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MR. MURRAY'S HANI>B00K8 FOR TRAVELLERS.

HAND-BOOK FOR EGYPT AND THEBES,

Whli all the neeamrj infonnaUon for Uit Ovsauuio Pamaok to Imdia. iUp.
Port 8vo, 15*.

HAXD-BOOK FOR FRANCE AND THE PYRENEES,

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HAND-BOOK

FOB

TRAYELLERS 11^ EGYPT;

lyCLUDlKG DZSCRIPTIONS OF

THE COURSE OF THE NILE TO THE SECOND CATABA.CT,

ALEXANDRIA, CAIRO, THE PYRAMIDS, AND THEBES,

THE OVERLAND TRANSIT TO INDIA,
THE PENINSULA OF MOUNT SINAI, THE OASES, &c.

Being a New Edition, corrected and condensed,

» MODERN EGYPT AND THEBES.''

SIR GARDNER WILKINSON, F.R.S.

M.R.S.L. F.R.G.S. &c.

LONDON:
* JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.

PARIS* GALIGNANI; STASSIN & XAVIER. MALTA, MUIR.

1847.

ASHMOLEAN LIBRARY, OXFOR

This book is to be returned on or before
the last date stamped below

n SEP 992

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.

a. Journey from England to Egypt. — 6. Expenses to Egypt and India
by France. — e. Steamers from Marseilles to Egypt. — d. Steamers from
England, by Gibraltar and Malta, to Alexandria and India. — e. Quaran-
tine, on returning from Egypt.

Sxci. I. — EGYPT.

PRELIMINARY INFORMATION.

Page
a. Season for Visiting Egypt — Time required — Expenses of the
Journey. -~ h. Thing!» useful for the Journey in Egypt. — e. Mode
of Living in Egypt, and Diseases of the Country. — d. Dress. —
e. Presents. — /. Firmans. -— ^. Money. — A. Weights and Mea-
sures.—t. Post Office.—/ Population and ReTenue. — A. Mo-
hammed All. — U Chronological Table. — m. List of Caliphs and
Sultans of Egypt. — a. Certain Points requiring Examination. —
o. English and Arabic Vocabulary - • - 1

Route 1. — London to Alexandria •> - - • 71

ALIXAMDKIA.

1. Arrival at Alexandria. — 2. Hotels. — 3. Servants.— 4. Boats. —

5. Things to be purchased at Alexandria for the Journey to Cairo. ^

6. History of Alexandria. — 7. Plan of Alexandria, and site and
description of the Buildings. — - 8. Monuments outside the Canopic
Gate. — 9. Present remains of Ancient Alexandria. — 10. Its Size
and Importance. — 11. Inhabitants. — 12. Climate — The Lake
Mareotis — Canals. — 13. The two Ports, Gates, Walls— The Old
Docks. — 14. Mosks, and other Buildings within the Walls, —

15. Amusements and Sights in Modern Alexandria - - 71

Route 2. — Alexandria to Rosetta, by Land ... 102

Route 3. — Rosetia to Atfeh and Cairo, by Water - - 105

Route 4. — Alexandria to Cairo, by Land, through the Delu - 105

Route 5 Alexandria to Cairo, by the Western Bank - - 106

A. 3

VI CONTENTS.

Sect. II. — CAIRO.

Page

Route 6. — Alexandria to Atfeh and Cairo, by the Canal and the
Nile - - - - - . - 106

a. Hotels. — h. Houses. — e. Servants. — d. Horses and Asses.— ^

e. Places of public resort — f. Quickest Mode of seeing Cairo and
the neighbourhood, -i— g. Boats. -» A. History of Cairo. — i. The
Citadel. — j. Oriental character of the Town. — k, Mosks —
Early pointed Arches — Morostan, or Madhouse — Bab Zoo&yleh.

— I Tombs of the Caliphs of Egypt. — m. Tombs of the Baharite
Memlook Kings. — n. Tombs of the Circassian Memlook Kings ^
Tombs of the Memlooks. ^ o. Sibeels, or Public Fountains. —
p. Palaces. — q. Streets. — r. Cafes — Punch. ^ «. Baths. —
t. Slave Market. — «. Bazaars — Prices of Goods at Cairo. —
V. Quarters of Cairo. — w. Walls and extent of Cairo — Canal. —

s. Gates. — y. Antiquities in Cairo z. Population — Dogs. —

€ta. Festivals and Siglits at Cairo — Pilgrimage to Mecca — Open-
ing the Canal of Old Cairo — The Prophet's Birth-day — Fetes. —
bb. The Magician. — ce. Institutions of the Pasha — Schools. -.-
dd. Internal Administration — Police — Courts of Justice. —

ee. The Mahkemeh, or Cadi*s Court - - - 117

Excursion 1..— a. Old Cairo. — 6. Kilometer and Isle of Roda. —
c. Kasr el Aineeand College of Derwishes. — Kasr Dubarra - 157

Excursion 2. — a. Heliopolis (Matar^eh) — Balsam Plants— Lake of
the Pilgrims — Old Jewish Towns — Red G^t^tone Mountain. —

b. Petri6edWood - - - - - 166

Excursion 3. — Gardens and Palace of Shoobra - - - 171

Excursion 4. — Pyramids of Geexeh, Sakk&ra, and Memphis —
a. Things required in going to the Pyramids. — b. Village of Geexeh

— Egg Ovens.~ c. -History of the Pyramids. — d. Great Pyramid. —
e. Second Pyramid. — /. Tliird Pyramid. — g. Sphinx. — A. Tombs.

— I. Causeway. — j. Small Pyramids, near that of Cheops — Na-
ture of the Rock. — k. Date of the Pyramids. — /. Pyramid of
Abooroash. — m. The two Arab Bridges. «— n. Busiris. — o. Pyra-
mids of Aboos^er. — p* Pyramids of Sakkdra — Tombs q. Py-
ramids of Dashoor. — r. Memphis^ Name of the hill of the Pyra-
mids - - - - - - 172

Route 7. — Cairo to Suex. — a. Various Roads. — (. Distances. —

c. The TariiTof Charges at tlie Stations. — d. Time employed —
Remarks on the Road — Suex — Passage of the Red Sea by the
Israelites — El Muktala — Kolxim — The Ancient Canal of Arsinoe

— Herobpolis ----- 207

Route 8. — Cairo to Mount Sinai — Charges for Camels — Tricks of
the Arabs — Names of the Arab Tribes — Requisites for the Jour-
ney — Distances — Manna ^ Remarks on the Road — Sardbut el
Kbadem — Names of Ancient Pharaohs — Convent of St. Catlia-
rine — Burning Bush — Rock of Moses — Town of Tor -. Primi- '
tive and other Mountains . • . ^ 212

CONTENTS. vii

Route 9. — Mount Sinai to £1 Ak&ba — Distances — Aila, or Eloth
— Journey to Petni« or Wad^e Moosa ^ Distances to Petra, He-
bron, and Jerusalem ..... 220

Route lO. — Cairo to Syria — Distances — Daphne, Felusium —
Tomb of Pompej — £1 Areesli — Gaza(Ghuzzeh} - - S22

Route 11. — Cairo, by Water, to Damietta — Distances — Bersboom
— Benba>el-Assal (Athribis) — Semenood — Bebayt-el-Hagar
(Iseum) — Manso6ni — Damietta — Other Towns in the Delta ^
Fetes of Sbekhs — Trillnguar Stones — Divisions of the Delta - 224

Route 12. — Cairo, by Water, to Menzaleh and Tanis — DisUnces —
Manso6rato Menzaleh — Tel et-Mai (Thmuis)— Papyrus — Canal of
Menzaleh — Land of the Delta — Menzaleh and the Neighbour-
hood— Matar^eh — Fish — Lake Menzaleh — Water Fowl — Ruins
of Tanis - - * - - - 2S0

Route ]3b — Cairo, by Water, to Bubastis, Pharbaethus, and Tanis ^
'Distances — Canal of Moez — Ruins of Bubastis, now Tel Basta —
Zakaseek — Harbayt (Pharbsthus) ... 236

Route 14. — Cairo to the Natron Lakes — Distances — Natron
Springs -^ Convents — Productions — Animals — Petrified Wood —
The Bahr el Fargh, or Babr-bela-ma ... 239

Route 15. — Cairo to the Seewah, or Oasis of Amroon — Distances. —
a. Road from Alexandria. — b. From Terdneh. — e. From the
Fyoom — Ruins — Dates — Government and Customs of Seewah —
Language — Town of Seewah — Conquered by Mohammed Ali. - 246

Route 16. — Cairo, by Land, to the Fyoom. — a. Road to the Fyoom.
6. Distances from Cairo to Medeeneh — Tomeeh — Senooris —
Biahmoo (ruins) — Medeeneh — l*he Arsinoite nome. — c. Excur-
sions from Medeeneh — Obelisk at Biggig. -~ d. Lake Moeris or
Birket el Kom — Ruins at Kom Weseem <— at El Hammam — at
Dimay, or Nerba. — e. Kasr Kharoon — Temple and other Ruins
— Nezleh — Large Canal— Sites of old Towns — £1 Gherek - 249

Route 17. —Medeeneh (in the Fyoom) to Benisooef (oo the Nile) —
Distances — Pyramid of Howara and site of the Labyrinth »-
Pyramid of Illahoon — Bahr Yoosef ... 256

Route 18. — Cairo to the Little Oasis, the Great Oasis, and the Oasis
of Dakhleh, by the Fyoom. — a. Different Roads to the Oasis. — h.
Requisites for the Journey. — e. Distances. — d, Wadee Ry£n, and
Motleb. — «. . Little Oasis — Ruins — Warm Springs — Dates — Palm
Wine — Gardens — Origin of the Springs — Inhabitants — Distances
in this Oasis. — /. Small Oasis of £1 Hayz. —g. Oasis of Far&freh.
— A. Oasis of the Blacks. — i. Oasts of Dakhleh — Ruins — Popu-
lation -» Productions. — j. The Great Oasis, or Wah el Khargeh —
Temple of Ain Amoor on the road to it — Columbaria and other
Ruins in the great Oasis — The Great Temple, Name of Darius,
Inscriptions — Christian inscriptions and Tombs — Caravans from
Dar-Foor — Population — Productions. — k. Distances in the Great
Oasis, going to its southern extremity — Temples of I^asr Ain el
Goaytah, and Kasr Ain e* Zay6n — Tomb of Emeer KhAled —
Temple of Doosh. — /. Road to Abydus. — m. Road to £sn6 - 257

Viii CONTENTS.

Page
Route 19. — Cairo to the Convents of St, Antony and St. Paul, in
the Eastern Desert — Distances — The Arab tribes — Convents of
St. Antony and St. Paul — Alabaster quarries — Primiiive and
secondary mountains — Gebel e* Zayt — Porphyry quarries — Ruins
of Myos Hormos — Granite quarries and ruins at Fateereh — Old
Kossayr (Philotera)^ — Modem Kossayr — Wadee Jasoos - 268

(For the Desert South of Kossayr, See Routes 26 and 27.)

Sect. III. — UPPER EGYPT, BETWEEN CAIRO AND

THEBES.

Preliminary Information. — a. The Soeed, or Upper Egypt. — h, De«
nominations of Towns, &c. — c. Ancient Divlsiuns of Egypt — An-
cient Towns on the Nile, mentioned in the Itinerary of Antoninus.
— d, Egyptian Temples, their Plans, and principal Features - 272

Route 20. — Cairo to Benisooef by Water — Attar-e'Nebbee —
Toora — El Masarah and ancient Quarries — Helw&n — Dyke of
Menes — Pyramids of Lisht — False Pyramid — Atf^eh — Boosh—
Benisooef — Beggars - - - - - 277

Route 21. — Benisooef to Minieh — Anasieh (Heraclcopolis) — Bib-
beh — El Haybee, small ancient Town — Gebel Shekh Embarak
— Excursion to Behnesa, inland, from Aboo Girgeh — Gebel e*
Tayr, Convent — Gisr el Agoos — T^bneh (Acoris), Inscriptions,
Quarries — Minieh - - ' - - - 282

Route 22. — Minieh to Osioot — Kom Ahmar, Grottoes (Alabas-
tron ?) — Curious sculptured Grottoes of Beni Hassan — The Speos
Artemidos — Shekh Abddeh (Antinoe)— Sculptured Grottoes of
E'Dayr e* Nakhl, Colossus on a Sledge — Reramoon — Oshmoo-
nayn (Hermopolis) — Gebel Toona — Mellawee — Sculptured
Grottoes and Remains at Tel el Amama — Dom Trees — Gebel
Aboofayda — Crocodiles — Ruins at El Hare'fb — Crocodile Mummy
Pits of £1 Maabdeh — Manfaloot — Mankabat — Osioot, sculp-
tured Grottoes - - ~ - - - 291

Route 23. — Osioot to Girgeh — Abooteg ( Abutis) — Gov, or Kow
el Keber (Antaopolis) — Gebel Shekh Hereedce, Snake — Itfoo,
(Aphroditopolis) — Soobag — The White Monastery, Atbribis,
Ruins — Ekhmim (Panopolis), Ruins — Mensheeh (Ptolema'is
Hermii) — Girgeh or Geergeh — Excursion from Girgeh to Aby-
dus, Ruins ...... 313

Route 24 Girgeh to Keneb — Bellianeh — Samhood — Farshoot

— The How4ra Horsemen — Great Bend of the Nile at How (Dios-
polis Parva), few Ruins — Kasr e' Sy&d, old Catacombs — Isle of
Tabenna — Dendera (Tentyris), Temples — The Tentyrites ;
Crocodiles — Keneh . - . . . 325

Route 25. — Keneh to Thebes — Ballas — Koft (Coptos), few Re-
mains — Koos ( Apollinopolis Parva), few Remains — Slienhoor, a
small Roman Temple — Gam61a — Medamot, Temple - - 333

CONTENTS. U

Page
Sect. IV. — THEBES.

Prelimioaiy Informalion. — a. Arrival at Thebes. — b. Quickest mode
of seeing Thebes ..... 333

THIBIS.

I. Temple — Palace of Old Koorneh. — 2. Memnonium, or
lUmeseum. — 3. The Two Colossi — The Vocal Memnon. —
4. Rise of the Land. — 5. Temples at Medeenet Haboo —

The Great Temple; Battle Scenes 6, Other Ruins — Lake of

Haboo.. — 7 . Tombs of the Queens. — 8. Other Ipmbs — Small
Brick Pyramid. — 9. Dayr el Mede6neh. — 10. Dayr el B^ree. —
11. Tombs of the Kings. — 12. Tombs in the Western Valley. —
IS. Tombs of Priests and Private Individuals — Arched Tombs —
The oldest Tombs — Large Tombs of the Assase^f — Tombs of
Koomet Murraee — Tombs of Shekh A bd*el- Koorneh, the most in-
teresting at Thebes. — 14. Eastern Bank — Luxor, Temple. —
15. Kamak, Temples — Comparative Antiquity of the Buildings
— Names of the Foreign Kings — Historical Sculptures - - 336

Route 26. — |Keneh to Kossayr by the Moayleh, or Moileh, Road - 398

Route 27. — Keneh to Kossayr, by the Russafa road . - 398

Route 28. — Thebes to Kossayr — Several Roads from the Nile to
Kossayr — The Russafa Road — Ancient Road and Stations —
Breccia Quarries, small Temple, and Names of Kings in Wadee
Foakh^er — arrival from India at Kossayr — Hints for those com-
ing from India — The Ababdeh Desert — Gold Mines — Ancient
Stations on the Coptos Road to Berenice — Berenice — Basanite
Mountain — Nechesia *- Leucos Portus — Emerald Mines — An.
cient Road from Contra Apollonipolis to those Mines, small
Temple ^ The Bishiree, or Bishar^eh Tribe of Arabs . - 398

Route 29. — Thebes to Asouan, the first Cataract, Elephantine,
Sehayl, and Philse — Erment (Hermon this), few Remains — Tuot
(Tu^ium), small Temple — Cro^odilopolis— Tofn^ — E'sn^ (La-
topolis), fine Portico, Zodiac; Almeh women — El Helleh (Contra
Laton) — Pyramid of El Koola — Kom el Abmar (Hieraconpolis),
few Ruins — Sandstones — El Kab (Eilethyas), Ruins; Natron;
Curious painted Grottoes — Edfoo ( Apollinopolis Magna },
Temples — Hagar Silsileh (Silsilis), Sandstone Quarries, Grottoes,
and Tablets ; The God Nilus — Kom Ombo ( Ombos), Temples

— Sandstones and Granites -^ Asouan (Syene) ; Supposed Tropical
Well ; Saracenic Wall and Tombs ; Granite Quarries of Syene ;
Syenite — Island of Elephantine ; Nilometer — Island of
Sehayl — 1st Cataract — Isle of Phils, Temples, and other Ruins

— Isle of Biggeh . - - - - 404

S«cT. v. — NUBIA.

Preliminary Observations. — a. Conquests of the Egyptians and Ro-
mans above Phils, and the first Cataract. — b. The modem Nubians,
or Barabras ,.---- 423

A 5

C0XTENT8.

Page

Route SO. — Asouan (by Philae) to Derr, by Water — Dabod ( Parem-
bole), Temple — Old Wall, Column, Remains of a Temple — Gar-
tassce, small Ruin, Quarry, Stone Enclosure — Waidee Tafa
(Taphis), Stone Ruins — KaUbshee (Talmis), Temple, Inscription
of King Silco, and others — Bayt el Wellee, Temple — Dendoor,
Temple ; Sandstone Pier — Gerf Hossdyn (Tutiis), Temple —
Kostamneh, Doorway — Dakkeh (Psclcis), Temple, Ergamenes
King of Ethiopia — Modem Amazons — The White and Blue
(properly black) Nile — Inscriptions, God of Pselcis — Contra
Pselcis, Ruins — Korti, small Ruin — Mabarraka(Hierasycaminon),
Ruins — Sabo6a, Temple ~ Bend of the River— £1 Khar^b —
A'mada, Temple ~ Derr, the Capital of Nubia, Temple - 426

Route SI. — Derr to Aboo-Simbel and Wadee Halfeh — Grotto on road
to Ibiseem — Tomb near Gattey — Ibreem (Primis Panra), Citadel,
few Remains, Petronius and Candace, Grottoes — Boston — Reefs at
Tosko — Aboo-Simbel ( Aboccis?), two fine Temples — Ferayg, small
Temple — Faras — Serra — Wadee Halfeh — Second Cataract —
Sam neb, two Temples ..... 435

INTRODUCTION.

a. Journey from England to Egypt. — 6. Expenses to Egypt and India by
France. — c. Steamers from Marseilles to Egyot. — d. Steamers from
England by Gibraltar and Malta to Alexandria and India. — e. Quarantine
returning from Egypt.

a. JOURNBT FROM ENGLAND TO EGYPT.

The most usual route from England to Egypt is by Gibraltar and
Malta, or through France by Paris and Marseilles, and thence to
Malta and Alexandria. There is another route through Germany
by the Danube to Constantinople, and thence by Syra to Alex-
andria, which has been described in the Handbooks of Southern
Germany, and of the East ; and those who happen to be in the
yieinity of the Adriatic, and do not wish to cross Italy to Naples
or other ports in direct communication with Malta, may find
their way by the Ionian Islands and Greece to Egypt ; or by the

Austrian steamer direct frdm Trieste to Alexandria.

. ■ • »

b, EXPENSES TO EGYPT AND INDIA BY FBANCE.

Though the expenses of a journey depend on the arrangements
made by the traveller, the following, for which I am indebted to a
gentleman who passed through France in 1841, on his way to India,
may ^iye some notion of the charges on the route by Chalons and
Lyons to Marseilles :

ih.
Fare in steam-boat to Boulogne 15 <
Expenses at Boulogne
Passport, passing baggage, &c.
Diligence to Paris and dinner
Extra for luggage by diligence
Porters to and from Meurice*s
Meurice's bill

Fare to Cbalons by diligence -
Extra for luggage
Porter at Ch&lons and expenses
on the road ...

Bill at Cb&lons -
Servants at Cbalons
Passage in steam-boat to Lyons
Bill at Lyons ...

Porters to and from hotel
Place in diligence to Maneilles
Luggage at Marseilles

Total from England to Marseilles
or £10 12«. 9^

ft. lOUI.

According to another Calculation.

• 18 10

£.

London to Paris -

In Paris ...

Paris to Cbalons

9 10

3 /

to Marseilles

....

Total from England to

Marseilles

6 •

Thence direct to Alex-

andria ...

Alexandria to Sues -

Total from London to

Sues ...

From Sues to Bombay

is from 52 to .
Making the total to

266 0

Bombay

128

A 6

Xll INTRODUCTIOK.

In returning from India there is an additional expense for
quarantine, which may be calculated at 11/. lOs. for the 17 days at
Malta (or less if shared by two persons), making the total, ac-
cording to the second calculation, 139/. 10«.

It may be observed — 1st. That the first of the above calculations
appears to be made on the most economical plan ; — 2nd. That in
both, the sum total does not include stoppages on the road, but
allows only for the actual expenses of the direct journey ; — 3d.
That 170/. is generally considered necessary for a person leaving
India for England, who intends to travel economically by public
conveyances, or 150/. if taking a deck passage.

C. STEAMEBS FROM MARSEILLES TO EGYPT.

French steamers run direct from Marseilles to Egypt, and the
old line by Syra is abandoned.

There is also an English steamer between Marseilles and Malta
which goes once a month to and from Malta, where it meets the
packet coming direct from England. The fare from Marseilles to
Malta is 9/., including board, for a 1st class passenger ; that of the
2nd class being 5/., living also included. It leaves Marseilles on the
9th of every month, arriving at Malta early on the third day, or the
12th ; and brings with it the London mail for India, which is made
up on the 4th, unless it should happen to fall on a Sunday, when it
is deferred till the following day. By this junction-steamer letters
can be despatched from London three or four days later than by the
packet that goes round by Gibraltar to Malta.

The arrangements of the Mediterranean steamers are frequently
changing ; and it is therefore advisable to refer to the Tariffs issued
annually by the different companies.

d. STEAMERS FROM ENGLAND BT GIBRALTAR AND MALTA.

Steamers leave Southampton to Alexandria and India on the 3rd
and 20th of every month for Alexandria, calling at Gibraltar and
Malta. They are connected with the overland journey to India.

Those who have time to spare may visit Lisbon, and the neigh-
bourhood, or Cadiz and Seville, by going out in one of the previous
Gibraltar steamers, which leave England every week, (touching at
Vigo, Oporto, Lisbon, and Cadiz, on the way to Gibraltar) and join
the Alexandrian packet, the week or fortnight after, at Gibraltar.

The following is the latest information published by the Penin-
sular and Oriental Company respecting their steamers to Egypt and
India.

INTRODUCTION- Xui

« THE OUTWARD ROUTE.

** Firtt Line, — England to Aleiandria, Aden, Bombay, Ceylon, Madras, and
Calcutta, Penang, Singapore, and Hong Kong. 20th of every Month.

" The Company^s Steamers (vessels of about 1500 tons and 450
horse-power) start from Southampton on the 20th of every month, at
2 P.M., and after calling at Gibraltar and Malta, and receiving at the
latter place the mail of the 24th from England, brought from Mar-
sdlles to Malta by Her Majesty's steamers, arrive at Alexandria in
about sixteen days from Southampton.

Passengers are conveyed through Egypt by the Transit Adminis-
tration of his Highness the Pacha of Egypt.

The mode of transit is as follows : — 1st, Alexandria to Atfeh, by
the Mahmoodeeh Canal, in large track boats, towed by a steam- tug
or by horses. (^See Route 6.)

2nd, From Atfeh, at the junction of the canal with the Nile, to
Boulak (the port of Cairo), by the river Nile, in steamers. (See
Route 6.)

drd, Cairo to Suez across the desert ; this part of the journey is
performed in carriages. (See Route 7.)

The entire journey from Alexandria to Suez is performed with
ease in about sixty hours, including a night's rest at Cairo, and a
sufficient time for refreshment and repose at the central station be-
tween Cairo and Suez.

The following are extracts from the Tariff of the Transit Admi-
nistration : —

* Passengers are furnished with three meals per diem, during the time they
are en rtnUe, free of charge, but their expenses at hotels must be defrayed by
themselves, as also wines, beer, &c. during their entire transit.

' The portmanteaus, trunks, carpet bogs, &c. of ^ the passengers, must
bear the name and destination of the owners ; such inscription to be legible and
well secured.

' On the arrival of each steamer the officer of the administration will at-
tend to receive the luggage of passengers.

' The administration will not be responsible for any loss or damage of
luggage, nor unavoidable detention.

* Tlie administration will at all times endeavour to employ the easiest means
I of conveyance, such as donkey chairs, &c. for invalids and sick persons.'*

On arriving at Suez passengers embark on board one of the Com-
pany's steamers for Ceylon, Madras, and Calcutta (vessels of about
1,600 tons and 500 horse-power), which start from Suez about the
10th of every month, call first at Aden, where they coal, and trans-
fer passengers and mails for Bombay to the Honourable East India

xiv INTRODUCTION.

Company* 9 steamers ; the steamer then proceeds to Ceylon, arriving
there in about seventeen days, at Madras in about twenty-two days,
and at Calcutta in about twenty- seven days from Suez, including
all stoppages.

Passengers for Fenang, Singapore, and Hong Kong, leave the
main line at Ceylon, and there embark in one of the Company's
branch steamers (vessels of about 1,000 tons and 300 horse-power,)
and which arrive at Fenang in about six days, at Singapore in about
nine days, and at Hong Kong in about sixteen days from Ceylon,
including all stoppages.

The length of time therefore of the voyage to India, and China,
by the Overland Route, is as follows : —

England to Bombay .... 35 days

Ceylon . - - - 40

Madras - - - - 45

Calcutta ... - 48

Fenang - - - - 46

Singapore - • - . 49

Hong Kong ^ ' - ^ 56 „

** Second Line. — England to Alexandria, Aden and Bombay, Sd of every

Month.

" A second line of the Company's steamers leave Southampton on
the drd of every month, for Gibraltar and Malta, where the pas-
sengers and mails are transferred- to their steamer 'Ariel' for
Alexandria.

On arriving at Suez, passengers embark on board the Honourable
East India Company's steamers for Bombay : the length of pas-
sage from England to Bombay is about thirty-five days.

The dates of the departure of the Company's steamers from the
several intermediate ports, are about as follows : —

Ist Line Outwards from Gibraltar

25th of the month.

Malta -

■•

Slst

Suez

10th

Aden

16th

Ceylon (Galle)

S8th

Madras

1st

Fenang

3rd

Singapore

6th

2nd. Line Outwards from Gibraltar

9th

Malta -

14th

»l

Sues (Honourable East India

Company's Steamer)

25th

»9

Aden

•

dOth

•1

INTRODUCTION. XV

"THE HOMEWARD ROUTE.

** Ftrsi £tse.— Calcutta, Madras, Cejlon, Hong Kong, Singapore, Penang,

and Aden to England.

*' From Calcutta 10th of the month.

Bombay (Hon. East India Co.'s Steamers) 1 5th „

Hong Kong 28th „

The Company's steamers start from Calcutta (Sandheads) on the
10th of every month, except in May, June, and July, when they
start on the 5th. From Calcutta they call at Madras, Ceylon, and
Aden, at which last place they receive the Passengers and Mails
G>rought so far by the Hon. East India Company's steamers) from
Bombay. From Aden they proceed to Suez.

On landing at Suez, generally about the 7th of the month, pas-
sengers are conveyed through Eg3rpt in the same way as described
in the outward route, and, on arriving at Alexandria, embark on
board the Company's steamer for England, which conveys them to
Southampton, calling at Malta and Gibraltar. There is now no
quarantine upon this line of steamers, and passengers are allowed
to land at once, the vessel merely calling at the Motherbank to
receive pratique.

'< Second Line, .» Bombay and Aden to England.

^* The Honourable East India Company's steamers leave Bombay
1st of every month, except in the months of May, June, and July,
when they leave on the 20th of the month ; the length of passage
from Bombay to Suez is about sixteen days.

On arriving at Alexandria, passengers embark on board the Pe-
ninsular and Oriental Company's steamer ' Ariel,' for Malta, where
they go on board another of ~the Company's steamers for South-
ampton.

The dates of departure of the steamers from the several interme-
diate ports homewards are about as follows : —

Itt Line, Homewards - - Madras - 13th of the month.

Ceylon - 17th „

Aden - 28th „

Hong Kong - 88th „

Singapore - 4th „

Penang - 8th „
Hon. East India Company's

Steamers. - '- Bombay - 15th ,,

XVI

INTRODUCTION.

1st of the month,
nth

19th
24th
SOth

»f

»»

**Snd Line, Hon. East India Company's

Steamers from - Bombay

Aden -
Peninsular and Oriental Co.'8

Steamers. - - Aleiandria

Malta
Gibraltar

" The Rates of Passage Money, — • Passengers for Aden, Ceylon,
Madras, Calcutta, Penang, Singapore, and Hong Kong, are booked
through at the Company*s Office, including expenses of transit.

Passengers for Bombay are booked only as far as they are con-
veyed by the Company's Steamers, but the cost of the passage
throughout will be found in the table below.

The Rates of Passage Money have been lately greatly reduced,
and are

From England to

Aden.

Ceylon.

Madru.

Calcutta.

For a Gentleman - • .

113

118

127

For a Lady - - - -

122

127

136

For a Gentleman and his Wife, a

whole cabin throughout -

214

290

299

.' 317

Children with their Parents.

5 years and under 10

2 years and under 5 - -

Not exceeding 2 years

Free.

Servants — European Female

Europan Male -

Native Female -

Native Male .

From England to

For a Gentleman
For a Lady - - -

For a Gentleman and his Wife, a
whole cabin throughout

Children with their Parents,
5 years and under 10
2 years and under 5 -
Not exceeding 2 years

5eroai»te— -European Female
European Male
Natire Female -
Native Male

Bombay.

107
112

Penang.

134
143

335

Free.

52
50
39
35

Singapore.

Hong Kong

142
152

350

Free.

57
55
44
40

165
175

396

Free.

67
65
49
45

INTRODUCTION. XVll

These rates will be proportionately increased according to the
class of accommodation required.

The aboTe rates include transit through Egypt, Steward's fees,
and table, wines, &c., for first-class passengers. Bedding, linen,
and all requisite cabin furniture, is provided in the Steamers at the
Company's expense, together with the attendance of experienced
male and female servants^

For large families an allowance will be made in the foregoing
rates.

'* Baggage. — First*class passengers are allowed, in the Company's
Steamers only, on either side of the Isthmus, 3 cwt. of personal bag-
gage free of freight, and children and servants 1^ cwt. each. And
passengers will please to take note, that the Company cannot en-
gage to take any excess of baggage over that quantity, unless
shipped at Southampton three days before starting and freight paid
thereon.

All baggage must be shipped on the day previous to sailing,
except carpet bags or hat boxes. — All other baggage received on
board on the day of sailing will be considered as extra baggage, and
charged freight as such.

The charge for conveyance of extra baggage, should there be
room in the vessel, will be 2/. per cwt. between Suez and India,
and 1/. per cwt. between England and Alexandria.

Passengers will have to pay the Egyptian Transit Company in
Egypt 16«. per cwt. for conveyance of baggage through, should it
exceed, for first-class passengers, 2 cwt., and children and ser-
vants 1 cwt. No package of baggage should exceed 80 lbs. weight.
The best dimensions for a trunk or portmanteau are, length 2 ft.
3 in. — breadth, 1 ft. 2 in. — depth, 1 ft. 2 in.

Every package of baggage should have the owner's name and
place of destination distinctly painted upon it in white letters.

Passengers taking parcels or articles of merchandize in their
baggage will incur the risk of seizure by the Customs' authorities,
and of detention for freight by the Company's agents.

" Passengers for Bombay, — As the Company do not book the
whole way to Bombay, it is well that passengers should know that
they will find no difficulty, or inconvenience, in securing the passage
on, after leaving the Company's ships. If they proceed by the 1st
Line (20th of every month), they have merely to pay on board the
. Honourable East India Company's Steamers at Aden, for the pas-
sage from Aden to Bombay. If they proceed by the 2nd Line (drd

• ••

INTRObUCTION.

of the month), they will have to pay for the transit through Egypt,
on arriving at Alexandria, and on arriving at Suez will have to pay
on board the Honourable East India Company's Steamers there for
their passage from Suez to Bombay.
The expenses of transit through Egypt are as under : —

TRANSIT AOMINISTRATIOK TARIFF.

In Vans across
the Deseru

A Lady ------

A Gentleman . . . « -

A Child above 10 years
A Child of 5 years and under 10
A Child of 2 years and under 5 - -

A Child under 2 years . - -

A European Female Servant
A European Man Servant or Mechanic
A Native Female Servant . - -
A Native Man Servant on a Dromedary or
Donkey ------

The Honourable East India Company's Rates of Passage Money
are as under: —

From Alexandria to Suez,
and vice veni.

£12

free

SUXB TO B0MBA7.

For a Gentleman
For a Lady

ADEN TO BOMBAT.

£55 0 0
60 0 0

For a Gentleman - - - - £27 10 0

For a Lady 30 0 0

The addition of the rate from Aden to Bombay (should the pas-
senger proceed by the 1st Line, 20th of the month), to the rate
charged by the Peninsular and Oriental Company from England to
Aden, will give the whole expense of the passage from England to
Bombay ; and in the case of a passenger proceeding by the 2nd Line
(3rd of the month), the addition of 40/. (the Company *s rate to Alex-
andria) to the Transit rate, and the Honourable East India Com-
pany's charge from Suez to Bombay, will also give the total amount
of passage money."

C. QUARANTINE RETUBNINO FROM EGYPT.

By going direct in the Steamers from Alexandria to England, the
quarantine is avoided, and pratique is given on reaching the
Motherbank, provided they have a clean bill of health ; the voyage
in like manner counts in going by tbe Austrian Steamers to Trieste.

Those who intend visiting Southern Italy will probably stop at

INTRODUCTION. 3UX

Malta, where the quarantine is less irksome than in most places.
The full quarantine with a clean bill of health is 24 days, but the
Toyage reduces this number to 19, and it will probably soon be
less than at present ; but when the plague is at Alexandria it is
increased to 22 and upwards.

Shortly after the steamer is anchored in the quarantine harbour,
an officer comes alongside to inquire about the number of the pas-
sengers, in order to prepare for their accommodation in the lazaretto,
and fix upon the part they are to occupy. They then go ashore to
choose their rooms, leaving their baggage, properly packed up, to
follow after them. The traveller must make up his mind to be de-
tained some time before each person is satisfied, and he will be
fortunate if the passengers are few. When numerous, there is often
a scramble for rooms, and two persons are put into the same bed-
room. A sitting-room is not given except as a' favour, or when
there are few passengers ; but it is not refused to a party of five
or six persons who intend to, dine together. If without a servant,
the first thing after securing rooms is to take one, who may be en-
gaged beforehand by writing to a friend at Malta, or may be found
at the door of the lazaretto ; where many come to offer their ser-
vices, with letters of recommendation from former masters, which
may be read but not touched. When engaged, they come into
quarantine jand perform the same number of days as their master.
They are paid 1«. 8rf. a day wages, and 7d. a day for living. Two
or three persons may employ one servant between them. The ne-
cessity of a servant is very evident, when it is remembered that no
guardian is allowed to render the stranger any services beyond those
demanded by lazaretto duties, and there is no one to bring him a
drop of water. Nor can the porters who carry his luggage from the
boat on hand-trucks touch any thing, as they are in pratique^ and
all must be put on and taken off by the person himself, or his ser-
vant. This is sufficiently explained in the quarantine regulations,
of which the following is a copy : —

General Regulations to be observed by all Persons performing
Quarantine in the Lazaretto of Malta.

1. All passengers on landing are to give their names to the cap-
tain of the lazaretto, which are to be entered in the registry of
the office.

2. The captain of the lazaretto will assign apartments for passen-
gers, and each passenger will be provided with two chairs, a table,
and a wooden bedstead, for which no charges are made ; but any

XX INTRODUCTION.

damage done by the passengers to the apartments or furniture is to
be made good by them before pratique.

3. Passengers are not to be permitted to enter other apartments ;
nor can they be allowed to receive visitors except at the Palatorio
of the lazaretto, and that only during office hours ; nor are they to
trespass the limits assigned to them by the captain of the lazaretto.

4. Passengers must pay a strict attention to all the instructions
they may receive from the captain of the lazaretto, and from the
health guardians, and particukrly in every point that regards their
baggage, clothes, &c., being properly aired and handled during the
period of their quarantine , and their quarantine will only com-
mence to reckon from the day on which all their baggage, clothes,
&c. have been duly opened and handled.

5. All letters and parcels, or other effects brought by passengers^
must be given up, in order that they may be fumigated or de-
purated separately from them as the occasion may require.

6. All cases of sickness must be reported immediately to the
captain of the lazaretto, and all persons sick are to be visited im-
mediately by the physician to the lazaretto, 'after which official
visit passengers are at liberty to avail themselves of any medical
attendance they think proper.

7. Passengers are to pay the government fee for the guardians
employed to attend them, for the number of days of their quarantine,
at the following rates : viz. at 1«. Zd. per day for the guardian who
attends one passenger ; and at 2«. 6^. per day for each guardian who
attends more than one passenger. They are to victual the guar-
dian or guardians during their quarantine, or to pay to each guar-
dian an allowance of Id. per day in lieu thereof. It is to be clearly
understood that the guardians are employed solely for quarantine
purposes, and they are strictly prohibited to interfere in any other
service whilst they attend passengers.

8. The office hours at the lazaretto are from 8 a.h. to 12, and
from 2 P.M. to 5 daily ; and all letters sent to the fumigating room
before 9 a.m. daily will be delivered in Yaletta at 10, and those sent
before 3 will be delivered in Yaletta at 4 p.m. by the letter messenger,
who is entitled to receive from the passengers \d, for each note,
parcel, or letter, as a remuneration for his trouble and for boat-
hire.

9. A daily report of all circumstances is to be made by the captain
of the lazaretto to the superintendent of quarantine and marine
police.

£. BONAVIA,

Superintendent of Quarantine and Marine Police.

INTRODUCTION.

ZXl

N.B. A trattoria has been established at the lazaretto for the
convenience of passengers who wish to avail themselves of it, from
whence they can be supplied with dinners, wines, &c. &c.' in their
own apartments.

Beds complete and other articles of furniture, if required, can
also be hired from a person appointed to provide them.

A note of charges for the trattoria, and for the hire of furniture,
will be furnished to the passengers on their applying for it.

The next point, or perhaps the first, is to order breakfast or
dinner from the restaurateur ; who has a trattoria in the lazaretto,
though he is in pratique, and brings over provisions every morning
from the town. He will present every one with a tariff of prices,
which are as follows : —

CIOACCBINO XRIQOKZ, INVKEEPXS., AT LAZAS.ETTO, MALTA.

Fixed Prices for Breakfast and Dinner for a ^Sii^h Person.

1. Breakfast at Is. 2d.

Tea or coffee with milk {at pleamre).

Two eggs.

Butter.

Bread.

2. Breakfast at Is. Bd.

Tea or coffee with milk (at pleature').

One di&h of hot or cold meat or fish.

Two eggs.

Butter.

Bread.

S. Dinner tU 3*.
Soup, fish, or boiled bee f {at pleasure).
One entree.

One roast.

One vegetable dish.

Fruit.

Bread.

4. Dinner at 4s, Ad.
Soup, fish or boiled beef {at pleasure).
One entree.
One roast.
One sweet dish.
Two dishes of vegetables.
Fruit.
Salad.
Cheese.
Bread.

N. B. — Passengers will be supplied with table-cloths and dinner services,
but they are to pay for any article missing, broken, or in any manner
destroyed. Gentlemen wishing to alter the disposition of the above
detailed dinners, are requested to inform the innkeeper, that the prices
may be altered accordingly. Families having children pay according to
agreement.

If a dinner should be ordered for five or six persons, the innkeeper will give
two entries in lieu of one without charging for the additional entree.

XXll INTRODUCTION.

When four or five persons club together, the restaurateur will
make an arrangement to provide dinner and breakfast at a lower
rate, and charge only Ss. 6d, each person for the two ; giving soup,
fish, 2 entries, 1 roast, 2 dishes of vegetables, 2 of fruit and bread,
and the same breakfast as in No. 1. ; sufficient remaining from the
dinner for three servants. Wine and all other extras bad better be
sent for from the town.

Those who have their hatterie de cuisine^ a good cook, and other
requisites, may find it more comfortable to cook at home ; and a
spenditore, or caterer, will supply every thing required from
Yaletta. This would be far preferable for those who wish to dine
late ; as it is with great difficulty that the restaurateur can be pre-
vailed upon to give dinner as late as 5 o* clock, his hour being
usually 4.

The next point is the furniture of the rooms. The government
allow for each person a table, two chairs, a bedstead, and wooden
horses for airing his things, gratis ; and the only payment is Is. Sd,
a day for the guardian, and 7d, for his living. The upholsterer's
low charges for hired furniture show how unnecessary it is to be en-
cumbered with any of the articles mentioned there. But I should
not recommend a traveller to abstain from carrying with him what-
ever he may want for his journey, from any dread of the trouble of
putting it out on the horses, on which all his things must be aired
during his stay in the lazaretto. The bedstead furnished by govern-
ment is frequently made into a sort of divan, or given to a servant,
and an iron bedstead with mosquito curtains is hired with the other
things mentioned in the following list : —

J. Antony and Lewis Garcin, Brothers, supply articles of furni-
ture to passengers at the lazaretto and Fort Manoel, at the following

rates : —

d
Iron bedstead with mosquito curtain - 2| per day.

A mattress and two pillows - - 3

A paliass ... . . 0}

A pair of sheets . • . . i

A pair of pillow cases . - . QJ

Coverlids, each . . . . oj

Small mat, bed-side table, &c. . . 0}

Wash-hand table complete, and tub - 1

Dressing table and looking glass > 0\

N. B. Passengers taking the whole set of furniture will only pay StL
a day.

IKTBODUCTION. XXiii

Extra furoitare may be had, if required, at the following prices
during the qoarantine : —

For a large mat - - 3 0

a sofa - - 5 0

an easy chair - « 2 6

a screen - - SO

Passengers are to pay for any article of furniture missing, torn,
or in any manner damaged or destroyed.

If travellers happen to have any furniture with them, they can
easily dispose of it, when they leave the lazaretto, or send it by sea
to England ; and those who have carried a canteen, cooking things,
and table services on their journey, may as well use them in
quarantine.

There are two lazarettos at Malta. That of Fort Manoel is by
far the most comfortable.

The rooms in the lazaretto of Malta are not large, but they are
sufficiently so for one person, and they have the comfort of fire-
places, which, in winter, is a very great point. They are given
gratis, and not as at the Pirasus, with the exorbitant charge of 5«. a
day, as if the punishment of imprisonment were not sufficient ; for
Quarantine has been justly defined " imprisonment, with the
chance of catching the plague."

There is one thing very deficient at Malta, the means of trans-
porting luggage from the beach to the lazaretto, which might be
easily improved, and calls loudly for the attention of all who have
the direction of these matters. A traveller who has no servant finds
himself on'^the beach without any one to move his things : even if
the sailors are willing to take them to his room, he must wait a long
time, until the boat has landed the whole luggage. Each box has
to be carried some distance ; and if he is the last served, he may
have to wait several hours before all his things are removed from
the shore to the lazaretto.

Every one on entering the lazaretto is obliged to unpack all his
things, and put them out on wooden horses, during the whole time
of hb stay, the last three days excepted, which are allowed-for pack-
ing up ; and his quarantine does not begin to count until they have
been so exposed. All sealed letters or packages must also be opened,
unless he chooses to give up the former, and have them forwarded,
after proper fumigation, by the post. Any thing may be sent for
from the town, but nothing can be returned, unless it can pass unin-
jured through the process of fumigation. The guardians are

XXIV INTRODUCTION.

obliged every now and then to inspect the rooms, to see that the
things have been laid out and properly exposed to the air. Great
care must be taken to avoid touching any one not in quarantine, as
he would be condemned to pass the same number of days in the
lazaretto as the person so compromising him, who would have to
pay all his expenses ; and these he might increase to any amount,
in revenge for his confinement. Equal care should be taken not to
come in contact with any new comer, after a portion of the quaran-
tine is over ; as the person touched would be doomed to an additional
imprisonment, or the same number of days that the other had still
to keep quarantine.

As things cannot be sent to the wash out of the laafaretto, it is
necessary to engage a washerwoman from the town, unless the
traveller has a servant who can perform this office. The washer-
woman is, of course, subject to the same number of days* quaran-
tine that remain to be performed by her employer, after the time of
her coming into the lazaretto. She is paid Is. Sd. a day ; and for
soap and labour, according to the things washed. If a party join
together, they may share the expenses.

The total expense of quarantine, for living, furniture, guardians,
one servant, a washerwoman during the whole time (which is un-
necessary), letters, coffee, fruit, and other extras for lunch or supper,
for one person is about 11/. 10«., without wine. For two persons,
or a party, less, or about 9/. ; for a large party much less, or be-
tween 6/. and 71. each, the guardians then being charged only 1 U. id.
each person.

Visits may be received during the day, at the parlatorio from
8 A. M., or even 6 a. m., till sunset The parties stand at a barrier,
separated from each other about 10 feet ; but, as a favour, they are
sometimes permitted to sit in the adjoining court, a certain distance
apart, attended by a guardianoj to see that they do not touch each
other, or pass anything out of quarantine.

A person who is alone, and can find friends willing to join him in hia
confinement, may obtain quarters for them in the lazaretto. Another
privilege is being allowed to bathe in the sea every morning from
6 till 8, under the surveillance of a guardiano.

On taking pratique, you have only to send your things down to a
boat, and across the harbour to the Marsa Much^tt stairs, from
which they will be carried by porters to the hotel. For taking them
from the rooms in the lazaretto to the boat, you pay according to
the quantity of luggage. For two boxes and two portmanteaus, for
instance. Is. 6cf., which is ample. The boatmen will probably en-
deavour to impose on a stranger, but he should remember that the

INTBODUCTION. XXV

hire of a boat across the harbour is only 2d. each person ; and if 6</.
be given for two persons with their luggage, it is more than enough.
This is the price of a boat when hired for a whole hour ; and the
same is paid to a guardiano, who accompanies any one on a visit to
a friend in the lazaretto. You cannot pay a boat for less than half
the hour, when taken by time.

Porters at Malta are far more troublesome than boatmen, who are
generally very civil and easily satisfied. They are generally paid
6d. for each package, but if very heavy 8dl, lOdL, and sometimes Is,
There are also carts with one horse, which will take a load from the
Marina to the nuun street for the same sum. With regard to a
Dumber of small packages, I recommend a traveller always to have
as few as possible ; it is better to put things together in a single
box, or case, than to have many little parcels, which are easily lost,
and give an infinity of trouble in looking after ; and if it is thought
necessary to have several of these encumbrances, they had better be
put togedier into a bag when carried from place to place. The less
baggage one has the better. Have as many comforts as possible in
a small space, but no superfluities. No better name was ever
applied to anything than ** impedimenta" to "baggage" by the
Bomans ; and an old traveller will always have all he requires very
compactly put away in a small compass.

In landing from a ship in the great harbour, as, for instance, from
the Marseilles, Naples, or Gibraltar steamers, the best plan is to order
the boatmen to take you to the " custom-house," and on landing
your things, give him U., which is liberal pay (in spite of his pre-
tending to be dissatisfied), and call for one of the many carts that
are always kept ready dose to the spot. Tour baggage being put
upon it, take care to accompany, or to send your servant with it ;
and on arriving at the hotel dismiss the cart with U., and the porters
who have loaded it, and carried the things to your rooms, with
another. They would not be satisfied with 5^., or any other sum ;
but of this no notice need be taken, being well paid ; and the as-
sumption of discontent is part of their profession.

In the great harbour the hire ^f boats is, — from the Nix Man-
giare stairs, or the Calcara gate, to the ships, or to the dockyard,
^2d, there, and the same back: and from this harbour to St.
Julian's Bay, 1#. You may pay more if you like, and give 6 J. in-
stead of 2d, At night the prices are increased,

Boiels at Malta, — The best hotels in Yaletta are, Morell's, in
Strada Forai ; Dunsford's, in Strada Beale ; Madame Goubeau's, oc

XXVI INTRODUCTION.

the Clarence, in the same street ; and the Victoria, in Strada Gio-
vanni, opposite St. John's church. The smaller ones are, Yicary's,
in Strada Vescovo, looking upon the Parade, lately taken hy another
person, and fitted up under the name of the Princess Royal Hotel ;
the Hotel de la Mediterran6e, in Strada Reale ; the Hotel d*Orient,
in Strada Teatro ; and a few others of less note.

Moreirs is very comfortable, and the prices there and at Duns-
ford's are about the same. Madame Goubeau's is the only hotel
with a tabie dhdte^ which is at 5 o'clock in summer and 6 in
winter, and is pretty good. The house has the advantage of hot
and cold baths. The Mediterran6e is small, but has the reputation
of having by far the best cuisine ; it is therefore much frequented aa
a restaurant^ and the prices are moderate. At Morell's a bed-room,
furnished to answer also as a sitting-room, is charged d«. a day :
breakfast, of tea, bread and butter, and eggs. Is. 6d,; with toast
and coffee, 2^. ; with meat, &c., 2s. 6d. : plain dinner, with soap,
meat, &c., d«., and with side dish, 4s. : tea, 6d., and with bread and
butter, 15.

Dunsford's is about the same, or a little cheaper.

At the Clarence, a bed- room 2s., and bed- room with small sitting*-
room 4«., larger apartments paying in proportion: breakfast 1«,
and Is. 6d. : private dinner 3f . to 4«., and at table dThdte 2s. 6d.^
exclusive of wines.

There are also lodging-houses, many of which are very comfort*
able: two belonging to Dunsford, in Strada Forni, and Strada
Zecca : Moreirf s, in Strada Beale, close to the church of Santa
Catharina ; and one or two more in Strada Forni. They are well
adapted for persons intending to make some stay in Malta, and
then it is better to come to an agreement, according to the time.
The usual price oi a bed-room and sitting-room is about 5s. a day,
and small rooms are charged 8«. The average price of dinner is 4«.y
and breakfast \s. 6d.

English money is the current coin in Malta, from a sovereign to

a farthing.

•
Carriages and Horses. — Carriages, with a pair of horses, let at

45 dollars a month ; a pair of horses, without carriage,, 40 dollars ;

by the day, 3 dollars ; half a day, 1^ dollar. A saddle-horse for the

whole day, os. to 65. ; half a day, 2s. 6d. ; from 9 a. u. until evening

4s. to 5s, ; from 9 to 2 o'clock, Ss. to a dollar ; and from S o'clock

till 9, 2s. 6d. to Ss. If you keep a calesse with one horse, the food

of the horse will cost lOcL a day f and the calessier^ besides attend-

INTBODUCTION. XXvii

ing to the hone and carriage, is expected to wash the floor of your
house — an instance of the multifarious occupations of servants in
this part of the world.

Sights at JIfa/ta.— There are few ohjects worthy of a visit at
Malta. The principal in the town of Valetta are the palace, the
gOTemment library, the cathedral church of St. John, the fortifica-
tions, the view from the two Baraccas, and the palaces of the
knights, called Auberges, particularly those of Castille and Pro-
yen ce.

In the palace are the armoury, a few good pictures, and some
carious tapestry. Many of the apartments are good, and not less
so the ball-room.

The armoury is well arranged, but the specimens of armour are
not so curious, nor so varied, as might be expected in the city of the
knights. The complete suit, of Yignacourt is very elegant and
simple. It is the same he wore when painted by Caravaggio in a
picture in the dining-room, a copy of which is placed above it.
There is a large suit near the other end of the room, that appears,
from its immense weight, not to have been worn : and not far from
this is a very primitive field-piece, made of copper bound round
with ropes, over which a composition of lime was put, cased in
leather.

The Turkish arms are few, and remarkable neither for beauty
nor curiosity ; which is singular in a place so long at war with the
Osmanlis and the Moors. The library was founded in 1 790 by the
Bailli de Tencin, who presented the public with 9700 volumes. It
contains many curious and old works, and is composed of the pri-
vate collections of the knights, who were obliged to bequeath their
books to this public institution. Here are deposited some antiques
of various kinds found in Malta and Gozo ; among which are a
parallel Greek and Punic inscription, several strange headless
figures from Crendi, two curious coffins of terra-cotta, and a few
other objects of various styles and epochs.

Of St. John's Church the most curious part is the floor, where the
arms of all the grand masters are inlaid in various coloured mar-
bles. They have been very useful for heraldry.

The tapestry of this church is also very fine. It is put up at the
fete of St John, and continues to be exposed to public view for
several days, before and after that ceremony. The silver railing in
the chapel of the Madonna, at the east end, is curious. It is said to
have owed its preservation^ at the time of the French occupation of

a 2

XXviii INTRODUCTION.

the island, to the paint that then concealed the valuable quality of
its materials.

In on^ of the side chapels is a picture by Michael Angelo Cara-
▼aggio, representing the beheading of St. John ; a good painting,
but badly preserved. It is said that the artist made this a present
to the order, on condition of being created a knight of Malta, ia
consequence of the following occurrence : — One of the knights
having offended the artist, the latter challenged him to single com*
bat, and satisfaction being refused, on the plea of his not beings
worthy io meet his antagonist in a duel, Caravaggio sought to obtain
a position which should entitle him to this right. He therefore ap-
plied to the grand master, in the hopes of obtaining the rank of
knight ; which was granted, on condition of painting this picture.
It was done, he became a knight, and fought his duel ; but in order
to diminish as much as possible the value of a work, which the pride
of a member of the order had condemned him to execute, he painted
the picture on cotton instead of canvas, whence its decayed state,
and the difficulty of its restoration. Such is the story at Malta, the
truth of which may be doubted ; though the most important point is
true that he painted the picture.

In the crypts below the cathedral are the tombs of some of the
grand masters.

The principal objects in the vicinity of Yaletta and in the country
are the ruins near Crendi, or Casal Crendi, the hollow called the
Devil's Punch Bowl, or Makluba, St. PauVs Bay, Citta Yecchia and
the Catacombs, the Garden of Boschetto, the Governor's Villa of
San Antonio, the Grotto of Calypso, and the Aqueduct built by the
Grand Master Vignacourt in 1610.

These have been so frequently described that I shall only mention
the ruins near Casal Crendi, excavated by order of the governor, Sir
Henry Bouverie, in 1839-40. They are about twenty minutes*
walk from that village, and are called Hagar Keem, " the upright
stone.*' This name has been very improperly written Khem^ and
has been supposed to bear some relation to Egypt, or the land of
Ham (Khem). They consist of several apartments of various sizes,
irregularly placed within one common enclosure, mostly connected
with each other by passages or doorways. The rooms are either oval,
or have one end of semicircular form ; and their walls are composed
of large stones placed upright in the ground, or in horizontal
courses. The principal entrance is on the S. S. £. A short pas-
sage leads from it into a small court, in which, on the left hand side,
is a small altar ornamented with a rude attempt at sculpture, repre-

DTTBODITCTIOK. ZXIX

seoting a plant growing from a flower-pot ; and near it is a flat
stone like a seat, above which are engraved on an upright block two
Tolates, protruding on either side of an oval body. There are no
other signs of sculpture ; but a peculiar kind of ornament is com-
mon on these and all the principal members of the building, cou-
aisting of round holes punctured all over the surface of the stones,
extending little deeper than the surface.

On either side of this court is a semicircular chamber ; and after
passing on, through a door in a line with the main entrance, you
come to a second court, at the upper end of which to the right is
the principal sanctuary. It is of semicircular form, and its walls
are built of stones placed in horizontal courses, put together with
care, and breaking joint.

Within this is a smaller enclosure of stones, placed upright in a
drcle, with an entrance corresponding to that of the room itself.
Ail the stones of the sanctuary have been punctured in the manner
above mentioned.

On the left of this second court are two large stone altars ; one
on each side of a door leading to a small apartment, connected with
which is another little chamber, also containing an altar. There
are four more apartments at this (south-west) end of the ruins ;
and in the outer wall of circuit are some very large stones placed
upright, about 15 ft. high above the ground. A stone of similar
siz^stands near the sanctuary to the north-east, and another of still
larger dimensions is placed horizontally a little to the east of the
main entrance.

About 120 ft. to the north of these ruins are other semicircular en-
closures, made with stones placed upright in the ground ; and about
a mile to the south, near the sea, are some ruins similar to the
Bagar Keem, which are also deserving of examination.

In the same excursion may be included a visit to Makliiba, and
even to the cave called Ghar Hassan on the sea-coast to the south-
east of Crendi.

Other ruins of a similar kind are found close to Valetta, at the
Coradino, near Captain Spenser's monument and the new tank,
which may be visited at the same time.

With regard to the date of these peculiar structures and the
people by whom they were built, I will not pretend to ofier any
opinion. Their general appearance has rather a druidical character,
and from their antiquity and the occupation of the island by the
Phoenicians, we might attribute them to that people ; but the absence
of aU inscriptions leaves the matter in uncertainty, and the small

XXX INTRODUCTION.

headless figures discoyered there (now preserved in the Govern*
ment library at Valetta) in no way aid in solving the question.

In Gozo is another ruin called Torre dei Giganti, "the Giants*
Tower," inland on the eastern side of the island, which is on a
grander scale than the ruins of Crendi, though of similar construc-
tion, and evidently the work of the same people.

Rowing and sailing boats go over to Gozo from Yaletta daily,
and sometimes a small yacht may be hired for the occasion, which
is cleaner and more comfortable.

Yaletta has a small theatre, where Italian operas are performed
during the season. Many public and private balls are also given,
particularly in the winter.

ERRATA ET CORRIGENDA.

Page 86. line 18., for *< had not happened/* read ** had happened.**

SI 8. second column, 4th line from bottom, for <* 20 monks** read

•* 80 monks.**
293. first column, Srd line from bottom, on the word ** Omar,** insert
the following note : — ** I understand the river now flows again
at the foot of the hill, where the caves are, which may be
reached in ten minutes from the boat.**

HAND-BOOK

FOE

TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

SECTION L

EGYPT.

Preliminary Information^

a. SXASOX FOR TtStnVQ EOTPT TlMK RKQUIKKO ElFCNSK OF TRV JoUR-

vrr. — h. Things useful for thk Journit in Egypt. — e. Mods of
LiTiNO IN Egttt, and Disvaszs of tur Country. — </. Dress. — e, Prz-
■RNTs. — f. Firmans. — ^. Monet, — A. Wrights anb Measures. — ^t. Post
Office. — j. Population — Retznuz. — *. Mohammed All — /. Chro-
nological Table. — m, Lm of Califhs and Sultans of Egypt. —
«. Certain points requiring Examination. — Ow English and Arabic
Vocabulary.

kovtr page

1 London to AlexRndria - 71
to RosettR, by

- 102

AlezandriR

land
RosettR to Atfeh, and Cairo,

by water . - . ]05
Alexandria to Cairo, by land,

through the Delta - • 105

ROUTI

page

5. Alexandria to Cairo, by the

Western Bank - - 106

6 Alexandria to Atfeh and
Cairo, by the Canal and
the Nile ... lo^

1. Arrival at Alexandria. 2. Hotels. 3. Seirants. 4. Boats. 5.
Things to be purchased at Alexandria for the Journey to Cairo? 6. His-
tory oi Alexandria. 7. Plan of Alexandria, and Site and description of the
Buildings. 8. Monuments outside the Canopic Gate. 9. Present Remains
of Ancient Alexandria. 10. Its Size and Importance. 11. Inhabitants.
13. aimate, Lake Mareotis and Canals. 13. The two Ports, Gates, Walls,
and Old Docks. 14. Mosks and other Buildings. 15. Amusements and
Sighta at Alexandria.

a. SEASON FOR TISITINO EGYPT. — TTM^ REQUIRED. — EXPENSES.

The best season for Yisiting Egypt is October, when the cool weather be-
gins, and the northerly winds prevail ; and boats may thtti go up the Nile
without the impediments of calms and contrary winds. At the beginning of
that month the trareller may have an opportunity of witnessing the curious

THINGS USEFUL FOR THB JOUBKET.

Sect. L

Gridiron, E. or C, (if thought ne-
cesMry.)

20 okas of potatoes, A. or C,

Tobacco, A. or C.

Pipes, C.

Wire for deaning pipes, put into a
reed, O*

Some tow for the same purpose, C.

Mouth-pieces and pipe-bowls, C.

A takkatoohni, or a brass plate, called
SeHnSeh, and wire cover for pipe-
bowl, are useful, A« or C.

Salt, pepper, &c., A. or C.

Oil, and distilled Wnegar, E. or C

Butter, C.

Flour, C.

Rice, a

Maccaroni. A. or C.

Coffee, C.

Portable soup and meats, -E.

Cheese, A. or C., or English cheese,E,

Mi$hmtsh apricots, C.

Kumredeen apricots, C.

Tea, E. or A.

Wine, brandy, Ac, E. or A. White
wine I believe to be better in a hot
climate than red.

Spermaceti candles, E. or A.

Table with legs to fold up, ahd top to
take off, E. or A.

Foot tub (of tin or copper), &c., E.

Washing tub, £.

Flag, E. or A. (for boat on Nile).

Small pulley and ropeforflag, E. or A.

Coffee-pot, E. or A.

Small bdkrag^ or Turkish coffee>pot,
A. or C.

Tea-kettle, E., or a tin one at A.

Plates, knives and fark% spoons, glass-
es, tea things, &c., in canteen, E.

A large bttkrag might serve as tea-
kettle and for boiling eggs, &c., A.

Copper saucepans, one to fit into the
other (HeM ft* Kttlbe-Md), may
be bought at A. ; buy them not
tinned, in order to see if they are
sound.

Copper pan for stewing f Tawa), A.

Baskets for holding these and other
things, A.

Candlesticks, E.

BardakM ( GooUd), or water bottles, C.

Zecr, or jar, for holding water, C.

Almond paste {rooag or terwieg) for
clarifying water, C.

Some tools, nails, and string, E.

A Kaddcm may serve as hammer and
hatchet, C

Charcoal in mats, C.

Two fire-places {mtrngnd)^ A. In the
boat going up the Nile have a set
put together in a large fireplace
with a wooden back ; the whole will
cost about 54 piastres, if well made,
C.

Small bellows, £., or fim, at A. or C

Fez caps (jUarbomh^tarabeeth) A. or C

Mandthek, fly. flap, A. or C.

Cafass, or kafass, a coop for fowla^
with moveable drawer at the bot-
tom, in order that it may be kept
clean, A. or C

White, or light-coloured boots or
shoes, being cooler, and requiring
no blacking, E^

Red Turkish slippers, C.

Biscuit, E. or C., or bread twice
baked, C. The bread in the vil-
lages in Upper Egypt will &ot
please every one; but veiy good
bread is to be had at Thebes {Koor»
nth), and that of Osiootand sooie
other large towns is by no means
bad.

Small tin cases for holding coflfee,
sujtar, salt, pepper, &c., A.

BaUdti, or earthen jars for flour, rioe>
butter, and other things which rata
might eat, are useful, C.

Candles in boxes, or in tin cases, but
if in tlie latter not to be exposed to
the sun, E. or C.

Broom called makdah^t and a tin,
for sweeping cabin, C.

Gun, powder, and shot, &c, £•

Ink, paper, pens, &c., E.

Camp-stool and drawing table, E.

Umbrella lined with a dark colour for
the sun, E.

Drawing paper, pencils, rubber, &c.,
and colours, in tin box of Winsor
and Newton, £.

A saddle and bridle for Syria and
Greece.

Tent (if required), ladder, and cu-
shions, may all be made at Cairo*

Egypt,

THIKGS USEFUL FOB THE JOUBMET.

Tbcnnomcter, mountain baromeCer,
if required, £•

Measuring-tape and foot-ruler, E.

For observations, a sextant and ar-
tificial horisoot or rather. Captain
Kater*a Repeating Circlet chrono-
meter, &c«, £•

Curtains for boat, of common or other
cotton stuff*, A. or C.

A packing- needle or two, and some
string, thin ropes, needles, thread,
buttons, &c , are useful : £., A.,
w C.

A filterer is not necessary. Keneli
jars and g^oBd^ or earthen water
bottles, supply its place.

A titm2jem$ikt or water bottle of Rus-
sian leather, for the desert, or even
for excursions to the ruins ; though
lor the latter gooOel will answer
▼ery well, without any trouble, C.
The seams must be first of all rub-
bed with a mixture of melted tallow

and wax, and when this dries the
Zemsemdeh may be filled ; but af-
terwards it must never be left
without some water in it. Another
precaution, when on an excursicm,
for prettrving the water, is to insist
on the servants not drinking it.

A donkey, if he intends taking a large
boat from Cairo, or, at all events,
a donkey saddle, but no bridle, the
asses of Upper Egypt not having
any knowledge of such a /ajntry, C.

As many eatables, which will keep, as
be likes, most of which may be had
at Cairo. Portable soups, or meat,
&c., preserved in tins, may be
brought from England as occa-
sional luxuries.

An iron rat-trap for the boat, E.

Two sheets of Mackintosh, about 7
feet square, with loops here and
there, against damp ground and
rain, are very useful, especially in
the desert and in Syria.

* With regard to instruments, they should, when it is possible, be of the
same materials throughout, wood and metal combined ill according with the
beat of an Egyptian climate ; and in the top and bottom of the cases nails, or
screws answer better than glue.

In bis medicine chest, the most necessary things for a traveller are, scales,
and liquid-measure, lancet, diachylon and blistering plaster, linl, salts, rhu-
barb, cream of tartar, ipecacuanha, sulphate of bark or quinine, James's and
Dover's powders, calomel, laudanum or morphine, sugar of lead, sulphate of
nuc, nitrate of silver, and sulphate of copper (these 4 being of great use in
ophthalmia), nitre, oil of peppermint, and other common medicines. They
had better be brought from Europe, though they may be had in Alexandria
or Cairo. Powders and other medicines should be put into bottles, well
closed with glass stoppers.

Nearly all the above-mentioned things may, indeed, be found in Egypt,
but they are better and cheaper in Europe : many, too, will be thought
unnecessary by many travellers ; it must therefore be left to them to decide
if any, or what, can be dispensed with.

The choice of a library (which cannot be collected in Egypt) will, of
course, depend on the occupations or taste of each person : I shall therefore
only recommend the most useful works, as vols. ii. and iii. of Larcher's
Herodotus; Champollion's I'honetic System of Hieroglyphics, Letters, and
Grammar ; Pococke ; Denon ; Hamilton's iEgyptiaca ; Savary's Letters ;
Clot Bey's Aper^u G6n^nile de I'Egypte; Gliddon on the Hieroglyphics;
Mengin's '* Egypte sous Mohammed Aly ;" Robinson's Palestine and
Mount Sinai ; Lane's Modern, and Wilkinson's Ancient, Egyptians ; Hos-
ktns's Ethiopia, and Visit to the Great Oasis; Colonel Leake's, Lapie's,
or Wilkinson's Map of Egypt ; Captain Smyth's Alexandria ; Wilkinson's
SuTfey of Thebes ; Costa's Delta ; and Parke and Scoles's Nubia ; to which

6 MODE OF LIYINO IN EGYPT. SeCt I.

may be added Burckhardt, I^aborde's Petni, Ptolemy, Strabo, and Pliny ;
but of these three last, as well as Diodorus, extracts will suffice, if consi-
dered too Tolumioous. (Of the libraries in Egypt see Sect 2. )

C. XODB or UVINO IN KOTn, AMD BISKA8ES OF THE COUMTET.

In winter, it is unnecessary to make any change in the mode of living
from that usually adopted in Europe ; and most persons, unless they commit
excesses, may eat whatever they are accustomed to in other countries. In
the summer months it is, however, better to avoid much wine or spirits, as
they tend to heat the blood ; and cause the hot weather to be more senubly
felt; and some (though I may say, very few) will find that fish (chiefly
those without scales), eggs, and unboiled milk, do not always agree with
them. Bathing in the Nile is by no means prejudicial in the morning and
evening ; and, except in the neighbourhood of sandbanks, there is no fear of
crocodiles. Fruit and vegetables are wholesome and cooling, and mutton is
better than beef. The fish of the Nile are not very good ; the booltee and
kisher are perhaps the best.

The diseases of Egypt are few. Fevers are very rare, except about Alex-
andria, Oamietta, and other places on the coast; and almost the only com-
plaints, to which strangers are subject in the interior, are diarrhcea, dysentery,
and ophthalmia. The following is a good mode of treatment for diarrfacea,
or even for the beginning of suspected dysentery. First take an emetic of
ipecacuanha, and in the morning a mild aperient, as 15 grs. of rhubarb with
2 grs. of calomel; on the following day, 2 grs. of ipecacuanha with \ gr, of
opium morning and evening, nothing being eaten but boiled rice, sweetened
with white sugar. But if this does not stop the complaint, and tenesmus
gives the well-known sign of decided dysentery, a do^ of 20 grs. of calomel
with 4 gr. of opium, should be taken, which must be followed next morning
by a dose of castor oil. This generally cuts the matter short ; but it is as
well to follow it up with 2 grs. of ipecacuanha and } gr. of opium three or
four times within the 12 or 24 hours, for two or three days after. In severe
cases, an injection of nitrate of silver (caustic) has been employed with great
success ; but this can only be done under medical advice.

For ophthalmia, in the first suge, mix 10 grs. of sulphate of zinc in 1 oz.
of distilled or rose-water, and put one or two drops into the eye, reducing the
strength for succeeding applications. In the purulent stage, mix 7 grs. of
sulphate of copper, or blue vitriol, in 1 oz. of rose-water, and drop it into the
eye once a day. Fifteen grs. of sulphate of zinc may even be put into 1 os.
of rose-water, and one or two drops be put into the eye ; and I have been
recommended by an eminent practitioner to use 7 grs. of nitrate of silver to
1 oz. of rose-water in the same manner.

In slight inflammation, a wash of 2 grs. of sulphate of copper to 1 oz. of
rose-water may be frequently used. Warm water will often remove an irri-
tation which if neglected often ends in ophthalmia; and spirits of wine
will generally have the same effect, particularly if the hand be held over the
eye to cause an external heat ; the eye being, of course, kept closed to prevent
the spirit entering it. Steaming the eye over boiling water is also highly
beneficial ; or bathing it in a decoction of poppy-heads.

The cause of ophthalmia has frequently been assigned to the sand of the
desert; but, in order to show the error of this conjecture, I need only
observe, that ophthalmia is unknown there, unless taken from the Nile ; and
I have always cured myself and others, after two or three days, by a visit to
the interior of this dry tract. I do not, however, mean to affirm that sand

EgypL diskases. — ^^BREsa. — fresents. 7

blown into the eye, or a greet glare from the sand, will not produce it ; dust
and the glare of snow will cause it in other countries ; but still they are not
<4e causes of ophthalmia, generally speaking. There are, in fiu:t, both direct
and accidental causes. Among the latter are a blow, dust or sand, glare of
the sun, a draught of wind, and other things ; but the former must be looked
for in a 6xed and specific agent, peculiar to Cgypt. This, I am persuaded,
after many years* experience, and frequent attacks of ophthalmia, arises in
the transition from excessive dryness to damp ; and though Egypt is, perhaps,
the driest climate in the world, the diflerence between the generally dry
atmosphere and the damp exhalations on the river, or in the streets of Cairo
and other towns (which are not only narrow, but are watered to keep them
cool), ik so great, that the eye is readily affected by it ; particularly when in
that susceptible state, caused by the sensible and insensible perspiration, to
which the skin is there subject. Hence it is, that during the inundation,
when the exhalations are the greatest, ophthalmia is most prevalent. The
facts of its non-existence in, and its speedy cure if a patient goes into, the
desert, sufficiently substantiate this opinion ; and this is further confirmed by
the comparatively comfortable sensation there imparted to the eye, by the
dryness of the air.

It is always advisable to avoid sitting in a draught, particularly of damp
air; and if obliged to go out at niaht from a warm room, or the cabin of a
boat, to wash the eyes and forehead with a little cold water, by which means
die perspiration is not checked on going out, and the eye is prepared for the
change to a cooler temperature. They must, however, be wiped dry before
leaving the room.

It is unnecessary to say much respecting the plague : every one will take
care to avoid it, either by not going to £gypt when it rages there, or by leav-
ing the country on the first alarm. If he cannot do the last, he may avoid it
by remaining in Upper Egypt, where it never goes above Osio6t ; or he may
keep quarantine like other Europeans in the countr}'. In Alexandria cases
rarely occur from September to the end of January, and at Cairo from thee nd
of June to the end of March ; and that only in certain years. A violent
plague occurs about once in 10 or 12 years. It is less frequent at Cairo thail
at Alexandria, and the worse plagues cease at Cairo by the end of June. It
is now no longer dreaded as of old ; grest precautions are taken by tlie board
of health, and the treatment is better understood. The first remedy should
be an emetic, which will often stop it if taken in time; but bleeding is
injurious.

d. DEESS.

If the traveller inquires whether the Oriental dress be necessary, I answer,
it is by no means so ; and a person wearing it, who is Ignorant of the lan-
guage, becomes ridiculous. One remark, however, I must be allowed to make
on dress in that country — that a person is never respected who is badly
dressed, of whatever kind the costume may be, and nowhere is exterior appear-
ance so much thought of as in the East.

e. pazsKNTs.

With regard to presenU in Egypt, it may be laid down as a general rule that
they are quite unnecessary ; which was not the case in former times. But it
will sometimes happen that the civilities of a Sktkk Belied, or even of a
Turkish governor, require some return ; in which case some English gun«
powder, a watch, or a telescope for the latter, and a white shawl and tarbooih,or
an amber mouth-piece for the former, are^ generally speaking, more than they

a 4

8 FIRMAKS. — MONET. SeCt. I.

have any reason to expect. And although on those occasions, when their po-
liteness arises from the hope of reward, they may be disappointed in their ei-
pectations, yet they would only consider greater presents proofs of greater
ignorance in the person who made them. But in all cases the nature of a pre-
sent must depend on the service performedi and also upon the rank of both
parties.

f, naMAvS.

Firmans are no longer given by the Pasha, but a hooy^ardtt or taikrtk may
be obtained from the Diwan d KhedUwee at the citadel, on application to the
consulate, which it is as well to hare, and which is absolutely necessary if the
traveller intends going any distance from the Nile into the interior. Indeed,
I have known the governor of a town refuse protection to a traveller when
applied to for it, on the excuse of his having no firman or booySordees and the
want of one might, in some cases, be a very serious inconvenience.

ff. MOKXT IW BGrPT.

The most common foreign coins current in Egypt are the dollar, the sove-
reign, Venetian sequin, and 5 franc piece. The dollar is rated at 20 piastres,
though the Spanish colonnato, or pillar dollar, has latterly passed for 23, and
the Austrian thaler at 21 ; and it may be observed as a general rule, that in
mentioning a dollar 20 piastres are implied, unless the name of Spanish or
Austrian dollar be specified. The value of the dollar, like other foreign coins,
is frequently changing in Egypt, in consequence of the constant deterioration
of the piastre. In 1 833 it was at 15, and the sovereign at 70 piastres. For-
merly it was at 90 pturag, and to this day the sum of 90 panu is called reai or
dollar. In Pococke*s time, the para or mSiydee was 3 farthings English, and
the I L was 8 piastres. The small Constantinople coins were not then current
in Egypt.

Tlie principal gold coins of the country are kkereehs, b^shiUkMf and pieces of
90 and 10 piastres. Those of silver are 3 and 1 piastre pieces, half and quarter
piastres ; and the only copper coins are pieces of 5 paras. Large sums are
reckoned by purses, a» throughout the Turicish empire. The purse is always
500 piastres, now equal to 51. ; there is also the khdznehf wich is 1000 purses.

The money of Egypt has lately undergone a change, and Mohammed AU
has called in all the worthless coin of Constantinople, and issued a new cur-
rency, which is very good. The only bad part of it was, that instead of calling
in the old coins, and giving the people the price at which they received them,
the Pasha merely altered thdr value, and treated them as we have the Maltese
in the case of the dollar.

In January, 1842, the Spanish dollar, hitherto passing for 22, was rated
at 20 piastres 28 paras, the Austrian dollar of 21 at 20; and after various
changes, a tariff was published, stating the different proportionate reductiona
of the other coins.

The following is the value of the different pieces of money circulating
in Egypt, according to the new tariff of 1842 : -^

Gold.

Plast. Par. Piast. Far.

Portuguese pezxi dToro -.174 4
Venetian sequini - - - 46 1 7

Doubloons, doppi€ AT 3^3

Spagna \

English sovereigns (re-\ - „

duced from 100) J - »^ asu

Hungarian ducats, orl ak o^
Mugger j - -m xo

Egypt

MONET.

Louk d*or of SO francs
Old Mahmood^eht
New Mahmood^ebs
Fendooklce of Mah-

mood
New Fendooklee of^

Biahmood
New Fendooklce of'

Selim
New Mahb6ob of Selim
OUl Adlcch of Consttn- 1

tinople. J

New Adleeh of Con- j

stantinople 3

Old Zerilfe of ConsUn.

tinople
New Zarifle of ConsUn'

tinople

Attitrian dollar

Spanish pillar dollar

'Neapolitan §ewdo

5 Franc piece

American dollar

Sardinian dollar

Old Besfalik of Con-
stantinople

New Bcshlik of Con-
stantinople

Ekkeeltk of Constan-
tinople

Old Tuslik of Constan-
tinople

Old Altmishlik of Con-
stantinople

Alteelik Abd-el Meg^cd

Alteelik

A'lteelik, Ham^edee

FIsrt. Fsr.

• 77 6

- 60 2S

- 50 S3

- 43 10

- 84 10

- S6

- 25

- 17

- 15

- S

- 8

Old Khereeh (or Kbay-
r^eb) of Constanti-
nople

New Khereeb of Coo-
lant! nople

New Kbereeh of Abd-
el-Megeed

Cairene piece of 100 pi-
astres

New Khereeb of Cairo

Old Kbeiveh of Cairo

New Kbereeh of Cairo

Mahb6ob of Cairo,
MootstefAwee

Mabb6obof Cairo, Mab-
moodee

Saadeeh or small Khe-
reeb of Cairo

}

SUver.

Plaat. Fsr.

20
20
19
19
19
13

O
88
22
10

O
27

16 90

2 24

. 11 27

4
9

O
SO
15

Silver coin of Mahmood -
Sitt^nee, Meg6ed -
Half piastre, MegM
Quarter piastre, Meg^d -
Para of Abd-el Meg^dl
for every thousand J
Piastre of Abd-elMegM -
C^airene dollars
Cairene S piastre piece

Piatt. Par.
90 5

17 10
17 10

100 0

20 O
8 32
8 32

24 8

20 34

S 37

PIstt. Par.

6
1
O
0

6
S

- 10 17

{

Cairene piastre

Cairene } piastre

Cairene ) piastre

Maydee> foddai noos 1

(noosf ], or 1 para piece j

Copper*

Piece of 5 paras, or
KhAmsa fodda

or
O
0

O
0

0
40
20
10

}

The best money to take to Egypt is English sovereigns, or Spanish and
Austrian dollars. It is also necessary to have bills on London. They nuiy
be drawn either at Alexandria or Cairo ; but it must be remembered that no
money b to be obtained in Upper Egypt, and the traveller must take all
be wants for his journey, before be leaves Cairo. He should also provide
himself with a sufficient quantity of piastres, 20, 10. and 5 para pieces, as
in baying fowb or other things in the villages, his servants will not always
find change for lai^ger coins ; it is not convenient to be delayed, until a poor
peasant can search for it ; and many object to taking gold, even of the
country, from the natural fear of losing it, or of suffering from -some change in
its value. Sometimes it is possible to negotiate a bill at {Ceneb, through our

a 6

10 WEIGHTS AND IfEASTTRES. SeCt. L

ftgent Sayd Hossayn, who, though acting without any pay from our goTem-
ment, is always ready to oblige travellers ; but this is of course only done as
a favour, and cannot be relied on, unless the stranger is furnished with a
letter to him from a house in Cairo or Alexandria. This, for one who in-
tends making a long stay at Thebes, would be advisable. Circular notes are
also very useful at those two places ; but some merchants prefer a letter of
credit, as bills are m6re secure against loss on the way, when drawn in dupli-
cate or triplicate.

The piastre and the smaller Egyptian coins now pass throughout Ethiopia ;
though, in the southern parts, the old prejudice in favour of the Spanish
pillar-dollar of Charles IV. (once common throughout Ethiopia as low as the
first cataract) may perhaps still remain. That dollar was preferred, and bad
a greater value, partly from its having /our lines in the number, and partly,
as they affirmed, from the superior quality of the silver.

h, WKIOHTS AHD XBASUaiS.

8 Mitk&l make 1 Ok4ea (wok^a) or Arab. os.

12 Ok&» — 1 Rotl or pound (about 1 lb. 2 oz. 8 dwt. Troy.)

2] RoU — 1 Oka or Wukka.

100 to 1 10 Rotl ] Kantir (about 98] avoirdupois).

108 Rotl — 1 Kantdr for coffee.

103 Rotl — 1 Kantiir for pepper, &c.

120 Rotl — 1 Kant4r for cotton.

150 Rotl — > 1 Kantir for gums, &c.

For Gold, Gums, ^e,

4 Kumh (Grains) make 1 Keer&t (Carat) or Khar6obeh.
64 Grains or 16 Keerat — 1 Derhm (4?! to 49 grains English).
11 Derhm. or 24 Keerit - {^ MiUciUfrom about 1 drachm to 72 gr^

12 Derhm — P ^^i**.?' °*- ^^'®°' ^''^^ *** ^"^^ «^

\ English).

12 Okdea — 1 Rotl or pound.

150 Rotl — 1 Kantar.

Meatureg of Length,
Fitr, or span, with fore finger and thumb.
Shibr, longest span with little finger and thumb.
Kubdeh, human fist with the thumb erect.
1 Drah beledee, or cubit, equal to 22 to 22| inches English.
1 Drah Stamb6olee equal to 26 to 26} inches English.
1 Drah Hindazce (for cloth, &c.) equal to about 25 inches English,
3 Bah (braces) equal to 1 Kassobeh or 1 1) feet.

Land MeatwrtM,
22 (formerly 24) Khar6obeh or Kiilideh make

1 Kassobeh, equal to
from n ft 4| in.
to 11 ft. 1\ in.
English.

IS} Kassobeh or rods -~ 1 Keerat.

24 £eerat,or 933 Kassobeh — 1 Feddin oracre.

Egypt

POST OFFICE. — POPULATION. — RBYENUE.

Com Mttuure.

In Lower Egypt,

2 Koddah make 1 Melweh.

— 1 Roob.
~ 1 Kayleh

— 1 Waybeh.

— 1 Ardeb.

4 Kuddah
2 Roob
4 Roob
24 Roob

In Upper Egypt,

Roftow make 1 Mid.

1 Mid.

Ardeb,
nearly 5
bushels.

3 Roob

8 Mid or
6 Waybeb

— J

or
Eng.

t, ro8T orricx.

There is only one Foreign post-oflSce in Egypt, which is at Alexandria.
Letters to England (which need not be prepaid) can be sent to Alexandria,
and forwarded without difficulty ; but those for Malta and other parts of the
Mediterranean, which require the postage to be paid, roust be sent to some
one in Alexandria, who will pay them there, as this cannot be done at Cairo.

Those for Germany, and inland places in Europe, must be sent to some
bouse at Marseilles, in order that they may be there prepaid and forwarded,
as this is not to be done in Egypt.

The following is a copy of the notice in the British Government Packet
Office at Alexandria : —

'< Mails are made up at this office only for the following ports in the Mediter-
ranean by H. M.*s packets, namely, Malta, Gibraltar, Syra, and Marseilles ;
and all letters for these ports (excepting Marseilles) must be prepaid at the
following ratesy or cannot otherwise be forwarded : —

Not exceeding \ an ounce

1 ounce -

2 ounces -
9 ounces •

9, d.

O 6

1 a

2 O

3 0 and so on."

J, rOPULATIOK. ^RXTEKUB.

The population of Egypt, which 200 years ago was estimated at 4,000,000,
now amounts only to about 1,800,000 souls, having been reduced since I800«
from 2^500,000 to that number. Plague, and the Turkish system of Govern-
meot, have lessened and still continue to lessen, the population of all Egypt,
Alexandria alone excepted ; which, through increasing commerce, contains
nearly ten times the number of inhabitants it had before the time of
Mohammed AH.

The revenue of Egypt is said to be about 2,500,000/. sterling.

k. KOHAMMXO ALL

Mohammed Ali was born at C&wala, a small town of Roumelia, opposite
Thasos, in 1769; the same year that gave birth to the two most illustrious
persona of the present era. Napoleon and Wellington.

Uis father was Rougher, peasant, or farmer; who followed the double
occupation of tilling his lands, and deriving a part of his livelihood from the
sea. A miliury life was the only one that suited the active disposition of his
son ; and Mohammed Ali having entered the service of the ehdrbagee or
governor of C4wala, received the rank of B6olook- Bdshi, or subaltern, under
the chief of the guard (Agha-t-el bab, ** officer of the door**), at the palace.

On the death of his commanding officer, he was appointed to succeed him
as Agha-t-el bab, and married bis widow. She had two children, the
present Ibrahim Pasha, born in 1789, and his young sister, the late Tafdedah

B 6

12 MOHAMMED ALL SeCt I.

Hdnem, widow oT Moharrem Bey ; she aftcrwardi became mother of Tqob*
Boom and Ismail Pasha. Mohammed All after hts marriage contintted to
hold the same office in the govemor^s household ; and though he may have
entered into speculations in trade, like many Turkish soldiers, he never quitted
the military profession ; and when, in 1799) Ciwalawas required to furnish a
contingent of 300 men for the army of the Viseer, then levying to oppose the
French in Egypt, he was sent with them, and soon afterwards obtained the rank
of Bin-bashi. His conduct on several occasions, when engaged witli the
French, merited and obtained the approbation of the commander-in-chief, par-
ticularly at the battle of Abookir ; and when attached with a corps of TuriiSy
to part of the British army, he attracted the notice of several of our officers
by his courage and activity in the field.

At the period of the evacuation of Egypt by the Frendi, he had attained
the rank of Sar-cheshmeh, Brigadier- General, and his courage having gained
fur htm the admiration, as his manners the affection of the army, he soon felt
himself possessed of an instrument for increasing his influence in the country,
of which he was not slow in taking advantage. The discontent of the troops,
in consequence of long arrears of pay, had already begun to manifest itself,
when a threatening message of Khosrow Pasha to Mohammed Ali, was the
signal for open rebellion. They looked upon him to be the defender of their
rights ; and since he had displayed great anxiety for their welfare, they were
ready to protect him from the anger of the viceroy ; and the rest of the army,
when called upon to quell the mutiny, and seise the rebellious chief, was too
much interested in his safety not to join in his defence. Thus strengthened
in the affections of the army, his career became more and more successful ;
Khosrow, and his successor Khoorshid Pasha, were expelled from Egypt ;
and on the payment of a large sum to the Porte, Mohammed Ali was ap-
pointed to the Pashalic in 1806.

In the spring of 1807, our unfortunate expedition to Egypt under General
Fraser took place ; the result of which is well-known : and the triumph then
gained by Mohammed Ali over an enemy, who had attempted to interfere in
a province of the Ottoman Empire, obtained for him fresh support at Con-
stantinople. Many of the Memlooks also thought it a favourable opportunity
for courting his friendship. This invasion, and the necessity of putting tlw
sea-coast into a better state of defence, gave him an opportunity of ridding
himself of the unwelcome interference of the Captain- Pasha; which, had it
continued, would have stood greatly in the way of those projects he afterwards
devised. Alexandria was fortified, and garrisoned by bis own troops; and
thus strengthened at home, his thoughts were free to occupy themselves on
more distant projects. But ere that could be done, it was necessary to crush
the remaining power of the Memlooks. With this view a large force was
sent Into Upper Egypt; and, after various encounters, a truce was agreed
upon between the Pasha and the Beys, who were even admitted to the capital.

The deliverance of the Holy Land of Arabia ftvm the Waliibees, who had
taken possession of Mecca and Medina, was the next object of Mohammed
Ali*s wishes. The only impediment was the fear of leaving Egypt exposed to
the intrigues of the Memlooks. They, on the other hand, looked with eager
anxiety for the opportunity which the absence of the Turks would afford
them, of regaining their power, and of destroying the man whose talents had
defeated all their plans.

It was a question, which sliould perform the first successful act of treachery.
The failure of one led the way to the other. While at Sues, superintending the
preparations for the Arabian expedition, Mohammed Ali received a letter from

Egypt. HOH AHMED AU. 13

Mohsmincd Lax, bin Kehla Bey, telling him that the Memloolu intended to
WBjwlay him on his return to Cairo. In»tcad, therefore, of remaining at Suei^
as expected, he left it that night on a dromedary, without letting any one
know where he was going, and reached Cairo, with 4 out of 18 attendants,
before day break next morning. This intended treachery, and another plot
revealed to him about the same time, determined Mohammed Ali to he before-
hand with them, and he laid his plans for their destruction. The expedition
for Arabia was ordered to be hastened by every possible meafts ; and the
investiture of his son Toosoom Pasha with the command of the army was tet
fbrth as the prelude to its Immediate departure. The day fixed for this im-
portant ceremony was the 1st of March,' 1811. All the principal officers
attended at the citadel on the occasion, and the Memlcx>ks were invited to be
present. When the ceremony was. over, they mounted their horses to retire
from the citadel. On reaching the gates, they were 8urpri«ed to find them
closed, and no one there to open them : the suspicion of treachery immediately
flashed across their minds, and a volley of musketry from above revealed the
horror of their position. Men and horses fell under a shower c^ balls : no
courage could avail against an enemy protected behind walls ; and those who
attempted to fly from the scene of slaughter were picked off by the Albanians
wherever they turned.

Emin Bey, who leapt his horse over a gap in the wall, was the only one
who escaped.

The houses of the Memlooks were now given up to plund^ : orders were
issued to exterminate all who could be found in the city ; and punishment
was denounced against any one known to harbour them or facilitate their
escape. At length, on the second day a cessation of the persecution was
proclaimed ; Mohammed Ali himself went through the city to stop the tumul-
tuous licence of the troops ; and those who had escaped the general massacre
were permitted to retire, or remain unmolested. It is said that about 440,
with their chief Ibrahim Bey, perished in the citadel ; and in the city and
country it is supposed that no less than 1200 were sacrificed.

Those who were in Upper Egypt retired into Etliiopia, after having
sufiered from the treachery of Ibrahim Pasha at Esne, and took refuge
with the Mek of Shendy; until, on the approach of the Turks in 1820, '
they retired from the valley of the Nile, and crossing over to the westward,
paned through Dar-Foor ; whence they at last found their way through Africa
to the sea-coast of the Mediterranean. On reaching Tripoli, their numbers
were reduced to fourteen or fifteen, some of whom terminated their wander-
ings and tlieirlife in obscurity at Constantinople; the remnant of upwards
of 4000, against whom Mohammed Ali had begun his contest for the
posscssicm of Egypt.

Some few who had remained in Egypt were afterwards employed by the
Pasha. Osman Bey, and a few more, obtained the rank of governors of
provinces ; and those who had the means of living independently were per-
mitted to establish themselves at Cairo. One of these, Soolaynuin Agha, who
has the honorary rank of weffee, or civil governor of the city, told me the
following anecdote. At the time of the massacre of the Memlooks be was
already a ftiend of Mohammed Ali's, from whom he received an indirect in-
timation <* not to go to the citadel ** on that occasion ; and as soon as order
bad been restored in Cairo, the Pasha made diligent search for him, hoping
to find he had escaped the indiacriminate slaughter of his comrades.
A confidential messenger conducted him to Mohammed .Ali. He was

14 MOHAJCMED ALI. Soct L

overjoyed to see him, and bia first queadon waa reapfcting bis escape. " I
disguised myself aa a womaa," said the Memlook. ** How ! — With that
▼oice and that beard ? " I am sure I should have discovered you.** *' I thiok
not,** waa the reply ; and the conversation then turned to other matters.

A few dajra after this, a stranger dressed in the usual veil and black
Kdbbttrah of the Cairene women appeared before the Pasha, complaining of
ill-treatment from her husband. He pronounced judgment in the case, and
orders were given that the injured wife should be relieved from her husband's
injustice; when the complainant, throwing up the veil and disclosing the
face of a man, asked the Pasha if he acknowledged himself deceived by the
voice and appearance of Soolayman Agha. This incident was the cauae of
great merriment to the Pasha and his Memlook friend.

It is surprising that the Memlooks, versed in and accustomed to all the
artifices of treachery, as tliey had ever been, ^ould have fallen into a similar
trap, which Mohammed All himself had shortly before avoided, when invited
by Khoorshid to the citadel to receive the pelisse and title of Pasha of Judda ;
and it is probable that, like a chess-player too intent on hia own game, tbey
overlooked the intended move of their adversary, from being too aure of their
own success.

The destruction of the principal Memlooks left Mohanuned All free to
prosecute the war he contemplated ; and in the autumn of 1811, the army
was sent to Arabia. The young Toossoom, his son, took the command,
aasisted by th^ ablest of his father's generals ; but he received a severe check
from the valour of the Wahibees ; and it was not till 1818 that Ibrahim Paaba
succeeded in taking the ci^iital of the Dra^h.

Abdallah^ the son of Sa6od, was made prisoner ; and having been sent to
Constantinople, was there beheaded in 1819, after having been eiposed to
the gaxe of the people and every insult ; and the other chiefs were taken to
Egypt, to be kept as hostages for the future tranquillity of Arabia.

In the year 1 820, an eipedition was sent into Ethiopia under Ismail
Pasha, with orders to annex the kingdoms and provinces of Dongola, I>ar-
Sh^keeh, B^ber, Shindy, Seniiir, Kordofin, and the intermediate districts,
to the Turkish empire. Nubia, between the first and second cataract, bad
been previously overcome by Ibrahim Pasha, when driving before him the
Memlooks who had passed through it, on their way south in 1811. The
present expedition had for its pretext the pursuit of those enemies of the
Pasha, who had taken refuge with the Mek of Shindy, and were said to
threaten the tranquillity of Egypt. But the real motive of the expedition
originated in far deeper views. The turbulent spirit of the Albanians and
Turks precluded the possibility of introducing Mohammed Ali*s favourite
project of European tactics : the removal of all the most obnoxious spirite
was the only means of overcoming their opposition ; and the conquest of
those countries promised increase of wealth, power, and renown. Hia in-
tention was to send a large force into Upper Ethiopia, and bring from thence
a body of Blacks, to be disciplined, and formed into Nizdm, or regular troops,
in some out-of-the-way place unobserved by the Turks ; who too could not
object to this system being adopted towards foreigners, and could forsee in it
no danger to their own importence.

For this purpose he employed Colonel Seve (now Soolayman Pasha), a
French officer of great military tolents, who had fied from France at the tinrie
of the Restoration in 1815; and having established a military school at
Asouan in 1820, under the direction of Mohammed Bey Las, sent 500 of hia

Egypt KOHAMHBD ALL 15

Memlooks to be driUet^md Uu^t the duties of officers. At the same time
the Blacks were forwarded from Ethiopia to this depot, and drilled for soldiers ;
and Mcrfiamroed Bey (if I remember correctly) told me that the project was
to have 80»000 of them as infantry, with Turki^ii artillery and cavalry ; some
ifTcgolar Arab honemen ; and a few Albanians and Turks as a corps de
resenre^ to supply the divisions in Arabia and Sennar.

But notwithstanding every care, the Blacks died off* so rapidly that it was
found Dcccasary to supply their places by native Egyptians ; and this was
the origin of the present disciplined army. Tliis was unfortunate both for
the viceroy and the people ; as it drained the population of a thinly-peopled
country, and diminished the number of hands required for the cultivation of
the soil ; which were doomed to be still farther reduced a few years after by
the establishment of numerous manufactories.

The introduction of the cotton plant gave the first impulse to M<^ammed
Ali*s scheme of making Egypt a manufacturing country ; the impractica-
biUrf of which the experience of many years, the immense expense he hm
incurred, the dralo on the population, the destruction of machinery by the sand,
and universal opinion, have sufficiently demonstrated. The culture of the cotton,
which is of very good quality, is certainly beneficial to the revenues of Egypt ;
as are the indigo, and many other kinds of produce introduced or increased
by Mohammed Ali ; and had he been satisfied with the manufacture of
ooeinMHi stuffs, as in former times, for ordinary purposes, which did not
require expensive machinery, he would Iwve found it more profitable in the
end. The export of the raw produce was obviously more beneficial to the
oountry, and the Pasha, contented with that, would have been a gainer in
money and disposable hands.

Indigo, cotton, and sugar-cane have been for many years cultivated in the
valley of the Nile. The first of these is of very excellent quality in Upper
Ethiopia, where the latter plant also grows ; and a coarse sugar from the
cane was made long ago in Upper Egypt* But the indigo, as it now is, was
broogbt from Nabloos in ^yria, in 1824, and the Indian cotton was intro-
duced by Maho Bey, assisted by M. Jumel, about 1819, and first grown at
Heliopolis. From him it received the name of Maho cotton, and It is a
curious fmett that it has been found growing at Fazoglo, above Sennar. A
sugar refining manufactory was established at Reramoon, in Upper Egypt,
by Mr. Brine, an Englishman, in 1818 ; and the coarse sugar of the peasanto
being sent there to be refined, was found to be very good both in sweetness
and appearance.

Ibrahim Pasha, who had returned victorious from Arabia, was sent to
prosecute the war, and extend the Turkish conquests in Ethiopia; and Kor-
dofSui, Sennar, and the other prorinces were annexed to Egypt. He then
returned to Egypt, and other events soon called him to a new field ;
for the moment had arrived when Mohammed Ali felt himself sufficiently
strong to attempt the subjugation of the revolted Greeks ; and he sent to re-
quest permission of the Sultan to undertake the war of the Morea, which he
promised to terminate at his own cost, and solely with his own troops ; pro-
vided he might withhold the tribute from Egypt during that time, for the
expenses of the war. This apparently disinterested offer was welcomed by
the Porte ; and the Sultan rejoiced in a proposition which promised to destroy
an enemy, while it tended to weaken the resources of a too-powerful vassal ;
and the assent of His Highness was returned in the form of a command' to
Mohammed AH to put an end to the Greek insurrection.

It is generally supposed that the order emanated solely from the Porte ;

16 MOHAMMED ALI. SeCt L

but the fact of Mohammed All's having propoaedit was known Co me be.
tween two and three months before any order came from Constantinople, in
the following manner : — Happening to be acquainted with a Turk in ibe
Pasha*s confidence, and conversing with him on his probable intentions, I
remarked that many in Cairo talked loudly of his kind reception of the
Greeks, and supposed that he was likely to join them in their rebelKon against
the Porte. He then told me, that, so far were they from being right in their
surmises, the Pasha had sent to make the above proposition to the Sultan ; and
in less than three months he added, '* You will see the permission arrive
as an order from the Porte to send an army into Greece. ** The reault proved
the truth of what he said ; and accordingly, in 1824, a fleet and army were
sent, under Ibrahim Pasha, to the Morea.

The results of this campaign, the intervention of the European powers in
July, and the battle of Navarino, October SOth, 1 827, are well known,
Candia not having been included in the independence of Greece, was per-
mitted to be retained by the Porte, and Mohammed Ali, who had overthrown
the revolted Greeks there, was afterwards allowed the complimentary distinc-
tion of appointing a pasha to that island, in lieu of obtaining the pashalic of
Syria, which he had solicited.

The Egyptian troops having been taken back to Egypt, and his Greek
projects having failed, Mohammed Ali turned bis thoughts to obtaining po»>
session of Syria by force : this and the Morea, as one of his courtiers ob-
served to me, '* being two doors that lead to the same place" — Constanti-
nople. For I need scarcely observe now, what I had so often mentioned to
Engliih travellers whom I met in £gypt, while the war was going on in the
Morea, that the ultimate object of the Greek war was an attack on Constant!*
nople ; though few would then believe that he had either the intention to
attempt so ambitious a project, or the means to oppose the (reputed) power
of the Porte.

There is little doubt that Sultan Mahmood, by bis incessant animosity
against Mohammed Ali, and his repeated attempts to destroy him, paved the way,
in a great degree, for the success of his vassal's ambition ; that the supinenesa
of European nations, in not preventing a collision between the Sultan and
the Pasha, led to the late unsettled state of Syria ; and that their sub-
sequent interference was misplaced ; but this subject is too long for discus-
sion at the present moment, and does not, of course, come within the scope
of this brief notice. Nor is it.neceasary to enter into the details of the Syrian
war, which are well known to every rrader.

In contemplating the private character and political career of Mohammed
Ali, it is evident that, as an individual, he possesses many excellent qualities,
and is kind, indulgent, and humane ; while in his public capacity he must be
censured for ambition, for extorting money from the people, and for neg-
lecting to relieve them from the sute of misery to which they have «beeo
reduced by his expensive projects.

On the other hand, it may be said, that, considering all he has done, which
originated solely in his own energies, his endeavours to civilise the country
have been highly praiseworthy ; and when we compare him io others of his
nation, his superiority stands forth in a still more remarkable light. But
it is certain that bis conduct may be presented under different aspects,
according to the views of his enemies €»' his friends ; and this has led to the
great discrepancy in the character given 'of this extraordinary man. It may
be said that the various establishments set on foot in Egypt, the dykes, canals,
and other public works* are as much for the benefit of the government, as for

EffypL

GHROKOLOGICAL TABLE.

that of the people. Tht« is true; but what other Turk has done it? and what
natiTe would have made the attempt ? and may not this be said of all great
wotIls in any Country ? at the same time, how many prejudices of Che people
has he not had to encounter? and how gradual must be the steps in the
commencement of civilisation? For these, then, he deserves full credit;
and the point for which he merits censure, is his having done Utile to amelio*
rate the eondition of the people, though indebted -so much for his greatness
to the DBooey wrung from their labours.

k, FAXILT or XOBAXMBD ALL

The family of Mohammed All consists of Ibrahim Pasha, Said Pasha,
Hossayn Bey, Alim Bey, and Mohammed Ali Bey ; Nusleh Hanem,
his eldest daughter, the widow of Mohammed Bey Defterdar, and other
daughters.

Toossoom and Ismail Pa«has died many years ago, and the former left a
watt, now Abbas Pasha, who will probably one day succeed to the Pashalic of
Egypt.

Ibrahim Pasha has some children, the eldest of whom are Ahmed Bey,
born in 1825, Ismail Bey, and Mustafa Bey.

The other members of Mohammed All's family are his nephews, Hossayn
Bey, Ahmed Pasha, Ibrahim Pasha the younger, IsmiSl Bey, and some
younger ones.

/. CHEOMOLOOICAL TABLV OF KINGS Ot BOTPT.

In order to assist those who are interested in Egyptian antiquities, I shall
introduce a list of the kings which may be useful in examining the monu-
ments, particularly at Thebes.

Acceod

Letter in
PUie.

Kings.

ibe
Throne

B.C.

Events.

Menes, Menai

2320

First King of Egypt, according

to Josephus lived upwards of
1300 years before Solomon.

Athothis, his son

2300

(Other kings)

2204

Foundation of the kingdom of

•

Assyria by Nimrod.

Suphis, or Saophis .

2123

Built the Great Pyramid.

2089

Kingdom of Sicyon founded.

Sen^Saophis -

2083

Built the Second Pyramid.

2057

Era of the Chinese Emperor

Moscherisy Mencheris,

2043

Yao.

or Mycerinus

Built the Third Pyramid.

Apappus

2001

Or Aphoph •< the Giant.**

1920

Abraham arrives in Egypt Pro-

Nitocris

1900

bably, the queen called Nicaule
by Josephus.

1856

Foundation of the kingdom of

Argos.
Deluge of Ogyges in Attica.

1848

Menrooph, or Men-

1830

Perhaps the only king of this

mdihph

xvth Dynasty, and a Theban.

CHBONOLOGICAL TABLE.

Sect L

•

Ascend

Letter in
Plate

KiDsi.

the
Throne

B.C.

Events.

XVL Dtnastt from

LowsR Rgypt.

Osirtasen I. -

1740

Reigned at least 43 years.

1706

Arrival of Joseph.

•Amun-ni-Gori ?

1696

ArouQ-m-Gori II.?-

1686

Reigned at least 35 yean.

XVIL Dtnactt raoK

LowxR Egypt.

Osirtasen XL -

1651

Osirtasen III.

1636

Called also NofH-ftep, or Kofri.
othph.

1635

Death of Joseph.

Amun.ni.Gori IIL ?

1621

Reigned at least 41 years.

1580

Phonetic name not found.

XVIIL DrNAtTT OF

DiOSPOLZTAMS (from ThXBBs).

Amosis ...

1575

Or Ames, '<the new king (or
Dynasty) who knew not
Joseph.** Reigned at least
92 years.

1571

Moses bom.

1556

Cecrops founds the kingdom of
Athens, from Sals.

Amunoph L >

1550

Crude brick arches used in
Egypt

Thothmes I. -

1533

Flight of Moses, 1531.

Qa Ra

Amun-neit Gori ? -

Included in the reign of
Thothmes II. Perhaps a
queen. Nitocris ?

Thothmes II.

1505

Glass already known in Egypt.

1503

Deluge of Deucalion.

Thothmes III.

1495

A great architect.

1491

Exodus. Moses died in 1451.

Amunoph IL-

1456

His son. Came to the throne
young.

Thothmes IV.

1446

His son.

(Some foreign kings n

lied in ]

Sgypt about this time.)

Amunoph III. {whUea

1430

His son. Ilie supposed Mem.

•

ndnorr hia mother^

non of the Tocal statue at

Maut-m'$hoi, Zb, W€U

Thebes.

probatiy Regent,)

a2 b2

Amun-Toonb ?

- •

A foreigner, cotemporary of
Amunoph III.

Horns - - •

1408

Iron first used in Greece, 1406.

Remeses I. -

1395

Or Remesso.

Osirei, or Osiri I. ? .

.1385

A great conqueror.

il,2

Amun-mai Remeses

1355

Or Remeses tlie Great. The sup.

J 3.4

or Remeses II. . -

posed Sesostris, son of Osirei,

5,6

{HUtwo Queent) - ,

or S(0- Ostrrt : hence, perhaps,
confounded with Sesostris?

Pthahmen.

1989

His son.

^9y?^

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.

Letter in

Kingi.

the

Throne

ac.

Eveoti.

kS,l2

m n
op

U V
W X

1.2

3,4

7,8

9, 10

XIX. DnrASTY of Diostoutans, o« Tbxbams.

Pthahmen- Se-Pthah

Osirel II.
Osirei III.
B«meses III.

IV.
Remeses V.
Bemctes VI.

1269

1263
1255
1245
1235

1205
1195
1180

(SethoB ?) not admitted into the
Theban lists, perhaps from
being a Memphite, or from
having only married the
Princess Taosiri.

Argonautic expedition.

His ton, called also Miamnn,

and Amun-mai.
His son.

{Sons of Remeies III.
taken 1184.

Troy

XX. AKD XXI. Dynasty or Diospoutans.

RemesesVIL - 1170

Remeses VIII. - 1155

Remeses IX. - 1140

Remeses X. - - 1125

Remeses XI. ? - 1110

Amunmai Pouee ? - 1095

Amunmeses?- - 1 1080
(Other kings)

This name should perhaps come

before t C.
To about 1068.

XX IL Dynasty ot DiosrouTANs.

Sheshonk I.
Osorkon I.

Takelothe

978
945

925

Shishak of SS. (Solomon.)
Zerah, king of Ethiopia, battle
with Asa, 941.

XXIII. Dynasty ot Diospoutans.

Osorkou II. -

Sheshonk II.

(More kings)
Tnephactus, or Tne-
phachthus.

908

890

820?

Money of gold and silver first
coined at Argos, 894. Age
of Homer 907, or 844.

To about 860.

The Technatis of PluUrch. The
father of Bocchoris. Name
not found.

XXIV. Dynasty of 1 SaItk.

1, 2 I Bocchoris, or Pehor? I 812

Called ** the WiK."

CHBONOLOQICAL TABLE.

Sect-L

Letter In
PUte.

1,2
3.4

S, 6

7,8
9, 10

11, 12

IS, 14
15, 16

20, 21

24,25

KingiL

Aiccnd

the
Throne

EvenCi.

XXV. Dtnastt op Etbiofians.

SalMco, or Sabak6thpb
Sebechon, or Shebek,

Tefarak, or Tirbaka

Ammeret?

778
753
728

721
714

698

Soof SS.

Rome founded.

I am not certain wbich of tliese

two kings should come 6rst.
CapttTity of the Ten Tribes.
Setbos said by Herodotus to

have ruled at Memphis at

the same time. Sennacherib

attacks Judah 7ia

XXVL Dtxastt or SaYtbs.

(Uncertain.)
Psamatik, or Pkama-

ticus I.
Neco II.

The 12 kings or monarchs.

Psamiticus, or Psammiticbus, son
of Neco I.

Nechao of SS., defeated Josiah
610 a. c. Era of Solon, Al-
caeus, and Sappho.

Captivity of Jeboiakim, 599.

Or Vaphrea, the Hopbra of
SS. Takes Sidon. Perhaps
9a, 10a are bis name.

It is uncertain whether he was
the same as Apries.

Married the daughter of Psa-
maticus III. Era of Thcs-
pis, Pythagoras, and JEsop.
560.

After 6 months Egypt
quered by Cambjrses.

XXVII. Dynastt or PaasiAXs.

Psamaticus II.
Apries

Psamaticus III.
Amasis, Ames

Psammenitu8,or Psam-
micherites

664

610

600
596?

590?

571

525

con-

Cambyses
Darius Hystaspes
Xerxes «

Artaxerxes,
ksheshes

Xerxes II.
Sogdianus
Darius Notbus

525

521

•

485

Art-

472

•

425

424

Canbosh in hieroglyphics.

Ntareosh. Egypt rerolts.

Kbsheersb. Recovers Egypt,
484.

Egypt revolts, and elects Inavos
and Amjrrtosus Kings. 463,
the Persians retake Egypt.
Inaros is crucified. Herodo-
tus visits Egypt, 460.

Reigns 2 months.

■^^^— 7 months

1 9 yearn.

XXVI II. Dynasty or omt Saitk.

Amyrtanis

414

Egypt revolts, and Amyrtaeus is
recalled.

Egypt.

CHBONOLOGIOAL TABLE.

Aacend

Letter In
Pkte

Kings.

the
Throne

Brcnta.

B.C.

XXIX. Dtmastv or Msndisians.

26,27

Nepherites

408

Ncfaorot Long vowels first
used in Greek, 403.

38,29

Achoris, or Acoris -

402

Hakori. Death of Cyrus the
younger. Retreat of the
10,000, 401.

jscsi

Psammoutis, or Pw-

389

Nepberotes and Muthis not on

Maut ...

the Monuments.

XXX. Dtmasti

r OF SKBawNrTX Kings.

; 32,33

Nectanebo, I. -

387 Nakhtnebo. Nectabis of Pliny.

Teoa or Tacboa

369

Persians defeated, 362.

Nectanebo II.

362

Defeated b^ the Persians, 34a

XXXI. Dt

NASTT OF PsftSIAIta.

Ochus . * .

340

In his 20tb year. Philip dies, 335

Arses

338

Darius . . •

336

Alezander conquers Egypt.

llCBDOiriANS. PrOLKHT

BBiNO GovxaNoa of Egtft, 322.

Pbilip Aridsas

3*23

C Ptolemy made governor of
X ^gypt in their name, 322.

Alexander, son of

317

Alexander the Great

Ptolem

Its, OE Laoidjb.

Lagus, or Soter

305

Married, 1 Eurydice, 2 Berenice.

Philadelphus -

284-

The Ethiopian king Ergamenes
lived at this time. Afar» Ar-
sinoie.

Euergetcs L -

246

Mar, Berenice.

Philopator

221

Afar. Arsinoe.

Epipbanes

204

Mar. Cleopatra.

Pbilometor

180

Mar. Cleopatra. Aodochus in-
vadea Egypt, 170.

Euergetes II., or

145

Mar. 1 Cleopatra, 2 Cleopatra

PbjrMTon

Cocce. Also called Pbilometor.

Soter I I.y or Latbyrus

116

Mar, 1 Cleopatra, 2 Selene. Called
also Pbilometor, expelled 106.

Alezander I.-

106

Withbb mother. Afar. Cleopatra.
Lathyrus restored, 88.

1 10

Berenice . • -

Daughter of Lathyrus.

Alezander II. -

Bequeaths his kiu0ilom to the
Romans.

Neus Dionysus, or

Afar. Cleopatra. Ezpelled 58, re-

Auletes

stored 55.

1 ^^

Ptolemy, the elder son

.51

With Cleopatra, his sister and

of Auletes

wife.

Ptolemy, the younger

47 1 Afar. Cleopatra also. 1

Cleopatra

Alone, and then with Cmwrion
or Neocaesar, her son by J.

Cflssar.

CHBONOLOGICAL TABLE.

Sect. I.

A.a

122
297
325
379
622

1517
1763
1798
1801
1806

EvenU.

Visit of Adrian to Egypt ; and again, a.d. ISO.

Taking of Alexandria by Diocletian.

Council of Nic»a in reign of Constantine. Athanasius and Anus.

Edict of Theodosiuik Destruction of the Temple of Sarapis.

Conquest of Egypt by Amer (miscalled Ainrou). (See Table of

Okliphs.)
Conquest of Egypt by the Turks under Sultan Selim.
Rebellion of Alt Bey.
Invasion of Egypt by the French.
Expelled by the English.
Mohammed Ali made Pasha of Egypt. (See above, p. 12.)

In the era of Menes I have followed Josephus ; and by allowing 17 years
for each reign from Apappus to Menes, which requires a sum of 323, his era
would be about the time X have given, or a. c. 2324 ; though the number of the
reigns intervening between those two kings is by no means certain. In the
X Vth Dyna&ty I have been guided by the Table of Kings at Thebes, which
gives one DiospoUtan between Menes ond the XVII Ith Dynasty.

The contemporary reigns of Shishak and Solomon are the earli^t fixed epodi
for tlie construction of a chronologial table ; but reckoning back the number
of years of each king's reign, either according to Manetho, the dates on the
monuments, or the average length of their ordinary duration^ we noay arrive
at a fair approximation ; and the epoch alluded to on the ceiling of the Mem-
nonium, at Thebes, in the reign of Remeses 11., seems greatly to confirm
my opinion respecting the accession of that Prince. And, allowing for the
reigns of the intervening monarchs his predecessors, the Exodus of the
Israelites agrees with Manetho's departure of the Pastors In the reign of
Thothmes III.

Those who wish to compare the lists of kings given by Manetho and
Eratosthenes, will find them in the History of Egypt given In my ** Manners
and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians,'* and in that very useful work,
<* Ancient Fragments,*' published by Mr. Cory.

Of the Shepherd Kings nothing certain has yet been discovered ; nor is it
always possible to make the names given by Manetho and Eratosthenes accord
with those on the monuments.

The government of Egypt appears first to have been, as with the Jews, a
hierarchy, which was successively composed of the priests of one or other of
the principle deities ; but its duration is uncertain. We then come to the
Kings, the fitst of whom, by universal consent, was Menes ; and with him I
commence my chronological series.

The 2 ovals contain their prenomen and phonetic name, and the third that
of the Queen, whenever it has been found. Many other names of kings oc-
cur on the monuments ; but as their -date and relative position are uncertain,
I have not been able to place them in this list.

Egypt- i-isT or EING8.

UST OF KINOS.

LIST OP KWGB,

^-i-i

>liR<lv„3^

SSDi

(101

o«

• ''?S5S£;i 5, »(Wi^

j'Wll

Sect I. Egjfpt. tke galifbs and svltans.

fiT

m. UR or THX CAUPBt AKD tULTANS OF XOTIT.

• TIm Irequent noention of these Kingt, particularly in describtng the monu-
menu of Cairo^ and tbe neceasity of knowing at least when tbey ragned» in.
dooes me to give this Chronological Table

Eventa during tbeir Raign.

Aboo Bukr, or Aboo
Brkr (e* Sad^k).

(Vmar (ebn el Khut*
tib^ or KhattabJ.

Othxnin.

A^i (or Alee), and
Mo^wiefaL

Mo^wieh I.

Tested I.
Moauieh lU

MerawAn I.
Abd el M^ek.

£1 Welc^ I.
Soolarmiui.

Omar II.
Teemed II.
Heab^m.

El WeleM IL
Tested 111.
Ibrablm.
Meraw^n 1 1.

Invasion of Syria commenced.

Conquest of Persia, Syria* and Egypt.

A'mer, or Amr (ebn el As) enters Egypt
in June» 6S8.

Conquest of Africa begun.
Ali in Arabia reigns till 661 ; and El
Hassan, his son, nominally succeeds him,
and having reigned six months abdicates,
A. D. 661. Death of Hassan, 670. Mo^-
wieh in Egypt and Syria.

Bomae of Ammawt&i ( Ommti*«Mb«).

Alone. Fruitless attack on Constanti-

tinople by the Saracens.
His son. Hossayn killed at Kerbela.
His SOB.

[Abdallah, son of Zoba;^r, reigned nine
years in the Hegii ( Arabia), from 64
to 73 A. B., or 684 to 693 a. o.*]

His son. Conquest of Africa completed.
Abd el As^, bis brother, made a Nilo-
meter at Helw&n. In 76 a. h. first
Arab coinage. The oldest coin found is
of 79 A.B. (699 A.D.); it is a silver
Der'hero. The oldest gold deenSrs are
of the years 91 and 92 a. h.

His son. Conquestof Spain, 710. First
invasion of India by the Moslems.

His brother. Second failure l)efore Con-
stantinople. Was the first who founded
a Nilometer at the Isle of Roda.

Son of Abd el Az6es.

Son of Abd el M^lek.

His brother. Defeat of Al>d e' Rahman
in France, by Carles Martel, 732»

Son of YiiM.

His son.

His brother.

Grandson of Mersw&n I., killed at
Aboos^r, a town belonging to the
Fyo6m, in Egypt.

Began to
reign.

A. D.

632.
634.

644.
656.

661.

680.
684.

684.
684.

705.

714.

717.
720.
724.

743.
744.
744.
744
to
749.

• Tbe H^gira, or Moslem era, begins fiSS A.n., dating from the "Jtl^M " of the prophet
rmm Mecca. To reduce any jear of i he H^gira to oiir own, we have only to add fses to the
given year, and deducts for e^tn 100, or 1 for every 3J$ e.g. lS33-|*Gtt»1855 ; then for
tbe 190 deduct 36, and 1 for the S? » S7, IcaTCi 1818 a.m.

c 2

AQLEBlTXa.

Sect. I.

S in

11 ^i

iil

iiii

9* 5 IP

?} ti i fii

^-■i Mil!

It? fs^J ^f

tiUi pi

1^1

"5 e -^ G -g 2 g So

^mt-

ABBASISEB. — TOOt-OOinDSfl. — AOLEBITES.

lite II

ll II

III

s •= 3 I i

M pa M W M

ABBASa>£B« — TOOUOOVIDJSB^ — AQLSBIXES. Sect* I.

• .••* Cm •P <

•S -a -s ^

ESSpL

jLBBASIDKS, — TOOLOONIDES, — ASLSB1TB8.

itr^-'i III!

1 m^^
\ . illlJtiJ li.

I o a as.

"5 S-2

1 p"
1^ 11^

s » s «

liil

i.i

I a

111
III*

II IJ

ABBA9IDB9. — FATEMITKft.

Sect. I.

EgypL

ABBABIDB8.

AKBHKKD DTNA8TT.

Oi ^ Qi

ft . •! |T8

al| s i

Mid

«5

• •a s 'is 'a s •* c„

lliil

ilillll

^ I

i 1^ .'?

C 4

ABBASntSB. — POVATBM. SoCt. T.

ii i i i ^ 1

■^

si i'i

lllilllll % k I : .

Pall si:^

^OT*

ABBAmOta. — rOWATKM.

KSMLOOE BCLTAKS.

? -

lilt I

a""*

Jjllll 111 iiii^i

U i

1 ■ P

1 *'^i.

JJSwn^

mttLOOX WhtAXB.

^ to

S 8

•I f^

w»

• < c *23 t

II'? J

WUfI.O0K 8UI.TA1I4

? 3

i ti

a i

_ -

~ "

• 1

• s

■ '

' s

■ 1

-■i

III

'%t

S S

■i -is

a. l---

»|-s"

.iU

ii i

U i

Sgypl.

. XSHLOOK SULTASB.

VEHLOOK SULTAVB.

Seet-L

to 0«
o «-•

^1*'

o«

c«

CO «S

f
&

Q » a B
- « i

o tfiJL

■V4 C -O

sis

-0« e 6

Is?

3 TJ pq ^S -

is <& •^ ^

s
S

o«

•S
ffi

^"•sli

3 4 :a d *' A

EfflfpL

VXaaXMK SULTANS.

$ $

• • •

^ (p dS

$ $ 9

-=* o ^
« • e

• O O M.

1^!

^ *© •" e ^

2 s J's^

g c s ••

!• &

B 8.a S

ill

111

H ■PQ*W' "W"W

:§

l^l«^f 111

a'-i

UBMLOOK eULTAHS.

HI IJIilS ^W^-
ifilaiPi- fills J

asloaSSe

MMll

•a

E^U FpJVTS BBQinBING BZAXIKATION. 48

. .». cn^TAiv toiwn BSQui&xva jczAxiirAziov.

Ilie Attrataoii of tboM wbo are induced to make reMAicfacs miffikX be use-
fully directed to the following points : •—

I. AUxoadria, — AsceHein the sites of the buildings of the old «ity.

5L jDamapw bramek, — Asoertatn the site of Naucnti% Antfaylla» and Arehan-

dia, and the course of the Canopie bfmnch.
1 &ifc — EacaTate^ and make a plan of SsSs; at least look for the temple of

Neitfa.

4. JkUtL — Examine the sites of the mined towns in the D^lta. Look for

their name in hieroglyphics, and for Greek inscriptions ; but particu-
larly fbr duplicates of the Rosetta Slona Look at Port Julian bek^
Rosetta for the upper part Iff that Btoue. A trilingular stoneissaidto
be at Menouf, and others at Tanta and Cairo.

5. ffOicpolU, -* Excavate (if possible) the site of the temple of Heliopolii.
^ f^irawtuU, — Clear the Sphinx ; and look on the N. side for the entrance.

Look for the hieroglyphic record mentioned in the Greek inscriptioh
in honour of Balbillus, found before the Sphinx.

7. Memphis Make a plan of Memphis. Excarate about the CoUmsus for

the temple. Examine the moundsb

8. Look for new names of Mmifhittkim^ about the pyremids, Sakkare, and

the site of Memphis*

9. About Cairo, — Ascertain the exact height of the column in the NHometer,

or Mekkeeas at the Isle of Roda. Obtain from the Coptic Content
at Babylon the inscription on wood of the time of Diocletian.
IOl Look for trilinguhir stones in the mosks of Gutro.

II. Sm€z. — Look for an arrow.>headed inscription to the N. of Sues, on the

way to Syria.
12. Onice. — Excavate the mounds of Onice, and look for the temple built

by OniaSp
18, Fyoom, — ExcaTate about the pyramids or pyramidsl buildings of

Biabmoo, and at the obelisk of Biggig. Examine the site of M. Linant's

supposed lake.

14. ^IA]uie<eA..^Asccftain the hieroglyphic name of Ahnasieb (Heradeo-

polis).

15. Otkmotmaffn, — Look for and excavate a small temple said to be there.

Look for names of Bakfaan and other foreign kings. Visit Copt con-
vents in the neighbourhood.

16. Kom Ahmar,^' Inquire for fend visit alabaster quarry in the mountains

near Kom Ahmar. Look for hieroglyphics there, and if any, copy them
a)L Go with an Arab of the Deserts

17. Metakara. — Copy kings* names at the tombs of Met/Uiara« and columns

with full-blown loCua capitals.

18. HermopoHttma and TkAdica PA^iaee, — Look for tomba in the neigh-

bourhood.

19. Gebel Aboqfafda.-^ Look for and copy hieroglyphics in |he tombs of the

mountain.
90. Examine the white and red convents near Soohag and Itfoa,
21. Eikmim, — Look for its tomba. Examine the Greek inscription. As-

certain the hieroglyphic name of the goddess Tbriphia. [5m Ekkmim.]
82. How. — Excavate the Ptolemaic temple there.
8d> (;ova2£cAeer.— Look for the figure of the ^ Antaus,
24, Katr e' S^Sdi. .— Look for old kings* names m the grottoes of the moun*
'*' pun bebiad the villager

U POnCTS SIQDIBIKO EXAJONATIOir. SeoL T.

55. Tluba. — Copf M tlw utToaomical cdllngt In the tomb of Mcmnon.

andottKTMailMof Ibekliigi; ■liolhiMkalf anrlaof ibeMnlptarcmuid
hicroglfphic* of one intir* Mrab.

56. Ent. — LookforiniMr chambcnof tha tnnplebAInd thaportfcB.
ST. AMMtain wkal torn Mood Mu El Kmtn, and the prnnild oTKoi^
SB. Ed/oe. — Copf tbe gmt faiaroglfpbMi iiwrHpifoB of 79 t-olumiM.

M. JMHtiBL. — I«ok for cMl; SiwctBlc bnildiDg*, tnd tin oldnt p«iMcd

aO. Omdi. — AweHuQ the dus of lb* cniila brick pdntad txrii given b*

Hi. Hakin* M Dooth.
31. SAiBpU. — Cop; dw nuDM wmi (nilpturet of Upptr Edriopb, and

Dukc ■ lilt of ElUapiu king* acConltDg to their wicCBiilog, and Mcar-

tuin dieir dktea.
3S. ttoiut SmaL — Hike ■ plan of the (Mnple at SoibBI el Kfaadem.

There i* ■ moniinient in Am Mntor, *bich it ddd to be Enptiwi. If ao,
it M prolMbtr WW of lb* 1dm of SMoMrii nentioncil b; HcrodMin, and ami.
lar to thote an ihe L;ca«, near Bejroot, in Sjria ; and ii wortli naminin^
It ia the tgura of a aian, cut on the mck, near Nrmphio, the andant Njruph-
BIUD, about If feet trora tbe ground, with aja*elln in hiaband; and wmi
laen bjr the R««. O. Renouatd eome fiar* ags, who obierree that one of tba
ancient road* firon Hjaia to Lj dia paned that way. Otben ai« tad to b«
fbaodntar Tynt

Th( Monk, a BUGliliit iMd b)

lluu bjr it* Aratuc ortbographj, and ban cuim^ueiitljr m ftr titmgiaaaad.

EgypL ISNOUSH ANP AIUBXC TOGABULABT. 45

tkul have DOW and then intnidaoed a ^ whkhletttf dcietBotexirtiiiArablct
but wbicb BeTcrtbeleH comet n«ar to Um proounciatioo in certain woida. I
have also thougbt it better to double Bome of the emiionants, in order to point
pot move clearly that greater etreee ia to be put on thoee letten, nther
than follow the orthography of the Arabic, where one only waa uaed. JTd^
Au, Ann, at the end of words, should properly be written with an A ; but I have
meteiy expressed it, as pronounced, with oo. For the verbs, I have preferred
the second singular of the impeimtite, which In Artdiic gives their general
fann better than either the present or perfect tense, and is preferable for a
beginner to the m6ader or infiniti?e. Those in lulics aie either derived
from, have been the origin of, or bear analogy to, an European or other
loRign word.

I may also observe, that I have sometimes introduced words used only by
the Arabs (of the desert), and some of the common expressions of the people*
in order that these (when of frequent occurrence) might not be unknown to a
traveller; hut in general the first and second words are the most used*
The four kinds of Arabic are the oaimee, vulgar or jargon ; dAri^t oommoa
parlance ; iSghawee, literal ; and nahwee^ grammaticid.

rnONDNClATIOK.

The A, as in father ; ay, as in may ; g or a very broad, and frequently nasal.

£ , as in end ; <e as in seek ; ccA, nearly as t, in the Italian mi.
jR and «t, as in German, or as y in my ; but at, rather broader* A single
e, at the end of words, as in Doge, stroke, &c.

/, aa in is. /, as in English, but for it I have almoat always used g.
Indeed in Lower Egypt the g (gim), which aloidtf be soft, like our j, is
made hard, and pronounced as if followed by a short i, like the Italian word
Gkiaeeio; but whatever letter it precedes or follows, it should properly be
pronounced soft. For the ghain, however, I am obliged to use ghf a Aord
guttural sound. Dj as j.

JET, as our h ; and A with a dot, a very hard aspirate.

X^ as in kill.

For the kaf, or gaf, I have used A with a dot, or line, below it. Its sound
IS very nearly that of a hard g, almost guttural, and much harder than our c,
in oough. Indeed it Is frequently pronounced so like a g that I have some*
times used that letter for it.

JEAy as the German ch and Greek x* but much more guttural.

O, as in on, unless followed by w.

O, as in g^; 0 and d, rather broader ; oo, as in moon ; ov, as in cow.

J2 is always to be distinctly pronounced, as well as the A in aA ; this A is
iicqnently as hard as ch in loch.

S^ and «A, as in English ; but f , a hard and rather guttural sound.

T, as in English ; and with a line, I, very hard, almost as if preceded
by u. Dth is like our th in thai.

Uf as in bud ; 911, as in English, wAea fvBowed hjf another vowds as
qwyit, or ^weii$f ** pretty."

F, as in yet at the commencement, and as in my in the nuddle of syllables*
Before woids beginning with t, tb, g, d, dth, r, x, s, sb, and n, the / of the
article e/ is elliiwed, and the e alone pronounced; thus, ei them&l reads
e dum&L, the l^ or with the consonant doubled, esh'ihemali e* raa^ or
tT'TOMf the head. The doubled consonant indeed is nearer the pronunciation.

Words within a parenthesis are either uncommonly used, as AAa6s, hUra
fat " bieady'* or are intended, when similar to the one before, to show the

ENGLISH AND ARABIC VOCABtTLART;

SectL

pronuttciatioh, at makasktk (ma^otA^A), a ** broom ;* thoagb the two words
•re often only separated by or, and a comma. Some gire another meanin|c.

I ought to observe that the difference of letters, as the two A*«, t '«, and others,
are not always marked, but those only which I have thought of most import-
ance, and in some words only here and there, to show their orthography.

ENGLISH AND ARABIC VOCABULARY.

Able

About

Above

Absurdity

Abundance

Abusci V.

Abuse, «.

Abusive lan-
guage

By accident; see
By force

Accounts, or
reckoning

Add up

Adore

Advantage, pro-
fit

Afhud

I am afraid

After

Afterwards

Again

Age
His age
Agent
Long ago
Agree, v.
We agreed to-
gether
Air

Alabaster
Alive

All, collectively
All

AU together

At all
Allow, 0.
Almond
Aloe
Alphabet

kider.

howala^n.

fok, or foke.

UNu'AAeni.

seeideh.

ish'tem.

shete^meh.

id.

ghusbininee (i. e.
in spite of my-
self).

heUb,

eg'mi.

Abed.

f^da„ or flUdeh,

nef'fa.
kheif(khyf>
ana kheif, a-khilf.
bid.

ba'd^n, bad-silik.
kummun, kummun

n6ba, tinee.
otti'r,
om'roa
weke^l.
temin.
ittef'ftik.
ittefiuk'na w^eabad.

how'a, or how'eh
nutr'woTf boorfcfr,
hei, sAheh (awake),
gimleh, gemm^can.
kool, koolloo, pL

kool-loohom.
koolloo weeabad,

koUoohom sow'a,
wisel.
khal'lee.
Ids, or lose,
subbara.
ab'ged.

Also

Alter, If.

Altitude

Alum

Always

Amber

America

Amuse, 0.

Anchor

Ancient

The ancients

And

Et cartera

Angel

Anger

To be angry

Angle
Animal
Ankle
Annoy, o.
Annoyed
Another
Answer
Answer, 0.
You are answer-
able for
Ant
Antimony

Ape

Apostle
Apparel

It appears
Appetite
Apple [maiai)
L0V6 apple (tO"

laHiher, gazllik, *

aidun.
gh^ier.
erttfth.
sheb.

d^iman, or d^m«n.
kahr&m&n.
Yen^ doSneea

(Turkish, u e.

the New World),
itwun'nes.
mur'seh, h^lb.
kade^m, antSeka,
e* nas el kade^m.
00.

00 ghayr t^ika.
maliktpL mal^iikeb.
kahr, ghudb, semk»

homk.
ez'muk, ugh'dub^

inham'me]^.
sow'veh.
hfwAn.
kholkhiU.
iz'il.

sal&n. FghayrooL
wahed tinee, w£hed
gowib (jow£b).
rood, or roodd«
el'semak.

nem'el, or neml«
kohl (for the ejres).
Ezek. zxiii. 40. ;

S Ktiigs, iz. SO.
kird, pi, kor6od

(gor6od).
roa8o6l.
lips (libs), hedo6ni,

how4ig.
bain, or b^n.
nefs.
teflPSh.
bedingin k6ta.

Costard «|yple
Aprioot (fireah

or dry)
— dned sheet

AralMe
la Arabic
Arab (t.c of the
desert)

Ardi, bridge

The ark of Noah

Arm (of man)

Anns ( weapons)

Arrange «.

Arrangement

Art,skm

Artichoke

Be, or I sm,

ashamed
Ashes
A»

Ask* e.
Ask lor, o.
Assist, a.
At

Avaricious
Awake, v. a.

» ». a.
Awl
Awning (of a

boat,&c)
Aie, or hatchet
Pickaxe.

SNGLISH AHD ASABBC TOCABULABl'*

kish'teh.
mish'misfa. .

kumredien (knrnr*

edd^en).
A'rabee.
bil A'rabee.
Beddowee,|)LAnb«

(Sbekh el Arab,

an Arab chief)*
kantara.
meh^ndas.
sefie^net safdna

No6efa.
drab.

siUi|i, soolUh.
sollah, siiLlah.
tusl^b.
sun'na.
khar-sh6of.
say.
asta^hee, akhtSshee.

room^. .
homiUr.
esBal, aaal.
^tloob.
sad, saad.
fee, and.
turoma'.
s^heh.
aslier.
mukb'rux.
I esh'eh, tenda {Ital).

bal'ta.

fils, to&ree ( Coptic).

dibr, kufia'.
Bad (see Good) ridee, wihesh,

moosb-tjr'eb.
kees, or keese;

Abag

Bald

BaU

Balsam

Banana

Bank of

Barber

Bark, o.

Barkis.

ak'ra.
ko'r^
beGtan,
moz (mose).
riTcr gerf.

mezayin, mera^n*
htiihib.
I^isbr (gifthr).

palm

Barley
Barrel
Basket
(of

sticks)

Wicker

Bason

Bat (bird)

Bath

Bathe, e.

Battle

Bead

Beads, string of,

carried by the

Modems
Beans
Bear, support, e.

bunne^L
muk'ta^ k6ffidi.

,, put
with, 0.
A bear
Beard
His beard
Beat, V.
A beating
Beau, dandy
Beauty
Beautiftil
Because
Become
Bed

Bedstead
Bee

Hive-bee
Beef

Beetle

Before (time)
Before (place)
Beg, ©.
Beggar
The beginning

Behind

Believe^ 0.

I do not belicTe

Bell

BeUy

me-sh^nneh.
tusht, or tisht
watwiit pL wauw^
hammim.
istahionma.
barb, sbemmata.
kbarras, hab.
sib^ha.

IboL

is'ned; (raise) er'fi

[see Carry],
istah'mel.

dib'-h.

dagn, dakn.

daknoo*

id'rob (dmb).

derb, halica, kutleh.

shellebee.

queiisa, kouei&sa.

qu^i-is, quiyis.

seb'bub, besebliub.

ibica (ib'ga).

fersh, fursh.

sere^r.

daboor (dabboor).

nihl, nJib-l.

labm bukkar, lahm

khishn.
goran or jor&n,

kh6nfus.
kublee.
kod-d£m.
ish-bat.
shah4t.
el owel, el as'sef,

aasl, el ebtid4h.
warra, min kuflah.
sed'dek.
ana-ma aseddek'shee

wr lem aseddek*
gilgil, nak6os.
ba n, or botn.

* Beddowee and Arab have the msm meaning ; one S» tlngular, the other plural : thai
■• that U on Anb^*' ** da Beddowee i " •* Ibote are Arabt," ** dM ^rab.'*

fOXQIJBB 4in> AIUBIC TOOABULABT.

Sect. L

This belongs to

Belotr ; (fee

Under)
A bench
Bendf »,
Bent (crooked)
Berry.
Besides
— , eioept
The best
Better
You had better

do so
Abet
Betray, 0.
Between
Beyonu

Bible

Big

Bill, account.

Bird, small

— — , large

Bit, piece

— of a horse

Bite, V.

Bitter

Black

Blade
Blanket
Blind
Blood
Blow, V,
A blow

see Co-

Blue (
lours)
Light blue

Sky-blue

Blunt

A wild boar

A board

Boat

Boat, ship
Boatman

dehbetiee,/. deebe-
tfttee (beUhtee it
medtbut U vulgar'),

tab-t.

mus'taba.

et'nee, inten'nee.

m^nee (mioog).

hab.

ghr yr, khelif.

a'4.

el ab'>san.

ah -tan, »-kh4yr.

ah'san t4mel keddee.

ribaneh.

khoon.

bayn.

bad, warra (t» «.
behind),

towr4t

keb^r.

hes4b.

asf6or.

tayr.

het'teh.

legam.

odd, or aod.

morr.

as'wed, /. s6da or
so'deh; as'rek
(blue,or jet black).

sill4h.

her&m, buttan^eh.

ami&n.

dum.

um'fookh.

derb; on the face,
kuff (English,

as>ek, k5h1ee.

genz&ree, scander-

4nee.
semmiwee.
bard (t. e. cold),
{laloof.
loh.
sefi^eneh, ky6seh,

Jelookah,
mirkeb.
nootetf mar&kebee,

tyfeh.

Body

Boil, e.

Boiled (water)

-*^(meat)

Bone

Book

Boot

Border

•^»-*-* of doth,

selTage
Bom

Borne, raised
Borrow
Both

Bottle

f square

, earthen,

.for water
Bottom, of a

box, &c.
Bow

Bow and arrows
Bowl
Box

Small box

Boy

Brain

Brandy

Bri

Brave

Bread

Roll of bread

Breadth

— — ^ extent

Break, v.

Broken

Breakfast

Breast

Breath

Bribe

Brick

Crude brick

Bride

pessed, bed'dan.

ighlee.

mu^l/lee.

mBslo6k.

idm, ajthm, athra.

ket4b, pL ko6ctubu

gex'ma.

havC terf (turf).

keeniir.

mowlo6d.

merfooa.

sellef.

el ethn^n, wibed
00 e*t4nee, dee 00
dee (1. «. this and
that).

kez^ kesis (;. e.

" giass).
morub'ba.

koolleh, d6rak, bar"
~ dak (Turkish),
kar (gar>

kSs (kos).

kos 00 nishibk

kus'sah.

send6ok, pL taut*

d^k.
eVbeh, or elbet

e'neshok, a snui^

box.
wslfef, or wuOmd

(whence valet),
mokb.

ar'nikay (Arakee).
n^Uiiss-iLsfer, csped-

^yg.

gedda.

esh(khobs, kl'sra).
ral^^f esh.
ord.
w68sa.
ek'ser.

maksoor ; (cut, as
a rope), muktodi.
fbto6r«
s6dr (sidr).
neffes (neffess).
berte^l.

k&leb, toob ih-noar.
toob ny.
hmro6Mh,

Egypt,

ENGLISH AND ARABIC YOCABULAHT.

Bridge

kan'tara.

What is it es'moo £y ? esb es'-

Brigtit

men6wer.

called ?

moo?

shining

lama — it if, yilma.

M'bat is hia

( es'moo iy ? esh es'-

• niaft6oh.

name?

moo?

lour,

A calm

ghal^nee.

Bring v.

Sat, ge^b.

Camd; (see

gtrn'md^ pi, gemil.

Broad

ar^ed.

Ship)

extenave

wiisa.

, female

n^a (n4keh).

Broom

me-kisheh (pro-

, young

I kaoot (gaoot).

nounced magd-

male

sheh).

, young fe-

buk'kara.

Brother

akh.

male

His brother

akhoo; my — akh6o-

Camp

or'cke (whence

» (ya).

horde?).

Brother-in-law

nes^b.

Camphor

kafSar.

Brush

foor'sheb.

I can

ana ak'der.

BwV\9

ebz6em, beze4m.

I cannot

raa-akd^r-shee.

Buffalo

gamoos.

Candle

shem'ma.

Bofibon

SooiaTt€,

, wax

shemma skander-

Bng

i«|(£ngl. bug).

inee.

Build

el/nee.

Candlestick

shemmadiin.

A building

benii, bin&ieh.

Cannon

mad'feh.

BttU

t^r or idrt (townw).

Cap, red

tarb6osh.

Burden, or load hemleh.

> white

tak^ea (tak^'eh).

of camels

Capacious

wasa.

Buried

madfoon.

Caravan

kafleh.

Bum, V.

ah'rek, k^ed.

Care

igteb&d.

Burnt

mahro6k.

Take care

o'-a.

Bnrj^ r.

idTen.

Take care of

ah'fuz, istah'rus.

Bunness

shoghl.

I don*t care

ana m6Iee.

Busy

mashgho61.

about it

ana m&lee oo maloo..

Bo^ adao^

14ken, Mkln, likin.

(or him)

Butter

semn, mes>lee.

Carpenter

negir (ni^j^r).

^, fresh

ziydeh.

Carpet

segddeh.

Buy, o.

ish'teree.

f large

keleem, boossat.

By, /w.

be (by kindness,

Carrion

fatees, iat^ese.

bil mar oof).

Carry, lift, o.
, roise,

sheel, ayn ; ^rfa.

CHibbaiTo

kroomb.

Carry away, ».

sheel, wod'dee.

Cabin

makat (mag'at).

Cart, carriage

arabeeh, 6raba.

^ inner

khax'neh.

Cartridge

rem'ieh, tam^erch.

CabU, rope

h&bl {oMt).

Case {etui)

serf, bayt, ^Ibeh,

Cairo

Musr, ^ Musr el

hok.

K&herah, Misr.

Cat

&oM (gott, f gotta) :

OiAe

k&hk (cdU.) "

biss^ys ; bits.

Calamity

dur'rer, az^eh.

Catch, T.

elliak-

Calculate, o.

a|)'seb.

in the hand el'lcoof.

Calico (origin.

buTteh.

Cattle

bah^em, book^.

ally Calcutu)

Cauliflower

karnabe6t.

Caliph

Khal4efeh.

The cause

e*sebbub.

Co^o.

en'da, hSBtm^ nii-

A cave

magh^ra.

dem.

Ceiling

sukf.

It is called

es'moo, ikoolahoo.

The centre

el woost (middle).

Emt,

ENOLISH AND ABABIC YOCABULART.

Sect I.

Cerastes snake
Certainly

Chain
Chair, stool
Chamber
Chance, good

fortune
Charcoal
Charity

A charm
Chase, v.
Chase, «.
Cheap
Cheat* V.

Cheek
Cheese

Cherrystick pipe
Child, boy
Children
Choke,strangle,v
Choose, V,
Christian

Church

Cinnamon

Circle

Cistern

CiUdel

City, capital

Civet

Civility

Clean, v.

— as a pipe

Clean, aty.

Clear

Clever

Cleverness

Cloak

Close, near

Close, V,

Closet

Ooth

Clouds

Clover

Coals

A live coal

h^i bil j^5r6on.
malo6m, malo6-

mak, helbet we

laboob.
sil'sileh, pi. sel&sil.
koor 'see, pi. karaaee.
o'da, pL d'ad.
bukht, nus^eb, rizk

{right riMque).
&b'm.
has'aneh, Bow-6b, lil-

lah.
heg&b.
ist&d.
sayd.
ra-khe4s.
ghushm, ghush-im,

ghish.
khud.
gibn.

sh^book keriys.
wvllecL
wel4d.
.itkhinnik.
nuk'kee^nug'g^).
nusrdnee^f pL Nas-

s^ra.
keneeseh.

keer'feh (t. e. bark),
deira, dyreh.
hod, bode,
kill

med^eneh.
zubbett zubbed^b.
mar oof.
nadduf.
sel'lik.
nade^f.
r^i-ik, rf ek.
shdter.
shutilra.
b6rnoos.
garei-ib (gar^-ib).

ik'fel.
khaz'neh.

gooh. {See Linen.)
ghaym, sah£b.
bersim' (burs^em).
fahm hag'gar.
bus'sa, busaa-t-nar,
gumr.

Coarse, rough

khishn.

Coast

bur, shet.

Cobweb

ankaboot

Cock

deck (EngL dkkt

bird).

Cock-roach

surs&r.

Coffee

kah'-weh.

Raw coffee

bonn, bon.

Coffee-pot

b6krag, t^nekeh

{tee Cup).

Coins

gid'dat, or giddud.

Cold

bard.

The cold

el herd, e* sukki

(suga).

Collect, e.

lim.

College

mad-resee.

Colour

Ion (lone), pL elw£n.

shikl, pL a&hU\.

Colours

elwin, ashkiL

black

as'wed, az'rek ; /.

soda, xerlLa.

white

ab'lad,/ ba^da.

red

ah 'mar,/ bam'ra.

scarlet

wer'dee.

dark red

ah'mar d6od^.

purple blue

6odee.

purple

men'owe^sb.

primrose

bum'ba.

peach

khokh-ee.

— of ashea

room&dee.

green

ikhder,/. kliidra.

dark blue*

az'rek, / ser'ka.

kd^lee.

light blue

genziree, skanderi-

nee.

sky blue

semm&wee.

brown

as'mar,/ sam'ra.

light brown

kammoonee.

yellow

as'fer,/. saf'fk^.

« orange

portokinee.

spotted

menuk'rush (me-

nug'rush), mun-

ko6sh.

dark colour

^hlmuk.

light

muf%6oh.

Comb

misht.

Come, V,

>g'ge«-

Come up, V.

et1a fok (foke).

I am (he is)

&na (hooa; gei. (gy)

coming

[tail,
taal hennee, tiSl gei»

Come here

• ** He thall be csUed a NasareM.*'

JSgypt

ENGLISH AND ARABIC VOOABULART.

Complain, v,
— — oif v»
Cotnpoaed of
Coiuequentlj,
Consulate
Consult, o.

I came £na gayt.

Common, low w£tee.

Compass booafleh, bayt-^bree.

bee-kir.

ish-kee.

ishtek'ee.

mitruk'kib min.

behay's in (tiace).

bayt el K6naol.

shoVer (show'wer).
Constantinople Stamb6ol, Istam«
Continent, land, b{ir (burr). [b6oL
shore

istamir, ber'dak.

dayr.

had^et.

tabb&kh.

et'bookh.

tabe^kb.

mestow'ee.

e' tarow'eh, tara-

Continue, v.

Convent

Conversation

Cook

Cook, 9.

Cooked meat

Cooked, drest.

The eool

w'eh.

Coop, for poultry kaf &ss.

Copper nahass.

Acopy (ofbook) noosHcha, nooskheh.

Cord ( See Rope) hibl. haba>el.

Cork, of a bottle ghutta kez^.

Com ghulleh.

Indian corn, or Do6ra Shimee.
mays

Com, or wheat

Cornelian

Corner

Corner, project-
ing, of a moun<
tain

It costs

Cotton

Cotton stuff

Cover, o.

CJjver

Qmffh

Count, r.

A country

The country

A couple [half

A couple and a

Cousin
i on mother^s
sitle

Cow

kumh (gumh).

baggar'hake^k.

ro6k-n.

koor'neh (gooma).

es'-wa.

kdtan,

kotn^eh.

ghuttee.

ghutta.

kOhh, sehl.

ed, &h-seb.

belled, eMeim.

el khuUa, el khal'a.

goz, ethn^n (two)

goz oo ferd.

ebn am, / bint am.

ebn khal.

bukkar, bukkara,p{.
bookar boog&r)
{LaL Vaoca.)

Coward

Cream

Creator

Creation

A crack, fissure

Cracked

Crocodile

Crooked

Cross

Cross, out of

humour
Crow
Cruel
Cruelty
Cultivate, v.
Cunning, artful

Cup

—glass

Coffee-cup

Coffee-cup stand

Cure, V,

To be cured

It is cured

Curious, wonder-
ful

Curtain

Custom-house

Cushion

Cut, 9.

Cut with scis«
8or8,o.

Cut, parL p, muk-to^a, mekutta.

Cut out, as fussel.
clothes, V.

The cutting out e' tufs^l.

khow6f,(khowwif.)

kish'teh.

el khiluk.

khulk.

shuk (sbug.)

mishk6ok.

tems&h, pL tema-

s^eh.
ma6og*
sel^b.
xemkin, ziUn.

ghor&b.
moh'zee, 'h4see.
az£eh, azab.
ez'ra, i. «. sow.
s&hab hay'leh, si-

hab dubar'ra.
soltan^eh.
koba, koobii, koo-

baieh.
fing4o.
serf.

l^ieb (t^-e|)).
it^b.
t&b.
ag&fb, ghar^b

(strange),
setirah.

diw4n [dowxne],
mekhud'deh.
ek'ta.
koo's.

Banrer

sek^n, khdnger.

— large

gemb^eh, yataffdn.

yatakan (Turk.).

Damp, a.

tiree.

tariwa, rot6obeh.

Dance v»

er'kus.

Danger

khof (tVe. fear).

Dark

gh&muk.

Dates

bellah.^

Date tree, palm nakhl.

Daughter

bint

Day

y6m,pl, iy&m, nihr.

to-day

el ydm, e* nahr dee.

every day

kool y6m,kooily^'m.

D S

EKOLISH AKD ABABIC YOOABULART.

Sect. L

in days of old iuam e*zem^, ze-

m&n.
ft day *8 journey safTer y6m min

from hence hen'nee.
from the day min nibr ma g^yt,

(or time), I min yom in gayt.

came
in those days (fee or) fil aiam dol.
now, in these el-yom, fee haza el

days wakt.

Sunday el bad, nahr el had.

Monday el ethn^en.

Tuesday e*theldt.

Wednesday el e'rba.
Thursday el kham^.
Friday e' go6ma.

Saturday e* sebt (see Morn-

ing)-
Dead, s. myit, m^i-it, pi.

myetden.

Dead, died, a. mat

Deaf at'trush.

Deal plank lob b^ndookee (t« e.

Venetian).

A great deal kete^r kow'ee.

Dear gb&Iee, az^es.

Dear, in price gb41ee.

My dear ya hab^ebee.

to a woman ya hab^ebtee, ya

aynee, ya ayniy,
ya ay6onee« t. e.
my eye, my two
eyes; ya r6hee,
my soul.

Death mot

Debt dayn.

Deceitful mukkir.

Deep ghareek, ghowcet.

The Deluge e* tooflin.

Deny, v. in'kir, unkoor.

Derived ft-om mooshtiik min.

Descend, v. in'zel.

Descent nez6ol.

The desert el burr^eh, e*gebal,

(t.e. the moun-
tains).

Destiny nes^eb.

The Devil e" Shayidn,e\ EUu;

Dew nedda.

Diamond fuss, alm&M (Turk.).

Dictionary karo6os.

Die, 0. moot.

Ht is dying bem6ot.

He died

mat, itwurfk.

Different

beshka, beshkeh.

Difficult

saab, war, tekeel»

k&see.

Dig

f aal, ef 'at.

Diligence

eg'tehdd.

Dinner

ghudda.

Directly

kawim; — in atawtr

to a caUt hider.

Dirty

wus'sukh.

Disgust(to8igbt kur'ruf (gurruf)*

or taste)

I am disgusted

ana ikruf min 00.

with it

Disposition

tubba.

Dispute, 9.

hanuk, it-hanuk.

A great distance meshw&r keeber.

bayit.

Divide, v.

ek'sum.

Divided

maksoom.

iimel (efaal, sow'*

wee).

I have nothing ana mileesh d£va

to do with it

boo.

I cannot do

without it

taknash) an'oo.

Doctor

hakim (hakeem).

Dog

kelb. ■"

Dollar (coin)

reeal-frinaa.

A Dome

koobbeh(a/J(oo&6eA,

aleoba, a/ro9e).

Door

bab (see Gate>

Dot

noojc'teb.

Double, 9.

et'nee.

Dove

yem&m.

Ringdove

kim'ree.

Draw, 9.

sow'er; ik'tub, t. e.

write.

Draw out (as

ek'la (egla).

teeth)

Drawing

tassow^r, s6ara, •

ketibeb.

Drawers

lebiss.

chest of

beshtukh'ta(Turk).

Dress

libs ilipt).

Dress, 9.

el'bes.

Drink, 9.

ish'rob.

Drive, 9.

sook (soog).

Dromedarist, haggMi.

courier

Dromedary beg'gin.

Drop, 9. nuVked.

A drop nookteh.

Egypt

ENGLISH AND ARABIC VOCABULARY.

egh'-ruk, ghirrek.

Entire

koolloo, k&mel.

attir.

Entrails

mussar^en.

Drr

n4.shef.

Envy

gh^ereh.

Dry, p. a.

in'.shef.

Equal to

kud, &la kud.

V. ».

n^b-ef.

£qual to each kud-e-bad, zayb^d.

Buck, gooae

wis.

other, alike

Dumb

ekh'-rus.

Escape, v.

et'fusb, yetfush.

Dust

troby trsb.

he escaped

tuffush.

Duty

w&geb.

he has escaped omroo tow6el, nef-

it is my (his) wigeb-eliy.

with his life

fed be 6mroo.

doty

An estate, rented ard (or belled) elti*

Dwell, V.

is^koon.

' lim.

Dye,».

ea^boogfa.

property,

milk.

Dye, dyer

sab4gb, sabbagh.

possession

Europe

Eur&pa, b^led (heh

aa«li

k6ol-e-w&hed

led), el Frang,

(every one).

European kings el koronat el Frang.

Eagle

akiib, okib.

European people ^ran^, AFraiig.

Ear

widn.

English

Inffiies, Inklees.

Early

bed'ree, bed'ree.

French

fVanaeSs.

Earth

ard.

Frenchman

Fran so wee.

East

sherk.

Germans

Nenumceeh.

Easy

siibii; sahleh.

a German

Hfemsoxhe,

£at,v.

kool, &kool.

Russians

Mo9ko, Moskow^eh.

Edge

barf.

a Russian

Moskow'ee.

of a sword,

had.

Julians

Italidni,

&e.

Poland

Lekh,

ES5

bayd.

Hungary

Muggar-

Egyptian

Slus'ree, beUedee>

Greeks

Erooam'.

i e. of the coun-

a Greek

R6omee.

try.

Spain

Beled el Anfdaho*,

Egypt

Must, ard Must,

Even, leveU

mesow'wee (mes4«

Misr.

equal

wee).

Upper Egypt

\ e' Sa'eed

Even, also

hat'ta.

Elbow

k6oa.

Good evening

messekoom bit

Elephant

feel.

(see Morning), khayr, sal khayr,

Nothing else,

f ma feesh bi^;^

sad mcssakoom.

there \% no-

ghiyroo; lemfi^e

Tlie evening

el messa, el ash^eh.

thing else.

ha shay ghiyr-

Every

kool.

ha.

On every side

iee kool e* nahia.

Emerald

soom6omid.

Every one

koolle wilhed, kool-

Empty

fargb.

lohom (all).

Empty, V.

Every where

fee kool e'-m4trab.

The end

el ilkher.

fee kool e*do6neea.

The end, ito end e' terf, ter'foo, k-

Every moment

koolle saa.

kberoo.

Evident

bein (bain, byin).

The enemy

el £doo, addoa

Evil

r&dee.

English

JuglSezt Inklees.

Exaction

bal'sa.

Enough

b^s, bisee^eh.

Exactly

tem4m, i. e. perfect.

It is enough

ik'feh, yikfeh, ikef .

Exactly so

bisiitoo.

Enquire, 9.

istuk'see. [fee.

Exactly like it

za^oo sow'-a, mit-

Enter, v.

id'-khol, khosb.

loo sow'-a, bix£*

Entering

d^khil.

too.
l» S

SNGLI6H AND ABABIC YOGABULAKT.

Sect. I.

For example

mus'salen.

Fat, a.

sem^en, ghale^

To excavate

efit, fat.

Fat, «.

Excavation

fat, fiat.

Father

ab, ab6o^ ab^

Excellent

aie^m.

Fatigue

tub.

Your Excellency genibak, hidretak

Fault

semb.

(your presence),

It is not mjT

' ma'leesh xemb» mi'-

sadtak, ( — high*

fiiult

leesh daw'a.

ness), pL gen&b-

Do me the fa- imel mar6ol^

koom, kuidrat-

vour, kindness ameini el mar6of.

koom, sidetkoom.

Favorisea, ( ItaL) tefod'theU t«^od'-

Except, adv.

ilia.

del.

Exchange

bed-del, gh^er.

Fear

khof, khofe.

Excuse

heg'geh, pi, heg*-

A feast

aso6m^.

geg, oa'r.

Feather

reesh.

Excuse me, I

ma takhosn&sh, el

Feel,©.

hassus.

beg pardon

afoo.

Female

netii, net^eh, DCt^^,

Execute, deca-

dya, deia, dei-ya.

o6nseh.

pitate

[ya).

Ferry-boat

mid^eh.

Expend, v.

deia (dei-ya, d^-

Field

el ghayt.

Expense

kool'feh.

Fig

tin.

Expenses (of a

\. masr6o£

Fight, e.

Utel, hireh.

bouse)

A fight

ketil, barb, sh^m-

Explain, ex-

fiisser.

mata.

pound.

File

muiyred.

An extraordio

> shay age^b, ag^iib,

FUl, e.

cm'la.

nary thing

shay ghar^b.

Find, ».

elOcah (elga).

The eye

el ayn,pL el ai6on.

Finger

subi, (8oob4).

Eyeball

habbet el ayn.

Foje finger

e'sh^ed.

Eyebrow

h^-geb, pL howi-

Middle ^

subi el woostlLnee.

gib.

Fourtli —

bayn el as&ba.

Eyelash

rimsh.

Little —

khansur.

Eyelid

kobbet el ayn.

It is finished

khaUft, kh4.1ca»
khul'les,kh61set,/:

Tlia fttee

el wish (el wi4j>

Fire

nar.

Faint, v.

dookh.

Fire, live coal

btts'sa, bus'set-nib'.

A fair price

temn halUU temn

gumr, jum'ra.

meniMeb.

Fire agun

id'rob (or s^eb).

Very fiiir, toler-

meniseb.

bendook^eh.

able

The first

el ow'-el, d owelA-

A fairy

gin.

nee.

Faith (creed).

When first I

ow'el ma g«^

testimony of

came

Fall, V.

uka, yo6ka.

At first

ow'elen.

False

k^d&b. ~

Fish

semmuk.

His family

ahl baytoo, &hloo.

Fisherman

sf-id, semmUk.

Fan

mirwibn.

Flag

ba^rek, handa^ra^

Far

bay-it."

aan'gak.

How &r firom kud-ay minhinnea. |

Flat

mebutiut.

this?

Flax

kettin.

A farce, or ab-

m^kkereu

Flea

bergho6t

surdity

Flesh

lahm.

Farrier

beetar.

Flint

sow4n.

Farther

abbad, iibad.

Flour

dake^k.

EgypL

ENGLISH AND ABABIC TOCABULART.

5(!

Flower

sahr, nowib.

CtaOa (proBt)

muk'seh.

Aflj

deb4n (debbin).

Gallop, V.

er'mah.

Flj-flap

menash'eh.

Game (ooccta)

sayd. "

Flj,».

teer.

Garden

ginnaynefat bostiin,

S^,

shabo6r.

pi. ginnein, bus-

Fool

nuigno6n.

sate^n.

Foot

kuddum (gudm).

Gardener

genaynitee.

Footstep

after (attar).

Garlic

torn.

For

me-shin, ali-shin.

Gate (door)

bab, pL bibin, or

Foroe

ghusb. (ghusp)

abo4b.

"By Ibroe^ in spite ghusbiniboo, ghusb

Gather up, v.

lim.

of hiiQ

aUy.

Gaselle

ghaz41, dubbee.

Forebead

ko6reb.

A general

§dree-^uker (sarof-

r gebeen.

ker).

part of

Generosity

kar'rera.

barrinee, ghare^b.

He is generous

£edao maftooh, i.

To speak in s

I &rtun; tubtt, rutin.

e. his hand is

finvign lan-

open.

^guage

Gentlemanly

rigel lateef, rigel

Forget, ».

in'sa.

man

zere^f.

I finrgot

ananese^t.

Gently

be-shwo'-esh, &la

Do not forget

ma tinsish.

mahlak.

Forgive me

sud, mil^sh.

Get up

koom.

Fofgive, p.

se-mah.

Gift

had^h, bak-sh^esb.

Fork

shok (sboke).

(bakshUh.)

Formerlj

semin.

Gilt

medii-hab, miitlee

Good fortune

bukht, nes^eb, risk.

be d&hab.

Fountain

fesk^eh.

Gimlet

bere^meh.

A fowl

fur'-kher, iar6og.

Gold

di-hab, dthihab.

Fox

abooUhoasa^n, ti-

Ginger

genzabe^l.

leb.

Gipsey

ghug'ger.

Free

horr.

Gird, V,

haz'zem, it-haz'zem.

Frenchman

Franz6weetpL Fran-

Girl

bint.

z^es. Fran^gee is

Give, V.

id'dee, a'-tee.

a oomiption of

GUul

fer-h4n.

Fran9ais ; it is

To be glad, v.

4f>rah or effrah.

frequently used as

Glass

a term of re-

Globe

k6ra.

proach, but never

Glove

shur&b (i,e, ttockinp).

as ^^leetnaa.

Glue

gher'reh.

Fresh, new

gede^t.

Gnat

namo6s.

Fresh (fruit)

tar'ree ; /. tar^eh.

Go, V,

rooh.

Fresh watei

r moie b^lweh.

Go, get away, v.

im'shee, foot.

(sweet)

Go in, V.

id'-kbool, hosli'.

Friend

siheb, hab^b, re-

Gone

rah.

f6ek,"i. «. com^

Going

ryeh.

panion.

Going in, p.

da'khel.

From

min.

Going in, #.

dokh6ol.

Fruit

fowikee.

I am going

ana rye.

Fuel

week^d.

He is gone

bona rah.

FuU

roelan, meliin.

I went

ana roht.

Fur

furweh.

Go out, V.

ekh'roog, ^tla, ^tla

Further

iUd,

bar'ra.
n4

ENGLISH AND ARABIC VOCABULARY.

Sect. I.

Do not go out

Goat

She goat

Kid

God (our Lord)

A god or deity

Good

Good, excellent

Good for no-
thing

Pretty good, fair

Goose

Gossip* V,

Govemorj-ment

The goTemraent

Gradual, little
by little

A grain

— weight

Grand

Gratis

Gratitude

A grave

Grease

Great

Greek

Ancient Greek
Grieved (it has)
Grind, o.
A mortar

Grind (in a

mill), V.
Groom
Grotto
The ground
A guard

Guardofaswor^

Guard, v.

By guess

A guide

He is not guilty

Gum

Gun

Gunpowder

la-tetla, ma tetlnsh

bar'ra.
may-zeh.
an'zeh.
giddee.

Allah (e^rob'boona^.
Illah, as la ilUh il'

AlUh ," there is no

deity but God."
teieb, t^eb, roe-16eh.
midan (i. e. a mine).
bat-t41, ma es-wash

higeh.
meniUcb.
wiz.

dur'dish.
hdkem, hokmeh.
el bayl^ek,el wes^eb.
shw6'-ya be shwo'-

ya.
hab.
kumh.
a-ze6m.
bell&ih.

ma'rcfet e* geme^l.
toSrbeht pL toorob.
ziflTr.

kcbeer, pi, koobdr.
Ro6me€, borrowed

from Romanus.
Yoon&nett i.e. Ionian
hazeen (sab al^y).
is-han.
m6s-han, hon

(hone),
it-han.

8J^-b, sefis.

ma-gh&ra.

el ard.

ghuffi^er, pi, ghiif-
fara,

bur'shuk.

istah'rus.

be tekh-me^n.

kbebe^ree.

mi. loosh zcmb.

sumgh.

bendookSek (being
originally brought
from Venice by the
Arabs), baro6t.

barout.

Gypsum

Half

In halves

Halt, V.

HammeTi axe

A hand

Handful

Handkerebief

Hand, v.

Happen

Happened '

Happy

Harbour

Hard

Hare, rabbit

Harm

To do harm, r.
There is no harm

(see Never

mind)
In haste
A hat
Hatchet
Hnte. V.
I have
Have you ?
Hawk
Hay
He, it
Head
Heal, v.
Heap
Hear, v.
Heart
Heat, V
Heat, s.

Heaven

— , paradise

Heavy

Hebrew

The heel

Height

^ligh ground

Hell

Herbs

Here

Here it (he) is

Come here

ffips (gibs).

shar.

noos, noosf.

noosa^n.

wuk'kuf (wugguf),

kado6m.

eed, yed.

keb'sbeh.

mandrel, m£h-rama.

now'el.

eg'ra, yig'ra, yeseer.

gerra, sar.

fer-h&n, mabsoot.

mer'seh, ttcAhi.

gimcd, yibcs.

er'neb.

dur'rer, doroora,

surrer
door, idoor.
ma feesh durrer.

kawam, belaggel.

homayta (from Ital. %

bal'ta, kadoum.

ek'rah, yek'rah.

an'dee.

an'dak?

sukr.

drees.

hooa {the — ), b^ea.

rai, demiigh.

jt^eb.

kom (kome).

es'-nuu

kulb.

sa'khen, bam'mee.

bar, sokhn6eh,

ham'rooo,
semma.
gen'neh.
tek^el.

ffebranee, YlModee
el kab.

61.00, elloo, ertifth,
elw&ieb.
gohen'nem.
ha-sh^esh, kbo-d^«
hennee, hen'i.
a-ho, a«b6 hennee.
taal hennee.

Hereafter

Hide, v.

Hidden

High

HiU

HiDder,

Hire, «.

ENGLISH AKD ARABIC VOCABULAKT.

His

Hold, V.
Hole.

tnin del vikt^min el-
yom, min-oo r^^e.

khul/bee.

mista-kbul/bee.

oilee.

k6m,g^bel (gebbel).

boah.

kerree^ ar'nik, 6ge-
ra; o. ek'reew

bet4-4K>; betihtoo»
fern,

im'sek.

kherk.

Bored, pierced makhrook.

Hollow
His home
At home
Honest man
Honey

Hook (fish)

Hooks(and eyes) khobsb^t.

fiu*gh.

b&ytoo.

fil bayt.

rigel mazbo6t.

aasal ab'iad, assal e*

nahl.
suonira.

Hooka

House

Hour
How
How do
do?

she^heh, waarhfUk

(2W*.).
ly, lei.
Inshillah.

^ora ; fL koroon.
hoss&n.
kbayl.
fiirias.
moh'r.

khf-^1, fiUres.
hi^mee, sokbn.
har.

bayt, men'sel, mes'-
kun.

kayf.
you ka^fak, za^-ak,
kayf.
el-kayf, ^^eb^en.
Human insan^eb.

Humbug^ prera-shekleUin (sheg-le-

rieator. bin), khab^bib.

Humidity rot6obeb, tariweh.

— ( dew") ( neddeh ).

Hundred m^ea, maia.

Two hundred meetiyn.
Three hundred to61te-mete.
Hungry gaya'n, jay&n.

Hunt, 9. se»d, ist&d, ^t-rood

e'sayd.

Hunter

la order that
you may not
hurt bis feel-
ings, or dis*
appoint him

Husbandman

Husband
Hyena

sy^, gbunniU, bofir.

dee, toiih yim.
l^leh ma teks^-

shee khitroo.

fel-Uh; p/. fella-
heen,
goz, zoge.
dob'h, dobbb.

Jackal

Jar

Javelin

Ice

Identical

Idle

Idol

Jealousy

Jerusalem

Jessamine

In jest

Jew

Ancient Jews
If

Ignorant, novice
111, a.

Illness

I imagine, v.

It is impossible

In, within

Incense

Income

Indeed-

Indigo

Infidel

Ingratitude

Ink

Inkstand

Inquire, p.

Inside

«.

Insolence (of

language) .
For instance
Instead

lina.

t&leb.

jar'ra, kiddreh.

har^beh, khUbt.

telg.

biz^too.

tum'bal, bsttiil.

s6ora, ma&.kh6ota.

ghe<2reh.

el Kotia ICadytia,]

yesmeen.

bil dehek ; tee Jpke.

VahSodee,

Bini Izra^L
in-kan, izak&n, isza,
lo-k^n, mut'Uma.
gha-sh^em.
me-show'-esh, aiin,

ai-yin.
ta-show6esb.

tekh-ra^nee, ana

az6on.
ma yoomkin'sh,
la yoomkin ^bc-
den.
gooa ; at, fee.
bokliiir.
eriid.
hatta.

B^eleh. [fer^n.

k&fer, pL koofiir, ka-
khusseeh, khuss^h
heb'r, hebber.
dow&i, dow&ieh.
saal, es'saal.
g6oa, fee kulb.

elkulb.

toolt e* lissiin, kootr

el kaldm.
mus'salen.
bedil.

D 5

ENGLISH AND ARABIC YOCABXJLABT.

Sect. I.

Instrument dooUb, t.e. maehine.

— toob ed'deh.

Interpret, o. ter'gem {tranJate),

Knowledgs

Interpreter

Intestines
Intoxicated
Intrigue, plot
Intriguer
Joke

Journey

Joy

Joyful

Iron

Irrigate, v.

Is there? there

There is not

Island

Judge

Its juice

Just

Just now

tergimin, toorgi-

mio.
mussar^n.
sakrin.
iit'neb, khibs.
Cettin, khabb^
layb,mtM-AA«ra, day-

bek, m^zh.
saffer.
ferrah.

fer'han, mabsoot.
bad^et.
is'kee.
is fee.
ma fe^.
gez^reh.
kidee.
moietoo.
hakeek, 8edee||.
tow.

Xeep, take care

of
Keep, hold» v.
Kettle
Key
Kick, V.
Kidney
Kill, V.
Killed
Kind, 5.
Kind, a.

Kindle, v.
King

Kingdom

Kiss

Kitchen

Kite, miluMi

Knee

Knave

Knife

Penknife
Knot
Know, 9.
I do not know

istah'rus, ah'fod,

ahYuz.
im'sek, bosh (stop),
buk'-rag.
muf-tih.
er'fus.

ka^^lweh, kUweb.
mow'-et, mow'wet*
mat, m^-it.
gent.
M&hab mar6of,

hineiin.
keed (geed).
m^lek (mellek,)

solUn.
mem'-lekeh.
bo§' sa,
mud'-bakh.
hedy (hed^i).
rook'^beh.
ebn ha-Him.
sek^en ; pL seka-

keen,
roiitweh.
ok'-deh.
iref.
ma arifkhee, ma mi-

ish khibber.

Ladder
Lady

Lake, pond, pool beer'keh.

Lame

Lalnp

Lanoe

Land

ma^-refeb, ma^«

refeh.
tiab.
sil'lem.
sit, sit'teh(mistTe8s).

Lantern
Large
Lark
The last

Last, V,

a'rug.

kand^I, mus'rag.

kdrbeh,

ard, bur (opip. to

sea).
£i-n6o8.

keb^r, aried, wi^^a.
koomba.
el iokher, el akb-

r&nee.
o'kut ket^r, istih.

mel.

It is late

el wakt rib.

Laugh, V.

it'-hak.

Laughter

dehek.

Law, justice

shurri.

Lay, ».

er'koot.

Lay, V. «•

rukket.

Lazy

tum'bal.

Lead, # .

rossiss.

Leaf (of book)

wirakeh, war'rak.

Leap, V.

noot (nut).

Learn, v.

itailem, ilem.

Lease (of a

o'gera, k^rree.

house)

Leather

gild matbo6k (mat-

bo6g).

I.«ave, f .

ez'n, egiseh.

Without leave

min ghayr egizeh.

Leave, v.

khal'lee, foot.

Leaven

khumm^er.

Ledge

SOffiL

Leech

iluk.

Leek

korit.

Left, a.

sheroal, yesir.

Leg

rigl.

Lemon

laymmm, laymoon

milb.

kind) .

Lend, v.

iddee-selle^ ^sUf.

Length

tool.

Lengthen, v. n.

it'-wel.

• 9, a.

tow'-el.

Lentils

ats, ads, addus.

Leopard

nimr.

Less

as'-gher, ak6U.

Egypt

ENGLISH AMD ABAfilC VOOABITLABT.

l«t go, or

sf -eh, khaUee.

Lock, e.

^k.fel.

■lone, V.

Lofty

ifee.

Letter

harf, fi. har6of.

Long

tow.^I.

»— , epistle

makt6ob, gow.'4b,

Look, 9.

shoof, boss, 6n-

warrakeh.

door.

Lerel

mesoVwee.

Loose, a.

w&sa.

Level, e.

sow'wee.

Loosen, v.

8^-eb, hell; sse

Litr

keddib.

Undo.

Lie

kidb.

At liberty

me-sy-eb» me-

Liberate^ eiift«ii- ^-tuk.

s^ieb.

chise, V.

Lose, V.

dj.ah.

Liberated

matook.

Love

hob.

Life

om'r, h^-a.

Lovc^ p.

heb.

Lift,e.

shee), er'fiH ayn.

Low

w&tee.

Light, a.

khai^f.

Lupins

Hnnes, far'fnts

eolonr

niaft6oh.

(Cqp«.).

Light,*.

noor.

Light the candle wiilla e* thein'mS.

MtMblne

dooUb.

Give light to, «.

now'-er.

Mad

magno^n.

Lightning

berk.

Madam

sittee.

As you like

ala ka^fiik, ala me»

Magazime,

hiLftel, sh6n.

s&gak, ala k{ir*

sh6ona, m&kh*

radak.

zen.

Like, a.

say, mittel, mitl.

Maggot

doot.

kayf.

Magic

8a;^her (sayhr).

In like manner

gaz^lik el omr, ga-

Male

dthiikker.

thilik.

Female '

net^-eh, netf,

Hike

yag^bnee.

oon'seh.

I should like

fee khitree, blddee.

Make, tt.

aimel.

Ldme

geer.

Made

mam6o1.

Ldine (fruit)

laymo6n htiw

MaUet

dokm^k.

(hel'oo).

Man

r^el ; V- «'«g*l'

Line, or mark

khot, suttr (of a

Mankind

in^n, beni adam

book).

(sons of

Linen -cloth

komiah kett^n.

Adam).

Linseed

bisr kettin*

Manufactory.

wer'sheh.

Lion

as^sad, s^ba.

Many

ket^er.

Lip

shiffeh.

Marble

ro-kh&nu

Listen, «.

aen'ned.

Mark, v.

lllem.

Listen, hear

es'ma.

»*.

»-l&m ; SM Line.

Listen to, take tow'wa.

Market

sook, haxar.

advice

Marrow

m6kh.

Little, small

sogheer, zwf er.

Marry, v»

gow'-es, zow'.^.

Little, not much shwoya.

Mast

si-ree.

Live, 9.

n&Ai, esh.

Master

sid, seed.

Liver

kiVdeb.

Mat,#.

hass^ereh, (has-

Lizard

boorae, aabl^h.

84era); |>2.hos-

Load

hemleh.

sor.

Load, V,

ham'mel.

What's the

khabbar 4y, ger- *

Loaf of bread

rake^esh.

matter ?

ra kj.

Lock

kayl6on.

with you

? m&lak.

wooden

dobOieh.

Matters

om6or.

Plidlock

kufl.

asheeat
D 6

ENGLISH AND ABABIC YOCABULASY.

Sect. I.

Mattrass
Measure
<— of length
Meat
Meet, o.
Medicine
Memory
Merchant

Mercury

Messenger

Metals mine

Middle

Middle-sized

Mighty* able

Milk

A mill
Press mill
Minaret
Never mind

A mine
Mine, of rae
Minute, #.

Mirror, #.

Mix, V.

Mixed

Modest

Moist

Monastery

Money

Monkey

Monk

Month

mar'taba.

meexan.

kee&s.

lahm.

kabel.

dow'-a, dow'eh.

fikr, bal.

t&ger, hawigee*,

mesebbub.
zaybuk.
syee, s&i.
xn4-dan.

wooat (Eng. wmtt),
woostinee.
kider.
fub'ben (luVbun),

hal^b.
ta-hoon.
ma'sarah.
madneh.
See NeTer and

Harm.
m4dan ; fd. ma&din.
betaee; fl bet&htee.
dak^keh ; pi, da-

miraeh, mOrai,
ekh'-let.
makhl6ot.
mestayhee.
tiree ; set Humidity,
dayr.

Jhos (from obolus?).
nesnis.

rAhib ; pL robbdn.
shahr; jd. sh6h6or,
^sh-hoor.

Name$ of fhe Arabic Moniht.
1. Moharrera. 8. Shibin.

2. SafTer. 9.

3. Reb^h '1- 10.
6we1. U.

4. RebiTe-hn-i.
kher. 12.

Ramadan.
Shoval.
El K&deh,
Zul-kiideh.
£1 Ho'g-h,

5. Go6mad«owel. or Zul-Heg

6. G6omad-akber (Hag).

7. Reg'eb.

kumr (iNa«e.)

maxboot.

floobb, aabah.

feg'r^fegger).

t61at e'shenos.

di-hah.

dohr.

Moon
Moral, a.
Morning
Dawn
Sunrise
Forenoon
Midday
Afternoon
Sunset miigb-reb.

1 J hour after csh'a, aah'a.

sunset
Evening messa, ash^eh.

Good moroing sabdl khayr, sab^

koom b«l-khayr.
Morrow bo6kra, biker.

the day after bad bo6kra.
A Mortar hone, bon, mus-han.

Mosk gtoiah,fiiiM^e(f(fit>m

s^ged, to bow
down).
Moth (of clothes)kitteh.
Mother om.

of pearl sudduf.

My (hb) mother ommee (ommoo).
Move, V. H. hax.

— — 9. a. Icow'wum.

Mountain geb'el (gebbel), pi.

gebil.
Mount, ascend, P. etia foke (fok).

, ride, r. ^rkub.

Mouth fom, hannak (ha-

n'ak).
Much ketecr (ms Quan-

tity, and What).
Mud teen, wah-L

Mug kooz.

Musk misk.

Musquito nam6os.

— net namoos^h.

You must lazem.

Mustard khar'del.

Mutton lahm dinee.

My bet&ee ; betdbtee,

/mm., as, £uTaa be-
t&htee, my mare,
ebnee.

My son

VaU

Nail, V.

mesm&r.
sum'mer.

* Hawagte, a Cbriitian ; Kfaowagv^ a Motleiii.

Egypt,

ENGLISH AN1> ARABIC TOOABULART.

Naked

Name

Napkin

Narrow

Nature, the Cre-
ator
Near

Neat, elegant
It is neoessarj
Neck

Needle

packing

Negro

Neighbours
Neither (one

nor the other)
Net
Nerer
Nerer mindt v.

New

News, to tell,

Nick-name

Night

Nitre

refined

No, nor
Noble, prince

North
Nose
Not
Not so

Nothing, none

For noUiing

Now

A great number

Number, v.

ariin.

esm.

mah'rama, wtlgarhf

foota.
d^k, dthduk.
el khaluk.

kar^-ib (garei-ib).
serleC

likzem, tlsem.
mk-abeh (riikka-

beh).
cb'ree, pL o'bar.
mes^lleh, mayher.
abdC«8laTe''),r^l

as'wed.
geerin, aiug, gar,
wulla w^hed wulla

e'tinee.
shibbekeh.
eb'eden, ebbeden.
maldsh, ma an*

n6osh.
ged^t, gedied.
khabber (khabbar>
e'tinee (ett&nee),

alagemboo '(at

its side),
nukb, lakh.
layT, pL luyiL
sot/bukh.
bar6ot abiad.
la, wulla.
em^er, ameer, pi»

omara.
shemil, b^ree.
monokh6er, un£
moosh.
mooh kMdee, moosh

k^u.
ma ieesh h&-geh.

belfeh.
delwlkt [tee Day],
keteerlcowee.
6hseb, edd.

l%e Number*, £1 Eddud
1 w£hed. 5, khimsa.

2, ethn^en. 6, sitteh, sitt.

3, theUta. 7, sibSu

4, er^ba. 8, themibieh.

S.t^Ctes'sa).

10, isherah.

11, hedisher.

12, ethn^Bher.
IS, thelatiaher.

14, erbatlbher.

15, khamstisher.

90, thelat^en.
40, erbl^en.
50, khams^en.
60, sitteen.
70, saba^n.
80, theman^en.
90, tesa^.

16t sittibher.

17, sabatisher.

18, themantiwber.

1 9, tesit^sher.

20, isher^n.

21, w4bed oo aahe-
r^n, etc.

100, m^ea {tee
Hundred).
1 0 1 , meea oo w£hed.
120, meea oo ashe-
r^en.
1000, elf.
1100, elf oo meea.

Nurse

Nut

Oar

Oath

Tlie ocean

The Mediterra^

nean
An odd one
A pair and an

odd one
Do not be of-

fended (hurt)
Often, many

times

Oil of oliyes
Sweet oil

Lamp oil
Train oil
Lettuce oil
Old, ancient
Old in age.
On, upon
One

Once

Onion
Open, V.

• From the kortam, or Carthamut tinctorial,
t From the tiroiim, or ScMmum Orientale.

dAda (Turk.), mor-

d'&h.
ben'dook.

mukdaf, pL maka-

d*ef.
helft&n, yam^en.
el bdhr el miilh, el

miileh.
el bahr el ablad, i. e.

the white tea,
ferd, furd.
goz oo ferd.

ma takhodahee ala
khitrak.

ke|^r n6ba, kam
no'bal (t. «. koto
many times !)

tayt-sayt6on.

sayt-ty-eb*, layt-
h^lwa.

s^erig f

sayt-bir. |

sayt-khiiss.

kadeem, minsemiin.

ag6os.

f5k.

wihed ; tee Num-
bers.

nobaw^ed, raarra
wihed.

bus'sal.

ef-tah

% From the flax.

ENGLISH A2n> ARABIC YOCABULABT. Sect. I.

Open, />./).
Opening

Orange

Order, com-
mand, v.
Order, s.
In order that
Origin
Ostrich
The other
Another

Oven
Over

Overplus

Over and abore

Overturn, «.

Overturned

Overtake, e.

Our

Out

Outside

Owl

Owner
Oxen

Padlock

Fail

Pain

A pair

Pale

Palm, date tree

Pane (of glaai)

Paper

A para (coin)

Parsley

Part, piece

Partridge

Partner

Partj

Pass, 9. «.

Paste

Patch, f.

Patience

maft6oh.

ilit-hah, applied aUo
to the I St chapter
of the KoriUk

wulla, ya, ow } «. y.
either this or
none, ya d6e ya
bel^sh.

aom6or, om6or.

an/r

Ic^leh.

as'sel, assl.

naam.

e*t4nee, el &-kher.

wihed &kher, wihed
ghayr, w&hed tk-
nee, gb&yroa

foorn.

fok (foke).

aecddeb.

s^id

egh'leb.

magbl6ob.

elOiak

bet&na, beta-niihna.

b4rra.

minbArra.

muss^; (homed
— ) b6oma.

s4-hab.

teeriin; sm Bull.

ku6,

sutl, dilweh.
wug'ga.
goz, ethn^en.
aiyiad, as'fer.
nakhl, n&kh-el
loh, kesAs.
war'ak; (leaf of)

warrakeh, ferkh.
fodda, t. e. silver.
bakd6onis.
hetteh.
hag'geL
^er^k.
gem'ma.

foot ; 9. a. ibw'wet
as^ed^ageeo.
roka.
t6oUt«l.b4I, sibbr.

Patient
Be patient
He is patient
Pay money, v»
Peace, pardon

cessation

of war
We have

siber.

toVei bdlak, ^boor.

rohoo tow^l.

ed'fa Boos.

am&n.

soolb.

made istullah'na bad.
with
each other
Pear koomittree.

prickly, tin shok, tin seralSn-

or Cactus
Peas

Peel

Pen

Lead pencil

People

Our people

Perfect

entire

Perfidy
Perhaps

dee.
bisilleh.
felWh. ^
gild, kishr.
k41am (kuUum).
^ilamrosiss.
nas, gem'ma, r^g&l.
gemma-6tna.
temim.
sah^h, kllmeL
khy&na.
yo6mkin, ipsar (&b-

sar).
Agem.

iigemee, Farsee.
nels.

Persia

Persian

Person, self

A piastre (coin) kirsh, plur, krooah.

Pickaxe; see Axe.

Pickles toorshee.

Picture s6ora, taasow^r.

A piece het'tcji, kottah.

Piece, V. fiiis'el.

Pig khansder.

Pigeon ham&m.

Pilgrim hag, hag'gee.

Pill hab.

Pin dab6os.

Pinch, V. ek'-roos.

Pinchbeck (me- tomb&k (Fr.).

tal
Pipe sb^book, ood.

Hpe, mouth- fom,mup'8em(mul»'-

piece sem), terkdebeh.

Pistol taban'gia.

A pair of pistols gos tabangiit.
A single pistol fWrd.

beer.

ya khos&ra.

mat'rah, moda, m»-
k&n, mahil.

d k6obbch, e*ti6on.

A pit
What a pity !
A place

The plague

JSfflfpL

ENGLISH AND AIUBIC VOGABULART.

P]ank, pane (of loh |

Pull out, V. ; pull ek'-Ia ; les Pluck

gU«)

off (clothes).

Plate

s4han,tublMik,MUi-

Puniahmcnt

ai4b.

g*'-

Pure

Uher.

Play,*.

leb (layb>

On purpose

bilinieh (m a had

Play, ».

ill&b.

fcase), bilamed.

Plot

fit'neh.

Push,e.

lis.

Flou^

mahrit.

Pkm/ /msf /

biuf bi$9/

Ploughing

hart.

Put,r.

hot.

PludL a ibvl, v<

. en'tifelflir-kher.

Putrefy, V.

affen.

Pluck, poll out,

en'tiah.

Pyramid

h&ram, ahram.

Plonder, v.

UJuib, nd'kab (Jo

AqwOl

aoomin.

sui6>.

What quantity'

} kud-dAy, t. «. huw

Plural

much.

Pocket

g*y*>-

Quarrel, v.

hinuk, &mel kalim.

Poetry

shayr, nusm.

Stone quarry

muk'ta-hag'gar.

Poison

aim.

A quarter

roob.

Point, end

turf.

Quench (fire) V.

itfee.

Pole, stick

middree, ncb6ot

Quince

safer'gel.

Pomegranate

roomin.

Quickly

ka-w&m, beliggel

A poor man

mes-k£en, ie-ke6r

(t. e. on wheels).

Potatoes

hia^frdngm.

yilla.

Pottery

fokh&r.

Quiet

s&ket.

A pound

rotL

Pour out, 9.

soob, koob.

IUu)e

ptnt (ffetue).

koob.

Raft

rarao^se (ramo6s).

away, v.

Rag

shann6ota, kbillaka

Powder

trob; (gun—) ha-

Rage

semk, kudb.

r6ot.

Rain

matur, nuttur.

Power

kodr (kudr>

It rains

be-un'tur.

Pray

sellee

Ramrod

harbee, kabb^

I pray you

feeard'ak.*

Rank

mak&m.

P^ess, 9.

dooas.

Rare, strange

ghar^b.

, squeese, o. a4ser (aser).

A rascal

ebn haiim.

Piretty

kouei^is (qui'yis).

Rat

&r.

Preraricator

ahekleb&n.

Raw

ny (nye).

Price (see Wliat,^em'n, (temmen,)

Raxor

mo6s.

and Worth)

sayr.

Reach, v.

tool, ^Ihak.

Agree about uPsel, fussdi.

Read, e.

ek'ra.

price of

Ready

hdder.

Pnde

kobr e' n^is.

Real

sah^, sAduk.

Pt-ison

habs,h6sel.

Really, truly

min hik, bak^ke*

It is prohable

ghaleben.

ten, hak'ka.

Property, poa- milk.

The reason

e* sebbubr '

sessions

Rebellious

akaee^pL aisiVn.

Prophet

nebbee.

Receive money

' ek'budfloos.

Prose

nuthr, nuar.

Reckon, p.

ah'seb.

Prosper, v.

^lah.

Recollect, v.

iftek'r.

Prorisiona

wQfwidt kkvX oo sberb

(-ion)

(fikr).

PulUo.

ahid.

A reed

boos.

•'•OnyonrboDOW.** Uicd to depracste p

untahBMnt, sad on other preninf oocsdont.

ENGLISH AND ARABIC TOOABITLAHT.

Sect. I.

A relation
Relate, tell, v.
Remember, «.
I remember, o.
Reply, t.
Reside, v.
Return, r.

kar^eb, iihi.

ah'kee.

khallee fee bUak.

fee b41ee.

rood (roodd).

iVkoon.

er'ga.

., give back, r^ga.

Rhinoceros horn korn khart^t.
Ribs dullooa.

Rich shebin, ghunnee.

Riches ghunna (gfaena). ,

'Rid, 0. khal'lus.

Ride, r. er'kub.

Riding, t. roko6b.

A rifle bendook^eh shesh-

khineh.
Right, a, doghree.

Right, t. h«k (hak).

Right (hand) yem^n.
Rim harf, soor.

Ring (annulus). hallakah, hallak.
Finger ring dib'leh ; «ee SeaL
Rite, V. koom (goom).

River n^ar ; bahr, t. e.

ocean (applied to

the Nile),
Road derb, sikkah, tare^.

Robber har&mee.

Roof sukf.

A room oda.

Root gidr, gidder.

Rope habbel, liabL

Hemp rope habl teel.

Palm habl leef.

Rose werd.

Rose water moie-werd

otto of better el werd.

Round, a. medow'-er, mekiib-

bub.
Around bowal&yn, deir ma

id6or.
Rouse, 9. kow'em, kowwem.

Royal soltinee*

Rudder duffeh.

Ruins, remains ; ben^i kadeto, kha-
eee Temple rf-lfb, khariibeh.
Run, r. ig'geree.

, as a liquid khor.

Rushes soom£r (sumlff).

Rust suddeh.

sekeibeh.
Saddle (of horse)8erg.
-^-<doiikey) b^rda.
— (dromedary )ghab^

(camel)

bags

Sail, f.

For his sake
Salad
for Sale
Salt, o.
Sallys.
Salts
The same

Sand
Sandal
Sash, girdle
Saucer
A saw
I saw, V.

witter, howdehp sh&«

ker, bas6or.
khorg.

kiUa, komiab, i e,
cloth. "

legneti kbAtroo.
eatata,
leUbiyii.
mileh.
melb?

melh In^Sez.
bur'doo, bisitoOfp/.

biirdohom.
ruml.
nal.
hez4m.
idea,
rainsh&r.
ina sh6oft ; be

hooa sh4f.
kool.

Say, V,

What do you betk6ol ay.
say?

Scabbard (of

sword)
Scales (large)
School
Scissors
Scold, V,
Scorpion
Scribe
Sea

bayt (e'sayO.

meezdn (k ubbineh ).
muk'tub.
m^kiiss.

hinuk, it-h&nuk.
ak>raba (ag'raba).
k&teb.

bahr, bahr el malh,
elm&leh.

See»«. shoof; I s^ ana

sheif (ahyfe), be-
sh6<^
A seal khitom (worn as a

ring).

impression khitmefa.

Search, v. fettesh.

Search tefteM.

Winter
Spring
Summer
Autunm

Four Secuome.

shittmh.
kharetf.
sayf.

dem^reh.

^gypt

ENGLISH AND ASABIC VOCABULARY.

A second of time x&nee.

Be silent, v.

os'-kut (oslcoot).

The second*

e'tinee.

Silver

fod'da.

the other

Simple

mokhtus'surah.

Secondly

t^i^n.

Single

mooifrud, ferd.

Seed

hizr, hab, tel^ow'ee.

Sing, 9.

ghun'nee.

ghiilleh.

The singular

mooffnid.

Seek for

dow'r al&y

Sir!

s^edeel sidit

Send, V.

^ba&t, sbiya, ^rsel.

Sister

okht.

Scpante one for'red.

My sister

okhtee.

from the other

His sister

okhtoa

Servant

khuddam, subbee

Sit, V.

o'-kut.

. (lad).

Sise

kobr.

Serre, r.

ikh'-dcm.

Skin, s.

giW.

Shade, «.

dooll, dool, dill, zUl.

Water skin

ke^beh.

Sbadov

khee&l.

Sky, heaven

s^mma.

Shame, disgrace eb» aeb.

Slave

abd, kh6dem.

SbnTe, r.

4h-lut

Female

gArreea(jireea).

Sheep, fl

gfaunnum.

Slaughter

ket^l.

Ram

khar6of.

Sleep, «.

u6m, V. nim.

Ewe

nigeh.

Sleeping

neim (nyim).

Sheet, «.

Slowly

be-shw6'-esb.

Shell

wodda.

Small, se« Little sogh^er.

Shield

dar'raka.

Smell, 9.

shem.

Shine^ v.

Sbrook.

Smell, s.

shem, reeh.

Ship

m^rkeb*

Sweet smell

reeh (reht)helwa.

Shirt, «.

kam^: pL koms^n.

Blacksmith

faaddiit.

Shoe

merkoob^v^. mara-

Smoke, # .

do- khan.

k^h

Smoke, o.

ish'rob do>kh£n.

Horse shoe

nal.

Snnooth, v.

efred ; adj, nam.

Yellow slipper

must, mes.

Snail

liala'Zo'n (bala-zon).

Short

koseir (koss^^r).

Snake

tib&n, ban'nesh.

Small shot

rush.

dood.

Shoulder

kitf.

Horned

hei biUkor6on.

Show,o.

wer'ree.

Asp

na'sher.

Show me

wereence.

Snare

fukh.

Shut, V.

uk'-fel.

SnufT

nesholc, (ne8h6ke).

Shut the door

rood, ^trusb, 6klel

Snuficrs

mak6ss (mekiias)

el bab.

— e'shem'roi.

Shut, bolt the

Book el bab.

keddee, k^xa.

door

Soldier

iw-karee, pi. as&kcr,

Sbut,/ii p.

merd6od, matr6osb,

asker.

mask6ok, makfbol.

Disciplined

nisAm.

Siek(se«iU)

mesbow'ish, aiiuL

Some of it

roinoo, minnoo.

Sick, to be

istufnigh. ,

Something

bigeh, shay.

Side

gemb.

Some few things bad shay.

