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CHAPTER XXV
The Arab Hammam—A Classical Turkish Bath
THE
manager of the principal hotel in Cairo assured
me that there was not a single Turkish bath, or any
other kind of bathing establishment in Cairo to which an
ordinarily fastidious European could go. He may have been
misinformed, but he was very certain. He said, "You can't
get a bath that you could go to outside of an hotel."
This is the more extraordinary because when Edward
Lane published his book upon Modern Egyptians many
years ago there were between sixty and seventy Turkish
baths patronised by natives, and there must be many more
now, since Cairo has increased so immensely in size.
It is true that rich natives have a private Jiammam in their
own mansions, and this of course makes it more difficult to
keep going Jiannnanis good enough for Europeans ; many expensive
institutions in Egypt would have to close to-morrow
if it were not for the support of extravagant natives. On
the other hand it may be urged that the Arabs, who have
baths in their own mansions, go to the public baths a good
deal because they meet their friends there : and sometimes, as
on the occasion of a wedding, they hire an entire public bath.
The hainnia7ns of Cairo had a great attraction for me.
I often went into one with AH as we passed down an old
street in the native quarter when he told me that it was
ancient or beautiful, but he never would let me take a
bath in them. " Might have trouble," he said, when I looked
as if I was going to suggest it, incidentally corroborating
the hotel-keeper.
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