THE CALL OF CAIRO

[Music] this is the Caravan of golden dreams transporting you and me to the land of the pyramids the banks of the River Nile to answer the call of an ancient people who live in one of the world's most exotic cities listen listen to the call of Cairo [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] tonight the call of Cairo across the Seven [Applause] [Music] Seas the Jack Douglas true television series in association with Bing Crosby Productions across the Seven Seas combining the different worlds of Travel and Adventure and presenting tonight Sundown a tour of the world's most exciting cities after the Shadows Fall [Music] there are some so-called Travel Experts who will tell you not to come here they will tell you that today Cairo is a modern city as modern in many respects as New York or London and they will say that if you've seen New York or London why bother seeing Cairo well to be sure Cairo is a modern city and yet if there's one thing I'd like to do in my lifetime it is to answer the call of Cairo for if we look beyond the obvious The Towering skyscrapers the white boulevards the 20th century apartment buildings we will find a city and a People rich in Tradition ancient in culture powerful in contrast colorful almost Beyond Compare when when daylight ends and the Shadows Fall the hard look of the 20th century seems to vanish with a sun our first destination the Cairo Museum helps us to turn back the pages of time to the early beginnings of a great civilization a lone guard on night Duty shuffled slowly past the coffins of the 30th Dynasty to the Roman Greco ERA this is the famous King Tut coffin of wood covered with gold the pharaoh who lived 13 centuries before the great [Music] Caesar the scarred Sphinx and the Monumental pyramids the most incredible engineering achievement in Mankind's history are located just a few miles from the city and at about 4:30 p.m. chairs are placed in rows in front of the Sphinx these flood lights seem ugly and out of place by day but wait by 7:30 the audience has been seated and the voices of the past speak of the days of sun gods and Glory the heavens Sovereign of Eternity with each New Dawn I see the sun god rise on the far Bank of the night this tape machine in a nearby cave is responsible for the voices of the narrators and the music and as the voices continue this elaborate panel controls the banks of colored lights that make the Sphinx and pyramids so real as to bring about the expected ooze and a from the audience I saw Anthony and Cleopatra pass Alexander Caesar and Napoleon paused at my feet as my motto I chose an Arab say the world fear time but time fears the [Music] pyramids only a few miles away look for a small band of riders and minstrels Who present the dancing horses of the Desert Sands and if you have your youngsters with you you're liable to spend the night the dancing horses oh [Music] [Laughter] [Music] in the same vicinity about 3 miles from the pyramids The Traveler will find one of the world's most unusual nightclubs a man-made Oasis in the middle of the desert the entertainment is pulsating these are dancers from the Sudan [Music] [Music] you [Music] the whirling dervish [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] this statuesque Oriental dancer is 6 ft tall [Music] [Music] against [Music] [Music] [Applause] at the end of the 2-hour show which runs without interruption by the way the performers invite the audience to join the fun so while the owner crosses his fingers the place Goes Wild [Music] cairo's movie industry is in its infancy but growing rapidly but since the directors and actors have other jobs during the day most movies are made between 8:00 p.m. and the hours of dawn this particular movie is entitled the singer of the mountain and in one of the early scenes the Sheik of the castle searches for the woman he loves and hopes to [Music] marry alas the Sheik has a Ral for the hand of the lovely desert girl at first the Chic is indignant but what can he do the fellow happens to be his house guest so the Sheik takes it out on the poor innocent Maiden Mass mic and he ends up consoling his rival which is more sensible and safer than a sword fight the memories of other centuries are to be found everywhere in Cairo this large residence now established as a museum dates back several hundred years and in those days it was not uncommon for men of wealth to maintain a harm and to entertain lavishly in the these rich surroundings this ghostly figure emerging from the past is the wife of the wealthy owner and we follow her back in time as she enters her master's quarters there is his huge chair virtually a throne a handsome Furnishing of inlaid Mosaic and all that the eye can see is Beauty and [Music] richness suddenly we're back in the 18 [Music] [Applause] [Music] Century now unseen by her husband his guest and the Haram dancers the wife approaches what appears to be a doorway she lifts a latch and reveals what appears to be a cupboard a place to store teapots and vases but watch a concealed latch reveals that this is indeed a doorway a secret passage to an upstairs chamber and from this carefully designed chamber the wife is able to see all without being seen to hear all without saying a word this is the courtesy granted her by her husband hband and [Music] [Applause] master see all and be unseen hear all and say nothing she also was once Enchanted by the call of Cairo there's much more in store for us ladies and gentlemen when we resume our journey we'll continue in just a few moments [Music] in [Music] [Music] [Music] the last of the five daily Muslim prayers has ended and the fading Sun sinks into temporary Oblivion it is the holy month of Ramadan a month during which no muslim may eat or drink from sunup to sun down each day during the month of Ramadan a cannon is fired to Signal the end of fasting the boom of the cannon is broadcast over radio and television the cannon is the signal for breakfast at roughly 7 or 8:00 p.m. the first meal of the day during Ramadan lunch will be eaten at about midnight and some