Early 19 Century Cairo

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Craftsmen did their work in their shops under the customer's eye; there was one street for gold- and silversmiths and jewellers, another for leatherworkers and brass-founders, others for potters, silk-spinners, makers of weapons, dyers and perfumers. There was no appetite, no refinement of the senses, that could not be satisfied somewhere
`and scarcely meet more than a dozen or twenty in the bazaars, and if the city was squalid it was also very much alive. Nightfall and darkness (there were no street lights) put an end to the hubbub. Soon after the mueddins' fifth and final call the gates of the city were locked, and many of the streets with large wooden doors at either end were shut up for the night as well. `One might pass through the whole length of the metropolis,' Lane says,


persons, excepting the watchmen and guards, and the porters at the gates of the bye streets and quarters. The sentinel, or guard, calls out to the approaching passenger in Turkish "Who is that?", and is answered in Arabic, "A citizen". The private watchman, in the same case, exclaims, "Attest the unity of God!" or merely, "Attest the unity!" The reply given to this is, "There is no deity but God!" ' The Nile was the all-provider of this existence. It grew every ounce of food, it supplied water to the wells which were dug in each quarter of the city, and it was the main highway to the outside world. The ceremony of the opening of the canals when the flood rose in August was one of the great occasions of the year. The river at Cairo was about half a mile wide, but it was divided by two islands, Bulaq and Rhoda, where crops were grown and where some of the wealthier people had their pleasure-gardens. Memphis, the ancient capital a little further up the river, had decayed to nothing. In the desert at Gizeh the Sphinx lay buried up to its neck in sand, its nose already broken. There was one other aspect of the city which gave it a special importance, and which made travellers think of it not simply as Cairo but Grand Cairo: it was the great terminal of the caravan routes that spread out over northern Africa and the Near East. No one dreamed of travelling alone through the desert any more than one would dream of crossing the Atlantic in a canoe.

You waited until a caravan was being formed in Cairo, and then applied to the sheikh in command for permission to accompany it. Sometimes months would go by before all was ready, and then on a certain day the order to march would be given, and a long straggling procession of camels, mules, donkeys and men on foot would set off into the desert. Incoming caravans signalled their arrival at the pyramids and were then told where to cross the Nile and encamp. The distances covered were prodigious. One route - and of course there were no clearly defined tracks in the desert, merely a general line of march that led on from one waterhole or oasis to the next - took you north-east to Damascus, where the traveller could join other caravans headed for Aleppo and Baghdad; another carried the pilgrims down to Mecca and the Red Sea; another followed the general course of the Nile to Sennar and Darfur in the Sudan; still another led off to Fezzan in the west. Every journey was an adventure, and the traders, like migratory birds, were controlled by the seasons and beset at every stage by unpredictable hazards such as civil wars, Bedouin raids, drought, floods and sickness. A year, two years on the road - this was nothing to an experienced merchant. Taking with him his wives, his children and his slaves, he would go on and on wherever the markets offered a profit, and in the end nomadism became an object in itself, and many of these men could endure no other way of life. No one knew the extent of this vast, haphazard network. It was quite possible for a man to travel from Egypt to Timbuktu on the other side of Africa, and it is certain that Indian and even Chinese goods appeared in the bazaars in Cairo.

The merchants dealt in kind rather than in money. In Cairo they obtained grain, rice, cotton, flax, and the thousand and one products of the bazaars. These things, increasing in value with every mile they travelled, would be bartered for other goods in the Near East and in the primitive villages in the far interior of Africa. The Sudan trade was particularly profitable. It produced black slaves, gold, ivory, ostrich feathers, rhinoceros horn, gum arabic, ebony, coffee (brought from Ethiopia) and spices (from the Red Sea). Petroleum was also brought in small quantities from the Arabian Gulf; it was either drunk as a medicine or rubbed on the body. Thus there was a continual interchange at Cairo, a constant ebb and flow of strange faces and of strange goods displayed for sale, a commotion of arrivals and departures.  Part 1   Part 3

Extract from “The Blue Nile”, Written by Alan Moorehead. Westerham Press Ltd Kent, London: 1972.

Amazon eBay: Bill Stanfill, a Cairo High Syrupmaker, played for the Miami Dolphins from 1969-1976 with two starting Superbowl victories. Highway 84, in Grady County, has been named Bill Stanfill Highway. Bobby Walden, known as the "Big Toe from Cairo," holds the record for most career punts while playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as a 1975 Superbowl victory over Minnesota. Born in Cairo, Mickey Thomas, lead singer for the popular rock band StarShip, launched his singing career in high school with the local band, Inner Souls. Cairo area country singer Daryle Singeltary has released two albums and has several Top 5 hits on the country charts, as well as a guest appearance on Touched By An Angel. The Cairo High School campus also reflects the generous contributions of Art Williams, founder of A.L. Williams, a multi-billion-dollar insurance company. The Roddenbery Memorial Library - Located in downtown Cairo, the library, in addition to its regular selections, features a first-rate collection of children’s books and “story garden.” Each year the library sponsors children’s events such as the Dolls’ Tea Party and a very successful summer vacation reading program. The library also offers a special area for teens equipped with agefocused material and an adult services area with ample study space. Local history and genealogy are widely used library services. Roddenbery Memorial Library has twice won the American Library Association’s John Cotton Dana award for public relations since its founding in 1939. Music and the Arts - Cairo is home to “Off Broad Street Centre for the Dance Arts”, “The Firm Dance Company”, “South Georgia Performing Arts”, “South Georgia Ballet Company”, “Legacy Twirling Acadamy”, and “Cairo Gymnastics Acadamy”. The “Syrupmaker Band” is one of the most respected high school music programs in the south. 230 students participate in the marching band, and in the spring are divided into three concert ensembles. Founded in the 1940’s by legendary director Major Verran, the concert bands have consistently earned superior ratings from the Georgia Music Educators’ band festivals for over 55 years. The marching band has earned exhibition performances at Notre Dame and Troy State University football games. The band plays a major, integral part in community activities. Grady County Museum and History Center - On Broad Street by the railroad, the Museum offers exhibits representing the true local heritage of the area. The Grady County Historical Society oversees the operation and promotion of the facility, encouraging the preservation and awareness of local history through several community events each year. Antique Auto Museum - Housing a highly prized collection of cars (including the car from “Driving Miss Daisy”), motorcycles and other antiques, the Antique Auto Museum attracts visitors from around the country and is the hub for the annual Antique Car Rally each May. Great Southern Antique Auto Show & Rally - Hundreds of participants descend on Cairo during the second weekend of May. Family fun activities center around antique cars and trucks. The Great Southern Antique Car Rally is a spin-off from the Great American Race, which started in 1989 with 70 participants and now averages 120 or more. Participants have a good time, enjoy the ride, eat a lot, show off, and talk about their cars. Event highlights include a downtown Gas Light Parade, a Street Dance on Broad Street, an Antique Auto Poker Rally, the annual Display of Antique Autos and Antique Engines, and plenty of local entertainment. Recreation Parks and Ball Fields - The City of Cairo maintains four parks within the city limits year round. Grady County operates and maintains Barber Park Recreation Department ball fields, tennis courts, and playgrounds. Cairo Country Club - The country club features a private, 18-hole golf course that has been the spring break practice headquarters for the Slippery Rock College golf team for more than 25 years.

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