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Publick nakedness in Cairo

Reader comment on item: "Cairo and the Age of the Hedonists"

Submitted by Joaquim R (Canada), Nov 21, 2006 at 10:31

"Somewhere along this route we had a few startling exhibitions of Oriental simplicity. A girl apparently thirteen years of age came along the great thoroughfare dressed like Eve before the fall (...). Occasionally we saw stark-naked men of superb build, bathing, and making no attempt at concealment. "

Mark Twain, in 1868 Cairo, as written in Innocents Abroad, Chapt LVIII

What strikes me in this anecdote is not that the girl was naked -- she was probably a prostitute -- but that no one stopped her or agressed her in the street. These people were no less muslims than contemporary cairenes. Current islamic hysteria belongs more to Al-Wahab than to Muhammad.

I wish someone would write a book about this, to remind everyone that Islam is not synonymous with Taliban-styled street police.

Joaquim, in Canada

Submitting....

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Reader comments (8) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
1Avenue el-Malika Nazli or شارع الملكة نازلي [112 words]dhimmi no moreMay 25, 2015 16:58223516
Dr. Pipes 'hopes' the pendulum swings both ways [55 words]Charles MartelMay 22, 2015 22:53223482
Remembering Hedonistic Cairo [1600 words]Repatriated in RealityNov 28, 2006 22:5867651
The comment/story by "Repatriated in Reality" is well worth reading [4 words]impressedMay 21, 2015 19:3867651
Hedonistic Cairo [288 words]Maurice PicowNov 25, 2006 11:3067301
Ismail commissions "Aida" from Verdi [204 words]Dave NelsonNov 24, 2006 17:3667218
Publick nakedness in Cairo [135 words]Joaquim RNov 21, 2006 10:3166815
The Lesson is Clear [75 words]Howard GoldenNov 21, 2006 09:1466806

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