A peculiar Oriental city—The scene of one of the greatest fêtes and fairs of the Orient—Scenes at Tanta—The Saint Ahmed el Bedowee—His function as a patron and intercessor—The mosque raised to his memory—Phases of the great fair—A gathering from all parts of the Mahometan world—The Tanta fête a survival of the licentious orgies of Isis at the ancient city near this site—Dervishes and dancing girls—The games of the people.

NOT long after embarking on his dahabeeyah, the most luxurious of river boats, though primitive in its model, the traveller beholds, as he ascends the Nile, the homes of the fellaheen. These mud villages, made up of hovels consisting of a single room lighted by the doorway, are noisome and filthy abodes. In the home of perennial spring the fellaheen—men, women, and children—are clothed in a simple blue cotton chemise and white cotton drawers, which make up the whole apparel for both sexes. The mud hut in which the fellah dwells contains no furniture but a mat and a few clay vessels for cooking purposes. The disgust and pity of the tourist are increased on entering one of these squalid abodes. Donkeys, sheep, and chickens share these narrow quarters with the human animals, while the best part of every hovel—the sugar-loaf shaped upper part—is given over entirely to pigeons, by the breeding of which the peasants earn a good share of their revenue.

And yet, overcrowded as they are, amid wretched and unsanitary conditions, the Nile peasants seem contented enough. Indeed, they are not disposed to accept a better condition even when it is offered them. Saïd Pacha sought to benefit them by building model villages with well-made streets and abundant house-room for each family, but after a brief experience of better living the fellaheen returned to their huts, and could never again be persuaded to accept the more comfortable homes offered them.

As one scans the Delta the picture is relieved by the sharply-defined minarets of the stone mosques which are found in every village. The roads are bordered by the beautiful acacia and popinack trees, with their wealth of highly perfumed blossoms. In other climates during the winter season hoary frost hides the prospect, but here the waving green plain astonishes the stranger, who is enraptured with such unaccustomed beauties.

Crossing the Rosetta branch of the Nile, midway between it and the Damietta branch, we find Tanta, located in the centre of the fertile valley of the Delta, a perfectly Oriental and very important city. The best time at which to visit this city is during the summer fair, which occurs yearly in the month of July. For weeks before that time there is commotion throughout Egypt. Social and commercial interests are aroused, and all the various Mahometan sects are interested in the approaching event. Great crowds of dervishes, with their green and parti-colored flags, swarm in irregular masses through the country, on their way to say their prayers at Tanta and to do some honest begging during the great fair. Men, women, and children, mounted on camels, donkeys, and horses, throng the roads, while thousands on foot are seen for days and nights wending their way to the seat of pleasure and religion. Not only Egypt, but all Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia send religious votaries and merchants with silks, satins, embroideries, and every kind of merchandise to tempt the Eastern buyer.

Amid the throngs who come with merchandise come also those who bring daintier wares in human form-beautiful houris, virgins sent forth by their Circassian or Georgian mothers to find an asylum in the land of the Nile. These maidens have been carefully nurtured to be made marketable, and are happy if they succeed in becoming the property—wife or slave, as the case may be—of some rich Bey or Pacha. It is still the custom—though now slightly veiled—to fix a price upon these young women, the sum varying with the beauty of the merchandise. The girl whose marriage in this market is pecuniarily successful is happy in the thought that she has done well for herself and her parents and her success induces her young kinswomen to follow her from their bleak homes in the Caucasus to the sunnier climate of Egypt. Her sisters look forward to marrying in the same way, while her brothers are, by her favor, educated in the military schools for employment in the army or the civil service. She thus provides for the future of her kinsmen by her marriage, often raising the sons of an obscure family to positions of profit and honor.