Sieve

ghorb&L

Sometimes

wihed-w&bed-noba.

Silk

harder.

bad-5k&t.

Sight, s.

shoof, oudr.

Son

ebn, welled.

Slent,a.

sakut.

Song

gho'ua.

• The camel is MmMtimes csllcd m^rkeb (as a shoe inerk6ob), not becauw it U the " Ship
of the Desert,*' M some have •uppoMd, but because merlieb signiBes tomething to mount
upon CPt. momtmre), $o that the ship Is rather the camel of the aea than the convene, and
the Arabs bad esmds or mtmiures before tbejr bad chips or shoes.

ENGLISH AND ABABIC YOCABULABT.

Sect I.

Sorry

I am sorry, «.

Sort, f .

Sound, voice

Sour, acid

South

hat^en (a&b&n).

isa£b'al&y.

<f€n8f shikl.

bess.

h£-duk, hi-mood.

genoob, kublee

(kibMee).
now.
es'ra.
kb^.et
shibr.

— wind
Sow (seed) v.

(cloth) V,

Span

with fore- fitr.
finger.
Speak to one wessee (wuasee).

about, bespeak
Speak, §e» Talk.
Spear harbeh.

Spend (money) d^-a, 4s-re£
Spider ankab6ot.

web ankab6ot

Spill, V. koob (kubb).

Spirit roh.

A spirit dfreet, pL afar^t,

ffinnee, pL gin,
A good spirit, see Angel.

Split, p. p.
Spoon
Sportsman
Square
Stable, s.
Stand up
Stand, V,
Stop
SUr
Statue

Stay, wait, «.
Steal, 9.

Stealth, s.
By stealth
Steel

}

maflo6k.

milaka.

sy-Ad. [rublNL

morub'bah, md«

jteM.

koom ala ha^lak.

yo6kuf, wukkuf.

nigm ; pL nigo6m.

mas-kh6ot.

uslKior.

e^rookt ea'rnk \to

lAerA].
se^rkah.
bil-duss.
soolb.

A steel (for flint) seen&d.

Stick.

Stick of palm
Still

— — yet
Sting

He is stingy
Stirrup
Stone

Stop, M Stand
and Wait.

neb6ot; assaia (as-
s^eh ), shamro6kb.
ger^et.
s^kut.
lissa.
shok.

eMoo misek.
re-k&b.
hA^ar.

Stop up, V.

Stopped, dosed

Straight

String

Strong

Straw

Street

Stumble, «.

He struck

Strike a light

Style

Begin the sub-
ject
Such a one
Suck, «.
Sugar
Sun

The sun has set
Sulphur
Sununer
Suppose, V.

Swell, o.
Swollen
Swear, testify, V.
at, abuse, p.
Swallow, V.
Sweet
Swim, tr.
Sword
Syria
System

Table elofb

Table

k Turkish

Tail
Tailor
Talk, V.

Take, v.
Take away, «.
Take in, cheat
Tall

Tamarinds
Tamarisk
T^n, o.
Tax
Tea

Teach, v.
Tear, r.
A tear

sid.

masdood.

doghree.

dooUlra.

shede^t, gow'ec.

tibn.

derb, sikkeb.

&h'ter.

d&reb (^eet Beat).

ek'da (igda).

kesm, tert^b,

shikl
dftah s£eratoo, 6fUh

e*s£era.
fooUn (felto>
moons,
sooklcer.
shems (/em. ).
e*shems gh&bet.
kabr^et.
86vf.
soon' (soonn),

khum'men.
yoorem.
warm.

ish'-had, ihlifl
ish'tem.
eb'la.
bel'wa.
aom.
sayf.
e*Sham.
tert^eb, nis4m.

fo6ta e*8o'firm.

soffra.

ko6rsee.

dayL

khyat

itkellem, it-had'-

det.
khod.
sheel.

ghush, gbush'em.
towe^l (towwM).
t6mr hindee,
tur'fa.
ed'bogh.
fer'deh,
shy.
Alem.
sher'mut.
dim'moo.

EgupL

ENGLISH AND ABABIC TOCABULART.

Telegraph

e*8hira.

Tin

kaxdeSr (aa^'e'frc-

Telocope

nad^ra.

' pot^y

Tell, 9,

kool, ^-kee.

Tin plate

saf^^h.

Temple

bierbeh.

Hq, v. whiten

b6iad, b^ad.

Teot

khaym, khiymeh.

Tinder

sooftn.

Tent peg

waftat.

Tired

bat-la'n.

Than

min, an.

ilia, e41a.

Weth«ikyoaVj^^^ ,^^
fin* a present J

Toast (bread)
Tobaoeo

esh mekum'mer.
do-khin, i. e. smoke.

r allah ibArak ftek.

Together

sow'a — sow'a, wete

finragreat'

bad.

isTour, I am

To-roorrrow

bo6kra.

much db*
ligedtojou!
also ironi-

► ket'-ther (gettber)
khiyrak.

Tongs
Tooth

masheh.

sin, pL sinn4n, si-
noon.

cally

Top

ghutta (cover).

Thank God

el ham'doo liU&h.

Torch

nwsh'al.

Then

somma, bad^n.

Tortoise

Bahaifeh.

There

ben^.

Torture

asdb.

They, their

hoom, beta'-hoom.

£col% And^lk

WkmKlff ■UOaO.

Thick

te-khe^n.

Touch, feel, v.

bas'sus.

Thief (MS Rob.

Do not touch

la teh6t eddak aUy.

ber and Steal).

that

Thigh

fukhd, werk.

Tow

meshik.

Thin

roof^a (roof^ia), re-

Tow (a boat)

goor e* lelWbu

iSea,

Towel, napkin

Thing

bigeh, shay.

Tower-

boorff.

Things

ashee^t.

k&la. [bel4d.

omo6r.

Town

beHed Xbel'ed), pL

Think, p.

iftekker, khum'-

Large town

ben'der.

[po«

e men. [nee.

Treachery

khy&na.

I think, sup-

ana az6on, tekhmee-

Treacherous ;

kheln.

Third

thiilet.

(MS Betray

This

dee, b&za.

and Perfidy).

That

de&a, dikkAi, da.

Tree

seg'gereh, sheg'-

Those

dole (dol).

gereh.

Thirst

at'tush.

Trickery, ma-

> doolib, doob^ra,

Thirsty

at-sba'n.

chination

hafleh.

Thorn

shoke (sbok).

Trouble

taab.

Thought

iikr.

True

siheh, do'ghree, ai-

Thread, s.

kbayt.

duk, sah^eh.

Threshold

at'taba.

Try, prove, ».

kur'reb.

ThriTC, e.

^na.

Tub

mustela.

Throw, V.

^r-mee.

Turban

ihaOt em'meh.

Thumb

suba el kebeer.

Turk

Toork, Onnilnlee,

Thunder

raid.

Osm&nli.

Tickle, V.

suksuk (sugsug).

Turn, V.

dow'er.

Tie,r.

ei'boot.

Turquoise

faroo'see.

Tight, drawn

mashdoot

Twice

marrataf n, noba-

Time, narrow

df.ik(d^i.uk)»maz-

tafn.

n6ok.

Twist, V,

ib'room.

lime, vdUa

noba.

Tyrant "1
Tyrannical J

s*'li*Tn

,tempo

wakt.

*fk ICIU.

68
Tyranny

ENGLISH AND ARABIC VOCABULABY.

Sect. L

soolm.

I want nothing moosh ow'es h&geh.

War

barb, shemmata.

Valley

w4dee (w4dy).

Warm

sokhn.

Value, price

temn (t^mun).

Lukewarm

difee.

Vapour

bo-khkr.

I warned yoa

ana wusa^ak.

Vase

tata.

I was

koont.

Vegetables

khod^r.

He, it, was

-kan.

Very

kow'ee; very large.

She was

kan'net.

kebe6r kow'ee.

We were

koon'na.

Ugly

w&hesh, bil*h&m.

You were

ko6ntum, ko6ntoo.

Violent

kow'wee (kow'ee).

They were

kinoo.

Violet

benefsig.

Wash, r.

ugb'-sel.

Virgin

bikr.

Waste, f .

kho-si-ra.

Umbrella

shems^eh.

A watch

sao.

Undo, unite, v.

fook', hell

Water, t.

mo'ie, ma, mo'ieh.

Uncle.

am.

Water, v.

is'-kee.

(mother^s

khal.

ro6sh, rush.

brother)

Fresh water

moie hel'wa.

UntU

iila, le, lllama.

Spring (of water) ain, ayn (t. e. eye).

16 ma.

ed.

Under

takht.

Water, torrent of say].

Vocabulary

sillemee, ketAb sil-

{in the desert)

]emee«

Voyage

saffer.

(in a rock)

Up, upon, over

foke (mk).

small basin mes&yk.

Upper

fok&nee.

Use, utility

n^fft.

basin oi

' tbem^leh.

It u useful

infa.

natural reser-

■

of no use

ma iniSsh.

voir, when

Used, worn.

mestah'mel.

eUed up with

second-hand

sand or gravel

Usury

ribh.

weUof

beer.

Vulture [tenu

nisser, nisr.

— reservoir

h6d.

rlikh-am (r^khum).

(built)

pool of rain mag&ra (makAn).

"Wafer

bershara.

water

Wager

rihaneh.

river or

nahr.

Wages

gemk^eh.

stream

JFaUt

wooMt, 1. e. middle.

channel or mig'gree.

Wait, stop, V.

us'boor.

conduit

Wake,o.a.andn.es'-hur (es'-her).

Water melon

ba-i^kh.

Walk, V.

im'-shee.

Wax candles

shemmd skaoderA-

Walking

mi-shee.

nee.

Wall

hayt.

Way

sikkah, deifo.

Walnut

gos.

ah'na, nah'na.

I want, V.

ana ovf^es (owe),

Weak

bat-lin, da-e^f.

ana ar^ed, ana

One week

gooma w&*hed.

tileb (atlub).

Weigh, V,

yoo-zen.

What do yea

ow'es-ay, oW»-ay $

Weight

tokl, wteen.

want?

by the Arab$, Esh

A well

beer.

termed.

WeU,good.

ty-eb.

I want

ow'es, ow'z, lAzem-

Wet

mablo61.

lee, ar^ed.

Wet,v.

bit

^^^9UP^

ENGLISH AND ARABIC VOCABULARY.

What ay, esb.

What do you betko6l-iy, tekooU

aay? ay?

What's the mat* khabbar-dy» g^ra-

ter ? ayi el kbabbar-&y ?

What*s the price be-kim dee ?

of this?
What is this eswa &y dee ?

worth?
What are you betimel ily ; 6y fAe

Araht^ esh te»

doing?

sow'wee ?

What o'clock is e' a'a fee k&m ?

it?
Wheat kum'h.

A wheel a^geleh.

When Uma (le]iiiDa),^mte.

At the time that wak t ma.
Where? fayn {hy (ht Arabs,

oww&yn)?
Where are- you ente rye fayn ?

going?
Where did you ente gayt min ayn?

come from ?
Which? an'-h6o?

That which e1-as^ 61ee (ellce).

Whip of hippo- korb&g.
potamus hide

ab'iad, fenu bayda.

White

Whiten, 9.

Whitening

Why?

Who

Who U that?

Who said so?

Whose

The whole

Wicked

— rascal

Widow

Widower

Wife

Wild animal

I will, V.

Wind,s.

North wind

Window

Wine

Wing

b^-ed.

tabesh^r.

lay? lesh?

min.

da min ? [dee ?

min kal (gal) ked-

beta min.

el kool, koolloo.

harim.

cbn harim.

as'beh, er'meleh.

4xeb, er'mel.

marra, zog, bormah.

w4hsh (w6hesh).

ana ow'es (aw's).

r^eh, how's.

e'tty.fth.

8hu-b4k.

nd>^t, $hardb,

ge-nih.

Winter
Wipe, V,
Wire
Wish
Wish, o.
I wish, V.

I had wished

With

Within

Witness

Wolf

Woman

Women
I wonder at
I wonder if, •*. e.
wish to know
Wonderful
Wood
Firewood
Wool
Word
Work, 9.
World
Worm
Worth, it is
Wound
Wounded
Write, V.
Wrote
Writing
Written

shitta.

em'sah.

silk. '

tool'beb.

et'loob.

bid'dee, fee khdtree.

ar^ed. [tree,

era^t, k6n fee khii-
m^ w^a.
gooa.
sh&hed.
deeb (deep),
marra, nissa, hor-

mah.
nis>win, hareem.
ana as-t£-geb.
ya tArra, hiU toora.

ag^b.

khesh'.ob.

hattob.

soof.

kilmeh, kalam.

ishtogbl, faal.

dooneea. ^

dood.

dswa.

g^rah (gerrab).

magrooh. [teb.

ik'tub ; writer, k&-

ket'teb.

ketibeh.

makto6b.

Year
Yesterday

The day before

yesterday
Yes

Not yet
You

Young

Young man

Your

Youth

court h6sh.

senna (senneh).
emba'ra (by the
jirah§,um% or unise).
owel embara. (£y the

Araln,o^el ums).
Iwa, eiwa, nam.
llssa.
en'tc ; entee, /cm. ;

^ntoom, pi,
sogh^ier ; vulgo

zwdir.
sheb, gedda.
betak; betihUk,/
sheb^b, sbeboob^eh.

Eg^

ROUTE I. — LONDON TO ALEXANDRIA.

Y. ./

ROUTES. ^^'^ /^" '-- ^

ROUTE 1.

LOXDON TO ALXXAHDaiA.

Id going from England to Alez-
andria, the quickest way is by tea to
Gibraltar and Malta, or througb
Fnuce to Marseilles, and thence by
tbe steamer to Egypt. (See Intro-
duction, on tbe Voyage to Alex-
andria.)

ALEXANDRIA. — I. Arrival
at Akiandria.

Pompey's pillar is in latitude 31^
10^ 43* N. and longitude 29^ &Af E.
fiom Greenwich. The coast is ex-
ceedingly low, so that the highest
parts only begin to be seen at the dis-
tance of about 18 miles, and the line
of tbe coast itself is not discernible
till within 1 3 or 14. Though there is
water to the depth of 6 fathoms close
to tbe Pharo«, and from 5) to 4 along
the whole shore to the pc^int of Eu-
nosttts, at the entrance of the- western
harbour, and at 1 4 mile ofi not less
than 20 fathoms, it is exceedingly
dangerous to approach at night. There
is, faowerer, very good holding ground
in the roads ; and ships anchor, or lay
to^ about a mile off shore. The first
objects perceived from the sea are
Pompey's Pillar, the forts on the
mounds raised by the French, the
Pharos and new lighthouse, and the
buildings on the Ras e' Tin (the
•'Cape of Figs"), between the two
ports ; and on uearing the land, the
obdisk, the Pasha's hareem and palace,
tbe bouses of tlie town, the masts of
ships, and the different batteries
(which have been lately much in-
creased), the windmills to the i»est,
and the line of coast extending to
Maribut Point, begin to be seen.

Tbe old lighthouse, which occupies
tbe site of the ancient Pharos, on a
rock joined to tlie land by a cause-
way, has long been pronounced in-
sufficient for the safety of vessels
making tbe coast, both from its want
of height, and tbe bad quality of
the light itself, especially in foggy
weatljer, when it can scarcely be seen
till a vessel has neared the land. Its
distance from the western harbour is
an additional cause of complaint. To
remedy these inconveniences, Mo-
hammed AU has erected a new light-
house on the point of Eunostus,
which has at least the advantage of
being In a better position for vessels
arriving from Europe; but he has
made the mistake of not having a
revolving light, which might have
been put up at little more expense.

On arriving off Alexandria by day.
light, a pilot comes on board, to carry
the vessel through the complicated
channels of the western or old port,
which are beset with shoals and reefs.
But on making the coast late in tbe
evening, she lays to till daylight, and
early in the morning the pilot comes
off; for no captain thinks of entering
the harbour without him ; the buoys
laid down by the English in 1801, to
mark the passage, having been re-
moved as soon as tbey left tbe country.
There are many shoals on which the
water is not sufficient for vessels of
large tonnage ; and first-rate line of
battle ships are obliged to Uke out
their guns, to enable them to pass
safely through these channels. The
main or central channel has 5 and 6
fathoms water, the Maribut 4^ 5,
and 6 ; others, 4, 5, and 6' ; but they
are very narrow, the widest not quite

ROUTE I. — LONDON TO ALEXANDRU.

Sect. L

2^ cables or 1 500 Teet. The deepest
part of the harbour, about due W.
and due N. of the Catacombs, is 10,
10^, and in one place 1 1 fathoms ;
close in, to within 200 feet of the
shore, it is from 4 to 6 ; and under
the town itself, at little more tlian I
cable's length off, 3 and 4 fathoms.

The steamer anchors alongside a
large boat moored there ns a coal
depot : and shoals of boats come off
to take the newly arrived strangers
with their baggage ashore. When
the packet is full of passengers, there
is frequently great confusion with
the luggage, which is piled up and
so mixed in one general mass, that it
is difficult for any one to find his
own : a traveller should therefore
take care to have it all put together
when he embarks, particularly if he
has much; and should go, or send
bis servant, a short time before he
reaches Alexandria, to see that it is
in one place and accessible, to escape
a disagreeable scramble at the last
moment.

If be has paid his passage at
the office, and arrangements have
been made for landing his things,
it is unnecessary to take further
trouble about them beyond seeing
that they are all safe t and the Cawdss
employed by the Company will un*
dertake to pass thom at the Custom
House.

When a passenger bas paid before-
hand for the expenses of landing his
luggage and Custom House fees, the
Cawds» has no further claim on him ;
but in order to give some idea of the
charges made in other cases by this
functionary, it may be said that the
ordinary sum paid him, for taking
the luggage of two persons from the
vessel to the hotel, is 33 piastres,
which includes the boat, one camel,
and the Custom House fee, and is
nearly twice as much as it ought
to be.

If not on his way to India, and
consequently no previous arrange-
ments have been made, or if be does

not apply to the Company*s Cawdss
for this purpose, the traveller will be
obliged to hire a boat for himself, or
with some other passenger, and go lo
the Custom House, where a small fee
will enable him to pass his luggage
without examination ; provided it has
the appearance of containing solely
personal etfects, and does not consist
of large cases, which have the cha-
racter of merchandise. The hire of a
boat ought not to be more than 3, or
at most 5, piastres, though the boat-
men will not be contented with double
that sum ; and the Custom House fee
may be from 6 to 10 piastres, accord-
ing to the quantity of things. Wine
and spirits pay a duty, as well as all
merchandise, but a small quantity for
private use is passed under the tide of
luggage.

There is at present some difficulty
respecting the question of duties.
According to the treaty of Balta
Lim4n, all goods are to pay 5 per
cent. ; that is, 3 on entering the ports
of Turkey, and 2 on leaving tbem for
the interior; which of course exempts
them from further examination at any
inland towns. In virtue of this, wine
and spirits are free from every other
duty, hitherto levied upon them at
Cairo and other places. Tbe treaty
is very explicit in its conditions
respecting tbe duties, the abolition
of monopolies and tbe rigbt given to
all Europeans of purchasing the pro-
duce of tlie country, and exporting it
without impediment on tbe payment
ofrnn ad valorem duty i notwithsumding
which it is constantly evaded.

On landing, the stranger, if be
escapes the rapacity of the boetmen,
who, like all other classes at Alex-
andria, ere never satisfied, however
well paid, is immediately pressed OQ
all sides by tbe most importunate
of human beings, in the shape of
donkey drivers. Their active litUe
animals may be called tbe cabs of
Egypt ; and each driver, with vehe-
ment vociferations and geaticulations»
recommending bis own^ in broken

Effypt, BOUTE I. ALEXANDRIA — HOTELS — SERVANTS. 73

English or bad Italian, strives to take
possession of the unfortunate traveller,
and almost forces him to mount
Having quickly selected one, in order
to avoid a continuation of this, to a
sufferer disagreeable, and to a by-
stander ridiculous, scene, away he is
hurried off through narrow dirty
streets, leaving his servants to bring
tb« lugg^® on asses or camels.

For a donkey he ought to pay 1
piastre to the Frank quarter, a native
or a resident giving about half that
mm ; and although 5 would not con-
tent these people, he should not, for
the sake of saving himself trouble,
have the folly to yield to their impor-
tunities. It is by doing this that the
English lately travelling in Egypt
have entailed so much trouble on
those who now visit the country, in-
creasing not only the expense, but
numerous annoyances ; and the hotel
keepers are not the least to blame for
their encouragement of such imposi-
tions, of which they themselves now
begin to feel the bad effects.

For a camel to the hotel he should
not give more than 5 piastres ;
though, if there are numerous pas*
sengers, and many camels are in re-
quisition, 1 0 must sometimes be paid.

If he does not dislike going on
foot (provided it is dry weather), a
walk of 15 or 20 minutes will take
him to the hotel.

The streets through which he passes
are narrow and irregular, the houses
appearing as if thrown together by
chance, without plan or order; and
few have even that Orientalcharacter
which is so interesting at Cairo. Here
and there, however, tlie lattice-work
of the windows and a few Saracenic
arches give the streets a picturesque
appearance ; and if he happens to take
the longer, but more interesting, road
through tlie baaaars, the stranger will
be struck with many a novel and
Eastern scene. But he had better
▼isit them, after he has secured and
arranged his rooms at the hotel.

On emerging from the dingy streets

of the Turkish quarter, he will be
surprised by their contrast with the
larger and cleaner dwelHngs of the
Europeans, where he will readily dis-
tinguish the houses of tlie consuls by
I the flag-staffs rising from their flat
roofs. In the western harbour he
will also have observed some build-
ings, of a superior style, as the Pasha*8
palace, and some public buildings,
which bear the stamp of Constanti-
nople, or of Frank, taste ; and even
before landing he will have perceived
considerable activity in the port, from
which he may form some idea of the
improvements that have there taken
place under the rule of Mohammed Ali.
The Frank quarter stands at the
extremity of the town, farthest from
the new port ; which is in consequence
of the European vessels having for-
merly been confined to the eastern
harbour, and the consuls and mer-
chants liaving built their houses in
that direction. It has, within the
last seven years, greatly increased ia
size by the addition of the large
square ; in the centre of which stands
a small badly proportioned obelisk of
Oriental alabaster, presented to the
town by Moliammed Ali. The stone
is from a quarry in the desert opposite
Beoisooef ; but it is of very inferior
quality, and badly selected, having
been taken from parts of the stratum
not sufficiently compact for slabs of
large dimensions. In this square
stand the principal hotels and most of
the consulates ; and here the national
guard are drilled soon after sunrise
every Saturday morning ; the regular
troops, if any in garrison, being exer-
cised every morning, except Friday,
near the Pasha's palace on the Ras-
e*teen, between the two ports.

2. HOTXLS AT ALSXAKOaiX. —

The principal hotels are Rey's, or
L*H6tel d'Europe ; Coulomb*s, or
L'H6tel de I'Orient. The former,
which till 1842 belonged to Messrs.
Hill, is the one mostly frequented by
the English. The charges are 40
piastres a day board and lodging,

ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA BOATS.

Sect. I.

which include breakfast, dinner, tea,
and a bedroom. A sitting-room is
charged extra, as well as wines, beer,
wax candles, coffee, &c. The cuisine
is good, and the landlord and atten-
dants civil.

The prices at the other hotel are the
same. At Coulomb's you meet with
much civility ; and his rooms at the
Orient are by no means bad.

It is less easy to find good rooms,
or houses *Uo be let,*' at Alexandria
than at Cairo; and they are much
dearer.

3. Servants. — Native and other
servants may be engaged at Alex-
andria, or Cairo, for the voyage to
Upper Egypt, or for a residence at
those places, at the following rate : —

Turkish Caw&ss,or Kaw^s (Chow-
ish), improperly called Janissary, ]
dollar a day or 30 dollars a month ;
Italian, French, German, or Greek
servant, 20 to SO ; Maltese, 12 to 20.
Native servant speaking Italian, or
other European languages, 13 to 20 ;
Native man cook, 5 ; Cook and ser-
vant of all work, 6 ; Native servant
speaking very little Italian, 3 to 8 ;
Native servant speaking only Arabic,
from 55 to 60 piastres. (These are
all fed by their master.) Sets (Sjris)
or groom, 65 piastres, and keeping
himself.

Turks and natives resident at Alex-
andria or Cairo pay much less, and
at the latter place they seldom give
their servants more than from 10, or
even less, to 20 piastres. But they
are very badly dressed, and have often
a miserable appearance, unless clothed
by their masters. (See Servants at
Cairo, sect. 2. c.)

4. Boats Boats are engaged at

Alexandria for the voyage to Cairo,
at from 225 to 275 piastres; with
a small fee to the captain, if he be-
haves well. When taken to Atfeh
only the price is about 100 piastres.
Those who prefer the steamer, may
take a place from Alexandria to Cairo
for S/. lOs. ; but it only goes occasion-
ally. The voyage by a steamer oc-

cupies 32 or 3 S hours from Alexandria
to Cairo, and about 20 in returning ;
in a sailing boat about 3) to 4| days,
and 3 in returning. (See Route VI. ;
and for boats hired at Cairo for Upper

5. Things to bb purcuaskd at
Alexandria for thb jodrnet to
Cairo. -— I have already mentioned
the things requisite for a journey in
Egypt. I shall now point out those
which are most necessary in the route
from Alexandria to Cairo, supposing
the traveller to be already provided
with tlie others marked " £.** and
" A.*' in the list of p. 3. They are
for one person, and the quantity may
be increased according to the number
or wants of a party.

PiMt.

Par.

Potatoes, 1 oka -

Rice, 1 oka

Maccaroni, 1 oka -

1 cheese -

Sugar, 1 loaf

•

Coffee (6o»«), 1 rotl

Bread

Salt

Pepper

2 GooUd or water bottles -

Meat, 2 reds or lbs.

Charcoal, 1 mat -

Kumr-e^deen. (apricots)

«■

Common soap, \ oka

Butter, 1 oka

4 fowls at 3 or 3^ (1 piastre

on the road)

Caf<u9 or coop

Food for fowls

2 mats for cabins -

Oil, 1 flask

1 basket, and wood

for

lighting fire

Candles, | oka (spermaceti)

2 baskets for things

String

Nails

It may not be altogether useless
to the traveller to know the prices of
some of the thingt mentioned in the
list of p. S.» which he may probably
purchase at Alexandria.

Egypt

BOUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA — HISTOHT.

A blanket called buttaneeh
Mouthpiece of pipe
Cherry stick pipe, 4 feet

to 5 long - 9 to

S pipe bowls
Wire for pipe -
1 carpet (setfodee)
3 copper boilers (AoZZeA, pL

hdUt),
1 towOf or saucepan, with

cover (copper)
1 small coffee-pot (copper)
Turning copper •
1 tin^^uKOM, or lanthorn

with cloth sides
1 small/aiuios, or lanthorn

with glass

1 tin pot for water

2 tin cases for coffee and
sugar

2 small tin cases for salt

and pepper
I tin coff^pot -
1 tin kettle
1 rope for flag, &c.

1 pulley for flag, &c.
Flag (small jack )

2 fire-places, Mungud -
White bason
Turkish cofftee-cups and

their stands, each
2 wooden spoons for

kitchen
5 oftos spermaceti candles

for the yoyage in Upper

Egypt - - 120 0

Tea, the oka (green) - 80 0
Tea, the oka (black) - 40 0
Wooden bowl for wash-
ing linen, called kuBMa

mu^hrebee
Tongs and kitchen knife
Potatoes, 20 okas for

the journey to Upper

Egypt
Basket for the journey to

Upper Egypt-
8 oHuzM of maccaroni for

journey
Cloth for curtains, the

drah or cubit
Tobacco (the oka)

Piart.

Par.

135

140

150 to 400

105toll9

40 to 50

25
2

0
0

20 to 30

1 20

28 0

1 10
14 to 18

Piatt.

Far.

4> add the

at Alex«

Piart.

Par.

Flour (if thought neces-
sary), the oAa-

Fan for fire in lieu of
bellows

Fly flap, manasheh

It may also be as well
prices of the following
andria : ~-

Beef and mutton, the oka

Charcoal

Wood .

Rice - - -

Butter ...

Oil -

Fine oil

6. HisTOKT OF Alexandria. —
Alexandria was founded on the site
of a small town called Racotis, or
Rhac6tis, by the great - conqueror
after whom it received its name.

Its commodious harbour and other
local recommendations rendered it a
convenient spot for the site of a com-
mercial city, and its advantageous
position could not fail to strike the
penetrating mind of the son of Philip.
It promised to unite Europe, Arabia,
and India ; to be a successful rival of
Tyre ; and to become the future em-
porium of the world.

In the time of the Pharaonic kings
the trade of Egypt was confined to the
countries bordering on the Arabian
Gulf; and if, as is possible, India
may be included among the number
of those with which the Egyptians
traded, (either directly by water, or
tlirough Arabia,) the communication
was maintained by means of that sea,
or by land over the Isthmus of Sues.
Indeed, I believe that iEnnum (or,
as it was afterwards called, Fhilotera),
and the predecessor of Arsinoe, were
the only two ports on the Red Sea
during the rule of the early Pharaohs;
the small harbours (the portus mvHi
of Pliny) being then, as afterwards,
merely places of refuge for vessels in
stress of weather, or at night during a
coasting voyage; and no towns yet
existed on the sites of those known in

ROUTE 1. — ALEXA}0>BIA — HISTORT.

Sect. L

later times as Berenice, Nechesia, and
Leucos Portus.

The commercial intercourse with
the N. of Arabia, Syria, and the parts
of Asia to the N. and N. £. of Egypt,
was established by means of caravans,
which entered Egypt by the Isthmus
of Suez ; and it was with one of these,
on its way from Syria, that the Ish-
maelites travelled, who brought Joseph
iato Egypt. They had come ** from
Gilead, with their camels liearing
spicery, and balm, and myrrh, going
to carry it down to Egypt ;*' and
this was the same line of route taken
by the Egyptian armies on their march
into Asia.

The Mediterranean was not used
by the Pharaohs for maritime pur-
poses connected either with war or
commerce, until the enterprise or the
hostility of strangers began to suggest
its importance. But such was the
jealousy of the Egyptians, that foreign
merchants were forbidden to enter any
other than the Canopic, of all the
seven branches of Uie Nile ; and
Naucratis was to them what the fac-
* tories of a Chinese port have so long
been to European traders. It was
not until the reign of A pries that
ships of war were fitted out upon the
Mediterranean, though so long used
on the Red Sea. Under that Pha-
raoh an expedition was sent against
Cyprus ; and even the Tyrians were
defeated in a naval combat by an
Egyptian fleeL

But when the advantages of a more
extended commercial intercourse with
Europe, and the possibility of divert-
ing the course of the lucrative trade
with India and Arabia from Syria to
Egypt, were contemplated, the neces-
dty of a port on the Mediterranean
became evident ; and the advantages
offered by the position of Rbacdtis
with its Isle of Pharos pointed it out
as a proper place for establishing the
projected emporium of the East.

Tradition had fixed on this spot as
the abode of the fabulous Proteus,
called by Virgil and others a sea god

and prophet, by Herodotus and Dio-
dorus a king of Egypt ; whose pre-
tended appearance under various forms
is gravely attributed by Lucian to his
postures in the dance, and by Dio-
dorus to his knowledge of astrology,
or to the supposed custom of the
king's assuming various dresses to
impose on the credulity of the people.
Though, after all these statements,
there seems to be only one doubt,
which is the greatest fable, the fable
or the explanation.

Afler his conquest of Syria, Alex*
ander had advanced into Egypt, and,
by the taking of Memphis, had se-
cured to himself the possession of the
whole country. While at Memphis
he conceived the idea of visiting the
temple of Jupiter Ammon in the Afri-
can desert; and with this view he
descended the river to the sea. He
then followed the coast westward
from Canopus, until his attention
being struck with a spot opposite the
Isle of Pharos, he stopped to examine
its position, and the advantages it
offered as a naval station. It had
been occasionally used as a refuge for
ships at a very remote period, and
Homer had mentioned it as a water-
ing place at the time of the Trojan

war.

According to Strabo, the ancient
Egyptian kings, seeing that it was a
spot frequented by foreigners, and
particularly by Greeks, and being
averse to the admission of strangers,
stationed a garrison there, and as-
signed to them as a permanent abode
the village of Rbacotis, which was
afterwards part of Alexandria.

** The island of Pharos,*' says the
Geographer, ** is of oblong form,
standing near the shore, and forming
by its position an admirable port.
The coast here curves into a large
bay, with two promontories jutting
out into the sea, on its eastern and
western extremities; between which
is the island, furnishing a barrier in
the middle of the liay."

This island was afterwards con-

Egypt

ROUTE 1 . — ALEXANDRIA — ^ HISTORY.

nected with the main land by a dyke^
and on a rock close to its extremity
^na built the famous tower of Pharos.
But the description given of it by
Homer, and the error respecting its
supposed distance from the shore I
shall have occasion to mention pre-
sently.

Alexander, on arriving there, see-
ing how eligible a spot this natural
haibour offered for building a city,
lost no time in making arrangements
for its commencement. The plan
was drawn out, and Dinocrates, the
architect, was commissioned to build
the new city, which, from its founder,
received the name of Alexandria.

" The future prosperity of this
city," continues the Geographer, ** is
reported to have been foreshown by a
remarkable sign, manifested during
the operation of fixing its plan. For,
whilst the architect was marking out
the lines upon the ground, the chalk
he used happened to be exhausted,
upon which the king, who was pre-
_sent at the time, ordered the flour
destined for the workmen's food to be
employed in its stead, thereby en-
abling him to complete the outline of
many of the streets. This occurrence
was deemed a good omen ; ** and pre-
vious to prosecuting his journey to tb&
Oasis he had the satisfaction of wit-
nessing the commencement of this
flourishing city, a. c. 323. Strabo
then enumerates the advantages of its
site, and describes the position of some
of its public buildings. "It pos-
sesses," he says, <* advantages of more
than one kind. Two seas wa!»h it on
both sides, one on tlie north, deno-
minated the Egyptian, the oUier on
the south, which is the Lake Marea,
called also Mareotis. The latter is
fed by several canals from the Nile,
as well from above as from the sides ;
and by it many more things are brought
to Alexandria than by the sea, so that
the port on the lake side is richer
than that on the coast. By ttiis, also,
more is exp<)rted from Alexandria
than imported into it, which any one

who has been at Alexandria and
Dicaearchia must have perceived, in
looking at the merchant ships trading
to and fro, and comparing the cargoes
that enter and leave those two ports.
Besides the wealth that pours in on
either side, both by the seaport and
the lake, the salubrity of the air should
also be noticed, which is caused by the
peninsular situation of the place, and
by the opportune rising of the Nile.
Other cities situated on lakes have a
heavy and suflbcating atmosphere
during the summer heats, and, in con-
sequence of the evaporation caused by
the sun, the banks of those lakes be-
coming marshy, a noxious exhalation
is generated, which produces pestilen-
tial fevers ; but at Alexandria the in-
undation of the Nile fills the lake in
the summer season, and by preventing
its becoming marshy, effectually checks
any unwholesome vapours. At that
time, aIso» the Etesian winds, blowing
from the northward and passing over
so much sea, secure to the Alexan-
drians a roost delightful summer.

** The site of the city has the form
of a (Macedonian) mantle, whose two
longest sides are bathed by water to
the extent of nearly SO stadia, and its
breadth is 7 or 8 stadia, with the sea
on one side and the lake on the other.
The whole is intersected with spacious
streets, through which horses and cha-
riots pass freely ; but two are oP
greater breadth tlian the rest, being
upwards of aplethrvm wide, and these
intersect each other at right angles.
Its temples, grand public buildings,
and palaces occupy a fourth or a third
of the whole extent : for every suc-
cessive king, aspiring to the honour of
embellishing these consecrated monu-
ments, added something of his own
to wluit already existed. All these
parts are not only connected with
each other, but with the port and the
buildings that stand outside of it.

" Pan of the palace is called the
museum. It has corridors, a court,
and a very large mansion, in which is
the banqueting room of those learned

X 3

ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA — HISTORY.

Sect. L

men who belong to it. ThU society
has a public treasury, and is superin-
tended by a president, one of the
priesthood, whose office, having been
established by the Ptolemies, con-
tinues under Caesar.

" Another portion of the palace is
called Soma {* the body'), which con-
tains within its circuit the tombs of
the kings, and of Alexander. For
Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, took the
body of Alexander from Perdiccas,
while on its removal from Babylon ;
and having carried it to Egypt, buried
it at Alexandria, where it still re-
mains. But it is no longer in the
same coffin ; for the present one is of
glass, and the original, which was of
gold, was stolen by Ptolemy surnamed
Cocces (KoKKiys) and Parisactus
(UapeuraKTOf^t though his immediate
fall prevented his bene6ting by the
robbery.

*' On the right as you sail into the
great harbour are the island and tower
of Pharos ; on the Icfl, rocks, and the
promontory of Lochias, where the
palace stands ; and, as you advance on
the leA, contiguous to the buildings
at the Lochias, are the inner palaces,
which have various compartments and
groves. Below them is a secret and
closed port, belonging exclusively to
the kings, and the Isle of Antirhodus,
which lies before the artificial port,
with a palace, and a small harbour.
It has received this name as if it were
a rival of Rhodes. Above this is the
theatre, then the Posidium, a certain
cove lying off what is called the Em-
porium, with a temple of Neptune.
Antony, having made a mole in this
part projecting still further into the
port, erected at its extremity a palace,
which he named Timonium. This
he did at the end of his career ; when
he had been deserted by his friends,
aflter his misfortunes at Actium, and
bad retired to Alexandria, intending
to lead a secluded life there, and imi-
tate the example of Timon. Beyond
are the Ca&sarium and emporium (mar.
ket), the recesses, and the docks, ex*

tending to the Heptastadium. All
these are in the great harbour.

*< On the other side of the Heptasta.
dium is the port of Eunostus; and
above tliis is an artificial or excavated
one, called Kibotus (tlie basin), which
has also docks. A navigable canal
runs into it from the lake Mareotis,
and a small portion of the town ex-
tends beyond (to the W. of) this cs-
n al. Farther on are the Necropolis and
the suburbs, where fiiere are many
gardens and tombs, with apartmentii
set apart for embalming the dead.
Within (to the E. of) the canal are
the Sarapium, and other ancient fanes,
deserted since the erecdon of the tern*
pies at Nicopolis, where also the am-
phitheatre and stadium are situ-
ated, and where the quinquennial
games are celebrated ; the old esta-
blishments being now in little repute.
The city, indeed, to speak briefly, is
filled with ornamental buildings and
temples, the most beautiful of which
is the Gymnasium, wilii porticoes in
the interior, measuring upwards of a
stadc. Tliere, too, are the courts of
law, and the groves ; and in this di-
rection stands the Panium, an arti-
ficial height of a conical form, like m
stone tumulus, with a spiral ascent.
From its summit the whole city may
lie seen, stretching on all sides below.

** From the Necropolis a street ex-
tends the whole way to the Canopic
gate, passing by the Gymnasium. Be-
yond are the Hippodrome and other
buildings, reaching to the Canopic
canal. After going out (of the city ) by
th& Hippodrome, you come to Nico-
polis, built by the sea-side, not less than
three stades distant from Alexandria.
Augustus Ccesar ornamented this
place, in consequence of his havin^^
there defeated the partisans of Antony,
and captured the city in his adva&ca
from that spot.'*

Pliny, in speaking of the founda-
tion of Alexandria, says, it was" built
by Alexander the Great on the Afri-
oin coast, 12 miles from the Canopic
mouth of the Nile, on ' the Mareottc

Egypt. BOtTTE 1. ALEXAlfDRlA —

lake, which wai romwrlj called An-
pota; tlul Dinochiim, ui archilrc
at gml celebrity, Isid down the plir
nwmbling the ihape oft Macedoniai

cuUr

irderfull a

pUiti. and projecting
tfw right and left ; the GRh part of iu
lite being even then dedicated to (he
paboc." Thii artliiiect ia better
kiwvn bf the name of IMaocratei;
and ii the ume wIk> rebuilt the fa-
mou* tempit of Epheiua, after iU de-
alniction bj Eratmtntui, and who
bad preTiouiljr proposed to Altxapdcr
to cut Mount Athos iota a iiaiue of
the king holding in one hand a ciijr
of 10,000 inhabitanta, and from the
other pouring a copioui riTer '

Ma. But the i

i.tery

Hated b3r the people of
the place, who pretended in com-
mencement ID haie b«n owing to "a
Tiiion, wherein a greybeadpd old man
of renenible aspect appeared to ttand
before the king in his deep, and to
prononoce these words : — >

, of the apot oppwiil
{ a necic of land ol

For want of chalk, the toil beinf
black, tlie; made use of flour, with

micircular ha; that fuimi the port.
Thi* waa again marked out with
itraight lines, and the form of the citf
rewinbled that ofa Macedonian cloak.
While AlEiander wai pleasing him-
•eir with tliii prriject, an inlinite num-
ber of birds of several kinds, rising
suddenly like a black cloud out of
the river a
the flour th

ncouraged him to proceed, by ob-
eriing that it wai a sign the city he
ra* about to build would enjoy such
bundance of all thing., that it would
oniributetolhenourisbmeniofinany
lations. He Uwrefore commanded
he workmen to go on, while he went
0 visit the temple of Jupiter Am-

lo the DriU durinf th

ROCTE 1. -:- ALEXANDRIA

Plin Df Alcund[i*,pTlncl[ull;rraiiit)i>iunc}of C
HrptulHlluiB, 01 ijii «nDtctlii(thclilud of Flui

Cupt W, H. SoiTlh, R. N— A A

Egypt.

BOUTE 1. — ALEXAKDBI A — DESCBIFTIOK.

tofVD. e e. The Fmtk qiuiter. B, Port Cafbrelll. — perhaps the rite of the tower of the
Hrptaitaaium — with the corretponding one at the other rad. C, Old gate of the Saracenic
wallt, mnoTcd in 18^ D, Saracenic tower, where the wall turned ofT along the tith of the
dockt. E, Rains, probablV of the Temple of Aninoc. F, Moak of St. Athananlua. O,
Ancient columns. H H H. Modem Tillaa. I, Catholic conrent. J to K, Ruing, pro!
bably of the Ccsarium, before which the obelisks stood. L, Greek convent If , Large
ruins. From N to V was probably the quarter of Bruchion. N, Fort Cretin, or Fmt
Nujoleoo. O, Columna and ruins. P, The RosetU Gate. Q, The ancient wall of Alex-
andria, over which the Rosetta road puses, and near which stood the Canopic Gate. The
Hippodrome is thought to be traced 280u metres (nearly 1| mile), to the east of the Rosetta
Gate, and about 250 from the sea. At U, are the statues discovered by Mr. Harris. R, Ruins •
the Emporium (martlet) probably stood near this, as well as the Museum and Library of the
Bruchion. S^ The site of the theatre. T, Site of the inner palaces ? V, Site of the palace ?
W, Pompey^s Pillar, erected in honour of Diocletian. X, Circus, or Stadium. Y, Site of
the Gymnasium ? Or at O ? Z, Site of the Sarapeum ? aa^ Modern canal for irrigation
The walk enclose what was the Arab city. At I is the supposed tomb of Alexander'
according to Arab tradition. Of the Psnium, seep. 90.

7. Plan or Alxxakdkia, and

SITK AMD VESCftlRIOK OP THS BUXLD-

ixGs. — Little can be added to the
description given by Strabo of the
monuments of Aleiandria ; but as it
is interesting to endeavour to trace
their probable position from the re-
mains and mounds that still exiit, or
from other evidence, I shall mention
each singly, and introduce vrhatever
additional information may be ob-
tained from other writers.

The most remarkable objects at
Alexandria were the Plaroe and the
libraries. The former, which was one
of the seven wonders of the world,
was the well-known tower or light-
hoase, whose name continues to be
applied to similar structures to the
present day. It was a square build-
ing of white marble, and is said to
have cost 800 'talents, which, if in
Attic money, is about 155,0002. 8ter«
ling, or double that sum, if computed
by the talent of Alexandria. It was
built by order of Ptolemy Phila-
delphus, whose magnanimity in al-
lowing the name of the architect to
be inscribed upon so great a work,
instead of his own, is highly com-
mended by Pliny. The inscription
ran in these words : *< Sostratus of
Cnidos, the son of Dexiphanes, to the
Saviour Gods, for those who travel by
sea.** But, besides the improbability
of the king allowing an architect to
enjoy the sole merit of so great a
work, we have the authority of Lucian

for believing that the name of Ptolemy
was affixed to the Pharos, instead of
that of Sostratus, the original inscrip-
tion having been: *< King Ptolemy,
to the Saviour Gods, for the use of
those who travel by sea.'* Sostratus,
however, to secure the glory to him-
self in future ages, carved the former
inscription on the stone, and that of
Ptolemy on stucco, which he placed
orer it ; so that in process of time
when the stucco fell, the only record
was that of the deceitful architect.

The Pharos itself stood on a rock
close to the north-east extremity of
the island of the same name, with
which it communicated by means of
a wall, and the island was also joined
to the shore by a lafge causeway,
called from its length of seven stades,
the Hfpiastadium. It was already
constructed, as Josephus shows, in
the reign of the same Ptolemy, which
therefore implies that it was the work
either of Philadelphus himself, or bis
father Sot«r, and not of Cleopatra, as
Ammianus Marceilinus supposes ;
who even attributes to the same
princess the erection of the Pharos
itself. These erroneous notions of
the historian may probably have ori .
ginated in the tradition of novae re-
pairs made by Cleopatra, after the
Alexandrian war. The causeway
was similar to that of Tyre ; and
though by connecting the island with
the shore, it formed a separation be-
tween the two ports, it did not cut

ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA — DESCRIPTION. Scct. I.

off all communication from one to the
othcFp two bridges being left for this
purpose, beneath which boats and
small vessels might freely pass. As
the Heptastadium served for an aque-
duct as well as a road to the Pha-
ros, it is probable that the openings
were arched ; and the mention of
these passages satisfactorily accounts
for the difference of name applied
to tlie causeway by ancient writers ;
some, as Strabo, calling it a mole,
and others a bridge, connecting the
Pharos with the town.

Strabo, in describing the position
of the island and causeway, says,
"from the Canopic mouth to Pharos
is 150 stadia. Pharos is an island of
oblong shape, close to the shore, with
which it makes a double port; fur
the shore here curves into a bay,
with two projecting headlands, be-
tween which is the island, stretching
in a parallel direction with the shore
and closing the bay. Of the two
eitreme points of the island the
easternmost is nearest to the land,
and to the promontory on that side.
The latter is called Acrolochias,
and forms a port with a contracted
entrance. Besides the narrowness of
its mouth, several rocks impede the
free passage into this port, some
below, others above water, which,
obstructing the waves as they roll in
from the sea, cause a dangerous surf.
At tlie extremity of the island is an
isolated rock, with a tower of white
stone several stories high, and wonder-
fully constructed, having the same

name as the island. **

" The lowness of the coast, the absence
of all other harbours on either side,
and its numerous reefs and shoals,
pointed out the necessity of it, as a
signal to enable sailors to enter the port.
The western one, it is true, is not of
easy access, but it does not require
tlie same caution. It is called the
Port of Eunostus, and lies before the
artificial and closed port. That whose
entrance is from the Pharos tower is
called the great harbour.

^* The two ports are contiguous to
each other in the bay, and separated
by the dyke called the Heptastadium,
which extends from the land to the
western part of the island, leaving
only two navigable passages into the
Port of Eunostus, covered by s
bridge. Indeed it was intended, not
only as a mode of communication
with the island, but also as an aque-
duct when that spot was inhabited;
For at the time of the war with the
kings of Egypt, Caesar desolated it ;
and since that, a few mariners alone
have lived near the tower. The great
harbour is not only well protected by
the dyke, and its natural position, but
is so deep that the largest vessels may
lie close to the steps, and it is divided
into several parts.**

After the description of the Pharos
given by ancient writers, it is singular
tliat so great a mistake should have
been made respecting the position of
that island, and its distance from
the shore. This was owing to the
misinterpretation of the "AryuvTOv
wpoxapot$€,'* of Homer, and it has con-
tinned to be repeated even to the
present day. Having already bad
occasion to mention and explain it,
I shall introduce what I before ob-
served on the subject, to show tbA
the following expression of tlie poet,
** the distance of the isle of Pharos
from Aiytnrros was as much as a
vessel with a fair wind could perform
in one day,** refers to the river, and
not to the coast of Egypt, For, a
very imperfect acquaintance with the
situation of that island, and the nature
of the ground, on which Alexandria
is built, ought to have prevented so
erroneous a conclusion : and if we
readily account for the misconstruc-
tion of the hiyvmrov xpompoiBtf of the
poet, we are surprised at the notion
which extends the river and its alluvial
deposit over the spot occupied by that
city, which was at no period within
reach of the 'rising Nile. And if
a certain deposit does take place in
the tiarbour of Alexandria, it is very

Egypt

BOUTB 1. — ALEXANDRIA — LIBBABT.

trifling, and by do menns capable of
having united the Pharos to the fthore.
This was done artificially by means
of the Heptastadium, whose increased
hmdth, owing to many subsequent
additions from the accumulation of
ruined buildings, now forms the base
of the chief part of the modem city.
The name of this causeway was derived
from its length of 7 stadia, about } of a
mile, or 4270 English feet, which was
at that time the distance from the shore
to the island. Ancient Alexandria,
the successor of the town of Rliacotis,
stood on the rock of the Libyan desert,
which was then, as it still is, beyond
the reach, and above the level of, the
inundation : and the distance from
the line of the coast to the rock of the
Pharos Isle is still the same as in the
days of Homer. The error respecting
its having been a day's journey from
Egypt originated in the misinterpret
tation of the word Aryvirrof, which is
used by the poet to designate both
the Nile and Egypt; and that the
river was so called in ancient times is
testified by Diodorus, who states that
Nileus, one of the early monarchs of
the country, transferred his name to
the stream, which previously lK>re
that of ^gyptus. Arrian again
justly observes, *' tliat the river, now
called by the Egyptians and others
Nile, is shown by Homer to have
been named ^gyptus when he re-
lates that Menelaus anchored his fleet
at the mouth of the ^gyptus ; '* and
a mere inspection of the verse to '
which be alludes suffices to prove his
remark to be correct. It is then to
the Nile, not to the coast of Egypt,
that Homer alludes ; and thus the
argument derived from his authority
must cease to be brought forward in
support of the great encroachments
of the Delta, and of the consUnt ad-
vanceof the land into the receding sea.
Pliny, and numerous ancient as
well as modern authors, Imvc been
led into this error ; and it is singular
that Arrian should be tlie only one to

perceive and point out the evident
meaning of the poet.

The old lighthouse of Alexandria
still occupies the site of the ancient
Pharos. On that rock, at the eastern
point of the island, to which it is joined
by a wall, Pococke thought he could
perceive in the water, when the sea
was calm, some columns and other
fragments of masonry, once probably
a part of that renowned building.
The form of the Heptastadium is no
longer perceptible, in consequence of
the modem buildings having en-
croached upon it ; but its length of
7 stadia, or, as Csesar reckons, 900
paces, may be readily made out, in
mea<«uring from the old Saracenic
wall behind the Frank quarter. And,
though its breadth has been greatly
increased by the accumulation of
earth on which the modem town
stands, I believe that a line drawn
from the site of that wall, or from
Fort Caffareili, to what was properly
the island of Pharos, would mark its
exact position.

The Library was first established
by Ptolemy Soter, as well as the
Museum. The latter was a sort of
academy (as we have seen from
Strabo*s account), where men of
science and literature devoted them-
selves to learned pursuits, as in
similar institutions of modern Eu-
rope. It was maintained at the pub-
lic expense, and to it was attached
the famous Library, which, from the
many additions miule by the Second
Ptolemy, contained at his death no
less than 1 00,000 volumes, increased
by his successors to seven times that
number.

No pains were spared in adding to
to this collection. A copy of every
known work was reputed to be depo-
sited there, and it was amongst them
that the Septuagint translation of the
Bible, made by order of Ptolemy
Philadelphus, was placed. Of the
arrangements respecting this transla-
tion, and the reception of his countr}'-

ROUTE 1. — ALKXANPBTA — LIBRART.

Sect. L

men, Josepbus gives an interesting
account; but, always ready to show
the great importance of the Jews, he
forgets probability in this as in many
other instances, and informs us that
each of the serenty-two interpreters
received three talents. This, if com-
puted in Alexandrian money, amounts
to S,100/. sterling, mak'ing a total of
223,20(V. ; a sum which not even the'
supposed munificence of a Ptolemy
can render credible; and some are
inclined, as Prideaux, to compute the
amount still higher, even at two
millions of our money.

Nor does it appear that the Ptole*
mies were always so liberally disposed,
or so scrupulous in their way of ob-
taining additions to their library;
and though they spared no expense in
sending competent persons into distant
countries to purchase books, much
tyranny and injustice were resorted
to, when they could bring their pos-
sessors within their reach, or when
other states were generous enough to
send them an original work. All
books brought into the country were
Ri'ized, and sent to the Library ; not
because forbidden, as in Italy, where
the government sees in them an enemy
to the morals of the people, or to its
own security ; but because they were
wanted by tlie royal collector; and,
as soon as they had been transcribed,
the copies were returned to the owners,
tlie originals being deposited in the
library. Ptolemy Euergetes even
went so far as to borrow the works of
^schylus, Sophocles, and Euripides
from the Athenians, and only returned
the copies he had caused to be tran-
scribed in as beautiful a manner as
possible, presenting them, in lieu of
the original, 15 talents, or about
20O6L sterling.

Such sel6sh and unjust measures
as these, doubtless, deserve our cen-
sure ; but we cannot refuse due praise
to the liberality of those princes in
the formation of so useful an institu-
tion : and we are surprised to 6nd a
sensible man like Seneca refusing

them the merit they deserve, and dis-
approving of the praise bestowed upon
that monument of regal munificence.
** Some," be says, ** may have praised
it, like Livy, who calls it a great proof
of the taste and industry of kings.
But it was attributable neither to
taste, industry, nor studious enjoy,
ment ; nay, far from studious, for it
was not collected for study, but for
display." "Seneca," as RoUin ob-
serves, <*must have been dreadfully
out of humour, when lie wrote tliis
misplaced censure on a work so cre-
ditable to the taste of the Ptolemies;**
for, even if he looked upon it as a
mere mania for collecting, which in-
creased with the increase of the col-
lection, it would be the excusable
consequence of an interest common to
all who take a pride in any favourite
object, which of^en accompanies,
without necessarily taking tlie place
of, the original motive. But Seneca
is not alone in attributing the motive
of its founder to a mere love of pos-
sessing the largest collection ; and
whilst Vitruvius praises "the At-
talic kings for their philological
taste " in making the library of Per-
gam us, he considers the wish on the
part of Ptolemy to have been only ex-
cited by an envious feeling of rivalry.
Indeed, since we know that the Pto-
lemies forliade the exportation of the
papyrus, for the despicable reason of
preventing the increase of the Perga-
^ mus library, we cannot deny the
selfishness of those princes ; and
while we regret that tlie envious imi-
tator should have obtained the merit
' due to the originator of so valuable
' an institution, we may remember tliat
I the name parchment (Peyyemeiui ) re-
cords the cause, as well as the nature,
of this invention of Eumenes.

Of the 700,000 volumes 400,000
appear to have been in the library of
the museum, which was in a quarter
of the city called the Bruchion ; and
the remaining 800,000 in another
library, which was built long afWr,
and attached to the temple of Sarapis.

Egypt.

ROUTE. — ALEXANDRIA — LIBRARY.

Tt bence obtained the title of the
aster library, and it was here that the
200,000 volumes belonging to the
kings of Pergamus, presented to
Cleopatra by Marc Antony, were de-
posited. These were the two public
libraries mentioned by Epiphantus.

The library of the museum was
unfortunately destroyed during the
war of Julius Cssar with the Alex-
andrians. For, in order to prevent
his aggressors cutting off his commu-
nication with the sea, being obliged
to set fire to the Egyptian, or as Plu-
tarch says his own, fleet, the flames
accidentally caught some of the houses
on the port, and spreading thence to
the quarter of the Bruchion, burnt
the library, and threatened destruction
to the whole of the museum and the
adjoining buildings. The museum
itself escaped, but the famous library,
consisting of 400,000 volumes, which
had cost so much trouble and expense
lor ages to collect, was lost for ever ;
and in it doubtless some very valuable
works of antiquity, . many of whose
names may even be unknown to us.

The collection in the Sarapion was
also exposed to severe losses, at a sub-
sequent period, during the troubles
that occurred in the Roman empire.
Many of the books are supposed to
have been destroyed on those occa-
sions particularly at the time when
the Sarapion was attacked by the
Christians; and Orosius says he was
at that time a witness of its empty
shelves. We may, however, conclude
that these losses were afterwards in
some degree repaired, and the num-
ber of its volumes still farther in-
creased ; though later contributions
were probably not of the same im-
portance as those of an earlier period :
and Gibbon goes so far as to suppose
that if the library was really destroyed
by Amer, its contents were confined
to the productions of an age when re-
ligious controversy constituted the
principal occupation of the Alexan-
drians. " And,** adds the historian,
^ ff the ponderous mass of Arian and

monophysite controversy were indeed
consumed in the public baths, a phi-
losopher may allow, with a smile,
that it was ultimately devoted to the
benefit of mankind." But, notwith-
standing the injuries sustained by the
Sarapion, during those tumults which
ruined so many of the monuments of
Alexandria, which converted every
public building into a citadel, and sub-
jected the whole city to the horrors of
internal war, many, doubtless, of the
ancient volumes still remained with-
in its precincts ; and the Caliph Omar
will for ever bear the odium of having
devoted to destruction that library,
whose numerous volumes are said to
have sufficed for six months fur tlie
use of the 4000 baths of this immense
city.

It is related of John the Gramma-
rian, the last disciple of Ammonius,
surnamed Philoponus from his labo-
rious studies of grammar and philo-
sophy, that having been admitted to
the friendship of Amer, the lieutenant
of the Caliph Omar, he took advan-
tage of his intimacy with the Arab
general to intercede for the preserva-
tion of the library of the captured
city, which " alone, among the spoils
of Alexandria had not been appropri-
ated by the visit and the seal of the
conqueror. Amrou (Amer) was in-
clined to gratify the wish of the
grammarian, but his rigid integrity
refused to alienate the minutest ob^
jcct without the consent of the caliph ;
and the answer of Omar, inspired by
I the ignorance of a fanatic, ' if these
writings of the Greeks agree with the
Book of God, they are useless, and
need not be preserved ; if they disa-
gree, they are perniciou!), and ought
to be destroyed,*** doomed them to
destruction. Such was the sentence
said to have been pronounced by the
impetuous Omar. The Moslemsi
however, to this day, deny its truth ;
and Gibbon observes, that " the soli-
tary report of a stranger (Abulpha-
ragius), who wrote at the end of 60O
years, on the confines of Media, is

BOUTE 1 . — ALEXANDBUL — C^SABIUtf .

Sect. L

overbalanced by the silence of two
annalists of a more early date, both
Christians, both natives of Egypt, and
the most ancient of whom, the patri-
arch £utychiu8, has amply described
the conquest of Alexandria.** But
the admission of some Arab writers,
cited by the learned De Sacy in his
notes on Abdal-Latif, seems to con-
firm the truth of Omar*s vandalism :
the authorities of Makrizi and Abdal-
Latif are of considerable weight, not-
withstanding the silence even of co-
temporary Christian annalists ; * and
while we regret the destruction of
this library, we may wish, with M.
Rey Dussueil, that the capture of
Alexandria had not happened half or
a whole century later ; when, instead
of destroyers, the Arabs assumed the
character of preservers of ancient
literature.

^ . The Muaeum was a noble institu-
tion, which tended greaily to the re-
nown of Alexandria ; and from which
issued those men of learning, who
have so many claims on the gratitude
and admiration of posterity. It was
to this school of philosophy that the
once renowned college of Heliopolis
transferred its reputation ; and that
venerable city, which had been the
resort of the sages of Ancient Greece,
ceded to Alexandria the honour of
being the seat of learning, and the
repository of the *•* wisdom of Jhe
Egyptians.** Science, literature, and
every branch of philosophy continued
to flourish there, for many a genera-
tion ; foreigners repaired thither, to
study and profit by " the instruction
of every kind, for which its schools
were established;** and the names of
Euclid, Ctesibius, the two Herons,
Clemens, Origen, Athanasius, Am-
monius, Theon, and his daughter
Hypasia, shed a brilliant lustre over
the capital of the Ptolemies.

But however respectable the learn-
ing and scientific acquirements of the
philosophers of Alexandria, during
the early periods of its history, the
same credit does not atuch itself to

the speculations of later times ; and
philoKophy became at one time eD*
cumbered with a mass of wild fancy,
as senseless as it was injurious to the
world. Nor was Alexandria less
noted, after the introduction of Chris-
tianity, for speculative doctrines and
religious controversy; and the con-
duct of some of the early Christian
primates of that city reflects no ho-
nour on the community, of which
they were the most conspicuous,
though not the most worthy, members.
Still, that seat of learning retained
some remnant of its pristine excel-
lence, even amidst the tumults pro-
duced by bigotry and sedition ; and
the schools of astronomy, geometry,
physic, and various branches of sci-
ence maintained their reputation till
the period of the Arab conquesL

liie Museum stood, as already
stated, in the quarter of the Bruchion.
According to Strabo, it was a very
large building, attached to the palace,
surrounded by an exterior peristyle,
or corridor, for walking ; and it is
probable that the philosophers fre-
quently taught beneath this covered
space, as in the stoa of Athens, or in
the grove of Academus. It is diffi-
cult now to point out its exact site :
it was probably near the modem
branch of the canal, that runs past
the Rosetta Gate to the sea; the
Bruchion comprising the whole space
on every side of it, as far at least as
the Caesarium.

The CreMriam, or temple of Ca*sar,
is marked by the two obelisks (called
Cleopatra's Needles,) which Pliny
tells us ** stood on the port at the
temple of Caesar." Near this spot
are what is called the Roman tower,
and to the eastward the vestiges of
buildings, which still bear the name
of the palace; and Strabo says, the
palace of the kings was situated on
the point called Lochias, on the left
of the great harbour, which is the
same as the headland behind the
modern Pharillon. Other palaces,
called the inner, were on the left, en-

EgypL ROUTE 1. — Alexandria. — Alexander's tomb. 87

teriog from the sea, connected with
the former, and having numerous
apartments and groves, below which
was a private port belonging eiclu-
sively to the sovereign. The lombs
of the kings, also, stood in this dis-
trict, and fonned part of the palace
under the name of *' S6nuu** In
this enclosure the Ptolemies were
buried, as well as the founder o( the
city, whose body having been brought
to Egypt, and kept at Memphis while
the tomb was preparing, was taken
thence to Alexandria, and deposited
in the royal cemetery. Strabo men-
tions the removal of the original gold
coffin in which it was buried, and the
substitution of another of glass, in
which it was seen by Augustus ; who,
to show his respect for the memory of
so great a man, adorned it with a
golden crown, and strewed it with
flowers.

Arab tradition has long continued
to record the existence of Uie tomb
of Alexander; and Leo Africanus
mentions "a small ediBce standing
in the midst of the mounds of Alex-
ander, built like a chapel, remarkable
for the tomb, where the body of the
great prophet and king, Alexander,
is preserved. It is highly honoured
by the Moslems: and a great con-
course of strangers from foreign lands,
who, with feelings of religious vene-
ration, visit this tomb, oAen leave
there many charitable donations.** The
building traditional Ij reported to be
the tomb, of Alexander, has lately
been found by Mr. Stoddart amidst
the mounds of the old city. It re-
sembles an ordinary Shckh*s tomb,
and is near the bath to the west of the
road leading from the Frank quarter
to the Poropey*s. Pillar- Gate. But
its position does not agree with the
** Soma,*' according to Strabo's ac-
count ; and the authority of Arab tra-
dition cannot always be trusted.

The sarcophagus said to have been
looked upon by the people of Alex-
andria as the tomb of Iscander, was
taken by the French from the mosk of

Athanasius, and is now in the British
Museum. That it is what the Arabs
believed to be of the Greek conqueror
seems sufficiently evident, but neither
their authority nor probability suffice
to establish its claims ; and the hiero-
glyphic legends, containing the name
of an Egyptian Pharaoh, prove it to
have belonged to king Amyrta^us.
It is not from the fact of Alexander's
body having been deposited in a glass
coffin that the claims of the breccia
sarcophagus may be questioned, — as
the glass (like the golden) case was
doubtless placed in an outer one of
stone; — but the improbability consists
in the body of so great a king, the
founder of the city, having been de-
posited in a borrowed sarcophagus, at
a time when the arts of sculpture and
of cutting hard stones were as much
practised as at any previous period ;
and Ptolemy Lagus had at his coih"
mand all the workmen of the country.
Nor is it to be supposed that a Pha-
raoh's body would have been deprived
of its resting-place, to make room for
that of a Greek monarch ; and the
violation of the tombs, which could
not have happened in secret, when
such large sarcophagi were removed
from them, was more likely to take
place under the Arabs than the Greek
kings.

Hie island of Antirhodtu^ situated
before the artificial harbour, with its
palace and port, is supposed by Po-
cocke to have been entirely destroyed
by the sea, and to have stood oppmite
the two obelisks.

The same learned traveller also
conjectures that on a hill above this,
now called Kom Dimas, near the
Rosetta Gate, was the theatre. In
the immediate vicinity was the Poai-
dium, apparently a part of the city,
on a cove, containing the Temple
of Neptune, whence it derived its
name. It extended from the em-
porium or market-place ; and before
it Antony built the Timonium, so
called from his intending it as a place
of retirement after his defeat at Ac-

BOUTE 1. — ALEXANDBIA — SERAFEUIC.

Sect. 1.

tium, where, like the misanthropic
Timon of Athens, he might shun the
world, and lead a life of perfect seclu-
ftion. It was in going tlience towards
the west, that you came to the C«sa-
rium and Emporium, and the recesses;
beyond which were the docks, ex-
tending even to the Heptastadium.

The site of the 6rst of these I have
noticed. The market was probably
to the east of the obelisks ; the Timo-
fit urn, at the projecting point between
the obelisks and the small canal to the
north-east; and the docks occupied
what is now the great square of the
Frank quarter, which stands on
ground reclaimed from the sea.

On the west side of the mole or
Heptastadium, was the port of Eu-
nostus, now called the old harbour;
and an artificial one above it called
the Cibotus, or basin (chest), with '
its docks, doubtless occupied the spot
to the south-west of the modem Fort
CafFarelli. Beyond this was the canal
leading to the Mareotic Lake, llie
limits of the city extended a very
short distance farther to the west of
the canal, beyond which were the
suburbs and Necropolu^ with many
gardens, occupying tlie space between
the modern canal and the catacombs.
Within the city, and on the eastern
side of the canal, stood several ancient
temples, most of which were neglected
in Strabo*B time, in consequence of
the erection of others at Nicopolis. '
There also was the Sarapion, or
Serapeum, founded by Ptolemy Soter,
tfs reported by Plutarch and others,
for the reception of the statue of
Sarapis, a foreign deity, whose wor-
ship was introduced from Sioope.
It stood in that part of the city which
bad formerly been occupied by Rha-
cotis, the predecessor of Alexandria,
and was embellished with such mag-
nificence, that Ammianus Marcellinus
pronounces it unequalled by any
building in the world, except the
Capitol at Rome. It appears not
only to have contained the temple of
the deity, but to have consisted, like

the museum, of several distinct parta,
as the library already mentioned, and
peristylar halls, adorned with boMiti-
ful works of art.

Of the introduction of Sarapis into
Egypt, Plutarch gives the following
account : *' Ptolemy Soter had a
dream, in which a colossal statue,
such as he had never seen before,
appeared to him, commanding him
to remove it as soon as possible from
the place where it then stood, to
Alexandria. On awaking, the king
was in great perplexity, not knowing
where the statue was. Sosibius, how-
ever, who was a great travel ler. de-
clared he had seen one answering its
description at Sinope. Soteles and
Dionysius were, therefore, sent thi-
ther, and with much difficulty suc-
ceeded in bringing the statue to
Egypt. Timotheus, the interpreter,
and Manetho the Sebennite, as soon
as it arrived, and was shown to them,
concluded, from the Cerberus and
dragon, that it represented Pluto, and
persuaded the king that it was no
other than Sarapis. For it was not so
called at Sinope ; but, on its arrival
at Alexandria, it obtained the name
of Sarapis, which, with the Egyptians,
answers to Pluto. The observation
of Heraclitus, the physiologist, that
Hades ( Pluto) and Bacchus are tbe
same, leads to a similar conclusion ;
Osiris answering to Bacchus, as Sa-
rapis to Osiris, after he had changed
his nature ; for Sarapis is a name
common to all, as those know who
are initiated into the mysteries of
Osiris. The opinion of such as pre-
tend that Sarapis is no God, but the
mere denomination of the sepulchral
chest, into which the body of Apis,
after death, is deposited, is perfectly
absurd. The priests, indeed, at least
the greatest part of them, tell us, that
Sarapis is no other than the mere
union of Osiris and Apis into one
word ; declaring that Apis ought to
be regarded as a fair and beautiAil
image of the soul of Osiris. For my
own part, I cannot but think tlmt this

£g^pt.

ROUTE 1. — ALEXAKDBIA — SARAPEUM.

word is exprnsive of joy and gladness,
since the festival which the Greeks
call duxrmoayfna^ or * the feast of joy,'
is by the Egyptians termed Scard.**

A similar account is given by
Tacitus, Macrobius, and Pausanias ;
but Clemens states that the statue
was sent by the people of Sinope to
Ptolemy fliiladelphus, as a mark of
gratitude, he having relieved their city
from famine by a supply of com ; and
some suppose ** it was brought from
Pontus to Alexandria, in consequence
of the great influx of strangers into
that city."

Whether Sarapis was a foreign
deity, or merely an arbitrary Greek
form of Osiris, the Egyptians them-
selves never acknowledged him among
the gods of their Pantheon, and no
temple of Sarapis was ever admitted
within the precincts of their cities. He
was, however, the principal divinity in
Greek and Roman towns, and in
later times his worship became more
general there than that of any other
deity.

The Sarapeum subsisted long after
the introduction of Christianity into
Egypt, as the last hold of the Pagans
of Alexandria. Nor did it lose its
importance, as Strabo would lead us
to suppose, from the number of rival
temples, or the increasing conse-
quence of Nicopolis ; and it continued
to be their chief resort, until finally
demolished by order of Theodosius,
A. ]>. 389, when the votaries of the
cross entirely subverted the ancient
religion of Egypt, The building
and its destruction, are thus described
by Gibbon. The temple of Sarapis,
*< which rivalled the pride and magni-
ficence of the Capitol, was erected on
the spacious summit of an artificial
mount, raised one hundred steps above
the level of the adjacent parts of the
city; and the interior cavity was
strongly supported by arches, and
distributed into vaults and subter-
raneous apartments. The conse-
crated buildings were surrounded by
a quadrangular portico: the stately

halls, the exquisite statues, displayed
the triumph of the arts ; and the trea-
sures of ancient learning were pre-
served in the famous Alexandrian
library, which had arisen with new
splendour from its ashes.**

But in progress of time, the ani-
mosity of the Christians was directed
against this edifice ; the *< pious in-
dignation of Theophilus*' could no
longer tolerate the honours paid to
Sarapis ; ** and the insults which he
offered to an ancient chapel of Bac-
chus convinced the Pagans that he
meditated a more important and dan-
gerous enterprise. In the tumul-
tuous capital of Egypt, the slightest
provocation was sufficient to inflame
a civil war. The votaries of Sarapis,
whose strength and numbers were
much inferior to those of their an-
tagonists, rose in arms at the instiga-
tion of the philosopher Olympius,
who exhorted them to die in defence*
of the altars of the gods. These
Pagan fanatics fortified themselves in
the temple, or ratlier fortress, of Sara-
pis, repelled the besiegers by daring
sallies and a resolute defence, and by
the inhuman cruelties which they ex-
ercised on their Christian prisoners,
obtained the last consolation of de-
spair. The efforts of the prudent
magistrate were usefully exerted for
the establishment of a truce, till the
answer of Theodosius should deter-
niSne the fate of Sarapis. The two
parties assembled without arms in the
principal square; and the imperial
rescript was publicly read. But
when a sentence of destruction against
the idols of Alexandria was pro.
nounced, the Christians set up a
shout of joy and exultation, whilst
the unfortunate Pagans, whose fury
had given way to consternation, re-
tired with hasty and silent steps, and
eluded, by their flight or obscurity,
the resentment of their enemies.
Theophilus proceeded to demolish
the temple of Sarapis, without any
other difficulties than those which he
found in the weight and solidity of

ROUTE 1 . — ALEXANDRIA — MONUMENTS. Sect. L

the materials; but these obstacles |
proved so insuperable, that he was
obliged to leave the foundations, and
to content himself with reducing the
edifice itself to a heap of rubbish ; a
part of which was soon afterwards
cleared away, to make room for a
church, erected in honour of the ,
Christian martyrs. . . . Tlie colossal |
statue of Sarapis was involved in the |
ruin of his temple and religion. A
great number of plates of different
metals, artificially joined together,
composed the majestic figure of the
deity, who touched on either side the
walls of the sanctuary. The huge
idol was overthrown and broken to
pieces ; and the parts of Sarapis were
ignominiously dragged through the
streets of Alexandria. *'

The jPumicm, described by Strabo
as an artificial height, in the shape of
a top, resembling a stone mound,
witli a spiral ascent, and commanding
a view of^the whole city, was sup~
posed by Pococke to have been
marked by a hill within the walls
behind the Frank quarter, since oc-
cupied by Fort Caflarelli, which is
built on ancient substructions. Some
have conjectured it to have been the
height on which Pompey's Pillar
stands, and others have placed it on
the redoubt-hill to the west of that
monument.

The Gjfmnasium stood near the
street which extended from the west-
em or Necropolis gate to that on the
Canopic or eastern side ; which were
distant from each other 40 stadia, the
street being 100 feet broad. It bad
porticoes covering the space of an
eighth of a mile, of which Pococke
conjectures the granite columns near
the main street to be the remains.
The Forum he places between this
and the sea ; and he attempts to fix
the site of the Necropolis gate on the
south of the present town. The two
principal afreets were a few years ago
clearly traced, as well as the spot
where they intersected one another
(as Strabo states) at right angles. In-

deed, besides their general direction,
columns and the remains of build-
ings, seen in several places, indicated
their site; but it b difficult to as-
sign a place to any particular edifice
in streets, which, as Diodorus ob-
serves, contained a succession of tem-
ples and splendid mansions.

One large building stood to the
north of the main street (which is still
partly marked by the modem road to
the Rosetta Gate), on the n(»tb-east
of S. Gibarra's Garden, where some
very large columns have lately been
found ; and tlie Forum or Emporium
was perhaps between this and the
sea.

The Rosetta Gate is the eastern
entrance of the large walled eireuit^
which lies to the south and south-east
of the modern town. The space it
encloses is about 10,000 feet long, by
3200 in the broadest, and 1600 in the
narrowest part. It is a large unin-
habited area, whose gloomy mounds
are only varied here and there, by the
gardens or villas of the Franks, and
other inhabitanU of Alexandria. The
site of the old Canopic Gate is very
difiTerent from that of the modern en-
trance, which lies considerably far-
ther inward to the west. Indeed the
circuit has been so much diminished,
that the latter stands on what was
once part of the street leading to the
Canopic Gate, whose site was about
half a mile further to the eastward.
The wall of the ancient citv, on that
side, lies under the lofty mounds
occupied by the French lines, before
the battle of Alexandria; and the
remains of masonry, its evident line
of direction, and the termination of
the mounds of the town in that part,
sufliciently show its position.

8. Monuments oirrsjDKTMs Cakopxc
GATS.— On going out of the Canopic
gate, and passing by the Hippodrome,
you came to NiccpoUs, distant 30 sta-
dia, or, according to Josephus, 28 froon
Alexandria. It was here that Augus-
tus defeated the partisans of Antonj,
whence its name, ** the City of Vic-

Egypt.

BOUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA — HEVAINS.

tory." And in order still more to
honour that spot, the conqueror adorned
it with numerous fine buildings and
places of public resort, which induced
many persons to prefer it for an abode
to Alexandria itself. He also estab-
lished quinquennial games there, simi-
lar to those at another citv of the same
name built by him in Epirus, to com-
memorate the victory of Actium. It is
now marked by an old Roman station,
called Caesar's Camp, and fragments
of masonry, columns, and marble
mouldings. The Hippodrome may
also be looked for on this side of the
town, and £L Mancini thinks that he
hM traced its figure in the plain be-
yond the French lines, 8800 metres
( nearly 1 1 miles) from the Rosetta gate,
and about 250 metres from the sea.

There was also a Circus in tlie ▼!-
dnity of Pompey's Pillar, which I
shall have occasion to mention.

The site of the Canojpic canal may
be partly found in that of the Mah-
mood^eb. It was on the right as you
went out of the gate, flowing into the
lake, and communicating with the
town of Canopus. The water that
supplied Alexandria was furnished by
this canal from the Nile, and partly
from the rains which fell in winter.
But the principal supply was, as may
be supposed, derived from the canal,
and was preserved in cisterns or reser-
voirs, constructed beneath the houses.
These cisterns were often of consider-
able sise, having their roofs supported
by rows of columns, vaulted in brick
or stone. Being built of solid mate-
rials, and well stuccoed, they have in
many instances remained perfect to
this day ; and some continue even
now to be used for the same pur-
pose by the modem inhabitants. The
water is received into them during the
inundation, and the cistern being
cleansed every year, previous to the
admission of a fresh supply, the water
always remains pure and fr%. In

some, steps are made in the side ; in
others, men descend by an opening in
the roof, and this serves as well for

lowering them by ropes, as for draw-
ing out the water, which is carried on
camels to the city.

Reservoirs of the same kind are
also found in the convents that stand
on the site of the old town : and se-
veral wells connected with them may
be seen outside the walls, in going to-
wards the Mahmood^b canal. They
show the direction taken by the chan-
nels, that conveyed the water to the
cisterns in the town. One set of
them runs parallel to the eastern exit
of the Mahmood^h, another is below
the hill of Pompey's Pillar, and ano-
ther a little less than half way from
this to the former line. It was by
means of these cisterns that Gany.
medes, during the war between Julius
Ciesar and the Alexandrians, con-
trived to distress the Romans, having
turned the sea water into all those
within the quarter they occupied ; an
evil which Caesar found great difficulty
in remedying, by the imperfect sub-
stitute of wells.

9. PaxsKNT Rkmains op ancixnt
Alexandria. — The most striking
monuments of ancient Alexandria
are the well-known obeliBkB^ and
Pompey's Pillar. Tl)e former are
the same which, as already shown,
Pliny mentions before the temple
of Caesar, and which he supposes
to have been cut and sculptured
by Mesphres. In this, indeed, he is
not far from the truth, since the
Pharaoh whose ovals they bear was
the third Thothmes ; and it is remark-
able that the names of two kings who
lived about that period, the first and
second Thothmes, are written in Ma-
netho's list as Mesphra-Thothmosis.
In the lateral lines are the ovals of
Reraeses the Great, the supposed Se-
sostris, and additional columns at
hieroglyphics at the angles of the
lower part present that of a later king,
apparently Osirei II., the tliird suc-
cessor of the great Remeses.

They stood originally at Heliopolis,
and were brought to Alexandria by
one of the Caesars ; though fame has

ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA — POMPEY'S PILLAR. Scct. L

attached to them the title of Cltopa-
1ra*a Needles, with the same disregard
to truth that ascribes to her the honour
of erecting the Heptastadium and the
Pharos. They are of red granite of
Syene, like most of the obelisks in
Egypt, and about 57 paces apart.
The standing obelisk is about 70 feet
high, with a diameter at its base of 7
feet 7 inches. Pliny gives them 42
cubits, or 63 feet. One is still stand-
ing, the other has been thrown down,
and lies close to its pedestal, which
stood on two steps, of white limestone;
the pedestals of Egyptian obelisks
being usually a square dado or die,
without any moulding, scarcely ex-
ceeding the diameter of the obelisk^
and placed upon two plinths, the one
projecting beyond the other in the
form of steps.

The height of the fallen obelisk, in
its mutilated state, is about 66 feet,
and of the same diameter as the other.
It has been given by Mohammed AH
to the English, who were desirous of
removing it to England as a record of
their successes in Egypt, and of the
glorious tennination of the campaign
of 1801. The Pasha even offered to
transport it free of expense to the shore,
jind put it on board any vessel or raft
which might be sent to remove it;
but the project has been wisely aban-
doned, and cooler deliberation has
pronounced, that, from its mutilated
state, and the obliteration of many of
the hieroglyphics by exposure to the
sea air, it is unworthy the expense of
removal.

Pococke supposes these obelisks to
have stood before the temple of Nep-
tune, but I do not know on what
authority. He gives them 63 feet in
height

Another obelisk once stood at Alex-
andria, erected by Ptolemy Philadel-
phus at tlie temple of Arsinoe his sis-
ter, which was afterwards taken to
Rome. It had originally been cut
by Nectabis (Nectanebo), and was
without hieroglyphics. Maximus,
when praefect of Egypt, finding it in

the way of the docks, removed it, and
sent it to Rome, where it was put up
in the Forum, its apex having been
cut off* to be replaced with gold, which
was never done. Pliny gives it 80
cubits, or ISO feet.

Tlie temple of Arsinoe, as Pliny
shows, stood near the docks ; and it
was here that tlie celebrated statue of
that deified princess was placed by
Dinocrates, which, being made of
loadstone, was suspended in the air
by an equal attraction of the iron that
surrounded it.

Philadelphus had also erected a
temple to his father and mother, where
their statues, made of gold and ivory,
were treated with the honours paid to
deities ; and Pliny mentions *' a sta-
tue of topaz representing the same
Arsinoe, and measuring 4 cubits,
which was put up in what was called
the golden sanctuary.**

Just beyond the obelisks to the E.
was an old round tower, forming the
comer of the wall, at the point where
it turns off to the southwutl. It was
called the ** Roman tower,** though,
from its position and style of building,
I should rather attribute it to an early
Saracenic age. A drawing of it is
given ill the great French work.

Pompey*$ Pillar stands on an emi-
nence about 1 800 feet to the south of
the present walls. It consists of a
capital, shaft, base, and pedestal,
which last reposes on substructions of
smaller blocks, once belonging to
older monuments, and probably
brought to Alexandria for the pur-
pose. On one I observed the name
of the Second Psamaticus. A few
years ago curiosity had tempted the
Arabs and some Europeans to dig
into, and pick out the cement that
united those stones, which might have
endangered the safety of the column,
had not the Paslia ordered the boles
to be filled up with mortar, to check
the curious.

Its substructions were evidently
once under the level of the ground,
and formed part of a paved area, tbe

Egypt ROUTE 1. — Alexandria — pompey's pillar. 93^

stones of which have been removed
(probably to Renre a« materials for
more recent buildings), leaving only
those beneath the column itself, to the
great risk of the monuments

It is to be regretted that the pro-
tection of the Egyptian government
has not been so far extended to this
interesting relic of ancient Alexandria,
as to prevent its pedestal and shaft
being defaced by the names of per-
sons vrho have visited it, or of ships
that have anchored in the port, some
of which are painted in black letters
of monstrous height.

The name given to this column has
led to much criticism. Some derived
it from Pompaios, as having served
for a landmark, and others endea-
voured to read in the inscription the
name of Poropey, instead of Publius.
Others, again, erroneously supposed
iu Arabic title, Am6od e* Sowari, to
connect it with Severus, and some
even attributed it to Julius Ceesar.
But Scaiy or Sowari, are terms applied
to any lofty monument, which con-
veys the idea of a "nuut;** and the
inscription, of which Mr. Salt and I
were enabled, with the assistance of a
ladder, and by chalking out the letters,
to make a complete copy, shows it to
have been erected by Publius, the
pnefect of Egypt, in honour of Dio-
cletian.

It is as follows : —

TON TIM laX AXON ATTOKPATOPA
TON nOAIOTXON AAESANAPEIAC
AIOKAHTIANON TON ANIKHTON

noTBAioc EnAPxoc AirrnTOT
EHArAea ?

The total height of the column is
98 feet 9 inches, the shaft is 73 feet,
the circumference S9 feet 8 inches,
and the diameter at the top of the ca-
pital 16 feet 6 inches. The shaft is
elegant and of good style, but the
capital and pedestsl are of inferior
workmanship, and, as has been re-
mrked by Dr. Clarke and others,
have the appearance of being of a
different epoch. Indeed, it is pro-
bable that the shaft is of an earlier

time, and that the unfinished capital
and pedestal were added to it, at the
period of its erection in honour of the
emperor.

On the summit I observed a cir-
cular depression of considerable size,
intended to admit the base of a statue,
as is usual on monumental columns ;
and at each of the four sides is a
cramp, by which it was secured. This
is more probable than what I before
supposed, that it indicated the posi-
tion of an equestrian statue ; and,
indeed, in an old picture or plan of
Alexandria, where some of the ancient
monuments are represented, is the
figure of a man standing on the
column. An Arab tradition pretends
that it was one of four columns that
once supported a dome or other build-
ing ; but little faith is to be placed in
the tales of the modern inhabitants.
Macrisi and Abde*lat^f state that it
stood in a gtoa surrounded by 400
columns, where the library was that
Omer ordered to be burnt; which
(if true) would prove that it belonged
to the Sarapeum.

That the people of Alexandria
should erect a simitar monument iu
honour of Diocletian is not surprising,
since he had on more than one occa-
sion a claim to their gratitude, *< having
granted them a public allowance of
corn to the extent of two millions of
medimni," and *< after he had taken
the city by siege, when in revolt against
him, having checked the fury of his
soldiers in their promiscuous massacre
of the citizens." To me, indeed, it ap-
pears probable that this column silently
records the capture of Alexandria by
the arms of Diocletian in a. d. 296,
when the rebellion of Achilleus had
obliged him to lay siege to the re-
volted city, and the use of the epithet
eamcftToy, ** invincible,** applied to
the emperor, is in favour of my
opinion. This memorable siege, ac-
cording to the historian of the Decline,
lasted eight months ; when, " wasted
by the sword and by fire, it implored
the clemency of the conqueror, but

ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA — TRADE.

Sect. I.

several places hereabouts ; and just to
the W. of the Port Lochias are ruins
at the water*s edge; and some way
beyond the mouth of the canal are
remains of buildings, reservoirs, solid
masonry, and broken granite columns,
ft was here that I found the small
statue of Harpocrates, now in the
British Museum. At the first pro-
jecting point to the W. of Cape
Lochias, the French have laid down,
in their plan of Alexandria, a ruined
mole, at the next the remains of the
palace, and then the Roman tower
near the obelisks, already mentioned.

10. Size and iMroaTANCE or
Alkxandria. — The circumference
of ancient Alexandria is said by
Pliny to have been 15 miles, and we
have seen that Strabo gives it a dia-
meter of SO stadia, or, as Diodorus
says, a length of 40 stadia. Its
population amounted to more than
300,000 free inhabitants, « besides at
least an equal number of slaves;"
and we may judge of its magnificence
from the fact, that the Romans them-
selves considered it inferior only to
their own capital. Nor were the
greatness and flourishing condition
of Alexandria of short duration; and
even as late as the year 640 a.o.,
when taken by the Arabs, it was re-
markable for its wealth and splen-
dour. " I have taken,*' says Amer
in his letter to the Caliph, " the great
city of the West. It is impossible
for me to enumerate the variety of its
riches and beauty, and I shall content
myself with observing, that it contains
4000 palaces, 4000 baths, 400 theatres
or places of amusement, 1 2,000 shops
for the sale of vegetables, and 40,000
tributary Jews."

The flourishing state of Alexandria,
mentioned by Diodorus, refers to the
time of Ptolemy Dionysius, in whose
reign he visited Cgypt; but it was
carried to a much higher point under
tlie Caesars, and the suburbs alone
contained the \)Opulatlon of a large
city. Every thing tended to increase
the importance of the place. Com-

merce was established on a broader
basis. The intercourse with Europe
was increased to an extent unknown
under the Ptolemies, and the bound-
less dominion of the Romans made it
the emporium of the whole world.
*' In former times,** says Strabo,
" there were not twenty vessels that
ventured to navigate tlie Red Sea, so
as to pass out of the straits ; but now
there are great fleets that make the
voyage to India, and to the remotest ■
parts of Ethiopia, returning laden
with very valuable cargoes to Egypt,
whence they are distributed to other
places. They are, therefore, subject
to a double duty, first upon importa-
tion, and then upon exportation ; and
the duties upon the valuable articles
are themselves proportiooably valu-
able. Besides, they have the advan-
tage of a monopoly, since Alexandria
is so situated as to be the only ware-
house for receiving them, and for
transmitting them to other places.'*

" The lucrative trade of Arabia and
India," says Gibbon, ** flowed through
the port of A lexandria to the capital and
provinces of the empire. Idleness was
unknown. Some were employed in
blowing of glass, others in weaving of
linen ; others, again, in manufactur-
ing the papyrus. Either sex, and
every age, was engaged in the pur-
suits of industry, nor did even the
blind or the lame want occupation
suited to their condition. But the
people of Alexandria, a various mix-
ture of nations, united the vanity and
inconstancy of the Greeks with the
superstition and obstinacy of the
Egyptians. The most trifling occa-
sion, a transient scarcity of flesh or
lentils, the neglect of an accustomed
salutation, a mistake of precedency
in the public baths, or even a reli.
gious dispute, were at any time sufli^
cient to kindle a sedition among that
vast multitude, whose resentments
were furious and implacable.** The
sanM advantages of position which
poiuted it out to the discerning eye of
Alexander, as likely to rival and

JSgypU

SOUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA — INHABITANTS.

supplant commercial Tyre, continued
till a late period to secure the wel-
fare of Alexandria. The Indian
trade, brought through Berenice, Phi-
lotera, Myos Hormos, and Arsinoe,
and, in after times, through Suez and
Kosayr, and descending by the Nile
and the canal to the gates of Alexan-
dria* flowed for many centuries in this
channel to the markets of Europe ;
nor in spite of the fanaticinn of its
Moslem conquerors, did it fail to re-
tain some portion of its former conse«
quence; and when the Venetians
obtained permission to establish a
commercial intercourse with Egypt,
the trade of Alexandria was once
more revived. And though the
Asiatic caravans shared some portion
of the emoluments of Indian com-
merce, it was only finally annihilated
by the discovery of the Cape of Good
Hope, and the successful enterprises
of the Portuguese.

These bygone events are particularly
interesting at a time when the overland
communication seems once more to
open favourable prospects for Alex-
andria : but this is a subject which it
is not necessary here to discuss.

11. Tb« Ikhabitants of Alkxak-

DaiA The population of modem

Alexandria had till latterly been on
the decline, and is reported to have
been reduced at one time to 6000
souls ; but under the government of
Mohammed Ali it has greatly re-
covered, and is computed at present
to amount to 80,000, including the
garrison of 6000 or 8000 men, and
the sailors of the fleet, reckoned at
about 12,000, leaving 60,000 for the
population of the place.

As in former times, the inhabitants
are a mixed race, from the coast of
Barbary, and all parts of Egypt, with
Turkx, Albanians, Syrians, Greeks,
Jews, Copts, and Armenians, inde-
pendent of Frank settlers.

According to the account of Alex-
andria, given by Polybius, the inhabit-
ants were, in his time, of three kinds:
1. The Egyptians, or people of the

country, a keen and civilised race ;
2. The mercenary troops, who were
numerous and turbulent, for it was
the custom to keep foreign soldiers
in their pay, who having arms in their
hands were more ready to govern than
to obey ; and, 3. The Alexandrians,
not very decidedly tractable, for simi-
lar reasons, but still better than the
last : for having been mixed with
and descended Trom Greeks, who had
settled there, they had not thrown off
the customs of that people. This
part of the population was, however,
dwindling away, more especially at
the time when Polybius visited Egypt
during the reign of Ptolemy Phys-
con ; who, in consequence of some
seditious proceedings, had attacked
the people on several occasions with
his troops, and had destroyed great
numbers of them. The successors
of Physcon administered the govern-
ment as badly or even worse ; and it
was not till it had passed under the
dominion of the Romans that the
condition of the city was improved.

At this time, according to Strabo,
'* one of the three Roman battalions
was stationed at Alexandria, the other
two in the country: exclusive of
nine companies of Romans, three in
the city, three in garrison at Syene,
on the confines of Ethiopia, and
three others in different parts of
the country : besides three regiments
of cavalry, distributed in like man-
ner in the most convenient places.
Of the natives who were employed in
the government of the cities, one was
the exfyitSa or expoui^der, clad in
purple, and receiving the honours of
the country, who took care of what
was necessary for the city. There
were' also the writer of commentaries
or register, and the archidicastes or
chief judge ; and the fourth was the
captain of the night. The same
officer existed in the time of the
kings; but they (the Ptolemies)
governed so badly, th^t the welfare
of the city was sacrificed for want of
proper management ;** and this neg-

BOUTE 1. — ^ALEXANDRIA — INHABITANTS. Scct I.

lect was rendered more injurious in
Aleiandria by the seditious spirit of
the people.

The Alexandrians continued, even
under the Romans, to manifest tlieir
turbulent character; and Trebellius
Pollio tells us, they were "of so im-
petuous and headlong a disposition,
that on the most trifling occasions
they were enticed to actions of the
most dangerous tendency to the re-
public. Frequently on account of
an omission of civilities, the refusal of
a place of honour at a bath, the se-
questration of a ballad, or a cabbage,
a slave's shoe, or other objects of like
importance, tliey have shown such
dangerous symptoms of sedition, as
to require the interference of an
armed force. So general, indeed,
was this tumultuous disposition, that
when the slave of the then governor
of Alexandria happened to be beaten
by a soldier, for telling him that his
shoes were better than the soldier's, a
multitude immediately collected be-
fore the house of ^milianus, the
commanding officer, armed with every
seditious weapon, and using furious
threats. He was wounded by stones ;
and javelins and swords were pointed
ut and thrown at him.**

The letter of Adrian also gives a
curious and far from favourable ac-
count of this people in his time ;
which, though extending to all the
Egyptians, refers particularly to the
Alexandrians, as we perceive from
the mention of Serapis, the great deity
of their city. '* Adrian Augustus,
to the Consul Servian, greeting : — I
am convinced, my friend Servian, that
all the inhabitants of Egypt, of whom
you made honourable mention to roe,
are trifling, wavering, and changing
at every change of public rumour.
The worshippers of Serapis are Chris-
tians, and Uiose who call themselves
followers of Christ pay their devotions
to Serapis; every chief of a Jewisli
synagogue, every Samaritan, each
Christian priest, the mathematicians,
soothsayers, and physicians in tlie

gymnasia, all acknowledge Serapis.
The patriarch himself, whenever he
goes into Egypt, is obliged by some
to worship Serapis, by others Christ.
The people are, of all others, the most
inclined to sedition, vain, and inso-
lent. Alexandria is opulent, wealthy,
populous, without an idle inhabitant
They have one god (Serapis), whom
the Christians, Jews, and Gentiles
worship. I could wish that the dty
practised a purer morality, and
showed itself worthy of its pre-emi-
nence in size and dignity over the
whole of Egypt. I have conceded to
it every point ; I have restored its an-
cient privileges ; and have conferred
on it so many more, that when I was
there I received the thanks of the in-
habiUnts, and immediately on my
departure they complimented my son
Verus. You have heard, too, what
they said about Antoninus: — I wish
them no other curse than that they
may be fed with their own chickens,
which are hatched in a way I am
ashamed td relate. I have forwarded
to you three drinking-cups, which hare
the property of changing their colour."

Besides the local authorities above-
mentioned, there were numerous Ro-
man officers in the time of the Caesars,
appointed from Italy, as the governor,
and others, exercising military com-
mands; the decurions, to whom the
police regulations, the superintendence
of the games, and the provisioning of
the city were entrusted; the agenta
for transmitting corn to Rome ; the
collectors of taxes and duties on ex-
ports and imports ; and many others ;
among whom may be mentioned the
registrars of passports. For Strabo
seems to say that no one could leave
the port of Alexandria without tfanr
sanction; and their authority was
maintained by '* numerous guards
stationed at the port, and every other
exit of the city." This scrutiny,
however, seems to have been less in
the time of the Romans than under
the Ptolemaic kings.

The character of the Alexandrians

Egypt. KOUTE 1. — AL£SAin>RIA — CLIMATE — PORT.

•t the present day is not looked upon
witb respect either by the Cairenes,
"or the people of the Barbary coast,
who occasionally visit this city. They
are still both io manner and appear-
ance a mixed race; and yoa may
perceiTe in them something of the
Egyptian, the Greek, and the Mo-
ghrebee.

12. Climatx. — TRx Lacs MAax-
OTis. — Cakals. — Several ancient
writers, as Diodonis, Strabo, Am-
mianas Marcellinus, Quintus Curtius,
and eVen Celsus, speak of the climate
of Alexandria as healthy, with a tem-
perature both cool and salubrious.
This Strabo attributes to the admis-
sion of the Nile water into the Lake
Mareotis, and apparently not without
reason ; since it is notorious that the
fevers prevalent there are owing to
exhalations from it ; and medical men
have lately recommended that the
Nile water should he freely admitted
into it, to remedy this evil. At the
close of the last century, this lake was
nearly dry; but during the contest
between the English and French at
Alexandria, the sea was let into it by
the former, iu order to impede the
communication of the besieged with
Cairo, and cut off* the supply of fresh
water from the city; and it is now
onoe more a lake.

The Lake Mareotis was formerly
practicable for boats, and of sufficient
depth to answer all the purposes of in-
land navigation. Strabo gives it a
little less than SCO stadia in length,
and upwards of 100 in breadth, hav-
ing eight islands within it; and its
banks, which were thickly inhabited,
enjoyed great reputation for the ex-
cellent wine they produced.

Pliny says it was formerly called
Arapotes; that it communicated by a
sluice vrith the Canopic canal, and
contained several islands. He gives
it SO miles acroas, and 600 in cir-
cumference ; and, according to other
calculations, it was 40 schflent
150 Roman miles, in leuj
same in breadth.

jiS*»l.fe

OXFORD

Mr. Hamilton mentions the site of
an old canal which communicated
from Lake Mareotis with the port of
Alexandrii. Tlie banks and channel
of a large canal, running from the
lake to the old harbour, may also be
seen about half-way between the
modern city and Maribut point, about
4 miles to the S. W. of the modern
town and little more than 1 ) mile be-
yond the Catacombs. It is 6600 feet
long ; the high mounds on either side
are about 250 feet apart, and the
breadth of the canal itself may have
been about 80 feeL There is also
the bed of a small channel about half
way from the town and the Cata-
combs, but probably of late time;
and the canal that leads from the
Mahmood^h to the Rosetta gate, and
enters the new port near the lasaretto,
is a modern work, cut through the
walls and basements of ancient build-
ings. The old canal that ran into the
sea, near the basin of Kibotos, was
doubtless that passing under the pre-
sent walls, within the western gate.
The Canopic canal was on the east of
the town.

1 S. Thi two PoaTs, Gates, Walls.
— THK OLD Docks. — We have seen
that the two ports, called the Western
or Eunostus, and the Great Harbour,
were formerly only separated by the
Heptastadium, and had a communi-
cation by bridges, which formed part
of that mole. Since the rule of
the Moslems, a far more marked dis-
tinction has been made between those
two ports, than is conveyed by the
mere difference of name, the one hav-
ing been till lately reserved exclu-
sively for Turkish vessels, and the
other alone appropriated to those of
the Christian states. For until the
beginning of the present century no
Christian vessel was permitted to
enter the old or western harbour ; or,
if compelled to do so by stress of
weather, was forced to go round as
soon as an opportunity offered ; and
in consequence of this custom
the houses of the Europeans,
F S •

that

kjt

^. i«Ji

100

HOUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA — MOSKS, ETC. Sect I.

constituting the Frank quarter, were
built on that side of the city. The
privilege of using the old harbour and
that ofjriding on horseback were ob-
tained by the English for all Euro-
peans, on evacuating Alexandria.

The four principal gates of Alex-
andria were the Canopic on the east,
the Necropolis Gate on the west, and
tliose of the Sun and Moon at the two
ends of the street that ran from the sea
to the lake. As you looked down the
latter street, the ships in tlie Great
Harbour were seen on one side, and
those in the Mareotic port on the other;
the two streets intersecting each other
at right angles, as already stated.

No portion of the ancient circuit
now remains, and even the Saracenic
wall has lately been removed to make
way for the increasing sise of Alex-
andria. The Saracenic tqwer, at the
extreme end of the wall towards the
sea, is still left standing, and may be
seen immediately behind the first row
of houses to the south of the Frank
square. This is said once to have
been bathed by the sea, and the
buttress projecting from it might seem
to justify this assertion ; but it is far
more probable that the low space be-
fore it, formerly a pool of water, and
now the Frank square, was the site of
the ancient docks, and that the wall
turned off to the right at this spot, iq
order to avoid so low and unstable a
foundation. The Saracenic walls en-
closed what may be called the Arab
city, and the modern Alexandria may
be styled the Turkish town. It stands,
as already observed, without the circuit
both of the Greek and Arab city,
partly on the Mole or Heptastadium,
and partly on the site of the docks
mentioned by Strabo ; and its bouses
may be said to occupy no portion of
ancient Alexandria, except at the ex-
tremity of the ancient mole. Nor
are any cisterns found beneath the
bouses of the modern town.

My conjecture that the new square
of the Frank quarter covers the
principal part of the Great Docks, is

confirmed by there being no cisterns
below the surface, by the luwness of
its original level (which I remember
to have seen a pool of water in winter^
before the ground was raised to re-
ceive the present houses), and by the
fact that the architect, ** Signor Man-
cini, when digging to lay the foun-
dations of the bouses, found nothing
below the surface upon the whole line
but a layer of sea-weed, showing the
sea to have been once over it.** The
Coptic name of this spot, AftSnsAm,
is also remarkable, signifying a "pool,**
or ** marshy ground : *' and has beeo
mentioned to me by Mr. Harris in
support of my opinion.

I may also observe that the present
walls, enclosing a portion of tlie
mounds of the old city, were built in
1 811, and that those alone behind the
Frank quarter are of early Arab time.
Other portions, however, may be
based on Saracenic foundations; but
the only ancient part appears to be
the Roman tower to the east of the
obelisks.

H. MOSKS AND OTBia BoiLD-

iNGS WITH IK THE Walls. — Theie
are some mosks, convents, gardens,
and villas, amidst the mounds of the
old city, as well as two or three forts,
thrown up by the French during their
occupation of Egypt. One of the
convents or rather monasteries, is
called of Sl Mark. It belongs to
the Copts, who pretend to possess the
head and body of St. Mark ; though
Leo Africanus affirms that Uiey were
secretly carried away by the Vene-
tians, and taken to their city. The
Greeks also pride themselves in some
relics, said to be of St. Catherine, who
suffered martyrdom at Alexandria.
Another convent belongs to the Latin
church. In the garden of that con*
vent a marble pedestal has lately been
found bearing an inscription with the
name of Julia Domna.

One of the mosks is called ** of
ICOl columns,** according in nuntber
with the /oM^ of the 1001 nights. It
is on the west side^ near the gate of

^^pt*

BOUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA — AMUSEMENTS.

101

Necropolis. Pococke obserred in it
four rows of columns from S. to W.,
and one row on the other sides ; and
here, be says, it is supposed that the
church of St. Mark once stood;
where the patriarch formerly lived;
and where the Evangelist is reported
to have been put to death. This
church was destroyed by the Moslems
in Uie reign of Melek el Kamel» the
•on of Melek Adel, in 1219» whilst
the Crusaders were besieging Dami.
etta, for fear that they might surprise
Alexandria and make a fortress of its
solid walls ; and no offers on the part
of the Christians could induce them
to spare this venerated building. The
other great mosk b called of St. Atha-
naaius, doubtless, as Pococke observes,
firom having succeeded to a church
of that name. It is from this that
the sarcophagus, called the "tomb
of Alexander,*' was taken, which is
now in the British Museum.

15. AmUSKIISNTS AMD SlOHTS IN

MoDKEN Alkxandeia. — Alexandria
has a small theatre. The actors are
Europeans, and all amateurs, with
fbe exception of the pHtna donna.
Tickets of admission may be ob«
tained by strangers, not residents,
graiisy as at Cairo.

During the carnival, many private
and public balls are given ; the latter
at the Casino. There is also a read-
ing-room, with a library, at the cor-
ner of the Frank square, to which
access may be had, on application to
a member.

Few objects worthy of a visit can
be mentioned in the modem town.
Those who are interested in Egyptian
antiquities will be gratified by seeing
the collection of S. D'Anastasy, the
Swedish consul-general, and a smaller
one with some rare medals belonging
to Mr. Harris. As they are both
strictly private, an introduction is
required to obtain permission to visit
them.

The Pasha*s palace may be seen by
an order, easily obtained from the we-
ked or *< steward.** It stands on the

port close to the hareSm, which is on
the opposite side of the road, facing
the sea. The latter cannot be visited.
The former is approached tiirough a
small garden ; and, after ascending a
substantial staircase in the Turkish
style, you reach the upper rooms,
which are occupied by the Pasha
during his residence in Alexandria.
They are not remarkable for any
splendour, and the whole is fitted up
in a simple manner, partly Turkish
and partly European. The large
circular room is handsome, with an
English chandelier suspended in the
centre, over a round table. Though
the Pasha's bed-room partakes of an
European character, he prefers his
old custom of having his bed upon
the fioor, to what we should consider
the more comfortable mode of rai&ing
it on a bedstead. It is in the middle
of the room, and a frame- work sur-
rounding it supports a mosquito cur-
tain.

Near this is an Italian drawing-
room, and in another are the portraits
of Ahmed Bey, a son of Ibrahim Pa-
sha, and of the three younger sons of
Mohammed All. The dining-room
is small, with an inlaid wooden floor.
The bath is neatly fitted up with mar-
ble. There is a billiard-room, where
the Pasha frequently amuses himself
\}j playing, and by seeing the suc-
cess or disappointment of others, in
which he appears to take great de-
light. The rooms and passages are
covered with floor-cloth of ordinary
quality, made in the arsenal. The
view looking over the port is striking,
and particularly so when the fleet Is in
harbour, which is best seen from the
balcony.

The arsenal is only interesting to
those who wish to see the manner in
which that and similar establislimenU
are conducted in Egypt ; but a vi6it
to some of the ships of war would re-
pay any one, who is curious about the
rapid formation of a fleet and navy,
with the imperfect means afforded by
the country. On going to the Pasha's
F S

102

ROUTE 2. — ALEXANDRIA TO ROSETTA.

Sect. L

palace and the arsenal, from the Frank
quarter, the road lies through the
principal streets of Alexandria ; but a
walk should be taken in the bazaars,
in order to obtain a better idea of the
Turkish part of the town, though the
tortuous narrow streets, or rather un-
paved Janes, will not give an exalted
notion of this dirty quarter. The
stranger may, however, find jimuse-
ment in tlie novelty and drollery of
many a scene witnessed there ; amidst
the confusion of camels carrying large
burdens through these narrow pas-
sages, the hurry of donkeys driven at
full trot or gallop, amidst a crowd of
pedestrians, and the more serious in-
convenience of a carriage. This last
can only pass through the principal
thoroughfare ; and many an impre-
cation is whispered against so trouble-
some an intruder, which, before the
Pasha introduced his own, was un-
seen in Alexandria.

ROUTE 2.

ALBXANDRIA TO ROSKTTA BY LAKO.

HUM.

From the Rosetta gate of Alex-
andria to the Roman station,
called Caesar's camp * ~ ^i

To Caravanserai, or Caf^, be-
yond the site of Canopus, on
Abookfr Bay - . - 13^

To ancient Canopic or Hera^
cleotic mouth (called Ma*
d^eh) - - - - 1}

To Etko . . . . isl

To Rosettft - - - - 134

44}

On leaving the Rosetta gate of
Alexandria, the road runs for half a
mile over the mounds of the ancient
city, when it crosses the old wall, on
which the French lines were raised,
and descends into a plain, now partly
cultivated by order of Ibrahim Pasha.

Here, about | of a mile from the

old wall, two granite statues were dis-
covered by Mr. Harris, apparently of
one of the Ptolemies, or of a Roman
emperor, with his queen, in the Egyp-
tian style. One has the form of
Osiris, the other of Isis, or of Athor.
Other granite blocks and remains of
columns show that this was the site
of some important building.

About S miles beyond the French
lines, or S| from the Rosetta Gate, is
a Roman station, called Caesar's, or
the Roman, camp. It marks the site
of NicopoUi, or Juliopolis, where Au-
gustus overcamt the partisans of An-
tony; and is the spot where, 1832
years after, the English and French
armies engaged.

A few small monuments to some of
our countrymen who fell there may
still be seen outside the walls, on one
of which I observed the name of
Colonel Dutens. It had been tlirown
down, and we once more pot it up,
with a faint hope of its being left in
that position. Here fell the gallant
Abercrombie, on the memorable 21st
of March, 1801.

The " Camp '* resembles the Myos
Hormos, and the fortified stations or
hydreumoM in the desert ; but is strong-
er, larger, and better built. It is
nearly square, measuring 291 paces
by 266 within, the walls being from
5 to 5) paces thick. It has four en-
trances, one in the centre of each
face, 15 paces wide, defended by round
or semicircular towers, 18 paces in
diameter, or 1 2 within. On each fac«
are 6 towers, distant from etxh other
33 paces ; those of the doorway ex-
cepted, which are only 15 paces apart.
Those at the 4 corners are larger than
the others, having a diameter of S2
paces. The whole was surrounded
by a ditch, apparently filli*d from the
sea, which is close to the N. W. lace :
and a short way from the S.W. gate
are the remains of the aqueduct that
supplied it with water ; probably part
of the one seen to the nortli of the
Mahmood^eb, about 8 miles from
Alexandria. The walls are of Btoocp

Egypt

ROUTE 2. — ALEXANDRIA TO R08ETTA.

103

with courses of flat bricks, or tiles,
at iotenralsy usual in Roman build-
ings.

The most remarkable town on this
road, in old times, was Canopus. The
places on the way were Eleusis, a
little to the south of Nicopolis, Ze-
phyrium, and Taposiris Panra. A
short distance beyond, to the east of
j£leusis, was the canal that led to
Scbedia; and on a promontory at
Taposiris was a chapel dedicated to
Venus Aninoe.

In this place the town of Thonis
was reported to have stood, whose
name was derived from Thonis, the
king (or governor?) who entertained
Menelaus and Helen.

Pococke thinks the island a short
distance from the coast, to the east of
Abookir, is the promontory of Ta-
posiris, the successor of Thonis, the
land having sunk and admitted the
sea, so as to convert it into an island ;
and he there perceived some ruins,
the traces of subterraneous passages,
and a fragment of a sphinx. He also
mentions the ruins of an ancient tem-
ple under the water, about 2 miles
from Alexandria, which he conjectures
to have belonged to Zephyrium, or
some other place on the road to Nico-
polis.

Cmopifs was IS M.P., or accord-
ing to Strabo, 120 stadia (nearly 14
English miles) from Alexandria, by
land. It stood on the west of the
Canoptc mouth, between which and
that town was the village of Hera-
cleum, famed for its temple of Her-
culea. The Greeks and Romans
imagined it to have been called after
Canopus, the pilot of Menelaus, who
was buried there; but its Egyptian
name Kahi-noub, or the '* golden
soil," and its high antiquity, suffice to
show the folly of this assertion ; which
is one of many instances of their mode
of changing a foreign name, in order
to connect it with, and explain it by,
Xhaw own history. Canopus had a
temple of Serapis, who was the deity
worshipped there with the greatest re^

spect; and it is worthy of remark
that Mr. Hamilton discaiis«d, amidst
the ruins of Alexandria, a Greek in-
scription in honour of " Serapis in
Canopus.** The deity was supposed
to answer by dreams to the prayers of
his votaries, and persons of all ranks
consulted him, respecting the cure of
diseases, and the usual questions sub-
mitted to oracles. Many otlier tem-
ples also stood at Canopus, as well as
numerous spacious inns for the re-
ception of strangers; who went to
enjoy its wholesome air, and, above
all, the dissipation that recommended
it to the people of Alexandria; fa-
mous, or rather infamous, as it was,
in the time of the Greeks and Ro-
mans, for the most wanton amuse-
ments. Thither they repaired in
crowds by the canal for that object.
Day and night, the water was cover-
ed with boats, carrying men and wo-
men, who dsnced and sang with the
most unrestrained licence. Arrived
at Canopus, they repaired to booths
erected on the banks, for the express
purpose of indulging in scenes of dis-
sipation. The immorality of the
place was notorious, and it is this
which led Seneca to say, '* no one in
thinking of a retreat would select
Canopus, although Canopus might
not prevent a man being virtuous.'*

The degraded state of public mo-
rals in that town appears to have been
confined to the period afVer the foun-
dation of Alexandria ; and the Cano-
pus we read of was a Greek town.

On the right of the Canopic canal
was the Elai'tic nome, so called from
the brother of the first Ptolemy ; and
at the mouth of the Canopic branch
of the river was the commencement
of the base of the Delta.

Canopus stood near the present
Abookir (Abookir), so well known
in modern times from the victory ob-
tained by the English fleet under
Nelson, recorded in our annals as the
" battle of the Nile." To that place
Mohammed Ali sends his state pri-
soners; having substituted confine-
r 4

104

ROUTE 2. — ALEXANDRIA TO ROSETTA. Sect. L

ment in its castle for the more serious
punishment of death.

A few miles to the eastward of
AbookSr is an opening, called Madea
(Mad6eh), the "ford," or "ferry,"
by which the lake Etko communi-
cates with the sea, and which is sup-
posed to be the old Canopic branch.
Near this Pococke places Heracleum,
whence the name Heracleotic, applied
to this mouth of the river, which wai
also called Naucratic, or Ceramic.

The Canopic was the most wes-
terly, as the Pelusiac was the most
easterly, of the mouths of the Nile.
Some ruins still mark the site of the
city of Herculesy to whose temple tlie
slaves of Paris fled, when he was
forced by contrary winds to take re-
fuge in the Canopic branch of the
Nile. The temple still existed in the
time of Herodotus and Strabo.

The whole road from Alexandria
to Rosetta is as tedious, dreary, and
bleak in winter, as it is hot in sum-
mer, with scarcely any resting-place
except the Caf^ near Abookir, and
tlie village of Etko, the Coptic Tkoou,
a short distance to the south of the
road. After traversing a level plain,
you reach Rosetta, whose gardens
and palms, rising above tlie surround-
ing sand-drifts, are an agreeable
change after this gloomy tract. There
is a constant communication by sea
between Alexandria and Rosetta ; but
the passage over die bar of the river is
always disagreeable and often dan-
gerous, so that the journey by sea can-
not be recommended.

ROSETTA. — Rosetta, properly
Rasheed, in Coptic Trasbit,has always
been considered the most agreeable
and the prettiest town of Egypt, cele-
brated for its gardens, and looked
upon by the Cairenes, as well as
Alexandrians, as a most delightful
retreat during the summer. It has
still its gardens, which surround it on
three sides, and the advantages of
situation ; but it has lost much of its
importance as a town, and has ceased
to be the resort of strangers. The (

population, too, is so much diminished
that a great proportion of its houses
are completely deserted, and falling,
if not already fallen, to ruins. About
twenty years ago it had 36,000 bouses,
and its former flourishing, condition
is shown by their style of building,
which is very superior to that of other
Egyptian towns. The calumns at
the doors, the neatness of the wooden
windows, and the general appearance
of their walls, strike a stranger, afWr
being in Upper Egypt ; and it is with
regret that he sees whole quarters of
the town deserted, and houses falling
to decay.

It has several mosks, AAojm, and
bazaars, and is surrounded by a wall
with loopholes, which might serve to
protect it against a band of Arabs,
but would offer little resistance to
artillery. The northern gate has two
small towers at its side, of a form by
no means common in Egypt; and
between this and the plain are the
most extensive gardens.

Rosetta boasts no antiquities, but
on the blocks used as thresholds of
doors, in the mosks and private
houses, a few hieroglyphics may be
seen, among which I observed the
name of Psamaticus I. The stones
are mostly of the hard silicious quality
found near the red mountain behind
Caii^ : fragments of granite and ba-
salt are also common, on the latter of
which I in vain looked for the re-
mainder of the Rosetta stone, dis-
covered by the French while digging
the foundations of Fort St. Julien,
a few miles lower down the river.
The columns, as usual, are mostly
granite and marble, which, like the
others, have been brought from old
towns in the vicinity. On tbe west
side are large drifts of sand, vyii^ in
height with the palm trees they
threaten to overwhelm ; and at tbe
S.W. corner, close to the river, the
wall is terq^inated by a small fort,
mounting half a dozen small iron
guns with two or three Turkish sol-
diers smoking in the embrasures.

Egypt.

ROUTE 3. — R. 4. — ALEXANDRIA. TO CAISa

105

Rosetta is a smaller town than
Damietta, but better built, and may
be about 1} mile in diameter. It is
little known in history, but to us it
recalls a sad memorial, of an unsuc-
cessful attempt to restore the authority
of the Memlooks, and the disastrous
retreat of our army, in 1807.

The river at Rosetta is perfectly
fresh, except after a long prevalence
of northerly winds, when the sea wa-
ter, forced upwards, makes it slightly
■alt, and well water is brought for
sale to the town and the boats. The
sea is distant 6 miles by the river, or
3 miles across the plain.

About \\ mile to the south of Ro-
setta is a hill, called Aboo Mandoor,
on which stands a telegraph, now
locked up, and only intended in case
of alarm on the coast. This hill is
supposed to mark the site of an an-
cieot town, probably Bolbitine, and
U was this commanding position that
the English occupied on their advance
upon Rosetta in 1807.

Below are two mosks, very pic-
turesque objects from the river, which
seem to mark the limits of the fer-
tile soil of the neighbourhood of , Ro-
setta.

ROUTE S.

BOSITTA TO ATFEH AMD CAIAO BT
THK NILE.

Miles.
Rosetta to Aboo Mandoor - 1|

— to Berembal . 8

— to Daroot - - 9|

— to Atfeh . . 4
Atfeh to Cairo (see Routo

6.) - - - - I25i

There is nothing worthy of remark
on the way from Rosetta to Atfeh.

At Metoobis are the mounds of
the ancient town of Metubis, and at
Daroot and Shindeeoon are the sites
of other towns.

Atfeh is at the mouth of the Mah-
mood^h, or Canal of Alexandria,
where it joins the Nile.

ROUTE 4.

ALEXANDEIA TO CAIEO, BT LAND,
THEOUGH THE DELTA.

Miles.
Alexandria along the north

bank of the Mahmoodeeh
Canal to e*Sid, or Maison
Carr^ .... 5
To Karioon - - - IS

Birket Ghuttas, or el Birkeh 3^
Karrawee (crossing the canal) A\
Damanhoor (after leaving the

canal and crossing the plain) 7|
Nigeeleh, or to Zowyet el Bahr 23^
Cross the river, and then to

Menoof - - - - 18^
Shoobra-Shab&h by Kafr el
Hemmeh, then crossing the
Damietta branch - - 18
Shoobra-el-Makk&seh, the Pa-
sha's vi|la ...
N.W. Gate of Cairo . . 4

isi

111

For the Mahmoodeeh Canal to
Karrawee, see Route 6.

Damanhoor is the capital of £1
Bahayreh, 1. e. "the lower *' or
*< northern" province. It is called
by Aboolf^a Damanhoor el W&besh,
" of the desert,*' and in Coptic Pi-
dlmenh&r, or Tminhor. It is sup-
posed to be the successor of Hermo-
polis Parva, which was near, or, as
Strabo says, on the river, the Canopic
branch passing through the plain to
the north of it.

At Nigeeleh are stationed the re-
lays of asses that carry the Indian
mails between Cairo and Alexandria,
and here the road crosses the river.

Menoof, by some supposed to be
the ancient Nicium, or Prosopis, was
once a town of some iroponance. It
is now only noted for its manufactory
of mats, called Menoof(6eh, much es-

F 5

106

BOUTE 5. — B. 6. — ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. SeCt. !•

teemed at Cairo. Menoof, or Ma-
nouf, is the same name that was given
to Memphis. Near it is a large canal
called Pharaooniih, which, from its car-
rying off too much water from the
Damietta to the Rosetta branch, was
closed some years since by Moham-
med AH. (For Shoobra and the
Pasha*s villa, see the environs of Cairo
in Section II.)

ROUTE 5.

ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO BT THK

WBSTXRN BANK.

Miles.

Alexandria to Zowyel el Bahr

(see Route 4.) .J •
Alg&m - - - -

TeHLneh - - - -

Beni SaUmeh ...

£1 Guttah (or £1 Kuttah)
Embiibeh ....
Cross the river at £mb&beh to
Boolak, and thence to Cairo

57
9|

16i

1084

For Teraneh see Route 1 4.

£mb4beh is only remarkable for
having been a fortified post of the
Memlooks, and as the town which
gave its name to the battle called by
Uie French "of the Pyramids/* but
in £gypt ** of £mb&beh." All the as-
sociations connected with it in the
minds of the modern Cairenes are de-
rived from its lupins, which, under
the name of Emb&beh Muddud, are
loudly proclaimed in the streets to be
" superior to almonds.'*

For Boolak see Route 6.

ROUTE 6.

FROM ALIXANDBIA TO ATFEU
CAIRO.

Alexandria to e*Sid, or the Mai*

son Carr^
Kario6n ...

Birket Ghuttis
Karrawee - ' .
Zowyet el Ghaz^l

AMD

Miles.

5
IS

H
41

Ruins at Gheyk

Atfeh ....

Rabman^h . . -

Sa-el-Hagar ( Sais)

Nikleh

Shaboor - - -

Nigeeleh . - -

Ter4ne|i ...

A boo Nish4beh

Werd&n

Aboo Ghaleb

N. point of DelU -

Shoobra . - •

Boolak (the port of Cairo)

- H

- fi

- iT*

- 14

. 4

- lOi

- 28

- 7

- 11

- 41

- 12

- 4

166}

(For boats and steamers from
Alexandria to Cairo see Route 1.

Those who are on their way to In-
dia are obliged to take the latter
(see Introduction).

For the things necessary on the
journey see Sect. I. b. and 5.)

All baggage is subject .to an exami-
nation at the custom-house, on leav-
ing Alexandria, unless released by a
small fee, and the declaration that it
is for private use ; and merchandise
pays 2 per cent., according to the
new tariff. 'i*he traveller may either
go on board his boat at the end of the
road below Pompey*s Pillar, or near
Moharrem Bey's villa, which is a
little further off; but by sending his
baggage before him to the former
spot, and ordering the boat to go oii
to Moharrem Bey*s (or to Rimleh),
he will have an hour or two more for
breakfast, or any other purpose, at
Alexandria, and may ride leisurely to
his boat, without being pressed for
time, or obliged to pass through a
winding and tedious part of the ca-
nal. Af^r having made about 4
miles from tliat villa, he is hailed by
a guard stationed at the maiwom carrie^
or e* «ul, who require that the tetkrtk
(permit) of servants and other natives
be shown, lest any improper persons
may have taken a passage on board.
He is then allowed to continue bia
voyage without further molestation.
A similar kind of permit appears, bj

Egypt ROUTE 6. — AL£XA2n>RIA TO ATFEH AND CAIRO. 107

Strabo*s account, to have been re-
quired in ancient times from persons
leaving Alexandria ; and the trouble-
•ome system of passports seems to
have been adopted by the Egyptians
at a very early period.

It was at this spot that the English
cut the passage, to admit the sea water
into the Lake Mareotis ; and from its
having been dottd again, they now
give it the name of S'ld^ signifying
•«adaro.**

If the wind is fair a good sailing
boat should reach Atfeb in 8 hours
from Alexandria ; if towed by horses,
in 10 and a half. Within the last 4
years the Government has established
post-horses on the canal where relays
of horses are kept for the use of boats ;
but in order to have the right of en-
gaging them, it is necessary to be
furnished with an order {te^th)
from the authorities at Alexandria.
A separate tetkreh is given for each
post, so that if the wind is favourable
a portion of the way, and contrary or
deficient in other parts of the canal,
horses may be taken only as far as
required. A dahabeth is towed by
2 horses, each with iu rider, and 1
dollar is paid for a horse.

The Ctmal of Mahmoodeeh, which
was begun by Mohammed AH in
1819, and opened Jan. 24. 1820, re-
ceived its name in honour of the late
sultan. It is said by Mengin to have
cost 188,400 piastres, or 7,500,000
francs, and 250,000 men were era-
ployed about one year in digging it,
under the direction of Hagee Osman
agha, the Pasha*s chief Turkish sur-
Teyor, assisted by SS. Bilotti, Costa,
Massi, and two other lulian engi-
neers. It was done in too hurried a
manner, and the accumulation of
mud, deposited in it after a very few
years, so clogged its channel, that no
boats of any size could navigate it
during the greater part of the year ;
an inconvenience only removed for a
time by supplying it with water from
a lateral canal from TeWineh, by mak-
ing locks at its junction with the

Nile. Another proof of bad manage-
ment in its execution was the great
loss of life among the workmen, no
less than 20,000 being said to have
perished by accidents, hunger, and
plague.

An old canal existed on this line,
which brought water from the Nile,
and had been used in the time *of
the Venetians for carrying goods to
Alexandria. It was called the canal
of Fooah, and existed, though nearly
dry, in Savary's time, a. d. 1777.
The spot where it entered the walls
of Alexandria may still be seen, at
the salient angle to the west of Pom-
pey's Pillar ; and it was probably the
same that of old went towards the
Kibotos. There was also a canal on
part of this line which left the Nile
at Rahmaneeh, supposed by some to
have been the old Canopic branch.

The appearance of the Mahmood^h
is far from interesting, and the mono-
tony of its banks is not relieved by
the telegraphs, rising at intervals
above the dreary plain, which extends
on both sides of it to a seemingly
endless distance. They communicate
between Alexandria and the capital ;
following the canol as far as Kar-
rawee, and then by Damanhoor, Zow-
yet el Bahr, N4der, Menoof, and
other intermediate places, to the
citadel of Cairo. The earth thrown
up from the canal forms an elevated
ridge, rising far above the adjacent
lands; and the only objects tliat in-
terrupt the uniform level are the
mounds of ancient towns, whose
solitary and deserted aspect adds
not a little to the gloominess of the
scene.

On the Mahmood^eh are some
villas, and farms, of Turks and Eu-
ropeans, living at Alexandria. The
most remarkable among the former is
that of Moharrem Bey, already men-
tioned. He was formerly governor
of Alexandria, and son of the governor
of Cawala, the native town of Mo-
hammed Ali,and one of the few from
that place who witnessed the gradual

r 6

108 ROUTE 6. — ^ALEXANDRIA TO ATFEH AND CAIRO. Sect. I.

rise of the Pasha during his career in
Egypt.

The Mahmood^eh follows part of
the ancient Canopic branch of the
Nile, and the old canal of Fooah;
and here and there, near its banks,
are the remains of ancient towns.
The most remarkable in its immediate
vicinity are those (supposed to be) of
Schedia, between Kario6n and Nishoo.
Beginning a short way inland from
the telegraph of the former, they ex-
tend about three quarters of a mile to
the south end of the large mounds of
Nishoo, and contain confused remains
of stone and brick, among which are
two fragments of stone (apparently
parts of the same block), bluing the
name of the Great Remeses, and
some capitals and fragments of late
time. The most remarkable object is
a series of massive walls in an isolated
mound, 300 paces to the south-east-
ward of these fragments, which Mr.
Salt conjectured to be the docks of
the state barges, kept at Schedia ; but
they were evidently cisterns, like those
in Italy and at Carthage. They are
of Roman time, built of stone, with
horizontal courses of the usual flat
bricks or tiles, at intervals, and but-
tresses projecting here and there, to
give them greater strength ; the whole
originally covered with a casing of
stucco. The walls were about six-
teen in number, of which twelve may
be still distinctly seen, and the spaces
between them were about 215 feet
long, and 27 broad. The walls are
now alx>ut 15 feet high. The ex-
tremity of each gallery or cistern is
rounded off, and we may suppose that
they had arched roofs. A canal or
branch of the river appears to have
run through the levej space, about
750 feet broad, between them and the
town. The distance of Nishoo from
Alexandria agrees exactly with that
given by Strabo from Schedia to that
city, wliich he calculates at 4 schoenes,
or nearly 14 English miles.

Schedia was so called by the Greeks,
from the barrier, or bridge of boats,

that closed the river at this spot, where
duties were levied on all merchandise
tliat passed ; and the name of Nishoo,
applied to the neighbouring mounds
and the modem village, seems to be
derived from the Egyptian nitAoi,
signifying '* the boats." The mounds
of Nishoo are in four almost parallel
lines, the two outer ones about 250,
the centre two about 756 feet apart.
They contain no traces of building ;
they appear to be entirely of earth,
though of very great height, and were
probably the result of excavations,
made in deepening the river, or the
neighbouring canal, which, from the
low space separating the two centre
mounds, appears to have passed be-
tween them.

Schedia was a bLihop*s see in the
time of Athanasius, as were Menelais
and Andropolis.

At KarioSn is a manufactory of
glass, and a little more than a mile
farther is another of pottery. The
canal in the vicinity of Kario6n in-
creases in breadth. Cbereu, in Coptic
Chereus, stood near this; and An-
thylla and Archandra in the plain
between the Mahmood^h and Lake
Etko.

About 3^ miles from Kario6n is
the village of Birket Ghutt^ or £1
Birkeh (« the Lake**); aud at Karra-
wee the road, which has thus far fol-
lowed the bank of the canal, turns off
to Damanho6r.

Near Karrawee are mouqds of an
old town of some extent, and others
are seen in tlie plain to the south. A
few miles farther, the canal mskes a
bend northwards to Atfeh ; quitting
the bed of an old canal, which joined
the Nile farther to the south, just
below e' Rahman^h.

Atfeh. — On reaching Atfeh there is
sometimes a delay in obtaining per-
mission to pass through the locks to
the Nile. The new arrangements are
French, and nothing is done without
signatures or seals of oflScials. Six
seals are required here, the last being
that of the Bey, who is not always to

Egypt.

ROUTE 6. — FOOAH. — DESSCKSk. SAYs.

109

be found ; sometimes he is not up, at
others he is dining, or taking bis
siesta. But a bribe of five piastres
will frequently get over all difficulties,
and stand in lieu of seals.

Atfeh is a miserable Tillage, abound-
ing in dust and dogs; but the first
▼iew of the Nile is striking, and a
relief after the canal.

The voyage between Atfeh and
Cairo (or Boolak) occupies about S
or 4 days, in ascending the stream
with a good wind ; or by the steamer
about 2S hours, and 11 to 12 in
coming down the stream to Atfeh.

During the high Nile, the voyage
to Cairo takes rather more time.

Fooah, — Nearly opposite Atfeh is
Fooah^ conspicuous with its minarets,
and a picturesque object from the
river, as you pass during the high
Nile. It occupies the site of the
ancient Metelis (in Coptic Meleg, or
Meledg), but contains no remains
beyond a few granite blocks, now
used as the thresholds of doors, with
hieroglyphic inscriptions, containing
the names of A pries and other kings
of the 26th or Sa'ite dynasty. Foooh
has now only a manufactory of tar-
homhts or red caps, and the usual
w^heh ** manufactory '* of large
towns; but in the time of Leo
Africanus it was very flourishing;
and though its streets were narrow,
it had the character of a large town,
teeming with plenty, and noted for
the appearance of its bazaars and
■hops. ** The women,'* he adds,
^ enjoy so much freedom there, that
their husbands permit them to go
during the day wherever they please ;
and the surrounding country abounds
in date trees."

The best Egyptian dates come from
a place on the other side of the Delta,
called Korayn, near Salah^h, which
are known at Cairo as the dSmeree.
The Ibr^emee are from Nubia.

Fooah has given its name to the
madder, which was first planted there.
It continued to be long a flourishing
town; and Belon describes it in the

15tb century, 6fty years after the con-
quest of Sultan Selim, as second only
to Cairo.

During the wars of the Crusaders,
tlie Christians penetrated into Egypt
as fur as Fooah, in the reign of Melek
Adel ; and having plundered and burnt
the town, retired with much booty.

DtBtoSk is well known in modem
times for the f^te celebrated there in
honour of Shekh Ibrahim e' Des-
so6kee, a Moslem saint, who holds
the second rank in the Egyptian ca-
lendar, neit to the Sayd el Beddowee
of Tanta.

At e* Rahmanelfh was the entrance
of an old canal that went to Alex-
andria; which some suppose to be the
andent Canopic branch, placing Nau-
cratis at this town. £* Rahmandeh
was a fortified post of the French
when in Egypt, and was taken by
the English in May 1801, previous
to their march upon Cairo.

SaU. — The lofty mounds of Sals
are seen to the N. of the village of
Sa-el-Hagar, *< Sa of the Stone," so
called from the remains of the old
town ; which are now confined to a
few broken blocks, some ruins of
houses, and a large enclosure, sur-
rounded by massive crude brick walls;
These last are about 70 feet thick,
and of very solid construction. Be-
tween the courses of bricks are layers
of reeds, intended to serve as binders ;
and I have been assured that hiero-
glyphics have been met with on some
of the bricks, which may perhaps,
contain the name of the place, or of
the king by whom the walls were
built. I cannot, however, affirm that
this is really the case, not having
been able to find them myself, but
others may be more fortunate in their
search.

These walls enclose a space mea-
suring 2325 feet by 1960; the north
side of which is occupied by the lake
mentioned by Herodotus, where cer-
tain mysterious ceremonies were per-
formed in honour of Osiris. As he
j says it was of circular form, and it is

no BOUTS 6. — ALBXANDBIA TO ATFEH AND CAIBO. SeCt. L

now long and irregular, we may con-
clude that it has since encroached on
part of the temenot or sacred enclo-
sure, where the temple of Minerva
and the tombs of the Saite kings
stood. The site of the temple ap-
pears to have been in the low open
space to the W., and part3 of the
wall of its temenos may be traced on
two sides, which was about 720 feet
in breadth, or a little more than that
around the temple of Tanis. To the
£. of it are mounds, with remains
of crude brick houses, the walls of
which are partially standing, and here
and there bear evident signs of having
been burnt This part has received
the name of "el Kala,'* "the citadel,"
from its being higher than the rest,
and from the appearance of two mas-
sive buildings at the upper and lower
end, which seem to have been in-
^nded for defence. It is not impos-
sible that this was tlie royal palace.
Below it to the S. is a low space,
now cultivated, and nearly on tlie
same level as the area where I su)>-
pose the temple to have stood.

The water of the lake is used for
irrigating this spot, but it is generally
dried up from the end of May until
the next inundation fills the canals.
On its banks, particularly at the
western extremity, grow numerous
reeds, and when full of water it is
frequented by wild ducks and other
water fowl, now the only inhabitants
of ancient Sais.

On a low mound, between 800
and 900 feet from the N. E. corner
of the walls, beyond a large modern
canal, are a block of granite and psrt
of a sarcophagus ; to the S. is an-
other mound, with a Shekh*s tomb ;
and beyond this are the ruins of
houses. They are distant about 1000
feet from the walls of the large enclo-
sure, and are doubtless the remains
of the ancient town, the S. extremity
of which is occupied by the present
village. Here too are some ancient
tombs.

There are no remains of sculp-

ture amidst the modem or ancient
bouses, except fragments in the two
mosks, and at the door of a bouse ;
which last has the name of king
Psamaticus 1 1. , tlie goddess Neith,
and the town of Ssa, or Sals.

Sais was a city of great importance,
particularly during the reigns of the
Saite kings, who ruled Egypt about
150 years, until the Persian invasion
under Cambyses; and some claim
for it the honour of having been the
parent of a colony, which founded
the city of Athens in 1556 a. c, and
introduced the worship of Minerva on
the shores of Greece.

At Sa'is were tlie sepulchres of all
the kings of Egypt, natives of the
Sa'ite nome. They stood in the teme-
not, or sacred enclosure, of the tem-
ple of Minerva ; and it was here that
the unfortunate Apries and his rival
Amasis were both buried. The
tomb of Apries was near the temple,
on the left, entering the tetnenos :
tliat of Amasis stood farther from the
temple than those of Apries and bis
predecessors, in the vestibule of this
enclosure. It consisted of a large
stone chamber, adorned with columns
in imitation of palm trees, and other
ornaments, within which was an (iso-
lated) stone receptacle, with double
doors (at each end), contiuning tlie
sarcophagus. It was from tliis tomb
that Cambyses is said to have taken
the body of Amasis ; which, aAer be
had scourged and insulted it, he or-
dered to be burnt, though the Egyp-
tians assured Herodotus that the
body of some other person had been
substituted instead of the king*s«
" They also show,** continues the
historian, **the. sepulchre of him
(Osiris) whom I do not think it
right here to mention. It stands in
the sacred enclosure, behind the tern*
pie of Minerva, reaching along the
whole extent of its wall. In this
temenos are several large stone obe-
lisks ; and near it a lake cased with
stone, of a circular form, and about
the sixe of that at Delo% called Trt>-

Egypt.

BOTJTE 6. — 8AXS. — SEPULCHRES.

Ill

choTdes. On this lake are represented
at night the sufferings of him, con-
cerning whom, though much is known
to me, I shall preserre strict silence,
except as far as it may be right for
me to speak. The Egyptians call
them mysteries. I shall obsenre the
same caution with regard to the in-
stitutions of Ceres, called Thesmo-
phoria, which were brought from
Egypt by the daughters of Danaiis,
and afterwards taught by them to
the Pelasgic women." Sals was the
place where the ** fete of burning
lamps** was particularly '< celebrated
during a certain night, when eYcry
one lighted lamps in the open air
around his house. They were small
cups full of salt (and neater?) and
oil, with a floating wick which lasted
all night. Strangers went to Sals
from difierent parts of Egypt to assist
at this ceremony ; but those who
oould not be present lighted lamps
at their own homes, so that the fes-
liTal was kept, not only at Sais, but
throughout the country.'*

I have already mentioned the spot
which appears to have been occupied
by the temple of Minerva ; and it is
probable that in excavating there, its
exact position and plan might be as-
certained. *' Amasis added to it some
▼ery beautiful propy/«a, exceeding all
others both in height and extent, as
well as in the dimensions of the stones
and other respects. He also placed
there several large colossi and andro-
spbinxes, and brought numerous
blocks of extraordinary size to re-
pair the temple, some from the quar-
ries near Memphis, and the largest
from Elephantine, a distance of 20
days* Mil from Sais^

•* But,** adds Herodotus, «< what I
admire most is an edifice of a single
block brought from the latter place :
8000 men, all boatmen, were em-
ployed three years in its transport to
Sals. It is 21 cubits long externally,
14 broad, 8 high ; and its measure-
ments within are 16 cubits 20 digits
long, 12 broad, and 5 high. It stands

at the entrance of the sacred enclo-
sure : and the reason given by the
Egyptians for its not liaving been ad-
mitted is, that Amasis, hearing the
architect utter a sigh, as if fatigued
with the length of time employed
and the labour he had undergone,
considered it so bad an omen, that he
would not allow it to be taken any
farther; though others affirm that* it
was in consequence of a man having
been crushed, while moving it with
levers." At Sais was also a colossus
dedicated by Amasis, 75 feet long,
similar in size and proportion to one
he placed before the temple of Pthah
at Memphis, which was lying on its
back ; and the grand palace of the
kings in the same city, which Apries
left to attack Amasis, and to which
he afterwards returned a prisoner, is
another of the interesting monuments
mentioned at Ssls.

The Egyptian name of this city
was Ssa, which is retained in the
modem Sa; and the Sals of ancient
writers was the same, with a Greek
termination. It is about a mile from
the Nile, on the right bank, and in
order to save time, if the Nile is
low, the traveller may land when in
a line with the mounds, and send his
boat to wait for htm at the bend of
the river near Kodabeh, about 1^
miles higher up. During the inun-
dation the plahi is partly flooded and
intersected with canals, which are
not forded without inconvenience be-
fore November.

Seven or eight miles inland to the
W. from Dahreeb, between Nikleh
and Shab6or, is Rams^es, on the Da-
manbo6r canal, where report speaks
of a few stone remains, though I hear
they have been lately removed to
build a bridge, or for some other pur-
pose. They, as well as the name,
mark the Kite of an ancient town,
which would be of very great interest,
were it on tlie E. instead of the W.
side of the Delta. This Rams^es, or
rather its predecessor, is unnoticed by
profane writers, and it is too far from

1 12 BOUTE 6. — ALEXANDRIA TO ATFEH AND CAIRO. SeCt. I.

the spot where the Israelites lived, to
have any claim to the title of one of
the two treasure cities, Pithom and
Rameses, mentioned in Exodus. And,
indeed, Rameses is expressly stated
to have been the place whence the
Israelites took their departure for
Succoth, and Etham at the edge of
the Wilderness, on their way to the
Red Sea.

Wild boars frequent some of the
islands in the Rosetta branch, but
they are difficult to find, without ex-
perienced guides. Traces of an old
canal, running to the N. N. W., by
sonofle supposed to be the Canopic
branch of the Nile, may be seen above
Nig^Ieh, which is traditionally called
the Bahr Yoosef. It has been lately
enlarged, and joined by tlie new canal,
opened five or six miles above Ter&neh,
and is used to carry water to the plain
of the Bahayreh, and even to supply
the Mahmooid^eh during the summer.
Not far from this should be the site
of Gynaecopolis and Andropolis, by
some supposed to be the same city.

About two or three miles to the
westward of Kom-Sher^k are the
mounds of an ancient town, on the
canal. Some stone remains were
found there a few years since, in dig-
ging for nitre, but were speedily taken
away, which is the fate of every frag-
ment of masonry as soon as discovered.
The mounds arc called Tel el odilmeh
(** of the bones '* ), from the bodies
found buried amidst them. A little
higher up is Tar^eh, near which are
other mounds, and the branch of a
canal, which follows the course of the
ancient Lycus canalU^ that ran towards
the lake Mareotis. Some suppose
Momemphis to have stood here ; but
as it was near the road to the Natron
Lakes, it is more likely t<i have been
at £1 Boorag&t, or Kafr Daoot, near
the former of which are the mounds
of an old town of considerable sise.
At Aboo-Ukh&wee and Shaboor are
the shallowest parts of the Rosetta
branch, which in summer are barely
passable for large boaU. About Na-

der, on the E. bank, are many wild
boars, which are found in many other
parts of the Delta, particularly in the
low marsh lands to the N., and al>out
the lake Mensaleh, as well as in the
Fyoom.

Ter&neh is the successor of Tere-
nuthis. About 1) mile to the W.,
beyond the canal, are mounds of con*
siderable extent, which probably mark
its ancient bite: and it is from this
place that the road leads from the
Nile to the Natron Lakes. The in-
habitants of Ter&neh are principally
employed in bringing the natron from
the desert, the whole of which is
farmed from die Pasha by Signor
Gibarra ; and to this is attributable
the prosperous condition of that village.
The lakes are distant from Ter6neh
about twelve hours' journey. (See
Route 14. Section II.)

Near Lekhmas are other mounds,
perhaps of the city of Menelaus ; so
called, not from the Greek hero, but
from the brother of the first Ptolemy ;
and between Aboo-Nishibce and
Beni-Sal&meh is the entrance of the
new canal, cut by Mohammed Ali in
1 820, which, as before stated, carries
the water to that of Alexandria.

The traveller descries the Pyramids
for the first time, from the shore, a
little above Werd&n, when about due
west of Ashmoon ; and hereabouts
the desert has invaded the soil on the
west bank, and even poured its drifled
sand into the Nile. At Ashmoon or
Oshmoun are lofty mounds, but no
sculptured remains. A little beyond
Aboo-Gh£leb the pyramids are seen
from the river, and continue in sight
the remainder of the voyage to Cairo.
About two miles below, or N. W. of
Om-e*deen&r, is tlie spot where the
works for tlie proposed barrage of the
Nile have been commenced; and
about the same distance above that
village is the southern point, or apex,
of the Delta. Here the Nile divides
itself into the two branches of Rosetta
and Damietta ; though the increasinf^
shallowness of the passage between

JSgypt BOXITE 6. — ALEXANDRIA. TO ATFEH AND CAIRO. 113

the point, and the island to the south,
will soon place the commenceroent
of the Delta about two miles funher
south. Dearly opposite the Tillage of
Meniaheh.

The object of the barrage is to re-
tain the water of the Nile, in order
that it may be used for irrigating the
lands, when the inundation has retired,
and supply the place of water-wheels,
which add so much to the expense of
cultivation. One dam is to be thrown
across the Rosetta, another across the
Damietta, branch ; a large canal is to
be carried direct through the centre
of the Delta, and the quantity of water
allowed to pass into this, and the two
branches of the river, is to be regulated
by means of sluices, according to cir-
cumstances. A slight change is also
to be made in the course of the Nile,
so as to cut off a useless angle below
Elafr Mansoor on the western, and
another above Shoobra-Sbab^eh on
the eastern, branch ; and the canal for
irrigating the plain between Belbays
and Bubastis, communicating with
that of Tel el Wadee,48 to Ivave the
Nile at Shelaiuln.

By these means, the want of water
during the low Nile, a deficient inun-
dation, and the great loss of water
suffered to run oflT uselessly into the
sea, will be obviated ; and the addi-
tional effect will be obtained of in-
creasing the height of the river, above
the barrage, during the inundation,
so as to enable it to irrigate lands of
every level. The barrage of the Ro-
setta branch is to consist of a massive
atone dam, with 24 arches SO feet
broad, and a large central arch 92 feet
broad, to allow the passage of the
principal volume of water. The dam
of the Damietta branch is to have
16 arches, SO feet broad, with a large
central arch. The principal arches
of both dams are to be always kept
open, but the lateral arches are to be
closed during the low Nile j by which
means sufficient water will be afforded
to supply the canals intended for the
irrigation of the interior.

Many delays have occurred, from
various causes, to prevent the com-
pletion of this gigantic undertaking.
M. Linant, by whom it has been pro-
jected and commenced, has been fre-
quently ordered to abandon, and as
oflen desired to continue, the works ;
and fear of disasters from tiie volume
of water thus withheld, a political
apparition, or the intrigues of in-
dividuals, have at times interfered to
prevent its completion. It is far from
my wish to presume to decide on the
probability of its success ; the pressure
of so enormous a body of water will
require precautions of no ordinary
kind, to prevent the river's carrying
away, or piercing through, the banks
at the haunches or abutments of the
stone dam ; and, being of alluvial
soil, they will be exposed to danger both
from the force of the water against
the bank, and by its filtration beneath
the surface. If the dam abutted on
either side oa rock, this would be
effectually obviated, and the only
thing then required would be the soli-
dity of the dam itself, and the firm-
ness of its well-founded piers: but
the construction of a dam in alluvial
soil appears to present difficulties,
and even dangers to the country, which
the most wonderful skill can alone
overcome.

In former times, the point of the
Delta was much more to the south
than at present. Cercasora, in the
LStopolite nome, which was just above
it on the west bank, stood, according
to Strabo, nearly opposite, or west of
Heliopolis, close to the observatory
of Eudoxus. In Herodotus's time,
the river had one channel as far as
Cercasora; but below that town it
divided itself into three branches,
which took different directions : one,
the Pelusiac, going to the east;
another, the Canopic, turning off to
the west ; and the third going straight
forward, in the direction of its previous
course through Egypt to the point of
(be Delta, which it divided in twain
as it ran to the sea. It was not less

114 BOUTE 6. — ALEXANDRIA TO ATFEH AND CAIRO. SeCt. L

connderable in the Yolume of its
water, nor less celebrated than the
other two, and was called the Seben-
nytic branch ; and from it two others,
the Sa'itic and Mendesian, were de-
rived, emptying themselves into the
sea by two distinct mouths.

After passing the palace of Shoobra,
the distinct appearance of the numer-
ous minarets of Cairo announces to
the traveller his approach to the
Egyptian capital, and he soon enters
a crowd of boats before the Custom-
house of BooUk.

Bool&k, the port of Cairo, con-
tained, in 1833, a population of about
5000 souls. It formerly stood on an
island, where Macrisi says sugar-cane
was cultivated ; and the old channel
which passed between it and Cairo
may still be traced in parts, particularly
to the northward, about half-way from
the Shoobra road. The filling up of
this channel has removed Cairo farther
from tlie Nile, and has given to Boo-
l£k the rank and advantages of a
port Here the duties on exports and
imports to and from Alexandria are
levied ; those on goods from Upper
Egypt being received at the port of
Musrel Ateekeh (Old Cairo); and
the whole are farmed by some wealthy
Copt or Armenian merchant. 12
per cent, is in like manner exacted at
Asouan on all goods entering Egypt
from Ethiopia. All merchandise
which has not passed the custom-
houses of Old Cairo or Bool&k, are
stopped at the gates of Cairo, as at
the barriiret of Paris and other
French towns; and the Egyptians
have to thank the French for this
silly and oppressive mode of taxation.

But the revival of the new treaty
has once more freed all European
imports, after they have once paid the
5 per cent., from further duties in the
interior ; and those levied at Boolik
and Old Cairo are confined to the
productions of tlie country. The
traveller may therefore console him-
self with the feeling that he is not
amenable to the scrutiny of the cus-

tom-house of BooUk, or any other
place after leaving Alexandria; and
if any obstruction is offered, he should
immediately represent it to the con-
sulate, and require the punishment of
the offenders.

At Boolik is the palace of Ismail
Pasha, who was killed in the pro-
vince of Shendy, little more than 20
years ago. He had ventured with a
small suite of about 50 persons into
the heart of the country, and had
ordered a considerable number of
Blacks to be levied by the chief, Me-
lek Nimr, for the service of his father
Mohammed Ali, within the short
space of 3 days : and on the Ethio-
pian requesting a longer period, he
struck him on the mouth with his
pipe, adding insult to the blow. The
wily Nimr dissembled his feelings,
and by pretended respect and con-
cern for the comfort of so distin-
guished a guest, engaged the young
Pasha to pass the night on shore ;
when preparations were speedily made
for satiating his revenge. A large
quantity of reeds were collected about
the house, on pretence of feeding the
camels; and in the dead of the
night, surrounded by flames, and a
countless host of furious Ethiopians,
the Pasha and his party were over-
whelmed without the possibility oi
resistance or escape.

Many other palaces and country
houses are seen in the vicinity, and
Mohammed Ali has expressed a widi
that each of the principal grandees
sliould erect a k<ur (or villa) on tb«
plain beteen Bool4k and Shciobra, as
well as a house at Cairo ; with the
double motive of fixing their property
in the country, and of displaying to
foreign visiters tlie riches they haTe
derived from his bounty, and the pros-
perous state of the country be rules.
On one of the mounds on the N.E.
side of Bool&k is an observatory, call-
ed Bayte* Uussud.

On arriving at Bool&k, the travel-
ler had better engage a camel, or more,
according to the quantity of his lug-

EgupU

ROUTE 6. — BOOLAK.

115

gage, and proceed immediately to
Cairo. He will pay about 7 piastres
for two camels, and for a donkey to
the inn at Cairo 1 piastre. After
passing through some of the narrow
streets of Boolik be arrives at an open
space, where the road turns to the left
ciirect to Cairo ; and the citadel, the
nu^i(e of the Mokuttum hiils, and
the minarets of Cairo, now open to
his view. This road has been grestly
improved within the last ten years,
the earth taken from the mounds hav-
ing been used to raise it, and the
ground on either side levelled and
partly planted with trees. The re-
moval of the mounds on the W.
side of Cairo has been undoubtedly
one of the most useful works per-
formed by the Pasha, both for the
appearance and health of the city ;
and some idea may be had of the
greatness of the undertaking from
those that still remain on the other side.
The entrance to Cairo from Boo-
Uk is by the gate of the Usbek^eb,
an extensive square, containing about
450,000 square feet ; nearly the whole
of which used to be, during the inun-
dation, one large sheet of water. In
the following spring it became a com*
field, with the exception of that part
appropriated to a military esplanade.
Within the last few years a canal has
been cut round it, in order to keep
the water from the centre, though
from the lowness of its level much
still ooses through to its surface,
during the high Nile; and it has
been laid out partly as a garden, and
partly as fields, with trees planted
on the banks of the canal that sur-
rounds it. A broad road leads
through the centre, from the entrance
to the opposite side, passing over a
bridge at either end ; and it is in con-
templation to establish a Turkish caftf
on one side, and a European one on
the other, for the convenience of the
natives and the Franks. On the W.
aide, or the left as you pass through
the gate, is the palace of the late Mo-
hammed Bey Defterd&r, in whose

garden the unfortunate Kleber wis
assassinated ; and on the south are the
hareem of the Paabn, the house of
Ahmed Pasha T^er, and other
buildings ; offering a pleaung con-
trast to the gloomy abodes of the
Copts, which form the northern side.
These, as well as all the other houses
of Cairo have been lately white- washed
by order of the Pasha, to the destruc-
tion of the Oriental character of the
town ; and as a security against fire,
no more picturesque wooden miiffftre-
h€ihMy or latticed balconies, are to be
made.

Mohammed Bey Defterd&r, or, as
he is called by Europeans, the Def-
terdiir Bey, was the son-in-law of
Mohammed All, whose daughter,
Niisleh H&nem, he married. He was
well known for his savage disposition
and the many cruelties he perpetrated,
both in Cairo, and when commanding
in Senn&r and Kordofan ; and his
death in 1833 was hailed, as might be
expected, with universal satisfaction.
He was a man of some talent, and
was more accomplished than the
generality of Turks; but this su-
periority only served to add to his
condemnation for the cruelties he de-
lighted in committing, which could
not be palliated by the excuse of ig-
norance. It would neither be desir-
able nor agreeable to enumerate all
the follies and cruelties of this man,
many of which were done for the
pleasure of sustaining the fame he
had acquired for madness, as well as
from real savageness of disposition :
a single example will suflSce. On
one occasion a black slave of his had
bought some milk from a poor woman,
and after drinking it had refused the
payment of 5 paras, which was the
price of the quantity he had taken.
The woman, finding who he was,
complained to his master. The boy
was sent for, but denied the accusa-
tion. The Defterdiir inquired of the
woman if she was positive he had
drunk the milk ; and on her answer-
ing in tlie affirmative, he said, ** I will

116 ROUTE 6. — ALEXAKDRIA TO ATFEH AND CAIRO. ScCt I.

soon discover the truth ; but if yoii
have accused him falsely, I will treat
you io the same manner I now treat
him.*' Upon this he ordered his
stomach to be cut open ; and on dis-
covering the milk threw her the 5
paras, with the exulting feeling that
no one should dare to deceive him, or
forget his power.

The same thing had once been done
by Sultan Bajazet, and it was no
doubt partly in imitation of what he
had read in the history of his country,
with which he was well acquainted,
and partly from the natural tendency
of his disposition, that this savage ex-
pedient occurred to him.

Not content with continuing to
exercise the right of life and death,
which Mohammed Ali had openly de-
clared to be no longer vested in any
chief, he even pretended to defy the
Piyiha, of whose indulgence towards
the husband of his daughter, and con-
sideration for his station, he had the
bad taste to take advantage; till at
length his father-in-law took from
him all command, and confined him
to one of his estates, where death put
an end to his career, without exciting
any other regret than that it had not
happened many years earlier.

Notwithstanding the cruelty of his
disposition, some were found to ex-
cuse, and even to commend him for
the love of justice that prompted his
savage puni^ments, which, they add,
were not inflicted on the poor, but on
men who had been their oppressors ;
so that the rule of the Defterdar,
however dreaded by those in power,
was always welcome to the peasants,
who were sure to find redress for the
conduct of their shekhs and Turkish
governors.

In the square of the Usbek^eh the
Moolcd e* Nebbee, or ** Prophet's
birth-day," and some other fites, are
held; and here, during the former ;
ceretnony, the Saadeeh (the modem i
Psylli), exhibit the juggling per-
formance of tearing with their teeth

the living asps they carry in proces-
sion ; while their s^ekh, mounted on
a horse, rides over the bodies of a
number of fanatics, who prostrate
themselves on the ground for the pur-
pose, and suppose themselves ben»^
fited in proportion to the pain they
endure. None, however, will ac-
knowledge that they suffer, or are at
all sensible of being trodden upon by
the hoofs of the blessed animal ; and
the same kind of enthusiasm enables
them to deny the pain, which, of old,
induced the votaries of Mars to bear
the blows they received at the fete of
Papremis.

Having traversed the Uzbek6eh,
the traveller is hurried on to the
Frank quarter, a short distance off,
where an enormous board, to the sur-
prise of the Faithful, bestrides the
street, in order to point out the
British Hotel. A turn to the left,
down the Derb el Bar&bra, soon
brings him to this hotel, where, if he
is on his way to India, there is every
reason to suppose he will put up.
Passing through the court, he sees
the various preparations for a journey
across the desert. Here part of a
tilted cart, wheels, and other things
are on the eve of completion, to make
up tlie complement of carriages which
the increasing numbers of passengers
to India are constantly requiring.
In another place a row of covered
chairs (a sort of hybrid between a se-
dan and a bathing chair) awaits the
ladies of the party, and a lynx pacing
backwards and forwards in a cage, an
ostrich spatiating about the court, and
Eabtern and Frank costumes add to
the variety of the scene. If he is so
unfortunate as to arrive with many
other passengers, and is neither among
the first, nor has sent any one before
him to secure rooms, he will be
obliged to put up with the disagree-
able inconvenience of having another
person in tlie same bed-room, and a
sitting-room will be quite out of the
question.

117

SECTION II.

CAIRO.

Content$^

a. Hotels. 1^6. Housss. — c Scrtants. — d, Hoasvs akd Assxs. — c.
Placss or ruBLic exsort. —f, Qoickkst modi op bixino Cairo and tuk
Nkiohbourhood. — g. Boats. — A. History or Cairo. — t. Tux Citadcl.
— j. Orucvtal Character op ths Town. — A. Mosks, — Early poimtxd
Archcs. — Morostan or Mad-uouss. — Bab Zooatlxh.— t Tombs op
THx Caliphs OP Egypt. — m. Tombs op tux Baharitx Mkmlook Kings.
— It. Tombs op thx Circassian Mxmlook Kings. — Tombs op tuk Mbm-

LOOKS. O. SlBXKLS, OR PUBLIC FoONTAINS. — p, PaLACXS. — q, StRKKTS.

— r. Capks. — Punch. — «. Baths. — /. Slayx Markxt.— m. Bazaars,

— pRicxs or Goods AT Cairo.*— r. Quartxrs op Cairo. — w. Wails
ANB ExTXNT OP Cairo. — Canal. — X. Gatxs. — y. Antiquitiks in
Cairo. — z. Population. — Dogs. — aa, Fxstiyals and Sights at Cairo.

— Pilgrim AGK to Mxcca. — Opxnino thx Canal or Old Cairo. — Tux
Propubt*s Birthday. — Fxtxs. — bh, Thx Magician. — ee. Institutions
op THX Pasha. — Schools. — dd, Intxrnal Administration. — Poucx. —
Courts op Jusncx. — ee. Thx Mahkkmxh, or Cadi*s Court.

Excursion 1. — a. Old Cairo. — h. Nilometer and Isle of Roda.^e. Kasr

el Ainee, and College of Derwisbes ; — Kasr Dubarra.
Excursions. — a. Heliopolis. — b. Petrified Wood.
Excursion 3. — Gardens and Palace of Shoobra.
Excursion 4. — Pyramids of Geexeh, Sakk&ra, and Memphis.

ROUTE

7 Cairo to Suex

8 Cairo to Mount Sinai

9 Mount Sinai to £1 Akaba ;
Petra; Hebron

10 Cairo to Syria

1 1 Cairo by water to Damietta

12 Cairo by water to Mensa-
leh and Tanis

IS Cairo by water to Bu-
bastisy Pbarbsthus, and
Tanis . - - -

14 Cairo to the Natron Lakes
and Bahr el Fargh -

207
212

220
222
224

280

236

239

ROUtX

15 Cairo to the Seewah, or
Oasis of Ammon
Cairo to the Fyo6m
Mede^neh to Benisooef -
Cairo to the Little Oasis,
Great Oasis, and the Oasis
of Dakhleh, by the Fyo6m
Cairo to the Convents of
St. Antony and St Paul and
other parts of the Eastern
Desert north of Kossayr .

(For the Desert south of Kossayr, see
Routes 16, 17, 18.)

16
17
18

246
249
256

257

268

a. uotxls.
The first hotel for some years was
Kill's, now the British. But there are
two others, one the Hotel d'Orient,

\^'7.'-<C''^ /

/ •

on the N. side of the Uxbek^eh. and
Levick*s in the Wisat e' Geer, about
half-way between the Uzbek^eb and
the British Hotel,

118

CAIRO. — HOTELS — HOUSES.

Sect. n.

Of the charges I cannot speak po-
sitively ; but the following, which
were made at Hill's, may serve to
give some idea of the arrangements
on this head at a Cairo Hotel.

Flast

► -

- 20

Board and lodging including*]

a bed- room for each person y -
per day

Children under 10 years of
age, for board and lodging
each per day

Servants' board and lodging
per day '

Wines, &c. — Rose Cham- | ^ ^^

paigne, per bottle J '

White Cbampaigne, Ditto - 40

Charapaigne, Ditto -> SO

Claret Ditto - 35

Burgundy, Ditto - 27

Hermitage, Ditto - 27

Madeira, Ditto - 27

Port, Ditto - 25

Sherry, Ditto - 25

Bronti, Ditto - 15

Marsala, Ditto - 15

Frontignac, Ditto - 12

Bordeaux, Ditto - 12

French wine, Ditto - 4

Brandy, Ditto - 15

Rum, Ditto - 15

Whiskey, Ditto - 20

Hollands, Ditto - 12
Ale, porter, and \
stout J

Cider Ditto - 10

Soda Water, Ditto - 5

Porterage charged to each"!

person on leaving this Ho> I - 5
tel. J

Boato, camels, asses, tents, saddles,
chairs, water-skins, &c., provided.

Provisions of all kinds supplied.

Dinners for private parties.

All orders for payments or purchases
to be given in writing.

^^gings may also be found at
Carlo Peni*s, near tbe British consu-
late,^ who keeps a large store of re^
quisitesfor a journey in Upper Egypt;
and there is a small inn opposite

Ditto . 8

the palace of Ahmed Paslia Taher,
behind the Uzbek^eh (to the S. £.)
frequented by English, and reason-
able.

The Giardino, or French hotel,
kept by Doumergue, in the French
Street, is cheap, but it has no very
good rooms. The charges are 30
piastres a day, including a room,
breakfast, lunch at noon, and dinner
at the table dkdU in the evening, with
vin ordinaire^ other wines being
charged according to the carte. It
is mostly patronised by French and
Italians. In former times it was the
only hotel that travellers frequented ;
with the exception of an indifferent
one (no longer existing) in the same
street ; and some took up their abode
at the Latin convenL

There is a trattoria opposite the
main guard, in the principal street of
the Frank quarter, or Moskee, kept
by Pietro Chiesa, which is frequented
by Italians and others. It is reputed
by them not bad, and of course mo*
derate. There is also an hotel in the
same street, kept by Guerra, but not
first-rate, and, I have no doubt, seldom
visited by English travellers. Tbe
rest are not worthy of notice.

Four houses of the late Osroan
Effendi in the Soog e* ZuUut, are also
let furnished, and one floor or set of
rooms may be had at from 5 to 8
piastres a day, or by the month at
about 1 50 piastres. It consists of a
bed- room, sitting-room, and kitchen ;
the hdthf or entrance court below,
being common to all who live in the
bouse. Tbe largest has only two
floors.

6. HOUSES AT CAIBO.

House rent in the Turkish qnarter
varies from about SO to 1 20 piastres
a month. Some small houses iu out-
of-the-way places let even at 10 or
15, and some large ones at 900.
The average rent of good houses
there may bie rated at from 50 to 100,
and the latter may be considered,
generally speaking, a full price ; un-

Cairo.

HOTELS — HOUSES.

119

less beyond tbe usual size, or fitted up
with glass windows, and other extra
conTeniences. In the Frank quarter
and the Wcinity they are dearer, vary-
ing from 100 piastres to 250 a month ;
and the British Hotel was let for
20,000 piastres (200^) a year, or at
1 667 piastres a month.

This great increase in price is partly
owing to the great fire of 18S8 hav-
ing destroyed many houses in the
Frank quarter, which their owners
have never been able to rebuild, and
which are still in ruins ; partly to
the influx of strangers who occupy so
many more than formerly ; and partly
to their owners finding that strangers
make little difficulty in paying Urge
prices, whenever they are asked. It
is to these two last causes also that
must be attributed the increase in the
prices of so many other things, as
boat-hire, servants* wages, and the
like; while in the Turkish quarter,
beyond the influence of Europeans,
prices have only risen in proportioif
to the decreased value of the piastre.

Those who, coming from India on
two years* leave, wish to stay in Egypt,
may find houses which can be made
comfortable at a trifling expense. It
would, perhaps, not be worth while
for a month or two; but the total
expense for furniture, alterations, and
rent, would be very little at the end
of a year. Generally speaking, the
houses are in a very uncomfortable
state, and for vrinter scarcely habit-
able ; it is, therefore, necessary to put
in glass windows, and iotroduce va-
rious little improvements, besides fur-
nishing the rooms, and making re-
pairs. It will he as well to come to
an understanding with the owner of
the house, that the substitution of glass
windows, or other alterations, shall
not entail upon you the necessity of
replacing all the original wood* work ;
and if be has any scruples about the
matter, it had better be stipulated that
he shall take it away, or lock it up
himself in some closet of the house.

It is the uncomfortable state of

houses at Cairo that prevents many
invalids going from Europe to that
excellent climate for the winter ; and
unless a friend prepared one before*
hand, in vain would they hope to meet
with a Cairo house fit for a winter's
residence. If no friend could be
found to perform this charitable office,
the best plan would be to go to an
hotel at Cairo, and after having fixed
upon a house, to request some one to
overlook the repairs and alterations,
and then go into Upper Egypt (if not
inclined to stay at the hotel), while
they were fi^oing on. The best houses
are in the Frank and Copt quarters.

That Cairo is well adapted fbr those
who require a mild climate is certain,
and many English medical men would
send patients to Egypt, as did those
of ancient Rome, provided houses could
be found ready for their reception.
Unfortunately the natives are too poor
to fit them up ; and the Europeans
settled there are so prone to impose on
strangers, that it is hopeless to depend
upon, or appiv to, them to procure a
house ; therefore, if a man wishes to be
comfortable, and not to be cheated,
be had better go and arrange matters
for himself.

In hiring houses one thing should
be remembered, of which European
strangers are seldom aware, that a
house at Cairo lets much below the
average rent, if without the advantage
of a well, or a court yard; and one
which would let with a well at 40 pias-
tres wcftild not be taken by a native
for more than 30 ; ahd that of 100
piastres would not fetch more' than 75
or 80. The cost of making a well is
very little, not being more titan 500
to 700 piastres, according to the
depth.

In looking at empty houses, the
most disagreeable result is being
covered with fleas, which it is next to
impossible to avoid. A Turk, in
mentioning the subject, recommended
that three or four/elZaAs should be
first sent through the rooms, to carry
off the hundreds that lay in wait for

120

CAIRO. — SERVANTS.

Sect. n.

the first comer ; by these means he
could Tenture in, with the prospect
of being attacked only by tlie doxent,
which might be more patiently en-
dured.

After having agreed respecting the
price, a fee is expected for the pos-
session of the key, or right of entry,
which is usually a month's hire ; un-
less a bargain be made to reduce this
extraordinary demand.

The washing and sweeping, and in
winter the covering the open wood-
work of windows, will occupy some
days, before possession can be taken
of the empty rooms, which must be
well matted before they become habit-
able and ready for diwoiM, or whatever
other furniture may be put into them.

If a house is taken in the Turkish
quarter by a bachelor, or one having
no hareim, the neighbours may, as
they frequently do, object to his occu-
pying it ; in which case the only re-
medy (besides abandoning it, in the
hopes of finding other less fastidious
neighbours) is to get some person of
respectability to talk them over, by
representing the intended occupant
as a man of good character, who is
not likely to shock their feelings. In
the event of their still objecting, and
the house suiting him well, he may
look out for some liberated black slave
who will act as cook, and who, how-
ever old, may, under the cover of a
Cairene woman's dress, lie denomi-
nated a hare&n, without their having
the right to ask any further questions.
• It must, however, be observed, that no
native maid-servant is allowed to take
service in tlte house of a bachelor ;
though this is sometimes overlooked
by the shekh of the quarter, through
particular persuasion, and on the pro-
mise that she shall be a properly con-
ducted person, whose conduct shall
notexcite the displeasure of tlie neigh-
bours ; the consequence of the dis-
covery by the police entailing on the
shekh a bastinado, and the same on
the woman herself, as a substitute
for the old custom of putting her into

a sack, and throwing her into the
Nile.

In buying houses, the price varies
very much in different quarters, and
depends, of course, on their sixe. In
the Turkish quarters they vary from
5000 to 80,000 piastres. It may be
generally considered that they pay
an annual rent of five per cent. ; aod
a house is thought to be a good bar-
gain which repays the purchase-money
iu twenty years. No European can
legally buy a house.

c. SXaVANTS.

The monthly pay of servants at
t^airo is a little less than at Alex-
andria. Turkish and Frank servants
are much the same at both places.

Native servant, speaking DoU«ri'
Italian or Engluh • 12 to 15
and even - - to 20

Native servant of all work, '^••''w-

speaking a little Italian 100 to 150
Native servant of all work,

speaking only Arabic - SO to GO
Native man-«ook, speak-
ing only Arabic - 50 to 100
The Moh^ddum, or head

servant - - - 50 to 100
Porter, bowab - - 15 to SO
Sukha^ or water-carrier in

the house - • 10 to SO

SyU or SdMt groom, (his

office is also to go out

with the hartem, if there

is no Mokuddum) - 25 to 45
SyiB or Sets, groom, if not

fed bx his master - 45 to 120
Servants of all work, in

tlie houses of Turks

and natives - - 10 to 30
Women servants * - 10 to 50

These are all fed by their masters,
unless arrangements are nude that
they should provide themselves; in
which case an allowance is given, of
about a piastre to 1) piastre a day.
If a servant has been tried for some
time and gives satisfaction, be ia usu-
ally clothed by his master, but this is

Egypt,

HORSES — ASSES.

121

looked upon as a favour, and a re»
ward for good behaviour ; and the only
thing required oF the master is a pair
of shoes every jthree months, if em-
ployed in much out-of-doors service.

It is as well not to trust too much
to the honesty of servants.

Among the servants of Egypt,
some of course possess recommen-
dations, vrhich make them preferable
for the traveller ; as, besides honesty
and activity, a knowledge of Upper
Egypt, of the requisites for a jour-
ney, and of the habits and languages
of Europeans, are indispensable. It
cannot be supposed that all the com-
parative excellencies of each are suffi-
ciently known, to enable me Co point
out those who are positively the best ;
but without excluding others from the
merit of possessing proper qualifica-
tions, I may mention the names of
some, who, from having been long in
the service of travellers, are particu-
larly deserving of recommendation :
as Hagee Sulaym&n, formerly caw&ss
of the British and Sardinian consu-
lates; Mahm6od; Mohammed Abdel
A'tee, another Mohammed, who was
a long time with Mr. Burton ; and
Mohammed Abdeen; who are per-
haps the best in the country. But
the best, both for the Continent as
well as the East, is a Neapolitan,
named Vincenxo Braico.

d, BOBSXS ASSC8.

The horses of Egypt are not an
Arab breed, nor have they the points
most people expect to meet with in
the East. They are a race peculiar
to the country, which, though not
possessing the characteristics of the
thorough-bred Arab and English
horse, is not deficient in some essen-
tial recommendations. They are low,
usually about 14 to 14^ hands, with
small heads, fine crests (but short
neck), strong shoulders, good barrel,
and well ribbed up, hind quarters
clumsy, and legs heavy, with short
pasterns, lliey are very docile and
good tempered, bear heat admirably.

being accustomed to be tethered out
all day in the sun, and live hardily.
Their food is barley, and they are
only watered once a day, about S
p. M. Once every year they are
turned out to clover, without which
they suflTrr from an eruption of the
skin, or some other disease. Their
paces are the walk and gallop, being
seldom taught to trot; but an am-
bling pace is sometimes given them,
by tying the legs together; which is
so great a recommendation in a horse
or mule, that they often sell for dou*
ble the sum of those with ordinary
paces. A horse thus trained is called
Rahw&n. The Egyptian horses are
not good leapers, and are unable to
gallop for a long distance ; so that
they would be of very little use in
hunting, if such an amusement ex-
isted in Egypt; hut for a short dis-
tance their gallop is quick and strong,
and being very manageable, their ra-
pidity of movement is very available
in playing the gtintit or throwing the
lance. This graceful and manly ex-
ercise is now seldom seen, and will
soon be mentioned among by-gone
pastimes, like tilting and archery.

Horses sell at Cairo from about
700 to 2000 piastres; in Upper
Egypt, as low as 300 and 400 ; and
mules and rahwant fetch the same
prices. Asses are also sold, when of
unusual size, at from 500 to 1500
piastres, and a common hack donkey
from 10 to 500. Asses are very con-
venient in Cairo for passing through
the crowded streets, and are the cabs
of the place ; Christians seldom use
any other animals, partly from conve-
nience, partly from old habit, not
having been allowed before the begin-
ning of tlie present century to ride a
horse ; and the Copts are in possession
of the best breed. Mules and rait'
wan* are thought more convenient
than horses for the city, and are al-
ways used by old men, shekhs of the
religion, and inactive people, who like
to ride without tiring themselves; and
as nobody walks, it is an object to

122

CAIRO. — PUBLIC PLACES.

Sect, II.

eTery one to be provided with a mode
of conveyance best suited to his taste.
In going out to see Cairo the best
plan is to hire a donkey for the day or
by the course. There is no diflSculty
in finding them, but as the drivers
always try to impose on strangers, it is
as well to send and make an agree-
ment beforehand in engaging one.
Ladies may take sedan chairs if they
prefer them. The hire of a donkey
for the day ought to be five piastres,
and a trifle for the boy : this last is
not necessary when by the course.

e. rLAczs or public kxsokt. —
LieaARiES.

Cairo scarcely offers any places of
public resort. Within the last few
years a theatre has been set on foot,
in the Frank quarter, which is main-
tained by subscription among the
Europeans, the actors, with the ex-
ception of the manager, being dilei*
tanti. The manager, who receives
a salary, is an actor by profession,
and has the arrangement of the pieces
and other miiautiae with which ama-
teurs are not supposed to be ac-
quainted ; there is also a person who
superintends the scenery and the ma^
tirid of the house. Strangers who
are desirous of obtaining admission
have only to apply to any subscriber
the day before, and tickets are sent
for the next representation, which are
always gratU : and it may not be
amiss to observe, that if any attempt
to charge travellers for tickets is made
by the innkeepers (to whom they are
given, not for their sakes, but as a
favour to strangers), it should be
peremptorily resisted ; and it would
be a piece of justice, as well to the
subscribers as to future travellers, to
represent and put a stop to the im-
position.

One of the most useful institutions
for those who visit Egypt is the li-
brary of the Egyptian Society, also in
the Frank quarter. Any one who
wishes to become a member is pro-
posed and balloted for in the usual

way, and may have the satisfaction of
promoting a very useful institution.
Strangers who are only passing
through the country may obtain tick-
ets of admission, and the use of the
books, during one whole month.

There is also a society of a simi-
lar kind formed^ in 1 84 S, principally
for the purpose of publishing docu-
ments connected with Eg:ypt and the
East. It is called the Egyptian Lite-
rary Association, and members are
chosen and strangers admitted much
in the same manner as in the other. *

A shop has been opened near the
Basaar of the Khan Khaleel for
Arabic and Turkish works ; and Eu-
ropean books may be bought of Mr.
Walmas, at the Egyptian Society's
Rooms, and of Mr. Castello in the
Frank Street.

There is a library belonging to Ib-
rahim Pasha, consisting of Arabic
and Turkish books, which, though
formed since the year 18S0, contains
already a great number of volumes,
comprising the works of the most
noted Arab authors, in manuscript,
besides many printed books.

Ibrahim Pasha has also begun a
collection of Egyptian antiquities;
and a veto being put to the removal of
antiquities from Egypt, great hopes
have been entertained of the success of
his museum. It is more than twelve or
fifteen years since this collection has
been commenced, and in IBS I a Turk
was employed at Thebes in excavat-
ing, and preventing all access to the
under-ground treasures not sanc-
tioned by government authority. I
therefore expected, on returning to
Egypt lately, to find many objects
of interest at the palace, where they
are now deposited. My surprise and
disappointment were therefore great^
when I found nothing but a confused
mass of broken mummies and casest
some imperfect tablets, and varioua
fragments, which, had they been capa*
ble of being spoilt, would have been
rendered valueless by the dsmp of the
place ; and I can safely say that thcr«

Egypt'

NEIGHBOURHOOD*

12S

was nothing which, had it been given
me, I should have thought worth the
trouble of taking back to Cairo. Time
may make a museum and a Turkish
antiquary, but to these must be al-
lowed the full extent of the Turkish

There is also a collection of anti-
quities belonging to Mohammed Ali,
which is occasionally increased by
those seised at the Custom-house, in
the possession of persons unauthorised
by special faTour to take them out of
the country. It was to have formed
part of a museum to be erected in
the Ushek^ai ; but the establishment
of a museum in Egypt is purely Uto-
pian ; and while the impediments
raised against the removal of antiqui-
ties from Egypt does an iiyury to the
world, Egypt is not a gainer. The
excavations are made without know-
ledge or energy, the Pasha is cheated
by those who work, and no one there
tidies any interest in a museum ; and
it would not be too much to predict
that, after all the vexatious impedi-
ments thrown in the way of Europeans,
DO such institution will ever be formed
by the Pasha of Egypt.

f. QUICKKST MODS Or SBBXira CAXSO
▲Hn THS HKIOHBOUKBOOD.

For those who are pressed for time,
and wish to see every thing at or near
Cairo as quickly as possible, the best
plan is to portion out the different
sights as follows : —

\tt I}ay.^To Heliopolis.* Go
out of the Bab el Foto6h, visit the
tomb of El Gh^ree, half way, to the
right; interior of dome handsome:
then to Heliopolis ; obelisk, remains
of sphinxes, mounds of old town,
fountain of the Sun, and sycamore of

the holy family -. returning, go to the
tombs of the Memlook kings t (Kait-
bay) to left, thence to the Boorg e*
Ziffr^, and enter Cairo by the Bab e^
Nusr. §

Sd 2>a^.— To Old Cairo and Roda
Id. Go to the tombsof the Memlooks ||,
that of the Pasha*8 family, the Imam
e* SULffaee: to Old Cairo^, Moskof
Amer, Roman station of Babylon to
S. of it : cross over to Isle of Roda ;
Nilometer** (requires an order), and
garden of Ibrahim Pasha: return by
the College of Der wishes -fft Kasr
el Ainee (the school of medicine), the
palace of Ibrahim Pasha, to Cairo.

Sd Day At Cairo. Bas^r of

Ghor^'b, Bab Zoo^ylehf}, citadel §§
(Joseph's Well, Pasha's palace, new
mosk, view), mosk of Sultan Has-
san)) below citadel (porch and arch
of east end), mosk of Tsyloon^^,
oldest in Cairo, with early pointed
arches.

4th Day, — See the other mosks and
royal tombs ••• of Cairo, basAarsftt*
streets, buildings in Cairo ; and go to
the palace and gardens of Shoobra.|ff

5th Day,-' The petrified wood §§§
on the top of the Gebel Go6shee, or
Mokuttum, between 6 and 7 miles
from Cairo. It is possible to make
only two days of these three last.

eth Day, ^To the Pyramids. |||]|
Pyramids, Sphinx, and tombs ; thence
to pyramids of Abooseer and Sakki-
rallYi and vaulted tomb in eastern
front of hills facing the cultivated land,
about 1} mile to N. of Sakkira; thence
to Mitrahenny, colossus of Remeses
II., and site of Memphis : **** back
to Cairo ; a long excursion for one day.
It is better to sleep at the Pyramids,
and go to those of Sakk^ra next morn-
ing. The order of these days may be
changed, as most convenient.

• See Seet IL Excuzsion.3. f See Sect. II. ».
4 See Sect IL r, \\ See Sect. II. n.

*• See Excursion. 1. &. f f See Exeanioo. 1. e.

AS See Sect. II. S. II tl See Sect. II. k.
See Sect IL A, Lot. fff See Sect. TL a. ^.

See Sect IL Excursion 2. b. ||l| See Sect. IL Excursion. 4.
See Sect IL ExcurdoD. 4. •••* See Sect II. Excursion. 4.

t See Sect IL a.

T See Sect II. Excunioo.l.
tt See Sect. U.kaadk.
ft See Sect. ILJc
ttX See Sect IL ExcuriioaJL

Q 2

J 24

CAIRO. — BOATS,

Sect. n.

g» BOATS. (^Mtrkeb, pi. Mar&hh,)

The boats of the Nile are the djerm
(germ), ttie ma&dil, aggub (akkub),
maash or r&hleh, dahab^eh, cangia
(kangeh),ky4s(kv^h,) Sdndal, aef£e-
nee, garib (k&rib), and maad^h. The
largest are the germs, which are only
used on the Nile during the inunda-
tion, or between Alexandria, Rosetta,
and other ports on the Mediterranean.
They carry from 800 to about 2000
ardebs ; but four have been built at
Osioot which are rated at 4800
ardebs; and to give some idea of
their size, a boat of 250 ardebs mea-
sures ^ feet in length and 10 or 12
in breadth. Th«y have two masts
and large lateen sails, like the gene-
rality of the boats on the Nile. They
are only employed for carrying corn,
and during the summer mr^ laid up,
covered with mats, to protect them
from the sun. The maiidil, or, as it
is sometimes called, ky&s, is of a very
similar construction, but smaller, car-
rying from 130 to 800 ardebs. The
aggub is only used for carrying stone,
and is singular among the boats of the
Nile for its square sail.

The last five are open boats. The
name of sandal is chiefly applied to
a small kind of cangia, and to ships*
boats, or those attached to the gun-
boats of the Nile; the garib is the
fishing-boat, and the maadeeh the
ferry ; but the maash, dahab^eh, and
cangia, are the three peculiarly adapt-
ed for travelling on the river, being
furnished with cabins.

The maash, or, more properly,
r&hleh, is convenient from its large
and loAy cabins-; but unless a tra-
veller has plenty of time to spare, a
dahab^eh is far preferable ; and many
of these are now so large as to yield
very little to the r&hleh in the comfort
of their cabins, added to which they
are always cleaner. The traveller who
has time to spare, and intends making
a long sojourn at Thebes, may take
a rihlth to go up the Nile, send it
off at Thebes, and write to Cairo for

A dahal)^*eh or cangia ; or, if he does
not object to the expense, he may take
both with him, and, paying off the
rahleh at Asouan, use the smaller boat
to pass the cataracts and return to
Cairo.

The dahab^eh differs only' from the
cangia in its greater size, and in hav-
ing a plank, or gangway, at the side
of the cabin windows extending to
the steerage. They vary in size. The
large ones have generally two cabins
and a smaller room, called a batli, in
all which a short man may stand nearly
upright; and some persons have added
to the height of the cabins by low-
ering the floor. The large-sized daba-
b^ehs let at from 2000 to 3000 piastres
a month ; smaller ones at from 1000
to 1350, which last is about the aum
paid for a large cangia. It is diflicuU
to distinguish between the cangia and
dahab^eh, as tbey are so very like each
other, when of the same size, that no
definite line can be drawn between
them ; generally speaking, therefore,
the prices o^ all this class of boats
may be reckoned at from 1000 to
3000 piastres a month. In all cases
the price varies with the number of
the men, whose pay is as follows : —

Piast. a numth.
The reU or captain of

a small dahab^b, or

cangia
Eight men at 50 piastres

each
Mettdhmd or steersman,

rated as a man and a

half -
Kitchen boy, rated as

half a man

100

- 400

DomAn, or hire of boat,
paid to the owner,
(varying witli its size,
and lately reduced)

Profit of the r^Is

600

- 594

1300

Egypt

BOATS.

125

A cangia may be hired at from
1000 to 1300, which used to be the
price of a dahab^h when the wages
of sailors were 25 piastres a month.
There is a small kind of cangia, sel-
dom wilh more than one cabin, only
high enough to admit of persons
kneeling in it, which may be had at a
lower rate, perhaps 700 piastres a
month ; but this implies a reduction
in the number of men ; and it has
this discomfort, that no one can pass
from one side of the boat to the other
without making it heel over. It has,
however, the advantage of being easily
tracked, when the wind fails, and is
quickly rowed down the stream on
returning. Another species of cangia,
called sandal, with one mast and one
cabin, may also be rated at the same
price as the last mentioned.

The contracts are usually written
at the consulate, as few travellers un-
derstand sufficient Arabic, or the cus-
toms of the country, to do without a
translation, or to have it drawn up by
a public scribe. They are generally
worded like the following : —

*' TaANSLATIOK FaOM TUS AaABIC.

** Saturday the 20th of the month
of Showal, of the year 1257 (4th Dec.
1841,) Mr. — f an Englishman, has

taken on hire from the r^s (ryU)

of the town of (Boolik belonging to
), a cangia of about —
ardebs burthen, for a voyage on the
Nile, during such length of time as it
may please the above to keep the said
boat. It is to be manned by —
sailors, not including the r^s, and the
sails, ropes, oars, &c are to be in good
condition.

** The hire agreed upon is — pias-
tres a month, without any further
charges, to begin from the date of
the present contract, which is in every
thing agreeable to law.

'* The r^is and sailors are to be
obedient to the orders of the hirer,
during the night as well as the day,
but it is understood that they will not
be obliged to tow the cangia after
dark, unless necessity requires it.

*< The sailors are to be full -grown,
able-bodied men, understanding their
work, and two of them are to keep
watch during the night, when the boat
is at anchor. If the boat passes the
cataracts, the charges made for them
by the r^is of the cataracts will be
defrayed by the hirer.

** This agreement is signed (one
month's pay having been given in
advance) by the two parties in pre-
sence- of tlie witnesses.

Witnesses/" ^- (Signed) A. B.
witnesses j^jj Sealofr^is, .'•

It may be as well to make the rHs
understand that he is not to take any
other passengers, or merchandise of
any kind, that the whole boat shall
be at the traveller's command, tliat
the sailors shall be obedient to orders,
and that no one shall quit tlie boat
on the pretext of visiting relatives, or
with similar pleas, without previouily
atking permUtion,

Some abuses have crept in of late,
which ought to be put a stop to,
being unjust to travellers (who now
pay unheard-of prices for boats), con-
trary to the customs of the country,
and likely to pave the way for many
others. One is the attempt to make
the hirer of a boat responsible for any
accident that may happen on passing
the cataracts, which has even been in-
troduced info written contracts. This
is both unjust and absurd. It was
never heard of till of late, and no
Turk or native would take a boat
under such conditions. Besides, the
r^is of the cataracts is placed there
on purpose to pass iKiats, and at Mm
risk; and certainly nothing can be
more ridiculous than for the traveller
to remove that responsibility from the
r^.s of the cataracts, and nothing more
unjust than for any one to take ad.
vantage of his ineiperience to put
him into this position. It should be
resisted by all means, and the boats
of those who refuse to allow them to
puss the cataracts should not be hired
at all, unless they agree fo pay the hire
of the other taken, for the reet of the
o 3

126

CAIBO. — BOATS.

Sect IL

journey beyond the eaiaract, or to de-
dud from that of their own boat during
the whole absence of the traTeller in
Nubia.

Another is the demand for the r«-
tum of a boat, when taken to some
place either up or down the river, and
there discharged. This is also a new
and unheard-of abuse, and should not
be tolerated. There is no such thing
as back carriage in the country. As
agreements are drawn up and depo-
sited at the consulate, such abuses
ought to be prevented.

The hire of the first month may be
paid in advance ; and when in Upper
Egypt, half of each successive month,
or the wages of the boatmen only,
which are 50 piastres a month each.
By all meahs the re is and boatmen
must be made obedient to orders : the
traveller will otherwise find them in>
sufferably unruly and troublesome,
too much indulgence being considered
by them the result of fear or inexperi-
ence ; nor, unless he maintains strict
discipline, can he venture to give
tliem a feast of meat at the large
towns. They sometimes stop at places
on some excuse, even when the wind
is fair: this should not be allowed,
except at Osioot, or some other large
town, to have their bread made. Be-
sides occasionally giving meat (or
money to buy it, or tobacco), lie will
make them a present of money, on
his return to Cairo. The reis is
always paid twice as much as a sailor,
) nd at the end of the journey he re-
quires about half, or one third of the
whole sum given as backxhish. This
will depend on the number of sailors.

Before his departure, the traveller*8
servant must see that all the oars are
on board, and the sails in good con-
dition ; he %vill also overlook the con-
struction of an awning before the
cabin, which is the most comfortable
addition to a boat, and serves as a
cool and cheerful place to sit in during
the day. The reis will undertake to
have it made under the superintend-
ence of his servant. It is sometimes

formed of mats laid over palm sticks,
and if so, care should be taken that
they be not common coarse ones called
Noohht but the same that are used in
rooms at Cairo. A far better kind of
awning is made of thick tent-cloth, or
a white cotton stuff called AUmkf or a
thicker kind called Morubbot lined
with the same dyed blue, stretched
over a wooden frame-work. This
gives more room than the circular top
of the mats, and is easily raised, if
necessary, in a high wind. Find-
ing that Europeans always made
those awnings as an extra room,
and sought a place where they could
stand upright, many have added an
open wooden porch to that part of
the boat, when it was buildiug, and
have made fbe fioor of the cabins
lower ; which last is a great improve-
ment.

The first tiling to be done, afUr
taking a boat, is to have it sunk, to
rid it of the rats,* and other noxious
inhabitants it may have. This should
be done on the opposite shore, which
the boat must leave before night;
otherwise the rats will resume their
berths on board, and the precaution
will have been useless. The cabins
should also be well washed, and when
dry should be painted carefully, the
expenses of which will be about 70
piastres for a cangia of 100 ardeba
burthen, with two small cabins, oz
more if many colours are used :
larger boats of course in proportion.
All the cracks should be previously
stopped with putty, and they may be
closely papered over ; but paste must
not be used, as it will harbour insect%
and is not likely to hold fast for any
time. The best preservative against
disagreeable intruders at night ia Mr.
Levinge*s contrivance of dieets and
mosquito net in one piece, already
mentioned in page S. The only dis-
advantage of it is the trouble of geu
ting in and out. Another preventive
is a small piece of camphor in the bed,
and another under the pillow. An
iron rat-trap is also a good thing to

EffypL

BOATS.

127

have on board, and I have no dottbt
that an ichneumon (which i« an ani-
mal very common about Shoobim and
Geexeh), if even kept tied up in the
boat, might tend greatly to preyenl
the ▼isit of rats from the shore. A
piece of tin in the shape of a funnel
placed on the rope at night with the
mouth towards the land, would also
prevent their running along it to the
boat, but it would be difficult to in-
duce the sailors to take the trouble of
placing it nightly on the rope, and the
boats are often so close to the shore
tfaat these troublesome Tisitors have
nothing to do but leap into them.
Cats are useful if they can be kept on
board, but they are apt to go ashore,
and are often lost. All things which
the rats are likely to eat, and which
can be put into jars, called BaOdti,
may be easily kept out of their reach

The best thing to destroy flies, still
one of the plagues of Egypt, is an
infusion of quassia. Put a small
handful into a white basin, and pour
a pint of boiling water over it, and let
it cool : a little sugar may be sprink-
led orer it as a greater inducement to
them to come to it.

Besides curtains for the windows at
night, it will be as well if tliere is no
glass in them to put it into two at letut
(one on each side of the cabin), as the
alternative of cold or darkness is by
no means pleasant in winter.

A kitchen should also be put up
in the fore part of the boat. It should
be made of planks of wood, with
three or four 6re -places in it, having
their sides strengthened with gypsum,
and the bottoms or gratings of thin
iron bars. It will cost about 54
piastres, and may be made by the r^'is
under the superintendence of a servant.

After having been a few days on
board, on his way up the Nile, if he
finds the boat make little way, he had
better order one of his native servants
unobserved at night, or under the
plea of bathing, to examine the end
of the keel near the rudder, to ascer-
tain that no tricks have been played

lo impede the sailing of the boat ; for
with this view they sometimes fasten
a log or sliort plank of wood athwart
the keel, to stop the speed of the boat
and lengthen the voyage ; and in
coming down, if the round stone with
a hole in the centre, which on ascend-
ing the Nile is generally kept on deck
near the prow, is no longer seen on
board, he had better bid bis servant
ascertain where it has been put, as
they sometimes suspend it by a long
rope from the stem beneath the water,
with the same view of impeding the
boat, on its way down. Herodotus,
in describing the large boats of the
ancient Egyptians, says, ** Tliey
adopt the following method in
going down the Nile. 'Being pro-
vided with a bundle or wicker hur-
dle of tamarisk interlaced with
rushes, and a stone with a hole weigh-
ing about two talents (about ISO lb.),
tliey tie the former to the head of the
boat, allowing it to follow the course
of the stream, and fasten the stone
by a rope to the stern. The tama-
risk hurdle carried forward by the
current drsgs after it the barit f such
is the name of these boato), ana the
stone sinking in the water serves to
direct its course." But the modem
Egyptians omit the tamarisk bushes,
which was intended to aid the boat in
its descent, and have only adopted
tliat portion of the contrivance in-
vented by tlieir ancestors, which an-
swers the object they have in view.

Another very necessary precaution
is to order the r^'is to forbid the boat-
men to tie tlie sails, and insist upon
their holding the rope called •hogh6al
in their hands: which is termed keep-
ing it kKahu, «« free ;" for to this al-
most all the accidents that happen
on the Nile are to be attributed. In
those parts where the mountains ap-
proach the river it should be particu-
larly attended to, as at Gebel Shekh
Umb&mk, Gebel e* Tayr, and thence
to SliekhTimiy, Gebel Aboo-Faydee,
Gebel Shekh Her^dee, and Gebel
Tookh below Girgeh.

Q 4

128

CAIRO. — BOATS.

Sect. n.

