eph's Well--some 300 feet deep; the costly mosque of Mehemet
Ali with its dome and twin minarets; two or three smaller and older
mosques; and, on the wall, the hoof print of the escaping Mameluke's
horse.

Opposite to the main entrance to the Citadel, and without the walls, are
two mosques of unusual size. One, the mosque of the Sultan Hassan--noted
amongst other things for its wonderful arches, doors inlaid with gold,
and a cannon ball still sticking in the wall facing the hills which bear
Napoleon's fort; the other containing the tombs of the Khedivial family
and distinguished by the richness of the decorations and inlay of
sandalwood, ebony, silver, and ivory.

Mosques and shrines in Cairo number nearly 500. There is plenty to see
in this respect, but after a few of the principal ones, including the
Blue Mosque of Ibrahim Agha, had been inspected, and similar calls paid
on some of the old Coptic churches, interest waned and the soldier,
looking for a change, sometimes turned to the Roman and Arab remains in
Old Cairo and Fustat, or else visited the Tombs of the Khalifs and
Mamelukes on the edge of the desert. Here he was, perhaps, successful in
obtaining genuine souvenirs of the "Dead City."

[Illustration: CAIRO AND ENVIRONS]

Apart from short trips on the Nile, per steam dahabiyehs, two other
excursions must be mentioned. One was to the Island of Roda to view
the spot where the infant Moses is alleged to have been found by the
Pharoah's daughter; and the other by tram or gharri along the Mena Road
to the Zoological Gardens. This institution is said to have been one of
the many extravagances of the Khedive Ismail. The visitors greatly
admired the grounds and also the fine collection of the larger African
animals.

Driving back in the evening from the Gardens, the soldier was able to
see Cairo taking the air under the shade of the lebbok trees and observe
the wealthy and official classes in their carriages and motors. He was
not slow to notice the arrogant air of the Egyptian male aristocracy,
accompanied as they often were by rather fleshy ladies of foreign
origin. Nor did he fail to feel impressed by the neat and wholesome
appearance of the few British ladies who took exercise on this highway.

With the exception of two days at the beginning of August, when Cairo
was placed out of bounds owing to the rioting, and the 12th to 14th
August, when the Festival of Bairam was being observed, sight-seeing
went on at