HANDBOOK
JT & THE STJMK


YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

From the Library of
ANNIE BURR JENNINGS
the gift of
ANNIE BURR LEWIS


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OR SUBJECT TO EXCHANGE
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LIBRARY

From the Library of
ANNIE BURR JENNINGS
the gift of
ANNIE BURR LEWIS














HANDBOOK FOB
EGYPT AND THE SUDAN.





HANDBOOK

FOR

EGYPT AND THE SUDAN.

EDITED BY
H. R. HALL, M.A., F.R.G.S.,
Assistant in, the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities,
British Museum.

ELEVENTH EDITION,
REVISED, LARGELY RE-WRITTEN, AND AUGMENTED.
WITH 58 MAPS AND PLANS.

LONDON: EDWARD STANFORD,
12, 13, & U, LONG ACRE, W.O.
1907.
WITH INDEX-DIRECTORY FOR
1910.


LONDON :
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
DCKE STREET, STAMIORD STREET, S.E., AND GREAT WINDMILL STREET, W.


PREFACE TO THE ELEVENTH EDITION.

The original Hand-book for Travellers in Egypt (1847) was a
reprint of Sir T. Gardner Wilkinson's learned and exhaustive
work, Modern Egypt and Thebes, corrected and revised by
the erudite author himself, so as to meet, as far as possible,
the requirements of a guide-book. A few additions and
corrections were subsequently made from time to time, but
substantially the Handbook remained the same as when it
was first published for twenty years or more. The great
changes introduced into Egypt by Ismail Pasha, however,
necessitated a thorough re-casting of the book, which was
now (1873), so to speak, merely " based " upon the work of
Sir Gardner Wilkinson. Many hands contributed to the
preparation of this and succeeding editions of Murray's
Egypt, and full acknowledgment of this outside help was
made in the prefaces of the editions of 1873 and 1880.
With these editions are chiefly associated the names of the
Rev. W. J. Loftie, Mr. Roland L. N. Michell, Mr. Greville
Chester, and Mr. Phene Spiers. Many of the plans which
appear in this edition were prepared by Mr. Spiers. The
ninth and tenth editions (of 1896 and 1900) were edited by
Miss Mary Brodrick, Ph.D., who revised the book with the
assistance of Prof. A. H. Sayce and Capt. H. G. Lyons, R.E.
The eleventh edition of the Handbook has been tho
roughly revised and brought up to date. The old division
into two parts has been abolished. Many sections have
been re-arranged and re-cast, as the Delta and Fayyum
routes, others have been greatly augmented, as Cairo,
others almost entirely re-written, as Thebes and the Oases.
In addition, a new section has been specially written for


Vi PREFACE.
this edition on the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. This carries
the traveller from Wadi Haifa, the terminus of the older
editions, to the frontiers of Abyssinia and to the Uganda
Railway and Mombasa.
The revision has been made as thorough and complete as
possible. New paragraphs, sometimes of considerable length,
have constantly been inserted in order to record new dis
coveries or supplement a description already existing in the
older editions. On the other hand, much that seemed
redundant and no longer suited to a practical guide has been
excised. It is hoped that this necessary work has not been
carried out too uncritically. Everywhere what seemed to be
the work of the earliest editor, Sir Gardner Wilkinson, has
been preserved, unless entirely out of date or no longer
corresponding to existing facts. The main stuff of the
description of the Nile Valley and its antiquities is still
Wilkinson's, in spite of the additions and alterations of half
a century. Of later contributions, Mr. Michell's complete
description of the Cairene Mosques, which first appeared in
the edition of 1880, has been retained almost untouched in
this as in the preceding editions. The section on Sinai,
originally prepared under the supervision of the late Sir
Charles Wilson, has needed but few additions since Prof.
Sayce's revision of some years back. Prof. Sayce's contri
bution of his archaeological notes de voyage to the later
editions has been most kindly continued by him for the
present edition. To Capt. H. G. Lyons's various publica
tions as Director of the Egyptian Survey Department I am,
of course, indebted for much information, especially in the
case of his recently published Physiography of the Nile Basin
(Cairo, 1906), from which the distances on the White Nile
between Khartum and Uganda are taken. I also owe to
him several suggestions. For the Sudan I have consulted
Count Gleichen's Official Guide and have received private
information from several friends, especially Dr. E. A. Wallis
Budge and Messrs. R. C. Thompson and P. D. Scott-
Moncrieff.


PREFACE. Vll
For Lower Nubia Mr. A. E. Weigall, Chief Inspector of
Antiquities for that district, and Mr. John Garstang have
given me archaeological information, and the former has
been good enough to read the proofs of this portion of the
book. For Upper Egypt, Mr. Somers Clarke has most
kindly given me information with regard to el-Kab, and
Mr. R. L. Mond with regard to his excavations at Thebes.
To Mr. E. R. Ayrton also I owe thanks for items of
information in the Theban section of the book, which I
have endeavoured to make as complete as possible during
my residence of several months there in connection with
the recent excavations at Der el-Bahari. For the Southern
Oases I have utilized the published work of Mr. Ball, of
the Egyptian Survey Department, and for the Northern
Oases that of Prof. Steindorff.
The main portion of the revision is the result of my own
observation and the consultation of the latest archaeological
and other works, which need not be specified, available up
to date. In this edition, as in all the preceding ones, the
archaeological side of Egyptian travel is emphasized. But
it is hoped that the rare tourist who is not particularly
interested in the antiquities of Egypt will also find all the
information he needs in it. All information regarding the
railways, for instance, has been carefully revised, and the
particulars of the light railways in the Delta are a new
feature of this edition. The latest arrangements of the
Sudan Government Railways have been most kindly commu
nicated by Capt. E. C. Midwinter, R.E., D.S.O., Assistant-
Director of Railways at Wadi Haifa. Also, all information
as to hotels has been brought up to date.
The maps and plans have all been carefully revised and
often re-drawn in Mr. Stanford's geographical establish
ment. Those of Modern Alexandria, the Mosques of el-
Azhar, Tulun, and Kait Bey, the Church of Abu Sarga, the
Pyramids of Abuslr, the Fayyum, the Temple of Medlnet
Habu, the Tombs of the Kings, Aswan, and the Sudan maps
are entirely new.


VIU PEEFACE.
The transliterations of ancient Egyptian and modern
Arabic names and words which have been used are those most
familiar to English readers, with one or two slight modifica
tions. Thus, in transliterating the hieroglyphics, the symbols
transcribed in former editions by our z have been considered
to be better represented by tch or tj, which certainly give
a better equivalent of the original sound, which cannot have
been very much like our z. It has not been considered neces
sary to continue the list of peculiar signs, ' ; and the rest,
used by the German school of Egyptologists, which was given
on p. 91 of the last edition. It is useless to the non-scientific
reader for whom the section on Hieroglyphics is intended.
As regards Arabic, the use of q to represent <_jj has been
abolished in favour of that of k, as less likely to cause confu
sion ; one does not want to hear Kena pronounced " Kwyner "
on the authority of the spelling Qina. The sound usually
represented by " ay" or " ei," as in dayr or deir, shaykh or
sheikh, has been more simply written 6 : der, sMkh — in order
to avoid such mispronunciations as " deer " or " shike." The
syllable -eh at the end of names has been regularly written
simply -a. The more correct al for the definite article has,
however, still generally been written el, on the ground of long
use and custom. In the case of both Egyptian and Arabic
words all vowels are intended to be pronounced as in Italian :
a is " ah," not " eh," u is " oo," not " yoo," and so on. The
explanation of the sounds of kh, t, ', gh, will be found in the
section on the Arabic language in the pocket at the end of
the book.
Though everything has been done to make the work as
complete and useful for travellers as possible, and to secure
accuracy, mistakes can hardly have failed to have crept in,
and travellers are requested kindly to send to Mr. Edward
Stanford, 12-14, Long Acre, London, W.C., any information
which may serve to correct errors or furnish fresh matter.
H. R. Hall.
July, 1907.


CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.
PAGE
I. Preliminary Information . . . [1]
II. Geography .... . . [19]
III. Inhabitants . . [27]
IV. Religion ..... . [34]
V. Natural History and Spoet [50]
VI. Peoducts . . . [56]
VII. Geology  [63]
VIII. Goveenment, Education and Revenue [66]
IX. INDUSTEY AND GOMMEBCE . . [71]
X. HlSTOEY ... . [72]
XI. HlEEOGLYPHS . . [110]
XII. Ancient Egyptian Religion [146]
XIII. Archeology and Aet [158]
XIV. BlBLIOGEAPHY ... . [168]

SECTION I.
ALEXANDRIA, THE DELTA, AND THE
ISTHMUS OP SUEZ.
Route PAGE
1. Alexandria ..... . . 1
2. The North-Western Delta : Alexandria to Rosetta . 28
3. The Westeen Delta : Alexandria to Damanhur, Tanta,
Benha and Cairo . . . . .30
4. The Easteen Delta : Caibo to Zagazig, Ismailiya, Poet
SaJd and Suez .... . . 38
5. Suez to Port SaId by the Canal . 49
6. The North-Easteen Delta : Cairo and Zagazig to Es-
SalhIya, Tanis, Lake Menzala and Mansura . . 71
7. The Central Delta : Cairo to the Bareage, Benha,
Mansuba, Damietta, and Lake MenzAla . . .76
8. The Northern Delta : Caibo and Tanta to Desuk,
Mansuba, Damietta and Lake Burlos . . 81








INDEX MAP

r~2!5 sis  : t~ sir-
MEDITERRANEAN SEA t3^ &

AL£lAfl)l

StonTor&s deca\ istab^, Zondek
London . Edward Stanford, 12, I 3 & 14, Lon.,5 Acto W C.


LIST OF MAPS, PLANS, ETC.

PAGE
Index Map . . . . . Facing xiii
Egyptian Money .... „ [7]
Hieroglyphs and Royal Cartouches . . . [113] to [146]
Illustrated List op the Principal Egyptian Divinities [151]
Plans op Egyptian Temples and Tomb . . . [159] to [161]
Lower Egypt  . Facing 1
Ancient Alexandria . . . ... 5
Alexandria ......... Facing 19
The Suez Canal . . ... ,,59
Plan op Cairo (in three sections) . . . . ,, 89
The Mosque op El-Azhar .... . . 110
The Mosque op Sultan Hasan . . . . 115
The Mosque op Ibn-Tulun  118
National Museum op Egyptian Antiquities (Ground Floor) . 128
„ „ „ „ (Upper Floor) . 131
The Mosque op 'Amb ... .... 135
The Church op Abu Sarga  139
The Environs op Cairo  Facing 145
The Tomb-Mosque op Sultan Barkuk . . . 151
The Tomb-Mosque op K&it Bey  153
Topographical Plan op the Pyramids op Giza . 166
Section op the Great Pyramid  171
Temple op the Sphinx  . . 184
The Pyramids op Abus!e, SakkAba, and DXhshub Facing 191
The Tomb op Mebebuka '.'  194
The Tomb op Thi  195
Neighbourhood op the Monastery op St. Catherine, Mount
Sinai  . 237
The Fayyum  Facing 261
The Little Oasis  273
The Oasis op Dakhla and the Great Oasis . . . „ 277
Schedule op Deep Channel Miles : Cairo to AswAn . . 292
The Nile Valley, Section 1 : Cairo to MaghJgha Facing 299
,, „ 2 : MaghXgha to Asyut . „ 307
„ ,, 3 : Asyut to Farshut ' „ 341
The Temple op Seti I. at Abydos . . . 358
The Temple op Ramses II., Abydos  361
The Nile Valley, Section 4 : Farshut to Edpu . Facing 365
The Temple op Dendeba . . . . . 370
Thebes . . ... Facing 379
The Temple op Luxob  388


XIV LIST OF MAPS, PLANS, ETC. PAGE
Karnak . . . . ... Facing 393
The Great Temple op Karnak . . 395
The Ramesseum, oe Memnonium 413
The Temple op Med!net Habu, Thebes 423
The Tombs op Shekh 'Abd el-Kurna . 437
The Rock-cut Tomb op Seti I. . 448
The Tombs op the Kings (Biban el-Muluk) . 451
The Temple op Der el-Bahaei . . . 463
The Temple op Edpu ..... . . 489
The Nile Valley, Section 5 : Edpu to Kalabsha Facing 491
AswAn and its Environs ... ,, 499
PkiLM . . . . . . „ 509
The Temple op Kalabsha . . 525
The Nile Valley, Section 6: Kalabsha to Wadi Halpa Facing 525
The Great Temple op Abu Simbel  536
The Nile Valley, Section 7 : Wadi Halfa to Berber Facing 543
,, „ 8 : Berber to Khartum . „ 555
Khart&m tq Port Sudan; to Uganda and Mombasa . „ 569


HANDBOOK FOE EOYPT

AND

THE SUDAN.

INTRODUCTION.

I. Preliminary Information . . . . [1]

II. Geography
III. Inhabitants .
IV. Religion
V. Natural History and Sport
VI. Products ....
VII. Geology ....

[19]
[27]
[34] [50]
[56][63]
VIII. Government, Education and Revenue . . [66]
IX. Industry and Commerce ... . [71]
X. History .... . [72 }
XI. Hieroglyphs . .... - [110]
XII. Ancient Egyptian Religion . . . [146]
XIII. Archeology and Art .... . . [158]
XIV. Bibliography .... . . [168]

I. PRELIMINARY INFORMATION.
1. Season for Visiting Egypt.
Pbom October to May is the best season for a residence in Egypt.
For those who intend to do the whole Nile voyage, and who can choose
iiheir own time, the months especially to be recommended, both for
climate and convenience of travelling, are November, December,
January, February and March. During those months winds from the
North are more or less prevalent, which cool the air pleasantly and add
to the comfort of travelling. A good deal will, of course, depend on the
destination of the traveller after leaving Egypt. If he intends going to
Syria, he could arrange so as not to get there before April, as it is too
cold to travel comfortably in Syria before that date. The same may be
said as regards Greece.
For tbpse visiting Egypt far health the following plan is recom-
&


[2] PBELIMINARY INFORMATION.
mended : — Reach Alexandria early in November, stay at Ramleh until
the end of the month. Then go direct to Luxor, without any stoppage
in Cairo, which is then unhealthy for invalids. Spend December,
January, February and March at Luxor and at Aswan. Return to Cairo
in April, when, the damp of the inundation and winter having dis
appeared, it is healthy. For those who do not wish to go up the river
a good alternative plan would be to go straight to Helwan or Mena
House (Pyramids), both of which places, being on the edge of the desert,
are excellent health resorts. Leave for Ramleh when the hot, dust-laden
winds begin to blow, and pass over into Italy in May. It maybe noted
that Cairo is seldom unpleasantly hot until the end of June.
For those who propose to do the so-called "Eastern tour " completely,
the following average time-table may be given : — Arrive in Egypt about
the middle of November, and remain there till the end of February,
going to the Second Cataract and back. Leave Egypt at the beginning
of March, and go by way of Sinai and Petrato Jerusalem, arriving there
about the second week in April. Five or six weeks in Palestine will then
bring the traveller to Beirut before the end of May. Or he may vary the
latter part of this programme by only going to Mount Sinai, and instead
of continuing the Long Desert journey — undertaken by comparatively
few — returnithence to Port Said and take steamer to Syria. And should
he care to spend no more than three months in Egypt he had better not
arrive there till December.
Of course these remarks are not intended to apply to those who
merely propose to see the country in the shortest possible time in which
steam, the railway, and their own energy can enable them to accomplish
it. They may go from London to the Second Cataract and back in six
weeks, and any one time during the months named above will be as good
as another. But even to them it may be said, choose, if possible, the
period between the middle of December and the middle of February.
It is perhaps, everything considered, the most delightful season in
Egypt. The temperature is delicious, often, indeed, cool, the Nile
neither too high so as to cover the land, nor too low so as to look like a
huge canal flowing between high banks, over which it is impossible to
see from the deck of either boat or steamer, and the country is perfectly
lovely in colouring — it is, in fact, spring time. Further information
useful for invalids, as to the season for visiting Egypt, will be found
under this section, § 13, Climate.
2. Expenses of the Visit.
It is difficult to give any trustworthy estimate of the expenses of a.
visit to Egypt, as they must necessarily vary considerably according to
each traveller's wants and requirements, and the length of his purse.
The cost of the journey to Egypt will range from 201. to 301. Hotel
living in Egypt may be set down at from 15s. to 25s. a day. Travelling .
by steamer or dababiya on the Nile at from 25s. to 21. 10s. a day ;
travelling on land by camels, donkeys, &c, and with tents, at about the
same rate. The actual cost of the Nile trip by steamer from Cairo,
including all expenses of food, sight-seeing, &c, may be roughly esti
mated at 501. to the First Cataract and 201. more to the Second.
Travellers wishing to visit Egypt as rapidly and cheaply as possible,
may do so in the following way :—


PKELIMINABY INFORMATION. [3]
£ s d
London to Cairo, vid Liverpool and Alex
andria, 1st Class return fare . . . 26 14 6
Or 2nd class return by an Ocean Liner
from London, vid Port Said to Cairo . 24 18 6
Cairo to Luxor by rail (15 hrs.), Luxor to
Aswan and back to Cairo by Cook's
steamer, with seven days' accom
modation at the Luxor and Aswan
hotels  17 0 0
Aswan to Wadi Haifa and back by Govern
ment boat, with food and attendance . 12 2 3
Haifa to Khartum and back by rail (not
including meals) .... . 20 10 4
Monuments, tickets, bakhshish, &c, &o. . 4 0 0
Ladies travelling together can very well go 2nd class by P. & 0.,
Orient, N. German Lloyd, and Austrian Lloyd Steamers to Port Said
and Alexandria. For fares see p. [4].
Several of the hotels in Cairo will take visitors for a prolonged visit
at reduced terms ; so also will those at Luxor and Aswan.
At Asyut, Girga, and other minor towns, there is tolerable accommo
dation to be had at Greek inns for 5s. or 6s. a day. Anyone with a fair
knowledge of/Arabic can live in the country for from 3s. to 5s. a day,
including a native boy to cook. This means roughing it.
It is also possible, though fatiguing, to perform the journey by rail
from Cairo to Aswan, making a break at Luxor. First class circular
tickets for this purpose are issued in Cairo — fare, il. 7s. 8d. The distance
to Luxor is 417 miles, and the time occupied in the journey about
15 hours. It is 547 miles to Aswan, and the journey is done in about
26 hours. A tax of P.T.120 (11. is. &d.) is levied by the Government on all
travellers visiting the Monuments, Temples, and Tombs in Upper Egypt,
the proceeds being exclusively devoted to their maintenance.
3. Disposition of Time.
The following table may help to give the traveller some general idea
on this subject : —
Journey from England to Cairo .... 6-15 days.
Cairo and Environs  . . 6-10 days.
Excursion to the Fayyum  3-7 days.
(a) Voyage by steamer from Cairo to
First Cataract and back ... 21 days.
Voyage by steamer from Cairo to
Second Cataract and back . . 5 days additional.
Voyage by steamer and rail from
Cairo to Khartum and back . . 10 days additional.
(6) Voyage by dahabiya from Cairo to
First Cataract and back . . . 60-70 days.
Excursion to Mount Sinai  14-21 days.
The time occupied, therefore, in making the above tour will vary
from 2 to 5 months. 6 2


[4] PRELIMINARY INFORMATION.
4. Routes to Egypt.
There are various routes by which the traveller may reach Egypt
from England and the United States. The following are the principal : —
(a) Direct Sea Routes.
(1) London to Port Said and Ismailiya, by the steamers of the
Peninsular and Oriental Company, every Friday, touching at Marseilles,
thence to Port Said and Ismailiya, during the season. Time occupied,
about 14 days. Fares (including food but not wine) : To Fort Said or
Ismailiya — 1st class, 191. ; 2nd class, 121. Passengers returning within
4 months receive an abatement of 20 per cent.
(2) London to Port Said and Ismailiya, by the steamers of the Orient
Line, every alternate Friday, calling at Plymouth, Gibraltar, Marseilles,
Naples, Port Said, Ismailiya. Fares (including food but not wine) :
1st class, 191. ; 2nd class, 122. • Passengers returning within 4 months
receive an abatement of 20 per cent.
(3) Southampton to Port Said. — North German Lloyd's mail
steamers : 1st class, 191. ; 2nd class, 121. Return fares : 20 per cent.
off the homeward tariff. The same company runs during the winter
season a line of through steamers from New York to Alexandria,
calling at Gibraltar and Naples.
(4) New York and Boston to Alexandria, by the White Star Line,
calling at the Azores, Gibraltar, Genoa, and Naples, twice or thrice a
month. Fare, 1st class, from 402. upwards.
(5) Liverpool to Port Said and Ismailiya.— Fortnightly, by the Anchor
Line. Fare, 132. 16s. 6o\ Return fare, 232. 8s. Through return
tickets, available for 6 months from Liverpool to Cairo, 252. 6s. Od.
The Bibby Line, leaving Liverpool every 4th Saturday. Fare, 172.
(6) Liverpool to Cairo, vid Alexandria. — The Moss Line, every
21 days. Fare, 162. 7s. 6d. Return, 282. 14s. 6d.
The Papayanni Line, every 10 days. Fare, 152. 7s. 6d\
(7) London or Manchester to Cairo, vid Alexandria. — The Prince Line.
Fare, 142. 7s. 6d. Return ticket, 262. 14s. 6d.
(b) Continental Routes.
(1) To Marseilles, and thence by the steamers of the P. & O. Company
to Port Said or Ismailiya, every Friday. ' Fares : London to Marseilles,
P. & O. Express, 92. 9s. lid. ; ordinary train, vid Calais, 1st class,
62. 14s. lid. ; 2nd class, 42. 12s. 8d. Marseilles to Port Said, 1st class, 132.
London to Brindisi, vid St. Gotthard, 1st class, 122. 2s. id. ; 2nd
class, 82. 8s. 2d ; vid Dieppe, 1st class, 112. 4s. Wd. ; 2nd class, 72. 17s. Id.
From Brindisi to Port Said : 92. ; through from London by the train de
luxe, leaving Charing Cross every Friday at 9 p.m., 222. 9s. lid. This
is the quickest route from England to Egypt : the boat reaches Port
Said on the following Wednesday : train, 48 hrs., sea-passage, 56 hrs.
(2) To Marseilles or Naples, and thence by the steamers of the Orient
Company to Port Said, from Marseilles every alternate Friday, Naples
every alternate Sunday. Fares (vid Dover) : 1st class, 222. 7s. lid. ;
2nd class, 132. 8s. Id. London to Naples, 1st class, 112. 3s. 8d. ; 2nd class'
72. 15s. Id. ; Naples to Port Said, 112.
Bibby Line : Marseilles to Port Said, 122.


PRELIMINARY INFORMATION. [5]
(3) The Messageries Maritimes Company's steamers leave Marseilles
for Alexandria every Thursday. Fares (vid Dover) : 1st class, 212. Is. ;
2nd class, 132. 18s. 6d.
(4) To Trieste, and thence to Alexandria, vid Brindisi, by the steamers
of the Austrian Lloyd Steam Navigation Company, leaving Trieste every
Thursday, and Brindisi on Fridays at 2 p.m. Through fares from London
(vid St. Gotthard) to Trieste or Brindisi and Alexandria, 1st class, 212. ;
2nd class, 142. 10s. ; vid Ostend-Vienna, 1st class, 262. 18s. 6«\
(5) To Marseilles, and thence by the North German Lloyd steamers
to Alexandria. The German steamers leave Marseilles every Wednes
day, calling at Naples on the Friday, and reaching Alexandria on the
Monday following. Fares from Marseilles : 1st class, 132. to 222. ;
2nd class, 92. From Naples : 1st class, 112. to 202. ; 2nd class, 82.
(6) To Genoa and Naples, and thence by North German Lloyd to
Port Said ; fares from Genoa, 1st class, 132. ; 2nd class, 92. ; from Naples,
1st class, 112. ; 2nd. class, 82. London to Genoa, 1st class, 72. 7s. 5d. ;
2nd class, 52. Is. 8d.
(7) To Genoa, thence by steamers of the Italian Steam Navigation
Company (Florio Rubattino) every Saturday ; Naples every Wednesday.
Venice every alternate Tuesday, and Brindisi every alternate Friday for
Alexandria. Fares (vid Dover) : 1st class, 212. 12s. ; 2nd class, 142. 17s.
(c) Port SaId to Cairo.
Trains leave Port Said for Cairo thrice daily ; fares : 1st class, 12. ;
2nd class, 10s. (P.T.48J). The old Suez Canal Company's light railway
is now abolished ; and the ordinary express trains run through from
Port Said to Cairo.
(d) Alexandria to Cairo. Nine trains daily (see p. 30).
5. Requisites for the Journey.
It is not at all necessary for the traveller to provide himself, before
leaving England, with anything more than he would take for an
ordinary foreign trip. All common requisites can be purchased in the
numerous European shops in Alexandria and Cairo. They are naturally
rather more expensive than they would be at home. At the same time
there are certain things which, though they could be procured in
Egypt, can certainly he bought better and cheaper in England. These
are : Cameras, thermometers and all instruments ; field-glasses or
telescope ; magnesium wire and a lamp for burning it in (very necessary
for properly seeing rock-cut tombs and temples, without doing the
injury to the sculptures and paintings that torches cause) ; clothes
(see p. [17]) ; medicine (see p. [18]). A few useful and portable books
may be mentioned here (for a fuller list see the Bibliography, p. [168]) : —
Budge's Mummy, Egyptian Religion, Egyptian Language, and History ;
Lane's Modern Egyptians and Cairo Fifty Years Ago ; Petrie's Ten
Years' Digging in Egypt and Methods and Aims in Archceology ; Bohn's
transl. of Herodotus ; Ward's Pyramids and Progress and Ow Sudan ;
Slatin's Fire and Sword in the Sudan; Willmore's Spoken Arabic of
Egypt. Photographic Apparatus on the small scale should be simple and
strong. The ordinary Eastman kodaks are understood by the photo-


[6] PRELIMINARY INFORMATION.
graphers at Luxor and Aswan, as well as at Cairo. Roll-films can be
obtained at Alexandria, Cairo, Luxor and Aswan, and can be developed
and printed by the photographers. They are, however, apt to suffer
from the dry climate, and an ordinary box hand-camera, with falling
arrangement, and flat films (much lighter than plates), is preferable on
the whole. For instantaneous photographs a smaller stop must be
used than in Europe, and a clouded sky is no obstacle to a good snap
shot. For detail, a bulb-exposure with very small stop (F 64 and
smaller) is best. Moonlight photographs are always possible; in full
moon twenty minutes' to half an hour's exposure with F 8 or 16.
6. Passports. Custom House. Antiquities. Arms.
Passports. — Though not required for Egypt, passports are sometimes
asked for on landing at the Egyptian ports, and are often useful in
establishing identity, obtaining letters from the Poste Restante, &c.
Passports are required for the Sudan only by those who proceed
thither independently of the Tourist Agencies. Travellers from Egypt
intending to visit any part of Turkey must have their passports visi
by the native Governor at Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said, or Suez, unless
previously visi by a Turkish Consul in Europe, for which the fee is
5s. Recently the Turkish Government require, in addition, a ' ' Teskera,"
or permit. The charge for the former is five piastres (Is.), and for the
latter 12J (2s. 6d.).
Custom House. — All luggage is liable to be opened at the Custom
House, but as a rule the examination is not inconveniently strict, the
Customs' department being now under English control. There is
a heavy duty on cigars, equal to about 3s. 6d. to 9s., according to
quality, and great difficulty is made about admitting guns and cartridges.
An ad valorem duty of 1 per cent, is levied on all goods leaving the
country, and 8 per cent, on all goods imported.
Antiquities. — Until recently antiquities were not allowed to be ex
ported, but now permission is granted on certain conditions. The
Egyptian Government has approved of certain regulations for private
persons and scientific societies desiring to excavate for antiquities. All
unique objects found belong of right to the Museum ; surplus objects
and duplicates are to be divided between the excavator and the Govern
ment. Gold and silver objects are to be equally divided, on the basis
of the intrinsic value of the articles.
Arms. — Travellers must obtain permission from the Adjutant-General
of the Egyptian Army, War Office, Cairo, to bring their guns, rifles, or
revolvers into the country. They must at the same time enclose a
signed certificate- giving numbers and description, and declaring that
they are for their own private use. Gunpowder and cartridges are
both of them a Government monopoly ; visitors bringing them out for
their own use must also apply to the War Office, Cairo, for permission
to bring them into Egypt. English sporting powder and cartridges can
be bought in Alexandria and Cairo ; the former may also be obtained
in most of the large towns in Egypt.
7. Consulates. Courts of Justice.
Consulates. — Each of the principal European Powers is represented
in Egypt by an agent and consul-general, who is accredited direct to the
Khedive, and resides generally in Cairo. There are, besides, Consuls,





VALUE OF EGYPTIAN SILVER MOlTEY.

Value.
Shillings Francs .
Cents

20 Piastres Tariff.

10 Piasters Tariff.

2/1
2 fr. 60
52

Value.
ShillingsFrancs .
Cents .

Piasters Tariff.

1/0*
1 fr. 30
26

Value.
Pence
Francs .
Cents

Nickel. 2Jd.
Ofr. 26
5Jo.

2 Piasters Tariff.

5d.
0 fr. 52
lOJc.

Nickel. \d.
0 fr. 13
2*c

1 I*iastbk Tariff.

2hd.
Ofr. 26
5|c.

Equivalent of European gold in Egyptian silver money :
One Pound Sterling = P.T.97*
20 !>—>-"•=— -


PRELIMINARY INFORMATION. [7]
Vice-Consuls, and Consular Agents, at the different ports and chief
towns. Courts of Justice. — Until 1876, the Egyptian authorities had no
civil or criminal jurisdiction over foreigners, who were only amenable
to their consuls. Consequently, any foreigner accused of a civil or
criminal offence had to be indicted in the Consular Court of the nation
of which he was a citizen. As there are seventeen of these courts, it is
easy to imagine the inconvenience caused by such a system, and the
miscarriage of justice which frequently resulted from it. At the
instance of the Egyptian Government, and chiefly through the exertions
of Nubar Pasha, an international commission was appointed in 1869,
which recommended the abolition of this state of things, and the appoint.
ment of mixed tribunals of natives and foreigners, for the trial of all
cases between foreigners of different nationalities, and natives and
foreigners. The law is administered in these tribunals, which consist
of Courts of First and Second Instance, according to the Code Napoleon,
adopted in Egypt with some modifications. The languages employed
are English, French, Italian, and Arabic. The Consular Courts still
continue to have jurisdiction in civil causes between foreigners of the
same nationality ; and in criminal cases foreigners are amenable only
to their respective Consular Courts, the Mixed Tribunals being allowed
only very limited criminal jurisdiction. In cases of any difficulty, the
traveller had better apply immediately to his consular representative.
8. Money.
Money. — The probable expenses of a visit to Egypt have been
already spoken of under Section I., § 2.
The money tables for Egypt, if put into the form used in school
arithmetics, would be as follows : —
10 milliemes make 1 piastre (kirsh, pronounced in Cairo 'irsh, in
Upper Egypt girsh) = about 2\d. ; 100 piastres.(/tMnlsfc) make 1 Egyptian
pound (£E,1 ; gineh, pi. ginehdt) = about 11. 0s. &d. The 20-piastre piece
is usually called riydl.
The natives in the country still reckon by the old-fashioned paras,
forty of which make one piastre. A half-piastre (5 milliemes) is often
called 'ishrin fadda (twenty paras) by the fellahin, and wahid 'ishrin
("one twenty") for short; P.T.1J is in the same way called setttn
fadda, or settin (" sixty ") simply.
The coins in use are —
Gold . . (the British sovereign = P.T.97J).
Silver . . pieces of 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 piastres.
Nickel . . „ ,, 1, 2, and 5 milliemes, and 1 piastre.
Copper . . ,, ,, J and | millieme (paras).
A Paper Currency exists in the shape of the notes of the National
Bank of Egypt for £E.l, 5, 10, 50, and 100. The notes in circulation
Dec. 31, 1904, amounted to £E.538,000.
The English sovereign is worth P.T.97J and the French napoleon is
worth P.T.77J.
The Tariff piastre (P.T.) is universal in the country as well as in all
official statements. The Current piastre (kirsh sa'a), an amount, not
a coin, is a local usage of Cairo and Alexandria, and is gradually dying
out. It is always reckoned as half the Tariff piastre.


[8] PRELIMINARY INFORMATION.
There are a large number of bad piastres in circulation, and care
should be taken not to accept these.
When drawing money from a banker, English sovereigns or napoleons
had better be taken. The napoleon is accepted : the sovereign is legal
tender. Half-sovereigns are often not accepted by natives, who do not
always understand them.
Letters of credit and circular notes, bank notes and cheques, should
be taken without charge by the bankers, but are paid only at the
business rate of exchange of the day, which being subject to fluctua
tions, the holder will sometimes be paid at par, and at other times
incur a loss ranging from J per cent, to 1 per cent., but very rarely
exceeding the latter. In the European shops at Port Said and
Alexandria prices may be named in shillings or francs ; elsewhere
always in sovereigns (ginCh) and piastres. The 5-piastre piece is
often called shilling and the 20-piastre (rlydl) dollar. At Port Said a
franc = P.T.4. The metric system of weights and measures is universally
used. The hotel bills will be made out either in P.T., English, or French
money. Before starting up the Nile, the traveller should provide
himself with some small change for purchases, &c. The copper coinage,
now greatly depreciated, circulates in the country at P.T.I for 1\
milliemes, and is entirely declined by the Government. It is used in
making small purchases, such as eggs, &c.
The cheapest and best way to transmit money from England is to
have it sent (in sovereigns) in parcels of 50?. or under by Parcels
Post, insured for full value. This costs J per cent. By Post Office
Money Order to any office in Egypt the cost is 1 per cent. Bankers
generally charge as much by exchange, commission, &c, and can
only be drawn on in the chief towns.
9. "Weights and Measures.
i. Measures of Length.
1 Dird'a Beledi, or Pik (for cloth, &c.) = 0-58 metre = 22-835 inches.
1 Dird'a Miama'riy (for buildings) = 0-75 ,, =29-528 ,,
1 Kasaba =3-55 metres = 11 ft. 7 • 76 in.
1 Fedddn = 4200 ¦ 833 sq. metres = 1 acre 6 rods.
ii. Weights.
1 DirJiem
1 Wukkiya (12 dirhems)
1 Rotl (144 dirhems)
1 Okka (400 dirhems)
1 Kantar (100 rotls)
1 Kantar of Alexandria (112 okkas) =
1 Hamla (60 okkas)
1 Himl (200 okkas)
1 Tonaldta (Tonneau)
1 English Tonaldta (Ton) Weights for Precious Metals.
1 Mithkal (14 dirhems) =4-580 gram. =72-22 grains Troy
1 Dirhem (16 kirats) =3-120 ,, =48-15
1 Kirdt (4 kamhas) =0-195 ,, = 3-00
1 Kamha, or grain of wheat = 0-048 „ =0-75 „

0-003 kilo =

l-76drs.

Avdp

= 0-037 „ =

l-32ozs

i,

0-449 ,, =

0-99 lb.

,,

= 1-248 kilos =

2-75 lbs.

= 44-928 ,, =

99-05 „

= 139-776 ,, =

308-15 ,,

,,

= 74-880 ,, =

165-08 „

= 249-600 „ =

550-27 ,,

= 1000-000 „ =
2204-62
= 1016-047 „ =
2242-00 „
>>


PRELIMINARY INFORMATION. [9]
iii. Measures of Capacity.

1 Ardeb (12 kailas) =

198-000 litres = 5-44 bushels.

1 Waiba (2 kailas) =

33-000 ,

= 3-63 pecks.

1 Kaila (8 kadhs) =

16-500 ,

= 3-63 gallons.

1 Bub' (4 kadhs) =

8-250 ,

= 1-81 „

1 Malwa (2 kadhs) =

4-125 ,

= 3-63 quarts.

1 Kadh (32 kirats) =

2-062 ,

= 1-81 ,,

1 Nils kadh —

1-031 ,

= 1-81 pints.

1 Bub' kadh =

0-515 litre =3-63 gills.

1 Kharruba =

0-128 ,,

= 0-90 gill.

1 Klrdt =

0-064 „

= 0-45 „

1 Dariba = 1584-000 litres

= 43-58 bushels.

1 Fard (large) = 115-500 „

= 3-17

1 Fard (small) = .57-750 „

= 1-58

1 Litre = 0-005 ardeb.
1 Hectolitre = 0-505 „
1 Kilolitre = 5-050 ardebs.
1 Decilitre = 1 • 551 kirdts.
1 Metre = 1-724 dird'a beledi.
1 Centimetre = 0-172 „
1 Kilometre = 281 • 69 kasabas.
1 Gramme = 0 ¦ 320 dirhem.
1 Kilogramme = 320-5 ,,
320 Rotls = 1 Ardeb (beans).
300 „ =1 „ (wheat).
270 „ =1 „ (cotton seed).
Boat Measures.
All boats on the Nile are measured by Ardebs, 3 kantars making 1 ardeb.
10. Modes of Travelling.
Rail-ways. — The first railway made in Egypt was that between
Alexandria and Cairo in 1855. Stephenson was the engineer, and he
proposed it in conjunction with the direct line between Cairo and
Suez, now disused, as an alternative for the Maritime Canal across the
Isthmus of Suez.
The Egyptian Railway Administration (E.R.A., the official style ; on
some carriages the initials E.S.R., i.e. Egyptian State Railways, are
used) now has connecting lines running all over the Delta and into the
Fayyum, besides the branch lines from Cairo to Matarlya (el-Merg) and
Helwan, and the main lines from Alexandria, Port Said, and Suez to
Cairo, and from Cairo to Shellal, south of Aswan, a distance of 580 miles
up the Nile.:
An electric railway belonging to an English company connects
Alexandria and San Stefano (Ramleh).
The total mileage of the Egyptian State Railways is 1,667. The gauge
is the standard 4ft. 8Jin., except from Luxor to Aswan, which is 3ft. 6in.
The railways of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (see p. 540) belong to
a separate administration, the Sudan Government Railways (S.G.R.).
There are four lines, from Haifa to Khartum North, running across
the desert to Abu Hamed, from Haifa to Kosheh, north of Dongola, on


[10] PRELIMINARY INFORMATION.
the Nile, from Atbara to Port Sudan, and from Abu Hamed to Kareima,
south of Dongola. The total mileage of the Sudan railways is 777.
The gauge is 3ft. 6in.
The trains on the Egyptian railways are made up of 1st, 2nd, and
3rd class carriages. It is quite impossible to travel 3rd class in Egypt,
and British travellers rarely even go 2nd class, except in the Delta.
The express trains consist of 1st and 2nd class carriages only, and the
fares by them are subject to an increase of 20 per cent, on the fares by
the ordinary trains. The trains de luxe from Cairo to Luxor take
1st class passengers only.
The bridges over the two branches of the Nile on the Alexandria-
Cairo line, the Embaba bridge,, and the bridge at Nag' Hamadi, on the
Cairo-Luxor line, are the only structures of importance. The lines are
uniformly laid on an embankment of earth thrown up to the height of
a few feet above the level of the soil. With the exception of the express
trains, which are very punctual, time is not well kept on most of the
lines. The first-class carriages are fairly good. It is well to be at the
station some time before the train starts, especially with luggage. The
hours of departure are very seldom altered, but the time-table had
always better be consulted.
The Light Railways in the De,lta and the Fayyum are managed by
companies, the "Delta," " Basse-Egypte," and " Fayoum." The gauge
is very narrow, the speed slow. The total of kilometres in work is
1,107. _ The Fayoum line, which is worked by an entirely native com
pany, is bad. The other two lines are well managed, but punctuality
is not to be expected. The miniature lines used to bring sugar-cane
from the fields to the main railway in Middle and Upper Egypt do not
carry passengers. That running from Erment northwards on the west
bank of the Nile is of the normal (4ft. 8Jin.) gauge
Luggage.— Passengers are permitted to take into the railway
carriages, free of charge, such articles as may be placed on the racks.
The weight of such not to exceed 20 kilogrammes for each person.
Passengers luggage is registered and is charged for according to
weight. Where people can be independent of their heavy baggage, it is
more economical to send it by petite vitesse. The hotel forter' can
SUnVthe^delay 1^^ ^^ ** ^^ ^
other than the railway embankment and ^eTesof Z ™fS "? ^
the north to south direction. The only metaLd foarl, the deSei> ln
Cairo to the Pyramids and to Shubra, and in the out W t«t £"** F*
these are the only routes on which driving can be comf ° f eXand™ :
and on which the motor can be used at all There ?°}fortably essayed
for the motorist in Egypt. The country roads goino- £ Tw ° SC°pe
the valley are merely the dusty tops of the high dvL"7 W.- a0111SS
hdds or irrigation-basins from each other ; it is onlv Se^tmS the
them riding, foot-going being quite impossible. During ??ssl.ble to use
they are the only possible means of passing from vill lnundation
except by boat, and when the inundation is falling and hS% '0 viUaSe>
used, owing to the shallowness of the water over the flo a -f canuot be
alone can be used, making long detours inevitable Wh land' tiley
have subsided, however, bridlepaths, which vary from , the waters
year to year,


PRELIMINARY INFORMATION. [11]
become practicable across the cultivated land. By such dyke-roads or
gisrs and paths or sikkas the tourist will ride from Bedrasheh to
Sakljara or from Baliana to Abydos, for instance.
Dahabiyas and Steamboats. — The great highway of Egypt, especi
ally above Cairo, is the Nile, and sailing or floating along it in a dahabiya
is still, railways and steamboats notwithstanding, the pleasantest way of
seeing the country. Full particulars with regard to this mode of
travelling will be found on pp. 288 ft, where also information is given
about the steamboats that ply between Cairo and the First and Second
Cataracts during the winter months.
Donkeys. — There are many places, however, in Egypt which cannot
be reached by either railway or boat, and recourse must be had to that
useful, and in Egypt by no means to be despised animal, the donkey.
The Egyptian donkey is patient, sure-footed, and very enduring, and his
paces are generally easy. It is best to use the saddle of the country,
which has a hump in front, but ladies will generally prefer a side-saddle,
and had better therefore provide themselves with one. As the native
saddles are very apt to turn round, and girths and stirrup-leathers are
apt to break, owing to the dry climate, no reliance should be placed
on the stirrups. The usual donkey-fare is P.T.10 the day, P.T.5 the
half-day, but at Aswan it is higher. Bakhshish to the boy is additional.
In Cairo it is not usual to ride donkeys, except for excursions into the
native city.
Camels. — For long excursions into the desert camels will be required.
The ordinary baggage-camel is very heavy and rough in his paces, and it
requires considerable experience in camel riding before the Mehdra, Hegin
or trotting camel can be mounted with any comfort. The paces of a quiet
smooth-walking camel are, however, by no means unpleasant.
11. Posts. Telegraphs. Telephones.
Posts. — The Post Office department in Egypt is admirably managed.
Letters can be despatched to and received from Europe 5 times during
the week at Alexandria, viz., Austrian and Italian, vid Brindisi ; Italian,
vid Naples ; French, vid Marseilles ; Khedivial, mil. Constantinople ; and
British, vid Brindisi and Port Said.
The British Mail generally leaves Port Said early in the week, but is
dependent upon the arrival of the steamer bringing the mail from India,
of which due notice is given. All the other mails have fixed days of
departure. At Cairo the mails close from 7 to 12 hours earlier, and are
delivered from 7 to 12 hours later than at Alexandria.
Mail notices of arrivals and departures are sent round to all the hotels.
Inland Mails. — Letters are sent daily by rail to all stations as far
south as Shellal. Thence they are conveyed to Wadi Haifa for the
Sudan twice a week. The rate for inland letters is 5 milliemes per 30
grammes ; in towns 3 milliemes.
Foreign Postage Rates. — Egypt being included in the Postal
Union, the rates of postage between it and all other countries included
in the Union, except Great Britain, are 10 milliemes per 15 grammes
for letters, 2 milliemes per 50 grammes for newspapers, and 4 milliemes
for post-cards ; to Great Britain 5 mill, per 15 grammes. Insured letters
can now be sent between the United Kingdom and Egypt.
Pabcel Post. — An inland parcel post express delivery has been


[12] PRELIMINARY INFORMATION.
established and extended to such foreign countries as admit of this
service. The maximum insurance on parcels for the United Kingdom
and some of the British possessions has been raised to 120L Value-
payable parcels (cash to the postman on delivery) can be exchanged
between Egypt and every country in the world except Great Britain (1),
Russia, Spain and Turkey. It is proposed to make an arrangement
by which this curious anomaly as regards Great Britain will be
abolished. Telegraphs. — There are two telegraph systems in Egypt, one
belonging to the Eastern Telegraph Company, who have offices at
Alexandria, Port Said, Suez, Port Tewfik and Cairo, with sub-offices
during the Cairo season at Shepheard's and Gezira Palace Hotels, and
the other to the Egyptian Government. Only the latter can be used
for messages circulating within Egypt. It is in operation throughout
the whole Egyptian territory, reaching to Khartum and further south
wards and to El Arish at the North-east. Messages can be sent at the
chief stations in English, French, or Italian, but at most of the smaller
ones Arabic must be used. Tariff, P.T.2 for the first eight words, for
every two additional words 5 milliemes. Surtax to the Sudan P.T.2
per word.
By the Eastern Telegraph Company's system messages can be sent all
over the world. Tariff from Cairo, Suez, and Port Said : —

To Great Britain and Ireland

48 milliemes per word

,, France

48

,, Germany .

48

,, Greece
. 48
„ Italy
48
,, Malta
48
„ Turkey in Europe
. 48
,, Turkey in Asia .
. 67
„ North America
. 96 to 121
,, India
. 92 to 96
,, South Africa
. 168 to 193
,, Australasia
. 166 to 188 ,
The tariff from Alexandria is 10 milliemes cheaper.
It is possible to send cheaper telegrams to Europe by the Egyptian
and Turkish lines vid El Arish, but this is not recommended. In
places where there is ' no Eastern Telegraph office, telegrams for
other countries may be handed to the Egyptian telegraph offices, but
should be marked " vid Eastern," in which case they are transmitted
to the offices of the Eastern Company at Alexandria or Suez, which
then forwards them.
Telephones. — The Telephone Company of Egypt is in operation in
Alexandria, Cairo, Helwan, Matarlya, Asyut, Zagazig, Mansura, and
Port Said. The Government Telephone between Cairo and Alexandria
is worked, as far as ordinary messages are concerned, by the Telephone
Company, between the two Bourses by the Government Telegraphs.
12. Hotels. Apartments. Servants. Dragomans.
Hotels. — Good hotels are to be found at Port Said, Alexandria Cairo
Helwan, Giza Pyramids, Luxor, and Aswan. The pension system
is adopted at all of them, and so much a day charged for lodging
attendance, and board. This charge varies from P.T.50-90, and includes


PRELIMINARY INFORMATION. [13]
two or three meals in the day ; wine extra. Sitting-rooms can be had
at the best hotels at from P.T.50-100 a day. No difference is made in
the charge whether the meals are eaten in the house or not, but a lunch-
basket is provided for day-expeditions. If a long stay is intended,
arrangements at a lower rate should be made in advance. At Tanta,
Mansura, Zagazig, Asyut, and most of the large towns in Upper Egypt,
there are Greek locandas where food and a bed can be obtained ; but
they cannot be recommended.
In all parts of Egypt where there are no hotels or inns, the traveller,
if without a dahabiya or tents, must trust to the hospitality of the
principal natives or of European officials or merchants. In small
villages it is customary for the omdeh or headman to provide
hospitality to travellers, but naturally very little is to be expected, and
a present is obligatory.
Apartments. — These can be procured both at Alexandria and Cairo,
but the difficulties and discomforts connected with them are so great
that they cannot be recommended.
Servants, a necessary evil anywhere, are especially so in the East.
The traveller may indeed, if he only intends visiting Alexandria and
Cairo, and the line of the Suez Canal, do without them, or at any rate
he need only hire an occasional guide at from P.T.30-40 a day, according
to the service rendered. But if he intends to travel about by himself,
he must provide himself with one or more domestics ; and should he
know nothing of the country or the language, a dragoman (targumdn,
"interpreter") will be indispensable. The dragoman will take all
trouble off his hands, and for a fixed sum defray all the expenses of
travelling, food, lodging, servants, &c.
Drag-omans. — There are Dragomans (the plural form " dragomen,"
habitually used by Englishmen, is incorrect) of every sort and kind, good,
bad, and indifferent ; but it is seldom that the really good ones, who
confessedly are at the head of their profession, fail to give satisfaction.
Their charges, however, are very extravagant ; and travellers who are
not so particular as to comfort and luxuries may find a very fair
dragoman who will do everything at a lower rate. One thing, how
ever, the traveller must not expect, and that is, to obtain from them
accurate information of any kind. The Nile dragomans, as a rule,
know absolutely nothing about the various objects of interest in Egypt,
to which they go year after year ; and though always ready with an
answer if asked any question about the country and the people, the
probability is that the answer is as inaccurate as it is prompt. The
dragoman is in fact a courrier and maitre d'hdtel in one, but he has
none of the kind of information possessed by the commonest laquais
de place in a continental town. The expense of 'a dragoman varies
with the nature of the journey and the things required. Further
information with regard to dragomans will be found on p. 287.
For hiring a servant for travelling in the country, a decent lad can
generally be obtained at any railway station. The Stationmaster or
Postmaster should be asked to recommend one. Three to 5 piastres a
day, without food, will be ample wages, and a deposit of a dollar could
be made with the Stationmaster to give confidence. In Cairo,' Asyut,
and Luxor, the American Mission can often recommend a superior boy
with some education as a servant.


[14] PRELIMINARY INFORMATION.
13. Climate.
General Sanitary State.— The climate of Egypt is remarkably dry
and salubrious, and although the mortality amongst the inhabitants is
great, it can easily be accounted for apart from the climate. Through
the ignorance, superstition, and filthiness of the natives, there is an
excessive infant mortality, and the death-rate amongst the young and
adult Egyptians is greatly increased by the privations, hard work, and
exposure they have to endure. Besides this, a great number of the
poor die for want of medical care and advice, which the Government
does not supply them with, unless in the hospitals, of which the natives
have a deep-seated dread. They prefer to die at their homes, surrounded
by their friends, rather than enter a hospital. Much, however, is being
done to remedy this state of things, especially since the English
occupation of Egypt ; and the sanitary service, which is under an
English doctor, is greatly improved.
Except in the Delta and sea-coast towns, the country is quite
exempt from low fevers and diseases of the chest. Ophthalmia, diarrhoea,
dysentery, and affections of the liver are the principal endemic com
plaints. Only two or three months of the year, from June to September,
can be called unhealthy.
Plague has occurred of late years in Egypt, but is not endemic ;
typhus and relapsing fevers are present every spring among the over
crowded denizens of mud hovels. Cholera overran the country in an
epidemic form in 1865 and again in 1883, and was then absent in spite
of all efforts to find it until September 1895. Between September and
December it smouldered quietly in the neighbourhood of Damietta and
Lake Menzala, and then appeared in Alexandria, where it lasted till July,
in spite of the energetic efforts of the Municipality to stamp it out.
There was no sign of it in Cairo until May 1896. The Egyptian
Government, under advice from its English advisers, rose to the
occasion, and liberally voted men and money for the most pressing
sanitary needs.
Dengue fever was present in Egypt in 1880 and 1887, but only from
August to November, it being always an autumnal disease.
Smallpox is by no means uncommon in the country districts, and
therefore it behoves visitors to protect themselves by recent revaccina-
tiom Measles sometimes occurs as an epidemic among native children,
and is also sometimes imported by English visitors. Diphtheria is not
uncommon among natives, but ought not to occur among any visitors
living in sanitary houses. Influenza has been present every winter
since 1890, but the disease in Egypt is never dangerous, and seldom
serious. Typhoid fever is often imported by visitors from France and
Italy, and is sometimes contracted in Egypt itself, though this disease
is almost unknown among Egyptians.
Temperature. — The Egyptian climate is more uniform than that of
any other place on the globe. Still it varies considerably through the
different parts of the country. The whole of Middle and Upper E t
is characterised by great dryness and clearness of the atmosphere ^F'l
the Delta enjoys a much cooler and damper climate. Certain lo ' rt'
are having their climates noticeably modified by new and «y? -S
irrigation, by the cultivation of large tracts of previously steHT l S1 j6
and by the growth of trees. The immense surface of water now ex osd


PRELIMINARY INFORMATION. [15]
by the Suez Canal to the influence of a tropical sun must produce local
disturbances of the atmosphere, while the northerly winds, that blow
for about eight months in the year, as they pass over the Canal district,
will carry along with them a considerable amount of moisture, which,
combined with that arising from the annual overflow of the Nile,
would lead us to expect still milder summers but damper winters in
Middle and Lower Egypt.
From the peculiar dryness of the atmosphere Egypt is rendered
susceptible of sudden changes of temperature ; but the fact of its dry
ness prevents the injurious effects that usually result from such sudden
changes. The thermometer often indicates a variation of 20° F.
between morning and midday, and as much between midday and
evening. The early morning is. invariably cool, but after two or three
hours the sun's warmth is speedily communicated to the atmosphere,
which continues warm till near sunset, when it rapidly cools ; and if
there be any moisture in the air, it now appears as dew which has
fallen on the ground, half an hour after sunset. In Upper Egypt dew
is rare ; in some extremely dry spots, such as Western Thebes, it is
never known to occur. Although the thermometer falls suddenly about
sunset, it soon rises again from the radiation of the heat absorbed by
the earth during the day. Towards morning it falls again, to rise with
the return of the sun.
The mean annual temperature at Cairo is about 71° F. The thermo
meter seldom falls to 40° F. at Cairo (37° F. on the desert near Cairo is
the lowest Egyptian temperature ever recorded), but it is frequently
lower on the Nile. The coldest months in the year are December and
January, and the hottest are June, July, and August, but even then it
is cool in the shade and at nights. The humidity of the atmosphere is
principally controlled by the rise and fall of the Nile. Fogs prevail
during the first two months of the receding of the waters. Evening
fogs descend very quickly as the sun goes down, and are as quickly
deposited after the sun has set, leaving the sky clear and the air as fresh
as after a good shower. Morning fogs are soon dispelled by the heat of
the sun, and then follows the clear beautiful day.
On the desert the air is always dry and bracing, and much cooler
than that over cultivated land. During winter the nights seem
piercingly cold on the desert owing to the contrast with the heat of the
day. The moonlight nights are singularly brilliant, and when there is
no moon the starlit sky is as light as any moonlight night in Europe.
The starry heavens are nowhere seen to such advantage as in Egypt.
Photographs can easily be taken by moonlight (see p. [6]).
The Seasons. — In Egypt there maybe said to be only two seasons in
the year — Summer and Winter.
The Summer extends from April to the end of September. It is
ushered in by strong equinoctial winds, which are at first cool ; but they
soon give place to the hot south wind, or khamsin, so called from
blowing at intervals during a period of 50 days. This wind is very
peculiar, and may be thus described. It is preceded by an unusual
stillness of the atmosphere, and, as it approaches, the air assumes a
dusky yellow hue from being laden with impalpable dust, through
which the sun shines obscurely, and gradually becomes quite concealed.
Electric influences accompany this wind, so that, notwithstanding the
excessive heat, one feels excited rather than depressed by it. The


[16] PRELIMINARY INFORMATION.
respiration is quickened, and the skin becomes quite dry and shrunk,
and sometimes a prickly sensation is felt all over the body. This wind
blows generally for three days in succession, with intervals of four or
five days. It sometimes lasts from ten to twelve days continuously,
and if blowing from the south-east is not only very destructive to
vegetation, but exhausting to the animal organism. The khamasin
(plural form of khamsin) are not so severe as formerly, and they always
cease about the middle of May ; northerly winds then set in and
blow almost continuously till November, when for two or three weeks
easterly winds prevail. A north wind blowing constantly during the
summer months modifies the heat considerably.
After the harvest in June, the country becomes an arid-looking waste ;
everything appears burned up, and the ground is dry and cracked in every
direction. During May and June the Nile remains at its lowest, but by
the end of June it begins to rise in Cairo, and continues to increase till
the middle of September. Before it has reached its height all the
canals are filled, and the water is admitted into the fields. Such a
surface of water materially alters the temperature, and light dews now
occur about sunset, all through the lower country. As the river falls,
leaving the land wet and exposed to the action of the sun, exhalations
arise, which render the Delta somewhat unhealthy, the prevailing
diseases then being ophthalmia, dysentery, diarrhoea, and ague. By the
middle of November the river has retired within its banks ; and then
the atmosphere is remarkably free from humidity. The average summer
temperature is about 85° F., the mornings and nights throughout the
whole summer being always pleasantly cool.
The Winter begins in October and ends in March. It is so genial
and uniform as to prove a great attraction to invalids, who find here a
winter climate unsurpassed by that of any other country in the world.
" Boat life on the Nile is the most enjoyable of all restoratives for the
sick ; and for lovers of all that is luxurious in travel, of all that is
glorious in memory, of the grand, the beautiful, the picturesque, and
the strange, Egyptian travel is the perfection of life." From the
middle of November till March the wind blows from the N. The
atmosphere continues to be comparatively dry till the middle of
November, when there is an appreciable amount of humidity arising
from the land left wet by the Nile. The dews at night and in the
morning are now sometimes quite heavy in Lower Egypt, and fogs are
usual below Asyiit, but they are of short duration, and by the end of
December they more or less disappear, and the air regains its former
dryness, though there are occasional showers.
Rain (nattar) seldom falls in Upper Egypt ; but on the Delta and
along the Mediterranean coast it is not at all uncommon at this season.
About Alexandria there would be on an average eight inches during
the winter. At Cairo rain falls on about fifteen days during the
winter, but the whole rainfall is very little more than one inch. When
showers do come they are liable to be almost tropical for a few hours,
and, owing to the absence of all drainage, the streets are then rendered
impassable. Snow is unknown: but in Upper Egypt and the Delta
hail and thunder storms sometimes occur with great violence, and do
much injury, the hailstones being frequently as large as a pigeon's egg
The mean winter temperature at Cairo is about 58° F. The season
ends with boisterous southerly winds and dust storms, which begin to


PRELIMINARY INFORMATION. [17]
blow about the latter part of March, and continue for one, two, or three
days at a time till the proper khamsin sets in.
Cairo is dangerous to unhealthy people from November until
February, owing to fever.
Invalids should especially avoid being in and about towns in Egypt,
owing to the amount of foul dust. The day should be spent out in the
desert or in the fields. They cannot be too careful to avoid a chill at
sunset. The fall of the temperature, owing to the clearness of the air,
is far greater than in Europe, and there is nothing more unwise than
standing about at sunset, or going out without sufficient clothing
after dark. Everyone does wisely to carry a light wrap to be put on at
sundown. Diseases benefited by the Climate. — The following remarks are
from Dr. Sandwith's ' Egypt as a Winter Resort ' : — " The climate of
Egypt is suitable during the winter months for a great variety of
chronic ailments, among which may be mentioned — convalescence
from pneumonia, fevers, and all acute diseases ; that common delicacy
of English and American youth which may be called ' threatened
phthisis,' all cases of early phthisis, and all quiescent cases of the late
forms of the disease ; chronic bronchitis and emphysema ; bronchial,
catarrhal, and spasmodic asthma ; chronic catarrhal affections of the
larynx and pharynx, including ' clergyman's sore throat ' ; rheumatism,
rheumatoid arthritis, and gout in its various forms ; heart disease, and
all other complaints which prevent a patient from walking or other
active exercise ; anaemia and chlorosis ; exhaustion of nervous system
from too great excitement, worry, business or study, and sleeplessness
or hypochondria ; neuralgia, hysteria, and its accompanying dyspepsia ;
diseases of spinal cord, locomotor ataxy, &c. ; chronic kidney
disease ; and the very large class of people without organic diseases,
who shrivel up sadly in a cold climate, and expand joyously in a sunny
atmosphere where they are not perpetually reminded of their sensitiveness
to cold and to ' taking cold.' This last group includes those invalided
home from India for malaria and other causes."
Clothing and Mode of Life. — Invalids coming to Egypt for the
winter should be well provided with warm clothing, and should always
wear wool next the skin. A cholera belt is advisable. Two tweed
suits, one of lighter texture than the other, form the best outfit for the
ordinary traveller ; and on the Nile voyage flannel shirts will be found
the best both for health and convenience of washing. The head should
be well protected : for this purpose the best headdress is a common
felt helmet or wide-awake. Some prefer a pith helmet. The red
tarbush or fez with which travellers so often delight to adorn them
selves affords little or no protection to those unaccustomed to an
Egyptian sun ; and as it is the mark of a Government official, or a
servant, it is only a ridiculous affectation to wear it. Brown boots and
shoes are preferable to black ones, and for the Nile trip these should be
strong. The ground all round the ruins is rough and covered with
loose stones, so that boots are preferable to shoes. Coloured-glass
spectacles with gauze sides afford great relief to the eye from the glare
of the sun, and a blue or grey veil is often useful for the same purpose.
The visitor must be prepared for both hot and cold weather, and must
dress accordingly. A warm great coat, fur cloak, and rugs are absolutely c


[18] PRELIMINARY INFORMATION.
essential. Ordinary English spring or summer clothing should be worn
in Cairo, with the exception of top-hat and frock-coat, which are only
necessary in case of presentation to the Khedive. The usual headgear
is a straw hat. Nothing is more ridiculous than to see English tourists
in Cairo, in fashionable January under a clouded sky, wearing helmets,
goggles to keep away imaginary dust, and muslin puggarees which are
practically useless under all circumstances. A white umbrella is useful
for the Nile trip, but this, like shady hats and most other things, can
now be bought in Cairo, Luxor, or Aswan.
The Nile water is soft and extremely palatable, but it must always be
drawn from the middle of the river, and must then be filtered through
native ziehs before being drunk. The Egyptians who prefer muddy
water to filtered suffer from various disorders in consequence of their
inveterate ignorance and prejudice on this point.
Care should be taken never to sleep or to sit in a draught, and invalids
should avoid all bedrooms on the ground-floor if there is the slightest
risk of malaria from mosquitoes which may come from the garden or
from cesspool emanations. Mosquito-nets over the beds should be
insisted on.
Intending visitors before choosing should find out whether any given
hotel is built on the most modern sanitary principles, and also whether
the drinking-water is sterilised by means of the Pasteur-Chamberland
or Berkefeld filters.
The most picturesque parts of Cairo are, unfortunately, also the most
insanitary. Treatment of Slight Ailments. — There are many good European
doctors and chemists in Alexandria, Cairo, and Port Said, and every
tourist steamer up the Nile also carries a European physician and a
medicine chest. It is, therefore, not necessary for steamboat travellers
to carry any drugs with them, but a few words of advice may be useful
to those who intend to travel in a dahabiya. Sunstroke, even in a mild
form, is rare, but can be treated by an aperient and applying cold water
to the head, followed later by quinine.
Simple diarrhoea is very common, and is generally due to chill when
the individual is fatigued. It is best treated by castor oil, seidlitz
powder, rhubarb pill or other mild aperient, liquid diet, and later on
astringent medicines such as Dover's powder, chlorodyne or bismuth.
Diarrhoea when severe or choleraic is well checked by corrosive sub
limate, dose -g^jth of a grain, best carried in a standard solution made
up. For all tendency to diarrhoea rice-jelly should be taken, well boiled
for two hours to break up the grains.
True dysentery is very rare, but a little dysenteric diarrhoea is not
uncommon, and can be best treated as already stated for diarrhoea.
Liquid diet and brandy must be continued as long as the symptoms
exist ; and simple food, such as eggs, milk puddings, bread, toast and
biscuits, should be ventured on before the patient attempts chicken,
meat, or vegetables.
Purulent ophthalmia used to be very common among Europeans in
Egypt, but it is now extremely rare, except in the case of neglected
children ; mild catarrhal ophthalmia is still often seen, especially among
those who have not learnt the importance of specially washing their
eyes after exposure to any dust. One good rule is to wash the eyes
regularly in Egypt with a saturated solution of boracic acid in tepid


GEOGRAPHY. [19]
water. If, in spite of all precautions, the eyes become red and painful,
with a slight sticky discharge, it will be good to drop a few drops into
them of such an eye lotion as two grains of sulphate of zinc in one
ounce of water. If ophthalmia will not yield to zinc alone, use a
saturated solution of quinine mixed with zinc. A slight purgative and
simple diet are also necessary. A shade will be better than a bandage
to keep off the light when the eyes are inflamed.
II. GEOGRAPHY.
1. Ancient Egypt.
In the ancient Egyptian language, as well as in Coptic, Egypt is
called Kamit, or the land of Kam, the " Ham " of the Bible, meaning
' ' the black land," a name derived from the blackness of the soil. By the
Hebrews it was called Mizraim, a name still preserved in the modern
Arabic appellation Misr. Its Greek name was Atyvirros, from which the
modern European name is derived : signification doubtful.
From the old inscriptionsiwe learn that the country was divided into
two large districts, styled the " land of the North " and the ' ' land of the
South," or the Upper country and the Lower country. The land of the
North extended from the neighbourhood of Memphis to the sea, and
corresponded with what was afterwards termed by the Greeks, from its
resemblance to the fourth letter of their alphabet, A, the Delta, the
name by which it is known to us ; the Arabs style it Behera. The land
of the South included the remainder of the country as far as the island
of Elephantine^ opposite Syene (the modern Aswan) ; this the Arabs
call es-Said. From these two Arabic names the usual designations of
the Upper and Lower Egyptian dialects of the Coptic language,
Boheiric and Sahidic, are derived.
These two large divisions were further subdivided into districts
(hsapu), called by the Greeks Nomes (Nifyioi). The number of these
nomes seems to have varied. The old Egyptian lists generally give 44 ;
Pliny the same number ; Strabo and Diodoros 36 ; the usually received
number is 42. Of these, 20 were in the Lower country, or Delta, and
22 in the Upper country. Each nome had its own capital, the residence
of the hereditary governor. ' ' The capital formed likewise the central
point of the particular divine worship of the district which belonged to
it. The sacred lists of the nomes have handed down to us the names of
the temple of the chief deity, of the priests and priestesses, of the holy
trees, and also the names of the town-harbour, of the holy canal, the
cultivated land, and the land which was only fruitful during the
inundation, and much more information, in such completeness, that we
are in a position, from the indications contained in these lists, to form
the most exact picture of each Egyptian nome in all its details, almost
without any gaps." — Brugsch, ' Egypt under the Pharaohs.'
The following is a list of the nomes, with their Egyptian names and
the names of their capital towns, both in Egyptian and Greek, and
the divinity to whom they were dedicated : —

c 2


[20] GEOGRAPHY.
THE SOUTH COUNTRY, OR UPPER EGYPT.

Capitals.

Nomes.

Egyptian.

Classical and
Modern.

Deity.

I. Ta-kens

Abu

Elephantine"

Khnemu (Chnoumis).

II. Utes-hee

Dbu

Apollinopolis Magna (Edfu)

Heru-behutet.

III. Ten

Nekheb

Eileithyias-

Nekhebet

polis (el-Kab)
(Smithis).
IV. Uaset
Uaset and
Thebes, Her-
Amen-Ra
Annu l.'emat
monthis (Lux
(Amonrasonter)
or and Erment)
and Mentu.
V. Hekui
Kebt
Koptos (Kuft)
Min.
("Two Hawks")
VI. Aati
Ta-en-tarert
Tentyris
Het-Heru
(Dendera)
' (Hathor).
VII. Seseshet
Het-seseshet
Diospolis Par-
Hathor.
(" Sistrum ")
va (Hou)
VIII. Aet
Teni
Thinis
An-her
(el-Birba)
(Onouris).
IX. Ma-min (?)
Apu
Panopolis (Akhmim)
Min.
X. U at jet
Tebt
Aphroditopolis (Itfu)
Hathor.
XL Set
Shas-hetep
Hypselis (Shotb)
Khnemu.
XII. DU-HEFI
Nut-ent-bak
Hierakonpolis
Heru (Horus).
(" Serpent Mountain ")
XIII. Amef-khent
Saut
Lykopolis (Asyut)
Uapuaut.
XIV. Amef-peh
Kesi
Kusae (el-Kusiya)
Hathor.
XV. Uenet
Khmennu
Hermopolis
Tenuti (Thoth).
("Hare")
Magna
(Eshmunen)
XVI. Mahetj
Hebnu
Horus.
(."Oryx")
XVII. Anpu
Ka-sa
Kynonpolis
Anpu (Anubis).
("Jackal")
(el-Kes)
XVIII. Sepet
Het-bennu
Hipponon (el-Hiba)
Anubis.
XIX. Bd-tjamui
Pa-matja
Oxyrrhynchus
Set.
("Land of Two
(Behnesa)
Sceptres")
XX. Am-khent
Henensuten
Herakleopolis
Her-Shefi
Magna
(Ahnasya)
(Harsaphes).
XXI. Am-peh
Smen-Her
Nilopolis (?)
Khnemu.
XXII, Maten
Tep-ahet
Aphroditopolis
Hathor.
("Knife")
(Atfih)


GEOGRAPHY. [21]
THE NORTH COUNTRY, OR LOWER EGYPT.

Capitals.

Nomes.

Egyptian.

Classical and
Modern.

Deity.

I. Aneb-hetj
("White Wall")

Men-nefert

Memphis (Mitrahina)

Ptah.

II. Aa

Sekhem

Letopolis

Horus.

III. Ament ("West")

Amu (?)

....

Hathor.

IV. Sepi-ees

Tjeka

Prosopis

Sebek.

V. Sepi-meht

Sait

Sais (Sa)

Nit (Neith).

VI. Ka-set

Khasuut

Xois (Sakha)

Amen-Ra.

VII. Nefee-ament

Sent-nefert

Metelis

Amen-Ra.

VIII. Nefeb-abt
IX. Ati ("Prince")

Patumu Pa-Asar

Patumos, Pi-
thom (Tell el-
Maskhuta)
Busiris (Abusir)

Atumu. Asari (Osiris).

X. Ka-kam
("Black Bull")

Het- ta-her-
abt

Athribis (Atrib)

Heru - Khent -
' Kheti.

XI. Ka-heseb

Pa-maka

Kabasos (Shabbas)

Set.

XII. Teb-ah

Theb-netert

Sebennytos (Samanud)

An-her.

XIII. Hek-at
XIV. Khent-abt

AnnuTjaant

Heliopolis (Matarlya)
Tanis (San)

Ra-Atumu.Horus.

XV. Tehuti ("Ibis")

Pa-Tehuti

Hermopolis Minor

Thoth.

XVI. Khae

Pa - ba - neb -
tatui

Mendes (Tmei
el-Amdid)

Osiris Ba-neb-
Tatui.

XVII. Sam-Behu- tet

Pa-khen-en- Amen

Diospolis

Amen-Ra.

XVIII. Am-khent

Pa-Ubastet

Bubastis (Tell Basta)

Ubastet or Bast
(Bubastis).

XIX. Am-peh
XX. Sopt

Pa-uatjet Kesem

Buto (Tell Fara'in
Phakussa (Fakus)

Uatjet (Buto).
Sopt.


[22] GEOGRAPHY.
It may be remarked that at a later period there were three divisions :
portions of Upper and Lower Egypt being taken to form a Middle
Egypt, called by the Greeks, from its containing 7 nomes, Heptanomis.
Upper Egypt, or the Thebaid, then reached to the Thebaica Phylace
(*uAaicn), now Derut esh-Sherif; Heptanomis thence to the apex
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 4 provinces or districts — Augustamnica Prima and Secunda,
and iEgyptus Prima and Secunda — being still subdivided into the same
nomes : and in the time of Arcadius, the son of Theodosius 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 Panopolis and Ptolemais Hermii. The
nomes also increased in number, and amounted to 57, of which the
Delta contained 34, nearly equal to those of all Egypt in the time of
the Pharaohs. In Byzantine times the chief provinces were governed
by Dukes (Aov|, from Latin dux), as representatives of the Emperor,
assisted by Counts and Topoterites or Lieutenants.
Although many of the old Egyptian kings extended their dominions
from time to time beyond the southern border of Elephantine, as is
proved by the various temples above the First Cataract, and one
dynasty, the XXVth, was actually composed of Ethiopian kings, who
conquered the whole of Upper Egypt, and reigned from Thebes toNapata,
or Gebel Barkal , there is no record of any geographical division of this more
southern country. Under the Ptolemies, the more northern portion of
what is now called Nubia had the name of Dodekaschoinos or " 12
schcenes," and is usually supposed to have comprehended the district
from Syene to Hierasykaminos, now Maharraka, though Prof. Sethe,
of Gottingen, is of opinion that the name means the district between
Syene and Philse only. 2. Modern Egypt.
If in the term Egypt we include all the countries over which the
Khedive claimed supremacy prior to the events of 1882-86 in the Sudan,
it is rather difficult to determine its boundaries, with the exception of
the northern, which is of course the Mediterranean. On the south its
furthest limit nearly reached the Equator, though it narrowed there
almost to a point. Within its eastern borders, which commenced on
the Mediterranean at el-Arish, were included the Peninsula of Sinai,
the Gulf of Akaba, and a narrow strip of the east coast of the Red Sea,
as far as opposite Ras Benas, from which point the boundary-line con
tinued down the west coast of that sea to Massawa, and on into the
Gulf of Aden to Berbera, though the Khedive's authority in this
extreme southern portion did not extend far from the coast ; inland
Abyssinia and some native tril.es were independent. On the west it
was bounded by an imaginary line from Ras el-Kanais on the coast
through the Libyan Desert to Darfur, and thence trending in a westerly
direction to the Blue Mountains. The Mahdist rebellion of 1883
confined the Egyptian dominion to the Nile valleys north of Wadi
Haifa; but the Anglo-Egyptian military operations of 1897-9 have
resulted in the re-conquest of the whole of the former dominion of
Egypt, with the exception of the Red Sea littoral south of SnSVi,-,
which is now divided between Italy (Massawa, Eritrea) France


GEOGRAPHY. [23]
(Obock and Djibouti), and England (Zeila and Berbera), and the
southern portion of the old Equatorial Province, which is now held by
England from Uganda, a portion (the Lado enclave) being temporarily
handed over to Belgian-Congolese administration. The whole of the
re-conquered territory is now under the joint control of England and
Egypt, from a point north of Wadi Haifa to the frontiers of the French
Congo, the Free State, Uganda, Abyssinia, and Eritrea; Wadi Haifa
has thus been transferred from Egypt proper to the Sudan. The
British and Egyptian flags fly side by side in the Sudan, except at
Suakin ; the local governors (Mudirs) are British officers. Khartum is,
as before, the capital.
Egypt Proper comprises the Delta, together with the Peninsula of
Sinai and the Oases of the Libyan De'sert, the Nile as far as the Second
Cataract, and Nubia as far as Wadi Haifa. As of old, it is divided
into two parts, Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt, and each of these is sub
divided into Provinces, with their chief towns, as under.

LOWER

EGYPT.

Province.
Behera.Menrlfiya. Sharklya.Dakaliya.

Chief Town.
Damanhur.Shibtn el-K6m.
Zagazig.
Mansura. 1

Province.
Gharbiya.
Kaliubiya.
Gtza.

Chief Town.
Tanta. Benha.
Giza.

Cairo, Alexandria, Suez, Port Said,
Governorates (Mohafzas).

el-Arish, and Damietta

, form sepa

.

UPPER

EGYPT.

Provmce.
Beni-Suef.Fayyum.Minia.
Asyut.

Chief Town.
Beni-Suef.
Medinet el-Fayytira.
Minia.
Asyut. 1

Provmce.
Girga.
JEfena.Aswan.

Chief Town.
Suhag. Kena. Aswan.

Each of these provinces has a governor called a Mudir ; and they
are subdivided again into districts, each under a Mamitr, or deputy-
governor. The Sudan is divided into the provinces of Dongola, Berber,
Khartum, Kordofan, Bahr el-Ghazal, Upper Nile, Sennaar and Kassala,
and the districts (second-class provinces) of Suakin, White Nile, Mon-
galla, and Wadi Haifa.
The total area of the cultivated and inhabited territory under
direct Egyptian rule is estimated at 34,000 square kilometres. More
than half of the cultivable land is in the Delta, which is 160 miles
broad at its Mediterranean base, but narrows to about 10 miles at its
head below Cairo. From this point to Aswan the alluvial soil, called
by the Arabs er-Bif, nowhere extends to a greater width, and is indeed
generally much narrower, except at the quasi-oasis of the Fayyum, on
the left bank of the river, which measures about 30 miles from N. to
S., and 40 from E. to W. The total length from the sea to the southern
frontier is, in a straight line, about 700 miles.
The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan measures 1,200 miles from N. to S.,
and about 1,000 from E. to W., drawing a line from Suakin to
Darfur. Its area is about 1,006,000 square miles.
Of geographical features Egypt may be said to possess but one, its
river ; for the hills which border the Nile's course on either side from
Cairo to Wadi Haifa, branching out on the E. from Kena to Kuser, and
on the W. from Wadi Haifa to the Great Oasis, never reach any great


[24] GEOGRAPHY.
height ; and the lakes, with the exception of the Bitter Lakes, which
must be considered as artificial, and the Birket el-Kurun, in the
Fayyum, are nothing but lagoons, of which the most considerable are
Mareotis, Edku, Bourlos and Menzala.
At the same time no geographical notice of Egypt, however slight,
would be complete without a mention of the Oases. These are five in
number, and are situated in the Libyan Desert several days' journey W.
of the Nile. The most northern is Siwa, the famed oasis of Jupiter
Ammon : next comes the Little Oasis, the Oasis Parva of antiquity,
now called Wah el-Bahriya ; then the oases of Faraf ra and Dakhla ;
and further to the S., the Great Oasis, the Oasis Major of the Romans,
now called the Wah el-Kharga. There are, besides, one or two smaller
ones. The title given by the ancients to these oases, of " islands of the
blest " (naivipiav vrio-oi), is somewhat misleading, as they do not spring
up from the surrounding desolation, but are depressions in the lofty
desert table-land, which rises above them in steep limestone cliffs.
Nor is the whole of their area cultivable soil, all being intersected
by passes of desert. They owe their existence and their fertility to
the copiousness of the springs with which they abound.
The following are some of the common Arabic appellations of towns,
&c. ; — Medina is a " capital," and is applied to Cairo, and the capital
of the Fayyum. Markaz is an administrative division of a Province,
and often means the office of the local administration. Beled is
the usual appellation of a "village"; whence Ibn el-beled, "son of
a village," or "countryman." Nahia corresponds to a French "com
mune " ; it may contain two or three villages. Kafr is a village
independent of the Nahia ; Nezla, a village founded by the people of
another place, as Nezlet el-Fent. Minia (corrupted into Mit, par
ticularly in the Delta) is also applied to villages colonised from other
places. Beni, " the sons," or Awlad, "the boys," is given to those
founded by a tribe or family, as Beni Amr&n, " the sons of Amran," or
Awlad 'Amr, " the boys of 'Ami," and then many villages in the
district are often included under the same name. Zawiya is a hamlet
having a mosque. Kasr is a " palace," or any large building. Burg is
a "tower" (like the Greek nipyos) ; and it is. even applied to the
pigeon-houses built in that form. Sdhil is a level spot, or opening in the
bank, where the river is accessible from the plain. Mersa is an anohor-
ing-place, or harbour. DSr is a "convent," and frequently points out
a Christian village. K6m is a " mound," and indicates the site of an
ancient town, and Tell is commonly used in the Delta in the same
sense. Khardb and Kuffri are applied to "ruins." Birba (which is
taken from the Coptic) signifies a "temple." Wddi is " a valley " ; Gebel,
" a mountain" ; and Bir ka, "alake,"or " a reach " in the Nile. TheW.
bank of the river is called ghdrbi and the B. bank shergi ; and the
common expressions for N. and S. are bdhri and kubli.
3. The Nile.
The Nile is emphatically tlie river of the Old World. The Amazon
of the New World alone surpasses it in length, so far as that length
is as yet known ; but no river, in either hemisphere, can in any degree
equal it in historical and geographical interest. By the ancient
Egyptians it was honoured as a divinity to whom their land was
indebted for its very existence, Egypt being most truly, as Herodotus


GEOGRAPHY. [25]
puts it, " the gift of the Nile." Its connection with the most important
events of ancient history, and the stupendous monuments which still
bear witness to its former wealth and civilization, render it an object
of the greatest interest to the archaeologist and the student of history ;
while the discovery of its source has been a problem which down to the
present day has never ceased to excite the curiosity and stimulate the
zeal of geographers and travellers. The words of Tibullus :
" Nile pater, quanam te possum dicere causa,
Aut quibus in terris, oceuluisse caput?"
have not received a complete answer even now, though the proverb
"caput Nili qusrere" does not quite convey the idea of the hopeless
enterprise that it once did.
The true Source of the Nile must be considered to be the lake
Victoria Nyanza, the most important tributary of which is the Kagera.
From the Victoria Nyanza it descends north-west, joining the stream
from the Albert Nyanza, which lies about 1,400 feet lower than the
larger lake. Passing Gondokoro near 5° N. lat., it is joined near 9° N. lat.
by the waters of the Bahr el-Ghazal (Gazelle River) and the Sobat : from
which points to Khartum it is known as the Bahr el-Abyad (White
River) or White Nile, a name which may be derived either from the
whitish clay which it holds in solution, or from its contrast with the Bahr
el-Azrak (Blue River) or Blue Nile, which unites with it at Khartum.
The length of its course to this point of junction is about 1500 miles.
The Bahr el-Asrak or Blue Nile, so called from the dark colour of its
waters, rises in the mountains of Abyssinia, and is joined by many
important tributaries before reaching Khartum. At its point of conflu
ence with the White Nile it constitutes, under ordinary circumstances,
but J of the volume of water which henceforth flows on under the
name of the Bahr en-Nil, but in spring and summer this amount is
considerably increased. It is then swollen with the rains that have
fallen in the Abyssinian mountains, and sweeps along in an overflowing
turbid stream, thick with the fertilising mud from which it derives its
name, and the deposits of which have formed and still continue to
maintain the land of Egypt.
From Khartum the Nile flows in one undivided stream, and fed only
by one affluent, the Atbara, to the sea, a distance of more than 1800
miles. Nowhere is the cultivated land (except in the Fayyum and the
Delta) more than 10 miles broad, and in many places there is nothing
but a strip of sand between it and the hills which on either side flank
the whole length of its course as far as Cairo. Through these hills it
has occasionally to force its way in a series of falls, to which the name
of cataract has been given, though they bear no analogy with such
cataracts as Niagara, being in fact merely rapids. There are six of these
cataracts, besides some smaller falls, between Khartum and Aswan.
That at Aswan is known as the First Cataract.
The Nile now enters Egypt Proper and continues, at an average rate
of about 3 miles an hour, increased to 4£ at the height of the inundation,
a quiet winding course varying in breadth from 350 yards at Silsilis to
1100 yards at Minia. So far its course is the same as in old times, but
a considerable change now takes place ; for whereas formerly it
discharged itself into the sea by seven Mouths, at the present day these
are reduced to two. The point of separation, which constitutes the
apex of the Delta, has remained about the same. Its ancient name


[26] GEOGRAPHY.
appears to have been Kerkasoros, the modern representative of which
may be placed at a point opposite Shubra. Here the river anciently
divided into three branches, the Pelusiac, running E., the Canopic,
running W., and the Sebennytic which flowed between these two,
continuing indeed the general northward direction hitherto taken by the
Nile, and piercing the Delta through the centre. From this Sebennytic
branch two others were derived, the Tanitic and the Mendesian, both of
which emptied themselves between it and the Pelusiac branch. The
lower parts of the remaining two branches, the Bolbitine and the
Phatmitic, were artificial, and were constructed probably when the other
outlets began to dry up. It is by these two mouths that the river at the
present day finds its outlet. At the point of bifurcation the general
direction of the two streams is probably that of the old Pelusiac and
Canopic branches, but they gradually quit the extreme E. and W.
course, and continue more in the centre of the Delta, the one to
Damietta, and the other to Rosetta, from which places they derive their
modern appellations.
The annual Inundations, which not only water the country, but
supply it with the fertilising deposit on which its very existence
depends, are the result of the rains falling in the mountains amongst
which the Blue Nile has its source, and in Central Africa along the
course of the White Nile. Although the rise of the river in the S.
begins in April, its effects are not felt in Egypt until June. The
inundation continues about three months, and reaches its highest point
at the end of September, though very often there is a sudden final rise
in October. Early in November it steadily subsides, and by the end of
November the country it has covered begins to dry up. From that time
the river flows within its natural limits, sinking gradually lower and
lower, till the period of the next rise. On the height of the inundations
depends the prosperity of the country for the ensuing year. Too great
a rise involves a destruction of dikes and a loss of life and property.
A deficiency leaves large tracts unmoistened and unfertilised, and the
canals not sufficiently filled to supply water for irrigation during the dry
season. Great improvements have been introduced of late years into the
system of irrigation in Egypt. By a carefully constructed arrangement
of canals, siphons, escapes, weirs, etc., it is arranged that even during a
bad season a great part of the Nile valley shall receive its share of the
mud-charged water. At the same time there are still large tracts of
"¦shardki" land — that is, land which is exempt from taxation on
account of receiving no flood-water — which call for some system of
irrigation to bring them into cultivation. In order to meet this
difficulty the Government has created the immense reservoir at Aswan
(see p. 516).
The importance, therefore, of watching the rise of the river and regu
lating it by means of dikes, sluices, and canals, bas always been
recognised.' At the present day the progress of the inundation is
telegraphed from Wadi Haifa, just as in old times messages were sent
from Aswan, and afterwards from Semna, the southernmost point of the
kingdom in the days of Amen-em-hat III. Several inscrintinna »t
Semna record the height of the Nile at different times during dm
of this king, to whom Egypt was indebted for the Lake Mnpri/n3
many other important irrigation works (see p. [60]). From ^ ^ n.°


INHABITANTS. [27]
would appear that the highest recorded rise was 27 ft. 3 in. above any
inundation of the present day. The height of the inundation varies in
different parts of Egypt. At Cairo a good average rise is about 26 feet.
The inundation alters the appearance of the country very considerably.
Instead of a normal river valley, with a broad stream flowing between
cultivated fields, we see a great flood lying between two banks of desert-
cliffs or slopes, studded with innumerable islands, on which are palm-
shadowed villages and towns, connected with each other by causeways.
So Herodotus describes the Delta when he saw it. At this time com
munication by sailing-boat is possible over all parts of the submerged
land ; but later on, when the flood has partially run off, the water
becomes too shallow for boats, and the long and wearisome detours by
the dusty dike-causeways, which every traveller in Egypt in October
and November knows too well, become inevitable. The mud is too soft
for paths to be formed as yet; but very soon the waters have disappeared,
and almost before one can realise the change, the fertilising mud has
dried up, and one is riding, where only a few weeks before boats were
sailing, on a hard path, with verdant crops rising on every hand.
During the height of the inundation the agricultural population is
left without its usual occupation for some weeks. The ingenious
inhabitants of many of the villages utilise this period of enforced leisure
in manufacturing forged antiquities to sell to tourists during the ensuing
winter.
III. INHABITANTS.
The total Population of Egypt proper may be stated roughly at 10
millions. The returns published of the last Census taken on June 1,
1897, show the population of Egypt proper to have numbered 9,734,000,
an increase of 2,900,000 as compared with the census of 1882, or about
43 per cent, in 15 years. It was larger in ancient times. Herodotus
states that there were 20,000 populous cities in the time of Amasis :
Didoros reckons the population at 7 millions ; and Josephus places it at
7J millions in the reign of Vespasian. It had, however, sunk in the
time of the Mamelukes to 3 millions. Since the accession of Mohammed
Ali it has steadily increased. Esna is the most densely populated dis
trict ; the Fayyum and Behera the most sparsely. The proportion of
the sexes is about equal.
The various elements of the motley population of Egypt may be
divided into Egyptians, who may again be subdivided into the country
population (Felldhin), and the inhabitants of the towns (Nds Beledi or
Belediya) ; the wandering tribes (Beduw' or Bedouins, Bishdrin, etc.) ;
Nubians (Barabrd) ; Abyssinians (Habbashi) and Negroes (Suddn) ;
Turks (Tilrki) ; Greeks (Btomi) ; Levantines ; Armenians ; Jews
(Yahudi) ; and Europeans (Afrangi).
The Fellahin (Ibn el-' Arab) are the most numerous, and the most
important element, amounting to more than three-fourths of the whole
population. The Fellah (fern. Felldhah) is only to a certain extent the
representative of the conquering Arabs who came with 'Arnr ; these
were so mingled and intermarried with the original inhabitants, and
with Abyssinians, Nubians, and others, that they present but very slight
resemblance to the original stock. In many parts of Egypt the
peasantry exhibit more likeness to the old Egyptians, as depicted on the


[28] INHABITANTS.
monuments, than to the true descendants of the Arab conquerors, the
Bedouins, and there is little doubt that the majority of them have far
more ancient Egyptian than Arab blood in their veins, though they call
themselves Arabi. They are, as a rule, a handsome, well-formed race,
with fine oval faces, bright deep-set black eyes, straight thick noses,
large well-formed mouths, full lips, beautiful teeth, broad shoulders,
and well-shaped limbs. It is astonishing that such well-shaped,
perfectly-proportioned men and women should grow out of such pot
bellied, shrunken-limbed things as the children are. The colour of the
skin varies considerably — light and tawny in the north of Egypt, and
gradually getting darker in the south. The most beautiful tint is the
deep bronze one of Upper Egypt. The fellahin are patient, industrious
labourers, and docile and intelligent when young. Their dwellings are
made of mud-bricks, and sometimes only of mud and straw ; the thatch
is of palm branches or dura straw and rags. Most of them have
two rooms, but very few are two stories high. Near the roof are
apertures for the admission of light and air. The furniture consists of
a few mats and some earthen vessels. Tourists often comment with
surprise on the apparent miserable poverty of these dwellings, but in
reality they are quite suited to the climate ; and the fellah desires
nothing more complicated.
Bread made of millet or maize forms the staple of their food, together
with the common vegetables of the country, milk, cheese, eggs, and
dates ; meat is seldom tasted. The ordinary meal is bread dipped in a
mixture called dukkah, composed of lentils seasoned with salt, pepper,
onions, and a variety of herbs. The two luxuries in which the fellah
chiefly delights are tobacco and coffee.
The dress of the fellah needs little description, consisting at the most
of a pair of drawers (libds). a long full shirt or gown of blue cotton or
linen (kamis), a brown goat's-wool cloak (zdbilt), and a white or brown
felt cap (libda). The more well-to-do wear a tarbush maghrabi, alow red
fez with a blue tassel, and a turban of white, red, or yellow cotton or
muslin. Shoes, when worn, are broad, pointed, red (zerbun), or
yellow (balgha) morocco ; in winter a brown and white striped cloak is
worn in addition. Some of the very poor classes, however, have nothing
but the cotton shirt and a little cotton cap ; and when at work find
the cap alone sufficient. The fellahin women when quite young are
generally models of beauty in form and limbs, and often pleasing in
countenance ; the eyes especially being very beautiful. They lose their
good looks, both of shape and feature, however, at a very early age
Their dress is as simple as the men's, consisting of a pair of white
cotton or linen drawers (shmtydn) ; a blue linen or cotton shirt like the
men's, reaching to the feet ; a face veil (burko) of thick black crane ¦ and
a long dark blue muslin or linen veil (turba) covering the head and
hanging down behind. In Upper Egypt most of the women wear
nothing but a large piece of dark brown woollen stuff lhulalivd\
wrapped round the body and fastened over the shoulders with a Diece
of the same for a turban. Nearly all wear trumpery brass t
blacken the edge of their eyelids with kohl, stain their fin? d t '
nails and the palms of their hands with henna, and tatto rTff °t
parts of their person. Plain silver rings are much worn bv tb
The Inhabitants of the Towns differ in many respects f ¦ H
peasantry, though the distinction is chiefly noticeable as r !f th


INHABITANTS. [29]
Cairenes, who consider themselves, and with some justice, the superiors,
mentally and physically, of the fellahin. No doubt they are a more
mixed race, showing signs both of European and African descent, the
result of the constant introduction of white and black slaves.
The dress of the lower orders of townspeople, both men and women,
is much the same as that of the fellahin. That of the men of the
middle and higher classes consists of a pair of full drawers (libds) ; a
shirt of linen, cotton, silk, or muslin (kamis) ; a short, sleeveless vest of
cloth or striped silk and cotton (sudera) ; a long vest of striped silk and
cotton (kuftdn), reaching to the ankles, and with long sleeves extending
beyond the fingers, but opening at the wrist ; a girdle of silk or muslin
(hezdm) wound round the waist ; and over all a long cloth coat (gibba),
or a black woollen cloak ('abaya). On the head is worn a small, close-
fitting cotton cap (takiya), and over this the red cloth fez (tarbilsh), with
a tassel of blue or black silk, round which is wound a piece of white or
figured muslin, or a Cashmere shawl, thus forming the turban (imma).
Red or yellow shoes, and sometimes socks complete the attire. The above
is the proper native dress, but a great many of the middle and upper-
classes, especially in the towns, now wear a semi-European dress ; and
the Turkish tarbush, without a turban, is worn instead of the Egyptian
tarbush (maghrabi). The dress of the women consists of the shintiydn ;
the kamis; a long vest (yelek) something like the kuftan, or a short
one (anteri) ; a shawl girdle ; and a gibba of cloth, velvet, or silk, some
thing like the man's, or a jacket (saltah). The headdress is formed of a
takiya and tarbilsh, with muslin or crape wound round it, forming what
is called a rabta, and over this hangs a long piece of muslin embroidered
at the ends (turbo). Sewn on the top of the turban is a round convex
ornament of plain gold, or gold and diamonds (kurs) ; and the hair
hangs down behind in numerous braids, tied with black silk, and with
little ornaments of gold attached. Shoes of yellow or red morocco, and
ornaments of various kinds, complete the indoor dress of women of the
upper and middle classes. On going out they wear in addition a large
loose silk gown (tOb) ; a face-veil of muslin (bivrko), concealing the
whole of the face except the eyes, and reaching nearly to the feet ; and
over all, from the head to the feet, a black or white silk cloak (habara).
The Bedouins (Beduw', sing. Bedawi ; there is no such word as
" Bedawin," which is a European invention) are the wandering Arabs
living in the desert on either side of the Nile, and in the Sinaitic
peninsula. The total number living upon Egyptian territory is about
246,000, of whom 146,000 live in villages, or hamlets, and the remaining
100,000 live a wandering life. The Beduw' are divided into seventy-
five tribes, of which the principal are as follows : —

Tribe.

Numbei

Province.

Tribe.

Number

Province.

Awlad Ali

. 19,500

Behera.

Fargan.

5,000

Fayyum.

Guemeat .

6,000

do.

Fawaia .

. 13,000

Fayyum, Beni Suef

Nagama .

6,000

Gharbiya Giza.

Do'afa .

. 7,000

Beni Suef.

Hanadi

. 10,500

Sharklya.

Ma'aza .

. 5,000

Beni Suef, Minia.

Temela

. 5,000

do.

Gawazi .

. 10,000

Minia.

Heweta .

. 5,000

Kaliubiya.

Eleka .

8,000

Kena, Esna.

Harabi. .

. 9,500

Fayyum.

Ababda

. 19,000

" do. do.

Samalus .

5,000

do.

Of the remaining sixty tribes, twenty-five number between 1000 and
5000 and the remainder number less than 1000 persons paeh. The
Bedouins in Lower Egypt speak Arabic, as do also some of the tribes in
Upper Egypt ; hut the Ababda, who occupy the country between the


[30] INHABITANTS.
Nile and the Red Sea from Kena, southward, speak a different language,
which is known as Bedy or To-Bedyawiya. This language is spoken
also by the Bisharin, whose territory lies south of the Ababda, and by
the Hadendua tribes in the vicinity of Suakin. Many of the Ababda,
who live near the Nile, also speak Arabic. The Ababda and Bisharin
are supposed by some authorities to be the descendants of the Blemmyes
(Bega), who formerly occupied part of Nubia. There is a resemblance
between the Ababda and the Bisharin, and a certain amount of inter
marriage takes place.
There is a considerable difference between the nomad Bedouins and
those who live in villages. The latter have lost much of the wild
character of the desert Arab and become more civilised. Some still
keep up the Bedawi tradition, as in the Pyramid-village at Giza, but
others have lost it and are indistinguishable from the surrounding
peasantry, as the people of Luxor and Kurna, who are of Bedawi
ancestry, but only betray it by an occasional Bedouin pronunciation,
such as win for fSn, " where," or Hajjdj for Haggdg.
The Copts (faibti, Gubti, or, at Cairo,i TJbti, pi. Kubt) have usually
been considered to be the descendants of the ancient Egyptians ; but
they are by no means an unmixed race, and the majority of the
Mohammedan fellahin are just as much descendants of the ancient
Egyptians as the Copts are. The Coptic fellahin would be quite
indistinguishable from their Muslim fellow-villagers, but for the
crosses tattooed on their arms. Their Arabic name may be derived
from Koptos in Upper Egypt, now Kuft, the headquarters of the
Christians till the Mohammedan conquest ; but it has probably some
analogy with the Greek Aiyfaros. Their dress is the same as the
Moslems, except that they often wear a black or blue turban, which
the latter rarely do. The number of Copts is about 400,000. In
Upper Egypt there are whole villages composed of them, and they are
numerous at Cairo ; there are but few in the Delta. The town Copts
are in general better educated than the rest of their countrymen, and
are extensively employed in all the public offices as clerks, account
ants, etc.
The language of the Copts of the present day is that of the rest of the
country, the Egyptian dialect of Arabic. Coptic is only used in some
of the Church prayers, and then they are repeated in Arabic for the
benefit of the hearers ; indeed, the priests who use them have merely
learnt them by heart, and know hardly anything of the language. The
Coptic language began to fall into disuse after the Mohammedan
conquest, and by the 15th or 16th century was replaced by the Arabic,
though isolated survivals of its use have been recorded even into the
19th century. Coptic is the language of the Old Egyptians. After the
introduction of Christianity into Egypt it began to be written from
left to right, contrary to the ancient and Oriental manner and in a
charaoter mostly adapted from the Greek, from which the Copts also
borrowed many words and expressions. But notwithstanding the
modification it has undergone, it is still the language written on the
monumental walls of old Egypt, and to it the world is indebted for the
key by which the hieroglyphs have been interpreted. Coptic MSS
rarely written on vellum, but on charta bombycina, or cotton nan ' A
few exist on papyrus. e Per# A
The Nubians may be considered as the inhabitants of the co t


INHABITANTS. [31]
between the First Cataract and Khartum ; Nubia being the title under
which all that district is known to us, just as the Greeks called it
Ethiopia. By the Arabs the Nubians are called Barabra, sing. Berberi,
a name applied much in the same sense as " Barbaroi" by the Greeks.
They are of totally distinct race from both Egyptians and Arabs, and
speak a language entirely unlike Arabic. Thus "island," in Arabic
gezira, in Nubian is artiga; "boat" in Arabic markab, is in Nubian
kub; "where," Arabic fin, Nubian si, and so on. The syntactical
order also is different. Many Arabic words are used, such as ghafir,
"watchman," etc., just as English words are used in Welsh. In the
Nile valley Nubian bears much the same relation to Arabic as in
England Welsh does to English. The northernmost point at which
Nubian is spoken is the small town of Daraw, south of Kom Ombo.
Aswan is bilingual. On the island of Elephantine Nubian only is spoken.
Nubian is the language of the country as far south as the Dongola
province, beyond which it is again replaced by Arabic.
Owing to the extreme poverty of the greater part of their own
country, great numbers of Nubians come to Egypt, where they are
employed in the towns as doorkeepers (bawwdb), grooms (sdis), coachmen
(arbagi), house-servants (khadddm), and cooks (tabdkh), each of these
classes being constituted as a guild with its own shekh, who is responsible
for the character of the members. They are preferred to Egyptian servants
as being more honest and truthful, and generally cleaner. They are
devotedly attached to their country and their countrymen. Brave and
independent in character, they differ also in these respects from the
Egyptians ; and in some parts of Nubia their constant feuds keep up a
warlike spirit, in which their habit of going about armed enables them
frequently to indulge. Those who know how to read and write are in
a far greater proportion than in Egypt among the same class ; for, with
the exception of their chiefs, they have no wealthy or upper orders.
Like the blacks, they are fond of intoxicating liquors ; and they extract
a brandy and a sort of wine from the date-fruit, as well as bilza, a
fermented drink made from barley, bread, and many other things, which
are found to furnish this imperfect kind of beer. They also are fond of
smoking hashish. They are skilful boatmen, and many dahabiya crews
are wholly Berberis. At Aswan all the boatmen are Berberis living on
the island of Elephantine.
The Turks, relics of the old Turkish domination (Turkey is still
nominally a pashalik of the Ottoman Empire), were formerly a more
numerous and important section of the population than they are now,
but their numbers are diminishing, nor do they fill, as was at one
time the case, all the more important civil and military posts. They
are chiefly to be found in the towns, employed as officials, soldiers,
merchants, and shopkeepers. Many of them are emancipated Circas
sian slaves, while others are the descendants of Turks born in Egypt,
and of very mixed origin. They are as a rule handsome and dignified
in appearance, and courteous in their manner to strangers, though
haughty and overbearing to the natives. The Turkish language has
contributed a certain number of words to colloquial Arabic, but as a
language it is only used for military purposes, the military organisa
tion of Egypt being of Turkish origin. The military grades have
Turkish designations, such as Ferik (general), Mwalai (colonel), Kdi-
makam (lieut.-colonel), Saghkologhasi, Bimbashi (major, lit. " bead
of a thousand"), Yilzbashi (captain, "head of a hundred"), Ombashi


[32] INHABITANTS.
(corporal, "head of ten") ; and all words of command are in Turkish,
as d&rtinji tob, patesh ! (" Number four gun, fire ! "). The titles Pasha
(Ar. Bdslw), Bey, and Effendi are Turkish; Bdsha is often used by
the fellahin as a title of respect for European employers of labour ;
Effendi is used for anybody (except a servant) who wears a Turkish
fez (ordinary tarbilsh, not maghrabi); but Effendina ("Our Master")
is a term of respect for the Khedive alone, and Effendim, with the
Turkish affixed definite article im, is the proper phrase for " sir," which
all servants should be taught to use instead of the too familiar Arabic
ya Sidi, which they use to one another. The word Effendi is ultimately
derived from the Byzantine Greek title aidevrns. Bey is the same as
Beg, " lord."
The Abyssinians and Negroes, of whom there are a considerable
number in Egypt, are mostly slaves. The latter come chiefly from
the Sudan and Darfur. The females of the former race are much
prized for their beautiful figures, agreeable features, and amiability of
character. Negresses are principally employed as domestic servants.
Though the slave-trade is officially forbidden in Egypt, and slaves who
desire it can obtain their freedom, it certainly cannot yet be said that
slavery is done away with, nor indeed are slaves as a rule anxious to
obtain their release, as they are generally very well treated and sure
of support in sickness and old age.
The Levantines may be described as Arabic-speaking Christians of
European and Syrian origin; there are few of them who, in addition
to their mother tongue, are not acquainted with several other languages.
They are chiefly engaged in commerce, many of them being very
wealthy. Most of the subordinate employes at the Consulates are
Levantines, their linguistic acquirements rendering them peculiarly
fitted for such posts. The term Levantine is sometimes applied to
persons of European origin born in the East.
The Armenians form a small but important community. They are
chiefly engaged in commerce and trades, especially as goldsmiths and
jewellers ; but many of them hold important posts in the government
offices. Some of Egypt's most distinguished public men— Nubar,
Tigrane, and Artin Pashas — have been Armenians.
The Jews (Yahild, Yahudiya, sing. Yahildi) are often remarkable in
Egypt for their fair hair, blue eyes, and white skin, just as in Europe
they are generally to be distinguished by opposite characteristics. The
street money-changers (serdf) in the towns are Jews, and there are
many wealthy merchants and shopkeepers, though the Jews' quarter
is a poor, miserable-looking one, and they themselves are said to be
dirty in person and unclean in their habits. They are, however, sub
jected to no persecution, nor do they labour under any civil disabilities,
though they are contemptuously regarded by the Mohammedans.
The Europeans are an important and ever-increasing section of the
population, especially in Cairo and Alexandria and the towns of the
Delta. The total number in 1882 was 84,000, of which 35 000 were
Greeks, 16,000 Italians, 15,000 French, 6000 British, exclusive of the
troops and inclusive of Maltese, and 12,000 Germans/Austrians Swiss
Russians, &c, &o. Since then the European population has 'ereatlv
increased, especially the Greek and Italian elements. There a
permanent settlers, particularly at Alexandria, where the wJnlth™t
members of the mercantile community are Greeks Nearly 11 th


INHABITANTS. [33]
small general shops at which European articles can be purchased, both
in the Delta and up the country, are kept by Greeks, Maltese, or
Italians, especially the former, who are omnipresent in Egypt, just as
they used to be under the Ptolemies and Romans. They form a useful
element of the population, and are strong supporters of the British
regime. A large proportion of the other Europeans are a floating
population. There are a certain number of Frenchmen employed
under the Government and by the Suez Canal Company, and a con
siderable element of French origin in Cairo, but French influence
in Egypt is steadily declining, and the use of the French language
diminishing, its place being taken by English as the dominant
European speech. All the younger educated natives speak English,
not French as heretofore, and soon French will not be understood
except in Cairo and along the Suez Canal, where it has a strong foot
hold owing to the French origin and associations of the canal company.
The British proper are becoming more numerous ; there are some first-
rate British mercantile houses at Alexandria and Cairo, while English
men hold high official posts, and a large number are employed as
engineers ; the European staff of the railways is chiefly British. The
British garrison is of course important in Alexandria and Cairo.
Relations with Natives. Natives and Europeans, the latter gener
ally included by the former under the general term "Afrangi," live
peaceably together. European, travellers need be under little appre
hension of meeting with rudeness ; on the contrary, they will find
themselves treated as a rule with politeness and good nature, except
at one or two places which have a bad reputation, such as Abydos.
Individual villages differ in this respect : in one the inhabitants will
be all friendliness, while in another, close by, a single traveller may be
treated with scant courtesy. When this is the case it is usually due to the
bad influence of some stupid or fanatical shekh. Actual violence need
rarely be apprehended even among the most discourteous, and if it does
occur, it is sure to be partly the fault of the Europeans. No natives
should ever be treated with unnecessary hauteur : they are not
"niggers," and should not be spoken to as if they were; on the other
hand, unnecessary familiarity is equally to be avoided, especially with
the dragomans and donkey-boys, who are apt to become extremely
impertinent owing to the injudiciousness of tourists (especially ladies)
in talking to them too familiarly, and have in consequence to be
sharply kept to heel by the residents and visitors who know the
customs of the country. A tourist must never strike a native, who
will resent from a chance stranger the personal correction which he
takes as a matter of course from a native superior. Native gentle
men and officials must be treated with exactly the same degree of
courtesy as would be shown to Europeans. Pashas and Beys should be
addressed, in Arabic, as saadtak, lit. " Your Blessedness " ; saat 'l-Basha,
saat 'l-Bey, "His Blessedness" the Pasha, or Bey, is the correctly
polite way of speaking of a Pasha or Bey. A plain Effendi is addressed
as gendbak or hadretak, " Your Honour." Gendbak may, but hadretak
should not, be used by a European to a native gentleman, nor
would the latter accord it to him ; a well-mannered fellah will, how
ever, always use it to a European traveller, the familiar entc, "thou,"
being considered impolite. If the traveller speaks any Arabic with
his servants or donkey-boys he should never allow them to address
d


[34] RELIGION.
him as " thou," • whioh implies absolute equality and corresponding
freedom to obey or not at pleasure. It should be borne in mind,
especially by ladies, that in conversing with a native no enquiry must
be nrade as to whether he is married or not, or as to the health of his
womenkind; such enquiries may be politely answered, but the enquirer
may rest assured that he or she is regarded as an offensively inquisitive
and impertinent person. In Mohammedan countries women are re
garded as being of no interest except to their own relatives (see p. [35]).
IV. RELIGION.1. Islam.
Islam, i.e. subjection to God, is the name applied to the religion
formulated by Mohammed (Muhammad, "the praised"), the; great
prophet of Arabia. It rests on four foundations : 1. The. .Kuran;
2. Sonna, or- tradition; 3. The harmony, in opinion of orthodox
Moslem teachers ; 4. Kias, or reasoning. - ¦ -. ¦
The actual creed of Islam maybe summed up thus: (a) Belief in
God (Allah)— " there is no- God but God: and Mohammed is Hisprophet
(Ld illdha ii Alldh, w Muhammad rasul Alldh) " ¦; (b) Belief in angels ;
(c) Belief in written revelation, i.e. the Kuran . and the prophets.;
(d) Belief in predestination; (e) Belief in. judgment after death and
eternal life. • -<
The Din (Religion), or practical side of Mohammedanism, is fourfold,
and requires of its adherents : (a) Prayers and purifications ;: (b) Alms ;
(c) Pasting ; (d) The Hagg,. or pilgrimage to Mecca..
The Kuran, or sacred book, is believed hy pious Mohammedans to
be of supernatural origin, and the revelation of it was vouchsafed td
the Prophet during a period of twenty-three . years. ' It is divided into
S&ras or portions. Moslem prayers are chiefly based upon; it, and
these, together with long portions from the Kuran itself, are com
mitted to memory as a part of every boy's education, though they often
convey no meaning to the learner. Tradition is handed down by
means of the prophets. They are believed to be free from mortal sin
and granted divine power, with which they work miracles. Mohammed
is the chief prophet and the exponent of the will of God ; among the
most important and next to him in rank- are Jesus, Abraham, Moses,
Jacob, Noah, and Adam.
The Moslem doctrine that "the faithful" are elect has probably
been the cause why, as a religious sect, Mohammedans have made but
few attempts at proselytising. They consider themselves as chosen of
God by virtue of their belief in God and Mohammed, though they also
believe man's future destiny must be subject to his mode of life. Yet
even here predestination comes in, and, according to the Kuran, .the
salvation or damnation of souls is absolutely determined beforehand.
At the great day of judgment Asrafil, the angel, shall sound two
mighty blasts : one shall kill every living thing, the other shall arouse
the dead. They that are righteous shall pass over by a hair's-breadth
bridge (Es-Sirdt, the Chinvat of the Persians) into a paradise of sensual
delights, while the evil ones shall fall from this same bridge into hell,
which is yawning below.
The practical side of Islamism requires that five times during the
day (immediately after sunset, nightfall, daybreak, noonday and about
li hr. before sunset) the faithful Moslem must recite his nravers
Washing and turning his face to the East— to Mecca— and removing


REErlGlOHi [35]
his shoes, the Worshipper, making certain prostrations, recites • the
required formulas from the Kuran. Very often he recites only a short
prayer called el-fdt'ha-r-the opening — so ealled from being the first
Sura in the Kuran. It runs thus : " In the name of God, the merciful,
the gracious. Praise be to God, the Lord of creatures, the merciful
and gracious, the Prince in the day of Judgment. We serve thee, we
pray to thee for help; lead us in the way of those to whom thou hast
shown mercy, upon whom no wrath resteth, and who go not astray.
Amen." The fellahin are not very scrupulous as regards their prayers,
and by an increasing number of Egyptians religious exercises of all
kinds are, unless they are accompanied by feasting or zikrs (see p. [37]),
fast becoming regarded as mere symptoms of respectability.
The observance of the yearly fast of Ramadan is also essential,
when for a whole month the devout believer may neither eat, drink,
nor smoke from sunrise until sunset. . As a set-off the true believers
generally eat, drink, and make merry most of the night. By a large
number of the fellahin the fast is more honoured in the breach than the
observance ; and , those who are not saim (fasting) enjoy themselves
as much in the evening as their more scrupulous brethren, and are
equally solicitous to claim the usual dispensation from work earlier
than during the rest of the year, in order that home may be reached
and food and tobacco seized upon directly ' ' the sunset is consum
mated," lammd el-maghrib khallds. The Moslem year being lunar, the
fast of Ramadan travels the round of the seasons : in summer its obser
vance causes great privations,
The Hagg, or Pilgrimage to Mecca, though not absolutely
essential, is enjoined on every man who can ''possibly undertake it.
The pilgrims used to endure great hardships in their journey to and
from Mecca, to which many of them succumbed,, hut the existence of
railways and steamships on the larger portion of the route has of • late
years greatly modified these' rigours. •
It cannot be said that the Morality of Islam1 is of a very high
order, though' adapted to the climate and character of the Orientals.
Polygamy is sanctioned on the ground that the Prophet had four
wives. The treatment of women is. a great blot; upon the Moslem
system. Under it women are no better than chattels, and are con
sidered to have no souls. The virtue of hospitality is still honourably
observed, but that of frugality has degenerated largely into mere sordid
avarice, the besetting sin of the Egyptian: Wine and strong drink
are forbidden by the Prophet, but in Egypt Certainly that precept is
set at naught. This fact, as well as the growing indifference to prayers
and fasting, noticed above, is symptomatic of the easy-going nature of
Egyptian Mohammedanism, due partly to the cheerful and sensible
nature of the people as a whole, and the enormous influence of Western .
civilisation in its midst.
There are. four orthodox sects of Mohammedans : the Hanefites, the.
Shari'ites, the Malekites, and the Hambalites. These are known as
Sunnis or Sunnites (from sonna, "tradition "). From the Orthodox or;
Sunnite party the Shi'as or Shi'ites broke off and gained considerable
ground both in Persia and Egypt. The Shi'as ;expect the coming of a
kind of Messiah, called ' ' el-Mahdi," the last of the Imams. There have
been many false Mahdis ; the best-known of them is Muhammad Ahmad,
whom we call "the Mahdi," who caused the Sudan Rebellion (p. 563).
d 2


[36] RELIGION,
The Dervishes (darwish, pi. dardwish) are both the monks and the"
freemasons of the East. They are divided into innumerable sects and
orders. The principal Egyptian orders, with their subdivisions, are : —
1. The Bifd'iya, founded by the Seyyid Ahmad Rifa'i ; its members
carry black banners, and wear black, dark blue, or dark green turbans.
The chief sects of this order are : (a) The Saadiya, founded by Saad
ed-Din el-Gibawi ; they carry green banners, and wear turbans of the
same colour, or of the dark hue of the Rifaiya in general. The
members of this sect perform some curious ceremonies and do various
snake-charming feats, (b) The Ilwdniya or Awldd Ilwdn go through
remarkable performances at festivals, such as thrusting nails into their
eyes and bodies, eating live coals and glass, breaking stones on their
chests, &c.
2. The Kddiriya, founded by Abd el-Kadir el-Ghilani, who was the
guardian of the tomb of Abu Hanifa, the founder of one of the four
orthodox sects of Islam, at Baghdad. Their performances consist in
shrieking or howling (see below). The banners and turbans are white.
Most of the members are fishermen, and carry nets of various colours
in processions. 3. The Ahmediya, founded by Shekh Ahmed el-Bedawi; its banners
and turbans are red. The chief sects of this order are : (a) The
Beyilmiya, known by their long hair ; (b) the Shinndwiya, and (c) the
Awldd Nil, all young men, who wear high caps with tufts of coloured
cloth on the top, and strings of beads across their breasts, and carry
wooden swords and a thick-corded whip. The Shinnawlya and the
Awlad Nu used to play an important part in the ceremonies at Tanta
in honour of their founder (see p. 35).
4. The Bardmiya or Bilrhamiya, founded by Shekh Ibrahim ed-
Desuki ; its banners and turbans are green. The great festival of its
members is at Desuk (see p. 31).
Besides these orders, there are others that exist in Egypt, though
not originally founded there. Of these the principal is that of
The Mdlawiya (in Turkish Mevlevi), the largest of all the orders,
founded by the (Mola or Mullah) Jelal-ed-din er-Rumi, of Balkh, in
Persia, who died at Koniah about 1273 a.d. (672 a.h.), and was the
author of the celebrated mystic poem, the Methnevi Sherif. The
Molawiya have come to be considered the most aristocratic of the
Dervish orders, and most of the Sultans have of late been enrolled as
members of the order. Their headquarters are at Koniah, in Asia
Minor, the office of shekh being hereditary in a family of the name of
Tjelebi. The performances of the Molawiya consist in dancing, or
rather whirling (see p. 116). Among other orders may be mentioned : —
The Nakshibendiya, founded by Mohammed Nakshibendi, a contem
porary of Othman I. The Bektashiya, another Turkish order, founded
by Hadji Bektash, of Khorasan, who lived for some years at the court
of Orkhan I. ; in connection with the Janissaries they played an impor
tant part in Turkish history. Their peculiar doctrines are decidedly
heretical, and they are thought to have some connection with the ancient
sect of the Assassins. The Gulsheniya, founded by Shekh Ibrahim
Gulsheni, who died at Cairo, a.d. 1533. The Bekriya. The Afifiya.
The Demirdashiya, &c.
Most of the dervishes are tradesmen artisans, or fellahin, &c. (the
Zemaliya or water-carriers are nearly all lowrdass dervishes), and only


RELIGION. [37]
assist occasionally at the ceremonies of their order, but others make
it their occupation to perform at festivals, funerals, &c. These last are
called fakirs, and often lead a wandering life, subsisting on alms.
Their dress is usually a patchwork coat (dilk) of many colours, and
they carry a staff with strips of different coloured cloths fastened to
the top. Dervishes are not forbidden to marry. There is no doubt
that the higher orders of dervishes have elaborated a somewhat
mystical, and even heretical, interpretation of Islam. A considerable
amount of learning, as well as wealth and comfort, is found among
them, as among the Bektashiya mentioned above, whose pretty
monastery is referred to below (p. [38]). The common orders are how
ever as ignorant and poverty-stricken as the mediaaval friars of Europe,
which they resemble.
The religious exercises of the dervishes consist chiefly in the
performance of zikrs. The chief features of these zikrs are continued
invocations of God, accompanied by a motion of the head, or of the
whole body, or of the arms ; and the performance of a dance. These
zikrs are performed all over the country on great occasions, as at the
feast of Bairam, by the villagers, and are regarded as part of the " fun
of the fair," though an air of religious decorum is always preserved,
and accentuated if there are any Europeans looking on.
There are several colleges or monasteries (tekiyas) of the different
orders in Cairo, which the traveller who has time may find an interest
in visiting, and many will no doubt be anxious to see the performances
of the dervishes.
The principal College or Monastery of the Howling Dervishes
(Tekiya Kadriya) is at Kasr el-'Aini, on the banks of the Nile, on the
road to Old Cairo, adjoining the Hospital and School for Medicine
(see p. 94).
The following Dervish monasteries are also well worthy of a visit to
those interested in the history and institutions of the various orders as
represented in Egypt. . They belong to fraternities that are chiefly
Turkish and Asiatic, and which number few if any Egyptians amongst
their members.
The Tekiya en-Nakshibendiya, in the Habbaniya or Darb el-Gamamiz.
This is a monastery built by Abbas Pasha for the order of Nakshibendi
dervishes resident in or visiting Cairo. It forms a quadrangle enclosing
a small garden with a Haneftya for ablution in the centre. There
are separate rooms, or cells, for the accommodation of fifteen or twenty
members. The hall for prayer and the silent or meditative zikr, are
on the N. side ; the walls being adorned with scrolls and inscriptions
in Persian and Arabic characters. The chamber of the shekh is on the
E., and his house on the S. side of the building.
The Tekiya Habbaniya, in the street called by the same name, and
not far from the last-named. This institution, as well as the sebil and
school adjoining, was built by Sultan Mahmud II. , and is not so much
a dervish tekiya, in the proper sense of the word, as a training college
for those devoted to religious learning.
Ascending a flight of steps, you find yourself in a quadrangular open
court surrounded by an arcade formed by marble columns, into which
look the cells of the students, who may generally be seen reading
or chanting within. The centre of the court is planted with trees
and shrubs, in the midst q£ which is the place of ablution shaded by a


[38] eeligion:
cupola supported by marble columns. The peaceful aspect of the place
contrasts remarkably with the bustle of the outer street.
The Tekiya Gulsheni. This is situated near the S. side of the mosque
of Mnayyad, near the Bab ez-Zuwela. Ascending a flight of steps and
turning to the left, you enter a peculiar but picturesque retreat. The
building forming the tekiya encloses, as usual, an open court, of which
the greater portion is raised considerably above the level upon, which
you stand, and is spread with mats and carpets. In the midst stands
a small square building containing, the tomb of the shekh, and support
ing a whitewashed dome. The whole of the N. facade of this mauso
leum is encased with coloured tiles of various patterns somewhat
promiscuously arranged.
The Tekiya el-Maghdwri, on Gebel Mokattam. This is the retreat of
the Turkish Bektdshi dervishes previously mentioned (p. [36]),. and
should by all means be visited. It is situated to the E. of the tombs of
the Mamelukes, and just behind the modern buildings of the Military
Arsenal behind the Citadel, and on the right hand of the road up the
Mokattam Hills. The tekiya projects from the hill, and may be
distinguished from afar by a bank of verdant foliage with which it is
fronted, forming a charming little oasis in the desert. Ascending a long
flight of steps, and passing through a small garden, you enter the tekiya,
which has lately been rebuilt for the dervishes by the Khedive Ismail
and some of the princesses. The hall for the devotions of the members,
the rooms of the shekh, and the sumptuous kitchen may be inspected.
The shekh of the order, and the other members of the fraternity, are
most polite and hospitable. Coffee isoffered to visitors, and should be
accepted ; no payment is expected, and presents are refused.
The small open court of the tekiya leads into an ancient quarry
similar to those of Tura and Mas'ara, and penetrating the rock for
more than 200 ft. A pathway of matting enclosed by a wooden railing
leads to the innermost recess, where lies buried the Shekh Abdallah
el-Maghawri, i.e. of the Grotto or Cave (Maghdra). His original name
was Keghusuz, and he was a native of Adalia. Sent as deputy shekh
to Egypt to propagate the doctrines of the fraternity, he settled there,
and took the name of Abdallah.
Mohammedan Festivals. These are celebrated according to the
Mohammedan lunar year, so that no dates according to the European
computation of time can be given. The Mohammedan year consists
of 12 lunar months, and is therefore about 11 days shorter than the
Gregorian year. The names of the months of the Mohammedan year
are as follows : —

Muharram.

Rabi1 Akher.

Regeb.

1 Shawwal

Saffar.

Gumad Awwal.

Shaaban.

Zilkada,

Habi' Awwal.

Gumad Akher.

( Ramadan.