The traveller should have the deck
of his boat washed every morning ;
and he may select any one of the
crew who appears most willing for
this duty. When one is chosen, it is
more likely to be done. An allow-
ance of a piastre or two a week
should be given for this extra labour,
and care should be taken that it is
never omitted: unless done always,
it will cease to be done with good
will. Above all things, I recom«
mend strict discipline in the boat, and
invariable obedience to orders, what-
ever they may be, with the full un-
derstanding of course that they
are reasonable and just. But I am
far from advising that constant use
of the stick which is sometimes re-
sorted to most unnecessarily : firm-
ness and the determination of being
obeyed seldom fails to command
respect and obedience; for, when
they know you will be obeyed, they
will seldom disregard an order.
When once that obedience is estab-
lished, then you may be as indulgent
as you like, and every good office,
every reward, will be received as a
favour. Without it, kindness will
be construed into fear or ignorance ;
every attempt will be made to deceive
the too easy traveller ; and in order to
have a moment's peace, he will be
obliged to have recourse to the very
means he had been hoping to avoid ;
by applying to some Turkish gover*
nor, or by substituting for kindness
loo late severity, either of which will
only draw upon him hatred and con-
tempt.

One thing, however, I must say, is,
that however nwch they may try to
impose on one, over whom they think
to get the upper hand, they never har-
bour any feelings of revenge. They
are like the frogs in the fiil>le with the
log of wood. In short, my advice is,
to be strict and just, without unneces-
sary violence, in order to have the
satisfaction of being indulgent

In visiting the ruins, one or two
of the crew will carry water, or any

thing else you may require^ and they
may occasionally receive a few piastres
to buy tobacco. It is better not to
give It each time, but aAer having
been so employed on several occadons ;
the promise of it being held out, pro-
videid they are aheojfM found ready to
go ; and if there is any rivalry among
the others, they also should be allow-
ed to take their turns in this employ-
ment. When properly managed, no
people are so willing or good-natured ;
when not understood, none so trou-
blesome.

I have already stated that when the
crew behave well, they may have a
sheep given them at some of the large
towns, or a certain quantity of meat at
least, as a reward for pott exertwiu ;
and at the end of the journey they
and the r^s will expect a present in
money, according to their behaviour
during the voyage. Any man 'who
has done extra work should be paid
more ; and the back^isk of the crew
should be given to one of them, and
not to the rCU, as he would proliably
cheat them of a great portion; for
few in Egypt, whether Turks or
natives, part with money without ipi
effort to defraud.

In leaving Boolak either for Upper
Egypt or tlie North, as well as in ar-
riving there, the traveller should re-
sist any demand for haektkish (a word
that haunts him in Egypt), which the
custom-house cawdstet will of course
ask for ; they have nothing whatever
to do with him or liis baggage, and
have therefore no claim, on the score
of allowing to pass free what they
dare not touch. Any attempt to
stop his things should be repre-
sented, and care should be taken
that the offender is punished, in order
to put a stop to this nuisance.

A* UISTOaV OW CAIRO.

Musr el Kiherah, corrupted by
the Italians into CcnVo, was founded
by G6her, a general of El Moes, or
A boo Tummim, the first of the
Fow4tem or Fatemite dynasty who

EgyjpU

ruled in Egypt. He was sent in
the year 358 of the Hegira, a. d.
969» with a powerful army from
Kayrawan, near Tunis, tlie capital of
tlie Fowdtem, to invade Egypt; and
baring succeeded in conquering the
country, be founded a new city, near
the citadel of Kuttaeea, under the
name of Musr el Kaherah. This in
36^ (a. d. 973) became the capiul
instead of Fostat; which then, by
way of distinction, received the name
of Musr el Ate^keh (old Musr).

£1 Moes soon afterwards arrived
w^ith the whole of his court, and the
Fowitem, bringing with them the
bones of their ancestors, for ever re-
linquished the country whose so-
vereignty they had also usurped, and
which they still retained, by leaving a
viceroy in the name of their mo-
narch. Cairo was at 6rst called Dar
el Memlekeh, or ** the royal abode,*'
and then Musr el Kaherah ; and
Fostat was distinguished ever after
by the name of Musr el Ate^keh, or
old Musr, which has since bi^en
transformed by Europeans into old
Cairo.

The epithet Kaherah (Cairo) is de-
rived from Kaher, and signifies " vic-
torious.**

The first part of the city erected
by Goher was what is still called el
Kasriiyn, or " the two palaces,*' one
of which, formerly the residence of
Saladin and other kings, has been
long occupied by the Mahkemeh, or
Cadi's Court. Till wttliin a few
years it was almost a ruin, but is now
repaired.

The walls of Cairo were built of
brick, and continued in the same state
till the reign of Yoosef SaUh-e*-deen
(Saiadin), who substituted a circuit of
stone, and united to the original town
the whole of that part lying between
the Bab Zooayleh and the citadel.

Yoosef Salih-e'-deen was the
founder of the Eiyoobite dynasty in
Egypt, and is well known in the
history of the Crusades under the
name of Saladin. Shortly -before his

BISTORT.

129

arrival, and during the troubles that
obscured the latter end of the reign
of the Fowitem, whom he expelled,
Cairo had been attacked by the Franks,
and partly burnt on their approach,
about the year 1171. Their designs
against the city were unsuccessful ;
but in order to place it eflectually
beyond the reach of similar attempts,
Saladin raised around it a stronger
wall of masonry ; and observing tliat
the elevated rock to the south of the
city offered a convenient position for
the construction of a fortress, to com-
mand and protect it, he cleared and
walled in that spot ; and discovering
a large well near the centre that had
been cut by the ancients, and was
then filled with sand, he eicavated it,
and brought another welcome sup-
ply of water to the citadel by an
aqueduct, which conveyed a con-
tinuous stream from the Nile, at
Fostat, to the new citadel. This last
was then merely a conduit, sup-
ported on wooden pillars; and it
was not till about the year 1518 tliat
the stone aqueduct, still used for the
same purpose, was substituted by
order of Sulun el Ghor^e.

It is probable that the well above
mentioned, which now bears the name
of Beer Yoosef, ** Joseph's well," from
tlie caliph Yoosef, was hewn in the
rock by the ancient Egyptians, like
the tanks on the hill behind the
citadel, near tlie Kobbet el Howa;
and this is rendered more probable
from the circumstance of there having
been an old town, called Loui-
Tkeshromi, on the site of the modem
city. It seems, indeed, to be gene-
rally allowed by the Cairenes, that
Yoosef was not the real author of this
great work ; and some have claimed
it, without much show of probability,
for Amer, the first Moslem con-
queror of Egypt. It consisu of two
parts, the upper and lower well, and
a winding staircase leads to the bottom,
a depth of about 260 feet. The
exact part of Cairo occupied by the
Egyptian town is uncertain ; but we

a 5

130

CAIBO. — CITADEL.

Sect. II.

learn from Arab writers that two
villages existed there, before the
time of G6her, one called el Maks,
where the Copt quarter now stands,
and the other Kuttaeea.

t. THE CRADSL.

The best way of going to ' the
Citadel is on asses, but ladies will
find the 'sedan chairs at the hotel very
convenient for this excursion.

Besides the well just described, the
citadel contains several objects worthy
of a visit; among which may be
mentioned the Pasha*s palace, the
new mosk, now building by Mo-
hammed All, the site of Joseph's
hall, and the arsenal.

The palace contains some hand-
sivne rooms, and the view from it is
very fine.

The mosk is still far from being
finished. It consists of an open
square, surrounded by a single row
of columns, 10 on the N. and S.,
13 on the W., and 12 on the £.,
where a door leads to tlie inner part,
or house of prayer ; as in the Tay-
loon, and other mosks of a similar
plan. The columns have a fancy
capital supporting round arches, and
tlie whole is of Oriental alabaster,
with the exception of the outer walls.
Of the general appearance and eHect
no opinion can be formed from a
building in so unfinished a state ; but
I fear it will not have tlie beautiful
character of the old mosks of Cairo,
and that it will be ratlier admired
for the materials than tlie style of
iu arclii lecture. Beyond it is the
hareem of the Pasha, with a garden
on the side nearest the mosk. It
was to make room for this mosk that
Joseph's Hall, a lofty building sup-
ported on numerous handsome granite
columns, was removed in 1 829. But
it is to be regretted that the careless-
ness, or want of skill, in taking down
the columns, caused the destruction
of the greater part of them, being
thrown down at once, and mostly
broken by the fall. Some few are

still sunding in their original po-
sition, but will, of course, soon be
taken away, and probably share the
fate of their companions.

From the platform is a grand and
commanding view of the city and
the surrounding country, taking in
the arsenal immediately below, •—
the Roomaylee, and the splendid
mosk of Sulun Hassan, just outside
the gates of the citadel, — the nu-
merous minarets of Cairo, —and, in
the distance, the Pyramids, — with
the valley of the Nile, to Sakkira on
the south, and to the point of the
Delta on the north.

Parts only of the old citadel walls
now remain, the others having been
replaced by bastions and curtains of
European construction ; and, what
strikes a stranger, the portion most
strongly and regularly fortified is that
least open to foreign aggression, the
town side. A great part of the walk
was blown up by the explosion of the
powder magazine, in 1823, but all was
restored the same year, and since that
time some additions have been made
to the worksk

The spot a little to the north of
the Roomaylee gate is where Era in
Bey escaped, during the well-known
massacre of the Memlooks, by leaping
his horse over a gap in the then
dilapidated wall. But independent
of that opening, a large mound of
rubbish had accumulated below from
the fallen materials, and it is to this
that his safety must priDdpally be
attributed.

On the western wall of the citadel
is an eagle in high relief, supposed to
be an emblem, or banner, of Kara-
koosh, the minister and buflfbon of
Yoosef-Salali e' de^n, whose name
signifies in Turkish, ''eagle** (or
** black-bird **). It lus no inscription,
but is evidently of the same date aa
the wall into which it is built ; and
the credulous believe that it fonncrly
uttered a cry when any calamity waa
about to happen to the city.

Behind the citadel ia a fort upon a

Egypt.

MOSKS.

131

rock, or projecting point of the Gebel
e* Jo&Jiee (Gooshee), the ascent to
which is by a long causeway.

It was on the site of this fort tliat
Mohammed Ali erected a battery
against the citadel, then in possession
of Khoorshid Pasha, by which he ob-
tained the surrender of the place.

j, ORIBMTAL CUARACTKR OF THE
TOWN.

The narrowness o^ the streets of
Cairo, and their great irregularity,
may strike an European as imper-
fections in a large city; but their
Oriental character fully compensates
for this objection, and of all Eastern
towns none is so interesting in this
respect as the Egyptian capital. Nor
is this character confined to the
bazaars, to the mosks, or to the pecu-
liarities of the exterior of the houses ;
the interiors are of the same original
Arab style, and no one can visit the
hareeros and couru of the private
dwellings of the Cairenes^ without re-
calling the impressions he received
on reading the Arabian Nights. The
disposition of the different parts of the
interior is, to an European eye, singu-
larly confused, without the appear-
ance of plan or systematic arrange-
ment; but the picturesque style of
the courts, the inlaid marble, the
open fonts, mcmdarat with a facade of
two arches supported on a single
column, the elaborate fretwork of
wood forming the nuuhrebSeht, or pro-
jecting windows, and the principal
room with its lantern (a sort of covered
impluvium), its diwans, deep window
aeats, and stained glass windows, have
an effect which cannot fail to strike a
stranger, and remind him of the
descriptions of old Saracenic cities.
The accurate work of Mr. Lane, and
the drawings published by Mr. Hay,
Mr. Roberts, and Mr. Owen Jones,
have illustrated the mode of living,
and have given excellent represen-
tations of some of the public build-
ings in Cairo ; but much remains to
be done in the interiors; and it is

gratifying to know tliat the pencil o
one, who has already occupied him-
self V) successfully in Spain, is now
engaged in portraying the striking
peculiarities of this truly Eastern
capital, which we may shortly hope
to receive from the hand of Mr. Lewis.

k, MosKS or CAimo — xaelt pointed
▲acHSs.

Cairo is said to contain about 400
mosks. Many of them are in ruins,
but the number of those that are still
iu repair, and used for the daily
prayers, cannot fail to strike any one
who passes through the streets, or
sees their numerous minarets from
without. The prindpal mosks are
the Tayloon (Tooloon), the Ex'her,
the Hassanin, £1 Hdkeni, and those
of the Sultans Hassan, el Ghoree,
and Kaiaoon, (to which last is at-
tached the Morostin, or nladhouse,)
the Shardwee, Moditid, Berkook,
Sitteh Ziyneb, and others ; to many
of which are atuched the tombs of
their founders.

There is little difHculty attending a
visit to the tnosks of Cairo ; and, with
the exception of tlie Hassanin and
the Ez'her, they may be visited by per-
sons wearing the Frank dress, if ac-
companied by a Cawass, and provided
with an order from the Government.

The first in point of antiquity, is the
mosk of Ahmed ebn e' Tooloon, gene-
rally known as the Jama (Gama)
Tayloon. It is said to l>e built on the
plan of the Kaaba, at Mecca, which
seems to have been that of all the oMcst
mosks founded by the Moslems. The
centre is an extensive open court,
about 100 paces square, surrounded
by colonnades ; those on three of the
sides consisting of two rows of columns,
25 paces deep, and that on the eastern
end of five rows, all supporting
pointed arches. These arches are of
a very graceful shape, retaining a little
of the horse-fthoe form at the base of
the archivolt, as it rises from the
pilaster ; and in a wall added after-
wards to connect the mosk with the

o 6

132

CAIRO. — MOSKS.

Sect. II.

base of the principal minaret is one
round borse-shoe arcb, which is rarely
ntet with in Egypt. Around the
mobk is an outer wall, now encum-
bered in part by houses, at each angle
of which rose one of the minarets ;
that on the N. W. corner being the one
used for the call to prayer. This mosk
rs the oldest in Cairo, haring been
founded 90 years before any other part
•f the city, in the year 879 a. d., or 265
of the Hegira, as is attested by two
Cuflc inscriptions on the walls of the
court* a date which accords with the
era of that prince, who ruled in £gypt
from 868 to 884. If not remarkable
for beautv, it is a monument of the '
highest interest in the history of archi-
tecture, as it proves the existence of
the pointed arch about three hundred
years before its introduction into Eng-
land, where that style of building was
not in common use until the begin-
ning of tlie ISth century, and was
scarcely known before the year 1170.
There is reason to believe that the
pointed arch was used in some parts
of Europe as early as the beginning
•f the twelfth century ; but it was
then evidently a novel introduction,
generally mixed with the older round-
beaded arch, and not exclusively
adopted throughout any building.
And since we here find a mo&k pre-
senting the pointed style in all its
numerous arches, we may conclude
not only that the Saracens employed
it long before its introduction into
Europe, but that we were indebted to
them for the invention. The mosk
of Tayloon being the oldest build-
ing in Cairo, it is impossible to ascer-
tain from any monuments there at
what time they adopted this style of
architecture, but we may reasonably
suppose that it was not the firat mo»k
ever erected with pointed arches, and
that in the East this kind of arch dated
considerably before the year 879. That
it should have been introduced from
thence into Europe is not at all impro-
bable ; and the time of its first appear-
ance naturally leads to the conclusion,

that the Crusaders made us acquainted
with the style of building they had
seen during their wars against the
Saracens.

Alon^ the cornice, above the arches
within the colonnades, are Cufic in-
scriptions on wood, many of which
have long since fallen. The style of
the letters is of the same ancient cha-
racter, as in the stone tablets before
mentioned ; and indeed, were the date
not present to determine the period of
its erection, the style of the Cufic
alone would sufiice to fix it within
a very few years, that character
having undergone very marked
changes in different periods of its
use ; aud what is singular, the oldest,
which is the most simple and least
ornamented, has perhaps a nearer re-
semblance to the Arabic, than tliat in
vogue about the time when the mo-
dern form of letters was introduced.
The Arabic chiracter was first adopted
about 950 a. d., but Cufic continued
in use till the end of the Fowitem
or Fateroite dynasty ; and on build-
ings, Arabic and Cufic were both
employed, even to the reign of Sulun
el Ghoree, a.d. 1508.

The wooden pulpit, and the dome
over the front in the centre of the
quadrangle, are of the Meiek Mun-
soor Hesam e* deen Lageen,and bear
the date 696 of the Heg'ira.in Arabic
characters.

Another m<»k (which I shall men-
tion presently), at Cairo, founded in
1003 by the SulUn £1 H^kem, bav-
ing also pointed arches, suflSciently
shows this to be tlie usual style of
architecture in the East at a period
when it was still unknown in Europe ;
and there is every reason to believe
that if other Saracenic buildings could
be discovered of the same era, and
probably long before the time of
Ahmed ebn e* Tooloon, they would
present the same pointed style. It is,
however, sufficient to have found two,
of the years a. d. 879 and 1003, to
settle the question respecting the pre-
▼ious use of tlie pointed arch in the

^yp^

U08KS.

133

East ; and the idea of its origin from
the intersection of two round arches,
or groined mulfs, may at once be
abandoned, and, i^ove all, its inven-
tion in England, which was years be-
hind the ContiDent in the date of its
adoption.

Thtf minaret of the Tayloon, which
rises from the exterior wall of circuit,
has a singular appearance, owing to
the staircase winding round the out-
side. Its novel form is said to have
originated in the absent habits of its
founder, and an observation of his
Wisher. He had observed him uncon-
sciously rolling up a piece of parch-
ment into a spiral form ; and having
remarked, ** It was a pity bis majesty
had no better employment,** the King,
in order to excuse himself, replied,
'* So far from trifling, I have been
thinking tliat a minaret erected on
this principle would have many ad-
vantages ; I could even ride up it on
horseback : and I wish that of mv

new mosk to be built of the same
form.**

From its summit is one of tlie
finest views of the town ; and though
inferior in extent, it possesses an ad-
vantage over that from the platform
of Joseph's Hall, in having the citadel
as one of its principal features. The
hill on which the mosk stands was
formerly called el Kutiaees, and was
chosen by Ahmed ebn e' Tooloon as a
place of residence for himself and his
troops : but it was not till long after
the foundation of Cairo that this hill
was enclosed within the walls, and
became part of the capital of Egypt.
Its modern name is Kalat-el-Kebsh,
<*the ciudel of the ram,** and tradi-
tion pretends that it records tlie spot
where the ram was sacrificed by
Abraham. Nor is this the only fanci>
ful tradition connected with the hill,
or the site of the mosk of Tayloon.
Noah*s ark is reported to have rested
at the very spot where a Ntbk tree
still grows, witliin a ruined enclosure
in the court of the mosk ; and the
name of Gebel O'tAoor is believed to

have been given it, in consequence
of the tkank$gimng be there offered to
the Deity for his rescue from the
perils of the flood.

llie Es'her or « splendid "mosk,
was originally founded by Goher
(J6her) el Ki'ed, the genera] of Moes,
about the year 970 ; but that which
is now seen is of a later date, having
been subsequently rebuilt, and con-
siderably enlarged. Each part bean
an inscription relative to the era, and
authors, uf its successive restorations,
to the year 1762. It is of consi-
derable sixe, and ornamented with
numerous columns, which give a light-
ness and grace to the interior. It is
the College of Cairo, and here the
Koran is particularly studied ; but as
in the ancient temple of Jerusalem
and the modern Bayt- Allah at Mecca,
idlen of all descriptions resort thither
to buy and sell, read and sleep, and
enjoy the coolness of ito shady and
extensive colonnades.

Close to the south-west angle is
another handsome mosk, and a little
farther to the north is the small but
celebrated HassanSn, dedicated to the
two sons of Ali, el Hassan and el
Hossayn, whose relics it contains. It
is said that the head of Hossayn, and
the hand of Hassan, are preserved
there. Like the Eiher, it was built
or restored at diflTerent periods, the
last addition dating in 176S, and
bearing the name of Abd e* Rahman
k^hia ; but none of the earliest part is
now visible. The moo2e</ or birth-day
of tlie HassanSn is one of the principal
fetes of Cairo, when a grand illumi-
nation, with the usual amusements of
Eastern fairs, continues for eight, and
sometimes more, days, in this quarter
of tlie town. The tomb of the patron
saint on such occasions is always
covered with the IGsweh, or sacred
envelope of embroidered cloth or vel-
vet ; which calls to mind the clothing
of the statues with the ttpop Koa/totf, in
the temples of ancient Egypt.

Of the early mosks, that have re-
tained tlieir original style of architec-

134

aURO. — MOSES.

Sect. n.

ture from the period of their founda-
tion, the oldest, next to the Tayloon,
is that of *< Solt4n Kl Hikem/* near
the Bab e* Nusr, one of the principal
gates of Caira

The arches are all pointed, with
a slight borse^shoe curve at the
base ; and as the date of its erection
is nearly SOO years before that style
of architecture became general in
England, it offers, as already stated,
another important proof of its early
adoption in Saracenic buildings.
<« Soltin £1 H&kem," or "El Hakem
be-omr-IUih," the third Caliph of the
Fatemite dynasty, reigned from 996
to 1021, ▲. D. This eccentric and
immoral prince was the founder of
the sect of Druses, still extant in Sy-
ria. He pretended to be vested with

a divine mission, and aided by a
derwish named Derari, s>icceeded in
obtaining many proselytes, by whom
he was looked upon as a prophet, or
even as an incarnation of the Deity
himself; and it is worthy of remark,
tliat in an inscription over the western
door of the mosk, his name is followed
by the same expressions tliat usually
accompany that of the founder of
Islam. But the modern Cairenes,
who are incapable of reading tlie
Cufic, are ignorant of this secret, the
discovery of which would raise their
indignation ; and I observed this feel-
ing strongly shown by some indivi-
duals to whom I read the passage
contained iu the inscription. In Ara-
bic letters, it is as follows : —

J.=, iAc ^\ CLi\^ ,j^)^^jr*\ ^\ ^V f^^^^

^Uolji

rjji^ uS*i:;i>»^^ *iV^

** El Hakem be-omr.lllfch. Prince of the Faithful, the blcMingc of Ood be unto

him and to his ancestors, the pure, in the month Regeb, the >ear a.h. d9S/* or 4.0- lOUS.

The minaret of this mosk was fortified
by the French during their possession
of Egypt, and the whole building has
now become a complete ruin. A
thoroughfare leads through it by the
very entrance over which the inscrip-
tion is placed; and as this doorway
will, in all probability, be soon taken
away to make more room for tlie road,
it is very desirable that some one in-
terested in such subjects (who happens
to be at Cairo at the time) should
endeavour to secura this curious docu-
ment for some European museum, ere
it be destroyed, or buried in the wall of
any new building.

The finest mosk in Cairo i% un-
question^ly the '* Jdma-t-e' Softdn
Iltuiam,** immediately below the cita-
del, between the Roomiylee and the
Soog e' Sull4h. Its lofty and beau-
tifully ornamented porch, the rich
cornice of its towering walls, its mi-
naret, and the arclies of its spacious
court, cannot fail to strike every ad-
mirer of architecture. And so im-

pressed are the Cairenes with its
superiority over other mosks, tliat they
believe the king ordered the hand of
the architect to l)e cut ofiT, in order
to prevent his building any other tliat
should vie with it; absurdly ascrib-
ing to his band what was due to his
head. Tlie same story is applied to
other fine buildings, of which they
wish to express tlieir admiration, as
to the two minarets of Samalood and
Osioot, in Upper Egypt.

The interior is of a different form
from the mosks of eariy times, and
from the generality of those at Cairo ;
consisting of an hypaethral court,
with a square recess on each side,
covered by a noble and majestic arch,
that on the east being much more
spacious tlian the other three, and mea-
suring 69 feet 5 inches in span. At
the inner end of it are the niche of the
imAm, who prays before the congre-
gation on Fridiay, and the mtaUfer or
pulpit; and two rows of handsome
coloured glass vases of Sytian manu-

Egypt.

H08X8.

135

facture, bearing the name of the
sultan, are suspended frtmi the side
walls. Behind, and forming the same
part of building, is the tomb, which
bears the date of 764 of the Hegirm
(▲. D. 1S63), two years later than his
death, which happened in the month
of Jumad el owel, a. b. 76S. It is
surmounted by a large dome, like'
many others, of wood and plaster, on
a basement and walls of stone, and
tbe ornamental details are of the same
materials. On the tomb itself is a
large copy of the Koran, written in
beautiful distinct characters, and over
it are suspended three of the coloured
lamps.

The blocks used in the erection of
this noble edifice were brought from
the pyramids ; and though we regret
that one monument should have been
defaced in order to supply materials
for another, we must confess, that few
buildings could summon to their aid
greater beauty to plead an excuse,
while we regret that it is not likely
to be as durable as those ancient
structures. The mosk of £1 Gb6ree,
tbe Morostin, the citadel, and other
buildings, were indebted for stone to
the same monuments, which were to
them the same convenient quarry, as
the Coliseum to the palaces at Rome.

Tbe mosk of Sultan Kalao6n is
Dear the baxaar of tbe Khan Kbaleel,
and b better known from being at-
tacfacd to the Morostin or madhouse,
founded by that philanthropic prince
inik.H. 684, or 1287 a. d. In the
Moro8t4n itself is another mosk bmlt
by the same king, whose name is
found at the £. end, ** mowl4na oo
scedna e* Solr4n el Melek el Munsoor
Sayf e* d6oneea oo e' deen Kalao6n
e' Salehee,*' in an inscription of four
lines, with the date of *«684 a. h., in
tbe month of Jumad el owel ; *' and
over the door of the main entrance
of tbe building, another inscription
says the whole was begun in the
month of Rebeeh el akher 683, and
finished in Jumad el owel 684 ; being
only IS months. It is said, that tbe

king offered a large reward to the ar-
chitect and builders if finished within
the year, lliis, however, they failed
in doing ; but it was completed in the
short space of time mentioned in the
inscription, only one month over the
period prescribed ; which fully refutes
the notion that Sultan Kalaoon only
laid the foundations, and that the
Morost&n was finished by his son
Niser Mohammed.

The first morostin in Egypt is
said to have been built by Abool-
gaysh Khamaraweeh, tbe son and
successor of Ahmed ebn e* Tooloon,
about the year 890 a. i>. ; or, accord-
ing to some, by Ahmed ebn e* Too-
loon himself. The following story
is related as tlie cause of its foun-
dation. A lady of distinction having
become obnoxious to her husband,
was put away on the plea of insanity,
and given in charge to persons who
took care of mad people ; but having
escaped from her place of confine-
ment, at the moment the king hap-
pened to be passing by, she threw
herself at his feet, and implored his
protection. The injustice of her de-
tention, and the many cases of mis-
management detected on this occasion,
determined the king to found a public
institution, where similar practices
could not take place ; and be there-
fore made two morosiins or mad-
houses, one near the hippodrome or
Kara-mediin (where this scene took
place), tbe other between the ^alat
el Kebsh and Uie island of Boolik.
Little less than 400 years after, was
founded the present Morost&n, tbe
only one now existing in Egypt,
which, though conducted in a dis-
graceful manner in late times, speaks
highly for the humane intentions of
its founder.

By his orders, the patients, what-
ever might be the nature of their
complaints, were regularly attended
by medical men, and nurses attached
to the establishment ; and their minds
were relieved by tbe introduction of
a band of music, which played at in-

136

CAIRO. — MOSKS.

Sect n.

tervaU on a pUlfomi (that still exists)
in the court of the interior. It is in
this court that the wards, or benches,
are put up for the infirm admitted to
the hospital ; but the music has long
ceased: and the neglect and embei-
slement of the directors would have
reduced the whole to a ruined con-
dition, had it not been for the bene-
volence of the late Sayd el Mah-
rookee; and, above all, of Ahmed
Pasha Tiiher, who repaired the build-
ing and supplied whatever was want-
ing. This last is recorded in an
inscription over the inner door, bear-
ing date 1248 a. h., or 1833 a. d.

The lunatics have lately been re-
moved to another hospital, under the
superintendence of Europeans; and
the sad treatment they before expe-
rienced no longer continues.

In the mosk is the tomb of its
founder, who was the first of the
Kalaoon^eh or Salah^eh, a division
of* the Baharite dynasty. He died
in the year 1 290 a. d. The tomb of
his son N4<«r Mohammed forms part
of the same mass of buildings. That
of Sultan Kalao6n is handsome; it
is on the right, as the mosk is on the
left, of the passage, as you enter the
principal door of the Morostin ; and,
like the mosk, it is supported on
large columns surmounted by arches,
which in the latter are of elongated
shape, and in the former slightly par-
taking of the horse-shoe form. Their
spandrils, and the windows above,
are ornamented with light tracery ;
and the Makrabf or niche for prayer,
inlaid with mother-of-pearl and mo-
saic work, not unlike the Byiantine
taste, with rows of small columns
dividing it into compartments, lias •
rich and curious effect.

In the vicinity are the tombs of
other monarchs of the same dynasty,
and of their predecessors, the caliphs
of Egypt, which I shall mention pre-
sently. After passing the mosk-tomb
of Kalaoon, you come to that of
Sultan Berkook ; which, like others

of that time, consists of an open court,
with large arches at each side, one of
which, larger and deeper than the
other three, is the eastern or Mecca
end. Attached to it is the tomb of
his wife and daughter, where a fine
illuminated copy of the Koran is
shown, said to be all written by the
latter, who was called the princess
Fatima (Fatmeh). Sultan Berkook
himself was buried in one of the
tombs of the Memlook kings, outside
the city.

The Sliar&wee is another celebrated
mosk dedicated to one of the princi-
pal saints of Cairo. The Moaiud
founded between the years 1412 and
1420 A. D. is a handsome mosk with
pointed arches, having slight traces
of the horse-shoe form, at the base
of tiie arcbivolt, like many others of
the pointed style at Cairo. It is
close to the gate called Bab Zookj-
leh ; which, with the two elegant
minarets that rise above it, is a noble
specimen of eastern architecture.
This gate was formerly tlie entrance
of the city on the south side, before
the quarter, now connecting it with
the citadel, was added.

Wiihout the Bab 2:oo&yleh, at the
junction of the four streets, is one of
the places assigned for capital punish-
ments. Here, and in the Rooniaylee,
Moslem culprits are beheaded ;
Christians and Jews, whose blood is
thought to defile the sword, being
hanged in the Frank quarter, or at the
grated window of the Ashraf^eh, at
tlie comer of a street meeting that
which runs from the Ghor^h to the
Khan Khal^l. It was at the Bab
Zooiyleh that Toman Bay was put to
death, when taken prisoner by Sultan
Selira in 1517.

The privilege accorded to the
Moslems in this respect is not merely
an honour; it has a much more im-
portant advantage, which consists in
being put to a speedy death instead of
being left to struggle for a length of
time against the iron gratings ; which.

Egypt

TOMBS.

137

in spite of the buniftne offices of the
hangman, in pulling the culprit's feet,
must tend to prolong his sufi^ngs.

Th« mosk of £1 Ghoree stands at
the extremity of the baziUr, called
alter hin £1 Gbor^eh, and from its
position is one of the most pictu-
resque buildings in Cairo. On ap-
proaching it bj the Ghoreeh, which
is of more than ordinary breadth,
you are struck with the effect of its
lofty walls; and the open space in
which it stands, together with the
variety of costumes in the groups who
throng that spot, and tlie grand door-
way of the tomb on the opposite side,
offer a beautiful subject for the pencil
of an artist. The tomb of £1 Ghoree
stands on the other side of the street :
there are also two other tombs of the
same king, one at £1 Kaitbay, and
the other on the road to Heliopolis,
called Kobbet el Gh6ree; as if the
number of tombs were intended to
compensate him for not having been
buried in £gypt; though the Cairenes
affirm that his body was really brought
from Syria, and deposited in that of
the Ghoreeh. He was killed in 1517
near Aleppo in a conflict with the
Turks undvr Sultan Selim, who then
advanced into £gypt ; and Toman
3ay, who was elected by the Mem-
Tooks as his successor, having been
defeated near Heliopolis, was t^e last
of the Memlook monarchs of the
country.

/. TOMBS OF THE CALIPHS OF XGTrT.

The tombs of the caliphs occupied
the site of what is now the Bazaar of
Khan-Khal^l, but they are all de-
stroyed with the exception of that of
£*Saleh £iyoob. This monarch was
the seventh caliph of the £i^oobite
dynasty, and died in l'S50 a. d., or
647 of llie Hegirs, as is stated by the
Cufic inscription over tlie door. It
was during his reign that the rash
attempt was made by St. Louis to
surprise Cairo^ in 1249 ; which ended
in the defeat of the Crusaders, the

death of the Count d*Artois, and the
capture of tlie French king. On the
death of £*Salch, his Mem looks con-
spired, killed his son, and after the
stiort reigns of his widow and the
Melek eJ Ashraf Moosa, who was de-
posed in his 4th year, the first Mem-
look dynasty was established in £gypt
under tlie name of *' Dowlet el
Memaleek el Bahr^eh," or " Toor-
k^eb,'* known to us as the Baharite
dynasty. Among them were several
of the Memlooks of £'Saleh.

Those tombs, improperly called by
Europeans " of the caliphs,** outside
the walls to the £. of the town, are
of a much later date, being of the
Memlook kings of the Circassian or
Borgite dynasty, who ruled from
138'J A. n. to the invasion of Sultan
Selim in 1517. I shall mention them
in their due order, aAer noticing some
of those of the first or Baharite dy-
nasty.

m. TOMSS OF THE BAHARITB
MBMLOOK XIMGS.

The tombs of SulUn Bayb^rs,
Naser Mohammed, and some otliers,
are worthy of a visit. Bayb^rs, or
E'Z&her Bayb^rs el Bendukd^ree,
was the fourth prince of this dynasty,
and reigned from 1260 to 1277.
That of £*Naser Mohammed, the son
of Sultan Kalao6n, standi close to
the Morost6n and the mosk of his
father, and is remarkable for an ele-
gant doorway, with clustered pillars
in the £uropean or Gothic style, such
as might be found in one of our
churches, and therefore differing in
character from Saracenic architec-
ture. Over this door is an inscrip-
tion purporting that the building was
erected by the Sultan Mohammed,
son of the Sultan el Meiek el Mun-
soor e* deen Kalaoon e* Salehee.
The date on the lintel is 698 a.b.
(or A. D. 1299), and on the body of
the building 695. The minaret which
stands above this Gothic entrance is
remarkable for iu lace-like fretwork.

138

CAIRO. FOUNTAINS.

Sect n.

which calls to mind the style of the
Alhambra, and of the Al Cazar at
SeTille.

n. TOMBS or TMX CIRCASSIAN MCM-

LOOK KINGS. TOMBS OF THB

MEMLOOKS.

The greater part of these tombs
stand outside the town, a short dis-
tance to the £. of the Bab e* Nusr.
They are frequently called by Euro-
peans <*of the caliphs,** as above
stated, but are better known to the
Cairenesas £1 Kajtbay (Kiedbai) ; a
name taken from that of tlie prin-
cipal building, which is of £1 Ashraf
Aboo-1-Nusr Ki'edbai v* Ziheree, the
1 9th Sultan of this dynasty, who died
and was buried there in 1496 a. d.
The minaret and dome of his mosk
are very elegant, and claim for it the
first place among thesesplendid monu-
ments, though some others may be
said to fall little short of it in
beauty; and those of £1 Berkook
and £1 £shraf have each their re-
spective merits. £1 Berkook or £*-
Z&her Berkook was the first sultan of
this dynasty, and was renowned for
having twice repulsed the Tartars
under Tamerlane in 1 393-4.

To each of these tombs a mosk is
attached, as to the others already
mentioned in Cairo ; and in the latter
place it may often be doubted whether
the tomb has been attached to the
mosk, or the mosk to the tomb.

It is much to be regretted that these
interesting monuments are suffered to
fall to decay : the stones have some-
times even been carried away to serve
for tlie construction of other build-
ings; and there is reason to fear that
in another fifty years they will be a
heap of ruins. In their architecture
they resemble some of the mosks of
Cairo : and the same alternate black
and while, or white and red, courses
of stones occur, as in those within the
city, which call to mind the same
Peculiarity in some of the churches of
Italy. The stone of which they are
principally built is the common stone

of the neighbouring hills. The black
limestone is brought from the vicinity
of the convent of St. Antony in the
eostern desert ; but the red bands in
the mosks of Cairo are merely painted
on the originally white surface.

There are other tombs called '*of
the Mcmlooks," to the south of the
city, usually designated by the Cai-
renes as the Im&m e' Shaffaee, from
the chief of that branch of Moslems
whase tomb there forms a conspicuous
object. It is easily recognised by its
large dome, surmounted by a weather-
cock* in the form of a boat. It is
said to have been built by Yooscf-
Salah-e' deen (Saladin), from which
it received, according to Pococke, the
name of e' Salah&h. Near this is
the sepulchre of Mohammed Ali and
his family, consisting of a long corri-
dor and two chambers, each covered
by a dome, in the inner one of which
is the tomb intended for the Pasha
himself. The others are of Toossoom
and Ismail Pashas^ his sons ; of Mo-
hammed Bey Defterdar; of Z6hra
Pasha, his sister; of his first wife;
of Mustafa Bey Delli Pasha, hu
wife's brother ; of Ali Bey Salonik-
lee, and his wife, a cousin of the
Pasha; of Toossoom Bey, Sbereef
Pasha*s brother, and his wife; of
Hossayn Bey, the nephew; of tb^
younger children of tlie Pasha ; and
of Ibrahim Pasha's sister, Tafeedeh
Hanem, the wife of Moharrem Bey.
Many of the tombs near to the city
on this side are also curious, and offer
interesting subjects for the pencil of an
artist*

O. 8IBEBL8, Oa FUBLIC FOUNTAIKS.

Many of the Sibe^ls or public foun-
tains in the city merit admiration, as
curious specimens of the peculiarities
of Orientnl taste, abounding in great
luxuriance of ornament. The moat
remarkable are of Toossoom and Ismail
Pashas, the sons of Mohammed AH ;
and some of older date in the centre
of the town.

Egypt

PALACES — CAFis.

139

p, PALACKS.

The principal palaces are those of
Mohammed Ah' ; of Ibrahim Pasha,
the younger ; of Abbas Pasha ; of the
late Mohammed Bej Defterdar; of
Mahmood Bey, formerly kehia of the
Pasha; of Ahmed Pasha; of Niuleh
Hiioem, the Pasba*s daughter; of
Hassan Pasha; and outside the city
those of Slioobra, of Ibrahim Paslia,
and of Abbas Pasha; and Kasr e*
Neely belonging to Shemsa H4nem,
and Kasr Dubarra, built by Mo-
bammed Bey Defterdar, but now
giTen to the Pasha's hareem, between
Old Cairo and Boolak. Few, how-
ever, repay the trouble of a visit,
except tiKMe of Mohammed Ali and
Ibrahim Pasha.

q. STRUTS.

There are few streets in Cairo of
sufficient breadth to admit carriages,
sritliout great inconvenience to foot
passengers, if the changes now taking
place in the East introduce their use.
Here and there, however, streets are
met with broad enough to allow
them a free passage ; and the Pasha's
carriage goes from the citadel to the
gntes without difficulty. Caru, indeed,
employed in carrying rubbish from
some of the fallen houses, are often
seen in the larger thoroughfares ; and
though there are few where two
carriages could pass each other, it
may be said that nearly all the prin-
cipal streets are sufficiently broad to
admit one. Here and there a gate-
way or a sliarp turning would be a
serious obstacle ; the unfortunate foot
passerigers would be occasionally
crushed ; and the projecting fronts of
shops would inevitably be carried
away; but these last incumbrances
have lately been partially removed, and
the most intnisive have withdrawn to
the line of the houses, upon which like
a fungus they had previously grown.

The by-streets, and those in the
quarters of the interior, are very nar-
row ; and in consequence of the

Cairene mode of building houses, each
story projecting beyond that imme-
diately below it, two persons may
shake hands across the street from the
upper windows. This narrowness of
the streets is common to many towns
in hot climates, having for its ob-
ject greater coolness ; and so small
a portion of blue sky is sometimes
seen between the projecting mtisAre-
hiehif or the approaching tops of the
houses, that they might give a very
suitable answer to the lines in Yir-
gil.-

** Die quibut in territ, et erit mihi magnus

Apollo,
Tras pstest cceH tpstium non amplius
ulnas.*'

Some of the bat^ars are covered over
to protect those seated in the shops be-
low from the sun ; and where the
coverings are of wood, the appearance
of the street is not injured by the
effect ; but when of mats or a mere
awning, their tattered condition, and
the quantity of dust they shower down,
during a strong wind, upon those be-
low, tend little to the beauty of the
street, or to the comfort of the people,
for whose benefit they are intended.
The streets of the baslUrs are also
kept cool by watering ; which, though
it may contribute to that end, has a
very prejudicial effect ; the vapour
constantly arising from the damp
ground in a climate like Egypt, tend-
ing greatly to cause or increase oph-
thalmia ; and to this may, in a great
degree, be attributed the startling fact
that one out of ux among the inha-
biunts of Cairo is either blind, or has
some complaint in the eyes.

r. CAPis. PUNCH.

Tlie caf4s in Cairo are numerous,
but little worthy of notice ; nor are
any of them deserving of a visit, ex-
cept one or two during the fast of
Ramadin ; on which occasion it would
be imprudent to go to some of them
in a Frank dress. During that month,
thtragiooB, the Turkish punch, is ex-
hibited with great 6clat, particularly

140

CAIRO. — ^BATHS — BAZAARS.

Sect n.

at a cafe in the street where the
Bash-agha resides. The perform-
ances are not reniarkable for decency.
Karagioos sometimes exhibits many
strange feats, which he pretends to
have performed, during bis career ; in
his satirical sallies he spares neither
rank, age, nor sex ; and until a com-
plaint was made to the government,
the licentiousness of these jS'atan-alia
was so gross, that it would have
shocked an ancient Greek audience,
* though accustomed to the plays of
Aristophanes.

8, BATHS.

There are many' baths in Cairo, but
none remarkable for size or splendour.
They are all vapour baths ; and their
heat, the system of shampooing, and
the operation of rubbing with horse-
hair gloves, contribute not a little to
cleanliness and comfort ; though it is
certainly disagreeable to be pulled
about by the bathing men. The
largest bath is the Tumbalee, near the
gate called Bab e* Sliar^h, but it is
less clean and comfortable than many
others. One person, or « party, may
take a whole bath to themselves alone,
if they send beforehand and make
an agreement with the master. In
that case, care should be taken to see
that tlie whole is well cleaned out, and
fresh water put into the tank, or
mnkut. You had always better use
your own towels, or promise an
extra fee for clean ones, which you
cannot be too particular in rejecting,
if at all of doubtful appearance. The
baths at Cairo are on the same prin-
ciple as those of Constantinople,
though inferior in size.

t, SLAVS MAaKIT.

The slave market, Okillet e* Gelib,
is no longer one of the sights of Cairo ;
the black slaves are kept at the Kaitbay
outside the town, and the Circassians,
Georgians, and Greeks, as well as
most of the Abyssinians, are in the
private bouses of the dealers.

It may be hoped that a far more
important change will eventually take
place, in the abolition of slavery
altogether; and it is gratifying to
feel that £ngland*s interference has
already had the happy result of
putting a stop to the slave hunts in
the interior.

«. BAZAAR8.~rRICX8 OP GOODS.

Bazaars. — The principal baz4ars
are the Ghoreeh and Khan Khal^l.
The former is called from Sultan el
Ghoree, whose mosk and tomb termi-
nate and embellish one of its extre-
mities. There cottons, stuffs, silks,
Fex caps, and other articles are
sold; and in Khan Khal^l (which,
as I have shown, occupies the
site of the Caliphs' tombs) cloth,
dresses, swords, silks, slippers, and
embroidered stuffs, are the principal
articles. The two market days at tlie
latter baziar are Monday and Thurs-
day, the sale continuing from about 9
till 1 1. Various goods are sold by auc-
tion, the appraisers or ekUals {detlalin},
carrying them through the market,
and calling the price bid for them.
Many things may be bought at very
reasonable prices on those occasions ;
and it is an amusing scene to witness
from a shop ; where, if in the habit of
dealing with the owner, a stranger is
always welcome, even though in a
Frank costume. Crowds of people
throng the baziar, while the dtVdlt
wade through the crowd, carrying
drawn swords, fly-flaps, silk dresses,
chain armour, amber moutli-pieces*
guns, and various heterogeneous sub-
stances.

Formerly the only dtH&U in the
Khan Khal^el were Turks* but now
natives are admitted to vociferate the
prices in bad Turkish, or even Ara-
bic, and the owner oi the thing to be
sold frequently goes himself to the
baz&ar, to save the expense of a hired
appraiser. In every cane, however, 5
per cent, is paid to government, on the
sale of each article.

Egypt.

BAZAARS.

141

IVIthin this khan is a square oc-
cupied by dealers in copper, and some
other commodities ; and in a part .
called '* within the chains,** are silks
and other Constantinople goods;
these, as well as most of the other
shops, being kept by Turks. There
are also some Greeks, who are princi-
pally tailors. The shops are open in
fronts and might be mistaken for cup-
boards.

The Khan Khal^l, (or Khan Kha-
leelee) was built in 691 ▲. ii. (a.d.
1292) by one of the officers of the
reigning Sultan, whose name, Khaleel,
it bears. This man, under the pre-
tence of re0iOTing the bones of the
Caliphs to a more suitable place of
interment, is said to have thrown them
carelessly on the mounds of rubbish
outside the walls; to which profane
conduct they ascribe his miserable
end ; having been killed in battle in
Syria, and his body having been eaten
by dogs. This, like many other Arab
stories, may be doubted.

The Hamz6wee is a sort of lihan
or oialeh, where crape, silks, doth,
and other goods, mostly of European
manufacture, are sold. The dealers
are all Christians, and it is therefore
closed on a Sunday.

In the Terb^ea, which is between
the Hams6wee and the Ghor^eh, otto
of rose and various perfumes, silk
thread, and a few other things are
sold ; and near this is the Fahamin,
tlie abode of the Moghrebins, or
Moors, who sell blankets, Fez caps
(tarabSesh), bomooses (ftamaeej), and
other articles from the Barbary coast.

After passing the Ghor^h and the
Fahamin (going towards the Bab
Zooiyleh, is the Akkadeen, where silk
cord and gold lace are bought ; behind
which is the market of the Moalud,
where cotton, wools, cushions, and
beds of a common kind, woollen
shawls, and other coarse stuffs worn
by tlie lower orders, are sold daily,
both in the shops and by auction.
After passing the Sib^el, or fountain
of Toossoom Pasha, is tlic Sookerichy

where tugar, almonds, and dried fruits
are purchased ; and this, like many
other names, indicates the goods sold
there.

In the Soog e' Sullali, close to the
mosk of Sulun Hassan, swords, guns,
and other arms may be bought, as
the name (« arms-market**) implies.
Every day, but Monday and Thurs-
day, an auction is held tliere, early in
the morning.

Kaasobet Had wan, outside the Bab
Zoo&yleh, is abroad well-built market,
where shoes only are sold.

The Merg6osh, and the Gemal^eh,
are also well known markets ; at the
former of which cotton cloths called
huftth are kept; and at the latter,
cdBTee and tobacco, soap, and different
goods imported from Syria ; and at
the Bab e* Shar^h are found fruits,
candles, and a few other things.

There are also markets held in
some parts of the town, independent
of the shops in their neighbourhood ;
as the Soog e* Jvnui, held on a *• Fri-
d^jyt** (on the way to the Bab el Ha-
d^t, at what is called the Soog e*
Zullut,) where fowls, pigeons, rags,
and any old goods are sold; the
Soog e' Semmak, or Soog cl Fooat^eh,
near the same spot, where '*^tA'*is
sold every afternoon ; and the Soog el
Asser, close to the Bab e* Nusr, where
second-hand clothes are sold by auc-
tion every afternoon.

Several parts of the town are set
apart for, and called after, certain
trades, or particular goods sold there ;
as. the Sooker^eh before mentioned ;
the Nahasin, occupied by copper-
smiths, near the Morost&n ; the Khor-
dukldeh, in the same street, where
liardware, cups, knives, and coffee-
pots are sold; the Seeoof^h, occu-
pied by those who mount swords ; the
S4gha, by gold and silver workers;
and the Gohergteh, by jewellers.

FaiCXS OF GOODS AT CAiao IK 1827
AND 1842.

In mentioning the basiUrs, it may
be at well to give some idea of

142

CAIBOf — PRICES OF GOODS.

Sect n.

the prices of goods at Cairo ; and the
following lisU will show the increase
from 1827 to 1842.

Purchases of most eastern things
had better be made at Cairo or Damas-
cus, than at Constantinople, particu-
larly silks. This is contrary to gene-
ral opinion, but it is so ; and you are
less cheated at those two places.
Carpets, and a few other things, should
be bought at Constantinople.

Great impositions are practised on
travellers at Cairo who buy arms. The
peculiar ring of the old metal ought
to distinguish them; it cannot be
imitated like the watering.

Tbe standard of valuation is the
dollar, which was rising in 1827,
from twelve and a half piastres to fif-
teen, but which has since reached
twenty, owing to the deterioration of
the coin.

raicx or, ik riASTRxs, and fodda (oe paras).

AlmondSf shelled, the oka
Aloes wood (ood), the Derhm
Apricots (mishmish) dried, the oka
Asses - - - -

1827.

Piast Pod,

4 0

0 15

3 30

10 p. to 200 0

Barley, the ardeb - - • 13 0

Beans, ditto - - - - 14 0

Beef, the rotl - - - - 0 10

Boats, carriage in, by ardeb, to Alexandria - 4 0

Books ( MSS. ) the karr&s, or quire - 5 0

BornooS) silk and wool - - - 100 0
Bread, the rotl of 12 oa. reduced in baking

to 10 OB. - - - - 04

Bricks, the 1000 - - - - 5 0

Bridle - - • - - 100 0

Buffaloes -.-*.- 200 0

Butter, the roll. - . . . 10

Calves - - ' -

Camels and dromedaries - •

Candles, tlie oka - - -

Candles, spermaceti, European ditto
Carpets (segiUlee)
Ditto (keleem) -

Charcoal, the oka -

Cheese, the rotl. ...
Ditto, (Dutch) ....
Cloth (European), the drah
Clover, fresh, the donkey load
Cofi*ee, the rotl. - • -

Cotton, the drah - . -

Cotton, printed, ditto
Copper, the oka, worked •
Courier to Alexandria
Couriers (Dromedary) for distance of

70 miles ...

Cows - - . .

Crape stuff* ...

300 to 1500

70 to 200

100 to 800

O
2

90 to

30 to
0 to

80
I

20 to
about

50 to 200

6 to 8

0
0
0
0
0
0
30
10

0
O
0
50
20
0
0

0
0
0

1841- 2-

Piatt. Pod-

5 O

0 20

5 to 7 90

G00p.to5000 0

30 0

40 0

0 35

9 O

130 to 155 0
0 5

200 p. to 800

2 SOto S

55 to 190

400 to 1500

22 to 24

40,150 to 400

0
0

.20
2

4
1

27
20

to
to

Oto

20 to

10 to

Oto

30
0
0

20
0

95
O
0

225 to 500
9 to 13

0
0

Egypt.

PKICES OF GOODS.

143

», the rot]. ...
Day's labour, of a man
Ditto of bricklayer
Ditto of builder ...
Doora shimee (Indian com), tlie ardeb
Doora b^ledee (sorghum), the ardeb

1827.
Plast. Fod
5/. to O 10
0

20
0
0
0
0

DresMes for Women . — -

Gold brocade, the piece • . . 200

Broosa, silk stuffs, ditto- . . so

Embroidered shirts - . 60 to 110

Gibbeh (pelisse) of velvet embroidered - 11.50
Salu (jacket) ditto ditto

Dying cotton, the drah

Ditto linen, ditto «...

Ditto woollen cloth, ditto ...

700
1

0
O
0
0
O
O

2 0

M the oka
Flour, the roob

the oka

Firewood, the kaniar
Fowls

2 for 0 1 or 80 for 1
Engraving seal, with the stone (the best) -

2 0

1 10

7 20
0 10/. to 0 30

O SO/, to 2 0

5 to 15 O

6 0

1 SO

- 2 to 2 20

- 4 to 6 0

O 32

500 to 2000 0

500 to 50,000 0

Goats ...

Gypsum, the ardeb
Gold, the derhm .

Himijtt the donkey load
Henneh (Lawsonia), the mid
Hooey, the rotl .
Horses, native
Houses ...

Siiferest of money, 60 per cent, per an-
num withoQt security.
Interest of money with security, 24 per cent.
Interest, with jewels as security, 12 per cent.

XentUSv the ardeb

linen, the drab ...

(14 feet by 8)
Mats, best menofee, the square drab
Mouth piece (amber without jewels)
Mulct ....

1841.2.
Pisft. Fod.
0 15to 0 SO

1 20to

2
4

9
45
S6

O
O
O
0
0

170 to

200
100

0
O

2 23 to

1 10
0 SO
5 14

{

3 for 0 5

or 24 for 1 0

125 0

S 20

Oto

15 Oto

O
O
0

5 0
50 O

1 10
600 to 5000 0

SO 0

48 Oto 60 0

0 20

0 SO

6 0

4 Oto 12 0

0 SO

50 to 500 0

80 0 to 1000 0

800 to 2000 0

CAIRO. — PRICES OF GOODS.

Sect. n.

Mutton, tiie rotl. . . -

Wlmam (Turkish) dress, embroidered
Nuts, the oka ...

Oil Lamp, the rotl

— Seerigy ditto - - •

— Olive, ditto - - -
Otto of rose, better el werd, the mitk4l

Vearto, the mttkil

Pigeons, the pair -

Pipes, without the mouthpiece

Potatoes, the oka ...

■f the oka
Rent, per month, (see Sect. II. b.)
Rice, the oka ...
Ropes, the oka . . -
» Syrian ditto

Saddle, Turkish, complete, velvet covering
Sea salt, the roob (of 28 rotl)
Servant*s hire, the month (see Sect II. c.)
Sheep ....
Silver, the derbm ...

Shoe leather, the skin

1827.

18^1 —

-2.

Piast. Fed.

FiJtt. Fod.

650

750

iOto

100

and upwards.

10 to 50

10 to

120

I to

10 to 100

10 to 200 oi

•250 10

20 to

g 450

5 to 50

10 to

300

8 to 25

200 to

800

Slaves, black, bojs
, girls

Eunuphs

Abyssinian boys

While boys, (memlooks)

girls.

Skins ...
Silk, Turkish shirt (humbiisa)

, shirting (bumbiisa) ditto

— , raw, the derhm
— , thresul ditto

, piece of (alliga)

, stuffs, the drah

, small Trablua sash -

Soap, the rotl

SoIdier*s pay, the month -
Suaw, the donkey load
Sugar, the rotl

, white
Swords - • .

Tak^eAv white cap

J p.

1 to SO

500 to

1000

800 to

1000

1000 to

1500

700 to

1000

2000 to 5000

1500 to 10,000

85 to

125

90 Co 125

0 35 to 1

•

45 to

100 to 150

11 to

125

2 Oto 31

50 to

100

2 to

Sto 3

1 10 to 3

. 10 / to

130 to 1000

130 to 3000

Sto

5 0

Egypt

QUARTEBS.

145

Tarboosh (red cap), best -
Timber, planks, 10 feet long
Tobacco, gebelee, the oka -

^ sooree, ditto

i b^ledee, ditto

Treacle, the rotl

tberotl

UTateTf Nile, the skin -

leather bottle, or zemsemeeh

■ skins ...

bottle of pottery or koolleh

rose, the quart bottle

Wheat, theardeb (varying in Upper Egypt 18)

&« also, sect. 1. 5. p. 74. some prices at Alexandria.

1827.
PUit. Fod.
25 O

6 O
13 0

7 0
1 10
0 25

0 10

0 5/. to 0 10

15 O

20 to 50 0

O 5

3 O

24 0

1841 —2.
Piwt Fod.
3 to 50 0

14
7

18 0

12 O

d 10

O 2f>

O 35

0 ^S

16 20

0 5

0
0
O

V. QUAftTKRa. — corr and jkws*

QUAKTSa. HAKT KL PRAIlOy Oft

••fRAWK QUAETXa.'*

The whole town is divided into
quarters, separated from each other
by gates, which are closed at night.
A porter is appointed to each, who is
obliged to open the door to all who
wish to pass through, unless there
is sufficient reason to believe them to
be improper persons, or not furnished
with a lamp, which every one is
obliged to carry after the E'thtr,
The majority of these quarters consist
of dwelling-houses, and are known
by a name taken from some public
building, from some individual to
whom the property once belonged, or
from some class of persons who live
there: as the Hart e' Suggain,
'< quarter of the water-carriers ; ** the
Hart e* Nass^ra, or Hart el Kobt,
" the Christian,** or*« Copt, quarter ; "
the Hart el Yeh6od, " Jews* quarter; **
the Hart el Frang,.« Frank quarter,"
and the like.

The Copt quarUr occupies one side
of the Uzbek ^li. It is built much on
the same principle as the rest of the
town ; but some of the houses are very
comfortably fitted up, and present a
better appearance than is indicated by
their exterior. It has a gate at each
end, and others in the centre, two

of which are on the Uzbek^eh ; but
these last are not opened, except as a
favour, to any one after the E'sher,
or labour after sunset The Copt
quarter stands on the site of the old
village of £i Maks.

The Jews* quarter consists of nar-
row dirty streeU or lanes, while many
of the houses of the two opposite
sides actually touch each other at the
upper stories. The principal reason
of their being made so narrow is
to aflbrd protection in caae of the
quarter being attacked, and to faci-
litate escape when the houses have
been forced.

The Frank quarter is usually known
to Europeans by the name of £1 M6s-
kee, supposed to be corrupted from
El Mi&kawee. This last is said to
have been given it in very early times
(according to some, in the reign of
Moes, the founder of the city), in
consequence of its being the abode of
the water-carriers ; and^ according to
the same authority, when the city was
enlarged, and their huts were re-
moved to make way for better bouses,
the streets, which extended through
this quarter (from what is now the
Derb el Baribra to the Hamzowee)
still retained the name of Derb el
Miskawee. This, however, appears
not to have been the real origin of

146

CAIRO. — EXTENT — CANAL.

Sect. IL

the name; and some derive it from
misk, " musk," but for what reason
does not appear. Others, again, sup-
pose it to have been the street of the
Moskee or Russians. The name is

written in Arabic JLj*^, «nd Ma^

crizi says the bridge, or Kantarat el
Moskee, was built by the Ame^r
Ghazaleb, who died in Syria 530
A. H. (a. d. 1136.)

It was here that the first Franks
who opened shops in Cairo were per-
mitted to reside, in the reign of
Yoosef Salih e* deen (Saladin). But
the number of houses occupied by
them in later times having greatly in-
creased, the Frank quarter has ex-
tended far beyond its original limits,
and tlie Moskee now includes several
of the adjacent streets.

Though this name is used both by
Europeans and natives, that of Hart
el Frang, " Frank quarter,** has of
late been generally substituted by the
latter, and each street within it is dis-
tinguished by its own name.

te, TBB WALLS AND KXTBHT OF
CAIRO. CANAL.

The extent of Cairo was at first
very limited. The walls were ori-
ginally of brick, as already staU*d,
until the time of Saladin. At that
period the city extended only to the
Bab Zoo^yleh on the south ; but
when he added the portion beyond it,
the walls were also prolonged to the
citadel, and this continues to be the
circuit of Cairo to the present day.
The original part of the city, how-
ever, still retains the name of £1
Medeeneh, ** the city ;'* as is the case
in some towns of Europe. It was at
this time, too, tliat the ^^isolated Kalat
el Kebsh, or Kuttaeea, of Ahmed ebn
e* Tooloon, became part of Cairo.
The town was also extended on the
northern side, and the present Bab
el Had^et (" gate of iron ") stonds
some distance furtlier out than the
original site of that entrance.

One portion, however, of the old

city was left out in the last circuit,
and a space containing about 14,000
square feet, called Boorg-e'- ZifiTr, is
entirely uninhabited. It is about
400 paces to the S. £. of the Bab
e* Nusr, and is partly buried by the
mounds of rubbish from time to time
carried out of the town. But this
diminution is fully compensated by
the size of the suburbs of Hossayn^eh,
beyond the Bab el Fotooh and the
Bab e* Shar^eh, which cover a space
of 270,000 square feet.

The Boorg-t'-Ziffir, or "tower of
filth,** is curious, from its showing the
masonry, loopholes, and general style
of the Saracenic walls, which are more
easily seen there than in any other part
of the town. At the northern angle is
a staircase of peculiar construction, and
on the inner face of its tower are some
Cu fie inscriptions. Many of the stones
in the walls have remains of hierogly-
phics, and were probably brought from
the ruins of Heliopolis, or the site of
Memphis. On the mounds, that cover
part of the walls, and command the
town, are several small stone forts
erected by the French, and some wind-
mills built by Mohammed AU. Im-
mediately behind the citadel are some
small Egyptian sepulchral grottoes
hewn in the face of tlie rock, and the
cisterns already mentioned.

Canal — Through the town passes
the canaly which conveys the water
from Old Cairo to the city, and thence
to the lands abou{ Heliopolis. It is
the successor of the Amnis Trajanus*
The cutting of this canal in the month
of A ugust is a grand ceremony, and
gives the signal for opening the other
canals of Egypt. In 183S-3 a new
canal was opened near Boolak, for
the purpose of irrigating the lands
about Heliopolis and the Birket el
Hag, which has partly superseded the
old one, whose oflSlcc is now confined
to ^e conveyance of water to the city ;
and it is probable that were it not for
an old prestige in its favour, the
government would close the latter
altogether, and make of its bed a con*

Egypt.

ANTIQUITIES — POl*ULATION.

147

▼cnient street ; which would have the
additional advantage of freeing the
houses on its banks from the noxious
vapours that rise, when the water has
retired, and left a bed of liquid mud.

X. OATKS.

Some of the gates of Cairo are well
worthy of a visit. The most remark-
able are the Bab e' Nusr, " Gate of
Victory;" the Babel Fotooh, "Gate
of Conquest ;*' and the Bab Zoo4yleh
(already mentioned), in the interior of
the city. The first opens towards the
desert and the tombs, on the east side,
and is that by which the Hag, or " pil-
grims,** go in procession ; when, taking
the covering off the Prophet*s tomb,
they leave Cairo for the pilgrimage to
Mecca.

y, ANTIQUZTIXS IK CAIRO.

Cairo itself presents no remains of
ancient times except columns, blocks
of stone used as thresholds of doors,
and fragments brought from Helio-
poUs, Memphis, or other places ; and
few are found with sculpture or
hieroglyphics. The most remarkable
are a column of a mosk in the Berb
e* Toorgemaa,near the Soog e' ZuUut,
with the names of Amenoph III., of
Pthahmen, the son and successor of
Remeses the Great, and of Osirei
III., the fourth successor of that con-
queror ; a stone at Joseph *s Hall ; the
threshold of the Okilet el Bokh£r,
near the Hamzowee, with the name of
Psamaticus ; two or three in and near
the Frank quarter ; one at the Mer-
go6sh ; another with the name of
Apries, at a gateway opposite Ahmed
Pasha Taber's palace behind the Ux-
bek^h ; the capital of a column with
the name of Horus, in the D£li e*
Semak ; and a few others. But they
are of little interest, from our not
knowing the place or building whence
they came. Nor is any thing found
outside the town, near Ute walls, ex-
cept the tanks and grottoes of Gebel
e' J6oshee.

X, FOPDI^TXOir OP CAIRO.

Cairo is of irregular form ; about
two miles in length, by about half that
in breadth. The population has been
variously stated by different writers.
It appears to be now reduced from
300,000 to about 200,000 souls, and
the number of the inhabitants of Egypt
is gradually decreasing throughout the
country. Cairo is supposed to con-
tain 30,000 inhabited houses ; and of
the population of 200,000, about
121,000 are Moslems, 60,000 Copts,
4,000 Jews, 8,500 Franks and Greeks,
2,000 Armenians, and 4,500 Roman
Catholic Copts, Greeks, and Arme-
nians.

It were well if the population of
dogs decreased in the same proportion
as the inhabitants of Cairo : a smaller
number would suffice for all the pur*
poses for which they are useful, and
the annoyance of these barking plagues
might be diminished to great advan-
tage. Their habits are strange : they
consist of a number of small republics,
each having its own district, deter-
mined by a frontier line, respected
equally by itself and its neighbours ;
and woe to the dog who dares to ven-
ture across it at night, either for
plunder, curiosity, or a love adven-
ture. He is chased with all the fury
of the offended party, whose territory
he has invaded ; but if lucky enough
to escape to his own frontier unhurt,
he immediately turns round with the
confidence of right, defies his pursuers
to continue the chase, and, supported
by his assembled friends, joins with
them in barking defiance at any fur-
ther hostility. Egypt is therefore not
the country for an European dog,
unaccustomed to such a state of canine
society : and I remember hearing of
a native servant who had been sent by
his Frank master to walk out a fa-
vourite pointer, running home in tears
with the bind leg of the mangled dog,
being the only part he could rescue
from the fierce attacks of a whole tribe
of *^$ubuTrana caneg.** This he did

i4d

CAIRO. — FESTIVALS.

Sect. IL

to show he had not lost or sold his
master's pointer, at the same time
that he proved his zeal in the cause
of what Moslems look upon as an
unclean and contemptible animal.

a. a. FK8TITAL8 AMD SIGHTS AT CAIRO.

The principal annual ceremony at
Cairo is the departure of the pilgrims
for Mecca, on the 25th of Show&l.
The Mahmel and tlie Kisweh are the
chief objects in this procession. The
former is a veWet canopy, borne on a
camel richly caparisoned, and was ori-
ginal ly intended for the travelling seat
or GarmSot, of the wives of the
caliphs, who went to the pilgrimage.
This and the Mokub, or pomp that
attends the pilgrims, were first sug-
gested by Sheggeret e* Door, the
queen of Sultan Sileh, who was anxi-
ous to add to the splendour of tlie
hitherto simple procession of the Faith>
ful ; and the dangers of the journey
were at the same time greatly de-
creased by an additional reinforcement
of guards. The Kiswet e* Nebbee
is the lining of the K^ba, or temple
of Mecca. It is of rich silk, adorned
with Arabic sentences embroidered in
gold, and is yearly supplied from
Cairo ; the old one being then returned,
and divided into small portions for the
benefit or satisfaction of the credu-
lous.

The pilgrims, after staying two
days at the edge of the desert, near
Dimerd&sh, proceed to the Birket el
Hag, or « lake of the pilgrims,** where
they remain a day : from thence they
go to £1 Hamra ; and after a halt of
a day there, they continue tlieir jour-
ney as far as Agerood, where they
stop one day ; and having seen the
new moon of Zul-k&di, they leave
the frontier of Egypt, cross the nor-
thern part of the peninsula of Mount
Sinai to £1 Akaba, at the end of the.
Eastern Gulph, and then continue
their march through Arabia, till they
arrive at Mecca. After having per-
formed the prescribed ceremonies
there, having walked seven times at

least round the K&aba, and kissed the
black stone, taken water from the holy
well of Zemaem, visited the hill of
Zafa, and the Omra, the 70,000 pil-
grims proceed to the holy hill of
Araf&t. Tliis is the number said to be
collected annually at the pilgrimage
from the various nations of Isl4m ;
and so necessary is it that it should
be completed on the occasion, that
angels are supposed to come down to
supply this deficiency, whenever the
pilgrimage is thinly attended. Such
is the effect of the magical number 7,
and of the credulity of the East.

Their return to Cairo is also a day
of great rejoicing, when the pilgrims
enter in procession by the Bab «'
Nusr, about the end of the month
SaflTer, generally the 25th or 27th.
But this ceremony is neither so im-
portant, nor so scrupulously observed
as the departure ; each person being
more anxious to return to his friends,
than to perform a part in an unprofit-
able pageant.

The Eed e' Sogh^ir, or lesser festi-
val, falls on the beginning of Showal,
the month immediately following the
fast of Ramad4n, and continues three
days, which are kept like those of the
Eed el Keb^er, with the exception of
the sacrifice, which is not then per-
formed. These two festivals are called
by the Turks, BaiHLm. The Eed el
Keb^er, <* the greater Eed,** or Eed
e' Dah6eh (** of the sacrifice *') also con-
tinues tliree days, and is kept on the
10th, nth, and 12thof Zul-bag, being
tlie three days when the pilgrimage
of Mecca is performed.

The day before the Eed the pilgrims
ascend the holy hill of Araf&t, which
is thence called Nahr el Wikfeh,
*< the day of the ascent,** or "standing
upon** (the hill): there they remain
all night, and next day, which is the
Eed, they sacrifice on the hill ; then,
having gone down, they with closed
eyes pick up seven-times-seven small
stones, which they throw upon the
tomb of the devil at even, and next
day go to Mecca, where they remain

Egypt.

FESTIVALS.

149

ten or fifteen days. Tbe period from
leaving Cairo to the W&kfeb is thirty-
three days, and the whole time from
the day of leaving the hill of Arafat
to that of entering Cairo, is sixty-
leren days.

The three days of both the Eeda are
celebrated at Cairo by amusements of
various kinds ; the guns of the cita-
del during that time being fired at
every hour of prayer, five times each
day. The festival of the Eed e' Da^
h&eh is intended to commemorate the
sacrifice of Abraham when he offered
a ram in lieu of his son ; though the
Moslems believe that son to have been
Ismail ; in which they differ from the
Jews and Christians.

Tbe opening of the canal at Old
Cairo is also a ceremony of great im-
portance, and looked upon with feel-
ings of great rejoicing, as the har-
binger of the blessings annually be-
stowed upon the country by the Nile.
The time fixed for cutting tbe dam,
that closes its mouth, depends of
course on the height of the river, but
is generally about the 1 0th of August.

The ceremony is performed in the
morning by the Governor of Cairo,
or by the Pasha's deputy. The whole
night before this, the booths on the
shore, and the boats on the river, are
crowded with people ; who enjoy
themselves by witnessing or joining
tbe numerous festive groups, while
fireworks and various amusements
enliven tbe scene.

Towards morning, the greater part
either retire to some house to rest, or
wrap themselves up in a cloak, and
sleep on board the boats, or upon the
banks in the open air. About eight
o'clock A.M. the Governor, accom-
panied by troops and his attendants,
arrives ; and on giving a signal, several
peasants cut the dam with hoes, and
the water rushes into the bed of the
canal. In the middle of the dam is
a pillar of earth, called Arooset e'
Keel, " the bride of the Nile,** which
a tradition pretends to have been sub-
stituted by the humanity of Amer for

tbe virgin previously sacrificed every
year by the Christiant to the river
god I While the water is rushing into
the canal, the Governor throws in a
few para pieces, to be scrambled for
by boys, who stand in its bed| ex-
pecting these proofs of Turkish muni-
ficence ; which, though 200 go to an
English shilling (and this is a far
larger sum than is scrambled for
on the occasion), are the only in-
stance of money given gratis by the
Government to the people, from one
end of the year to the other. It is
amusing to see the clever way in
which some of the boys carry off* these
little prizes, the tricks they play each
other, and their quickness in diving
into the water; which threatens to
carry them off*, as it rushes from the
openings of the dam. As soon as
sufficient water has entered it, boats
full of people ascend the canal, and
the crowds gradually disperse, as the
Governor and the troops withdraw
from the busy scene.

This was formerly a very pretty
sight, and was kept up with a spirit
unknown in these days of increased
cares and diminished incomes. The
old Turkish costume too, the variety
in the dresses of the troops, and the
Oriental character that pervaded the
whole assemblage in former times,
tended not a little to increase the
interest of the festival ; but the pomp
of those days has yielded to a tame-
ness, with which every one, who
twenty or fifteen years ago witnessed
this and other ceremonies of Cairo,
cannot fail to be struck.

The story of the virgin annually
sacrificed to the river shows how
much reliance is to be placed on tra^
dition, or even on the authority of
Arab writers ; for credulity revolts at
the idea of a human sacrifice in a
Christian country, so long under the
government of the Romans. The in-
vention of a similar fable discovers
the ignorance, as well as the malicious-
ness, of its authors, who probably lived
long after the time of Amer, and who

150

CAIRO. — FESTIVALS.

Sectn.

thought to establish the credit for their
own nation by misrepresenting the
conduct of their enemies.

The Mooted e* Nebbee, or *< birth-
day of the Prophet** Mohammed, is
a filt of rejoicing, and offers many
an amusing scene. It was first in-
stituted by Sultan Murad the son of
Sellm, known to us as Amurath III.,
in the year 996 of the Hegira, a. d.
1588. It is held in the Uzbek^eh
in the beginning of the month of Re-
b^eh-el-owel, on the return of the
pilgrims to Cairo; and from the
booths, swings, and other things
erected on the occasion, has rather
the appearance of a fair. It con-
tinues a whole week, beginning on
the 3d, and ending on the 11th, or
the night of the 12th, of the month,
the last being always the great day ;
the previous night having the name
of Layleh Mobirakeh, ox "blessed
night'* On this day the Saad^eh
derwishes, the modern Psylli, go in
procession and perform many jug-
gling tricks with snakes, some of which
are truly disgusting; these fanatics
frequently tearing them to pieces witli
their teeth, and assuming all the cha-
racter of maniacs. For the last two
years, however, this part of the per-
formance has been omitted, being too
gross for the public eye, in these days
of increasing civilisation ; but fanati-
cism is not wanting to induce them,
as well as many bystanders, to degrade
themselves by other acts totally un-
worthy of rational beings, such as
could only be expected among»t
ignorant savages; and no European
can witness the ceremony of the
Ddsehf which takes place in the after,
noon of the same day, without feelings
of horror and disgust. On this occa-
sion the shekh of the Siad^eh, mounted
on horseback, and accompanied by the
derwishes of various orders, with their
banners, goes in procession to the
Uzbek :eh, where between 200 and
300 fanatics having thrown them-
selves prostrate on the ground, closely
wedged together, the shekh rides over

their bodies, the assembled crowd fre-
quently contending with each other to
obtain one of these degrading posts,
and giving proofs of wild fanaticism
which those who have not witnessed
it could not easily imagine. A grand
ceremony is also performed in Uie
evening at the house of their president,
the Shifkh el Bekree, the reputed de»
scendant of A boo Bekr e* Saad^h.

The Mooledel Haasanin, ihebirtli-
day of the "two Hassans** (Hassan
and Hossayn), the sons of Ali, is cele-
brated foi* eight days about the 12th
of Rebeeb-*l-akher, and is considered
the greatest flu in Cairo, being of
the psUron saints of the city. The
people go in crowds to visit their
tomb, where grand Zikn are per-
formed in their honour; the mosk
being brilliantly illuminated, as well
as the quarters in the immediate
neigbbourliood ; while tlie people in-
dulge in the usual amusements of
Eastern fairs.

The fites of Saydeh Ziyneb, the
grand-daughter of the Prophet, and
other male and female shekbs of Cairo,
are kept much in the same way, by
illuminating their respective mosks;
but are mucii less worth seeing than
the ordinary evening occupations of
the Moslems during the whole month
of Ramadtui, which, to a person un-
derstamling the language, offer many
attractions. The bazaars are then
lighted up, and crowds of people ait
at the shops, enjoying themselves,
after the cruel fast of the day, by
conversation, and by listening to story
tellers; who, with much animatioo,
read or relate the tales of the Thou-
sand-and-one Nights, or other of
the numerous stories for which the
Arabs have been always famed.

6. 6. THB MAOICIAK.

One of the first lions which the
traveller inquires after, on arriving
at Cairo, is the magician, who baa
become noted for certain perform-
ances through a supposed auperos-
tural power, by which figures are

■ full u

made to ■ppev to cbiidren ; >nd tfae
penoni otlhotit wholHie been called
for bj tbe byaunderi hi*e been wtne-
tim» deicTibed lO uciirattljr u to
lewl to tlie belief that "
were not unfouodtd.

Mtp Lane hu giveD
of what he doe*, or preleads to do ;
for Kbich I reTer lo liii work, and
proceed to describe the performance
of the ^me penon, Sbekh abd el
Kider, ai wjtnnud b; me in 1R4I,
with the obwiTitions I biTe been ied
to make on the occuion ; which I
■ubmit to the judgment of tbe reader,
■nd aboie all of the traveller, who
■CH him, and hai lufficient knowledge
at Arabic to be independent of an in-
terp'Vter. A belief in the power of
calling up the dead, or eihibiting ap-
pearance! of abwnt penoni, haa been
long current in the EuL The man-
ner of doing Ihii calli lo mind the in-

Samucl waa made to appear at the
rcqueM of Saul ; and the uteof ink in
ibe boy'ihandi* timilir lo tlicoil uid
lo hav* been einptojed for the lame
purpose bj the Greeks, atTording to
(be Scboliait oD Ariitophaoes.

I now proceed to ihow ai brieSj a*
poaiible what are the chiimi nf the mo-
dera magician in riTalling lho«eof old.

On going to see him I wai deter-
mined to examine the matler with

that I direated myself of every pre-
tioua bias, either for or against hii
pretended powers. A party having
been made up lo wititeu the eihibi.
lion, we met, according to previous
agreement, at Mr. Lewis'* house on
Wednrvlay evening, the 8ib of De-
cember. The magician was ushered
ing taken his place, we ail

TH£ MAUICIAir.

151

IE befon

Tbe party conuited of
Colonel Bamet our consul -general.
Chevalier Krehmer tbe Ruuiaii con-
lul-general, Mr. Lewis, Dr. Ahbol,
Mr. Samuel, Mr.Chriilian, M. Prisse,
with aootber French gentleman, and
mjaclf; row of whom undentood

Arabic very well, so that we bad no
need of an inlerpreler.

The magician, after entciing into
conversation with many of us on in-
different lubjecti, and discusaing two
or three pipes, prepared fur (he per-
formatice. He lirgt of all requested
that a braiier of live charcoal might
be brought, and in the mean while
occupied himself in writing upon a
long slip of paper five sentences of
two lines each, then two others, one of
a single line, and the other of two, a*
an invocation to the tpiriu. Ever;
sentence biK*" <*'''■ Tuyunboon, and
tliey weie very limilar to those given
in Mr. Lane's book i —

&c.
Each waa separated from the one
above and below it by a line, to direct
him in tearing them apart.

A boy was then called, who was
ordered lo >il down before the magi-
cian. Me did 10. and the magician
having asked for some ink from Mr.
Lewis, traced with a pen on the palm

band a double square, conlaining the
nine numbers in this order, or in
English — making 1£ each way ; the

7 the magician,
Q brought and

152

CAIBO. — TH£ MAGICUK.

Sect. n.

the boy, who was ordered to look
stedfasdy into the ink and report
whatever he siiould see. I begged
the magician to speak slowly enough
to give me time to write down every
word, which he promised to do, with-
out being displeased at the request ;
nor had he objected, during the pre-
liminary part of the performance, to
my attempt to sketch him as he sat.

He now began an incantation, call-
ing on the spirits by the power of
" our Lord Soolayman," &c., with the
words tt^ur$hooH and hadderoo (be
present), frequently repeated. He
then muttered words to himself, and
tearing apart the different sentences
he had written, he put them one after
the other into the fire together with
some frankincense. This done, he
asked the boy if any body had come.

— BoT. " Yes, many." — Magician.
" Tell them to sweep." — B. «* Sweep."

— M. *' Tell them to bring the flags.'*

— B. » Bring the flags." — M.
" Have they brought any?" — B.
" Yes." — M. " Of what colour?"

— B. " Green. •• — M. "Say, bring
another." — B. ** Bring another.**

— M. " Has it come?*'— B. " Yes,
a green one." — M. " Another.**

— B. « Another." — , M. " Is it
brought?"— B. "Yes; another green
one — they are ail green.** — M.
" What now ?"— B. •* Another ; half
white, half red." — M. « Bring an-
other.** — B. " Bring another." — M.
«Heh?"— B. « He has brought a
black one; all black."— M. "An-
other." — B. *< Another; here it is;
there are five.** — M. "Another." —
B. <* Bring another ; here it is, all
white.** — M. "Bring one more." —
B. " Bring one more."— M. " Well ?"

— B. " He has brought one more,
green.** — M. "Bring the sultan*s
tent." — B. " They have brought it,
but have not yet put it up." — M.
*' Order them to pitch it and lay down
diwans." — B. " They have put it
up, aud have brought diwans; here
comes the sulun on a black horse, and
he alighu and sits on a throne.** —

Finding the boy very ready with his
answers, I said to him, " Have I not
seen you perform before?" He said,
" Yes, I have done it before often."—
M. " What do you see now?" — B.
" He is washing his hands."— M. " Is
a soldier before him?"— B. " Yes."

— M. "Have they brought coffee?"

— B. " They have ; and he drinks —
put me some more ink."

This being done, the magician asked
who would call for some one. Mr.
Lewis called for his father by name.

— M. " Say to thechowish, * Chowisb,
bring Frederick Lewis before me that
I may see him ?* Well ! "— B. " Here
he is, dressed in black, short and fat,
of a white colour, with no beard, but
mustaches, wearing a tarboosh and
red shoes." The description of this
person was as unlike as the last part
to a European dress. The magician,
on being told this, said, *< Let him
go." The boy repeated this order,
and said, " I tell the truth as be ap-
pears."

I suggested that the magician, bav-
in;' once caused Siakspeare to be so
Wfll described, ought to have the
same power of doing it again with a
different boy, and I asked for him.

— M. " Say, Chowish, bring Sbak-
speare." — B. " Bring Sbakspeare.**

— M. " Is he come ?*'— B. " Yes ;
he is short, fat, dressed in black, with
a child standing by him ; he has a
beard.** Somebody asked if he bad
any thing round his neck. B. " Yes ;
a handkerchief, red. He has a black
beard, no mustaches, a black high hat *'
Some one asked if it was like a com-
mon hat. B. <* A hat with a band
round it ; he wears red shoes, has
nothing in his hand, Arab trowsers,
and a nizAm dress, and a black niz6m
coat, with a red shawl round his
waist, a stick in his hand, many peo-
ple near him, and a little boy dressed
in white, an Arab dress, tarbooaky and
red shoes."— M. " Let him go — is
begone?"— B. "Yes."

Lord Anglesey was then called
for. The boy described him as " an

Egypt.

THE ICAOICIAN.

153

Englishman, tall, in a Frank dress of
a black colour, with a white hand-
kerchief round his neck, wearing black
boots and white stockings, light or
yellow hair, blue eyes, no beard, no
mustaches, but whiskers ; with black
gloves on his hands, and a low flat
black hat** He was then asked how
he walked. M. «< Tell him to walk.**—
B. ** He stretches out his leg far, and
puts his hands to his sides in his
trowsers pockets. ** Some one asked if
he stepped out equally with both legs?
and the boy replied, ** He puts them
out both equally.**

He was then sent away, and ano-
ther boy was brought, who had never
before seen the magician, having been
chosen with another by Mr. Lewis on
purpose. The ink being put into his
band he was asked if he saw the re-
flection of his face ; and having an-
swered in the aflirmative, he was told
to say when he saw any thing; but
after many incantations, incense, and
long delay, he could see nothing, and
fell asleep over the ink.

The other boy was then called in,
but he, like the last, could not be made
to see any thing; and a fourth was
brought, who bad evidently often acted
his part before. He first saw a sha-
dow, and was ordered to ** tell him
to sweep,** and after the flags and the
sultan as usual, some one suggested
tliat Lord Fitaroy Somerset should be
called for. He was described in a
white Frank dress, a long (high) white
hat, Hack itoekinga, and white gloves,
tall, and standing before him with black
boola, I asked how he could see his
stockings with boots ? The boy an-
swered ** under his trowsers.** He
continued, ** His eyes are white, no
mustaches, no beard, but little whis-
kers, and yellow (light) hair ; he is
thin, thin legs, thin arms; in his left
hand he holds a stick, and in the other
a pipe ; he has a black handkerchief
round his neck, bis throat buttoned
up ; his trowsers are long ; he wears
green spectacles. '* The magician
seeing some of the party smiling at

the description and its inaccuracy, said
to the boy, " Don't tell lies, boy.**
To which he answered, <* I do not,
why should I ?*' — M. '< Tell him to
go.**— B. '^Go.**

Queen Victoria was next called for,
who was described as short, dressed in
black trowsers, a white hat, black
shoes, white gloves, red coat with red
lining, jind black waistcoat, with whis-
kers, but no beard nor mustaches, and
holding in his hand a glass tumbler.
He was asked if the person was a man
or a woman ? he answered, " a man.**
We told the magician it wasour queen !
He said, ** I do not know why they
should say what is false ; 1 knew she
was a woman, but the boys describe
as they see.** ■

From the manner in which the
questions are put, it is very evident
that when a boy is persuaded to see
any thing, the appearances of the
sweeper, the flags and the sultan, are
the result of leading questions. The
boy pretends or imagines he sees a
man or a shadow, and he is told to
order some one to sweep : he is there-
fore prepared with his answer ; and the
same continues to the end, the magi-
cian always telling him what he is to
call for, and consequently what he is
to see. The descriptions of persons
asked for are almost universally com-
plete failures, and the exceptions may,
I think, be explained in this manner.
A person with one arm is called for,
as Lord Nelson; while described,
questions are put by those present as
to this or that peculiarity, and the mere
question, ** Has he one or two arms?**
will suffice to prompt a boy of any
quickness to say, " No, I see he has
only one ; ** and when asked which he
has lost, he must be right, as the ma-
gician has the wir, if wrong, to say
"he sees him as in a mirror;'* and
the same unintentional hints, aided
sometimes by an interpreter, have,
doubtless, led to the few striking de-
scriptions which have been given.
Indeed, though every one had agreed
to avoid any thing which might lead

154

CAIRO. — INSTITUTIONS.

Sect. n.

the boy t to their answers, on the occa-
sion above mentioned at Mr. Lewis's,
this question was inadvertently asked,
** Does Lord Anglesey step out
equally with both legs ? ** which, had
the boy been sufficiently quick, would
have led to a description that might
have been cited in favour of the power
of the magician. It is also very evi-
dent that the boy describing an Euro-
pean with trowsers, boots, and stock-
ings, was not telling what he saw, but
what he was thinking of, and putting
together as the description of a Frank
dress ; for he could not, of course, see
the stockings, concealed, as they would
be, by trowsers and boots.

I am decidedly of opinion that the
whole of the first part is done solely
by leading questions, and that when-
ever the descriptions succeed in any
point, the success is owing to accident,
or to unintentional prompting in the
mode of questioning the boys. That
the boys are frequently sent beforehand
by the magician to wait near the house
has also been discovered ; but in cases
where European and other boys, who
have never seen him , are brought, the
same leading questions will answer,
if the boys can be induced by their
imagination to fancy they see any
thing. Indeed, this imagination has
been sometimes so worked upon as to
alarm them for many days and weeks
afterwards, and we have no need of
Egyptian magicians to induce credu-
lity, or to work upon the fears of
children. With regard to those who
have learnt of the magician, if they
really believe that with such questions
they have any other power over the
boy, independent of his imagination,
or the wish to please the party, I
leave them to explain it according
to their own version. I must how-
ever observe that the explanation
lately offered, that-Osman Effendi
was in collusion with the magician, is
neither fair on him, nor satisfactory,
as he ufaa not present when those
cases occurred, which were made so
much of in Europe; while for my

own part I see no difficulty in ac-
counting for it, in the manner above
mentioned.

Ce. INSTITUTIONS OF THB TASHA.

It is not my intention to enter into
a detailed account of all the institu-
tions of the Pasha, as manufactories,
arsenals, schools of medicine, geome-
try, and modem languages, military
and naval establishments, or of the
formation of his disciplined army and
his fleet. But I cannot pass them
over altogether without notice ; and I
recommend those who are interested
in the subject to visit the Kroomfish
manufactory, near the Frank quarter ;
the arsenal at the citadd ; the schools
of Boolak, the Uzbek^eh, and Moble-
deedn near Saydeh Zayneb ; the
printing office, observatory, dockyard,
foundries, and other establihhments at
Boolak : the hospital of Kasr el Ainee,
and the military schools.

The most praiseworthy establish*
ments set on foot by the Pasha are the
hospitals and schools ; and the latter
claim greater credit from the diffi-
culties with which he had to contend,
owing to the prejudices of the priests
or ulemas, and the fears of parents.
Nor can he be accused of interested
or ambitious views, in the education
of the children of persons too poor, or
too ignorant, to take any steps for that
purpose. Numerous difficulties pre-
vented these institutions from being
establislied as quickly as might have
been done in any other country. The
schools of surgery met with additional
opposition from the horror of surgical
operations, the examination of a body
after death, and a thousand other ob-
jections, which readily offered tfaem^
selves to the minds of a people, preju-
diced by religion and habit against the
customs of the Franks, under whose
guidance the government required
their children to be placed. Nor was
this feeling confined to the schools of
surgery and medicine; the people
were satisfied with the instructioo
given by their Fe^tes, — those Mo»-

Egyp^

INTEBNAL ADMINISTRATION.

165

lem schoolmasters, hj whom they and
their ancentors had been taught all that
the Faithful were required to know ;
— and the prestige of ages was in
favour of those hoi j instructors.

They objected to their children
being taught what they had not them-
leWes learnt, or what was not con-
nected with their religion, and FVank
languages and sciences appeared to
be an abomination to the Egyptians.
The system too of detaining boys at
school was unheard of: the day-schools
of the East were never so bard-heart-
ed as to deprive parents of their chil-
dren beyond the hours of study ; and
the cruelty of keeping them all day,
and obliging them to sleep away from
home all night, horrified their mo-
thers, who preferred cutting off the
forr-finger of a child*s right hand,
to pret'ent his being able to write, ra-
ther than suffer him to be taught at
no expense in the Pasha's schools.
With such a feeling, the diflSculties
encountered may easily be imagined ;
and so averse are they still to this in-
novation, that though they confess the
condition of their children is bettered,
though they are paid by the govern-
ment instead of paying for their edu-
cation, and though children of the
poorest people may, if industrious,
arrive at high and lucrative employ-
ments, yet their prejudices are insur-
mountable; and without giving any
reason, they express a blind dislike to
send their sons to school, and if they
possibly can, they withdraw them even
after they have gone through half the
course of their education. The Chil-
dren are clothed, fed, and receive a
monthly allowance of pay, according
to their abilities, and the class they
are in ; and it is gratifying now to see
that many boys in Egypt, who are
usually ignorant of every thing, read
and write, and have become acquainted
with the rudiments of science. There
are different schools or colleges, be-
sides those of medicine and other
branches: 1. The Rozm4neh; 8. The
Mobtedee; 3. That of AboosAbel;

and 4. the Kasr e* Shekh Refifii in the
Uzbek^h.

At the first, the boys are very young,
from three to four years old. Tliey
begin by receiving 6 piastres a month
as pay, besides food and clothing, and
are taught to read and write.

At the second they receive, on en-
tering, from 7 to 9 piastres ; when
about sixteen or seventeen years old,
11; and if they read well, 1:2. They
are taught the Koran, literal Arabic,
geography, arithmetic, Turkish, &c

At the third the youngest receives 50,
others 100, and the oldest and most
advanced 250, all being regulated
according to their proficiency. They
learn drawing, mathematics, riding,
&c.

At the fourth the youngest has 50
piastres, the oldest 15 dollars, 300 p.
They are taught European languages,
medicine, &c., and are afterwards eli-
gible to the office of effendee,

d. d, INTKRMAL ADMINXSTaATION, PO-
UCE, ANO COURTS OP JUSTXCB.

Matters relating to the internal ad-
ministration of the country and of the
city are settled by <he diwdnt estab-
lished at the ciudel. Each is super-
intended by a president. Police cases
are decided by the bash- agha, or chief
of the police, at his office near the
Frank quarter, who either settles them
summarilv, or enters them into the
police report, and sends them up to the
citadel for judgment. The sentries
are also police officers ; and minor
cases, as disputes about a purchase
at a shop, or other trifling questions,
are arranged without the parties being
taken to the police-office, or even to
the corps de garde» Europeans are
only amenable to their consuls, and
cannot be punished by Turkish law.
In disputed cases between them and
natives, a mixed commission is some-
times appointed to decide the matter,
by mutual agreement of the parties.

Questions of property, family dis-
putes, and all cases that come under

156

GAIBO. — INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION.

Sect. IL

the bead of lawsuit, are settled at the
MciUtemeh, or Cadi*t Court.

e e. THE MAHKBMEH, OR CADX*8
COURT.

This mighty court, looked upon
with fear and respect by some, and
contempt and disgust by others, occu-
pies a portion of the old palace of the
SulCanSy which succeeded to one of
the Kasrayn or ** two palaces,*' built
by G6ber el K&ed, the founder of
Cairo j and close to it is still shown
a fine vaulted chamber, once ,part of
the abode of Saladiii. This last, as
well as its adjoining companion, is
now a ruin, and occupied by mills; its
large pointed arches have lost all
their ornaments except tlie Arabic
inscriptions at the projection of their
horse-shoe base; and the devices of
its once richly-gilded ceiling can
scarcely l>e distinguished. At the
end is a lofiy mahrab, or arabesque
niche for prayer, similar to those in
the mosks, which are sometimes ad-
mitted into large houses for the same
purpose.

The crowded state of the Mahkemeh
sufficiently shows how fond the
Cairenes are of Uligation, every petty
grievance or family quarrel .being
referred to the Cadi*s Court. Cases
of a very serious nature are settled by
the Cadi himself; others of more or-
dinary occurrence, but still of due
importance to the parties, are decided
by his effhndee, and confirmed by the
seal of the Cadi ( Kddee) ; and those of
little weight are often arranged by the
kSUebg {kodtuba), clerks or scribes,
without any application to either. The
personages who hold office here are
the Cadi, his effisndee, his k^hia, the
bash-k&teb, or '* head scribe,*' and
tlie ^kodtttba, or clerks. The minor
officers are roo$$ul or messengers, the
k^hia's dragoman (called el mihdtar),
the meh^ndes or architect, and the
koshaf for the inspection of houses.
There are also scribes who enter cases
into the defier or ngil, of the record
office. The bayt el mal, or " property

house," is a separate court for all pro-
perty left without an heir, and may be
called the Court of Chancery.

The Cadi is appointed by the Sultaoi
and is sent from Constantinople.

It is bad enough in any country to
be occupied in lawsuits ; but nowhere
does a poor man find so much dif-
ficulty in obtaining justice as in Egypt.
He is not only put off from day to
day, but obliged to run from one per-
son to another, to no purpose, for days,
weeks, or months ; and unless he can
manage to collect sufficient to bribe
the bath'ketteb and other emplojfe* of
the court, he may hope in vain to ob-
tain justice, or even attention to his
complaints.

The fees of the Cadi are four-
fifilis of all that is paid for cases at
the court, the remaining fifUi going
to the bash-kiteb and other scribes
under him. The division is made
every Thursday.

When a case is brought up for de-
cision, the documents relating to it,
after having passed through the hands
of a scribe, are examined by the
eflfendee, and being settled by him,
the kehia decides on and demands
the fee. This he does whether sealed
by the Cadi, or only by his eflfendee.

Minor cases, as disputes between
husband and wife, if the parties can-
not be reconciled below in the hall,
by the advice of a k&Ubt are taken up
to the eflTendee. When settled in the
hall, a small fee is demanded for the
charitable intervention of the scribe ;
which is his perquisite, for not trou-
bling his superiors with a small case.
Decisions respecting murder, robbery,
the property of rich individuals, and
other important matters, are pro-
nounced by the Cadi himself. In
cases of murder, or wounding or
maiming, if the friends of the deceased
or the injured party consent to an
adjustment, certain fines are paid by
way of requital. These are fixed by
law, regulated however by the quality
of the persons. Ransom for murder
{d&th el KtUiel) is rated at 50 pursei

Egypt.

EXCUBSION 1.

157

(250£i) ; an eye put out in an affray,
half that dieh ; a tootli one tenth, and
so on.

The most efficient recipe for stimu-
lating the torpid temperament of the
Molikemeh is bribery ; and the persons
to whom bribes are administered with
singularly good effect, are the bash-
kateb and the other scribes. And so
impatient are they of neglect in this
particular, thatthe moment they think
some of these iRentions to Mahkemeh
etiquette ought to show themselves,
they begin to put forth every difficulty
as a delicate hint. WheneTer the
simple-minded applicant, trusting to
the e? ident justice of his cause, ap-
pears before them, they are far too
much occupied with other papers of
long standing to attend to him : a
particular person, whose presence is
absolutely required, is not to be found ;
or some official excuse is invented to
check tlie arrangement of the business,
and he is put off from day to day with
a chance of success. On the appear-
ance of these marked symptoms, a
domeew should, in doctorial language,
be immediately exhibited in a suffi-
ciently large dose to allay tlje irritation;
and it is surprising to observe how the
gladdened face of the man>of-law ex-
pands on taking the welcome potion.
It is of course a matter tl«at passes
in secret between the donor and the
receiver ; for, though notorious, se-
crecy is required for the acceptance of
a bribe unshared by the Cadi or his
effendee; and the Cadi himself is
never propitiated with a similar offer-
ing unless the case is very serious, and
requires that touching appeal to his
feelings.

axcuasiOK 1. — a. old cairo.

Old Cairo, or Musr el At^keh, is
a ride of about S miles from Cairo.
It was originally called Fostit. It
was founded by Amer ebn el A% who
conquered Egypt in the caliphate of
Omar, a. d. 638 ; and is said to have
received its name from the leather tent
(fos|iit) which Amer there pitched for

himself, during the siege of the Roman
fortress. In the same spot he erected
the mosk, that still bears his name,
which in after times stood in the centre
of the city, and is now amidst the
mounds and rubbish of its fallen
houses. Fost&t continued to be the
royal residence, as well as the capital
of Egypt, until the time of Ahmed
ebn e* Tool6on, who built, the mosk
and palace at the Kiilat el Kebsh, a. i>.
879.

Goher el Kaed, having been sent
by M6es to conquer Egypt, founded
the new city called Musr el Kiherah
(Cairo), which four years after (in
A. D. 974), became the capital of the
country, and Fostat received the new
appellation of Musr el Ateekeh or
** Old Musr,** corrupted by Europeans
into Old Cairo. The ancient name
of the city, which occupied part of
the site of Old Cairo, was Egyptian
Babylon ; and the Roman station,
which lies to the S. of the mosk of
Amer is evidently the fortress be-
sieged by the Moslem invader. The
style of its masonry has the peculiar
character of Roman buildings ; which
is readily distinguished by the courses
of red tiles or bricks, and the con-
struction of its arches : and over the
main entrance on the S. side (which is
now closed and nearly buried in rub-
bish) is a triangular pediment, under
whose left-hand corner may still be
seen the Roman eagle. Above, ap-
pears to have been a slab, prolwbly
bearing an inscription, long since fallen
or removed. Its solid walls and
strong round towers sufficiently tes-
tify its former strength, and account
for its having defied the attacks of the
Arab invaders for seven months ; and
it is doubtless to this that Aboolfeda
alludes, when he says, " in the spot
where FosUt was built stood a Kasr,
erected in old times, and styled Kasr
e* Shemma ( * of the candle ' ), and
the tent (fost4t) of Amer was close to
the mosk called J4mat Amer.** This
fortress now contains a village of Chris-
tian inhabitants, and is dedicated to

158

CAIBO. — EXOUBSION I.

Sect n.

St George, the patron saint of the
Copts.

In an upper chamber, over the W.
tower of the old gateway above men-
tioned, is an early Christian record,
sculptured on wood, of the time of
Diocletian, curious as well from its
style as from the state of its preser-
vation. The upper part, or friese, has
a Greek inscription ; and below it, at
the centre of the architrave, is a re-
presentation of the Deity, sitting in a
globe, supported by two winged an-
gels ; on either side of which is a pro-
cession of six figures, evidently the
twelve apostles. The central group
readily calls to mind the winged globe
of the ancient Egyptians ; and its po-
sition over a doorway accords with the
ordinary place of that well-known
emblem. Indeed, this is not the only
instance of the adoption of old devices
by the early Egyptian Christians ; the
tea, or sign of life, was commonly
used to head their inscriptions, instead
of the cross ; and it is not improbable
that the disc or globe of the gods
gave rise to the glory over the heads
of saints; who were frequently
painted on a coat of stucco, that
alone separatedi them from the deities
to whose temples they succeeded.
Nor were the Christians of Egypt
singular in the admission of emblems,
borrowed from their Pagan predeces-
sors ; another religion, equally averse
to the superstitions of antiquity, has
been unable to prevent their adoption,
even at a much later period ; and the
serpent of Shekh Hereedee still claims
the respect, if not the worship, of the
Egyptian Moslem. We may, tliere-
fore, readily believe that in tJie time
of Origen, it was rare to meet with
an Egyptian who had surmounted
his early prejudices in favour of the
sacred animals of his country.

Besides the Coptic community, is
a Greek convent, within the precincts
of this ancient fortress, and numerous
Moslems have opened shops in its
narrow streets, living in perfect bar-
mony with their religious adversaries.

Among other objects shown by the
priests of the Greek convent, is the
chamber of the Virgin, the traditions
concerning which are treated by the
credulous with the same pious feel-
ings as the tree and fountain of He-
liopolis. Here it was, in the garden of
the Greek convent, that those English
who died in Cairo were permitted to
be buried ; their tombs being hired,
rather than bought, from the priests ;
who, finding that more money and
room were to be obtained by remov-
ing the bones, were not long in pre^
paring the same spots for other oc-
cupants. There is reason therefore
to rejoice that a subscription for an
English burial-ground is now opened ;
and though donations are much
wanted, we may hope that in a short
time it will no longer be necessary to
borrow tombs from the monks of Old
Cairo.

Two other convents stand to the
N. ; one between this and the mosk
of Amer, which is occupied by Ca-
tholic Armenians and Syrian Maro-
nites ; tlie other to the N. of the mosk,
belonging to the Copts.

Strabo mentions the station or for-
tress at Babyltm, *' in which one of
the three iioman legions was quar-
tered, which formed the garrison of
Egypt.** This Babylon he describes
as a castle fortified by nature, founded
by some Babylonians, who, having
left their country, obtained from the
Egyptian kings a dwelling-place in.
this spot. His statement, however,
of its being fortified by nature, scarcely
agrees with the Ka&r e* Sbemma, un-
less (which is very possible) the
mounds of rubbish have raised the soil
about it, and concealed its once ele-
vated base ; though the ridge of hill
it occupied by the river, where hy-
draulic machines raised the Nile
water for its supply, seems to accord
with the description of its site given
by Arab writers, who state, that when
taken by the Saracens the river flowed
near its walls. At all events, it is
evidently a Roman station, and pro-

Egypt.

OLD CAIRO.

159

bably the very ooe that existed in the
days of the geographer, judging both
from its style of building and from
the little likelihood of their forsaking
a place " fortified by nature '* for an-
other ; and no vestiges of any other
Roman ruin are to be met with in
the neighbourhood.

These Babylonians, according to
Diodorus, were descendants of cap«
lives taken by Sesostris: some sup-
pose them to have been left by Se-
miramis in Egypt; and others say
the town was not founded until the
time of Cambysesu Some, again, pre-
tend that the fort was first built by
Artaxerxes, while Egypt was in the
possession of the Persians. Strabo
asserts that these Babylonians wor-
shipped the Cynocephalus, which
throws great doubt upon his assertion
of the town having been founded by
foreigners, and would rather lead to
the conclusion that it was Egyptian ;
for it is more probable that those
strangers were allowed to live there,
as the Franks now a^e in a quarter
of a Turkish city, than that they were
presented by the kings with a strong
position for the erection of a fortress.

The mosk of Amer is of square
form, as were all the early mosks, ex-
cept those which bad been originally
churches * ; and it is somewhat simi-
lar in plan to the mo&k of Taylo6o,
with colonnades round an open court.
At the west end is a single line of
columns; at the two sides they are
three deep, and at the east end in six
rows, the total amounting to no less
than 229 or 2S0, two being covered
with masonry. Others are also built
into the outer wall, to support the
dUtkeh or platform of the mdeddins
and the octagon in the centre of the
open court is surrounded by eight
columns. Many have fallen down,
and time and neglect will soon cause
the destruction of the whole building.
It has three doors on the east side,
over the southernmost of which is a

minaret, and another at the southeast
corner.

At that early time the Arabs were
contented with bumble imitations
of Roman architecture, and round
arches, with small round-headed win-
dows, were introduced into all their
sacred buildings. Here, therefore,
we find that the arches are all round,
except in some parts more recently
added; and the small portion that
remains of the original structure su^
fices to show how simple Saracenic
architecture was at its commencement.

The mosk has undergone several
repairs, and in Murad Bey*s time,
who was the last restorer of its crumb-
ling walls, some Cufic MSS. were
discovered, while excavating the sub-
structions, written on the finest parch-
ment. The origin of their discovery,
and the cause of these repairs, are
thus related^ by M. Marcel : ** Murad
Bey being destitute of the means of
carrying on the war against his rival
Ibrahim, sought to replenish his cof-
lers by levying a large sum from the
Jews of Cairo. To escape from his
exactions, they bad recourse to stra-
tagem. After assuring him they had
not a single para, they promised, on
condition of abstaining from his de-
mands, to reveal a secret which
would make him possessor of^im*
uiense wealth. His word was given,
and they assured him that certain
archives mentioned a large iron chest,
deposited in the mosk of Amer, either
by its founder or by one of his sue*
cessora in the government of Egypt,
which was filled with invaluable
treasure. Murad Bey went immedi-
ately to the mosk, and, under tlie plea
of repairs, excavated the spot indi-
cated by his informants, where, in
fact, he found a secret underground
chamber, containing an iron chest,
half destroyed by rust, and full — not
of gold — but of manuscript leaves
of the Koran, on vellum of a beau-
tiful quality, written in fine Cufic

• This never was a church, as some have imagined.^

160

CAIBO. — EXCURSION 1.

Sect.n.

characters.'* This treasure was not
one to satisfy the cupidity of the
Memlook Bey, and it was left to the
shekh of the mosk, by whom it was
sold to different individuals.

Tradition has not been idle here;
and the credulous believe that an an-
cient prophecy foretells the downfall
of Moslem power, whenever this
mosk shall fall to decay; and two
columns placed 10 inches apart, near
the southernmost door, are said to
discover tlie faith of him who tries
to pass between them, no one but a
true believer in the Koran and the
Prophet being supposed to succeed
in the attempt. When all but Mos-
lems were excluded from the mosks,
the truth of this was of course never
called in question ; and now that the
profane are admitted, the desecration
of the building is .readily believed to
cause the failure of the charm.

b. MXLOMKTBR AND ISLAND OF KODA.

In the island of Roda, opposite Old
Cairo, is the Me][keeis or Nilometer.
It consists of a square well or cham-
ber, in the centre of which is a gradu-
ated pillar, for the purpose of ascer-
taining the daily rise of the Nile.
This is proclaimed ever^ morning in
the streets of the capiul, during" the
inundation, by four criers, to each of
whom a particular portion of the city
is assigned.

The Mekkee&s was formerly sur-
mounted by a dome, which is said to
have borne a Cufic inscription, and a
date answering to 848 of our era. Its
erection is attributed to the Caliph
Mam6on, who reigned from 813 to
833 ; but if the above date be correct,
it is probable that the dome was not
added until the time of £1 Mota-
wuklLel-al- Allah, his third succes-
sor, who ruled from 847 to 861. In
the year of the Hegira 245 (a, d.
860) tliis MoUwuk'kel, tenth caliph
of the Abbaside dynasty, is said to
have made a new Nilometer in the
Isle of Roda, which some suppose to
be the one used at the present day ;

and this account seems to be con-
firmed by the date above mentioned.
It afterwards underwent some repairs
in the time of Mostunser Bill&h, the
fifth of the Fatemite princes of Egypt,
A. D. 1092. But the first who built
a Nilometer at Roda was Soolayman,
seventh caliph of the Ommiade
dynasty, who reigned from a. d. 714
to 717 ; and this was afterwards re-
placed by the more perfect work of
his successors.

Round the upper part of the cham-
ber is a Cufic inscription, of an ancient
character, but without a date ; in the
vain hope of ascertaining which I re>
moved the upper part of the staircase
in 1 882. It contains passages from
the Koran, relating to the "water
sent by God from heaven,** which
show the received opinion of the causes
of the inundation, first alluded to by
Homer in the expression Aurcrcor
voTttfwio applied to the Nile, and
occasionally discarded and re-admitted
by succeeding authors till a very late
period. The inscription, however, is
not without its interest for architec-
tural inquiry, though devoid of a date;
since the style of the Cufic is evidently
of au early period, corresponding to
that used at the time of its reputed
erection, tlie middle of the 9lh cen-
tury ; and as the arches are all pointed,
we have here another proof, of the
early use of that form of arch in Sara-
cenic buildings.

The dome has long since ceased to
exist, having ' been thrown down by
accident; and its fallen blocks still
encumber the chamber, or well, at the
base of the graduated column. It is
this irregular mass that prevents our
ascertaining the exact height of the
column ; and besides at the low Nile,
when the Nilometer is said to be
cleared out, a great quantity of the
alluvial deposit is always left at its
base, to the depth, as is reported, of
about five feet.

Much diflSculty has arisen from the
various accounts given of the rise of
the inundation. In the time of Moeris,

Egypt.

KILOMETEB.

161

according to Herodotus, 8 cubits
sufficed for the irrigation of the land
of £g]rpt ; and 900 years afterwards,
in the time of the historian, 15 or 16,
which would give between 7 and 8
cubits for the increase of the height of
the land during that period. But \m
this is impossible, we must either con-
clude that he has confounded the
measures of diflferent parts of Egypt,
or that in one case the rise is calculated
from the surface, and in the other fVom
the bed of the river. Sixteen cubits
were marked for the rise of the Nile,
on the statue of that deity at Rome,
which implies no alteration since the
days of Herodotus, so that it is pro-
bable that the average rise of the river
remained the same : and this is further
testiSed by the fact that, in the fourth
century, 15 cubits were recorded by
the Emperor Justinian, as the height
of the inundation. lu 1720, 16 cubits
were again cited as the requisite height
for irrigating the land, and the people
were then said to make rejoicings,
and to consider the wuffa AUak or
** promise of God," to be fulfilled.
Pliny also allows 1 6 for an abundant
harvest, and Plutarch gives 1 4 as the
least rise capable of producing benefit
to tl^ country about Memphis, 20 at
Elephantine, and six at Xois and
Mendes.

It is calculated that the pillar of
the Mekkeeds contains 24 cubits, a
number which implies completion,
and which may be purely ideal, not
being affixed to the scale marked
upon it. And as each of these diri-
sioQs or cubits consists of 24 digits
or 6 palms, and is 21fg inches
long, it is exceedingly improbable
that so slender a column should ex-
ceed the height of 1 6 cubits, which
would be about 18 diameters. Po-
cocke is of the same opinion. He
aupposes *' there could not be above 5
or 6 peeks (cubits) below the 1 1 he
■aw above water *' in 1 738 ; though
one writer gives 36 feet 8 inches for
the height of the column ; and says
the column is divided into 20 peeks

of 22 inches each. By his accoant
the two lowermost peeks are not
divided at all, but are without mark,
to stand for the quantity of sludge
deposited there, which occupies the
place of water: 2 peeks are then
divided on the right hand into 24
digits each ; then on the left 4 peeks,
each into 24 digits ; then on the right
4 ; and on the left 4 again ; and
again 4 on the right, which complete
the number of 18 peeks from the first
division marked on the pillar; the
whole, marked and unmarked, amount-
ing to 36 feet 8 inches.

It is perhaps seldom that travel lers
are in Cairo at the beginning of June,
or the end of May ; but if so, it
would be worth while to ascertain
the exact height of tlie column at
that time, when the water is at its
lowest.

Since writing the above, I have
seen Mr. Coste*s architectural views
and plans of the buildings of Cairo,
from which it appears that the column
has, as I supposed, only 16 cubits
from the base to the capital. The
cubit he reckons at 541 1 millimetres,
and the cubit of Cairo being equal to
361 millimetres, 24 of the latter are
equal to the 16 of the column. The
« D^ription de TEgypte** gives the
same number of 1 6 cubits above the
pedestal. The six lowest are se-
parated by a line, but not divided into
digits, like the remaining 10 at the top
of the column.

Some have stated that the cubits
are of different lengths, but this is not
the case : though it is certain that no
accurate calculation can be obtained
from a column, which has been broken,
and repaired in such a manner, that
one of the cubits remains incomplete;
<nd it is evident that the number of
cubits of the river's rise, as calculated
at the time of its erection, must diflTer
much from that marked by it at the
present day ; the elevation of the bed
of the Nile having altered the relative
proportion of the rise of the water,
which now passes about one cubit and

162

CAmO. — EXCURSION 1 .

Sect. II.

tiro-tbirds above the higheit part of
the column.

According to the Cairenes, the
Nile is supposed to have risen 18
cubits when the canals are cut, whicli
is called Wuffa el Bahr. After this
the criers call 2 from 18, to 23 from
18, then 19> and so <» ; but no one
believes they state the rise of the river
correctly. The lowest inundation is
reckoned at 18; 19 is tolerable (me-
n6»eb)t 20 good, 21 sufficient, 22
fills every canal, and is termed perfect
{tem&m), but 24 would overwhelm
every thing, and do great injury to
the country.

It appears that the discordant ac-
counts of the rise of the river, and of
the Nilometer, are owing to the base
or standard level, from which the in-
undation is measured, having varied
at different times, or to their not
having taken into consideration the
elevation of the bed of the river ; and
we may conclude that the water now
rises exactly to the same proportionate
level as formerly, and will continue
to do so for ages to come. M. Savary,
M. Dolomieu, and other iavatu, have
long since announced the miseries
that await Egypt, from the accumu-
lating deposit of the Nile, and the
consequent rise of the soil. M. Dolo-
mieu has decided that, owing to the
decomposition of the granite moun-
tains, by whose summits the clouds
are retained, which pour down the
torrents that supply tlie Nile, the rise
of this river has already diminished :
M. Savary states, that the villages of
the Delta no longer present the ap-
pearance of islands in the sea, as
Herodotus had observed in his time :
and M. Larcher concludes, that if the
soil has risen, the water must cover
a less extent of land. M. Dolomieu
must allow a considerable time for the
effect he proposes: and even admitting
a diminution in the height of those
mountains, in some thousand years,
the rainy season will afford as large
a supply of water as ever, the rtUUivt
positions and heighto remaining the

same. M. Savary'a notion it only
founded on ih^faet, that he never saw
the Delta as Herodotus describes it ;
but many travellers at the present
day have been more fortunate. Such
theories are completely overthrown
by the actual rise of the Nile over a
plain raised about seven feet in the
last 1 7(30 yean : and every one will
perceive that this perpendicular height
of seven feet must carry the water in
a horizontal direction to a considerable
distance £. and W. over the once un-
cultivated and unwatered slope of the
desert. In answer to the assertion
of the learned Larcher, that ''the
soil of Egypt is not higher now than
in the time of Herodotus," I re-
fer the traveller to the statues of
Amenoph at Thebes. The fact is, the
soil and the bed of the Nile have
both risen, and in the same propor*
tion.

Diodorus would seem to affirm,
that the first Nilometer in the time of
the Pharaonic kings was erected at
Memphis ; which is repeated by Arab
historians. Herodotus speaks of the
measurement of the river's rise under
Moeris, and at the period he visited
Egypt : a Nilometer is mentioned at
Eilethyas, of the time of the Ptole-
mies : that of Elephantine is described
by Strabo: and from the inscriptions
remaining there, we know it to have
been used in the reigns of the early
Roman emperors. A moveable Ni-
lometer was preserved till the time of
Consuntine, in the temple of Sarapis
at Alexandria, and was then transfer-
red to a church in that city, where it
remained until restored to the Saim-
peum by Julian. Theodosius after-
wards removed it again, when that
building was destroyed by his order.
The first Nilometer built in Egypt,
after the Arab conquest, is ascribed
to Abd el Axe^s, brother of the Ca-
liph Abd el Melek, erected at Helwin
about the year 700 ; but being found
not to answer there, a new one waa
made by SoolaymAn, son of that
prince, in the Isle of Rods. Mamooa

Egypt.

COLLEGE OF DERWISHES.

163

built another at the trillage of Ben-
benooda, in the Saeed, and repaired
an ancient one at Ekbmira. These
are perhaps the oldest constructed by
the Arab kings ; thoueh Kalkasendas
pretends that Omar has a prior claim
to this honour.

Close to the MekkeeiU is a powder
magazine, which some years ago acci-
dentally blew up, and nearly destroyed
all that remained of the Nilometer;
in consequence of which an order is
always required for the admission of
strangers. In the same inland is the
garden of Ibrahim Pasha, commenced
about twelre years ago by Mr. Trail,
an £nglish gardener and botanist,
sent out to Egypt by the Horti-
cultural Society ; and though the
inundations of 1840 and 1841 de-
stroyed some thousand trees, mostly
of India and other foreign countries,
it is still in a very flourishing con-
dition.

Roda was formerly the favourite
resort of the Cairenes, who went to
enjoy the cool shades of this pretty
island; and in 1832 I accompanied
a party to this spot, who seemed to
hare very pleasing recollections of
former visits. But the days of simi-
lar ezcursioiis are passed for the
people of Cairo; and present cares
and constant anxiety for the morrow
are now substituted in lieu of occa-
sional relaxation.

It is here that Arab tradition fixes
the finding of Moses by the daughter
of Pharaoh, whose name, Josephus
tells us, was Thermuthis.

In the time of the latter princes of
the Greek empire, Roda was joined to
the main land by a bridge ot boats,
for the purpose of keeping up a direct
communication between Babylon and
Memphis^ which still existed at the
period of the Arab invasion under
Amer ; and at a later period the island
was fortified by the Baharite Mem-
looks with a wall and towers of brick,
some of which still remain. Geexeh,
on the opposite or western bank, was
also a fortified post of the Memlooks.

KASa XL AIMKX, ANB COLLKOX OF
DXaWUHXS.

Close to Old Cairo stands the
aqueduct, already mentioned. On
returning thence to Cairo, you pass
by the Kasr el Ainee, one of the
colleges or schools established by
Mohammed Ali, and the Kasr or
palace of Ibrahim Pasha ; the neigh-
bourhood of which has been greatly
improved within the last ten years, by
the planting of trees, the removal of
mounds of rubbish, and the formation
of roads by which it is approached.

Near Kasr el Ainee is the college
of derwishes, mentioned by Pococke.
The derwishes are both the monks
and the freemasons of the East. I'hey
profess great sanctity, and a scru-
pulous observance of religious duties,
but without looking down upon other
religions, or reriling those who are
of a different creed, in which they may
be said to follow these injunctions of
the Koran, <* We liave prescribed to
each people their sacred rites. Let
them observe them, and not wrangle
with thee concerning this matter.

If they dispute with thee, say,

' God knoweth your actions; God
will judge between you.* *' They are
divided into innumerable sects, or
orders, the principal and original of
which are the twelve following : —

1. Tar^kh.t el Mowloweeh, the
largest of all, and the first instituted.
It originated in Persia, and, like the
others, looks with particular respect
on Ali. The founder was Gelal e'
deen ; and his descendants, settled at
Konieh, under the titles of Mowlina,
and Shellebee EfTendec, still claim the
right of investing every new sultan
with the sword of sovereignly. This
is the principal order in Turkey.
It was instituted in the middle of
the seventh century.

2. BiktiUhee or Tar^ekh-t el Bik-
tash^h. This, the Rufadeh, and some
others, were also instituted during the
lifetime of the founder of the first
order.

164

CAIRO. — EXCURSION 1.

Sect. n.

S. Tar6ekh.t e' Rufa&li.

4. Tareekh-t e' Nuksh-band^eh.

5. Tar6ekh.t AImI el Kader Gay-
lad^eh.

6. Tar6ekh.t e* ISuUl^b,the modem
Psylli of Egypt

7. Tar6ekb.t el Kudr^eh.

8. Tar^ekh-t el Allaw^eh.

9. Tar^ekh-t e* Dellal^eh.

10. Tar^ekh-t el Beddow^'eh, of
Sayd Ahmed el Beddowee of Tanta.

11. Tar^kh.t e' ShasaUeh.

12. Tai^ekh-t el Byoom^eh.
Some only of the above-mentioned

twelve orders exist in Egypt : as,

1. The Mowlow^eh, whose college
or tag^a is at the Sele^beb, near the
Seeoof^eb. They are whirling der-
wisbes.

2. The Rufa^eby who have a col-
lege in the Soog e* Sill&h, opposite
the roosk of Sultan Hassan.

3. The Biktash^eb, whose college
is at the Maghira, near the fort be-
hind the citadel of Cairo.

4. The Saad^eb, in many parts of
the city. They perfornt the ceremo-
nies at the dSseh, on the last day of
the Prophet's festival, tearing snakes
to pieces, and doing other strange
feats.

5. The Kudr^eb, who have colleges
in many parts of Cairo, besides that
of Old Cairo already mentioned.

6. The Beddow^eb, who have also
many colleges. It is this order which
performs the ceremonies at the Mooled
e* Nebbee, or «« Prophet's birth-day,*'
held in the Uxbek^eh, in the begin-
ning of the month of Reb^h el owel ;
those of the last day ( Friday) alone
being committed to the Saad^b.

7. The Byoom^eb, whose principal
college is in the Hossayn^eb. They
are distinguished by long hair.

Marriage is not forbidden to the
derwtfthes, unless they have once taken
the vow of celibacy, when they are
called Megurr%id, and are expected
to lead an austere and exemplary
life.

The derwisbes arc distinguished by
their high caps, the large amulet they

wear, generally of agate, and a pecu-
liar dress, at least when belonging to
a college of their order; but others
bear no external mark, and are only
known to each other, like freemasons,
by certain secret signs.

At the Mooled el Hassanin, all the
derwisbes of Cairo perform zikrt, on a
particular day assigned to each sect,
except the Mowlow^h, who are only
permitted by their rules to celebrate
this strange ceremony within the walls
of their own college. One or two in-
dividuals may, however, assist at the
fite^ and whirl round, as is their cus-
tom, but witliout the pipes, drums,
and other concomitants, which, in the
zikrt within their own college, are a
necessaiy part of the performance.
In turning, they always hold the
right band with the palm upwards and
the left downwards; the reason of
which is, doubtless, as full of religious
wisdom as their laying the spoon up-
side down after eating, and other
mysterious customs. In their zikr,
all those who are present whirl round
at the same time, the shekh alone
standing still ; and such is the merit
of the union of many, on this occa-
sion, that unless four are present,
the ceremony cannot be performed.

The dancing derwisbes are said not
to exist in Egypt, but the Rufaeeh
and Saad^eh have nearly I be same
kind of gesture ; and the Nuksh-
band^eh dance together in a circle.

The college of derwisbes at Old
Cairo originally belonged to the Bikta-
sh^eh, having been founded by one of
that order ; but the shekh having
died, and the college standing on
ground claimed by Ibrahim Pasha,
the latter transferred it to one of the
Kudr^eb, who had accompanied him
from the Morea ; and thus this order
came into possession of a college pro-
perly belonging to another sect.
Whether this grant was according to
justice or no I know not; but pre-
judice and fancy were not long in dis-
covering a direct proof <^ the displea-
sure of Allah (which, they add, was

Egypt.

COLLEGE OF DERWISHES.

16d

greatly increased by the new shekh
having cut down a sycamore tree
"entailed** upon the college, and
therefore revered as sacred) ; and the
devoted man was msractifous/y killed
by a cannon ball in Syria, whither he
had accompanied his patron. His
brother succeeded him as principal of
the college.

Like the other derwishes, they have
a particular day set apart for their zikr,
which is performed once a week. The
day varies according to the sect;
that of the Kudr6eh is Thursday,
and the zikr is celebrated in the dome
or mosk; when numerous furs are
spread on the ground, and arms,
banners, drums, and other things kept
there, are used in the ceremony.

They here show the shoe of the
founder of the building, which is of
immense stxe. This precious relic
was formerly placed over the door of
the dome, and exposed to the view of
all who entered ; but it is now kept
in a closet, and only produced when
asked for. A friend of mine, who had
been there many years ago, observed,
that the shoe was much smaller than
the one he had before seen ; and it is
probable, as he suggested, tliat the der>
wishes, perceiving tlie more enlarged
ideas of the present age, had thought
it prudent to limit their pretensions in
the marvellous, by decreasing its size
in a suitable ratio to the decrease of
credulity. Its position, too, in a closet
may have the double effect of season-
ing it with the mouldy appearance of
age, and of concealing it from those
who have not the curiosity to ask to
see it. Pococke, who visited the place
in 1737, speaks of the curious relics
preserved by these strange beings.

The largest convent of derwishes is
at Cairo, in the street called Hab-
baneeh, near the Derb el Ahmar, built
in 1174, under the reign of Sultan
Seliro, by Mustapha agha, his wekid;
views of which are given in M. Caste's
work.

The Kasr Dubarra was built by
Mohammed Bey Defkerdar, at tlie

same time as the palace in the Uzbe*
k^eh, on his return from Kordofiin.
It contains two good rooms, with a
spacious colonnade opening upon a
garden, which gives it a pretty and
truly Oriental appearance. In the
garden are. two large sycamore 6g- trees
overshadowing afountain, with benches
in an open kwak that encloses it, which,
in summer, is a delightful evening re-
treat. It has a very Eastern character,
heightened by a happy contrivance,
through which an artificial shower is
made to fall from above on all sides
of the kiosk, pipes being carried up
the trees and concealed among the
branches ; but it is to be regretted,
that those who executed this not in-
elegant design, have not done justice
to the idea that suggested it. In the
Kasr Dubarra, as in many other
things, the Defterdar certainly showed
considerable taste; and had his dis-
position been equal to bis talents, he
might have lived beloved, and have
died regretted by all classes. *

The Pasha has now fitted up this
palace for his hareem, and has fur-
nished the rooms, partly in the
Turkish, and partly in the European
style, in the ho))e8 of combining what
is most suitable in those two opposite
tastes. Diwans, walls painted by Greeks
in the manner of Constantinople,
fountains, and niches, are united with
chairs, tables, sofas, mirrors, curtains,
French windows, and chandeliers ;
and ottomans are there, with this
supposed Turkish name, showing
how strangely Europeans fancy they
adopt a Turkish piece of furniture,
which, unknown in the East, is
obliged to retain its European name
in rooms, whence it is supposed to
have derived its origin. The arrange-
ment of colours in the furniture is by
no means happy, and the frightful
taste of Greek painting ill accords
with European hangings. The ceil-
ings are very inferior to those usually
met with in Turkish palaces; and
there is an inconsistent mixture of
wood and marble. The windows

166

CAIRO. — EXCURSION 2.

Sect. 11.

are double, to exclude the dust of
Egypt, but without success. Up-
stairs is a boudoir, which, had the walls
been differently painted, would have
been pretty. However, there is
enough in this to show that the two
styles may be combined ; for which
the first step would be the substitu-
tion of panels in frescoes, used in
some of our modem houses, for the
Greek monstrosities. The prettiest
part is the colonnade, which is lighted
at night by two English chandeliers,
of very elegant shape.

xxcuasioK 2. — a, heliopolis. —

MATARUH.

The ride from Cairo to Matar^eh,
near which are the mounds of Heli-
opolis and the obelisk of Osirtasen I.,
occupies about two hours. A little
beyond tbe Dimerdish, to the right of
the road, on the edge of the moun-
tains, are the mosk and totrib of the
welUkn'Own Melek Adel, *ca1I^ «!
Adleeh. It is now nearly destroyed,
the* dome alone remaining, which is
curious and richly wrought.

The last tomb, after passing the
Dimerd^sh, has a dome very richly
ornamented inside ; and beyond this,
about half-way between the gate
(Bah e* Nusr) and Heliopolis, is the
Kobbet el Ghoree, the tomb of that
king.

The ride to Matareeh is pretty, and
the latter part is well planted with
trees. In a field to the left of the
road, a little before reaching Ma-
tareeh, are some very large blocks,
which some suppose to be capitals of
columns.

Heliopolis is a little beyond that
Tillage. It is sufficiently known from
a distance by its obelisk. Tradition
speaks of another, which formerly
stood opposite this, and which was
doubtless of the same Pharaoh ; and
we may readily credit it, as it was cus-
tomary for the Egyptians to place
them in pairs at the entrance of their
temples. Before them appears to

have been an avenue of sphinxes,
which probably extended to the north-
west gate of the city, fragments of
which may still be seen near tbe
site of that entrance. Pococke men-
tions, near tbe same spot, a sphinx of
fine yellow marble, 32 feet long; "a
piece of tbe same kind of stone with
hieroglyphics ; and, 1 6 paces more to
the north, several blocks,'* having tbe
appearance of sphinxes ; as well as an-
other stone with hieroglyphics on one
side. According to Strabo, it was by
one of these avenues that you ap-
proached the temple of the sun of
Heliopolis, which he describes as laid
out in the ancient Egyptian style, with
a dromos of sphinxes before it, form-
ing the approach to the vestibule.
And this t>eing the first time I have
bad occasion to notice an Egyptian
temple, I cannot do better than in-
troduce his description of the general
plan of those buildings, which is less
out of place here, as he has given it
in connection with Heliopolis.

** At the entrance is a pavement,
one plethrum (100 feet) or some
what less in breadth, and three or four,
or even more, in length, which is
called the dromos (course) ; and this
according, to Callimachus, is sarred
to Anubis. Throughout its whole
length are placed on either side stone
sphinxes, distant from each other SO
cubits, (30 feet), or a little more ; so
that one set of them is on the right,
the other on the left (as you pass up
the dromos to the temple). After
the sphinxes, is a large propylon ; and
when you have proceeded further in,
another propylon, and then a third ;
but neither to the propyla nor the
sphinxes is there any fixed number,
these varying in diflTerent temples, as
well as the length and breadth of
the dromos. After the propyla is
the temple, having a large handsome
portico (pronaos, irpo¥ctos) and an
adytum (s^kos, <nyirot), in proportion
without any statue, or at least not
in the form of a man, but of some
animal." Next follows a not very

Egypt.

HBLIOPOLIS — MATABl^H.

167

intelligible piece of detail. *' On
either side of the portico project,
what are called the wings ; they are
equal in height to the temple itself,
and distant from each other, at first a
little more than the breadth of the
base of the temple ; but then, on pro-
ceeding forward, their lines curve
over towards each other, to the extent
of 50 or 60 cubits. These walls
have sculptures of colossal figures,
like the works of the Etruscans, and
those of the ancient Greeks. There
is also a certain chamber supported
by columns, as in Memphis, of Bar-
barian character, for except that the
columns are large and numerous,
and in many rows, it has nothing
either graceful or elegant about it,
but is rather remarkable for a vain
display of labour."

The apex of the obelisk indicates,
from its shape, the addition of some
covering, probably of metal ; and the
form of tliat in the Fyoom, of the
same king, Osirtasen I., is equally
singular. It is, indeed, not unusual
to find evidences of obelisks having
been ornamented in this manner;
and the apices of those at Luxor, as
well as of the smaller obelisk at
Karnak, which have a slight curve at
each of their four edges, recede from
the level of the faces, as if lo leave
room for overlaying them with a
thin casing of bronze gilt.

The faces of the obelisk at Helio-
polls mea»ure at the ground 6 feet 1
inch on the N. and S. ; 6 feet 3
inches on 4he £. and W. ; and it is
about 62 feet 4 inches high, above
the level of the ground, or 68 feet
2 inches above the ba«e or first pe-
destal. The latter is 2 feet in height,
and 10 feet 4 inches in breadth, pro-
jecting therefore about two feet be-
yond the obelisk on every side. This,
again, stands on a larger pedestal,
about 19 feet square, the height of
which, owing to the water at the bot-
tom, I could not ascertain.

According to Strabo the city of
Heliopolis stood on a large mound

or raised site, before which were lakes
that received the water of the neigh-
bouring canals. It is therefore evi-
dent how much the Nile and the land
of Egypt have been raised since his
time, as the obelisks are now buried
to the depth of 5 feet 10 inches (with-
out reckoning the pedestal); and as
he saw the base of the temple and the
pavement of iu dromos, the inunda-
tion could not then have reached to a
level with iu area. Part of the loAy
mounds may still be seen in the site
of the ancient houses of the town,
which appear to have stood on higher
ground than the temple, owing no
doubt to their foundations having
been raised from time to time as they
were rebuilt, and no change of eleva-
tion taking place in the site of the
temple. This continued in the place
where its foundations had been laid
by the first Osirtasen ; and the same
was observed by Herodotus, though
in a much greater degree, in the
position of the temple of Diana at
Bubastis, « which, having remained
on the same level where it was first
built, while the rest of the town had
been raised on various occasions, was
seen by those who walked round the
walls in a hollow below them.'*

That Strabo is fully justified in
speaking of the antiquity of the
Temple of the Sun, is proved by the
presence of the name of Osirtasen,
who reigned from the year 1740 to
1 696 before our era.

Tliough small, Heliopolis was a
town of great celebrity ; but it suf-
fered considerably by the invasion of
Cantbyses. Many of its obelisks,
and probably other monuments, were
afterwards taken away to Rome and
Alexandria; and at the time of the
Geographer's visit it had the cha-
racter of a deserted city. Strabo also
saw *< some very large houses where
the priv'sts used to live, that being the
place to which they particularly re-
sorted in former times for the study
of philosophy and astronomy;" but
tlie teachers, as well as the sciences

168

CAIRO. — EXCURSION 2.

Sect. n.

tbey taught, were no longer to be
found, and no professor of any one
was pointed out to him. Those only
who had charge of the temple, and
who explained the sacred rites to
strangers, remained there ; and among
other lions to interest the Greek
traveller, the houses where. Eudoxus
and Plato had lived were shown,
these philosophers having, it is said,
remained thirteen years under the
tuition of the priests of Heliopolis.
Indeed, it ceased to be the seat of
learning aAer the accession of the
Ptolemies, and the schools of Alex-
andria succeeded to tlie ancient col-
leges of that city.

The form of Heliopolis, judging
from the mounds of the wall of circuit,
was irregular, and iu utmost extent
was only about 3750 feet, by 2870.
The houses lay on the north side,
covering a space of 575,000 square
feet, to the south of which stood the
Temple of the Sun. Towards the
N. W. are remains of the sphinxes
above mentioned, and Uie positions of
its several gates may be traced in the
apertures of the mounds that cover
its crude brick walls. It was from
one of these that a large road led in
a S. £. direction, on the desert aide,
to the Red Sea and a smaller one
crossed the hills of the Mokuttum,
in a southerly direction, passing near
the petrified wood which has been
dignified by the name of foreat, and
rejoined the valley of the Nile near
the modem village of Toora, a little
below the ancient quarries of the Tro-
jan mountain. On a red granite frag-
ment, lying some distance from the
obelisk, are the name and mutilated
figure of the Great Remeses ; and
Mr. Salt found a pedestal with a bull
and Osiris, about a quarter of a mile
to the eastward. The bull Mnevis
shared with Re or Phra the worship
of this city, and was one of the most
noted among the sacred animals of
Egypt. It was kept in a particular
enclosure set apart for it, as for Apis
at Memphis, and enjoyed the same

honour in the Heliopolite as the latter
did in the Memphite nome.

The name of the neighbouring vil-
lage Matar^h is erroneously supposed
to signify ** fresh water,** and to be
borrowed from the Ain Shems(*' foun-
tain of the Sun ** ) of ancient times ;
and though in reality supplied like
the other wells of Egypt by filtration
from the river, it is reput^l the only
real spring in the valley of the Nile.
That the word Matar^eh cannot sig-
nify *< frt»h water,** is evident from the

form of the Arabic <0 Jb.« M- tar^eh ;
for the word Ma, << water,** should
be written t«, and being masculine,

would require the adjunct to be iarteg
and this -last is not applied to water,
but to fruit. According to tlie Mosaic
of Palaestrina, the *< fountain of the
Sun,** stood a short distance to the
right, or £. of the obelisks before the
temple.

The ancient Egyptian name of
Heliopolis was in hieroglyphics, Re-ei
or Ei- Re, « the House,*' or *' abode
of the Sun,** corresponding to the title
Bethshemes, of the same import, which
was applied to it by the Jews ; and in
Scripture and in Coptic it is called
*• On.'* The water of <* the fountain
of the Sun *' is reported to have been
originally salt, until the arrival of
Joseph and the Virgin, who converted
it into a sweet source, and who, having
reposed under a sycamore tree near
this spot, are said to have caused it to
flourish to the present day. This
truly perennial tree is still shown to
strangers ; and the credulous believe
it to be the very one tluit afforded shade
to the holy family: but neither a
respect for these last, nor the in-
credulity of sceptics, seem to have
exempted it from the name-cutting
mania.

The gardens of Matar^eh were for-
merly renowned for the balsam they
produced, and the ground close to the
obelisk claims the honour of having
been the spot where the cultivation of

Egypt.

HELIOFOLIS. — BIRKET EL HAG.

169

Indian cotton was first tried in Egypt,
little more than 25 years ago, which
has succeeded so far beyond the ei-
pectations of the most sanguine.

The balsam plants are said to have
been brought from Judsa to tliis spot
by Cleopatra; who, trusting to the
influence of Antony, removed them,
in spite of the opposition of Herod,
having been hitherto confined to
Juda». Josephus tells us that the
lands where the balsam tree grew
belonged to Cleopatra, and that
** Herod farmed of her what she
possessed of Arabia, and those reve.
nues that came to her from the region
about Jericho, bearing the balsam, the
most precious of drugs, which grows
there alone." This is the Balm of
Gilead mentioned in the Bible. The
plants were in later times taken from
Matar^eh to Arabia, and grown near
Mecca, whence the balsam is now
brought to Egypt and Europe, under
the name of Balsam of Mecca; and
the gardens of Heliopolis no longer
produce this valuable plant. In the
houses of the village are several frag-
ments of stone bearing parts of hiero-
glyphic sentences, which have been
removed from the old town or the
tombs in the vicinity ; and many pieces
of petrified wood He scattered in the
field?, and at the edge of the desert,
on which the ancient city originally
stood.

It was in the neighbouring plain
that Sultan Selim encamped, in 1517,
previous to his defeat of Toman Bay,
the successor of £1 Gh6ree, which
transferred the sceptre of the Mem«
look kings to the victorious Osmaniee.

Beyond Heliopolis are the Birkti
d Hag, or « Lake of the Pilgrims,'*
El ^anka, and some mined towns ;
which are not of general interest, and
are seldom visited.

Birket el Hag is about 5 miles to

the eastward of Heliopolis, and is tl)e

rendezvous of the Mecca Caravan.

Beyond this is El Kkanha ; and still

Egypt*

further to the N. is AboozaM, once
known for its military college, camp,
hospital, and schools of medicine.
The first of these is now removed to
Damietta, the second to Toora, and
the last to Kasr el Ainee, near Old
Cairo.

At El Khanka there is still a col-
lege ; and this place was remarkable,
even in the days of Leo African us,
** for its fine buildings, its mosks, and
colleges," as the neighbouring plain,
for the abundance of dates it pro-
duced.

Continuing thence towards the N.
W. you come to the mounds of an
ancient town called Tel el Yeh6od,
or Tel Yehoode'eh, the « Mound of
the Jews," a name given to other
ancient ruins in this neighbourhood,
one of which is on the edge of the
desert, a short distance to the S. of
Bclb&ys. The first stands in the
cultivated plain, near Shibb^en. Its
mounds are of very great height, and
from its name and position, there is
little doubt that it marks the site of
Onion (Onias, or Onii Metropolis),
called after Onias the high- priest,
who built a temple there, and mad^
it the resort of the Jews, in the time
of Ptolemy Philometor. Its position
Is a little to the £. of N. from Helio-
polls, from which it is distant 12 miles.
It is not the Vicus Jud«orum, being
out of the direction from Memphis to
Pelusium ; but another ruined town
corresponds with the site of that place;
which, in the Itinerary of Antoninus,
is stated to be 30 m. p. from Helio-
polis, on the road to Pelusium from
that city. Colonel Rennell, in his
invaluable work, the Geography of
Herodotus, is right in his conjecture
that this applies to some other of the
"Jewish establishments besides the
one formed by Onias,'* though he
does not fix its exact position, which
was at the ruins to the S. of Belbayi^
twenty-four English miles in a direct
line from Heliopolis.

Josephus gives a curious account of
the foundation of Onion, and the

170

CAIBO. — EXCUBSIOK 2.

Sect. n.

building of the temple there. The
ion of Oiiiai the high- priest, who bore
the same name as his father, haWng
fled from Antiochus, king of Syria,
took refuge at Alexandria in the time
of Ptolemy Phllometor. Seeing that
Judaea was oppressed by the Macedo-
nian kings, and being desirous to
acquire celebrity, he resoltred to ask
leave of Ptolemy and Cleopatra to
build a temple in Egypt, like that of
Jerusalem, and to ordain Levites and
priests out of their own stock. To
this he was also stimulated by a pro-
phecy of Isaiah, who predicted that
there should be a temple in Egypt
built by a Jew. He therefore wrote
to Ptolemy, expressing this wish, and
saying he had found a very fit place
in a castle that received its name from
the couhtry, Diana. He represented
it as abounding with sacred animals,
full of materials fallen down, and be-
longing to no master. He also inti-
mated to the king that the Jews would
tlicreby be induced to collect in Egypt,
and assist him against Antiochus.
Ptolemy, after expressing his surprise
that the God of the Jews should be
pleased to have a temple built in a place
so unclean, and so full of sacred ani-
mals, granted him permission ; and the
temple was accordingly erected, though
smaller and poorer than that of Jeru-
salem. Josephus afterwards states that
the place was 1 80 stades distant from
Memphis ; that the nome was called
of Heliopolis ; the temple was like a
tower (in height?), of large stones,
and 60 cubits high ; the entire tem-
ple was encompassed by a wall of
humi brick, with gates of stone. In
lieu of the candlestick he made a lamp
of gold, suspended by a golden chain.
Such is the substance of the not very
clear description given by Josephus.
It is sufficient to settle the position
of the place; and we may suppose
that Onias chose this neighbourhood
for other reasons, which he could not
venture to explain to an Egyptian
king surrounded by Egyptians, per-
baps because it had associations con-

nected with the abode of the ances-
tors of the Jews in Egypt, whence
they started with a high hand, and
freed themselves from the bondage of
Pharaoh.

Other Jewish cities seem after-
wards to have been built in this dis-
rict; and tliese whose mounds still
remain are probably of the *' five cities
in the land of Egypt,** which, accord-
ing to Isaiah, were <'to speak the
language of Canaan.'* They con-
tinued to be inhabited by Jews till a
late period. It was by them that
Mithridates of Pergamus received so
much assistance, when on his way to
assist J. Caesar; and the 500 who
were embarked by £lius - Gallus
against Arabia appear to have been
from the same district And though
Vespasian, after the taking of Jerusa-
lem, had suppressed their religious
meetings in tlie Heliopolite nome,
they continued to be established in
many parts of Egypt, independent of
the large quarter they possessed in
Alexandria, from which they were
expelled by the persecutions of the or-
thodox Cyril*

About twenty-one miles beyond
Onion to the N. N. £. is Tel Basta,
whose lofty mounds mark the site of
Bubastis, and fourteen miles to the
N. £. is Belbays, the successor of
Bubastis Agria, in Coptic Phelbes.
Near to this passed the ancient canal
that once led to Arsinoe (now Suez)
on the Red Sea, whose bed may stilly
be traced for a considerable distance
in that direction.

Returning to Cairo from Heliopo*
lis, about a mile and a half to the left
of the road, is a red gritstone moun-
tfiin, which lies over the calcareous
strata of the Gebel Mokuttum. The
gritstone, which gradually runs into
a siliceous rock, contains numeroua
calcedonies, and is of the same na-
ture as the vocal statue at Thebes.
Owing to the quality of the stone»
which renders it peculiarly adapted
for mills, this mountain has beea

Egypt.

PALACE OF SHOOBRA.

171

quarried from a very early period to
the present day, at may be seen from
the fragments found at Heliopolis.
The same species of rock rises here
and there to the southward, upon' the
slope of the limestone range, and the
bed above it contains petrified wood
of various kinds.

6. pcraiFiED WOOD.

The principal mass of this, mis-
called the ** forest,** may be seen four
miles to the & S. E. of the Red
Mountain; where, besides thorn-
bearing trees and palms, are some
jointed stems resembling bamboos,
one of which is about fifteen feet long,
broken at each of the knots.

Other specimois of palms are met
with on the Sues road ; and the same
kinds of agatiaed wood occur again
inland on the other side of the Nile,
on the borders of Wady Fargh, evi-
dently once imbedded in a similar
stratum.

The Mokuttum range is of mag-
nesian limestone, like the greater part
of the mountains on the eastern side
of the valley of the hill. That part
behind the citadel has also obtained
the name of Gebel e' Jooshee, from
the tomb of a shekh buried there.

Among other fossils in this moun-
tain, I found the crab, echini, &c.,
and shark's teeth in the lower rocks,
immediately behind the citadel. In a
ravine to the right of the road to the
petrified wood is a spring of water,
issuing from the mountain ; and the
spot, for £gypty is romantic.

XXCUKSXON 3. GASOKKS AKD rALACX

OP SHOOBSA.

A ride of about 4 miles from Cairo,
through a shady avenue of trees, takes
you to Mohammed All's palace and
gardens of Shoobra, to the north of
the city, on the banks of the Nile.
This avenue^ which has been planted
about SO years, is formed almost
entirely of the Acacia Lebbekh;
which last lias not only the recom-
mendation of rapid growth, but of

great beauty, particularly when In
blossom. The river is at first at some
distance to the left, having forsaken
its ancient channel, which may still
be traced between the road and the
bank, and which in early times ran
through the plain that now separates
Cairo from Boolak. Before reaching
the palace, you pass the village of
Shoobra, or as it is called, Shoobra
el Makk^h, to distinguish it from
another place, 14 miles lower down
the river, Shoobra e* Shab^eb, where
the direct road to Alexandria crosses
the Damietta branch.

Tlie gardens of Shoobra, though
formal, are pretty ; and the scent of
roses, with the gay appearance of
flowers, is an agreeable novelty in
Egypt The walks radiate from
centres to different parts of the gar-
dens, some covered with trelliswork,
most comfortable in hot weather.
They are carefully kept by natives
under the direction of Greek garden-
ers; but a great mistake has been
made in cutting down the trees behind
the great fountain-kiosk, which tended
so much to keep it cool, and to mask
the ugly gas-house that supplies its
lamps.

There is no great variety of flow-
ers ; roses, geraniums, and a few oth^r
kinds are the most abundant. In one
place I observed some iont trees (Aca-
cia Nilotica), of unusual height, not
leM than 40 or 45 feet high. The
great fountain is the Hon of the gar-
den. In the centre is an open space
with an immense msrble basin con-
taining water, about 4 feet deep, sur-
rounded by marble balustrades. These
as well as the columns and mouldings,
are from Carrara, the work of Italians,
who have indulged their fancies by
carving fish and various strange things
among the ornamental details. Tou
walk round it under a covered corri-
dor, with kiosks projecting into the
water ; and at each of the four cor«
ners of the building is a room with
diwans, fitted up partly in the Turk-
isti, partly in the European style.

I 2

172

CAIRO. — EXCUBSION 4.

Sect. n.

At the other side of the garden,
near the palace, is another kiosk,
called e* Gebel, " the hill,** to which
you ascend by flights of steps on two
sides, and which forms a pretty sum*
mer-house, rising as it does above a
series of terraces planted with flow-
ers, and commanding a view over
the whole garden, the Nile, and the
hills in the distance. It consista of
one room paved with Oriental ala-
baster, liaving a fountain in the
centre.

The palace itself has nothing to
recommend it, but the view from the
windows. The aviary is neat, sur-
rounded by Ionic columns of wood ;
but it is not overstocked with birds,
and in the cages outside one is sur-
prised to see a rakham and a nitTf the
two vultures of Egypt, which are too
common to merit their imprisonment.
Near this are some weeping willows,
whose bright green is very agreeable
in this hot climate, where they thrive
femarkahly well.

Outside the gardens are the stables
of the Pasha, seldom containing any
horses worth looking at ; and tlie cu-
riosity of strangers is expected not to
wish for more than an elephant, a
girafife, and some gazelles kept in tlie
adjoining yard.

VXCVaSION 4.— 'PYRAMIDS OF GSEZKH,
SAKKA&A, AMD MEMPHIS.

a. Things required, b. Village of
Geezeh ; Egg Ovens, e. History of
Pyramids, d. Great Pyramid, e.
Second Pyramid. /. Third Pyramid ;
Small Pyramids, ff. Sphinx, h.
Tombs, i. Causeway. J. Small Py-
ramids, near that of Cheops ; Nature
of the Rock, k. Date of Pyramids.
/. Pyramid of Abooro&h. m. The
Two Arab Bridges, n. Busiris. o.
Pyramids of A booster, p. Pyramids
of Sakkira; Tombs, g. Pyramids
of Datih6or. r. Memphis ; Name of
the Hill of the Pyramids.

a, THINGS aSQUIRCn.

The principal requitittt in a visit to

the pyramids are a stock of provisions,
some pooUehs or water-bottles, a sup-
ply of candles, a lanthom, mats, and
carpet ; and, if the traveller intends
passing the night there, a mattrass and
bedding, and a broom for sweeping
out the tomb, where he is to take up
his abode. A fly-flap is also neces-
sary, and, in hot weather, a mosquito
curtain. If he wishes to visit the
rooms discovered by Colonel Howard
Vyse over the king*s chamber, he
must take a rope-ladder, or a wooden
ladder in short pieces, to enable it to
be carried into the upper passage.

Chairs and tables are provided by
the shekh who lives there, whom he
will find civil and obliging. Most
strangers complain of the torment of
the people of the village, who collect
about him like a swarm of flies, forcing
their troublesome services upon him
to his great discomfort and incon-
venience. In order to avoid tliis, on
arriving at the flight of steps leading
to the enclosure before the tombs, he
had better call for the shekh, and re-
quest him to appoint 3 or 4 guides,
who will act as guards at night, and
attend him during his stay, to the en-
tire exclusion of every other person.
On leaving tlie pyramids, he may pay
them at the tate of 5 piastres a day,
if for S or 4 days, or rather more if
for 1 day, or when they have had much
trouble in assisting him into the up-
per chambers of the pyramid ; the
shekh himself receiving about the
same for the use of his tables and
chairs. Nothing, on any account,
should be given them when in the py-
ramids, and all attempts at exaction
should be firmly resisted.

The time occupied in going to the
pyramids depends on the season of the
year. When the lands are free from
water, the road is direct from Geezeh,
a distance of about 5 miles ; but,
during the inundation, it follows the
pt»r, or dyke, and is a great detour^
being double tliat distance. It then
passes by the village of Shebram^nt,
which is half-way between the pyra*

Egypt.

THE PTRAIODS.

173

mids and those of Sakkira, and then
turns northwards by the Hoffer, or
edge of the desert. There is no
necessity to sleep at the pyramids, in
taking a rapid Tiew of them and the
tombs in the vicinity, especially when
the road is open direct from Geeseh :
indeed, in the other case, it is not ab-
solutely required, though it will be
necessary then to start very early in
the morning. Some have even visited
the pyramids of Geeseh, those of
Sakk&ra, and the colossus of Mitra-
henny, and have returned to Cairo the
same day; but this is a long day*s
work at any season. The most com-
fortable plan is to sleep at the pyra-
mids, and go over to Sakkira next
day, returning to Cairo tluit evening.
A visit to the ruined pyramid of
Abooro&'sh will require another day ;
but this, though interesting to those
who have the time to spare, would
not repay the generality of travellers
for the journey.

If the traveller intends visiting the
pyramids on his way up the Nile, be
may ride over from Geezeh, and send
his boat to wait for him at Bedre-
sh4yn; where he may join it, after
seeing Sakkira, and the remains of
Memphis, the same evening : but he
must take care the boat starts in time,
particularly if the wind is not fair.

h. VILLAOB OP OBBZEH ; XOG OVSMS.

Geezeh itself presents nothing worth
notice ; but the traveller, if he^ wishes,
may see the process of hatching eggs by
artificial means in ovenj ; which has
been continued from the time of the
Pharaohs to the present day. Hie
Coptic name of Geezeh was Tpersioi.
It is now a mere village, with a few
cafi^s, ruined baziutrs, and the wrecks
of houses, once the summer retreats
of the Memlooks and Cairene& At
the time of the Memlooks it was for-
tified, and formed, with the Isle of
Roda, a line of defences which com-
manded or protected the approach to
the capital. Leo Africanus calls it a
dty, beautified by the palaces of the

Memlooks, who there sought retire-
ment from the bustle of Cairo, and
frequented by numerous merchants
and artisans. It was also the great
market for sheep, brought, as he says,
from the mountains of Barca ; whose
owners, the Arabs fearing to cross
the river, sold their stock there to
agents from the city. The mosks
and beautiful buildings by the river's
side are no longer to be seen at
Geeaeli ; and the traveller, as he leaves
his boat, wanders amidst uneven heaps
of rubbish, and the ill-defined limits
of potters' yards, till he issues from
a breach in the crumbling Memlook
walls into the open plain. On passing
some of the villages on the way, a pic-
turesque view of the pyramids may
here and there engage the eye or the
pencil of an artist.

C. HISTORT OP THE FTaAMIOS.

The pyramid$ have been frequently
mentioned by ancient and modern
writers; but the statements of the
former, respecting their founder*, are
far from satisfactory, and no conjec-
tures seem to explain the object for
which they were erected. According
to Herodotus, the founder of the
great pyramid, called by him Cheops,
was a prince whose crimes and tyranny
rendered his name odious even to
posterity. ** He closed all the tern pies
and forbade the Egyptians to perform
sacrifices ; after which he made them
all work for him. Some were em-
ployed in the quarries of the Arabian
bills, to cut stones, to drag them to
the river,- and to put them into boats,
others being stationed on the opposite
shore to receive them, and drag them
to the Libyan hills; and the 100,000
men thus occupied were relieved by
an equal number every S months. Of
the time," he adds, ** passed in this
arduous undertaking, 10 years were
taken up with the construction of the
causeway for the transport of the
stones, — a work scarcely less won-
derful in my opinion than the pynt-
mid itself; for it has 5 stades iii

I 3

174

CAIBO. — EXCURSION 4.

Sect. n.

length, 10 orgy es in breadth, and 8 in
height, in the highest part, and is
constructed of polished stones sculp>
tured with the figures of animals.
These 10 years were occupied exclu-
sively in the causeway, independently
of the time spent in levelling the hill
on which the pyramids stand, and in
making the subterranean chambers
intended for his tomb, in an island
formed by the waien of the Nile
which he conducted thither by a
canal. The building of the pyramid
itself occupied 20 years. It is square,
each face measuring 8 plethra in
length, and the same in height. The
greater part is of polished stones, most
carefully put together, no one of
which is less than 30 feet long.

** This pyramid was built in steps,
and as the work proceeded, the stones
were raised from the ground by means
of machines made of short pieces of
wood. When a block had been
brought to the first tier, it was placed
in a machine there, and so on from
tier to tier by a succession of similar
machines, there being as many ma-
chines as tiers of stone ; or perhaps
one served for the purpose, being
moved from tier to tier as each stone
was taken up. I mention this, be-
cause I have heard both stated. When
completed in this manner, they pro-
ceeded to make out (the form of) the
pyramid, beginning from the top, and
thence downwards to the lowest tier.
On the exterior was engraved in
Egyptian characters tbe sum expend-
ed in supplying the workmen with
raphanua, onions, and garlic ; and he
who interpreted the inscription told
me, as I remember well, that it
amounted to 1600 talenU (200,000^
sterling).'* '' If that be true, bow
much must have been spent on the
iron tools, the food, and clothing of
the workmen, employing at they did,
all the time above mentioned without
counting that occupied in cutting and
transporting the stones, and making
the subterraneous chambers, which
must have been conuderable. '*

The historian then mentions a ri-
diculous story about the daughter of
the king, to whom he attributes the
construction of the central pyramid
of tbe three, standing to the £. of that
of Cheops, each side of which was 1 J
plethrum in length.

** Cheops,** be continues, *' having
reigned 50 years, died, and was suc-
ceeded by his brother Cephren, who
followed the example of his prede-
cessor. Among other monuments he
also built a pyramid, but much less
in sixe than that of Cheops. I mea-
sured them both. It has neither un-
derground chambers, nor any canal
flowing into it from the Nile, like
the other, where the tomb of its foun-
der is placed in an island, surrounded
by water. The lowest tier of this
pyramid is of Ethiopian stone of va-
rious colours (granite). It is 40 feet
smaller than its neighbour. Both are
built on the same hill, which is about
100 feet high. The same priests in-
formed me that Cephren reigned 56
years, so that the Egyptians were
overwhelmed for 106 years with
every kind of oppression, and tbe
temples continued to be closed dur-
ing the whole time. Indeed they
have such an aversion for the me*
mory of these two princes, that they
will not even mention their names,
and for this reason they call the pyra-
mids aAer the shepherd Philitis, who
at the time of their erection used to
feed his flocks near this spot.**

*< Af^er Cephren, Mycerinus, the
son of Cheops, according to the state-
ment of the priests, ascended the
throne. He also built a pyramid,
much less than his father*s, being SO
feet smaller. It is square : each of
its sides is 3 plethra long ; and it is
made half way up of Ethiopian
(granite) stone. Disapproving of
the conduct of his father, he ordered
the temples to be opened, and per-
mitted the people, who had been op-
pressed by a long series of cruelties,
to return to their work, and their
religious duties; and administering

Egypt.

THE FTRAMIBS.

175

justice with great equity, he was
looked upon by the Egyptians as su-
perior to all the kings who had ever
ruled the country."

Mycerinus, after having treated his
people with humanity, seems to have
been treated by tlie gods with much
unkindness, according to the account
of the historian, who takes occasion
to relate an absurd story of his
daughter, which, like others of the
same kind, was probably a produc-
tion of the Greek quarter of those
days, where idle tales and a love of
the marvellous seem to have been as
prevalent, as in the Frank quarter at
the present thne. After this, he as-
signs the cow at Sals (which, accord-
ing to his own showing, was connected
with the mysteries of Ists and Osiris)
to the daughter of Mycerinus; but
another Greek tale, attributing the
erection of the third pyramid to
Rhodopis, he very properly rejects.
<* There are some Greeks,** he says,
*<who ascribe it to tlie courtesan
Rhodopis, but they are in error, and
do not appear to know ^ho she was,
or surely they would not have attri-
buted to her the building of a pyra-
mid, which must have cost thousands
and thousands of talents. Besides,
Rhodopis did not live in the time
of Mycerinus but of Amasis, many
yean after the kings who built these
monuments. She was from Thrace,
tlie slave of ladmon, the son of
Heph«stopolis, a Samian, the fellow-
slave of ^sop, the fabulist

Rhodopis was brought to Egypt by
Xanthus of Samos, and was ransomed
at a large price by Charaxus of Mity-
lene, the son of Scamandronymus,
and brother of the poetess Sappho.
Having been restored to liberty, she
remained in Egypt ; and being very
beautiful, she amassed a large for-
tune, for a person in her condition,
though not sufficient to build such a
pyramid. Indeed, as every one may
at this day see what the tenth part of
her wealth was, it is very useless at-
tributing to her great riches; for

Rhodopis, wishing to leave a memo-
rial of herself in Greece, thought of a
novel kind of offering that had oc-
curred to no one else, which she de-
dicated to the temple of Delphi. It
consisted of numerous iron spits for
roasting oxen, the cost of which was
just equal to the tenth of her pro-
perty ; and these being sent to Delphi,
were put up behind the altar dedi-
cated by the Chians, opposite the
sanctuary, where they now lie. **

Diodorus says, that ** Cbembis (or
Chemmis), a Memphite, who reigned
fifty years, built the largest of the
three pyramids, which are reckoned
among the seven wonders of the
world. They stand on the Libyan
side (of the Nile), distant from Mem-
phis ISO stadia, and 45 from the river.
They strike every beholder with won-
der, both from their size and the skill
of their workmanship ; for every side
of the largest, at the base, is 7 pie-
thra in length, and more than 6 in
height. Decreasing in sixe towards
the summit, it there measures 6 cubits
(9 feet). The whole is of solid stone,
made with prodigious labour, and in
the most durable manner, having
lasted to our time, a period not lest
than 1000 years, or, as some say, up-
wards of S400 ; the stones still pre*
serving their original position, and
the whole structure being uninjured.
The stone is said to have been brought
from Arabia, a considerable distance,
and the building made by means of
mounds (inclined planes), machines
not having yet been invented. What
is most surprising is, that though
these structures are of such great
antiquity, and all the surrounding
ground is of so sandy a nature, there
is no trace of a mound, nor vestige
of the chippings of the stone : so that
the whole seems as if placed on the
surrounding sand by tlie aid of some
deity, rather than by the sole and
gradual operations of man. Some
of the Egyptians tiy to make won-
derful stories about them, saying that
the mounds (inclined planes) were

I 4

176

CAIBO. — EXCURSION 4.

Sect IL

made of salt and nitre, which, by di-
recting the water of the river upon
them, were afterwards dissolved with-
out human aid, when the work was
completed. This cannot be true:
but the same number of hands that
raised the mounds removed the whole
to the original place whence they
were brought For it is reported
that 360,000 men were employed in
this wdk-k, and the time occupied in
finishing the whole was scarcely less
than twenty years.

" On the death of this king, his
brother Cephren succeeded to the
throne, and reigned fifty-six years.
Some say he was his son, by name
Chabry'is, and not his brother. All,
however, agree that on his acces-
sion, wishing to emulate his predeces-
sor, lie built the second pyramid, simi-
lar to the other in iu style of building,
but far inferior in size, each face being
only one stade in length at its base.
On the larger one is inscribed the
sum spent in herbs and esculent roots
for the workmen, amounting to up-
wards of 1600 talents. The smaller
one has no inscription, but on one side
steps are cut to ascend it Of the two
kings who raised these monuments
for themselves, neither one nor the
other was destined to be buried there-
in. The people, who had endured
so much fatigue in building them, and
had been oppressed by their cruelty
and violence, threatened to drag their
bodies from their tombs, and tear
them to pieces ; so that these princes
at their death ordered their friends to
bury tliem privately in some other se-
cret |)lace.

'* After them came Mycerinus, or,
as some call him, Mecherinus, the son
of the founder of the great pyramid.
He built the third, but died previous
to its completion. £ach side was
made three plethra long at the base,
with (a casing of) black stone, similar
to that called Thebaic, as far as the
fifteenth tier, the rest being completed
with stone of the same quality as the
other pyramids. Though inferior in

size to the others, it is superior in its
style of building, and the quality of
the stone. On the north side is in-
scrilied the name of its founder, My-
cerinus. This king, avoiding the
cruelty of his predecessors, exercised
great benevolence towards his sub*
jects, and courted their good will by
his justice

'* There are also three other pyra-
mids; each side of which measures
two plethra. In their style of build-
ing they are similar to the preceding,
and differ only in their dimensions :
and they are stated to have been built
by the above-mentioned kings as se-
pulchres for their queens. There is
no doubt that the pyramids surpass
all other monuments in Egypt ; and
the architects are thought to deserve
more credit than the kings at whose

expense they were made But

neither the natives, nor writers, are
agreed respecting the names of their
founders; some attributing them to
the above-named, others to different
princes; the largest, for instance, to
Armaeus, the second to Amasis, the
third to Inaron, or, as some pretend,
to the courtesan Rhodopis.**

Strabo, in describing the pyramids,
says, ** Forty stadia from the city (of
Memphis) is a brow of hills on which
many pyramids stand, the sepulchres
of kings. Three of them are re«
markable, and two are reckoned
among the wonders of the world.
They are both a stadium in height, of
a square figure, and their height is
little more than the breadth of the
sides ; but one is rather larger than
the other. Near the centre of the
sides is a stone which can be taken
out, from which a passage leads to
the tomb. The two (large pyramids)
are near each other on the same plain ;
and at some distance on a more ele-
vated part of the hill is the third,
smaller than the other two, but built
in a more costly manner. From the
base to about the middle, it is of black
stone, of which they make mortars,
brought from the mountains of

Ethiopia; and this being hard and
difficult to work, rendered its con-
struction more expensive. It is said
to be the tomb of a courtesan, built
by her loVers, whom Sappho the
poetess calls Doricha, the fHend of
her brother Charaxus, at the time that
he traded in wine to Naucratis.
Others call her Rhodope, and relate a
story that when she was bathing, an
eagle carried off one of her sandals,
and having flown with it to Mem-
phis, let it fall into the lap of the
king as he sat in judgment. Struck
by this singular occurrence, and the
beauty of the sandal, (he king sent to
every part of the country to inquire for
ks owner ; and having found her at
Naucratis, he made her his queen,
and buried her at her death in this
sepulchre.*' This Cinderella tale was
probably an invention of the Greek
quarter, after the time of Herodotus.

llie geographer then mentions the
fragments of stone resembling lentils
and barley (which he thinks very
likely to be remains of the workmen's
food), and the quarries of the Trojan
mountain, whence the stones were
brought to build the pyramids. Close
to these quarries and to the river, he
adds, was <<a village called Troja,
the ancient abode of the Trojan cap-
tives brought to Egypt by Menelaus,
who settled there.**

Pliny's account of the pyramids
represents them to be «an idle and
silly display of royal wealth. For
some state the reason of their erection
to have been either to deprive succes-
sors or ambitious competitors of the
money, or to prevent the people be-
coming idle. Nor was this vanity
confined to one person, and the traces
of many begun and left unfinished
may still be seen. There is one in
the Arsino'ite nome, two more in the
Memphitic, not far from the Laby*
rintb, • . . the same number where
the Lake Maris ww, this being a
large canal. These Egypt reckons
among her wonders, the summits of
which are represented towering (above

THE PYRAMIDS,

177

the water's surface). Three others,
which have filled the whole world
with their renown, are seen from a
great distance by (hose who navigate
the river. They stand on the bairen
rocky eminence on the African shore,
between the city of Memphis and
what is called the Delta, less than 4
miles from the Nile, and 6 from
Memphis, close to a village called
Busiris, where the people live who
are in the habit of climbing up them.
Before them is the Sphinx, even
more wonderful, and having the ap*
pearance of a local deity of tiie neigh-
bouring people. They suppose king
Amasis was buried within it, and that
the whole was brought to the place
where it now stands, though in reality
it is cut out of the naturul rock, and
worked smooth. The circumference
of the monster's head is 102 feet
across the forehead, its length is 143,
and its height from the belly to the
highest point of the head 63 feet

*' The largest pyramid is built of
stones from the Arabian quarries;
366,000 men are said to have been
employed for 20 years in its con-
struction ; and the three were all
made in 68 years and 4 months.
Those who have written about them
are Herodotus, Euhemerus, Duris of
Samos, Aristagoras, Dionysius, Ar»
temidorus, Alexander Polyliistor,
Butorides, Antisthenes, Demetrius,
Demoteles, Apion; and yet no one
of them shows satisfactorily by whom
they were built ; a proper reward to
the authors of such vanity, that their
names should be buried in oblivion.

«Some have affirmed that 1800
talents were spent in raphanus roots,
garlic, and onions. The largest covers
a space of 8 acres (jugera), with 4
faces of equal siie from corner to
corner, and each measuring 883 feet (
the breadth at the summit being 25
feet. The faces of the other pyramid
measure each 737 feet from the four
comers. The third is less than the
other two, but much more elegant,
being of Ethiopian stone (granite)i

I 5

178

CAIRO. — EXCUBSION 4«

Sect. IL

and measures 363 feet between the
corners.

** No vestiges of hoases remain near
them, but merely pure sand on every
side, with something like lenUls, com*
mon in the greater part of Africa.
Ttfe principal question is, how the
blocks were carried up to such a
height? For some suppose that
mounds, composed of nitre and salt,
were gradually formed as the work
advan^i and were afterwards dis-
solved by the water of the river, as
soon as it was finished ; others, that
bridges were made of mud bricks,
which, when the work was completed,
were used to build private houses;
since the Nile, being on a lower level,
could not be brought to the spot.
Within the great pyramid is a well 86
cubits (129 feet) deep, by which they
suppose the river was admitted."

d, TBI oaEAT rraAMiD.

The first thing the traveller gene-
rally does, on arriving at the/TyromJcif,
is to ascend that of Cheip$, The
ascent is by no means difficult, though
fatiguing to some unaccustomed to
climbing, from the heightof the stones,
while others ascend with the greatest
ease ; and I have known one, an officer
of the Cyclops, reach the top in 8
minutes. Ladies, who are often drag-
ged up, rather than assisted, by the
Arabs, will find a great advantage in
having a couple of steps, or a foot-
stool, to be carried by the Arabs, and
put down where the stones are high ;
and this would be not less useful in
descending, than in going up, the
pyramid. The easiest side to ascend
IS the east. On the summit is a
space about 3S feet square, (much
larger than in the days of Pliny and
Diodonis,) having been increased
when the casing and the outer
tiers were removed by the caliphs
to serve for the construction of
mosks and other buildings at Cairo.
The mania for writing names is
abundantly manifested in the number
inscribed on the top of this monu*

ment, and scarcely less at the entrance
of the passage below, which, as in all
the pyramids, is on 4he north side.
The view from the summit is exten-
sive, and, during the inundation, pe-
culiarly interesting, and character-
istic of Egypt. The canals winding
through the plain, or the large expanse
of water when the Nile is at its highest,
and the minarets of Cairo, the citadel,
and the range of the Mokuttum hills
in the distance, with the quarries of
Masarah, whence so many of the
blocks used for building the pyramids
were taken, are interesting features
in this peculiar landscape ; and the
refreshing appearance of the plain,
whether covered with water or with its
green vegetation, are striking con-
trasts to the barren desert on the
west. To the southward are the py-
ramids of Abooseer, Sakkira, and
Dashoor; to the northward, the
heights of Abooroish ; and a little to
the east of north, are the two stone
bridges built by the Arab kings of
Egypt, which some suppose to have
served for the transport of the stones
from the pyramids to Cairo.

The masonry over the entrance of
the great pyramid is very singular:
two Urge blocks resting against each
other form a sort of pointed arch, and
serve to take off the superincumbent
weight from the roof of the passage.
The position of the stones in the body
of the pyramid is horiiontal, and not,
as in the false pyramid, with a dip
towards the centre at right angles
with its exterior face ; but at the en-
trance, they follow the inclination of the
passage, which is an angle of 27^, or,
as Col. Howard Vyse gives it, 26^ 41'.

On going down the passage, at
about 80 feet from its present mouth,
you perceive the end of a granite
block, which closes the upper pas-
sage, and which was once carefully
concealed by a triangular piece of
stone fitting into the rM>f of the lower
passage, and secured in that position
by a cramp on cither side. This
stone has been reinoTed« and the end

OOEAT PnUMID.

TOPOOBAPHICAL PLAN OF THE PVBAMIDS OF OEEZER
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I 6

180

CAIBO.— EXCURSION 4.

Sect. IL

of Uie granite it once covered is now
exposed. But the granite, closing
the upper passage, remains in its ori-
ginal place ; and in order to avoid and
pass above it, you turn to the right by
a forced passage, and after climbing a
few rough steps, you come to its
upper extremity, and ascend to the
great gallery ; on entering which to
the right you perceive the entrance to
the well, which served as another com-
munication with the lower passage.
The angle of the upper passage is the
same as that of the lower one, and
both have the same direction, which is
due south ; but one runs down to a
subterranean room, the other up to the
entrance of the great gallery, where a
horizontal passage leads to what is
called the queen*s chamber.

Hiis is generally visited before as-
cending the great gallery.' It is a
small chamber, with a roof formed of
blocks of stone resting against each
other, as over the entrance of the py-
ramid ; and on the east side, a short
way from the door, is a sort of niche
or recess, built with stones projecting
one beyond the other, like those of
the great gallery. The object for
which it was intended is not easily
explained; and the Arabs, in hopes
of 6nding treasure, have broken
through the stones for some distance.
It is worthy of remark that this, and
not what is called the king's chamber,
stands in the centre, or below the
apex, of the pyramid. The stones in
the side walls are admirably fitted to-
gether, so that the joints can scarcely
be traced ; and an incrustation of salt
has tended still more to give them'tlie
appearance of having been hewn in
the solid rock, which, however, on
close inspection proves not to be the
case. You here stand 7*2 feet above
tlie level of the ground, 408 feet be-
low the original summit, and 71 feet
below the floor of the king's chamber*
Returning to the great gallery, you
continue to ascend at the same angle
of 26^ 41', and then enter a horixontal
passage, once closed by four portcuU

lises of granite, sliding in grooves of
the same kind of stone, which con-
cealed and stopped the entrance to
that chamber.

It is the principal apartment in the
pyramid, its dimensions being 34 feet
long, 17 feet 7 inches broad, and 19
feet 2 inches high. The roof is flat,
and formed of single blocks of granite
resting on the side walls, which are
built of the same materials. Towards
the upper end is a sarcophagus of
the same kind of red granite, 3 feet 1
inch in height, 7 feet 4 inches long,
by 3 feet broad, which is only 3 inches
less in width than the door by which
it was admitted, having been probably
introduced by means of the screw.
On being struck, it emits a very fine
sound, resembling a deep-toned bell :
but the depredations of travellers, if
continued for a few more yeara, will
end in reducing it to a mere frag-
ment, and give us reason to regret
the senseless destruction of this monu*
ment, while they justify a remark
made by Mohammed All, that Euro-
peans might do well to remember,
when censuring the ignorance of the
Turks in destroying so many relics
of antiquity, that they themselves con-
tribute not a little to their deteriora-
tion, and set a bad example to those
of whom they complain. The sarco-
phagus is entirely destitute of hiero-
glyphics and every kind of sculpture ;
which is the more singular, as it is the
very place of all othen where we
might expect to find them. And this
has been used as an argument in
favour of the assumption, that hiero*
gljrphics were not known at the time
the pyramids were erected. But the
authority of Herodotus, who saw aa
inscription on the face of the great
pyramid, the assertion of Abd-el-
Az^ex, who mentions the same thing,
and the sculptures of the tombs in
the vicinity bearing the name of
Cheops, Suphis, or Shofo, by whom it
was erected, as well as the probability
that people so far advanced in the
science of architecture could not b^

Egyp^'

GREAT PTBAMID,

181

without a written language, suffice to
disprove this conjecture ; and the dis-
coveries of Colonel Howard Vyse,
who found hieroglyphics containing
the king's name on the stones of the
upper chambers, have satisfactorily set
the question at rest, and proved their
use at the period of its erection.

The inscription mentioned by Hero-
dotus on the front of the pyramid
is said to have contained an account
of the expenses incurred in feeding
the workmen, according to the ex-
planation given by the interpreter who
accompanied him. From the man*
ner in which he speaks of it, we
might suppose the inscription to have
been in Hieratic, or in Enchorial, ^ut
the latter was then unknown, and the
Hieratic was not used on monuments;
and though he seems to use the ex-
pression " the figures of animals '* to
indicate hieroglyphics, we may con-
clude the inscription on the pyramid
to have been in the same character.
With regard to the stones mentioned
by some modem writers in the walls
of the adjacent tombs, it is certain
that they were not taken, as they sup-
pose, from the pyramids. Nor are
those buildings anterior in date to the
great pyramid, since their position is
evidently regulated by the direction of
that monument. In the hieroglyphic
inscriptions of the tombs, the names of
kings are of very great antiquity, long
before the accession of the 16th dynas-
ty ; and we even find that of

Suphis, or Cheops, the founder of the
great pyramid, which, as well as their
general style, proves the early date
of hieroglyphics, and of their com.
roon use at that period. There is a
dlfierence between the name we have

always ascribed to Suphis h, and that
found in the great pyramid a ; but it
may be observed that the latter was
painted on the stones before they were
built into the walls, probably while in
the quarry ; which, with other facts,
argues that this king may have been
a predecessor of the founder of the
pyramid.

In the side walb of the king's cham-
ber are small holes, or tubes, the use
of which perplexed every one until
ascertained by the valuable researches
of the same person, to whose perseve-
rance we are so greatly indebted ; and
it was left for Colonel Howard Vyse
to ascertain their real use, as tubes to
conduct air into the interior of the
pyramid. Over the king's chamber
is another room, or rather entresol,
which, like those above it, was evi-
dently intended to protect the roof of
that chamber from the pressure of the
mass of masonry above. This was
discovered by Mr. Davidson, British
consul at Algiers, who accompanied
Mr. Wortley Montague to Egypt in
1763, and. therefore received his name.
The ascent to it was by means of
small holes cut into the wall at the
S. £. corner of the great gallery, at
the top of which was the entrance of
a narrow passage leading into it. This
room is not more than S ft 6 in. high ;
and the floor, which is the upper side
of the stones forming the roof of the
chamber l>elow, is very uneven. Its
roof also consists of granite blocks^
like tliat of the king's chamber, and
serves as the floor of another entresol ;
above which are three other similar
low rooms, the uppermost of which,
called after Colonel Campbell, has a
pointed roof, made of blocks placed
against each other, like those of the
queen's chamber, and over the entrance
of the pyramid.

These four upper entresols were
discovered by Colonel Howard Vyse,
and received from him the names of
Wellington's, Nelson's, Lady Ar-«
butbnot's, and Campbell's chambers.

On the stones were found som^
hieroglyphics, painted in red ochre,

182

CAIRO. — BXCUBSION 4.

Sect IL

presenting more than once the name
of the king above mentioned, and
evidently written upon the blocks be>
fore tbey were put into their present
places, as some are turned upside
down, and others are partly covered
by the adjacent stones. Many of ibem
may still be traced ; though the ad-
mission of air, and, above all, the
rige for writing names, which is here
done with the smoke of candles, will
soon cause them to disappear. The
number of visitors, however, to these
chambers is likely now to be very
limited, as the wooden steps at the
end of the gallery are beginning to
decay, one or two having been taken
away, and the ascent is by uo means
easy without a ladder.

It seems singular that while the
roofs of these chambers are smooth
and even, the floors are left rough ;
and in some, the inequalities of the
stones are of several feet, plainly
showing them not to have been in-
tended for any use beyond that of
relieving the king's chamber from the
superincumbent weight. Towards the
ends of the blocks in the floor of the
uppermost room are small square
holes, the use of which it is difficult
to determine. They are probably con-
nected with their transport from the
quarry, or their elevation to their
present position.

At the bottom of the great galleiy,
on the W. side, is a passage partly
vertical, partly slanting and irregular,
generally called '* the well,** which is
now closed. It connects the gallery
with the lower passage ; and in de-
scending it some years ago, I observed
that the rock rose to the height of
about 72 feet above the level of the
ground, showing that the pyramid
was built over a small hill, which
may be called the nucleus of the
fabric. The well is nearly 800 feet
deep, which is the distance between
the two passages, the point where it
enters the lower one being 91 feet
below the level of the pyramid*s base.
It was by this well that the workmen

descended, after they had closed the
lower end of the upper passage with
the block of granite before mentioned ;
and having reached the lower pas-
sage, they followed it upwards to the
mouth of the pyramid, which they
stopped in the same manner; and
it is to this last that Strabo alludes
when be says it was closed by a stone
fitted into the mouth of the passage.
The lower passage u a continuation of
the one by which you entered, and
left on ascending near the granite
block; on returning to which point
from the great gallery, you continue
the descent by the lower passage for
225 feet (or from the present entrance
of the pyramid 306 feet}, and then
reach the mouth of the well, from
which to the lower chamber is 53 feet
more, nearly half at the same angle,
and the rest on a level. When in this
chamber you are 105 feet below the
base of the pyramid, and about the
same level as the plain under the rock
on which it stands.

This chamber was left unfinished,
and on the W. side are several pro*
jecting pieces of the rock cut into
irregular shapes. In the wall, op»
posite its entrance, is a small un-
finished passage, extending 52 feet in
a southerly direction, leading to no
room ; and in the floor between this
and the entrance is a pit placed dia-
gonally with regard to the walls, which
was excavated by Colonel Howard
Vyse to the depth of 36 feet, without
leading to any result Nor did he
succeed in finding the canal mentioned
by Herodotus. Indeed, I doubt the
assertion of the historian, respecting
the introduction of the waters of the
Nile, which, in the days of Suphis or
Cheops, must have been on a much
lower level than at the present time.

On the N. wall of the great gallery
I observed the names of Aibek, Bay-
bdrs, and Sultan Mohammed, which
were either written by visitors during
those reigns, or by some one who
wished to deceive future travellers.
Aibek was the first king of tha

Egypt

OBEAT (TIUMID.

183

Baharite dynasty of Memlooks. He
reigned in 1250, and Bayb^n in
1S60; and as the word Saeed foUovfi
the name of Mohammed, we may
suppose him to be the son and suc-
cessor of Bayb^rs. He died in 1 279*
If really written during those reigns,
they would prove that the pyramid
was open at that period ; which is by
no means improbable, since these
monuments serred during a long
period as quarries for the erection of
mosks and other buildings at Cairo ;
and it is generally believed that it
always Kmained open after the reign of
the Caliph Mamoon. It is said to have
been Brst opened by that prince, about
the year 8S0 a. d. ; and the long
forced passage to the west, below the
level of the present entrance, is sup-
posed to have been made at that time ;
from which we may conclude that he
found tile pyramid so carefully closed,
that the stone could not be discovered
which stopped the entrance. And in
order more effectually to deceive those
who should attempt to violate the
tomb, the Egyptians had placed the
passage 23 feet from the centre, being
401 feet from the western, and 355 from
the eastern face, measuring from the
middle of the passage, along the base
of the pyramid ; each of whose sides,
when entire with the casing, was 756
feet.

The object of the Caliph was the
discovery of treasure. Tradition, or
the accbunts of ancient writers, with
whose works the Arabs at that period
bad become acquainted, had informed
them of the existence of chambers and
a closed passage, and the engineers of
the day were required to discover the
entrance, and open the pyramid.

They commenced, as was natural
enough, and as the Egyptians fore-
saw, in the centre of the face, and
forced their way through the solid
masonry. The labour must have
been excessive. But when they had
penetrated to the distance of about 100
feet, the sound, or the falling of some
stones accidentally disclosed the vici-

nity of the real passage, 15 feet to
their left, by which they continued to
the great gallery and the two cham-
bers. As they returned, they cleared
the real passage to its mouth, being
more commodious than the rough
way they had forced, for the ingress
and egress of the workmen.

Access was at length obtained to
the place of the wished-for treasure^
and great hopes were entertained, say
the Arab historians, of finding a rich
reward for their toil. But these hopes
were doomed to end in disappoint-
ment. The pyramid was found to
have been previously entered and
rifled, and the Caliph was about to
abandon his vain search, when the
people began to evince their discon-
tent and to censure his ill-placed
avidity. To check their murmurs, he
had recourse to artifice. He secretly
ordered a large sum of money to be
conveyed to, and buried in, the inner^
most part of the excavated passage ;
and the subsequent discovery of the
supposed treasure, which was found
to be about equal to what had been
expended, satisfied the people; and
the Caliph gratified his own curiosity
at the expense of their labour, their
money, and their unsuspecting cre-
dulity. Abd-el-H6km says, that a
statue resembling a man was found in
the sarcophagus, and in the statue
(mummy case) was a body, with a
breast-plate of gold and jewels, bear-
ing characters written with a pen
which no one understood. Others
mention an emerald vase of beautiful
workmanship. But the authority of
Arab writers is not always to be relied
on ; and it may be doubted whether
the body of the king was really de*
posited in the sarcophagusL Lord
Munster found in the second pyramid
the bones of an ox, which he brought
with him to England ; but from these
no conclusion can be drawn, as they
may have been taken into it after it
was opened, either by men or wild
beasts ; neither of whom were aware
how much they might puaxle future

184

CAIRO. — EXCURSIOK 4.

Sect, n,

antiquaries with speculations about
the bones of Apis.

That both the pyramids had been
opened before the time of the Arabs,
is exceedingly probable, as we find
the Egyptians themselves had in many
instances plundered the tombs of
Thebes; and the fact of its having
been closed again is consistent with
experience in other places. Belxont*s
tomb iiad been rifled and re-closed,
and the same is observed in many
Hieban tombs, when discovered by
modern excavators.

The forced passage of the Caliph
could be followed for a great distance,
from the point where the upper and
lower passages join; but it is now
filled with stones, brought, I believe,
from the late excavations in the
pyramid.

Pliny mentions a well in the great
p]rramid 86 cubits or 129 feet in
depth, by which it was supposed that
the water of the Nile was admitted ;
but this may only have been known
to him by report, and does not prove
that the pyramid was open in his
time. The same remark applies to
the stonei said by Strabo to close the
mouth of the passage. With regard
to the admission of the water of the
Nile, mentioned by Herodotus, the
much lower level of the river at once
prevents the possibility of its having
been introduced by a canal into the
pyramid, the base of which is, even
now, upwards of 100 feet above the
surface of the highest inundation, and
was more in the time of Herodotus,
and still more again at the period of
its erection. That a well in the
pyramid might have been deep
enough to reach the water is certain,
but it could not rise to surround the
lowest chambers, now seen at the bot-
tom of the passage ; and unless other
chambers exist from SO to 90 feet
below the level of this one, the water
could not have surrounded them, even

were the Nile at its present level.
Much less could it have done so in
the time of Suphis. At all events,
a canal from the Nile is out of the
question, and quite unnecessary; as
the Egyptians must have known, that
by digging to a certain depth the
water always oozes through the soil,
and the cUy that forms the base of
the rocks* ; and if they wished to
form chambers surrounded by water,
they had only to make them at a
certain level, below the ground, to
obtain this result Pliny mentions the
report of this canal ; but though he
says, very properly, that the Nile is
lower than the pyramids, he does not
express any opinion respecting the
possibility of the water being admitted
round the underground chamber. The
well he speaks of is not what now
bears that name, but probably the one
in the chamber at the end of the lower
passage ; the former agreeing neither
with the measurement h^ gives (which
it exceeds by about 70 feet), nor with
the object for which it was supposed
to have been intended. The use of
the present well, connecting the two
passages, was, as I have already said,
for the exit of the workmen.

In going into the pyramid, I need
scarcely suggest the necessity of being
provided with candles and a lanthom,
lucifers, and a supply of water ; and
a long stick to raise a light upon,
in examining the upper part of the
rooms, may be useful. I should
also recommend a cloak, to put
on in coming out, particularly in
the evening, which is by no means a
bad time for visiting the interior. It
may be as well not to entrust it to
the care of the Arabs, when not
wanted vrithin the pyramid, as they
are not particularly clean.

I do not presume to explain the
real object for which the pyramids
were built, but ieel persuaded that
they served for tombs, and were also

• or the level of the water in the welU, compared with the Nile and the base of the nrra-

1 '.."^ ?1^ carious Infbrmation in the Appendix of Colooel Howard Vyse** book,
TOL ii. p. I48L

Egifptn

GREAT PTBAMID.

185

intended for astronomicil purposes.
For though it is in vain to look for
the polestar in latitude 30^, at the
bottom of a passage descending at
an angle of 27S or to imagine that a
do$ed passage, or a pyramid covered
with a smooth inaccessible casing,
were intended for an observatory, yet
the form of the exterior might lead to
many useful calculations. They stand
exactly due north and south, and
while the direction of the faces,
east and west, might serve to fix the
return of a certain period of the year,
the shadow cast by the sun at the
time of its coinciding with their slope,
might be observed for a similar pur-
pose.

The angle of the face was 52^, or,
according to Colonel Howard Vyse*s
more minute measurement, 51^ 50f \
and that the pyramids presented a
smooth exterior surface (generally,
though perhaps not quite correctly,
called the casing) is very evident, not
only from the portion that still remains
on that of Cephren, but from the
statements of ancient authors, and
from one of the stones found on the
spot.

In Pliny's time, both the pyramids
seem still to have had this exterior tier
of stones, which was probably not
stripped off until the time of the ca-
liphs ; and according to the account
of ancient writers, the people of the
neighbouring village of Busiris were
paid by strangers for climbing them,
as the/e^/oAj of El Kafr now are, for
going over the smooth part of the
second pyramid. Diodorus also
speaks of rude steps, cut on the side
of that of Cephren, the whole, no
doubt, being then covered with a
smooth exterior ; and if we may be-
lieve Abd e' Lateef, the dilapidation
of the pyramids took place at a late
period.

The dimensions of the great pyra-
mid have been variously stated at
different times, by ancient and modem
writers. According to my own ob-
8ervation%

It covered an area of about 571 *5S$
square feet.

The length of each face, when entire,
was 756-0 feet by measurement.

Its perpendicular height, when en-
tire, was 480*9 feet by calculation.

Its present base was 732 -0 feet by
measurement

Present perpendicular height was
460*9 feet by calculation.

Present area was 535*824 square
feet.

It has been said to cover the same
space as Lincoln's Inn Fields ; which
is not far from the truth, judging
from a rough calculation of paces, by
which I found the area of that place
to contain about 550,000 square feet,
the breadth being more one way than
the other. The solid contents of the
pyramid havS been calculated at
85,000,000 cubic feet ; and it has been
computed that there is space enough
in this mass of masonry for 3,700
rooms of the same size as tlie king*t
chamber, leaving the contents ijf every
second chamber solid, by way of sepa-
ration. Colonel Howard Vyse gives
the following measurements : —

Former base (of great pyra-
mid) - - - - 764-0
Present base - - - 746-0
Present height perpendicular 450*9
Present height inclined - 568*3
Former height inclined - 611-0
Perpendicular height by cas-
ing stones, . - - 480*9
Angle of casing stones - 51^ 50^

Acret. Roodt. Polw.
Former extent of base 13 1 28
Present extent of base 12 3 3

I am far from pretending that my
own measurements are more correct
than the above, which have been taken
with so much care, and by persons so
capable of the task ; but such is the
difficulty of measuring the ill-defined
exterior of the pyramid, that no two
measurements agree, and, if taken
along the ground, can seldom be de-
pended on. I may therefore state the
manner in which my measurements

186

CAIBO. — EXCURSION 4.

Sect. n.

were taken, which appean to me the
least liable to error, and leave otben
to decide on the apot respecting their
accuracy. This was done by ascend-
ing to one of the tiers, near the
entrance» and' measuring in an un-
interrupted line, from one end of the
pyramid to the other, free from all
accumulation of sand or other in-
equalities; and then, by letting fall
an imaginary perpendicular to the
ground, and adding the base of the
small triangle at each comer (where
the casing stone rested in the rock),
the measurement of the whole side
was determined. *

For the heights I am indebted to
the angle given by Colonel Vyse,
which, with the half base, gives the
altitude much more accurately than by
any other measurement, llie side,
then, S78 (the half of 756), with the
angle 51^ £(y, requires a perpendi-
cuUr qf 480 '9, and deducting 80 feet
for the fallen apex, leaves 460*9 for
the present height. The base of the
apex, 32 feet, by a similar calculation,
gives about 20 for its perpendicular,
and this deducted from the 480*9 is
preferable to any other calculation of
the present height It is also evident
by the same process, that with the
base given by Colonel Vyse, the
angle 51^ SO' would require the per-
pendicular height when entire to be
486 feet, and at present, without the
apex of 20 feet, 466 feet.

We have seen, according to the
statement of Herodotus, that 100,000
men were employed in the construc-
tion of this pyramid, and in cutting
and transporting the stones from the
Arabian mountain, who were relieved
every three months by the same num-
ber; and besides the 20 years em-
ployed in erecting the pyramid itself,
ten more were occupied in construct-
ing the causeway, and a considerable
time in making the subterraneous
chambers, and in clearing and level-
ling the hill on. which it stands. This
last may also include the nucleus
over which it is built. Herodotus

says the whole time employed in
building the 2 pyramids was 106
years, without stating how long the
third took for its completion ; but
Pliny only gives 78 years and 4
months for the whole three. The
number of men employed about the
great pyramid he reckons at 360,000,
which is 40.000 less than the calcu-
lation of the historian, whose 100,000
every 3 months require a total of
400,000 men. The number of years
taken to complete this pyramid is
stated by the naturalist to have been
20 ; in which he agrees with Hero-
dotus, if the time occupied in clearing
the rock is not reckoned in that ac-
count ; and it is reasonable to suppose
that the pyramid of Cheops, and the
works connected with it, occupied
more time than that of his brother
Cephren, who found the causeways
both on the £. and W. sides of the
Nile already made. The total of 78
years for the three, given by Pliny,
therefore appears more consistent with
probability, than the 106 for the two
stated by Herodotus; 50 and 56
years being too much for two suc-
cessive reigns, notwithstanding the
long lives of numy of the Egyptian
kings.

It would be curious to know the
means employed by the Egyptians
for raising the stones, and the exact
form of Uie machines mentioned by
Herodotus : the admirable skill with
which tlie passages and chambers are
constructed show the advancement of
that people in architectural know-
ledge, at the time of their erection,
and we are not a little surprised to
find Diodorus assert that machinery
had not yet been invented.

e. sxcoMD rraAxiD.

The style of building in the teamd
pyramid is inferior to that of the first,
and the stones used in its construction
were less carefully selected, though
united with nearly the same kind of
cement. The lowest tier of stones
was of granite, but probably only the

Egypt^

SECOND PTRAIOD.

187

casing, as the expression of Herodotus,
like that applied by Pliny to the third
pyramid, does not require the granite
to extend beyond the surface. That
granite was employed for some portion
at least of the outer part or casing of
this pyramid, is sufficiently proved by
the blocks that lie scattered about its
base, among which I observed a comer-
stone. The stones used in the body
of this, as well as all the other P3rra-
mids, have been brought partly from
the nummulite rocks of the neigh-
bouring hills, partly from the quarries
of the " Arabian mountain," on the
opposite side of the river ; and the
casing stones or outer layers were
composed of blocks hewn from its
compact strata.

This mountain is the Troici lapidis
mons of Ptolemy and Strabo ; and it
is to it that Pliny alludes when he
says, " the largest pyramid is formed
of blocks hewn in the Arabian quar-
ries.** The mountain is now called
Gebel Masarah, from a town below
on the river ; and the compound name
Toora-Masarah is sometimes applied
to it, from another village to the N.,
which, though bearing an Arabic
name, signifying " a canal,*' has every
appearance of baring been corrupted
from the ancient Troja, or Vicus
Trojanus. From this the hill was
called Th>icl lapidis mons.

The ascent of the second pyramid
over the casing is difficult. In my
first visit to these monuments, in 1 821,
before the real meaning of Herodotus*s
statement occurred to me, I went up
to the summit of it, in order to ascer-
tain something relative to its com-
mencement from the top ; I need
scarcely say without being repaid for
the trouble. My ascent was on the
W. face, which I either supposed to
be the easiest, on looking at it from
the ground, or probably from what I
had heard before, being entirely alone

when I went up. There is some
difficulty in getting upon the pro-
jecting casing, which greatly overhangs
the other part below it ; and in de-
scending over its smooth face. It
requires a good head, as In looking
down between your feet you see the
plain below, while searching for a
footing in the small holes cut here and
the^e to serve as steps. These, how-
ever, have lately been made larger and
more numerous. The portion of the
casing that remains extends about one
quarter of the way from the present
summit of the pyramid ; and Colonel
Vyse calculates it at from 130 to 150
feet, which I suppose to mean along
the inclined face. On the top is a
level space, the apex being broken
away ; and on one of the stones is an
Arabic inscription, of which I regret
I did not take a copy, though it pro-
bably contains little more than a
record of the ascent of some one ra-
ther more venturesome than a Cairene.
I mention this in case any of my
readers should have an opportunity
of copying it; at the same time that I
recommend those who attempt the
ascent to take off their shoes.

