 With the Anzacs in Cairo, the tale of a great fight, by Guy Thornton, CF, chaplain captain to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, main body. Recording by Adam Bielka. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Forward. Persistent rumors, more or less exaggerated, have been circulated in almost every part of our empire with regard to the behavior of our brave Australian, New Zealand, and British troops whilst they were stationed in and near Cairo. I purpose in these pages to give a plain, unvarnished account of the real condition of affairs in that city. To deny the existence of unspeakable vice and grossly open immorality in Cairo is unhappily impossible. But I do deny and deny most emphatically that the majority of our splendid soldiers were guilty of the various excesses which have been attributed to them. It is true that a small percentage of rotters and wasters behaved as badly as it was possible for men to behave. But when the fact of the abnormal temptations of a large eastern city is taken into consideration, it will be realized that the wonder is not that so many fell, but that so many stood. I speak only of what I have seen and heard. I have preferred rather to err on the side of understating these rampant evils than risk overstating them. We are, as a nation, responsible to God for Egypt. As long as our empire exists, so long will a large garrison of British troops be stationed in that country. For their sakes alone drastic steps should be undertaken to abolish the present system of licensed and unlicensed vice. I realize how handicapped our rulers in that land have been in the past by the capitulations. We are at war now and martial law holds sway there as well as elsewhere. By one stroke of the pen the authorities, backed by public opinion, could make an end of that existing, flaunting, barefaced immorality. For the reputation of our nation, for the welfare of our soldiers, present and future, I pray that that day may come soon. I also tell of the gracious revival that visited thousands of our soldiers, in order that the hearts of many parents, whose boys lie buried on the steep slopes of Gallipoli, may be comforted. Hundreds upon hundreds of men who left their native shores without having evinced the slightest regard for God and Christ were led in Egypt to a saving knowledge of him, whom to know means salvation from the penalty and power of sin. If this book brings consolation to any stricken heart, vindicates the fair fame of our gallant men and inspires any degree of desire that wrongs may be righted, I am well content to have my motives impugned and to incur any hostile criticism. In conclusion, I might say that, except where otherwise stated, these lines were written whilst I was in an Egyptian hospital and in London recovering from a severe illness, and perhaps lack literary style or finish. I offer no apologies for my message, although I regret that my busy life leaves me no time to present that message in a more attractive form. GT End of forward. Chapter 1 of With the Anzacs and Cairo by Guy Thornton. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 1. Our Arrival at Satune On Sunday, December 4, 1914, the advanced parties of the Australian and New Zealand forces disembarked and immediately entrained at Alexandria and commenced their journey through the closely cultivated and thickly populated Nile Delta to Cairo. On each side of the railway line lay palm groves, fields of maize, cotton, millet, and bursium, a species of clover. We noted with interest the primitive method of cultivating the land with wooden plows drawn by buffaloes, horses, mules, and sometimes camels. The vivid green of the fields, the feathery date palms, the picturesque though appallingly filthy native villages, the silver threads which reveal the network of canals, combined in presenting to our view a strange and beautiful scene. As we neared Cairo, we saw, for what was to the vast majority of us the first time, the surpassing splendor of an Egyptian sunset. No artist, however great his genius, could do it justice. The golds, the crimsons, the blues, the grays are inimitable. Time and again on the Australian desert have I gazed and raptured on the lights of the setting sun. In the South Sea Islands I have marveled at the infinite glory of the sky as the sun disappeared beneath the waves. Noted the strange elusive lights that illuminated the coral beach, the waving coconut palms, and the tropical forest, and longed to be able to describe the indescribable. But never have I been so conscious of the bankruptcy of thought and language adequately to convey the seed to anyone who has not lived in the East. As on that evening when I saw for the first time an Egyptian sunset, man's greatest emotions cannot be expressed. As a Cornish miner said, when seeking to describe the peace of God which passeth all understanding, it's better felt than telted. And oh, the surprise of the afterglow, the whole sky flooded with soft, mellow, golden beams which transfigured into celestial beauty. Immersed in loveliness, and in an effulgence of glory the previously stern and forbidding clouds. Everything was bathed in glory, the palms, the stately minarets, even the miserable native huts possessed a beauty. Transient it is true, but beyond the power of man to describe. The citadel at Cairo surmounted by the alabaster palace and crowned with three great minarets at last came into view. We detrained during the brief twilight and marched to what was known as the Zeytun camp. Correctly speaking, the camp was really the Helmé camp since it practically adjoined the railway station of that name. In Helmé there are a few European houses and a fairly large native village. Near to the camp stands the famous obelisk of Matariah, the oldest in Egypt. When Abraham visited Egypt, he must have passed almost beneath its shade. Joseph passed between it and its fellow obelisk since taken away on his marriage day when he was wedded Azaneth, the daughter of the priest of On. Here Moses became learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. Here Plato studied, here Herodotus wrote, and here for hundreds of years stood the Great Temple, which was also a university, the center of learning for the whole of the then known world. No great distance away lay the model suburb of Heliopolis, a place rich in magnificent buildings and possessing one of the finest hotels in the world. Behind us lay the cemetery of the Old City of On, where it was impossible to walk a step without treading on the bones of those who had been buried there five to six thousand years ago. Away to the east stretch the desert of yellow sand and stones, and here and there a stunted shrub. No warm welcome awaited us. Our coming was unexpected and consequently adequate preparations for our arrival were conspicuous by their absence. Our camping ground was the desert. Many of us for the first time had the doubtful pleasure of sleeping in the open air on the sand. Our tents had missed the bus. The night was extremely cold and felt colder than it really was owing to the great change of temperature between 2pm and 8pm. I have often noticed the temperature vary from 30 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit in a few hours. We were hungry and cold. Historical associations may be interesting, but they certainly do not tend to satisfy the cravings of the inner man. At last, to our great joy, one of our number discovered that it was possible to obtain a cup of cocoa and a very small French roll from a Greek canteen keeper. The canteen was a small tent near a brick wall and was immediately surrounded by scores of famished men. Our horses had to be taken away to the nearest place where it was possible to find a fence to which to tether them. By the time this was done, we were ready for bed and we had no beds and no blankets, nothing but our great coats, as our kits had been mislead. The sand was up to our ankles and we fondly and, as it turned out, foolishly imagined would consequently make an easy bed. We were bitterly disappointed. We scraped out a hollow for our hips and carefully removed all the stones. But the sand, soft and yielding when we first lay upon it, became each minute harder and harder. I know that my body seemed to possess a peculiarly magnetic attraction for sharp stones which persistently worked their way through the sand and sought to pierce my skin wherever possible. There are happily few unpleasant situations which have no corresponding alleviations. It is marvelous what some were satisfaction I derived from the sufferings of my fellows. Of course, as a Padre, I regretted the very strong and sulfurous language in which they apparently considered their complaints should be couched. We walked about, swinging our arms and stamping our feet and trying in vain to go to sleep, until morning dawned upon many very bad-tempered and hungry men. Some officers were fortunate enough to be invited to breakfast by the British officers of the Lancanshire Territorial, who were camped near us. The rest of us had to be satisfied with another cup of cocoa and a French roll. All day long, the transport trains came rolling in and our joy was great when our missing kits put in an appearance. Hearing that there was a YMCA tent in the Lancanshire lines nearby and realizing that if there was one thing more than another which would conduce our men's well-being, it would be a similar institution in our own camp. I took the car from Heliopolis to Cairo and endeavored vainly to find the local secretary and seek to induce him to supply our needs. When I returned, the tents had not only arrived, but were pitched. I shared one with several other officers. I hoped to have a good night's sleep, but was disappointed. There is snoring and snoring. One of my tentmates carried out the art to perfection. He weighed only fourteen stone, but he had at least a thirty-four stone snow war. Not only was it remarkably loud, but he rang the changes on at least five notes and they were irregularly delivered. In despair, I went back to my nook in the sand and slept like the proverbial top. To my delight, the organizing secretary of the YMCA, Mr. W. Jessup, arrived the next day and interviewed Brigadier Colonel, now Brigadier General, Sir A. H. Russell, with the result that in a very few days a large Egyptian tent capable of seating three hundred men was placed at our brigade's disposal. Chairs, forms, tables, writing paper, and envelopes were provided free of charge by that splendid association. Realizing that I could not hope to do better service to the men than by helping in this work, I offered to do all that lay in my power to make it a success. The reverend D. Galloway of the American Mission and Cairo, at considerable inconvenience to himself, also worked hard and faithfully and successfully. Two of the New Zealand chaplains, Major Grant and Captain Blamayers, also lent their willing assistance. Our men thoroughly appreciated the conveniences, which were so freely placed at their disposal in the tent, and it was crowded from the very first. Realizing the terrible temptations of Cairo, which I describe in another place, we, who were interested in the men, acting upon suggestion of the indefatigable secretary, Mr. Jessup, decided that it was vitally necessary immediately to organize strong counter-attractions. A committee was formed to provide for the well-being of the men, and, as a result of their labors, a weekly concert was instituted. At first, the ladies and gentlemen of Cairo were the chief performers. But, when the British New Zealanders arrived, we discovered to our delight that we had enough local talent to provide a good, clean, enjoyable