An Egyptian bey’s son brokered Moses’s entry into colonial elite circles

Evidence

In 1911, a Rhodes Scholar named El Allail, the son of an Egyptian bey, invited Moses and Dougherty to visit Egypt. Crossing the Mediterranean on a leaky, shuddering tub named the Equator, the youths found themselves in the company of hundreds of Levantine natives and a troupe of women Dougherty describes as “international tarts sailing for the winter season in Cairo and Alexandria.” On the first night out of Marseilles, the Equator’s captain selected one, disappeared with her into his cabin—and remained there for the rest of the four-day voyage. The same procedure was followed by every other officer except an aged quartermaster. The engines broke down—along with the latrines. But when the ship—and its attendant aroma—arrived at Alexandria, El Allail ensconced Moses and Dougherty in luxury. The three youths spent the days swimming on a magnificent beach at the mouth of the easternmost branch of the Nile and evenings chatting over dinner with the highest British colonial and native Egyptian officials, including the Khedive of Egypt. The Khedive must have been impressed with Moses; he asked him to be his secretary. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 218

Categorization

• CANDY: The whole absurd voyage — officers disappearing with ‘tarts’ for four days, broken latrines and engines — is an amusing anecdote worth retelling.
• QUESTION: The Khedive offering Moses a secretaryship is an early ‘man of destiny’ moment worth pursuing in the larger narrative.
• XREF: connects to: Egyptian elites actively collaborated in their own colonization

Broader Connections

• Egyptian elites actively collaborated in their own colonization #exemplifies (0.82)