The passages in the second pyramid
are very similar to those of the first ;
but there is no gallery, and they lead
only to one main chamber, in which
is a sarcophagus sunk in the floor. It
is remarkable that this pyramid had
two entrances; an upper one, by which
you now enter, and another about 60
feet below it, which, though nearly
cleared by Beltoni, was only com-
pletely laid open by Colonel Vyse.

Like all the others, it had hien en-
tered by the Arabs and re-dosed ; and
when Belzoni opened it in 1816, he
found, from an inscription in the
diamber, that it had been visited be-
fore by Sultan Ali Mohammed, by
whose order it was probably re-dosed.
The Arabic is as follows : —

188

CAIRO. — EXCURSION 4.

Sect IL

which, according to Mr. Salame*8
interpretation is, " The Master Mo-
hammed son of Ahmed, mason, has
opened them; and also the Master
Othman was present ; and the king,
Ali Mohammed, from the beginning
to the closing up." Professor Lee
gives it, " The Master Mohammed,
son of Ahmed, the stonecutter, first
opened them ; and upon this occasion
were present El Melek Othman, and
the Master Othman, and Mohammed
Lugleik.** If this were the correct
reading, the opening of the second
pyramid would be fixed to the year
1200, during the short reign of El
Melek el- Ax^s- Othman, the second
son and immediate successor of Sala-
din ; but it is not borne out by the
copy given by Belxoni, which is very
correctly translated by Mr. Salame ;
the expression "closing up" being
alone doubtful.

The opening of the second pyramid
was highly creditable to the enter-
prising Belxoni; not from the mere
employment of a number of men to
seek or force a passage, but because
the prejudices of the time were so
strong against the probability of that
pyramid containing any chambers.

One hundred and thirty feet from
the mouth of the upper passage was
a granite portcullis ; and the other
was closed in the same manner about
100 feet from its entrance. A little
beyond the latter portcullis is a long
narrow chamber ; and the passage is
afterwards united with the upper one
by an ascending talus. The dimen-
sions of this pyramid are —

Present length of the base 690 feet
by measurement.

Present height perpendicular 446*9
feet by calculation, taking the angle
53P SO', given by Col. Vyse.

Former height perpendicular, about
453 feet by calculation, allowing for
the fallen apex.

Colonel Howard Vyse gives

Feet

The former base • - 707*9

Present base - - - 690'9

Former perpendicular height 454*3

Present perpendicular height 447*6
Passage eastward from the

centre of face . - - 43*10
Angle 52<' SO'

Acres. Roods. Poles.
Former extent of base 11 1 38
Present extent of base 10 8 SO

It stands on higher ground than
the great pyramid, and has, when seen
from certain positions, the appearance
of greater height. An area sunk in
the rock runs round its northern and
western face, parallel with the pyra-
mid, distant from it on the N. 200,
and on the W. 100 feet. In the scarp
of the rock to the W. are a doxen
tombs, in one of which (the 6th froni
the S. ) the ceiling is remarkable, the
stone being cut in. imitation of palm
tree beams, reaching from wall to
wall. This shows that the houses
of the Egyptians (when the arch was
not preferred) were sometimes so
roofed, as at the present day ; the
only difference being, tliat the beams
were close together, while in modem
houses they are at some distance from
each other, with planks or layers of
palm branches, and mats across them.
And the latter was no doubt the
usual mode of placing the beams with
the ancient Egyptians also.

Tliis tomb is the third from the line
of the S. W. angle of the pyramid,
going northward* along the face of
the rock.

The object of thus cutting away

EyypU

THIRD PYRAMID,

189

the rock was to lerel the ground for
the base of the pyramid, the bill in
this part having a slight fall towards
the £. and S. ; which is very evident
from tlie N. W. corner of the scarped
rock being of great height, 32 feet 6
inches, and gradually decreasing to its
southern and eastern extremities. In
^e level surface below this comer the
rock has been cut into squares, mea-
suring about 9 feet each way, similar
to those at Tehneh near Minieh ;
showing the manner in which the
blocks were taken out, to form this
hollow space, and to contribute at the
same time their small share towards
the construction of the pyramid. On
the face of the rock on the W. and N.
side are two inscriptions in hierogly-
phics* One contains the name of
Remeses the Great, and of an indi-
vidual who held the office of super-
intendent of certain functionaries
supposed to be attached to the king,
and officiating at Heliopolis. He is
called Maia (deceased), the son of
Bak?-n-Amun (also deceased), who
once held the same office as his son.
The inscription is in intaglio, and of
much more modern style than the
hieroglyphics in the neighbouring
tombs ; which would suffice to show,
if other evidence were wanting, how
much older the latter, and conse-
quently the pyramids themselves are,
than this king. And that those tombs
are of later date than the great pyra-
mid, is very evident from their being
arranged in conformity with the posi-
tion of that monument.

On the east side, and about 270
feet from the second pyramid, is a
building which some suppose to have
been a temple, not unlike that at the
end of the causeway leading to the
third pyramid. Under the brow of the
rock, to the N. of it, at o, is an arched
tomb, of the time of Psamaticus.

f, TUIRD rTRAMin; SMALL rTRAUIDS.

The third pyramid, of Mycerinus,
(Moscheris, Mencheres, or Mecheri-
nus,) has been opened by Colonel

Vyse. Its entrance, as of all the
others, was found on the northern
face. The chamber has a pointed
roof, formed of stones placed one
against the other, as that of the queen's
chamber in the great pyramid : and
over this is a vacant space, to prevent
the blocks pressing upon it. On
going up to this space or entresol,
you look down upon the pointed roof.
In the chamber was discovered a stone
sarcophagus, which, when on its
voyage to England, was unfortu-
nately lost, the vessel having gone
'down at sea; but the wooden coffin,
with the name of tlie king, Mencheres,
or Mycerinus, which it contained
within it, is in the British Museum ;
where there is also a body, found in
the postage of this pyramid, lying
between two large stones.

The third, like all the other pyra-
mids, was found to have been opened
by the Caliphs, and re-closed ; and
the record of Colonel Vyse*s labours,
inscribed within them, very modestly
claims only the merit of re-opening
them. It had been attempted before
by the Memlooks, and then by M.
Jumel, a Frenchman in the employ of
the Pasha, who hoped to enter the py-
ramid from tlie upper part, and who,
after throwing down numerous stones,
and making a large hole in t^e north
face, relinquished the undertaking;
having only succeeded in encumber-
ing the spot, where the entrance
really was, with a mass of broken
stones, and rendering the operation
more difficult for any one who should
afterwards attempt it.

The third pyramid shows a mode of
construction not seen in the other two,
being built in almost perpendicular
degrees or stories, to which a sloping
face has been afterwards added. But
it has been conjectured by Dr.
Lepsius, and doubtless with reason,
that all the pyramids were built in
this manner, and that the statement
of Herodotus, **that they finished
them from the top,** is explained by
their first filling up tlie triangular

190

CAIBO. ^ EXCUBSION 4.

Sect II.

spaces of the uppermost degrees.
This is preferable to my own interpre-
tation of the expression cinroMiy, which
I supposed to refer to the removal of
the projecting angles of the steps, to
form the slope of the pyramid.

Many of the stones, particularly in
the tombs, and the small pyramids,
are not in the same horisontal straight
line, and some of the joints arbitrarily
incline one way, some another, as in
many buildings of early Greek time ;
a style which is looked upon as the
transition from Cyclopean and Pelas-
gic, to the perfect mode of building
in Greek architecture, where the
stones break joint, and the courses are
all regular, as at the present day.
But the inclination of the stoiTes in
those pyramids is irregular, and not
with any other object than to fit the
stones to their accidental shape, and
may be attributed to the caprice of the
builders. Some have even fancied
that the courses of stones in the great
pyramid are slightly arched, or convex
upwards, like the stylobates of Gq^ek
temples ; but this is an error.

The outer layers, or casing, of the
third pyramid were of granite, many
of which still continue in their origi-
nal position at the lower part; nor
can we doubt the justness of Pliny's
remark,, when he says <' the third,
though much smaller than the other
two,** was ** much more elegant, *'
from the '* Ethiopian stone,** or gra-
nite of Syene, with which it was
clothed. Herodotus and Strabo say,
this casing, which the latter calls
"black stone,'* only extended half
way up ; and Diodorus says to the
15th tier. It was left unfinished in
consequence of the king's death ; but
''the name of its founder was %rritten
on its northern face.** Following
Herodotus, he calls him *'Myceri-
nus; or, as some say, Mecherinus.**
The stones of the casing have bevelled
edges ; a style of masonry common
in Syria, Greece^ and Rome; but
round the entrance their surfaces are
smooth, and of a lower level than the

rest, as if something had been let into
that depressed part. Here perhaps
were the hieroglyphics containing the
name of Mycerinus, mentioned by
Diodorus.

Herodotus, after telling us it was
built by Mycerinus, the son of Cheops,
and not by Rhodopis, gives some
curious anecdotes of several persons,
among whom are ^sop and Sappho ;
but the conjecture mentioned by Dio-
dorus, that it was founded by Inaron,
is very far from the truth, if that king
was the same as Inarus; he having
lived (a. n. 463) as late as tlie reign
of Artaxerxes Longimanus, S years
after Herodotus visited Egypt.

The measurements of the third
pyramid are, -—

Present base was S3S-0 feet by
measurement.

Present height perpendicular was
203*7 feet by calculation with angle of
51° given by Col. Vyse.

Colonel VjTse gives
(Former) base was 354*6 feet ;
Present height perpendicular is 203*0
feet ; Former height perpendicular
was 21 8 -a (or «18*9?) feet. Angle
of casing 51^.

Acres. Roods. Poles.
Eitentofarea - 2 3 21
Present height of granite, perpen-
dicular from base, was 36*9 feet on
west side, and 25*1 0 on north side.

On the south side of this are three
tmaikr pyramitU. They each have
a passage leading to a chamber ; and
in the centre one is the name of the
king Mencheres (or Mycerinus?),

painted on a stone

in the roof of its

chamber, the same

that occurs on the

wooden caCRn of the third pynunid.

The roof is flat, and above it is a space

or entresol, as in the great pyramid,

to protect it from the pressure of the

upper part of the building. In the

chamber is a sarcophagus of granite,

without hieroglyphics or sculpture of

any kind. Tbe lid had been forced

open before it was found by Colonel

Egypt.

TBE SPHINX«

191

Vyse, and is remarkAble for the in-
genious contrivance by which it was
fastened. It was made to slide into
a groove, like the sKding lids of our
boxes ; and its upper rim (which pro-
jected on all sides, to a level with the
f<mr outer faces of the sarcophagus)
was furnished with a small moveable
pin, that fell into a corrAponding
bole, and thus prevented the lid being
drawn back.

About 40 feet from the eastern side
of the third pyramid is the supposed
temple before alluded to, at the upper
end of the stone causeway ; and around
the spot where this cluster of monu-
ments stands is an enclosure about
ISOO feet square, formed of rough
stones heaped on each other in the
form of a low rude wall. Similar
heaps of stones occur in parallel rows
to the northward of it, bounded by
others which run parallel to the
western face of the second pyramid.

Descending by the causeway, about
350 feet from the part where it is
broken away, you come to a scarped
piece of rock ; and a little to the left
is a tomb, with hieroglyphics, and
figures in relief hewn in the stone.
"Diis has been taken possession
of by a Moslem saint, who of late
has become more than usually scru-
pulous in his religious prejudices.
For though living amidst the unclean
dust of the \ heathen dead, he has
thought it right to prevent the living
Christian visiting his abode; and,
making religion a plea for his petty
malice, he takes this his only oppor-
tunity of spiting those, whom curiosity
attracts to the neighbourhood. Five
hundred feet thence, to the N. £.,
are other smaller tombs, with the
name of a very early king, and a few
sculptures, among which is a gazelle
with its young fawn — a graceful
little group, very creditable to the
taste of the draughtsman.

g. THK SPHINX.

Little more than the eighth of a
mile from these tombs, to the S. £.,

are some pits, and a stone ruin of
some size on a rock, by some supposed
to have been a pyramid. The angle
of its faces is about 75®. About 800
feet from this ruin, to the N. E., is
the Sphinx, standing SOO feet north
of a line drawn from the S. £. comer
(or from the plane of the S. face) of
the second pyramid. It is cut in the
rock, part only of the back being
cased with stone, where the rock was
defective; and the assertion of Dr.
Clarke, ** that the pedestal proves to
be a wretched substructure of brick-
work and small pieces of stone, put
together like the most insignificant
piece of modem masonry," is as un-
founded as that ** the French uncovered
all the pedestal of this statue, and all
the recumbent or leonine parts of the
figure,** which, it is well known,
were first cleared from the sand by
the labours of Mr. Salt and« Signer
Caviglia. The whole is cut out of
the solid rock, with the exception of
the forelegs, which, with the small
portion above mentioned, are of hewn
stone ; nor is there any pedestal, but
a paved dromos in front of it, on
which the paws repose. They extend
to the distance of 50 feet.

An altar, three tablets, a lion, and
some fragments were discovered there:
but no entrance could be found ; and
I think it very probable that this
should be looked fur on the N. side,
as in the pyramids. The altar stands
between the two paws ; and it is evi-
dent, from its position, that sacrifices
were performed before the sphinx,
and that processions took place along
the sacred area, which extended be-
tween the forelegs to the breast, where
a sort of sanctuary stood, composed
of three tablets. One of these, of
granite, attached to tlie breast (the top
of which may still be seen above the
sand), formed the end of the sanc-
tuary; and two others, one on the
right, the other on the left, of lime*
stone, the two sides. The last have
been both removed. At the entrance
of the sanctuary two low jambs pro*

192

CAIBO. — EXCURSION 4.

Sect. n.

jected, to form a doorway, in the
aperture of which was a crouched lion,
looking towards the sphinx and the
central tablet. It is supposed that the
fragments of other lions found near
this spot, indicated their position on
either side of the doorway, and others
seem to have stood on similar jambs
near the altar. On the granite tablet.
King Thothmes IV. is represented
offering, on one side, incense, on the
other a libation (of oil, or ointment?)
to the figure of a sphinx, the repre-
sentative no doubt of the .colossal
one al)ove, with (he beard and other
attributes of a god. He seems to have
the tide of Re (the Sun) in his resting-
place, Re-ma-shoi? (Re-m-shoi?j
or perhaps Hor-ma-shoi ?
from which no doubt he
was styled *< the Sun, Ar-
maehit, ** in the Greek
inscription of BalbiUus,
which I shall mention
presently. Like other dei-
ties, he is said to grant
*« power** and •• pure life **
to the king; and there is no doubt
that, as Pliny observes, this sphinx
had the character of a local deity, and
was treated with divine honours by
the priests, and by strangers who
visited the spot Over the upper part
of the picture is the usual winged
globe, the emblem of Agathoda^mon.
The side tablets have similar repre-
sentations of the king offering to the
sphinx, who has the attributes and
name of the same deity. The king
Remeses the Great ; so that these side
walls of the sanctuary were not added
till about ninety years after the granite
tablet.

The deification of the sphinx is
singular, because that fanciful animal
is always found to be an emblematic
representation of the king, the union
of intellect and physical force ; and
is of common occurrence in that cha-
racter, on the monuments of early and
recent Pharaonic periods.

Some Greek exvoto& or dedica-
tory inscriptions, were cut upon the

paws, one of which, restored by Dr.
Young, ran as follows : —

Etfutr»p tuOinmtnt ufMtfM** «i(s«CtKt

Fwrw* iritf «/bu)«f ntti* 3irs» wr«f«c#Au,
Ov Ti|» OtAiwtitu flf9T$Mmf, mt trt BijCMf ,

(El/ /MmXat) Tfumirtut wurt6ii/M»9f twiXf

r«ii(r KiyvwrtM ^^ttrfum myinni^i
Ou(mti0t /Myttf uuTOfMOfrm ( J^Uirif 9ftmif*f)f

{Akanput IV w»XMfMM, Ktu utwuitup w&Xniraut)
Tmuu aiBvfmrSm {lirm^mt OMJumtn mikcvrm).

To the same learned and accom-
plished scholar we are indebted for
translations of the inscription above,
one in Latin, the other in English
verse ; which last I transcribe :

*' Thv form stupendous here the gods have

placed,
Sparing esch fpotpf harrMt-bearingland ;
And with thli mighty work of art have

graced
A rocky isle, encumber'd once with sand ;
And near the pyramids have bid thee stand :
Not that fierce sphinx that Thebes erewhile

laid waste.
But great Latona's servant, mild and bland ;
Watching that prince beloved who fills the

throne
Of Egypt's plains, and calls the Nile his own.
That heavenly monarch (who his foes defies)
Like Vulcan powerftil (and like Pallas

wise).*' AaaiAN.

The inscription is remarkable from
its allusion to the isolated position
of this monument of rock, and the
notion of the Egyptians sparing the
cultivable land, of which many in-
stances occur in the foundation of tow ns
on the edge of the desert, <* The sig-
nature, too,*' as the writer in the
Quarterly Review observes, "gives
it a more than common interest ;
which will not be weakened, if it
should be decided that it is to be
ascribed to the celebrated historian,
whom Gibbon has dignified with the
epithet of the * elegant and philoso-
phical Arrian.**'

On the right face were found some
exvotos to Mars, Harpocrates, and
Hermes; and, in one inscription,
where the emperor '* Nero Claudius**
has the dignified title of " Agathods-
mon,** after roentiooing the benefits

Egypt

THE SPHINX.

193

conferred on Egypt by the appoint-
ment of Tiberius Claudius Balbillus
as prefect, it is stated that " the in-
habitants of the village of Busiris, in
the Letopolite nome, living near the
pyramids, and the scribes of the dis-
trict and village, have resolved on
erecting a stone tablet (stela) to Ar-
machis.** It also mentions a record
of their benefactor's virtues, in the
'* sacred character ; ** showing that a
hieroglyphic inscription in honour
of Balbillus may still be looked for
in the vicinity ; and he is said to
have worshipped the sun, the pro-
tecting deity of the place, previously
alluded to under the name of Ar-
machis.

The remains of red colour were
traced upon the lions, as well as on
the fragments of a small sphinx
found near the tablets; and the same
may be seen on the face of the great
sphinx itself, on whose right cheek
some Arab characters have been
slightly scratched. Among them I
observed the name of Ibrahim, pro-
bably some visiter who recorded his
admiration of this colossal 6gure. It
is known to the Arabs by the name
of Aboolhdl.

Two flights of steps, one aiVer the
other, led down to the area before
the sphinx, from the plain above;
and, in the landing-place between
them, was a small isolated building
or ahar, and another at the foot of
the uppermost flight, on which were
two columns. It is this hollow space,
or area, which gave so much trouble
to clear from the sand, that had for
ages been accumulating within it,
and so great is the quantity which
collects there, that it is now nearly
filled as before ; and the same labour
would be again required to remove
it.

This accumulation of sand was in
former times prevented by crude brick
walls, remains of which are still visi-
ble ; and it is probably to them that
the inscription set up there, in the
time of " Antoninus and Venis," al-
Egypt,

ludes, in noticing the restoration of
the walls.

Pliny says tliey suppose it the
tomb of Amasb; a tradition which
arose, no doubt, from Uie resemblance
of the name of the king, by whose
order the rock was cut into this form,
Thothmes or Thothmosis, to that of
the Saite Pharaoh. The oval of the
fourth Thothmes occurs in the hiero-
glyphic inscription on its breast;
but from the known architectural
whims of the third of that name, it
is not improbable that he was the
originator of this singular monument,
and that Thothmes IV. may have
added this inscription, as Remeses
II. did those of the side tablets.
The mistake of assigning the sphinx
to Amasis may also be accounted
for by the simple fact that the Greeks
and Romans were better acquainted
with his name than that of the earlier
Pharaohs ; and Lucan has gone
further, and given to Amasis the
pyramids themselves. In another
place, he even buries the Ptolemies
in those monuments. Lucan, how-
ever, was not famous either for accu-
racy or poetical composition ; though
we may indulgently forgive any fancy
of the ancients, when one modem
writer buries the patriarch Joseph in
the great pyramid} and others con-
found the son of Jacob with Sarapis,
or condemn him to be worshipped by
the Egyptians, under the form of
Apis.

The cap of the sphinx, probably the
pahmtt (or the ram's horns and fea*
thers,) has long since been removed ;
but a cavity in the head attests its
position, and explains the method by
which it was fixed. The mutilated
state of the face, and the absence of
the nose, have led many to the erro-
neous conclusion that the features
were African ; but, by taking an
accurate sketch of the face, and re-
storing the nose, any one may con-
vince himself that the lips, as well
as the rest of the features, perfectly
agree with the physiognomy of au

194

CAIRO. — EXCURSION 4.

Sect. U.

Egyptian. Pliny lays it measured
from the belly to the highest point of
the head 63 feet, its length was 143,
and the circumference of its head
round the forehead 102 feet ; all cut
out in the natural rock, and worked
smooth.

A. TOMBS.

In the perpendicular face of the
low rock, behind the sphinx, are the
remains of lom5f, one of which, dis-
covered in 1820, by Mr. Salt, had
an interesting representation of Osi-
ris and its deceased inmate, named
Pet-pasht, or Petubastes.

About 180 feet behind this rock
is a Tery curious tomb, discovered
by Colonel Howard Vyse, and called,
after our consul-general, **Campbeir§
tomb.** It consists of a large square
pit cut in the rock to the depth of
53 feet 6 inches, and measuring SO
feet 6 inches east and west, and S6
feet 3 inches north and south. The
masuve circuit of rock, in which the
pit is cut, is surrounded by a large
trench 68 feet square, and 73 feet
deep ; and in the space between the
trench and the pit are a passage lead-
ing to the latter, and two other small
pits from one of which a sarcopha-
gus, now in the British Museum, was
taken. The large pit is not in the
centre, that is, equidistant on all sides
from the trench, but about 21 feet
from it on the south, about half that
on the north, and about 9 feet on the
east and west. In the large pit is a
coffin of black basalt, still in its place,
covered with a stone case or sarco-
phagus; over which was raised a
stone arch of the time of Psamaticus
II., which I regret to say has been
taken down, as I was told, by the
Sliekh of Kerdassy, to build a water-
wheel, or some equally important work.
The whole of this tomb was very cu-
rious, and one feature was remarkable,
that the walls of the arch stood on abed
of sand, about 2) feet thick ; but for
the plan, section, and description of

it, I refer the reader to Colonel Vyse's
book.

In the high plain between this
and the great pyramid are several pits,
where sarcophagi are found, frequently '
of black basalt ; one of which, with a
lid in the form of the dwarf deity of
Memphis, Pthah Sokari, is still lying
on the ground above. Near it is the
pit where a gold ring, bearing the
name of Suphis, was found, which is
now at Cairo, in the possession of Dr.
Abbott

On three sides of the great pyramid
are the tombs of private individuals,
which Mr. &lt supposed to be of
the chief people of HeliopoUs. They
are most numerous to the westward:
and in one of them marked Q in my
plan, near the extremity of this ceme-
tery, are some interesting sculptures.
Trades, boats, a repast, dancing,
agricultural scenes, the farm, the
wine-press, and other subjects, are
there represented ; and it is worthy of
remark that the butchers slaughtering
an ox sharpen their red knives on a
hltie rod, which would seem to indi-
cate the use of steel at this early pe-
riod. The name of Suphis (b) and an-
other Pharaoh occur in the sculptures.

mS)

and in the adjoining tomb are the
names of some very old kings, who,
in that instance, have only the title of
priests.

There are also these names at the
tombs here, the first of which (a)

is found in the
if great pyramid.
Many of the
^ UK tombs have false

im ^ entrances, and

^* I •^^^ several have pits
with their mouths
at the top of the
tomb, as in the larger oues to the

Egypt

east of the pyramid. Some of the
tombs are of immense siset though
of no great height ; they are all built
with their sides indining inwards to-
wards the top, as is usual in Egyptian
buildings ; and we may conclude that
while the smaller tombs belonged to
private families or individuals, the
large ones served as public burial-
nlaces for the less wealthy classes.
Two to the S. £. of *the south-east
angle of the pyramid have a few
hieroglyphics. In the westernmost
one is Uie name of a very old king
over a false door above a pit,

and in the other a funeral inscription
over a similar false door ; on the wall
opposite which are some herons and
animals of the country.

In the eastern face of the rocky
height on which the tombs and pyra^
mids stand, are other tombs containing
sculpture, and the names of Shofo
(Suphis), and other ancient kings.
One of them, nearly in a line with the
S. E. angle of the great pyramid,
contains a curious and satisfactory
specimen of the Egyptian numbers,
from units to thousands, prefixed to
goats, cattle, and asses, which arc
brought before the scribes, to be re-
gistered as part of the possessions of
the deceased.

This inventory of stock alludes to
the weekly, monthly, or yearly census
made for the owner of the estate, dur-
ing his lifetime, and not, as might be
suppoeed from being in a tomb, after
his death, he himself being present to
receive the report. The subjects re-
lating to the manners and customs of
the Egyptians, so conmion in their
tombs, are intended to show their
ordinary occupations, and are a sort
of epitome of life, or the career of man
on earth, previous to his admission to
the mansions of the dead. They are,
therefore, illustrative of the habits of
the people in general, and are not

TOMBS — CAUSEWAY.

195

confined exclusively to the occupant
of the tomb.

On the wall opposite the entrance
are three false doorways, of a style
rarely met with, except in the vicinity
of the pyramids, not very unlike those
at the end or the Egyptian gallery
in the British Museum, which came
from a tomb near the sphinx. In the
floor before each is a pit, where the
bodies were buried ; and I have gene-
rally observed, that a pit may be
looked for beneath th'ese false doors,
as before the stel» in the walls of
tombs, at Beni Hassan and other
places.

Some sculpture and hieroglyphics
may also be found in tombs under the
brow of the rock, near the northern
causeway ; some of which have ardud
Toofi of stone. But the most curious
arched tomb is that to the N. of the
supposed temple on the E. side of the
second pyramid, which I have already
noticed. It has columns before it, and
is of the time of Psamaticus, in the
7th century b. c.

i. CAUSIWAT.

The fonMsm causeway I have al-
ready mentioned, in speaking of the
third pyramid, to which it seems to
have been intended to convey the
stones up the hill from the plain, after
having been brought from the river.
I stated it was broken ; but at the
base of the rocky height, to the south
of the well and palm trees, the con-
tinuation of it appears, with an open-
ing in the centre, for the passage of
persons travelling by the edge of
the desert during the high Nile. The
stones were, no doubt, carried on
sledges by these causeways to the py-
ramids. That of the great pyramid is
described by Herodotus as 5 stades
long, 10 orgyes (fathoms) broad, and
8 high, of polished stones adorned
with the figures of animals (hiero-
glyphics), and it took no less than 10
years to complete it. Though the
site of the stade is uncertain, we may
take an average of 610 feet, which will

K 2

196

CAIBO. — EXCURSION 4.

Sect n.

require this causeway to haTe been
30.50 feet in length, a measurement
agreeing very well with the 1000 yards
of Pococke, though we can now no
longer trace it for more than 1424
feet ; the rest being buried by the in-
crease of the alluvial deposit of the
inundation. Its present breadth is
only 32 feet, the outer faces having
fallen, but the height of 85 exceeds
that given by Herodotus; and it is
evident, from the actual height of the
hill, from 80 to 85 feet, to whose
surface the causeway necessarily
reached, and from his allowing 100
feet from the plain to the top of this
hill, that the expression 8 orgyes (48
feet) is an oversight either of the
historian or his copyists. It was re>
paired by the caliphs and Memlook
kings, who made use of the same
causeway to carry back to the ** Ara*
bian shore ** those blocks that had be-
fore cost so much time and labour
to transport from its mountains; and
several of the 6 nest buildings of the
capital were constructed with the
stones of the quarried pyramid.

There does not appear to have been
any causeway exclusively belonging
to the second pyramid, unless we sup-
pose it to have been^ taken away when
no longer require<l, and the stones
used for other purposes ; and were
it not for the presence of the cause-
way of the third pyramid, we might
attribute the northern one to the
caliphs, and thus explain the state-
ment of Diodorus, who says, that
owing to the sandy base on which it
was built, it had entirely disap-
peared in his time. There are, indeed,
many black stones, a sort of basal-
tic tn^>, lying some way to the south
of the great causeway, which might
be supposed to have belonged to, and
to point out the site of, a fallen caus^
way ; and others of the same kind of
stone appear near the centre of the
eastern faee of the great pyramid, as
if forming part of the same work.
There is some probability of the cause-
way having been made of hard stone

of this kind : the same basaltic blocks
are found near the other pyramids of
Abooseer and Sskkira : and if the
tombs interfere with the line it took,
we may account for this by supposing .
them to have been built after the py-
ramid was completed, and the cause-
way no longer wanted. Again, it
is more likely that the causeway
should carry the stones towards the
centre, tlian to the comer, of the
pyramid ; and the direction of the
present causeway, instead of being
towards the spot whence the stones
were brought, is in the line of Cairo.
This certainly seems to indicate an
Arab origin. On the other hand,
that of the third pyramid is not of
black stone ; it is evidently Egyptian,
and not Arab work : no mention is
made by Herodotus or others of
black stone; and the same expres-
sion of ** polished stones,'* applied to
this as to the pyramid, are strong ar-
guments in favour of the present
causeway being the original one
built by Cheops, subsequently re-
paired by the Arab sultans.

j. SMALL FYEAMinS MXAE THAT OP
CHBOrS — MATORB OP TBI KOCK.

To the east of the great pyramid
are Mree tmaUer omuy built in de-
grees or stages, somewhat larger than
the three on the south of the pyramid
of Mycerinus. The centre one is
stated by Herodotus to have been
erected by the daughter of Cheops, of
whom he relates a ridiculous stoiy,
only surpassed in improbability by
another he tells of the daughter of
Rhampsinitus. It is 122 feet square,
which is less than the measurement
given by the historian of 1^ pie-
thrum, or about 150 feet ; but this
difference may be accounted for by
its ruined condition. About 180 feet
to the north of the northemmoat of
these three small pyramids, and .*KX>
to the east of that of Cheops, is a
passage cut in the rock, descending
from the north, and ascending again
to the south, which . might be sup*

Egypu

DAtE OF THE PYRAMIDS.

197

poMd to mark the site of a fourth
pyramid, did not Herodotus, by men-
tioning three only, prove that none
existed there in his time. Near this
face of the great pyramid are three
trenches of considerable size, which
some have supposed to be intended
for mixing the mortar ; there are also
some smaller trenches, and steps cut
in the rock, in various places near the
great pyramid, the object of which it
is not easy to determine. The rocA
hereabouts abounds in nummulites
and other fossil remains, common, as
Fliny justly observes, in the moun-
tains of the African chain, but wliich
Strabo supposed to be the petri6ed
residue of the barley and lentils of
the workmen. Lentils, no doubt,
constituted their principal food, to-
gether with the three roots, figl^
onions, and garlic mentioned by He-
rodotus, all of which are still in com-
mon use among the lower orders of
Egyptians ; and when we see the'
errors of the present day, we readily
forgive the geographer for his fanci-
ful conclusion. The nummulite is
the Nautilus Mammilla, or Lenticu-
laris.

K DATS OY TBI rTEAMIDS.

Respecting the daU of the pyra^
mids, it is very evident that Hero-
dotus is far from right, when he
places Cheops (or Suphis) after Mce-
ris and Sesostris, who were kings
of the 18th dynasty. It may, how.
ever, be observed, that though Re-
meses the Great corresponds to Se-
sostris, there was an older Pharaoh of
this name, mentioned by Manetho in
the 12th dynasty, which has led to
the mistakes nuide by Greek writers
respecting this king. It is probable
that the pyramids are the oldest mo-
numents in Egypt, or, indeed, in the
world, and that the kings who built
them reigned some time before the
age of the Ostrtasens and the 16th
dynasty. But whether they governed
the whole, or part only, of Egypt, it
|s not easy to determine, from the

absence of monuments in the The*
baid of that remote period. I have
supposed the date of the great pyra-
mid, or the reign of Suphis, to be
about 21 SO B.C. ; but this is a con-
jecture, which remains to be con-
firmed or refuted by future disco-
veries. At all events, the opinion of
those who conclude, from the pyra-
mids not being mentioned in the
Bible, and by Homer, that they did
not exist before the Exodus, nor at
the time of the poet, is totally in-
admissible ; and we may, with equal
readiness, reject the assertion of those
who pretend that the Jews aided in
their construction.

With regard to the opinion that
those kings were foreigners, argu-
ments may be found both to refute
and support it. The style of acrhi-
tecture, the sculptures in the tombs,
and the scenes they represent, are all
Egyptian ; and there are no subjects
relating to another race, or to cus-
toms differing from those of the
country. On the other hand, the
aversion stated by Herodotus to have
been felt by the Egyptians for the
memory of their founders, if really
true, would accord with the oppres-
sion of foreign tyrants ; other stran-
gers who ruled in Egypt employed
native architects and sculptors; and
it is remarkable that, with the excep-
tion of the sphinx, CampbelPs tomb,
and a few others, the pyramids and
the monuments about them are con-
fined to nearly the same period. But
however strong the last may appear
in favour of a foreign dynasty, it must
be remembered that all the tombs of
Beni Hassan were in like manner
made within the short period of two
or three reigns; and many other
cemeteries seem to have been used
for a limited time, both at Thebes
and other places.

I, rTEAUID or ABOOROASB.

At AboorooMh, about 5 miles to the
northward, is another ruined pyra-
mid, which, from the decomposed
K 3

198

CAIRO. — EXCUBSIOK 4.

Sect. II.

condition of the stone, haa the ap-
pearmnce of still greater age than
those of Greeseh. It stands on a
ridge of hills, that skirt the desert
behind Kerd&sseh, and forms the
southern side of a large Talley, a
branch of the Bahr el Fargli, which
I shall have occasion to mention pre-
sently. The pyramid itself has only
about 5 or 6 courses of stone re-
maining, and contains nothing but
an underground chamber, to which
a broad inclined passage, 160 feet
long, descends at an angle of 299
S5', on the north side. These are
the measurements given by Colonel
Vyse, who calculates the base of the
pyramid to be 920 feet square, and
the chamber 40 by 15, with smaller
apartments over it, as in the great py- |
ramid of Geezeh.

Near the pyramid to the westward
is toother stone ruin ; and a cause-
way SO feet broad leads up to the
height on which they both stand,
from the northward; the length of
which is said by Colonel Howard
Vyse to be 4950 feet A great quan-
tity of granite is scattered around
the pyramid, mostly broken into
small fragments, with which (if ever
finished) it was probably once cased.
From the hill is a fine view over the
valley of the Nile ; and being much
higher than that of the great pyra-
mids, it commands them, and has
the advantage of showing them in
an interesting position, with those of
Aboos6er, Sakkara, and Dash6or, in
the distance. This view is also re-
markable from its eiplaining the ex-
pression **peni%smki, on which the
pyramids stand,** used to denote the
isolated position of the hill. It is the
same that Pliny applies to the i$oiaied
rocky district about Syene.

At the eastern extremity of the
hills of Aboorofish are some massive
crude brick walls, and the ruins of
an ancient village, with a few unin-
teresting tombs in the rock ; and in
the sandy plain to the south of them
is the tomb of the shekb who has given

his name, Abooroash, to the ruined
pyramid.

fa. THI TWO A&AX BftlDOia.

A little more than one-third o( the
way from the pyramids of Geezeh to
Abooroiish, you pass, some way inland
to the right, the two ttone bridges of
several arcbes built by the Arab sul-
tans. They have each two Arabic
inscriptions, mentioning the king by
whom they were built, and the date
of their erection. The westernmost
of the two has on one side the name
of Naser Mohammed, the son of
Ka-la6on, with the date 716 a. it.
(1317-18, A. D.);and on the other
that of £1 Ashraf Abool Nusr Kaed-
bay e' Zaheree, with the date 884 a.h.
(a. d. 1480). The eastern bridge
has the name of the latter king on
both sides, and the same date of 884
A. H. when they were both completed
or repaired.

Half way from the pyramids to
Abooroiish are the remains of an old
village on the edge of the desert, now
a heap of pottery and bricks.

n. BUSIEIS.

Close to the pyramids was an an-
cient village called Busiris, from which
the people used to ascend them, being
paid, no doubt, by visitors, as the
peasants are by travellers at the pre-
sent day to go over the casing to the
top of the second pyramid.^ The
steps said by Diodorus to have been
cut in the face of that pyramid, were
probably similar to those used by the
people who ascend it in modem times,
being merely small holes sufliciently
deep and broad to place the feet and
hands. The same kind of rude steps
were probably cut in the faces of the
great pyramid also, before the casing
was removed, which, if we may be-
lieve Abd e* Latif, did not happen till
a late time.

The village of Busiris may have
stood on the site of one of those
below the pyramids : that called £1
Hamra, ** the red, " or, more com-
monly, £1 K6m-el- Aswed, "the black

Egypt

PTRAHIDS OF ABOOSEER AND 8AKKARA.

199

mound," to the N. £., is eTidently
ancient ; and another stood just above
the two hafr; or hamlets, to tlie south
of Kdm-eU Aswed. A Greek inscrip-
tion found before the sphini speaks
of « the inhabitants of the TilU^e of
Busiris in the L6topolite nome, who
live near the pyramids, the scribes of
the dbtrict and the scribes of the
village (the topogramnuUt and the
camogrammaU\ dedicating the stone
ttda *' on which it was inscribed ; — a
sufficient proof that Busiris was close
to the pyramids, and farther to the N.
than the modem Aboosto, which
stands beyond the limits of the L^to-
polite, and within the Memphite,
nome. It has succeeded to the name,
though not to the site, of the ancient
village ; nor is this the only instance
of the Arab form of the Egjrptian
word ; and Abooste is the modern
name of Busiris in the Delta, near
Sebennytus, and of Busiris, the sup-
posed Nilopolis, near the Heracleo-
polite nome.

O. rVRAMIDS or ABOOftiBB (aBUSIR).

Abooteer is 7) miles to the south-
ward of the great pyramid, and has
the mounds of an ancient town.
Half way, on a hill to the W. of
Shebremint, is a small ruin ; and
about one mile to the N. of Abooste
are the pyramids to which it has given
Its name. There is also another pyra-
mid standing alone, and bearing 85^
W. of N. from the great pyramid of
Aboos^er, from which it is distant
about 2970 feet, or, according to
•Colonel Vyse, three quarters of a mile.
He gives the base of it 123 feet 4
inches square ; and on a block used in
building it, probably taken from an
older monument, is the name of

one of the early Pharaohs.

In the plain below are the

remains of a stone building,

^tf apparently a temple, con-

n p nected with the pyramid by

>* a causeway ; and about half

way between this

pyramids of A

other vestiges of masonry, now a heap
of broken fragments of white stone.
Fifty paces to the E. of the northern-
most pymmid of Aboos^r, is a
temple, and a causeway leading from
it to the plain ; and some distance to
the S. of this is another causeway
leading to the central pyramid, at the
side of which lie fragments of black
stone that once paved it.

Besides the pyramids are 8 or 9
other stone ruins, one of which, to
the S. W. of the large pyramid, is 78
paces by 80, with an entrance on the
N. It has perpendicular sides, and
some of the stones measure nearly 1 7
feet in length. In the largest of these
pyramids the degrees, or stories, are
exposed, the triangulsr portions that
611ed up the spaces having been re-
moved. It measured originally, ac-
cording to Colonel Vyse, 359 feet 9
inches square, and 227 feet 10 inches
high, now reduced to 325 feet and
164 feet. The northernmost one is
surrounded by an enclosure 137
paces square ; the pyramid itself being
about 213 feet square, or 216, ac-
cording to Colonel Vyse, having been
originally 257 feet ; and its height
of 1S2 feet 9 inches is now reduced
to 118.

p, rraAMins of sAKKAaA — tombs.

Those of Sakkira, about 2 miles
more to the S., are worthy of a visit,
and hold a conspicuous place among
the " many pyramids on the brow of
hills *' mentioned by Strabo, in which
he included no doubt those of Geexeh,
Aboos^r, Sakk&ra, and D&sh6or.
The largest pyramid of Sakkira has its
degrees or stories stripped of their
triangular exterior. ' It measures
about 137 paces square ; or, according
to Colonel Vyse's measurements, 351
feet 2 inches on the N. and S. faces,
and 393 feet 1 1 inches on the £. and
W., and is surrounded by what may
be considered a sacred enclosure, about
1750 feet by 950 feet. Within, it re-
a hollow dome, supported
there by wooden lafters.
X 4

200

GAIBO. — EXCURSION 4.

Sect. n.

At the end of the passage, oppo-
site the entrance to this dome, is a
small chamber, re-opened about 17
years ago, on whose door- way are

some hieroglyphics containing the
square title or banner of a very old
king, apparently with bis name placed
outside, and not, as usual, within, an

ri^^^iTi

(repeated)

oval. It may, however, be observed, that this chamber and its
entrance passage appear of a later date than the rest of the
pyramid. The chamber was lined with blue slabs similar to
those now called Dutch tiles ; and it is scarcely necessary to
remark that vitrified porcelain was a very old invention in
Egypt, and continued in vogue there till a late period, even
after the Arab conquest and the foundation of Cairo. All had
been carefully closed, and concealed by masonry; but the
treasures it contained, if any, had long since been removed.

(repeated)

In the face of the rocks to the
eastward, near the cultivated land, is a
vaulted tomb of the time of Psama-
ticus II.i of hewn stone. This, and
others near the pyramids of Geeseh,
are the oldest gtone arches hitherto dis-
covered, having been erected more
than 600 years before our era. That
style of building, however, was
known to the EgypGans long before,
even as early as the time of Amu-
noph I. and Thothmes III. of the
18th dynasty, who lived in 1570 and
1490 b. c, some tombs with arched
roofs being found at Thebes of that
period ; and if they, like others built
in the time of the S6th dynasty, are
of crude brick, they are not less con-
vincing proofs of the invention of
the arch.

Among the most curious objects at
Sakk&ra are the ibis mummy pits to
the north of the great pyramid,
and nearly due west of the village
of Aboos^r. Near the same spot
are also found mummies of snakes,
oxen, sheep, and other animals. The
ibises have been put into long earthen
pots, very like tliose used in making
sugar ; but, owing to the damp, they
are mostly reduced to powder ; and

unless a small opening is made in
them to ascertain their contents, they
are for the most part not worth taking
away.

The mummied ibises of Thd>es are
much better preserved ; and, instead
of being in pits, are put up in ban-
dages, like cats and other animals.

In the human mummy pits at Sak-
k4ra objects of curiosity and value
are often found, though some are oc-
casionally damaged by the damp,
owing to the great depth of many^
of the tombs, which are ofWn more
than 70 feet deep. This is more
surprising as the Egyptians generally
calculated very accurately the changes
that took place in their country, and
could not but be aware of the in-
creasing rise of the level of their
river. Here, as about the pyramids
of Geeseh, representations of the
pigmy deity of Memphis are fre-
quently met with ; from whose name
Pthah-Sokari, or Pthah-Sokari- Osi-
ris, Mr. Salt, with great ingetfiuity,
suggested the origin of the name of
Sakkira.

Some years ago many curious
sculptured tombs were seen on the
high plain near these pyramids, con-

Egypt

PYRAMIDS OF DASHOOR.

201

Uining the names of ancient kings,
many of which were destroyed by
Mohammed Bey Defterdar to build
fats palace of Kasr Dubarra.

Besides the great pyramid of Sak-
k&ra, are nine or ten smaller ones,
and the Mustaba Pharaoon, or
" Pharaoh's throne/' and other ruins;
which, as well as the mummy pits,
and the general position and dimen-
sions of all these objects, have been
fully described by Pococke and Colo-
> nel Howard Vyse.

q. rraAMiDs or nA8H6oa.

Tlie stone pyramids of DathSor,
or MauhSeh, have both been opened.
Tlieir entrances are to the north, as in
those of Geezefa. The summit of the
second or southernmost one was
finished at a different angle from the
lower part ; and from its being the
only pyramid of this form, I am in-
clined to think they depressed the
angle in order more speedily to com-
plete it ; for, had it retained its ori-
ginal talus, it would have been con-
siderably higher. In the passage are
some hieroglyphics, cut perhaps by
a visitor at a late period. The
northernmost of these pyramids mea-
sures, according to Colonel Vyse, 700
feet square, having been originally
71 9 ft 5 in. ; and of its former height
of 342 ft. 7 in., there now remain
326 ft 6 in. The southernmost one
has the angle of its casing in the
lower part 54^ 14' 46", and the upper
part 42^^59' 26".

Here are also two crude brick py-
ramids, in one of which I could trace
the base of a chamber. The question
then naturally suggests itself how was
this roofed ? The chambers of the
crude brick pyramids of Thebes are
all vaulted, and we can scarcely sup-
pose that the roof of this was sup-
ported in any other way. Herodotus
tells us that Asychis, wishing to sur-
pass all other kings who had reigned
before him in Egypt, made a brick
pyramid for his monument, to which

he affixed this sentence engraved on
stone: *' Do not despise me, when
compared to the stone pyramids ; I
am as superior to them as Jupiter to
the other Gods. For men plunging
poles into a lake, and collecting the
mud thus extracted, formed it into
bricks, of which they made me." Dr.
Richardson justly asks, in what could
this superiority over stone pyramids
consist ? and suggests, that it points to
the invention of the arch that roofed
its chambers ; — which, provided
Asychis lived prior to the 16th and
18Ui dynasties, may possibly be true.
Those of Dash6or, and otlier places,
doubtless imitated the original brick
pyramid of Asychis, in this, as well
as other peculiarities of style ; but we
are uncertain if either of these two,
or those at the entrance of the Fy-
6om, have a claim to the honour of
bearing that notable inscription.

Some give it to the nonhemmost
of the Dash6or brick pyramids, where
Colonel Howard Vyse discovered, in
the temple before it, a stone bearing
part of an early king*s name, pro-
bably Asychis. This pyramid, he
says, measured originally 350 feet
square, and was 215 feet 6 inches
high, of which 90 feet now only re-
main ; and the southern one was 342
feet 6 inches square, and 267 feet 4
inches high, now reduced to 156 feet.
There is also a small one of brick,
close to the south of the second stone
pyramid, originally 181 feet square,
and 106 feet high.

Large groves of sont, or acanthus,
extend along the edge of the culti-
vated land in the neighbourhood of
Sakk^ and Dash6or, and have
succeeded to those mentioned by
Strabo; though the town of Acan-
thus, if Diodorus is right in his dis-
tance of 120 stadia from Memphis,
stood much further to the S. A
large dyke runs from the edge of the
desert, a little to the north of the vil-
lage of Sakkira, to the mounds of
Memphis, at Mitrahenny.
K 5

202

CAIRO. — EXCURSION 4.

Sect n.

r. MEMPHIS.

Memphis is styled in Coptic Mefi,
Momf, aud Menf, which last is tra-
ditionally preserved by the modern
Egyptians, though the only existing
town, whose name resembles it, is
Menoof in the Delta« The Egyp-
tians called it Paoouf, Memfi,
Membe, and Menofre (Ma-nofre),
" the place of good ; " which Plu-
tarh translates " the haven of good
men ;" though it seems rather to re-
fer to the abode of the Deity, the
representative of goodness, than to
the virtues of its inhabitants. In
hieroglyphics it was styled *' Me-
nofre, the land of the pyramid ; *' and
sometimes £i-Pthah, *< the abode of
Pthah/' as well as « the city of the
white wall."

In the time of Aboolfeda, a.d.
1 342, the remains of Memphis were
very extensive, of which little or
nothing now exists but a large co-
lossus of Remeses II., a few frag-
ments of granite, and some sub*
structionst Herodotus and Diodorus
s*tate that two statues were erected by
Sesostris, one of himself and another
of his queen, with those of four of
his sons, before tlie temple of Vulcan
or Pthah ; and as the name of that
conqueror seems often to have been ap-
plied to Remeses, it is probable that
this is one of the two they mention.
The statues of Sesostris were 80 cu-
bits (45 feet) high ; the other four,
20 cubits (30 feet). The colossus is
unfortunately broken at the feet, and
part of the cap is wanting ; but its
total height may be estimated at 42
feet 8 inches, without the pedestal.
The expression of the face, which
is perfectly preserved, is very beau-
tiful.

The stone is a white silicious lime-
stone, very hard, and capable of tak-
ing a high polish. From the neck of
the king is suspended an amulet or
breast-plate, like that of the Urim and
Thummim of the Hebrews, in which
is the royal prenomen supported by

Pthah on one side, and by his con-
templar companion Pasht (Bubastia)
on the other. In the centre, and at
the side of his girdle, are the name
and prenomen of this Remeses, and
in his hand he holds a scroll, bearing
at one end the name Amun-mai-
Remeses. A figure of his daughter
is represented at his side. It is on
a small scale, her shoulder reaching
little above the level of his knee.

If this be really one of the statues
mentioned by the historian, it marks
the site of the famous temple of
Pttiah ; a fact that might be ascer-
tained by excavating behind it, follow-
ing the direction in which it stood.
During the high Nile, it is nearly
covered with water, and parts of the
ancient Memphis are no longer ap-
proachable; the traveller, therefore,
who goes up the Nile in October, had
better defer his visit to Mitrahenny
till his return. Hiis beautiful statue
was discovered by Signor Cavigliaand
Mr. Sloane, by whom it was given
to the British Museum, on condition
of its being taken to England, but the
fear of the expense seems to have
hitlierto prevented its removal. When
the Turks have burnt it for lime, it
will be regretted.

There is very little else worthy of
remark amidst the mounds of Mem-
phis. Near the colossus lies a small
figure of red granite, broken at the
wrist. To the south of this is a lime-
stone block, on which is sculptured
the god Nilus, probably binding the
throne of a king, which is broken a-
way ; and beyond it are two statues
of red granite, one entirely corroded
by exposure, the other holding a long
«fe2a, surmounted by the bust of a king
wearing a necklace and a head-dress of
horns, with a globe and two ostrich
feathers. On the stela is a column
of hieroglyphics, containing the ban-
ner and name of Remeses the Great,
with the title '* Lord of the assemblies,
like his father Pthah."

Though the mounds of Memphis
lie chiefly about Mitrahenny, it is pro-

Egypt.

MEMPHIS.

203

bable that the Sarapeum was in the
direction of SakjUum, an we learn
from Straboi that it was in a ** very
sandy spot," which could only be near
the desert. Judging too, from the
sise of Thebes, we may readily ima-
gine that Memphis eitended as far as
the desert, to the westward ; and
Diodonis calculates its circuit at 150
stadea, or upwards of 17 English
miles, requiring a diameter of nearly
6 milea. The Sarapeum, indeed, was
probably outside the circuit of the
city, if what Macrobius says be true,
that the temple of this deity was never
admitted within the precincts of an
Egyptian town ; and the distance from
the centre of Memphis, at Mitrahenny,
to the sandy slope of the desert, is far
from being too much for the sise of
such a city, even if we deduct consi-
derably from the dimensions given
by Diodonis. It probably extended
(rom near the river at Bedreshayn to
Sakjdlra, which only allows a breadth
east and west of S miles, and its long-
est diameter was probably north and
south. But it may be doubted, if
Memphis was surrounded by a wall.
It was not the custom of the Egyp-
tians to include tlie whole of a large
city within one circuit : Thebes, even
with its 100 gates, had no wall ; and
we find there, as in other cities, that
portions alone were walled round,
comprehending the temples and other
precious monuments. In places of
great extent, as Thebes, each temple
had its own circuit, generally a thick
crude brick wall with stone gate* ways,
sometimes within another of greater
extent ; and the quarters of the troops,
or citadel, were surrounded by a mas-
sive wall of the same materials, with
an inclined way to the top of the
rampart.

The temples of Memphis were, no
doubt, encompassed in the same man*
ner by a sacred enclosure ; and the
« white wall ** was the fortified part of
the city, in which tlie Egyptians took
refuge when defeated by the PeruanaL
This white fortress was very ancient.

and from it Memphis was called the
« city of the white wall."

Memphis, was said to have been
built by Menes, the first king of
Egypt; and the fact of his having
changed the course of the river, which
previously ** flowed under the Libyan
mountains,*' and for which he opened
a new channel, about half-way be»
tween the Arabian and Libyan chain,
is strongly corroborated by the actual
appearance of the Nile. According
to Herodotus, the river was turned off
about 100 stadia above Memphis;
and the dykes constructed at this
point, to prevent its returning to its
original channel, were kept up with
great care by his successors, even to
the time of the Persians. At Kafr
el lyiit, 14 miles above Mitrahenny,
the Nile takes a considerable curve
to the eastward, and would, if the
previous direction of its course con-
tinued, run immediately below the
Libyan mountains to Sakk^ra; and
the slight difierence between this du-
tance and the approximate measure-
ment of Herodotus offers no objec-
tion. Indeed, if we calculate from
the outside of the town, which the
historian doubtless did, we shall find
that the bend of Kafr el Iy4t agrees
exactly with his 100 stadia, or about
\\\ miles, Mitrahenny being, as before
stated, at the centre of Memphis.

The canal that now runs between
SakjULra and Mitrahenny, and con-
tinues thence through the plain below
the great pyramids, has probably suc-
ceeded to an ancient one that passed
through Memphis, and brought the
water of the Nile to the famous lake,
which was '* on the north and west
cX the city." This lake was excavated
by Menes. Herodotus says it was
made on the north and west side, and
not on the east, because the river was
in the way ; showing that Memphis
stood near tlie Nile; as is further
proved by his account of the herald
sent from Cambyses by water to that
city.

The site of the lake I believe to be

K «

204

CAIRO. — EXCUBSION 4.

Sect. II.

close to the dyke below Sakk&ra*
where a hollow spot containing water
for a great part of the year still re-
mains, and the recess in the low hills
to the westward of it accords with
the direction it took. It was across
this lake that the dead were trans-
ported to the tombs on the hill about
the pyramids of Sakkira, and other
parts of the cemetery of Memphis ;
and here were performed the cere-
monies which gave rise to some of the
fables of Greek mythology.

Diodorus, in speaking of their
adoption from Egypt, says, << Orpheus
had learned of the Egyptians the
greater part of his mystical ceremo-
nies; the orgies that celebrate the
wanderings (of Ceres), and the my-
thology of the shades below . . ., and
the punishments of the impious in
Tartarus, the Elysian plains of the
virtuous, and the common imagery
of Bction, were all copied from the
Egyptian funerals. Hermes, the con-
ductor of souls, was, according to the
old institution of Egypt, to convey
the body of Apis to an appointed
place, where it was received by a man
wearing the mask of Cerberus ; and
Orpheus having related this among
the Greeks, the fable was adopted by
Homer, who makes the Cyllenian
Hermes call forth the souls of the
suitors, holding his staff in his hand.
.... The river he calls ocean, as
they say, because the Egyptians call
the Nile oceanu$ in their language ;
the gates of the sun are derived
from Heliopolis ; and the meadow is
so called from the like named Ache-
rusian, near Memphis, which is sur-
rounded by beautiful meadows and
canals, with lotus and flowering
rushes. And it is consistent with
the imitation to make the dead inhabit
those places, because the greater
number and the most considerable
of the Egyptian tombs are there ;
the bodies being ferried over the
river and the Acherusian lake, and
deposited in the catacombs destined
to receive them. And the rest of

the Grecian mythology respecting
Hades agrees also with the present
practice of Egypt, where a boat, called
Baris, carries over the bodies, and a
penny is given for the fare to the
boatman, who is called Charon in the
language of the country. They say
there is also, in the neighbourhood of
the same place, a temple of the noc-
turnal Hecate, with the gates of Co-
cytus and of Lethe, fastened with
bruen bars ; and besides, other gates
of Truth, and near them a figure
of Justice, without a head. In the
city of Acanths, on the Libyan side
of the Nile, 120 sUdia (about 14
miles) from Memphis, they say there
is a barrel pierced with boles, to
which 360 priests carry water from
the Nile : and a mystery is acted in
an assembly in that neighbourhood, in
which a man is made to twist one end
of a long rope, while other persons
untwist the other end : an allusion to
which has become proverbial in
Greece. Melampus, they say, brought
from Egypt the mysteries of Bacchus,
the stories of Saturn, and the battles
of the Tiuns. Daedalus imitated the
Egyptian labyrinth in that which he
built for king Minoa ; the Egyptian
labyrinth having been constructed by
Mendes, or by Marus, an ancient
king many years before his time:
and the style of the ancient statues
in Egypt is the same with that of the
statues sculptured in Greece. They
also say that the very fine propylon
of Vulcan in Memphis was the work
of Da^alus as an architect, and that
being admired for it, he had the ho-
nour of obtaining a place in the same
temple for a wooden statue of him-
self, the work of his own hands ;
that his talents and inventive facul-
ties at last acquired him even divine
honours ; and that there is to this day
a temple of Daedalus, on one of the
islands near Memphis, which is re-
vered by the neighbouring inhabi*
Unts.*'

The principal deities of Memphis
were Pthah, Apis, and Bubastis; and

Egypt.

MEMPHIS.

205

the goddess Isis bad a magnificent
temple there, erected by Amasis.
That of Pthab, or Vulcan, was said to
have been founded by Menes, and
was enlarged and beautified by suc-
ceeding monarchs. Mcsris erected
the m, I tiiern vestibule; and Sesostris,
besides the colossal statues above
mentioned, made considerable addi-
tions with enormous blocks of stone
which "be employed his prisoners
of war to drag to the temple.** Phe-
ron, his son, also enriched it with
suitable presents, which he sent on
the recovery of bis sight, as he did to
all the principal temples of Egypt,
and on the south of the Temple of
Pthah were added the sacred grove
and Temple of Proteus. The west-
em vestibule, or propylsum, was the
work of Rhampsinitus, who also
erected two statues, 25 cubits in
height ; one on the north, the other
on the south ; to the former of which
the Egyptians gave the name of
summer, and to the latter winter.
The eastern was the largest and most
magnificent of all these propyliea,
and excelled as well in the beauty
of its sculpture as in its dimensions.
It was built by Asychis.

Several grand additions were
afterwards made by Psamaticus, who,
besides the southern vestibule, erected
a large hypsethral court covered with
sculpture, where Apis was kept, when
exhibited in public. It was sur-
rounded by a peristyle of Osiride
figures, 12 cubits in height, which
served instead of columns ; similar
no doubt to those in the Memno-
nium at Thebes. I have endeavoured
to give an idea of the interior of this
court of Apis in my ** Manners and
Customs of the Ancient Egyptians/*
(Frontispiece of Vol. i.)

Many other kings adorned this
magnificent temple of Pthah, with
sculpture and various gifU; among
which may be mentioned the statue of
Sethos, in commemoration of his vic-
tory over the Assyrians, holding in
his hand a mouse, with this inscrip-

tion, « Whoever sees me, let him be
pious.* * Amasis, too, dedicated a re-
cumbent colossus, 75 feet long, in
this temple ; which is the more sin-
gular as there is no instance of an
Egyptian statue, of early time, in
that position.

According to Herodotus, *< The
temenos or sacred grove of Proteus
was very beautiful and richly orna-
mented. Some Phcenicians of Tyre
settled at Memphis, lived round it,
and in consequence the whole neigh-
bourhood received the name of the
Tyrian camp. Within the temenot
was the temple of Proteus, which was
called <of Venus the stranger;***
whence the historian conjectured that
it was of Helen, who was reported
to have lived some time at the court
of tlie Egyptian king. This is of
course an idle Greek story ; which,
like so many others, shows bow ready
the Greeks were to derive every thing
from their own country.

Strabo, in speaking of Memphis,
says, ** Near to the pyramids is Mem-
phis, the royal residence of the
Egyptians, distant three schcenes from
the Delta. It has a temple of Apis,
who is the same as Osiris. Here the
bull Apis is kept in an enclosure, and
treated as a god. He has a white
mark on his forehead, and other small
spots on his body, the rest being
black ; and when he dies, another is
selected, from having certain sign^to
take his place. Before the enclosure
is a court, and another for the mother
of this bull. He is permitted to go
out occasionally into the court, par-
ticularly when any strangers are de-
sirous of seeing him (at other times
being only seen through the windows
of his abode); and after he has
played about a little he is taken
back.

** The temple of Apis is close to
that of Vulcan (Pthah), which is
very magnificent, both in size and
other respects. Before the dromoi lies
a colossus of a single stone ; and in
this space it is customary to have

206

CAIRO. — BXCUESION 4.

Sect. 11.

bull fights, the animals being trained
for the purpose by persons who are
like the breeders of horses ; and hav-
ing fought together, the reward is
adjudged to the victor. At Mem-
phis is also a temple of Venus, sup-
posed to be a Greek goddess. Some
believe it to be dedicated to the moon.
There is also a Serapeum ** (or temple
of Sarapis) *' in a very sandy spot,
where drifts of sand are raised by the
wind, to such a degree that we saw
some sphinxes buried up to their
heads, and others half covered. From
this circumstance any one may judge
of the danger of being overtaken
there by a whirlwind of sand. The
city is large and populous, next to
Alexandria in size, and, like that,
filled with foreign residents. Before
it are some lakes; but the palaces,
situated once in an elevated spot, and
reaching down to the lower part of
the city, are now ruined and deserted.
Contiguous are the grove and lake.**
. . . . " Beyond Memphis (to the
southward) is the city of Acanthus,
with a temple of Osiris, and a grove
of Tbeban acanthus trees, which pro-
duce gum ; after which is the AphnK
ditopolite nome, and a city of that
name on the Arabian (eastern) bank
where a sacred white cow is kept.*'

The taking of Memphis by the
Persians, under Cambyses, was the
first blow received by this ancient city,
which continued to be the capital of
the lower country until the wealth of
Alexandria had raised its import-
ance to such a point, that Thebes and
Memphis gradually decreased in size
and opulence ; and in the time of the
Romans, Memphis held a secondary
rank, and Thebes had ceased to be a
city. Memphis still continued to en-
joy some consequence, even at the
time of the Arab invasion ; and
though its ancient palace was a ruin,
the governor of Egypt, John Me*

caukes, still resided in the city ; and it
was here that he concluded a treaty
with the invaders, after they had suc-
ceeded in taking the strong Roman
fortress at Babylon. The wealth, as
well as the inhabitants of Memphis^
soon passed to the new Arab city of
Fo8$4t, and the capital of Lower
Egypt in a few years ceased to exist.
The blocks of stone of its ruined mo-
numents were taken to build modem
edifices; and we* find Pococke, a
hundred years ago expressing his as-
tonishment that the position of Mem-
phis should be entirely unknown.
Modern discoveries have ascertained
its site, but we are surprised to find
so few remains of this vast city ; and
the only traces of its name in the
country are preserved by very doubt-
ful tradition, and the MSS. of the
Copts.

Several roads lead from the valley
of the Nile to the F^6om, across
the low Libyan bills ; some from near
Abooroash, the great pyramids, and
the neighbourhood of Sakkara and
Dash6or. There are others from dif-
ferent points, along the whole range
to its entrance near the pyramid of
Illah6on, westward of Benisooef.

In the plain between the pyramids
and the Nile are the sites of many an-
cient towns; and about five miles
to the N. N. £. of Abooroash, is
Weseem, in Coptic Boushem, which
probably occupies the position of Le-
topolis, the capital of the nome joining
the Memphitic to the N.

The hUls, where the pyramids stood
appear to have been called in hiero*
glyphics either Roosh, or Loot ;
which probably applied to the whole
range, as far as Memphis ; and that
it was customary for the Egyptians to
give names to particular portions of
the Libyan and eastern mountains, is
evident from numerous inscriptions in
various parts of Egypt.

Egypt.

BOUTE 7. — CAIRO TO SU£Z.

207

ROUTE 7.

CAIRO TO SUKZ.

a. Various Roads,

Though there are many roads and
tracks over the desert to Suez, one
only need be described as a route,
the rest not being taken by European
travellers. But I shall first mention
the principal roads, in the order in
whidi they come, beginning at the
north.

1. From BeJbaySt by the Delta, as-
cends the Wadee Jaffra, crosses
the road to Syria, and joins the'
Derb el Maazee.
2^ The Derh d Maazee, from Cairo,
passes by Heliopolis and the
Birket el Hag ; 10 miles beyond
which last the road to Syria
branches off* to the left, after
passing the high sand-hills of
Undthim.

3. Derb d Hag «road of the pil-
grims,** is the same as the last,
until after it passes the Birket el
Hag, when it turns to the right
by a stone ruin called e* Sibeel
(** the fountain "), and the other
continues below the Undthilm
hills to the left

4. DeihtkHttmra{yck\(3iis^<metaken
hy the Indian Mail) passes to the
south of the red mountain, and
joins the Derb el Hag about 27
miles from Cairo.

5. Derb^ Toi^ara (like the three last,
from Cairo) joins the Hamra,
about 6 miles from the Wadee
e* Gendelee.

6. Derh e' Tarabeen from Bus-
sateen, a village 3 miles above
Old Cairo, ascends the Mukuttum
range, by the Bahr.bela-roe, and
joins the Towara road 25 miles
from Cairo, and the same distance
from Bussateen. It falls into
the Derb el Hag at El Muggreh
58f miles from Cairo.

7. A road also leaves the Nile, about
half way between Cairo and Beni-
sooef, passing by Wadee el Gho-
meir.

6. Distances, Cairo to Suez hy the
Derb el Hamra.

MUei.
Cairo to Kalaiat Raiiln - 9

Wadee Halaz6nee - 8

Derb el Hag joins this road from

the north . . . lo
Cross Wadee Gendelee, and then

Wadee Jaffra - - 10

Om e* Sharame^t . . s

Kobbet e' Takrooree . . 4

Plain of el Muggreh - - 10
ElMiiktela . . . lo
Fort of Agero6d . . 6

Beer Suez (wells) . . g

To Suez .... 4

Stations on this road.

Cairo to station No 1. stabling,
and 1 resting-room • . 9

No. 2. One public room for
ladies, one for men, 2 private
rooms, and one for servants - 11

No. 3. Stabling for horses, and
one resting-room - . - 10

No. 4. One large Aoor, a ladies*
room, a servants' room, kitchen,
several bed chambers^ water
tank, and stabling - - ] 1

No. 5. The same as No. 1.
and 3. - - - - 1 1

No. 6. The same as No. 3.
and 5. - ... 10

Na 7. The same as No. 3.
and 5. - • . . 1 ]

To Suez .... 9

c. The "Tart/f" at these stations is
as follows :

£ «. <f. Piastres.
** Accommodations the

whole route for a

lady or gentleman,

including the use

of servants, fumi.

ture, &c. - .1 O O or IOC
Do. children under

10 years of age .0100 50
Do. servants - 0 10 O 50

No, 4. Station,
Dinner . -040 20

Breakfast or tea .020 10

208

BOUTS 7. — CAIEO TO SUEZ.

Sect. IL

'£ t. d. PlaftTM.
Champagne - -0.80 40
Claret - - - 0 7 0 35
Port - - -050 25
Sherry - - - 0 2 6 12
Bordeaux - - 0 3 3 16
Marsala - -033 16

Brandy - -033 16

Rum - - -033 16
Gin - - -083 16
Cyder - - - 0 2 0 10
Ale, porter, and

stout - - -020 10
Filtered water, per

bottle - - 0 0 4 2

Water for animals,

per bucket - -030 15
Not, 2. tmd 6.
Private rooms for

parties or families,

furnished with

beds and all other

requisites - * O 10 0 50
Breakfast or tea, in-
cluding coffee,

biscuits, fruit,

eggs, &c - -020 10
Ale, porter, and

stout - - - 0 2 0 10
Port - - -050 25
Sherry - - -050 25
Marsala - -033 16

Claret - - -070 35
Bordeaux - - 0 2 6 12
Brandy - - 0 3 3 16

Filtered water, per

bottle - - 0 0 4 2

Water for animals,

per bucket - 0 3 0 15

N. B. Passengers are requested to
pay on delivery.

d. It takes from 32 to 33 hours to
go from Cairo to Suez on a camel,
and 14 to 20 on a dromedary ; and
the ordinary time allowed for those
who are conveyed by the Company
(and now by the Egyptian Govern-
ment) is about 19 hours.

Vans go quicker, and in winter
those with 4 horses holding 4 persons,
or three with light carpet bags, take
from 14} to 16 hours. They profess
to change 7 times on the road, at each

station, independent of the first set of
horses taken from Cairo, and the
charge is 6L for each person, from
Cairo to Sues, including accommoda-
tion and provisions, without wine.
Donkeys, or donkey litters, take from
30 to 50 hours. Tlie charge for a
litter with 3 donkeys and men is SQO
piastres, or 3/. ; a donkey is rated at
]6«., and camels or dromedaries are
charged 12«., or 60 piastres each.

Between Kalaiat Raiin and Wadee
Halaz6nee is much petrified wood*
I observed a palm tree from 25 to SO
feet long, and other wood in the sand-
stone rock. The Wadee Halaz6nee,
or the « valley of snails,** is so called
from their abounding there, as indeed
throughout this part of the desert.
But they are not found to the south
of lat. 29<> 2(y,

The small Acacia tree, called Dar
el Hilrora, ** the red house," or Om e*
Sharam^t, « the mother of rags," is
the spot where the pilgrims rest on
their way to Ager6od ; and near this
is the principal station (No. 4.) of
the passengers by the overland route.

Kobbet e* Takr6ore is a tomb built
by the friends of an African stranger
who died there, and a little beyond it
is Beer el Batter, a " well " only in
name, having no water, though many
attempts were made to find it there
some years ago.

There is no fresli water on the Suez
road, except after abundant rains in
the Wadee Gendelee, \ a mile to the
left of the road, and also in the Wadee
Jaffra, into wliich the Gendelee runs
not far from where the road crosses
it. Near Beer el Batter tlie lime-
stone rocks reappear, and the petrified
wood ceases with the sandstone.

The plain of El Muggreh is the
highest part of the road. To the easU
ward of it all the vallies flow towards
the sea, and to the westward towards
the Nile ; and here the Derb e* Tara-
b^n joins the ** road of the Pilgrims."
About 8 miles further, and about 2
miles short of £1 M^ktala, is the
course of an ancient road, the stones

Egypt ROUTE 7. — buez. — passaqe of Israelites. 209

cleared off and ranged on either tide,
indications of which are seen long
before to the westward in the heaps of
stones placed at interrals as road-marks.

The ancients probably followed
the same line as the pilgrims at
the present day, by the Derb el Hag,
though another road seems to have
led in a southerly direction from
Heliopolis, and either to have fallen
into it to the west of the Wadee
Halaz6nee, or to have gone in a dif-
ferent line through the desert to the
south.

A little beyond this, the Maaaee
road joins the Derb el Hag, and they
continue together to £1 Miiktala and
Ager6od, where, as already shown,
the road of the pilgrims runs off to
the eastward, and the others go in a
southerly direction to Sues.

£1 Mdktala, I suppose from iu
name and position to be the Migdol
of the Bible. By this defile, the main
road passes ; most of the roads having
been once more united into one, a short
distance before reaching it. The course
thus far from Cairo is nearly east, it
then takes a southerly direction to
Sues; but the Derb el Hag again
strikes off to the eastward from the
Fort of Ager6od, and crosses the
Peninsula of Sinai. Ager6od is a
Turkish fort ; and at Beer Suei is a
well of brackish water.

SU£Z is in lat. 29<^ 57' SO'' N.,
and long. SS^' S5' £. from Green,
wich. The environs are monotonous
and barren. The town is small and
insignificant. But Sues is not with-
out interest in an historical poiut of
view, from baring been the spot
where the Israelites crossed the Red
Sea on their way to the wilderness of
Sinai, and were delivered from the
bondage of the £gyptians. This
passage of the sea was probably a
short distance to the £. of the modem
town, at the spot where the camels
now ford it on their way to the foun-
tain of el Ghurkudeh. In former times
the water appears to have been con-
siderably deeper than at the present

day, as we find positive evidences of
the elevation of the ground in the
vicinity, at least on the west side of
Sues ; where the plain, once covered
by the sea, and still strewed with
shells, is &r above the reach of its
highest rise.

Many reasons combine to fix the
spot about the present ford ; among
which are the direction of the channel,
the general line of the road, and the
depth of the water. Of the first it
may be observed that it is the part of
the sea most likely to be affected in
the manner described "by a strong
east wind.** 8. The road from Mig-
dol, (which I believe to be the defile
still known to the Arabs by the name
of Miiktala), where the Israelites
turned off to the right, goes directly
to this point; and S. Though the
traditions of the Arabs fix the passage
at the eastern end of the Wadee el
Amba, '• the valley of the ehariaU^**
and the wells and mountain of Ham-
mam, Pfaara6on, on the opposite
shore, are said to have derived that
name from the destruction of Pha-
raoh's host, the depth of thtf sea
there, and in all other parts would
have been too great to allow of its
division being compared to a wall on
either hand; for it is natural to
suppose the Israelites would not have
made less of the miracle, and the
dirision of deeper water would un-
doubtedly have justified their calling
it a mountain, rather than a wall.
Moreover, the greater breadth of the
sea in other places would have re-
quired a longer period for their passage
than is given in the Bible ; and the
object of entangling and overwhelm-
ing the chariots and host of Pharaoh
would be suflidently obtained here,
by the return of the waters blown
back by the wind, and the addition of
a tide of between 5 and 6 feet ; which
rises there regularly to the present
day. Besides, according to Dr.
Robinson, the island just below the
ford is still called Ges6eret el Yah6od
•( the island of the Jews.**

210

BOUTE 7. — CAIRO TO SUEZ.

Sect. IL

It is from the delirteranee of the
Israelites that tradition asserts 'the
n&ghbouringGtM Attdka has received
its name; though the Moslems pre-
tend that its signification, ** deliver-
ance," relates to their release from
the perils of the pilgrimage, when in
sight of this welcome mountain.
Ager6od has also been allowed to
claim some connection with that re-
markable event ; and etymology might
perhaps discover in it a distinct allu-
sion to the overthrow of Pharaoh's
chariots, whose Hebrew appellation
<*Age]o6t*' bears some resemblance
to this modern name.

With regard to MiUdalaoreX Miik-
tala, I must observe that there is
great reason to believe it marks the
site of the ancient Migdai; not only
from a similarity of name, but from
its position, being the point where the
road turns off, from its previously
easterly course, direct to the sea;
aud though the name signifies **the
slaughter,** and appears to mark the
spot of some later Arab battle, it must
bie remembered that the Arabs are in
the constant habit of substituting
names from their own language, when-
ever they happen to trace any resem-
blance to them ; an instance of which
may be found in El Crez6>( Algiers),
"the islands," substituted for the
ancient name Julia Canarea ; and in
numerous others.

The name of Kolzim or KoUxoom^
given to the range of mountains, and
to the Red Sea itself in this part, is
also supposed to relate to the history
of the Israelites, its meaning, << de-
struction,'* referring to that of the
host of Pharaoh: though the great
antiquity of the town of Clysma sug-
gests that Kolsim is an Arab corrup-
tion of the old Greek name. Clysma
appears to have been a fort as well as
a town, and was perhaps the spot
where the troops destined to guard
the sluices of the canal were stationed ;
and it is remarkable that the elevated
heiffht, outside the north gate of the
modem town of Sues, is still known

by the name of Kolsim. It was
called Castrum by Hierocles and St.
Epiphanius ; and ttXwrfta (clysma) or
KX^uriuL, is first mentioned by Lucian.
It appears to be the same as the
Clysma Praesidium of Ptolemy,
though he places it much farther
down the coast. His positions, how-
ever, are not alwajrs certain ; and it is
much more probable that a garrison
would be stationed where their services
were so evidently required, than on
any other part of the coast. Besides,
we have not only the traditional name
of tliis eminence to guide our opinion,
but the authority of history, which
mentions the re-opening of the canal
by Omer to Kolzim on the Red Sea,
for the purpose of sending provisions
to Mecca. Aboolfeda is still more
precise in his position of Kolsim, and
leaves no room to doubt that it stood
exactly at the spot now occupied by
Suez. His words are, M At the ex-
tremity of the gulph, intervening
between Tor and Egypt was situated
the town of Kolzim, and those who go
from Egypt to Tor are wont to follow
the coast from Kolsim to Tor."
Close to it (he says in another place) is
the spot where Pharaoh was drowned.
It has given the name of « Sea of
Kolzim *' to the gulph, and appears
to have succeeded to Arsinoe, found-
ed by Ptolemy Philadelphus, so called
after his sister, and has been itself
succeeded in turn by the modem Sue&

THK ANCIKNT CANAL OF ARSIMOic.

This ancient work, known in former
times as the canal of Hero, is now
completely filled with sand, except in
that part where it is made to supply
the modern village of Tel el Wadee,
and the neighbouring lands, for the
purposes of cultivation. Its greatest
extent, to the Tel e' Rigibeh, is about
26 miles from Belbiiys. The com-
mencement of the canal may be
said to be about 6 miles west of
Tel el Wadee, a modem town built
by Mohammed Ali, and at 15 miles
to the N. E. of BelbAys; though the

Egypt

BOUTJ£ 7. —CANAL OF ABSINO£.

211

point where it 6nt diverges from the
Tftlley of the Nile may be fixed near
el Ha'ld, 2 miles to the N. £. of that
town. After continuing fhnn Bel-
b4ys in a direction nearly due east,
35 miles, as far as Shekh Han&ydik,
it curves to the southward, and runs
by the bitter lakes to the Red Sea;
its ancient course being easily traced
here and there, between Tel el Wadce
and Shekh Haniydik, though nearly
filled with sand. It may also be seen
towards the Sues end, for a consider-
able distance, in the direction of the
bitter lakes ; and a little to the north
of that town, just below the mound of
Kobim, are the remains of masonry
which appear to have been connected
with its exit into the sea, and the
sluices which closed this mouth. Here
is a channel cut in the rock, corre>
sponding to the direction of the mounds
of the old canal, of which it doubtless
formed a part ; and a stone wall has
been thrown across the arm of the sea
that runs up at the side. The ford is
some distance to the N. N. £. of the
stone wall.

Several mounds mark the sites of
ancient towns upon its banks, the
largest of which is that called by the
French Abookeshayd, supposed by
some to be Heroopolis, or, according
to M. Champollion, the Avaris of the
shepherd-kings. This, however, is
not very probable.

The name of Abookeshayd is not
known to the Arabs, and tlie place is
called by them e' S4gheea, <* the water
wheel. '* This is the only place where
any sculptured remains are found.
They consist of a block of granite of
the time of Remeses 1 1., the supposed
Sesostris, ornamented with three sit-
ting figures in high relief, represent-
ing Re, Atmoo, and the king.

." This canal,*' says Strabo, ** was first
cut by Sesostris, before the Trojan
war." Some say it was begun by
Neco, or rather Psamaticus II., who
desisted from the undertaking on
being warned by an oracle that he was
labouring for the Barbarians. Da-

rius, the son of Hystaspes, continued
it ; but having, according to the same
account, been (eft unfinished, Pt<K
lemy Philadelphus completed it, and
made sluices to regulate the quantity
of water, while they permitted the
passage of vessels. They had also for
their object the exclusion of the salt
water; and so effectually was this
done, that the bitter lakes were ren-
dered perfectly sweet, and abounded
with Nile fish and the usual water-
fowl of Egypt.

Pliny and Aristotle also mention
Sesostris as the originator of this
work. The former says it was com-
menced by him, continued by Darius
and Ptolemy (Philadelphus) to the
bitter springs (lakes), and abandoned
for fear of the greater height of the
Red Sea; to which Diodorus and
others attribute its non-completion by
Darius. According to Herodotus, it
was *' four days' voyage in length,
and suflSciently broad for two trir€me9
to row abreast;" or, according to
Strabo, 100 cubits (150 feet). " The
water was derived from the Nile,
which entered it a little above Bu-
bastis, and it entered the Red Sea
near to Patumos, a town of Arabia.**
It was here that Ptolemy founded
Arsinoe, which Strabo says was also
called Cleopatris, though he shortly
after appears to consider them two
distinct towns.

With regard to Heroopolis, if Pliny
and Strabo are right in placing it <m
the gulph ; it may be the same as Pi-
Hahiroth (nn^HH ^fi), where the Is-
raelites encamped near the sea, and the
name of the Heroopolites Sinus might
be adduced in favour of this opinion.
Nor would it be diflicult to trace the
name in that given by the Hebrews ;
the Pi being the Egyptian article
*< the," and the h and th at 'the be-
ginning and end being Hebrew addi-
tions, which leave the real word Hiro,
or Hero. But this is an etymological
fimcy, on which I by no means insist.

In the time of the Romans, the
canal was still used for the purposes

212

ROUTE 8. — CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI*

Sectn.

of communication with the Red Sea,
but at a subsequent period it fell into
disuse, and being neglected, was
choked up with sand, in which state
it continued till re-opened by the
Arabs in the caliphate of Omar. This
prince was induced to send orders for
repairing it, on finding that the Holy
Land of Arabia had only been rescued
from the miseries of a famine by op-
portune supplies of com from Egypt ;
and Omar, to prevent the recurrence
of a similar disaster, resolved on re-
establishing this means of communi-
cation with the Red Sea. His anxiety
for the welfare of the Holy Cities was
welcomed with unbounded demon-^
Btrations of gratitude from all ranks
of Moslems, as well as from the peo-
ple of Arabia itself; and Omar re-
ceived the flattering title of *' Prince
of the Faithful" (Ameer el Mo-
mene^n), which was thenceforward
adopted by his successors in tfie ca-
liphate. One hundred and thirty- four
years after, £1 Munsoor Aboo Gafer,
the second caliph of the Abbaside
dynasty, and the founder of Bagdad,
is said to have closed this canal, to
prevent supplies being sent to one of
the descendants of Ali, who had re-
volted at Medeeneh. Since that time
it has remained unopened ; though
some assert that the Sultan Hakem
once more rendered it available for
the passage of boats, in the year a, d.
1000, after which it became neglected
and choked with sand.

But though the passage of. boats
was impeded, and it was no longer
of use for communication with^ the
Red Sea, some portion still contained
water during the inundation, until
closed by Mohammed Ali ; at which
time it is said to have flowed as far as
Shekh Hanilydik and the bitter lakes.

With regard to the respective levels
of the Nile, the Red Sea, and Me^
diterranean, it has been ascertained
by the French that the Red Sea, at low
tide, is now 14, and at high tide 9
feet lower than the Nile at Cairo
during its inundation, and 90) feet

higher than the Meditersanean. But
besides the rise and fall of a tide of
from 5 to 6 feet, it must also be re*
membered that the Red Sea is some-
what lower in summer after the vernal
equinox than in the winter months,
when the prevalence of the south wind,
after the month of September, causes
a certain rise of its level.

ROUTE 8.

CAiaO TO MOUKT SINAI.

For the journey to Mottnt Sinat it
will be necessary to engage some of
the Tor Arabs, who will supply
camels, and act as guides through their
desert. As usual in these excur-
sions, one of them is to be the shekh
or chief of the party, the director of
all relating to the Arabs, and re-
sponsible for the protection of the
traveller.

To give some idea of the charges
frequently made for camels, I will
give a few items of an agreement
made at Cairo, for the journey to
£1 Alcaba.

*' l.~From Cairo to £1 A'kaba, each
camel 2/. lOf., or S50 piastres.

2. From £1 A'kaba to Sues, 150
piastres.

d. From Sua to Dahar^, 150
piastres.

4. All the camels going to £1
A'kaba to be paid for their return to
Sues.

5. The whole to be paid at Cairo
for the journey to £1 A'kaba.

6. On returning to Sues, the
journey from £1 A'kaba to Sues to
be paid for there.

7. At Dahar^eh the camels hired
at Sues to be paid for their return
thither."

I must, however, observe, 1. That the
chargi for tlie camels is far too much,
and the payment beforehand should
nevtr be a condition. But the Tor
Arabs have been spoilt by Euro-
peans; and the above hire of a camel
to £1 A'kaba of 250 piastres b more

EgyTpt.

BOUTE 8. — CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAL

213

than two thirds of the ralue of the
animal itself. It is usual to pay 175
to 200. 2. In this as in every part of
the country, it may be observed as a
general rule, that you are nerer ex-
pected to supply, or pay for, the food
of the camels, or the provisions of the
Arabs under any plea whatever ; any
offer of the kind would infallibly lead
to impositions from the very persons
it was intended to befriend, and every
attempt on their part to make such a
demand should be firmly resisted.
This I urge the more strongly, as
some have been very improperly ad-
vised to provide beans for the camels,
on the plea of having them for their
return to El A'kaba, or on some other
excuse. S. You should always engage
the Sinai Arabs and their camels at
Cairo, and not be persuaded to go
by water from Sues to Tor, where,
having you in their power, they may
demand whatever they choose, with,
out leaving you any alternative but
that of returning to Sues and aban-
doning your intended journey.

Another observation I may also
make about the tricks upon travellers
practised by the Arabs, particularly
in Svria, which should not be tole-
ratea. It sometimes happens that a
traveller is stopped on the road, by
what is said to be a party of hostile
Arabs, and obliged to pay a sum of
money, as he supposes, to save his
life, or to secure the continuation of
his journey in safety.

Every body who knows Arab cus-
toms must be aware that no one of a
hostile tribe can ever enter the ter-
ritory of any other Araba» without
the insult being avenged by the
sword ; and it is evident if no resist-
ance is made on the part of those wlw
conduct the traveller, that the attack-
ing party are either some of tlieir
own, or of a friendly, tribe, who are
allowed to spoil him by the very per-
sons he pays to protect him ; for an
Arab would rather die than suffer
such an affront from a IwMtUit tribe in
his oum desert. If then his Arabs do

not fight on the occasion, he may be
sure it is a trick to extort money : he
should, therefore, use no arms against
the supposed enemies, but afterwards
punish his faithless guides by deduct-
ing the sum taken from their pay ;
and it is as well, before starting, to
make them enter into an engagement
that they are oMe as well as willing to
protect him.

I should add, that on starting it is
very necessary to see that every camel
has its proper and full load ; if not,
the Arabs will put a few things on
each, and go away pretending they
are loaded, their object being to get
as many engaged as possible.

Tlie shckhs of the Tor Arabs, who
generally accompany Europeans to
Mount Sinai, are Tw4yleb, Hossayn,
and Besh&rah, of the Welad Saeed.
There is no objection to them, except
perhaps their having been spoilt by
Europeans, and taught to be exor-
bitant ; but they have no very great
influence in their tribe, and are not
the principal shekhs. Care should
tlierefore be taken to ascertain if they
have sufiicient authority to prevent
any disputes in the desert ; and par-
ticularly if any quarrel has lately hap-
pened with the Mes4yneh tribe, who
possess the district between Mount
Sinai and £1 A'kaba. Indeed, the safest
mode would be to agree with a shekh
of the latter for safe conduct through
tliat portion of the desert, if desirous
of going to £1 A'kaba, and in crossing
from that place to Hebron, the H»-
wat, or Hey w4t A'rabs are the in-
fluential tribe. Tlie Tor Arabs, or
tribes of the peninsula of Mount Sinai,
are, according to Burckhardt, —

I. The Sow&lha, the principal tribe,
who live to the west of Mount
Sinai, and are subdivided into the

1. Welad Saeed.

2. Korishee.

3. Ow&remeh, part of whom are

called Beni-Moshen.

4. Rafjamee.

II. Elegit, or AleyUt, who live ge*

214

ROUTB 8. — CAIBO !rO IfOtrKT BINAL

Sect. n.

nerally with the Meiiyneh. Tbu
is the same tribe to which those of
Wadee el Arab belong, who live
about Sabooa in Nubia.

III. £1 Meiiyneh, Mezaynee, or
Emziyna, to the east of Mount
Sinai.

IV. Welad Soolayman; very few;
mostly at Tor and the neighbour,
ing villages.

V. Beni Wiuel, about 15 families,
living with the Mei&yneh, ori-
ginally from Barbary.

And at the northern fiarta of the
peninsula the Heyw4t, the Te&dia,
and tlie Tarab^n.

An idea of travelling with one
tribe through a desert belonging to
another, when they are not on friendly
terms, should never be entertained.
There is another disagreeable thing
to which travellers are sometimes ex-
posed. Two parties of the same
tribe quarrel for the right of con-
ducting him ; and after he has gone
some distance on his journey, he and
his goods are taken by the opposition
candidates, and transferred to their
camels. "Die war is merely one of
words, which the inexperienced in the
language cannot understand ; but he
fully comprehends the annoyance of
being nearly pulled to pieces by the
two rivals, and his things are some-
times thrown on the ground, to the
utter destruction of every thing fragile.
This should also be provided against,
before starting, and a shekh or guide
should be secured who has decided
authority, and can overawe all par-
ties. But all should be done with
perfect good humour; and there is
every advantage in securing the good-
will and friendly understanding with
the Arabs, on whom so much of the
comfort of a journey necessarily de-
pends. It can of course be better
done if the traveller speaks Arabic ;
and I can safely say I never had a
disagreement of any kind with any
Arab, but have always met with
good humour and willingness to oblige
on every occasion.

RequisiteMfor the Journey, — Water-
skins may be bought at Cairo^ and if
new, should be filled and emptied fre-
quently to rid them of the disagreeable
taste they give to the water. A tent
should also be bought at Cairo. A
single-poled tent is the best. Extra
ropes are useful, as well as a double
supply of pegs and mallets. A Mac-
intosh sheet, or canvas, for damp
ground (brought from Europe), and
warm covering are requisite, as well as
wax candles, lamps, mishmish (dried
apricots), maccaroni, rice, and other
provisions. Some charcoal is useful
for the first part of the road : you after-
wards find sttflicient fuel in the val-
leys. An extra supply of coflTee and
s6oree tobacco, to give the Arabs oc-
casionally, will be found useful ; and
a xemzemS^ or water-bottle of Ru^
sia leather, to suspend from your sad-
dle, and the ShMekeh rop&>nets for
packing baggage on the camels, are
of service. The water-skins should
be placed on these last, and never on
the ground, which often contains much
salt.

DiitsDoei. Houn. MIn.

Cairo to Sues (see Route 7. ) 32 SO
Sues to Ain Moosa (round the
gulf), but direct only, IJ

hour ... 6 20

Wadee Sudr, middle - - 7 'lO

Ain Hawirah {Marak 9) ' S 45
Wadee Ghurundel (passing
Hammam Pharao6n about

4 miles to the right) - 1 30

W. Shubaykeh - ~ 6 5

HeadofWidee Humr - A 5

Sar&butel KhAdem - - 4 30

Head of WlUlee el Berk - 6 15

W. e' Shekh - - - 6 20

W. SolAf - - - 3 80

Convent .... 4

Total from Sues 63 15

— horn Cairo 95 30

In going to Mount Sinai, you fol-
low the Sues road, and either turn
off before reaching that town, or pass
close to its walls, and thenoe at a short

Egypt.

ROUTE 8. — MAKNA — SPRIKaS.

215

distance from the water-side, round
the end of the gulf. The camels,
which bring water to Sues from the
fountains of Naba or Ghurkudeh,
cross the ford at the spot where the
Israelites are supposed to have passed
when pursued by Pharaoh ; and you
may either go direct by the ford or
round the gulf with the baggage.

The manna is still found in the
desert, yet it is rarely met with. Dr.
Robinson sajs, " it is not produced
every year, sometimes only after 5 or
6 years, and the quantity in general
has greatly diminished. It is found
In the form of sliining drops, on the
twigs and brabches (not upon the
leaves) of the Turfa, {^Tamarix GaU
Kca manmfera of Ehrenberg,) from
which it exudes in consequence of the
puncture of an insect of the Coccus
kind, CoceuM mannipanu of the same
naturalist.*' It is white, of the sise
of a very small pea, and *' what falls
upon the sand is said not to be ga-
thered. It has the appearance of
gum, is of a sweetish taste, and melts
when exposed to the sun, or to a fire.*'
In Arabic it is called men, and is sold
by the druggists of Cairo. This
name is similar to the old Hebrew,
men or min, by which it is mentioned
in the Bible, and which was given it
in consequence of the uncertainty of
the Israelites about this unknown
substance, who called it m0fi(** what")
" for they whist not what it was.**

Quails, which also served the Is-
raelites for food in their wanderings
here, still frequent this desert, but
they are in very small numbers, and
always single birds.

Had I not been prevented visiting
Mount Sinai, and fulfilling my in-
tention of surveying that part of the
coiratry, I might have spoken with
more confidence of the journeyings of
the Israelites, and of the difierent
places where they encamped, during
their long sojourn there, as well as of
the objects most worthy of a visit in
this deserL But for^ll that portion
beyond Sues I am indebted to the ob-

servations of others, and to the assbt-
ance of some friends who have visited
it. The distances are taken from
Dr. Robinson.

After passing round the gulf, the
road crosses « the track leading from
the ferry of Suez to the fountain of
Naba, or, as it vras called by the
Arabs, £1 Ghurkudeh, from which
that town is supplied with water for
drinking. From this point the foun-
tain is apparently three miles 4iB*
tant;** and after an bour*s march
along the coast you come to the Ain
Moosa, or <* fountain of Moses.**
Here are some wild palm trees, and
a small spot of land irrigated by the
brackish water of its springs, and
cultivated by a few fdiahs from Suez.
Some broken pottery, and a low
mound of rubbish, mark ** the site of
a former village.** In Wadee Sudr
are the head quarters of the Tarabeen
Arabs, ** who claim the whole terri-
tory from opposite Sues to Wadee
Gb<irunde] ;** and at the head of it is
the isolated peak of T4sat Sudr,
.which is a conspicuous point on the
road from Sues, and is seen fi-om
the interior of the E^ptian desert.
Ain How&rah is supposed to be the
Marah of the Israelites, where they
found "bittwr" water, *< therefore
the name of it was called Ma^
rah,'* The water is brackish, and
«• somewhat bitter ;** and though no
stream ever flows from the basin,
*< there are traces of running water
round about.**

Much has been said of the supposed
nature of the tree, which, when
Moses " had cast into the waters ** of
Marah, they "were made sweet;'*
and some have imagined it to be
the Ghardek, or Ohurkud, which
abounds in these deserts. The red
berry of that bush is eaten, but is not
supposed. to have any virtue in sweet-
ening water ; though there is a tree
called yitnar, common in the Maazee
desert, the seeds of whose long pods,
when eaten before drinking, render
the taste of water peculiarly sweet.

216

ROUTE 8. — CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI.

Sect. IL

It is the Moringa apiera, and the seed
is called in Arabic Hab-ghaUe,

The road then continues at some
distance from, and nearly parallel
with, the sea, till it passes on the
light the mountain of Hammam
Phara6on, " the baths of Pharaoh,"
which projects into the sea about 45
geographical miles to the S. S. £. of
Sues. This mountain is so called
from the hot springs that rise at its
foot on the sea-shore ; and a fanciful
tradition of the Arabs has named it
after the Egyptian king, as a memo-
rial of the passage of the Israelites.
The temperature of the largest spring
is about 157^ Fahr., and the water is
strongly impregnated with sulphur
and common salt. They lie scnne
distance out of the road, and to visit
them is a dktmr of several miles.
The direct road from Wadee Ghurun-
del, after having passed to the east of
this mountain, takes a curve more in-
land, and then divides into two, one
going to Mount Sinai by Wadee
Humr and Sar^ut el Kh^em to
the left, the other by Wadee Mu-
kuttub, and Wadee Farin to the right,
which may be called the lower road.

At Nusb, or Nitfbeh, a short dis-
tance off the road to the right, about
4 miles before reaching Sar6but el
Khadem, are ancient copper works,
and many inscriptions in what has
been called the Sinaitic character,
from having been considered peculiar
to the desert of Mount Sinai. -They
do not however belong eidusively to
that part of the country, as I found
them on tlie rocks near the sea at Ge-
bel Aboo Durrag on the Egyptian
side of the Arabian Gulf, and others
have been met with in the interior, at
Wadee Dthalial, as well as at e* Gim-
shdi, and, as I have been told by Mr.
Burton, in the grottoes of Wadee Om-
Dthummerina. Tlieir long-wished-
for interpretation is said to have been
lately accomplished, and they are
found to be of Christian time.

The only ruins at Nisbeh are some
small stone houses, probably miners*

huts ; and the scoria of copper shows
that metal to have been worked or
smelted there, though no mines have
been found in the neighbourhood.
Instances of this frequently occur
in the deserts, which was in conse-
quence of their finding more wood in
particular places for smelting the ore.

SAaABOT XL Khaobk. — Swrobut
(or Sarhdat) d Khddem is remarkable
for its numerous hieroglyphic tablets,
of very ancient date, and for the pe-
culiar appearance of the place. It is
a rocky eminence about | of an hour's
walk from the road, on a range of
sandstone hills, with a footpath on
one side, leading to its extensive flat
summit, at one end of which is a con-
fused mass of ruins and many tablets,
some fallen, some standing erect,
covered with hieroglyphics, which
from their containing the names of
very early Pharaohs are worthy the
attention of the Egyptian antiquary.
A plan of the ruins here is much
wanted. ^

Besides the numerous tablets with-
in the building, are others on the
outsidf, and some at a distance of
half a mile from the entrance. They
bear the names of various Pharaohs,
among which are Osirtasen I. — the
queen of the great obelisk at Kar-
nak, — Thothroes III. and IV., —
and Amunoph I. and III.,^ Osirei
and his son Remeses the Great, —
Osirei III., — Remeses IV. and V.,
and some others.

The ancient name of SaHLbut el
Khidem seems to have been Mafak.

Egypt BouTE 8. — inscriptions at mottnt sinai.

217

Athor was the presiding deity, and
Re (or Mandoo) probably shared the
honours of the place.

About 2 miles to the south-east of
the ruins of Sar&but el Kliideoi are
three tablets cut in the face of the
rocky bearing the names of Thothmes
IV., and another old king: and close
to them are small caves in the rock,
used as tombs.

On the lower, or western road, at
Gthel d Mukuitubt or *' the written
mountain,'* the Sinaitic inscriptions
occur in considerable numbers. They
cover the rocks on both sides of the
▼alley, during great part of a day's
journey, principally on the south side
towards the Gebel, or *< mountain,*'
of that name. There are also a few
in Arabic and Greek.

Other Sinaitic inscriptions are
found near the supposed rock of
Moses; between it and the convent
of the forty martyrs; and again on
the rocks of Mount Catherine ; and
some are met with in Wadee Meg-
gub and W. Barak.

At Wadee Magh&ra^ which runs
from W. Mukuttub to the upper
road, are some Sinaitic and hiero-
glyphic inscriptions of early time;
the latter containing the names of Re-
4. mai (4.), who ap-
pears to have been
O 1 the same as Papi ;
Shofo, Su-
phis, or Cheops

1^ V P**"

(5*)f and of several other very an-
cient Pharaohs.
Egyft.

xmm£

Tlie word Magh&ra signifies a ''cave.'*
In Wadee T}6neh are other hiero*
giypliic inscriptions, with the names
of early Pharaohs;

IS. IS. 15.

and on a sandstone rock in Wadee Ke-
neh is that of a very ancient king, with
the date of his 3rd year. (No. 15.)

Wadee Faran, which, as Niebuhr
says, has not changed its name since
the days of Moses, is on the western
road to Mount SinaL It is a sort of
oasis, with high mountains, where a
stream of water flows; which, after
bursting forth and running with ra-
pidity for a few hundred yards, is lost
in the sand. Here are several gar-
dens with date trees, claimed by the
Tor Arabs as belonging to them,, and
cultivated by some of the Gebel ^eh,
a sort of Arab peasantry, who live
there, and who are the same class of
persons as those above mentioned.
These fiB&he pay a tribute to the
Arabs in dates.

These inscriptions are of consider-
able importance to the antiquary-; but
the convent, or rather monastery, of
i St. Catherine, Gebel Moooa, and the

218

ROUTE 8. — CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI.

Sect.IL

neighbouring localities, are the great
object* of interest to those who visit
the peninsula of Mount Sinai.

Convent of Mount Sinai, — The
convent is situated in a narrow val-
ley, backed on the S. W. by the bold
granite peaks of Mount Sinai, tliat
give a grandeur to the scene, while
they accord with the character of the
secluded spot chosen for the abode of
monks. In addition to these impres-
sions, the traveller is delighted by the
appearance of a habitation, and the
sight of other objects as rare and
pleasing in the desert as the abode of
human beings, — the green trees of a
garden, which, however small, has in
such a spot peculiar charms.

liie convent stands on the slope of
a rising ground, on the western side
of the valley. It is surrounded by
a strong and lofty wall, defended
by towers. Moreover, the monks
have small arms, and even cannon ;
but there is little reason to suppose
that circumstances or tlieir inclination
often call for their use ; and however
successful they might be in hostility
against the Arabs, the deatli of their
enemies would be a far greater mis-
fortune tlian advantage to the con-
vent, and would be severely avenged
by the stoppage of their supplies.
We may, therefore, conclude that visi-
tors know much more of these wea-
pons than the Arabs, and that the
defence of the convent consists, as
becomes a Christian commtmity, more
in the friendly offices performed to
the Arabs than in their arms: and
its inaccessible walls, being a suffi-
cient barrier to unwelcome strangers,
suffice to prevent the intrusion of idle
or ill-disposed persons. Though they
have a back entrance through the
garden, from which an underground
passage communicates with the inte-
rior, the usual mode of admittance is
by a trap-door, or window, raised
about 30 feet from the ground, to
which visitors are drawn up by ropes,
as at the convents of St. Antony and
St. Paul, in the Eastern Desert of

Egypt. The interior consists of
several courts, with two sets of rooms,
one over the other ; the doors of the
ground-floors opening on the open
area, and those of the upper story on
a balcony or wooden corridor that
rnns round it.

The inmates are Greek Christians.
In the church are preserved the re-
lics of the patron, St. Catherine ;
though Burckhardt says Seetsen is
wrong in caliinj^ it the ** Convent of
St. Catherine," as it is not dedicated
to her but to the Transfiguration, or,
as the Greeks call it, the Metamorpho-
sis. That, however, is the name by
which it is generally known; though
it does not prevent St. Geor^ from
receiving a few spare honours in a
small chapel on the walls, where he is
represented on his white horse, warring
with the dragon, and with all the rules
of drawing, in much the same manner
as he usually does in the Coptic
churches ; and the votaries of Islam
are flattered by the admission of a
mosk within the precincts of the con-
vent, with the same object that induces
the monks of Bibbeli to convert their
saint into a Moslem sbekb. Nor is
this the only safeguard against the ani-
mosity of their religious enemies, or the
assaults of the Arab freebooter. The
monks of Mount Sinai have a claim
on the protection, or, at least, on the
toleration, of the Moslems, by the ex-
press order of Mohammed, given them
during bis (supposed) visit to their
convent, whidi enjoins his followers to
abstain from molesting its charitable
and useful inmates, on condition of
their feeding those who pass by. Thu
precious document was preserved by
them with becoming respect within the
convent, until Sultan Selim begged or
demanded its removal to Constanti-
nople, substituting another written bj
him fur the same purpose.

The convent only contains, at this
time, SO monks. They are governed
by a superior ; and tome are priests,
others lay brethren. The various
duties required for the benefit of the

EgypL

BOUTE 8. — CONVENT AT MOUNT SINAL

2\B

community are divided amongst its
members. One is the baker, another
the miller, and another the cook ; one
has the care of the church, another of
the dresses ; in short, every department
IS in the hands of a responsible per-
son,— one of the brethren, — and no
strange servant is admitted within the
walls. They have stores sufficient to
last far a length of time, which they
take care to replenish long before they
are too much diminished ; and every at<
tention is paid to those measures which
render them independent of the Arabs,
and capable of at least passive defence.
The great church is ornamented in
the manner of similar buildings of
early Christian times. It has a double
row of Corinthian columns, and on
the dome ovn the altar is represented
the crucifixion in mosaic, of the By-
zantine style, with portraits of Jus-
tinian and the Empress Theodora.
The screen separating the altar from
the nave is elaborately worked, and
rich with gilding : a large cross towers
above all, rising nearly to the roof,
and the altar is resplendent with
chalices, candlesticks, and other orna-
ments. Numerous handsome silver
lamps are suspended from different
parts of the ceiling, and many bad
pictures of saints ornament or dis-
figure the walls. << The exterior of
the church,** says Mr. Kinnear, '*is
without any architectural beauty ; but
one little circumstance struck me as
very interesting. This was, several
shields and coats of arms rudely en-
graved on the stone, on each side of
the entrance ; memorials, no doubt,
of the chivalry of the Crusades, and
perhaps scratched with the daggers of
some knightly pilgrims.**

Th^ most sacred spot within this
building is the chapel of the Burning
Bush. ^ We descended a A^w steps,**
says the same traveller, "from the
interior of the church to a low door,
where we were required to take off
our shoes, before entering this sanc-
tum sanctorum of the monks, who
displayed a great deal more fuss and

ceremony about adtnittiag us, than
reverence after we were in. It is a
small circular chapel under a domc^
lighted by two or three lamps, and
containing nothing worthy -of note,
except two very beautiful illuminated
MSS. of the gospels, which were lying
on the altar.** This Bush is a sort of
briar.

They also <*show the silver lid of a
sarcophagus representing a ftill-length
figure of the Empress Ann of Russia,
who, it seems, intended to be buried
there ; and another, said to contain the
bones of St. Catherine, which were
found in the neighbouring mountain ;
whither, according to the monkish
legend, her body was conveyed by
angels. The spot is still marked by a
small chapel, or hut, which covers a
bed hollowed out of the rock, where
the bones lay, and is looked upon
with great respect by the credulous.
In the library of the convent area few
printed books, and some Greek, Ara-
bic, and other MS&

The convent is said to have been
founded by the Emperor Justinian ;
but Pococke observes that St. Helena,
the mother of Constantine, appears to
have been the first to lay the founda-
tion of it, in the tower she built, pro-
bably for herself and the monks,
when she went to Mount Sinai. This
tower is in the middle of the convent^
where the archbishop lives, and is
called after the name of the raapress.
There are several small chapels in
the neighbourhood, and the ruins of
other convents, which are among the
objects visited by strangers, but pos-
sess no interest beyond that given by
local tradition.

Some poor people, styling them-
selves Gebel^eh, ''mountaineers/' live
in the vicinity of the convent. They
are said, by Burckhardt, to be de-
scended from a few slaves, originally
Christians, from the shores of the
Black Sea, who were sent by Justinian
as menial servants to the priests. They
are dependent for their food on the
monks, in the same manner as those

t, S

220

ROUTE 9. — MOUNT SIKAI TO EL AKABA. Sect, II.

of Wadee Airaba are maintained by
the convent of St. Antony.

The Gebel Moosa consists of two
parts ; the lower portion has been
called Mount Horeb, and the name of
Mount Sinai has been applied to the
highest peak, which stands upon the
elevated platform of Horeb.

I do not venture, nor do I feel
myself authorised, to give any opinion
respecting the disputed claims of
Gebel Moosa and Mount Catherine to
the sites of Sinai and Horeb of Scrip-
ture. Nor will I enter into the
question of Horeb being the name
used to denote ** the whole wilderness,
including the lower group, called
Gebel l^rbal, as well as the upper
group of Mount Sinai;** or of Sinai
being, as Mr. Kinnear supposes,
** the general names fur tlie whole
cluster,** which is the opinion of Dr.
Robinson. I may, however, observe,
that Horeb is sometimes mentioned
as *< an individual mountain,** in the
same manner as Sinai, and is deno-
minated **the mount Horeb.** (l^iod.
iixviii. 6. ; Deut. i. 6.)

The stone which is supposed by the
monks to have been the one struck by
Moses, and from which the water
gushed out in Rcphidim, is a piece of
the granite rock which has fallen from
the mountain above, and lies in a
hollow recess at the place where it
was stopped in its fall. It is remark-
able for an unusual appearance in the
centre of one side, which the credulous
have converted into the marks of
falling water.

On the top of Sinai is shown a
fissure in the rock, where Moses is
supposed to have retired when the
glory of the Lord passed by ; which,
like all other localities, has been long
looked upon with undoubting faith
by the monks, and has been often
questioned by sceptics. I do not
pretend to enter upon these and other
controverted points ; but I cannot help
expressing a regret, which all mu&t
feel, that though many have visited
this desert, we are still without an

accurate trigonometrical survey of so
interesting a district.

From Sucx to the town of Tor the
rocks are limestone; the primitive
range extends thence nearly to Raa
Mohammed, the headland at its
soutliern extremity, at the point of
which the h'mestone again appears,
and runs to the eastward, or north-
east, along the coast to a little beyond
e* Shurm, where the primitive rocks
again advance to the sea. All the
mountain ranges about Gebel Moosa
and the convent are primitive, and
stretch thence in a north-easterly di-
rection to Sar&but el Khadero, where
the secondary sandstones begin, in-
tervening between the primitive and
the limestone strata, and extending
thence on the west nearly to tlie town
of Tor, and on the east in the direc-
tion of El Akaba.

The town of Tor is not worth
visiting. It is a mere seaport, in-
ferior to Suez, and about 40 mi lea
from the convent.

It was probably founded originally
by the Phoenicians, and appears to
have been called Phoenicon by the
Greeks, though its real name was per-
haps taken from the mother city
Tyre, Toor, or Txur.

ROUTE 9.

MOUNT SINAI TO XL AKABA.

Convent to Wadee el Orfan

- 4

Wadee Murrah -

- 8

Ain el Hudhera (ffazeroih)

W. e' Sumghee -

- 4

Ain e' Nuweibia (then by the

sea-coast)

- 4

Ain el Wasit

- 1

Ahoo Suwcirah -

- 7

W. el Mekubbeleh

- 4

W. Mer&kh, moutli

- 3

N.W. Corner of Gulf -

- 4

Castle of £1 Akaba -

Total

El Akaba, or Akkaha, at t

- 1

he nortb-

Egypt. ROUTE 9. — mount sinai to el akaba.

221

east extremity of tbe EUnitic gulf,
contains some miserable houses and
a fort, where a governor resides with
a few Turks. Tlie name signiBes *' a
mountain pass.*' It is a pretty spot,
with the advantage of the sea l>efore
it, which, after the monotonous co-
lour of the desert, is a pleasing ob-
ject ; but it may be doubted whether
it is worth the journey, if the traveller
does not intend going thence to Petra.
It stands about 2 miles south of the
site of AUdih or AUath, which, like
its neighbour Esion-geber, was re-
markable for tbe importance attached
to it in the time of Solomon, and
from having been the channel by
which the treasures of Arabia and
India flowed to Syria. It was the
possession of this point that led to
the wealth of Solomon; and it is
curious to observe how every place
has successively risen to importance
the moment it enjoyed the beneflts of
the Indian trade.

When the Edomites were con-
quered by David, the whole of their
country to the head of the Elanitic
•gulf fell into the possession of the
Jews; all the *< Edomites became
David's servants,*' and " he put gar-
risons in Edom." (1 Chron. xviii.
11.) Solomon afterwards establ ished
and " made a navy of ships afr Esion-
geber, which is beside Elotb, on the
shore of the Red Sea, in the land of
Edom.'* The ships were navigated
by Phoenicians in the service of tbe
Jewish king, whose friendship with
Hiram secured for him the aid of
those skilful navigators ; and this
important source of wealth continued
' in the hands of the kings of Judah
until the Edomites .<' revolted from
under the hand of Judah, and made a
king over themselves,** in tbe reign of
Joram. (1 Kings iz. 26. ; 2 Kings
viii. 20.)

Eloth was called by the Romans
AUa or Mia; but this and Esion-
geber lost all their importance under
the Greeks and Romans; the ports
of Berenice, Myos Hormos, and

Arsinoe, succeeded to the commerce
of the East ; and the Elanitic gulf en-
joyed little of the lucrative trafllc of
former days. And if Petra, the
capital of the Edomites, which once
profited so much from the passage of
Eastern commerce, continued to the
late time of the Roman empire to
benefit^'by its position on the way
from Arabia to Syria, the trade that
passed through it was principally con-
fined to that of caravans, the rise of
Alexandria having put a stop to tbe
traffic from the eastern end of the
Red Sea.

AUa or AUeh is mentioned by
Arab writers, and a quotation from
Macriii, given by Burckhardt, speaks
of it as near to Esion-geber. ** It
is from hence that tbe Hedjaz begins.
In former times it was the frontier
place of the Greeks: at 1 mile from
it is a triumphal arch of the Caesars.
In the time of Islam it was a fine
town, inhabited by the Beni Omeya.
Ibn Ahmed Ibn Touloun (a caliph
of Egypt) made tbe road over the
Akaba, or steep mountain, before
Aila. There were many mosks at
Aila, and many Jews lived there. It
was taken by the Franks during the
crusades, but in 566 a. h. Salah ed
deen (Saladin) transported ships on
camels from Cairo to this place, and
recovered it from them. Near Aila
was formerly situated a large
and handsome town called Asxiouii

^^»ygg. (Aseeoon), (Esion-geber),'

which in Hebrew is written Attioun-

Gebr(n33 jl^VV)."

The crusaders also took possession
of the island of Grata, now known to
the Arabs as the Kalat e' dayr, *< the
citadel of the convent.** It has been
fortified, and remains of the works
may still be perceived, though it does
not appear from Laborde's account,
who contrived to reach it on a raft, to
be worthy of a visit.

In going to Petra ( Wadu Mootd)
from El Akaba, it is necessary to
make an agreement with the AUoween

L S

222

BOUTE 10. — CAIBO TO STRIA.

Sectn.

Arabs ; but taking adrantage of the
position of the traTeller in these
lonely regions, who must pay what-
ever they choose to ask, <Mr give up his
journey, their demands have become
so exorbitant, that few will feel dis-
posed to take this route ; and it is far
better to go from Hebron.

There are two roads from He-
bron to Petra (Wadee Moosa) ; the
eastern one by the south end of the
Dead Sea, occupies 44 b. 50 m. ;
the western road, 42 h. 10 m. From
£1 Akaba to Hebron, or £1 Khaleel,
is 71 b. 45 m. ; £1 Akaba to Jeru-
salem, 80 h.; but the best road to
Syria is from Cairo, or from Suei, on
returning from Mount Sinai.

ROUTE 10.

cAiao TO sraiA.

Miles
Cairo, by Heliopolis, or Mate-

r^eh, to the Birket el Hag ] OJ
To separation from the Maazee

road to Sues - - - 10
To ascent of hills of Um

Gummal - - - 10

To centre of bed of old canal

to Arsinoe - - - 30

Salah^'eh - ... 20

Kateeh .... 50

£1 Areesh . . . 65

To Gasa ( Ghuneh) . - 524

248

The road passes a short way to the
south of Heliopolis, and of the Bir-
ket el Hag, over the plain where
Toman Bey was defeated by Sulun
Selim. After leaving the Maasee
road you turn round the eastern cor-
ner of the large sand hills of Und-
th£m. Um- Gummal is high land,
and from the summit the pyramids
are seen to the west, and Gebel
AtUga, near Sues, to the east. About
6 miles further you cross the Wadee
Jaffra, which runs down to Belbays,
about 9 miles to the left. In the

ancient canal of Arsinoe you pass
near the mounds of an old town,
called Tel e* Rigibeh. About 6 miles
to the east of it is another old town
called Abookeshiyd, or e* SAgheea
(•e« RouU 7), on tlte canal also, lliere
are the mounds of another town on
the south bank before you descend
into the canal, about three quarters of
a mile from Tel e' Rigibeh, and 8
miles after leaving the canal are the
hills called £1 Beeud, <*the white."

Salah^h was probably either Tara-
sarta, or Sile, of the Itinerary of An-
toninus. One of the roads is more
direct than this, and leaves Salah^h
considerably to the left. Several
mounds of ancient towns are seen in
the distance ; and Tel Defenneh,
which is nearly in a direct line be-
tween Salah^eh and Pelusium, marks
the site of Daphne, the Tehaphnelies
or Tahpanhesof the Bible, which was
a fortified outpost of Pelusium, and
distant from it 1 6 Roman miles. At
T:ihpanhes the Egyptian king is said
by Jeremiah to have had a palace.
(Jeremiah liii. 9.)

Pelusium lies considerably to the
left of the road. The remains there
consist of mounds, and a few broken
columns. It is difficult of access,
and is only approachable during the
high Nile, or when the summer's
sun has dried the mud that is left
there by tbe inundation. It stands
near the sea-shore. It is now called
Teeneh (TineK), which seems to
indicate the muddy nature of the soil
in the vicinity, for which some sup-
pose it was indebted to its ancient
appellation Pelusium, peioi being the
Greek for ** mud.** Its ancient name
probably resembled the Peremoun or
Pheromi of the Copts, and the latter
is the origin of tbe Farama of the
Arabs, by which it is still known ;
though Savary states that *' Farama
was founded to the £. of Pelusium*
which was a ruin in the ISth cen-
tury."

Pelusium in former times was a
place of great consequence. It was

Egifpt.

ROUTE 10. — PELUSIXTU — GAZA.

223

strongly fortified, being the bulwark
of Uie Egyptian frontier on the eastern
side, and was considered tlie '* Key,**
or, as Eiekiel calls it, the *< Strength
of Egypt.** It was called in Scrip-
ture «* Sin." (Ezek. zix. 15, 16.)
Near this the unfortunate Pompey
n^et his desth, basely murdered by
order of Ptolemy and his minister
Photinus, whose protection he had
claimed, b. c. 48.

The young king was engaged in a
war with his sister Cleopatra, whom
he had just before ei pel led the king-
dom ; and the two armies were en-
camped opposite each other in the
vicinity of Pelusium, when the galley
of Pompey arrived; and Achillas,
who afterwards figured so conspicu-
ously in the Alexandrian war against
Caesar, aided by L. Septimius and
Sabinus, Romans in the Egyptian
service, " under pretence of taking
him ashore, invited him into a boat
and treacherously slew him.** A
mound of sand on the coast, about
4 hours to the wtH of Pelusium, called
by the Arabs the Roman hill, is said
to record the spot of Pompey's death.
His body was indeed burnt on the
sea-shore by his freedman Philip, and
Cssar is said to have raised a monu-
ment to his memory, which was after-
wards repaired by Adrian, and visited
by Severus. But '* the ashes of Pom-
pey were taken to his widow, Cor-
nelia, who buried them at his villa
near Alba,** though Lucan would
seem to say that they were still in
Egypt in his time. Be this as it may,
the tomb might still remain; but
Pliny places it to the eati of Pelusium,
in the direction of Mons Casius. The
** Roman hill ** cannot therefore be
the *' tumulus ** of Pompey ; and the
tomb which Aboolfeda, on the au-
thority of Ebn Haukel, gives to
Galen, may perhaps be transferred to
Pompey. Certain it is that the phy-
sician of Aurelius was not buried in
Egypt, but in his native place Per-
gamus ; and the distance from Pelu-
sium, mentioned by Pliny, seems too

great for the position of Pompey's
tomb.

On the coast to the east of Pe-
lusium, Pliny mentions ** Chabriae
Castra, Casius Mons, the sanctuary
of Jupiter Casius, the tumulus of
Pompey, and Ostracina,** which were
on the Lake Sirbonis. Ostracina is
now Straki, and is about 88 milea
west of El Areesh.

Magdolum is supposed to have been
about half way between Tacasartaand
Penta Schcenon, which last may have
been at the modem Kat^h.

Ebn Said says that the sea of
Kolsim (Arabian Oulf) is so close
to the Mediterranean, in this part,
that Amer ebn el As had intended
cutting a canal through the Isthmus,
at the spot called the Crocodile's Tail,
but was prevented by Omar, w1k>
feared lest the Greek pirates should
plunder the pilgrims of Mecca.

El Areesh (Arish) has succeeded
to the ancient' Rhinocolura, which
was a place of exile in the time of the
Pharaohs, and was so called from the
malefactors having their <* noses cut
ofl^'* instead of the punishment of
death. "At one season of the year
numerous quails visited the district,
which they caught in long nets made
with (fastened to) split Keds;** and
these birds are often met with through-
out this part of the desert, as in the
days of Actisanes.

Wailee el Areesh is supposed to be
the torrent or "river of Egypt,**
which was the ancient boundary od the
side of Syria.

The road continues very near the
sea-coast, the whole way from El
Areesh to Gasa. Rather more than
halfway from El Areesh is Refah,
the ancient Rhaphia, off the road to
the westward ; Khan Yoones has
succeeded to Yenisus, and Anthodon
probably stood to the S. of Wadee
Sheriah.

At Gasa a quarantine is performed
of a few days, according to the sup-
posed state of Egypt.
I Gaxa or Ghusseh, once a large

L 4

224

ROFTE 11. — CAIBO TO DAHIETTA.

Sect. II

city, and <' strongly fortified,** as iu
Hebrew and Arabic names imply, is
now a small open town, containing
about 4000 inbabtUnts. It per-
formed a distinguished part in the
early history of Palestine, and is often
mentioned in the Bible ; but it was
destroyed on the conquest of Syria by
the Moslems, and bas never since re-
covered its importance as a city.

ROUTE IK

CAiaO, ST WATCE, TO DAMIBTTA.

Miles.
Cairo, or Boolak, to the point

of the Delu ... 16

Bershoom, East bank . . 9
Beuha-eUAssal (Athribts), £.

bank - - - - 20

Entrance of Canal of Mo^s - 2|

Sahrigt (Natho), E. bank - 17

Zifteb and Mit Ghumr, £. &W. 6

Semenood ( Sebennytus), W. - 26

Bebayt el Hagaf (Iseum), W. 6\
Mensoora, and mouth of Canal

of Menzileli, £. - - 6^

Shiribin W. - - - - 22

Faraskoor, E. - - - 22

Damietta, E. - - - 12

The point of the Deha was for-
merly a little below the palace of
Sho<^ra, where the Pelusiac branch
turned off to the N. N. E. towards
Bubastis. It is now at the junction
of the* Rosetta and Damietta branches.
These two, the ancient Bolbitine and
Bucolic (or Phatmetic) branches, are
said by Herodotus to have been
** made by the hand of man,*' and
are the only two remaining, the
ethers having either entirely disap-
peared, or being dry in summer;
which would seem to explain an ap-
parently unintelligible prophecy of
Isaiah, that man ^ould go over the
Nile «< dry shod." (Isaiah zi. 15.)

Berikoom is famous for its figs;
and a little beyond, on the opposile
bank, inland in the Delta, is Pha.
Taoon^h, from which the canal of

Menoof, connecting the two branches
of the Nile, derired its name. . This
canal began id>out four miles farther
north, close to the village of Beer-
shems, and passing by Menoof, fell
into the Rosetta branch at Nader.
About thirty years ago it was found
necessary lo close its eastern en-
trance, in consequence of its carrying
off tlie water into the Rosetta branch ;
and other navigable canals have been
used for communication with the inte-
rior. Four or five miles lower down is
the canal of Karinayn, another noble
work. At e* Jaffar^eb it separates
into two channels, one going to the
W. to Tanta, and the other by Ma^
ballet el Kebcti^r, to the sea, which it
enters at the old Sebennytic mouth,
and the Pineptimi ostium, one of the
false mouths of the Nile. The
western channel that goes to Tanta
is only navigable for small craft after
January ; but the other is sufficiently
deep to admit boats of 200 ardebs
burthen the whole year. It is, how-
ever, closed by a bridge and sluices
at Santab, below e' Jaffar^h; and
here goods are transferred to smaller
boats for Nabaro, and those places
with which the communication is
kept up by other chanpels. This is
the generid principle of all the large
canals of the Delta, and has been
adopted in that of Moes, and some-
times in that of Alexandria.

Benka-d'Aual, «* Benlia of honey,**
is the successor of Athribis, whose
mounds are seen to the north. They
still bear the name of Atre^b. The
town appears to have been of con-
siderable extent, nearly a mile in
length, £. and W., and three quartera
of a mile N. and S. It was inter-
sected by two main streets crosdng
each other nearly at right angles;
and there was probably a square at
the spot where they met A little
beyond this quadrivium, or crossway,
to the W., is another open space,
apparently the site of the principal
temple, and traces may perhaps be
discovered of the sacred enclosure on

EgyT^L

ROUTB 11. — ATHRIBIS — ABOOSBEB.

225

the outer side. In the streets are
seTeral large buildings, whose po-
sitions are marked by granite columns,
some with capitals of the same kind of
stone, others of marble, and of the
Corinthian order. They are of Ro-
man time, and 1 suppose that the
main streets had colonnades on either
side, like those of Antinoe. A short
distance from the extremity of the
eastern street is a small column with
spiral flutes ; there are also some
houses with vaulted rooms, and others
built of burnt brick, of late time ; but
the ruins are mostly of the usual crude
brick of Egyptian towns. I found
no sculptures, except on a stone once
belonging to the wall of a temple,
and now the threshold of a shekh's
tomb, representing a king offering to
a god. There are several Corin-
thian capitals lying about, and a block
of Christian time, representing a saint
holding a cross, badly executed, in
the worst village-tombstone style, and
unworthy of a town which held the
rank of an episcopal see. I also
picked up several small objects du-
ring my rambles over these mounds,
evidently of a Roman date.

That Athribis possessed build*
ings of olden time is certain, not
only from the antiquity of the
place, but from a monument found
there, that still may be seen near the
government manufactory of Benha-
eUAssal. It is a granite lion, bear-
ing the name of Remeses the Great,
who did more towards the embellish-
ment of the cities of the Delta than
any other Pharaoli.

To the N. of the town is a double
row of low mounds, resembling the
banks of a canal, or the remains of
walls ; but they extend only to a cer-
tain distance, al>out 2000 feet, and
are closed at the eastern end, so that
they suit neither ^f these two.

Many of the bouses of the town
have bc^n burnt, as is frequently the
case in Egyptian towns; and parts
of the mounds have been used for
tombs^ doubtless ui after times, when

the limits of the inhabited part were
contracted. They may, therefore,
be referred to a late Roman or Chris-
tian e|K)ch, like those at Bubastis and
other towns ; and thus the occurrence
of tombs in the midst of houses, which
is at first perplexing, may be ac-
counted for.

The modem village of Atreeb, or
Treeb, is built at the eastern extre-
mity of the old city, but contains a
very small population. Benha-el-
Assal is about one-third of a mile to
the S. W., close to the river. It was
long famous for its honey, whence it
received its name ; and this town
supplied part of the present seiit by
John Mekaukes, the Coptic governor
of Egypt, to Mohammed, which
consisted of two Copt virgins, one
of whom became his wife, a piece of
fine cloth, a mule, and a jar of honey
from Benhael-i^ifo/. Beershems now
claims the honour of having this rare
production of Eg}pt in the greatest
quantity, and Benha has nothing left
it but Uie name.

To the N. of this town is the en-
trande to the Toorat Moes, or Canal
of Moes, which takes the water to
Zakaxeek, and thence to the L4ike
Menzaleh by the old Tanitic chan-
nel.

Continuing down the Damietta
branch, no place of any great interest
occurs between Athribis and Seben-
nytus. Sahrigt on the E. occupies
the site of Natho, and is called in
Coptic Nathopi. The isle of Natho
was on the other side of the Nile.
Zifteh and Mit Ghumr stand on op-
posite* sides of the river ; they have
the rank of bSnder or town. Mit
Damsees is the Pitemsi6t of the
Copts. Benneh, in Coptic Piueban
or Penouan, has the mounds of an
old town, but no remains, and is now
a small village. Abooter is larger,
and has more extensive mounds,
marking the site of Busiris. It is
called by the Copts Bosiri. The
mounds extend beyond the village to
the westward, and a short disunce

L 5

226

ROUTE 11. — CAIRO TO DAMIETTA.

Sect. n.

beyond is another mound, said to
have belonged to the old town. After
many inquiries and searching all orer
the place, I found nothing but the
granite thresholds of doors, and co-
lumns of Roman time in the princi-
pal mosk. A few large stones are
also seen here and there, but none
bearing hieroglyphics, except part of
a column, apparently of Ptolemaic
time, in the smaller ruined mosk,
and a stone at the door of a shekh*s
tomb at the south end of the village.
This has belonged to an ancient tomb,
and is of old style, like the false doors
of grottoes at £1 Bersheh; but nothing
can be traced relating to the name of
Busiris, nor to the worship of the
deity from whom it was so called.

Semenocd is a place of some sise,
'With the usual baaaars of the large
towns of £gypt» and famous for its
pottery, which is sent to Cairo. Here
are the mounds of Sebennytus, the dty
of Sem, (Gem, or Gom,) the Egyp-
tian Hercules. In Coptic it is called
Gemnouti, which implies ** Gem the
God,*' and shows the origin of the
present as well as the orthography of
the ancient name ; and it is remark-
able that the name of the god begins
with the word nouU in many legends.

On arriving at Semenood, I in-
quired of the people for sculptured
stones, and was shown some granite
blocks with hieroglyphics, two of
which had the name of Alexander,
and one the figure of the deity of ihe
place, who is the same supposed by
Cbampollion to be the Egyptian Gem
or Hercules. It lies close to the
principal oil-mill of the town, the
owner of which is most profuse in his
praises of the stone, his property,
which he would willingly sell to the
first bidder. On a block built into
the modern quay are a few hierogly-
phics of no importance.

Boats are constantly employed in
keeping up the communication with
the different towns of the Delu
throughout the year, the reCt callinc
out the name of the place he is bound

for, to obtain passengers, like the
conductor of an omnibus.

A Greek papyrus in the possession
of Signor d*Anastasy, the Swedish
consul-general, speaks of a temple of
Mars, Oyovpts (Onuris, Honurius), at
Sebennytus ; and it is much to be re-
gretted tliat this curious document
has not been published.

Bebayt'^l'Hagart theancient lseum»
is little more than 6 miles below Se-
menood, opposite Weesh, and about
1^ mile from the nr^T, Hie remains
are very interesting, and larger than
in any other town of the Delta. They
are inferior in stvle to those of San

(Tanis), being of a Ptolemaic time ;
but the number of sculptured blocks,
and the beauty of the granite, used in
this temple, are very striking ; and if
Bebayt does not boast the number of
obelisks, which must have had a very
grand eflfect at Tanis, it has the merit
of possessing rich and elaborate sculp-
tures; and to the antiquary is par-
ticularly interesting, from its present-
ing the name of the deity worshipped
there, and that of the ancient town.
Isis was evidently the divinity of this
city, and it was from this that the
Greeks and Romans gave it the name
of Ision or Iseum. By the Egyp*
tians it was called Hebai or Hebait,
'*the city of assembly," which has
been preserved by the modern inha-
bitants in the name Bebayt ; with the
affix el Haggar, " of the stone,** from
its numerous stone remains.

The temple, like many others in
Egypt, Mood in an extensive square
about 1500 by 1000 feet,*kurrounded
by a crude brick wall, doubtless with
stone gateways ; which was the tememo»
or sacred enclosure, and was planted
with trees, as Herodotus informs
us in descriUng that of Bubastis.
These are the grovt denounced in
the Bible as an alsmination to the
God of Israel. (Exod. zxxiv. 13. ;
Deut. xii. 8. ; 2 Kings zviL 10.)

The temple itself was about 400
feet long, or 600 to the outer vesti-
bule, by about SOO in breadth, and

Egypt*

BOUTE 11. — BEBAYT-EL-HAGAB.

227

built of granite, some red, some grey,
of a very beautiful quality, and cover-
ed with sculptures, in intaglio aftd in
relief. Many of the blocks are of
very great sixe ; and though the tem-
ple has beeu entirely destroyed, and
the broken stones forcibly torn from
their places, and thrown in the great-
est confusion one upon the other, it
is easy to form an idea of its former
magnificence. It is entirely of gra-
nite— walls, columns, roofs, and door-
ways; affording a striking instance
of the use of this stone in the Delta ;
for tliough the building is so large, no
Mock of the ordinary kinds employed
in Upper Egypt has here been ad-
mitted. The whole appears to have
been erected by Ptolemy Philadel-
phus, whose name occurs in all the
dedications, and who alone is seen
presenting offerings to the gods. The
principal divinities are Isis, (the deity
of the place, who has always the title
"Ladyof Hebai-t;*') 0»iris,( who fre-
quently accompanies her, and is gene-
rally called •'Lord of Hebai-t;**)
Anubis, Savak, (the crocodile-headed
god,} and some others whose legepds
are lost, and who may possibly be
characters of Osiris.

Unfortunately it has been so com-
pletely destroyed that the plan cannot
easily be recognised ; and such is the
mass of broken blocks, that yoa can
go down amongst them to the depth
of 12 and 15 feet; below which are
the numerous abodes of jackals, hares,
and other animals, who alone rejoice
in the ruinous state to which this
building has been reduced. Nothing
seems to be in its original position.
The door- ways are seen, as well as
parts of cornices, ceilings, architraves,
and walls; but all in confusion, and
hurled from their places ; and one is
surprised at the force and labour that
must have been used for the destruc-
tion of this once splendid building.
The ceilings have been studded with
the usual tive pointed Egyptian stare.
The cornices have the Egyptian tri-
gfyphi with the ovals of the king be-

tween them ; but in some the name of
** Isis, the beautiful mother-goddess **
is substituted for the rojal prenomen,
and is accompanied by the nomen of
Ptolemy.

On one of the walls, about the cen-
tre of tlie temple, is represented the
sacred boat, or ark, of Isis; and in
the shrine it bears is the '* Lady of
Hebai-t,'* seated between two figures
of goddesses, like the Jewish Cheru-
bim, who seem to protect her with
their wings. They occur in two com-
partments, one over the other, at the
centre of the shrine ; and these figures
were doubtless the holy and unseen
contents of the sacred repository,
which no profane eye was permitted
to behold, and which were generally
covered with a veil. In the upper
one Isis is seated on a lotus flower,
and the two figures are standing ; in
the other all three are seated, and be-
low are four kneeling figures, one
with a man's, the other three with
jackals* beads, beating their breasts.
At either end of the boat is the head
of the goddess, and the legend above
shows it to have belonged to her. The
king stands liefore it, presenting an
offering of incense to Isis. The stone
has been broken, and part of the pic-
ture has been taken away ; but on a
fragment below, that appears to have
belonged to it, is represented a sledge
on trucks with the usual ring attaclied
to the end, for drawing it into the
»iko»f of which this doubtless marks
the site. It was probably one of
those isolated sanctuaries, that stood
near the centre of the naoB, or body of
the temple.

The sculptures on this wall, as on
some other portions of the building,
are in relief, — an unusual mode of
sculpturing granite, which shows the
great expense and labour bestowed on
the temple of the goddess, and the
importance of her temple. That it
was very handsome is evident ; and to
it might be applied the remark made
by Herodotus respecting tlie temple
of Bubastis — that many were larger,

L 6

228

B017TE 11. — CAIRO TO DAMIETTA.

Sect. n.

but few so bemutiful. Besides the
nn usual mode of sculpturing granite
rn relief, the size of some of the hiero-
glyphics is remarkable, being no less
than 1 4 inches long, and all wrought
with great care. The cornices varied
in different parts of the building ; and
one, perhaps of the wall of the $Skoi
itself, has the heads of Isis surmount-
ed by a shrine alternating with the
oval of the king, in which, however, the
hieroglyphics have not been inserted.

On the lower compartment of the
walls, in this part of the temple, were
the not uncommon figures uf the god
Nilus in procession, bNMtring vases and
emblems. Between each are water
plants, and they have a cluster of
those of the upper and of the lower
country, alternately on their heads;
emblematic of the nature of the river,
as the position of this deity at the base
of the walls denoted the benefits de^
rived from the Nile — the foundation
and support of the whole of Egypt.
Not far from this are the capitals of
large columns, in the form of Isis*
heads, bearing a shrine, like those of
Dendera. Though inferior in sise,
they excel them in the quality of the
materials, being granite instead of
sandstone.

There appears to be a very great
variety in the sculptures, which mostly
represent offerings to Ins and the
cont«mp1ar deities, as in other Pto-
lemaic buildings; and in one place
the hawk-headed Hor-Hat conducts
the king into the presence of the god-
dess of the temple. But the battle
scenes and grand religious processions
of old times are wanting here, as in
other temples of a Ptolemaic and
Roman epoch ; and though the sculp-
tures are rich and highly finished,
they are deficient in the elegance of a
Pharaonicage, — tlie fault of all Greco-
£(ryptian sculpture, and one which
strikes every eye accustomed to mo-
numents erected before the decadence
of art in Egypt.

The modern village stands to the
N. W., a little beyond the enclosure
of the ttmenoB, and near it is a lake

containing water all the year, except
after unusually low inundations,
which was probably once atuched to
the temple, like those of Kamak and
other places.

After finishing my examination of
these ruins, I h^ the satisfaction of
shooting the great enemy of the vil-
lage, a large wolf, which in broad
daylight was prowling about the
field, that now occupies part of tlie
enclosure of the temple. It had been
a great annoyance to the people, and
had been in the habit of entering the
village at night, and carrying off
sheep, poultrVf and whatever it could
find; so that its death caused great
joy among those who had suffered
from its unwelcome visits.

Inland from Bebayt el Hagar is Be-
no6b, which occupies the site of Om-
pkis, but as far as I could learn, with-
out any stone remains, or any other
indication of the ancient town beyond
its moands.

Manio6ra is one of the largest
towns of the Delta, with basaars,
several mosks, and a government par-
lace, and is one of the most flourish-
ing in this part of Egypt. It was
founded by Melek el Kamel in 1921,
as Aboolfeda states, at the time of the
siege of Damietta, to serve as a point
(Tappuif and was called Manso^ra,
** the Victorious," from his defeat of
the Crusaders in that spot, at the
time the city was building. Ii was
there that Louis I X. was imprisoned,
after his disastrous retreat, and cap-
ture, in 1250 It is famous for its
manufacture of a sort of crape called
kherdytheh ; sail-cloth, and other cot-
ton and linen stuffs, common to the
large towns of the Delta, are also
made there. In sise it holds the sixth
place among the provincial towns of
Egypt, after Osioot, the capital of the
Saeed, Mahallet-el-Kebeer, Alexan>
dria, Damietta, and JMenoof.

Manso6ra has no ruins, and is not
supposed to occupy the site of any an*
cient city. On the N. side of it is the
entrance to the canal of Menaaleh or
Ashmoon. There is nothing worthy

Egypt

ROUTE 11. — DAMIETTA. — F^TES.

229

of remark between Man8o6ra and
Damietta.

Damietta or D<tmiatt once famous
as the principal emporium on this
side of the Delta, has sunk in im-
portance, in proportion as Aleiandria
has increased, and now only carries
on a little commerce with Syria and
Greece. Its rice and fisheries, how-
ever, enable it to enjoy a lucratire
trade with the interior. It was once
' famous for its manufacture of leather
and striped cloths, which last, when
imported into Europe, receiyed from
it the name dimity. The Houses are
well built, though inferior to those of
Rosetta ; and the town is one of the
largest in Egypt, with a population of
28,000 souls.

Damietta is known in the history
of the Crusaders as the bulwark of
Egypt on that side, and its capture
was always looked upon as the most
important object in their expeditions
against that country. Aboolfeda says
**it stood on the shore, where the
river runs into the sea; until the
danger to which it was exposed, from
the Franks, induced the Egyptian
caliphs to change its position ; and
the modem town was founded higher
up the Nile, about five miles further
from the sea.** According to Abool-
feda, the old Damietta was destroyed,
and the inhabitants were transferred
to the village of Mensh^eh, which
was built in its stead, and which after-
wards succeeded to the importance
and name of the ancient town ; and
Michaelis, on the authority of Nie-
buhr, says Mensheeb is the name of
one of the squares, or plaeei, of the
modern Damietta. The time of this
change of position, and the destruc-
tion of the old town are fixed by
Aboolfeda in the year of the Hegtra
648 (a. d. 125 1 ). The old Damietta
had been walled round and fortified
by Motawukkel, the tenth of the
^ Abbaside caliphs (about a. d. 850) ;
and the new town was built by Bay-
b6rs, the fourth sultan of the Baharite
Memlooks.
The ancient name of the original

Damietta was Tamiithis, and the
many antique columns and blocks
found in tlie present town have pro-
bably been brought from its ruins.
They are principally in the mo&ks ;
and on a slab used for the ablutions
of the faithful, in the mosk of Aboo-
lita, (a short way outside the town,
on the east,) is a Greek inscription
with the name of Tennesus.

Other Towni in the Delta The

sites of many interesting towns exist
in the Delta which are little known,
but which would probably repay the
curious traveller for the trouble of a
visit. Few ruins of consequence
might reward his research; but the
discovery of the name or figure of a
deity on the fragment of a temple, or
the exact position of the mounds,
might enable him to determine the
town they belonged to, and make us
better acquainted with the ancient geo-
graphy of a district now imperfectly
known. The sites, too, of Buto, of
the Isle of Helbo, and many other
places of note mentioned in history,
are of no less interest to the geogra-
pher than to the antiquary.

Near the centre of the Delta is
Tanta, well known for its fStee in
honour of Sa^d Ahmed el Beddowec,
a Moslem saint of great renown. He
was bom at Fez in a. h. 596 (a. i>.
1200), and having passed through
TanU, with all his family, on his way
to Mecca, established himself in that
place on his return, and was buried
there at his death.

These fites are celebrated twice a
year ; one at the beginning of March,
and the greater /e/c* during the inun-
dation, a little before the canals are
cut. Both are attended by an immense
concourse of Moslems, who perform
a sort of pilgrimage to the tomb of
this holy personage. Some have
stated their number to be 150,000;
and, as at the festival of Bubastis, in
old times, a greater -quantity of wine
was consumcii than at any otlier period
of theyear,so at Tanta greater excesses
are committed by the modern Egyp-
tians than on any other occasion.

230 BOUTE 12. — CAIBO TO MENZALEH AKD TAKIS. SeCt. 11.

People of all classes, and of all
Moslem nations, who happen to be in
Egypt, repair to the festival; and
many a Cairene, who has not an op-
portunity of joining a party to Tania,
is left to regret the pleasure, or the
profit, be has lost ; for with many it
is a source of speculation, as well as
pleasure ; and tome repay themseWes
handsomely for the journey. The
greater part, however, attend merely
for amusement, and a few faifhas
at the tomb are repeated, without
much trouble, on the chance of a
blessing from the saint.

The fUe lasts eight days, and is
succeeded by that of Ibrahim e* Des-
8o61cee, held at the village of Dessook,
on the Rosetta bmnch, nearly opposite
e* Rahman^eh. This, which is second
only in rank to thefite of Tanta, is
followed by those of Aboore^, of
Aboo Mando6r, of el Boab, of el
Abb&see, and others, each lasting
eight days. These yiSfef occur twice
a year, those of Cairo once only ; the
people of the Delta perhaps thinking
that sufficient honour would not be
done to their saint unless they gave
him two birthdays in the year.

The Sayd el Beddowee seems to
hare succeeded to the god of Seben-
nytus, the Egyptian Hercules, whose
attributes have been given him by
popular fancy or tradition. It is the
Saj^d whose aid is invoked, when any
one is in need of Mtrtngth to resist a
sudden calamity ; thecfiectsofastorm,
or any frightful accident are thought
to be averted by calling out ** Ya
Sayd, ya Beddowee ; " and the song
of •< Gab el Yoosara," " he brought
back the captives,** records the might
and prowess of this powerful hero.

There do not appear to be any ruins
of an ancient city at Tanta ; but re-
port speaks of a trilinguar inscription
in a mosk there, as well as at Meno6f,
tlie truth of which it would be in-
teresting to ascertain.

That we may find another of those
yaluable documents, or duplicates of
the Rosetta stone, is a very reasonable

hope, as there is little doubt that de-
crees were made in Greek and Egyp-
tian, both in the time of the Ptolemies
and Carsars, copies of which were
deposited in all the principal temples;
and when we read on the Rosetta
stone that the same memorial was
ordered to be placed ** in the temples
of the first, second, and third orders,**
we are surprised that several copies
of it have not been discovered.

Tlie Delta was in ancient limes com-
posed of 35 name; including the
Oasis of Ammon and Nitriotis ; and
iu modern provinces are seven, which
are subdivided into thirteen depart-
ments : —

1. Kalioob^eh,

comprising
the depart-
ments of

2. Menoof^h

3. Bahiyreh

4. Gharfo^h

5.
6.

Mansoor^h - <

Damiit(Da-
mietta) -

Sherk^eh

•{

1. Kalio6b
S. Ashmoon

3. Sbib^n

4. Neg^leh

5. Danumhoor

6. Alexandria

7. Mahallet-el-

Kebeer

8. Kafr Maggir

9. Mit Ghumr

10. Mansoora

1 1. Damietta

12. Bclbays
IS. Shibbeh

* ROUTE 12.

CAiaO IT WATCa TO MMMZALKB AMD
TANIS*

MUM.

Cairo to the Canal of Mansoora

{See Ramie 11.) - - I09|

Mahallet D&maneh . . 8

Aatimoon, or Oshmoun - • 9)

Mensaleh - - - - 194

Toweel, on the Tanis Canal - 4

Tanis, now San ... lU

162

MAWSOOaA TO MSNZALMR.

The Canal of Menzaleh, or of Ash-
moon, called also e* Toora e* Sogbeer-

Egypt.

ROUTE 12. — TEL ET-HAI — A8HHOOK.

231

eh, "the •mall canal,*' leaves the
DamietU branch to the N. of the
town of Mansoora. It is much nar^
rower than tho&e of Moes and Kari-
nayn, being only about 70 or 80 feet
broad, and in the neighbourhood of
Mensaleh much less. It winds very
much, which, if the wind is not
favourable, may delay a boat a long
time, both in going to and coming
from Mensaleh; and this perhaps
renders the route to Tanis by Zaka-
seek and Bubastis preferable. ( St^
RouU 13.) It contains water the
whole year; but after April is only
navigable as far as Tel e' Nassara.

ifie point of land on the N. of the
canal, where it joins the Nile, oppo-
site Mansoora, is memorable from
having been the spot where the Cru-
saders had their camp in 1S121, and
again in 1950.

Near Ad6ogtef a village about 9
leagues to the N. of Mansoora, a
sphinx was found some years ago,
bearing the name of Osorkon. Mo'
haUtt D6maneh is, perhaps, the best
point of departure in summer for a
visit to the ruins of Tel et Mai in the
plain to the southward; and during
the high Nile it may be approached
by water to within a short distance.

2W et'Mai occupies the site of
Thmuis; which is at once pointed
out by its Arabic name, as well as by
the Coptic Thmoui. A large mono-
lith is still standing on the site of
Thmuis. It is of granite, and mea-
sures 21 ft. 9 in. high, 13ft. broad,
and II ft. 7 in. deep ; and within, it
is 1 9 ft. 3 in. high, 8 ft. broad, and
8 ft. 3 in. deep. In the hierogly-
phics is the prenomen of Amasis, and
mention seems to be made of the gods
Nephand Ao? (Hercules?) Josephus
says that Titus, on his way from
Alexandria to Judea passed by
Thmuis. He went by land to Nico-
polis, and tlien putting his troops on
board long ships, went up the Nile
by the Mendesian province to the
city of Thmuis.

About 5 miles aW. by & of Ash-

moon is MU^FSrei, whose mounds
indicate the site of an old town ; but
I could not hear of any stone remains
there.

AakmoOH, or, as Aboolfeda writes
it, Oshmoom, — Oshmoom-Tan^,
or Oshmoom e* Roo-min (** of
the pomegranates"), was in his
time a large city, with baxiUrs,
baths, and large mosks, and the capital
of the Dahkala and Bashrooor pro*
vinces. Jt is supposed to occupy the
site of Mendes, but now presents
nothing of interest. The only re-
mains are of Roman time, consisting
of a few small broken columns, frag*
ments of granite, burnt bricks and
pottery, amidst mounds of some extent
but of no great height. I found a few
Roman copper coins entirely cor-
roded. No other place of interest
occurs between this and Mensaleh.
Mit «' Natidrah probably occupies
the site of an ancient town, judging
from its distinctive appellation **of
the Chritiiant,'* Miniei SiheSl was
formerly of much greater extent and
more flourishing than at present, as
the style of its houses, its broken
minarets, and its brick walls attest;
and GanelSkh is distinguished from
afar by its lofty minaret.

On the canal grow numerous reeds
and water plants, among which is a
Qfperus. It is found principally on
the N. bank, where it has the benefit
of the sun, and only at the eastern
part of the canal. I have no doubt
it has been mistaken for the papyrus,
and has led to the belief that this last
grows in the vicinity of the lake
Mensaleh. In Arabic it is called
Dees, a name given also to the cype-
rus dives ; and both are used for the
same purposes, for making baskets,
and an ordinary kind of mat.

On the canai of Mensaleh, or Ash-
moon, are several ferries, each con-
sisting of a boat swinging or traversing
on a rope, in which they pass over
their cattle and goods from bank to
bank, and which the unexpected pas-
sage of my boat often threatened to

232 * ROUTB 12. — CAIRO TO HENZALEH AXD TANIS. Sect. 11.

carry away, to the constemation of
the natives.

The land to the N. and S. of the
canal, particularly around Mensaleh,
is little productive, and in parts per-
fectly barren; and the increase of
nitre in the soil seems to doom to de-
struction even that which is still de-
serving of cultivation. Some land
scarcely repays the labour of tilling
it, and some has been found so un-
productive, that though rated for tax-
ation, and annually paying firdeh, it
has ceased to be cultivated.

The land of the Delta is through-
out inferior to that of the Saeed,
or Upper £gypt, where com is much
cheaper than to the N. of Cairo.
Pliny says the Theba'id was formerly
a better corn country than Lower
Egypt. Tlie ardeb of wheat is sold
from Mellawee southwards at SO pi-
astres, aud in the Delta at 66 ; and
though the same proportion of seed is
sown in the latter, or half an ardeb to
one feddin of land, the proportion of
produce is much less, being as S and
4 to 5 and 7, or even 8. This may
partly be attributed to the greater
proportion of other produce, as flax,
cotton, sem«tm, and other tilings,
grown in the Delta, besides rice,
which is unknown in the upper coun-
try. But still, the fact of the land
being of better quality is the main
cause of the greater proportion of corn
produced tliere; for much land is
also taken up in the Saeed with cot-
ton, flax, sugar-cane, indigo, and
beans; and the proportion of the
number of square miles in the two are
4500 in the Delta provinces, and ^55
in the Saeed. Hie Delta itself, in-
deed, between the Rosetta and the
Damietu branches, contains only
1976 square miles.

1 found the flax just in seed, in the
Delta, .at this season, the 1st of
March, 23rd of the Coptic Imsh^r
(Mechir); and some was still in
flower. (See Exod. ix. SI.)

Memaleh and th€ Neighbourhoods —
Mtnzakh stands on the canal, about

13 miles from its entrance into the
lake. It is supposed to occupy the
site of Panephysis; and near the
point of land projecting to the N.
into the lake, some have placed Pa»
premis, the City of Mars. Menzaleh
has no remains. It is now much
larger Uian some years ago, when it
was merely a village of fishermen ;
and several minarets, with some re-
spectable houses, present an appear-
ance little expected in such an out-
of-the-way place. The canal, which
contributes so much to its import-
ance, and to its very existence as a
town, also gives it a cheerful aspect.
A wooden bridge crosses it, and
unites the few houses on the W. side
with the principal part of the town ;
but this oflTcrs no other obstacle to the
passage of boats to its mouth beyond
the lowering of their masts. In the
autumn there is some fever at Menza-
beh, butin winter it is perfectly healthy,
and at all times more so than
Damietta. Its principal trade is in
rice and fish. The former is of good
quality, little inferior to that of Da-
mietta and Kafr el Bateekh.

The fresh- water fish mostly comes
from Toweel, on a branch of the
canal of San or Moez, the salt-water
kinds being brought from Matar^eh.

On arriving at Menzaleh, I found
that it was too late in the season fcr
my cangia to go into the lake, and
thence to Tatiis ; I therefore went to
the shekh of the town, who advisied
my riding over to Matareeh, on the
lake, (or, as they here call it, tlie
JffoA^yreA,) and there engaging a
fisherman's boat to take me up the
canal of Moez to San. Having lent
me his rahwdn (a horse trained to a
peculiar ambling pace), and asses for
my luggage and servants, I rode
over to Matareeh ; but the fi^ihermen
were too certain of their profits on
fifth, or too much averse to the trouble
of tracking or punting up a canal, to
let me a boat ; aud aAer being doomed
to listen to numerous assertions, ** by
the beard of the Ph>phet,*' that the

JEgypL

BOUTE 12. MENZALEH — TAKIS.

233

moutb of the canal had been closed
for some days by the wind (which
erery one knew to be false), I was
obliged to return to Mensaleh, in
spite of all my attempts, by bribery
and persuasion, to induce them to
relent.

Matar^eh is all fish ; — the boats,
the houses, the streets, the baskets,
the people's hands, all are full of fish.
They catch fish, they salt fish, they
lire on fish, and by fish; and one
would think it had been founded by
the Ichthyophagi themwlves. The fish
is dried and salted here, and sent on
camels or asses to Menzaleh, whence
it is carried by the canal to different
parts of the country ^ the fisheries of
the lake and canals being all farmed by
some wealthy Christian speculator.

Matar^h stands on a point of land
projecting into the lake, between 6
and 7 miles from Mensaleh, to the N.
of which is another village, called £1
Ghuineh, united to it by a dyke or
causeway. Due £. of it is Shekh
Abdallah, in an island called Toona,
about 2 miles from the shore, where
are a capital of red granite, some an-
cient ruins of little importance, and a
shekh's tomb, whence its modem
name. The lake abounds in islands.
The most interesting to an antiquary
is that of Tennees, the ancient Ten-
nesus. The remains there are of
Roman time, and consist of baths,
tombs and substructions. The tombs
are ▼aultcd and painted, mostly red
on a white ground. There are also
earthenware pipes, stamped with a
letter or mark, either of the owner
or the maker.

PelusiuM is about 23 miles to the
S. £. of this island, and about 11
from the lake.

The Lake Mennleh may either be
visited from Matar^eh, Damietta,
Mensaleh, or the canal of Moei ; but
in order not to be disappointed, as
'was my fate at the first of tliese places,
it may be as well to send over from
Menzaleh to secure a boat ; which
may also be done, when Toweel on

the Moez canal is chosen as the
starting-place. In the mean time the
traveller will find sufficient to employ
his time, in shooting water-fowl that
abound about Menzaleh, which indeed
would prove excellent head-quarters
for a sportsman ; ducks being not only
pumerous there, but by no means wild,
and easily approached. Boars also
abound in the marshes on the way
to Tanis, and the abundance of ducks,
coots, and water-fowl is extraordinary.

Hems and other wadirrg birds are
also very abundant, as well as the
ibis. The coot is now called ghoor;
the hem, haUuhdn ; the ibis, biuhards;
the spoonbill, midw6s ; and the peli-
can, bepga, HaloSf is the Arabic
name of the wild boar.

Menzaleh to San, or Tanis, — To-
weel is four miles to the southward of
Menzaleh. The road, like that of
Matar^eh, passes through a barren
tract, rendered doubly sterile by the
quantity of nitre, which impregnates the
soil, and after a shower of rain makes
it so slippery, that it is difficult for
camels and bar-shod horses to walk
upon it. About half way to Toweel
are the mounds of an ancient village,
and others a little more to the east-
ward, but with no ruins of any kind.
There are some places without a
name, but Toweel is a name without
a place, to which it can be said to
belong, and is nothing more than the
spot where the boats discharge their
cargoes of fish to be carried to Men-
zaleh. A Turkish overseer and a
Christian scribe repair thither every
morning, to await the arrival of tlie
fishermen, who, on an account being
taken of the contents of each boat,
are paid accordingly, tlie day's sport
bringing from 8 to 25 piastres. The
fish are caught in nets, and by nu-
merous hooks fastened to a line ex-
tended from one side of the canal to
the other, which being dragged along
its muddy bottom rake up all that
come in the way. Those taken in
this manner are mostly the garmoot,
sAofi, and other stlart; and so abun-

234

B. 12. — CAIRO TO MENZALEH AND TANIS. SecL 11.

dant are they here and in the canal
of Mensaleh, that I have leen men
stand in the ilirater and catch them in
the mud with their hands. The fresh-
water fisheries are farmed in the same
manner as those of the Lake Men-
saleh.

The shekh having sent over to
secure a boat for me at Toweel, I
found an awning put up, and every
thing ready for my journey to San,
which is about eleven miles to the
southward. The canal is the same
that passes by Bubastis, Zakaaeek,
and Harbayt ; but to the north of
San it runs through a low marshy
tract, abounding in reeds and stunted
tamarisk bushes. The banks are very
low, and the whole is flooded during
the inundation. Here are the pas-
tures for cattle, which, like similar
low lands on the borders of the Lake
Brulos, hence received, in ancient
times, the name of Bueolia, and were
comprehended under the denomina-
tion ofElearchia, or the marsh districL
They were also called BtuhmSor, as at
the present day ; and the same name
was applied to a dialect of the Coptic,
which differed both from the Thebaic
and Memphitic, and was spoken in
this part of the Delta.

Aboolfeda comprises under the
name of Bashmo6r the whole of the
island between the canal of Ashmoon
(or, as it is now called, of Mensaleh)
and the Damietta branch, and con-
siders Ashmoon the capital of this
district The people who live in the
marshes differ much from thefeUdkM
of Egypt. Some are employed in
tending cattle, others in fishing. The
principal abode of the fishermen of
the canal of Moes is San, where a
wtHd or agent for the owner of the
fisheries lives, who receives the pro-
duce of their labour, and forwards it
to Zakaseek And other places.' They
call themselves Arabs, and, from the
name of their tribe, Malak6en.

On the way from Toweel to San,
we passed, at some distance inland to
the east, the high mounds of Dibgo,

which mark the site of an ancient
town ; but they are said to contain no
ruins, nor could I hear of any, ex-
cept at Senhoor, where report speaks
of a few white stones.

The plain of San is very extensive,
but thinly inhabited ; no village exists
in the immediate vicinity of the
ancient Tanis; and, when looking
from the mounds of this once splendid
city towards the distant palms of in-
distinct villages, we cannot fail to be
struck by tlie desolation spread around
it.

The *< field" of Zoan is now a
barren waste : a canal passes through
it without being able to fertilise the
soil ; " fire *' has been set « in Zoan,'*
and one of the principal capitals or
royal abodes of the Pharaohs is now
the habitation of fishermen, the resort
of wild beasts, and infested with rep-
tiles and malignant fevers. But no
one can look upon the site of Tanis
without a feeling of intense interest.
It was one of the old cities of Egypt,
founded seven years after Hebron
(where Sarah was buried), and already
existing in the time of Abraham ; and
" the field of Zoan " is stated by the
Psalmist to be the spot where Moses
performed those miracles that ended
in the liberation of ttie Israelites from
the oppression of the Egyptians.
(See Exek. xix. 11., and xxx. 14. ;
Isaiah xxx. 4.; Ps. IxxviiL 12. Numb^
siit. 22. ; Gen. xxiii. 2.)

TanU — San or Zan, the Tanis of
the Greeks, the Zoan of Scripture,
and the Gani or Athennea of the
Copts, is remarkable for the height
and extent of its mounds which are
upwards of a mile from N. to S^, and
nearly three quarters of a mile from
E. to W. The area, in which the
sacred enclosure of the temple stood,
is about 1500 feet by 1250, sur-
rounded by mounds of fallen houses,
as at Bubastis, whose increased eleva^
tion above the site of the temple was
doubtless attributable to the same
cause, — the frequent change in the
level of the houses to protect them

Egypt

ROUTE 12. TANIS.

235

from the inundation, and the un-
altered position of the sacred build-
ings. The enclosure or iemeno9 sur-
rounding the temple is 1000 feet long
by about 700 broad, not placed in the
centre of this area, but one third more
to the northward ; while the temple
itself lies exactly at an equal distance
from the northern and southern line
of bouses, — one of the numerous in-
stances of Egyptian symmetrophobia.
The enclosure is of crude brick ; and
a short way to the east of the centre,
on its northern side, is a gateway of
granite and fine gritstone, bearing the
name of Remeses the Great ; to whom
the temple was indebted for its nu-
merous obelisks, and the greater part
of the sculptures that adorned it.

Outside the enclosure, on the east,
are two granite columns, apparently
unconnected with the temple. Th«:y
are 2 feet 8 inches mean diameter,
with the name of the same Pharaoh,
fltnd have palm capitals of beautiful
style. They may have belonged to
some other edifice, that stood without
the temenos of the principal temple,
like the tomb of Amasis at Sais, de-
scribed by Herodotus; which hsd
also palm-tree capitals, and stood in
the vestibule of the temenos. But
though this apparent inconsistency
may thus be explained, it is not
equally easy to account for the en-
closure not comprehending within it
the whole of the temple itself ; and
the western wall abuts against the
sides of the nao$t leaving the end
projecting beyond it.

From the wall of the enclosure to
the two front obelisks is 100 feet ;
1 50 beyond which, going towards the
nao», are fragments of columns, and
probably of two other obelisks, cover-
ing an area of 50 feet ; beyond these,
at a distance of 120 feet, are several
fragments of sculptured walls, two
other obelisks, and two black statues,
extending over a space of SO feet ;
and after going 100 feet further, you
come to two other obelisks ; and then
two others 86 feet beyond them ; and

again, at a distance of 164 feet, two
other large obelisks, from which to the
noos front is 150 feet.

Though in a very ruinous con-
dition, the fragments of walls, co-
lumns, and fallen obelisks, suffi-
ciently attest the fontvtr splendour of
this building ; and the number of the
latter, evidently ten, if not twelve, is
unparalleled in any Egyptian temple.
They are all of tlie time of Remeses
the Great; some with only one,
others with two lines of hierogly-
phics. The columns had the lotu»-
bud capital ; and their appearance,
as well as the walls bearing tlie
figures of deities, seem to prove that
some, at least, of the obelisks stood
in courts or vestibules, forming ap-
proaches to the naoB, Among these
figures I observed Pthah, Maut, and
Nofre-Atmoo; and on the apex of
the obelisk tlie king is offering to, or
kneeling before, Atmoo, Horus, Ao
or Djom, and Ra, who has sometimes
the additional title of Atmoo. The
obelisks vary in sise: some have a
mean diameter of about 5 feet, and
wlien entire may have been from 50
to 60 feet high ; and tliose at the
lower extremity of the avenue,
farthest from the naos, measured
about S3 feet. Some of the obelisks
are of dark, others of light red, granite,
which might appear to have a bad
effect, if we did not recollect that the
Egyptians painted their monuments,
whether of granite or other stone.

The name of Remeses the Great is
seen throughout the temple. In
one place I observed that of his im-
mediate successor Pthahmen, and on
one of the statues above mentioned
are the ovals of an unknown king.
Mr. Burton, also, found th<Me of
Osirtasen III. and Tirhaka.

llie nao9 itself was very small,
being, as before stated, only 64 feet
by 48; and it presents very few
traces of sculpture. A cornice, and
the name of HajAt or the god Nilus,
at the front, and the figure of a god,
with traces of hieroglyphics, at the

236

ROUTS 13. — CAIRO TO TANI8.

Sect. II.

bftck, are all that I could find upon itt
fallen blocks.

The obeliskf and other remains are
much buried » and the hieroglyphics
cannot be copied, without previously
clearing them from the soil accumu-
lated around them. On the mounds
at the east of the area is a shekh*s
tomb, from which you have a very ex-
tensive view over the country; and
beyond this, nearly in a line with the
& £. comer of the enclosure, is a
broken monolith without sculpture.

Nearly half a mile from the temple,
in the direction of S. £. by S., are
several large round blocks of granite,
in two lines, wliich appear to have
once formed the avenue to another
temple, now destroyed. They are
much corroded, and I could discover
no hieroglyphics, or traces of sculp-
ture, on any of them. They stand
nearly east and west, like the other
temple, and at the western end are
two square blocks resembling tablets ;
about 80 feet beyond which are other
remains of granite, and some white
stone, probably marking the site of
tlie building to which they formed
the avenue. On the mounds to the
. N. W. of this are three blocks bear-
ing the name of the great Remeses ;
and on those to the S. W. of the great
temple are the walls of crude brick
bouses.

The modem village consists of
mere huts, with the exception of a
Kasr built by Shekeer Effendi, who
set up nitre works here some years
since, of which the ruins alone re-
main. The Kasr is occupied by an
Armenian agent for the fisheries, who
was absent during my visit to Sao.

ROUTE 13.

CAXaO, BT WATia, TO BUBASTIS, VHAK-
AartHOS, AKO TAMIS.

MHet.
Cairo to entrance of Canal of

Mm<s. (See RouUn,) - 48
Minietel {j^umh • - - 15

Bfilei.

Bubastis (Tel Basta) -

- 19

Zakaxeek ...

- 1

Pharbaethus (Harbayt) -

- 15

Tanis (or San) •

. 5J5

126

The canal of Moes, or Toorat
Moex, is a noble work, being on an
average about 150 feet broad, navi-
gable all the year for large boata. and
having the character of a river, here
and there with small islands, and
steep banks, like the Nile. And
such is its importance to this part of
the country, Uiat it has been styled
the " Golden Canal."

The abundance of fish in the Toorat
Moil is very remarkable, and I have
seen men catch many of the silwnia
shaU with their bands (as at Toweel),
by seeking them in hollow parts
of the muddy bottom. Many people
are employed in nshing ihere with
nets, rods, and lines; which last
have numerous hooks fastened to
them, without baits, and being drag-
ged along the bottom of the canal by
men holding the two ends from the
opposite banks, catch those that are
lodged in the mud. They have est»-
blished ferry-boato on the Toorat
Mdet, which are dragged across by a
rope ; and the scenes of confusion in
an evening, as the cattle on their way
home cross the water, are often very
amusing.

At Miniet el Kvmh is a Kasr or villa
of the Pasha, where he stops occa-
sionally to assemble the chiefs of dis>
tricts, for the settlement of accounts,
and other matters relative to their
administration; and at Tel Howeei
are the mounds of an old town.

BubatHn, tlie Pibeeetk of Scrip-
ture, is one mile to the south of
Zakaxeek, and nearly the same
distance from the canal. It is now
called Tel Basta, or the <* mound of
Basta,** in which we trace the ancient
name of the city of Paaht,the Egyptian
Diana. The mounds are very exten-
uwCf and consist of the remains of the

Effypi.

BOI7TE 18. — BUBASTIS.

237

crude-brick houses of the town, with
the usual heaps of broken pottery.
They are of great height, confirming
the remark of Herodotus, that Bu-
bastis was raised more than any other
place, when the increasing height of
the Nile rendered it necessary to ele-
vate the sites of the towns of Egypt.
Indeed, the description he gives of
the pontion of the temple (below the
level of the houses, from which you
looked down upon it on all sides of
the sacred enclosure), as well as of
the street leading from its vestibule
to the temple of Mercury, is fully
con finned by the actual appearance
of Tel Basta; and the interest we
feel in finding his description so ac-
curate, makes us regret that be was
not equally minute in his notice of
other places.

From what he tells us of Sabaco,
abolishing capital punisliments, and
condemning those who were guilty of
crimm, to the labour of raising the
sites of their native towns, it appears
that tlie people of the Bubastite nome
did not enjoy a very good reputation,
since their capital was raisied more
than that of any other town. He
then proceeds to describe the temple.
** Many others,** he says, *' are larger
and more magnificent, but none more
beautiful than this. The goddess
Bubastis is the Diana of the Greeks.
The temple forms a peninsula sur-
rounded by water on all sides, except
that by which you enter. Two canals
from the Nile conduct the water to
the entrance by separate channels
without uniting, and then, diverging
in opposite directions, flow round it
to the right and left. They are each
a hundred feet brood, and shaded
with trees. The propylaea (towers
of the propylseum) are 10 argyt§ in
height, ornamented with beautiful
figures 6 cubits (9 feet) high. The
temple is in the middle of the town ;
and as you walk round it, you look
down upon it on every side; for
the former having been considerably
raised, while the temple continues on

the same level where it was originally
founded, entirely commands it. It
is surrounded by a wall of circuit,
sculptured with figures, containing a
grove of very large trees, planted
round the body of the temple itself,
in which is the statue of the goddess.
The length and breadth of the whole
temple measures a stadium. At the
entrance is a way paved with stones
about three stadia long, and about
four plethra broad, planted on either
side with very lofty trees, which,
after crossing the market-place in an
easterly direction, leads to the temple
of ^Mercury."

This street, from the temple of Pasht,
(or Bubastis) to that of Mercury,
I found to measure 2250 feet, which
exceeds the tlu-ee stades of Herodotus ;
but the breadth, owing 4o the confused
mass of fallen walls, could not be
ascertained. On the way is the square
he mentions, 900 feet from the temple
of Bubastis, and apparently about
200 feet broad ; though we may con-
clude its original size to have been
much greater, allowance being made
for the walls of fallen houses with
which it has been encumbered. Her
temple is entirely destroyed; but from
the stones that remain, we may readily
believe the assertion of the historian
respecting its beau^, the whole being
of the finest red granite. Its total
length appears to have been about
500 feet, but iu breailtli is no longer
traceable. The sacred enclosure im«
mediately surrounding it was about
GOO feet square ; and the outer cir-
cuit containing this, and the canal
that ran round it, measured 940 feet
by 1200, the breadth exceeding the
length. Few hieroglyphics remain;
and the only names are of Remeses
the Great, of Osorkon, and^if Amyr-
tsus. I observed part of an Egyptian
ccHiiice, with hieroglyphics and some
small sculptures, representing^ hem.
and other deities; and near it another
fragment ornamented witli a similar
cornice of the time of Osorkon.
These sculptures probably belonged

238

ROUTE 13. — CAIBO TO TA2?I8.

Sect. XL

to A chamber near the adytum. Thej
are very singular. In the centre is a
sort of pillar, passing below the level
of the picture, which I could not
trace to the bottom, having come to
water after digging a few inches.
Another block is of some importance,
as it gives the deity of the place, who,
it is always supposed, had a lion*ft or
cat*s headi and whose name
occurs so often on monu-
ments about the pjrraraids.
The columns, at least in the
vestibule, had lotus>hud (or papyrus-
bud) capitals, in the ancient Egyptian
style ; but close to the landing-place
is another, said to have been taken
many years ago from this temple,
which has the palm capital. This,
like the blocks in the temple, has the
ovals of Remeses the Great, orer
which Osorkon has cut his name ;
but what is singular, the goddess of
the city is nowhere mentioned upon
it ; and the principal deity who gives
** life^* to the Pharaoli, b the square-
eared Ombo, « the son of Netpe.'!
This column, when entire, was about
28 feet long, with a diameter of 2
feet 8 inches, and was probably in
the portico^ or an inner part of the
temple.

In these and other ruins of the
Delta certain peculiarities may be ob-
served, in which they differ from
those of Upper Bgypt. In the latter
the walls of the temples are sand-
stone, and the columns built of several
pieces, and granite is confined to
obelisks, statues, doorways, and to the
adyta of some remarkable roonu>
ments: in the Dvlta the temples
themselves are in great part built of
granite, and the porticoes and ves-
tibules have columns of a single
block of the same materials ; which,
as far as I remember, have not been
met with in any part of the upper
country. •

The temple of Mercury is iu a
stfll more ruinous state than that of
Pasbt : a few red granite blocks are
all that remain of it, and one only

presents a few imperfect hierogly-
phics.

In the town, the plansof some of the
houses may be traced, as well as the
directions of some of the streets and
alleys, varying from 14 feet 6 inches,
to 7 feet ; as the rooms of some
houses vary from 26 feet by 14, to 7
feet square. Here and there are some
narrow chambers, or recesses, like
coffins, which might be intended for
the sepulture of the sacred animals.
I looked in vain for the bones of cats ;
but some human bones are met with
among the crude brick ruins to the
W. of the temple, where one small
building has the form of a pyramid,
eitlier the work of man or worn into
that shape by the rain. On that side
is a large enclosure of crude brick,
268 feet square, with walls 20 feet
thick, which appears to have been a
fort, with one entrance on the temple
side. On the N. of it was a narrow
street Many of the houses of Bu-
bastis have been, burnt, as at Thebes,
Sals, and other places ; and on the S.
side are some large mounds reddened
by fire, and fragments of pottery. On
the way you pass some very large cir-
cular pits, with square margins of
crude* brick.

To the N. E. a very large open
space lay between thew all of the town
and the houses, which is now a cul-
tivated plain ; and at one end of it
stood the temple of Mercury.

At Zakaseek are a bridge and
sluices, which require a change of
boats in going this way to Tanis.
Here too the present canal to Tel el
Wadee, once the famous canal of
Arsinoe, commences; and it is re-
markable that this, whose mouth has
been so often changed, and taken
more and more to the southward,
should return at last to the vicinity of
Bubastis, near which, Herodotus says,
it was first opened.

Harha^t or Heurhoft, the ancient
JRIarfrcBfftiM, and the capital of a nome,
to which it gave its name, is between
18 and IS miles to the N.E. of Bu-

Egypt ROUTE 14. — CAmo to the katron lakes.

239

bastts. It presents nothing to repay
the trouble of a visit, and is of far less
extent than the capital of the adjoin-
ing nome. The only stone remains
are shafts of red granite columns of
Roman time, and fragments of fine
grey granite, apparently of an altar,
and part of a statue, which, with
mounds and crude brick ruins, are all
that remain of the city. It stood on
the Tanitic branch, and was a town
of some consequence till a late time,
and an episcopal see under the Lower
Empire. It is still occupied in part
by the modem village, which has re*
tained the ancient name.

During the winter months, afVer
the inundation, the canal is open from
Harbayt to Tanis, but in February it
is closed again, at Kof6or-Nigm below
Harbayt, and the only way of going
to Tanis by water is from Mensaleh.

Between Harbayt and Tanis, the
only place worthy of notice is Tel-
Fakk6os, the ancient Phacusa.

For the description of Tanis, see
RouU 12.

ROUTE 14.

CAIRO TO TBB MATROIT LAKU.

Miles.
Cairo by water to Teraneh («m

Rouf 6.) - - - - 501
Teraneh to Zakook - - 36|

The usual route from the Nile to
the valley of the Natron Lakes, or
Wadee Natr6on, is from Ter&neh.
The journey to Zakeek, or Zakook,
the most northerly inhabited spot in
the Natron valley, occupies about 18
hours on camels.

The road, on quitting the Nile, at
the distance of about \\ mile from
Terineh, passes over tlie ruins of an
ancient town, which have of late years
been turned up in every direction
for the purpose of collecting the nitre

that abounds in all similar mounds
throughout Egypt. These ruins are
of great extent, and apparently, from
the burnt bricks and small decomposed
copper coins occasionally found amidst
them, of Roman time. Some columns,
one of which is about Sj feet in
diameter, have also been met with;
but no object of value has presented
itself to indicate a place of much con-
sequence ; and it is tlierefore probable
that its sise was rather owing to its
having been the abode of the many
persons employed in bringing the
natron to the Nile, than to the im-
portance it possessed as At Egyptian
town. This opinion is in some de-
gree confirmed by the appearance of
a large road leading to it from the SL
end of the Natron valley, which is
still used by those who go from that
part of the country to the Convent of
St Macarius. Tliough Teraneh has
succeeded to, and derived its name
from, Terenuthis, it is probable that
these mounds occupy the site of that
ancient town, and that its successor
was built more to the E. in conse-
quence of a change in the course of
the river. Momemphis and Menela'i
urbs also stood in the vicinity of Te-
renuthis; and the ancient road to
Nitriotis is said by Strabo to have left
the Nile not far from those places.

According toa rough observation, I
calculate the bank of the Nile at Te-
r&neh to be about 58 feet above the
village of Zakeek, or 86 feet above
the surface of the Natron lakes.

The village of Zakeek occupies the
site of what is marked in Colonel
Leake*s Map of Egypt as an ancient
glass-house. This is still visible be-
neath, and dose to the house built
about seventeen years since by some
Europeans, who there established
works for drying the natron, and who
then founded the village, which now
contains 50 or 60 ^uts, and about
900 inhabitants of both sexes. The
glass-house is probably of Roman
time. It is built of stone, and the
scoria of common green glassy and

240

R. 14. — CAIRO TO THE NATRON LAKES. SeCt. 11.

pieces of Uie fused matter attached to ]
the stones, sufficiently indicate its site,
as their rounded summits the form of
three distinct ovens.

The natron is found both in the
plain and in two or three of the lakes.
Those from which it is principally
taken are called £1 Geonfed^h and
£1 Hamra. Two others, £1 Khor-
til and the lesser Melldhat e* Joon,
also produce this salt; but, being
very small, they yield but little ; and
the last is only frequented by the
Arabs, who smuggle it tlience to the
Nile chiefly by the road through the
Fy6om« There are eight lakes which
contain water all the year, and are
called Mell^hat. The largest and
roost southerly, MelUlhat om Re£-
sheh, produces only muriate of soda,
or common salt. Next to this in
sise is Mell&hat e* Ja^r, also a salt
lake ; then £1 Goonfed^eh and Mel-
lAhat el Hamra, or Dow£r el Hamra
(from its round form), both which
contain natron ; tlien the larger MeU
Ubat e* Joon, a salt lake; then ^*
Rasoon^h, another salt lake; and
last £1 Khort^i, and the lesser Joon,
which two produce natron, and are
much inferior in sise to the preceding.
There are also two ponds (birkeh),
the Birkeh e* Shookayfeh, and the
Birkeh e' Rumied, which contain
water the greater part of the year,
but are dry in summer ; and a few
other pools not worthy of notice, some
of which yield natron of indifferent
quality. In those lakes which con-
tain natron, or the subcarbonate, as
well as the muriate, of soda, the two
salts crystallise separately ; the latter
above, iu a layer of about 18 inches,
and the natron below, varying in
thickness, according to the form or
depth of the bed of the lake, the
thinnest being about 27 inches. All
the lakes contain salt, thou^ few
have natron ; but I could not hear
of any that yield sulphate of soda
(Glauber's Salts).

The water in the lakes varies much
in height at different seasons of the

year. They begin to increase about
the end of December, and continue
to rise till the early part of March,
when they gradually decrease, and in
May all the pools and even the two
larger Birkehs are perfectly dry. The
abundance of water in winter renders
them less salt than in the subsequent
months, and even the height of the
MelUhat diminishes greatly in sum-
mer, leaving the dry part covered with
an incrustation of muriate, or subcar-
bonatei of soda, according to the nature
of the salt they contain. The dif^
ference between the bed of the Bir-
kehs and of the salt and natron lakes
is, that tlie former, when the water
has evaporated, is mud, and the two
latter a firm incrustation ; and it is at
this time that the natron called SoU
tdnee is collected.

The natron consists of two kinds,
the white, and the SoUdnee ; the latter
taken from the bed of the lakes as the
water retires, and the former from
the low grounds that surround them,
which are not covered by water. Thia
is the best quality. It is prepared
for use at the village by first washing
and dissolving it in water, and then
exposing it to the sun in an open
court ; from which it is removed to
the oven, and placed over a fire in a
trough, till all the moisture is ex-
tracted. It is then put into a dry
place, and sent to the Nile for ex-
portation to £urope ; but the ScUante
is taken, in the state in which it is
found, direct to Cairo. In measuring
the specific gravity of the water, that
of the lakes containing natron and
salt is found to mark 35 keer4t (carats)
in summer, immediately before it dries
up ; in January and February, about
24 ; the well water of the village one,
and that of the Nile 0.

The Wadee Natr6on is not the only
district in which natron is produced.
It is found in the valley of £iletliyas,
now £1 K£b, where it crystallises on
the borders of some small ponds to
the eastward of the ancient town.
The shores of the lake Moeris are also

Egypt ROUTE 14. — CAIRO TO THE NATRON LAKES. 241

said to yield it, as well as " the vici-
nity of Alexandria, near the lake
Mareotis, and the Isthmus of Suez.'*
Some is also brought by the caravans
from Darfour ; and from specimens I
saw in the hands of the Jellabs, wliom
I met at the great Oasis, the latter
appears to be of very good quality.
It IS much sought to give a pungency
to snuff.

There are several springs of fresh
water in the Natron valley, the purest
of which are at the convents (or rather
monasteries) to the S. ; that of Dayr
Baram6os being slightly salt. The
water rises from and reposes on a bed
(^clay, which I found close to Zakeek,
and at the base of the hills to the west-
ward ; and I have no doubt, from
what I observecl here, and at the
Oases, that it filters beneath the moun-
tains that separate the V/adee Natro6n
from the Nile ; and, being carried
over tlie clay which constitutes the base
of the Libyan chain, finds an exit in
these low valleys, forming springs
of fresh water in places where the soil
is free from all saline matter, and salt
springs or ponds of natron when the
earth, through which it passes from
the clay to the surface, presents that
foreign substance deposited of old in
the neighbouring strata. The same
is tlie case in many parts of £gypt ;
and in support of this opinion I need
only state, that the water uf all the
salt wells becomes much sweeter
when a quantity has been quickly
taken out ; proving the water itself to
be originally fresh, and rendered salt
by contact with earth containing saline
matter.

It seems singular that the lakes
should rise so long after tlie high
Nile, a period of nearly three months ;
and this can only be explained by
the slowness of the water's passage
through the strata of the mountains
intervening between the river and this
distant valley ; which, judging from
the time the Nile water takes to ooxe
through the alluvial deposit of its banks
to the edge of the desert, frequently
Egypt,

not more than a mileor two off, appears
to be proportionate to the increase of
distance. The dip of the strata that
border the Natron valley, is towards
the north-east, whence it is that the
descents to it and the adjacent Wadce
Eargh are more rapid to the west than
to the east ; and this is consistent with
the lower level of the former valley.

The Wadee Natroon boasts a
very small population ; the village of
Zakeek and the four monasteries, con-
taining altogether not more than 277
inhabitants, of which the village, as
before stated, has 200, and the con-
vents the remaining 77 ; — Dayr
Suri&ni SO to 40, St. Macarius 22,
Amba Bishoi 13, and Dayr Bara-
moos 7. The inmates of all these
monasteries are Coptx, though Dayr
Bararo6os is said to be of Greek, as
the Suriani of Syrian, origin. They
ofiTer little to interest a stranger, and
are inferior in sixe and importance to
those of St. Antony and St. Paul, in
the eastern desert, to which they also
yield in point of antiquity. They
are, however, quite as well built ; and
some portions of them, particularly
the churches in the tower of St. Ma-
carius, are, perhaps, superior in point
of construction. Indeed, the slender
marble columns that adorn its upper
church are very elegant ; and many
of the arches in the lower part of the'
convent are far better than we should
expect to find in these secluded re-
gions.

Each community is governed by a
superior. " some ofthe monks are priests,
with the title of father ( Aboona), and
the rest lay brethren.

Some of the monasteries have a
collection of books, rather than a
library, composed of Arabic, Coptic,
and Syriac MSS., mostly relating to
the Church service and religious sub-
jects.

Mr. Tattam, on his visit to these
lAonasteries, brought away upwards
of fifty volumes ; among which was
a treatise of Eusebius, not previously
known, and on his return, in 1842, he

242

ROUTE 14. — CAIRO TO THE NATRON LAKES. Sect XL

obtained four times thAt numbei of
MSS., all indeed tliat were not umnI
by the monks.

Each monastery does or ought to
possess a ketab Hillemee, or vocabu-
lary, in which each Coptic word Is
placed opposite its equivalent in
Arabic ; not arranged aipliabetically,
but under various heads, as parts of
the human body, vegetables^ utensils,
&c., as well as the names of towns in
Egypt. These last have been of great
use in fixing the positions of many
ancient places. It is however to be
regretted that some of the names are
far from certain, owing to the ignor-
ant presumption of the copyists, who
have often introduced the name they
supposed the town to have had, with
or in lieu of that in the M& they
were employed to copy ; instances of
which I observed in the vocabulary
at Dayr Macarius, where Babylon is
said to be the same as On (the ancient
Heliopolis), and the Matareeh of the
Arabs.

The Natron convents or monasteries
are all surrounded by a lofty wall»
with an entrance on one side, so low
that you are obliged to stoop down on
entering ; and on the outside are two
large millstones, generally of gra-
nite, which in case of danger are
rolled together into the passage after
the door has been closed, in order
that the Arabs shall neither burn it
nor break it open ; tlie stones being
too heavy and fitting too closely to be
moved from without^ and intervening
between tlie enemy and the door.
Those who have rolled them into the
passage are afterwards drawn up by a
rope through a trap-door above ; and
the want of provisions soon obliges
the Arabs to raise the unprofitable
siege, which not having been pro-
voked by any outrage committed by
tlie monks, seldom leaves in the recol-
lection of the aggressors any rancorous
feelings ; and it rarely happens that
they illtreat those whom they happen
to meet on their way to the Nile.
Notwithstanding the lowoess of

fliese doorways, the cattle that turn
the water-wheels for irrigating the
gardens, and the mills for grinding
the com, are made to pass through on
their knees ; and even tbe oxen we
bad with us were subjected to this
operation, boms, legs, and tail being
in turns pulled, to force them through
the unaccommodating aperture ; fear
of the Arabs, who had a few days be-
fore carried off some cattle belonging
to Zakeek, having rendered this pre-
caution necessary.

As soon as the bell lias announced
the arrival of a stranger, proper in-
quiries and observations are made, to
ascertain that there is no danger in
opening the door for his reception;
and no Arabs are admitted, unless,
by forming his escorti they have some
one responsible for their conduct.
On entering, you turn to the right
and left, through a labyrinth of pas-
sages and small courts, and at last
arrive at the abode of the superior and
the principal monks. This part con-
sists of numerous small rooms, each
with a door serving as an entrance for
the inmate and his share of light, which
is fastened up during his absence at
prayers or other avocations with a
wooden lock, whose key might serve as
an ordinary bludgeon. In some parta
of the world the bearer of such an in-
strument about his person might run
a risk of an est, for carrying a dan.
gerous weapon ; and it is by no
means certain that an Oriental ink-
stand would not render him liable to
a similar accusation.

A garden with a few palms, some
olive, nebk ( Rhemnus Nabeca), and
other fruit trees, occupies the centre
of the principal court ; and here is
frequently one of the churches;-.
, for these monasteries contain more
j tluin one, and tlie tower or keep of
St. Macarius has no less than three
within it, one over the other; as if
additional services were required when
the danger was great, the tower be-
ing the last place of refuge, when tlie
entrance has been forc^l^ or tbe walla

Egypt ROtJTE 14. — cairo to the natron lakes.

243

scaled. Retreating to this, they pull
up the wooden drawbridge that se-
parates it from the rest of the build-
ing: a well of water and a supply of
provisions always deposited there, and
never allowed to decrease below a
certain quantity, secures them against
the risk of want of food ; and the
time occupied in the siege, ere the
Arabs could effect an entrance, would
always be sufficient to enable them to
remove every thing eatable, or other-
wise va]uiU>le, from below, and render
the occupation of the body of the
place totally unprofitable to the in-
truders.

Every civility is shown to the stranger
during his stay, which I experienced
both at Dayr Suri&ni and St. Maci^
rius, particularly from the superior of
the latf er ; and I have reason to be-
lieve that the others are equally hos-
pitable. The room allotted to a
stranger at Dayr Suri&ni is large and
well lighted ; but I recommend him
to remove the mats before he takes up
his abode there, otherwise he is not
likely to pass a comfortable night,
under the assaults of some hundreds
of bugs; and he will run a risk of
carrying away many scora in his bag-
gage, which may continue to torment
him, and people the houses of his fu-
ture hosts, unless he can spare a cou-
ple of hours in the morning to clear
bis things of these intruders. St
Macarius is free from this scourge ;
but of the other two I can say nothing,
not having passed the night either at
Baramo6s or Amba Bishoi.

The Dajrr Suri^ni was built by one
Honnes, a holy personage, whose tree
is still seen about a couple of miles to
the southward, near the ruins of two
other convents. It is supposed to re-
semble Noah*s ark in form, though in
no other respects ; for here, as at
other Coptic monasteries, the admis-
sion of women is strictly prohibited,
to the g^eat discomfiture of any ladies
who may happen to visit these regions.
But though stem and inflexible, like
other monks, respecting the admission

of women, and in refusing to all but
t}*e unmarried the privileges of a mo-
nastic life, they do not exclude a
widower, on his renouncing for ever
the thoughts of matrimony. The
rules of the Coptic church are even so
indulgent as to allow a priest, who
has not taken monastic vows, to marry
once ; but the death of this his only
wife condemns him to future celibacy,
though it should happen a few weeks
after the celebration of the marriage
rites. Like the Greeks, they adopt
the command in 1 Tim. iii. 2 — 12.

The title of the superior of a mo-
nastery is Gcnimos, He is next in
rank to a bishop. The bend of the
Coptic, like the Greek and other
eastern churches, is the patriarch, who
answera to the pope of Rome, and is
elected to this high office from among
the fathers of St. Antony, or some
other monastery. Next to him is the
mutr&n, who, appointed by the Egyp-
tian patriarch, is sent to Abyssinia to
superintend that offiiet of the Coptic
church. In former times, when the
patriarch lived in Alexandria, there
was a\nutrlin at Cairo; but his re-
moval to the capital has rendered this
office unnecessary ; and the only dig-
nitary now holding that title is thA
chief of the Abyssinian Christians;
who at his death is succeeded by ano-
ther from Cairo, sent in chains to his
see, as if to demonstrate with full
effect the truth of *< nolo epiwcopari."

Egypt, which once swarmed with
monks, and was not less prolific in
nuns, has now only seven monasteries,
and is entirely destitute of nunneries,
whose inmates might not perhaps feel
safe in a country in the hands of the
Moslems. These seven are the two
in the eastern desert of St Antony
and St. Paul, the four of tite Natron
valley, and one at Gebel Koskam, in
Upper Egypt. To these the name
monastery properly belongs ; and
convent may be confined to those
where women are admitted as well as
men, as in the numerous Dayrt on
the Nile. The Dayr el Adra oix
M 3

244

EOUTE 14. — CAIRO TO THE NATRON LAKES. Scct. 11*^

Gebel e' Tayr, those of Bibbeh, Boosh,
Negadeh, A boo Honnes, near Ami-
noe, tbree in the capital, and two at
Old Cairo, Amba Samoeel and Dayr
cl Hamnnim in the Fyoom, thone of
Alexandria, Girgeh, Abydus, £kh-
mim, Mellawee, Sook, Feesheh near
Menoof, "the red and white monas-
teries,'* that of Amba Shn6odeh, near
Soohdg, as well as others ijn different
parts of Egypt, no longer have the
character of monasteries, the priests
being seculars, and the inmates of
both sexes. They bear, however, the
name of monasteries^ and are looked
upon with peculiar respect ; the
churches are visited as possessing
peculiar sanctity, and one- called Sitte
Gamian, near Damietta, has the
honour of an annual pilgrimage,
which is attended by the devmit from
all parts of the country.

Tradition states their former num-
ber in Egypt and its deserts to have
been 366, a favourite amount in tra-
ditions of the country, which has been
given to the villages of the Fyoom,
as well as to the windows of the tem-
ple of Dendera.

llie district of Nitria, or Nitriotis,
is sometimes known as the Desert of
St. Macarius, whose monastery still
remains there, a short distance to the
S. of the Natron lakes, from which it
it is separated by a few low hills.
Here too are the ruins of three other
similar buildings, once the abode of
monks ; and about half a mile to the
£. are mounds of pottery, that indt-
cate the site of an ancient town.
The remains of Pagan date are rare
in this valley : even tlie small stone
ruin, 521 miles to the S- W. of Dayr
Suri&ni, is of Christian time ; and
it is difficult to fix the position of the
two towns of Nitriotis, the only an-
cient remains being the glass-house
of Zakeek, and the heaps of pottery
just mentioned. The former, per-
haps, marks the site of Nitria, and
tbe latter Sciatliis, whence this district
received the appellation of Sciathia,
or Sciatbica regio, in Coptic Shi^

Strabo says it contained tteo pita
(lakes) of nitre (natron), the inhabit-
ants worshipped Sarapis, and it was
the only district of Egypt where
sheep were sacrificed ; though Hero-
dotus tells us the Mendesians had
also the custom of immolating them
to the deity of their city.

The Coptic name of tlie town of
Nitria was Phanihosem, and the dis-
trict was called Pmam-pihMem.

Other ruined convents may be
seen about two miles to the S. of tbe
Dayr Suri^ni ; and the vestiges of a
few others may be traced here and
there in the Natron valley ; but it
would be difficult now to discover the
sites of the 50 mentioned by Gibbon,
or even half that number. The mo*
dern monks are little interested about
the ruined abodes of their prede-
cessors : they are ignorant even of
the history of their church ; and it
would be difficult to find any one to
point out the convent where the am-
bitious Cyril passed some years, under
the restraint of a monastic life.

The productions of the Wadee
Natron are few ; and from its dreary
appearance, it might be supposed to
boast of nothing but the salt and
natrcm, for which it is indebted to
its barrenness and its name. Two
other articles, however, of some
importance are grown there, and
exported thence to the Nile, — the
rushes {toamdr), and bulrushes (bSer^
dee), used for making the well-known
mats of Egypt, that tend so much
to the comfort of the Cairenes. Of
the former the best kind are made,
called Mendofte, from the town where
they are manufactured ; of the latter
an inferior quality, most commonly
used at Cairo, the Menoofee being
principally confined to the houses of
the rich. But it is not to the Natron
valley that tbe Men6ofee mats are
indebted for the best rushes ; those of
£1 Maghra or WMee e* Sooro^r (" the
valley of rushes") are greatly superior*
and are brought across the desert ex -
pressly for this manufacture. Wiidee

l^ypt. ROUTE 14. — CAmO TO THE NATRON LAKfiS, 245

el Maghra is on the road to S^ewah
from the Nile, and is three days
from the Natron lakes. The name
beerdee, or burdee, is also applied to
the papyrus ; but that of the Natron
lakes is a common bulrush, or
typha*

The aspect of the Natron valley is
no less gloomy from the sands that
have invaded it, than from the ch»*
racter of the few plants it produces.
No trees, no esculent vegetables, re-
lieve the monotony of the scene, or
reward the labour of him who at-
tempts to rear them : the palm, which
seems to belong to every district of
Egypt where water can be found, is
here a stunted bush ; and no attempt
has been successful to enable it
to attain the height or character of a
tree. The few that are found between
Zakeek and Dayr Baramo6s, and to
the east of Dayr Macarius, seem only
to rise above the earth to bear witness
to the barrenness of the salt and sandy
soil, which condemns them to asso-
ciate with its other stunted produc-
tions. These too, which are of the
most humble species common to
sandy districts, are smaller than in
otiier deserts: the tamarisk is even
rare here, and notliing appears to
flourish except the mesembrian-
themum and bulrushes. These last
grow both in the water, and at a
distance from the lakes, amidst the
sand-hills of the plain. In the water
they reach the height of 10 feet.