program weekly. On another night, experts on Egypt, its history and archaeology, gave most interesting talks on their particular themes. Dr. Zweemer, one of the foremost authorities on Islam, delivered several magnificent lectures. The revered Mr. McNeil of the CMS at Old Cairo, Dr. Jays of the Nigerian Mission, Dr. Hume, head of the Egyptian Geological Department, and many others, whose names I am sorry to say I do not remember, contributed to make the weekly lectures an unqualified success. The other evenings were left free, so as to afford the soldiers an opportunity of writing home, with the exception of Sunday night, when a service, generally conducted by the chaplains, was held from 7.30 to 8.30. The attendances at these free, in contradistinction to the compulsory military parade, services steadily increased. Indeed, it was not long before the whole of the seating accommodation of the tent was taken up. Each weeknight, a very brief service, consisting of a reading of a few verses and an extemporary prayer, was held. A postbox was kept in the tent, and sometimes no fewer than a thousand letters were posted in a day. Stamps and postcards were also sold, so there could be no excuse for any man to go into the city under the pretext of its being necessary. I have sold ten pounds worth of stamps on a mail day. During those early months, I was on duty from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and am certain that some of the happiest days I have ever spent were those in the mounted men's YMCA tent at Zaytun. The men's behavior was simply splendid, and to work with and for them was a privilege. My duties were multifarious. I cannot remember how many wills I have made. I only hope none of them will be contested. The man used to come to me for advice about business difficulties. Yes, and love troubles as well. One night, a boy, he could not have been more than twenty years of age, hung about around my table evidently waiting for an opportunity of speaking to me privately. His usually round face was portentously elongated, and his eyes were wet, as he handed me a letter from his girl to read. There is an old proverb that absence makes the heart row fonder. I suppose it does, certainly in this case it had, but alas, she had grown fonder of someone else. In the letter, the lady said that she did not love him, but went on to describe the fact she loved someone else, Bob, betterer, and that she and Bob were going out walking. As I folded up the letter and handed it back to him, I said, I am afraid you will have to let her go. In accents of woe and despair and laying intense emphasis upon the last word, he replied, but she's gone. Unfortunately for himself, Bob came to Cairo with a later reinforcement, and the evening after his arrival, he turned up with an eye in the deepest of mourning. By a remarkably curious coincidence, my young friend's face also bore traces of battle. I made no remark, but drew my own conclusions. One of the greatest privileges that the YMCA has conferred upon Christians is that it affords men of all creeds the opportunity of working together with the single object of uplifting their fellows. I certainly never worried about what denomination the men professed, and impositive that they, with one exception, never cared about mine. I was therefore somewhat surprised when, after selling four postcards for the enormous sum of one piester, two pens half-penny, I was asked this question, What parish in New Zealand are you, a priest of? I am not a priest more than any other Christian, I replied. You are ordained, aren't you? Oh yes. Are you not an Anglican priest? No, I am a Baptist minister. His face grew rigid and handing me back the four postcards he said in tones of the greatest contempt. Please return my money. I was warned not to have anything to do with non-conformists, and I never will. I am sorry to say I was so amused that I burst out laughing. But a fine church of England man who overheard the conversation by no means shared my mirth, and it took me all my time to prevent the latter from full-filling his threat, punching the beggar's head in the hope of putting some sense into it. End of chapter 1 Chapter 2 of With the Anzacs and Cairo by Guy Thornton This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 2 The City of Cairo Cairo, or Maser, has been described as being the diamond stud in the handle of the Fan of the Delta. A cursory glance at the map will convince anyone of the appness of the statement. It is not only the greatest city in Africa, but it possesses a much larger Mohammedan population than any other town in the world. It is the literary center of Islam, and within its confines is to be found the greatest of all theological institutions, the al-Azhar, in which about 12,000 men are trained for the Mohammedan priesthood. Its population must now approximate three-quarters of a million. Kipling sang, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet. But here, East and West have met. It is doubtful whether any other city of its size can boast of such a heterogeneous population. Let the experienced traveler sit for half an hour on the Great Piazza of the Continental Hotel, and he can easily distinguish the following races passing along the street in front. Ethiopians, Nubians, Sudanese, Syrians, Jews, Persians, Arabs, Armenians, British, Australians, New Zealanders, French, Italians, Americans, and other smaller nationalities too numerous to mention. The air is full of a babble of tongues, amidst which Arabic and English predominate. The latter language has, owing to the great influx of troops during the past year or so, largely displaced French. Arabic is a most unpleasant-sounding language, being harsh and guttural to a degree. But it commends itself very strongly to any man whose orthography is not his strongest point, for each word is spelled just as a speaker happens to fancy its sounds, as the following examples will show. The town of Asiut can be spelled in nearly a dozen different ways. Asiut, Osiut, Osiut, Siut, Osiut, Siut, et cetera, et cetera. Arabic certainly leaves room for individuality, when doubtful as to the exact spelling or pronunciation, it is always safe to write it or speak it as seemeth best. And all is right. Mohamedism can be spelled in a variety of ways, and the prophet's name in half a dozen. I only wish that in my school days I had been permitted to take the same liberties with the English language. I'm afraid I sometimes did, but I have vivid and painful recollections of the fact that my efforts were not appreciated. Night and day the cafes are full inside and out with a mockly throng of customers. Chairs are placed nearly across the footpaths of the very best streets. Here men sit, smoke, and play backgammon. The streets swarm with peddlers who accost each passerby with earnest requests to buy. They are an unspeakable nuisance and should be suppressed, if only to obviate the bad language their persistency vokes. It is impossible to travel a couple of hundred yards near Shepherd's Hotel without being pestered by sellers of flower stands, highly colored Sudanese beads, walking sticks, peanuts, muslins, silks, or photographs, some of which are good, but others vile beyond words. As soon as one leaves you, another takes his place. But of all the nuisances in Cairo, the chief is the boot black. He is everywhere. It is almost impossible to have a meal in a cafe without one of the craft, settling up and asking if he should clean boots, sir. These pests watch the approach of a soldier from the camp at Helma to the railway station then rush up and demand that they should clean his boots. If he is brave or obstinate enough to reach Cairo without yielding to their importunity, the same thing is repeated as soon as he emerges from the station gates. He shakes his head, but that is not sufficient. He threatens them with his cane, but to no purpose, carefully keeping at arm's length, the boot black walks round him, scrutinizing with evident disapprobation on his dirty face, the soldier's boots. To escape, the latter takes the first car, but when he alights, he is surrounded by a small host of the enemy, and as a rule succumbs. Queen Mary said that, when she died, the word Kalei would be found engraven on her heart. I always thought her heart unusually hard. But when the Kyrene dies, he must heave a sigh of the deepest relief. For he knows that when he passes into the great beyond, he will not be greeted with a familiar and exasperating cry of, clean your boots, sir. Bargaining is the one thing the Egyptian loves. A rich native will be quite content to spend an hour or more seeking to beat down the price of his purchases for two piesters. To give a hawker what he first demands would probably be a dangerous method of procedure, since his early demise from heart shock would almost certainly result. The following is a typical deal. The day is hot, and the only fruits that it is safe to eat are those upon which nature has bestowed a skin. The guileless Egyptian has the unfortunate habit of cleaning the luscious-looking strawberries by the simple and effective process of placing them in his mouth and licking them vigorously and thoroughly. After this treatment, they look so fresh and clean that did you not know how they had been washed? It would require considerable strength of mind to resist successfully the temptation to purchase them. Grapes need the most careful cleansing before being safe to eat. The ideal fruit is the oranges despite the fact that the hawker invariably carries them next to his extremely dirty skin inside the blouse of his Gallopia. The familiar cry of oranges, oranges, very nice, very sweet, very clean sounds in your ears from morning to night. You ask how much? Four piesters, very nice, very sweet, very clean. Too much. Imshi, go away. He will let you go on about ten yards and then he returns to the attack. Three piesters, good oranges, very nice, etc. Yala, a stronger mode of saying go away. Two piesters, good oranges, etc. Wave the way, though only for a few yards, he runs up to you saying, one piester, you take him, take him, get me money. The Israelites spoiled the Egyptians. I don't think any other race but the Jews would have succeeded. Ever since, the Egyptian has been spoiling everyone who has been so unfortunate as to have any business transactions with him. The Arabia cab driver is, as far as my knowledge of men goes, absolutely preeminent in his lack of brain. Certainly, his cruelty to his horses is a vast belief. I once got into an Arabia at the Ponte-Lamoon Railway Station and directed the driver to take me to Davies-Fryans, one of the chief business establishments in Cairo, asking him at the same time whether he knew where it was. Oh, yes sir, all right sir. He drove off, lashing his horse into a canter and then into a handgallop but in what I knew was the wrong direction, I stopped him and pointed out the right way. Off he went again and soon turned down a street which led diametrically opposite direction to the right one and repeated this operation until I had to direct him at every turn by saying Shemalek to the right or Yamanak to the left. In Alexandria I took a cab and after giving the driver the address and receiving his valuable assurances that he knew the way I didn't. He drove me for over an hour and ultimately pulled up at the very place from which he had started. He had not the slightest idea where I wanted to go and had been beamingly content to drive aimlessly about the city covering, I suppose, six or seven miles. I then made him drive me to my destination but his contentment disappeared and gave place to cursing when I paid him the legal fare. I knew