1 Zillega.

The Mohammedan day always begins at sunset, not at midnight, so
that what we would call the night of the 6th of the month they would
call the night of the. 7th. It is very important to remember this. The
Mohammedan month begins at sunset on the day when the new moon
is visible at or before sunset. It does not therefore always agree with
the commencement of the lunar month according to exact astronomical
calculations, and it may happen that the month will begin on a, dif
ferent day in two different countries. For Mohammedans the two
important months are Ramadto; the month- of the Fast, and Shawwftl,


religion. [39]
the month after the Fast. The months commence when two witnesses
inform- the Kadi that they have actually seen the new moon. No
printed calendar will satisfy a pious Mohammedan; the moon must
actually have been seen for him to begin or end his fast. For the
convenience of business people, calendars are published giving the
comparative nates of the Gregorian, Mohammedan, and Coptic years.
Several attempts have been made by scientific Mohammedans to make
some absolute rule respecting the commencement of the months.
The following is a complete list of festivals. It must be noted that
the minor feasts are not so much celebrated in the open as they used to
be, and that the wilder dervish accompaniments, zikrs, &c, are now in
many cases not allowed. The subjoined account, however, may be
allowed to stand pn account of its general interest.
Festivals, &c, in Muhaeeam,
Lelet-Ashura (the Eve or Night of Ashilra). The ceremonies of the
10th of Mubarram commemorate the death of Husen. The Shi'ite
Moslems of Cairo, almost exclusively Persians, celebrate in a remarkable
manner the "martyrdom " of Husen (son of Ali, and grandson of the
Prophet), who was slain by Yezid, near Kerbela, in 61 a.h. (680 a.d.).
About two hours after the prayer of nightfall (eshi), a long procession
is formed, which, starting from an okaleh called the Hosh Otai, in the
Gemallya, passes by the W. side of the' mosque of the Hasangu (in
which is said to be buried the head of Husen) ; then through a part of
the Miiski and along by-streets to a house, generally in the Harnzawi,
which has been prepared for the occasion. The procession is headed
by a number of well-dressed Persians, accompanied by men bearing
flaming cressets and handsome banners. Then follows' a white horse
with saddle and trappings of pure white, on which is seated a young
boy holding a small sword in his hand, his head bare and smeared
with blood, as are the trappings of the horse. Afrer him is led another
horse, bay. or brown, with saddle-cloth of rich cashmere, but having no
rider. The white horse represents that of Husen. Then follow a
company of about 50 dervishes and others robed in white — equally
divided on either side of the1 road, and facing each other as they advance
sideways — who gash their bare heads/ like Baal's priests, with long,
curved swords, while the blood streams from their wounds. They
represent the relatives and friends of Husen, who perished as martyrs
in his defence. These are succeeded by other fanatics, stripped to the
waist, who lash themselves with iron chains, and thump their breasts
with their fists and open palms. The name of Husen is shouted
incessantly in loud, and piteous tones ; occasionally also that of his
brother Hasan, who was poisoned at Medina. The procession ends
by passing into the court of the house above mentioned, which is
brilliantly illuminated, and in which an interested company has been
for several hours seated, and listening to the recitals appointed for the
occasion. Here the scene is repeated, and the fanatics continue to
gash and smite themselves as in the street. When this semi-dramatic
and barbarous portion of the ceremony is concluded, a most impressive
scene takes place. The recital of the martyrdom of Husen is made in
loud and pathetic tones by a mollah. All present are moved to sobs
and tears, and to every expression of the most intense grief.
- Admission to the house in which this ceremony takes place can be


[40] religion.
obtained without difficulty, through friends among the Persian com
munity. Those who desire to witness the spectacle of the procession
may do so from the window of some house overlooking the streets
through which it passes, or by taking up a position in the densely-
crowded streets.
The Sunnite, or Orthodox Moslems, offer no opposition to the
celebration of this solemn anniversary, but a large force of police is
employed to keep order.
Yom Ashura (the day of Ashura). The 10th day of Muharram, to
which this name is given, is observed with peculiar reverence by all
Moslems. The first ten days, indeed, of the New Year, which generally
go by the name of the Ashr, are devoted to prayer and to deeds of
charity. Amulets of various kinds are now provided, especially for
young children, who are carried through the streets on their mothers'
shoulders. A particular sweet dish is made by all classes on this day.
The mosque of el-Hasanen (p. 112) is densely crowded during the
morning, chiefly by women, and presents an interesting scene. At the
house alluded to in connection with the Lelet-Ashura, a further solemn
service commemorates the Husen anniversary. A large company of
Persians assemble and strike their breasts with their hands as they
listen to further recitals. Festivals, &c, in Saefab.
Return of the Mahmal and of the pilgrim caravan. This takes
place towards the end of the second month, Saffar, generally about the
27th. Though numerous pilgrims, by rail and road, arrive at Cairo
before the caravan, and enter the city, escorted by their families, with
music and rejoicing, there is a formal procession, very similar to that
of the departing caravan in the tenth month (see p. [44]). After remain
ing one night, or more, in the district N. of Cairo towards Abaslya, the
cortige, preceded by a body of infantry, and the Bashi-Bazuk guard of
the Mahmal, enters the Bab en-Nasr, and passes through the streets,
beneath the Bab ez-Zuwela, along the Darb el-Ahmar and the Darb
el-Wizir, to the Rumela (or Place Mohammed Ali), where it is solemnly
received by the Khedive. This is a very impressive scene, and should
on no account be omitted by the traveller, especially if he should not
happen to have been in Cairo at the time of the departure of the Mahmal
for Mecca. The best point of view is from the road a little beyond the
Khedive's kiosque. The Mahmal is a pyramidal wooden erection,
hung round with gorgeous embroideries and carried by a camel. It is
empty, but two copies of the Kuran are suspended from it.
Festivals, &c, in Raei' Awwal.
The Molid en-Nebi, or "birthday of the Prophet" Mohammed, is
held in the beginning of the month of Rabiya-el-Awwal, on the return
of the pilgrims to Cairo. It was first instituted by Sultan Murad, the
son of Selim, known to us as Amurath III., 1588 a.d. (996 a.h.). It is
a fete of rejoicing, and from the booths, swings, and other things
erected on the occasion, has rather the appearance of a fair. It
continues a whole week, beginning on the 3rd 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 Lelet Mobdraka or
"Blessed Night." The ceremony of the Molid en-Nebi usually takes


religion. [41]
place in an open space on the left hand of the road leading to Old
Cairo and not far from the Hospital of Kasr-el-'Aini. All round this
space are erected the great tents of the different orders of dervishes
and other religious sects. High officials, such as the Khedive, the
Minister of the Interior, the Governor of Cairo, and others, have also
tents in the enclosures. The tents alone are worth a visit. They are
of great size, and lined inside with the beautiful appliqui work for
which tent-makers of Cairo are so celebrated. Religious services go on
all day long, accompanied by readings of the Kuran.
The night side of this molid presents the most interesting aspect to
strangers. Different forms of the zikr, or religious exercise, of the
dervishes go on in the tents, which are then brilliantly illuminated.
These zikrs continue till a very late hour of the night. The last night
of the festival should be chosen by preference for a visit. A brilliant
display of fireworks then takes place, and the whole scene is strange
and striking in the extreme.
Festivals, &c, in Rab1'-et-tani.
The Molid el-Hasanen, or Birthday of "the two Hasans" (Hasan
and Husen), the sons of 'Ali and Fatma, is celebrated during 15 days in
the 4th month Rahi'-et-tani, the great day being a Tuesday towards
the close of the month. From a religious point of view the festival
is next in importance to that of the Prophet, and from the picturesque
point of view it is one of the most interesting of all the festivals.
The Khedive goes in state to the mosque of the Hasanen, and walks to
it through the Khan el-Khalili, which is beautifully decorated for the
occasion. The shops are closed and hung with Persian carpets ; the
roadway, generally so dusty, is carpeted, and innumerable chandeliers
filled with wax candles are hung from the roof. There is no scene in •
Cairo which reminds one more forcibly of the Arabian Nights. There
is generally no difficulty in getting a seat in one of the shops, but it is
very important to go in good time. Immediately after the Khedive
has passed the carpets are taken up to prevent their being worn by
the crowds which then pass through the Khan el-Khalili. The people
go in crowds to the great mosque of the Hasanen, in which are buried
the head of Husen, and, as some say, the hand of Hasan. Solemn
readings of the Kuran are made, and grand zikrs are performed in
their honour ; the mosque being brilliantly illuminated, as well as the
quarters in the immediate neighbourhood ; while the people indulge in
the usual amusements of Eastern fairs.
The Molid of the Sultan es-Sala (Negm-ed-din Ayub, d. 1249 a.d.,
647 a.h.), who was considered as a great saint, is observed at the same
time in the vicinity of his dilapidated mosque, which is in the Suk
en-Nahasin, or street of the copper merchants, and thus very near the
mosque of the Hasanen. Festivals, &c, in Gumad Akhee.
The Molid er-Rifa'i. This festival is held in the 6th month, Gumad
et-tani, in honour of the Seyyid Ahmed Rifa'i, founder of the order of
Rifa'iya dervishes, who died at Baghdad about 1165 a.d. (561 a.h.),
and of his nephew Abri-Shibak, over whose tomb is being built the
large mosque called the Rifa'i, opposite that of Sultan Hasan. This
festival is one of the most remarkable that occur during the year, In


[42] religion.
the desert tract between the "Tombs of the Mamelukes" and the-
mausoleum of the Imam esh-Shaff are pitched numerous tents of the
Rifa'i order and its subdivisions. Dervishes of the order collect from
all parts of Egypt, and the strangest types of feature and dress may be
seen in the S.E. quarters of Cairo. Zikrs are performed at night in
the tents, which are brilliantly illuminated, as at the other great
molids. The most conspicuous feature of the festival is the great
procession, which passes through a part of the city about midday on
the great day, viz. a Thursday about the middle of the month. The
whole spene, including much that is of a barbarous character, defies
description. Numerous dervishes as they pass along devour live
serpents ;, others chew glass and burning coals. Many again make a
pretence of cutting and piercing themselves with swords and pointed
instruments. Men, boys, and even smaU infants carried in arms, have
their arms, cheeks, and breasts pierced with skewers, or long needles,
at the extremities of which are placed limes, dates, or other fruits.
On arriving at the scene of the molid, many of the dervishes throw
themselves upon the ground, and hold swords across their bodies,
necks, or open mouths, upon which the shekh of the section to which
they belong passes over them, treading upon the swords, but at the
same time leaning upon attendants, who partially support him on
either side.
The Molid es-Seyyida Nefisa. In the month of Gumad Akher
is also celebrated the Festival of Nefisa, a great-granddaughter of
Husen, son of Ali. The great day is a Tuesday towards the close of the
month. The usual festivities take place in the immediate neighbour
hood of the mosque which contains her tomb, and which' (as wellas
the gate close to it), in one of the S.E. extremities of Cairo, is called
• after her name. Festivals in Regeb.
The Molid es-Seyyida Zenab. This festival is held during 15 days
in the sacred month of Regeb ; the great day (Tuesday) being about
the middle of the month. Vast crowds visit her mosque (p. 120)
and make the circuit of her tomb. Numerous tents are pitched near,
and in some of the streets leading to, the mosque ;, and the usual
festivities take place. The Seyyida Zenab was the daughter of Ali and
Fatma, and granddaughter of the Prophet.
The Lelet el-Miarag, or Night of the Ascension of Mohammed.
This anniversary, which commemorates the Night Journey of the Prophet
(from Mecca to Jerusalem, and thence to heaven, where he conversed
with God), is solemnly observed by the Moslems of Cairo on the eve
of, i.e. preceding, the 27th of Regeb. An interesting scene may be
witnessed outside, or sometimes within the precincts of, the Palace of
Abdin (inithe latter case permission must be obtained to enter). A few
spacious and richly-lined tents are prepared, the ground is carpeted,
and the whole spot brilliantly illuminated. About 9 p.m. zikrs of
Whirling (Molawiya) and other dervish orders take place as well as
various performances of a certain Moghrebi, or W. African sect (the
Hantushiya), lately established in Egypt. Afterwards, at a late hour
of the night, a solemn recital of the Night Journey (which is alluded to
in ch. xviii. of the Kuran) _is intoned in a clear voice by a shekh
selected for the occasion, who'is surrounded by a chorus of Ulema


religion. [43]
The Molid of the Shekh Abu Sala et-Tashtushi is also celebrated
on this night. The vicinity of his tomb, which is in the N. of Cairo,
near the Bab esh-Shariya, is much frequented.
Festivals, &c, in Shaaban.
The Lelet en-Nuss min Shaaban (the Night of the Half of Shaaban).
The eve of the 15th of the 8th month, Shaaban, called in some other
countries the Shab-e-Burdt, or Night of the Record, is solemnly
observed. There are special prayers for the occasion. On this night
the Lote tree' (es-Sidr), called " the Tree of the Extremity " of Paradise,
upon the leaves of which are written the names of all living persons, is
shaken; and the leaf of any person that is destined to die during the
ensuing year falls to the ground. At the prayers of sunset the mosques
are frequented by unusual numbers of the faithful. The minarets of
many mosques are illuminated.
Other molids celebrated during the month of Shaaban are that of
the Imdm esh-Shafi', on a Wednesday, generally about the middle of
the month, in the vicinity of his mausoleum, which is numerously
attended (p. 155); and that of "Sultan" Hdnefiz, held near the
mosque called after him, towards the close of the month.
Festivals, &c, in Ramadan.
Ramadan, the 9th month, and Moslem Fast, always of 30 days, is
ushered in as soon as the new moon has been seen by two witnesses
on the "Night of Observation" (Lelet er-BHya); evidence of the fact
having been duly sworn to at the house of the Kadi, where a mock
trial requiring such evidence is instituted for the occasion. Proces
sions are then formed, and proclamations announcing the fast are
made through all the streets of Cairo. The fast is observed by all
persons, of either sex, whose age and health permit of their supporting
it. No Mohammedan is supposed to eat or drink anything nor to
smoke between sunrise and sunset. (But see above, p. [35]). As the end
of the day approaches, the streets are crowded with people ready to
commence their meal the moment a gun fired from the Citadel
announces that the sun has set, and the fast is over for the day. The
streets in the native quarters present, during this month, a livelier
appearance than usual ;¦ and the cafes (in which the reciters of romances
are generally engaged by the month, and extend their recitals over the
30 nights) are well attended. In the open court of the house of the
Shekh el-Bekri dervish zikrs are performed every night, and the best
munshids (singers of odes) may be there heard, permission to enter
being readily and politely granted to Europeans. On the eves of the
13th and 14th, especially the latter, a visit should be paid between 8
and 10 p,.m. to the mosque of Mohammed Ali, in the Citadel. Here a
solemn service takes place in memory of the founder of the reigning
dynasty, who lies buried in the mosque ; and at whose tomb recitations
of the Kuran are now made. The dervishes assemble and perform
zikrs. The scene presented is almost identical with that which may
be witnessed on the night next described.
The Lelet el-Kadr, or " Night of Power," is observed on the eve
of the 27th of Ramadan. On this night the Kuran is believed to have
been sent down to the lowest heaven, whence Gabriel delivered it in
portions, during 23 years, to the Prophet, The divine decrees for the


[44] RELIGION.
ensuing year are also believed to be issued. The gates of heaven stand
open, and prayers are specially efficacious. Chapter 97 of the Kuran is
as follows : —
" Verily we sent down the Qurdn in tbe night of El-Qadr. And what shall make
thee understand how excellent the night of El-Qadr is ? The night of El-Qadr is better
than a thousand months. Therein do the angels descend, and the spirit Gabriel also,
bythe permission of their Lord, with his decrees concerning every matter. It is peace
until the rising.of the morn." — Sale.
Travellers should visit the mosque of Mohammed Ali between 8-10 p.m.
It is brilliantly illuminated, and zikrs of Mdlawiya ("Whirling"),
Kadriya ("Howling"), Ahmadiya, Saadiya, and other dervish orders
take place. The spectacle is a strange one, and being witnessed in a
mosque on so sacred a night, will suggest various reflections respecting
the present position of the dervishes in Islam. The minarets of this
and many other mosques are lighted with lamps.
An interesting and somewhat similar spectacle may be witnessed in
the mosque of the Hasanen. Festivals, &c, in Shawwal.
The Id es-Sugheyyir, or Little Festival (in Turkish, Bamaddn
Beirdm), is celebrated during, the first 3 days of Shawwdl, the 10th
month, and thus immediately succeeds the close of Ramadan. This,
as well as the " Great Festival," which takes place 70 days later, is
celebrated at Cairo by amusements of various kinds. New clothes are
worn. Visits are made, especially by women, to the tombs of relatives,
upon which palm branches, &c, are laid. The districts bordering on
the great cemeteries outside the Bab en-Nasr, and the Bab el-Karafa,
are the scene of much gaiet)-, numerous tents being pitched. The
Khedive holds a reception in the morning, which is attended by all
native officials of any position, by the representatives of foreign
countries, and many others. The princesses also receive visits. Visits
and friendly embraces are the order of the day amongst all classes.
Procession of the Kiswa. During the early part of the month
Shawwal, the Kiswa, or outer covering of the Kaaba at Mecca, a rich
black brocade ornamented with letters of gold, and manufactured
annually at Cairo, is carried from the Citadel to the mosque of the
Hasanen. There the separate pieces are sewn together, the Hezam, or
band of richly embroidered brocade, being attached to the Kiswa itself.
The annual cost of the Kiswa is £4600. The pageant, with all its
accompaniments, is very similar to that of the Procession of the
Mahmal, which follows.
Procession of the Mahmal. This ceremony takes place on or about
the 23rd of Shawwal, and announces the departure of the pilgrim caravan
from Cairo. The Mahmal (i.e. "thing carried," from hamal) itself is a
square wooden frame with pyramidal top, covered with red cloth richly
embroidered with gold. It represents the litter of Fatma Shegeret
ed-Dur, the wife of El-Melek es-Sala, of the house of Ayub, who caused
herself to be proclaimed Queen of Egypt in 1250 a.d. (648 a.h.) and who
performed a pilgrimage. It accompanies the pilgrims annually to Mecca
and an extreme and superstitious reverence is now paid to it At an
early hour on the day a large body of troops are formed up in the Rumela
opposite the kiosque of the Khedive. A little later the Ministers the
Kadi, the Mufti, and all the other civil and religious officials assemble


EEL1GI0N. [45]
in the kiosque, dressed in their best clothes. Last of all the Khedive
arrives, and takes his seat in the centre of the kiosque. The procession
of the Mahmal then advances, and the camel on which is the Mahmal
is halted in front of the Khedive, who makes an obeisance to it. The
procession then passes through the streets of Cairo from the open square
below the Citadel to the Bab en-Nasr. On this day many of the
harim screens are opened, and the veiled occupants are permitted to gaze
into the streets. The procession is headed: by detachments of infantry
and cavalry. Then follow numerous fraternities of dervishes bearing
banners of various colours, and some of the guards of the caravan.
Most conspicuous in the cortige are the Mahmal, which all spectators
endeavour to touch, the camels of the Emir el-Hagg (Chief of the
Pilgrims), and the Shekh el-Gemel (Shekh of the Camel), a burly,
half-naked being, who rolls his bare head from side to side as the
procession moves on.
Those who desire to see the actual start of the caravan will do well to
ride out to the Birket el-Hagg (Lake of the Pilgrims), about 11 m. N. of
Cairo, beyond Matarlya, on the edge of the desert. Here the pilgrims
bid farewell to those who have accompanied them so far ; and soon
after the midday prayers on the 27th of Shawwal, the long train,
including many features not witnessed in the Cairo procession — such
as the takht-rawdns, or covered litters of female pilgrims, and the
picturesque corps of mounted guards — moves slowly forward on its
desert route. (Nowadays, however, most of the pilgrims go from Cairo
to Suez by rail.) Festivals, &c, in Zilkada.
The Id el-Kebir, or Great Festival (in Turkish, Kilrbdn Beirdm), is
celebrated on the 10th, 11th, and 12th of Zilkada. It commemorates
the willingness of Abraham to slay his son Ishmael (according to the Arab
legend). "Verily this was a manifest trial. And we ransomed him
with a noble victim " (Kurdn, ch. xxxvii.). On this day the pilgrims at
Mecca slay their sacrifice ; and in Egypt every family that can afford it
kills a sheep. The rich give portions to the poor. In other respects
this festival resembles "the Little Festival" in Shawwdl, all offices
being closed, and the holiday being kept with rejoicings by all classes.
The Khedive also holds a reception as at the other festival. (Many of
these festivals have been shorn of much of their picturesqueness of late
years, but the Departure of the Mahmal, the Dance of the Dervishes
in the mosque of Mohammed Ali in Ramadan, and the holiday of
Bairam are well worth seeing.) 2. The Copts.
The Copts are the descendants of those Egyptians who, early in our
era, embraced Christianity ; they form about one-fifth of the native
population of the country (see p. [30]).
The tenets of the Coptic Church are those of the sect called
•Jacobites, Eutychians, Monophysites, and Monothelites, pronounced
heretical by the Council of Chalcedon in the year 451 a.d. Their
^secession from the orthodox Oriental- Church was the occasion of bitter
•enmity between them and the Greeks, and they are said to have gladly
¦welcomed the Arabs, and helped to drive out their hated fellow-Chris-


[46] RELIGION.
tians. The orders in the Coptio Church are the Patriarch (Batrak),
always chosen from among the monks of the convent of St. Anthony m
the Eastern desert, Metropolitan of the Abyssinians (Mitrdii), Bishop
(Uskuf), Arch-Priest (Kummus), Priest (Kasis), Deacon (Shemmds),
and Monk ( Bdhib). The convents and churches are very numerous,
especially in Cairo and Old Cairo (see pp. 122 and 137 fi.). The
liturgy of the Coptic Church is based upon those of bt. Gregory of
Nazianzen, St. Basil, and that called of St. Mark. The Holy Communion
is administered in both kinds and to children. The priests always
celebrate barefooted, a practice doubtless of great antiquity; and
persons, entering the doors of the Eikonastasis are expected to take off
their shoes, recalling God's command to Moses at the Burning Bush,
The services are very long, and often take place very early in the
morning. The most interesting specimens of Old Coptic Churches (kenisa)
are at Old Cairo. There are two or three, however, worth notice
in Cairo itself. Most of them, as at Old Cairo, are within convents
(dirs). They are invariably extremely plain on the outside, and
are constructed of thin dark-red bricks, probably of Roman manu
facture. One, three, or more domes rise above their roofs, and the
thickness of the walls and the narrowness of the apertures for light
render them admirably adapted to the warmth of the climate.
Internally they are divided by wooden screens into different compart
ments {khurs ; pi. khudris), in the westernmost of which is commonly
found the well or tank for the water blessed at the Feast of the Epiphany*
The Baptistery proper (mamildiya) is generally in a separate chapel in
the narthex or vestibule of the church. The other compartments are
for the women and for laymen, and that within the screen, which
answers to the Eikonastasis of Greek churches, is reserved for the use
of the clergy in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. The. aisles are
likewise separated from the nave by openwork screens. The central and
side altars, of which the latter are rarely used, stand under baldacchinos
supported upon ancient marble pillars, and behind each is almost
invariably a chancel (hikaV) and apse with semicircular stone seats, and
a central throne, anciently, but not at the present time, used by the
bishop according to primitive Christian practice. The walls of the
apses are decorated with mosaics or painted, and paintings cover the
ceilings. The altars are themselves square, and under each, is a cavity
at the back. They are generally made of stone, and on the top there is
a central groove, in which is placed the square wooden receptacle for
the Sacred Elements. As in the Greek Church, there are no organs;
the only instruments of music used being cymbals and triangles and
small brass bells struck with a rod held, in the hand. The voices of the
clergy as they "praise God with tlie loud cymbals " have a singularly
wild and impressive effect. There are no images, but a great number of
paintings in the stiff Byzantine style, some of which are not wanting
in a kind of rude grandeur. The principal painting is always that of
our Lord in the act of benediction.
The following are among, the principal objects found in those
churches which merit the attention of antiquaries and those interested
in ancient ecclesiastical art :— 1. Pulpits of marble, enriched with
mosaics in marble and mother-of-pearl. 2. Shrines containine the
relics of saints, enclosed m wooden cases wrapped in rich silk or other


EELIGION. [47]
stuff, arid precisely resembling bolsters. 3. Processional crosses, often
with flags attaohed, and hand-crosses of brass and silver. 4. Ancient
silver and brass censers, of which some have small bells attached to
the chains. 5. Brass candlesticks. 6. Silver boxes to hold the incense.
7. Silver chalices, patens, and spoons. 8. Coverings for copies of the
Gospel, made of silver, silver-gilt, or iron. Many of these are enriched
with interlacing work, crosses, and inscriptions in Coptic and Arabic
in relief. The Gospels are hermetically sealed inside these cases.
9. Ancient Arabic lamps of glass. Only two or three of these now
remain in use. 10. Square painted boxes or receptacles for the Sacred
Elements at the time of celebration. 11. Ostrich eggs in metal casing,
suspended from the roofs, like those in Mohammedan mosques. 12.
Staves upon which the clergy and laity rest themselves during long
services. 13. Large carved wooden chairs used as supports for relics,
or for the Gospels, and occasionally as a seat for the Patriarch. 14.
Screens of inlaid wood and ivory, often of extreme beauty and intricacy
of design. 15. Rich hangings for curtains and coverings of the altar.
16. Vestments, of extremely ancient design, but rarely of ancient
manufacture. 17. Wall-decoration of Arabic and Persian (or Rhodian)
tiles. For an excellent account of the Coptic religious ceremonies, see
Butler's ' Coptic Churches.'
The Coptic Festivals and Fasts are celebrated according to the
(Coptic) solar year, which consists of 12 months of 30 days each ; 5
(and on every fourth or leap year 6) intercalary days, called Nasi,
being added at the close. The 1st day of the first month, Tut; coincides
with our lOth-llth September. The following are the Coptic months,
with their modern and ancient names, together with the corresponding
months of the Gregorian calendar : — ¦
1. Tut (Thotb) begins 10th OJefore our leap year 11th) September.
2. Baba (Phaophi) „ 10th (11th) October. .

3. Hatur(Athyr)
4. Kyahk (Khoiak)
5. Tttba(Tybi)
6. Amshir (Mekhir)
7. Barmahat (PhamenOth)
8. Barmuda (Pharmouthi)
9. Bashans (Pakhons)
10. Bauna (Payni)
11. Ablb(Epiphi)
12. Misra (Mesore)
Nasi

9th (10th) November.
9th (10th) December.
8th (9th) January.
7th (8th) February.
9th March.
8th April.
8th May.
7th June.
7th July.
6th August.
5th.to 9th (in Coptic leap year 10th) September

The Copts date from the'" era of martyrs " (the 2nd year of Diocletian,
284 a.d.) ; and their leap-year immediately precedes our own. Thus
the 1st Tut of the Coptic year 1604 coincided with the Gregorian 11th
September, 1887. In the years corresponding to the Gregorian leap-
years, and the two years following, the 1st day of Tut is the 10th
instead of the 11th September. The Coptic calendar is used in Egypt
in all matters relating to the rise of- the Nile. It is the calendar of the
ancient Egyptians, unchanged.
The following are the principal Festivals : —
The Id el-Milad (Festival of the Nativity). The Coptic Christmas
(29th Kyahk) is celebrated with rejoicings. Services are held, as also
during the night preceding, in the churches. New clothes are worn,
and amusements provided for children, as in the Moslem festivals.


[48] RELIGION.
Alms are distributed to the poor, and visits are made to the tombs of
relatives. The Id el-Ghitas (Festival of the Immersion or Baptism) com
memorates the baptism of Christ, and is celebrated on the 11th of
Tuba (18th or 19th January). The eve of this festival, called the Lilet
el-Ghitds, was formerly observed with great festivities ; the banks of
the Nile being crowded, and tents erected. The Copts, having poured
holy water into the Nile, plunge into the stream. At present this, like
many other customs, is but little observed at Cairo. But a visit should
be made to one of the Coptic churches, either in Cairo or in Old Cairo,
where the custom is still kept up, young men or boys plunging into
a reservoir, if one exists in the church, and the priest washing the feet
of the congregation.
The Id el-Bishdra (F. of the Annunciation) is observed on the 29th of
Barmahat (6th of April).
The id esh-Shanin (F. of the Palm Branches). Palm Sunday, the
next before Easter, is a great day of rejoicing. Travellers should visit
the Coptic Cathedral in the quarter N. of the Esbekiya about 9 a.m.
Here an interesting scene presents itself during and after the morning
service. The Copts cut the long leaves of the palm branches into strips,
and form them into various cleverly-devised patterns, crosses, stars,
&c. Many of them enclose the bread, or small round cakes, of the
Eucharist in baskets of leaves thus interwoven.
The id eljKiama (F. of the Resurrection) or Easter, which is also
called the id el-Kebir, or Great Festival, is, as the latter name
implies, the chief occasion of festivity among the Copts. Prayers are
recited in the churches on the eve of the festival. The day is observed
with the usual rejoicings. Alms are given, new clothes worn, &c.
The id es-Suod (F. of the Ascension) is also observed with prayer
and rejoicing, as is
The id el-Ansara or Whitsunday.
There are several minor Ids, such as the Id es-Salib (F. of the
Cross), once a great festival, but now scarcely observed, on the 17th of
Tut (26th^or 27th September) ; the Khamis el-Ahd (Maundy Thursday) ;
and the Id er-Bosul (F. of the Prophets), on the 5th of Abib (11th
July). The Copts observe numerous Fasts. Their Lent or Great Fast (S6m
el-Kebir) was formerly of 40, and is now 55 days, broken only by the
festivals that occur during that period, and ending on Easter eve.
Their other fasts are the Sdm el-Mildd (Fast of the Nativity) of
28 days, ending on Christmas eve ; the Som el-Ghitds (Fast of the
Baptism), commonly called Baramiln, of one, two, or three days'
duration, preceding the Id el-Ghitds ; the S6m er-Basitl (Fast of the
Apostles), which begins after the Id es-Sudd and ends on the 5th of
Abib, and the Sdm el-Adra (Fast of the Virgin), of 15 days preceding
the Festival of the Assumption.
Those who fast abstain from all meat-food, but partake of bread,
vegetables and oil. Coffee is also taken. The Copts are also enjoined
to fast on every Wednesday and Friday, except during the Khamsin, i.e,
from Easter to Pentecost.


RELIGION. [49]
3. Egyptian or National Festivals.
These festivals, which are observed according to the Coptic or solar
year, are of two kinds— (a) those held in honour of some Egyptian
saint, either Moslem or Coptic, and (b) those which refer to the seasons
and are obviously in many cases survivals of ancient Egyptian festivals,
and are joined in by persons of all creeds. The fairs which used to
accompany the Mdlids are now prohibited.
(a) Egyptian Saints' Festivals. The Mdlid; Shekh Ahmed el-Beddwi,
the most celebrated and perhaps the most characteristic national festival
in Egypt, is held at Tanta three times a year, in January, April, and
August, in honour of Shekh Ahmad el-Bedawi. A description of the
accompanying fair, which is now abolished, is given in the account of
Tanta (p. 35).
The Mdlid Shikh Ibrdhim ed-DesAki is held at Desuk (p. 31), after
each of the Tanta festivals, and is followed by
The Mdlid Shikh Abil Bish at Damanhur.
The Mdlid Shekh Embdba is annually celebrated in June, at the
period of the Lelet en-Nukta, at the village of Embaba, on the W. bank
of the Nile, opposite Bulak. It is in honour of the Shekh Embaba,
who there lies buried. Those who have not had the opportunity of
witnessing one of the larger festivals in Cairo will do well to pay a visit
to Embaba on the Night of the Drop.
The Mdlid el-Beyumi. This very extensive and remarkable fair
and dervish festival used to be held annually in the early part of
October. The scene of the fete was the portion of the desert bordering
on the Abbasiya road, immediately N. of the Bab el-Hasaniya. It was
in honour of the Seyyid Ali el-Beyumi, founder of the great sect of
Beyumiya dervishes (a branch of the Ahmadiya), whose memary is
much respected in Egypt. All the characteristics of the Molid en-Nebi
were here repeated.
The Mdlid eUAfifi. This was also a remarkable festival, always
celebrated immediately after that of Beyumi. The scene was the E.
district of the Tombs of the Circassian Mamelukes, in which is the
Tomb of Afifi, the founder of a large sect of Cairene dervishes. Here
amongst the tombs were pitched innumerable tents, and country people
from all parts of Egypt, including many Bedouins, encamped around.
The mdlid lasted, as usual, 8 days ; and was of the usual festive and
semi-religious kind.
The Mdlid es-Sitt Dimidna (F. of the Lady Dimiana), one of the
chief saints of the Coptic Church, is celebrated on the 12th of Bashans
(19th May) at a convent dedicated to her in a N.E. district of the
Delta. (b) Festivals of the Seasons. The Sliem en-Nesim, or " Smelling of
the Zephyr," a general and very popular holiday, which is observed on
the Easter Monday of the Coptic Church. Egyptians of all classes
resort to the open country, or to any gardens or pleasure-grounds
within easy reach, believing that if they inhale the fresh air on this
day they will be preserved in good health during the ensuing year.
Following some ancient custom, many women bruise an onion and
suspend it on the outer door of their houses. All Cairo, with its
vicinity, is filled with bright and cheery groups of women and children


[50] NATURAL HISTORY AND SPORT.
in gay attire. The blossoms of henna and flowers of all kinds are in
great demand, and abundantly supplied. Many families organise pic
nics and spend the whole day in the fields and gardens. With the
Shem en-Nesim begins the period called the Khamsin, which has given
its name to the hot dry wind that is liable to blow during this season
of the year. The Mohammedans observe the Shem en-Nesim on the
first and two following days of the Spring Quarter, at the time of the
Vernal Equinox (i.e. at the Nordz es-Sultdni or Royal New Year's day,
as adopted from the Persian calendar).
The Lilet en-Nukta (Night of the Drop) was formerly an important
anniversary, but is now little observed. On the night of (i.e. preceding)
the 11th of the Coptic month Bailna (June 17th), a miraculous drop
(the tear of Isis) is believed to fall upon the waters of the Nile at a
moment that was of old precisely calculated by astrologers. Many
persons still spend a part of the night on the banks of the river.
Formerly various superstitious beliefs were connected with the examina
tion, on this anniversary, of the weight and quality of a clod of the
Nile mud.
V. NATURAL HISTOKT AND SPORT.
Domestic Animals. The principal quadrupeds are the Camel
(gemel ; trotting dromedary, hegin, mehara), the Horse (hosdn, pi. kJieyl;
mare, faras), the Donkey (homdr or, colloquially, dash, i.e. beast), the
Mule (bughl, bughla), the Buffalo (gdm&s), the Ox (tor; cow, bdkarah;
calf, igl), the Sheep (kartXf, ndgeh, pi. ghunnum), the Goat (mayzeh,
anzeh; kid, gidi), the Pig (khanzir), the Dog (kelb), and the Cat (kut,
kuttit, Cair. ''tit). And among birds the principal are the Turkey
(farhha or dik rAmi, dindi), the Goose (wizz), the Chicken (hen, farkha ;
cock, dik), and the Pigeon (hamdm). Of these it is curious to remark
that neither the camel, the buffalo, nor chickens are found among
the old sculptures, though one or two pieces of evidence seem
to show that the camel was really known from the earliest
times ; the horse was probably introduced from Asia by the Shep:
herd Kings. The camel and the ass are the most characteristic
animals of Egypt, and they may certainly be said to bear . the burden
and heat of the day in the way of work. The heavy baggage camel is
the one most commonly seen. At Cairo he is a magnificent beast of
enormous strength, almost able to carry an automobile, but in Upper
Egypt he is usually thin and comparatively weak. The camels. .given
to tourists to ride are usually bad baggage camels, which would not be
mounted by a native used to the proper riding-dromedary ; the inexpert
tourist is, however, strongly advised not to try the experiment of riding
the latter. The ass is of many kinds, from the magnificent animal of
14 hands, worth from 100Z. to 2001., down to the wretched little drudge
whose miserable carcase seems only fit for the vultures and the jackals.
Horses are comparatively not numerous, and the possession of them is
confined principally to rich people and Europeans. The old native.
Egyptian breed is nearly extinct, but endeavours have been made to
renew the stock. The buffalo is a most useful animal, and has to a
great extent taken the place of the ox since the last two or three out
breaks of murrain. The sakiyas or water-wheels are usually turned
by buffaloes, but in Upper Egypt ordinary oxen and even camels are


natural' "history and sport. [51]
also used for his purpose. All three are used for drawing the plough,
and a buffalo and a camel may often be seen yoked together. The sheep
are very prolific, lambing as a rule twice in the year ; the flesh is good.
The wool varies according to the kind ; the fat-tailed species are the
most esteemed. Pigs are kept -only by Europeans. The native, or
pariah, dog is generally considered unclean by the natives, and a
wretched miserable "beast he is to look at, but he performs, with the
hawks, the useful duty of a scavenger, and when taken care of as a
puppy, grows up a fine animal, but is very difficult to domesticate.
There is a breed of big, rough-haired black dogs to be found at Erment,
and one or two villages near Thebes, that are celebrated for their
fierceness and courage, and make good watch-dogs. These dogs are
rather dangerous. They are the descendants of some Pyrenean sheep
dogs left at Erment by the French expedition of 1798. The ordinary
village dogs always, bark at and annoy a stranger, but are soon driven
off by a few stones. The turkeysof Upper Egypt iare famed for their
large size and delicate flavour ; and the chickens, and their , eggs also,
are equally remarkable for their smallness.
The breeding and rearing of domestic animals are not carried on at
the present day to the extent, that they appear to have been by the
ancient Egyptians. To judge from the sculptured and written records,
they devoted almost as much attention to pastoral as to agricultural
pursuits, and though the herdsmen and shepherds appear to have been
held in disrepute, no such feeling extended to those who owned and
bred flocks and herds. Nor did the old Egyptians confine themselves
to the rearing of the animals already mentioned, but devoted their
attention as well to the breeding and herding of the gazelle, the oryx,
the ibex, and others of the antelope tribe, and also to the geese and
wild fowl of the Nile.
Wild Animals. — There are but few wild animals in Egypt. Among
the principal may be named : —
The Wild Boar (halHf), to be met with in the Delta, and on the
shores of the Birket el-Kurun in the Fayyum. The Hyama (dhabd),
found on moonlight nights in the outskirts of the desert, and among
extensive ruins. The Gazelle (ghazdl), often to be met with in parts
where the desert approaches the Nile ; but great patience and watching
are required to get within shot. The Antelope (bakkar el-wahsh) is
said to exist in the region of the Natron Lakes and the Oases. The
Moufflon or Maned Sheep (kebsh el-gebel) is also said to be found in
the same parts. The Ibex or "Wild Goat" (beden) frequents the
mountains between the Nile and the Red Sea, and also those of the
Sinaitic Peninsula, but is very shy and difficult of approach. The Fox
(abil husin) may often be put out of a patch of standing corn. The
Jackal (tdleb, shekel) haunts quarries, cliffs, and rubbish heaps. The
Wolf, or, rather, Canis lupaster (dib),. is rare. A species of Lynx or
Wild Cat (tifal) is . sometimes found in marshy places in the Delta.
The curious little Fennec Fox (fenek) lives in burrows in the desert
sand. The Ichneumon (nims) is found in gardens, and often tame.
The Desert Hare (arneb) is found in great numbers in some places in
the Fayyum, and now and then in the desert up the Nile. The Coney
(webur jutal), the Dormouse (fdr), and the Jerboa occur in the Sinaitic
Desert. Bats (watwat plur. watawit) are very common, and are found
in large numbers among the ruins and in tombs. e 2


[52] NATURAL HISTORY AND SPORT.
All the above belong to Egypt proper. Of course the number might
be very largely increased if those to be found in the regions bordering
on the White and Blue Nile, the Sudan, &c, were included.
Crocodiles (timsdh) are never seen north of the First Cataract. In
Nubia they are occasionally met with. It is by no means easy to get
a shot at them, as they are very shy, and slip into the water on the
slightest alarm. Of course anyone devoting two or three days to wait
ing in a hole in the sand, near where they are in the habit of coming
up, will be pretty certain to get a shot at one, but he must hit the eye
or the side of the neck, to have much chance of killing. They are exceed
ingly tenacious of life, and, even when mortally wounded, generally
manage to slip into the water. There is a kind of Lizard, the Monitor
(waran) , sometimes found close to the river-side ; the traveller will
probably have stuffed ones offered him as "young crocodiles."
Birds. — Besides being the home of a large number of species, the
Nile valley is one of the greatest bird-thoroughfares in the world, vast
numbers passing down it to colder climates in spring and returning in
the autumn. Some 350 species of birds are already known in Egypt
and Nubia.
Land Bibds. — Amongst these, birds of prey hold a prominent
place. There are many kinds of Eagles, of which the Spotted Eagle
(Aquila ncevia) and the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) are amongst those
most frequently seen on the Nile S. of Cairo ; whilst the Golden
(A. fulva) and the Imperial (A. imperialis) occur in the Delta. The
commonest Vulture is the black and white Egyptian species (Neophron
percnopterus, Arab, rakhama), but its larger congeners, the Griffon (Gyps
fulvus) and the Black Vulture (Vultur monachus), are frequently met
with. Of the Kites, which are very numerous, there are at least two
kinds — the Parasitic (Milvus cegyptius, Arab, heddya), easily dis
tinguished by its yellow beak, and the Black Kite (M. migrans).
The kite acts as scavenger in the towns, and his peculiar note, which
the Japanese name for him, Pi-yoroyoro, admirably imitates, may
constantly be heard from the minaret-tops of Cairo. Falcons and
Hawks are exceedingly plentiful and of many kinds. Amongst them
may be mentioned the Lanner (Falco lannarius), Peregrine (F. pere-
grinus), Merlin (F. cesalon), and Kestrel (F. tinnunculus) ; this last
is the commonest hawk in Egypt. The Hobby (F. surbuteo) is some
times met with at the cliffs of Abu Feda and elsewhere. The large
falcon (Arab, saker) which the Arabs train to hunt the Gazelle, is
somewhat rare. The Long-legged Buzzard (Butco ferox) is plentifully
distributed throughout Egypt and Nubia. Of Owls there are several
species, of which the small Carine meridionalis and the Barn Owl
(Aluco flammect) are the most abundant, being often seen in the ruined
temples as well as amongst rocks or thick-foliaged trees. The Egyptian
Eagle Owl (Bubo ascalaphus, Arab, bum) is common at Thebes. The
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) is not so frequently met with
Many kinds of Plover are found in Egy.pt; 0f th'ese the m0?t
plentiful is the Spurwing (Hoplopterusspinosus, Arab, zikzak), supposed
to be the " trochilus " mentioned by Herodotus, as devouring the nara
sites which cover the inside of the crocodile's mouth (Herod "RW ii
c. 68). The Black-beaded Plover (Pluvianus cegyptius) U , =' Wfl „f
beautiful plumage constantly to be seen on the banks of the v r


natural history and sport. [53]
especially in Upper Egypt. The Golden Plover (Charadrius pluvialis)
and the White-tailed Plover (Chettusia Villotasi) are met with chiefly in
the Delta. The Hoopoe (Arab, hudhtid, pi. haddhid), with its fine crest
and strongly-marked plumage, is to be seen in every village — quite fear
less of man. A small Wagtail is everywhere seen walking about on the
river verge ; from this habit it takes its Arabic name of abu faraikh,
" Father of Promenading." The ordinary house-sparrow is as common
as in England. Amongst Kingfishers the most abundant is the black
and white species (Geryle rudis), which may be constantly seen hover
ing over the water or darting down to seize its prey. The common
Kingfisher (Alcedo ispida) and the smaller variety (A. bengalensis) are
to be met with in the Delta, and occasionally higher up the Nile.
In the early spring many species of brightly-plumaged birds move
northwards into Nubia and Egypt. Amongst these may be mentioned
the Sunbird (Nectarina metallica), Roller (Coracias garrula), Golden
Oriole (Oriolus galbula), and the blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Merops
czgyptius). A smaller species of Bee-eater (Merops viridis) remains in
Egypt throughout the year, and is plentiful, but during the winter is
seldom found N. of Kulusna.
The principal land-birds for the Sportsman are Sand Grouse,
Pigeons, Quail, and Snipe. Sand Grouse (Pterocles exustus or guttatus,
Arab, kdta) are often to be found in large numbers near the edge of
the desert, and in barren sandy tracts covered with half a grass ; they
may sometimes be seen soon after sunrise and just before sunset
coming in flocks to the river to drink. Hey's Partridge (Arab, hdgel)
and the Red-legged Partridge are found in the desert E. of the Nile
and in the Sinaitic Peninsula. Pigeons (hamdm) should never be shot
at in a village, and care should always be taken not to shoot tame ones
anywhere ; they may easily be distinguished from the quasi-wild ones
which are kept in the pigeon-towers for the sake of the manure they
afford, and which the natives offer no objection to the shooting of in
moderation away from the village. Quails (Coturnix communis, Arab.
summdn) are very abundant ; they reach Egypt on their way north in
the winter, and the traveller will probably first meet with them in any
numbers near Kom Ombo in January or February; they then go
gradually down the river, and reach the neighbourhood of Cairo about
the middle of March. They afford most capital sport, and are first-rate
eating, as soon as they have settled down a bit and had time to get fat
on the ripe corn. Alternate patches of corn and green stuff, such as
bersim, clover, hummus, a kind of vetch, meldneh, chick-pea, and ads,
lentils, are their favourite resort. Snipe are rarely met with above
Cairo, but there are places in the Delta where they are very numerous
in the winter. Atfih is an especially good place, and there are some
capital marshes near Benha ; but the traveller will have some
difficulty in finding out the best snipe preserves unless he happens to
know some resident in the country well up in these matters. The
painted snipe is often found in the Delta.
Aquatic Bibds. — These are very numerous and varied in kind.
Three species of Pelican are known. The large Dalmatian Pelican
(P. crispus), which measures 6 ft. from the tip of the beak to the tail,
is perhaps the kind most frequently met with. These may be seen, like
ships riding at anchor, amongst the smaller birds. They are plentiful


[54] NATURAL HISTORY AND SPORT.
near Kulusna, in the Fayyum, and especially in the brackish water
lakes of Egypt. Storks, Cranes, Herons, Spoonbills and other waders
are to be seen in great numbers during the winter months. The Sacred
Ibis (7. cethiopica) is common in the Sudan and is said to breed at
Wadi Haifa, but is now never found in Egypt. The white bird, by some
miscalled the Ibis, and by others the Paddy bird, so commonly seen in
the fields of Lower Egypt, and the constant friend and companion of
the buffalo, is the Buff-backed Heron. (Ardeolata russata). The Glossy
Ibis (X falcinellus) is occasionally found. The Flamingo (Phamicopterus
antiqumum, Arab, gemel el-bahr, " river . camel," an appropriate name,
or basharHs) is abundant on the lakes of Lower Egypt, but is seldom
seen on the Nile itself. In the Sudan occurs the Whale-headed Crane
(Balceniceps rex), called Abu Markub, "Father of a Shoe," from the
shape of his head. The curious Scissor-Beak {BhyncJwps flavirostris)
is often seen in the summer. Vast numbers of geese are to be seen in
the winter, the most common being the White-fronted. Goose (Anser
albifrons). "When on the wing they fly in a wedge-shaped flock, and
frequently utter a loud harsh cry, which may be heard at a considerable
distance. They are generally on the move just before sunrise and sun
set ; and as they are very regular, taking the same line and feeding at
the same spot each day, they may most readily be obtained by lying in
wait for them. If once fired at, the flock generally leaves the neighbour
hood altogether." — Captain Shelley.
The handsome Egyptian Goose {CJienalopex (Bgyptiacus), though
evenly distributed throughout . Egypt and Nubia, is by no means so
common as the species last mentioned. It is a very wary bird, and hard
to approach. It seems to have been domesticated from the earliest
times ; one of the oldest pictures in. the world, found in a tomb of the
III. Dynasty, representing some of these geese. Of Wild Duck and
Teal there are some eight or ten varieties, some very common, and
others, such as the Ruddy Sheldrake, the Pintail, the Garganey, &c,
more rarely found. There is very good duck-shooting on Lake Menzala,
but the birds are sometimes difficult to approach.
During the months of November, December, January, and February
immense numbers of birds are to be seen on the sandbanks of the
river, and in some small lakes and canals inland ; but, except under
certain favourable circumstances, it is very difficult to get within shot
of them. To do so with any chance of success requires a small boat, in
which to sail up to or float down upon them. The larger birds offer a
very good mark for a light rifle. After February the river sandbanks
become comparatively deserted, but rare birds are often met with in the
spring and summer. The best districts both for number and variety of
birds are the Fayyum, the Delta (especially near Damietta), and that
part of the Nile which lies between Minia and Esna,
Reptiles. — The Crocodile, of which there are several varieties, and
the Monitor, have been already spoken of. There are several kinds of
Lizards. The Chameleon (herbdya) is very common in Nubia. The
Nile Turtle (Trionyx niloticus) is to be found among the rocks in the
First Cataract. Frogs are numerous. Among the Snakes (tdbdn) are the
Horned Viper (Cerastes, Arab, tnokdrena), the Asp of antiquity the Hooded
Cobra (Arab, haja, ndsher), and the Echis, all of which are venomous
besides other kinds which are harmless. They are generally found in


NATURAL HISTORY AND SPORT. [55]
ruins and near the edge of the desert, but in winter no apprehension
need be felt with regard to them.
Insects. — The famous Scarabasus (kunfuz, gordn) claims the first
mention, though which of the dozen or more varieties of beetles to be
found in Egypt is the representative of the old Ateuchus sacer or JEgypt-
iorum must be considered doubtful. Grasshoppers are common, and the
Locust (gerdd) sometimes commits serious ravages. Butterflies are rare,
but Moths and Ephemeridse are numerous. ;Seorpions (akrdb) are not
often found, except in summer, but Spiders, some of large size and
poisonous, are common. Every visitor to Egypt will have cause to
lament the numbers and pertinacity of the Fly (dibban), the Gnat
(namUs), the Mosquito, and the Flea (bargMt). A large black Ichneu
mon-fly and a formidable-looking but really inoffensive Hornet will
often be seen.
Fish. — The fish of the Nile are very numerous, but there is not one
worth eating ; they are all soft and woolly, and have a strong flavour of
mud. Among the most numerous and the most commonly used for
food are the Baydd, a large fish, sometimes reaching 3J ft. in length ;
the Shilba, with a sharp spinous fin ; the Shdl \Synodontis Schal), of
which there are several varieties, called also Kurkar, from a sort of
grunting sound which it is supposed to emit, with a very long dorsal
fin ; and the Karmilt, also a very long, large fish. All these are
Siluridae, fish without scales. Amongthe scalyfish are several members
of the Perch and Carp tribe. The hilt and fa'akh are often of large
size. One of the most curious fish is the Polypterus (bishir), a long fish
covered with thick bony scales, and having no less than 16 to 18 long
dorsal fins ; it is not common, and is generally only caught when the
Nile is low. Other curious fish are the Oxyrhynchus (gamur), with its
long snout ending in a very small mouth ; and the Tetrodon, or Ball
Fish (fdkaka), found both in the Nile and the Red Sea, and often offered
for sale stuffed. A report on the Fish of Egypt has lately been prepared
for the Government by Mr. Loat.
Hints on Shooting. — Some information on this point has been
already given in speaking of the wild animals and birds, and infor
mation with regard to the strict Game-laws of .the Sudan will be found
on pp. 542 and 573. Guns and rifles should be brought from England ;
but they may be purchased or hired at Alexandria and Cairo. There
is sometimes a difficulty in getting them through the custom-house, but
permission must be obtained from the War Office, Cairo, for bringing
them into the country. Cartridges are a Government monopoly, though
they too, both pin and central fire, can be bought at Alexandria and
Cairo. If it is intended to go in for snipe and quail shooting, a large
number of cartridges will be required. A few wire cartridges with
No. 1 shot will be found very effective for the larger birds, as well as
for duck at long ranges. Shot can be bought at Alexandria, Cairo,
Port Said, Suez, &c, and at towns like Asyut and Kena up the river.
Powder is a great source of difficulty, as the Egyptian Government
forbids its importation and sale ; but it can be obtained from the various
Government Salt Stores, and at certain shops which are supplied by
Government. A heavy big-game rifle is useless during the ordinary
voyage in Egypt. A common rifle with an explosive bullet is quite
enough for a crocodile.


[56] PRODUCTS.
No really good wild-fowl shooting can be had without a small boat.
The native feluka, or small boat attached to the dahabiya, is of no use
whatever ; it draws a great deal too much water, is clumsy to manage,
and requires two men to row it. A light English pair-oar gig or a dingy
is the best thing ; either of these will float in the shallows, and at
the same time weather the extremely rough water which is often
experienced on the Nile when the wind is high and the current strong.
It should be furnished with a lug-sail, and spare oars and sculls should
be taken, as they cannot be satisfactorily replaced in Egypt.
The traveller in Egypt is accustomed to go where he likes in
pursuit of game ; ripe standing crops offer no obstacle to him, and the
proprietor will sometimes make no objection ; but this licence should
not be abused, and a request to keep off any ground should instantly be
complied with. There have been several instances lately in which
Europeans have got into difficulties with the natives, owing to not
knowing the language. A licence from the police to carry fire-arms is
legally necessary, and is sometimes asked for.
' The Birds of Egypt,' by Captain Shelley, is a valuable companion to
the naturalist and the sportsman. Some useful information on this
subject will also be found in Smith's ' Attractions of the Nile.'
Travellers who intend to collect skins should provide themselves
with the few instruments necessary, and with arsenical soap and alum,
before leaving England. Tow or cotton wool, plenty of which should be
taken, can be procured at Alexandria or Cairo. No. 12 shot will be
wanted for small birds. In sending home skins an air-tight case should
be used, each skin being wrapped separately in paper. Very small birds
may be preserved whole in cotton soaked with carbolic acid.
VI. PRODUCTS.
1. Plants and Vegetation.
The Egyptian Flora consists of about 1300 species, of which
indigenous plants constitute the largest proportion, few countries
having so small a number of introduced plants as Egypt. The desert
species alone, all of which are indigenous, number nearly 250. Almost
all the ordinary productions of the present day appear to have been
known to and cultivated by the ancient Egyptians. The following notes
on the Flora of Alexandria and its neighbourhood may be found
interesting : —
Flora of Alexandria.— Taking a range of 20 m. E. and W. of
Alexandria, including Lake Mareotis and the parallel of its southern
limit, there is a fertile field of exploration for the botanist, containing
some 800 phanerogamous plants, or considerably more than one-half the
total Flora of Egypt, as far as the First Cataract. It includes also, in
abundance, the only fern found in Egypt, viz. the common maiden-hair
(Adiantum capillus-Veneris, L.) Nearly all the plants will be found
described (in Latin) in Boissier's ' Flora Orientalis,' in five vols, with
supplement, but no special descriptive Flora of Egypt has yet been
published. Professors P. Ascherson and G. Schweinfurth of Berlin,
however, have this work in hand, and have already published a cata
logue (1887), with supplement of later date.
Although flowering plants interesting to the botanist may be found
at all seasons of the year withm the above limits, around Alexandria the


PRODUCTS. [57]
flowering season par excellence may be said to begin at the end of
December or the beginning of January, after the autumn and winter
rains ; and the precocity and abundance of flowers depends in a great
measure on whether the rains have begun early (beginning of November)
and on the amount which has fallen. The average annual rainfall at
Alexandria is from 11 to 12 in.
There are few flowers to be found in January ; but between Alex
andria and Crab's Tower (20 m. W.), may be found Narcissus tazzeta
and Anemone coronaria; the latter, always of the pale blue or white
varieties, is a weed of cultivation in Bedouin barley-fields, irrigated only
by rain. Two or three species of Bellevalia may also be found in the
same situations. At the end of January the fragrant stock (Matthiola
acaulis) begins to cover the waysides at Mex, and scent the air at sun
set. Soon afterwards the tinycrucifer (Malcolmia pygmcea), with purple
flowers and radiating foliage, covers the desert, followed by the equally
small brilliant yellow peaflower (Trigonella maritima) and the pretty
desert rattle with butterfly-shaped yellow flowers with purple eye
(Hypecoum cegyptiacum) ; the beautiful dyer's alkanet, like a large
forget-me-not, but of every shade from sky-blue to rose-colour and pale
yeliow (Alkanne tinctoria) ; the blue salvia (Salvia lanigera) and the
parti-coloured dwarf toad-flax (Linaria hselava) ; the desert rest-harrow,
a shrubby plant with conspicuous yellow flowers (Ononis vaginalis) ;
the desert catch-fly (Silene succulenta) with white or pale pink flowers.
The ice-plant, so well known in English gardens (Mesembryanthemum
crystallinum), with large glistening leaves of a purple hue when young,
and starry white flowers, gives quite a character to the Ramleh desert
in early spring, with its smaller, cylindrical-leaved congener (M. nodi-
florum), the only two species of this genus found in Egypt. By the
first week in March not only is the desert brilliant with a vast number
of pea-flowers and composites, but what maybe called the " weeds of
cultivation " — such as the Star of Bethlehem, grape-hyacinth (of many
kinds), poppies, the crown-marigold (much resembling the English corn-
marigold, but with cut leaves), a pretty ragwort (Senecio coronopifolia) ,
with many others — give a brilliantly gay appearance to the vast barley-
fields on either side of the road to Maririt. There, too, may be found
in plenty, even on stony ground, the Asiatic buttercup (Banunculus
asiaticus), with yellow, scarlet, or parti-coloured flowers, larger than
poppies ; a vast number of milk vetches (Astragali) ; Trigonella ; yellow
or scarlet Adonis ; the large many-flowered Iris Sisyrinchum, and its
exquisite, dwarf, single-leaved variety; the corn-flag (Gladiolus segetum),
and a very pretty cornflower (Amberboa crupinoides) , of sky-blue colour ;
a frequent shrub, too, is the handsome Jerusalem sage (Phlomis floccosa) ,
with large bright yellow flowers. The above may suffice to give an idea
of some of the most conspicuous features of the Alexandrian flora ; but
many of the most beautiful desert flowers are scarcely noticed by the
casual visitor, and it is not until he seats himself on the sand, under
the shade of an umbrageous palm, say, in the desert between Alexandria
and Abukir, that he begins to realise how many exquisite little plants
have escaped his notice during his donkey ride, and now lie around
him, modestly awaiting their turn for admiration. A not uncommon
desert shrub, near what is called the Mandara oasis, 2 or 3 m. from
Ramleh, is interesting as being mentioned in Holy Scripture. This is
the Boitama rcetam — a white-flowered broom, which when not, as is too


[58] PRODUCTS.
frequently the case, devoured by goats, grows to the height of many
feet. Many British plants and numerous South European onesare to
be found in the swampy ground at Gabari, near the shore of- Lake
Mareotis. Among the principal Crops are :-Wheat (kdmh), barley (shayir),
maize (dura shdmi, i.e. Syrian), the ordinary holchus sorghum m two
or three varieties (dura beledi, dura seyfeh), millet (dukhn), rice (ruzz
grown only in the Delta, and certainly not known to the ancients),
sugar-cane . (kasab, es-sukhdr), beans (fill), lentils (ads), vetches 01 Schick-
pels (hummus), lupins (termus), peas (bistlla) a kind of French bean
(hlbia), haricot bean (labldb), onion (bassal) leek (korrdt) garlic :(t(m ,
the Hibiscus esculentus (bdmia), mallows (klwbbeza) lettuces (khuss),
"cabbage (kurumb), egg-plant (bedingdn), cress (rishad), radishes (figl, a
peculiar kind), cucumbers of various kinds (abdalawi, aggur), water
melons (bati'kh), carrots (gazar), turnips (lift), clover (bersim), the
Trigonella fcenum Grtecum (helba), the Lathy rus sativus, a kind of flat
pea (qilbdn), lucerne (bersim hedjdsi), cotton (koton), hemp (til), Indian
hemp (luishish), flax (kettdn), saffron (kortum), sesame (simstm), mdigo
(nila), the Lawsonia spinosa et inermis (henna), madder (filah), poppies
(abu-num, " father of sleep"), castor-oil plant (khirwa), rape (selgdm),
mustard (khardal, mostarda), cummin (kammin), coriander (kusbera).
Besides the vegetables included in the above list, there are others
grown in small quantities in gardens specially for the use of European
residents. The rose (ward), violet (benefsig), jasmine (yasmin), and oleander are
the principal flowers, though many other kinds, specially the bougain-
villia and hibiscus, are now to be found in gardens. The lotus (beshnin)
is found in the Delta during the inundation in ponds which are dry
at other times, but never in the Nile itself ; it is a water-lily of two
varieties, white and blue-tinged. The papyrus is no longer a native of
Egypt proper, being now only found in the Sudan, and, in Europe, in
the Anapus, near Syracuse ; there are, however, other Cyperi still
growing in the Delta. A very good paper is now made from a wild
grass (halfa) that grows in sandy uncultivated spots.
The principal Trees of Egypt are : — The date-palm (nakhl), [dates
(balah)], oranges (bortugdn), lemon (limixn), fig (tin), sycomore fig
(gimmeiz, the fruit small and. insipid), prickly pear (tin shdk), bananas
(mdz), apricot (mishmish), peach - (khilkh), pomegranate (rummdn),
mulberry (ttltt), vine (enab), olive (zeitiln), almond (Idz), acacia, or
Mimosa Nilotica (sont, a thorny, small-leaved tree, with a small yellow
flower), tamarisk (tarfa), carob or locust-tree (kharub), zizyphus, or
rhamnus spina Christi (nebek), dom-palm (dUm), acacia, or mimosa
lebbekh (lebbekh, a thick-foliaged tree, with broad pods).
Most of these trees were known to the ancients, but some are of
comparatively recent introduction; among them the lebbekh acacia,
which has proved a most valuable acquisition, on account of the ease
with which it takes root and the rapidity of its growth. Nearly all the
avenues round Cairo are planted with this tree, which can be grown
from cuttings of large branches, and even from portions of the trunk
and will form a thick shady covering in four or five years.
During the reign of Ismail Pasha great attention was paid to the
cultivation of plants and trees. The gardens of the Ezbekiya, and those


PRODUCTS. [59]
of the palaces of Gezira and Giza, were formed, and many new plants
and trees introduced. 2. Agriculture.
The wealth and prosperity of Egypt have always depended on the
cultivation of the soil. Agriculture has consequently been one of the
principal cares of its inhabitants from the earliest times. It was no
doubt the necessity for accurately knowing the time of the rise of the
Nile, and when to sow, reap, and carry on the other operations of
-husbandry, that caused the ancient Egyptians to take such trouble to
arrive at a fixed year. Originally the year in all probability consisted
of 12 lunar months ; it was then changed to 12 solar months, of 30 days
each, and 5 days added at the end of the last month to ensure the
return of the seasons at fixed periods. As, however, it soon became
apparent that some deficiency still existed, a quarter of a day was
added to each year, or rather one day to every four years, as in our
leap year. When, however, these changes were introduced is not
clear, though it is doubtful if a fixed year came into use before 27 B.C.,
when the calendar was finally reformed by Augustus.
The year was divided by the ancient Egyptians into 3 seasons of
4 months each : — the Inundation, corresponding- with the months of
July, August, September, and October ; the Winter, with the months
of November, December, January, and February; and the Summer,
with the months of March, April, May, and June. These divisions are
still retained.
The Inundation, or, as it may be called, the Autumn Season
(ed-Demira), begins with the rise of the Nile ; and though less varied
in its agricultural operations than the other seasons, owing to the land
being to a great extent under water, is of considerable importance, as
during it the maize (dura shdmi) and millet (dura beledi) crops are
sown and harvested.
The Winter Season (es-Shitdwi) is the most important of all,
especially in Upper Egypt, the principal crops raised being wheat,
barley, clover, lentils, beans, peas, vetches, &c. As soon as ever the
inundation retires, these crops are sown, and the harvest takes place
from four to seven months after, according to the nature of the crop ;
wheat and barley being seven months in the ground, and the other
crops four.
The Summer Season (es-Seffi) produces little of any great value in
Upper; Egypt, with the exception of millet, chiefly in Nubia, and
cucumbers and melons. Sugar-cane, however, is sown in March and
April, though it is not cut till October for eating, and not till January
and February for making into sugar. But in the Delta this is an
important time, rice, cotton, and indigo being sown in March, April,
and May. , These crops require rather longer to come to maturity
than the winter ones, and are not harvested, as a rule, till October,
November, , and even December. Speaking generally, three crops are
gathered on good land in Lower, Egypt, and two crops in Upper Egypt.
... The cultivable land in Upper Egypt is divided into the "rai"
lands, which are naturally watered by the . inundation, and require no
irrigation to ripen the crops, and the " shardki" lands, which are too
high for the inundation to reach, and must consequently be artificially


[60] PRODUCTS.
irrigated. On some of the sharaki lands as many as three crops are
sometimes raised in the course of the year. The rai lands, as a rule,
only yield one crop — that of the winter season ; but in some parts they
also can be irrigated, and made to yield a second or even third crop.
Of late years a great impetus has been given to the cultivation of both
sugar-cane (kasab) and cotton (kuttln). Tobacco (dukhdn) is not culti
vated ; its growth in Egypt being prohibited in order to increase the
revenue derived from the customs-duties on imported tobacco.
Irrigation has always been an important factor in the system of
Egyptian agriculture. Canals, dikes, and artificial lakes were con
structed and kept up with the greatest care in the old days of power
and prosperity ; but under the Byzantine emperors and during the
supremacy of the Mamelukes they were neglected, and as a result the
productiveness of the country suffered considerably. A great change
for the better was effected by Mohammed Ali; Ismail Pasha carried
on the good work, and considerably increased the resources of the
country by the various irrigation works constructed during his reign,
for the purpose of storing the waters of the inundation, and gradually
distributing them over the land. Since the British occupation,
further great improvements have been made, and others are now in
progress, a sum of £1,000,000, supplied out of the guaranteed loan of
1885, having been appropriated for the Public Works Department.
The great barrage works at Asyut and Aswan are also the fruit of the
British occupation; and, since the international arrangement with
France, by which England has been conceded complete control of
Egyptian finance, there is no doubt that the Public Works Depart
ment will soon be able to carry out further improvements of the
national irrigation system, which is as important to Egypt as her
dike and waterway system is to Holland.
The increase in the prosperity and wealth of Egypt depends not
only on the extent of canals for irrigation, but on the success of the
methods adopted for storing the Nile water, which runs to waste in
winter and is very variable in summer, sometimes insufficient for the
wants of the land. Lower Egypt needs only the water, as its canals
are capable of utilising the full supply necessary to the complete
development of its cultivation. Several schemes have been pro
posed, and some are being carried out, for storing water. The most
important of these, which is now completed and in full work, is the
great Dam at Aswan, already mentioned. The object of this colossal
engineering work, which was planned by the Egyptian Public Works
Department, under the superintendence of Sir William Garstin, Under-
Secretary of State, and carried out by Messrs. John Aird and Co., of
Liverpool, in the years 1899-1903, is to dam up the waters of the Nile
during the inundation to a height of 65 ft., and to use gradually the
great body of water thus collected for the regular irrigation of the
whole country N. of Aswan, unaffected by high or low Nile during
the rest of the year. This object is now being regularly carried out
each year, and great benefit has already been conferred upon Egypt
by the dam. Further regulation of the water-supply takes place at
the subsidiary barrages of Asyut (p. 339) and Cairo (p 157) Another is
to be built at Esna A constant and unvarying supply 0f water makes
it possible to irrigate high-lying sharaki lands which in time of low
Nile would go uncultivated and yield no revenue.


PRODUCTS. [61]
The mode of irrigation is essentially different in Upper and Lower
Egypt. In the former, the country on each side of the river is divided
into basins (hdds) varying in area from 10,000 to 50,000 acres (fedddns).
These basins are filled by the Nile in the time of the inundation,
which is afterwards allowed to flow off, leaving a deposit of Nile mud
on the surface of the land. In Lower Egypt, on the contrary, the
water is distributed by an elaborate system of canals. The direct
process of irrigating the land from the river and the canals is carried
on in the same way as of old, with the one addition of steam pumps,
which have been introduced in some parts of Upper Egypt where the
banks of the river are very high and a large quantity of water is
required, as, for instance, for the sugar-cane plantations. The most
common machine in use is the shddilf, which consists of two posts,
about 5 ft. in height and 3 ft. apart, joined at the top by a horizontal
bar, across which is slung a branch of a tree, having at one end a
weight composed of mud, and at the other, suspended to it by two
palm-sticks, a bucket made of basket-work or matting, or of a hoop
with woollen stuff or leather. This is worked by one man, who is able
with it to throw up water to a height of about 8 ft. In the southern
parts of Upper Egypt, when the river is very low, four or five shadfifs,
one above another, are required to raise the water to the level of the
land. There are some shadfifs with two levers, worked, of course, by
two men. This method of raising water is a very laborious one. The
other machine in constant use is the sdkiya, a large vertical wheel,
sometimes as much as 10 ft. in diameter, with earthen pots attached
to its circumference by cords, another small vertical wheel with cogs
fixed to the same axis, and a large horizontal cogged wheel, which,
turned by one or two buffaloes, cows, or other animals, sets the other
two wheels in motion, and raises the water in the pots. This machine
is very much employed in the irrigation of gardens. In Nubia they
are very numerous, and are often placed two or three deep. Being
seldom or never greased, the noise made by them is considerable, vary
ing from a dull groan to a shrill shriek, as the wood is new or old. In
the Delta, where it is only necessary to raise the water a few feet, a
modification of the sakiya is used, called a tdbut, which is a very light,
easily moved wheel, with hollow fellies instead of pots. The water-
wheels in the Fayyum are often so contrived as to admit of being
turned by the weight of the water, and thus give the impression of
being worked by a running stream, as in Europe.
The water, when raised, is distributed by dividing the land into
small squares, separated from each other by ridges of earth a foot or
even less in height, and by furrows. The water then flows from the
machine along a gutter, whence it is admitted into one furrow after
another ; these, owing to the softness and plasticity of the river mud,
being easily opened or closed with the foot.
The fertilising properties of the Nile mud, renewed every year,
answer, as a rule, all the purposes of manure ; but the exhausting
nature of some of the crops, the cultivation of which has considerably
increased, such as sugar-cane and cotton, renders some artificial dress
ing necessary. The manures most usually employed are pigeons' dung,
these birds being kept in enormous numbers for this purpose, and the
nitrous soil (sebakh) to be obtained from the mounds that cover the
sites of ancient towns. The sebakh-diggers, or sebakhln, form a large


[62] PRODUCTS.
class of the population in some parts of Egypt, and from them many
of the antiquity-excavators are drawn.
The Agricultural Implements of the Egyptians are of a very rude
and simple kind, and differ very little, if at all, from those which have
been in Use from the earliest times. The plough (mihrdt) consists of
a pole, a share, and a handle, all of wood, the share being generally
tipped with iron. It is drawn by one or two animals— buffalo, ox,
camel, or donkey, as the case may be— attached to the pole by a yoke.
Being very light, it does little more than scratch the surface of the
soil. In some parts, especially where the sugar-cane is . cultivated,
steam-ploughs are now used. The functions of a harrow are dis
charged by a machine called khonfud, "hedgehog," a roller studded
with iron spikes. All digging and weeding is done with a wooden
hoe (migrafa) or an iron hoe (fas, turya), an instrument which corre
sponds to both spade and pick, and is wielded with unexpected effect
by the fellahin. Sowing is done by the hand, the seed being placed
in a basket slung from the left shoulder of the sower, who scatters it
broadcast with his right hand ; it is then sometimes pressed in with
a roller, or trodden in by oxen, or rubbed in with a wooden rake in
the soft mud. Wheat is cut down close to the ground with a sickle,
but barley and dura are plucked up by the roots. The threshing-floor
is a level area near the harvested field, in the centre of which the
sheaves are heaped ; they are then scattered over the surrounding
space, and the threshing process is performed by a machine called a
ndreg, a wooden frame with three cross-bars or axletrees, to which are
attached small iron wheels or thin circular plates, four each to the
foremost and hindmost axle, and three to the centre one. On the
framework is fixed a chair, in which sits the driver, whose weight gives
additional effect to the machine, which is drawn by two oxen or some
other animals, round and round the central heap, the sharp wheels not
only bruising out the corn, but at the same time breaking up the straw.
The winnowing is done, first by throwing the mixed grain and straw
about in the wind, and then passing the grain through a sieve.
Agricultural Roads. The effects of the inundation on the roads and
paths of the country have already been described (p. [27]). The work
of maintaining the dike causeways and of forming the paths across the
cultivated lands when the water has subsided is naturally entirely
bound up with that of irrigation. The latter vary from year to year
owing to the varying hardness of the mud here or there and the
arrangements of the farmers. During the period of the formation of
the paths disputes often arise between would-be wayfarers and peasants
who object to a path being formed here or there ; but the paths have to
exist in certain generally recognised directiens, and in case of any
dispute with the fellahin, who sometimes seek to obstruct passage
altogether, a written complaint should be addressed to the local Mamur,
who will speedily issue an order to the omdeh of the village concerned
to see the requisite paths made without further discussion. The dike
causeways (gisrs) are of course permanent, as they either serve to divide
the flood-areas (hdds, p. [61]) from one another, or form part of the
embankment of a canal or railway. In the Delta and part of Middle
Egypt a considerable impetus has been given to the making of agricul
tural roads. This -reform is due to Riaz Pasha. Until 1889 it would


GEOLOGY. [63]
have been impossible to take a cartload of agricultural produce from
any one centre of population to another in Middle Egypt and the
Delta. Comparatively few of the canals were adapted for boats, and
the one means of transporting cotton to the railway stations or to the
river was -by camels, which, however well adapted for carrying burdens
on the firm sand of the desert, are not suitable for the rich alluvial
soil and the sloppy fields of the Nile valley. This is all being changed.
The people have . willingly accepted a tax never exceeding P.T.6
or P.T.7 per fedd&n, and, with the fund thus raised, a whole network of ¦
serviceable roads is- being formed sufficiently adapted for this dry
climate. The light railways of the Delta and the Fayyum, and the " sugar
railways" of Middle and Upper Egypt, already described (p. [10]), are
primarily designed for the transport of agricultural produce. Their
embankments, like those of the State Railway, are regularly used as
causeways also.
The railway embankments are of course maintained by the com
panies or the State, as the case may be ; the ordinary gisrs by the local
authorities, who employ gangs of labourers at regular wages when
necessary for this purpose and for that of keeping up the embankments
of the irrigation-canals.
The Corvee. — Previous to 1885 the whole of the earthwork in the
clearance and repairs of canals and embankments was effected by the
forced, unpaid, unfed labour of the peasantry. In 1884 this labour
amounted to 85,000 men working for 160 days. It was said that this
was quite a necessary state of things, that it would be impossible to
maintain the irrigation-works otherwise, and that the Egyptian
peasant, unlike that of any other country, would not work for wages,
and must be forced. It was estimated that to redeem this aorvie and
to pay for all this labour would cost £400,000 a year. Nubar Pasha, in
the face of the greatest financial difficulty and opposition, managed to
give an annual grant of £250,000 for this object. Riaz Pasha, at the
end of 1889, found means of granting the remaining £150,000, and in
1890, for the first time perhaps in all history, there was no corvie in
Egypt. Its abolition has been one of the greatest boons conferred on
Egypt since the British occupation.

VII. GEOLOGY.
It is not in the valley of the Nile, and the desert hills immediately
beyond it, that the parts of Egypt most interesting to the geologist lie,
but even here the vertical cliffs bare of all vegetation and seamed by
ravines afford many instructive lessons in the erosive action of the wind
and sun, in a country where rain now plays a comparatively small part
in carving out the relief of the country.
Commencing with the older deposits, there is a very large area
covered by crystalline rocks of various types, which commences on the
western shore of the Gulf of Suez immediately S. of Der Mar Bolos, and
runs southwards as a- narrow belt as far as Kus£r, including the
celebrated porphyry quarries of Jebel Dukhan. Kus&r, the Wadi
Hamam&t, and neighbouring valleys have been eroded in these same


[64] GEOLOGY.
crystalline rocks, whence the Egyptians from the earliest times
obtained their finest materials for statues, sarcophagi, &c. They
continue also S. of Kuser, forming the range of hills of some consider
able height which line the Red Sea shore, and, extending westward,
cover a large area of the Nubian desert, reaching the Nile at Aswan, at
KaUbsha, and at a short distance S. of Wadi Haifa, forming the First
and Second Cataracts. West of the Nile, they do not occur except at
two very small exposures, at the S. end of the Kharga Oasis, and
• between Dungul Wells and the village of Tomas. The red granite of
Aswan (Syene), called mat by the ancient Egyptians, and extensively
used by them at all periods, is the true syenite ; the so-called " syenite "
of modern mineralogists is a different granite. The black colour of the
granite rocks at Aswan is due to a deposit the true cause of which has
not been ascertained.
These crystalline rocks are overlaid by the Nubian sandstone, which
covers an immense tract of country as far N. as about lat. 25°. This
sandstone in its better varieties forms an excellent building stone, and
was exclusively used for this over the area in which it occurs, while the
quarries at Silsila have furnished immense quantities of stone for the
builders of the temples of Thebes, and elsewhere. The sandstone
country is different of aspect both to the boulder-strewn chaos at Aswan
and the limestone Thebaid, with its stately mountains. The valley
hills are low and half buried in streams of golden sand, which pour
down over them from the desert to the river. Here and there, as at
Mahamid, south of Esna, extraordinary weathered boulders, pinnacles,
and rocking stones are seen.
From Esna northwards the Nile runs through the valley which
it has cut through the immense plateau of tertiary "nummulitio"
limestone which extended from the Gulf of Suez to the Western Oases.
This white limestone, easy to quarry and work, furnished the most
usual material for the Egyptian sculptors, who could obtain upon it
the wonderful effects of relief-carving which we admire at Abydos or
Der el-Bahari. The Upper Egyptian white limestone, the "beautiful
white stone of Anu," is, when fresh cut, as white as chalk, but, with
time, takes on a gradually deepening orange hue, the colour of the
cliffs themselves, resembling the golden bloom of the Pentelic marble
of the Athenian temples. The hills at Thebes show generally at their
bases a stratum of tafl, an argillaceous shale of greenish hue, apt to
disintegrate easily, and dangerous to work ; most ' of the tombs had,
however, to be excavated in this bad rock. Above this comes limestone
solid, but with a large proportion of flint nodules, which again are apt
to cause disintegration. The result is that the upper third of a Theban
hill is usually a slope of disintegrated rocks and stones, tiring and, at
times, dangerous to climb. Deep ravines (wddis) score the hill-plateau
in all directions, bounded by cliffs from 200 to 400 feet in height, above
which rise the disintegrated rock-covered slopes to the hill-summits
some 1400 ft. above the Nile. The outlying hills, which appear so solid
a wall from the plain, are in reality peninsulas and islands of rock worn
out and down by erosion from the plateau surface ; their summits are
either knife-edges or small tables of harder rock which has resisted
disintegration. Further into the desert the table-summits grow more
and more continuous and the wadis become fewer, till the more or less
level desert plateau is reached. In front of the higher cliffs and hill


GEOLOGY. [65]
peninsulas, and between them and the plain, are often low subsidiary
plateaux, equally scored and seamed with small wadis. The whole is
one of the finest and most interesting examples of erosion in the world.
Falls of rock into the wadis are not uncommon, especially after one of
the heavy rainstorms that usually visit the Thebaid every three years
or so ; larger landslips occur from time to time (the traces of one, which
happened a century or two ago, judging from the colour of the newly-
exposed cliff-face, may be seen in the Western valley at Thebes), and
such great catastrophes as that which caused the whole hill of
Shekh Abd-el-Kurna to break away from the cliffs of Der el-Bahari
and slide forward in the direction of the river, have evidently taken
place in the course of the ages. The space of lower desert between
the Temple of Kurna and the hills is a diluvial deposit composed of
debris washed down by the old streams of the Wadiyen (the valleys
of the Tombs of the Kings) from the hilltops. It belongs to an age
corresponding to the First Interglacial or Mosbach period of Europe ;
in it are found palseolithic implements of the types of Chelles, St.
Acheul, and Le Moustier, of the same kind as those found lying on
the surface of the hill plateaux above. Palaeolithic implements also
occur lying on the surface of the desert plateaux in other parts of Egypt.
It has been supposed that the palaeolithic people lived on the plateaux,
which were then clothed with forests, the climatic conditions being
different from those of to-day, and the rainfall being constant, causing
the water erosion which has washed out the lateral wadis of the Nile
valley. But, if this were so, it would be difficult to imagine that
palssolithic implements could now be found, as they are, lying in the
desert around the flint factories where they were made, when all trace
of the forests and the earth in which they grew, and on which the
palajoliths must originally have lain, has absolutely disappeared. There
is, in fact, no real proof that the climatic conditions of the Nile valley
in the Palseolithic age differed materially from those of to-day ; the
desert was desert then as it is now, and the palaeolithic men went up
on foot to make their flint weapons. A greater frequency of heavy rain
storms would be sufficient to account for the amount of erosion which
has taken place since Quaternary times, and which caused the formation
of the debris-gravel beds of Kurna.
From Thebes to Cairo the quality of the limestone does not vary
very widely, but higher beds come in as we go northwards in consequence
of the general northerly dip of the series, while between Asyut and
Cairo the Nile valley fault seems to have determined the line of the
river. At Cairo a magnificent section of these rocks is to be seen in
the Mokattam quarries to the E. of the city, and numerous fossils
(chiefly " nummulites ") can be obtained from the workmen. The
Mokattam limestone is much greyer than that of Thebes in colour, and
it does not disintegrate so easily.
N. of Cairo newer formations come in which, on the S. side of the
Cairo-Ismailiya-Suez Railway, and especially at Jebel Geneffe, contain
large numbers of Miocene fossils ; but the greater part of this area is
occupied by a sandstone containing in some places many fossil trees,
especially in the "petrified forest" E. of Mokattam and at Kom
el-Khashab, about 10 m. W. of the Pyramids. This fossil wood occurs
in a completely silicified state, and in good specimens the most minute
microscopic structures are preserved ; some parts of the desert are


[66] GOVERNMENT, EDUCATION, AND REVENUE.
covered with pieces of a few ounces' weight up to trunks 60
3 ft. in diameter. . T.r„v., tVip mieori
The more recent deposits of the shelly limestone ^Me^.^™«
sea-beach so clearly visible at Cairo on the W. side of the ' ^™»J
Hills, and on the edge of the plateau of the Pyramids of ^£^K
be noticed; while about 2 m. S. of the ^^l^fSlyZaZ
deposit whence the Arabs obtain the large Echmoderms (G lypeaster
agyptiacus), which they offer for sale to visitors. The Quaternary
debris-deposit at Kurna has been noted above. _ j„a.-i ro;u „„
Those who make an expedition of any length m the desert will se
on the finest scale the result of wind and sand action, and of the great
variations of temperature which occur there. Among the most remark
able features of the Libyan desert are those lines of drift sand heaped
up by the wind into hills having a breadth of from i m. to 5 or 6 m,
but which extend almost uninterruptedly for three fom and even five
days' march. To the W. and S.W. of the Dakhla Oasis they cover an
immense area, which is absolutely impassable in consequence. In the
Eastern desert they are of very small dimensions.
The Oases have always been considered as one of the greatest
wonders of Egypt, occurring as they do in the midst of the arid desert
plateau, but being abundantly watered by numerous springs, and
producing luxuriant vegetation. These Oases are not walled-in depres
sions in the valley plateau, but rather deep indentations cut back into
the plateau from its southern edge. The springs yield a constant
supply of fresh water, often slightly chalybeate, and usually of a
temperature somewhat higher than the mean temperature of the air,
so that the pools may be seen steaming on winter mornings. There
seems now to be no doubt that these springs are truly artesian, drawing
the water-supply from a rainfall far to the S., since, when borings are
made and the rock — a white sandstone usually, which covers the
water-bearing strata — is broken, the water rises in the bore with
considerable violence and overflows at the surface ; in fact many of the
Oases springs are on the top of low mounds, the result of drifted sand,
and vegetable and animal accumulations. The depth at which the
water is reached varies considerably with the spot selected ; in Kharga
200 to 400 ft., m Dakhla 120 to 300 ft., and in Bahariya 90 to 120 ft,
are said to be the usual depths.
The large number of salt pools and marshes which render the Oases
so unhealthy at some periods of the year are caused by the overflow of
these springs, which, being allowed to flow away unregulated, take up
salt from the cretaceous beds which form the floor of the Oases, and
considerable tracts are ruined by them.
VIII.-GOVERNMENT, EDUCATION, ABTD REVENUE.
1. Government.
Egypt is nominally a Viceroy alty,. under the suzerainrv nf tb* Pnrte
Its relations with Turkey were regulated by ^^1^/ t iJr, ^
1841,' in which latter year the government of E*yPt t™A * n f
special firman to be hereditary In the family of ^ZTaK Thi
concession was further extended m 1866, when bv n,wi / - \,
succession was allowed to pass from father to son ;„]/'', fll'man J,
' lnstead of, as is the


GOVERNMENT, EDUCATION, AND REVENUE. [67]
usual Mohammedan custom, to the eldest member of the family. In
1867 another firman was issued, conferring on the ruler of Egypt
the title of Khedive, or more properly Khidewi, a Persian title, of
which it is difficult to determine the exact signification and value, but
at any rate it marked an increase of rank and independence. In 1879
the Sultan removed Ismail from the viceroyalty, and replaced him by
his eldest son Mohammed Tewfik, to whom he sent a firman, dated
August 1879, confirming the privileges granted to previous Viceroys.
The annual tribute to Turkey was fixed at £678,400. It now amounts
to £685,041, which is remitted to England direct for the payment of
the Turkish Bondholders.
Actually, Egypt is controlled and administered by Great Britain.
To all intents and purposes it is a protected territory of the British
Empire, but nominally it still remains "a province of the Ottoman
Empire in the military occupation of Great Britain." The British
military force numbers about 3,500 men.
Since the occupation of Egypt by England, the power of the
Khedive has been greatly curtailed ; and although the British Imperial
Government rarely interferes in the internal government of the country,
questions of international importance are referred to London through
the British Consul-General, who makes a yearly report to the Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs on the Finances, Administration, and
Condition of Egypt and the Sudan, which is issued as a Blue Book,
and is always most interesting and instructive reading. The native
officials throughout are inspected, checked, and, when necessary,
controlled by British advisers and inspectors.
The Khedive is assisted in the government of the country by a
Council of Ministers appointed by himself, subject to the approval
of the British Imperial Government, conveyed through the Consul-
General. The Council consists of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs,
Justice, Interior, War, Finance, Public Works, and Public Instruction.
There are also English advisers, viz., Sir Vincent Corbett for Finance;
Mr. Machell, Interior; Mr. Mcllwraith, Justice; Sir Wm. Garstin,
G.C.M.G., Public Works. The British Agent and Consul-General,
Sir Eldon Gorst, K.C.B., acts as adviser-in-chief to H.H. the Khedive
and his Ministers, and as the intermediary between them and the
Government of His Majesty the King.
The Native Legislative Council, composed of 30 members, partly
elected by the Communes and partly nominated by the Government,
has a consultative voice with regard to all laws promulgated and the
annual budgets, though Government is not bound to accept their
recommendations. These recommendations are often marked by sound
good sense.
The country is divided into provinces, each under a governor, called
a Mudir, which again are subdivided into districts, called Markaz,
each under its Mamur, and every village in these districts has its chief,
formerly styled Sh&kh-el-Beled, but now Omdeh. Certain towns —
Alexandria, Cairo, Suez, Port Said, Damietta, and El-Arish — have
their own system of government, independent of the provinces in which
they are situated (see p. [23]) ; Alexandria has a Municipal Council
composed of Europeans and natives, and similar Councils have been
instituted in several large towns of both Upper and Lower Egypt, as,
e.g., at Helw&n and Medinet el-Fayyum.
/2


[68] GOVERNMENT, EDUCATION, AND REVENUE.
'¦ In the Department of the Interior great reform has been effected
since the appointment of a British adviser to the Ministry in
October 1894. The ipoint of departure was the practical recognition of
the powers and influence of the Omdehs or Headmen of each village,
and measures are taken to ensure their good behaviour.
The Mudirs, or Governors of Provinces, with the Mamurs el-Markaz,
or Governors of Districts, also come under British control, and are
responsible for the maintenance of public security.
British Inspectors visit the provinces and report upon the manner
in which the Mudirs, police, and other local officials perform their duties.
Army. — Since the English occupation, the Egyptian army has been
completely remodelled by Gen. Sir Evelyn Wood, V.C., G.C.B., and its
condition and quality have been greatly improved under his successors,
Sir Francis (now Lord) Grenfell, Major-Gen. Sir Herbert (now Lord)
Kitchener, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., and the present Sirdar, Major-Gen.
Sir Francis Wingate, K.C.B.
It consists of over 15,000 men, including cavalry, artillery, and a
camel corps 600 strong. The infantry comprises 16 battalions, 5 of
which are Sudanese. All the superior officers and a large proportion of
the juniors are British, numbering about 80 in all. As in all countries
except England and the United States, the army is based upon the
system of universal military service ; all between the ages of 19 and 23
being called up for service, but exemption can be had upon payment of
£E.20. The term of service is 6 years, after which the men are liable
to serve for 5 years in the police before passing into the reserve. The
uniforms of the army are, generally speaking, of British cut, though
the undress jacket of the officers, with its aiguillettes crossing from
shoulder to shoulder, is rather of Italian type, and the actual colours
of the ordinary infantry uniform — dark blue tunic with white facings
and light blue trousers — are ;those of the American infantry, and are
probably a relic of the old days of American control of the army in
Ismail's time. The artillery uniform is indistinguishable from the
British, except for the tarbush. The rank marks are on the British
system — arm chevrons for non-commissioned officers, stars and crowns
on the shoulder straps for commissioned officers. The universal head
dress is a red tarbush, except in the case of black regiments, which
have a khaki tarbush with a, red number-patch at the side, and
a red hackle. Khaki is worn always by these regiments, and by all
branches of the army on service.
The Egyptian Police was entirely reorganised by the late Valentine
Baker Pasha, and the superior officers are British. In 1895 the
Police were placed under the Mudirs, who are checked by British
Inspectors. Except for the tarbush, the winter uniform resembles the
British in cut, butr is dark green in colour. In summer a white uniform
is worn. The blue and white London policeman's "duty band " is carried.
The Coastguard patrols the desert on either side of the Nile as well
as the coast : its chief duty is to prevent the smuggling and illicit
manufacture of tobacco. (Salt is no longer a Government monopoly.)
The Egyptian Navy, being unnecessary since the British occupation,
has reased to exist; the sailors wearing the British naval uniform,
but with a red tarbush, seen at the ports, are Suez canal or harbour-
service men. A few small customs-cruisers are maintained, and the


GOVERNMENT, EDUCATION, AND REVENUE. [69]
Khedive has a yacht, the Mahritssa. Egyptian ships fought at
Navarino in 1827, and in the Black Sea against the Russians in the
Crimean War.
The Administration of Justice in the mixed tribunals has been
already referred to (p. [7]). There are two courts: one of First
Instance sitting at Alexandria, Cairo, and Mansura, and one of Appeal
at Alexandria, whose decisions are final. The judges number 32 Euro
peans of 12 different nationalities, 3 Americans, recommended by their
respective Governments and appointed by the Khedive, and 23 natives.
Cases are decided by a bench of 3 Europeans with 2 native judges
in the Court of First Instance, and 5 Europeans with 3 natives in-the
Court of Appeal. Civil and commercial cases between natives and
foreigners, and between foreigners of different nationalties, are tried by
these courts, and the Khedive and Government are amenable to their
jurisdiction without appeal. The system of law administered is based
on the Code Napoleon. The courts having been instituted by inter
national treaty, the assent of all the European Powers.and of the United
States, as well as of Egypt, is required every five years for their
continuance. Civil and criminal cases in which natives are concerned are tried
by the Native Tribunals, which are established throughout the entire
country and are doing good work, since the adoption of Sir John
Scott's scheme of judicial reform in 1891. Excepting 4 Englishmen,
who sit in the Cairo Appeal Court, and 6 other Europeans, the judges
are all natives. The language used is Arabic, and the Code is based to
some extent upon the Code Napoleon.
There is also the Kadi's Court (Mehkema Shari'a), which deals with
questions of inheritance, marriage, charitable or religious bequests, &c,
in accordance with the precepts of the Kuran.
2. Education.
Education has made considerable progress in Egypt during the last
few years, and is continually improving as regards both the number of
schools and the methods of teaching. Mohammed Ali founded schools,
but they were neglected by his immediate successors. Under Ismail
Pasha, however, a new system of public education was adopted and
partly applied. This system has been notably improved by the creation
of training colleges for teachers, several of which are now working with
the view of giving a special training to teachers preparing themselves
for the Arabic, English, and French classes respectively. In 1901
£E. 173,000 was spent on schools. With this sum nine colleges and
forty schools were maintained.
The Government schools are divided into primary schools, secondary
schools, and colleges or higher professional schools (Law, Medicine,
Engineering, and Teaching). There is also a technical school at
Bulak. The military school is under the supervision of the War
Department. The Christian, native, and foreign communities have
numerous private schools (primary and secondary). In addition to
these institutions, in 1901 87 village schools (Kuttabs) were under Govern
ment control, with 760 teachers and 11,931 students, and there is a
great number of still more elementary native schools, in which only
the Kuran and reading and writing are taught. In 1892 there were


[70] GOVERNMENT, EDUCATION, AND REVENUE.
8643 of these very elementary schools, with 183,155 pupils and 11,938
teachers. To the mosque El-Azhar in Cairo is attached a Mussulman
University, founded nearly 1000 years ago, in which the main subjects
of instruction are Mohammedan theology, Mohammedan law, and the
Arabic language and literature. 11,763 students and 337 professors
were in attendance in 1892 at this renowned University and several
similar establishments attached to mosques in the provinces ; but it is
to be observed that the subjects taught and methods of teaching have
not changed since the Middle Ages, the " University " is therefore of
no value whatever from the educational point of view, and in reality
serves merely as a rallying point of all the forces of obscurantism,
ignorance, and fanaticism in the Mohammedan world. Unhappily
there seems as yet no prospect of reforming it without stirring up a
storm of religious opposition.
In Egypt, as in other Oriental countries, female education is in a
very backward state. Some progress, however, has been made during
the past year, owing to the untiring efforts of Artin Yacoub Pasha. A
primary school of the higher grade for girls was opened in Cairo in
October 1895, with an Englishwoman for its head-mistress. In April
1896 there were already 59 day pupils.
3. Revenue.
The Revenue of Egypt in 1904 was the largest ever collected, viz.
£E.13,906,152, and the expenditure having been £E.12,7O0,332, there
remained the surplus of £E. 1,205,820. Before 1904 only a part of this
surplus was at the disposal of Government, which, owing to restrictions
imposed by the European Powers, was not allowed to exceed a fixed
sum for administrative expenditure, and the remainder was paid to
the Caisse de la Dette Publique. This arrangement is now modified by
the Anglo-French Agreement of 1904. Under the new arrangement
the whole of the land tax, except that derived from the province of
Kena, is pledged to the service of the debt. The amount of the tax
is estimated at £E.4,200,000 per annum, and the total Debt charge,
including the administrative expenditure of the Caisse de la Dette,
amounts to about £E. 3,600,000. The annual surplus from the land
tax, over and above what is necessary for the service of the debt, is
paid to the Egyptian treasury. Thus the Egyptian Government has
acquired a freedom with regard to its own expenditure which it has not
known since the days of Ismail. Debt to the extent of £St.911,580
was paid off during the year, and on Dec. 31, 1904, the outstanding
capital of the debt amounted to £101,275,340, £92,358,060 being in
the hands of the public.
The Caisse was created by the European Powers in 1876, in order to
protect the interests of the bondholders. The cause which brought
Egypt to the verge of bankruptcy was the general extravagance of the
Khedive Ismail, by whom most of the public debt was contracted.
Although much of his expenditure was for useful works, including the
Suez Canal, it was accomplished by means of loans upon ruinous terms,
and his arbitrary exactions obliged many natives to abandon their
lands, which they could not afford to cultivate.
Since the English occupation the amount of annual taxation has
been reduced by over £E. 1,900,000 ; arrears to the extent of £1,000,000


INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE. [71]
have been remitted; the price of salt reduced by 40 per cent., and
postal and telegraph rates reduced by 50 per cent. A large mass of
important remunerative public work, chiefly in connection with irriga
tion, has been effected, and the value of land has quadrupled. The
length of State railway lines now working is over 1500 miles; extensions
are in progress. In 1903 the State railways carried about 15,000,000
people and 3,000,000 tons of goods, as against 2,800,000 people and
1,200,000 tons of goods in 1883 ; in twenty years the receipts have
risen from £E.1,200,000 to £E.2,260,000.
The Government monopolies of tombdk (prepared tobacco for smoking
in narghilehs) and salt yielded respectively £E. 57,000 and £E. 182,000
to the revenue. The salt and soda monopoly was farmed out to a
company, a royalty of P.T.340 per ton being paid to the Government.
This monopoly is now (1906) abolished.
IX. INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE.
Industry. — The bulk of the population is, as has been already
shown, engaged in agricultural pursuits. Of late the cultivation of
cotton and sugar-cane and the establishment of crushing mills, also of
refineries, have greatly extended, and are still progressing.
The Daira Sanieh Administration owns a considerable number of
sugar mills situated in Upper Egypt, and the cane is grown on their
own lands, which they lease to native tenants.
Cotton ginning mills in various towns and villages, and cotton
presses in Alexandria, give employment to a large number of Europeans
and natives.
Another recently-introduced industry is the manufacture of paper,
which is, however, confined to one. establishment at Bfilak, near Cairo.
Very good kinds of paper are made there from maize, straw, and half a
grass. A Government printing office exists at Bulak, which produces
very creditable work, and there are numerous others at Cairo and
Alexandria belonging to both natives and Europeans. Many European
newspapers, in English, French, Italian, and Greek languages, and a
considerable number of native ones in Arabic, are published.
Large quantities of natron and salt are found in different parts of
the valley of the Nile, and their extraction from the soil gives employ
ment to a considerable number of people.
One of the oldest industries in Egypt is artificial egg-hatching. It
is principally carried on by Copts. There are said to be in all more
than 600 ovens, called maamal el ferdkh or farrtlg, in the country ;
and the production of chickens by this process is reckoned at some
ten millions.
Among other native industries may be mentioned the manufacture
of silk and cotton stuffs, dyeing, the distillation of scents and essences,
pottery-making, gold and silver embroidery work, jewellery, &c. A
number of articles are made out of the trunk, branches, and leaves of
the palm-tree, such as seats, bed-frames, chests, baskets, mats, brooms,
and ropes.
Commerce. — The commerce of Egypt is very considerable. In
1904 the principal exports were cotton, cotton-seed, sugar, beans,
wheat, Indian corn, and cigarettes. In 1904 the value of exports
was £E.20,811,O0O, and of imports, exclusive of tobacco, £E.19,889,000.


[72] HISTORY.
53-6 per cent, of the exports went to Great Britain, and 39 per cent.
of the imports came from Great Britain and her colonies. The Cus
toms revenue, including the tobacco duties, amounted to £E. 3,216,000.
Tobacco yielded a net revenue of £E. 1,420,000. Most of the tobacco
comes from Turkey and Greece. Its cultivation is forbidden in Egypt
for the sake of the customs-revenue from imported leaf. The weight
of tobacco re-exported in the form of cigarettes amounted to 620,500
kilogrammes. The principal imports were cotton goods and other clothing
materials, coal, timber, wines and spirits, coffee, tobacco, and
machinery ; total value in 1904 £E.20,559,588.
X. HISTORY.
1. Sources of Ancient History.
The materials for a knowledge of the history and the manners and
customs of the Old Egyptians, have been almost entirely derived from
two sources. Their public annals are written on the walls of the
temples, their private history on the walls of the tombs. And from
temple or tomb have also come most of the objects in the different
museums, which help to throw much light on this subject.
The Tablet of Abydos, of which there are two copies — a mutilated
one in the British Museum, found in the Temple of Ramses II. at
Abydos, and a perfectly complete one, found in 1865 on a wall of the
Temple of Seti I. at that place, and still remaining there — serves as
an excellent guide towards the chronological arrangement of a certain
number of the kings of Egypt. It contains the names of 76 kings,
a comparison of whose names with the lists of Manetho has much
helped towards the work of reconstructing portions of Egyptian
history. Of the same character are the Tablet of Sakkdra, containing the
names of 55 kings ; the Hall of Ancestors, a small chamber at Karnak,
on whose walls was a tablet, now in Paris, containing the names of
60 kings ; and the Papyrus of Turin, containing also what was once
by far the most complete list of kings, but so mutilated that it can
never be fully deciphered.
The first who attempted to write a history of Egypt was Manetho,
an Egyptian priest who lived in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphos,
circ. 263 B.C. His history was written in Greek, and contained a list
of the kings who had reigned in Egypt from the earliest times to the
conquest of Alexander. The history is lost ; but the lists are preserved
in the Chronology of George Synkellos, a Byzantine monk who lived
at the beginning of the 9th century. He had collected them, not from
the original work, which had long been lost, but from copies made
by Julius Africanus in the 3rd century, and Eusebius in the 4th. To
what extent credence can be given to these lists, which, supposing
them originally correct, had probably been altered and manipulated
by the Christian writers above mentioned, is a point much disputed
by modern Egyptologists. Many are now disposed to consider that
recent discoveries have rather confirmed their title to be looked upon
as, to a certain extent, trustworthy guides.
What the classic historians have to say about Egypt may be read
in the 2nd book of Herodotus, the 1st book of Diodorus, the 17th book


HISTORY. [73]
of Strabo, and the treatise ' de Iside et Osiride ' of Plutarch. Their
accounts are, however, at the best second-hand traditions, which have
served rather to confuse and falsify the history of Egypt, and to mix
up with it a number of tales and fables.
The only certain sources of Egyptian history are the monuments,
which are now rapidly yielding up the wealth of their written records
to the scholars of England, France, and Germany who have made
Egyptology their special study.
2. General Sketch.
Egyptian history consists of a series of cycles. From the beginning
until now we have a constant repetition of the same class of events.
The cycle commences with a native monarchy, ruling despotically but
peacefully; wealth and power, perhaps attack from without, lead to
foreign wars ; a strange race, encouraged by internal discord, conquers
the country, and a long period of decadence ensues. Then comes a
revival, which lasts perhaps during the reign of only one family,
perhaps for three or four ; followed by foreign wars, conquest, decline,
and subjection as before. During these periods of misfortune the arts
have been neglected, history has remained unwritten, and it is often
impossible even to approximate to the time which elapsed before the
next revival took place.
The successive cycles of Egyptian history were as follows : (1)
The "prehistoric" period, before the establishment of the monarchy.
(2) The Old Kingdom, i.e. the first monarchy down to the end of the
VI. Dynasty. (3) A revival under the later kings of the XI. Dynasty,
and under the XII., seems to have ended with the first kings of the
XIII. (4) A second revival under Aahmes, about the year 1700 B.C.,
lasted during the reigns of the XVIII. and two following dynasties,
and was followed, about 1000 B.C., by a long succession of foreign
invasions, culminating in the conquest by the Persians. (5) The
prosperous reigns of the early Ptolemies (322-165 B.C.) brought wealth
back to Egypt ; but after about 150 years the power of the dynasty
declined, and in 30 B.C. Egypt became a Roman province. (6) A period
of comparative prosperity returned under the Roman emperors from
Nero (54 a.d.) to Theodosius (379 a.d,), after which misgovernment
reduced the country once more to insignificance. (7) The early
Mohammedan conquerors brought in a flourishing state, and, in spite
of constant contests for power among the rulers, Egypt became once
more a centre of the arts and sciences. This era closed with the
conquest of the country by the Turks (a.d. 1517), since which time
Egypt has been a Turkish Pashalik. Mohammed Ali, who was
appointed Pasha in 1805, after the temporary occupation by the
French, re-established the independence of Egypt to all intents and
purposes, and his descendant Ismail thought he had re-established her
prosperity when he made her one of the " European family " of states.
But cycle (8) did not really begin till the final consummation and
establishment of British control, which now assures a period of progress
and well-being to Egypt which can never have been equalled in the
days of the most powerful Pharaohs, and will last as long as the British
power endures.
First Period : Prehistoric. — Egypt appears to have been inhabited


[74] HISTORY.
during the Paleolithic period. Large numbers of flint implements of
this age, similar to the Drift implements of Northern Europe, have
been found on the desert surface in the Thebaid, in the Wadi esh-Shekh
east of Maghagha, on the skirts of the Fayyum, and in other places.
General Pitt-Rivers has also noted palaeolithic flints from a gravel
deposit near Kurna. The users of these flints probably lived on the
hill-slopes when the Nile valley was a morass, and gradually descended
to the lower levels (see p. [65]).
During the Neolithic age we find Egypt inhabited by a comparatively
numerous population, who have left indubitable traces of their presence
in their burying-grounds at Nakada and Tukh in the Thebaid, Nag' ed-
Der, opposite Girga, Kawa.mil, Gebelen, and other places. The graves
are usually mere scooped-out holes in the desert surface near the
cultivation. The bodies were buried in a cramped position, the knees
up to the chin. With the dead were buried pottery, flint knives, and
other objects. The pottery is of characteristic forms ; colours black
and red, red designs on buff, &c. The designs are usually of small Nile
boats with, banners, men and women, ostriches, &c. These people bore
the same relation to the ancient Egyptians that the ancient Britons do
to us. At an unknown period Egypt seems to have been invaded by
another race of proto-Semitic affinities, probably coming from Arabia,
who possibly brought with them a bronze age culture derived from
that of the Sumerians of Babylonia. These people mixing with the
native Egyptians, probably an autochthonous Nilotic race, constituted
the Egyptian people of history, and probably laid the foundations of
the ancient Egyptian state. The hieroglyphic writing was perhaps
introduced by them, though this is doubtful. The Egyptian sun-
worship (Ra) and sky- worship (Horus) were possibly brought in by them
also. The animal cults and the veneration for the dead are probably
indigenous. Second Period : the Early Monarchy. — The ancient political
division of Egypt into Nomes, each known by the name of a sacred
animal, was probably of indigenous origin. The higher organisation
of the kingdom does not seem to have been evolved until after the
conquest of Egypt by the intruding race from the East.- Originally there
were certainly two kingdoms of the North and the South, with their
seats at Buto (Tell Fera'in) and Hierakonriolis (Kom el-Ahmar, opposite
El-Kab) respectively. The union of these two kingdoms is tradition
ally assigned to a king named Mena. His name occurs at the head of
the lists of kings which have been found in various places (Abydos,
Karnak, Turin papyrus, &c.) He is believed to have sprung from an
ancient line of local monarchs seated at This or Thinis, a town adjoin
ing Abydos, the place of the burial of the mythical Osiris. According
to tradition seven kings of the same dynasty followed him on the
throne of Memphis, a city near the S. point of the Delta, which he
founded. The fourth, Uenephes or Ata, is said to have been the first
to build pyramids. The II. Dynasty consisted traditionally of nine
king's. The second, Ka-Kau, is said to have appointed the worship of
the bull Apis at Memphis, the bull Mnevis at Heliopolis, and the goat
Mendes. So far tradition. As a matter of fact, Mena is probably a
combination of two or three kings whose names are known to us
from contemporary monuments, found in the excavations made of late
years in the burying-places of the early kings at Abydos and Nakada.


HISTORY. [75]
The primeval monarchs .Aha, Narmer, and " the Scorpion/' are all
three probably the originals of the legendary Mena, who is said to
have founded Memphis. They probably warred against the North,
and for the first time established the Southern power there. Thus
they unified Egypt for the first time. Neither Ata nor Ka-Kau are
known to us as such from the contemporary monuments, but other
kings whose names figure in legend, but were not considered worthy of
much notice otherwise, are known, such as Semti Den (Manetho's
TJsaphais) and Merpeba (Merbap of the lists, Man. Miebis), possibly
the first renowned monarch of all Egypt. One of the lists begins
with him and not with Mena. A king unknown to fame till the recent
discoveries, but apparently a great warrior, was Khasekhem (" Power
appears ") who reconquered the North and changed his name to Khase-
khemui ("Two Powers appear"). Semerkhat left a monument in the
Sinaitic peninsula, as also did Tjeser of the III. Dynasty, in whose
reign a seven years' famine took place. Send and Perabsen of the
II. are mentioned on a IV. Dynasty monument, of which portions
are preserved in the Ashmolean, British, and Cairo Museums. The
Oxford fragment was one of the first Egyptian antiquities brought to
England, having been acquired in the 17th century. ' With Sneferu,
last king of the III. Dynasty, the traditions of the lists for the first
time square with the true history of the royal succession as disclosed
by the contemporary monuments. The pyramid of Medumishis burial-
place. The tombs at Medum, contemporary with his reign, have yielded
some of the finest statues of the Cairo Museum, notably those of
Rahetep and his wife Neferet. The pyramid builders of Giza were
Khufu (Cheops), Khaf-Ra (Khephren), and Men-kau-Ra (Mykerinos), of
the IV. Dynasty. Khufu, • the builder of the Great Pyramid, is also
mentioned at Sinai. The Cairo Museum contains statues of Khaf-Ra
and Men-kau-Ra, some of which were found in the so-called granite
temple, near the Sphinx, a work of the XII. Dynasty. The V.
Dynasty was probably of Heliopolitan origin. At Sinai, in the Wadi
Maghara, there are records of Sahu-Ra, the second king of the
dynasty, and of several of his successors, who conquered the natives
and sent commissioners to look after the mines of copper and
malachite. Thi, whose tomb at Sakkara is well known, lived under the
later kings of the dynasty, and the last Pharaoh, Unas, was buried in
the pyramid north-west of the village of Sakkara, which was opened by
Professor Maspero in 1881. The pyramids of the kings of the VI.
Dynasty, opened by Professor Maspero at the same time, are in the
immediate vicinity ; that of Teta, the first king of the dynasty, east of
the pyramid of Unas, and those of Pepi I. (Meri-Ra), Pepi II. (Nefer-
ka-Ra), and Mer-n-Ra (Meht-em-saf IL), to the south of it. Monuments
of this age are to be found in all parts of Egypt, as far south as Aswan,
and we hear of distant expeditions being sent to explore the regions of
the Sudan. Una, one of the great officials of Pepi I., has described in
a stela, now at Giza, the war carried on against the Asiatics east of
Egypt by means of negro troops levied between the two Cataracts, as
well as the transport of a granite sarcophagus and other stone for the
pyramid of the king.
The end of the VI. Dynasty marks also the end of the Old
Empire. It was followed by a period of decline. The authority of the
Pharaohs was usurped by a feudal aristocracy who absorbed the landed


[76] HISTORY.
property as well as the civil and military power of the country. They
owned a nominal obedience to the kings of the VII. and following
Dynasties, but in their own districts acted like independent princes.
A few names only have been preserved of the VII. and VIII.
and IX. Dynasties, and we may gather from a fragment of the
Turin papyrus that most of the reigns were short. When at
length the old line of Memphite kings was destroyed by their rebellious
vassals, a new dynasty, the IX., was founded by the feudal prince
of Herakleopolis, the modern Ahnasyet el-Medina. This was Kheti I,
Mer-ab-Ra, the Akhthoes of Manetho, whose name has been found
at the Cataract, and who is said in a papyrus to have carried on
war with the desert-tribes east of Egypt. The X. Dynasty was also
Herakleopolite, and some of the tombs at Asyut belong to the princes
who lived under it. In one of them (that of Tef-ab) an inscription
describes the victory gained by the Pharaoh over the rebellious nomes
of the south, who had combined against him from Elephantine to Kau.
In another tomb (that of Kheti II. , the son of Tef-ab) we are told that
the king Meri-ka-Ra, after being driven from his capital by;an insurrec
tion, was restored to it by the feudal lord of Asyut. Meanwhile the
power of the princes of Thebes and Hermonthis had been steadily
rising, and one of them, Mentu-hetep I., finally overthrew the Herak
leopolite Dynasty, and established the XL Dynasty, with his capital
at Thebes. Third Period : the Middle Empire. — Under the Antefs and
Mentu-heteps of the XI. Dynasty the power of Egypt revived and
the "Middle Empire" commenced. Their names are found as far
south as Wadi Haifa, as well as at the mines of Hamamat. The
greatest of them, Mentu-hetep Neb-hapet-Ra, erected at Thebes the only
temple of the Middle Empire which still exists, his funerary chapel at
Der el-Bahari, excavated by Naville and Hall in 1903-6. The last of
them, Se-ankh-ka-Ra, sent an exploring expedition to Punt on the
Somali coast. Thebes now became the capital of Egypt, and its local
god, Amen, was raised to the head of the Pantheon and identified
with Ra, the Sun-god of Heliopolis. The XII. Dynasty, which began
with Amen-em-hat I., was one of the most powerful and vigorous that
ever ruled over Egypt. The power of the local aristocracy was broken,
and the great feudal princes became court officials. The authority of
the Pharaoh was restored in reality as well as in name. Large temples
were erected ; the gold mines were worked in the eastern desert, and
the copper and malachite mines in Sinai, while the Egyptian frontier
was advanced beyond the Second Cataract, where twin fortresses were
constructed (by Senusert or Usertsen III.) at Semna and Kumma to
protect the passage of boats. Senusert or Usertsen I., the second king
of the dynasty, restored the Temple of Ra at Heliopolis, and erected
there the two obelisks, one of which still remains. Amen-em-hat III.
created the Fayyum by damming back the waters of the lake and
forming a great reservoir for the surplus water of the Nile, which was
afterwards let out so as to irrigate central and northern Egypt. It
was in his reign also that observations were recorded of the height of
the Nile at Semna, south of the Second Cataract. The Labyrinth was
one of the most famous of his buildings, and his brick pyramid stood
close to it at the modern Hawara. The god of the Fayyum was
the crocodile-headed Sebek, whose name enters into those of several


HISTORY. [77]
of the kings of the XIII. Dynasty. Under the earlier monarchs of
the latter dynasty the power of Egypt continued undiminished, but
the number of kings belonging to it enumerated in the Turin papyrus
(more than 160), and the short reigns of many of them, show that as
time went on, internal dissensions must have arisen and the royal
house have fallen into decay. Of the XIV. Dynasty we know
nothing, except that it was said to have come from Xois (now Sakha)
in the Delta, and that its last Pharaoh, Timseos, was conquered by the
Hyksos, or Shepherds, from Asia. At first we are told by Manetho the
invaders devastated the country, destroying the cities and temples, and
slaying the population, but after a time they passed under the influ
ence of Egyptian culture, and the XV., XVI., and XVII. Dynasties
consisted of Hyksos Pharaohs. The capital, which is said to have been
at first Memphis, was moved to Zoan (Tanis) and Avails on the Asiatic
frontier, and the Hyksos chieftain became an Egyptian Pharaoh. It
was in the reign of one of them (Apepi I. Aa-user-Ra) that the great
mathematical papyrus was written, and part of the statue of another
(Khian Se-user-en-Ra) has been found by Dr. Naville at Bubastis.
This Khian appears to have been a powerful sovereign. His name
appears on a small lion from Bagdad (no doubt originally from
Babylon), now in the British Museum, and on the lid of an alabaster
stibium-pot of Egyptian manufacture, found in the excavations of the
Mycenaean palace at Knossos in Crete. This fact, taken in conjunc
tion with the circumstance that a statuette of a private person of the
Hyksos period has also been found at Knossos, seems to show that
connection between Egypt and Crete already existed during the Hyksos
period at least two hundred years before the already known connection in
the reigns of Hatshepsu and Thothmes III. The Egyptians rose at last
against their conquerors under the leadership of the hereditary prince
of Thebes, Se-kenen-Ra Taa I. — according to the Sallier papyrus, in
consequence of his suzerain, the Hyksos Pharaoh Apepi II. Aa-kenen-
Ra insisting on his worshipping the Hyksos god Sutekh. The war
lasted for five generations, the Theban princes taking the title of king
and forming a rival XVII. Dynasty to the Hyksos Dynasty in the
north, and it ended in the complete expulsion of the foreigners and the
rise of the XVIII. Dynasty under Aahmes I., with the capital at
Thebes. With the rise of the XVIII. Dynasty begins the period of
the New Empire.
Fourth Period : the New Empire. — Aahmes I., or Amosis
(b.c 1600), was the son of Ka-mes, the last king of the Theban
XVH. Dynasty, and Aah-hetep, the queen: whose jewels form so
remarkable a feature of the Cairo Museum. The kings of the XVIII.
Dynasty carried the war into Asia, and founded an Egyptian Empire,
which extended from the Euphrates in the north to Gebel Barkal in
the Sudan. Treasure and captives flowed into Egypt from conquered
countries, the gold mines in the desert were actively worked, and trade
was carried on by sea with distant lands. Temples and other public
monuments were erected out of the spoils of war, and art and litera
ture were diligently cultivated. Some of the finest monuments that
will be visited by the traveller were the work of the monarchs of the
XVIII. Dynasty ; Der el-Bahari, the Temple of Hatshepsu, whose
obelisk in the Temple of Karnak to her " Father Amen " is the highest
now existing ; certain of the quarries at Silsilis, and numerous tombs


[78] HISTORY.
in the Theban mountain; a portion of the Temple of Karnak; the
colossal figures of Amen-hetep III. in the plain of Thebes; and
innumerable statues, and other works of art. Her chief monument
is the beautiful temple dedicated in honour of Amen and the deceased
Thothmes I. at Der el-Bahari. The peculiar plan of this temple, with
its terraces, colonnades, and ramps, was partly imitated from that of
the smaller and older temple of Mentu-hetep III., already referred to,
by its side. Her reign was peaceful, and was marked by the great
expedition to Punt (Somaliland) depicted on the walls of the temple.
Thothmes III., who reigned between 1550 and 1500 B.C., was the
younger brother of Thothmes II. and Hatshepsu by an inferior wife of
Thothmes I., named Isis. After a long period of tutelage he ascended
the throne and immediately resumed the work of northern conquest
which his father had initiated, ravaging and subduing the whole of
Palestine and Syria to the Euphrates. Henceforth, for oyer 300
years, Western Asia remained more or less under Egyptian domination.
Thothmes III. was fond of natural history, and on the ruined walls of
his temple at Karnak are depicted the plants and animals from foreign
lands with which he stocked his botanical and zoological gardens at
Thebes. Two of the successors of Thothmes III. (Thothmes IV. and
Amen-hetep III.) intermarried with the royal family of Mitanni, the
Aram-Naharaim, or Mesopotamia of Scripture, and so introduced an
Asiatic strain into the blood of the Pharaohs. Under Amen-hetep III.
the Egyptian Empire reached its greatest extent, including part of
Mesopotamia (Naharain, "the two rivers"). The cuneiform tablets
found at Tell el-Amarna (described below), containing the diplomatic
correspondence of the time, show that this Asiatic dominion was
governed' partly by native rulers devoted to the interests of Egypt,
partly by actual Egyptian officials ; royal commissioners were also sent
from Egypt from time to time on circuit to examine and report on
matters at issue. The son and successor of Amen-hetep III. was "the
heretic king " Amen-hetep IV., who, under the influence of his mother
Tii, endeavoured to substitute a monotheism, under the form of the
worship of the solar disk, for the official religion of Egypt. The cult
and very name of Amen were proscribed, the name being erased from
the monuments wherever it occurred, and the king changed his own
name from Amen-hetep to Akhu-n- Aten or Khu-n-Aten, ' ' the glory of the
solar disk." In the struggle which ensued between the Pharaoh and the
powerful hierarchy of Thebes, Khu-n-Aten found himself obliged to leave
the capital of his fathers and build a new one further north, called
Akhut-Aten, the site of which is now the tract known as Tell el-Amarna,
occupied by the villages of et-Tell Beni-Amran and Hagg Kandil.
Here he surrounded himself with the adherents of the new creed, and
erected in it a temple to the solar disk, as well as a palace for himself,
adorned with painting, sculpture, gold, bronze, and inlaid work in
precious stones. Along with the religious reform had gone a reform
in art ; the old hieratic canon of Egyptian art was abandoned and a
striving for realism took its place. Adjoining the palace was " the
house of rolls," or record-office, where the cuneiform tablets were
discovered which have thrown so much light on the history of Egypt
and Canaan in the century before the Exodus. They consist for the
most part of letters and despatches from the kings of Babylonia,
Assyria, Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, and northern Syria, as well as the


HISTORY. [79]
Egyptian governors and vassal kings in Canaan and Syria. They are
all written in the cuneiform script of Babylonia, and with one or two
exceptions in the Babylonian language, which is thus shown to have
been at the time the common language of diplomacy and education
throughout Western Asia. The tomb of Khu-n-Aten was discovered
in 1891. The death of the king was followed by civil and religious war and
the loss of the empire in Asia. The city of Akhut-Aten was destroyed,
not to be inhabited again ; the heretical monotheism, which had never
attained any influence outside the royal court, was disused, and the
worship of Amen was restored. The stones of Khu-n-Aten's temple
to the solar disk were even carried off by Hor-em-heb (the Armais of
Manetho), and used in the temple of the victorious Amen at Karnak.
Hor-em-heb was followed by Ramses I., the founder of the XIX.
Dynasty. His son, Seti I., and grandson, Ramses II. (about 1330-
1270 B.C.), restored the Egyptian authority in Canaan, but the occupa
tion of Kadesh on the Orontes by the Hittites prevented his advance
further north. A long war with the Hittites, in which neither side
gained any decided advantage, was closed in the 21st year of Ramses II.
by a treaty of alliance, defensive and offensive, a copy of which is
engraved on the walls of Karnak. Here we may read the poem of
the court poet Pentaur, who has made a personal deed of prowess,
performed by Ramses II. at Kadesh, the subject of an epic. Seti I.
was the founder of the Temple of Kurna as well as of that at
Abydos. Ramses IL, who reigned 67 years, was the Osymandyas
of. the Greeks, and the greatest builder known in Egypt. The
Ramesseum, the great Hall of Columns at Karnak, and the marvellous
Temple of Abu-Simbel, are the most famous of his constructions.
Much of his work, however, is poor, solidity and finish being sacrificed
to haste and grandiose effect. Dr. Naville's excavations at Tell el-
Maskhuta have shown that he was the builder of Pa-Tum, the Biblical
Pithom, thus proving that Egyptologists had reason to make him the
Pharaoh of the Oppression. The Exodus may have taken place under
one of his immediate successors, Mer-en-ptah, Seti II., or Se-Ptah.
In the reign of Mer-en-ptah Egypt was attacked, both by sea and land,
by northern and Libyan tribes, some of whom had come from the
islands and shores of the Greek seas, and were what are known as
" Mycenseans." The invaders were defeated in a decisive battle and
Egypt was saved. The XIX. Dynasty fell in the midst of civil and
religious war. Peace was restored by Set-nekht, the founder of the
XX. Dynasty, whose son, Ramses III., was the last of the native
conquering Pharaohs. Another great invasion of Libyan and northern
hordes, among whom figured the Philistines, then probably in course
of their migration from Crete to Palestine, was successfully repulsed
by him, and the record of his victory was inscribed on the walls of the
temple of Medinet Habu, which he built in gratitude to his gods.
Here, too, we learn that he made a campaign into Syria as well as
one into what was subsequently the territory of Judah, the name of
Shalem or Jerusalem occurring among his conquests. But the
campaigns were merely raids, and the occupation of Gaza and other
cities in southern Palestine by the Pulista, or Philistines, blocked the
way to the future march of an Egyptian army. From the Harris
papyrus we gather that the wealth of the Pharaoh must have been


[80] HISTORY.
very great, whioh will explain why, under the name of Rhampsinitos,
he was made the hero of the famous folk-tale recounted by Herodotos.
The mines of the eastern desert and of Sinai were still worked, as well
as others in Arabia. With the death of Ramses III. Egypt began to
decline. His successors all bore the same name, but their power was
gradually supplanted by the High-priests of Amen. The last of them
(Ramses XII.) was succeeded by Nes-Bindidi, or Smendes, the founder
of the XXI. Dynasty. The kings of this dynasty reigned in the north
with their capital at Tanis (Zoan), and the High-priests of Amen
soon became practically independent in Upper Egypt. El-Hiba was
fortified by the latter against an attack from the north, Gebelen
against an attack from the south. It was while they were all-powerful
at Thebes that the mummies of the earlier kings of Egypt were
hidden in the pit at Her el-Bahari. The dynasty was overthrown by
Shashank I., the Shishak of Scripture, who was the commander of the
Libyan mercenaries. He founded the XXII. Dynasty, and fixed his
capital at Bubastis. The list of places captured by him in Judah and
Israel is engraved at Karnak. One of his successors, Osorkon II.,
constructed the great Festival Hall at Bubastis, discovered by Dr.
Naville, and is supposed to be the Zerah of the Old Testament.
Under the XXIII. Dynasty Egypt fell into complete decay. The
authority of the Pharaoh became nominal only, a number of princes
setting themselves up throughout the country, who acted like inde
pendent kings. The Ethiopians of the Sudan now began to invade
Egypt. First came Piankhi while Osorkon III., the second king of the
XXIII. Dynasty, was reigning at Bubastis. Finally the Ethiopian
Sabako expelled the native rulers, founded the XXV. Dynasty, and
united all Egypt under his sway. His second successor was Taharka,
the Tirhakah of Scripture. He was defeated by Esar-haddon, the
Assyrian monarch, and driven back . to the Sudan, Egypt being divided
by the Assyrians into twenty satrapies. More than once, however,
Taharka made an attempt to recover his lost sovereignty, with the help
of the Theban priests, who encouraged revolts against the Assyrian
domination. But these revolts merely ended in disaster to the
Egyptians, and eventually Thebes was taken by storm by the general
of the Assyrian king, Assur-bani-pal, its inhabitants carried into
captivity, and its temples burned and demolished (b.c 668). Allusion
is made to this destruction of Thebes, or No-Amon, by the prophet
Nahum (iii. 8, 9). The Assyrians were eventually expelled by Psam-
metichus I., the satrap of Sais, who took advantage of a great rebellion
against Assyrian authority, which had broken out in Asia under the
leadership of the Viceroy of Babylonia, and who, with the help of
Greek and Carian mercenaries sent by Gyges of Lydia, established the
XXVI. Dynasty with its capital at Sais, and once more united Egypt
under one strong government. During the anarchy of the period of
the " Dodekarchy," before his reign, Milesian colonists had settled in
the Delta, the Bolbitine branch of the Nile. These settlers were after
wards moved to Naukratis, at the other extremity of the Delta, where
a regular Greek city was founded under the protection of the Pharaohs
of the XXVI. Dynasty, who encouraged Greek trade. Egypt was
now opened to Greek visitors for the first time since the old days
of the Mycensean connection, and many Greek philosophers and
physicians, among them Thales and Pythagoras, are said to have visited


HISTORY. [81]
the Nile-land in search of wisdom. On the renascent Greek art of
the "Archaic" period Egyptian models certainly exercised consider
able influence, and the sculptor and bronze-worker Tbeodoros of
Samos was said to have visited Egypt and have derived his inspiration
thence. Egyptian art itself underwent a revival at this period, the
work of the Old Kingdom being taken as the general model ; the art
of the XXVI. Dynasty is thus more or less archaistic in style. Of
the successors of Psammetichus I., Necho aspired to renew Egyptian
domination in Western Asia ; he invaded Palestine and defeated
Josiah of Judah at Megiddo in 608 B.C., but was four years later himself
defeated by the Babylonian King Nebuchadrezzar at Carchemish.
Apries (Haa-ab-Ra, Hophra) endeavoured unsuccessfully to reassert
Egyptian authority in Palestine, and in the reign of his usurping
successor, Amasis (Aahmes II.), Cyprus became subject to Egypt.
The influence of the art of Egypt on that of Cyprus at this time is
very evident. Amasis' son, Psammetichus III., was defeated and put
to death by Kambyses, son of Cyrus, who made Egypt a province of
the Persian Empire.
Fifth Period : Persians and Greeks (b.c 525-30). — The Persians
are reckoned as the XXVII. Dynasty, and during their occupation
attempts, more or less successful, were made by native insurgents to
drive them out. Amyrtseos, who is said to have been a scion of the
ancient royal family, made the best stand, and is reckoned the sole
king of the XXVIII. Dynasty. There were several sovereigns of the
XXIX. Dynasty; among whom we need only mention Nepherites I.,
Achoris, and Nepherites II., all of whom were for a time independent.
The struggle went on under Nectanebo I. (Nekht-her-hebet), whose
name remains on the magnificent granite shrine of the temple at
Edfti. In his time Plato visited Egypt as an oil merchant. Two
weak kings succeeded Nectanebo I., and form the XXX. Dynasty;
but the overwhelming power of Alexander the Great soon annihilated
the independence of Egypt, and it fell on his death to the share of his
general, Ptolemy, who, putting an end to the disorder which had
prevailed for two centuries, was hailed as the founder of a new dynasty
and the saviour (soter) of the country. Under his wise administration
Egypt once more prospered. The new city of Alexandria was his
capital, where the body of the great Macedonian was preserved for
ages, and under him, and the second and third kings of his family,
learning and the arts flourished. The Ptolemies conformed in public
to the customs and religion of their new country; they built new
temples and restored the old sanctuaries. Some of the most remark
able of the gigantic edifices of the Pharaohs were emulated in Dendera,
Edfu, Esna, and Philee ; while the inner shrines of Karnak and Luxor
attest their devotion to the Egyptian gods. Their names, translated
but awkwardly into the hieroglyphic character, occur in many places,
but their coins are Greek. Ptolemy II. (Philadelphos) is said to have
employed a priest named Manetho of Sebennytus to write a national
History, of which the List of Kings alone has been preserved. The
schools of Alexandria now became the best in the civilised world, and
the wisdom which so largely enters into the teaching of Moses and
of Plato was rather illustrated than altogether superseded. Diodorus
visited Egypt in the reign of Ptolemy XIII. (Auletes). Family strife
eventually reduced the Ptolemaic kingdom to a state of dependence


[82] HISTORY.
on the goodwill and protection of the Roman Senate and people, and
in Cicero's days exiled Ptolemies voyaged to Rome to cajole or bribe
the leaders of the republic to support their claims. Many times
before the establishment of the principate at Rome it was proposed to
absorb Egypt, and Ctesar actually took (and was himself besieged in)
Alexandria, but it was not until just before the dawn of the Christian
era that Augustus put the last of the family, Csesarion, the son of
Cleopatra and Julius Caesar, to death, and annexed Egypt to the Roman
Empire. Sixth Period : Rome (b.c. 30-a.d. 640).— Under Rome Egypt was
for a time well governed and rich, but its importance in the history of
early Christianity gives it an interest beyond that derived from its
actual condition. Though the names of the Ceesars occur in cartouches,
and one or two temples, as that at Esna and "Pharaoh's Bed" at
Philre, attest their care for the old religion, it rapidly altered its
character and degenerated among the people; and Hadrian, who
visited Egypt in a.d. 122, gave it a blow by his addition of Antinous to
the number of the Egyptian gods. Before the reign of Severus edicts
were necessary for the repression of Christianity, to which the persecu
tion of Diocletian only added strength. Alexandria became a nursery
of rival sects ; and to their zeal and learning the modern world owes
the collection and preservation of the books of the New Testament.
Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, annexed Egypt to her short-lived realm,
a.d. 270, but at her defeat Rome was again supreme. Though Con-
stantine made Christianity the established religion of his empire,
heathenism, especially under a modified Gnostic form, still lingered in
Egypt until the edict of Theodosius, a.d. 379, which made it unlawful.
Yet proofs exist that in the sacred isle of Philse and other places the
altars of Osiris and Isis were not wholly destroyed until nearly a
century later. The period of Egyptian decline culminated under the
feeble rule of the Byantine emperors, heretics raised the people in
frequent tumults, famine followed maladministration, and another
Asiatic invasion, under Chosroes the Persian, lost Egypt to the empire
for ten years (a.d. 619-629). Its resources, like its ancient civilisation,
were wholly exhausted, and it fell an easy prey to the Arabs under
'Amr, or Amru, a.d. 640.
Seventh Period : Arabs and Turks (a.d. 640-1882).— Although the
first care of the new masters of Egypt was rather to change and destroy, it
was not long before the new conquest became the headquarters of Islam.
In many places, as the Delta, the peasants accepted the new faith. In
others, as the Howara, colonies from Arabia almost exterminated the
old inhabitants. The Copts, as the Egyptian Christians are still
called, were at first treated with toleration ; but, owing chiefly to their
own seditions, were afterwards persecuted, and for many centuries
were kept in a state of subjection. The Abbaside Khalifs promoted
learning and architecture. El-Mamum, a son of the celebrated Harvm
er-Rashid, caused the translation of Greek mathematical and astro
nomical works. His nephew, El-Mutawekkil, established the Nilometer
at Roda. On the accession of the Tulunide kings Egypt became really
if not nominally independent of the Khalif, who latterly resided, as a
kind of pope, in semi-obscurity under their protection. Ahmed ibn-
Tulun built the great mosque which bears his name within the walls of


HISTORY. [83]
Cairo ; but the capital was then Fustat. The first of the Fatimides in
Egypt, Abu Tummim or El-Muizz, built Cairo in a.d. 969, and it has
ever since been the chief city. Under this dynasty the country
flourished. The great mosque of El-Hakim was built in a.d. 1003. In
1176 the Frank Crusaders attacked and partly burnt Cairo, but Yusuf,
called Saladin, erected the fortifications which still remain, and left
marks of his munificence and taste in many places. The Bahr Yusuf,
a canal which he made, or perhaps restored, runs for nearly four
hundred miles parallel to the Nile, and irrigates vast tracts. In 1249,
the French king, Louis IX., was taken prisoner in Egypt, almost at
the same time that the dynasty of Saladin came to an end. The
Baheride Mameluke sultans continued, however, the great public
works he had commenced, and the mosques of Sultan Kalaiin and
Sultan Hasan are so fine as almost to make amends for the destruction
of the ancient monuments from whose materials they were built. The
number of handsome buildings of this period all over Egypt attests the
general prosperity of the country, notwithstanding the unsettled state
of the government, which passed from sultan to sultan, and from
family to family, with a frequency which is bewildering. The tombs
of these Mameluke kings, and the magnificent copies of the Kuran
written for them and now in the library at Cairo, show that the arts
still flourished. The mosque of Barkuk dates before 1399 ; that of
Kait Bey is all but a century later. In 1501 Sultan El-Ghuri was
defeated at Aleppo by the Turks, and in 1517 Sultan Tuman Bey, his
nephew, lost a second battle near Heliopolis, and was put to death by
the invader. The Turks removed the residence of the fainiant Khallf
to Constantinople, and made Egypt a pashalik. Their careless govern
ment was much impeded by the local Arab magnates, who formed
tributary principalities all through the country. During the war of
the Turks with Russia in 1771, one of these princes, Ali Bey, made
himself master of all Egypt. His successor was recognised by the
Turks, and it seemed for a time as if a native dynasty was once more
about to be established ; but in 1798 Bonaparte invaded Egypt, defeated
the so-called Mamelukes near the Pyramids, and took Cairo. Lord
Nelson having at the battle of the Nile destroyed the French fleet,
Bonaparte retired to France, leaving General Kleber behind. Kleber
was assassinated by an Arab, and General Menou, his successor, had
to capitulate to the English, who, under Abercromby, had won the
battle of Alexandria, 21st March, 1801. A few years later the Turks
appointed the clever but unscrupulous Mohammed Ali to the govern
ment of Egypt ; and after a few years of struggle with the native chiefs,
his power was finally established in 1811 by the treacherous slaughter of
the Mameluke Beys and their followers, 470 in number, in the citadel
of Cairo. Under the rule of Mohammed Ali Egypt rapidly rose in impor
tance, the Sudan was annexed, and in 1831 he declared war against the
Sultan with the view of obtaining complete independence. His efforts
would probably have been successful but for the intervention of the Euro
pean Powers, who obliged him to quit Syria, which had been conquered
from the Turks by his son Ibrahim, and acknowledge the Porte as his
suzerain. Abdul Medjid, on receiving his submission in 1841, made the
viceroyalty hereditary in his family. During his long reign Mohammed
Ali endeavoured in many ways to improve the material and moral condi
tion of the country. Schools were founded, Europeans were encouraged 9 2


[84] HISTORY.
to settle in the country.'and were even appointed to public offices ; canals
and embankments were restored, and the cultivation of the cotton plant
was introduced. In the latter years of his life he became imbecile, and
in 1848 was succeeded by his son Ibrahim, who, however, died the
following year, just shortly before Mohammed Ali's own death. The
next ruler was Abbas Pasha, son of Tussum Pasha, and grandson of
Mohammed Ali. He was a, suspicious and brutal tyrant, who stopped
the reforms begun by his grandfather, and lived in constant dread of
assassination, a fate which eventually befell him in 1854, at the hands
of his own servants. His uncle Said Pasha, Mohammed Ali's third
son, succeeded, and under him Egypt again entered on the path of
reform. But unfortunately the finances of the country were not equal
to supporting the extravagance of an Oriental potentate as well as his
schemes for its improvement, and in 1862 Egypt began the rdle of a
borrower, which she has since followed with such fatal facility. Rail
ways were begun in this reign ; the scheme for cutting through the
Isthmus of Suez assumed a definite shape, and a commencement of the
actual canal was made ; and the first steps were taken towards making
the study and preservation of the old monuments a national care. At
the death of Said in 1863, Ismail Pasha, the second son of Ibrahim
Pasha, a nephew of Said, succeeded to the viceroyalty. Able and
energetic in a remarkable degree, he endeavoured to carry out all his
grandfather's schemes for the introduction of European civilisation,
and indeed went far beyond them. In order the better to succeed he
at once aimed at securing virtual if not actual independence of the
Porte ; and by the firman of 1866 giving him the title of Khedive, and
making the succession direct from father to son instead of its descending
according to Turkish law to the eldest heir, and a subsequent firman
of 1873 giving him the power to make treaties and otherwise act
independently, his object was nearly attained. The reforms accom
plished during his reign were many and important, and numerous
public works bear witness to his zeal ; but unfortunately the resources
of the country did not keep pace with these many improvements, which
have only been accomplished at the expense of burdening the country
with an enormous debt, and completely impoverishing the peasantry.
That future generations will benefit cannot be doubted, but more
credit would have been gained for what has really been done had it
been done gradually, with a better adaptation of the means to the end,
and without pressing so hardly on the present generation. In June,
1879, Ismail was deposed by the Sultan at the request or dictation
of the European Powers interested in Egypt, and his eldest son, Mo
hammed Tewfik, succeeded him. Tewfik, having owed his throne to
the action of the European Powers, placed himself entirely under their
control, and the government of the country was practically in the
hands of Major Baring, now Lord Cromer, and Monsieur de Blignieres,
the British and French Commissioners of the debt. Every effort was
made to reduce expenditure, and among other economies, the army
was very largely reduced. This created a serious feeling of discontent
among the officers, and in February, 1881, a military revolt broke out,
which was the commencement of future troubles. The Egyptian
Chamber of Notables had assembled on the 26th December, 1881, and
on the 31st they claimed their right to consider the Egyptian Budget.
On the 10th January, 1882, the British and French Consuls-General


HISTORY. [85]
presented a joint note to the Khedive to the effect that, under certain
circumstances, the Governments of France and England might be
obliged to take a more active part to guard against all chance of com
plications in Egypt. On the 20th January, 1882, Sir E. Malet pointed
out to the British Government that armed intervention in Egypt
would become a necessity if the Chamber of Notables was refused
permission to vote on the Budget. His prediction proved correct ; and,
after much correspondence, an Anglo-French fleet assembled in Suda
Bay, and arrived in Alexandria on the 20th May. On the 28th May
the Egyptian Ministry resigned, on the ground that the Khedive, in
acquiescing in foreign interference, had acted in opposition to the
firmans of the Sultan. Tewfik telegraphed to the Sultan, asking that
a Turkish Commissioner might be sent to Egypt. The request was
acceded to, and Dervish Pasha arrived at Alexandria on the 7th June.
The situation became more strained daily, and on the 11th June a riot
took place in Alexandria, in which a number of Europeans lost their
lives. The power of the Khedive diminished, while the influence of
Arabi Pasha and the military party, who believed that Tewfik was
playing into the hands of France and England, increased. A conference
assembled at Constantinople, but this led to little result. The French
Government, having failed to obtain a vote of credit from the Chamber
of Deputies, were unable to take active measures. The British
Admiral, Sir Beauchamp Seymour, observing that the Egyptians were
arming some batteries, sent an ultimatum to the Egyptian commander,
and on the refusal of the latter to desist, opened fire on the forts on
the 11th July. The forts were silenced, and on the following evening
Alexandria was fired by the Egyptian populace and troops, who retired
into the interior of the country. A British expedition was sent out
under the command of Lord Wolseley, who, after defeating the Egyptian
troops at Tel el-Kebir, took possession of Cairo on the 14th September.
The late Khedive was brought back under British protection, and
since that time Egypt has been occupied by British troops and been
practically under the British Government, although a native ministry
still conducts the internal affairs of the country.
Eighth Period : Britain (From a.d. 1882). — Under the British con
trol various abuses have been removed, the administration of justice
has been thoroughly reformed, the bastinado abolished, the corvie
done away with, and taxation lightened and equitably exacted. The
finances have also been placed on a firm footing, and the shattered
credit of the country restored. On account of the necessity of economy
and rest from military undertakings, the Sudan and its trade had to
be given up for sixteen years. In 1883 Muhammad Ahmad, a Dongo-
lawi, proclaimed himself a Mahdi or Messiah, and raised the standard
of religious revolt against the Egyptian Government in the Sudan.
He took el-Obeid and annihilated Hicks Pasha and his army. General
Gordon was sent out from England by the Gladstone Ministry to
reoccupy the .post of Governor-General of the Sudan, which he had
before held under Ismail ; he could do nothing, however, and was soon
himself beseiged in Khartum. The littoral at Suakin was dominated by
an anti-European fanatic named Osman Digna, and fighting ensued there
also. It now became necessary to extricate Gordon, and an expedition
was despatched up the Nile to do this under Sir Garnet (now Lord)
Wolseley. The mission of Gordon had been a mistake from the first,


[86] HISTORY.
and now a second mistake was made (but with more show of excuse) in
regard to the route taken by the rescuing expedition. The Suakin-
Berber route should have been chosen. Much time was wasted on the
Nile transport, and before the expedition could reach Khartum the
city had fallen and Gordon was dead (Jan. 26, 1885). The Sudan was
now entirely abandoned as far north as Aswan. The Mahdists, thinking
they had driven the British and Egyptians out of the Sudan, and were
going to drive them into the sea, attacked Egypt, but were defeated at
Ginnis (Dec. 30, 1885). Osman Digna continued to keep the Suakin
coast in a state of unrest, and in 1889 the Mahdists again attacked
Egypt, being defeated at Toski by General (now Lord) Grenfell on
Aug. 3, 1889. The Mahdist attacks on Egypt now ceased. In 1887 an
abortive attempt was made to determine the British occupation of
Egypt by the negotiation of the Drummond- Wolff Convention; this
fell through owing to the refusal of Turkey to sign the provisions.
French opposition to the British control now began to take form and
became troublesome. In 1892 the Khedive Tewfik died and was
succeeded by his son Abbas II. Hilmi, a young man who did not at first
understand his position vis-a-vis the British Government. He appears
now to have realised the necessity of the British control over the country
of which he is, be it remembered, not the legitimate ruler, but only
viceroy, and works loyally with the British for the improvement of Egypt.
French resentment at the British ^occupation of Egypt, however, did not
cool down till the reoccupation of the Sudan brought matters to a head,
and the "Fashoda incident" showed the French nation that the only
means by which England could be deprived of her predominant position
in the Nile valley was war. This was not desired, and matters are now
happily settled in a friendly manner by an international arrangement
(1904) which guarantees British authority, especially in matters of
finance, while leaving to France the enjoyment of her "historical
claims " and the control of the service of antiquities. The reoccupation
of the Sudan was carried out in the years 1896-9 by General Sir
Herbert (now Lord) Kitchener, without difficulty. Mahdism was
destroyed, and Khartum became the capital of the new Anglo-Egyptian
condominium of the Sudan. The development of the rescued territory
has proceeded apace, and is now assured of steady progress by the open
ing of the new railway from the Nile to Suakin and Port Sudan (1906).
The year 1906 also saw the settlement of a serious difficulty between
Egypt and Turkey. The question of the Sinaitio frontier, which had
been raised by a Turkish occupation of the village of Tabah, near Akaba,
was settled, after a British ultimatum to Turkey, according to the terms
of the understanding of 1892, by which the frontier was drawn in a
straight line from er-Raf'a to Akaba. The incident somewhat unsettled
the minds of the natives, and resulted in a regrettable attack on British
officers near the village of Denshwai,in the Delta, in which Captain
Bull was killed. The murderers were executed, and the temporary
recrudescence of Moslem fanaticism (always existing, though dormant,
in Mohammedan countries) has now died down, and tourists need not
fear any untoward incident.
3. Chronological Table to B.C. 30.
Any chronological table of the early Kings of Egypt must neces
sarily be given with great reserve. There can be no certainty before


HISTORY. [87]
the rise of the XVIII. Dynasty. The enormous number of years
required by the only ancient authority extant, the lists of Manetho,
has caused many authors to consider some of the dynasties given by
him as not successive but contemporaneous. Recent discoveries, how
ever, seem to show that the dynasties of which he gives a list did
succeed one another, with one or two exceptions.
The following table embraces the period from the first dynasty to
the final absorption of the country into the Roman Empire. It gives
the number and title of each dynasty, the places at which monuments
of it are found, the names of the principal kings and the dates. Up to
the XVIII. Dynasty these can only be approximate, but from the
beginning of the XVIH. Dynasty onwards no greater error than
30 to 50 years is possible. The approximate dates up to the XVIII.
Dynasty are those of Brugsch's great ' History of Egypt under the
Pharaohs,' modified, when necessary, in accordance with modern
discoveries. I. Thtnite (from This, near Abydos).
About [The legendary Mena (Menes). " Founder of Memphis."]
B.C. Probably a later reminiscence of the real early kings, Aha,
4400 and Narmer (?). II. Memphite.
4100 I (For chief kings, see p. [123].)
III. Memphite.
Mastabas of Bit Khalldf ; Pyramid of Midilm ; Wddi Maghdra
(Sinai).
3766 I Tjeser.
| Sneferu. IV. Memphite.
Giza; Sakkdra; Wddi Maghdra (Sinai).
3733 Khufu (Cheops, Suphis). Great Pyramid of Giza built.
3666 Khafra (Chephren). Second Pyramid of Giza built.
3633 Men-kau-Ra (Mykerinos). Third Pyramid of Giza built.
V. Heliopolitan.
Sakkdra; Abusir ; Wddi Maghdra (Sinai).
3533 Kaka. The first king known to have used the double
cartouche.
Ne-user-Ba An. Pyramid and Sun-temple at Abusir.
3366 Tat-ka-Ba Assa. The tomb of Thi at Sakkara dates from
about this period.
3333 Unas.
VI. Memphite.
Sdn; Sakkdra; Shikh Sa'id ; Aswdn ; Abydos; Wddi
Maghdra (Sinai), &c.
3233 Meri-Ra Pepi I. (Apappus). The name of this king is found
in a great many places from San to Aswan ; he appears to
have been an able and powerful ruler. According to the
Greek accounts, he reigned 100 years. Pyramid at Sakkara.
Merenra. \ Expedition of Herkhuf to Nubia.
Nefer-ka-ra Pept II. j *


[88]

HISTORY.