The animals that frequent this dis-
trict are the gazelle, buk kar el Wahsh
(" wild cow'*), or antelope defaua, the
jerboa, fox, and otliers common to
the Libyan desert; and some tra-
vellers mention the stag ;< though I
could not find any one who had seen
or even heard of it, either in the
Wadee Natro6n or the adjacent
valley. I do not, however, affirm
that it has not been seen there : the
sculptures of the ancient Egyptians
represent it as an animal of their
country, and the horns are sometimes
sold in the streets of Cairo, as rarities

brought by the Arabs, and strangelymis
called by the sellers ** fishes* bones.*'

Water-fowl abound ; ducks are in
great numbers, and water-hens, jacki
snipes, sandpipers, and other birds
common to the lakes and ponds of
Egypt, frequent the shores of the
Natron lakes.

The length of the W&dee Natro6a
is about 22 miles, its breadth, reckon-
ing from the slope of the low hills
that surround it, 5\ in the broadest
part ; though the actual level plain is
not more than two, and is here and
there studded with isolated hills, and
banks of rock covered with sand. Tlie
ascent from it towards the Babr el
Fargh is very gradual, but the descent
to this last is rapid, more so even than
on the eastern side of tlie Natron val-
ley ; the Bahr el Fargh is, however,
less deep than its Eastern neighbour,
though it surpasses it both in length
and breadth. The hills that separate
the two valleys, as well as the low banks
that form the undulating ground of
the Bahr el Fargh, are covered with
rounded silicious pebbles, with here
and there pieces of petrified wood
and coarse gritstone, lying amidst
loose sand, the rocks below being
a coarse sandstone. These agatiscd
woods are mostly palms, a knotted
wood, apparently of a thorny kind,
and a jointed stem resembling a cane,
or a solid bamboo, precisely the
same that are found on the opposite
side of the Nile,, at the back of the
Mokuttum range behind Cairo. The
pebbles and woods have probably
been once imbedded in a friable layer
of sandstone, which, having been de-
composed and carried otf by the wind,
has left these heavier bodies upon the
surface of the stratum next beneath it;
while its lighter particles have con-
tributed not a little to increase the
quantity of sand in these districts :
and, indeed, the rock immediately
below is of a texture little more com-
pact than that which I suppose to
have been thus removed.

Tux BAHa EL Faxgr. ^The
M S

246

ROUTE 15. — CAIRO TO OASIS OF AMHON. Sect. 11.

JBahr el Fargh, or, as it is sometimes
called, Bahr'bda''ma, runs towards the
Widee e* Soomir (or £1 Maghra), on
the road to S4ewah on one side, and
to the back of the mountains on the
west of the Birket el Koru in the
F^oom on the other ; another branch
diverging towards the east, and com-
municating with the valley of the
Nile a little below Abooroifeh, about
five or six miles nortli of the pyramids
of Geezeh. The bills that border it
are of irregular form, its bed is varied
by numerous elevated ridges, and
depriving it of all the character of
a river, which many suppose it
originally to have been. Some have
even claimed it for the Nile, as an old
bed of that river, seeing in the petrified
wood within its bed and on the adja*
cent hills the remains of boats that
navigated this ancient channel. But
instances of similar hollow valleys are
not wanting in the Oases and other
parts of the limestone regions, both
in the western and eastern deserts.

ROUTE 15.

CAIRO TO THK SXEWAH, 0% OASIS OP
AMMON.

Days.

Cairo, by water, to Ter&neh. ( See

Route 6. Section I. and last

Route) .... I
Natron Valley (good water) 37

miles .... 1

El Mdghra, or Wddee e' Soomir

(brackish water) - * ^1

£1 Ebah, or Libba (salt water) 1

£1 Gara (good water) - • S

' Town of S4ewah (good water) . 3

Days 10}

From £1 £bah the salt water is
taken to Alexandria, and used as
medicine.

The most usual and perhaps the
best route to the Oasis of Ammon is
from Cairo by Tcr^neh (as above) ;
*«ut there is one from Alexandria by

Baratoon ; another from Terinch by
Baratoon ; and a third from the
Fy6om by the Little Oasis.

a. The road from Alexandria goes
by the sea-coast as far as Baratoon,
the ancient Parstonium, and then
turns south to the S^wah. It was
the road taken by Alexander. Browne
went by it in 1792, and reached
S^wah in 15 days. At Baratoon
are some ruins of Paretonium, which
Strabo describes as a city, with a
large port, measuring 40 stadia across.
By some it was called Ammonia.

b. That from Terineh goes to
HamroiLm, and thence by Bsratoon
to the S6ewah ; but it is a long round,
and there is no good water except at
Hamm^m.

c. For the road from the Fy6ora
to the Little Oasis, ler Route 18.

From that Oasis to the S^wah,
they reckon 7 days, making only a
total of 10 days from the Fyo6in ; but
the journey from the Nile may be caU
culated at 1 1 J or 12 days, which is the
distance given by Pliny from Mem-
phis. In going from £1 Kasr, or from
Bowitti in the Little Oasis, they
reckon 4 days to Suttra, a small
irrigated spot with salt water, but
without any palms ; then one day
and a half to Ar'rag, where are palms
and springs of good water; to the
north of which, and separated from it
by a hill, is Bahrayn, a valley with
palms and water. This is out of the
road. From Ar'rag to Mcrtesek is
one day. It has a few palms, and
water under the sand. ^Thence to
S4ewah is one day.

The Arabic name of the " Oasis
of Amnum,** Siwakt or See-wah, is
doubtless taken from the ancient
Egyptian. Jt consists of two parts,
the eastern and western district ; the
former the most fertile, and abound-
ing in date trees. According to
Browne, it is 6 miles in length, and
from 4^ to 5 in breadth ; but from the
irregular form of all the»e valleys it
is difficult to fix the exact sise of any
one of them $ and this measurement

Egypt RO€TB 15 CAIRO TO OASIS OF AMHON.

247

of 6 miles can only include the eastern
part about the town of Stwah. Be-
tween 2 and 3 miles to the east of
S^wah is the temple of Amun, now
called Om Baydah, <* mother white ; '*
and near it is what is supposed to be
the fountain of the Sun, which mea-
sures about 80 feet by 5$^ and is form-
ed by springs. The water appears to
be warmer in the night than the day,
and is 12^ heavier in speci6c gra-
vity than that of the Nile.

The ruins at Om Baydah are not
of very great citent, but sufficient
remains to show the style of building;
and many of the sculptures still re-
main.

Amun-Neph, or Amun, with the
attributes of the ram-headed god, as
might be expected, is the principal
deity. The figures of other divinities
are also preserved, and the many
hieroglyphics that remain on the
walls, and fallen stones, make us re-
gret that these records of so remark-
able a monument should not have
been all copied. These remains, in
a place possessing such hi*ttorical as.
sociations as the '* Oasis of Aramon,"
certainly offer as great an interest as
any in Egypt ; and, judging from the
destruction of temples in other parts
of the country, we can scarcely hope
for the continued preservation of
these ruins. Baron Minutoli has
given many curious details and views
of this temple, which has since been
visited and described by Caillaud and
other travellers; and we may hope
that M. Linant will add still more to
our information on the subject of
this Oasis.

Near the temple is the supposed
fountain of the Sun above mentioned.

Little less than three quarters of a
mile from Om Baydah, and about
2 miles £. S. E. by E., from the
town of S^ewah, is a hill called Dar
Aboo Bere6k, in which arc some
ancient excavations, apparently tombs,
and a little higher up the hill are
some Greek inscriptions on the rock.

Kasr Gashast, or Gasham, to the

east of S^wah, on the way to Zay-
toon, is a ruined temple of Roman
time ; and at Zaytoon, which is about
8 miles on the road from S^ewah to
Gara, are the remains of two temples,
and other buildings of Roman-
Egyptian date.

Between Zaytoon and Gara, at
Miwe, is a Roman temple in a marsh,
and at Gara are some tombs without
inscriptions.

There are many other sepulchral
excavations in the rock in the vicinity
of S^ewah ; and Gebel el Mot, or
« the hill of death,*' about three
quarters of a mile from that town,
contains numerous tombs, one of
which appears to be of an Egyptian
age.

Kasr Room, '< the Greek *' {or
Roman) palace, is a small Doric
temple of Roman time, once ^r-
rounded by a sacred enclosure. To
the north are some tombs in the face
of the hill, below which are the re-
mains of brick arches ; and near the
village the vestiges of an ancient
town. It is about 5 miles to the
westward of S^ewah, and a short dis-
tance to the northward of El Ka-
m^seh ; where there are other tombs,
and the remains of a stone edifice.
The ruins of Amoodayn, <*the two
columns,'* are a little more than half
a mile to the south-west of El Ka-
myseh. They are of little import-
ance and of late time. There are
also some ruins at Gharb Amun,
in the western district, on the way to
the lake, called Birket Arashleh,
Though the lake has no ruins on its
banks, it is remarkable for the re-
verence, or air of mystery, with which ,
it is treated by the modem inha-
bitants of the Oasis. In it is an
island, to which, till lately, access was
strictly forbidden to all strangers;
and the credulous tried to persuade
others, as well as themselves, that the
sword, crown, and seal of Solomon
were preserved there as a charm for
the protection of the Oasis. M.
Linaut assured me it contained

M 4

248

ROUTE 15. — CAIRO TO OASIS OF AXMON. Sect II.

nothing, which is confirmed by M.
Drovettiy and others who have visited
it.

The productions of the S^wah are
very similar to tho&e of the Little
Oasis, but the dates are of very su-
perior quality, and highly esteemed.
They are of six kinds: 1. Tlie Sol-
tanee; 2. The Saidee; 3. The Fr&.
hee; 4. The Kaibee; 5. llie Gha-
zalee ; 6. The Roghm — Ghas&lee.
The Frihee are the most esteenied.
They are a small white date, wnen
dry, and in 1824 they sold at from 5
to 8 dollars n camel load of 80 sdy
or roob (3^ ardeb), in the S^ewah, and
in Alexandria at from 1 5 to 20.

Tiie people of S^cwah are hos-
pitable, but suspicious and savage in
their habits and feelings. Strict in
the outward forms of religion, even
beyond those of the Little Oasis, they
are intolerant and bigoted in the ex-
treme ; and like all people who make
a great outward display of religion,
are more particular about the observ-
ance of a mere form, or the exact
hour of prayer, than the life of a
human being.

They have a form of government
as well as a language peculiar to
themselves, which is in the hands of
several shekhs, some of whom hold
the office for life, and others for 10
years. They are called elders or
senators, and are always consulted by
the shekhs of the villages on all matters
of importance. They dispense justice,
and maintain order, in the province ;
and the armed population is bound
to obey their commands for the de-
fence of the town and villages against
the Arabs or other enemies.

The Bayt-d-maly "house of pro-
perty," is a depot of all property of
persons dying without heirs, of fines
levied for various offences against the
state, as not going to prayers at the
stated times, and other crimes and
misdemeanors. The sums thus col-
lected are employed in charitable pur-
poses, repairing mosks, entertaining

strangers, or in whatever manner the
Diwan may think proper.

They have a curious custom in re*
ceiving strangers : as soon as any one
arrives, the shekh el Khabbar, " shekh
of the news,*' presents himself, and
after the usual tokens oi welcome,
proceeds to question him respecting
any sort of intelligence he may be able
to give. As soon as it has been ob*
tained from him, the shekh relates it
all to the people ; and so tenacious
is he of his privilege, that even if
they had all heard it at the time from
the mouth of the stranger, they are
obliged to listen to it again from this
authorised reporter.

They understand Arabic ; but have
a peculiar language of their own, of
which a native gave me the follow*
ing words : —

Tegmirt, a horse.

Dalghriimt, camel.

Zeetan, donkey.

Shiha, goat

Ragdwen, dates.

Esdin, wheat.

Tineefayn, lentils.

Roos (Arabic), rice.
Thoiigh the shekhs pretend to great
authority over the people, they are
unable to prevent numerous feuds
and quarrels that take place between
different villages, and even between
two gtru (families) in the same town.
These generally lead to an appeal to
arms, and fierce encounters eusue,
often causing the death of many per-
sons on both sides, until stopped
by the interference of the fekke^s
(priests). Each party then buries its
dead, and open war is deferred till
further notice.

The town of S^ewah is divided into
an upper and lower district. It is
defended by a citadel, built on a rock,
and surrounded by strong walls, — a
perfect protection against tlie Arabs,
and formidable even to better armed
assailants. The streets are irregular
and narrow, and, from the height of
the houses, unusually dark; and

JEgypU

ROUTE 16. — CAIKO TO THE FYOOiT.

249

some are covered with arches, over
which part of the dwelling-rooms are
built.

Married people alone are allowed to
inhabit the upper town, and there no
strangers are admitted. Nor is a
native bachelor tolerated there : he is
obliged to live in the lower town, and
as thought unworthy to reside in the
same quarter as his married friends
until he has taken a wife.

He then returns to the family
house, and builds a suite of rooms
above his father's ; over his again, the
second married son establishes him-
self, and the stories increase in pro
portion to the size of the family. This
suflSces to account for the height of
many of the houses at ^S^ewah. A
similar regulation seems to have been
observed in ancient times; and Q.
Cunius says the first circuit contains
the old palace of the kings (shekhs) ;
in the next are tlieir wives and chil-
dren, as well as the oracle of the god ;
and the last is thojibode of the guards
and soldiery.

The S^wah was first brought
under the rule of Mohammed Ali,
and attached to Egypt, in 1820. It
was then invaded and taken by Has*
san Bey Shamashirgee, who has ever
since received the revenues, as well
as those of the Little Oasis and
Fariifreh, which he also annexed to
Egypt £* Dakhleh belongs to Ibra-
him Pasha, and the Great Oasis pays
its taxes to the government treasury.
Restless and dissatisfied wi th the loss
of their independence, the people of
S^ewah have since that time more
than once rejected the authority of
the Turks, and declared open re-
bellion. But their attempts to re-
cover their freedom in 1829 and 1835
were soon frustrated by the presence
of Hassan Bey with tome Turkish
troops, a body of Arabs, and a few
^uns ; and a later rebellion has proved
their inability to rescue their lands
from the grasp of Egypt.

The principal commerce and source

of revenue, as already stated, is de-
rived from datte. The people hav^
few manufactures beyond those things
required for their own use ; but their
skill in making wicker baskets ought
not to pass unnoticed, in which they
far excel the people of the other
Oases.

As I did not visit the S^ewah
I am indebted to other travellers
for Uie foregoing short notice of iti
and to some Seewee people I met
at the little Oasis for the peculiar
customs I have mentioned ; to which
I will only add this advice to travel-
lers who go to the Seewah, that
they provide themselves beforehand,
with letters and good guides.

ROUTE 16.

CAlaO, BY LAND, TO THE PTo6>f.'

a. Roads to the Fyoom. b. Dis-
tances from Cairo to Medeeneh,
Tomeeh, Seno^ris Biihmoo, Medee-
neh. c. Excursion from Medeeneh
to Biggig, Obelisk, d. Excursion to
the Lake Moeris. e. To Kasr Kha-
roon. f. Gherek.

a. Many roads lead from the val-
ley of the Nile to the Fyo6m, which
is only separated from it by the low
range of the Libyan hills. Some go
from the neighbourhood of the pyra-
mids, and others from El K«ifr, (near
Dashoor), from Kafr-el-Iy&t ( Aiat),
from Ogayt, from Benisooef, and from
nearly every place between Kerdassy
and Behnesa. Tiie be<i»t roads are
from Cairo by £1 Kafr, and from
Benisooef; and as the most convenient
way of visiting the Fyo6m is to go from
Cairo, and send up your boat to Beni-
sooef and join it there, I shall give
the route by £1 Kafr to Medeeneh,.
and from Medeeneh to Benisooef.
Those who merely wish to make a
rapid excursion to the Fyo6m may go
from Benisooef, and back again.

250

ROUTE 16. — CAIRO TO THE FYOOH.

Sect. IL

b, DISTANCES.

Cairo (crossing tlie Nile at
Geezeh, by Shebrement
and Abooseer) to Sakkira
Dashoor . . • -
El Kafr . - - -
Tono^eh • - - -
Senooris . - - -
Bialimoo . . . -
Medeeneh ...

Cairo to Medeeneh «

14
Si

251

6
65\

Afler passing Shebrement you fol-
low the edge of the desert, leaving
the pyramids of Abooseer, Sakkara,
and Dashoor on the right. £1 Kafr
is (he best place to sleep at. A wealthy
shekh lives there, called £1 Khd>e^ee,
his ancestor having been the guide
(khebeer) to Sultan Selim, when
he conquered £gypt. Next morn-
ing you cross the low Libyan
hills to Tomeeh. On the east side
of that town is a ravine called El
Botts, SI 4 feet broad, dyked across
by a strong wall, which retains a
large body of water above it to the
south, for the purposes of irrigation.
Many dykes existed there before,
all successively broken down by the
weight of the water,' the ruins of
which are seen in the ravine below.
Some are apparently of Roman time.
About a mile from Tom^eh to the
south on the kank of this reservoir, is
Kom e* Toob, "the mount of brick."
It has no ruins except of crude brick
walh.

At Kafr Makfoot, 4 miles from
Tom^eh, on the road to Seno6ris, are
some fragments of granite columns,
cut into mortars and millstones by
the Arabs, amidst whose deserted
huts they lie.

SenodrtB occupies the site of an
ancient town, but has no ruins.

Near Biahmoo are some curious
stone ruins. They consist of two
buildings, distant from each other 81
imces, measuring 45 in breadth, and
about 60 in length, the southern end
of boA being destroyed.

They stand nearly due N. and S.,

and at the centre of the £. and W.
face is a doorway. In the middle of
each is an irregular mass of masonry
about 10 paces square, and about 20
feet high, having ten tiers of stone
remaining in the highest part; and
at the north-east corner of the eastern
building the outer wall is entire, and
presents a sloping pyramidal face,
having an angle of 67^. Some have
suppMed them to be pyramids and
have seen in them tlie two mentioned
by Herodotus.

Much of the large Cyperus dives,
called by the people Kush (Gush) or
Dees, is grown about Biahmoo, as in
many other parts of the Fyo6m, for
making coarse mats and baskets. I
believe it is the largest species known
in Egypt, growing to the height of 5
or 6 feet, and has sometimes been
mistaken for the papyrus.

( At Medeendi, called also Medeenet
el Fyoam, or Medeenct el F&res, are the
mounds of Arsinoe, formerly Crocodi-
lopolis, but no remains of buildings;
and the only variety to the desolate
heaps of rubbish are a gunpowder ma-
nufactory, a gibbet, and some Arab
tombs, all strangely connected with
death, on a desolate spot, once the site
of a populous city. I looked in vain in
some of the mosks at Medeeneh for re«
mains of sculpture or inscriptions : s
few columns of Roman time were all
they contained; but in one of the
streets I saw a block with rich Ara-
besque scrolls, once belonging to some
Roman monument, and over it the
acanthus leaves of Corinthian pi lasters.
On a red granite column, now the
threshold of a door, were two lines of
hieroglyphics, containing the name
of a town, and part of an inscription
that probably extended around the
shaft.

Medeeneh is a town of some im-
portance, and the residence of the
governor or niztss. It has the usual
baa^rs of Egyptian provincial towns,
caravansarais, and baths, with a mar-
ket-day every Sunday. Leo Africa-
nus says, « the ancient city was built

Egypt.

ROUTE 16. — MEDEENEH — BIGGIG.

251

by one of the Pharaohs, on an ele-
vated spot near a small canal from the
Nile, at the time of the Exodus of the
Jews, after he had aflSicted them with
the drudgery of hewing stones and
other laborious employments.*' Here,
too, they pretend "the body of Joseph,
the son of Israel, was buried,** which
was afterwards removed by the Jews at
their departure ; and the surrounding
country is famed for tlie abundance
of its fruit and olives ; though these
last are only fit for eating, and useless
for their oil. Wansleb says the Copts
still call the city Arsinoc, in their
books, and relates a strange tradi-
tion of its having been burnt by a
besieging enemy, who tied torches
to the tails of cats, and drove them
into the town. This is evidently
an Arab tale, taken from Samson*s
foxes.

The whole extent of the cultivable
part of the F^oom measures about 23
miles north and south, and 28 east
and west, which last was in former
times extended to upwards of 40, in
that part (from Kasr Kharoon to
Tom^eh), where it has the greatest
breadth. Its length north and
south, if measured to the other side of
the lake, is increased to 32 miles.
Tlie Fyoom is governed by a k^shef,
or o&zer, within the jurisdiction of the
bey or modeer of Benisooef, who,
like all the other provincial chiefs', is
imder the governor of Upper Kgypt,
residing at Osioot.

Strabo says the Arsinoite nome ex-
celled all others in appearance, in
goodness, and in condition. It was
the only place where the olive tree
arrived at any size, or bore good
fruit, except the gardens of Alexan-
dria. That nome, too, produced a
great quantity of wine, as well as
com, vegetables, and plants of all
kinds. In Coptic it is called Piom,
which was probably derived from
Piomi, '* the cultivated land.**
Though its merits have been greatly
exaggerated, it is still superior to other
parts of Egypt from the state of its

gardens, and the variety of its pro-
ductions ; since, in addition to com,
cotton, and the usual cultivated
plants, it abounds in roses, apricots,
figs, grapes, olives, and several other
fruits, which grow there in greater
perfection and abundance than in the
valley of the Nile ; and the rose-
water used in Cairo comes from the
neighbourhood of Medeeneh.

C« BZCUB8ION8 PROM MKDUKBH.

Near Biggig, about 2 miles to the
S.S.W. of Medeeneh, is ai\ obelisk of
the time of Osirtasen, first erected like
that of Heliopolis, about the time of
Joseph's arrival in Egypt. It has
been thrown down, and broken in
two parts; one about 26^ feet, the
other 16 feet 3 inches long. One
face and two sides are only visible ;
and few hieroglyphics remain on the
lower part, llie mean breadth of
the face is 5 feet 2 inches, or 6 feet
9\ inches at the lower end, and the
sides are about 4 feet in width. At
the upper part of the face are five
compartments, one over the other;
in each of which are two figures of
king Osirtasen oflering to two deities.
Below are columns of hieroglyphics,
many of which are quite illegible.
Tlie other face is under the ground.
On each of the two sides is a single
column of hieroglyphics, containing
tlie name of the king, who on one is
said to be beloved by Pthah, on the
other by Mandoo ; evidently the two
principal deities of the place. On
the summit of the obelisk a groove
has been cut, doubtless to hold some
ornament, as that of Heliopolis;
though this of Biggig differs from it,
and from other obelisks, in its apex
being round, and not pointed. The
people of tlie country look upon these
fragments with the same superstitious
feeling as the stones of the temple at
Panopolis, and some other places;
and the women recite the Fat'ha over
tliem in the hope of a numerous off-
spring.

252

ROUTE 16. — CAIRO TO THE FYOOM.

Sect. IL

d. LAKE XCERIS OR BXRKCT KL KORK.

The best road to the Birketel Korn
is by Senhoor, whicli is 1 1 miles from
Medeeneh, snd 6 from the lake. At
Senhoor are the exten&ive mounds of
a large town, but without any ruins.
By applying to the shckh of Senhoor,
A boat may be obtained for crossing
the lake. The ruins near tiie lake
are at Kom Weseem to the eastward,
at Dimdy or Nerba to the north, and
at Kasr Kharoon to the south-west.
There are also a few remains on the
shore itself, particularly at two places
called £1 Hamro4m,or "the Baths.'*

The lake Is about 35 miles long,
and a little more than 7 broad in the
widest part, and has received its
name, Birket el Korn, *< the lake of
of the horn,*' from its form, which is
broad at the eastern end, and curves
to a point at its opposite extremity.
Towards the middle is an island,
called Gezeeret el Korn, in which
report has incorrectly spoken of ruins.
For though, from its numerous fis-
sures, the rocky table hill that rises
in the centre has the appearance of a
building at a distance, this is dis-
proved by closer examination, and I
found nothing there but a few bricks.
What appeared most unaccountable
in this island was the existence of
homed snakes, one of which I killed
near the shore.

The lake is of little depth, and
though I sounded in several places I
found what is considered the deepest
part to be only 28J feet. The water
is brackish, and even salt, particularly
in summer, before the inundation has
poured into it a supply of fresh water.
It is partly fed by this, and partly by
«prings, which are probably derived
from filtrations from the Nife, over a
bed of clay. The shores are barren,
and at the N. W. comer the hills ap-
proach to within the distance of a
mile. If the reservoir discovered by
M. Linant be the artificial lake men-
tioned by Herodotus, Pliny, and
Suabo, the Birket el Kom still pos-

sesses a claim to the name of Lake
Moeris, as is shown by Herodotus
saying that it " makes a bend to the
westward, and runs inland along the
mountains above Memphis, emptying
itself, according to the statement of
the natives, into the Syrtis of Libya
by an underground channel." It will
also prove that Herodotus has united
in his description the canal, and the
natural, as well as the artificial lake.
Pliny too in one place calls the Lake
Moeris a large canal, and, in another,
speaks of it as " having been between
the Arsino'ite and Memphite noroes,
250 Roman miles in circumference,
or, according to Mutianus, 450, and
50 paces deep, made by order of king
Mcsris, distant 70 miles from Mem*
phis." His expression «/atf,'* seems
to imply that it no longer existed ia
his time ; and if so, he must have had
in view a different lake from the
modem Birket el Kom. The same
remark applies to Strabo, who places
the lake much more to the S. E. ;
and from his mention of two mouths
of the canal that communicated with
the lake, one of which was used dur-
ing the low Nile, for letting off* the
water wanted for irrigation, it is evi*
dent he could not have had in view
the present Birket el Korn. Strabo's
account of two mouths of the canal,
which ran by the Heracleopolite
nome on the right, towards Libya
(i. e. on the western side of it), to the
Arsino'ite, so that the canal had a
double mouth, and enclosed between
its two channels a portion of the
island, in which the Heracleopolite
nome stood, evidently alludes to two
channels or canals from the Nile, that
took the water into tlie Arsino'ite nome
to feed the lake. One of them, I
imagine, left the Nile some distance
to the south, and ran diagonally along
the Libyan hills, where the Bahr
Yoosef still flows ; and the other left
it much lower down to the eastward
of the Fyo6m, — as an auxiliary canal
still does, in the neighbourhood of
Benisooef. It was probably at the

Egypt

ROUTE 16, — RUINS OF DIMAT.

2o3

union of these two branches that the
aluices for irrigating the Arsinoite
nome were fixed ; and the northern
was the only one opened during tlie
low Nile.

At all events, the account of the
water returning from the lake to the
Nile, on the retiring of the inunda-
tion, is totally inapplicable to the
Birket el Kom, the level of its sur-
face being about 120 feet lower than
the bank of the river at Benisooef ;
^ which, making every allowance for i
the rise of the bed of the Nile, and i
the proportionate elevation of its
banks, could never have been on a
level, even in Herodotus*8 time, with
that lake; and consequently no re-
turn of the water could have taken
place from it to the Nile. And that
the surface of the lake is about the
same now as formerly is evident,
from our finding ruins on its shores
at the water's edge ; and its acciden-
tal and temporary rise, which hap-
pened some years ago, was merely
owing to the bursting of the great
dyke at Tom^'h.

The Bathen of D'Anville is purely
imaginary.

The ruins of Kam WeuSm or Kom
Wtiheem-el-Haggar, are little more
than 5 miles from the eastern end of
the lake, and 4 from Tom^eb, close
to the road leading to the pyramids.
They consist of extensive mounds,
and below them are remains of crude
brick houses on stone substructions,
amidst which may be traced the di-
rection of the streets of a town. On
the mounds the remains seem to be
chiefly, if not entirely, of tombs, in
some of which animals were buried.
I observed a few granite blocks, and
others of a compact shell limestone.
Some of the former had been cut
into millstones. I also found frag-
ments of glass, and Ptolemaic coins
badly preserved, which, together with
an arched room, prove these ruins to
be of late time. Beyond the town to
the north-east are numerous large
round blocks of stone, extending to a

great distance along the plain, which
has given the epithet El Haggar to the
place ; but they are not hewn stone* and
have not belonged to any monument

At El Hammdm, by the water's
edge, at this end of the lake, are the
remains of <* hatha,** and a few other
ruins of no great interest, broken am-
phors, glass, and other fiagments.
A little above was the town to which
they belonged.

There is another place called *< the
baths,'* with still fewer remains of
burnt brick, on the south side of the
lake ; and to the east of this, at the
projecting headland below Shekh Abd
el Kadee, are a few more vestiges of
brickwork. The tomb of the Shekh
also stands on the site of an old town,
on the way from Senhoor to the Lake.

Nearly opposite these southern
** baths** are the ruins of Dim6y or
Nerba, a large town, distant about 2
miles from the lake.

On the way from the usual place
of landing, below Dim&y, you pass
several large blocks resembling broken
columns, but which are natural, as at
'Kom Wese^m.

A raised, paved dromo$ leading di*
rect through its centre, to an elevated
platform and sacred enclosure, forms
the main street, about 1290 feet in
length, once ornamented at the upper
end with the figures of lion$, from
which the place has received the name
of Dimdy (or Dimeh) e* Saba. This
remarkable street, which recalls tho
paved approach to the temple of Bu-
bastis, the lions, and the remains of
stone buildings, prove the town to
have been of far greater consequence
than Kom Wese^m. The principal
edifice, which is partly of stone, stands
at the upper end of the street, and
was doubtless a temple: it measures
about 109 feet by 67, and is divided
into several apartments, the whole
surrounded by an extensive circuit of
crude brick, 370 feet by 270. An
avenue of lions was before the en-
trance of this sacred enclosure (or te-
fnenoa), 87 feet in length, connecting

254

ROUTE 16. — CAIRO TO THE FTOOM.

Sect.IL

it with one of those square open plat-
forms, ornamented with columns, so
often found before the temples of the
Tbebaid ; and this avenue formed a
continuation of the main street. The
total dimensions of the area occupied
by the town was about 1730 feet
by 1000, but the extent of its walls
is not easily traced, amidst the heaps
of sand that have accumulated over
them ; and the whole is in a very
dilapidated state.

Though the relative latitudes of
Bacchis and Dionysias, given by
Ptolemy, do not allow the former to
have been at Dim^y, it is not impro-
bable that it stood there; and it is
evident that the position be assigns
to Dionysias, S9° O', cannot suit any
place in the Arsinolte nome. Not-
withstanding the latitude he gives it,
and its reputed longitude due south
of Bacchis, Dionysias seems to have
stood at the Kasr el Kharo6n, near
the south-west corner of the lake, if
he is correct in placing those towns
** near the Lake Moeris.** Were it
not for this expression, we might
suppose Dionysias to have been
one of the ruined towns near £1
Gh^rek; and Har&b-t e' Nish&n
would suit Ptolemy*s longitude in
reference to Bacchis or Dimiy. At
all events, the ruins at Kasr el Kha-
ro6n are the most important, as well
as the best preserved, of any in the
Fyo6m : a place of so much conse-
quence could not have been omitted ;
and the authority of D*Anville sup-
ports itn claim to the site of Diony-
sias. He places Bacchis or Banchis
near the east end of the lake at Kom
Wese^m.

C. KASa KHAROOW.

The Kasr Kharoon (or Katr El Kha»
fo(m)may be visited from the lake ; but
the best way is to go from Medeeneh
to Nealeh, distant about 14 miles, and
thence to Kasr Kharoon, a ride of
SI miles. The principal building to
which the name of Kasr Kharoon pro-
periy belongs, is airEgyptian temple,

measuring 94 feet by 63, and 46 in
height, preceded by a court about 35
feet in depth. It contains 14 cham-
bers and S staircases on the ground-
floor, besides a long passage on
either side of the adytum, whose end
wall is divided into three narrow
cells. The whole is of hewn stone,
and a very good style of masonry.
It appears to be of Roman date; and
in the upper story is a vaulted stair-
case. Pococke has erroneously sup-
posed this to be the Labyrinth, with
which it agrees neither in dimensions,
distribution, nor position.

Three hundred and eighty paces
(about 996 feet) in front of the temple
is a square stone ruin, that probably
formed the entrance of its dromoM g
and near it is another small building
of similar materials. One hundred
and thirty paces to the south-east is a
Roman temple of brick, stuccoed,
about 1 8 feet square, on a stone plat-
form, the outer face of its walls or*
namented with pilasters and half
columns. In form, size, and appear-
ance, it resembles two buildings near
Rome, one called the temple of Re-
diculus, and the other a supposed
tomb, outside the Porta Pia. The
roof is arched, and the door in front
opens upon a small area, part of the
platform upon wbidi it stands ; and
the principal difl^erence between this
and tlie above-mentioned buildings
is, that here half-columns are substi-
tuted at the side walls for pilasters^
and it has a side-door. Other ves'
tiges of ruins are scattered over an
extent of about 900 by 400 paces, or
about 2334 by 1050 feet ; and at the
western extremity of this space, 350
paces behind the temple, are the re-
mains of an arch, partly of stone, and
partly of crude brick, whose northern
face looks towards the lake, and the
other towards a small crude brick
ruin. Near the arch is a stone re-
sembling a stool, or an altar, also of
Roman time.

It is not alone by the situation of
this town that the former extent of

Egypt.

BOUTE 16. — KASB KHABOON — GiIeCEK.

255

the cultivated land of the Areinolte ^
nomc is attested, but by the traces of
gardens and vineyards which are
met with on all sides of the Kasr
Kharoon, whose roots now supply
the Arabs with fuel when passing
the night there.

To the north-east, on the shore of
Birket el Korn, are Testiges of ma-
sonry, perhaps of the port (if it de-
serves tlie name) of this town; and
at the extreme point of the lake is a
jnound, or small hill, upon which I
found an engraved cornelian seal,
and some other relics of Roman time.
To the north, about twelve miles
from the lake, is a lofty range of
Hme^one mountains, and behind
them is the ravine that joins, and
forms part of, the Bahr el Fargh, to
the west of the Natron Lakes.

Returning to N^sleh, a little to the
south of the road from the Kasr Kha-
roon to the Kasr el Ben^t, you pass
a stone wall, the traces of vineyards,
and the channels of old canals, and a
little farther (on the direct road to
N^sleh), much pottery, and some
tombs. Kasr el Benit, <* the palace
of the girls," is a small crude brick
ruin, of which the plans of three
rooms only can be traced ; the whole
measuring SO paces by 10. Near it
is the site of an old town, with much
broken pottery, briclcs, and other
fragments. One mile and a half to
the south are the mounds of Here^t,
presenting the remains of brickwork,
but no ruins; and at the same dis-
tance beyond them is a stone wall,
near the large ravine or canal called
ElWadee (*< the valley**). About
1| mile below N^ileh are other
mounds, called Watf^li, and the
tomb of Shekh Abd el Bin. In the
ravine itself are the remains of a wall,
partly brick, partly stone, which is
said to have been once used to re-
tain the water, like that of Tom^eh,
where there is a similar deep broad
channel, and where the large reservoir
of water, kept up by the dyke, has pro-
bably been made in imitation of the

••

old artificial Lake Moeris. At N£z-
leh the ravine, from bank to bank»
measures 673 feet, and 100 in depth
from the top of the bank to the level
of the water in the channel at the
centre, which is 120 feet broad.

To. the west of N^leh are the sites
of two ancient towns, called Harib
-t-el Yahood, ** the ruins of the Jews,
and £1 Hamm&m, <* the baths.
Neither of them present any but
crude brick remains, and the former
was evidently inhabited till within a
few years by Moslems, whose mud
houses still remain. Medeenet Hati,
Medeenet Madi, and HaWib-t-e* Ni-
sh4n, have extensive mounds of
ancient towns, amidst which are
found fragments of limestone co-
lumns, bricks, pottery, glass, and a
few Roman coins.

El Gherek. — About SO miles from
Medeeneh to the & W. is El GhSrek,
a town about 700 paces long, by 500
broad, protected against the Arabs by
a wall, furnished with loopholes and
projecting towers. Over the gateway
is some old sculpture, and parts of
small columns and pilasters; and I
observed other sculpture of similar
style in the wall of a house, evidently
taken from a Roman building. It
has no ruins, and the mound near it,
called Senooris, seems only to mark
the site of an older Arab village.
And though the stones on the west
side, from which the village has re-
ceived the pompous name of Me-
deenet el Haggar, *< the city of the
stone," once belonged to ancient
ruins, there is no vestige of building
that has any claim to antiquity. The
town stands at the edge of an isolated
spot of arable land, surrounded by
the desert, and watered by a branch
of the canal that supplies the lands
about N^leh and the western ex-
tremity of the F^o6m. It is the land
that has given the name Gh<$rek,
" tubmerged/* to the village; doubt-
less from its having been exposed to
floods, by the lowness of its level,
when accidents have occurred to the

256

ROUTE 17. — medejSneh TO BENisoofiE. Sect IL

dykes. It has been erroneously called
a lake.

The inhabitants are principally of
the Howaynat, or Owaynat tribe,
once Arabs, and now FtUahiiu 'lliey
have possessed the land for the last
70 years, and are now aided in tilling
it by another tribe, the Samaloos,
about thirty of whom reside in the
town, and the rest in tents in the
neighbourhood.

At El Beni&n, " the buildings,*' to
the N. E. of £1 Gherek, are an old
doorway, broken shafts, and capitals
of Corinthian columns of Roman
time, built into a shekh*s tomb ; and
at Talent and Shekh Aboo-Hamed,
to the eastward, are the mounds of
two other towns. These indeed
occur in many parts of the Fyo6m ;
and though we cannot credit the tra-
dition of the people that it formerly
contained 366 towns and villages, it
is evident that it was a populous
nome of ancient Egypt; and that
many once existed both in the centre
and oi\ the now barren skirts of the
Fyoom. Indeed the cultivated land
extended formerly far beyond its
present limits : a great portion of the
desert plain was then taken into cul*
tivatton, and I have seen several
places where canals and the traces of
cultivated fields are still discernible
to a considerable distance £. and W.
of the modern irrigated lands.

ROUTE 17.

MEDXEMEH TO BKNUOOKP.

Iftlfet.
Mede^neh to Haw^ra • 7]

lUahoon ... 7J

Benisooef (according to the
state of the canals) • 1 5 to 22

' 30 to 37

The road from Mede^neh to Ha-
wira, or as it is called by way of dis*
tinction, Hawara el Kassob, is on the
N. side of the great canal or Bahr

Yoosef, and crosses several smaller
canals that branch off from it, and
convey the water to the N. £. side of
the Fyoom. A short way before
reaching Hawdra you pass a deep
ravine, caused by the irruption of
water, probably when the dykes havd
given way to the eastward. To the
north of Hawira is a crude brick py-
ramid, which is highly interesting
from its marking the site of one of
the roost celebrated monuments of
ancient Egypt, the Labyrinth, at
whose northern extremity it stands.
When I visited it, the extent of that
buildingcould with difficulty be traced ;
but it has since been excavated by Dr.
Lepsius. Sufficient, however, remain-
ed above ground to show the extent
of the area it occupied, which mea-
sured 580 feet by 271 feet, within the
mounds raised round it, and which
separate it from tlie pyramid, distant
80 feet. The pyramid when entire
was 348 feet square ; but it is much
ruined. The style of its building in
degrees, or stories, to which, sloping
triangular sides were afterwards added ,
is very evident. The bricks are of
great sise, and appear to be of very
great age. Strabo gives 4 plethra
(400 feet) for the length of each face,
and the same for the height, which
Herodotus calculates at 50 orgyies
(300 feet). From Colonel Howard
Vyses's account it appears to cover a
rock, which rises to the height of about
40 feet within It. Several stone walls
intersecting it in regular lines, act as
binders to the intermediate mass of
brickwork, built in between them ;
and the outside was coated with a
stone casing.

Close to the west side runs a small
modern canal ; and on the opposite
bank, as well as on the east side, are
the fallen walls of crude brick houses,
mostly of late time.

I observed amidst the ruins of the
labyrinth some broken columns of
fine red granite^ in the old Egyptian
style, with the bud capitals, 4 feet 7
in., and 3 feet 5 in. in diameter, frag*

Egypt.

ROUTE 18. — CAIRO TO THE OASES.

257

xnents of gritstone, and some blocks
of hard white limestone, probably
" the white stone," of the corridors
mentioned by Herodotus. The hiero-
glyphics on the granite have been
painted green.

Herodotus says, the lower under-
ground chambers were set apart << for
the sepulchres of the sacred crocodiles,
and of the kings who founded the
monument.'* The crocodile was tlie
sacred animal of the nome, and gave
its name to the city of Crocodilopolis;
and it was the hatred of the inhabit-
ants of the neighbouring province of
Heracleopolis for this animal that
caused the destruction of the laby-
rinth. De Pauw makes a judicious
remark respecting its worship, which
will apply to tliat of the eel at Phra-
groriopolis, and of other fish in differ-
ent parts of Egypt ; tliat the towns
where it was sacred always stood at
some distance from the Nile, in or-
der to ensure the maintenance of the
canals which conducted the fresh
water to those places, without which
the crocodile could not live.

Near lllahoon is another crude
brick pyramid ; and a short distance
to the S. W. of that town, at the vil-
lage of Hawira, are the great stone
dyke and sluices, mentioned by Abool-
feda, ihut regulate Uie quantity of
water admitted into the Fyo6m. Some
remains of older bridges and dykes
swept away by various irruptions of
the Nile are seen there, and to the
west is a dyke, serving as a commu-
nication with the high land at the edge
of the desert during the inundation.

From the branch of the Bahr Yoo-
sef, which runs from the bridge of
lllahoon to Mede^neh, numerous
canals conduct the water to various
parts of the province, the quantity
being regulated by sluices, according
to the wants of each. One goes from
the bridge of lllahoon along the edge
of the southern hills to £1 Gh^rek and
Nezleh ; another by the labyrintb to-
wards Tom^eh ; ten others between
How^ra and Mede^iieh ; and the

same number from the west side of
Mede^neh to the central villages of
the Fyo6m. As of old, they still
offer a more interesting specimen of
irrigation than any other part of
Egypt; and were it properly ma-
naged, there is little doubt that this
province would enjoy its former repu-
tation for fertility, notwithstanding
the injury done to many parts by tlie
increase of nitre in the soil.

About 2 miles to the south-west of
the bridge of lllahoon are the mounds
of an ancient town, called Ttima^
which, from its name and position,
probably marks the site of Ptolema'is,
the port of Arsinoe. It may be
seen on the way to Benisooef.

There are two main branches from
the Bahr Yoosef that conduct the
water into the Fyo6m, and during the
inundation several smaller canals that
oblige you to make a long detour in
going from lllahoon ; the distance
from which, in a line, is only about 14
miles. To the right you see the lofty
mounds of Anisieh, the ancient Hera-
clr>opolis, which stood in an island
forme<^ by the canal. The mounds
of Noiyreh, Baheh, Beshennee, Bi-
liffieh, Kom Ahmar, and others also
mark the sites of old towns.
i^For Beniaooef, see RouteSO. Sec. III.)

ROUTE 18.

CAIRO TO THB LITTLE OASIS ; THE
GREAT OASIS AND THB OASIS OF
DAKHLEH BY THE EYO^M.

a. Different roads to the Oasis.
b. Requisites for the journey, c. Dis-
tances. d. Wadee Ryan. — Moileh.
e. Little Oasis. /. £1 Hayz. y, Fa-
r&freh. A. Oases of the Blacks in
the interior to the West. i. Oasis
of Dakhleh. j. Great Oasis, k. Dis*
tances in the Great Oasis. L Roads
to the Nile at Abydus. m. Road to
Ei/n^.

a. The most frequented roads to
the Little Oasis are from the Fyoomi

258

BOUTE 18. — CAIBO TO THE OASES.

Sect. n.

and from Behnesa, and the average
distance from them is the same, about
S days* journey.

The Great Oasis may be visited
from Osioot, from Geeteh by Aby-
dus ; from Farshoot, from Thebes, or '
from £sn6; and that of Oakhleh from
fieni A dee near Manfaloot, or by the
Great Oasis.

The route by the F^oom and the
Little Oasis includes El Hayz and
Fariifreh, and gives tlie best idea of
the character of the African desert;
but most persons who go to tlie Oases
will be satisfied with a visit to the
Little Oasis from the F^o6m or Beh-
nesa, and to the other two from some
point in Upper Egypt, returning again
to the same, or to some other, place on
the Nile.

There is little to vary the monotony
of the roads to the Oases, and the
dreary journey over a high desert
plain, or table land, scarcely diversi-
fied by occasional barren valleys, has
led to the mistaken impression of the
charm of those ** islands of the
blessed.** Some have supposed them
to be cultivated spots in the midst of
a desert of sand, rich fields kept in a
state of perpetual verdure by the
streams tliat run through them, and
affording the same contrast to the ex-
tensive barren plain around them as
islands to the level expanse of the
ocean. These highly-wrought pic-
tures soon vanish on arriving at the
Oases. The surrounding tract, over
which the roads lead to them, consists
of a lofty table land, intersected here
and there by small shallow valleys, or
ravines, worn by the water of rain
that occasionally falls there ; and the
Oases He in certain depressions in this
mountain plain, surrounded by cliffs,
more or less precipitous, and very like
those to the £. and W. of the valley of
the Nile. In the centre, or in some part
of this depressed plain, is the Oasis
itself, — a patch of fertile soil, com-
posed of sand and clay, which owes
its origin to the springs that rise here
and there to fertilise it. Here are

gardens, palm groves, fields, and vil-
lages, not unlike a portion of the valley
of the Nile, with a sandy plain beyond,
in which stunted tamarisks, coarse
grasses, and other desert plants,
struggle to keep their heads above tlM
drifted sand that collects around them.
The distant hills, or the abrupt faces
of the high mountain plain surround-
ing the whole, complete the scene ; and
if you ascend a minaret, or any point
higher than the rest, you may add to
these general features some stagnant
lakes, whose feverish exlialations cause
and account for the yellow complexion
of the inhabitants, and make it unsafe
to visit the Oases in summer or au-
tumn.

6. RequUitei for ^ Jonmey.

The principal things required, are
good water skins, their number de»
pending on the number of persons.
They should not be new, as they then
give a disagreeable flavour to the
water. Some may be bought of the
water-carriers in Cairo, which, without
being old, have been used long enough
to get rid of the taste of the godran.
If not to be found, the new skins
should be frequently filled and emptied
before starting. An extra set may be
taken for fear of accidents ; and two
or four spare skins will do for a small
party. One of the servants should
know how to sew on a patch, which is
soon learnt ; and a piece of leather,
some string, and an awl, are required
for mending the skins. Never put
the skins on the ground on a journey,
unless a mat or something be first laid
down, to prevent the salt tainting the
water. The Arabs must provide their
own water-skins, and not be allowed
to use those of the traveller. Take a
zamemeh for each person. Have a
set of rope-nets, called ahibektht for
each camel-load, to hold boxes and
other things, by which means they are
secure, and quickly put on the camels.
If you have a dromedary-saddle, take
large saddle-bags of the country,
and a rope to tie over them, to keep
them from swinging to and fro.

Egypt

KOUTE 18. — WADEE "rUlS — HOILEH.

259

Dayi.
2

There is no difficulty in obtaining
camels for the journey, which should
be engaged in the presence, and with
the assistance, of the Turkish authori-
ties. It may be as well to repeat
that in this, as in other deserts, the
traveller has nothing to do with pro-
viding food for the Arabs or their
camels. There are no dromedaries in
the western desert, but a dromedary
saddle can be put on a camel ; and as
it is comfortable, I reconmiend one
being bought at Cairo.

c. Dhtancetm

Cairo to Medeenet-cl-F^o6m.

See Boute 16.
£1 Gh^rek (sleep there and

take water
Wiidee R^in v brackish water)
Zubbo, in the Little Oasis

From the Fyo6m S days, or
from Cairo

Zubbo to £1 Kasr in this
Oasis 6^ miles

£1 Kasr in Little Oasis to

£1 Hays (short day)
£1 Hays to FaHLfreh -
Farifreh to Oasis of Dakhleh
Oasis of Dakhleh to Great

Oasis
Great Oasis to Abydus 38 to

40 hours (long days)

Day.

1
3

3
3

d. Wddee Ry6n, and MaiUh.

On going from the F^o6m to the
Little Oasis, the first halt is at the
▼alley called W4dee Raiin or Ry4n,
abounding with palm trees and water.
It is not sweet, like that of the Nile,
but is good for camels ; the supply
for the journey should therefore be
taken in at the western extremity of
the lands of £1 Gli^rek. It is always
better to have too much than too little,
and rather more than the Arabs say
is necessary ; as they try to load their
camels as ligtitly as possible, and think
little for the future.

About fifteen miles to the S. £. of
W&dce Ryin, and some way to the

lefl of the road, is the valley of Moi-
leb, with a mined convent or monas-
tery, and a spring of salt water. It
may be visited on the way to Wftdee
. Ry4n, by making a small dStour, and
is curious as a Christian ruin. It
contains two churches, one of stone,
the other of brick, and is surrounded
by a strong wall, with a tower of de-
fence on the north side. In the
churches are several Coptic and some
Arabic inscriptions, and figures of
the apostles and saints ; and tfie
cornice that runs round a niche in
the stone church is richly carved,
though in bad taste. The total di-
mensions of the convent are 89 paces
by 65, In the same valley are some
curious specimens of the picturesque
wild palm tree.

There is nothing remarkable on the
road to the Oasis ; and one cluster of
acacia trees appears a singular no-
velty. On descending into the low
plain in which the Oasis, properly so
called, stands, you ^rceive that the
calcareous mountains repose on sand-
stone, with a substratum of clay,
holding the water that rises from it in
the form of springs. You pass nu-
merous stunted tamarisk bushes, some
palms and springs, then some stagnant
lakes ; and after sinking in the salt
crust of once flooded fields, that
crackles under your feet, you reach
the thick palm groves, gardens, and
villages of the Wah. It is divided
into two parts, sepairated by some
isolated hills, over which the principal
road passes from one to the other.
Those hills are sandstone, and they
present some curious geological fea-
tures.

e. LitUe Oatie* — The modem name
of the Little Oasis, the Oasis Parva
of the Romans, is Wah el Behnesa, —
a translation of the old Coptic Ouahe
Pemge. The Arabs pretend that it
was so called from having been once
colonised from Behnesa, on the Bahr
Yoosef ; and it is to this that Abool-
feda alludes in speaking of *< another
Behnesa in the Wah." It is also

260

ROUTE 18. — CAIRO TO THE CASES*

Sect, IL

known as Uic Wah el Mend^esheh,
and tlie Wah el Ghdrbee, though this
last is properly its " tPM/cra " divisioD.
The Arabic name Wah is the same as
the ancient Egyptian Ouah, Aua, or
Oa, which with the Greek termina-
tion formed Auasis, or Oasis, and u
the Coptic Ouahe.

The only ancient stone remains
are a small ruin near Zubbo, and a
Roman building in the town of £1
Kasr, which has thence derived its
name, signifying ** the palace.** This
was once a handsome edirice, well
built, and ornamented with Doric
mouldings ; and its arch, with the
niches at the side, has still a good
effect. The Kasr el A 14m, about 1^
mile to the west of £1 Kasr, is an
insignificant crude brick ruin : there
is another about three quarters of a
mile to tlie south -west of the same
town, and to the east of Zubbo are
some rude grottoes.

The Little Oasis has several springs
of warm water, which, when led to
cool in yorous jars, is perfectly whole-
some and palatable, though some say
it disagrees with strangers in the sum-
mer. The most remarkable are at
Bowitti and £1 Kasr, the former
having a temperature of 27^ Reaum. ;
the latter, whose stream is converted
into a rude bath, of 27 \^ Reaum., or
about 93J^ Fahr. With regard to the
real and apparent warmth of Uie water of
some of these springs, an idea may be
had from a pond formed by them at
Zubbo, whose water soon after sunrise
(Feb. S.), tlie exterior air being 8|o
Reaum., was 18^°, and quite warm
to the hand ; at mid-day, the exterior
air being 15^ it was 21°, and cold to
the hand) and io the evening, at 9
r. M., the exterior air being 1&J°, the
water was 20)°, and consequently
warm to the hand ; explaining the ex-
aggerated phenomena of the fountain
of the Sun, in the Oasis of Ammon.
But I may add, that the pond, which
is about 30 feet wide, is not more
than 5 or 6 feet in depth. It is the
one mentioned by Bclzoni«

In this Wah are grown a variety of
fruit trees, much liquorice, rice, bar-
ley, wheat, doorOf clover, wild cotton,
and most of the usual productions of
the Nile ; but the principal source of
wealth here, as in the otlier Oasis, is
the date tree, which yields a very su-
perior quality of fruit.

The dates are of four kinds : the
Soltinee, the Saidee, which are the
best, the K&ka, and the £rtob (rot-
tub) ; but those of the S^ewah are
even better. The proportion of fruit
trees is also much greater than on the
Nile.

A conserve of dates, called Ag'weh,
is made by pounding them in a mass,
and then mixing whole dates with
it. The Saidee are preferred for this
purpose, and are preserved in earthen
jars, and kept by the natives for their
own use ; but some, which they put
into baskets, are sent to the Nile,
where they are highly and justly es-
teemed. They are very sweet and
rich, unlike any produced in Egypt,
and are sold at 5 or 6 dollars the
kantar.

They make no brandy from dates,
but extract a palm wine, called Lowb'-
geh, from the heart of the tree, —
an intoxicating beverage, of which
they are very fond. It is thus made :
in the summer, when the sap is up,
they cut off* all the pereets (palm
branches), except three or four in the
middle ; and then, having made inci-
sions in every part of Uie heart, at the
foot of those branches, they stretch %
skin all round, to conduct the juice
into a jar placed there to receive it.
Some palms fill a jar in one night,
holding about six pints. It is sweeten-
ed with honey, and drunk as soon as
m.ide ; and its taste and effect are
very much like new wine, with the
flavour of cyder.

The heart of the palm tree is also
cut out and eaten. But this, like the
process of making the wine, s|>oil8
the tree. The people of tlie Nile^
therefore, never taste tlie former un-
less a tree falls, as they cannot afford

Egypt.

ROUTE 18. — CAIRO TO THE OASES.

261

to sacrifice what costs them an annual
duty. Tlie trees of the Oasis are
taxed in mass, Uioseofthe Nile singly ;
and whether dead or living, have the
privilege of paying a fixed tax.

Tiivy also make treacle from the
dates : and they lay up dried pome-
granates for the winter and spring.

The liquorice roots (jtooti) are sent
to the Nile in baskets, and are used
for making a sort of sherbet.

The principal gardens are about £1
Kasr, where fruit trees are abundant,
particularly apricots, pomegranates,
Seville oranges (luiWa^, whence the
Spanish, naranja, and our *< orange),
and vines : they have al»o the banana,
the nebk, and mokhayt (lihamnus
Nabeca, and Ztzyphus), olive, peach,
fig, pear, and some others, among
which I was surprised to find one
plum, and 2 or S apple trees. Olives
are not abundant ; and tliey are mostly
brought from the S^wah and Fari-
freh.

Though the inhabitants of the Oa-
sis are a much less industrious and
energetic race than the fellahs of
£gypt, tliey pay considerable atten-
tion to the cultivation of their lands ;
but they have not to undergo the same i
toil in raising water as on the Nile, i
the streams that constantly flow from
plentiful springs aflbrding a conve-
nient and never-failing supply for irri-
gation. But the stagnant lakes cre-
ated hy the surplus of water exhale a
pernicious miasma, causing a danger-
ous remittant fever, which annually
rages in the summer and autumn ;
and the Arabs of the desert consider
it unsafe to visit these districts at any |
otlier season than the winter and the
spring.

Whatever theory may be proposed,
or admitted, regarding the origin of
the springs, 1 am persuaded that this
Wah is about 200 feet higher tlian the
Nile in the latitude of Benisooef ; nor
is the relative height of this and the
other Oasis at all regular ; Kliargeh
and Dakhleh, which are nearly on the
same level as the valley of the Nile,

being considerably lower than Fari-
freh and the Little Oasis. But in all
of them the water seems to rise from
an argillaceous bed, which in the two
former lies under limestone, and in the
latter under sandstone strata. It may,
however, be reasonably conjectured
that the water comes originally from
the Nile, whence, carri«;d over the
clay, it finds its way to the different
Oases, as to tlie Natron valley ; and
its occasionally rising, in a level higher
than the Nile in the same latitude, is
explained by its having entered the
conducting stratum at some more
southerly, and consequently more
elevated, part of the river's course.

The tax imposed on the Little.
Oasis was in 1825 20,000 r^iils, about
640L sterling, annually paid to Has-
san Bey Shamashirgee, to whom this
and the Oasis of Ammon both belong :
and the peace of the district is main-
tained by 400 or 500 armed men, and,
above all, by a fine of 200 dollars for
every native killed in a dispute, or on
any other account within its limits,
and double that sum for the murder
of a stranger. It is diflicult to ob-
tain any information respecting the
population of tlie Oasis; but, from
what I could learn, —

•

Inhabitants.

Zubbo contains about

- SOO

Mar^eh

- 400

£1 Kasr, about •

- 3500

Bowitti, about

- 3000

Total about 7200
The distances in this Oasis are : —

From Zubbo Hnd Mar^'eh (which are

not half a mile apart) to the ruined

village of Bayrees to the S. £.,3

miles.
From Zubbo to Bowitti in the west-

em division of the Oasis, crossing

the hill, 4 miles.
From Bowitti to £1 Kasr, less than

half a mile.
From El Kasr to the western limit of

the cultivated lands, 1 j mile.

262

BOUTE 18. — CAIRO TO THE OASBS.

Sect. IT.

No general extent of tliU Oasis can
be given, owing to its irregularity ;
and indeed in all of them the cul-
tivable spots bear a very small prcv
portion to the dimensions of the valley
over which they are studded.

/. El Hayz. — The small Wah of
£1 Hayz is a short day to the south
of tills Oasis, of which, indeed, it is a
continuation. It has springs and
cultivated land belonging to the peo-
ple of El Kasr and Bowitti, who go
there at certain seasons to till it, and
collect the crops. But it has no vil-
lage, and the only appearance of
buildings is at £1 Errees, where a
ruined church shows it was once the
abode of Christian monks. This
consists of a nave and aisles, with
rooms on the upper story. Some of
tlie arches have the horse-shoe form ;
and over a window I observed a
Coptic inscription. About 600 paces
to the south-west is another crude
brick ruin, about 74 paces by 50,
within the walls, which are about SO
feet high, and near this are much
pottery and some nAk trees, which
indicate the previous existence of a
garden, either belonging to a monu-
tery or a town.

g, Far&frtK — About 3 days from
£1 Hayz is the Oasis and village of
Fariifreh, containing about 60 or 70
male inhabitants. The Kassob,
•*cane," mentioned by Ebn-el-Wer-
dee, appears to be the Dokhn or millet
(Holcus saccharatus), grown in this
district ; and it is remarkable that the
name Kastoh, usually confined to
sugar-cane, is here applied to millet.
The productions of Farifreh are very
mucfk the same as those of the other
Oasis, but it excels them in the qua-
lity of its olives, which are exported
to the Little Oasis. Far&freh was
formerly called Trinytheos Oasis, but
it boasts no remains of antiquity. It
has a castle or stronghold that com-
mands and protects the village in case
of attack from the Arabs, or more
dangerous enemies; and they relate a
melancholy account of a sudden at-

tack from some Blacks of the interior,
many years ago, who killed or carried
off the greater part of the popula-
tion.

A. Oaiea of the Blacki. — Fire or
six days west of the road to Farafrdi
is another Oasis, called Wadee Zer-
zo6ra, about tlie size of the Oasis
Parva, abounding in palms, with
springs, and some ruins of uncertain
date. It was discovered about 20
years ago by an Arab, while in search
of a stray camel, and from seeing the
footsteps of men and sheep he sup-
posed it to be inhabited. Geb&bo,
another Wah, lies 6 days beyond tliis
to the west, and 12 days from Au-
gila ; and Tazerbo, which is still far-
ther to the west, forms part of the
same Oasis. The general belief is
that W4dee Zerz6ora also communi-
cates with it. The inhabiunts are
black, and many of them have been
carried off at different times by the
Moghrebbins for slaves: through
the ** Vallies of the Blacks,** a series
of similar Oases lie still fartlier to the
west.

According to another account,
Zerz6ora is only two or three days
due W. from Dakhleh, beyond which
is another Wadee; then a second
abounding in cattle; then Geb4bo
and Tazerbo; and beyond these,
W4dee Rebee&na. Gebilbo is in-
habited by two tribes of Blacks, the
Simertayn and Ergezayn.

Tliese are, perhaps, the continuation
of palm-bearing spots mentioned by
Edrisi, extending to Cuca and Ca-
war.

t. Oa$u of Dakhleh. — Four days

to the S. of Far^freh, is the Wah

I el Gharbee, or Wah e' Dakhleh,

I "the Western or Inner Oasis.** The

I name of Dakhleh is put in opposition

to Khargeh (which is given to the

, Great Oasis that lies £. of it^, — the

I one meaning the "receding,** the

other the ** projecting ** Wah ; Khar«

, geh being called projeetingt as being

nearer to £gypt.

A great portion of the road from

Egypt.

BOUTB 18. — CAIRO TO THE OASES*

263

YwiSteh lies between two of the nu-
merous high ridges of drifted sand
that eitend for many miles, n^iriy
due N. and S., parallel to each other.
Tliere is no water after passing Ain
e' Dthukker, the halting-place of the
first day's march.

Though noticed by Arab writers,
the position and even the existence
of the Wah e' Dakhleh were unknown
in modem times, until visited by Sir
Archibald Edroonstone in 1819.

The crude brick remains of nu-
merous towns and villages^ prove it to
have been once a very populous dis-
trict. A little more than 5 miles to the
W. S. W. of the modem town of £1
Kasr, is a sandstone temple, called
e' Dayr el Hagar, *' the stone con-
vent,** the most interesting ruin in
this Oasis. It has the names of Nero
and Titus in the hieroglyphics ; and
on the ceiling of the adytum is part
of an astronomical subject. Amun,
Maut, and Khonso, the Tbeban triad,
were the principal deities; and the
ram-headed Nepb and Harpocrates
were among the contemplar gods;
but the Tbeban Jupiter and Maut
held the post of honour. The
temple consists of a vestibule, with
screens half way up the columns ; a
portico, or hall of assembly ; a transept
(if I may so call it) or prosekos; and
the central and two side adyta. 121
feet before the* door of the vestibule
is a stone gateway or pyl6nS, the en-
trance to an area measuring 235 feet
by 130, surrounded by a crude brick
wall. At the upper or W. end of it
are the remains of stuccoed rooms ;
and on the N. £. side are some
columns, covered also with stucco,
and coloured.

There are many crude brick re-
mains in the neighbourhood; and
about one mile and a half from El
Kasr are the extensive mounds of an
ancient town with a sandstone gate-
way. The fragments of stone which
lie scattered about appear to indicate
the site of a temple, now destroyed.

These mounds are about half a

mile square, and below them to the
E. is a spring called Ain el Keead,
whence they have received the name
of Medeeneh Kee&d. They are also
known as Lambada. The only ruins
now remaining are of crude brick ;
and from the state of their vaulted
rooms, they appear to have been of
Roman time.

£1 Kasr and Ka1am6on are the
chief towns of the" Wah e* Dukhleh.
The shekhs of £1 Kasr call them-
selves of the tribe of Koriiysh, and
say that their ancestors, having mi-
grated to this part of the country
about 400 years ago, bought the
springs and lands, which they have
ever since possessed ; and the Sli6r-
bagees of Kalam6on (which is dis-
tant eight miles to the S.) claim the
honour of having governed the Oases
from the time of Sultan Selim. This
privilege, however, is now much cur-
tailed; and tiie governor of Kala-
m6on, reduced to the rank of other
shekhs, can only now be distinguished
by his TurkiHh dress, his title of
Eflendee, and the more diitingui de-
portment of an Osmanlee. When I
visited this Oasis, Hagee Ismai'n was
shekb of £1 Kasr, and Ghuttas £f-
fendee was governor of Kalam6on ;
from both of whom I experienced the
greatest kindness and hospitality.

About nine miles and three quarters
to the £. of Kalamoon is the village
of Isment, where I observed the ca«
pital of a column with an Athor or
Isis head, and near it some crude
brick ruins, called, as usual, e* Dayr,
*< the Convent.*' About one mile
and a half to the S. W. is Masarah.
Ballat is a little more than ten miles
to the £. of Isroent. On the road,
and about two and a half miles from
the latter village, are the ruins of a
large town, called Isment el Khar&b,
*• the ruined Isment." The most re-
markable remains there are a sandstone
building, measuring nineteen paces
by nine, consisting of two chambers,
in a very dilapidated state; and
another near it, measuring five paces

264

BOUTE 18. — CAIRO TO THE OASES,

Sect, rr.

by five, with an addition before and
behind of crude brick, stuccoed and
painted in squares and flowers. Nine-
teen paces in front of it is a stone
gateway, the entrance to the area in
which it stood. Tliere are also some
large crude brick buildings orna-
mented with pilasters, apparently of
Roman- Egyptian time; within which
are vaulted chambers of sandstone.
Many of the houses of the town re-
main, mostly vaulted and stuccoed;
and the streets may easily be traced.
A little more than one mile from this
are other ruins, called £1 Kasr el
Areeseh.

Near Ballat is a ruined town called
Besh^ndy. The houses were vaulted
and stuccoed, and the principal build-
ing seems to have been a temple, of
crude brick, with the Egyptian ovals
and cornice. The doorway is arched,
and it is evidently of Roman time.
Tene^da is a ruined village of Arab
time, which has long been deserted :
but, as the land about it is very good,
serious thoughts are entertained by
the people of Ballat of colonising it,
and rebuilding the houses.

Of the population of the Wah e*
Daklileh, I could leirn nothing satis-
factory ; but, according to the doubt-
ful accounts of the natives, —

Male Inhabitant!.

£1 Kasr contains from 1200 to 1500

Kalamoon - - 800 to 1000

Ged^dee - - 1000

Ballat ... 800

Moot ... 400

Masarah ... 250

Isment ... 250

Hindow ... 600
Bedcholo, or Aboo-

doknloo . - 400

Moosh^eh . . 500

Gharghoor . - 50

ToUl from 6250 to 6750

The condition and population of
this Oasis are very superior to those
of the other two ; and in spite of the
authority of Yacutus, who says, «• The
Wah which is opposite the Fyo^m, is

better inhabited than the second,** or
Wall e* Dakhleb, it is evident that
the latter was always more populous,
and always contained a greater num-
ber of villages. Indeed in the Oasis
Parva there are only 4 — * Zubbo,
and Mnreeh, or Mendeesheh, £1
Kasr, and Bowitti ; whereas Dakhleh
contains 11, and a population of
more than 6000 yaale inhabitants.
The remains, too, of ancient towns
and villages far exceed any that the
former can boast, and prove its supe.
riority in this respect at all times.

Dakhleh abounds in fruits, par.^
ticularly olives and apricots ; hut
dates, as in all the Oases, bring the
principal revenue to the district. At
£1 Kasr is a warm spring, whose
copious stream supplies several batlis
attached to the mosk, for which its
temperature of 102° Fah. is well
adapted. The people are hospitable,
and consequently differ from those of
the Oasis Parva; nor are they so
ignorant and bigoted as the latter, or
as those of Far^freh.

The general position of the Oaitis/
of Dakhleh is N. and S. in the di-
rection of a line passing through £1
Kasr to Kalamoon, and thence E.
towards Ballat; its extent north-
wards measuring about 15 miles, and
£. and W. about 28. Much rice is
grown in this, as in the other Oases,
particularly about Moot and Masarah:
but it is very inferior to that of the
Delta, the gnKn being small and
hard.

/ THK GEBAT OASIS, OK WAH SL

KHAROKH. — Three short days to the
eastward of the Wah e* Dakhleh, is
the Great Oasis, or Wah el Khiirgeh.
It has also the name of Menaraoon*
perhaps taken from Ma-ii-amun, sig.
nifying ** the abode of Amun." On
the road is a small temple, and a well
of water called Ain Amo6r, sur*
rounded by an enclosure of crude
brick, intended to protect the temple,
and secure access to the spring.
Kneph, Amunre, and Maut are the
principal deities. Tliough the name

Egypt

BOUTE 18. — TEMPLE OF EL KhIkGEH.

265

seems to be of a Casar, the temple
has an appearance of greater an-
tiquity than the generality of those in
the Oases ; but I could find no re-
mvns of a town ; and it is possible
that this temple was intended merely
to add a sanctity to the site of the
spring, and to ensure its protection.

Tlw first object of interest, on
entering the Oasis of £1 Khirgeh on
that side, is a eelvmbarium, consisting
of a large arched chamber, pierced
with small cells for cinerary urns,
capable of containing the condensed
residue of numerous burnt bodies.
It measures about 1 7 ft. by 8 ft., and
about 80 ft. in height Beyond it
are other ruins and tombs; then
another columbarium, and a tower
about 40 ft. high, in which were once
separate stories, the lower rooms
arched, the upper ones baring had
roofs supported by rafters. The tower
protected a well, and was probably
an outpost for soldiers. About one
third of a mile to the north of this,
and S. £. of the columbarium, are
the remains of another tower and
ruined walls ; beyond which is another
ruin of crude-brick with an arched
roof, and a door in the Egyptian style.
Half a mile further are other crude-
brick ruins on the hills, and an old
well about 50 ft. in diameter. About
a mile beyond, to the south, is the
Kasr AIn e' Sont, *< the palace (or
castle) of the Acacia fountain," so
called from a neighbouring spring.
It consists of about SO rooms and
passages, with staircases, leading to
the upper part, and the exterior is
ornamented with the Egyptian cor-
nice. It is of crude-brick, and pro-
bably of Roman time; and in the
wall facing the well a stone niche or
doorway has been put up in the
midst of the brickwork, for what pur-
pose I could not discover, being
some distance from the ground. In
one of the rooms are some Coptic in-
scriptions. There are other ruins
near this, all a little out of the direct
road to the town of El Khiirgeh;

and beyond are some tombs, one of
which is ornamented with pilasters,
and a pediment over the entrance.
From the fountain, or Ain e' Sont, to
the great temple of El Khirgeh, is
about one mile and a quarter, or to
the town about three miles. On the
way, and about half a mile to the left,
you pass the Necropolis, which I
shall mention presently.

The great tempi* of El Kh&rgeh
is much larger than any in the Oases,
and is an interesting monument. It
was dedicated to Aroun, or Amunre ;
and it is worthy of remark that the
ram-headed god has here the same
name as the long-feathered Amun of
Thebes. In explanation of this I
must observe, that we are not to look
upon the ram-headed god as Amun,
but to remember that it is Amun who
has assumed the head of a ram, in the
same way as he takes the form of
Khem, or any other god. The cus-
tom was common to other deities of
the Egyptian Pantheon, who bor-
rowed each other's attributes without
scruple ; and it was this his assump-
tion of an attribute of Knepb, par-
ticularly in the Oasis, that led to the
error of the Greeks and Romans,
in representing Amun with the head
of a ram, as a general form of that
deity.

The sculptures of the temple are
not of the spirited style of the early
Pharaooic ages ; though some are by
no means bad, particularly on the
transverse wall separating the front
from the back part of the portico. In
the adytum the figures are small, and
the subjects very extraordinary, pro-
bably of Ptolemaic or Roman time^
when extravagant emblems took the
place of the more simple forms of an
earlier period.

The oldest name I met with was of
Darius, which occurs in many places ;
and on a screen before the temple
is that of Amyrtaus. There are
also several Greek inscriptions on the
front gateway or pylon, one of which,
bearing the date of the first year <^

266

ROUTE 18. — CAIRO TO THE OASES.

Sectn.

the Emperor Galba, consists of 66
lines.

The whole length of the temple
measures about 142 feet by 63, and
about 30 feet in height. Attached
to the front of it is a screen, with a
central and two side doorways ; and
in the dromos is a succession of pylons,
one before the other, at intervals of
80, 70, And 50 feet It is the outer
one (which is furthest from the tem-
ple), that bears the inscriptions; and
50 feet before it is an hypsethral
building on a raised platform, termi-
nating the dromos, from which there
is ascent to it by a flight of steps.
The temple was enclosed within a
stone wail, abutting against the in-
nermost pylon. This formed the
temcHot. Near the S.W. corner is
another smaller hypaethral building,
and some distance to the N. of the
temple is a small stone gateway. On
the summit of the second or middle
pylon of the drom^ some brickwork
has been raised in later times by the
Arabs; forcibly recalling the addi-
dons made during the middle ages to
many Roman buildings in Italy. The
stone part itself is much higher than
the other two gateways, being about
45 feet to the top of the cornice ;
while the other two, the first and in-
nermost, are only respectively 15 ft
7 in. and 20 ft. 3 in. The stones are
well fitted, and have been fastened
together with wooden dovetailed
cramps.

In the vicinity of the temple stood
the ancient town. It bore the name
of Ibis, or in Egyptian, Hebif ** the
plough," under which character it is
frequently designated in the hiero-
glyphics with the sign of land, and it
was the capital of the Great Oasis.

On a height, south east from the
temple, is a stone building called
E' Nadira, surrounded by a spacious
crude>brick enclosure, which bears tlie
names of Adrian and Antoninus.

To the north is a remaiicable
Necropolis, consisting of about 150
crude brick tombs ornamented with

pilasters and niches, not in very pure
style, but on the whole having a good
effect On the stucco within are re-
presented various subjects, which, as
well as the style of architecture and
the presence of a Church, decide
that they are of a Christian epoch.
The inscriptions on their walls are
mostly Coptic and Arabic ; and the
sacred Tau^ the Egyptian

symbol of O life, adopted
by these ■¥■ early- Chris-
tians, fre I quently oc-
curs here in stead of the
cross of their successors.

Tliere are many other ruins in the
vicinity of El Kh&rgeh; the others
are in the southern part of this Oasis,
on the road to Bayr^es.

The caravans from Dar-Foor to
Egypt pass through the Great Oasis,
on their way to Osioot. Slaves are
also brought this way by Takr6orees,
who are blacks from ibe interior of
Africa, and Moslems, but are looked
upon as an inferior kind of merchant.
The great and wealthy Jel&bs are
from Dar-Foor, who sometimes bring
from 2000 to 4000 slaves. The rate
of travelling by tlie slave caravans is
very slow ; they only go from sunrise
to half past 2 or 3 r.M., or about
8 hours* march ; and the journey from
Dar-Foor to Be]rrees, at the south of
the Oasis, occupies 31 days; — 10
from Dar-Foor to tlie Natron plain
called Zeghr&wa, 7 to Elegeeh, 4 to
Sele^meh, 5 to Sheb, and 5 to Bay-
rees.

The population of this Oasis, ac-
cording to the natives, is thus calcu-
I lated : —

Hale Inhab.

At El Kh&rgeh ... 3000

Genih .... 250

Belik .... 400

Beyr^es ... - 600
(Doosh, included in Bay-

r^)

Maks ... . 40

4290

Egypt

ROTTTE 18. — THE GREAT OASIS.

267

The town of £1 Khargeh stands
about IS miles from the hills that
bound this Oasis to the east, over
which the various roads lead to the
Nile. The length of the central
plain, in which it stands, extends in a
direct line N. and S. about 66 miles,
great part of which is desert, with
cultivable spots here and there, which
depend on the presence of springs.

The productions of the Wah £1
Khirgeh are very much the same as
those of the Little Oasis ; with the
addition of the Theban palm, much
wild senna, and a few other plants ;
but it is inferior in point of fertility.
The number of fruit trees is also much
less, nor can it boast of the same
variety.

The Oases are little noticed by
ancient writers, except as places of ex-
ile, which ill accord with the fanciful
name of *< Islands of the blessed,"
given them by Herodotus ; who adds
another extraordinary assertion that
the great Oasis was inhabited by
Samians of the iBschrionian tribe.
Through it the army of Cambyses is
said to have passed, when going to
attack the Ammonians ; and it was in
the desert, about half-way between
this and S^wah, that the Per-
sians perished. One of the most re-
markable persons banished to this
place, was Nestorius, who was con-
demned by the council of £phesus,
and was at length sent to the Great
Oasis in 435 a. d.

k, DISTAXCKS IN THE OEXAT OASIS
GOING TO ITS SOUTHSllN XXTRXMITY.

Miles.
£1 Khirgeh to Kasr el Goaytah 9j
Kasr Ain e* Zayin - - - 2

Bel&k 4

Tomb of £m^r Khiled - ^ ^
Low hills and springs of Deka-
keen (just beyond the ruined
village to the right) • - 23^
Bayr^s (about) - - - 8
Temple of Doosh - - - 8J^

At KatT d GSayt6h is a temple
with the names of Ptolemy £uer-
getes I , of Philopater, and of Lathy-
rus. It was dedicated to Amun,
Maut, and Khonso, — the great
Theban triad.

At Kasr Ain e* Zay&n is another
temple, which was restored in the
third year of Antoninus Pius, and
was dedicated to Amen^bis. This
deity appears to have been the same
as Amun, and his name was evidently
a Greek form of Amun-Neph. The
following Greek dedicatory inscrip-
tion over the door of the temple at
Kasr Ain e* Zay&n contains this name
and tliat of the town, which was called
Tch6nemyri8 : —

Afuv$fit j>if» fuyt^r^ TxMri^H^Mr, mm
rvnmtt ^Wf vwt^ Tits Ut tumttt hm/uttmc

AlTWVlifW

Kmtru^, TMi xufMv, mm ntfurmtm mtrw

Mmmit • nix«r rm ii(«v. mm r%
fl'(M«M (« xmtifxt mmrtrxtum4^ iwi AmuZieu

HAi«diM{«; ^WMfx^ AsyvirTWt
Jtwnpum Mmtftnts twirr^mvnymtt fTftiTt-

nwt Tftrmt AvT«x^r«(«f Kmira^ts Ttrtm
AiAiMi Atfi«»«v Amntivm

*' To Amen6bit, the mott great Ood of
TchAnemyrit, and to the contemplar deities,
for the eternal preservation of the Lord An-
toninus Caesar, and all his family, the ady-
turn (t^kos), and the portico (pronaos), have
been tniilt anew under Avidius Heliodorus,
prefect of Egypt, S«ptiniius Macron being
commander«in'Chief, and Pamius Csppion
ccmmander of the forces, in the third year
of the Emperor Cseear Titus Alius Adrianus

Antoninus, Augustus, Pius, the eighteenth
of Mesor^**

About 2} miles beyond the village
of BeUk is a tomb taid to be of tlie
famous Khiled ebn el Weleed, or
£m4er Khilled.

Three hours beyond Bayr^ is the
temple of Doosh, which has the names
of Domitian and Adrian, and was
dedicated to Sarapis and Isis ; but the
Greek inscription on the pylon has
the date of the 19th year of Trajan.
The ancient name pf the town was
Cysis ; and the inhabitants added this
stone gateway for the good fortune of
the emperor, and in token of their
own piety ; as we learn from the in-
scription on the lintel : — .
» 2

268 KOUTE 19. — CAIRO TO CONVENTS IN THE DESERT. SeCt.II«

Tmucvw. Atirrmf, liCturw, Tt^fuutmwt

Atiftrmt , % tk

E««f X*v Ai^wrriv, Za<«ri9< ««i IriSi, 3i«if

« For thetfortune of the 'Lord Emperor
Caesar Nerva Tn^anut, the beet, Auguctus,
Oennanicui, Uaaeua, under Marcus Ruti-
Uus Lupus, praefect of Eoypt. To Sarapis
and Isis, the most great gods, the inhabitanto
of Cysis,haTing decreed the building of the
pylon, did it in token of their piety. In the
year 19 of the Emperor Canar Nerva Traja.
nus, the best, Augustus, Oermanlcua, Daci-
cus, the first of Pachoo."

t ROAD TO ABTDU8.

The roads to Abydus, to Osioot,
and to Farsboot, go from £1 Kbargeh.
The northcmmost one is that to
Osioot.

After six hours* march with camels,
on the road from £1 Khargeh to
Farshoot, or to Abydus, you come to
a Roman fort of crude brick, about
ninety paces square, with a doorway
of burnt brick on one side. The
walls are very thick, about 50 feet
high, and defended by strong towers
projecting at the comers and three of
the faces ; and, from its position,
about 100 paces south of the spring,
it is evident that it was intended for
the protection of this, the only water-
ing place, on the way to the Nile.
It is called £' Dayr, <« the convent,"
probably in consequence of its having
been occupied at a subsequent period
by the Christians, who have left
another ruined building in the vici-
nity, with two vaulted chambers, in
which are some Coptic and Arabic
inscriptions. Seven minutes* walk
to the north west from the fort is
another ruin, with vaulted chambers,
but without any inscriptions.

The rest of the journey to the valley
of the Nile at Abydus occupies nearly
three days, or from thirty-two to 34
hours* march. Nothing is met with
on the way but remains of enclosures
made with rough stones, at intervals;
and much broken pottery, during the

second day's journey. The journey
from £1 Khargeh to Farehoot takes
about 46 hours ; but you then avoid
a bad descent of the hills into the
valley of the Nile.

m. aOAD TO K^NE.

The road from the Great Oasis to
£^n^, or to Rexekat, goes from near
Bayrees, and thence across the desert
to the Nile. The journey is per-
formed in about 50 hours from Bay-
rees to the Nile. There is also a
road from £1 Khargeh to Resekat,
which occupies the same time, fifty
hours, and that distance is computed
at about 125 miles.

ROUT£ 19.

CAIRO TO THE CONVENTS OF STt
AMTONT AND ST. PAUL IN THE
EASTSEK DESERT.

IHstanoet. MUes.

Cairo to Benisoo^f by water

(we Sect, III. BmUe 20.) - 77
Benisooef by land to the con-
vent of St Antony - - 76J
Convent of St. Paul - » 14

1671

Several roads lead flrom the Nile
to the convents, and to other parts of
the desert; but the best and moat
frequented is that from Dayr By6d, a
village opposite Benisooef. After
crossing various torrent beds, it enters
the Wadee el Arraba, a large valley,
nearly 20 miles broad, which runs to
the Red Sea between the ranges of
the northern and southern {^alla.
It has the advantages of several water-
ing-places, in the Wadee el Arraba,
the most convenient of which are at
Wadee el Areideh on the north, and
at Wadee Om Ainebeh on the south
side.

This desert belongs to the Maa-
zee tribe of Arabs, whose camels or
dromedaries may be engaged at Dayr
By4d. The tribes of the desert, be-
tween the Nile and the Red Sea,
are: —

Egypt BOUTE 19. — CAIRO TO CONVENTS IN THE DESERT. 269

1. The Maacy or Maaiee, called by
the Ab4bdefa« AtowneeXsing.
Atweoee), the largest tribe.

8. Howaytat, about the Suei road
and Cairo.

S* Tarab^en, on the northern ex-
tremity of Egypt.

4. Amrin or Anii[r^n,on the Suei

road.

5. Ey^ideh, or Aiiideh, about Mit-

tar^'^h (HeliopolU).

6. AUowien or Allawin, mostly be-

tween Egypt and Petra, or
to the north of Mount Sinai.

7. Neaim or Neam, about Bussateen.

8. Beni Wisel (now FeOoAtn, op-

posite Beniaooef).

9. How^sem, about Kossayr.

la Baiee 1 Small tribes, in dif-
11. Subbaha I ferent parte, chiefly
IS. Geh^ynee ( near the Kossayr
IS. Harb J road.

14. Metahrit, at Birg, opposite

Osi6ot, now Fdhkin.

15. £* Shereef, at e* Shurafa, near

Keneh, now FeUahin.

16. Howira, in the Thebald, long

since Fdlahin.

17. Aaeixee, or Axfsee, on the Kos-

sayr road.

18. Asisne

19. Tmylit

50. Howinieh

51. Deboor
SS. Aid
S3. Akaileh
S4« Semaneh

55. Attaint

56. Kelaybit

57. Haggiza
88. Eufm

To the south of Kossayr are the
Jenaab, and other Emfar, or sub-
divisions of the Abilbdeh.

Dayr Mar-Ankmiott **tbe mo-
noHtry of Si. AtUony," is inhabited
by Copts, who are supported b^
the Toluntary contributions of their
brethren in Egypt Their principal
saint is St. George of Cappadocia ;
but their patron is St. Antony of the
Thebaid. He was the friend and
companion of Mar-Bolos, or St. Paul,

Small tribes.

a hermit who founded another mo-
nastery, called after him Dayr BSlot,
distant by the road about fourteen
miles to the south-east. • Dayr An-
tonios is seventeen or eighteen, and
Dayr B61os nine miles from the sea.
The former may be considered the
principal monastery in Egjrpt; and
its importance is much incrnsed since
the election of the patriarch has
been transferred to it from those at
the Natron lakes. Dayr B6los, how-
ever, claims for itself an equal rank ;
and one of the patriarchs has been
chosen from its members; though
Dayr Antooios surpasses it in the
number of its inmates. I tried in
vain to learn something about the
dictionary for Coptic and Arabic,
said by Wansleb to be in the library
there, which he says was written by
Ebn el Assal, and valued at thirty
crowns. Nor were my questions re-
specting the Coptic map of the patri-
arch, containing the names and posi-
tion of the towns in Egypt, mora
successfuL Both convents have gar-
dens. Those of Dayr Antonios aro
kept in very good order, and are
an agreeable retreat after crossing the
desert The monks ara hospitable,
and the convent is famed for its
olives. They show the cavern where
their founder lived in the rocks above ;
but there is nothing remarkable in
the convent beyond its antiquity and
associations.

Both convents have been destroyed
and rebuilt That of St Antony
stands below the Kalalla mountains, a
limestone range of considerable height,
which bounds the Wadee el Arraba
to the south. This valley has re-
ceived its name from the fimutrot or
qyrts, that formerly carried provisions
to the two monasteries, and is absurdly
reported to have been so called from
the chariots of Pharaoh, that pursued
the Israelites, as they crossed the sea
to the desert of Mount Sinai.

The quarries of oriental alabaster,
discovered about ten years ago, from
which the stone has been taken to

irS

270 ROUTE 19. — CAIRO TO CONVENTS IN THE DESERT. Sect. II.

ornament the new mosk of the citadel,
and other works, is in the Wadee Om-
Argo6b ; a valley running into the
Wadee Moathil, which again falls
into the Wadee Sennoor, to the south
of the road leading to the convents.
There is also a gypsum quarry near
the Gebel Khaleel, on the north side
of the Wadee Arraba ; and Wansleb
speaks of a ruined town in the same
neighbourhood.

In this part of the desert the moun-
tains are all limestone ; like those
that border the valley of the Nile,
from Cairo southwards to the sand-
stones of Hagar Silsili and its vicinity ;
which, with the few variations in the
strata about Cairo, the secondary
gres of the Red Mountain, and the
petrified wood lying over the Gebel
Mokuttum, are the principal geo-
logical features of Egypt. In the
interior of the desert, however, about
latitude 28^ 4(y, begins a range of
primitive mountains, which continues
thence, in a direction nearly parallel
with the sea, even to Abyssinia. As
it goes southwards it increases in
breadth, branching off to the west-
ward, after passing the latitude of
Kossayr, and afterwards crosses the
Nile in the vicinity of Asouan. The
principal primitive rocks in the Maa-
zee desert are the famous Egyptian
porphyry, various granites, serpen-
tines, and a few others : in the Abab-
deh portion, the Breccia Verde,
slates, and micaceous, talcose, and
other schists. Along the coast, ge-
nerally, a short distance from the sea,
is another range of low limestone hills,
which borders the primitive ridge to
the east, as the others do to the west ;
the lofty peaks of granite and other
primitive mountains rising betwe^
them like vertebra^ of the large back-
bone of the desert, one of which,
Ghireb, measures 6000 feet above
the sea.

The same formation occurs on the
other side of the sea in the peninsula
of Mount Sinai, where the limestone
19 succeeded by sandstone beds that

separate it from the granite and other
primitive rocks.

The junction of the limestone and
sandstone in the Maazy desert takes
place at about latitude 28° 42f to the
south of Dayr Bolos, and the primi-
tive rocks begin a few miles farther
down. As few are likely to visit this
desert, I shall only notice the most
remarkable places.

Gebel e* Zayt, *<the mountain of
oil,'* is close to the sea, nearly opposite
Ras Mohammed, between latitude
27° 50^, and 28° 3'. It abounds in
petroleum, whence its name ; and at
£* Gimsheh, a headland, terminating
the bay to the S. S. W. of it, are some
sulphur mines, grottoes and inscrip-
tions in the Sinaitic character.

The porphyry quarries are at GAd
e* Dohhan, ** the mountain of smoke,*'
about the latitude of Manfaloot, and
27 miles from the Red Sea. They
are highly interesting, from their
having supplied Rome with stone for
columns and many ornamental pur-
poses, from the importance attached
to them by the ancients, and from the
extent of the quarries, the ruins there,
and the innight they give into the
mode of working that hard stone.
Tlie remains consist of an Ionic tem-
ple, of the time of Trajan, left un-
finished, a town irregularly built of
rough stones, tanks, and two large
wells, one cut in the porphyry rock,
and the ruins of buildings in various
parts of the mountains.

The mention of a well sunk in the
porphyry rock may appear singular ;
yet it is not from the di£Bculty of
cutting through so hard a substance,
hut from its being made in a pri-
mitive rock ; and it is probable that
it was only intended to catch the
water which occasionally runs down
the torrent'bed during the rains of
winter, and that it should be con-
sidered rather a reservoir than a well.

Roads lead from Gebel e' Dokhan
in several directions, one to the Nile
at Keneh, another to the Myos Hor-
mos, and others to different places;

Egypt.

ROUTE 19. — MTOS HOBMOS.

271

and that between ** the porphyry
mountain** and the Nile is furnished
with fortified stations at intervals, to
protect those who passed, and to sup-
ply them with water from the large
wells within their walls.

The ruins of Myo9 Homu>$ are on
the coast, in latitude 97^ 24^. The
town is small, very regularly built,
surrounded by a ditch, and defended
by round towers at the corners, the
faces, and the gateways. The port,
which lies to the northward, is nearly
filled with sand. Below the hills, to
the eastward, is the Fons Tadmos,
mentioned by Pliny.

Myos Hormos was the principal
port on the Red Sea in the time of
Strabo. According to Agatharcides
it was afterwards called the port of
Venus, under which name it is also
mentioned by Strabo. Besides the
ancient roads that lead from Myos
Hormos to the westward, is another
running north and south, a sliort dis-
tance from the coast, leading to A boo
Durrag and Sues on one side, and
to Sow^kin on the south, to which the
Arabs have given the name of Dthe-
nilyb el Ayr, or *' the ass*s tail."

The granite quarries in thai part
of the Claudian mountain, now called
Gebel el FaieSrehf with the town of
Fon$ Trajanus, lie in nearly the same
latitude as Gow (Antsopolis), on the
Nile, and about 24 miles south-east of
the porphyry mountains. The stone
has a white ground with black spots,
of which some columns are still seen
in Rome. The quarries are very ex-
tensive, and many blocks were evi-
dently taken from them. They were
principally worked in the time of
Trajan and Adrian. The H} dreuma.

or Fons Trajanus, is a town of con-
siderable size. Tlie houses are well
built, considering the roughness of
the materials, and outside the walls
are a temple and other buildings.
In the quarries are some large co-
lumns, and round blocks, probably
intended for their bases and capitals.

The Greek inscriptions here, and
at Gebel e* Dokhan may be found in
the account given by me of this de-
sert in the Transactions of the Geo-
graphical Society and in M. Le-
tronne's Inscriptions of Egypt.

At Old Kouayr are the small town
and port of PAi^fera, of which little
remains but mounds and the vestiges
of houses, some of ancient, others of
Arab, date. The name of Pbilotera
was given it by an admiral of Pto-
lemy Philadelphus, ill honour of the
king*8 sister, hiaving been previously
called ^nnum.

llie modem town of Kossayr stands
on a small bay or cove, 4j^ miles to
the southward. It is defended by a
small fort, mounting a few rusty
cannon, and may be called a village,
rather than a town. The inhabitants
are called Embaw^eh, being originally
from Emba (Yambo) in Arabia, of
the tribes of Jehaf n and Harb.

In the Wadee Jasoos, to the N. of
Kossayr, between it and Ras Saff&gee,
is a very old station, with a small
temple* and a tablet of hieroglyphics,
bearing the name of Osirtasen II.
In this valley is some brackish water ;
but in the neighbouring ravine it is
found perfectly sweet ; and we may
conclude that the town of ^nniim
was supplied from this spot. (For
the desert south of Kossayr, aee
Routes 26, 27. Section IV.)

X 4

272

SECTION m.

UPPER EGYPT,
BETWEEN CAIRO AND THEBES.

Prdiminary Informatiotu

IB. Thx Saxxd, ok Ufpxr Eorrr. — 6. Denoiiinatioms or Towns, &c. — >
c. Amcuemt Diyisions or Egtpt. — dL Egyptian Tkmplu.

&OUTX

SO. Cairo to Benisootf - 277

21. Benisoo^fto Minieh - 282

22. Minieh to Orioot - 291

RODTX

23. Osioot to Girgeb - - 313

24. Girgeh to Keneh - - 325

25. Keneh to Thebes - - 333

a. THE SAKED, OE UPPXE XOTR.

According to Aboolfed«, the Saeed begins at Fostit, or Old Cairo ; all
to the south of that city having this name, and the northern part of the
country being called Reef. I may, however, observe, that the latter word,
at the present day, is applied to all *< the cultivated land/' in contra-
distinction to ** the desert*'

The whole of Egypt is styled in Arabic Ard»Mu$r, or simply Mtur
(MUr), a name given also to Cairo itself; which recalls the old Hebrew
Misraim ( Mixrim), ** the two Mixrs." In the ancient Egyptian language it
was called KhmiU, or *< the land of Khem," answering to the land of
** Ham" or rather « Khem," mentioned in the Bible; and in Coptic Ckmi
or Cfiimi, According to Arab tradition, Misraim, the son of Ham, had four
sons, Oshmoon, Athreeby Sa, and Copt. The last of these peopled the
country between Asouan and Coptos ; Oshmoon that to the north, as far aa
Menoof (Memphis) ; Athreeb the Delta ; and Sa the province oi Bah£yreh,
as well as the land of Barbary. Copt, however, having conquered the rest
of Egypt, became sovereign of the whole country, and gave it his name.

The two sides of the valley seem at all times to have been distinguished,
generally with reference to their position E. and W. of the river. By the
ancient Egyptians, the desert on each side was merely styled " the eastern
and western mountain;** and, at a later period, ''the Arabian and Libyan
shore;** parts of the mountain ranges having always had certain names
attached to them, as at the present day. They are now called " the eastern
and western shore ; '* and it is remarkable, that the Arabs of the eastern
desert have substituted the term Bur-Agem <* the Ftnian^** for the old name
'' AnAioM, shore," applying it to the space between the Nile and the Red
Sea.

Egypt, under the Moslems, has been divided into provinces, or h&jf^Uka^
each under the command of a bey ; or, according to their new titles, Mamoor,

U. Egypt AKCiEKT divisioks op eotpt' 273

or Mode6ri and in the time of the Memlooks, the whole country was
governed by twenty-four beys, including the Delta.

h. DIMOMINATION8 OF TOWNS, &C. ^

The large, or market, towns of Egypt have the title of Bender. Medeeiteh
is a " capital," and is applied to Cairo, and the capital of the Fyoom.
BeUetf or Beled, is the usual appellation of a ** town ; *' whence Ebn bebd,
'* son of a town," or '< townsman.** Kafr is a village : NexUh, or NezUt a
village founded by the people of another place, as NexUt d FetU, Mnieh
(corrupted into Mit, palticularly in the Delta) is also ^plied to villages
colonised from other places. Beni, <* the sons," is given to those founded
by a tribe, or family, as Bent Amr&n, « the sons of Amran," and then many
villages in the district are often included under the same name. Zow^yeh is a
bamlet, having a mosk. Kasr, or kusr, is a '* palace,** or any large building.
Boorg is a " tower" (like the. Greek Tlvpyof); and it is even applied to the
pigeon-houses built in that form. S&hU, a level spot, or opening in the bank,
where the river is accessible from the plain. Mendif an anchoring place, or
harbour. Dayr is a "convent," and frequently points out a Christian village.
Kom is a ''mound,*' and indicates the site of an ancient town, and Td is
commonly used in the Delta in the same sense. Khar6b and Kooffree are
applied to « ruins." Beerbeh, or Birheh (which is taken from the Coptic),
signifies a ** temple.** fFadee, or Wtufy, is a *( valley ; ** GSbel, a " mountain ; **
and Birkeh^ a " lake,** or a <• reach** in the Nile.

e« ANCUMT DIVISIONS OF KOTrT.

In the time of the Pharaohs, Egypt consisted of two great regions, the
upper and lower country, both of equal consequence, from which the kings
derived the title of Lord of the two Regions. Each of these had its peculiar
crown, which the monarch at his coronation put on at the same time, showing
the equal rank of the two states, while they seem to argue the existence of
two distinct kingdoms at an early period.

Egypt was then divided into thirty-six nomes (departments, or counties),
from Syene to the sea. In the time of the Ptolemies and early Caesars, this
number still continued the same ; « ten,** says Strabo, *< being assigned to
the Theba'id, ten to the Delta, and sixteen to the intermediate province.**
The geographer adds, ** some say there were as many nomes as chambers in
the labyrinth, which were under thirty. These were again subdivided into
toparehia, and these too into smaller portions.** The number of chambers in
the labyrinth is not quite certain : Herodotus, Pliny, and Strabo, do not
agree on this point; and it is probable, that as the number of the nomes
increased, other places were added for their reception ; the labyrinth being
the building where the nomes met, and each had its own apartment. Pliny
gives forty-four nomes to all Egypt, some of which are mentioned under
other names.

The triple partition of the country described by Strabo, varied at another
time, and consisted of Upper and Lower Egypt, with an intermediate
province, containing only setten nomes, and thence called Heptanomis.
Upper Egypt or the Theba'id then reached to the Thebaica PbyUce
(^vAajKi)), now Daroot e* Sher^f $ Heptanomis thence to the fork of the
Delta; and the rest was comprehended in Lower Egypt. In the time of the
later Roman emperors, the Delta or Lower Egypt was divided into four
provinces or districts — Augustaronica Prima and Secunda, and ^gyptus
Prima and Secunda; being still subdivided into the same nomes : and in the

y 5

274

ATfCIENT DIVISIONS OP EGYPT.

Sect. nr.

time of Arcadius, the son of Theodosiut the Great, Heptanomis received the
name of Arcadia. The Thebaid too was made into two parts, under the
name of Upper and Lower, the line of separation passing between PanopoUs
and Ptolema'is-Hermti. The nomes also increased in number, and
amounted to fifty-seven, of which tlie Delta alone contained thirty-four,
nearly equal to those of all Egypt in the time of the Pharaohs.

Ammianus Marcellinus says, « Egypt is reported to have had three
provinces in former times, Egypt Proper, the Thebaid, and Libya; to which
posterity added two others, Augustamnica, an offset from Egypt, and
Pentapolis, separated from Libya."

The northern part of Ethiopia, or of what is now called Nubia, had the
name of Dodeca«Schopnus, or "12 schoenes,*' and comprehended the
district from Syene to Hierasycaminon, now Maharraka.

The schoene, according to Strabo, varied in different parts of EgypL
In the Delta it consisted of SO stadia ; between Memphis and the Tbeba'id of
120; and from the Thebaid to Syene of 60. The Itinerary of Antoninus
reckons 80 miles or 640 stadia from Syene to Hierasycaminon ; the schoene
was therefore (at 8 stadia to a Roman mile) of 5SJ stadia above Syene.

Some of the towns on the two banks of the Nile are mentioned in the
Itinerary of Antoninus.

1. Alexandria to Hurasycaminon (in
Nubia) by the west hank.

Alexandria to Cliereu
Hermupoli
Andro
Niciu
L^tus
Memphi
Feme

Isiu ...
Cene
Tacona
Ozyrhyncho
Ibiu

Hermupoli
Chusis
Lyc<»

Apollonos Minoris
Hisoris
Ptolemaida
Abydo
DiospoH
Tentyra

Contri Copto

Papa

Hermunthi

Lato

Apollonos Superioris

Contrik Thmuis .

r. p.
24

8
SO
24
32
24

2. By the ea$t bani from HeUopoUt
to Contrd PttUi9 ondHitrasycaminon
in Nubicu

u. p.

Heliopolisto Babylon
Sceiias Maudras
Aphrodito
Thimonepsi
Alyi

Hipponon
Musae

Speos Artemidos
Antinou
Fesla

Hieracon •
Isiu ...
Muthi
Anteu
Selino
Pano
Tbomu
Chenobotcio
Copton

Vico Apollonos -
Thebas

. ContrA Lato
Contri Apollonos

12
12
20
24
16
16
SO
34

8
24
28
20
24

8
16
16

4
50
40
22
22

40
40

V. Egypt

EGYPTIAN TEMPLES.

275

1. AUxftndria to Hienuyeamitum (in
Ntibia) OH tke weit bank — continued.

Coniri Ombos

Contri Syene

Paremboli

TziUi

Taphis

Talmis

Tutzis

Pselcis

Corte

Hiensycamino

2. On the east bank from Hdiopotis
to Conird Ptelcis ^ continmed.

M. p.

- 40

- 30

- 3

- 24

- 10

. 24

- 11

M. p.

Ombos

Syene

Philas

Contr^ Tapbis

Cootri Talmit

Contra Pselcis

Hierasycamino

d, KGTPTIAV TEMPLSS.

In order to render tbe description of Egyptian temples more intelligible, I
shall introduce the plans and arrangementa of the different parU.

»"■ >• ^■

Crude brick Wail qf endoture.

The Temenos planted vitk trees.

'!>■■-

Illllllllll

JFi$. 1.

n a 90 sow

Scale qf feet.

.^^ll^KtftyBKL.

Fig. 1, St a simple form of a temple, censiiting of (A b b) the dromos of fphinzef, sss;
three propjionc or pylonc, aaa i tbe pronat or portico, d ; and the adjftwm (sikoe) or
•anctuary «, which was dther isolated, or occupied the whole of the naot, as in Jig, 9. cc
are ecreemt, reaching half way up the columns, as seen in Jig, 3. In tlie adytum {e,Jlg. S.}

N 6

EGTPTIAH TBMPLE8.

■ iiuiiiiiiiiiiiiii H.«....H--"---l5''l,

1 Mlwi;j!l»...l.jJlJn!mM

,__iiii iiiiiiiiiii ■ ■ H> j"l»***rn>T^^ln

B!..,,.,..,..,.^|i K.jjiife;fea

ntbewfrns,

tfritOat, 1 utl or miucpt |

uilB^MH, or>Mat,-*ii,iidca4M. ftr 6. a, (win iw rplani i A, rfniMi i/i|iiilnxc( j
utbetiiiOofiiiHiDlilT (*) :'tlili unlF-rocaii J mar Ik conddnvd lk(|ieilHis. I, bmiK^iM.

f^tit:

haportUB.

^nnitliiiainnt.wlI^iupilctdlniuUrnnn within lh(jrg!>ia((t] TtitrM mA-j- tn

U. Egypt.

BOUTS 20. — CAIBO TO BENISOO^F.

iihalc lUodlnfon ( riiHd pliUami. One dF Uich Uinpla itiicid U ElcpbuUlie, ud anatbcr
Wuh rconl u Uia UM of tha void piopjlan, 1 Du|ht to nbHrrs that pnoTUin, pjUn,

"^ J^h^"* '"li'JSS''' 'T'd* *" '*'•«""■» Iflf- T., oroj(fi. * inAS.); but Ilia
. .. ..._ . .__ .. — cnoftheiuopirlBuiii," I Eiia idopud jqifM

Cairn (Boolak) to El Miunh, E.
Bedmhaja (and HenpUi], W. -
Tblun , . . .

Kafrcl AUt, (or lyit) W.
B!gg«,W. . , - .
Atfieh ~

G6mi

, W,

Beauao^r

After paning the palaces of Ka*r
Dubam, and Kaar el Ainee, the
itland of Rhoda, and Old Cairo (o
the i(f\, and the towni of Embibeh
and Geeieb on tha right, jaa maj
be taid to eater the Sieed. About
1| mile beyond the old capiUl and the
mound* of the itill older Babylon, ii
the picturesque moak of Attar e*
Mebbee, illuated on a prtjecting
point of the eaalern bank, at the end
of an aTcnue of fine treea. Jli name
i> 4eriTCd tnta an iniprewioa of

278

ROUTE 20. — CAIRO TO BEKISOO^F.

Sect in.

"the prophei*8 fooittep,** said to be
preserved there. A large sandbank
has now been formed before it, so
that boats only pass close to the
inosk during the inundation. A
short distance inland, to the east-
ward, is a river of late time, at
the southern extremity of a low ridge
of hills, which has received the not
uncommon name of StabJ Antar.
Here a powder magazine has lately
been established by the pasha ; and on
the low ground beyond it to the east
are the remains of an aqueduct of
Arab construction, probably the one
mentioned by Pococke. A long
reach of tlie Nile extends from Attar
e* Nebbee to Uie village of e' Oayr
" the convent," inhabited by Copt
Christians; and inland to the east is
the village of Bussateen, once famed
for its ** gardens,'* whence its name,
but now scarcely known, except as
the resort of a troblesome set of
Arabs, the Neam, who encamp upon
the plains in the vicinity. Near it is
the burial ground of the Jews, in the
sandy plain below the limestone hills
of the Mokuttum. That range is
here rent asunder by a broad valley
called Bahr-hela-me, " the river
without water,** which comes down
from the eastward, and measures to
its head about 8 miles. It separates
that part, called Gebel e* Jooshee,
from the rest of the Mokuttum
range.

'Die name Bahr-bela-me (or -ma) is
applied to several broad deep valleys,
both in the eastern and western
deserts, the most noted of which lies
beyond the Natron lakes.

One of the Sues roads, called Derb e'
Tarab^en, passes over this part of the
Mokuttum, and comes down to the
Nile by this valley to the village of
Bussateen ; and immediately above
the brow of the cliff" on its north side
is the plain of petrified wood (already
mentioned), as well as an ancient road
that led from Heliopolis over the
hills to this part of the country. ( See
Sr.cT. 2. — ExcuasioK 2.)

On the right, the majestic pyramids

seem to watch the departure of the
traveller when he quits the capital,
as they welcomed his approach from
the Delta ; and those of Abooseer,
Sakk&ra, and Dashoor, in succession,
present themselves to his view, and
mark the progress of his journey.
A little below Toora, on the east
bank, are some low mounds of earth,
probably ancient walls of decayed
crude bricks, belonging to an enclo-
sure, once square, but now partly
carried away by the river ; and to the
east of it is another long mound,
through which a passage led to the
plain behind. The name of Toora
signifies "a canal,** but it is more
likely to have been originally derived
from that of the ancient village that
once stood near tliis spot, called Troja,
or Tro'icus pagus; the conversion of
an old name into one of similar sound
in Arabic being of common occur-
rence in modern Egypt.

The wall stretching across the
plain to the hills, and the fort above,
were built by Ism&'il Bey, whose
name tliey bear. On the recovery of
Egypt by the Turks under Hassan
Pasha, in 1787, Ismiil Bey was ap*
pointed Shekh-Beied of Cairo ; and
Murad, with the other Memlook
Beys, being confined to Upper Egypt
this wall was erected to prevent their
approach to the capital. But Ismi'il
Bey dying of the plague in 1790,
Ibrahim and Murad shared Upper
and Lower Eg}rpt between them till
the French invasion.

A short distance to the south
of the fort, on the top of the same
range of hills, are the ruins of an
old convent, called Dayr el Bughleh
which is mentioned by Arab writers,
and was discovered a few years ago
by M. Linant.

El MStarah, or Tbora - MdmrOf
about 1} mile further to the south,
claims, with Toora, the honour of
marking the real site of the Trolcus
pagus, which, occording to Strabo,
stood near to the river and the quar*
ries. Strabo and Diodonis both re-
port that it was built and named

XI. Egypt.

ROUTE 20. — QUAKRIES OF M1.SASAH.

279

after the Trojan captives of Menelaus,
with what probability it is difficult
now to decide; and some ancient
Egyptian name of similar sound is
as likely to have been changed by the
Greeks and Romans into Troja, as by
the modern Arabs into Toora. The
mountain to the eastward is evidently
the Troici lapidis mons, or Tpaucov
opos of Ptolemy and Strabo; and
from it was taken the stone used in
the casing of the pyramids. It is to the
same mountain that Herodotus and
Diodorus allude, when they say the
stone for building the great pyramid
came "from Arabia," or the eastern
side of the Nile.

The quarries are of great extent;
and that they were worked from a
very remote "period is evident from the
hieroglyphic tablets and the names of
kings inscribed within them. Those
to the north, to which a railway has
been laid down by the Pasha, are
sometimes distinguished by the name
of the quarries of Toora, those to the
south, of Masarah. At the former
are tablets bearing the names of
Amun-m>gori, of Amunoph II. and
III., and of Neco : at the latter are
those of Ames, Amyrtseus, Acoris
'(Hakori), and Ptolemy Philadelphus
with Arsinoe; and some have the
figures of deities, as Athor and Thoth,
and the triad of Thebes — Amun,
Maut, and Khonso — without royal
ovals. In one of the tablets at the
quarries of Masarah, sculptured in
the 22nd year of Ames or Amosis,
the leader of the 1 8th dynasty, who
ascended the throne in 1575 a. c, is
the representation of a sledge bearing
a block of stone, drawn by six oxen.
The hiereglyphic inscription above
this is much defaced; but in the
legible portion, besides the titles of
the king and queen *< beloved of
Pthah and Atmoo,** we read ** in the
22nd year of his beloved majesty the
king, son of the Sun, Ames, to whom
life is given, was opened the door • .

. . the chambers freestone,

hard and good, to build the hall of

assembly, which is ... . the temple
of Pthah, the temple of the god (and)
the temple of Amun in Thebes ....
he has caused .... with oxen ....
of the good god the king, who lives
.•..'* In another quarry towards
the south is a larger tablet, represent-
ing king Amyrtaeus offering to the
triad of the place, Thoth, the goddess
Nehimeou, and Horns (Nofre-Hor,
•* the lord of the land of Bahet **), and
below the king stands a small figure,
in the act of cutting the stone with a
chisel and mallet. Besides the Hie-
roglyphic ovals of the kings, are seve-
ral names and inscriptions in encho-
rial ; and here and there are various
numbers and quarry-marks, frequently
with lines indicating the size of each
stone. The name of the place ap.
pears to be Benno. The quarries are
not only interesting from their extent
and antiquity, but from their showing
how the Egyptian masons cut the
stone.

They first began by a trench or
groove round a square space, on the
smooth, perpendicular &ce of the
rock ; and having pierced a hori-
sontal shaft to a certain distance, by
cutting away the centre of tlie square,
they made a succession of similar
shafts on the same level, after which
they extended the work downwards
in the form of steps, removing each
tier of stones as they went on, till they
reached the lowest part, or intended
floor, of the quarry. A similar process
was adopted on the opposite side, in the
same face of the rock, till at lengtli
two perpendicular walls were left,
which marked the ex tent of the quarry ;
and here again, new openings were
made, and another chamber, connected
with the other, was formed in the same
manner; pillars of rock being left here
and there to support the roof. These
communications of one quarry, or
chamber of a quarry, with the other,
are frequently observable in the
mountains of Masarah^ where they
follow in uninterrupted succession for
a considerable distance; and in no

280

ROUTE 20. — CAJRO TO BENISOOiP.

Sect. m.

part of Egjpt is the method of quar-
rying more clearly shown. The lines
traced on the roof, marking the sise
and division of each set of blocks,
were probably intended to show the
number hewn by particular workmen.
Instances of this occur in other places,
from which we may infer that, in
cases where the masons worked for
hire, this account of the number of
stones they had cut served to prove
their claims for payment ; and when
condemned as a punishment to the
quarries, it was in like manner a re-
cord of the progress of their task ;
criminals being frequently obliged to
hew a filed number of stones accord-
ing to their offence. The mountain
of Masarah still continues to supply
stone for the use of the metropolis, as
it once did for Memphis and its vici-
nity ; and the floors of the houses of
Cairo continue to be paved with flags
of the same magnesian limestone
which the Egyptian masons employed
4000 years ago. '

Tlie occasional views over the plain,
the Nile, and the several pyramids on
the low Libyan hills beyond the river,
which appear through openings in the
quarries, as you wander Uirough them,
have a curious and pleasing effect;
and on looking towards the village of
Masarah, you perceive on the left a
causeway or inclined road, leading
towards the river, by which the stones
were probably conveyed to the Nile.

Hdwttm, a village on the east bank,
is known as having been the first
place where the Arabs made a Nilo*
meter, under the caliphate of Abd el
Melek, abput the year 700 a. d. It
was built by Abd el Asees, the bro-
ther of the caliph ; but being found
not to answer there, a new one was
made by Soolayman, his second suc-
cessor, about 1 6 years afterwards, at
the Isle of Roda, where it has con-
tinued ever since. Aboolfeda speaks
of Helw&n as a very delightful vil-
lage, and it was perhaps from this
that it obtained its name, Helwa
signifying « sweety" though, as Nor-

den observes, it possesses nothing
more to recommend it on this score
than its opposite neighbour. Nearly
opposite Helwin, on the W. bank,
and a little way from the shore, is
Bedreshayn; and H mile to the
westward is Mitrahenny, the site of
Memphis. Its lofty mounds ouiy be
seen from the river, halfway between
the village of Sakkira and the Nile ;
and about 4 miles farther up the
stream, you pass Shobuk, and the py-
ramids of Dasb6or, 4 miles inland to
the right About 2 miles to the west-
ward of Ma8gb6on, is el Kafr, a
small village, from which on of the
principal roads leads to the F^o6m,
across the desert (See Route XVI.)

In this neighbourhood, probably
near Dash6or, were <^the city of
Acanthus, the temple of Osiris, and
the grove of Thebaic gum-producing
Acanthus,** mentioned by Strabo;
which last may be traced in the many
groves of that tree (the sont, or
Acacia Nilotica), which still grow
there, at the edge of the cultivated
land. The town of Acanthus was,
according to Diodorus, 120 stadia, or
15 K. r.from Memphis, equal to ISi,
or nearly 14 English miles, which, if
correct, would place it much farther
south, to the westward of i^r el
lyit ; though it is generally supposed
to have stoMl nvar Dash6or.

In the hills near £1 Kafr, are some
small tombs, not worth visiting.

On the same bank, and near Kafr
ri lyit, at the extremity of a large
bend of the river, is, as I suppose^
the site of Menes* Dyke. {Sea above.
Section II. Excursion 4. page 203.)

From this spot are descried the
two ruined pyramids of Lisht, built
of small blocks of limestone ; which
were probably once covered with an
exterior coating of larger stones.

Three miles to the N. W. is a coni-
cal hill resembling a pyramid. It is,
however, merely a rock, with no
traces of masonry ; and in this part
of the low Libyan chain are a great
abundance of fossils, particularly

Cr. Egypt.

BOUTE 20. — FALSE FTBAMID.

281

oytter-shellsy with which some of the
rocks are densely filled, in some in-
stances retaining their glossy mother-
of-pearl surface.

Wadee Ghomf er (or el Ghomeir)
opens upon the Nile at £*Saf on the
east bank. By this valley runs the
southernmost of the roads across the
desert to Sues.

W. S.W.from Rigga, on the op-
posite bank, is a pyramid, called by
the Arabs « H&rom d Keddb/' or the
** false pyramidy** from tlie erroneous
idea that the base is merely rock, and
that it does not form part of the build*
ing itself. It is built in stories or
degrees, and is remarkable for the
position of the stones, which lie nearly
at the tom^bemtnX of the exterior an^,
and not horizontally, as in other
monuments.

At A tf^eh are the mounds of Aphro-
ditopolis, or the city of Athor, the
Egyptian Venus. It presents no
monuments. • The Coptic name is
Tpeh, or Petpieh, easily converted
into the modem Arabic Atf^eh. It
was the capital of the Aphroditopo-
lite nome, and noted, as Strabo tells
us, for the worship of a white cow,
the emblem of the goddess.

At Maydoon, which stands on the
canal, opposite the false pyramid, are
lofty mounds of an ancient town ;
and opposite Zow'yeh, at the north
comer of the low hills overlooking
the Nile, is Broombel, where mounds
marks tha site of an old town, pro-
bably Ancyronpolis. That city is
supposed to have owed its name to
the stone anchors said to have been
cut in the neighbouring quarries.

Zow'yeh appears to be Iseum, in
Coptic Naesi, the city of Isis, which
stood near the canal leading to Pou-
siri, or Nilopolis, and thence to the
Crocodilopolite nome. This canal
on the north, with part of the pre-
decessor of the Bahr Yoosef on the
west, and the Nile on the east, formed
the island of the Heracleopolite nome ;
and the dty of Hercules was, accord-
ing to Strabo, towards the southern

extremity of the province, of which
it was the capital. And this agrees
with the position of An^eh, or Om
el Keem&n, "the mother of the
mounds," as it is often called by the
Arabs, from the lofty mounds of the
old city, which are seen inland about
twelve miles to the westward of Be-
nisooef.

Nothing of interest is met with on
the Nile between Zow'yeh and Be-
nisooef.

Inland, about nine miles to the
south-west of the former is Abooseer,
the site of Busiris, or Nilopolis, in
Coptic Fousiri, upon the canal already
mentioned, bounding the Heracleo-
polite nome to the west. The posi-
tion of the city of the Nile, at a dis-
tance from the river, was evidently
chosen in order to oblige the people
to keep the canal in proper repair,
that the water of the sailed stream
might pass freely into the interior,
and reach the town where the god
Nilus was the object of particular
veneration; a motive which M. de
Pauw very judiciously assigns to the
worship of the crocodile in towns
situated far ftom the river.

Zaytoon has succeeded to an ancient
town, called in Coptic Phannig6it.
It was in the district of Poushin, the
modem Boosb, which is distant lEUxnit
three miles to the south, and is
marked by lofty mounds. It is re-
markable that Zaytoon, signifying
« olives,'* is an An^ic translation of
the^ld name Pha-n-ni-goit, *<the
place of olives,** probably given it to
show a quality of the land, which
differed from the rest of the Heracleo-
polite nome.

Dallas, about a mile to the S. W.
of Zaytoon, appears to be the Tgol (or
Tlog) of the Copto; and at Shenow^eh,
close to Boosh, are mounds of an
ancient town, whose name is un-
known.

Booeh is a large and thriving town,
considering the state of the Egyptian
peasantry. Among the inhabitants
are many Copt Christians, and it has

282

BOUTE 20. — BENISOO]£f TO MfMIEH.

Sect III.

a large depot of monks, which keeps
up a constant communication with the
convents of St. Antony and St. Paul,
in the eastern desert, supplying them
with all they require, furnishing them
occasionally wiUi fresh monastic re-
cruits, and superintending the regu-
lations of the whole corps of ascetics.
Pococke supposes Boosh to be the
ancient Ptolemais, the port of Arsinoe,
but this was further ipland.

Benitooef is the capital of the pro-
vince or beylik, and the residence of
the governor, whose palace stands
on the north. Benisoo^f has also
a manufactory for silk and cotton
stufls, built by Mohammed Ali in
1826, as in other large towns of
Egypt ; but it is no longer famous for
its liuen manufactures, as in the time
of Leo Africanus, when it supplied
the whole of Bgypt with flax, and ex-
ported great quantities to Tunis and
other parts of Barbary. A market is
held at Benisoo^f every week, but it
is badly supplied ; and the town can-
not boast even the common Eastern
comfort of a bath, which at Minieh,
and other large towns of Egypt, is
always to be met with.

The bank at Benisoo^f presentothe
ordinary scenes common to all the
large towns on the Nile; the most
striking of which are, numerous boats
tied to the shore, — buffaloes standing
or Ijring in the water, — women at
their usual morning and evening oc-
cupation of filling water-jars and
washing clothes, — dogs lying in holes
they have scratched in the cool earth,
— and beggars importuning each
newly arrived European stranger with
the odious word "bakshish.** This
is followed by the equally odious
«< Ya Hawiigee," by which the Franks
are rather contemptuously designated;
and the absurd notion of superiority
over the Christians affected by the
Moslems is strikingly displayed in
these as in many other instances.
The faithful beggar, barely covered
with scanty rags, and unclean with filth,
thinks himself polluted by the contact

of a Christian, whose charity he sel-
dom condescends to ask in the same
terms as from a true believer; and
*< bakshish, ya Haw&gee *' is subtituted
for ••Sow&b lill&h, ya SidL"

He also marks hb superiority by
the use of the word Hawigee. It
answers to the French marehand; and
the same presumption which led some
silly people in France to stigmatise
the English as a nation of shopkeepers
(marehandt), has found a worthy
parallel iu the mouths of the beggars
of Egypt. Lee beaux esprit* se ren'-
contremti and in like manner the Mos-
lems, however degraded their condi-
tion, treat all Europeans as shop*
keepers, unworthy of aspiring to their
own innate excellence.

From Benisoo^f isone of the prin-
cipal routes to the Fyo6m, (sec Sec-
tion 2, Route 16.) The brick py-
ramid of Illaho6n, at its north-east
entrance, may be seen from the town.
On the opposite bank is the Wadee
By&d, by which the road leads to tlie
monasteries of St. Antony and St*
Paul, situated in the desert near the
Red Sea. (See Route 19.)

ROUTE 21.

IXKISOOSr TO ItfNIKH.

Miles.
Benisoo^f to Aboogtrgeh, (W.) 45{

{Excureion to B^neta, inland.)
Aboogirgeh to Mfnieh, (W.} 87}

82}

The village of Dayr By£d, in an
island opposite Benisoo^f, so called
from a neighbouring convent, is in-
habited by people originally of the
tribe of Beni-Wisel Arabs; whose
chief, Shekh Ibrahim, was about 15
years ago one of the roost wealthy
persons in the valley of the Nile.

Some small mounds, called Tel e*
Nass4ra and Tel e' Teen, inland oa
the south of the island, mark the site
of ancient villages ; and on the oppor

U.Egypt ROUTE 21. — BENisooip to m/nieh.

283

site bank are many mounds of larger
towns, whose ancient names are un-
known.

Isment, between 2 and 3 miles S.
of Benisoo^fy on the river side, has
mounds, but no vestiges of ruins, nor,
indeed, any relic of antiquity, except
the margin of a well. It is called
Isment el Bahr (" of the river'*), to
distinguish it from Isment (miscalled
Sidment) e* Gebel (" of the moun-
tain'*), which stands at the foot of
the hills separating the F^o6ra from
the valley of the Nile. This name
cannot fail to call to mind Ismendes,
and may, perhaps, be the Shbent of
the Coptic list of towns in this dis-
trict.

Anisieh, or Om el K^emdn, "the
mother of the mounds,'* the ancient
city of Hercules, lies inland to the
west. The Coptic name of that
town, Ebnes or Unes, is readily
traced, in the mo<lem An&sieh, as its
position by the lofty mounds on which
it stands. That this is the site of
Hcracleopolis there is no question,
though the Arabic and Coptic names
bear no resemblance to that of the
deity, Sem or Gom, the Egyptian
Hercules. It was here that the ich-
neumon, the enemy of the crocodile,
was particularly worshipped ; and tlie
respect paid to that animal by the
Heracleopolites, the immediate neigh-
bours of the Arsino'ite or Crocodilo-
polite nome, led, in late times, during
the rule of the Romans, to serious
disputes, which terminated in blood-
shed, and made the contending par-
ties forget the respect due to the sa-
cred monuments of their adversaries.
And judging from what Pliny states
respecting the injuries done to the
famous labyrinth, there is more rea-
son to attribute tlie destruction of
that building to the superstitious pre-
judices of the Heracleopolites, than
to the ordinary ravages of time.

At Tanseh, Brangeh, Bibbeb, Sits,
and other places, are the mounds of
old towns, with whose names we are
unacquainted. Fococko supposes

Brangeh (or, as he calls it, Benm-
gieh), to be Cynopolis ; but the posi-
tion of that town was farther to the
south. Bibbeh, which has succeeded
to an ancient town, is noted for a
Copt convent, and for an imaginary
Moslem santon, thence called £1 Bib«
bdwee. This holy individual is the
offspring of a clever artifice of the
Christians; who, to secure Ibeir
church from outrage, during the dis-
turbances that formerly took place in >
Egypt, gave out that a Moslem shekh^
presided over and dwelt in its pre^
cincts ; and the priests to this day tell-
them a heterodoi story of his ezploit^^
and his wars against the infidels. The
name of infidel is indefinite ; it may
satisfy the Moslem or the Christian,
according to his peculiar applica- '
tion of the word ; and the pious false-
hood is at all events as true as thesceiie
represented by the picture. So well *
indeed has it succeeded, that visits are
frequently paid by the passing Mos-
lem to the sanctuary of this revered
personage ; he reads the Fat' ha before
the likeness of a man (though so
strictly forbidden by his religion),
and that too within the walls of a
Christian church ; and he gladly con-
tributes a few paras for the lamps
burnt before it, with the full persua^
sion that his voyage will be prospe-
rous, through the good offices of the
saint. But while the priest who re-
ceives the boon tells the plausible tale
of the power of the "shekh," the in-
different spectator, who recognises the
usual representation of St. George
and the Dragon, may smile at the
credulity and the ignorance of the
donor. The conversion of St. George
into a Moslem saint may appear
strange to an Englishman; but it is
found to be far less difficult to de-
ceive an Egyptian by this clumsy
imposition, than to persuade a Copt
Christian that his guardian saint, with
the same white horse, green dragon,
and other accessories, holds a similar
tutelary post in England. Tlie most
credulous^ as well as^tbe most rea^

284

ROUTE 21.— ABOO-GIBGEH TO m£nIEH.

Sectm.

soDsble Copt, iromediately rejects
this statement as a glaring impos-
sibility ; and the question, *' What
can our St. George have to do with
England?'* might perplex the most
plausible, or the most pious, of the
Crusaders.

Nearly opposite Bibbeh is Shekh
Aboo Noor, the site of an ancient
Tillage ; and beyond it the position of
some old towns are marked by the
mounds of Sits, Miniet e* Geer, and
Feshn. A little higher up the river,
on the east bank, behind the island
that lies half way between Feshn and
el Fent, is el H^ybee, or Medeenet-
e* Gahil, where some remains mark
the site of a small town of consider-
able antiquity. They consist of crude
brick walls, and remains of houses.
On the north side is a large mass of
building of some height, founded on
the rock, but probably of later date
than the walls of the town. It is
built of smaller brick, and between
every fourth course are layers of reeds,
serving as binders. Behind this, a
short distance out of the town, is an
isolated square enclosure surrounded
by a crude brick wall; and in the
centre of the open space it encloses,
is a grotto or cavern cut in the rock,
probably sepulchral, a tomb being
also found between this and the wall
of the town. The tombs are pro-
bably of a later time than the build-
ings themselves. Near t^e water's
edge are the remains of a stone quay ;
and some fragments of unsculptured
blocks are met with in different places.
But the most remarkable feature in
the ruins at el Hiybee is the style of
the bricks in its outer walls, which
have two hieroglyphic legends stamped
upon them, sometimes one contain-
ing the oval of ft king, sometimes
ftnother, with the name of a high-
priest of Amun.

That the town existed, also, in
Roman time is proved by the frag-
ments of mouldings found there.
Some of the stamped bricks have been
lately burnt, and used by Ahmed

Pasha for some modem buildings;
which accounts for the unusual ap-
pearance of burnt bricks of early
Egyptian time. May this be the site
of Alyi or of Hipponon ?

At Malat^eh are other mounds,
and at the south-west comer of Gebel
Shekh Embdrak Is an old ruined town,
long since deserted, which affords one
of many proofs that the Egyptians
availed themselves of similar situa-
tions, with the double view of saving
as much arable land as possible, when
a town could be placed on an un-
productive though equally convenient
spot, and of establishing a command-
ing post at the passes between the
mountains and the Nile.

Gebel Shekh Emb&rak is a lofty
table mountain, approaching very
close to the river, and detached from
the main chain of the Gebel el B4xam,
which stretches far inland to the
south-east. After this follow a suo
cession of low hills to Gebel e' Tayr.
A little above El Meragha (or Meg-
higha), on the same bank, is the
H&gar e* SaUm, or '< stone of wel-
fare," a rock in the stream near the
shore, so called from an idea of the
boatman, *' that a joumey down the
Nile cannot be accounted prosperous
until after they have passed it." The
mountains here recede from the Nile
to the eastward ; and at Shar6na are
the mounds of an ancieQt town, perhaps
Pseneros or Shenero. Pococke sup-
poses it to be Musa or Muson. The
sites of other towns may also be seen
on the opposite side of the river, as at
Aba, three or four miles inland* and
at. Aboo- Girgeh some distance to the
south. A few miles above Shar6na,
on the east bank, is Kom Ahmar,
" the red mound,** with the remains
of brick and masonry, perhaps of
Muson, and a few rude grottoes.
To the east of this are several dog
mummy pits, and the Testiges of an
ancient village, in the vicinity of
Ham&tha. At j4boo - Girgth (or Aboo
Girg) are extensive mounds. It is
still a large /cOdA town, situated in a

U.Egypt.

BOUTB 21. — BimnesA.

289

rich plain about two miles from the
Nile.

EzcaasiON to Bshnzsa ; imlahd.

Inland to the west it BShutOy the
ancient Oxyrhinchut, in Coptic
Pemge, which is a ride of 10) miles
across the fields, from Aboo-Girgeh.
The peculiar worship of the Oxyrhin-
chus fish gave rise to the Greek name
of this city ; and, from the form of its
'< pointed nose," I am inclined to
think it was the Mixzth or Mixdeh of
the present day, which may be traced
in the Coptic emge. The modern
name of the place is Bahnasa or
Behnesa, in which some have endea-
voured to trace that of the Bennif one
of the many fish of the Nile, con-
veniently transformed into theozyrhin-
chus for an etymological purpose, and,
it is needless to say« without the least
shadow of reason.

Tlie position of Behnesa is far from
being advantageous ; the Libyan desert
having made greater encroachments
there than in any part of the valley.
Downs of sand overgrown with bushes
extend along the edge of its culti-
vated land ; to the west of which is a
sandy plain of great extent, with a
gentle ascent, towards the hills of the
Libyan chain ; and behind these is a
dreary desert. The encroachments
are not, however, so great as Denon
would lead us to suppose, nor will the
people of B^hneaa, as be supposes, be
driven by the sand beyond the Bahr
Toosef. The site of the town
guarantees the inhabitants from such
a catastrophe, even if they neglect the
most common precautions, and they
have always the means of protecting
themselves from it, though the inva-
sion of sand were to increase by more
than its usual ratio.

On the south side are some mounds
covered with sand, on which stand
several shekhs* tombs; and others,
consisting of broken pottery and bricks,
suflSciently mark the site of a large
town, whose importance is proved by
the many granite columns, fragments

of cornices, mouldings, and altars that
lie scattered about Little, however,
remains of its early monuments ; and
if the site of its mounds proclaims its
former extent, the appearance of its
modem bouses and the limited num-
ber of three mosks show its fallen
condition.

Like other towns Behnesa boasts a
patron saint. He is called e* Tak*
r6ory, and is known in Arab songs
and legendary tales. He is even be-
lieved to appear occasionally to the
elect, outside his tomb, accompanied
by a numerous retinue of horsemen,
but without any ostensible object.

The " single column, with its capi-
tal and part of the entablature, show-
ing it to be a fragment of a portico
of the composite order,** described by
Denon, no longer exists, though the
columns he mentions in the mosks
may still be seen. According to an
account given me in the Fyo6m, aAer
my visit to Behnesa, there are some
caverns to the N.W.(?) of the town,
and in one of them about eighteen
columns arranged around the interior,
and standing in water, which is of
great depth, and never dried up.
Nearly opposite the door is a niche or
recess, once (as they pretend) the
site of an altar or a statue. Though
the authority of the Arabs may be
doubted, any one who visits Behnesa
may easily inquire about it, and as-
certain tlie trutlk

Behnesa is still the residence of a
governor ; in 1 82SHt had a garrison
of 400 Turkish soldiers ; and in the
time of the Memlooks it enjoyed con-
siderable importance, and was one of
the principal towns of modern Egypt.
The Bahr Yoosef once passed through
the centre ; but the eastern portion
of tlie city ^ of Oxyrhmchus is no
longer part of Behnesa, and being
now called SAndofeh, may be con-
sidered a distinct village. At the
period of the Arab conquest, Beh-
nesa was a place of great importance,
and of such strength that of the
1 6,000 men, who besieged it, 5,000

286

ROUTE 21. — ABOO-GIRGEH NO MfxiEH.

Sect. m.

are said to have parisbed in the as-
sault.

The account of this conquest and of
the previous history of the city, given
by the Arab historian A boo Ab-
dillahi ben Mohammed el Mukkari,
is more like fable than a real his-
tory.

ROUTE 21. (eantinued.)

raOM ABOO-GiaGIH TO MfNIEH.

Above Aboo-Girgeh are el Kays,
Aboo-Axees, and other places, whose
mounds mark the positions of old
towns. £1 Kays, the Kais of the
Copts, which is laid down in Coptic
MSS. between Nikafar and Ozy-
rhinchus, is the andent^Cynopolis, the
'* City of the Dogs ; '* and it is worthy
of remark, that one of the principal
repositories of dog mummies is found
on the opposite bank, in the vicinity
of Hamitha. It was not unusual
for a city to bury its dead, as well as
its sacred animals, on the opposite side
of the Nile ; provided the mountains
were near the river, or a more con-
venient spot offered itself for the con-
struction of catacombs than *in their
own vicinity; and such appears to
have been the case in this instance.
There is reason to believe that one
branch of the Nile has been stopped
in this spot, which once flowed to the
west of el Kays ; and this would ac-
cord with the position of Cynopolis,
in an bland, according to Ptolemy,
and account for the statement of el
Mukkari that el Kays was on the
east bank. Co, which Ptolemy places
opposite Cynopolis, should be some
miles inland to the west Beni-
Mohammed-el-Kofo6r has succeeded
to the old Nikafar mentioned in the
Coptic MSS. It was above Kais;
but another town, called Tamma, is
placed by them between Cynopolis
and Oxyrhinchus.

In the hills behind Skekh Hassan,
on the east bank, are extensive lime-
stone quarries. Near them are some

crude brick remains, with broken
pottery ; and in a chapel or niche in
the rock is a Christian inscription.
A singular isolated rock stands in the
plain behind Nezlet e* Shekh Has-
san ; and similar solitary masses of
rock, left by the stone-cutters, are
met with to the south, with other
quarries, and a few small tombs.
About two and a half miles to the
south of Nexlet e' Sbekh Hassan are
the vestiges of an ancient village ; and
in the plain, near the mouth of the
Wadee e* Serar^eh, are an old station,
or fort, and another village. The
river here makes a considerable bend
to the west, leaving two large islands
on the eastern side opposite Gol6-
saneh. Near the latter village Po-
cocke saw two rows of stone, about
20 feet long, under the water, ap-
parently the remains of an ancient
wall ; but I could find no traces of
them, though it is possible that at the
low Nile they may still be discernible,
and Gol6saneh may occupy the site
of an old town.

On the north-west corner of the
hills, at the mouth of Wadee «* Dojfr,
are some limestone quarries. Their
principal interest always consisted in
two painted grottoes of the early time
of Pihahmen, the son of Remeaes the
Great, the last king of the 18th dy-
nasty. One of them has unfortu-
nately been destroyed by the Turks,
and the other has already lost its
portico, and is threatened with th6
fiite of its companion. It is very
small, measuring only 7 paces by 4,
inside, but very interesting from the
subjects it contains, and from the
fact of its having been the rock
temple, or chapel, of the adjoining
quarries. The portico was in antis
witli two columns, one of which was
standing two or three years ago ; and
it received the name of Bahayn, **the
two doors,'* from its double entrance.
Athor was the presiding deity.

This custom of placing quarries
and other localities, under the pe-

U. Egypt.

ROUTE 21. GEBEL e' TAYR.

287

culiar protection of some god, was
observed by the Egyptians from the
earliest to the latest pAiods; the
quarries of Toora-Masurab, and the
hills of the pyramids, were under
their tutelary deity; and the L«atin
inscription ' of Caracalla at Asouan
speaks of ** Jupiter- Ammon, Ce-
nubis, and Juno, under whose
guardianship the hill was placed,"
where new quarries had been opened.

Round the comer of the rock out-
side this grotto, king Remeses III.,
the fourth successor of Pthahmen, is
represented with the crocodile-headed
god Savak and Athor, receiving the
honourable distinction of ** president
of the assemblies ;'* and at the side are
two large ovals of the same Pharaoh,

On Uie south side of Wadee e'
Dayr are vestiges of a small town,
and near it some tombs and quarried
rocks.

A ruined wall of crude brick
ascends the low northern extremity of
the Gebel e* Tayr ; and some dis-
tance further up to the east, near the
spot where the mountain road de-
scends into the Wadee e' Dayr, about
£. S. £. from the convent, is a bed
of trap rock, rarely met with in the
valley of the Nile. The wall appears
again at the ravine called Wadee el
Ag6os, four or five miles further
south, which I shall have occasion to
mention presently.

Inland, on the west bank, nearly
opposite e' Serar^eh, and the mouih
of Wadee e* Dayr, is the town of
Samalood, whose name and mounds
proclaim the former existence of an
ancient town, and whose lofty mi-
naret is looked upon as a duf
J*(EMrr0 of yc//dA architecture. The
builder of it is reported to be the
same who made that of Osioot.

The convent of Sitteh (Sittina)
Mariam el Adra, ** Our Lady Mary
the Virgin,** hence called Dayr el
Adra, and by some Dayr el Buk-
kar, "of the pulley,** stands on the
flat summit of the. Gebel e' Tayr
on the east bank. It is inhabited

by Copts, who frequently descend
from these lofty' and precipitous cliff's
to the river, and swimming off to a
passing boat on inflated skins, beg for
charity from the traveller, not with-
out being sometimes roughly handled
by the Arab boatmen. The impor-
tunity of land beggars every one has
experienced ; but these water men-
dicants will be found not inferior to
any of the fraternity ; and long be-
fore an European's boat comes abreast
of the convent, the cry of "ana
ChriMttdn ya Hawiigee" Arom the
water announces their approach.

Here ends the district of Benisoo^f.

GeM e' Tajp^, ** the mountain of the
bird,** has a strange legendary tale at-
tached to it. All the birds of the
country are reported to assemble an-
nually at this mountain ; and, after
having selected one of their number,
to remain there till the following year,
they fly away into Africa, and only
return to release their comrade, and
substitute another in his place. Tlie
story is probably only another version of
that mentioned by ^lian, who speaks
of two hawks being deputed by the
rest of the winged community to go
to certain desert islands near Libya,
for no very definite purpose.

Between three and four miles S,
of the convent is the Gisr'(or JTayt)
d Agoot, " the dyke (wall) of the old
man,** or rather "old woman," already
noticed. It is built across the
ravine, which is called after it
Wadee el Agoos, and is evidently in-
tended to prevent any approach from
the desert into the valley of the Nile.
It is reported to have been built by
an ancient Egyptian queen, whose
name was Delo6ka, and to have ex-
tended from the sea to Asouan, at
the edge of the cultivated land on
either bank. I have myself found
vestiges of it in the Fyoom ; and on
the east I have traced its course along
the cliffs that approach the Nile, not
only at e' Serar^eh and Wadee el
Agoos, but at Gebel Shekh Embirak,
I Shekh Timiy, Asouan, and other

288

BOUTE 21. — GISR £L AGOOS.

Sect. m.

place. I hare even met with it in
the cultivated land to the east of Be-
noob el Ham^m, and to the north-
east of Koos ; but from the present
increaaed extent of the inundation,
few traces are left of its existence in
the # low lands, which, though they
once marked the edge of the desert,
now form part of the cultivated plain
of Egypt. That this wall was raised
to check the incursions of those rob-
bers par exeeUenee, the Arabs (for the
deserts were formerly, as now, in-
habited by similar wandering tribes),
is highly probable ; and the object of
it was evidently to prevent an ingress
ftrom that quarter, since it extends
along the opening of the ravines, and
is not carried over those cliflfs, whose
perpendicular faces being precipitous
and impassable, obviated the necessity
of its continuation. Diodorus says
that Sesostris " erected a wall along
the eastern side of Egypt, to guard
against the incursions of the Syrians
and Arabs, which extended from
Pelusium, by the desert, to Heliopo-
lis, being in length 1500 stadia"
(about 173^ English miles) ; and it is
not improbable that Uie Gisr el Agoos
may be a continuation of the one he
mentions. But the observation of
Voltaire, <<s'il construisit ce mur
pour n*etre point vol^, c*est une
grande pr6somption qu*il n*alla pas
lui-mlme voler les autres nations,*' is
by no means just, unless the fortified
stations built by the Romans in the
desert for the same purpose are proofs
of the weakness of that people. The
Arabs might plunder the peasant
without its being in the power of any
one to foresee or prevent their ap-
proach; and every one acquainted
with the habits of these wanderers is
aware of the inutility of pursuing
them in an arid desert with an armed
force. Besides, a precaution of this
kind obliged them to resort to the
towns to purchase com ; and thus
the construction of a wall had the
double advantage of preventing the
"blunder of the peasant, and of render*

ing the Arabs dependent upon Egypt
for the supplies necessity forced them
to purchase ; nor did the government
incur the expense of pajring their
chiefs, as at the present day, to deter
them from hostility.

At the Gisr el Agoos are the re-
mains of an ancient village ; and
above the town of Gebel e* Tayr are
some grottoes.

Two miles beyond this is the site of
an ancient town, now called Tehneh, or
TWineh oo Mekneh. Its lofty and ex-
tensive mounds lie at the mouth of
Wadee T^hneh, three quarters of a
mile from the river, under an isolated
rocky eminence of the eastern chain
of bills, whose precipitous limestone
cliffy overhang the arable land that
separates them from the Nile.

Above a rough grotto in the lower
part of the rock, about a quarter of a
mile to the south of the ancient town,
is a Greek inscription of the time of
Ptolemy Epiphanes ; which, from the
word Acoris in the third line, appears
to indicate the position of the city of
that name. This, however, is not
certain. Acoris, the individual who
put up the dedication, may have had
the same name without its proving
any thing respecting the site of the
city ; though probability is in favour
of Tehneh marking the site of Acdris.

The inscription is

YnEPBASIAEilSnTOAEMAIOT
eEOT£ni«ANOT2MErAAOT£TXAPI.

JTOT
AKOPISEPrEASISIAIMAXIAAISaXE-

IPAI

*' For the welfare of King Ptolemy, the
Ood EpiphuiMf the Great EucharUtei,' Ac6-
rlt the Son of Ergeut, to lata Moctaiaa, So-
teini (the Saviour Qoddesc.)."

On one side, below the inscription,
is the figure of a goddess ; on the other
that of a god, probably Osiris ; and
it was perhaps intended that the king
should be introduced in the centre,
offering to the two seated deities.

Above this is a flight of steps cut
in the rock, leading to a grotto,
which has a niche, but no sculptures.
Following the path to the south.

U. Egypt

along the western face of the cliffs,
you come to a tablet of Remestes III.,
receiving the falchion from the hand
of the crocodile-headed god Savak, or
Savak'Re, in the presence of Amun ;
and, beyond this is a large oval, the
nom^i of the same Pharaoh.

lieturning thence to the south side
of the isolattrd rock that stands above
the town, you perceive, at the upper
part of it, two figures in high relief,
each holding a horse. They represent
two Roman emperors (rather than
Castor and Pollux, as some have
imagined), and between them ap-
pears to have been another figure,
perhaps of a god.

The base of this hill is perforated
with tombs, some of which have Greek
inscriptions, with the names of their
owners. At the door of one I ob-
served a Roman figure standing be-
fore an altar, who holds in one hand
some twigs, and apparently presents
incense with the other. Within is
the same person and his son before
four gods, but without hieroglyphics ;
and the architecture of the grotto is
more Roman than Egyptian. It was
closed as usual with folding-doors,
secured by a bolt. There is also a
figure of the god Nilus bringing
offerings and a bull for sacrifice.

In one of these tombs is an en-
chorial inscription much defaced;
and some have mouldings and orna-
mental devices of Roman time.

Near the above-mentioned grotto,
and below the isolated rock overhang-
ing the town, is a niche of Roman
time, with the remains of a mutilated
figure in relief within it; and on
either side of it is this Greek in-
scription, —

rPAMMMATA AXPHMATI2T02 E22H,
which shows that people made mis-
takes in ortltography in those times
as at the present day. About 700
feet to the south of this isolated rock
are other grottoes; then a small
quarry at the point of the hill ; turn-
ing round which to the right, you
enter a ravine, and on reaching the
Effypt,

ROUTE 21. — GISR EL AGOOS.

289

mountiin summit to the south-west,
yon come to some curious trenches
and workings in stone. During the
ascent you pass some crevices in the
rock, incrusted with a thin deposit of
crystallised carbonate of lime, here
and there assuming a stalactitic form ;
and besides the nummulites that
abound there, I observed a nautilus
about six inches in diameter, and
other fossils.

The trenches at the top of the hill
are curious, from their showing a
peculiar mode of opening a quarry,
and hewing square blocks of stone;
another instance of which is met witli
near the N. W. angle of the second
pyramid of Geezeh. They began by
levelling the surface of the rock to
the extent admitted by the nature of
tlie ground, or the intended size of
the quarry, and this space they sur-
rounded by a deep trench, forming a
parallelogram, with one of its sides
open, to facilitate the removal of the
stones. They then cut other parallel
trenches along its entire length, about
seven or eight feet apart, and others
at right angles to them, until the
whole was divided into squares. The
blocks were then cut off according to
their required thickness. One of the
quarriesof T^meh has been divided in
this manner, and the outer trenches
of two others have been traced, even
to the depth of 2 1 feet in parts, though
their direction is less regular than in
the former. In this the trenches are
about 1^ and 2 feet broad, and the
squares measure from 6^ to 7 feet 1
inch each way ; the whole length of
the quarry being 1 26 feet by 32 feet
in breadth ; and so conveniently is it
placed, that the stones, when separated
from the rock, were rolled down to
the valley beneath, without the trouble
of carriage. The division into squares
enabled them to take off a succession
of blocks of the same dimensions;
and layer after layer was removed,
according to the depth of the quarr}*,
which continued to be worked down-
wards, as long as the rock remained

290

BOUTE 21. — m/nIEH.

Sect. in.

good. Where circular blocks were
required for the bases or capitals of
columns, they had only to round off
the corners ; and this was evidently
done in some instances at the quarry
of T6bneh.

On the summit of the hills, about
500 feet to the south of these trenches,
the stone has been quarried to a great
eitent ; and about 100 feet from the
edge of the cliffs overhanging the cul-
tivated land are some chambers sunk
in the rock, two of which are coated
Avith red stucco. One of these is
round, and measures 17 feet in dia-
meter. It has a doorway leading
into it, from a staircase communicat-
ing with some small rooms ; and on
one side is a ledge or hollow, as if in-
tended for a water-wheel. The other
is square : it has a flight of 7 steps
leading down into it from the top,
and appears to have been a reservoir
to hold water for the use of the work-
men. It was doubtless filled by
buckets lowered from the brow of the
cliff to the water below, which ac-
counts for its being made in this spot,
close to the precipitous face of the
hills, which rise abruptly to the height
of 400 or 500 feet above the plain.
Indeed it is evident that the Nile for-
merly ran immediately below them,
and even now, during the inundation,
it rises to the height of 5 feet 4 inches
at their base, covering the narrow
strip of alluvial soil it has deposited
between tliem and its retiring channel.
On the south of the reservoir is
another square chamber, like all the
others, cut in the rock. In the
centre of it is a four-sided isolated
mass, having an arched door or open-
ing on each face, which probably
once supported the centre of the roof;
for they were doubtless all covered
over ; and on tlie south side of this
chamber are 2 niches, and another on
the cast. Adjoining its south-west
corner is a square pit

The story of the SOO ravens that
assemble over this spot every year,
in the month of l^bleh-*l-owel, and

af^er soaring above it with repeated
cries, fly away to the desert, is evi-
dently another version of the tale of
Gebel e* Tayr, already mentioned.

In the mounds of the ancient town
of Acoris are some blocks of stone,
two of which resemble altars ; but I
could not find any with inscriptions ;
nor was there any thing of interest in
the grottoes on the N. £. side of the
Wadee Tdineh.

Inland, on the opposite bank is
Tiha,or Tiliael Amoodayn, in Cop-
tic Touhd, once said to have been a
large place, eqiial in size to Minieh,
and known in the time of Murad Bey
as the residence of a powerful chief
called Hagee AH of Taha. Its
mounds still mark it as the successor
of an ancient town, as well as the
epithet " el amoodayn,** « of the two
columns.** It is supposed to occupy
the site of Theodosiou, and appears
from some Coptic and Arabic MSS.
to have been distinguished from a
village of tlie same name beyond
Oshmoonayn, by the additional tide
of Medeeneht « the city.**

There is nothing worth noticing
between T^hneh and Minieh. The
latter town is a Bender^ and the resi-
dence of a Kishef or Nazer, who is
under the governor of Benisoo^f. It
was long the residence of Abdee
Kashef, well known to Europeans for
his courteous and amiable character,
and esteemed no less by them thaa.by
Turks and native Egyptians. In 1823
he was removed to the government of
Oongola, where he was killed in an
affray witli some Turkish soldiers,
who had mutinied in consequence of
their pay having been withheld by the
government.

Minieh has a market, held every
Sunday, and baths. Though some
travellers have spoken of baths here
of Roman date, I could find none
but of Moslem construction. They
are not even of Saracenic time ; but
this does not seem to prevent their
enjoying a reputation for the mar-
vellous, and they are said to coram u-

U, Egypt KOUTE 22, — m/nieh to osioot.

291

nicate by a passage under the Nile
with Shekh Timay. Tlie palace, the
residence of the governor, was built
by the Mexnlooks, and repaired by
Abdee Kashef; in whose time the
gardens belonging to his bouse, and
two others outside the town, were
kept up with great care, to the infi-
nite satisfaction of the people, who
were allowed to frequent them.

MSnieh is generally styled Mlniet
ebn Khase^b, which is the name
given it by Ebn Said. It was also
called Monieh, and according to some,
Miniet ebn Fusseel ; and they pre-
tend that tradition speaks of a Greek
king of the place, named Kasim. In
Coptic it is called Moon£, or Tmone,
and in the Memphitic dialect Thmond,
signifying " the abode.** It is from
the word Mone, *' mansion,** as Chano-
pollien observes, that the Arabic
Minieh, or Miuiet (by abbreviation
AfiY), so frequently applied to Egyp-
tian villages, has been derived.

Leo Africanus says, '< Minieh, on
the W. bank of the Nile, is a very neat
town, builtin the time of the Moslems,
by Khaseeb, who was appointed go-
vernor under the caliphate of Bagdad.
It abounds in every kind of fruit,
which, though sent to Cairo, cannot,
on account of the distance, arrive
fresh in that city, being 1 70 miles off.
It boasts many handsome buildings,
and the remains of ancient Egyptian
monuments. The inhabitants are
wealthy, and commercial speculation
induces them to travel even as far as
the kingdom of Soodan."

Over the doorway of a mosk, near
the river, are a few fragments of
Roman 'Greek arclytecture. Within
are several granite and marble co-
lumns, some with Corinthian capitals;
and the devout believe that water
flows spontaneously every Friday from
one of their shafts, for the benefit of
the faithful. A temple of Anubis
has beQn said by some travellers to
have stood here, but I know not on
what authority ; and there are not any
grounds for supposing Minieh to oc-

cupy the site of the ancient Cynopolis*
A shekh*s tomb, overshadowed by a
sycamore tree on the. N. side of the
town, used to have a picturesque
effect, when the numerous figures on
the bank, and boats on the river, gave
a life to the scene no longer witnessetl
at Minieh ; and at the other extre-
mity is a manufactory {wer$heh) es-
tablished by the Pasha a few years
ago, which has a prettier appearance
than the generality of these unsightly
buildings.

ROUTE 22.

MINIXU TO OSIOOT,

Miles.
Minieh to Beni Hassan (grot-

toes), (E.)- - - - 15
Antinoe, (E.) - - - 15

Tel el Amarna, (groUoea) (E.) 10
Manfaloot, (W.) - - -29}
Osioot, (winding very much),

(W.) - - . - - 25

94)

At the projecting corner of the
mountain, opposite Minieh, are the
remains of an old town, which stands
on either side of a ravine. Above it
are tomlts, which, like the houses, are
built of crude brick. They are not
of early Egyptian date ; and, judging
from their appearance and the ab-
sence of bitumen, I believe them to
be of Christian time, — a conjecture
partly confirmed by the Coptic cha-
racters now and then met with on the
stucco. But the town, though inha-
bited at a later period by Christians,
succeeded, like most of those in
Egypt, to one of earlier date; and
the discovery of a stone, bearing part
of the name and figure of an ancient
king, would have removed all doubts
on this head, if any had really existed.

The Egyptians invariably built a
small town, or/ort, on the ascent of
the mountains on the ea&t bank,
wherever the accessible slope of the

292

BOUTE 22. — MfNiEH TO OSIOOT.

Sect. in.

bills approached^^he cultivated plain,
and left a narrow p^taage between it
and the Nile ; as may be seen at
Shekh Embdrak, Gebel e* Tayr,
T^hneh, Kom-Ahmar, Isbdyda, and
several other places ; having the two-
fold object of guarding these passes,
and of substituting the barren rock,
as a foundation to their houses, for
the more useful soil of the arable land.

The modern cemetery of Minieb is
at Zowyet el Myitcen, on the eastern
bank, between Soo4dee and Kora-
Ahmar. Thrice every year they pay
a visit of ceremony to the tombs, in
the months of Showal (Eed e* Sog-
heir),of Zulhag(Eedel Kebeer), and
Regeb. The visit lasts 7 days; the
15th of the month, or the full moon,
being the principal day. The mode
of ferrying over tlie bodies of the dead,
accompanied by the ululations of wo-
men, and the choice of a cemetery on
the opposite side of the river, cannot
fail to call to mind the customs of the
ancient Egyptians ; and it is remark-
able that they have not selected a spot
immediately in front of the town, but
have preferred one near the tombs of
their pagan predecessors. It was the
old Ej^yptian custom of ferrying over
the dead that gave rise to the fable of
Charon and the Styx, which Diodorus
very consistently traces from the fu-
neral ceremonies of Egypt — Set
dbotet p. 204.

At Soo6dee is a rum distillery
belonging to the Pasha. It was
formerly superintended by an Italian
named Domenico; who, finding bis
profits did not answer his expecta-
tions, quitted the service of the Pasha;
and the rum was thenceforward en-
trusted to a native, without waiting
fpr permission from the Prophet.
Hereabouts are several extensive
sugar plantations. Sooddee has pro-
bably succeeded to the site of an
ancient town. It has mounds, and a
few stones of old buildings ; and
above, at the corner of the mountain,
are some grottoes, or tombs, in the
rock.

About two miles beyond Sooadee
are some old limestone quarries ; and
at K6m Akmar are the mounds of an
ancient town. Its name signifies the
*' red mound," which it has received
from the quantity of pottery that lies
scattered over it, and the burnt walls
of its crude brick houses. In the
limestone hiTls above the old town
are several sepulchral grottoes, with
sculptures representing agricultural
scenes and other subjects, common in
ancient Egyptian tombs. In one of
them are two boats, or haritt of a
peculiar construction, with a double
roast, and three rudders, which, from
the appearance of their folding sail,
resemble a Chinese boat more nearly
than any met with on the Egyptian
monumients. These tombs are in
two tiers, one in the upper, and
another in the lower part of the hill.
The latter are very «ncient, having
the names of Sbofo (Suphis, or
Cheops), Papa, and others of that
early time ; while some of those in
tlie upper tier, judging from the style
of the sculptures, appear to date in
the time of the 1 8th dynasty. This,
too, is a respectable antiquity, not
less Uian ISCO or 1400 years before
our era.

It is uncertHin of what place Kom
Ahmar occupies the site. Some have
supposed it to be Muson ; but it ia
possible that Alabastron may have
stood here ; and this seems con-
firmed by information I received
from the Arabs in my l^st visit to
Egypt, who had found an alabaster
quarry in the mountains to the north-
,east, about a quarter of an hour's
march inland, to which an ancient
road leads from the Nile.

That Alabastroii was not, as fre-
quently supposed, in the desert, is
sufficiently shown by Pliny, and by
an inscription I found on a rock in
Wadee Foakheer, stating the writer
to have been a native of that town.
Ptolemy, too, merely gives it an in-
land position, like Hermopolis, and
many other places in the valley of tbe

K Egypt. route 22, — metIhara — beni hassan. 293

Nile; and he makes the same dif-
ference in longitude between it and
Acoris, 9A between Coptos and
Thebes.

A short distance beyond K6m Ah-
tnar is Metdhara; and in the hills
near it are some curious sepulchral
grottoes little known. They are said
to have the names of old kings, and
a singular instance of columns sur-
mounted by capitals in the form of
the full-blown lotus. And here it
may be well to observe that the usual
bell-formed capitals, frequently said
to represent the lotus, are taken from
the papyrus.

At Shaduu, on the west bank, are
the mounds of an ancient town.
About one mile beyond Welad Noayr,
on the east bank, are some grottoes,
without sculpture; and two miles
further, the celebrated grottoes of
Beni HasBan* They were formerly
supposed to be' the Speos Artemidos,
« the Grotto of Diana,*' the Bubastis
of the Egyptians. This, however, is
found to be in a small valley upwards
of two miles to the south, as I shall
presently have occasion to observe.

Beni Hassan. — The grottoes (or,
as they are indiscriminately called,
tombs, catacombs, or caves) of Beni
Haetan are excavated in the rock, at
the side of the hills that overhang the
valley of the Nile. The bank lielow, a
detritus ofsand and gravel, has been cut
through by the river, which formerly
encroached on this side, but which has
again retired to the westward, to the
great inconvenience of travellers,
who, when the water is low, are
obliged to walk more than two miles
from the nearest point their cangia
can approach, unless they have the
good fortune to find a small rowing
boat to take them through the shallow
channels to the spot. Even when
the channels are all dry, in May and
June, the shortest walk is about 1^
mile, from opposite Karra Aboo
Omar; it is therefore advisable, in
hot weather, to set off very early, and
to return in the evening, taking water

and provisions. The Speos Artemi-
dos may be seentlie same day, either
before or after the grottoes of Beni
Hassan, by those who are satisfied
with a hurried examination of their
interesting paintings : but the walk
is long, and in hot weather disagree-
able ; so that it is better to defer the
visit to the Speos till the next day.
The best and nearest point for land-
ing is to the westward of the village
of Beni Hassan, which lies half way
between it and the Nile. In coming
down the river, tlie Speos should be
seen first.

The ancient approach to the grot-
toes of Beni Hassan was evidently
from the westward : roads of con-
siderable breadth lead to them, up
the slope of the hill from the bank,
and they are readily distinguished by
the stones ranged on either side, as in
the roads made by the ancients across
the desert, and before some of the
tombs of Thebes.

These stones consist in a great
measure of the large rounded boul-
ders, which abound here ; and which
are not met with, in such numbers at
least, in any other part of the valley.
They are calcareous, and full of
shells, containing much silex, very
heavy and hard, and externally of a
dark brown colour. I observed simi-
lar boulders in horizontal beds, like
flints in chalk, on the mountain behind
Sherg Sele^n, where the decay of the
stratum in which they lie has in some
places disengaged them. It is pro-
bable that the same has happened in
remote ages at Beni Hassan, and that
these stones were originally in similar
beds.

The grottoes are cut in one of the
strata, which was found to be best
suited for similar excavations; and
from the subjects and hieroglyphics
on the walls, they were evidently in-
tended for sepulchral purposes. The
variety of the scenes represented in
them are particularly interesting ;
and if the style and proportions of
the figures are not equal to those in

O 3

294

ROUTE 22. — MfniEH TO OSIOOT.

Sect ni.

the catacomf)s of Thebes, they are
not less curious from the light they
throw on the manners and customs
of the Egyptians. They have also
the merit of being of an earlier date
than those of Thebes ; and in the
elegant chaste style of their archi-
tecture these tombs may Tie with any
in the valley of the Nile.

The northern differ considerably
from the southern grottoes, though
so close together and of nearly the
same date, and may, perhaps, be
thought to excel them in the beauty
of their plan, as in the simplicity of
their columns, which seem to be the
prototype of the Doric shaft. They
are polygons, of sixteen sides, each
slightly fluted, except the inner face,
which was left flat for the purpose of
introducing a line of hieroglyphics.
Each flute is 8 inches broad, and the
depth of the groove is barely half an
inch. The shaft is 16 feet 8} inches
in height, and of 5 feet diameter,
with a very trifling decrease of thick-
ness at die upper end, which is
crowned by an abacus scarcely ex-
ceeding in diameter the summit of
the column. The ceiling between
each architrave is cut into the form
of a vault, which has once been or-
namented with various devices, the
four pillars being so arranged as to
divide the chamber into a central
nave and two lateral aisles.

In these, as in all tlie excavated
temples and grottoes of Egypt, we
have decided proofs of their having
lieen imitations of buildings ; which
is contrary to the opinion of some
persons, who conclude that the earliest
were excavations in tlie rock, and that
constructed monuments were of later
date in Egypt But independent of
our finding stone buildings existing
in the country, as at the pyramids, of
the same early date as the oldest ex-
cavated monuments, we have a proof
of these last having imitated in their
Ktyle the details of constructive archi-
tecture. Thus, an architrave runs
from column to column ; the abacus

(originally a separate member) is
placed between the shaft and the
architrave, neither of which would
be necessary, or have been thought of,
in mere excavations ; and so obviously
unnecessary were they, that in later
timea the Egyptians frequently omit-
ted both the abacus and the archi-
trave in their excavated monuments,
as in the tombs of the kings, and
several grottoes, at Thebes. But
this was an after- thought, and the
oldest excavated monuments have tlie
imitated features of constructive ar-
clif tecture. And following out the
same train of reasoning, is it not
allowable to suppose that the vaulted
form of the ceilings of these grottoes
of Beni Hassan were an imitation of
the arch ? It was used, if not in
temples, at least in the bouses and
tombs of the Egyptians; and that the
crude brick arch was of very early
date in Egypt has, I think, been
sufficiently shown by me; whatever
may be that of stone arches, which
have only as yet been found of the
time of Psamaticus II., b.c. 600.

Tiie columns in the southern grot-
toes of Beni Hassan are also of the
earliest Egyptian style, though very
different from those already men-
tioned. They represent the stalks of
four water plants bound together, and
surmounted by a capital in form of a
lotus bud, which is divided, as the
shaft itself, into four projecting lobes.
The transverse section of these grot-
toes is very elegant, and the archi-
trave resembles a depressed pediment
extending over the columns, and
resting at either end on a narrow
pilaster.

All the caves of Beni Hassan are
ornamented with coloured figures, or
other ornamental devices ; and the
columns, with the lower part of the
walls, in the northern grottoes, are
stained of a red colour to resemble
granite, in order to give them an ap-
pearance of greater solidity. These
imitations of hard stone, and rare
wood, were very commonly practised

U. Egypt. ROUTE 22. — gbottoes of beni hassan.

295

by the Egyptians, though it is a sin-
gular fdct that granite and other stone
used in their monuments, being gene>
rally coloured, could not be distin-
guished. The walls in the grottoes
at Beni Hassan are prepared as
usual for receiving the subjects re-
presented upon them by overlaying
them vrith a thin coating of lime, the
parts where the rock was defective
being filled up with mortar. But
they were contented to paint without
sculpturing the principal part of the
figures and hieroglyphics ; and some
of the latter, in a long series of per^
pendicular lines round the lower
part of the walls of the second tomb,
are merely of one uniform green
colour. In each grotto are pits, in
which the dead were deposited, and
which are properly the tomb, the
upper part being rather the chamber
attached to this repository of the
body. Some of them are open, and
their position is frequently pointed
out by a tablet of hierogljrphics,
placed immediately above, on the
side wall.

It is not my intention to give a
detailed account of the different
scenes inUnoduced in these interesting
tombs ; I shall therefore confine my-
self to a few general remarks, b^
ginning with those to the north.

In the first are represented various
trades ; watering the flax, and its em-
ployment for the manufacture of
linen cloth ; agricultural and hunting
scenes; wrestling; attacking a fort
under cover of the testudo ; dancing ;
and the presentation of ofierings to
the deceased, whose life and occupa-
tions are also alluded to. In one
place scribes register their accounts ;
in another the bastinado is inflicted
unsparingly on delinquent servants ;
nor is it confined to men and boys,
but extended to the other sex* the
difference being in the mode of ad-
ministering the stripes. The .former
were thrown prostrate on the ground,
and held while punished ; the latter
sat, and were beaten on the shoulders.

With regard to the scribes, it may be
observed, that they are not, as gene-
rally supposed, taking an inventory
of the property of the deceased after
hit death, but are represented en-
gaged in his service during his life-
time ; and his steward frequently
presents him with tlie list of these
accounts, after they have been ar-
ranged by the scribes. Here his
chasaewa transfix, with stone-tipped
arrows, the wild animals of the
desert, and the mountains are re-
presented by the waved line that
forms the base of the picture. Some
are engaged in dragging a net full of
fish to tlie shore, others in catching
geese and wild fowl in large clap-
nets; in another part women play
the harp ; and some are employed
in kneading paste and in making
bread.

In the next tomb the subjects are
equally varied, but the style of the
figures is very superior and more
highly finished ; and it must be ad-
mitted that the feeding of the oryx on
the north corner, and particularly the
figure in pertpecHve, holding one of
the animals by the horns, are divested
of the formality of an Egyptian draw-
ing; and tbe fish on the wall op-
posite the entrance are admirably ex-
ecuted. It is remarkable that the
phaffTus, or eel, is there introduced,
and apparently the two other sacred
fisli, tlie oxyrhinchus and lepidotus.

A singular procession of strangers
occurs on the upper part of the north
wall, who, from the hieroglyphics
above them, appear to be captives.
M. ChampoUion supposed them to
be Greeksj but this opinion he af-
terwards renounced; and I only
mention it, as the authority of so dis-
tinguished 9 person is likely to mis-
lead. But who were they? Were
they Jews ? and does this represent
the arrival of Josepb*s brethren ? for
Joseph was, as I suppose, a con-
temporary of Osirtasen, in whose
time these tombs were excavated. I

do not pretend to decide, nor do I

o 4

296

ROUTE 22. — MfNIEH TO OSIOOT.

Sect m. .

see sufficient reason for supposing
them to represent that event ; but
should this ever prove to be the
case, they will be looked upon with
unbounded interest, and be justly
dw^emed the most curious painting on
the Egyptian monuments.

The first figure is an Egyptian
scribe, who presents an account of
their arrival to a person seated, the
owner of the tomb, and one of the
principal officers of the king. The
next, also an Egyptian, ushers them
into his presence ; and two advance,
bringing presents, consisting of an
ibex or wild goat, and a gazelle,
the productions of their country, or
caught on the way. Four men, car-
rying bows and clubs, follow, leading
an ass, on which two children are
placed in panniers, accompanied by a
boy and four women ; and last of all,
another ass laden, and two men, one
holding a bow and club, the other a
lyre, which he plays with the plec-
trum. All the men have beards,
contrary to the custom of the Egyp-
tians, but very general in the East at
that period, and noticed as a pecu-

liarity of foreign uncivilised nations
throughout their sculptures. Tlie
men have sandnis, the ivumen a tort
of boot reaching to the ancle, both
which were worn by many Asiatic
people, as well as by the Greeks and
the people of Etruria.

One objection to their being the
brethren of Joseph is the number
thirty-seven written over them, ac-
companied by the expression " cap-
tives.** They were in all seventy;
and those presented by Joseph to
Pharaoh were only five. The person
too seated here is not the king. On
the other hand, the word ** captives "
might only be one of the usual
contemptuous expressions commonly
used by the Egyptians towards
foreigners; and if they were Jews,
the person into whose presence they
were introduced should rather be
Joseph himself than Pharaoh. But
it is a great disappointment to find
that his name does not resemble that
mentioned in the Bible, as having
been given to Joseph, ** Zaphnath
Paaneah ; " and the owner of the tomb
i^ called in hieroglyphics Nefotbph,

•r

riiy' it:! ffT

Nehoth, or Nefhotph, with the names
of his father and mother, which are
too distinctly specified to admit the
claims of Joseph.

The same individual is stated to
have been governor of this part of
tlie country.

In this tomb is the long hiero-
glyphic inscription before men-
tioned, consisting of 222 lines, re-
lating to the person of the tomb, and
introducing the names of Osirtasen I.
and II. and of the two intervening
kings.

Over the door of the next tomb is
the name of Osirtasen I., enclosed
together with the royal banner, pre«

nomen, nomen, and titles, in one long
oval.

Two of the southern grottoes are
particularly worthy of mention. The
first of them contains the usual hunt-
ing scene ; but here the name of each
animal is written above it in hiero-
glyphics ; and below are tlie birds of
the country, distinguished in like
manner by their Egyptian name. In
one part women are performing feats
of agility ; and various modes of
playing at ball, throwing up and
catching three in succession, and
oUier diversifications of the game, are
represented amongst their favourite
amusements. In another part is a

U. Egypt, ROUTE 22, — gbottoes op beni hassan.

297

subject representing a barber shaving
a customer ; and not, as I supposed,
a doctor bleeding his patient ; for in
another tomb one of them is engaged
in cutting the nails of the other's
foot, which, among so refined a peo-
ple as the Egyptians, could scarcely
be the duty of a surgeon. Their
numerous occupations are here pointed
out by the introduction of the most
common trades ; among which the most
remarkable are glass-blowers, gold-
smiths, statuaries, painters, workers
in flax, and potters ; and the circum-
stance of the cattle being tended by
decrepit herdsmen serves to show in
what low estimation this class of
people was held by the Egyptians.
On the eastern wall are wrestlers in
various attitudes ; and to distinguish
more readily the action of each com-
batant, the artist has availed himself
of a dark and a light colour ; one be-
ing painted red, the other black : and
indeed in the figures throughout these
tombs, the direction of the arms when
crossing the body is in like manner
denoted by a lighter outline. On
tlie southern wall some peasants are
sentenced to the bastinado, and a
woman is subjected to the same mode
of correction. In these the figures
are smaller than in the northern
grottoes, but their style and propor-
tions are very inferior.

The neit tomb but one is a copy
of that just mentioned ; but tlie
figures are very badly executed. In
addition to the other subjects common
to tliem both, we find men playing
chess (or rattier draughts), some curi-
ous bird-traps, and on the south wall
a square of magazines with circular
roofs, which appear to point out the
existence of the crude brick vault in
the time of these early Pharaohs. It
is in these tombs that we find the
greatest variety of games, trades, and
Ulustrations of the manners and cus-
toms of the Egyptians, which have
been so useful in the insight they
have afforded into the habits of that
ancient people ; for which I must re-

fer the reader to the woodcuts given in
my work on ** The Ancient Egyptian9.**
In looking at these pictures, we are
struck with the singular custom of
writing over each subject or object
the name of whatever the artist in-
tended to represent, even' the animals
and most ordinary figures; which
may have been the remnant of an old
custom when they began drawing,
these highly conservative people con-
tinuing to the latest times to adopt
the early usages of their ancestors.
And this calls to mind a remark of
iElian, that " when painting was in
its infancy, they drew so rudely, that
artists wrote over the pictures, * this
is an ox,' * that a horse,* * this a

1 1»

tree.

The tombs beyond present defaced
paintings not worthy of notice.
Among other singular customs with
which the grottoes of Beni Hassan
have made us acquainted, is that of
admitting dwarfs and deformed per-
sons into the suite of the grandees ;
and these, as well as buflTuons, were
introduced at a later time into difTer-
ent countries of Europe, in imitation
of an usage common from the earliest
ages in the East. Dwarfs were em-
ployed at Rome even before the time
of the empire. Marc Antony bad
them ; and subsequently Tiberius
and Domitian. The latter kept a
band of dwarf gladiators. Alexan-
der Severus banished this custom ;
but it was revived in the middle ages.

On the wall of one of the tombs is
a Greek alphabet, with the letters
transposed in various ways, evidently
by a .person teaching Greek ; who
appears to have found these cool re-
cesses as well suited for the resort of
himself and pupils as was any stoa, or
the grove of Academus.

I have in vain looked for a town
in the vicinity, to which these cata-
combs may have belonged. It is not
impossible that it stood on the oppo-
site bank ; for, as already observed,
the Egyptians frequently transported
their dead across the river to their

298

BOXTTE 22. — MfNIEH TO 08I00T.

Sect. III.

tombs; and tbe fact of the roada

leading directly up the hill from the

bank to their entrances favours this

opinion. On the other band, the

principal person buried there is called

" Governor of the eastern district ; *'

and his place of abode would naturally

be on that side of tbe Nile. This

would argue that tbe town also stood

there ; and if so, it could only have

been on tbe spot between Beni Has.

san and the modern western channel

of the Nile, and has been carried

away during the encroachments made

by tbe river in its shiAing course.

Many changes have indeed taken

place, both here, and on tbe west side,

about Sagheeat Moosa, within tbe

memory of man.

This is the most northerly
point where erocodiiet are found ;
and as early as the end of March
I saw them basking on the sand-
banks, while rowing from Karm
Aboo Omar to Beni Hassan. On
inquiry, I found that they have for
yeara frequented this spot, and that I
was wrong, in common with other
travellers, in limiting their range to
tbe neighbourhood of Manfaloot.

The villages of Beni Hassan were
destroyed about 25 years ago by
Ibrahim Pasha, tbe inhabitants
being incorrigible thieves ; and even
now it is as well to keep a good
watch at night, while anchored near
this spot. Indeed the inhabitants of
all the villages, from Beni Hassan to
the vicinity of Manfaloot, are ad-
dicted to tliieving, and additional pre-
cautions are necessary throughout the
whole of that district. The present
village of Beni Hassan stands two
miles to the south of the grottoes;
and nearly one mile to tbe S. £. of
it is the SpeoB Artemidotf to which
tbe common name of Stabl Antar has
been applied by the modem Egyp-
tians. It is situated in a small rocky
valley, or ravine, about a quarter of a
mile from its mouth.

To the right, on entering tbe
ravine, are several pits and tombs cut
in the rock. Some of these last hare

had well-shaped doorways with tbe
usual Egyptian cornice, and round
one are still some traces of coloured
hieroglyphics. Three are larger than
tbe rest. In tbe 6rst of 'these (going
from tbe valley of tbe Nile), the
paintings have been blackened with
smoke, and few of them can be dis-
tinctly traced. Near its S. E. comer
are some water plants, and here
and there some Greek inscriptions
scratched on the stucco. Beyond
this, to the E.^ is another with a cor-
nice over tbe door, bearing tbe names
of Alexander, tbe son of Alexander
the Great, Ptolemy Lagus being at
that time governor of Egypt in his
name. In the centre are the globe
and asps, and on the architrave below
the king is kneeling to present the
6gure of Truth to tbe lioness-beaded
goddess of the place, Pasht or Bu-
bastis. Behind him stands Athor,
the Egyptian Venus. On one side
of the two centre compartments tbe
king is standing in tbe presence of
Amun and Horns, on the other of
Thoth and Ao (Gem, or Her*
cules).

Speoe Arttmidoe. — The n6xt large
grotto to the east is the Speoe ArU"
midu (**the cave of Diana^) itself.
Like tbe others, it is wholly excavated
in tbe rock. It was begun by Tbotb-
mes III., and other sculptures were
added by Osirei, the father of Re- ,
meses the Great; but it was never
completed. It consists of a portico
with two rows of square pillars, four
in each, of which the outer one alone
remains; and though rough on one
side and unfinished, they each bear
tbe name of those two kings, and of
the goddess Pasht, the Egyptian
Diana, whose legend is followed by
a lioneu (not a cat)^ as throughout
the sculptures of this grotto. A door,
or passage, leads thence into tbe noos,
which measures 8^ by 9 paces, and
at the end wall is a niche about 6 feet
deep, and raised 8 feet from the floor,
intended no doubt for the statue of
the goddess, or of tbe sacred animal
dedicated to her. It is also un-

01 Egypt ' ROUTE 22. — SPEOS ARTEKIDOS — ANTINOM. 299

Bashed ; but on one of the jambs is
a figure of Pasht. In the doorway
or passage leading to the nao»f are
two recesses, cut in the side wall,
which, if not of later date, may have
been intended as burying-places for
the sacred animals. There are others
in the portico.

The only finished sculptures are on
the inner wall of the portico. They
are of the early time already men-
tioned, and therefore of a g^ood period
of Egyptian art; but they vary in
style, some being in relief, others in
intaglio. On one side Thothmes III.
is making oflTerings to Pasht and
Thoth ; on the other Osirvi is kneel-
ing before Amun, attended by Pasht ;
and, in a line of hieroglyphics behind
him, mention is made of the sculp«
tures added by him in honour of
<*his mother Pasht, the beautiful
lady of the Speos." In the portico,
one of those singular changes appears,
to which I have so often invited the
attention of those who examine the
ancient Egyptian monuments. The
name Amun has been introduced in-
stead of other hieroglyphics; and
that this has been done in the time of
king Osirei is evident from the fact
of its being in intaglio like his name,
which has been substituted for that
of Thothmes. Changes have also
been made in the legends over some
of the twelve deities seated on the
lef^ of the picture, which have been
altered by Osirei in intaglio.

Pasht occurs again twice over the
door, and once in the doorway of
the naos. She hss always the head
of a lioness, and the title, <* Lady of
the excavation " or ** Speos."

On the fiice of the rock, over the
facade of the portico, are some lines
iof hieroglyphics. There are several
pits and smaller grottoes on this and
on the opposite side of the valley,
where lions and cats, the animals
particularly sacred to Pasht, were
probably buried. In some
the bones of cats, and ev
•aid to have been discov

At Shekh TYmay are some cata-
combs and limestone quarries, and
traces of the crude brick wall of Gisr
el AgoM. are seen on the low hills
near the river. The story of it here
is, that a queen built it to protect her
son from the crocodiles — a fair speci-
men of Arab tradition.

I found no sculptures in the ex-
cavated tombs of Shekh Timsy, and
nothing worth the trouble of a walk
to the hills ; however great an in-
terest may be felt by the people in
the sacred rags that adorn or disfigure
the reputed abode of the Shekh e*
Bilker, whose lamp is kept burning
in a recess in the rock, and who is
said to be the patron of the mountain,
as Shekh Timay is the presiding saint
of the town.

Antinoe. — Four miles above Shekh
Timay are the ruins of Antinot, or An-
tinoopolis, built by Adrian, and called
after bis favourite, Antinoiis. lie had
accompanied tlie Emperor to Egypt,
and, having been drowned in the
Nile, this city was founded near the
spot, and games and sacrifices were
instituted in his honour. Before
reaching Antinoe, you |^s some
crude brick remains, and afterwards
a hill with some ruins, which I shall
mention presently. The modern name
of Antinoe is Shekh Abddeh, given
it, according to Wansleb, from a
Moslem who was converted to Chris-
tianity, and afterwards, under the
name of Ammonius e/ abed ("the
Devout **) suffered martyrdom there.
It is also called Ansina or Insina,
and Med^enet Oiitholee, in Coptic
Antnoou ; and the old town of Arsi-
noe itself succeeded to one of earlier
time, which some suppose to have
been the ancient Besa, famed for its
oracle. Ammianus Marcellinus places
Besa in the vicinity of Abydus, though
the combined name of Besantinoopo-
lis, given to the former, seems con*
elusive evidence of its real position ;
me suppose that a village, called
stood here. Mr. Hamilton
place the site of Besa at the
o6

300

ROUTE 22. — MiNIEH TO OSIOOT.

Sect. III.

south of Antino«, by the modern
▼iUage of Aboo Honnes.

Little now remains of Antinoe ex-
cept the theatre near the southern
gate, some substructions, and the
Hippodrome without the walls on
the east side. But the directions of
the principal streets may still be
traced, one of which extended nearly
in a direct line from the theatre to the
northward, for a distance of about
3000 feet. At the southern extremity
of this long line rose a handsome
stone gateway, with two side en-
trances, which, like those two in the
other street, had rather the character
of a triumphal or ornamental monu-
ment. This gateway probably led to
the porticoes before the stage en-
trance and postscenium, of the theatre ;
and tlie street, taking the form of a
crescent, turned thence round the side
of the theatre to the southern gate of
the town, wliicb was a short distance
behind. A line of columns ranged
on either side of the street, throughout
its whole length, with intercolumnia-
tions of from 8 to 9 feet in breadth,
supported a covered corridor, for the
convenience of those on foot ; and at
the northern extremity of this line
(where it turned off to the N. W.)
were four columns with an inscription
to " Good Fortune " on two of the
pedestals, bearing the date of. the
fourteenth year of Marcus Aurelius
Severus Alexander.

The projecting volutes of their
capitals obtained for them the name
Aboo'l-Keroon (" father of horns ").
They stood alone, but neither on a
line with each other, nor facing the
street, which here made a bend to the
N. W.

The vestiges of several grand edi-
fices may also be traced in the street
which crosses this one at right angles,
and runs through the centre of the
town, from the river to the eastern
ga*je. Jt had a similar colonnade on
either side for foot passengers, which,
by its cool shade, must have added
greatly to the comfort both of those

in the street and in the houses ; a^d
it is evident, from the remains of gra-
nite columns, and from the substruc-
tions of many large buildings, that
Antinoe was embellished with all the
taste and mat^ni licence that the fancy
of an Adrian could suggest. Near
the last-mentioned street, on tlie east
side of the city, was a large edifice,
apparently a temple, ornamented with
pilasters and granite columns, two of
which I saw in their original position
in 1822. The numerous columns at
the sides of the main streets were then
standing, some with their capitals en-
tire, as well as the columns of Marcus
Aureiius, the eastern gateway, and
that before the theatre. The pave-
ment could also be seen, and frag-
ments of cornices and various mould-
ings were scattered about amidst these
extensive ruins ; but on my return to
Antinoe, towards the end of the same
year, these interesting relics had dis-
appeared ; every calcareous block had
been burnt for lime, or been taken
away to build a bridge at Reramo6n.
Had they been of granite or hard
stone, they might have escaped this
Vandalism of the Turks; but they
were unfortunately of the nummulite
stone of the African hills; and a simi-
lar fate has befallen nearly all the
limestone monuments of Egypt

The large gateway, the western en-
trance of the city, mentioned by Mr.
Hamilton, had nearly all disappeared
in tlie beginning of 1 822, though some
of the granite columns in the avenue
leading to it from the river may still
be seen, as well as the cistern within
the gate. In going ea^ward . from
this, you come to a quadrivium, the
intersection of the two main streets,
where 4 columns once stood, which had
fallen before Mr. Hamilton visited the
place; and towards the other extre-
mity of this street was the correspond-
ing arch, or eastern gateway. The
other street, that runs north and south,
crosses it at right angles ; and about
one-third of the way from the quadri-
vium to the theatre, is cut through by

V- Egypt. ROUTE 22. — ANTINOfi — BESA.

301

the torrent of Wadee Gamoos ; which
doubtlesg held tlie same course in
former times, whenever the rain
fell in the mountains. But this, be-
ing a rare occurrence in Egypt, sel-
dom offered much inconvenience to
the inhabitants. The river now, du-
ring the inundation, occupies part of
its bed, owing to the increased height
of the level of the Nile : the modem
peasants of Shekh Ab&deh cultivate
the lower part of it; and many
portions of the old city are now over-
grown with palm trees.

The greatest length of Antinoe,
north and south, was upwards of
6000 feet, and its breadth in the
widest part 3400, judging from the
present remains of its walls ; and it
is said to have had a circuit of from
3 to 4 miles. The walls of the town
were double, and of great thickness,
with a shelving summit terminating
nearly in a point of one brick in
breadth, with a view to turn off the
rain ; and on the east side near the
entrance of the torrent are remains
of a stone wall.

A short distance to the north is a
projecting hill, on whose summit is a
singular ruin, apparently occupied in
later times by the Christians, whence
it received the name of Dayr e' Deek,
« the convent of the cock." If Besa
was really the predecessor of Antinoe,
this probably belonged to it. The
ruined building there was once orna-
mented with Corinthian columns of
Roman time, and behind them is a
circular hole resembling a well, sunk
in the rock. The walls are of crude
brick ; and in a grotto on the front
of this hill a cross is inscribed, com-
memorating its possession by the
Christians, who also occupied some
of the caves in the mountain to the
east. About 700 feet to the south-east
of it is an extensive space enclosed by
a crude>brick wall, with several en-
trances, and here and there the re-
mains of masonry. It is of irregular
form at the north-east exUemity,
where are some mounds and tombs ;

but the north-west and south-east
walls, which run nearly parallel, are
straight, and extend to a distance of
more than 1000 paces. The souths
west wall is destroyed. These tombs
appear to be of Christian time, judg->
ing from the inscriptions headed by a
cross, on the stones lying about them,
and were probably the burial-places
of the monks of Dayr e' Deek, and
of the Christian inhabitants of Anti-
noe itself. It was, perhaps, originally
a fortified station attached to the city.

Aboolfeda describes Antinoe under
the name of Ansinai as having " ex-
tensive remains of ancient monu-
ments, and much arable land : *' and
he adds, " that the Nubian geogra-
pher, Edrisi, speaks of it as an an-
cient city, remarkable for the fertility
of its land, and said by common re-
port to be the city of the magicians,
who were sent for thence by Pharaoh."

Near the Hippodrome are a well
and tank, belonging to the ancient
road, that led from the eastern gate of
Antinoe to the north-east, and ascend-
ing the Wadee el Ag^tee continued
through the desert to the Wadee
Tarfa, joining at length those of the
porphyry quarries antl others in that
direction.

Antinoe was the capital of a nome,
called after it the Antino'ite, to which
Ptolemy says the two Oases were at-
tached. This was one of the new
provinces or departments of Egypt,
added at a late period, when Egypt
was undor the rule of the Ro-
mans, and Heptanomis was then con-
demned to signify, or at least to con-
tain, 8 nomes.

At Roda on the opposite bank are
the mounds of an old town, and be-
yond it to the south is Byad^eh, a
village inhabited by Copts. There
are many Christian peasants here-
abouts, on both sides of the river ; and
in examining the fields, particularly
about B^adeeh, one is forcibly struck
with the superiority of the Copt over
the Moslem fell&h, all that relates to
irrigation being much better managed

802

BOUTE 22. — MfNIEH TO OSIOOT.

SectDL

there than in other parts of the coun-
try.

' A short distance to the southward
of Antinoe are some crude bcick ruins
called Medeeneh, *<the dty;" pro-
bably from the village having suc-
ceeded to, or being peopled from,
Antinoe. The modern peasants be-
lieve them to be ancient They appear
to be wholly of Christian time ; and
though now deserted, the houses in
many parts are nearly entire. Be-
yond these again is a modem Chris-
tian village called £* Dayr, or Dayr
Aboo Honnes, ** the convent of Fa-
ther John;" and little more than a
mile farther, is another, called £'
Dayr e* Nakhl, **of tlu pahm trte,*'
close to which is the burial-ground,
with a church called also £* Dayr.

In one of the grottoes on the hills
immediately behind the last-mention-
ed village is one of the most interest-
ing subjects found in any of the
Egyptian tombs. It represents a
e^ottua on. a BUdge, which a number
of men are dragging with ropes ; and
is one of the few paintings that throw
any light on the method employed by
the Egyptians for moving weights.

Though it is the statue of the per-
son of the tomb, it does not follow
that it was hewn in this hill ; and it
merely commemorates an event that
happened during his lifetime, like the
fowling scenes and other subjects
connected vrith his amusements. But
the consequence of this individual,
Thotb-6tp, is fully shown, not only
by the fact of his having the honour
of a colossal statue, but by the em-
ployment of so many foreign captives
in moving it ; and an important proof
is obtained by the last-mentioned
circumstance of the conquests of the
Egyptians over an Asiatic people at
the early period of Osirtasen II.
(a. c. 1650), in whose reign this per-
son lived, and in whose victories he
had shared. He was a person of dis-
tinction in the military caste : he is
styled in the hieroglyphics *< the
king's friend ; ** and one of his chil-

dren was named Osirtasen aAer that
Pharaoh. One hundred and seventy-
two men, in 8 rows of 43 each, pull
the fopes attached to a ring in front
of the sledge ; and a liquid, perhaps
grease, or water, is poured from a
vase by a person standing on the pe-
destal of the statue, in order to faci-
litate its progress as it slides on the
ground ; which was probably covered
with a bed of planks, though they
are not indicated in the picture.

Some of the persons engaged in
this laborious duty appear to be
EgypUans, others are foreign slaves,
who are clad in the costume of their
country; and behind the statue are
four rows of men, in all 12 in num-
ber, representing either the architects
and masons, or those who had an em-
ployment about the place wliere the
statue was to be conveyed. Below
are others, carrying vases, apparently
of water, and some machinery con-
nected with the transport of the statue,
followed by task-masters with their
wands of oflSce. On the knee of the
figure stands a man who claps his
hands to the measured cadence of a
song, to mark the time and ensure
their simultaneous draught ; for it is
evident that in order that the whole
power might be applied at the same
instant, a sign of this kind was ne-
cessary ; and the custom of singing
at their work was common to every
occupation of the Egyptians, as it
now is in that country, in India, and
many other places.

The height of the statue appears to
have been about 24 feet, including
the pedestal. It was bound to tlie
sledge by double roiies, tightened by
means of long pegs inserted between
them, and twisted round until com-
pletely braced ; and to prevent injury
from the friction of the ropes, a com-
press of leather, lead, or other sub-
stance was introduced between them
and the stone. Before the figure a
priestly scribe is presenting incense
in honour of the person it represents ;
and at the top of the picture are seven

U. Egypt. ROUTE 22. — colossus on ▲ sledge.

S03

companies of men marching in an op-
posite direction, and bearing pieces of
the palm-branch. They are pro-
bably the reliefs for dragging the
statae. Beyond are men slaying an
ox and bringing the joints of meat,
before the door of the building to
which the statue was to be conveyed ;
«nd below this the person of the tomb
as seated under a canopy. Boats, and
other subjects, are Bgured under the
compartment of the colossus ; and on
the opposite wall are an agricultural
scene, potters, a garden with a vine-
yard, and women working in thread.
The last subject is remarkable for a
new kind of loom, and the mode of
reeling off thread from balls turning
in a case.

On the end wall, to the left of the niche,
are some fish well drawn, with the
colours in a good state of preservation.
Among other subjects in this tomb
is the ceremony of pouring a liquid
from a vase (probably ointment) over
the deceased, sprinkling the ground
before him as he walks, the bearing of
offerings, fishing and fowling scenes ;
and on the outside a chase and other
spirited sculptures. Unfortunately a
great portion of the roof and walls
has fallen in, and the paintings have
been much injured. The band of
man has also had a share in its de-
struction, which would have been
continued had the Turks found the
stone of a better quality; and the
paintings have been defaced in many
places by the mistaken piety of the
Copts, who have drawn numerous
dark red crosses on the bodies of the
figures, and over various parts of
these interesting subjects. For its
first discovery we are indebted to
Captains Irby and Mangles. In my
previous visit to Egypt I could not
succeed in finding this tomb ; and as
others have also had great difficulty
in discovering it, I had better describe
its position. It is at the left hand of
the ravine, behind the convent and
village of Dayr e' Nakhl, near the
top of the hill, and a little way to the

right of a sort of road, which is seen
frmn below running to another
grotto. The following are the bear-
ings, by compass, of the principal ob-
jects from its entrance : — Antinoe
332^0 ; Reramoon 276° (or 6® N.
of W.); Dayr e* Nakbl 288^ Uiree
quarters of a mile ; and £1 Bersheh
236<', 2 miles.

Remains of sculpture may be
found in a neighbouring tomb, and
in others, along the face of the hill
on the other side of the ravine, but
they are of little consequence. They
are very old, and in one I observed
the name of Papi.

In the ravine, about half a mile
from the mouth, on the right-hand
side, are some large limestone quar-
ries, with a few . royal ovals and in-
scriptions in enchorial, written with
red ochre, like those in the quarries
of Toora-Masarah.

Nearly opposite E' Dayr e' Nakhl
is Reramoon, or has some have called
it, Radamnonf where the Pasha has a
large sugar and rum manufactory,
established about 28 y«»ars ago, by Mr.
Brine, an Englishman, who died in
1821, and was succeeded by SS. Rossi,
Antonini, and other Italians. The
sugar is good, and refined by means
of eggs ; the prejudice o^ the Mos-
lems against the use of blood being
too great to admit of its being em-
ployed. It is sold at Cairo, and
having been put up in blue paper,
brought from England for the pur-
pose, was at one time passed off as
British imported sugar. The com^
mon kind made in the fdltUi villages
is bought by the government, and
sent to Reramoon to be refined. Of
this there are two kinds. One, which
is called white, was sold in 1824 at
90 paras the loaf of four rottles ; the
other, of a brown course quality, at
about 40 or 50 paras, which from
l)(eing exported to the Soodan, or in-
terior of Africa, received tlie name of
JelUbee. Their mode of making
this common sugar is by squeesing
the cane between two cylinders turned

304

BOUTE 22. — MflOEH TO OSIOOT.

Sect. in.

by oxen ; and the juice, which is re-
ceived in an earthen reservoir, is put
into a boiler, where it remains till it
becomes thick, aAer which it is taken
out and dried in pots.

In visiUng Othmoonayn (JTermo-
poiiM magna) you may go from Bya-
d6eh, and return to the Nile at Rera-
moon, the boat being sent on to that
place ; or reverse this in coming down
the river. About one quarter of the
way from Byad^eh you cross a canal,
which is already dry in spring, and
soon afterwards the Sikkeh Soltanee,
** the royal,** or ** high road,** leading
from Keramoon to the north. The
modern name is derived from the
Coptic i^moun B, or the *' tico eights,**
and the prefix O or £ is added for
euphony, from the hostility of Arabic
against all words beginning with an
S or Sb, followed by a consonant.
The Arabs pretend that it was called
af^er Oshmoon, the son of Misr, or
Mizraim.

About 25 years ago part of the
beautiful portico of the temple of
Thoth, at Oshmooniyn, was still
standing, having the names of Philip
(Aridaeus) and Alexander (the son
of Alexander), under whom Ptolemy
Lagus governed Egypt. But being
unfortunately built of calcareous
stone, it was destroyed by the Turks,
and bunit for lime like the monu-
ments of Antinoe ; and little now
remains to induce the traveller to
visit its lonely mounds.

Hermopolis was a city of great
antiquity, and it was the capital of
one of the early nomes of Egypt.
Its original Egyptian name was evi*
dently Shmoun, Hermopolis being
a Greek appellation, derived from
the worship of Thoth, the god who
presided there, and who was supposed
to answer to Hermes, or Mercury.

