab population regards them almost -as foreigners.</p> - -<p>Two distinct kinds of magic are practised in Siwa, Divine magic, -or white magic, and Satanic, or black magic, black being considered -the Devil’s colour. Certain old men and Fikis (readers of the Koran -in the mosques) are supposed to have particular gifts in telling -fortunes, compounding medicines and composing charms against evil, -especially against the much dreaded Evil Eye. They work with the -aid of the Koran, and by reciting long prayers and the names of -Allah. This is legitimate magic. These men are conspicuously -regular in their attendance<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_210">[210]</span> at the mosques, and their power is -attributed to their peculiar goodness. Women are considered by -Mohammedans, and particularly by Siwans, to be by nature more -wicked than men. One Arab writer speaks of woman as “The Devil’s -Arrow,” and another says, “—I stood at the gates of hell and lo, -most of its inmates were women.” Even in the <em>Thousand and One -Nights</em> one reads:</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="lgp">“Verily women are devils created for us, they are -the source of all the misfortunes that have occurred among mankind, -in the affairs of the world and religion—”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="line indent0">“Verily women are treacherous to everyone -near and distant:</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> With their fingers dyed with henna: -with their hair arranged in plaits:</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> With their eyebrows painted with -kohl; they make one drink of sorrow;”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>This is the reason that any skill that the Siwan women possess -in medicine, making amulets, or tracing lost property, is, as a -matter of course, ascribed to their evil practices and their use of -black magic, whereby they are able to invoke demons, ghools and -afreets to carry out their orders, either for good or for evil. For -this reason they keep their doings as secret as possible, and this -secrecy increases their notoriety and evil reputation. But as their -methods are said to be usually successful they are patronized as -much, or even more, than the men, especially by their own sex. So -there is quite a lively rivalry between Fikis, or wizards, and the -wise women, or witches.</p> - -<p>Siwan women, owing to their precarious position as wives, are -not fond of bearing children. Many of<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_211">[211]</span> them use medicines, made from certain -plants and herbs that grow in the oasis, to prevent childbirth. -Browne mentions, as far back as 1792, that it was a common practice -at Siwa for women to take their newly born infants, probably girls, -up to the top of the walls and throw them over the battlements. -There was one case of child murder reported while I was living -there. Siwan women are not as hardy as Sudanese or Arab women, and -the Egyptian doctor is of course never allowed to attend them for -births. Women are looked after by the Siwan midwives, old women who -have considerable practical experience, but make up for medical -ignorance by a vast knowledge of amazingly futile superstitions. As -a result quite a number of children die at birth. It was suggested -that a Siwan woman should be sent to Cairo and be trained in a -hospital; after much difficulty a suitable woman was found who was -brave enough to be the first Siwan woman to leave the oasis, but -unfortunately the proposition was never carried through.</p> - -<p>When the birth of a child occurs in the family of one of the -sheikhs or notables it is celebrated with great rejoicings, -especially if the baby is a boy, as there is an enormous -superfluity of women in Siwa. On the seventh day after the birth -all the female friends and relations of the mother come to the -house to congratulate her, bringing their own children with them. -She receives them with the child and the midwife, herself lying on -the bare floor. It is the custom for all women, even the wives of -the richest sheikhs,<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_212">[212]</span> who occasionally have an old brass bedstead -in their room, to sleep on the floor for ten days after giving -birth to a child. A meal is provided for the guests—sweets, cakes, -fruits, Arab tea, and a curious sort of edible clay which is -brought from near Jerabub. This clay is a yellowish colour, tasting -very like a mushroom, and is always eaten by Siwan, and sometimes -by Arab, women when they are expecting a child. But the essential -necessity at this meal is fish, which in a place that is 200 miles -from the sea, and where there are no fresh-water fish of eatable -size, is somewhat difficult to obtain. However, the merchants make -a special point of bringing a species of salted fish from Cairo, -which by the time it arrives at Siwa can be smelt from several -streets away. This delicacy is the <em>chef d’œuvre</em> at -birthday parties. It is curious that the Arabs on the coast, who -could catch fresh fish, have the strongest abhorrence to eating -fish of any kind. The practice at Siwa was inaugurated by the -mother of Sidi Suliman, the patron sheikh, on the birth of her -son.</p> - -<p>If the child is a boy the father decides on his name, but in the -case of a girl the mother is sponsor. After the meal everybody -looks at the child and congratulates the mother. Then the midwife, -who is generally a toothless, dirty old hag, mixes some henna and -paints the cheeks of all the children with a red stripe, and they -run out into the streets and markets calling out the names of the -child. The women remain. A large, round, earthenware bowl, -specially made for the occasion, is then brought in and filled with -water.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[213]</span> Each woman -throws into it her bracelets and silver ornaments. They stand in a -circle holding the bowl while the midwife recites the name of the -child, and the others repeat phrases, such as, “May he be happy—may -he be favoured by Allah—may Allah avert all evil from him.” Then -they solemnly raise the bowl several times in the air and let it -drop to the ground; the bowl smashes into atoms, the water splashes -over the floor, the bracelets and bangles roll along the ground, -and the child screams loudly with fright. At this all afreets and -jinns take flight, and the newly born child is blessed with fortune -and riches. Afterwards the women collect their jewellery and return -to their homes. Young children are not washed or kept clean; they -are deliberately made to look as unattractive as possible, at an -early age, in order not to tempt Providence. The Siwans dislike -people to admire their belongings, especially their children, who -are considered most susceptible to the Evil Eye, as it is thought -that nothing can be more valuable than one’s offspring.</p> - -<p>The status of a woman in Siwa is low. She is worth less, and is -of less importance, than a donkey. She is worth, in money, a little -less than a goat. There is a strange custom in Siwa which is -absolutely different to that among the Arabs or the Egyptians. -There is a fixed price for a woman; that is to say, the “marriage -money” paid by the man to his future wife’s parents is in all cases -exactly the same—120 piastres (£1 4s.). It makes no difference -whether the girl is young or old, maid or widow, rich or -poor,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[214]</span> exquisitely -beautiful, which is rare, or hideously ugly, which is common; the -only thing that varies is the trousseau of clothes which is given -by the man to his bride, and the quality of this depends on his -means. The present of a poor man would be one gown, one silk -handkerchief, one shawl and one pair of trousers, but a rich man -would give his wife several silk robes and silver ornaments. There -were innumerable quarrels on the subject, especially when wives -were divorced and their husbands tried to keep the clothes (which -belonged rightly to the woman) and give them to the next wife. -Daughters, among the Arabs, if they are sufficiently attractive, -are a source of wealth to their parents, owing to the large amount -of “marriage money” which they can demand, but in Siwa they bring -in practically nothing. Marriage is not a binding institution. -According to the Mohammedan law a wife can be divorced by her -husband merely saying, “I divorce thee,” before two witnesses; he -can do this twice, and after each time, if he changes his mind, he -can order his wife to return to him, and she is compelled to do so. -But if he says it three times, or if he says, “Thou art triply -divorced,” it is irrevocable and he cannot get her back until she -has been married to another man and divorced by him also. But such -a contretemps rarely occurs.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw5"> -<figure id="i19"><img src='images/i19.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">A BRIDE—THE DAUGHTER OE BASHU HABUN BEFORE HER -WEDDING</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p>In Siwa a man marries, then divorces his wife as soon as he gets -bored by her, and marries another. One man probably repudiates -several dozen women in his lifetime, but each of them in her turn -is his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[215]</span> regular, -official and recognized wife. Polygamy is rare, in fact almost -unknown, because when a man fancies a new wife he divorces his -present one; owing to this there is very little promiscuous -immorality, but the line between marriage and prostitution is very -slender. A divorced woman does not lose caste, and in most cases -she appears to have a better chance of marrying again than an -unmarried girl. Men marry at sixteen, and girls from nine to twelve -years old, so a girl of eleven has often been married and divorced -several times. This state of things is simply the ordinary -Mohammedan custom as regards marriage, but carried on in an -absolutely lax manner. It has always been the same in Siwa, and so -it is considered right and proper. It must be so confusing for the -people to remember who is So-and-So’s wife for the time being. -Naturally the prevailing conditions have a very disastrous effect -on the birth-rate.</p> - -<p>A first-time marriage in the family of a sheikh or a rich -notable is celebrated by festivities which last sometimes for -several days. On the eve of the wedding, towards sunset time, the -bride dresses in her richest clothes and accompanied by twenty or -thirty girls walks through the gardens to a spring near the town -called Tamousy. This spring is one of the oldest and most beautiful -in Siwa. It is surrounded by stately palm trees and tropical -vegetation; it is deep and very clear and the ancient masonry round -it is still in excellent preservation. As the young bride and her -attendants walk through<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_216">[216]</span> the palm groves they chant a curious tune, -a plaintive melody that sounds more like a dirge than a wedding -song.</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group"> -<div class="line indent0">“As from an infinitely distant land</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> Come airs, and floating echoes, -that convey</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> A melancholy into all our -day.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The scene at the spring is very picturesque; the girls and women -stand grouped round the water, their dark robes and silver -ornaments reflected in its blue depths. Very solemnly the bride -removes the large round, silver disc that hangs on a solid silver -ring from her neck, which denotes that she is a virgin; she then -bathes, puts on different clothes and has her hair plaited and -scented by one of her friends. The procession then returns -homewards. On the way they are met by another party of women, the -relations of the bridegroom, who bring presents of money for the -bride, each according to her means. An old woman collects the coins -in a silk scarf, carefully noting the amount given by each -individual, and the two parties return together, singing, through -the palm-bordered paths to the town. These “virginity discs” are -sometimes of great age, having been handed down from mother to -daughter as heirlooms. Formerly they were always made of solid -silver, but now they are often made of lead with a silver -coating.</p> - -<p>One evening rather late I was bathing at Ein Tamousy, swimming -round the spring without making much noise. Suddenly I looked up -and saw a large crowd of girls—a wedding party—standing -on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[217]</span> the path above. -It was most awkward. I splashed loudly, but they were singing and -talking so noisily that they did not hear. Eventually one of them -saw me and screamed out that there was a jinn in the spring, -whereupon the whole crowd fled shrieking into the gardens, leaving -the bride’s wedding garment lying on the ground. I hastily slipped -out, clutched my clothes and dressed hurriedly behind some palm -trees, from whence I watched the party cautiously returning, one by -one, to see whether the monster had disappeared.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the bridegroom collects his friends and summons the -Fiki; carpets are spread in the courtyard of his house, which is -illuminated with candles and lanterns, and dishes of food are set -before the guests. As soon as the marriage contract is settled each -guest seizes as much food of any sort as he can possibly hold in -his hand and crams it into his mouth; the more he eats the more he -is supposed to show his friendship for the bridegroom. The usual -tea generally follows. At midnight the bridegroom’s friends and -relations—men, women and children—carrying lanterns and flaring -torches, walk in procession through the narrow streets to the house -of the bride and demand her from her father.</p> - -<p>On the return of the bride from her bath she is taken by her -mother and hidden in an upper room of the house. When the -bridegroom’s family have arrived they collect outside the door and -call out, “Bring out the bride, the gallant groom awaits her.” The -girl’s family answer, “We have lost her, we have<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_218">[218]</span> lost her.” Then “Find her, the -bridegroom is getting impatient,” and the answer is, “She is -asleep, still sleeping.” Then the bridegroom’s family say, “Go, -wake her, and bring her to her man.” Then the women of the bride’s -house weep and scream, and there is a mock fight between the -families. The men flourish their sticks and sometimes actually -strike each other, but eventually the girl is produced and handed -over to the bridegroom’s family by her father. The mock capture of -the bride and the pretended resistance is possibly a survival of -marriage by conquest, or possibly it is meant to denote excessive -modesty on the part of the bride. If one inquires the reason the -Siwans reply that it has been the custom “min zamaan,” and nobody -is any the wiser.</p> - -<p>The bride wears her bridal gown, which is a long-sleeved robe of -striped coloured silk and is weighed down with a quantity of silver -ornaments, borrowed, if she has not enough of her own, from her -friends; over this she wears a long woollen blanket entirely -covering her, and she has a sword hung from her right shoulder. In -this costume she rides on a led donkey to the house of the -bridegroom, followed by the people of both families, singing and -beating drums and cymbals. On arrival at the house she is received -by an old woman, usually a Sudanese slave woman, who lifts her off -the donkey, and with the assistance of others carries her across -the threshold, up the stairs, into the bridal room, and lays her on -the couch, taking care that the bride’s feet never<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_219">[219]</span> touch the ground. The crowd -remain below and are entertained by Zigale dancers, who are hired -for the occasion. Later a sheep is killed at the entrance of the -house, and the blood is smeared across the doorway in the Arab -fashion; and if the family are wealthy several more sheep are -roasted whole and a feast is made for the guests. Thursday is -considered the most propitious day for a wedding, as the girl wakes -up for the first time in her new home on a Friday, which is the -Mohammedan Sunday.</p> - -<p>All this time the bridegroom remains in the background, taking -no part in the doings. The old woman who received the bride brings -her some dishes of food and a handful of wheat and salt, which she -places beneath the pillow, where it remains for a week to keep away -bad spirits and afreets who might otherwise be attracted to harm -the newly married couple. Then the bridegroom arrives outside the -door and knocks upon it, on which there follows a long conversation -between him and the old woman. She calls out to him saying what a -beautiful bride he has obtained, describing her as a young moon -with eyes like a gazelle, cheeks like peach blossom and the figure -of a swaying willow. After a high-flown eulogy the bridegroom -inquires, “What is the girl worth?” to which the old woman replies, -“Her weight in silver and gold—” which is queer when one remembers -that she is actually worth £1 4s. The old woman then opens the -door, and after receiving a present from the bridegroom retires and -leaves them<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[220]</span> -together. The bridegroom takes the sword from the girl and puts it -under the mattress for use against jinns, takes off the blanket -which entirely covers her, and then removes her right shoe and -strikes her seven times on the foot with the palm of his hand. This -is said to bring luck to the marriage. He stays with her for some -time, but the marriage is not consummated until two days later. -During this time the bridegroom leaves his house and spends his -time in the gardens with one other man, who acts as a sort of best -man.</p> - -<p>On the third day the presents from the girl’s family arrive: -carved wooden chests, finely made baskets which have taken several -months to complete, earthenware cooking pots and supplies of sugar -and foodstuffs. The money which was given to the girl at the spring -of Tamousy is counted again, and each of the donors is presented -with some doves, rabbits or chickens, in proportion to the amount -which they gave. Among the Arabs, and especially among the Berbers -of the oases in southern Morocco, an excessive shyness and -bashfulness exists between the bridegroom and his mother-in-law and -all the bride’s near relations. This avoidance and aversion to the -wife’s relatives may be another survival of the idea of marriage by -conquest, but in Siwa one does not find it to such an extent as in -other places. These festivities are only celebrated by the -wealthier natives, and only when the girl is being married for the -first time. Later marriages are quieter affairs, with nothing more -than a little dancing, a free<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_221">[221]</span> distribution of “lubki” and perhaps one -sheep cooked for the guests.