"We Were Quartered in Cairo About 3 Months..."

Photograph of the Kobri el Gezira Bridge. Built by the French engineer Linant de Bellefonds in 1872,  it was an iron bridge crossing the Nile and was able to swing open in the middle to allow for boat traffic to pass through. You can see the beautiful lattice work on the sides that Charles King commented on. It was demolished in 1931 and replaced by the Kasr el Nil Bridge in 1933. Bellefonds was also the chief engineer of the Suez Canal. 

 https://www.rct.uk/collection/2581390/kobri-el-gezira-bridge-cairo-egypt

https://egyptianstreets.com/2019/05/24/cairos-bridges-over-time-tracing-a-history-of-construction/

Part II page 5

  (last line of page 4) "...It was on entering Cairo that early morning that I first had a glimpse of the mode of the Mahomadan....(Page 5)...Religion & I think I ought to say that I learnt something by this incident that I have not forgotten.  I mean the strictness of their devotion.  Mahomadens as a whole are a Religious people of such a character as we do not approve of but such as their ideas convey them & the traditions which they follow, they are extremely scrupulous.  Before a Mahomaden begins to worship it is always his rule to wash his feet, for the idea of worshipping with unclean feet is altogether contrary to their methods. Wherever you see a Mahomaden commence his devotion, you will notice that he will turn his face in the direction of Mecca; where Mahomed is supposed to be buried, in a metal coffin which is supposed to have been magnatised (sic) & attracted to the ceiling of his tombe which to them was a proof that he was the true son of god...

Part II Page 6

...for although the Mahomedans do not believe in our Savour (sic) yet they seem to have a faint idea of a supreme being above.  The train that brought us from Alexandria brought up in the Middle of the square of Kasr-el-nil Barracks were (where?) we were to await orders for it was not known definately (sic) whether we should proceed directly up the Nile or not, so without being quartered we stayed for some hours in the blazing sun & eventually orders was received that we were to take up quarters at Kasr-el-nil to await further orders.  The barracks to which I have made reference are situated on the bank of the Nile which passes through Cairo and Cairo proper is connected with the opposite shore called El-Ghezer (Gezira?) by a lattice work iron swing bridge of French construction. Many places in and around Cairo are worthy of just passing notice although....

Part II Page 7

  ...I shall not have time to deal fully with them all & as they are of interest & importance it will be a pleasure to me at some future to give you a lecture & if possible to illustrate it with the Magic Lantern, dealing more fully with the subject I am now only galloping over.  Cairo is the Residential City of the Ruler of Egypt who at that time was Mohomed Tewfick Pascha, not at all a bad sort of man and I think if I remember rightly was a Christian.  The present ruler Abbas Pascha was then a lad who has a brother rather younger than himself & I have see(n) the both of them out riding together...  I have also had the pleasure of seeing Tewfick Pascha I saw him once riding through the streets of Cairo with an escort of Egyptian Calvary & runners ahead. I may here explain that runners in Egypt, are men who are employed by persons of any note to run before... 

Part II Page 8

...the carriage.  They are of course famed for their work & some of them are very swift runners & can endure to run for a long while, in fact their qualification for a situation is their swiftness & endurance.  They are supposed to run several yards ahead of the carriage & carry a long staff in their hand held in a vertical position & shout as they go through the streets or roads in order that no stoppages may occur to the carriage following. Sometimes I have seen several soldiers out for a lark, & engage a Landau & pair which you may do for 1/. or 1/6 according to distance & of course to make things more complete, engage a runner at about 4 peasters-10 (piastres?)  to run before them. Imagine the fun. 

The Palace & gardens of Abdin (Abdeen) the Residence of the Khedive are worthy of notice as apart from European structures there are no buildings of any note with the....

Part II Page 9

 ...exception of the Public Buildings & Residences of great men.  There are also Esbikiah Gardens situated in the centre of the City where one can go & spend a very pleasant time if they have the leisure.  The Gardens are nicely laid out & contain among other attractions a very nice Lake on which you can go for a row in a boat.  The gardens is also provided with a beautiful Band stand from which is discoursed lovely music on alternate days by English & Egyptian bands in the garrison.  The gardens are very popular among all classes of residents, for the high class Egyptians and nearly all the European population in Cairo are fond of Amusements.  There is an Opera house called the Khedivial, in Cairo, several very good hotels notably "Shepards"...The General Post Office is a fine place & very....

  Part II Page 10

 ...busy as you may suppose as Cairo is inhabited by almost every nationality of Europe as well as many others.  The American Missionary Society have their headquarters at Cairo & very fine premisses (sic) they have there. They have as well as schools & lecture rooms a refreshment room where I have been several time when in Cairo--to pass a few hours away.  The Nonconformist in the City among the English troops used to attend religious service at this place.  There is also an English Church at Cairo and as large perportion (sic) of the European population are Roman Catholic... They have a very nice church of their own. Our English Hospital is situated in the Citadel & a very fine place we have there... the wards are lofty & well ventilated and the decorations in some of the wards are superb. The building occupied for the hospital was originally the Palace.....

Part II Page 11

 ...The citadel is on the highest ground in Cairo & from it you have a very fine birds eye view of the city which lies to the west of the citadel or perhaps a little northwest.  Abbysaih Barracks lies immediately to the north of the citadel & is almost isolated.  It is the cavalry depot of Egypt & they have plenty of ground to practise (sic) on as the surroundings are nothing but desert land.  Altogether Cairo is not a bad place but were I to dwell longer in describing it I should miss the chance of going up the Nile & thus deprive you of some of the most interesting parts of my trip.  We were quartered in Cairo about 3 months after we arrived and then we were sent off by detachments......"

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 Charles' observations of the Mohammedan bear some comment. Charles used the spelling  Mahomaden which is a variant of Mohammedan.  It was used as both a noun and an adjective, and was a term for a follower of Muhammad the Islamic prophet. It also meant belonging or related to either Muhammad or the religion, doctrines and practices he established. The word was formally commonly used, but the terms Muslim and Islamic are used today, as the term Mohammedan is now viewed as being archaic and offensive.  Charles obviously viewed Muslim practices from the  Victorian Anglo -Christian lens of his day. Christianity permeated politics and often drove social reform at that time.  It was natural from his standpoint to think that being a practicing Muslim was a character flaw that was not approved of, and there was hope yet that the Muslim peoples would eventually be converted to a more "acceptable" religious way of life. Wikipedia: Mohammaden

   There was also a strange belief at the time that Mohammed's coffin was indeed held up by God and was suspended in the air.  Magnets were used to explain this phenomena by some.  B.J. Palmer was the founder of chiropractic medicine in the 1880's and was considered a magnetic healer.  He traveled extensively in the 1920's and in 1926 wrote  'Round the World with B.J. in which he briefly touched on this Muslim belief.  

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 Kasr el nil Barracks (background)  and the Kobri el Gazira/Kasr el nil bridge (foreground) date unknown, but prior to 1931.  The bridge spans the Nile River and takes you to the island of Gezira.   Pinterest

Mohamed Tewfik Pasha was the Khedive of Egypt and the Sudan from 1879 and 1892. 
 Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Runners in front of a horse drawn carriage circa 1907 Postcard.  Ebay

The Citadel in Cairo, Egypt. Photograph taken in the late 1800's. Public Domain. 

The Citadel was originally a medieval Islamic era fortification and further developed over time by Egyptian rulers.  It was used by the British Army as a garrison and base in the mid 1800's until 1946.  The Citadel is now open to the public as a museum and is a major tourist site.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_Citadel