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第3节

egypt-第3节

小说: egypt 字数: 每页4000字

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state; in three tiers; covered with blue brocades; exquisitely faded;

and profusely embroidered with dull gold。 Two long green palms freshly

cut from some date…tree in the neighbourhood are crossed before the

door of this sort of funeral enclosure。 And it seems that around us is

an inviolable religious peace。 。 。 。



But all at once there comes a noisy chattering in a Teutonic tongue

and shouts and laughs! 。 。 。 How is it possible; so near to the great

dead? 。 。 。 And there enters a group of tourists; dressed more or less

in the approved 〃smart〃 style。 A guide; with a droll countenance;

recites to them the beauties of the place; bellowing at the top of his

voice like a showman at a fair。 And one of the travellers; stumbling

in the sandals which are too large for her small feet; laughs a

prolonged; silly little laugh like the clucking of a turkey。 。 。 。



Is there then no keeper; no guardian of this holy mosque? And amongst

the faithful prostrate here in prayer; none who will rise and make

indignant protest? Who after this will speak to us of the fanaticism

of the Egyptians? 。 。 。 Too meek; rather; they seem to me everywhere。

Take any church you please in Europe where men go down on their knees

in prayer; and I should like to see what kind of a welcome would be

accorded to a party of Moslem tourists whoto suppose the impossible

behaved so badly as these savages here。



Behind the mosque is an esplanade; and beyond that the palace。 The

palace; as such; can scarcely be said to exist any longer; for it has

been turned into a barrack for the army of occupation。 English

soldiers; indeed; meet us at every turn; smoking their pipes in the

idleness of the evening。 One of them who does not smoke is trying to

carve his name with a knife on one of the layers of marble at the base

of the sanctuary。



At the end of this esplanade there is a kind of balcony from which one

may see the whole of the town; and an unlimited extent of verdant

plains and yellow desert。 It is a favourite view of the tourists of

the agencies; and we meet again our friends of the mosque; who have

preceded us hitherthe gentlemen with the loud voices; the bellowing

guide and the cackling lady。 Some soldiers are standing there too;

smoking their pipes contemplatively。 But spite of all these people; in

spite; too; of the wintry sky; the scene which presents itself on

arrival there is ravishing。



A very fairylandbut a fairyland quite different from that of

Stamboul。 For whereas the latter is ranged like a great amphitheatre

above the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmora; here the vast town is

spread out simply; in a plain surrounded by the solitude of the desert

and dominated by chaotic rocks。 Thousands of minarets rise up on every

side like ears of corn in a field; far away in the distance one can

see their innumerable slender pointsbut instead of being simply; as

at Stamboul; so many white spires; they are here complicated by

arabesques; by galleries; clock…towers and little columns; and seem to

have borrowed the reddish colour of the desert。



The flat rocks tell of a region which formerly was without rain。 The

innumerable palm…trees of the gardens; above this ocean of mosques and

houses; sway their plumes in the wind; bewildered as it were by these

clouds laden with cold showers。 In the south and in the west; at the

extreme limits of the view; as if upon the misty horizon of the

plains; appear two gigantic triangles。 They are Gizeh and Memphisthe

eternal pyramids。



At the north of the town there is a corner of the desert quite

singular in its characterof the colour of bistre and of mummywhere

a whole colony of high cupolas; scattered at random; still stand

upright in the midst of sand and desolate rocks。 It is the proud

cemetery of the Mameluke Sultans; whose day was done in the Middle

Ages。



But if one looks closely; what disorder; what a mass of ruins there

are in this townstill a little fairylikebeaten this evening by the

squalls of winter。 The domes; the holy tombs; the minarets and

terraces; all are crumbling: the hand of death is upon them all。 But

down there; in the far distance; near to that silver streak which

meanders through the plains; and which is the old Nile; the advent of

new times is proclaimed by the chimneys of factories; impudently high;

