Suez, Egypt Eyalet

Meg Jayanth

The opening of the Suez Canal has brought huge sums in foreign investment and trade to the small port town of Suez in the Ottoman vassal state of Egypt. For the first time, it is possible to travel from Europe to Asia by water without circumnavigating Africa. Well-heeled local businessmen and foreign traders throng the gaslit avenues of the port-town of Suez, and take up residence in the brand new hotels along the seafront.
A picturesque town to while away an evening, after the tender mercies of a steamer cabin.<i> Malheureusement</i> Monsieur Fogg has an Englishman's interest in mingling with foreigners, which is to say, none whatsoever. You yourself are in desperate need of shirts, and have ventured out of the steamship in search of them.
You look about, enjoying the stability of the quay beneath your feet - you have not quite found your sea-legs yet, and you have a dark suspicion you never will. Nearby, a slight-built personage with a sharp, intelligent face paces the wooden planking impatiently. You catch his eye.
"Excusez-moi, monsieur. Where could a man purchase shirts nearby?"