Thoth being the presiding divinity
of Hermopolis, the ibis and cyn^
cephalus, his peculiar emblems, oc-
curred very often in the sculptures of
the portico; and his name and figure
were introduced more frequently

than tliose of any other god. He
was the patron .of letters, the scribe
of Heaven, and the same as the
Moon : his office was not less im-
portant in imparting intellectual
gifts from the Deity to man, than in
superintending the final judgment of
the soul, and in recording the vir-
tuous actions of tlie dead, when ad-
mitted to the regions of eternal hap-
piness. The modem town stands on
the soft them extremity of the mounds,
which are of great extent ; and report
speaks of a small temple there, which
I have not seen. A powder-mill has
been established there by the Pasha,
and many persons are constantly em-
ployed amidst the mounds in re-
moving the nitre, for the manufac-
ture of purified saltpetre, and for
agricultural purposes.

During the high Nile the plain is
covered with water, but a raised dyke
leads to Oshmoon&yn, and the site of
Hermopolis may be visited by making
a slight dStour,

liie tombs of the ancient city lie
at the base of the Libyan hills to the
westward, where numerous ibis mum-
mies have been buried, many of which
are found deposited in small cases,
and perfectly preserved. The cyno-
cephalus ape is also met with, em-
balmed and buried in the same
consecrated spot. It is here that
Ibeum, or the Nhip (of the Copts),
probably stood ; for it is evident that
the position given it in the Itine-
rary of Antoninus is incorrect; and
Ibeum, the burying-place of the
sacred birds of Hermopolis, could
not have been 24 miles distant to
the north of that city. Not far from
these tombs is a curious sculptured
stela, on the nummulite rock of
Gebel To6na, representing the king
Atin-re- Bakhan with his queen, wor-
shipping the Sun, which darts forth
rays terminating in human hands; a
subject similar to those in the grottoes
of Tel el Amama. They are accom-
panied by two of their daughters,
holding aiitra. Below the figures

V. Egypt,

ROUTE 22. — MELLAWEE — ISBAYDA.

305

are between twenty and thirty lines
of hieroglyphics much defaced ; and
near it are two headless statues sup-
porting a sort of tablet, with three
daughters of the king on the side in
intaglio. Beyond are two other
statues, and at the side of this, as of
the other group, are two small muti-
lated figures.

Several years ago a peasant dis-
covered a large sum of money buried
in the ground near this spot, which
had been concealed there by ohe of
the Memlooks, in their retreat,
after being defeated by Mohammed
All, the year before the massacre in
the citadel. M. Linant had been
told of it some years before, by a
person who was present on the occa-
sion, who even described the spot,
and the stone that covered it, the
accidental removal of which led to
the discovery. IVeating it, however,
as one of the many idle tales told in
JBgypt, he thought no more about
the matter, until the good fortune of
the peasant recalled it to his recollec-
tion. The discovery was the talk of
the whole neighbourhood when I
visited Toona, and confirmed the
popular belief in the existence of the
kens, or *< treasures,'* supposed to be
buried near ancient ruins. But the
good fortune of the finder was soon
converted into a misfortune. The
Turkish governor of the district
arrested him, took from him all he
had found, and bastinadoed him,
(their usual custom,) to make hi^m
confess if any portion had been con-
cealed. Such is the Turkish mode
of claiming the rights of a lord of
the manor.

From Byad^eh to this part of the
mountain is a ride of about three
hours and o half, on donkies, at a
quick walk ; and O^moondyn is a
little more than half way from
Byad^eh to the Bahr Yoosef, which
in March has ^ery little water, the
deepest part then reaching very little
above the knee. There is a town
not far off*, called Toona, or Toona

e' Gebel (« of the mountain**); in
Coptic, Thoni. Another, called Da-
root- Oshm6on, is the Ter6t Shmoun
of the Copts.

Aboosir, the Pousiri of the Coptic
MSS., was on the west of the Bahr
Yoosef, near the Libyan hills.

Dar6ot-0»hm6on,or, as it is some-
times called, Daroot e' Nakhl (« of
the palms**), has the usual mounds
of old towns, but no remains in
stone. It stands on the east bank of
the Bahr Yoosef, and from its name
and position I conjecture tlrnt it oc-
cupies the site of the Hermopolitana
Phylace (fvAoici}), as Daroot e' She-
re^f does that of the Theban castle.

Mettawee claims the rank of a town
(6endSer), having a market, held every
Sunday, and being the residence of a
Kashef, who is under tlie jurisdiction
of the governor of Minieh. It has
some mounds, probably marking the
site of an ancient town. A little
higher tip the river, on the opposite
bank, at the projecting corner of the
eastern mountains, is a place called
IMyda, or SebdjfdOf behind and to
the N. E. of which are several grot-
toes and modem quarries. Some
have the usual agricultural and other
scenes, and the various subjects com-
mon to tombs. In two of tliem is
the name of Papi in a square, and
another has these two ovals together,
each followed by the word " priest.'*
In others are specimens of the false
doors, and architectural ornaments
found at the tombs near the pyramids,
and some figures in relief. Osiris is
here frequently styled ** Lord of the
land of Tat,** or " Tot,*' which is ex-
pressed by the emblem of stability.

Before several of the grottoes are
crude brick walls, built when inha-
bited by the Christians, who con-
verted one of them into a church,
cutting a circular niche into the rock
opposite the entrance. At Isbiyda
there is another portion of the Gisr
el Ago6s, and a ruined town, which
commanded the mountain-pass up
the ravine behind Gebel e* Shekh

306

BOUTB 22. — HiNIEH TO OSIOOT.

Sect m.

Sa'id. This road passed by a stone
quarry at the top of the hills, and
then descended into a valley coming
from the eastward, and opening upon
the level plain. Here it joined an
old road of considerable breadth,
which ran in a southerly direction
behind the town, whose extensive
mounds lie to the south of the mo-
dern village of Td el Amdma,

This I formerly supposed to be the
ancient Alabastron ; but I have since
found reason to idter my opinion,
and to fix its site at Kom Ahmar,
much further to the north.

Td d Amdma, — The ruins at Td
d Amdma are supposed to be of
JPatnatdUf .but I have not been able
to ascertain its name in the hiero-
glyphic legends on the walls of the
neighbouring tombs.

There was another road between
the mountains and the Nile, which
passed by an old town now destroyed,
a little beyond Shekh Said, and
thence to Tel el Amirna.

Roads also lead from both those
old towns to the grottoes in the
western face of the mountains ; and
others cross the plain in different
directions. Some of them are of
considerable breadth.

The proUoes have sculptures of a
very peculiar style. Tlie figures are
similar to those at Gebel Toona ; and
the king and queen, frequently at-
tended by their children, are in like
manner represented praying to the
Sun, whose rays, terminating in
human hands, give them the sign of
life, in token of his accepting the
offerings placed before him. It was
by accident that I first discovered
these grottoes in 1824, being dis-
tant from the river, and then un-
known to the boatmen of the Nile.
Tliey are very numerous ; and their
sculptures are various, and highly in-
teresting. In one the monarch is
borne on a rich throne towards a
temple; in another, he is mounted
in his car, the queen following in
<* the second chariot that he hud/*

In some are military processions, the *
troops marching with the banners
belonging to their respective corps,
and divided into light and heavy
armed infantry, as was customary
with the Egyptian army. Each
soldier bows down before the mo-
narch, whose tyranny seems to be
hinted at by their more than usual
submissiveness. The chariot corps
and others also attend; and the
officers of infantry are distinguished
by their post at the head of their men,
and by the wand they carry in their
hand. In others are the plans of
houses, gardens, courts of temples,
cattle, and various subjects, among
which may be mentioned some large
boats, fastened to the bank of the
Nile by ropes and pegs, as at the pre-
sent day.

'^Some of the sculptures have been
left unfinished.

In a small ravine, ninning nearly*
parallel with, and at a little distance
behind, the western face of the hills,
is an alabaster quarry, evidently
worked by the ancients, which I
found by mere accident, while wander-
ing over the hills in quest of other
grottoes. This it was that induced
me to suppose the town in the plain
below to be Alabastron, though
its position did not agree with
Ptolemy and Pliny.

The grottoes are, as usual, the
tombs of private individuals, who
lived during the reign of the king
whose name occurs within ttiem, and
who are here buried. In one of
them mention is made of an indi-
vidual called Ames, or Amosis, who
was fan-bearer to the monarch.

The royal names, as at Gebel
Toona, have been invariably defaced,
evidently by the Egyptians them-
selves. There are usually five ovals ;
two containing the nomen and pre-
nomen of the king ; another the name
of the queen ; and two others, ivhtch
are of larger site, have the titles of
the god Atinre, a name applied to
the iun under the form here repre-

U. Egypt ROUTE 22. — grottoes op tel el AMibcxA* 307

sented. These ovals of the god con-
tain the name of Ra (the Sun) in bis
resting-place, and seem to refer either
to his splendour, or to the office of
Gem, the Egyptian Hercules, *< who
is in Atinre.'*

Some have supposed that the kings,
whose names are found here, be-
longed to the dynasty of shepherds,
whose memory was odious, as dieir
rule was oppressive to the Egyptians;
but their era does not agree with the
date of these sculptures. For it is
evident that the reign of Atinre
Bakhan was after Thothmes IV., and
before Amunoph III.; the first
proved by an inscription I found in
the ruins of Tel el Am^ma ; the other
by M. Prisse's discoveries at Thebes.

They may, however, have been
later invaders ; and there is reason to
believe that they made a change in
the religion* by substituting the wor-
ship of the sun, as Atinre, for that of
Amun, or Amunre, who was not re-
stored until the return of the Egyp-
tian dynasty ; which would account
for the erasure of their names.

I will not enter here into this
curious question; but beg parti-
cularly to draw the attention of those
who are interested in Egyptian in-
quiry to any records that may fall in
their way respecting tliese foreign
princes. From their features it is
evident they were not Egyptians ; their
omission in the list of kings, the
erasure of Uieir names, the destruction
of their monuments, and the abject
submission they required, prove them
to have been looked upon with hatred
in the country; and the peculiar
mode of worshipping and represent-
ing the Sun argues that their religion
differed from the Egyptian.

Several Greek inscriptions show
that the catacombs of Tel el Am&rna
were sufficiently admired by ancient
travellers to be considered worthy of
a visit, like those at Thebes; and
one of the writers expresses his sur*
prise at the *' skill of the sacred
masons/* rtx*^ ^vMfAa(mif rmw Upttw

KaoTOfUffT, To the south of the central
tombs is a natural grotto or fissure in
the rock, and several workings in a
softer vein, apparently in search of a
yellow stone which crosses it here and
there; but it is difficult to say for
what use it was required. Several
small houses, or huts, of rough stone
are built here, as well as before the
catacombs themselves, probably the
abodes of workmen. In one of the
tombs I observed a large niche cut
by the Christians, and in another the
figures of saints painted on tlie walls ;
showing that these, like other se-
cluded spots, were once occupied by
anchorites and other devout cynics,
or served as places of refuge from the
persecutions exercised at different
times against the monks of Egypt.

The extensive ruins of the old city
are seen in the plain, near the river,
a short distance to the south of the
modem village of Tel el Am&rna, so
called from the tel or ** mounds " of
that ancient place. Its temples were
of sandstone, each surrounded by a
crude brick enclosure, like many of
those at Thebes and other places : but
fragments of masonry are all that
now remain, the stone edifices having
been purposely destroyed, and so
completely as to leave no vestige of
their original plans. Several of the
crude brick houses are better pre-
served, and from their substructions
the form and distribution of many of
the rooms may be easily traced. In-
deed, they are calculated to give a
more correct idea of the ground plans
of Egyptian houses than any in the
valley of the Nile; and the extent of
the city is unequalled by any whose
ruins remain, except Tliebes, being
about two miles in length, though
of a comparatively inconsiderable
breadth. Amidst the ruins I ob-
served a statue with the unerased
ovals of King Bakhan, and the stone
already mentioned, bearing his name
and that of the fourth Thothmes.

Some distance to the southward,
and nearly in a line with the village

308

ROUTE 22. — BUNIEH TO OSIOOT.

Sect. IIL

of Howarte, is a ravine in the hills,
where a large stela bearing a long
hieroglyphic inscription has been
found ; and to the south of this, near
the road leading ovtr the mountains
in rear ofOebel Aboofi&yda, are other
catacombs, containing similar sculp-
tures, and some ancient roads com-
municating with the town.

Nearly opposite El Howarte, in*
land on the west bank, is Tanoof,
whose lofty mounds mark the site of
Tanis- Superior, in Coptic Tboni.
It has no ruins. A Khort distance to
the west of it runs tlie Bohr Yootf^
or Menhi, which conveys the water
of the Nile to the interior of the
western plain, passing by Behnesa,
and thence by a lateral branch into
the Fyoom.

About two miles to the south of
Tanoof is Daroot e* Shere^f,in Coptic
Terot, which I conjecture to occupy
the site of the Theba'ica Phylace
(^i/XaKiy), or Theban castle; a for-
tified place at the frontier of the
Theba'id, where duties were levied on
goods exported from that part of the
country to Lower Egypt. Strabo
tcUt us the canal to Tanis passed by
that castle ; and we may trace in the
name Daroot the word ouriU a " gar-
rison" or "guard," and thereby in-
crease the probability of this con-
jecture.

At Daroot are a few mounds and
some fragments of stone, but no
ruins. A few miles higher up the
Nile is the mouth of the Bahr
Yoosef. It has two entrances, one
added in 1 323, to avoid the obstruc-
tion of the sand, which had choked
the old mouth.

On the opposite or eastern bank
are the first D6m treet^ called also
Theban palms, from being confined
to the Tbebaid. They are not found
in Lower Egypt, except in gardens,
as at Mlnieh and a few other places.
Their dry fibrous fruit, when ripe,
exactly resembles our gingerbread in
flavour, and is eaten by the peasants.
It contains an extremely hard nut.

which has been used by the car-
penters of ancient and modem Egypt
for the socket of their drills; but
which, l)efore the fruit ripens, is a
horn-like substance, and is eaten by
the people of Ethiopia. The growth
of the tree has this peculiarity, that
the lower part of the stem is single,
and invariably divides at a certain
height into two branches, each of
these again being bifurcated, always
in two sets. The head is covered
with Inrge fiin-shaped leaves, at the
base of which the fruit grows.

In the rocks above are some quarries
and small grottoes, and just beyond is
E'Dayr el Kossayr, inhabited by
Christians. This Mr. Hamilton sup-
poses Xq mark the site of Pescla, or
Pesla of the Itinerary, which was 24
Roman milesto the south of Antinoe.

After passing the village of £1
Kossayr the river makes a consider-
able bend, beneath the precipitous
cliflTs of the GtM Ahoofdydee or
Ahoofaydcu Hereabouts crocodiles
begin to be more frequently seen,
and it may be said that they are
now nearly confined to the Theba'id.
Sudden gusts of wind from the moun-
tain often render great precaution
necessary in sailing beneath it, and
many accidents have happened in
this part of the river. The recesses
in the rocks are the resort of nu-
merous wild ducks; but being ge^
nerally very timid, they are not easily
approached, and a single shot dis*
turbs them for a great disUnce.

About a mile above El Kossayr on
the east bank is a small ancient town
in the mountain pass; halfway be-
tween which and El Hare'ib ( Haryib)
is Ebras, a retired recess in the
mountain, with a piece of cultivated
land, having palms and D^m trees.

A short distance beyond are some
grottoes, and about 2 miles further
the ancient town called El Hart^
(** eAe rtctM **), with grottoes and tombs
containing dog and cat mummies.
The town stood at the mouth of a
ravine, which after heavy rain poUrs a

K Egypt, eoxjte 22, — el bareib — manfaloot.

309

stream of water through its centre.
Many of the walls are still standing,
and some of the arches within the
houses are well preserved. It is,
however, probable that they are not
of very ancient date, and many may
be of a late Roman or Christian time.
On the south side of the ravine is a
large crude brick enclosure, perhaps
a fort ; and near the river are remains
of masonry, apparently part of an
old quay. In some of the walls the
bricks, instead of being in horizontal
courses, are in curved lines, like the
enclosure of a temple at Thebes,
called Dayr el Mede^neh. Many of
them are of considerable height, and
in some places the arched windows
remain, even of the upper stories.
In several of the grottoes, up the
ravine to the north-east, are found
human bones and the mummied
bodies of dogs. One of them has
the Egyptian cornice, and in ano«
ther are some enchorial inscriptions.
The ancient name of El Hareib is
uncertain. The Itinerary mentions
no place between Pesla and Hie-
racon.

About a mile and a half inland on
the western side of the Nile is Kos-
s^eh, the ancient Cus«, Chusae, or
Chusis; in Coptic K6s-ko6. Ac-
cording to the Greeks, Venus Urania
was the deity of the place; and
^lian reports that a sacred cow was
there worshipped, which is perfectly
consistent with the character of the
Egyptian Venus, of whom that ani-
mal was an emblem. His words are,
" it is a small but elegant town, in
the Hermopolite nome, where they
worship Venus called Urania (the
heavenly), and also a cow.**

The difiTerence between the low
and high Nile in this part of Egypt
is 21 feet three inches, judging from
the highest mark made by the water
on the cliffs of Gebel Aboof&ydee,
which rise abruptly from the river.

About three miles above £1 Hareib,
and beyond the bend of the river, is
an old convent called Dayr el Buk'

hara. The name is common to many
of these monastic retreats, being de-
rived from the custom of barricading
the doors and raising every thing they
required by a **pul/ey" as at Dayr
Antonios and Dayr Bolos, in the
eastern desert. Near the convent are
the ruins of another old town, and
some sepulchral grottoes, in one of
which is the representation of a corpse
placed on a bier, attended by Isis,
Nephthys, and Anubis, with some
Greek inscriptions. It is the same
subject which has been absurdly mis-
taken for metmeriaml A portion of
the Gisr el Ago6s appears near this
old town, which may possibly lay
claim to the site of Hieracon, though
the distances in the Itinerary do not
quite agree with its position.

In former times the Nile ran be-
neath this part of the eastern chain,
but having now changed its bed, it
has swept away the greater part of
Manfaloot, in spite of all the precau-
tions of the government in sinking
boats, and the usual contrivances for
checking its encroachment. The old
channel is now dry nearly all the
year, and is only a small stream
during the inundation. On its eastern
bank stands the village of Maiibdeh,
near which are some extensive caverns
cut in the rock, which served as
places of sepulture for crocodiles. I
did not visit the caves themselves, but
from specimens I have seen taken out
of them, the mummies are frequently
well preserved, and of great size.

• Between Daroot e' Shere^f and
Manfaloot, on the west bank, is the
site of an old town, called in Coptic
Maniau, whose Arabic name accord-
ing to the MSS. is Mowda el Aahea ;
and between this last and Mankabit,
mention is made of Maiitout, the sue-
cesM>r of a town of the same name,
in Coptic Maiithoot. This last may
signify the ** place of Thoth."

Manfaloot, or Monfalout, in Cop-
tic Manbalot, is a bender or
market town, and the residence of
a Kasbef, or Nazer. It is of con-

810

ROUTE 22. — u/nIEH to 08I00T.

Sect III.

siderable «i«, with the usual bazaar,
and the comfort of a pretty good
bath. There is a market day every
Sunday, which, though apparently
very uninteresting, I mention, because
meat and other things are then more
easily obtained than at other times.
It has a governor's palace, and out-
side the walls are several gardens.

There is reason to believe that an
old Egyptian town stood here in for-
mer times, and Leo Africanus speaks
of its sculptured remains, and the
ruins of a building, apparently a
temple, near the river.

It is singular that no notice is
taken of it by Greek and Latin
writers, and we might suppose that
tlie Arab geographer was incorrect
in his statement, did not its mounds,
and the mention of its name in the
list of places cited in the Coptic MSS.
prove it to have been one of the
cities of ancient £gypt. Its modem
name is evidently taken from the
Coptic, which M. Champollion sup*
poses to signify the ** place of wild
asses;** but the modern Egyptians,
with their usual disposition to con-
nect every thing with persons men-
tioned in the Kor4n, have decided it
to be the ** place of exile of Lot.**
Aboolfeda describes Manfaloot " on
the bank of the Nile,** but in Po-
cocke*R time it stood a mile from the
river, which then ran nearer the hills
of Gebel Aboof&yda. Since that
period it has gradually encroached on
the western shore. It had also a
"bishop and about 200 Christians,
whose church was at Narach, some dis-
tance off, in a spot where the common
people pretended that the Holy Family
lived until the death of Herod.** Ac-
cording to Mr. Jowitt, who visited
Egypt about 90 years after him, the
number of Christians in Manfaloot
amounted to about 50, and 1 S priests,
without reckoning those in the con-
vents in the vicinity.

Manfaloot is now nearly all carried
away by the Nile, which runs over the
spot where the principal part of the

town once stood, and there is reason
to believe that in a few years the
whole will be destroyed.

Beni Adee or Beni Ali, at the edge
of the Libyan desert, is well known
as having been the head-quarters of
the Nizam, or discliplined troops of
the Pasha, prerious to their march for
the Morea; and as the usual point
of departure for the Oa^s of Ddkh-
leh. (See Route 18. Sect II.)

In Wadee Booa, at the southern
corner of Gebel Aboofiyda on the
E. bank, and near the mouth of
Wadee e* Gibr&wee, are some old
grottoes. In one of the latter is some
sculpture much defaced, representing
the usual agricultural scenes found
in the tombs. Tliey have been oc-
cupied in later times by the Christians,
who probably put up the Greek in-
scription I observed in a niche ; and
which might possibly be deciphered,
if the sun were higher than when
I saw it. Just below are old ruined
villages. Some place Hieracon near
this spot. It is here that the road
from Tel el Amirna over Gebel
Aboof&yda rejoins the valley of the
Nile, and those travelling by land
avoid a great d&our by following
this mountain pass.

About 6 miles beyond, near the
edge of the cultivated land, behind
Benoob el Hamam, are vestiges of
the Gisr-el-Agoos. In the tract of
land on the border of the desert, near
the road going towards El Wasta, I
found a crude brick ruin and the
mounds of other small towns, but
witltout any stone remains. Isium
stood somewhere in this direction, at
one of the ruined towns just men-
tioned.

The Nile makes several large bends
between Manfaloot and Osioot, which
often cause considerable delay. At
the end of one of them, and at a short
distance from the bank, is MankabAt,
or Mungabat, the successor of an old
town called in Coptic Mankapot,
*' the place (manufiKtory ?) of pots,'*
probably from its manufactory of

U. Egypt

BOUTE 22* — OSIOOT.

311

earthenware ; though from the great
quantity made in every part of Egypt,
it seems unreasonable to apply this
name to any particular town. Like
Keneh and Ballas, at the present
day, it may have been noted for a
particular kind.

OSIOOT, OSTOOT, OR ilOOT.

Otiooi has succeeded Girgeh as the
capital, and residence of the governor,
of Upper Egypt. It stands at some
distance from the river, and a small
village on the bank, called £1 Hamra,
claims the honour of being its port.
It is of considerable extent, with seve-
ral bazaars, baths, and some handsome
roosks, one of which is remarkable
for its lofty minaret. Osioot is cer-
tainly the largest and best built town
of the Sieed ; and its position, with
several gardens in the vicinity, is
greatly in its favour. It may eon-
tain about 20,000 inhabitants, of
whom about 1000 are Christians.
The palace of the governor is a neat
building, situated on a canal, and
surrounded by a wall. It was erected
by Ibrahim Paslia while governor of
Upper Egypt ; and I regret to say
the ruined temple of Gow el Kebeer
furnished materials for its construc-
tion. In the town are a few good
houses belonging to the e6flu-6e2ecl, or
towns-people, but the generality are
mere hovels. The streets are narrow
and unpaved, aa is the case in all the
towns of Egypt, not excepting Cairo;
where one small alley and part of a
bazaar alone have any pavement.

Some of the basaars are little in-
ferior to those of the metropolis, and
are well supplied ; and the town is
divided into quarters, each closed by
a gate, as at Cairo. On Sunday a
market \% held, which is frequented
by the people of the neighbouring
villages ; and in the bazaars a great
supply of stuffs and various commo-
dities are always kept for sale, brought
from Cairo and other parts of Egypt,
as well as from Arabia and the upper
country. The best kind of pipe bowls

are manufactured here, which are
highly prized, and sent in great num-
bers to Cairo : some are also made at
Keneh and Asouan, which are only
in^rior to those of Osioot. A large
canal conducts the water from the
river during the inundation, and the
communication with .the town by land
is always kept open, by means of a
large dyke, which extends thence to the
mountains and the modern cemetery.

Osioot is the resort of the caravans
from Dar- Foor ( Darfur), which come
through the Great Oasis.

Osioot has succeeded to the ancient
Lycopolist '< the city of the wolves,**
so called from the worship of that
animal, or of the deity to whiom it was
sacred. Tlie wolf is still common in
Egypt (contrary to the opinion of
Sonnini), and is found embalmed in
the ancient tombs of Lycopolis.

The Coptic name of the city, Sioout,
is the same it bore in ancient times,
as is shown by the hieroglyphics in
the catacombs, where it is written
Ssout, the initial S being doubled, as
in Ssa, the Egyptian name of Sa'is.
The jackal-headed god is said to be
lord of the place, but instead of the
name of Anubis (Anepo) he has the
legend with boms, which 1 have
ascribed to Macedo ; and it remains
for us to decide whether Macedo was
the deity to whom the wolf was sacred,
or another character of Anubis.

Little now remains of the old town,
except extensive mounds, and a few
stone substructions, which are found
in digging for the foundations of
houses or in cutting trenches on its
site. It was under tlie mounds on
the south side that the head of a sta-
tue was found in 1822, and the base^
ment of. a large stone building, both
probably of Roman time ; and here
and there are seen the fragments of
granite blocks.

The Libyan chain advances con-
siderably towards the east, in this
part ; and in the projecting comer of
the mountain above Osioot are seve-
ral grottoes cut in the limestone rock,

312

EOUTE 22. — OSIOOT.

Sectni,

tbe burial-places of the inhabitants of
Lycopoh's. Though not containing
a. great profusion of sculpture, they
are of considerable interest from their
antiquity, and some have the names of
very old kings. The view over the
town, and the green plain, in the
spring is very beautiful from these
tombs; particularly from the large
one, called by the modern Egyptians
Stabl Antar,

The ceiling of this catacomb has
been ornamented with very elegant
devices, which I suppose to be what
Denon alludes to, in speaking of
" Greek scrolls." It has an entrance
chamber, or porch, open to the air, cut
like the rest in the limestome rock,
and its roof is in the form of a vault.
In an inner room are sculptures re-
presenting men bringing an ibex and
various offerings; and at the end a
large figure of a man, and others of
women rather smaller, smelling the
lotus flower, as was usual at the fes-
tive meetings of the Egyptians. It
has several chambers, which once
served as dwelling-places for the
peasants, who have not improved their
appearance by blackening them with
smoke. In the smaller caves and ex-
cavated recesses of the rock in various
parts of this mountain, the remains of
wolf mummies are frequently met
with ; which is perfectly consistent
with tlie fact of the wolf having been
tlie sacred animal of tlie place, and
with the name given to the town by
the Greeks. The coins of the Lyco-
polite nome have also tbe wolf on
their reverse, with the word " Lyco."

The tombs are arranged in suc-
cessive tiers at different eleva-
tions. They may be visited accord-
ing to their position, and a road
about four paces broad leads up the
hill. They are very numerous, but
many are without sculpture, and some
containing burnt bones appear to have
been occupied by the Romans at a
late period. Near the mid4ie of the
ascent is some crude brick building ;
and I observed a square pit lined with

burnt brick, very unusual in ancient
times, witli a tablet or stela above on
the rock, much defaced. Some of the
small pits are very narrow, scarcely
broad enough for a man, and they
slope gradually, as if to allow the
coffins to slid^ down into them.
Sometimes a tomb consists of a large
chamber with small niches or reposi-
tories for the dead, and in the floor
are the usual mummy pits.

In a tomb, about half way up the
hill is the name of a very old king,
and some soldiers carrying shields of
enormous size, differing both in this
respect, And a little in their shape,
from the common shield, but remark-
able as being similar to those men-
tioned by Xenophon in speaking of
the Egyptian troops in the army of
Crcesus. He says tliey amounted to
120,000 men, "carrying bucklers,
which covered them from head to foot,
very long spears, and swords called
KoiriScs,*' {diopsh) and each phalanx
was " formed of 10,000 men, 100 each
way.** It was from the protection given
them by these large shields, supported
as they were by a thong over the shoul-
der, and from their compact order of
battle, that the Persians were unable
to break them, when they had routed
the rest of the Lydian army. They
tlierefore obtained honourable terms
from Cyrus, and an abode in the
cities of Larissa and Cyllene, in ttic
neighbourhood of Cuma near the sea,
which were still called the Egyptian
cities, and inhabited by their descen-
dants, in the time of Xenophon.

On the lower part of the hill are 5
standing statues, in high relief.
Many of the burnt bones I observed
were of wolves ; and it is probable
that most of the smaller caves were
intended for depositing the mummies
of those sacred animals of Lycopolis,
which have since been purposely or
accidentally burnt.

The tombs on this mountain, like
most others in Egypt, were once the
abode of the Christians, who retired
thither either from persecution^ or for

C. Egypt ROUTE 23. — osioot to giboeh.

313

the sake of that solitude which suited
their austere habits ; and it was per-
haps from one of them that John of
Lycopolis gave his oracular answer
to the embassy of Theodosius. The
story is thus related by Gibbon:
*' Before he performed any decisive
resolution, the pious emperor was
anxious to discover the will of Hea-
ven ; and as the progress of Christi-
anity had silenced the oracles of Del-
phi and Dodona, he consulted an
Egyptian monk who possessed, in the
opinion of the age, the gift of mira-
cles and the knowledge of futurity.
£utropius, one of the favourite eu-
nuchs of the palace of Constantinople,
embarked for Alexandria, from
whence he sailed up the Nile as
far as the city of Lycopolis, or of
Wolves, in the remote province of
Theba'is. In the neighbourhood of
the city, and on the summit (side ?) of
a lofty mountain, the holy John had
constructed with his own hand a
humble cell, in which be had dwelt
above 50 years, without opening his
door, without seeing the face of a
woman, and without tasting any food
that had been prepared by fire or any
human art. Five days of the week
he spent in prayer and meditation ;
but on Saturdays and Sundays he
r^ularly opened a small window,
and gave audience to the crowd of
suppliants who successively flowed
from every part of the Christian
world. The eunuch of Theodosius
approached the window with respect-
ful steps, proposed his questions con-
cerning the event of the civil war,
and soon returned witli a favourable
oracle, which animated the courage of
the emperor by the assurance of a
bloody but infallible victory.*'

On the north side of the projecting
comer of the mountain are some
limestone quarries, and a few unin-
teresting grottoes

Below is the modem cemetery. The
tombs are arranged whh considerable
taste, and have a neat and pleasing
appearance. On going to them from

the town, you pass along a raised
dyke, with a bridge over a canal that
skirts the cultivated land. Hie latter
answers the same purpose as the Bahr
Yoosef in central Egypt, in carrying
the water of the inundation to the
portion of the plain most distant from
the river ; and in one of the ponds
between the river and the town, fed
by a lateral canal, the <* very conve-
nient** spring mentioned by Micbaelis
is to be looked for, the credit of which
newly-married brides may often be
greatly interested in maintaining. On
the southern comer of the mountain,
immediately above the village of
Dronka, is a large bed of alabaster
lying upon the limestone rock, but
not sufficiently compact to admit of
its being quarried for use.

There are also some grottoes be-
hind the village of Reefa, about a
mile to the south of Dronka, but I
do not know if they contain sculpture.

Aboolfeda, on the authority of
Ebn-Sa'id, relates a story concerning
the mountain of Osioot, which has
always been applied to the Gebel e*
Tayr, tliat the birds of Eg)-pt per-
form an annual pilgrimage to it, and
having left one of tiheir number fixed
there till the^nsuing year, return to
relieve it, and substitute another,
which is detained in a similar manner
by the same talisman.

Pliny seems to think that these
hills formed tlie northern boundary
of the Thebald, since he says, ** in
Libyco Lycon, ubi montes finiunt
Theba'idem.** But this could not be
so, as it extended much farther north,
to the Tbebaica Phylace.

ROUTE 23.

OSIOOT TO GIRO SB.

Mflei.

Osioot to Aboote^g (W.)

- 12

Gowel Kebeer(E.) -

. 141

Ekhmim (E.)

- 39|

Mensh^eh (W.) -

- 9

Girgeh (W.)

- 13

83-

314

BOUTE 23. — OSIOOT TO GIBGEH.

Sect III.

At Shodb are the mounds and
crude-brick remains of Hypsele, in
Coptic Shotp» which gave its name to
one of the nomes of Egypt.

Near to Lycopolis was a fort called
in Coptic Tgeli» and the village of
Papbor, in the district of Sliutp, the
sites of which are now unknown. £1
Wasta, on the east bank, is probably
the successor of Contra Lycopolis,
but it has no remains. At £1 Mot-
m&r are the mounds of an old town,
by some supposed to be Mouthis, a
small place to the north of Antseo-
polls. But the distance of Motm6r
from Gow is too much, and the po-
sition of Mouthis given in the Itine-
rary requires it to have been near
Rflikineh, opposite Baroot. Much tont,
or Acacia Nilotica, grows near Mot-
miVf which, like that on the road to
Abydus, may be the remnant of
one of the old groves of Acanthus,
At the north of the projecting comer
of the mountain, behind Motmir, is
a road called Derb Imow, which
crosses this part of the eastern chain
of hills, and rejoins the valley of the
Nile by a ravine near the grottoes of
Gow ; and another, called Nukb el
Hossayn, leads from a little above
Dayr Tassa, and descends at the cor-
ner of the same mountain a short way
to the west of the same grottoes.

A little beyond Motm6r is Sherg
Selin. It has no ruins, but, from its
name, it seems to lay claim to the
site of Selinon, though the Itinerary
places Selinon halfway between An-
tsBopolis and Panopolis^ Perhaps,
in this place, we should read Pas-
salon for Selinon.

1 have heard that in a grotto here
is the name of one of the foreign
kin*gs, who were cotemporaries of the
18th dynasty.

At £1 Khow&bid are some mounds,
but no ruins ; and in the hills to the
north-east are some limestone quar-
ries. About a mile further to the
south-east are some grottoes, at the
projecting comer of the lulls, and
others behind the Dayr Tasfca.

AhootUg stands on the site of an

ancient town, and Wansleb mentions
Sidfeh or Sitfeh as the successor of
another, about five miles to the south
of it. Aboote^g is the Abutis of
Latin writers, the Apothyke or Ta-
pothykS of the Copts ; which, as M.
Champollion suggests, is very pro-
bably a Greek word, signifying ** gra-
nary," adopted by the Copts. Abool-
feda says, that in his time the poppy
was much cultivated in the vicinity;
and it still continues to be grown
there. From Aboote^ the course
of the river northwards formerly lay
more inland to the west. This is
consistent with the position of Se-
linon, on the opposite bank, to which
a canal is said to have led from the
Nile.

Koos-kam, or Kos-kam, (in Coptic
Kos-karo,) stands on the west bank,
between Aboote^g and Gow el Ghar-
b4eh. It was called Apollinis Minor
Civitas, to distinguish it from ApoUi-
nopolis Magna and Parva, now £dfoo
and Koos. On the east bank, a little
below Gow el Kebe^r, are several
grUioet at the projecting comer of
the mountain, which there curves
inward to the east. Many of them
are the work of the Romans, or have
been occupied and painted by them,
beiug ornamented with arabesques
and devices of a late time. Near
them are some crude brick remains.

Gow, or Kow, El KAeir^ in Coptic
Tk5ou, the ancient Antaopolis, stands
on the east bank. The remains of
the temple of Antssus are now con-
fined to a confused mass of stones
near the water's edge, one of which
bears the hieroglyphic names of
Ptolemy Philopator and his queen
Arsinoe. The last remaining co-
lumn of the temple, mention^ by
Dr. Richardson, was carried away
by the river in 1821, which Mr. Legh
says, as early as 1813, threatened
" to wash the whole away." At tho
time he visited it, the portico was
still standing, and much in the same
state as when seen by Norden and
Pococke in 1737. Mr. Hamilton
found the Greek inscription on the

JJ' Egypt BOUTE 23. — GOW — SHEKH HEREiDES, 315

frieie of the portico in a very imper-
fect state, the stones having been
broken into six separate pieces ; but
sufficient remaineid to sliow that
" King Ptolemy, the son of Ptolemy
and Cleopatra, gods Epiphaiies, £u-
cbaristes, and Queen Cleopatra, the
sister of tlie king, gods Philometores,
erected the (Projnaos to Antaeus
and the contemplar gods ; " and that
** the emperors, the Cssars, Aurelii,
Antoninus (and Venis), repaired the
roof."

The columns had palm-tree capi-
tals, like the building that contained
the tomb of Amasis, in the sacred
enclosure of Sals, mentioned by He-
rodotus. They seem to have been
more conmion in temples of the
Delta than in those of Upper Egypt.

The river has now completed the
destruction of the temple; but I
believe that more is attributable to
the removal of the stones to build
the palace of Osioot; and this is
another on the list of monuments
destroyed by the ignorance or indo-
lence of the Turks.

Nothing renoains at Gow in its
.original position, excepting some
small stones; and of the columns
little can be traced but broken frag-
ments, with mutilated hieroglyphics.

Here and there some Ptolemaic
names may be seen, but no vestige of
the Greek dedication. The monolith
still remains near the centre of the
ruins. There are also some very
large blocks lying about, and on a
long architrave half covered by the
Nile, I observed a globe and asps,
having hieroglyphics on each side,
with the name of Ptolemy Philo-
pator, and a winged globe above.
The ovals of this king also occur on
many other fragments of the ruined
temple.

Gow el Gharb^eb, on the opposite
bank, has no ruins.

Near Antcopolis the fiibulous bat-
tle between Horus and Typho was
reputed to have taken place, which
ended in the defeat of the latter^ who

bad assumed the form of a crocodile ; .
and here Antaeus is said to have been
killed by Hercules, in the time of
Osiris. Of these two fables, we may
in vain endeavour to discover the
origin or the meaning ; but it is pro-
bable that the story of Antaeus is
a Greek perversion of some legend,
as his name is corrupted from that of
one of the ancient gods of the Egyp-
tian Pantheon. Antsopolis was in
later times a bishop's see.

At Mishte, Shabeka, and £* Shekh
Shenedeen, on the W. bank, are the
mounds of old towns ; and inland,
opposite Gebcl Shekh HereMee, is
Tahta, distinguished from afar by its
extensive mounds, which probably
mark the site of the ancient Hesopis.
Tahta is a large town with several
raosks, and its landing-place, or Sahd,
is at the bend of the river, opposite
Shekh Here^ee. The land here-
abouts produces abundant crops of
com, owing to the lowness of the
level, and^the consequent length of
time that tne water of the inundation
remains upon its surface; though
Norden seems to tliink this lowness
of the land rather a source of injury
than an advantage.

Gtbd Shekh HereSdee is a project-
ing part of the eastern chain of hills,
well known for the superstitious be-
lief attached to a serpent, reputed to
have lived there for ages, and to have
the power of removing every kind of
complaint; and many miraculous
cures, that might have offended Ju-
piter, are attributed to this worthy
successor of the emblem of ^scula-
pius. It is, perhaps, to the asp, the
symbol of Kneph, or of the good
genius, that this serpent has succeeded.
Though the belief in its power still
continues, it has lost much of the
consequence it enjoyed a century ago,
when Norden aud Pococke visited
the spot, or even since the time of
Savary.

On the W. side of the mountain
are some grottoes, and cnide brick
ruins : and at its base is a mutilated

r 2

316

ROUTE 23. — OSIOOT TO GIBGEH.

Sect ni.

statue of a man clad in the Roman
toga.

Passalon or Passalus is supposed
to have stood here. It is placed by
Ptolemy in the nome of Ant»opoIis,
and the boundary of the provinces of
Gow and Ekhmim, which is still at
Raaineh, may mark that of the old
AntsBopolite and Panopolite nomes.

Raaineh (E*Ra£ineh) is remark-
able for its 10% pigeon-houses, which
have the appearance, as well as the
name, of " towers '* {boorg), a style
of building commonly met with in
Upper Egypt.

During the inundation, the Nile
rises to the narrow path at the base of
the mountain, so as to render it
scarcely passable for camels, near the
southern extremity. Round this pro-
jecting point to the eastward, are a
few grottoes, without sculpture.

At Fow, in Coptic Phboou-Tgeli,
are the mounds of an ancient town.
It was distinguished from another
Fow, beyond Chenoboscion, which
the Greeks called Bopos, by the ad-
junct Tgeli, signifying **a fort.** It
was by its position, on the narrow
strip of land between the mountain
and the Nile, that it commanded the
road from AntaeopoHs to Chemmis.

In the mountains behind Ketkitee
are several small grottoes, and otliers
again behind Fow, and at the comer
of the mountain to the N. ofKkhmim.

Itfoo lies inland, on the W. bank.
It was the ancient Aphroditopolis,
in Coptic Atbo, or Thbo. A little
distance to the S. are the Red and
White Monasteries, the latter being
better known by tlie name of
Amba Shenoodeh, or St. Sen6de, and
the other by that of Amba Bishoi.
The founder of the latter, accord-
ing to Wansleb, was a penitent
robber, whose club was kept by tlie
monks as a memorial of his wicked
course of life, and of his subsequent
reformation. The best road to them
is from Soohiig, which stands near
the end of the readi of the river below
Ekhmim.

Soohag is better built than the ge-

nerality of felliih villages, with some
good houses and moaks. Its mounds
show it to have succeeded to an old
town, but I could find no stone re-
mains.

It haa given its name to a large
canal called <*Toora,** " Khale^g,** or
" Moie-t-Sooh&g," that Ukes the wa-
ter of the Nile into the interior during
the inundation, and is similar in size
and purport to the Bahr Yoosef. It
is this canal that irrigates the plain
about Osioot, and the lands to the
south of Daroot e* Shereef, assisted
here and there by lateral canals from
the river. Its entrance is well con-
structed, being lined with hewn stone,
and shows more skill in its arrange^
ment, and in the style of its masonry,
than the generality of public buildings
in modern Egypt. A gisr, or raised
dyke, forms the usual communication,
during the high Nile, with the villages
in the interior ; and here and there,
on the way to Itfoo and the two mo-
nasteries, you pass other smaller ca-
nals, all which, as well as the Moifr-t-
Soohig, are without water in sum«
mer. Several small ponds, also dry
at this season, are passed on the way ; .
and at the edge of the cultivated luid
the peasants sink wells for artificial
irrigation ; the water of the Nile fil-
tering through the soil to any distance
from the banks, and afibrding a con-
stant supply at the then level of the
river.

The )FhUe Mmuutery stands on the
edge of the desert, and its inmates
cultivate a small portion of land
about it, in the capacity of feU6h**
The monastery ia in fact only a
Christian village, being inhabited by
women as well as men, with their
families. In former timet the monks
probably lodged in rooms over the
colonnade, as the holes for rafters in
the walls appear to show ; but these
people now live in the lower part,
which once formed the aisles of the
church. I visited it in 1825, but
found the inmates as much or even
more prejudiced against the inquirier
of tiBTellersy than their Moslem com*

U, Egypt ROUTE 23. — white monastery.

317

patriots ; for the few notes I made in
a pocket-book at the time excited
their unconcealed displeasure, and
they even refused to mention the
name of the convent, until they found
it was already known to me. They
have adopted the same precaution as
their brethren at Bibbeh, in order to
secure the building in turbulent
times against the assaults of the Mos-
lems; and their Christian patron,
like St. George of Bibbeb, is conver-
ted into a Moslem shekb, who com-
mands the respect of the credulous
under the mysterious name of Shekh
Aboo Shen6odeh. The monastery
is built of hewn stones, measuring
about S ft. 3 in. by I ft. 3 in., with
a cornice like that of the Egyptian
temples, all round the top, though
without the torus, which in Egyptian
architecture separates the cornice
from the architrave, or from the face
of tlie wall. On the exterior are
square niches, once stuccoed, as was
all the building. They are placed at
intervals along all the walls, except
on that side nearest the mountain,
which has been added at a later time.
At a distance they have the appear-
ance of windows.

Six doors formerly led into the in-
terior, five of which have been closed
up, leaving that alone on the south
side, which is now the only entrance.
Over all the doors a projecting wall
of brickwork has been built in order
to strengthen them; doubtless at a
time when they were threatened by
an attack from the Arabs or the Mem-
looks, on which occasion even the
solitary door now open was closed,
and protected in the same manner.
In one place, where the brickwork
had fallen, I observed on a jamb of
the door a stone with a few hiero-
glyphics, proving the blocks to have
been taken from some old building,
probably in the neighbouring city of
Athribis. Near this door are the
fragments of red granite columns and
statues. From the walls project
blocks not unlike the gurgoyles or

water-spouts of Egyptian temples, as
at Dendera and other places, though
there is no reason to suppose this was
ever a temple, even of late time. It
may, however, have derived its ex-
terior form from those edifices, which
the builders had been accustomed to
see in the country, while the archi-
tectural details are Greek ; and judg-
ing from the number of columns and
tlie style of the interior, it seems to
have been erected at a lime when
Christianity was under the special
protection of the imperial government.
Pococke supposes it to be of the time
of the Empress Helena. Over the
door on the desert side is a cornice
ornamented with Corinthian foliage,
above which is a stone with square
dentils, both of red granite; and
over the door, at the end of the
entrance passage, is another block of
red granite with Doric triglyphs
and guttK. The area within, which
answers to the nave of our churches,
and of the old basilicas, had on either
side about 1 4 columns, mostly of red
granite, with various capitals of a
late time. One of the Corinthian,
and another of the Ionic order, ap-
pear to be of a better age.

At the east end is the choir, con-
sisting of two separate parts, sur*
mounted by domes, the innermost
being divided into three compart-
ments, before the central one of which
is a screen with some miserable re-
presentations of St. George. Here
are several Coptic inscriptions, in one
of which I read ** Athanasius the
Patriarch," the rest being much de*
faced.

On three sides of this building,
and at a short distance from it, I ob-
served the remains of brickwork,
which lead me to suppose it was once
surrounded by an outer wall : and
perhaps the present building was only
the church of a monastery formerly
attached to it, which seems also to
be the opinion of Denon.

Tradition reports that this convent
stands on the site of an Egyptian city

r 3

318

BOUTE 23. — OSIOOT TO QIBGEEL

Sectm.

called Medeenet Atreeb, and the
ruins in its vicinity may be the re-
mains of an old town ; but the real
Atreeb or Atliribis stood about half
an hour's ride to the southward,
where a ruined temple and extensive
mounds still mark its site. I had
perceived them on going to the White
Monastery; and it was with great
satisfaction I found, on examination,
that they presented the unquestion-
able evidence of being the ruins of
Athribh or CroeodUopolU,

In the midst of mounds of pottery
lie large blocks of limestone, 14 to
15 feet long by S, and 5 feetthidc, the
remains of a temple 200 feet by 175, |
facing the south, and dedicated to
the lion-headed goddess Tbriphis. '
One block alone, the lintel of a door-
way, remains in its original place :
the rest are all thrown down, and I
could only discover the traces of one
column. Over this door is a king
offering to Leontocephale, Khem,
and other deities, over whom is the
name of Ptolemy the Elder, son of
Auletes ; and it is probable that the
foundation of the building is even of
a still earlier date. I also observed
the name of ** Kaisaros ** ( Caesar), pro-
bably Augustus ; and on a stone, at
the southern extremity of the ruins,
which covered the centre doorway or
entrance of the portico, are names
arranged on either side of a head of
Athor, surmounted by a globe con-
taining the mysterious eye, with two
asps wearing the crowns of Upper
and Lower Egypt, the whole group
being completed by two sitting
deities. Such are the ornamental
devices of cornices and architraves on
temples of the time of tlie empire, as at
Dendera and other places. On the
soffit of Uie same were the ovals of
Tiberius Claudius Kaisaros (Cesar)
Germanicus (?) ; and on the other
side a Greek inscription accompanied
by the ovals of Claudius Caesar Ger-
manicus. The lower end of the block
was unfortunately too much ruined
to enable me to copy the whole in-

scription ; and after excavating all I
could of it, I read the following : —

. . . KAI2AP022EBASTOTBEOmOT-
ATTOK P AT0P02 K AirnEPIOT-
AIAZZEBA2THZ
. . . KAITOTOIKOTATTONePI^IdieE-
AMETlSTHIEniHrEMONOZr A-
lOTTAAEP . . .
AnOAAQNIOrnPOSTATHZePI^I-
iliOS LeTIBEPIOTKAIl APOI2E-
BASTOT^AMEN . . .

This inscription shows that the
goddess mentioned with Pan in the
dedication at Ekhmim, was Thriphis,
the deity of the neighbouring city
Athribis. The Julia Augusta here
mentioned was not the widow of
Agrippa and daughter of Augustus,
the first wife of Tiberius, but Li via,
the mother of Tiberius, who, aAer
the death of Augustus, took that
name. She lived to the year 89 a. d ,
the 17th and 18th years of the reign
of Tiberius.

M. Letronne restores the inscrip-
tion in the following manner : —

Zvnf TiCffMv] mturmfH ItCm^tm, J^mv
PllCf I«-iWj

tvsvm]
[««f , i «uv«] Ar«XX«rM«, g,g»rff«fw 0y^><r.
L. BTifimmt Kmttm^H XiCsrtvv, ^o^u*

*' (For the wdftre oTTIberiuf) Catar Au-

Sttuf, Son of the CKxl, the Emperor, and
' that of Jalia Scbute (new Mi, hit nM>>
ther), and all their family, to Thriphii, the
very great Ooddeas, Caiuf Oaleriui . . .
being Prvfect, . . < . . the Son of Apollo-
niitt. Director Tot the temple] of Tnphia,
rerected or deollcated the pronaoa] in the
year ix. of Hberiua Ccaar Augukua, the
. . . of Phamenoth.**

These ruins have also the name of
Medeenet Ashaf sh.

On the eastern face of the moun-
tains, about half a mile beyond
Athribis, are the quarries from which
the stone of the temple was taken ;
and below are several small grottoes
that have served for tombs, and were
once furnished with doors, secured,
as usual, by a bolt or lock. On the
lintel of one of them is a Greek in-
scription, saying that i^ was the " se-
pulchre of Ermius, the son of Archi-
bius.** It has the Egyptian comic«

17. Egypt.

BOUTE 23. — EKHHIM.

319

and torui. In the interior are cells,
and it contains the scattered residue
of burnt bones. Through one of its
side walls an entrance has been forced
into the adjoining tomb. The moun-
tain appears to have had the name in
Coptic of iYooM-n-atrepe, from the
neighbouring city.

Here, as at Arsinoe, the reason as-
signed by De Pauw for the worship
of the crocodile seems fully borne
out, by the position of Athribis^ for
it is certain that unless the canal from
the Nile were carefully kept up, the
sacred animals could not have had ac-
cess to the town that worshipped them.

Akhmimy or Ekhndm, on the east
bank, is the site of Chemmis or Pano-
polls, in Coptic Chmim or Shmin,
formerfy one of the most considerable
cities of the ThebaHd. The modem
Ekhmim is about a quarter of a mile
from the Nile. It has the sise of an
ordinary Egyptian betukr, with a
bazaar, and a market day every Wed-
nesday.

On the side of the town furthest
from the river, beyond the present
walls, are the remains of some of its
ancient buildings,

A long inscription, bearing the
date of the 12th year of the Emperor
Trajanus Gennanicus Dacicus, points
out the site of the temple of Pan;
who, as we learn from the dedication,
shared with Thriphis the honours of
the sanctuary. We also ascertain
another very important fact from this
inscription, that the deity, who has
been called Priapus and Mendes, is
in reality the Pan of Egypt, his
6gure being represented on the same
face of the stone with the dedication ;
which accords very well with the de-
scription of the deity of Panopolis,
given by Stephanus of Byzantium.
On the soffit is a circle divided into
twelve compartments, probably astro-
nomical; but these, as well as the
figures on the neighbouring block,
are nearly all defaced.

These are, doubtless, the remains
of the fine temple mentioned by

Aboolfeda, which he reckons among
the most remarkable in Egypt, as
well for the size of the stones used in
its construction, as for the profusion
of subjects sculptured upon them.

Vestiges of other ruins are met with
some distance beyond, which may
prolNU>ly have belonged to the temple
of Perseus ; but a few imperfect
sculptures are all that now remain,
and it is with difficulty we can trace
on its scattered fragments the name
of Ptolemy, the son of Auletes, and
that of the Emperor Domitian. There
are also the names ofThoth-
mes III., and of the queen
of one of the old Pha-
raohs*, probably Amun-
mai-Pouee, of the twenty-
first dynasty.

The inscription of Trajan is im-
perfectly preserved, but sufficient re-
mains to enable us to restore nearly
the whole. That which remains is as
follows : —

, , , fH Kmur, . tm9W 2iC»mv Tt^puumm

Atuummt

mm rw rwrnr • • • Hmn ^tm fuytt^
TtCtMt KKmuiiH TiCt^mt K . .'. mn iatg

«M> tttxuXm^xnz^rtif . . . qr T(«f«8« mmt

Tlmftt 3i«N) fuyttrtn
ir< . . . . iw ... M ... . rmfx*^ Atymntu
f;({«n TV if>M

vvMTlAwVir 9l
IB A«T«K^«v«f «f ... Ml ZiC«rr«v Fif ^mnpijmv

Atuummt Hmx*n *9

M. Letronne has restored the in-
scription in the following manner :•—

■vw ZtCMtfTW Tt^ftmttmmt Atuun^y
umi rtu vm9TH [«vtw tmrnt] IIsvi J^f«*

TiCtftH KXmvitH TtCt^ttu miKmiuiim/. ..] mH

[ Ar«l xm «txiAi«f x*"**^** *[*' vC^iwDw

T{i^)«r tutt II«r«f ^un fuytrrtn r*
[IIC«ffvA«rl im [Ai»s]i«v [S«vAr<x4«ii 24fu«v

v«v SiCsrtw Vi^Mut»mt £kmtuM0u Tim.x't «9

" [For the welfare of the Empelror Cciar

tNerva Tri^]anus Aiiguitui Oennanicut
>«clciM, and all hb [nmilyl to the very
great God Pan, Tiberiiu Claudiut ApoHina.
ria. of the tribe of Quirloa, ton of Tiberiai.
CCiaudiu Nero F] of the ea-miHUry tri.
r 4

320

ROUTE 23. — OSIOOT TO GIRGEH.

Sectm.

bunM, [director (oftbe temple) of] Thriphif
and of Pan, the very great Deitiet {raiud
this propyUml under [Luciut Sulpicius
Simiui] prefect of Egypt. He began the
work {at the atpeuae qfthe state) and finished
it {at his own) in the year 12 of the Emperor
C«sar Nerva Trajanua Augiwtui Germani-
cus Dacicus.tbe 19th of Pachon.**

His suggestion of the word irpo-
<rrcm}s in the fourth line is fully con-
firmed by the inscription I found at
Athribis ; and he is doubtless correct
in his restoration of the name of the
prnfect Lucius Sulpicius Simius ;
ivho appears from an inscription I
copied near the quarries of Gebel
Fate^reh, in the eastern desert, to
have been governor of £gypt about
the time this monument was erected.
There are, however, some points in
which I differ from the learned §avani,
and which I mention in order that
tliose who visit the spot, and are in-
terested in the subject, may decide
respecting them.

It is important to ascertain — 1.
In the first line, how many letters
should come before the poi Kot; ; and
how many between these last and
tavov Sc/Scurrov. 2. In the third line
how many letters should come be-
tween TtSepiov K . . . and uvos, and
if it is Kovptvai or Kaviptya. S. In
the fourth line are there any letters
wanting before rwy at the beginning?
4. In the fifth line, to look if the
word TpoiruKov can come before ciri ;
if the name is Lucius Sulpicius Simius,
and if iroicit' comes aAer €pyov. 5. In
the sixth line, if SvycTcAcircr 9c stood
alone, and was or was not preceded
and followed by other letters (for I
think it was alone); and if it is
(rurcrcAeo'oi' 5c or avprrtXttrty 5c. 6.
How many letters should come be-
tween poa and ov Se/Bcurrov, and if the
date ader Tlaxo^t^ is lO or u in line 7.

It is with great deference that I
offer any opinion diflTering in the
least from such an authority as M.
Letronne, but it appears to me that
tlie words he supplies at the begin-
ning and end of the fifth line, as well
as the TO wponXop, are not authorised
by the appearance of the block itself.

and that this part points out the time
when Tiberius Claudius ** b^pan the
work,'* which he " finished in the
12th year of the Emperor.**

The superstitions of the natives
have ascribed the same properties to
this stone, and to another in the tomb
of a female shekh, called Bir el Ab-
bad, which the statues of the god of
generation, the patron deity of Pano-
polis, were formerly believed to have
possessed ; and the modern women of
Ekhmim, with similar hopes and
equal credulity, offer their vows to
these relics, for a numerous offspring.
Many blocks and fragments of statues
in other parts of Egypt are supposed
to be endowed with the same pro-
perty ; but the population of the
country is still on the decline.

To the N. E. of the temple of Pan,
I observed a fragment of red granite,
which, from the two winged globes,
one over the other, was evidently part
of a monolithic temple or cage, simi-
lar to tliat at Antsopolis; but I
could find no traces of the triumphal
arch of Nero mentioned by Bruce.

According to Strabo, Panopolis was
a very ancient city, and the inhabi-
tants were fiimous as linen manufac-
turers and workers in stone; nor
were they, if we may believe Hero-
dotus, so much prejudiced against
the manners of the Greeks, as the rest
of the Egyptians. The people of
Chemmis, says the historian of Hali-
carnassus, are the only Egyptians,
who are not remarkable **for their
abhorrence of Greek customs. Chem -
mis is a large city of the Thebaid,
near Neapolis, where there is a temple
of Perseus, the son of Danae. Tliis
temple is of a square form, and sur-
rounded by palm trees. It has stone
propyla of considerable sixe, upon
which are two large statues; and
within the sacred circuit stands the
sanctuary, having in it an image of
Perseus. For the Chemmites say
that Perseus has often appeared in
their country, and even within the
temple, and his sandal was once fount!

U. Egypt.

ROUTE 23. — EKHMIH.

321

there, 2 cubits in length. They also
state that bis appearance was always
looked upon as a great blessing, be-
ing followed by the prosperous con-
dition of the whole of Egypt. They
celebrate gymnastic games in hb
honour, in the manner of the Greeks,
at which they contend for prizes, con-
sisting of cattle, cloaks, and skins.

*' On inqtiiring why Perseus was
in the habit of appearing to them
alone, and why they differed from the
rest of the Egyptians in having gym-
nastic games, they replied that Per-
seus was a native of their city, and
that Danaus and Lynceus, being
Chemmites, emigrated into Greece.
They then showed me the genealogy
of tliose 2 persons, bringing it down
to Perseus ; and stated that the latter
having come to Egypt for the same
reason given by the Greeka, to carry
off the head of the Gorgon from
Libya, visited their country and re-
cognised all his relations. They ad-
ded that when he came to Egypt he
knew the name of Chemmis from bis
motlier; and the games were cele-
brated in compliance with his wishea."

This tale doubtless originated in
the credulity of the Greeks, and in
their endeavour to trace resemblances
in other religions with the deities or
personages of their own mythology ;
or, if a umilar story were really told
to the historian by the Egyptians
themselves, it could only have been
fabricated by that crafty people, to
flatter the vanity of Greek strangers,
whose inquiries alone would suflice
to show the readiest mode of prac-
tising such a deception. Perseus
was no more an Egyptian deity than
Macedo ; and it is still a matter of
doubt to what deities in the Egyptian
Pantheon these two names are to be
referred.

The notion of the great antiquity
of Panopolis seems to have been tra-
ditionally maintained even to the
times of the Moslems ; and Leo Afri-
canus considers it <* the oldest city of
all Egypt," having, as he supposes,

'* been founded by Ekhmim, the son
of Misraim, the offspring of Cush,
the son of Ham.** It seems to have
suffered much at the period of the
Arab conquest ; and to such an ex-
tent was the fury of the invaders car-
ried against this devoted city, that
** notliing was left of its buildings but
their foundations and ruined walls,
and all the columns and stones of any
size were carried to the other side of
the river, and used in the embellish •
ment of Mensh^eh.

In Pococke's time Ekhmim was
the residence of a powerful chief,
who took from it the title of em^r or
prince of Ekhmim. His family,
which was originally from Barbary,
established itself here three or four
generations before, and obtained from
the Sultan the government of this
part of the country, upon condition
of paying an annual tribute. But
their name and influence have now
ceased, and, like the Hawilra Arabs,
once so well known in these districts,
the princes of Ekhmim are only
known from the accounts of old tra-
vellers, and the traditions of the
people. They show their tombs, with
those of their slaves; and in the
cemetery, near the ruins, is the tomb
of the patron of tlie town, Shekh
Abou'l K&sim. Boats, ostrich eggs,
and inscriptions are hung up within
it as ezvotos to the saint; and a tree
within the holy precincts is studded
with nails, driven into it by persons
suffering from illness, in the hopes of
a cure. Near this is the tomb of
Btr el Abbad, above mentioned. It
was at Ekhmim that Nestorius, afler
16 yean* exile, ended his days, and
was buried in the middle of the 5th
century.

Pococke speaks of some convents
near Ekhmim, one called *'of the
Martyrs,** mentioned by the Arab
historian Macrizt, and another about
two miles further in a wild valley,
which is composed of grottoes in the
rock, and a brick chapel covered with
Coptic inscriptions. Near this is a.
r 5

322

BOUTE 23. — OSIOOT TO GIRGEH.

Sect. m.

rude beaten path, leading to what
appears to have been the abode of a
hermit. Pococke calls the spot Ain-
elaham, and supposes the well or
spring there to be the only one whose
water does not come from the Nile.
He also mentions seyeral grottoes to
the west of the village of £1 Gour-
ney, some of which, in his time,
retained traces of ancient paintings.
The valley he alludes to is doubtless
the Wadee el A in ("valley of the
spring " ), between three and four
miles to the N. £. of Ekhmim,
in which are a spring of water and
grottoes, and on the south of its
mouth an old road leading over the
mountains. Close to this is a mo-
dem pass called Nukb el K6lee,
which crosses the mountains, and
descends again into the valley, in the
district of Sberg Weled Yiibia, nearly
opposite Barddes.

Behind the village of Howaweesh
are other grottoes; and three miles
above Ekhmim, are the vestiges of
an ancient town, probably Thomu.
The remains there consist of mounds
and crude-brick.

Thomu should be the place called
in Coptic Tbmoui m Paneheou ; but
M. Champollion endeavours to show
from a Copt MS. that it was an
island on the western side of the Nile,
opposite Ekhmim ; and its name,
« the island of the place of cattle,"
argues that it was not on the main
land, if even it could be to the east
of Panopolis. Thomu, however, is
placed by the Itinerary on the east
bank, four miles above Panopolis,
and therefore agrees with the position
of these mounds.

Some other places are mentioned
in the Coptic MSS. as having existed
in the vicinity of Ekhmim ; but of
their exact position nothing is satis-
factorily known. These 'are Pleuit,
ShenalolSt, and Tsmine, the first of
which appears to have been an an-
cient town of some consequence ; the
second, from its name, a village with
many vineyards in its neighbourhood)

and in the last was a monastery
founded by St. Pachomius.

Meniheeh has extensive mounds,
but the only vestiges of masonry con-
sist in a stone quay, on the east side
of the town. It stands on a small
branch of the Nile, which was pro-
bably once the main stream. By the
Copts it is called Psoi, and some-
times in Arabic MSS. El Monshat,as
well as Mensh^eh. It is supposed to
occupy the site of Ptolemais Hermit ;
which, according to Strabo, was the
largest town in the Thebaid, and not
inferior to Memphis. But neither its
original extent, nor that of any city
in Upper Egypt, except Thebes
itself, can justify this assertion of the
geographer. He even gives it a po-
litical system, on the Greek model ;
which, if true, may refer to some
change in its government, after it had
been rebuilt, and had received the
name of Ptolema'is ; for it doubtless
succeeded to a more ancient city, and
Ptolemy calls it the capital of the
Thinite nome. Leo Africanus says
it was '* badly built, with narrow
streets, and so dusty in summer, that
no one could walk out on a windy
day. The neighbourhood, however,
was famous for abundance of corn
and cattle. It was once possessed by
a certain African prince from the
Barbary coast, called Howira, whose
predecessors obtained the principality
of that name, of which they were
deprived within our recollection by
Soliman, the ninth Sultan of the
Turks."

On the east bank, at the northern
extremity of the mountain, opposite
Girgeh, called by some Gebel Tookb,
are the ruins of an old town, about a
mile above Lahiiwa.

Gtergeht or Girgeh, in Pococke'a'
time the capital of Upper Egypt,
still claims, from its extent and popu-
lation, the second rank, after Ostoot;
but it has not succeeded to any an-
cient town of note, and from its name
it is easy to perceive that it is of
Christian origin. When visited by

V. Egypt ROUTE 23. — qibgeh to abydus.

323

Pococke and Norden, it was a quarter
of a mile from the river; but it is
now on the bank, and part of it has
already been washed away by the
stream. This is one of many proofs
of the great changes that have taken
place in the course of the Nile within
a few years, and fully accounts for
certain towns, now on the river, being
laid down by ancient geographers in
an inland position.

At Girgeh there is a Latin convent
or monastery, the superior of which is
an Italian. It is the oldest Roman
Catholic establishment now in Egypt,
those of Ekhmiro, Farshoot, and
Tahta, being tlie next in order of
antiquity. That of Neg&deh was the
most ancient. It was not from a
Latin but from a Copt convent that
Girgeh received its name, and Girgis,
or George, as is well known, is the
patron saint of the Egyptian Chris-
tians. Leo Africanus tells us that
** Girgeh was formerly the largest
and most opulent monastery of
Christians, called after St. George,
and inhabited by upwards of 200
monks, who possessed much land in
the neighbourhood. They supplied
food to all travellers; and so great
was the amount of their revenues,
that tliey annually sent a large sum
to the patriarch of Cairo, to be dis-
tribuled among the poor of their own
persuasion. About a hundred years
ago, a dreadful plague afilicted
Egypt, and carried off all the monks
of Uiis conventj wherefore the prince
of M ensh^eh surrounded the building
with a strong wall, and erected houses
within, for the abode of various work-
men and shopkeepers. In process of
time, however, the patriarch of the
Jacobites (or Copts j having made a
representation to the Sultan, he gave
orders tlutt another monastery should
be built on the spot, where an ancient
city formerly stood, and assigned to it
only a sufficient revenue to enable
it to maintain thirty monks.

SXCUBStON FROM OXRGBH TO ABTDUS.

If the traveller intends to visit
Abydugf in going up the Nile, he will
do well to hire asses at Girgeh, and
ride over to the ruins, which will
occupy tiiree hours. To save time,
his boat may be sent on to Bellianeh,
or to Samata, with orders to wait
there until he joins it in the evening.
From Abydus to Bellianeh is a ride
of two hours. For the same reason,
if he visits the ruins on his return, he
may start from Samata, or from
Bellianeh, and rejoin his boat at
Girgeh ; and if be intends to use his
pencil, or make notes of the sculptures
there, he had better start early in the
morning, and have the day before
him. The distance from the rfver to
Abydus is reckoned by Pliny al^ 1\
Roman miles, which is the same as
from Abydus to the modem village of
Samata. Near this spot was probably
the mouth of the canal, mentioned by
Strabo, which led from the river to
that ancient city, passing, as does tlie
road at the present day, through a
grove of acanthus or acacia trees.

In the plain between Girgeh and
Abydus is the town of BardSett well
known in the time of the Memlooks,
and which gave the title El Bard^see
to one of the principal beys, hence
called Osman Bey el Bard^esee.
Farther to the S. W. is a town with
old mounds, called El Beerbeh — a
name taken from the Coptic Perpe,
** the temple,** and commonly applied
to ancient buildings. Some suppose
it marks the site of Tliis, which the
geographer says was in the vicinity of
Abydus.

The modern name of Abydug is
Jr^bai el MatfoSn (i. e. " the
buried ** ), in Coptic Eb6t. Its ruins
are on a grand scale, and (^ consider-
able antiquity, dating in the time of
Osirei I. , and his son, the Great Re-
raeses. They consist of two grand
edifices; and these, with the eitent
of the ruins of tlie city, evince the
importance of Abydus, and show

r 6

324

BOUTE 23. — GIBGEn TO ABTDUS.

Sect. ILL

that it yielded to few cidte of Upper
Egypt in lice and magnificence.
Strabo indeed says, that though in bis
time reducedlto the state of a small
village, it had formerly held the first
rank next to Thebes : but this remark
of the geographer applies more par-
ticularly to the consequence it enjoyed
from being considered the burying-
place of Osiris. « There arc many
places," says Plutarch, "where his
corpse is said to have been deposited ;
but Abyclus and Memphis are men-
tioned in particular, as having the
true body; and for this reason the
rich and powerful of the Egyptians
are desirous of being buried in the
former of these cities, in order to lie,-
as it were, in the same grave as Osiris
himself." And of the other places,
wMch were ** reputed to be the real
sepulchres, Busiris, Philie, and Tapo-
siris*' had, according to the same
author, the principal claims. Indeed,
the fact mentioned by Plutarch is
fully confirmed by modern discoveries
at Abydus, where inscriptions pur-
porting that the deceased were brought
from some distant part of the country
to be buried there, are frequently
found within its extensive cemetery ;
and the bodies are said to be ticketed
with the name of the king in whose
reign they lived. The tombs are of
various dates, many of the early time
of the 16th, 17th, and 18th dynasties ;
and several curious stelsB have been
found in them, of excellent work-
manship, and of great interest.

Of the two large edifices above
alluded to, one, according to Strabo,
was called the ** palace of M emnon» "
liut it was in reality commenced by
Osirei, and completed by his son,
Remeses the Great. From its pecu-
liar construction and plan, it is par-
ticularly interesting, and in the style
of its roof it is singular among
Egyptian monuments. This last is
formed of large blocks of stone, ex-
tending from one architrave to the
other; not, as usual in Egyptian
buildings, on their faces, but on their

sides ; so that considerable thickm
having been given to the roof, a vault
was afterwards cut into it without
endangering its solidity. The whole
has been covered with hieroglyphics
and sculptures, beautifully coloured ;
and on the ceiling are the ovals of the
king, with stars, and transverse bands
containing hieroglyphics. The capi-
tals are in the forin of the lotus, or
rather of the papyrus, bud ; and the
roof is of sandstone, probably from
the quarries of Silsilis. This build-
ing is now nearly buried in the sand ;
but the part formerly seen consisted
of two halls supported by columns,
communicating with each other by a
door at one end of each of its avenues
or colonnades.

The other building to the north of
this is the famous temple of Osiris,
who was worshipped at Abydus in
his most sacred character, and re-
ceived from it one of his most usual
titles, " Lord of EboC— the Egyptian
name of that city. It was completed
by Remeses the Great, who enriched
it with a splendid sanctuary, rendered
unusually conspicuous from the ma-
terials of its walls, which were lined
throughout with oriental alabaster.
He also added to the numerous cham-
bers and courts many elegant and
highly finished sculptures; and on
the wall of one of the lateral apart*
ments the famous tablet, a list of
kings, was sculptured by his order.

This important record contains a
series of k i ngs' names, the predecessors
of Remeses the Great ; but, unfortu-
nately, the commencement has been
broken away, so that the order of
succession of the earliest Pharaohs la
still a desideratum — the more to be
regretted, as few monuments remun
of that remote period. It is, bow-
ever, satisfactory to find this list fully
accords with the date and order of
the names on the existing monu-
ments, and with those given at the
Memnonium of Thebea. It waa
first discovered by Mr. Bankes in
1818 ; and having been carried away

U. Egypt BOUTE 24. — gibgeh to keneh.

325

by M. Mimaut, the French con-
sul general, and sold in Paris, is
now deposited in the British Mu-
seum.

Strabo pretends that no singer,
flute-player, or minstrel, was allowed
io be present at the rites performed
in the temple of Osiris at Abydus,
though customary at those of other
deities; but it is probable that the
prohibition was confined to some
particular occasions, without extend-
ing to all the ceremonies practised
there in his honour. The reservoir
mentioned by the geographer, which
was cased with large stones, may
perhaps be traced on the east of
the ancient town ; and it was to
tliis that a canal brought the water
from the Nile, passing, as does th6
present canal, through the grove
of Acanthus, which was sacred to
Apollo.

From Abydus, also (as in Strabo*s
time), a road leads to the Great
Oasis, ascending tlie Libyan cliain
of mountains nearly due west of the
town. Another road runs to the
same Oasis from El Kalaat, a village
further to the south of Samhood,
which is the one taken by those who
go from and to Farshoot, and other
places in this part of the valley ; the
ascent and descent being so much
more easy than by the mountain
road, or path, to the west of Abydus.
See RouU 18. StcL II

The cemetery is to] the northward,
where several steliB have been found
of the time of Osirtasen, and other
early Pharaohs; and some blocks
present the ovals of the Great Re-
meses, and others that of the Ethi-
opian Sabaco.

At the projecting corner of the
mountain, to the north-west, are
limestone quarries, and an inclined
road leading to a shaft or narrow
grottOi some way up, in the face of
the rock, which is in an unfinished
state, and without sculpture.

ROUTE 84.

GiaCXH TO KINBH.

Miles.
Girgeh to How (E.) - - 35
Keneh (£.) (on opposite bank
Dendera) • - - 29

"64"

Bettianeh has succeeded to an old
town, whose mounds mark its site.
Its Coptic name is Tpouran& On
the opposite, or eastern, bank, stood
LepidotutHt so called from the worship
of the fish Lepidotus : but its exact
position is unknown, though a place
of some size and importance, and
mentioned by Ptolemy as one of the
large cities of Egypt.

Samhoodj inland on the west bank,
occupies the site of an ancient town,
called in Coptic Scmhoout, or Psen-
hoout; for though placed more to
the north in the Coptic MSS., it \%
evident this name can only apply to
the modem town of Samhood, whose
mounds sufficiently indicate its anti-
quity. About the district of Sherg
el Khay4m, the Nile makes a con-
siderable bend, but resumes its gene-
ral course, about north and south,
near £1 Hamra.

Farahoaty inland to the west from
the district of £1 Kilh, is a large town,
called in Celtic Bershoout. It is
the residence of a laamoor, or pro-
vincial governor, and was formerly a
town of consequence, but has greatly
fallen off within the last few years, as
well in size as in the number of its
inhabitants. Many of the houses are
in a ruinous state, and quite deserted ;
and of late it has only been renuirk-
able as the head-quarters of the
Nizdm, or new troops of Mohammed
Ali, the native portion of the army
having been first drilled here in 1821
and 1822.

In Pococke^s time, Farshoot was
the residence of the great shekh, who
governed nearly the whole country

326

ROUTE 24. — OmGEH TO KEKEH.

Sect. m.

on the west bank; but be had already
lost much of his authority, and had
great diflBculty in collecting his re>
venues.

*' The present inhabitants of this
district," says Mr. Hamilton, " are
descendants of the How&ra tribe of
Arabs. This warlike race had -for
several years been in the undisturbed
possession of the soil, and enjoyed,
under the government of their own
shekhs, the independent tributaries of
the pasha of Cairo, as much happi-
ness and security as has for many
centuries fallen to tlie lot of any of
the provinces of the Turkish empire.
They lost their independence under
their last shekh, Hammam, who with
an army, said to have consisted of
36,000 horsemen, was entirely de>
feated by Mohammed Bey." The
family still remain, but they are now
like the other peasants.

The How&ra were always famed
for their skill in breeding and manag-
ing horses ; the name How&ree, like
Far^s, signifies a "horseman,** and
is still applied to the native riding-
masters and horsebreakers of Egypt.
The How4ra breed of dogs was not
less noted in Upper Egypt than that
of the horses ; some of which are still
found about Erment, BairAt, and
other places, mostly used for guard-
ing sheep ; and their rough, black,
wire-haired coats, their fierce eye,
their siae, and their courage, in which
they so widely differ from the cow.
ardly fox-dog of Egypt, sufficiently
distinguish them from all other breeds
of the country. Nor have the people
the same prejudice against dogs as in
Lower Egypt; and indeed the in-
habitants of the Saeed have generally
much fewer scruples on this point
than other Moslems, being mostly of
the sect of Miilekee, who view the
dog with more indulgent feelings.

Some of the fancies of the Moslems
respecting what is clean and unclean
are amusingly ridiculous, and not the
least those respecting dogs. Three
of the sects consider its contact de»

files ; the other, the Milekee, fesrs
only to touch its nose, or its hair if
wet; and tales about the testimony
of dogs and cats, against man in a
future state, are related with a gravity
proportionate to their absurdity. It
is, however, not surprising that the
dogs of Egypt, living as they do in
the dirty streets, and feeding upon
any offal they find, should be con-
sidered unclean ; and even the rigid
H&nefee overlooks his scruples in
favour of a Kelb Roomee,a *' Greek '*
or ** European dog,** when assured
that it differs in its habits from those
of his own country.

The next town or tillage of any
siae, afler Farshoot, is BajoSra, and
beyond, at the southern extremity
of the bend of the river, is How, the
ancient Diospolis Parva. Here the
river takes a very long curve; and
as it runs from Keneh to How, its
course is south-west, so that the for-
mer stands about 9' of latitude more
to the north than How, though
higher up the stream. A similar
deviation from its course does not
occur again, except in the vicinity of
Dayr in Nubia, and at the great
bend of the river above Dongola,
which was formerly called the tepcmfn
or elbows of the Nile.

At Howt in Coptic Hd, Hou, or
Ano, are the ruins ot Diotpolu Parvtu
Behind the modem town appear the
vestiges of a sandstdne temple of late
date, either FtolemaSc or Roman;
probably the former, as I observed
on a stone amidst the mounds the
name of Ptolemy Epiphanes. Near
it appears to have been a reservoir or
lake of water, now only marked by
a depression in the ground; and
little remains of the city but the usual
mounds and heaps of broken bricks.
About a mile to the south, at the
edge of the desert, are other mounds
and the remains of buildings, of
which the most remarkable is the
tomb of one Dionysius, the son of a
certain Ptolemy, and the scribe of
king Ptolemy. It is built of hewn

U. Egypt.

BOUTE 24. — HOW — KASR e' StXi).

327

stone, and consists of a set of upper
and underground chambers, whose
walls are covered with sculptures.
They principally represent judgment
scenes and other funeral subjects.
At the centre of the inner wall of the
upper chamber is a niche, within
which stands Osiris, with a hawk's
head and the title of Sokari ; and on
either side b the goddess Isis protect-
ing him with outspread wings, and
holding in each hand the feather of
Truth. At one side of this niche is
a judgment scene, in which Osiris,
seated on his throne (with the four
genii of Amenti standing on a lotus
flower before him, and the female
Cerberus at the door), listens to the
account of the actions of the deceased
recorded by Thoth, who as usual re^
ports to the judge the result of his
trial. Anubis and Horus are also
present, with the scales of Truth.
On the other side of the niche, Horus
and Anubis introduce the individual
to Osiris, Thoth being also present.

Many other subjects occur in the
same chamber, among which are se-
veral inferior deities, whose offices re-
late to Amenti, or " the lower region ; *'
and in an underground room b a
curious representation of a tomb,
having its folding-doors fastenad by
two bolts. The tree that overshadows
it appears to be the sacred tamarisk
of Osiris.

At Kaar e* Syadj or « the sports-
man*s mansion," on the opposite bank,
are the mounds of the ancient Chino'
ho$cwnj in Coptic, SiiMa&L The only
remains of masonry consist of a dila-
pidated quay, amidst whose ruins is a
stone bearing a Greek inscription,
apparently of the time of Antoninus
Pius ; from which we learn that the
individual, by whose order it was
sculptured, had executed some work
"at his own expense;*' perhaps the
quay itself, to which there is every
appearance of its having once be-
longed. Another block has part of
the head-dress and hieroglyphics of
the goddess Isis,

Chenoboscion was famous for its
geese, which were fed there in great
numbers ; and it was from this cir-
cumstance that it borrowed a name
which was probably a translation of
the original Egyptian.

About a mile beyond the eastern
mouth of the canal of Kasr e' Sy&d
are some interesting catacombs of a
very ancient date, near the high road.
Within them the agricultural and
other scenes common to the tombs of
Egypt may still be traced on the
walb, and some indeed in a very
good state of preservation. But they
are particularly remarkable for their
antiquity, which may vie with that of
any other catacomb or monument in
£gyP^ >f ^® except the pyramids
and the tombs in their vicinity. The
names, three of which are placed in
chronological order, are not preceded
by royal titles, but simply by the
word "priest." I have, however,
found insUnces of the same elsewhere
with the prefix *'king.**

The isle of Tabenna was on the
west bank, between Diospolis Parva
(How) and Tentyris. In Coptic it
was called Tabeniieci, or 1 abniiese,
the last part of which recalls the
Greek word tmiaos, ** island." Cham-
poll ion supposes the name to signify
** abounding in palm trees,** or ** the
place of flocks ; ** and the termina-
tion £$i to refer to the goddess Isis.
In Arabic he says it is called Gezee-
ret el Gharb, "the isle of the West.**
It was here that, about a. d. 356,
St. Pachom (Pachomius) built a
monastery, occupying *<the vacant
island of Tabenne,** as Gibbon says,
with " 1400 of his brethren.**

Fow, inland, on the east bank,
marks the site of Bopos, in Coptic
Phboou ; and the ruins of Tentyris
lie about half a mile from the river
on the other side, to the north of the
modern village of Dendera. The
only thing for which it is now famous
is a large breed of fowls, which, as
they differ so much from others on
the Nile, may claim descent from

328

ROUTE 24. — GIBGEH TO KENtH.

Sectm.

some Indian strangers brought there
by accident.

Dendera, — The name of Teiityrw,
or Tentyreif in Coptic Tentor£, or
Nikentore, seems to have originated
in that of the goddess Athor, or
Aphrodite, who was particularly
worshipped there. And that the prin-
cipal temple was dedicated to that
goddess we learn from the hierogly-
phics, as well as from a Greek in-
scription on the front, of the time of
Tiberius, in whose reign its magnifi-
cent portico was added to the original
building. Tentyra u probably taken
from Tei-h-Atbor, the abode of
Athor, or Athyr. The name Athor
is also a compound word, ** Tei (or
Thy), Hor," signifying "the abode
of Horus ; *' which agrees with what
Plutarch says, when he calls Athor
<* Horus* mundane habitation." The
hieroglyphics, too, represent the name
of the goddess by a hawk (the emblem
of Horus) placed within a house.

Egyptian sculpture had long been
on the decline before the erection of
the temple of Dendera ; and the
Egyptian antiquary looks witli little
satisfaction on the graceless style of
the figures, and the crowded profu-
sion of ill-a^usted hieroglyphics, that
cover tlie walls of tliis and other
Ptolemaic or Rx>man monuments.
But architecture still retained the
grandeur of an earlier period, and
though the capitals of the columns
were frequently overcharged with or-
nanaent, the general effect of the por-
trcoes erected under the Ptolemies
and Caesars is grand and imposing,
and frequently not destitute of ele-
gance and taste.

These remarks apply very particu-
larly to the temple of Dendera ; and
from its superior state of preserva-
tion it deserves a distinguished rank
among the most interesting monu-
ments of Egypt. For though its
columns, considered singly, may be
said to have a heavy, perhaps a bar-
barous, appearance, the portico is
doubtless a noble specimen of archi-

tecture: nor is tlie succeeding hall
devoid of beauty and symmetry of
proportion. The preservation of its
roof also adds greatly to the beauty,
as well as the interest, of the portico,
and many of those in the Egyptian
temples lose their effect by being des-
titute of roofs. Generally spesJcing,
Egyptian temples are more pictu-
resque when in ruinsthan when entire ;
being, if seen from without, merely a
large dead wall, scarcely relieved by a
slight increase in the height of the
portico : but not so the portico itself;
nor did a temple present the same
monotonous appearance when the
painted sculptures were in their ori-
ginal state ; and it was the necessity
of relieving the large expanse of flat
wall that led to this rich mode of de-
coration.

On the ceiling of the pronoos, or
portico of Dendera, is the sodiac,
which has led to much learned con-
troversy. At length, through the
assistance of the Greek inscription,
which was strangely overlooked, and
the hieroglyphical names of the
Ciesars, on its exterior and interior
walls, which were then unknown, 4ts
date has been satisfactorily ascertain-
ed ; and instead of being of eaify
Pharaonic time, or of an antediluvian
age, it is now confined to the more
modest and probable antiquity of
1 800 years. In justice, however, to
the celebrated Visconti, it should be
said,- that he made a very accurate es-
timate of its antiquity; and it will
be found that the only three known in
Egypt, at Dendera, Esn^ and its
neighbour E' Dayr, are of Ptolemaic
or of Roman date. The astronomi-
cal subjects on the ceiling of the
tombs of the kings, and other ancient
Egyptian monuments, even if they
may be considered zodiacal, are re*
presentee! in a totally different man-
ner ; and we may be certain that the
zodiac, as we know it, is not Egyp-
tian. But it is remarkable, that in
those of Dendeim and Esn^ the sigik
Cancer is represented by a acaimbceus.

U. Egypt BOUTE 24. — temple of dendera.

329

not a crab; though other signs, as
Sagittarius under the form of a Cen-
taur, evidently of Greek invention,
are admitted.

The details of the cornice of the
portico offer a very satisfactory speci-
men of the use of a triglyphic orna-
ment. It is common in many of the
oldest Pharaonic temples, though ar-
ranged^ a somewhat different man-
ner, and without so remarkable a me-
tope as in the present instance.

On the frieze, or rather architrave,
is a procession to Athor ; and among
the figures that compose it are tvro
playing the harp, and another the
tambourine.

The inscription is on the projecting
fillet of the cornice, and commences
with the name of the Emperor Tibe-
rius. Those of Aulus Avillius Fiac-
cus, the military governor, or praefect,
and Aulus Fulmius (or Fulvittg)
Crispus, commander of the forces (or
commander-in-chief), though pur-
posely erased, may still be traced,
when the sun strikes obliquely on the
surface of the stone. The date of the
£mperor*8 reign (restored by M.
Letronne) is the 21st of Tiberius,
(cte 21st of the Egyptian month
Athor) ; and the whole inscription is
at follows : —

Cu^TtUt ^tmtyXtfimrrm m«v, an Aokmt AinA-
Xtmt ^X^utMW
ityt/di00H> Auktu ^mkfMtu (or ^mXmnw) K{«r-

fAVyirn nm» r$it #wr««f f ^Uig ^__'
(L. K) TtCtftw KwM^tr (Aftif KA)

*< For the welfare of Tibcriui Casar, the
new Auguitiu, •an of the god Auguitui ;
Attliu AvilUu* Flaccui being prefect, Aului
Fulmiiw (or Fuiviui) Crifpua, commander-
in-chief, and Sarapion Tk^chambui, com-
mandant of the dittrict ; thoae of the Metro-
poliiland of the Nome [erected^ this pronaot
(portico) to the very great goddets Aphro-
dite, and to the contemplar god*. Tin the
year SO] of Tibcriiu C«*ar [the Slat of
AthyrO

The small planisjriiere, which was
on the ceiling of one of the lateral
chambers, on the right-hand (S.) side

of the temple, and behind the prtmoos,
has been removed to France; and
from its position it probably dated a
few years before the lodiac.

Numerous are the names of Cssars
in this teinple. In the portico may
be distinguished those of Tiberius,
Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. On
the former front of the temple, now
the back of the pronaat, or portico,
are those of Augustus and Caligula.
This was, in fact, the original extent
of the building, and it was previous to
the addition of the portico that it was
seen by Strabo. The oldest names
are of Ptolemy Caesarion, or Neo-
Caesar, son of the celebrated Cleo-
patra by Julius Ceesar, and of his
mother; who are represented on the
back wall of the exterior. Neither
her features (which may still be
traced) nor her figure correspond witli
her renowned beauty. But the por-
trait is interesting, from being the
contemporary representation of so
celebrated a person; and however
badly executed, probably beara some
sort of general resemblance to the
original ; allowance being made for
the Egyptian mode of drawing, and
the want of skill of the artist, who
probably never saw the queen, and
copied her portrait from some other
imperfect picture. It appeara that
the whole naot was the work of
the Ptolemies, though the sculptures
remained unfinished till the reign of
Tiberius, who, having erected the
portico, added many of the hierogly-'
phics on the exterior walls. Indeed,
some of the royal ovals in the interior
continue black to this day.

The portico is supported by 24 co-
lumns, and is open at the front, above
the screens that unite its 6 columns ;
and in each of the side walls is a
small doorway. To the portico suc-
ceeds a hall of 6 columns, with S
rooms on either side ; then a central
chamber, communicating on one side
with 2 small rooms, and on the other
with a staircase. This is followed
by another similar chamber (with two

330

ROUTE 24. — GIBGEH TO KEKEH.'

SectlH

rooms on the west, and one on the east
side), immediately before the isolated
sanctuary, which has a passage lead-
ing round it, and communicating with
three rooms on either side. The total
length of the temple is 93 paces (or
About 220 feet) by 41, or across the
portico, 50. In front of the temple
was the dromo»f extending for the
distance of 110 paces to an isolated
stone pylon, bearing the names of
Domitian and Trajan.

The attributes of Athor at Tentyris
very much resemble those of Isis;
and she is in like manner represented
nursing a young child, who is said,
in the hieroglyphics, to be her son.
His name was Ehoou, and he is the
third member of the triad of the place,
and the child of Athor, as Harpo>
crates was of Isis.

** Behind the temple of Venus,**
says Strabo, "is the chapel of Isis;"
and this obserration agrees remark-
ably well with the sise ahd position
of the small temple of that goddess ;
consisting, as it does, merely of one
central and two lateral adyta^ and a
transverse chamber or corridor in
front ; and it stands immediately be-
hind the south-west angle of that of
Athor. It is in this temple that the
cow is figured, before which the Se-
poys are said to have prostrated them-
selves, when our Indian army landed
in Egypt Much has been thought
of this ; but the accidental worship
of the same animal in Egypt and
India is not sufficient to prove any
direct connection between the two
religions.

To the temple of Isis belonged
tlie other />ybn, which lies 170 paces
to the eastward, and which, as we
learn from a Greek inscription on
either face of its cornice, was dedi-
cated to that goddess, in the thirty-
first year of Csesar (Augustus);
Publius Octavius being miliury go-
vernor, or prefect, and Marcus Clau-
dius Postumus commander-in-chief.
On the west side is : — •

3i«v iM«r Amh

^MMf fii^Ai iiy$i/9T$t •• utf0 njf Ml) f {wn^Mv
mm Tit tnmmmt 5i«ir. Evwiy AA K««-

'* For the wdfare of the Emperor Cesar,
son of the god (Divi flllui, L e. of Ccmt)
Jupiter the Liberator, Augustus, Publius
OcUvius being pnefect, Marcus Clodios
Pottumua commander*in-ehief, and TTvpho^
commandant of the district, the inhabitanta
of the metropolis [and] of the nome[erected3
this Propylon to Isis, the very great goddess,
and to tne contemplar gods, in the year 31 or
Csesar, [in the month JThoth [on the birth-
day of] Auguttoa.*'

The same is repeated on the east
side of the same gateway.

In the hierogljrphics, besides the
name of Augustus, are those of Clau-
dius and Nero.

Ninety paces to the north of the
great temple of Athor is another
building, consisting of two outer
passage- chambers, with two small
rooms on either side of .the outer-
most one, and a central and two
lateral adyta ; the whole surrounded,
except the front, by a peristyle of 29
columns. The capitals ornamented,
or disfigured, by the representations
of a Typhonian monster, have led to
the supposition that it was dedicated
to the Evil Genius ; but as the whole
of its sculptures refer to the birth of
the young child of Athor, it is evi-
dent that it appertains to the great
temple of that goddess, who is here
styled his mother. It is one of thoae
buildings which Champollion hat
styled the mammein, or '< lying-in
places,'* set apart for the aeeomditmeni
of the goddess, and where the third
member of the triad, worshipped in
the adjoining temple, was bom. The
Typhonian monster is not, therefore,
the deity to whom it was dedicated,
but is only introduced in a subordinate
character, connected with the young
child. The names are of Tnjan,
Adrian, and Antoninus Pius.

Around the above-mentioned build-
ings extends a spacious enclosure of
crude brick, about 840 paces squarey

U. Egypt.

ROUTE 24. — CBOCODILES.

331

having two entrances, one at the
jiyUm of Isis, the other at that be-
fore the great temple.

About 230 paces in front of the
pylon of Athor is an isolated hy-
paethral building, consisting of 14
columns, united bj intercolumnar
screens, with a door-way at either
end ; and a short distance to the
south are indications of an ancient
reserrotr. A little to the N. £. of
it are other remains of masonry ; but
the rest of the extensive mounds of
Tentyris present merely the ruins of
crude brick houses, many of which
are of Arab date.

Five hundred paces east of the
fyhn of Isis is another crude-brick
enclosure, with an entrance of stone,
similar to the other pylons, bearing
the name of Antoninus Pius. Over
the face of the gateway is a singular
representation of the Sun, with its
sacred emblem the hawk, supported
by Isis and Nephthys. These two
" sister goddesses** represented ** the
beginning and the end,** and were
commonly introduced on funereal
monuments, Isis on one side, Neph-
thys on the other of the deceased,
which might lead us to suppose this
enclosure to have been used for se-
pulchral purposes. The area within
it measures about 155 paces by 265 ;
and at the S. £. comer is a well of
stagnant water.

The town stood between this and
the enclosure that surrounded the
temples, extending on either side, as
well as within the circuit of the
latter ; and on the N. W. side ap-
pear to be the remains of tombs.
They were, probably, of a time whe^
Tentyris ceased to be a populous
city, and when a deserted part of it
was set apart for the burial of the
dead; a custom not uncommon in
£gypt, instances of which I have
already noticed at Bubastis and other
places.

In the limestone mountains S. S. £.
of Dendera are some old quarries,
and a few rude grottoes without

sculpture ; and in the vicinity is a
hill, about a mile to the N. W. of
them, in which are sunk numerous
tombs of the inhabitants of Tentyris.
I do not know if they have ever been
opened by any Europeans.

It was in going over the H&gett or
plain of the desert, in this direction,
that I observed numerous primitive
stones, evidently rounded by rolling,
and which, from their number and the
extent of the space they are scattered
over, could not have been brought by
the hand of man ; though many have
been arranged in lines for some pur-
pose. They are of granite, porphyry,
and other primitive substances, which
are only found in the interior of the
opposite eastern desert; and if not
brought by man, they must have been
carried acrou the present bed of the
river, and icp the slope of the west*
ern desert, by a rush of water coming
from the valley which opens upon
Keneh, and which, rising in the pri-
mitive ranges, has cut its way through
secondary hills, that border the valley
of the Nile. They are therefore
worthy the attention of the geologist.

Between the town and the edge of
the sandy plain to the south is a low
channel, which may once have been
a canal; and it is not improbable
that it was to this that the Tentyrites
owed their insular situation men-
tioned by Pliny.

The Tentyrites were professed
enemies of the crocodile ; and Pliny
relates some extraordinary stories of
their command over that animal.
The truth, indeed, of their courage,
in attacking so formidable an enemy,
appears to have been satisfactorily
ascertained ; and Strabo affirms that
they amused and astonished the Ro-
mans by their dexterity and boldness,
in dragging the crocodile from an
artificial lake, made at Rome for this
purpose, to the dry land, and back
again into the water, with the same
facility. Other writers mention the
remarkable command they had over
the crocodile; and Senecft accounts

332

ROUTE 24. — GIB6EH TO KENEH.

Sect. m.

for it by the contempt and conscious^
ness of superiority they felt, in at-
tacking their enemy ; those who were
deficient in presence of mind being
frequently killed.

Croeodilei. — The crocodile is, in
fact, a timid aninuil, flying on the
approach of man, and, generally
speaking, only venturing to attack its
prey on a sudden ; for which reason^
we seldom or never hear of persons
having been devoured by it, unless
incautiously standing at the brink of
the river, where its approach is con-
cealed by the water, and where, by
the immense power of its tail, it is
enabled to throw down and overcome
the strongest man ; who being carried
immediately to the bottom of the
river, has neither the time nor the
means to resist. Pliny, like other
authors, has been led into a common
error, that the sight of the crocodile
is defective under water, which a
moment's consideration (without the
necessity of personal experience)
should have corrected ; for it is at
least reasonable to suppose that an
animal living chiefly on fish should,
in order to secure its prey, be gifted
with an equal power of sight ;- and
that of fish cannot be said to be de-
fective. But Herodotus, "the/a<^"
of these errors, aflirms that it is
totally "blind under water.** Its
small eye is defended by the nictitat-
ing membrane, which it passes over
it when under water. It has no
tongue, and moves the lower jaw like
other animals ; though from its fre-
quently throwing up its head, at the
same time that it opens its mouth, it
has obtained the credit of moving the
^pper jaw. Another error respecting
it is its supposed inability to turn ;
but after finding that it can strike its
head with its tail, I recommend no
one to trust to this received notion.
It is however a heavy and unwieldy
animal ; it cannot run very fast, and
is usually more inclined to run from,
than at, any man who has the coursge ;
to face it. In Egypt I never^heard of i

a person being carried away by m
crocodile while in the water ; but in
Ethiopia it is much more dangerous;
and I should not advise any one to go
into the river from a sand-bank where
crocodiles abound, as at Ombos, and
some other places. There is little or
no danger in bathing under steep
banks, where the stream is rapid, or
in the vicinity of the cataracts.

The hatred of the Tentyrites for
the crocodile was the cause of serious
disputes with the inhabitants of
Ombos. where it was particularly
worshipped ; and the unpardonable
affront of killing and eating the god-
like animal was resented by the
Ombites with all tlie rage of a secta-
rian feud. No religious war was ever
urged with more energetic zeal ; and
the conflict of the Ombites and Ten-
tyrites terminated in the disgraceful
ceremony of a cannibal feast, to which
(if we can believe the rather doubt-
ful authority of Juvenal) the body
of one, who was killed in the aflfray,
was doomed by his triumphant ad-
versaries.

Keneh, — Opposite the ruins of
Tentyris is the town of Keneh, the
residence of a provincial governor.
It stands on the site of QBnopoUa, or
Neapolis, **the new city** (tlie New-
town of those days), but boasts no re-
mains of antiquity. Keneh has suc-
ceeded Coptos and Koos, as the
emporium of trade with the Arabian
coast, which it supplies with com,
carried by way of Kossayr to Emba
(Yambo) and Judda. It is noted
for its manufacture of porous water-
jars and bottles, the former called in
Arabic Zeer, the latter ffooUeh ( KuoUeh)
and dSrakf which are in great request
throughout Egypt. The clay used
for making them is found to the
northward of the town, in the bed of
a valley, whose torrenU have for ages
past contributed to the accumulation,
or rather deposit, of this useful earth ;
which, with the sifted ashes of KtMl/eh
grsss in proper proportions, is the
principal composition. Keneh has

{7. Egypt. boute 25. — kemeh to thbbes.

333

the advantages of baths like other
large towns. It has a market, held
every Thursday ; and here many of
the AJnuh women reside, who have
been forbidden to dance at Cairo.

One road to Kossayr, on the Red
Sea, goes from Keneh. (See Routes
26, 27. ^

ROUTE 25.

KKNBH TO THBBKS.

Keneh to Koos, (£.)
Thebes (£. and W.)

MiiM.

- 18

- _304

The ancient village of Panipanis,
the next mentioned by Ptolemy after
Tentyris, stood inland, on the west
bank. Some suppose it to have been
at £* Dayr, opposite Benoot, whose
name also shows it to be the successor
of an ancient town. But £' Dayr
cannot occupy the site of Pampanis,
if Ptolemy be correct, as he places it
5' more to the south than Apollino-
polls Parva (Koos), and nearly at
two thirds of the distance from
Tentyris to Thebes. The latitude
he gives of that village, as well as his
position of Apollinopolts, require
Pampanis to be much further south ;
and taking the proportion of the dis-
tances he gives, it should have stood
at Mensb^eh or Neg^deh.

BalloJi, on the west bank, is well
known«for its manufacture of earthen
jars, which from this town have re-
ceived the name of BaUasetf and are
universally used in £gypt for the
purpose of carrying wa^r. When
full they are of great weight; and
one is surprised to find the women
able to bear them on their heads,
while admiring their graceful gait as
they walk with them from the river.
The same k^id of jars are used, like
some amphorae of the ancients, for
preserving rice, butter, treacle, and
oil, and for other domestic purposes ;
and large raAs made of baUdsee jars
are frequently floated down the Nile,

to be disposed of in the markets of
the metropolis.

Near BallAs should be the site of
Contra Coptos.

Kobt, or Kofi, the ancient Coptos,
is a short distance from the river, on
the east bank. The proper ortho-
graphy, according to Aboolfeda, is
Kobt, though the natives now call it
Kofi. In Copric it was styled Keft,
and in the hieroglyphics Kobto.

The remains of its old wall are
still visible, and even the towers of
thie gateway, that stood on the east
side. The ruins are mostly of a late
epoch ; the names on the fallen frag-
ments of masonry that lie scattered
within its precincts, or on those em-
ployed in building the Christian
church, being of different Ciesars ;
among which I observed Tiberius,
Caligula, and Titus. Caligula is
written, as usual, ** Caius " only. A
granite pillar, however, bearing the
oval of Thothmes III., shows that
some monument existed at Coptos of
a very remote date, to which the Ro-
man emperors afterwards made ad*
ditions. But owing to the depreda-
tions of the early Christians, little
can be traced of its ancient buildings,
their materials having been used to
construct the church, part of which
too only now remains.

The principal cause of the ruinous
condition of this city may be attri-
buted to the fury of Diocletian ; and
Gibbon states that it was ** utterly
destroyed by the arms and severe
order*' of tliat emperor. It had
played a conspicuous part in the re-
bellion against his authority, and the
severity that he exercised at the same
time upon the Alexandrians fell with
still greater weight on the inhabitants
of Coptos. At the tillage of el
K&Ia, «* the dudel,** is a small tem-
ple, of Roman date, bearing the
royal ovals of Tiberius Claudius.

But besides the ruins of temples
and other buildings, the vestiges of
its canals still attest the opulence of
this city ; which continued to be th^

334

BOUTE 25. KEXEH TO THEBES.

Sect. nr.

mart of Indian commerce, from the
foundation of Berenice, till its de-
struction in the reign of Diocletian ;
and though, as in Strabo's time, the
Myos Hormos was found to be a
more convenient port than Berenice,
and was frequented by almost all the
Indian and Arabian fleets, Coptos
still continued to be the seat of com-
merce. Myos Hormos was after-
wards succeeded by Philoteras por-
tus, which had formerly played a part
in the time of the Pharaohs under the
name of JEnnum, and this again gave
place, at a later period, to tlie modern
town of Kossayr. Coptos, too, was
supplanted by Koos, which continued
to be the depot of all merchandise
from the Red Sea, during the reign of
the Egyptian sultans, until in its
turn it gave place to Keneb.

It was to Coptos that many of the
stones quarried in the porphyry and
other mountains of the eastern desert,
were transported ; for which purpose
large roads were constructed, at con-
siderable labour and expense, over
sandy plains, and through the sinu-
osities of valleys. But that of the
emerald mines took the direction of
Contra ApoUinopolis ; nor does it
appear that any other communication
was established with them from Cop-
tos, than by the Berenice road.

iElian tell us that the Coptites
worshipped Isis, and relates a story
of the respect paid by scorpions to her
temple. He also states, that the
female doreat was sacred in this city.
It was here that Isis was supposed to
have received the first account of her
husband*s death, — a circumstance
which, according to Plutarch, gave
rise to the name of Coptos, signify-
ing, as he supposes, '* mourning,'* or,
as others say, *' deprivation. '* But it
is needless tb make any remark on
the absurdity of deriving an Egyptian
name from Greek, which he, like so
many others, were in the habit of
doing ; or to observe that the mourn-
ing of Isis and the death of Osiris
are a pure allegory. And the traveller

will look in vain in the alluvial plain
for the <* precipice,** whence the ass
was annually thrown down by the
Coptites, in token of their hatred of
Typhon, unless it proves to have beea
an artificial eminence made for that
allegorical ceremony.

The town of E* Sh6rafa, to the
north of Coptof, is so called from
having been founded and inhabited
by some Shereefs, or descendants of
Mohammed; who are distinguished
from other Moslems by the peculiar
right of wearing a green turban ; m
custom first introduced by one of the
Baharite Memlook sultans of Egypt*
El Ashraf Shabiin, who reigned from
A. D. 1S63 to 1377.

Aboolfeda states that the town of
Kobt was a wakf, "entail," of the
Shereefs, though it appears rather to
have belonged to the Haram&yn of
Mecca and Medeeneh. How the
inhabitants of Coptos came to be

Shiites (Sheeah) aju^» as he says

they were, he does not explain ; and
it would be curious to make inquiries
at Coptos if this was really the case
in former times.

Contra Coptos was probably at
Dow&ide.

At KoM (or Gooa)y in Coptic Kos-
Biibir, is the site of ApcUinopotU
Parva, In the time of Aboolfeda,
about A. o. 1S44, it was the next city
in sice and consequence to Fost&t,
the capital, and the emporium of the
Arabian trade ; but it is now reduced
to the rank of a small town, and the
residence of a n&zer. Till lately a
gateway or pylon stood there, of the
time of Cleopatra and Ptolemy Alex-
ander I., <*the gods Fhilometores
Soteres,** whose names were in the
Greek dedication to Aroeris, on the
cornice, as well as in sculptures of
the lower part.

At a stMe2^ or <* fountain built for
a charitable purpose,*' is a monolith,
now converted into a tank, with a
hieroglyphic inscription on the jambs,
containing the name of Ptolemy Phi-

U. Egypt BOUT£ 25. — koos. — icEDAndT.

335

ladelphus ; and a short distance to
the west of the town, near a sbekb's
tomb, are some fragments of sand-
stone, and a few small granite co-
lumns. On the former are the ovals
of the king, Atinre Bakhan, who is
found in the grottoes of Tel el
Amarna.

Opposite Koos is Nepadehy noted
for its Coptic and Catholic convents,
and, in Aboolfeda's time, for its gar-
dens and sugar-cane. It has no
ruins; but Shenhoor, on the east
bank, a few miles south of Koos,
presents tlie extensive mounds of an
ancient town, where M. Prisse found
a temple of Roman time, dedicated
to Horus, with the name of the town
in hieroglyphics, Sen-Aor.

Between Shenhoor and Thebes the
river makes a considerable curve to
the east ; and a little above this bend,
just below Thebes, on the west bank,
is 6am61a (Kam61a). It was noted
in Aboolfeda*s time for its numerous
gardens and sugar-cane plantations,
which are mentioned also by Norden.
At the time of the rebellion of Shekh
Aiimed, the toi-ditant wisher, in
1823, it was the residence of the well-
known AH Kashef Aboo-Tarbo6sh,
who defended the military post there
against the insurgents with great gal-
lantry.

MedamSt stands inland on the east.
It is supposed to nuirk the site of
Maximianopolis, a Greek bishop's
see under the Lower Empire ; but
neither the extent of its mounds, nor
the remains of its temple, justify the
name that some have applied to it of
Karnak e* Sherk^h, or ** the eastern
Kamak.** It is generally visited
from Thebes.

Some write the name Med*-amood,
as though it were called from amood,
'< a column ;** and place Maximinian-
opolis on the other bank, at Negi-
deh ; while others fix it at Medeenet
Haboo, in Thebes, where the Chris-

tians had a very laige church until
the period of the Arab invasion.
Negideh, however, is still a place of
great consequence among the Copts
of Egypt, whose convent and church
are the resort of all the priesu of the
vicinity.

The ruins of Medamdt consist of
crude brick houses of a small town,
about 464 paces square, in the centre
of which is a sandstone temple ; but
of this little remains, except part of
the portico, apparently, from the style
of ito architecture, of Ptolma'ic date.
On the columns may be traced the
ovals of Ptolemy Euergetes II., of
Lathyrus, and of Auletes, as well as
those of the Emperor Antoninus Pius ;
but a block of granite assigns a much
higher antiquity to the temple itself,
and proves from the name of Amu-
noph II., tliat its foundation is at
least coeval with the middle of the
15th century before our era. The
pylon before the portico bears the
name of Tiberius, but the blocks
used in its construction were taken
from some older edifice, erected or
repaired during the reign of Remeses
II.

This pylon formed one of se-
veral doorways of a crude brick en-
closure, which surrounded the tem-
ple; and a short distance before it
is a raised platform, with a flight of
steps on tl«e inner side, similar to that
before the temple at £1 Kh&rgeh (in
the Great Oasis), at Kamak, and
many other places. To the south-
ward of the portico appears to be the
site of a reservoir, beyond which a
gateway leads throogh the side of the
crude brick wall to a small ruin,
bearing the name of Ptolemy Euer-
getes I. Besides the enclosure of
the temple, is a wall of similar ma-
terials, that surrounded the whole
town, which was of an irregular
shape. ->

336

SECTION IV.
THEBES.

Prdiminary Information,

a. Arrival at Thbbis. -* b. Quxcksst Modr of suing Thxbss.

1. Temple- Palace at Old Koorneb. 2. Memoonium, or Remeseum.
S. The Two Colossi; the Vocal Memnon. 4. Rise of the Land. 5.
Temples at Medeenet Hibco — The Great Temple — Battle Scenes. 6.
Other Ruins — Lake of H&boo. 7. Tombs of the Queens. 8. Other Tombap
small Brick Pyramid. 9. Dayr el Mede^neh. 10. Dayr el BiUiree.
11. Tombs of the Kings. 12. Western Valley. 13. Tombs of Priests,
and Private Individuals — Arched Tombs — The oldest Tombs — Large
Tombs of the Assase^f — Tombs of Koomet Murraee — Tombs of Shekh
Abd-el-Koorneh, the most interesting. 14. Eastern Hank — Luxor. 15.
Karnak •— Comparative Antiquity of the Buildings — Historical Sculptures.

route pagb

26. Keneh to Kossayr, by the

Moileh road - - - 398

27. Keneh to Kossayr, by the

~* Russafa Road - - 398

ROirTK PAGB

28. Thebes to Kossayr- - 398

29. Thebes to the first CaU-

ract at Asouan - - 404

a, ARRIVAL AT THEBSS.

On arriving at Thehes by water, it is
customary to stop under the gimmafz,
or "sycamore tree,*' on the west
bank, if that side is to be first visited,
which I strongly recommend. In
going to Karnak you. may land on
the bank opposite the gimmajz, if
the channel to the east of the island
is dry ; though it is perhaps as well
to go to Luxor, because it is a better
landing-place, is more convenient for
marketing purposes, and may be seen
at the same time. Asses are also
more easily obtained there for riding
over to Karnak, which is distant only
1^ mile.

Travellers coming from India by

the Kossayr road to Thebes generally
see Karnak first, as it lies in their
way, and as they either put up their
tent there, or live (not Tery com-
fortably) in the low rooms in the
northernmost of tlie western front
towers. I should, however, recom-
mend them not to stop there, but
defer their visit of its ruins until they
have seen Koorneh* on the opposite
bank ; otherwise they will lose much
of the interest felt at the latter, by
seeing it after Karnak.

In coming down the Nile, you
may see Luxor, and then go on to
the sycamore tree of Koomeh ; and
after seeing that bank cross over and
visit Karnak; if, as I before ob-

• In dcuriblng Theliet I am obliged to refer to my Survej. From its rise it could not
be made to Moompanj this work ; but tboM wbo wish for it may find U at Mr. Arrow-
tmitb i^ in s<mo Square.

V. Egypt QUICKEST mode op seeing thebes.

337

served, there is no water in the chan-
nel to the cast, between that island
and the ruins. This is supposing
you have not seen Koorneh in going
up the Nile : if you have, then stop
at Luxor and finish your visit to
Kamnk ; and the only thing to bear
in mind is, to see the ruins on tlie
west bank before those of Kamak.

6. QUICCBST MODE OF SKBIKO THKBSS.

Some persons will, no doubt, feel dis-
posed to take a more cursory view of
the ruins of Thebes than others, being
pressed for time, or feeling no very
great interest in antiquities ; and as
they may perhaps be in a hurry to know
what is to be done to get through the
task they have undertaken, and kill
their lum with the greatest dis-
patch, I shall begin^ith instructions
for the quickest mAe of seeing the
objects most worthy of notice, and
the order in which they may be
visited. Taking Koorneh (Goorna)
as the commencement, and Karnak as
the end of these excursions, you may
begin by visiting the tombs of the
kings, for which, of course, as for tlie
otlier tombs, candles are indispen-
sable, as well as a small supply of
eatables, and, above all, of water in
goollehs. Each of these porous
water-bottles may be slung with
string (as on board a ship), to pre-
vent the boatmen, or whoever carry
them, from holding them by the
neck with their dirty bands. More-
over, they should not be allowed to
touch the water, and should be made
to bring their own supply if they
want it.

1st Day. — Wui Bank. By set-
ting off early in the morning, and fol-
lowing the course of the valley, aAer
a ride of about an hour, you reach
the tombs of the kings; and after
visiting the six principal ones
(marked 17. 11. 9. 6. 1. and 14.);
ascend to the S. W., and cross the
hills to Mede^net H&boo; after
which, if sufficient time remains, you
Mffypi,

may see the two colossi of the plain
(the vocal statue and its companion),
and the palace of the great Remeses
(the Remeseum, generally called the
Memnonium), on your return to the
river.

2nd Day. Next morning, after
looking over the small temple of old
Koorneh, called Kasr e* Rub^yk, a
little less tlian half a mile from the
landing place at the sycamore tree, you
may visit the three principal tombs of
the A ssaseef (marked a, Q, and R, on
my Survey of Thebes), and the temple
called Dayr el Bahree, below the clifis
at the N. W. extremity of this part of
the valley, from which a path will
lead you to the hill of Shekh Abd el
Koorneh, where, at all events, you
must not fail to see the tomb. No. S5.«
and as many of those mentioned in
my description of the private tombs
as your time and inclination will per-
mit. Hence a short ride, one-tfiird
of a mile, will take you to the Ptole-
maic temple of Dayr el Medei^neh,
from which you may return (if you
have not satisfied your curiosity the
day before), by the colossi, the palace
of Remeses the Great, and the scat-
tered remains in their vicinity. *l*his
is the most superficial view a traveller
sliould allow himself to take of the
west side of Thebes. Crossing the
river to Luxor in his boat the same
evening, he will be enabled to walk
up early the next morning to the
temple, while asses are preparing for
his ride to Kamak.

Srd Day. Luxor will occupy a
very short time ; and he will tlien go
to Karnak, partly by what was once
a long avenue of sphinxes,,remains of
which he will see just before he
reaches the outskirts of those ruins.
He had better look over the whole of
Karnak the first day, and reserve a
closer investigation for a second visit,
two days being certainly not too
much for the mere examination of
this immense ruin. It is however
possible to do it in one, and the tra-
veller who merely wishes to Joy he

838

DESCRIPTION OF THEBES.

Sect rv.

kat tern Thebet, may get thromgk it
off m three daye,

THEBES.

The name Thebes is corrupted
from the T&p6 of the ancient Egyp-
tian language, tlie T4p4 of the Copts,
which, in the Memphitic dialect of
Coptic, is pronounced Tbaba, easily
converted into eii/Soi or Thebes.
Some writers have confined them-
selves to a closer imitation of the
Egyptian word ; and Pliny and Ju-
venal have both adopted Thebe, in
the singular number, as the name of
this city.

In hieroglyphics it is written Ap,
Ape, or with the feminine article Tilp^,
the meaning of which appears to be
*< the head;* Thebes being the eajnttd
of tlie country.

Thebes was also called Diospolis
(Magna), which answers to Amunei,
•< the abode of Amun,*' the Egyptian
Jupiter. The city stood partly on
the east, partly on the west of the
Nile, though the name T£p4 ( Thebes)
was applied to the whole city on
either bank. The western divi-
sion bad the distinctive appellation of
Pathyris, or, as Ptolemy writes it,
Tathyris, being under the peculiar
protection of Athor, who is called
« the President of the West." For
though Amun was the chief deity
worshipped there, as well as in other
quarters of Diospolis, Athor had a
peculiar claim over tlie Necropolis
beneath the western mountain, where
she was fabulously reported to receive
the setting sun into her arms.

In the time of the Ptolemies, the
western division of the city, or, *< the
Libyan suburb,** was divided into
different quarters, as the Memnonia,
or (Memnoneia); and even the tombs
were portioned off into districts, at-
tached to the quarters of the town.
Thus we find that Tliynabunum,
where the priests of Osiris were bu-
ried, belonged to and stood within
the limits of the Memoonia. It b

probable that in late times, when the
city and its territory were dividfd
into S separate nomes, tlie portion on
the western bank, being under tbc
protection of Athor, received the
name *< Psthyritic ; ** and Thebes
being afterwards broken up into small
villages, which was the case even in
Strabo*s time, Pathyris became a dis»
tinct town.

The period of its foundation still
remains, like that of Memphis, the
capital of Lower Egypt, enveloped
in that obscurity which is the fate of
all tlie most ancient cities : but pro-
bability favours the conjecture, that
though Menes,the first king of Egypt,
found it in the humble condition of
An .infant capital, its foundation dated
several generations before the acces-
sion of that monarch to the throne of
his native country.

Ancient authors do not agree as to
the extent of this city, which, accord-
ing to Strabo, was 80 stadia in length,
while Diodorus allows the circuit to
have been only 140, — a disparity
which may be partially reconciled, by
admitting that it was greatly enlarged
after the time of Menes, to whose
reign the historian alludes. The epi-
thet Hecatompylos, applied to it by
Homer, has generally been supposed
to refer to the 100 gates of its wall
of circuit; but this difficulty is happily
solved by an observation of Diodorus,
that many suppose them ** to have
been the propylaea of the temples,*'
and that this metaphorical expression
rather implies a plurality than a de-
finite number. Were it not so, the
reader might be surprised to learn
that this 100-gated city was never
enclosed by a wall, — a fact fully
proved by the non-existence of the
least vestige of it ; for, even allowing
it to have been of crude-brick, it
would, from its great thickness, have
sii -vived the ravages of time, equally
w'th those of similar materisls of the
early epoch of the third Tbothmes.
Or, supposing it to have becm de-
stroyed by the iraters of the inundm-

U. Egypt

DECLIKB AND FALL OF THEBES.

33d

tion, and buried by the alluvtal depo-
rit, in those parts which stood on the
cultivated land, the rocky and un-
inundated acclivity of the hagtr would
at least have retained some traces of
its former existence, even were it
raied to the ground.

It is not alone from the authority
of ancient writers that tlie splendour
and power of this city, which could
furnish 20,000 armed chariots from
its vicinity, are to be estimated ; but
the extent of the Egyptian conquests
adding continually to the riches of the
metropolis, the magnificence of the
edifices which adorned it, the luxe of
the individuals who inhabited it, the
six>ii taken thence by the Persians,
and the gold and silver collected afler*
the burning of the eity, amply testify
the immense wealth of Egyptian
Thebes.

Diodonis seems to say, that the
above force was not all raised in the
vicinity of Thebes. But he commits
a great error in the number when he
computes the chariots at 20,000, and
reckons only 100 stables and 200
horses in each ; which, allowing 2 to
each car, will only supply half the
number ; and these stables he places
between Thebes and Memphis.

The first step towards the decline
and fall of this city was, as we learn
from Di^dorus, the preference given
to Memphis ; and the removal of the
seat of government thither, and sub-
sequently to Sms and Alexandria,
proved as disastrous to the welfare, as
the Persian invasion to the splendour,
of the capital of Upper Egypt. Com -
mercial wealth, on the accession of
the Ptolemies, begun to How through
* other channels ; Coptos and Apolli-
nopolis succeeded to the lucrative
trade of An^ia, and Ethiopia no'
longer contributed to the revenues of
Hiebes. And its subsequent destruc-
tion, after a 3 years' siege, by Ptolemy
Latbyrus, struck a death-blow to the
weliare and existence of this capital,
which was thenceforth scarcely deem-
ed an Egyptian city. Some few re-

pairs were, however, made to its di-
lapidated temples, by Euergetes XL,
and some of the later Ptolemies; but
it remained depopulated, and at the
time of Strabo*s visit it was already
divided into small detached villages.

The principal part of the city, pro-
perly BO called, lay on the east bank ;
that on the opposite side, which con-
tained the quarter of the Memnonia
and the whole of its extensive Necro-
polis, bore the name of the Libyan
suburb. It is not certain, whether
or no cultivated spots of land were
in early times admitted amidst the
houses ; but it appears from the
sculptures of the tombs, that the prin-
cipal inhabitants had extensive gar-
dens attached to their mansions, in-
dependent of their villas and farms
outside die city; and in the reigns of
the Ptolemi^ several* parcels of land
were sold and let wittiin the interior
of the Libyan suburb.

The most ancient remains now ex-
isting at Thebes are unquestionably
in the great temple of Karnak, the
largest and most splendid ruin of
which perhaps either ancient or mo-
dern times can boast, being the work
of a number of successive monarchs,
each anxious to surpass his predeces-
sor by increasing the dimensions and
proportions of the part he added. It
is this fact which enables us to ac-
count for tlie diminutive sise of the
older parts of this extensive building.
And to their comparatively limited
scale, offering greater facility, as their
vicinity to the sanctuary greater
temptation, to an invading enemy to
destroy them, added to their remote
antiquity, are to be attributed their
dilapidated state, and tlie total dis-
appearance of the sculptures executed
during the reigns of the Pharaohs,
who preceded Osirtasen I., the con-
temporary of Joseph, and the earliest
monarch whose name exists on the
monuments of Thebes.

I cannot too often repeat that, in
order to enjoy a visit to the ruins of
tliis city, Karnak, from being the
q2

340

DESCBIPTIOK OF THEBE5«.

Sect. IV-

most splendid, should be the last
visited by the stranger, who will then
be able to appreciate the smaller
monuments of the western bank, the
" Libyan suburb of Thebes," which
included the extensive quarter of the
Idemnonia, and reached to the small
temple of Adrian on the west, and,
in the opposite direction, as far as
the eastern tombs of its immense
cemetery.

1. TBMPLB-FALACS AT OLD Ko6rNIH.

To commence with the ruins near-
est the river ; the first object worthy
of notice is the small temple-palace
at Old Ko6rneh (Goorna), dedi-
cated to Amun, the Theban Jupiter,
by Osirei, and completed by his son
Remeses II., the supposed Sesostris
of the Greeks. It is sometimes
called Kasr e* Rubayk.

Its plan evinces the usual symme-
trophobia of Egyptian monuments,
but it presents a marked deviation
from the ordinary distribution of the
parts. The entrance leads through
a pylone, or pylon, bearing, in addition
to the name of the founder, that of Re-
meses III., beyond which is a dromos
of 1 28 feet, whose mutilated sphinxes
are scarcely traceable amidst the
mounds and ruins of Arab hovels.
A second pylon terminates this,
and commences a second dromos of
nearly similar length, extending to
the colonnade, or corridor, in front
of the temple, whose columns, of one
of the oldest Egyptian orders, are
crowned by an abacus, which appears
to unite the stalks of water-plants
that compose the shaft and capital.

Of the intercolumniations of these
ten columns three only agree in
breadth, and a similar discrepancy is
observed in the doorways which form
the three entrances to the building.
The temple itself presents a central
hall, about 57 feet in length, sup-
ported by six columns, having on
either side three small chambers, one

of which leads to a lateral hall, and
the opposite one to a passage and
open court on the east side. Upon
the upper end of the hall open five
other chambers, the centre one of
which leads to a large room, sup-
ported by four square pillars, beyond
which was the sanctuary itself: but
the north end of this temple is in too
dilapidated a state to enable us to
make an accurate restoration of its
innermost chambers. The lateral
hall on the west, which belonged to
the palace of the king. Is supported
by two columns, and leads to three
other rooms, behind which are the
vestiges of other apartments ; and on
the east side, besides a large bypc-
thral court, were several similar cham-
bers, extending also to the northern
extremity of its precincts. On the
architrave, over the corridor, is the
dedication of Remeses II., to whom,
in his character of Phrali ( Pharaoh),
or the Sun, under the symbolic form
of a hawk, Amunre is presenting the
emblem of life. Therein, afVer the
usual titles of the king, we are told
that " Remeses, the beloved of Amun,
has dedicated this work to his father
Amunre, king of the gods, having
made additions for him to the temple
of his father, the king (fostered by
Ra and Truth), the Son of the Sun
(Osirei)." The whole of this part
of the building bears the name of
Remeses II., though his father is
represented in some of the sculptures
as taking part in the religious cere«
monies, and assisting in making offer*
ings to the deities of the temple be
hflid founded.

On the north-west side of the inner
wall'of this corridor, the arks, or
shrines of Queen Ames-Nofriare, (or
T-Nofriare), and of Osirei, are borne
each by twelve priests, in the ** pro-
cession of shrines," attended by s
fan-bearer and high-priest, to the
god of the temple ; and in a small
tablet added at a later period, the
king Pthah-se-pthah is represented
in presence of Amunre, Ames-No-p>

U. Egypt. TEUPLE-PALACB AT OLD KOOBNEH.

341

friare, Osirei, and Remeses IT.,
receiving the emblems of royal power
from the hands of the deity.

The most interesting part of this
temple is the lateral hall on the west
side, which, with the three chambers
behind it, king Osirei dedicated to
his fisither Remeses I. ; but dying
before the completion of the hall, his
son Remeses II. added the sculptures
that cover the interior and corridor
in front of i^ Those within the
front wall, on the right hand entering
the door, represent, in the lower
compartment, king Remeses II. in-
troduced by Mandoo to Amunre,
behind whom stands his grandfather
Remeses I., bearing the emblems of
Osiris. Over him we read : <* The
good God, Lord of the world; son
of the Sun, lord of the powerful,
Remeses deceased, esteemed by the
great God, Lord of Abydus (i. e.
Osiris).*' Thoth, the god of letters,
notes off the years of the panegyrics
of the king on a palm branch, the
symbol of a year. In the compart-
ment above this he is introduced to
the deity by Atmoo, and by Mandoo,
who, presenting him with the emblem
of life, says, " I have accompanied
you in order that you may dedicate
the temple to your father Amunre.'*
In the compartment over the door,
two figures of Remeses I., seated in
sacred shrines, receive the offerings or
liturgies of his grandson, one wear-
ing the crown of the upper, the
other that of the lower country. A
perpendicular line, which divides the
two shrines, contains this formula :
<< (This) additional work (or sculp-
ture) made he the king Remeses
(II.) for his father's father, the good
God Remeses (I.), in place of the
dedication of his father Osirei." On
the other side of the door, the king
is offering to Amunre, Khonso,
and Remeses I., and on the side
walls, Osirei also partakes of similar
honours.

In the centre chamber, Osirei offi-
ciates before the statue pf his father

placed in a shrine, like that before
mentioned ; from which it is evident
that Remeses II. continued the dedi*
cations to the first Remeses, which
had been commenced by his father,
as the hieroglyphits themselves state.
All the lateral chambers, and the
hypsethral court are of Remeses II.)
and on the jambs of the side doors in
the great hall, the name of his son
Pthahroen was added in the succeed*
ing reign. Queen Ames Nofriare
occurs again in the court; and on
the outside of the north-east corner,
and on the fragment of a wall on the
other (south-west) side, is an Ethio-
pian ox and Capricorn, which are
brought by some of the minor priests
for the service of the temple. Little
else is deserving of notice in this
ruin, if we except the statue and
shrine of Amunre; whose door tlie
king luM just opened, previous to his
performing *< the prescribed ceremo-
nies" in honour of the deity. In the
hieroglyphics, though much defaced,
we read, ** Behold, I open • • . my
father Amunre.**

Following the edge of the culti-
vated land, and about 180 yards to
the west of this building, are two mw^
tUated $tatue9 of Remeset IL, of black
granite, with a few substructions to
the north of them ; and 770 yards
farther to the west, lies in the culti-
vated soil, a Monditane bloek of Re-
meses III., presenting in high relief
the figure of that king between Osiris
and Pthah. Fourteen hundred feet
byond this, in the same direction, is
a crudt'briek encloture, with large
towers, which once contained within
it a sandstone temple, dating probably
in the reign of the third Thotbmes.
whose name is stamped on the bricks,
and who appears to have been the
contemporary of Moses.

Various fragments, and remains of
crude-brick walls, proclaim the ex-
istence of other ruins in its vicinity ;
and about 1000 feet farther to the
south-west is the Remeteum, or pa/ace^
temple, (UmpU of Remeees IL,) erro-

Q 3

342

DESCRIPTION OF TBEBES.

Sect. IV.

neously called the Memtumitim» There
is, however, reason to suppose that it
was the Memnoniuni of Strabo, and
that the title of Miamun, attached to
the name of Remeses II., being
corrupted by the Greeks into Mem-
non, became the origin of the word
Memnonium or Memiionia, since we
find it again applied to the buildings
at Abydus, which were finished by
the same monarch. Strabo, who
says that if Ismandes is the same as
Memnon, these monuments at Thebes
should have the same title of Memno-
nian as those at Abydus, appears to
have had in view the palace-temple
of Remeses Miamun ; and it was not
till after Strabo*s time that the name
of Memnon was applied to the vocal
statue of the plain. In short, I feel
persuaded, 1st, that the word Mia-
mun led them to imagine him the
Memnon mentioned by Homer, and
thence to apply the word Memnonian
to the buildings erected by Remeses
II.; 2dly, that later visitors to
Thebes, struck with the miraculous
powers of the vocal statue, transferred
the name of tlie only monarch with
whom they suppated themselves ac*
quainted, to the object they admired ;
and Sdly, that they ascribed to Mem-
non the tomb of Remeses V. in like
manner from his having the title of
Amunmai or Miamun.

Another curious circumstance con-
nected with the name Memnonium is
the belief that this, and other monu-
ments so called, had been built or
finished by 'the Ethiopians, and this
may be used as an additional argu-
ment in favour of the opinion that
the name Ethiopia was sometimes
applied to the Thebald.

2. MBUNONIUM Oa aSMBSBUM.

For symmetry of archit^ture and
eleganceof sculpture, there is no doubt
that the Memnonium may vie with any
other monument of Egyptian art.
No traces are visible of the dromos
that probably existed before the pyra-
midal towers, which form the fa9ade

of its first area, — a court whose
breadth of 180 feet, exceeding the
length by nearly thirteen yards, was
reduced to a more just proportion
by the introduction of a double ar^ue
of columns on either side, extending
from the towers to the north wall.
In this area, on the right of a flight
of steps leading to the next court, was
a stupendous Syenite statue of the
king, seated on a throne, in the usual
attitude of Egyptian figures, the hands
resting on his knees, indicative of
that tranquillity which he had re-
turned to enjoy in Egypt after the
fatigues of victory. But the fury of
an invader has levelled this monument
of Egyptian grandeur, whose colossal
fragments lie scattered round the pe-
destal ; and its shivered throne evinces
the force used for its destruction.

• If it is a matter of surprise bow
the Egyptians could transport and
erect a mass of such dimensions, the
means employed for its ruin are
scarcely less wonderful ; nor should
we hesitate to account for the shattered
appearance of the lower part by at-
tributing it to tlie explosive force
of powder, had that compoution been
known at the period of its destruction.
The throne and legs are completely
destroyed, and reduced to compara-
tively small fragments, while the
upper part, broken at the vraist, ia
merely thrown back upon the ground,
and lies in that position which waa
the consequence of its fall ; nor are
there any marks of the wedge or
other instrument, which should have
been employed for reducing those
fragments to the sute in which they
now appear. The fissures seen across
the head and in the pedestal, are the
work of a later period, when some of
the pieces were cut for millstones by
the Arabs, but its previous overthrow
is probably coeval with the Persian
invasion. To say that this is the
largest statue in Egypt will convey
no idea of the gigantic sixe or enor-
mous weight of a mass, which, from
an approximate calculation, exceeded »

V.EgypL

when antir*, nctrlj three limei ifae
*oUd conlenu of the great obcliik of
Kwnak, and w^'gbsd about 887 tod*
S^ buiiilred weigbt.

No building in Tbebe* cormponds
with the deacriptioD given of tbe
tomb of OtjrmMidfiu by Hecalaua.
Diodorui, wbo quoto hii vorli, gim
the dimeiuion* of tbe Ant or outer
court, two pletfan, (IRl feet 8 jncbt*
£ngti>h,) agreeiag Tery itearty with
the breadtb, but not the length ol

FLAK OF THB MEUKOKIUU.

r before

court, of four plelhia, neilber
kgicei with tfaii, nor can agree with
that of an; other Egyptian edifice,
iioce the plan of an Egjrptian build-
ing invariably requuvi a diminution,
but no iDcreajc of dimeniiona, from
the entraoce to the inner cbambersj
and while the bodjr of the temple,
behind the portico, retained one uni-
form breadth, the areu in front, and
frequentlj the portico itielf,<ica>dcd
the inner portion of it b; their pro-
jecting ndcL The periiirli

" columi

beii

I tbe forr

of I

roofed Eolonaade, titUng
■vHiH, end iripJe entrance to a
chamber aupported bjr columna, agree
well with ijie approach to tbe great
lull of thii temple ; and the largeat
atatue in Egjpt cin only be In the
building before u>. Yet the aculp-
tur» to which be alludea remind u«
ralber of thoie of Medejnel HUmo ;
■ndit i« poBublethU either Hecatasu*
or Diodorui ntaj have united or con-
lininded thedetaili of the two cdificea.
I have therefore introdured the ae-
compan]' rag plan of tbe Memnonium.
The Kcond area ii about 140 feet
b]r 170, having an the touthand north
■idet a row of Oiiridii pillan, eon-
nected with each alber by two lateral
corridors of circular columnt. Three
fligbu of itepi lead to tbe northern
corridor (which may be called the
portico), behind the Oiiridi

black granite Uaii
the baie of whose
the talui of the aacenL

of Remi

iiide^

Plan of Ih* MeiaBinlDm, •howlDI lU ireil
retemblanc* to the oeavrtpEion « (he
Tomb of dgraiaiKliu, IliCB by Diodu.

1. 1, Tswen of the Franlon. " nljH . ■

n t*tf iM^Mn IfXtlfM, n ¥ V\l4r VlTTKf ■-

■or- A^^Uri " uii'tClI^ ilUlnit Co-
rn wtmt- aliUi}*?***

Ii.;.

344

DESCRIPTIOK OF THEBES.

Sect IV.

The battle Menet occur on these waUi, and at
I are traces of sculptures reUting to the
war ; but that part as well as j, is now in
ruins. At s, the jfrsf wall on the right
enterina, the king is besieging a city sur.
rounded by a river, "•«t« tsv r^wr** rm
rmx<f» (k) w /SsmXsa . . 9tXM^»mnrm ^^tX**
vw vsnsfcii; m^f^etffvf .*' On the second wall
were the captives led by the king **«• ft
mihtm mm* rmg x**(*f **** tSiMfWi** as at
Medetoet H&boo; and In the centre of the
area was an altar in the open air **Miaa-
9ft0f^* showing this court was also hype
thral in the centre. ** Kmrm }• rsf rsXumus*
rttx*» inrafywr mf^ttrnvrmt nmBnuivtyt tvs,"
L and M,— the head of ihe latter of which is
now in the British Museum ; ** ir«<' tit
urtitut Tfut (ir* o, p) ts tm> rtfifrvXMt, mm9'
us m»9t i/r«(x*"' ve'MTvXsf (q) mlhuw rfvtt
MM9tr$uim€fM9»t, uuttrnt wktufmt ix^r*
)<rXt0fi».'* Rand a are pedestals, perhaps
belonging to some of the statues he men.
tions. *' iffif )' vrm^x*** •t^'vtvw «i»«» r«*-
tsImw* vXneq," fierhaps referring to the
whole space containing the chambers v, v,
V, s. ^*^ y ur«fX*" ^^* '<€** fSfCAis-
ftiaiff ** (u or v) " rvMxwr d« rmwji rm
3isw marm9rmf ummmt, r*v fimnkutt* •f'futt
imft^ttfTU a r^srqxM it? ur««f«i«/' which
is referred to in the sculptures of w and x.
Whether his description of the parts beyond
this is correct wn cannot decide, as the cham-
bers are entirely destroyed, and the general
Slan is scarcely to be traced ; and, as it is pro-
able Hecatsnis, who is his authority, was not
admitted beyond the great hall q, the infor.
mation obtained of thir part must have
rested solely on report Indeed, in this por-
tion, he appears to have united or con-
founded two liuildings, the temple of
Remeses the Great, and that of Kemeses
III. at Mede^net H&boo; though, with the
exception of the measurement of the areas
(four plethra square), his description of the
first part of the Tomb of Osymandyas agrees
very closely with the edifice before us ; but
we may be allowed to question its having
been a tomb, or having been erected bjr that
monarch.
T, Battle scene, where the testudo occurs.

Behind the columns of the nortliern
corridor, and on either side of the
central door of the great hall, is a
limestone pedestal, which, to judge
from the space left in the sculptures,
must have once supported the sitting
figure of a lion, or, perhaps, a statue
of the king. Three entrances open
into the grand hall, each with a sculp-
tured doorway of black granite ; and
between the two first columns of the
central avenue, two pedestals sup-
ported (one on either side) two other
statues of the king. Twelve massive
columns, 32 feet 6, without the abacus,
and 21 feet 3 in circumference, form a
double line along the centre of this

hall, and 18 of smaller dimensions
(17 feet 8 in circumference), to the
right and left, complete the total
of the forty-eigrht, which supported its
solid roof studded with stars on an
azure ground. To the hall, which
measures 100 feet by 133, succeeded
three central and six lateral chamber^
indicating, by a small flight of steps,
the gradual ascent of the rock, on
which tliis edifice is constructed. Of
nine, two only of the central apart-
ments now remain, each supported
by four columns, and each measuring
about 30 feet by 55 ; but the vestiges
of their walls, and the appearance of
the rock, which has been levelled to
form an area around the exterior of
the building, point out their original
extent. The sculptures, much more
interesting tlian the architectural de-
tails, have suffered still more from
the hand of the destroyer; and of
the many curious battle-scenes which
adorned its walls, four only now re-
main ; though the traces of another
may be perceived behind the granite
Colossus on the north face of the wall*
On the north face of the eastern
pyramidal tower, or propylon,' is
represented the capture of several
towns from an Asiatic enemy, whose
chiefs are led in bonds by the vic-
torious Egyptians towards the camp
of their army. Several of these
towns are introduced into the pic-
ture, each bearing its name in hiero-
glyphic characters, which state them
to have been taken in tlie fourth year
of King Remeses II. This im-
portant fact satisfactorily shows that
the early part of the reigns of their
most illustrious monarchs was em-
ployed in extending their conquests
abroad, which they returned to com-
memorate on the temples and palaces
tlieir captives assisted in constructing.
And claiming the enjoyment of that
tranquillity their arms had secured,
they employed the remainder of their
reigns in embelliahing their capital,
and in promoting the internal pros-
perity of the country.

U. Egypt SCULPTURES OF THE MEMNONIUU.

34S

Cruelty has ever been, throughout
the East, the criterion of courage;
and the power of a monarch or the
valour of a nation have always been
estimated by the inexorability of their
character. Nor were the Egyptians
behind their Asiatic neighbours in the
appreciation of these qualities, and the
studied introduction of unusual bar-
barity proves that their sculptors in-
tended to convey this idea to the
s)>ectator; confirming a remark of
Gibbon, that *< conquerors and poets
of every age liave felt the truth of a
system which derives tlie sublime
from the principle of terror.*' In
the scene before us, an insolent
soldier pulls the beard of bis help-
less captive, while others wantonly
beat the suppliant, or satiate their
fury with tlie sword. Beyond these
is a corps of infantry in close array,
flanked by a strong body of cha-
riots; and a camp, indicated by a
rampart of Egyptian shields, with a
wicker gateway, guarded by four
companies of sentries, who are on
duty on the inner side, forms the
most interesting object in this pic-
ture. Here the booty taken from
the enemy is collected ; oxen, cha-
riots, plaustra, horses, asses, sacks
of gold, represent the confusion in-
cident after a battle ; and the rich-
ness of the spoil is expressed by the
weight of a bag of gold, under which
an ass is about to fall. One chief is
receiving the salutation of a foot-
soldier; another, seated amidst the
spoil, strings his bow ; and a sutler
suspends a water-skin on a pole he
has fixed in the ground. Below this
a body of infantry marches home-
wards; and beyond them the king,
attended by his fan-bearers, holds
forth his hand to receive the homage
of the priests and principal persons,
who approach his throne to congra-
tulate his return. His charioteer is
also in attendance, and the high-
spirited horses of his car are with
difficulty restnined by three grooms
who hold them. Two captives below

this are doomed to be beaten by four
Egyptian soldiers ; while they in vain,
with outstretched hands, implore the
clemency of their heedless conqueror.

The sculptures on the gateway
refer to the panegyrics, or assemblies,
of the king, to wliom different divini-
ties are said to ** give life and power **
(or *< pure life '*). Over this gate
passes a staircase, leading to the top
of the building, whose entrance lies
oq the exterior of the east side.

Upon the west tower is represented
a battle, in which the king discharges
his arrows on the broken lines and
flying chariots of the enemy ; and his
figure and car are again introduced,
on the upper part, over the smaller
sculptures. In a small compartment
beyond these, which is formed by the
end of the corridor of the area, he
stands armed with a battle-axe, about
to slay the captives he holds beneath
him, and who, in the hieroglyphics
above, are called ** the chiefs of the
foreign countries." In the next
compartment, attended by his fan-
bearers, and still wearing his helmet,
he approaches the temple; and to
this the hieroglyphics before him ap-
pear to allude.

On the north face of the south-east
wall of the next area, is another
historical subject, representing Re-
meses 11. pursuing an enemy, whose
nmnerous chariots, flying over the
plain, endeavour to regain the river,
and seek shelter under the fortified
walls of their city. And so forcibly
do the details of this picture call to
mind the battles of tlie Iliad, that
some of them might serve as illus-
trations to that poem.

In order to check the approach of
tlie Egyptians, the enemy has crossed
the river, whose stream, divided into
a double fosse, surrounded the towered
walls of their fortified city, and op-
posed their advance by a considerable
body of chariots; while a large re-
serve of infantry, having crossed the
hridgt», is posted on the other bank,
to cover the retreat or second their

Q 5

346

DESCBIPTION OF THEBES.

Sect. IV.

advance; but, routed by the Egyptiiui
invaders, they are forced to throw
themielves back upon the town, and
many, in recrossing the river, are
either carried away by the stream, or
fall under the arrows of the advancing
conqueror. Those who have suc-
ceeded in reaching the opposite bank
are rescued by their friends, who,
drawn up in three phalanxes (de-
scribed in the hieroglyphics as 8000
strong), witness the defeat of their
comrades, and the flight of the re-
mainder of their chariots. Some
carry to the rear the lifeless corpse
of their chief, who has been drowned
in the river, and in vain endeavour to
restore life, by holding the head
downwards to expel the water; and
others implore the clemency of the
victor, and acknowledge him their
conqueror and lord.

Above this battle-scene is a pro-
cession of priests, bearing the figures
of the T^ban ancestors of Remeses
II. The first of these is Menea;
then Manmoph another Diospolitan
king; and after him those of the
eighteenth dynasty. The intermediate
monarchs after Menes and Manmoph
are omitted, from not being of a
Theban family. ' The remai ning sub-
jects are similar to those in the coro*
nation of the king at Mede^net
Hiboo, where the flight of the four
carrier pigeons ; the king cutting ears
of corn, afterwards offered to the god
of generation; the qui.*en ; the sacred
bull ; and the figures of his an-
cestors, placed before the god, are
more easily traced from the greater
preservation of that building.

Beyond tlie west staircase of the
north corridor, the king kneels before
Amunre, Maut, and Khonso ; Thoth
notes on his palm-branch the years of
the panegyries, and Mandoo, with
Atmoo, introduce Remeses into the
presence of those deities.

On tiie otlier side, forming the
^outh wall of the great hall, is a small
but interesting battle, where the use
•f thu ladder and of the testudo throw

considerable light on the mode of war-
fare at that early period. The town,
situated on a lofty rock, is obstinately
defended, and many are hurled bead-
long from its walls by the spears,
arrows, and stones of the besieged;
they, however, on the nearer approach
of tlie Egyptian king, are obliged to
sue for peace, and send heralds with
presents to deprecate his ftiry, while
his infantry, commanded by his sons,
are putting to the sword the routed
enemy they have overtaken beneath
the walls, where they had in vain
looked for refuge, the gates being
already beset by the Egyptian troops.
I do not pretend to decide against
what nation this war was waged ; but
it is sufficiently evident that a people
of Asia are here represented ; and
though some may think these hostili-
ties were carried on in the Delta, I
cannot allow myself to be misled by
so unfounded an hypothesis. I be-
lieve that the seat of the long war,
waged by the Egyptians against these
northern nations, was in the neigli-
bourhood of Assyria and the Eu-
phrates : and there is every probability
that, were we acquainted with the
earlier geography of the intermediate
provinces and towns from Egypt to
that country, we should find they
agreed with the names attached to the
captives in the temples and tombs of
Thebes. If it be deemed too much
for tlie power and extent of Egypt
that their armies should have been
able to reach the distant borders of
Assyria, every one will admit the
fact, that <*Necho, king of Egypt,
came up to fight against Carchemiafa,
by Euphrates," in the reign of Josiah,
whose imprudent interference cost
him his kingdom and his life. Still
stronger, indeed, is the following ex-
press statement of the former extent
of the Egyptian dominions, that** the
king of Egypt came not again any
more out of his land ; for the king of
Babylon had taken from the river
of Egypt, nnto M« river Supkratet,
all that pertained to the king of

U. Egypt.

THE QHCAT HALL.

847

Egypt.** And even if the authoritj
of Herodotus, who makes the Col-
chians an Eg^tian colony, and of
Diodonis, who speaks of their Bac-
trian subjects, were called in question,
yet the circumstantial and prepon-
derating evidence of the Scriptures
leaves no room to doubt, that the arms
of the early and more potent Egyp-
tian monarchs had extended at least as
far as Assyria and" the neighbouring
countries. Nor does Egyptian sculp-
ture fail to prove this interesting his-
torical fact, which, independent of the
colour of those people, of much lighter
hue than the inhabitants of the Nile,
is confirmed by the dress and features
of the prisoners of Tirhaka, — the
Assyrians of Sennacherib, — who are
siroilar to some of those captured by
the earlier Pharaohs.

To return to the great hall. One
of the architraves presents a long in-
scription, purporting that Amunmai
Kemeses has made the sculptures (or
the work) for his father Amunre, king
of the gods, and that be has erected

the hall of hewn stone,

good and hard blocks, supported by
fine columns (alluding, from their
form, to those of the central colon-
nade) in addition to ( the side )
columns (being similar to those o(
the lateral colonnades). At the upper
end of this hall, on the north-west
wall, the king receives the falchion
and sceptres from Amunre, wlio is
attended by the Goddess Maut ; and
in the hieroglyphics mention is made
of this palace of Remeses, of which
the deity i& said to be the guardian.
We also learn from them that the
king is to smite the heads of his
foreign enemies with the former, and
with the latter to defend or rule his
country, Egypt« On the corre-
sponding wall he receives the emblems
of life and power from Amunre,
attended by Khonso, in the presence
of the lion-headed goddess. Be-
low these compartments, on either
wall, is a procession of the twenty-
three sons of the king ; and on the

west comer are three of his daughters,
but without their names. His thir-
teenth son is here called Pihahmen,
and it is highly probable that he was
his successor ; for, in addition to his
having the same name, a kingly pre-
nomen is here prefixed to the line of
hieroglyphics in which he is men-
tioned. This prefix was perhaps
ndded on his becoming heir apparent
by the demise of his elder brothers,
though it was altered again on his
assumption of the crown.

On the ceiling of the next chamber
is an astronomical subject. On the
upper side of it are the twelve Egyp-
tian months, and at the end of
Mesore allusion is made to the five
days of the epact and the rising of the
dog-star, under the figure of Isis-
Sothis. In the hieroglyphics of the
border of this picture, mention is
made of the columns and of the
building of this chamber with ** hard
stone,*' where apparently were depo-
sited the •< books of Tlioth." On the
walls are sculptured sacred arks,
borne in processitm by the priests ;
and at the base of the door leading
to the next apartment is an inscrip-
tion, purporting that the king had
dedicated it to Amun, and mention
seems to be made of its being beau-
tified with gold and precious orna-
ments. The door itself was of two
folds, turning on bronse pins, which
moved in circular grooves of the
same metal, since removed from the
stones in which they were fixed. On
the north wall of the next and last
room that now remains, the king is
making offerings and burning incense,
on one side, to Pthah and the lion-
headed goddess ; on the other, to Re
( the sun ), whose figure is gone. Large
tablets before him mention the offer-
ings he has made to different deities.

Other mtiM. — In the immediate
vicinity of this temple-palace are the
vestiges of anotknr mndatone buUding,
the bases of whose columns scarcely
appear above the ground ; and be-
tween these two ruins are several pits,

348

DESCRIPTION OF THEfiES.

Sect. IV.

of a later epoch, used for tombs by
persons of an inferior class^

On the west of the Memnonium
are also some remains of masonry,
and that edifice is surrounded on
three sides by crude-brick yaulis,
which appear to luive been used for
habitations ; but they offer no traces
of inscriptions to lead us to ascertain
their date, which at all events is far
from being modern, as some travel-
lers have supposed. Other vestiges
of sandstone remains are traced on
both sides of these brick galleries;
and a short distance to the west
are crude-brick towers and walls,
inclosing the shattered remains of a
sandstone edifice, which, to judge
from the stamp on the bricks Uiem-
selves, was erected during the reign
of Thothmes III. The toUl ruin of
these buildings may be accounted for
from the smaltness of their sise, the
larger ones being merely defaced or
partially demolished, owing to the
great labour and time required for
their entire destruction.

Below the squared scarp of the
rock to the west of this, are other
traces of sandstone ; and at tbe south,
lie two hroken ttaltuet ofAmmuph II L^
which once faced towards the palace
of Remeses II. They stood in the
usual attitude of Egyptian statues, one
leg placed forward, and the arms fixed
to the side. Their total height was
about 35 feet They either belonged
to an avenue leading to the temple at
Kom el Hettiln, or to the tdifict at
a short distance beyond them, which
was erected by the same Amunoph,
as we learn from the sculptures on its
fallen walls. These consisted partly
of limestone and partly of sandstone ;
and, to judge from the execution of
tbe sculptures and the elegance of the
statues once standing within its pre-
cincts, it was a building of no mean
pretensions. Two of its sitting colossi
represented Amunoph III.; the others,
Pthahmen, the son and successor of
Remeses II. These last were ap-
parently standing statues in pairs.

two formed of one block, tlie hand of
one resting on the shoulder of tbe
other ; but their mutilated condition
prevents our ascertaining their exact
form, or the other persons represented
in these groups. But an idea may
be given of their colossal size by the
breadth across the shoulders, which is
five feet three inches ; and though the
sitting statues of Amunoph were
much smaller, their total height could
not have been less than ten feet.

About 700 feet to the south of
these ruins is the Kcm d Hettam^ or the
" mound of sandstone,** which marks
the site of another palace, temple of
Amunoph III.; and, to judge from
the little that remains, it must have
held a conspicuous rank among the
finest monuments of Thebes. All
that now exists of the interior are tbe
bases of its columns, some broken
statues, and Syenite spliinxes of tbe
king, with several lion-headed figures
of black granite. About 200 feet
from the north corner of these ruins
are granite statues of the asp-headed
goddess, and another deity, formed of
one block, in very high relief. In
front of the door are two large tablets
(stelae) of gritstone, with the usual
circular summits, in the form of
Egyptian shields, on which are sculp«
tured long inscriptions, and the figures
of the king and queen, to whom
Amunre and Sokari present the em-
blems of life. Beyond these, a long
dromos of 1100 feet' extends to the
two sitting colossi, which, seated ma-
jestically above the plain, seem to
assert the grandeur of ancient Thebes.

Other colossi, of nearly similar
dimensions, once stood between these
and the tablets before mentioned;
and the fragments of two of them,
fallen prostrate in the dromos, are
now alone visible above the h^ght*
ened level of the alluvial soil.

3. THB TWO COLOSai; TBI VOCAL
MKMNON.

The easternmost of the two sit-
ting colossi was once the wonder of

U. Egypt.

THE VOCAL STATUE.

349

the ancients. It has also been a sub-
ject of controvert among modem
writers; some of whom, notwith-
standing the numerous inscriptions,
which decide it to have been the vocal
Merononofthe Romans, have thought
fit to doubt its being the very statue
said by ancient authors to utter a
found at the rising of the sun.

Strabo, who visited it with ^lius-
Gallus, the governor of Kgypt, con-
fesses that he heard the sound, but
could c not aiBrm whether it pro-
ceeded from the pedestal or from the
statue itself, or even from some of
those who stood near its base ; " and
it appears, from his not mentioning
the name of Memnon, that it was not
yet supposed to be the statue of that
doubtful personage. But the igno-
rance of the Roman visiters, shortly
after, ascribed it to the <* Son of
Titbonus,"and a multitude of inscrip-
tions testified his miraculous powers,
and the credulity of the writers.

Previous to Strabo*s time, the
« upper part of this statue, above the
throne, had been broken and hurled
down/* as he was told, <* by the shock
of an earthquake;** nor do the re-
pairs afterwards made to it appear to
date prior to the time of Juvenal,
since the poet thus refers to its frac-
tured condition : —

Dhm'dio magioe retooant ubi Memnone
chordc.

But from the account in the Apoilo-
nius Thyaneus of Philostratus, we
might conclude that the statue had
been already repaired as early as the
age of Juvenal, who was also a co-
temporary of the emperor Domitian ;
since Damis, the companion of the
philosopher, asserts that the « sound
was uttered when the sun touched
its lipa," But the license of poetry
and the fictions of Damis render both
authorities of little weight in deciding
this point.

The foot was also broken, and
repaired ; but if at the same time
as the upper part, the epoch of its
restoration must date alWr the time

of Adrian, or at the close of his reign,
as the inscription on the left foot has
been cut through to admit the cramp
which united the restored part.

Pliny, following the opinion then in
vogue, calls it the statue of Memnon,
and adds that it was erected before
the temple of Sarapis; — a strange
mistake, since the temple of that deity
was never admitted within the pre-
cincts of an Egyptian city, and the
worship of Sarapis was unknown in
Egypt at the epoch of its foundation.

The nature of the stone, which was
also supposed to offer some difficulty,
is a coarse hard gritstone, ** spotted,**
according to Tsetses* expression,
with numerous chalcedonies, and here
and there covered with black and red
oxide of iron. The height of either
Colossus is 47 feet, or 53 above the
plain, with the pedestal, which, now
buried from 6 feet 10 inches to
7 feet below the surface, completes,
to its base, a total of 60. The re-
pairs of the vocal statue are of blocks
of sandstone, placed horizontally, in
five layers, and forming the body,
head, and upper part of the arms;
but the line of hieroglyphics at the
back has not been completed, nor is
there any inscription to announce the
era or name of its restorer. The ac-
curacy of Pausanias, who states tha(
** the Thebans deny this is the statue
of Memnon, but of Phamenoph, their
countryman,*' instead of clearing the
point in question, was supposed to
offer an additional difficulty : but the
researches of Pococke and Hamilton
have long since satisfactorily proved
this to be the Memnon of the ancients;
who, we learn by an inscription on
the left foot, was supposed also to
bear the name of Phamenoth. The
hieroglyphic labours of M. Cham-
poUion have thrown still further light
on the question, and Amunoph onc^
more asserts bis claims to the statues
he erected.

The destru^on of the upper part

has been attributed to Cambyses, by

, the writers of some of the inscriptions,

850

DESCBIPTION OF THBBES.

Sect. IV.

uid by some ancient Authors, which
•eems more probable than the cause
assigned by Straboi since the temple
to which it belonged, and the other
colossi in the dromos, have evidently
been levelled and mutilated by the
hand of man.

The sound it uttered was said to
resemble the breaking of a Iiarp-string,
or, according to the preferable au-
thority of a witness, a metallic ring,
and the memory of its daily perform-
ance, about the first or second hour
after sunrise, is still retained In the
traditional appellation of Salamat,
** salutations'* by the modern inhabit-
anU of Thebes. The priests, who,
no doubt, contrived the sound of the
statue, were artful enough to allow
the supposed deity to fail occasionally
in his accustomed habit, and some
were consequently disappointed on
their first visit, and obliged to return
another morning to satisfy their curi-
osity. This fact is also recorded on
its feet with the precision of the cre-
dulous.

In tlie lap of the statue is a stone,
which, which, on being struck, emits
a metallic sotmd, that might still be
made use of to deceive a visitor, who
was predisposed to believe its powers ;
and from its position, and the squared
space cut in the block behind, as if to
admit a person who might thus lie
concealed from the most scrutinous
observer in the plain below, it seems
to have been used after the restora-
tion of the statue. Another similar
recess also exists beneath the present
site of this stone, and this may have
been intended for the same purpose
when the statue was in its mutilated
state. Havingremarked the peculiar
aound of this stone, and subsequently
finding, in one of the inscriptions,
that a certain Ballilla had compared
it to the ** striking of brass," I posted
some peasants below, and ascended
myself to the lap of the statue, with a
view of hearing from them the im-
pression made by the sound. Having
struck the sonorous block with

a small hammer, I inquired what
they heard, and their answer, <* EnU
hetidnb e'nahdt,*' •* You are strik-
ing brass,** convinced me that the
sound was the same that decdved the
Romans, and led Strabo to observe
that it appeared to him as the effect
of a slight blow. That it was a de-
ception there can be little doubt ; the
fact of the Emperor Hadrian hearing
it thriet looks very suspicious ; and a
natural phenomenon would not have
been so complimentary to the em-
peror when it sounded only once for
ordinary mortals. " Xapotr kol rprrsr
uxotf tri,** ** rejoicing (at the presence
of the Emperor), it uttered a sound
a third time.*'

The form of these colossi resembles
that mentioned by Diodorus, in the
tomb of Osymandyaa, in which the
figures of the daughter and mother
of the king stood on either side of the
legs of the larger central statue, the
length of whose foot exceeded seven
cubits, or three and a half yards.
Such, indeed, is the sixe of their feet;
and on either side staud attached to
the throne the wife and mother of
Amunopb, in height about six yards.
The traces of a smaller figure of his
queen are also seen between bis feet.

The proportions of the colossi are
about the same as of the granite sta-
tue of Remeses II. ; but they are
inferior in the weight and hardness
of their noaterials. They measure
about 18 feet 3 across the shoulders;
16 feet 6 from the top of the shoulder
to the elbow ; 10 feet 6 from the top
of the bead to the shoulder; 17 feet 9
from the elbow to the finger*A end ;
and 19 feet 8 from the knee to the
plant of Uie foot, llie thrones are
ornamented with figures of the god
Nilus, who, holding the stalks of two
planu pecuUar to the river, is en*
gaged in binding up a pedestal or
table, surmounted by the name of the
SS7P^<^ monarch — a symbolic
group, indicating his dominion over
the upper and lower countries. A
line of hieroglyphics extends perpea*

U. Egypt

COLOSSI. — BISS OF THE LAND.

351

dicularly down the back, from the
shoulder to the pedestal, containing
the name of the Pbanutb they repre-
sent

Three hundred feet behind these are
the remains of another cdoBtua of
similar form and dimensions, which,
fallen prostrate, is partly buried by
the alluvial deposits of the Nile.

Corresponding to this are four
$malkr statvet formed of one block,
and representing male and female
figures, probably of i^munoph and
his queen. They are seoted on a
throne, now concealed beneath the
soil, and two of them are quite de-
faced. Their total height, without
the head, which has been broken off,
is 8 feet 3 inches, including the pe-
destal, and they were originally only
about 9 feet 10 inches. They are
therefore a strange pendant for a co-
lossus of 60 feet, and even making
every allowance for Egyptian sym-
metrophobia, it is difficult to account
for their position. But the accumu-
lation of the soil, their position on
sandy ground, and their general di-
rection satisfactorily prove that they
occupy their originid site.

Eighty-three yards behind these
are the fragments of another eolosent,
which, like the last, has been thrown
across the dromos it once adorned ;
and if the nature of its materials did
not poutively increase its beauty,
their novelty, at least, called on the
spectator to admire a statue of an
enormous mass of crystallised car-
bonate of lime. From this point you
readily perceive that the ground has
sunk beneath the vocal statue, which
may probably be partly owing to the
numerous excavations that have been
made at different times about its
base.

I believe that this dromot, or paved
approach to the temple, was part of
the *' Royal Street" mentioned in
some papyri fbund at Thebes ; which,
crossing the>western portion of the
city from the temple, communicated,
by means of a ferry, with that of

Luxor, founded by the same Amu-
noph, on the other side of the river ;
as the great dromos of sphinxes, con-
necting the temples of Luxor and
Karnak, formed the main street in the
eastern district of Thebes.

4. RISK OF THE LAUD.

It may not be amiss to observe, with
regard to the original position of the
two colossi, and the rise of the alluvial
soil at their base: — 1st That the
dromos descended by a gradual talus
of about S inches in S3 feet, follow-
ing the precise slope which the land
then took, from the present hager, or
edge of the desert, to the colossi. This
is, according to the level of the sur-
rounding plain ; for at the statues
themselves a shallow watercourse
makes a slight difference, which,
however, is not to be estimated in
order to obtain the actual surface of
the alluvial deposit: — 2d. That
their pedestals stand upon built sub-
structions of sandstone, lying 3 feet
10 inches below the then surface of
the soil, or, which was the same, the
level of the paved dromos : — 3d.
That the pedestal was buried 3 feet
10 inches below the dromos, owing
to the irregular form of its lower
side : — 4th. That the pavement and
the bases of the colossi rested not on
alluvial but on a sandy soil, over
which the mud of the inundation has
since been deposited, and that, con-
sequently, the Nile, during its rise,
did not, at that epoch, even reach
the level of the dromos : — 5th. That
the alluvial deposit has since risen to
the height of 6 feet 10 inches abowe
the surface of the dromos* pavement ;
that the highest water-mark is now
7 feet 8 inches above the same pave-
ment; and that, consequently, the
Nile must overflow a very great por-
tion of land throughout Egypt which
was formerly <Mbooe the reach of its
inundation. This is contrary to the
theories of several persons, who, cal-
culating only the elevation of t|M

359

DESCRIPTION OF THEBES.

Sect. IV,

land, without observing that the bed
of the river continues to rise in a
similar ratio, foretell the future desert
which this hitherto fertile valley is to
present to its starving inhabitants.

Continuing to the westward, along
the edge of the hager, you arrive at
the extensive mounds and walls of
Christian hovels, which encumber
and nearly conceal the ruins of Me-
de^net H&boo, having passed several
remains of other ancient buildings
which once covered the intermediate
space. Among these, the most re-
markable are near the N. N. £.
comer of the mounds; where, be-
sides innumerable fragments of sand-
stone, are the vestiges of two large
Cohsti,

5. MKDBENET HA BOO.

The ruins at Mede^iiet Hiiboo are
undoubtedly of one of the four temples
mentioned by Diodorus ; the other
three being those 'of Karnak, Luxor,
and the Memnonium or first Reme-
seum. Strabo, whose own observa-
tion, added to the testimony of several
ruins still traced on the west bank, is
far more authentic, affirms that Thebes
" had many temples, the greater part
of which Cambyses defaced.'*

During the empire, the village of
Mede^net Hiboo was still inhabited,
and the early Christians converted
one of the deserted courts of the
great temple into a more ortliodox
place of worship, by constructing an
altar at the east end, and concealing
with a coat of mud the idolatrous
sculptures of their Pagan ancestors.
The small apartments at the back
part of this building were appro-
priated by the priests of the new re-
ligion, and houses of crude-brick
were CTected on the ruins of the
ancient village, and within the pre-
cincts of the temple. The size of the
church, and extent of the village,
prove its Christian population to have
been considerable, and show that
Thebes ranked among the prin-
cipal dioceses of the Coptic church.

But the invasion of the Arabs put a
period to its existence, and its timid
inmates, on their approach, fled to
the neighbourhood of Es'n^; from
which time Mede^net Hiboo ceased
to hold a place among the villages of
Thebes.

It was probably on this occasion
that the granite doorway was entered
by violence ; though it is difficult to
ascertain whether it took place theui
or during the siege of the Per»ans,
or Ptolemies. But it is curious to
observe that the granite jambs have
been cut through, exactly at the part
where the bar was placed across the
door.

Beguining at the southern ex-
tremity of these ruins, the first object
is an open court, about 80 feet by
125, whose front gate bears, on either
jamb, the figure and name of Auto«
crator, Caesar, Titus, iBIius, Adri-
anus, Antoninus, Busebes. Besides
this court, Antoninus Pius added a
row of eight columns, united (four
on either side) by intercolumnar
screens, which form its north end;
and his name again appears on -the
inner faces of the doorway, the re<r
maining part being unsculptured.
On the north of the transverse area,
behind this colonnade, are two py-
ramidal towers, apparently of Roman
date, and a pylon uniting them, which
last bears the names and sculptures of
Ptolemy Lathyrus on the south, and
of Dionysus on the north face. To
this succeeds a small hypsthral court
and pyramidal towers of the van-
quisher of Sennacherib, which, pre-
vious to the Ptolemaic additions,
completed the extent of the elegant
and well-proportioned vestibules of
the original temple. This court was
formed by a row of four columns on
either side, the upper part of which
rose considerably al)Ove the screens
that united them to each other and to
the towers at its northern extremity.
Here Nectanebo has effaced the name
of Tirhaka and introduced his own ;
and the hieroglyphics of Ptolemy

27. Egypt.

TEMPLE AT MEDEJ^NET hIbOO.

353

Latbyrus have usurped a place among
the sculptures of the Ethiopian
monarch.

Passing these towers, you enter
another court, 60 fi'et long, on either
side of which stood a row of nine
columns, with a lateral entrance to
the right and left. The jambs of one
of these gateways sdll remain. They
are of red granite, and bear the name
of Petamunap, who, if he be the same
whose eitensive tomb lies in the
Assaseef, probably lived under the
twenty-sixth dynasty, and was a per-
son of great consequence and un.
usual affluence, of the priestly order,
and president of the scribes. He was
deceased at the dme of its erection.

The corresponding door is, like
the rest of the edifice, of sandstone,
from the quarries of Silsilis. This
court may be called the inner vesti-
bule, and to it succeeds the original
edifice, composed of an isolated sanc-
tuary, surrounded on three sides by a
corridor of pillars, and on the fourth
by six smaller chambers.

The original founder of this part
of the building was the monarch who
raised the great obelisk of Karnak ;
Thothmes II. continued or altered
the sculptures; and Thothmes III.
completed the architectural details of
the sanctuary and peristyle. To
these were afterwards added the
hieroglyphics of Remeses III. on
the outside of the building, to con-
nect, by similarity of external ap-
pearance, the palace-temple of his
predecessors with that be erected in
its vicinity. Some restorations were
afterwards made by Ptolemy Phys-
con; and in addition to the sculp-
tures of the two front doorways, he
repaired the columns which support
the roof of the peristyle, Hakoris,
second king of the twenty-ninth
dynasty, bad previously erected the
wings on either side, and with the
above-mentioned monarcbs he com-
pletes the number of eleven, who
have added repairs or sculptures to
this building.

About 95 feet from the east side
of the inner court is a basin, cased
witli hewn stone, whose original
dimensions may have been about 50
feet square; beyond which, to the
south, are the remains of a large
crude-brick wall, with another of
stone, crowned by battlements in the '
form of Egyptian shields, and bearing
the name of Remeses V.,by whom it
was probably erected. This wall
turns to the north along the east face
of the mounds, and appears to have
enclosed the whole of the temenos
surrounding the temples, and to have
united to the east side of the front
tower of tlie great temple. Close to
the tank is a broken statue, bearing
the ovals of Remeses II., and of
Taia, the wife of AmuQoph III.,
bis ancestor; and several stones, in*
scribed with the name of this Re-
meses, have been used in the con-
struction of the gateway of Lathyrus
and the adjoining towers.

Great Temple at MedeSnet Hdboo,—^
I next proceed to notice the great
temple-palace of Remeses III. The
south part consists of a building once
isolated, but since united by a wall
with the towers of the last-mentioned
temple, before which two lodges form
the sides of its spacious entrance. In
front of this stood a raised platform,
strengthened by masonry, bearing the
name of the founder of the edifice,
similar to those met with before the
dromos of several Egyptian monu-
ments. After passing the lodges
you arrive at a lofty building, re-
sembling a pyramidal tower on eithee
hand, between which runs an oblong
court, terminated by a gateway, which
passes beneath the chambers of the
inner or north side. The whole of
this edifice constituted the pavilion of
the king; and in addition to several
chambers, that still remain, several
others stood at the wings, and in the
upper part, which have been destroyed.
The sculptures on the walls of these
private apartments are the more inte-
resting, as they are a singular in-

354

DESCRIFTIOK OF THEBES.

Sect. IV.

stance of the intenial decorations of
an Egyptian palace. Here the king
is attended by his harSemt some of
whom present him with flowers* or
wave before him fans and flabella;
and a favourite is caressed, or invited
to divert his leisure hours with a
game of draughts ; but they are all
obliged to stand in his presence, and
the king alone is seated on an elegant
fauUuil, amidst his female attendants,
— a custom still prevalent throughout
the East. The queen is not among
them ; and her oval is always blank,
wherever it occurs, throughout the
building.

The same game of draughts is re-
presented in the grottoes of Beni
Hassan, which are of a much more
early period than the era of the third
Remeses, and date about 1700 b. c.
in the time of Osirtasen, the cotem-
porary of Joseph. That it is not
chess, is evident from the men being
all of similar sise and form, varying
only in colour on opposite sides of
the board. I have sometimes seen
them with human heads ; and some
have been found of a small sise, with
other larger pieces, as if there was a
distinction, like oui kings and com«
mon men in draughts.

On the front walls the conqueror
smites his suppliant captives in the
presence of Amunre, who, on the
north-east side, appears under the
form of Re, the physical Sun, with
the head of a hawk* An ornamental
border, representing ** tlie chiefs** of
the vanquished nations, extends along
the base of the whole front ; and on
either side of the oblong court, or
passage of the centre, Remeses offers
similar prisoners to the deity of the
temple, who says, — *' Go» my che*
rished and chosen, make war on
foreign nations, besiege their forts,
and carry off their people to live as
captives."

Here ornamented balustrades, sup-
ported each by four figures of African
and Northern barbarians, remind us
of Gothic taste ; and the summit of

the whole pavilion was crowned with
a row of shields, tlie battleroenu of
Egyptian architecture. Hence a
dromos of 265 feet led to the maia
edifice on the N.W., whose front is
formed of two lofty pyramidal towers,
or propjflat with a pjfkm or doorway
between them, the entrance to the
first area or prcpjflttum.

The sculptures over this door refer
to the pane^riet of the king, whose
name, as at tlie palace of Remeses 1 1.,
appears in the centre. Those on the
west tower represent the monarch
about to slay two prisoners in the
presence of Pthah-Sokari, others
being bound below and behind the
figure of the god. In the lower part
is a tablet, commencing with the
twelfth year of Remeses ; and on the
east tower, the same conqueror smiles
similar captives before Amunre. Be-
neath are other names of the con-
quered cities, or districts, of this
northern enemy ; and at the upper
part of the propylon, a figure of
colossal proportion grasps a group of
suppliant captives his uplifted arm is
about to sacrifice. Amunre, under
the form of Re, holds forth the sword
of vengeance, and addresses the king
in a long speech (contained in nine-
teen lines), announcing that the Gen-
tiles, or foreigners of Libya, are beaten
down beneath his mighty feet ; that
the god has come to give him the
chiefs of the Gentiles of the South,
to carry away them and their childien,
. . . the goods of their country, • • .
and smite them with his sword, . • .
that he gives the North countries.
. . . and to reduce the land of . . .
under his powerful sandals ; • • > that
the god gives him the nations ... to
bring to the land of Egypt . . . the
gold and silver to serve for the deco-
ration of the temple (he erected) . . •
that he gives him dominion over the
East . . . and the land of Fount, • • .
that he gives him dominion ofer the
West . . . and other countries, whose
names I have not been able to ascer-
tain. Such, however. Is the form of

K Egypt

PARTS OF THE TEMPLE.

355

this inscription, of which I have giTen
merely a general outline.

Passing through the pylon, you
enter a large hypaethral court, about
110 feet by 135, having on one oide
a row of seven Osiride pillars, and on
the other eight circular columns,
with beU-fonned capitals, generally,
though erroneously, supposed to re-
present the full-blown lotus.

Columns of this form are usually
met with in the great lialls of these
temples, and are undoubtedly the
most elegant of the Egyptian orders.
The plant from which their capital is
borrowed is^the papyrus, which is fre-
quently seen in the sculptures of the
tombs.

The singular eflTect of the above-
mentioned strange symmetrophobia
cannot now be well seen, owing to
the mounds and crude-brick walls,
Which encumber and nearly conceal
these two corridors; but it can
never be considered a proof of good
taste, though the Egyptians are some-
times right iu avoiding the monotony
of formal repetition. On the north
face of the fh>nt towers is a long tab-
let of hieroglyphics, beginning with
the eleventh year of Remeses III.,
the founder of this temple, on one
side ; and on the other, besides simi-
lar tablets, is the discomfiture of an
Auatic enemy, whose infantry, armed
with long straight swords, fly before
the victorious monarch. Tlie name
of the Mashaosha occurs in the hie-
roglyphics, though they are of the
Rebo nation, whom I shall have oc-
casion to mention hereafter.

On the western pyramidal tower,
at the inner end of the first court,
Remeses III. leads the prisoners he
has taken of the Tochari to Amunre,
who presents the falchion of ven-
geance, which the king holds Torth
bis hand to receive, saying, *< Go,
my cherished and chosen ; make war
on (or vanquish for yourself) . • • •
whom you smite with your sword
and trample upon ;" and in the third
line, he bids him ** slay the chiefs of

the foreigners, both men and women."
On the corresponding propylon is
a lai^e tablet, beginning with the
*< eighth year of his beloved Majesty'*
Remeses III., relating to his con-
quests in the North. The doorway,
or pylon, between these towers, is of
red granite, the hieroglyphics on
whose jambs are cut to the depth of
two or three inches. Those on the
outer face contain offerings to diffe-
rent deities, among which we find a
representation of the gateway itself ;
and at the base of the jambs are four
lines, stating that '* Remeses made
this work for his father Amunre,
(and) erected for him (this) fine gate-
way of good blocks of granite stone,
the door itself of wood strengthened
with plates of precious metals ; gra-
cious is his name ( Remeses),** &c.

The summit of this pylon is
crowned by a, row of sitting cyno-
cephali (or apes), the emblems of
Tboth.

The neit area is far more splendid,
and may be looked upon as one of
the finest which aclom the various
temples of Egypt. Its dimensions
are about 123 feet by 133, and its
height from the pavement to the
i cornice, 39 feet 4. It is surrounded
by an interior peristyle, whose east
and west sides are supported by five
massive columns, the south by a row
of eight Osiride pillars, and the north
by a similar number, behind which is
an elegant corridor of circular col umns,
whose effect is unequalled by any other
in Thebes. Nor do the colours,
many of which are still preserved,
tend a little to add to the beauty
of its columns, of whose masrive style
some idea may be formed, from their
circumference of nearly 23 feet, to a
height of 24, or about 3 diameters.

In contemplating the grandeur of
this court, one cannot but be struck
with the paltry appearance of the
Christian colonnade that encumbers
the centre ; or fail to regret the de-
molition of the interior of the temple,
whose architraves were levelled to

B56

Description of thebes.

Sect IV.

form the columns that now spoil tbe
architectural eflTect of the area ; and
tbe total destruction of the Osiride
figures, once attjiched to its pillars.
But if the rigid piety, or the domes-
tic convenience, of the early Chris-
tians destroyed much of the orna-
mental details of this grand building,
we are partly repaid by the interest-
ing sculptures tliey unintentionally
preserved, beneath the clay or stucco
with which they concealed them.

The architraves present the dedi-
cation of the " palace of Remeses at
Thebes,*' which is said to have been
built of good hard blocks of sand-
stone, and the adytum to have been
beautified with precious stones and
silver. Mention is also made of a
doorway of hard stone, ornamented
in a manner similar to the one before
noticed.

On the east, or rather north-east
wall, Remeses is borne in his shrine,
or canopy, seated on a throne orna-
mented by tlie figures of a lion, and
a sphinx which is preceded by a
hawk. Behind him stand two figures
of Truth and Justice, with outspread
wings. Twelve Egyptian princes,
sons of the king, bear the shrine;
oflicers wave fiabella around the mo-
narch; and others, of the sacerdotal
order, attend on either side, carrying
his arms and insignia. Four others
follow ; then six of the sons of the
king, behind whom are two scribes
and eight attendants of the military
class, bearing stools and the steps of
the throne. In another line are
members of the sacerdotal order, four
other of the king's sons, fan-bearers,
and military scribes ; a guard of sol-
diers bringing up the rear of the pro-
cession. Before the shrine, in one
line, march six oflicers, beuring scep-
tres and other insignia; in another,
a scribe reads aloud the contents of a
scroll he holds unfolded in his hand,
preceded by two of the king's sons
and two distinguished persons of the
military and priestly orden.

The rear of both these lines is

closed by a pontiff, who, turning
round towards the shrine, bums in*
cense before the monarch ; and a
band of music, composed of the
trumpet, drum, double pipe, and
a sort of eroitMla or dappers, with
choristers, forms the van of tlie pro-
cession. The king, alighted from his
throne, ofliciates as priest before the
statue of Amun-Khem, or Amunre
Generator; and, still wearing his
helmet, he presents libations and in-
cense before the altar, which is loaded
with flowen and other suitable ofier-
i ngs. The statue of the god, attended
by officera bearing fiabella, is carried
on a palanquin, covered with rich
drapery, by twenty-two priests ; and
behind it follow others, bringing the
table and the altar of the deity. Be*
fore the statue is the sacred bull,
followed by the king on foot, wear-
ing the cap of the '* lower country.**
Apart from the procession itself
stands the queen, as a spectator of
the ceremony ; and before her, a
scribe reads a scroll he has unfolded.
A priest turns round to offer incense
to the white bull, and another, clap-
ping bis hands, brings up the rear of
a long procession of hienphori, car-
rying standards, images, and otlier sa-
cred emblems ; and the foremost bear
the statues of the king's ancestors.

This part of the picture refers to
the coronation of the king, who, in the
hieroglyphics, is said to have *< put on
the crown of the upper and lower
countries ;** which the carrier pigeons,
flying to the 4 sides of the world, are
to announce to the gods of the south,
north, east, and west. In the next
compartment, the president of tbe
assembly reads a long invocation, the
contents of which are contained in tbe
hieroglyphic inscription above; and
the 6 ears of corn, which the king,
once more wearing his helmet, has
cut with a golden sickle, are held out
by a priest towards the deity. The
white bull, and the images of the
king*s anceston are deposited in his
temple, in the presence of Amun^

U. Egypt

BATTL£ SCENES,

357

Kbem, the queen still witnessing the
ceremony, which is concluded by an
ofTering of incense and libation, made
by Remeses to tiie statue of the god.

In the lower compartments, on
this side of the temple, is a procession
of the arks of Amunre, Maut, and
Khonso, which the king, whose ark
is also carried before him, comes to
meet. In another ftart, the gods
Ombte and Hor-Hat pour alternate
emblems of life and power (or purity)
over the king ; and on the south wall
be is introduced by several divinities
into the presence of the patron deities
of the temple. In the upper part of
the west wall, Remeses makes oflTer-
iogs to Pthah-Sokari and to Kneph ;
in another compartment he burns in-
cense to the ark of Sokari ; and near
this is a tablet relating to the oiTerings
made to the same deity. The ark is
then borne by 16 priests, with a pontiff
and another of the sacerdotal order
in attendance. The king then joins
in another procession formed by eight
of his sons and four chiefs, behind
whom two priests turn round to offer
incense to the monarch. The hawk,
the emblem of the king, or of Horns,
precedes them, and 18 priests carry
the sacred emblem of the god Nofri-
Atmoo, which usually accompanies
the ark of Sokari.

On the south wall marches a long
procession, composed of hieraphori,
bearing different standards, thrones,
arks, and insignia, with musicians,
who precede the king and his attend-
ants. The figure of the deity is not
introduced, perhaps intimating that
this forms part of the religious pomp
of the corresponding wall ; and from
the circumstance of the king here
wearing the jwAeii/, it is not impro-
bable it may also allude to his coro-
nation.

Battle Scenes. — The commence^
mentof the interesting historical sub-
jects of Mede^oet H4boo is at the
south* west corner of this court, on
the inner face of the tower. Here
Remeses standing in his car, which

his horses at full speed carry into the
midst of the enemy's ranks, discharges
his arrows on their flying infantry.
The Egyptian chariots join in the
pursuit, and a body of their allies
assist in slaughteriog those who op*
pose them, or bind them as captives.
The right hands of the slain are then
cut off as trophies of victory.

The sculptures on the west wall
are a continuation of the scene. The
Egyptian princes and generals con«
duct « captive chiefs ** into the pre-
sence of the king. He is seated
at the back of his car, and the spirited
horses are held by bis attendants on
fooU Besides other trophies, large
heaps of hands are placed before him,
which an officer counts one by one,
as the other notes down their number
on a scroll, each heap containing 3000,
and the total indicating the returns of
the enemy's slain. The number of
captives, reckoned 1000 in each line,
is also mentioned in the hieroglyphics
above, where the name of the Rebo
points out the nation against whom
this war was carried on. Their flow->
ing dresses, striped horizontally with
blue or green bands on a white ground,
and their long hair and aquiline nose
give them the character of some
eastern nation, probably in the
vicinity of Assyria, as their name re-
minds us of the Rhibii of Ptolemy.
But it is not my intention to enter
into a dissertation on this subject;
and future discoveries may throw
more light on the scenes of these in<
teresting wars. A long hieroglyphic
inscription is placed over the king,
and a still longer tablet, occupying a
great part of this wall, refers to the
exploits of the Egyptian conqueror,
and bears the date of his fiflh year.

The suite of this historical subject
continues on the south wall. The
king, returning victorious to Egyptt
proceeds slowly in bis car, conducting
in triumph the prisoners he has made,
who walk beside and before it, three
others being bound to the axle. Two
of his sons attend as fan-bearers, and

358

PESCBIPTIOK OF THEBES.

Sect. IV.

the several regimeati of Egyptian in-
fantry, with a corps of their alliesi
under the command of three other of
these princes, marching in regular
step and in the close array of dis-
ciplined troops, accompany their king.
He arrives at Thebes, and presenU
bis captives to Amunre and Maut,
the deities of the city, who compHment
him, as usual, on the victory he has
gained, and the overthrow of the ene-
my he has ** trampled beneath his
feet."

On the north wall the king presents
offerings to different gods, and below
is an ornamental kind of border, com-
posed of a procession of the king's
sons and daughters. Four of the
former, his immediate successors, bear
the asp or basilisk, the emblem of
majesty, and have their kingly ovals
added to their names.

Passing through the centre door,
on the inner or north side of this cor-
ridor, you arrive at the site of the
hall. On either side of the en-
trance the king is attended by his
consort, who, as usual, holds the si»-
trum, but her name is not introduced.
Some of the chambers at the back
part of the building remain, and may
be visited by descending amidst the
masses of crude-brick walls which en-
cumber them; but the greater part
are entirely buried and concealed.

If the sculptures of the area arrest
the attention of the antiquary, or ei-
cite the admiration of the traveller,
those of the exterior of the building
are no less curious in an historical
point of view, and the north and east
walls are covered with a profusion of
the most varied and interesting sub-
jects.

At the north-east extremity of the
end wall a trumpeter assembles the
troops, who salute the king as he
passes in his car. In the first com-
partment on ttie east side, Remeses
advances at a slow pace in his chariot,
attended by fan-bearers, and preceded
by his troops ; and a lion running at
the side of the horses, reminds us of

the account given of Osymandyaa,
who was said to have been ac-
companied in war by that animal.
Another instance of it is met with at
e* Dayr, in Nubia, among the sculp-
tures of the second Remeses. Second
compartment : — He continues hia
march, his troops leading the van,
and a trumpeter summons them to
form for the attack. Third compart-
ment : — The Rebo await the Egyp-
tian invaders in the open field ; the
king presses forwards in his car, and
bends his bow against the enemy.
Several regiments of £g3rptian archers
in close array advance on difierent
points, and harasa them with showers
of arrows. The chariots rush to the
charge, and a body of Asiatic allies
maintains the combat, hand to hand,
with the Rebo, who are ai lenglh
routed, and fly before their victorious
aggressors. Some thousands are left
dead on the fieM, whose tongues and
hands being cut off, are brought by
the Egyptian soldiers as proofs of
their success. Three thousand five
hundred and thirty-five liands and
tongues form part 6f the registered
returns ; and two other heaps and a
third of tongues, containing each a
somewhat larger number, are d^
posited under the sup«'intendence of
the chief ofllcers, as trophies of vic-
tory. The monarch then alights
from his chariot and disttibutes re-
wsrds to his troops. In the next
compartment the king's military
secretaries draw up an account of the
number of spears, bows, swords, and
other arms taken from the enemy,
which are laid before them ; and
mention seems to be made in the
hieroglyphics of the horses that have
been captured. '

Remeses then proceeds in his car,
having his bow and sword in one
hand and his whip in the other, indi-
cating that his march still lies through
an enemy's country. The van of his
army is composed of a body of
chariots ; the infantry in close order,
preceding the royal car, constitute

U. Egypt

BATTLE SCENES.

359

the centre, and other similar corps
form the wings and rear. They are
again summoned by sound of trumpet
to tlie attack of another Asiatic
enemy, and in the next compartment
the Egyptian monarch gives orders
for tlie charge of the hostile army
drawn up in the open plain. Assisted
by their allies, the Shairetana, a
maritime people armed with round
bucklers and spears, they fall upon
the undisciplined troops of the enemy,
who, after a short conflict, are routed,
and retreat in great disorder. The
women endeavour to escape with their
children on the first approach of the
Egyptians, and retire in plaustra
drawn by oien. The flying chariots
denote Uie greatness of the general
panic, and the conquerors pursue
them to the interior of the country.
Here, while passing a large morass,
the king is attacked by several lions,
one of which, transfixed with darts
and arrows, he lays breatliless be-
neath his horse*8 feet; another attempts
to fly towards the jungle, but, re-
ceiving a last and fatal wound,
writhes in the agony of approaching
death. A third springs up from be-
hind his car, and the hero prepares to
receive and check its fury with his
spear. Below this group is repre-
sented the march of the Egyptian
army, with their allies, the Shairetana,
the Sha^ * *, and a third corps, armed
with clubs, whose form and character
are very imperfectly preserved.

The enemy, having continued their
rapid retreat, take refuge in the ships
of a maritime nation, to whose
country they have retired for shelter.
The Egyptians attack them with a
fleet of galleys, which in their shape
differ essentially from those used on
the Nile. The general form of the ves-
sels of both combatants is very similar:
a raised gunwale, protecting the
rowers from the missiles of the foe, ex-
tends from the head to the stern, and
a lofVy poop and forecastle contain
each a body of archers ; but the head
of a lion, which ornaments the prows

of the Egyptian galleys, serves to dis-
tinguish them from those of the
enemy. The former bear down their
opponents, and succeed in boarding
them and taking several prisoners.
One of the hostile galleys is upset,
and the tiingtr* in the shrouds, with
the archers and spearmen on the
prows, spread dismay among the few
who resist Tlie king, trampling on
the prostrate bodies of the enemy,
and aided by a corps of bowmen,
discharges from the shore a con-
tinued shower of arrows ; and
his attendants sUnd at a short
distance with his chariot and horses,
awaiting his return. Below this
scene the conquering army leads in
triumph the prisoners of the two
nations they have captured in the
naval fight, and the amputated hands
of the slain are laid in heaps before
the military chiefs. Though this
custom savours of barbarism, the
humanity of the Egyptians is very
apparent in the above conflict ; where
the soldiers on the shore and in the
ships do their utmost to rescue their
enemies from a watery grave.

The lake here represented is pro-
bably one of the inland seas or lakes
in Asia* And it is highly probable
that the war against such distant na-
tions was the occasion of the revolt of
the Tochari, part of whom had served
with the Egyptians against the Rebo.
But the complete success of Remeses
over his enemies necessarily led to the
punishment of the Tochari, whose
defection at such a crisis justly ex-
cited the vengeance of tlie Egyptians;
and their immediate defeat and sub-
sequent flight to a neighbouring tribe
prove (and very satisfactorily has the
artist conveyed an idea of this fact to
the spectator) that they had not the
same power of resisting the yoke of
their masters, as the maritime nation,
on whose successful opposition to the
Egyptians they had founded the hopes
of their own safety. Thus may we
account for their being, in one in-
stance, the allies of the Egyptians

360

DESCBIFTION OF THEBES.

Sect, IV.

agaitut the Rebo, and for the march
of Remeaes to their country after the
defeat of that people; which might
at first sight appear to present some
difficulty.

In the next compartment, the king
distributes rewards to his Tictorious
troops; and then proceeding to Egypt,
he conducts in triumph the captive
Reboand Tochari(Tokkari?) whom
he offers to the Tbeban Triad, Amun,
Maut, and Khonso.

In the compartments above these
historical scenes, the king makes
suitable offerings to tlie gods of Egypt ;
and on the remaining part of the east
wall, to the south of the second pro-
pylon, another war is represented.

In the first picture, tlie king
alighted from his chariot, armed with
his spear and shield, and trampling
on the prostrate bodies of the slain,
besieges the fort of an Asiatic enemy,
whom he forces to sue for peace. In
the next he attacks a larger town
surrounded by water. The Egyptians
fell (he trees in the woody country
which surounds it, probably to form
testudos and ladders for the assault.
Some are already applied by their
comrades to the walls, and while they
reach their summit, the gates are
broken open, and the enemy are
driven from the ramparts, or pre-
cipitated over the parapet by the
victorious assailants, who announce by
9ound of irumptt the capture of the
place. In the third compartment, on
the north face of the fir»t propylon,
Remeses attacks two large towns, the
upper one of which is taken witli
little resistance, the Egyptian troops
having entered it and gained posses-
sion of the citadeL In the lower one
the terrified inhabitants are engaged
in rescuing their children from the
approaching danger, by raising them
from the plain beneath to the ramparts
of the outer wall. The last picture
occupies the upper or north end of
the east side, where the king presents
his prisoners to the gods of the
temple.

The western wall is entirely covered
by a large hieroglyphical tablet, re*
cording various offerings made in the
different months of the year by^
Remeses III. The head and fore-
part of several lions project, at in-
tervals, from below the cornice of
the exterior of the building, whose
perforated mouths, communicating
by a tube with the summit of the
roof, served as conduits for the raiu
water which occasionally fell at
Thebes. Nor were tliey neglectful
of any precaution that might secure
the paintings of the interior from the
effects of rain, and the joints of the
stones which formed the ceiling being
protected by a long piece of stone,
let in immediately over the line of
their junction, were rendered im-
pervious to the heaviest storm. For
showers fall annually at Thebes ; per-
haps on an average, four or five in
the year; and every eight or ten
years heavy rains fill the torrent beds
of tlie mountains, which run to the
banks of the Nile. A storm of this
kind did much damage to Belsoni's
tomb some years ago.

Square apertures were also cut at
intervals in the roofs, tlie larger ones
intended for the admission of light,
the smaller probably for suspending
the chains that supported lamps for
the illumination of the interior.

6. OTHxa auiKs.

Six hundred and fifty feet south-
west of the ]>avilioa of Mede^net
Hiboo is a 9maU Ptolemaic temple,
in whose adytum are some curious
hieroglyphical subjects, which have
tlirown great h'ght upon the names
and succession of the Ptolemies who
preceded Physcon, or Euergetes II.
This monarch is here represented
making offerings to four of his pre-
decessors, Soter, Pbiladelpbus, Ptii-
lopator, and Epiphanes, each name
being aocompani^ by that of their
respective queens. It is here, in
particular, that the position of the

R Egypt

TOMBS OF THE QT7EENS.

361

Ptolemaic cognomen, is Soter, Phi-
ladelphus, and others, satisfactorily
proves that it is afttTj and not in the
name, that we must look for the title
which distinguished each of these
kings ; nor will any one conversant
with hieroglyphics fail to remark the
adoption of these cognomens in each
prenomen of a succeeding Ptolemy ;
a circumstance analogous to the more
ancient mode of borrowing, or gnar-
terinfff from the prenomens of an
earlier PharaiA some of the charac-
ters that composed that of a later
king.

This MmaU aantUtone huilding, whose
total length does not exceed 48 feet,
consists of a transverse outer court,
and three smaller successive cham-
bers, communicating with each other.
Near it, to the west, was an artificial
basin, now forming a pond of irre^
gular shape during the inundation,
and surrounded on three sides by
tnimosas ; beyond which, to the north-
west and west, are the traces of
some ruins, the remains of Egyptian
and Copt tombs, and the limited en-
closure of a modem church.

A low plain extends from the
south-west of this temple to the dis-
tance of 7300 feet, by a breadth of
SOOO, whose limits are marked by
high mounds of sand and alluvial
soil ; on one series of which stands
the modem village of Kom el Byrat,
the two southernmost presenting the
vestiges of tombs and the relics of
human skeletons.

JLtike, — Whatever may be the
opinions of others respecting the
original purport of this extensive area,
the fact of its being still much lower
than the level of the adjacent country,
and the appearance of the mounds of
alluvial soil raised from its excavated
bed, leave no doubt in my mind of
tliis traditional Birket H&boo having
been rtaBy a lake, similar to that of
Memphis, and intended for the same
purpose. And it is not impossible
that the tombs on its southern shores
may have been of those offenders

who were doomed to be excluded
from a participation in the funeral
honours, which the pious enjoyed in
the consecrated mansions of the dead
on the north side of this Acherusian
lake. For I believe that the pro-
cession of boats, so often represented
in the tombs of Thebes, accompany-
ing the deceased, took place on this
lake ; and the bodies being then re-
moved from the boat, and placed on
a sledge, were drawn witli great
solemnity to the tomb destined to
receive them.

Another SmaU IVmpfe. — Three
thousand feet south-west of its western
angle is a tmaU temple of Roman date,
bearing the name of Adrian, and of
Antoninus Pius, who completed it,
and added the pylon in front. Its
total length is 4.9 feet, and breadth
53 ; with an isolated sanctuary in the
centre, two small chambers on the
north-east, and tliree on the south-
west side ; the first of which con-
tains a staircase leading to the roof.
In front stand two pylons, the outer-
most one being distant from the door
of the temple about 200 feet.