</p> - -<p>When a Siwan dies his widow is expected to be “ghrula,” that is -in mourning for a month and a half, but the custom has slackened -now and most women marry again as soon as they get the chance. -During the forty-five days the woman dresses in white and keeps to -her house, only going out in the evening after sunset. She lives -plainly, eating no meat and wearing no jewellery. On the last day -of her seclusion the town-crier, accompanied by a boy beating a -drum, announces in the town that the widow of So-and-So will -proceed on the following morning to a certain spring, having -completed her period of mourning. On the next morning a number of -boys run through the streets calling out the same announcement and -warning the people by what road she will pass, in order that they -can keep to their houses and avoid seeing her. When she leaves her -house some of her relations go up to the roof and again call out -the warning. At noon the widow, with her hair hanging loose, her -face uncovered, wearing a white robe and no ornaments, walks down -to one of the springs and bathes there. Anybody who meets or sees -her on the way is supposed to incur very bad luck indeed. After -this Lady Godiva-like progress, she hurries back to her house, puts -on her ordinary clothes, oils and dresses her hair and invites a -number of her women friends to a feast. She then begins to hope for -another husband.</p> - -<p>The town-crier is a venerable, white-bearded<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_222">[222]</span> individual whose family have -held the post for many generations. It is his duty to announce any -new regulations in the town, and to summon the populace to meetings -or to work. When an announcement has been proclaimed on three -consecutive days it is considered that everybody knows it, and if -after this an order is infringed the excuse of ignorance is not -entertained. The town-crier is a very necessary institution in a -place where scarcely anybody can read, and public notices are -therefore useless; his voice rivals the muezzin’s, and his drum -corresponds to the bell of the old style English bellman.</p> - -<p>Funerals in Siwa are simple affairs. They generally take place -in the early afternoon and are attended by almost everybody in the -town. When a death occurs the women in the house raise the -deathwail, which is taken up in piercing accents by the women in -the other houses near, and then by the whole neighbourhood. It -sounds appalling, especially when it starts suddenly in the night. -The body is carried on a rough bier of olive wood, followed by a -long procession, the relatives, the sheikhs and notables, usually -riding on donkeys with umbrellas to shade them from the sun, and a -nondescript crowd of women and men. As the procession passes -through the streets the men chant a solemn dirge and the women -swing their veils in the air, throwing dust on their heads, and -every now and then joining in with shrill cries and wailings. On -arrival at the cemetery the women sit down some distance apart, and -the men proceed to the grave,<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_223">[223]</span> reciting verses from the Koran. At twilight -the women collect again before the door of the deceased’s house and -continue the wailing, and afterwards the friends of the family are -entertained at a funeral feast where they eat and praise the -virtues of the dead person.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw5"> -<figure id="i20"><img src='images/i20.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">THE TOWN CRIER’S DAUGHTER</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p>There are several cemeteries round the town, some of them belong -to the easterners and some to the westerners. Almost all the roads -into the town cross burying-grounds. Until a few years ago it was -the custom to cover the grave with two split palm logs and a thin -layer of earth, which usually subsided, leaving nothing but wood on -the top. These old graves are still a source of danger, as often -when one rides over them, without knowing, the wood gives way. -Graves of sheikhs are distinguished by a roughly shaped headstone, -and generally a little heap of earthenware braziers, left by the -women who come to the cemetery and burn incense. When a -particularly religious or important Siwan dies, his family keep a -guard over the grave at night for about a fortnight after his -death, which they say is necessary to prevent the ghoulish old -witches from profaning it by digging up the corpse and stealing the -dead man’s hair and finger-nails for their charms.</p> - -<p>The fear of the Evil Eye is almost more deeply rooted in Siwa -than in Egypt. It is thought that ill-disposed and jealous people -can cast a malignant influence over others, and also over animals -and inanimate objects. The Prophet Mohammed permitted the use of -charms against the Evil Eye,<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_224">[224]</span> although he forbade them for any other -purposes. For this reason innumerable charms are worn and exhibited -by the Siwans; houses, gardens and olive presses are protected from -the much-dreaded curse by bundles of old bones, animals’ skulls, or -black earthenware pots stuck upside down and set along the roofs. -In many houses and in tombs an aloe plant is hung just inside the -entrance, swinging from the ceiling, which prevents any envious -person from doing harm. Special charms are made for animals by the -witches and the Fikis. The charm used to protect a donkey consists -of some ashes, a spider’s web, a little salt, and a scrap of paper -inscribed with a verse from the Koran, tied in a black bag and hung -round the animal’s neck. Some of the most valuable donkeys have -quite a cluster of amulets hung round them. The ingredients of the -various charms manufactured by the women are very similar to those -used by the witches in Macbeth, those that are the most difficult -to obtain being the most efficacious.</p> - -<p>But in spite of innumerable precautions people are constantly -under the impression that they have incurred the Evil Eye, and then -complicated rites have to be performed in order to raise the curse. -This can be done in various ways. If the evil wisher is known his -victim follows him without being seen and collects a little sand -from his footprints which he takes to the Fiki. The Fiki, for a -small fee, recites certain verses over it, which removes the curse. -Another system is for the victim to go on a Friday, without -speaking to anybody on the way, to a male<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_225">[225]</span> date palm. He pulls off some of the -stringy, brown fibre and brings it back to the Fiki who twists it -into a cord and binds it round the man’s head. The patient keeps -this on his head during the day, and in the evening he again visits -the Fiki who unties the cord and reads some appropriate passages -from the Koran, after which the object is no longer in danger. -There is another method which is frequently practised in more -serious cases. The Fiki takes a hen’s egg—presumably a fresh -one—and inscribes certain cabalistic signs upon it. He then burns a -great deal of incense and mutters charms; when the patient has -become thoroughly bewildered he takes the egg and moves it seven -times round the victim’s head. He then breaks it in a basin, gazes -fixedly at it, discovers whose is the Evil Eye, and destroys its -power by scattering it on the floor.</p> - -<p>Any individual who was popularly supposed to possess an Evil Eye -was carefully avoided. There was one old woman who was particularly -feared on this account. She was quite old and rather mad, but she -certainly had an exceptionally evil expression, and she showed her -face more than most of them. Anybody who met her in the morning, -starting out to his garden or on some expedition, would attribute -any mishap that occurred during the day to her malevolent -glance.</p> - -<p>The witches of Siwa live among some ruined houses in the highest -part of the old town. Their leader is a little blind woman who is -said to be 100 years old. She looks exactly like one of -the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[226]</span> shrivelled -mummies that are found in some of the tombs near Siwa, but her -scanty wisps of hair are dyed red which gives a most sinister -effect. She creeps about leaning on a staff, like the regular witch -in Grimm’s fairy tales, and although she is quite blind she manages -to slip about the high battlements like a lizard, knowing by force -of habit every stone in the place. When a client wishes to consult -her he comes after nightfall to a certain place among the ruins -high up in the town, where a number of dark passages converge, and -then he calls her. She lives somewhere up above with two or three -others. She mystifies her visitors by appearing suddenly, quite -close to them, noiselessly and apparently from nowhere.</p> - -<p>I once sent a message saying that I should like to make her -acquaintance. One night after dinner I walked over to the town, -taking a man with me who knew the place well. We scrambled up and -up, through pitch-dark passages to the highest part of the town and -eventually arrived at a little low door about 4 feet high, in one -of the narrowest and steepest tunnels. After knocking several times -it was opened. I lit a match and saw the little old woman herself. -She led me up several more dark flights of steps to the roof of the -house, and there, sitting in the moonlight, I drank tea with her. -The tea was served by her grandchild, a Sudanese boy. Unfortunately -I could hardly understand a word she said, but the tea was -excellent, and the view was very fine.</p> - -<p>It was a hot summer night, but the high roof was<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_227">[227]</span> cool with even a faint breeze -blowing across it. Looking down over the parapet one saw -white-wrapped, sleeping figures on the roofs below, and in the -distance there sounded the faint, mysterious melody of reed pipes -and a tom-tom. These Libyan nights are very wonderful; the sky is a -deep, dark blue, powdered with myriads of stars, and every few -minutes a long-tailed meteor flashes downwards. Shooting stars are -said to be hurled by the angels in heaven at the jinns on the earth -below, but the Siwans fear them as they say that each star kills a -palm tree. They prove this statement by arguing that when a tree -dies in a natural way it withers from the bottom, but when it -withers from the top, as many do, it is caused by a falling -star.</p> - -<p>When a Siwan girl thinks that it is about time that she was -married, and no suitors are forthcoming, she adopts the following -custom. On a Friday, when the muezzins on the mosques are calling -the Faithful to pray at noon, she leaves the house, carrying some -sugar in her right hand and a little salt tightly clutched in her -left hand. She covers her face with her long, grey shawl and -hurries through the streets, avoiding everybody, to a little hill -outside the town—close to the Camel Corps barracks—which is crowned -by the tomb of a very venerated Siwan sheikh. When she arrives she -runs seven times round the tomb, eating the sugar and the salt and -calling on the sheikh to help her. She does this on three Fridays -in succession, and after that somebody comes to her parents and -asks for her hand. Later, if she<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_228">[228]</span> has a child, she distributes food to the -poor at the tomb of the sheikh as a thank-offering. The actual tomb -of Sheikh Abu Arash is inside a little whitewashed mud building. -The tomb is covered with white linen, which is renewed by devotees -of the saint, and a number of ostrich eggs, brought many years ago -from the Sudan, are suspended from the ceiling. Sometimes women -bring flowers and palm boughs and lay them on the tomb. Often on a -Friday I have noticed a woman hurrying round it, muttering -earnestly to herself and hoping for a husband. I wondered at one -time whether the proximity of the Camel Corps barracks had anything -to do with this recipe for obtaining a husband—but the belief has -been held for many years, long before the Camel Corps were thought -of.</p> - -<p>Another way of obtaining a husband is as follows. The girl -summons one of the “wise women” to her house and provides her with -a basket, which is, by the way, a perquisite. The old woman takes -the basket and goes round to each mosque in the town collecting a -handful of dust from the ground immediately in front of each door. -She then brings the basket full of dust back to the girl and they -mix it with olive oil, making a kind of putty. The girl then brings -in a round tin or a large round dish and takes a bath, using the -putty as soap. The old woman carefully collects the water which has -been used in an earthenware pitcher. She goes out at night again to -each mosque and sprinkles a little of the water round the doors. -The next day, when the men come in and<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_229">[229]</span> out of the mosques they tread on the place -where the water was poured, and probably some of the mud sticks to -their feet. One of them is sure to demand the girl in marriage. -There are various other methods of attaining the same ends; amulets -and charms are manufactured by the witches, which are supposed to -attract a certain man, especially if the ingredients of the charm -include something that once belonged to him. The whole idea is very -much the same as the system of love philtres and charms that were -used in Europe in the Middle Ages.</p> - -<p>The witches are supposed to be able to summon jinns whenever -they want to, but any ordinary person has to follow out a -complicated proceeding before being able to do so. The system used -for invoking jinns is only practised secretly, and by women, but it -is implicitly believed in by everybody. For forty-five days the -woman eats no meat, feeding entirely on bread, rice, lentils and -fruits. Every evening she bakes a loaf of wheaten bread, unsalted -and flavoured with red pepper, which is the favourite flavouring -among jinns. She takes the loaf, naked, with her hair hanging -loose, to the rubbish heap outside her house, where she leaves it. -On the forty-fourth night a jinn appears in the form of some -familiar animal: a camel, donkey, or cow. If the woman is afraid it -kills her at once, but if she is brave, and speaks to it, it does -her bidding. The jinn tells her to prepare a dinner on the -following night for six of his brothers. Next day she makes six -loaves and flavours them with spiders’ webs besides pepper, -and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[230]</span> takes them out -to the dust heap as before. She leaves them and returns an hour -later. Then she finds the chief of the jinns, Iblis himself, -waiting for her, a monstrous creature with flaming eyes, horns and -great hooked teeth, breathing out fire from his mouth. This -individual asks her what she desires and promises to carry out her -wishes on the condition that from henceforth she never utters the -name of Allah.</p> - -<p>There is another even more fantastic story that sometimes at -midnight one of the witches swings a cord from her house on the -battlements to the top of the tall minaret of a mosque just below. -She then steps off the wall and walks along the rope, which is -suspended in mid-air, like a tight-rope dancer. People also assert -that it is a practice of the witches to creep out into the -graveyards at night, to dig up a body, tear off the head, and carry -it back in their mouths like animals. This gruesome habit was -ascribed to werewolves in the olden days.</p> - -<p>Often when there is a case of theft in the town one of the “wise -women” is summoned to help discover the thief and the whereabouts -of the stolen property. She occasionally finds the property, but -very rarely exposes the culprit. One day a rich merchant came to my -office in a great fuss and complained that a quantity of silver -ornaments belonging to his wife had disappeared from his house. I -held an official inquiry, but there were no clues, and nothing was -found out. Then the merchant invited the help of an old woman -called Marika, who according to<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_231">[231]</span> popular opinion was assisted by a familiar -jinn. He offered her a substantial reward if she could trace the -jewellery. About a week later Marika came to the merchant and asked -him to collect every single person in his household outside the -door of the house at a certain time that night. The door was closed -on the empty house and the old woman hobbled up and down outside it -for about ten minutes, muttering incantations and watched with -considerable awe by the whole household. After this proceeding she -flung open the door and led the merchant to one of the lower rooms -where the missing ornaments were found lying on the floor near the -window. She explained that a jinn had brought them back; the -merchant paid her a reward and she then retired. Nobody thought of -trying to discover who had replaced the stuff, and my suggestion -that the lady herself had some knowledge of the culprit was -indignantly dismissed. These old women have access to all the -harems and have a considerable influence over the women, so they -are able to collect an enormous amount of information which helps -them in affairs like these, though they are by no means always so -successful.</p> - -<p>If a number of people are implicated in a theft another very -curious system is used for discovering the culprit. A smooth, round -dish, or a flat, round piece of wood about the size of a plate is -produced and inscribed with curious hieroglyphics and verses from -the Koran. Two men, one of them who has to be an expert, sit down -on the ground facing each<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_232">[232]</span> other, holding the dish in the air about a -foot from the ground, balanced on the tips of their fingers. Each -of the suspects come in one by one and places a scrap of paper or -rag on the middle of the round piece of wood. If they are innocent -nothing happens, but when the guilty man has dropped his piece of -paper on to it the wood begins to revolve. I have seen this -performance done three times; on two occasions nothing happened, -but the other time the wood certainly did move round, although I -could not see how it was manipulated.</p> - -<p>Divination, which is considered to be a form of satanic magic -among good Mohammedans, is much practised at Siwa. Perhaps it is -the idea of oracular communication which has lingered in the oasis -since the days when Siwa was famous for its oracle. Its most -frequent form is the interpretation of dreams, but future events -are also discovered by examining certain bones in animals that are -slaughtered for food, in a similar manner to the Roman augeries. -The lines on certain bones of a sheep denote coming events. One old -man, after examining the thigh bone of a young kid, announced to me -that ten men and six camels would arrive on the morrow from -Jerabub, and also that a large convoy was moving from the coast to -Jerabub. Part of the prediction turned out to be true, but I expect -that he found out about the camels before he made the prophecy.</p> - -<p>The interpretation of dreams is considered the most reliable -guidance of this kind. When a man<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_233">[233]</span> has a difficult problem to decide he pays -fees to a Fiki and gives him some small article that belongs to -him. The Fiki takes the article, a cap for instance, and goes to -the tomb of Sidi Suliman or another sheikh; he prays and then lies -down and sleeps. Afterwards he interprets his dream as an answer to -his client’s questions. Sometimes he has to visit the tomb many -times before being able to give any advice, so in an urgent case -this system would not be a success. The art of divination at tombs -is hereditary, and there is a kind of code which attaches definite -meanings to certain things that the man dreams about. The ancient -Berbers who believed in an after life consulted at the graves of -their chiefs in a similar manner.