The Life of King Edward VII
however, the Prince and Princess were privileged in witnessing the
curious Procession of the Holy Carpet and the departure of a portion of
the annual stream of pilgrims for Mecca. The Princess and Mrs. Grey were
also invited, on February 5th, to dine at the Harem with the Khedive's
mother and the ceremonies, as described by Mrs. Grey in her _Diary_ of
the tour, were exceedingly interesting. A multitude of smartly dressed
female slaves in coloured satin and gold; services of silver and gold;
dishes of the most peculiar and varied composition and taste; music by
bands of girls and dances by other bands of women--some of whose motions
were described by Mrs. Grey as graceful and others as "simply
frightful;" drinks of curious character and pipes and cigarettes with
holders ornamented by masses of precious gems; costumes which partook of
both the Eastern and Western character; jewels and gold in every
direction and upon every possible kind of object--such were some of the
things seen during the visit. In the evening of the same day the Royal
couple and suite went to the theatre, and afterwards the Prince had
supper with the Khedive at the Palace of Gizerek, accompanied with
elaborate ceremonies and a succession of dancing spectacles.
Meanwhile, every care had been exercised by the Khedive in preparing
comforts for the Royal guests up the Nile. The chief barge was occupied
by the Prince and Princess and the Hon. Mrs. Grey, who was in attendance
upon the latter; a second was occupied by the Suite; a third by the Duke
of Sutherland's party; a fourth was used as a store-boat and contained
3,000 bottles of champagne, 20,000 bottles of soda-water, 4,000 bottles
of claret and plenty of ale, liquors and light wines. Sir Samuel Baker,
who was at this time Governor of the Soudan region, accompanied the
Prince and had with him an abundance of guns and nets for capturing
crocodiles, etc. During the slow progress up the river there was plenty
of sport, and His Royal Highness won fine specimens of spoonbills,
flamingoes, herons, cranes, cormorants, doves, etc.
THEY VISIT SITES OF ANCIENT CITIES
During the early part of the trip there was not much that was
interesting; apart from the shooting expeditions which were undertaken
from time to time. The sight of frightened children, timid women,
labouring slaves, mosques and villages of huts and occasional ruins of
more or less interest were all that was visible along the low banks of
the river as they passed. The caves, or grottoes, of Beni Hassan were
visited on February 10, and the life of ancient peoples seen in a
panorama of carved monuments. Then came a more beautiful, cultivated and
populous part of the region watered by the Nile. Thebes, Luxor, Karnak,
however, were names and places which made up for much. For two days,
ending February 19th, the heir to a thousand years of English
sovereignty wandered amidst these tombs and monuments of the rulers of
an African empire which had wielded vast power and created works of
wonderful skill and genius three, and five thousand years before. The
great hall and collonades and pillars of Karnac, the obelisk of Luxor,
the famous tombs of the Kings, the Temples of Rameses, the colossal
statues of Egyptian rulers, were visited by daylight, and, in some
cases, the wondrous effect of Oriental moonlight upon these massive
shapes and memorials of a mighty past was also witnessed.
Philae with its interesting ruins, Assouan with its modern history,
Korosko, Dere, the early capital of Nubia, the great Temple at Aboo
Simbel, were seen, and, finally, after the Prince had killed his first
crocodile, on February 28th, and the party had made an uncomfortable
trip across a hot waste of desert, Wady Halfah was reached on March 2nd,
and the journey back was commenced. On their return a special trip was
made by the Prince and Princess to the Pyramids of Ghizeh, accompanied
by Mehemet Tewfik, the Khedive's son, with an escort from Cairo. The
Prince ascended the biggest of the Pyramids and the party was royally
entertained afterwards in a pavilion specially erected for the purpose.
INTERESTING RUINS ARE VISITED
The Prince and Princess also visited the Royal chambers in the great
Pyramid. A delightful drive to Cairo followed, and the party soon found
themselves comfortably installed in the Esbekiah Palace. On the
following day a visit was paid to the great Mosque where lie the revered
bones of Mehemet Ali, under an embroidered velvet catafalque. One of the
graceful minarets was ascended and a splendid panorama of the city seen.
On March 18 the Tombs of the Caliphs, with their picturesque but ruined
mosques, were visited, and in the evening the theatre was attended, in
company with His Highness, the Khedive. A visit to the Baulak Museum
followed and was rendered thoroughly interesting by the presence of the
learned Orientalist, Marriette Bey, who showed the Prince and Princess a
bust of the Pharaoh "who would not let the children of Israel go," and
one of the other Pharaohs, who was a friend of Moses. Sir W. H. Russell
is authority for the statement that the slightly incredulous smile of
the Princess brought out a most concise, learned and convincing
explanation of history and hieroglyphics in this connection.