enough Arabic to understand something of what he said and his remarks I did not realize how unutterably base, vile, and filthy were my ancestors for at least a dozen generations. He evidently knew a great deal more about them than I did and from the trend of his discourse was strongly predisposed to hold to the Darwinian theory of the origin of man for sheer, crass, downright, incurable stupidity it would be, I hope, impossible to surpass the Egyptian cab man. One early morning I was wakened by the sound of howling and wailing. At first I was inclined to think it was some stray cur that had been receiving a sound thrashing but, since the noise continued I went out and saw a soldier administering a doubtless, well-deserved hiding to a berber who had been caught prowling about the camp. When I thought matters had gone quite far enough I stepped up and stopped the soldier. In his gratitude the berber flung himself at my feet and commenced kissing my shoes whilst tears were pouring from his eyes. Certainly the lower classes oppressed as they have been from time immemorial are not only not manly but are despicable in many other ways and unfortunately the soldiers, for the most part only came into contact with the uneducated of the population and consequently hardly a man had a good word to say for the native. Although the vast majority of the inhabitants of Cairo are Mohammedans nearly all religions are represented the following statistics will reveal their strength Mohammedans, about 500,000 Cops, the Coptic church about 50,000 Greek church about 20,000 Jews about 20,000 I have not been able to obtain late figures as to the numbers of the Anglican, Presbyterian Methodist and other Protestant Communions The Catholics have a lovely cathedral and the Basilica their church at Heliopolis is one of the show places of Cairo Since there are so many Italians and French Kyrenes they must be a very strong body The American mission with its 196 educational institutions where 16,500 pupils are gathered has contributed as far as I am able to judge more than any other religious organization to raise the Egyptian nation from the spiritual lethargy in which it has been sunk for ages Its work has been mainly among the Cops the lineal descendants of the pharaohs and has resulted not only in the upbuilding of many of their churches but in quickening to an appreciable extent the spiritual life of the Coptic church itself The Egyptian general mission whose labors are mainly directed toward securing converts from Mohammedanism have already although comparatively speaking only recently established accomplished a splendid work Their headquarters at Zaytun became the home of many of our boys and there are hundreds who will look back upon Mr. Logan's and Mr. Swan's hospitality with deep gratitude Indeed, words fail adequately to express the magnificent hospitality shown to our men by all members of these two missions End of chapter 2 Chapter 3 of With the Anzacs and Cairo by Guy Thornton This LibriVox recording is in the public domain Chapter 3 The City of Cairo Continued To see and seeing to understand a city like Cairo and its inhabitants is a feat not to be accomplished in a month the stay of an average tourist and 12 months for after more than a year's residence I have come to the conclusion that my knowledge of it is for the most part merely superficial There is a surprising elusiveness about the east and the eastern Apparently all is open and above board the people eat, drink, play sleep and pray in the open air but the longer one lives in the Orient the more is one conscious on the surface there is something incomprehensible and mysterious the eastern alone can understand the eastern the bluff Britisher is constitutionally incapable of fathoming the depths of the native of the east and is conscious that the latter despite his seeming servility holds him in contempt The splendid electric tram service of Cairo makes it an easy matter rapidly and easily to visit each place of interest whether in the middle or better still from the Makatamu Hills which command the whole city and its suburbs an excellent bird's eye view can be obtained viewed in the light of the setting sun the spectacle is a magnificent one the graceful minarets clothed in the soft golden light which beautifies even the dirty native quarters of the city the desert, the oasis the distant pyramids the Nile as it wends its way past stately palaces all these combined to make a picture which it would be hard to equal for beauty and variety Cairo is indeed a city of striking contrast the European quarter with its magnificent buildings is but a few yards from the squalid hobbles of the poor the Pasha's palace adjoins the paraffin tin-covered mud hut of the Felahin exquisite Saracenic work may still be seen amidst the filth of the poverty-stricken native quarter the Rolls Royce motor car of the rich Egyptian passes the old donkey diligence of the indignant Berber the rich fertile land is separated by a yard from the barren desert sand the grand and awe-inspiring monuments of antiquity overshadow the mean hobbles of the decadent descendants of their builders the European rubbed shoulders with the representatives of almost every race under the sun today business establishments of the European quarter are the old bazaars of the native where business is carried on today almost as if it was three thousand years ago it is not true that the east knows no change it does change but so slowly as to be almost imperceptible I have engaged in Christian work among over a score of native races but it was not until I had to do with the Egyptians that I found it all but impossible to have for them love which has been evoked by the Chinese, Japanese, Maori the South Sea Islanders, etc among whom my lot had been previously cast the good old book foretold 2400 years ago that the Egyptians should be the basest of all kingdoms and that statement is true today there are, of course, splendid exceptions to the general rule but the average lower class native is untrustworthy a liar and a plausible one at that he loves bargaining as the following conversation which took place in my tent will show a peddler was trying to sell me some antiques among them was a scarab I asked him how much 200 piasters no good, too much I sell you 180 piasters no, perhaps it was made in Luxor world famous or perhaps it would be more correct to say infamous as being the place where spurious antiques are manufactured no, this real antique me swear it by Muhammad me find him in kings grave him real, him good, him cheap too much you take it 150 piasters no, 100 no good, im shi 50, im shi 20, too much 5 no, I don't want it 2 piaster, equivalent to 5 pence you take him, very good very nice, real antique no, wont give you a million one farthing then chaplain major grant who was with me said to him how much do you charge for scarabs it depends on whom you sell him to what do you mean if milk and man come along and he want scarab me sell him for 200 piasters if English, English, tourist me charge him 100 Australian, 75 piasters if New Zealander, me take 50 if Egyptian, half piaster melican, he got plenty money, English, not so much Australian, throw money about, Egyptian, he no scarab made in luxer, he no give more than half piaster, this scarab no good why do you tell us that me go away now, not come back to Cairo me no care, you not take anything with the native deception deception is no sin when dealing with a Christian they are not in the least ashamed when their lies are found out they have one price for the soldier another for the officer I found I saved nearly 50% on my purchases by getting my orderly to do my shopping instead of doing it personally without doubt the most interesting and fascinating place in Cairo is the far famed muski each lane in this district is devoted to the sale of one particular article for example, the goldsmiths mostly cops who achieve the most intricate workmanship with the very same kind of tools used by their ancestors 4,000 or 5,000 years ago have their shops in an exceedingly narrow lane in places not more than 5 feet broad the brass workers and the carpet sellers have each their street their shops are often not more than 8 feet deep and 6 feet broad despite the noisome smells, the endless jostling of the crowd and the insistent and incessant importunity of the trades people there is much to interest and instruct the European some of the larger shops in the muski have magnificent showrooms in one I was shown a Turkish carpet of moderate size for which the seller asked 2,000 guineas a bedstead in laid with silver and mother of pearl, 800 pounds in one of these warehouses I was informed that the insurance covered valued at half a million pounds some very amusing advertisements were displayed with a view to procuring the coveted custom of the colonial troops I give a few of them a Greek restaurant had the following all sorts of spirits so led here I was informed by those who were better qualified than I was to express an opinion that it was chiefly bad sorts another restaurant had for its sign these cryptic words square dinkum feed which was intended to convey to the passerby the information that a good square meal could be procured inside a liquor bar held out the following inducement to colonials Australians done here and it was rumored that they were done brown a similar advertisement read the best liquor is so led only in this establishment the advent of our troops was numerous restaurants to spring into existence and each such place being of course a saloon as well as an eating house and names such as the Melbourne buffet the Sydney saloon Baleray bar, Auckland restaurant et cetera et cetera were bestowed on them but the most amusing advertisement was that of two Egyptians who opened a laundry near the Zeytun camp and whose sign read two Egyptians want washing cheap very nice the first part of this advertisement was undeniably true in fact I have not yet met a lower class Egyptian who didn't need washing very badly they are unbelievably dirty the Mohammedan mother never washes her child or suffers it to be washed until it is over six months old to bathe the poor infant would according to their idea be but to invite evil spirits jins to enter into it unfortunately however they apparently forget to wash it when the six months have passed being I suppose under the impression that cleanliness is a luxury that can safely be dispensed with the poor children of heathenism brought up amidst dirt and squalor hearing the foul list of foul talk rarely educated saved by the Christian missionary what chance have they is it to be marvel that that nearly 75 percent of them die before they reach the age of knowing good from evil is it not far better that they should I may be unorthodox but it is my profound conviction that there will be found in the eternal presence of him who said suffer little children to come on to me more heathen children than many Christians seem to imagine to say as one good but narrow man that is if a person can be good in the truest sense of the word and at the same time be narrow did when speaking of them they were not baptized and of course there was no hope for them is simply inconceivable if God didn't have mercy on those poor kids said a blunt rough Christian soldier to me when repeating the first remark I wouldn't have much to do with him I don't see a word in the Bible which says that children who are not old enough to believe should be baptized and God is not the sort to condemn unjustly any child for something over which it had no control and for which no one could blame it I couldn't stick it the statement and told him straight that to believe