</p> - -<p>One of the Fikis, an old man who has performed the Pilgrimage -four times, is an expert fortune-teller. His methods are many, but -his favourite one seems to be a complicated system by which he -draws a species of chart in the sand or on paper, with a number of -little squares or “houses” which he fills in with figures depending -on his client’s birth date. He has other ways of working with sand -alone, or by opening a certain Arabic book on necromancy at random, -and reading from the page at which he happens to open it. The -natives have great faith in him, and say that his predictions are -very accurate—but this was not my opinion when I once consulted him -as an experiment.</p> - -<p>When there is an epidemic in Siwa, such as the “Spanish -Influenza” which carried off an enormous<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_234">[234]</span> proportion of the population in 1918, a -ceremony takes place which must have originated when the Berbers of -Siwa made sacrifices to appease their gods. The wealthy men of the -town subscribe together and buy a young heifer. For several days it -is allowed to roam about feeding as it likes in anybody’s garden. -On an appointed day the people assemble in the square before the -tomb of Sidi Suliman, and the heifer is brought forward and -decorated with wreaths and flowers. It is then led seven times -round the walls, followed by a procession of the sheikhs and a band -of men and boys playing on cymbals, drums and pipes. It is led to -the gate of the principal mosque, Gama el Atik; a man steps forward -and slits its right ear with a knife, drawing blood, and then -throws the knife away. Afterwards the butchers slaughter it, -cutting up the meat into innumerable minute pieces and distributing -it so that each household in Siwa has one small piece. The people -take the scraps of meat home and hang them up in their house, and -this, so they say, has the effect of removing any plague or disease -that affects the town. Herodotus describes almost the same ceremony -as being a custom among the ancient Libyans.</p> - -<p>Every Mohammedan is supposed, once in his lifetime, to perform -the Pilgrimage to Mecca. But only very few Siwans have enough money -to do this. Generally, every summer, two or three men go from Siwa, -taking with them a sum of money, the proceeds of the sale of dates -from certain trees which have been dedicated by their owners as -offerings to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[235]</span> -mosque at Mecca. Endowments of this description, either for the -support of a mosque or religious school, or for the giving of alms -to the poor on certain days in the year, are often made by wealthy -Mohammedans. A gift of this kind is called a “wakf,” and there is a -special branch of the Egyptian Government which deals with them, -but in Siwa the “wakfs” are administered by one of the sheikhs, and -this gives cause for a great deal of quarrelling and libels. The -pilgrims from Siwa carry the money with them, though it often -amounts to well over a hundred pounds, which among Arabs is a very -considerable sum, but the sanctity of their purpose protects them -from robbery. They generally accompany a caravan of Arabs going -direct to Alexandria, via the oasis of Gara.</p> - -<p>On the day of their departure the whole town turns out to see -them off, escorting them to the most distant spring on the eastern -edge of the oasis. The wives of the pilgrims accompany them, and -when they arrive at the parting-point the following quaint ceremony -takes place. The crowd form up in the background, leaving the -pilgrims and their wives on an open space by the side of the -spring. A near relative takes from the wife of the pilgrim her -round silver bangles and rolls them along the ground, a distance of -about a hundred yards, to where the husband stands facing the east. -The wife, who on this occasion is dressed entirely in white, runs -along behind him and gathers up a little sand from each place where -the bracelets stopped rolling and fell to the ground. -She<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[236]</span> puts the sand -carefully into a little leather bag. After this she stands under a -certain very tall palm tree near the spring while the relative -climbs up and cuts off three long palm fronds which he gives to -her. After farewells have been said the caravan goes on its way, -the camels driven along in a bunch in front, followed by the Arabs -and the pilgrims; the wives and people return to Siwa, the women -wailing noisily, and the men beating tom-toms and singing. The -spring is about a mile beyond Aghourmi, and generally on that day -the sheikh of the village gives an entertainment and a luncheon to -some of the people.</p> - -<p>On arrival at her house the wife of the pilgrim, with the women -of the family and one near male relation, goes up to the roof and -ties the three palm branches firmly to one corner; she puts the -sand into a little green linen bag and fastens it to the tips of -the three palm fronds, so that they bend towards the east—towards -Mecca. This ensures the pilgrim a safe journey and also serves to -let everybody know that the owner of the house is doing the -Pilgrimage.</p> - -<p>In two months’ time it is supposed that the pilgrims have -reached Mecca. Their friends and relations have a feast on the roof -and hold a reading of the Koran. Then the man who rolled the -bracelets gets up and pierces the little green bag of sand so that -the contents pour out; he then turns the palm branches round and -fixes them in such a way that they point towards the west, in which -position they remain till the pilgrim returns safely home -again.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[237]</span>When it is known -that the caravan has arrived at Ain Magahiz, or one of the outlying -springs, a crowd of men ride out to welcome the returned pilgrims, -but their women-folk stay at home, prepare a substantial meal, and -then go on to the roof, take down the palm branches and watch the -distant road for the cloud of dust that invariably announces a -caravan.</p> - -<p>There is one festival in Siwa which almost corresponds to our -Christmas Day. It takes place in the winter, on the tenth day of -the month of January. For several days before Yom el Ashur—the -tenth day—the roofs of all the houses where there are children are -decorated with palm branches, 10 or 20 feet long, with a torch -soaked in oil fastened to each branch. After dark, on the eve of -the day, all the children go up on to the roofs and set light to -the torches. There is a blaze of illumination along the walls, and -for a few minutes the whole town is lit by the flaming torches. It -is a strange and beautiful sight, quite as effective as the most -elaborate illuminations. The children on each roof sing songs to -each other, and the wail of their voices sounds far on into the -night in a monotonous sweet refrain.</p> - -<p>On the following day the children visit each other and exchange -presents which are very like “Christmas-trees.” Each child makes a -square framework of palm branches a few feet long, the white wood -is stained and dyed with coloured patterns, and on it are hung -fruits, nuts and sweets. Some of the richer children give each -other doves and rabbits, but generally they keep to sweets, the -most favourite<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[238]</span> kind -being pink and white sugared almonds which are imported by the -merchants from Cairo. The children of Siwa look forward to Yom el -Ashur with as much pleasure as their parents do to the annual -mulids. It is really a very attractive sight to see these little -Siwans, very clean and in fresh white clothes for the occasion, -trooping solemnly along the streets on their way to visit their -friends, while their papas sit outside their houses and chuckle at -them, and the mammas watch them proudly from an upstairs -window.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw6"> -<figure id="i21"><img src='images/i21.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">A LITTLE SIWAN GIRL</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<h2><span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[239]</span><a id= -"c07"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2> - -<p class="sch">“FANTASIAS”</p> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group2"> -<div class="line indent0">“A very merry, dancing, drinking,</div> - -<div class="line indent2">Laughing, quaffing, and unthinking -time.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="linegrp-container"> -<div class="linegrp"> -<div class="group2"> -<div class="line indent0">“I hear the women singing, and the -throbbing of the drum,</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> And when the song is failing, or -the drums a moment mute,</div> - -<div class="line indent0"> The weirdly wistful wailing, of the -melancholy flute.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="dcap">SIWANS, on the whole, do not take life very -seriously, and when they have an excuse for an entertainment they -thoroughly let themselves go and are glad of an occasion, if they -can afford it, for a terrific gastronomic display, at which an -Englishman feels like a canary feeding among hungry ostriches. The -poor people eat twice a day, in the morning and evening; the meal -consists mainly of dates washed down by lubki and a few drops of -tea. They are very sociable, fond of talk, of entertaining their -friends and holding “fantasias,” but one notices very much the -entire absence of communion between sexes. Men hardly ever speak to -women in public, and it would be considered quite a scandal for -anyone to be seen in company with his own wife, almost worse than -if he was seen speaking to the wife of another man.</p> - -<p>With the Arabs it is different. They meet about the camps, and -especially at the wells, which from<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_240">[240]</span> the time of Rebekah have been the scene of -many flirtations and courtships. The young men often go and sit by -the well-head watching the women drawing water, chaffing and -talking to them and, very occasionally, helping them to haul up a -heavy bucketful. I have often seen most amusing “goings-on” at a -well. Lifting up the weighty tins and drawing up the skins of water -gives the girls an opportunity for coquettish displays of neat arms -and ankles, but an infinitely more modest expanse is exhibited by -these Arabs than by the average young woman in England to-day. But -in Siwa if one rode past a spring where women were washing clothes -they would run off into the gardens as fast as they could, and even -when a Siwan man came to the pool they retired hurriedly with -shawls pulled over their faces, and waited some distance away.</p> - -<p>In the hot summer evenings, when noises are hushed and the day’s -work is over, men sit in little groups outside their doors on low -mud benches, drinking tea, discussing the latest “cackle of the -palm-tree town,” and watching the piping shepherds driving their -flocks home from the grazing, raising clouds of golden dust as they -come along the sandy roads. The women collect on the roofs up -above, playing with their children and talking to each other. Each -sheikh sits before his house surrounded by a little crowd of -sycophants, sipping tea and adulation, and listening to the latest -scandal told about his rival of the opposite faction. Passers-by -are invited to join in, and if a stranger arrives there ensues -a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[241]</span> lengthy greeting -of much-repeated phrases, many hand-shakings, and polite -expressions. When one walked through the market-place after sunset -there would be a murmur of conversation from the shadowy white -figures sitting and lying round the doorways, who rose up and bowed -at one’s approach, and then sank down again silently. This Eastern -deference is very impressive at first, but it does not take long to -get accustomed to it.</p> - -<p>In Siwa there is no lurid night life like that of Cairo, in -which novelists revel. The people go early to bed and lights are -very little used. Even the quarter of the women of the town is as -quiet as the other streets. There are no noisy cafes with music and -dancing girls, and no hidden houses where natives smoke hashish and -opium. The Senussi religion forbids smoking, or “drinking tobacco,” -as it is called, also coffee, which is supposed to be too -stimulating for the passions, and for this reason tea is the -universal drink. Life is a very leisurely affair, a pleasant -monotony, and “Bukra—inshallah!”—to-morrow, if God wills—is the -favourite expression. Very few games are played. Chess, which was -invented in the East, is unknown, but one sometimes sees a couple -of men deeply absorbed in a game called “helga,” which is rather -like draughts, played with onions and camel-dung on a board which -is marked out in the sand on the ground.</p> - -<p>The younger men, especially the ones with black blood in their -veins, are much addicted to drinking lubki, an inexpensive, -intoxicating liquor made<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_242">[242]</span> from the sap of palm trees. The branches -that form the crown of the tree are cut off, leaving the heart of -the palm tree bare. A groove is cut from the heart through the -thick outer bark, and a jar is hung at the end of this groove which -receives the juice when it oozes up from the tree. A palm which has -been tapped in this way yields lubki for two or three months, and -if the branches are allowed to grow again after some time the tree -will continue to bear fruit, but the branches grow very ragged and -trees that have been used for lubki acquire a rather -drunken-looking appearance which always remains. One of the -favourite tricks of small Siwan boys is to climb up the palm trunks -and drink the lubki from the jar in which it is being collected by -the owner of the garden. When freshly drawn it is as sweet and -frothy as ginger-beer, but in a few days it becomes strongly -alcoholic and tastes bitter, like sour milk. Labourers working in -the gardens always retire to a spring and bathe after the day’s -work, then they enjoy a long “sundowner” of lubki before they ride -home to the town. All intoxicating drinks are forbidden by the -Koran, but in Siwa the people satisfy their consciences by saying -that the Prophet approved of all products of the palm tree, so -lubki cannot be a forbidden drink.</p> - -<p>The Siwans are most particular in their religious observances. -There are a very large number of mosques in comparison to the -population, and Friday—the Mohammedan Sabbath—is very strictly -kept. On Thursday evening the prayers of the muezzins<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_243">[243]</span> are longer, as they remind the -people that the morrow is Friday. On Friday all the men visit the -mosques; no work is done in the gardens, and sometimes one of the -sheikhs distributes alms to the poor outside a mosque, or at the -tomb of one of his illustrious ancestors. For a long time before -the event the “mesakin” (poor) of the town collect at the place; -one sees old blind men, cripples, shrivelled hags, and ragged women -carrying solemn little babies, every one trying hard to appear the -most abjectly destitute, and therefore the most deserving case for -alms. Then the sheikh arrives, fat and prosperous, holding an -umbrella, and followed by some stout servants carrying huge bowls -heaped with cold boiled rice spotted with dark-coloured lumps of -camel flesh. The dishes are set down before the people, men and -women sitting apart, with a servant standing near each dish to keep -order and prevent free fights. The paupers snatch and claw at the -food, grabbing it with skinny, dirty fingers, squabbling fiercely -over yellowish-looking lumps of fat, shrieking vile abuse at each -other and trying to hide tasty scraps of meat in their clothes. The -sheikh looks on with a complacent smile and listens with much -gratification while his friends make audible remarks about his -excessive generosity and his liberal qualities.</p> - -<p>The typical Arab sheikh of modern fiction (if he does not turn -out to be an Englishman) is a young, dashing, handsome and -intensely fascinating individual, well mannered and well washed; -but in real<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[244]</span> life -one rarely meets such a person—I myself have never seen him. The -typical sheikh at Siwa or on the Western Desert was elderly, -bearded and only moderately clean. Some of them were certainly very -fine-looking men, but utterly different to the personage that one -would expect from the descriptions in a certain style of popular -novel. The “guides” who swindle visitors in Cairo are much more -like the sheikh of fiction in appearance than are the real sheikhs -whom one meets and has dealings with on the desert.</p> - -<p>One of the most curious, partly philanthropic institutions which -has survived in Siwa is the “Beit el Mal,” a public fund used for -providing shrouds for persons who die without money or relations, -and also for repairing mosques, causeways and sun-shelters. The -money is contributed from the sale of public land belonging to the -community, and also from the sale of argoul, which is a plant that -is used as manure, and rents for grazing paid by visiting Arabs. -The fund is collected and administered by certain sheikhs, and in -former days it included fines, inflicted as punishments, and taxes -on strangers who visited the oasis. Any case which is considered -deserving of charity is supplied from the money.</p> - -<p>Ramadan, the Mohammedan Lent, the month in which the Koran was -supposed to have been sent down from heaven, is kept very strictly -in Siwa. During this month all good Mohammedans are expected to -refrain from the pleasures of the table, the pipe and the harem; no -morsel of food or drop<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_245">[245]</span> of water may pass their lips during the -day, but at night the revels commence and they feast and enjoy -themselves till the unwelcome approach of morning. Night is turned -into day, and at Siwa, during Ramadan, there is a continuous rumble -of drums from sunset till the early morning; at first it is -disturbing, but one grows accustomed to it before the month is -out.</p> - -<p>The words of the Koran are:</p> - -<p class="space-above15">“Eat and drink until ye can plainly -distinguish a black thread from a white thread by the daybreak; -then keep the fast until night.”</p> - -<p class="space-above15">It is possible to obtain a dispensation -from keeping Ramadan, on medical grounds, and among the effendi -class I noticed that this was frequently done; travellers are also -excused from observing it, though I have often been out on trek -during Ramadan with men who were strictly fasting. If the month -occurs in the hot weather it is a very great strain on every one. -Siwa, in the daytime, during Ramadan, is like a dead place; the -minimum amount of work is done in the gardens, everybody stays -indoors during the day, and one sees nobody about the streets -except in the cool of the early morning and after sunset. Fasting, -especially abstaining from drinking, is a severe strain; the -sheikhs, when they come to the Markaz, look thin and ill, and one’s -servants make the fast an excuse for doing nothing.