VII. Memphite.
VIII. Memphite.
IX. Herakleopolite (Ahnas).
X. Hebakleopolite (Ahnas and Asyut).
Few records of these four dynasties have as yet been found on any
of the monuments. XI. Theban.
Dir el-Bdhari and Dra' Abil'l Negga, Thebes; Hammamdt; Konosso;
Shatt er-Bigala, &c.
About Antef and Mentu-hetep appear to have been the names borne
B.C. by many of the kings of this dynasty. Under one of the
latter, Neb-hapet-Ra Mentu-hetep, Egypt appears to have
again risen in importance. Renascence of art.
2500 ¦ Seankh-ka-Ba Mentu-hetep. Expedition of Hanu to Punt.
XII. Theban (royal seat at Athet-taui, in the neighbourhood of
the Fayyum).
Sdn; Heliopolis; Fayyilm; Beni Hasan ; Asyiit ; Abydos; Karnak;
Semna; Wddi Maghdra (Sinai), &c.
2466 Amen-em-hat I. The first king of this dynasty, under which
Egypt reached to a high pitch of prosperity.
2433 Senusert or Usertsen I. The obelisk now standing at Helio
polis was erected in this king's reign. His glories and those
of his two successors, Amen-em-hat II. and XJsertsen II. , are
celebrated in inscriptions in the tombs of Ameni and Khnem-
hetep at Beni Hasan.
2333 Senusert or Usertsen III. A great conqueror; memorials of
his victories over the " Kushites," or Nubians, are found at
Semna, above the Second Cataract.
2300 Amen-em-hat III. Conferred great benefit'on the country
by the construction of dikes, reservoirs, and canals for regu
lating the inundations of the Nile ; the most celebrated of
these works was Lake Mceris in the Fayyum, close to which
he also built the famous Labyrinth. Records of the rise of
the Nile during his reign are found at Semna, where he
caused regular observations of the increase in the river to he
taken and forwarded northwards.
XIII. Theban.
Sdn; Asyiit; Abydos; Thebes; El Kab ; First Cataract ;
Semna ; Argo.
2200 Sebek-hetep. This name appears to have been borne by several
kings of this dynasty; one, Sebek-hetep III., records the
height of the Nile in the third year of his reign on the rocks
at Semna. XII. Dynasty kingdom preserved in its entirety
from Dongola to the Delta for at leas^t two centuries. Later,
2000 the name Sebek-em-sa-f appears.
XIV. Xoite (?).
XV. Hyksos or Shepherds.
XVI. Hyksos or Shepherds.


HISTORY. [89]
XVII. Hyksos or Shepherds in Middle and Lower Egypt and
Native Kings at Thebes (the 4 last of the latter being Sekenen-
Ba Taa I. ; Sekenen-Ra Taa II. ; Sekenen-Ra Taa III. ; ' Uatj-
Kheper-Ba Karnes).
B.C. Hyksos ; Bubastis ; Sdn (?) ; Upper Egypt.
1750 Se-user-n-Ra Khian, " embracing territories."
Aa-user-Bd Apepi I., in whose reign the great mathe
matical papyrus was written.
Aa-kenen-Bd Apepi II., under whom the feudal prince of
Thebes revolted, and the war of independence began.
The whole of the period of Egyptian history from the XIII. to the
XVII. Dynasty inclusive is wrapped in obscurity. It is evident that
while the three Hyksos dynasties reigned in Lower Egypt and the
Delta, the old Theban royal race still held sway in the south as
tributaries of the Hyksos. The Sallier papyrus in the British Museum
introduces us to Apepi and a certain Sekenen-Ra, a " hak " or governor
of "the town of the south," as contemporaries ; and a long inscription
in a tomb at el-Kab gives an account of the capture of Avaris, the
chief town of the Hyksos, by Aahmes, or Amosis, a successor of
Sekenen-Ra, and the first king of the XVIII. Dynasty.
XVIH. Theban. b.c. 1600.
Heliopolis ; Tura and Masdra ; Tell. el-Amarna ; Karnak ; el-Kab ;
Silsilis ; Kdm Ombo ; Elephantini ; Amada ; Wddi Haifa ; Gebel
Barkal ; Soleb ; Sardbit el-Khadim ; Wddi Maghdra, dc.

B.C.
1600

1500

Aahmes. The conqueror of the Hyksos, and founder of
a powerful monarchy.
Amen-hetep (Amenbphis) I. The boundaries of Egypt
extended.
Thothmes (Thothmosis) I. A great conqueror, who carried
the arms of Egypt into Syria.
Thothmes II. Reigned but a short time, in conjunction
with his sister and queen, Hatshepsut.
Hatshepsu I., or Maat-ka-Ra. Reigned alone for some
time, on the death of her brother, Thothmes II. The
sculptures on the walls of Der el-Bahari at Thebes
commemorate a great expedition sent by her to the
land of Punt. She was succeeded by another brother,
Thothmes III., who for a short time reigned in conjunc
tion with her.
Thothmes III. One of the most famous of Egyptian
kings. During his long reign Egypt, in the language
of the hieroglyphs, "placed its frontier where it
pleased." He carried his victorious arms into Western
Asia. The walls of his magnificent temple at Karnak
are covered with inscriptions recounting his triumphs,
and giving a list of the countries and peoples conquered
by him. His cartouche, with the name Men-kheper-Ra,
occurs more frequently on remains of every kind, from
temples down to scarab*i, than that of any other
monarch. The greatest of Egyptian military kings.


[90]

1400

HISTORY.
Amen-hetep II. Wars in Syria and Nubia.
Thothmes IV. Died young. .
Amen-hetep III. Numerous monuments, especially at
Luxor and Karnak, attest the length and glory of his
reisn The famous so-called Colossi, one of which is
celebrated in Greek and Roman tradition as the vocal
Memnon, bear his name.
Amen-hetep IV. or Khu-n-aten. This king, under the
influence of his mother Tii, a foreigner, attempted to
change the religion of Egypt, substituting a single deity,
symbolised by Aten (the sun's disk), for the Theban
gods, and removed the seat of government from Thebes
to a 'city which he founded and called Khut-aten, the
modern Tell el-Amarna. He was succeeded by two or
three other kings holding the same religious opinions.
Horemheb (Armais). On the accession of Horemheb as
a legitimate sovereign the old worship and capital were
restored, and all traces of his heretical predecessors
destroyed as much as possible.

XIX. Theban.
Sdn; Memphis; Abydos; Karnak; Kilrna; Luxor; Bit-el-Walli;
Dirr ; AbH Simbel, &c.
1380 Bamses I.
Seti or Mer-en-Ptah I. (Sethos). A great conqueror, who
carried his victorious arms far into Asia. He made the
first canal between the Red Sea and the Nile. Many
monuments of his magnificence exist in Egypt, especi
ally at ; Karnak, Kurna, and Abydos ; and his tomb
(" Belzoni's ") is the most remarkable in every way of
the " Tombs of the Kings" at Thebes.
1330 Ramses II. User-Maat-Ra _(" the Great "). Thelegendary
Sesostris of the Greek historians. His name was in
scribed on nearly every monument of importance in
Egypt, and the story of his wars and putative deeds
of valour is recounted in numerous inscriptions and
papyrus rolls. He has also left memorials of his
victories in some of the countries he conquered, as, for
instance, on the tablet at the mouth of the Nahr el-Kelb
near Beyrut. He erected many splendid buildings, as
the ruins still testify, during his long reign of 67 years;
he built also the city of Pithoni. A kind of Egyptian
Louis XIV. His reign really not so glorious as that of
Amen-hetep III., and himself really a less renowned
conqueror than his father or Thothmes III. Forced to
conclude a treaty on equal terms with the Kheta con
federacy of Cappadocia and N. Syria. No claim to the
title "Great."
1270 Mer-en-Ptah II. Perhaps the Pharaoh of the Exodus.
Egypt raided by Libyans and Northerners Two or
three other unimportant reigns conclude this dynasty.


B.C.
1200

HISTORY. [91]
XX. Theban.
Both sides of the river at Thebes.
Ramses III. The Bhampsinitos of Herodotos. He was
the last of the warrior kings of Egypt. Defeated attack
on Egypt by Philistines and other northern (Mycenaean)
tribes. This victory is described on the walls of the
magnificent building erected by him at Medinet Habu.
His tomb is one of the finest of the "Tombs of the
¦ Kings."
The remaining kings of this dynasty all bore the name of Ramses ;
the only ones of any note are Ramses VI. and Ramses IX. During
their reigns Egypt gradually declined in importance.
XXI. Tanite.
The history of this dynasty is somewhat obscure. A rival dynasty
of High-priests of Amen, founded by Her-Hor, usurped its authority,
and during the latter part of its continuance ruled Upper Egypt from
Thebes. Chief name Pinetjem. XXII. Bubastide.
Apis Mausoleum at Sakkdra ; Karnak ; Silsilis.
Circ. 950 Shashank I. or Shishak I. The Shishak of the Bible,
who captured and pillaged Jerusalem (1 Kings xiv.
25-28 ; 2 Chron. xii.) An inscription on one of the
walls of the Great Hall at Karnak commemorates
this campaign against Judah, and gives a list of the
conquered towns and districts.
The remaining kings of this dynasty are of little importance. One
of them, Osorkon II., who built the great Festival Hall at Bubastis,
may have been the Zerah of the Old Testament.
XXIII. Tanite.
An obscure dynasty of petty kings, of whom there appear from the
monuments to have been three. XXTV. Saite.
Manetho assigns one king, BoccJwris, called on the monuments
Bakenranef, to this dynasty, and gives him a short reign of six years.
During the period embracing the latter part of the XXII. Dynasty,
and the whole of the XXIII. and XXIV., Egypt would appear to
have been exposed to invasions of the Ethiopian kings. A memorial
stone discovered at Gebel Barkal, near Merog, gives an account of the
conquests in Egypt of the Ethiopian king Piankhi, in the time of
Osorkon III. (2nd king of the XXIII. Dynasty), whose successors
founded the next dynasty.


[92] HISTORY.
XXV. Ethiopian.
Karnak.
B.C.
Circ. 715 ; Shabak or Sabaco.
Shabatak. „„-,,,-,- c m1.. . ,
702 ' Taharaka or Tirhakah. Called "king of Ethiopia"
(2 Kings xix. 9).
From the Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions we learn that during the
rule of this dynasty Egypt was invaded by the Assyrians under Esar-
haddon the son of Sennacherib, who conquered Egypt B.C. 674. Tir
hakah, however, returned, and was again driven into Ethiopia (B.C. 670)
by Esar-haddon, who divided Egypt into 20 satrapies under native
princes. On these revolting at Esar-haddon's death, and joining with
Tirhakah, the country was again invaded by Esar-haddon's son, Assur-
banipal (B.C. 668) ; and first Tirhakah, and then his successor, called
in the inscriptions Urdamaneh, were completely subdued, and Thebes
taken and destroyed. On the outbreak of a general revolt against the
Assyrian power, Psammetichos the son of Necho, the vassal prince of
Sais, succeeded, with the help of mercenaries from Gyges, king of
Lydia, in making himself independent and suppressing all rivals.
XXVI. Same, b.c 664.

B.C.664

Sdn ; Apis Mausoleum at Sakkdra ; Karnak ; Luxor ;
Abii Simbel.

Psametik (Psammetichos) I. First settlement of Greeks in
Egypt.
610 Nekau (Necho). Son of Psammetichos. He attempted to reopen
Seti I.'s canal between the Red Sea and the Nile, and sent a
fleet to circumnavigate Africa. He made war against the
Assyrians, and defeated their ally Josiah, king of Judah,
at Megiddo, but was afterwards himself defeated by Nebu
chadrezzar at Carchemish.
594 Psammetichos II. An interesting inscription on the shin of one
of the statues of Ramses II. at Abu Simbel records the pursuit
of Psammetichos, at the head of his Ionian and Karian
soldiers, of some native Egyptian troops who had deserted,
owing to jealousy of the favour shown to these mercenaries.
His reign was short and inglorious.
589 Haa-ab-Ra. or Hophra (Apries). Son of Psammetichos II. He
went to the assistance of Zedekiah, when besieged in Jerusalem
by Nebuchadrezzar, but afterwards allowed the Babylonians
to capture the city and put an end to the kingdom of Judffia.
During his reign a large number of Jews settled in Egypt.
He was dethroned by one of his generals, Aahmes.
570 : Aahmes II. (Amasis). During his long and prosperous reign
Egypt regained some of its former splendour. Aahmes allied
himself with the Greeks, and granted them many religious
and commercial privileges, among the latter being the removal
of the whole of the Mediterranean trade from Tanis, Mendes,
and Bubastis to the Greek port of Naukratis a few miles


521

HISTORY. [93]
B.C. ' below Sais on the Canopic branch of the Nile. During his
reign the Persian Empire was founded by Cyrus, whose son
Kambyses advanced against Egypt, and, having defeated
525 : Amasis' son and successor Psammetichos III. at Pelusium,
captured Memphis and became master of the country.
XXVII. Persian, b.c. 525.
Oasis of El-Kharga ; Rocks of Hammamdt.
525 j Ka.mbjses(Kambujiya,m~5Zgyi)tia.riKambcdietc>rKenbutja). This
monarch's sway in Egypt is chiefly known by his unsuccessful
expeditions against Ethiopia and the Oases, and his violent
intolerance, according to the Greek historians, of the Egyptian
religion, though lately deciphered inscriptions appear to prove
the contrary.
Darius Hystaspes (Daryavaush, Eg. Nteriauesh). Showed his
reverence for the Egyptian religion by building a temple to
Amen-Ra at the Oasis of El-Kharga ; and his desire to promote
the prosperity of the country and conciliate the people by
endeavouring to reopen the canal between the Red Sea and
the Nile, by re-establishing the route between Koptos and the
Red Sea, by replacing with regular coins the rings and weights
which had hitherto done duty as money, and by appointing a
descendant of the old native kings, Amasis, satrap.
484 j Xerxes I. (Klishayarsha, Eg. Khshayarsha) . The defeat of the
Persians at Marathon by the Greeks encouraged the Egyptians
to revolt under Khabbash, but they were soon reduced to
submission and placed under the severe government of Aehas-
menes, brother of Xerxes.
Artaxerxes Makrocheir (Artakashtra, ^ Eg. Artakhshashas) .
The Egyptians again revolted under Inaros and Amyrtaios,
and, aided by the Athenians, were for a time partially suc
cessful. During this period Herodotus visited Egypt.
Darius Nothos. After continued efforts the Egyptians succeeded
in regaining their independence under Amyrtaios, who was
recognised as King of Egypt.

405

424

XXVIII. SaIte. b.c. 415.
This dynasty consisted of but one king, Amyrtaios, who only
reigned six years. The Egyptians, however, succeeded in maintaining
their independence, and another native king, Naifaarut (Nepherites),
founded a new dynasty. XXIX. Mendesian. b.c. 399.
Medinet Hdbu.
The duration of this dynasty was short, though it contained five
kings — Naifaarut (Nepherites) I. ; Haker (Achoris), who allied himself
with Evagoras, tyrant of Salamis, against the Persians ; Psamut
(Psammuthis) ; Hor-neb-kha ; and Naifaarut II. It ruled Egypt from
Mendes in the Delta, and was succeeded by another race of native
princes from the neighbouring town of Sebennytos.


[94] HISTORY.
XXX. Sebennytb. b.c. 378.
Sakkdra; Karnak; Edfil ; Phils.
Nectanebo I. (Nekht-Hor-heb), who founded this dynasty, success
fully repelled the attacks of the Persians, and secured eighteen years'
peace and tranquillity for Egypt ; but the attack was renewed during
the reign of his successor Tachds (Tjeho) by Artaxerxes Mnemon, and
only repelled through the aid of the Spartans under Agesilaus. Tachos'
son, Nectanebo II. (Nekht-neb-f), after varying success, was finally
conquered by Artaxerxes Ochus, and Egypt again became a Persian
province. Plato visited Egypt during the reign of Nectanebo I.
XXXI. Persian, b.c. 340.
The second domination of the Persians in Egypt was of short
duration. After Alexander had defeated Darius III. (Kodomannos)
at the Issus, he marched upon Egypt, and reached Memphis without
opposition, the native Egyptians and Greeks welcoming him as a
deliverer. XXXII. Macedonian, b.c. 332.
During his short stay in Egypt Alexander the Great founded the
city of Alexandria. He showed his respect for the ancient religion by
joining in the worship of Apis, and by going to the Oasis of Ammon to
lay his offerings as the " Son of the Sun" on the altar of Amen-Ra. At
his death in 323, and the division of the various provinces amongst
his generals as lieutenants of his titular successor, Philip Arrhidaos,
Egypt fell to Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, who continued to administer
the country as governor during the lifetime of Arrhidmos and the
young Alexander JEgus (b.c. 317). Six years after the murder of the
latter by Cassander (b.c. 311), Ptolemy assumed the title of king
(b.c. 305). XXXIII. Greek or Ptolemaic, b.c. 305.
Alexandria; Sakkdra; Dendera; Thebes (both sides of the river);
Erment; Esna; Edfil; Kdm Ombo ; Philce ; Kalabsha; and various
other places in Nubia.
B.C.
305 Ptolemy Soter. Though constantly at war, chiefly with Anti-
gonus, for the protection of his kingdom, Ptolemy did not
neglect the prosperity of the country, which greatly increased
beneath his rule. Learning and the arts also flourished the
foundation of the Museum and Library at Alexandria attract
ing learned men from all parts of the world Ptolemy
abdicated two years before his death in 283 in favour of
his son.
285 Ptolemy Philadelphos. Continued the wise and beneficent
rule of his father. He erected the famous Pharos at Alexandria,
founded the cities of Beremke and ArsinoS on the Red Sea
and reopened the canal between the Red Sun ov,^ +i,„ w;io'
Manetho's History of Egypt and the Gr«* ^ttati£ of £


HISTORY. [95]
Old Testament known as the Septuagint are said to have been
undertaken by Philadelphos' command.
Ptolemy Euergetes I. Conquered the empire of the Seleucides
and extended his rule over the whole of Asia Minor. Egypt
had now reached the height of prosperity and power. All the
learned and accomplished men of the day flocked to Ptolemy's
court. The decree of Canopus or the stone of San was set up
in the ninth year of his reign.
Ptolemy Philopator. A cruel and self-indulgent king, under
whose rule Egypt began to decline. He roused himself to
meet Antiochus the Great, who had gradually reconquered
from Egypt all the provinces of Syria, and defeated him at
the battle of Raphia, a village on the borders of Egypt and
Palestine. Founded the Temple of Edffi.
Ptolemy Epiphanes. During the minority of this king internal
dissensions, and the attacks of Antiochus the Great, induced
his guardians to invoke the protection of the Roman Senate,
and Egypt henceforth became in reality, though not in name,
a Roman province. The Rosetta Stone belongs to the year
196 B.C. in this reign.
Ptolemy Eupator.
Ptolemy Philometor. Philometor first reigned alone, and then
jointly with his brother, Physkon I., and again alone, Physkon
being allotted by the Romans Cyrene as a separate kingdom.
During the reign of Philometor Egypt recovered a little of its
former greatness and prosperity. A Jewish temple was built
at On by Onias, the high-priest of the Jews. On his death his
son Ptolemy Philopator Neos reigned for a few days.
Ptolemy Euergetes II. (Physkon). A cruel tyrant and a
debauchee. In 132 the Alexandrians revolted and made
Cleopatra, his sister and divorced wife, queen, Physkon retiring
to Cyprus. He recovered his throne in 127. " Pharaoh's bed "
. at Philaa was built in this reign.
Ptolemy Lathyros. The son of Physkon; he first reigned
jointly with his mother Cleopatra Kokke, hut was afterwards
banished, and his brother, Ptolemy Alexander I., put in his
place. Alexander murdered his mother, and was killed himself
in a naval battle. Lathyros then reigned alone. Thebes
rebelled against him and was utterly destroyed.
Ptolemy Alexander II. Reigned jointly with his step-mother
Berenike ; murdered her, and was then killed himself.
Ptolemy Auletes XIII . or Neos Dionysos. An illegitimate son
of Lathyros. Was driven from the throne in 58, but reinstated
by Gabinius, the Roman pro-consul in Syria. Diodorus visited
Egypt during this reign. The temple of Kom Ombo was finished,
and the present temples of Esna and Dendera begun, in this
reign.
Cleopatra. Was left by her father Auletes joint heir with her
brother Ptolemy XIV., under the guardianship of the Roman
Senate. Was exiled. Pompey, seeking refuge in Egypt after
his defeat at Pharsalia, was murdered with Ptolemy's consent.
Caesar, after a long struggle, in the course of which Ptolemy
was drowned in the Nile, reinstated Cleopatra, but gave her


[96] HISTORY.
B.C. | as a colleague another brother, Ptolemy XV., whom she
45 ' murdered. Ceesarion, her son by Gsesar, was then appointed
14 , co-regent. On the death of Csesar, Antony, who had sum
moned the Queen to Tarsus, to answer for having allowed her
forces to take the side of Brutus and Cassius at Philippi, fell
42 a victim to her charms, and passed the greater part of the
next nine years with her in idleness. During this time
Octavianus (afterwards Augustus) was gradually rising in
31 power, and on the Roman Senate declaring Antony an enemy
of the State, he marched against Egypt, defeated the combined
30 naval forces of Antony and Cleopatra at Actium, and took
Alexandria. Antony and Cleopatra both committed suicide,
and Egypt became a Roman province governed by prefects.

4. Chronological Table from B.C. 30 to A.D. 640.
This includes the period, an uneventful one for Egypt, during which
it formed a part first of the Roman Empire as a whole, and then of the
Roman Empire of the East. The reign of the Roman emperors is
sometimes reckoned as a XXXIV. Dynasty, their style and title in
the hieroglyphic inscriptions being, besides Aiitokrator, Csesar, Son of
the Sun, and King of Upper and Lower Egypt, as in the old days of
independence.

B.C. 30

24

14

A.D. 37

41

Augustus. Octavianus, in the year 27, became sole ruler of the
Roman Empire, under the title of Caesar Augustus. The
government of Egypt was given to a prefect, who was always
to be of equestrian rank : the first was Cornelius Gallus. The
Julian year was brought into use and other changes made, but
the ancient religion was not interfered with, and inscriptions
at Dendera, Philss, and Kalabsha prove that temple-building
was still carried on. The Ethiopians, under Queen Candace,
invaded Egypt, but were repulsed by iGlius Gallus, the second
prefect, who marched as far as Napata, but did not hold the
country, fixing the boundary at Hiera Sykaminos, seventy
miles, or twelve schceni, beyond Syene (Aswan), whence that
part was called Dodekaschoinos (but see p. [22], ante). Strabo
visited Egypt during the prefecture of iElius Gallus.
Tiberius. The name of this emperor is found on many Egyptian
monuments at Dendera, Thebes, Philfe, &c. Germanicus
visited Egypt, going as far as Syene.
Gaius (Caligula). During this reign the Jews, who formed a
large and important part of the population of Alexandria, were
persecuted ; Philo pleaded their cause against Apion, and
Josephus wrote an answer to the latter's attacks upon the Jews
and their religion.
Claudius. The Jews regained the rights of citizenship taken
from them in the last reign. Greek and Roman merchants
began to use Egypt as a commercial station on the road to
India, going by the old route up the Nile to Koptos, and thence
to Berenike on the Red Sea. Lake Mceris, owing to the


HISTORY. [97]
embankments being neglected, began to dry up. The name
of Claudius is found on many temples.
Nero. Christianity is said to have been introduced into Egypt
during this reign by St. Mark : according to Eusebius, the first
bishop was named Annianus. Constant attacks on the
southern frontier were made by the Blemmyes, a tribe of
Ethiopian Arabs (probably the modern Bisharin).
Vespasian. Visited Alexandria soon after being proclaimed
emperor, and in the following year despatched thence Titus
on the expedition against the Jews which ended in the siege
and capture of Jerusalem. The temple of Esna was finished
in this reign.
Titus. The only trace of his reign is his name on one or two
temples.
Domitian. Juvenal, banished to Syene during this reign, has
left some account of the condition of the country, and of its
religious superstitions. Domitian encouraged the Egyptian
religion by building temples to Isis and Serapis at Rome.
Nerva relieved the Jews from the poll-tax they had hitherto
paid.
Trajan. The Jews revolted at Alexandria, but were put down,
and the poll-tax restored. The Red Sea and Nile canal was
re-opened, starting however from a different point of the river,
Babylon above Cairo instead of Bubastis, and was called the
Amnis Trajanus. *
Hadrian. Visited Egypt twice. On the first occasion was
accompanied by Antinous, who was drowned in the Nile ; the
emperor built a city near the spot, called Antinoe or Antino-
opolis, some ruins of which exist opposite Roda. His empress
Sabina was with him when he visited Thebes some years
after; one of her attendants, Julia Balbilla, a would-be poetess,
has recorded the event on the foot of one of the Colossi. To
judge from his letter to Servianus (p. 9), Hadrian had a poor
opinion of the Egyptians.
Antoninus Pius. The survey of all the military roads of the Roman
Empire, known as the Itinerary of Antoninus, was made in this
reign. It included the roads of Egypt, six in number, of
which the two principal were from Babylon opposite Memphis
along the east bank of the Nile to Contra-Pselkis in Nubia,
and from Alexandria along the west bank to Hiera Sykaminos
in Nubia.
Marcus Aurelius. The Egyptian legions proclaim Avidius
Cassius, who had successfully quelled some revolted Arabs in
the Delta, emperor ; before, however, the arrival of Aurelius
at Alexandria, they repented and put Avidius and his son
Maecianus to death. The spread of Christianity is shown by
the appointment of three bishops under the Bishop of
Alexandria, who henceforth is styled Patriarch. The first
patriarch was Demetrius.
Pertinax. Niger. The latter had commanded the legions in
Egypt employed in repelling the incursions of the Saracens
as they were already sometimes called, during the reign of
Commodus, and was proclaimed emperor by the Egyptians h


[98] HISTORY.
a.d. I at the same time as Septimius Severus : was defeated by the
I latter and killed.
Septimius Severus. Visited Egypt, and granted several privi
leges to the Alexandrians. Issued an edict forbidding anyone
from becoming a Jew or a Christian. An active persecution
followed, during which the celebrated school of Catechists at
Alexandria, which included at that period Pantsenus, Clemens
of Alexandria, and Origen, was broken up. Julius Africanus
wrote his work on Chronology.
Caracalla. On the occasion of his visit to Egypt he revenged
himself on -the Alexandrians for the jokes they had made at
his expense by massacring all the youths of an age to bear
arms. He also took away many of their privileges, and
favoured the native Egyptians, giving some of them a seat in
the senate, and cultivating their religion by building a temple
in Rome to Isis.
Macrinus was declared emperor by the Egyptians on the murder
of Caracalla, but he was soon defeated and killed by
Elagabalus,_whom, however, the Egyptians would not for some
time acknowledge, and sanguinary contests took place in
Alexandria.
Alexander Severus. This reign is chiefly remarkable for
having witnessed the foundation of the School of Neo-
Platonists by Ammonius Saccas, and his pupils Plotinus and
Longinus. Heraclas succeeded Demetrius as patriarch, and
increased the number of bishops to twenty. During the civil
wars that took place after the death of Alexander, the
Egyptians appear to have acknowledged in turn the various
pretenders that succeeded one another from 235 to 249.
Decius. The Christians in Egypt were much persecuted in
this reign. Last occurrence of the royal name in hiero
glyphics (p. [146]).
Gallus. Egypt was visited by a dreadful plague.
Valerian. Another persecution of the Christians took place.
Gallienus. On the death of his father Valerian, who was
defeated and put to death by Sapor, king of Persia, Gallienus
associated with himself as emperor Odenathus, king of
Palmyra, who, as the ally of Rome, had for a long time
guarded its eastern frontier. The Egyptians, however,
declared for Macrianus, and, after he had been defeated and
killed by Domitian, the general of Gallienus, for JEmilianns
Alexander, who met with the same fate. Gallienus stopped
the persecution of the Christians, and accorded them full
toleration. On the death of Odenathus, his queen Zenobia
declared war against Rome, and invaded Egypt, which she
claimed as a descendant of Cleopatra ; but, though she
defeated the Roman army, she did not succeed in gaining
Egypt, Claudius being acknowledged emperor on the death of
Gallienus.
Aurelian. On the death of Claudius, Zenobia renewed her
attacks on Egypt, and was for a short time successful, being
acknowledged as queen, and granted by Aurelian the rank of
his colleague. He soon, however, led his forces against her,


history. [gen
and, having defeated her at Emesa, took her prisoner to
Rome. Her son Vaballathus was allowed to rule for a short
time, but was soon deposed and put to death. The Egyptians
then set up Firmus, a Syrian, who established his court at
Koptos and Ptolemais, but he likewise was conquered and
slain by Aurelian. Nero, the patriarch, built the church of
St. Mary at Alexandria, the first Christian church built in
Egypt.
Probus had been left by Aurelian in command of the army in
Egypt, and continued in that post during the regency of
Aurelian's widow Severina and the short reign of his son
Tacitus. On the death of Tacitus, the Egyptian legions pro
claimed Probus emperor. The Blemmyes, who had obtained
possession of Upper Egypt, were reduced to obedience.
Diocletian. Upper Egypt rebelled under Achilleus, and its
example was followed by Alexandria. Diocletian himself
marched against the rebels, and took Koptos and Busiris.
He, however, resolved to fix the limit of the empire at
Elephantine, and gave up the Dodekaschoinos to the Nobatse
(the modern Berberines or Nubians). He afterwards besieged
and took Alexandria, and put Achilleus to death. The column
known as Pompey's Pillar was erected to commemorate his
stopping the pillage of the city by his troops. Issued his
famous edict against the Christians, and the persecution
which followed was nowhere more severe than in Egypt.
Galerius, Maximin, Licinius. These three reigned in the East
while Constantino Chlorus and his son Constantine reigned
in the West. The persecution of the Christians .was con
tinued. Arius, a presbyter of Alexandria, first broached his
heresy, and the Bible was translated into Coptic during this
period.
Constantine the Great. After defeating Licinius near Adria-
nople, Constantine became sole emperor. The Christians were
released from every civil and religious disability by the
emperor, himself a Christian. In consequence of the disputes
as to the nature of Christ between Alexander, patriarch of
Alexandria, and Arius, the Emperor, who had been appealed
to, summoned the Council of Niccea, where the question
whether the Son was of the same or only of similar substance
with the Father (homoousios, or homoiousios) was disputed by
Arius as the champion of the latter form of belief, and
Athanasius, a deacon of Alexandria, of the former. The
decision in favour of the Homoousians was embodied in what
is known as the Nicene Creed. After the foundation of
Constantinople, Alexandria began to decline in import
ance.
Constantius at first divided the empire with his two brothers,
Constantine II. and Constans, but afterwards reigned alone.
He favoured Arianism, and deposed Athanasius, who had
been made bishop of Alexandria. After a long struggle George
of Cappadocia was elected bishop by the Arians, and the
followers of Athanasius were severely persecuted. The
monastic system, which haid been first started in Egypt
h 2


[100] history.
at the end of the last century, began now to assume con
siderable proportions under the influence and example of
St. Antony.
Julian. Under the patronage of this emperor paganism regained
its ascendency for a short time. George of Cappadocia was
murdered by the Alexandrian mob, and Athanasius again
returned to power, only, however, to be banished again. He
was recalled by Jovian, but was once more sent away by
Valens, who, however, afterwards allowed him to return and
die in peace at Alexandria. Monasticism had now reached
its full growth. The Thebaid and the district of Nitria (Wadi
Natrfin) swarmed with hermits and anchorites, living either
separately or in communities. One of the most famous
monasteries was that founded by Pachomius and 1400 monks
on the island of Tabrana, near Dendera, where Rufinus after
wards found 3000 monks. The city of Oxyrhynchus, according
to the same authority, boasted of 10,000 monks and 20,000
nuns. In Nitria there were said to he 5000 hermits and 50
monasteries.
Theodosius I. in his first year issued an edict proclaiming
Christianity the religion of the Empire. The temple of
Serapis at Alexandria was destroyed, and the old Egyptian
religion proscribed.
Arcadius. The Roman Empire was divided on the death of
Theodosius ; Arcadius, the elder son, ruling the East from
Constantinople, and Honorius, the younger, the West from
Rome. Violent disputes took place in Egypt between those
who ' affirmed and those who denied that the Creator was of
human form. The former party, who were called Anthro-
pomorphites, led by Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria,
attacked and exterminated their opponents.
Theodosius II. Cyril succeeded Theophilus as patriarch of
Alexandria. Hypatia, the daughter of Theon, murdered by
the Christians. The doctrines of Nestorius are condemned at
the Council of Epliesus, chiefly through the exertions of Cyril.
Martian. The doctrine of Eutyches, that Christ possessed but
one nature, the divine, and was in no respect human, is
condemned by the Council of Chalcedon. The decision was
rejected by the Egyptian Church, which adhered to the mono-
physite doctrine of Eutyches. Upper Egypt was overrun by
the Nobatse or Nubians' in this reign ; Silko, their king, has
recorded his victories at Kalabsha. An inscription at Phils
shows that the worship of Isis and Serapis was still practised
more than seventy years after the edict of Theodosius.
Leo. Leo the Younger.
Zeno. In order to put a stop to the quarrels between the two
parties in the Church, and the continual struggles between
the patriarchs of Alexandria nominated by the emperor and
those who had been chosen by the people, the emperor issued
an edict, called the Henoticon, affirming the doctrine of the
Incarnation, without, however, defining the question of a
double or single nature. Like most attempts at a compromise,
it proved a failure.


A.D.
491501518
527

HISTORY. [101]
Anastasius. The Persians invaded Egypt; their retreat was
followed by a famine.
Justin I.
Justinian. A final separation took place between the Orthodox
or Melchite party and the Monophysites or Jacobites, who
were afterwards called Copts. Each had its patriarch. The
convents of St. Catherine at Mount Sinai and of St. Paul and
St. Antony in the desert near the Red Sea were built probably
as fortresses to repel the attacks of the Arabs.
566 Justin II. Tiberius II. Mauricius. Phocas.
610 Heraclius. The Persians under Chosroes invaded Egypt and
618 held it for ten years, but, weakened by the rising of their Arab
622 allies in the year of the Hijra or Flight of Mahomet, they
were driven out by Heraclius. He in his turn soon had to
make terms with the followers of Mohammed, who, however,
overran Syria, and, entering Egypt, rapidly made themselves
masters of the country, the capture of Alexandria by 'Amr
or 'Amru marking the end of the Roman rule over Egypt.

5. Chronological Table from A.D. 640 to the Present Day.
This may be called the Mohammedan period. Egypt accepted the
religion of its Arab conquerors, and henceforth formed a part of the
kingdom of the Khalifs. Its history during this period is generally
devoid of interest.
A.D.641 ' 'Omar. The general 'Amr Ibn el-'Asi entered Egypt in 639 by way
of Pelusium, and advanced up the country to Memphis ; thence,
after taking the fortress of Babylon, near the present Cairo,
he marched to Alexandria, of which he became master after a
siege of fourteen months. On the date of his entry into the
city — Friday, December 10, 641, the first day of the Moham
medan month Muharram, and the New Year's day of the
twentieth year of the Hijra — Egypt ceased to be a Roman
. '.' province. 'Amr founded Fustdt (Old Cairo), and the mosque
there which bears his name, and restored the canal between
the Nile and the Red Sea.
644 'Othman. Conquest of Africa begun by 'Abdallah ibn Sa'ad,
who had replaced 'Amr as governor of Egypt.
656 'Ali, the son-in-law of Mohammed, maintained a constant
struggle for the Khalifate with Mo&wiyeh. Assassinated 661.

661

680

Omayyade Dynasty.
Moawiyeh. After the death of 'Ali, and the abdication of his
son Hasan, Moawiyeh obtained undisputed possession of the
Khalifate, and founded the dynasty of the Omayyades, which
reigned for nearly 100 years. Constantinople was besieged by
the Arabs without success.
Yesid I., son of Moawiyeh. Husen, 'Ali's second son, assuming
the title of Khalif, is defeated and killed at Kerbela.


[102] HISTORY.
Modwiyeh II., son of Yezid, abdicated after a reign of six months,
when
Marwdn I., also of the family of 'Omayya, was elected Khalif,
and reigned a year.
Abd el-Melek, son of Marwan, completed the conquest of
Africa. 'Abd el-Aziz, his brother, made a Nilometer at Helwan,
near Cairo. First' purely Arab icoinage struck in gold and
silver.
El-Welid, son of 'Abd el-Melek. Built first Nilometer at the
island of Roda. Spain conquered by the Moslems ; and India
invaded by them.
Sulimdn, brother of El-Welid; 'Omar II., son of 'Abd el-Aziz;
Yezid II., son of 'Abdel-Melek ; Hishdm, brother of 'Abdel-
Melek, during whose reign the Saracens under 'Abd er-Rahman
were defeated by Charles Martel ; El-Weltd II. , son of Yezid ;
Yezid III. and Ryrdhlm, sons of El-Welid II., followed one
another in quick succession.
Marwan II., grandson of Marwan I., and last of the Omayyades.
He was defeated by Abu'l-'Abbas, and killed at Abusir el-Melek
in the Fayyum (p. 303).
Abbaside Dynasty.
Abu'l-'Abbas, a descendant of 'Abbas, an uncle of Mohammed's.
Founded the dynasty of the Abbasides, and put to death all
the descendants of Marwan I., with the exception of 'Abd er-
Rahman, who escaped and established the Omayyade dynasty
at Cordova in Spain.
El-Mansur, brother of 'Abbas. Founded Baghdad, and made it
the capital of the Abbaside Khalifs.
El-Mahdl Mohammed ; El-Hadi Mdsa. Sons of El-Mansur.
Harun er-Rashid, also a son of El-Mansur. The famous hero
of Arabian tales. Towards the end of his reign Ibrahim Ibn
el-Aglab, governor of Egypt, declared himself independent,
and founded the Aglabide dynasty, of which the capital was
Kairwan, 70 miles south of Tunis. The kingdom of Fez was
also founded by the Edrisides in this reign.
El-Amln, son of Harun.
El-Mamun, son of Harun. A great encourager of arts and
sciences, particularly astronomy. Visited Egypt and patronised
the learned men there. Caused Arabic translations of Greek
authors to be made. Opened the Great Pyramid in the hope
of finding treasure.
El-Mutasim, brother of Marnitn. El-Wdthik (Beckford's "Vat-
hek "), son of El-Mutasim. Rome attacked by the Saracens.
El-Mutawekkil, brother of Wathik. Built the Nilometer at
the Island of Roda, now existing.
El-Muntasir, son of Mutawekkil. El-Muftain. El-Mutezz.
TOlunide Dynasty.
868 i Ahmad ibn-Tulun. Governor of Egypt. Usurps the sovereignty
of the country, and founds the dynasty of the Tiilunides,
1 Added the suburb of el-Khatiya to Fustat, and built the


HISTORY. [103]
a.d. mosque that bears his name. Arab writers celebrate his
878 wealth, magnificence, and warlike successes.
883 Khumaraweyh. Built a palace at Fustat.
895 Abil'l-Asdkir ; Hardn. Sons of Khumaraweyh. Shiban, son of
Ahmad. With him the dynasty ends.
Abbaside Governors restored.
905 El-Muktafi. Egypt subject to the Khalifs. Khatiya burnt.
908 El-Muktaddir. During this reign 'Obedallah el-Mahdi usurped
the government of Eastern Africa, and founded the dynasty of
909 the Fatimide Khalifs in Tunis. He invaded Egypt, but was
defeated by Muktaddir.
932 El-Kdhir.
934 Er-Rddi. IkhshIdide Dynasty.
935 Mohammed el-lkhshid. Usurps the government of Egypt.
946 Abil'l-Kasim ; AbiV l-Hasan. Sons of Mohammed.
966 Kdfiir ; a black slave. Abil'l-Fatodris, son of Abu'l-Hasan.
Fatimide Dynasty.
969 I El-Mu'izz, great-grandson of 'Obedallah, the founder of the
Fatimide dynasty in Tunis. Sent Gohar with an army to
969 invade Egypt, which he took. .Built the city of El-Kahira
973 (Cairo), and transferred the seat of government there.
975 El-Aziz. Encouraged learning and science. Converted the
mosque of El-Azhar at Cairo, which had been built by Gohar,
into a university.
996 El-Hakim succeeded his father El-'Aziz at 10 years old. Believed
himself to be an incarnation of the Deity, and in conjunction
990 with Ed-Derazi and Hamzeh founded the sect of the Druses.
He persecuted the Christians and plundered their churches.
Many of the Christians turned Mussulmans. Built the
1012 naosque of El-Hakim at Cairo. Was assassinated at the in
stigation, it is said, of his sister. The followers of his sect,
however, believe that he was withdrawn from the world, and
that he will reappear as the Mahdi or last Imam, to receive
the adoration of all mankind (see p. [35]).
1021 Edh-Dhdhir, son of Hakim.
1036 El-Mustansir , son of Dh&hir. The Turcomans, who had been
gradually rising in power since 980, attack Egypt, but are
repulsed. In his reign the king of Abyssinia is said to have
stopped the waters of the Nile (as retaliation for the perse
cution of Christians in Egypt), until the Coptic patriarch
prayed him to cut the dam. Fust4t began to decay. El-
Mustansir rebuilt the three chief gates of Cairo.
1094 El-Musta'ali, son of Mustansir. Takes Jerusalem and other
1098 Syrian towns from the Turks ; but is immediately deprived
1099 of them by the Crusaders, under Godfrey de Bouillon.
1101 El-Amir. El-Hdfiz. Edh-Dhdhir. El-Fdiz.
1160 El-'Adid. The intrigues of Shawar and Dirgham for the office
of Vizier bring about the dissolution of the dynasty. The


[104] HISTORY.
former is assisted by Niir-ed-din, the ruler of Aleppo, with
Kurdish troops under Salah-ed-din (Saladin), but afterwards
quarrels with them and drives them out of Egypt with the
assistance of Amalric (Amaury) , king of Jerusalem, who in his
turn endeavours to gain possession of Egypt, and penetrates to
Cairo, but Fustat is burnt on his approach and he is compelled
to retreat, the Kurds being again called in. Shirkuh, a Kurd,
becomes Vizier, and afterwards Salah-ed-din.
Ayyubide Dynasty.
1169 ! Yusuf Salah-ed-din (Saladin). On the death of 'Adid, Saladin
usurped the sovereignty and founded the Ayyubide dynasty
of Kurds. He afterwards obtained possession of Syria on the
1187 death of Nur-ed-din. Defeated the Crusaders at the battle
of Hattin, overthrew the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, and
1189 retook that city. Successfully repulsed the Third Crusade
under Frederick Barbarossa, Philip Augustus, and Richard
1191 Cosur de Lion. Began the citadel and walls of Cairo.
1193 El- Aziz, second son of Saladin.
1198 El-Mansilr, son of 'Aziz ; a child.
1200 El-'Adil, brother of Saladin. Usurps the throne.
1218 El-Kamil, son of El-'Adil. The Crusaders (Fifth Crusade)
penetrate into Egypt and take Damietta, but are obliged to
1219 abandon it after being defeated at a spot where El-Kamil
was building a new city, which he called Mansura (the
1228 Victorious). The Emperor Frederick II. also obtains posses
sion of Jerusalem and other Syrian towns. El-Kamil en
deavoured, according to the Arab historians, to demolish the
Third Pyramid.
1238 El-'Adil II., son of El-Kamil.
1239 Es-Salih Ayyub, brother of El-'Adil. Louis IX. (St. Louis)
1249 of France, at the head of the Sixth Crusade, captures
Damietta, but is taken prisoner at Mansura, while marching
on Cairo, and only released on the evacuation of Damietta
and the payment of 400,000 pieces of gold.
1249 El-Muazzam (Tilrdn- Shdh) , son of Salih. Murdered by his
father's Mamelukes.
1250 Shegeret_ ed-Durr, widow of Salih. Married the Mameluke
Ebek in 1250, who became Sultan conjointly with the minor
El-Ashraf.
1250 El-Ashraf. Deposed (1252) by the Mameluke Ebek.
Baharide Mameluke Slave Dynasty.
1250 j El-Mu'izz Ebek et-Tilrkomdni. Marries Shegeret-ed-Durr, and
is killed by her from jealousy.
1257 [ El-Mansilr Ali, son of Mu'izz.
1259 j El-Mudhaffer Kutitz. Recovers Syria from the Tartars.
Edh-Dhahir Bebars. Succeeds to the throne after assassinating
Mudhaffer. Repels a fresh invasion of the Tartars in Syria
takes Damascus, and extends his conquests over a oreatpart
of Armenia. Brings the representative of the "Abbaside

1200


HISTORY. [105]
Khalifs, El-Hdkim, who had been dethroned by the Mongols,
to Egypt, and recognises him as nominal Khalif. From this
period until the taking of Egypt by Sultan Selim, the
Abbaside Khalifs held nominal spiritual sway in Egypt.
Built mosque outside Cairo which bears his name. Death
of St. Louis before Tunis.
Es-Sa'id Baraka ; El-'Adil Seldmish. Sons of Bebars.
El-Mansur Kalaun. Continued the warlike enterprises of
Bebars by defeating the Mongolians at Horns, recovering
Damascus, which had been again lost, capturing Tripoli, &c.
At home his reign was celebrated by alternate acts of cruelty
and beneficence. In one of his fits of anger he delivered up
Cairo to sword and plunder for three days. In the eyes of
native historians the good acts of his reign have outweighed
the evil. In modern Cairo his name is handed down as that
of a great physician. Founded the Mfiristan and mosque at
Cairo.
El-Ashraf Khalil, son of Kalaun. Takes Acre from the
Christians. The Khan Khalili at Cairo built.
En-Nasir Muhammad, son of Kalaun. Succeeds at nine
years old. Is dethroned by Ketbogha, who usurps the
sceptre, but is in his turn overthrown by El-Mansur Lagln.
On the assassination of the latter, Njisir is restored. After
ten years, however, he is again deposed, and Bebars Gdshenkir
proclaimed in his stead. N&sir again returns, and, with the
help of the Syrian Amirs with whom he had taken refuge
at Karak on the Dead Sea, regains the throne. The Arab
historians celebrate him as a powerful and wealthy monarch,
whose territories extended from Tunis to Baghdad, and who
greatly increased the prosperity and well-being of Egypt by
making and restoring canals, encouraging agriculture, and
fostering the arts. Cairo was greatly extended and embel
lished by him. He built the mosque of Nasir in the Citadel
and the Nahassin.
Seven sons of Nasir followed him in quick succession — El-
Mansur Abil-Bekr ; El Ashraf KilgHk ; En-Ndsir Shihdb-ed-
Din; Es-Sdlih Ismail; El-Kdmil Shaabdn; El-Mudhaffer ;
and
Sultan Hasan, a minor at the time of his accession ; he was
deposed by Es-Sdlih, but recovered his throne three years
later. During the interval a fearful plague devastated
Egypt. Built the mosque at Cairo which bears his name.
Was again dethroned and assassinated.
ElrMans-dr Muhammad, grandson of Nasir.
El-Ashraf Shaabdn, great grandson of Nasir. Ordered the
Sherifs or descendants of Mohammed to wear green turbans.
Peter de Lusignan, king of Cyprus, besieges Alexandria, but
fails.
1376 | El-Mansilr 'Ali. Es-Sdlih Haggi, the last of the dynasty.


[106] HISTORY.
ClBCASSIAN OR BUBGIDE MAMELUKE SLAVE DYNASTY.
Edh-Dhahir Barkuk. A Circassian slave, who deposed Haggi
and usurped the throne. Was dethroned by the Amirs, but
regained his power the following year. He built the mosque
of Barkuk.
En-Ndsir Farag, son of Barkuk. Was engaged in continual
warfare with the Tartars, whom he finally defeats, and in
putting down repeated revolts of the turbulent Mamelukes.
Built tomb-mosque of Barkuk.
El-Mu'ayyad. Many sumptuary laws enacted against the
Christians and Jews. Revolts in Syria successfully put
down. Built the mosque known by his name at Cairo.
El-Mudhaffer Ahmad. Edh-Dhdhir Tatdr. Es-Sdlih Mu
hammad.
El-Ashraf Bursbey. Attacked Cyprus and took the king, John
III. , prisoner, but released him on the promise of an annual
tribute. Concluded a peace with the Tartars. Gained pos
session of Jeddah, the port of Mecca, and monopolised the
' Indian trade there. t
El-' Aziz Yilsuf. Edh-Dhdhir Gakmak.
El-Mansilr 'Othmdn. El-Ashraf Indl. Constantinople taken
by the Turks.
El-Mu'ayyad Ahmad. Edh-Dhdhir Khdshkadam.
Edh-Dhdhir Bilbey. Edh-Dhdhir Timurbogha.
El-Ashraf Kait Bey. Elected by the Amirs. After a success
ful war against the Turks under Sultans Mahmud and
Bayazid (Bajazet), Kait Bey concluded a treaty of peace with
them. Cyprus taken by the Venetians, who, however, con
tinued to pay the tribute to Egypt. Is compelled by the
riotous Mamelukes to abdicate in favour of his son. There
are numerous monuments of his reign in Cairo.
En-Ndsir Muhammad. Edh-Dhdhir Khansiiweh.
El-Ashraf Gdnbaldt. El-'Adil Tilmdn Bey.
El-Ghuri Khansiiweh. Was over 60 years of age when chosen
to succeed Tuman. Built the mosque and schools at Cairo
that bear his name, and rebuilt in stone Saladin's wooden
aqueduct. Encouraged learning. Fitted out an expedition
against the Portuguese in order to injure their trade with
India by the Cape route. Entered into correspondence with
the Doge of Venice with the view of making the Suez Canal,
Was defeated by the Turks under Selim I. near Aleppo, and
slain.
El-Ashraf Tuman Bey, nephew of Ghuri. After the defeat
and death of Ghuri, Selim advanced on Egypt, and, after
defeating Tumto at Heliopolis, entered Cairo. Tuman was
taken and hanged outside the Bab ez-Zuwela. With him
1517 I ended the Mameluke dynasty, and Egypt became a Turkish
Pashalik.
: Though Selim abolished the monarchy, he left the aristocracy
of the Mamelukes on certain conditions ; the chief of which
I were — annual tribute, obedience in matters of faith to the


HISTORY. [107]
decisions of the Mufti of Constantinople, and the insertion
of the name of the Sultan of the Osmanlis in the public
prayers and on coins. Selim also compelled the last scion
of the Abbaside Khalifs, El-Mutawekkil, to leave Cairo and
reside at Constantinople ; and at his death the Sultans of
Constantinople assumed the title of Khalif.
The history of Egypt for the next 250 years is almost entirely
without interest. The Turkish Pashas who nominally
governed the country soon became subordinate to the Mame
luke Beys, one of whom, 'Ali Bey, declared himself indepen
dent, conquered Arabia and Syria, and allied himself with
Russia against the Turks. At his death his son-in-law, Abil-
Dahab, was recognised by the Sultan as ruler of Egypt. The
chief power after Abu-Dahab's death was shared by Murdd
Bey and Ibrdhim Bey, who opposed
Napoleon Buonaparte when he landed at Alexandria (July 1) for
the purpose of occupying Egypt. They were defeated, however,
at the battle of the Pyramids (July 21), and Napoleon entered
Cairo. Immediately after (Aug. 1), the French fleet was
destroyed by Nelson at the battle of the Nile. Napoleon,
after completely breaking the power of the Mamelukes, left
Egypt on his Syrian expedition, and on his return to France
appointed General Kleber as commander in Egypt. Kleber
signed the convention of El- Arish (Jan. 24), for the evacua
tion of Egypt by the French ; but the convention being
broken, he marched on Cairo, defeated the Turks at Helio
polis (March 21), and retook the city. He was assassinated
(June 14), and General Menou succeeded to the command.
The French were defeated by the English under Sir Ralph
Abercromby at the battle of Alexandria (March 21), and
driven out of Egypt.
After the French occupation, Egypt once more fell a prey to
the Mamelukes and anarchy, till the Porte appointed
Mohammed Ali, a Roumelian, born at Kavala in 1768, Pasha
of Egypt. He established his power by the massacre of all
the Mameluke Beys in the Citadel of Cairo. Various expedi
tions, under his sons Tusum and Ibrahim Pasha, were under
taken against the Wahhabis in Arabia, and the countries
bordering the Nile as far as Khartum, which he founded.
He also endeavoured to ameliorate the condition of the
country by making new canals and embankments, improving
the system of agriculture, founding schools, and introducing
various forms of European civilisation. During the Greek
war he sent troops to aid the Turks, but soon afterwards
declared himself independent of the Porte and invaded Syria,
which was quickly overrun by the Egyptians under his son
Ibrahim, and the Turkish army totally destroyed at Koniyeh
(Iconium). By the intervention of the European Powers
his victorious career was stopped, and a peace signed at
Kutahiya in which he acknowledged the suzerainty of the
Porte. The war again breaking out, Ibrahim defeated the
Turks at Nezib and menaced Constantinople, but was com
pelled to quit Syria by the European Powers. Mohammed


[108]

HISTORY.

a.d.
1841

1848
1849

1854

1859
18611863

1866

18671869
18711873

1875

1876
1878

1879
1879
1880
1881
1882

'Ali then acknowledged the suzerainty of the Porte, and in
return the Sultan 'Abd ul-Mejid made the government of
Egypt hereditary in his family, subject to the payment of
an annual tribute. Owing to his mind failing, Mohammed
'Ali resigned, and was succeeded by
Ibrahim, his son, who died after reigning 4 months.
Abbas, son of Tusum and grandson of Mohammed 'Ali. Soon
after his accession his grandfather died, August 2, 1849. A
cruel and avaricious ruler, who was murdered by his own slaves.
Sa'id, son of Mohammed 'Ali. Endeavoured to carry on the
work of reform and progress begun by his father. Completed
the railway from Alexandria to Cairo, and supported the
scheme for making the Suez Canal, which was begun in his
reign. Encouraged the discovery and preservation of the
old monuments of the country, and founded the Bulak
Museum. Visited England. Died Jan. 18, 1863.
Ismail, son of Ibrahim and grandson of Mohammed 'Ali. Bom
Dec. 31, 1830. Continued the work of progress and reform
by constructing railways, canals, harbours, and telegraphs,
organising a postal system, increasing the number of schools,
&c. Obtained from the Porte, in return for additional
¦ tribute, the right of succession to his children in the direct
line, and the title of Khedive. Visited England July, 1867.
The Suez Canal opened Nov. 19, 1869. Completion of the
docks at Suez. The new harbour and quays at Alexandria
begun. The Khedive obtains a firman from the Porte
granting him further privileges, and rendering him almost
independent, these concessions being paid for by a fresh
addition to the tribute, which was raised to nearly £700,000.
Suez Canal shares purchased by the British Government
under Mr. Disraeli. Owing to the rapidly increasing debt of
the country, which threatened insolvency, the revenue and
expenditure were placed under the control of a commission,
chiefly European. The Khedive surrendered his private
estates towards meeting the requirements of the debt, and
consented to the appointment of an English Minister of
Finance (Mr. Rivers Wilson) and a French Minister of
Public Works (M. de Blignieres). These, however, he soon
dismissed, as well as the members of the Financial Commis
sion. The European Governments in consequence required
the Porte to dethrone him.
Tewfik, eldest son of Ismail, succeeded on the deposition of
his father.
Appointment of the Commission of Liquidation to prepare a
law for the settlement of the Egyptian debt.
Military Revolt. In December the Chamber of Notables
expressed a wish to examine the Egyptian budget. This was
refused, and the so-called National movement commenced,
with 'Arabi Pasha as leader and head of the army.
The situation became more strained. On the 20th May the
French and English fleets entered Alexandria. On the
11th June Europeans were massacred by the natives On
the 11th July the forts of Alexandria were bombarded by the


HISTORY. [109]
English fleet. This was followed by the invasion of Egypt
by an English army and the occupation of Cairo on the
14th September. 'Arabi Pasha and other rebellious colonels
were banished to Ceylon. Mission of Lord Dufferin. About
the same time the rebellion in the Sudan became serious.
Hicks Pasha was defeated in Kordofan, and a force was sent
under Baker Pasha to Suakin. In December the English
Government required the Khedive to abandon the whole of
the Sudan.
Sherif Pasha refused to comply, and was succeeded by Nubar
Pasha as Prime Minister. An English expedition was sent
to Suakin, which defeated the rebels near that place and
returned to Cairo. General Gordon was sent to Khartum.
In August it was decided to send an English expedition up
the Nile to assist Gordon.
The English force having failed to arrive in time, Khartum fell
on the 26th January, and Gordon was killed. The whole
Sudan was then given up from Wadi Haifa to the South.
Mission of Sir H. Drummond Wolff to Constantinople and
Cairo. First Turkish convention.
Reforms carried out in Egypt under English officials. The
English troops remain in occupation.
Sir H. Drummond Wolff concluded a second convention with
the Porte respecting the occupation of Egypt, but the Sultan
declined to sign it.
The English occupation continued, but the number of English
troops reduced. Reforms carried out under English officials.
Interest on debt reduced. Finances steadily improved. Taxa
tion lightened. Forced labour (corvie) abolished. Judicial
reforms effected.
Tewfik died Jan. 7th after a few days' illness, and was suc
ceeded by his son Abbas II. Hilmi.
Expedition into the Sudan to break the power of the Khalifa,
under Sir H. H. Kitchener. Dongola taken on Sept. 23,
after fights at Firket (June 7) and Hafir (Sept. 19).
Desert Railway from W&di Haifa to Abu Hamed begun, in order
to take the Dervishes in flank. General Hunter advanced to
Abu Hamed and took it (Aug. 7), afterwards occupying Berber
(Sept. 13). On Oct. 31 the railway reached Abu Hamed.
On April 8 the Sirdar (Sir H. H. Kitchener) attacked and captured
the Dervish works on the further bank of the Atbara. The
Dervish loss was about 3000 killed ; and 2000, including their
leader, Mahmud, were taken prisoners. Later in the year the
Anglo-Egyptian army, which included two English infantry
brigades, under Generals Gatacre and Wauchope (afterwards
killed at Magersfontein), a cavalry regiment (21st Lancers),
and three batteries of artillery (one field, one howitzer, one
siege), advanced southwards and engaged the whole Dervish
army, under the personal command of the Khalifa, north of
Omdurman (Sept. 2). The Khalifa's army of 50,000 men
was annihilated; 11,000 were killed and 16,000 wounded:
the Khalifa escaped. Omdurman and Khartum were solemnly
reoccupied on Sept. 4, and the Mahdi's tomb destroyed, his


[110] HIEROGLYEHS.
body burnt and thrown into the Nile. This was done
because, had the body and tomb remained, they would have
become a focus of religious fanaticism and sedition. On
Sept. 19 the Sirdar hoisted the Egyptian flag at Fashoda,
which had been occupied by a French force under Col.
Marchand, sent from the Ubangi to obtain a footing for
France in the Upper Nile valley. This incident, which
nearly led to war between England and France, was settled
by the French evacuating their post, and the treaty which
ensued guaranteed the possession of the Bahr el-Ghazal to
Egypt, and determined the spheres of influence of England
and France. The status of the Sudan was reconstituted on a
basis of joint occupation by England and Egypt. The two
flags fly side by side in the Sudan.
On September 22 Gedaref, the last Dervish stronghold, was
occupied by the force of Col. Parsons after three hours of
very severe fighting.
On December 23 the Dervishes were defeated by Sir C. Parsons
at Rosaires, 250 miles south of Khartum.
1899 On Nov. 24 Col. (now Gen. Sir F.) Wingate, who had succeeded Sir
H. Kitchener as Sirdar, defeated the Khalifa at Umm Debrekat.
The Khalifa and his emirs were killed. Kordofan recovered.
1900 Osman Digna captured. Slatin Pasha appointed British
inspector of the Sudan.
1902 Epidemic of cholera in Egypt.
1903 i Aswan Dam completed.
1904 j Friendly arrangement between England and France, by which
the control of Egyptian finances is assured to England, and
j the country placed under British protection in everything
but the name.
1906 Suakin-Berber railway opened.
Tabah dispute with Turkey. Frontier of Sinai delimited.
Affray between natives and British officers at Denshwai.
1907 ! Resignation of Lord Cromer.
XI. HIEROGLYPHS.
1. The Language of the Hieroglyphs.
After having baffled for centuries the attempts of savants to translate
it, the language of the hieroglyphs is no longer a sealed book. Yet
scholars are still at a loss to know where to place Ancient Egyptian in
the family of languages.
It seems probable that it is a composite language, partly of indige
nous Nilotic and partly of proto-Semitic origin. The resemblance to
the Semitic tongues not only in construction but in definite locutions
(e.g., the personal pronouns) is not close enough to enable us to class
Egyptian definitely as a Semitic language ; very probably it is a con
necting-link between the true Semitic family of tongues and the
languages of the Berbers (Kabyles, Tuareg or Imoshagh, &c.) of Libya,
which seem distantly related both to Semitic and to Ancient Egyptian.
There is certainly in it also a substratum of non-Semitic origin, which
probably belongs to the tongue of the primitive inhabitants Of Aryan
(Indo-European) roots there is in Egyptian no trace whatever


HIEROGLYPHS. [HI]
The language naturally did not remain the same during the 3000 or
4000 years in whioh it was used. Therefore for practical purposes
students have divided it into Old Egyptian, Middle Egyptian, and
New Egyptian, being the different forms used during the so-called
Old, Middle, and New Empires. The language of the Middle Empire
is usually taken as the standard or classical tongue. This, which was
the spoken living tongue of the Amenemhats and Usertsens, was still
preserved for epigraphic and chancery purposes under the Amenheteps
and Thothmes; the real spoken tongue of the XVIH. Dynasty was
first admitted on the monuments in the time of the reforming king
Khu-n-aten (p. [78]). Under the XIX. Dynasty the spoken and
literary languages again coincided, as they had under the XII.
The process of phonetic decay and neologistic innovation still went
on, and the language written in the Demotic character was a further
development, of which Coptic is a survival. The last, which was
spoken by the Copts, or Egyptian Christians, is now only used, and
that infrequently, in the Coptic churches. Its alphabet consists of the
Greek letters with the addition of five or six letters borrowed from the
Demotic. A knowledge of Coptic is of great help, if not indeed a
necessity to the student of hieroglyphs.
2. Method of Writing.
It was to the god Thoth that the Egyptians attributed the invention
of the principles of writing, that form of picture characters that
remained the same during thousands of years. But the language of
the hieroglyphs died with the independence of the Egyptians, and soon
after 300 a.d. the knowledge of the characters was completely lost.
Many attempts were made both in mediaeval and modern times to find
a clue to their decipherment, and the most absurd guesses were made
at the translation of texts. Every reference to the hieroglyphs made
by classic authors was carefully examined, but the writings of late
Egyptian, Greek, and Roman authors, such as Horapollo, Hermapion,
Clement of Alexandria, &c, served rather to mislead than to help
scholars. A small step was made in 1797 when Zoega came to the
conclusion that cartouches contained royal names. But though many
learned men gave their attention to hieroglyphs, little advance had
been made in the study when in 1799 the Rosetta Stone was found
with its trilingual inscription — Hieroglyphic, Demotic, and Greek
placed one beneath the other (see p. 29). The Orientalist, Silvestre
de Sacy, and a Swede, named Akerblad, did some good work on the
Demotic text of the inscription, the work of the latter affording much •
help to Dr. Thomas Young, who in England was studying the hiero
glyphic and Demotic texts. A number of alphabetic signs were
identified by him, and he communicated the result of his labours to
the world in his Account of Some Recent Discoveries in Hieroglyphical
Literature (London: Murray, 1823). His discoveries communicated
inspiration to Francois Champollion, surnamed le Jeune, to whom is
due the credit of the discovery that the signs were partly phonetic and
partly ideographic, without which knowledge all attempts at lengthy
translation would have resulted in failure. It was by comparing two
cartouches that in the first place he was able confidently to fix the


[112] HIEROGLYPHS.
value of certain signs. One was known by comparison with the Greek
text to contain the name of Ptolemy, and the other was supposed to
contain that of Cleopatra In these two names there are four similar
letters, and so, four similar signs being found in the two cartouches,
it was a comparatively easy matter to determine the value of the
remaining signs.
After this Champollion gradually worked out _ an alphabet and
syllabary, and published his Grammaire llgyptienne in 1836-41. There
were at first many opponents to the new system, but gradually all
others were found to be useless, and all later study of hieroglyphs has
its roots in the work of Young and Champollion.
Following- this great leader were Dr. Birch and Dr. Hincks in
England, Prof. Lepsius and Dr. Brugsch in Germany, and M. Emmanuel
de Rouge in France. Soon the number of scholars increased, and
among the men who have more recently turned their attention to the
subject and who have done much to further the advance of the study
in England maybe mentioned the late Sir P. le Page Renouf, Mr. Good
win, and Prof. Lushington, and now Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge and Mr.
F. LI. Griffith ; in France, the late MM. Chabas and Deveria, and now
Prof. Maspero, MM. Pierret, Revillout, and J. de Rouge ; in Switzerland,
Prof. Naville ; in Italy, Signori Rossi and Schiaparelli ; in Germany, the
late Dr. Dumichen, and now Profs. Wiedemann, Erman, Schafer, Stein-
dorff , Spiegelberg, and Kurt Sethe ; in Sweden, the late Prof. Piehl ;
and in Russia, MM. Golenietchev and Turayev. Most of these authorities
differ on minor points, and the Germans affect an algebraic translitera
tion which is supposed by them to give more strictly scientific results ;
but the differences are not sufficient to make any but very small
discrepancies between the translations of texts given by the several
scholars. The foundations of the science are firm and fixed, and any
translation of an Egyptian text by a competent scholar with proper
credentials (not an irresponsible amateur or a " crank " afflicted with
fads) is certain and reliable, and will be found to differ in no important
respect from a translation by any other competent scholar.
The language of the ancient Egyptians is found written in three
forms^ in hieroglyphs, hieratic, and demotic. The hieroglyphs are
essentially a lapidary system, though they are found, in a somewhat
modified form called linear hieroglyphs, painted on coffins, &c. Prom
these linear hieroglyphs the more fluent hieratic was developed, whioh
thus^ bears the same relation to the carved hieroglyphs that our hand
writing bears to print. Champollion in his Grammaire Egyptienne
gives drawings showing very clearly the derivation of the hieratic from
the hieroglyphs. Demotic is such a degenerate form of hieratic that it
;s extremely difficult to read it, and in all Europe there are but very few
scholars who can decipher documents written in this script. The
earliest hieroglyphs, such as those at Medum, are drawn in full detail
and- coloured naturally, so that there is no mistaking what the object
represents. But in later times this was rarely done, and the characters
became more conventional. Of the very large number of these—
between 3000 and 4000 — about 500 are in frequent use. They read
usually from right to left, but also frequently from left to right and
are sometimes placed in vertical columns. The heads of the animal
characters are always turned in the direction whence the inscription
commences. *


HIEROGLYPHS. [H3]
There are two classes of characters, phonetic and ideographic. Tho
phonetic are either alphabeto-syllabic or purely syllabic. The ideo
graphic signs are determinatives ; either specific determinatives or simple
ideograms, or generic determinatives. The alphabeto-syllabic signs (list
on p. [116]) are used in spelling out a word alphabetically. They were
originally ideograms transferred for use as purely phonetic-syllabic
signs, and then almost entirely further restricted to more or less alpha

betic functions : thus X , a rope, JC=  , a snake, S t, a pair of tongs,

— « — , a door-bolt, V\ , an owl, etc., were used to represent the
sound of the initial syllable of the Egyptian word signifying the objects
they represented, and then to represent the consonantal part of the
syllable only; i , _2*^, «3— =•, T , TtTtT , IL and jl in the following
list always remained more or less syllabic in their use, and W , l<S^ ,
fXX ' O > T? ' aud 7? I (List °f Syllables) were only used alphabetically
in late times. The ideogram is the picture of the object spoken of, -and
follows the spelling of the word to determine it. Thus fi IftSL hfi,
"snake." The generic determinative is a symbol representing the class of
ideas to which the word belongs. Thus V\ i-^i tesem, "hound,"
is determined by a picture of a hide and tail to show that it is the name
of an animal. Occasionally words have determinatives of both kinds,
in which case the specific always precedes the generic. Sometimes,
especially in the earliest texts (and in certain well-known cases of
common occurrence in later times also), words are expressed by their
ideograms only. Even when the word is spelt out, the signs may be
arranged in many different ways, the number of signs employed and
the arrangement of them depending upon the space at the engraver's
disposal. Thus life, which is anhh, may be expressed by its ideogram _fl 0

only. T";

or it may be spelt out in four different ways : ""^ ~T
¦¥",  D "¥" H , or "¥" _ . It is easy to see how in ti ue
A/WV\A 111 W
the ideograms came to be used as syllabic phonetics. The ideogram for
star gives a good example of this. In Egyptian, star is sba M J X ,
written sometimes simply by its ideogram X . The word for door is
also sba, and is written I J X H~P, the X having in this case merely
the syllabic value sba. j


[114] HIEROGLYPHS.
The following are some of the hieroglyphic forms most frequently

( T

met with on the monuments. The frame I I enclosing
hieroglyphs is called a, cartouche, and almost invariably contains the
name of a king or queen. The king's cartouches were nominally two
in number ; the second containing the monarch's personal name or
nomen ,- the first his prenomen or name as king. The nomen may con
tain alphabetic or syllabic signs as well as ideograms : the prenomen,
which was of a more formal and artificial character, was usually written
in simple ideograms alone (the parallel to Japanese, with its mixture of
Chinese ideograms and Japanese syllabic signs, will at once present
itself to the mind of anybody familiar with that language). A typical
prenomen is that of Thothmes III. ; 0 Ra, the sun, or sun god ; i  '""i
inen, the picture of a chess-board, and J-rf kheper, the scarab, which
has a variety of interpretations. The 0 always comes first, but was
probably not pronounced first. It was written first honoris causa only,
as being the name of a, god, Ra; but since the name meant "Stable
(men) is the Being (kheper) of Ra," it must have read Men kheper BS,
and that this was in fact the reading we know from the Babylonian
representation of the name as M anakhbiriya (i»an = imJJm^1 men; akhbi(r)
= {M ^eper, Riya = Q, Ra), The wasp symbolizes the royalty of
Lower Egypt ; so, frequently the group ^^ will be seen above the
cartouche containing the prenomen. It signifies " King of Upper and
Lower Egypt," I being the sign of the King of Upper Egypt. <3X. ' ,
Se Rd, " son of the Sun," often precedes the nomina of kings, and
,¦=;» neb taui, "lord of the 'two lands," often follows them. \J is
^°°°-> ^/
the crown of Lower Egypt, and Q that of Upper Egypt. CT3 is the

determinative of a house, and L| J per aa is the "great house," or

Pharaoh. The phrase ma Icheru, which so frequently follows the
name of a deceased person, is variously translated, "justified " "truth-
speaking," "deceased." | neter, indicates a god or the adjective
divine; thus | V hen neter is " minister of a god," a priestly title often


HIEROGLYPHS. [US]
seen in the tombs. The title J. ^, may also frequently be seen
before a name in the tombs. It reads relih suten, ' ' (one who) knows
the king," a member of the royal family or favoured courtier. In both
these cases it will be noticed that the signs for god and king are written
first, honoris causa, as in the case of the ideogram of a god noted above.
¦j renpit is a "year," and /-=»-x abot a "month." So many
mi nn
strokes, as , arc so many units, i.e. seven. Tens are written ' li ,
III ' y n '
i.e. thirty. Hundreds are written (§_, and thousands I. Thus
l „ , "the 3rd month of the 8th year"; and the deceased
I O llll III'
prays for ° ," thousands of oxen and geese."
3 il I l'
The formula I A suten hetep te (or rather helep suten te,
"A royal offering given;" the ideogram /\ [/e, "give"] was
written third in order to balance the ideogram I : this is an instance of
pretty writing for effect which often confuses the translator) occurs so
repeatedly in the tomb inscriptions that it cannot fail to be noticed
over entrances, on ka doors and stelae, on friezes and rafters. It

is the prayer begging for V per kheru, " sepulchral meals." The
0 W 5
prayer is addressed most frequently to Osiris [ -<2>- Asdr, or Anubis
-s-Sv Anpu, and commences with little'variation, thus : + IA A A\
Hetep sufen le Amr
A royal offering given. Osiris
neb Tatta neter da neb Abtu te-f per Icheru
lord (of) Tattu God great, lord (of) Abydos may give he sepulchral meals
1 (5 1 1 &°-> an<i Soes on to *>eg tlie "si*01' to tne tomb to
I I I A  6
 menkh
oxen, birds, clothes
say the funereal formulae for the dead man. j 2


[116] HIEROGLYPHS.
THE EGYPTIAN ALPHABETO-SYLLABIC SYSTEM.

-  D

\

J

1 ra
fl 1

= a (semi-vowel)
= a (semi- vowel)
= a (semi-vowel)
= i, y (semi-vowel)
= i (or other inde-
determinate vowel)
= u (semi-vowel)

P
f

ma, to
n

h(h), kh
kha, Ich

r^r~i

h
T

»•«, iu, i
h

List of Syllabic Signs not used Alphabetically.
(Many of these are also used as Simple Ideograms.)

0),

sh

J,a,

sh

q or

*

t

/: or
3
t
t
li, t
t or
c?
(0.
icfc,
<j
tcha
, £c7i
,*i
«a (later used alphabetically
for o).
& 6a
071
-£2>- dri
£s3~- an
«=*=¦ Mil
ia, 6aj L (later used alpha
betically for b, p)
>


) — i mer, ma
¦"""""i men

HIEROGLYPHS. =r-^~ khet, kht

[117]

Q nu (later used alphabetically
for «)
^37 neb ha
*H hem
^ tier, hi, ho

f sa (later used alphabetically
HT for sL. ,

1

T
U *a
- ¦¦¦ - fa, io

List or Ideograms, including those commonly met with in the
Royal Cartouches.
(_a) Names of Gods and Places.

Amen (god of Thebes)
Ra (the Sun-god)

Pfa7i (god of Memphis)
Maat (goddess of Law and
Right)

Nit (Neith, goddess of Sais)
|j=^ Sebek (crocodile-god)

o
45f^ Heru-behutet(H.orusoi'Edfu)
^•^ Heru (Horus)
Set Tehuti (Thoth)
^tttt Temu (Sun-god of Helio
polis)

(6) Ordinary Words.
(Common determinative ideograms marked with an asterisk*: objects
of which the signs are pictures indicated within parentheses. )

iwl se, man, d, I, my
hemt, woman
*& hemt, wife

Anu (HeliojSolis)
J_ Nekhen (Hierakonpolis)
Uaset or Tjumet (Thebes)

sherd, khrat, child
rm uer, old man
uer, chief


[118]

'* (basket) neb, lord (to pos
sess) ; used also for
neb, all
(sceptre) heq, prince

HIEROGLYPHS. @ * (plan of a town) nu, city
\?* (generic det.), place

I

suten, king (of Upper
Egypt) ; su, him
suten, king

T

* ( aaro t, uraeus
(_ neteret, goddess
* pet, heaven; her, above
ttt^ ta, earth
O* ra, sun, day

Q* (generic determinative),
IV\ light, illuminate
fOl* (rising sun) akhut, sunrise,
horizon
> 11 )# (starry heaven) kelcui, dark
ness
X* sba, star; taa, praise
^-*=-n* ddh, moon , abot, month
* tehen, storm

'WW,A mn, water
/WVNAA C^O hi, mountain
C±£±Q* (rocky land) scmt, khast,
desert (and country,
generally)
v* [ (generic det.), foreign
jvAq foreign country

TTTTT* (plan of irrigation canals)
hsep, nome, province
]* (enclosure) per \
i (walled en- t house
closure) het ]
E* (generic det/ wall, build-

0

jj *
7

to build
s, dset, throne

khaut, altar
(mat for offerings), hetep,
offering; (trf.) rest,
peace *} ma, maat, right,
[1 (feather) i 1^, justice
Y \ shu, light, ai:
J dry

airy,

(lute), nefer, good, beautiful
(mallet), menkh, good, ex
cellent

(club), ad, great
^22=^» tier, great
"^^s* netjes, evil, small
| (sceptro), user, mighty
A (halberd), sekhem, power,
i powerful
R (club), Iherp, to wield,
]( control


^___/l* (generic det.), nekht, to
control, force
\^ tjeser, holy
ma, te, to give

te, to give

HIEROGLYPHS. [H9]
A~ (gen. det.), return, retreat

A

f rmen, arm
^ mah, cubit
* ( nekht, force
)^hu, to strike

^^ hu, to strike
j}-/^ meshd, soldier
khesef, enemy, prisoner
mut, death
(man's girdle) rinkh, life.
( "¥" ft I ankh utja senb,
monogrammatically, "life, health, strength")
(beetle) kheper, to become,
come into being

f

Q (rising sun) kha, to appear
mes, to be born, child
— \_ mer, to love
^y db, liati, heart
c\ f tep, head ; (trf.) upon
"^ \ tjatja, head
^ ^er, hi, ho, face; (trf.) on
-<2>- maa, see ; art, make. =^ ^
iiim, see
J\ i, come; (general det., go
come, proceed, &c.)

S3^* sckher, fall down, be over-
~ thrown

ab, dance
a, hail ! (gen. det., to greet)
an, nen, nofj (privative sign)
tern, to cut, close; (trf.)
name of the setting sun ;
(privative) not
-* shesep, to receive
baa, wonderful
f^n*| (collar) nub, gold

(collar and white mace) hat,
silver

(white mace) hetj, white
(mace) ul, command
hem, tool, workman
?ab, mer, (trf.) friend,
courtier

j*"^ (water pouring from a vase)
f wab, pure; (trf.) priest
j{ netjem, sweet
uah, to increase, wax
(plant) uatj, green, flourish
ing
A\ rut, to grow, increase

f

?¦


[120] 6

(vase) khnem, to form,
create
(adze), setep, chosen
(hoopoe) akh, dkhu, bright,
glorious; (trf.) spirit

(crane) ba, soul
t_J lia, double (ghost); (trf.) bull
*)£^} la, bull
(goose) sa, son

HIEROGLYPHS. (dagger in sheath) tep, first
hen, majesty, servant
khmem, flame, be hot
g) * (generic det.) rope, bind

( suht, egg
V) \sa, son
°8W° , V sa, protection
shepses, noble
V^V Aeb, feast

fj (throne-feast)se(-^eb, jubilee

(tally with one notch)
renpit, year
(deity holding year-tallies
with many notches) heh,
eternity
c^ (tadpole) A/en ; (trf.)
J^rj hundred thousand.
cT\ (head of a lion) peh, fore-
U front
vu (hind-quarters of a,lion) peh,
end; (trf.) reach, attain
(horns) uop, begin.

A* (generic det.) tie

, w ,* s7iat, papyrus-roll ; (trf. )
abstract sign
o^;* s/efc7i, write, pen
Q sTien, seal-ring, circle
,— -. (wnftnoiom), purse; (trf.)
o VJ treasurer
ooo* (generic det.) metal
[Z3* (generic det.) stone
^ -¦*** (generic det.) wood
666 * (generic det.) grain
:p=3>j*ses7ie?i, flower, lily
* (generic det.) tree; (trf.)
dmt, favourite
%3*>UaVCT | road
(J U U sekhet, field

=0= (generic det.) liquids
Q (generic det.) oils, incense
i-^i (generic det.) animal
From the above list it will be seen that some of these signs were
polyphonous, and that others were used in a transferred or derived sense,
and that others were not used to represent their original ideas (the
objects of which they are pictures) at all ; I), L "^— tj are cases in
point. This list, added to that of the alphabeto-syllabic signs preceding
(with which the ideograms, both simple and determinative, were
combined in writing), will give an idea of the complexity of the ancient
Egyptian writing, which, however, was not so clumsy » means of


HIEROGLYPHS. [121]
expressing thought and speech as might appear; it is no more com
plicated or clumsy than the very similar Chino-Japanese script, which
the Japanese at any rate do not find incompatible with the most
practical modern civilization. The following typical Egyptian sentence,
from a historical narrative, with transliteration and translation, will
serve to show how the writing was used in practice; for further
information the reader is referred to the standard works on the sub
ject — Dr. Budge's " Egyptian Language," " First Steps in Egyptian,'
and "Egyptian Reading-book," Dr. Erman's " Grammar," &c.

n

m

i ©¦ ¦ in i
Benpit 16 alt 3 Pert

iirit

Sen-f
Year 16, month 3, of was made (by) His Majesty
Pert,

tmh-f
his boundary

ret
of the South

Seh Heh:

" Au-ar-nd tash-a lchent-a (r)
' I have made my boundary my going up-stream (further than)

atfiu-a
my fathers ;

/WWW dw rte-na hau
I have added

seutjet-
what was decreed

tje(u(,a)
I say (it and)

dr-u(d)
I have done (it)."

(From a Boundary Inscription of Usertesen III. at the second Cataract,
XII. Dynasty, about 2300 B.C., now in the Berlin Museum.)
The Hieratic writing had been evolved from the Hieroglyphic as
early as the time of the Old Empire ; we possess papyri of the Middle
and New Empires, written in hieratic containing works of all kinds,
including poems, novels, and even guide-books. The Demotic was
developed out of the hieratic about the IX. Century B.C. ; it was
the usual mode of writing from the XXVI. Dynasty onwards, when
hieratic had fallen into desuetude, and a scholarly knowledge of the
hieroglyphs became confined to priestly archaeologists. Herodotus
knows only of the existence of Hieroglyphic and Enchorial (i.e.
Demotic). Demotic finally gave place in the III. and IV. Cen
turies of our era to the Greek alphabet, which became used to write
Egyptian ; this developed under the influence of Christianity into
the Coptic writing, which is Greek with the addition of the letters
Cy, CI, d), g, (57 X, and "T", to express the Egyptian sounds sh,
f, kh, h, gj, tj, and the syllable di, which were unknown to Greek.
Arabic began to displace Coptic as the language of the country soon
after the conquest, and by the XVII. Century Coptic was practically
extinct. The Coptic passages in the Church-service are now hardly
comprehended by the readers.


[122] HIEROGLYPHS.
LIST OF THE CHIEF ROYAL CARTOUCHES.
(Tlie Manethonian names are indicated by the letter M.)
I. Dynasty, "Thinite," b.c. 'MOO.
Legendary. Historical.
Horus Aha.

mc^TD

King Mena.
(if. Mencs.)

!

IE

leta, Ateti, and Ata.
(ill. Athothis.)

lunj Semti or " llesepti."
(Jlf. Ousaphai's.)

/WVW\ /I

Merba.pen.
(ill. Miebis.)

J

iT-inf/ "Semsem."
(Jf. Scmempses.)

dio " Qebl.i."

2. VO
Horus Narmer (or BetjumerX
Hor«s Tja Ati(?).
4-^fffl(°^)
Horus Khent (or Tjer).

-1-TA^ /WW\A Cs C^ P-*"^
Horns Den iTinj Semti.

Horus At jab King Merpeba.

Horus Smerkha King Nekht.

A

Horus Qa King Sen.


HIEROGLYPHS.
II. Dynasty, "Thinite," b.c. 4200

or
King Baiuneter or Betju-mer.
(M. Boethos.)

[123]
S.^S^oraW^ -fl-

X

D

,f j

K,wt<7 Ba-n-neter.
(M. Binothris.)

King Senta.
(if. Sethenes.)

Horus Khasekhem or Khiisekhemui
Hetep-am-f King Horus Baiu
neter or Besh.
10. ^ ^ ^
Horus Iletep-Sekhemui.
Horus Neb-Ra.
12. Horus Neneter.
13- kPt^^h™
Horus Sekhemab Set Perabsen.

.1

King Sente.

\y=?

III. Dynasty, Memphite, b.c 4000.
15. VN

King "Tjeser-sa."
(if. Tosorthros.)
MED
King Tjeser-" teta."
(if. Tosertasis.)

Horus Sa-nekht.

_CE\S I fi»-= c ii V  /I

Horus Khet-neter A'ing Tjeser.

Historical.

»¦ J\g (Tte¥

Emj Sneferu. (M. Sephouris).


[124]

HIEROGLYPHS.
IV. Dynasty, Memphite, b.c. 3700.

¦¦.«aH] «-M(I=3EI

King

Shareru.
(M. Soris.)

King

Men-kau-Ra. (Mycerinus.)

ie. ^ c^\^y\ 22. m c®

20.

King

mc

Khufu.
(Cheops.)

King

© Q

King

Khaf-Ra.
(Chepliren.)

23.

Tet-f-Ra.
(if. Ratoises.)
(MS]
AThjo Shepses-ka-f.
(if. Sebercheres.)

24.

26.

V. Dynasty, Heliopolite, b.c. 3300.
25.

King Nefer-ari-ka-Ra, son of the Sun,
(if. Nephercheres.)

King User-ka-f. King Sahu-Ra.
(if. Ousercheres.) (if. Sephres.)
alvaa. 1 MAW\ A
i

27. ^ f° ip^j

Ne-user-Ra, so?i o/ the Sun,
(if. Rathoures.)

Kakaa.

An.

28- ^ Kiii' i

29. |\_

©

U

iiuui, i_fi_r

Men-kau-llcru.
(if. Mencheres. )
¦f ©

1

^

Kin<j

Tel-ka-Ea, son 0/ £7ie <%)?,
(M. Tancheres.)

Ass a

30 m CiuLi
ATinj Uuaa. (J/. Onnos.)


HIEROGLYPHS.
VI. Dynasty, Memphite, b.c 320;)
-• man
King Teta.

[125]

32.

33.

34.

«

King

0

1PU

User-ka-Ra, son of the Sum,
(if. Othoes.)

mCajD

m0
Ati.
HO

King

Meri-RIi

son of the Sun, Pepi (I.).
(if. Phios.)

King Mer-en-Ra, son of the Sun, Mehti-em-sa-f.
(if. Methesouphis.)

-mCS ¥

D

m

iHmg Nefer-ka-Ra,

son o/ Wie 5'um,
(if. Phiops.)

Pepi (IL).

37.

ATj'iy Neter-ka-Ra.*

King

l^f © e= [J

> ^

Men-ka-Ra.
VII. — VIII. Dynasties, Memphite, b.c. 3100.

AVW\A \

38- M (0.$ujC1 40- M Qmj

iTimg Nefer-ka-Ra Nebi.

A"i)i</ Ne-ka-Ra

»M(^Ii¥j 41'i^(!k

King Nefer-ka-Ra Khentu.

-.&&

King Nefer-ka-Ra Tereru.
(if. Thirillos.)

* The Manethonian Queen " Nitokria " of tbe VI. Dynasty is probably a mere
mistake for this King Neter-ka-Ra, and is not to be regarded as a historical
personage


[[126] 42.

HIEROGLYPHS.

44

King Nefer-ka-Ra Pepi-senb. King Nef er-ari-ka-Ra.
IX. and X. Dynasties, Hekakleopolite, b.c. 2800.
MCIED ^ CrW]

King Meri-ab-Ra,

son of the Sun,
(Achthoes. )

Khati.

«¦ H (gU^lD «¦ M C°^idJ

JCinc/ Meri-ka-Ra. XI. Dynasty, Theban, b.c. 2600.

Jfraji Neb-ka-n-Ra.
(Legendary.)

Hereditary Prince Antefa.

A'iiy Neb-hetep, son o/ the
Sun, Mentuhetep (I.).

-MCia]-GMi¥e=i

^ D

JEnj

Neb-hapet-Ra, son of the Sun, Mentuhetep
(II. or III.).
E»g Neb-taui-Ra, son of the Sun, Mentuhetep (IV. ?).

51.

°Ey) ¥ C

A"i/('j Sankh-ka-Ra, son of the Sun

JW\AAA

£ ?]

52.

53.

Mentuhetep (V ?).
Horus Uah-ankh, King, son of the Sun, Antef-aa.
XII. Dynasty, Theban, b.c. 2400.
King Se-hetep-ab-Ra, son of the Sun, Amenemhat (I.).
(if. Ammanemes.)


M-WCe

L

u

HIEROGLYPHS ©

[127]

J

King Kheper-ka-Ra, sow of the Sun, Senusert or Usertsen (I.).
(if. "Sesonohosis," i.e. Sesostris.)

» M (Wffl

King Nub-kau-Ra, son of the Sun, Amenembat (II.) .
(M. Ammenemes.)

56.

57.

58.

© Q

ATinj Kha-kheper-Ra, son of the Sun, Senusert or Usertsen (II )
'. Sesostris.)
MG^EI ?#
3
King Kha-kau-Ra, son of the Sun, Senusert orUsertsen (III.)
(if. Khakhares.)
o c* \. /vww\ n ^ ^j \ i ^w%aa _cr\^ Ci V
ifing Ne-maat-RS, son of the Sun, Amenembat (III.).
(il/. Lamaris, Labaris, or Amerres; Hdt. Moiris.)
59. $
King'
C***! ¥ GEJ
Au-ab-Ru.
sow o/ the Sun,
Her.
60.
MG^lU ^ Q
fTrajf Maat-khoru-Ra son of the Sun, Amenembat (IV.).
(if. Ammenemes.)
61.
King (sic) Sebek-neferu-Ra, She who li/vefh.
(M. Queen Skemiophris.)


Missing Page


Missing Page


[130]

HIEROGLYPHS.
XVII. Dynasty, Theban, b.c. 1800.

Kht. j

©

A
A'VWV\
/WWA

Seqenen-Ra,

son 0/ t/ie Ken,
-9 0

I I I

Tau-aa.

83- =a» f © n ~vwvv >i — 0 j fesi ( o=b 1 j 1
Y_»2 V^ mwa  yj _S* V I I I r-^-i u L J\

King

84.

King

©

Seqenen-Ra, son 0/ the Sun, Tau-aa-aa.
Q

n •

/WWV\ WWW

I I I AA/VWv

Seqenen-Ra, son of the Sun, Tau-aa-qen.
85. King's Wife Teta-shera.

>4^ (3B

86. 41

O

King

son 0/ ffte Sum,

(HI

Uatj-kheper-RS, son of the Sun, Karnes.
XVIII. Dynasty, Theban, b.c. 1650.

87. I

©

PJ

iKiio- Neb-pehti-Ra,

»}»

son 0/ £7ie iS'wn,

llK

89.1 King
King

King's Wife Aahmes-Nefertar ©

Tjescr-ka-Ra,

u

Aahmes.
(Amasis I.)

son of the Sim, Amen-hetep.
(Amenophis I.)

Gm

Aa-kheper-ka-Ra, son of the Sun. Tehuti-meS.
(Thothmes I.)


91. | (Xf^l

HIEROGLYPHS. ©

[131]

King Aa-kheper-en-Ra, son of the Sun, Tehuti-mesnefer-khau. (Thothmes II.)
©

-SK^u

D

iti-mes nef er-khau.
^Thothmes II.)

King Maat-ka-Ra, son of the Sun, Hat-shepsu khnemt-Amen.
(Queen Hatshepsu.)

¦¦ii(o°gj[u]] *§. est

Kinq Men-kheper-[ka]-Ra, son of the Sun. Tehuti-mes
(Thothmes III.)

94.

GE5D

King Aa-kheperu-Ra, son of the Amen-hetep neter heq Annu.
Sun, (Amenophis II.)

95.

©

7^ i

HIP

ill

King Men-kheperu-Ra, son of the Sun, T^huti-mes kha-khau.
(Thothmes IV.)

King Neb-maat-Ra, son of the Sun, Amen-hetep heq -Uaset.
(Amenophis III.)

97.

¦-ly

King's Chief Wife, Tii.
0

I ,-t_-
I /WWVS

i?& CRD
V l/W^AQD I 1 J. J[
Lmejiset [

King Nefer-Kheperu-Ra, son of the Sun, Amen-hetep neter heq-
ua-n-Ra, Uaset (Amen-hetep IV. )

or later.

A/WVNA ©

Khu-n-Aten.


[132] 99.

HIEROGLYPHS

King's Chief Wife,

Hje^ooooo^l

100

101.

•MOD

Nefer-neferu-Aten Neferti-it.
O

»H&

a

King Ankh-kheperu-Ra, son of the Sun, Smenkh-ka-Ra Tje°er-
kheperu.

m(^M ¥ G

AAAA/V\

¦Hi;

A'ina Neb-kheperu-Ra, son of f/ie Tut-ankh-Amen heq-An-res
S«n,

^MOEsl ¥ (oTSWEI

ITing Kheper-kheperu-Ra son of the Sun, Divine Father Ai (II.)
ari-maat, neter-heq-Uaset.

103.

M(3

„©

Cfjrm"""i|,J 1 /vww* \ -

>^EP

King Tjeser-kheperu-Ra son of the Ileru-em-heb meri-Amen.
setep-en Ra, Sun,

XIX. Dynasty, Theban, b.c. 1400.
©

»i(M] ¥ dSS

King Men-pehti-Ra,

105.

1%.

K«i

r"^!

son o/ f Tie Sun
©

Ra-messu.
(Rameses I.)

QQ

King Men-maat-Ra, son of the Sun, Seti mer-n-Ptah. (Seti I.)

J

ID

King User-maat-Ra, setep- son of the Ra-messu-meri-Amen.
en-Ra, Sun, (Rameses II.)


107.

HIEROGLYPHS. ©

[133]

ncii&i¥ cm

AAAAAA. j

Kmg Ba-en-Ra mer-Amen, son of the Mer-en-Ptah-hetep-her-
Sun, maat.
(Mer-en-Ptah I.)

108.

Iffnj; User-kheperu- Ra-meri- son of the Seti Mer-en-Ptah.
Amen, Sun, (Seti II.)

A'ini; Men-ma-Ra setep-en-Ra, son of the Amenmeses heq-
Sun, Uaset.

C± £=> \^ AAAAAA ^ /WW\A ^/| _A3" \ jLil I I I
)-en-Rri, son of the Amenmeses
Sun, Uaset.
J\ sin y° I al £^ J
3n Queen Tausret setepet-en-Mut.
-i*G5T3 ¥ (El

Lady of the Sit-Ra Meritamen
Two Lands,

112.

113.

114.

King Khu-en-Ra Setep-en-Ra, son of the Sun, Si-ptah Mer-en-Ptah.
©

^ o \  i III mam I r=r y[ _Xj V 111 ajL^  fl<c=>/1

£3
King User-khau-Ra setep-en- son of the Set-nekht meri-Ra
Ra. meri-Amen, Sun, merer- Amen.

XX. Dynasty, Theban, b.c. 1150.
©

& (3SD ^ (HHj

User-maat-Ra-meri- son of the Ra-meses heq-Annu-
Amen, Swn, (Rameses III.)
m GSEI ¥ C°gifli~]
User-maat-Ra setep- son of the Ra-meses meri-Amen-
en-Amen, Sun, Ra heq maat.
(Rameses IV.)


[134] HIEROGLYPHS.
o £i V ill J ul, wAftftAyl

©

©4

MP

ffina User-maat-Ra s-kheper- son of Amen-Ra-mes-f-su meri-
en-Ra, the Sun, Amen. (Barneses V.)

116. 1^

0'

ojlznltlil

King Maa-neb-Ra meri- son of Amen-Ra-meses neter heq
Amen. the San, Annu. (Rameses VI.)

117. 4=\

©

O

©

gjHI]

i'in j User-maat-Ra meri- son o/ the Amen-Ra-mesesti neter-
Amen setep-en-Ra, Sun, heq- Annu.
(Rameses VII.)

-¦if (51

1>

Rgoffl

IiTino- User-maat-Ra, Akh-en- son of the Amen-Ra-meses meri-
Amen, Sun, Amen. (Rameses VIII.)
0

King

©

/WVW\ I AA/VWA W -^

II

?
O I <^

S-kha-en-Ra meri- son of the Ra-meses se-Ptah.

Amen,

Sun,

(Rameses IX.)

120.

121.

m(A

u
III

^N

10®

King Xefer-kau-Ra, setep- son of the Ra-meses merer-Amen
en-Ra, Sun, kha-Uaset. (Rameses X.)

©^

w

King Kheper-maat-Ra setep- son of the
cn-Ra, Sun,

Amen-Ra-messu. (Rameses XI.)

King

« m G^ffl:, ¥ QUlrlTffl

Men-maat-Ra- son o/ rjie Ra-meses-merer-Amen-kha
setep-en-Ra, Swn, Uaset neter heq Annu.
(Rameses XII.)


HIEROGLYPHS. [135]
XXI. Dynasty (a), Tanite, b.c. 1100.

123.

mmsi ¥ (&sa

GoocZ God, Lord Hetj-kheper-Ra son of Nsibanebtat meri-Amen.
of the Two Lands setp-n-Ra, the Sun (Smendes. )

-¦HC^ii^)¥(i

]

King

Aa-kheper-Ra, son of the Psibkhanmi meri-Amen.
setp-n-Mentu, Sun,

i25. m c

o]

/WAAA (VWW

] t c

King

Neter-kheper-Ra, setp-n-Ajnen,

son of Si-Amen meri-
the Sun, Amen.

126.

XXI. Dynasty (b), Theban, b.c. 1050.
©

MClDsl ¥(J5E5S
King Hen-neter-tep-en-Amen, son. of the Her-IIeru se-Amen.
High-priest of Amen. Sun, (Herhor.)

127.

King

MM
Painetjem (I.).

128. © i"""""! M M\
High-priest Men-kheper-Ra.
©

¦KB ¥ GH3
ffing Kheper-kha-Ra setep- son of the Painetjem (II.) meri-
eii Amen, Sun, Amen.

130.

XXII. Dynasty, Sdbastite, b.c. 930.

iA

?n

131.

JBKnj Hetj-kheper-Ra, son of the Shashank meri-Amen.
setep-en-Ra, Sun, (Shishak.)
A 2 V I W ^»mJ -2j ^IWAmM U ' " AWAA/y1]
Uwti? Sekhem-kheper-Ra son of the Uasarken meri-Amen.
seteu-en-Ra. Sun, (Osorkon I.)


[136] 132. ¦¦

O

HIEROGLYPHS. ©

CED

King User-maat-Ra, son of the Sun, Takeloti. (Takelothisl.)

»i(jg!li(EiMg
King User-maat-Ra setep- son of the Uasarken meri-Amen.
en -Amen, Sum, (Osorkon II.)

134. m (^MiT^] ¥ (l¥jSO
King Seshes-kheper-Ra son of Shashank meri-Amen-Ra.
setep-en-Amen, the Sun, (Shishak II.)

J]

™-M(MliM ¥ CiBjl'

King Hetj-kheperu-Ra, son of the Takelot meri-Amen si-Aset.
setep-en-Ra,, Sun, (Takelothis II.)

King User-maat-Ra, son of the Shashank meri-Amen si-Bastet.
setep-en-Ra, Sun, (Shishak III. )

- iicei ¥Q^^Iti

User-maat-Ra setep- son of the Pimai meri-Amen.
en-Amen, Sun,

138. 4«SR ( ©

~M

rmn'

King Aa-kheper-Ra, son of the Sun, Shashank. (Shishak IV.)

139.

XXIII. Dynasty, Tanite, b.c. 750.
0

© ra

AAAAA

7^

King Seher-ab-Ra,, son of the Sun, Petebastet meri-Amen.


140.

O

HIEROGLYPHS.
XXIV. Dynasty, Saite, b.c. 750
©

[137]

Pf)

141.

King Shepses-Ra son of the Sun, Tainckht. (Tnephachthos.)
©

King Uah-ka-Ra, son of the Sun, Bakenrenf. (Bocchoris.)

XXV. Dynasty-, Ethiopian, b.c. 700.
is

mc^s^p] ¥ (SPED
King User-maat-Ra son of the Sun, Piankhi meri-Amen.
T AWVAA \J \ I  J\ ' T ^ V^ J AAAAA L\ J\

King

Kashta.

2uecn Ameuartas.

145.

m(Ehi

ffll^u

King Nefer-ka-Ra, son of the Sun, Shabaka. (Sabaco.)
©

146. J\g f ©

U

M3® u ,

King Tet-kau-Ra, son of the Sim, Shabataka.

147.

0

King Nefer-tem-khu-Ra son of the Sun
©

JT1  A_
Taharqa.
(Tirhaka.)

!«• K (o^?U^

I1IIIIHII ,
/\A(WV\ AA/VWA

fl]

Bni/ Ba-ka-Ra, sow 0/ ffre /S'tm,

Tanut-Amen.
(Tandamane.)


(138)

»MGTjD

HIEROGLYPHS.
XXVI. Dynasty, Saite, b.c. 650.
"9 0

PkSl

King Uab-ab-Ra, son of the Sun, Psametik.
(Psammetichus!.)

•* i(jv;

u

jBTinj Nem-ab-Ra, son 0/ fTie Swn, Nekau.
(Necho II.)

151.

m(°i

© T -o-

GIB

A'in;/ Nefer-ab-Ra, son o/ f7ie Sun, Psametik.
(Psammetichus II.)

i52-'M(0t:z>

A*mij llaa-ab-Ra,

0

a

sou of the Sun, Uab-ab-Ra. (Apries.)

« iys ( © c o

fl¥]

.Kino- Klmem-ab-Ra,, son of the Snn, Aahmes sa-net.
(Amasis II.)

154.

m ( © f u
lO-^-O \ * AA/WV

°P

=~N

Jfittgr Ankh-ka-en-Ra, son of the Sun, Psametik.
(Psammetichus III.)

XXYII. Dynasty, Persian, b.c. 527.
©

-MOSS

J

King Mesuti-Ra, son of the Sun. Kembatit.
(Kambujiya, Cambyses.)


156.

"HIEROGLYPHS. ©

[139]

M (3IE1 ¥ QSISl

King Setetu-Ra, son of the Sun, Nt[a]r[i]y[a]wash.
(Dariyavaush, Darius
Hystaspes.)

157.

ffiaiWkr

m}

Lord of the Khshaiarsba.
Two Lands, (Khshayarsha, Xerxes.)

158.

mr

_2s&

King

Artakhashssha.
(Artakhashtra, Artaxerxes.)

159.

King Meri-Amen-Ra, son of the Sun, Nt[a]r[i]y[a]wash. (Darius II.)

160.

XXIX. Dynasty, Mendesian, b.c. 399.
©

&G°ggp

_M><~=>III

King Ba-en-Ra meri-nteru, son of Naifaaurut.
the Sun, (Nepherites.)

raV°^

^J

King _Khnem-maat-Ra, son of the Sun, Haker. (Achoris.)

162.

2»o V„ 1' Q A A/VAAA\yq

&&)

D

£/£«</ User-Ra setep-en-Ptah, son of the Sun, Psemut.
(Psammouthis.)


[140] HIEROGLYPHS.*
XXX. Dynasty, Sebennytian, b.c. 378.
©

M(ill^l¥
King Senetjem-ab-Ra, son of
setep-en-Amen, the Sui
- 4y=> © <=> - — D ^ A

WT£^tt

Kno; Senetjem-ab-Ra, son o/ Nekht-IIeru-hebet meri-
setep-en-Amen, the Sun, Amen. (Nektanebos I.)

Ejtfl

D

ifino- Ari-maat-en-Ra, son o/ fTie Tjeho setep-en-Anhur.
Sun, (Tachos, Teos.)

165.

o

u\ ¥

/"^AAAAAA

u

Kbo" Kheper-ka-Ba, son of the Suit, Nekht-neb-f.
(Nektanebos II.)

XXXII. Dynasty, Macedonian, b.c. 332.

166.

CMUl ¥ G

King Setep-en-Ra meri- son of the Aleksandros.
Amen, Sun, (Alexander the Great.)

167.

3^

King Setep-en-Ra son of the
meri-Amen, Sun,

Phiuliupos.
(Philip Arrhidaeus.)

0

168.

XXXIII. Dynasty, Ptolemies, b.c. 305.

o C. \llfO A=J.

n \'^W

J\

King Setep-en-Ra-meri- son of the Ptul[e]m[a]i[o]s.
Amen, Sun, (Ptolemy I. Soter I.)

169

-M(3V

D

2?=w

J

JTirij User-ka-Ra meri-Amen, so«o/ Pt[o]lum[a]i[o]s.
fAe Sun, ^Ptolemy II. Phila-
delphos.)


HIEROGLYPHS.

[141J

King Au-n-Neterni-senui Setep -n- Amen-Ra, kherp-ankh.
" Heir 0/ the Brother-gods, chosen of Amen-Ra, Wielder of Life."

Son' of the Sun, Ptol[e]m[a]i[o]s ankh-tjet meri-Ptah.
Ptolemy (ILL Euergetes I.), living for ever, beloved of Ptah.

171

MCgBByMS

King Au-[n]-Neterui-menkhui Setep-n-Ptah User-ka-
Amen-Ra kherp ankh.
" Heir of the two gods Euergeteis, chosen by Ptah, Mighty double of Amen-
Ra, Wielder of Life."

CflllilEI

Son of the Sun, Ptolemaios ankh-tjet meri-Aset.
Ptolemy (IV. Philopator), living for ever, beloved of Inis.

King Au-neterui-mer-iotui setep-n-Ptah User-ka- Amen-Ra
kherp ankh.
"Heir of the two gods Philopatores, chosen of Ptah, Mighty Double of
Amen-Ra, Wielder of Life."

*,=11PtSi2!M4

Son of the Sun Ptolemaios ankh-tjet meri-Ptah.
Ptolemy (V. Bpiphanes), living for ever, beloved of Ptah.

-M(rsis°i'

King Au-neterui-kbu Setep-n-Ptah-Khepra ari-maat-Amen-Ra.
" Heir of the two gods Epiphaneis, chosen of Ptah-Kheprd, ewrrymg owt
the law of Amen-Ra."


[142]

HIEROGLYPHS.

CUSpSEI

Son of the Sun, Ptolemaios ankh-tjet meri-Ptah.
Ptolemy (VII. Philometor I.), living for ever, beloved of Pta\

174. $

T5Ci Q

t

D

a

King Au-n-netcrui-khu setep-n-Ptah ari-maat-Amen-Ra
kherp-ankh.
' Hew of the two gods Epiphaneis, chosen of Ptah, doing the law of Ame
Ra, Wielder of Life."

CiffeWTSQ-

^

Son of the Sun, Ptolemaios ankh-tjet meri-Ptah.
Ptolemy (IX. Euergetes II. Physkon), living for ever, beloved of Ptah.

175. O

<=> ol I O

King Au neterti-menkhti mer-mat-s (sic) Nit Setep-n-Ptah
Ari-maat-Amen-Ra kherp- (ankh).
" Heir of the two gods Euergeteis, loving his mother Neith (?), chosen of
Ptah, doing the law of Amen-lia, Wielder of (Life)."
% GM11IE1
Son of the Sun, Ptolemaios ankh-tjet meri-Ptah.
Ptolemy X. (Sotcr II. Philometor IL).

m. W Q

D

.-<s>-

liPWIW

King Au-neterui-menkhui setep-n-Ptah ari-maat-Amen-Ra
Senen-n-ankh.
r of the two gods Euergeteis, chosen of Ptah, doing the law of
Ra, Image of Life."

¥ C"=flQ1l£C|lglfS£M
Son of the Sun, Ptolemaios tjetu-nef Aleksantros ankh-tjet meri-Ptah.
Ptolemy who is called Alexander, living for ever, whom Ptah loveth.
(Ptolemy XL Alexander.)


HIEROGLYPHS.

[143]

m. m Cd]

D

D | ^ ^

0

if

Juno- Au-n-pneter-nti-nehem Setep-n-Ptah ari-maat-n-Amen-Ra
kherp ankh.
'¦'Heir of the Saviour-God, chosen of Ptah, doing the law of Amen-Ra,
Wielder of Life."

d

^gifffaM]

Son of the Sun, Ptolemaios ankh-tjet meri-Ptah-Aset.
Ptolemy (XIII. Neos Dionysos, Auletes), living for ever, beloved, of
Ptah and Isis.

m- U{

(a&&£\

D ^

Princess of the two lands,

Kleopatra.
Cleopatra (VI.)

179. Cl5 -£fe& WM
King and lord of the two lands,

Ptolemaios.
Ptolemy (XIV.)

XXXIV. Dynasty, Roman Emperors, b.c. 27.

180. njQs
King and lord of the two lands,

c

te A

Autoqrator. Autocrator.

]

3©.^)

S III

GUfMHE]

Son of the Sun, lord, of Kaisaros ankh-tjet meri-Ptah-Aset.
appearings, Caesar (Augustus), living for ever, whom
Ptah and Isis love.

181. O

V V

?o A

King and lord of
the two lands,

Autoqrator
Autocrator,

5© O
son of the Sun.


[144]

HIEROGLYPHS.

QUI
lord of
appearings,

182. O
King <a <©
Son of the Sun,
King 0

IIP

fS

T[i]lxiri[o]s K[a]is[a]r[o]s ankh-tjet,
Tiberius Cassar, living for ever.

c

A

\

^

Aut[o]qr[a]t[o]r K[a]is[a]r[o]s,
Autocrator Cassar.

^ <S o

IW1

Ql[a]ud[io]s Tibar[io]S,
Claudius Tiberius.

\?zm\

~N

Heq-hequ setep-en-Aset meri Ptah,
Ruler of Rulers, chosen one of Isis, beloved, of Ptah.

c

/tk<^

a

%g

-jMx*_®2T

w

3

So?i o/ t/ie Sun, Autukr[a]t[o]ra Ner[o]ana.
Autocrator Nero. (A.vT0Kpar6pa Nepwya.)
184. M[a]rk[o]s Autun[o]s.
Marcus Otho.
185. U[e]spasi[a]n[o]s nti-khu.
Vespasianus the Protector.
186. T[i]t[o]s Kaisaros.
Titus Csesar.
187. Tum[i]ti[a]nus nti-khu.
Domitianus the Protector.
188. Neruas nti-khu.
Nerva the Protector.

