Note: This is the fourth chapter of a book my father, Rev. Matt W. Leach, wrote in 1955 about a miraculous trip to the Holy Land.
-Michael Leach
Egypt
“Hey, Mister, wanna buy a hat?”
“Hey, Mister, wanna buy a bracelet, real silver?”
“Hey, Mister, wanna buy some pictures?”
“Hey, Mister, wanna shoe shine? Your shoes are real dirty. Aw, c’mon, anything you want to pay.”
“I’m terribly sorry to bother you like this, but I have a real nice comb here. It is big and strong. You should have it.”
“Hey, wanna buy a whip? It’s got a nice knife in the center.”
No thanks.
“Aw, c’mon, it’s real cheap — only $2.00. Here, you have it for $1.50. Aw, c’mon, mister, one whip one dollar. 50 piasters — look, two for 75 piasters. 50? — 40? — 35?”
Egypt — a name that is almost synonymous with the beginning of civilization. Here history was nurtured as a baby. Here the Israelites were brought into captivity. Here, on the banks of the Nile in the bulrushes, Moses was found by Pharaoh’s daughter.1
Here the great pyramids reach to the sky, an eternal monument to a vanished civilization. Egypt, caught in the grasp of the future, yet holding on to the life of the past. Never changing yet ever new.
We rode into Cairo from the airport with a gentleman named Charles L. Benton. Upon finding we were all going to Jerusalem, it was agreed to try to do everything together because it would be cheaper for each individual.
Not only did this prove to be a wise decision, but Mr. Benton is a very enjoyable person to be with. It is a wonderful experience feeling, seeing and knowing that God is at work, and as we talked we had the thrill of discovering God had arranged it all.
From all sides street sellers hound you. They get in your way. They thrust their goods in your hands, through the car windows. It is impossible to escape them. And their prices! They must think we’re made of gold!
Neither Ferris nor I had any intention to buy anything, and so, as a matter of joking, we tried to see how far down we could bring the prices. Ferris got a kick out of it and became very proficient.
Meet Sam, Our Guide
We had no sooner stepped out of our taxi from the airport when we met Sam. You know Sam, don’t you? Why, of course you know Sam. Everybody knows Sam. You mean to tell me you actually don’t know Sam?!!!
Well, Sam is a go-getter. Sam has built himself a reputation of catching visitors to Cairo and keeping them from being “taken” too badly. Sam, of course, owns a store and expects you to buy all your souvenirs from him.
Sam also supplies Post Exchanges in Europe and Asia with many things. Sam gives you a guide and arranges tours. So Sam took care of us. And we didn’t fare badly at all under Sam’s care. His prices proved to be reasonable and compared favorably with those of the American Express.
Thus in the afternoon we set off on a tour of Cairo. We saw a beautiful Mosque.2 We saw a modern park. And we saw a bazaar.
A Muslim Mosque is a very beautiful and elaborate building. In its way it is as beautiful as any cathedral I have seen. They are built, as ours, to glorify God. Their beauty and taste is oriental, yet exhibits the architectural beauty that is reflected in our western world. On the floors are priceless Persian rugs, still as rich in color as when first made.
The Mosque looks like pictures we have seen from the Arabian Nights, with round blue domes and spire-like towers rising from the top. The inside is a series of arches giving a beautiful effect.
The Mosque inside is divided into a lower part built of one type of stone and an upper part built of a different stone. Priceless clear glass globe chandeliers hang down from the high dome. The walls are rich in beautiful colors.
On the way to the Mosque we saw the Citadel, a fortress used to house the Egyptian army, built after the style of the Mosque. It seems that in those times the soldiers had to be protected!!!
The modern park was built for the purpose of beautifying Cairo. The entrance has small replicas of space ships. Inside are well-cared-for gardens and trees. As part of the park there is a water fountain that is illuminated at night with constantly changing colored lights.
How the Bazaars Work
Now our guide had a pretty good set-up. If we bought anything in one of the bazaar shops, half the price went to our guide and Sam. So naturally they charged twice as much for everything.
They soon gave us up, however, because we didn’t buy anything. But they can certainly make you feel bad because you didn’t buy. It is an interesting system they use. First they offer you coke or tea or lemonade, and then begin working on you.