</p> - -<p>This arduous month is terminated by a festival lasting for three -days known as the Minor Festival or<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_246">[246]</span> Kurban Bairam. It is celebrated with great -festivities and rejoicings in Egypt; servants expect tips and every -one appears in new clothes, but in Siwa it is not so important an -occasion; the people merely take a rest after the trials of the -fast month, reserving all their energy and money for the great -local mulid which occurs a week or so later. The mulid of Sidi -Suliman, the anniversary of the birth of Siwa’s patron sheikh, is -the most important incident of the whole year. The festival -generally lasts for three days, but the people take three more days -to recover from it. All the year round everybody saves money in -order to make a “splash” at the annual mulid.</p> - -<p>For several days the women are busy cooking cakes and sweets; -the best fruit in the gardens is carefully watched over to be ready -at the mulid, and certain animals are fed up with a view to being -slaughtered. If possible one or two camels are bought from the -Arabs and kept at grass till they are fat enough to kill. On the -eve of the feast there is a general spring cleaning of the town. -The tombs of the sheikhs are freshly painted with whitewash, -carpets and coloured blankets are hung from every roof, while the -houses are swept and cleaned, and the place looks quite gay with -its clean white tombs, and bright mats and rugs hanging out from -roofs and windows. In the evening the sheep that are to be -slaughtered on the morrow are led in from the fields, and everybody -discusses with interest how many animals Sheikh So-and-So is going -to kill. Sometimes the richest men kill as many as seven or eight -sheep, and this is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[247]</span> -remembered and often mentioned to their credit, all through the -year. One year there was a great scandal in the town because Sheikh -Mohammed Hameid had boasted to everybody that he had killed six -sheep, but one of his household let out that there had only been -three old goats slaughtered. Enormous supplies of lubki are drawn -before the holiday in order that it may stand long and become -really strong.</p> - -<p>On the morning of the mulid everybody puts on his best clothes, -and even the poorest labourer dons a new shirt or a clean jibba. -Every man goes to pray in his own particular mosque, and the women -visit the tombs and lay palm branches on the graves of their -relations. After this people retire to their houses and eat an -enormous meal and as much meat as they can possibly swallow. When -the men have eaten, the remainder of the food is sent to the harem, -and when the harem have finished, it is sent out to the servants -and labourers who pick the bones clean. After this heavy meal and -during the two following days everybody calls on everybody else, -and on this occasion one may see eastern sheikhs riding haughtily -through the western quarter to call on their much-detested -neighbours. In all the streets one meets the sheikhs riding along -on their best donkeys, wearing gorgeous silk, coloured robes, which -emerge from the chests in which they are locked up during most of -the year, each followed by an escort of servants. The people let -each other know at what time they will be “at home” and when they -will ride out visiting.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[248]</span>On arriving at -the house one finds servants waiting to hold the donkeys, and if -one is so indiscreet as to look up at the little windows numbers of -female heads pop out of sight. The owner of the house is found -seated in his largest room, with the best carpets covering the -floor, surrounded by about a dozen little tables with dishes of -peaches, grapes, figs, melons, nuts, cakes and sweets, and one dish -which contains the young, white pith of a palm tree, which is much -esteemed as a delicacy. Along the side of the room there are more -dishes, covered with napkins, heaped up with meat, generally -smothered by a cloud of flies. The host offers tea, coffee, or an -exceedingly disagreeable syrupy liquor made from a species of fruit -“syrop” which should be taken cold with soda, but is served hot -like tea, according to Siwan fashion. Strict etiquette enjoins that -one must drink three cups of tea or coffee, and taste every dish in -the room, except the meat, which is reserved for the family at each -house.</p> - -<p>The extra amount of food everywhere attracts swarms of flies, -and the sticky smell of fruit and meat is rather overpowering, when -the temperature is about 106 degrees in the shade. One year I rode -round myself and paid calls, but the next time I was wiser and -invited the sheikhs and notables to a light meal at the Markaz, -after their own solid luncheon, and even then, although showing -post-prandial symptoms, they managed to eat very heartily. It was -at one of these entertainments that I learnt that the Siwans have -special names for people who offend<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_249">[249]</span> against the strict etiquette of eating. The -following are all highly condemned:</p> - -<p class="hang2 space-above15">The man who turns round and looks to -see whether more is coming.</p> - -<p class="hang2">The individual who bites a piece of meat and -replaces it in the dish.</p> - -<p class="hang2">The person who blows on his food to cool it.</p> - -<p class="hang2">The one who is undecided and fingers first one -piece, then the other.</p> - -<p class="hang2">And finally the visitor who orders about his -host’s servants, which I have noticed myself as being a very common -habit.</p> - -<p class="space-above15">In the afternoon of the mulid the younger -men and boys go out into the gardens, where they lie singing and -drinking lubki. At dusk the people begin to collect in the open -space below the highest part of the old town, round the square, -white tomb of Sidi Suliman, which is illuminated with candles and -lanterns, and ornamented with banners stuck along the parapet of -the roof. Crowds of men keep on passing up the steps and in and out -of the tomb, shuffling off their shoes at the entrance and praying -at the grave of the saint. Then everybody collects at his own -particular mosque, in various parts of the town, and a great -“zikr,” a kind of prayer-meeting and religious dance, is held -outside the Medinia mosque in the eastern quarter of the town. It -is a very wonderful sight, and is attended by four or five hundred -devotees.</p> - -<p>There is a large, open space outside the mosque<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_250">[250]</span> surrounded by tall houses, -whose little black windows look like gaping eyes, and behind them -one catches a glimpse of the tops of palm trees in some gardens -darkly silhouetted against the deep blue African sky. The whole -scene is flooded with brilliant moonlight, except where the cold, -black shadows fall from the high houses. The ground is entirely -carpeted with old rugs and mats whose faded colours show dimly in -the moonlight; along one side, in front of the mosque, sit the -sheikhs and notables of the Medinia sect, and on the other three -sides of the square there is a vast congregation of white-robed, -seated natives, row upon row of “dusk faces with white silken -turbans wreathed.” A carpeted space in the centre is kept -empty.</p> - -<p>Among the shadows of the houses there are more blurred white -figures, and in one corner of the square kettles are being boiled -on open fires, and men in flowing robes walk to and fro across the -light from the flames. There is a subdued murmur of conversation. -The first part of the entertainment is a solemn tea-drinking. -Dozens of men move about, barefooted and silent, carrying trays and -distributing hundreds of little glasses of tea, which is made and -poured out by the sheikhs. After everybody has drunk three glasses -the low tables in front of the sheikhs are carried away, and the -audience becomes absolutely silent. Then the chief sheikh of the -Medinia mosque, a handsome, bearded man wearing the green turban, -whose looks belie his notoriously bad character, begins intoning -verses from the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[251]</span> -Koran in a sonorous, impressive voice, sitting on the carpet with -his hands spread on his knees. When he stops one of the other -sheikhs begins, until most of them have had a turn. After this -three men step into the space in the centre of the seated audience. -One of them is quite a boy with a very beautiful voice, the other -two are older men. They walk slowly round and round the square, -abreast, singing together a tune which resembles the solemn -grandeur of a Gregorian chant, and after each verse the whole -audience, several hundred powerful male voices, intone the refrain. -It is an intensely impressive performance and one feels thrilled at -being the only white man present at such a spectacle. The bright -moonlight shines down on the massed ranks of motionless natives -whose faces look black, much darker than they actually are, in -comparison with their white robes and white skull caps or turbans. -For a background there are the high houses, and on the roofs, -peering down at the square, a number of heavily veiled women, and -“over all the sky—the sky! far, far out of reach, studded with the -eternal stars.”</p> - -<p>After some time everybody rises and all the full-grown men close -up and form a circle, tightly wedged together. The old sheikh steps -into the centre and begins repeating more prayers, quietly at first -then with restrained violence. The audience join in, chanting the -Mohammedan creed. Gradually the singing grows louder, the voice of -the sheikh is drowned, and the ring of white-robed men -begin<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[252]</span> swaying to -and fro, backwards and forwards, their voices become hoarse and -raucous; every man jerks to and fro in a frenzy of religious -excitement, and the prayer becomes a violent repetition of the word -“Allah—’la, ’la, ’la.” Then the sheikh who leads the prayer -gradually slows down, and the congregation repeat more quietly the -Mohammedan creed, “La ilahi illa—llah, wa Mohammed rasul -Allah”—there is no deity but God, and Mohammed the prophet of God. -The contrast between the performers at the beginning of the zikr, -when they are calm and grave, and at its close, when they are hot, -dishevelled and exhausted, is very remarkable.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the crowd in the Sidi Suliman square increases. From -the various mosques come long processions of white-robed figures, -singing and carrying banners; the light of their torches and -lanterns flashes in and out as they slowly thread their way through -the steep, winding streets of the town, and their voices become -faint, then loud, as they pass through and out of the arches and -tunnels. They assemble in the square, forming large circles and -dancing zikrs. In one corner one sees a ring of old men singing and -clashing cymbals; in another group there are a dozen men banging -drums, while a half-naked young negro in their midst twirls rapidly -round and round, then suddenly falls to the ground and rolls over -and over till he reaches the tomb itself, where he is lifted up by -his admiring and applauding friends and carried away unconscious. -Behind the tomb there are fires where the drums<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_253">[253]</span> can be warmed, in order to -tighten their parchment. Numbers of women squat on the outskirts of -the crowd, huddled in their dark robes, hardly visible, except when -the moon gleams on their silver ornaments and pale white faces. -Some of them are burning incense in little earthenware braziers, -and occasionally one of them creeps up to the white tomb and kisses -the wall, if she can reach it before being driven off by the -ghaffirs—watchmen.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw6"> -<figure id="i22"><img src='images/i22.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">A “FANTASIA” AT THE TOMB OF SIDI SULIMAN</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<p>The dancers in the centre of the circles move faster, keeping -time to the drums and hand-clappings of the audience, and soon -everybody is swaying to and fro. Away in the gardens outside the -town there are flickering lights and a sound of singing. The great -zikr before the Medinia mosque ceases and all the people come -streaming out from the dark, shadowy lanes towards the tomb of Sidi -Suliman, which shines white in the moonlight with orange lights -blazing from its open door and little windows. The sheikhs walk -slowly about from group to group, each followed by a little knot of -men—servants carrying carpets and cushions, and some watchmen in -tall brown tarbouches, holding staves. The police stand about in -the crowd, and when one walks up to watch a dance they hurry -forward and push people aside, saying, “Make way, make way!” The -sound of distant singing in the gardens grows louder and nearer, -and suddenly mobs of men and boys, mad with drink, half naked, come -leaping and shrieking into the square, scattering fire from their -blazing torches.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[254]</span>Then drums are -beaten madly, cymbals crash, and the shrill screech of reed pipes -rends the air. The crowd forms into a great circle round the mass -of frenzied dancers who career round, drinking as they dance, -shouting and yelling. In the centre there are a dozen men lashing -away at cymbals and tom-toms. One of the dancers is an enormous -blind giant, almost naked, who flourishes a jug of lubki, and some -of the boys have wreaths round their heads and bunches of flowers -stuck behind their ears.</p> - -<p>As the night goes on the pandemonium becomes wilder; the exotic -timbre of the music grows more frenzied; many of the dancers throw -off their robes, and great pitchers full of potent lubki are -distributed among the people. The fires in the square, heaped up -with rushes, blaze more brightly when the honey-coloured moon sinks -behind the high walls of the town, and frantically writhing figures -are seen whirling round by the light of the shooting flames and -torches. The whole scene becomes even more <em>macabre</em>. -Gradually boys and men among the audience, fascinated by the mad -mob of dancers, plunge in among them, linking arms and revolving -round the musicians in the centre, crouching, jumping, hopping, and -running, each one executing strange steps and postures as he goes -along. Sometimes the music is voluptuous and alluring, then the -dance becomes frankly indecent; at other times it is wild and -furious, and the performers seem to be overcome with savage -transports of rage; but the whole time the music has a very -definite rhythm which<span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_255">[255]</span> urges them on. The light of many torches -gleams on glistening black flesh and shining teeth and eyes; the -air is thick with heavy fumes of incense, and the bitter smell of -liquor. On the outskirts of the crowd one sees figures stretched -like corpses on the ground, overcome with the orgy of drink and -dancing. When the faint light of dawn shows in the sky, and the -fires are dying down they begin to tire of the Bacchanalian revels, -and one by one the dancers fall exhausted to the ground, lying -where they fell, or crawl away, staggering through the silent -streets, to sleep off the effects in readiness for the following -day. Looking down on to this riotous African carnival from the -highest roofs of the town one can imagine oneself, like Dante, -watching damned souls writhing in hell.</p> - -<p>The Siwans are extremely fond of music and singing. Their -instruments are crude and simple, but they manage to obtain a -surprising amount of music from them. Drums, or tom-toms, are of -various kinds, either cylindrical gourds or basins with a skin -stretched across one end, or large round tambourines with parchment -covers. By striking first the side of the drum and then the -resounding parchment, two different sounds are obtained, one hard, -the other soft, and this again can be varied by using either the -palm of the hand or the clenched fist. Flutes are usually made from -the barrels of long Arab guns, or occasionally from reeds, and -string instruments, like primitive guitars, are manufactured from a -bowl covered with skin, a wooden frame, and string made from wire -or gut which can be tightened or slackened.<span class="pagenum" -id="Page_256">[256]</span> The combination of these simple -instruments with human voices is singularly effective.</p> - -<p>There is a similarity in all African music; in fact, all Eastern -music is somewhat alike. The melody is monotonous and barbaric: -sometimes a song sung in a tremulous, high-pitched voice which -rises above the throbbing tom-toms, or a tune played on a shrill -flute with an accompaniment of drums and twanging string -instruments. The scale ranges from bass to treble, sometimes short, -sad notes, and sometimes long drawn-out wails, varied by sudden, -unexpected pauses. It is difficult to describe, but the general -effect is somewhat sinister, at the same time very fascinating. To -a stranger it may sound like an inharmonious wail, but in time one -gets to appreciate the subtle undercurrent of half-notes which -makes the melody. It is suggestive of fierce passions, vague -longings, and vast desert spaces.</p> - -<p>The characteristic song of the Western Arabs, a dreamy refrain -with a reiterated note, which they sing to themselves as they ride -alone across the desert, is very similar to the Swiss yeodling; but -Siwan music is quite different. The Siwans have songs and tunes of -a distinct individual style. With them certain notes have definite -meanings; there is a language of sound. When some of their best -singers, usually boys, are performing, the listeners can interpret -the meaning of the song without needing to hear the words. They -sing everywhere, and at all times, especially when at work in the -gardens. Several men and boys working in different parts -of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[257]</span> a big palm grove -sing to each other, taking up the refrain and answering each other -back, and these unaccompanied quartets and trios sound very -attractive, especially when one hears them in the evening, now loud -and clear, now faintly in the distance. Good voices are much -esteemed, and the best singing boys are hired to perform at -entertainments. The songs that have words are in the Siwan -language, but when literally translated they are exceedingly -indecent.</p> - -<p>Dancing, too, is very different to the fashion of the Arabs or -the Sudanese. In many parts of the Sudan one sees men and women -dancing together, and among the Arabs there are dancing girls who -perform in front of a mixed audience. On the Western Desert it is -not considered shameful for respectable women to dance, although -most of the best dancers are very decidedly not respectable. But in -Siwa only the men dance in public, and it is very difficult to see -women performing, but on one occasion I did see an entertainment of -this kind.</p> - -<p>It took place at night in the courtyard of a house discreetly -surrounded by high, windowless walls. A space on the ground was -spread with carpets, with some cushions at one side, and the moon -shone down and illuminated the scene. A little wooden door in the -wall was pushed open and about a dozen girls, followed by an old -woman, and a small boy carrying a brazier of smoking incense, -shuffled into the court and squatted down in a line on one side. -The girls wore the usual Siwan dress, a blue striped<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_258">[258]</span> robe reaching below the knees, -and white silk-embroidered trousers; but besides this each of them -wore a long silk, coloured scarf, hiding her face and shoulders, -and a quantity of jingling silver ornaments and heavy bangles which -they took off and gave to the old woman to hold while they danced. -Three or four of them had small drums which they beat as they sang. -At first they sat in a row, very carefully veiled, singing quietly -to the accompaniment of the little tom-toms. Then one of them got -up, with the thin coloured veil hiding her face, and began to -dance, slowly at first, keeping time to the music, but gradually -moving faster as the music grew wilder. The dancing began by simple -steps and swaying gestures of the arms, then the movements became -more rapid, and one saw a confused mass of swirling draperies and -silver chains.