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
"While we were smiling at the misery of the Englishman the perspiration
was oozing out of us at every pore, in consequence of the great warmth
of the place. 'Our turn next,' Fred whispered, as our attendants began
to manipulate our limbs, to find out whether they were in a proper
condition for operating on.
"Fred was right, as our tellaks evidently considered us sufficiently
cooked for their purpose. They began by kneading us with their hands and
knuckles, and went over our bodies so vigorously that we thought they
would make holes in our flesh, though they didn't do anything of the
sort. Then they rubbed us down with brushes, and left us a few minutes;
the rubbing and kneading increased the flow of perspiration, and when
this had gone on long enough, they made us sit on little wooden frames
close to a fountain in one of the side alcoves. Then they soaped our
heads and rubbed them vigorously with their hands, and kept pouring on
water while the rubbing was progressing; they repeated the operation
twice, and then brought some fibres of palm-leaves, which they used with
soap and water for polishing our limbs, and they finished the
performance with the brush, just as they had done with the Englishman.
"The brushing was the severest part of the process, and was followed by
great quantities of water thrown over us till we were thoroughly rinsed.
The water was warm enough to be quite comfortable, and sometimes a
little too warm, but we said nothing, as we wanted to have the bath just
as it is given to others. Basin after basin of warm water was poured
over us, and finally we were wrapped in dry towels that completely
covered us, and thick towels were folded around our heads till we looked
like turbaned Turks. Then we were taken to our couches, where we rested,
and became cool enough to go out-of-doors again with safety.
[Illustration: THE BARBER.]
"Coffee was brought to us as soon as we lay down, and we found it very
refreshing. We stayed there at least half an hour before the guide
suggested that it would be safe to dress and go back to the hotel. We
felt a little weak and weary, but had the satisfaction of knowing that
we were as clean as water, soap, heat, and scrubbing could make us. A
barber tried to do up our hair, but did not succeed very well, as the
Oriental head-dressing is not exactly like our own. But he was desirous
of making himself useful, and so we let him try his skill.
[Illustration: THE BATH AMONG THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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