Book excerpt: Egypt's romantic allure does not end with the age of the pharaohs. This lavishly illustrated book offers a look inside the opulent estates of the pashas, khedives, and great ladies of 19th-century Egypt, and the princes and kings of the early 20th century. Here in all its cosmopolitan splendor is the world of unparalleled prosperity that attracted adventurers the world over, from the Belle Époque through the Roaring Twenties.--From publisher description.