will eat supper Before Dawn there is more to Ramadan than fasting and feasting for Ramadan more than any other Muslim month is a time for renewing old friendships so that big breakfasts and dinners are the accepted rule after the first meal of the day the children celebrate Ramadan with a custom that is centuries old but is found only in the United Arab Republic they light lanterns in the shapes of toy airplanes or multi-pointed stars and go from house to house chanting songs it's similar to the American Halloween tradition of trick or treat now watch the genuine affection with which these young Arab children are treated by the woman of this particular house this woman must certainly love children very much and from a basket a handful of sweets to each [Applause] youngster at sundown after the Shadows Fall these are the sights and sounds of the Native Bazaar hanel KH [Music] in theory at least The Fez has been abolished but old Customs are the hardest to break and The Fez maker in the bazaar still does a thriving business selling mainly however to older men and naturally The Travelers herbs and spices are freshly ground at canel KH using a technique that dates back at least to days of the Pharaohs but oh when you step into that tea shop we haven't had anything like it here since butter was sold in tubs and coffee beans were displayed in burlap bags the aroma is maddening this brightly lighted edifice is a department store holding an annual sale but just next door is the small GFA Factory GFA is a Ramadan specialty made from a batter of flour and water and cooked over charcoal on a large brass tray mixed with sugar or other sweets It's used as a base for Ramadan desserts [Music] this is an absolute must on your visit to Cairo the King Solomon shop and somehow women seem to find this place almost by Instinct oh it's lovely of course it's uh it's all done by hand you see with Ivory and mother of PE I would like to have one just little bit larger in this how long it will take to make a piece like this it will take nearly 2 month two months yes beautiful P because you know this this is all inlaid by by hand and it takes a long time to have a piece like this then but uh if you like something like this for example this is copper with silver it's much easier we can have one made and it will not take nearly 2 months it will take 2 weeks 2 3 weeks at the most oh I think this beautiful I like this one if you like then we can have one made for you all right okay also at the King Solomon the ladies will be interested in exquisitely hand fashioned costume jewelry the factory is part of the premises several rooms on the second floor this is a huge copper tray inlaid with silver over such as we saw a few moments ago the older man using a small sharp chisel Hollows out the design now that coil of wire is silver wire and the Young Apprentice Taps it gently to fill the carved Hollows and that's how they make silver inlaid objects [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] these Artisans are also noted for fine Mosaic wooden platters patiently the boy arranges the thousands of pieces of ivory needed to make just one tray finally after days and weeks of work the completed design is carefully ground to remove sharp spots and the finished platter will look like this after a shopping spree The Traveler will probably make a beeline for the Omar kayam restaurant one of cairo's finest the shishkabob is a gourmet's delight but wait until you've sampled the shrimp this shrimp from the Red Sea is so big that it's called Ram shrimp after the great Pharaoh and I One [Music] this is lemon sauce Special Sauce the [Music] shrimps it's an easy name to remember for a feast you'll never forget neon signs have always fascinated me especially Neons that combine English with a foreign language and here are a few samples from downtown Cairo the Hotel Continental features European entertainment in Cairo the entertainment is either native or european with almost no exceptions [Music] the stereo Club is the favorite of the younger set and Lebanese dishes are the main attraction that is next to the music the club is located not in Cairo but near the pyramids and as for the music well as the name of the club implies it's all stereo and no Orchestra what's worth noticing here however is how well groomed and dressed these youngsters are and Isn't it nice to see young adults dressing and acting like [Music] adults for the average middle class family nothing beats a Moonlight sale on the Nile they'll rent a sail rigged Fuca hire a few musicians bring aboard a charcoal broiler and shish kebab and it's like a chapter out of the Arabian Knights a young boy slaps a tambourine and the older men sing the songs of their fathers and mothers their grandfathers and grandmothers and sometimes when half a dozen of these phucas are Rippling the Waters of the Nile you can hear the music and the chanting even in downtown Cairo this is the true Cairo indeed this is the call of Cairo [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] know for [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you know ladies and gentlemen the real magic of Cairo is that it offers different charms to different people The Scholar can spend years in this city without learning all that he wishes to learn or to see all that is worth seeing for the budget conscious traveler Cairo is perhaps the most comprehensive bargain on the face of the Earth here in one package is Africa and Europe Antiquity and air conditioning America and the Exotic color of the middle and Far East well our 30-minute tour has come to an end so until next week thank you so much and good night ladies and gentlemen boys and girls ladies and gentlemen in my humble opinion the call of Cairo is the finest travel film I have ever seen for the privilege of presenting this film to you I am deeply indebted to the world's greatest living documentary photographer our own brilliant Tom McHugh and our thanks also to the officials of the United Arab Republic for their gracious and generous Hospitality to our camera Caravan