that disfigure everything; and spout forth into the twilight thick

clouds of black smoke。



The night is falling as we descend from the esplanade to return to our

lodgings。



We have first to traverse the old town of Cairo; a maze of streets

still full of charm; wherein the thousand little lamps of the Arab

shops already shed their quiet light。 Passing through streets which

twist at their caprice; beneath overhanging balconies covered with

wooden trellis of exquisite workmanship; we have to slacken speed in

the midst of a dense crowd of men and beasts。 Close to us pass women;

veiled in black; gently mysterious as in the olden times; and men of

unmoved gravity; in long robes and white draperies; and little donkeys

pompously bedecked in collars of blue beads; and rows of leisurely

camels; with their loads of lucerne; which exhale the pleasant

fragrance of the fields。 And when in the gathering gloom; which hides

the signs of decay; there appear suddenly; above the little houses; so

lavishly ornamented with mushrabiyas and arabesques; the tall aerial

minarets; rising to a prodigious height into the twilight sky; it is

still the adorable East。



But nevertheless; what ruins; what filth; what rubbish! How present is

the sense of impending dissolution! And what is this: large pools of

water in the middle of the road! Granted that there is more rain here

than formerly; since the valley of the Nile has been artificially

irrigated; it still seems almost impossible that there should be all

this black water; into which our carriage sinks to the very axles; for

it is a clear week since any serious quantity of rain fell。 It would

seem that the new masters of this land; albeit the cost of annual

upkeep has risen in their hands to the sum of fifteen million pounds;

have given no thought to drainage。 But the good Arabs; patiently and

without murmuring; gather up their long robes; and with legs bare to

the knee make their way through this already pestilential water; which

must be hatching for them fever and death。



Further on; as the carriage proceeds on its course; the scene changes

little by little。 The streets become vulgar: the houses of 〃The

Arabian Nights〃 give place to tasteless Levantine buildings; electric

lamps begin to pierce the darkness with their wan; fatiguing glare;

and at a sharp turning the new Cairo is before us。



What is this? Where are we fallen? Save that it is more vulgar; it

might be Nice; or the Riviera; or Interkalken; or any other of those

towns of carnival whither the bad taste of the whole world comes to

disport itself in the so…called fashionable seasons。 But in these

quarters; on the other hand; which belong to the foreigners and to the

Egyptians rallied to the civilisation of the West; all is clean and

dry; well cared for and well kept。 There are no ruts; no refuse。 The

fifteen million pounds have done their work conscientiously。



Everywhere is the blinding glare of the electric light; monstrous

hotels parade the sham splendour of their painted facades; the whole

length of the streets is one long triumph of imitation; of mud walls

plastered so as to look like stone; a medley of all styles; rockwork;

Roman; Gothic; New Art; Pharaonic; and; above all; the pretentious and

the absurd。 Innumerable public…houses overflow with bottles; every

alcoholic drink; all the poisons of the West; are here turned into

Egypt with a take…what…you…please。



And taverns; gambling dens and houses of ill…fame。 And parading the

side…walks; numerous Levantine damsels; who seek by their finery to

imitate their fellows of the Paris boulevards; but who by mistake; as

we must suppose; have placed their orders with some costumier for

performing dogs。



This then is the Cairo of the future; this cosmopolitan fair! Good

heavens! When will the Egyptians recollect themselves; when will they

realise that their forebears have left to them an inalienable

patrimony of art; of architecture and exquisite refinement; and that;

by their negligence; one of those towns which used to be the most

beautiful in the world is falling into ruin and about to perish?



And nevertheless amongst the young Moslems and Copts now leaving the

schools there are so many of distinguished mind and superior

intelligence! When I see the things that are here; see them with the

fresh eyes of a stranger; landed but yesterday upon this soil;

impregnated with the glory of antiquity; I want to cry out to them;

with a frankness that is brutal perhaps; but with a profound sympathy:




〃Bestir yourselves before it is too late。 Defend yourselves

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