Item 01: Eric Susman war diary, 1 January 1915-4 April 1916 - Page 87

[Page 87]

Thursday 4 March 1915

By a big fluke, I managed to obtain day leave to-day, that is, leave during working hours. So I made the best of this splendid opportunity to see a little more of Cairo by day. After visiting the ancient and famous mosque of Gammea Amad in Old Cairo. We then proceeded to another part of the city, through the seemingly endless maze of the streets in the native quarters of an Oriental town, and entered the Azhar mosque and university. From what I could find out from some of the students (I never indulge in those pests known as "guides"), the mosque and the university are run in conjunction with each other, as Mohometan theology formed the whole curriculum of the institution. The future priests sit about in various parts of the building, taking in its "atmosphere" and using it as a scource of inspiration, studying the Koran. The deep earnestness with which they work is apparent on every face. With them, "sky-piloting" is evidently not looked upon as a profession.

Later in the day, my friend and I paid a visit to the Museum. This fine building is the home of the treasures of the Egyptologist – those treasures, those precious links which connect us with the wonderfully fascinating world of ancient Egypt. As we had no learned Egyptologist with us, the visit was robbed of a great deal of interesting explanations.