Tanta has of late years become a considerable mart for European commerce. The remarkable growth of cotton and sugar culture in the rich valleys around the city has greatly increased the value of the land and the attractiveness of the region. The town is thoroughly Oriental, and except a few European merchants the inhabitants are all Arabs. There are found here on every hand the mud-houses and the narrow, filthy streets filled with throngs of people, and, of course, unclean animals, ready, unlike the Arabs, to dispute the stranger's path. There are, however, some stone houses of little architectural beauty, relieved now and then by an attempt at the Moresque. The city's grand object of attraction is the tomb of its saint, which is found in one of the finest mosques in Egypt. The architect from whose hand this mosque came displayed the finest Saracenic taste in chiselling its columns and in pencilling its Oriental tracery. Its architectural ornamentation exhibits great skill, after the best models of the ancient style. No part of it is more attractive than the huge glittering Byzantine dome, its brazen mantle, always reflecting the eternal sun of Egypt. The inner decorations are interesting and beautiful in their simplicity. The catafalque of the holy Saint Saïd Ahmed el Bedowee is covered with rich red velvet, adorned with embroidery and inclosed within a handsome bronze railing. The light and airy minarets beside the dome of the mosque pierce high up into the heavens, and around them above the roof are railed piazzas, from which the shrill cries of the muezzins, as they chant the adan or call to prayer, are in quaint harmony with the additional proclamation that “ there is no Deity but God ; I testify Mahomet is his Prophet.” Climbing to this eminence, the picturesque scene is bewildering ; the city of 60,000 inhabitants is beneath you, and on the level plain of the Delta for miles around, extending beyond the range of vision, are spread the tents of half a million people, with thousands of horses, donkeys, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and buffaloes, a living and variegated panorama. Descending to earth again, the scene which meets you is even more astonishing. As usual, the traditional Arab, in his blue chemise, without shoes, and with camel's-hair tarboosh, meets you at every turn. His wife may be met elsewhere, perhaps, but never in his company in public. Her dress is like his own, but she is always veiled. If a wealthy sister, she wears yellow shoes, a rich colored silk dress, and a black silk habarah, which covers her person. She is often seen with stockings down upon her heels, unless her broad satin trousers hide them from observation, as she awkwardly ambles along. The Syrian, Turk, Ethiopian, Algerian, Tunisian, European, Greek, Persian, American, and Jew, with many other strange people, pass in review, the head-dress being the distinguishing mark of faith and nationality. Men of all races make up this varied and extraordinary scene. Tired of wandering through this sea of humanity, and suffocated with the myriads of smells, one gladly leaves these material things to seek an asylum near the shrine of the renowned saint, who brings so many thousands of other saints and sinners to do honor to his tomb, many of whom seek the aid of his miraculous power. Saïd was born at Fez, and on his return from Mecca remained at Tanta, where he died ; his fête has continued for six hundred years since his death, to serve the purposes of trade as well as those of worship. It attracts all the religious who are able to come, as no other saint in the Egyptian calendar is held to be so sacred. Many think he is the successor to the god Sebennetus, the Egyptian Hercules, whose attributes were given him by popular tradition. His aid is invoked when sudden calamity threatens, and the Egyptians believe that storms or accidents are avoided by calling out to him, “ Ya Saïd, ya Bedowee ;” and the song of “ Gab el Yoosra” (“ He brought back the captives”) records the power of this wonderful saint. The Arab has peculiarly appropriated his aid, as in the second call to prayer, chanted one hour before day, when his power is invoked under the name of “ Aboo Tarag,” Sheik of the Arabs. After a long residence in Egypt and intimate association with all classes of the people, from the dwellers in palaces to those who inhabit mud huts or wander over the desert, my conviction is strong that—whether Copt, Christian, or Mahometan—the people of Egypt largely derive their religious beliefs and their customs from the superstitions of the ancient Egyptians. The Koran with its scimitar has neither desired nor had the power to uproot them. I am acquainted with numerous rites common among the ancient Egyptians which are of daily use among these haters of polytheism.