what he did was to insult not only God's love but God's brains I am absolutely convinced that the majority of these children of heathenism will be saved although poor although ill housed and ill clad even the lowest class seem to have sufficient to eat the mildness of the climate is such that the lack of what we would consider sufficient shelter and clothing does not seem seriously to affect the health of the people it is so old residents of Egypt have informed for me impossible to compare the present condition of the lower classes in Egypt with what it was prior to the British occupation the days of the enforced corvée when thousands of breadwinners were dragged from their homes and fields and compelled to work without pay and years in order to gratify the insensate ambition or sordid avarice of some pasha have happily gone forever never in her history has Egypt been so fairly governed never has she as a nation been so prosperous that is not to say that we as a nation are loved we are respected and feared welcome to by the copped who for the first time for 600 years dwells in safety but disliked by the average Mohammedan the latter uneducated and consequently bigoted would I verily believe prefer to be cruelly oppressed by one of his own religion than to be justly ruled by the unbeliever but much as British rule despite the fact that it has been hampered by the existence of the capitulations has accomplished it has until now been unable to ameliorate the condition of the Mohammedan women cribbed, cabined and confined by her religion the creature rather than the companion of man condemned to suffer degradation whilst man is exalted there is but one hope for her one friend, one savior our lord Jesus Christ it is significant that one rarely sees a native woman other than a copped over the age of 50 I remarked on this to a man of wide and varied experience in Mohammedan countries and asked him if he had noticed this if it were the case how he accounted for it he replied that it was unhappily only too true and that from his knowledge of the real condition of their lives it was the hardships they endured the neglect the absence of all that made life worth living that caused so many to die prematurely of course there are I am glad to say many splendid exemptions among the Mohammedans in which the women are well cared for and loved despite the fact that they are past middle age but what I have said unfortunately is true in the majority of cases polygamy the fatal facility of divorce that obtains among the Mohammedans the perpetual friction in the harem between the favored wife and the other more unfortunate wives the degradation of womanhood should create in our minds a deep sympathy for these poor unfortunately no man can compare the lot of women in a Christian land with the condition of women in the Mohammedan countries the difference is as great as that existent between the respective religions I have had pointed out to me the house of an Egyptian who so I was informed by a credible authority although under 40 years of age had had over 30 wives whom he had divorced upon the slenderest of pretexts another Egyptian a wealthy landowner in southern Egypt had been the husband of over 35 wives and was the proud father of more than 100 children educated Mohammedans however have in conversation with me deplored these conditions most earnestly and wholeheartedly I have mentioned these facts about the low status of womanhood in general and wifehood in particular since it accounts to no inconsiderable extent for the awful immorality that unhappily exists in Cairo there is but one life and that a life of shame remaining for these poor creatures who by the laws of well-divorced inculcated by Mohammed are thrust out into a censorous man world end of chapter 3 chapter 4 of with the Anzacs in Cairo by Guy Thornton this LibriVox recording is in the public domain chapter 4 in the espakaya and fish market I feel compelled to place before the public the real truth concerning the flagrant and unblushing immorality which is so manifest in certain districts of Cairo I do so with considerable diffidence since I am only too conscious that my motives in thus writing are likely to be grossly misinterpreted and that I lay myself open to the charge of being either egotistic or prurient much exaggerated reports of the ill behavior of our Australian and New Zealand troops have been circulated through the length of the Commonwealth and the Dominion statements have been made which infer if they do not actually state that the great majority of our gallant soldiers were guilty of sins of impurity during the period when they were camped near Cairo owing to the nature of my work in the slums of that city I am better qualified than many to give the lie direct to these reports I also desire to place before my readers as plainly as I possibly can the actual conditions prevailing in these quarters that they may to some extent realize the terrible temptations to which our boys were exposed and so be the more disposed to temper their judgment with mercy to those who have fallen I must first of all ask that it be born in mind that tens of thousands of British Australian and New Zealand troops were stationed in and near Cairo in every large body of men there will be necessarily a proportion of rotters or wasters 5% of these make more disturbance and create more rumour than the remaining 95% who live clean wholesome lives to reflect on the morality of a large majority because of the immorality of a small minority is not only foolish but wicked I hear deliberately state that in a previous ministry of nearly 17 years I have not met so many noble men in the same space of time as I have during the 18 months I have been privileged to be a chaplain with the New Zealand expeditionary force the very best of our youth are to be found in the ranks men of culture, refinement and religion who despite their environment rose superior to it and by their manly clean wholesome lives did good to all to whom they came in contact injustice to these I feel my bound in duty to justify the larger proportion of our men from the cowardly innuendos hurled at their heads by armchair critics so hadn't the grit and go to do what those they so freely criticised have done, resign the comforts of home and fight in many cases unto death for king and country I know Australia from north to south from east to west there is scarcely a town of any size which I have not visited nearly 20 years ago I worked among the all classes of men throughout Australia and consequently know personally the social conditions of that great country I travelled New Zealand from the north cape to the bluff realising therefore the favourable moral atmosphere in which the majority of our colonial boys have been brought up and knowing as I know the new startling and all but overwhelming temptations of an eastern town especially a city which bears such an ill repute as Cairo I say that to me the marvel is not that so many but so few fell we arrived in Zaytun on or about the 4th of November 1914 and before a week had passed tales more or less exaggerated were being told of the fearful prevalence of vice in its very worst and most revolting forms the notorious waza the sights to be seen there the shamelessness of the women the effrontery of the pimps became common talk realising to some extent the awfulness of the situation and the crying need that something should be done for our boys he insulted chaplain major luxford the chief chaplain of the nz e force he is an officer for whom I had and have though in an increased measure a high opinion and in whose judgment I repose the greatest confidence his opinion was that we as chaplain should rebuke this vice whenever occasion served but should personally abstain from visiting the slums I understood the reason that led him to this opinion but was still in my own mind far from being his right so in deference to his wish I desisted for a fortnight from going near the notorious streets however one evening whilst reading my bible these words of the master rang insistently in my ears I am come to seek and to save that which was lost and coupled there too as the father has sent me even so send I you in these words I recognised what the duke of wellington termed my marching orders I knew as major luxford had hinted that my motives would be liable to be misconstrued and while I thought over the matter was much inclined to choose the path of least resistance I remembered how it was prophetically stated of the Lord Jesus that he became the song of the drunkard and was called and deservingly so the friend of publicans and sinners he not only made himself of no reputation but lost all reputation from the viewpoint of the religions of his day and I since the servant cannot be greater than his master must be content in seeking to follow in his steps to lose my reputation as he lost his a business or professional man may forfeit his moral reputation and yet not suffer materially but let a minister of religion have but the faintest breath of slander dim the lustre of his character and he were better dead it was thus no light matter to me when I deliberately planned labours which I knew must inevitably expose me in no small degree to the malice of evil tongues and which might wreck my whole future on new year's day 1915 a friend a captain in the NZMC asked me if I had seen the slums in the Especaya and on my replying in the negative volunteered to drive me through them that drive was an eye-opener I knew that things were bad it was a nightmare inconceivably vile and horribly grotesque the narrow evil smelling torturous lanes literally lined by these poor degraded women of almost every nationality the foul cries of solicitation sounded in a veritable babble of tongues the barbaric dress and ornaments which many of them wore the flaring lights, the flaunting evils all combined to produce on the mind of a European an impression of unreality things could never be as bad as this one argued and therefore it must be a dream but it was no dream it was an infinitely awful reality each nationality seemed to rival the other in bestiality Arabs, Egyptians all Mohammedans, no Coptic girl is to be found earning her livelihood by prostitution Circassians, Greeks, Syrians Nubians, French and Italians were all represented thank god however there was not one British woman in that motley throng the government immediately deport any fallen English girl for over half an hour we drove as fast as possible through street after street and lane after lane before we were clear of the shrieks of invitation, the coarse clamour and the unspeakable sights of that veritable hell on earth Tennyson sings things seen are mightier than things heard I had thought the work to which I had been determined to put my hand would be difficult but I did not realise until I had actually seen it for myself the full immensity and hideous awfulness of the task a feeling of impotence crept over me what could I single handed do against so many could anyone hope to combat with any prospect of success the rampant evils of these foul quarters one could but try the best laying gods hands from that day when I first had a vision of the exceeding sinfulness of the sexual sins of Cairo with but few unavoidable exceptions I spent four hours each evening on three and sometimes five nights a week seeking to stem the foul tide of immorality that threatened to overwhelm so many of our soldiers I made a point of doing this work on those nights which immediately followed the arrival in Cairo of fresh troops whether British Australian or New Zealander and on leave nights various causes have contributed to making the