Egyptian Tents and Panels
Information and Photos sent to Quilter's Muse Publications
from a Reader - Mark Robertson Shaw
Date: November 19, 2007
Subject: Egyptian Appliqués with Provenance
I read with great interest your article on Egyptian appliqué with considerable interest as we have four in the family. They were purchased in 1909 by Morton Edgar who wrote several books on the Great Pyramid and its Passages.
These were from unpublished notes and letters of Morton Edgar that (said that) the pieces were the panels from their dining tent that was supplied by Abdul Salam Faid.
From Morton Edgars' book comes this about his tents and the tent contractor. We had one of the tents until the 1960s.
Written at Giza Plateau in 1909 by Morton Edgar
I applied for and obtained permission to erect tents on the plateau as close to the Great Pyramid as the nature of the ground will allow ... Our tents are situated right on the edge of the Pyramid plateau, overlooking the large Mena House Hotel and the tramway car terminus. From here I can see a long distance over the flat Delta of Lower Egypt and the eight miles to the east the domes and minarets of Cairo ... My large trunk (kindly lent to me by Brother Stewart of Glasgow) was brought from Cairo on the back of a camel. My tent promises to be fairly comfortable ...
Wednesday, 9 June 1909
Last night on Judah's recommendation, I transferred my tent hire to another contractor, Abdul Salam Faid, an experienced man providing tents for the government-- workers, doctors of Cairo, and the principal excavators in Egypt. At present, he has a tent erected close to the north west corner of the Great Pyramid, where a lady doctor from Cairo lodges at night. He is a personal friend of Professor Alex. Fergusson.
My present tent is a vast improvement on the other, and the price is only slightly greater. It measures about 13 feet in diameter, is 6 feet high round the sides, and is 12 feet high in the centre. The double roof shuts out the sun's rays, a very desirable thing in Egypt; the beds are provided with mosquito nets, and the ground covered with carpets. There is a chest of drawers in each one of them. One of the tents is used as a dining room and a smaller one alongside as a kitchen. At sunrise, a donkey carries water from the well at Mena House Hotel ... I am certainly glad I listened to Judah's advice ... had I gone to Mr. Faid, at the beginning, I should have saved considerable trouble.
Wednesday, 7 July 1909
Jack and I are now in our tents at the Great Pyramid. We arrived last night about 7 o' clock and found them erected much as I had left them nearly a fortnight ago. Abdul Salam Faid was glad to welcome us back, and to be introduced to Jack, but disappointed at not seeing Stanley. He appears to have taken a great fancy for him, and is sorry to learn of his illness. Mr. Faid raised his hand and exclaimed: We will pray to the Great God that he will get well and be able to come.
Tents at Great Pyramid of Gizeh - (Giza)
As our Arab assistants are frequently referred to in these Letters, their portraits may prove of interest. I therefore photographed Judah, Sayed, Ferrali, the cook, and the Reis, Judah's father ... I also secured several pictures around our tents, showing them from various viewpoints. One of these ... shows a panoramic view of the flat palin, with the Mokattam Hills in the dim distance, and our four tents in the foreground.
Another shows the Great Pyramid in the background,with John Stanley, and myself, at the door to our tents. Judah "pressed the button." In this latter photograph the tents look as if they were almost touching the Pyramid ... There is actually a distance of several hundred yards between our tents and the Pyramid, as another view makes more evident.
After lunch we took leave of Abdul Salam Faid and his brothers (who are partners in the tent contracting business) and thanked them for all of their help.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you have specific questions for Mark Robertson Shaw, I would be happy to provide his e-mail address. Please contact me at: pat@quiltersmuse.com
Read the original file about Egyptian Panels and Papyrus Scrolls
©Copyright 2007. Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, New Hampshire, and Mark Robertson Shaw. Please do not duplicate any of the material here. Thank you for observing the copyright law.