189.

<Qs

(g -^37! e=

<Q\&

D

w*ma r^\

King and lord of Autukr[a]t[o]r Kais[a]r[o]s X[e]roua,
the two lands, Autocrator Ceesar Nerva,


HIEROGLYPHS.

s
v  ' a

(m%\'zzj\

<s<=^<

^Pfflt

[145]

Tlie Sun' s son, Traian[o]s nti-khu Auk[u]st[os] Kermain[i]kos
Jord 0/ Nt[a]kik[o]s.
atppeari/ngs, Trajanus the Protector, Augustus Germanicus Dacicus.

190.

9Q5

=GM£1

UoM

~N

Son of the Sun Autukr[a]t[o]r K[a]is[a]r[o]s Tr[a]i[a]nus.
and lord of two lands, Autocrator Caesar Trajanus,

S0.O Sa
Son of the Sun and lord
of appearings,

c\

v.

if) ° Q~xx
W\AAA Q*r*^

]

Atri[a]n[u]s nti-khu.
Hadrianus the Protector.

191.

9Q6

(5

<Q

bW

]

Siwi 0/ *fce Sun, lord
0/ tfie too lands,

Aut[o]kr[a]t[o]r Kais[a]r[o]s.
Autocrator Caesar.

5©0 Q
a

»q-

ateD

iw

no

Son of the Sun, lord Aur[e]lias Antoninus nti-khu ankh-tjet.
of appearings, Aurelius Antoninus the Protector, living for ever.

192.

OkSI] QSEI (SI

Aut[o]kr[a]t[o}r Autocrator

K[ai]s[a]r[o]s Caesar

Luki[us] Lucius

<2

«

Aulli[us] Aelius

Uero[s] ankh-tjet.
Verus, living for ever.

193.

3Q5

Q

@ \>

e§>§1fc

K-in^f and lord 0/
the two lands,

Autokrit[o]r K[a]isaur[o]s,
Autocrator Ceesar,


[14,6] HIEROGLYPHS.

30^37 f <{yj

jfr f1V7 CD
O aas V Z= g O^-O

pEI

Son of the Sun, lord Kam[o]dus Antoninus nti-khu.
of appearings, Commodus Antoninus, the Protector.
194. Sau[e]ri[u]s nti-khu.
Severus the Protector.
195. Gat [a] nti-khu.
Geta the Protector.
196. Anton[i]nus nti-khu.
Antoninus (Caracalla) the Protector.
197. I Kj'COZKv Q /^J

J

T[e]ksas nti-khu.
Decius the Protector.

Note. — The hieroglyphs of names 184—188 and 194 — 196, which are
of rare occurrence, are of the same type as those of the rest of the
Roman period. XII. ANCIENT EGYPTIAN RELIGION.
1. General Sketch.
The scope of this book will not permit of more than a sketch in
outline of the main features of so complicated a subject as the religion
of the ancient Egyptians. To speak of the religion is a misnomer;
rather should we say the religions, as dogma varied with the different
periods of history, and as each large college of priests had its own
cosmological and theological doctrines.
The Egyptian religion was a polytheism of the usual kind. The
deities had in all probability various origins, like the gods of other
nations. Anthropological science has not yet seen its way to do much
more than merely gather data concerning them. With regard to
Egypt, all that can be said is that the veneration of the dead as gods
(Osiris worship), and the reverence paid to certain demon animals, such
as the jackal, cat, hawk, &c. (in fact, the more primitive elements of
the national religion), are probably of indigenous (Nilotic) origin. The
worship of the sky-god Horus would seem, from the traditions connected
with him, to have been a very ancient importation from the East. The
same may be said of the Ra cult of Heliopolis. Amen, the great god of
Thebes, was originally a mere local demigod of the Thebaid, who was
raised to his position as " King of the Gods " by the accident of Theban
hegemony under the great Pharaohs. The lienotheistic phenomenon is
frequently visible in the extant prayers to the gods ; the worshipper
addresses one particular deity as if he were the only god existing. The


ANCIENT EGYPTIAN RELIGION. [147]
same worshipper would address another god afterwards in exactlv the
same terms Considerable traces of a trul monotheislict ndenc have
however, also been observed and there was constant recognition of
"the divme" (to 0e?oe) in nature. 8 u
^?10£oth6isti<; heI^y^°se io* a sh°rt time towards the end of the
XVIII. Dynasty £bout 1400 b.c. , under the personal inspiration of
king Amen-hetep IV. (Khu-n-Aten), who was an original genius in many
ways. His idea was that the disk of the sun, which was the only
visible and recognisable source of light, heat, and life, was the only
real energiser of the world, the only divinity, in fact. All the myriad
deities of the Egyptian pantheon were, then, vain figments, and were to
be abandoned and abolished. The actual disk was, however, not itself
deity, though a divine thing. It was only the vehicle through which
the divine gift of life was given to the world ; the window in heaven
so to speak, through which the Unknown God, " the Lord of the Disk,"'
poured forth his life-giving rays. This remarkable belief seems to have
been based on the philosophical speculations of the priests of the sun-
god Ra-Harmaehis of Heliopolis. This god was, at least for a time,
regarded as identical with Khu-n-Aten's sun-god, and his names were
spared when those of the other gods, and especially Amen, their king,
were erased from the monuments. The heresy died with its inventor,
and the Egyptians returned joyfully to the myriad superstitions of
their ancestors.
The gods which the traveller will most frequently see represented
on the monuments are : —
Ra, the sun, who was worshipped under many forms. Of these
the commonest is his form as the rising sun, when he bears the name
Harmakhis ; as the midday sun, Bd ; as the setting sun, Tmu ; and as
the sun during his night journey, Auf. Bd is in constant conflict with
Apepi, the evil one, or darkness in the form of a serpent, who at sunset
begins to fight with him, and continues all the night until the morning.
This represents the purely physical contest between light and darkness.
The Egyptian theory of the sun differs from that of other nations,
in that, instead of his being represented in a chariot drawn by horses,
he is always in a boat, since the conception of the sky was that it was
an ocean.Shu, the atmosphere, and Tefnut, are children of Bd. The former
is symbolised by a feather.
Osiris was the child of Seb or Geb, the earth, and Nut, the
heavens. His wife is his sister Isis, and their child was Horus (the
sky). The war waged against Osiris by his brother Set, whose wife
was Nephthys, represents the conflict between evil and good. Osiris
being killed by Set, became lord of the Amenti or the nether world,
where he sat and judged the dead. His death was avenged by his son
Horus. He was identified with Seker, mummy-god of Sakkara.
Nut, the sky, is represented on the ceiling at Dendera and elsewhere,
extending her arms and legs to the earth, while her body is covered
with stars.
Anubis and Uapuaut are represented with a jackal's head, and are
very frequently seen in the tombs. They guided the dead to Hades,
*jld presided pser the funeral rites. The jackal became superstitiously I 2


[148] ANCIENT EGYPTIAN RELIGION.
regarded as the lord of the tomb-world owing to its habit of prowling
at night in the desert where the tombs are.
Horus— usually represented with a hawk's head— (originally the sky)
is also a name for the sun. Though he belongs to the family of
Osiris, there is an independent set of myths connected with mm.
The eye of Horus is constantly spoken of as a distinct deity. ms
two eyes are frequently represented ; and, made in various materials,
were used as amulets against the enemies of light. Osiris, Isis, and
Horus formed a triad, and are often represented together, as at
Abydos. Set although the antagonist of light, was not in the first instance
a god of evil. It was only in the decline of the Empire that he came
so to be regarded, and his image to be effaced from all monuments.
It is because a figure of him occurs as a syllabic in the name of Seti
that so many of the cartouches of that king are found mutilated. He
was especially connected with the usuiping Hyksos, or "Shepherd"
kings. Thoth— represented with the head of an ibis— was the great
inventor god. He it was who invented the principles of writing (see
p. [Ill]), arithmetic, music, &c. He is called the Measurer, and is the
moon-god, wearing sometimes the crescent moon, sometimes the full
disk on his head. It was he who recorded the result of the weighing
of the heart of the deceased in the judgment hall of Osiris.
Maat was one of the most important of the divinities in the
Egyptian Pantheon, though she figures less frequently on the monu
ments than many others, possibly because she was not so often
personified. She represents truth and justice, law and order.
The goddess Hathor, whose attributes are in places identical with
those of Mitt and Isis, is represented with the head and horns of a cow
with the disk between the horns, and in a certain Egyptian tale the
seven Hatliors seem to take the place of fairy godmothers. She is
spoken of as daughter of Bit. and mother of Horus. Her head with
the cow's ears was often represented on the abaci of columns. She was
especially connected with the desert.
Ptah, the local god of Memphis. Identified with Seker, the
mummy-god of Sakkara, and so with Osiris. The goddess Sekhemet
or Pakhet, confused with Ubastet (Bast) of Bubastis, was described
as his wife, and the deified sage Imhetep as their son.
Mut (" Mother "), local goddess of Thebes. She was portrayed with
a vulture cap and the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt. Khonsu, a
moon-god, was her son.
Amen, the principal divinity at Thebes, is a god who is often met
with in the double characters of Amen-Ra, Amen-Khnem, or Min-
Amen. He is not known in the earliest times. His characteristic
headdress is a crown with two enormous feathers. At Thebes he
forms a triad with Mut and Khonsu. There are several hymns to
Amen, in which he is spoken of in monotheistic terms.
Min was the local god of Koptos and Panopolis. He symbolises
the reproductive power of gods and men.
Khnum or Khnemu, the potter, god of the South : symbol a ram.


ANCIENT EGYPTIAN RELIGION. [149]
Sebek, tbe crocodile-headed god, is met with at K6m Ombo. He
was also the patron deity of the Fayyum.
Though it is difficult to assert much about the religion of the
ancient Egyptians, there is one belief it is certain they held, and that
was the doctrine of a future life and the immortality of the soul in
the world of the tombs (Kherti-neter) on the western bank (Amenti) of
the Nile, where most of the necropoles were. Even this doctrine was
held in rather complicated though confused detail. The great desire
of the Egyptian was to live 110 years and then to continue the same
life in the tomb- world, for he could imagine no happier existence than
that he had already experienced on the banks of the Nile. It is hence
a very material conception of a hereafter that we find recorded in the
tombs. It was thought that the body was a necessary part of the
soul's continued existence. For this reason the Khat, or body, the
mortal and corruptible part of man, was mummified, and the mummy
so carefully concealed in a hidden chamber of the tomb. At death the
immortal part of man was resolved into six elements (more in some
local cults). The Ka | J, or " astral " counterpart of the deceased,
has also been called the " double " and " genius." It is sometimes
represented in pictures as a counterpart of the man, standing behind
him. It remained with the Khat until death, the Khat being unable
to live without the Ka, though the Ka could exist without the body.
The Ka was material, requiring food -like the Khat, visiting the
mummy sometimes to receive the food prepared for it in the chapel by
the relatives of the deceased. Rich people founded endowments in
order that priests might, through future generations, carry on these
tomb-feasts for the benefit of the Ka. On these occasions the Ka
required something which it might clothe itself upon ; so for this
purpose Ka statues were put in the tombs, which were, as far as
possible, exact likenesses of the deceased ; to which custom we owe the
excellent series of portrait-statues in the Giza and other museums.
Man's heart was supposed to have an immortal part called Ab, which
stood in the same relation to the material heart as the Ka to the body.
The Ab left man at death and wandered away to the Abode of Hearts,
and only met the deceased again in the Hall of Judgment, where it
was weighed by Anubis against the feather of Truth. When the
viscera were removed from the body before it was mummified, a lieart
scarab was inserted to take the place of the heart. The scarab
was a symbol of genesis and resurrection, and the heart scarab was
inscribed with a magic formula.
The part of man most nearly corresponding to our idea of a soul was
the Ba, represented as a bird with a human head. At death the Ba
immediately left man and sought its proper home with the gods, to
whom it was akin. But it returned to the Khat at times, sometimes
with the sign of life ~r in its hantls, and sometimes with food and
drink. But even here the conception was not wholly immaterial ; for
a chapter in the Book of the Dead ensures " abundance of food to
the Ba."
The Sahu, depicted as a mummy, is a primitive conception, the


[150] ANCIENT EGYPTIAN RELIGION.
deified dead man living in awful nobility "in the sarcophagus (or
underworld)." . or sunshade.
The Khaibit, or shadow, was represented by a tan
Being separated from the man at death, his shadow went forth
realm of the gods. „ <<;„+,oi;o-pnop " went
The ATte, translated either "luminous" or ' m*eflbtg^C^em^s
forth to wander through space at the dissolution of the elements
°f Xse ideas are really more or less conflicting, and are f ^c^me
of the diversity of local beliefs. They are given above as i he. y were
more or less arbitrarily put together when the religion began to be m
part systematised.
The Book of the Dead is sometimes called the " Funeral Ritual.
Many co^es of it have been found, no two of which are ex ac ly a ike
The Papy^s of Ani in the British Museum contains 165 ehapte s
being the longest known, yet not containing several chapters found in
othe? copies. In the oldest copies there are not so many chapters. It
has been translated by various scholars. The mam subject of the whole
work is the "beatification of the dead." It consists chiefly of prayers
and magical charms to enable the dead man to attain happiness in the
tomb-world. We learn from it that the deceased had the power ot
transforming himself into several different animals. We also learn
that the deceased was identified with the god Osiris, and is called
Osiris. Accounts are given of the obstructions the deceased will find
in the other world, and of the trials through which he must come ; and
prayers to various gods are provided for him that will deliver him from
all the evils. Copies of the book have been found in many tombs, as it
was frequently buried with the mummy. Chapters of it were painted
or carved on tomb walls, coffin, and sarcophagus, and sometimes even
on the mummy itself.
Other magical books of the same kind were the Book of That which
is in Hades (the Book of the Ami-Tuat) and the Book of the Gates (see
Budge, ' The Egyptian Heaven and Hell ').


ANCIENT EGYPTIAN RELIGION.

[151]

2. Illustrated. List of the Principal Egyptian Divinities.
The following is an illustrated list, arranged alphabetically, of the
eities most often seen on the monuments.

°p..3S8 3 3 J
5-S.q =3


3. Hathor has a cow's head, with
the moon's disk between her
horns.

4. Herupakhrat (Horus the Child), the
Harpokrates of the Greeks, son of
Osiris and Isis, places his Angers to
his lips as a sign of childhood, not
of silence.

5. Heru (Horus the Elder, Haroeris),
originally the sky-god, has a hawk's
head and wears the double crown.'

en to

>aoS58 H© > 55 a H

o ¦z


aHS3 ?3
H01—1>S!H

O

Isis wears the vulture cap, cow's horns,
and disk of the moon, surmounted by
the step-shaped throne of her hus
band Osiris.

7. Khnemu has a ram's head, and a tall
cap with feathers. He is identified
as Amen-Khnem with the Greek
Zeus Amnion.

8. Min, a mummy, the right hand up
lifted behind him, and supporting a
scourge or flail.

CO


Ox

>o H Si a o TJ >a a

o

Khonsu, the moon ; is often repre
sented with the moon's disk on a
hawk's head.

10 Maat, the goddess of truth, has a single
feather rising from her head.

11. Mut wears the vulture
cap, with the double
crown, or has a vul
ture's head.


>aa MHa©hiMwat-i

oa

12. Nelth, the goddess of Sais in the Delta ; wears sometimes a shuttle on her head,
sometimes the crown of Lower Egypt.

13. Nephthys has the symbol of
her name (Nebt-het) on her
head, and the vulture cap.

oxOx


Ox02

i>a ol-H aa ?a a -
Ki > a Ed a

c a

14. Oslrls, a ununmvy, wearing the crown of Uppei Egypt,
sometimes with, sometimes without ostrich feathers,
and holding the crook and scourge, either alone or
combined with the sceptre.

16 Ubastet (Bast) has a cat s head,
crowned with a disk and asp.
Sekhemet or Pakhet is similar,
but has the head of a lioness.

16. Ptah, a mummy, holding a
sceptre compounded of
the Tat, or emblem of sta
bility, the Ankh, or em
blem of life, and the User,
or emblem of power.


i>aa aa
HaQk!>D aa

o a

17. Ra, the midday sun ; hawk-
headed, crowned with a disk
and asp.

18. Geo or Sen has a goose on
his head ; represents the
primeval earth. ,

19. Thoth, the god of letters, and recorder of the court of Osiris,
judge of the dead ; has an ibis head, sometimes surmounted
with a crescent'moon and feather ; holds a pen and tablet,
or pen and palm branch.

Ox


[158]

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN RELIGION.

"-1 >s

0) +3
o> 3

.p —

XIII.— ARCHEOLOGY AND ART.
1. Old Egyptian.
Archaeology. — The monumental remains of Egypt consist of temples
and tombs.
The Egyptian Temple was not a place of public worship like a
Christian church. It was an edifice erected by a king, either as a
funerary chapel to his tomb, or in honour of some divinity, sometimes
of a triad of divinities, to whom he wished to pay special homage,
either in return for benefits conferred, or in the hope of future favours.
This is shown by the sculptures on the walls, in all of which the king
is the principal subject. He wages war with the enemies of Egypt and
brings them home captive ; or he offers, in times of peace, gifts and
sacrifices. The prayers are all recited in his name, and he leads the
processions in which are carried the statues and emblems of the
divinities. The temples are always built of stone, and airrimnflofl hv a

e, and surrounded by a


ARCHEOLOGY AND ART. [159]
high and massive crude-brick enclosure, which shut out from the public
gaze all that took place inside. The following diagrams will show the
various plans and arrangements most usual in Egyptian temples of the
later periods : —

iiiii b

IIIII h
IIIII

Fig. 1 is a
simple form
of a temple,
consisting of
(6 6 6) the
dromos or
avenue of
sphinxes, sss,
three pylons,
a a a ; the
pronaos or
portico, d ;
and the ady
tum (sikos)
or sanctuary, -
e, which was ft* liimillll
either iso- E ",,i,n"1
lated, or oc
cupied the
whole of the
naos, as in
Fig, 2. c c c
are screens,
reachinghalfway up
the columns,
as seen in
Fig. 3. In the
adytum (e,
Fig. 2) is an altar,/. WW, the crude-brick
wall of the temenos, "grove," or sacred enclo
sure. Fig, 4 : a, the pylon ; 6, the avenue with
out sphinxes ; c c, screens ; d, pronaos or por
tico ; e, the hall of assembly ; /, transverse
anteroom, or prosSJeos, a sort of transept ; g,
the central adytum, or sekos ; h h, side adyta.
Fig. 5 : a, pylon ; b, avenue of sphinxes ; c c,
obelisks ; d d, propyla or pyramidal towers of
the propylseum ; e, propylaium, area, or vesti
bule ;//, statues of the king ; gg, inner towers
with staircases leading to the top, as in d d;

Fig, 3.

Crude brick Wall of enclosure.

The Temenos planted with trees.

I III III

S 6 H * c/A U2

mini

Fig. 1.

fl-r-rrn

Temenos


[160] ABCH^iOLOGY AND ABT.
h, inner vestibule ; i i, screens from pillar to pillar, forming a sort of j aJ^er°?™
or portico to *, the hall of assembly, I, transept; m, centra 1 adytum , ««, nae
adyta, Jty. 6 : a, raised hypasthral building of columns ^d connecting screens witn
steps leading to it from within b, the dromos ; the rest as Fig. i to J, the ijmm,
which has several small chambers at the side : o, an isolated adytum, with a Pedestal
in the middle for holding the sacred ark of the deity ; p.gq.nn n, three adyta

Fig. 5

, B  ni::::i:j 
„ i. ¦ M e m h n

in rmiii i mi i
Fig. 6. '

msgB v!J«p

¦?

and other chambers. All behind the jjjwmbos, or portico, is called the naos, which
includes the stlkos within it, and answers to the cella of Greek temples.
Fig. 7 shows b b, the pyramidal towers (usually called pylons), with a, the
entrance-gate (which ought properly to be called the pylon) between them ; h h, the
colossal figures ; g g, the flag-staffs ; /, a torus that runs up the wall and under the
cornice ; c, fillet of the cornice.
The Tombs of the Old Egyptians were always situated either in the
desert or in the side of a mountain. The Egyptian of all ages looked
upon his tomb as a place of abode. Numerous passages in papyri


ABCHJEOLOGY AND ABT. [161]
testify to the care with which in the lifetime of every great man his
eternal dwelling was prepared.
In the early period it consisted of three parts : — 1. An exterior
building (a), containing one or more chambers : 2. A vertical pit (e) :
and 3. The vault
(c), generally
excavated at
right angles to
the pit, in
which was
placed the sar
cophagus con
taining the body
(d). The en
trance to the
vault or cham
ber is usually
found sealed by
brickwork.When this is
found intact, it is a sign that the tomb has not
been violated by tomb robbers. The outer cover
ing was usually in the form of what has been
called a mastaba, the best illustrations of which
may be seen at the Pyramids. Indeed the
Pyramids themselves are, there is now no doubt,
royal tombs, exactly similar in construction and
arrangement, only on a gigantic scale, to the
other tombs by which they are always sur
rounded. (See further, p. 164.) The tombs at
Sakkara and Beni Hasan give the most com
plete idea of the interior arrangement. The
entrance varies in its proportions from a simple
doorway to a highly ornamental facade, accord
ing to the rank and importance of the owner of
the tomb. On the lintel is an inscription,
setting forth the name and titles of the deceased,
followed by an invocation addressed to Anubis,
the guardian of
tombs, in which
he is prayed,
1. To accord to
the person
named propiti
ous funeral
rites, and a good
burial-place in
the cemetery
after a long and
happy life: 2.
To be favourably disposed towards the deceased in his journey through
the regions beyond the tomb : and 3. To secure to him through all
eternity the proper paying of what the text calls "funereal offerings." m


[162] ARCHEOLOGY AND ABT.
This invocation is followed by a list of these funereal offerings
and of the anniversaries on which they are to be paid. It is to De
noted that all the scenes sculptured on the walls of the chamber
contained in this exterior building have reference to these tnree sub
jects of invocation. The chambers vary in number and size some
times there is only one. They served the Purpose of mortuary chapels
in which the relatives of the deceased and the priests attached to the
service of the cemetery celebrated, on the anniversary festivals men
tioned in the inscription over the door, certain ceremonies in honour of
the dead, and offered the appropriate gifts. The walls were covered
with sculptures or paintings representing the scenes in which the
deceased person had been accustomed to pass his life ; ending with the
last act at which he may be said to have assisted in. this world, the
transport of his mummied body to the place of burial The tables of
offerings, which no doubt also formed part of the furniture of the
chambers, are depicted on the walls covered with the gifts of meat,
fruits bread, and wine, which had to be presented in kind. At the
end of the principal chamber was a stela, containing what might be
called the epitaph of the deceased. Under the Ancient Empire these
stelm are quadrangular stones, often of large size, and sculptured so as
to represent the exterior of a temple of the period. The statues of the
defunct are often found concealed in one of the chambers. They were
generally placed in a sort of corridor contrived in the thickness of one
of the outer walls, and excluded from all external communication.
Sometimes, however, a small opening in one of the walls of the
principal room indicates the presence of a shaft reaching to the spot
where the statues are concealed, and through which the scent of
incense might pass.
The entrance to the pit, which forms the second part of the tomb,
is found either in one of the chambers or some hidden corner of the
outer monument. The upper part, dug through the overlying stratum
of sand, is cased with stones, the remainder being excavated out of
the rock. These pits vary from 10 to 30 yards in depth, are vertical in
direction, and of square or rectangular form. Those that have not
previously been opened have been found filled with a hard cement
composed of stones, sand, and earth. At the bottom of the pit appears
on one side a constructed stone wall. This closes the entrance to the
third part of the tomb, the sepulchral chamber.
In this sepulchral chamber, hollowed out of the rock, lay the
mummied body, protected from all probable chances of violation by
the solid stone sarcophagus, the cavern hewn deep into the rock, and
the pit filled with compact debris, and with its entrance concealed
from view.
The principle of construction in the royal tombs at Biban el-Mulrik
at Thebes is entirely different. Here there is no mastaba, and no
exterior chambers in which the surviving relations met at certain
seasons to pay their respects to the dead. The " Tombs of the Kings "
are all excavated out of the rock, and consist of long inclined passages,
with here and there halls and small chambers, penetrating to a
greater or less distance into the heart of the mountain. Once the royal
mummy was safely deposited in its resting-place the entrance was
built up and the surrounding rock levelled, so as to leave no trace
oi the existence of the tomb. The place of the mastaba, or outer


AECRSIOLOGY AND ABT. [163]
chapel, was taken by a temple built on the edge of the desert, nearer
the river.- Here, as in a cenotaph, the memory of the king was
preserved and worshipped. Thus the Eamesseum would be, as it
were, the mastaba of the tomb of Ramses II. ; Medinet Habu, of the
tomb of Ramses III. ; Kurna, of the tomb of Ramses I., and so on.
The walls of the entrance and passages are covered with quotations
from the Book of the Dead, and representations of religious subjects.
With regard to Egyptian Architecture generally, one of the most
noticeable peculiarities is the unvarying badness and. weakness of the
foundations upon which the most colossal buildings are raised. A new
temple was usually erected on the top of an uncleared and hetero
geneous mass of stones and debris belonging to its superseded pre
decessor, usually with little care or forethought. The wonder is, not
that the temples have lasted so long and are so perfect, but that they
are not more perfect than they are. In the climate of Egypt a great
granite temple ought, apart from purposeful destruction, to have
remained intact to this day. When it has not, the cause is to be
sought in weak foundations, or no foundations at all, properly speaking.
In actual construction the Egyptian temple is, of course, primitive,
being, so to speak, merely a development of Stonehenge : two long
stones set up on end with another across them on top. This is the
simple trilithon form out of which the grandiose naves and colonnades
of Thebes have grown. The Arch was unknown in purely Egyptian
temple architecture : at ~Der el-Bahari a false arch or vault is found ;
but the true arch was used in tomb construction as early as the III.
Dynasty (at Rakakna, p. 355, for instance). The Egyptian pylon form,
with its cavetto cornice and tongue-moulding, and its rounded newel,
angle-bead or torus at the corners, is very interesting, as it is evidently
a survival in stone of the most ancient wattle-and-daub hut-building :
the moulded cornice represents the outspreading tops of the reeds of
which the walls of the primeval hut were built ; the angle-bead with
its pointed cross-bands represents the original binding of the corners
of the reed hut.
The opinions formerly held as to the early Egyptian arts of
Sculpture and Painting- have been much modified by recent discoveries.
The first artists were not tied to an arbitrary canon of proportion, but
were desirous of representing what they saw as exactly as possible.
One of the oldest paintings yet found is that of a flock of geese pas
turing, now in the Museum at Cairo. It comes from a tomb at Median.
We have now portrait figures, reliefs, &c, of the I. and II. Dynasties.
Very soon conventionality begins to appear, and the statues of Khafra,
admirable in their skilful execution, show this. Bigid laws of propor
tion were in use as early as the XII. Dynasty, but were varied under
the XXH. Dynasty. Individuality was by degrees completely lost, and
we are by far more certain of the actual likeness of Nefert, under
the IV. Dynasty, than of that of Cleopatra, though as late as the
reigns of the XXVI. Dynasty portraiture continued to be a living
art. In bas-relief, always a favourite art with the Egyptians, several
styles may be found together. At Mddum and Sakkara, that is, under
the Ancient Empire, a very low relief was preferred. Under the XI.
Dynasty, at DSr el-Bahari, a remarkably high and rounded relief,
clelieately coloured, was used. The XVIH. and XIX. Dynasty reliefs.


[164] AKCILEOLOGY AND ABtf.
at Der el-Bahari and Abydos are lower. As early as the time
of the IV. Dynasty a kind of incised relief was introduced. It is
almost peculiar to Egypt, where the strong light of a cloudless sky
renders greater definition unnecessary. The figures are m relief, but
the surrounding stone is not cut away. Under the Ptolemies this
cavo-rilievo style prevailed more and more ; and the latest and poorest
sculptures— at Edfii and Dendera, for example— are thus executed. In
the oldest tombs a kind of coloured inlay was sometimes, but sparingly,
used, the outline being wholly cut out and filled in with an enamel. Such
are the decorations of the tomb of Nefer-Maat at Medum, now almost
wholly defaced. It was also revived under Ramses II., and examples
have recently been discovered of his time at Tell el-Yahudiya, near
Cairo. The most elaborate paintings are on the plastered walls of the
Tombs of the Kings at Biban el-Muluk ; but the style of those executed
for the family of hereditary governors buried at Beni Hasan, though it
is comparatively simple, is more pleasing.
In the Goldsmith's Art the excellence of very early work is remark
able. The jewellery, belonging to the princesses from Dahshur and to
Queen Aah-hetep, in the Cairo Museums show, both taste in colour and
design, as well as consummate skill in workmanship. Metal-work was
much developed under the Pharaohs of the Middle Empire, and retained
its vitality to a late period. Bronze statuettes of great beauty were
made even down to Roman times. Pottery was another manufacture
in which the ancient Egyptians excelled at all periods ; the finest
examples of glazed faience occurring under the XII., XVIII. and XXVI.
Dynasties. Light-blue faience was in use as early as the I. Dynasty.
The Egyptians were also acquainted with true Glass from an early time.
Cabinet-work with rare woods inlaid was also an Egyptian speciality.
In the art of Quarrying the Egyptians have never been excelled.
The temple or tomb near the Sphinx contains blocks of granite 18 ft.
in length, brought from Syene, yet the date of the building cannot be
later than the IV. Dynasty. The great quarries of Tura and Masara,
and of Silsilis, are in their way as wonderful as the buildings, and
should be visited by every traveller. 2. Coptic.
The conversion of Christianity worked a complete change in the
style of art. Most of the ancient buildings were in some parts con
verted for use as churches, either by covering existing sculptured walls
with plaster, painted with figures of saints, &c, by introducing, as
at Medinet Habvi, a basilican type of structure within an existing
ancient building, or by building new structures which seem to have
been, in their earliest form, basilican in type, the architectural details
being derived chiefly from Byzantine sources. The fire of persecution
through which the Christians so frequently passed expended some of
its force m the rum of their churches, and, as a result, those that
remain have been so much rebuilt that the original basilican plan is
hard to make out. The introduction of domes also affected the build
ings not a little, columns giving way to solid piers, which were neces
sary to carry arches and domes It must not, however, be forgotten
that the architects of some of the principal Saracenic building! were
Copts, and that, were it not for the poverty of the Copts when they


AECH^IOLOGY AND ART. [165]
had to repair their shattered buildings, we should probably see no
marked difference between the Christian and Saracenic details. The
woodwork shows us best that there was not any difference in style
between Saracens and Copts. 3. Saracenic.
In no country did Saracenic art reach so high a point of excellence
as in Egypt, and there are fortunately still many monuments left there
to prove it, though some of them, alas 1 are fast falling to decay. All
the important examples are at Cairo, few buildings worth notice being
found in other parts of the country. They date from the building of
the city in 9Y3 down to the Turkish conquest in 1517. An excellent
account of the history of Arab art in Egypt is given in Stanley Lane
Poole's work on ' The Art of the Saracens in Egypt,' which should
be studied by those who are interested in the question.
The edifices in which the chief and characteristic features of
Saracenic Architecture are displayed are the Mosques. These may
be roughly classified according to three types : —
1. The first is quadrangular in plan, with a large open court
surrounded by arcades, or roofed colonnades — the side towards Mecca
being more spacious than the others, and containing 3, 4, or 5 parallel
rows of columns, or piers and arches, as compared with a single row
on the other three sides. This is the most ancient and characteristic
type of mosque ; but it is reproduced under the succeeding dynasties.
The Mosques of 'Amr and Tuhin may be taken as examples (see
pp. 134, 118).
2. The second type is developed during the epoch of the Mameluke
dynasties, and is cruciform in plan. A court forms the centre, the
four sides of which are occupied by deep recesses ; while in place of
the arcades, or porticoes, are four deep niches with plain pointed vault
ing. The recesses on the Mecca and its opposite side (especially the
former) are larger and deeper than those to the N. and S. In the
angles formed by the arms of the cross, are often lofty domed chambers,
the burial places of the founders and their families ; the other angles
are filled in with rooms connected with the dome chambers. The
Domes rising above the tomb chambers are conspicuous for their grace
of form and decoration. The Mosque of Sultan Hasan is the most
stately example of the cruciform type ; the Mosques of El-Ghuri and
Kait Bey are equally typical (see pp. 114, 109, 153). In the smaller
ones the central court was frequently roofed over and crowned with a
lantern light.
3. The third type was transported from Constantinople to Cairo,
and is evolved from the Church of Santa Sophia. The little domed
Mosque of Suleman Pasha in the Citadel is an excellent example,
whilst the largest of these Turkish introductions is the conspicuous
mosque, also in the Citadel, of Mohammed Ali.
In the numerous mosques of Cairo there are of course very various
modifications of the types, and others which cannot be classified.
Some consist merely of rectangular buildings, entirely roofed, and lit
by windows. Connected with many of the mosques are colleges
(medressa) and schools (kuttdb), libraries, "hospitals, almshouses, and
Dervish monasteries, drinking fountains (sebil), &c. But most of these,
except the sebils and small schools, are in a state of dilapidation.


[166] ARCHEOLOGY AND ART.
The following terms may be found useful as explaining the essential
features of a mosque : — „,  ,
H6sh or Sdhn el-Gdmi', the open court. Mihrdb, or more commonly
Kibla, the niche, situated in the principal wall, in the direction ot
Mecca. Mambar, the pulpit of wood or stone invariably placed
immediately to the right or S. of the kibla. Dikka, a platform with
parapet, generally supported by four columns ; or introduced as a
gallery supported by pendentives or otherwise, in no fixed position;
but generally, in the larger mosques, in the liwdn el-kibla. Liwdn
el-kibla, the principal portico, or portion of the mosque in which is
the kibla; generally raised above the Sdhn cl-Gdmi . Kursi, the chair
or desk for the Kuran. Meyddh, the open tank for ablution; some
times in the Sdhn el-Gdmi', but generally in a side space outside the
mosque; usually shaded by a roof or canopy supported by small
columns. Hanafii/a, the place of ablution, with running taps, generally
in the Sdhn el-Gdmi'— in large mosques, with canopy. Maksilra, a
compartment separated from the main space by screen or otherwise.
Kubba, a dome, or chamber with a dome, mausoleum, &c. Medna, a
minaret. Mabkhara, a tower somewhat similar to a minaret, but
without balconies, and containing numerous apertures in the upper
portion, through which were formerly diffused the fumes of incense
burned during hours of prayer, &c. AmAd (pi. Awdmid), a column.
Shardfa (Sharafdt), the ornamental stones forming the parapets.
Tarik, the inscription giving the date of the edifice.
One of the chief features of Arab architecture, the Dome, was
borrowed from the Byzantine style, but the Pointed Arch may have
had its origin in Egypt and spread westward through the Saracenic
invaders of Europe. The oldest pointed arches are believed to be
those in the Mosque of 'Amr in Old Cairo ; but their exact date is
doubtful, as that mosque has been so often altered and rebuilt. The
earliest building in which pointed architecture occurs as a general
characteristic is the Mosque of Tulun, a.d. 876 (a.h. 263), though
perhaps a somewhat earlier example is seen in the Nilometer of Roda,
built fifteen years before in the same reign.
Decoration has always formed an important feature of Saracenic
architecture, and no one can fail to be struck with the richness and
beauty of the ornamentation lavished on many of the buildings,
especially those of the era of the Mameluke sultans. All this ornament,
whether fretwork in plaster, as at the Mosque of Kalaun, or inlay, as
at Sultan Hasan, or carving, as at Kait Bey, is carried out without
the use of natural forms, or the representation of any animal or man.
In a few places, as in the black and white painting of the screen in
the Mosque of Barkuk, flowers are sparingly employed. Richness of
material— as porphyry, jasper, turquoise, alabaster, coloured marbles
and granites, ivory, bronze, and even mother-of-pearl— were lavished
freely on patterns the monotony of which was relieved by the frequent
introduction of legends from the Kuran in ornamental bands and
borders, or in plaques of intricate monograms. Stained glass is
similarly treated — vegetable forms being more frequent and the
occasional use of a very conventional peacock, or pheasant being
permitted. The pulpits are usually of wood, and on them the' visitor
will often find exquisite specimens of carved ivory, concealed under
the dirt of ages.


ARCHEOLOGY AND ART. [167]
The Domestic Art of the Arabs in Egypt may, like the religious,
be studied best in Cairo. A visit should be paid to the Museum
of Arab Art in the Bab el-Khalk (p. 124). Some of the private
Houses, especially those annexed to ancient offices and inhabited by
the shekhs of orders, have been very magnificent. Occasionally it is
possible, through the kindness of the inhabitant or owner, to see the
interior of such a residence in use. The wall towards the street is
blank below except for the door, above which on an upper story are
oriel windows of carved woodwork. Prom these windows a miniature
oriel often projects ; the whole window is a roshan, the small projection
a mushrebiya, or "place for drink," from shrab, a draught, as in it
bottles of porous earthenware filled with water are placed to cool. The
interior of one of the older houses always surrounds a court. On one
side, that facing the N., is generally a hall or a makad, having an open
front, with two or three lofty arches supported by graceful pillars.
These makads, which are usually lined with costly mosaics, tiles, and
marble-work, often remain half-ruined or with their arches built up,
after the rest of the house has been destroyed. A large chamber for
the reception of guests is on the ground-floor, and is called a mandara.
It is also magnificently ornamented, and has a marble fountain in the
centre. The design and ornamentation of these fountains are of the
greatest beauty and intricacy. The windows are filled with stained
glass, set in a plaster framework forming a kind of tracery and repre
senting sometimes a bird, sometimes a jar of flowers. A chamber,
usually over the gate, and belonging strictly to the Harim, is some
times similarly decorated, and the visitor who obtains access to one is
able to judge of the effect of the roshan from the interior.
The most perfect examples of old Arab art now remaining are the
Illuminated Kurdns exhibited at the Khedivial Library at Cairo (see
p. 123). They were collected from the mosques, where they had been
deposited for centuries, and where they suffered much from neglect.
Most of them contain some reference to the personages for whom they
were written, and the finest prove to belong to the same periods which,
under the Mameluke sultans, produced the most beautiful mosques.
Unlike the mediseval MSS. of Western Europe, they are almost with
out exception, not on parchment or vellum, but on paper. Writing
is still practised as an ornamental art by the Arabs ; the letters of the
modern alphabet being often twisted and turned, in mere handbills
and notices, into forms of considerable elegance. The old Kufic
alphabet, which stood to the modern letters as Old English stood to
our present print, was gradually disused after the 14th century ; but it
is not possible to give any exact date at which the new characters
came into exclusive use.
The beautiful glazed Pottery and Glass, with fragments of which
the mounds of Old Cairo abound, are not made in Egypt now. The
ancient Arab glass-makers have never been excelled. Many very
beautiful specimens of the mosque lamps are preserved in the Arab
Museum (p. 124). Like architecture and writing, these sumptuous and
beautiful works were produced under the Mameluke sultans of the
13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. Some account of the most remarkable
examples remaining will be found in Mr. Nesbitt's work on ' Glass in
the South Kensington Museum,' in the appendix to which book will
be found also almost all that is known about the so-called glass coins


[168] ARCHEOLOGY AND ART.
which are often seen in Egypt, and which are, according to the late
Rogers-Bey, really weights for drugs and jewels. The inscriptions on
them are sometimes of great antiquity, but for the most part tney
belong to the three prolific centuries mentioned above.
Of Art Manufacture there is now very little, except ot a poor ana
coarse kind. The tent-makers produce some pleasing patterns in
"applique," and sometimes a good modern carpet is to be seen, but
not often. The old Arabs excelled in all kinds of needlework ; and
examples of ancient carpet and shawl making, and of embroidery may
be obtained -in the bazaar. Good specimens of old metal-work are
rare, and, though it cannot be said that damascening and filigree are
extinct, they are carried on with little taste or technical skill. _
Jewellery.— Old silver and sometimes gold bracelets and rings may
occasionally be found, and in these, but especially in the large silver
thumb rings, some fine designs occur. Every woman wears a neck
lace (ekd) of beads (karras), generally of little value, but occasionally
beautiful examples of ancient work may be found. The toke, or neck
lace of a single piece of silver, with a loop and hook, has become rarer
since the impoverishment of the fellah ; but it is very characteristic,
and may have been made in gold as well as in the inferior metals.
The manufacture of Spurious Antiquities must unfortunately he
included among Arab arts. So largely is.it carried on that the traveller
should never buy anything of value without the opinion of an expert.
A well-known factory of spurious scarabsei was founded some years
ago at Luxor by a "Prank," and is still carried on. Small figures in
black granite are among the most successful of these forgeries, but
may usually be detected (1) by the imperfection of the hieroglyphs,
(2) by the violations of the ancient canons of proportion. Earthenware
scaraban may be detected similarly by the hieroglyphs, which are
either too good to be true, being copied from well-known inscriptions,
or so bad as to be unreadable, and. by the failure of the forgers to
imitate successfully the fine glaze of the ancients.

XIV. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
The following classified selection contains the most useful books on
Egypt and the Sudan. The most important are distinguished by an
asterisk. 1. Geheeal Information and History (Ancient Egypt).
*Herodotus, Book ii. Strabo, Book xvii. Diodorus, Book i. Plutarch,
' De Iside et Osiride.' *Brugsch, ' Egypt under the Pharaohs ' (Murray,
18s.). Bawlinson, 'Ancient Egypt' (Story of the Nations, 5s., Eisher
Unwin). Erasmus Wilson, ' The Egypt of the Past ' (12s., out of print).
* Budge, ' History of Egypt ' (Books ou Egypt and Chald^a, 8 vols.j
3s. 6d. each, Kegan Paul). * Peine, Mahaffy, and Milne 'History of
Egypt' (5 vols., 6s. each, Methuen). "Gardner Wilkinson, 'Manners
and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians ' (large edition, 3 vols £& is •
small, 2 vols., 12s., Murray). Erman, 'Life in Ancient Egypt ' (21s net'
Macmillan). *Maspero, 'Histoire Ancienne des Peuples de l'Orient
Classique,' vol. i. (Paris, Hachette; the French edition should be used)
* Mahaffy, ' Empire of the Ptolemies ' (12s. 6d., Macmillan)


BIBLIOGRAPHY. [169]
2. General Information and History (Modern Egypt
and the Sudan).
*Lane, ',Modern Egyptians ' (2 vols., 12s., Murray). ' Cairo Fifty Years
Ago' (6s., Murray). *Kinglake, 'Eothen' (3s. 6d., 'Blackwood). Gordon,
Lady Duff, ' Last Letters from Egypt ' (9s., Macmillan). *Lord Milner,
'England in Egypt' (6s., Arnold). Boyle, 'Egyptian Campaigns'
(12s., Hurst & Blackett). F. W. Fuller, ' Egypt and the Hinterland '
(10s. Gd., Longmans). jR. Talbot Kelly, 'Egypt' (£1 net, Black). John
Ward, 'Pyramids and Progress1 (7s. 6d. net, Eyre & Spottiswoode) ; ' Our
Sudan' (£1 Is. net, Murray). *S. Lane Poole, 'History of Mediaeval
Egypt' (7s. 6d., Methuen). *Lord Cromer, 'Reports on Egypt and
the Sudan' (Blue Books, Is. 3d. each). *Count Gleichen, ' The Anglo-
Egyptian Sudan' (2 vols., 17s. 6d. net, Official). *Slatin Pasha, 'Fire
and Sword in the Sudan ' (6s., Arnold). Father Ohrwalder, ' Ten Years'
Captivity in the Mahdi's Camp, 1882-92' (6s. and 2s. 6d., Sampson
Low). *Steevens, 'With Kitchener to Khartum' (6s., Blackwood).
*Wingate, Sir F. B., 'Mahdiism and the Egyptian Sudan' (out of
print). Edwards, Miss Amelia B., 'Pharaohs, Fellahs, and Explorers'
(18s., Osgoods). 3. Geography.
*Hogarth, ' The Nearer East ' (7s. 6d. net, Frowde). Hanbury Brown,
Major, 'The Fayum and Lake Moeris' (10s. 6d. net, Stanford). Egypt
Exploration Fund's ' Atlas of. Ancient Egypt.' Boinel^Bey, ' Dic-
tionnaire Geographique de I'Egypte' (Cairo). Survey Department's
Maps. *Lyons, ' Physiography of the River Nile and its Basin.'
4. Languages and Literature.
*Budge, ' The Egyptian Language ' (Books on Egypt and Chaldsea,
3s. 6d., Kegan Paul) ; ' First Steps in Egyptian ' (9s.) ; ' Egyptian
Reading-Book' (15s., Kegan Paul). *Erman, 'Egyptian Grammar'
(Porta Linguarum Series, 18s., Williams & Norgate). Petrie, 'Egyptian
Tales' (2 vols., 7s., Methuen). Steindorff, ' Koptische Grammatik'
(Porta Linguarum Series, 14s., Williams & Norgate). *Willmore, ' The
Spoken Arabic of Egypt' (10s. 6d., Nutt). Dirr, ' Colloquial Egyptian
Arabic Grammar ' (4s. net, Frowde). Spitta-Bey, ' Grammatik des
Arabischen Vulgardialektes von Aegypten ' ; ' Contes Arabes Modernes.'
5. Religious and Sacred Books.
*Budge, ' The Egyptian Religion ' (Books on Egypt and Chaldsea,
3s. &d., Kegan Paul). ' Egyptian Magic' (same series). *Wiedemann,
' Egyptian Religion ' (12s. 6d., Grevel). *Budge, ' Book of the Dead :
Text, Translation and Vocabulary' (3 vols., £2 10s., Kegan Paul) ;
Transl. only (small edition: Books on Egypt and Chaldsea, 3 vols.,
3s. 6d. each, Kegan Paul), ' Egyptian Heaven and Hell' (3 vols., same
edition, 3s. 6d. each). *Butler, ' Ancient Coptic Churches of Egypt '
(£1 10s., Clarendon Press). * Sale's ' Koran' (3s. Gd., Warne).
6. Archeology and Art.
Hogarth, ¦ Authority and Archaeology ' (16s., Murray). Petrie,
' Methods and Aims in Archaeology ' (6s. net, Macmillan). ' Ten Years'
Digging in Egypt' (6s., R.T.S.). Maspero, 'Egyptian Archseology '
(10s. 6d., Grevel). *Budge, ' The Mummy ' (12s, 6d., Cambridge Univer-


[170] BIBLIOGRAPHY.
sity). Naville, Petrie, Quibell, Garstang, Mace, Bandall-Maciver, New
berry, de Garis Davies, and others, ' Memoirs ' of the Egypt Exploration
Fund, Archaeological Survey, and Egyptian Research Account, etc.
Von Bissing, Daressy, Edgar, Strzygowski, Grum, and others : ' General
Catalogue of the Cairo Museum.' *Perrot and Chipiez, ' Art of Ancient
Egypt' (2 vols., 42s., Chapman & Hall). Poole, S. L., ' Saracenic Art'
(3s. 6d.). 7. Travel and Sport.
*Lepsius, 'Letters from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sinai' (5s., Bell).
*Edwards, Miss Amelia B., 'A Thousand Miles up the Nile' (7s. 6d.,
Routledge). "Stanley, Dean, 'Sinai and Palestine' (5s.net, Murray).
Grogan and Sharp, ' Prom the Gape to Cairo ' (7s. 6d. net, Hurst &
Blackett). Shelley, Capt., ' Birds of Egypt.' [See also 2. General
Information, and 6. Archaeology.] 8. Fiction.
*Lane's 'Arabian Nights.' * About, 'Le Fellah.' *Kingsley, 'Hy-
patia.' *Ebers, ' Uarda ' ; ' An Egyptian Princess.' *Bider Haggard,
' Cleopatra.' * Eider Haggard and Andrew Lang, ' The World's Desire '
(Longmans), and other romances of less merit. The books of Kingsley,
Ebers and Rider Haggard are distinguished for the accuracy of their
archaeology, ' and have thoroughly "caught the spirit" of Ancient
Egypt.





Fold out





HANDBOOK FOE EGYPT
AND
THE SUDAN.

SECTION I.
ALEXANDRIA, THE DELTA, A!ND THE
ISTHMUS OP SUEZ.
Route PAGE
1. Alexandria . ..... 1
2. The North-Western Delta: Alexandria to Rosetta . 28
3. The Western Delta : Alexandria to Damanhur, Tanta,
Benha and Cairo . . . . . . . 30
i. The Eastern Delta : Cairo to Zagazig, Ismailiya, Port
Said and Suez . . . 38
5. Suez to Port Said by the Canal . ... 49
6. The North-Eastern Delta : Cairo and Zagazig to Es-
Salhiya, Tanis, Lake Menzala and Mansura . .71
7. The Central Delta: Cairo to the Barrage, Benha,
Mansura, Damietta, and Lake Menzala . . .76
8. The Northern Delta : Cairo and Tanta to Desuk,
Mansura, Damietta and Lake Burlos ' . . .81

ROUTE 1.
Alexandria.

1. The approach prom the Sea
2. History ahd Topography .
3. Population 
4. Ancient Buildings and Monu
MENTS 

5. Present Remains
alexandria

PAGE
of Ancient
. . 15

Modern Alexandria
Drives and Excursions

18 2S

Landing. — (For routes -from Europe and America to Alexandria see Introduction,
Section I.). Since the completion of the new quays, passenger steamers come
alongside a spacious quay in close proximity to the New Custom House, where public
carriages and omnibuses from the Hotels are to be obtained. The carriage takes
the passenger and baggage to the inspection-room of the Custom House, and will
be found waiting at the further door. The charge for a carriage to the town, or
railway station, for 2 or 3 persons, is P.T.5 or 6, luggage extra ; and for omnibus P.T.5
each person, luggage included. All baggage will be examined at the Custom House,
which is now in charge of English officials, and a visit may have to be paid to the
office of the Medical Officer of Health, if quarantine is in vogue. For customs duties,
Ac, see p. [6]. 1. The Approach from the Sea.
From whichever side it is approached the coast of Egypt is so exeeed-
• ingly low that the highest parts only begin to be seen at the distance of


2 EOUTE 1. — ALEXANDEIA. L^0*- !•
about 18 miles, and the line of the coast itself is not discernible till
within 13 or 14. The first objects perceived are the lighthouse at the
extremity of the Ras-et-Tin (" Cape of Pigs "), and the palace beyond,
Pompey's Pillar, the ruined forts, the range of low hills to the W.
crowned with windmills, the masts of the shipping in the harbour, and
the breakwater.
The Bay of Alexandria was originally about 6J English miles long,
lying within a line of reefs and islands running S.W. andN.E., at an ex
treme distance of 1 J m. from the shore. Alexander's Heptastadium divided
it into two unequal parts, of which the eastern portion formed the ancient
Grand Harbour, called now the " New Port," and is only used by native
craft, on account of its being shallow and rocky. The western portion,
15 m. long, includes the modern port, called anciently the "Eunostos
Harbour," and now the West Harbonr, which, by the addition of the fine
breakwater built in 1871-3, is 2 m. in length. At Eunostos Point, the
extreme end of Ras-et-Tin, on E. or left side on entering, is the light
house built by Mohammed Ali, with a 20-second revolving light, 180 ft.
above sea-level, and visible 20 miles off, placed in it by Ismail Pasha.
The West Harbour is divided into two unequal portions by a mole
3700 ft. long, projecting at right angles from the ancient foreshore in
the direction of Ras-et-Tin point. The inner portion, containing the
quays and permanent moorings for both war and mercantile vessels, is
J m. in length with an average depth of 30 ft. The outer portion, 1J m.
in extent, has an average depth of 60 ft. This depth, however, is confined
to that portion which lies between the foreshore and a line drawn from
the end of the mole to the end of the breakwater. The large area
between this line and the breakwater has only a depth of from 12 to
20 ft. The Breakwater forms a conspicuous feature immediately on
entering the harbour. It starts 22 yds. from Eunostos Point, bears S.W.
for about 1220 yds., then nearly S.S.W. for 1980 yds., having a total
length of 3200 yds.
The southern end carries a lighthouse 30 ft. above sea-level, and is
about 1000 yds. from the shore, with about 10 fathoms water between.
Both the breakwater and the inner works of the new port were con
structed by an English firm, Messrs. Greenfield and Co., during 1870-80.
The breakwater itself was commenced in the summer of 1871, and was
practically finished in 1873. It is composed of nearly 27,000 blocks of
concrete, or artificial stone, weighing 20 tons each, laid " pierre perdue,"
offering to the sea a rugged slope which effectually breaks up the waves
and affords calm water inside. The inner slope is covered with 55,000
tons of rubble stone, and 85,000 tons of quarry blocks, from 2 to 6 tons
each. It is 20 ft. wide at the top, and 10 ft. above sea-level.
As the vessel approaches the shore, the strip of land is seen between
the sea and Lake Mareotis upon which are the abandoned Forts and
Lines of Meks, Ports Kamaria and Umm el-Kubeba; the quarries of
Meks, from which the stone was brought for constructing the break
water and quays ; and, at the western extremity of the bay, the forts of
Adjemi and Marabout, in the little cove near which Napoleon landed
his troops in the night of 1st July, 1798, marching upon Alexandria
along the strip of land before us in the early morning. Farther to the
westward stretch for miles the quarries from which the stone was taken
to build ancient Alexandria. The entrance to the harbour is closed by
a reef, the passage through which until lately was tortuous, unlighted,


beet. l.J KOTJTE 1.— ALEXANDRIA. 3
and had only a depth of 25 ft. During 1891-95 it has been straightened
and deepened to 30 ft., with a width of 300 ft. throughout its length
of J m. Its axis is also aligned by two lighthouses on the Meks shore
J m. apart, so that large steamers can enter or leave the Port at any
hour, night and day, and at all seasons of the year.
On rounding the end of the breakwater, the outer Harbour of 1300
acres is entered, of which 800 acres have from 5 to 10 fathoms of water.
We see the honeycombed hill, which formed the ancient Necropolis,
crowned by the numerous windmills built by Napoleon for grinding
corn for the garrison ; and the new great harbour mole, stretching
about 1000 yds. from the southern shore, with the shipping lying at
anchor inside, or alongside the 2J m. of stone quay, which can accom
modate 25 steamers. A new stone jetty, 800 ft. in length by 75 ft. in
width, which will accommodate 4 more steamers, is now completed.
The great Mole is more than 100 ft. wide at the top, is faced with
large quarry blocks on the sea-side, and with quay walls on the inner
side : it was constructed in 40 ft. of water, below which there was mud
to a further depth of 30 ft., into which the rubble stone, of 'which the
body of the mole is formed, sank very considerably during construction.
A spur nearly 300 yds. long and 70 yds. wide at the top projects from the
mole on the inner side. Railways (in connection with the network of
the country) and roads are laid along the mole and the spur. The water
area inside the mole is 500 acres, 250 acres of which are deep water.
The ancient island of Pharos forms the northern boundary, while the
modern town, on the site of the Heptastadium, with the warehouses on
the south-eastern shore, forms nearly a semi-circle round the inner
harbour. The conspicuous Fort Caffarelli, or Kom en-Nadura, was
converted in 1882 into a Signal and Meteorological Station by the Port
Administration. Ships are visible at from 20 to 25 m. off, and are
communicated with by the International code. A time-ball was at the
same time established, and is. dropped daily twice: First, at mean noon
in the meridian of the Great Pyramid, when a gun is fired, this being
universal railway time in Egypt ; Second, at mean noon in the meridian
of the Signal Station, this being for the purpose of enabling ships to rate
their chronometers. There is an excellent view of Alexandria from this
point. Beyond the mole, as far as the Arsenal of Mohammed Ali, are
more new quays, making with those of the mole a length of more than
2 m. The rise and fall of the sea in this part of the Mediterranean
being but trifling, the inner harbour has all the advantages of a tidal
dock without the labour, danger, or loss of time attending the use of
gates. A considerable area of valuable land (about 70 acres, including
mole and quays) has been added by the new works. The reclamation
between the quays and the old foreshore was made partly from the
dredging for deepening the harbour, but mainly with material brought
by railway and by sea from the quarries at Meks.
The East or New Harbour, as already mentioned, is now only used
by native sailing vessels, such as fruiterers' and fishing-boats, but from
the end of the 15th cent, until Buonaparte's expedition in 1798 it was
the only port which European ships were permitted to use. When the
British quitted Egypt finally in 1803, a stipulation was made that both
East and West Harbours should be open to commerce. It was not,
however, until the Mahmiidiya canal was constructed that the West
B 2


i KOTJTE 1.— ALEXANDRIA. [Sect, L
Harbour came into general use, and the Custom House remained ill
the East Harbour until 1830. A great improvement in the snore ot
the East Harbour, notorious for its foul odours arising from trie
numerous open sewers which pour into it from all parts of tbe town, 13
now being carried out. A sum of about £260,000 has been spent by the
municipality in the construction of a huge collecting sewer 2 m. in
length, around the shore of the East Harbour, from the Pharos to
Chatby, emptying itself east of Silsila Point (ancient Lochias). To
protect this collecting sewer-pipe about 100 metres of the sea all round
the bay are being reclaimed, and a sea-wall, having a minimum depth
of water of 8 ft. on its sea-side, is being constructed. A fine Boulevard,
130 ft in width and 2 m. in length, will be left free on the town side of
the wall for promenade, public gardens, &c„ and the remaining space
utilised for building purposes. Twelve thousand pounds per annum
have already been set aside as interest and sinking fund to carry out
this great and important work for the sanitation and embellishment of
the city.
The Custom House is on the New Quay, from which a good street
leads to the Place Mohammed Ali, which may be regarded as the centre
of the town. This road, though easier, is not so picturesque as the way
from the Old Custom House, which was near the Arsenal at the N.E,
corner of the harbour. The latter way lies through the narrow and
irregular streets of the native quarter, in which the houses appear as if
thrown together by chance, without plan or order; and few have even
that Oriental character which is so interesting at Cairo. Here and
there, however, the lattice-work of the windows and a few Saracenic
arches give the streets a picturesque appearance ; and in the longer but
more interesting road through the bazaars, which can only be followed
on foot, the stranger will be struck with many a novel and Eastern
scene. 2. History and Topography.
Alexandria, called Iskenderia by the Egyptians, Alessandria di Egitto
by the Italians, was founded B.C. 332 on the site of a small town called
Rakotis, by the great conqueror after whom it received its name. The
native name was maintained as Bakoti throughout the Ptolemaic and
Roman periods by the Egyptians, and by the Christian Copts well on
into the Middle Ages. The invading Arabs modified the Greek name
in accordance with their pronunciation of the name of Alexander the
Great, Iskender or Sikander Dhu'l-Karnen ("Alexander of the Two
Horns"), to Iskenderia. This name is now used by- Copts as well I as
Muhammedans, the old name Bakoti being entirely forgotten.
Its commodious harbour and other local recommendations rendered
Rakotis a convenient spot for the site of a commercial 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 the rival or successor of Tyre, and to become the emporium of the
world. The Mediterranean was not much used by the Pharaohs for maritime
purposes connected either with war or commerce, until the enterprise
or the hostility of strangers began to suggest its importance. Even
then the jealousy, or the caution, of the Egyptians forbade foreign
merchants to enter any other than the Canopic, of all the seven branches


Sect. I.] ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA. 5
of the Nile ; and Naukratis was to them what the factories of a Chinese
port were so long to European traders. Ships of war, however, had
been fitted out upon the .Mediterranean, as well as on the Red Sea, even

in the age of the XVIH. Dynasty ; and in after-times an expedition
was sent against Cyprus by Apries, who also defeated the Tyrians in a
naval combat.
After his conquest of Syria Alexander advanced into Egypt, and, by the.


6 ROUTE 1.  ALEXANDRIA. [Beet. I.
taking of Memphis, secured to himself the possession of the whole country.
While at Memphis he conceived the idea of visiting the temple of Jupiter
Ammon in the African desert ; and with this view he descended the river to
the sea. He then followed the coast westward from Canopus until, his atten
tion 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, and lost
no time in making arrangements for the building of a new city. It had been
occasionally used as a refuge for ships at a very remote period, and Homer
had mentioned it as a watering-place at the time of the Trojan war.
According to Strabo, the Egyptian kings, seeing that it was a spot
frequented by foreigners, and particularly by Greeks, and being averse to the
admission of strangers (who were then frequently pirates), stationed a garrison
there, and assigned to them as a permanent abode the village of Rakotis,
which was afterwards part of Alexandria.
Pliny, in speaking of the foundation of Alexandria, says it was "built by
Alexander the Great on the African coast, 12 miles from the Canopic mouth
of the Nile, on the Mareotic Lake, which was formerly called Arapotes.
Deinochares, an architect of great celebrity, laid down the plan, resembling
the shape of a Macedonian mantle, with a circular border full of plaits, and
projecting into corners on the right and left ; the fifth part of its site being even
then dedicated to the palace." This architect is better known by the name of
Deinokrates, and is the same who rebuilt the famous temple of Ephesus, after
its destruction by Eratostratos, and who had previously proposed to Alexander
to cut Mount Athos into a statue of the king, holding in one hand a city of
10,000 inhabitants, and from the other pouring a copious river into the sea.
Ancient Alexandria was divided into sections, among the principal of which
were the —
(a) Regia, or Royal City, afterwards called Brucheion. It was walled in, and
occupied a fourth or even a third part of the city. In it stood the royal palaces
and public buildings. It was situated on the mainland between the Lochias
and the Heptastadium.
(i) Rakotis, chiefly inhabited by Egyptians ; it was situated "above the
ships' magazines."
(c) The Jews' Quarter. K. of Lochias.
(d) The Nekropolis, or city of the dead. It lay to the extreme W. of the
city, and contained "gardens, tombs, and establishments for embalming
bodies." (e) Nikofolis, which was E. from the Canopic gate, and was practically a
suburb of Alexandria.
The area of ancient Alexandria, with its three suburbs, Nekropolis,
Nikopolis, and Eleusis, is said to have equalled 25 sq. k., and to have
contained 300,000 souls in the 1st century B.C. It was adorned with
the arts of Greece and the wealth of Egypt ; its schools of learning far
outshone anything that Heliopolis had ever boasted of, and Thebes and
Memphis in their palmiest days had never presented so much luxury
and magnificence.
There are many accounts, among the classic writers, of Alexandria
and its buildings. The following.extract from Strabo presents a picture
of the town when in the height of its glory. Writing in 24 E c, the
historian says :
"Part 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 men who
belong to it. This society has a public treasury, and is superintended by a
president, one of the priesthood, whose office, having been established by the
Ptolemies, continues under Csesar.
"Another portion of the Palace is called Soma (' the bodv '), which contains
within its circuit the tombs pf tbe kings and of Alexander. ' For Ptolemy, the


Sect. I.] ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA. 7
son of Lagos, toik the body of Alexander from Perdikkas, while on its removal
from. Babylon, and having carried it to Egypt buried it at Alexandria, where it
still remains. 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
Kokkes and PareisaktoSj though his immediate fall prevented his benefiting
by the robbery.
' ' On the right as you sail into the great harbour are the island and tower of
Pharos ; on the left, rocks and the promontory of Lochias, where the palace
stands ; and as you advance on the left, 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 Antirrhodbs, which lies before the artificial port, with a palace and a
small harbour. It has received this name as il it were a rival of Rhodes.
Above this is the theatre, then the Poseideion, a certain cove sweeping round
from what is called the Emporium,, with a temple of Poseidon. Antony,
having made a mole in this part projecting still further into the port, erected at
its extremity a palace, which he named Timoneion. , This he did at the end of
his career, when he had been deserted by his friends, after his misfortunes at
Actium, and had retired to Alexandria, intending to lead a secluded life there
and imitate the example of Timon. Beyond are the Cassareum (Kaisareion)
and emporium (market), the recesses and the docks extending to the Hepta
stadium. All these are in the great harbour.
" On the other side of the Heptastadium is the port of Eunostos ; and above
this is an artificial or excavated one, called Kib6tos (the basin), which has also
docks. A navigable canal runs into it from the lake Mareotis. and a small
portion of the town extends beyond (to the W. of) this canal. Further on are
the Nekropolis and the suburbs, where there are many gardens and tombs,
with apartments set apart for embalming the dead. Within (to the E. of) the
canal are' the Serapeum and other ancient fanes, deserted since the erection of
the temples at Nikopolis, where also the amphitheatre and stadium are
situated, and where the quinquennial games are celebrated ; the old establish
ments 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, with porticoes in the interior, measuring upwards of a stade.
There, too, are the courts of law and the groves ; and in this direction stands
the Pariion, an artificial height of a conical form, like a stone tumulus, with a
spiral ascent. From its summit the whole city may be seen, stretching on all
sides below.
"From the Nekropolis a street extends the whole way to the Canopic Gate,
passing by the Gymnasium. Beyond are the Hippodrome and other buildings,
reaching to the Canopic canal. After, gqing out (of the city) by the Hippo
drome, you come to Nikopolis, built by the sea-side, not less than three stades
distant from Alexandria. Augustus Caesar, ornamented this place, in consequence
of his having there defeated the partisans of Antony, and captured the city
in his advance from that spot. "
Such was the Alexandria of the Ptolemies and Caesars, but at the
commencement of the third century its splendour and renown began
to wane, and all that we know of its history from that period is nothing
hut a sad picture of decay. Constant revolts — arising sometimes from
political, sometimes from religious causes — necessitated severe measures
of repression, which gradually brought about its ruin. But notwith
standing the disasters to which it had been exposed, especially in tbe
reigns of Aurelian and Theodosius, and the destruction of many of its
most magnificent public buildings, it must still have been a wonderful city
when the Arab conqueror, 'Amr ibn al-Asi, took it, in a.d. 641, after a
siege of 14 months ; for that general, in his letter to the Khalif Omar,


8 ROUTE 1.  ALEXA-Nll-nia.. i_ - '•¦*••
informing him of the conquest he had made, says that he had found
there 4000 palaces, a like number of baths, 400 places of _ amusement,
and 12,000 gardens, and that one quarter alone was occupied by 4U.UUU
Jews. The commerce of Alexandria, which was the great source of its wealth, had
been declining for some time, but after this great conquest it decreased so
rapidly, and the city consequently shrank so much in size and importance, that
towards the end of the oth cent. Ahmad-ibn-Tulun pulled down the old walls,
and built new ones of an extent more adapted to the city s diminished limits.
What little prosperity it still enjoyed was put an end to by the discovery of
the Cape route to India ; and the conquest of Egypt by the Turks gave the
final blow. In 1777 the traveller Savary estimated the Turkish population of
Alexandria at only 6000 souls, living in miserable dwellings, built on the
Heptastadium, the width of which had been gradually increased by the dibns
of the ancient city. The Arab part of the modern city still occupies the same
site. In the early part of the present century Alexandria and its neighbourhood
was the scene of the conflict between France and England for supremacy in
the East. Soon after Mohammed Ali began to rule Egypt he turned his
attention to the restoration of its ancient capital, more especially with a view
to the formation of a navy. New buildings sprang up in every direction, the
Frank quarter was developed, and such an impulse given to the place in every
way by him and his successors, that at the present day the population is
reckoned at 320,000 souls. For the trade of Egypt itself, so rapidly increasing
in importance and extent, it must ever remain the most natural and commodious
emporium. The construction of the breakwater and other improvements in the
harbour of .Alexandria have had the effect of increasing its commercial
importance. Up to 1882 its trade steadily improved,but the Rebellion
of Arabi caused a temporary check to its progress. The massacre of a
number of Europeans in Alexandria on the 11th of June, 1882, was the
first serious act in the drama.
This was followed by preparations on the part of the Egyptians to make the
forts, which had been constructed in the reign of the Khedive Ismail, more
defensible. Under the actual circumstances, this could only be taken as a
direct menace to the English and French fleets, which had been sent to Egypt
to protect English and French interests, menaced by the anti-foreign tendency
of Arabi's rebellion, and were lying in the harbour. During this time, i.e.
between the nth June and the first week in July, all the Europeans, numbering
some 60,000, left the city for Europe, with the exception of perhaps 300, who
from one cause or another elected to remain, some on steamers outside the
harbour, others in the town. Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour obtained
permission from the English Government to open fire on the forts if he con
sidered it necessary to do so, and on the 9th July he sent an ultimatum to the
Egyptian authorities to the effect that if the work going on in certain forts was
not stopped, he would attack the forts. The French admiral did not join in
this ultimatum, as his squadron had been recalled by the French Government,
which did not desire to proceed to extremities— a very mistaken policy if
French predominance was to be maintained in Egypt. This was proved by the
event : the French withdrawal left the English free to act as they pleased, and
laid the foundation of the present British rule in Egypt. No satisfactory
reply having been sent to the ultimatum, the English fleet steamed out of
Alexandria on the 10th July, and opened fire, which lasted 10 hrs., on the
forts the following morning. The Egyptians returned the fire with consider
able vigour, but their guns were for the most part silenced before evening The
American men-of-war were the last to leave the harbour and the first to return
and rendered valuable service in garrisoning Alexandria with their bluejackets


»eCt. l.J ROUTE 1.  ALEXANDRIA. 9
and marines. On the next day the Egyptian garrison was withdrawn from
Alexandria to Kafr Dowar, and the city was handed over by Arabi to convicts
who were released from the Arsenal and set fire to the European buildings by
throwing petroleum into the lower stories.
It is sometimes supposed that it was the fire of the English fleet which set
fire to Alexandria, but this is an error. The guns of the ships were aimed
solely at the forts, and very few shells fell into the town.
It was some time after the fire before Alexandria gained its former position,
but the payment of ^4,000,000 by the Egyptian Government as indemnities
to those whose property was destroyed, and the English occupation, have
restored its former prosperity. 3. Population.
According to the account of Alexandria given by Polybius, the
inhabitants were, in his time, of three kinds : 1, the Egyptians, or
people of the country, a keen and civilized race ; 2, the mercenary
troops, who were numerous and turbulent, and who, having arms in
their hands, were more ready to govern than to obey ; and, 3, the
Alexandrians, not very decidedly tractable, for similar reasons, but still
better than the last ; for, having been mixed with and descended from
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 Physkon ; 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
Physkon administered the government 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.
The Alexandrians continued, even under the Romans, to manifest their
turbulent character : and Trebellius Pollio tells us they were " of so impetuous
and headlong a disposition that on the most trifling occasions they were
enticed to actions of the most dangerous tendency to the republic. Frequently,
on account of an omission of civilities, tbe refusal of a place of honour at
a bath, the sequestration of a ballad, or a cabbage, a slave's shoe, or other
objects of like importance, they 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 before the
house of ^Emilianus, the commanding officer, armed with every seditious
weapon, and using furious threats. - He was wounded by stones ; and javelins
and swords were pointed at and thrown at him."
The letter of Hadrian also gives a curious and far from favourable account 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 : " Hadrian 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 me, are trifling, wavering,
and changing at every change of public rumour. The worshippers of Serapis
are Christians, and those who call themselves followers of Christ pay their
devotions to Serapis ; every chief of a Jewish synagogue, every Samaritan, each
Christian priest, the mathematicians, soothsayers, and physicians in the
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 insolent,


10 ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA. Lo-~i. I.
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 city practised a purer morality, and showed itself
worthy of its pre-eminence in size and dignity over the whole of Egypt. 1
have conceded to it every point ; I have restored its ancient privileges, and
have conferred on it so many more that when I was there I received the
thanks of the inhabitants, and immediately on my departure they calumniated
my son Verus. You have heard, too, what thev said about Antoninus : I
wish them no other curse than that they may be fed with their own chickens,
which are hatched in a wav I am ashamed to relate. I have forwarded to
you three drinking-cups, which have the property of changing their colour, '
Just as in former times, the inhabitants are in appearance and
character a mixed race. There are natives of the coast of Barbary and
all parts of Egypt, Turks, Albanians, Syrians, Greeks, Jews, Copts, and
Armenians, and the European settlers, chiefly Greeks and Italians, are
so much in evidence that Alexandria seems almost as much European as
Oriental. The population of Alexandria, which, from perhaps nearly half a
million in the days of the Ptolemies and the Caesars, had diminished at
the end of the last century to 6000, has been very rapidly recovering its
numbers under Mohammed Ali and his successors. It now amounts to
upwards of 320,000, of whom about 60,000 are Europeans, chiefly Greeks,
Italians, French, and English. The Greeks far outnumber the rest.
4. Ancient Buildings and Monuments.
The Pharos, once one of the seven wonders of the world, was the
well-known tower or lighthouse, whose name continues to be applied
to similar structures to the present day. It stood on a rock close to
the N.E. extremity of the island of the same name, with which it
communicated by means of a wall near the position of the large eastle,
now known as Port Pharos. It was a square building of white marble,
several stories high ; each successive story diminished in size towards
the top, and had a gallery running round it supported on the outer
circle of the story beneath ; the staircases inside were of such a gentle
incline that horses and chariots could easily ascend them ; a peculiarity
of which the round tower of the Castle of Amboise in Prance presents
a similar instance. The cost is said to have been 800 talents, which, if
reckoned in Attic money, is about £155,000 sterling, or double that
sum if computed by the talent of Alexandria. It was built by order
of Ptolemy Philadephos, and bore the following inscription : — " Sostratos
of Knidos, the son of Deixiphanes, to the Saviour Gods, for those who
travel by sea."
The island on which the Pharos stood was joined to the shore by a
large causeway, called, from its length of seven stadia, the Heptastadion.
This causeway was similar to that of Tyre ; and though, by connecting the
island with the shore, it formed a separation between the two ports, it did not
cut off all communication from one to the other, two bridges beino- left for this
purpose, beneath which boats and small vessels might freely pass As the
Heptastadion served for an aqueduct as well as a road to the Pharos it
is probable that the openings were arched ; and the mention of these passages
satisfactorily accounts for the difference of name applied to the causeway by
ancient writers; some, as Strabo, calling it a mole, and others a bridge
connecting the Pharos with the town. The form of the Heptastadion is no
longer perceptible, on account of the accumulations of silt on either side which


Sect. I.] ROUTE 1.  ALEXANDRIA. 11
have turned it into an isthmus. It might now be represented by a line drawn
from tbe Rue Anastasi on the N. side of the Signal Station Hill to where the
Arsenal St. and Ras-et-Tih Palace St. meet. The Pharos is supposed to have
been destroyed by earthquake in 1203 A.D. Its ruins are still visible beneath the
sea on a clear calm day beyond .the present Fort Kait Bey, from which a light
was displayed from 1517 till 1841, when the Ras-et-Tin lighthouse was finished.
The, Museum, situated in the Brucheion quarter, founded by
Ptolemy Soter, was a noble institution, which tended greatly to the
renown 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 the Egyptians."
Science, literature, and every branch of philosophy continued ,to flourish
there for many a generation ; foreigners repaired thither to study and profit
by " the instruction of every kind for which its schools were established " ; and
the names of Euclid, , Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, Ctesibius, and the elder and
younger Heron, Clemens, Origen, Athanasius, Ammonius, Theon, and his
daughter Hypatia, shed a brilliant lustre over the Greek capital of Egypt.
To its strictly secular character as a Greek philosophical institution, entirely
unconnected with either the ancient Egyptian or Christian religions, may
perhaps , be . attributed the fact that, notwithstanding the wild farrago of
nonsense which at one time encumbered the speculations of Alexandrian
philosophy, its; schools of astronomy, geology, physic, and various branches
of science, maintained their reputation till the period of the Arab conquest.
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 frequently taught beneath this covered space,
as in the stoa of Athens, or in the grove of Academus. It is difficult now to
point out with any precision its exact site, but it probably stood on a spot
exactly opposite to the Khedivial Hotel. When the foundations were dug for
a building in 1884 these ruins were visible, but are now covered up with the
new buildings.
Attached to the Museum was the famous Library, also founded by
Ptolemy Soter, and to which so many additions were made by his
successor, Ptolemy Philadelphos, that already, at the death of the
latter, it contained no less than 100,000 vols.
No pains were spared in adding to this collection. A copy of every known
work was reputed to be deposited there, and it was amongst them that the
Septuagint translation of the Bible, made by order of Ptolemy Philadelphos,
was placed. All books brought into the country were seized and sent to the
Library ; and, as soon as they had been transcribed, the copies were returned
to the owners, the originals being deposited in the Library. Ptolemy Euergetes
even went so far as to borrow the works of iEschylus, 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
originals, 15 talents, or about ^2906 sterling.
The Library of the Museum was unfortunately destroyed during the war of
Julius Caesar with the Alexandrians. For, in order to prevent his aggressors
cutting off his communication with the sea, being obliged to set fire to the
Egyptian, or, as Plutarch says, his own, fleet, the flames accidentally caught
some of the houses on the port, and, spreading thence to the quarter of the
Bruchium, burnt the Library, and threatened destruction to the whole of the
Museum and the adjoining buildings. The Museum itself escaped, but the


12 ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA. LDeou. I.
famous Library, consisting of 400,000 volumes, which had cost so much
trouble and expense for ages to collect, was lost for ever with its priceless
literary treasures, and also many works more or less valuable whose existence
may even be unknown to us.
The Serapeum, or Serapeion, was founded by Ptolemy Soter, as
reported by Plutarch and others, for the reception of the statue of
Serapis, a foreign deity whose worship was introduced from Sinope.
It stood in all probability on the hill which is now crowned by Pompey's
Pillar (see p. 16), in that part of the city which had formerly been
occupied by Rakotis, the predecessor of Alexandria, and was embel
lished with such magnificence 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 parts, such as a
library and peristylar halls, adorned with beautiful works of art.
The Serapeum existed long after the introduction of Christianity into Egypt,
as the last hold of the Pagans of Alexandria, and it continued to be their chief
resort until it was finally demolished by order of Theodosius, A.D. 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
Serapis, "which rivalled the pride and magnificence of the Capitol, was
erected on the spacious summit of an artificial mound, 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 subterraneous
apartments. The consecrated buildings were surrounded by a quadrangular
portico ; the stately halls, the exquisite statues, displayed the triumph of the
arts ; and the treasures of ancient learning were preserved in the famous
Alexandrian library, which had arisen with new splendour from its ashes."
But in progress of time the animosity of the Christians was directed against
this edifice; "the pious indignation of Theophilus" could no longer tolerate
the honours paid to Serapis ; ' ' and the insults which he offered to an ancient
chapel of Bacchus convinced the Pagans that he meditated a more important
and dangerous enterprise. In the tumultuous capital of Egypt the slightest
provocation was sufficient to inflame a civil war. The votaries of Serapis,
whose strength and numbers were much inferior to those of their antagonists,
rose in arms at the instigation 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 rather fortress, of Serapis ; repelled the besiegers
by daring sallies and a resolute defence ; and, by the inhuman cruelties which
they exercised on their Christian prisoners, obtained the last consolation of
despair. The efforts of the prudent magistrate were usefully exerted for the
establishment of a truce, till the answer of Theodosius should determine the
fate of Serapis. 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 pronounced the Christians set
up a shout of joy and exultation, whilst the unfortunate Pagans whose fury
had given way to consternation, retired with hasty and silent steps! and. eluded,
by their flight or obscurity, the resentment of their enemies. Theophilus
proceeded to demolish the temple of Serapis without any other difficulties than
those which he found in the weight and solidity of 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. . . . The colossal statue of
Serapis was involved in the ruin of his temple and religion. A great number of
plates of different metals, artificially joined together, composed the majestic


Sect. I] ROUTE 1.— ALEXANDRIA. 13
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 Serapis were
ignominiously dragged through the streets of Alexandria. "
The Library of the Serapeum was scarcely less famous than that
of the Museum, Of the 700,000 volumes of which the Alexandrian
library as a whole consisted, 300,000 were lodged in the Serapeum.
This number included the 200,000 volumes belonging to the kings of
Pergamos, and presented to Cleopatra by Mark Antony. It was to
prevent the increase of the Pergamos library that Ptolemy Epiphanes
forbade the exportation of the Egyptian papyrus on which the volumes
contained in it were written, whereupon " the copiers employed by
Eumenes, king of Pergamos, wrote their books upon sheepskins, which
were called Charta Pergamena, or parchment, from the name of the
city in which they were written. Thus our own two words, parchment,
from Pergamos, and paper, from papyrus, remain as monuments of the
rivalry in bookmaking between the two kings."
The collection in the Serapeum was also exposed to severe losses at a
subsequent period, during the troubles that occurred under the Roman Empire,
when many of the books are supposed to have been destroyed, particularly at
the time when the Serapeum 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
number of its volumes still further increased, though later contributions were
probably not of the same importance as those of an earlier period ; and Gibbon
goes so far as to suppose that, if the library was really destroyed by 'Amr, its
contents were confined to the productions of an age when religious controversy
constituted the principal occupation of the Alexandrians. " And," adds the
historian, " if the ponderous mass of Arian and Monophysite controversy were
indeed consumed in the public baths, a philosopher may allow, with a smile,
that it was ultimately devoted to the benefit of mankind." But, notwith
standing the injuries sustained by the Serapeum during those tumults which
ruined so many of the monuments of Alexandria — which converted every public
building into a citadel, and subjected the whole city to the horrors of internal
war — many, doubtless, of the ancient volumes still remained within its precincts ;
and the Khalif 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 for the use of the 4000 baths of this immense city.
It is related of John the Grammarian, the last disciple of Ammonius,
surnamed Philoponus from his laborious studies of grammar and philosophy,
that, having been admitted to the friendship of 'Amr, the lieutenant of the
Khalif Omar, he took advantage of his intimacy with the Arab general to
intercede for the preservation of the library of the captured city, which " alone,
among the spoils of Alexandria, had not been appropriated by the visit and
the seal of the conqueror. 'Amr was inclined to gratify the wish of the
grammarian, but his rigid integrity refused to alienate the minutest object
without the consent of the Khalif ; and the answer of Omar, inspired by 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 disagree they are
pernicious, and ought to be destroyed,' " doomed them to destruction. Such
was the sentence said to have been pronounced by the impetuous Omar. The
Moslems, however, to this day deny its truth ; and Gibbon observes that " the
solitary report of a stranger (Abulpharagius) who wrote at the end of 600
years, on the confines of Media, is 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 patriarch Eutychus, has amply described the conquest of
Alexandria." But the admission of some Arab writers, cited by the learned


14 ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA.

, I.

De Sacy in his notes on Abd el-Latif, seems to confirm the truth of Omar s
vandalism; the authorities of Makrizi and Abd el-Latlf are of considerable
weight, notwithstanding the silence even of contemporary Christian annalists ;
and whilst we regret the destruction of this library, we may wish that the
capture of Alexandria had happened half or a whole century later, when,
instead of destroyers, the Arabs became preservers of ancient literature..
The Caesareum (Kaisareion) ,~or temple of Csesar, the site of which was
close to the spot now occupied by the Ramleh Ely. Stat, (part of it is now
under the sea), was commenced by Cleopatra in honour probably of Mark
Antony. It received the name of Ca3sareum in honour of the Emperor
Augustus, during whose reign it was finished. It was also called the
Sebasteum, or temple of Augustus, and was dedicated to his worship.
Philo of Alexandria in 60 A.D. described the temple as being of unparalleled
splendour, "facing a secure harbour filled with votive offerings, consisting of
pictures and statues of gold and silver, and surrounded by a vast enclosure
containing priestly residences, a library, sacred grove, propylae, and large
apartments open to the air, all richly ornamented." The Caesareum became a
Christian Cathedral in the reign of Constantine (324-337 A.D.), was burnt by
the troops of Constantius II., restored in 365 A. p., and completely destroyed. by
the Pagans during the reigns of Valentinian and Valens. Athanasius rebuilt
it in 368 A. D., and it continued to be the cathedral church of the Patriarch
of Alexandria until the Arab invasion in 640. It was on the steps of the
Caesareum that the beautiful and learned Pagan lady Hypatia was murdered
by the fanatical Christian populace in 415 A.D. (See Kingsley's famous descrip
tion of this murder in his ' Hypatia.') Within the precincts of the Cassareum
stood two obelisks known as " Cleopatra's Needles " (see p. 15).
Near the same spot was the Palace of the Kings, on the point called
Lochias, on the left of the Great Harbour. This is now partly represented by
a shoal off the headland behind the modern Pharillon, which is, so to speak,
the stump of the ancient Lochias. The foundations of the palace were dis
covered in 1874, and " showed that its longitudinal axis lay in a line from the
eastern extreme of the house nearest the Stat, on the sea side of the B. de
Ramleh towards the Jewish Synagogue." The greater part of the Inner
Palaces, with the Private Port and Antirrhodos, have subsided into the sea.
The Tombs of the Kings also stood in this district, in an enclosed space
called the "Soma." Here the Ptolemies were buried, as well as the founder
of 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. Alexander's Tomb probably occupies the site over
which now stands the Mosque of Sidi Lokman el-Hakim, or Nebi Daniel, at
Kom ed-Dikk (see p. 20). As it is the Viceregal family burying-ground it is
impossible that excavations should be carried on there and the supposition
proved. The Panium, or temple of Pan, described bv Strabo as an artificial
height, in the shape of a top, resembling a stone mound, with a spiral ascent,
and commanding a view of the whole city, is probably now represented by
Fort K6m ed-Dikk. Tunnels driven into the hill by Mr. Hogarth in 1895
revealed only massive brick constructions.
The Nekropolis on the W. was the only contiguous suburb of the city It
extended from the sea to Lake Mareotis. It is now known as Gabbari (p 23),
3i km. from Pompey's Pillar, but probably originally extended to Meks.
The Gymnasium stood near the street which extended from the western or
Nekropolis Gate to that on the Canopic or eastern side, which were distant
from each other 40 stadia, the street being 100 ft. broad. It had porticoes of
granite columns covering an immense space. Its actual site remains unknown.
Outside the modern walls, and at the extreme N.E. corner of the old city
was the Jew s Quarter, or Regio Judceorum, separated from the Brucheion by


Sect. I.] ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA. 15
its own wall ; and though not so extensive as some would lead us to suppose,
it was inhabited by a large population, governed by its own Ethnarch, and
enjoying great privileges granted at various times by the Czesars. Its site was
-between the palaces and the modern tomb of Shekh Shaktbek, and near this is
the Jewish cemetery at the present day.
Where the Rosetta Gate stood until 1886 is the eastern entrance of the
large walled Saracen Circuit, which lies to the N.W. and S.E. of the modern
town. Between 1830 and the present day large portions of it have been
removed towards the W. and N.W. to make room for the Grand Square, the
cotton barns at Minet el-Bassal, &c. , and the vast ditches have been filled in
and built over. The site of the old Canopic Gate lay very much farther to the
E. than the modern entrance on that side. 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 farther to the
eastward. The wall of the ancient city, on that side, passed under the lofty
mounds occupied by the French lines befojre the battle of Alexandria ; and the
remains of masonry, and the termination of the mounds of the town in that
part, sufficiently show its position..
The four principal Gates of Alexandria were the Canopic on the E., the
Nekropolis Gate on the W. , and those of the Sun and Moon at the two ends of
the street that ran from the sea to the lake. Looking up this street, the ships
in the Great Harbour were seen beyond the Gate of the Moon on one. side,
and those in the Mareotic port on the other. The intersection of this street
with one running at right angles to it from E. to W. has been located.
The Island of Antirrhodos, the Poseideion, the Timoneion, the Emporium,
the ports of Eunostos and Kibotos, and the Nekropolis, have been described in
Strabo's account given at pp. 6, 7. Antirrhodos, the Timoneion, and pier
leading to it, have completely disappeared under the sea, and so in all proba
bility have the Poseideion and Emporium also.
5. Present Remains of Ancient Alexandria.
[Excavations have been and are still being carried on in Alexandria, but
the results have not been of great importance. The fact is that Ptolemaic
Alexandria has disappeared, either beneath the sea or to make way for Roman
buildings. What has been found of the Roman city cannot be said to be of
great interest, and. seems hardly worth the trouble and expense of excavation,
which, owing to the houses of the modern city and the infiltration of water, is
carried on only with great difficulty. The chief explorers of ancient Alexandria
are the late Dr. Botti, keeper of the Museum, and Mr. D. G. Hogarth, who
worked here in 1895.]
Of the magnificent city described by Strabo it may be said that
hardly a vestige remains. Two striking relics existed until 1877-80
close to the Ramleh Rly. Stat., -viz. the obelisks, commonly called
Cleopatra's Needles, of which one had fallen, and the other remained
erect. But the former has been removed to En'gland, and the other
has gone to America.
They stood originally at Heliopolis, but were brought to Alexandria in the
18th year of Augustus, i.e. 13 B.C., and set up in front of the temple of Caesar,
or the Caesareum (see p. 14), by Barbaras the prefect, and Pontius his archi
tect. One account indeed assigns the erection of this temple to Cleopatra,
to commemorate the birth of her son by Julius Caesar ; and if this story
were true it would explain the origin of the traditional name. Both obelisks
are of red granite of Syene, the one (that in England) 68 ft. 6 in. high, the
other 67 ft. ; the diameter of each at the base is 7 ft. 7 in. They were
orig-'nally mounted on bronze feet in the form of crabs. Among the hiero-


16 EOUTE 1.— ALEXANDEIA. [_Oect. I.
glyphs carved on them are the names of Thothmes III., Ramses II., and
Seti II. , his successor. The fallen obelisk was given by Mohammed Ali to
the English, who were desirous of removing it as a record of their successes in
Egypt, and of the glorious termination of the campaign of 1801. The Pasha
even offered to transport it free of expense to the shore, and put it on board
any vessel or raft ; but the project was abandoned, its mutilated state, and the
obliteration of many of the hieroglyphs by exposure to the sea-air, seeming to
render it unworthy the expense of removal. Accordingly it lay on the ground,
generally completely covered with dibris, till 1877, when two private individuals,
Sir Erasmus Wilson and Mr. John Dixon, undertook to bring it over, the latter
undertaking to provide the mechanical means, and the former offering to
give ^10,000 towards the expense. It was encased in an iron cylinder where
it lay, and then rolled into the sea. After being fitted with a rudder, deck
house, cabin, &c. , in the harbour of Alexandria, it started on its voyage in the
winter of 1877, in tow of a steamer. Owing to rough weather the " Cleopatra"
was abandoned by its tug in the Bay of Biscay. It was found, however, after
some days, and taken into Ferrol, whence it was safely towed to London in
January, 1878, and in October of the same year the obelisk was put up on the
Thames Embankment The Americans afterwards succeeded (in 1880) in
removing the companion obelisk and erected it in the Central Park at New York.
Pompey's Pillar (admission P.T.3) is the most striking monumental
relic. It may be reached by the electric tramway. It stands near the
Mohammedan burial-place, on an eminence which was probably the
highest ground of the ancient city. It consists of a capital, shaft, base,
and pedestal, which last reposes on substructions of smaller blocks,
once belonging to older monuments. On one is the name of the first
Psammetichus, on another that of Seti I. Its substructure was
evidently once under the level of the ground, and formed part of a
paved area, the stones of which have been removed (probably to serve
as materials for more recent buildings), leaving only those beneath the
column itself, to the great risk of the monument. The total height of
the column is 98 ft. 9 in., the shaft is 73 ft., the circumference 29 ft.
8 in., and the diameter at the top of the capital 16 ft. 6 in. The shaft
of beautiful red granite, highly polished, is elegant and of good style,
but the capital and pedestal are of inferior workmanship and unfinished,
and it is probable that, while the column itself was of an early period,
the capital was added at the time when the pillar as it stands was
erected as a monument in honour of the Emperor Diocletian. The
Greek inscription which it bears shows that it was intended to serve
this purpose, and at the same time explains how it came to he called
Pompey's Pillar; for if the last word but two be read aright, the
column appears to have been erected under the care of Pompeius,
prefect in 302. The inscription runs thus : 
TON TIMIC1TATON AYTOKPATOPA
TON nOAIOYXON AAEHANAPEIAO
AIOKAHTIANON TON AMKHTON
no[MnHi]oc ehapxoc AirynTOY
It is probable that this column silently records the capture of Alexandria
by the arms of Diocletian in A.D. 296, when the rebellion of Achilleus who
had usurped for 5 years the imperial title and dignities, had obliged him to lay
siege to the revolted city, and the use of the epithet avi^Tov, "invincible"
applied to the emperor, is in favour of this opinion. This memorable siege
lasted eight months, when "many thousands of the citizens perished in the
promiscuous slaughter, and there were few obnoxious persons in Egypt who
escaped a sentence either of death or at least of exile."


Sect I.J ROUTE 1.  ALEXANDRIA. 17
On the summit is a circular 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 ; 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, ft is recorded
that during the French occupation (1798-1801) the Cap of Liberty was exhibited
at the top of the column, and the cramps may have been to support the staff.
An Arab tradition pretends that it was one of four columns that once supported
a dome or other building, but little faith is to be placed in the tales of the
modern inhabitants. Makrlzi and Abd el-Latif state that it stood in a stoa
surrounded by 400 columns, where the library was that Omar ordered to be
burnt, which (if true) would prove that it belonged to the Serapeum.
In the hollow space to the S.W. of this column is the site of an
ancient Circus, or a stadium, from which the small fort, thrown up by
the French on the adjoining height, received the name of the " Circus
Redoubt." The outline of its general form may still he traced.
Excavations have, in spite of many difficulties, been perseveringly
carried on in the hill upon which stands Pompey's Pillar. Among the
first objects found by Dr. Botti were the torso of a fine Serapis in
black granite, and part of a small black granite pyramid, with inscrip
tion to Serapis and the other gods of the same temple on behalf of
the health of the Emperor Hadrian. In 1907 some fine sphinxes were
unearthed here. W. of the column is a subterranean passage, which
once was lined with blocks of Meks limestone, a few of which are yet
in situ. In the walls are niches of various sizes, the object of which
is unknown. Faintly inscribed with a stylus on the outside wall can
be traced various Greek graffiti. Immediately S.E. another and longer
subterranean passage has been discovered, which runs immediately
beneath the column. This also contains niches throughout its length.
Rufinus, who assisted in the barbarous destruction of Alexandria by the
early Christians, says that all the lower part of the Serapeum was vaulted,
which lower part was divided up into vast corridors and square chambers
separated from each other, in which many and secret functions were carried
on. It is evident that the excavators are on the track of the foundations
of the Serapeum, the site of which has long been thought to be close to
Pompey's Pillar.
The Catacombs, or rock-tombs, may be visited at the same time
as Pompey's Pillar, from which they lie a short distance S.W., on
the hill of Kom esh-Shukafa. The most important tomb is a huge
hypogaeum tunnelled in the rook, one of the most remarkable tombs in
Egypt, and a fine specimen of the hybrid Alexandrine art of the 2nd
cent. a.d. It was discovered Oct. 1900, and excavated by Dr. Botti,
the late director of the Museum of Alexandria. It is lit by electricity.
Entrance P.T.5.
One descends by a circular staircase to a large rotunda with a
circular gallery, out of which open large chambers, one of which con
tains three couches hewn out of the rock, on which the relatives of the
deceased reclined to partake of the general repasts in honour of the dead.
Hence one descends by a bifurcating stairway to the vestibules of the
great sarcophagus chamber. The facade of the vestibule is supported by
two columns of Egyptian style with foliated capitals ; above the archi
trave is ornamented by the winged sun, flanked by hawks. Beyond the
columns, in niches 1. and r., are two statues of a man and woman, in
c


18 ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA.

„~i. I.

Egyptian style. At the further end is a door surmounted by the wmged
suii and a frieze of urisi ; 1. and r. are crowned serpents, emblematic of
the deity Shai (Destiny, ' AyadoSaifxav) ; each carries the caduceus of
Hermes and the thyrsus of Dionvsos ; above each is a circular buckler
with the gorgoneion in the centre. The sarcophagus chamber con
tains three niches, each holding a sarcophagus ornamented in Greek
fashion with garlands, masks, bucrania, &c. The walls of the niches
are sculptured with Egyptian funerary scenes; that of the central
niche is the well-known scene of the mummy lying on the bier,
attended by Anubis and other deities, and in another the king is repre
sented sacrificing to the Apis bull, &o. Outside the sarcophagus
chamber is a large gallery, on to which open two ranges of niches for
the. reception of the mummies, 91 in all. Other small funeral chambers
open out of this. Between the bifurcation of the staircase another
stair descends to yet a third depth of the tomb; this is, however,
filled with water, and cannot be penetrated.
This tomb is very remarkable, and should on no account he missed. It and
Pompey's Pillar are in fact the two chief sights of Alexandria.
The other catacombs are of little interest. Over the entrance to
one, discovered by the late Dr. Botti in 1893, is a cross, showing that
it had been used by a Christian.
The Cisterns constructed beneath the houses for storing the supply
of water with which the city was furnished by the Canopic Canal are
not the least remarkable of the remains of ancient Alexandria. These
cisterns were often of considerable size, having their roofs supported
by rows of columns, vaulted in brick or stone. Reservoirs of the same
kind are also found in the convents that stand on the site of the old
town, and several wells connected with them may be seen outside the
walls in going towards the Mahmiidiya Canal. They show the direction
taken by the channels that conveyed the water to the cisterns in the
town. One set of them runs parallel to the eastern exit of the
Mahmiidiya Canal, another is below the hill of Pompey's Pillar, and
another a little less than half-way from this to the former line. It was
by means of these cisterns that Ganymedes, during the war between
Julius Cfesar and the Alexandrians, contrived 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 substitute of wells.
6. Modern Alexandria.
Climate.— The temperature of Alexandria keeps tolerably cool even
in summer, the thermometer seldom ranging above 86° Fahr., owing
to the N.W. winds from the sea, but at the same time there is a
moisture and dampness in the air produced by the same cause, especially
at night, which is very trying to many constitutions; and many
persons prefer the hotter but drier climate of Cairo. In the early
months of the year a great deal of rain generally falls all along the
Egyptian coast.
Commerce and Industry.— The importance of the commerce of
Alexandria in ancient times has been already spoken of At the
present day its carrying trade is very considerable. The principal
articles of export are— cotton (principally to. England), cotton seed





Fold out





Sect. I.]. ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA. 19
(ditto), beans (ditto), corn, sugar (England and Frauce), gums (prin
cipally to England), coffee (ditto France), ivory, wool, linseed, and
mother-of-pearl. Among the principal articles of import are — manufactured goods
and machinery (principally from England, Belgium and Germany),
wood (principally from Turkey, Austria, arid Italy), coal (principally
from England), oils (from England, Italy, Turkey, and France), wines
and liqueurs (from Greece, Italy, and France), raw silk, salt provisions
and vegetables, fruits, and several kinds of marble and stone (from Italy).
The principal native industries of Alexandria , are embroidery in
gold and silk, weaving .of cotton stuffs for native use, manufacture
of pipe-stems, tobacco, arms, &c., native saddlery, dyeing, &c. The
principal European industries are the . manufacture of Italian paste,
starch, soap, gas, candles, oil, &c.
Streets, Public Places, and Buildings. — Street nomenclature at
Alexandria is of a very motley character ; Arabic, French, English,
Italian, and other names having been given apparently according to
the caprice of individuals.- Lately, the municipality has given names
to the principal places and streets, and in some instances these names
have been written up, but it is very common to find people still calling
them by the old name, e.g. the large square which used to be called
the Place des Consuls is now properly named the Place Mohammed Ali,
but English people generally call it the Grand Square. It has been
thought better to give tbe names of the streets here,'and in the map, in
French, as, wherever they are written up, it is usually in that language.
It is, however, to be regretted that the French terms have not been
replaced by their Arabic equivalents written in Roman characters, as
has been 'done at Cairo; or, in view of the Greek history of Alexandria
and the predominance of Greeks in its modern European population;
by the Greek dtibs and n-AaTt'a. '
The central point of Alexandria is the Grand Square or Place
Mohammed Ali. At the N.E. corner is the English Church. "Next to it
is St. Mark's Building, which' houses the schools- of the English com
munity; at the side is a' bust of General Earle, killed' at Kirbekan in
the Sudan in 1885. The Court of the International Tribunals is a large
building on the W. side. The Exchange or Bourse stands on the E.
side. "The square suffered very much in. 1882, and was almost com
pletely destroyed, hut is now almost entirely rebuilt with " okelles " or
blocks, of fine edifices. . From it jadiate the. lines of the Electric Tram
way system of 'Alexandria,, in the directions of (1) the Eastern Telegraph
Co. 's:.ffux, the, Bamleh Bailway. Station,- and the Bosetta Gate; (2) the
Cairo Bailway Station, Fort K<xm ed-Dikk, and the suburb of Moharrem
Bey ;¦ (3) Pbmpey'srPillar and Kom esh-Sbukafa ;. (i) the Bue Lbrdhim,
the Cotton . Market ' (Minet ¦ el-Bassal — worth visiting), Gabbdri, and
Meks. Fares; 1st el., 10 mill. ; 2nd!el., 5 mill. ; to Meks, double fare.
The other principal open space is the Square lbrdhim, or, as it is usually
called, the Place Ste. Katharine, from the Roman Catholic Church
which occupies-the S.E. side of it. On the same side is Abbat's Hotel.
The Victoria. College, opened in 1902, is an unsectarian high-grade school.
Among the principal streets of Alexandria are the Bue Shirif Pasha,
i\ handsome and well-built street leading from the Place Mohammed
Ali.to the.Cairb Railway-Station. In it are the houses of many of the
principal merchants; and in the afternoon it presents a gay and
c 2


20 ROUTE 1.— ALEXANDRIA. [Sect *-
animated appearance, there being a constant stream of carriages to : and
from the drive to San Stefano, now a fine macadamised road. ra™uei
with this street are the Bue Mohammed Tewfik and the Bue ae la
Mosquie d'Attarine, both leading to the Boulevard Is™aU/ .,XUvn,ZZZ
de la Mosquee d'Attarine continues from the other side of tne square
Ibrahim to the Rue Anastasi. All these squares and streets are purely
European in character, and resemble those of a modern Italian city.
Though the Greeks far outnumber the Italian inhabitants, the Euro
pean architecture of the city is Italian, not Greek; the low buildings
characteristic of Athens, for instance, are absent. 1 rom tbe fc>. side or
the Place Mohammed Ali the Bue des Sceurs, or, as it is more properly
called in Arabic, Sikkeh Bendt, extends to the bridge over the canal;
and the Bue Anastasi leads to the open space in which is h ort Canarelli.
Both these streets pass through some of the lowest parts of the town.
The Bue Bds et-Tin is a long, winding street, leading from the W.
end of the Place Mohammed Ali to the Palace of Ras et-Tm ; from it
branch off the streets leading to the harbour. From the N. side of the
Place Mohammed Ali a number of short streets lead down to the sea.
Most of the British business houses are in this part ; and one of the
streets was called Gracechurch Street, but has now received officially
the name of the Bue de VEglise Anglaise, from the English church
whose west end faces it. Crossing these streets is the Boulevard de
Bamleh, formerly called the Bue de VObilisque, following the bend of
the Great Harbour up to the Ramleh Railway Station, near which is
the British Consulate. The Eastern Telegraph office is in the continua
tion of this street, called Bue du Tiligraphe. The broad road leading
to the Rosetta Gate is called the Bue de la Porte de Bosette. Here are
the Headquarters of the small British garrison, whose barracks are in
Fort Kdm ed-Dikk, close by ; the Union Jack and red-coated sentry are
easily distinguishable. At the town end of it are some handsome houses
and the Zizinia Theatre ; further, on the left, are the Municipality and
Museum (in the Bue du Music). Between the Museum and the sea, in
a garden, stands an ancient Column re-erected in commemoration of
the retaking of Omdurman and Khartum. On a mound near this is a
smaller column in memory of Queen Victoria. On the shore to the E.
is Fort Silsila, the ancient Lochias.
On the sea-shore between the two harbours lie the Palace of Ras
et-Tin (the necessary order for viewing can be obtained from the
Governor of Alexandria at the Gouvernorat) and the site of the ancient
Pharos. The way lies from the Place Mohammed Ali along the Rue
Ras et-Tin, and through a native quarter near the East Harbour ; it
then traverses a sort of quay along a low fortification that lines the
western side of that harbour. At the end of this quay is the Pharos,
already described. Returning, and leaving on the rt. an advanced
fort, called Fort Ada, the axis of the old Isle of Pharos is traversed to
the opposite peninsula. The Palace of Ras et-Tin occupies the western
extremity of the peninsula of that name. It was built by Mohammed
Ali. There is nothing very remarkable except the view from the
balcony, which is extensive and interesting. There is a handsome
staircase of Carrara marble, and a large audience-hall. The harim,
which cannot be visited, is a separate building facing the sea. The
ancient Point Eunostos, now Bds et-Tin, on which stands the modern
lighthouse, is J m. farther. The forts should be visited.


Sect. I.] ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA. 21
To the rt., after leaving the palace on the return home, is the
Arsenal, near the new lighthouse, chiefly interesting as a record of
Mohammed Ali's ambition, and of the great efforts he made to establish
his power in Egypt and defy the authority of the Porte. It is now
closed, as Egypt has no longer a fleet. Part of it is used by the
Khedivial Postal Steamers and part as a timber dock and depot for
the port of Alexandria. The driver may be told to return either by
the Rue Ras et-Tin, which is here bordered by some rather good houses
in the Arab style, or by the quays and streets leading from the Arsenal.
Mosques, Churches, Convents. — There are no Mosques at Alexandria
which in themselves contain anything worth seeing, but the site of
the ancient Mosque of 1001 Columns is still clearly indicated by portions
of the exterior walls of the original quadrangular building, which,
after being used by Buonaparte as a cavalry stable, and by the British
in 1801-2-3 as an artillery park, was converted into a Military Hospital
by Mohammed Ali. In 1885 it was purchased from the Egyptian
Government, and, a road having been made through the centre of
the quadrangle, the sea-side portion was utilised for the erection of a
church and the remainder for schools, both belonging to the Franciscans.
The site of a mere scrap of the great quadrangular Mosque of St.
Athanasius is now indicated by a small mosque at the junction of the
Rue Attarine with the Rue Rosetta.
Near the new barracks, N.E. of the town, is a small mosque into
which Sir Ralph Abercromby was carried when he received his death-
wound. Quite close to the mosque some remains of the ancient Roman
road to the Caesareum may be seen.
The Mosque of Nebbi Daniel, which contains the tomb of Said
Pasha and many of the Khedive's family, is only interesting as being
the reputed site of the tomb of Alexander the Great. It is situated on
the W. side of Kom ed-Dikk. No Christian is admitted to the tomb.
The Coptic Convent is dedicated to St. Mark, whose body the Copts
pretend to possess, though it is well known that it was carried off
clandestinely by the Venetians, as stated by Leo Africanus, as well as
by Daru and other historians. The old mosaics of St. Mark's at
Venice also record this fact, and the inscription over the scene there
represented does not hesitate to admit that the body was " stolen " by
the two Venetian captains "Rusticus and Tribunus " (called in the
Venetian histories Rustieo of Torcello and Buono of Malamoeco),
assisted by the monk Staugius and the priest Theodoros, who had
charge of the sanctuary of St. Mark in Alexandria. This happened
during the dogeship of Giustiniano Partecipazo, about a.d. 828 ; and
the mosaic was put up in the new church at Venice. (See Sir G.
Wilkinson's account of this mosaic, 'Jour. Archseol. Assoc.,' vol. vii.,
p. 258.) The Latin Church is another modern building, with no preten
sions to architectural beauty ; and the same may be said of all the other
ecclesiastical edifices belonging to the different religious persuasions.
In the churchyard of the Armenian Church, which is close to the
Church of the Lazarists on the way to Pompey's Pillar, are the tombs
of the Boghoz family.


22 ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA. [Sect: I.
The Church of St. Saba, which adjoins the Greek Hospital, is the
ancient Greek Church of Alexandria, dating, it is said, from the 8th or
9th cent., but nothing certain is known about its origin. It contains
memorial tablets to several British officers whofell or died in 1801 at
Alexandria. The Museum is in a new building, opened in 1895, which adjoins
the Municipal Palace, containing the new Public Library of 7000 to
8000 volumes. It is open daily from 9-12 and 3-5.30, except on
Fridays and Saturdays, when it is open from 9-12 only. (Entrance
P.T.2, except Friday, when it is free. Closed on Tuesdays.) _ The
Museum was erected for the preservation of antiquities belonging to
the Greek, Roman, and early Coptic periods, but also contains a few
Egyptian objects. It has lately been enriched by valuable donations
of jewels, gold ornaments, &c, from the collection of the late Sir John
Antoniades, and of coins from Mr. Glymenopoulo.
Passing through the vestibule, which contains a fine torso of Hercules
found in Alexandria, we enter rt. :
Room i, which contains papyri, ostraka, two fine Coptic pillar-capitals, a
collection of Coptic tombstones, and mummies from Gabbari and el-.Hadra.
Rooms 2, 3. — Coins of Alexandria ; Coptic tombstones and embroideries.
Room 4. — A fine female group, presented by M. Galetti. Coins.
Room 5. — Casts of objects in the British Museum, etc. ; coins and stelae.
Room 6. — Life-size figure of the bull Apis in red granite, dedicated by the
Emperor Hadrian. Porphyry sarcophagus. Roman and Greek funerary
inscriptions and papyri.
Room 7. — Red granite colossal figure with cartouches of Ramses II. and
Merenptah, from Abukir. Sphinxes.
Room 8. — Sarcophagi and mummies of the Saite period. Fine XXVI.
Dyn. relief of harpers and girls playing before the deceased Tjanefer, son of
Ankh-Psemtek : presented by Tigrane Pasha.
Room 9. — Figures of Ramses II. ; obelisk of Seti I. ; mummies.
Room 10. — Small portrait figures.
Room n. — Ptolemaic and Roman monuments; tesselated pavement.
"Room 12". — Figure of Antoninus Pius. Head of Julia Soe'mias. In wall-
case to /. small portrait-head of Alexander ; bust of Cleopatra (?).
Room 13. — Roman portrait-busts.
Rooms 14, 15.— Fragments of coloured sculpture (under brown glass, to
preserve the colour), etc.
Room 16.— In centre a gigantic eagle. Classical figures and votive altars.
Room 17. — Porphyry figure of Serapis. Vases, portraits, mummies.
Rooms 18, 19. — Vases, figurines, tesselated pavements.
Room 20.— Marble group of Apollo and Dionysos : painted stelae, vases,
and figurines.
Room 21.— Gold and bronze objects ; millefiori glass.
Room 22.— Maps and photographs of Alexandria.
In the picturesque Garden are various sarcophagi, busts, &c.
The Harbour can be seen in about 1J hrs. For boats, either sailing
or rowing, see Index-Directory. An order to view the Khedive's
yacht, the " Mahroussa," if it is lying in the harbour, may be obtained
from the Governor of Alexandria. The harbour is a delightful place
for a pleasure sail, the prevailing wind being favourable for a sail to
the end of the breakwater and back again.


Sect. I.] ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA. 23

7. Drives and Excursions.

a [The, .principal sights- in the city are Pompey's Pillar and the .Catacombs of
K6m esh-Shukafa (pp. 16, 17 ante). These may be reached by electric tram or cab,
and can be seen in half a day.]
A pleasant drive can be made along the Mahmiidiya Canal, on the
S. of the town. The drive presents no object of interest except the
villas and gardens by the side of the canal, which, however, are well
worth seeing for the beauty and luxuriance of the shrubs and flowers,
andth'ere are pretty views to be obtained from the high ground at the
farthest end of the canal. The gardens belonging to the municipality
are open on Fridays and Sundays, and those of the Villa 6f Sir John
Antoniades, a wealthy Greek merchant and British subject, are open
to the public on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
The Mahmiidiya Canal was begun by Mohammed Ali in 1819, and opened
on Jan. 20, 1820. It received its name in honour of the Sultan Mahmud II.
The cost is said to have been ,£300,000 ; and 250,000 men were employed
about one year in digging it, of whom 20,000 perished by accident, hunger,
and plague. It commences at the village of Atfih, on the Rosetta branch of
the Nile, and has a total length of 50 m. , with an average width of about
100 feet. A part of its course is identical with that of the ancient Canopic
branch of the Nile, and the old canal of Fua, which was used In'the time of
the Venetians for carrying goods to Alexandria, and existed, though nearly
dry, in Savary's time, A.D. 1777. The rt. bank :of the canal is. bordered for
some distance with the houses and gardens of the wealthy inhabitants of
Alexandria. On the W. side of the town a visit may be paid to Gabbdri, where
are situated the Alexandria works of the Egyptian State Railways.
The road lies along the Rue des Soeurs and across the Mahmiidiya
Canal. A gateway on the 1. leads up a desolate-looking avenue- The
land is utilised as most valuable market gardens. Good quail shooting
may be obtained in the neighbourhood during the arrival from and
departure to Europe of these birds. There is a good view over Lake
Mareotis. The excursion to Meks and the Saltworks, and Forts Marabout
and el-Adjemi, may be accomplished in half a day. It may be done in
four ways— by train and donkeys, by electric tramway, by carriage,
or by boat. A boat may be obtained by applying at the Port Police
Station on the Marina Gadim ; but the excursion can only be done in
this way when it is calm, otherwise landing is impossible. The
carriage road is bad, but it is possible to drive to the Saltworks, though
the excursion cannot then be extended to Adjemi. The excursion by
train and donkeys is best done by taking donkeys in the. train— an
ordinary proceeding — to Jardin Gabbari Stat. After visiting the Salt
works the return may be made by riding across the quarry hills and
skirting the shores of Lake Mareotis. But the pleasantest way is to
combine this excursion with a visit to Adjemi. Trains leave the
Moharrem Bey Stat. Donkeys must be taken. Tickets should be
taken to Menazel Stat. Thence it is a very pretty ride of 2J m. to
Adjemi, either along the sandy shore or across a kind of moor. It was
:in this bay that Napoleon landed his troops on July 1st, 1798, five
days after which Alexandria fell. From Fort Marabout, taken by Lord
Charles Beresford in 1882, there is a fine view of the harbour. Thence,
the ride to the Saltworks at Minet el-Gedid is 3£ m. The works belong


24 ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA. [Sect. I.
to Government, and salt is made here for all Egypt, so that it is a
much cheaper commodity than when none was obtained except by
importation. The great chimneys seen from here are those of the
pumping-station for the purpose of keeping down the level of Lake
Mareotis, the waters of which would otherwise flood the country. Un
the way back from el-Adjemi to Meks, the quarries, whence the stone
for the breakwater (p. 2) and quays was taken, are passed. Tourists
who are interested in military matters should visit the forts in order
to see the effects produced by shell-fire. The forts have been little
touched since the day of the bombardment, but some of the guns have
been removed.
Meks itself has a casino, sea-baths, and cafes. On the beach is an
old gate, the Bab el- Arab, which was the seaward extremity of a
fortified line extending across the isthmus between the sea and lake
Mareotis. Further on towards Alexandria, on the left, is a large
Slaughterlwuse, erected in 1898.
Thence the ride back into Alexandria is through the Gabbari Gate.
The excursion to Lake Mareotis, 15 m., requires a whole day,
starting not later than 9 o'clock ; for, as it should be done in March
when the wild-flowers are out, the return should be made by 6 p.m.
Lunch must be taken. A carriage should cost about 16s. (P.T.80) ;
donkeys, 4s. (P.T.20) for the day. Leaving Alexandria by the Gabbari
Gate, the route leads by Said Pasha's single-line railway on a narrow
embankment with the lake on either side. Then through green fields
bright with yellow daisies, poppies, asphodels and iris, to the ruins of
Said Pasha's palace, where lunch should be taken. Near the palace
the wild-flowers are magnificent, the ranunculus growing as large as
tulips. The Roman quarries, 2 m. farther on, may be visited. It was
probably from them that the emperors brought much of the material
for their palaces, &c. The Arab Tower, 7 m. farther on, is too far
away to come into a day's excursion.
Sidi Gaber. — The Colossal Heads unearthed by Mr. Harris fifty
years ago, and rediscovered in 1895, may be visited by taking the train
from the Ramleh Station at Alexandria to Sidi Gaber, from which
station they lie in an open marshy field about 500 yds. S.W. One head
has the form of Osiris and the other of Isis. They are on the site of
the ancient temple of Ceres and Proserpine. They are supposed to
represent Cleopatra and Antony deified.
Hadra. — The first station on the line to Cairo (Moharrem Bey
Stat.) is Hadra, some distance from the old Canopic Gate of Alexandria.
Here in 1886, near the village, were found some tombs much resembling
columbaria. They belonged to Greek mercenaries and pilgrims.
Several urns were found intact, closed by stones in the shape of a
simple tablet or a painted stela. These cinerary urns, mow many of
them in the museum, are of a fine terra-cotta with long handles at
the neck ornamented with bands of flowers and leaves painted in black
or red, and having inscriptions. Later excavations made in 1894-5
produced no results of any value, the tombs having evidently been
already rifled.
Abukir (see p. 28). This place is best visited from Alexandria,
since no sleeping accommodation is found there, nor conveniently at


Sect. I.] ROUTE 1.— ALEXANDRIA. 25
Rosetta. Take the morning train (8.30) from the Ramleh Stat, to
Abukir (9.47), changing at Sidi Gaber ; having previously ordered
donkeys from Ramleh to be in readiness at the Stat.
The small village is famous for the victory of the English fleet under
Nelson, recorded in our annals as the "Battle of the Nile." The principal
details of this famous battle are too well known to need more than a
brief recapitulation here. On the ist of August, 1798, Nelson discovered the
French fleet, under Admiral Brueys, at anchor in the form of a curve round
the head of Abukir Bay. The number of men-of-war on both sides was equal,
but the French had some smaller vessels besides, and a decided superiority in
men and guns. Although it was already late in the day, Nelson determined to
attack at once, by the plan of sailing through the middle of the line and
surrounding half the fleet before the other half could come to its support.
The battle lasted until daybreak, and ended in the total defeat of the French,
with the loss of 14 vessels out of 17. The decisive moment of the action was
the blowing up of the French admiral's ship L Orient.
It was at this point that Sir Ralph Abercromby landed on the 8th March,
1801, in command of the English army, which finally drove the French out of
Egypt The English expedition in 1882 anchored in Abukir Bay on their way from
Alexandria to the Suez Canal, Lord Wolseley being anxious to make the
Egyptians think that he proposed to land at this point.
A little to the E. of Abukir are some ruins which perhaps mark the site of
Kanobos or Canopus, which, according to Strabo, was 120 stadia (between
13 and 14 English miles) from Alexandria, by land. It stood on the W. of
the Canopic mouth, between which and that town was the village of Hera-
kleion, famed for its temple of Herakles, to which the slaves of Paris fled when
he was forced by contrary winds to take refuge in the Canopic mouth of the
Nile. Canopus was said to have been named after Kanobos, the helmsman of
Menelaus, who was believed to have been buried here. In late Ptolemaic and
Roman days a peculiar form of the god Osiris, represented as a vase with a
human head, was called Kanopos. This was probably the god (called Serapis
by the Greek inhabitants) who was the principal object of worship at Canopus.
Many other temples also stood at Canopus, as well as numerous spacious inns
for the reception of strangers who went to enjoy its wholesome air, and,
above all, the dissipation that recommended it to the people of Alexandria ;
famous, or rather infamous, as it was in the time of the Greeks and Romans
for the most wanton amusements. 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 from being
virtuous.'1 The jars called Canopic, into which were put such interior parts of the
human body as could not be embalmed, and which had on the lids the heads
of the four genii of the dead, were so called from the god Kanopos, referred
to above, who was represented as a jar with a human head. His name, and
that of the "Canopic jars," may have been derived from the town where he
was worshipped.
The famous trilingual stone, discovered at San (the ancient Tanis), and
thence called by French savants " La Pierre de San," is known to English
Egyptologists as the "Decree of Canopus," from its containing, in Greek,
hieroglyphic and demotic characters, the text of a decree promulgated by
Ptolemy Euergetes in the year B.C. 237, at Canopus, which was at that
time the religious capital of the country. The stone is in the Museum of
Egyptian Antiquities at Cairo.
There are some modern forts on the shore of the Bay of Abukir, and a
lighthouse on the promontory. In digging the ditches of these forts some
interesting antiquities, now in the Museum at Alexandria, were discovered.


26 ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA. [Sect. I.
Ride N. towards the sea. On the rough ground among the low
sandhills will be found the remains of Roman mosaic pavement, trag-
ments of painted plaster, and traces of walls. A little farther on, stall
among the mounds, are broken fluted columns, made of red granite,
and a broken black granite statue with hieroglyphs on the back. Close
to these may be traced the ground-plan of a building thought by
Daninos Pasha to have been the temple of Zephynon. There are also
the ruins of extensive Roman baths. Fragments of marble, painted
plaster, tesselated pavement, and smashed pottery strew the ground.
Proceeding over the hill to the shore, Cleopatra's Baths are reached.
The so-called baths, though at times under water, are distinctly trace
able, and on the shore immediately above them is some Roman brick
work, evidently part of a room, the interior of which has been stuccoed
with very fine cement. A group of what at first sight appears to be
rocks, near the water's edge, proves on examination to be red granite
sphinxes, which have been broken and thrown into the sea. This, is a
good place for a picnic. The shore is of fine sand strewn with shells,
many of them minute in size but of beautiful colours. The sandy
slopes of the mounds are covered in the spring-time with wild-flowers.
Ride back to San Stefano — passing on the way Montaza, the country
seat of the Khedive — where lunch or tea can be procured at the Casino,
and return to Alexandria by train.
For the excursion to Rosetta by rail, see Rte. 2, p. 28.
Ramleh.* — This very pleasant suburb of Alexandria is conveniently
reached by the Bamleh Bly., the Ramleh Stat., which is at the end of
the B. Ramleh and near the New Harbour.
[Trains run every hour (Sundays every | hr.), and once or twice a day, on the
Abukir-Rosetta line. Ramleh is in direct "communication with Cairo by rail vid
Sidi Gaber Junction.]
Ramleh may be called a desert settlement, is very healthy, and the
climate particularly good for kidney complaints. From the: middle of
November and through December the gardens are lovely, and again,
after a rather rainy January, the wild-flowers in February. are most
luxuriant. Not until the end of June is the temperature more than
agreeably warm. There is a special water-supply from the Nile for
Ramleh. The Stats, on the Ramleh Rly., which are only about a mile
apart, are Ibrahimiya, Sidi Gaber, Bulkeley, Fleming, Bacos, Seffer,
Schutz, and San Stefano. Some of these names are those of the
promoters of the railway. The last-named, on the sea, is a favourite
resort of Alexandrians, there being fine hotels, with casino and baths.
The seashore is strewn with very beautiful shells, and there is very
good sea-bathing. Bacos is the central point of Ramleh.
Most of the English community whose business lies in Alexandria,
and many other Europeans, live at Ramleh, so that the place consists
mostly of pretty villas and charming gardens.
By Road.— The road for driving lies out of the Rosetta Boulevard.
Immediately on the 1., after issuing from the town, are the different
Christian Cemeteries. Tbe 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, first cultivated by order of
Ibrahim Pasha. Here was the ancient Hippodrome, now the brand-
¦ new suburb called Ibrahimiya, and, a few yards farther E., we come


Sect. I.] ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA. 27
upon the green and pretty racecourse, polo, cricket, and tennis grounds
of the " Alexandria. Sporting Club," established some years ago by the
British garrison and principal residents of all nationalities under the
patronage of H.H. the Khedive,, who attends all the principal race
meetings with the other members of his family. A little to the rt.,
after crossing a reservoir by a causeway, the road turns off to the
Mahmudiya Canal.
About | of a mile from the old wall granite blocks and remains of
columns mark the. site of some important- building. A little beyond
this and nearer the sea were some old catacombs, in which were some
devices painted on. the stuccoed walls and ceilings. Here too was
found a marble sarcophagus with the head of Medusa, and other
ornamental sculpture. In some of the catacombs inscriptions have
been found of Christian times, probably about the 4th century ; and it
is evident that they were used as places of sepulture for Christians as
well as Pagans.
About 3 m. from the Rosetta Boulevard is a Roman Station,
called Ccesar's, or the Boman Camp. It marks the site of Niko-
polis, or Juliopolis, where Augustus defeated the partisans of
Antony, and is the spot where, 1832 years after, the English and
French armies engaged. The Camp, the site of which is now occu
pied by the huts of the British regiment stationed at Alexandria,
was destroyed by the Khedive, Ismail, to make way for an immense, '
flimsy, but picturesque Palace, from which the Camp obstructed
the sea-view; the stones of the ancient walls were used in the new
foundations. "" The Palace, after being used as a. British Military
Hospital, has, in its turn, been entirely removed, two out-buildings
alone being retained as officers' quarters and mess-room. The Camp
resembled the Myos Hormos, and the fortified stations, or hydreumas,
in the desert ; but was stronger, larger, and better" built. It was
nearly square, measuring 291 paces by 266 within, the walls being
from 5 to 5J paces thick. It had four entrances, one in the centre
of each face, 15 paces wide, defended by round or semicircular
towers, 18 paces in diameter, or 12 within. On each face were 6
towers, distant from each other 33 paces ; those of the doorway
excepted, which are only 15 paces apart. Those at the 4 corners were
larger than the others, having a diameter of 22 paces. Its N.W. face
stood very near the sea in the present gardens of the palace, where a
mosaic pavement was recently visible ; 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 north of the Mahmudiya, about 8
miles from Alexandria. It has been entirely excavated ; and the
extensive system for supplying it with water, the wells, reservoirs, and
baths, have been laid open. The water was raised from the principal
well by a water-wheel with pots (as at the present day). It is now
brackish. The wells are 33 feet deep. The Pratorium, or comman
dant's house, had a large mosaic, now almost destroyed, with various
ornamental devices, and a half figure ' of Bacchus, holding in one hand
a bunch of grapes, in the other a crook, the attribute of Osiris.
Near the sea, outside the N.W. corner of the station, is another
bath, and a long channel cased with stone, which seems to have
supplied the bath with fresh water. The walls of the station were of
stone, with the courses of flat bricks, or tiles, at intervals, usual in


28 ROUTE 1. — ALEXANDRIA. [Beet. I.
Roman buildings ; and the whole was constructed on a scale worthy of
the grandeur of the early part of the Empire. In one place was an
inscription put up to M. Aurelius by the Tribunes of the 2nd Legion,
called " Trajana fortis," in the same 8th year of which so many of his
coins remain. There was also a block of marble, which had probably
served as the pedestal to a statue, with an inscription recording that it
had been set up to Septimius Severus, in the 11th year of his reign, by
the decurions and privates whose names are given in two columns
below the dedication. Many, however, of these interesting remains
have now completely disappeared.
Returning to the carriage, the drive may be continued to San
Stefano.

