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6 January 1912 — Cairo | |
Saturday. 6th [January 1912]. Genl & Mrs Heath lunched here. He is on a round of inspection wh will include Ceylon & Canton. Very pleasant people. At 4 oclock Eda & I drove off to have our audience of the Khedivah mère who lives next door to this Agency. We drove into the garden wh was being decorated with lanterns in view of the fete for the Khedive’s accession on 8th. The Palace is a handsome one in the Arabic style of architecture. Girls stood about in different parts of the entrance hall. The English lady in waiting of the Princess received us at the door & at once lead us in to a small room where the Princess was sitting on a divan. She is middle aged—with wh white hair & pleasant expression and has evidently been very pretty. She received us with easy nice manners & invited me to sit on the divan on her right while Eda had a large chair at her left. Miss Hughes sat opposite us. I was very glad to find that the Pss spoke French well with a good accent & she soon put us at our ease. The only drawback was that she is rather deaf & we were soon shouting at her & at Eda & got on capitally. She recounted to us her journey to Mecca, how part of the way she drove, then went into a very shaky train & how tired she was on arriving. She talked of Constantinople & her lovely gardens there & how she still has her arabà drawn by oxen at the Sweet waters. She said she was very fond of flowers & superintended also the bringing in of the produce of the kitchen garden. She spoke of Sultan Abdul Hamid & how she regretted his absence, & I told her how attached I was to him also– I promised to send her a photograph of Bellini’s picture of Sultan Mahomet II. Coffee was handed us. The cups in zarfs set with diamonds & all went merrily when after half an hour she gave us the signal for departure & Miss Hughes lead us thro’ the hall to a small room where we went to write our names in a book. Suddenly the Princess came out of her room & called us back saying she wished to show us a view out of her drawing room– We ran back & she led us thro’ several large drawing rooms to one at the end of the house looking over her garden to the Nile. She said it was there she is in the habit of coming to watch the sun setting & pointed out a verandah in the garden covered with creepers, begonia, bougainvillia &c where she said she took her daily exercise—that here in Cairo she never went out anywhere else. She sent for a miniature of the present Sultan with his cyphus of diamonds to show me & as we returned thro’ the rooms she pointed out to me the (very bad) oil pictures of the different members of the family amongst which was Sultan Abdeul Hamids daughter. At last she let us go & after signing the book we went on to pay a visit to Lady Maxwell, wife of the Genl in command here. The Genl greeted us on our arrival—& seems a nice man. His wife soon appeared & was less attractive– She is American & rather got up. However she was very civil, gave us tea & talks genially. On leaving the Maxwells we went to leave cards on other people—then back to the Agency to tea. A lovely sunset driving back from the Ghesireh side of the river. This morning at 10 we went off in the motor to see the “return of the carpet from Mecca” a very oriental picturesque scene on the way to the citadel. We found crowds already collected on the streets & veiled women perched up on the forts—children in brilliant colours, & much animation. On the champs de mars there were cordons to make the crowd keep their bounds. Troops, police in military array. Places were railed off for members of the different agencys into wh our motor was put. We got out & stood about watching carriages drive up containing Ministers, Pashas, & religious dignitaries. They stopped in front of a kind of guard house & then alighted to wait for the Khedives representative—(a nephew I think). When he arrived a band struck up the national air & salutes were fired. There was much salaaming & bowing & then all was ready. Music struck up to announce the approach of the procession—it was a poor thing when it came—5 or 6 camels—the centre one carrying the covering of the carpet—red velvet richly embroidered with gold—in shape somewhat like a palanquin with closed curtains. The other camels were mounted by rather unkempt natives playing discordant notes on what seemed like 1d whistles. Arrived in front of the Khedives representative they went round 3 times in a small circle then came close to him– He took the rope by wh the camel with the carpet was led & put it to his lips—the ceremony was over, the procession went on its way then the band of an Egyptian regiment formed up opposite the guard house & the march past of troops began. The 1st regiment came with its own band playing “the men of Harlech.” It was queer to hear it out in the distant land but it was most effective—the detachments of other regiments marched to the music stationed on the ground. They are all fine looking men—tall & clean but we were told that they are not such good fighters as the Sudanese—& could not be depended upon alone. When all the Pashas & Princes had gone we went off. The crowd in the streets greeted our carriage & the women uttered their shrill ullulation as they recognised the scarlet uniform of our cavass, wh Lord Kitchener has had changed from the former dark colours in use. We had a delightful morning & Capt. FitzGerald & Sir George Arthur had escorted us. | |
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