The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part Fourth: Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey to Egypt and the Holy LandKnox, Thomas Wallace
General
The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part Fourth: Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey to Egypt and the Holy Land
Knox, Thomas Wallace
Egypt -- Description and travel -- Juvenile literature; Palestine -- Description and travel -- Juvenile literature
The journal kept by the youths contained the following record of their
adventures in the bazaars:
"In the bazaar of the jewellers, or rather of the gold and silver
smiths, we saw the men at work with implements as primitive as those of
the jewellers of India. The bellows of the silversmith was nothing more
than a conical bag of goat-skin open at one end, where the air was
pumped in by a skilful manipulation of a pair of handles. At the other
end was an iron tube, which carried the air to a lump of clay supporting
a charcoal fire. A few hammers and pincers constituted the entire 'kit'
of the workman, but with them he managed to turn out articles of many
different shapes. We were told that strangers are liable to be swindled,
as the dealers often sell plated-ware and declare it is solid, and the
government stamp to indicate its genuineness cannot be relied on. When a
wealthy native desires an article of fine gold or silver he buys the
metal, and then has the jeweller go to his house and work directly under
his eye, so that there can be no cheating.
[Illustration: KITCHEN UTENSILS.]
"From the jewellers' bazaar we went to the 'Sook-en-Nahhasin,' or bazaar
of the coppersmiths, where we saw some trays of copper and brass, and a
great many pots and utensils for the kitchen and domestic use generally.
We bought a couple of ink-and-pen holders, such as the Arabs write with:
there is a long handle for containing the little reeds which they use as
pens, and a bottle at the end for holding ink. The apparatus is stuck
into the waist-belt, and you see it worn by a great many people.
[Illustration: BASIN AND EWER.]
"There were many shapes and sizes of the kitchen utensils, and all were
made of brass or copper. There were tongs and shovels very much like our
own stewpans, with and without handles, and a little pot with a long
handle, in which they make coffee. One of the prettiest things we saw
for household use was a basin and ewer, or pitcher, for washing the
hands after dinner. The Doctor explained the manner of using it, and
said it was carried round the table by a servant, who poured water on
the hands of each guest, and allowed it to run into the basin after the
ablution was performed. There is a perforated cover in the centre of the
basin, and it has a cup in the top for holding a ball of scented soap.
The ewer has a long slender spout opposite the handle, and there is a
perforated cover to keep out the flies and other undesirable things.
[Illustration: BOTTLE FOR ROSE-WATER.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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