ROUTE 2.
The North-western Delta : Alexandria to Rosetta.
[To Rosetta (44£ m.), 2 trains daily from the Cairo Stat., at the Moharrem Bey Gate,
in 2 hours. Fares : 1st cl., P.T.34, 2nd cl., P.T.15.]
The line follows almost exactly that of the old road to Rosetta,
which has been already described, as far as Ramleh. At Sidi Gaber
Stat, the Cairo line turns off to the rt.
6 m.( Ramleh Stat., « Jm. from the town (p. 26).
9j m., El-Mandara Stat., on the neck of land which separates the
lake of Abukir from the Mediterranean.
10 m., Montaza Stat., where the Khedive has built a summer
residence, and made a small harbour.
14 m., Abukir Stat., a small village famous for the victory of the
English fleet under Nelson (see p. 25).
22J m.( El-Maadiya Stat., the "Ford," or "Ferry," by which
Lake Edku communicates with the sea, and which is supposed to be
the old Canopic branch. The Canopic was the most westerly, as the
Pelusiac was the most easterly, of the mouths of the Nile.
29 m., Edku Stat.*, a village on a sandhill near the lake.
Crossing a dreary waste of sand, the line reaches
36 m., Bussili Junction Stat.
[From Bussili Junction a branch line (2 trains a day in \ hr.) runs to
8 m., Edflna Stat., on the Nile, 5 m. N. of the town of Derflt and 8 m.
N. of Atfa, where the Mahmudiya Canal (see p. 23) joins the Nile. The
machinery for driving the water in the direction of Alexandria should be seen.
For Atfa to Damanhiir and Desilk, see p. 31.]
44$ m., Rosetta Stat.* (in Coptic, Ti-Bashit ; in Arabic, Bashid).
Pop. 14,500. The town is situated on the W. bank of the Nile, near its
mouth. This branch of the river was formerly the Bolbitine, and a
hill called Abil Mandilr, about 1J miles to the S. of the modern town,
is supposed to mark the site of the ancient town of Bolbitinum. Rosetta
was founded by one of the khalifs about a.d. 870. For a long time it


beet. 1.] ROUTE 2.  NORTH-WESTERN DELTA. 29
was one of the most important commercial towns of the country, and
at the beginning of the present century it still had a population of
about 25,000. This has now greatly diminished, and a great propor
tion of the houses is deserted and in ruins. As a port Rosetta has
been completely eclipsed by Alexandria, and very little trade is now
carried on. Its former flourishing condition is shown by the style of
building, which is very superior to that of other Egyptian towns. In
the various open spaces lie numerous columns of granite and marble.
The columns at the doors, the neatness of the wooden windows, and
the general appearance of their walls, are particularly striking. It has
several mosques, khans, and bazaars, and is surrounded by a wall with
loopholes, which might serve to protect it against a band of Arabs.
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. The situation of Rosetta, the beauty and
extent of its gardens, and the supposed salubrity of its air, made it
formerly a favourite summer resert of Cairenes and Alexandrians ; and
though not frequented now in the same way, it still retains the same
natural advantages, and may be regarded as one of the prettiest and
most agreeable towns in Egypt. Some large forts have been built to
protect the mouth of the Nile, and there is a very fine lighthouse at the
mouth of the river.
Rosetta is but little known in history. In 1807 it was the scene of the
unsuccessful attempt of the British to restore the authority of the Mamelukes,
which ended in the disastrous retreat of the British army. It is equally barren
of antiquities. Here and there a few hieroglyphs may be seen in single stones
built into mosques and private houses ; and fragments of granite and basalt
are lying about. But it has acquired a special archaeological celebrity from the
celebrated trilingual stone — known as the "Rosetta Stone" — found by the
French in 1799 while digging the foundations of a fort, a short distance lower
down the river. This tablet contains a decree made by the priests of Egypt in
honour of Ptolemy Epiphanes in the year B.C. 196. It is written in the Greek,
hieroglyphic, and demotic characters ; and it was from a comparison of the
Greek letters and the hieroglyphs on this stone that Champollion and Young
were enabled first to decipher the old Egyptian writing. Unfortunately the
stone was but a fragment, and the search for the upper part of it has hitherto
been unsuccessful. The same decree is found at Philse, without the Greek
text, on a granite rock in the Great Temple. The stone is preserved in the
British Museum, having been ceded as a war-trophy to the British by the con
vention which ended the French occupation bf Egypt in 1801.


30 ROUTE 3. — WESTERN DELTA. [Sect. I.

ROUTE 3.
The Western Delta: Alexandria to Damanhur,
Tanta, Benha, and Cairo.
[To Cairo (129 m.), 9 trains daily from the 'Moharrem Bey Stat, in 3 to 6} hrs.
Fares : express, 1st cl., P.T.105, 2nd cl., P.T.52 ; ordinary train, 1st cl., P.T.87i, 2nd cl.,
P.T.43J. Return tickets available for 1 week, 1st cl., P.T.132, 2nd cl., P.T.66. Res
taurant car by the train leaving at 12.0 noon ; sleeping car by the last evening train
at 11.30 p.m.]
The Rly. between Alexandria and Cairo was the first ever made in
the East. It was constructed by British engineers in 1855, and, with
the continuation from Cairo to Suez, now done away with, was the
alternative proposed by Stephenson for the Maritime Canal across the
Isthmus of Suez (see p. 49).
On leaving Cairo, the line first traverses some gardens, passing
3 m., Hadra Stat, (see p. 24), and
4 m., Sidi Gaber Stat., where the line to Rosetta (p. 28) branches
off. On the rt. the line skirts the Lake Mareotis (p. 24), stretching
far away out of sight. In winter, after the rising of the Nile, the
water reaches in many places to the embankment, but in the late
spring and summer there is a wide expanse of swampy marsh, as
treacherous to the foot as it is disagreeable to the eye and unpleasant
to the nose. Flocks of aquatic birds may often be seen feeding close to
the rly. ; but should the traveller, encouraged by their apparent
tameness as he looks at them from the carriage window, attempt on
some other occasion to try his chances with the gun, he will find them
very wary and unapproachable.
The line passes through the defences thrown up by Arabi in 1882
when. he withdrew the Egyptian army from Alexandria, and prepared
to resist the advance of the English. The farm buildings of Kafr
Dawar were connected by earthworks, and a double line of defence
constructed, covering the rly. and Mahmudiya Canal. The first line
was about 1200 yds. in length. Batteries for rifled guns were built at
intervals. The lines were not attacked by the English, and were
surrendered after the collapse of the Egyptian army at Tell el-Kebir.
17 m., Kafr ed-Dawar Stat., a favourite rendezvous of Alexandrian
sportsmen. Wild boar are often found in the neighbourhood.
[Five miles to the N.W. are some mounds called Nishu, supposed to be the
remains of Schedia ; they contain confused remains of stone and brick, among
which are two fragments of stone (apparently parts of the same block), bearing
the name of Ramses II., 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-eastward of these fragments, which 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 buttresses projecting here and there, to give them greater strength ¦ the
whole originally covered with a casing of stucco. The walls which are now
IS ft- high, were about 16 in number, of which 12 may be still distinctly seen,
and the spaces between them were about 215 ft. long and 27 ft. broad, bein°-


Deuli J..J ROUTE 3. — WESTERN DELTA. 31
considerably larger than the second cisterns of Carthage, and only inferior in
number and in length (but not in breadth) to the great ones there, which are
no paces long by 10, and consist of 16 spaces or cisterns. The extremity of
each gallery or cistern is rounded off, and we may suppose that they had also
the usual arched roofs. A canal, or branch of the river, appears to have run
through the level space, about 750 ft. broad, between them and the town. . The
distance of Nishu from Alexandria agrees exactly with that given by Strabo
from Schedia to that city, which he calculates at 4 schcenes, 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 that passed ; and the name of Nishu, applied to the neigh
bouring mounds and the modern village, may be derived from the Egyptian
nishoi, signifying "the boats." The mounds of Nishu are in four almost
parallel lines, the two outer ones about 250 ft. , the centre two about 756 ft.
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 between them.
Schedia was a bishop's see in the time of Athanasius, as were Menelais and
Andropolis.3 [A light Rly. runs from Kafr ed-Dawar to Damanhur (q.v. below) vid Abu
Matamir and Hosh Issa on the borders of the W. desert.]
Bordered by cotton-fields on one side and marshes on the other, the
line reaches
28J m., Abii Horns Stat. The Mahmudiya Canal here turns east
ward till it joins the Rosetta branch of the Nile at Atfa.
38J m., Damanhur .Stat. First station at which express stops. A
large town, population 22,100 ; capital of the richly cultivated province of
Behera. It occupies the site of the ancient Egyptian Timanhur (" Town
of Horus"), the Roman Hermopolis Parva. It looks picturesque from
the railway, with its Arab houses and mosques piled up on the sides
and summit of the kom or artificial mound formed by the deposits of
the successive towns which have stood here since the days of the
ancient "Town of Horus," the remains of which lie concealed beneath
it. It has several cotton manufactories and a few respectable looking
houses, but otherwise presents the usual appearance of an Arab village ;
shapeless huts and houses of crude mudbricks, relieved sometimes in
their bare monotony by the graceful outline of a few minarets, and the
dome-like cupolas of a. Mussulman cemetery ; but only really picturesque
when nestled in a grove of palms, like the hamlet on the right
immediately after leaving the station. It was close to Damanhur that
Napoleon was nearly taken. prisoner by the Mamelukes in 1798. On
being expostulated with for exposing himself to such a risk, he replied,
"Il n'est point ecrit la-haut que je doive jamais etre prisonnier des
Mamelouksi — prisonnier des Anglais, a la bonne heure." A fair called
the Molid esh-Shekh Abu Rish used to be held here three times a year,
following those of Tanta and D.esiik, and presenting the same features..
[Light- JRlys. run from Damanhur (1) to Kafr edrDawar vid Hosh Issa on
the borders of the W. desert ; (2) to Teh el-Barud vid Delingat (W.) or
Shubrakhit (E. ) ; (3) to Atfa (p. 28) on the Nile, opposite Fuah and S. of
Dertit, thence S. by river to Desuk or N. to Rly. at Edfina for Rosetta (p. 28).
Branch Rly. to 13 m. Desuk via Rafym&niya, between which and Desuk
the Nile is crossed by a bridge. At Desuk a fair and festival (Molid) in


32 ROUTE 3. — WESTERN DELTA. [Sect. I.
honour of Shekh Ibrahim ed-Desiiki, the founder of the Burhamiya or Ibra
himiya dervishes, used to be held, following those of Tanfa ana Precealng
those of Damanhur.
8 m. N.E. of Desuk is Tell Feraln, the modern representative of the
ancient city of Buto (Per-Uatiet), the most ancient capital of Lower r.gypt, ana
seat of the worship of the goddess Uatjet (Buto). who stood for a sort of divine
representative of Lower Egypt, as Nekhebet represented Upper *-gypt- An
attempt was made in 1904 to excavate Buto by Mr. Currely, for the Egypt
Exploration Fund, but it was unsuccessful owing to infiltration of water.
Herodotus mentions the ancient temple (ii. 15s), but his description is probably
incorrect, since it can hardly have been built of such enormous monolithic
blocks as he describes.]
[Rly. from Desuk to Tanta and Damietta, see p. 84.]
From Damanhur the railway passes through a richly cultivated
plain, unbroken by the slightest elevation, to
53J m., Teh el-Barud Stat. (Etydi el-Bdrud).
[Light Rlys. to Shubrakhit and Kafr Awana."\
[Branch line to 70 m. Cairo, skirting the W. desert, via Werdan and
Embaba. On the way 32 m. Tarrana is passed, the modern successor of the
ancient Terenouthis or Menelaupolis (Copt. Terenouti). The site of the old
city is Kom Abd Billuh, on the edge of the desert. It was explored by Mr.
F. LI. Griffith in 1887-8 for the Egypt Exploration Fund, Ptolemaic antiquities
and the cartouche of an unknown king named Pen-amen, probably of the
Tanite branch of the XXI. Dynasty, being found. From Werdan or Tarrana
the journey to the Monasteries of the Wddi NatrUn may be begun (Rte. 17).
A light Rly. to carry natron from the lakes to the main line at el-Khatatba is
in operation.] About 6 m. to the W. of Teh (more correctly, Etyai) el-Barud, near
the modern Nebira, is the site of the Greek city of Naukratis (Kom
Ka'if), discovered by Prof. Petrie in 1884, and excavated by him then
and by Mr. D. G. Hogarth in 1899 and 1903. Donkeys are not always to
be had at Teh, but the first half of the walk is along a good road under
an avenue of trees. After a village is reached, it leads through fields.
It had formerly been assumed by many writers that this city was situated
on the Rosetta branch of the Nile, not far from the present town of Desuk ;
but it seems beyond question that the real site was close to the modern
villages ol Nekrdsha.i\& Nebira, on the ancient " Agathodsemon " branch of
the Nile, which left the Saitic or Rosetta branch S. of the modern Kafr
ez-Zayat and reached the sea by way of Damanhur and Lake Edku. The
accounts given by Herodotus and Ptolemy agree with this hypothesis, and,
unless some future discovery should prove that Naukratis was elsewhere, we
may take it as certain that this was the spot where the Greek colonists settled
in the 7th century B.C. The town was of Egyptian origin, and bore the
Egyptian name of Pamerti. The Greek settlement lay to the N. of the
Egyptian town. The city steadily grew in prosperity until the epoch of the
Persian conquest, when it suffered from the consequent cessation of direct
relations with Greece. The foundation of Alexandria in B.C. 323 struck a
serious blow at the greatness of Naukratis, but the latter continued to exist
as a city until the 6th cent. A.D., after which it gradually sank into its present
condition, i.e. a heap of rubbish mounds with a few huts scattered over them.
Of the five sacred foundations mentioned by Herodotus, four have already
been identified, i.e. the Helleneion (by Mr. Hogarth), the temples of Apollo,
Aphrodite, and the Samian Hera ; some interesting stela; have been discovered,
and a most important collection of Greek pottery and metal articles has been
brought together.


Sect. I.] ROUTE 3. — WESTERN DELTA. 33
Mr. D. G. Hogarth's excavations have considerably modified Prof. Petrie's
conclusions. A few miles beyond Etyai or Teh el-Barud we reach the Rosetta
branch of the Nile, 65 m. from Alexandria. The river is crossed by a
fine iron bridge of 12 spans, resting on hollow iron piles. It opens for
the passage of large vessels in a very ingenious manner. A part of the
roadway, two spans in length, turns on a pivot on the piers supporting
it until it is brought at right angles to the bridge, thus leaving two
passages ; the single pillars above and below the bridge serve to support
the two ends of the part thus moved, and protect it from being injured
by vessels driven against it. The cost of this bridge, which has a
double line of rails, with a footpath alongside, was £400,000. Before
its construction, trains were ferried over. It was here that Aehmet
Pasha, elder brother of the late Khedive Ismail, and at the time of
his death, heir to the viceroyalty, was drowned in 1856. He was
returning to Cairo from Alexandria at a Bairam festival, and, as usual,
his railway carriage was pushed by natives on to the platform of the
steam ferry. Either by accident or design the protecting bar at the
opposite end of the platform was not in its place, and the carriage ran
over the edge into the Nile.
Immediately on the S. side of the bridge is
64J m. , Kafr ez-Zayyat Stat. Trains (except the noon and afternoon
expresses) stop here 15 min.
[Light Rly. H. via Bassiiln to Sd ; and E. via Shin (p. 84) to Tanta.]
[Excursion to Sa el-Hagar- ( ' ' Stony Sa " ) or the Ruins of Sais. This can
be done by light Rly. in 1 hr. vid Bassiiln. About a mile from the river
to the N. are the lofty mounds of the ancient Sais, in Old Egyptian Sa,
whose remains give its name to the modern village. These remains are
now confined to a few broken blocks, some ruins of houses, and a large
enclosure surrounded by massive crude-brick walls about 70 ft. thick, and of
very solid construction. Between the courses of bricks are layers of reeds,
intended to serve as binders ; and hieroglyphs are said to 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. These walls enclose a space measuring
2325 by i960 ft. ; the N. side of which is occupied by the lake mentioned by
Herodotus, where certain mysterious ceremonies were performed in honour of
Osiris. As he says it was of circular form, and it is now long and irregular,
we may conclude that it has since encroached on part of the temenos, or sacred
enclosure, where the temple of Neith and the tombs of the Saite kings stood.
The site of the temple appears to have been in the low open space to the W.,
and parts of the wall of its temenos may be traced on two sides, which was
about 720 ft. in breadth, or a little more than that around the temple of Tanis.
To the E. 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-Kdla'a, "the Citadel,"
from its being higher than the rest, and from the appearance of two massive
buildings at the upper and lower end, which seem to have been intended for
defence. It is not impossible that this was the royal palace. Below it to the
S. is a low space, now cultivated, and nearly on the same level as the area
where probably the temple 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 tbe western extremity, grow numerous reeds, and when
full of water it is frequented by wild duck and other water-fowl, now the only
inhabitants of ancient Sais. D


34 ROUTE 3. — WESTERN DELTA. Lkjc^0.,l.
Some low mounds, and the ruins of houses about iooo ft. from the walls of
the large enclosure, mark probably the site of the ancient town, the S. extremity
of which is occupied by the modern village. ,
There are no remains of sculpture amidst the modern or ancient houses,
except fragments in the two mosques and at the door of a house ; which last
has the names of King Psammetichus I., the goddess Neith, and the town of
Sa or Sais. , . f ,
Sais was a city of great importance, particularly during the reigns of the
Saite Dynasty, who ruled Egypt about 150 years (687 B.C. to 524 B.C.), unhl
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 B.C. ,
and introduced the worship of Athene on the shores of Greece.
At Sais were the sepulchres of all the kings of the XXVI. Dyn. They
stood in the temenos, or sacred enclosure, of the temple of Neith ; 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 1. entering the temenos ;
that of Amasis stood farther from the temple than those of Apries and his
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 isolated stone receptacle, with double doors
(at each end), containing the sarcophagus. It was from this tomb that
Cambyses is said to have taken the body of Amasis ; which, after he had
scourged and insulted it, he ordered to be burnt ; though the Egyptians assured
Herodotus that the body of some other person had been substituted instead of
the king's. This last appears to have been added to give a greater air of
probability to a story against the Persians, which there is great reason to doubt,
from the indulgent conduct of Cambyses to the Egyptians when he first con
quered the country, and from the respect paid to kings by the Persians ; and
Cambyses only had recourse to severity after they had rebelled against him.
" 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 enclo
sure, behind the temple of Athene, reaching along the whole extent of its wall.
In this temenos are several large stone obelisks ; and near it a lake cased with
stone, of a circular form, and about the size of that at Delos, called Trochoides.
On this lake are represented at night the sufferings of him concerning whom,
though much is known to me, I shall preserve strict silence, except as far as
it may be right for me to speak. The Egyptians call them mysteries. I shall
observe the same caution with regard to the institutions of Demeter, called
Thesmophoria, which were brought from Egypt by the daughters of Danaus,
and afterwards taught by them to the Pelasgic women. " Sais was the place
where the "fete of burning lamps" was particularly "celebrated during a
certain night, when everyone lighted lamps in the open air around his house.
They were small cups full of salt (and water ?) and oil, with a floating wick
which lasted all night. " Strangers went to Sais from different parts of Egypt
to assist at this ceremony ; but those who could not be present lighted lamps
at their own homes, so that the festival was kept, not only at Sais,. but
throughout the country.
From the accounts given of it, the temple of Neith appears to have been of
great splendour. ' ' Amasis added to it some very beautiful propylaa, exceeding
all others both in height and extent, as well as in the dimensions of the stones,
and in other respects. He also placed there several large colossi and andro-
sphinxes, and brought numerous blocks of extraordinary size to repair the
temple, some from the quarries near Memphis, and the largest from Elephantine,
a distance of 20 days' sail from Sais. "
" "But," adds Herodotus, "what I admire most is an edifice of a single
block brought from the latter place ; 2000 men, all boatmen, were employed
three years in its transport to Sais. It is 21 cubits long externally, 14 broad,
8 high, and its measurements within are 16 cubits .20 digits long,' 12 broad,


Sect. I.] ROUTE 3. — WESTERN DELTA. 35
and S high. It stands at the entrance of the sacred enclosure ; and the reason
given by the Egyptians for its not having been admitted is, that Amasis,
hearing the architect utter a sigh, as if fatigued by the length of time employed
and the labour he had undergone, considered it so bad an omen thit he would
not allow it to be taken, any farther ; though others affirm that it was in con
sequence of a man having been crushed while moving it with levers." At Sa'is
was also a colossus dedicated by Amasis, 75 ft. high, similar in size and pro
portion to one he placed before the temple of Ptah 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 Sa'is.
Excavations made by Mariette Pasha at the site of Sa'is have served only to
reveal its utter state of ruin, and it is impossible to fix the position, or ascertain
the plan, of any of the splendid monuments mentioned by the historian. There
is in the Cairo Museum the sarcophagus of Psammetichus II. of the XXVI. Dyn.
It was found at Damanhur, whither it was probably brought from Sais, which
is stated by Herodotus to have been the burial-place of this dynasty.]
We have now entered the Delta, and the traveller cannot fail to be
struck with the amazing fertility of the vast plain stretched out on
either side of him, divided not by hedges, but by innumerable canals
and raised dikes, and varied in its flat monotony only by the brown
mound-like villages.
75 m., Tanta Junct. Stat.^t (1 hr. 40 min. from Alexandria, and
1 hr. 20 min. from Cairo by express).
- [Branch lines : (1) to Talkha (opposite Mansura, and thence to Damietta,
passing by Mehallet Roh, Mehallet el-Kubrd, Saman-Ud, and Mit Assas, 72 m. ,
3 trains daily (Rte. 8) ; (2) to Zifta, vid Mekallet Roh and Sonta, 28 m.
(see p. 77); (3) Desdk, 46* m. (see p. 31) ; (4) to Shibtn el-K6m (r8 m.),
Menuf, 25J m. S. , situated in one of the most fertile parts of the Delta, and
Ashmun, (38^ m. ) opposite Werddn (p. 32), 3 trains daily. Between Tanta and
Shibih eI-K6m is the village of Kafr Denshwai, where, in 1906, occurred a
regrettable fracas between British officers and the villagers, in which Capt. Bull
lost his life and Major Pine-Coffin was injured. The villagers chiefly implicated
were tried and executed at Shibln.]
[Light Rly. "W. to Kafr ez-Zayyat (p. 33) ; N. to Mehallet Memlf and K. otiir (p. 82).]
Tanta is a large and important town (pop. 57,000), capital of the
province of Gharbiya. It boasts of a large commodious Stat, and a
palace of the Khedive. Near the Stat, are two Inns, one kept by a
Greek, the other by an Italian. There are British, American, French,
and German Consular Agents. The Mosque of the Seyyid Ahmed,
el-Beddwi has been restored, and is very handsome.
Tanta is celebrated for the Fairs or Festivals which were held three
times a year — in January, April, and August — in honour of the Seyyid
el-Bedawi, who was a Moslem saint of great renown. He was born at
Fez in a.d. 1200 (a.h. 596), and, having passed through Tanta with all
his family on his way to Mecca, established himself in that place on
his return, and was buried there at his death. He seems to have
succeeded to Shu, the god of Sebennytos, the Egyptian Herakles, whose
attributes have been given him by popular fancy or tradition. It is
the Seyyid whose aid is invoked when anyone is in need of strength to
resist a sudden calamity ; the effects of a storm, or any frightful acci
dent, are thought to be averted by calling out " Ya Seyyid, ya Beddwi" ;
and the song of "Gab el-Yilsara," "He brought back the captives,"
records the might and prowess of this hero. In the second call to
d 2


36 ROUTE 3.— WESTERN DELTA. [Sect. I.
prayer, chanted by the muezzin an hour before daybreak he is invoked
under the name of Abu Farrag, Shekh of the Arabs, and coupled with
El-Hasan and El-Husen, and " all the favourites of God _._„__-
Each of the fetes lasted 8 days, and those in the spring and summer
were attended by an immense concourse of people, as many ^a ^00,000
being sometimes collected together. The open space ™Hidthe town s
even now covered with tents of all sorts and sizes : the great square
gaudy-coloured tent of the rich Shekh el-beled (village , chief) with
horses, camels, and donkeys picketed round about it, and flanked on both
sides by the smaller tents of his followers and de pendants ; the, deep
oblong, equally gaudy booths of the singing and the dancing grls the
jugglers, the romance reciters, and the story-tellers ; round tents of
various sizes and conditions, from the blue-lined one of the well-to-do
felldh down to the ragged bell of his poorer neighbour; and, most
picturesque of all, the "black tents of Kedar "-the long low flat-
topped tent of camel's-hair blanket that marks now, as of old, the
temporary resting-place of the wandering Arab
Although a religious festival, pleasure is the chief object of the
pilgrims and a iewfdt'hahs at the tomb of the saint are sufficient to
satisfy every pious requirement, and to induce the hope of obtaining
his blessing. Business, however, is not neglected. The cattle and
horse fairs held during these festivals used to be the most important in
Egypt Formerly a brisk trade in slaves was carried on, and the slave
market was one of the sights of the fair. The great day of the fair was
a Eriday, when a procession took place, in which the Shekh of the
Ahmediya dervishes was escorted in great pomp on horseback, and the
Awldd Nil played an important part (see p. [36]). Belies of the saint
were displayed, sometimes in the procession. Masquerades were
indulged in, and personages and nationalities caricatured.
The evening was the time at which to see the fete at its height ; and
a walk through the streets and booths afforded many a curious and
suggestive sight. As at the festival of Bubastis, in old times, a greater
quantity of wine was consumed than at any other period of the year,
so at Tanta, greater excesses were committed by the modern Egyptians
than on any other occasion. Each of the three Tanta fairs was followed
by a festival at Desuk in honour of the Shekh Ibrahim ed-Desuki ; and
that, again, by one at Damanhur, in honour of Shekh Abu Bish.
Processions and proclamations were made at Cairo and other towns,
announcing the approach of these great annual fairs.
The same rich country continues to
87-m., Birket es-Sab' Stat. [Light Ely. to Zifta (p. 77)]. Here
the Rly. crosses the great Bahr Shibin Canal, which irrigates a great part
of the province of Gharbiya. After a run of 14 m., the Rly. crosses the
Damietta branch of the Nile by a bridge similar to that at Kafr
ez-Zayyat, and passing on the 1. the handsome palace of Kouesna built
by Abbas Pasha, and the ruins of the old town of Athrihis,
ioi m., Benha Junct. Stat, is reached in 2J to 3 hrs. from
Alexandria. Benha el-'Asal, " Benha of the Honey, is a town of 6000
inhab., the capital of Kalyubiya. It was at one time the centre of the
cotton trade in that part of the Delta, but Zagazig has now taken its
place ; nor does it any longer produce the honey from which it derived
its name. It is recorded by the Arab historians that, at the time of


Sect. I.] ROUTE S. — WESTERN DELTA. 37
'Ami's invasion, the presents sent to the Khalif Omar by the ruler of
Egypt, called the Mukawkas or ueyavxhs (Cyril the Patriarch ?), included,
among other things, a jar of honey from Benha el-Asal. Its chief
article of trade now is oranges, of which the groves all around its
neighbourhood supply large quantities to the Cairo market; and the
"Yrisuf Effendi" oranges, large juicy mandarins from Benha, are
considered the best in Egypt.
The ruins of the old town of Athribis, the Egyptian Hat-to-her-abt
(probably pronounced *Hat-hribe\, "Temple of the Land Between," sc. the
Phatnitic (Damiettan) and Pelusiac branches of the Nile, lie to the N.E. of
the modern village called Atrib. An excursion to the mounds can be made
from Cairo in a few hours. They present somewhat the appearance of a
huge deserted brickfield, with here and there heaps of red cinders. The town
appears to have been of considerable extent, nearly a mile in length E. and W. ,
and \ m. N. and S. It was intersected by two main streets crossing each
other nearly at rt. 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 the outer side. Most of the objects
found at Athribis have been of Greek or Roman date ; but that it possessed
buildings of older time is certain, not only from the antiquity of the place, but
from a monument found there of a granite lion bearing the name of Ramses II. ,
which has been brought to Europe. 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 certain distance, about 2000 ft., and are closed at the eastern
end, so that they suit neither of these two. Many of the houses of the town
have been burnt, as is frequently the case in Egyptian towns ; and parts of tbe
mounds have been used for tombs, doubtless in after-times, when the limits of
the inhabited part were contracted. They may therefore be referred to a late
Roman or Christian epoch, 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 accounted for. The mounds are constantly decreasing in size, owing
to the crude-brick dust, of which they are chiefly composed, being taken away
for repairing embankments, manuring the land, &c. During this process
objects of value are occasionally found.
[Benha is the junction for the main line to Zagazig and Ismailiya, for Port
Said and Suez (p. 38). Branch to Mit Berdh (p. 77). A light Rly. runs along
the r. bank of the Nile N. to Mans&ra (p. 78) via Mit Ghamr (p. 77), and S.
to the Barrage via Bershdm (p. 76' ; branch to Tiihh). The usual Rly. route
-from Tanta to Mansura is by Zagazig (p. 41).]
2£ m. to the N. of Benha the Bahr Muizz leaves the Nile. It was
the ancient Mendesian branch of the river, and is now used as a canal.
The train next passes
109 m., Tukh (light Rly. to Bershilm, p. 76), and
120J m., Kalyiib. The Barrage (Cairo, p. 158) is about 3 m. distant
to the W. (branch Rly.). The Libyan chain of hills now comes into view
behind the Pyramids to the W. ; while on the E. appear the Mokattam
hills, and the rocky promontory on which stands the Citadel, conspicuous
by the tall slender minarets of the mosque of Mohammed Ali.
After passing Kalyiib the country becomes much more wooded, and
villas with pretty gardens and well- grown plantations offer a pleasant
relief to the eye after the unbroken monotony of the country hitherto
traversed. On the E. may be seen in the distance the mounds of
Heliopolis, the gardens of Matarlya, the plantations of Kflbba, and the


38 ROUTE 3. — WESTERN DELTA. [Sect. I.
vast barracks of Abbasiya. On the W. is the palace of Shubra, and the
magnificent avenue leading from it to Cairo. A few minutes more, and
the train enters the Stat, of
129 m., Cairo* (see p. 86). Omnibuses and carriages await the
traveller, who, if he has no one to meet him, should put himself into
the hands of the commissionaire of the hotel to which he intends to go.

ROUTE 4.
The Eastern Delta: Cairo to Zagazig, Ismailiya,
Port Said, and Suez.
Rly. vid Benha ok Belbes.
[Ely. Cairo to Ismailiya (95 m.), express as Jar as ZagSzig via Benha, 3 trains daily,
in Si hrs. Fares : 1st cl., P.T.70, 2nd cl., P.T.35 ; return ticket, P.T.150 and P.T.53.
To Port Said (145 m. ) vid Benha, 3 trains daily, in H to 6} hrs. Fares : P.T.97,
P.T.48{. To Suez (148 m.) vid Benha, 2 trains daily (change at Ismailiya), in 8 hrs.
Fai-es : 1st cl., P.T.97, 2nd cl., P.T.49; return ticket, valid for 1 week, P.T.145 and
P.T.73. Restaurant car by 2 trains daily. .
Rly. Cairo to Ismailiya (93£ m.), by ordinary train vid Beltes and Zagazig, 3 trains
daily, in 41 to 5 hrs. ]
Leaving the Cairo Central Stat., the express trains (see above) run
N. vid Kalyiib Stat. (8J m.), on the Alexandria line, as far as Benha Stat,
(28 m.). For this portion of the route, see pp. 37, 38. They then turn
E., passing the Stats, of Slieblanga (34 m.), Mit Tazid (38 m.), Minet
el-Kamh (39 m.), Gedida (42 m.), and Zankaliin (46 m.), to
50 m., Zagazig Stat.* (See below, p. 41).
The route from Cairo (Central Stat.) vid Belbes to Zagazig follows a
branch line, not used by the express trains, which diverges N.E. from
the main line to Alexandria at
8§ m., Kalyiib Stat. (p. 37). Passing through a fertile country we
reach 13J m., Nawa Stat., where there is a jam factory.
19J m., Shibin el-Kanater Stat.
[Light Rlys. run W. to Tukh (8 m.) and S. to Slrlaktls (9 ra., p. 150.)]
About 1£ m.'S.E. of Shibin are some ruins called Tell el-Yahudiya,
" the Mound of the Jews." They are supposed to mark the site of the
city founded by the high priest Onias, and called after him Onion or
Onia (Metropolis Onise). The -mound was explored in 1887 by the
Egypt Exploration Fund, and in 1905-6 by Professor Petrie who con
sidered that he had found here traces of Onias' temple, and of a
Hyksos (?) fortress and graves.
[Donkeys can he procured at Shibin, but it is a pleasant walk through the fields
to the Tell. The excursion can be easily made in a day from Cairo (see p. 150).]
Except the crumbling erude-brick mounds, which can he seen from
the railway, rising to a considerable height, and rendered especially


Sect. I.] KOTJTE 4. — EASTERN DELTA. 39
conspicuous by the pinnacle-like shape they have in so many instances
assumed, nothing of any interest • had been found at Tell el-Yahudiya
till 1870, when the felldhin of the neighbourhood, while engaged in
carrying away the brick-dust, which, from the quantity of nitre it
contains, forms a valuable top-dressing to the soil, came across some
very fine enamelled tiles and inlaid ornaments. Unfortunately no
information was given to the proper authorities of this discovery, and
everything was destroyed and -broken up, or allowed to pass into the
hands of petty dealers in antiquities. To Brugseh Bey and Prof. Hayter
Lewis we owe the description of the hall, now completely destroyed.
It was paved with white alabaster slabs ; the walls were covered with
a variety of encaustic bricks and tiles ; many of the bricks were of
most beautiful workmanship, the hieroglyphs in some being inlaid
in glass. The tiles are round, varying in size, colour, and pattern.
The capitals of the columns were inlaid with brilliant-coloured
mosaics, and a pattern in mosaics ran round the cornice. Alto
gether it must have been a splendid apartment. Some of the bricks
bear the cartouche of Ramses III. ; and if the building is to be re
ferred, as other circumstances seem to show it must be, to his reign,
the extraordinary freshness of the colours is a matter for surprise con
sidering the material in which they have lain embedded. Within the
area of the hall were two red granite pedestals. A few yards to the W.
is a large bath hollowed out of a solid piece of limestone, with steps
cut out of the interior, and close to it a plunge bath, with signs of
more alabaster pavement. Still farther to the W. is a large fragment
of limestone, covered with well-executed sculptures. Ramses III. is
seated, and two figures, a male and a female, are offering him a sort of
circular fan, representing apparently a bush or tree with the ankh or
emblem of life in it ; the female is grasping a papyrus stem ; Ramses'
outstretched right hand holds a lotus. The original hieroglyphs in
some parts appear to have been covered with plaster, in which fresh
inscriptions have been cut. Portions of statues and other remains, of
the time of Seti I. and Ramses II., have been discovered here, but by
far the greater number of cartouches are those of Ramses III. Close
by is an ancient Hebrew necropolis, the graves of which are of the type
known as fours a cercueils. Some of the tablets from these tombs are
now in the Cairo Museum, and bear a striking resemblance to those
discovered at Sidon.
The view from the top of the mounds is very fine. To the S. are
seen the Pyramids and Cairo, with the Citadel standing prominently
out at the projecting angle of the Mokattam hills ; in the same
direction is the obelisk of Heliopolis. A short distance to the E.
stretches the desert ; while to the N. and W. lies some of the most
fertile and richly wooded land in Egypt. In the months of January
and February, when the plain is brightly green with the growing crops,
and the foliage of the trees, which are unusually abundant in, this part
and add so much to the beauty of the landscape, is in full luxuriance,
a finer bit of scenery, or one more unlike the typical Egyptian pay sage,
can hardly be imagined.
Josephus gives a curious account of the foundation of Onion, and the
building of the temple there. The son of Onias the high priest, who bore the
same name as his father, having fled from Antiochus, king of Syria, took
refuge at Alexandria in the time of Ptolemy Philometor. Seeing that Judaea


40 KOUTE 4. — EASTEEN DELTA. [Sect. 1.
was oppressed by the Macedonian kings, and being desirous to acquire
celebrity, he resolved to ask leave of Ptolemy and Cleopatra to build a ^temp e
in Egypt, like that of Jerusalem, and to ordain Levites and priests ou t oi tneir
own stock. To this he was also stimulated by a prophecy oi isaian , wno
predicted that there should be a temple in Egypt built by a jew. xit.
therefore wrote to Ptolemy expressing this wish, and saying he had tound a
very fit place in a castle that received its name from the country, Diana Me
represented it as abounding with sacred animals, full of- mat enals ^en down,
and belonging to no master. He also intimated to the king that the Jews
would thereby be induced to collect in Egypt, and assist him against An o-
chus. 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
animals, granted him permission; and the temple was accordingly erected,
though smaller and poorer than that of Jerusalem. Josephus afterwards states
that 'the place was 180 stadia distant from Memphis ; that the nome was called
of Heliopolis ; the temple was like a tower (in height?), of large stones and
6o cubits high ; the entire temple was encompassed by a wall of burnt onck,
with gates of stone. In lieu of the candlestick he made a lamp ot 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 ot 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 sur
rounded by Egyptians ; perhaps because it had associations connected with
the abode of the ancestors of the Jews in Egypt, whence they started with a
high hand, and freed themselves from the bondage of Pharaoh.
Other Jewish cities seem afterwards to have been built in this district, and
these, whose mounds still remain and are known at the present day by the
same title as the one under consideration, are probably of the "five cities in
the land of Egypt," which, according to Isaiah, were " to speak the language
of Canaan." They continued to be inhabited by Jews till a late period. It
was from them that Mithridates of Pergamos received so much assistance
when on his way to assist Julius Cassar ; and the 500 who were embarked by
jElius Gallus against Arabia appear to have been from the same district. And
though Vespasian, after the taking of Jerusalem, had suppressed their religious
meetings in the Heliopolite nome, they continued to be established in many
parts of Egypt, independently of the large quarter they possessed in Alexandria,
from which they were expelled by the persecutions of the orthodox Cyril.
Continuing our journey through a very fertile and wooded country,
quite different in aspect from the monotonous plain through which the
Rly. passes between Alexandria and Cairo, we reach Belbes.
[Light Blys. W. to Minet el-Kamh (see p. 38), and N. to Abu Hammad (p. 43), and
Ami Ke Dir (p. 71).]
35J m., Belbes Stat. This village is the successor of Bubastis Agri ;
in Coptic, Phelbes. Near it passed the ancient canal that led to the
Bitter Lakes and thence to the Red Sea, whose bed may still be traced
to a considerable distance in that direction. The new Fresh-water Canal
from Cairo, which joins the old one from Zagazig to Ismailiya and
Suez, and so provides water communication between Cairo and the Red
Sea, passed by Belbes, and follows in fact the course of the old one above
mentioned. About 4 m. S. of Belbes, close to the village of Gheta on
the E. side of the Ismailiya Canal, is a large Roman settlement.
Belbes was the first halting-place of the English cavalry on their march
to Cairo after the fight of Tell el-Kebir on the 13th September, 1882,
Passing by
42J m., Borden Stat., the line reaches


Sect. I.] EOUTE 4. — EASTEEN DELTA. 41
48J m., Zagazig- Stat.
Za.ga.zig * (ez-Zakdzik) is the chief town of the Sherkiya province,
with over 35,000 inhab. P.O. ; T.O. ; locandas. The town is of great
commercial and strategic importance, owing to its position. It lies at
the mouth of the Wadi Tilmilat, the route to Ismailiya and the Suez
Canal, and at the beginning of that to es-Salhiya and Palestine
(p. 214). It is also the Rly. junction of the routes from Alexandria
and Tanta with those from Upper Egypt and Cairo to the Canal and
Palestine. There is, however, nothing to be seen in it, the only object
of interest being the neighbouring ruins of Tell Basta, the ancient
Bubastis. Bubastis, in the hieroglyphs written Pa-Bast, the Pibeseth of the
Bible, and called in Coptic Poubaste, derived its name, as is apparent
under all of the above forms, including the modern name, from the
goddess Ubastet or Bast, to whom the principal temple was dedicated.
It was situated on the W. bank of the Pelusiac or Bubastide branch of
the Nile, and was one of the most ancient cities of Egypt. It was of
considerable importance as far back as the XVIH. Dynasty ; but it
rose to its greatest height under the XXII. Dynasty, whose first
king, Shashank I. (Shishak), having conquered Thebes, united in his
person the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, and fixed the seat of
power at his native town, Bubastis. Under Amasis of the XXVI. the
eastern branches of the Nile were neglected for the purpose of bringing
the foreign trade to Sa'is on the Canopic branch, and Bubastis, with'
Tanis and Mendes, gradually declined ; but it retained enough mag
nificence to excite the admiration of Herodotus, when he visited it a
few years later. He describes it as standing higher than any other
place in Egypt, and ascribes this to the fact that at one time capital
punishments were abolished in Egypt, and the criminal was, " according
to the nature of his offence, set to raise the ground in a greater or less
degree in the neighbourhood of the city to which he belonged" — a
statement which, if true, would make it appear that the people of the
Bubastite nome did not enjoy a very good reputation, since their
capital was raised more than that of any other town. The beauty of
the temple of " the goddess Bubastis " (Bast) induced him to give an
unusually minute description of it.
"'Other temples,' he says, 'may be grander, and may have cost more in
the building, but there is none so pleasant to the eye as this of Bubastis.' He
then proceeds to describe it. ' The temple forms a peninsula surrounded 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 r. and 1. They are
each 100 feet broad and shaded with trees. The gateway is 60 feet in height,
and is ornamented with beautiful figures 6 cubits (9 ft.) high. The temple is
in the middle of the town ; and as you walk round you look down upon it on
every side; for the town, 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 furlong. At the entrance is a way paved with stones about 3
furlongs long and about 4 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 Hermes. '


42 EOUTE 4. — EASTEEN DELTA. L>Jt.<A I.
"This account of the position of the temple of Bubastis is very accurate.
The height of the mound, the site of the temple in a low space beneath the
houses, from which you look down, upon it, are the very peculiarities which
anyone would remark on visiting the remains of Tell Basta. One street,
which Herodotus mentions as leading to the temple of Mercury, is quite
apparent, and his length of 3 stadia (furlongs) falls short of its real length,
which is 2250 ft. Oh the way is the square he speaks of, 900 it. from the
temple of Bast (Bubastis), and apparently 200 ft. broad, though now much
reduced in size by the fallen materials of the houses that surrounded it. Some
fallen blocks mark the position of the temple of Mercury (Hermes), but the
remains of that of Bast are rather more extensive, and show that it measured
about 500 feet in length. We may readily credit the assertion of Herodotus
respecting its beauty, since the whole was of the finest red granite, and was
surrounded by a sacred enclosure about 600 feet square, beyond which was a
larger circuit, measuring 940 feet by 1200, containing the minor one and the
canal he mentions, and once planted, like the other, with a grove of trees. . . .
Amidst the houses on the N.W. side are the thick walls of a fort, which
protected the temple below ; and to the E. of the town is a large open space
enclosed by a wall, now converted into mound.*. " — Rawlinson's ' Herodotus.'
The historic names found among the sculptures are those of
Ramses II. , Osorkon I., and Amyrtaios. In the spring of 1887 M.
Naville, acting for the Egypt Exploration Fund, commenced a series
of excavations at Bubastis, which were continued until 1889. The
temple, with its four halls, could distinctly be traced. Outside the
door of the first hall were two statues of Hyksos type, one of which is
now in the British Museum. Beyond was the celebrated Festival Hall
of Osorkon II. Farther west was another hall, supported by pillars
alternately of circular form, with lotus or palm-leaf capitals, and square,
with Hathor-head capitals. At the end of the temple was a large
unfinished chamber containing the shrine of Bast, the tutelary deity.
Inscriptions extending over a period of 4000 years have been found
at Bubastis; the oldest contains the "Ka" name of Khufu, of the
IV. Dynasty, the builder of the Great Pyramid, and that of Khafra,
his successor; the most modern dates from the time of Ptolemy
Euergetes II. The site was literally strewn with the ruins of colossal
figures, pillars, tablets, &c. Among the most interesting fragments
which were cleared were two colossal heads and part of the seated
figure of a king, which, from its resemblance to the San androsphinxes,
is thought to be the portrait of a XII. Dynasty king; some statues
of the so-called "Hyksos" type — more probably belonging to kings of
the XIII. Dynasty (one, reinscribed with the name of Osorkon II. of
the XXII. Dynasty, is in the British Museum) ; the lower part of a
statue of the same workmanship, bearing the name of King Khian, a
Hyksos monarch, see p. [89] (Cairo Museum) ; a red granite slab carved
in low relief with the portraits of Osorkon II. and his wife Queen
Karoama ; a very fine Hathor-head capital in red granite (both in the
British Museum) ; a black granite statue of the goddess Bast, and part
of the shrine of Nekhtherheb. An overthrown pylon of Osorkon H
was discovered ; the sculptures on it were of great interest as describing
an important festival in all its details.
It was within the temenos of this famous temple that the joyous
festival of Bast took place, which is well described bv Herodotus
(ii. 60). J
"When the Egyptians travel to Bubastis," says Herodotus, " they do so


Sect. I.] EOUTE 4. — EASTEEN DELTA. 43
in this manner. Men and women sail together, and in each boat there are
many persons of both sexes. Some of the women make a noise with rattles,
and some of the men blow pipes during the whole journey, while the other
men and women sing and clap their hands. If they pass a town on the way,
they lay to, and some of the women land and shout and mock at the women of
the place, while others dance and make a disturbance. They do this at every
town that lies on the Nile ; and when they arrive at Bubastis they begin the
festival with great sacrifices, and on this occasion more wine is consumed
than during the whole of the rest of the year. All the people of both sexes,
except the children, make a pilgrimage thither, about 700,000 persons in all, as
the Egyptians assert."
In these and other ruins of the Delta certain peculiarities may. he
observed, in -which they differ from those of Upper Egypt. In the
latter the walls of the temples are sandstone, and the columns built of
several pieces, and granite is confined to obelisks, statues, doorways,
and to the adyta of some remarkable monuments. In the Delta the
temples themselves are in great part built of granite, and the porticoes
and vestibules have columns of a single block of the same materials.
[Prom Zagazig diverges N. the line to Es-Salhiya and Mausura (Rte. 6). Light
Rlys. N. to Diarb Nigm and Simbelldwdn (p. 75), and to Kanayat, Sahrdght, and Mit
Ghamr (p. 77).]
After leaving Zagazig, the Rly. follows more or less closely the
direction of the. Fresh-water Canal, which is the modern represen
tative, during part of its course, of the canal cut by the ancients to
serve as a means of communication between the Nile and the Red Sea,
and, known by different names at different epochs. The history of
this canal will be found preceding the description of the Suez Canal
(p. 51). Passing through a rich and fertile country, we reach
54$ m., Abu el-Akhdar Stat. To the S.ms the village of Saft el-
Henna, where once stood a town for which Ramses II. built a
temple. Close by was found a black granite statue of this king. A
notable monument once stood here in the shape of a monolithic
granite shrine, measuring 7 feet by 6 feet, which had been dedicated
to the deities of the eastern nome (the Wadi Tumilat) by Nekhtnehf,
the last native king of Egypt, about 360 B.C. It was broken to pieces
by a local native magnate, who hoped to find gold in it. The site was
explored by Prof. Naville in 1884.
58$ m., Abu Hammad Stat. From this point the Rly. may be said
to form the line between the cultivated land and the desert. On the one
side are nothing but sandy hillocks stretching away to the horizon,
while on the other, a short distance from, if not close to, the line, is
luxuriant vegetation, produced and nurtured by the life-giving canal.
Abu. Hammad is a pretty village, and one of the stations on the caravan
route between Egypt and Syria vid Salhiya.
[Light Ely. N. to Abu Kebtr (p. 71) and S. to Belbes.]
The district through which we have just passed, between Zagazig
and Abu Hammad, is probably the "Land of Goshen" of Hebrew
tradition, where the forefathers of the Israelites settled during their
sojourn in Egypt. We now pass from this tract, and from the Delta
proper, into the Wadi et-Tumilat, a narrow isthmus of cultivated land,
Borne 30 miles long, with desert on either hand, which joins Egypt
proper with the Suez Canal district. The water on which this stretch


44 EOTJTE 4. — EASTEEN DELTA. |_SeCt. I.
of cultivated wadi depends is supplied by the well-known Ismailiya
Canal, the "fresh-water" canal, as opposed to the sea-water canal of
Suez proper. This canal was made in order to supply the Suez Canal
works with water in 1858-63. The whole district of the Wadi was
purchased by the Suez Canal Company of Said Pasha for ±,74,000 and
during the short time in which it was their property, great agricultural
improvements were begun. In 1863, however, it was resold to the
Egyptian Government, in accordance with the terms of the Emperor
Napoleon's award (see p. 54).
Some sort of canal has always existed through the Wadi Tumilat. There
was probably one in Ramesside times, and both Necho and Darius endeavoured
to reopen it. Herodotus (ii. 158) speaks of it as deriving its water from the
Nile, and running from near Bubastis (Zagazig), past Patumos (Tell el-
Maskhuta), to the Red Sea. The journey took four days. Necho's work was
stopped by an oracle, which told him " that he was working for a barbarian,"
and the historian adds, naively enough for a Greek, "the Egyptians call all
men barbarians who do not speak the same language as themselves." Darius,
presumably the barbarian referred to, completed the work of renewal, and in
Roman days the canal was in working order, and bore the name, probably in
consequence of some repairs in Trajan's time, of Amnis Trajanus. The
channel of the canal was discovered by the French expedition of 1798, and was
considerably utilised by the engineers of De Lesseps, who reconstituted the
whole, so that it now runs from Cairo to Abu Hammad, thence through the
Wadi Tumilat to Ismailiya, and thence N. and S. to Port Said and Suez,
parallel with the Suez Canal proper.
64$ m., Tell el-Kebir. The scene of the battle of Sept. 13, 1882,
in which the British, under Gen. Sir Garnet (now Lord) Wolseley,
defeated the Egyptians under Arabi Pasha. The British army made
a night march across the desert and attacked the Egyptian trenches at
dawn with the bayonet, %he Egyptians being more or less surprised.
The fight did not last long, but cost the British force 459 casualties ;
the Egyptian loss being 2000. Arabi fled. Zagazig was occupied at
4 p.m. on the day of the fight ; Belbes was reached by the British
cavalry the same night, and Cairo was occupied by them on the
following afternoon. The remarkable celerity of this march was much
commented upon at the time, and caused considerable surprise among
the foreign military critics. The cemetery in which the British officers
and soldiers who were killed in the action are buried is near the Stat.
The fortifications of Tell el-Kebir are to the E. of the Stat., the line
of railway passing through them. The line does not again approach
the cultivated land till passing the village of
74 m., Kassassin Stat.
the district is known as Ras
point of view of the Delta. In the war of 1882 Kassassin was "captured
on Aug. 28 by Gen. Graham, advancing from Ismailiya, to serve as an
advanced base for the attack on the Egyptian lines at Tell el-Kebir.
The well-known " moonlight charge at Kassassin " was a feature of this
fight. Close by is Tell er-Botdba, the site of an ancient settlement,
explored by Prof. Naville m 1887 and by Prof. Petrie in 1906.
784 m., Mahsama Stat. The Fresh-water Canal at this point
leaves the Rly. and passes, at some distance to the right, a place called
Tell el-Maskhilta. This is the site of the very interesting explorations
made by Prof. E. Naville for the Egypt Exploration Fund in 1883.

it. The wadi is here at its narrowest, and
las el-Wadi, " Head of the Wadi," from the


Sect. I.] EOTJTE 4. — EASTEEN DELTA. 45
He has identified the spot as the ancient city of Pithom, and there
appears to be little doubt that this identification is correct, and that
the theory adopted by the French explorers, that the city was Ramses,
cannot be upheld.
The city, called in Egyptian Pa-Tomu, "city of Temu," the sun-god of
Heliopolis, was founded by Ramses II. of the XIX. Dynasty (see p. [90]).
The monuments which bear his name are the most ancient discovered here,
and there is no doubt that he constructed the great storehouses which form so
remarkable a feature in the ruins which have been excavated. It is probable
that he built these storehouses as depdts for provisions to supply the armies
which he led into Asia, and also for the use of the garrison whose duty it was
to guard the eastern frontier of Egypt. He also opened the canal from the
Nile to keep the city supplied with fresh water, and it is quite possible that he
employed the Israelites upon this canal as well as upon the building of the
store cities. To quote Exod. i. 11, 13, 14, "And they built for Pharaoh
treasure cities, Pithom and Ramses. . . . And the Egyptians made the
children of Israel to serve with rigour ; and they made their lives bitter with
hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the
field." After Ramses II., the king who added most to Pithom, was Shashank
of the XXII. Dynasty, who reigned at Bubastis (see p. [91]). As he had
frequently to fight with the nations of Asia, it was important for him to keep
in repair the fortresses which commanded the eastern roads. Other kings
added to the defences ; but the most important monument which M. Naville
discovered was a tablet of Ptolemy Philadelphos, which relates what was done
for Pithom by this monarch and his queen Arsinoe. This tablet, which is now
in the Museum at Cairo, gives some interesting information both as regard's the
history of the city of Pithom and of Ptolemy Philadelphos. It appears from
it that Pithom and the neighbouring city of Arsinoe were the starting-points of
commercial expeditions to the Red Sea, and that from thence one of Ptolemy's
generals went to the land of the Troglodytes to bring back elephants for
purposes of war. The city of Heroopolis was near Pithom, or this may have
been the name given by the Greeks to the old town. The older Greeks, e.g.
Herodotus, called it by a form of the native name, Pafumos. M. Naville
considers that Arsinoe must have been on the site now occupied by the village
of el-Magfar. The site of Pithom was re-examined by Mr. Currelly in 1904.
87 m., Abu Suwer Stat.
92J m., Nefisha Junct. Stat. Junction of the Port Said and Suez
lines. The Suez trains run into Ismailiya, and then back again to the
junction at Nefisha. The Fresh-water Canal also divides at Nefisha,
one part continuing to Ismailiya, and thence through two looks,
gaining the level of the maritime canal, and the other branching off
to Suez. From Nefisha is obtained the first view of Lake Timsah, a
description of which will more properly enter into the account of the
Suez Canal (p. 63).
95 m., Ismailiya Stat.* (Pop. 7200). Both hotels (see Index-
Directory) are between the landing-place and the Rly. Stat. (For
description of Ismailiya, see p. 64.)
The train to Port Said (no change of carriage) runs N. along the
1. bank of the Suez Canal, past el-Ferddn (104J m.), to el-Kantara
(116J m.), "the Bridge," where the old desert route from the Delta via
es-Salhiya crosses on the way to el-' Arish and Palestine; Bds el-Esh
(135J m.) ; Bassiia (144 m.) ; Port Said (145 m.), see p. 68. The
journey is monotonous, varied only by the occasional sight of a steamer
Slowly passing through the canal. The stations are mere settlements


46 EOUTE 4. — EASTEEN DELTA. |_oeCt. -*-¦
of the canal employes, with a few houses and a pumping-station. On
the 1. are the sand-dunes and reedy marshes of Lake Menzala. lell
Difenna (p. 66), the site of the ancient Daphnae or Tahpanhes (W.),
and Pelusium (E.), may be reached from Kantara.
[The Suez train, starting from Ismailiya, passes Nefisha on the way
south. The country is all desert, a few signs of vegetation occurring
now and then in the immediate neighbourhood of the Fresh-water
Canal, which is constantly to be seen close to the Rly. The next Stat.
reached is called
103 m., Serapeum. The train does not stop here. The French
fixed on this name from the circumstance of some ruins supposed to
belong to an old temple of Serapis having been found in the neighbour
hood. The discovery of a cuneiform inscription, and a stone on which
the Persian sun-disk is sculptured, have proved the ruins to be those
of one of the three memorials raised by Darius on the canal banks
between the Heroopolitan Gulf and Bubastis. A small branch canal
leads from the Fresh-water Canal.
We now come in sight of the Bitter Lakes, or rather of the northern
most and larger of these inland seas. Their description will he found
in the account of the Suez Canal (p. 60). It is curious to reflect that
this vast expanse of water, on which the traveller, as he passes by,
will probably see several large steamers, was, so lately as 1869, a salt-
marsh bordered by desert sand.
114 m., Fayed Stat. Not far from the shore of the Great Bitter
Lake. 127 m., Geneffa Stat. This Stat, is so named from the hills which
have been for some time seen on the rt., called Gebel Geneffa. Behind
is the higher Gebel 'Atdka. Still skirting these hills, we reach
135 m., Shaluf Stat. The line here approaches to within a very
short distance of the Suez Canal, the high banks of which may be seen
from the carriage window, only a few hundred yards off. The Fresh
water Canal, which runs between it and the Rly., here enters the bed
of the old canal of communication first out by Darius between the
Bitter Lakes, then called the Gulf of Heroopolis, and the Red Sea.
The reader who studies the account given (p. 225) of the Exodus of the
Israelites and their passage of the Red Sea will find that it has been
conjectured by some that the scene of that event may be localised
somewhere in ithe immediate neighbourhood of this place; the Red
Sea at that remote period having extended as far as the Bitter Lakes.
Continuing along the high desert land, out of reach of the high tides
which still sweep up for some distance above Suez, the line makes a
detour to the rt., and turning into the valley to join the track of the
old line between Cairo and Suez, now done away with, reaches
147 m., Suez Term. Stat.]
Suez and Neighbourhood.
[The Ely. Stat, is on the S. side of the town in Colmar Street. The line is
continued down to the docks and landing-quays-close to the roadstead, about 1* m.
farther on, but the passenger for Suez will get out at the Stat. fQr the town. The
British Consulate and the Custom-house are on the quay of the Creek near thp Stat,
Post and Telegraph Offices (Egyptian) at the Stat.]


Sect. I.] EOUTE 4. — EASTEEN DELTA. 47
Suez.* The town of Suez (Pop. 18,000) is situated near the
N. extremity of the western branch of the Red Sea, called the Gulf
of Suez. The actual town is of comparatively modern date, and
offers few points of interest. There are a few European shops and
a native bazaar, but, with the exception of a few curiosities from
the Hedjaz, brought by the Mecca pilgrims, there is nothing to tempt
a purchaser. To the N. of the town are the Government store
houses and workshops, called Ansari, formerly the property of the
P. and 0. Company ; the look, which terminates the Fresh-water Canal
and joins it with the gulf ; the Waterworks, which supply water from
the canal to the whole of the town; and, on the heights above the
storehouses (Kom el-Kolzum), the chalet of the Khedive, from which
there is a magnificent view. In the foreground are the town, the
harbour, the roadstead, and the mouth of the Suez Canal ; to the rt.
the range of Gebel 'Ataka, a most striking and beautiful object, with
its black-violet heights hemming in the Red Sea ; away to the 1. the
rosy peaks of Mt. Sinai ; and between the two, the deep blue of the
gulf. About 2 m. to the S. of the town, at the end of the causeway, are
the Quays and Harbours, which may be reached either in a boat or by
the branch Rly. line. We will suppose the traveller to go by water and
return by land. (Boioing-boat . P.T.8-10 an hour.) Leaving thejjuay
in front of the post-office, the boat passes down the narrow channel
which formerly served as the means of communication between the
roadstead and the town. On the 1. is a stone pier, leading to the old
Quarantine, where people sometimes land for the Wells of Moses.
Soon after, on the rt., begins the stone embankment lining the quays
and harbour, while the centre of the channel now marks the line of
the Suez Canal, which may be seen stretching away to the 1. On the
rt. is the entrance to the Suez Canal Company's port, marked by a
white light, and then a quay called the Waghorn Quay, on which has
been erected, by the Suez Canal Company, a statue of that persevering
and energetic individual, to whose efforts are due the re-establishment,
in the first instance, of the Egyptian route between Europe and the
East. Rounding the point of the quay, on which there is a green light,
corresponding with a similar red one a short distance farther down
on the 1., which marks the position of some breakers, we come to the
head of the roadstead, capable of containing 500 vessels of all sizes,
and the entrance to Port Lbrdhim, divided by a long jetty into two
parts, one for ships of war and the other for merchant ships. At the
head of the E. part is a dry dock, 410 ft. long, 100 ft. broad, and
nearly 36 ft. deep. On the jetty is the dock station. The whole of
the ground on which the quays and other constructions stand has
been recovered from the sea, and the successful execution of the work
is due to the enterprise and energy of the contractors, Messrs. Dussard
PrereSj the same who built the jetties at Port Said.
History. — In ancient times the site of the town was always one of consider
able commercial importance, and the city of Clysma stood' somewhere in the
neighbourhood. 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. It was called Castrum by Hierocles and Epiphanius ;
and KJU/oma (Clysma), or KAeiqyia, is first mentioned by Lucian. It appears
to be the same as the Clysma Praesidium of Ptolemy, though he places it


48 EOUTE 4.  EASTEEN DELTA. [BeC'i- *¦•
much farther down the coast. His positions, however, are not always certain ;
and a garrison would be stationed here rather than on any other part ot me
coast. To Clysma succeeded Kolzim, which is probably an Arab corruption
of the old Greek name. The name of Kolzim, or Kolzum, is still given to
some heights to the N. of Suez, and the position of the place is fixed by the
mention in history of the reopening of the canal by Omar to Kolzim on the
Red Sea. Abu'lfeda is still more precise in his position of Kolzim, and leaves
no room to doubt that it stood exactly on the spot now occupied by Suez
His words are: "At the extremity of the gulf intervening between "lor and
Eaypt was situated the town of Kolzim, and those who go from Egypt to lor
are wont to follow the coast from Kolzim to Tor.' The name of Sea of
Kolzim" has also been given to this part of the Red Sea, and it has been
conjectured that as Kolzim means in Arabic " destruction, there is some
reference to the history of the Israelites and the overthrow of Pharaoh s host ;
but, as we have seen, the name is probably a corruption of Clysma. ihe
chief historical interest of Suez is derived from its having been supposed to be
the spot near which the Israelites crossed the Red Sea under the guidance of
Moses, and the Egyptian army was drowned, but modern criticism tends to
place the scene of this event farther N.
After the destruction, in the eighth century, of the canal of communication
with the Nile, Suez became little better than a small fishing village, galvanised
now and then into commercial life by the passage of caravans going to and fro
between Asia and Egypt. Subsequently, at the beginning of the sixteenth cent. ,
under Selim 1. and Suliman II., it became a naval depot for the Turkish fleet
in the Red Sea ; but the utter decline of navigation in that sea, consequent on
the discovery of the Cape route to tbe East in 1496, and the want of fresh
water, from which it has always suffered since the destruction of the canal,
reduced it again to a miserable collection of Arab huts. The visit of Buona
parte in 1798 to Suez, and the project already conceived by him of uniting
the two seas by a direct canal, ended in nothing ; but in 1837, owing to the
exertions of Lieut. Waghorn, the route through Egypt was adopted for the
transit of the Indian mail, and, a few years after, the P. and 0. Company
began running a line of steamers regularly between India and Suez. This was
followed in 1857 by the completion of a railway from Cairo, and Suez soon
began to increase again in size and importance, and the population in i860
numbered about 5000. It still suffered, however, from the want of fresh
water, the European population being supplied with Nile water for drinking,
brought in cisterns by the daily trains from Cairo, while the remainder of the
supply was carried on the backs of camels from El-Ghurkutch and Ayun Mfisa
(Moses' Wells). The completion by the Suez Canal Company, at the end
of 1863, of the Fresh-water Canal from Tell el- Wadi to the centre of the
Isthmus, and thence to Suez, brought an abundance of Nile water to the
town, and the various works in connection with the Suez Canal, the new
quays, the docks, &c. , soon made Suez a large and busy place. With the
completion of the canal the activity of the town decreased.
Excursions from Suez.
The Wells of Moses. — A pleasant excursion may be made to the
Wells or Fountains of Moses, 'Ayun Milsa.
[According to the route taken and the time spent at the place, this excursion
will take from half a day to a day. The shortest way is to take a sailing-hoat or
a steam launch to the jetty which has been built out into the sea to communicate
with the new Quarantine, lately established on the shore of the <nilf for the
reception of the pilgrims on their return from Mecca. From this point to 'Ayun
Musa the distance is 2-J- m. , and the whole time occupied in going about two hours ;
if donkeys are required between the jetty and the Wells, they must be sent from
Suez. Or the boat may be taken down to the entrance to the canal, and then up it


Sect. I.] EOTJTE 4. — EASTEEN DELTA, 49
a short way to the usual starting-point for the Wells. Either of these routes will
take from three to four hours. The sums to be paid for boats and donkeys had
better be strictly agreed upon beforehand. There are one or two so-called cafes at
'Ayun Husa, where bad coffee can be procured, but the visitor who intends spending
the day there had better take some food with him. This excursion maybe combined
with a visit to the Bocks, the traveller lauding there on his return. J
The Wells are a sort of oasis, formed by a collection of springs,
surrounded with tamarisk-bushes and palm-trees. Since it has become,
as Dean Stanley calls it, "the Richmond of Suez " — a regular picnicking
place for the inhabitants of that town — some Arabs and Europeans
have regularly settled in it, and there are now a few houses, and
gardens with fruit-trees and vegetables. The water from the springs
has a brackish taste. Most of them are simply holes dug in the soil,
which is here composed of earth, sand, and clay ; but one is built up
of massive masonry of great age.
The Monument of Darius. — A ride of rather more than 5 m.
through the desert, N. of Suez, along the line of the Fresh-water
Canal, brings us to the fragments of one of the granite stelce, erected
by Darius to commemorate the reopening of the canal between the
Red Sea and the Nile. Traces of the cuneiform and hieroglyphic
inscriptions can still be detected upon some of them. The stelce were
erected at certain intervals along the line of the canal, and the
remains of three others of them have been found on a mound 1 kilo
metre S. of Tell el-Maskhuta or Pithom (see p. 45), a little to the E.
of the Stat, of the Serapeum on the Suez Canal, and on the side of a
mound between the 61st kilometre of the canal and the telegraphic
station of Kabret.

ROUTE 5.
Suez to Port Said by the Canal.

1. Ancient Canals of Communication between the
Mediterranean and Red Sea.
Before entering upon a history and description of the present
maritime canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Seas,
commonly known as the Suez Canal, it may be interesting to give
some slight sketch of the ancient canals of communication which have
at different epochs existed between the two seas ; premising that they
all differ in an important respect from the present one, in that, while
it goes direct from sea to sea, and is consequently entirely a salt-water
canal, they were, with the exception of the part between the Bitter
Lakes and the Red Sea, fresh-water canals, deriving their supply
entirely from the Nile, and are represented at the present day by the
Wadi Canal, and its continuation to Ismailiya and Suez, commonly
called the Fresh-water Canal. H


60 EOTJTE 5. — SUEZ CANAL. |_oeuii. I.
On the outside N. wall of the temple of Karnak is a scene of the time
of Seti I., in which he is said to have made his triumphant return from Asia
by way of ta-tenat, " the cutting," which swarmed with crocodiles, and there
fore presumably communicated with the Nile. According to classic authors-
Aristotle, Strabo, and Pliny— the traditional Sesostris, probably Kamses II.,
first conceived and carried out the idea of making a water communication
between the two seas by means of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile from
Avaris to Bubastis, and then by rendering navigable the irrigation canal which
already existed between the latter town and Heroopolis, which would appear,
from M. Naville's recent discoveries, to have been near Tell el-Maskhuta,
the site of the ancient city of Pithom. Several monuments bearing the
cartouche of Ramses II. were found at this spot (see p. 451- As this king
built the city of Pithom, it is very probable that he also made a canal to
conduct the waters of the Nile. Necho's canal tapped the Nile at Bubastis,
near Zag&zig, and followed almost the line of the modern Wadi Canal to
Heroopolis, which at that time was a port ; the Red Sea, it must be remembered,
reaching much farther inland than now, and being called in this upper portion
(now separated from the main sea, and known as the Bitter Lakes) the
Heroopolite Gulf. The length of the canal as given by Pliny, of 62 Roman
miles, = about 57 English ones, would agree, allowing for the sinuosities of the
valley traversed, with the distance between the site of old Bubastis, near
Zagazig, and the present head of the Bitter Lakes, in the neighbourhood of
Serapeum. The length given by Herodotus of much more than 1000 stadia
(114 m. ), must be considered as including the whole distance between the two
seas, both by the Nile and the canal. The story of Herodotus that 120,000
men perished in cutting the canal is probably an exaggeration, and the reason
which he assigns for Necho's desisting from his undertaking — the warning of
an oracle "that he was labouring for the barbarian" — does not seem very
credible. The more likely reason was the idea, then prevalent, that the Red
Sea was considerably above the level of the Delta, and that if the Nile was
made to communicate with that sea, not only would a great part of the country
be inundated by the latter, but the salt water would penetrate some way
up the river and render it undrinkable. This reason, however, would require
the absence of all knowledge of locks, and even sluices, by the ancient
Egyptians. The work of Necho was continued by Darius, the son of Hystaspes
(520 B.C. ) ; and the natural channel of communication between the Heroopolite
Gulf and the Red Sea, which already, probably in the time of Necho, had
begun to silt up, having become, in the 100 years that had elapsed since then,
completely blocked, was cleared out and rendered navigable. Traces of this
canal, which was about ten miles long, can be distinctly seen in the neighbour
hood of Shaluf near the S. end of the Bitter Lakes,. and the present Fresh
water Canal follows its course for some distance between that point and Suez.
Several Persian monuments were found by Lepsius in this part of the Isthmus,
commemorating this work of Darius ; and on one of them the name of Darius
is written in the Persian cuneiform character, but enclosed in a cartouche of
Egyptian form. It will be seen, then, that up to this time the transit between
the two seas was effected thus : ships sailed up the Pelusiac branch of the
Nile to Bubastis and thence along the canal to Heroopolis, where their cargo
was transhipped to Red Sea vessels.
This inconvenient transhipment of cargo was remedied by the next
Egyptian sovereign, Ptolemy Philadelphos (285 B.C.), who made the water
communication between the two seas his care. M. Naville found at Tell el-
Maskhrita a most interesting tablet of this king, which informs us that Pithom,
or Heroopolis, and the neighbouring city of Arsinoe were the starting-points of
commercial expeditions to the Red Sea; the tablet alludes to a canal which
seems to have led from the city to the head of the Red Sea. In addition to
cleaning out and thoroughly restoring the two canals, he joined the fresh'


Sect. I.] KOTJTE 5.-— SUEZ CANAL. :- 61
water canal with the Heroopolite Gulf by means of a lock and sluices, which,
while it permitted the passage of vessels, prevented the salt 'water from
mingling with and spoiling the fresh. At the point at which the canal between
tbe. Heroopolite Gulf and the Red Sea joined the latter he founded the town
of Arsinoe. Whether the next sovereign who took means fo restore the line of com
munication between the two seas, which, as we know, was impassable in the
time of Cleopatra (B.C. 31), was Trajan or Hadrian (a.d. 98-138), is uncertain.
The Nile had almost entirely deserted the Bubastite or Pelusiac branch, and
therefore, it would be necessary to tap it at a much' higher point; and the
traditional name of Amnis Trajanus given to the old canal, which leaves the
Nile near Old Cairo, and formerly joined the old line of Canal' to the Bitter
Lakes, seems to point to that as having been the hew canal eut by Traj'an to
join the old one, which he also cleaned out and rendered' again' navigable.
But it is very doubtful whether any work of this kind, beyond repairs, was
undertaken in the time, of the Romans ; and it is more probable that the
new canal above mentioned was the work of 'Amr, when ordered by the
Khalif Omar to send supplies of corn to Mecca and Medina and the whole
of the Hedjaz, then (a.d. 639) suffering severely from famine. It joined the
old canal near the latter's former point of departure in the neighbourhood of
old Bubastis.
In return for the anxiety thus displayed for the Holy Cities, and Arabia
generally, Omar received the flattering title of ' ' Prince of the' Faithful " (Amir
el-Mumanin), which was thenceforward adopted by his ' successors in the
Khalifate. One hundred and thirty-four years after, El-Mansur AMI Ga'far, the
second Khalif of the Abbaside, Dynasty, and the founder of Baghdad, is said
to have closed this canal, to prevent supplies being sent to brie of the descend
ants of Ali, who had revolted at Medina. Since that, time it has rerhained
unopened, though some assert" thaf the Sultan Hakim once more rendered it
available for the passage of boats, in A.D. iqoo, 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 Sh£kh Han§dik, near Tusum and the Bitter Lakes.
The old canal, which left the Nile at Cairo, had long ceased to flow much
farther than the outskirts of the city, and the still more ancient one from the
neighbourhood of Bubastis; now known as the Wadi Canal, extended only a
few miles in the direction of the Isthmus, as far as Kassasin, when the necessity
for supplying the labourers with fresh water along the line of the' Suez Canal
induced the Company in 1861 to prolong it from Kassasin to the centre of the
Isthmus, and afterwards in 1863 to carry it on to Suez. In one or two
places the bed of the old canal was cleared out and made to serve for the new
one. Its level is about 20 ft. above that of the Suez Canal, which it joins at
Ismailiya by means of two locks ; and the same difference of level between it
and the Red Sea is remedied by means of four locks between Nefisha and Suez.
The average depth of water at high Nile is 6 ft., and at low Nile 3 ft. This
canal, called the Ismailiya, leaving the Nile at Kasr en-Nil and ' passing by
Heliopolis and Belbes, restores the line of water communication between the
Nile and the Red Sea as it existed perhaps in the time of Trajan, certainly in
the time of Omar ; but its importance as a means of transit is purely lbcal-and
internal. Another canal from Zagazig joins the Ismailiya at. Abu.- Hammad,
not far from Tell el-Kebir.
2. Various Modern Projects for connecting the two Seas.
' We have seen that all the' more enlightened sovereigns who ruled
Egypt at different. periods paid special attention to the means of transit
E 2


52 EOUTE 5. — SUEZ CANAL. [toec^ *•
through that country between the East and the West ; and so much
so, that Ptolemy Philadelphos, one of the chief restorers of the canal
communication between the Mediterranean and Red Sea, founded
another line of route through Egypt from Myos Hormos and Berenikg
on the Red Sea, to Koptos on the Nile, near Thebes. And this route
continued to be of great importance up to the time of the discovery of
the Cape passage by Vasco da Gama in 1497, from which time all the
overland routes between East and West, both through Asia and Africa,
were gradually abandoned. About the same date the Venetians, who
had almost a monopoly of the trade with the East through Egypt
and thence down the Red Sea, were much troubled by the Portuguese
taking away their commerce by means of the Cape route, and there
appears little doubt that the Doge of Venice considered the possibility
of having a canal cut through the Isthmus of Suez. Negotiations
were begun between the Venetian Republic and the Sultan of Egypt,
El-Ghuri, but were put a stop to by the Turkish invasion in 1517, after
which all idea of cutting a canal was given up.
The first in more comparatively modern times to take up the subject of a
water communication between the two seas was Napoleon Buonaparte. After
having in 1798 examined himself the traces of the old canal of Necho and his
successors, he ordered M. Lepere to survey the Isthmus and prepare a project
for uniting the two seas by a direct canal. The result of the French engineer's
labours yas to discover a difference of 30 ft. between the Red Sea at high
water and the Mediterranean at low ; and as this inequality of level seemed
to preclude the idea of a direct maritime canal, the following compromise was
recommended : — 1. A fresh-water communication between Alexandria and the
Bitter Lakes in the following manner : (a) Canal from Alexandria to Ramaniya
on the Rosetta branch, (b) Rosetta branch to Cairo, (c) Canal from Cairo by
the Wadi Tumilat in the old line to the Bitter Lakes, which were to be filled
with fresh water, and closed at the S. end by a lock, (d) Sea canal to Suez.
2. Direct communication between the two seas by (a) the sea canal from Suez
to the Bitter Lakes, and (b) a fresh-water canal from the Bitter Lakes to
Pelusium. This report was not finished till after the evacuation of Egypt by the
French, and circumstances prevented any attempt at its execution. Although,
owing to the exertions of Lieutenant Waghom, the route through Egypt was
chosen in 1837 for the transmission of the mails between England and India,
and the P. and O. Company established a service of steamers between England
and Alexandria, and Suez and India, nothing more was done with regard to
a canal till 1846, when a mixed Commission, including Stephenson, was
appointed to inquire into the subject. They exploded the old error so extra
ordinarily confirmed by Lepere, respecting the difference of level between the
two seas, and proved that it was inappreciable, but separated without coming
to any conclusion, leaving it to one of their number, M. Talabot, to present a
project of his own His idea was to follow the old canal from Suez to near
Zagazig, avoiding the Bitter Lakes, then take a direct line up to the head of
the Delta to the Barrage, then building ; carry the canal across the river at
this point by means of a gigantic aqueduct, and then continue it in a direct line
to Alexandria. The difficulties involved in this plan proved it to be impractic
able ; and the same verdict awaited the project of Messrs. Barrault, who
proposed to go from Suez through Lake Menzala to Damietta, then across the
Alexandria t0 ' and S° across the R°s«ta branch to
The next project was drawn up in 1855 by M. Linant-Bey and M. Mongel-
Bey, under the superintendence of M. de Lesseps, who had already received a
first firman of concession from the then Viceroy, Said Pasha. It recommended
indirect canal between Suez and Pelusium, passing through the Biter Lakes


Sect. I.] EOUTE 5. — SUEZ CANAL. 53
Lakes Timsah, Ballah, and Menzala, and communicating with the sea at each
end by means of a lock. A fresh-water canal from Bulak to the centre of the
Isthmus, and thence to Suez, with a conduit for conveying water to Pelusium,
was also proposed. This project was in 1856 submitted to an international
Commission, comprising representatives from Austria, England, France, Italy,
the Netherlands, Prussia, and Spain, and the following modifications intro
duced. The line of the canal to the N. was slightly altered and brought to
a point 172 m. W. of Pelusium ; this change being determined on from the
fact of there being deep water (25 to 30 ft.) at a distance of 2 m. from the coast
at this point ; whereas at Pelusium the same depth was only found at a distance
of 5 m. The locks were done away with, and the length of the jetties at Suez
and Port Said modified, and various other minor details settled. This was the
project accepted, and so successfully carried out by the Suez Canal Company.
3. Financial and Political History of the present Maritime
Suez Canal.
In 1854 M. de Lesseps, whose father was the first representative of
France in Egypt after the occupation of 1798-1801, and who had him
self been Consul at Cairo from 1831-1838, obtained the first preliminary
concession from Said Pasha, authorising him to form a company for
the purpose of excavating a canal between the two seas, and laying
down the conditions on which the concession was granted. This was
followed by the drawing up and revision of the project mentioned
above, and the renewal in 1856 of the first concession with" certain
modifications and additions. Meanwhile the British Government,
under the influence of Lord Palmerston, then Foreign Secretary,
endeavoured, for a variety of political reasons, to throw obstacles in
the way of the enterprise, and so far succeeded as to prevent the Sultan
from granting his sanction to the concession made by the Viceroy.
M. de Lesseps, however, sanguine as to the result — he had, as he
himself said, "pour principe de commencer par avoir de la confiance"
— and encouraged by the favourable reception his project had met with
in Europe, determined to open, in 1858, the subscription that was to
furnish funds for the undertaking. The capital, according to the
statutes of the Company approved in the firman of concession, was
to consist of £8,000,000, in shares of £20 each. Rather more than
half of this was subscribed for, and eventually, in 1860, Said Pasha
consented to take up the remaining unallotted shares, amounting to
more than £3,500,000.
Disregarding the opposition of the British Government and the withholding,
through its influence, of the consent of the Porte, M. de Lesseps began his
work in 1859 ; and on the 25th of April in that year the works may be said
to have been formally commenced by the digging, in the presence of M.
de Lesseps and four directors of the Company, of a small trench along the
projected line of the Canal, on the narrow strip of sand between Lake Menzala
and the Mediterranean. This was followed by the' establishment of working
encampments in different parts of the Isthmus. But, though the first step had
been won, difficulties of various kinds prevented the work from making very
rapid progress, and at the end of 1862 the actual results were only a narrow
channel cut from the Mediterranean to Lake Timsah, and the extension of the
Fresh-water Canal from Ras el-Wadi to the same point. The principal work
done in 1863 was the continuation of the Fresh-water Canal to Suez. At
this point a difficulty arose which threatened to stop the works altogether.
Among the articles of concession of 1856 was one providing that four-fifths


54 EOUTE 5;; — SUEZ CANAL. [Sect. I.
of the workmen on the Canal should be Egyptians ; and Said Pasha con
sented to furnish these workmen by conscription from different parts ,ot
Egypt, the Company agreeing to pay them at a rate equal to about two-
thirds less than was given for similar work in Europe, and one-tmra .more
than they received in their own country, and to provide them with tood, habita
tions, &c. In principle this was the corvie or forced labour the fellahin.
being taken away from their homes and sent to work at the <-anal, though
there is no doubt that when there they were as well treated and better paid
than at home. However, the injustice and impolicy of this clause had always
been insisted on to the Sultan by the English Government ; and the Khedive
Ismail, on his accession to power in 1863, perceived at once that the continual
drain upon the working population necessary to supply the Canal with 20,000
fresh labourers monthly was a loss to the country which nothing could com
pensate for. He therefore, in the early part of 1864, refused to continue
to send the monthly contingent, and the works in consequence came almost
to a standstill. Other .points of difference at the same time arose, between
the Sultan, the Egyptian Government, and the Company, with regard to the
large grant of lands made to the Company in the original concession, and
the proprietorship of the Fresh-water Canal from R4s el-Wadi to Suez. By
the consent of all parties, the subjects in dispute were submitted to the
arbitration of the French Emperor, Napoleon HI., who decided that the
two concessions of 1854 and 1856 being of the nature of a contract, and
binding on both parties, the Egyptian Government should pay an indemnity
of £1,520^000 for the withdrawal of the fellah labour, £1,200,000 for the
resumption of the lands originally granted, 200 metres only being retained
on each .side of the canal for the erection of workshops, deposit of soil
excavated, &c. , and £640,000 for the Fresh-water, Canal, and the right of
levying tolls on it ; the Egyptian Government undertaking to keep it in
repair and navigable, and to allow the Company free use of it for any purpose.
The sum total of these payments amounted to £3,360,000, and was to be
paid in 16 instalments from 1864 to 1879.
The Company now proceeded to replace by machinery the manual labour
they had lost ; and, thanks to the energy and . ingenuity of the principal
contractors, Messrs. Borel and Lavalley, that which seemed at first sight to
threaten destruction to the whole enterprise, led more than anything to its
being ultimately successful, for it may be said that, without the machinery
thus called into action, the Canal would never have been completed when it
was.; and when we look at the ingenuity displayed in the adaptation of this
machinery (the dredges were an old invention of Sir John Rennie), and the
enormous scale on which it was applied, it must certainly be considered as one
of the chief glories of the work. It may be noted that its first cost was
£2,400,000, and its monthly consumption of fuel £40,0001 A further sum of
£400,000 was realised in 1866 by the sale of the tract of land called el-Wadi,-
which had been purchased by the Company of Said Pasha for the sum of
£74,000. And, by a new convention, the term for the payment of the remainder
of the indemnity awarded by the Emperor Napoleon was shortened by ten
years, and the whole sum was to be paid by 1869.
The work now proceeded without interruption of any kind ; but at the
end of 1867 it became evident that more money would be needed, and a
subscription was opened for the purpose of obtaining £4,000,000 by means
of £20 shares, issued at £12, bearing interest at the rate of £1 per share,
and repayable at par in fifty years. Of this loan little more than a fourth
was obtained in six months, and in order to get the rest without delay the
Company obtained permission to issue bonds, reimbursable by lottery drawings,
on condition that their nominal value, should not be less than £20 that they
should bear interest at not less than 3 per cent, on the nominal capita] and
that the sum annually devoted to. prizes should not exceed 1 per cent of
the capital. -The prospect of £40,000 a year in prizes, varying from £80 to


Sect. I.] EOUTE 5. — SUEZ CANAL. 55
£6000, to be, drawn, for quarterly, in addition to the already favourable
terms of the subscription, soon brought in the remainder of the loan.,' But
money was again needed in 1869, and the Company, for the sum of £800,600,
yielded up to the Egyptian Government its right of free passage and exemption
from custom-house duties along the FreshTwater Canal, agreed to take
half only of whatever the land still belonging to it might fetch, and re
nounced entirely all special rights and privileges of any kind. For a further
sum of £400,000 it sold to the' ' Egyptian Governrhent all its establishments
on the Isthmus, including the hospitals and their matlriel, the quarry and
harbour of Meks near Alexandria, and its workshops and establishments at
BCilak and Damietta. As, however, the Government were unable to find
the money, it agreed to renounce the interest on the shares held by it .for. 25
years, and by this means enabled the Company to issue fresh bonds, called
Dildgations, for the £1,200,000. At this time, it may be added, the Company
were receiving -a revenue of about£5oco a month as their share, for the transit
receipts between Port Said and Suez, vid the Maritime Canal to Lake Timsah,
and thence to Suez by the Fresh-water Canal. -
The complicated nature of the money arrangements between the Egyptian
Government and the Company make it difficult to know exactly how far the
former had actually fulfilled its engagements at the time of the opening ; but
supposing it to have done so completely, the capital received by the Suez Canal
Company, up to the opening of the Canal in Nov. 1869, would amount in
all to about seventeen millions sterling, as thus : —
Original capital . ... . . . . £8,000,000
Indemnity for withdrawal of fellahin, &c. . 3,360,000
Sale of the el-Wadi estate  . 400,000
Lottery Loan 1868 .... ... 4,000,000
Additional Loan 1869  . 1,200,000
Total . . . . £16,960,000
The addition of sums arising from various sources of profit would bring
the total amount to considerably more than the sum stated above of seventeen
millions. Of this amount, as may be seen, £13,200,000 is interest-bearing ;
but as by the agreement of 1869, mentioned above, the Egyptian Govern
ment gave up the interest on its shares for 25 years, the value of the ,176,602
£20 shares held byit ( = £3,532,040) must be deducted, and the interest-bearing
capital would consequently stand thus :• —
223,398 shares at £20  £4,467,960
Lottery or Debenture Loan 1868  4,000,000
Additional Loan 1869  1,200,000
Total .... £9,667,960
On the 16th Nov., 1869, the Canal was opened for traffic ; not completely
finished, it is true, but Sufficiently so to enable 48 ships, some drawing 18 feet
of water, to pass through to Lake Timsah, and continue their voyage to Suez
the following day. All nations may be said to have assisted at the ceremony ;
and England forgot her old political jealousy of the undertaking, and her
scepticism as to its success, in the prospect of the benefit she was likely to
reap from this shortened route to the East. The vessels which took part in
the opening procession of course paid no rates for passage. But immediately
afterwards a regular traffic set in, the first ship to pay the dues being an
English one. By the concession of 1856 the tariff, which, it is expressly
stated, is to be the same for ships of all nations, was fixed at 10 francs
(8 shillings) per ton, and 10 francs per passenger ; in addition to which there
are extra dues for pilotage, amount of water drawn, &c, The transit dues


56

EOUTE 5. — SUEZ CANAL.

|_»ect.

were from the opening to the ist July, 1872, levied on the registered ^tonnage ,
from that date they were levied on the gross tonnage up to 29m /ipru, 1074
when, in accordance with the decision of an international Cornrmssion the
former rate was resorted to. In 1884, as the result of another Commission the
transit dues were fixed at 9 fr. 50 c. on the net ton nap the extra dues
abolished, and it was agreed to spend a sum of four millions sterling, spread over
a number of years, in deepening, widening, and generally improving the Canal
The rate was successively reduced to 9 fr., to 8 fr. 50 c and (Jan. i.ipoojto
7 fr. 75 c. per ton. The dues on passengers remain at 10 fr. (children 5 fr. ). For
the regular mail-steamers and warships there is a reduction The first year in
which the receipts exceeded the expenses was in 1872. The following table
will show the manner in which the traffic through the Canal has increased
since it was opened : —

Gross

Net

Transit



Ships.

Tonnage.

Tonnage.

Receipts.

1870 .

491

436,618

£206,372

1872 . .

1,082

1,439,169
656,304
1875 .
1,496
2,940,708
1,155,452
1878
1,593
3,291,525
1,246,129
1881 .
2,727
5,794,401
2,187,040
1886
3,100
8,183,313
5,767,655
2,261,096
1890
3,389
9,749,129
6,890,094
2,689,460
1898
3,503
12,962,632
3,411,790
1899
3,607
13,815,992
3,652,751
1900
3,441
13,699,238
3,624,944
1901
3,699
15,163,233
4,015,459
1902
3,708
15,694,359
4,148,800
1903
3,761
16,615,309
4,144,810
1904
4,237
18,661,092
4,632,739
1906
4,115
18,308,498
4,554,672
1906
3,975
4,326,476
3,975 ships passed through the Canal in 1906, carrying in all 359,616
passengers. Of the 3,975 vessels which passed through the Canal in 1906, 2,333, or
58*7 per cent., were British, their net tonnage amounting to 61-7 per cent, of
the total. Of 2,948 merchant vessels and vessels in ballast, of a net tonnage of
9,819,008 tons, 2,103 vessels were British, their net tonnage being 7,338,032
tons, or 74-7 per cent, of the total. German vessels numbered 328, their
percentage of net tonnage being 11*2. France, Russia, Holland, Austria-
Hungary, Norway, Denmark, and Turkey furnished together 13-3 per cent, of
the net tonnage of the carrying trade. The mean net tonnage per vessel rose
from 1,517 tons in 1881, to 2,067 tons in 1891, 2,926 tons in 1901, and 3,383
tons in 1906. The mean duration of passage for all vessels passing through
the Canal was 18 hours 35 minutes in 1905, and 18 hours 2 minutes in 1906.
The percentage of vessels navigating by night was 96-1 in 1905, and 96-7 in
1906. When the Canal was opened the draught allowed was 7 metres 50 centi
metres (24 feet 7 inches). At the beginning of 1906 it had been raised to
8 metres 23 centimetres (27 feet), and it is expected that on January 1, 1908, it
will be further raised to 8 metres 53 centimetres (28 feet).
Previous to the decision in 1884 to enlarge and improve the Canal at a
cost of four millions sterling, as mentioned above, the width of the Canal was
22 metres (72 ft.), and the depth 8 metres (26 ft. 3 in.) throughout. The width
has been increased to 37 metres (121^ ft. ), and the maximum draught of water
allowed vessels is now 27 ft, Many improvements have been made in the


Sect. I.]

ROUTE 5. — SUEZ CANAL.

57

" gares," curves, &c, during the lastfew years, and others are in course of con
struction. When these are carried out the Canal will have a uniform depth of
9-metres (29 ft 6 in.), a width of 65 metres (213 ft.) in the straight parts,
and 75 to 80 metres (246 ft. to 262 ft. ) in the curves ; and these dimensions are
calculated to enable the Canal to carry any traffic ever likely to be developed.
Steamers must pass through the Canal at a slow speed (6 knots) lest their wash
should injure the banks.
The financial and political difficulties encountered in the carrying out of this
gigantic work were by no means slight, but they were successfully passed
through, and the steadily increasing use made of the Canal, especially by
English vessels, shows that the saving in distance and expense offered by
this route is appreciated, and that the Canal, from being looked upon as the
"futile attempt of a clever enthusiast," is regarded as an accomplished fact,
and as affording the natural line for traffic between East and West. The
following table gives the relative distances by the Cape route, and by the Canal,
from England, America, Russia, and France, to India ; —

Vid Cape ot
Good Hope.

Vid
Suez Canal.

Saving.

England to Bombay .
New York to Bombay
St. Petersburg to Bombay
Marseilles to Bombay

Nautical miles.
10,86011,620 11,610 10,560

Nautical miles. 6,020 7,9206,770 4,620

Nautical miles. 4,8403,600 4,8406,940

Before closing this short sketch, it may not be inappropriate to notice
how much Egypt contributed towards the making of the Suez Canal. Some
idea of it may be gained by summarising certain items already referred to : —

176,602 original £20 shares
Payment by arbitration award of 1864
For repurchase of el-Wadi estate
For repurchase of certain rights, &c,
interest on shares for 25 years .
Total .

. £3,532,040 3,360,000 326,000
by renunciation ofj lj200_000

. £8,418,040

To this may be added the almost fabulous sums said to have been spent on
the festivities at the opening. This amount, however, was reduced by the sale
in 1875 to the English Government of the original 176,602 shares for £4,000, 000.
This remarkable act of high policy, which gave Great Britain a powerful voice
in the control of the canal, was suggested to Mr. Disraeli by Mr. Frederick
Greenwood. The Administration of the Canal Company is international, the Board
consisting of representatives of the shareholders. In view of the large British
holding in the Company, the voice of the British directors has great weight in
the administration.
The Suez Canal Convention of Oct. 29, 1888, signed by Turkey, France,
and several other nations, chiefly with a view of checkmating any supposed
British nefarious designs on the Canal, was not recognised by Great Britain
and Egypt till 1904, when, in consequence of the changed political situation
caused by the Anglo-French rapprochement, H. B. M.'s Government declared


58 ROUTE 5. — SUEZ canal. [Sect. I.
in Art. 6 of the Agreement of April 8 that " they adhere to the stipulations of
the Treaty of the 29th October, 1888, and that they agree to their being put
in force," on condition of the elimination of certain objectionable features .in
the treaty. The Canal will, therefore, now "always be free and open in
time of war, as in time of peace, to every vessel of commerce or of war,
without distinction of flag. "
4. The Passage through the Canal.
[The traveller must obtain information at Suez as to the- best means of going
through the Canal to Ismailiya and Port Said. A passage may often be obtained
on board some large vessel passing through (fare, £3 ; time occupied about 16+ hrs.,
if there is no delay). Or a small steam launch can be hired ; but it must be borne
in mind that if there is at all a strong wind blowing, small steam launches are unsafe
in the Bitter Lakes, and that from a small vessel nothing beyond the banks of the
Canal can be seen. If there is any delay in getting a passage through the Canal to
Ismailiya, that portion of the route might be seen from the Illy., going from Suez to
Ismailiya by the morning train. From Ismailiya there is the Rly. three times
daily to Port Said (see p. 45).]
The annexed table of the original dimensions of the Canal may be
useful for reference on the way ; — Feet.
Width at water-line, where banks are low . . . 328
Width at water-line in deep cuttings, where banks are high 190
Width at base . . . . . . 72
Depth . . . . .26
Slope of bank near water-line 1 in 5, near base 1 in 2.
These dimensions proving insufficient for the traffic, they have been,
and are still being, increased, as related on p. 56. The total length is
nearly 100 m., which may be divided with reference to the water-line
width and the character of the soil, thus : — Miles.
Plain of Suez, full width, tenacious soil  10
Cutting of Shaluf, reduced width, tenacious soil and rocks with
upper coating of sand . ... . . 5
Bitter Lakes . ....... 25
Sortie from Bitter Lakes, full width, tenacious soil, with upper)
coating of sand  ... 1
Serapeum and Tusum cuttings, reduced width, sand. 6
Lake Timsah ..... . 5
Cutting of Gisr, reduced width, sand  6
Lakes Ballah and Menzala, full width, with short sandy cuttings at)
el-Ferdan and Kantara of about 3 miles .)

41
Total . 100

The application of the electric light to vessels navigating the Canal
at night has reduced the average time of transit to 16 hrs. 18 min. A
large number of ships now pass through at night.
Leaving the roadstead, the mouth of the Canal, which is here 900 ft.
wide and 29 ft. deep, is soon reached. It is guarded at its entrance by
a mole half a mile long, which projects from the Asiatic shore and
protects it from southerly gales and from the action of the tide at
high water. This mole is built of calcareous rook from the quarries at
the foot of Gebel 'Ataka on the African shore. Past this on the 1., is a
stone embankment facing the ground on which stand the offices and
workshops of the Company, and the constructions belonging to the





THE SITETZT CAKAL

 ( Engbsli Mies

London.. Edward Stanford, 12, 13 *.- 14, Long Acre.WC

StaTifavdb ..-:¦¦-.¦ I-". ¦"-¦>¦'


KeCt. I.] EOUTE 5.  SUEZ CANAL. 59
new quays mentioned in the account of Suez. The whole of the ground
on which these buildings stand is composed of dredgings from the
channel of the Canal., Pirst the embankments were built, and then the
dredges with long ducts (a long couloir) were moved alongside, and the
dredgings deposited behind the embankments. At the point where
the channel of deep water leading up to Suez enters the Canal is a
small dock belonging to the Company. Sweeping round in a long
curve, between embankments built of the half-formed rock that here
lay beneath the upper coating of sand, the Canal, gradually narrowing
to its proper" width, passes on the 1. the old Quarantine station, and
enters what is called the
Plain of, Suez, a sort of, marshy lagoon, slightly above the level of
the sea, , extending up to the heights of Shaliif . Both through, this
plain and the higher ground near the old Quarantine station a first
shallow channel was dug by hand in 1866, a dam being left nearly
opposite the station to keep out the flow of the sea at high tide. The
channel thus cut was filled, partly by infiltration from the surrounding
marshes, and partly by fresh water brought through a narrow cutting
from the Fresh -water Canal. Dredges were then floated in, to com
plete the excavation to the required depth. The dredging here, was very
difficult, the soil being composed of very stiff clay and half-formed stone,
Indeed the strain upon the machines was so great, and the progress
made so slow, that it was found. necessary at the end of 1868 to change
the mode of attack along a portion of the plain, and proceed to excavate
a sec and by hand-labour. Accordingly, leaving a dam at Kilometre 148,
and confining the working of the dredges to the portion S. of this
point, the water was pumped out of the remaining 6 or 7. m. up to the
heights of Shaliif already dug through, and closed by another dam,
and in a short time 15,000 men were hard_at work with barrow, spade,
pickaxe, and blasting-tool?, The following notes, written on the spot
in April 1869, will give some idea of the aspect, of the work at that
time : —
' ' The whole scene along these 6: or 7 m. was truly wonderful ; such a number
and variety of men and animals were, probably, never before collected together
in the prosecution of one work. There were to be seen European gangs —
Creeks, Albanians, Montenegrins, Germans, Italians, &c. — generally working
at the lower levels, and where the tramways and inclined planes carried away
the debris. Their only animal helpers were mules to draw the waggons^ Then
would come groups of native gangs, the produce of their pickaxes and spades
borne away in wheelbarrows, or on the backs of camels, horses, donkeys, and
even children. Of these animals the donkeys were the most numerous, as well
as the most intelligent It was curious to watch them. . Seldom did the boy
whose ppst it was to. drive them , think of. accompanying .them ; he generally
Stood at the top of the embankment, and emptied the contents of their baskets
as they arrived. Below, as soon as the basket was loaded, one of the fillers
would give the animal a smack with the spade, and an emphatic ' Imshi ya
kelb ! ' ('Get along, O dog'), and it would quietly move off, and gradually
make its way to the' top ; where, the basket emptied, it would be dismissed with
ariother ' Imshi, ' and proceed down again. These donkeys would preserve an
unbroken line in mounting and descending tbe tortuous and steep incline ; and
if a stoppage took place, a shout from the men was sufficient to send them on
again. Their only trappings were the open-mouthed sacks made of shreds of
palm-leaf flung across their bare backs, forming a double pannier. The camels
had a more scientifically constructed burden, consisting of a pair of open
Wooden boxes closed at the bottom by doors fastened with a bolt."


60 EOUTE 5.— SUEZ CANAL. |_oeuG. I"
With a very gradual bend to the W. the Canal enters the .deep
cutting of Shaluf. The seuil, as the French call it, of Sh,alnfn^e™
is a plateau of from 20 to 25 ft. above the sea-level, and about b m. m
length. The surface soil down to the future y^:1™^ w mo™
was excavated by forced contingents ot fellahin m 1863. Nothing more
was then done till 1866, when the work was recommenced a sec by
workmen from all countries of Europe and such natives : as could be
procured, the soil being removed and discharged over the banks by
means of a very complete system of tramways and inclined planes A
serious obstacle was here encountered m theshape of a layer of rock
several feet deep, and extending for about 400 yds. a ong the cutting.
It was composed principally of sandstone, with varieties of limestone
and conglomerate ; the latter in some places very hard, m others soft,
as though recently formed. Fossil remains of the shark, hippo
potamus, tortoise, a species of whale, &c, were found m the rock It
has been conjectured, and not without reason, that the heights of
Shaluf owe their origin to an earthquake, which may have been so tar
felt here as to raise the soil slightly. According to the same hypo
thesis this phenomenon would have been the cause of the first
separation of the Heroopolite Gulf, now the Bitter Lakes, from the
main body of the Bed Sea, only a narrow and shallow channel of
communication being left between them. Across this channel the
combined action of the wind and tide, and the sand detritus from the
neighbouring hills, would in time form a bar, thus isolating completely
the northern gulf ; and the same causes continually at work would,
century after century, increase the size of the obstructing height,
and push the shore of the Bed Sea, little by little, farther south.
Various sovereigns of Egypt attempted to keep open the communica
tion between the Heroopolite Gulf and the Bed Sea ; and the course of
the canal first cut by Darius can be distinctly traced in the neigh
bourhood of Shaluf. Many are inclined to place the site of the
Israelites' passage of the Bed Sea near this point (see p. 225).
52,000 cubic yards of rock were blasted and cleared away. The sight
while the work was going on here was a most remarkable one, pre
senting the appearance of a huge excavated valley, of vast depth and
width, the bottom covered with a network of tramways, the sides
lined with inclined planes, and the whole swarming with thousands of
workmen. The Canal here narrows to a width at the water-line of
only 190 ft.
The banks gradually lower as we pass out of the Shaluf cutting
into the southernmost part of the Bitter Lakes, called by the French
the " Petit Bassin des Laos Amers." The so-called Bitter Lakes are
supposed to have formed in more ancient times the northern portion
of the Bed Sea, known as the Sinus Heroopolites. Cut off gradually,
as explained above, from the main sea, the waters of the gulf in time
evaporated, leaving a dry depression divided into two unequal parts,
the southernmost and smallest (Little Bitter Lake) about 7 m. long
and two wide, with an average depth in the centre of 15 ft. below the
old water-line ; and the northernmost and largest (Great Bitter Lake),
15J m. long and about 6 wide, with an average depth in the centre of
25 to 30 ft. below the old water-line. A narrow isthmus about a mile
in length, and rising at its highest point to about sea-level, formed the
separation. The bottom was a species of salt-marsh, with water a few


Sect. I.] EOUTE 5. — SUEZ CANAL. 61
inches below the surface ; but in the centre of the larger depression
was an elliptical-shaped bank of salt, 7 m. in length by 5 in width.
The excavating work in this portion of the Canal was very slight ;
only the neck between the two depressions had to be cut through, and
an entrance to the channel made at each end, the depth in the centre
being more than sufficient. But the filling this vast expanse with
water was an achievement second to none in the progress of the under
taking. It was commenced on the 18th of March, 1869, by letting in
the waters of the Mediterranean, which had already filled Lake Timsah,
and advanced through the Canal to the foot of the enormous weir
destined to regulate their flow into the Bitter Lakes. This weir, the
largest probably ever made up to that time, had been constructed in
the west bank of the Canal, with a curved channel leading from it into
the lakes ; the line of the Canal continuing in a straight line, and
being closed at the entrance to the lakes by a dam. The weir was
more than 350 ft. in length, with 25 openings, each of which had 20
doors, so that the flow of water could be regulated to any degree. The
whole opening represented about 328 ft. in length by rather more than
3 in height, and was about 3 ft. below the level of the water-line of the
Canal, so that the force of the stream pouring through was increased
by the weight of the water above it. In order to break the fall of such
a mass of water and prevent its eating back under the weir, a solid
platform was constructed, composed of piles driven in, and then joined
together by cross beams, and filled in to a depth of 10 ft. with hard
clay ; over this was a stout planking nailed to the piles, and covered
with pieces of stone, old iron, &c. ; while for 300 yds. along the channel
below the weir were placed huge pieces of rock to break the force of
the water. When all the doors were raised, from 4 to 5 million cubic
metres of water passed through in the day. Three months later a
similar weir, but of still larger dimensions, was constructed near
Shaluf, and the water of the Bed Sea admitted through it into the
southern portion of the Bitter Lakes. As much as from 10 to 12
million cubic metres of water were discharged in a day through this
weir. Altogether it was calculated that 19 hundred million cubic
metres of water, allowing for absorption and evaporation, would be
required to fill the Bitter Lakes.
The ebb and flow of the tide through the Canal between the Bed
Sea and the Bitter Lakes is, as will have been seen during the passage
through, considerable ; but the clayey character of the soil prevents its
doing much mischief, and its effect is almost lost in the vast surface of
the Bitter Lakes, on whose level it has no sensible effect. There is a
slight continuance of the ebb and flow between the Bitter Lakes and
Lake Timsah, from which point there is a slight uniform current into
the Mediterranean, often, however, checked, and sometimes reversed,
by the action of the north wind.
The line of the Canal through the Bitter Lakes is marked by buoys
at every 330 yds., forming an avenue of about 130 ft. wide ; and at the
northern and southern ends of the larger Bitter Lake, or, as the French
call it, the "Grand Bassin des Lacs Amers," is a lighthouse, 65 ft.
high, the tower of iron built on solid masonry ; the light is of the
fourth order. The sandy, gravelly surface of the soil in the neighbour
hood of the Bitter Lakes is strewn with shells, exactly corresponding
With those now found in the Red Sea— a proof that not only the


62 EOUTE 5. — SUEZ CANAL. [Sect. I.
depression of the Bitter Lakes, but the whole .of the surrounding
country, was formerly submerged. The only vegetation in the neigh
bourhood is composed of tamarisk shrubs, which often form, with the
earth and sand at their roots, high mounds, and present from a distance
the appearance of trees. To the E. of the Bitter Lakes they extend
over a large space, and looked so like a wood from a distance that the
French gave that part the name of the "Foret."
After passing through the Bitter Lakes the Canal enters the low
ground lying between them and the heights of the so-called Serapeum
(see p. 46). The greater part of this section, about 1J m. long, was
excavated a sec. At a short distance from the W. bank of the Canal
are some remains of ancient works, and traces of a cutting, which may '
be followed for some considerable distance N. It has been conjectured
that this cutting marks the course of the old canal of the Pharaohs,
and the remains of the spot where Ptolemy built the species of primitive
lock connecting it with the Heroopolite Gulf. The seuil of Serapeum
has been so named from some supposed remains of a temple of Serapis
found about the centre of the heights. The seuil itself is about 3 m.
long, and from 15 to 25 ft. high, composed of sand with layers of lime
and clay, and here and there a sort of half-formed rock, of shells
embedded in lime. The removal of the superficial soil was accomplished
here by a very ingenious and skilful contrivance. After a shallow
channel had been dug through the heights, a dam being left at the
northern and southern ends, a cross-cutting was made between this
channel and the Fresh-water Canal, distant about 3 m. to the W. and
at about the same level as the heights. Through this cutting fresh
water was admitted into the shallow channel, and into a number of
slight depressions that existed on either side ; these last being thus
turned into, as it were, closed basins communicating with the line of
the Canal. At the same time dredges were brought up the Canal from
Port Said to Ismailiya, thence passed through the locks up into the
Fresh-water Canal, and floated along it and down the cross-cutting
into the channel filled with fresh water, where they commenced
dredging at a height of nearly 20 ft. above the level of the sea. Flat-
bottomed twin-screw lighters received the dredgings, and deposited
them in the artificially formed basins already mentioned. When the
dredges had excavated to a depth of nearly 40 ft., or about 20 ft. below
the sea-level, the dam at the northern end was cut, and the waters of
the Meditenanean mingled with the waters of the Nile, which had
thus been made to render ,a novel assistance to the making of the
Canal. The cross-cutting had of course been dammed up and the
basins emptied themselves into the Canal, now fallen considerably
below their base. It was at the southern end of the Serapeum cutting.
that the dredgers encountered, two or three days before the date fixed;
for the opening of the Canal, Nov. 16, 1869, some, solid rock, which
was with great difficulty removed sufficiently to allow of the passage of ,
the vessels that took part in the opening ceremony.
To the Serapeum heights succeed those of Tusum, from 15 to 20 ft.
m height, and composed chiefly of loose sand. It was here that the
first Working encampment was formed in the southern half of the
Isthmus m 1859, and the channel, to a depth of 6 ft. below the sea level
cut by the native contingent. At that time there was no fresh water


¦Sect. I.] KOTJTE 5. — SUEZ CANAL. 63
canal to Suez, and all the water had to be brought from a long distance
on camels' backs. It was the difficulty of providing water for the
number of men at work here, that proved to the Company how im
possible it would be to meet the wants of the still greater number that
must be employed on the sections to the S. of the Bitter Lakes, and
determined it to continue the Fresh-water Canal from Nefisha to
Suez. The remaining work in this cutting was done by dredges ; the
material being carried away by flat-bottomed lighters, and discharged
near the shore of Lake Timsah. Close to the Stat, of Tusiim is a
Moslem saint's tomb called Shekh Hanedik, near which may be traced
the course of the old canal ; and a little farther to the S. are a few-
ruins. The banks gradually lower after passing Tusiim, and the view
spreads out over tamarisk-tufted sand-hills, with here and there a
creek opening from the Canal. These creeks gradually become larger,
and announce the beginning of Lake Timsah, which soon widens out,
wiih the town of Ismailiya in front of the vessel as it advances to take
up its moorings in the centre of this inland harbour.
Lake Timsah was formerly, according to the more generally
received view, a fresh-water lake, receiving, by means of the old canal
from the Pelusiac branch of the Nile at Bubastis- — traces of which have
already been mentioned as apparent in various places — the overflow of the
Nile at the time of the inundation ; and this theory is supported by the
nature of the soil at the bottom of the lake, by the vegetation on its banks,
and, above all, by its name in Arabic, Bahr et-Timsah, the Sea of the
Crocodile, which seems to show it to have been a favourite resort of that
fresh-water monster. Others, however, contend that the bed of this
lake was once in communication with the Bitter Lakes, thus forming
part of the Heroopolite Gulf, and indeed of the Bed Sea, and that the
name Bahr et-Timsah was applied, not to this particular part, but to
the whole gulf, and was given on account of its shape resembling that
of a crocodile. Both these theories are, no doubt, right in the main.
It is probable that at some remote period the Mediterranean and Bed
Seas met across what is now the Isthmus of Suez, and that the first
separation took place when the heights of el-Gisr, to the N. of the
present lake, were upheaved by some subterranean commotion. This
would place the former limit of the Bed Sea where the lake now is.
The same, or more probably a subsequent, upheaving produced the
heights of Serapeum and Shaluf, and gradually drained off the Bed
Sea to its present limit, leaving two inland lakes, the northernmost of
which, from its proximity to the Nile, soon filled with fresh water.
The abandonment of the eastern branches of the Nile, and the conse
quent drying up of the canals in that part of the Delta, deprived the
lake of its source of nourishment ; and, except when an unusually high
inundation sent a. large overplus of water down the Wadi Canal, and
along the old course into the lake, it was almost dry. The depth of
the depression was about 22 ft. below the sea-level, and the circum
ference, judging from the mark of the old water-line, about 9 miles.
The systematic filling of the hollow with water from the Mediterranean,
through the channel that had been already cut from Port Said, began
on the 12th Dec, 1866, and was completed by the end of April, 1867.
A weir was used, similar to that afterwards used at the Bitter Lakes,
but of smaller size. Nearly 100 million cubic metres of water were
required to fill the lake. The remaining 6 ft. of depth required for the


64 ROUTE 5.— SUEZ canal. [Sect. I,
channel of the Canal through the lake were dredged out, as also was
a large area in the centre, to serve as a harbour. The course is buoyed,
as in the Bitter Lakes. On the W. shore is a lighthouse, and on tbe
N. is another, slightly to the E. of the landing-place for the town ot
Ismailiya. Ismailiya Stat. ¦* (Pop. 7200).
rilailways.-Ismalliya to Cairo -(95 m.) express vid Zagazig and Benha, 3 trains
daily, in 3 to 3* hrs. Restaurant car by afternoon and evening express, lares :¦
1st el., P.T.70, 2nd cl., P.T.35. To Cairo, ordinary train vid Zagazig and Belhes,
2 trains daily, in 4i to 5i his. To Port Said, 3 trains daily, m 1£ to 2 hrs. Pares :
1st cl., P.T.27, 2nd cl., P.T.13J.
Steamer.— To Port Said, daily in about 5 hrs.]
A broad avenue of magnificent acacias, whose branches meet over
head, leads up from the landing-place on the lake, and across
the Fresh-water Canal, to the Mohammed Ali Quay, an avenue
bordered on one side by the Canal and on the other by the houses of
the principal inhabitants. The town is divided into two parts, the E.
and W., by the road leading from the landing-place to the Stat. In
the W. part are the hotel, the Stat., the landing-quays of the Fresh
water Canal, and warehouses adjoining, and beyond them the Arab
village. There is nothing here to stop the visitor in his walk. In the
E. part are the houses and offices of the employes of the Company, the
shops, the disused palace of the Viceroy, the Waterworks for sending
water along the line of the Canal to Port Said, and the streets. In
walking down the Mohammed Ali Quay from the hotel the visitor
will notice with interest a sort of Swiss chalet, the residence of
the late M. de Lesseps, and the first constructed house at Ismailiya.
Some way farther down is the Viceroy's palace, run up in a few
months for the purpose of enabling him to entertain his illustrious
visitors at the opening of the Canal. This was used as a military
hospital during the English occupation of Ismailiya, in 1882. The
leafy avenues and various small canals and uphaul bridges of the town
give it quite a Dutch appearance.
At the end of the quay are the Waterworks. These are worth a
visit. The water reaches them by means of a small canal derived from the
Fresh- Water Canal at a point beyond the Arab village. Simultaneously
with the completion of the Fresh-water Canal to Ismailiya and Suez,
it was found necessary to provide Port Said, and the line of works
along the northern portion of the Canal, with a regular supply of water
that could be depended on. Two pumping-engines were accordingly
erected at Ismailiya, and a double row of cast-iron pipes laid the whole
length of the Canal to Port Said, a distance of 50 m., through which
water is continuously pumped. At all the principal stations there are
reservoirs for storing the water, from which anyone can draw. One of
the features of these Waterworks are the gardens, very prettily laid out
with cascades and walks, and filled with all kinds of choice fruits and
flowers. Indeed the luxuriance and beauty of the gardens is one of
the chief features of this town, whose site in 1860 was a, barren waste
of sand. But it seems only necessary to pour the waters of the Nile on
the desert to produce a soil which will grow anything to perfection.
The walk or ride may be prolonged to the point where the Fresh
water Canal joins by a lock a short branch from the Maritime Canal,
and thence to the heights of el-Gisr, whenoe there is a good view of


Sect. I.] ROUTE 5. — SUEZ CANAL. 65
the deep cutting which the Canal here passes through, and a really
magnificent coup d'ceil across Lake Timsah, with the Bitter Lakes and
the heights of Gebel Geneffa beyond, and far in the distanoe the hazy
blue outline of Gebel Ataka on the rt. and the granite peaks of Sinai
on the 1. The return ride from el-Gisr may he made straight across
the desert, and through part of the town.
[The traveller may continue his voyage from Ismailiya to Port Said either in some
large steamer on her way through the Canal or by the Rly. Information as to the
hours of departure, &c, had better be obtained at the transit office of the Company,
or of the post-office.]
The marshes round the W. side of Lake Timsah abound in water
fowl of various kinds, and gazelles are very frequently met with in
the neighbouring desert. Any traveller who is fortunate enough to
have an introduction to one of the chief employes of the Company at
Ismailiya will readily obtain any information as to sport, and, should
he stay long enough, very probably have an opportunity given him of
joining in a gazelle hunt. The climate of Ismailiya is extremely dry
and temperate, there being always a fresh breeze from the lake to
moderate the noonday heat, and the nights, even in summer, are cool.
The humidity is very slight, and there is hardly any dust. Sea
bathing may be enjoyed in the lake all the year round. Fish are
plentiful and fairly good, and travellers will find good sport in the
early morning within 200 yds. of the landing-place.
[An excursion may be made from Ismailiya to Tell el-Maskhuta, where
M. Naville discovered in 1883 the site of the ancient Pithom (see p. 45). It
is a ride of n m. across the desert. ]
Passing out at the N.E. corner of Lake Timsah, the Canal enters
almost immediately the heights of el-Gisr. On the rt. is seen the
entrance of a small canal leading to the stone quarries in the Plateau
des Hyenes, and on the 1. the branch canal which joins the Maritime
Canal to the Fresh-water Canal. The difference of level, 17 ft., is
adjusted by means of two locks, one just below Ismailiya, and the
other near the upper part of the town. By means of this connecting
canal between the channel already dug from Port Said to Lake Timsah
and the Fresh-water Canal, water transit between the two seas was
begun in 1865.
The seuil of el-Gisr, 5Jm., is the highest point in the Isthmus.
It is about 6 m. long, and from 60 to 65 ft. above the level of the sea.
The soil is composed almost entirely of loose sand, interspersed with a
few beds of hard sand and clay. The upper surface was removed by
the forced contingent of felldhin, who, with the primitive tools common
to the Egyptian labourer, viz. hands for grubbing up the soil, and
baskets for carrying it away, excavated a channel from 25 to 30 ft.
wide, and about 5 ft. below the level of the sea. When they were
withdrawn, the work was continued by M. Couvreux, who completed
the cutting to its full width, and to a depth of 10 ft. below the sea-
level, by means of machines of his own invention, called excavateurs.
The excamateur was a species of locomotive engine, working behind it a
chain of dredge-buckets on an inclined plane ; on reaching the top of
the plane the buckets opened at the bottom and discharged their
contents into waggons ; these were drawn by locomotives to the top of
the embankment, along a well-arranged network of railways. The
F


66 ROUTE 5.  SUEZ CANAL. [DeCt- !•
remaining 16 ft. of depth were dredged out in the ordinary way ; the
soil being taken away in screw-lighters and discharged in the shallows
of Lake Timsah. At the top of the embankment, on the W. side, is
the encampment of el-Gisr, reached from the Canal by a staircase of a
hundred steps. When the cutting was in progress it presented a very
lively and busy scene, being one of the largest stations on the line, and
arranged with great taste and an eye to effect. The gardens were a
sight in themselves, and they were entirely the result of the water
pumped from Ismailiya.
On issuing from the heights of el-Gisr tho Canal runs a short way
along the edge of an offshoot of Lake Balah, and then enters the
cutting of el-Ferdan (4 J m), a sandy promontory running out into
the. lake, about 1J m. long. This cutting was excavated in the same
manner as that of el-Gisr. A rather sharp turn now leads into Lake
Balah, the principal among a series of shallow lakes, or rather swamps,
through which the Canal passes before entering the low sand-hills of
Kantara. These swamps are more or less full of water, according to
the tide.
The small passenger-boats generally stop long enough at el-Kantara
(el-Kantaret el-Khazna ; 21 m.) to admit of refreshment being obtained
at the restaurant. The station is situated at the highest point of the
chain of low sand-hills which divides Lake Menzala from the smaller
inland lakes. It was one of the principal caravan stations on the road
between Egypt and Syria, and the name Kantara, which in Arabic
means a " bridge" or "ford," is explained by its position as the point
where the lakes and shallows that intervene between the eastern and
western desert are crossed. This road was once one of the greatest
highways of the Old World, and served as the causeway to succeeding
armies of Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Bomans, Arabs, and
French. The traveller from Egypt to Syria by way of el-Arish and Gaza
still follows this road, and crosses the Canal at this point by a ferry Ten
miles to the W. of Kantara is Tell Difenna or Dafna, whose mounds
mark the site of Daphnce, the Tahpanlws of the Bible Prof Petrie
made some interesting discoveries at Tell Defenna. He found a large
building of the XXVI. Dynasty, which is still called " the Palace of
the Jew s Daughter," which seems connected with the flight of the
Jews to Tahpanhes mentioned in Jeremiah xliii. The fortress was
built by Psammetichus I., and this may have been the actual "house
ot 1 haraoh where Jeremiah prophesied the coming downfall of Egypt.
- 1Vn- f™™.?a°tara ^e Canal enters Lake Menzala and continues
^w^if^t 1D\ I1!?11,1* fr,2(? m' t0 Porfc Sa!d- The banks here
are but slightly above the level of the Canal and the lake, and from the
deck of a big steamer there is an unbounded view over a wide expanse
of lake and morass studded here and there with islets, and at times
rendered gay and brilliant with innumerable flocks of rosy pelicans
scarlet flamingoes and snow-white spoonbills; geese, ducks heron s
and other birds abound. The whole of the channel through Lake
Menzala was almost entirely excavated by the dredges the so" Shaving
been in no instance more than a foot or two above the level of he
lake, and in many instances below it. Where it was neclssarv to
remove some surface soil before there was water enough for the dredges
to float, it was done by the natives of Lake Menzala a hardy and


Sect. I.] ROUTE 5. — SUEZ CANAL. 67
peculiar race, whose constant practice in digging canals and making
embankments to keep out the inundation, rendered them peculiarly
apt at the work, especially when it came to digging under water.
Into the channel thus cut the dredges were floated. Some of the
inventions in connection with the working of these dredges deserve
mention. They were not exclusively employed in this part of the
Canal ; but as it was where they were first tried, and where they did the
most work, it seems the most fitting place to speak of them. First
among them was the long couloir (long duct), an iron spout of semi-
elliptical form, 230 ft. long, 5J wide, and 2 deep ; by means of which a
dredger working in the centre of the channel could discharge its con
tents beyond the bank. This enormous spout was supported on an
iron framework, which rested partly on the dredger and partly on a
floating lighter. The dredgings, when dropped into the upper end of
this spout, were assisted in their progress down it by water supplied by
a rotary pump, and by an endless chain, to which were fixed scrapers
— large pieces of wood that fitted the inside of the spout, and forced on
pieces of stone and clay. By these means the spouts could deliver
their dredgings at almost a horizontal line, and the water had the
further good effect of reducing the dredgings to a semi-liquid condition,
thus causing them to spread themselves over a larger surface, and
settle down better. The work done by these long-spouted dredgers was
extraordinary ; 80,000 cubic yds. of soil a month was the average, but
as much as 120,000 was sometimes accomplished. When the banks
were too high for the long spouts to be employed, another ingenious
machine, called an ilivateur, was introduced. This consisted of an
inclined plane running upwards from over the water-line, and sup
ported on an iron frame, the lower part of which rested over the water
on a steam float, and the upper part on a platform moving on rails
along the bank. The plane carried a tramway, along which ran an
axle on wheels, worked by the engine of the steam float. From this
axle hung four chains. As soon as a lighter containing seven huge
boxes filled with dredgings was towed under the lower part of this
ilivateur, the chains hanging from the axle were hooked to one of the
boxes, and the machine being set in motion, the- box was first raised,
and then carried along swinging beneath the axle to the top of the
plane ; then, by a self-acting contrivance, it tilted over and emptied
its contents over the bank. It was then run down again, dropped into
its place in the lighter, and the operation repeated with the next box.
No such dredging operations had ever been undertaken before ; those
on the Clyde took 21 years to accomplish, and the whole amount only
equalled about three and a half times as much as was here often done
in a month. M. de Lesseps, in one of his lectures, illustrated the
amount of excavation done in one month — 2,763,000 cubic yards — by
the following graphic comparison : "I dare say few amongst you
realise what is represented by this enormous amount of excavation.
Were it placed in the Place Vendome it would fill the whole square,
and rise five times higher than the surrounding houses ; or, if laid out
between the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde, it would
cover the entire length and. breadth of the Champs Elysees, a distance
equal to a mile and a quarter, and reach to the top of the trees on
either side."
The course of the old Pelusiac- branch oi the Nile is crossed at
F 2


68 BOUTE 5. — SUEZ CANAL. [Sect. I.
"Kilometre 34," a few miles before reaching Ras el-Esh, the next
Stat, to Kantara, a small islet of oozy mud, whose height has been
raised above the level of the inundation by dredgings from the Canal.
Near here the dynamite ship "Chatham" was sunk, and its contents
exploded in order to clear the canal (Sept. 1905). Very slight damage
was done to the banks. Not far off to the 1. in the lake are the islands
of Tiina and Tennes (Tennesus), both with remains. Some way to the
rt., beyond the marshy plain and near the sea, are some ruins marking
the site of Pelusium.
Nothing of interest occurs to break the monotonous course of the
Canal until, bending gradually to the E. and opening out to a width
of nearly 1000 ft., it enters the harbour of Port Said, and, passing the
port and the town on the 1., joins the open sea beyond the break
water. Port Said, * 100 m. from Suez (Pop. about 42,000).
[French money is current at Port Said, and prices, except at the Post-Office and
Rly. Stat., are stated in francs. This is not the case anywhere else in Egypt; and
both French and English silver and copper money are refused elsewhere.
Port Said to Cairo (145 m.). — Three trains daily. Fares : 1st cl., P.T.97 ; 2nd cl.,
P.T.484. Time taken on journey it hrs. Restaurant cars on the afternoon express
trains (12.30 p.m. and 6.45 p.m.),
Port Said to Damietta. — When Lake Menzala is full, in the winter months, there
is a regular service of native hoats between Port Said (starting from the 3rd kilometre
on the Canal) and Damietta, 36 m. distant.
The through steamers between Europe and the East, of tbe P. and O. Co., the
Messageries, the Austrian Lloyd, the Rubattino, Orient, Worth German Lloyd, and
others, all stop at Port Said. The steamers of the Alessageries, Austrian Lloyd,
Russian, Steam Navigation and Azizieh Co.'s, between Alexandria, the Syrian Coast,
and Constantinople, call at Port Said, in 18 hrs. from Alexandria, and 15 from Jaffa,
and generally stay from 8 to 10 hrs. in the harbour. Tickets, with information as to
times of sailing and rates of passage, can be procured at the offices of the respective
companies in the town ; but the traveller will do well to inform himself on these
points before leaving Cairo or Alexandria. ]
To the general visitor Port Said offers few objects of great interest
in its present state, and a walk of 2 or 3 hrs. on shore during the stay
of the steamer will more than satisfy the curiosity of most people. It
is undoubtedly a very curious place, and not quite like any other town
in the world. The strange riverside-like appearance of the quay-street,
with its boats tied up by the shore, and the row of hotels and shops
behind, first strikes the attention. Then the operations of coaling,
which are always going on, contribute an element of extraordinary dirt
and noise to the general effect. Port Said is one of the most important
coaling-stations of the world. On landing, one is struck by the chess
board arrangement of the town, the number of shops for the sale of
picture-postcards and other trumpery for steamer passengers, the
innumerable cafes, and the crowds of tumblers, jugglers, and other
mountebanks who are always performing in front of them.
The town has a small British colony, and possesses two British
doctors, one in charge of the native hospital, the other living at the
British hospital founded by Lady Strangford. The chief interest of
the place lies in its position, and the story of its foundation and
growth. From the mouth of the Damietta branch of the Nile to the Gulf of Pelusium
there stretches a low belt of sand, varying in width from 200 to 300 yds and
serving to separate the Mediterranean from the waters of the Lake Menzala ;


Sect. I.] ROUTE 5. — SUEZ CANAL, 69
though often, when the lake is full and the waves of the Mediterranean are
high, the two meei across this slight boundary-line. In the beginning of the
month of April, 1859, a small body of men, who might well be called the
pioneers of the Suez Canal, headed by M. Laroche, landed at that spot of this
narrow sandy slip which had been chosen as the starting-point of the Canal
from the Mediterranean, and the site of the city and port intended ultimately
to rival Alexandria. It owed its selection, not to its being the spot from which
the shortest line across the Isthmus could be drawn — that would have been
the Gulf of Pelusium — but to its being that point of the coast to which deep
water approached the nearest. Here 8 metres of water, equal to about 26 ft. ,
the contemplated depth of the Canal, were found at a distance of less than
2 m. ; at the Gulf of Pelusium that depth only existed at more than 5 m. from
tbe coast. The spot was called Port Said, in honour of the then Viceroy.
On the 25th of April M. de Lesseps, surrounded by 10 or 15 Europeans and
some 100 native workmen, gave the first stroke of the spade to the future
Bosphorus between Asia and Africa. Hard indeed must have been the life
of the first workers on this desolate strip of sand. The nearest place from
which fresh water could be procured was Damietta, a distance of 30 m.
It was brought thence across the Lake Menzala in Arab boats, but calms or
storms often delayed the arrival of the looked-for store ; sometimes, indeed, it
was altogether lost, and the powers of endurance of the little band were
sorely tried. After a time distilling machines were put up, and in 1863 water
was received through a pipe from the Fresh-water Canal, which had been
completed to tbe centre of the Isthmus.
The first thing to be done at Port Said was to make the ground on which
to build the future town. This was done by dredging in the shallows of
the lake close to the belt of sand ; the same operation serving at once to form
an inner port, and to extend the area and raise the height of the dry land.
When the fellahin were withdrawn, and recourse had to machinery for sup
plying their place, great impetus was given to Port Said. It soon became
an enormous workshop. The huge machines, which were to do the work
hitherto done by hands and baskets, were brought piece by piece from France
and put together in long ranges of sheds erected along the inner port. In
another part sprang up the works where Messrs. Dussaud were to make the
large concrete blocks for the construction of the piers of the harbour ; at the
same time the dredging of the harbour was commenced.
Thus sprang up in 10 years, on a site than which it would have been
difficult to find one more disadvantageous, a town of nearly 10,000 inhabitants,
with the most easily approached and safest harbour along the coast.
Fresh water is supplied from Ismailiya ; and a big reservoir, called
the " Chateau d'Eau," holding sufficient for three days' consumption,
provides against a stoppage of the supply through accident to the pipes.
The central harbour, lying between the outer port and the Canal, is called
the Grand Bassin Ismail. Joining it on the W. are the Bassin Chirif,
the Bassin des Ateliers, or de V Arsenal, formerly the busiest place in the
town, but now very nearly deserted, and the Bassin du Commerce. The
principal part of the town lies to the N. and W. of the last-named. The
best houses are situated on the Francis Joseph Quay, close to the harbour.
Here are the offices of Messrs. Thos. Cook and Son, of the P. and 0.
Company, &c. There is also a small drinking fountain, with a figure
of Queen Victoria, erected in commemoration of her second jubilee in
1897. The huge offices of the Canal Company, forming a very imposing
pile in semi-Oriental style, lie S. of the Bassin du Commerce. Behind
this is the Bly. Stat. The Post Office lies at the N. end of the town.
A short distance to the W. is the Arab village, on the strip of sand
between the sea and the lake.


