Egypt : handbook for travellers / edited by K. Baedeker.

Date:
1885-1892
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Egypt : handbook for travellers / edited by K. Baedeker. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    with the slender figure of the fellah or the corpulence of the Turk. Among the lower classes frequent intermarriage with negro women has darkened the complexion and thickened the features of their offspring; while the higher ranks, being descended from white slaves or Turkish mothers, more nearly resemble the European type. As the inhabitants of the towns could not be so much oppressed by their rulers as the peasantry, we find that they exhibit a more in- dependent spirit, greater enterprise, and a more cheerful disposition than the fellahin. At the same time they are not free from the dreamy character peculiar to Orientals, nor from a tinge of the apathy of fatalism; and their indolence contrasts strongly with the industry of their European rivals in political, scientific, artistic, and all business pursuits. A glance at the offices of the ministers, the bazaars of the merchants, the schools of the Arabs, and the building- yards and workshops constructed by natives will enable the traveller to observe with what deliberation and with what numerous inter- vals of repose they perform their tasks. From such workers it is in vain to expect rapidity, punctuality, or work of a highly finished character, and the caustic remark of Prince Napoleon that the Egyp- tians are ‘capable of making a pair of pantaloons, but never of sewing on the last button’, was doubtless founded on experience. The townspeople profess Islamism, but, in their youth particularly, they are becoming more and more lax in their obedience to the Koran. Thus the custom of praying in public, outside the house-doors and shops, is gradually falling into disuse. The European dress, more- over, is gradually superseding the Oriental, though the latter is far more picturesque, and better suited to the climate +. On the whole, however, they are bigoted Mohammedans, and share the contempt with which the fellahin regard all other religions. Their daily inter- course with unbelievers and their dread of the power of the Christ- ian nations tend, however, to keep their fanaticism, which otherwise would be unbounded, in check, and has even induced them to admit strangers to witness the most sacred ceremonies in their mosques. (5). Berbers. The name Berberi (plur. bardbrci) is believed by many authorities to be identical with ‘barbarians’, a word which is said to have been adopted by the Greeks from the Egyptians, who used it to denote all ‘non-Egyptians’, and to be derived from &rr, i. e. ‘to be unable to speak’, or ‘to speak imperfectly’. The ‘Ber- bers’ of N. Africa and the town of ‘Berber’ in S. Nubia also doubt- less have the same origin. In Egypt the name is applied in a half contemptuous way to the numerous immigrants from the Nubian t About the year 18G5 a kind of uniform called the ‘Stambulina’ was prescribed by the government for all the officials of the higher classes (black coat with a row of buttons and low upright collar), but they are- allowed to wear ordinary European clothing in their offices. All the officials, however, in the pay of the Egyptian government, including Eu- ropeans, and even the members of the mixed court of justice, must wear the red fez (tarbdsh). Baedeker’s Egypt I. 2nd Ed. 4