</p> - -<p>After each girl had danced for a few minutes the <em>motif</em> -of music changed, becoming more sensuous, and the <em>prima -danseuse</em> took the floor again. This time she performed a -variety of the <em>danse de ventre</em>, which consists of queer -quivering movements and swaying the body from the hips, keeping the -upper part still, with arms stretched down and painted hands -pointing outwards. This was varied by an occasional rapid twirl -which gave the audience a sight of the dancer’s features; a pale -face with long “kohl” tinted eyes and a scarlet painted mouth, set -in a frame of black braided hair, oiled and shiny. Finally, the -lilt of the music became even more seductive, and the dancer swung -off the long,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[259]</span> -fringed, silk scarf and danced unveiled, swaying more violently, -with her arms stretched above her head, stamping on the ground in -time to the rhythm of the music, and finally subsiding into her -place in an ecstasy of amorous excitement.</p> - -<p>It was not an attractive performance, although the dance is one -which is very much admired by natives, who consider it intensely -alluring. One sees it in various forms all over Africa, and -everywhere it is equally ugly and dull.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<h2><span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[260]</span><a id= -"conc"></a>CONCLUSION</h2> - -<p class="dcap">MANY people have at various times carefully -considered the agricultural possibilities of Siwa from a commercial -point of view. Undoubtedly the cultivation in the oasis could be -greatly developed, as there is enough water to irrigate a much -larger area of ground than that which is now being cultivated. At -present the natives have only the most primitive ideas of -agriculture; for instance, they neglect most of the fruit trees by -doing no pruning, and through sheer laziness they have allowed -various species to die out completely. They are handicapped, too, -by having no proper tools or machinery. The dates of Siwa are -exceptionally fine, famous all over Egypt, and besides these there -is a quantity of other fruit whose quality could be much improved -by proper care. Olive oil is a valuable product and commands a very -high price on the coast and in Egypt. No wine is made from the -grapes, and no one has experimented in drying fruit, which is a -simple and lucrative industry.</p> - -<p>But the difficulty that faces one in all commercial schemes is -the means of transport. Camels can only be hired from the coast at -rare intervals and during the season when the Arabs do not mind -visiting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[261]</span> the oasis, -and their hire is so prohibitive as to make any heavy transport -hardly worth while. The ex-Khedive went to Siwa for the purpose of -seeing whether it would be worth running a light railway from the -coast to the oasis, and since then the project has been seriously -thought of more than once, but it has always been considered -impracticable on account of the expense and the great difficulty of -crossing such an expanse of waterless desert.</p> - -<p>An alternative scheme of running a service of motor lorries is a -more likely proposition, and when once started it might be highly -remunerative. Some of the richest and most progressive Siwans were -very anxious to buy a lorry and send their olive oil direct to -Alexandria, but they failed to appreciate that one lorry alone -would be useless, and the minimum number would have to be four.</p> - -<p>Apart from the possibilities of trade Siwa is valuable as a -field for excavators. So far very little digging has been done in -Siwa and the adjoining oases, and undoubtedly there are great -possibilities in this direction. Labour is cheap and one could hire -enough men in the place to do any work of this kind. Nobody has -attempted to locate and examine the subterranean passages which -connect Aghourmi and the temple, and Siwa town with the Hill of the -Dead. There is also the possibility of rediscovering the emerald -mines which brought fame to the oasis many centuries ago, and which -are now so completely forgotten that I doubt whether half a dozen -people have ever heard of their existence. Under the<span class= -"pagenum" id="Page_262">[262]</span> present regime, though one -does not know how long it will last, an Englishman can live at Siwa -in perfect safety, and though the climate is certainly very hot in -summer-time it is quite agreeable during more than half the -year.</p> - -<p>But Siwa will never become a much-visited place, which is -perhaps all for the best, owing to the strip of desert which -stretches between it and the coast. Otherwise it might have -developed into another Biskra, which is the oasis in Algeria that -Hitchens describes so wonderfully in <em>The Garden of Allah</em>. -Quite lately I noticed in a travel book called <em>Kufara, the -Secret of the Sahara</em>, by Mrs. Rosita Forbes, a mention of this -very desert between Siwa and the coast which was described as a -“tame desert.” This expression, used by a lady with such great -knowledge of deserts in all parts of the world, surprised me—and I -own that it annoyed me! Her only experience of this particular -desert was acquired during the one day in which she motored up from -Siwa to Matruh in the company of several officers of the F.D.A. who -met her there. But people on the Western Desert can remember, only -too well, a terrible fatality which occurred less than a year ago -in which three Englishmen were involved, and which proved -conclusively that no waterless desert is safe or “tame,” even in -these days when cars can travel across it.</p> - -<p>I was not actually in Siwa when Hassanein Bey arrived there, -accompanied by Mrs. Forbes, after their memorable journey to Kufra, -but I returned there soon afterwards, and it was very interesting -to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[263]</span> hear of her -exploit from the various natives who came in to Siwa from the -west.</p> - -<p>In spite of a climate that was sometimes trying, in spite of a -bad bout of fever, and in spite of an occasional feeling of -loneliness, the memory of the time that I spent at Siwa will always -be a very happy one. Siwa is so absolutely unspoilt, and so -entirely Eastern. Even the ubiquitous Greek trader has not -penetrated this desert fastness. It is a place that grows on one, -and the few who have been there, and who appreciate its curious -fascination, find it very hard to leave.</p> - -<p>There is a saying in Egypt that whoever tastes the water of the -Nile must some time return there, and I am very sure that he who -drinks from the Siwa springs will always wish to go there again. -Walking by moonlight under those huge, towering battlements of the -strange old town, through streets and squares deserted save for an -occasional white-robed figure, one could almost credit the queer -stories of ghosts, jinns and afreets that are believed by the -Siwans to haunt every spot in this mysterious little oasis which -lies hidden among the great barren tracts of the pitiless Libyan -Desert.</p> - -<div class="figcenterplate iw6"> -<figure id="map"><img src='images/map.jpg' alt=''> -<p class="cp1">THE WESTERN DESERT OF EGYPT</p> - -<p class="small"><a href= -"images/map_large.jpg">(<em>Large-size</em>)</a> -</p> -</figure> -</div> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<h2><span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[265]</span><a id= -"biblio"></a>BIBLIOGRAPHY</h2> - -<p>Books consulted in compiling the “History of Siwa”:—</p> - -<ul class="simple"> -<li>Anonymous History of Siwa (Arabic).</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Arrian</span>. Expeditio Alexandri.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Bates, Oric</span>. The Eastern Libyans.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Blochet</span>. History of the Arab -Conquest.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Bovary</span>. Letters from Egypt.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Breasted</span>. History of Egypt.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Browne</span>, W. G. Travels in Africa -(1792-6).</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Budge</span>. Life of Alexander.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Butler</span>, A. J. Arab Conquest.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Cailliaud</span>. Travels in the Oases.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Cameron</span>. Egypt in the Nineteenth -Century.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Corripus</span>, F. C. Johannides.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Diodorus Siculus</span>. Bibliotheca. History -of Egypt.</li> - -<li>Edmonstone’s Journey. (1822).</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Ermann</span>. Handbook of Egyptian -Religion.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Falls, Ewart</span>. Three Years in the Libyan -Desert.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Forbes, Rosita</span>. The Secret of the -Sahara, Kufara.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Gwatkin Williams</span>, R. S. In the hands of -the Senussi.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Gwatkin Williams</span>, R. S. Prisoners of -the Red Desert.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Hamilton</span>, J. Wanderings in North -Africa.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Hareem</span>. Ancient Commerce of -Africa.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Herodotus</span>. Egypt.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Hohler</span>, T. B. Report on Oasis of Siwa -(1904).</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Hornemann</span>, F. C. Journal, from Cairo to -Mourzouk.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Hoskins</span>, S. A. Visit to Libyan Desert -(1837).</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Juvenal</span>, Satires.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Lane</span>, E. W. Arabian Nights.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Langles</span>. Memoires sur les oases d’après -les auteurs Arabes.</li> - -<li><span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">[266]</span><span class= -"sc">Leo, Johannes</span>. Africae Descriptio.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Mercier, Ernest</span>. Histoire de -l’établissement des Arabes dans l’Afrique Septrionale.</li> - -<li>Nelson’s History of the Great War.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Okley</span>. History of the Saracens.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Petrie, Flinders</span>. History of -Egypt.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Pindar</span>. Hymns to Deities.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Pliny</span>. Geography of the World.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Plutarch</span>. Life of Alexander.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Quintius Curtius</span>. Alexander.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Rollins</span>. Ancient History.</li> - -<li>R. E. <span class="sc">Journal</span>. Vol. 37, No. 2.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">St. John, Bayle</span>. Adventures in the -Libyan Desert (1849).</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Sale</span>. The Koran.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Silva White</span>. From Sphinx to -Oracle.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Smith</span>. Classical Dictionary.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Stanley, Captain</span>. Report on Siwa -Oasis.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Strabo</span>. Geography.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Virgil</span>. Ænid.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Wilkinson, Sir</span> J. S. Manners and -Customs of Ancient Egypt.</li> -</ul> - -<p>Translations, mostly French, of the following Arab Historians -and Geographers:—</p> - -<ul class="simple"> -<li><span class="sc">Ibn Abdel Hakim Khaldoun</span>. History of -the Berbers.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Mohammed ben Ayas</span>.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">El Makrizi</span>.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">El Masoudi</span>.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Ibn el Wardi</span>.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Abulfeda</span>.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">El Idrisi</span>.</li> - -<li><span class="sc">Schemfedden Mohammed Abdel Furur</span>.</li> -</ul> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<h2><span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">[267]</span><a id= -"ind"></a>INDEX</h2> - -<ul class="index"> -<li class="indx">Abbas Helmi, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Abbas Pasha, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Abdel Arti, smuggler, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, -<a href="#Page_117">117</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Abdel Gader, sheikh of travellers, <a href= -"#Page_54">54</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><em>Abdel Moneim</em>, cruiser, <a href= -"#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Abdel Rahman, Sheikh, <a href= -"#Page_66">66</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Abdel Sayed, <a href="#Page_180">180</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Abdulla Homeid, Sheikh, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, -<a href="#Page_247">247</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Abdulla Mansur, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Abu Zeyed, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Actium, battle of, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Aeroplanes, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> - -<li class="indx">African Association, <a href= -"#Page_101">101</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Agagia, battle of, <a href= -"#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Age of Siwans, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Aghourmi, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href= -"#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href= -"#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href= -"#Page_96">96</a>; sheikh of, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>; spring, -<a href="#Page_81">81</a>; temple, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Agriculture, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ahmed Fazi, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ahmed Hamza, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ahmed Idris, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ain el Hammam, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Akaba incident,” <a href="#Page_xiv">xiv</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alexander the Great, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, -<a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alexandria, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href= -"#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href= -"#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>; summer resort, -<a href="#Page_8">8</a>; Alexander buried at, <a href= -"#Page_85">85</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Algeria, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ali Balli, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href= -"#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ali Dinar, Sultan of Darfur, <a href= -"#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Almsgiving, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Amaryllis, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ammon, god, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>; legends of, -<a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href= -"#Page_xix">xix</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ammonia, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href= -"#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ammonians, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href= -"#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href= -"#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Amrou, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Animals at Siwa, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Antony, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Appetites of Siwans, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, -<a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arabia, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arabs, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href= -"#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>; carrying arms, -<a href="#Page_18">18</a>; clothes, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>; -characteristics, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>; conversation, -<a href="#Page_24">24</a>; dance, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>; -horses, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>; hospitality, <a href= -"#Page_22">22</a>; invasion, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href= -"#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>; at Maragi, <a href= -"#Page_185">185</a>; refugees, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>; songs, -<a href="#Page_256">256</a>; tents, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>; -wealth, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>; wells, <a href= -"#Page_43">43</a>; welcome rains, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>; wives, -<a href="#Page_39">39</a>; women, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arasieh, lake, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Architecture, Siwan, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, -<a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Areg, El, oasis of, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, -<a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Argoul, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href= -"#Page_244">244</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arms, seizing, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arusia, sect, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Assiut, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Athanasius, St., <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Athenians, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Atlantic, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Atlantis, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Augerin, Bir, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Augustus, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_268">[268]</span>Australian Light Horse, <a href= -"#Page_125">125</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Awlad