Saturnalia of lust so inexpressibly evil as it was at the time which I write these hapless women flocked into the city from Port Said Alexandria the country towns of Egypt and from lands over the sea to prey upon the thousands of British and colonial troops Cairo long before the latter's arrival had always been a haven of refuge a last resort for the demimole of the various seaports of the Mediterranean two pages of text deleted its suggestion of censor what is the number of these unfortunates that is the question which has often been put to me by those who knew the kind of work in which I have been engaged I can only speak approximately of the actual numbers in Cairo there are I believe on good authority 2,300 licensed women and over 800 licensed European women exactly how many unlicensed native and European women ply their unholy trade no one can say certainly they must number thousands these licensed women European and native are for the most part herded together in a small area within close proximity to the most fashionable quarter in Cairo were it possible to give the exact total of all the licensed and unlicensed women I am persuaded the British world would stand at gas and with one voice demand the city be purified unlicensed women are everywhere in the pensions, in hotels and in the hundreds of liquor bars which infest the city despite the vigilance of the police they infest the whole community in city and suburbs alike I do not desire to discuss at length the pros and cons as to the advisability of the Egyptian system of registration of these licensed women other than to say that in my opinion more have fallen as the result of these women being able to assure the men that they were healthy and backing their assurance by the production of our certificate than through the unlicensed women who far outnumber their more favored sisters the examination of these women must be necessarily perfunctory owing to the thousands who report themselves weekly or fortnightly for that purpose and the limited number of medical men available for that unpleasant duty such an inspection may to a limited extent prevent the spread of disease but that is all that can be claimed for it any specialist in this particular form of disease will admit that the absolute impossibility of pronouncing any woman to be free from venereal complaints unless a lengthy bacteriological examination extending over many days has been undertaken if this is not done and if certificates are issued after what is necessarily an inconclusive inspection the result is only to lull men into sinning under a sense of fancy security scores of men have confessed to me that it was by the production of these certificates that they were induced to yield to the entreaties of the licensed courtesan all the present evils were accentuated by the fact that over 30,000 Australians and New Zealanders a number which was afterwards of course considerably increased were suddenly quartered within easy reach of the city of Cairo from lands where happily few sexual temptations prevail they were plunged into the vortex of a notoriously evil oriental city cooped up in transports for from six to eight weeks under what to them was severe discipline is it to be wondered at that the reaction was great that a certain proportion loosed for the first time restraints of home and of a Christian land should plunge into excess that rejoicing in their newfound liberty they should turn that liberty into license that withheld from the use of intoxicants for weeks they should in a city where nearly every shop sold liquor drink to excess the greater number nevertheless I repeat behave themselves as worthy representatives of their respective colonies over and above the causes which I have mentioned as contributing to the sad condition of affairs in Cairo was the liquor traffic had immorality been the only foe the fight would not have been one tenth as stern as it proved I speak advisedly when I state that nine tenths of a man who fell did so under the influence of strong drink alcohol anywhere tends to produce immorality this is more evident in Cairo than in any other place where I have been pure alcohol is surprisingly cheap in the espacaya and fish market there are numberless bars in one street there is one every few yards the liquor sellers act in many cases in collusion with the keepers of the houses of ill fame and freely permit the latter to use their bars as places for solicitation despite statements made to the contrary I am fully persuaded as the result of my own experience in noting the effects produced in our men that the liquor has been doped or drugged I have seen men who assured me that though they had only drunk two or three glasses they had become stupefied and remained in a comatose state for hours one case I remember in which a man a strictly moderate drinker took but two glasses of whiskey and was for eighteen hours afterwards in a state of absolute insensibility the effect produced as I noted it was to induce the normally moral man to become temporarily immoral I have time and again seen men walk into a liquor bar as sober as men could be and after one or two drinks behave like sexual maniacs I have not once but scores of times followed these men into the houses of ill fame and found them in a state of insensibility or temporary insanity and have by sheer force they could come to any harm either carried or supported them out of the brothels and sent or accompanied them to the railway station by cab or car one evening I was standing near a house of ill fame in the Especaya seeking to prevent and to a great extent succeeding in preventing men from entering when I noticed a young fresh faced New Zealander enter a bar nearly opposite he was not there more than about ten minutes when he came out evidently under the influence of liquor accompanied by a big berber who was piloting him to the evil house for which he was a pimp or tout I followed them but when I had passed a turning in the lane finding they had evidently turned down a side alley I turned to my left and was in time to see a door being shut I put my shoulder against the door burst it open upsetting the woman who had closed it and entering saw the New Zealand boy lying on a low bed insensible his head nearly on the floor whilst the berber was searching his hip pocket I promptly gave the robber a kick which sent him to the floor and turned to place the soldier's head on the pillow as I did so the berber rose and rushed at me with a drawn knife I stepped aside and caught him under the jaw with my right fist he stopped rather suddenly and gave me no further trouble the woman flew at me and before I could prevent her scratched my face rather badly when I had induced her to leave me alone I picked up the man carried him into the wag el burka 200 yards I suppose away and sent him in a cab to Zaytun he told me next morning when he regained consciousness that he had no recollection of anything that had transpired since his second glass of beer and that two beers comprised all the drinks he had had that day the GOC General Maxwell was responsible I believe for ordering the compulsory inspection of liquors the contents were analyzed and it shows how greatly adulteration was practiced when the Egyptian male some months after this inspection was instituted stated that 37% of the liquors analyzed were adulterated I am glad to say that this inspection, Wilstead did not as was scarcely to be expected entirely abolished the doping exercised a by no means inconsiderable effect in ensuring that the soldiers had pure liquor certainly the number of those who were rendered temporarily unconscious as a result of the use of liquor considerably decreased I strongly suspect however that in some cases if not in many the drug whatever it was was not in the bottle of beer or whiskey but was added to the beer when it was in the glass and consequently no analysis of the liquor in bottle or ball would reveal its presence this suspicion I have heard expressed by many soldiers who did not hesitate to state that they must have been drugged in that manner this unholy alliance which exists between the liquor seller and the prostitute is by no means confined to Egypt I know of many cases in London and other English cities one thing is certain banished the liquor and before six months have passed nine tenths of the unfortunate women would have to seek an honest means of procuring a livelihood hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers fall only because liquor has first benumbed at their judgment lessened their self-control deaden their consciences and quicken their passions end of chapter four chapter five of with the Anzacs and Cairo by Guy Thornton read by Adam Bielka this is a LibraVox recording while LibraVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibraVox.org chapter five evils of Cairo it was in the first week of 1915 that I faced the ordeal of seeking to dissuade the soldiers from entering the bad houses in the Especaya one night I had been slumming near the bottom of Klot Bay street when I saw some men all more or less under the influence of liquor going down a narrow business street that lies immediately behind the Hotel Bristol I followed them and to my great surprise found that after proceeding along the street for a few hundred yards they turned to the right and in a minute or two were in the midst of the worst slum the fish market I had up to then seen I thus quickly discovered how much greater the task I had set for myself I had at first anticipated instead of one I had two large districts in which to work subsequent research unfortunately still further increased the field of my labors weekly I discovered fresh houses outside the licensed area which it behooved me to watch with the view of preventing men from entering if possible it was a great and pleasant surprise to me to discover that hateful and loathsome as my work was the men to whom I spoke invariably took my word of warning and counseled in good part I never to use their own expression shove religion down their throats or preach to them I felt instinctively that it was no use to assume any errors of conscious superiority which to tell the truth I was far from feeling I tried to regard each man as I would a younger brother and a brother who was at that particular moment fighting his best against the terrible stress and strain of a great temptation to scold a man at such a moment would only tend to exasperate him and consequently do harm instead of good what he wanted was that word of cheer which goes far to the warming of the heart which presages victory I invariably assumed that they were fighting to the best of their ability against defeat and consequent disgrace God knew although often it was hidden it from my eyes the brave so many of them were putting up against the forces of evil without and within of course I made many mistakes but to the credit of the soldiers be it said that although I must have spoken to thousands I cannot remember more than two or three instances in which the men were offended and in each of such instances they were very very drunk one night during the first week I went up to an Australian soldier just as he was entering a house of ill repute and said to him don't you think that this is a good place to be out of he looked up and down noted my badge and then said meaningly I think so captain he paused and then resumed especially for Parsons laying great emphasis on the last few words I burst out laughing and replied you got me that time where are you Irish he assumed the most pronounced Irish brogue as he replied sure and I am that where do you come from he told me and we stood at the door laughing and