Our first stop was a perfume house. WOW!!! Did it smell! We were told that this stuff is the pure essence of the flower with no alcohol in it. It must be pretty good stuff — he put just a touch of three or four kinds on my arm and I could smell them the next day after a bath.
He claimed that this is the stuff that Chanel No. 5 and others are made of. He wanted $4.00 an ounce. Later we were told that if we were to go back alone we could get the perfume for $2.00 or less. Quite a difference.
From there we went to a shop that sold all kinds of junk. We drank mint tea here. They wanted $12.00 for an outfit like Abraham wore! In Jerusalem my guide told me I could buy a complete outfit for $2.00.
I believe the most interesting part of Cairo is its people, and there are all kinds. Little urchins wandering the streets, playing in the dirt, doing everything that would make an American mother cringe in horror. There are men who look just like their ancestors looked, dressed in their long robes (or nightshirts), earning their living in the same way, and sometimes, I think, wearing the same clothes.
Still they ride their donkeys. Still the donkeys pull the little colored carts. Still the women cover their faces with a black veil. Still can be seen little children, naked, innocently playing, too young to know that in the eyes of men nakedness is a shameful thing.
As you walk down the street you must step over the many people who have unrolled their straw mats and have curled up to take a nap. Along the side streets you walk by little market stalls, set up for the day’s business as they must have been ages ago.
Yet Cairo is so modern that you can buy the latest of anything you want in its modern, spacious, clean stores.
Perhaps one of the things we enjoyed most about Cairo was its cheap delicious ice cream — all flavors — and its own kind of hamburgers.
The Egyptian Museum
Surrounded by a high fence, with statues, flower beds, and pieces of sculpture stuck on its bib, the Egyptian Museum, resting its head on the ancient city, looks out on modern Cairo, its feet playing in the Nile. In its memory rest the treasures of kings and queens of a forgotten time.
Old King Tut must have really been quite a fellow. I didn’t see him, but I saw his caskets — two of them anyway. Seems he, and everyone else, wasn’t satisfied with being buried in just one casket.
No, his first casket had to be put in a second, his second in a third, his third in a fourth, etc. And very gaily decorated caskets too. It must have been pretty expensive to die!!
He didn’t do too bad for jewelry either. There was very intricate workmanship on all of it, showing, at least for the king, a fairly high development of delicate tools and skill.
I saw a couple of mummies (no daddies). Can’t say they impressed me much, though they seemed quite pressed for time.
I saw two ancient boats, made entirely without ribs to support them.3
The Pyramids and the Sphinx
The pyramids are built away from the city in what appears to be the desert itself. When the pyramids were first discovered they were covered on the outside by a sort of cement which sealed everything. When the archeologists began to excavate they chipped most of the covering off in their attempt to find the entrance. Only one of the pyramids has any of this coating left.
The inside of the pyramids has a very interesting construction. The king’s room is near the top and reached by a long steep incline. On the sides of the incline are notches cut in the stone about every two feet.
The casket would be pushed up a little ways and then blocked, etc. Not only was this passage steep, but you must bend over practically double to negotiate it, or lose your head!
To do things up proper we of course had to ride a camel to and from the Sphinx. A sign said we were not to tip the camel men, but from the beginning to end they hounded us for tips.
At the Sphinx is a sort of temple built by the king as his mourning and embalming place, before he was placed in the pyramid. It was built of giant blocks of stone, two stories high, each story of a different kind of stone. It seems that each king must build a special place for his mourners to mourn for him. Leading from this was a passageway to the pyramid.
The Sphinx is built entirely from one solid rock. We had fun climbing around to take pictures. All the area around the pyramids and Sphinx is full of burial sites.
We have traveled far, literally flying on Wings Of Faith.
Tomorrow we will see the land that Jesus loved, the places where He taught. The Holy City.
Praise be to God and Glory to His Name. From the depths of our hearts we give thanks for His Mercy to us and the Blessings He has given us while we are yet Sinners and unworthy.
Notes
Exodus 2:3–5. My father gives no Scripture reference. The reference has been added for this edition. ↩
The Mosque of Muhammad Ali, at the Cairo Citadel. My father’s own photographs identify it by name in the original captions. ↩
My father’s reference is to the ancient boats he saw in the Egyptian Museum. The identification of the specific boats is an editorial note; the description itself is his. ↩
