Position 15 - The Great Nile Bridge At Cairo Open For The Passage Of The Daily Fleet Of Cargo Boats

Every day at noon this long bridge over the river is opened to permit the passage of the accumulated fleet, and as they pass, we are here taking our first view of the life-stream of Egypt. On our right is the city, now quite out of our field of vision; before us and on our left is the river, down which we look northwestward for a long vista, and a still more distant point may be discerned through the bridge itself, now turned on the right.

As soon as the bridge is opened, the craft from up river pass quickly through by force of the current alone, only raising their canvas after they have cleared the bridge. Then we see the sails of the fleet from below beating back and forth across the current, maneuvering for position as at a yacht race, until, when the right point is reached, they make a dash for the draw. The picturesque triangular sails cross and recross like a flock of white-winged gulls at sea; their firm lines are sharply defined against the deep green of the palms on the further shore; the bright sun casts a golden glow over the whole scene, and the bluest of blue skies smiles overhead.

The cargo of these rude craft is garden produce, grain, pottery, brick, sugar-cane, sometimes live stock, etc. They once carried all the produce of Egypt, but since the construction of the railway, and the introduction of the steamboat, their traffic has been much diminished. They are, however, not less picturesque than they were before, and it is among the chief delights of the visitor to Egypt, to watch the sails upon the Nile. They stir the imagination not less than the hoary monuments distributed along the river, which has done so much for this land, the child of the Nile.

For thousands of years it has carried the traffic of millions of people in craft like these, although these are but pigmies compared with the splendid barges of the Pharaohs. Ramses III tells of a sacred barge which he built for the Karnak temple at Thebes, which was no less than 224 feet long, and we shall later see the obelisk of Thutmosis I, which was brought down from the first cataract in a boat 200 feet long and one-third as wide. The first of these craft was built in the 12th century B. C., and the second in the 16th.

This long boat moored to the pier of the bridge, is a floating dock for steamboat passengers, for the steamboat is now an every-day sight upon this ancient river. We, however, shall not employ a steamer for our voyage up the river; we shall go in a sailboat rigged like these, but with comfortable cabin arrangements, of which we shall say more when we have seen one.

As soon as this bridge has closed we shall cross to the further shore, where you see the green palms behind the sails. They are on the island of Bulak (Map 4), and just behind the first sail on the left of the bridge you may catch a glimpse of the Gezireh Palace Hotel, which we saw from the citadel. We shall, however, turn away from the palms before the hotel, and proceeding to the left, through others just as picturesque, we shall cross to the west side of the river and go southward; then westward toward the distant desert plateau, which we saw from the east side of Cairo, when we first arrived (Position 4).

As we leave the Nile the pyramids will suddenly loom upon the western horizon. There we shall stop and study them from afar. You should trace this route upon Map 4 to the point where the next stop is to be made. You will notice that the pyramids are about seven miles southwest of Cairo. Our next position is shown by the red lines numbered 16. We shall be looking southwest.