Eight thousand feet north-north-
west of Mede^net H&boo is the
Gabbanet el KeHhd, or " Apee* tmrial-
ground,** so called from the mum-
mies found in the ravines of the tor-
rents in its vicinity.

Among other unusual figures care-
fully interred here are smidl idols in
form of mummies, with the emblem
of the god of generation. Their
total length does not exceed two
feet, and an exterior coat of coarse
composition which forms the liody,
surmounted by a human head and
mitred bonnet of wax, conceals their
singular but simple contents of
barley.

7. TOMBS or THE QUXVKt.

Three thousand feet immediately
behind, and to the north-west of
Mede^net H&boo, is the valley of the
queene* tombt. But they have few

362

THEBES. — DAYR EL MEDEENEH.

Sect. IV.

attractions for those who are not in-
terested in hieroglyphics; and who
will be probably satisfiied with the
tombs of the kings, of Abd el Koor-
■eh, and the Assase^f. Among the
most distinguished names in the se*
pulchres of the Queens are those of
Amunmeit,or Amun-tmei, the daugh-
ter of Amunoph I. ; of Taia, wife of
tiie third Amunoph ; of the favourite
daughter of Remeses II. ; and of the
consort of Remeses V. In another
appears the name of the third Re-
meses, but that of his queen is not
met with. They have all suffered
from the effects of fire, and little can
be satisfactorily traced of their sculp-
tures, except in that of Queen Taia.
It is not improbable, from the hierc^
glyphics on the jamb of the inner
door of this tomb, that these are the
burjing-places of the Pallacides, or
Ptfllices Jovis, mentioned by Strabo
and Diodorus; and the distance of
ten stadia from these '* first " or
westernmost tombs to the sepulchre
of Osymandyas, agrees with that from
the supposed Memnonium to this
valley. Tlie mummies of their ori-
ginal possessors must have suffered in
the general conflagration, which re-
duced to ashes the contents of most of
the tombs in this and the adjacent
valley of Day r el Medeeneh ; and the
bodies of inferior persons and of
Greeks, less carefully embalmed, have
occupied at a subsequent period the
vacant burial-places of their royal
predecessors. ( For the Pallacides, See
my Ancient Egyptiane, VoL i v. p. 203. )

8. OTHKa TOMBS.

At the Opposite or eastern ex-
tremity of this valley, are several
tablete of the firat Amtunophf and
other monarchs of the 18th and
and 1 9th dynasties ; and from hence
a short path leads over the hills to
the secluded valley of Dayr el Me-
deeneh, behind the Koornet-Mur-
raee. Here several Umhe of the early
date of the same Amunoph, which
claim the attention of the chronologer

ratlier than ' the admiration of the
traveller, who seeks elegant desigas
or interesting sculptures, extend
along the brow of the north-west
hill ; and a series of pits and
crude-brick chambers occupy the
space between these, and the brick
enclosure of a Ptolemaic temple to
the east. Among tlie most remark-
able of tl.ese tombs is one containing
the members of Amunoph's family,
and some of his predecessors ; and
another, whose crude-brick roof and
niche, bearing the name of the same
Pliaraoh, prove the existence of ike
arch at the remote period of %. c. 1540.
I may also mention a crude-brick
pyramid of an early epoch ; and a
tomb, under the western rock, which
offers to the curiosity of chronologers
the names of three successive kings,
and their predecessor Amunoph I.,
seated with his hhiek queen.

The deity who presided over this
valley, and the mountun behind it,
was Athor, "the guardian ctf the
weet ;** and many of the tombs have
a statue of the cow, which was sacred
to her, whose head and breast project
in high relief from their innermost wall.

9. DATR XL UEBXSKKH.

The emaU temple to the east, called
Dayr el Medeeneh, from having been the
abode of the early Christians, was erect-
ed by Ptolemy Philopator. It mea-
sures 60 feet by 33. Being left unfi-
nished, it was completed by Physcon, at
Euergetes II., who added the sculp-
tures to the walls of the interior, and
part of the architectural details of the
portico ; the pylon Jn front bearing
the name of Dionyftis. Tbe vesti-
bule is ornamented with two columns^
supporting the roof, but it is unsculp-^
tured. The corridor is separated from
this last by intercolumnar screens*
uniting, on dtber aide of its entrance,
one column to a pilaster surmounted
by the head of Athor. On the east
wall of this corridor or pronaos,
Ptolemy Philometor, followed b/
*< his brother, the god,** Physcon, and

U. Egypt

DATB EL HEDEENEH.

363

tbe queen Cleopatra, makes offerings
to Amunre; but the rest of the
sculptures appear to present tbe
names of I%yscon alone, who adopted,
on his brother's death, the name and
oval of Philometor, with the addi-
tional title of "god Soter."

A staircase, lighted by a window
of peculiar form, once led to the roof;
and the back part of the nao* consists
of three parallel chambers. The
centre one, or adytum, presents the
sculptures of Fhilopator on the back
and half the side walls, which last
were completed by the second Euer-
getes, a«i a line of hieroglyphics, at the
junction of the first and subsequent
compartments, announces in the fol-
lowing terms : — '* This additional
work of good stone (?) made he, the
king of men, Euergetes, son of the
sun, Ptolemy the ever-living, beloved
of Pthah, (and) the royal sister, the
queen, mistress of the (upper and
lower) regions, Cleopatra, (and) the
royal consort, the queen, mistressofthe
regions, Cleopatra, gods Euergetes, be-
loved of Amunre( who is), the defender
of the sanctuary. ** Amunre, with Maut
and Khonso, Athor and Justice, share
the honours of the adytum ; but the
dedication of Fhilopator decides that
the temple was consecrated to the
Egyptian Aphrodite, "the president
of the west." In the eastern cham-
ber Philopator again appears in the
sculptures of the end wall, where
Athor and Justice hold the chief
place ; while Amunre and Osiris, the
principal deities in tbe lateral com-
partments, receive the offerings of
Euergctes II.

In the western chamber the sub-
jects are totally different from any
found in the templet of Thebes ; and
appear to have a sepulchral character.
Here Philopator pays his devotions
to Osiris and Isis; on the east side
Physcon offers incense to the statue
of Khem, preceded by Anubis, and
followed by the ark of Sokari ; and
on the opposite wall is the judgment
scene, frequently found on the papyri

of tbe Egyptians. Osiris, seated on
his throne, awaits the arrival of those
souls which are ushered into Amenti ;
the four genii stand before him on a
lotus blossom ; and the /emole Cerbe-
rus is there, with Uarpocrates seated
on the crook of Osiris. Thoth, the
god of letters, arrives in the presence
of the king of Hades, bearing in his
hand a tablet, on which the actions of
the deceased are noted down ; white
Horus and Aroeris are employed in
weighing the good deeds of tbe
judged against the ostrich feather, the
symbol of Justice or Truth. A cyno-
cephalus, the emblem of Thoth, is
seated on the top of the balance. At
length comes the deceased ; who ad •
vances between two figures of the
goddess, and bears in his hand the
symbol of Truth, indicating bis meri-
torious actions, and his fitness for
admission to the presence of Osiris.
The forty-two assessors, seated above,
in two lines, complete the sculptures
of tbe west wall ; and all these sym-
bols of death were perhaps owing to
the chamber being dedicated to Osiris,
in his peculiar character of judge of
the dead.

Besides tbe monarcbs by whom the
temple was commenced, we may
mention the '* Autocrator Canar,*'
or Augustus, whose name appears at
the back of the naos.

Several enchorial and Coptic in-
scriptions have been #dtten in the
interior, and on the outside of the
vestibule, whose walls, rent by the
sinking of the ground and human vio-
lence, make us acquainted with a not
uncommon custom of Egyptian ar-
chitects,— the use of wooden dove-
tailed cramps, which connected the
blocks of masonry. Wood, in a
country where very little rain falls,
provided the stones are closely fitted
together, lasts for ages, as may be
seen by these sycamore cramps ; and
the Egyptians calculated very accu-
rately the proportionate durability of
different substances, and the situation
adapted to their respective properties;

364

THEBES. — DATR EL BAHKEE.

Sect. IV.

Hence, they preferred sands^tone to cal -
eareous blocks, for the construction of
' their temples, a stone which, in the
dry climate of Egypt, resists the action
of the atmosphere much longer than
either limestone or granite ; but they
used calcareous substructions, beneath
the soil, because they were known to
endure where the conuct with the
salts would speedily decompose the
harder but less durable granite.

The walls surrounding the court
of this temple present a peculiar style
of building, the bricks being disposed
in concave and convei courses form-
ing a waving line, which rises and falls
alternately along their whole length.

Of the grottoes in the Koomet
(Goomat) Murraee I shall speak in
noticing the catacombs of Thebes.
{See'So, 13 in this Section.)

10. DAYR BL BAgaEK.

After passing the hill of Shekh
Abd el Koomeb, at the northern ex-
^ tremity of the Assase^f, and imme-
diately below the cliffs of the Libyan
mountain, is an ancient temple,
whose modern name, Dayr el BahreBf
or the " northern convent," indicates
its having served, like most of the
temples at Thebes, as a diurch and
monastery of the early Christiana.

An extensive dromos of 1600 feet,
terminated at the south-east by a
sculptured pylon, whose substructions
alone mark its site, led in a direct line
between a double row of sandstone
sphinxes to the entrance of its square
enclosure; before which two pedestals
still point out the existence of the
obelisks they once supported. Follow,
ing the same line, and 200 feet to the
north-west of this gateway, is an in-
clined plane of masonry, leading to a
granite pylon in front of the inner
court; and about 150 feet from the
base of this ascent, a wall at right
angles with it extends on either side
to the distance of 100 feet, having
before it a peristyle of eight polygonal
columns, forming a covered corridor.

The inner face of this corridor,
which is the front of the first scarp
of a series of terraces, is ornamented
with elegant and finished sculptures.
On the south-west side, several regi-
ments of Egyptian soldiers, with
boughs in their hands, and bearing
the weapons of their peculiar corps,
march to the celebration of a triumph,
to the sound of the trumpet and
drum. An ox is sacrificed, and tables
of offerings to the deity of Thebes
are laid out in the presence of the
troops. The rest of the sculptures
are destroyed, but the remains of two
boats prove that the upper compart-
ments were finished with the same care
as those I have just mentioned.

On the corresponding wall of the
north-east side, two obeli^s are de-
dicated to Amunre, by the monarch
who founded this building, and who
erected the great obelisks of Kamak ;
but from the following translation c»f
the little that remains of their hiero-
glyphics, ~it is evident they difler
widely from those of the great tem-
ple of Diospolis; and I suppose
them to have stood on the pedestals
of the dromos above alluded to.
The inscription, aAer the name of
Pharaoh Amunneitgori, continues : —
« She has made (this) her work for
her father Amunre, lord of the re-
gions, (and) erected to him two fine

obelisks, of granite eke did

this (to whom) life is given, like the
sun, for ever."

On the same wall, below the hand
of the deity, is the following inscrip-
tion : — ** Tills additional work (u e.
sculpture) made he, the king Re-
meses (II.)* ^ h>> father Amunre."
Beyond are some elegant fowling
scenes, and other sculptures ; and oa
the west wall are a series of hawks
in very prominent relief, about the
height of a man, surmounted by the
asp and globe, the emblems of the
sun, and of the king as Pharaoh.
Tliough I took some uouble to
I protect the sculptures of these ter-

races, I believe they have been again

U. Egypt

FALSE ARCHES.

S65

covered up and conce&led from view ;
but it will be well if tliey thus escape
the Turkish miners.

The granite pylon at the upper ex-
tremity of the inclined ascent bore»
like the rest of the building, the
name of the founder, Amunneitgori;
which, in spite of the architectural
usurpations of the third Thothmes, is
still traced in the ovals of the jambs
and lintel. Nor is it froOi the ap-
pearance of the ovals alone that we
are enabled to restore this, as well as
the rest of the temple, to its original
founder ; the very sense of the hiero-
glyphics would remove all doubts, if
any existed, regarding this fact, from
the singular circumstance of the fe-
male signs being used throughout
them, so manifestly at variance with
the name of this king. For instance,
on the jamb, we read, after the name
of Thotlimes III. (but still preceded
by the square title, banner, or es-
cutcheon of Pharaoh Amunneitgori),
" She has made this work for her fa-
ther ' Amunre, lord of the regions*
(t. e. of Upper and Lower Egypt) ;
the has erected to him this fine gate-
way,-* Amun protects' the work, — of
granite ; ehe has done this (to whom)
life is given for ever. "

Beyond this pylon, following the
same line of direction, is a small area
of a later epoch, and another granite
pylon, being the entrance of a large
chamber to which it is attached.
This, as well as the fa9ade on either
side, presented the name of Amun-
neitgori, erased to admit those of
Thothmes II. and III. ; and in other
chambers to the west and within the
court between the two pylons, the
same name has suffered a similar out-
rage. That of Thothmes I. also ap-
pears among the sculptures; but as he
is stated to have been " deceased,** at
the time of its insertion, he must have
been a predeeeseor of the founder of
the building.

The inner chambers are made to
imitate vaults, like the one still re-
maining on the outside ; but they are

not on the principle of the arch, being
composed of blocks placed horizon-
tally, one projecting beyond that
immediately below it, till the up-
permost two meet in the centre ;
the interior angles being afterwards
rounded off" to form the vault The
Egyptians were not, however, igno-
rant of the principle or use of Uie
arch, as 1 have had occasion to ob-
serve; and the reason of their pre-
ferring one of this construction pro-
bably arose from the difficulty of re-
pairing an injured vault in the tun-
nelled rock, and the consequences
attending the decay of a single block.
Nor can any one in observing the
great superincumbent weight applied
to the haunchee suppose that this
style of building is devoid of strength,
and of the usual durability of an
Egyptian fabric, or pronounce it to
be ill-suited to the purpose for which
it was erected, the support of the
friable rock of the mountain, within
whose excavated base it stood, and
which threatened to let fall its crumb-
ling masses on its summit.

The entrance to these vaulted
chambers is by a granite doorway;
and the first, which measures 30 feet
by 13, is ornamented with sculp-
tures that throw great light on the
names of some of the members of
the Thothmes family. Here Thoth-
mes I. and his queen Ames, accom-
panied by their young daughter, but
all ** deceased ** at the time of its con-
s( ruction, receive the adoration and
offerings of Amunneitgori, and of
Thothmes III. followed by his
daughter, Re-ni-nofre. Tlie niche
and inner door also present the name
of the former, eflBiced by the same
Thothmes, whose name throughout
the interior usurps the place of bis
predecessor*s. To this succeeds a
smaller apartment, which, like the
two lateral rooms with which it com-
municates, has a vaulted roof; and
beyond is an adytum of the late date
of Ptolemy Physcon.

Several blocks, used at a later pe-
ft 3

zee

THEBES. — TOaiBS OF THE KINGS.

Sect. IV.

nod to repair the wall of the inner or
upper court, bear hieroglypliics of
▼arious epochs, having been brought
from other structures ; among which
the most remarkable are — one con-
taining the name of King Horus, the
predecessor of Rcmeses I., and nten-
tioning *^ the fattier of his father's fa-
ther's father, Thothmes III., who
was, in reality, bis fourth ancestor;
and another of the fourth year of
Pthahmen, the son of Remeses 1 1.

It had been long supposed that a
communication existed from this tem-
ple to the Valley of the Kings, for
which reason, indeed, I was induced
to open the inner part during my stay
in 1827. But the appearance of the
end room sufliciently decides the
question, and proves this conjecture
to have been ill-founded ; and it will
be seen from the survey that the near-
est, and consequently most opportune
spot for such a communication is not
on the exact line of this building.

On the east side of the dromos, and
about GOO feet from the pedestals of
the obelisks, are the fragments of gra-
nite sphinxes and calcareous columns
of an early epoch, at least coeval with
the founder of these structures ; and
a short distance beyond them is a path
leading over the hills to the tombs of
the kings.

Another road to these tombs lies by
the ravine of the valley, from the vi-
cinity of tlie temple of Old Koomeh ;
and to the east of the entrance of this
valley are several limestone quarries,
wiih the rude huts of the miners;
who (to judge from the king's name
at the south end of them) continued
to work them after the accession of
the twenty-sixtli dynasty.

11. TOMBS OP THB KINGS. BAB, OR

BIBAN BL HOLOOK, ** THE GATE '*
OR "gates of THB RINGS.**

The traditional name <* Gates of
the Kings** u applied by some to the
tombs themselves, by others to the
narrow gorge at the inner entrance
of the valley.

For these, as for other tombs,
eOu are of course required ; some
water and (M'ovisions may also be
taken.

I do not propose to give a detailed
account of these interesring cata-
combs, nor pretend to ofi«:r to the
reader an explanation of tlie sculp-
tures, whose interpretation our limited
acquaintance with the Egyptian mys-
teries, (to which they frequently al-
lude-,) necessarily renders uncertain
and conjectural ; I shall therefore
merely notice their most remarkable
features, and refer to them according
to the numbers I painted on them»
which I believe still remain.

BelzanfM Tomb,— The tomb Na 1 7.,
which was discovered by Belzoni, is by
far the most remarkable for its sculp-
ture and the state of its preservation.
But the plan is far from being well
regulated, and the deviation from one
line of direction greatly injures its
general effect; nor does the rapid
descent by a staircase of 24 feet in
perpendicular depth, on a horisontal
length of 29> convey so appropriate
an idea of the entrance to tJie abode
of death, as the gradual talus of other
of these sepulchres. To this stair-
case succeeds a passage of 18 J feet
by 9, including the jambs; and passing
another door, a second staircase de-
scends in horisontal length 25 leet ;
beyond which two doorways and a
passage of 29 feet bring you to an
oblong chamber 12 feet by 14, where
a pit, filled up by Belxoni, once ap-
peared to form the utmost limit of
the tomb. Part of its inner wall was
composed of blocks of hewn stone»
closely cemented together, and co-
vered with a smooth coat of stucco,
like tlie other walls of this excavated
catacomb, on which was painted a
continuation of those subjects that
still adorn its remaining sides.

Independent of ifa« main object oT
this pit, so admirably calculated to
mislead, or at least to check the search
of the curious and the spoiler, another
advantage was thereby gained^ in the

U. Egypt

B£LZ0NI'S TOMB.

367

preservation of the interior part of
the tomb, which was effectually gua-
ranteed from the destructive inroad
of the rain-water, whose torrent its
depth completely intercepted ; a fact
which a storm some years ago, by
the havock caused in the inner cham-
bers, sadly demonstrated.

The hollow sound of the wall of
masonry above mentioned, and a small
aperture betrayed to Belsoni the
secret of its hidden chambers ; and
a palm tree, supplying the place of
the more classic ram, soon forced the
intermediate barrier; whose breach
displayed the splendour of the suc-
ceeding hall, at once astonishing and
delighting its discoverer, whose la-
bours were so gratefully repaid. But
this was not the only part of the tomb
that was closed : the outer door was
also blocked up with masonry ; and
the staircase before it was concealed
by accumulated fragments, and by
the eartli that had fallen from the hill
above. And it was the sinking of
tlie ground at this part, from the
water that had soaked through into
the tomb, that led the peasants to
suspect tlie secret of its position ;
which was first mentioned to lyt,
Riippell, and afterwards to Belzoni.

The four pillars of the first hall
beyond the pit, which support a roof
about 26 feet square, are decorated,
like the whole of tlie walls, with
highly-finished and well-preserved
sculptures, which from their vivid
colours appear but the work of yester>
day ; and near the centre of the inner
wall a few steps lead to a second
hall, of similar dimensions, supported
by two pillars, but left in an un-
finished state, the sculptors not having
yet commenced the outline of the
figures the draughtsmen had but just
completed. It is here that the first
deviations from the general line of
direction occur ; which are still more
remarkable in the staircase that de-
scends at the southern comer of the
first hall.

To this last succeed two passages,

and a chamber 17 feet by 14, com-
municating by a door, nearly in the
centre of its inner wall, with the grand
hall, which is S7 feet square, and sup-
ported by sii pillars. On either side
is a small chamber, opposite the angle
of the first pillars, and the upper end
terminates in a vaulted saloon, 19 feet
by 30, in whose centre stood an ala>
baster sarcopliagus, the cenotaph of
the deceased monarch, upon the im-
mediate summit of an inclined plane,
which, with a staircase on either side,
descends into the heart of the argil-
laceous rock for a distance of 150
feet When Belzoni opened this tomb
it extended much farther; but the
rock, which from its friable nature
could only be excavated by supporting
the roof with scaffolding, has since
fallen, and curtailed a still greater
portion of its original length.

This passage, like the entrance of
the tomb and the first hall, was closed
and concealed by a wall of masonry,
which, coming even with the base of
the sarcophagus, completely masked
the staircase ; and covered it with an
artificial floor.

I do not imagine that the sacred
person of an Egyptian king would be
exposed to the inviting situation of
these sarcophagi, especially when they
took so much care to conceal the
bodies of inferior subjects. It is
true the entrance was closed, but the
position of a monarch's tomb would
be known to many besides the priest-
hood, and traditionally remembered
by others ; some of whom, in later
times, might nut be proof against the
temptation of such rich plunder. The
priests must at least have foreseen
the chance of this ; and we know that
many of the tombs were plundered
in very early times; several were the
resting-placesof lateroccupants; some
were burnt and reoccupied (probably
at the time of the Persian invasion);
and others were usurped by Greeks.

Some of the sepulchres of the kings
were open from a very remote period,
and seen by Greek and Roman visit-

368

THEBES. — TOMBS OF THE KIKGS.

Sect IV.

en; who mention them in inscrip-
tions written on their walls, as the
wyringtM {trvpeyyts) or tunnels — a
name by which they are described
by Pausaniaa ; and Diodorus, who,
on the authority of the priests, reck-
ons forty-scTen, says that seventeen
remained in the time of Ptolemy La-
gus. From this we may infer that
seventeen were then open, and that
the remaining thirty were closed in his
time. Strabo too supposes their total
number to have been about forty.

A small chamber and two niches
are perforated in the north-west wall
of this part of the grand hall ; and at
the upper end a step leads to an un-
finished chamber, 17 feet by 43, sup-
ported by a row of four pillars. On
the south-west are other niches, and
a room about 25 feet square, orna-
mented with two pillars and a broad
bench (hewn, like the rest of the
tomb, in the rock) around three of
its sides, four feet high, with four
shallow recesses on each face, and
surmounted by an elegaot Egyptian
cornice. It is difficult to understand
the purport of it, unless its level sum-
mit served as a repository for the
mummies of the inferior persons of
tlie king*s household ; but it is more
probable that these were also deposited
in pits.

The total horisontal length of this
catacomb is S20 feet, without the in-
clined descent below the sarcophagus,
and its perpendicular depth 90. But,
including that part, it measures in
depth about 1 80 feet, to the spot where
it is closed by the fallen rock.

I shall now notice the $e%ifyiitre$.
Those in the first passage consist of
lines of hieroglyphics relating to the
king Osirei, « the beloved of Pthah,"
who was the father of Remeses II.
and the occupant of the tomb. In
the staircase which succeeds it, are on
one side thirty-seven, on the other
thirty-nine genii of various forms;
among which a figure represented
with a stream of tears issuing from
his eyes, is remarkable from having

the (Coptic) word rtmt, "lamenta-
tion, ** in the hieroglyphics above.

In the next passage are Jtlie boats
of Kneph; and several descending
planes, on which are placed the valves
of doors, probably referring to tbe
descent to Amenti. The goddess of
Truth or Justice stands at tbe lower
extremity. In the small chamber
over tlie pit, the king makes offerings
to diflTerent gods, Osiris being the
principal deity. Athor, Horus, Isia,
and Anubis, are also introduced.

On tlie pillars of the first hall, the
monarch stands in tbe presence of
various divinities, who seem to be
receiving him after his death. But
one of the most interesting subjects
here is a procession of four diflerent
people, of red, white, ^lack, and again
white complexions, four by four, fol-
lowed by Ra, <* the sun." The four
red figures are Egyptians, designated
under the name r6t (9), <* mankind ;**
the next, a white race, with blue
eyes, long bushy beards, and clad in
a short dress, are a northern nation,
witli whom tlie Egyptians were long
at war, and appear to signify the
nations of the north ; as the blacks,
tbe south ; and the four others, also
a white people, with a pointed beard,
blue eyes, feathers in their hair, and
crosses or other devices about their
persons, and dressed in long flowiilg
robes, the east. These then are not
in the character of prisoners but- a
typification of the four divisions of
the world, or the whole human race ;
and are introduced among the sculp-
tures of these sepulchres in the same
abstract sense as tbe trades of tbe
Egyptians in the tombs of private in-
dividuals; the latter being an epitome
of human life, as far as regarded that
people themselves, the former refer-
ring to tbe inhabitants of tbe whole
world.

On the end wall of this hall is a
fine group, which Is remarkable as
well for the elegance of its drawing
as for the richness and preservation
of the colouring. The subject is the

U. Egypt.

BRUCE'S, OB THE HARPEB's TOMB.

369

introduction of the l^ing, by Horus,
into the presence of Osiris and Athor.
Though not the most striking, the
most interesting drawings in this tomb
are thosjB of the next hall, which
had been left unBni&hed; nor can
any one look upon those figures with
the eye of a draughtsman, without
paying a just tribute to the freedom
of their outlines. In Egyptian bas-
reliefs the position of the figures was
first decided by the artist, who traced
them roughly with a red colour,
and the draughtsman then carefully
sketched the outlines in black, and
submitted them to the inspection of
the former, who altered (as appears
in some few instances here) those
parts which he deemed deficient in
proportion or correctness of attitude ;
and in that state they were left for the
chisel of the sculptor. But the death
of the king or some other cause pre-
vented, in this case, their completion ;
though their unfinished condition, so
far from exciting our regret, aflTords
a satisfactory opportunity of appre-
ciating the skill of the Egyptian
draughtsmen.

The beautiful groups at the base of
the next staircase were taken away by
M. ChampoUion. The subjects in
the succeeding passages refer mostly
to the liturgies, or ceremonies per-
formed to the deceased monarch.
In the square chamber beyond them
the king is seen in the presence of the
deities Athor, Horus, Anubis, Isis,
Osiris, Nofri-Atmoo, and Pthah.

The grand hall contains numerous
subjects, among which are a series of
mummies, each in its own repository,
whose folding-doors are thrown open ;
and it is probable that all the parts of
these catacombs refer to different
states, through which the deceased
passed, and the various mansions of
Hades or AmentL The representa-
tions of the door-valves at their en-
trance tend to confirm this opinion ;
while nuioy of the sculptures seem to
relate to the life and actions of the de-

ceased, and to the mysteries of the
Egyptian rites.

I n the side chambers are some mys-
terious ceremonies connected with
fire, and various otlier subjects ; and
the transverse vaulted part of the great
hall, or saloon of the sarcophagus, or-
namented with a profusion of sculp-
ture, is a termination worthy of the
rest of tliis grand sepulchral monu-
ment. In the chamber on the left,
with the broad bench, are various
subjects; some of which, especially
those appearing to represent human
sacrifices, may refer to the initiation
into the higher mysteries, by the sup*
posed death and regeneration of the
Neophyte.

No. 11., called Brttee*s, or the Har^
per* 9 Tombj is, from the nature, though
not from the execution, of the sub-
jects, of far greater interest than the
last mentioned. The monarch, whose
name here occurs, is Remeses III.,
but that of his father and predecessor
is traced beneath the ovals of Re^
meses, who appropriated and com-
pleted the subjects on its walls.

The line of direction in this cata-
comb, after the first ISO feet, is
interrupted by the vicinity of the
adjoining tomb, and makes in conse-
quence a slight deviation to the right,
of IS feet, when it resume^ the same
direction again for other 275, which
give it a total length of 405 feet

Its plan differs from that of No.
17, and the rapidity of its descent is
considerably less, being perpendicu-
larly only SI feet.

The mosttnterestlngpart is unques-
tionably the series of small chambers
in the two first passages, since they
throw considerable light on the style
of the furniture and arms, and conse-
quently on the manners and customs
of the Egyptians.

In the first to the left (entering), is
the kitchen, where the principal
groups, though much defaced, may
yet be recognised. Some are engaged
in slaughtering oxen, and cutting up

a 5

370

THEBES. — TOMBS OF THE KINOS.

Sect. iir.

the joints, which are put into caldrons
on a tripod placed over a wood fire ;
and in the lower line a man is em-
ployed in cutting a leather strap
he holds with his feet, — a practice
still common throughout the East.
Anotlier pounds something for the
kitchen in a large mortar; another
apparently minces the meat; and a
pallet, suspended by ropes running
in rings fastened to the roof, is
raised from the ground, to guard
against the intrusion of rats and other
depredators. On the opposite side,
in the upper line, two men knead a
substance with their feet; others cook
meat, pastry, and broth, prolMtbly of
lentils, which fill some baskets beside
them; and of the frescoes in the
lower line, sufficient remains to show
that others are engaged in drawing
off, by means of syphons, a liquid
from vases before them. On the end
wall is the process of making bread ;
but the dough is kneaded by the
hand, and not, as Herodotus and
Strabo say, by the feet; and small
black seeds (probably the habbeh'
»6da still used in Egypt) being
sprinkled on the surface of the cakes,
they are carried on a wooden pallet to
the oven.

In the opposite chamber are several
boats, with square chequered sails,
some having spacious cabins, and
others only a seat near the mast.
They are richly painted, and loaded
with ornaments; and those in the
lower linA Iiave the mast and yard
lowered over the cabin.

The succeeding room, on the right
hand, contains the various arms and
warlike implements of the Egyptians ;
among which are knives, quilted
helmets, spears, yaUxkana or daggers,
quivers, bows, arrows, falchions,
coats-of-mail, darts, clul», and stan-
dards. On either side of the door is
a black cow with the bead-dress of
Athor, one accompanied by hiero-
glyphics signifying the north, the
other by those of the south ; probably
inUmating that these are the arms of

Upper and Lower Egypt. The blue
colour of some of the weapons suffices
to prove them to have been of steel,
and is one of several strong argu-
ments in favour of the conclusion that
tlte early Egyptians were acquainted
witli the use of iron. The next
chamber has chairs of the most elegant
form, covered with rich drapery,
highly ornamented, and evincing ad-
mirable taste ; nor can any one, who
sees the beauty of Egyptian fur-
niture, refuse for one moment his
assent to the fact, that this people
were greatly advanced in the arts of
civilisation and the comforts of do-
mestic life. Sofas, couches, vases of
porcelain and pottery, copper utensils,
caldrons, rare woods, printed stuflfs,
leopard skins, baskets of a very neat
and graceful shape, and basins and
ewers, whose designs vie with the
productions of the cabinet-maker,
complete the interesting series of
these frescoes.

The neit contains agricultural
scenes, in which the inundation of
the Nile passing tlirough the canals,
sowing and reaping wheat, and a
grain, which from its height and
round head appears to be the doom or
sorghum, as well as the flowers of the
country, arc represented. But how.
ever successful the Egyptians may
have been in seizing the character
of animals, they &iled in the art of
drawing trees and flowers, and their
coloured plants would perplex the
most profound botanist equally with
the fanciful productions of an Arabic
herbarium. That which follows con-
tains different forms of the god Osiris,
having various attributes.

The second chamber, on the op-
posite side, merely offers emblems
and deities. In the next are birds
and some productions of Egypt* as
geese and quails, eggs, pomegranates,
grapes, with other fruits and herbs,
among which last is the ghulpa, or
Periploca secamone of LinnSus, still
common in the deserts of Egypt, and
resembling in form the ivy, which is

U. Egypt

TOMB OF MEMNON.

371

unknown in the country. The
figures in the lower line ore of the
god Nilus.

In the succeeding chamber are
rudders and sacred emblems; and
the principal figures in the last are
two harpers playing on instruments
of not inelegant form before the god
Ao, or Hercules. From these the
tomb received its name. One (if not
both) of the minstrels is blind.

Each of these small apartments has
a pit, now closed, where it is pro-
bable that some of the officers of
the king's household were buried;
in which case the subjects on the
walls refer to tlie station they held ;
as, the chief cook, the superintendent
of the royal boats, the armour-
bearer, the stewards of the house-
hold, and of tlie royal demesne, the
priest of the king, the gardener,
hieraphoros, and minstrel.

The suljects in the. first passage,
after the recess to the right, are
similar to those of No. 17., and are
supposed to relate to the descent to
Amenti ; but the figure of Truth, and
the other groups in connection with
that part of them, are placed in a
square niche.- The character of the
four people, in the first hall, diflTers
slightly from those of the former
tomb; four blacks, clad in African
dresses, being substituted instead of
the Egyptians, though the same name,
lidtt is introduced before them.

Beyond the grand hall of tlie sar-
cophagus are three successive pas-
sages, in the last of which are benches
intended apparently for the same pur-
pose as those of the lateral chamber
in No. 17., to which they are greatly
inferior in point of taste. The large
granite sarcophagus was removed
hence by Mr. Salt. This tomb is
much defaced, and the nature of the
rock was unfavourable for sculpture.
It was one of those open during the
reign of the Ptolemies.

No. 9. was called by the Romans
the tonib of Memjum, probalily from
its being the handsomest then open ;

though the title of Miamun given to
Remeses V., the occupant of this
catacomb, in common with many
other of the Pharaohs, may have led
to this error. It was greatly ad-
mired by the Greek and Roman
visiters, who expressed their satis-
faction by ex voto9, and inscriptions
of various lengths, and who generally
agree that having "examined these
•yringes *' or tunnels, that of Mem-
non had the greatesf claim upon their
admiration ; though one morose old
gentleman, of the name of Epi-
phanius, declares he saw nothing to
admire " but the stone,*' meaning the
sarcophagus, near which he wrote
his laconic and ill-natured remark :
*' 'E.ittipavioi uTTofniaa ovfity 8c c0av-
fiaaa ri fiii rov Kidoy,** In the second
passage, on the left going in, is a
longer inscription of an Athenian,
the Daduchus of the Eleusinian
mysteriest who visited Thebes in the
reignof Constantine. This was about
sixty years before they were abolished
by^ Theodosius, aAer having existed
for nearly 1 800 years. The inscrip*
tion is also curious, from the writer's
saying that he visited the <rvpiryyts
** along time after the divine Plato.*'

The total length of this tomb is
34 2 feet, with the entrance passage,
the perpendicular depth below the
surface 24 feet 6 inches; and in
this gradual descent, and the regu-
larity of the chambers and passages,
consists the chief i)eauty of its plan.
The general height of the first pas-
sages is 1*2 and 13 feet, about two
more than that of No. II., and thre.e
more tlian that of No. 1 7.

The sculptures difler from those
of the above-mentioned tombs, and
the figures of the four nations are
not introduced in the first hall ; but
many of the ceilings present very in-
teresting astronomical subjects.

In the last passage before the hall
of the sarcophagus, the tomb No. 1 2«
crosses over the ceiling, at whose side
an aperture has been forced at a later
epoch. The sarcophagus, which is

a 6

372

THEBES TOMBS^F THE KINGS.

Sect. IV.

of granite, has been broken, and lies
in a ruined state near its original site.
Tlie vaulted roof of the hall presents
an astronomical subject, and is richly
ornamented with a profusion of small
6gures. Indeed all the walls of this
tomb are loaded with very minute
details, but of small proportions.

No. 8. is of king Pthahmen, the
son of Remeses II. On the left side,
entering the passage, is a group, of
very superior sculpture, representing
the king and the god Ra.

The style of this tomb resembles that
of No. 17., and others of that epoch ;
and in the first hall are figures of tlie
four nations. The descent is very
rapid, which, as usual, takes off from
that elegance so much admired in
No. 9. ; and the sculptures, executed
in intaglio on the stucco, have suf-
fered much from the damp occasioned
by the torrents, which, when the rain
falls, pour into it with great violence
from a ravine near its mouth. Its
length, exclusive of the open passage
of 40 feet in front, is 167 feet to the
end of the first hall, where it is closed
by sand and earth. This was also
one of the seventeen mentioned by
Diodorus.

No. 6. is of Remeses VII. The
sculptures differ widely from those
of the preceding tombs. In the third
passage they refer to the generative
principle. The features of the king
are peculiar, and from the form of
the nose, so very unlike that of the
usual Egyptian face, there is no
doubt that their sculptures actually
offer portraits. On the inner wall of
the last chamber, or hall of the sarco-
phagus, is a figure of the child Har-
pocrates, seated in a winged globe ;
and from being beyond the sarco-
phagus, which was the abode of death,
it appears to refer to the well* known
idea that dissolution was followed by
reproduction into life. The total
length of Uiis tomb is S43 feet, in-
cluding the outer entrance of 35. It
was open during the time of the
Ptolemies.

No. 7., which is opposite this, is of
Remeses II., but is nearly filled up
with the sand washed into it by the
rains. About 180 feet of it were
cleared, I believe, by Mr. Salt. This
also contains Greek inscriptions.

No. ^ is a small but elegant
tomb, 218 feet long,- including the
hypiethral passage of 47. The sarco-
phagus remains in its original situ-
ation, though broken at the side, and
is 1 1 feet 6 inches by 7, and upwards
of 9 feet in height. The bodies
found in the recesses behind this hall
seem to favour the conjecture that
they were intended, like those before
mentioned, in Nos. 11. and 17., m
receptacles for the dead. The in-
scriptions prove it to have been one of
the seventeen open in the time of the
Ptolemies. The name of the king is
Remeses IV.

In No. 1. are also Greek inscrip-
tions of the time of the Ptolemies.
It is the catacomb of Remeses IX.,
but very inferior in style and dimen-
sions to the preceding, being only
132 in length, including the exterior
uncovered entrance. A small sarco-
phagus is hewn in the limestone rock,
in the centre of the hall, and covered
with a lid of red granite.

No. S. is unsculptured, except at
the entrance, which is much defiiced.
Its plan is very different from the
other tombs; Uie total length is
scarcely 123 feet, but its area i%
greater than that of No. 1. It was
one of those open at an early period.
The name is of Remeses III.

No. 4. is an unfinished tomb <^
Remeses VIII. At the end is a
large pit 32 feet deep, 14^ in length,
and 1 1) in breadth. It was also open
during the reigns of the Ptolemies.
Its total length is 307 feet. Neither
of these two are worthy of a visit.

In No. 13. a few faint traces of
sculpture alone i^main.

On the projecting rocks, a few paces
to the east of it, are some hieratic
characters ; and between this and
No. 14. it is probable there may be

U. Egypt. ROUTE 26. — tombs of the kings.

373

another tomb, u also between Nos.
14. and 15.

No. 14. is of king Pthah-se-ptbah,
or Ptfaabma Se-pthah, who seems to
have reigned in right of his wife, the
queen Taosiri ; as she occurs some-
times alone, making offerings to the
gods, and sometimes in company with
her husband. This catacomb was
afterwards appropriated by king
Osirei II., and again by his successor,
whose name is met with throughout
on the stucco which covers part of
the former sculptures, and tii iniagUo
on the granite sarcophagus in the
grand hall. In the passages beyond
the staircase the subjects relate to the
liturgies of the deceased monarch, and
in the side chamber to the left is a
bier attended by Anubis, with the
Tases of the four genii beneath it. In
the first grand vaulted hall, below the
cornice which runs round the lower
part, varioas objects of Egyptian fur-
niture are represented, as metal mir-
rors, boxes and chairs of very ele-
gant shape, vases, fans, arms, neck-
laces, and numerous insignia. In
the succeeding passages the subjects
resemble many of those in the un-
finished hall of No. 17. The sculp-
tures are in intaglio ; but whenever
the name of the king appears it is
merely painted on the stucco; and
those in the second vaulted hall are
partly in intaglio and partly in out-
line, but of a good style. The sarco-
phagus has been broken, and the lid,
on which is the figure of the king in
relief, has the form of a royal name
or oval.

This tomb was open in tlie time of
the Ptolemies. Its total length is
363 feet, without the hypaethral en-
trance, but it is unfinished ; and be-
hind the first hall another large cham-
ber with pillars was intended to have
been added.

No. 15. is of Osirei II. The fi-
gures at the entrance are in relief;
and of very good style. Beyond £his
passage it is unfinished. Part of the
broken sarcophagus lies on the other

side of the halL It bears the name
of this monarch in intaglio ; and his
figure on the lid, a fine specimen of
bold relief in granite, is raised nine
inches above the surface. This cata-
comb was open at an early epoch.
Its total length is 236 feet.

No. 1 2. is unsculptured. It reaches
only to a distance of 172 feet, but has
several side chambers at the upper
end. The last room crosses over
No. 9. It was probably known to
the Greeks and Romans.

No. 10., adjoining the Harper's
tomb, presents the name of Amun-
meses, whose exact era, as well as
that of the two queens who are intro-
duced in the inner part of this cata-
comb, is uncertain. It is^ however,
probable that he lived in the 21st
dynasty. This was also open at an
early period. It is now closed after
the dutance of about 250 feet.

No. 16. is of Remeses, or Remesso
I., the father ot Osirei, and grand-
father of Remeses II. ; being the
oldest tomb hitherto discovered in
this valley ; and is among the num-
ber of those opened by Belsoni. The
sarcophagus within it bears the same
name.

No. 18. is of Remeses X., but is
almost entirely filled up. It was
probably one of those open in the
time of the Ptolemies.

No. 5. is nearly closed. Its plan
differs very widely from those of the
other tombs. Neither of these are
deserving of a visit.

No. 19. is k small catacomb, which
presents the name of a prince Remeses,
or Remesso- Mandooho . . ., whose
features are very peculiar. He was
a royal scribe and commander of the
troops, and appears to have been heir-
apparent at the time of bis death. It
is only open to the distance of about
65 feet

No. 20. is a long passage, of which
only 1 70 feet have been explored, de-
scending to a depth of 76 feet per-
pendicular. It was supposed to lead
through the rocks to the plain of

374

THEB£S. — TOMBS OF THE KIKGS,

Sect IV.

Koorneh ; and to ascertain this fact,
Mr. Burton cleared it to the above-
mentioned distance, but he was
obliged to abandon his researches
owing to the danger of the mephitic
air, which extinguished the lights.
It does not however appear, from the
direction it takes, to pass through the
mountain ; nor is the spot one that
they would have chosen for such a
communication.

No. 21. is a small tomb without
sculpture, and unworthy of a visit.
Fragments of alabaster vases are met
with in one of the chambers.

It appears that those open in the
time of the Ptolemies were Nos. 1 , ij,
3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, II, 12, 14,
15, and 18, fourteen out of the
seventeen mentioned by Diodorus;
so that the tliree others have been
again closed since that epoch, unless
some of the unsculptured ones may
be admitted to complete the number,
which, from their being unworthy of
a visit, were also unworthy of an in-
scription to record the fact of their
existence. As that writer says, that
of the 47, only 17 were open in the
time of the Ptolemies, it appears that
more are now known tlian at that
period ; and I think I have observed
several places wliere other tombs
might be found in various parts of
this valley.

12. THE WXSTKEir VALLIT.

There are four other tombi in the
western valley, behind that containing
these sepulchres. If tlie traveller is
pressed for time, he need not visit
them ; but they are curious to those
who are interested in the foreign
kings of the family of Atinre-Bakhan.
One Is of considerable size, but the
line of direction varies in three diflTer-
ent parts, the first extending to a dis-
tance of 145 feet, the second 1 1 9, and
the third 88, being a total of 352 feet
in length, with several lateral cham-
bers. The name u of Amunopb

III., of the vocal statue; and, con-
sequently, it is the oldest catacomb
hitherto discovered in these valleys,
except tliat marked W, 2. Towanls
the end of the first line of direction is
a well now nearly closed, intended to
prevent the ingress of the rain-water
and of the too curious visiter ; and
this deviation may perhaps indicate
tlie vicinity of another tomb behind
it.

It is perhaps in this valley that
other of the oldest royal catacombs
may some day be discovered, and it
certainly is singular that none have
been yet met with of the first kings
of the 18th dynasty.

There is one remarkable fact con-
nected with the tombs in the western
valley, that they are of kings wfaw
appear to have belonged to a foreign
dynasty; the last of whom was Amu-
noph III., who became one of the
Theban line, perhaps by right of
marriage, or by some particular fa-
vour. That in features he was un-
like an Egyptian is evident ; his re-
semblance to tlie strange kings, whoae
monument% are found at Tel el
Amarna and some other places, is
very striking ; and the researcbn of
M. Prisse, at Karnak, seem to de-
cide that he was of that family. Tbo
discovery of the tombs in the western
valley would therefore be of great
interest; aud it would perhaps give
some useful information respecting
the history of Egypt, and this most
curious point in the succession of tbo
Pharaohs.

W, 2. is 205 feet in length, in-
eluding the entrance, and contains
a broken sarcophagus, and some bad
fresco painting of peculiarly short
and graceless proportions. Of the
era of the king whose name here
occurs, I have only been able to as-
certain that he was prior to Remcaes
II., and probably by several reigns.
He appean to be called Eesa, or, as
some suppose, Shai. ( See his name in
p. 393. Nos. 14, 15.)

The othen ara not worthy of notice.

U. Egypt.

PRTVATE T03iB9 — THE ARCH.

373

13. TOMBS OF PRIESTS, AND FRITATK
INDIVIDUALS.

If I could fix on any part of this
vast abode of death, where the most
ancient tombs are exclusively met
with, I should not hesitate in com-
mencing my notice of them in the
order of their relative antiquity ; but
as some of a remote epoch are con-
tinually intermixed with those of more
recent date, it is impossible to fix
with precision the exact extent of the
earliest cemeteries. It is likewise dif-
ficult to determine the particular
portions set apart for the sepulture
of the members of the various castes
into which the Egyptians weredivided,
since those of the ^ame class are
found in more than one part of its
extensive circuit. Some general no-
tions may, however, be formed on this
head, by looking over my Survey of
Thebes, others must be given in the
following pages, where I shall also
notice those kings whose names ap-
pearing in^e sculptures fix, in some
degree, the epoch at which several
portions of this burial-ground were
consecrated to the reception of the
dead. But in many of them all clue
to the determination of this fact is en-
tirely lost, by the decay of the sculp-
tures, or the fall of the stucco on
which they were painted ; and what
increases our regret on this point, is
that these fallen annals, from their
relating to the most ancient epoch,
were by far the most interesting.
Among the last it is highly probable
that those situated north of Old
Koomeh are deserving of the first
rank, as well from the total disap-
pearance of the stucco which once
lined their walls, as from the state of
the rock itself, their situation oppo-
site Karnak (the main and original
part of DiospoUs), and their vicinity
to the river. I must also observe,
that many tombs are occasionally
filled up, or destroyed by the pea-
sants ; so that some that I am going
to describe may no longer be visible.

In the reign of Amunoph I., second
king of the eighteenth dynasty, other
grottoes were excavated in the Drah
Aboo NeggOf behind the temple of
Old Koorneh, — one or two in the
Assaseef, — and several others in the
valley of Dayr el Mede^oeh, which,
being the westernmost, were consi-
dered more peculiarly under the pro-
tection of Athor, the <* president of
the West;*' who is frequently there
represented either receiving the Sun
into her arms, coming forth under the
form of a cow from behind the ** Wes-
tern Mountain,*' or standing between
the figures of the man and lady of the
tomb. She bears her emblems, the
long horns and feathers, which com-
pose her usual head-dress.

The friable nature of the rock in
part of this valley urged the necessity
of lining the roofs of some of these
grottoes with vaults of brick, which,
while they point out the dryness of
a climate that permits crude-brick
to stand uninjured through a period
of 3370 years, establish the antiquity
of the invention of the arch.

These tombs are generally small ;
sometimes the sculptures are cut in
the rock itself, sometimes traced on
the stucco that covers its irregular
surface, and some have only fresco
paintings on the crude-brick walls
which case the interior. The facility
of working this rock may have in-
duced them to select it for the tombs
of those who objected to more expen-
sive excavations ; and it is reasonable
to suppose, that being in the habit of
constructing their houses with brick
vaults, they would employ a similar

! covering to the chambers of the dead ;
especially when they required the pro-
tection of a roof against the crumb-
ling of the soft argillaceous stratum,

^ in which tliey have been excavated,
and which forms the base of the
limestone mountains of Thebes.

I In the succeeding reigns of the
Thothmes and Amunophs, the hill of
Abd el Koomeh, Koornet Murraee,

' and part of Drah Aboo Negga, were

376

THEBES. — PRIVATE TOMBS.

Sect. IV.

occupied by the priestly order, who,
with their wives and families, were in-
terred in the pits of those elegant ca-
tacombs, whose varied and interesting
sculptures delight the antiquary, and
excite bis surprise at their preserva-
tion after a lapse of more than 3000
years. Here manners and customs,
historical events and religious cere-
monies, seem to carry us back to the
society of those to whom they refer,
and we are enabled to study the amuse-
ments and occupations of the ancient
Egyptians, almost as though we were
spectators of the scenes represented
in the sculptures.

In the time of Osirei and his son,
other tombs were opened beneath
these hills, in the vicinity of the pa-
lace of the second Remeses, and on
the west of the entrance to the Assa^
seef. And in the early part of the
latter reign, some of those belonging
to the priestly order, amidst the
crude -brick pyramids at the western
extremity of Dnh Aboo Negga, in-
creased Uie number of the larger se-
pulchres. Others bear the name of
Fthahmen, his son and successor ; in
one of which, having an outer area,
enclosed by a stone wall, colossal
figures of the lord and lady of the
tomb are majestically seated in the
first chamber. But the most inte-
resting objects on this part of the hill
are the crude-brick pyramids them-
selves, as well from the state of their
preservation, as from the existence of
the oreheM which form the roofs of
their central chambers; nor, judging
from the style of the frescoes, can we
venture to assign to them a date pos-
terior to the tUrd Remeses, or about
B.C. 123a

From the above statement alone it
is evident that these districts cannot
be classed under particular reigns;
but with regard to the exclusive ap-
propriation of certain parts of the
Theban cemetery to peculiar castes, it
may be obaervcd that in thoae places
where the compact nature of the rock
was best suited for large excavations,

the tombs of the priests are iuTariably
met with, while those of the inferior
classes are to be looked for, either
in the plain beneath, or in the less
solid parts of the adjacent hills.

Tbmbi of the Aiuueef. — The most
remarkable, which date after this
epoch, are those in the Assaseef, and
behind the palace of Remeses II.,
executed during the period of the
26th dynasty, in the seventh century
before our era. Their plans, though
very different from those of the other
Theban tombs, bear a general reseno-
blance to each other ; and they are
not leas remarkable for their extent,
than for the profusion and detail of
their ornamental sculpture.

The smallest, which are those be-
hind the palace of Remeses, com-
mence with an outer court, decorated
by a peristyle of pillars. To this
succeeds an arched entrance to the
tomb itself, which consists of a long
hall, supported by a double row of
four pillars, and another of smaller
dimensions beyond it, with four
pillars in the centre. The largest
of them, and indeed of aU the sepul-
chres of Thebes, are those in the
A$Mastef, one of which (R. in the
Survey) far exceeds in extent any one
of the tombs of the kings. Its outer
courj or area, is 103 feet by 76, with
a flight of steps descending to its
centre from the entrance, which lie*
between two massive crude-brick
walls, once supporting an arched
gateway. The inner door, cut like
the rest of the tomb in the limestone
rock, leads to a second court, 53 feet
by 67, with m peristyle of pillars cm
either side, behind which are two
closed corridors. That on the west
contains a pit and one small square
room, and the opposite one has a si-
mihir chamber, which leads to a nar-
row passage, once closed in two
places by masonry, and evidently
used for a sepulchral purpose.

Continuing through the second
area, you arrive at a porch, whose
arched summit, hollowed out of the

U. Egypt

TOMBS OF THE ASSA3EEF.

rock, has the light form of a small
segment of a circle; and from the
lurface of the inner wall project the
cornice and mouldings of an elegant
doorway.

This opens on the 6rst hall, 53 feet
by 37, once supported by a double
line of four pillars, dividing thenave
(if I may so call it) from the ables,
with half pillars as usual attached to
the end walls. Another ornamented
doorway leads to the second hall, 32
feet square, with two pillars in each
row, disposed as in the former. Pass*
ing through another door, you arrive
at a small chamber, 21 feet by 12, at
whose end wall is a niche, formed of
a series of jambs, receding succes-
sively to its centre. Here terminates
the first line of direction. A square
room lies on the left (entering), and
on the right another succession of
passages, or narrow apartments, leads
to two flights of steps, immediately
hefon which is another diwr on the
right. Beyond these is another pas-
sage, and a room containing a pit 45
feet deep, which opens at about one-
third of its depth on a lateral chamber.

A third line of direction, at right
angles with the former, turns to the
right, and terminates in a room, at
whose upper end is a squared pedestal.

Returning through this range of
passages, and re-ascending the two
staircases, the door above alluded to
presents itself on the left hand. You
shortly arrive at a pit (opening on
another set of rooms, beneath the
level of the upper ground plan), and
after passing it, a large square, sur-
rounded by long passages, arrests the
attention of the curious visiter. A t each
angle is the figure of one of the eight
following goddesses : — Neith, S4t6,
Isis, Nephthys, Netpe, Justice, Svlk,
and Athor, who, standing with out-
spread arms, preside over and protect
the sacred enclosure, to which they
front and are attached.

Eleven niches, in six of which are
small figures of different deities,
occur at intervals on the side walls,

and the summit is crowned by a
friese of hieroglyphics. Three cham-
bers lie behind this square, and the
passage which goes round it descends
on that side, and rejoins, by an ascend^
ing talus on the next, the level of the
front. A short distance further ter-
minates this part of the tomb ; but the
above-mentioned pit con^municates
with a subterranean passage opening
on a vaulted chamber, from whose
upper extremity another pit leads,
downwardSf to a second, and, ulti-
mately, through the ceiling of the
last, tgncards, to a third apartment,
coming immediately below the centre
of the square above noticed. It has
one central niche, and seven on either
side, the whole loaded with hierogly-
phical sculptures, which cover the
walls in every part of this extensive
tomb.

But to give an idea of its length,
and consequently of the profusion of
its ornamental details, I shall briefly
state the total extent of each series of
the passages, both in the upper and
under part of the excavation. From
the entrance of the outer area to the
first deviation from the original right
line is 320 feet. The total of the
next range of passages to the chamber
of the great pit is 177 feet. The
third passage, at right angles, to this
last, is 60 feet ; that passing over the
second pit is 1 25 ; and adding to these
three of the sides of the isolated square,
the total is 862 feet, independent of
the lateral chambers.

The area of the actual excavation is
22,217 square feet, and with the
chambers of the pits, 23,809 ; though
from the nature of ita plan, the
ground it occupies is nearly one acre
and a quarter ; an immoderate space
for the sepulchre of one individual,
even allowing that the members of his
family shared a portion of iu extent.

He was a distinguished functionary
of the priestly order, and possessed
apparently unusual affluence and
consequence, since the granite gate-
way, added by his order to the small

378

THEBES. — PIOyATB TOMBS.

Sect IV.

temple of Mcde^net H4boO| bears
the name of Petamunap alone, amidst
buildings on which king« were proud
to inscribe their own. In one of the
side chambers of this tomb is the
royal name, which may possibly be of
king Horus of the eighteenth dy-
nasty. If so, this wealthy priest
lived in the reign of that Pharaoh ;
but the style of the sculptures would
rather confine his era to the latvr
period of the twenty-sixth dynasty.

The wealth of private individuals
who lived under this dynasty, and
immediately before the Persian inva-
sion, was very great ; nor can any one,
on visiting these tombs, doubt a fact
corroborated by the testimony of
Herodotus and other authors, who
state that Egypt was most flourisliiug
about the reign of Amasis.

But though the labour and expense
incurred in finishing them far exceed
those of any other epoch, the execu-
tion of tlie sculptures charged with
ornament and fretted with the most
minute details, is far inferior to that
in vogue during the reign of the
eighteenth dynasty, when freedom of
drawing was united with simplicity
of effect And the style of the sub-
jects in the catacombs of .this last-
mentioned era excite our admiration,
no less than the skill of the artists
who designed them ; while few of
those of the twenty-sixth dynasty can
be regarded with a similar satisfac-
tion, at least by Uic eye of an Egyp-
tian antiquary. One, however, of
these tombs, bearing the name of an
individual who lived under the second
Psamaticus, deserves to be excepted,
as tiie subjects there represented tend
to throw considerable light on the
manners and customs, the trades and
employments, of the Egyptians; nor
can I omit the mention of some ele-
gant and highly-finished sculptures in
the area of the tomb immediately
behind that of Petamunap, which I
fortunately saved from being broken
up for lime, a few years ago, by the
Turkish miners.

Tombs ofKoonut Afairmee.— In no-
ticing the most interesting of the otfaei
catacombs of Thebes, I shall com-
mence with those of Koornet Murraee,
where a few have escaped the ravages
of time, and the still more baneful
injuries of human hands. Findiog
scarcely any already open which pre*
sented sculpture worthy of a visit, or
which threw any light on the era of
their execution, I had several un-
covered (during my visit in 1827) ia
hopes ^ of satisfying my curiosity,
which, except in one instance, was but
badly repaid. I there found the name
of king Amun^Toonh, the cotero-
porary of Amunoph III. Though
his nomen and prenomen bad, as
usual, been carefully erased, yet,
from some of the subordinate parts of
the various subjects which cover its
walls, where the erasure had been
partially or entirely overlooked, I was
enabled to ascertain to whom the
ovals belonged, and consequently td
fix the date of this interesting cata-
comb.

The king is there seated on his
throne, within a richly ornamented ca-
nopy, attended by a fan-bearer, who
also holds his sceptre. A procession
advances in four lines towards the
presence of the Pharaoh. The lower
division consists of Egyptians of the
sacerdotal and military classes, some
ladies of consequence, and young
people bringing bouquets and boughs
of trees. They have just entered the
gates of tlie royal court, and are pre-
ceded by a scribe, and others of the
priestly order, who do obeisance be-
ibre the deputy of his majesty, as he
stands to receive them. This oflScer
appears to have been the person of
the tomb, and it is remarkable that he
is styled *< Royal Son," and «« Prince
of Cush,** or Ethiopia. In the second
line black ** chiefs of Cush ** bring
presents of gold rings, copper, skins,
fans or umbrellas of feather-worky
and an ox, bearing on its lioms an
artificial garden and a lake of lisb.
Having placed tlieir offerings, tbey

U. Egypt.

SLAVES AND PRESENTS.

379

prostrate themselves before the Egyp-
tian monarch. A continuation of these
presents follows in the third line,
where, besides rings of gold, and
bags of precious stones or gold dust,
are the cameleopard, panthers* skins,
and long-homed cattle, whose heads
are strangely ornamented with the
hands and heads of negroes.

In the upper line, the queen of the
same people arrives in a chariot drawn
by oxen, and overshadowed by an
umbrdla, accompanied by her atten-
dants, some of whom bear presents of
gold. She alights, preceded and fol-
lowed by the principal persons of her
suite, and advances to the presence of
the king ; but whether this refers to
any marriage that was contracted
between the Egyptian monarch and a
princess of Ethiopia, or merely to the
annual tribute paid by that people, I
hare not been able to decide. Among
the different presents are a chariot,
shields covered with bulls* hides bound
with metal borders and studded with
pins, chairs, couches, headstools, and
other objects. The dresses of the ne-
groes differ in the upper line from those
below, the latter having partly the
costume of the Egyptians, with the
plaited hair of their national head-
dress ; but thoae who follow the car of
the princess are clad in skins, whose
projecting tail, while it heightens the
caricature the artist doubtless intended
to indulge in, proves them to be
persons of an inferior station, who
were probably brought as slaves to the
Egyptian monarch. Behind ^hese
are women of the same nation, bear-
ing their children in a kind of basket
suspended to their back.

Ethiopian and Negro slaves were
common in Egypt from a very remote
time, long before the era of Amu-
noph III. ; and it is highly probable
that a tribute, as well of slaves as of
gold, ivory, ebony, wild animals,
skins, and other productions of the
South, was continually exacted from
the land of Cush. Indeed it seems
that the captives of their northern

wars were also doomed to a similar
fate, and that, like the servi or servati
of the Romans, and the prisoners of
some nations of modem as well as
ancient times, they purchased their
lives by the sacrifice of freedom.

Many other interesting subjects
cover the walls of this tomb, which
throw much light on the customs of
the Egyptians ; but I fear it has been
lately destroyed.

In another catacomb, unfortunately
much ruined, is a spirited chase, in
which various animals of the desert
are admirably designed. The fox,
hare, gazelle, ibex, eriel (Antelope
oryx), ostrich, and wild ex fly before
the hounds ; and the porcupine and
hyiena retire to the higher part of the
mountains. The female hyaena alone
remains, and> rises to defend her
young ; but roost of the dogs are
represented in pursuit of the gazelles,
or in the act of seizing those they
have overtaken in the plain. The
cAssseur follows, and discharges his
arrows among them as they fly. The
arrows are very light, being made
of reed, feathered, and tipped with
stone.

In observing the accuracy with
which the general fomis and charac-
ters of their animals are drawn, one
cannot but feel surprised that the
Egyptians should have had so im-
perfect a knowledge of the art of
representing the trees and flowers of
tlieir country, which, with the ex-
ception of the lotus, palm, and dom,
can scarcely ever be identified; unless
the fruit, as in the pomegranate and
sycamore, is present to assist us.

Tomb* of Shthh Abd ei Koorneh

The mo$t numerout and itUeretting
grottoe$ are those in the hill of Shekh
Abd el Koorneh, behind the Memno-
nium ; but as a detailed account of
their sculpture would extend beyond
the proposed limits of my description
of Thebes, I can only notice briefly
tlie principal sulijects of those most
worthy of a visit. The most inter-
esting are Nos. 1. 2. 5. 11. 14. 16.

380

THEBES. — PRIVATE TOICBS.

Sect IV.

17. 29. 31. SS. 34. 35. 37. of my
Survey; and in the plain below k
and q.

No. I., which bears the name of
Osirei, father of Remeses II., pre-
sents some well -executed sculptures
on the right and left walls. The
king is seated under a rich canopy, ,
attended by the goddess of Justice ;
before him is the individual of tlie
tomb, a distinguished functionary of
the. priestly order, with the title of
high-priest, followed by others of the
same caste; who, introduced by an
officer of the royal household, ad-
vance to " offer their praises** to the
monarch.

In No. 2. (now closed) are figures
of women dancing or playing on the
harp, the double pipe, and lyre, ac-
companied by choristers. Various
offerings are presented to the de-
ceased ; and his relations, with the
upper part of the body exposed above
the waist, bewail his death, and that
of his consort, whose mummies they
bathe with their tears. In another
compartment, a priest pours a liquid
into cups, placed on a lofty stand,
and another, by means of three
iiphonif draws off their contents into
a larger vase below. Siphons a$Eain
occur in the tomb of Remeses III.,
in the valley of the kings, so tliat
these two instances prove their in-
vention at all events as early as the
eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties.
They are first mentioned by the elder
Hero, of Alexandria, who flourished
under Ptolemy Euergetes II.

No. 5. bears the name of Remeses
VI I. ; but the stucco, on which this
and the present subjects are drawn,
has been placed over sculptures of an
earlier period ; the tomb, vthich was
frequently the case, having been sold
to another person by the priests;
who, when a family became extinct,
and no one remained to pay the
expenses of the liturgies, and other
claims constantly kept up by their
artifices, indemnified themselves by
tlie appropriation of the tomb, and

resold it to another occupant This
was also sometimes the case vritb the
sarcophagi, and even their wooden
coffins ; where the name of its earlier
inmate is often found obliterated, and
that of its new possessor substituted
in its stead. In most of the reoccu-
pied tombs the sculpture was sufllered
to remain unaltered, with the excep-
tion of those parts that immediately
referred to its original tenant; and
where a fresh name has never been
introduced, it would appear that the
second sale had either not yet taken
place, or that it had been purchased
by one, whose family was unlikely to
continue the regular payment for the
offices performed to tlieir deceased
relative.

The sculptures do not, I think,
refer exclusively to the life and
actions of the individual of the tomb,
except to a certain extent, or in those
compartments which peculiarly relate
to him, — such as the ovals of the
king in v^hose reign he lived — the
hieroglyphics stating his name and
office, his conduct and occupations
during his lifetime, with some few
other subjects. And the fact of these
being omitted in some, afid their site
left blank, while the trades, the agri-
cultural scenes, and other of the gene-
ral employments of the Egyptians,
equally suited to all, are already in-
troduced, strongly confirms this opi-
nion. It was in this state that the
purchaser, during his lifetime, or his
friends after his decease, saw the
tombs offered for sale by tlie priests,
who, keeping a sufficient number
always prepared, afforded a choice of
different qualities, suited to the means
and taste of every purchaser.

The numerous subjects, 93^ for in-
stance, ghus-hlowen, saddlers, cur-
riers, carpenters, cabinet-makers, boau
builders, chariot.roakers, sculptors,
musicians, fowlers, fishermen, hus-
bandmen engaged in agricultural
occupations, &c., could not of course
refer to one person, the occupant of
the catacomb, v»ho, even to allow the

V. EgypL

FIGS — A FUXERAL PBOCESSIOX.

381

utmost extent of his officei could not ^
be superintendent of all those dif-
ferent bnincbes of Egyptian art and
employment. Nor could the figures
of the king, who sometimes receives
presents borne by Ethiopians and
blacks, at others by men of a white
nation, or a deputation of Egyptians,
relate any further to the person of
the tomb than as it showed the era in
which he lived. This, as well as the
above-mentioned subjects, roust ne-
cessarily allude to the manners and
customs of the Egyptians as a people,
and in short be an epitomt of human
Ufti an idea perfectly in harmony
with their constant introduction into
all the large tombs, at least of the
earliest tiroes, and of the eishteenth
and nineteenth dynasties, and at once
accounting for the name of the indi-
vidual, and the scenes immediately
relating to him, being alone altered
when re-occupied by another person.

In No. 11. is an interesting agri-
cultural scene, containing the differ-
ent operations oC reaping, carrying,
gleaning, trituration by oxen, win-
nowing, and housing.

No. 14. is much ruined, but re-
markable as being the only one in
which a drove of pigs is introduced.
They are followed by a man holding
a knotted whip in his hand, and would
appear, from the wild plants before
them, to be a confirmation of Hero-
dotus's account of their employment
to tread-in the grain after the inunda-
tion ; which singular use of an ani-
mal so little inclined by its habits to
promote agricultural objects, has been
explained by supposing they were in •
troduced beforehand, to clear the
ground of the roots and fibres of the
weeds which the water of the Nile
had nourished on the irrigated soil.
They are here brought, with the other
animals of the farmyard, to be regis-
tered by the scribes ; who, as usual,
note down the number of the cattle
and possessions of the deceased ; and
they are divided into three distinct
lines, composed of sows with young.

pigs, and boars. The figures of the
animals in this catacomb are very
characteristic.

No. 1 6. is a very inieruHng fornix
as well in point of chronology, as in
the execution of its paintings. Here
the names of four kings, from the
third Thothmes to Amunoph III.,
inclusive, satisfactorily confirm the
order of their succession as given in
the Abydus tablet and the lists of
Thebes. In the inner chamber, the
inmate of the tomb, a **royal scril>e,'*
or basilico-grammat, undergoes his
final judgment, previous to admission
into the presence of Osiris. Then
follows a long procession, arranged in
four lines, representing the lamenta-
tions of the women, and the approach
of the barU or coflSn, containing the
body of the deceased, drawn on a
sledge by four oxen. In the second
line men advance with difierent in-
signia belonging to the king Amu-
noph ; in the third, with various offer-
ings, a chariot, chairs, and other ob-
jects; and in the last line a priest,
followed by the chief mourners, offici-
ates before the boats, in which are
seated the basilico-grammat and his
sister. **The rudders,** as Herodo-
tus observes, *< are passed through the
keel** in their larger boats of burthen,
while those of smaller size have one
on either side. They consist, like the
other, of a species of large paddle,
with a rope fastened to the upper
end, by which their sway on the cen-
tre of motion is regulated to and fro.
One square sail, lowered at pleasure
over the cabin, with a yard at the top
and bottom, is suspended at its cen-
tre to the summit of a short mast,
which sunds in the middle, and is
braced by stays fastened to the fore
and after part of the boat.

On the opposite wall is a fowling
and fishing scene ; and the dried fish
suspended in the boat remind us of
the i^bservations of Herodotus and
Diodorus, who mention them as con-
stituting a very considerable article of
food among this people; for, with the

382

THEBES. — PRIVATE TOMBS.

Sect. rv.

exception of the priesthood, they were
at all times pennitted to eat those
which were not comprised among the
sacred animals of the country. Here
is also the performance of the litur-
gies to the mummies of the deceased.
Nor do the frescoes of the outer
chamber less merit our attention.
Among the most interesting is a party
entertained at the house of the rojral
scribe, who, seated with his mother,
caresses on his knee the youthful
daughter of his sovereign, to whom he
bad probably been tutor. Women
dance to the sound of the Egyptian
guitar in their presence, or place be-
fore them vases of flowers and pre-
cious ointment ; and the guests, seated
on handsome chairs, are attended by
servants, who offer them wine in
<< golden goblets,** each having pre-
viously been welcomed by the usual
ceremony of putting sweet-scented
ointment on his head. This was a
common custom ; and in another of
these tombs a servant is represented
bringing the ointment in a vase, and
putting it on the heads of the guests,
as well OS of the master and mistress
of the house. A lotus flower was
also presented to them on their ar-
rival.

In the lower part of the picture, a
minstrel, seated erogs-Ugged, accord-
ing to the custom of the East, plays
on a harp of seven strings, accompa-
nied by a guitar, and the chorus of
a vocal performer, the words of whose
song appear to be contained in eight
lines of hieroglyphics, which relate to
Amun, and to the person of the tomb,
beginning, ** Incense, drink-offerings,
and sacrifices of oxen,*' and conclud-
ing with an address to the baallico-
graromat Beyond these an ox is
slaughtered, and two men, having cut
off* the head, remove the skin from
the leg and body. Servants carry
away the joints as they are separated,
the head and right fore-leg being the
ffrst, the other legs and the parts of
the body following in proper succes-
sion. A mendicant receives a bead

from the charity of one of the ser-
vants, who also offers him a bottle of
water. This gift of the head shows
how great a mistake Herodotus has
made on the subject, when he says,
" no Egyptian will taste the head of
any species of animal.*' There were
no Greeks in Egypt at the time this
was painted ; and the colour of the
man (for the Egyptians were careful
in distinguishing that of foreigners)
is the same as usually given to the in-
habitants of the valley of the Nile.
Indeed the head is always met with,
even in an Egyptian kitchen.

On the opposite wall are some buf-
foons who dance to the sound of a
drum, and other subjects.

In No. 17> is a very rich oaaorf-
ment of vasea, necklaces, and other
ornamental object^ on the innermost
comer to the right (entering); and
some scribes, on the opposite wall,
take account of the cattle and posses-
sions of the deceased. A forced
passage leads to the adjoining tomb,
where, at one end of the front cham-
ber, are several interesting subjects,
as chariot-makers, sculptors^ cabinet-
makers, and various trades; and at
the other, two pyramidal towers, with
the tapering staffs to which streamers
were usually attached, and with two
sitting statues in front.

On the opposite side a guest ar-
rives in his chariot at the house of his
friend, attended by six ninning-fooc-
men, who carry his sandals, tablet, and
stool. ** He is very late," and those
who have already come to the enter-
tainment are seated in the room, list-
ening to a band of music, composed
of the harp, guitar, double-pipe, lyre,
and tambourine, accompanied by fe-
male choristers.

Near 21. and 92. are rude statues,
cut in the rock, probably very
ancient.

Behind the Christian ruins, close
to No. 23. are the remauis of a
curious Greek inscription, being the
copy of a letter from the celebrated
** Athemimut, Archbishop of Alex-

U, Egypt

JL VERT INTERESTING TOMB.

383

andria, to the orthodox" monks at
Thebes.

In No. 29. are some very richly-
coloured vases of not inelegant form.

No. 31. presents some curious sub-
jects, among which are offerings of
gold rings, eggs, apes, leopards, ivory,
ebony, skins, and a cameleopard, with
several other interesting frescoes, un-
fortunately much destroyed. Over
the ^gs is the word soovAi, in the
hieroglyphics, signifying ** egg$,*^
The names of the Pharaohs here are
Thothmes I. and III. In the inner
room is a chase, and the chariot of
the chasseur, partially preserved.

In No. 33. the chief object worthy
of notice is the figure of a queen, wife
of Thothmes III. and mother of
Amunoph II., holding her young
son in her lap, who tramples beneath
his feet nine captives of nations he
afterwards subdued.

Before the canopyt under which
they are seated, are a fan-bearer, some
female attendants, and a minstrel, who
recites to the sound of a guitar the
praises of the young king.

On the corresponding wall is a
collection of furniture and orna-
mental objects, with the figures of
Amunoph II., his mother, and
Thothmes I.

On the opposite wall, an offering
of ducks and other subjects arc deserv -
ing of notice.

No. 34. has the name of the same
Amuuophy and of Thothmes I., his
immediate predecessor. It contains
a curious design of a garden and
vineyard, with other subjects. The
next tomb to this, on the south,
though much ruined, offers some ex-
cellent drawing, particularly in some
dancing figures to the left (entering),
whose graceful attitudes remind us
rather of the Greek than the Egyp-
tian school ; avd indeed were we not
assured by the name of Amunoph II.
of the remote period at which they
were executed, we might suppose
them the production of m Greek
pencil.

On the right hand wall are some
very elegant vases, of what has been
called the Greek style, but common
in the oldest tombs in Thebes. They
are ornamented as usual witli Ara^
hegque* and otlier devices. Indeed
all these forms of vases, the so-called
Tutean border, and many of the
painted ornaments which exist on
Greek remains, are found on Egyp*
tian monuments of the earliest epoch,
even before the lExodus of the Is*
raelites; which plainly removes all
doubts as to their original invention.
Above these are curriers, chariot-
makers, and ol her artisans. Others are
employed in weighinp gold and silver
rings, the property of the deceased.

The Egyptian weights were an en-
tire calf, the head of an ox (the half
weight) and small oval balls (the
quarter weights); and they had a
very ingenious mode of preventing
the scale from sinking, when the ob-
ject they weighed was taken out, by
means of a ring upon the beam.

The semi-circular knife used for
cutting leather is precisely similar to
that employed in Europe at the pre-
sent day for the same purpose, of
which there are several instances in
other parts of Thebes ; and another
point is here satisfactorily established,
that the Egyptian chariots were of
wood, and not of bronza, as some
have imagined.

Tlie person of this catacomb was a
high-priest, but his name is erased.

No. 35. if by far the mo9t euriougf
I may say, of all the private tombs in
Thebes, since it throws more light
on the manners and customs of the
Egyptians than any hitherto disco-
vered.

In the outer chamber on the left
hand (entering) is a grand procession
of Ethiopian and Asiatic chiefs, bear-
ing a tribute to the Egyptian monarch,
Thothmes III. They are arranged
in five lines. The first or uppermoat
consists of blacks, and others of a red
colour, from the country of Fount,
who bring ivory, apes, leopards, skins,

384

THEBES. — PRIVATE TOMBS.

Sect. IV.

and dried fruits. Their dress is short,
similar to that of some of the Asiatic
tribes, who are represented at Medee-
net H4boo.

In the second line are a people of
a light red hue, with long black hair
descending in ringlets over their
shoulders, but without beards : their
dress also consists of a short apron,
thrown round the lower part of the
body, meeting and folding over in
front, and they wear sandals richly
worked. Their presents are vases of
elegant form, ornamented with flowers,
necklaces, and other costly gifts,
which, according to the hieroglyphics,
they bring as ** chosen (offerings) of
the chiefs of the Gentiles of Kufa.**

In the third line are Ethiopians,
who are styled ** Gentiles of the
South.** The leaders are dressed in
the Egyptian costume, the others
have a girdle of skin, with the hair,
as usual, outwards. They bring gold
rings, and bags^of precious stones (?),
hides, apes, leopards, ebony, ivory,
ostrich eggs, and plumes, a cameleo-
pard, hounds with handsome collars,
and a drove of long-horned oxen.

The fourth line is composed of men
of a northern nation, clad in long white
garments ^i^ & blue border, tied at
the neck, and ornamented with a
cross or other devices. On their head
is either a close cap, or their natural
hair, short, and of a red colour, and
they have a small beard. Some
bring long gtovei, which, with their
close sleeves, indicate, as well as their
white colour, that they are the in-
habitants of a cold clime. Among
other offerings are vases, similar to
those of the Kufa, a chariot and
horses, a bear, elephant, and ivory.
Their name is Rot^ii-no, which re-
minds us of the Ratheni of Arabia
Petraea ; but the style of their dress
and the nature of their offerings re-
quire them to have come from a
richer and more civilised country,
probably much farther to the north.

In the fiflh line Egyptians lead the
van, and are followed by women of

Ethiopia (Gush), "the Gentiles of
the South>** carrying their children in
a pannier suspended from their head.
Behind these are the wives of the
Rot-S-no, who are dressed in long
robes, divided into three sets of ample
flounces.

The offerings being placed in the
presence of the monarch, who is seated
on his throne at the upper part of the
picture, an inventory is taken of them
by the Egyptian scribes. Those
opposite the upper line consist of
baskets of dried fruits, gold rings^
and two obelisks.

On the second line are Ingots and
rings of silver, gold and silver vases
of very elegant form, and several
heads of animals of the same metals.

On the third are ostrich eggs
and feathers, ebony, precious stones
and rings of gold, an ape, several
silver cups, ivory, leopard skins,
ingots and rings of gold, sealed
bags of precious stones, and other
objects; and on the fourth line are
gold and silver rings, vases of tbe«
same metal, and of porcelain, with
rare woods and various other rich
presents.

The inner chamber contains sub-
jects of the most interesting and
diversifled kind. Among them, on
the left (entering), are cabinet-makers,
carpenters, rope-makers, and sculp-
tors, some of whom are engaged in
levelling and squaring a stone, and
others in finishing a sphinx, witli two
colossal statues of the king. The
whole process of brick-making is also
introduced. Their bricks were made
with a simple mould ; the stamp (for
they bore the name of a king, or of
some high-priest) was not on the
pallet, but was apparently impressed
on the upper surface previous to their
drying. But they do not seem to
have used pressure while exposing
them to the sun, as I had supposed,
from the compact nature of Egyptian
crude>bricks, several of which I have
found as firm as when first made,
bearing the name of Thotbmes III.,

U.Egypt PROCESSION of boats oyer the lake.

385

the cotemporary of Moses, in whose
reign this tomb was also eiecuted.

lliey are not howerer Jews, as soma
have supposed ; but of the countries
mentioned in the sculptures. It is
sufficiently interesting to find a sub-
ject illustrating so completely the
description of the Jews and their
taskmasiersy given in the Bible ; with-
out perverting the truth, to give them
additional importance.

Others are employed in heating a-
liquid over a charcoal fire, to which
are applied, on either side, a pair of
bellows. These are worked by the
feet, the operator standing and press-
ing them alternately, while be pulls
up each exhausted ddn by a string
he holds in his hand. In one in-
stance the man has left the bellows,
but they are raised, as if full of air,
which would imply a knowledge of
the valve. Another singular jfact is
learnt from these frescoes — their ac-
quaintance with. the use of glue —
which is heated on the fire, and
spread, with a thick brush, on a level
piece of board. One of tlie work-
men then applies two pieces of diffe-
rent coloured wood to each other, and
this circumstance seems to' decide
that glue is here intended to be re-
presented, rather than a varnish, or
colour of any kind.

On the opposite wall the attitude
of a maid-servant pouring out some
wine to a lady, one of the guests, and
returning an empty cup to a black
slave who stands behind her, is ad-
mirably portrayed ; nor does it offer
the stiff position of an Egyptian
figure. And the manner in which
the slave is drawn, holding a plate
with her arm and hand reversed, is
Tery characteristic of a custom pecu-
liar to the blacks. The guests are
entertained by music, and the women
here sit apart from the men. Several
other subjects are worthy of notice
in this tomb ; among whidi may be
mentioned a garden (on the right
hand wall) where the personage of the
tomb is introduced in his boat, towed
Egypt

on a lake surrounded by Theban
palms and date trees. Numerous
liturgies (or parentalia) are performed
to the mummy of the deceased; and
a list of offerings, at the upper end
of the tomb, are registered, with
their names and number, in separate
columns.

The form of this inner chamber is
singular, the roof ascending at a con-
siderable angle towards the end wall ;
from below which the spectator, in
looking towards the door, may ob-
serve a striking effect of false per-
spective. In the upper part is a
niche, or recess, at a considerable
height above the pavement. The
name of the individual of the tomb
has been erased.

In the tomb marked q, below this
hill, are some fowling scenes, and the
return from the chase. In this last
the figure of a man carrying a g»-
xelle, accompanied by his dogs, is re-
markably good.

Other very curiout ioilpiurti adorn
a tomb (marked a), immediately be-
low the isolated hill to the west of the
entrance of the Assaaeef; if they
have been fortunate enough not to
be destroyed. In the outer chamber
is the most complete procession of
boats of any met with in the cata-
combs of l*hebes. Two of them
contain the female relatives of the de-
ceased, his sister lieing chief mourner.
One has on board the mummy, de-
posited in ft lAirine, to which a priest
ofllers incense ; in the other several
women seated, or standing on the
roof of the cabin, beat tlieir heads in
token of grief. In a third boat are
the men, who make a similar lamen-
tation, with two of the aged matrons
of the fiunily; and three others
contain the flowers and offerings
furnished by the priests lor the occa-
sion, several of whom are also in at-
tendance.

The Egyptians could not even here
resist their turn for caricature. A
small boat, owing to the retrograde
movement of a larger one, that had

386

DESCRIPTIOIY OF THEBES.

Sect- IV.

grounded and was pushed off the
bank, is struck by the nxdder, and a
large table, loaded with cakes and
various things, is overturned on the
boatmen as they row.

The procession arrives at the oppo-
site bank, not, I imagine, of the river,
but of the Lake of the Libyan sub-
urb, and follows the officiating
priest along the sandy plain. The
'* sister" of the deceased, embracing
tlie mummy, addresses her lost rela-
tive ; flowers* cakes, incense, and
various offerings are presented before
the tomb ; the ululation of the men
and women continues witliout, and
several females, carrying their chil-
dren in shawls suspended from their
shoulders, join in the lamentation.

On the corresponding wall, men and
women, with tlie body eiposed above
the waist, throw dust on their heads,
or cover their face with mud,*— a cus-
tom recorded by Herodotus and Di-
odorus, and still retained in the
funeral ceremonies of the Egyptian
peasants to the present day. The
former states, tJiat "the females of
the family cover their beads and faces
with mud, and wander through the
city beating themselves,, wearing a
girdle, and having their bosoms bare,
accompanied by all their intimate
friends ; the men also make similar
lamentations in a separate company.'*

Besides other interesting groups on
this wall, are the figures of the mo-
ther, wife, and daughter of the de-
ceased, following a harts drawn by
exen, where the character of the three
ages is admirably portrayed.

In the inner chamber are an Egyp-
tian house and garden, the cattle, and
a variety of oUier subjects, among
which may be traced the occupations
of the weaver, and of the gardener
drawing water with the pole and
bucket, the shadoof of the present day.

Statues in high relief are seated at
the upper end of this part of the
tomb, and on the square pillars in its
centre are the names of Amunopb I.
and his queen Ames- nofri- are.

There are few other catacombs
wortliy of a visit ; unless the traveller
makes a protracted stay at Thebes,
and is desirous of collecting every
thing that they present for the study
of hieroglyphics or the customa of the
Egyptians ; in which case he will do
well to examine all that are numbered
in my Survey, except those behind
the hill of Shekh abd el Koorneh,
which are unsculptured.

Few indeed feel inclined to devote
their time to a research of tliis kind.
S<»mearein a hurry to get through the
labour of sight-seeing ; others fancy
they wmtt be at some particular place
at a certain time ; and some persuade
themselves that one or two dayssnffice
to look oter the whole of Thebes.

All, it must be allowed, cannot be
equally interested in the examination
of Egyptian antiquities ; and to be-
come sufficiently acquainted with the
style of their architecture and sculp-
ture, so as to be able to distinguish
those of different epochs, and com-
prebend the subjects represented, re-
quires much more time and attention
than the generality of trarellers can
be expected to afibrd ; but the limited
space of one or two days is not ac-
tually sufficient to entitle any cme
to the pretensions of having stea
Thebes.

Every one must feel some interest
in Egyptian works of art, if it ba
merely from their early date, and the
grandeur of their style; lor in spite
of all the defects of E^ptian archi*
tecture and sculpture, they have at
least the great merit of ori^nality ;
nor can any one, however prepos-
sessed against than, deny the iaa-
posing grandeur of the Thebaa tem-
ples, or the admirable style of draw,
ing in the unfinished chamber of
Belioni's tomb, and other moou*
ments of the earlier eras, where the
freedom of the outlines evinces tbe
skill of no ordinary artist.

The character of the animals of
their country, whether quadrupeds,
birds, or fish, will be allowed by

U. Egypt

OBELISKS OF LUXOR.

387

every one to be faithfully maintained ;
and if it be not found in the human
figure, the reason is that their artists
were forbidden by religious prejudice
to deviate from ancient and fixed
rules. And though the employment
of granite, particularly for statues,
cannot be considered the result of
refined taste, it will at least be ad-
mitted that the perfection they arrived
at in sculpturing this stone shows
wonderful ingenuity* and testifies the
advanced state of Egyptian art at a
most remote period.

That they borrowed nothing from
the Greeks will be admitted by every
one in the least acquainted with
Egyptian antiquities, though some
have imagined that the accession of
the Ptolemies introduced a change,
and even an tmprovememt^ in the style
of Egyptian sculpture. A change
hi^, indeed, already commenced, and
was making fatal progress during the
era of those monarchs ; but it was the
prelude to the total decadence of
Egyptian art; and shortly after the
Roman conquest, the human figure,
the hieroglyphics, and even the sub-
jects represented in the templet,
scarcely retained a trace of their for-
mer spirit Yet their edifices were
grand and majestic; and the antiquary
feels additional regret as he contem-
plates tlie remains of tliat era, re-
taining still the character of Egyp-
tian architecture, but disfigured by
inferior sculpture.

Architecture, more dependent on
adherence to certain rules than the
sister art» was naturally less speedily
affected by the decline of the taste and
ingenuity of its professors ; and as
long as encouragement was held out
to their exertions, the grandest edi-
fices might yet be constructed from
mere imitation, or from the knowledge
of the means necessary for their exe-
cution. But this could never be the
case with sculpture, which had so
many more requisites than previous
example or mere custom, — nor could
success be attained by the routine of

mechanism, or the servile imitation of
former models.

14. XASTXaN BANK.-— LDXOE, XL UK-

soa, oa ABOo *l haggag, called ar

THX ANCIENT XGTniAKS **SOUTH-
XEM TAPE."

Luxor^ or Lmkeor, which occupies
part of the site of ancient Diospolis,
still holds the rank of a market town.
Its name signifies *'the palaces,*'
from the temple there erected by
Amunoph IIL and Remeses XL The
former monarch built the original
sanctuary and the adjoining cham-
bers, with the addition of Uie large
colonnade and the pylon before if, to
which Remeses II. afterwards added
the great court, the pyramidal towers,
and the obelisks and statues.

These, though last in the order of
antiquity, necessarily form the present
commencement of the temple ; which,
like many others belonging to dif-
ferent epochs, is not " two separate
edifices,** but one and the same
building. A dromos, connecting it
with Kamak, extended in front of the
two beautiful obelisks of red granite,
whose four sides are covered with a
profusion of hierogljrphics, no less
admirable for the style of their exe-
cution than for the depth to which
they are cut, which in many instances
exceeds two inches. The faces of
the obelisks, particularly those which
are opposite each other, are remadi-
able for a slight convexity of their
centres, which appears to have been in-
troduced to obviate the shadow
thrown by the sun, even when -on a
line with a plane surface. The ex-
terior angle thus formed by the inter-,
secting lines of direction of either
side of the face, is about S degrees ;
and this is one of many prooft of their
attentive observation of the pheno-
mena of nature.

The westernmost of these two obe-
lisks lias been removed by the FVench,
and is the one now in the Place de la
Concorde at Paris. Being at Luxor
when it was taken down, I observed

s 8

388

DESCRIPTION OF THEBE8.

Sect.IV:

beneath tlie lower end, on which it
stood, the nomen and prenomen of
Remesea II., and a slight 6ssure ex-
tending some distance up it; and
what is rery remarkable, the obe-
lisk was cracked prevhtu to its erec-
tion, and was secured by two wooden
dovetailed cramps. These, however,
were destroyed by the moisture of
the ground, in which the baae had
become accidentally buried.

Behind the obelisks are two sitting
statues of the same Remeses, one on
either side of the pylon or gateway ;
but, like the former, they are much
buried in the earth and sand accumu-
lated around them. Near the north-
west extremity of the propyla, another
similar colossus rears its head amidst
the houses of the village, which also
conceal a great portion oi the inte-
resting battle-scenes on tlie front of
the towers. At the doorway itself is
the name of Sabaco, and on the aba-
cus of the columns beyond, that of
Ptolemy Philopator, both added at a
later epoch.

The area within, whose dimensions
are about 190 feet by 170, is sur-
rounded by a peristyle, consisting of
two rows of columns, now almost
concealed by hovels, and the mosk of
the village. The line of direction no
longer continues the same behind this
'Court, the Remesean front having
been turned to the eastward ; which
was done in order to facilitate its con-
nection with the great temple of
Kamak, as well as to avoid the vici-
nity of the river.

Passing through the pylon of
Amunoph, you arrive at the great
colonnade, where the names of tliis
Pharaoh and of Amun-Toonh are
sculptured. The latter, however, has
been effaced, as is generally the case
wherever it is met with, and those of
Horus (the immediate successor of
Amunoph III.) and of Osirei are in-
troduced in its stead.

The length of the colonnade, to
the next court, is about 170 feet, but
its original breadth is still uncertain.

nor can it be ascertained without con-
siderable excavation. Indeed, it can
scarcely be confined^ the line of the
wall extending Irom the pylon* which
would restrict its breadth to 67 feet ;
but there is no part of the wall of the
front court whm it coold have been
attached, as the sculpture continues
to the very end of its angle. 7*be side
columns were probably never added.

To this succeeds an area of \5S
feet by 167, surrounded by a peri-
style of twelve columns in length and
the same in breadth, terminating in a
covered portico of SS columns, 57
feet by 111.

Behind this is a space occupying
the whole breadth of the building,
divided into chambers of diflerent
dimensions, the centre one leading to
a hall supported by four columns,
immediately before the entrance to
the isolated sanctuary.

On the east of the hall is a cham-
ber containing some curious sculp-
ture, representing the aeamdkemeiU of
Queen Maut-mV-sboi, the mother of
Amunoph. Two children nursed by
the deity of the Kile are presented
to Amun, the presiding divinity of
Thebes; and several other subjects
relate to the singular triad wor-
shipped in this temple.

The sanctuary, which had been
destroyed by the Persians, was re-
built by Alexander (the son of
Alexander, Ptolemy being governor
of Egypt), and bears his name in tbe
following dedicat(M7 formula : — >
" This additional work made he, the
king of men, lord of tbe regions,
Alexander, for his father Amunrei»
president of Tip^' (Thebes) ; be
erected to him the sanctuary, a grand
mansion, with repairs of sandstone^
hewn, good, and hard stone, in lieu
of (that made by ?) bis majesty, tbe
king^ of men, Amunoph." Bdiind
the sanctuary are two other sets of
apartmento,the larger ones supported
by columns, and ornament«!d with
rich sculpture, much of -which appears
to have been gilded.

U. Egypt

GBEAT TEMPLE OF KABNAK.

389

Behind the temple is a stone quay,
apparently of the late era of the Pto-
lemies, or Caesars, since blocks bearing
the sculpture of the former have been
used In its construction. Opposite
the corner of the temple it tidces a
more easterly direction, and points out
the original course of Ibe river, which
continued across the plain, now Ijring
between it and the ruins of Kamak,
and which may be traced by the
descent of the surface of that ground
it gradually deserted. The southern
extremity of the quay is of brick
(probably a Roman addition), and
indicates in like manner the former
direction of Che stream ; which now,
having hollowed out a space behind
it, threatens to sweep away the whole,
and to undermine the foundations of
the temple itself.

15. Karnac.

The road to Kamak lies through
fields of haifeh grass, indicating the
ute of ancient ruins ; and a short dis-
tance to the right is a mound, with
the tomb of a sliekh railed Aboo
Jood ; a little beyond which, to the
south, are remains of columns and an
old wall. Here and there, on ap-
proaching the temple, the direction
of the avenue (once a great street)
and the fragments of its sphinxes are
traced, in the bed of a small canal,
or watercourse, which the Nile,
during the inundation, appropriates
to its rising stream. To this succeeds
another dromos of Criosphinxes, and
a majestic pylon of Ptolemy £uer-
getes, with his queen and «i«£er, Bere-
nice, who^ in one instance, present
an offbring to their predecessors and
parents, Philadelphus and Arsinoe.
In one of the compartments, within
the doorway, the king is represented
in a Greek costume; instances of
which are rare, even on Ptolemaic
monuments. Another avenue of
sphinxes extends to the towers or
propyla of the isolated temple behind
thb pylon, which was founded by
Bemeses IV., and continued by Re-

meses VIII. and a late Pharaoh,
who added thefaypaethml area and its
towers. His name, and the exact
area at which he flourished, are not
precisely ascertained ; but it, as is
very probable, we are authorised to
read Bocchoris, this part will date in
the time of the twenty-fourth dynasty,
or about a. c. 810. Other names ap*
pear in different parts of the build-
ing, among which are those of Amyr-
tsus and Alexander, on the inner and
outer gateways of the area.

The principal entrance of the grand
temple lies on the north-west side,
or that facing the river. From a
raised platform commences an avenue
of Criosphinxes leading to the front
propyla, before which stood two
granite statues of a Pharaoh. One
of these towers retains a great part of
its original height, but has lost its
summit and cornice. In the upper
part their solid walls have been per-
forated through their whole breadth^
for the purpose of fastening the
timbers that secured the flag-sta£fs
usually placed in front of these
propyla ; but no sculptures have ever
been added to either face, nor was the
surface yet levelled to receive them*

Passing through the pylon of these
towers, you arrive at a large open
court (or area), 275 feet by 329, witli
a covered corridor on either side, and
a double line of columns down the
centre. Other propyla terminate this
area, with a small vestibule before
the pylon, and form the front of
the grand hall of assembly, the lintel
stones of whose doorway were 40 ft.
10 in. in length. The grand hall
measures 170 feet by 329, supported
by a central avenue of twelve massive
columns, 66 feet high (without the
pedestal and abacus) and 12 in
diameter; besides 122 of smaller, or
(rather) less gigantic dimensions, 41
feet 9 inches in height, and 27 feet
6 inches in circumference, distributed
in seven lines on either side of the
former. The twelve central columns
were originally fourteen, but the

390

DESCSZFTION OF THEBES.

Sect IV.

two northernmost have been enclosed |
within the front towers or propylat |
mpparently in the time of Osirei him*
self, the founder of the hall. The
two at the other end were also partly
built into the projecting wall of the
doorway, aa appears from their rough
sides, which were left uneven for that
purpose. Attached to this doorway
are two other towers, closing the inner
extremity of the hall ; beyond which
are two obelisks, one still standing on
its original site, the other having been
thrown down, and broken by human
violence.

Similar, but smaller, propyla su^
eeed to this court, of which they
form the inner side. The next court
contains two obelisks of larger dimen-
sions, the one now standing being
92 feet high and 8 square, surrounded
by a peristyle of Osiride figures.
Passing between two dilapidated
propyia, yon enter another smaller
area, ornamented in a similar man-
ner, and succeeded fof a vestibule, in
front of the granite gateway of the
towers that form the fafade of the
court, before the sanctuary.

This sanctuary is of red granite,
divided into two apartments, and sur-
rounded by numerous chambers of
small dimensions, varying from S9
feet by 16, to 16 feet by 8.

A few polygonal columns of the
early date of Osirtasen I. appear be-
hind the sanctuary, in the midst of
fallen architraves of the same era;
and beyond are two pedestals of red
granite, crossing the line of direction,
in the centre of the open space to the
south-east. They may have supported
obelisks; but they are not square,
like tlie basements of those monU'
ments, and rather resemble, for this
reason, tlie pedestals of statues.
Their substructions are of limestone.

After this you come to the co-
lumnar edifice of the third Thothraes.
Its exterior wall is entirely destroyed,
except on the north-east side. Parallel
to the four outer walls is a row of
square pillars, going all round, within

the edifice, 32 in number; and in
the centre are 20 columns, disposed
in two lines, parallel to the back and
front row of pillars. But the position
of the latter does not accord with the
columns of the centre, and an un*
usual caprice has changed the esta-
blished order of the architectural
details, the capitals and coraioes
being reversed, without adding to the
bttuty, or increanng the strength of
the building. Adjoining the south-
west angle of its front is a small room
( No. 1 4. ), containing the names of the
early predecessors of lliothmes III.,
hence called the chamber of kings;
and a series of small halls and rooms
occupy the extremity of the temple.

In the southern side adytum (Nou
1 7. ) are the vestiges of a colossal hawk,
seated on a raised pedestal; the sculp-
tures within and without containing
the name of Aletander, by whose
order it was repaired and sculptured.

The total dimensions of this part
of tlie temple, behind the inner pro*
pyla of the grand hall, are 600 feet.
by about half that in bivadth, mak-
ing the total length, from the fixxit
propyla to the extremity of the wall
of circuit, inclusive, II 80 feeU The
additions made at different periods,
by which the distant portions of this
extensive mass of buildings were
united, will be more readily un*
derstood from an examination of my
Survey, than from any description*
however detailed, I could offer to the
reader. And from this it will appear
that Diodorus is fully justified in the
following statement : that <* the cir*
cuit of the most ancient of the four
temples at Thebes measured IS sta-
dia," or about 1^ mile English. The
thickness of the walls, •< of 25 feet»*
owing to the great -variety in their
dimensions, is too vague to be no-
ticed ; but the height he gives to tlie
building, of 45 cubits (67 feet), is
far too little for the grand ball,
•which, from the pavement to the
summit of the roof, inclusive, is not
less than 80 feet.

XI. Egypt. ANTIQUITY of the buildinqs.

391

COMrARATITC AVnO^nT or THB
BOILDIXOS.

No part, in iny opinion, remains of
the earliest foundation of the temple ;
but the name of Osirtasen suffices to
support its claim to an antiquity
surpassing that of every other build-
ing in Thebes, by at least one hundred
years. The original sanctuary,
which was probably of sandstone,
doubtless existed in, and previous to
the reign of that monarch, and stood
on the site of the present one, (marked
9.) — an opinion confirmed by our
finding the oldest remains in that di-
rection, as well as by the propor-
tions of the courts andpropyla, whose
dimensions were necessarily made to
accord with those of the previous
parts, to which they were united.
All is here on a limited scale, and
the polygonal columns of Osirtasen
evince the chaste style of architecture
in vogue at that early era. ( Sf No.
IS. of the ground plan.)

Subsequently to his reign were
added the small chambers of Amu-
noph I. ^ the obelisks of Thothmes
I. ^- the great obelisks, and the
rooms near the sanctuary, of Amun-
neitgori (No. IS.) — and on the
corresponding side those of Thoth-
mes II.

They constituted the main part of
the temple at that period. The suc-
ceeding monarch, Thothmes III.,
made considerable additions to the
buildings and sculptures, as well i6
the vicinity of the sanctuary as in the
back part of the great enclosure;
where the columnar edifice above
mentioned, the side chambers, and
all the others in that direction, were
added by bis orders.

The Bmutumy destroyed by the
Persians, and since rebuilt by Philip
Aridaus, was also of the same Plu^
raoh ; who seems to have been the
first to build it of red granite ; and a
block of that stone which now forms
part of the ceiling, and bears the
name of the third Thothmes, belonged

most probably to the sanctuary he
rebuilt

llie wall No. 11. is double, the
inner part bearing the name of
Amunneitgori, the actual face that of
Thothmes III., who presents to the
god of Thebes a variety of offerings ;
among which are two obelisks, and
two loflty tapering staffs, similar to
those attached to the propyla. At
the close of his reign the temple only
extended to the smaller obelisks ; be-
fore which were added, by Amunoph
III., the propyla (D)t whose re-
cesses for the flagstaffs, proving them
to have been originally xhe front tow-
ers of the temple, are still visible on
the north-west face.

The propyla to the south-west were
already erected in the reigns of the
Thothmes, as I shall have occasion
to remark presently.

In the third reign after Amunoph,
the grand hall (C) was added by
Osirei, the father of Remeses IL,
about 1 S80 B. c. ; and besides the
innumerable bas-reliefs that adorn its
walls, historical scenes, in the most
finished and elegant style of Egyp*
tian sculpture, were designed on the
exterior of the north-east side.

tn the next reign other grand ad-
ditions were made by the son of the
last monarch, who completed the
sculptures on the south-west side of
the grand hall, and on the exterior of
the wall of circuit. He also built the
area in front, with massive propyla,
preceded by granite colossi and an
avenue of sphinxes. Succeeding
monarchs continued to display their
piety, to gratify theirown vanity, or to
court the good-will of the priesthood,
by making additions to the buildings
erected by their predecessors; and
the several isolated monuments, be-
coming attached to the principal pile,
formed at length one immense whole,
connected either by ^rand avenues of
sphinxes, or by crude-brick enclo-
sures. The principal edifices united
to the main temple by the successors
of the second Remeses are the three

8 4

392

DESCiOFTION OF THEBES.

Sect IV,

cbambert below the front propyla
(B, 2.), and the small but complete
temple on the west side of this area
{marked 9. ) ; the latter by Remeses
III., the former by his second pre-
decessor, Osirei II.

Sereral sculptures were added,
during the twenty-second dynasty,
at the western corner of the same
area ; and on the exterior wall, near
the doorway, are the names of the
captive towns and districts, which
the first Sheshonk (Shishak of the
Scriptures) boasted to have taken, in
his expedition against Jerusalem, ■.€.
971. Among them is the Yooda-
Melchi, ** kingdom of Judah," dis-
covered by ChampoUion.

The columns in this court, one
alone of which is now standing, bear
the name of Tirhaka, Psamaticus I.,
and of Ptolemy Philopator; and
the gateway between them and the
grand hall having been altered by
Ptolemy Physcon, additional sculp-
tures, bearing his name, were inserted
amidst those of the second Remeses
(at 6 and 7)» On the left, as you
enter, he wears a Greek lielmet.
{Marked 7.)

These columns, twelve in number,
stood in an avenue, six on each side :
we may however conclude, from the
breadth of the intercolumniations,
and the proportionate smallness of
the columns, that they were never
intended to support a roof, nor even
architraves, but rather to bear hawks
or similar emblems.

Of the other monuments, origi-
nally detached from the main body of
the temple, the most ancient are the
south-west propyla, and a temple of
Amunopb III. (K), on the north-
east of the c^reat enclosure. Other
names, in the different parts of this
building, are of Pthahmen, Remeses
IV., Amyrtcus, Hakoris, and some of
the Ptolemies. It was once adorned
with elegant sculptures and two gra-
nite obelisks, but is now a confused
heap of ruins, whose plan is with diflS-
culty traced beneath its fallen walls.

In front of it stands a well-pro-
portioned pylon, bearing the names
and sculptures of Ptolemy Euergetes
with Berenice, and of Philopator;
beyond which an avenue of sphinxes
extends to a raised platform at its
north-east extremity. The pyloo,
which was of a much earlier date than
the sculptures it bean, having attach-
ed to it the statues of Remeses II.,
is the only portion of this building
which, has escaped the fUry of the in-
vader ; and though we may with rea-
son attribute a considerable port of
the destruction of Thebes to the Per-
sian conquest, the names on this
pylon, and many Ptolemaic ad-
ditions to the temple of Amun,
fully prove that its capture by La-
thyrus was not less detrimental to
this city, than the previous invasion
of Cambyses.

A protracted siege of three years
had exasperated tlie Ptolemaic con-
queror against his rebellious subjects ;
and he sought, by the destruction of
Thebes, to wound the pride of its in-
habitants, while he wrested from them
for ever the means and prospect of
future resistance.

The feeling which induced the Per-
sians to deface its monuments was of
a different nature. TKey bad become
masters of Egypt; they were not
more inimical to the Tbebans, than
to any other of the inhabitants of the
country; the destruction of the sta-
tues or the sanctuaries was prompted
%y a contempt for their votaries, not
by the fury of an injured master ; and
the pillage of all that was capable of
being removed, and the burning of a
captured city, were rather the custom
of the day than any extraordinary
severity exercised by the conquering
enemy. The Persians were hostile
to Egypt ; Lathyrus was solely en-
raged against the Thebans; and on
tliem the whole weight of his Ten-
geance naturally fell* And the ani-
mosity of civil war, inflamed by jea-
lousy against a neighbouring rival,
prompted the Egyptian victors to de-

U. Egypt

FOREIGN KINGS.

393

stroy those monuments, which con-
tribu ted to the grandeur or the strength
of Thebes.

Had the temple before us been de-
molished at the earlier period of the
Persian invasion, it is needless to re-
mark that the sculptures of this pylon
would, not have been added during
the Ptolemaic reigns, to adorn a mass
of ruins, or that the Persians would
not have left it dUnu untouched.
And though to the conquest of Cam*
byses is to be attributed a great part
of the destruction of Thebes, modem
visiters have more reason to regret
the implacable raee of the Greek
monarch, which reduced it to so de-
plorable a state that it **no longer
deserved a rank among the cities of
Bgypt.*' Nor did it ever revive from
this fatal blow ; and though the re-
spect for the deities there worshipped,
or the influence of the Tbeban priest-
hood, induced the succeeding Ptole-
mies to repair several of the gateways,
and other parts of its ancient build-
ings, Thebes gradually sank into ol)-
livion; and its reduced population,
divided into separate bodies, even as
early as the time of Strabo, withdrew
A B

t9 small villages within its former
precincts.

The S. W. propyla before alluded
to are of the early date of the first,
second, and third Thothmes, and of
Amunoph II. ; and on the north side
of the southernmost of the two nearest
the temple, behind the statues (34.,
35. ) we find the mention of*' additional
work ** or, <* repairs ** made by king
Osirei to the temple of Amunre.

On the other (No. 3S.), which has
lately been destro]red,and on the walls
connecting it with Uie temple, is the
name of king Horns, who not only
cut his name over that of an older
monarch, Amun-Toonh, but used the
stones of earlier buildings, bearing
the ovals of king Atinre-Bakhan and
others of that foreign family, which
he doubtless destroyed for this pur-
pose. The fact is very important, as
it limits the reign of Bakhan to the
period intervening between Horus
and Tbotbmes IV., whom I have al-
ready sliown to have been his second
predecessor; and from these ruins,
M. Prisse has been enabled to make
out the probable succession of some
of those kings, as follows :—
C D

i8S: -^ i^ * 1%^^ ^*

hmii

i#-

IS? 3* 1! ij4 ^ l!^ }Jf ?f I!

394

DESCIOPXION OF THEBES.

Sect. IV.

The successioD of the five first ( ^,
B, C, D» £,) M. Frisse thinks to be
in the above order; and since the era
of Atinre-Bakhan (D) has been
ascertained, it appears to me that F
and G sliould follow them* the latter,
Amun-To6nh, being a cotemporary
of Amunoph III., and therefoce the
last of those foreign princes. As I
have already stated, they were not ad-
mitted into the Tbeban lists of kings.
F is of Eesa, whose tomb is in the
western valley of Thebes.

Nos. 90. and 91. are uncertain.
Tlie first is from a ring belonging to
Mr. Burton, and the other from the
handle of a vase I found at Tel el
Amarna. Noa. 7. 10. 13. and 19-
are names of queens belonging to the
kings they accompany, and 16. is
the square title on banner prefixed
to the oval of this king. A is
from the third propyla of Kamak,
and £ from a grotto at Tel el
Amarna.

The interesting inquiry to which
the discovery of the above names has
led, induces me to mention them
more particularly, in order to invite
the attention of travellers to the sub-
ject, and to show the importance of
any observations they may have it in
their power to make, respecting the
succession and history of these stranger
princes; and no opportunity should
be allowed to pass of copying hiero-
glyphics that contain their ovals.

Other monarchs have added sculp-
ture to different parts of tlie two areas
before and behind these propyla ; and
we here find the names of Remeses
II. and III., with some other early
Pharaohs.

To the south-east of them is a lake
or spacious reservoir, lined with ma-
sonry, which still receives the water
of the rising Nile, as it oozes through
the ground ; and on its banks are a
few small ruins, of the late epoch of
Psammouthis, of the S9th dynasty
{marked 95., 26,, 97.).

Tlie small edifice attached to the
fruittarea is of the second Amunoph,

but the name on the neighbouring
outer propyla is of the soccesMV
of Amunoph III., and the andro*
sphinxes before them bear that of
Odrei II. (No. 9& ) In a small iso-
lated edifice (O) are the ovals of
Thothmea I. and the third Amumyph,
wiiose statues of black granite adorn
the inner doorway. (No. 39.)

The ruins within the crude-brick
enclosure of the other, or weaUrm hke,
are of various epochs ; and among the
sculptures are observed the names of
ThcrthmesIIL, Amunoph III., She-
shonk I., and Ptolemy Dionysus.
The temple (T, 3.), and statues,
which once stood before it, are of
Remeses 1 1. ; and that on the western
corner of the lake, also adorned witk
two granite statues, is of Remeses
III. Numerous figures of black
granite, representing the lion-headed
goddess, are depoeited in the piccinott
of the inner enclosure; and some ele-
gant androsphinxes, on the left of the
front door, are worthy of notiee.

The water of this lake al&o receives
an annual supply, through the soil,
from the Nile; but being strongly
impregnated with nitre, and otber
salu, and stagnant during the heat of
the summer, it is no longer drink-
able.

The sculptures of the pylou
(No. 91.), behind the great tample^
have never been completed. Id the
doorway is the name of Nectanebo^
and on the upper part of the south-
east ade those of Ptolemy Philadel-
phus, and of Arsinoe, his sister and
second wife.

In the area, within this gateway,
are a few other remains, of the time
of Osirei, Remeses II. (No. Id.}*
Tirhaka (No. 90.), Ptolemy Physeoo,
DionjTSUs, and Tiberius. The com*
mencement of it, however, dates from
the earlier era of the third Thothmea*
as the statues placed against the wall
of circuit of the great temple hsTe
tlie name of that Pharaoh (No. 18.).
By the same monarch was founded
the small edifice on the east of the

U. Egypt HISTORICAL sculptures at karnak.

395

crude-brick enclosure (F) ; where
the names of Remeses III., of Se-
baco, and of the Ptolemies Philopa-
tor, Euergetes Land XL, Alexander I.,
and Auletes or Dionysus, are also
met with. The small ruin £ is of
Psamaticus III. ; and H of Amyr-
tfeus of the twenty-eighth dynasty;
L of Pbilopator ; Q of Euergetes II.
with the two Cleopatras, and of Dio-
nysus; and at R is the name of a
Cleopatra.

There is also a small temple, dedi-
cated to Amun by Sabaco, a short
distance from the southern angle of
the smaller lake ; and near the village,
called Nega el Fokinee, to the east-
ward, about 1000 feet from the pylon
of Nectanebo (No. 21.), b a temple
built in the time of the PtolemieSb
(This last is omitted in my Surrey.)

Such are the dates of the principal
parts of tliis extensive mass of build-
ings, which I have endeavoured to
state in as brief a manner as possible,
omitting, of course, the mention of
the numerous repairs made at different
tiroes by many of the Pharaohs and
Ptolemies.

Hutorical Sculpture*. — The prin-
cipal historical sculptures are on the
exterior of the great hall ; and towards
the base of the S. £. propylon-fower
of the great hall, on its inner face (to
the right as you approach it from the
sanctuary and the obelbka), is re-
presented a large boat, or ark (at
C 5. ) ; which calls to mind the « boat
of cedar, 280 cubits long, overlaid
with gold without, and with silver
within, dedicated by Sesostris to the
principal deity in Thebes," mentioned
by Diodorus.

The sculptures of this hall were
commenced by Osirei I., and finished
by his son Remeses the Great, the
supposed Sesostris. Those on the
N. £. side are of Osirei I., and re-
late to his campaigns in the £ast.

To commence with the northern
extremity {tuarked C) : the upper
compartment represents the king at-

tacking a fortified town situated on a
rock, which is surrounded by a wood,
and lies in the immediate vicinity of
the mountains, whither the flying
enemy drive off their herds on the
approach of the £gyptian army. The
suite of it is entirely lost

In the first compartment of the
second line, the king engages the
enemy's infiintry in the open field,
and having wounded their chief with
a lance, entangles him with his bow-
string, and slays him with his sword.
The drawing in these figures is re-
markably spirited; and, allowance
being made for the conventional
style of the Egyptians, it must be
admitted that the principal groups
in all these subjects are admirably de-
signed, and would do credit to artists
of a later epoch than the fourteenth
century before our era. In the second
compartment (following the same
line } the Egyptian hero, having
alighted from his car, fights hand-in-
hand with the chiefs of the hostile
army: one has already fallen beneath
his spear, and trampling on the pros-
trate foe, he seises his companion,
who is also destined to fall by his
powerful hand. Returning in tri-
umph, he leads before his car the
fettered captives, whom he offers,
with the spoil of the cities he has
taken, to Amunre, the god of Thebes.
This consists of vases, silver, gold,
precious stones (?), and whatever the
monarch has been enabled to collect
from the plunder of the conquered
country.

The lowest line commences with
an encounter between the Egyptians
and the chariots and infantry of the
Rot-n-no. Their chief is wounded
by the arrows of the Egyptian mo-
narch, who closely pursues liim, and
disables one of his horses with a spear.
He then attempts to quit his car, as
his companion falls by bis side covered
with wounds. The rout of the hostile
army is complete, and they fly in the
utmost consternation. One is on
horseback. The victorious return of

s 6

396

DESCBIPTION OF THEBES.

Sect. IV.

king Osiret is the next subject ; and,
aligbting from his chariot, be enters
the temple of Amunre, to present his
captives and booty to the protecting
deity of Thebes. He then slays
with a club the prisoners of the two
conquered nations, in the presence of
Amunre, the names of whose towns
and districts are attached to other
figures on the lower part of the wall.

The order of the other historical
subjects commences at the S. E^ angle
(^marked C S. ). In the lower line the
Egyptians attack the infantry of an
Asiatic enemy in the open field, —
the Rot n>no» or Retenno; whose
dress and colour, if they are the same
as those represented in the Theban
tombs, prove them to have inhabited
a country very far to the north of
Egypt. The Egyptians subdue them
and make many captives ; and their
march, perhaps during their return,
is directed tlirough a series of districts,
some of which are at peace with,
others tributary to, them. The in-
habitants of one of these fortified
cities come out to meet them, bring-
ing presents of vases and bags of
gold, which, with every demonstra-
tion of respect, they lay before the
monarch, as he advances through
their country. He afterwards meets
with opposition, and is obliged to
attack a hostile army, and a strongly
fortified town, situated on a high
rock, and surrounded by water, with
the exception of that part which is
rendered inaccessible by the steepness
of the cliff on whose verge it is built.
It seems to defy the Egyptian army,
but the enemy are routed and sue
for peace. {This ii ai th« ang^t of
the wall)

Their arms are a spear and battle-
axe, and they are clad in a coat of
mail, with a short and close dress.
The name of the town, Kanana, and
the early date of the first year of the
king's reign, leave little room to
doubt that the defeat of the Canaanites
is here represented.

In the other compartments is re-

presented the return of the Pharaoh
to Thebes, leading in triumph the
captives he has taken in the war,
followed by his son and a *< royal
scribe," with a body of Egyptian
soldiers, ** the royal attendants, who
have accompanied him to the foreign
land of the Rot-n-no.**

The succession of countries and
districts he passes through on bis re-
turn is singularly but ingeniously de-
tailed: a woody and well-watered
country is indicated by trees and lakes,
and the consequence of each town by
the size of the fort that represents it ;
bearing a slight analogy to the simple
style of description in Xenopbcni*s
retreat.

The Nile is designated by the cro-
codiles and fish peculiar to that river ;
and a bridge serves as a communica-
tion with the opposite bank. This
is very remarkable, as it sbovrs they
liad bridges over the Nile at that early
period ; but being drawn as seen from
above, we cannot decide whether it
was made with arches or rafters. Acon«
course of the priests and distinguisbed
inhabitants of a large ctty comes forth
to greet his arrival ; and he then pro-
ceeds on foot to offer the spoil, and cap-
tives he has taken, to the deity. Though
probable, it is by no means certain, that
Thebes is here represented, especially
as the name of that city does not occur
in the hieroglyphics. The deputation
consisu of the *< priests, and the
chief men of the upper and lower
countries ; ** it should therefore rather
refer to his entrance into Egypt ; and
Tanis would agree better with the
hieroglyphics. But Thebes Is more
likely to be represented in Theban
sculptures. The battled edifices on
the road, bearing the name of the
king, appear to be out of Egypt;
and may either point out the places
where he had a palace, or signify that
they were tributary to him.

In the compartments of the upper
line, the Egyptians attack the enemy
in the open field, and oblige them to
take shelter in a fortified town, aito-

U, Egypt

HISTORICAL SCULPTURES.

397

ated on a lofty hill flanked by a lake
of water. Near its banks, and on
the acclivity of the mountain, are
several trees and caverns; amongst
which some lie concealed, while
others, alarmed for the fate of their
city, throw dust on their heads, and
endeavour to deprecate the wrath of
the victor.

Their chariots are routed, and the
king, having seized the hostile chief,
smites off his head, which he holds
by the beard. The pursuit of the
enemy continues, and they take re-
fuge amidst the lofty trees that crown
the heights of Uieir mountainous
country.* The Egyptians follow them
to the woods, and heralds are sent by
the king to offer them their lives, on
condition of their future obedience to
his will, and the payment of an annual
tribute. The trees here represented
are probably cedars, the place being
evidently called Lebanon, or as the
hieroglyphics write it Lemanon.

Alighting from his car, he awaits
their answer, which is brought by an
Egyptian officer, who on his return
salutes his sovereign, and relates the
success of his mission.

In the third compartment, the
hero, who in the heat of the fight
had alighted from bis chariot, gives
proofs of his physical powers as well
as his courage, and grasps beneath
each arm two captive chiefs; while
others, bound with ropes, fo]|ow to
adorn his triumph, and grace the
offerings of victory to the god of
Thebes.

On the other wall, at the south-
west side of the grand hall, are re-
presented the conquests of his son
Remeses II. ; from which it appears
that the war against the same people
was continued during the reign of
this monarch.

In the upper compartments, at the
north-west end, Remeses attacks the
enemy, who are routed, and take re-

• Round the corner of the wall. The
•ulte then returm to the former part of
the Mulpturst.

fuge in their fortified town, situated
on a high mountain. He then
storms another fort ; and in the next
compartment he gives them battle in
the open plain, where he obtains a
complete victory, and secures many
prisoners. The remnant of their
army retreats to a fortified city, which
he storms, and obliges to surrender
at discretion.

In all these compartments, except
one, the king is represented on foot,
with his shield before him and a spear
in his hand, indicating that the places
were taken by assault. In the lower
line he advances, in his car, to the
walls c^ a fort ; in the next compart-
ment he storms another, on foot; and
afterwards appears before a third,
mounted in his chariot. The rest is
much defaced ; but sufficient remains
to show that he offers the spoils and
captives to the god of the temple.

Behind the side door of the hall,
in the upper line, he besieges a forti-
fied town, on foot; he then attacks
the enemy, in the open field; and
having overtaken the car of their
chief, entangles him with his bow-
string, and stepping forward on the
pole, despatches him with his sword.
The discomfiture of the hostile army
is now complete, and they fly to their
fenced city in the utmost confusion.
The subjects in this line terminate
with offerings to the deity of Thebes.

In the lower series are a large
tablet of hieroglyphics, and the attack
of another fortified town. The battle
scenes continue on the wall of the court
(marked 29), where the Egyptians at-
tack the foe in the plain, who are
routed and pursued to the walb of
their city.

In the other compartments are
many similar subjects, and a tablet
of the twenty- first year of Remeses
II., in which mention is made of his
father Osirei and grandfather Re-
meses I. Beyond this, the Egyptian
monarch storms another fort; his
troops apply scaling ladders to the
walls, and, forcing the gates, oblige

398 ROUTES 26, 27, 28.— from the nile to kossa.tr. Sect. IV.

the inhabitants to •unrender at dis-
cretion. In the next corapartment,
be alighu from his car, and binds the
prisoners he has taken, to serre as a
token of his victory and as an ofier*
ing to the god of Thebes.

The remaining walls of these couru
were ornamented with a continuation
of similar historical sculptures ; but
few traces of them now remain.

The captives taken by Sheshonk
(Shishak), in his expedition against
Jerusalem, are on the south-west wall
of the main temple (marked 8) ; ^ but
the greater part of the other subjects
relate to offerings made by the kings,
who officiate before the different
deities of the temple.

Beyond the circuit of ancient
Thebes may be noticed, on the east
side, some stone remains near the
road to Medam6t, and some grottoes
in the mounuins towards the south-
east of Karnak, fVom near which an
ancient road runs southwards into
the desert of the Ababdeh.

On the Libyan side, upon the
summit of the mountain, which pro-
jects to the north of the Akaba road,
and the entrance to the valley of the
kings* tombs, are the ruins of a crude-
brick building, called £*Dayr, most
probably of Christian date. Hence
a road leads over the mountains to
the northwards, joining the other at
a short distance inland, and leading
towards Farshoot.

ROUTE S6.

KXVSB TO KOSSATR, BT THK MOATLXH
Oa MOIT.EH BOAD.

Milei.
Keneh to Beer Amber - - H)
WelUof El£gayta(£ghayta) - 21)
The l8t Wells to W. of UoMh

(Moayl^h) - - - SSj

2d Wells to W. of Moil^h - S
Wells of MoiUh ... 4
Beer el Inglees (near £1 Bayda) 29|
Springs of £1 Ambagee • 5\

Kossayr (fort) • • - 6

ROUTE 27.

KXNXR 90 KOSSAYR, BT TUK

RUSSAPA

aOAD.

Keneh to Beer Amber -
Wells of £1 £gayta
Well of Hammam^t

Maes.

- Ill
-2I|
.244

Well caUed Moie-t (or Sayil-t)

Hagee Soolayman - - 33
Beer el Ingleei - • « 15
Ambagee • - - • 5J

Kossayr - - - - 6^

117)

ROUTE 28.

THXBBS TO BOSSATR.

UiU

Thebes (Karnak) to Medamot,

(East bank) - . . 5
Coptos, (E.) - - - - 37J
Wellsof ElEga^ta - - 27

£1 Egayta to Kossayr 83] or

(tee Routes 26, 27.) " 86t

1S5\

The roads from Hiebes and from
Keneh unite at the wells of £1
Egayta, and are then the same to
Kossayr. The MoiUh, or Moaylih,
road, and the Derb £* Russafa are the
most freouented. They both meet at
£1 Egayta, where they diverge, and
unite again at el Bayda V the white"
(hills), so called from the colour of
the rocks; where tliere is a well,
called Beer el Inglees, from having
been dug by our Indian army on ita
way to the Nile. The water is brack-
ish ; and that at £1 Ambagee is InmL
At the others the water is good.

There are several roads from the
Nile to Kossayr. The principal one s
beginning from the south are: —
1. That called Mughafg. 2. £'
Debb&h. 3. El Merkh, or Esaaf-
wee. 4. Stkkat El Hom&r «'the
A8s*s road,*' or £1 £do6t, passing
by Moayl^h, and Wad^ £1 Guri);
and thence called also the MoaylAh
Road. 5. £" Russafa, or, Derb £'

U.Egypt B0T7TB 28. — thsbss to kossatiu

899

Russafa. 6. Sikkat el Hamniainee,
a long and rough road.

Arabs with their camels for the
journey had perhaps better be en-
gaged at Keneh.

There is nothing worthy of remark
on the Moayl^h road. There are
some Ababdeh Arabs settled near this
and the Derb E* Russafa, from whom
milk may sometimes be obtained;
and camels, laden with com for Ara-
bia, are occasionally met on their way
to Kossayr.

The most interesting road is the
Derb £' Rusaafa; from the ancient
Roman stations met with at intervals,
and from its having been the old road
from Coptos to Philoteras Portus.
There are eight of these stations, or
Jfydreunuu, some of which are diatant
from each other only 6, others from
8 to 12 miles; besides the wells of
£1 Egfaa^ta, which were also known
to the ancients. The first station,
whose site and plan is less easily
traced than the others, was distant
from Coptos only 9 miles, and was
probably common to the Philotera
and Berenice roads, though not given
in the lists of Pliny or the Itinerary
of Antoninus.

Breccia QuarritM. — Near the large
wall of Hammam£t, on this road, are
the quarries of Breccia Verde, from
which so many sarcophagi, fonts,
tazz€f and other ornamental objects
made of this beautiful stone, were
cut by the ancients, both in Pharaonic
and Roman times. The valley of
the quarries is called Wad4e Foak-
he6r, from the quantity of pottery
(^Fokh6r) found tliere. It is also re-
markable for the number of hiero-
glyphic inscriptions on the rocks, of
very early time, for the number of
huts of workmen who lived tfiere,
and for the remains of a nnall E^p-
tian temple of the time of Ptolemy
Buergetes I. The inscriptions on
the rocks are interesting ^m their
antiquity, some being of very ancient
Pharaohs.

or Papi ; — of Remeren ; — and three
early unknown Pharaohs, two of
which occur in the chamber of kings
at Karnak; — of Mondooftep, or
Mandothph ; — Osirtasen I. and III.;
Amun-n^Gori I. and II. ; — Thoth-
mea III. ; Osirei I. and II. ; — Re-
meses IV. and VIII.; — Sabaco,
and the Princess Amunatts ; — Psa-
maticus I. and II. ; — Amasis ; —
Cambyses; — Darius ;~Xerxes ; and
Artaxerzes; — AmyrUeus; and Nec-
tanebo.

There are many hieroglyphic and
Greek ezvotos. In one of the latter,
the writer is said to be a native of
Alabastron ; and in one of the former
Amun-re is styled « Lord of the re-
gions of the world,*' and Neph(Nou?
or Kneph) is called **the Lord of the
foreign land of the Elephant," or the
island of Elephantine. Khem or
Pan is the deity of the place. He
was supposed to be the particular
'* guardian of t|ie roads,'* and until
the worship of Sarapis was introduced
by the Greeks and Romans, he seems
to have been the principal god to
whom temples and prayen were made
in the Egyptian deserts. The triad
of this valley consisted of Khem, the
infant Horns, and ** Isis, the beautiful
Mother of the gods, queen of Heaven. "*
I counted upwards of 1000 huts in
the different rarines, or branches of
the valley; and I have no doubt,
from the care taken to break up every
quarts vein in the neighbourhood,
that the miners were employed, not
only in the breccia quarries, but in
searching for gold ; and I never re-
member to have crossed a vein of
quarts in the desert, that had not
been broken up, doubtless in search of
the precious ore.

At Kossayr is an English agent,
Sayd Mohammed, a very obliging
person, whose father, Sayd Hossayn,
is our vice-consul at Keneh. [For
the town of Kossayr, see end of Sec-
tion II. Route 19. p. 271.]

Arrived from India at AoffM^r.—

The principal names a|xr^H94f%4^Cii^tewho enter Egypt by this point

( OXFORD j

400

BOUTE 28. — K08SATB TO THE MILE. SeCt. lY.

generally go direct to Thebes. They
may either stop at Kamak, or Luxor ;
but the former is more convenient
for seeing the rains.

For the journey across the desert,
camel-boxes with movable trays will
be found convenient, as well as a
single-poled tent, and small mats, an
umbrella lined with a dark-coloured
stuff, and gause spectacles. Colonel
Davies, in his « Hints to Travellers "
by this route, justly considers bottled
water essential, and adds, "great
care should be taken to procure it
good, and bottles well cleaned. Sup-
plies, such as tea, sugar, wine, soups,
tongues, and any preserves, are
much better anc) cheaper in India
than in Egypt; a small camp kit
with a few cooking-poto, bedding,
mosquito curtains, blankets, and some
carpeU are useful in Egypt." He
considers them "particularly so in
the quarantine at Malta, if people
like to live comfortable and economi.
cally ;** but every thing is so reason-
able there, that it is scarcely worth
the trouble and expense of taking
them from Egypt.

*< Camels, for crossing the desert
from Kossayr to^henne (Keneh) or
Luksor, are to be had in plenty for 1
dollar eacli, and donkeys at 15 pias-
tres : stirrups and a mattrass (cush-
ion ?), or a dromedary saddle, is the
easiest way for a gentleman to cross ;
a lady should bring a side-saddle for
a donkey, and panniers for children ;
and if not done in too great a hurry,
the desert can be crossed without in-
convenience or fatigue. But a lady
ought not to do it in less than seven
days, which should be told the camel
owners before leaving ]^ossayr, tliat
they may take sufficient beans, &c
for themselves and camels; if not
they will make it an excuse to push
on."

He justly remarks ** that it is abso-
lutely necessary to keep up deter-
mined authority with all Arabs, and
particularly with boat and camel men.

who make it a rule to try and usurp
it. Many people commence with
thrashing them at once, but I don't
think it advisable or necessary: in-
sist on their doing as you wish, and
they very soon come into your way.**
By Arabs, it is as well to observe,
that he means Egyptian fdi&kM, not
Arabs of the desert, whom it might
cost a man his life to strike.

" In regard to boats,** he adds, " it
is difficult to recommend what plan
to pursue : they are generally to be
procured at Keneh, and sometimes at
Luksor, and may be hired for the
trip to Cairo. If you write to that
place for one, it will cost double or
treble, but you will get a better boat.
I hired one for 1600 piastres the
month ; it was clean, and fitted up in
English style, with a lofty cabin,
and well suited for the purpose ; but
it must be remembered, that, though
you hire by the month, you pay by
the week (by the lunar month), which
I mention that people may not be
ruffled if they find diflferent customs
in different places." The advice is
excellent; but in reali^ the month
should always be rated at thirhf tlay§f
and the owners of boats should not be
allowed to take tliis advantage of
strangers. Another piece of good
advice is, '* never to let your servant
pay the people ; do it on every occa-
sion you can yourself, and you will
soon find the benefit, and so will the
poor people: give half what yoor
servant would charge, and the three-
fingered Arab will kiss the money
and your hand with gratitude. In
regard to assistance^ let every man
be his own agent, and his business
will be done to bis sadsfaction.** If
you can find a good boat, and engage
it by the month, it is better to live in
it while at C^ro, and the best spot
for anchoring is at Ibrahim Paaba's
garden in tlie island of Roda.

The Ababdek DuarU ^ The princi-
pal roads made by the andenta acroas
this de&ert, were those from Coptoa to

(7. Egypt, route 28. — ababdeh desert — Berenice. 401

Berenice, and to Philotera, just men-
tioned; one from Contra Apollino-
polis (opposite £droo),totfae emerald
mines of Gebd Zab&ra ; and another
froiQ Philotera along the sea-coast to
the Leucos Portus, Nechesia, and
Berenice, which continued thence
southwards in the direction of Sow4-
kin. There was also one, which left
the Nile near Contra ApoUinopolis,
and taking a southerly direction, ran
probahljr to the gold mines (of Gebel
OUigee), mentioned by Agatharcides
and other authors, and subsequently
by the Shereef Edrisi and Aboolfeda.
They were generally furnished with
stations, built at short intervals, where
a supply of water could always be ob-
tained, by means of large wells sunk
within them to a great depth, and
frequently in the solid rock. From
these spacious cisterns were filled, as
well for the use of the soldiers quar-
tered there, as of those who passed ;
and hence the name of " Jbiw,*' or

The gold ndne$ lie some distance
to the south of the Ababdeh de-
sert, in the territory of the Bisha-
r^eh. They are, as Edrisi and Abool-
feda observe, in the land of Begga,
the Bish&ree country; and, as ap-
pears from two of the Arabic funenl
inscriptions found by Mr. Bonomi
and Monsieur Linant, were worked
in the years S39 a. h. (951 a. d.),
and 378 a. h. (989 a. d.)> the former
being the fifth year of the Caliph
Mostukfee Billih, a short time before
the arrival of the Fatemites in Egypt;
and the other in the fourteenth year
of £1 Azeez, the second king of the
Fatemite dynasty. Certain it is, how-
ever, that they were also mined pre-
vious and subsequently to that period,
though there are no other epitaphs
with dates.

The stations on the road from Cop-
tot to Berenice have a peculiar inter-
est, from being mentioned by Pliny,
and the Itinerary of Antoninus.

According to Ftiny»

M. p.

First Hydreuma, from C!optos - 82

Second Hydreuma - - - 63

Apollinis - . - - 89

Novum Hydreuma - - 49
(the Hydreuma Vetus being 4
miles off, out of the road. )

Berenice - - - • 25

Total, in Roman miles, 258

Itinerary.

Phcenicon or

Peniconon

Didyrae

Afrodito

Compad

Jovis

Aristonis

Phalacro

ApoUonos

Cabalsi

Caenon Hydreuma

Berenice

j- from Coptos

M p.

24
20
22
S3
25
25
23
27
27
18

Total 271

The above distances of one station
to another agree pretty well with the
measurementa I took, in surveying
this part of the country, as may be
seen in my map of Egypt, which ex-
tends to about thirty miles south of
Berenice. Besides all those stations
mentioned in the Itinerary, an inter-
mediate one between Didyme and
Afrodito is met with, on the direct
road from Coptos to Berenice, about
four and a half miles to the north-
ward of the latter. At Afrodito I
found a Latin inscription, on turning
over the fallen Hntal of the door,
which begins with a date, unfortu-
nately erased ; and I found that the
Hydreuma and Vicus Apollinis were
distinct, standing a short distance
from each other, in different parts of
the valley. The Novum and Vetus
Hydreuma are the last stations before
reaching Berenice, the latter being out
of the road, about four miles up a
valley.

402

BOUTE 28. — BEBEKICE.

Sect-IV-

Bereniee. — Btnmee^ at Bertniee
Tropiodytiea, stands on a small bay,
at the extremity of a deep gulf,
according to Sbrabo, called Sinus
Immundusy which is formed by the
projecting point of Lepte Extrema,
now Cape Nose, erroneously hid
down in some charts as an island. It
is even styled Geseereh '* island** by
the Arabs, who call the cape *' Ras
Banas,** from a shekh buried there,
or « Ras Emkh^et.** I believe the ;
sailors give it the name of Ras el
Unf, or *< Cape Nose.** This long
peninsula or chersonesus, projecting
from the Sinui /mmtnufaw, is men-
tioned by Diodorus, who says its
neck was so narrow that boats were
sometimes carried across it, from the
gulf to the open sea. From the
end of the cape may be perceived the
peak of St. John, or the Emerald
Isle, Gezeeret Zibirgeh or Sem^rgid,
which seems to be the Opimhis, or
serpentine island of Diodorus. The
inner bay, which constituted the
ancient port of Berenice, is now
nearly filled with sand; and at low
tide its mouth is closed by a bank,
which is then left entirely exposed.
The tide rises and falls in it about
one foot.

The town of Berenice was founded
by Ptolemy Philadelphus, and so
called aAer his mother. It was of
considerable sice, compared to its
rival the Myos Hormos; but its
streets were not laid out with the
same regularity, and it was not de-
fended by tlie same kind of fortified
wall. The Myos Hormos indeed
was rery small, and scarcely larger
than one of the ordinary hydreumas.

The houses of Berenice ait built of
very inferior materials, being merely
rude pieces of madrepore, collected
on the sea-coast, and, as might be
supposed, their walls are in a very
dilapidated condition. There is a
temple at ttie end of a street, towards
the centre of the town, built of hewn
stone, and consisting of three inner
and the same number of outer cham-

bers, with a staircase leading to the
summit, the whole ornamented with
sculptures and hieroglyphics in relief
It was dedicated to Serapis, as appears
from a Greek inscription on a amaU
stone I found in one of the cham-
bers; and in the hieroglyphics are
the names of Tiberius and Trajan.
A few figures of the contemplar
deities may also be traced, on exca-
vating the lower part, or wherever
the stone has withstood the action of
the atmosphere; which has proved
more prejudicial to its limestone
walls than the saline and nitrons
soil that has for ages covered the
greater part of what now remains.
In excavating the chambers (for I
did not attempt the portico) I found,
beside the Greek dedication to Sa-
rapis, the head of a Roman empefw,
either Trajan or Adrian, a small
fountain, and some rude figures,
probably exvotos ; and since my visit,
the officers of one of the surv^ng
ships resumed the excavation, and
found another inscription.

The road now usually taken from
the Nile to Berenice lies through the
Wad^ Sakiyt; the ancient road
from Coptos to that pott passed
through Wad^ Matoolee, and other
valleys that succeed it to the south-
ward.

The modem name of Berenice is
Sak4yt el Kublee^ or ** the Southeni

A road leads from Berenice to the
basaniU nMmnlam, now Om Kcrre-
beh, passing by some ruined stations,
and an ancient village of considerable
extent; and some distance to the
eastward of those quarries is the
Mmu Pwi^daet^ms, now Gebel Fe-
rild, whose five cones are still more
remarkable when seen from Berenice.
At Om Kerrebeh are considerable
workings of what the ancients called
basanite; a real quarry of wUdi
I afterwards found near Gebel e'
Ross&ss.

On the coast between Bertmia and
Ko99ttipr are the '< several ports**

U. Egypt ROUTE 28. — emerald mines.

408

mentioned by Pliny, with landmarks
to direct small Teasels through the
dangerous coral reefs, whose abrupt
discontinuance forms their mouth.
These corresponding openings are
nngular, and are probably owing to
the coral insects not working where
the fresh water of the winter torrents
runs into the sea, which is the case
where these ports are found. There
are no remains of towns at any of
them, except at Neekesia and the
I^eueoa PortuB, the sites of which I
have ascertained ; the former in WadSe
e* NukkarM, the latter known by the
name of £' SkSomOf or ** the maga-
cine.** Nechesia has the ruins of a
temple, and a citadel of hewn stone ;
but the Leucos Portus is in a very
dilapidated state; and the materials
of which the houses were built, like
those of Berenice, are merely frag-
ments of nuulrepore and shapelns
pieces of stone.

About halfway between them is
another small port, 4 miles to the
west of which are the had miwes of
tve6e/«' Roitdss; and a short distance
to the northward, in Wad^ Aboo-
Raikeh, is a small quarry of basanite,
worked by the ancients.

Emerald Mine*. — The emerald mineg
are far less interesting than might be
supposed. Some are at the GtM Za-
bira, and others in that neighbour-
hood, about the Wad^eSak^yt. They
have been successively worked by the
ancient Egyptians, the caliphs, the
Memlooks, and the present Pssha,
but are now abandoned. They lie
in micaceous schist ; and numerous
shafts of considerable depth have
been excavated at the base of the
mountain. The largest is at Gebel
Zab&ra, extending downwards, at an
angle of 37^, to Uie distance of about
360 feet, being 318 in horizontal
length, and 815 in perpendicular
depth.

To the south of Gebel Zabiira is
the extensive village of Sakdytf con-
sisting of numerous miners* huts and
houses ; and Independent of its opines,

a temple excavated in the rock, and
some Greek inscriptions, render it
peculiarly interesting to the antiquary.
The name of Sakiyt is evidently de-
rived from that given to the town
in old times. A Greek inscription
there speaks of the god Sarapis and
the lady Isis of Seuskis, or Senskeet.
In the adjoining valley, called Wad&
Nognm, which is only separated from
Wad^ Sakiyt by a ridge of hills, is
another similar village, whose houses
are better built and on a larger scale,
with the advantage of a natural reser*
voir, under the neighbouring cliffs, of
excellent water.

It is through this Wad^e Sak&yt
that the road goes from the Nile to
Berenice.

Andent Road from Contra Apom-
napoSs to the Emerald Mineg. — On
the road from Contra Apollinopolis
to the emerald mines are three sta-
tions. The first is small, and pre*
sents notliing interesting, except the
name of king Amun-To6nh, a co-
temporary of Amunoph III.; but
close to the second is a temple cut in
the rock, founded, and dedicated to
Amun, by King Osirei, the father of *
Remeses the GreaL Though small,
its sculptures are of a very good
style ; and in the hall is a curious
tablet of hieroglyphics, bearing the
date of the ninth year of this Pharaoh.

The temple consists of a portico,
supported by four columns; and a hall,
witli four pillars in the centre, at the
end of which are three small cham-
bers, or rather niches, each containing
three statues. Many visitors have
written Greek inscriptions on its
walls, most of which are exvotos to
Pan ; but one is remarkable as being
of the soldiers quartered in the for-
tified station, whose thirteen names
are inscribed on one of the columns
of the portico.

In a chamber of the station is a
block of stone, bearing an exvoto to
« Arsin'e Pbiladelphe,*' the wife of
Ptolemy Philadelphus, who founded
the town of Berenice, to which this

404

BOUTE 29. — THEBES TO ASOUAK.

Sect. IV.

road also led from the upper part of
the Thebald. The third station pre*
senU nothing of interest; and be-
tween it and the emerald mines uo
other ruins occur, though sereral
wells once afforded o supply of
water to those who passed on the
road. This road which leares the
Nile, nearly opposite Edfoo, is per-
haps the best for a visit to the eme-
rald mines and Berenice, especially
as the Ababdeh Arabs live there, who
are not to be engaged at Thebes, and
other places to the north.

The BiMharieh Tribe ofArdbM.-^
To the south of the Ababdeh Arabs
are the Bishar^h, who, like the
Ababdeh, wear long hair, and have
the same wild appearance as the
Nubians and many other people of
Ethiopia. They have a peculiar lan-
guage, and call themselves desendants
of Kooka, who was both their god
and their ancestor; but they are
now Moslems. The Ababdeh had
also their own language formerly,
but they now speak Arabic.

The arms of both these tribes are
the spear, knife, and sometimes the
shield, which they prefer to fire-arms.
They are frequently at war with each
other; and it is therefore necessary, in
going into their desert, to apply to
some of their shekhs for pretection.
But there is little there worthy of a
visit ; the gold mines are of no great
interest, and it is difficult to obtain
permission to see their stronghold,
the isolated mountain, called Gebel
el Elbeh.

ROUTE S9.

TBBBIS TO ASOUAK, TBB PiaST CATA-
RACT, KLXPHAMTINB, 8BBATL, AND

raxLJE.

Thebes to Esni (W.) .
Esn^ to Edfoo (passing by

Eilethyas) (W.)
Edfoo to Hagar Silsili (£.

and W.) - . - .
Hagar Silsili to Asouan (£.)

Miles.
32

29
40

124

On quitting Thebes, the first ruins
worthy of notice are those of ErmeMi,
the aneiemi HermonthU. The princi-
pal object is a small temple^ which
appears to have been the mammeui,
or ** lying-in-house,'* belonging to a
large temple now destroyed ; where
Reto, the second member of the
triad of the places gave birth to Hor-
pi-re, the infant child of that goddess
and of Mandoo. It was built by the
celebrated Cleopatra, who is there
accompanied by Neocaesar, or Ccsa-
rion, her son by Julius Canar, and
consists of an exterior court, formed
by two rows of columns, connected by
intercolumnar screens, a small trans-
verse colonnade, serving as a portico,
at right angles with the former, and
the naos, which is divided into two
chambers. Ptolemy Neocaesar and
his mother have both the titles gods
Philometores, Philopatores ; but the
offerings are mostly made by the
queen Cleopatra, who is also repre-
sented adoring Basis, the bull of
Hermonthis. This sacred animal is
found on the reverse of the coins of
the Hermonthite nome. Its head is
depressed, while that of Apis on the
Memphite coins is raised, whi^ may
serve as a distinguishing ooaric when
the legend containing the name of the
nome has disappeared. I need scaroely
add that these are of the Roman em-
pire, the ancient Egyptians under the
Pharaohs having no coinage.

Strabo says that Apollo and Ju-
piter were both worshipped at Her-
monthis, and that the bull was also
held sacred in this city ; but by
Apollo he doubtless means Mandoo,
who was the principal deity of the
place ; and Jupiter was the Amun of
the Tliebsld. In the sculptures at
the back of the uaa§ are the camelco-
pard and several Typhonian figures ;
and those of the interior are intetest-
ing in a mjrthological point of view ;
but their style is very inferior, and
proves that Egyptian sculpture had
already approached the era of its
downfall. Near it stood the other
larger temple, long since entirely de-

U. Egypt

BOUTE 29. — TUOT, — ESNE,

405

stroyed, of which the substructions
alone can be traced, the materials
having been doubtless used to build
the Christian church. There is also
a reservoir cased with hewn stone,
appertaining to the temple, the water
of which Wansleb says was used
in his time for bleaching linen.
The same traveller mentions a tradi-
tion of the people claiming for their
town the honour of having been the
birth-place of Moses, with the same
gravity as the natives of Bomoo pre-
tend that their country received its
name {Bur-n6oK) from being *'the
country of Noah.**

The Christian church dates in the
time of the lower empire. It was
evidently of considerable sise, mea^
suring 75 paces by 33 (about 190
feet by 85); and from the style of the
small portion of tlie outer wall that
still remains, and its granite columns,
there is little doubt that it was erected
after Christianity had become the es-
tablished religion of the country.
This has long been a ruin, and I hear
the small temple has recently been
destroyed by the Turks.

Tuott in Coptic Thouot, the an-
cient Tuphium, lies on the opposite
bank, in the district of Selem^eh, and
is easily distinguished by its lofty
minaret The only ruins consist of
a small temple, probably also a mam'
meisi, now nearly concealed by the
hovels of the villagers, who inhabit
the few chambers tlut remain. On
one of the blackened walls I observed
the name of Ptolemy Physcon. It
presents little worthy of a visit, and
will not repay the traveller for the
trouble of an excursion from the
river, unless he is Yery much inter-
ested in Egyptian researches.

CrocodUopclU is the next town men-
tioned by Strabo on the west bank,
after Hermonthis. Its site is uncer-
tain ; but it may have been at the
Gebelayn, where the vestiges of an
ancient town appear on the hill near-
est the river ; and where I observed
some grottoes, whose paintings have
long since been destroyed.

Tbfniea is on the site of an ancient
town, perhaps Aphroditopolis ; as
Atfoon of Asphinis : and in the plain,
about two miles and three-quarters to
the north-west of £sn^, is the small
temple of E* Dayr (««tbc convent**),
which appears to mark the position of
Chnoubis ; though Ptolemy seems to
place it on the east bank, SCK south of
Tuphium, and 15' north of Eilethyas.
Chnoubis and Chnumis were the
same place.

Owing to the depredations of the
Turks, who have removed the stones
of this temple tP build the manufac-
tory of Esn6, little now remains of it.

It appears to have been founded by
the third Ptolemy ; but being left in
an unfinished state, the sculptures
were afterwards completed by Epi-
phanesy Augustus, Adrian, and Mar-
cus Aurelius, whose names occurred
in different parts of the interior. On
the ceiling of the portico was a Zo-
diac.

Eini, — Einii or Eina^ in Coptic
Sne, was known to the Greeks and
Romans by the name of IjOtopoHSf
from the worship of the Latus fish,
which, according to Strabo, shared
with Minerva the honours of the
sanctuary. But the deity who pre-
sided over Latopolis was Chnouphis
or Kneph, as is abundantly proved
by the sculptures and dedications of
the portico ; which is the only por-
tion of the temple now free from the
mounds that have accumulated over
the whole of the back part, and from
the intrusion of modern habitations.
The imposing style of its architecture
cannot fail to call forth the admira-
tion of the most indifferent spectator,
and many of the columns are remark-
able for elegance and massive gran-
deur. It was cleared out to the floor,
by order of Mohammed AH, during
his visit to £sn£ in 1842.

Whatever may have been the date
of the inner portion of this temple,
the portico merely presents the names
of some of the early Caesars ; those of
Tiberius Claudius Cssar, Germani-
cus, and Autocrator Cssar Vespasi-

406

BOUTE 29. — THEBES TO ASOUAN.

Sect. IV.

onus, occurring in the dedlcatioii
over the entrance ; and those of Tra-
jan, Adrian, and Antoninas, in the
interior. Mention is also made of
Thotbmea 1 1 1., by whom the original
temple was perhaps founded.

On the exiling is a lodiac, similar
to that of Dendera; and upon the
pilasters, on either side of the front
row of columns, are several lines of
hieroglyphics, which are interesting
from their containing the names of
the Egyptian months.

Extensive mounds suflBciently
prove the sise and consequence of
ancient Latopolis ; but no remains are
now visible, eicept the portico and a
stone quay on the east side. That
the latter is of Roman date may be
inferred from the st^le of the build*
ing; and I mtf add, in conBrmation
of this conjecture, that Mr. Bankes
is said to Iiave discovered a Greek
inKription upon it, mentioning the
time of its erection.

Esn^ has become the place of exile
for all the AlmekSf and other women
of Cairo, who offend against the rules
of the police, or shock the piejudicea
of the i/Zsmot. The learning of these
** learned women** has long ceased;
their poetry has sunk into absurd
songs; their dancing would degrade
even the motua loniems of antiquity ;
and their title Ahneh has been changed
to the less respectable name of GkoW'
6xee, or women of the Memlooks. In
1832 the Pasha permitted tliem pub-
licly to exercise their vocation in
Cairo, and the Almeh's dance was
allowed to satisfy the curiosity of
strangers, or the taste of the inhabi-
tants. But the doctors of Islam took
alarm, the goverment was obliged to
give up the annual tax levied upon
this class of the community, and tlieir
dancing was forbidden. And such
is the consistency of these modem
Pharisees, that they, in the true spirit
of straining at gnats and swallowing
camels, permit men publicly to as-
sume the dress of women, and dance
in their stead.

Wansleb mentions the tombs of
Christian martyrs, who were buried
near £sn4, and whom some suppose
to have been put to death during the
persecutions of Diocletian. But they
are doubtless the same, who are re-
ported to have fled from Med^enet
Haboo at the time of the Arab inra-
sion, and to have been overtaken and
and slain at this spot.

Near the village of El HeOek, on
the opposite bank, stood the small
town of Contra Latont whose site is
marked by a temple of the time tX
Cleopatra Cocce and Ptolemy Lathy-
rus ; but the sculptures were not
completed till the rdgns of Aurelius
and Commodus.

It has a portico, S3 feet by 19, with
four columns in front, and two in
depth, beyond which are one central
and two lateral chambers, the former
10 feet by 16; and this last is suc-
ceeded by an inner room, probably
the sanctuaiy. But from the whole
of tlie back part being ruined, its ori-
ginal extent is now doubtful.

The subcarbooate of soda, natron,
is found in the vicinity of El Helleh.
The Ababdeh also bring from the
eastern desert a talcose stone, called
Aomr, for which there is a great de-
mand throughout Upper Egypt, being
peculiarly adapted to the manufacture
of the diVdm. or earthen vessels for
cooking, which have the power of
resisting a great degree of heat, and
are universally used by the peasants.
Tlie hamr is 6rst pounded and sifted ;
and, after t>eing moistened and mixed
with brick-dust, is fashioned with the
hand, and baked in a kiln heated
to a proper temperature. But they
hive not yet become acquainted with
the process of vitrifying their pottery,
and the glased earthenware now used
in Egypt is imported from foreign
countries.

On the west bank, seven miles
above Esn^ are mounds of an old
town, now called Kom Ayr.

A short distance above El Ken4n,
and about fourteen miles horn Esn^

Un Egypt ROUTE 29. — EILETHTASy NOW EL KAB.

407

if an ancient quay of liewn stone ;
but I have not been able to discover
any town of consequence in the im-
mediate neighbourhood, to which it is
likely to have belonged. Some sup-
pose it to mark the site of Chnubis.

Three miles beyond this, and a
short distance from the river, is a
ruined pyramid, called El Kodla. It
is built in degrees, (as were probably
all other pyramids,) and is composed
of limestone blocks, from the rock
on which it stands, of irregular form,
and hewn with little care. Though
in a dilapidated state, twenty-five
tiers still remain, and its total height,
now reduced to about 35 feet» may
perhaps originally have exceeded 50 ;
the base being about 60 feet square.

Four miles farther to the south-
ward is El Kom el ahmarp or ** the
red mound.*' It marks the site of
HieraconpoUa, which, as Strabo in-
forms us, was opposite Eilethyas ; and
though little now exists of the ancient
buildings that once adorned the « city
of the hawks," the name of the first
Osirtasen suffices to establish their
claim to a very remote antiquity.
Near them is a large enclosure of
brick, with double walls, of consider-
able height.

Opposite El Keniin commences the
region of sandstone, whose compact
and even grain induced the anicient
Egyptians to employ it in the erection
of most of the large buildings in
Upper Egypt.

A short distance from El Ma-
hamSd is an isolated rock, which was
quarried at an early period, and on
whose southern side the workmen
have sculptured a few rude triglyphs.

Between this and El Kab stood a
small peripteral temple, which has
suflfered the fate of all the interesting
ruins of Eilethyas, and whose need-
less destruction necessarily excites
our regret at the ignorance of the
Turks.

It was surrounded by a peristyle of
square pillars, and resembled the
temple of Kneph, at Elephantine, in

its general phm, and even in the
sculptures of the interior, where the
king was represented offering to the
sacred shrine of Re. It was founded
by the third Thothmes, and on one of
the pillars was the name of Amunoph
II., his son and successor.

El Kab is the modem name of
Eilethyas, the city of Luciua. The
town was surrounded by a large
crude-brick wall ; and on the south
side was another enclosure, furnished
with doorways of masonry, which
contained the temples, and a reser-
voir cased with hewn stone. On the
east is an open space of considerable
extent, encompassed also by a strong
wall, with several spacious staircases,
or inclined planes, leading to the pa-
rapet, as usual in the fortified towns
of ancient Egypt.

The temples were on a small scale,
but the style of the sculptures and the
name of the second Reroeses out in
intaglio over that of a more ancient
king, served to indicate their anti-
quity, and consequently to enhance
our regret at their destruction.

Amunoph II. and Pthahmen added
to the sculptures, but the original
founder was the first Hak6ris ; whose
hieroglyphics, executed Jn bas-relief,
left no doubt regarding the fact of
Remeses the Great having introduced
his name at a subsequent period, and
satisfactorily proved that this could
not be the Hak6ris of the twenty-
ninth dynasty.

Re shared with Lucina the worship
of the city ; but most of the dedica-
tions, in the sacred buildings that re-
main, only present the name of the
goddess. The principal ruins now
consist of a small isolated chapel or
naos, a short distance up the valley to
the eastward, dedicated by Remeses
II. to Re; a Ptolemaic temple,
partly built and partly excavated in
th« sandstone rock ; and about a mile
further to the eastward, another iso-
lated ruin, bearing the name and
sculptures of Amunoph III. The
dimensions of the chapel of Re are

408

BOUTS 29. — THEBES TO ASOUAK.

Sect. IV.

only 20 feet by 16, mnd it consists of
but one chamber. Re is of course
the principal divinity ; and the God-
dess df Justice holds the most con-
spicuous place among the contemplar
deities.

The excavated temple was conse-
crated to Lucina by Physcon or £uer-
getes II., tlie courts in front having
been built at a later period by Pto-
lemy Alexander I. ; who, with his
mother Cleopatra, added some of the
sculptures on the exterior of the sub-
teranean chamber. The front court
is composed of columns united by in-
tercolumnar screens, and opens by a
pylon on a staircase of considerable
length, having on each side a solid
balustrade of masonry ; and on the
face of the rock, to the east of the in-
ner court, is a tablet of the time of
the second Remeses, who presents an
offering to Re and Lucina.

I have been told by M. Prisse,
that on a rock beyond these two tem-
ples is anther tablet, bearing the
name of king Papi.

The temple of Amunoph III.
stands about a mile from these to the
eastward, in the same valley, between
two and three miles from the river.
And, from the circumstance of these
ruins being but little known to tra-
vellers who visit £1 Kab, it may not
be amiss to observe, that this building
bears about 70^ east of north from the
ruined town of Eilethyas, and that
the two above mentioned, lying close
to the left of the road, may be visited
on the way.

This temple was also dedicated to
the goddess of Eilethyas. It consists
of a single chamber supported by four
columns, measuring 1 1 paces by 9, with
a paved platform on three sides, and
an open area in front, 8 paces by 17,
formed by colunins and intercolumnar
screens; to which the pylon, con-
nected with the body of the temple
by a double row of columns, forms
tlie entrance.

The subjects of the interior are
mostly offerings made by king Amu-

noph to the contemplar deities ; and
near the door are represented this
Pharaoh and his father Thothmcs IV.
On one of the jambs of the docMr, the
name of king Osirei has usurped tbe
place of his ancestor's prenomen;
and beyond, on the outside wall, is a
tablet of the forty -first year of Reme-
ses II., in which the fourth son of
that Pharaoh, a priest of Ptfaab, is
attending his father in the capacity of
fan-bearer.

On returning from this ruin, and
following the bed of the valley, nearly
opposite the nao» of Remeses, the
geologist may examine the numerous
ponds, on whose brink is found na-
tron, or subcarbonate of soda.

Of all that Eilethyas now presents
to the antiquary, nothing can equal,
in point of interest, the grottoes in
the mountain to the north of the an-
cient town.

The first sculptured tomb to the
eastward is tlie most curious as a chro-
nological monument, sinoe it eon-
tains the names of several monarcfas
who reigned at the commencement
c^ the eighteenth dynasty, firom
Amosis to Amunoph II.

Above it is a larger grotto, still in
good preservation, containing colour-
ed drawings relating to agricultural
and other occupations of the early
Egyptians. But the outlines of the
figures, and the subjects here de-
tailed, though so hi^y praised by
many travellers, are of a very inferior
style, and do not deserve similar en-
comiums when compared to those in
the private tombs of Koomeh. Tbey
are, however, highly interesting.

In the first line of the agricultural
scene, on the western wall, the pea-
sants are employed in ploughixig and
sowing ; and from the car which is
seen in the field, we are to infer that
the owner of the land (who is also
the individual of the tomb) has come
to overlook them at their work. In
the second line they reap wheat,
barley, and do6ra ; the distinction
being pointed out by their req>cctive

IT. Egypt, route 29. — eilethtas — edfoo.

409

heights. In the third is the carry-
ing, «nd tritura, or treading out the
ear, which was frenerally performed
throughout Egypt by means of oxen ;
and the winnowing, measuring, and
housing the grain. The doora or
sorghum was not submitted to the
same process as the wheat and barley,
nor was it reaped by the sickle ; but
after having been plucked up by the
roots, was bound in sheaves, and
carried to the thrtthing-floor, where,
by means of a wooden beam, whose
upper extremity was furnished with
three or four prongs, the grain was
stripped from the stalks which they
forcibly drew through them.

Below are the cattle, asses, pigs,
and goats belonging to the deceased,
which are brought to be numbered
and registered by his scribes. In
another part they weigh the gold, his
property; and fowling and fishing
scenes, the occupation of salting fish
and geese, the wine-press, boats, a
pargr of guests, the procession of the
bier, and some sacred subjects og>
cupy the remainder of the wall.

From these, and other paintings,
we find that the Egyptian boats were
richly coloured, and of considerable
sixe. They were fumbhed with at
least twelve or (burteen oars» and
besides a spacious cabin, there was
sufficient room to take on board a
chariot and pair of horses, which we
see here represented. It was these
painted boats that surprised the
Arabs, when they invaded the coun-

On the opposite side, the indivi-
dual of the tomb, seated with his
wife on a handsome fauteuil, to which
a favourite monkey is tied, entertains
a party of his friends ; the men and
women seated apart. Music is in-
troduced, as was customary at all
the Egyptian entertainments, but the
only instruments here are the double
pipe, clappers, and harp.

The greater part of the remaining
tombs are very imperfectly preserv-
ed ; but some of them still present a
EgypL

few useAiT hints for the study of
Egyptian chronology.

Those behind the hill are not
worthy of a visit.

Edfoo. — EdfoOt in Coptic Phboou,
or Atbo, is the ancient ApoO\nopaU$
Magncu

It has two temples, the larger
one of which is on a grand scale.
But the whole of the interior is so
much concealed by the houses of the
modem inhabitants, that a very small
part of it is accessible, through a
narrow aperture, and can only be
examined with the assistance of a
light. It appears to have been
founded by Ptolemy Philometor, and
completed by Physcon or Euergetes
II., his brother, by Ptolemy Lathy,
rus, Alexander, and the son of Au-
letes. The face of the temple itself,
and the portico, have the names of
Philometor and Euergetes, and on
the abacus of the columns is the oval
of Lathyrus, which again occurs,
with that of his queen Oteopatra, on
the exterior of the area and portico.
On the towers of the propylon are
the sculptures of Ptolemy, the elder
son of Auletes, and his sister ** Cleo-
patra Tryph^Bna;^ Alexander I.
having previously completed those of
the wall of circuit, enclosing the
back part of the temple, where « a
find bis name, with that of his wife
Cleopatra. In one compartment are
the figure and name of Berenice;
and from her presenting an oflering
alone, we may conclude that this
refers to the short reign of the
daughter of Lathyrus, after the death
of Alexander I. ; though the titles
" royal wife ** and *' sister of Alex-
ander ** would seem to relate to the
queen of the second of that name ;
or to imply that Alexander I. had
married his own sister, who at all
events survived him. The small
figures at the corner of the western
propylon have been added at a
later period, and are accompanied
by the name of Tiberius Claudius
Ccesar.

410

ROUTE 29. — THEBES TO ASOUAK.

Sect. IV.

The general effect of Ihis grand
edifice is exceedingly imposing, and
from the state of its presenration it
is capable of giving a very good idea
of Egyptian temples. It also shows
the respective proportion and distri-
bution of the different parts ; their
exterior appearance when entire ; and
the strength of those formidable ci-
tadels ; which, while they serred as a
protection to the town, commanded
the respect of the inhabitants, and
effectually prevented or defeated any
attempts of the disaffected to dis-
pute the authority of their jwiestly
rulers;

The god Hor-Hat, who is the same
as Agathodaemon, so .frequently re-
presented by the winged globe, is the
deity of Edfoo ; and we learn from
the small temple (which was one of
those buildings attached to the prin-
cipal edifice, called by M. Champol-
lion ** mammeisi, or lying-in cham-
bers **), that Athor, the Egyptian
Aphrodite, with the god Hor-Hat,
and their son Hor-senet-to, ** Horus
the support of the world," or *' of
the two regioHM (of Egypt)," formed
the triad worshipped in this city. But
the honours paid to the crocodile by
Ombos, Silsilis, and other neighbour,
ing towns, were, if we may believe
Strabo^ never acknowledged by the
inhabitants of Apollinopolis.

The small temple was also erected
by Ptolemy Physcon, and Lathy rus,
and consists of two chambers, with a
peristyle of pillars. It had an area
in front, which has lately suffered
from the depredations of the Turkish
miners ; though the stones quarried
from it still remain unused, a counter
order having been received to stop
the erection of the manufactory, for
which this temple has been so unne-
cessarily disfigured.

In a low hill, between two and
three miles to the south-west of Ed-
foo, appear to be some grottoes,
which I did not visit.

On the east bank at Redes^'h are
the head-quarters of the Ababdeh

Arabs ; and another portion of the
tribe is settled at I)er6w, above
Ombos.

Halfway from Edfoo to GSiel
Silsildi is a ruined town on the east
bank, once fortified with a wally
flanked by round towers, not of Tery
ancient date, and apparently through-
out of Arab construction. It mcy
have been the site of another Pithom
or Toum, the ancient Thmnis;
though this should be halfway be-
tween Edfix) and Ombos. Thmuis
is evidently the Tooum of Ptolemy,
who places it inland, IV north of
Ombos, and 25' south of £ilethya&
Some suppose Thmuis to be the same
as Silsilis. Halfway between this
fortified place and Tonib b a grotto
in the rock.

Hagar SOsOeh ; SanUM. — At
Hagar^ (or GiUU) SUtiUk — the
" stone,** or " mountain of the chain,*
are extensive quarries of sandstone,
from which the blocks used in the
greater part of the Egyp^n temples
were taken. The Arabs account for
the modern name by pretending that
a tradition records the stoppage of
the navigation of the river at this
spot by a chain, which the jealousy
of a king of the country ordered to
be fastened across it. The narrow-
ness of the river, and the appearance
of a rock resembling a pillar, to
which the chain was thought to have
been attached, and the ancient name
SilailtM, so similar to the Arabie
SilsUtK, doubtless gave rise to the
tradition ; and the Greek Silsilis was
itself a corruption of the old £g7p-
tian name, preserved in the Coptic
Golgl.

On the eastern nde of the Nile,
and near the commencement of the
quarries, stood the ancient town of
Silsilis, of which nothing novr re-
mains but the substruetions of a stone
building, probably a temple On
this bank the quarries are Tery ex-
tensive, but less interesting to the
antiquary than those on tbe west ;
where, in addition to the qitanitt

{7. Egypt b. 29. — silsilis — sandstone quabhies. 411

themtelves, are several curious grot-
toes and tablets of hieroglyphics, exe-
cuted in the early time of the Pha^
raohs of the eighteenth dynasty.

It is not by the size and extent of
the monuments of Upper Egypt
alone that we are enableid to judge
of the stupendous works executed
by the ancient Egyptians: these
quarries would suffice to prove the
character they bore, were the gigantic
ruins of Thebes and other cities no
longer in existence ; and safely may
we apply the expression used by
Pliny, in speaking of the porphyry
quarries, to those of Silnlis : *< quan-
tislibet molibus eaedendb sufficiunt
lapidicinae.**

The first grotto to the north con-
sists of a long corridor, supported by
four pillars, cut in the fiice of the
rock, on which, as well as on the
interior wall, are sculptured several
tablets of hieroglyphics, bearing the
names of different kings. It was
commenced by Horus, the successor
of the third Amunoph, the ninth
Pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty,
who has here commemorated his de-
feat of the Kush (Cush), or Ethio-
pians. He is represented in a car,
pursuing with bended bow the flying
enemy, who, being completely routed,
sue for peace. He is then borne in
a splendid shrine by the EgyptiiA
chiefs, preceded by his troops, and by
captives of the conquered nation ; a
trumpeter having given the signal
for the procession to march. Other
soldiers are employed in bringing the
prisoners they have captured ; and in
another part, the monarch is seen re-
ceiving the emblem of life from the
god Amun Re.

Other of these tablets are of the
time of Remeses II., of his son
Pthahmen, and of Pthah-men-Se-
pthah, the first king of the nineteenth
dynasty. In an historical point of
view they- are exeecdingly interest-
ing; particularly from the mention
of assemblies held in the thirtiMh,
thirty-fourth, thirty-seventh, and for- |

ty-fourth years of Remeses the Great ;
from the presence of the name of Isi-
nofri, the queen of Pthahmen, being
the same as that of his mother, the
second wife of Remeses ; and from
their relating to other of the sons of
that conqueror.

These tablets, like similar ones at
Asooan, show that the stones used in
different Egyptian buildings were
taken from the quarries in their vi-
cinity ; but it must be observed that
various other parts of the same sand-
stone strata afforded their share of
materials ; as may be seen from the
numerous quarries about £1 Hellal,
and on the way to Silsilis, though
but trifling when compared with the
extensive ones of this mountain.

The earliest Egyptian edifices were
principally erected of limestone,
which continued in use occasionally
even in Upper Egypt, till the com-
mencement of the eighteenth dy-
nasty ; though the Pharaohs of the
sixteenth had already introduced the
sandstone of Silsilis to build the walls
and colonnades of the larger temples;
and its fitness for masonry, its du-
rability, and the evenness of its grain
became so thoroughly appreciat«l by
their architects, during the eighteenth
and succeeding dynasties, that it was
firom that time almost exclusively
used in building the monuments of
the Thebaid. But as its texture was
less suited for the reception of colour
than the smoother limestone, they
prepared its surface with a coat c^
calcareous composition, which, while
it prevented the stone from imbibing
an unnecessary quantity of colour,
afforded greater facility for the exe-
cution of the outlines. The subjects
when sculptured, either in relief or
intaglio, were again coated witii the
same substance, to receive the final
colouring : and the details of the
figures and of the other objects could
thereby be finished with a precision
and delicacy, in vain to be expected
'on the rough and absorbent surface
of the smdstooa.

T S

412

ROUTE 29. — THEBES TO ASOUAK.

Sect. IV.

Their paint was mixed with water.
The reds and yellows were ochre» but
the greens and blues were extracted
from copper, and, though of a most
beautiful hue, the quality was much
coarser than either of the former, or
their ivory black. The white is a
▼ery pure chalk, reduced to an im-
palpable powder; and the brown,
orange, and other compound colours,
were simply formed by the combina'
tion of some of the above. Owing
to their being mixed with water, they
necessarily required some protection,
oven in the dry climate of Egypt,
against the contact of rain ; and so
attentive were they to this point, that
the interstices of the blocks which
form the roofs of the temples, inde-
pendent of their being well fitted to-
gether and cemented with a tenacious
and compact mortar, were covered
by an additional piece of stone, let
into a groove of about 8 inches in
breadth, extending equally on either
side of the line of their junction.

However the partial showers and
occasional stonns in Upper Egypt
might affect the state of their painted
walls, it was not sufficient to injure
the stone itself; which still remains
in its original state, even after so long
a period, except where the damp,
arising from earth impregnated with
nitre, has penetrated through its gra-*
nular texture; as is here and there
observable near the ground at Me-
d«6net H4boo, and in other ruins of
the Thebaid. But exposure to the
external atmosphere, which here ge-
nerally affects calcareous substances,
was found not to be injurious to the
sandstone of Silsilis; and, like its
neighbour the granite, it was only
inferior to limestone in one respect,
that the latter might remain buried
for ages without being corroded by
the salts of the earth; a fact with
which the Egyptians, from having
used it in the substructions of obe-
lisks and other granitic monuments,
were evidently well acquainted.
Beyond the grotto above men-

tioned are others of smaller dimen*
sions, that have served for sepuldires,
and bear the names of the first mo-
narchs of the eighteenth dynasty:
among which I ol»erved those of Uw
first and third Thothmes, and of the
queen who erected the great obelisks
of Karnak. The few sculptures found
in them relate to offerings to the de-
ceased, and some of the usual subjects
of tombs ; and on a rock in the vi-
cinity I noticed the name of a very
ancient king, Remai, (Mceris?) who
appears to t>e the same as Papi.

To the south of these again are
other tablets and open chapeis, of
very elegant form. They are orna-
mented with columns, having capitals
resembling the bud of the water-
plant, surmounted by an elegant
Egyptian cornice, and in general
style and design they vei^ mudi
resemble one another. Tlxe first,
which is much destroyed, was ex-
ecuted during the reign of Osirei I.,
father of the second Remeses; the
next by his son ; and the third, which
is the most northerly, by FEbahmen,
the son and successor of the same
Remeses. The subjects of the two
last are very similar, and their taUets
date in the first year of either mo-
narch. In the chapel of Remeses,
the king makes offerings to Amunre,
Maut, and Khonsw, the Theban
triad ; and to Re, Pthah, and Hitpi.
moo (the god Nilus); the other
contemplar deities being Savmk,
Mandoo, Osiris, Ao or Hercules,
Juttictt Tafne, Seb or Saturn, Atmoo
Oi^Thothmoo, Khem, Atbor, Thoth.
Anouke or Vesta, and a few others,
whose name and character are less
certain.

In the piincipal picture Remeses
presents an offering of incense to the
Theban triad, and two vases of wine
to Re, Pthah, and the god Nile, who
is here treated as the other divinities
of Egypt. Indeed it is remarluhle
that he is cmly represented In this
manner at Silsilis, and that be usual] j
bears lotus plants and water.jars» or

U. Egypt B. 29. — the laroeb temple of ombos. 413

the Tarious productions of Egypt,
rather as an ornamental device at the
baaesof the walls in certain parts of the
temples, or on the thrones of statues;
alluding perhaps to his being the
origin and support of all, and the
eause by which all thinss are pro-
duced into existence, and nourished
when created.

Isinofri, the queen of this Pharaoh,
also holds forth two sistra before a
curious triad of deities; and at the
base of the side walls the god Nilus
is again introduced, carrying water-
plants and various offerings the
produce of the irrigated land of
Egypt Some small tablets occur at
the side of these chapels ; one of
them of the time of Amunoph I ,
second monarch of the eighteenth
dynasty ; others of Pthahmen ; and a
larger one of Remeses III., offering
to Re and Nilus.

The particular honour, however,
thus paid to the deity of the Nile, at
the quarries of Silsilis, was not per-
haps merely owing to the narrowness
of the river, which, as M. Champollion
observes, "seems to make a second
entrance into Egypt, after having
burst through the mountains that
here oppose its passage, as it forced
its way through the granite rocks at
the cataract ;** but also to its being
the place where the blocks cut from
the quarries were committed to the
chaise of the river god, when placed
upon the rafts or boats that conveyed
them to their place of destination,
for the erection of their temples. It
does not however appear that they
sent the large masses of granite, for the
*^ obelisks and colossi, by water from
Asouan; these seem to have been
taken by land ; and Herodotus, in
mentioning one of the largest blocks
ever cut by the Egyptians, says it
was conveyed from Elephantine, (or
rather Syene,) by land, during the
reign of Amasis, to the vicinity of
Sais, and that it employed two thou-
sand men for three years.

Savak, the deity of Ombos, with

the head of a crocodile, is the pre-
siding god of Silsilis, and his titles of
Lord of Ombos, and Lord of Silsilis,
are frequently found alternating in
the stelae of these quarries.

Ombos, — Kom Ombo, the ancient

Ombos, in Coptic Mbo, is about 16
miles from the mountain of the
chain. The ruins consist of a temple,
founded in the reign of Ptolemy
Philometor, continued by his brother
Physcon (who is introduced as usual
with his queens, the two Cleopatras),
and finished by Auletes or Neus Di-
onysus; whose oval having been
placed at a later period above the
Greek inscription of Philometor, be-
fore the western adytum, led me, on
my first journey in 1829, in common
with other visiters to this temple, to
suppose his hieroglyphic name to be
that of a Philometor. I have, how-
ever, satisfactorily ascertained, by m
subsequent examination of the two,
that the Greek refers to the original
founder, and that, as the hierogly>
phics of. Auletes have been added
long afterwards, these two can no
longer be considered parallel inscrip-
tions. The Greek is —

Trtf fittri\taie fTrtXttuuM km ^ttfiXt^rne

««< rtn TMtntp •nxvAw, A^Mj^Ci JH« fuyaX^
Afl'tfXAM'f, uau r«r rtnutan 3iMr, ««ff ni»M

nm M aXXm. iMMfK ivixif mie %it mntus*

'*For the (welfare of) king Ptolemy and
queen Cleopatra, his sister, gods Fhilo-
inctores, and their children, the infantry,
cavalry, and others (stationed) in the Om-
bite noroe (have erected) the adytum to the
great god Aroeris ApoUo, and to the con-
templar gods, for their beneTolence towards
them."

Savak shared with Aroeris the
worship of Ombos, of which he was
more particularly the guardian and
protecting deity; and his name is
always found in the dedications
throughout the temple, in conjunc-
tion with that of the hawk-beaded
god.

On the under surface of some of
the architraves of the portico, the
figures have been left unfinished, and
present a satis&ctory specimen of the

T 3

414

BOUTS 29. — THEBES TO A80UAN.

Sect IV.

Egyptian mode of drawing them in
squares, when the artists began their
pictures.

The circumstance of this building
having a double entrance and two
parallel sanctuaries (in which re-
spect, indeed, it is singular among
the existing temples of £gf pt), was
owing to the equal honours therein
paid to the two divinities, the god
of the temple itself and the protect-
ing deity of Ombos ; but the appear-
ance of the two winged globes over
the exterior of the portico, instead
of injuring, rather adds to the effect ;
nor is the distribution of the parts
of the interior deranged by this un-
usual innovation. The sanctuaries
themselves have been destroyed, and
the position of the back walls can
no longer be traced ; but several
small chambers in the front of the
naos still remain, as well as the
greater part of the portico or pro-
naos.

The other ruin, which stands on
an artificial platform, towering above
the river, appears to have been de-
dicated to the crocodile-headed god
Savak by Ptolemy Physcon ; but
the sculptures rather require it to
have been, as M. Champollion sup-
poses, an edifice '* typifying the birth-
place of the young god of the local
triad." The grand gateway at the
eastern extremity, for it stood* at
right angles with the other temple,
b^s tlie name of Auletes, by whom
i% was completed. It is, however,
now in so ruinous a state, that little
can be traced of its original plan;
but the pavement is seen in many
places, laid upon stone substructions,
which extend considerably below it ;
and some of the walls of the chambers
composing the interior of the naos
are partially preserved. From the
fragments of columns, whose capitals
resembled those of the portico of
Dendera, we are also enabled to
ascertain the site of a grand hall,
that formed part of the building.
The sacred precincts of the temples

were surrounded by a strong crude-
brick enclosure, much of which still
remains: but from its crumbling
materials and the quantity of sand
that has accumulated within it, the
buildings now appear to stand in
a hollow : though, on examination*
the level of the area is found not to
extend below the base of the walL

On the eastern fi^e of this en-
closure is a stone gateway, dedicated
to Savak, the Lord of Ombos, which
bears the name of the third Thothmes,
and of Amun-neitgori, who erected
the great obelisks of Kamak. This
satisfactorily proves that though the
ruins only date after the accession
of the Ptdiemies, or from about the
year b. c. 17S to 60, there had pre-
viously existed a temple at Ombos,
of the early epoch of the Pharaolis
of the eighteenth dynasty.

The mounds of the town and
remains of houses extend consider-
ably to the ^st of this cndosure ;
and, to judge from their appearance
Ombos must have suffered by fire,
like many other citiea of Upper
Egypt.

I observed several rounded stones
of porphyry, and other primitive
substances scattered in diffmnt di«
rections amidst these ruins, which
must have been brought from the
interior of the eastern desert; but
for what purpose, it is difficult to
decide.

At Derdw and a*; Rede$Sek, nearly
opposite Edfbo, are the two principal
abodes of the Ababdeh Arabs, where
they may be engaged for excufsioos
to Berenice! the emerald mines, and
other places in the desert.

Soon after passing Edfoo, the valley
of the Nile is confined within very
narrov limits, and though slightly
enlarged in the vicinity of Ombo^
the mountains again approach the
Nile a little fiirther to the south. The
general features of the country b^gin
to resemble Nubia, and this pecu-
liarity of character is increased by the
appearance of the water-wheels that

U. Effypt

BOUTE 29. — A80UAK.

415

occur mt short intervals, instead of the
pole and bucket And, being gene-
rally protected from the sun by mats,
they remind the traveller that he has
already reached a warmer climate.

On several of the heights are small
towers, particularly on the east bank ;
and here and there are quarries of
sandstone once worked by the ancient
Egyptians.

About a quarter of the way from
Ombos to Asouan, some maps mark
Roman ruins on the east bank.

The junction of the tandttoM and
granite is observed about two-thirds
of the way from Ombos to Asouan,
in the vicinity of £1 Khattiira ; from
which point the former continues at
intervals to present itself over the
syenite, and other primitive beds, as
at Asouan and in Nubia.

Three miles south of this village,
and on the west bank, is an isolated
hill, in which are a few quarries ; and
near the rivdr are the remains of a
staircase, and vestiges of building.

Aaoman. — A»ouan or Emran, the
ancient Syene, in Coptic Souan, which
signifies •* the opening ? '* lies in la-
titude 24° 5' 3(f. It presents few
ruins of the ancient city, except some
granite columns of a late date, and
the sekos of a small temple, with the
shattered remains of an outer cham-
ber and of a portico in front. The
only name now found in this build-
ing is of Nero (Nerros), but on a
former visit I also observed that of
I>oraitian. It was supposed by late
travellers to have contained the well
of Strabo» in which the rays of a ver-
tical sun were reported to fall during
the summer solstice ; a circumstance
(says the geographer) that proves this
place " to lie under the tropic, the
gnomon at mid-day casting no sha-
dow."

But though some excavations have
been carried considerably below the
pavement, which has be^ torn up in
search of ^he tropical well it was
thought to cover, no other results

have been, or are likely to be ob«
tained, than that this sekos was a
very improbable site for such an ob-
servatory, even if it ever existed ; and
that Strabo was strangely misin-
formed, since the Egyptians them-
selves could never, in his time, have
imagined this city to lie under the
tropic. For they were by no means
ignorant of astronomy, and Syene
was, even in the age of Hippardius,
very far north of that line. The be-
lief that Syene was in the tropic was
very general in the time of the Ro-
mans; and is noticed by Seneca,
Lucan, Pliny, and others. But a
well would have been a bad kinjl of
observatory, if the sun had been really
vertical ; and if Strabo saw the meri-
dian sun in a well, he might have
been sure he was not in the tropic.

Pococke supposes the aperture in
the roof of this temple to have been
for astronomical purposes, but win-
dows are common of this form, and in
this situation, in Egyptian buUdings.

The wall projecting into the river,
opposite the south end of the modem
town, is not, as has been supposed, of
Roman, but of Arab construction,
and has apparently formed part of a
bath. It was thought by some to
have been a bridge. Aurelius Victor
indeed mentions bridges thrown over
the Nile by Probus ; but his authority
is of little weight, though he flou-
rished within seventy years afler the
death of that emperor. In one of
the arches, on the north side, is a
Greek inscription relating to the rise
of the Nile, brought from some other
' building.

Syene was the place to which Ju-
venal was banished.

The Saracenic wall, whose founda-
tion dates at the epoch of the Arab
invasion by Amer, the lieutenant of
the caliph Omar, still remains on the
south side of the old town, beyond
which are the numerous tombs, mostly
cenotaphs, of the different shekhs and
saints of Egypt. On the tomb-

T 4

416

ROUTE 29. — THEBES TO ASOUAN. SeCt. IT-

ttones that stand towards the southern
extremity of this cemetery, are Cufic
inscriptions.

The epitaphs are of the earlier in-
habitants of Asouan, and bear different
dates, from about the commencement
of the third to that of the fifteenth
century of the Hegira. They begin
— "In the name of God, the clement
and merciful,'* and mention the name
and parentage of the deceased, who
is said to have died in the true faith ;
saying, ** I bear witness that there is
no deity but God alone ; he has no
partner ; and that Mohammed is the
servant and apostle of God." Some
end with the date, but in others, par-
ticularly those of the earliest epochs*
it occurs about the centre of the in-
scription.

This is supposed to be the place of
Martyrs mentioned by Aboolfeda, and
often confounded with that of Es'n^.

The mosk of Amer here, as at
Fostat (old Cairo), pre&nts merely
round arches, in imitation of the Greek
or Roman style of building, in vogue
at the period of the Arab invasion;
but it is not altogether improbable,
that an attentive examination of the
ancient Saracenic remains around this
cemetery might lead to the discovery
of some early specimens of the pointed
arch.

A short distance from the cemetery
of Asouan is a small bank of that
diluvial deposit so frequently seen on
the road to Philae, which is worthy
of the notice of the geologist from its
abounding in shells, and from its
having several blocks of granite lying
upon its upper surface.

The position of that cluster of rocks
through which the road leads to
Fhil®, and in which the principal
granite quarries are situated, bounded
on the west by the cataracts, on the
east by an open space separating them
from the range of mountains on that
side, on the south by the channel of
Phils, and on the north by the town
of Asouan itself, no doubt gave rise
to the following passage of Plmy,

which at first sight appears so sin-
gular: ** Syene, ita vocatur penin'
Bulaj** since we find that ancient
authors firequently used the terms
peninsula and insula in the same
sense as our word itolaied, which may
be justly applied to the rocks of
Syene.

The most interesting objects in the
neighbourhood of Asouan are the
granite quarries ; and in one, that lies
towards the south-east of the Arab
cemetery, is an obelisk, which, having
been broken before it was entirely
detached from the rock, was left in the
quarry. An inclined road leads to
the summit of the hill to the south-
east, and on the descent at the other
side, was a fallen pillar (lately taken
away) with a Latin inscription, stating
that ** new quarries had been dis-
covered in the vicinity of FhiUe ; that
many large pilasters and colunins had
been hewn from them, during the
reigns of Severus and Antoninus
(Caracalla), and his mother Julia
Domna ; ** and that ** this hill was
under the tutelary protection of Ju-
piter-tiammon-Cenubis (or Knephy,
and Juno *' (or Sat^), the deities oif
Elephantine.

Between this and the river is a lai^
sarcophagus which having been
broken, was left in the quarry.

Besides these, several of the rocks
about Asouan bear the evident appear-
ance of having been qiuurried; and
the marks of wedges, and the numer-
ous tablets about this town. Elephan-
tine, Philae, and Biggeh, announce
the removal of the blocks, and the
reign of the Pharaoh by whose orders
they were hewn. Many of them are
of a date previous to and after the
accession of the eighteenth djmasty,
while others bear the names of later
monarchs of the twenty-sixth, imme-
diately before the invasion of Cam-
byses; but some merely record the
victories of those kings over the ene-
mies of Egypt, or the exvotos of pious
visiters.

It is curious to observe in these

?7, Egypt, boutb 29. — island op elbphaktine.

41'7

quarries the method adopted for cut-
ting off the blocks. In some in-
stances, they appear to have used
wooden wec^es, as in India, which
being firmly driven into holes cut to
receive them, along the whole line of
the stone, and saturated with water,
broke it off by their equal pressure.
Indeed, a trench seems to have been
cut for this purpose; and the wedge
holes being frequently seen, where
the stone is still unbroken, strongly
confirm this conjecture.

The nature of the rocks about Syene
is not, as might be expected, exclu-
sively syenite, but on the contrary
consists mostly of granite, with some
syenite, and a little porphyry. The
difference between the two former is
this — that syenite is composed of
felspar, quartz, and hornblende, in-
stead of mica, or solely of felspar and
quarts ; and granite of felspar, quartz,
and mica. According to some, the
ingredients of syenite are quartz, fel-
spar, mica, and hornblende ; but the
syenite of antiquity, used for statues,
was really granite. Indeed, many of
the rocks of Syene contain all the four
component parts; and, from their
differing considerably in their pro-
portions, afford a variety of specimens
lor the collection of a mineralogist.

Many of the inhabitants of Asouan
are descendants of the garrison left
there by Sultan Selim, and have re-
tained with the costume and arms the
pride of their Turkish ancestors.
Many of his soldiers were Bosnians,
and I have known some persons there
who retain the distinguishing name
of Boshnak to this day.

The environs of the town are sapdy
mnd barren, producing little else but
palms ; grain, and almost every kind
of provision, being brought, aa in
Aboolfeda's time, from other parts of
the country. But the dates still re-
tain the reputation they eqjoyed in
the days of Strabo; and the palm
of Ibreem is cultivated and thrives in
the climate of the first cataract
JDatesare among the principal exports

of Asouan, and senna, charcoal, hen-
neh, wicker baskets, and a few slaves
from the interior, from Abyssinia,
and Upper Ethiopia, are sent from
thence to different parts of Lower
Egypt

Opposite Asouan is the island of
Elephantine, now called Gezeeret
Asouan, and in Nubian Sooan-iurtiga,
or **th« island of Asouan.'*

It is evident that Asouan is taken
from the Coptic or Egyptian name
Souan ; but, as I have before ob-
served, the Arabs always prefix a
vowel to words beginning with S
followed by a consonant, as in Osioot,
Es'n^, Oshmoonayn, and others ; in
which the original Egyptian name
may be easily traced, — Sioout, Sne,

and Shmoun B.

Island of Elephantine, — One of
the few remaining ruins in Ele-
phantine is a granite gateway of the
time of Alexander, the entrance to
some edifice now entirely demolished.
Near it, to the northward, was the
small but interesting peripteral tem-
ple, built by Amenoph III. to
Kneph or Chnubis, who presided over
the inundation, and was particulsrly
adored in the vicinity of the cataracts.

Near it I observed a mutilated
statue of red granite, and an altar
dedicated to ** Ammon,*' whom the
Romans confounded with the ram-
headed deity Kneph.

A Christian ruin stood a little dis-
tance to the north, and a short walk
to the westward, was a portion of
another interesting temple : but the
whole of these were destroyed in 1822
by Mohammed Bey, the Pasha's
kehia, to build a pitiful palace at
Asouan. The upper chambers of the
Kilometer suffered the same fate;
but I was in time to observe, and
copy from the hieroglyphics on their
wails, the name of the island, which
was represented by an elephant The
royal ovals were of a Caesar. For-
tunately the lower part^hich con-
tains the staircase that served for the
Milometer, ia still preserved. It is

418

BOUTB 29. — ISLAND OF SEHAYI..

Sect. IV.

eyidently the one seen by Strabo, as
it conteins inscriptions recording se-
veral of the inundations, from the
reign pf Augustus to that of L. Sep-
timius Severus.

At the ancient landing-place, which
bad a flight of steps between two walls
near the sycamore tree to the north
of the Kilometer, are two river gods
of Roman workmanship, but now
nearly buried by the alluvial deposit
of the Nile, and much defaced.

Elephantine had a garrison in the
time of the Romans, as well as in the
earlier times of the Persians and
Fharaonic monarchs ; and it was
from this island that the lonians and
Carians, who had accompanied Psa-
maticus, were sent forward into Ethi-
opia, to endeavour to bring back the
Egyptian troops who had deserted.

The south part of the island is
covered with the iruins of old houses,
and fragments of pottery, on many
of which are Greek inscriptions in
the running hand ; and the peasants,
who live there, frequently find small
bronzes of rams, coins, and other ob-
jects of antiquity, in removing the
nitre of the mounds which they use
for agricultural purposes.

Elephantine is now inhabited by
Nubians. But I do not suppose it
was peopled at a very early period by
natives of Ethiopia; nor does the
account given by Herodotus of Cam-
byses sending the Ichthyophagi of
Elephantine to accompany his spies,
imply that they were actually of that
country, as he merely states Uiat they
were acquainted with the Ethiopian
language. Indeed, in another place
he expressly states that the country
inhabited by the Ethiopians com-
menced beyond Elephantine to the
south. It is, however, not impos-
sible that the modern inhabitants
may be partly descended from the
Nobatae, who, according to Prooo-
pius, were prevailed upon by Diocle-
tian to settle in Elephantine; that
city and the territory on either bank
being granted them, on condition of

their protecting the frontier from tlie
incursions of the Blemmyes.

Pliny and Procopiua agree in
giving the name of Phil« to tfaia, as
well as the sacted island above the
cataract; and the former mentftma
four of that name, probably Pbiiae^
Biggeh, Sehayl» and Elephantme.
But the hieroglyphics do not sop*
port him in this statement, Fhile
alone having the name of Pailak or
Ailak ; and this shows that Phil, or
Fil, " the Elephant," could not be the
origin of the word Philae.

Besides its temples, the eitj of
Elephantine waaadomed with quays,
and other public edifices on the same
grand scale as the sacred island of
FhilsD ; and this assertion of Stndio
is fully confirmed by the extent and
style of the buildings, which border
the river to the south of the Nilo-
meter. The quay is of Ptolemaic or
Roman date, and contains many blocks
taken from more ancient monunaoits.

Island of SekdyL — Sthdyl is an
island, at the northern extremity of
the rapids of the first cataract. It is
interesting from the number of
hieroglyphic tablets sculptured on
the rocks, many of which are of a
very early period, before and after
the accession of the eighteenth dy-
nasty. It had also a small temple of
Ptolemaic date, now entirely dc«
stroyed, except the substructions;
and it was here that M. Riippell
discovered a very interesting Greek
inscription. The island was under
the special protection of Sat£ ( Juno^
Kneph, and Anoiik^ or Vesta.

The traveller, whose intention is
merely to visit Philc, without pass-
ing the cataract, will save himself
some time and much trouble by going
as &r as this island in his boat, by
which the ride to Philao is conudcr-
ably shortened ; nor will be be pre*
vented from seeing all that the ex«
eursion from Asouan presents worthy
of notice, — which is confined to
traces of the old road, the crude-
brick wall that skirted and protected

U. EgypL BOUTE 29, — cataracts — vwjjr.

419

it, and the ringular forms of the
granite rocks, whieb have struck
every traveller since and previous to
the time of Strabo.

The Iff Caiaraei. — The caUraet,
which is called by the natives
£*ShelliI, is merely a rapid, whose
fiUls do not exceed five or six feet,
and is passable at all times of the
year. The boats are towed up by
ropes ; and now that the passage has
been widened, and the people have
bad so much experience, there is little
fear of accidents. In going up, boats
pass to the east of the island of Big-
geh, and in descending to the west of
it. The general fell of the Nile
through Egypt, below the cataracts,
is about five inches to a mile, which
gives about SOO feet from Asouan to
Rosetta.

I$land of PhiUe, — PhiUt, known in
Arabic by the name of Aiuu el Wo'
goddf stands a short distance above
the cataract, about 7 miles from
Asouan, and is no less interesting
from the subjects contained in its sa-
cred buildings than for the general
effect of the ruins ; which, with the
scenery of the adjoining island, and
the wild rocks on the opposite shore,
have deservedly obtained the epithet
■* beautiful.** In Greek it was called
4<\ai, and in Egyptian Pilak,or Ailak,
and Ma-n^-lak, ** the place of the fron-
tier." Philoe is a misnomer.

The principal building is the tem-
ple of Isis, commenced by Ptole-
my Philadelphus and Arnnoe, and
completed by succeeding monarcbs ;
among whom are Euergetes I., Phi-
lometor, his brother Euergetes II.,
with the two Cleopatras,and Ptolemy
the elder son of Auletes, whose name
is found in the area and on the towers
of the propylon. Many of the sculp-
tures on the exterior are of the later
epoch of the Roman emperors, among
whom I observed Augustus, Tiberius,
Clailidius, Domitian, Nerva, and
Trajan.

The eastern tower of the scScond
or inner propylon stands oo a granite

rock, before which has been erected
a small chapel ; and its fece, cut into
the form of a tablet, bean a Ibng in-
scription of the twenty-fourth year
of Euergetes II.

A monolithic shrine in the advtum
has the ovals of Euergetes ana Be-
renice ; but the only place where his
name oecun on the walls of the tem-
ple, is at the back wall of the portico.
Many parts of this building, parti-
cularly the portico, though not pos-
sessing the chaste and simple style of
Pharaonic monuments, are remarkable
for lightness and elegance : and from
the state of their preservation, they
convey a good idea of the efl^t of
colour, combined with the details of
architecture. Nor are the sculptures
devoid of interest ; and those of the
chamber nearly over the western
adytum, containing the death and
resurrection of Osiris, as well as of
the peripteral temple on the left en-
tering the area, relating to the birth
of Horus, throw great light on the
study of Egyptian mythology. This
youthful deity, with his parents, Isis
and Osiris, constituted the triad wor-
shipped at Phils.