cracking jokes for a few moments until the opportunity arrived for me to tell him why I had taken up this work he then said I'll do what you say your reverence I'll go home and be a good boy I try to be good I laughed and suggested we should walk together to the station which we did and parted the very best of friends I had another encounter with an Irish lad who belonged to an English regiment I happened to be standing at the entrance to one of these houses outside of which over a hundred men were waiting to enter and I spoke to each man just as he was about to cross the threshold in the majority of instances I was successful in inducing them to desist when up came this Irish soldier and said you're a great priest anyhow why I'm a Roman Catholic are you better a good Roman Catholic than a bad Protestant he had evidently mistaken me for a Roman Catholic owing I suppose to the fact that I was clean shaven but now a dim suspicion of my orthodoxy seemed to flit across his mind so he queried why are you a Roman Catholic priest no I replied I'm a Baptist minister well I'm damned I hope you won't be I said why my God if you're not a priest you're damned near good enough to be one having paid me the highest compliment in his power he left me chuckling over what he had said I have often thanked God for the saving gift of humor and persuaded that I should not have been able to bear the severe stress and strain of my slumber as long as I did had it not been possible even there to have occasionally a good laugh it is impossible to treat men as if they were turned out by machinery various men demand different methods each had his own peculiar individuality consequently I had to use every conceivable means in order to protect my desired purpose a good joke was often I found the best lover with others an appeal to their home life often touched a tender chord as in the following instance going down Diab Diab one of the worst lanes in one of the worst slums of Cairo I saw immediately in the front of me a bright face New Zealander obviously hailing from one of the country districts he evidently acting on a sudden impulse swung round to the left entered a vile berberine house of ill repute I followed him into the inner room he apparently thought I was one of his covers or companions for he didn't turn around I stepped up to him and laying my hand on his shoulder said look here my boy you wouldn't like your people at home to know that you were in a place like this would you he looked at me for a moment and recognized me his eyes fell lad he was not more than twenty he was ashamed of my seeing his tears and said God knows I wouldn't the women of whom there were two in the room broke out into a voluble in treaties but a sharp word and threatening jester quickly reduced them to frightened silence he looked slowly around the tawdry evil and filthy room at the black painted bedisoned creatures and when I said then for God's sake for your mother's sake for your own sake get away from this vile hole he gladly and willingly assented we walked together and when we came down to the Wag El Burka street he stood still and said thank you captain I want to make you a promise what is it my lad I want to promise you that I will never come near this hell again I thought I could trust myself I only came because my mates did I want to make it impossible for me to return to the Espaquia and so I promise you that I will never go to such a place or near such a quarter again a very few weeks elapsed before this boy came late one evening into my tent and yielded himself to the one who alone could save and keep the next morning he wrote to his mother telling her that he had done so and with a glad smile came up to me as I sat at the YMCA table and fleeing the letter into the letter box said that will tell them what they have longed and prayed for more than anything else his afterlife attested to the reality of the change he professed it was as may easily be imagined no easy matter to dissuade men when they were sober but I had to resort to all sorts of bruises to prevent intoxicated men from entering these vile houses many a time I spent a full half hour talking and arguing on some other subject of course with semi intoxicated men until I was able to rush them down to the station or tram assuming I am afraid a greater fear than I really felt lest they should miss their train or tram or consequently spend their night in the guard room and the following morning received from the OC that military panacea for all ills CB which is not as the non-military person might be disposed to imagine an award for merit but on the other hand a reward for demerit which entails confinement to barracks one night I had played this I trust allowable trick and had managed to persuade about six half trunks of the absolute necessity of hurrying home to avoid punishment had got them on the clot bay tram when one of them who had just enough wit left to perceive that he and his companions had been outwitted shook his forefinger solemnly before my face and said oh yes I'm drunk but not too damn drunk to know that I've been did-did with that blamed word ah I've got it diddled and you captain for all you look so blessed innocent is the bloke that's did-did-diddled us and all the way to camp he gloated over the discomforture of his covers those who have had personal knowledge of the slums of London, Paris Berlin, Naples New York, Buenos Aires and San Francisco have assured me that the moral condition of Cairo is not worse than in those cities but when I have questioned them as to whether that solicitation which is so open and so shameless in Cairo is permitted in any of the above mentioned cities they have won and all admitted that in that respect Cairo possessed an unenviable preeminence the Wagal Burqa is a street which lies in close proximity to fashionable hotels like Sheppard's and the Continental in it the appalling scenes of moral degradation can be witnessed in the broad light of the day nearly all the houses in it are occupied by licensed women nearly every window has a balcony and since many of the houses are sometimes nearly and often over 20 women may be seen in one house leaning over the balconies in every stage of undress shouting out their foul invitations to passersby this street has become one of the show places of Cairo and any afternoon after 4pm and evening thousands of soldiers promenade the street beneath gazing at and passing remarks upon these shameless creatures unhappily it became the custom for the older resident soldiers to take their newly arrived comrades to view this hideous exhibition of unblushing depravity the result is obvious many men who had no intention of falling became habituated to the foul and suggestive sights and as Pope says vice is the monster of so frightful mean as to be hated needs but to be seen it seemed too oft familiar with her face we first endure then pity then embrace so many fell and fell grievously unhappily the street is but one of the many were similar if not worse sites may be seen in broad daylight for obvious reason I cannot give in detail descriptions of the incredible sights which not only I but thousands of young soldiers have witnessed one Saturday between 11am and 1pm I piloted Colonel C.E.R. Maccassie, OC of my regiment the Auckland Mounted Rifles through these districts and he can confirm the fact of the unmentionable sights which we on that occasion witnessed the actors in this indescribable scene were without exception licensed women temptation will exist as long as this present age endures I doubt whether it would be to the advantage of mankind that it should cease but normal temptation is one thing abnormal temptation another the one is essential to goodness the other destructive of morality I venture to say that the particular temptations of which I dare do no more than hint permitted in Cairo are such as no government should tolerate for a day throughout Australia and New Zealand there has been for some time a rapidly increasing dissatisfaction that our men should be exposed to these all but overwhelming sensual temptations I take this extract from a letter received from a lady in South Australia she says we colonials have a right to demand that our men who have shown such marvellous patriotism should be protected from such extraordinary temptations as profiling Cairo and to a lesser degree in Alexandria is the burden of their cry no reason save a strategic one can justify the placing of the camps so near to the great cities the loss in numbers from disease will be republished astonish the world I desire once again to emphasize that when one knows firsthand the real magnitude of the sensualities of Cairo the marvel is that such a large proportion of our soldiers escaped unscathed I have been compelled to hint at certain things but no hints however strong can convey to a non resident any real sense of the full enormity of the iniquities of Egypt and of chapter five chapter six of With the Anzacs in Cairo by Guy Thornton recorded by Adam Bielka this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org chapter six more evils of Cairo perhaps the most insidious form of temptation is that presented in the Cancans these places are often represented by the touts as being nearly dance rooms and the invitation is generally couched in these words Cancan place very nice, very select real native dances and the unsophisticated stranger is taken to what is really a brothel of the worst type where sensuous dances are performed by either nude or very partially clad women in fact as far as I was able to learn every Cancan is a brothel and nearly every native brothel is a Cancan it is impossible to estimate the number of men who have been reached and ruined in these particular hellhouses one night down at the fish market I saw a group of 12 to 15 British New Zealanders enter a Cancan I followed them as they stood waiting for the disgusting and suggestive dance to commence and spoke to them plainly as to their absolute folly and with all the power I possessed urged them for their own good and for the sake of their people at home to come out they listened to me dumbfounded and when I had finished their natural leader thanked me and turning to the others said look here boys the old captain's on the square and it is up to us to clear out I interviewed the head woman and bluffed her into returning the money the men had paid five piesters or about one shilling each much to her disgust and their surprise I can however remember time and again having to use not only moral but physical force in clearing these Cancans of mere boys who had been induced to attend them by their vile touts I failed I think only about a dozen times in persuading men to leave these disgusting performances and in each case the majority of the men who refused to leave were very much under the influence of liquor another pest is the tout he is ubiquitous his methods may vary but his one aim is to inveigle men to these evil houses sometimes he places in the hand of a passerby an apparently innocent card which bears the address of some infamous woman often he seeks to stir up the passions of some young soldier by showing him under the pledge of the strictest secrecy the vilest of vile photographs but more often he offers to show the soldier some place where ladies very select, very pity live there must be in Cairo hundreds perhaps thousands of these despicable parasites recently I wrote this in December 1915 the police took active steps to rid the city of this class happily with some success it has always afforded me the keenest pleasure to administer well-deserved physical chastisement to members of this unholy and numerous