Ali, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Azhar university, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bachelors, custom of, <a href= -"#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bagbag, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bahrein oasis, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, -<a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bairam, Kurban, feast of, <a href= -"#Page_246">246</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Baird, Miss, <a href="#Page_xxi">xxi</a>, <a href= -"#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bakhr-Wahash, wild ox, <a href= -"#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bakshish, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bangles, rolling the, <a href= -"#Page_235">235</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Barley, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Barrani, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href= -"#Page_14">14</a>; evacuation, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>; -reoccupation, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bashu Habun, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Basket making, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bates, Oric, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href= -"#Page_76">76</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bathing, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href= -"#Page_63">63</a>; bride, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>; at Matruh, -<a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bazaars, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Beda, el, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Behera, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Beit el Mal, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ben Ayas, historian, <a href= -"#Page_90">90</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ben Soleim, tribe of, <a href= -"#Page_93">93</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bequests, religious, <a href= -"#Page_235">235</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Berbers, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href= -"#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href= -"#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href= -"#Page_209">209</a>; from Europe, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, -<a href="#Page_xvii">xvii</a>; dialect, <a href= -"#Page_146">146</a>; sacrifices, <a href="#Page_234">234</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Berseem, custom of, <a href= -"#Page_162">162</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bikaner, Maharajah, <a href= -"#Page_xxiv">xxiv</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bilad el Kelab, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bir Hakim, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href= -"#Page_131">131</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Birds, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href= -"#Page_203">203</a>; eggs, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Birth-rate at Siwa, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bisharin trackers, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Blossoms, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Booba, story of, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Booza camp, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bramley, Captain Jennings, <a href= -"#Page_xxii">xxii</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bread, on trek, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bride, customs of, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, -<a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Browne at Siwa, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Budget, economy on, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Butin, Colonel, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Byzantines, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cairns, rock, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Calamis, statue by, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cambyses, lost army of, <a href= -"#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Camel Corps, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href= -"#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href= -"#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>; barracks, <a href= -"#Page_49">49</a>; exploring with, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>; as -garrison, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>; -soldiers, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>; songs of, <a href= -"#Page_54">54</a>; wives of, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href= -"#Page_100">100</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Camels, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>; riding, -<a href="#Page_48">48</a>; fly, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>; in -rain, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>; stories of, <a href= -"#Page_36">36</a>; drinking, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>; as -transport, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Camp, in the desert, <a href= -"#Page_49">49</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Canaanite migration, <a href= -"#Page_xvii">xvii</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Canal, Suez, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Caravans, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href= -"#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Carpets, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>; leather, -<a href="#Page_91">91</a>; makers of, <a href= -"#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cars, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Carthage, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cats, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Causeway, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Caves, at Kasr Hassuna, <a href= -"#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cemeteries, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chess, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Childbirth preventives, <a href= -"#Page_211">211</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Children, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href= -"#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href= -"#Page_213">213</a>; festival, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>; murder -of, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Christianity at Siwa, <a href= -"#Page_88">88</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cimon, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cisterns, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href= -"#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Civil War in Siwa, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, -<a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Clearchus, King, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cleopatra, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Clerk, Coptic, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Climate, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_269">[269]</span>Coastal belt, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Coastguards, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href= -"#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href= -"#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>; fight with Abdel -Arti, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>; officers of, <a href= -"#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Coffee, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantinople, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, 189; -Sayed Ahmed retires to, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cooks, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href= -"#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Corippus, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cows, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Crime, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Crœsus, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Crops, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href= -"#Page_156">156</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Customs, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cyprus, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cyrene, <a href="#Page_84">84</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cyrenians, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Daftar el Ain, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dak bungalows, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dakhla oasis, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dakrur, Gebel, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href= -"#Page_93">93</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Danaus, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dancing, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href= -"#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href= -"#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>; Arab, <a href= -"#Page_45">45</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Darfur, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href= -"#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dartmoor, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dates, markets, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, -<a href="#Page_138">138</a>; harvest, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>; -palms, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>; cultivation, <a href= -"#Page_157">157</a>; at El Areg, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Decorations, Turkish, <a href= -"#Page_127">127</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Delphi, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Derna, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Desert plateau, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Devil’s Country,” <a href= -"#Page_189">189</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Diodorus Siculus, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dionysius, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href= -"#Page_78">78</a></li> - -<li class="indx">District Officer’s house, <a href= -"#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Divorce, among Siwans, <a href= -"#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href= -"#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>; Arabs, <a href= -"#Page_21">21</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Doctor, Syrian, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dodona, oracle of, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, -<a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dogs, Arab, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>; country of, -<a href="#Page_57">57</a>; as food, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, -<a href="#Page_170">170</a>; “Howa,” <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, -<a href="#Page_163">163</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Doré, Gustave, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dorset Yeomanry, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Doves, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dreams, interpretation of, <a href= -"#Page_232">232</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Drinking, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href= -"#Page_249">249</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Drums, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href= -"#Page_255">255</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ear-rings, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Earthquakes, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Easterners, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href= -"#Page_100">100</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Egyptian Army, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Egyptian Government, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, -<a href="#Page_114">114</a>; representative, <a href= -"#Page_64">64</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Emeralds, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href= -"#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href= -"#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Enver Pasha, <a href="#Page_xxv">xxv</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ethiopia, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href= -"#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Evening at Siwa, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Evil Eye, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href= -"#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>; charms against, -<a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Exabia oasis, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Excavations, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href= -"#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href= -"#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ex-Khedive, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href= -"#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href= -"#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Falls, Ewart, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">False dawn, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fantasias, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Farafra oasis, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Farag Khasaf, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fasting, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fénelon, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ferik, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fever, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href= -"#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fezzan, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fikis, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href= -"#Page_209">209</a>; charms of, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fish, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>; destroy -mosquitoes, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>; as food, <a href= -"#Page_97">97</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Flies, <a href="#Page_248">248</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Flowers, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_270">[270]</span>Flying Corps, <a href= -"#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Forbes, Mrs., <a href="#Page_xxvii">xxvii</a>, -<a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fortune-telling, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fossils, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href= -"#Page_183">183</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fostat, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fountain of the Sun, <a href= -"#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="indx">French in Algeria, <a href= -"#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Frogs, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Frontier Districts Administration, <a href= -"#Page_xiv">xiv</a>, <a href="#Page_xv">xv</a>, <a href= -"#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href= -"#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fruit, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href= -"#Page_158">158</a>; at Siwa, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href= -"#Page_248">248</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fuca, Bir, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Funerals, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href= -"#Page_222">222</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Furniture, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gabreen, Haj, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gaffar Pasha, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, -<a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gagub, oasis, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>; spring -at, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>; wild oxen, <a href= -"#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gallipoli, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gara, oasis, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href= -"#Page_179">179</a>; legends about, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, -<a href="#Page_181">181</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gardens, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href= -"#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gawazi Arabs, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gazelle, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href= -"#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gebel Dakrur, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href= -"#Page_93">93</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Geography, Strabo’s, <a href= -"#Page_87">87</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Germans, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href= -"#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>; in N. Africa, -<a href="#Page_118">118</a>; in Tripoli, <a href= -"#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ghaffir, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>; El Ain, -<a href="#Page_154">154</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ghouls, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Ghrula,” <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Girba, battle of, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>; -evacuation of, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Goats, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>; quarrel about, -<a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> - -<li class="indx">God of Siwa, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Governor’s House, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Governor, Western Desert, <a href= -"#Page_37">37</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gramophone, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Graves, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Greece, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Greeks, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href= -"#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>; colonists, <a href= -"#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href= -"#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gum trees, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gun-running, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href= -"#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gurzil, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Haboob, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Habun, Bashu, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, -<a href="#Page_176">176</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Habun, Osman, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, -<a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href= -"#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href= -"#Page_117">117</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hakim, Bir, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href= -"#Page_131">131</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Halfia