70 EOUTE 5. — SUEZ CANAL. |_oeou. I-
The Outer Port is formed by the two Breakwaters or Moles already
referred to. That on the western side is adorned by a very suc
cessful Statue of De Lesseps, by the great French sculptor X remiec,
unveiled on the thirtieth anniversary of the opening ot tbe Canal
(Nov. 17, 1899). This mole juts out at rt. angles to the shore and
perpendicularly to the line of the Canal, and runs straight put to sea
for a distance of 2726 yds., and is to be continued still farther; the
eastern mole stands about 1500 yds. to the E. of the other, and runs
towards it in a gradually converging line for 1962 yds. The entrance
to the outer port is thus about a quarter of a mile wide, and the space
enclosed within it a triangular area of about 550 acres. The depth of
water at the entrance is 30 ft., and the channel through it to the inner
harbour about 300 ft. wide and 26 ft. deep. A red light is placed, at
the end of the W. mole, and a green light at the end of the E. mole.
The outer port has only depth of water sufficient for small coasters.
At the commencement of the W. mole, or rather on the seashore
close to it, is the lighthouse, one of the most conspicuous objects at
Port Said. The tower, which is nearly 176 ft. high, is composed of a
solid mass of concrete. On the top is the lantern, containing an
electric light, flashing every 20 seconds, and visible at a distance of
23 m. Three other lighthouses of the same height, though differing
in construction, have been erected along the 150 miles of coast between
Port Said and Alexandria ; one at the entrance to the Damietta branch
of the Nile, with a white light of the second order, flashing every
minute ; another at Bourlos, a fixed light of the first order ; and the
third at Bosetta, with a 10-second revolving light of the second order,
red and white alternately.
The moles are built of concrete blocks. These blocks, each of which
weighs 22 tons, and has a dimension of 12 cubic yds., are composed of
sand and lime mixed with salt water. They were dropped into the
sea from lighters three at a time, till the water-line was reached, and
then lifted into their places by cranes. The sand, which drifts along
the coast from the Damietta mouth of the Nile, has silted through the
western mole, and formed a considerable bank along its inner side near
the shore end ; but its encroachments are kept under by dredging. A
similar cause has considerably extended the shore seaward to the W.
of this mole, especially in the angle formed by it and the coast.
Another bank of sand has been formed too in the open sea, a little to
the N.E. of the eastern mole, by the dredgings from the harbour, which
were brought out in hoppers and dropped there.
Pelicans, flamingoes, herons and all kinds of aquatic fowl abound
in the shallows of Lake Menzdla (p. 80), especially in the months of
February, March, and April; but sport is difficult, as most of the
shooting is farmed out, and therefore prohibited.
The archaeological site of Tell Tennes (p. 81), an island in the
lake, lies 5 m. S.W. of Port Said. (For the excursion across the lake to
Damietta by boat, see p. 68.)


fcteet. L] ROUTE 6. — NOKTH-EASTEKN DELTA. ' 71

ROUTE 6.
The North-Eastern Delta : Cairo and Zagazig to Es-
Salhiya, Tanis, Lake Menzala, and Mansura.
[For Cairo to Zagazig vid Belbes (slow train) and vid Benha (express), see p. 38.
From Benha a Light Rly. runs N. along the 1. bank- of the Nile (p. 76) to Mit
Ghamr, Simbellawen, and Mansura. For Mansura by express vid Benha, change at
Zag&zig ; by slow trains via Belbes, crossing the Tanta-Ismalliya line at Zagazig,
there is no change. For es-Salhiya change at Abu Kebir (see below).
Cairo to Mansura (45 m.) 4 trains daily, in 2i to 3* hrs. Fares : 1st cl., P.T.63,
2nd cl., P.T.32. To es-Salhiya (84 m.) 3 trains daily, in Si hrs.]
This district has historical associations, and contains, archaeological
remains of interest. The scenery is very characteristic of the more
primitive and less cultivated Egyptian Delta. Wild-fowl shooting may
be had on the Nile and canals, but not on all parts of Lake Menzala
(see p. 81). For shooting purposes an Arab flat-bottomed boat should
be hired at Mansura, or elsewhere.
See p. 38 for the route from Cairo to 50 m. , Zagazig Stat. Leaving
Zagazig, the line traverses a fertile district to 1
58 m., Hehia Stat., on the Muizz Canal (Light Bly. to Ibrahimiya,
i m. N.W.), and
64 m., Abu Kebir Junction.
[Light Rly. to Ibrahimiya (7 m. ) and Diarb Nigm, vid (3 m.) Harbet, the
ancient Pharbaithos, and the capital of a nome, to which it gave its name,
between 12 and 13 m. to the N.E. of Bubastis. Harbet can also be visited by
path from Abu Kebir, where donkeys can be procured. It is a pleasant ride
of 3 m. through the fields. The stone remains include gigantic monoliths of
Nektanebos, shafts of red granite columns of Roman time, fragments of fine grey
granite, apparently of an altar, and part of a statue ; which, with mounds of
crude-brick ruins, are all that remains 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
modern village, which has retained the ancient name.
S.E. Light Rly. to AbA Hammdd in the Wadi Tumilat via Tukh el-
Karam-Us, where an important discovery of gold ornaments, diadems, ura:i,
&c, of the Ptolemaic period, was made in 1905 (now in the Cairo Museum). 3
The Rly. to es-Salhiya turns N.E. to
72 m., Fakus, which bears the name of the ancient Phacusa, the
Egyptian Pi-kesem. A short distance N. is Khata'ana, where Prof.
Naville discovered the remains o£ an ancient town and traces of occu
pation by a foreign ( ? Mediterranean) race, probably the Ha-nebu of
Egyptian tradition, in the time of the XIII. Dynasty. A figure of the
reign of the XI. Dynasty king Sankhkara was also found here and
Ramesside remains were discovered.
[At Kantir, 2! m. N. of Khata'ana, stood a temple built by Ramses II.
The ruins of S&n el-Hager (the ancient Tanis) lie 12 m. N. of Kantir, and may
sometimes be conveniently reached by this route (see p. 72) by boat on the
Batir Fakus.]


- T
72 ROUTE 6.— NORTH-EASTERN DELTA. Locuu- u
84 m., Es-Salhiya, the present terminus of the line, . lies on the E.
bank of the ancient Pelusiac arm of the Nile (the modern liahr el-
Bakar), on the borders of the desert.
Com. N.W. is Tell Nebesha or Tell Bedawi, the ancient A met, capital of
the 19th nome of Lower Egypt, excavated in 1886 by Petrie for *e Egypt
Exploration Fund. Remains of the XIX. Dynasty, including a granite
shrine (locally known as et-Takiyet el-Fara&n, ''Pharaohs Cap or la$at
Faratin, "Pharaoh's Niche,") of the goddess Uatjet or Buto, were ^ found
also a cemetery of the Cypriote mercenaries stationed in this neighbourhood
by Amasis. 3* m. N W. is Tell Gemaiyemi, where Griffith excavated for the fc-gypt
Exploration Fund the temenos of a Ptolemaic temple Good sets of founda
tion-deposits were found both here and at Tell Nebesha (see above), and
remains of large glass-works.
3 m. N. of Gemaiyemi lie the twin mounds of Zuwelen, excavated at the
same time. The southern is the site of a XIX. Dyn. cemetery. San el-Hager
(Tanis: see below) lies a few miles farther on in the same N.W. direction.
The ruins of Tell Defenna (Daphnoe : see below and pp. 66, 214) he about 10 m.
due E. of Nebesha, across the Bahr Bakar.J
[It lis proposed to continue the Ely. from es-Salhiya to el-Kantara, on the Suez
Canal (p. 65), along the line of the caravan route from the Delta to Syria. Ine
distance is about 20 m. On the way Tell Defenna (3 m. N. of the road, IS m. from
es-Salhiya) is passed. For the continuance of the caravan route to Pelusium and
ei-'Arf'sh, see p. 214.)
The Rly. from Abu Kebir to Mansura passes 67 m., el-Bahu, and
69 m., Kafr Sakr Stats, on the Muizz Canal, and reaches 73 m., Abu
esh-Shekuk Stat., on another canal which joins the Muizz farther N.
[These places form the best base for a Visit to the Ruins of Tanis
by boat ; though Tanis can also be reached by canal or land (preferable)
from Fakus, or by land from es-Salhiya vid Nebesha and Gemaiyemi
(see above : recommended to archaeologists).
[Inquiry should he made at Zagazig as to which route should be chosen, if boats
are taken, as alterations on the canals or in the depth of water in them may make
one preferable to the other. It is no longer possible to go direct from Zagazig by
canal, on account of bridges and sluices. The canal excursion should be made not
later than February, as after that month the canals are low, and often dammed up
a few miles from their mouth to keep the water for irrigation. Those who wish to
be comfortable had better take tents, beds, &c, with them, as the boats on these
canals have no sleeping accommodation, are very dirty, and stink of fish. Some
provisions, too, should be taken, as milk, eggs, and chickens are the only things
procurable at the villages on the canals. But each traveller will make such arrange
ments as desire for comfort may require. The best way for those who intend to
take tents, &c. , is to send a servant on a day or two before ; lie can then secure a
boat, and have it ready. In winter there are generally plenty coming up from the
lake. Theyare large and roomy, but dirty. Tliere is a small attempt at shelter
in the bows, where a portion is covered in by a piece of matting. One boat will
carry tents, servants, donkeys, baggage, &c. The hire of a boat to San from either
el-Buha, Kafr Sakr, or Abu esh-Shekuk will be from 16s. to £1, and the same for a
boat back from San. It will take 6 or 7 hrs. to go, and 10 or 12 hrs. to come back,
unless the wind is particularly favourable or adverse. There is plenty of wild-fowl
shooting during the winter and early spring in the neighbourhood of San, but the
birds are very shy and difficult of approach.]
San el-Hager (" Stony San"), a fishing village on the E. hank of
the canal, is a dreary place. The inhabitants are entirely occupied in
fishing. Twice in a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, the fish are sold
by auction, people coming with their camels and donkeys from the
interior to buy. There is no good camping-ground near the village.


Sect. I.] ROUTE 6. — NORTH-EASTERN DELTA. 78
The best place is close to the ruins, the only objection being that it is
some little way from the canal whence you must draw your water
supply; but at any rate you are free from noise and dirt. A good
general view of the ruins and the surrounding country may be obtained
from the highest mound, on which is a shekh's tomb.
History  The city of Zoan or Tanis, as it was afterwards called by the
Greeks, was one of the oldest and most considerable in the Delta. Its remote
antiquity is indicated by the passage in the Bible (Numb. xiii. 22), which says
that "Hebron was built seven years before Zoan." The sanctuary of the
great temple dates back to the VI. Dynasty, at which time the name of
the town is conjectured to have been Ha-Uar or Pa-Uar, perhaps the
Avaris of Manetho. The names of kings of the XII. and XIII. Dynasties,
Amen-em-hat I., Usertsen I. and II., and others, found on colossi and other
monuments discovered at San, and now in the Museum at Cairo, prove the
existence and importance of the city at that epoch. Soon after this it suffered
with the rest of the North of Egypt from the invasion of Hyksos, or the
Shepherds; as they were called by Manetho ; but it rose into importance again
under the rule of the kings of the XVII. Dynasty, the descendants of these
invading Hyksos, who had adopted Egyptian customs, manners, and religion.
It is probable, says Mariette Pasha — whose discoveries at Tanis have thrown
great light on this epoch of Egyptian history — that it was during the reign
of one of these pastor kings reigning at Memphis that Joseph was sold into
Egypt and the story told in the Bible was enacted. The Pharaoh whom
Joseph served was not a pure-born Egyptian, but of foreign origin and
shepherd descent like himself ; and his conduct to him is, on this supposition,
the more easily explained. Amasis, the first king of the XVIII. Dynasty,
drove out the greater part of the Hyksos, and, while suffering a large
colony of them to remain, reduced the importance of Zoan, which had been
their border fortress. Under the XIX. Dynasty a different policy was pursued,
and the monuments show us Ramses II. restoring the magnificence of the
temples and adopting the founder of the Hyksos Dynasty as an ancestor.
The reign of his son and successor Mer-en-Ptah, who has been identified with
the " Pharaoh who knew not Joseph," of whom a statue found at San is now
in the Cairo Museum, is an interesting stage in the history of the city, for we
read in Ps. lxxviii. 12, 43, that the wonders and miracles done by Moses, which
ended in the deliverance of the Israelites, were wrought in " the field of Zoan."
Under the XXI. Dynasty Zoan, or, as it is best known under its Greek
name, Tanis, became the nominal capital of Egypt, and gave its name to
the dynasty which Manetho calls Tanite, and also to the branch of the
river on which it stood. Various remains prove that under this dynasty the
city and temples were restored and beautified. During the period extending
from the XXII. to the XXVI. Dynasty Tanis was a city of great import
ance, and indeed Mariette again gives the name of Tanite to the XXIII.
Dynasty. That towards the end of this period (cir. 700 B.C.) it was considered
as the capital city of the Delta may be inferred from Is. xix. 11,. 13, where
"the princes of Zoan" and "the princes of Noph" (Memphis) are spoken of
as though those two cities were the principal in Egypt ; and again another
passage (Is. xxx. 4) speaks of the princes (of Egypt) as being " at Zoan. "
Ezekiel, on the occasion of the invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar (cir.
600 B.C.), prophesies its downfall, and says that " fire " shall be set "in Zoan."
The importance of Tanis began to decline under the XXVI. Dynasty, and
Amasis, by directing the whole trade of the Mediterranean to Naukratis and
Sais, ruined the towns in the eastern half of the Delta. According to Mr.
Petrie, the great temple went finally to ruin when Sais became the capital
of the Delta, though perhaps its death-blow was given by tbe Assyrian conquest
and pillage in the latter part of the reign of Tirhakah. During the Greek
period Tanis again became a town of importance, and some most interesting

>%»>


74 ROUTE

6.— NORTH-EASTERN DELTA. [Sect. I.
domestic relics of this period, and also of the Roman times, have been found
among the ruins. In Strata's time it was still a large town ; but, accormng to
Josephus, it had dwindled in the age of Titus to an insignificant P^ce ihe
utter ruin and destruction of its temples is, however, probably due to the
fanatical outburst against the pagan monuments that followed the edict ot
Theodosius. Ruins.-At the present day the scene of desolation, round what the
remaining ruins prove to have been a most splendid city, is complete
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
reptiles and malignant fevers. _
The mounds which mark the site of this ancient town are remarkable
for their height and extent, reaching as they do upwards of a mile from
N to S and nearly f m. from E. to W. The area m which the sacred
enclosure of the temple stood is about 1500 ft. by 1250, surrounded by
mounds of fallen houses, as at Bubastis, whose increased elevation
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
from the inundation, and the unaltered position of the sacred buildings.
The enclosure or temenos surrounding the temple is 1000 ft. 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 houses. The enclosure
is of crude brick; and a short way to the E. of the centre, on its
northern side, is a gateway of granite and fine gritstone bearing the
name of Ramses II. , to whom the temple was indebted for its numerous
obelisks and the greater part of the sculptures that adorned it.
From the wall of the enclosure to the two front obelisks is 100 ft. ;
150 beyond which, going towards the naos, are fragments of columns,
and probably of two other obelisks, covering an area of 50 ft. ; beyond
these, at a distance of 120 ft., are several fragments of sculptured walls,
two other obelisks, and two black statues, extending over a space of
30 ft. ; and after going 100 ft. farther you come to two other obelisks ;
and then two others 86 ft. beyond them ; and again, at a distance of
164 ft., two other large obelisks, from which to the naos front is 150 ft.
Though in a very ruinous condition, the fragments of walls, columns,
and fallen obelisks sufficiently attest the former splendour of this
building ; and the number of obelisks, evidently 10, if not 12, is un
paralleled in any Egyptian temple. They are all of the time of
Ramses II. ; some with only one, others with two lines of hieroglyphs.
The columns had the papyrus-bud capital ; and their appearance, as
well as the walls bearing the figures of deities, seems to prove that
some at least of the obelisks stood in courts or vestibules, forming
approaches to the naos. The obelisks vary in size ; some have a mean
diameter of about 5 ft., and when entire may have been from 50 to 60
ft. high ; and those at the lower extremity of the avenue, farthest from
the naos, measured about 33 ft. 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,
sometimes even when of granite.
The sanctuary, or naos, bears, as has been said, the name of a king


Sect. I.] ROUTE 6. — NORTH-EASTERN DELTA. 75
pf the VI. Dynasty. The other principal names found on the monu
mental remains belonging to, or forming part of, the temple, are
Usertsen I., IL, and III., Ramses II. , Mer-en-Ptah, and Tirhakah.
Outside the enclosure to the E. are two granite columns which formed
part of another temple, built like the former entirely of granite. These
columns are 2 ft. 8 in. mean diameter, and nearly 23 ft. high without
the dado, and have palm-capitals of beautiful style. They bear the
name of Ramses IL, by whom the temple was built. In some places
the name of Ramses has been effaced and that of Osorkon, a king of
the XXII. Dynasty, substituted. Nearly J a mile from the great
temple, in the direction of S.E. by S., are several large round blocks of
granite, placed on the ground in two parallel lines, so as to form an
avenue. They have no foundation, but lead to an area surrounded by
a deep brick wall. Apparently a temple stood here on the rubbish,
but has entirely disappeared by removal of the stone and denudation
of the ground. A fragment of basalt, bearing the name of a Ptolemy,
has been found near them.
The principal divinities worshipped at Tanis were Ptah, Amen, and
the god Set, or Sutekh, an Asiatic divinity introduced by the Hyksos,
but subsequently clothed by them with the attributes of the Egyptian
sun-god, and worshipped under the forms Ra, Harmachis, Horus, &c.
The sphinxes of peculiar type found here by Mariette were attributed
by him to the Hyksos, in spite of the Hyksos names on them being
secondary usurpations. Since then Golenistchev has pointed out a
resemblance to Amen-em-hat III. in his statue at Berlin, and proposed
that this type belongs to that king. The Hyksos sphinxes bear then,
very probably, portraits of a king of the XII. Dynasty.]
[The marshes of Lake Menzala begin a few miles N. of San. -The villages of
Menzala and Matariya (Light Rly. to Mansura) (p. 80) lie from 12 to 16 in. N. of
Sun, across the marshes. J
Leaving Abu esh-Shekiik, the Rly. proceeds W.N.W. to
82 m., Simbellawen Stat., on the Bahr Buhia, a canal running
from Lake Menzala to the Nile at Mit Mohsen, below Mit Ghamr.
This town, Abu esh-Shekiik, and Kafr Sakr (already passed) are the
chief entrepots for the Menzala fish, which is brought up the railway
by the canals and transferred at these stations to the trains, which
bring it up to Cairo.
[Light Rlys. to Zagazig and Mit Ghamr.]
[5 m. N. are the two mounds(7W/ ibn es-Salam , 5. ; Tell er-Roba, or Tell
Mondid, N. ), between which is the village of Tmei el-Amdid, which preserves
the names of the twin cities which stood here, Thmuis and Mendes, now repre
sented by the two mounds, the southern being the site of Thmuis, the northern
thatofMendes. Excavations were made here by Prof. Naville in 1892. He found
a shrine dedicated by Amasis, in the Mendesian temple, to Khnemu and Mut,
23 ft. high, and the coffins of the sacred goats, which were venerated at Mendes
(the ancient Bai-neb-Tetet, pronounced Bindidi, Vindid, Mindid, whence
Mendes, Mendid, Amdid). The cult was a form of Osiris-worship, the god of
the dead being here called "the Soul of the Tet" ("emblem of stability").
(Another centre of Osiris-worship was close by, at the northern Busiris, the
modern Abusir, p. 78). In Roman times both towns were united and known
as Thmuis. Josephus says that Titus, on his way from Alexandria to Judaea,
passed by Thmuis. He went by land to Nikopolis, and then, putting his
troops on board long ships, went up the Nile by the Mendesian province to


76 ROUTE 6. — NORTH-EASTERN DELTA. Loect. I.
the city of Thmuis. In the Byzantine period it was an episcopal see and
possessed its own magistrates, being exempt from the jurisdiction oi tne
governor of Alexandria. ]
The line runs N.W. by
88 m., Bakliya Stat, (ruins of the ancient Hermopolis Parva, Eg.
Bah, "marsh " ; explored by M. Naville in 1892) to
95 m., Mansura Stat, (see p. 78), on the Damietta branch of the
Nile. [Railways.-Dh-ect Rly. S. to Cairo (S3 m.) rid Tanta, 4 trains daily in 21 to
41 hrs. , r ,
Light Elys. S. to Mit Ghamr and Benha, and N.E. to Dekernes and Lake
Menzala (Kte. 7).
The ruins of Behbit el-Hagara (p. 82) are most easily visited from Mansura.]

ROUTE 7.
The Central Delta : Cairo to the Barrage, Benha,
Mansura, Damietta, and Lake Menzala.
By River or Light Railways.
This journey (about 165 m.) is not one that will be made by the
ordinary tourist or archaeologist, who will proceed to Mansura,
Damietta, and the northern archaeological sites by Rly. (Rtes. 6 and 8),
or by the dahabiya owner, unless he has already explored the Upper
Nile to the full ; but it may be recommended to those who have time at
their disposal and wish to gain a complete knowledge of the country.
[Light Rly. — Frpm the Barrage a line runs along the r. bank of the Damietta
branch to Benha, Mit Ghamr, and Mansura. The places passed and distances are
approximately the same for both railjvay and river. (The distances given are those
by river.)
A flat-bottomed Arab boat should be hired if wild-fowl shooting is desired. Best
time February and March. The time taken to reach Damietta will depend on the
wind and the stoppages by the way ; but, unless there is a strong N. wind blowing,
four or five days to a week will be sufficient. The main railway system can be joined
at various places, as Benha, Zifta, Samanud, Mansura, Talkha, or any of the stations
thence on the line to Damietta (Rte. 8). Lake Menzala can be reached in a small
boat from Mansura by the Bahr es-Sugheir (p. 79).]
Starting by river from Bulak, Embaba and Shubra (4 m.) are
passed, and (12 m.) the Barrage reached. (By Rly. to the Barrage,
see Environs of Cairo.)
Here the Nile divides into the Rosetta and Damietta branches.
We follow the latter. The first place of interest is
[Light Rly. to Tukh (5 m.) on the main line to Alexandria, p. 37.]
(E.) (21J m.) Bershum, famous for its figs. A little beyond, on the
opposite bank, inland in the Delta, is FarlXniya, from which the canal
of Menuf, connecting the two branches of the Nile, derives its name.


Sect. I.] ROUTE 7. — CENTRAL DELTA. 77
The village ShabsMr, where the Menufiya canal joins the Nile, probably
marks the site of the ancient Nikiou or Pshati, an important town in
the Byzantine period, which played a great part in the war against
the Arabs. Here also was born the historian John of Nikiou. The
village of Ibshddi, 6 m. N., preserves the Coptic name of the city.
About 7 or 8 m. lower down is the canal of Karinen, or Shibin, another
noble work. At el-Ga'fartya it separates into two channels, one going
to the W. to Tanta, and the other by Mehallet el-Kubra 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, however, closed by a bridge and sluices at Sonta,
below el-Ga'fariya ; and here goods are transferred to smaller boats for
Nabaro, and those places with which the communication is kept up by
other channels. This is the general principle of all the large canals
of the Delta, and has been adopted in that of Muizz, and sometimes in
that of Alexandria.
(.E.) 38 m., Benha el-'Asal. Immediately beyond the town is the
Rly. bridge, and 3 m. below that rt. the entrance to the canal of Muizz,
which takes the water to Zagazig, and thence to Lake Menzala by the
old Tanitio channel?
[Railways. — Benha to Cairo, 12 trains daily, in 3 to H hrs. ; to Alexandria, 8 trains
daily, in H to 4 hrs. ; to Ismailiya (for Suez and Port Said)imt Zagazig, 5 trains daily,
in 2J to 3 hrs. Branch line N. to Mit Berah (&t m., see below), 3 trains daily, in 20
to 30 min.
Light Rlys. — N. to Mansura vid Mit Ghamr (branch to Simbellawen) ; S. to the
Barrage.] (.W.) 43J m., Mit Berah [3 m. N.W. is the viceregal palace of
Kouesna (p. 36)], and
[Rly. to Benha, 3 trains daily, in 25 mins.]
C®-) S3 m-> Sahraght, the site of Natho, and called in Coptic
Nathdpi. The isle of Natho was on the other side of. the Nile. The
name is the old-Egyptian N-adhu, "the Reeds " ; it was a well-known
place in early times, and gave a proverbial expression to the Egyptian
language, "from Adhu to Abu," i.e. "from Natho to Elephantine"
(c/. the Hebrew " from Dan to Beersheba "), signifying Egypt from
north to south.
(E.) 58 m., Mit Ghamr (12,000 inhab.), is opposite to
[Light Rlys. to Simbelldwf.n (Rte. 6) and Diarb Nigm.'y
(W.) Zifta.
[Rly. to Sonta, (91 m.) and Mehallet Roh (20 m.), 3 trains daily, in li hrs., and
Tanta (29 m.), l' train daily, in 2 hrs. ; thence to Alexandria or Cairo, and to Talka
(Mansura) and Damietta. Light Rly. W. to Birket es-Sab' (p. 36) ; N. to Abusir and
Samahud.] C6 m. E. of Mit Ghamr is Tell Mokdam, the ancient Leontopolis (Eg.
Aakhenu), with a ruined temple of Osorkon II., in which was found part of
a statue of a XIII. Dynasty king named Nehasi ("Negro"), now at Cairo.
Osiris was worshipped here in the form of a lion. The ruins were explored
in 1892 by Prof. Naville, who found a broken red quartzite statue of Usertsen
III. , which is now in the British Museum. The country hereabouts is very
pretty, with fine palms and sycomores. ]
(E.) 60 m., Mit Mohsen.


78 ROUTE 7. — CENTRAL DELTA. [Deut. I.
(E.) (A\ m., Mit Damsis, is the Coptic Pitemsisot.
(W.) 74A m., Abusir, has extensive mounds, marking the site of
the ancient Pa-Asar, the house of Osiris, called by the Greeks Busiris.
It was called by the Copts Bosiri. The mounds extend beyond the
village to the westward, and a short distance beyond is another mound,
said to have belonged to the old town.
(W.) 79 m., Samanud, is a place of some size (Pop 11,500) with
the usual bazaars of the large towns of Egypt, and famous for its
pottery, which is sent to Cairo. Here are the mounds of Sebennytos,
the Egyptian Theb-Neter, "the divine calf," and Coptic Jemnouti. It
was the capital of the Sebennyte nome, and gave its name to the
XXX. Dynasty. In it Manetho the historian is said to have been
born. On the E. bank opposite is Mit Samanild (Stat, of the Light Rly.
N. to Mansura, S. to the Barrage, and E. to Simbellawen).
[Rly to Tanta (201 m. !>wi!Mehallet Roh, 5 trains daily, in li to 3 hrs. To Talkha
(Mansura) lo'i m'., 5 trains daily, in t hr., and Damietta, 3 trams daily, in it hrs.]
(E.) 84 m., Wish. On the opposite side, about 1J m. from the
river, are the ruins of Behbit et-Hagara, the ancient Iseum (see p. 82).
(W.) 87 m., Mit esh-Shoraka.
(IK.) 90 m., Talkha.
[Rly. N. to Damietta, S. to Tanta; trains as from Samanild.]
Immediately opposite is
(E.) 90 m., Mansura Stat.,* a large town of 35,000 inhab., and
capital of the provnice of Dakahliya. (Office of Mr. C. E. Edgar,
Inspector of Antiquities for Lower Egypt, see p. 125.)
[Rly. to Abu Kebir, 30 m.(for Salhiya, Zagazig, or Cairo), 4 trains daily, Rte. 6.]
Mansura was founded by Melek el-Kamil in 1221, as AbiiTfeda
states, at the time of the siege of Damietta, to serve as a point d'appui,
and was called el-Mansiira, " the Victorious," from the defeat of the
Crusaders in that spot at the time the city was building. It was
there that Louis IX. was imprisoned after his disastrous retreat and
capture in 1249. The Crusaders advanced across the Ashmun Canal
(see below) on Mansura, near which they were defeated by the
Egyptian commander Turanshah. They retreated; their fleet was
destroyed, and finally they were compelled to surrender. The spot
where the Crusaders pitched their tents in 1221 and 1251 is just oppo
site the modern palace. The house in which St. Louis is traditionally
said to have been imprisoned is pointed out. Cotton is the principal
article of trade at Mansura, and there are several cotton-ginning
factories in the town ; cotton and linen stuffs, sail-cloth, &c, are also
made there.
Mansura has no ruins, and is not supposed to occupy the site of
any ancient city. To the S. of the town is the entrance to the Canal
of Menzdla, or, as it is called by the natives, the Bahr es-Sughiir,
" Little River," leading by Ashmun into Lake Menzala. 'it is supposed
to follow the course of the old Mendesian branch of the Nile. An
excursion down it to Lake Menzala will take three days (see below).
Prom Mansura to Damietta by river (47 m.) the only places of any
importance are


Sect. I.] ROUTE 7.- — CENTRAL DELTA. 79
(IK.) 106 m., Shirbin Stat., and
S&ailways.— Shirbin to Damietta (26 m.), 3 trains daily, in lj hrs. ; to Kallin (for
k, Damanhur and Alexandria), 2 trains daily, in 3 hrs. ; to Tanta (46 m.),
3 trains daily, in 2 to 4* hrs.]
(.E.) 126 m., Fareskur (Stat, on the W. bank).
[A short branch Rly. runs from Fareskilr to Kafr Suliman, 2 m. (p. 85), a junction
on the Damietta line.]
(E.) 138 m.( Damietta, Ar. Dumyat. (Rly. Terminus on W. bank.)
See Rte. 8.
The Boghdz, or mouth of the Nile where it joins the sea, is over
10 m. from Damietta. Damietta is perhaps the best headquarters for
shooting and natural history collecting on Lake Menzala (see p. 80).

From Mansura to Dekernes and Menzala, by boat or light Rly.
(40-50 m.).
[The Canal of Menzala, or of Ashmun, more commonly called the Bahr es-Sugheir,
though containing water the whole year, is only navigable the whole way during the
winter and early spring. In its widest part, near Mansura, it is only 70 or 80 ft. broad,
and below Ashmun it is much narrower. Boats cannot pass into it from the Nile,
and it is necessary to hire one from among those to be found on it at Mansura ; the
charge will be about £1 a day. If there are not more than one or two persons, however,
the filuka of the dahabiya, if tolerably large and provided with a sail, will hold all
that is necessary for the excursion, a tent included, for sleeping in at night ; and this
boat can be carried from the river to the canal. But a larger one is better, as, the
canal being very winding and the banks high, it is difficult for a boat low in the
water to catch any wind.
The Light Rly. follows the Canal : Mansura to Matarlya (45 m.).]
Leaving Mansura, the country on the banks of the canal is very
rich and fertile. Especially remarkable is the number of trees — oaks,
sycomore-figs, weeping and common willows, and mulberry trees,
recently planted. Numerous sdkiyas line the banks, and a carefully
arranged system of tiny ditches carries the water inland. The first
large villages are
(Bt.) 6 m. , Mehallet Damna, and
(L.) 11 m., Dekernes. [About 5 m. S. is Mit Fdres (" Town of the
Knight "), whose mounds indicate the site of an old town.]
[Light Rly. N. to a point on the Nile opposite Shirbin (see above).]
13 m., Ashmun, or, as AbuTfeda writes it, OshmiLm — Oshmilm-
Tandh, or Oshmum-er-Bil'mdn ("of the Pomegranates") — was, in his
time, a large city, with bazaars, baths, and large mosques, and the
capital of the Dakahllya and Bashmur provinces. The only remains
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.
Below Ashmun the canal becomes very narrow, and the trees often
meet above it.
(L.). 15J m., Mit en-Nasara (1 m. N.) probably occupies the site
of an ancient town, judging from its distinctive appellation "of the
Christians." ES. E. , in the direction of San, the country is low and marshy, abounding
in reeds and stunted tamarisk-bushes, among which boars may sometimes be
found, and the abundance of various kinds of water-fowl is extraordinary. The
banks of the canal are very low, and the whole is flooded during the inundation.
Here are the pastures for cattle, which, like similar lowlands on the borders


80 ROUTE 7.  CENTRAL DELTA. L060'1- ^~
of the Lake Biirlos, hence received, in ancient times, the name of Bucolia, and
were comprehended under the denomination of Elearchia, or the marsh district.
They were also called Bashmllr, 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. Abii'lfeda comprises
under the name of Bashmur the whole of the island between the canal of
Ashmun (or, as it is now called, of Menzala) and the Damietta branch, and
considers Ashmun the capital of this district.]
(L.) 22 m., Berembal el-Kadim, is a large village, with fine trees.
The stream here is not 20 yds. wide. (Bt.) Miniet-Silsil (28 m.) 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 (L.) Gemeliya (33 m.) is distinguished from afar by its
lofty minaret.
On the canal grow numerous reeds and water-plants, among which
is a Cypcrus. 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. It has
been mistaken for the papyrus, and has led to the belief that this last
grows in the vicinity of the Lake Menzala. In Arabic it is called dus,
a name given also to the Cyperus dives ; and both are used for making
baskets and an ordinary kind of mat.
39 m., Menzala (Pop. 8400) stands on the canal. It is supposed
to occupy the site of Panephysis ; and near the point of land project
ing to the N. into the lake some have placed Papremis, the city of Mars.
Menzala has no remains. It is a busy, lively-looking place, and with
its minareted mosques, bazaars, and some respectable houses, presents
an appearance little expected in such an out-of-the-way spot. The
canal, which contributes so much to its importance and to its very
existence as a town, also gives it a cheerful aspect. In the autumn
there is some fever at Menzala, but in 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
Damietta and of Kafr el-Batikh. The freshwater fish mostly come
from the different branches of the Muizz Canal leading from Zagazig
to the lake, the salt-water kinds being brought from Matarlya. The
canal runs into the lake 6 m. below Menzala. There is a barrier which
renders it necessary to hire another boat in order to go on to Lake
Menzala. Prom Menzala the Light Rly. proceeds E. across a barren nitrous
marsh to Matanya (45 m. from Mansura, 17 m W S W of Port
Said, 18 m. N.E. from San). The village stands upon a' point of
land projecting into the lake, and is joined to another village, called
el-Ghuzna by a dike or causeway, only 6 ft. wide. The place 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 live on fish
?nAuy £ ;-1?d °ne, would think Matarlya had been founded by the
Ichthyophagi themselves. J .
Lake Menzala is the largest lake in Egypt, having a superficial
area of about 500,000 acres. Its outline is very irregular, especially on
the southern side. The northern side is separated from the sea with
which it communicates through several openings called Boghaz or
passes, by narrow banks or ridges of sand. The depth of water is


Beet. I.] route! 7. — central delta. 81
never very great, even during the inundation, and in the Spring and
1 summer the navigation along the channels deep enough to float a boat
is very intricate and difficult. The surface is dotted with numerous
islets, which more or less disappear when the water is high, .and
increase wonderfully in size and number when it is low ; but they are
most of them little better than sandy mudbanks. Two of the principal
islands are Tuna and Tennes. Tuna is 2£ m. due E. of Matarlya ; it
has a small village called ShSkh Abdallah, where there are a few old
ruins. The most interesting island to an antiquary is that of Tennes,
the ancient Tennesus. Tell Tennes is 6 m. S.W. of Port Said. The
remains there are of Roman time, and consist of baths, tombs, and
substructions. The tombs are vaulted 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.
These islands are very convenient for the sportsman to pitch his
tent on for the night, instead of remaining on board his boat ; but
care must be taken to choose a dry spot, as far as possible away from
the lake exhalations, which are very apt to bring on fever in the late
spring and summer. Special permission for camping must be obtained.
On the lake itself wild-fowl literally swarm. Pelicans and silver herons
abound. Elamingoes are also to be seen. The best way of getting at
the birds, which are shy and difficult of approach, is to sail up to them
in a small boat. The following are the names given to some of the
birds by the natives of Lake Menzala : coot, gUhr ; heron, balashOn ;
spoonbill, midwds ; pelican, begga ; flamingo, basharus. The Nile
name of this last bird, gemel el-bahr, "water-camel," is much more
expressive. In some places the shooting is farmed out by the Govern
ment, and the birds are taken in nets in large numbers ; where this is
the ease no shooting is allowed. The fishing used to be farmed out for
an annual rental of £57,000, but is now free.
[The most convenient place from which to visit Lake Menzala for
the sportsman and bird-collector is Damietta (see p. 85), as he will be
able to take all his stores and appliances straight there from Cairo in
a dahabiya, together with the small English boat, which is indis
pensable to much success in shooting ; and he will then have the
dahabiya as headquarters to which he can return whenever the
occasion requires.]

ROUTE 8.
The Northern Delta: Cairo and Tanta to Desuk,
Mansura, Damietta, and Lake Burlos.
[Railways.— Cairo to Tanta (52 m.), 10 trains daily (Restaurant car by 3 trains), in
U to 2$ hrs. ; Tanta to Desuk (41 m.) vid Mehallet Roh and Kallin, 4 trains daily,
in 2 hrs. Tanta to Damietta (73 m.) vid Shirbin, 3 trains daily, in St to 7 hrs.
Fares : Cairo to Damietta, 1st cl., P.T.54, 2nd cl., P.T.27. Shirbin to Kallin (51 m.),
2 trains daily, in 3 hrs.] B


82 ROUTE 8. — NORTHERN DELTA. [Sect. I.
For Cairo to Benha and Tanta (52 m.), see Rte. 2. On leaving
Tanta the Rly. runs in a N.E. direction to
6i m., Mehallet Roh Stat.
[Sere two subsidiary lines diverge, S. to Sonta (11 m.) and Zifta (21 m.), on the
Damietta arm of the Nile, opposite 'Mit Ghamr (Rte. 7), and N.W. toKotvr (114 m,
Light Rly. to Tanta), Shin (14+ m., Light Rly. to Bassiun and Kafr ez-Zayat), Kallm,
19 m. (junction for the North. Delta line to Belkas and Slurbm, see, below), and
Desuk, 32 m. (Rte. 3 : thence to Damanhur, p. 36).]
68 m., Mehallet el-Kubra Stat., a flourishing town (31,000 inhab.),
with cotton-cleaning mills and an interesting old synagogue.
[Light Rlys. E. to Samanud and Zifta (Rte. 7); N.E. to Banub and
JVaiaro(i$ m. ); N.W. to Xemret el-Bassal, el-Banawdn, Sakha (branch to
Shin) and Kafr esh-Shekh; W. to Kotflr.-J
The line turns E. to
72J m., Samanud Stat, (see Rte. 7), and runs N.E. on the 1. bank
of the Damietta Nile, past
76 m., Mit Assas Stat, (opposite Wish (Rte. 7), and actually the
nearest Rly. Stat, to Behbit el-Hagara, see below), to
83 m., Talkha Stat., the tete-de-pont of Mansura (83J m.) (Rte. 7),
which the train reaches by a handsome bridge over the Damietta arm
of the Nile.
[Excursion from Mansura-Talkha to the Ruins of Behbit el-Hagara.
The ruins of Behbit el-Hagara, which the train passes 1. on the way
from Mit Assas to Mansura-Talkha, may be visited from either of these
places, but most conveniently as a day's excursion from Mansura.
[Travellers can go by hiring adonkey-at Mansura, and either crossing immediately
to Talkha, and riding along the 1. bank of the Nile, by the Tanta Rly., past Mil
el-Ghoraka (Rte 7), or riding up the rt. bank for about 2 m. till'the first ferry is
reached, (.'loss the river here to a village on the opposite side, and ride ' through
it, and along the Rly. for about 3 m. ; then turn to the rt., and a mile farther in
a W. direction are the mounds of the old town. A change in the road may he
made coming back, by riding straight from the ruins to the river, crossing at what is
the second ferry above Mansura, and then continuing along the river-bank. This is
perhaps the pleasanter way of the two. This excursion will require about 6 or 7 hrs.
The excursion can also be made by boat as far as an old stone bulwark oppo
site Wish (Rte. 7) ; from thence a walk of 40 min. is required to reach the ruins.
Those who are not good walkers should take a donkey with them from Mansura.
The boat will cost from P.T.2r,-30, and 2 hrs. must be allowed for going up the river.
li hrs. will suffice for coming down.]
BShbit el-Hagara is the Egyptian Hebet or Pehbet, and the Roman Iseum,
the Coptic Naisi. The Egyptian name, Pehbet (Pa-hebet), which meant
"the city of the panegyries," has been preserved in the Arab name Behbit,
with the affix el-Hagara, " of the stones," from its numerous stone remains.
The remains are very interesting, and larger than those of any other
ancient town of the Delta. They are inferior in style to those of San (Tunis),
being of the Ptolemaic time ; but the number of sculptured blocks, and the
beauty of the granite used in this temple, are remarkable ; and if Behbit does
not boast the number of obelisks, which must have had a very grand effect at
Tanis, it has the merit of possessing rich and elaborate sculptures. To the
antiquary it is particularly interesting from its presenting the name of the
deity worshipped there, and that of the ancient town. Isis was evidently the
divinity of the city, and it was from this that the Greeks and Romans gave it
the name of Iseion or Iseum.
The temple, like many others in Egypt, stood in an extensive square about
1500 by 1000 ft., surrounded by a crude -brick wall, doubtless with a stone


Sect. I.] EOUTE 8. — NORTHERN DELTA. 83
gateway"; which was the temenos or sacred enclosure, and was planted with
trees, as Herodotus informs us in describing that of Bubastis.
The temple itself was about 400 ft. long, or 600 to the outer vestibule, by
about 200 in breadth, and built of granite, some red, some grey, of a very
beautiful quality, and covered with sculptures, in intaglio and in relief. Many
of the blocks are of very great size ; and though the temple has been entirely
destroyed, and the broken stones forcibly torn from their places and thrown
in the greatest confusion one upon the other, it is easy to form an idea of its
former magnificence. It is entirely of grey and red granite — walls, columns,
roofs, and doorways ; affording a striking instance of the use of this stone in
the Delta ; for though the building is so large, no block of the ordinary kinds
employed in Upper Egypt has here been admitted. The whole appears to
have been erected by Ptolemy Philadelphos (B.C. 284-246), whose name occurs
in all the dedications, and who alone is seen presenting offerings to the gods.
The principal divinities are Isis (" the great divine mistress of Pa-Hebet"), with
Osiris (who frequently accompanies her, and is generally called " Lord of Pa-
Hebet"), Horus, Anubis, and Sebek (the crocodile-headed god). Hathor and
Khensu, Seb and Nut, the triad Anhur, Shu and Tefnut, and Hapi the Nile,
also occur.
Unfortunately it has been so completely destroyed that the plan cannot
easily be recognised ; and such is the mass of broken blocks that you can
go down amongst them to the depth of 12 and 15 ft. ; 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 doorways are seen, as well as parts of cornices,
ceilings, architraves, and walls, but all in confusion, and hurled from their
places, owing to the excavation of the limestone by the natives for burning
into lime. The ceilings have been studded with the usual five-pointed Egyptian
stars. The cornices have the Egyptian triglyp hs with the cartouches of the
king between them; but in some the name of "Isis, the beautiful mother-
goddess, "is substituted for the royal prenomen, and is accompanied by the
nomen of Ptolemy Philadelphos.
On one of the walls, about the centre of the temple, is represented tlie
sacred boat, or ark, of Isis ; and in the shrine it bears the " Lady of Pa-Hebet,"
seated between two figures of goddesses, like the Jewish Cherubim, who seem
to protect her with their wings. They occur in two compartments, 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 below are four kneeling figures, one with
a man's, the other three with jackals' heads, 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 before it, presenting an offering of
incense to Isis. The stone has been broken, and part of the picture 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 attached to the end for
drawing it into the se~kos, of which this doubtless marks the site. It was
: probably one of those isolated sanctuaries that stood near the centre of the
naos, or body of the temple.
, The sculptures on some 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 the temple of Bubastis — that many were larger,
but few so beautiful. Besides the unusual mode of sculpturing granite in
.relief, the size of some of the hieroglyphs is remarkable, being no less than
14 in. long, and all wrought with great care. The cornices varied in different
G 2


84 ROUTE 8.— rJORTHfiRN celtA. [Sect. I.
parts of the building; and one, perhaps of the wall of the sikos itself .has the
head of Isis surmounted by a shrine alternating with the cartouches of the king,
in which, however, the hieroglyphs have not been inserted.
On the lower compartment of the walls, in this part of the temple are : traces
of the usual figures of the god Nilus in procession, intended ^to represent 1 the
nomes Of Egypt. Between these are water-plants and the figures of the god
have a clusfer of those of the upper and of the lower country alt ornately on
their heads. Not far from this are the capitals of large columns, in the form
of Isis-heads, bearing a shrine, like those of Dendera. m„ctl„
There appears to be a very great variety m the sculptures which most y
represent offerings to Isis and the contemplar deities, as in other Ptolemaic
buildings ; and in one place the hawk-headed Hathor conducts the king into
the presence of the goddess of the temple. But the battle-scenes and grand
religious processions of old times are wanting here, as in other temples ot a
Ptolemaic and Roman epoch; and though the sculptures are nch and highly
finished, they are deficient in the elegance of a Pharaomc age— the fault ot all
Greco-Egyptian sculpture, and one which strikes every eye accustomed to
monuments erected before the decadence of art in Egypt.
The modern village stands to the N.W., a little beyond the enclosure
of the temenos ; and near it is a lake containing water all tne year,
except after unusually low inundations, which was probably once
attached to the temple, like those of Karnak and other places.
[3J m. N.W. of Behbit el-Hagara is Bandb (on the Light Rly. from
Mehallet el-Kubra to Nabaro), which occupies the site of Onuphis.'] ]
[From Talkha a Light Rly. runs W. to Xabaro (H m.).
The train to Damietta recrosses the bridge from Mansura to Talkha,
and passes along the 1. bank of the river to
97J m., Shirbin Stat. (25 m. from Damietta), the junction for the
North Delta line.
[This branch line runs by Bassandila (41 m. ), on the Bahr Shibin, the chief
branch of the Damietta Nile, to
10m., Belkas Stat. (Pop. 9000), and
18i m., Biyula Stat. These two places are conveniently placed for reaching
the E. portion of Lake Burlos, which occupies the tip of the Delta between
Rosetta and Damietta, and is second in size only to Lake Menzala, which it
closely resembles in its characteristics. After Biyala the line crosses the Balir
Tira, and proceeds via Kafr el-Gharbi (29 m. ) to
40 m., Kafr esh-Shekh [Tell Fera'in, the ancient Buto, lies 12 m. N.W.,
Rte. 3.]
[10 m. N. of Kafr esh-Shekh is Hawalid, the site of the ancient Phragonis ;
7 m. N.E. of this is Kum Khanziri, the ancient Pakhnemounis. Some
antiquities found here are preserved at the Behe'ra Company's inspection-house
at Kum Wahal, between Hawalid and Kafr esh-Shekh. These places were
examined by Mr. D. G. Hogarth in 1903.
2 m. S. of Kafr esh-Shekh is Sakhd, the ancient Xo'is, which is said to have
given the ephemeral XIV. Dynasty to Egypt, though this is very doubtful.]
[Light Rly. vid Sakha S. to Shin and Bassiitn (p. 33) : S.E. to Xemret el-Bassal
and Mehallet el-Kubra."}
49 m., Kallin Stat ; thence to Desuk, 62 m. (Rte. 3), whence by boat or
road to 'Atfa, Derut, and Edflna ; thence by boat or Rly. to Rosetta and the
W. end of Lake Burlos (see Rtes. 2 and 3).]
[Travellers direct from Damietta or Shirbin to Alexandria proceed vid Tanta,
not by Desuk and Damanhur (Rte. 3), as, though the distance is shorter, the trains
are slow and infrequent, and there are several changes of carriage. 1


Sect. I.] ROUTE 8. — NORTHERN DELTA. 85
Leaving Shirbin, the train outs off a reach of the Nile and regains
it at 105 "»., Ras el-Khalig Stat. [3 m. W. is Tell el-Balamiln, the
site of Diospolis Inferior, Copt. Pounemou.'] Thence the Rly. runs by
the side of the straight canal of es-Sahel to
113 m., Kafr Suliman Stat., junction for FdresMr, 2 m.E. (Rte. 7).
The train usually runs into Fareskur station and back to Kafr Suliman,
thence to
118 m., Kafr el-Bati'kh Stat., so called from the multitudes of
water melons (bati'kh) which in summer cover the sandy plain here
between the Nile and Lake Burlos. The next Stat, is
123 m. , Damietta =fc (Ar. Dumydt) Stat. There is only one small Inn.
The town is one of the largest in Egypt, with a population of 43,000.
It was once famous as the principal emporium on this side of the Delta,
but has sunk in importance in proportion as Alexandria has increased,
and now only carries on a little commerce with Syria and Greece. A
project has been made to connect the Nile at Damietta with the sea by
a canal, and if this is done the trade might again increase. Up to the
present, however, the Egyptian. Government have not given the scheme
any encouragement. Its rice and fisheries, however, enable it to enjoy
a lucrative trade with the interior. Its manufactures of leather and
striped cloths, which last, when imported into Europe, received from
it the name of dimity, no longer exist. The houses are well built,
though inferior to those of Rosetta.
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. It was captured by the
Crusaders in 1218, and held by them for three years ; the inhabitants were
enslaved or expelled, and the mosques turned into churches. After an interval
of thirty years it was again attacked by the Crusaders, yielding to Louis IX.
in 1249. But next year it had to be restored as part of the ransom of King
Louis, who was captured at Mansura (p. 78). After this it was destroyed and
rebuilt higher up the river, in its present position, for strategical reasons.
Abu'lfeda 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 khalifs to change its position ; and the modern town was founded
higher up the Nile, about 5 m. farther from the sea." According to Abu'lfeda,
the old Damietta was destroyed, and the inhabitants were transferred to the
village of Menshiya, which was built in its stead, and which afterwards
succeeded to the importance and name of the ancient town. And Michaelis,
on the authority of Niebuhr, says Menshiya is the name oioxe of the squares,
or places, of the modern Damietta. The time of this change of position
and the destruction of the old town are fixed by Abu'lfeda in the year of
the Hijra 648 (a.d. 1251). The old Damietta had been walled round and
fortified by Mutawakkil, the tenth of the Abbaside Khalifs (about a.d. 850) ;
and the new town was built by Bebars, the fourth sultan of the Baharide
Mamelukes. The ancient name of the original Damietta was Tamidthis, and the
many antique columns and blocks found in the present town have
probably been brought from its ruins. They a.re principally in the
mosques, especially that of Abu'l-Madta, at el-Gebana, N. of the town.
This mosque, which has Kufic decoration, probably dates to the period
of the old town of Damietta, and is worth a visit.
JTo tjie Boghaz or mouth of the river, see p. 79. Boat, 2-3 hrs., P.T.20.]


86

ROUTE 9.— CAIRO.

[Sect. II.

SECTION II.
CAIRO, ITS ENVIRONS, AND THE PYRAMIDS.
Route 9. Cairo 
10. The Environs op Caibo :
(1) Shubba .
(2) Heliopolis and the Birket el-Hagg
(3) Tombs of the Khalifs and Mamelukes
(4) Mokattam 
(5) The "Petbified Forest"
(6) The Barrage . • •
(7) Helwan, Turra, and Ma'sara
11. The Pyramids

(1) Survey of the Pyramid Field
(2) The Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx .
(3) The Pyramids and Tombs op Sakkaba and Abusie ;
the Site op Memphis . . • •
(4) The Pyramids op Dahshub ...
(5) Feom Dahshvjb to Sakkara and Giza (Camping
Expedition) ........

page 86
145 146150156 156 157 159 162164
187
201 203

ROUTE 9.
Cairo.*

1. History
2. Climate . 
3. Population and Government
4. Plans for seeing Cairo and
Neighbourhood
5. Modern Cairo
6. The European City.
7. The Oriental City .
8. Gates and walls . . .
9. SebIls or Public Fountains .
10. Bazaars . . .
Il, The Citadel . . .

PAGE 87

89 9091 91

PAGE 104 122 123

12. Mosques . .
13. Coptic Churches ....
14. Museum of Arab Antiquities
and khedivial library .
15. Museum of Egyptian Au-
tiquities . . 125
16. Old Cairo  133
17. The Island of Roda and
Nilometer 141
18. GiZA  143
19. Bulak and GezIra .... 143


Sect. IL] BOUTB 9. — CAIEO. 87
1. History.
Masr el-Kahira, called by the natives Masr and by Europeans Cairo, Le
Caire, is situated in lat. 30° 6' and long. 31° 26', a little removed from the
right or east bank of the Nile, and in the sloping plain lying between
that river and a projecting angle of the Mokattam hills. As he looks
at the map of the city, or, still more, as he wanders in it, the traveller
will observe that in the very heart of the town are marked two gates —
the Bab ez-Zuwela or Metwalli, and the Bab el-Khalk. The former
(attached to which is the -Mosque ez-Zuwela) is one of the most
picturesque and characteristic objects in Cairo, and it will be observed
that it faces towards the south ; it was the gate of a place which lay
north of it. The Bab el-Khalk remains only in name. The traveller
will at once conclude that there must have been some great changes in
the course of the growth of the place.
The origin of Cairo is to be found in the Roman fortress of Babylon in
Fustat, or Old Cairo, to the south of the present town. This Babylon is
said to have been founded by certain Babylonians at the time that Cambyses
conquered Egypt, B.C. 525. Strabo mentions it as a camp of one of the three
legions which in his time were stationed in Egypt. Parts of the great Roman
fort are still standing.
In A. D. 639 'Amr, General of the Khalif Omar, invaded and took Egypt.
After the surrender of the fortress of Babylon, A.D. 641 (a.h. 21), he pitched
his camp (fustat, from the Byzantine Greek 4>o<r<raToi,,fossatum) at that place.
This became the site of the new capital of Egypt, el-Fustat. Of this town
there are no visible remains, although probably there may be a good deal hidden
beneath the rubbish mounds which surround Babylon.
In A.D. 868 (a.h. 256), Ahmad ibn-Tfilun founded a new town called
el-Kataiya, to the north-east of Fustat, close under the hill afterwards sur
mounted by the Citadel, the chief building of the new town being the Mosque
of Tuliln, which still survives. This new town hecame very populous and
magnificent. .
In A.D. 969 (A.H. 358), Egypt was conquered by Gohar, a general of
El-Muizz, the first of the Fowatem or Fatimide Dynasty, whose seat of
government was then transferred from Tunis to Egypt. To the north of
el-Kataiya Gohar built for his master a most extensive and magnificent palace,
enclosed with brick walls. It was called el-Kahira ("the Splendid"), and
round about it the town quickly increased. The Bet el-Kadi, or Court
of the Kadi, still Occupies the site of part of the palace. The Mosque el-
Azhar, built by Gohar at the same time as the palace, lay immediately to the
south of it.
Upon the extinction of the Tulunide Dynasty, A.d. 905, el-Kataiya was
sacked and burnt.. During the reign of El-Mustansir, one of the Fatimides, in
a.d. 1035, it was completely destroyed, and the growth of the new city round
about el-Kahira must- have been greatly augmented. The gates before referred
to as now inside the town were for the defence of this city. After 1172 the
founder of the Ayubide dynasty, Yusuf Salah-ed-din, raised around the city a
strong wall of masonry, including within its enlarged circuit all that part
lying between the Bab ez-Zuwela and the Citadel, which he began to build at
the same time. Since then the city has extended both to the west and north.
During the reigns of the Mameluke Sultans the city was enlarged and
beautified; It became the most remarkable Arab capital in the East.
Cairo, was the residence of the Khalifs and capital of their dominions
until the overthrow of the Mameluke sovereignty in Egypt by Sultan Selim
in 1517, and the abolition of the nominal Abbaside Khalifate. It then
bscamethe capital of the Turkish province of Egypt, and continued so until


88 eoute 9. — cairo. [Sect. II.
its capture by the French after the so-called battle of the Pyramids in _ 1798.
Their occupation lasted three years, when the city was again taken try tne
Turks and English in 1801. In 1811 Mohammed Ali, by his massacre of the
Mamelukes in the Citadel, attained almost absolute power in rigypt and
Cairo became once more the capital of a virtually independent kingdom. Many
improvements in the state of the city were made in his reign but the greatest
changes have taken place since the accession of Ismail Pasha in 1863. New
streets were opened through the centre of the city, new quarters laid out and
designed, and the general aspect in many parts completely changed.
In 1879 Tewfik Pasha succeeded his father Ismail, and for the next few
years the improvements went on more slowly, but the occupation of Egypt by
the British has given a fresh impetus to building, and new houses are rapidly
springing up, especially in the west of the town, between it and the Nile,
and on the island of Gezira. These houses are not only occupied by Europeans,
but the richer natives are also abandoning their houses in Cairo proper for a
more fashionable situation in the Ismailiya quarter.
2. Climate.
Nothing can be pleasanter than the climate of Cairo after the damp
of the inundation has subsided, and the rains are over in February ;
before that it is decidedly feverish. The days then become warm and
bright, and the nights are cool and refreshing. Rain may fall every
two or three days for several weeks during a wet winter, or may be
much less frequent. The average number of days upon which -rain
falls during the winter months is 15. The average maximum shade
temperature from November till April is as follows : — November 75° P. ;
December 69° E. ; January 67° P. ; February 68° E. ; March 76° F. ;
April 84° F.
In December, January, and February, there are often fogs in the early
morning, which, however, soon pass off. Even in the hottest part of
the summer, except when a Khamsin is blowing, the early mornings
are fresh and pleasant, and in July after the Nile has risen the increasing
volume of water, combined with N. winds, helps to keep the air cool ;
but damp exhalations from the river are prevalent during the months
of September, October, and November, especially after the inundation
has begun to subside. Helwan and Heliopolis, the new part of the
Ezbekiya quarter, the Abbasiya road, and the Tewfikiya quarter are
the healthiest places for a residence. The, neighbourhood of the Shubra
road, being under water during the inundation, is damp and unhealthy
in the autumn and early winter.
Invalids, by refraining from going out of doors during the hottest
and coldest of the twenty-four hours, can spend six months in Cairo in
a temperature both indoors and out of doors which need only vary from
63° F. to 80° F. 3. Population and Government.
Population. — At the last census, which was taken in 1897, Cairo
had a population of 565,187, of whom over 35,000 are Eur-opeans of
different nationalities, Greeks predominating. It is the largest city in
Africa. The bond fide inhabitant of Cairo is very proud- of the appella
tion of "Masri," or Cairene, by which he is always distinguished
among his fellows, and considers himself immensely superior to his
brethren of the Delta and Said; and there are marked mental and.








Sect. II.] ROUTE 9.  CAIRO. 89
physical differences between them. The town-bred Cairene is much
quicker and more intelligent than his country cousin, but is also less
to he depended upon and more free and easy. When taken into the
country as a servant he is apt to be arrogant and get himself disliked
by the felldhin.
The extraordinarily cosmopolitan nature of the population of Cairo
will at once be noticed. Not only is the mixture of European and
native remarkable (this may also be seen at Algiers), but the natives
themselves are of all types ; besides the real Cairenes, the Arabs, the
felldhln, the Berberines, and the Negroes, all the races of the Near East
are represented : Turks, Syrians, Armenians, Greeks, Albanians, Maltese,
&c. A Cairo crowd is kaleidoscopic, and the varieties of type, colour
and costume are almost bewildering to the unaccustomed eye.
Government. — Cairo, like Alexandria, forms a government distinct
from the province in which it is situated. It has its own Governor,
who is assisted by a deputy. The Gouvernorat is situated in the
Bab el-Khalk Square (p. 92). The same rule in criminal cases holds
good here as elsewhere in Egypt : if the defendant is a foreigner he
must be taken before his own consular court. Civil eases between
natives and foreigners, and foreigners of different nationalities, are
decided by the mixed tribunals. The newly-established native tribunals
decide both criminal and civil cases between natives, with the exception
of questions which must be referred to the religious law, based on the
Koran. These are settled at the Mehkema, or Kadi's Court, which has
its headquarters in Cairo.
The police of Cairo are organised in the usual manner under British
supervision. The constables will be found as obliging as their London
models, if the traveller knows enough Arabic to communicate with
them as regards his direction, &e. No tip should on any account be
offered for any such small service rendered by the police.
The Fire Brigade is organised on the English plan : central station
in the 'Atabet el-Khadra (p. 92).
4. Plans for seeing Cairo and Neighbourhood.
[Rly. Stations. — Central Terminus Stat., for Upper Egypt as well as for Alex
andria, Port Said, and Suez, N. of the city, across the Kantaret el-Limun. Kantaret
el-Limun Stat., S. of the bridge, local trains for Matariya and El-Marg. Bab
el-huk Stat., S. of the place of that name, for Helwan.
Tramways (Electric). — Central point, the 'Atabet el-Khadra, E. of the Ezbekiya.
ROUTES : 1. (S.E.) Sharia Muhammad Ali, Bab el-Khalk, Place Rumeleh (Citadel).
2. (S.W.) Sharia Abd el-Aziz, Sharia el-Khubri (branch to the Place NasrieJi), Square
Bab el-huk, Kasr en-Jiil, to Masr el-Atika (Old Cairo). 3. (W.) Ezbekitia, Sharia
Kamel, Sharia Buldk. 4. (N.) Ezbekiya, Boulevard Clot-Bey, Bond-point de Faggdla,
Central Station. Two lines start from elsewhere : 1. Kasr en-Nil to the Ismailiya
Canal, Bond-point de Faggdla, ez-Zahir, and Abbasiya. 2. Ez-Zahir to the Mtiski,
Bab el-Khalk, Seyyida Ziivdb, and Fumm el-Khalig (for Old Cairo). Fares : 1st cl. , 10 m.
2nd cl., 5 m. The line from the other side of the Nile Bridge to Giza and the
Pyramids belongs to the same system. Special fares.
Cabs. — Open victorias with two horses : good. Tariff exhibited. Drivers num
bered, and responsible to the police, as in London. (See Index-directory.)
Donkeys are generally used in Cairo by natives only, but may be taken from the
stand in the 'Atabet el-Khadra for excursions into the native city.]
It will usually be found most convenient to divide the day into two
parts, so as to return in the middle of the day to luncheon ; but this,
pf. pourse, will depen4 on the inclination and, ponyenience of the


90 ROUTE 9.  CAIRO. j_Decr. II,
traveller. The excursion to Sakkara will in any ease require a whole
day, and many will not think that too much to devote to the Pyramids.
In Six DAYS.— For those who, without being too hurried, wish to see everything
of interest in as short a time as possible, the following way of arranging their time
may be recommended :—
1st Day. Morning : Drive about the town, and visit the different Bazaars (p. 99).
Afternoon : Drive to Gezira or see the Arab Museum in the Bab el-Khalk.
V2tia Day. Excursion to Old Cairo (tramway or cab), visiting Mosque of Amr,
Coptic Churches, Island of R6da, and the NUometer (pp. 133 ft.). Return (cab) by
European Cemeteries, Mosques of Seyyida Zenab, Tiililn, and Hasan, Tombs of
Imdm esh-Shaff, and Citadel (pp. 101 ff.). This will require, 5 or 6 hours. It
should be arranged so as to be on the platform outside the Mosque of Mohammed Ali
for the view about half an huur before sunset. The day may be divided into two
parts by returning straight from the Nilometer to the hotel, and then making a fresh
start. 3rd Day. Excursion to the Pyramids (tramway), starting early. On the way
there see the Zoological Gardens of Giza.
4th Day. Morning : Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. Afternoon : Excursion to
Heliopolis. 5th Day. Excursion (on donkeys) to Petrified Forest and Tombs of the Khalifs,
pp. 150 ff. (Kait. Bey). Go out by the Bab en-Nasr and the Mosque of el-Hakim,
visit the Bu'rg edh-Dhiftir, and take the Tombs of the Khalifs on the way to the
Petrified Forest. Return from the Petrified Forest over the Mokattam hills, arriving
at Gebel Giyushi at sunset and returning by the Citadel. This excursion takes the
whole day. Lunch should be brought and eaten near Moses' Well before reaching
the Petrified Forest. Carriages can be taken at the Citadel to return to the hotel.
6th Day. Excursion (railway) to Sakkdra (p. 187). This mil occupy the whole
day. If the traveller is going up the Nile in a dahabiya, it may be made with less
trouble from his boat.
Those who have the time may give a day to an excursion to the Barrage (p. 157),
and another day to an excursion to the Quarries of Turra and Ma'sdra, ,and the Baths
of Helwdn. And there are many other mosques, such as those of Kalaun, el-Azhar,
Hasanen, Ghuri, Muayyad, &c, well worth giving a morning or afternoon to, besides
old Coptic churches and dervish monasteries.
In Three Days. — To those very much pressed for time the following method of
employing three days may be recommended : —
1st Day. Morning: Citadel, Stdtan Hasan Mosque, Tombs of Khalifs. After
noon : Visit Old Cairo; see Coptic Churches, Mosque of 'Amr, Island of Roda, and
the Nilometer.
2nd Day. Morning : Museum of Antiquities. Afternoon : Pyramids and Sphinx.
3rd Day. Sakkdra, or, if this should be loo fatiguing an excursion, go in the
morning to the Bazaars ; see some of the Mosques in passing. Afternoon: Arab
Museum. 5. Modern Cairo.
In shape Cairo is an irregular oblong, about 3 m. in length and
2 m. in breadth, and occupies an area of more than 5 sq. m. It extends
from the Nile banks westward to the heaps of rubbish which divide it
from the valley in which stand the Tombs of the Khalifs. On the N. it is
bounded by the railway and canal to Abbasiya, on the S. it extends as far
as the ancient Fustat, the modern Masr el-'Atika (Old Cairo). The
western portion is the modern or European city; the eastern, the
old city or native quarter. The European city is entirely European
in its style of architecture, and, but for the natives in the streets,
one might imagine oneself in Paris. Since the English occupation
this europeanization of Cairo has grown apace, and the influx of
European immigrants has increased enormously; in the tourist
season there seem to be in the streets of the European quarter as
many Europeans as natives, European influence has largely invaded.


Sect. IL] ROUTE 9.  CAIRO. 91
the native city also, but the tourist will still find the old Oriental
character of the town in great measure preserved, especially in the
long street leading the whole length of the city from the Citadel north
wards to the Bab ez-Zuwela, the Muristdn Kaldiin, the Silk cn-Nahhdsin,
the Mosque oiel-Hdkim, and the gates of Capture and Victory (Bab el-
Futuh and Bab en-Nasr). The side streets around the Mosques of
ibn-Tuhln, al-Muayydd, and el-Azhar are interesting. The Milski and
its continuations, the Shari'a el-Gedida and Shari'a esh-Sharawdni,
are europeanized and uninteresting. The once famous Klidn Khalil is
now quite spoilt, the native merchants have largely given way to
Parsis, and the place looks like an "Indian village '' in an exhibition.
The boundary between the European and the Oriental city may be
taken as running from the Railway Terminus (N.) down the Boulevard
Clot-Bey to the Meidan el-Khazneddr, thence through the " Quartier
Bosetti " to the 'Atabet el-Khadra, and down the Sharia Muhammad
Ali to the Place Bab el-Khalk; thence to the Abdin Quarter at the
intersection of the Shari'a Mabdilli and the Shari'a Imdm ed-Din,
following the latter and the native Shari'a en-Nasriya southward to
the 'Atabet es-Seyyida Zenab, and thence diagonally S.W. to the Nile
above Kasr el-Aini. 6. The European City.
The European City, within the boundaries noted above, contains
seven distinct Quarters (not official) : 1. Tewfikieh — named after the late
Khedive Tewfik — between the Rly. Stat, and the Shari'a Billdk, along
which runs the tramway from the Ezhekiya to Bfilak. 2. Ismailiyeh — -
so called from Ismail Pasha, who began it with the idea of building
modern houses in the Parisian style — lies to the S. of Tewfikieh
between the Ezbekiya and the Ismailiyeh Canal, which reaches the Nile
just N. of Kasr en-Nil. This is the most frequented part of New Cairo ;
it contains most of the good hotels, the consulates, and the best shops.
3. Kasr en-Nil, between Ismailiyeh and the Nile Bridge, contains the
famous barracks of that name, the National Museum of Antiquities, the
Savoy Hotel, &c. 4. Kasr ed-Dubara, on the Nile bank S. of the
bridge, the most distinguished quarter, contains the British Consulate-
general, two Khedivial palaces, and most of the ministries and public
offices. 5. Kasr el-Aini, S. of this, opposite the island of Roda, con
tains .the well-known hospital of the name. 6. Abdin, N.E. of Kasr
ed-Dubara, and S. of the streets along which runs the tramway from
the 'Atabet el-Khadra to the Nile Bridge, contains the chief Cairene
palace, the residence of the Khedive. 7. Bosetti, a half-native quarter
N. of the 'Atabet el-Khadra and the Mriski, and E. of the Ezbekiya.
The island of Gezira, opposite Kasr en-Nil, has also become a
European quarter, the well-known Gezira Palace Hotel and the Race
course being situated here.
Starting from the Bly. Terminus we cross the generally crowded
bridge over the Ismailiyeh Canal, called the Kantaret el-LimiXn, and
leaving on our left the small local Bly. Stat, of that name (trains for
Matarlya and el-Marg), we reach an open place known as the Bond-point
de Faggdla, from the native quarter of Faggala to the E. To the 1. the
tramway passes down a long modern street, the Boulevard or Shari'a,
Clot-Bey, to a square, the Miidan el-Khazneddr, in which are situated
the Hotel Bristol and tbe Bourse, at the N,E, corner of the Ezbekiya


92 ROUTE 9. — CAIRO. [Sect. 11.
Gardens. The road running directly S. from the Rond-point de Faggala
conducts us to a triangular open space with trees, the Meidan Kantaret
ed-Dikkeh, from which diverges 1. the Shari'a Wagh el-Birket, to the
MSidan el-Khaznedar. We have now reached the business centre of
Cairo. Here begins the Shari'a Kamel, on which are situated the
Continental and Shepheard's Hotels and the chief shops of the capital,
nearly every other one of which seems to be a cigarette manufactory.
Cook's Offices are on the right hand side going S., next to Shepheard's.
Opposite the Continental hotel are the Ezbekiya Gardens, named
after Ezbek, an emir of the 15th century, who defeated the Seljukian
Turks and brought the general and son-in-law of Sultan Bajazet I.
prisoner to Cairo. The gardens (adm. P.T.J) were laid out in 1870 by
M. Barillet, formerly chief gardener to the city of Paris.
Before Mohammed Ali's time the Ezbekiya used to be one large sheet of
water during the inundation. He cut a canal round it in order to keep the
water from the centre, and laid it out as a garden, with trees planted on the
bank of the canal. In Said Pasha's time it became the favourite locale of low
European coffee-shops and beer-bouses. In 1867 Ismail Pasha began trans
forming it into its present state. The trees were cut down and the whole of
the area filled up to the level of the surrounding ground ; a part was then cut
up into building-plots, and the remainder enclosed within high iron railings,
and, after many changes of plan, finally laid out as a public garden, with cafes,
alfresco theatres, grottoes, ornamental water, &c. The gardens are well kept,
being planted with the creeping Lipfiia nodiflora, the usual substitute for grass
in Egypt, and the trees have grown quickly and give good shade. It is a very
favourite place of resort, especially when an English or Egyptian military band
performs in the evening. The cost of making the garden was considerable, and
the inhabitants and visitors to Cairo owe a debt of gratitude to Ismail Pasha
for forming this tasteful pleasure-ground.
The streets surrounding the Ezbekiya, and in the adjoining Ismailiya
quarter, are broad and well laid out, with trees planted along each
footpath, so that even in the heat of summer it is possible to walk for
considerable distances without being incommoded by the sun. The
houses of the streets on the N. and E. sides project over the footway,
forming arcades in imitation of those of the Rue de Rivoli. All this
imitation of Paris is due to the Khedive Ismail, who presented land
free to anybody who would erect a building worth at least 30,000 fr.
within eighteen months.
S.E. of the Ezbekiya is the building of the Mixed Tribunals, facing
E. on to the place called 'Atabet el-Khadra, which is the centre of the
tramway system of Cairo. E. runs the narrow street called Muski,
which would appear from its signs to be chiefly tenanted by tarbush-
rnakers and watchmakers. This is the old Frank Quarter. It derives
its name from one Izz-ed-din Musk, a relation of Saladin, who built the
bridge of Kantaret el-MAski (over the Khalig canal, now filled up),
whence the whole of the street in its vicinity gradually took the
name. It was here that the first Franks who opened shops in Cairo
were permitted to reside, in the reign of Saladin.
Down a turning to the rt. used to be the Hotel du Nil, with a good
garden, interesting to tourists as being in the native city. Fine view
of Cairo from the tower. (This hotel was closed in 1906.)
S.E. from the 'Atabet el-Khadra runs the long and straight Shari'a
Muhammad Ali, direct by the Plage Bab el-JChalk, where are the.


Sect. II.] ROUTE 9. — CAIRd. 03
Gouvernorat, Central Police Station, and Museum of Arab Antiquities
(p. 123), to the Citadel (p. 101).
S. runs the Shari'a Abd el-Aziz to the Abdin Quarter, the Stat, oi
Bab el-Lilk and Kasr ewNil, Nile Bridge, Barracks, and National
Museum (see below).
S. of the Mixed Tribunals, in a street {Shari'a Tahir) leading W.
from the 'Atabet el-Khadra, are the Central Fire Station, the General
Post-office, and the offices of the Service de la Dette Publigue. Opposite
this, and between it and the Ezbekiya, is the Opera House, with, in the
place (Miidcm et-Teatrd) in front of it, an equestrian statue of Ibrahim
Pasha, the conqueror of the Sudan and the Morea.
S. the Shari'a Abdin, with its picturesque minaret of the Mosque
of el-Kikhya, continues the line of the Shari'a Kamel to the Khedivial
Palace of Abdin, intersecting on the way the junction of the Shari'as
'Abd el-Aziz and el-Khubri (tramway 'Atabet el-Khadra, Kasr en-Nil,
Old Cairo), at which is situated the Abdin District Police-station.
The Abdin Palace and Barracks are low and unimposing buildings
flanking the irregular open spaces called the Miidans Abdin and el-
Mabduli. To right and left of the Meidan et-Teatro, on the opposite side of
the way, four important streets leave the Shari'as Kamel and Abdin W.
in the direction of Bulak. (1.) The Shari'a Buldk, along which runs a
tramway-line, starts opposite the W. gate of the Ezbekiya and runs
direct to the Bridge of Abu Lileh, over the Ismailiyeh Canal, on the
other side of which is the suburb of Bulak. (2.) The Shari'a el-Maghrabi
starts S. of the Continental Hotel. In it are the Hotel d'Angleterre,
the Turf Club, and the British Consulate (at end on rt.) (3.) The
Shari'a el-Manakh, with the Ottoman Bank, Bank of Egypt, and National
Bank, the Eastern Telegraph Co.'s building, &c. These two streets end
at the Shari'a Suleiman Pasha. (4.) The Shari'a Kasr en-Nil, with the
British Military Headquarters (S. side), runs S.W. to the" Bond-point
de Kasr en-Nil, in the centre of which is a statue of Suleiman Pasha.
Here the Sharias Kasr en-Nil and Suleiman Pasha converge, and at the
corner is the Savoy Hotel. Close by, in the Shari'a Gami'a esh-Sherkes,
is the American Consulate.
S. the Shari'a Masr el-'Atika (Old Cairo Street) continues the line
of the Suleiman Pasha Street to the Place Ismailiyeh. The Shari'a
Kasr en-Nil runs on to the Kasr en-Nil Barracks main entrance and
the National Museum of Antiquities (p. 125), whose simple but
imposing front and cupola form a fine architectural effect. N. the
Shari'as Wabur el-Moiya (Waterworks Street) and et-Teraah el-
Ismailiyeh(Isma,iliyeh Canal Street) run direct to the Victoria Hospital,
the Abu Lileh Bridge, and the Central Bly. Stat.
A bridge crosses the canal to Biilak, and a short street (Shari'a Filmm
et-Teraah, Canal-mouth Street) leads from it to the Rond-point de Kasr
en-Nil. (The Shari'a Gami'a esh-Sherkes continues the line of this street
to the Bond-point de Bab el-Lilk.)
S. of the main entrance to the Kasr en-Nil Barracks is the Place
Ismailiyeh, where the Shari'as Masr el-'Atika and el-Khubri (from Bab
el-Luk, Abdin, and the 'Atabet el-Khadra) converge. The line of the
Shari'a el-Khubri is continued to the Great Nile Bridge ; on the N. side
of the road is the parade-ground and the long and imposing line of
buildings of the Kasr en-Nil Barracks (occupied by British regiments).


94 ROUTE 9.— CAIRO. [Sect. II.
The Nile Bridge Was built by a French company. It is 420 yds.
long ; the stone buttresses are 55 yds. apart ; the bridge itself is of iron.
The ends of the high parapet are decorated with colossal sitting lions,
of good and imposing design. The bridge is opened for the passage of
vessels for an hour in the morning, and another in the afternoon (times
announced on a notice-board at the entrance : enquiry should be made
at the hotels, as at these times the bridge is impassable). The passage
of the dahabiyas and gyassas (freight-vessels) through the bridge, and
the animated crowds of persons waiting for its closing, are worth seeing.
To the S. of the bridge is the Quay, where passengers embark on
the steamers for Upper Egypt. Beyond this are the, gardens of the
British Consulate-general, coming down to the water's edge.
On the farther side of the bridge is the Island of Gezira (p. 145).
Here the electric tramway for Giza and the Pyramids starts.
Returning to the Place Ismailiyeh, we turn to the rt. down the
Shari'a Masr el-'Atika (tramway to Old Cairo). L. the Shari'a Kawala
leads to the Bab el-Liik Bly. Stat, (for Helwan), which is of somewhat
primitive construction, being planted in the middle of a broad street,
the Shari'a Mansur, in which the rails are laid like a tramway, with a
high palisade on either side to prevent accidents.
Rt. the Ismailiya Palace and the quarter of Kasr ed-Dubara, in
which is situated the British Consulate-general.
L. the Shari'a Shikh Bihdn, leading to the Shari'a MabdAli, the
Abdin Palace, and the Shari'a Helwdn, which occupies the bed of the
ancient canal el-Khalig, now filled up (tramway S. to Seyyida Zenab,
N. (by the Shari'a el-Khalig el-Masri, the continuation of the Shari'a
Helwan) to Bab el-Khalk and the Muski).
At the corner of Shekh Rihan Street is the building of the Institut
Egyptien, and beyond it the large buildings of the Ministries of War
and Public Works, situated in gardens. Beyond this the Shari'a Shekh
Yiissuf leads to the Ministries of Justice, Finance, and the Interior, at
the Bond-point de Nasrieh (tramway to the 'Atabet elTKhadra).
Rt. the palaces of Ibrahim Pasha and the Khediva-Dowager (Kasr
el-Ali); beyond this the Hospital and Medical School of Kasr el-Aini,
where is also the small mosque in which the Howling Dervishes per
form. Beyond this is the Fumm el-Khalig, where the abolished canal
of el-Khalig used to enter the Nile. (For the further route to Old
Cairo, see p. 133.) 7. The Oriental City.
The Oriental City presents a vivid contrast to the European city
just described, with its narrow lanes and alleys, its houses with over
hanging upper stories decorated with windows of carved wood (mush-
rabiya work), its mosque-grilles of bronze, its picturesque minarets and
fountains. The native shops also, with their craftsmen at work, are
extremely picturesque, and are a never-failing source of interest to the
European tourist, while the gates of Capture and Victory, the Bab
ez-Zuwela, and the imposing Citadel, vie in grandeur with the most
imposing military structures of the European Middle Age.
The whole of the Oriental part of the city is divided into Quarters
(Hdra, in " construct state " Hdret), which used to be separated from
each; other by gates. These gates were closed at night and guarded
by watchmen, who allowed no one to pass without examination. Few


Sect. II.] route 9.— caibo. 95
of these gates are now in existence. 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 Hdret
es-Suggain, "Quarter of the Water-carriers"; the Hdret en-Nasdra,
or Hdret el-Kubt, " the Christian" or " Copt quarter " ; the Hdret el-
Yahud, "Jew's quarter" ; the Hdret el-Frang, "Frank quarter" ; and
the like.
The Streets are very narrow, and in consequence of the Cairene
mode of building houses, each story projecting beyond that imme
diately below it, two persons may almost 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 object greater coolness. To
indicate by name any of these streets would he useless, but the principal
and most frequented ones are in the neighbourhood of the different
bazaars, through which they in most cases pass. The names of many
of them have been recently put up at the corners, written in both
Arabic and English characters. As many of the names are very old,
the study of them, for persons who care for antiquarian research, is of
considerable interest. The Arabic terms " Shari'a," "street"; "Darb,"
"road " ; " Meidan," "place " ; "Hdra," " quarter " ; "Atfa," "alley" ;
" Sikka," "lane or path," &c, are used.
There are four main arteries in the native city :—
1. The Muski, once the broadest street in Cairo (!), running from
the 'Atabet el-Khadra due E. (under the names of Sikket el-Gedida
(New Lane) and Shari'a esh-Sharawdni) to the mounds of rubbish
which form the eastern boundary of the city. On the tops of these
mounds a row of windmills used to stand (whence their name of
Windmill Hill) ; from them a magnificent view of the tombs of the
Khalifs and the hills and quarries beyond may be obtained towards
evening. The direct road to the tombs runs through a gap in the hills
at the Bab el-Ghureib (Crows' Gate), just S. of the end of the Shari'a
esh-Sharawani. 2. The Shari'a Muhammad Ali, a modern street, running direct S.E.
from the 'Atabet el-Khadra to the Mosque of Sultan Hasan and the
Citadel. At the Place Bab el-Khalk (p. 123) this route crosses the
long double street, the westernmost part of which occupies the bed of
the canal el-Khalig, and -".called
3. The Shari'a Helwdn and Shari'a el-Khalig el-Masri, leading from
the 'Atabet es-Seyyida ZSnab in the S. to the extreme N. of the city
at the Bab esh-Sha'riya and the Barracks of ez-Zahir.
4. The series of narrow streets, the most picturesque in Cairo, which
succeed each other in line from the Citadel to the Bab ez-Zuwela and
the Biban el-Futiih and en-Nasr (gates of Capture and Victory).
Starting from the S., in the reverse direction to that which we
have followed in traversing the European city, we take the tramway
from the Fiimm el-Khalig to the Place and Mosque of the Moslem
she-saint Seyyida Zinab (p. 120). N. lies a native quarter stretching
to the Abdin Palace. The tramway-line follows the Shari'a Helwan
(see above) northwards. The Shari'a es-Seyyida Zenab (continued as
the Darb el-Gaimdmiz) leads to the Viceregal Library in the Bab el-
Khalk (p. 123), where the magnificent Khedivial collections of Oriental
MSS., illuminated Kurans, and Persian miniatures are kept.


96 ROUTE 9. — CAIRO, [Sect. II,
Passing straight on eastwards down the Sliari'a el-Mardsin we see
rt. the dilapidated but picturesque little Mosque of Sangar el-Gd,Hlif
and farther on a narrow lane, the Shari'a Bir el- Wotawit (Bats^ Pit
Street), which leads to the famous and ancient Mosque of Ibn Tulun,
one of the chief sights of Cairo (p. 118). The Shari'a Ibn Tulun and
the Shari'a er-Bukbiya, turning out of it 1, lead to a carfax marked by
the sebil and Mosque of Shikhi'in (p. 116), from which the street of the
same name takes us to the Place Bumeleh, a circular open space at the
foot of the Citadel, lying between it and the Mosque of Sultan Hasan.
The long open space adjoining it on the S., which formerly went by
the name of the Karamedan (Turk. "Black Place "), is now called the
Place Mohammed Ali. It is from this spot that the Mecca pilgrimage
starts. A long dusty space, which lies a little to the W. of the latter, and
which is generally known by the name of Taht es-Swr (" Below the
Wall "), is used as a market-place for horses, donkeys, camels, &c. To the
S. are the Mohammedan Cemetery and the Tombs of the Mamelukes.
Opposite rises the imposing mass of the Citadel (p. 101), crowned
by the slender minarets of the Mosque of Mohammed Ali, and with its
entrance gate, the Bab el-Azab, projecting forward into the street. To
the 1. is the splendid Mosque of Sultan Hasan (p. 114), the cathedral-
mosque, so to speak, of Cairo, and one of the finest monuments of
Saracenic architecture in the world. Between it and the unfinished
Mosque of er-Bifd'iya close by, the tramway runs down through a
narrow street like a gorge, so lofty and sheer are the mosque walls on
either hand, to the Shari'a Muhammad Ali.
The road running past the Bab el-Azab N. leads to a long native
lane, the Shari'a Bab el-Wazir, which runs past the Mosques of Khirbek,
Aksunkur 1., and Mehmandar rt., to the Bab ez-Zuwela (p. 98),
the very type and exemplar of a Saracenic city gate, with its twin
bastions crowned by graceful minarets, its hanging portcullis, and the
stream of picturesque Oriental traffic which surges in the narrow street
about its base.
The street continuing the line of that up which we have come
proceeds under the name of Shari'a Taht er-Bebaa to the Bab el-Khalk.
We pass through the Bab ez-Zuwela to(l.) the imposing and important
Mosque of el-Muayyad, and by it up the Sukkariya to the Mosque of
el-Fakihani, and up the long street p:, '-ig 1. the Mosques of
el-Ghilri (p. 109) and el-Ashraf, to the bisection of the Sikket
el-Gedida (continuation of the Milski). In the complex of lanes to the
right is the University Mosque of el-Azhar (p. 109). Proceeding
northwards, the Silk en-Nahhdsin (coppersmiths' market) is reached,
with its extremely picturesque group of Saracenic buildings, the Milristdn
Kdlailn (p. 107), the Mosques of Barkukiya and en-Ndsir, the sebil of
'Abd er-Bahmdn, and others. To the rt. are the narrow lanes of the
Khdn Khalil, where the carpet merchants live or used to live.
Still further N. (rt.) are the stately ruins of the great Fatimide
Mosque of el-Hakim (p. 107), whose massive mabkhara-towers are
among the most ancient of their kind. The N.W. tower forms part of
the northern city wall, which we have now reached at the Bab el-
Futuh (" Gate of the Opening," i.e. capture of Cairo, p. 98). E. of
the Mosque of el-Hakim is the companion "Gate of Victory," the
Bab en-Nasr (p. 97), S. of which is the Mosque of Bebars el-Gashenkir


Sect. II.] route 9. — cairo. 97
,(p. 108). Outside the gates is the dusty road round to the Tombs of the
Khalifs. W. a series of comparatively uninteresting streets brings us
back again to the Bond-point de Faggdla and the Rly. Terminus.
[The chief points of interest in the Oriental City are described in the following
sections.] 8. Gates and "Walls.
. . The original walls of Cairo — i.e. of Gohar's city, Kahira (tenth cent.)
— were of brick. In the reign of the Khalif Mustansir (a.d. 1036-1094)
these walls were pulled down, and the circuit of the city slightly
increased. The three principal gates were then constructed by three
Greek brothers, and a stone wall of defence built, under the direction of
Bedr el-Gemali. In the reign of Saladin or Salah-ed-din (a.d. 1171-1193)
these walls were replaced (in parts, we may presume, only completed) by
a new wall of stone, which connected Kahira with the Citadel. According
to the project of Salah-ed-din, this wall of fortification was to have
included Fustat, but the nlan was not carried out. The walls of Cairo
may be followed on the E. and N. sides ; and a good excursion, which
should by no means be overlooked by travellers, may thus' be made on
donkey or on foot. Starting from the Bab el-Waztr below the Citadel,
a pathway skirts the exterior of the walls, which are closely pressed by
the extensive rubbish heaps. The wall, with its numerous bastions, is
picturesque and imposing. A little before reaching the entrance to the
Miiski, an interesting old gateway, now closed up, will be observed. It
is called Bab Darb el-Mahruk. As you pass on to the Bab el-Ghureib
and the point where the prolongation of the Milski terminates, the wall
becomes completely buried for some distance, but it emerges again, and
should be followed to its N.E. extremity. Here, at the point where it
makes a turn towards the Bab en-Nasr, is a tower of peculiar construc
tion, upon which the builders lavished their utmost ingenuity. It
should be carefully inspected. It goes by the name of the Burg edh-
'Dhiffir ("Tower of Filth"). This name is scarcely intelligible, and it
is possible that the proper name of the tower should he "Burg edh-
Dhafar" ("Tower of Victory"). There are no inscriptions visible
except the word "Allah" (God), and the name of the builder of this
curious work is not known. It is partly choked with sand and rubbish,
but can still be entered by its slanting vaulted passage. This leads
down to an octagonal chamber, containing 8 well constructed niches
(including that which is prolonged to form the entrance passage). It
is surmounted by a carefully built dome, round which wind three
separate passages. Various apertures for the admission of air, or
communication with the outer passages, are pierced in the walls. The
object of this construction must be left to conjecture. It may probably
have served originally as the, quarter of the commanding officer, and
might have also been used for a prison or temporary dungeon. Numerous
quaint stories are associated with the place, which has acquired a bad
reputation as being the resort of thieves and afrits'. Several other
towers and chambers constructed in the interior of the wall to the S.
and W. of the Burg edh-Dhiffir are worthy of careful inspection.
Continuing to follow the walls, we arrive at the principal gates.
The Bab en-Nasr ("Gate of Victory"), which stands at the N.E.
of the Mosque of El-Hakim, is an imposing structure. Two massive
square towers flank the gateway. Above the exterior entrance, cut in
H


98 route 9.— cairo. [Sect. II.
Kufic characters upon a long slab, is the following Fatimide (Shi'ah)
inscription: "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful .
the One, and without equal. There is no deity but God. Mohammed
is the Apostle of God. Ali is the Vicar of God." Above the arch are
mouldings ; and shields of both normal and round shape are sculptured
in relief upon the walls of the towers, which are also adorned with a
cornice and a frieze bearing a long Kufic inscription, stating that the
gate and walls that surround el-Kahira were erected by the Khalif M-
Mustansir in the year 480 of the Hijra, a.d. 1087. The original Bab
en-Nasr stood on the S. of the Mosque of El-Hakim, or rather of the
place where the mosque was afterwards built. There is an inscription
inside the gate of about the date a.d. 1382, stating that a tax of five
coins (nature not stated) was to be levied on every camel entering the
gate. A winding staircase in the E. tower of the Bab en-Nasr gives
admission to the interior, to the terraces of the towers, and to the walls,
which may now be traversed as far as the Bab el-Futuh. At the time
of the French occupation this part of the wall was utilised for purposes
of defence, and the names given to the different towers (Forts Corbin,
Julien, Milhaud, Vaille, Lescale, Perault, and Janot), may be seen cut
in the stone. The work of the French may be easily distinguished
from that of earlier date.
The Bab el-Futiih (" Gate of Capture "), which stands to the N.W.
of the Mosque of El-Hakim, is also a handsome monument of the
eleventh century a.d. The entrance on the N. or exterior side is flanked
by solid half-round towers. The mouldings and ornamentation of the
arch above the entrance, and of the side niches, are rich and well
executed. The vaulting of the gateway and all the details of the
construction are remarkable. There is no Kufic inscription as on the
other gates. The walls can also be traversed from the Bab el-Futiih
to the Bab esh-Shariya by those desirous of making a more complete
examination. The door which gives access to them from the Bab
el-Futiih is usually closed, but may generally be opened if required.
The walls can also be followed from below ; but as they now traverse a
thickly-populated quarter, the traveller must be his own guide in
penetrating the narrow lanes that approach nearest to them. The
only other gate worthy of mention is the Bab ez-Zuwela (so named
after an Arab tribe). This was the S. gate of Cairo, but is now in
the heart of the city, between the SUkkariya and the great Shoe-
bazaar. Its massive towers, surmounted by the elegant minarets of the
adjacent Mosque of Muayyad, make it a conspicuous and picturesque
object. It was the most important gate in the times of the Fatimides,
as it formed the entrance from Masr to the Palace of the Khalif. This
gate generally goes by the name of the Bab el-Mutawelli, as being the
supposed resort of the "Kutb el-Mutawelli" (see Lane's 'Mod. Eg.').
On the great wooden iron-bound door, always folded against the
E. gateway, will be noticed innumerable iron nails, as well as teeth,
shreds of clothes, hair, and little votive offerings of dust from Medina,
placed there by siek folk, &c.
Of the old Fatimide fortress Kahira, and of the walls of Salah-ed-
din, these are the portions that remain. Of the walls on the S. and
W. sides no traces remain. The names of a few of the principal gates,
such as the Bab el-Khalk, the Bab el-L&k, the Bab el-Bdhr, Bab el-
Hadid, &o., alone remain to show where once they stood.


Sect. II] ROUTE 9. — CAIRO. 99
9. Sebils or Public Fountains,
" Sebils," or public fountains, are for the purpose of providing
water for the poor gratuitously. They were formerly supplied with
Water brought from the Nile on the backs of camels, but are now
supplied by water from the pipes of the Cairo Water Company. Some
of those of older date in the centre of the city merit admiration as
curious specimens of the peculiarities of Oriental taste, abounding in
great luxuriance of ornament. Many are to be seen in the Shari'a
el-Khalig or Helwan, towards the gate of Seyyida Zenab. For the
sebil of 'Abd er-Rahman Kikhya, near the mosque of Sultan Barkuk,
see p. 107. Of the more modern fountains, built according to Constan
tinople taste, those of Tussiim Pasha and of Ismail Pasha, sons of
Mohammed Ali, and that near the Stat., are the best- specimens.
There is generally a room immediately above the fountain devoted to
the purposes of a free day-school, maintained by the same charitable
foundation as the fountain. The drinking-places for cattle (hdd) are
also kept up by the same means, and often have schools attached to
them. There are about 200 public fountains in Cairo.
10. Bazaars.
[The principal bazaars may be conveniently described in the order in which the
traveller can visit them in the course of a walk, beginning with the .Khan el-Khalili.
To reach the entrance to the Khan el-Khalili, drive along the Muski past the Rond-
point du Muski until the Shari'a Khordagiya is reached on the 1. The entrance wil
be found a short way up this on the rt.]
The Khan el-Khalili, or Khan Khalil, was built by the Sultan El-
Ashraf Khalil, of the Baharide Mameluke Dynasty (see p. [105]), in
a.d. 1292. It is approximately on the site of the tombs of the Khalifs
of the Fatimide Dynasty. • It was considerably added to by El-Ghiiri,
who built the large portal and khan in the upper portion, as is shown
by an inscription over the entrance. Here are sold cloth, dresses,
swords, silks, slippers, embroidered stuffs, carpets, and other articles
from Turkey, Persia, &c. The two market days are Monday and
Thursday, the sale continuing from about 9 till 11 a.m. Various" goods
are sold by auction, the appraisers or delldlin carrying them through
the market and calling the price bid for them. Many things may
be brought at very reasonable prices on these 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 bazaar, while the delldlin wade
through the crowd, carrying drawn swords, fly-flaps, silk dresses,
chain armour, amber mouthpieces, guns, and various heterogeneous
substances. Much of the ancient interest of the Khan Khalil has,
however, disappeared since Indian Parsi merchants have taken up
their abode in it.
Carpets will be found near the principal entrance, opposite the
Hasanen Mosque, and in a court near the entrance from the Sftk
en-Nahhasin. Within the khdn is a square occupied by dealers in
copper and some other commodities ; and in a part called ' ' within the
chains " are silks and other Constantinople goods.
[Close to the Khan el-Khalili is the tomb of the Sultan Negm ed-din Ayyub,
of the Ayyflbide Dynasty. He died in a.d. 1250.3
H 2


100 route 9. — Cairo. [Sect. n.
From the Khar) el-Khalili we pass into the street called Suk en-
Nahhasin, or market of the coppersmiths, in which are the Mosques
of Kalaun, Barkuk, and En-Nasir (pp. 106 ff.). The pipe-makers
(shibdkshiya) are located here.
A low narrow gate leads from the Suk en-Nahhasin into the Suk
es-Saigh, or bazaar of the gold and silversmiths, where, however, the
ready-made articles are, as a rule, of inferior value and workmanship.
It is better, where time allows, to choose a pattern and settle on the
quality of the gold or silver of which- the article is to be made, and
what weight it is to be. Everything is paid for according to its
weight and the quality of the metal, which is attested by a Govern
ment official always in attendance in the bazaar, and 25 to 50 per cent.
is added for the workmanship. Close to this bazaar is that of the
Gohargiya, or jewellers.
On leaving this bazaar, we turn to the 1., cross the Muski into the
opposite street, along which we continue to the first turning on the 1.,
by which we enter the Hamzawi, where crape, silks, cloth, and other
goods, mostly of European manufacture, are sold. The dealers are all
Christians, and it is therefore closed on a Sunday.
On the 1. of the Hamzawi is the Suk el-Attarin, where attar of
roses and various other perfumes, as well as drugs and spices, are sold.
From this we pass by the Mosque of El-Ashraf into the broad street
of the Ghuriya, a bazaar in which are sold cotton and other stuffs,
silks, and indeed all sorts of articles.
A street almost immediately opposite that by which we emerged
from the Suk el-Attarin, leads to the Suk es-Sudan, where ostrich
eggs, Nubian spears and arrows, and gum-arabic are sold. Beyond
this are the Booksellers and Bookbinders, close to the Mosque of
el-Azhar (p. 109).
Retracing our steps to the Ghuriya and turning down it to the
1, we reach the Suk el^Fahhamin, the bazaar of the charcoal sellers
and the abode of the Moghrebin, or Moors, who sell blankets, fezzes or
tarbnshes (tardbish), burnuses (baranis), and other articles from the
Barbary coast.
Beyond this, on the same side, is the Akkadin, where silk cord and
gold lace are bought. Behind there is the market of the Muayyad
where cotton, wools, cushions, and beds of a common kind, woollen
shawls, and other coarse stuffs worn by the lower orders, are sold
daily, both in the shops and by auction.
Beyond the Sebil, or fountain of Tussum Pasha, is the Sukkariya
where sugar, almonds, and dried fruit are sold ; and this, like many
other names of streets, indicates the trade of the dealers.
Passing through the Bab ez-Zuwela, with the Mosque of Muayyad
(p. 112) on the rt., we come to the Kassobet Radwan, the shoe
makers bazaar, the last m this direction. If, however, we continue
along the street to the Boulevard Mohammed Ali, and turn np it to
the 1, we may reach the open space- in front of the Mosque of Sultan
Hasan (p. 114), and take the first turning on the 1. into the once well-
known Suk es-Sullah, or arms market, where swords, guns, and all
kinds of weapons used to be sold. This market, however,' once so


Sect. II.] ROUTE 9. — CAIRO. 101
picturesque, now presents but a sorry appearance, as most of the shop's
have been destroyed or have disappeared. The best shops for native
arms are in the Darb el-Ahmar, near the Bab ez-Zuwela.
At the N. end of the town are Mergiish and the Gemaliya, well-known
markets, at the former of which cotton cloths called bafta are kept;
and at the latter coffee and tobacco,, soap, and different goods imported
from .Syria. At the Bab esh-Shariya 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 S4k el-G&ma, held on a
Friday (on the way to the Bab el-Hadid, at what is called the Suk
ez-Zalat), where fowls, pigeons, rags, and any old goods are sold; the
Silk es-Samak, or Silk el-Fdatiya, near the same spot, where, as its
first name implies, fish is sold every afternoon ; and the Suk el-Aser,
close to the Bab en-Nasr, where secondhand clothes are sold by auction
every afternoon.
[To introduce a list of the prices of different articles sold in the bazaars of Cairo
would only mislead, as they are so continually changing. The traveller who is
iguorant of Arabic must trust to his dragoman or donkey boy to take him to the
shopwhere he can procure what he wants-and to assist him to make the bargain*
Making .purchases, through .their medium means adding 10 to 20 per cent, to the
price. As a rule offer half what is asked, and an agreement will probably be arrived
at midway between the two extremes'. The Oriental has no idea of the value of
time, so that a well-nigh inexhaustible stock of patience is needed by anyone who
wishes to make satisfactory purchases.] 11. The Citadel.
The Citadel (el-Kala') was built by Saladin, in 1166, of stone brought
from small pyramids at Giza, and formed part of his general plan for
strengthening the town, and protecting it from assault ; but it can
hardly be said to have been well chosen for this object, as it is com
pletely commanded by Gebel Mokattam. Mohammed Ali in 1805
erected a battery in the fort on the projecting point called Gebel el-
Giyushi immediately behind it, and thus compelled the surrender of
the Citadel, then in the possession of Khiirshid Pasha. According to
the Arab historian of the day, however, Saladin is said to have fixed
upon the spot because it was found that meat kept fresh there twice as
long as anywhere else in Cairo. The city side is well defended by the
natural abruptness of the rocks, and is also strongly armed and regu
larly fortified. A good carriage road leads up from the open square
called er-Rumeleh to the principal outer entrance-gate, and continues
on through another gate into the interior of the Citadel. Another
way in is by the Bab el-Azab, a fine massive gateway flanked by two
enormous towers. It was in the narrow and tortuous lane leading
from this gate that the massacre of the Mamelukes took place by order
of Mohammed Ali, on the 1st of March, 1811. The Mamelukes were
invited to a reception by Mohammed Ali in the palace of the Citadel.
When the reception was over, they were asked to take part in a
procession which was to pass through Cairo. The Mamelukes were
placed between the Pasha's regular troops ; and when they were in the
narrow rocky lane, the Bab el-Azab was shut, and the troops fell upon
them. Fire was also opened upon them from the Citadel above, and
notwithstanding a brave resistance they were all killed, 460 in number.
One Mameluke only escaped. He had been late in reaching the


102 route 9.— cairo. [Sect. n.
Citadel, and arrived at the foot of the Bab el-Azab just as it was
shutting. Hearing the fight above, he put spurs to his horse and
escaped into Syria. It is generally believed that he got away by
jumping from the wall of the Citadel, but this appears to he a legend
without foundation.
The Citadel is in itself a small town, and contains many objects
worth seeing. The Palace built by Mohammed Ali, which has taken
the place of the old palace of Saladin, contains some very handsome
rooms, especially a bath-room all of alabaster. The view from some of
the rooms is very fine. The palace is now occupied by the British as
officers' quarters, while the great palace in the Court of the Janissaries
is the central Military Hospital. It is well worth a visit.
On the S.E. side of the Mosque of Ibn Kalaun (p. 103) is Joseph's
Well, so called from the other name of Saladin (Yiisuf), who, when
the site of his fortress was being cleared, discovering a well that had
been cut by the ancients, ordered it to be cleared of the sand that
then filled it. It is probable that the original well was hewn in the
rock by the ancient Egyptians, like the tanks on the hill behind
the Citadel, near the Kubbet el-Hawa ; and this is rendered more
probable from there having been an ancient Egyptian town called
Khri Ahu on the site of the modern city. The well is composed of
two parts, of which the upper is about 160 ft. deep and the lower 130,
making a total depth of 290 ft. The descent is by a gently-sloping
staircase, and a wide landing-place marks the division between the
two parts of the well, which, it may be remarked, are not in a direct
vertical line. The bottom of the well is supposed to correspond with
the level of the Nile. The well is no longer used, as the Citadel is
supplied with water by the Cairo Water Company.
From the platform on the S. side of the mosque is a grand and
commanding View of the city and the surrounding country, taking in
the arsenal immediately below, the Rumeleh, and the fine mosque of
Sultan Hasan, just outside the gates of the Citadel, the numerous
minarets of Cairo, and, in the distance, the Pyramids, with the valley
of the Nile, to Sakkara on the S., and to the point of the Delta
on the N.
The Mosque of Mohammed Ali was commenced by that prince on
the site of the old palace of Saladin, commonly called Joseph's Hall,
which was blown up in 1824 ; and in 1857 it was partially completed
in its present form by Said Pasha. Its style is a bad imitation of the
Mosque of Nasr Osmaniya at Constantinople. The architect was
yiisuf Boshna, a Greek.
[The self-appointed guides at this mosque are impudent, and the official attendants
are not too civil. They have, as usual, been spoilt by tourists giving them tips on the
English scale.)
To the W. is the outer court, which 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 E. They support round arches, with fancy
capitals and dome vaults. The whole court is paved with large square
slabs of handsome white marble. In the centre is the hanefiya for
ablution. To the W. is a tower, in which is placed a clock presented
to Mohammed Ali by Louis Philippe. To the E, is the principal
entrance to the mosque, r r


Sect. II.] route 9. — cairo. 103
The mosque itself is surmounted by a large dome, supported by
four large piers, and embraced by four half-domes. Above the angles
are also four smaller domes. Below the springing of the domes are
small windows with round arches ; and these, as well as others that
are introduced at a short distance beneath, contain coloured glass
in patchwork of large squares and in bad taste. Below are two sets of
rectangular windows with plain glass. On the W. side is a, wide
gallery, supported by fluted alabaster columns ; and a narrow gallery
is continued at the same level along the other walls of the mosque,
and round the piers. Another gallery also encircles the interior of the
dome. Above the W. entrance is represented the setting sun with
long gilded rays. The visit to the interior should not be made too late
in the evening. The mosque is well worth visiting on some of the
great nights of Ramadan (especially the 13th, 14th, and 27th). In the
S.W. corner behind a bronze screen is the tomb of Mohammed Ali.
Opposite is a space railed off for the Sultan.
The Mosque of Ibn-Kalaun. — The old mosque in the centre of
the Citadel, N.E. of the Mohammed Ali Mosque, was built by the
Sultan Mohammed Nasir ibn-Kalaun, and was for many years the royal
mosque of Cairo. It has ceased to be used as a mosque for a consider
able time, and was turned into a prison. Until recently it was used as
a military store-house, and was not shown to visitors ; but lately the
stores have been removed, the partition walls cleared away, and the
beautiful colonnades of the mosque again exposed to view. The key is
usually with the door-keeper of the Citadel. The historian El-Makrizi
says of this mosque: "The mosque, situated in the citadel of the
mountain, was erected by the King Nasir Mohammed ibn-Kalaiin in
the year 718 of the Hijra. He caused a magnificent dome to be placed
upon the summit of it. The mosque was endowed with large funds,
and became one of the richest and most magnificent mosques in
Egypt." The mosque is nearly square, measuring 206 ft. from N.
to S., and 186 ft. from E. to W. The kibla is ornamented with
miniature arcades, inside which are beautiful arabesques. The great
dome, which has fallen in, was supported on ten great granite
columns. There are four rows of columns on the E. side, and two on
each of the other sides. A row of clerestory windows runs all round,
which were filled with stained glass, but this has almost completely
disappeared. The minarets are of quaint form, the upper portions
being coated with green tiles.
The little Mosque of Suleman Pasha on the N.E. side of the Citadel
well deserves a visit. It was built by the Mameluke Suleman, afterwards
known as Sultan Selim. It is a good example of the later Turkish
type introduced from Constantinople (see p. [165]). The central dome
surmounts a square space, on the N., S., and E. sides of which are
transeptal recesses, covered with semi-domes. The W. side is without
this appendage, and opens on a charming little cloister. The painted
decorations of the interior of the mosque are exceedingly good of their
period, and most harmonious in colour.
There are two other mosques within the Citadel, one the Mosque
of Sidi Saria, near the eastern wall (key with the shikh of the mosque) ;
the other a very small one close to the Bab el-Azab. Both of these
are believed to have been built since the Turkish conquest of Egypt.


104 ROUTE 9. — CAIRO. [Kect. 11.
From the Bab el-Gebel (" Desert Gate "), on the E. of the
Citadel, a magnificent view of the Gebel Giyushi (Mokattam), with
its quarries and the road ascending by a steep causeway, may be
obtained. . 12. Mosques.
[The mosques can be visited by purchasing tickets, P. T. 2 each. They can be bought
at the Wakfs' Administration in the Abdin Square, and from the hall-porters at the
principal hotels. The doorkeepers are civil at most of the mosques, but there are
exceptions. At many of the mosques slippers are provided to put on over the boots
to prevent the dust of the streets touching the floor. A small lee is expected for the
use of them. In some of the mosques the vergers are much distressed if a tourist
thoughtlessly enters the part devoted to prayer in his boots without first covering
them, and the stupid or careless tourist who does this must not be surprised if he
gets black looks from the worshippers. He would presumably himself be displeased
if a stranger were to wear his hat in an English church. In the secularised mosques,
such as that of Ibn Tulun, slippers need not be worn.
Itinerary for Mosques. — For those who can spare only one morning to see the
mosques, the following itinerary — which can be done on foot and without a guide —
though not containing all the principal ones, gives several of the most important
contained in a comparatively small area : —
Leaving the Ezbekiya by the Shari'a el-Ezbekiya in S.E., having the Mixed
Tribunals on the rt. , enter the Muski. Continue along it, passing the Rond Point
du Muski, until on the rt. the Shari'a el-Ghuriya is reached ; at the rt. hand corner
of which is the Mosque el-Ashraf. Turn down the Shari'a el-Ghuriya, and passing
the entrances to several bazaars, reach on the rt. the Mosque el-Ghuri. Opposite it
are the Sebil and Medresa, erected by the same founder. Continue along this street,
now called .Manakiliya, to the Mosque el-Pakihani, where the road curves to the rt.
and becomes the Sukkeriya ; at the end of which is the Bab ez-Zuwela. Connected
with this gate of the city on the rt. is the Mosque el-Muayyad. Retrace steps as
far as the Shari'a Sanadukiya on the rt. , which leads to the Mosque el-Azhar. On
leaving the mosque turn to the rt., go up the Shari'a el-Halwagi, in which is the
booksellers' bazaar; Cross the Muski, which is here called1 the Rue Neuve, and
follow the street immediately opposite ; this leads shortly to the Hasangn Mosque
on the rt. Continue in the same direction, turn to the 1. and then to the rt., which
will lead to the Bet el-Kadi ; leave this by the Shari'a Bet, which leads to the
Shari'a Khordagiya ; immediately opposite is the Mosque of Mohammed en-Nasr.
To the rt. of this is the Mosque of Barkuk, and to the 1. is the Muristan of Kalaun.
On leaving this turn to the 1., and a little' further on, where the road divides, is the
Sebil Abd-er-Rahman. Further on is the Mosque of el- Hakim. Retracing one's
steps and passing the mosques and the entrance to the Khan el-Khalili (I), the
Muski is soon reached. Just before turniug into it notice on the rt. a pretty sebil
with old tiles. 1
Cairo contains about 264 mosques and 225 zdwiyas or chapels. The
word Garni' (pi. Gowdma) is derived from the verb signifying "to
assemble," whence also the word gmna (Friday), the day of assembly
and Mohammedan Sabbath ; the other name, mesgid (whence mezquita,
mosquie), being from seged, "to bow down." The Indian Jumma
Musjid is the two Arabic words combined.
Many of the best mosques of Cairo are becoming, or have become^
complete ruins, after centuries of neglect. But fortunately the
Egyptian Government has realised' the importance of preserving these
most interesting monuments, and a decree was signed by the Khedive
in 1881 appointing " A Commission for the Preservation of Monuments
of Arabic Art." The Commission was composed of eight Egyptian
and three European members, the latter being the late Rogers-Bey,
the well-known Arabic scholar, Franz-Bey, the architect to the Wakf
Administration, and M. Baudry, a French architect. A sum of £7500


Sect. II.] ROUTE 9.  CAIRO. 105
was granted for the purpose of repairing buildings for the year 1882.
The duties of the Commission were : —
i. To prepare a list of all buildings having an artistic or historical interest.
2. To watch over the preservation of these buildings, reporting to the Wakf
Administration what repairs were required. 3. To prepare plans for the
repairs. 4. To keep plans of all work done, and, in the case of buildings
which are completely in ruins, to indicate what parts should be sent to the
National Arab Museum.
The above-mentioned list of historical monuments has been com
pleted, and a sub-committee regularly inspects them and reports on
necessary repairs and reconstructions. Most of the monuments have
been put into a safer condition, and their general state is far better
cared for, cleaner, and better guarded than it was a few years ago.
Much, however, still remains to be done, and the annual Government
grant of £E.4000 is insufficient to meet the necessities of the work,
which requires an annual budget of fully £E. 10,000. The adequate
repair of the great Mosque of Sultan Hasan alone, which is in a
dangerous condition, would absorb the whole of such a budget if it
were carried out in a single year. (This mosque is now being repaired.)
The Commission also needs full powers to expropriate private possessors
of historical palaces, houses, mosques, &c, which they refuse to main
tain in proper order; and further to clear away (with due compensa
tion) the stops which encumber the facades of the mosques. The
Commission has recently attempted- the complete restoration of a few
mosques which belong to a period well represented by similar build
ings, and the visitor should inspect that of Abil-Bekr el-Mazhar in the
Bir-Gawan street, as a beautiful specimen of the restorations carried
out by Herz-Bey, the talented architect of the Commission, who has
given the exquisite little mosque as nearly as possible its original
appearance. Such complete restorations, or rather rebuildings, can
only be approved, however, in rare instances, and solely when they are
carried out with the care and scrupulous fidelity to the original designs
which are evident in the ease of the Mosque of Abu-Bekr, and special
precautions should be taken against the risk of falsification.
An account of the various styles of mosque in Cairo, together with
a description of their general architectural features and arrangement,
and of the names of the different parts, has been already given
(Introd. p. [165]). The visitor will do well to bear in mind the chrono
logical sequence of styles as illustrated by the principal mosques.
Thus the Mosque of 'Amr (E. wall) dates from the middle of the 7th
century ; that of Tulun from the middle of the 9th ; of El-Hakim,
.from the end of the 10th;, of Kalaun and his sons, the end of the
13th; of Sultan Hasan, the middle of the 14th; of Barkuk, the end
of the I4th ; of Kait Bey, the end of the 15th.
" The large mosques " (says Mr.. Lane, ' Modern Egypt ') "are open
from daybreak till a little after the eshe, or till nearly two hours after
sunset. The others are closed between the hours of morning and
noon prayers ; and most mosques are also closed in rainy weather
(except at the times of prayer), lest persons who have no shoes should
enter and soil the pavement and matting. Such persons always enter
by the door nearest the tank or fountain (if there be more than one
door), that they may wash before they pass into the place of prayer ;
and generally this door alone is left open in dirty weather. The


106 route 9.— cairo. [Sect. 11.
Mosque El-Azhar remains open all night, with the exception of the
principal place of prayer, which is called the ' maksura,' being parti
tioned off from the rest of the building."
The Mosque of Sultan Kalaun (Gdmi' es-Sultdn Kalaiin), a.d. 1287
(a.h. 684). Two mosques (one the mausoleum) of El-Melek el-Mansur
Kalaun (see p. [105]) form part of the once celebrated MUristdn, or
hospital and madhouse built by that prince. They are the first of the
imposing edifices that present so conspicuous a front to the street
leading northward from the coppersmiths' bazaar (Silk en-Nahhasin),
near the Khan el-Khalili. Each of these mosques is well worthy of
inspection. The entrances to them are to the right and left of a long
passage, with roof of open beams, into which you pass beneath a hand
some portal adorned with black and white marble.
1. The Mosque to the left, oh S. of the passage. — Traversing
the outer court, in the centre of which is the hanefiya, we enter the
mosque from the W. through a fine portal of black and white marble.
It is divided by six large pillars in two rows of three from E. to W.,
supporting elongated pointed arches. The pillars are painted dull
green, and the capitals yellow. The kibla, the side columns of which
bear a horseshoe arch, is adorned with rows of colonnettes, with shell-
shaped cavities and arabesques ; the upper portion containing gilded
mosaic. The roof is of open beams. A side space to the S. of the
open court, with three pointed arches resting on two columns, is used
for the daily prayers ; and another compartment, to the W. of the
court, contains a window which gives a view of the passage leading to
the hospital.
2. The Mosque Tome, to the bight ok N. op the passage.— A
few steps lead to the antechamber, or outer division, which was
formerly a library, and is now used as a depository for registers of
wakfs. From it we pass through a screen, into the mausoleum itself.
This is unique in construction, and is fortunately maintained in a
better state of preservation than the generality of the Cairo mosques.
The tomb is in the centre protected by a wooden screen, round which
four solid piers and four large granite pillars support lan octagonal
superstructure, with elongated pointed arches, partaking slightly of
the horseshoe form. Their spandrils, as well as the windows of the
mosque, are adorned with light tracery. The kibla is adorned with rows
of colonnettes and mosaics of coloured stones and mother-of-pearl. The
walls are inlaid with marble and tortoise-shell ; and the name of
Mohammed, four times repeated so as to complete a square, forms
one of the ingenious patterns. The stucco tracery of the windows is .
also delicate. The mosque is much frequented, especially on Satur
days, by sick folk. The columns which flank the kibla are believed
to possess miraculous virtues, and are much resorted to by invalids,
who rub tho half of a lime upon the stone, and then apply it to the
tongue, forehead, &c. A block of red stone is also kept in the W. side
of the mosque, and a potent remedy consists in drinking water dis
coloured by rubbing its surface. A robe, together with a turban and
sash of Kalaun, who is regarded as a great hakim, or physician, is still
preserved, and believed to be capable of effecting marvellous cures.
Opposite, and also just beyond them N., are some fine specimens of
old mushrebiya work.


Sect. II.] ROUTE 9.  CAIRO. 107
Of the once flourishing Muristan, which occupied a considerable
space to- the W. of these mosques, some portions remain; and the
general plan of the whole can still he traced. After quitting the
mosques, by following the passage to the left we arrive at an open
court surrounded by columns, which communicates with the old
kitchen, and around which were grouped the different wards of the
hospital, for both male and female patients. By retracing our steps
along the passage northward we may visit the diminutive cells in
which the lunatics were formerly confined, and which are now occupied
by coppersmiths. Adjoining N. is the Mosque of En-Nasir (GdmV Nasriya), son of
Kalaun, and erected in the year a.d. 1303. At the entrance we are
struck by the doorway, which consists of clustered pillars and pointed
arch in the early pointed Gothic style. It is said to have been brought
as a trophy from Acre, after the destruction of that city, by El-Melek
el-Ashraf, son and successor of Kalaun. An inscription above it states
that the building was erected by the Sultan Mohammed, son of the
Sultan El-Melek el-Mansiir ed-din Kalaun es-Salehi, in A.H. 698
(a.d. 1299). Makrizi, however, states that it was completed in a.h. 703.
It was originally founded, he says, by El-Melek el-Adel Ketbogha, who
usurped and held the throne of Egypt for two years.
The tomb is to the right of the passage, but it is dilapidated and
uninteresting. The mosque is to the left, and exhibits a good example
of delicate tracery round the arch above the kibla, but is not other
wise remarkable. The mosque which the Sultan Mohammed en-Nasir
built in the Citadel has been described at p. 103. It is not clear why
Nasir did not elect to be buried in the latter, but perhaps he may have
wished to rest near the tomb of his father Kalaun.
The Mosque of Sultan Barkuk (GdmV Barkuk). The third
mosque, adjoining the two last-named, to the N., dates from the reign
of the Circassian Sultan Edh-Dhdhir Barkuk, a.d. 1382-1398 (a.h. 784-
801), (see p. [106]). It contains the tombs of the wife of Barkuk and
his. daughter Fatma ; and an illuminated copy of the Koran, which
was formerly kept in the mosque, is said to have been written by the
latter. The doorway is of black and white marble. The facade and
minaret, like those of the two preceding mosques, are painted red and
white. The mosque itself is of the Sultan Hasan type, consisting of
an open court, with large arched recesses on each side, that on the E.
or Mecca side being, as usual, larger and deeper than the other three.
The instruction and prayer chambers have lately been restored ; the
back of the mosque is in ruins. The tomb-mosque of Barkilk him
self is to be seen amongst the picturesque mausolea of the Circassian
Dynasty (see p. 151).
There is a modern sebil opposite these mosques, and a little farther
along the Khordagiya (in which these mosques are) is the Sebil of
'Abd er-Bahmdn Kikhya with charming faience decorations.
The Mosque of Hakim (GdmV El-Hdkim). This, next to that of
Ibn-Tulun (p. 119), is the oldest of the mosques that have retained
their original style of architecture from the period of foundation.
Indeed it is the earliest mosque of Kahira, or Cairo properly so called,
the Azhar, which is still older, not preserving its original style. It
originally stood outside the brick walls of Gohar's city, being after-


108 route 9. — cairo. [Sect. II.
wards enclosed within the walls of Mustansir. It was built by El-
Hakim ibn 'Aziz, third of the Fatimide Khalifs (see p. [103]), and com
pleted in 1003 A.D.ior 393 A.H., as stated in an original Kufic inscription
above the entrance, which has been removed. The mosque is of the
Tulun type, and consists of a spacious square, along the Sides of which
were arcades formed by piers supporting arches of pointed and horse
shoe form. Some portions of these arcades remain, and along bands
above the arches run inscriptions in Kufic character.1
To the N'W. and S.W. rise two picturesque mabkhdras (not true
minarets), always conspicuous amongst the towers of N. Cairo.
Upon the plaster coating of the N.W. mabkhara, of which portions on
the E. side remain, is an inscription in large Arabic characters. One
of the mabkharas was fortified by the French during their possession
of Egypt. The Mosque of Gashenkir (GdmV Debars el-Gashenkir), a.d. 1308
(A.H. 708), is situated in the Gemaliya, where its solid-looking minaret
(painted red and white) and its dome become conspicuous as you
approach towards the' Bab en-Nasr. The interior of the mosque,
which is of the Sultan Hasan type, is so dilapidated as to be scarcely
worthy of a visit ; but the mausoleum of the founder, which is to the
L of the entrance, is interesting. It is surmounted by an ample dome,
with pendentives, which, though less delicate than in many other
examples, are remarkable. The walls and the floor are decorated with
inland stones arranged in admirable patterns. The tomb is in the
centre. In the sill of a window to the. S., which communicates with
the passage, is an ancient Egyptian receptacle- for votive offerings,
shaped like a cannon, with hieroglyphic inscriptions. Above the
entrance to the tomb is a wooden tablet, with an inscription containing
the name and date of Gashenkir.
El-Melek el-Modhdffar Bokn-ed-din Bebars el-Gashenkir (el-Mansiiri
es-Seyfl) was originally a slave of Kalaun'. When Kalaiin's son En-
Nasir was deposed, or abdicated a second time, in i302, Bebars was
elected by the Emirs to succeed him. En-Nasir, however, gathered
an army at Damascus, and being joined by Berlak, chief of the Emirs,
who deserted the cause of Bebars, he returned triumphant to Cairo.
Bebars Gashenkir then fled with a large amount of treasure but was
pursued and put to death by order of En-Nasir.
The Mosque of Ibn-Mizheh (GdmV Ibn-Mizluh), a.d. 1489 (a h. 885),
a handsome mosque, with a good minaret, is reached by a narrow
street, now called the Bir-Gowan, behind the new mosque of Suliman
Agha, and m the direction of that of El-Hakim. Its walls and
floor contain some beautiful specimens of inlaid work. The kibla
is richly decorated with dwarf blind arcades of blue pillars which
encircle it and are continued, as in some other mosques, along
the E walls. The mdmbar is of delicately inlaid wood, and bears a
decorative Kufic inscription. On the W. side is a dikka, supported by
a wooden stalactite corbel, coloured blue and gold. The name of the
artificer who designed the tasteful ornamentations of the interior,
^Abd-er-Rariman en-Nakash, appears inlaid in the stone that fills up
A6, j?f °-7,a ™ i 7wm7d0.w- . This mosque was built by Mohammed
Abu-Bekr ibn-Mizheh el-Ansdri. He was "Katib es-Sirr " to the
Sultan Kait Bey, and possessed great wealth. His career had its


Sect II.] ROUTE 9. — CAIRO. 109
vicissitudes, and he was at one time disgraced and his goods confis
cated. He was, however, restored to favour, and his son inherited his
rank and property.
The Mosque of Abu Bekr Mazhar, about 250 yds. W. of Sharia
en-Nahhasin, up a crooked little lane, built in 1480 and most carefully
restored by Herz-Bey. It contains beautiful marble mosaics and
encrusted marble slabs.
The Mosque of El-Ghuri (GdmV El-GhUri), built by the Sultan
Khansilh el-Ghilri (see p. [106]) about a.d. 1513, stands at the extremity
of the bazaar called after him the Ghuriya, and from its position is
one of the most picturesque buildings in Cairo. On approaching it
from the Ghuriya, which is of more than ordinary breadth, you per
ceive the grand effect of its lofty walls ; and the open space in which it
stands, together with the variety of costumes in the groups that throng
the spot, and, the grand doorway of the mosque- tomb on the opposite
side, offer a- beautiful subject for the pencil of an artist. There are
two mosques, one on each side of the road; that on the E. side being
originally a medrSsa, or college, with sebil or fountain. The street is
usually very crowded, and walking will be found pleasanter than driving.
The mosque on the W. side is quite a gem among the mosques of
Cairo. In plan, the interior resembles that of Kait Bey, and is well
worth seeing for the inlaid floors, the arabesques of the walls, the
kibla, the bands of decorative Kufic inscriptions, and the richly orna
mented roof. The beauty and completeness of the decorations are very
striking, "and the original splendour can be imagined from the traces of
gilding and colour that remain on portions of the sculptured arches.
It is now being repaired by the Commission for the Preservation of
Monuments, and so also is another mosque on the opposite or E. side
of the road, with a mausoleum to the S., containing tombs of members
of the hartm of EMrhuri. To the N. are a sebil and small school
(ftuttab). The sebil should be inspected. It is tastefully decorated ;
the roof being in the richest and best style, and "the floor of inlaid
marbles. A slab of white marble, over which water supplied by an
adjoining sdkiya formerly trickled, is sculptured to represent water in
the ancient Egyptian style, with a border representing fish.
The Mosque of el-Azhar (GdmV el-Azhar), the " splendid " mosque,
was founded by Gohar, the general of El-Muizz, and founder of Cairo,
about a.d. 973 (see p. [103]) ; but none of the original building remains.
It was converted into a University in a.d. 988 by the second Fatimide
Khalif ET-Aziz. Subsequently it was enlarged by various Sultans,
especially by Edh-Dhahir Bebars (about a.d. 1270), by Kait Bey (about
a.d. 1470), by El-Ghuri, by Es-Said Muhammad Pasha (a.d. 1595), by
Ismail Bey (a.d. 1720), by 'Abd-er-Ra,hma,n Kikhya (a.d. 1762), and by
Sa'td Pasha (about 1855). Little of the exterior is visible, except a
portion of the wall on the E. side, the W. and S. gates, decorated in
the Turkish florid style, "and the 6 minarets, built at "different periods,
and not remarkable. The largest was built by El-Ghuri in the
beginning of the 16th cent.
The principal features of the interior consist of a spacious open court
and a vast sanctuary to the E. The Azhar is less remarkable from an
architectural point of view than from the interest it awakens, and the
scene it presents, as the principal university of the Mohammedan


110

ROUTE 9. — CAIRO.