profession when I first commenced slumming it was an easy matter to catch them red handed but as I in the nature of my work became better known it was extremely difficult I was foolishly congratulating myself on the evident fact that there was evidently fewer pimps in the espicaya after two months labour therein and it was not until I was informed by an arabic speaking Cairo gentleman who accompanied me one night on my rounds that men and boys were detailed to watch for me and my appearance anywhere reported by them was quite sufficient to make all the rest of these gentry disappear for the time being there was one tout who was only too successful in his profession I often yearned to have a touching interview with him and impatiently awaited the opportunity at last one night from the other side of the street I saw him talking to some british soldiers who were little more than boys pretending not to see him I passed on went up a side street, doubled back and keeping well in the shade I listened to him exercising all his eloquence which was great and his English which was small in the endeavour to induce them to patronize the house for which he was touting making myself appear as small as possible I advised the lads to tell him to clear out my gentleman was virtuously indignant what for you say that, good house, come on sirs addressing the soldiers he had unconsciously come too near I made a jump caught him by the scruff of his neck twisted his galabia and proceeded to administer a good shambak the soundest thrashing he had ever received he wept profusely and howled loudly at length my right arm became somewhat tired and sympathizing with him in his evident desire to leave my presence I helped him a few yards with a well placed kick and then he ran he chained away just like a whipped puppy he suddenly realized the awfulness of the torture to which he had been subjected and let out a shriek of concentrated agony it was very comical the crowd which had rapidly congregated burst into a veritable chorus of laughter there are few things an egyptian seems to enjoy more than seeing another thrashed and the last we saw of him he was still running I never saw that gentleman again unfortunately as soon as the novelty of visiting the evil native quarter had worn off the more evil disposed men began to frequent the espakaya european quarter of the city these women were as bad if not worse than their darker huge sisters their greater attractiveness of course increased the danger and more men owed their downfall and consequent disease to them than to the natives one night I was standing at the door of one of these better class egyptian houses speaking to the men as they were about to enter and seeking to dissuade them my efforts, I am thankful to say were that night crowned with considerable success out of over a hundred men who were apparently waiting to enter I do not think ten passed me as soon as my work began to tell the women came down from the rooms above and gathering behind cursed me I had been cursed before but never so heartily and certainly never in so many tongues in levant, in french, arabic italian, greek and broken english they gave full vent to their individual and collective opinion of me and needless to say their opinion was the reverse of flattering and they evinced no hesitation in calling a spade a spade if I have survived that cursing with any good opinion as to my personal appearance or character they are certainly not to blame I stood it smiling at last the fact that not a single man was entering their house the madame, the woman who owned the place as they generally did on similar occasions tried to stir up a riot she piteously appealed to the men to knock the old beggar down not to let grandfather my slum name, spoil them their pleasures and urged them to be men and show they weren't afraid of their officers I have left out certain numerous and entirely unnecessary adjectives which she garnished her speech this last appeal was absolutely unneeded for if there is an australian who is afraid of his officer or anyone or anything I have never met him three very drunk australians drew their bayonets this happened before the order was made prohibiting the men from wearing their bayonets in the city and loudly proclaiming their intention of sticking the old beggar tried to get through the crowd the riot commenced, madame was frightened jumping behind me so as to be nearer the door in safety she said, you flattened? I was a bit but was not going to let her have the satisfaction of knowing it so I replied, no me can't comprehend you English you not flattened anything not even God, I think I could not help laughing at such a statement coming as it did from such a source the men who however said to me reassuringly that's right captain, we'll stand by you and then to the crowd the old captain my name among the soldiers an evident allusion to my white hair is right, let us stick to him the small party of drunk australians were still pressing in my direction through the crowd which with a laudable and pardonable desire to see the fun, divided as quickly as possible my adherents caught them by the scruff of their necks banged their heads against the opposite wall and lending them substantial aid with the toes of their boots hurried them down to the main street the leader of my party came up to me and said, what shall we do with these blessed women I turned to the ladder and urged them to go into the house and shut the door they for the most part took my advice but those who did not were seized by their shoulders rushed into the house and urged in very strong language to stay there and keep the door shut unless they wanted trouble this advice was acted upon a considerable amount of mental and spiritual as well as physical strain resulted from a long continuance of this work the insufferable and indescribable stench was nauseating in the extreme after hours of walking and talking in the espicaya or fish market it was a great relief to leave the whores of the slums and breathe once more the pure air of the European quarter in Cairo at night when I reached my tent I was too tired to sleep this at last told on my health to such an extent that I became subject to serious internal troubles and the PMO ordered me to cease from the slum work it was with a sad heart that I perforced acquiesce to the MO's decision loathsome and unwholesome as were my labors I had grown to prize wonderfully the privilege of being able in some degree to help our lads in the time of their great temptations another reason increased my grief at having to relinquish this work and that was this during the first few months I met with great opposition was often mobbed by the pimps and their satellites and on two occasions nearly stabbed but during the last five months I had met with practically no opposition from either the women pimps or soldiers in fact on the contrary many of the latter constituted themselves as the official bodyguard I tender to them my heartiest thanks some of them I know laid down their lives on the peninsula but others are at the present February 1916 still on active service I cannot speak too highly of the way in which the men met my overtures never unless very very intoxicated did they resent my interference often in fact hundreds of times they voluntarily thanked me for what they were good termed my real interest in them the roughest and toughest among them have on many occasions shown their appreciation one such man urged me to accept a large sum of money as a token of his gratitude and was genuinely hurt when I of course refused although I was denied the privilege of seeing service on Gallipoli despite my earnest endeavors to get there I am in a position to bear my willing and hearty tribute to the magnificent results evident in Cairo which followed the splendid labors of the New Zealand Padres at the front they were Chaplain Major Luxford Methodist whose courtesy consideration and absolute fairness peculiarly qualified him for the position of senior chaplain an ambulance orderly told me that when this Padre was being carried down the hill wounded nigh unto death he begged the stretcher bearers to put him down and take in his place a private who was not nearly so seriously injured Chaplain Major Grant Presbyterian one of God's gentlemen who laid down his life in an enemy trench seeking to save the wounded Chaplain Captain Dor Roman Catholic of my own regiment the Auckland Mounted Rifles who by his merry Irish wit cheered many during the dark hours and in his absolute unselfishness and fearlessness won the regard of all he was wounded severely and is partially paralyzed as the result Chaplain Captain Taylor Anglican whose frail looking frame concealed indomitable spirit and whose faithful and long continued labors despite wounds and disease attested his devotion to his master and to the men he served so well Chaplain Captain Bush King Anglican of whose work the men speak so highly and last but not least Chaplain Captain King Presbyterian who I believe put in a longer period of service than any other Chaplain on the peninsula their respective churches may be reasonably proud of their representatives and I though a base Padre perhaps to avoid misunderstanding I had better say a Chaplain at the base bear testimony to the fact that in many cases the changed attitude to religion manifested by the returned soldiers was due to the practical Christianity they had seen exemplified in the lives of the Padres and Christian men at the front I know I reaped where they had sewn and from the time when the wounded and sick turned to Cairo my work in the slums was aided by the evidently increased respect for the Padre the men had in addition been face to face night and day with death and consequently they viewed life from a new standpoint they had perforce considered eternal verities and were in consequence much more disposed to listen to the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ I was agreeably surprised to note the keen and intelligent interest that such a large number evinced in things Egyptian when a lecture on Egypt was announced to be held at any camp YMCA the tent was certain to be crowded many became in a surprisingly short time remarkably well informed as to the history of the various ruins etc it was impossible to visit any relics of antiquity without meeting crowds of soldiers others became ardent and in several cases fairly successful curio hunters the Zaytun camp is pitched as I have already said on a portion of the site of the old university city of on Oman Huffle must be about 5000 years old less than half a mile away was the old cemetery of on in this cemetery our boys were fortunate enough to unearth not merely the common mummy beads but objects of real historical worth and value which with the colonials eye to business they sold at good prices to the museum encouraged by their success I hired two Arabs borrowed three shovels and on a burning hot summer afternoon commenced an excavation at which I judged to be a promising tomb we dug and perspired perspired and dug and at last our united labors resulted in one mummy bead half the size of a wax match which I promptly lost one private of the Auckland Mounted Rifles discovered a fairly large marble covered with hieroglyphics for which he received 14 pounds and Otago lad I cannot vouch for the exact truth of this was so fortunate as to unarth the ring of the executioner of on for which he received over 100 pounds every time I visited the great Cairo Museum at Bullock there were scores of soldiers examining with the greatest interest the various great statues and mummies notably that of the supposed pharaoh of the exodus and