Pass, <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ham, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hamed, Bir, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hamilton, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href= -"#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hannibal, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hanoui, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hares, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Harimat, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href= -"#Page_62">62</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hashish, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hassan Mitnana, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hassanein Bey, <a href="#Page_xxvi">xxvi</a>, -<a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hassein Bey, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href= -"#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hassuna Mansur, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, -<a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hassuna, Kasr, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, -<a href="#Page_129">129</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hawking, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href= -"#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hedjaz, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Helga,” <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Henna, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href= -"#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hens, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hephistion, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Herodotus, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href= -"#Page_78">78</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hidden cities, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hilal tribe, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hill of the Dead, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, -<a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="indx">History, Arabic, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href= -"#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Holy war, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hornemann, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Horses, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hounds, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Houses, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>; Siwan, <a href= -"#Page_133">133</a>; interior of, <a href="#Page_142">142</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_271">[271]</span>Hunter, Colonel G. G., <a href= -"#Page_xv">xv</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hunting, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href= -"#Page_30">30</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Husband, to obtain, <a href= -"#Page_228">228</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Iblis, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>; to summon, -<a href="#Page_230">230</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ibrahaim el Bishari, <a href= -"#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Idris, Sidi, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Immorality, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Inheritance, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href= -"#Page_172">172</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Interpreters, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ireland, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Iron, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Irrigation, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href= -"#Page_154">154</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Islands of the Blessed, <a href= -"#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Italians, in Tripoli, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, -<a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href= -"#Page_132">132</a>; British alliance with, <a href= -"#Page_123">123</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Jackals, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jalo, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href= -"#Page_96">96</a>; Senussi at, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jerabub, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href= -"#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>; the Senussi at, -<a href="#Page_121">121</a>; view of, <a href= -"#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jewels, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href= -"#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jews, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jinns, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href= -"#Page_194">194</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Johannides, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Joy Riders,” <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jupiter, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Juvenal, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Kareished, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Karnak, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kasr Hassuna, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, -<a href="#Page_119">119</a>; caves at, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>; -shaft, <a href="#Page_193">193</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Keimat en Nus, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kerdassa, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Khadria confraternity, <a href= -"#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Khamissa, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href= -"#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Khamsin, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Khargeh oasis, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Khartoum, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Khedival road, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kingfishers, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kitchener, Lord, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kom Ombo, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Koran, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>; used by Fikis, -<a href="#Page_209">209</a>; quotations from, <a href= -"#Page_245">245</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Kreish,” <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kufra oasis, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href= -"#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href= -"#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href= -"#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Labour, cost of, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lagoons at Matruh, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, -<a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lake, magic, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Language, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href= -"#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lapis lazuli, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Level, sea, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href= -"#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Libyans, ancient, <a href="#Page_xvii">xvii</a>, -<a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href= -"#Page_76">76</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Light cars, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href= -"#Page_31">31</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lions, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Liquor, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Loneliness, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lotophagi, lotus eaters, <a href= -"#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Lover, the,” magic stone, <a href= -"#Page_91">91</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lubbok, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lubki, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>; drinkers of, -<a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lucky Days, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Luncheon, garden, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, -<a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Luxor, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>; snake charming -at, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lybis, king, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href= -"#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lysander, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Macdonnel, Colonel, <a href= -"#Page_37">37</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Magic, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href= -"#Page_209">209</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mahdi, Sudanese, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mahdi Abdel Nebi, sheikh of Aghourmi, <a href= -"#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mails, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href= -"#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Malaria, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href= -"#Page_161">161</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mamur, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href= -"#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>; at Siwa, <a href= -"#Page_109">109</a>; Arab, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>; killed by -Habun, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Manshia, suburb, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, -<a href="#Page_108">108</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maragie, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_272">[272]</span>Marids, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marissa, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Markaz, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href= -"#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Markets, date, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, -<a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marriage, Arab, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>; -Englishmen, question of, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>; oldest -inhabitant, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>; customs, <a href= -"#Page_214">214</a>; money, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mashrabs, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>; El Abd, -<a href="#Page_53">53</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maspero, M., <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href= -"#Page_75">75</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mat making, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href= -"#Page_198">198</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Matruh, Mersa, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href= -"#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href= -"#Page_84">84</a>; town, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>; bay, <a href= -"#Page_8">8</a>; water supply, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>; pack, -<a href="#Page_29">29</a>; as base, <a href= -"#Page_125">125</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Meat, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mecca, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href= -"#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href= -"#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href= -"#Page_236">236</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mediæval historians, <a href= -"#Page_90">90</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Medinia, sect, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, -<a href="#Page_151">151</a>; revolt of, <a href= -"#Page_128">128</a>; “zikr,” <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href= -"#Page_250">250</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mediterranean, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href= -"#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Megahiz, spring, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, -<a href="#Page_107">107</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mejberry Pass, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Melfa, oasis of, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, -<a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Memphis, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Meneclush, King, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, -<a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Merchandise, from Jerabub, <a href= -"#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mesamia, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mice, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Michael’s Mount, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Midwives, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mihrab, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Military Administrator, <a href= -"#Page_37">37</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mines, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ministry of Health, <a href= -"#Page_160">160</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mirage, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href= -"#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mitnana, Hassan, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mogabara Arabs, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mohammed Ali, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href= -"#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mohammed el Mahdi, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, -<a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mohammed el Sherif, <a href= -"#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mohammed Effendi Saleh, <a href= -"#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href= -"#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mohammed el Senussi, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, -<a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href= -"#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mohammed Hamman, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, -<a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mohammed Ithneini, of Jerabub, <a href= -"#Page_187">187</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mohammed Said, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mohammedan invasion, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, -<a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><em>Moorina</em>, survivors of, <a href= -"#Page_130">130</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Morals, Siwan, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Morocco, <a href="#Page_xviii">xviii</a>, <a href= -"#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mosques, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href= -"#Page_242">242</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Motors, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href= -"#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Moussa Ibn Nosseir, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mud pans, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Muezzins, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href= -"#Page_155">155</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mulids, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mummies, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Music, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href= -"#Page_256">256</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Nabis, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Naming children, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, -<a href="#Page_213">213</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Napoleon, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nasamonians, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Natrun Wadi, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Negb Mejberry, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Niger, river, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Night life, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nile, river, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Noah, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nomads, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Oases, <a href="#Page_xix">xix</a>, <a href= -"#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href= -"#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Occupations at Siwa, <a href= -"#Page_170">170</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Officials, Egyptian, <a href= -"#Page_67">67</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Old age, Siwan, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Oldest inhabitant, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>; -his wedding, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Olives, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>; press for, -<a href="#Page_179">179</a>; oil, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, -<a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Omm Beyda, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Opium, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Orange tree, fabulous, <a href= -"#Page_91">91</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"><span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_273">[273]</span>Painting, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>; -mural, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Palms, date, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>; -cultivation, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pan-Islamic possibilities, <a href= -"#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Parætonium, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href= -"#Page_84">84</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Partridges, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Peyton, General, <a href= -"#Page_xxiv">xxiv</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Persia, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Persians, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pharaoh, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Phœnicians, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Photography, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>; photo of -Siwa, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pigeons, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>; carrier, -<a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pilgrimage, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href= -"#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pindar, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Plague, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pliny, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Police, Siwan, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href= -"#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Polygamy, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Population, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Postman, Senussi, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pottery, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pumice stone, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Puttees, worn by Senussi, <a href= -"#Page_127">127</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quail, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Quarrel