In their wisdom they say it is the teaching of their law to accept traditions coming down to them through the ages, when not inconsistent with Mahometanism, and that this binds them by invisible threads to their faith. This is particularly the case among the Bedouins of the desert. Alone in these mighty wastes, they conjure up innumerable superstitions and mingle them with those old patriarchal customs, which they still retain in nearly the exact forms of which we read in the Old Testament. Among all classes of Mahometans it is the fixed belief that Saïd has the miraculous power of curing sterility in woman. It is the inviolable right of every barren woman to vow a visit to this saint, and her husband never opposes her sacred purpose. On the contrary, he is delighted with the hope and belief that her prayers at the tomb will have the effect of giving them offspring. Without children, in the eye of the Faithful the Mahometan woman is dishonored, and of course she never fails to worship at this shrine if it be possible for her to do so. It is considered a violation of all propriety for a husband to be seen with his wife, and under no circumstances does he journey with her. She rarely or never leaves home at any other time, and in coming hither, if she belongs to the better class, she is accompanied by the faithful guardian whose duty it is to watch over her honor. So, too, the wife of the fellah, barefooted and dressed in blue, but without a guardian, visits the shrine with a similar hope to secure the saint's efficient mediation. Tanta during the fair is a scene of joyous mirth, and the women—usually caged birds, but now let loose—enter gayly into the festivities. In thorough disguise, they are lost to sight in the vast multitude. At the end of eight days, the time allotted for prayer and for the intercession of the saint, they return home in the full belief that their devotions have been blessed.

I am sorry to write that the picturesque scene is too often marred by the licentiousness so common among Orientals, and Tanta yearly witnesses orgies only comparable with those of the ancient city of Busiris, which was situated a few miles distant in this valley. It was there the fête of Isis was celebrated by all Egypt, and truth makes it necessary to say that the modern city, in following the traditions of centuries, rivals her ancient sister in those scenes which made the modest Father of History blush when writing the amazing story of the worship of that famous goddess.

Making one's way through the vast mob, with its fleas, flies, and horrible odors, it is a pleasant relief to meet a perfumed houri veiled in her black silk habara. She is unknown, of course, for not even her husband could recognize this waddling bundle of goods. The Pacha is easily recognized as an officer of the government by his European costume, modified by the red tarboosh, the broad black trousers, and a highly colored silken vest. A rich Israelite follows—a gem merchant—in costly robes of striped silk secured at the waist by a rich Cashmere shawl ; he, too, wears the tarboosh and red slippers. The European in the tall hat is doubtless an English tourist, for, unlike men of greater adaptability, the Englishman never changes his dress with the climate. The hat is the only thing visible above the heads of the bystanders, and there are thousands of persons in this throng who have never seen head-gear of that description before. It is to them the most singular if not the most picturesque of coverings, and while its wearer remains within view they never cease to murmur “ Inglesi.” The proud and untamable Bedouin puts in his appearance with his white woollen burnous—a sort of blanket—covering his head. Binding the burnous with a cord, he permits it to envelop his person, and is then the only really independent man in the vast throng.

Going back to the vicinity of the mosque, your path is blocked by the crowds of howling saints who make up the numerous sects of dervishes. Among them are numbers of the dancing sect, whose votaries swing themselves around in whirling circles for hours to the monotonous music of the lute. They make night hideous with their screeching prayers, simply singing the name of Allah in concert for hours until their violent devotions end in convulsions.