[Sect. II.

The principal entrance, where slippers are provided for the
,.„»„„/, is called the "Gate of the Barbers" (Bab el-Muzeyinin), and
here students will be seen submitting their heads to the razor. To the
1. of the entrance is the mosque of Ibthahawiya, which has recently

world
visitor

Bab el-Muzeymut (Gate of the Barbers) ; 2. Sahn el-Gami'a ; S. Limine;
Rmvks (studies) ; 5. Court of Ablutions ; 6. Kiblas ; 7. Bab esh-Shurla
7aL?-fi'ya[9-,Ba,b e«h-Shawwdm ; 10. Bab el-Magharba;
Zj"yiya (shnne) of el-Ibthahamiya ¦ 12. Zawivet Goharoiua :

13. Bab el-Goharglya,

awiya ; 12. Zautlyet Gohargiya ;

PLAN OP THE MOSQUE OF EL-AZHAR.
(After Herz Bey. From Beothy ; Miiv. Tort. II.)
been restored, but the effect is not very satisfactory. On the rt is the
small Mosque of Tabarset. The passage between them leads' to an
open court, which presents an interesting scene. Children of all ages
may be seen at their lessons, as well as more advanced pupils


Sect. II.] ROUTE 9.— CAIRO. Ill
Others are merely chatting, and passing their leisure time in groups.
The court is paved and surrounded by colonnades, with pointed arches,
with slight keel-shaped curve. The walls that rest upon them contain
windows, with pointed heads, and decorations in stucco. These por
ticoes are built over and divided into apartments for the use of natives
from different parts of Egypt and of the entire East ; each province or
country having its separate apartment (riwdk). There are several
small cisterns in the court, but no hanefiya.
The liwdn, or sanctuary, which affords a grateful shade after the
intense glare of the outer court, is of vast area, and is divided by 9
ranges of columns, 380 in number, of various kinds, and all derived
from old temples and churches. Upon them rests a low roof, covering
the entire space. Beneath its shade, amidst this forest of columns,
are innumerable students, seated in circles or groups around the
various professors, taking notes, learning by heart, or listening.
There are 4 niches, for the 4 orthodox sects of El-Islam. Round the
walls to the N. are ranged numerous boxes belonging to the students.
To the S.E., whero the colonnades are interrupted, are the compart
ments for Syrians and Darfurians, the tomb of Abd-er-Rahman
Kikhya, the riwdk of the Upper Egyptians (Saidiya), and the exit
to the S.E. gate (Bab es-Saidiya). The riwdk of natives from the holy
cities of Mecca and Medina is behind the kibla nearest to this corner.
To the N. of the liwan is a mosque, the GdmV Gohariya, recently
restored, which, together with an adjoining school (medrisa), is not to
be associated with the name of the founder of the Azhar. It was built
by one Gohar el-Kinkabey, a Circassian who died in a.d. 1440. Passing
through it, the visitor may inspect the little Zawiyet el-Omydn (Chapel
of the Blind), now but little frequented, but formerly well stocked
with blind students, who were notorious for their fanaticism.
As has been said, this is not only a mosque but a University, the
most celebrated in the East. The education given at it is both primary
and secondary, and includes grammar, algebra, arithmetic, logic, philo
sophy, theology, and Mohammedan religion and law, according to the
four different rites of the Sunnis — the Shafeite, the Malakite, the
Hanafite, and the Hambalite. The student must qualify himself in
every subject before he receives his diploma. About 15 years ago the
number of students was about 10,000, with 230 professors. Since the
British occupation the numbers have greatly decreased. The chief, or
President of the University, is called the " Shekh el-Azhar," and is
elected by the Shekhs of the mosque, who are extremely jealous of any
interference on the part of the Khedive or the Government. It can easily
be understood that any attempts to modify or alter the character of the
instruction here given — and a few such attempts have been made of
late years — meets with the most obstinate resistance. There is no
departure, in any direction, from the standard works that have been
from time to time adopted, and the whole course of training consists
in learning by heart these treatises. Any new work that finds its way
to favour can only change the form, never the substance, of the
learning to be imparted.
An interesting account of the Azhar, and of the nature of the
studies there pursued, as well as a list of the text-books chiefly used,
in all the chief branches of learning, may be found in Dor Bey's
' L'Instruction publique en Kgypte,'


¦112 route 9. — cairo. [Sect. II.
The Mosque of Mohammed Bey (GdmV Muhdmmad Bey). After
visiting the Mosque of El-Azhar, the traveller may inspect that of
Mohammed Bey, which is situated to the W. of the great University,
on the opposite side of the street. It is also used as a school. It
exhibits the influence of the Turkish style. It was constructed m
a.d. 1774 by the traitor Muhammad Bey Abil Ddhab, formerly the favoured
Mameluke, and afterwards the treacherous and successful rival of the
great Ali Bey. Besides the tomb of the founder, the mosque also
contains that of Adila Hanem, wife of Ibrahim Bey el-Elfi. Large
wakfs were attached to this edifice by its founder.
The Mosque of el-Hasanen (GdmV el-Hasanen), or Mosque of Husen
and Hasan, sons of Ali and Fatma, and grandsons of the Prophet, is
situated immediately to the E. of the Khan el-Khalili. It is commonly
called by the Cairenes after Husen alone — the Gdmi Seyyidna Husen.
It has lately been rebuilt and lighted throughout with gas ; the old
dome that covers the shrine of the martyr being the only ancient
portion preserved.
The mosque itself is oblong in shape ; the h6sh or outer court being
to the N., enclosed by continuous walls. The exterior is in the modern
semi-European style, in no way reproducing 'the beauties of the past.
The upper windows consist of pointed arches, with mouldings sculp
tured in the modern style. The lower windows are rectangular, and
contain gilded ironwork. A lofty minaret, with a single balcony, rises
to the S.W. The interior presents a not unpleasing effect,- and is
divided by several rows of handsome marble columns supporting
pointed arches. The floor is richly carpeted. In consequence of the
double dedication there are two kiblas in this mosque. A door in the
kibla wall, veiled by a green curtain, gives admittance to the chamber
in which are said to be buried the head of Husen and the hand of
Hasan ; and into which none but Mohammedans may enter. Numer
ous lamps are suspended in the mosque, which perhaps looks its best by
their dim light in the evening when the prayer is recited.
The history of the mosque is as follows : — The Emir el-Giyiishi,
while carrying on war in Syria, found at Ascalon a reputed burial-place
of the head of Husen, who fell at the battle of Kerbela, Oct. 10, A.D. 680.
He caused a fitting mausoleum to be constructed for it in a.d. 1098.
In a.d. 1154 Saleh ibn-Rizk, vizier of the Fatimide Khalif Faiz,
fearing lest the sanctity of the place might be desecrated by Christians,
caused the head to be brought to Cairo. Here it was washed in the
Mosque of Saleh ibn-Rizk, which may still be seen near the Bab
ez-Zuwela. He desired that the relic should be deposited in his own
mosque, but the Khalif objecting, it was buried with great pomp in the
portion of the royal palace called the Kasr ez-Zirmarrud. In a.d. 1340
the mausoleum was burned. It was restored at different periods ; a
mosque being added at a late date and various endowments bequeathed.
The last restorations were made by 'Abd-er-Rahman Kikhya, at the end
of the last cent. Finally, it has now been completely rebuilt. A M6lid
is held annually in honour of the Hasanen (see p. [41]).
The Mosque of Muayyad (Gdmi' el-Muayyad) is situated close to
and connected with the Bab ez-Zuwela, upon the towers of which the
two elegant minarets of the mosque are placed. It is called the Garni'
el-Ahmar or "Red Mosque," from the colour of its exterior walls. It


Sect. IL] route 9.— Cairo. 113
was founded between 1412-1420 a.d. by Muayyad Abu'n-Nasir of the
Circassian Mameluke Dynasty (see p. [106]). It is one of the best and
most richly decorated mosques of the open or primitive style. After
ages of neglect it is now being rebuilt, the liwdn, or sanctuary, being
alone untouched.
The principal entrance is to the E. from the Siikkariya. A flight
of steps leads to a superb portal (recalling that of Sultan Hasan)
adorned with black and white marble and tasteful sculptures and
arabesques. The bronze-mounted door was taken from the Mosque of
Sultan Hasan. The tomb of Muayyad is to the rt. of the entrance,
surmounted by a dome; that of his family to the 1. A passage leads
to the courtyard, which presents a charming appearance, the fountain
being overshadowed by several well-grown palms and acaeias. A
double arcade surrounds it on three sides ; and the columns of these
subordinate porticoes, which were of various sizes and materials, and
some of which were sculptured with inscriptions in Arabic, are being
replaced by new ones of marble and of uniform dimensions.
The sanctuary, or Liwdn el-Kibla, is well worthy of careful inspec
tion. It is divided by three rows of pointed arches with slight horseshoe
curve, supported for the most part by columns. A screen of woodwork
separates it from the open court. The decorations of the roof,
especially the S.E. portion, are in admirable taste. Those of the kibla
and of portions of the walls are also remarkable. The stucco tracery
of the windows, with their coloured glass representing cypresses and
other patterns, is in a state of rare preservation. The mosque is
often called the GdmV el-Mutawelli, after the popular name of the
adjoining Bab ez-Zuwela.
The Mosque of Merdani (GdmV Merddni), 1338-1340 a.d., situated
in the Darb el-Ahmar, leading from the Bab ez-Zuwela to the Citadel, is
one of the best of the edifices erected during the reign of En-Nasir ibn
Kalaun. Like so many others, it is falling into ruin. It is closed, but a
boy will fetch the keeper. In general plan it bears the greatest resem
blance to the Mosque of Kesun, and was probably by the same architect.
It consists of a large open court, surrounded by arcaded colonnades with
pointed arches, a double row on the N. , W. and S. sides, and four rows
on the sanctuary or Mecca side. The two innermost. ranges terminate
as they approach the kibla and give place to eight large granite
pillars intended to support a dome, which, however, does not exist, a
flat roof now taking its place. Most of the mosaics and decorations of
the mosque have disappeared. It is worthy of notice that trees are
represented in stucco upon the wall above the kibla, and upon those
borne by the pillars. Above one of the arches in the W. portico is an
inscription in Arabic, on a slab of blue stone embedded in stucco.
The principal entrance is on the N. side, beneath a vaulted passage, to
the.l. of which rises the unfinished minaret. This mosque was built
upon what - was at that time a cemetery. Makrizi tells us that the
cost of the mosque was 300,000 dirhems, or 15,000 dinars (about £9000),
exclusive of what was spent in wood and marble. El-Amir el-Kebir
Tambagha Merdani es-Saki occupied the position of " Saki " (cup
bearer) to En-Nasir ibn-Kalaun, whose daughter he married. Merdani
was chief of a faction that conspired against the Amir Kesun, and
secured the downfall of the latter, whose position Merdani then
inherited.


114 route 9. — Cairo. [Sect. II.
The Mosque of Ak-Sunkur, or of lbrdhim Aghd (GamV Ak-Sunkur,
or lbrdhim Aghd), a.d. 1328 (a.h. 728), is in the Darb el-Wizir, or
continuation of the Darb el-Ahmar towards the Citadel. It consists of
an open court with arcades of somewhat irregular construction to the
N. and E. The arches are pointed. The wall of the Liwdn el-Kiblais
remarkable, being entirely cased with blue porcelain tiles, symmetrically
arranged. Amongst them those representing cypress-trees will be
noticed. The little court with its green palms and the blue-tiled
sanctuary beyond make a very pleasing picture. The mosque was
enlarged and repaired in a.d. 1617 by Ibrahim Agha, a, custodian of
the mosque, and is generally called after his name. His tomb, as well
as that of Ak-Siinkur, is within the building. Ak-Simkur es-Saldri, a
Mameluke of the Emir Salar, rose to hold high positions, including
that of Naib Masr, in the time of En-Nasir ibn-Kalaun. He also
built the bridge over the Khalig near the Habaniya which now bears
his name, and a mosque, now ruined, in the Gemaliya.
The Mosque of Kher-bek (GdmV KMr-bek), a.d. 1520 (a.h. 926).
On leaving the Mosque of Ak-Siinkur, the traveller will do well to visit
the little tomb-mosque of Kher-bek, which is a little to the S. in the
same street. The decorations of the dome surmounting the mausoleum
are remarkably elegant. The traitor Khir-bek, who deserted the cause
of the Mamelukes, was the first governor or Pasha of Egypt under the
Turkish domination.
The Mosque of Sultan Hasan (GdmV es-Sultdn Hasan), which
stands immediately below the Citadel, is regarded as the finest in Cairo,
and as one of the most superb monuments of Mohammedan archi
tecture. It marks the reign of Hasan, son of En-Nasir and grandson
of Kalaun (see p. [105]), and was completed in a.d. 1360 (a.h. 762), after
n. work of three years, at a cost of £600 a day. Its lofty and beautifully
ornamented porch, the rich cornice of its towering walls, its minaret,
and the arches of its spacious court, must delight every admirer of
architecture. And so impressed are the Cairenes with its superiority
over other mosques that they believe the king ordered the hand of the
architect to be cut off in order to prevent his building any other that
should vie with it, absurdly ascribing to his hand what was due to his
head. The same story is applied to other fine buildings of which they
wish to express their admiration, as to the two minarets of Samalut
and Asyut, in Upper Egypt. In 1904-6 it was in process of restoration.
the greatest care being taken to replace rotten woodwork, &c, by
absolute replicas of the originals. The metal inlay of the doors has
been very well reproduced.
The construction of the interior belongs to a type with which we
become familiar from numerous examples as characterising the period.
It consists of a hypsethral court with a square recess on each side
covered by a noble and majestic arch ; that on the E. being much more
spacious than the other three, and measuring 69 ft. 5 in. in span. In
the recess is the Mecca niche (kibla) and the mdmbar or pulpit.
Behind, and forming the same part of the building, is the mausoleum,
which bears the date of 764 of the Hijra (a.d. 1363), two years later
than the death of the Sultan. It is surmounted by a dome of brick
on a basement of stone. The pendentives of the interior, which are
of wood and plaster, are now being restored. The floor is marked


Sect. II.]

ROUTE 9. — CAIRO.

115

in one spot by a dark stain, which the servant of the mosque
carefully points out ; handing down a legend that the Sultan here
slew with his own hand his unfaithful vizier. But the fact is that
the mosque has frequently served as a fortress, or refuge, in times of

conflict, and during the turbulent epochs of the Mamelukes. In
one part of the walls, too, on the E. side, may be seen a few of the
balls lodged by the guns of Napoleon. These were fired from the
Citadel when the inhabitants of Cairo attempted a revolt against
the French. I 2


116 -route 9. — cairo. [Sect. II.
The following are the measurements of this mosque : —
Height of walls, with cornice
Projection of cornice
Open court
Niches on N.W. and S. .
Great niche, Mecca side .

Great minaret .
Mausoleum

about 113 feet.

,',' 117 ,',

length.

„ 105 ,,

width.

46 ,,

square.

90 „

interior height.

90 „

depth.

69 „

width.

,, 280 „

high.

69 ,,

square.

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. The Mosque of El-Ghuri, the Muristan, 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. The S. minaret, 280 ft., is the highest in Cairo.
The minaret on the N. side was destroyed by an earthquake and
rebuilt on a smaller scale. The present dome is later than the original
one and dates from Turkish times.
[The guides at this Mosque are intelligent and courteous.]
The great new Mosque of the Rifa'iya, opposite that of Sultan
Hasan, was intended to surpass the latter, but the genius of modern
times has not been equal to the undertaking. None but Moslem archi
tects and builders are to be employed in its erection. It is named after
an order of dervishes (Introd., p. [36]), and was built by the mother of
Ismail Pasha, but was left unfinished. It contains the mausoleum of
Shekh Rifa'i and some tombs of members of the Khedivial family.
The Mosque of El-Akbar (Tekiya Molawiya), in the Helmiya, is
the place where the Dancing- or Whirling Dervishes used to perform.
Their zikrs are now discontinued.
The Mosque of Shekhun (GdmV Shekhim or Shikho), a.d. 1355
(a.h. 756). Two mosques, one on either side of the road, bearing this
name, with minarets of similar form rising above their respective
portals, are situated in the Seliba, to the W. of the Rumeleh. That to
the N. of the street is less remarkable. It consists of an open court
with double arcades E. and W., and side recesses N. and S. of pointed
arches. Three thick plates of dark-coloured glass, which are fixed in
the walls of the small vestibule, near the entrance, are held to possess
miraculous properties. The kibla contained some good tiles, most of
which have disappeared.
The mosque on the opposite or S. side of the street, though also of
irregular construction, with its adjoining tekiya, is more interesting.
A passage leads round to the Sdhn el-Gdmi', in which are a hanefiya,
a sdkiya, and two trees. The raised liwdn, which is separated from
this sdhn by two columns supporting a large and two smaller arches,
contains a double colonnade with pointed arches, having a very slight
return at the archivolt ; small wooden domes rise above the kibla, and
in the N.E. corner, where are the tombs of the Amir Shekho and the
Imam of his mosque. Round the ST., W. and S. sides of the open court


Sect. II.] ROUTE 9,  CAIRO. 117
are doors opening into cells. By returning to the entrance-passage and
following it onwards, we see the plan of the khdnika or tekiyd, with its
numerous cells, which are situated to the S. of the open court. Passing
through these, we enter the hall for the zikr. It is spanned by twp
large arches. The Amir el-Kebir Sef-ed-din Shekho en-Nasri was a
Mameluke who rose to eminence in the time of En-Nasir ibn-Kalaun.
He became regent during the short reign of Es-Saleh, eighth son of
En-Nasir. He was put to death, like so many of En-Nasir's Amirs.
The Mosque of Kesun (GdmV Kisim, or Kusiln), founded in a.d.
1330, is situated to the 1. of the Shari'a Mohammed Ali, just beyond
that of El-Burdeni. It was originally one of the best mosques of Cairo,
and from what yet remains its former grandeur may be imagined and
its proportions traced. ' It is much to be regretted that the formation
of the street should have necessitated the destruction of this mag
nificent building, especially as a slight curve in the road would . have
saved it ; hut Ismail Pasha thought more of making a fine straight
street to the Citadel than of preserving an old mosque. A new mosque
has been built in place of the original one, but its architecture is dis
appointing.. There are some remains of the old work, but they have
been quite overshadowed by the new masonry. An attempt has been
made to preserve the sanctuary and kibla. The Amir Kusiln, or Kesun
(died a.d. 1341), who was of low origin, rose to eminence during the
reign of Mohammed en-Nasir ibn-Kalaun. He became a favourite of
the Sultan, who married his sister, and bestowed upon him one of Ms
own daughters. Makrizi describes his munificence, the number of
sheep and cattle that he slaughtered, and the robes that he ; bestowed
during the great festivals. His house and adjoining property extended
as far as the Mosque of Sultan Hasan. His end, like that of so many
of the Amirs of En-Nasir, was unfortunate. Banished to Alexandria,
he was there put to death. One of the quarters (TUmn) of Cairo is
called after him. .
The Mosque of Sitt Safiya (GdmV es-Siti Safiya), a.d. 1604
(a.h. 1013), is to the" 1. of the Boulevard Mohammed Ah, and will well
repay a visit. The outer court, to which three flights of 18 steps lead
up, on ihe N.W. and S. sides, consists of a small open square, sur
rounded by pillars of granite and marble, forming four porticoes
surmounted by small domes of brick. The pillars are connected with
each other, and with the walls of the court, by pointed arches. The
liwdn, or sanctuary, produces a pleasing impression by its harmonious
proportions ; while its difference in style from the mosques of the
Egyptian types will be, of course, remarked. Six solid pillars support
a large central dome, which is pierced with 24 windows with pointed
heads, and with two rows of small circular apertures. The windows
contain plain and yellow glass, arranged in round pieces, many of
which have fallen. The keel shape occurs in blind arches. A smaller
dome rises above the space immediately in front of the kibla, which
projects ' from the main space. It is also provided with windows.
Smaller dome vaultings also surmount the side spaces N. and S. The
mdmbar or pulpit of sculptured marble is remarkably fine. Close to
it is a wooden sword, which, is carried in front of the preacher. A
wooden gallery, which may be ascended, encircles the dome ; and a
passage which is constructed in the W. wall communicates with the


118 route 9.— cairo. [Sect. II.
dikka, which is supported by two small columns. This mosque is named
after the lady Safiya (Sophia), of Venice, the wife of the Turkish Sultan
Murad (Amurath) III., and mother of Mohammed III. It was m reality
built by Osman Agha, a eunuch of hers, who held the office of Agha Dar

1. Entrance ; 2. Door to Sanctuary ; 3. Sanctuary ; 4. Kibla and Mambar ;
5. Sahn el-Gami' (open court) ; 6. Fountain and Kubba ;
7. Liwans (covered courts) ; 8. Miliar.
PLAN OF THE MOSQUE OF IBN-TULUN.
(After Herz Bey. Erom Beothy : Miiv. Tort. II.)
es-Sadeh " (Agha of the Sublime Porte), part of whose duties regarded
the regulation of all matters connected with the wakfs of the Haramen
(holy cities of Mecca and Medina). He endowed the mosque richly,
but the Valide Safiya contested his rights, and the affair was decided
by the tribunal of Cairo in her favour.


Sect. II.] ROUTE 9. — CAIRO. 119
The small Mosque of El-Burdeni is to the 1. of the B. Mohammed
Ali, built in a.d. 1630, restored in 1885. The walls are lined with
beautiful mosaics. There is a very fine minaret.
The Mosque of Tulun (GdmV ibn-Tilhtn). This mosque stands first
in point of antiquity (the Mosque of 'Amr at Old Cairo of course
excepted), having been founded by Ahmad ibn-TillAn (see p. [102]) in
a.d. 879 (a.h. 265), as is attested by two Kufic inscriptions on the walls
of the court. It is generally said to have been built on the plan of the
mosque at Mecca, as it existed at that time. But the Mosque of
Kairwan is more likely to have been the model. The architect was a
Christian prisoner. It was three years in building, and cost £72,000.
At one time it was a university, and was endowed with nine professorial
chairs. The centre is an extensive open court, about 100 yds. square,
surrounded by arcades ; those on three of the sides consisting of two
rows of piers, 25 paces deep, and that on the eastern end of five rows,
all supporting pointed arches. The walls, piers, and arches are built
of brick, covered with stucco. The angles of the piers are formed of
engaged columns. The arches are of a very graceful shape, retaining
a little of the horse-shoe form at the base of the arohivolt as it rises
from the pier ; and in a wall added afterwards to connect the mosque
with the base of the principal minaret is one round horse-shoe arch,
which is rarely met with in Egypt. Around the mosque is an outer
wall, now encumbered 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. If not remarkable for beauty, it is a monument of
the highest interest in the history of architecture, as it proves the
existence of the pointed arch about three hundred years before its
introduction into England.
Along the cornice, above the arches within the colonnades, were
Kufic inscriptions on wood, most of which have long since fallen. The
style of the letters is of the same ancient character 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 Kufic alone would
suffice to fix it within a very few years, that character having under
gone very marked changes in different periods of its use; and what is
singular, the oldest, which is the most simple and least ornamented,
has a nearer resemblance to the Arabic than that in vogue about the
time when the modern form of letters was introduced. It is sometimes
supposed that the Neshki character of Arabic, that now in use, was
derived from the Kufic, but it is more probable that the two characters
were derived from some older alphabet. There is an interesting dis
sertation upon the subject in Isaac Taylor's work, ' The Alphabet.'
There was a Very beautiful pulpit erected by the Sultan Mansur
Hesam-ed-Dln Lagin, but this has been removed and replaced by
inferior work within the last few years. Some of the panels of the
original pulpit are in the South Kensington Museum, and one of these
bears the date 696 of the Hijra, a.d. 1297.
The Minaret of the mosque which rises from the N.W. exterior wall
of circuit has a singular appearance, owing to the staircase winding
round the outside. Its novel form is said to have originated in the
absent habits of its founder, and an observation of his vizier. He had
observed him unconsciously rolling up a piece of parchment into a
spiral form ; and having remarked, " It was a pity his majesty had no


120 route 9.— cairo. [Sect. II.
better employment," the king, in order to excuse himself, replied, " So
far from trifling, I have been thinking that a minaret erected on this
principle would have many advantages ; I could even ride up it on
horseback ; and I wish that of my new mosque to be built of the same
form." The cornice of this staircase appears to have been of amber,
A fine View may be obtained from its summit, leading to which is an
excellent staircase. The Commission for the Preservation of Arab
Monuments have taken the mosque in hand ; and, although they have
not funds to restore it, they are endeavouring to prevent it falling to.
ruin. The hill on which the mosque stands was formerly called the Gebel
Tishkur, being so named after an Arab tribe that occupied that quarter,
and who derived that name from their chief. Its modern name is
Kala'at el-Kebsh ("the Citadel of the Ram"), and tradition pretends
that it marks the spot where the ram was sacrificed by Abraham.
Various fanciful traditions are also connected with the mosque and
its site. Noah's ark is said to have rested here ; and it is here, says
Mak'rizi, that Moses is believed to have conversed with the Deity.
Near the spot, too, is the so-called " Mastabat el-Fara'un" (Pharaoh's
Seat), a name which probably records the existence of an ancient town
on this rocky height. Pacing the street may be seen the solid blocks
that formed the substructure of some ancient building. The traveller
should also turn aside into the Hdsh Ayub Bey, from which a good view
is obtained of the rocky eminence here escarped, and of the remains of
the brick walls of the Citadel of Tulun, once perched upon it;
The Mosque of Kait Bey, which is not far (W.) from the Mosque
of Tulun, is worth visiting. The plan is somewhat similar to that of
the tomb-mosque of the same Sultan (see p. 153). This was a very
beautiful little mosque, and has lately been restored. Its fine door,
with remains of bronze decorations, is 45 ft. in height. It has a
graceful minaret.
The Mosque of Sitti, or Seyyida Zenab (GdmV es-Seyyida Zenab),
the daughter of Imam 'Ali and granddaughter of the Prophet, is
situated in the S.W. quarter of the city, near the Khalig. It was
begun at the end of the 18th century, and finished in 1803. ' Though
elaborately ornamented, it is not very handsome. The clock-tower is
remarkable, and a new wall on the W. side, with richly carved windows
and ornaments, has lately been added. The mosque has lately been en
larged and restored. The mosque contains a variety of ancient columns,
and in the windows some coloured glass. The mixture of Turkish
decoration with the modern style of the architecture does not produce
a pleasing effect. The tomb, a cenotaph, which is much revered, is in
a small but lofty apartment of the mosque, crowned with a dome. It
is an oblong monument, covered with silk, and surrounded by a bronze
screen with a wooden canopy. Only women are allowed to enter the
bronze enclosure. Sunday and Wednesday are the days on which it is .
especially visited. The tombs with large green turbans, which, are to
be seen on the terrace to the N. of the mosque, are the cenotaphs of
Mohammed el-Atris, a brother of the great saint Ibrahim ed-Desuki,
and of El-Adanisi, a great traveller and writer, who visited India ten
times. He was born at Terim in Yemen in a.d. 1725, and died in
1776.


Sect. II.] ROUTE 9. — CAIRO. 121
The following mosques may be briefly mentioned : —
The Gami' Saleh in the Shari'a el-Hanafi (map — southern section),
dates from the Fatimide period. It was built by Saleh ibn-Rizk
Thalaiya, who brought the head of Husen to Cairo. It contains
arches of a form rare in Cairo. Bands of Kufic texts in stucco adorn
the walls, and inscriptions in the same character are carved on some
of the light wooden beams that connect the miscellaneous capitals of
the columns. The tracery which is preserved in some of the windows
and decorative niches is exquisite.
The Gami' Said es-Soada (12th cent, a.d.), in the Gemaliya, is
interesting as "dating from the time of Salah-ed-din (Saladin). It was
originally a khanika, for siifis and poor students. It is cruciform in
shape ; a small open court being surrounded by 4 recesses, containing
double colonnades, or porticoes. To the W. are about 15 cells for the
softs, or dervishes. Formerly these cells were very numerous, and the
khanika occupied a much larger space than at present.
The Gami' el-Mas (a.d. 1330), in the Hilmiya, is a picturesque little
mosque with pointed arches and a small open court shaded by an
acacia. It contains some good specimens of tracery. It was built by
the Amir Sef-ed-din el-Mas el-Hagib who was put to death in the
Citadel, by order of En-Nasr ibn-Kalaun, in a.d. 1334.
The Gami' et-Turkomani (about a.d. 1330), situated in the by-street
called the Darb et-Turkomani, leading from the Bab el-Bahr, contains
a pillar formed by portions of 2 columns of basalt from an ancient
Egyptian temple, inscribed with hieroglyphs. Various superstitions
are associated with certain other columns in the mosque. There are
three rows of 4 columns, which are continued above the capitals in the
forms of piers, and support the roof without arches. Ali " the Turco
man " held the position almost equivalent to that of vizier in the reign
of Shaaban. The Gami' Ezbek (a.d. 1495), in a street between the Mosque of
Tulun and the Birket el-Fil, possesses a handsome pavement of inlaid
stones, and a good minaret, containing a double staircase. The dis
position of the interior resembles that of Kait Bey. The Amir Ezbek
el-Ydsufi was the general and one of the chief notables of the reign of
Kait Bay. Another mosque of Ezbek, which gave the name to the
Ezbekiya, situated immediately to the E. of the statue of Ibrahim
Pasha, was destroyed some years ago.
The Gami' Zen el-Abdfn, to the S. of Cairo, between the Bab
Seyyida Zenab and the Aqueduct, is built on the site of an ancient
church. The date of the original building is uncertain. At the time
of the French occupation it was destroyed, and subsequently was
rebuilt by one Osman Agha ; a minaret being added by Mahmud Pasha
Captan. The mosque itself is not remarkable ; but in the W. wall is a
curious old gateway formed' by a monolithic arch, fractured in two
places, of basalt. A massive door of the same material closes upon it,
revolving in a large block which is placed above. The spot and the
surrounding cemetery are highly venerated.
The Gami' Kheiatin (a.d. 1178), in the S.W. of Cairo, with its
adjoining sebil, has a handsome facade, richly sculptured, and a superb


122 route 9.— cairo. [Sect. II.
wooden door, of which the centre panel has disappeared. The minaret
is also well proportioned. It was built by the Amir Yiisuf Shurbagi.
Amongst other mosques which may be visited by those who desire
to make a more complete study, the following may be mentioned : the
Mosques of Dhdhir el-Yebars (13th cent, a.d.); of Kismas el-Ishdki, m
the Darb el-Ahmar (13th cent.); of Gai el-Yusufi ; of Gambek; of
Aslam; oies-SiitNasra; of Umm es- Sultan Shdbdn (14th cent.); of the
Amir Yakhdr ; of El-Ashraf, near the Ghuriya; of El-Ghdmri, in the
Margush ; of Abd-el-Kerlm (called of Abbas Pasha), close to the house
of the Shekh el-Bekri, formerly the palace of Abbas Pasha (15th cent.).
Amongst the mosques possessing little or no architectural interest,
but of peculiar sanctity, are those of the Seyyida Nefisa, the Sekina,
the Sitt Ayesha en-Nebawiya, the Sitt Fatma en-Nebawiya, and the
Shikhs Shardwi, Bayiimi, and Handfi.
Of mosques in the new style may be noticed those of the Shikhs
Sdla Abil-Hadid, built by Ismail Pasha ; of Mustafa Pasha (el-GdmV
Bdshtak), in the Darb el-Gamamiz ; and of the Bifd'iya (p. 116).
13. Coptic Churches.
The principal church, or Cathedral of the Copts, dedicaied to
St. Mark, is situated in the Coptic quarter, to the N, of the Ezbekiya.
It is a large basilica, recently constructed, and possessing no features
of particular interest. The main space consists of a nave and two
aisles, separated by lofty pillars (some of marble, others of wood)
supporting elliptical pointed arches. An oval-shaped dome covers the
central space, and 4 round domes are placed at the extremities of the
aisles. Behind a lofty wooden screen is the chancel (hekal), and a few
steps encircle the tribune or central apse, above which, as above the
two smaller apses, are placed small domes. On the panels of the screen
to the rt. and 1. of the door of the chancel are paintings of the Virgin
and of St. Mark. A staircase winds round the second pillar of the
choir on the N. side, to the pulpit. Close by is the patriarchal throne.
Adjoining the Cathedral to the N. are the residence of the Patriarch
Kyrillos (Cyril) and the Schools.
The Church of the Virgin (Keniset el-Adra) is situated at the end
of a lane in the Haret er-Rum. After traversing the Ghuriya, turn
to the 1. at the sebil of Mohammed Ali. The church is of uncertain
date, and has been restored. It is dedicated to the Virgin, and also
contains the "bones" of St. Marina, who appears in a picture
trampling upon Satan. The church is, according to the orthodox type,
divided into several sections by screens, the E. end terminating with
3 apses or hekals. Round the wall of the central hikal are pictures of
Christ surrounded by the "24 elders " and by 4 prophets. A baldacchino,
resting on wooden beams secured in the side walls, is noticeable. The
interior is painted, representing Christ in the centre, and lower down
the "4 beasts" with faces of a lion, a calf, a man, and an eagle, while
in the lowest part appear the 4 Evangelists. Above the screen of the
hekal are pictures of the 12 Apostles. The door is old and has inlaid
ivory inscriptions in Coptic and Arabic. On the screen are pictures of
Anba Shentida, the Virgin and Child, and others. The baptistery is to
the N. The roof consists of 12 domes, supported by plain whitewashed
piers with round arches.


Sect. II.] ROUTE 9. — CAIRO. 123
The Church of St. George (Kenisa Man Girgis). After leaving
the last-named church, the visitor may ascend by a flight of steps to
that of St. George. The ohureh is divided into 5 compartments by
4 screens. That farthest to the W. is raised about 3J ft., and contains
the baptistery. The other sections resemble those found in other
Coptic churches. The whole is roofed with domes and tunnel vaultings,
supported by piers. The pulpit is placed in the central section, which
is surmounted by a dome with pendentives. A good screen of wood
inlaid with bone separates the hikal from the choir. In the central apse
of the hekal are a few pictures. The bones of St. George are said to be
contained in a small bolster which is here shown. Numerous ostrich
eggs and a few silver censers are suspended near the screen of the hikal.
The old patriarchal residence, which adjoins this church, possesses no
features of interest.
Close to these churches is the Convent of St. Theodore (Dir Mari
Todros). About 10 or 12 nuns are in residence. In a chamber, noted for
the cure of demoniacs or epileptics, is a bolster supposed to contain the
bones of one of the arms of the saint, who is generally called, by Copts
and Moslems alike, El-Amir Todros. TJp to 1873 the ceremony of the
casting out of devils was performed every Wednesday, before the shrine
of St. Theodore, upon Mohammedan women, great numbers of whom
came on each occasion to be exorcised. The practice was suppressed
by the late Patriarch in consequence of the scandals which
ensued. In the Haret ez-Zuwela are two small churches dedicated also to
the Virgin and St. George, with a small chapel of Abu Sefen, contained
in a dir building. The church of St. George, which is uninteresting,
is above that of the Virgin, which is considered to be the oldest church
in Cairo. Its basilican plan is interesting (for plan see Butler, ' Coptic
Churches,' i., p. 273). The nave has two aisles on one side and one on
the other. The choir has 9 columns. The hekal is surmounted by a
dome. The usual steps are arranged, theatre fashion, around the apse.
Three small side-chapels adjoin the apse. There are the usual screens.
Above the ikonostasis is a rood, which is unusual. This is the original
bishop's church of Cairo. The dir houses 15 nuns.
There is a small community of Boman Catholic (XJniate) Copts, who
have a church of their own. A bishop, chosen among their own clergy,
presides over them.
14. Museum of Arab Antiquities. — Khedivial Library.
The Museum of Arab Antiquities and the Khedivial Library are
now united in a single building on the Place Bab el-Khalk, at the
junction of the Shari'a Mohammed Ali and the Shari'a el-Khalig (tram
ways from the 'Atabet el-Khadra and from the Muski). Entrance to
the Museum in the Place Bab el-Khalk, P.T.5, every day from 9.30
till 4.30, except on Fridays and public holidays. Entrance to the
Library in the Shari'a Mohammed Ali ; free every day from 8 a.m. till
5 p.m. (during Ramadan from 10 till 3 only), except on Fridays.
The building is an imposing structure in Saracenic style, with fine
doorways. It was completed in 1903 at a cost of over £60,000. The
Museum and Library united in it form together the most important


124 ROUTE 9.  CAIRO. [Sect. II.
repository of Mohammedan antiquities in the world. In many respects
the collections are unique and are of inestimable value. The formation
of the Museum is due to the energy and public spirit of the late Rogers
Bey and Dr. Franz Pasha, director of architecture in the Wakf (Moslem
ecclesiastical property) Administration. By them untold treasures of
Moslem art in the shape of inscriptions, carved doors, bronze and glass
lamps, &c, were collected from ruined mosques, and brought together
in a temporary museum in the court of the Mosque of el-Hakim, from
which they were removed to the new building in 1904. The Library
is public, and the books may be consulted by a foreigner on the recom
mendation of his Consul. There is one exhibition-hall which contains
the magnificent Kurans and other MSS., which are exposed to view.
The Library was transferred from the old building in the Darb el-
Gamamiz at the same time as the Museum. Director of the Museum,
Dr. Herz Bey ; Director of the Library, Dr. Meyer.
On entering the Museum from the Place Bab el-Khalk we turn to the rt.
through a vestibule to Room i, which contains Arab tombstones of various
periods, the oldest, with Cufic inscriptions, standing against the wall to the 1.
on entering. Many of those in the centre have the characteristic carved turban
on the top of the headstone, signifying that the deceased person was a man.
In the centre also is the remarkable tombstone of Don Santo Seghezzio, consul
of France, England and Holland, who died in 1638. On one side is a carved
coat of arms, with the following Latin inscription : Illustrissimo D.D. Santo
Seghezzio H ierosolymitani Ordinis Equiti Meritissimo necnon Sancti Michaelis
a Christianissimo. Rege gratiose creato Gallorvm Anglorvm aiqve Belgarvm in
tola Aegypti regione con.wlatv/n integre gerenti et in Regia Memphi feliciter
occvmbenti IV Febrvarii Anno Domini MDCX XX VIII aetatissve XXXXX VI
Filivs Alexander marmoreis titvlis dicavit. On the other side is a finely
carved Arabic inscription with arabesque decoration.
Room 2 contains (rt. ) marble fountain-vases of the 15th century, and tomb
stones (1.). Byzantine capitals of columns and a row of small columns of
the early Arab period, including two of green serpentine from the Mosque of
Kusun es-Saki (early fourteenth century: the columns are antique). Behind
the grille formed by these columns is a fine marble fountain given by the
Helaliya family.
Room 3 contains a mosaic pavement and a fine bronze lamp hanging in
centre ; painted window-glass, mushrabiya-work, and the remarkable wooden
gates of the Muristan Kalaun, which appear to have belonged to an earlier
Fatimide building, and to have been removed to the Muristan and cut down to
fit a smaller door than that for which they were originally made. They are
decorated with carved designs of animals and plants.
Room 4 contains wooden lecterns (kurasi) for the reading of the Kuran,
pulpits (mdmbars), &c, also some splendid doors plated with bronze.
Room 5 contains, besides fine specimens of mushrabiya-Kork, the gates of
the Tomb of Saladin. In Rooms 6 and 7 are wooden screens, inlaid chests
and stands, and specimens of carving in the table-cases. In Room 8 are
wooden mdmbars or pulpits : No. 4 from Mosque of el-He"aziva, No. <;
from that of KSsun.
Room 9 contains specimens of bronze-work. To rt. the fine bronze "ate,
with key, from the tomb of the Imam esh-Shafi' to the S of the Citadel
Nos. 105, 106, very beautiful inlaid bronze tables (14th century). In the table-
cases are bronze lamps, pricket candlesticks, caskets and bowls.
In Room 10 to 1. are bronze crescents from the tops of minarets.
Rooms 11 and 12 contain the ceramic collection. The walls are lined with
blue-glazed tiles. In the table-cases are specimens of Arab pottery from the
7th century onwards, including fine fragments of early glaze and lustre ware.


Sect. II. J ROUTE 9.  CAIRO. 125
No. 80 is a remarkable vase of brown-glazed ware. On the 1. wall of Room 12
is a remarkable square tile (No. 65), with polychrome representation of the
Kaaba at Mecca, made at Damascus in the 18th century. From the roof of
No. 11 hang pottery mosque-lamps with ostrich eggs above them.
In Room 13 is a room from a house at Rosetta, with wooden panelling,
lamp, &c. Turning to rt., Room 14 contains specimens of early Arab silk
embroidery and leather -work.
The chief objects in Rooms 15 and 16 are the famous glass mosque-lamps.
The collection here exhibited is the finest in the world. There are only about
one hundred of these lamps in existence, and sixty of them are here. They
mostly came from the Mosque of Sultan Hasan. The blue arabesques and
sentences from the Imuran upon the white glass ground of the lamps make a
wonderful contrast of colour. A few of the lamps are wholly of deep blue
glass, without inscriptions or decorations. The paintings of the Kaaba, &c,
on the walls of this room are curious.
On the 1. wall passing to Room 17 is a framed address to the Viceroy
Mohammed Ali from the members of the Bombay. Chamber of Commerce
acknowledging the safe transmission of the Indian mails through Egypt at the
time of the Syrian War. Dated 19th June, 1841.
The Khedivial Librar-y. — On entering the exhibition-room we pass round
to the rt. to Case i, which contains papyrus documents and ostraka (inscribed
sherds) of the earliest centuries of Islam, some as early as the first half-century
after the conquest, MS. books, &c, with the autographs of authors, including
one holograph book written in three nights by its author. Case 2 contains the
priceless Cufic Kurans from the Mosque of 'Amr at Old Cairo. On the other
side a small octagonal Kuran should be noticed. Cases 3, 4, 5 contain the
collection of great illuminated Kurans of the sultans of the 14th and 15th cen
turies, which are of extraordinary magnificence. Case 6 illustrates the numis
matics of Islam, containing specimens of the coinage of all the Mohammedan
states, ranging in time from the Ommayade kbalifs to the modern Turkish
sultans and the late Khalifa of Omdurman, and in extent from the Spanish-
Moorish states of Cordova, Zaragoza, and Seville to the empire of the Seljuks
of Rum. The remarkable coin of Timurtash (1122-1182), in imitation of the
Alexander type, should be noted. Case 7 contains the beautiful illustrated
Persian MSS. , one of the chief features of the library. The paintings illustrat
ing the Shahnama and the poems (diwdn) of Jami are specially noticeable,
but all are of the greatest beauty and interest, and will repay detailed inspection.
Note the representations of polo-playing in one Persian MS. , also the Turkish
Kurans and the Kudatku Bilik, the oldest Turkish book, written in Arabic
characters at Cairo about 1350. Case 8 contains modern Turkish coloured
prints, autographs of sultans (one a book written by an imperial hand), and
specimens of Arabic printing, including an Italian-Arabic dictionary printed at
Bulak ' ' at the royal press, " 1822. The Chinese sheet at the end of the case is
of great interest, as at the top is a wood-cut imitation of Arabic signs. It is
apparently a proclamation of the Panthays, or Chinese Mohammedans of
Yunnan.

15. National Museum of Egyptian Antiquities.
[On the river bank, close to the Ka?r-en-Nu barracks, opposite Gezira and Bulak.
Open every day during the winter season — except Monday — from 9 A.M. to 4.30 P.M.
Admission P.T.5.
Director-General of the Antimtities Department, Prof. Gaston Maspero, D.C.L.,
etc. ; Keeper of the Museum, Ernil Brugsch-Pasha ; Secretary, M. Bazil ; Chief
Inspector of Antiquities for the Cairo District, J. E. Quibell, Esq., for Lower Egypt,
C. E. Edgar, Esq. (Mansflra), for Middle Egypt, M. Lefebvre (Asyut), for Upper Egypt,
A. E. P. Weigall, Esq. (Luxor).
It is permissible to photograph with hand camera, and to copy the objects on


126 route 9.— cairo. [Sect. II.
view in the Museum. Visitors desiring to use an easel, or to take photographs with
a stand camera, musti obtain permission from the Director. A room is set apart for
the use of Students ; for permission to use this apply to the Director. There is a
Sale-room, where duplicate antiquities may be purchased. 1
The National Museum of Egyptian Antiquities was established in
1858 under the direction of the French excavator M. Mariette, who
remained its director until his death in 1881. Throughout this period
the right of excavation was exclusively reserved by the Egyptian
Government to itself, and all the antiquities found were removed to
the Museum, which was established in the Cairene suburb of Bulak.
Among the fruits of these excavations may be mentioned the wonderful
series of statues of the Old Kingdom from Sakkara, including the Shekh
el-Beled and the group of Rahetep and Nefert, besides many fine
trophies from other parts of Egypt. The exhibition of several of these
at Paris in 1878 gave the lay world the first general idea of the wonder
ful ancient treasures that were owned by the Government of Egypt.
After Mariette's death he was succeeded by M. Maspero, who inaugu
rated a more liberal rigime, allowing foreign societies and individual
workers to excavate under certain restrictions, including the right of
the Museum to take what antiquities it wished. This system is that
which still prevails.
The Bulak Museum being too small and in a rather undesirable
position, the collections were removed in 1891 to the Khedivial palace
of Giza, next to the Zoological Gardens. Here they remained in a
ramshackle building, exposed to constant danger from fire, till 1902,
when the new Museum at Kasr en-Nil was completed.
This imposing edifice was designed by a French architect, M. Marcel
Dourgnon, and cost over £200,000 to build. As a modern building it is
the finest in Cairo, and is fully worthy of the collection which it enshrines.
The effect, both external and internal, is simple and stately. The
central entrance-porch, with the two reliefs of female figures, sym
bolizing Upper and Lower Egypt, by M. Ferdinand Faivre, is notice
able, and the architectural effect of the use of arch, circular gallery,
and dome in the entrance-hall is very fine. The entire simplicity of
the dome is also noticeable. The drawbacks of the building are, how
ever, many. The vestibules giving access to the atrium are too low
and dark, the entrance galleries (on both floors) and the central
atrium are so vast that the monuments exposed in them are almost
lost, and the sinking of the atrium below the level of the rest of the
ground floor accentuates this defect ; the only result of placing the
large monuments shown in it on high pedestals, in order that they
should not appear too insignificant in a general view, is to prevent
them from being properly seen by the visitor immediately below.
In the garden of the Museum, at the further end from the entrance,
is the great sarcophagus which contains the body of Mariette, and
behind it stands his statue, by Denys Puech.
¦ [Tihe ¥^,raryi where sk!dents may work with permission of the Director-General,
is entered by a door opposite the tomb ol Mariette ; the Sale Room is reached by
the corresponding door at the opposite end of the building, the first on the right as
one enters the grounds. The Museum proper is entered by the central porch. Here
sticks, &c., must be given up, though hand-cameras may be retained and used freely
Tickets (P.T.5) are purchased and catalogues bought at the office on the rt English
Catalogue, 1903. The red numbers attached to objects in the Museum refer to'this
edition, the black numbers to the French edition.] '


128

ROUTE 9. — CAIRO.

L>

found UV. Dyn. ). 1310, 1311. Two figures in limestone of a squatting scribe.
The eyes are of crystal and alabaster, and the eyelids and lashes are oi bronze.
Other figures of stone and wood of this period are shown in this_ extremely
interesting room, as well as two fine V. Dynasty columns from Abusir.
RoomC. To 1., an archaic statue of the god Mm, with primitive incised
representations of crioceras shells, elephants and bears walking over mountains,
&c. , discovered (with two others now at Oxford) by Prof. Petrie at Koptos, and
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES
GROUND FLOOS

probably among the most ancient of Kgvptian monuments. In the centre,
1312, fine white limestone column of the V. Dynasty.
Room D. -141. Side of a door with name of King Khasekhmui (II. Dyn.).
Great lion's head from a gargoyle : from the excavations of von Bissin" and
Borchardt, Abusir (V. Dyn.): , a
Room E. 49(155). The famous Inscription of Una (VI. Dyn.).
Room .F contains monuments of the Old Kingdom not inferior in beauty and
interest to those of Room B. In the centre, 6, the famous group of the Prince
Rahetep and his wife Nefert, brought by Mariette from Medum (III -IV Dyn )


Sect. II.] ROUTE 9.— CAIRO. 129
The group is of white limestone, painted ; the freshness of the colours, which
have not been touched since they were put in the tomb, about 3700 B. c. , is extra
ordinary, as is also the lifelike expression of the inlaid eyes. In this last respect,
however, the Rahetep group is outdone by the neighbouring bronze figures of
King Pepi I. and his son, found by Mr. Quibell at Hierakonpolis. In this case
the living expression of the eyes is positively startling. The great statues 17,
18, 77 (Ti, of Sakkara) are also remarkable examples of early Egyptian art.
Room G. Large square column of Usertsen I. (XII. Dyn. ), with represen
tations of that king being received by Ptah and Amen-ka-mut-f. A XII.
Dynasty representation of Amen is a rarity.
Room H. 1341. Wooden figure of the Ka or ghost of King Auabra Her
(an ephemeral monarch of the XII. Dynasty), represented as a nude youth
with the two upraised arms (symbol of the " ka") on his head. Found in the
wooden naos No. 1342 in the king's tomb at Dahshur. 1370 (1.). Portrait
statue of Amenemhat III. 1600 (rt. ). Seated statue of a King Mentuhetep
(XL Dyn.), from his tomb at DSr el-Bahari ; represented as Osiris, with face
painted black, wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt. 200 (by window).
Statue of Queen Nofret, wife of Usertsen I. Portrait-statue of Usertsen III. ,
one of a set of portraits of this king at different ages, found at Der el-Bahari
by M. Naville in 1905. Three others of the set are in the British Museum.
Room J. To 1., 129, headless statue of King Khian, found at Bubastis by
M. Naville. 1410. Colossal figure of Usertsen IV., found at Karnak by M.
Legrain. Room I. In centre, 144, the chamber of offerings of Horhetep, a noble of
the XI. Dynasty, from Der el-Bahari, with frescoes. In it is the sarcophagus.
Around it are placed the ten colossal seated figures of Usertsen II., found near
his pyramid at Lisht. They are of the purest white limestone. 42009, 42011.
Portrait-heads of Usertsen I. and Usertsen III., from Karnak. Against the
further (rt.-hand) wall are two painted reliefs of the XL Dynasty from the
temple of Mentuhetep III. at Der el-Bahari, now being excavated for the
Egypt Exploration Fund. That on the 1. represented the king and his wife,
Queen Aasheit (portraits hammered out) beneath the winged sun. The colours
are extraordinarily vivid, and the high relief work of the hieroglyphs is unique.
The rt.-hand relief represents a bowl of beer being offered to Sadhe, priestess
of Hathor, by a priest and a female attendant, who holds a lily. The priest
says "Beer for thy ghost." in. Stela of the nomarch Antef, founder of the
XI. Dynasty. 112. Stela of King Antef, with his dog Behukaa. This stela
was seen intact by the royal inspectors when the kings' tombs were examined
in the reign of Ramses IX. (1050 B.C.), according to the official report in the
"Abbott Papyrus."
Room K. Stelae of the Middle Kingdom.
Room L. Statues from Tanis and elsewhere of the so-called Hyksos style,
which is more probably to be attributed to the end of the XII. Dynasty. The
portraits are of savage power, and the style of work is almost as heretically
aberrant from the usual Egyptian canons as is that of the Disk-worshippers at
Tell el-Amarna. 133 (279). Group of two Nile-gods, symbolising Upper and
Lower Egypt, offering fish, &c. The extraordinary treatment of the hair should
be noticed. 134. Black granite sphinx. 137. Upper part of the statue of a
king : portrait of peculiarly fierce aspect ; probably Amenemhat III. From the
Fayyum. Room M contains monuments of the XVIII. Dynasty, including the chief
trophies of the recent excavations of M. Legrain at Karnak. The most notable
are : 327. Squatting figure of the sage Amenhetep, son of Hapi, prime minister
of Amenhetep III. 334. Portrait figure of Thothmes III. ; the profile is
remarkably fine. 335. King Tutankhamen. Behind it is a .colossal statue of
the god Khonsu, with the features of Tutankhamen. 291. Figure of Senmut,
architect of DSr el-Bahari, holding the princess Raneferu. On wall to 1.,
caricature portrait of Amenhetep IV. Khu-n-Aten) and stelae of the Disk-
K


130 ROUTE 9.— CAIRO. LDecl- j1'
worshippers. To rt., 197, portrait of King Horemheb, wearing the double
crown. 213. Triumphal stela of Thothmes III., containing the bong of
Amen." 236, 237. Reliefs from the temple of Der el-Bih an, representing the
Queen of Punt (Somaliland). In thjs room stands the fine life-size figure of a
cow of Hathor, within a shrine, discovered at Der el-Bahan by M. Naville in
1906. It was dedicated by Amenhetep II., who is represented standing under
the protection of the cow and being suckled by her.
/<W AT. Figures of the lioness-goddess Sekhemt, from the temple of Mut
at Karnak. , - . . . ,
We now enter the Northern Long Gallery, numbered O. I contains stelae
and reliefs of the XVIII. and XIX. Dynasties. Note especially .172, 172 bis,
from the tomb of Hormin. 218. The Table of Kings of Sakkara, m which the
scribe Tunur adores the names of fifty-eight kings, beginning with Merbap of
the I. Dyn. To the 1. are the offices of the Director-General
From this gallery the atrium is approached by a square hall like that near
the entrance at the other end of the atrium. In it is the " Israel-Stela, dis
covered by Petrie at Thebes, on which King Meneptah (the supposed Pharaoh
of the Exodus) celebrates bis victories over the Israelites and other tribes,
Room R. Ramesside statues, &c.
Room P. Figures of Apes, emblems of the god Thoth. Miscellaneous
figures of the XX. Dynasty from Karnak.
Rooms Q, H. Ramesside monuments.
Room U. 678. Granite "Bed of Osiris," on which the god lies protected
by hawks, from the tomb of King Tjer (anciently supposed to be that of
Osiris) discovered by M. AmClineau at Abydos.
Room T. 252. Monolithic naos of Nekhtnebf from Saft el-Henna. 1609.
Stela of Amasis, describing the battle of Momemphis. 1610. Stela of Nekhtnebf,
relating to the Greek factories at Naukratis. 278. ' ' Stela of Pithom," describing
an expedition of Ptolemy IV. to the coast of the Red Sea.
Room V. Late monuments.
Room X. Monuments of the Ethiopian dynasty. In the centre, 174,
alabaster statue of Queen Amenartas. 164. Portrait head of Tirhakah.
688. Portrait head of Mentuemhat, governor of Thebes at the time of the
Assyrian invasion in 668 B.C. Found in the temple of Mut at Karnak. 160-
163, 165. Historical stelae of the kings of Napata, recording the conquest of
Egypt by Piankhi, the wars of Tandamane, the coronation of Aspalut, the
excommunication of the Raw-Meat-Eaters, &c. 272. Meroitic reliefs from
Bakarawiya in the Sudan.
Room Z. Ptolemaic monuments.
Room Y. Greek and Roman monuments. 719. Fine marble head of a
Galatian, Pergamene style, 3rd cent. B.C. 725. The "Decree of Canopus."
295. Siren playing a lyre. 303 (in centre). Statue of a Roman lady. 721. Statue
of a thin and elderly Egyptian, named Horus (2nd cent. A. D. ). 302. Por
phyry head of an emperor (4th cent. A. D. ), curiously debased style.
Rooms A', B' . Romano-Egyptian stelae, &c.
Rooms D', C". Coptic monuments, of which this is the best collection in
the world, all the finest examples of Egyptian Christian art being here. In
Room C note especially Nos. 781 and 782, Byzantine pillar-capitals, 782 being
of classical t3'pe, while 781 has interlaced carving and is of " Norman" shape.
The groups 7285, 7286, angels holding crosses in relief, playing lyres, &c
8706. Marble tombstone wiui a poetical lament over the terrors of death.
35822-3. Carved doorway with pillars ; limestone gravestone, with recumbent
figure of a man holding staff and wreath, of completely mediaeval type.
We pass through the entrance-hall and the northern wing of the "Grande
Galerie d'Honneur," which contains sarcophagi of the Saite -period, and
ascend the staircase 1. to
The Upper Floor, on which are exhibited the mummies and small objects
of everyday life, pottery, papyri, &c, found in the tombs. The Upper Gallery


ROUTE 9. — CAIRO.

131

Sect. IL]
of Honour contains the long series of mummy-cases of the priests of Amen.
We pass along it to the Southern Saloon (Salon meridional) rt. On the 1.
(west wall) are cases containing pottery, &c. ,of the prehistoric and archaic rooms.
Room If , which opens out of it to the 1., contains the chief antiquities of
the Archaic Period, discovered at Abydos, Hierakonpolis, and elsewhere.
On the rt. note objects from the tomb of Aha at Nakada. 1410. Ivory plaque
with name of Aha-Men (?), half found by M. de Morgan, the other half some
years later by Mr. Garstang. 1414. Alabaster vase, with representation of

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES
UPPER FLOOR

cords for hanging it up, in, relief ; the relief "palette" of King Narmer,
found by Mr. Quibell at Hierakonpolis ; objects of the I. and II. Dynasties
found by Prof. Petrie at Abydos ; Archaic statues and vases.
Leaving this room we retrace our steps across the Southern Saloon to its
eastern portion, in which is exhibited a full-size model of the ancient chariot
in the Archaeological Museum of Florence, the chariot-body of embossed and
gilded leather found by Mr. Davis in the tomb of Thothmes IV. , and other
objects. . .. Room A (left). Objects in wood and leather.
K 2


132 ROUTE 9.— CAIRO- t^ect. II.
Room B. Pottery ; to rt. , that of the prehistoric period. Notice a fine
alabaster vase, with an inscription of Hatshepsut, found by M. Legrain at
Karnak. , , ... r
Room C. Miscellaneous statuettes, &c. : funerary amulets, ushabti figures,
and canopic jars. Cases A and £. Foundation deposits from the XVlil. Dy
nasty temple at Der el-Bahari, comprising models of tools, &c
Room D. Funerary furniture. At further door, two ushabti-boxes, with
hawks above. 699. Socket of a royal statue-pedestal, with two heads of
conquered chiefs, one negro, the other Asiatic.
Rooms E, F. Funerary objects. 667. Model sarcophagus containing a
" bed of Osiris. " .
Room H. Inscribed ostraka and fragments of limestone. No. 586. Begin
ning of the romance of Sanehat ; writing materials.
Rooms G, I. Papyri (covered with blue blinds to protect them from the
sunlight : the attendant raises them for the visitor) ; Books of the Dead, &c.
In Room I are interesting sketches on slips of limestone.
Room J. 1327. Contemporary plan of the tomb of Ramses IX. , on a piece
of limestone. Furniture, &c.
Room L. Bronzes, &c. 721. Bronze lion with ring, forming the end of a
chain : inscribed with the name of Apries.
Room K. Mason's tools, boxes, mosaics. 1358. Ebony door of a naos,
from the temple of Der el-Bahari : discovered by M. Naville. Wooden
sledges for transporting heavy objects.
Leaving Room A' we pass through the corridor on the 1. (Cases N, M, L,
on rt., small figures of divinities) into the Northern Saloon (Salon Septen
trional), containing cases with images of deities. On 1. Case F, bronze
ibises ; rt. , E, figures of the god Ptah ; 1. , C, Isis and Osiris, Nephthys, &c. ;
1., 1020, fine figure of a Hathor-cow protecting a priest ; ft., case with statue
of Osiris in centre. We pass by this into
The Jewel Roam (P), which contains inestimable treasures of Egyptian gold
and inlaid stone work The two cases in the centre enshrine the beautiful
jewellery of the XII. Dynasty from Dahshur, the "pectorals" with the names
of Usertsen III. and Amenemhat HI. in gold inlaid with cornelian, lapis, and
turquoise, the golden wreaths of the princesses, their necklaces, &c. To it.
of these are the cases of jewellery of the Pharaonic period, including those
of Queen Aab-hetep ; note especially the model boats and the inlaid daggers.
On the 1. is the gold-work of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, including
(next to window) the recent find at Tukh el-Karamus, near Fakus.
Leaving this room we turn rt. and make the circuit of the Northern Saloon,
between Cases O and Q (figures of Osiris and Horus), and past, L, 1016, fine
statue of the hippopotamus-goddess Taueret (Thoueris), and past Cases R, P,
B, D (rt.) and A (1.) to Room X, which contains antiquities of the Late Period
(Ptolemaic and Roman) and objects of foreign origin, including (Cases C and
D) Babylonian clay tablets from Tell el-Amarna, containing letters and
despatches from the princes and governors of Western Asia to Amenhetep III,
and IV.
Room M contains objects of the Coptic (Byzantine) period, including fine
bronzes, clay lamps, Coptic inscriptions (esp. No. 427), &c.
From this room we pass into the Northern Gallery (O), the first part of
which contains mummies of the latest period. Note especially, 1., a gilt
mummy of a baby ; rt. a magnificently gilded and painted cartonnage head
from a mummy-case. At entrance to the Northern Saloon are painted plaster
portrait-heads from mummies (second cent. a.d.). Wall-case : parchment deed
of gift, in Greek, by Kharakhein, King of the Blemmyes, to his sons Khara-
patkhar and Kharazieu (sixth cent., see p. 521). t Crossing the Northern Saloon
with the Jewel Room to the rt., we enter the second part of the Northern Gallery
(Q), which contains the Mummies of the Pharaohs, discovered in 1881 at Der
el-Bahari, in 1898 in the tomb of Amenhetep IL, and in other royal tombs later.


Sect. II.] ROUTE 9.  CAIRO. 133
of On the 1. is the case containing the body of Sekenenra Taa. A. Mummy
Aahmes I., founder of the XVIII. Dynasty. C. Case containing mummy
of Amenhetep I., with garlands. E. Mummy of Thothmes HI. M. Siptah.
L. Meneptah. J. Ramses II., by some considered to be the Pharaoh of the
Oppression. K. Ramses III. G. Thothmes III. I. Seti I. , father of Ramses II.
On the other side are members of the priestly royal family of the XXII. Dynasty.
The incomparable interest of these, the actual bodies of some of the greatest
kings of Egypt, need not be insisted on here. The beauty of the head of
Seti I. is renowned, and the imperial pride written on the features of Ramses II.
in death is extraordinary.
Room R. Mummies. Cases B and C, side by side at head of the
staircase. Ramses V. (a young man of singularly evil expression) and Queen
Nefert-ari-Aahmes, wife of Amenhetep I. Her huge mummy-case is close by.
On rt. , mummies of Thothmes I., Pinetjem I., Ramses VI., and Setnekht (a
substituted female body). On 1., Seti II. , Prince Khamuas the sage, son of
Ramses II., Ramses I., the scribe Nebseni.
Room S. Tomb-furniture of Amenhetep II. and Thothmes IV. ; note
especially the fine blue-glazed vases, &c.
Room T. Mummies and magnificent tomb-furniture of Iuaa and Tuaa,
father and mother of Queen Tii, consort of Amenhetep III., from their tomb,
discovered in the Biban el-Muluk at Thebes by Mr. Theodore Davis in 1905.
The mummies are probably the finest in the collection, the preservation being
startlingly perfect. The face of Iuaa, who was probably a foreigner, is of
remarkable type, with high aquiline nose. The yellow colour of the hair is
probably due to the spices used in embalming. Among the tomb-furniture
the most notable objects (where everything is remarkable) are the splendid
chariot, with its gilded embossed leather body, the great gilded coffins, the
chairs with their carved, inlaid and gilt woodwork, the beds and reed boxes,
and the remains of the corn sown in a layer of earth in the form of the god
Osiris, which sprang up in the tomb as an emblem of the resurrection of all
living things out of death.
Room U. Coffins and tomb-furniture of Maherpra, a noble, of much the
same style as those of Iuaa and Tuaa. Also from the Biban el-Mulhk.
Rooms X, V, Y. Tomb-furniture of the XVIII. , XII. and XL Dynasties ;
note especially the model barks and granaries, placed in the tombs of the
Middle Kingdom. 1337, 1338 (Room V). Two model groups of companies of
soldiers, found in a tomb at Meir. Two coffins with model barks, granaries, &c. ,
as found, from the tomb of the physician Neferi and another person at Beni
Hasan, discovered by Mr. Garstang (XII. Dyn.). Rooms Z, A', B' contain
nothing of much interest.
Room C. Mummies, coffins, and tomb-furniture of the Old and early
Middle Kingdoms. 1402. Mummy in rough wooden coffin, from Deshasha
(V. Dyn.). 106. Mummy of King Merenra Mehtimsaf (VI. Dyn.), who died
young ; the side-lock of youth is still attached to the head. Remains of King
Unas. 115-117. Coffin and mummy of the priestess Amenit, from Der
el-Bahari (XL Dyn.). The head is turned over to the 1., as was customary
at that period, in order that it might look through the two great eyes painted
on the side of the coffin.
Room D' , containing the archaic antiquities, has already been described.
From the centre of tbe long gallery containing the mummies of the priests of
Amen opens a room with specimens of mummied animals, plants, &c. , found
in the tombs. We descend by the Western Staircase to the Entrance Hall,
16. Old Cairo.
Old Cairo is about 2$ m. S.W. from the Ezbekiya. The route is by
carriage pr tra.rnca,r to t&e Fumm el-Khalig (p, 94), Just beyond, this


134 ROUTE 9.  CAIRO. [Sect. II.
is the head of the Aqueduct which carried water to the Citadel. The
original aqueduct of Salah-ed-din (Saladin) was merely a conduit sup
ported on wooden pillars ; and it was not till about the year 1518 that
the present stone one was substituted, by order of Sultan el-Ghun.
The sdkiyas which raised the water were inside the massive building,
close to the river. To the N. of the Aqueduct are the Christian ceme
teries. The English Cemetery is farthest to the S. Next to it is the
Boman Catliolic Cemetery ; and adjoining the latter is the Coptic, Greek,
and Armenian Cemetery. The island of Roda is seen on the rt., divided
from the mainland by a canal-like stream. Old Cairo may be said to
commence directly the Aqueduct is passed.
The village of Khri Ahu was here in tl« time of the Xllth Dynasty. The
Arab city was founded by 'Amr ibn el-'Asi, who conquered Egypt in the
Khalifate of Omar, A.D. 638 ; and is said to have received its original name
of Fustat from the leather tent (fustat) which 'Amr there pitched for himself,
during the siege of the Roman fortress. (The word fustat seems to be the
Byzantine Greek, ^oao-arav, fossatum, and to have meant an entrenched camp
originally.) In the same spot he erected the mosque that still bears his name^,
which in after-times stood in the centre of the city, and is now amid the mounds
and rubbish of its fallen houses. Fustat continued to be the royal residence, as
well as the capital of Egypt, until the time of Ahmad ibn-Tulun, who built the
mosque and palace at the Kala'at el-Kebsh, A.D. 879.
Gohar el-Kaid, having been sent by Muizz to conquer Egypt, founded the
new city called Masr el-Kahira (Cairo), which, after a considerable time, be
came the capital of the country, and Fustat received the new appellation
of Masr el-'Atika, or "Old Masr," changed by Europeans into Old Cairo.
The ancient name, of the city which occupied part of tbe site of Old Cairo
was Egyptian Babylon ; and the Roman station, which lies .to the S. of the
Mosque of 'Amr, is evidently the fortress besieged by the Moslem invader.
In 1168, when the Crusaders invaded Lower Egypt, the Saracens set fire to
Fustat to prevent its falling into the hands of the Christians. At that time
it extended northwards as far as the Mosque of Tulun, to what is the southern
part of Cairo. This fire, which is said to have lasted 54 days without being
put out, was the ruin of Fustat. Nothing but the extensive rubbish-mounds
all around prove its former size.
After passing the Piimm el-Khalig (junction of the road to Old
Cairo with the Shari'a cl-Khalig or Helwan, leading to the Seyyida
Zenab quarter and the Muski), the road divides ; the branch to the rt.
follows the Nile, and to the main street of Old Cairo ; the one to the
1. leads under the Aqueduct and between Old Cairo and the ruins of
Fustat. Passing some palm groves, the road turns to the 1., and,
passing the Convent of Abu Sefen, leads to
The Mosque of 'Amr (Gdmi' 'Amr). This is to the E. of the village,
near the rubbish heaps. It is the most ancient mosque in Egypt, and
of square form, as were all the early mosques, except such as had been
originally churches, which this never was ; and it is somewhat similar
in plan to the Mosque of Tnlim, which mosque was originally older
than that of 'Amr, with colonnades round an open court. The total
area of the building is 350 ft. square. The outside walls are of brick.
At the W. end, where is the entrance, is a single line of columns ; at
the two sides they are three deep, and at the E. end in six rows, the
total amounting to no less than 229 or 230, two being covered with
masonry. Others are also built into the outer wall to support the
dikka or platform e£ the mwddin ; and the octagon in the centre of


ROUTE 9. — CAIRO.

135

Sect. II.]
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. (The E. portion of the covered court has however
recently received a new roof.) The Mosque has three doors on the E.
side, oyer the southernmost of which is a minaret, and another at the
S.E. corner.
At that early time the Arabs were contented with humble imitations
of Roman architecture, or -with buildings erected for them by Christian

OPEN

N

W-

Hane/iy.i.

The Two Test Columns COURT.

Qibla.
|iDitk». Mambar|
f—S .-.:.».:: ;.r:: ;*:. ¦

*:-.-.-.».-.-i:».-.-.

PLAN^OF THE MOSQUE OF AMB.
architects, which appears to have been the case in this instance,; and
the style of the arches and other portions of the exterior wall is the
same as that found in contemporary Christian edifices. The general
form of the arches is round, alternating with others of the pent-roof
bead ; on the S. side some of the large lower arches are pointed, and
though it is doubtful if i they are of the same age as the round ones
above and adjoining them, still they are of undisputed antiquity, and
eonsequently, as Mr. Pergusson says, are " a curious contribution to
the much-contested question of the pointed arch," Indeed, it may be


136 route 9.— cairo. [Sect. II.
doubted if the Arabs in the time of the conquest of Egypt had made
sufficient progress in architecture to build a mosque of the size and
character of this of 'Amr, though they added to the interior in after-
times. Makrizi gives a long account of the alterations and repairs
that have been made at different times, from which it is evident that
little of the original edifice founded by 'Amr (a.d. 643) remains. Its
present arches, on columns, which are built against the simpler arches
of the original outer wall, are evidently of the style common in the
time of El-Muayyad, about a.d. 1412, when the mosque was partly
rebuilt by Ibrahim el-Mohalli, a rich Cairene merchant. The last
repairs were made by Murad Bey at the end of the 18th century, when
some Kufic MSS., written on the finest parchment, were discovered,
while excavating the substructions.
An ancient prophecy foretells the downfall of Moslem power when
ever this mosque shall fall to decay. Another tradition assigns to
Two Columns, placed 10 in. apart, near the southernmost door, the
power of discovering the faith of him who tries to pass between
them ; no one but a true believer in the Kuran and the Prophet being
supposed to succeed in the attempt. On this showing, all stout
Moslems are unorthodox. At the S.E. angle is the tomb of the
founder, 'Amr, and at the S.W. a spring, said by believers to com
municate with the holy well of Zem Zem at Mecca. Close by the
pulpit is a column, carefully railed in, on which, the Arabs say, may be
read in the veining of the marble the names of God, Mohammed, and
the Sultan Suleman.
The Roman Fortress of Babylon. — The next point of interest is
the large walled enclosure called "Kasr esh-Shamma," or "Dir en-
Nasdra," or "Dir Welti Girghis," occupying the site of the fortress
already alluded to as having been the Roman station of Babylon.
There is an interesting and accurate account of this fortress and the churches
it contains in Butler's ' Ancient Coptic Churches in Egypt. ' 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 construction of
its arches ; and over the main entrance on the S. side (which is now closed and
nearly buried in rubbish ) is a triangular pediment, under whose left-hand corner
the Roman eagle was recently visible. Above appears to have been a slab,
probably bearing an inscription, long since fallen or removed. Its solid walls
and strong round towers sufficiently testify 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 Abul'feda alludes when he says: "In the' spot
where Fustat was built stood a I>asr, erected in old times, and styled Kasr
esh-Shamma ('of the Candle'), and the tent (fustat) of 'Amr was close to' trie
mosque called Gami 'Amr."
Strabo mentions the' station or fortress at Babylon,' "in which one of the
three Roman legions was quartered, 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 There is little doubt that at the time
the fortress was built, the Nile flowed close to it over the area now occupied
by Old Cairo. There is said to have been a bridge of boats at this snot,
3000 ft. m length, divided in the middle by the island of Roda, and the fortress
defended the head of the bridge. It is probable that the gate leading from the
bridge into the fortress was between the two great round towers on the W
side of it, arid close to the existing Greek church, At all events it is


Sect. II.] route 9. — cairo. 137
rilv^nf^ *oman .stati?n' and probably the very one that existed in the
%%l n%LefS?ft™' fUdgl,ng b°th ,fr°m its sty'e of buildi"S and from the
little likelihood of their forsaking a place "fortified by nature" for another;
and no vestiges of any other Roman ruin are to be met with in the neigh
bourhood. The name itself of Babylon has been preserved in the name of the
next Der beyond the Kasr esh-Shamma, which is still called Der Bablun
Some, again, pretend that the fort was first built by Artaxerxes, while
Egypt was in the possession of the Persians. The church at Babylon referred
to in i Peter v. 13 is beheved to have been the Christian community within the
walls of Old Babylon.
Immediately on entering this gloomy-looking place by a low postern
door on the W. side (close to St. Georges Rly. sta.), the visitor finds
himself in a narrow lane lined with houses. Indeed, the whole interior
is a small town inhabited principally by Copts, but containing also
some Moslems and a Greek and a Latin convent. The objects of interest
are many ; but the traveller will find, if he trusts to a dragoman,
that they are limited to the church in which is the traditional
hiding-place of the Holy Family, and perhaps the Greek convent. It
is well for those who wish to see something more to accept the services
of a guide in the place itself, and distinctly make him understand what
they wish to see. At some of the churches the key will not always1 be
forthcoming, but patience and bakhshish will produce it. Some will
find enough here to occupy many hours, and will of course have to
postpone the remainder of the excursion to another day.
The principal points at which remains of the old fortress are seen
are : Inside the court of the Greek convent ; inside the Coptic church
called " el-Moallaka " ; in the courtyard near the Jewish synagogue;
and at the end of a lane, where the inside of one of the towers is used
as a corn-mill. This last spot is called el-Biirg, and is said to be the
place where people were hanged. It evidently forms a portion of a
large Roman building, with additions of a later period. Crossing the
lower part of one of the towers, the entrance to which is beneath a
fine old round arch, is a.more modern pointed brick horse-shoe arch,
which has been built to support more recent erections inside the old
round tower. There is a good plan of the fortress in Butler's ' Ancient
Coptic Churches of Egypt,' already alluded to. The great Boman Gate,
over which the church of el-Moallaka is built, was exhumed in 1901.
It is best seen from outside the fortress, close to St. Georges stat. It is
built of fragments of ancient Egyptian masonry.
Coptic Convents and Churches. — -The ancient Christian churches,
now belonging to the Copts and Greeks, which are scattered about in
different positions amongst the mounds of Fustat, have received far
less attention than they deserve, considering their high architectural
importance, and the numerous curiosities and works of art which they
contain. The Dirs, or convents, in which they are situated are
fortress-like buildings, evidently constructed with a view to security
against attack, and often containing, besides the church or churches,
a regular town within their walls, as notably in the ease of the Kasr
esh-Shamma. North of the Kasr esh-Shamma. — The Der Mari Mena, or Convent
of St. Menas, contains the Coptic Church of Mari Mona, with a chapel
lately occupied by the Syrians attached, and the comparatively modern
church, of the Armenians, St, Menas, whose name ja interesting as;


138 route 9.— cairo. [Sect. II.
recalling that of the first recorded king of Egypt, flourished at the
beginning of the 4th cent. There was a celebrated convent bearing his
name at Alexandria, and there probably were made the numerous
pottery flasks inscribed with his name and effigy, which are found in
the catacombs at Alexandria and elsewhere in Egypt. The onm;oh
contains some interesting pictures and an extremely curious candlestick
of bronze, representing two dragons with their heads at each extremity,
and their tails interlaced in the middle. The lights are fixed along the
back. This candlestick was copied about 150 years since for the
adjoining church of the Armenians. For a full description of this
convent see Butler, t.c, i., pp. 47 ff.
The Der Abu Sefen contains the churches of Abu Sefen, Anba
Shenuda, Sitt Mariam, and the convent Der el-Benat. The entrance to
the Der is through a low arch. The door is thickly covered with iron.
Abu Sefen ("Father of Two Swords," i.e. St. Mercurius). A very
fine and interesting church. The ancient wooden door was defended by
a casing made of the scales of crocodiles, but scarcely a trace of them
now remains. In a reliquary is preserved the arm of St. Mercurius. The
pulpit is magnificent, with mosaics of coloured marbles, intermixed
with mother-of-pearl. The screens are of wood, inlaid with ivory, and
superbly carved. The choir screen, inlaid with ivory, is specially
noteworthy. The central apse has a magnificent semicircle of marble
steps, and the wall above is lined with fine mosaics. Some of the
paintings, upon a gold ground over the screens, appear very ancient.
There is a fine Arabic ewer and basin enamelled in blue and green, and
a remarkably perfect wooden book-desk. The nave has a high-pitched
roof, and the dome is unusually lofty. Near the Epiphany water-tank
is a curious prostrate stone column, 4 ft. 10 in. long, with an inscription
which is the Arabic version of the Trisagion.
Anba Shenuda (St. Shenouti), an interesting church. There is a fine
early pulpit of wood, and some curious coverings for the altar. Here
are a Gospel-cover of base silver, and two silver diadems used in
marriages. Sitt Miriam. — This church has recently been partially restored.
It is peculiar in having no apse, the three sanctuaries being rect
angular. The eastern niche is lined with some tiles of fine colour
but broken.
Der el-Benat.— This little convent is not far from the Church of
Anba Shenuda. There are a mother-superior and about 12 nuns, who
are not obliged to take any vows.
Within the Ka*r esh-Shamma.— The finest of the Coptic churches
within the fortress is that of Abu Sarga (St. Sergius), a large and
lofty church. The pulpit is of early woodwork. The principal
screen is a magnificent specimen of carved ivory and wood ; to the
1. of it are some interesting panels sculptured with St. George (the
patron saint of the Copts), other Saints, and scriptural subjects.
Behind the high altar there is a grand flight of seven lofty steps of
white and coloured marbles, the wall above being faced with exquisite
mosaics, in which the coloured marbles are intermixed with mother-of-
pearl and pieces of blue opaque glass, This mixture of shell with


Sect. II.]

ROUTE 9. — CAIRO.

139

marbles can only be seen in a very few of the finest churches and
mosques, and has a remarkably elegant effect. In the space in front of
the ikonostasis, two narrow staircases descend to a small three-aisled
subterranean chapel, with plastered walls, apparently of great antiquity.
It is dedicated to Sitt Mariam (the Lady Mary). Four pillars on each
side divide the aisles from the nave. In the eastern wall of the central
aisle is a deep cavity or niche with a oross-slab at the bottom, and with

A

Entrance.

n

Choir.

n

Open court.

H

Hekal.

< '.

Inner court.

I.

Central tipse with

\>

Narfchex.

theatral seats.

K

Women's section.

.1.

K. Side chapels.

K

Men's section.

L.

Western chapel.

PLAN OF THE CHUBCH OF ABU SABGA.

the side and roof carefully finished with hewn stones. In the end of
the S. aisle is a font embedded in stone, like a copper, and used for the
baptism of small children. In the side wall of each of tbe aisles there
is another niche, at the bottom of each of which is a sculptured, cross.
Tradition reports that at the time of the Flight into Egypt, the
Blessed Virgin and the Holy Child rested in one cavity, and St. Joseph
in the other. This crypt probably dates from the 6th cent.
El-Mo'allaka, a church of paramount interest, This church, being


140 route 9. — Cairo. [Sect. II.
situated up-stairs in one of the towers of the Roman Gateway of
Babylon, and at a considerable height from the ground, is known
as " el-Mo'allaka " — i.e. " tlie Suspended." The approach is by a lofty
staircase, with side walls of ancient stone masonry, and a vaulted roof
of small dark-red bricks. It has five aisles, supported, as usual in these
churches, by pillars and capitals torn from ancient Greek or Roman
buildings. The church has been completely restored of late years, and a
considerable part of the decorations have been removed. There is a
beautiful screen in front of the hekal, but no part of the church is
partitioned off as a choir. Mr. Butler suggests that the choir was
probably separated from the body of the church by screens, which have
been removed. Two beautiful leaves of cedar wood, sculptured in panels,
were sold a few years ago by the priest, and are now in the British
Museum. They contained eight panels, representing various scenes in
the life of our Lord. There are some beautiful wood-and-ivory screens
at the W. end of the church, under the gallery, which should be carefully
examined. One of the most interesting objects in the church is the
ancient pulpit, which stands on fifteen very delicate columns, resting on a
slab of white marble. The coping of the pulpit is beautifully carved.
The staircase is broken away, with the exception of the upper four steps ,
on the sides of the staircase are two crosses, one a low resurrection
cross, the other between pillars joined by an arch. On the S. side of
the church is a chapel in which are many relics of saints and some
interesting Coptic service-books. This chapel is in one of the bastions
which stand on either side of the main gate of the fortress. It is of
very early date, possibly older than that of the main church. There
is no doubt that there was a church at this spot long before the
capture of Babylon by 'Amr, and the Mohammedans always appear to
have regarded the place with considerable reverence. In the great
persecution of the Christians by the Khalif el-Hakim, el-Mo'allaka
appears at first to have been protected by him, but it was afterwards
handed over to plunder, and, as Makrizi says, "a very great and endless
quantity of gold fabrics and of silken vestments was found in it." For
many years the Patriarch of the Coptic Church was nominated and
consecrated in this church, which would appear to have been regarded
as the episcopal seat. From an historical point of view there is no
more interesting Coptic church in Egypt.
The great Roman Gateway, on which the church is built, was
exhumed in 1901 (see above).
Kedisa Berbarra. A very curious church of early date. The
shrine of St. Berbarra (Barbara) is gaudily painted in bright colours,
and contains within a brass grill the relics of the Saint, wrapped in a
kind of blue bolster. The nave is supported on ten pillars, upori which
rest elegantly painted beams of wood, above which are pointed arches.
This church abounds with splendid early carvings in wood and ivory.
The paintings on the screen before the Eikonostasis are unusually good.
There is a curious triple standing candlestick of iron, a single one of
brass, and a corona, now disused.
xt Mfrif9irSfS Td E1"A,dra- T^ese two churches, which are at the
N. end ot the fortress, contain nothing of much interest.
The Greek Convent is a large building, and contains many objects


Sect. II.] ROUTE 9.— CAIRO. 141
of interest. In the church are some beautiful specimens of old Arable
and Persian tiles.
The Jewish Synagogue is the desecrated Christian Church of
St. Michael, given up several centuries since to the Jews, to whom a
large sum was owed, which the Copts were Unable to pay. In plan
it resembles a basilica in miniature. Above and around the niches for
the books of the Law are numerous Hebrew inscriptions amidst inter
lacing foliage executed in wood and plaster. A door to the 1. of the
building admits to an open space, where a fine view is obtained of
the interior of one of the Roman bastion-towers, and of the inside of
the gate on the S. side, mentioned above.
South of the Kasr esh-Shamma. — To the S. of the fortress of Babylon,
and among the heaps of rubbish, are some very curious Coptic churches
which are well worth examination. They are surrounded by lofty
walls, which give them the appearance of iorts. These are : — •
Der Bablun, preserving the name of the Roman Babylon of Egypt,
and containing the Church of Sitt Miriam, which is called ' ' the Church
of the Virgin by Bablun of the Steps." There is a good lectern and
some wall-paintings.
Der Todros, containing the church of St. Theodore, and that of
Abu Kir wa Hanna (Honnes). This church has been rebuilt at no
very remote period. It contains, however, several curious objects,
pre-eminent among which is a magnificent silver-gilt Gospel-case,
ornamented with Arabic and Coptic inscriptions. Here are also some
fine crimson and gold vestments, and a pair of silver-gilt girdle-clasps,
enriched with niello. The relics of SS. Cyrus and John (Abu Kir wa
Hanna) are preserved in a chapel to the rt. of the church. The cup and
paten of this church appear to be ancient.
Der Melek Michael (the Archangel Michael) with the Church of
St. Michael). This church has been completely rebuilt, but on the
ancient foundations.
Der el-Adawiya, on the bank of the Nile, a little N. of the village
of Tura ; it is beautifully situated, and commands a fine view of the
river and the Pyramids. This church is also modern, as is also the
monastery in connection with it.
All these ancient churches are built E. and W., and in their
arrangements and fittings give as accurate a picture of early Christian
usages as can anywhere be found.
17. The Island of Roda and the Milometer.
The Island of Roda and the Nilometer lie opposite Old Cairo, from
which they are separated by a canal-like branch of the river. The N.
part of Roda was formerly occupied by beautiful gardens, planted
chiefly by Ibrahim Pasha. Though no longer resorted to by the
Cairenes as a cool and shady retreat in summer, it still presents a
very pretty and pleasing appearance. Arab tradition has chosen it as
the site of the finding of Moses by Pharaoh's daughter. Opposite the
hospital of Kasr el-'Aini, there is a tall palm with a smooth white


142 ROUTE 9. — CAIRO. |_beot- iL
trunk, called " Moses' Tree." In the time of the later princes of the
Greek empire, R6da was joined to the mainland by a budge ot boats,
for the purpose of keeping up a direct communication between Babylon
and Memphis, which still existed at the period of the Arab mvas on
under 'Amr ; and, at a later period, the island was fortified by he
Baharide Mamelukes with a wall and towers of brick, some of which
SLllThenminaret, with 3 balconies, that rises picturesquely above the
village belongs to a mosque built by Kait Bey In type it resembles
the other mosques built by the Sultan. A high Nile rises to the
inscription— which is fast decaying-of the portal. In seasons when the
Nile attains to an excessive height, the island is submerged, and boats
sail over the fields. The embankments of stone and brick on the W.
side of the island are in a ruinous state, and are gradually subsiding,
in large masses, into the stream.
The Nilometer in Arabic Mikyds (measure), is situated at the S.
extremity of the island, in the garden of a house, the entrance to which
may be reached in a boat from Old Cairo. As its name indicates, it is
used for the purpose of measuring the height of the Nile. It consists
of a square well or chamber, in the centre of which is a graduated
pillar This pillar is divided into 17 cubits, the lowest of which is not
marked ; each of these cubits is about 21T7B in. long, the 10 uppermost
being subdivided into 24 digits each, while the 7 lowest are separated
only by a line. According to the measurement of Cairo, where the
cubit is reckoned at about 14 J in., the column contains 25£ cubits.
The cubits are not of the same length, and it is evident that the
number of cubits of the river's rise, as calculated at the time of its
erection, must differ much from that marked by it at the present day;
the elevation of the bed of the Nile having altered the relative pro
portion of the rise of the water, which now passes about one cubit and
two-thirds above the highest part of the column. A very interesting
account of this Nilometer is given in the great work published in
France of the scientific researches made in Egypt during the expedi
tion in 1798-1801.
The interior of the building is about 18 ft. square, and was formerly
surmounted by a dome, which is said to have borne a Kufic inscription
and a date answering to a.d. 848. On each side is a recess, about 6 ft.
wide and 3 ft. deep, surmounted by a pointed arch. Over each of these
arches is an inscription in Kufic, and a similar inscription runs round
the upper part of the chamber. They are passages from the Koran,
relating to the "water sent by God from heaven," which shows the
received opinion of the causes of the inundation, first alluded to by
Homer in the expression Sii'ircTtos iroraixoio applied to the Nile, and
occasionally discarded and readmitted by succeeding authors until a
very late period. The inscriptions have no date, but their age may he
fixed by the character in which they are written, being the same as
that used in the Mosque of Ibn-Tulun, and a different writing having
been introduced in the century following.
The View from the terrace of the palace at the S. point of Roda is
animated and interesting. Immediately to the 1. is the port of Old
Cairo, one of the principal ferry-stations between the two banks, where
boats of all sizes, containing a curious medley of human beings, camels.,


Sect. II.] route 9. —cairo. 143
and donkeys, are constantly passing. The Nile is here seen in its full
width and grandeur, and the eye can follow its course for some distance
S. To the rt. are magnificent palm-groves stretching for miles along
the plain, and behind them, on the edge of the desert, rises a long line
of pyramids reaching from Giza to Dahshur.
18. Giza.
Giza. — Immediately opposite R6da and Old Cairo, on the 1. bank of
the Nile, is the suburb of Giza. It is reached by the tramway starting
from the Gezira end of the Nile Bridge. The line runs along the
bank of the Nile, through a fine avenue of lebbek-trees. On the rt.
are the
Zoological Gardens, which should on no account be missed.
(Entrance P.T.J; Sundays, concert, P.T.5). Open from sunrise till
dusk. Lovers of animals will here find a very fine collection of animals
of all kinds, living very much in the open, as the Egyptian climate
allows, and splendidly cared for by the Director of the gardens, Captain
Flower, late of the Egyptian army, who is to be heartily congratulated
on the success which has attended his efforts to give Cairo an interesting
and attractive zoological garden. The keepers, Egyptians, are notably
interested in and careful of their charges. The monkeys should be
specially noticed, also the Hejaz sheep, the ostriches, and the remarkable
" whale-headed " crane (Bakeniceps rex), from the Sudan, specimens of
which are unknown in Europe. The arrangements of the gardens, and
especially the lion-house, are modelled on those of the London " Zoo."
Adjoining is the old palace of Giza, in which the Egyptian Museum
used to be housed. Close by, where the tramway turns off rt. to the
Pyramids, is a pleasant Gafi, with open air tables on a terrace over
looking the Nile. Fine view.
The Village of Giza, at the time of the Mamelukes, was fortified, and
formed, with the Isle of Roda, a line of defences which commanded or
protected the approach to the capital. Leo Africanus calls it a city, beautified
by the palaces of the Mamelukes (who there sought retirement 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 mosques and beautiful buildings by the river's side
are no longer to be seen at Giza ; and the traveller, as he approaches it from
the river, wanders amidst uneven heaps of rubbish and the ill-defined limits
of potters' yards, till he issues from a breach in the crumbling Mamelukes'
walls into the open plain. 19. B&lak and Gezira.
Bulak. — The town of Bulak, now only a suburb of Cairo, was
founded about a.d. 1313, in the reign of En-Nasir ibn Kalaun. The
tract on which it stands, with .that adjoining it to the N., was formed
by the Nile, which previously flowed in this direction and immediately
to the W. of Maks. It is said that an island was gradually formed by
the sinking of a ship called el-Fil (the Elephant), whence the island
took the name of Geziret el-Fil. Subsequently, in the 12th cent, (reign
of Salah-ed-din), the island became united with the mainland. Bulak,


144 Route 9. — Cairo. [Beet. II.
founded on the banks of the Nile, naturally became the port of Cairo,
and rapidly grew to be a populous and flourishing place. Bulak is
chiefly notable for its Bailway Locomotive and Carnage Woiks, the
Swindon or Crewe of Egypt.
Among the mosques the following may claim notice :—
Gami' Sinaniya, a.d. 1573 (a.h. 980) This mosque was built by
Sinan Pasha, a Turkish Governor of Egypt under Selirn II who
constructed various other buildings of public utility at Bulak. It
consists of a square building, from which rise 16 walls supporting a
dome. The effect produced differs greatly from that of the lofty domes
rising from an octagon, with more graceful pendentives, in the best
Egyptian style. Although the mosque in construction and in decorative
details bears clearly the impress of native art, the Turkish influence is
also observable, and the whole bears a close resemblance to the Mosque
of Mohammed Bey, near the Azhar. Instead of an outer court with
porticoes we find the porticoes (consisting of arcades with pointed
arches and domical vaultings) embracing the building itself, on the
N W and S. sides. The windows, consisting of groups of circular
apertures, are pierced alternately in 8 of the 16 walls. In the springing
of the dome are 16 windows of fantastic shape. The windows through
out contain coloured glass, in good preservation. A very bad staircase
on the W. side leads to the dikka, and to a narrow gallery encircling
the dome. The kibla is of black and white marble. The minaret,
medresa, and other accessory parts are to the S.
Gami' Mehkema, about a.d. 1415 (a.h. 822), a little to the E. of the
Sinaniya, is a pretty mosque, which is unfortunately falling into
complete ruin. It is said to have been built by the Kadi Zen-ed-din
el-Yemeni. Gami' Mirza, about a.d. 1696 (a.h. 1107), is well worthy of a visit.
The principal wall of the sanctuary is cased in the lower part with
elaborate mosaics of marble and coloured stones, and in the upper with
tiles of faience. The windows contain coloured glass. There is a
double portico on the Mecca side, and single arcades, with pointed
arches, on the other three sides. The mosque is roofed and provided
with a skylight. It was built by Mustafa Mirza, a Persian.
Gami' Abu'1-Ila, towards the termination of the road from the
Ezbekiya, is much venerated. A Molid in honour of the saint im
mediately follows that of the Prophet.
There are several other mosques, the minarets of some of which are
quaintly constructed, but none of them call for special attention.
The Printing Press (El-Matbdh), founded by Mohammed Ali, may
be visited. Catalogues of all the works that have been here printed
may be obtained in Arabic, and many of them may be purchased at
the press. The establishment receives a subvention from the Govern
ment of £22,000 annually, and is now in a state of considerable efficiency.
Visitors have no difficulty in obtaining permission to visit it. It is
under the direction of the Ministry of Finance.
The School of Arts and Trades, founded by M. Lambert, and now
under the superintendence of M. Meunier, has done service to Cairo,
some of the best-educated Egyptians having received instruction
there.





THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO

London • Edward Stanford, 12, 13 & 14, Long Acre , Yf. C

Stanfbrvfc Gvog.Enub:


Sect. II.] ROUTE 10.  THE ENVIRONS OP CAIRO. 145
Gezira. Immediately opposite Bulak, on an island, are the vice
regal palace and gardens of Gezira. The former, built by Ismail
Pasha, regardless of expense, and beautifully decorated, has now been
turned into the Gezira Palace Hotel. A large portion of the garden has
been sold for building purposes, where the new and fashionable ' ' Gezira
Quarter " is springing up. The island can be easily reached from the
Ezbekiya by means of the electric tram (Shari'a Billak) and the steam
ferry, or by the Nile Bridge. On the S. side are the Bacecourse and
Polo Ground, and the new Anglo-American hospital, built as a memorial
to the late Queen Victoria.

ROUTE 10.
The Environs of Cairo.

PAGE
SHOBRA  145
Heliopolis and Birket el-Hagg 146
Tombs of the KhalIfs and
Mamelukes 150

page
4. Mokattam  156
5. The " Petrified I'orest " . 156
6. The Barrage  157
7. Helwan, Turra, and Ma'sara 159

[There are four capital roads on which an afternoon drive may lie enjoyed : the
Shubra road (1) ; the Abbasiya road, leading to Heliopolis (2), the best for invalids,
as being close to the fresh pure au- of the desert ; the road across the river to Giza
and the Pyramids (p. 165) ; and the road round by Gezira Palace (see above) and the
racecourse. ] 1. Shubra.
During the last few years the Gezira road has almost taken the
place of the Shubra road as a fashionable promenade. The road
to Shubra lies along a beautiful avenue composed of the sycomore-
fig and the acacia, known in Egypt as the "lebbekh," a tree of most
rapid growth, and of great beauty when in blossom. The length
of the avenue from the Rly. Stat, to the palace is about 4 m.; on
either side are houses and villas, the most noticeable of which is
the Khedive's Palace of Kasr en-Nilzha on the 1., a rather handsome-
looking building, generally devoted to the entertainment of distinguished
foreigners. Opposite is the Villa Ciccolani (fee P.T.5), permission to
visit which can be obtained from the owner. The gardens of this villa
are well laid out, and are worth visiting. There is a good collection of
trees and shrubs near the house. These gardens are generally open to
the public.
Before reaching the palace, you cross a large canal, which supplies
water to the Ismailiya Canal. The latter furnishes water to Port Said,
Ismailiya, and Suez. The road then passes the village of Shubra, or,
as it is called, Shubra el-Makkasa, to distinguish it from another
place 14 m. lower down the river, Shubra esh-Shabiya.
The palace and garden of Shubra were the work of Mohammed Ali,
whose favourite residence it was, but the former was almost rebuilt by


146 ROUTE 10.  THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. [Sect. II.
his son Halim Pasha. It has nothing to recommend it, being now
utterly neglected, but the view from the windows. It is now the
residence of Prince Hasan Pasha, the brother of the late Khedive,
whose permission must be asked to visit the garden. The Gardens,
though formal, are pretty ; and the scent of roses, with the gay appear
ance of flowers, is an agreeable variety in Egypt. The walks radiate
from centres to different parts of the gardens, some covered with trellis
work, most comfortable in hot weather. In one place are some sont
trees (Acacia Nilotica), of unusual height, not less than 40 or 45 ft.
high. The great Fountain is the feature of the garden. In the centre
is an open space with an immense marble basin containing water,
about 4 ft. deep, surrounded by marble balustrades. You walk round
it under a covered corridor, with kiosks projecting into the water ;
and at each of the four corners of the building is a room with
divans. At the other side of the garden, near the palace, is another kiosk,
called el-Gebel, " the Hill," which forms a pretty summer-house,
rising as it does above a series of terraces planted with flowers, and
commanding a view over the whole garden, the Nile, and the hills in
the distance. It consists of one room paved with Oriental alabaster,
having a fountain in the centre.
2. To Heliopolis and Birket el-Hagg.
[The drive from Cairo to Heliopolis, the greater part of which is along a most
excellent road, will occupy about 1£ hrs. The expedition can also be done by rail
from Kantaret Limun to Matariya Stat. Trains every half-hour. 1
Drive to Abbasiya and Kubba. The road from the Ezbekiya is
the same as to the Stat, and to Shubra, but on reaching the new sebil
or drinking-fountain in the Place Bab el-Hadid, you turn to the rt. and
proceed along a wide road, bordered for some way with houses of
European aspect. After a time the road divides and skirts on either
side a large square battlemented building, commonly called GdmV
ez-Zahir, built by the Sultan edh-Dhahir Bebars in the 13th cent. This
was turned into a fort by the French when they occupied Cairo at the
end of the last cent., and was called Port Zulkowski. The marks of
their loopholes are still to he seen. It was afterwards made an Egyptian
Government bakery, and is at present used as the Commissariat Depot
of the British Army of Occupation. Originally the mosque was of
somewhat similar type to that of El-Hakim, with four rows of columns
on the E. side. It is now difficult to trace the original arrangement in
consequence of the modern buildings in the interior. The S. gateway
forms a very picturesque object, with its massive portal deep in the
Shade of a fine old sycomore-fig. A little farther is passed a gateway
called the Bab el-Hasaniya, leading into the suburb of that name. To
the rt. of the road, on the edge of the mountains, are the ruins of a
mosque, farther away to the rt. can be seen the Tombs of the Khalifs
and on a rising ground the works and reservoir of the Cairo Water
Company. On the 1 is an open space where the caravan of the
Mahmal assembles before starting for Mecca. A little farther on the
road divides, that on the rt. leading to the English and Egyptian
Military Hospitals and to the Artillery School at the Polygon Fol
lowing the road to the 1., we pass the Tomb of Et-Adel Tomdn Bey (a d


Sect. II.] ROUTE 10.  THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. 147
1500), the predecessor of El-Ghuri. It consists of a square chamber,
surmounted by a richly-sculptured dome, resembling in form the tombs
of many of the other Circassian Mamelukes.
We now enter the district of Abbasiya, which is quite a military
colony, containing several very large barracks, which are at present
partly occupied by British and partly by Egyptian troops. The large
cavalry barrack on the rt. occupies the site of a palace built by Abbas
Pasha, and from this the district took its name. Abbas Pasha lived
in constant dread of assassination, and it is said that he always kept
swift dromedaries ready saddled, so as to be able to fly into the desert
in case of alarm. It was in these barracks that Arabi Pasha gave
himself up to General Sir Drury Lowe on the evening of the 14th Sep
tember, 1882, the day after the battle of Tell el-Kebir. The road crosses
a line of railway which leads to the Citadel and Helwan, and then
passes the Astronomical Observatory, which is provided with excellent
instruments. Here the calculations are made for the official almanac
of the Mohammedan year. Beyond is the Zaffaran Palace, which
Ismail Pasha is said to have built in 40 days as a present for his
mother. The beautiful plantations which the road now passes are less
than 20 years old. The soil in which the trees grow is merely desert
sand, irrigated with Nile water, and so impregnated with the rich
alluvial deposit it contains. Everything grows iu luxuriance : palms,
vines, orange and lemon trees, the castor-oil plant, and many others.
After crossing the old railway to Suez the road turns to the rt., and
leaving the Military School on the 1. wo enter a shady avenue, bordered
with hedges of lemon shrubs as far as the entrance to the Palace of
Kubba (Koubbeh) built by Ismail Pasha for his son Tewfik. Here
H.H. the Khedive often resides. The stables and farms attached to
the palace are splendidly maintained by His Highness, who takes very
great interest in them.
After passing through a fine olive-plantation, you emerge on a broad
richly-cultivated plain. It was here that Sultan Selim gained the
victory in 1517 which put an end to the Mameluke monarchy in Egypt,
and made it a Turkish province. Here, too, in 1800, the French,
under Kleber, defeated the Turks and regained possession of Cairo.
6J m., Matariya Stat.
Matarlya is situated to the N.E. of Cairo, and is connected with
it by train and telephone, having become a popular suburb among
European and native residents on account of its pure air. Two small
hotels, restaurants, and some private villas have sprung up.
The gardens of the small village of Matariya were formerly renowned
for the balsam they produced. The balsam-plants are said to have been
brought from Judeea to this spot by Cleopatra ; who, trusting to the
influence of Antony, removed them, in spite of the opposition of Herod,
they having been hitherto confined to Judaea. 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 revenues
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 Matariya to Arabia, and grown near Mecca, whence. the
L 2


148 _ ROUTE 10.  THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. [Sect. II.
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. But a still more profitable shrub — cotton — is said
to have been first cultivated, at the beginning of the century, on the
ground near the obelisk ; an experiment which has succeeded far
beyond the most sanguine expectations.
Matariya was the scene of the action, already mentioned, between
the French, under General Kleber, and the Turkish army, on the 20th
March, 1800. The Grand Vizier, who had advanced from Syria with
a force of about 60,000 men to drive the French out of Cairo, reached
Heliopolis, and entrenched himself in the village of Matariya. This
formed the centre of his line, which extended to the Nile on the rt., and
into the desert on the 1. The French army attacked with great vigour,
drove the Turks out of Matariya, and completely routed them. The
Grand Vizier returned into Syria with the remains of his army.
The " Virgin's Tree." Just after leaving the village of Matariya,
at a little distance from the road on the rt., is the garden in which is
shown the sycomore-tree beneath whose shade the Holy Family are
said to have reposed after the flight into Egypt. The present tree,
which fell in 1906, is known to have been planted in 1672, the former
one having died in 1665. It was a splendid old tree, and still shewed
signs of life as late as the summer of 1906, when it fell. It was
terribly mauled alike by the devout and the profane, who respectively
have forgotten their piety and their scepticism in the egotistical
eagerness to carry away and to leave a record of their visit. The
present proprietor, a Copt, fearing lest their united efforts should
result in the total disappearance and destruction of the tree, has put a
fence round it, which, while it prevents the ruthless tearing off of
twigs and branches, affords those who are anxious to commemorate
their visit a smooth and even surface on which, with the help of a
knife obligingly kept in readiness by the gardener, they may make their
mark. A short distance beyond the Virgin's Tree is an ostrich farm,
which is well worth a visit (P.T.10). It produces a considerable
amount of feathers annually.
Heliopolis. Half a mile farther on is the site of the ancient city of
Annu, the Ore or Aven of the Old Testament, the Heliopolis of the
Greeks. All that can now be seen of it are a few vestiges of its crude
brick surrounding walls and the solitary obelisk, one of a pair which
probably stood at the entrance of the Temple of Ra. Excavations have
been attempted here by Professor Schiaparelli.
The Obelisk is the oldest in Egypt ; the king whose name it bears,
Usertsen I., was the second king of the XII. Dynasty (see p rSSl)
The inscription, which is the same on each of the four faces records
his erection of the obelisk, and has been thus deciphered by Brugsch :—
The Horus of the Sun,
The life for those who are born,
The King of the upper and lower land,
Kheper-ka-Ra ;
The Lord of the Double Crown,
The life for those who are born,

Ever living :
The golden Horus,
The life for those who are born,
The gracious god,
Kheper-ka-fia,
Has executed this work
At the beginning of a SO years' cycle,
TheTriendof the spirits of On, everVnoreT "^ ",e be giVen f0r

The son of the sun-god, Ra.
Usertsen


Sect. II.] ROUTE 10— THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. 149
The faces of this obelisk, which is of rose granite, measure at the
ground 6 ft. 1 in. on the N. and S. ; 6 ft. 3 in. on the E. and W. ; it
stands on the usual pedestal, which reposes on two slabs, each
about 2 ft. high, forming apparently part of the paved dromos rather
than plinths, as they extend a long way inwards beyond the obelisk.
It is about 62 ft. 4 in. high, above the level of the ground, or 66 ft.
6 in. above the pavement. The apex indicates, from its shape,
the addition of some covering of metal ; and the gilt bronze cap
remained until Arab times. The inscriptions on three sides are now
practically illegible, the wild bees having built their cells in the
hieroglyphs. A few fragments bearing the names of Kamses II. and
Thothmes III. are nearly all that has been found here ; with the former
name, which occurs in a stone gateway, are associated the gods Ba and
Atmu, the former being called " the lord of the temple." A pedestal
with a bull and Osiris were found by Mr. Salt. The bull Mnevis, looked
on as an incarnation of Ka or Ptah, 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, ana enjoyed the same honour in
the Heliopolite as the latter did in the Memphite nome. Close to the
hamlet of Kafr Gamils, a part of the Necropolis was discovered by
Mariette. 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 neighbouring
canals. It is therefore evident 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 ft. 10 in. ; and as he saw the base of the temple and the pavement of its
dromos, the inundation could not then have reached to a level with its area.
Part of the lofty mounds may still be seen in the site of the ancient houses
of the town, which appear to have stood on the N. side, 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 elevation taking place
in the site of the temple. This continued in the place where its foundations
had been laid by the first Usertsen. 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."
The ancient "Egyptian name of Heliopolis was in hieroglyphs, Annu or
On, with the addition of the sacred name or epithet Pa-Ra, "the House,"
or " Abode of the Sun," corresponding to the title Beth-shemesh, of the same
import, which was applied to it by the Jews. In Scripture and in Coptic it
is called On. Moses is said to have studied there, and Joseph's father-in-law
was a priest of its renowned temple.
Though small, Heliopolis was a town of great celebrity ; but it suffered
considerably by the invasion of the Persians. Many of its obelisks, and
probably other monuments, were afterwards taken away to Rome and Alex
andria ; and at the time of Slrabo's visit it had the character of a deserted
city. He also saw "some very large houses where the priests used to live,
that being the place to which they particularly resorted in former times for
the study of philosophy and astronomy" ; but the teachers, as well as the
sciences they 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 objects of interest to the Greek traveller, the houses where Eudoxos
and Plato had lived were shown, these philosophers having, it is said, remained


150 ROUTE 10.— THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. [Sect. II.
thirteen years under the tuition of the priests of Heliopolis. Indeed, it ceased
to be the seat of learning after the accession of the Ptolemies, and the schools
of Alexandria succeeded to the ancient colleges of the City of the bun.
It is possible, though not probable, that the legendary 'Ain
esh-Shems,the "Fountain of the Sun " of Heliopolis, is the fresh-water
spring, used for a sakiya, at Matariya.
Beyond Heliopolis is the Birket el-Hagg, or "Lake of the
Pilgrims." The Birket el-Hagg is about 5 m. E. of Heliopolis, and 1J m E. of
el-Merg Stat., the terminus of the line. It is the rendezvous of the Mecca
caravan. 7 m. beyond this is el-Khanka, remarkable in the days of
Leo Africanus " for its fine buildings, its mosques, and colleges as the
neighbouring plain for the abundance of dates it produced. Near
el-Khanka was fought the action of the 16th May, 1801, between the
French garrison of Cairo and a Turkish force which had come to the
assistance of the British army under General Hutchinson. The latter
was anxious that the Turks should not risk an action until the two
armies had united. The French under General Beliard attacked the
Turks, but the latter held their ground and the French were forced to
retire to Cairo. A month afterwards the English army arrived in
front of Cairo, and the French capitulated, and were sent back to
France. To the W. of Khanka is es-Siriakils, terminus of a light rail
way from Shibin (p. 38).
About 1 m. beyond el-Khanka is the Birket el-Akrashar, abounding
in wild duck ; and in the neighbourhood, at the right season, are some
very good snipe marshes.
3 m. farther to the N. is Abii Zabel, once known for its military
college, camp, hospital, and schools of medicine. An important bed of
basalt occurs here, which was largely used by the ancient Egyptians
for sculpture and building purposes.
3 m. N.W. of Abu Zabel are the mounds of the ancient city of
Onias, now called Tell el-Yahudiya, the "Mound of the Jews"
(see p. 38). 3. Tombs of the Khalifs and Mamelukes.
It may be observed that many of the mosques of Cairo are tomb-
mosques, in so far as they contain a mausoleum, generally surmounted
by a dome, in which repose the bones of their founders, and often of
members of their families. The most interesting group of tomb-
mosques is the northern, consisting of those of the Circassian Mame
lukes, hitherto generally called by Europeans ' ' the Tombs of the
Khalifs," and by the people of Cairo spoken of as the "Cemetery of
Kait Bey," or as "Kait Bey" (pronounced "Aitbey") alone. In
reality, no mausolea of the Khalifs, as a group, remain. The tombs
of the Fatimide Khalifs occupied the site of what is now the bazaar
of Khan el-Khalili , and were destroyed in the 7th cent, of the Hijra, when
the bazaar was built by the Sultan El-Ashraf Khalil, son of Kalaun.
Of the Ayyubide Dynasty there remains only the much-neglected
Tomb of Es-Sdla Negm-ed-din Ayyilb, near the Khan el-Khalili. He
died in a.h. 647 (a.d. 1250). It will be remembered that it was in his


Sect. II.] ROUTE 10. — THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. 151
reign that Louis the IXth of France (Saint Louis) invaded Egypt and
was defeated and taken prisoner near Mansura.
Of the Baharide Mameluke Sultans there are several monuments
in the tomb-mosques of Bebars, of El-Mansur Kalaun, of En-Nasir his
son, of Sultan Hasan, and of Sultan Shaaban, &c, which are situated
in various parts of the city, and which are mentioned in the description
of the mosques. The "Tombs of the Mamelukes," S. of Cairo, are
also monuments of the same period ; but the names and dates of their
founders are, in several instances, unknown.
The Circassian, or Borghide, Mamelukes have also left several

PLAN OF THE TOMB-MOSQUE OP SULTAN BARKUK.

mosques in the city (see those of Barkuk, El-Muayyiid, El-Ashraf
Bursbey, El-Ashraf Inal, Kait Bey, and El-Ghuri) ; but the finest
monuments of their rule are to be found in the picturesque group of
mausolea to the E. of Cairo (see below).
1. The "Tombs of the Khalifs"; easily reached on donkey-
back. Walking is possible, but dusty, and a carriage (P.T.40)
is to be avoided. One may go vid the Bab el-Futiih and return by
the Citadel.
The traveller will notice 1. the vast Moslem Cemeteries which occupy
the vicinity of the Bab en-Nasr. In this cemetery is the Tomb of
Burckhardt, the celebrated traveller, better known in the East by the


152 ROUTE 10.— THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. L13601- 1L'
name of the " Shekh Ibrahim," who died in Cairo in 1817. For a long
toe the grave remained unmarked; but in 1870 it was rescued from
oblivion by the late Rogers-Bey, then English Consul, and Hekekyan-
Bey; and a handsome tomb, with enclosure, in the Mohammedan
style, now marks the spot.
The Tomb-mosque of Sultan Barkuk (GdmV Barlfillf), who died
ad. 1398 (a.h. 801) (see p. [106]), is of a style and symmetry unique in
Cairo. The most striking features of the exterior are the two superb
minarets (one restored), built by Sherkis El-Haranbuli that rise above
the W. facade, and the two domes of stone sculptured from the base
to the summit with horizontal bands of chevron or zigzag mouldings.
The chief entrance is now to the S.W. The sdhn or open court is
surrounded by loggia (one row on the N. and S. sides, two on the W.,
and three on the E., which forms the liwdn or sanctuary). They are
vaulted with brick cupolas. The mdmbar, of compact limestone
delicately sculptured, is one of the most beautiful objects in Cairo. It
has now been covered in with woodwork to protect it from injury.
Beneath the N.E. dome are buried Barkuk ; Farag, his son and suc
cessor ¦ and Barkuk, a brother of the latter, who reigned only 70 days.
The dome to the" S'.W. was built by Farag, and beneath it are buried
his mother the Sitt Khawand, and others. The tomb-mosque of
Fatma the daughter of Barkuk, in the bazaar of the Coppersmiths,
has been mentioned elsewhere (see p. 107). The chambers to the N.
of the sdhn, formerly occupied by students, are now inhabited by
servants and officials of the mosques and their families. On the S.
are various accessory chambers, vestibules, &c. The portions of the
mosque to the N.W. contained the sebil and kuttdb, which are now,
like many other parts of the building, in a state of ruin.
The Tomb-mosque of El-Ashraf (GdmV el-Ashraf Bursbey),who died
a.d. 1437 (a.h. 841) (see p. [106]). Passing southwards, the traveller will
next visit this tomb-mosque. A flight of steps leads to the portal.
The mosque is a small oblong building, divided by 2 ranges of 3 pointed
arches resting on 2 columns. The pavement of coloured stones is
remarkably fine. Of the coloured glass and the tracery which adorned
the windows little now remains. To the N. is the tomb-chamber,
surmounted by a charming dome. The exterior ornamentation, with
its network of arabesques, is particularly graceful. Within the pre
cincts of the mosque, to the E., is a smaller dome, doubtless the tomb
of some member of the Sultan's family, with similar ornamentation.
The medresa (college), okella, and other accessory buildings, of which
the ruins remain, were celebrated in their time. A considerable
portion of the almshouses adjoins the mosque to the S., and a long
inscription sculptured in marble forms a frieze, of which a part
remains, recording the amount that was to be devoted to the sdkiya,
or water-supply, &c. The mother of Burshey is said to be buried
beneath the dome to the S.W. of the mosque.
The plain broad dome opposite the Mosque of El-Ashraf Burshey
is called the Mdbed er-Bifd'i, and is the burial-place of several members
of the family of that great saint. The dome is much rent, and of the
delicate tracery of the windows but few relics exist.
On the W. side (rt.) of Barkilk's tomb-mosque is that of the Sultan
Suleman ibn-Selim, a.d. 1526. E. of this is a handsome tomb, the


Sect. II.] ROUTE 10. — THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. 153
name of whose owner is unknown; and adjoining Suleman's is that of
Sab'a Bendt, the " seven maidens," for whose memory a legend is now
sought in vain. There are several other mythical tombs of these
7 maidens and their dog (borrowed from the legend of "the Seven
Sleepers"), including a cavern in the Mokattam hill.
The Tomb-mosque of Kait Bey (GdmV Kdit Bey), about a.d. 1470
(see p. [106]), justly ranks as one of the finest specimens of Cairo archi
tecture. The interior has been carefully restored under the direction
of Franz Pasha, architect to the administration of Wakfs. "Looked
at externally or internally, nothing can exceed the grace of every part
of this building. Its small dimensions exclude it from any claim of
grandeur, nor does it pretend to the purity of the Greek and some

A. Entrance.
B. Sebil.
C. C. Steps.
D. D. D. D. Liwans.
E. Kibla.

F. Mambars.
G. Sahn el Gami'.
H. Tomb-hall o£ Kait Bey.
I. Staircase of Minaret.
J. Minaret.

PLAN OP THE TOME MOSQUE OP KAIT BEY.

other styles ; but as a perfect model of the elegance we generally
associate with the architecture of the Arabs, it is, perhaps, unrivalled
by anything in Egypt, and far surpasses the Alhambra or the Western
buildings of its age" (Fergusson, ' Handbk. of Archit.,' p. 395). The
exterior is remarkable for the beauty of the minaret, and the elaborate
lace-like sculpturing of its well-constructed dome. The chief entrance
is to the N.E., where a flight of steps conducts to the portal, adorned
with stalactite pendentives. A passage leads to the Sdhn el-Gdnn',
which is paved with inlaid coloured stones. The walls are similarly
adorned. The form of the interior belongs to a type with which we
become familiar in visiting the mosques of this period in Cairo. The
liwdn is raised one step above the sdhn, and is separated from it by a
spacious pointed arch, returning below to the horse-shoe shape. On


154 ROUTE 10. — THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. [Sect. 11.
the opposite side is a similar arch. Above the small side recesses of
the sdhn, N. and S., rise 2 smaller arches of the pointed shape. All
4 arches are constructed with blocks alternately black and white ; the
other portions of the upper walls have been painted in red and white
stripes. The windows and rosettes contain tracery of exquisite patterns
and coloured glass, of which the greater part is modern. From the
Sahn el-Gami' a passage leads across to the Mausoleum, which is to
the S. of the liwdn. It is crowned by the dome whose exterior is
so gracefully -sculptured, with interior pendentives descending very
gradually across the angles. The windows contain tracery with blue
glass, and others with the cypress pattern and green glass. The floor
is handsomely paved with black and white marbles. The Tomb of
Kait Bey is in front of the kibla. Near it, and on the opposite side
of the mausoleum, are two blocks of stone, bearing the so-called
impressions of Mohammed's foot, which are said to have been brought
from Mecca by the Sultan. They are veiled by small curtains, and are
respectively canopied with little domes of bronze and wood. In the
S.W. corner is a tomb, said to be that of a sister of Kait Bey. In the
S.E. is a wooden Ki'trsi.
The half-ruined Tomb of the Lady Khawdnd (es-Sitt Khawdnd), to
the S.W. of that of Kait Bey, contains some fine specimens of decora
tions in stucco, especially in the large vaulted niche adjoining the^
dome to the N. The dome itself is adorned with a broad band of
porcelain tiles, with an inscription in large white letters upon a dark
ground. The same inscription is painted round the interior of the
dome, while a verse of the Kuran encircles the central point. The
name Khawdnd is a title equivalent to the Turkish and Persian hdnem,
which may be translated "princess." It is given to several ladies of
this period. The one here commemorated is said to have been a sister
of Kait Bey.
The traveller who is not pressed for. time may well devote some
time to the inspection of various other mausolea in this great necro
polis of Ka.it Bey. Several are those of persons now unknown. Of
others the names alone remain. Many of them present admirable
examples of dome architecture, in perhaps its greatest perfection ; and
are models of beauty as regards both form and decoration. The sculp
turing of the exterior is in some cases exquisite. Several are encircled
by bands of porcelain, containing inscriptions in white letters upon a .
coloured ground. In others, discs of blue porcelain figure amongst
the interstices of the variegated moulding. None of the monuments
(situated in what has often been a battle-ground) have remained
intact, and time is making sad havoc with some of the most beautiful,
as every traveller notes with regret. It is satisfactory that at last
some effort is being made to preserve these ancient monuments, but it
must be remembered that the funds at the disposal of the Commission
are very limited.
The new tomh-mosque of the late Khedive Tewfik, S. of that of
Kait Bey, is noticeable.
" Kait Bey" contains a considerable population living amongst the
tombs, and often within the enclosures of the mosques. One is strongly
reminded of Western Thebes (p. 406) : there also in old days as now
the living lived among the dead. The Egyptians have never' changed


Sect. II.] ROUTE 10. — THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. 155
their spirit, though they have changed their religion twice. During
Bairam the place is much visited by families whose burial-places are
scattered here and there, and who spend whole days on the spot.
These customs are alluded to elsewhere.
The desert tract N. of the Citadel, and outside the Bab el-Wazir, is
also occupied by countless Moslem tombs.
2. The "Tombs of the Mamelukes."— To the S. of the city lie the
so-called Tombs of the Mamelukes, which are also in a state of ruin,
far more so than the tombs of the Khalifs, not one of them remaining
entire. They are best reached by the Bab el-Kaiufa : there is a good
carriage-road. The minarets are models of beauty, and the domes
handsome and well constructed. The traveller will do well to pause
and examine what remains of them, during an excursion to the tombs
near the Imam esh-Shafi', or to the dervishes of the Mokattam. The
names and the dates of their founders are uncertain ; but the names
of Keisiui, Amna bint-Abdallah (the mother of Sultan Hasan), and of
Mohammed Bey Siiden el-Adjmi, are incorrectly given to those which
are the most remarkable. They belong to the period of the Baharide
Mameluke Sultans.
To the SAV. of these, rising above the tombs and dwellings that
surround it, wiHr be seen the Tomb of the Imam esh-Shafi', founder
of one of the four orthodox sects of El-Islam, who died in a.d. -820.
It is surmounted by a large dome, with a weathercock in the form of
a boat. It is said to have been built by Yiisuf Salah-ed-din (Saladin),
whence, according to Pocooke, it received the name of es-Salahiya. A
special order is required in order to visit it. The interior is cased to
a height of 8 or 9 ft. with marble, above which the whole is coloured
in recent and .unartistic style. The windows contain coloured glass ;
and a "dim religious light" pervades the building, the sanctity of
which prevents its being suffered to fall into decay. There are three
principal niches, and a fourth gives the true direction of Mecca. The
tomb of the Imam is simple, the covering being of brocade embroidered
with gold. It is enclosed by a wooden railing inlaid with mother-of-
pearl, the corners being clasped with silver fittings. At the head of
the tomb is a large turban, partly covered by a Cashmere shawl. Near
the head of the tomb is a marble pillar, with sculptured inscriptions,
coloured red and gold. From the roof are suspended a few porcelain
lamps ; and lamps of glass, as well as ostrich eggs, hang in profusion
from the canopy of the tomb and from light wooden beams. The
walls and tomb-enclosure are adorned with scrolls of the usual style.
There are four other tombs of members of the Imam's family.
Near the last-named is the Burial-place of the Reigning Family,
consisting of a long corridor and two chambers, each covered by a
dome. The attendants of the mausoleum are extremely civil, and
ready to point out the tomb and name of any of the numerous
members of the viceregal family that are buried here.
Amongst the numerous tombs of persons of distinction may be
mentioned that of Omar ibn el-Farid, a little tomb-mosque beneath
Mokattam, close to the mosque which clings so picturesquely to the
hill. Farther away to the S. will be noticed the minaret of the GdmV
es-Saddt, the burial-place of the great family of that name. It is
worthy of a visit,, if time permits. To the S. of the Imam esh-Shafi'


156 ROUTE 10.— THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. [Sect. II.
is the mosque of the Bekriya, which is uninteresting. The pretty
minaret close to the aqueduct as it approaches the Bab el-Kardfa,
with the ruins of a mosque, is that of Mohammed edh-Dhumur.
4. Mokattam.
The excursion to Mokattam may be done on foot or donkey-back ;
it may be combined with a visit to the Citadel and the Tombs of the
Mamelukes. Leaving the Citadel by the Bab el-Gebel (p. 104), one
descends to the depression between the Citadel hill and the Gebel
Giyiishi, crosses the loop-line from the Central Terminus to Helwan
by a bridge, and ascends by a steep and picturesque causeway between
two quarries to the old Turkish fort on the crest of the opposite hill.
Passing this on the left, a short walk brings us to the ruined Gami'a
Giyiishi, on the summit. From this a magnificent view of Cairo and
the Nile valley is to be obtained. Best time sunset, when extra
ordinary light effects are usually seen. The view of the Citadel from
above, flanked by the Tombs of the Khalifs and Mamelukes, with the
great city beyond, and the Nile and Pyramids away to the left, is
extremely remarkable.
The Smaller Petrified Forest is about 1 hr. distant. Fossils are
common on these hills.
At the base of the Gebel Giyiishi is the picturesque Dervish
monastery called Tekiyet el-Maghdwri, described on p. [38], Introd.
5. The "Petrified Forest."
[This excursion, made from Cairo, will take from 3 to 4 hrs. The Tombs of the
Khahi's may be taken in the way. Donkeys are the best means .of getting there.
Carriages are not reeommended ; they are expensive, extra horses will in any case be
required, and even then carriages are known to stick in the sand.]
After passing the tomb of Kait Bey, the way lies along a sandy
wddi, with the Gebel el-Ahmar on the 1., and the Gebel Mokattam on
the rt. The Gebel el-Ahmar, or "Bed Mountain," is composed of red
gritstone, which gradually runs into a siliceous rock, contains numerous
chalcedonies, and is of the same nature as the vocal statue at Thebes.
Owing to the quality of the stone, which renders it peculiarly adapted
for mills, this mountain has been quarried from a very early period.
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.
After passing the Red Mountain, the plain opens out on the 1., and
this route, if followed, would lead to the Great Petrified Forest and
Bir el-Fahma. On the rt. is passed a narrow valley in which is a
small spring of water known as Moses' Well. The water is brackish
and hardly fit to drink. Keeping to the rt. and nearing the Mokattam
hills, a slight sandy ascent is climbed, and on the plateau at the top .
are to be seen lying scattered about small and large fragments of
petrified wood. At this point the driver or donkey-boy will endeavour
to stop, and insist that these few specimens in the sand are what he
calls the "pethfied ood." But if the visitor will persevere for about a
mile farther— he will be guided in the direction by the tracks of his
predecessors— he will reach a spot where much larger fragments are


Sect. II.] ROUTE 10.  THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. 157
lying, and among them two or three trees in situ, several feet in
length. As they are sometimes more and sometimes less covered with
sand, and as moreover pieces are constantly being taken to Cairo for
ornamental purposes, it is hazardous to speak of their length, but
there were two on the left-hand side of the track, one 48 ft. long and
the other 21, and on the right of the track one 39 ft. long. About
2J hrs. from the Little Petrified Forest, and 4 hrs. from Cairo, is
another collection of these fossil trees, known as the Great Petrified
Forest. It is a very fatiguing day's work to go there and back. These
fossil stems and fragments have generally been taken to represent
petrified palm-trees, but scientific investigation has decided that they
are not correlated with any existing vegetation in Egypt.
In an interesting paper contributed to the ' Geological Magazine ' (vol. vii. ,
No. 7, July 1870), by Mr. Carruthers, he says that after examining micro
scopically a large number of specimens collected by Professor Owen, he has
come to the conclusion that the stems, though dicotyledonous, are not coni
ferous, and that they may be divided into two species — the Nicolia cegypliaca,
already so named by Unger, and the Nicolia owenii, so named from the
late distinguished professor, among whose specimens he discovered the new
species. A great deal of information on the character and position of this
remarkable silicified wood may be found in the paper mentioned above, and
also in an article on the "Geology of Egypt," by Newbold, in the ' Quarterly
Journal of the Geological Society' (No. 16, 1848). More extensive remains
of a similar kind are found in the desert about 3 hrs. farther, and also about
7 m. W. of the Pyramids of Giza. The latter are said to be worth a visit.
In returning from the Petrified Forest a different road may be
taken. Perhaps the best is to keep along the top of the Mokattam
hills, and to return by the Citadel. Care should be taken to arrive at
the Mosque of El-Giyiishi at sunset, as the view from this point
is one of the finest at Cairo, particularly when the sun is setting
behind the Great Pyramids. It is quite impossible to give any
description which could do justice to this view. A good way of
arranging the excursion is to take donkeys, visit the Tombs of the
Khalifs in the morning, lunch at or near Moses' Well, and return by
the smaller Petrified Forest and Mokattam hills in the afternoon. On
arriving at the Citadel, carriages can be found, or may be ordered to
be in readiness at the foot of the Mokattam, in the little village
between the hills and the Citadel. There is another road back from
the Petrified Forest by the Wadi et-Tih and the village of Busatin
(see p. 159). Near Busatin is an interesting old aqueduct. Tbe road
leads back to Cairo by the Jewish cemetery and the Tombs of the
Mamelukes. 6. The Barrage.
[This excursion is well worth making, especially to those who are interested in
the improvements now being made in the irrigation of Egypt, and, if made at the
proper season, it might be combined with a day's snipe or wild-fowl shooting in
the neighbourhood. The most convenient way of going is by train on the Alex
andria and Cairo line vid Shubra and Kalyub. There are 7 trains daily, doing the
journey in about f hour. Train to Kalyub may also be taken, and donkeys hired
from theuce to the Barrage (6£ m.). There is a station on the Upper Egypt line at
Manashe, on the W. bank of the Nile, not far from the Barrage, but the trains to
and from Cairo by this line are very inconvenient. It is also possible to go by the
river : this is the pleasantest method. (Inquire at Messrs. Cook's office for days on
which steam launch sails).]