On the evening of March 19th the Khedive gave a State Dinner in honour
of his Royal guests at the Garden Kiosk of the new Palace of Gizeh. The
grounds were brilliantly illuminated, those present included all that
was eminent in the life of Egypt, the viands were served upon the
richest plate, the native fireworks sent up afterwards were most
attractive. The Hon. Mrs. Grey, in her _Diary_, says that "standing in
the outer marble court, with its beautiful Moorish arches and its
pillars of rich brown colour, their bases and capitals profusely and
brilliantly decorated, and looking on every side at the tastefully
illuminated gardens, the effect produced was indeed most splendid and
carried one at once back in imagination to one of the scenes you read of
in the _Arabian Nights_. It is quite impossible to describe it, but I
shall never forget this beautiful sight." The writer then goes on to
describe the splendid architecture and tasteful furniture of the
building and rooms. Most of the latter were decorated in white and gold,
with myriads of mirrors, rich silk curtains and furniture with all the
soft and brilliant colourings of the old Arabesque style. There were
fountains everywhere, and the floors were inlaid marble, porphery and
alabaster.
Following this function came a visit to the British Mission School,
where the Princess greatly charmed the children; a state visit to the
races in a carriage drawn by six horses, and with coachmen and
postilions wearing most gorgeous liveries of scarlet and gold. The Suite
were also splendidly equipped in regard to carriages and outriders, and
the streets were lined with troops. The races were well conducted and
the general ceremonies of the occasion worthy of Ismail, the Khedive.
This was to have been the last function prior to departure for the Suez
Canal, but it was now decided to accept the pressing invitation of His
Highness and stay three days longer. Following upon this decision came a
series of visits paid by the Princess of Wales to the wives, or harems,
of certain distinguished Egyptian gentlemen, and, finally, to the harem
of the Khedive.
Amongst the places visited were the homes of Murad Pasha, Abd-el-Kader
Bey and Achmet Bey. On March 23d the Princess, with a couple of
attendant ladies, visited the Khedive's mother--the real ruler of his
harem. It was a sort of Eastern drawing-room function, with slaves in
brightly-coloured dresses everywhere about, and a number of Princesses,
or daughters and relations of the Khedive, present, together with many
other ladies of Egyptian rank and position. Mrs. Grey described them as
mostly pretty--which was not, in her experience, the case as a rule--and
as looking cheerful and happy. In the evening the Princess attended a
State Dinner given by the four wives of the Khedive at the Palace of
Gizerek. The presence of innumerable slaves, coffee and pipes, music and
cherry jam served on a large gold tray with a gold service inlaid with
diamonds and rubies, were the initial features of the entertainment. At
dinner the guests sat on chairs instead of on the floor, as at a
previous affair of the kind, but still had to pull the meat from the
turkey with their fingers, while the odour of garlic and onions in many
of the dishes was very unpleasant. There was some singing during the
meal, with music and Oriental dancing after it. Meanwhile the bazars had
been visited privately by the Princess; the people having no idea who
the inquiring and interested European lady was.
THE PRINCE ATTENDS THE KHEDIVE'S RECEPTION
On the same day the Prince of Wales attended in state at a formal
reception held by the Khedive, and thus conferred a somewhat marked
compliment upon one who was not actually an independent Sovereign. He
was accompanied by the Marquess of Huntly and the Earl of Gosford, who
had just arrived from India on their way home, and proceeded through
the streets in all the pomp of scarlet and gold outriders, troops in
brilliant uniforms and a general environment of state which compelled
unusual respect from the impassive Oriental onlookers. Royal honours
were given to the Prince on his arrival, and he was met by some 5,000
troops and the strains of the British national anthem, while the Court
itself was brilliant in blue and gold uniforms and rich in the
luxuriance of gold and gems upon every possible article of service or
personal use. In the evening the Prince dined with his Vice-regal host
on a yacht in the river, and the Minister of Finance gave a brilliant
banquet, at which were present the great officers of state, such as
Shereef Pasha, Zulfikar Pasha, Abdallah Pasha and others, together with
British visitors or members of the Royal suite, such as Lord Carington,
Lord Huntly, Lord Gosford, Prince Louis of Battenberg, Sir Samuel Baker
and Colonel Teesdale, V.C.
This event closed the visit to Cairo and, after formal farewells on the
following morning, the train was taken for Suez, where the Royal
visitors were received by the Governor and M. de Lesseps. In the morning
they left for Ismaila amidst all possible honours, and accompanied by
the great canal promoter. There a triumphal arch had been erected and a
crowd of people and troops were found lining the route through the city.
They were driven out to the Khedive's chalet on Lake Timsah, where
dinner was served and the night spent, and thence back to Ismaila, and,
in a steamer, down the Suez Canal to Port Said. The great enterprise was
not then completed, and, in fact, the opening of the canal did not take
place for many months, but the Royal tourists were fortunate in seeing
the pioneer activities of creation in full operation and of being able
to understand something of the immense initial difficulties which had
been overcome by the genius and energy of De Lesseps.
Alexandria was reached on March 27th, and visits were paid to
Ras-el-Teen, the old palace of Mehemet Ali, to Cleopatra's Needle and
Pompey's Pillar. Then the _Ariadne_ was boarded once more and a farewell
dinner given to Mourad Pasha, the representative of the Egyptian
Government, who had done so much for the comfort of the Royal guests;
the health of the Khedive was drunk and the last word said to the
ancient land of the Nile and the Pyramids. The impressions left by this
visit to Egypt were pleasant to the Prince of Wales and useful to his
country. Ismail, the Khedive, was at this time a most enterprising ruler
but the predominant influence in the country was French and there can be