of East and West, <a href= -"#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Quinine, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Qur el Beid, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rabbits, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Raid, rifle, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rains, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href= -"#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href= -"#Page_125">125</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ram-headed divinity, <a href="#Page_xix">xix</a>, -<a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href= -"#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ramadan, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href= -"#Page_245">245</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rameses, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><em>Rasheed</em>, gunboat, <a href= -"#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rashwan, King, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rats as food, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ravens lead Alexander, <a href= -"#Page_85">85</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rest houses, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Revolt of Siwans against Senussi, <a href= -"#Page_128">128</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ritual of temple, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, -<a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rodd, Francis, <a href= -"#Page_xxiii">xxiii</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rollins history, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Romans, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href= -"#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>; road, <a href= -"#Page_17">17</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Roofs, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Roses, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Routine, daily, at Siwa, <a href= -"#Page_63">63</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Royal Artillery, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Royle, Major, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sacrifice of bull, <a href= -"#Page_234">234</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sahara, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> - -<li class="indx">St. John, Bayle, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li> - -<li class="indx">St. Menas, <a href="#Page_xxii">xxii</a>, <a href= -"#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Said Pasha, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sakhit Amouou, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Saleh Said, Sheikh, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Salt, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>; lakes, <a href= -"#Page_159">159</a>; tribute, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Samovars, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sand-storms, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Santarieh, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sayed Ahmed, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href= -"#Page_123">123</a>; at Siwa, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>; goes to -Dakhla, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>; flight from Siwa, <a href= -"#Page_129">129</a>; retires to Turkey, <a href= -"#Page_131">131</a>; character, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sayed Mohammed, <a href="#Page_xxv">xxv</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Scarp, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href= -"#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href= -"#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>; in spring, <a href= -"#Page_32">32</a>; ascent of, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - -<li class="indx">School, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Scorpions, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sebukh, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href= -"#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Semna, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Senagra tribe, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Senussi, <a href="#Page_xxiv">xxiv</a>, <a href= -"#Page_8">8</a>; rebellion, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href= -"#Page_38">38</a>; brethren, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>; power of, -<a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href= -"#Page_111">111</a>; peace made by, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>; -operations against, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>; history of, -<a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href= -"#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>; at outbreak -of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">[274]</span> war, <a href= -"#Page_122">122</a>; campaign against British, <a href= -"#Page_123">123</a>-132</li> - -<li class="indx">Serpents, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Servants, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href= -"#Page_245">245</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shaigis, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sharks, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sheep, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sheikhs, Siwan, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>; in -fiction, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shells, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sheytan, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shops, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href= -"#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shyata, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sightseers, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sikhs, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Silius Italicus, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Silugis, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href= -"#Page_47">47</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sinai, <a href="#Page_xiv">xiv</a>, <a href= -"#Page_37">37</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Singer, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Siwa, whereabouts, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>; -arrival at, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>; first impressions, <a href= -"#Page_61">61</a>; view from, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>; history -of, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>-132; town of, <a href= -"#Page_133">133</a>; population of, <a href= -"#Page_150">150</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Slaves, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href= -"#Page_96">96</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Slave-woman’s story, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, -<a href="#Page_71">71</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Smoking, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Snakes, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href= -"#Page_205">205</a>; charmers, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Snow, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>; Colonel, <a href= -"#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Solitude, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sollum, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href= -"#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, -<a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>; camp of, -<a href="#Page_16">16</a>; houses at <a href="#Page_33">33</a>; -Camel Corps camp at, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>; departure from, -<a href="#Page_42">42</a>; garrison of, <a href= -"#Page_123">123</a>; evacuated, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>; -recaptured, <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Soud, Sheikh, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sparta, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sponge fishers, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Springs, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href= -"#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Stables,” <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stanhope, Lady Hester, <a href= -"#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stars, shooting, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stolen property, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, -<a href="#Page_231">231</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stone, sacred, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href= -"#Page_91">91</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stove, story of, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, -<a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Strabo, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Submarines wrecked on coast, <a href= -"#Page_123">123</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sudan, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href= -"#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href= -"#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href= -"#Page_61">61</a>; rest houses, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>; -recruiting in, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>; trade, <a href= -"#Page_96">96</a>; caravans from, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>; -invasion of, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>; rebellion in, <a href= -"#Page_132">132</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sudanese, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>; conversation, -<a href="#Page_57">57</a>; views of, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>; -wives, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sugar, <a href="#Page_142">142</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Suitors, to obtain, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, -<a href="#Page_228">228</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Suliman, Haj, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Suliman, Sidi, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href= -"#Page_98">98</a>; legends of, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href= -"#Page_212">212</a>; Mulid of, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, -<a href="#Page_249">249</a>; tomb of, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, -<a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href= -"#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sulphur spring, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sultan of Turkey, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, -<a href="#Page_131">131</a>; excommunicated by Senussi, <a href= -"#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sultan Mousa, <a href="#Page_162">162</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Sultan” of tea ceremony, <a href= -"#Page_167">167</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sunset at Siwa, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sun worship, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sweets, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Table manners, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Talbot Mission, <a href="#Page_xxiv">xxiv</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tamousy, spring, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><em>Tara</em>, torpedoed, <a href= -"#Page_123">123</a>; rescue of crew, <a href= -"#Page_130">130</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tea-drinking, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, -<a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tebu, lost army from, <a href= -"#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Telemachus, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Telephone, <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Temperature, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href= -"#Page_61">61</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Temple of Jupiter, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Temple of Jupiter Ammon, <a href= -"#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Temple of Thebes, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id= -"Page_275">[275]</span>Tharic Ben Sayed, <a href= -"#Page_90">90</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thebes, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theft, discovery of, <a href= -"#Page_230">230</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thieves, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Thirty, The,” <a href="#Page_95">95</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thomi, Sheikh, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href= -"#Page_163">163</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thorn, camel, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><em>Thousand and One Nights</em>, <a href= -"#Page_210">210</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Timasius, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Title-deeds, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tombs, of kings, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>; of -sheikhs, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>; -inhabited, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Town-crier, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Toy-maker, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Trade, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href= -"#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Transport difficulties, <a href= -"#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Treaty of Lausanne, <a href= -"#Page_118">118</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Trees, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tripoli, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href= -"#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href= -"#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href= -"#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href= -"#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>; smugglers, -<a href="#Page_115">115</a>; Arabs of, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, -<a href="#Page_118">118</a>; blankets, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>; -Italians, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>; -Senussi, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tunis, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tunnels in Gebel Hassuna, <a href= -"#Page_193">193</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Turks, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>; in Tripoli, -<a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Typhoid, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Uganda, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Viceroy of Egypt, <a href= -"#Page_107">107</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Wadai, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href= -"#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wadi Natrun, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wær, Bir, <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wahabi confraternity, <a href= -"#Page_151">151</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wakf, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href= -"#Page_235">235</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Watchmen, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Water supply in Siwa, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>; -rights, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href= -"#Page_155">155</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Weddings, Arab, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>; -customs, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>, -<a href="#Page_219">219</a>; presents, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, -<a href="#Page_220">220</a>; procession, <a href= -"#Page_216">216</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wells, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>; in Siwa, -<a href="#Page_136">136</a>; courting at, <a href= -"#Page_240">240</a>; at Gara, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Westerners, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href= -"#Page_100">100</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Westminster, Duke of, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, -<a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Whitewashing custom, <a href= -"#Page_137">137</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Widow’s War,” <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Widow, custom of, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wind, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>-107</li> - -<li class="indx">Windows, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Witches, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href= -"#Page_225">225</a>; tea with, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>; -invoking demons, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>; practices of, -<a href="#Page_230">230</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Witnesses, female, <a href= -"#Page_174">174</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wives, “taking over,” <a href="#Page_62">62</a>; -Siwan, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wreckage, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Yeomanry, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Yom el Ashur, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Yusif Ali, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href= -"#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href= -"#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Zafr el Medina, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Zealand, New, Brigade, <a href= -"#Page_125">125</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Zebras, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Zeitoun, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Zeus, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Zigale, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href= -"#Page_106">106</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Zikr, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href= -"#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Zouias, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> -</ul> - -<p class="space-above"> -</p> - -<div class="transnote"> -<h2 class="less">Transcriber's note:</h2> - -<ul> -<li>pg <a href="#Page_xi">xi</a> Changed: "A Little Siwan Girl -- -283" to: "238"</li> - -<li>pg <a href="#Page_12">12</a> Changed: "what a a strange" to: -"what a strange"</li> - -<li>Caption of <a href="#i12">twelfth illustration</a> “KASR -HASSUNA,” Changed: "OFFICER’S HOUS" to: "HOUSE"</li> - -<li>pg <a href="#Page_163">163</a> Changed: "I was introduce to the -other" to: "introduced"</li> - -<li>pg <a href="#Page_190">190</a> Changed: "It js a dreary region" -to: "is"</li> - -<li>pg <a href="#Page_250">250</a> Changed: "surrounded by tall, -houses" to: "tall houses"</li> - -<li>pg <a href="#Page_265">265</a> Changed: "from Cairo to Mouzouk" -to: "Mourzouk"</li> - -<li>pg <a href="#Page_266">266</a> Changed: "<span class= -"sc">Abdulfeda</span>" to: "<span class="sc">Abulfeda</span>"</li> -</ul> -</div> -</div> -<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 74874 ***</div> -</body> -</html> - |