The Saades sect of serpent-charmers, who profess the dark power of controlling vipers, are also represented. They make a precarious living by travelling over Egypt displaying their magical gifts and freeing the habitations of the people from reptiles. When any religious fête is to take place they are certain to be present. These modern Psylli, who pretend to make serpents their playthings and to charm them with their call, profess also to cure their bite. They are greatly venerated by the Mahometans. The story of the origin of this numerous sect, who have their own holy sheik, is that an ingenious Syrian was sent by his master to gather some sticks, but, after cutting them, found that he had brought no cord with which to bind them together. Having seen a nest of snakes near by, he twined the reptiles around his fagots and thus bore them to the house. When the bundle was thrown down before the master the serpents crawled off with the sticks, and the astonished man at once declared his servant to be a saint gifted with miraculous powers, and advised him to enter without delay upon his holy office. This the Syrian did, soon gaining many disciples at Damascus. His tomb there is filled with venomous creatures, among which his disciples say they can lie without danger. I have seen these people during the ceremony of the doseh (riding over the human road) at Cairo, seize a live cobra, the most deadly of snakes, two inches from its head, still with the poisonous fang unextracted, they say, though this I do not credit. They bite the reptile's head off, chew it, and, I am told, in some instances swallow it ; but I have always noticed when near them that some friend stands immediately behind the “ performer,” and, unobserved, runs his finger in his mouth and takes out the hideous morsel. During the time that the snake operator is performing, his agitation and contortions are hideous, requiring several persons to hold him ; but my observation is that all this is affected. These people cure the bite of a snake by scarifying the flesh and sucking the poison out, first putting lemon juice in their mouths. There is a pustule that often breaks out upon long residents in the East, which, it is said, is caused by the breath of the serpent, but which really comes from sleeping in the open air. The snake-charmers make a liniment of cerese and oil of sesame with which they cure the malady.

It is necessary to advert to the Almée, one of the accessories of the Mahometan religious festival, without which dance the Beys and Pachas would return to their homes chagrined, and a stranger who happens to sojourn in Egypt in the summer, and who is certain to visit the fair, would think it had lost its chief attraction. We find the Pasha squatted with numerous acquaintances around him, anxiously awaiting the appearance of the fair Circassians. Dignified he sits, apparently in deep thought, smoking his chibouque, but really thinking, as usual, about nothing. The dancers are generally three or four young girls, beautifully dressed in Oriental costumes, with light, gauzy pantaloons. Soon with tiny feet, and their slight figures prettily cambered, they glide into the dance, and all are pleased with their poetry of motion in harmony with the slow cadence of voices and the soft strains of the kanoon and kamingah. It would be much more pleasing if with their provocative blue eyes, fringed with long velvety lashes, one had not to encounter the smile of bold voluptuousness which plays over their features during this peculiar dance. It must be seen to be appreciated ; it can never be described.

I have often had occasion to speak of the freedom of worship tolerated in Egypt under Ismail Pacha. In most cities and villages the cross is seen side by side with the crescent. No man asks whether you go to the Christian church or the Mahometan mosque. There is one thing the Mahometan will not concede, however, and that is the right to quit the fold of the Faithful. Death is the penalty. I heard of but one case in which the apostate escaped, and he had to fly to save himself from being killed by his own family. Mahometans say they do not care to proselytize ; that there are as many Mahometans now as they want to meet in heaven ; but neither will they suffer apostasy to go unpunished. Notwithstanding the tolerance mentioned, the Mahometan, with few exceptions, hates all Christians ; but the feeling is kept in check by the government, and has to find expression otherwise than in violence. At one time—I do not know that it is so now—the throngs in Tanta gave expression to their contempt for Christians in a masquerade, in which the Crusaders were caricatured for the amusement of the ignorant. The custom was handed down from a more intolerant age. There are at Tanta a number of suits of armor, said to have been taken in battle during a more martial era in the history of this race. I believe, however, they are the same that Said Pacha had manufactured for his Nubian guard. It will be recollected that St. Louis was defeated at Mansourah on his way to Cairo by the Caliph El-Saleh-Ayoub in 1249. A number of Arabs dress themselves in these costumes, some representing the sons of the Prophet and others the Christian Crusaders. The latter, as a matter of course, are vanquished, and the sport consists in chasing them ignominiously from the battle-field. A more amusing scene is the dressing up of one of their number as a venerable individual, whom they make up as a Pacha, Bey, or some other dignitary hated by the people. The multitude follow him, resorting to every device to show their contempt. A good runner is selected for the part, who distances his pursuers and so ends the sport.

Part I, Chapter VI

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