Among other peculiarities in the
distribution of the many parts of the
great temple, I ought not to omit
the small dark rooms in the wall of
the eastern adytum, to which a stair-
case leads from near the front of that
chamber. They have the appearance
of being intended either for conceal-
ing the sacred treasures of the temple,
or for some artifice connected with
superstition, and perhaps with the
punishment of those who ofiended
the m^esty of the priesthood.

It would be an endless task to
enter into a detailed account of all
that Philie offen to the curious tra-
veller, or to the Egyptian antiquary ;
I shall therefore briefly notice die
principal objects. The small chapel
of Eseulapius, near the commence-
ment of the eastern corridor, in front
of the great temple, satisfectorily de-
cides by its Greek dedication tha

V 6

420

BOUTE 29. — ^PHILJE.

Sect. IV.

name of Ptolemy Epiphanes; and
that of Athor, which stands on the
east side, nearly In a line with the
front propylon, acquaints us with the
facti that this small building was con-
secrated to the Egyptian Aphrodite,
by Physcon or the second Euergetes.
Though the hieroglyphic name is the
same as that of Philometor, it is evi-
dent that Physcon has here, as in
many other instances, adopted the
prenomen of his brother; and since
we 6nd him with the two Cleopatras,
bis queens, it is plainly proved not to
be of Philometor.

Physcon seems to have been a great
beneftictor of Philie ; and, as is often
the case with a vicious despot, he in-
gratiated himself with the priesthood
as a cloak to his real character. It is
to him, too, that the petition of the
priests is addressed in the Greek in-
scription on the pedestal of the obe-
lisk, brought to England by Mr.
Bankes. The object of this curious
document was to prevent so many
persons of rank, and public function-
aries, visiting the island of Philse, and
living at the expense of the priests.
It is as follows : —

**To King Ptolemy, and Queen
Cleopatra his sister, and Queen Cleo-
patra his wife, gods Euergetes, wel-
fare. We the priests of Isis, the very
great goddess [worshipped] in A baton
and Philae; seeing that those who
visit Phils, generals, chiefs, gover>
nors of districte in the Thebaid, royal
scribes, chiefs of police, and all otlier
functionaries, as well as their soldiers
and other attendants, oblige us to
provide for them during their stay ;
the consequence of which is, that the
temple is impoverished, and we run
the risk of not having enough for the
customary sacrifices and libations of-
fered for you and your children ; do
therefore pray you, O great gods, if
it seem right to you, to order Nume-
nius, your cousin and secretary, to
write to Lochus, your cousin, and
governor of the Theba'id, not to dis-
t»trb us in this manner, and not to

allow any other person to do so, and
to give us authority to this eflRect ;
that we may put up a Mela, with an
inscription commemorating your be^
nificence towards us on this oocaskm,
so that your gracious fiivour may be
recorded forever; which being done,
we, and the temple of Isis, shall be
indebted to you for this, among other
favours. Hail."

Above, on the same pedestal, was
painted (probably in gilt letters), the
answer to the petition, followed bj a
copy of the order tram the king to
Lochus. Little more than half of
them remains; but restored by M.
Letronoe, they read as follows : —

" To the priests of Ists in Abaton
and Philae, Numenius, cousin and
secretary, and priest of the god Alex-
ander, and of the gods Soters, of the
gods Adelphi, of the gods Euergetes,
of the gods Pbilopatores, of the gods
Epiphanes, of the god Eupator, of
the god Philometor, and of the gods
Euergetes, greeting. Of the letter
written to Lochus, the cousin and
general, we pUce the copy here be>
low ; and we give you the permisfiion
you ask, of erecting a gtda. Fare ye
well. In the year ... of Panemus,
... of Pachon 26."

Order of the king. — <* King Pto-
lemy, and Queen Cleopatra the
sister, and Queen Cleopatra the wife,
to Lochus our brother, greeting: of the
petition addressed to us by the priests
of Isis in Abaton and Pbilae, we place
a copy below ; and you will do well
to order that on no aooount they be
molested in those matters which they
have detailed to us. Hail."

At the southern extremity of the
corridor is another smidl ch^wl, de>
dicated to Atbor, by Nectanebo of
the thirtieth dynasty, who ruled Egypt
after the first Persian invasion, and
previous to its final reduction by
Ocbus. And from the principal
pylon of the great temple bearing the
name of this Pharaoh, it is endent
that <n ancient edifice fiirmerly stood
I on the site of the present one* vMcb

V. Egypt. BOUTS 29. — biggeh — abatok.

421

having been destroyed by the Per-
sians at the time of the invasion of
Ocbus, was rebuilt after the accession
of the Ptolemies.

The hypaethral building, on the
east of the island, is of the time of the
Ptolemies and Conars ; and from the
elongated style of its proportions, it
appears that the architect had in-
tended to add to its effect when seen
from the river. Below it is a quay,
^hich extended nearly round the is-
land, whose principal landing-place
was at the staircase leading to the
arched gate on the east bank. A
short distance behind the gate stands
a ruined wall, ornamented with tri-
glyphs and the usual mouldings of
the Doric order, evidently of Roman
construction.

Other detached ruins and traces of
buildings are met with amidst the
mounds that encumber them ; and on
the west side of the temple is a cha-
pel, in which are some interesting
sculptures relating to the Nile, and
other subjects ; with a series of ovals
in the cornice, containing the name of
L'Ucius, VeruSy Antoninus, Sebastus,
Autocrator, Caesar. There are also
some Greek, and unknown inscrip-
tions, probably Ethiopian.

Numerous ex wftos are inscribed on
the walls of the propylon and other
parts of the great temple, mostly of
the time of the Caesars, with a few of
a Ptolemaic epoch, from one of which
last we learn that Auletes, or Neus
Dionysus, was called god Philopator
and Philadelphus, titles that usually
follow his name in hieroglyphics.

Itiand of Biggeh, — In the island
of Biggeh is a small temple, dedicated
to Athor, apparently commenced by
Euergetes I. and completed by Pto-
lemy the elder, son of Auletes, by
Augustus, and by other of the Caesars;
but from the presence of a red granite
statue behind it, there is reason to be-
lieve that an older edifice had pre-
viously existed here, of the time of a
Pharaoh, either Thothmes III., or
Amunoph II. Among the mounds

is a stela of red granite, bearing the
name of Amasis, sumamed Neitsi,
*< the son of iVInf,*' or Minerveu

The arch, inserted at a late period
in the centre of the building, is of
Christian date ; and it is evident that
the early Christians occupied both of
these islands, whose temples they con-
verted into churches, concealing with
a coat of clay or mortar the objects of
worship of their pagan predecessors.

I will not pretend to say that
Philae had not the name of A baton ;
but from an inscription at Biggeh,
mentioning *' the gods in Abaton a$ui
in Philae;" there is room to believe it
belonged to this island ; though it
has, at least in one sense, been ap-
plied to Philae by Plutarch, who says
** that island is inaeee$nble and unap-
proachable ..... except when the
priests go to crown the tomb of
Osiris.-

The name of Biggeh in the hiero-
glyphics is Senmaut or Snem, over
which Athor is said to preside ; but
we sometimes find the name followed
by the sign of '* foreign country,** in-
stead of the circle signifying** land."
On the rocks here, as on the road
from Asouan to Philae, are numerous
inscriptions, of the early times of the
Pharaohs of the sixteenth, seventeenth,
eighteenth, and nineteenth dynasties :
several of which mention the holy oh*
ject of their writers, who came to
adore the gods of this district, while
others merely present the names of the
monarchs themselves. Some relate
to the granite blocks cut and removed
in their reigns, and others to tlie vic-
tories gained by them over the Ethio-
pians, the people of Cusb. Similar
tablets are of great use in the study of
the chronology of that period ; nor
are those of &e later Pharaohs, of the
twenty-sixth and twenty-eighth dy-
nasties, without their share of inter-
est.

On the eastern shore, opposite
Philae, aiv some mounds, and the re-
mains of a stela and monolith of
granite; the formecbearing the name

BOUTS 29. — BOCK KSAB PE1JL&

Sect IV.

of tlw flnt Pnmiticui, and cqd*b-
crMcd to Kncph and St,ti.

There i> also > rock oppodte Ihe
Dortfa end of Phil>, remarkable for it)
deTitedappearance and general fomi ;
but ther* it no reaion to auppoic tliat
any religioui idea irai attached to it,
aa lonie haTc imigined, and much lot
that it waa Abalon,

Such are the principal olqeeta in
tb« Tidnity at the atafacta, aflbrding
■D cndleai itudy to tbe Egyptian
cbronologer and antiquarj, and eai-
culatcd to claim for it a prDmiDcnl
place amongst the moK JPterBMing
aitei in Egypt.

IB the Cauncu.

423

SECTION V.
NUBIA.

Prdminary Obtervattom,

is. Conquests ot thk Egtitians and Romans abotk Phila, and shk
First Cataract. — b. Tax Modern Nubians, or Barabras.

ROUTB

SO AsouRDy by Phils, to Derr • 426

ROUTR

81 Derr to Aboosimbel, and

Wad^HRlfeb - - 435

a. The frontier of ancient Egypt was properly at Pbilae ; but southern
Ethiopia was conquered by the Pharaohs of the 16th and 18tb dynasties; and
though afterwards partly abandoned, was again included within the limits of
the Egyptian territory, after the accession of the Ptolemio.

Among the early Pharaohs who conquered the country, was Thothmes I.,
who extended his arms as far as the island of Argo, where he left a monument,
now known by the name of Hagar e' dabab, ** the golden stone.*' Thothmes
II. penetrated to Napafa, new £1 Berkel, the capital of Lower Ethiopia ; and
the third of that name appears to have extended his dominion still farther.

The invasion of the Caraars, who extended their conquests under Petronius,
praefect of Egypt in the time of Augustus, as far as Napata, was owing to
an incursion of the Ethiopians, who had penetrated to Syene, and over-
whelmed the garrison stationed there to protect the Egyptian frontier.

Napata, the capital of queen Candace, was, according to Pliny, 870 Ro-
man miles above the cataracts, and is supposed to be El Berkel of the present
day, where pyramids and extensive ruins denote the former existence of a
large city.

Strabo says, the Ethiopians, above Syene, consisted of the Troglo-
dyte, Blemmyes, Nub«, and Megabari. The Megabari and Blemmyes
inhabited the eastern desert, north of Meroe to the frontiers of Egypt, and
were under the dominion, of the Ethiopians. The Ichthyophagi lived
on the shore of the Red Sea; the Troglodytae from Berenice south-
wards, between it and the Nile ; and the Nubs, a Libyan nation, were on
the left bank, and independent of Ethiopia.

Pliny says, the only cities of Etliiopia found and taken by Petronius, on
his march to Napata, were Pselcis, Primis, Aboccis, Phthuris, Cambusis,
Attena, and Stadisis, remarkable for its cataract, which, the naturalist says,
" deprived the inhabitants of the neighbourhood of their hearing." He then
mentions the distances from Syene to Meroe, which some computed at
6Q5 M. p., others at 600, or, according to the observations of Nero's spies,
862, with the following intermediate measurements : — •

424 ANCIENT ETHIOPIA.-— MODEBX NUBIANS. Sect. Y.

sc. r
From Syene to Hierasycaminon - - - •54

Tama ---.-- 75
the Ethiopian district of Eoonymiton - - ] SO

Acina .-.-.. 54
Pitara ...... S5

Tergedum, (between which two is the island of

Gagaudes) ..... 106

(Parrots, the Sphingian animal, and Cynocephali

first seen hereabouts)
Napata, a small city .... 80

thence to the island of Meroe ... 360

Making, instead of 862, a total of - - 874

Or about 800 English miles.

The statement of Herodotus, that Sesostris was the only Egyptian monarch
who ruled in Ethiopia, is utterly devoid of foundation ; as several other Pha-
raohs not only eitended their conquests, but erected temples and other build-
ings in that country, the remains of which still exist, and that too in Upper
Ethiopia.

The names of the monarchs found above the second cataract are Osirta-
sen III. and Thothmes II. at Samneh; Thothmes I. at Tombos ; . Tboth-
mes III. at Samneh, Dosha, Sai, and opposite Meroe ; Thothmes IV. at Bl
Berkel; Amunoph III. at Sedinga, Soleb, Berkel, Tombos, and Samneh;
Osirei I. at Dosha; and Remeses II. or Sesostris, at £1 Berkel. Diodorus,
Pliny, and Strabo extend the conquests of Sesostris as far as the vicinity of
the modem Berbera, beyond the straits of Bab-cl-mandeb.

It does not appear that the monarchs, after the 1 8th dynasty, continued to
extend, or even to maintain their conquests in this country ; and few of them
appear to have included Lower Ethiopia, between the first and second cata-
racts, within the limits of their Egyptian territory. And this circumstance
no doubt led to the remark that Ethiopia was little known before the acces-
sion of the Ptolemies, who in fact only re-extended the frontier a short dis-
tance into what is now called Nubia.

Elephantine was the frontier in thAtime of Psamaticus. In Strabo's time,
Syene was again the frontier, the Romans having, as he observes, <* confined
the province of Egypt within his former limits." Phils then belonged in
'* common to the Egyptians and Ethiopians." This did not, howerer, pre-
vent the Cfesars from considering Lower Ethiopia as belonging to Ihem, or
from adding to the temples already erected there.

b, THX XODXaK NUBIANS, OR BARABaAS.

Philie and the cataracts are, as of old, the boundary of Egypt and Nubia.
Here commences the country of the Bar&bra, which extends thence to the
second cataract at Widee Halfeh, and is divided into two districts ; that to
the north inhabited by the Ken6os or Kensee tribe, the southern portion
by the Nooba. They have each their own language; but it is a ain.
gular fact that the Kensee, which ceases to be spoken about Dayrand
throughout the whole of the Nooba district, is found again above the seeood
cataract ; a atrong argument to show that the Nooba tribe settled in that por.
tion of the country, which originally belonged to the Ken6os. Thia settle-
ment may perhaps be connected with, or simiUr to, that of the Nobatsa

MODEBN iniBIANSy OB BARi^BRAS. 425

tioned by Procopius ; from whom the BaMbra of the Nooba district may be
descended. It is now customary for us to call them all Nubians, as the
Arabs comprehend them under the general name of Baribra, and as the
Greeks denominated the whole country Clhiopia. In former times, under
the Romans, the northern part of Nubia was called Dodeca Sehoenus, which
comprehended the space lying between the first cataract (or Philae,) to Hiera-
sycaminon ; and received from its length the name of " twelve schcenes."

The character of the country above Phils differs very much from £gypt|
particularly from that part below Eifn^. The hilk are mostly sandstone and
granite, and from their coming very near the river, frequently leave only a
narrow strip of soil at the immediate bank, on which the people depend for
the scanty supply of corn or other produce grown in the country. It is not
therefore surprising that the Nubians are poor ; though, from their limited
wants, and thrifty habits, tliey do not suffer from the miseries of poverty.
The palm tree, which there produces dates of very superior quality, is to
them a great resource, both in the plentiful supply it affords for their own
use, and in the profitable exportation of its fruit to Egypt, where it is highly
prised, es(;ecially that of the Ibr^mee kind. The fruit of this is mudi
larger and of lietter flavour than that of other palms, and the tree differs in the
appearance of its leaves, which are of a finer, and softer texture. The Sont,
or Mimosa Nilotica, also furnishes articles for export, of great importance to
the Nubian, in its gum and charcoal ; and senna, baskets, mats, and a few
other things producMi or made in Nubia, return a good profit in sending
them to Egypt.

When the Nile is low, the land is irrigated by water- wheels, which are the
pride of the Nubian pe»»nt. Even the endless and melancholy creaking of
tliese clumsy machines is a delight to him, which no grease is permitted to
diminish, all that he can get being devoted to the shaggy hair of his un-
turbaned head. For the Nubians, in general, allow the hair of the head to
grow long ; and seldom shave, or wear a cap, except in the Nooba district, as
at Derr, and a few other places ; and though less attentive to his toilette than
the long-haired Ababdeh, a well-greased Nubian does not fail to rejoice in
his shining shoulders.

A certain portion of land is irrigated by each water-wheel, and the wealth
of an individual is estimated by the number of these machines, as in other
countries by farms or acres of land ; and, as is reasonable to suppose, in a
hot climate like Nubia, they prefer the employment of oxen for the arduous
duty of raising water, to drawing it, like the Egyptian /UZaA, by tlie pole and
bucket of the thadSof. The consequence of this is, that the tax on water-
wheels falls very heavily on the Nubian, who also feels that on date trees
much more than the Egyptian peasant. Hence arises the increased migra-
tion of Bariibras to Cairo ; whither, in spite of a government prohibition, they
fly from the severely taxed labour of tilling the ground, to the more profit-
able occupation of servants, particularly in the Frank quarter, where higher
wages are paid, and where the Nubian is preferred to the Egyptian for his
greater honesty.

About twenty years ago, and even before that time, the Nubians were
very generally employed in places of trust, about the houses of the rich, like
the Gallego* in Lisbon ; they were always engaged as porters, and the name
of " Berbcree** answered to ** Le Suisse*' in a Parisian mansion. But of
late they have greatly increased in numbers, and are taken as house servants,
and even as grooms, an ofilice to which the Egyptian sefi of old would have
thought it impossible for a B^rberee to aspire. That they are more honest

426

BOUTE 30. — ASOUAN TO BEBB.

Sect. V.

than the Egyptians is certain ; that they speak the truth more frequently is
equally so ; but they are sometimes less clean and less acute ; though their
mental slowness does not seem to interfere with their physical quickness, and
their power of running is not surpassed by the most active yU/oA. Devotedly
attached to their country and their countrymen, like the Swiss and other in*
habitants of poor districts who seek their fortunes abroad, they always herd
together in foreign towns ; and one Nubian servant never fails to bring a
daily levee of Ethiopians to a Cairene house, pouring forth an unceasing
stream of unintelligible words, in a Jargon which has obtained for them the
name of Bar&bra, applied by the Arabs much in the same sense a^ the Bar'
ftorot of the Greeks- Brave and independent in character, they differ also in
these respects from the Egjptians ; and in some parts of Nubia, particularly
in the JTenaee or Kenoos district, their constant feuds keep up a warlike spirit,
in which their habit of going about armed enables them frequently to in-
dulge. Those who know how to read and write are in a far greater propor-
tion than in Egypt among the same class ; for with the eiception of their
chiefs, they have no wealthy or upper orders. But their studies do not seem
to induce sobriety, and, like the blacks, they are fond of intoxicating liquors.
They extract a brandy and a sort of wine from the date fruit, as well as
$o6bi^, and boSza, a fermented drink made from barley, bread, and many
mher things, which are found to furnish this imperfect kind of beer ; and
rum or brandy are a very acceptable present to the Nubian, even mora so
than the three they so often ask for — soap, oil, and gunpowder. '

ROUTE 3a

AWOVAtt (ST miLM) TO Diaa, BT

WATxa (MKAscaxn raox tzllaox

TO VILLAQX).

MIlM.

Asouan to Dabod (W. bank) -
Tafa (W.) -
Kalabshee(W.) -
Gerf Hossayn (W.)
Dakkeh (W.)
Koortee (W.)
Maharraka (W.) -
Sab6oa(W.)

Derr (E.) and Amada on op-
posite bank) - •

151
SS

28
ICH

3|
19i

• S9

1321

The distances given in the Itine-
rary of Antoninus, from Syene
( Asouan) to Hierasycaminon (Mahar.
rakaX are calculated by land.

They are as follow : —

M. r.

Contra Syene to Parembole - 16

Tsitzi . - 2

Taphis - - 14

Talmis - - 8

Tutxis - - 20

Pselds - - 18

Corte . - 4

HieruycamtnoB 4

(About 72} English mUcs) . 80

Asouan to Maharraka being about
8d| miles by water.

On the opposite side of the river,
the Itinerary gives from

ii.r.
Hierasycaminon to Contra Pselcta 1 1

Contra Talmia 24
Contra Taphia 10
FhiUs - . 24
Syene . s

72
being a difference of eight Roiikaa

Ifubia,

BOUTE 30. — DABOD. — GEBTASSEE.

427

miles; and Pliny only allows 54 m.p.
for the same distance from Syene to
Hierasycaminon.

Ptolemy omits the names of towns
between Syene and Pselcis, and
merely notices the district itself of
Dodeca-schcenus (*'on the east of
which live the Arabs called Adiei *'),
Philxy and Hierasycaminon. Op-
posite Pselcis he places M etacompso,
the Contra Pselcis of the Itinerary.

Dabod. — Dabddf or VabSde, is
supposed to be the Pareiftbole of
Antoninus. The ruins there consist
of a temple, founded apparently by
Ashar-Amun, or Atar- -^m^
Amun» a monarch of
Ethiopia, who was proba-
bly the immediate successor
of Ergamun, theconterapo-
lary of Ptolemy Philadel-
phus. ( See pp. 25. & 4S2. )

Over the central pylon,
in front of it, are the re-
mains of a Greek inscrip-
tion, bearing the name
of Ptolemy Philometor,
with that of his queen
Cleopatra. When Mr. Hamilton
visited it, much more remained of
the inscription than when I saw it ;
and restored, it reads as follows :—

rifr KMMrturfmt imt «3iA^w] »»* yvnumn

** For the welfare of King Ptolemy and
ilometorec, to Isit and the contemplar

la n

ueen Cleopatra [the tiater JjiimI wife, goda

soda

The temple was dedicated to Isis,
who, as well as Osiris and her son
Horusy were principally worshipped
here ; Amun being one of the chief
contemplar deities. Augustus and
Tiberius added most of the sculp-
tures, but they were left unfinished,
as was usually the case in the temples
of Nubia. The mun building com-
mences with a portico or area, having
four columns in front, connected by
intercolumnar screens ; a central and
two lateral chambers, with a staircase
leading to the upper rooms ; to which
succeed another central apartment

inunediately before the adytum, and
two side chambers. On one side of
the portico a wing has been added at
a later period. The three pylons
before the temple follow each other
in succession, but not at equal dis-
tances ; and the whole is enclosed
by a wall of circuit, of which the front
pylon forms the entrance.

The adytum is unsculptured, but
two monoliths within it bear the
name of Physcon and Cleopatra ; and
in the front chamber of the naos is
that of the Ethiopian king <* Ashar
(Atar)- Amun, the everliving," who
in some of his nomens is called *' the
beloved of Isis.*' Among the few
subjects sculptured in the portico, are
Thoth and Hor-Hat engaged in
pouring alternate emblems of life and
purity over Tiberius ; alluding, I be-
lieve, to the ceremony of anointing
him king. Some distance before the
temple is a stone quay, which had
a staircase leading from the river.

About two miles below Dab6d is
Shaym^t d fFah, «the eddy of the
Wah,** believed by the natives to com-
municate under ground with the
Great Oasis. Two days west of
Dab6d, and about the same distance
from Asouan and from Kalabshee, is
a small uninhabited Oasis, called
Wah Koorkoo, It abounds in dates,
and has some wells, but no ruins.

Between Dab6d and Gertassee the
only remains are a wall projecting
into the river, marking perhaps the
site of Tziizi ; a single column ; and
on the opposite bank, at GandBet the
ruined wall of a temple. On the
island Morff6m are some crude-brick
ruins.

At Gertaeeee is an hypaethral court
formed by six columns connected by
screens, four having a species of
Egyptian composite capital, common
to temples of a Ptolemaic and Roman
era, and the two others surmounted
by the heads of Isis, with a shrine
containing an asp. It has no sculp-
ture, except a few figures rudely
drawn on one of the columns on the

428

BOUTE 30. — WADEE tIfa — kalIbshee. Sect. V.

west lide : but that it belonged to a
larger edifice is highly probable, as
some substructions may be traced a
little distance to the south. A short
walk from this is a sandstone quarry,
in which are one enchorial, and up-
wards of 50 Greek exvotoM, They are
mostly of the time of Antoninus Pius,
M. Aurelius, and Severus, in honour
of Isis, to whom the neighbouring
temple was probably dedicated.
Some refer to the works in the quarry,
and one of them mentions the num-
ber of stones cut by the writer for ttie
great temple of the same goddess at
Philak In the centre is a square
niche, which may once have contained
a statue of the goddess; and on either
side are busts in high relief, placed
within recesses, and evidently, from
their style, of Roman workmanship.
The road by which the stones were
taken from the quarry is still dis-
cernible.

At the village are the remains of a
large enclosure of stone, on whose
north side is a pylon, having a few
heiroglyphics, and the figure of a god-
dess, probably Isis, with a head-dress
surmounted by the horns and globe.

At Wladee Tafa ( Tapkis) are about
fifteen more of these stone enclosures,
but on a smaller scale than that of
Gertassee, being about twenty-two
paces by eighteen. The podtion of
the ston^ is singular, each row pre-
senting a crescent, or concave surface,
to the one above it, the stones at the
centre being lower than at the angles.
In one I observed several rooms
communicating with each other by
doorways; but the enclosures them-
selves are quite unconnected, and
some at a considerable distance from
the rest. They are probably of
Roman date, but it is difficult to as-
certain the use for which they were
intended. There are also the remains
of S temples at Taphis, the southern-
most of which has been converted into
a church by the early Christians.

Christianity was the religion of
Ethiopia till a late period, and began

probably to decline after the invasion
of Sultan Selim, a. b. 1517. In
Wansleb's time, 1673, the churches
were still entire, though closed for
want of pastors. Two of the col umns
of the pordco at Taphis are still
standing, and on the adjoining wall
are some Greek inscriptions and the
figures of saints. Behind the portico
is a chamber, which may have been
the adytum. The other is an isolated
building, consisting of one chamber,
with a niche in the back wall. The
principal entrance was between dw
two columns on the south side; it
had also two other doors, one on the
south, and the other on the east face.
In front of the temple, I understand
that Mr. Hay discovered a sort of

3uay, with a flight of steps leading
own to the river, between two side
walls, about the centre of it.

The plain of Taphis is strewed
with the fragments of cornices and
mouldings, mostly of a late epoch;
nor do we meet with any traces of
building that can boast a greater anti-
quity than the time of the Caesars,
and much of that which exists is no
doubt posterior to the age of Pliny.

The scenery here reminds us of the
vicinity of Philae ; the rocks oaostly
granite, with some sandstone.

Many of the inhabitants of Tafa
employ their time in chasing the
gazelle, and lead a life which tends
but little to their civilisaticMi ; and
whether from a spirit of independence,
or from a propensity common to
savages, Uiey are constantly engaged
in disputes, that seldom terminate
without bloodshed.

KalabMhee. — KaiSbthee^ Taimut^
presents the ruins of the largest
temple in Nubia. It appears to have
been built in the reign of Augustus ;
and though other Ciesars, particularly
Caligula, Trajan, and Severus, made
considerable additions to the sculp-
tures, it was left unfinished. The
stones employed in its construction
had belonged to an older edifice, to
which it succeeded ; and it is highly

Nubi(U BOUTE 30. — KAlXbSH££ (TALBUS) — MANDOULI. 429

probable that the original temple was
of the early epoch of the third Thoth-
mes ; whose name is still traced on a
granite statue lying near the quay
before the entrance.

This extensive building consists of
a naos, portico, and area. The naos
is divided into three successive cbam-
bersi — the adytum, a hail supported
by two columns, and a third room
opening on the portico, which has
twelve columns, three in depth and
four in breadth, the front row united
by screens on either side of the en-
trance. The area is terminated by
the pyramidal towers of the propylon,
beyond which is a pavement, and a
staircase leading to the platform of
the quay that sustains the bank of the
river. The temple is surrounded by
two walls of circuit, both of which
are joined to the propylon. The
space between them is occupied by
several chambers, and at the upper
extremity is a small building with
columns, forming the area to a cha-
pel hewn in the rock. At the north-
east comer is also a small chapel,
which belonged to the original temple,
and is anterior to the buildings about
it ; and to the north is another en-
closure of considerable extent, con-
nected with the outer wall, and two
detached- doorways. The sculptures
of the temple are of very inferior
style ; nor could the richness of gild-
ing, that once covered those at the
entrances of the first chambers of the
naos, have compensated for the de-
ficiency of their execution; but its
extent claims for it a conspicuous
place among the largest monuments
dedicated to the deities of Egypt.

Mandouli, or, acccording to the
ancient Egyptians, Malouli, was the
deity of Talmis, and it is in his
honour that the greater part of the
numerous exvotot in the area are in-
scribed by their pious writers.

The most interesting of these inscrip-
tions is that of '* Silco, king of the
Nubadie, and of all the Ethiopians,**
which records his several defeats of

the Blemmyes ; and to judge from
his own account, he neither spared
the vanquished, nor was scrupulous
in celebrating his exploits. He was,
no doubt, one of those kings of tlie
Nubatae, who, conformably with the
treaty originally made between them
and Diocletian, continued to protect
the frontier from the incursions of
the Blemmyes.

Though the introduction of the
numerous inscriptions at Kalabshee,
and other places in Nubia, would
afford little interest to the general
reader, and would perhaps be out of
place in a work like the present, I
think the flourish of King Silco too
curious to be omitted.

The Greek of King Silco is not
very pure, nor very intelligible ; some
words appear to be Latin, and some
can only be translated by conjecture ;
I therefore leave the learned reader
to adopt the construction I have given
them, or to substitute any other he
may prefer.

1. Eyw 2iAjK»/3««iiAj#»trNMC«lav juu •Xm

2. At$i0rm i}A0m ut T«X/Mr mm Trn^t mrmi

3. Xifs/iitm /i4Tm rm BXi/mmv mm • ^ug
i. uMiybunuTmrmtTfmfmiruitfiMn^mruXn
5. rqr« rmt tn)Mg murtn M«fk#A|f mit« rmt

mmtn

& mm mfAtwi fmt rm i#)«X« mwm* 4mu Wf

9. •;»•* CVTMV m MMKAM litfVf Sr^MTM m»9^

W. XH^m «f » i^mn fiuy art tytymtfjutw pmn»

Xirmti
11. «/» ««i|X0M §Xm amtfrn rm mJJimfimei'

Xtm
IS. mXXm mmft»it i^mt^ mAh

13. M ym^ ptkmt*mt0n f*%rt f»m> mm m^

14. r«i ut Z't"* mn*i9 Uftm mmmifm^m* ft* *<M

wm^mmrnXm/rif

15. tyt0 ymf ut mmrm ftufii Xum ufu mm ut

m»m iM^ «({ uiM

16. ftnXi/AtiMi AUTw rmt BAmmmw ««• H^ifMSmg

n AnAMw

17. irM**! mm m mXkm SmAaimw «v«n{«t

yttfii^mrmt

18. xH"* M'*^** •<n<^ tfiXmummetw iMrt

19. M 3Mir»rnM mXkmv i^m m ftXatwuMn
ffrt/tm

430

BOXJTE 30. — BATT EL WELLES.

Sect. V.

90. m/M m4tm mttrmH iMifirftif « Uf r^v 0»mi ii
21. vym »m mu %mmnm» m^m %0m ttg mt ms<sv
SSI. mirtiMM ftuu mfrmlC^ rmt yupmmm mmt rm

** I Silco, king of the Nubads and all the
EthiopUiu, have come to Talmit and Ta-

Shit ; once! two (twice ?) I fought with the
Uemyet, and the deltv gave me the victory
with the three ; once I conquered again and
took their cities; I sat down (repoaed) with
my people at first ; once I conquered them
and they did me honour, and I muade peace
with them, and they twore to me hy their
idols, and I believed their oath that they
were good men : I went away to my upper
n«ions where libecame ruler : I was not at
alfbehind the other kings, but even before
them : for as to those who contend with me,
I do not cease to sit down in (occupy) their
countrv until they have honoured me and
besought me, for I am a lion to the lower
districts, and to the upper a citadel I
fought wlth| the Biemyes ftt>m Primis and
L^lls (?) onoe, and the other of the Upper
Kubadae: I laid waste their country srace
they will contend witli me : the lords of the
otho" nations who contend with me I do not
suffer them to sit down In the shade, and
only in the sun, and I have not allowed
water (to be taken) into their houses, for my
servants carry offtneir women and children.'*

There was also a Latin inscription,
on a stone lying amidst the ruins in
the area, but now removed, I believe,
to England. It was an acrostic re-
cording the name of ** Julii Faustini ;'*
but notwithstanding its mention of
Apollo, Minerva, and the Muses, was
evidently written in defiance of <* gods
and columns."

A short distance from the temple,
towards the north-west, are the sand-
stone quarries, from which the stone
used in building its walls was taken ;
and on the hill behind it are found
the scattered bones of mummies. In
the village are the remains of walls,
and among some fragments there I
observed a Doric frieze, with ox's
heads in the metopes, and a cornice
of Roman date.

The ancient town stood on the
north and south of the temple, and
extended along the hill towards the
Bayt el Wellee, which is strewed
with bricks and broken pottery.

It is not without considerable
satisfaction that the Egyptian anti-
quary turns from the coarse sculp-
tures of the Roman era to the chaste

and elegant designs of a Ffaaraonic
age, which are met with in the sculp-
tures of Remeses II. at the Bayt el
Wellee, •< the house of the saint," a
small but interesting temple excavated
in the rock, and dedicated to Amunre,
with Kneph, and Anodkl. It con-
sists of a small inner chamber or
adytum; a hall supported by two
polygonal columns of very ancient
style, which call to mind the sim-
plicity of the Greek Doric ; and an
area in front. At the upper end of
the hall are two niches, each contain-
ing three sitting figures in high re-
lief; and on the walls of the area,
outside the hall, are sculptured the
victories of Remeses ; casts of which
are in the British Museum.

The sculptures relate to the war«
of this Pharaoh against the Cush or
Ethiopians, and the Shorii, an Btut^
em nation, apparently of Arabia Pe*
trsa (certainly not the ** Bishari ") ;
who having been previously re-
duced by the Egyptian monarchs,
and made tributary to them, rebelled
about this period, and were recon-
quered by Osirei and the second
Remeses. On the right-hand wall
the monarch, seated on a throne un-
der a canopy or shrine, receives the
offerings brought by the conquered
Ethiopians, preceded by the Prince
of Cush, Amunmatapl, who is at-
tended by his two children, and is
introduced by the eldest son of the
conqueror. Rings and bags of gold,
leopard-skins, rich thrones, fiabella,
elephants' teeth, ostricli-eggs, and
other objects, are among the presents
placed before him ; and a deputation
of Ethiopians advances, bringing a
lion, oryx, oxen, and gaselles. The
lower line commences with some
Egyptian chiefs, who are followed by
the prince of Cush and other Ethio-
pians, bringing plants of their coun-
try, skins, apes, a cameleopard, and
odier animals. Beyond this is repre-
sented the battle and defeat of the
enemy. Remeses, mounted in his
car, h attended by bb two

Ntibia. BOUTE 30. — i>£kdo6u — oerf hossItk.

431

in chariots, each witli his charioteer,
who urges the horses to their full
speed. The king discharges his
arrows on the disorderly troops of
the enemy, who betake themselves to
the woods. At the upper end of the
picture a wounded chief is taken
home by his companions. One of
his children throws dust on its head
in token of sorrow, and another runs
to announce the sad news to its mo-
ther, who is employed in cooking at
a fire lighted on the ground.

On the opposite wall is the war
against the SboriL At the upper end,
which is in reality the termination of
the picture^ Remeses is seated on a
throne, at whose base is crouched a
lion, his companion in battle. His
eldest son brings into his presence a
group of prisoners of that nation;
and in the lower compartment is a
deputation of Egyptian chiefs. Be-
yond this, the conqueror engages in
single combat with one of the ene-
my's generals, and slays him with his
sword, in the presence of his son and
other Egyptian officers ; and the next
compartment represents him in his
car, in the heat of the action, over-
taking the leader of the hostile army,
whom he also despatches with his
sword. The enemy then fly in all
directions to their fortified town,
which the king advances to besiege.
Some sue for peace ; while his son,
forcing the gates, strikes terror into
the few who resist. Then trampling
on the prostrate foe, Remeses seizes
and slays their chiefs; and several
others are brought in fetters before
him by his son.

Such are the principal subjects in
the area of this temple, which, next
to Aboo-Simbei, is the most interest-
ing monument in Nubia.

Dtndo^r, — The temple of DendoSr
stands just within the tropic. It
consists of a portico with two columns
in front, two inner chambers, and
the adytum ; at the end of whidi is a
tablet, with the figure of a goddess,
apparently Isis. In front of the por-

tico is a pylon, opening on an trea
enclosed by a low wall, and facing
towards the river; and behind the
temple is a small grotto excavated in
the sandstone rock. It has the Egyp-
tian cornice over the door, and before
it is an entrance-passage built of stone.

The sculptures of Dendoor are of
the time of Augustus, by whom it ap-
pears to have been founded. The
chief deities were Osiris, Isis, and
Horns, and the ancient town seems
to have had the same name as Phil«,
«the sacred abode,** **the place of
the frontier,** where the same triad
was adored.

Between £1 Mer^'h and Gerf
Hossiyn is a sandstone pier, but I
know of no ruins of a town in the
neighbourhood.

The ruined town of Sabag6ora,
nearly opposite Gerf Hossiyn, occu-
pies the summit and slope of a hill,
near the river, and is famous for the
resistance made there by a desperate
Nubian chief against the troops of
Ibrahim Pasha.

Gerf Hottayn, — Gerf (or Jerf}
Hbseayn is the ancient Tutzie, in
Coptic, Thosh ; but from being un-
der the special protection of Pthah,
the deity of the place, it was called
by the Egyptians Pthah-ei, or •< the
abode of Pthah." The. resem-
blance of the Coptic name Thosh with
Ethaush, signifying, in the same dia-
lect, Ethiopia, is rendered peculiarly
striking, from the word Rush (Cush)»
in the old Egyptian language ** Ethi-
opia,** being retained in the modem
name of this place, which in Nubian
is called Kish.

The temple is of the time of Re«
meses the Great, entirely excavated
iu the rock, except tiie portico or area
in front. At the upper end of the
adytum are several sitting figures in
high relief. Other similar statues
occur in the eight niches of the great
hall, and in the two others within the
area. This area had a row of four
Osiride figures on either side, and
four columns in front, but little now

432

ROUTE 30. — KOSTAMNEH — DAKKEH.

Sect v:

remains of the wall that enclosed it;
and the total depth or the excavated
part does not exceed 130 feet. The
Osiride figures in the hall are very
badly executed, ill according with the
sculpture of the second Remeses ; nor
are the statues of the sanctuary of a
style worthy of that era. The deity
of the town was Pihah, the creator
and «* Lord of Truth ,-" to whom the
dedications of the temple are in-
scribed; and Athor, Leontocephale
(the companion and " beloved of
Pthah"), and Anoukfi, each hold a
conspicuous place among the con-
templar deities.

At Kottamneh is a doorway, with
the agatbodaemon over it; and the
remains of masonry near the bank.
Here the Nile is fordable in May.

Dakkeh, — Dakkeh is the Pselci$
of the Itinerary, of Pliny, and of
Ptolemy. Strabo, who calls it Psel-
che, says it was an Ethiopian city in
his time; the Romans having given
up all the places south of Philie and
the cataracts, the natural frontier of
Egypt. It was here that Petronius
defeated the generals of Candace, and
then, having taken the city, advanced
to Primis (Premnis) and to Napata,
the capital of the Ethiopian queen.
Strabo mentions an island at this
spot, in which many of the routed
enemy, swimming across the river,
took refuge, until they were made
prisoners by the Romans, who crossed
over in boats and rafts.

Dakkeh has a temple of the time-gf
Ergamun, an Ethiopian king, and of
the Ptolemies and Caesars ; but ap-
parently built, as well as
sculptured, during diflTerent |^
reigns. The oldest part is
the central chamber (with
the doorway in front of it), *>
which bears the name of the
Ethiopian monarch, and
was the original adytum.

This Ergamun or Er-
gamenes, according to Dio» g.
dorus, was a contemporary
of Ptolemy Philadelphus,

and was remarkable for having been
the first Ethiopian prince, who
broke through the rules imposed
upon his countrymen by the ar->
tifices of the priesthood. AfVer
speaking of the blind obedience paid
by the Etliiopians to their laws, the
historian says, ** the most extraor-
dinary thing is what relates to the
death of tlieir kings. The priests
who superintend the worship of the
gods, and the ceremonies of religion
in M eroe, enjoy such unlimited power
that, whenever they choose, they send
a message to the king, ordering bim
to die, for that the gods had given
this command, and no mortal could
oppose tlieir will without being guilty
of a crime. They also add other
reasons, which would influence a man
of weak mind, accustomed to give
way to old custom and prejudice, and
without sufficient sense to oppose
such unreasonable commands. In
former times the kings had obeyed
the priests, not by compulsion but out
of mere superstition, until Ergamenes,
who ascended the throne of Ethiopia
in the time of tlie second Ptolemy, a
man instructed in tlie sciences and
philosophy of Greece, was bold enough
to defy their orders. And having
m'ade a resolution worthy of a prince,
he repaired with liis troops to a for-
tress (or high place, afiarov)^ where
a golden temple of the Ethiopians
stood, and there having slain all the
prieste, he abolished tlie ancient cus-
tom, and substituted other institutions
according to his own will."

Ergamenes was not a man who
mistook the priests for religion, or
supposed that belief in the priesta
signified belief in the gods. These
he failed not to honour with due ns
spect. He is seen at Dakkeh pre-
senting offerings to the. diiivrent
deities of the temple : and over one
of the side doors he is styled " son
of Neph, bom of S6t^ nursed by
Ano(ik4 ; ** and on the other side,
" son of Osiris, bom of Isis, nursed
by Nephthys." His royal title and

Nubia.

ROUTE 30. — KING EROAMUN.

433

orals read <<king of men [(1) the
hand of Amun, the living, chosen of
Re]» son of the sun [(2) Ergamun,
ever*IiWng, the beloved of Isis].**

That any kings should blindly
submit to the will of the priesthood,
to such an extent as to give up their
life at their bidding, may appear
to us no less extraordinary than to
the historian who relates it; but it is
worthy of remark, that a very similar
custom still continues in Ethiopia;
and the expedition sent by Moham-
med Ali, to trace the course and dis-
cover the sources of the Bahr el Abiad,
or White Nile, found a tribe of Ethio-
pians on its banks, whose kings, when
they feel the approach of death, give
notice to their ministers, and are
strangled to prevent their dying in the
ordinary vulgar way of nature, like the
meanest of their subjects. The same
expedition also found that a corps of
Amazons formed the body-guard of
a king of another tHbe, whose palace
none but women were allowed to
protect.

With regard to the two streams
of the Nile, I may observe that the
Bahr el Azrek, though smaller than
the Abiad, may be considered the
real Nile, from its having all the
character of thai river, in its alluvial
deposit, and other features ; and that
it is improperly called by us " blue ** ,
river, azrek really signifying '* black
When the Arabs wish to say « dark **
or "jet black," they use Azrek,
«blue*' (black), and it is evidently
here put in oppoution to alriadf
" white."

Ptolemy Philopfttor added to the
sculptures at Dakkeh ; and his oval oc -
curs with that of his wife and sister A rsi-
noe — his father, Ptolemy Euergetes
-—and bis mother, Berenice Euer-
getes ; ^nd on the corresponding side
are those of Ptolemy Philadelphus
and Arsinoe Philadelphe. Physcon
or Euergetes 1 1, afterwards built the
portico, as we learn from a mutilated
Greek inscription on the architrave,
accompanied by the hieroglyphic
Egypt.

n !

name of that monarch ; and by him *
the present adytum was perhaps also
added. The oval of Augustus like-
wise occurs in the portico, but a great
part of this building was left unfi-
nished, as is generally found to be
the case with the Roman and Ptole-
maic monuments in Nubia.

A large plan of this temple has
been given by M. Gau, in which an
endless succession of chambers is laid
down around the principal building.
But without willing to detract from
the honours paid by the Egyptians to
Hermes Trismegistus, or from the
merits of the valuable work of M.
Gau, it may be doubted whether any
authority exists for such complicated
details, and the magnified size of the
original building.

In the temple of Dakkeh is one of
the many instances of an Egyptian
portico, m antii, which was a mode of
building frequently used in Egypt as
well as in Greece.

The deity of Pselds was Hermes
Trismegistus, to whom a considerable
number of Greek ejnotoa have been
inscribed, on the propylon and other
parts of the temple, by ofiicers sta-
tioned about Elephantine and Philae,
and others who visited Pselcis, prin-
cipally in the time of (he Caesars.
He is styled the very great Hermes
Pautnouphis. But the name was
probably Taut-nouphis, which may
be traced in the hieroglyphics over tliis
deity, Taut.'^n-pnubs, or Taut-^n-
pnubsho, the « Thotli of Pnubs *' or
*< Pnnbsho,** the Egyptian name of
Pselcis. He is calledin Arabic Hormos
et AfoMOet, from his <• tripie *' oflBce of
"king, prophet, and physician.'*

Oppoeite Dakkeh, on the east bank,
are large crude-brick remains, appa-
rently of a fortress ; and close to it
to tlie south, the ruins of a small
temple having the names of Remeses
VII. and VIII. A short disUnce
beyond this, near the village, are
some columns and substructions, with
a lion-headed statue bearing the name
of King Horns, of tlie 1 8th dynasty.

434

ROUTE 30. — SAb60A, — AM'ADA — DEBR. ScCt. V.

These doubtless mark tlie site of
Metacompso, which, if Ptolemj is
eorrect in placing it opposite Pselcisy
must be the same as Cootra Pselcis.

At Koorteet or Korti, the ancient
Corte, and at Maharraka, or Oojideena,
the remains are very trifling. At the
former is a ruin of Roman time,
built of blocks taken from older monu-
ments. Maharraka is the Hitrasyea'
ndium of ancient writers ; and on a
wall there, is a rude representation of
Isis seated under the sacred Jlg-tret,
and some other figures of a Roman
epoch. Near it is an hypaethral
building, apparently of the time of
the Cxsars, unfinished as usual ; and
as we learn from a Greek ezvoto on
one of the columns, dedicated to Isis
and Sarapis. Like most of the edi-
fices in Nubia, it has been used as a
place of worship by the early Chris-
tians, and is the last that we find of
the time of the Ptolemies or CsKan,
with the exception of Ibreem or
Frimis.

Sabdoa, — Sabdoa, so called from
" the lions ** (androsphinzes) of the
dromos, is of the early epoch of Re-
meses the Great. It is all built of
sandstone, with the exception of the
adytum, which is excavated in the
rock. The dromos was adorned with
eight sphinxes on either ude, and ter-
minated by two statues with sculp-
tured stelae at their back ; to tliis sue-
ceeded the two pyramidal towers of
the propylon : the area, with eight Osi-
ride figures attached to the pillars,
supporting the architraves and roofs
of the lateral corridors; and the in-
terior chambers, which are now closed
by the drifted sand. Amunre and Re
were the chief deities, and from the
worship of the god of Thebes the town
bore the same name as that city —
Amunei, or ** the bode of Amun.*'

The natives of the modern village,
and of the district around it, are of
Bedouin extraction, and speak Ara-
bic. After this the Nooba language
begins, and continues to be used mb
far as Wadee Halfeh.

The river at Malkeh takes a con-

siderable bend, and from Korosko to
Derr the direction is about N. N. W.,
which often detains boats for a con-
siderable time. On the same bank,
at a place called Bl Kkarab, between
these two towns, are sud to be some
ruins, but I have not visited them.

jfmada, — At Ha$§aia is a small
temple called Amada^ which already
existed in the age of the third Tboth-
mes. The names of his son Amunoph
II., and bis grandson "Diothmes
IV., also occur there; and Mr.
Harris and M. Prisae found that of
Osirtasen III., by whom it appears
to have been founded. The sculp-
tures are remarkable for the preaerva.
tion of their colours, for which they
were indebted to the unintentional
aid of the early Christians. Here, aa
in many other places, they covered
them with mud and mortar, to con-
ceal them from their sight, thus pro-
tecting them from the ravages of time.
Re was the deity of the sanctuary,
but Amunre holds a conspicuous
place among the contemplar gods.
A portico, a transverse corridor, and
three inner chamben, the central on«
of which is the adytum, constitute tbe
whole of this small but elegant temple.

The district about Oerr, on tb«
east bank, abounds in date trees ; and
between that town and Korosko they
reckon 80,000 that are taxed.

Dtrr. — DtTT't or Do;^y the coital of
Nubia, is a short dbtance to the south
of Hass^a, on the opposite bank. It
is worthy of remark that all the teoo-
ples between the two cataracts, ex-
cept Derr, Ibreem, and Feriyg, airs
situated on the west side of the Nile ;
and, instead of lying on the arable
land, are all built on the sandy plain,
or hewn in the rock. This was,
doubtless, owing to their keeping the
small portion of land they possessed
for cultivation, while the towns and
temples occupied what could be of
no utility to the inhabitants.

The temple of Derr is of the time
of Riwneses the Great, and preaenis
some qf the spirited sculptures of that
epoch, though in a very mutilated

Nubia.

ROUTE 31. — DERB — IBBEEM.

435

Btete. In the area was a battle scene ;
but little now remains, eicept the
imperfect traces of chariots and
horses, and some confused figures.
On the wall of the temple the king
is represented, in the presence of
Amunre, slaying the prisoners he
has taken, and accompanied by a lion.
Iliis calls to mind the account given
by Diodorus, of Osymandyas being
followed to war b^ that ajiimal ; and
on the opposite side, the lion seises
one of the falling captives, as he is
held by the victorious monarch.

Re was the chief deity of the sanc-
tuary, from whom the ancient town
received the name of Ei-Re, «<the
abode of the sun;** and wc find
that this '< temple of Remeses '* was
also considered under the special pro-
tection o^ Amunre and of Thoth.
Pthah likewise held a distinguished
place among the contemplar gods;
i|nd this custom of introducing the
divinities of the neighbouring towns
was common both in Egypt and
Nubia.

The temple is cut in the rock; but
is of no great size, the total depth
being only about 1 10 feet. Nor are
the sculptures of the interior worthy
of the era of the Great Remeses, —
a remark which equally applies to
those of Sab6oa and Gerf Hossayn.
At the upper end of the sanctuary
is a niche containing four sitting
figures.

ROUTE 31.

DBBB TO ABOO-8IKBBL AND VtJkVWM

HALFXH.

Ibreem

Aboo.Simbel(W.)

WadeeHaIfeh(£.)

Miles.
13J
33]
40

On the road from Derr to Ibreem,
inland, is a grotto cut in the rock,
called El Doo^neara, opposite Gattey,
with sculptures of old time : and on
the west bank, at a spot indicated in

Mr. Scoles*s map, above Geseeret
Gattey, is a small tombt inland in the
desert, cut in a rock of pyramidal
form, which bears the name of Re-
meses V. and his queen Nofre-t-aret.
The person of the tomb was one
" Poeri, a royal son of Cush" (Ethi-
opia), who is represented doing ho-
mage to the Egyptian Pharaoh.

Ibreem. — Ibreem is situated on a
loAy clifF, commanding the river, as
well as the road by land, and is the
supposed site of JVt'mM Parva. It
contains no remains of antiquity, ex-
cept part of the ancient wall on the
south side, and a building, apparently
also of Roman date, in the interior,
towards the north side. The latter is
built of stone, the lower part of large,
the upper of small blocks. Over Uie
door is the Egyptian cornice, and a
projecting slab intended for the globe
and asps ; and in the face of the front
wall is a perpendicular recess, similar
to those in Egyptian temples for fix-
ing the flag-stafls, on festivals. In
front of this is a square pit, and at its
mouth lies the capital of a Corintliian
column of Roman time. The blocks
used in building the outer wall were
taken from more ancient monuments.
Some of them bear the name of Tir-
haka, the Ethiopian king, who ruled
Egypt as well as his own country,
and whose Ethiopian capital was Na-
pata, now El BerkeK

It is probable that the Romans,
finding the position of Ibreem so well
adapted for the defence of their terri-
tories, stationed a garrison there as
an advanced post, and that the wall
is a part of their fortified works. It
was in later times fixed upon by Sul-
tan Selim, as one of the places pecu-
liarly adapted for a permanent station
of the troops left by him to keep the
Nubians in check; whose descend-
ants were expelled from it by the
Memlooks or Ohooz, on their way to
Shendy, in 1811.

Strabo, in speaking of the march of
Petroniu^ into Ethiopia, mentions a
place called Primis, or, as he writes

436

ROUTE 31. — IBREEir.

Sect, V.

it, PremnU, fortified by nature;
where, on his return, he left a garri-
Bon of 400 men, with provisions for
two years, to check the incursions of
the Ethiopians. But this may apply
to Primis Magna, which was farther
to the south (some suppose at Dun-
gola), and not to Primis Panra or
] breem ; as Petronius is not said to
have criMsed the river afUr the taking
of Pselcis, but to have continued his
march across the sandy desert, evi-
dently on the same side of the Nile,
And this desert, as he says, was part
of the same African plain where
Cambyses* army was lost, though
not, as he would lead us to infer, the
very " sands, in which the Persians
were overwhelmed.**

He may, however, have mistaken
the two; and his subsequent state-
ment, of Petronius anticipating the
march of Candace against Primis,
argues in favour of the claims of
Ibreem ; which derives additional in*
terest from such historical associ-
ationb. The whole passage is curious,
as it relates not merely to the country
of Candace, but also to the northern
part of Ethiopia, and eiplains the
necessity of tliose precautions adopted
in after-times by Diocletian, to check
the inroads of the Blemmyes and other
southern Ethiopians, by making mi-
litary settlements of Nobatse on the
frontier of Egypt. « The Ethi-
opians,*' says Strabo, *' taking ad-
vantage of the moment when part of
the troops under £lius Gall us had
been withdrawn from Egypt, to pro-
secute the war in Arabia, suddenly
attacked the Theba'id, and the gar-
risons of three cohorts posted at
Syene, Elephantine, and Phil«, made
the inhabitants prisoners, and over-
threw the statues of Cesar ; but Pe-
troniusy who had not quite 10,000
foot and 800 horse, to oppose their
army of 30,000, forced them to fly for
shelter to Pselcis (now Dakkeh), an
Ethiopian city.

" He then sent a herald to demand

restitution of all they had taken, and

he reasons of their hostile attack.

They replied that it was in conse-
quence of the vexations of the gover-
nors; but Petronins, having told them
that the country was not ruled by
them but by CaKar,and finding, on tbe
expiration of tbe tliree days they had
asked for deliberation, that he could
not obtain satisfaction, advanced to-
waids tbem and forced them to give
battle. They were speedily routed,
being ill disciplined, and badly armed,
having only large shields covered with
raw bulls* hides, and axes, javelins,
or swoids for their offimsive wesqioiis.
Some fled to the town, some to the
desert, while others swam over to the
neighbouring island, there being very
few crocodiles in this part, owing to
tbe force of the current Among
them were the generals of Queen
Candace, who continued to rogn
over Etliiopia even in my time. She
was a woman of mascuUne courage,
and had lost one eye.

*' Petronius, passing his troops over
the river on rafks and boats, took them
all prisoners, and sent tbem imme-
diately to Alexandria: he then ad-
vanced upon Pselche (Pselcis), and
took it, few of the enemy escaping
with their lives. From Pselcis, croas-
ing the desert in which the army of
Cambyses was overwhelmed in the
sands drifted by the wind, he came to
Premnis (Primis), a place fortified
by nature ; and having carried it by
assault, he advanced to Napata, the
capital of Candace, where her aoa
was then living. She herKlf was in
a neighbouring place; whence she
sent mcssengen to propose peaces
and tbe restoration of the statues and
prisoners taken from Syene. Bui
Petronius, regardless of her oflTers,
took Napata, which tbe prince had
abandoned, and rased it to the ground.
Thinking that the country beyond
would present great diflicultics, he
returned with his bocrty ; and haTuig
fortified Piimis with stronger works,
he left a garrison there of 400 men,
with provisions for two years. He
then returned to Alexandria. Of the
captives he brought back, a thousand

J^ubia,

BOUTE 31, — ABOO-SIMBEL.

437

were sent to Caesar (Augustus), who
had lately returued from tiie Canta-
brian war, many of whom died of
illness.

" Candace in the mean time ad-
vanced to attack the garrison of Pri-
mis, at the head of many thousand
men ; but Petronius having marched
to its reliefy threw troops into the
place before she could invest it, and
strengthened all the defences. Can-
dace upon this sent messengers to
Petronius, who ordered them to go
to Caesar; and on their saying they
knew not who Caesar was, or where
he was to be found, he gave them an
escort. On arriving at Samos, they
found Caesar preparing to go into
Syria, and Tiberius ordered to march
into Armenia ; and having obtained
from him all they wanted, the tribute
was even remitted which had been
imposed upon them."

Pliny also mentions this mardi of
Petronius to Napata, the farthest point
he reached being 870 m. p. from
Syene. '* The only towns he found on
the way were I^lcis, Primis, Aboccis,
Phthuris, Cambusis, Attena, and
Stadisis,'* which stood near a very
large cataract.

I'he name of Pk'imis may possibly
be connected with Papremis, the
£gyptian Mars. Primis waSi also
called Rhemnia, Primmis or Prem-
nis; and to distinguish it from the
other town of the same name, it was
known as " Primis Parva.'*

In the rock below Ibreem are some
small painted grottoes, bearing the
names of Thothmes Land III., of
Amunoph II., and of Remeses II. of
the eighteenth dynasty, with statues
in high relief at their upper end.

About half way from Ibreem to
Bostiln, are a mound and a stela,
about six feet high, with hierogly-
phics. Tliis spot I believe to be now
called ShSbuk, Bost&n is the Turkish
name for "garden,** and was probably
given it by the soldiers of Sultan
Selim.

A short way beyond it, at Tosk,

Tushka, or Tosko ^the Nubian word
signifying ** three")* t^e two reefs of
rocks, stretching across the Nile, and
nearly closing the passage in the
month of May, when the river is
low. They form a complete weir,
and would be very dangerous to a
boat coming down the stream with-
out a pilot. In Nubia it is always
customary to engage a pilot, on ac-
count of these and other dangerous
rocks, which occur in different places,
and which are rarely met with in any
part of the Nile north of Asouan,
eicept near How and Shekh Umb&-
rak. The distance from Maharrakah
(Hterasycaminon) to Sh6buk agrees
very nearly with that given by
Pliny from Hierasycaminon to Tama,
75 icr., or about 68 miles English.

Near Fakharit are remains of a
Christian church, and a chapel on
the opposite bank.

Aboo- SimbeL ~« At Aboo- Simbel are
the nx>st interesting remains met
with in Nubia, and, excepdng Thebes,
during the whole valley of the Nile.
It has two temples, both of the time
of Remeses the Great ; which, inde-
pendent of their grandeur and ar-
chitectural beauties, contain highly
finished sculptures, and throw great
light on the history of that con-
queror.

Hie small temple was dedicated to
Athor, who is represented in the
adytum under the form of the sacred
cow, her emblem, which also occurs
in the pictures on the walls. Her
title here is *' Lady of Aboshek"
(Aboccis), the ancient name of
Aboo-Simbel ; which, being in the
country of the Ethiopians, is fol-
lowed in the hieroglyphics by the
sign signifying <* foreign land.** The
fa9ade is adorned with several sta-
tues in prominent relief of the king
and the deities, and the interior is
divided into a hall of six square
pillars bearing the head of Athor, a
transverse corridor, with a small
chamber at each extremity, and an
adytum.

438

BOUTE 31. — ABOO-SDCBBL.

Sect-V.

Among the contemplar deities are
Re, Amunre, Isis, and Ptbah; and
Kneph, Sat^ and Ao6uk6, the triad
of the cataracts. The monarch is
frequently accompanied bj bis queen
NofrLari. The total depth of this
excavation is about ninety feet from
the door.

The great temple is remarkable for
the most beautiful colossi found in
any of the Egyptian ruins, repre-
senting Remesea II. They are
seated on thrones, attached to the
rock, and the faces of some of them,
which are fortunately well preserved,
evince a beauty of expression, the
more striking, as it is uulooked for,
in statues of such dimensions. I had
not an opportunity of ascertaining
their total height, but from the length
of the arm I calculate it to be about
sixty feet, requiring a pedestal of at
least seven more. Some of their
dimensions are: — the ear 3 feet 5 in. ;
forefinger (i. e, to the fork of middle
finger) 3 feet; from inner side of
elbow joint to end of middle finger,
15 feet, &c. The total height of the
facade of the temple may be between
90 and 100 feet. It was not till
afler my visit to Nubia, that Mr. Hay
cleared to the base of the two colossi
on the south side of the door. He
also exposed to view the curious
Greek inscription of the Ionian and
Carian soldiers of Psamattcus, first
discovered by Mr. Bankes and Mr.
Salt, as well as some interesting
hieroglyphic tablets.

The above-mentioned inscription
is of very great interest, upon severaf
accounts. It appears to have been
written by the troops sent by the
Egyptian king after the deserters,
who are said^y Herodotus to have
left the service of Psamaticus in the
following manner : — -

" In the reign of Psammitichus
these troops had been stationed at
Elephantine, to protect the country
from the Ethiopians ; . . . and, having
been kept three whole years in gar-
rison, without being relieved, they
resolved with one accord to desert

the king, and go over to the Ethio-
pians. As soon as this news reached
Psammitichus, he pursued them, and
having overtaken them, he in vain
endeavoured by entreaties and every
ai^ument to prevail on tbem not to
abandon their country, their gods, their
children, and their wives. . . . But,
deaf to bis arguments, they continued
their route, and on arriving in Ethiopia,
they gave themselves up to the king
of the country, who rewarded tbem
with the possession of lands belong-
ing to certain refractory Ethiopians,
whom they were ordered to expe|.
They therefore settled there; and the
Ethiopians became more civilised
by adopting the customs of these
Egyptians." The position of their
settlement he places above Meroe,
after which city he says, ** you arrive
at the country of the Automoles
(deserters) in as many days as it
took you to go from Elephantine to
the capital of the Ethiopians. These
Automoles are called Asmach; which
word translated ^gnifies ' those who
stand on the left band of the king,*
and their numbers when they deserted
were 240,000."

The inscription is in a curious
style of Greek, with a rude indica-
tion of the long vowels, the more re-
markable, as it dates about SIS years
before Siroonides. It is not quite
intelligible ; but Colonel Leake gives
the following version and transla-
tion : —

(for mt)

%wktm> «|X00» )t KifXMr mmrvn^kf h • (for cv

A/uuurtf

** King Puustichttt having come to Ele-
phantine, those who were with Ptamatichuft.
the son of Theoclet, wrote thti. They called,
and came to above Kerkii, to where the

river rises , the ^yptian Amaaia

The writer was Daroearchoo, the aun of
Amo^bichus, and Pelephtts, the sou of Uda.
mus."

From this it appears that the ^ king
Psamatichus '* only went as fkr as
Elephantine, and sent bis troops after

Nubia* BOUTE 31. — great temple of aboo-simbel.

439

the deserters by the river into Upper
Ethiopia ; tlie writer of the first part,
who had the same name, being doubt-
less a Greek.

Besides this inscription are some
others, written by Greeks who proba-
bly visited the place at a later time,
as '* Theoporopus, the son of Plato,"
« Ptolemy, the son of Tlmostratus,**
and others.

The grand hall is supported by
eight Osiride pillars, and to it suc-
ceed a second hall of four square
pillars, a corridor, and the adytum,
with two side chambers. Eight
other rooms open on the grand hall,
but they are very irregularly exca-
vated ; and some of them have loAy
benches projecting from the walls.
In the centre of the adytum is an
altar, and at the upper end are four
statues in relief. The dimensions of
the colossi attached to the pillars in
the great hall are, — from the shoulder
to the elbow, 4 feet 6 inches ; from
the elbow to the wrist 4 feet 3 inches ;
from the nose to the chin, 8 inches ;
the ear, 15] inches; the nose,
about 10 inches; the face, nearly
2 feet ; and the total height, without
the cap and pedestal, 1 7 feet 8 inches.

The principal objects of the interior
are the historical subjects, relating to
the conquests of Biemeses II., re-
presented in the great halL A large
tablet, containing the date of his first
year, extends over great part of the
north wall ; and another between the
two last pillars on the oppo«te side
of this ball, of his thirty-fifUi year,
has been atided long after the temple
was completed. The battle scenes
on the south wall are particularly
spirited ; and it will not be without
benefit to those who still adhere to
the notion that the Egyptians were
black, to observe the distinction main-
tained in the colour of the faces of
the Negro, Ethiopian, and eastern
captives, represented at Aboo-Simbel,
and to compare them with that of the
Egyptians ; who are here, as on every
Other monument, of a red complexion,

not even approaching the copper hue
of the Ethiopians.

Re was the god of the temple and
the protector of the place. In a niche
over the entrance is a statue of this
deity in relief, to whom the king is ^
offering a figure of Truth ; and he is
one of the four at the end of the ady-
tum. The Theban triad also holds a
conspicuous place here ; as well as
Kneph, Khem, Osiris, and Isis. The
total depth of this excavation, from
the door, is about 200 feet, without the
colossi and slope of the fa9ade; and a
short distance to the south are some
hieroglyphic tablets on the rock, bear-
ing the date of the thirty-eighth year
6f the same Remeses.

The great temple of Aboo-Simbel
was formerly quite closed by the
sand that pours down from the hills
above. The first person who ob-
served these two interesting monu-
ments was Burckhardt ; and in 1817,
Belzoni, Captains Irby and Mangles,
and Mr. Beechey, visited them, and
resolved on clearing the entrance of
the larger temple from the sand.
After working eight hours a day for
a whole fortnight, with the average
heat of the thermometer from 112^
to 116^ Fahr. in the shade, they suc-
ceeded in gaining admittance; and
though the sand closed it again, tlieir
labours enabled others to penetrate
into it without much difliculty.

Nearly opposite Aboo-Simbel is
Ferayg, a sxnall excavated temple,
consisting of a hall, supported by
four columns, two side chambers or
wings, and an adytum. It has the
name and sculptures of the successor
of Amunoph III., and was dedi-
cated to .\munre and Kneph.

jPoroj, or Farras, on the west bank,
is supposed to be the Phthuris of
Pliny; and from the many sculp-
tured blocks and columns there, it is
evident that some ancient town ex-
isted on that spot; though, judging
from the style, they appear to belong
to a Roman, rather than an Egyptian,
epoch.

440

ROUTE 31. — FARAS — SAMNEH.

Sect. V.

A little to the south is a small
grotto with hieroglyphics of the time
of Remeses II. ; and in the bills to
the westward are some chambers,
hewn in the rock, with several Cofiie
inMcriptiont ; from one of which,
bearing the name of Diocletian, it
seems that they served as places of
refuge, during some of the early per-
secutions of the Christians. To the
south-west are ruins of baked brick,
with stone columns, of the low ages.
At Serra are the remains of what
was once perhaps a quay ; but there
are no ruins of any ancient town in
the vicinity, though it also lays claim
to the site of Phthuris.

Opposite Wadee Halfeh are tlie
vestiges of three buildings. One is
a simple square of stone without
sculpture; another has several stone
pillars, the walls being of brick ; but
the third has been ornamented with a
number of columns, parts of which
still remain. Sufficient, however,
still exists to tell us that it was an
ancient Egyptian building; and that
it was, at least originally, commenced
by the third and fourth Thothmes,
of the eighteenth dynasty, and ap*
parently dedicated to Kneph.

The $€ctmd cataract is a short walk
of about 4} miles above Wadee
Halfeh. It is less interesting than
that of Asouin, but more extensive,
being a succession of rapids, which
occupy a space of several miles, called
Batn el Haggar, '* the belly of
stone.'* On the west bank, just be-
low this rocky bed, is a high clifT, from
which there is a fine and command-
ing view of the falls ; and this is the
ultima Thule of Egyptian travdlen.

Samtuh^'^ A short day and a half,
or about 35 miles beyond Wadee
Halfeh, are the village and cataract of
Samneh ; wbare on either bank is a
small but interesting temple of the
third Thothmes.

That on the eastern side consists of
a portico : a hall parallel to it, ex-
tending across the whole breadth of
the naos, and one large and three

small chambers in the back part. It
stands in an extensive court or enclo-
sure surrounded by a strong crude-
brick wall, commanding the river,
which runs below it to the westward.
In the portico is a Ublet, bearing the
name of Amunoph III. ; but on the
front of the naos, to which are two
entrances, Thothmes III. is making
offerings to Totouon, the God of
Samneh, and to Kneph, one of the
contemplar deities. Hie name of
Thothmes II. also occurs in the hiero-
glyphics; and those of Amunoph II.
and of the third Osirtasen, a monarch
of the seventeenth dynasty, and the
ancestor of Thothmes, are introduced
in another part of the temple.

That on the western bank, though
small, is of a more elegant plan, and
has a peristyle, or corridor, supported
by pillars on two of its sides ; but to
cross the river it is necessary to put
up^rith a ruder raft than thejMcioii,
by which Strabo was carried over to
Philae, as it is merely formed of logs
of the d6m palm, lashed together, and
pushed forward by men who swim
behind it.

This building only consists of one
chamber, about thirty feet by eleven,
with an entrance in front, and another
on the west side, opposite whose nor-
thern jamb, instead of a square pillar,
is a polygonal column, with a line of
hieroglyphics, as usual, down its
central face. On the pillars king
Thothmes III. is represented in com-
pany with Totouon, and other deities
of the temple ; and what is very re-
markable, his ancestor Osirtasen III.
is here treated as a god, and is aeen
presenting the king with the emblem of
life. On the front wall is a tablet in
relief, with the name of Ames, the
first, and of Thothmes II., the fourth,
Pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty ;
and mention is made of the city of
Thebes. But this tablet has been de-
faced by the hieroglyphics of another
cut in intaglio over it, apparently by
a Remeses.

At the upper end of the naos is a
sitting statue of gritstone, with the

Nubia.

BOCTE 31. BAJtNEH.

embletni of Osirii, intended perhipi
to reprcKnt the king Ouruwn.

A brick wall encloied and pro-
tected Ihe Umple, and the Irocea of a
■tone cauwtray >how Ihal a road led

. of [he hill, oi

B«lo«, oi
NUe, through a narrow
twecn the rocks that

which i<

and I I:

east side, falls the
inform ed

that near this ^pot art
and some Greek inicriptioni.

The niias of Somneh are supposed
to mark the site of Taiiiia, or of
Acina; aud we may perhapi trace
in the liierogljrphics the name oF the
ancient town, called in Egyptian To-
toaha; unless this be a general ap-
pellation of the country, including
Samneh, Aboo-Simbel, and their ti-
cinity, and related to the Coptic
name Ethaush or Ethiopia. If
Ptolemy is la be tniated, Tasitia wai
on the west side of the riier, and
Pnoupi opposite it on the eut, as be

places both in latitude 92°; so that
Samneh may include the sites of
both those ancient Tillages.

To those who inquire whether they
need pass beyond Phils, I answer
that Nubia i> well worthy of a *isil,
if only to witness the unparalleled
effect ofthe exterior of Aboo-Simbel.

Jeyor

i this then

t of the Second CaUract, which

easily spared. At atl events, Aboo-
Simbel will amply tepsy the tra-
Trller, whose object is to take a rapid
glance of Egyplisn srchilecture;

pleased with the eiamination of the
historical pictures in tJie sculpiurea of
the interior, which he will find great
satisfaction in comparing with similar
subjects at Thebes.

For the ruins aboie Samneh I refer
tbe reader to Mr. Ilosklns's " Ethio.
pis," and to M. Caillflud's "Journey
to Ueroii and in Vicinity."

INDEX.

ruins at, iSl

AlMbdeh desert, 400. Artbt,401414.

Abaton, 421.

Abbttside dynasty, S8.

Aboo-Asees, mounds at, 88&

Aboo-Oirgeb, ruins near, 884. To Minieb,
98d

Abookir, VA

Aboo Mandoor hill, 105.

Abooroash, pvramid of, 1S7.

Abooxabel coll^ffes and schools, 169.

Abooseer mounds, 223. £81.

Aboos^er, pyramid of, 199.

Aboo-Simbel, iutcrcattng remains at, 4S7.

Abooteeg, 314.

Abrdus, road to, fifflL Description of, S14.
Roads from, to the Great Oasis, SS5.

Acanthus groves in the neigbbourikood of
8akk&ra.90i. City of, 806.

Aooris, 890.

Aila, 881.

Akhmim, or Ekhmim, S19.

Akhf iieed dynasty, 31.

Alabaslron, 898. 306.

Alexander, tomb oC, 87.

ALBXANoaiA, 71. Custom-house — CawAss
— Dooki^-drivers, 79. Hotels, 73. Ser-
vants ~ Boats — Rcouisites for the Jour-
ney to Cairo, 74. History of, 75. Plan of,
and description of the buildings, 80. Li-
brary, 83. Museum — Csesarium, 86.
Saraplum,8S. Panium ^ Gymnawum, 90L
HonumetttS(9Q. Ancient remains, 91.
Pompey's Ftllar, 9S. Catacombs, 9i.
Ruins, 95. Trade, 96. InhabiUnls, 97.
Climate— Canala—Ports, 99. Mosks, 100.
Amusements, 101. Arsenal, lOfiL Tb
Hierasycaminon, 974.

Alexandria to Cairo, 105. 106i To Rosetta,
108. To Cairo, 105. To Atfeh, 106.

All, Mohammed, 11. See Mohammed Ali.

Amada,434.

Ammaw§eh, house of (Ommiades), 27.

Ammon, Oasis of, 846.

Anasieh, HeraeUcpolta, 983.

Ancient remains of Alexandria, 91.

Antinoe, ruins of, 8ga Extent, 301. Ruins
and tombs in the vicinity, SOL

Antiquities at Cairo, 147.

Anttrhodus, island of, 87.

Aphroditopolis, Atf^ch, 881.

Aphroditopolis. Itfoo, 316.

Apis, temple of, 80&

Arab bridges. 198.

Arabic and English rocabtilary, 44.

Arslnoe, ancient canal of, 810.

Ashmoon, 831.

Asl6ogee, 831.

Assaseef, tombs of the, J78.

Asouan, 41& Palms and dates of, 417. To

Derr, 486.
Atf»eb, Aphroditopolis, 881,

Atfeh, 105. 106.

Atreeb, Bcnha el Assal, 9iS.

Athribis, or Crooodilopolis, 318.

Bab-el-aCandebt stralu of, 484.

Babylon, Bnrptian, 157.

Baharite Memlooks, Sultans, or Kings, of

Egypt. 3a

Bahr-bela-me ravine, 878*

Bahr el Abiad. 439L

Babr el Fargh, 945.

Bahr Yoosef; 308.

Bajo6ra, 386.

BaUis,333.

Balsam plants, 169. t

Bar&bras, the modem Nubians, extent of

their country, 481
Baid£es,3S3.
Baths at Cairo, 140.
Baths of Cleopatra, 94i Remains of, at El

Hammam, 1^
Battle scenes in the great temple-palace of

Remeses HI. at Thebes, 357.
Baytel Wellee,430.
Baaaars at Cairo, 140.
Bebayt-cl-Hagar, 986.
Beer el Ingleet, 398.
Behnesa, 985.
Belbiys. 17a 907.
Bellianeh, 385.
Belaooi*s tomb, 366.
Beoha el Assal, 981
Beni Adee, 310.
Benl Hassan, grottoes of, 993.
Benisootf, 882. To Minleh, 288.
Benneh, 8S5l

Bcnoob, 888. Road to, from the Nile, 409.
Bcrtwra,481
Berenice, 408.
Bershoom, 881

Beshendy, ruined town of, 964.
Biahmoo, ruins at, 960.
Bibbeh, mounds and convent at, 883.
Blggeh,418. lsUndof4fil.
Biggig obelisk, 851.
BirketelHag, 169.
Birket GhuttlU, 108.
Bishar6<^h, gold mines of the, 401.
Bishar^eh tribe of Arabs, some account of,

401
Blacks, Oasis of the, 868.
Boata, E^ypUsn, described, 409.
Boats of the Nile, 191
Bool&k, 111
Boosh, 981.

Brangeh, mounds at, 983.
Breccia Verde quarries, 399
Broombei mounds, 881.
Bruce*s, or the Harper's, tomb, 367.
Bubastis, 83(i. «

Burial-place of the Jews, S78,
Buslris, Tillage, 196.

444

Bumtoen Tillage, 878.
B7ad«ehTUUc;,301.

INDEX.

Oadl*S court at Cairo, 156.
Cvtan, name* of the, 28.

Ji?* .Serranu, 180. Horsei _ Amm

S li**' i?\^.°oV *^- The CiS
Fomitaini 138. 'Palacet JSS, isa
Bathi- SUve Market -Ba«Sw iS"
gr,c«. of go«U 14,. ^;^S; S
Extent --Canal. 146. Oatet— Anti JuitS
- Poputation^ 147 Fe.tlral.andXh5

i£r » ?!^™/l* «lnilni«traUon, 155. Cadi?
courL 156. ExcuwioM, 157. to S^e^ W
1 To Mount Sinai, 918. ToStfU «»^ T^i
Damietty, ^4. 'To MenLlJh ijdTan^
^u^"* ?? S."^^' Pharb«thul. 21^

HS.°???L^I!?t^'SV^''^?i^tS?

t!^.^?^ "^ ^V*- of 'D^hlehT ^

2Sf;%7 "***" ^•*^ *^ To Beni.
Caliph/and Sultani, Liit of the, 27.
Canal of Mahmoodfeeh. 107 At raiw* id«:

Of Ar.lnoe.210.%f S^^1^^*5gg: ^^'
Candace, Queen, 436.
Canopui. 103.
Cararans flrom Dar.Foor TDar ftirt om

CMacoroba at Alexandria, 94. Of Beni
Hassan, 29SL AtShekhfimaV i^ N^i
Kasr e* Sy4d, 327. """*y»«« Wear

Cataracto of the NUe, 419.
Causeway at the pyramids. 196.
Cheops, pyramid of, 173. 178.
Chereu, 108.

Chronological TaMe of the kings of Egypt,

Clec^tra, baths of, 94.
Coins, Cuflc 87.
College of Derwishes, 163.
Colossi ofThebes, 34^.441.
Contra Latron, temple at, 406.

Coavent of Mount iSnai. 21& Of Qeergeh,

^JfH^y^^ ^- /'J.^^y "^ St Paul, S6a
Of the Natron Lakes, S41.

rSiSi*» ^'«>»ce» ro«l from, 401.
tSUX^""^*^ ^ rower of the

teristics of the Crocodile 338
Crocodiiopolis. 857. Sl&iS.^-
Curd dynasty, 34.

Curious tomb, illustratiTe of the nanners
C^^gJ- of the E^tians. i«i™"*"

Sabod temple, 487.

Dakhleh, Oasis of. 362. FhUts— Chanwter
^of the Inhabitants, 864. ^"'"^^

Dakkeh, temple of, 432.
DaUas, 881.
Oamaahoor, 1Q&
gMnietta, 889.

S!Jf**^Vpy™P»*«'« of. 901.

^-ttesoftfce Oases. 860. OfA*man,417.

Dayr By&d village, 288.

Dayr el Bahree temple, 361

S^H ej Mcdeeneh temple, 362.

DeaerdArBey,llS.SOp

Delta, the, 28a ProTinoes of, 290.

Dendera, temple o^ 38a '

Dcndoor, temple of, 431.

DexbelHag.20a

Derb e* Tsrab^en, 90a

I>erdw,414.

Derr. capital of Nubia. 431 To Aboo-Siou
bel and Wadee fUlfeh, 435. '"*^*'"-
gmriihe^^Uege of, 163. Their dance. I6*.

Dimiy, ruins at, 258.
Diodorus. 169, eipa$$im.
Diospolis Panra, ruins of. 386.
DOm trees, Theban palms. JOB
Doosh. temple of, 267/
Drawings coloured, illustrative of the acri.
Jiltural pursuits of the early EtopthS

Dynasties of the ^yptian kings, 17.

Bbras,3oa

^'^y« Christian Tilbge, 39a Temple of

iJ^ temples, 409. Grottoes near. 4ia

Edmoostone, Sir Arehibald. tni^ of 96SL

Egg ovens at Geeseh, I73L ' "*^ -

Kgypt, season for visiting, 1. Probable m.

pense. of a journey In, a RSSSto;

travelling in. & Blode of UvtoTSS^dST

"•«»f*« country, 6. Drees flpSsS to

gyptian boats. descripUon of, 40Sl
Enjt«n temples, 275. ' ~*

PkS5C^ ™'?t.f*» ^- Qwttoea at. 408.

KAkiS,"980."*"^'''*

EI Areesh. 888.

g Beerbeh mounds, 883.

g HammAm, SSBL
g Hamra, isa
la Hareib,30a

EI Hays, Oasis of. 96SL
Eiaaeh.^^ •

^. ^«i«i, 406.
El Kab, 4n,
ElK&la village, 3SS.

S 5*3^ jnound* at, £8&
El Khanka, 16a

EIKMigeh,townof,865L
S5J;«™^rolMat.434.
S 5!^,''»Wd mounds, 314.

Embtbeh 106.

INDEX.

Emerald mines of Oebel Zaban, 401, 40S.
Ancient nMd from Contra Aixiliioopoli*
to, 4(WL 1 i~»

Emin Bey, remarkable escape of, 13.

EngUah and Arabic Tocabuiarj, M.

Ennent temple, 40%.

E'Shdrafa town, SS4.

Epitaphi at Atouan, 416.

Ergamenei. King of Ethiopia, 438.

Ein£, road to, fi6& Temple of, 405.

Etko, 101

Ethiopia. 49S, 423. 440.

Eunoctiu. port of, 8&

Excunionf from Cairo, 157. From Meede-

neb, SSL To Behneu, S85. From Oir-

geh to Abydiu, 983.

remains of a Christian church

In the Ticinity of, 437.
Farifteh. Oasis of, 863.
Fares, 44a
Farshoot, 32S.
Fatemite dynasty, SO.
Feriyg. 440.
Festirals at Cairo, 148.
F6tes at Santa, 230.
Fons Tri^anus, 87L
Fooah. 109.

Foreign kings of Egypt. 393.
Fossil remains. 171. 197.
Fountains at Cairo, 138. Of the Sun, 168.

Of Moses, S15.
Fov, mounds at, 316- 3S7«
Funeral ceremony, 381.
Fyoom, the, 2u6.

Oaillllle« ruins of a temple at, 4S7.

Gam6ia. 3S5.

Gates of the kings, 3G6.

Oaxa, quarantine at, 823.

Oebel Aboofayda. 308.

Gebd e Rossis, lead mines of, 403.

Gebd e' Tayr, 887.

Gebel el Fate^reh, 971.

Gebel Mokuttum, 170.

Gebel el Mulcuttub, 817.

Gebel ShelUi Erobarak mountain, S8k

Gebel Shekh HereMee, 315.

Gebei Zabira, emerald mines of, 401.

Gebel e* Zayt, 870.

Geeseh, egg ovens at, 173.

Geergeh or Girgeh, 328.

Gemei^eh, 831.

Oerf Hossiyn, 431.

Gertassce, 487.

Gibbon, the historian, 93.

Girgeh to Abydus, 323. To Keneh, 32S.

Gtsr el Agoos, 887. 307. 810.

Gold mines of the Bisharieh, 401.

Gol6saneh, 886.

Gow, 314.

Gow el Gharb^eh, 315.

Granite quarries, 871. In the neighbour-
hood of Asousn, 416.

Great Oasis, the, 85a 861. ObjecU of inter-
est in, 365. Moads firom Abydus to, 385.

Great pyramid, description of, 180.

Great temple at Thebes, 353. At Kar-
nak 38M

Grottoes of Beni Hassan, 89^ At Tel el
Am&rna, 306. At Reefa, SIS. At Gcbel
Shekh Here^dee, 315. At Howaweesh,
382 At Dendera, 331 At £ilethyas,4U8.
Near Edfou, 410. At SIbUia, 411.

446

e* Salam, 884.
H4gsr Silsileh. 410.
Hamatha, dog mummies at, 88&
Harbayt, 238.
Hass&ia, 484.
Heglra. the, note on, 27.
Hehopolis, 166.
Helwan Tillage, 880.
Heredee Shekh, 315.
Hermontbls temple, 404.
Herodotus, lU.et passim.
Hieroglyphic tabietoat Saribut el Khidem.

Hieroglyphic inscriptions at Wadefa T6neh,

Historical sculptures at Kamak. 3951
History of Cairo, 1S8.
Horses of Egypt, 181.
How. Diospoiis parvttt 3S6,
Howira Arabs, 386.
Howaweesh grottoes, 388.

Xbreem, 4S5L

Ichneumon, worship of the, 883.

Klahoon pyramids, 851.

Inscription on Pompey's pillar, 91 In the
desert of Mount Sinai, 216. At Mount
Sinai. 817. At Tehneh, 888. At Gisr el
Agpos, 389. At Tel el Am&ma, 307. At
Ekhmim. 3ia At Dendera, 329. In the
Dayr el Bahree, 364 In the quarries of
Breccia, 399. At AArodtto^401. At Ombos.
413. At Bjabod 487. At KaUU»hee,4S9
At Aboo-Slmbcl, 43&

Irb^, Captain, travels and discoveries oil 303.

Irrigation, mode of, in Nubia, 485

Isbayda, 305.

Isis, temole of, in the island of Phils. 419l

Uland of Elephantine, 417. Of Sehiyl, 418.
OfBisgeh,48l.

Isment in the Oasis, ruins at, 863.

Isment el Bahr, mounds at. 283.

Israelites, passage of the, 209.

Itfoo. 31&

7<Mepll*s well, 189.

Makfoot, 850.

Kal&bshee, 488.

Kalam6on, 963.

Kario6n, 106.

Kamak, 336. Great temple at, 3P9.

Kasr Ain e* Zay&n, 867.

Kasr el Ainee, 163.

Kasr el Ooiyt^h, 867.

Kasr e* Sy&d, 327.

Kasr Kharoon, ruins at, 858. 854.

Keneh to Thebes, 333. To Kossayr, 398.

KendOs or Kensee tribe, 481

Khamsin winds, season of, 2.

Khargeh, Wah el, or Great Oasis, 864. Ob-
jects of Interest in, 865. Great temple of;
965.

Kings of Egypt, Chronological Table of, 17.

Kings, Tombs of the, S6&

Kobt, Coplost 333.

Kolsim mountains, 810. Town, 810.

Kom Ahmar, 884l 407. Mounds at, 892.

Kom Ayr mounds, 406.

Kom el A»wed, 198.

Kom Ombo, 413.

446

INDEX.

Kom Weiton, nilni in the vicinity of, 85^

Roorneh, 336.

Koornet Murraee, tombi of, 378.

Koortee, 434.

Roo«,334.

Kom-Kam, 314.

Rorayn djitet, 109.

Konayr, arrival ftom India at, 399. -To the

Nile, 400.
KoMajr, Old, 871.
KoMieh, 309.
Koitamneh,438.

lAke Maieotia,99. M<eri8,85S. Maua-

leli, SSS.
Latopolis, Etnf.iOS.
Lead mines of-Gebel e* Rom4m, 403.
Lelihnuu, mounds in the vicinity of. 112.
Librtriet at Cairo, IfiS.
Limestone quarries of Misarati, S79. Near

SbelOi HassamfiSG. At Wadee e' Dayr.

see. Near Sooadee, 898. At Sliekh

Tiroay, 899i Near Abydua, 3S& Near

Dendera, 331.
Lincoln's Inn Fields, area of, supposed to be

that of the Great Pyramid. 185.
Little Oasis, the, 859.
London to Alexandria, 71.
Lovrbgeh wine, in the Oasis, 960.
Luxor, 53fiL Obeltslcs of, 387.
Lybian bills, 906.

Maaaee road, 909.

Ma&bdeh, crocodile mummy>pitf of, 309.

Hagidan, the, at Cairo, 150.

Mafaallet D&maneh, 831.

Maharraka, 434.

Malat§eh, mounds at, 884.

Mahmood^h canal, 107.

Manfaloot, market town, 309.

Mankabat,810.

Mangles. CapUin, discoveries of, 309.

Mankabit, 310.

Manna of the Desert, 815.

Manso6ra, 888. To Menialeb, 83a

Mareotis, lake, 99.

Masarah quarries, 879.

Matar^h, J!r«i^o«ofo, 166.

Matar^eh, 833.

Maydoon mounds, 881.

Medarodt, 335.

Medeeneh town, 850. Excursions ttom, 851.

To Benisoo^f, 256.
Medeeneh, •• the city." ruins of, 308.
Mede§iieC Hiboo, temple. 358.
Meilawee, 305L

Memlooks, destruction of the, 13.
Memnon, the vocal, 348.

— , tomb of, 871.

Memnonium, 318. Plan of the, 343. De-

•cripUon, 844. Sculptures, 345. Great

Hall. 347. Ruins in the vicinity of. 347.
Memphis, ?6. 80S. Temples of, 906. D^.

ties of. 204.

Menet,dykeor,80S.880.

Menoof. 105.

Menshieh, extensive mounds at. 888.

Menialeh. 230 Canal. 231. Cyperus on iU

S?o *'•;.?"=• Fcrri«.23l. Neighbourhood,
^2. ToSan,orTanis.833L
M^bis, ruins of, 106l
McUhara, 293.

^^^,990, ToOsiooC,89L Ceneteryo/.

Minlit SUie^i. 831.

Mishte. mounds at, 315.

Mite'Nasi£rah,2l.

Mit-F&rea, S31.

Mitrahenny mounds, 208. 280.

Moris lake, 852.

Moei, canal of, 285. 8S8L

Mohammed AH, birth and career of, 11— 1«.

Family of, 17,
Moileh, valley of, 2S9.
Monolith at Gow, 315.
Mons Pentedactylus, 402.
Morgoae, ruins at, 427.
••Moses, fountain oT,** 215.

Mosk of Amer at old Cairo, 15a At Asmu
an. 416. «»■*«-

Mosks at Alexandria, 100. At Cairo, 131.

Mount Sinai, instructions Ibr a jouroev to.
212. Inscriptions at, 217. Cooveot o^
218. ToElAkaba,fio. ^«»^«« «t

Mummy pits at Sakk&ra, 200.

Myos Hormos, ruins at, 27L

. fountain of, 815.
Napata, 423.
Natron Ukes, 112. 839.
N&sbeh ruins, 816.
Ncchctia, 4QS.
Neg&deh, 335.
Nfge#leh. 105. 118.
Nile, Rosette and Damictta bnnchaa, 112.

Pelusiac and Canopic branchtt, 113/ 8e-

bennetic branch. 114. The Catancta. 413.
Nile^ the, to Kossayr, 39& Hoad fraa to

Berenice, 408.
Nil hoo, mounds at, 108.
Nilometer. IflO. 418.
Nitria district, 241

Nisam, disciplined troops, 14. 3ia 3BS.
Nooba district, 484

Nubia, 423. Methodof irrigatioo in, 425.
Nubians, modem, or Bax^braa, extent of

their country, 421

Oaals of Ammoo, M6.

Oasis, the Little. 24<l The Great, SS& 264.
DescripUon of the Oases, 25a Spriacs ia
the Little Oasis, 260. Cbaracterandmir
suits of the inhabitants, 261 . Oasa ofthm
Blacks, 268. Of Dakhleh, 262

Obelisk of Osirtaaen, 166. ObeKsk near
BIggig. 251. Obelisks of Luxor. 387. at
Karnak, 390, 391. of Philc, 420.

Old Koimeh, temirie-palace at, SIOl

Om Baydah, ruins at, 247.

Ombos, 413.

Ommiade dynasty, 27.

Orpheus, origin of his mystical ceremonieeft

Oshmoonayn, 304.

Osioot, 311. To Oirgeh, 313L

Osiris, temple of, 20&

Ovens for batching eggs at Oeesefa, 173L

Palaces at Cairo, 13A

Palms, Theban, 308. Of A«>utn, 417.
PampanisvUlage,33S. '

Panopolis, 38a
Paphor village, 314.
Peasants, Christian, 30L

INDEX.

447

Felurium, 993. 83S.

Peripteral temple at Elephantine, 417. At
the island of Philc. 419.

Petrified wood, 171. S4&

Pharaohs, chronological list of, S3.

*■ Pharaoh's throne '* at Sakkftra, SOL

Pharos, island of, 76. Tower of, 78. Har-
bour, 81. Position, 88.

PhiUe, island of, 418. Temple of Isis at,
4ia

, the (h>ntier of Ancient Egypt 423.

Phikitera, S71.

Pigeon houses at RalUneh, 316.

Pipe-bowls of Osioot, 311.

Flan of the pyramids of Oeeieh, 179.

Pliny on the pyramids, 177. 186.

Police at Cairo, 165.

Folybius, his account of the inhabitants of
Alexandria, 97.

Pompey's pillar, 99L

Population of Cairo, 147.

Porcelain, vitrified, of antiquity, 80a

Porphyry quarries, S70.

Prices of rariotts articlea of consumption at
Cairo, 148.

Psamaticus, deserters fh>m, 438.

Proteus, abode of, 76.

Ptolemaic temple, 3G0.

Pyramids, first view of, llfi. Excursion to,
firom Cairo, 178. Principal requisites for,
178. History of, 173. Description of the
Great, 180. Probable purposes for which
the pyramids were built, 184. Dimensions
of the great pyramid, 185. Second pynu
mid, 186. Third pyramid, 189. Cause-
way at, 195. Small pyramids, 196. Date
of the pyramids, 197. Pyramid of Aboo-
roash, 197. Of Abooseer, 199. Of Sak-
kftra. isa Of Dashoor, 801. Last view
of, 878. Of Howara, and lUahooo, 856,
857. Of El Koola, 407.

Pyramid, fidse, 881.

Qnallflf 815. SSS.

Quarries of Toora, f79. Of Tehneb, 890<

Of Breccia Verde, 399. Of Higar Silsileh,

410.
Quarters, division of Cairo bito, 145.
Queens, tombs of the, at Thebes, 361.

3I&

Kamsees, 111.

Red Sea, passage of the Israelites, 810. Re-
lative level of the, with the NOeand Medi-
terranean, 818.

Redes^eb. 414.

Keefk, Orottoes at. 3ia

Remains, ancient, of Alexandria, 91.

Remeses IL, mutilated statues of, 341.

III., Oreat Temple-palace of, 358.

Battle scenes in, 357.

Remeseum, 348.

Reramoon, 306.

Roads from the val W of the Nile to Fyo6m,
8ta From the Nile to Kossayr. 396.

Roda island, 161. Mounds at, 301.

Roman stations, 399.

RosetU, 104^

RosetU to Atfeh and Cairo, 105L

Ruins at Alexandria, 95. At Metoobls, 105.
At Biahmoo, 850. Near the lake Xteris,
858. OfKomWese«m,8S3. At lament.

863. In the'vldnityof El Kh&rgeh. 8G6.
Myoa Hormos, 871. £l H6ybee ;— At Kom
Ahmar, 284. At Oisr el Agoos, 388. At
Gow, 315. Near the Memnonium, 347.
At Medeinet Haboo, 353. At Eilethyasu
407. At Orabos, 413. At Elephantine,
417. At Morgose, 487. At Kattbsbee,
488 At Dakkeb. 433. At Aboo-Simbel,
437. OfSamneh,44a

Rum distillery at Reramoon, 303.

Ryftn, Wadee, 259.

Sabavoora^ rubied town of, 43L

Sab6oa,434w

Saeed, the, 878. 877.

Sals, mounds, 109L Lake, 110.

Sakiyt, 403.

Sakkira, pyramid of, 199. Mummy pits at,

800. •• Pharaoh's throne," 801.
Sakh£eh, 888.
Samalood, SEB7.
Samhood, 385.
Samneh, 440.
Sandstone, region of, 407.
Sandstone quarries at Hagar SilsUeh, 410.

At Kal&bshee, 430. ^^
Sar&but el Khidera, 816. 890l
Sarapeum at Memphis, 803.
Sarapis, temple of, 89.
Scbedia, 10&
Sculptured stones, at Semenood, 836. Battle

scenes at the great temple-palace of Re-
meses III., 3£7.
Sculptures, historical at, Kamak, 395.
Sea of Kolrim, 8ia
Sebennytus mounds, 386.
S£ewah, productions of the, 94&,
Sehayl, bland of, 4ia
Semenood, 836L
Seno6ris, 350.
Serra,4)IO.

Shalwka, mounds at, 315.
Sharara, mounds at, 893.
Shardna, mounds a^ 884.
Shayro.t el Wab, 487.
Shekh Abd el Koomeh, tombs of, 379.
Shekh Aboo Noor village, 884.
Shekh Herecdee. 315.
Shekh guides to Mount Sinai, 8ia
Shekh Timav. catacombs at, 99d.
Sbenhoor, 335.

Sherbet fhnn liquorice root, 861. -
Shobuk, 437.
Shodb mounds, 314.
Shoobra palace, 114. Gardens at, 171.
Sibilis. 410.
Knai, peninsula of, 909. Instructions for a

Joomey to, tnm Cairo, 818. Mount, in.

scriptions at, 217. Convent of, 818. To

El Akaba, 890.
Sts, mounds at, 383.
Slavery of great antiouity in E^t, 379.
Sledg^ colossus on, 303.
Snaifs, localitv of, 806.
Snake of Shekh Herecdee, 315.
Soo&dee, rum distillery at, 398.
Soohig, 316L
Speos Artemldos, 896.
Sphinx, the, 191. I93L
Sphinxes, avenues of, 389. 391. 394.
Springs in the Little Oasis, 860.
Statues of Sesoitris and his wife at Memphis,

SOSm

448

INDEX.

Strabo, If^, et passim.

Suez, fi()g. Probable spot of the passage of

the Israelites, 209. Canal, SIO.
Sugar manufactory at Reramoon, 3031
Sultans and Caliphs, LUt of the, S7.
Syene, Asouan, 415. Character of the rocks

In the neightwurbood, 417.

isle, 397.

Tablets of the First Amnnoph, S69.

— — — of the time of Remeses II., 411 .

Taha, S90.

Tahta, extensire mounds at, 315.

Tanis, 833. 834.

Tanoof, mounds of, 306.

Tsnsd), mounds at, £83.

TanU, S29.

Taphia, ruins of, 498.

TariSeh, 112.

Tehneh, mounds and Inscriptions at, S88.

Tel Basta mounds, 17a

Tel el Aro&ma, 506.

Tel el Yeh6od mounds, 169.

Tel et Mai, 2S1.

Temple palace at Old KoAraeh, 34a

Temple of the Sun, lff7. Temples of Mem-
phis, S03. Of Pthah and Apis, 205. Of
Venus, 20r). Of Sarapls, S0& Of Bebayt-
el-Hagar, 226. Great Temple of El Kh&r.

S!h,265. Temple at Kaar el Oo&ytfth, 267.
f Dooah, 267. At Kasr Ain e* Zkjkn,
867. %yptian temples, 875. Of Thotb,
304. Of Dendera, 329. At Mede^net
Hftboo, 353. At Thebes, 361. At £r-
ment, 404. Of£*DaTr,4aSw Of Esneb,
405. Of Amunoph III., 408. Of Edfoo,
409. At Elephantine, 417. AtPhila,419.
At Biggeh, 421. At Kalftbshee. 428. Of
Dendoor,431. Of Gerf Hoasayn, 431. Of
Dalclieh, 433. Of Derr, 435. At Aboo.
Simbel, 437. Of Fertiyg, 440. Of Samneh,
44a

Temples, plans of, 875.

Ter4neh, 112.

Thebes, 336. Quickest mode of seeing. S37
Description of, 338. Decline and fall of,
339L Two Coloasi of. 348. Rise of the
land, 351. Mede6net Hkboo, d5SL Great
temple at, 353. Sculptured battle scenes
in, SSn. Ptolemaic temple at, 360. Lake,
361. Small temple, 361. Tombs of the

gneens, 36L I>ayr el Medeeneh. 382.
ayr el Bahree, 364. Tombs of the Kings,
366. Bruce's, or the Harper's tomb, 369.
Tomb of Memnon, 371. The Western
▼alley, 374^ Tombs of priests, and private
Individuals, 975. Of the Assaseef. S7& Of
Koomet Murraee, 378. Of Shekh Abd el
Koomeh, 379. Eastern Bank, 387. His.
torical scu1|itures, 395, To ¥J)umjT, 398.
To Asouan, 404.

Threshing-floor of the Egyptiau. 409L

Tofn^es, 405.

Toma mounds, 857.

Tombs at Cairo. 137. 194^ At Osloot, 318.
At Abydus, SH. Of (he kings, 3eB.
Belsoni'ft. 366. Of Memnon, 371. an the
Western Valley, 374. Of prteata and

Srtvate individuals, 575. Of the Assaaecf,
76. Of Roornet Murraee, S78. Of

Shekh Abd el Koomeh, 379. Of Chris.

tian martyrs near Esn^ 406.
Tooloon dynasty, 29.
Toona,305.
Toorah mounds, 878.
Tor town, 820.

Towns, ancient, on the Nile, 874k
Treacle from dates, 861.
Tuot,405.
TUUi. ruins at, 487.

Valley or snails, aos.

Venus, temi4e of. at Memphis, 806.

Vocabulary, English and Arabic, 44.

Vocal Memnon, the, 348.

Vyse. Colonel Howanl, discoveriea of, tSl.
801. His computed meaaoreraeota of the
Great PyramU, 185. Of the Second
Pyramid, 188. Of the Third Pyramid,
190. Of the pyramids of Daahter, 901.

IVadee Booa, grottoes at, Sia

Wadee el Areesh, 883.

Wadee Faran, 817.

Wadfee Foakhe^r. 3991

Wadee Gamoos torrent, 301.

Wadee Gendelee valley. dO&

Wadee Halaadnee, 809.

Wadee Halfeh, 44a

Wadee Jafflra, 808.

Wadee Magh&ra, inscriptions at, 817.

Wadee Natro6n, 841.

Wadee Ry&n, 859.

W^adeeSudr,8l5.

Wadee Tafk, 428.

Wah, or Oasis, villages of the, 8S8L

Wah e* Dakhleh. population of the, 861

Wah el Kbargeh, the Great Oaaia, 9Sk

Objects of interest iv, 96S.
Wah Koorkoo, 487.
Wells of El E^hayta, »&
Weseem, 806.
Western valley, the, 374.
White Monastery, the, 31&

838.

Zakeek,239.

Zaytoon, 881.

«• Zoan, field of,** 834.

Zowyeh, 881.

Zubbo, ruins near, 860.

THE END«

London:

SpOTTtawooDi and Sraw,
Nei^.street« Square.

^^M X~]

^--s^

i-^

J.tC.W>Jk<rSni]p<

2!- '

THE

HANDBOOK ADVERTISER, 1847,

Printed for the conver fence of tUose desirous of communicating
Information of interest lo TraYellers^ and inserted in all the yarious
Handbooks, issued bet^^een Mry and November in each year.

The Annud Cin'idatUm is 12,000 Copiei.

Advertisements pbould be received not later than the end of
March; the Editor is not responsible for any statements made in
them.

.4^cxle 0f €|ir8n(:

For Eight Una . . .
ETeiy lixie additioo J .
Half a ColmpQ • . .

.066
. 0 0

0
3 0

A Colanm, or HalApage
An entire Page . • .

4 t. d.
ft ft 0
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lOTK TO ADVEETISIMBNTS.

FttANCB.
Bov Loam . 1C« rrld«>w*a Beading Roobm,
Ttovas . . Oi«ad Hotel d« L'Vaivtra,
Buna . . PotoldcUTatoNoira, . .
Jjrtcmt . . <«im> J H«l*l d« Lltelw*,
BomM . . OradBotald'AaKtoteRt*.

pm«.

11
U
13
SI

BELQ

Bosnt • •
Bmvam-a •

t*
If
>
Coiovwa .

t*
MctMca .

I
Hatbucb .

H»a luvM

FB tBVBO .

lUM AND GERMANY.
UbBite'aO^dmSter Hotel, . . SB

hecblt OlSM WucbooM, . . f
Btaig^ Fancy WarchooM, . . . 1
atbapdg'B Ocnwnl Show Room*, 21
TUM*9 80k WardwoM, . . . S4
Bothkrt Fancy >fag«tlnw» . . SB
XftW Ctgar WanhooMt • • • 84
Earn d« OotagM^— Jteina, ... •
M », laanU. . . SI

8Mg«nrald*s Qlaaa Boona, . . 9
Hcnnann'B Magaiina of Fin* iUt t, 10
HclBla|«r*8 Fwnttan WaKbonat, U

Schraadarl Hotel, IB

Foafaraabach'a Hotel, .... IS

ITALY.

tfuix . '. Gmd BofBl Hotel 17

PL.>nB](CB . Bianchint'a Moaate Oraaawnte, . M
Lbakom . ICkBU^llarbiaDiipat, . . . . U
Wtn.n. . 8igBOTAlWtea,T<Khcr, ... IS

Conan

MAUttL .

LoxiNnf

*»

«.
»•
It

THE EAST.

Hotel d*AB|0rt8m, . . .
Hotel d'Angkteno, .
X«ir^ Library and Afaaey,

Paft.

•>

CNQLAND.
HoDyar^ London Hotel,. ... SB
UrtofCvatamDntka, . . . . S
lAftnte.lCCndwn, 4
„ Chlnntry, IB
„ Ooddafd, SB
„ „ M Holland, 39

nBlMB«nk.-Cb«alarMotea, . U
Loa'a Baadbook andCWda Oapot, SB
Sanndar^ Oaogimpblcal Catelo|iM, SI
GbapwrnAHaBILbtorBoekt, »
If niray'B LM of Boeka, SO, 3S, SS, SB
Blackl UatofGnlda Booka ft Mapa,SO
WUUaaM ftNofgatefGcnqan Booka4S
Laabart's Werka on Macdlawerk, 16
Varlow Booka, . . U,1S,SS,S7

Bibar^LMorBBgUabCkndMh SS

RuooATB Bbtecka* Boyil Hotel,

iHr. SAwmta't KanlAoafc fBlfttrtiMtt.

LIST OF DUTIES

Payable in London on Works of Art, Curiositibs, &e., from the
Gontinentt aecording to the Nbw Tariff, Jane 26th, IMS.

Then it an addiiion 9/6ptr mn/. «n iko$e Duiiet not mUerei bp the Nsm Tar^,

The IbUowinff are all X^Efi OF DVT7.

Cattle, and all Living Anhnab.
AoATBS and Cobnblianb, not being

letBor cut.
Bbonzb Works of Axt.
Bullion, Coins and BCedalt of all

kinds, and battered Plate.
Casts of Busts, Stataes, or Figures.
Cotton Manufactures, not bdag airtK

cles wholly or in part made up.
Diamonds and other Precious Stones,

not set,
Flowbb Roots.
Fobs and Skins, not made np.
LiNBN Manufactures, not bdng arddes

wholly or in part made up.
Lay Figures belonging to British Artists,

intended for their own ose.
MaoBa Gbbcia Ware, and Antique

Earthen Vases, Sec

thereof.

MaNvacBim.

Maps and Charts, or parts
plain or ooloored.

MiNBBAL WaTBB.

fMoDBLS of Cork and Wood.

Olivb Oil.

Plants and Trees, aliTe.

PlCTUBBt, Sketches, Drawings, or Sculp-
ture, on a declaration by the Propridor
(being a British Suljject) thai they
are of his or her perfonnaiic«, and
nnt intended for sale.

Sbbds, Garden, Forest, Ite.

Sprcimbns of Natural Hiatocj' Mine^
rals. Fossils, and Ores.

Sdlphob Impressions or Casts.

TBLBBCOPBa.

Vasbs, Ancient, not of Stone or Wood.

Ob tho Collowlag tko D«tj la 10 por ooni. aA waloi

AoATEB, or Comelians, cut, manufao-

tured, or set.
Bbads, Coral, Mock Pearl, and others.
Bbass and Bbonzb Manufactures noi

being works of Art, such as Inkstands,

Candelabra, and Avtkles of Fumi-

tore.
Bbocadb of Gold and Silver.
Cabbiaqbs of all sorts.
Cashukbb Shawlm, and other Articles

and Manufactures Of Goat'^s Wool.
Catlings (l^olin. Harp Strings, kc.)

whether plain or siWer Strings.
China, or Foreelaia Wave, nainted or

plain, gilt oromameated, and Earthen-
ware.
Cloorb and WATCHBa (must have

Maker's name, both on lace and on

works.)
Coix)UBS for Painters, if manufactured,

and Crayons.
CoPFBB Platbs engraved, and Copper

Manufkctnres.

r in

EoTPTiAH Antiqnitiea, Nabtan Speara,

4cr,
Fbam Bs for Pictnna, 4c.

FUBNITUaB.

FtJBs and SaiNa, all Artklea made up.
Japannbd and LaoqMied Wm

JBWKLI.BBT.

Lacb, viz. — ^ntiead Lace,
madebythn hand, ooaivoaily oalM
Cushion or PHlow Lace, whether of
Linen, Cotton, or Silken Thread.

LiNBN Articles, wh(»lly or in part
made up.

Mosaic Work, small Omaiwrti lor
Jewelfen.

Mdsical Lutmnieatii.

Pbbpumbbt.

SCAGLXOLA TbUm.

Spa Ware.

Stbbl and Ibon Mandhetoraa.

TiLBS.

Tora.

TUBNBBT.

•WooLLBN Articles, whoRy or ia pan
made i^.

Cotton Artidas, wholly or in part
made upk

Phite, Gold, Sllfvr, giK or ungilt, in addition to 10 per o«it» b

Is. 6d. per os. Stamp Dvty,

Mt. Mwanqyg 9uaMmA ftthntiUr*

UBT OF BUTZBB, (eoaiiBMa.) £ «. 4-

ALAB4tTftB, Scttlpturs of ^ >^^.........^.«« ^ Uw CWt. tt S 0

AscxoTin ....^...................^..^ th« lb. 0 0 S

AaavBBUiADx WaYkk (for the Bottles, smWivb) ....... ^ the gal. 110 4

BooKB, of Editioot printed prior to 1801 the cwt. | 0 0

M in or tiooo 1801* in Foraiga Urfaic

Laoffnaget .».. ditto S 10 0

•I in the Dead Langnaget, or in the EngUih

Language, printed out of England in

ortlttceiWl ditto ft 0 0

(K.B. Flntad SdilioM of Eaclteh Works, of vhieh the Copnlcht niati la
Si«iaBd, totally pr«biWt«d tiac* 1st April.lMS.)
BooKi, English, printed in England (unless declared that no Excise

Drawback was raeelved on Exportation) the lb. 9 0 9

Boon, Ladiee' wntrimmed the doa pair 0 6 O

,» Mea*s ditto diUo 0 14 0

SaoBs, ditto ditto ditto 0 7 0

„ Ladiea' ditto — ditto 0 4 8

CAMXoa fbr erery £100 Talue 5 0 0

CxoAxa and Tobacco, maautectursd (S lbs. only allowed for pat-

aooger's baggage) the lb. 0 9 0

Tobacco, unmanufactured ditto 0 8 0

(N.B. UBtDiBvfKctiired Tobaeeo cuuet be tanported la Ims Qaamltytiiaa
too Ibi.. or C%v* too IWIa a Packafv; bat MBalfaaaatttiaa ai« ■dnittad for
Private Um on daclaratioa and payment of a Pisa oi la. 6d. per lb. ia addition
to tiaa Daty.)

CojrrBB, If ooha, and Other Foreign Coffee the lb. 0 0 0

M ih>ni British Posseuiona ditto 0 0 4

CoiMs, of Copper the cwt. 0 10 0

CoHFBCTZOBABT. Sweetmeats, and Bnceadcfl the lb. 0 0 6

CoBBiAU and Ltovsoxi (for Bottles, see Wxvb) the gal. 1 10 4

Eau JIB CoLOoxB, in Flasks the flask 0 10

(N.B. tf otbar ttiaa the ordinary Flaaks SQs. id. the OaUon and the Bottle Dntv.)

Embbozobbt and MsBi>t.BwoBX for eTeryiSluO value M 0 0

Fx^WBBS, Artificial, of 8Uk ditto 88 0 •

OiuMM, Flint or Cot, coloured and Fancy Urnutuental Olaast of what-
ever kind (after the 5th October, 1846).... the lb. 0 0 4

OLAse, White Flint Bottles, not cut or ornamented ditto 0 0 1

„ Wine Olaaes, Tumblers, and all other VHiite FUalrOlasa

Goods, not out nor ornamented..*. the lb. 0 0 8

Glotxb, Leather (not less tluB 100 dos«a pairs ean be imported ia

one package) •....M......n«...M.......M..,«.....«^a.M............... toe dos. pair V B

MAccABOiri and Vbbmzcblu the lb. 0 0

Mabblb, mauufafitured ..the cwt. 0 8 0

Mosaic WoBX and Sculptured Stone the ton 0 10 0

Najpuu SoAB the cwt. 10 0

Olitbs the gal. 0 S 0

Pazbtibos on Glass, or Figured Glass tlie soperflcia) foot 0 18

PAPXB.XAxenios, Flock Paper, and Paper printed, painted, or

stained.... • the square yard 0 0 8

PiCTUBM each 0 10

„ and further the square foot 0 10

„ being 800 square feet and upwards each 10 0 0

Pmixn and Dbawixos, plain orooloured, single ditto 0 0 1

„ bound or sewn the dot. 0 0 8

Saobaobb the lb. 0 0 1

SiitX, MiLLiKBBT, Turbans or Caps each 0 8 6

„ „ HatoorBonneU ditto 0 7 0

„ „ Dresses ditto 1 10 0

n Haboibob, and other Manufactures of Silk .....for every £100 value 15 0 0

„ Vblvbts, plainer figured the lb. 0 9 0

„ „ Articles thereof ditto 0 10 0

Stobs from Malta the ton 0 1 0

Tba « the lb. 0 8 1

WiBB in Casks, all except Cape Wine thegal. 0 5 6

„ in Bottles, „ ditto 0 5 6

„ and farther on the Bottles theewu 0 16

Sri BITS in Casks (no Cask can be imported of lets contents than

Twenty Gallons) thecal. 0 15 0

SpiBtTB in Bottles (the additional Duty on the BoUles, as on Wine BotUes.)

SMx. M^raqft ^kBMtaak m*9ttiMtr.

MESSRS. J, & R. MCCRACKEN,

T OLD JEWRY. LONDON,
AGSNTS BY APPdHTMEHT TO THE ROYAL ACADKHT,

ATi9

Vfc.

Agentt generaUff for the BeeqUum and Shipment iif Worke of Art,

To a id From All ParU of the World,

Rbturr their tineere acknowledgmeott to the Nobility and Gentiyfor r^
liberal patronage hitherto conferred on them. They hope by the modentit
of their Charges, and their unremitting care in passing uirjugh the Custom-
RouaB Property eoafided to them, to merit a eontinnaiice of the &tcjr
they have heretofore enjo\*ed. Theirettabliahment eomprist-s dry and spaciou
Warehouaea, where Works of Art and all descripfnns of Pniperty can be kf;%
during the Owner's absence, at most moderate rates of rent

J. and R. M^C. undertake to execute Commissions, fin* the porehsse d
Pictures, Statuary in Maible and Alabaster, Bronxes, &c, being in direct eor-
respondenoe with Artists, Agents, and Bankers, throughout tlie Contioent

British Artists resident abroad, having occasion to s.*nd home UieL"
Works for Exhibition, cr to be paased by the Academy, will find it advu-
tageous to address them to the care of Messrs. J. and R. H^'C^ whose Ap-
pointment enables them to offisr every facility.

Parties favouring J. aiid R. M^'C. with Consignments, are mquested to b>a
particular in havioff the Bills of Ladmg sent to them direct by Post; snd also
to forward their Keys with the Packages, aa all Goods must be exsmineti
immediately on arrival.

J. and K, M«C. keep LachrymsB Christi and Marsala Wines of fizsl
quality, and are the Sole Agent* in London to Messrs. S. Stock and Col^
Wine Merchants, of No. 5(i Rue Baaae dn Rempart, Paria.

^^^w^^^^>^^^^^ ^^^^^-^^^^^^

THEIR PRINCIPAL CORRESPONDENTS ARE:

A Calais .....m Metsn. l*RAa.Txxm, Moar, Ar Voovs.

BocirOOiTB 8. M. Messn. CxAaTixm, Moar. tf Voovs.

p _ ,. / Mr. M. Caxirvx, Packer, Rue Croix Fetits Champs, Nc\ S8.

'^**" - lMewrt.8.8T0CXfrCo.. Wi]ieMercbanti.5€Rtt«BB»ednR«iBput

Hatxx Mr.A. CitAVMovT. Mr. Thomas TAnMa,Mc8sis.P.l>XTOT,sO»<

•»._._„ _ __ /Messrs. Hoxacx Bovchbt tf Co.
MAXsxiuxs -.... ^u,,,^ I'aocHixa & Ouillabxxt.

BaoxxxxsdbBi-^ ,

eoaax, (Baixtet V Aihb OxavssT, Marble Works.
P/rftntes) j «

BoBDXAVX AfVX OxKiTzxT, 44 AIMos de Toumy.

Nicx Mr. Josxrv Natta, British Consnlate.

GxxoA Messrs. Oiaas ft Co. ; Mr. A. O. Baxchx, British Tloe-^JoBsttstc*

Mi LAW Meisn. Brrrxr 8c Baxirro, Piasxale di S. Scpolero, No. 3176.

Caxxaxa ........... Mr. Vxxcxvso Litt, Sculptor.

/^ Messn. W. Macbxax Bt Co.
Messrs. O. H. Oovxa ft Co.
Messrs. Pbtxx Sbvv ft Co.

Messrs. Gi A CO. Micali ft Pioo., Sculptors In Alabaster and MsrUs.*
Messrs* Hxunxxsox Bbotbexxs.
Mr. M. RxsTomx.
Mr. Josxra Ooaxo.
Mr. Hbvbt Draw.

^Messrs. Dblla Vallx Bbotrbbs, Ardsts in Seegliola.
p... /Mr. Fbbd. PxrxBAHA, Albeno dell' Ussaro.

"•"•"~* I Messrs. Huevxx ft Vax Lnrr. Sculptors in Alabaster ft Msibk.

FzoftxvcB /Messrs. EwmI'.Fbmsi ft Co.

FxoBxxcB ^Messis. Plowdxv ft FaaxcH.

Lxoxoax

•....« ...*»«

fKx. Mmtdip*i fkwxtitatOi nbnttiUr.

ROMS

MaltAm...

MESSRS. J. k R. McCRACKEN—AGENrS, (eonUmuedJ,

/M«Mn. MAAVA.T St Paxxjihak.

Mr. Oaxvo. BiAXcniMi, Mocaio Worker, opposite the CappelU
do' Medici.
V, »..««. J Meetn. iMiai Piacxhtx ft Fzoli.

FI.OEMCB < jj^ o^^^ SaLTBTTI.

Mr. J. TouoH.
I FUi. Pacxtti, Picture-frame Maken, Via del Palagio.
\Mewn. Nam Ciaxdi b Co.

VoLTsaaA Big. Ott«. Callaj, and Sfg. Giai*. CHsaicl.

BoLooKA Mr. Flavio Paaorrz, British Vice-Consul.

Amcova Messrs. Mooaa, MsasLLaT ft Co.

^ Messrs. FaaKBoaw 8t Co. Messrs. Tdalovia it Co.

Messrs. MAcaaAH ft Co. Mr. Caxlo Taaaai.

Messrs. Plowdxm, Cbolmklkx, ft Co.

ftfessrs. Maquay, PaXxxsak Bt Smtth.
[ Mr. Lvioi BaAXCHiMi, at the English College.
CxvitaVxcchxa.... Mr. T. Axata. Mr. J. T. Lows, J unr., British Vice Consul.

Naplxs Messrs. lacvjbOBX & Co. Messrs. Cvmmixo, Woo»( A Co.

Palxkico Messrs. Baowx, Pxavck, h Co.

MxssiNA Messrs. Cailx.xx & Co.

Mr. Fbxsihaxd Dimbch, No. 69, Strada Teatro, Valletta,
Sculptor iu Malta Stone.

Messrs. Jamxs 8out& & Co., ditto.

Mr. Paolo Dbcaxdxa, ditto.

Mr. Emavuxl Zammzs.
V Mr. N. J. AsPiXALL.

Ai.xxAxx>xxA Messrs. Bxicos ft Co.

CoKSTAMTXVOPLX... Mossrs. Cb AXLXs Hamsom ft Co.,and Nxtx«Kkxx,Black,&Co.

Smtbxa ., Messrs. Habsob A Co.

BxTROirr Messrs. C. Roqubxbb ft Co.

Atbxws Messrs. O. MxTJTXXxft Co.

VXBXCB Messrs. Holmb ft Co.; Messrs. FBBXxa Schzblxv.

Trxxstx Messrs. Gkobgx Mooax ft Co.

OtTEND Mr. F. A. Bbllkbochx : Messrs. Bach ft Co.

BRUSSXZ.S Mr. Job M Oibbs, Director of the Electric Telegraph.

AMTWXxr .............. Messrs. S. A. Lbtimo ft Co., Mareh6 doZeland, No. S4-19.

{Mr. A. 8. Pbestom.
Messrs. 8. A. Lbtibo ft Co.
Messrs. Coomav, Borbs, ft PhzllztM.
Messrs. I* Matxr ft Co.
COI.0OBB ...M....».... Mr. J. M. Fabzba, vis-A-vie ia Plaoa Julien.
Matxbck Mr. Jobxpb THuauxT.

{Mr. P. A. Taccbz*s SvocBtsoms, Glass Manvfaelurer, Zeil D 17.
Madame Veure J. H. Stxbbxl, Zeil D Sll.
Messrs. Bibo Bxotbxb« ft Co., Zeil D SIS.
Mabuxzm Mr. DiKKxtapxiL; Messrs. Etssxb ft Cx.avs.

{Mr. J. M. DK Hbrmamx, Printseller.
Messrs. Mat ft Wxsmatbr, Printsellers.
Mr. F. Stxioxrwald, Glass Manufacturer.
Messrs. L. Nkorxolx & Co.
KisiZBGXB l^^' ^' Stkioxrwald, GIass Manufacturer.

" iMeasrs. J. Bxromabx ft Co.

Ratzsxov Mr.AuousTxKocH.

Bablx Messrs. JbaV Prbiswkbk ft Pit«.

BxBBx Mr. AuGUsTX BvKstux; Mr. Ax.bxbt Tbitmvt.

Gkbxta Mr. B. Ritxchxi., Uiand Quai.

IXTXBLACKXB ....... Mr. J. WtdXB.

ORXBDXX.WAZ.D Mr. 8. ROTHAOBXB, Flit.

IlAMBtrxe M Messrs. Scuaab ft Clavsb; Mr. C. B. AbxoXiD.

pRAOUB ................. Mr. W. HorKAMK, GUtfB Maaufketurer, Kleinen Ring. No. 4M.

CABZ.SBAD M..... /^'' ^' HoxMABB, Glass Manufacturer ; Mr. Cabl Kboll,

, /Mr. W. HoxMABi

lau Lion Blanc.

>...M....» .M mSf» W^. HOPMABB,

VixBBA Ifr. W. HorMABB, OkMB Muinteatanr, am Lvgaek, No. 7tk

BxaXtXB .M..«.

............

6 fKx. jnurrxs'if AnMacft nbttMtt.

FRANKFORT O. M.

P. A. TACCHrS SUCCESSOES.

LATE FRANCIS STEIGERWALD,

ZEIL D, No. 17,

iSoIjemtan iFattcp 0\6si0 anti CrpjTtai USieoul^mi^v

p. A. TACCHI'S SUCCESSORS beg to acquaint the Public, that thev
hare become the Parehaiers of Mr. F. Stbxgerwald'b Establish mckt is
this Town, for the Sale of Bohemian Fancy Cat Glass and Crystals.

They have always an extensive and choice Assortment of the newest and
most Elegant Patterns of

ORVAMEBTTAL CUT, ENGRAVED, GILT, AND PAINTED GtASS,

Both White and Coloured, in Dessert Serviees, Chandeliers, Articles for the
lable and Toilet, and eveiy possible variety of objects in this beaatifiil
brsneh of manu&cture. They solicit, and will endeavour to merit, a con-
tinuance of the favours of the Public, which the late well-known House
enjoy eu in an eminent degree during a considerable number of yesra.

P. A. T\ccHi'8 Successors have Branch Establishmbrts during
the season at

WIESBADEN AND EMS,

where will always be found Selections of the newest Articles from their
principal Establishment

^»«^^^^»«»»0«»l^<»<X»WOI«»» iw

Their Agents In England* 13 whom they undertake to forward porehasei
made of them, are Messrs. J. and R. M^Crackbv^ 7 Old Jewry, London.

SHx. SAvmcifi f|aiiMoa& SlMfrtuter.

FRANKFORT O. M.

BING BROTHERS,

ZEIL, No. 212, oppotiTR the Hotel ds Rdsiis,

DEPOT OF DRESDEN CHINA,

COPY OF THE STATUE OF ARIADNE,
All IdndB of Parisian Fancy Articles.

Messrs. BINO Brothers beg respectfullj to invite the Public to visit
their Establishment, where they have alwaya on show, and for sale, a most
extensive Assortment of Articlea in Stag's Horn, of their ovm manafacture ;
consisting of Brooches, Ear-rings, Bracelets, Pen and Pencil-holders, Seals,
Inkstands, Watch-stands, Snuff-boxes, Cigar-boxes, Whips, Walking-sticks,
Knives, Card-cases, and every description of article for the Writing and
Work Table, besides Vases and other ornamental objects too various to be
here enumerated.

Messrs. BING have also the finest Copies, both in Biscuit-china and
Bronze, of the Statue of Ariadne, the Chef-d'oeuvre of the Sculptor Dan-
necker, of which the original is in Bethman*s Museum at Frankfort O. M.

Messrs. BING have likewise the S&le DepSi in Frankport of the
Porcelain of the Royal Manufactory of Dresden ; and at their Establishment
may be seen the most splendid assortment of Figures after the Ancient
Models, ornamented with Lace- work of the most extraordinary fineness;
likewise Dinner, Dessert, and Tea Services; Plates, Vases, Candelabras,
Baskets, &o. &c. in the Antique Style, ornamented with flowers in relief and
the finest paintings.

Besides the above-named olyects, they have a superb assortment of
Clocks, Bronses, Porcelain, and other Fancy Objecta, the productions of
Germany, France, and England.

Depdi of the vnitabU Eau de Cologne ofjea^ MaHa Farina qf Cologne.

8 fix. Mttcrufi KxtOiibtfOk flMertUft.

COLOGNE O. RHINE.

JOHN MARIA FARINA,

OPPOSITE THE JULICH'S PLACE,

PURVEYOR TO HER MAJESTY QUEEN VJCTORU, TO HIS MAJESTY TB£

KING OF PRUSSIA, ETC.

OV THK

OHLT 6EIUIHE EAU BE COlOfilE.

Thb frequency of mistakes, which are sometimes accidental, but for the most
part the result of deception practised by interested indiTidualsi induces me to
request the attention of all English traTellers to the following statement : —

Since the first establishment of my house in 1706, there has never been
any partner in the business who did not bear the name of Farina, nor has
the manufacture of a second and cheaper quality of Eau db Coloone ete
been attempted. Since 1827| however, several inhabitants of Cologne bare
entered into engagements with Italians of the name of Farina, and, by
mnploying that name, have succeeded to a very gteat extent in fokthi^ an
inferior and spurious article upon the Public.

In the year 1886 a Mrs. Aldenbruok established a manufactory of Eau dc
Colope under the firm of ** J. M. Farina," at 2 Frederick Wilhelm Street:
and, m order to render the deception more complete, carried on the business
for some time under the firm and address of J. M. Farina, opposite the Julieh's
Place, No. 2. This imposition was speedily put a stop to by Ifae iaterferenee
of the authorities ; but Mrs. Aldenbruck has since taken a shop in the neigh-
bourhood of ray house, Unter Goldschmidt, No. 6, and has now opened
anoAer, in a small house near the Julieh's Place, No. 4. I thereibfe be;^ to
inform all strangers visiting Cologne that my Establishment, whieh hss
ejdsted since 1706, is exactly opposite the Julieh's Place, forming the eomer
of the two streets, Unter Goldschmidt and Oben Marspforten, F. No. 23 ;
and, that it may be the more easily recognised, I have had the Arms of
England and Prassia put up in front of the bouse. By calling the attention
of the Public to this notice, I hope to check that system of impositioB whieh
haa been so long practised towards foreigners, by ooaohmen, valets de plsoe,
and others, who receive bribes from the vendors of the many spurious coos-
pounds sold under my name.

J. M. FARINA.

Mr CustoM-HovBB A«bhtb m Londoit abb
MESSR& J. and R. MCCRACKEN, 7 OLD JEWRY.

IKr. MvxtKfi*i UfioMaA ntntiMn.

MUNICH.

FEANCIS STEIGERWALD,

MANUFACTURER OF

ALL KINDS OF FANCY ARTICLES AND SERVICES

SSaitte anil Colourelr C^rs^tal eKlass,

CUT, OR ORNAMENTED WITH GILDING, PAINTING,

OR ENGRAVING,

Begs respectfully to infennthe PuUic-that his large Stock at

MUNICH,

THB ACKNOWLEDGED SEAT OF tHB FINE ARTS IN GERMANY,

It, as it has been fbr many yean, carefully supplied with the NEWEST
and CHOICEST PRODUCE of hU FACTORY.

F. S. has also an Establishment at Kiisingsn during the Season.

Requesting his Customers and Correspondents in ENGLAND to
continue to this Establishment the favour and confidence they have
been pleased to bestow on his former one at FRANKFORT ON
THE MAINE, he begs to state that Purchases or Orders will be
transmitted on the shortest notice, and without any further trouble,
through the medium of his Agents, Messrs. J. aud R. M^Crackbn,
No. 7 Old Jewry, London.

Mt. Mnraqg^i HaiMinA WltbiXtiitr.

MUNICH.

*V»^<'V«>'<»^*x^»W»

J. M. DE HERMANN.
HAGAZIIE OF OBJECTS OF FIIE IBTg,

PICTURES, PRINTS, DRAWINGS, & LITHOGRAPHS.

J. M. DE HERMANN hav always on Sale a Colleotion of Pietitrea by
Modem Artists (Gennfin and others), of Kiniatures, and Drmwingt. E&-
e^vings, and Lithographs. The latter comprises the Collectiona of the
Pinacothek, of the Galleries of Schleissheim and the Duke of Leuchtenberg
at Munich, as well as that of the RoyaV Gallery of Dresden : also the
Collection of the Works of the Old School^ Wtter known as the "Col-
lection of the Friree Bolsser^;" the Fi^seoas in the Church of AH-
Saints, and generally of whatever relates Mthi^l^ine Arts.

J. M. DE HERMANN undertakes tvfonrard to England all Purchase*
made at his Esublishment, through liir^Agento, Messrs. J. and R.
M'^Crackem, 7 Old Jewry. -^ ^'

FLOIIEPi«E.

G. BIANCHINI,

■ARUFAOTUitEII OF TABLES AM LAOIEV 0RIAIEIT8

iFIotenttne ilflo^eikf

No. 4S44 VIA DE' NELLI, OPPOSITE THE BOYAL CHAPEL

OF THE MEDICI,

Invites the English Nobility and Gentry to visit hia Bstahlishnant, where
may always be seen numerous Specimens of this celehrated and beautiful
Manufacture, in every description of Rare and Preeioui Stones. Orders for
Tables and other Ornaments executed to any Design.

M. G. Bianchini's Agents in England are
Messrs. J. and R. M^'Cracken, 7 Old Jewry, London.

SSix. iKtttnv'if iNnittoidt WfuxtbUx.

LEGHORN,

HIMINTHMICALIftSON,

VU FEBDINANDA, No. 1380.

Manufietory of Marble, AlaVattcr, and
ScagUoIa Tablet, and Depdt of ObJecU of
FineArU.

Their eztenaiTo thow-rooniB an nlwayi
open to Viaiton.

Their AgenU in England are Meurs. J.
and R. M*CAACXXir, 7 Old Jewry, London.

BRUXEULES.

PLACE DES WALLOMS, No. 1.

lARII YAH EE6KH0UT.

Fabrique de Dentellee de Broxellea,
Fleurt pour application, ChlflVes ct Ar-
moixet, Malinet et Valenciennes.

AVBSMS, riT* Daya by BUmbm fr«aa TRXS8TS

HOTEL D'ANGLETBRRE ; BESSON AND ELIAS

Ofier the beat House, and the best ailnation ; extensive Tiewa ; eool airy
■aloona and terrace ; oleanlinesa ; comfinrt and good liTing. Baths and Bil-
lUrds. English, French, and Italian spoken.

JSLIA and YANl (vide Murray** Handbook) eoniinue to aeeompany TraveUert

from ihi$ HoteL

TOURS,

GRAND HOTEL DE L'UNIYBBa

AirOUSTE PARIS

Has the hoooor to inform English TiaTsUets
that this Hotel has been newly built, and Is
cloee to the Railway Station.

The Apartments, large and small, are
elegantly furnished, the Kitchen good, and
thm ohaxges moderste.

The Hotel is fitted up with eeery English
conrfbrt. A Table d*Hdte at S o'clock.

SagUak Bpokea.

BLOIS.

HOTEL DE lTtETE NOIBE,

lEPT lY UE SEAOLNRI VIMAT.

l%is Hotel, newly fitted up. It beanti'
fully situated* facing the RlTer Loire, and
close to the Bridge.

The Apartments, large and small,are far*
nished with every regard to English comfort,
and the proprietor will ibel honoured by
English patronage. Charges very moderate.

Table d'HAte at ft o'doek, and Carriages
supplied to visit Chamborde, &e.

TfliXD Editiom , with 600 IlliMtwtiont, H vob., 8to, £^ 4t.

THE PBIVATE LIFE, MANNERS, CUSTOMS, &c.,

OV TSX s

AHCIEIT EGTPTIAIS:

1>XBIVED FBOM THE SXUDT 07 HISB0OLTPB1C8, 8CULPTUBB, PAIKTINGS,
AKD OTHER W0BK8 OF ART, STILL EXISTING, OOMPABED WITH. THE
ACC0UKT8 07 ANCIXNT AUTH0B8.

Bt sir GARDNER WILKINSON.

•' IsdefbCisable ia research, ftiU of leamiaf, aecBiata Sa £uls» and legieal ia the appli-
cmltioa of his facts and his teanilng, 8!r Gardner HHIkinson has at the same time treated
Itis subject with the eatbuslasm of Genius and the riveliness of Poetry."— Xord Ripom's
jtdd/ru» <o Me MUgrU SoeMy of Literature.

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STRERT.

SKXm HMwtVMp^t >KnM0al mitftilcr*

RAM8GATE TO OSTEND

THK SHORTEST ROUTE.

The South Swtern Railway to Ramsgate, and the Harbour of Ramsgate,
the neoreat poihrt to Oatend ; the apleodid Steam Vesaela of the South Eatteni
Co. being remoTed to that Port, performing the diatance in 4| houiBy F^aaec-
gera can alwajri land at the pier, at low water, without the uae of amall boati.

HI8C0CKS' BOTAL HOTEL, BiHSClATfi,

8TB11S TO

VOST

B. A; R H. hafing added au addGtional wiag to their cxteniife Hotel,
oBtK to the Pablic firsUrate i^aitmenta, combing with eoononqr in price.
feet charged at a fixed price.

FRIBURC, IN BREISCAU.

FOEHRENBACH'S HOTEL

Table d'Hote at One and Five o'clock every day. BefreshmenU

to he had at any hour.

The Hotel haa I een new^ erected by the preaent proprietor, on the high
road leading to Baael, Hollenthal, and Schafiliauaen, and adjoining the Fri-
burg Station of the Bade.i Railway.

The Carriage Entrance *s eneloaed with Oatea, and ia kept atiietly pri-
Tate. The Stabling and Coaehhonaea are very extenaiTe, ailbrding e^ery
accomodation.

The Yiewi, in front of the Hotel, are Schlosaburg and the Cathedral of
Friburg; at the back, the Railway Sution and the train from Baael at the
diatance of tweWe milea, the Rhine, alao the Vogea Mountaina, and about
fifteen amall towna in Germany*

ST. B.--The Bngllak, V^«feehf and C^nsaa ^apera takes ia*

NAPLES.

^N^^rVN/>^

SIGNOR iLBUES (FELICE), A NATIVR OP BOME,

• ▼!•• Saata TereaeUa IlagU Sfagneli, TMaa a St.

Blot to infonn the Koblllty and Gentry tbat, «■ unuU, ba gtrw Imtraetloa ia tbe
luiian Lsnguagv and Literature, thtougb the m«dittm of alftar tba JEacUili or Fnock
Language.— Madame Albxtsi, aUo a native of Rome, attends Ladies GfamattticallTV
and for ConTcnaaionA.— ReliBtcneee auy be naide lo tbe eMaf I^pralgB Cirdea la Smlmt
and to the principal Bankers.

iMr. Mvanatifi l^uMkaA VWuttiiix.

LYONS.

GRAND HOTEL D£ L'UNITERS,

No. 4 RUE DE BOURBON.

MESSRS. GLOVER & VUFFRAY haYe the honour to inform the
Kobilitj, Gentry, and Travellera in general, that thia newly eonstmcted and
magnificent Establiihment wai opened on the let of May, 184d. It ia
situated in the most elegant and most frahionable part of the town, close to
the Post Office, the Steam-Boats, Diligence and Ra&way Offices. The
Furniture is quite new ; and, in funushtng the Hotel, the Proprietors have
studied to usite elegance with good taste and comfort. It is fitted up in the
English style, one of the partners being an Englishman. .

Sx«elle«t Table 4* B«U. Vriwste

STABLINQ AND LOCK-UP COACH*HOU8CS.

Families may no longer be induced to deriate their route from Lyons for
the want of a good Hotel, aa they will find at the Hotbl db L'Unitsri
every eomfort, cleanliness, the most respectful attention, and moderate
chases; which have been already attested by a great many families of die*
tinction of all nations.

The Testimonials in praise of our Hotel are too numerous t9 mention ;
we ahall only Insert Lord Lichfield's: —

'TeMKaafts. Glover & Vupprat.

** During the lest four years I have travelled over the greater parts of
France, Italy, Germany, and Belgium, and have met with exeeUent Hotsls ;
but I have no hesitation in saying, that your Hotel ia the best and most com-
fortable of alL It will give me great pleasure if this teitimonla] can be of any
service to you, and you are at liberty to make any use of it yon think proper.

"LICHFIELD.-

i»r. ^urrsff'if KAn^&oiA mbnMvc.

UNION BANK OF LONDON.

IM&BCT0B8.-AR PETEB LAVRI^ Oo*. JtflVRflW SPOTTISWOODE, Em,. Dvr. G««

GEORQB WEBSTEK,
JOIIM BARNES, EMt.
J. W SUTHERLAND,
W. M. NURSE, Em.

MAJOR GEN. ROBERTSOH. i W. P. CRAUPUIU).

ARCHIBALD COCKBUKN, Em JOHM OONVELL,
JAMES FARQVUAR, Em. WILLIAM MORLET. Em

PETER LAURIE, IM. 1 CHaRL£8 LTA.LI., tm.

WILLIAM WILSON 8CEIMGEOUR, GnsKAi. Mamasi

WA.LTER UkU&IB,

CrmcuLAR. N^TEB. The directors cive n«Uce ihat thejr iasoe Circclab Xt
ofthfB TahM of d^lO and upwards, >>«• o/ts^tnm, uA Lbtteu o^ CssofT, piST
hy their CorrapondeoU at tlie KvenJ placv* iodicaled below ; to be obcainoa tt
Head Office, 2 Prinoct* $U»ft. Mansion Hoaae ; the Regent Street Braneb, Aisyls E
and at the Charing Crou Branch, 4 Pall Mall EtM.

AbbeTlUa

Aix-an-Profcnet

Aiz-Ia.Chapall«

Alexandria

Aleppo

AUeant*

Almeira

AniienB

Ajnifardam

Ancona

Antlfiia

Antwerp

Athena

AugtbpiMg

Avignon

Avranches

Baden« Baden

Bagnirea de Bigorre

Barbadoet

Baraeiopa

Barigaa

Basle

BaTonna

Belrout

Beigen

BeiMn

Berne

Besanvon

Bilbao

BloU

Bologna (eaUalla)

Bombay

Bonn

Bordeaoz

Boulogne (inr Mer)

Botfloa

Bremen

Breslaa

Bruges

Brttnn

Brans wiek

Brussels

Cadis

Caen

Cairo

Calaia

Caicntta

Canada (Upper)

Cape Tovn

C«aU^a4
Carlamhe
Cephalonla
Celt*

Ceylon

Konigsbaig

Presbooig

Cbalon (snr Saone)

Lausanne

Quebec

Chambery

Leghorn
uTpaie

RaftadC

Christiana

Christiansand

Uege
Lilk

Rennas

Clemoot BRnad

Riga

Coblfns

Usbon

Rio de Jaateiro

Cologne

L*Oriene

Rome

Constance

Lttcema

Rotfeerdaai

Coustantinnpte

Lyon

Rouen

Copenhagen

Lueea tBains da)

Sabbaong

Cordova

Madeira

Santa Crux, Teat

Corfu

Madraa

Schwalbeck

Corunna

Madrid

Seville

Bamasoua

Malaga

9hanffknses>

Dantcic

Malta

Siena

Darmstadt

Mannheim

Smyrna

Demarara

Marienbad

Spa

Dieppe

MarseUlea

8c Galle

DIJon

M auritius(FortLouls)

SLKitto

Dominica

Mayence

ScMalo

Dresden

Messina

St. Lneiaa

Drentheln

Me«a

St.Omer

Dunkirk

Milan

Sl Petersbuig

Dasseldorf

Montpelltar

St. Tiaeent

Blberileld

Montreal

Stockkohn

Elsioora

Moscoir

Strasbourg

Emms

Munich

Stnttgardt

Florence

Mttuster

Tarbes

Prancfort (sur Maine)

Nancy

Tenerlffe

Obsnava

Naataa

Tobi#i

Genoa

Naples

Tofonto'

Uhent

Neuehalel

Tonloa

Gibraltar

Nevis

Toulouse

Oottenbourj

New Yoric

Tours

«ot»ingen

Nlea

Tnusa

Graefenburg

Nismes

Trieste

Granville

Nuranbouvg

Triuld^

Orats

HaUfaz(Nova8cotia)

#IMI-*V.^..\

Turin
Utrecht

OlefOB

Hambuig

OpOTtO

Valaacfaaaes

Hanover

Orleans

ValeneU

Havzf

Osttnd

▼eake

Hasue
tiefdelbmg

Palermo

▼arona

Paria

▼evv

liemanstadt

Paim^

Vleaaa

Uocnbarg
Hong Kong

Pmtns

^go
waiaaw

Pan

Hyeres

Perplgnan

Wehnar

kinapniek

Pest

Wietbadea

Enterlaken

Pisa

WuxboHig

Jamaica

Port St Mary

Tverdon

Kisaingen

Prague

ZanteandZarich

JKr. MntTXs^t iKmWbm* fm^rKfrcr. 15

HEIOELBURG.

schreedeF? hotel. ^

Table d'Hole at I and 5 o'eloek. Refreahments at any Honr.

The HoTBL has been newly erected, opposite the Railway, the Post
Office, and the Grand Promenade leading to the Palace and the Celebrated
Wolfbrunncn.

The Views from this Hotel are the Grand Promenade and the Palace,
Konigssthul, Heiligenburg, Neckerthal, and the Rhine; also the Trains from
Frankfort, Manhetm, and Carlsrahe, for eight miles from Heidelburg.
THB KNGIilSH, FRBNCH» AND aiBRHAtf PAPBR8 TAKEN IN.

MAYE^E.

JOHN HEININGKR,

rUBIITUKE lAIUFACTUBER,

OPPOSITE THE THEATRE. D 135,
Begs to inform that he keeps a large and splendid assorthient 6f erery article
in the Upholstery, Decorative and Furnishing Department, Looking-glasses
and Bed Furtiitare, and has endesTOured to combine in his stock, elegance et
style, fashion and superiority of manufacture. All orders in these branches
are punctually executed as well in the highest style as for common use, and
the solidity of his articles warranted

J. H*s. Agent in London tn Mr. J. A. Goddard, 36 Old Jewry.

NAPLES, ATHENS, GONSTANTMOPLE. SMYRNA, ALEXANDRIA, OAiRO,

GORFU, ARG MALTA.

G. MUIH, COMMISSION AGENT, MALTA,

OHDBBTAKBS TO SUPPLY

MURRAY'S HANDBOOKS, AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS,

As well Bs all the London and Paris Publications of the Ut qfthe Month,
by the 12th or 13th. All Newspapers by the most expeditious route.

He has constantly on sale a large atsortment of London and Paris Editions
of the best Anthors, in English, French, snd Italian v School Books ;
Children's Books ; Official and Fancy Stationery ; Drawing Papers ; Colours;
Pencils; Engravings; Framings; Bookbinding; Patent Medicines ; Gloves;
Maltese Mittens, &o.

Agent for the Bombay Monthly Time$, the London Monthly AttoM and
Maili Perfiimery; Thorn's Whips ; Perry's Inks and InkstAAds ; Metealfe's
and other Tooth Brushes.

MuiR's Mail List contains every information of the arrival and de-
parture of Packets, Weights of Letters, &&

Commissions pnnetusBy executed. All Goods at the London prices.

MUIR'S Circulating Librart, 274 Strada Rbale, Malta.

W A

JKr. jKttmqi'jf K«i)iAaidt flMertiter.

BOOKS ON DECORATIVE NEEDLEWORK,

MISS LAMBERT.

" KIh Lambert'i worlci on Uie art of needlework beat a high character, etp«abr<r
for the dJstinctneaa and preoitlon of their directions. —XnflifA CkurckamnJ^

I.
Vi&h Sditioa (with 160 Illdstbatitb SNOBATiiras), Fc^ 6wo,, 6a. W.,

THE HAND-BOOK OF NEEDLEWORK.

BftwMtibt nCtt ^rnsmenfftl;

INCLUDING CROCHET. KNITTINO, AND NETTINO.

11.
Illaatrated wilh 70 Ehobatiiios, berides Bo&dbbi. In Square Sto^ 9§, 6d^

CHURCH NEEDLEWORK;

WITH

PRACTICAL REMARKS ON ITS PREPARATION AND ARRANGEMENT

IIL
Fostt-Sboono EoiTioH, Royal I6aiOw, eloth, U. 6d.»

MT KNITTING BOOK (first series).

nr.

TwnrTT.FiBar Editiom, Ro/al 16iiia, ohith, U. 64.,

MY KNITTING BOOK (second series).

V.
Eighth Edition, Ro/al 16mo., cloth, S«. 6d,

MY CBOCHET SAMPLER (first series).

Nearl/ ready, Royal 16mo., doth, is. 6rf.,

MT CROCHET SAMPLER (second series

'WWW>/>/WVWV»»»^/»<^<WVN^V»«\»S»

LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
PARIS: A. W. 0ALI6NANI AND CO.

)

Mr. famraa'* ftanWooi anbertUtr. 17 >^

^^^D Ror^^

^ GIOACHIMO BRCSCHETTI, V

SUCCESSOR TO

OASNEDI E PEDROLI.

This splendid and most commodious Hotel, constructed onljr
with two stories high, has been taken, from the Ist of
January last, by the present sole Proprietor, Gioacbimo
Bbuschetti, who for the past twenty years has travelled
with some of the most distinguished families, and lived at
several periods in England ; by these advantages, he fully
hopes he has learned how to conduct a great Establishment
like the Grand Royal Hotel, and to give the desired
satisfaction, with cleanliness, promptitude, and exactness of
service. Good kitchen, best wines, and at prices exceedingly
moderate.

The whole of the Hotel has been by him newly furnished
with becoming elegance ; well studied arrangements combined
with eveiy comfort that can possibly be required.

An eseenmit TaUe d*BoU 4iiUy, ia tlM Mmpdfleo SaloM oa «te Int
floor, ea^blo of eeBtaiaSag aboro One Haadrod TmntmM*

nt tnn samb bstaslihrmkxt will bb found a will sblsctbd oallbet

OF OLD PAINTINGS BY THB BEST AND MOST NOTBD KASTBBS

]

'""*' Nil

fiLv. SBmvKffi l^stMatA nbtxtiitr.

CUSTOM-HOUSE CHAMBERS| LONDON,

LOWER THAMBS 8TREBT.

J. F. CHINNERY.

AttBinr TO THB

GOVERNMENT SCHOOL OF DESiaN.
AND TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN DOWAGER.

The Nobility and Gentry who send Works of Art, or other Property, to ui
from I/ondon and the Continent, should consign them to the care of an A get:
at the Custom House, in London, to preTent loss or damage. The ezpease
will be the same, whether the Goods are so consigned or not.

Mr. J. F. Chinnery, formerly of the Bill of Entry Office, Long Roc n.
Custom House, has been Thirty Years engaged in thia branch of buaiuess,
and can promiae his emplovers every facility and security. Those who address
their Packages to him should direct their Agents to send a Bill of Lading, bj
post, with instructions as to Insurance. Goods should be insured in Londoc:
the expense is leu, and the aettleraent in case of loss more aeovie, than oc
Foreign Insurances.

TrB fOLLOWINO AKB Mb. CRXITirBBT'S FBIWCIPAL COBBBSPOKOBITTS FOB

RBCBXyXHO AND EXFBOITINO QOOM:

Hatbb Ma T. Tatlob.

Galaii Mods. Aalbobb

BooLOOBB Meurt. H. Rdttbb and Co.

Fabxs.. Mr. £. Rvttbb, 10 Rue Louit le Grand.

Obbbva... Messra. Mbbcibr and Rstif abd, 7S Rtt« du Rhone.

Gbboa Mr. A. Q, Babcbx, BrItUa CooauUtv.

Mabsbxllbs

r«i«A»ir /MsMra Hbmbbbson Bbothbbi.

Flobbvcb Mctan. PLOWoav and Pbbvch.

D^w. f Mesm. Px.«^iroKif, Cbolmblt, and Co.

"**"■ XMr. W. M. Jacxsow. 3 Piasfa d«l Popolo.

Vbbicb Maaart. MuoiB and Co., British Cootvlala.

ViBVVA Heasn Robbmawb and Co., Booluellara.

MoBicx Ma»sta. Nbobaom.

Bbblix Mtisn. Aiukb and Co., Bookaelkts.

Dbbiobb Mr. E. Abvold. Scliloa Gataa.

CablibobbAe BADAirBAOBV.Mr. P. N0li>bbb, Booktalier.

Fbambvobt o« Maxbb ... Mr. F. BdBLBB, Rua Zail D, No. tt.

Fbabbfobt it WiKtBABVB Mf. J Val Cbbab, Catharinan pforta K, Koa. 97 and 31-

Matbvcb Mr. Fbbobbick KoBV.

CoBLBvn Messrt. DBXMHABband Jobsav.

CoxAOBB Mr. p. J. Caixvomb.

ROTTBBDAM Mr. A. 8. Pbbstob.

Hambbo' ...w................^ Mr. C. B. Abxolb.

Abtwbbp ^ Mr.BBEQVIOWr.

twtte nualMd wImb tk»r miw to Loa4M, thcffvlbn PMkafM ttai «

hara th« Ecja aUachcd.

LXST8 OF BNOLXSH DUTIBB MAT BB BAD FBBB.

fiLr. ^urrafi'if Kanlr&ool Vtihtttiitt. 19

DINNEFORD'S PURE FLUID MAGNESIA,

NOW GREATLY IMPROVED IN tURlTY AND CONDENSATION.

" TlM moit coBTnUtBt fevm iSir th« exhibition of Carbonate of M^ncaia ia the aolmtion/*— Da. NatMAW .

"Mr Dinndbrd'a Mtatioa may fairlj b« Ulwa as a typa of what th« prtpaiatioa oof ht to b«."— PBaaia.
JouaM. May, IMi.

Prepared hj DINNEFORD AND EARLAND. 173 BOND STREET,

CHCMUTS TO HBB MAJBtTT THK QUBSN DOWAOBB AND U.B.H. TBB DUKB OF
CAMBEIDOB, AND lOLD BT ALL BB8PBCTABLB CHBMIST8.

OERMAN BOOKS.

WILLIAMS AND NORGATE,

U HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN,

Have published a Catalogue of their Stock of Oernum Books, the prlcei of which
have been reduced ia consequence of the recent alteration of duties*

1^ It ma/ be advisable for Travelien to take notice, that upon all Books
which thej may purchase upon the Continent, thejr will pay at the Custom House the
old high duties of £2 13 6 and jC6 5 0 per cwL, unless they have been duly
•ttimped at the Chief Stamp Office of the province in which they are bought, a tedious
and expensive process, which may be avoided by pureha§ing in London ; the difference
between the German prices and Uiose charged by Williams Sc Noboatk being only
the amount of the preseni Una duif, and, in many instances, no advance being made
«>n the original price.

14 Henrietta Street, Covbnt Garden, London.

FRENOH TOURIST'S BUIOE.

Eighth Editioii, with Three M^«, in Royal ISmo., it., haltbound,

SURENNE'S NEW FRENCH MANUAL,

AND TRAVELLER'S COMPANION:
Containing an Intmduction to French Pronunciation ; a copious Vocabulary ; a Selec-
tion of Phrases ; a Series of Conversations on Tours through France, Holland, Belgium,
Germany, and Switzerland ; with a Description of the Public Buildings, Institutions,
Curiorities, Manners, and Amusements, of the French Capital, &c; also Models of
Epistolary Correspondence, and Directions to TravellerB. To which are added. Tables
of French and British Monies, Weights and Measures, dec,

** English holiday travellers about to visit France, with but a slight knowledge of the
language, could not do better than put this work in their pockets. They would find it
praetioiUy of the greatest use, as it relates Co all objects of such excursions."— JfeHwUntler
RtoUw,

Edinbdboh: OLIVER ^ BOYD. London: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, * CO.

20 $Av* iffurras'lf fBatibbaali flUbrrtiiTrr.

BLACK'S CUIDE-BOOKS^NDTRAVELLINC MAPS.

In a hsndsoimt portable Volttme, price 9t. 6<f.,

BUHS PICTURESQUE TOURIST OF SGOTLAIO.

9M BdilUm, Cvmettd mnd improved.
Containing an accurate Travelling Map : Engraved CharU of Roada, Railrondi, ni
Intereiting Localities ; PUni of Edinbuig h and Glaigow j SO View* of ihe Scenerj t s
Wood and Steel : and a copioui Itinerary.

« A coraprehcntiv*. intetUmit, asd wall tanamtd Ovid* Book. W« hart been Axranhcd vitii u
iaddniUl proof of the ranarkabls ■ocuncy of thcChuta nsd DeKriptifOfts in tli» paraooal t—Wmiiy t' •
psdcttrUii, wbo hM trmvened a eoniidanbte apaea, book la hand."— SrccTATon.

In a neat closely-printed pocket Tolume, price 8«. M.,

BLACI'S ECONOMICAL TOURIST OF SGOTIMD.

Zrd BdUio»y Corrected and Imprtiped,
ConUining an accurate Travelling Map end Itinerary, with Deecriptiv* Kotioaa of all d«
remarkable objects along ihe several roads, and Four Engraved Charts of tboao LocaiiUi
which poaseu peculiar HistnricHl or Picturesque Iitterest.

A Work moat earefaUj and elaborately eonpilad, containing the gnataat posAle aaBCMBft of iakts*-
,bM

tion In the amaUnt poaatbia ipaca."— SooiaiiAH.

In a closely-printed portable Volume, price 10«. id.

BLACrS PICTURESQUE TOURIST ANU ROAD-BOOK OF ER8LAMI I WALES.

ConUining a general Travelling Map, with the Roads and Railways distinctly laid do»«;
besides sections of the most Important Districts on an enlarged scale, and engraved Chazt
of Roads, RailwHys, and interesting Localities.

■* A eareftiUy nrcotad Work, and nretUlx arranged , with oaelVal Mapa."— ATBB««irac.

** The chancteristiu of ' Black'* Pictnreaqne Tourlat of England and Wali«' are, a more eaeapart lai
bandy form, a mora modem atyla of letter^ praia, getttag «p» and (Umteatioa, vith a vaty modente pnet.'-
SracTAToa-

'*AdeeUad ImproTemeat epen tha old Road* Book.**— Joan Beta.

In a neat Pocket Volume, price 5«.

BLACK'S PICTURESQUE fiUlOE TO THE EN8LISH LAKES.

3rd EdiUoHf Enlarged and Improved,
With a Map of the District, by Sidmbt Hall; CharU of the Lakes, and Views of the
8eenery ; and an ample Itinerary of all the Routes, wltiti the distances aceurntely laid doar
" Thia Guide to the Lakn haa been compiled upon the aame elaborate plaa aa * The nctueaqoe Tioar>:
of Scotland,' (covemad bv the aame rcaolntion to apar? no coat or tronble to achieve a eacccarfU resalt »>
aeeda no h^^her commendation. It ia a pietur(«qve Gnkle in erery acnae.— ita dcacriptkwa are charnuatlT
wiittaa— lu intaUigcnca la ampla and aolauta— and Ua Uhartratloaa at« atfariaaUe apscuecna of aft."— AtlU

In a neat portable case, prico 4e. M.,

BLACK'S TRAVELUm MNP OF SGOTUND.

Carefttllv Constructed from the beat Authorities, with all the Roads and Ratln»^'
accurately laid down. SIse, 32 inches by 12|.

*»* From the care bestowed on the construction of Ihe present Map, and the meac$
which have been used to correct the original drawin^i, by referenoe to lAdivldoals conver
•ant with tlie topography of their respective localities, the publishers are satisfied that u
will be found the moat accurate and beautiful Map oiieotfand extsnt.

'< A handaoma leokittff Mao, of hLm dimcnaitna, vet se wU moented. thai tt teUa vp tarte Iha aw ef •
pocket-book, and admita at the aame ume of a partial esamination.**— SrscTAioa*

In a neat portable ease, prica 4s. 6A,

BLACK'S TRAVELLIHB MAP OF EMLARD AMD WALES.

Carefully compiled from the Maps of the Ordnanea Surteyi, and beantlfhlly engraved V*
SiDWKY Halz, ; with all the Roads, Railroads, and other Topogmphieat Inlbmation rt
quired by the Tourist or Trareller on Business. 8tse. 91 by t2|.

" ^ beauUfyuiy executed Map of EngUnd and Walt*, which, altar oacvfbl ohwrrattan sad lefctencr. at
can characterlic aa bebif among tbeano»t correct erar taaued.**— MiHraa JevaiiA.u
*•* Smaller Maps of England, of Scotland, and of Ireland, in pocket caaes, price t«. M. f^

A. AND C. BLACK, Edinbueor; and sold by all Bookaettera.

JMr. tfiutrnp'i I^MsMOQk nbntiipc. 81

THE ATHENiEU

JOURNAL OF LITERATURK, SCIENCE, AND ART.

PHee 4d; or Stamped f&r Pott, StL Coniahii ;—

REVIEWA, with ooptout extraou, of every important New EngUsh Book,

and of the more important Foreign Works.
REPORTS of the Proceedings of the Learned and Scientiao Societiei, with

Abstracts of all Papers of Interest
AUTHENTIC ACCOUNTS of all Scientiilc Voyages and Expeditions.
CRITICISMS ON ART, nith Critical Notices of Exhibitions, Pietnre

Collections, New Prints, &e.
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE on subjects relating to Literature,

Science, and Art
MUSIC AND DRAMA, including Repoits on the Opera, ConcerU,

Theatres, New Music, &c.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES of Men distinguished in Literature, Science,

and Art.
ORIGINAL PAPERS AND POEMS.
MISCELLANEA, including all that is likely to interest the informed and

intelligent
THE ATHENAUM Is so oondocted, that the reader however far distant, is, in
respect to Litenture, Science, and the Aits, on an equality in point of infonnation «ith
the besl-inforaied circles of the Metropolis.

19* The Athbmjbux is published every SATcnDAT, but is re-issued each Month
stitched in a wrapper.

Agenu: for Fkamcb, M. Baodry, 8 Qoai Malaqnais, Pszis; for Bsmium, Mr.
Browne, 73 Rue Montague de la Cour, Bruzelles.

OrricB. 14 Wkllinoton Stbbst Nobtb, Stbawo, Lowoon.

ROUEN.

GRAND HOTEL D'ANGLETERRE;

KEPT BY HIPPOLYTE DELAFOSSE ;

TBI OVLT ONB SITUATBD BOTH OIT TBB QUAT ABO LA PBOMBMADB BOIBLDIBO.

Large and small Apartments. A first-rate Table d*HAte and Reatauiant
k la earte.

Chsrges : — Dinner. 8 Francs. Rooms, 2 or 8 francs, according to the floor.

This Hotel, splendidly fitted up, is situated in the most pleasant part of
the town, facing the Suspension Bridge, dote by the Exchange and Theatres,
and commanding a beautiful prospect of the Seine and surrounding country.

Diligences going to Dieppe and Havre take up passengers st the Hotel,
which is the nearest one to the Paris and Ha? re Railways. There are at both sta -
tions Omnibuses in regular attendance, which set down passengers at the Hotel.

His Grace the Duke of Devonshire, the Royal Family of France, and
many other distinguiahed visitors of all countries, bate honoured this Hotel
with their presence on diflTerent occasions.

Efeiy attention is paid to Travellers by Mr. Delafossr, from whom they
are sure to obtain all sorts of information respecting the town, and every place
that is worth seeing.

N.B. The band of the regiment gives a concert every Saturday, in the
Exchange, just below the windows of the Hotel.

CoBBBSrOMOKMTS IN LONDON, MbssBS. HoLLaNO & Co., COSTOB HOUSB,
FOBWABDINO AOBBTS, 60 LOWBB ThaMBS StBBBT.

jMr. fKxatap't l^mMtok sntrtUtr.

COQHLAN'S

lOITHLT HOME & FOREIGI RAIL WAT GUIDE,

Through Bdglam, HiAlnd, Franee, Qemaanjr (North ud Soath), and tulj, and tte
English^ SooUih, and Irish Lines : to which is added

A STEAM PACKET DIRECTORY,

including all Steam Veaiala sailing between England and Foreign Poit^ and tibe pria-
cipal Continental IUvers» with the Hours 4»f Depaitnre, Fares, and other oaefol
Information to Travellers. Cuilected and oompiled by the Author during a personal
snnrer in the Summer and Autumn, 1846. With hinU respecting Passports, bert
Hotels, objects of interest in each place of importance, dec. Sec,

With a Railway Map of eeatral Bnrapa aad Zial^y Oa« SkiXUsii.
PuBj.i8HeD BT J. Lbe, 440 West Strand, London.

FRANKFORT 0. M.
MR. GEORGE SCflEPELER,

AT TBI KOSSMAAKT, FaAWXyOKT O. M.,

Keeps a general Warehouse and Shop of
Tea, Coffee, Sugar, and all sorts of English,
French, Italian, German, and Foreign Ar-
ticles aod Groceries, IneluiiTs of Tobscco,
Havana Cigars, and all sorts of Rhenish,
Frendt, and Spanish Wines and Liquors.

The greatest part ol the English Resi-
dents here are sccnstomed to applj to the
said Warshooiie for their wants* with great
eonfldence, finding themselres In etery
respect perfectly contented theea*'

VISITORS TO OXFORI

<Oiu Hour and TiraBtf-t%»Mia»feHfk«i

Will find at SPIERS and SON'S BstabUsk-
iaent, a Teiy ektensire tarietj of goodi
suitable for presents, or for xtmcnabraace
of Oxford. Gtttde-beoks of every dsecnp-
tion published, Views on Lettet^paper,
OmsTnental SutfoAcry, Wrftlog-deslB, Pa.
pier MIchi Goods, with Paintingaof e\eiy
CoMNre and PabUe Building, by cmiaeet
ArtisU; Ornamental China, Glaaa, Broaae,
and Marble Goods ; Fancy Maao&cture*
io genett\ : and every detcripiioa of Fnrai-
ture far the Wk'ltifigtBble, Kaatelpiece.
and Toilet.
101 Avn lOS H^OH STREET, Ann

1 Avni ORIEL STRBfiTr OXFORD.

CONSTANTINOPLE.

HOTEL D'AIGLETEBBE, 6BAIDE BUS PEBA.

Commanding a beautiful View of Conbtabtiiiople, Galata, Scotaei^
and the Golden Horn.

MR. J. MISSIRIE

SoHeits the patronage of the Engliah Nobility and Oenlry*

FRANCE, SWITZERLAND. ITALY.

Nkw Edition, 2 Vols., Poet 8vo.

CONTINENTAL IMPRESSIONS,

By John Edmund Reade, Author of •♦ Catiline," « luly," Ac

*' Bate, with ita inexhittuiUbl* oMDMric* ; the Eljmaa Erlda ; Coma, with Iha dc*p macie of its ••«».
h*v« feuad bat tcuutj illmtnton. Tlie smrnlitT of tonmto appear KamvlT lo hart mlrtcd Ibe C «M«n
Satn. Pr w also h« ve irbitcd PmbIsb. The Umpiea. la dwlr graad preacnnaBOB, on their fraadar aid* .nat
UHHif the mokt inipf«s»i«e moaamnta oe rarth. My Iwpa to that taj p««a may iadaca maav «• nan t»s
UlUma Thole of NeapoIiUBtraT»l.~-.PaCT*ca. ' /!-■•- / 7 «.

" The •npvrioritjr of Uiu wort coaeista ia Om mperioHiy of the author to the oomoKNi roll of tonrlstiL -
aracT&ToB, Ar.

Charlbb Oliviee, 18 and 19, Southampton Strtct, Strand.

fttc. fStwncujfi KatOAmrii 9libf rtU«r«

ENGLISH CHURCH SERVICE ABROAD.

In tmall Sra, price 2f. 6<2., a New Edition, ealai^ged, of

THE ENGLISH CHURCH ON THE CONTINENT :

Or, IB arctttttt of tie ^orelgs SftiUmnH of tie Snglist 0tarc0 :
Including a Notice of the Times of Serricei and other Infonmuion ludul to Trafellen

tnd Foreign Residents.

COHTBNTS;

RBSSIA, ORAVn DVCHT

HOLLAMn

lOHIAlf XS&AVDB

XT ALT

XOM B Amno-TBM BTI A «

KIMODOK
MALTA

XBDtrCH^AIIBAir
MAPLBS

MASSAU, nUCHT
PBmMSVLA
POBTVOAL

EDITED BY THE REV. O. £. BIBER, LLJ).

*i* The Editor will feel obtiged by any Clergyman mldcnt or trsTelliiig sbroad
commmiicating to him any informatioB respecting chaages which msy have occurred
ainoe the pablication of the lest Edition, or any particulars respecting places from which
proper returns hare not been obtained j with s view to render the work from time to tioM
Jill complete and accurate as possible, and thereby more efficiently to promote tlie ol^ect for
which ft was originally undertaken. Pleaxe to direct to the Rev. Dr. Biaaa, care of
If easrs. RivmoTov, St. Paul's Churchyard, London.

London : RxniroTOSfo, St. Paul's Cbubchtabd, and Watbbloo Placb.

AtrSTRXA

BADBH, OBAirn BUCBT

BAVAUA

BBkOinV

HaHMABX

VCCLBSIASTXCAL STATKS

JCOTFT

rKAMCB

FmBB CXTXBS IB OBBMABT

GRBMAXT

OmBBCB

K aaSB-HOXBVBO

PBOSSIA

BOSSIA

sABnivia

SAZOBT

StAIV

SWKHBK

SWITSEBLAVD

ST^IA

BVaKKT

TUSCAliT

WUBfBMBBBO

CUSTOMS, LONDON.

MESSRS. HOLLAND AND CO.,

66 LOWER THAMES STREET, LONDON,

The LtCBNSBD JOSIfTS 9f H«f Maje$lf9 C»mmisalou»i •/ CuHoms, M netpUon
and Mhtpment of Works ofJrt, JBoggajft and otker vahiabie firopertgt fc. fe.

Beg, in returning their sincere thanks to the Nobility and Gentry for their liberal
patronage, to assure them that no eaertton iball be wanting on their part to deserve a
continuance of those favours hitherto conferred on tliem.

Goods and Packages given in charge or consigned to the eaxe of H. i( Co., can. wzth«
OUT rATMBBT OF ncTT, be Warehoused at a very moderate rent as long as desired, or
forwarded, duty paid, to any pfirt of E110X.A110, ImaLAjin, and Scotlabo, or be re-
•hipped from London, fbbb or nvrr, to Hie Covtxbbwt, the East and Wbst Ibbibb,
NoBTB and Sovtr Amrbxca. the Colqkxks, or elsewhere; and, if required, can be in-
aured, and sent to the care of re^oasibie agepts, who will see the instructions sent with
tbem punctually attended to.

As all packages must be ezamine4>t ^f Cuttom House, if any be locked, the keys
should be sent, and the Bill of Lading or the Booking-office receipt, or other document,
%», ith instruotions how snch goods are to be diepoeed of on arrival, l^e., should he forwarded
to H. & Co. direct per post.

Corrected Usu of Dotiee and othar yartieoUn relativa to Shipping or Receiving Oooda,
and securing Passages to the East and Wbst iMOxas, Colomzbs, Stc. kc, may be obtain-
ed by applying perwnally. or post-fald at the Counting House of Messrs,. Hoi land and Co.,
65 Lower Thames Street, London ; or of any of their Agents in all the principal Towns of
tha Contiaeat.

24 4br. SAvxns'i KniMoiA VObtttUtt.

COLOGNE O. RHINE.

CHABLE8 rNTHONY ZANOLl,
IIVEITOR OF TIE EiU DE COLOGNE DOUBLE,

9% HIGH STREET, COLOGNE (Old No. 1940). ON RHINE.
THE ONLY GENmra BAUDE COLOGNE.

Cb4KL» Awthont Zanoli, MmoQfactarer, Porreyor, and privileged by their Lape^
Till M^esties the Emperon of Austria, Roaaia; and their Mij^^ <^ Kiap of
Pniaaia, WiirtembeiiK, Sasony, Bavaria ; Duke and Dociiesa of Leocfatenberg, 4m. kt^
lormerly partner of J. M . Fabina, Jidich's Place, — ^begs to infonn the NobQity asd
PuWe in general, that the auperior quality of his

ONLY GENUINE EAU DE COLOGNE,

AND ALSO or BIS

EAU DE COLOGNE DOUBLE ZANOLl,

(Or his own nTention), ia the reason of their being generally denuuDded and piefened
to all oihen, \/hich fiwqoently was the cause of its being oounterfeised, and iHegailr
o&red for sale under his name in much inferior quaUtiea. Thus, in order to goard
againat all miatakcs and iVands, he bega to c^l particular attention to his BMUincr i^
IHtcking, his Seal, and Inscription of ^e Cheatai to which the Anna of Auatri* and
Prussia are affixed, with the worda ** Hiob Stkbbt, No. (Kt.**

AoBNT IN London: Mb. John Yink, 4 Crescent, Mikories;

To be had, wholesale and retail, of Messrs. Smith and Nephew, Pofbinera

to Her Majesty, I Pnnoea Street, CaTendish Square.

FRANKFORT O. M.

JOSEPinPFAFF,

Zeil D, No. 195,
IK THE DOCBDIATE NEIGHBOUBSOOD OF THE PSIKCIPAL HOIXLS.

EXTEISIYE SHAWL AID SILK WABEIOUSE,

CONTAIN IXO

A LARGE AND CHOICE COLLECTION OF

BMAWUSp BITLKS^ GASHMEBES,

VELVETS, MANTILLAS,

@IL®AKS9 I^DI3@®NS, i?IL®WB&S, BIRJDI8B®DSBKBSS,

LACES,

ALL SORTS OF FANCY MATERIALS FOR LADIES' DRESSES ;

AND IS CONNBCTSD WITH A FIBST BATB

MILLINERY WAREHOUSE.

M*4«Mt« isMd Pftooa. Sa«1idS la apokes*

JRr. tf urcxfi'i naiiMaak 9niiettUtr.

CUSTOM HOUSE, LONDON.

J. A. GODDAED, 36 OLD JEWRY, LONDON,

GENERAL AGENT

SoUcib llM putoBin or >h> NobillQr. Cligj- "^ OcBtir. milling on the Conllnnt,
&c.,<n ■driintfnglDhU can, for pi^uiif thraufh tha Cditok Homi. an; auicliaiu ahich
thtj inaTInikl Ibioad of Work! ot An, WlBU. kt, oianj Bafgnfe wbicli [bij nKf wUh
futwunJtll to Ihrm from Englanil ; and )ia fniita, by tha unnmitlirg atuuUan ulilch ha

lion of Ilia chargta, u aflbril i.tiifictlaD U Ihoat who ratj employ hi-n, and to amun ■

J. A. ti- raquaala rhat psrlln faTouring him with Corrll^mFnta, will gira parUcuIir

J. A. G. anile rlakci id cRmi Iniunnc* ugaintt Baa Rlak on piaparlj canalrncd to hin.

J. A. 0. alio undtiUkel ID roroard. Ihrougli lila CormpoBdiaU, Ottit Had dUit
Lrfol DiKa^nl'. to! decutlon ij plrdna naidlng abmad.
Ag*at toHt.F. MailaFailni. No.JTII.oppoiilathlPaUiDIUa, QIcKkapgaaia.Cologu.

... .{:

fSLr. iHurras*tf ISxttlAooft nhtxtiitt.

DOVER.

W. J. HOLLYER'S LONDON HOTEL

ON THE STEAM-PACKET QUAY,
CLOSE TO THE RAILWAY TERMINUS, THE CUSTOM-HOUSE, fr ALIEN-OFFKX

Vf. J. H. confidently hopes, by the adoption of

VERY MODERATE CHARGES,

Combined with every attention to the Comfort of the Yititor, to obtam ^

patronage and support of the Public.

^t^»^^^^^t^t^^0^^»^^

H. M. Mail. Packets, the fastest Steam Ships t^fiotU, sail for 0«^cnd i
Calais, from the Quay adyoining this Hotel.

A Commissioner and Porters attend evert Train and Facih.

FRANKFORT ON THE MAINE.

FR. BOEHLER,

26 ZEIL STREET, NEXT DOOR TO THE POST-OFFICE.

EXTENSI^illAGAJJNES,

Containing the best copies of the Statue of Danncckbr's Ariadite {"Mi-
mann Museum Frankfort) in Bronze, Berlin-iron, Biscuit -china. Ivory, ad
Ivory-stucco.

Fancy and useful Articles in Stag's Horn of his own Manufactory. T^
Manufacture is peculiar to Germany ; the Material is wrought up into errr
imaginable object of use and fancy ; such as Arm-chairs, Chairs, Tabl'^
Ladies' Work-tablea, Lustres, Candelabras, Candlesticks, Paper-holdm
Screens, Lamps, Watch- stands, Trinket- stands, SnufT-boxes, Cigar-eas««
Cigar-holders, Pipes, Light- boxes, Whips, Walkingsticks, Hunting Whistle
Powder and Shot Flasks, Hunters' and other Knives, Buttons, Wridog-
cases, InksUnds, Paper Weights, Pen and Pencil Holders, Sesi^
and every other requisite for the Writing-desk, Tea-bozea, Card-caso.
and Whist -markers. For Ladies' Toilet: — Broaches, Earrings, Ris^
Bracelets, Bodkin- cases, &c. &c.

Great Assortment of Grcrman fancy Atticles, for Ladies and Gentlemcs
and of Paris Clocks, Bronzes, and Porcelain.

Depdt of the veritable Eau de Cologne of Jcan Maria Farina, Plac
JuLiERs, of Cologne. Articles for the Toilet, especially a great variety oi
LadiM* and Gentieraen*s Dressing-cases.

Agent for the Export of German Articles to Aroerfea.

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ON THE DISEASES OF FEMALES:

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iBvalna

UY8 FROM THE CliBRIO LYRE,

WITH ▼AAioirs TXaaBS,

BY GOKONVA CAMLAN.

London: W. Pickeriug. 1846.
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which are thus made more acceaaibla to the
Engliah reader, but sereral of the mure
Intereating questions connected with the
Principality are treated of in the body of
the work, and discussed with a seal and
warmth which are refreshing ; more espe-
cinlly so, as they are tampered by sound
judgment, and expressed with elegance
and eaae."— rAe EeeieHatiieo/Mmrek, i 847.

THE FINE ARTS.

^^*^>»^»^^^^>»^^i^i»S^»#

SKETCHES OF THE

HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN ART.

BY LORD LINDSAY.
Three toIs. 8to. 31s. 6d.

" One of the most laborious and erudita
pfecea of research on the sufajeetof the Fine
Ans that has appeared in the £ngliah lan-
guage. Lord Lindsay's classification of
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unique and taluable of its kind that lias
erer sppeared, and protes the eztenaire
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John Muebat, Albbmablb Stbbit.

MAUiND'S BOTAiMC GARDEN AND FKUil'iST;

With faitiiftilly cotonred BngraTinga of VLOWERS, difwetions for culture, ftc, ia now
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other FRUITS, their hiatory, qualities, cuiture, ftc. The Floral Reguter, Dictionary, &c.,
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Ihe commencement of tbeTolume by the number for January, 1847, aflbrds acon-
Tenient opportunity for all who are fond of Fruits and Flowers to begin taking this
complete aasistant to the garden. May be ordered of any Bookseller. Large, Fruit
coloured. Is. 6d. ; Small, Fruit plain, Is. ; Oardenera' Editiou, without Fniitisu M. The
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Gboombbidob and Sons, Londok.

Mr* Sdwln ]bee on Centiaental

In Jbee on V

Tbxbd Rbissob, PaiCB 0s.,

THE lATHS OF SERMANT,

With notieesof the French and Swiss Baths.
Also a New Edition,

NTDROPATHT AND HOMEOPATHY

THE EHEHCH OtHPIOS.

A NEW and EASY METHOD of
LEARNING the FRENCH GENDERS
in a few hours. By J. Rowbotham, antlior
of ** A Practical French Grammar,'* 8cc.
N«w Kdition, reviMd, Prin It.

GRANT b GRIFFITHS (Succeasois to
J. Habbis), Comer of St. Paul's Church-
yard, London.

Mt. fSiurrufi*i lEinMhatA nbtttiitt.

BONN ON THE RHINE.

^%/N^-rN^rfN^V\^^^S-"^-W v-v

MR. SCHMITZ,

Bbos leave to recommend his Hotel to English Travellers. Tbe apsrt-
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peted, and the attendance, as well as the kitchen and the wine-cellsj', are wtl
provided.

The STAR HOTEL has heen honoured hy the visiU of the followiv
Memhers of the English Royal Family: —

1846. June 18. H. M. Adelaide, Queen Dowaoer op Great Britadc,

accompanied hy His Highness Prince Bdwaed or
Saxr Wkim ar, Lord and Ladt Barrinoton, Sii
David Davis, M.D., Rev. J. R. Wood, M. A., Captais
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May. H. R. H. the Dure of Cambridoe and Suite.
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aud Suite.

H. M. Queen Adelaide, accompanied by the Earl and
Countess op Errol, Earl and Countess op Dev-
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H. B* H. the Duchess op Gloucester and Suite.

H. R. H. the Duchess op Cambridge and Suite.

H. R H. Prince Oeoroe op Cambridge and Suit&

H. R. H. Prince Albert op Saxb Coburo Gotha, ac-
companied by Prince Ernest op Saxb Coburg
Gotha, and their Suite.

H. R. H. the Duchess op Cambridge, accompanied b;
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H. R. H. the Duchess op Kent and Suite, accompanied

by His Serene Highness the Prince op Leiningbr.
H. R H. the Duchess op Cambridge and Suite.
H. R. H. Princess Carolina of Cambridge.
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H. R. H. Princess Mart op Cambridge.

H. R. H. the Duchess of Kbnt and Suite, aceompsnied
by H. S. H. the Prince op Lbininobn.

1818.
1825.

1834. July.

1836. Aug.

1837. July.
1889. Nov.

— Nov.

1840.
1841.

1844.

1845. June.

Mr. SCHMITZ begs to add, that at no Hotel on the Rhine will be fousd

more moderate charges.

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BOOKS FOB^

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A TOUR THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE MEUSE;

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Second Edition. With a Coloored Frontispiece. Small 890., Af.

NOTES OF A JOURNEY FROM CORNHILL TO GRAND CAIRO.

By MICHAEL ANOELO TITMARSM.

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By Mr. M. A. TITMABSH. With nomerous EngrEvings on Wood.

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LIFE IN MEXICO.

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SYRIA AND THE HOLY LAND;

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EGYPT AND NUBIA POPULARLY DESCRIBED;

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In the Year laii. By Dr. C. Q. CABUS. Phyridan to Hia

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f Huiertrateb mmSng.

CHILDE HAROLD'S PILGRIMAGE,

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LIFE AND WORKS OF HORACE.

8y RBV. B. B. Bn&XAN.

lUiutnted with Views of the Localities, Vignettes from / atiqve Statues
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Gems, Coins, dtoc., in iUostrstion of the beaoties and in elu:idaticn of the meaning d
the Classie FOets.

iESOP'S FABLES,

MBWLT TRANSLATED OR SBf^OTED HtOM THE ORIOINAL.

8y BST. THOBAS JABSS.
Illustrated with 100 Original Detigiit by Johi^ Tbmribii. Crown 8to.

The Misting English Versiona o( JB«>p*s Fkbles are dull, pointless, and Tolgar.
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design of rendering this most instmctive and amniring of classie anthocs more pofnlar.
and more fitted for the perusal ef the yoong.

LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.

Mt. MucrEjgi^i Kanlftocdt m^trtHtt. si

JUST PUBLISHED,

SAUNDERS'S GEOGRAPHICAL CATALOGUE,

CONTAIMINO

ATLASES:

THE PHYSICAL ATLAS; a leriaa of Maps illustnting the geographical diatribn-
titm of Natnxal Phenomena. Bf Hbivbxch Bsrohaqs, LL.D., and A. K.
JoBNtTOV, F.R.O.S., Aw. Also, Asbowsmitb's, the Natxoital, and other Atlases,
relating to Modem, British, Comparau'Te, Classiea], and Biblical Oeographj.

GLOBES:

TERRESTRIAL AND CELESTIAL, from 8 feet in diameter to I inch, in Plain
and Elegant Frames. INFLATED GLOBES; RELIEF TERRESTRIAL
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MAPS.

TRAVELLING MAPS of Every Country; the ORDNANCE MAPS; COUNTY
MAPS: SCHOOL MAPS; ANCIENT MAPS; GEOLOGICAL, ZOOLOGI-
CAL, BOTANICAL, METEOROLOGICAL. HYDROLOOICAX^ and other
PHYSICAL MAPS; DISSECTED MAPS, Ac,

RELIEF MAPS.

TOPOGRAPHICAL MODELS.

MONT BLANC; M. CENIS; SIMPLON; St BERNARD; St HELENA;
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE; ADEN: PANAMA; ISLE OF WIGHT, recom-
mended by Dr. Mantell ; JERUSALEM; ATHENS; ROME, Ice.

PANORAMAS, &c.
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GUIDE BOOKS,
DEVONSHIRE; SOUTHAMPTON; NETLEY ABBEY; ISLE OF WIGHT;
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LANGUAGES.
ELEMENTARY WORKS FOR TRAVELLERS.

'^s^^^^>^/»^/^>^^^v«^»/\«'wv^*M>^^rfv^

LONDON :

TRELAWNET Wm. SAUNDERS,

Wholesale It Retail Mapaellery

AGENT, BY APPOINTMENT, POR THE SALE OF

AND FOR OBOORAPHIOAL PUBLICATIONS IN OENERAI.,

Mo. e GSAUore orobb.

moxk0 Eelattn0 to 9itt.

THE PHILOSOPHY AND ANATOMY OF EXPRESSION
AS CONNECTED WITH THE FINE ABTS,

By SIR CHARLES BELL.

Fourth Edidon, with Eogravinga and Wbodeuti. Imperial 8to., SU.

*'The aitift, the writer of fiotion, the dramatist, the man of taate, wiU nomn tk
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delight." — Chritiian RemenUtraneer.

KUOLEB'S HANDBOOK OF THE

HISTORY OF PAINTING: THE ITALIAN SCHOOLS.

From the Age of Constantine the Great to the Present Time. Tranalated bj
a Lady ; and Edited, with Notes, by C. L. Eastlakb, R.A. Poat 8va, 1%

KUGLER'S HANDBOOK OF THE

HISTOBY OF PAINTING: THE GERMAN, FLEMISH,

AND DUTCH SCHOOLS.

Translated by a Lady ; and Edited, with Notes, by Sir Edmund Hkad, Bart.

Post 8vo., ISs.

KUGLER'S HANDBOOK OF THE

HISTORY OF PAINTING: THE SPANISH AND FRENCH

SCHOOLS.

Translated and Edited, with Notes, by Sir Edmund Head, Bart. Post Sia

FBESCO DECOBATIONS AND STUCCOES OP THE
CHDBCHES AND PALACES IN ITALY,

During the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuriei. With English DeaeripCioBS,
by Louis Orunbr. With Foity-five Plates, foUo, Plain or Coloan^

** This work is exactly what we most required, refleetiog the highest booonr vpoo Mr
Omuer, and is Hkely to create a eomplete rercAoUon in British '
Mb. Cbabbb's Lteiun,

SKETCHES OF THE HISTOBY OF CHRISTIAN ART.

By Lord Lindsay. Three toIs, 8vo., 81a. 6d.

** The author treau largely of Bysantine ait, of Lombard and Golbie arefaitrctiR
and sculpture, of the painting schools of Piaaao and Oiollo, followed op by the Sckeei
of SieiM, that of Florence, and ^ologaik Sciilptar^ and paint>qg« vi^ of the Alfs.
finish the work.**— Z.t/«rary Gattitt,

ff r. fSlvLvrKfi'i I^KnyAaak ^SKhtxtiitr,

AN ENGYCLOPCEDiA OF CHRISTIAN ABT OF THE

XIth. century,
by the monk theophilus.

Translated with Explanatory Notes, useful to the Artist, Glass Painter^
Jeweller, Enameller, and Worker in Met^ils, and a notice of the practice of Oil
Painting, previous to the time Of the Van Etckb. By Robert Hendrie. 8to.

AN ACCOUNT OF

THE CITIES AND CEMETEKIKS OF ETRURIA.

Consisting of several Journeys made for the purpose of investigating the
existing Etruscan Remains, and intended as a Ouide to the Local Antiquities.
By Gboroe Dsnnis. With Numerous Maps, Plates, &o. 2 Vols., 8vo.

LONDON : JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.

Also, Nearly Ready for Pvrlication, PostSvo.,

THE HAND-BOOK OF LONDON.

PAST AND PRESENT.

A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR STRANGERS VISITING THE

METROPOLIS.

By PETER CUNNINGHAM.

This work, which i) arranged alphahetically, will flimish extended notices of

Remarkable Old Inns, Coffee Houses,

and Taverns.
Town Houses of the Old Nobility.
Places of Public Entertainment
Old London Sights.
Ancient Theatres.
Ancient Crosses.

Tlie Hostels of Church Dignitaries.

&c.,

Privileged Places for Debtors.
Old London Prisons.
Places referred to by Old Writers.
The Wards of London.
The Churches.

Residences of Remarkable Men.
Streets Remarkable for some Event
Burial Places of Eminent Individuals.
&c.

y^,.'^,'^,■» •* ^'^•s.'K^y ^ ^ '-.'• ^\^^.-<^^\/V-'^-%/

LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.

84 iHr. StLnvTUifM f|aiiWb0oft nbnUUr.

BOULOGNE-SUR-MER.

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BRITISH LIBMRI & READING ROOV

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Ths Rbaoino Boom is new and spoeioiis, tod supplied with the EngliA and F?
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MuS^sina* Beviews, 6lc.

The London Morning Papers are Reoeived on the IHj

Fublioalion.

Nbw WojiKS of Fiction,.Biograph]r, Histozy, Voyagas and TnTela, an addeiiei

Library immediately on their publication.

Tkt Vuitors* Addreu Book U kept at tht Library; dUo a Register of Hvwtr
ApaHmemU to be Let: whiek may be inepected gruiie^

MURRAY'S HAND BOOKS FOR TRAVELLERS, GUIDES TO PARIS,

BOULOGNE, Ae.

The Publications of the Religious Tract Society and other English Books al u

FttbUahed Prices.

VapU for Farina's G^nuina Ban da Cologne.

FRANKFORT O.

Genuine Old Hayanna Cigars and Tobaece,

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Mr. Krebs is the Agent of the Rhenish, Dusseldorf, and General Steii
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munication with them.

Panaengerfl and Oooda Booked to any plaee on the Hhiney

and to London*

CUSTOM HOUSE AGENT IN LONDON. J. A. GODDARD.

86 OLD JEWRT.

Mr- fHartn'* Kn><Aart flRtbertUn.

Omi Volchi, RoriL 6n., Clotb, Uomocco, ok Rkliito.

ifHE ILLUMINATED PMYER BOOK,

[ ORNAMESTAL BOEDEBS, KITUia, & TtTLES IN COLOCBS & OOLD,

NiSTORIGKL lUUSTRKTIOKS FROM THE OLD MASTERS,

' Dun IT a. BCHAHF, Jiit.,vtn% ru Siitiiiiteihici or t~ ORUNER.

PRESCNTtTinN IN

"Thliinrnou puUioUon hu at ItDRlli nuJiHl ccnnplelloB. and li m maciil
wcineD a[ llit larj piiriniiiii <>( iniiUul lul* iBd IMII. If •■ hmd nal tht lubit
ruoflxriirtaiir vf*. •• could irinelj hue Iwliand Ihu Iba commin priuilng
guld blTt EhnwB sr tmprauioiii In vblch tl:e nICMl tlnla D[ ihula and colour ar
■mi Mlth ■dclicaiE accuraet net impamd bTUialil*-*iiiroulni, labatiantpnxln
r thoK (oad old inueilban in elolaUnd ceJli of Iha paaL^— Monilia Pair.

LONDON: JOHN MDRKAY. ALBEHAHLE 8TREBT.

fSLv* SButrvyi'M l^sntibaak nbtrtiitr^ ^'

}^4

J|^^-/iint

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Mounted upon a material not liable
to be torn, and inserted in Morocco
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to British Secretar> of State's

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CouBXXBS, or Tratblunq Sebyakts,
can be obtained at

PORTABLE

PHOTOCRAPHIC
APPARATUS,

WITS INSnOCTMHCl

rem. cia.

TUT TON,

(To un Trarenera
the trouble oftrant*
latins their Waab*
tng BlIU)

roa LADin.
BittO

FOE GIMTLSIIIN.

EngUak t PrendU
Snglisk I /te//m.
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JOHN LEE'B OUXDE DEPOT,

440, WEST STRAND,

TWO DOOBS WEST OV LOWTHER ABCADE,

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MOROCCO and RUSSIA FORT ABLE RO'.L-Ur CASES, conuinh^ eeety
for Wunau.

iUoore's CErerman Interpreter,

WItiitlMeKMtPmmelialoain RagllalioBa

]MiM Be*

r ^„ ' =

pniHTcni AMD xnanAvsni. ISA rLsar avei

rtt

Mr. MURRAY'S LIST of WORKS fou TRAVELLERS.

•

ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND, THE CHANNEL
ISLANDS AND I8LB OF MAN. By Sir Gbobos Hbad. 2 vols. pottSvo, I2i

DAT3S AND DISTANCES,

Showing what wMy be done in a tour of 16 months through VBrions puts of Euro;*
Post 8vo, Ss. 6d.

THE SANATIVE INFLUENCE OP CLIMATE;

With an Account of the best Places of Resort for Invalids in England, the FVmth '
Europe, the Colonies, 8te. By Sir Jambs Clark, Bazt., M.D. Post Svo, lUr. 6"

CHILDB HAROLD'S PILGRIMAGE ;

With Sixty Vignettes, UlustratiTe of Lord Byron's Travels in Spain, Portugal. Ita';
Holland, &e., by eminent Artists, from sketches made on the spot, expr^^lv :
illustrate the Poem. 8vo, 21s.

LIFE OF SIR DAVID WILKIE ;

With his Letters, Journals, and Critical R^narks on Works of Art, during his Ten-
in h>anoe, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Germany, Turlcey, Egypt, and the lie .
Land. By Xi lan Cl'.nniivoham, Esq. Portrait. 3 vols. 8vo, *2t.

A RIDE ON HORSEBACK through FRANCE AND SWITZEK
LAND to FLORENCE; described in a Series of Ijetters. By a Laov. S vc-
post 8vo, 18f.

AN ARCHITECTURAL TOUR in NORMANDY ;

With some Remarks on Norman Architecture. By the late U. G. Kiviort, Ex
Post 8vo, 9«. td.

THE FIELD SPORTS OF FRANCE ;

Being a Practical View of HUNTING, SHOOTING, and FISHING an TIU
CONTINENT. By Rookiuck O'Connor, Esq. With Woodcuts. Fcap 8vo,7( t

THREE MONTHS' PEDESTRIAN WANDERINGS IN THE PYRl
NEES, amidst the wildest scenes of the FRENCH and SPANISH MOUNTAIN:
By T. CurroN Paris, Esq., B.A. Woodcuts. Post Bto, 10#. (hi.

PORTUGAL AND GALLICIA,

Described from Notes made during a Journey to those Countries. By the Eam. ■
Carnarvon. 2 vols, post 8vo, 21«.

THE BIBLE IN SPAIN; ok, THE JOURNALS, ADVENTURES, AN!
IMPRISONMRNTS of an ENGLISHMAN in an ATTEMPT to CIRCULaT
the SCRIPTURES in the PEN1N^ULA. By Gicoror Borrow, l-at^. Post8vo,«

TRAVELS IN WESTERN BARBARY : with Adventures amidst ii
WILD TRIBES and SAVAGE ANIMALS. By John U. Drumsiono Ha. i
Post 8vo, 3s. fid.

BUBBLES from the BRUNNEN of NASSAU.

By An Olo Man. 16mo, 6s.

HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA; with Social, Political, .
Economical Remaritt on their Condition. By John Paoct, Esq. Woodcuts t
Map. 2 vols. 8vo, 30s.

AUSTRIA : being a narrative of Travela, with Remarks on the Su<^

and Political Condition of that Country. By Pst«r Evan Turnrcu., Esq 2 \
8vo. 24s. ^ ^

AUSTRIAN LOMBARDY, NORTHERN TYROL, and BAVAiv
By John Barrow, Esq. Pdkt 8vo, 10s. M.

May to December, 1S4.7, . Ccnii^

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Full text of "Hand-book for travellers in Egypt : including descriptions of the course of the Nile to the second cataract, Alexandria, Cairo, the Pyramids, and Thebes, the overland transit to India, the peninsula of Mount Sinai, the oases, &c."

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