I was always called upon to explain how it was possible for the pharaoh who they invariably asserted had been drowned in the Red Sea to be lying there before them my explanation was firstly that it is possible for a man to be drowned and his body recovered and mummified secondly that neither Moses nor the inspired Miriam record that pharaoh was drowned had he no they would have scarcely failed to mention it also I pointed out that possibly pharaoh like many another king stayed in a safe place when the conflict was impending or perhaps it would be more charitable to assume that with the egotism which seemed to be the heritage of those high places he realized how intensely valuable his life was to his people and declined to endanger their welfare by risking such a valuable national asset hundreds of boys when on leave used to congregate at the muski examining and buying quaint eastern curios it is a libel to accuse them all as has been done of spending their pay on riotous living some did but the vast majority did not I say without fear of contradiction that tens of thousands of pounds were spent procuring gifts for the old folks and some of the young folk too especially those of the pharaoh sex time and again I have known men to be unable to buy even the cheapest articles at the ymca because as they explained their last pay had been expended in the purchase of presses for loved ones in the homelands the citadel built by saladin usually called saladin the mighty and worthy antagonist of our king richard the first was one of the favorite resorts of our men thousands of men nightly took advantage of the splendid facilities afforded them by the ymca and spent their evenings in the tents at concerts, lectures or writing letters every cinema in the city and suburbs was literally packed with soldiers and each concert and theatrical entertainment was liberally patronized I mentioned these facts to show that instead of a large proportion of our men nightly visiting the slums as has been alleged only a very small percentage were in the habit of so doing had all made a practice of going down the espakaya and fish market scarcely have been standing room in those districts I am certain that not 5% of our colonial troops made a habit of frequenting these evil slums End of Chapter 6 Chapter 7 of With the Anzacs and Cairo by Guy Thornton This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Adam Bielka Chapter 7 What Should Be Done Description of conditions so deplorable naturally leads to suggestions towards remedying them The following points are therefore put forward for consideration by all who feel deeply the need that something should be done 1. All those districts that at present are to all intents and purposes set aside for licensed vice should be cleansed All licensed women should be deported from the country This is not only possible since it has been done under similar conditions elsewhere but eminently reasonable The only way to cure a cancer is to excise it Failing this should the authorities considered absolutely essential to the well-being health and happiness If the city that such a parade of vice should continue to exist then let them remove these women to a more remote part of the city They at present reside where they can ply their unholy trade to the highest possible advantage 3. In case the authorities do not deport them or remove them from their present favorite strategic position then surely what they did at Alexandria is practicable in Cairo a district out of bounds to troops and enforce the prohibition 4. Deliberate determined and persistent efforts should be made to prohibit solicitation by word or act on part of either women or touts This has been done to great advantage in many parts of the colonies and there is no reason on earth why a strong government could not do it here In New Zealand for example a case of solicitation is there Of course objections will be raised It is worthwhile stating some of the stock difficulties in order to meet them at once with adequate answers First, it is impossible to deport these women They must live somewhere The latter I grant I have no objection to their living but a great objection to the way they make their living If they persist in pursuing their present trade If it is impossible to deport them how then did the authorities cleanse other eastern cities which had as unsavory a reputation as that which now obtains in Cairo Let us look at the question from another point of view The authorities say by their actions It is impossible to cleanse Cairo But is it impossible? It only requires the present state of affairs to continue to ensure thousands of British troops being poisoned by a foul disease and to disseminate as they no doubt will that disease in hundreds of places where it is at present practically nonexistent Second It would cost too much to remove these women to a more remote position in the city Let us consider what it costs the British nation if one Australian or New Zealander contracts this disease in its worst form First It means that when every man is needed for the defense of the empire one man is lost far better for him and his had he died Secondly that one man has cost in equipment training, proportional cost in military administration transport, food, upkeep et cetera et cetera at least 250 pounds multiply that sum by many hundreds and perhaps thousands and the sum total will be I fear appalling present the existence of these licensed and unlicensed women is a menace to the safety of the empire they have lost the British army in actual fighting power I leave to the proper authorities to say how many regiments that body of men efficient might win a battle that would decide a campaign which might end gloriously the whole war useless they are not only a terrible drag but entail an enormous unnecessary expenditure the toleration of these women cost parents in shame and sorrow over the fall of promising sons disgrace, disease and death have befallen many men who under normal temptations would have remained straight but under the indescribably abnormal temptations of the Esbekaya and fish market districts have succumbed Third declaring the districts out of bounds is useless it could not be enforced it has been done in Alexandria discipline is useless if it cannot be enforced extend the powers of the pickets get picked men to form a permanent picket and instead of using them as is done only to search these houses at certain hour for drunks and outlates let them prevent these men from entering the districts the fence is of more use at the top of the cliff than the ambulance at the bottom Fourth with the native police it is impossible to prevent solicitation another plea made to me by a highly placed Egyptian official an Englishman perhaps so I am inclined to believe it since with my own eyes I have seen nude European and native women within two yards of a laughing native policeman indulge in indescribably vile and filthy contortions in the open street and in the full light of day but let a dozen honest British policemen report each case they see and let the magistrates severely punish these women and they would cease to be importun remember the greatest danger is from the hundreds of European women for it is a fact that the evil native women of Cairo do not make their main living from soldiers but from natives and the same holds true to a lesser extent of the European women as I have already stated in November 1915 the police commenced a crusade against the touts they were caught and flogged no mercy should have been shown to these vile parasites flogging is not enough flogging coupled with hard labour for a long period might and I believe would prove efficacious the government have in several cases to my knowledge prohibited certain women of the undesirable class from landing in Egypt and have prosecuted and punished agents of this infamous white slave traffic martial law this power could be exercised in the wholesale deportation of these women to the lands from which they came failing that it would be infinitely cheaper to isolate them than to license them to be a menace to the health of thousands of British troops in Egypt remember that one in these pages I have written only about Cairo of Alexandria I have little personal knowledge two unless this deplorable condition of affairs in Egypt is once and for all remedied for generations to come thousands upon thousands of British troops will will Stongarrison duty be subjected to the same temptations as obtain now the past is irremediable the present is our opportunity let us say this evil must go and posterity will benefit for their good for the honour of our beloved empire for the sake of God and good let us do right note to above except these few lines nearly every word of this small book was penned in Egypt when I was partially recovering from enteritis and colitis since my arrival in England I have seen for the first time and have been appalled by the moral condition of London and nearly all the large towns in Great Britain not one but scores of our soldiers have remarked to me that the immorality so openly displayed in certain parts of London willst not as open and hideous as in Egypt is simply awful and it is certain that their old time reverence for the homeland has received a terrible shock I have sought with some success to do for our men in London what I did in Cairo and have been unspeakably surprised at the criminal negligence by the authorities an Australian soldier said to me it looks to me as if there were the women who paid the police and not the government they the police are either blind to the open solicitation or paid not to try to stop it are we at war or are we playing at war one is almost inclined to think the latter from the fact that in this present time of crisis these women are permitted is it going too far to say encouraged to ply their hideous trade and to render useless thousands and thousands of our soldiers by infecting them with a foul disease why should not each woman who is known and the police should know to earn her living by either in whole or in part by these means be sent to a special munitions work there to help to end the war instead of doing as at present more harm to our forces than the greatest defeat would entail we believe in the liberty of the subject but not a liberty that means license to prey upon our gallant men we are fighting for freedom and if we are going to win we must first cope with this terribly insidious vice that is a cancer corrupting the whole nation I know there are some who will say you can't make men virtuous by act of parliament if that is the case why prohibit theft murder arson etc one thing is certain that our soldiers British and colonial deserve the government's best help in removing from our midst the fearful temptations of the London streets it has been done elsewhere it can be done here banish drink and with it or very soon after it prostitution will all but disappear drink as every doctor of note will readily admit one causes lack of self control two diminishes the power of discerning right from wrong i.e. deadens conscience three quickens those passions of which I have been speaking Sir Victor Horsley said to me in Alexandria that 9 out of 10 of the men who are to be found in the venereal barracks are there as the result of drink for my own personal experience in Egypt I believe he underestimated rather than overestimated the percentage is England to be the last great country to banish from its midst this drink traffic that seemingly has its tentacles around government church and society this traffic cannot be mended it must be ended to win this war it should be ended now end of chapter 7