158 ROUTE 10.— THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. [Sect. II.
The first stone of the Barrage was laid by Mohammed Ali in 1835
The works were planned and carried out by Mougel Bey and Lmant
ley. Situated at the head of the Delta about 12 m. Wow <3airo, the
object of this gigantic work was to hold up the waters of the Nile
during the eight months of ebb, so as to maintain them at the level of
the soil, and supply Lower Egypt during tha period ™th the ante
amount of water as at the time of the inundation. It was calculated
that the enormous expense of the work itself, and of the .^^ system
of canalisation which must be its necessary complement would be
compensated for by the great increase of cultivable land in the Delta
andPby the being able to do away with the thousands of sakiyas and
shades, thus setting free for more useful agricultural purposes he
men and animals employed in working them. Unfortunately owmg
to various circumstances, and the anxiety of the Viceroy to get the
work completed, sufficient care was not taken with the foundations of
the Barrage, and a defective arrangement was made which rendered it
unsafe to hold up the head of water required to keep the canals in the
Delta to the height that was originally proposed. From 1867 to 1883
the Barrage remained practically useless, and m 1885-90 Colonel Sir
Colin Scott-Moncriefi, K.C.M.G., undertook the task of rendering this
great work efficient. The original structure has been successfully
strengthened, and thus the ingenious conception of the French
engineers has become of practical utility under English direction. The
Barrage now fulfils its original intention, and great benefit has accrued
to the Delta. .
The Barrage consists of a double bridge or weir, the eastern part
spanning the Damietta branch of the Nile, the western the Rosetta.
Between the two is the head of the Delta. The sluices "are formed
of double cones of hollow iron, in a semicircular form, working on
radii of rods fixed to a central axis at each side of the sluice-gate.
These double cones increase in size from the lower part of the cone to
the top, and the lowest, which are the largest, fill with water as they
descend into the bed prepared for them in the masonry at the bottom
of the sluices. The labour of two men raised one very slowly against
the great pressure of the water from its bed ; when the gate was
lowered, it was easy to understand the advantage of the curved surface
in pressing obliquely against, instead of directly opposing the current."
These sluices are never all closed, as the vast pressure of such a mass
of water would probably sweep the whole structure away. At the
Delta end of each part is a lock, with sloping terraced quays above and
below. Except during the high Nile, the only water that flows
through the Eastern, or Damietta half, comes round from the other
side by means of a canal, and rushes through two or three arches only ;
the rest is dry land. The length of the Damietta Barrage is 1709 ft.,
and of the Rosetta 1437 ft. The two branches of the Barrage are
separated by a wall 3280 ft. in length, and in the middle of this is the
head of the Great Delta canal or Rayah Menufiya, which irrigates
the Menufiya and part of the Gharbiya province. There are 61 arches
on the Rosetta side and 71 on the Damietta side, each of them being
16-4 ft. in width. Owing to the cause already mentioned, the Barrage
could not hold up more than 3 ft. head of water. In addition to the work
of rendering the Barrage itself efficient, the whole system of canals in the
Delta is being improved. A system of fortifications was built round


Sect. II.] ROUTE 10.  THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. 159
the Barrage by the late Khedive, with the view of making it a central
point for the defence of Egypt. In the interior are barracks, store
houses, and a small palace, which were occupied by the engineers who
superintended the reconstruction of the Barrage. The Government
has established an experimental Garden at the Barrage under the
superintendence of an Englishman.
7. Helwan, Turra, and Ma'sara.
[This forms a very interesting excursion about 15 m. along the E. bank of th
Nile above Cairo. A railway runs to the Baths of Helwan, passing the Quarrie
of Turra and Ma'sara on the way. The Stat, at Cairo is near the Bab el-Lilk. Ther
are trains about hourly each way, and the time occupied by the journey is 35 mins.
During the opera season the last train leaves Bab el-Luk at 12.45 a.m. on Monday
and Thursday nights.]
On leaving the Bah el-Luk Stat, the line proceeds by the Shari'a
el-Mansiir and the rt. bank of the Nile, passing the Stats, of Seyyida
Zinab, St. Georges (for Old Cairo, p. 137), Sahil el-Kibli, and el-Maadi
to 8 m., Turra Stat, (see below).
The special and goods line vid Busatin on leaving Cairo runs through
a deep cutting between the Citadel and the Mokattam hills. It then
skirts the base of these hills, passing on the rt. the Tombs of the
Mamelukes and of the Imam esh-Shafi', and farther on, on the 1., the
burial-ground of the Jews, and reaches Busdtin Stat., a village once
famed for its "gardens," whence its name. Near this point the
Mokattam range is rent asunder by a broad valley called the Wddi
et-Tih ("Valley of the Wandering"), which comes down from the E.,
and measures to its head about 8 m. It separates that part called
Gebel el-Giyushi from the rest of the Mokattam range. One of the
Suez roads, called Derb et-Tarabin, passes over this part of Mokattam,
and comes down to the Nile by this valley to the village of Busatin ;
and immediately above the brow of the cliff on its N. 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. The
line now approaches the Nile, passing on the rt. the monastery of
Der el-Gebel, and farther on an extensive series of buildings which
were erected as gun factories, gunpowder mills, and small-arm factories.
These were constructed at great expense during the reign of the Khedive
Ismail, but have never been used. Farther on is Tilrra Stat.
A little beyond Turra is the prison for convicts, which was estab
lished under the superintendence of Dr. Crookshank, the Director-
general of Prisons. The convicts are employed in quarrying stone and
other useful work. On the rt. is the small village of Turra, and away
on the 1. the Quarries' and an old fort on the top of the hill. The old
Egyptian name of Turra was Troiu ; the Quarries of Troiu are already
mentioned in the Inscription of Una, under the VI. Dynasty. The
Greeks wrote it Troia, and then invented a reference to a " Troicus
pagus " which they placed here. Continuing near the river, the line
passes Gozzica Stat, and reaches
ioj m., El-Ma'sara Stat. The Quarries, which are plainly visible in
the rooks, may be visited from here, J hr. on a donkey. Ma'sara claims


160 ROUTE 10.— THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. [Sect. II.
with Turra the honour of marking the real site of th ^e Greek . Troi£ The
line now leaves the river and ascends the slopes of Gebel lurra to
i4i m., Helwan Stat.* Omnibuses from the hotels, which are
within 10 min. distance, meet the train.
Baths of Helwan.-On a small scale Helwan has become a fashion
able watering plac^ frequented both by Europeans and Egyptians ; the
former Khedivial Palace is now the Tewfik Palace Hotel. Three other
hotels (see Index-directory) and about 200 detached hou e so villas
have been built, some of which can be hired, furnished or unfurnished.
The bath houses are in excellent order, and special arrangements are
made for ladies, both natives and Europeans. The Viceregal Baths
which are the property of the Egyptian Government, and have been
approved by the Public Works Department, were opened in 1899
They contain the best and most modern appliances, and every kind of
convenience. The Medical Director is Dr. Page May and. experienced
masseurs and masseuses are in attendance. The Grand S6teldes Bams
is a large square building with trees in the courtyard, affords very
comfortable accommodation, similar to the hotels in Cairo and forms a
pleasant place for change of air for persons spending the winter at
Cairo. There is a very good general view of the Pyramids from the
The Sulphur Springs resemble in their ingredients those of Aix in
Savoy and Horkulesbad in Hungary, and are said to be very efficacious
in all cases in which sulphurous waters are usually employed. The
water is clear, with a slightly salt and sulphurous taste, and issues
from the spring at a temperature of 85° Fahr. These sulphur springs
are probably those to which King Amen-hetep sent "the leprous and
other cureless persons, in order to separate them from the rest of the
Egyptians," as related by Manetho. They were said to be at the
quarries on the E. side of the Nile. There are two Iron Springs, the
water of which is pleasant to drink, and is taken gratis by a large
number of people. Temperature 70° Fahr. There is also one Saline
Spring, the water of which acts as a purgative, and is bottled to he
drunk at leisure. Temperature 77° Fahr. Some very remarkable
specimens of Flint Implements have been found in the desert W. of
Helwan, and large quantities of chips are collected by little boys
and sold to travellers.
The old village of Helwan is on the Nile, 2 m. distant.
The Quarries of Turra and Ma'sara.— These can be reached from
Helwan in 1-J hrs. on donkeys, or from Ma'sara in J hr. A very good
way of seeing"thern is to take the train from Cairo to Ma'sara, bringing
donkeys in the train, and, after seeing the Quarries, to ride on to
Helwan in time for dinner at one of the hotels, returning to Cairo by
the evening train ; or the expedition may be combined with that to
Sakkara, as proposed on p. 187.
The mountain in which both quarries are situated is evidently the
Troici lapidis mons, or TpaiiKbv 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. It seems probable that the most ancient
portion of the quarry has disappeared, having been gradually cut away.


Sect. II.] ROUTE 10. — THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. 161
The stratum of good stone, standing like a terrace in front of the range
of hills, was easily out away without tunnels, and the boundaries
between one set of operations and the next were gradually obliterated.
Between the present quarries (which are on the face of the mountain)
and the river the ground is covered with the marks of the oldest
excavations. Thus, though the casing, at least, of some seventy
pyramids on the other side of the Nile came from this quarry under
the Pharaohs of the " Ancient Empire " (Dynasties I.- VI.), yet we find
no cartouches older than the time of the XII. Dynasty. As has been
said above, however, we have contemporary evidence of the use iof
these quarries under the VI. Dynasty.
The Quarries are of very great extent. Those to the N., to which a
railway has been laid down, are sometimes distinguished by the name
of the Quarries of Turra; those to the S., of Ma'sara. At the former
are tablets bearing the names of Amen-em-hat, of Amen-hetep II. and
III. (XVIII. Dyn,), and of Necho (XXVI. Dyn.); at the latter are
those of Aahmes II. (XXVI. Dyn.), Amyrtaeos, Akoris (Haker)
(XXVIII. Dijn.), and Ptolemy Philadelphos, with Arsinoe (XXXIII.
Dyn.) ; and other tablets have the figures of deities, as Hathor and
Thoth, and the triad of Thebes — Amen, Mut, and Khensu — without
royal cartouches. In one of those at the quarries of Ma'sara, sculptured
in the 22nd year of Aahmes I. (XVIII. Dyn.), is the representation of
a sledge hearing a block of stone drawn by 6 oxen. The hieroglyphic
inscription above it is much defaced ; but in the legible portion,
besides the titles of the king and queen, "beloved of Ptah andAtmu,"
we find that in his 22nd year Aahmes I. took stones from these quarries
both for the temple of Ptah at Memphis, and for the temple of Amen
at Thebes ; showing that he ruled both Upper and Lower Egypt. In
another quarry towards the S. is a large tablet, representing King
Amyrtaios (XXVIII. Dyn.), or, as some suppose him to be, Nektanebo
(XXIX. Dyn.), offering to the triad of the place, Thoth, the goddess
Hathor and Horus (Nefer-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 cartouches of the kings are
numerous demotic inscriptions, particularly in the southern quarries,
with numbers and quarry-marks ; and here and there these inscriptions
begin with the year and month of the king's reign in which that part
of the quarry was commenced. Messrs. Spiegelberg and Weigall
discovered many new graffiti in 1903.
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 per
pendicular face of the rock ; and having pierced a horizontal tunnel to
a certain distance, by cutting away the centre of the square, they made
a succession of similar tunnels on the same level ; after which they
extended the work downwards in the form of steps, removing each tiei
of stones as they went on till they reached the lowest part or intended
floor of the quarry. Sometimes they began by an oblong tunnel,
which they cut downwards to the depth of one stone's length ; and
they then continued horizontally in steps, each of these forming as
usual a standing-place while they cut away the row above it. A
similar process was adopted on the opposite side of the quarry, till at
length two perpendicular walls were left, which constituted its extent ;


162 ROUTE 10.  THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO. [Sect. 11.
and here again new openings were made, and another chamber, con
nected with the first one, was formed in the same manner ; pillars of
rock being left here and there to support the roof. These communica
tions of one quarry, or chamber of a quarry, with the other, are
frequently observable in the mountains of Ma'sara, where they follow
in uninterrupted succession for a considerable distance; and in no
part of Egypt is the method of quarrying more clearly shown. The
lines traced on the roof, marking the size 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 record of the progress of their task — criminals
being frequently obliged to hew a fixed number of stones according to
their offence. The mountain of Ma'sara still continues to supply stone
for the use of the metropolis, as it once did for Memphis and its
vicinity ; 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.
The occasional Views over the plain, the Nile, and the several
pyramids on the low Libyan hills beyond the river, which appear
Between openings in the quarries as one wanders through them, have a
curious and pleasing effect ; and on looking towards the village of
Ma'sara, there is seen on the 1. a causeway or inclined road, leading
towards the river, by which the stones were conveyed to the Nile.

ROUTE 11.
The Pyramids.

1. Survey of the Pyramid Field
2. The Pyramids of OizA, the
Sphinx, and the Pyramid of
Abu RoAsh 
3. The Pyramids and Tombs of
Sakkara, the Site of Mem-

pagf,
phis, and the Pyramids of
Abusir  is7
i. The Pyramids of Dahsurh . 201
5. From Dahshur to Sakkara and
GizA (Camping Eipe'ditu n) 203

1. Survey of the Pyramid Field.
The remains of 70 pyramids have been found in the necropolis which
extends from Abu Koash on the N. to Mediirn on the S. (see post).
The oldest northern pyramid of which the builder is tolerably certain
is the " Step-Pyramid " at Sakkara, which was built by King Tjeser, of
Tn\? ITl J- i lat6St 1S Pr0bably that oi Amen-em-W III at
Illahun. There were later pyramids at Thebes, and, of course in the


Sect. II.] ROUTE 11.— THE PYRAMIDS. 163
The northern pyramids hitherto identified are twenty-one in number.
The following is a list of them : —
i. Sakkara ; step pyramid, tomb of Tjeser, III. Dynasty.
*. Mediim; height, originally about 300 ft., in three degrees. Tomb of
Sneferu, IV. Dynasty. Hieroglyphic name, Kka, " the rising."
3. Giza; height 481 ft. Tomb of Khufu, IV. Dynasty. Name, Khut,
"the lights."
4. Giza; height, 472 ft. Tomb of Khafra, IV. Dynasty. Name, Ur.
" the great."
5. Giza. The southernmost of the three small pyramids by the side of
No. 3 has been identified as the tomb of Hentsen, a daughter of
Khufu.
6. Giza; height 215 ft. Tomb of Men-kau-Ra, IV. Dynasty. Name,
Her, ' ' the upper. "
7. Abu Rodsh. Tomb of Radadf, IV. Dynasty.
8. Abutir; height 118 ft. Tomb of Sahura, V. Dynasty. Name, Kha ba,
' ' the rising soul. "
9. Abusir ; middle pyramid. Tomb of Ne-user-Ra, V. Dynasty. Name,
Men Asu, " the most enduring place."
10. Abusir; pyramid of Neferarikara, V. Dynasty.
n. Sakkdra. Tomb of Unas. Name, Nefer-asut, " tbe good place."
12. Sakkdra. Tomb of Teta. Name, Dad-asut, " the firm place."
13. Sakkdra. Tomb of Pepi I. Name, Men-nefer, " the good haven."
14. Sakkdra. Tomb of Merenra. Name, Kha-nefer, " the good rising."
15. Sakkdra. Tomb of Pepi II. Name, AFcn-ankh, " the haven of life. "
16. Lisht. Tomb of Usertsen I., XII. Dynasty. Name, Kha, "rising."
17. Dahshur. Tomb of Amen-em-hat II., XII. Dynasty. Name, Kherp,
"dominator."
18. Illahdn. Tomb of Usertsen II., XII. Dynasty. Name, Hetep, "offering."
19. Dahshur. N. brick pyramid. Tomb of Usertsen III., XII. Dynasty.
20. Hawdra. Tomb of Amen-em-hat HI., XII. Dynasty.
21. Ddhsh&r. S. brick pyramid. Secondary (?) tomb of Amen-em-h5t III.
The ancient names of many other pyramids of kings are recorded, but the
buildings have not yet been identified.
In every case it is probable that a temple was attached to the
pyramid, not of necessity closely adjoining, but not far off. The
ruins of such temples exist near several of the pyramids at Sakkara,
those of Abusir and at Giza. Commemorative inscriptions ' were
probably in these temples, rather than upon the pyramids themselves.
In connection with this it has been ingeniously suggested that the
"raphanus, onions, and garlic," of which Herodotus speaks as having
been recorded on the Great Pyramid, .were probably an inscription
containing ihe garlic or onion plant suten, the sign for "king," with
the papyrus and lotus which were used in spelling the royal titles as
lord of Upper and Lower Egypt. In all pyramids the entrance is to
the N. ; in other tombs of the Memphite necropolis it faces E. All the
pyramids are on the W. or 1. bank of the Nile '; and when they were
perfect the line from Mediim to Abu Roash was nowhere broken by a
distance of more than 7 or 8 miles. They are all situated above the
level of inundations, and all, except those of Abusir, upon the rocky
platform which borders the desert.
The Object of Pyramidal Buildings. — -What may be called the
Pyramid Field of Egypt extends in a long series of groups over about
three parts of a degree of latitude, from Abu Roash on the N., to
Illahun, in tbe Fayyum, on the S. Brick pyramidal structures are
M 2


164 ROUTE 11.  THE PYRAMIDS. [Sect. II.
also found at Thebes. In Ethiopia, near Napata, and at Meroe, there
are also many similar structures. Stone is the material employed m
building them, with a few exceptions, such as the crude-brick ones at
Dahshiir, in the Fayyum, and at Thebes ; all of which, however, are
probably of a later date than the stone ones.
Many have been the ideas propounded as to the purpose which
pyramids were intended to serve. Temples, granaries, observatories,
tombs, and many other notions, have all had their advocates ; but it is
now a generally accepted fact among Egyptologists that they were
simply tombs, that in fact, during a certain period of Egyptian history,
it was customary to raise a, structure of pyramidal form over every
tomb of any consequence— a theory which the uniform subterranean
chamber and descending passage found beneath every pyramid yet
examined confirm.
Many learned men have seen, in the elaborate structure of the Great
Pyramid, a wider intention and a more abstruse meaning ; and the purpose
of the Great Pyramid has been the peg upon which to hang the wildest
and most impossible theories, such as those, for example, of Mr. Piazzi
Smyth. Mariette Pasha thus speaks decisively in favour of their being.
nothing but tombs: "With regard to the object for which the Pyramids
were destined, it is contrary to all that we know of Egypt, to all that archae
ology has taught us of the monumental customs of that country, to see in
them anything but tombs. The pyramids, such as they are, are tombs ;
massive, complete, hermetically sealed everywhere, even to the most carefully
constructed passages, without windows, without doors, without any external
opening. They are the gigantic and for ever impenetrable casing of a mummy ;
and the fact that one alone among them has accessible interior chambers, from
which astronomical observations might have been made, as from the bottom
of a well, only proves that such was not the purpose for which it was
originally destined. It is useless to argue that the orientation of tbe four sides
denotes some astronomical object. The four sides are thus accurately arranged
because they are dedicated for mythological reasons to the four cardinal points,
and therefore, in a monument so carefully finished as a pyramid is, a side
dedicated to the N., for instance, would not face any other point but the N.
The pyramids, then, are only tombs : and the enormous size of some of them
can furnish no argument against this conclusion, since there are many not
more than 20 ft. high. Be it remarked, moreover, that there is not in Egypt
a single pyramid that is not situated in a necropolis ; a fact enough of itself to
settle the question of their destination."
In spite of this being a matter of " common knowledge " among
Egyptologists and archaeologists generally, we still meet with astro
nomers who talk about the "astronomical intention" of the Great
Pyramid. This is a mare's nest : the pyramids are nothing but big
barrows, tumuli of hewn stone.
2. The Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, and Abu Roash.
[Drive to Gezira : there take electric tram for the Pyramids (fare ¦ P T.2). To
drive the whole way is slow, expensive, and unnecessary. In warm weather a visit
to the Pyramids by moonlight is most enjoyable. Special night-trams are run
for this purpose.
It is possible to go to the Pyramids and then on to Sakkara, or vice versd, and
back to Cairo, in one day ; but it is a very long day's work, and not to be recommended.
By taking tents, however, and camping out at either of the two places the two
excursions may very pleasantly be combined.
All who desire to see well the interior of the King's Chamber inside the Great
Pyramid, should take some magnesium wire with them.


Sect. II.] ROUTE ll.^THE PYRAMIDS. 165
It maybe taken for granted that, as a rule, any so-called antiquity offered for sale
at the Pyramids is not genuine. Things of small value, such as bits of mummy-cloth,
beads, &c, may be old, as there is an inexhaustible supply oi them at Sakkara, and
if they are not of very remote date the investment is not large enough to be a matter
of regret ; but so-called antique gems and other articles, for which a comparatively
high price is asked, are almost invariably counterfeit.]
The Road to the Pyramids. — To Kasr en-Nil, the Nile Bridge, and
Gezira, p. 144. Leaving Gezira the tramway crosses another bridge
over the W. branch of the Nile. Here the road divides, one part con
tinuing in a direct line to Bulak ed-Dakriir. The other, which we
follow, turns to the 1. and enters a beautiful avenue of lebbekh trees,
leading to the Giza Palace and the Zoological Gardens (p. 143). From
Giza the road, turning sharp to the rt. (wayside Cafi), continues along
the cultivated land in one unbroken straight line, but the trees which
have been planted on each side of it are now grown sufficiently to
afford some shade. The embankment on the top of which the road
runs is a very broad and substantial one. The inundation finds an
exit through two bridges. " From the moment that you leave Ghizeh,
until you reach the pyramids, they seem continually near to you ; you
would think that you had but a narrow field to cross to reach their
base ; you have four miles to ride. They certainly have an awful look
— everlasting, as it were — compared to any other structure which you
have either seen or know to exist, or can imagine." — (Capt. Morse
Sherar, ' Scenes and Impressions in Egypt.') The view from the
present highroad over the fertile plain on each side is very beautiful,
especially in the month of January, when everything is green ; and
the background of pyramid and desert in going, and of Cairo and its
Citadel and the Mokattam hills in returning, are worthy settings to
the picture. In November, when the inundation is out and boats can
sail up to the base of the Great Pyramid, the view has also an interest
and beauty of its own.
The sportsman, too, will regard it with no less interest than the
artist, as, in the months of March and April, the fields of clover, corn,
and vetch abound in quail, and bags of 30 or 40 brace are often made
by two guns in a few hours.
To the 1. of the Tramway Terminus is a Cafi. On the rt. of the
road, just as it reaches the desert and begins to ascend the rooky
platform on which the Pyramids stand, is the Mena House Hotel (see
Index-directory). Emerging from between the walls which keep this
last portion of the road from being buried in sand, the traveller finds
himself at the foot of the Great Pyramid. The house at its N.E. angle
was built by Ismail Pasha for the reception of distinguished visitors
at the opening of the Suez Canal. A room for luncheon may be secured
in it by a small payment to the custodian.
The Pyramid Platform of Giza. — The rocky plateau on which
stand the Pyramids of Giza was from the time of the IV. Dynasty
one of the cemeteries of Memphis. It is elevated about 100 ft. above
the plain, and forms a sort of promontory in the Libyan chain, whose
greatest projection is towards the'north-east. The principal monu
ments situated on this platform are the Great Pyramid, or Pyramid of
Khufu ; the Second Pyramid, or Pyramid of Khafra ; and the Third
Pyramid, or Pyramid of Men-kau-Ra ; in addition to which there are
several smaller pyramids, and many ordinary tombs. The rock is what


166

ROUTE

11.  THE. PYRAMIDS. [Sect. II.

TOPOGRAPHICAL PLAN 0! THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZA.

A, Entrance to the Great Pyramid. B, Entrance to the Second Pyramid. C C, Long
pits. D, Pyramid of the daughter of Khufu (Herodotus, ii. 126). E, Pavement of black
stones (basaltic trap), the same as found on the causeways of the pyramids of Sakkara.
I'\ Remains of masonry. G, Masons' barracks for the pyramid builders. H, Tombs of
individuals, with deep pits. I, The Tomb of Numbers. K, Two inclined passages,
meeting under ground, formed like the passages of the Great Pyramid. L L, The rock
is here cut to a level surface. M, Kiosk for reception of visitors. N, A square
space cut in the rock, probably to receive and support the corner-stone of the casing of
the pyramid. The cnnu-i- itself is of rock. P, Here stood a tomb which has received
the title of the Temple of Osiris. Q, Tomb of Trades, to west of Tombs H. R A pit
cased with stone, of modem date. S, The Third Pyramid. T, Three small pyramids.
TJ, V, Temples in front of second and third pyramids. W, W, W Fragments of stone
walls. X, A few palms and sycomores, with a well. Y, Southern stone causeway.
Z, Northern causeway, now destroyed, a, Tombs cut in the rock, ft, Masonry c, Black
stones. d d, Tombs cut in the rock, e, The Sphinx, f. Granite and Alabaster
temple : in it was found the large statue of Khafra, builder of second pyramid,
now in the Museum at Cairo, g, Pits, h, Stone ruin on a rock i Doorway,
or passage through the southern causeway. /:, A grotto in the rock', and above to
the S.E. are pits at (. I, Inclined causeway, part of Y. m n, Tombs in the rocks.


Sect. II.] ROUTE 11.— THE PYRAMIDS. 167
is commonly called nummulitio limestone, abounding in fossil remains,
and nummulites of the kind called Nautilus mammilla, or lenticularis.
They were mistaken by Strabo for the petrified residue of the lentils
and barley that formed the staple food of the workmen employed in
building the Pyramids, and when we see the theories of the present day
we readily forgive the geographer for his fanciful conclusion. The
greater part of the stone used was brought from the quarries of Turra
and Ma'sara," and the granite from Aswan. The Sphinx (p. 181) lies
below the plateau on the S.E.
[The Pyramid-field of Giza is in the occupation of a Bedouin tribe, the
"Pyramid Arabs," who have the right, by an old firman, to levy toll on those who
desire to see the Pyramids. The Museum ticket for admission to Antiquities is
not available here. Special tickets are issued by the Sh&sh of the Pyramid Arabs
at a kiosk below the Great Pyramid ; guides provided. General ticket, including
ascent and visit to Ulterior of Great Pyramid, P.T.20 (4s.) ; ascent alone, P.T.10.
If the guides have been of use (they are indispensable for the ascent) a small
bakhshish should be given. Those who wish to see merely the Sphinx, &c, have no
need of a guide, and none should in any case be engaged but those specially detailed
at the kiosk, The visitor is always pestered by would-be guides and beggars, to
whom not one farthing should be given under any pretence. Tourists are earnestly
begged to help to cure these people of their bad habits by giving them nothing. They
demand tribute! shamelessly, for the average Pyramid Arab is quite wealthy for a
fellah, and has plenty of money. It is avarice and greed, not want, that impels him
or his children to pester tourists to give them money, when possible for nothing.]
The Great Pyramid. (IV. Dyn.)
History. — The first visitor to Egypt who left any record of his
travels was Herodotus, 2300 years ago, and he thus relates the history
of the building of this pyramid : —
"... Cheops succeeded, to the throne, and at once plunged into all
manner of wickedness. He closed all the temples, and forbade the Egyptians
to perform sacrifices ; after which he made them all work for him; Some were
employed in the quarries of the Arabian hills, 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 three 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 wonderful in my opinion than the pyramid itself ; for it
has 5 stades in length, 10 orgyes in breadth, and 8 in height in the highest
part, and is constructed of polished stones, sculptured with the figures of
animals. These 10 years were occupied exclusively in the causeway, indepen
dently of the time spent in levelling the bill on which the pyramids stand, and
in making the subterranean chambers intended for his tomb in an island formed
by the waters 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 ft. long.
0, Some hieroglyphs on the rock, and trenches below, cut when the squared blocks
were taken away, p, Tombs cut in the scarp of the rock ; one of them (the 6th from
the S.) has a ceiling cut in imitation of the trunks of palm trees, q, Stone wall.
r, Steps cut in the rock, near the N.W. angle of the Great Pyramid. M N, Magnetic
North and South, T N is True North, u, Campbell's tomb. -0, Arched tomb, with
name of Psammetichus. w, A tomb with figures in relief aud the Egyptian curved
cornice. The constructed tombs at H, and behind the rocks, d d, are less regularly
disposed than in the plan, but it is difficult to define them exactly on so small a
scale. They are not so regular or perfect as shown.


16S ROUTE ii.<^T"HE PYRAMIDS. [Sect. II.
"This pyrartid 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 machines 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 because I have heard both stated. When completed in this manner, they
proceeded 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 the sum expended in supplying the workmen with
raphanus, onions, and garlic ; and he who interpreted the inscription told me,
as I remember well, that it amounted to 1600 talents (,£200,000 sterling). If
that be true, how much must have been spent on the iron tools, the food
and clothing of the workmen, employing, as 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
considerable ! "
Diodorus, the next authority in point of time, says that " Khembis (or
Khemmis), a Memphite, who reigned 50 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 Memphis 120 stadia, and
45 from the river. They strike every beholder with wonder, both from their
size and the skill of their workmanship ; for every side of the largest, at the base,
is 7 plethra in length, and more than 6 in height. Decreasing in size towards
the summit, it there measures 6 cubits (9 ft.). The whole is of solid stone,
made with prodigious labour, and in the most durable manner, having
lasted to our time, a period not less than 1000 years, or, as some say, upwards
of 3400 ; the stones still preserving their original position, and the whole struc
ture 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 tbe surround
ing 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 rthe aid of some deity, rather than by the sole
and gradual operations of man. Some of the Egyptians try to make wonderful
stories about them, saying that the mounds (inclined planes) were made of
salt and nitre, which, by directing the water of the, river upon them, were
afterwards dissolved without 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 work, and "the time occupied in
finishing the whole was scarcely less than 20 years. "
Pliny says: "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 Herodotos, Euhemeros, Duris of Samos, Arista-
goros, Dionysios, Artemidoros, Alexander Polyhistor, Butori Antisthenes,
Demetrios, Demoteles, Apion ; and yet no one of them shows satisfac
torily 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
size from corner to corner, and each measuring 883 ft. ; the breadth at the
summit being 25 ft.
" No vestiges of houses remain near them, but merely pure sand on every
side, with something like lentils, common in the greater part of Africa. The
principal question is, how the blocks were carried up to such a height ? For


Sect. II.] itO-DT^ 11.— ^THE £YRAMIDg, 169
some suppose that mounds, composed of nitre and salt, were gradually formed
as the work advanced, and were afterwards dissolved 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, "
The Cheops of Herodotus is identical with the Suphis of Manetho and the
Khufu of the Tables of Abydos and Sakkara, the second king of the IV.
Dynasty, reigning at Memphis some time between B.C. 4235 and B.C. 2450,
according to the system of chronology adopted. His hieroglyphic name, Khufu
(see p. 176), is found in the Great Pyramid in the uppermost chamber, and
in some of the tombs of the platform. The story of his wickedness, and of
the way in which he oppressed the Egyptians, is inconsistent with the testimony
of certain contemporary monuments, which represent him as treated as a
divinity, and specially worshipped. Manetho's account, "that he was arrogant
towards the gods; but, repenting, he wrote the Sacred Book," seems to
reconcile both views of his character. A portrait statuette of him in ivory,
found during the Egypt 'Exploration Fund's excavations at Abydos in 1903,
is in the Cairo Museum.
Prof. Petrie explains the construction of the Pyramids as follows : ' ' The
site being chosen, it was carefully levelled, and the lengths of the sides were
set out with great exactitude. From several indications it seems that the
masons planned the casing, and some at least of the core masonry also,
course by course on the ground. For on all the casing, and on the core
on which the casing fitted, there are lines drawn on the horizontal surfaces,
showing where each stone was to be placed on those below it. The means
employed for raising such masses of stone are not shown to us in any
representations. For the ordinary blocks of a few tons each, it would be very
feasible to employ the method of resting them on two piles of wooden slabs,
and rocking them up alternately to one side and the other by a spar under the *
block, thus heightening the piles alternately and so raising the stone. This
would also agree with the mysterious description of a machine made of short
pieces of wood — a description which it is difficult otherwise to realize. This
method would be also applicable to the largest masses we know of in the
Pyramid, the 56 roofing beams of the king's chamber, and the spaces above
it. These average 700 cubic ft. each ; weighing therefore 54 tons, some larger,
some less. That sheet iron was employed we know, from the fragment found
by Howard Vyse in the masonry of the south air channel ; and though some
doubt has been thrown on the piece, merely from its rarity, yet the vouchers
for it are very precise. No reasonable doubt can exist about its being really a
genuine piece used by the Pyramid masons ; and probably such pieces were
required to prevent crowbars biting into the stones, and to ease the action of
the rollers."
This fragment of iron is preserved in the British Museum. Taken together
with a piece of iron of the VI. Dynasty found by Prof. Petrie at Abydos, and
also preserved in the British Museum, it proves that the Egyptians were
acquainted with iron as early as 3500 B.C.
Prof. Petrie's theory of the building of the Pyramids, that they were originally
planned as they now stand, has, however, now been given up in favour of a return
to the "accretion" theory of Lepsius, who supposed that each king first built
a small pyramid for himself and then added outer casings to it as his reign
lengthened. It seems probable that this is more or less true : long-lived kings
like Khufu seem to have added considerably to their pyramids, and even to
have entirely remodelled them on a larger scale. This has been the case with
the Great Pyramid.
Exterior. — The statement of the three writers already cited, that
Khufu's Pyramid was built with stone from the quarries of the Arabian
mountains, is true, as much of the material comes from the limestone


170 BOUTE 11. — THE PYEAMIDS. [Sect. II.
quarries of Turra and Ma'sara (see p. 160). The causeway along which
the stone from the other side of the river was brought will be found
described further on (p. 186). Traces of a similar causeway have been
observed between Gebel Ma'sara and the Nile, which probably served
for the conveyance of the stone from the quarry to the river. Here*
dotus's expression, that the "greater part is of polished stone, most
carefully put together," corroborated by similar statements of Plato,
Pliny, and early Arab authors, and conjectured to mean that the Great
Pyramid had originally a smooth and even surface, similar to what
may still be seen at the top of the Second Pyramid, received confirma
tion by Petrie's discovery of the "casing stones" on all four sides
in 1881. They were blocks of limestone from the Turra quarries,
4 ft. 11 in. in perpendicular height, and 8 ft. 3 in. long, the outer face
sloping with an angle of 51° 50'. After this discovery there was no
longer any doubt that the spaces between the several corners of the
Pyramid had been filled in with similar blocks, which were all cut to
shape before being built into place. It is conjectured that these casing
stones, with the exception of those now left, were taken away during
the time of the Khalifs, for building purposes at Cairo. They were in
their place in the time of 'Abd el-Latlf, who speaks of the extreme
nicety with which the stones of which the pyramid is constructed have
been prepared and adjusted, a nicety so precise that not even a needle
or hair can be inserted between any two of them. The stones which
now appear on the exterior are of various sizes, varying from 2 ft. to
5 ft. in depth : the first layer is laid in the rock, and the others, each
receding about a foot, form, as it were, a staircase. The mortar used
appears to be made of crushed red pottery, gravel, sand, Nile mud,
and lime.
The Dimensions of the Great Pyramid have been variously stated
at different times by ancient and modern writers. Herodotus makes it
8 plethra (800 ft.) in length on each side at the base, and the same in
height; this last measured no doubt not vertically, but along' the
sloping side. Diodorus makes it 7 plethra (700 ft.) in length, and 6
(600 ft.) in height. Pliny gives the length at 883 ft. Nine modern
writers have equally varied in their calculations.
The measurements made by Petrie in 1880-2 are the most accurate
published. He gives the length of the sides of the Great Pyramid on
the level of the original platform as follows : — ft. in.
North side . 755 9-4
East side . 755 7.7
Sc nth side . 755 9.5
West side . 755 8-6
Mean length 755 g-S
The original height he calculates to have been 481 ft. 4 in. The actual
present height is 451 ft. The area of the original base was 63,444 square
yards, or rather more than 13 acres. The space covered by this pyra
mid is said to equal the area of Lincoln's-Inn-Fields ; and its solid
contents have been calculated at 85,000,000 cubic ft. It may be
interesting to compare its height with that of other well-known
edifices. The spire of Strassburg Cathedral is 461 ft. high ; the dome
of SL. Peter's at Rome, 429 ft. high ; the dome of St Paul's London
404 ft, high. ' ' '


Sect. IL]

BOUTE 11. — THE PYRAMIDS.

171

The Ascent of the. Great Pyramid is usually made from the N.E.
corner, and though very fatiguing is perfectly safe. At the top there
is a space of nearly 60 sq. ft. The Arabs are most importunate, but all
requests en route for bakhshish should be firmly refused. A few piastres
only may be given as bakhshish when the traveller is safe down again.
The men should be told that they will get their bakhshish then. Pee
for Ascent, see p. 167. In ascending the visitor is lugged up over
stone blocks 4 feet high by the arms, and also propelled from behind.

SECTION OF THE GBEAT PYRAMID.

A. Pyramid when cased and entire.
B. Pyramid as at present.
0. Base of Pyramid.
D. Natural rock.
a. Entrance.
b. Descending passage.
c. Horizontal continuation of b.
d. Subterranean chamber.
e. Passage out of d.
f. Pit dug by Col. H. Vyse.
g. Granite block closing upper passage.
A. Passage. loreed by Khalil' El-Mamun.
i. Ascending gallery.
j. Mouth of well.

k. Well.
I. Horizontal gallery leading to Queen's
Chamber.
m. Queen's Chamber.
n. Great Gallery.
o. Vestibule.
p. King's Chamber.
q. Sarcophagus in King's Chamber.

t. >Over Chambers.

Air-passages.

In descending he usually jumps from block to block, his guides steady
ing him at the side. The eyes should be kept fixed on the feet, to avoid
giddiness. The View from the summit is extensive, and, during the
inundation, peculiarly interesting and characteristic 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 Mokattam hills in the distance, with the quarries of
Ma'sara, 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


172 EOTJTE 11,— THE PYRAMIDS. [Sect. II.
with its green vegetation, is a striking contrast to the barren desert on
the W. To the southward are the pyramids of Abusir, Sakkara, and
Dahshur ; to the northward the heights of Abu Roash ; and a little to
the E. of N. are the two causeways built by the Arab kings of Egypt,
which some suppose to have served for the transport of the stones from
the Pyramids to Cairo. For those who do not care to ascend, a good
view may be obtained from the top of the rubbish mound on the
eastern face.
" He who has stood on the summit of the most ancient and yet the most
mighty monument of his power and pride ever raised by man, and has looked
out and round to the far horizon, where Lybia and Arabia lie silent, and hath
seen, at his feet, the land of Egypt dividing their dark solitudes with a narrow
vale, beautiful and green, the mere enamelled setting of one solitary shining river,
must receive impressions which he can never convey, for he cannot define them
to himself .... One thing you know — that the chief, and the philosopher,
and the poet of the times of old, men, ' who mark fields as they pass, with their
own mighty names,' have certainly been here ; that Alexander has spurred his
war-horse to its base ; and Pythagoras, with naked foot, has probably stood
upon its summit . . . Let us come down, let us leave this spot. Some
one of our poets has placed on this mighty pedestal that skeleton form with
scythe and hour-glass. Time sits in triumph on this empty tomb. — a fitting
throne!" — Mouse Sherar.
Interior. — Before penetrating to the interior of the Great Pyramid,
it will be well to have some idea of those internal peculiarities which
distinguish it from any other specimen of pyramidal construction. As
has been said in the remarks on pyramidal structures in general, an
ordinary pyramid is a solid mass of stone, erected over a well leading
to a sepulchral chamber excavated in the solid rock which forms the
platform of the building. This chamber is duly in its place in the
Great Pyramid (d), and is mentioned by Herodotus and Pliny, though
their statements that a communication existed with the Nile, by means
of which water was introduced, so as to inundate the sepulchral
chambers, appear to be inaccurate, as the bottom of the chamber is
considerably above the level of the high Nile at the present time, and
must have been still more so in the days when the pyramid was built ;
moreover, an excavation, 36 ft. in depth, by Col. Howard Vyse (/),
sunk diagonally in the sepulchral chamber (d), failed to reveal any
signs of this subterranean communication. The direct way to this
chamber is by a passage 306 ft. long (b), leading from the main entrance
of the pyramid ; and it is supposed that if Herodotus, Strabo, and Pliny
were ever at all inside the pyramid, this passage and well were all they
knew of its interior.
Of the entrance itself (a) no sign was visible in the smooth and
polished surface of the pyramid's sides as they presented themselves to
the travellers of those days ; and even if, which is not at all certain,
the old Egyptians revealed to privileged strangers the secret of the
opening (Strabo speaks of a movable stone, and Petrie has found traces
of such a stone m the entrance to the Dahshur pyramid), and allowed
them to see or hear of the subterranean chamber, no hint was given of
there being anything else hidden within that enormous mass ¦ nor did
anything in that long passage suggest to the most inquisitive eye the
possibility of other passages and other chambers. The pyramid was
probably first broken into during the wars of the VII to the X.


Sect. II.] ROUTE 11.  THE PYRAMIDS. 173
Dynasties. In the time of Strabo the interior would appear to have
been accessible, but it was closed up at some uncertain time, and was
again violated by the Arabs in the time of the Khalif El-Mamun, the
son of the famous Hariin er-Rashid. Tradition, and the romancing
story-tellers of his day, declared that the Pyramids had been built by
" Saurid ibn Salnrik, a king of Egypt who lived before the flood," who
had placed in them all kinds of treasures, including a ' ' cock made of
precious stones," and "a quantity of gold coins put up in columns,
every piece of which was the weight of 1000 dinars." Incited by these
stories, the Khalif ordered the engineers of the day to discover the
entrance and open the pyramid. In order more effectually to deceive
those who should attempt to violate the tomb, the Egyptians had
placed the passage 23 ft. from the centre. The workmen of the Khalif
commenced, as was natural enough, and as the Egyptians foresaw, in
the centre of the face, and with iron, fire, and vinegar, quarried their
way through the solid masonry. • The labour must have been excessive ;
but when they had penetrated to the distance of about 100 ft., the
sound, or the falling of some stones, accidentally disclosed the vicinity
of the real passage, 15 ft. to their 1., by which they continued to the
great gallery and the two chambers. 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. The
way thus opened by El-Mamun was not again closed, and people con
tinued to go in and out. Access was thus at length obtained to the
place of the wished-for treasures, 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 disappointment. The chamber indeed
was "a right noble apartment ... of polished granite throughout ; in
blocks squared and true, and so large that 8 floor it, 8 roof it, 8 flag
the ends, and 16 the sides ; and all put together with such exquisite
skill that the joints are barely discernible to the closest inspection."
But all there was in it was a stone chest without a lid. Clearly the
pyramid had been previously entered, as we have already seen, and the
Khalif was about to abandon his vain search, when the people began to
evince their discontent 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 innermost 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 Khalif gratified his own curiosity at the
expense of their labour, their money, and their unsuspecting credulity.
'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
breastplate of gold and jewels, bearing 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 deposited in the sarcophagus. 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 iwere aware h'ow much they might puzzle
future antiquaries with speculations about the bones of Apis.


174 ROUTE 11.  THE PYRAMIDS. [Sect. II.
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. Belzoni's tomb had been rifled and re-closed, and the same
is observed in many Theban tombs, when discovered by modern
excavators. The forced passage of the Khalif could once be followed for a great
distance from the point where the upper and lower passages join ; but
it is now filled with stones, brought from the excavations in the
pyramid. No further discoveries were made till, in 1763, when Mr.
Davidson, British Consul at Algiers, discovered another room over the
King's Chamber. This was followed in 1839 by Col. Howard Vyse's
discovery of four other chambers, one above another over Davidson's
chamber (r), which he called respectively Wellington's (s), Nelson's (t),
Lady Arbuthnot's («.), and Campbell's chamber (v). No more hollow
spaces have since been discovered, though many explorers, convinced
that the hollow portion of the pyramid was greatly out of proportion
to its solid substance, have restlessly tried in every direction in the
hope of finding something.
A Visit to the Interior is not a very pleasant task, and, on the
whole, it is perhaps more fatiguing than going to the top ; the close
air, the scrambling, and the dust, all contribute to make it disagree
able. Nervous people had certainly better not attempt it. Magnesium
wire should be taken for the purpose of seeing the King's Chamber to
advantage, and each person would do well to have a candle to himself,
and matches in his pocket. If a guide lights magnesium wire he
demands a shilling for the favour.
The Entrance (a) is, like that of all other pyramids, on the northern
face, about 24 ft. from the true centre, and 45 ft. from the- ground. It
is reached by climbing over a heap of stones and rubbish which have
accumulated below. Over it is a block of immense size, on which are
four other large blocks, resting against each other, so as to form a pent-
roof arch, and- so serving to take off the superincumbent weight from
the roof of the passage. The hieroglyphic inscription over the entrance
is modern. The position of the stones in the body of the pyramid is
horizontal, but at the entrance they follow the inclination of the
passage, which is an angle of 26° 31'. This passage (b) is 3 ft. 5 in.
wide, and 3 ft. 11 in. high, and is roofed with well-wrought and closely
fitted stones. It continues in the same incline for 340 ft., and with
such exactness that the sky is visible from the farther end It then
runs, with somewhat smaller dimensions, for 27 ft. farther in a
horizontal direction, and ends in a subterranean chamber (d), already
spoken of as the sepulchral chamber common to all pyramids This
chamber is 46 ft long, 27 ft. broad, and 11 ft. 6 in. high, and the roof
of it is more than 90 ft. below the base of the pyramid It has
been left m a rough and unfinished state. From the S side of
the chamber issues a narrow passage 53 ft. long, ending abruptly in
All this, however, is seldom seen by the ordinary visitor. At a
point m the descending passage, 63 ft. from the entrance, is seen the
end of a granite block (ff) once carefully completed by a triangular
piece of stone fitting into the roof of the passage, and secured in that


Sect. II.] ROUTE 11.  THE PYRAMIDS. 175
position by an iron cramp on either side. It was probably the falling
of this stone which revealed to the workmen of El-Mamun the existence
of the entrance passage. But as they were unable to remove the
granite block it had concealed, this block still remains in its original
place ; and in order to avoid and pass above it, it is necessary to turn
to the rt. by the forced passage (h) that these workmen made, and
after climbing a few rough steps the upper extremity of the block is
reached, and then another passage (i), the entrance to which this
block had sealed. This upper passage continues ascending at nearly
the same angle as the lower one for 129 ft., until what is called the
Great Gallery (n) is reached.
At this point' a horizontal passage (I) branches off, 127 ft. long,
leading to what is called the Queen's Chamber (in). Near the end of
this passage, not far from this chamber, there is the descent of a step,
after which the passage becomes higher. The Queen's Chamber is
18 ft. 10 in. long, 17 ft. broad, and 20 ft. high in the centre. It is
roofed with blocks of stone resting against one another, in the manner
of a pent-house, like those over the entrance of the pyramid ; and in
order to give them strength they have been carried a long way into the
masonry. The stones in the side-walls are admirably fitted together,
so that the joints can scarcely be traced ; and an incrustation of salt
has tended to give them the appearance of having been hewn in the
solid rock. On the E. side, a short way from the door, is a sort of
niche or recess, built with stones projecting one beyond the other.
The object of this niche is not known; the Arabs, probably in the hope
of finding treasure, have broken into the masonry at the back for some
distance. An excavation in the floor by Sir G. Wilkinson revealed no
signs of a sepulchral pit. This chamber is 67 ft. above the base of the
pyramid, 407 ft. below the original summit, and 71 ft. below the King's
Chamber. It stands immediately under the apex of the pyramid. On
each side of it are air-holes, similar to those in the King's Chamber
(see below).
Returning to the commencement of the horizontal passage immedi
ately on the rt. of the Great Gallery is the mouth of an opening, com
monly called the well (j, k). It is a passage, partly vertical, partly
slanting and irregular, which leads down into the descending passage
from the entrance to the subterranean cavern. It is 191 ft. deep,
and 2 ft. 4 in. square. This well is cut through the masonry, which
evidently proves that it was an afterthought, and was probably made
for the purpose of affording a means of communication after the closing
of the upper passage with the block of granite above mentioned ; the
workmen having by it reached the lower passage could ascend to the
entrance. The Great Gallery continues to ascend at the same angle as
the passage of which it is a continuation. It is 151 ft. long, 28 ft. high,
and nearly 7 ft. wide, but this width is reduced one-half by a stone
ramp on each side 20 in. wide and 2 ft. high. Notches are cut in the
floor at intervals, which serve as welcome footholds on the slippery
surface of the smooth and polished stone. There are 8 courses of stone
in the side walls, which project one over the other, so giving the gallery
a contraction to half the breadth at the top. At the end of the Great
Gallery is an ascending step into a Vestibule (o) , beyond which is
The King's Chamber (p), the principal apartment of the pyramid,
34 ft, 6 in. long, 17 ft. 2in. broad, and 19 ft. 1 in. high. The floor is


176 ROUTE 11.  THE PYRAMIDS. [Sect. II.
141 ft. from the base of the pyramid, and its position is not exactly
under the apex, but a little southward and eastward of the vertical
line. The roof is flat, and formed of simple blocks of granite, resting
on the side-walls, which are built of the same materials ; and so truly
and beautifully are these blocks fitted together that the edge of a
penknife could not be inserted between them. At the upper end,
placed N. and S., is the sarcophagus (q), of red granite like the blocks.
It is without a lid, and totally devoid of hieroglyphs or any ornamental
carving. The measurements given of it by different authors are
various. Taking those of Mr. Petrie, we find the outside length to be
89-6 in. ; the outside width 38-5 in. ; the inside length 78-06 in. ; the
inside width 26-8 in. ; the outer height 41-3 in. ; the inner depth
34-4 in. On being struck, it emits a very fine sound, as of a deep-
toned bell ; but the foolishness of travellers, in endeavouring to verify
this assertion, has seriously injured it. It is a bad example, too, for
the Arabs, who want no encouragement to the wanton destruction of
relics of antiquity. In the side walls of the King's Chamber are small
holes or tubes, similar to those already mentioned in the Queen's
Chamber, the use of which perplexed every one until Colonel Howard
Vyse believed he had ascertained their real use, as tubes to conduct air
into the interior of the pyramid. They have been traced to their ter
mination on the outer faces. One is on the N., and the other on the
S. side of the chamber, about 3 ft. from the floor.
Over the King's Chamber is another room (r), or rather entresol,
which, like those above it, was evidently intended to protect the roof
of that chamber from the pressure of the mass of masonry above. The
ascent to it was by means of small holes cut into the wall at the S.E.
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 3 ft. 6 in.
high ; and the floor, which is the upper side of the stones forming the
roof of the chamber below, is very uneven. Its roof also consists of
granite blocks flat, like those of the King's Chamber, and serves as the
floor of another entresol (s) ; above which are three other similar low
rooms (t, u, v), the uppermost of which has a pent-roof, made of blocks
placed against each other, like those of the Queen's Chamber, and over
the entrance of the pyramid.
On the stones in the 3 uppermost chambers were found some hiero
glyphs, painted in red ochre, presenting, besides the quarry
marks of the workmen, the cartouche of King Khufu (Kheops).
In the chamber below the upper one is another royal car
touche, a variation of the first, but which by some has been
taken to be that of another king, Khnem-Khufu, and an
argument drawn that the two were brothers, and shared
i ^^ • the throne, and that the so-called Queen's Chamber was
V J for one, aud the King's Chamber for the other. The name
is found in both forms in an adjacent tomb.
It may seem remarkable that, while the roofs of these chambers are
smooth and even, the floors are left rough, the inequalities of the stones
in some places being of several feet ; but this only shows that they
were not intended 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, in
which were probably placed struts for the support of the great sloped


Sect. II.] ROUTE 11.— THE PYRAMIDS. 177
roof-beams while being placed in position. These chambers are seldom
visited, the ascent without a ladder being extremely difficult ; nor is
there anything to make it Worth the ordinary traveller's while. He
will probably have had quite enough scrambling and crawling by the
. time he reaches the King's Chamber, and may think the sight of that
a sufficient reward for his exertions.
[Care should be taken on coming out, if it is evening, or the wind is cool, to have
some warm covering to put on.]

The Second Pyramid. (IV. Dijn.)
History. — Herodotus writes thus of this pyramid, which stands
about 500 ft. to the S.W. of the Great Pyramid ; —
" Cheops, having reigned 50 years, died, and was succeeded by his brother
Chephren, who followed the example of his predecessor. Among other monu
ments he also built a pyramid, but much less in size than that of Cheops. I
measured them both. It has neither underground chambers, nor any canal
flowing into it from the Nile, like the other, where the tomb of its founder is
placed in an island surrounded by water. The lowest tier of this pyramid is
of Ethiopian stone of various colours (granite). It is 40 ft. smaller than its
neighbour. Both are built on the same hill, which is about 100 ft. high."
Diodorus has the following : ' ' On the death of this king, his brother Chephren
succeeded to the throne, and reigned ^56 years. Some say he was his son, by
name Chabryes, and not his brother. All, however, agree that on his acces
sion, wishing to emulate his predecessor, he built the Second Pyramid,
similar to the other in its 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 upwards
of 1600 talents. The smaller one has no inscription, but on one side steps are
cut to ascend it."
The Chephren of Herodotus is the Khafra of the monuments (see p. [87]),
his name having been found on a casing stone of this pyramid, and it
also occurs in many tombs in the neighbourhood. The magnificent statue
of him, found with eight other smaller ones by Mariette Pasha in the granite
and alabaster temple near the Sphinx, proves the high state of civilisation at
which the Egyptians had already arrived.
Exterior. — The size of this pyramid is not much inferior to that of
the Great Pyramid, and the fact of its standing on higher ground gives
it the appearance, when seen from certain positions, of greater height.
The following are the dimensions given by Petrie : —
Length of side  706 ft. 3 in.
Original height . 472 ft.
Area  55,419 sq. yds.
The number of granite blocks lying about prove the correctness of
Herodotus's assertion that the lowest tier was of "variegated Ethiopic
stone" on the outside. The remainder was built, unlike the Great
Pyramid, partly of the nummulite rock from the neighbourhood, and
partly of stone from the other side of the river ; but the stones have
been less carefully selected, and the spaces in some parts of the interior
appear to have been filled in with rubble. Like the Great Pyramid,
this one also formerly presented a smooth and polished surface. Some


178 ROUTE 11.— THE PYRAMIDS. l_beCli. J.1.
of the casing, indeed, still remains for about 130 or 150 ft. from the top.
Except for the purpose of examining this casing, there is no object in
mounting to the summit, and the ascent is rather difficult, not to say
dangerous, as the casing projects considerably beyond and overhangs
the part below. In the smooth part there are holes cut to serve _
as steps. Interior. — This pyramid has two entrances, one at about the same
relative height as that of the Great Pyramid, and the other in the
pavement at the base. Both descend at the same angle for over 100 ft.
At this point they are closed by a granite portcullis. The lower one
then becomes horizontal, and passes over an excavated chamber
34 ft. 3 in. long, 10 ft. 3 in. broad, and about 8 ft. high. Soon after it
begins to ascend, and joins the upper passage, which beyond the passage
also becomes horizontal, and proceeding on ends in a chamber
46 ft. 6 in. long, 16 ft. 4 in. broad, and 22 ft. high, called after the
name of its rediscoverer, Belzoni's Chamber. He reopened this
pyramid in 1816. In the chamber is a sarcophagus of red granite
formerly sunk in the floor, rather larger than that in the Great Pyramid,
and like it, without sculpture or hieroglyphs. It contained, when
found by Belzoni, the hones of an ox. From an Arabic inscription in
this chamber, it appeared that the pyramid had been already opened
either by Sultan Ali Muhammad or Sultan El- Aziz Othman, translators
differing in their versions.
An area sunk in the rock runs round its northern and western face,
parallel with the pyramid, distant from it on the N. 200 ft., and on the
W. 100 ft. The object of thus cutting away the rock was to level the
ground for the base of the pyramid, the hill in this part having a slight
fall towards the E. and S., which is very evident from the N.W. corner
of the scarped rock being of great height, 32 ft. 6 in., and gradually
decreasing to its southern and eastern extremities. In the level surface
below this corner the rock has been cut into squares, measuring about
9 ft. each way, similar to those at Tehna near Minia ; 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 con
struction of the pyramid. On the face of the rock on the W. and N.
sides are two hieroglyphic inscriptions. One contains the name of
Ramses II., and of an individual who held the office of superintendent
of certain functionaries supposed to be attached to the king, and
officiating at Heliopolis.
About 270 ft. to the E. of this pyramid are the ruins of a building
which was the temple dedicated to King Khafra, here worshipped in
front of his tomb as a, god.

The Third Pyramid. (IV. Dyn.)
History.— The story of this pyramid is variously told : —
"After Chephren," says Herodotus, " Mykerinos, the son of Cheops,
according to the statement of the priests, ascended the throne. He also
built a pyramid, much less than his father's, being 20 ft. smaller. It is
square : each of its sides is 3 plethra long, and it is made half-way up of
Ethiopian (granite) stone. There are some Greeks," he says, "who ascribe
it to the courtesan Rhodopis, but they are in error, and do not appeal- to know


Sect. II.] ROUTE 11.— THE PYRAMIDS. 179
who she was, or surely they would not have attributed to her the building of
a pyramid, which must have cost thousands and thousands of talents. Besides,
Rliodopis did. not live in the time of Mykerinos, but of Amasis, many years
after the kings who built these monuments. "
The account of Diodorus is somewhat similar: "After them (Chembis
and Chephren) came Mykerinos, or, as some call him, Mekherinos, the son
of the founder of the Great Pyramid. He built the third, but died before
its completion. Each side was made 3 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 N. side is inscribed the name of
its founder, Mykerinos. Some think it was erected as a tomb for Rhodopis by
certain monarchs who had loved her."
Strabo repeats, with variations, the fable rejected by Herodotus:, "At
some distance, on a more elevated 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 bard and difficult to work,
rendered - its construction more expensive. It is said to be the tomb of a
courtesan, built by her lovers, whom Sappho the poetess calls Doricha, the
friend of her brother Charaxos, at the time that he traded in wine to Naukratis.
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 Memphis,
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, the king sent to every part of the
country to inquire for its pwner, and, having found her at Naukratis, he made
her his'queen, and buried her at her death in this sepulchre."
Pliny says, " The third pyramid is less than the other two, but much more
elegant, being of Ethiopian stone, and measures 363 ft. between the corners."
Manetho, according to Eusebius and Africanus, says that it was built by a
queen, Nitokris, who is probably a figment of his imagination : he confused
Rhodopis with the Herodotean queen Nitokris. The question as to who was
the founder of this pyramid is considered to have been settled by the discovery,-
by Col H. Vyse, of a wooden mummy-case, now in the British Museum, with
the cartouche of King Men-kau-Ra, the Menkheres of Manetho. Dr. Borchardt
is of opinion that the pyramid was added to under the XXVI. Dynasty.
Exterior. — The dimensions of this pyramid are much less than
those of the two others. Petrie gives them as follows : —
Length of side . ... 346 ft. 2 in.
Height . . . .215 ft.
This casing of granite, mentioned by all writers, still covers it to a
height of 36 ft. 9 in. on the W. side, and 25 ft. 10 in. on the N. Prom
the colour of the granite, this pyramid has been called by Arab writers
the Red. Pyramid. The stones have never been finally dressed down
except round the door ; elsewhere they have the rough excess still left
as quarried. This pyramid shows the mode, already explained, of constructing
these monuments (not perceived in either of the other two), in almost
perpendicular degrees or1 stories, to which a sloping face has been
afterwards added. At the Pyramids, as in other Egyptian buildings,1
the stones were put up rough and frequently smoothed off to a level
surface afterwards.
Interior. — With the exception of a statement by Edrisi, writing in.
N 2


180 ROUTE ll.— THE PYRAMIDS. [Sect. 11,
a.d. 1250, to the effect that " the Red Pyramid has been opened a few-
years before," no tradition existed of any attempt to open this pyramid,
nor was there any sign of an entrance. One or two unsuccessful
efforts to force an opening were made at the beginning of the century,
but they only resulted in making a hole in the N. face and throwing
down numerous stones, which encumbered the spot where the real
entrance was. The right entrance was successfully discovered by
Caviglia, and the operations begun by him were concluded by Col.
H. Vyse, who found that, like the others, this pyramid had been
already opened and rifled. The entrance, as usual, is on the N. side,
about 13 ft. from the base. Thence a passage descends at an angle of
26° 2'. It is 104 ft. long, 28 ft. of which are lined with granite. At the
end is a vestibule with sculptured panels, beyond which are granite
portcullises. A horizontal passage now leads to a chamber 46 ft. long
and 12 ft. broad, nearly under the apex of the pyramid. Here was
found the mummy-case already mentioned with the name of Men-kau-
Ra. In the floor is a depression, perhaps meant for a sarcophagus, but
no signs of one were found, except some fragments of granite. From
this chamber another passage, entered from the floor, descends into a
second sepulchral chamber lined with granite, in which was found a
basalt sarcophagus, without inscriptions, but sculptured with panellings.
Its broken lid was found in the inclined passage, and also a body, now
in the British Museum. The sarcophagus was got out. and sent to
England, but the vessel carrying it foundered at sea, off Algeciras.
There is another chamber again below this, in which are niches, meant
probably for funerary stones. Returning to the chamber first reached,
another passage is seen near the top of the N. side, which leads upwards
towards the exterior, but ends abruptly after about 50 ft. It is con
jectured that this was the entrance-passage to the original pyramid ;
but that, when the pyramid was enlarged, this entrance was blocked
up by the added masonry, and the new entrance and passage made
probably from within, outwards. The site on which this pyramid
stands has been made level by raising on the eastern side a substructure
10 ft. in height, composed of two tiers of immense blocks.
As in the case of the Second Pyramid, a ruined temple (v) stands
about 40 ft. from the E. face of this one, intended for the worship of
the deified royal occupant of the tomb. Prom it leads, a part of the
causeway (l) for bringing stones to the Third Pyramid. Enclosing
this group of monuments, and the three small pyramids mentioned
below, is an enclosure (w) about 1200 ft. 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 ;
these formed the galleries for the masons' barracks.
Other Small Pyramids.— To the E. of the Great Pyramid are three
small ones (IV. Dyn.), built in degrees or stages. The centre one (d)
is stated by Herodotus to have been erected by the daughter of Kheops,
of whom he relates a ridiculous story, only surpassed in improbability
by another he tells of the daughter of Rhampsinitus. It is 122 ft.
square, which is less than the measurement given by the historian of
1J plethrum, or about 150 ft. ; but this difference may be accounted
for by its ruined condition. Prom an inscription preserved at Giza, it
is probable that the third or most southerly, is the tomb of Hentsen,


Sect. II.] ROUTE 11. — THE PYRAMIDS. 181
another daughter of Khufu. All these have descending passages
leading to a subterranean chamber, but nothing has ever been found
in any of them.
Three somewhat smaller pyramids (t) again, stand to the S. of the
Third Pyramid. They also each have a passage leading to a chamber ;
and in the centre one is the name of the king Men-kau-Ra, painted on
a stone in the roof of its chamber, the same that occurs on the wooden
coffin of the Third Pyramid. The roof is fiat, 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 hieroglyphs or sculpture of any kind. The lid had
•been forced open before it was found by Col. Vyse, and is remarkable
for the ingenious contrivance by which it was fastened. It was made
to slide into a groove, like the sliding lids of our boxes, and its upper
rim (which projected on all sides to a level with the four outer faces
of the sarcophagus) was furnished with a small movable pin that fell
from the under part of it into a corresponding hole, and thus prevented
the lid being drawn back. The sarcophagi in the large pyramids were
similarly fastened.
Of the remaining two pyramids, one has not been finished ; but in
the sepulchral chamber of the other a sarcophagus was found con
taining bones, said to be those of a female. There are indications of
the existence of other pyramidal structures in different parts of the
Necropolis. The Sphinx.
About a quarter of a mile to the S.E. of the Great Pyramid is the
Sphinx, the most remarkable object, next to the Pyramids, existing on
the Giza platform.
History. — No mention is made of the Sphinx by any author or traveller
before the Roman period ; a fact which, as will be seen, goes to prove the fallacy
of attempting to argue the non-existence of ancient monuments, at the time
any account of the country was written, from the circumstance of no mention of
such monument being made in that history ; just as, e.g. , some people have
asserted that the Pyramids could not have been built when Abraham or the
Israelites were in Egypt, because no mention of them is made in the Bible.
Negative testimony is of little value in such cases. Pliny gives a long account
of the Sphinx, and says that they supposed it in his time to be the tomb of
Amasis of the XXVI. Dynasty. Till quite recently most Egyptologists were
inclined to recognise in it the work either of Thothmes IV. of the XVIII.
Dynasty, or of Khafra the builder of the Second Pyramid, and Mariette Pasha
thought it might be of even greater antiquity than the Pyramids. In the
museum at Giza is a stone found by him in a ruined building of the XXI.
Dynasty at the foot of the southernmost of the three small pyramids close to
the Great Pyramid. It appears to have formed part of a wall. Among the
inscriptions with which it is covered are the following, thus rendered by Mariette
Pasha: "The living Horus, the  the king of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Khufu, during his lifetime, has cleaned out the Temple of Isis, ruler of the
Pyramid, which is situated at the spot where is the Sphinx, on the N.E. side of
the Temple of Osiris, Lord of Rostau. He has built his Pyramid where the
temple of this goddess is, and he has also built the Pyramid of the Princess
Hentsen where this temple is. The living Horus, the  the king of Upper
and Lower Egypt, Khufu, during his lifetime, has paid this honour to his mother
Jsi§i th? divine jnother tlathQr having ordered him to Ji,ave it graven 911 a.


Missing Page


Missing Page


184 ROUTE 11.  THE PYRAMIDS. [Sect. II.
mutilated by a fanatical sh^kh in the 14th cent., and that since then
the sand had made great encroachments. Certainly in Abd el-Latif's
time it appears not to have been disfigured, as he speaks of the face as
"very beautiful," and of the mouth as "graceful and lovely, and as it
were, smiling graciously " ; and adds that the red colour^vas quite
bright and fresh. By the Arabs of the present day it is known as
Abu'l-luil (" the Father of Terror "). The historian El-Murtadi tells the
story of the " Woman of the Pyramids," a ghostly form with a wonder
ful and weird smile, that bewitched all men who beheld her, and led
them after her into the desert, where they perished miserably. This
tale is no doubt founded on that of the Sphinx and Rhodopis.
Capt. Morse Sherar speaks of the Sphinx in a rather depreciatory
tone, which may find an echo in the minds of many others who see it
for the first time. He writes : " The Sphinx disappointed us : it does
generally, I should think : drawings and prints deceive wonderfully ;
it has neither the size, the majesty, nor the sweetness with which it is
usually represented."
The Temple of the Sphinx (incorrectly so-called). — A short distance

*CALE OF ¦ l ' ¦ , ¦ j~ V fEET
TEMPLE OF THE SPHINX.

to the S.E. of the Sphinx is the building (/) already mentioned as
having yielded the statue of Khafra now in the Giza Museum. The
statue, with eight other smaller ones, was found at the bottom of a
well, down which, at some unknown epoch, they had been thrown. The
building itself, which is absolutely unadorned by reliefs or inscriptions
of any kind, is lined with immense blocks of red granite from Aswan,
and in places with equally magnificent blocks of alabaster. It consists
of a descending passage (d), leading to an open area, divided into three
aisles by simple square columns and lintels (a). At the E. end is a
kind of transept (b) and a short passage leading to a second but
narrower transept (e), where was the well— now filled up— in which
the statues of Khafra were found. Some cynocephali in hard green
stone, the remains of which are lying in the sand, were also here • two
smaller chambers terminated the ends. Observe here the enormous
size of some of the granite blocks : one measures upwards of 18 ft in
length and is 7 ft. in height, the end being so cut as to turn the
corner and add to the stability of the building. Coming back to the
aisled hall, we enter a chainber at the S.W, corner of the inner traji-


Sect. II.] ROUTE 11.  THE PYRAMIDS. 185
sept (c), and observe the six niches, constructed in two storeys, of
large blocks of alabaster. Another .chamber opens from the sloping
passage. This singular building was probably not constructed by
Khafra ; but no hieroglyphs have been found in any part of it to solve
the difficulties which it suggests. Very possibly it is a work of the
XII. Dynasty, like the Sphinx. This temple seems to be connected
with the temple of the Second Pyramid by a causeway cut in the
rock, about a quarter of a mile in length. The upper temple is also
constructed of massive blocks of granite and alabaster, but is in a more
ruinous state than the so-called temple of the Sphinx.
Tombs. — -The pyramid platform of Giza was one of the cemeteries of
Memphis, and, as such, abounds in tombs belonging to various epochs ;
but the greater number, and those to which the greatest interest
attaches, belong to the Old Empire, i.e. the period extending from the
I. to the XI. Dynasties. For an account of the mode of construc
tion and arrangement usual in the building of the Egyptian tombs,
see [p. 160]. They consist generally of three parts : (1) an exterior temple
or chapel, containing one or more chambers, always accessible by means
of doors opening at will ; (2) a vertical shaft leading from one of these
chambers, or from some concealed corner of the chapel to (3) a sepulchral
chamber, in which was buried the mummy ; the lower part of the
shaft and the whole of the sepulchral chamber being cut out of the
solid rook. Sometimes the exterior temple was a constructed monu
ment on the plain ; sometimes it was hollowed out of the side of the
hill. Specimens of both kinds occur at the Pyramids.
Under the Old Empire the usual form of the exterior temple was
pyramidal. "They have," says Mariette, "the form of a mastaba, a
sort of truncated pyramid, covering like a massive lid the well, at the
bottom of which reposes the mummy." The entrance is nearly always
on the E. side. Two or three good examples of a mastaba are seen to
the E. of the Great Pyramid.
In the eastern face of the platform (a) are tombs containing
sculpture, and the names of Khufu (Cheops) and other ancient kings.
One of them (I), a little below the line of the rocks, and nearly in a
line with the S.E. angle of the Great Pyramid, near the village of Kafr,
has been called
The Tomb of Numbers, from its containing a curious specimen of
the Egyptian numbers, from units to thousands, prefixed to goats,
cattle, and asses, which are brought before the scribes to be registered
as part of the possessions of the deceased. The tomb belonged to
Khafra-ankh, a "friend" and "relation" of the king, and Herneka,
his wife, who appears to have been a priestess of Neith as well as a royal
relative. Khafra-ankh was a priest of the Pyramid of Khafra. The
representations and hieroglyphs are very much obliterated.
There are several tombs in the perpendicular face of the lower rock
behind the Sphinx, and among them is a tomb called
Campbell's Tomb (XXVI. Dyn.), after the Consul-general in
Egypt at the time of its discovery by Col. H. Vyse. The upper part of
it is completely gone, but it offers a good example of the well or pit
which forms the second part of a tomb. It is cut in the rock to a depth
of 53 ft. 6 in. Four coffins were found in niches — one of which is irj
|]}e gritish Museum — but; fjhe bodies had been abstracted,


186 ROUTE 11.  THE PYRAMIDS. [Sect. II.
In the high rook between this and the Great Pyramid are several ,
pits where sarcophagi were found ; and in one of them was discovered a
gold ring bearing the name of a priest of Khufu in later days. In a
tomb to the S.E. of the Great Pyramid occurs a cartouche bearing the
name of Sneferu of the IV. Dynasty.
To the S.E. of the Second Pyramid are somo tombs (m, n), with
the cartouches of Khafra and Men-kau-Ra ; and there are some other
smaller ones with sculptures and hieroglyphs. In the scarp of the
rock to the W. of the same pyramid are a dozen tombs (p), in one of
which (the sixth from the S.) the ceiling is remarkable, the stone being
cut in imitation of palm-stems, reaching from wall to wall. Other
instances of this occur in Upper Egypt, which shows that the house's
of the Egyptians (when the arch was not preferred) were sometimes so
roofed, as at the present day. This tomb is the third from the line of the
S.W. angle of the pyramid, going northwards along the face of the rock.
To the W. of the Great Pyramid are a number of tombs which, like
those to the E. of the Great Pyramid, afford good examples of the
constructed external covering, or mastaba. Some of them are of con
siderable size, though no great height, and they are all built with their
sides inclining inwards towards the top at an angle of 77°, thus pro
ducing the appearance of a truncated pyramid as mentioned above.
The mouth of the shaft may be noticed in nearly all.
About 200 metres S. of the cliff-quarries south of the Sphinx, Mr.
Covington excavated in 1902 a large brick mastaba of the First
Dynasty, with crenelated walls like those of the tomb of Aha at
Nakada (p. 377).
The Causeways. — Herodotus, as we have seen, speaks of the great
labour involved in bringing the finer part of the stone of which the
Pyramids were constructed from the Arabian hills on the other side of
the river, and says that it took 10 years to make the causeway along
which the blocks for the Great Pyramid were transported. This
causeway he describes as 5 stadia (3000 ft.) long, 10 orgyes (60 ft.) wide,
and 8 orgyes (48 ft.) high. Remains of it still exist (Z); but it can
only be traced for about 1400 ft., the rest being buried in the alluvial
soil gradually deposited by the inundations. It was repaired by the
Khalifs and Mameluke kings, who made use of the same causeway to
carryback to the "Arabian shore" those blocks that had before cost
so much time and labour to transport from its mountains ; and several
of the finest buildings in Cairo were constructed with Its stones.
The causeway used for the construction of the Second Pyramid
appears to have been the one already alluded to on p. 185.
The causeway which leads to the Third Pyramid is certainly of
Egyptian and not Arab workmanship. Remains of it still exist.
There are also traces on the plain of another causeway leading to a
quarry, in which is an opening (i) in the centre for the passage of
persons travelling by the edge of the desert during high Nile. A short
distance to the N. of this causeway are a well with some palms, and a
big syoomore-fig tree (X). For those who wish to stay in the neighbour
hood of the Pyramids this spot affords a very good camping-ground.
[About io m. due W. of the Pyramids is a hill of reddish miocene formation,
which looks from a distance like a pyramid. All round it are large quantities
of petrified wood, some of the trees being of large size. It can be reached Qti
donkeys in about two and a half hours from the Great Pyramid


Sect. IL] -EOUTE 11.  THE PYRAMIDS. 187
Between the Pyramids of Giza and that of AbCi Roash (below) excavations
have been carried on of late years for Germany by Messrs. Borchardt and
SteindoriT, and for America by Messrs. Reisner and Mace.]
The Pyramid of Abu Roash.— Few will care to extend the excursion to
Abu Roash, about 5 m. to the N. of the Giza platform ; though, if encamped at
the latter place, a walk or ride to the pyramid of Abu Roash might be combined
with a search for a hyena in the " Red Mountain " in its vicinity, where this
animal is sometimes found by the Arabs.
About one-third of the way are seen inland to the rt. two stone bridges of
several arches, with inscriptions showing that they were built by the Sultans
Nasir Mohammed and El-Ashraf respectively, and the dates of their erection
and repair. A little farther on, on the edge of the desert, are the remains of
an old village, now a heap of pottery and bricks.
The pyramid stands on a range of hills that skirt the desert behind the
village of Kerdasa, and forms the southern side of a large valley, a branch of
the Wadi Faragh (p. 253). From the decomposed condition of the stone, it
has the appearance of greater age than the Pyramids of Giza. Only 5 or 6
courses of the stone remain, and it contains, nothing but an underground
chamber, to which a broad inclined passage, 160 ft. long, descends at an angle
of 220 35' on tlie N. side. According to the measurements given by Col. H.
Vyse, the base of the pyramid was 320 ft. square, and the chamber 40 ft., by
15 ft.", with smaller apartments over it, as in the Great Pyramid of Giza. It is
the burial-place of Radadf, a king of the IV. Dyn., the ' Patoises ' of Manetho.
Near the pyramid to the westward is another stone ruin ; and a causeway
30 ft. broad leads up to the height on which they both stand, from the north
ward ; the length of which is said by Col. Howard Vyse to be 4950 ft. A
great quantity of granite is scattered around the pyramid, mostly broken into
small fragments, with which 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
Pyramids of Giza, it commands them, and has the advantage of showing them
in an interesting position, with those of Abusir, Sakkara, and Dashur in the
distance. This view is also remarkable from its explaining the expression
"peninsula, on which the Pyramids stand," used to denote the isolated
position of the hill. It is the same that Pliny applies to the isolated rocky
district about Syene.
At the eastern extremity of the hills of Abu Roash arc some massive crude
brick walls, and the ruins of an ancient village, with a few uninteresting tombs
in the rock ; and in the sandy plain to _the S. of them is the tomb of the sh6kh
who has given his name, Abu Roash, to the ruined pyramid.
3. The Site of Memphis, the Pyramids and Tombs of
Sakkara, and the Pyramids of Abusir.
[This excursion will occupy the entire day. It may he made in several different
ways. The usual one is to take the daily train from Cairo (Central Stat.) to
Bedrashen at 7.0 or 9.30 A.M., reaching that place at 8.7 or 10.35. Thence on donkeys
to Sakkara, a ride of an hour to an hour and a half. Good ones may he procured at
Bedrashen. (P.T.10 there and hack; more will he demanded, but should not he
given, except as bakhshish.) The remains at Memphis should be taken on the way to
Sakkara. This will lengthen the ride a little, and leave about 3 to 5 hrs. to he spent
at '(SaJjk&ra, from which place a start should be made about 3 o'clock back to
Bedrashen, to catch the 4.45 train from Upper Egyyt, due in Cairo about 6 p.m.,
though often much later. There is a later train from Bedrash6n at 8.58, reaching
Cairo at 10.
¦ Another good way is to combine the expedition with that to Turra and Helwan
(see p. 159). Leave Cairo (Bab el-Luk Stat.) in the morning, going by train to Turra.
Examine the quarries ati Turra and Ma'sara, going on to Helwan. Dine and sleep
at one of the Helwan hotels, and cross the N"ile the following morning at Sakkara,


188 EOUTE 11.  THE PYBAMIDS. [Sect. II.
returning by the afternoon train from Bedrashen. Or this route may be reversed,
Sakkara being visited the first day and Ma'sara and Turra the second-
Another plan is to' combine Sakkara with the Pyramids of Abusir and J^iza.
Leave Cairo for Bedrashen by the 7.0 A.M. train ; v,sit the remains of Memphis
Sakkara, the Pyramids of Abusir, the Mastaba of Ptah-Shepses, ride to the Mena
House Hotel, sleep the night there, and see the Pyramids of GmaMiA the Sphinx
next day. Or the trip may be reversed, by driving out from Cairo, seeing the
Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx; sleep at Mena House; ride from there next
morning to the Abusir and Sakkara Pyramids, and on to Bedrashen for the 4.45 train
° Travellers going up the Nile may prefer to make the excursion from their
dahabiya, stopping for that purpose at Bedrashen either on the way uf .or down
the river. Or, on their way down the river they may leave their dahabiya, and,
taking tents, see the pyramid plateau more thoroughly than it is otherwise possible
to do (see p. 201). For a large party, the pleasantest way to make the expedition
from Cairo is to hire a steamer (about £6 for the day), and go to and from Bedrashen
5yThe later in the spring the excursion is made the more will there be to see of
the remains of Memphis, as the water of the inundation, which covers most of what
there is in the winter, will have subsided. From the middle of March to the middle
of April the cultivated land along the edge of the desert in the neighbourhood of
of Sakkara swarms with quail. .
Candles and matches, and some magnesium wire, for lighting up the ApiB
Mausoleum, should be taken ; and provisions will be required for luncheon.]
Starting from the Cairo Central Stat, the Nile is crossed by the Ely.
bridge, and Embaba is passed 1. The line then sweeps round S. and,
passing 6J m., Bulak ed-Dakrur Stat., reaches
8 m., Giza Stat, (see p. 142). From Giza to Bedrashen the Rly.
runs through an almost continuous forest of palm-trees. On reaching
19J m., Bedrashen Stat., the traveller mounts his donkey, and,
skirting the village, which is composed of the usual mud hovels, and
contains nothing of interest, rides along a winding embankment till the
palm-groves are reached, in- and around which lie the mounds of
Mitrahina, so called from the village which is situated a little farther
on. These mounds mark a part of the site of ancient Memphis.
During the inundation another route has to be followed, which turns
to the rt. immediately after leaving the railway, and goes direct to
Sakkara. Memphis.
History. — Memphis, a Greek corruption of the hieroglyphic name
"Men-nefer," i.e. the " Pair Haven," was, according to Herodotus's
account of the story told him by the priests, founded by Menes, the first
recorded king of Egypt. It is probable that the Menes who founded
Memphis was not King Aha, but one of his successors, Merbap or
Merpeba, who is given as the first king of Egypt in a Memphite king-
list, preserved in the tomb of Tunur at Sakkara. Herodotus says that
" Menes," by turning the Nile from its old course under the Libyan
hills into a more eastern channel, made a large tract of dry land,
on which he built the city. At the point where the river was
turned off, he constructed a great dike to prevent it from returning
into its old channel and overwhelming Memphis. Linant-Bey thinks
that the modern Dike of Koshesh is the one which Menes caused to be
made. Herodotus says that the Persians kept up the dike with great
care ; and at Kafr-el-Ayyat, 14 m. above Mitrahina, the Nile takes a
considerable curve to the eastward, an4 would, if the previous direction


Sect. Il] aotJTfi il. — *Hfi ^bAmid^. 189
of its course continued, run immediately below the Libyan mountains
to Sakkara; and tbe slight difference between this distance and the
approximate measurement of Herodotus, who places the dike at 100
stadia above Memphis, otters no objection. Indeed, if we calculate
from tbe outside of the town, which the historian doubtless did, we
shall find that the bend of Kafr-el-Ayyat agrees exactly with his 100
stadia, or about lljm.. Mitrahina being some way within the city of
Memphis. Though the remains of Memphis lie chiefly about Mitrahina, it is evident
that the city extended considerably beyond the present mounds, which appear
to have belonged to the enclosures about the temple and other sacred edifices,
as well as to the ' ' palaces " that were situated, as Strabo says, on an elevated
spot reaching down to the lower part of the town ; and there is reason to
believe that it extended from near the river at Bedrashen to Sakkara, which
only allows a breadth E. and W. of 3 m. Diodorus calculates its circuit at
150 stades, upwards of 17 Eng. m. , requiring a diameter of nearly 6 m. ; and
its greatest diameter was probably N. and S. But the whole of this space was
not covered by houses or public buildings ; much was given up to gardens,
villas, and "sacred groves" ; and the great Akherusian lake, "surrounded,"
according to Diodorus, " by meadows and canals," occupied a large portion of
it. This lake was probably in the lowlands to the N. E. of Sakkara, with a
canal communicating with the large reservoir constructed for the service of the
Temple of Ptah, in the open space to the N. of the colossus, between Mitrahina
and the long eastern mounds,' in the mud of which several statues have been
discovered. On the river side of these mounds is the site of what is called the
Nilometer. Memphis had probably already suffered somewhat from the Persians when
Herodotus saw it, but the account he has left of some of the principal buildings
shows that it must have been the largest and most magnificent city in Egypt at
the time of his visit.
Among those which he mentions are the Temple of Ptah or Hephaistos,
said to have been founded by Menes, and enlarged and beautified by succeeding
monarchs. Amen-em-hat III. {XI 1. Dyn.) erected the northern vestibule;
and Ramses II. {XIX, Dyn.), besides the two colossal statues, one of which
is still to be seen, made considerable additions with enormous blocks of stone
which "he employed his prisoners of war to drag to the temple." Mer-en-
Ptah, his son, also enriched it with suitable presents, which he sent on the
recovery of his sight, as he did to all the principal temples of Egypt. The
western vestibule, or pylon, was the work of Ramses III. {XX. Dyn.), who
also erected two statues, 25 cubits in height, one on the N., the other on the
S. ; 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
propykea, and excelled as well in the beauty of its sculpture as in its dimen
sions. It was built by Shishak {XXII. Dyn.). Several grand additions were
afterwards made by Psammetichus, who, besides the southern vestibule, erected
a large hypasthral court covered with sculpture, where Apis was kept when
exhibited in public. It was surrounded by a peristyle of Osiride figures, 12 cubits
in height, which served instead of columns — similar, no doubt, to those in the
Memnonium at Thebes. Many other kings adorned this magnificent temple of
Ptah with sculpture and various gifts, among which may be mentioned the
statue of Sethos, in commemoration of his victory over the Assyrians, holding
in his hand a mouse with this inscription, "Whoever sees me, let him be
pious." Amasis, who dedicated a recumbent colossus, 75 ft. long, in this
temple, which is the more singular as there is no instance of an Egyptian
statue, of early time, in that position {it had probably never been set up) ; and
the same king built a magnificent temple to the goddess Isis.
The temenos, or sacred grove, was very beautiful and richly ornamented,


190 ROUTE 11. — THE PYRAMIDS. [Sect. II.
Some Phoenicians of Tyre, settlers at Memphis, lived round it, and in con
sequence the whole neighbourhood received the name of the Tyrian camp.
Within the temenos was the temple called "of the strange Aphrodite."
Four hundred years after Herodotus, Diodorus expatiates on the size and
magnificence of Memphis, which, however, had already become second in
importance to Alexandria. And Strabo, a few years before the Christian era,
says: "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." The temples, however, seem still to have
been kept up in the former style of magnificence. They suffered, no doubt, in
the reign of Theodosius from the zeal which he displayed against idolatry and
its shrines. But Memphis still continued to enjoy some consequence, even at
the time of the Arab invasion ; and though its ancient palace was a ruin, the
governor of Egypt, the Mukaukas, still resided in the city ; and it was here
that he concluded a treaty with the invaders after they had succeeded 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 Fustat, and the
capital of Lower Egypt in a few years ceased to exist. The blocks of stone
from its ruined monuments were afterwards taken to help in building the new
City of Cairo ; and yet notwithstanding this wholesale spoliation we find Abd
el-Latif at the end of the 12th cent, asserting that "the ruins of Memphis
occupy a space half a day's journey every way "; and that " they still offer to
the eyes of the spectator a collection of marvels which strike the mind with
wonder, and which the most eloquent man might in vain attempt to describe."
Abu'lfeda, 150 years later, speaks of the ruins as still occupying a large extent,
but gradually disappearing. From this time hardly any mention is made of
them ; and the waters of the inundation, long ago unrestrained by the pro
tecting dikes, covered the plain with a gradually increasing layer of mud
deposit, beneath which every trace of such ruins as were left completely dis
appeared. It was not till the beginning of the present century that researches
were made which resulted in discovering some traces of the ancient city.
Remains. — Some statues, a few fragments of granite, and some
substructions are all that can now be seen of the first capital of the
ancient Egyptian Empire. The chief objects of interest are the two
fallen Colossal Statues of Ramses II. (ATA*. Dyn.). The first one
reached by the traveller is of granite, and in order to see the face it is
necessary to climb on to the breast of the figure. A little farther on,
and within an enclosure (Pee P.T.4, for those without Monuments'
ticket), lies the companion statue, which can be inspected from a raised
platform. When uninjured it was about 42 ft. in height. It was
discovered by Signor Gaviglia and Mr. Sloane, by whom it was given to
the British Museum ; but no attempt has ever been made to take it
to England. The stone is a white siliceous limestone, very hard,
and capable of taking a high polish. Erom the neck of the
king is suspended the Menat necklace, an amulet or breastplate, in
which is the royal prenomen, supported by Ptah on one side, and
Sekhemet on the other. In the centre, and at the side of his girdle,
are his name and prenomen, and in his hand he holds a scroll,
hearing at one end his name, Amen-meri-Ramessu, " Ramses, beloved
of Amen." 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. The left shoulder has been destroyed, and the upper part of the
statue is somewhat worn away, but the under part still retains its
polish. The expression of the face, which is perfectly preserved is very





Fold out





Sect. 11.} ROUTE 11.— THE J-YKAMIDS. 191
beautiful; the features are distinctly Semitic in type. Probably these
are the statues mentioned by both Herodotus and Diodorus as standing
in front of the Temple of Ptah, and erected by Sesostris after his
victories over the Eastern tribes.
A little farther on there are some other remains of statues; and at
the guardian's house close by may be seen a few things which have
been dug up at various times ; among them are some statues in the
sitting attitudes of the modern Egyptians, with crossed legs, or knees
up to the chin. S. of the colossus are the remains of the great Temple
of Ptah: Excavations lately carried out here have brought to light
several important monuments. Two colossal figures representing the
god, swathed in mummy wrappings and holding in each hand a sceptre ;
some 'isolated figures which appear to have been arranged in a court or
chamber; several fragmentary colossi of Ramses II., and a large granite
boat, similar to the one in Turin. In the open space to the N. are
some remains only visible at low Nile. This open space, which is still
a depression filled with more or less water according to the time of
year, was formerly probably a reservoir in front of the temple, supplied
with water by a canal from the lake before mentioned, situated near
Sakkara. On the borders of this pond M. Mariette discovered a small
temple of Ramses II. Sakkara.
[Crossing the western line of mounds, with the village of Mitrahina on the rt. ,
we enter the fertile plain that reaches to the edge of the desert. The path generally
followed in the winter and spring turns to the rt., till it reaches a high embankment
at a point where the latter crosses a canal by means of an old Arab bridge.' This
embankment leads up to the S. corner of the rocky promontory on which are the
Pyramids and Tombs.]
Site of the Necropolis. — Immediately on the 1., before reaching the
desert, is the probable site of the lake dug by Menes for regulating the
supply of water to Memphis and the surrounding country. Except at
low Nile there is always plenty of water in it, and it sometimes abounds
in ducks. In summer a road-may be followed straight across the plain
from Mitrahina to the village of Sakkara, passing through it and along
the edge of the pond on to the platform. Outside the village to the N.,
before reaching the pond, is the grove in which those who encamp at
Sakkara have been advised to pitch their tents.
The Necropolis to which the neighbouring village of Sakkara gives
its name is the oldest, as well as the most modern, of the cemeteries
of Memphis. It is also the largest, being nearly 4J m. long (N. to S.),
and having a- breadth varying from J m. to nearly 1 m. (E. to W.).
Like the Necropolis of Giza, that of Sakkara belongs more especially to
the Old Empire. In the centre, forming as it were the nucleus of this
vast ensemble, rises the Step-Pyramid.-
To the N. of this pyramid are the tombs of the Old Empire, which
have yielded up so many of the interesting objects in the museum at
Cairo, and are themselves magnificent witnesses to the civilisation of
that remote period ; those of. Thi, Ptah-hetep, Sabu, and some others
are the most remarkable. To the S. of. the pyramid are tombs of the
XVIII.-XX. Dynasties. Among them, in the tomb of a certain Tunur,
was found -the list of kings called The Tablet of Sakkdra. To the E.,
in going from the pyramid to the cultivated land, there occurs first a


192 ROUT'S ll — THE PYRAMIDS. [Sect. II,
belt of tdhibs 6f the Old Empire, then one of the XXVI. and followihg
Dynasties, and then a third, which may be called the Greek cemetery.
Among these last tombs were found many of the Greek papyri that
have enriched the different European museums.
On the western side of the old tombs to the N. of the pyramid are
the remains of the Serapeum, and, at the beginning of the XXVI.
Dynasty, a way was cut through the tombs for an avenue of sphinxes
leading to the Serapeum, and to the underground vaults known as the
Apis Mausoleum. Prom the ruins of the Serapeum came many of the
statuettes of the different divinities in the Cairo Museum.
Pyramids. — There are several pyramids on the Sakkara plateau.
The southernmost of these usually visited is the Pyramid of Unas
(V. Dyn.). Though the exterior is in a very ruinous condition, the
interior is exceedingly well preserved. The entrance passage opens out
into a chamber from each side of which open other chambers. The
long lines of well-cut hieroglyphs are coloured a delicate blue-green,
like those in the ruined Pyramid of Pepi I. (p. 203), though, unlike
those, they are not in sunk relief, but merely incised. In the chamber
to the rt. is the huge basalt sarcophagus. The walls immediately
surrounding it are of alabaster, covered with painted decorations in
simple patterns.
A little farther on, as the visitor approaches from Mitrahina, is the
largest of the Sakkara pyramids, curiously built in stages or degrees,
and hence called the Step-Pyramid. The date of this monument has
not yet been accurately determined, but it is probably the oldest
pyramid in Egypt. It is believed to be the tomb of King Tjeser
(III. Dyn.). The degrees are five in number, diminishing in height
and breadth towards the top. The present height from the base is
about 197 ft. Contrary to the usual rule in pyramidal buildings, the
base is not a perfect square ; the measurements, according to Col. H.
Vyse, being 351 ft. 2 in. on the N. and S. faces, and 393 ft. 11 in. on
the E. and W., and the pyramid also differs from others in not facing
the cardinal points. It is surrounded by. what may be called a sacred
enclosure, about 1750 ft. by 950 ft. Inside, the construction is peculiar.
Immediately under the centre is an excavation in the rock 77 ft. in
depth and 24 ft. square; the top of this is dome-shaped, and was
originally lined with wooden rafters ; the bottom is paved with blocks
of granite, and beneath is a rude chamber, the opening to which was
concealed by a granite block four tons in weight. The pyramid
contains a labyrinth of passages, conducting to different apartments.
The sides of two of these chambers had been lined with bluish-green
faience tiles. It is now known that such pottery was commonly made
under the earliest dynasties, so that there is no doubt that these date
from the time of Tjeser. In one of these chambers was found a human
w Jit* ™6 fh , °i Ul°teet> rlGhly Silded> which were ultimately
retund?ntme°£ofthtLl!ab^se0eS °£ **** ^ "* ^^
Tombs.-The most interesting tombs in the Sakkara Necropolis
are those belonging to the Old Empire on the N. side of the large
pyramid. The general arrangement of these tombs has been already


Sect. II.] ROUTE 11.— THE PYEAMIDS. 193
described (see p. [161]), but it may be shortly repeated here, that they
consisted of three parts : (1) an exterior building, containing one or
more chambers; (2) a vertical pit; and (3) the vault, generally exca-
vatedat right angles to the pit, in which was placed the sarcophagus
containing the body. The outer covering was usually in the form of
what has been called a mastaba, better illustrations of which may be
seen at the Pyramids than here (see p. 185); but nowhere better than
at Sakkara do specimens exist of the interior arrangement.
[Leaving the Step-Pyramid to the S. and proceeding towards Mariette's House,
there is a fine view, and on a clear day the minarets of the Mohammed Ali Mosque
in Cairo are visible ; so also are the three Giza Pyramids. Visitors are allowed to
make use of the covered terrace in front of Mariette's House without charge, but it
is customary to give P.T.2-3 to the watchmen in charge of it. The Apis Mausoleum
and adjacent tombs may not be visited without a guide. Antiquities ticket needed.
The tombs which are opened for tourists to see, that is to say, which have not had
their entrances sanded up, are in the charge of a keeper— ghafir— who has the keys
of the doors. A donkey-boy will fetch him. No bakhshish should be given to the
ghafir, who is paid by the Antiquities Department, nor should the dragoman be
repaid any money which he says he has given as bakhshish.]
The Tomb of Mereruka. — To the N. of the Pyramid of Teta, M. de
Morgan discovered in 1893 two large mastabas of equal importance
with that of Thi. The most southerly, the Mastaba of Mereruka or
Mera, was also the tomb of his wife, Her-uat-Khert, and his son, Teta-
Meri. Of the thirty-two chambers it contains, twenty-one belong to
Mereruka (M on plan), six belong to Her-uat-Khert (H on plan), and
five to Teta-Meri (T on plan). The best way to see the whole tomb is
to visit the chambers consecutively as they are numbered on the plan,
as it will involve the least retracing of footsteps.
The scenes are many of them similar to those in the Tomb of Thi.
The pictures and objects most worthy of notice are : in chamber 1,
fowling, fishing, and hippopotamus hunting scenes ; 2, a mummy shaft;
5, among the various handicraftsmen the goldsmiths are noteworthy :
one has made one of the pretty head fillets so often seen on figures of
this period ; 6, E. wall, dancers ; 8, N. wall, wine-making and fruit-
storing. The large stela in chamber 9, N. wall, takes the form of a
doorway, forming a deep recess in which is placed a statue of the
deceased. In most tombs this false doorway is left empty. The steps
and table for offerings in front of the statue are of alabaster. On the
wall to the left of the statue are hyenas and other animals ; mounte
banks and acrobats ; Mereruka in a carrying-chair ; dwarfs ; S. wall,
fishing scenes ; 10-14, chambers of the son, Teta-Meri ; 10, hunting
scenes, E. wall, some geese ; 12, stela, and attendants ; 13, garlands ;
14 was the serdab. Chambers 15-23 were storerooms ; 23 was for
spices ; 24 has a large stela on the W. wall, and pictures of Mereruka's
servants and retainers ; 25, S. wall, procession of women representing
the possessions of the deceased ; W. wall, fattening geese : behind this
wall is the serdab ; 29 has a stela with Mereruka in a carrying-chair
with attendants. Among Mereruka's titles inscribed round the recess in
chamber 9 are some priestly ones, and the princely ones of Erpa and
Ha. Here we learn also that he was a Suten rekh, i.e. "King's
relation." The Tomb of Kagemna or Gemnikai (erroneously called " Kabin "
on the label displayed over the entrance). — If possible, the relief carving
in the Tomb of Mereruka is surpassed by the delicacy of work in the


194 ROUTE 11. — THE PYRAMIDS. [Sect. II.
Mastaba of Kagemna, which is just to the S. of that of Mereruka.
The scenes throughout are very much the same as those in the fore
going tombs. On the facade, 1. hand, is a spirited scene of men fishing,
showing water-plants with insects. The servants on the E. wall of
the first chamber carry baskets of fish, &c, of which the details are
exquisitely carved. Opposite is a charming picture of a garden showing
a variety of plants; to the rt., figures carrying two kinds of flowers.

D h
— -i39
H
H
DC1
M
H
?
H
28 L
H26
1 ?
n
PLAN OP THE TOMB OF MEKEBDKA.
This tomb has lately been published by Baron von Bissing, with photo
graphs taken by Mr. Weigall.
1899 by ^0™"^ ^^ °f Tombs (VL ^»-), discovered in
The Tomb of Thi (K Dyn.), a little N. of Mariette's House, is an
excellent specimen of an Old Empire tomb. The mastaba is now
surrounded with sand but the chambers within are in a wonderfully
good state of preservation; and the sculptures en the walls far surpass,
if not m variety, at any rate in drawing and preservation those at


Sect. II]

ROUTE 11.— THE PYRAMIDS".

195

Beni Hasan. That they have preserved their colour and delicacy of
outline is owing, no doubt, to their having been so long buried in the
sand. In descending the sandy incline into the chambers, it must be
remembered that formerly the surrounding plain was on a level with
their floor, and not as now with the top of their walls. On the two
^^^5?^— '^';'^?.^

K

3lH§
14 7 8 9

G
Li 1 *
ra F _1
PLAN OP THE TOMB OF THI.
large pillars which formed part of the entrance facade are the names
and titles of the owner of the tomb a priest, named Thi, who lived at
Memphis under the V.' Dynasty. He was a man of humble origin,
but attained to high office under Nefer-ari-ka-Ba, Ne-user-Ba, arid
Kaka, kings whose names will be found on the walls. He married
Nefer-hetep-s, a member of the royal family ; and his sons, Thi and
Tamut, are 'termed relatives of the king. That the pictures of- Thi
o 2


1% EOUTE 11. — THE PYRAMIDS. [Sect. II.
throughout the tomb are portraits is evident from the distinct likeness
thev bear to his statue now in the Museum at Giza.
On the two pillars (restored) of the outer court A are the names and
titles of Thi. To the rt. and 1. of the entrance (1 and 2) to the next
court are representations of Thi. On the 1., E. wall (3), gifts are being
offered. Off this court is the largest but most defaced chamber of the
tomb (B) Its modern roof is supported by much-restored pillars, but
before this was erected the paintings suffered much from exposure. At
4 on N wall is the usual scene of sacrificing the bull. Behind this
wall is a serdab (C). The scenes of fattening geese and feeding cranes
on the W. wall (5) are traceable. Farther on (6) are pictures of a
variety of birds, and beyond is a house with roof supported by elegant
wooden columns. In the centre of the court is the square shaft (D),
leading to the sepulchral chamber. As, contrary to the usual custom,
the shaft is not vertical, it may be descended. The passage leads
underneath the mastaba to chamber K, where the unmscribed lime
stone sarcophagus of Thi rests in a recess which it completely
Leaving the court, admission is gained through a locked door to
corridor E, on the walls of which are represented servants of the house
bringing offerings of all kinds for the anniversary ceremonies: some
carry fruit, vegetables, vases full of sweet oil, and perfumes ; others
lead oxen to the sacrifice, as depicted in the outer court. The stela in
the niche to the rt. is dedicated to the wife of Thi, Nefer-hetep-s.
Farther on, in the same passage, some men are seen drawing statues
of Thi enclosed in little shrines of wood ; half a dozen drag with cords,
while one pours water on the earth to render the passage easier. The
hieroglyphs tell us that one statue is of ebony, and another of thorn-
acacia wood. Off the corridor to the rt. is a chamber (F) with scenes
representing bakers and potters engaged in their trades. A piece of the
sycamore wood to which the original door was once attached remains
on the 1. door post of the entrance to this chamber.
Beturning to the corridor G, on the E. wall are seen boats with
large sails and others of a lighter build. The passengers are going to
Sakkara to visit the tomb of the deceased, they being his servants.
The'captain of one boat squats on the top of a kind of awning and
directs the three helmsmen, while a man at the bow sounds with a
long pole.
At the end of the passage is the principal chamber (H), covered
with bas-reliefs no less remarkable for their profusion than for the
finish with which the different designs are executed. To describe all
would be impossible : it will be sufficient to indicate some of the most
worthy of notice. On the wall to the rt. on entering (7), Thi is
depicted fowling in the marshes. He is standing upright in a light
boat, holding decoy birds in one hand, and with the other he is hurling
a curved stick, which knocks down and stuns the flying birds. Innum
erable wild-fowl of every kind fill the air. In the water beneath the
boat hippopotami and crocodiles are seen. Two of them are fighting,
and the hippopotamus is evidently the victor. Some of the servants
are trying to catch them, and a hippopotamus is just being hooked with
a sort of harpoon. Above the door are agricultural and fishing scenes.
Along the wall in the lowest register, from the door to the W. wall, is a
procession of women representing the possessions of the deceased.


Sect. II.] EOUTE 11.  THE PYEAMIDS. 197
The hieroglyphs in front of each figure give the name of Thi and the
place that the woman represents.
The cattle scenes above (8) are most realistic. One man is milking
a cow, while another "holds fast the young calf by the knees," as the
overseer leaning on his staff directs. Above this are fishing and bird-
snaring scenes. The two stelce (9 and 10) on the W. wall give the
titles of Thi. We learn that, besides holding a high sacerdotal office at
the pyramids of Abusir, Thi was a " companion of the king, pleasing
the heart of his lord, privy counsellor, president of the palace gate, a
secret counsellor of the king in all his royal assemblies and for the
execution of the commands of the king, and a superintendeut of all the
royal works and the royal department of writing." In front of the
stela at 10 is a slab for offerings. Statues of Thi and Nefer-hetep-s
once stood against this wall ; that of Thi is now in the Museum at
Cairo. On the S. wall Thi is represented three times. Near the centre
of the wall (11) is a scene of criminals being dragged before the judges,
who are writing. In the lowest register beneath this scene are repre
sentations of geese, cranes, and pigeons. To the 1. (12) are seen artisans
at work. In the carpentering scenes the tools are interesting. Others
are working as masons, sculptors, leather- workers. Behind this wall,
in a serdab, broken statuettes of Thi were found.
The E. wall shows harvesting and ship-building scenes. The latter
(13), where not mutilated, are extremely interesting, giving much detail,
so that we are able to follow the whole process of the construction.
The picture of Thi in the centre of the wall is much mutilated. To
the 1. (14) we see a succession of scenes representing the reaping and
storing of corn, and lastly, the filling of sacks with the sifted grain by
women. The roof of this chamber should be noticed. It has been carefully
worked to represent palm-stems.
The Tomb of Ptah-hetep (V. Dyn.), which lies to the S. of the
Apis Mausoleum, is also interesting, and should be visited. It consists
of one chamber only, the walls of which are covered with similar scenes
to those already described, but offering some very interesting and
curious peculiarities. The sculptures referring to the presenting of gifts
are especially noticeable. Ptah-hetep, who held offices under User-ka-f ,
Men-kau-hor and Assa, is seated, and before him passes a regular
procession of servants bringing offerings. At their head march priests
chanting sacred hymns, while other servants heap up on a table the
destined votive oblations.
The Tomb of Seshem-nefer (VI. Dyn.), near the pyramid of Unas,
has a remarkable vaulted roof and good reliefs.
Later Tombs. The Tomb of Tunur has already been mentioned :
close to the Pyramid of Unas are some tombs of the Persian epoch, with
very deep wells, in which spiral iron staircases have been placed, so
that the visitor can descend to the chambers, which are decorated with
inscriptions after the model of those in the royal pyramids of the V. and
VI. Dynasties and containing similar texts. This is an example of
the careful archaism of the time. There are countless unimportant
graves of the late period at Sakkara : many of these burial-places were
large enough to bold hundreds 'of bodies, which were laid side by side


198 ROUTE 11.  THE PYRAMIDS. [Sect. II.
on a series of shelves, without any covering except the thick bands in
which they were wrapped.
The Apis Mausoleum (XVIII. -XX. Dyns., XXII.-XXV. Dyns.,
XXVI. Dyn. to 56 B.C.). — The vast subterranean tomb which next
Claims the visitor's attention is called indiscriminately the Serapeum
or the Apis Mausoleum, but it should be noted that the latter of these
titles is the correct one. A light wrap should be taken, as it is very
warm inside the tombs.
The Serapeum, properly so called, was the exterior temple surmounting
the excavated tomb. It no longer exists ; but, to judge by such few remains
of it as have been found, it resembled in appearance the ordinary Egyptian
temple. An avenue of sphinxes led up to it, and two pylons stood before it ;
round it was the usual enclosure. It was distinguished from all other temples
by having in one of its chambers an opening, from which descended an inclined
passage into the rock below, giving access to the vaults in which reposed the
mummied representatives of the god Apis. Living, the sacred bull was
worshipped in a magnificent temple at Memphis, and lodged in a palace
adjoining — the Apieum : dead, he was buried in excavated vaults at Sakkara,
and worshipped in a temple built over them — the Serapeum.
The discovery of the site of the Serapeum and the Apis Mausoleum was
made by M. Mariette in 1860-61. Having observed the head of a sphinx
appearing through the sand, and finding on clearing the spot that the statue
was entire, the passage of Strabo occurred to him in which that writer says :
' ' There is also a Serapeum 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 passage, taken in connection with
the finding of the Sphinx, M. Mariette did not hesitate to conclude that he
was on the track of the Serapeum, and he immediately set to work to verify his
idea. In two months he had cleared out an avenue 600 ft. long, and laid bare
141 sphinxes, besides the pedestals of many others. At first the depth of sand
had only been 10 or 12 ft, but before the end was reached a depth of 70 ft.
had to be cut through. At the end of this avenue was found a semicircle of
statues representing the most famous philosophers and writers of Greece, some
with the name inscribed at the bottom of the statue. Between the last two
sphinxes and this semicircle ran a cross avenue, leading on the 1. to a temple
built by Amyrtaeos, and on the rt. to the Serapeum. This right-hand part of
the cHoss-avenue was bordered on each side by a low broad wall. On the
right-hand wall were curious statues representing children astride various real
and symbolical emblems. On the left-hand wall was a small temple in the
Greek style, and two Egyptian temples, in one of which was a stone statue of
the bull Apis. At the end of the avenue was one propylon of the Serapeum,
with two crouching lions on pedestals immediately in front of it: These lions
are now at the Louvre. On the rt. hand of the entrance, towards the N., was
the entrance of an older vault, now fallen in. Here a human mummy was found,
which proved to be that of Kha-em-uas, the favourite son of Ramses II. He
appears to have been Governor of Memphis, and to have died before his father.
In later times he was revered as having been a great magician. The golden
ornaments found in his coffin are now in the Louvre.
In November, 1861, the entrance to the huge vaults, in which were buried
the dead representatives of Apis, was discovered. But the approaches to the
Serapeum, and such remains as there were of the Serapeum itself, have long
since been re-covered by the sand.
The Mausoleum is divided into three distinct parts. The first and
most ancient served as the burial-place of the sacred bulls from Amen
hetep III, of the XVIH, Dynasty to the end of the XX, Dynasty, la


Sect. II.] ROUTE 11. — THE PYRAMIDS. 199
this part each tomb is a separate sepulchral chamber, hewn here and
there out of the rocky platform of the temple. They were of no
particular interest, and are again hidden by the sand. The second
part comprised the tombs of Apis from the time of Shashank I. of
the XXII. Dynasty to that of Taharka, last king of the XXV. Dynasty.
In this part a new system has been adopted, and a long subterranean
gallery excavated beneath the temple, on each side of which are
mortuary chambers for the dead bulls. This also is inaccessible, the
roof having fallen in, and the whole being in an insecure state.
The third part is that which the visitor now sees. See Plan on map
of Sakkara). It was the place of interment from the reign of Psamme
tichus I. of the XXVI. Dynasty (cir. 650 B.C.) till the time of the later
Ptolemies (circa 50 B.C.). The same system is here followed as in the
second part, only on a much larger and more magnificent scale, the gal
leries having an extent of nearly 400 yds., and granite sarcophagi having
been employed for the interment. The entrance is closed by a door,
the key of which is kept by the chief watchman who has the charge of
the tombs, &c, at Sakkara, and who lives at the house close by. Each
person should carry a candle and look well before him, in order to avoid
falling into the openings in which are the sarcophagi. Immediately on
entering is a chamber containing niches in its bare limestone walls
where formerly were placed votive tablets and offerings, most of which
are now in the Louvre. Leaving this, turn to the rt., then to the 1.,
and then again to the 1., till a gallery is reached more than 210 yds.
long. On both sides, but never opposite to one another, are deep
recesses, each containing a huge sarcophagus of granite, measuring on
an average 13 ft. in length by 7 ft. 6 in. in breadth, and 11 ft. in height.
In one of the recesses (a) are steps for the purpose of descending and
examining the sarcophagus, which is sculptured : the curious can also
climb by a ladder into the interior, and satisfy themselves that it
would hold four or fiye persons sitting. In nearly every instance the
lid of the sarcophagus has been partly pushed away, so as to give
access to the mummies, of which none have been found. The number
of sarcophagi in situ is 24. Of these only three bear any inscription,
and they contain the names of Amasis, Cambyses, and Khabbash, and
belong therefore to the several periods just preceding, contemporaneous
with, and subsequent to, the Persian conquest. A fourth sarcophagus
with some blank cartouches is supposed to be of Ptolemaic date.
The historical importance of the discovery of the Apis Mausoleum
was very great, though it does not consist in anything which, can now
be seen. When first opened the walls of the vaults were covered with stelce
or inscribed tablets, placed there by individuals who on certain annual
festivals, or on the occasion of the death and burial of an Apis, came to
perform an act of worship at his temple and tomb. ' In memory of this
pious act, it was the custom to fit into one of the walls of the tomb a
square-shaped stone, rounded at the top, on which were recorded the
names of the visitor and his family, and very often the precise date of
the current year of the reigning king. A comparison of these stelce has
been of the greatest assistance in fixing the chronology of the period to
which they belong. About 500 of these ex^votos were found in their
original position, principally near the entrance to the tombs on the rt.
All those of any importance which were legible have been removed and
are in the Louvre or the Cairo Museum, but some are still in the wall.


200 ROUTE 11.  THE PYRAMIDS. [Sect. II.
Excavations are now proceeding at Sakkara, under the direction of Mr. J.
E. Quibell, Chief Inspector of Antiquities for this district They have resulted
in the discovery of interesting late remains.
The Pyramids of Abusir.
[If the excursion is to be extended to the Giza Pyramids, the traveller will next
ride in a N.N.E. direction to the Pyramids of Abusir.)
The Pyramids of Abusir (V. Dyn.).— This group of pyramids lies
about 2 hrs. from the Giza Pyramids and § hr. from Sakkara. Only
five of the fourteen pyramids that originally stood on the rocky
eminence can still be seen, for having been carelessly built they
have been unable to stand the effects of time. The largest (of Nefer-
ari-ka-Ba) measured originally, according to Col. Vyse, 359 ft. 9 in.
square, and 227 ft. 10 in. high, now reduced to 325 ft. and 164 ft.
The northernmost one is that of Sahu-Ba, (V. Dyn.) ; it is surrounded
by an enclosure 137 paces square, the pyramid itself being about 213 ft.
square, or 216 according to Col. Vyse, having been originally 257 ft. ;
and its height of 162 ft. 9 in. is now reduced to 118 ft. A causeway
may still be traced connecting this pyramid with the plain, where
there was probably a temple. There is another causeway leading to
the central pyramid (of Ne-user-Ba) at the side of which lie fragments
of black stone that once paved it. The summit of this pyramid may
be attained by a winding path which goes up it. The sepulchral
chambers of the pyramids have been constructed with great care, and
have blocks in the roof larger than any in the Pyramids of Giza ; there-
being some from 35 ft. to 50 ft. long and 12 ft. thick. There are
inscriptions in the central pyramid of the group stating that "the
dwelling of Ne-user-Ba stands fast." Thi, whose tomb has just been
described, was a priest of this pyramid.
E. of the Pyramid of Ne-user-Ba are the ruins of his Pyramid-
Temple, excavated by Drs. Borchardt and Schafer. The plan is easily
recognisable, with the walls, column-bases, &c. The fine black stone
slabs used will be noticed, also a remarkable channel for carrying off
the blood of the sacrifices.
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 17 ft. in length, but it appears to be unfinished.
The Village of Abusir, from which these pyramids are named, is
1 m. farther S., and about 7 m. distant from the Giza platform. It has
the mounds of an ancient town ; but though it may have succeeded to
the name, it can hardly occupy the site of the ancient village of
Busms, which must have stood much nearer the Giza Pyramids ; for
we read in Pliny that the inhabitants of Busiris used to climb the
pyramids for the amusement of visitors, as the Pyramid Arabs do now.
This is not the only instance of the Arab form of the Egyptian word,
Abusir, for example, being the modern name of Busiris in the Delta.
The Mastaba of Ptah-Shepses (V. Dyn.), discovered by M. de
Morgan m 1893, may be visited by those who ride past the Abusir
Pyramids on their way from Sakkara to Giza. It lies a short distance
to the N.E. of the Abusir Pyramids. From it came the two fine


Sect. II.] ROUTE 11.  THE PYEAMIDS. 201
lotiform pillar-capitals in the Cairo Museum (p. 128). Though much
destroyed, some of the colouring is still very bright, and the work in
low relief is good. On the rt.-hand wall of the outer court is the
cartouche of Assa. Sahura and Ne-user-Ba are also commemorated.
In the first chamber to the 1. are two stelce and tables of offerings.
In the second chamber to the rt. are pictures of primitive dahabiyas,
each having one window in the centre of the side. At one window is
seen a man drinking from a kulla, and out of another a man empties a
vessel into the river.
If, instead of descending to the plain, the traveller keeps on the
desert plateau, a ride of about J hr. in a ¦ northerly direction will bring
him to the conspicuous ruins of the "pyramid" of Righa or Abu
Gurab, which was in reality a sanctuary of the Sun-god, erected by
King Ne-user-Ba An of the V. Dynasty. It was excavated by Messrs.
Borchardt and Schafer in 1898-1901 at the cost of Baron H. vonBissing.
At the W. end of the temenos is a platform (fine view) which was once
crowned by an obelisk, emblem of the sun. In front of the platform is
a remarkable Altar, made of six huge blocks of alabaster. At the E.
end are nine Basins of alabaster, the receptacles for the blood of the
victims, who were slaughtered at this end of the court. On the S. side
is an extraordinary brick structure of elliptical shape, which seems to
have been a gigantic Boat of the Sun : a model of the bark in which
the sun-god traversed the heavens. This very remarkable monument
of the early ages of Egyptian history and religious development should
be inspected by all who are interested in Egyptian antiquities.
N. is the ruined Pyramid of Zaioiyet el-'Arydn, and beyond this, not
far from the hamlet of Nezlet Batrdn, M. Daressy excavated in 1904
the remains of a brick funerary building of the First Dynasty, in which
was discovered the name of King Tja.
Descending to the plain, the road to Giza, which skirts the edge of
the desert, affords a constant succession of beautiful points of view
across the rich plain to the Nile, ever changing in hue and outline
at different periods of the day. At the end of March the ground is
covered in places with a beautiful little purple iris ; and there are other
small plants in flower at that time. The Pyramids of Giza are in full
view from Abusir northwards, and look very imposing from this point.
4. The Pyramids of Dahshur.
[The Pyramids of Dahshiir may easily be visited in a day from Cairo, detraining,
as for Sakkara, at Bedrashen. Lunch may be eaten either at de Morgan's house or
at the Mastabat el-Fara'tln. But the most satisfactory and least fatiguing way to
see thoroughly all of interest on the great pyramid plateau is toispend a week in
tents, moving from one group to another. It may be remarked that this kind of
camping need not be "roughing it" in any sense, and may be, if anything, more
comfortable than dahabiya life. The cost for 4 or 5 people would probably amount
to between £1 10s. to £2 per day for each.
The following is the best way to arrange the trip. Send the camp on, the day
before, by train to Bedrashen. The dragoman will arrange all this, and also see
that there are camels to take it to the first camping-ground the morning of
arrival at Bedrashen. Donkeys will be secured for the party for the whole time of
camping ; but camels need only be sent for when the camp moves. The first camp
should be made at Dahshur. Cold luncheon should be taken for this first day, as the
camels move slowly, and unless sent off in the very early morning the tents will not
be pitched in time for the cook to prepare anything. The desert affords little hold
for the tent-pegs, so it is advisable to camp on the edge of the cultivated land below


202 EOUTE 11.  THE PYRAMIDS. [Sect. II.
the plateau, on the edge of which stands the house used by M. de Morgan during
the excavations at Dahshur. J
The remains of Memphis (p. 188), 1$ m. W. of Bedrashen, may be
visited on the way. The ride to Dahshur, 6 m. S., is very pretty.
Near the desert the ground is frequently covered with the small
purple iris, and the path winds among fields of lupins in bloom,
crops of corn, or sweet-smelling beanfields. On ascending the plateau
near to M. do Morgan's house the scattered group of pyramids is
seen. The nearest pyramid, now a ruin, since it was only built of
mud-bricks, and cased with stone, is that where the first great find
of jewelry was made. The large pyramid in the distance is built
of stone, and rivals the great pyramid of Giza in size. To the S. lies
another ruined brick Pyramid, where M. de Morgan found another
treasure of jewellery; and still further S. is the " Blunted "' Stone
Pyramid. Some distance from this, S. and W., is a small pyramid of
99 ft., which is the last on the plateau. To the N. may be seen the
Mastabat el-Fara'fm, which lies on the route to Sakkara.
The N. ruined Brick Pyramid (XII. Dyn.) should be first visited.
Probably owing to a legend that it was the pyramid of King Asychis
mentioned by Herodotus, many efforts have been made to, effect an
entrance, and its easily destroyed structure has been so much excavated
by treasure-seekers that little semblance of a pyramid remains. It is
only 90 ft. high. It was left for M. de Morgan, by careful calculations,
to discover the passages, chambers, and sarcophagi. The beautiful
jewellery of the princesses Sit-hathor and Sent-Senbets (XII. Dyn.),
now in the Cairo Museum (p. 132), was found buried carelessly in the
earth, as if thieves had robbed the princesses' tombs, and, being dis
covered in the act, had hastily hidden their booty in the sand. To get
to the chambers visitors are lowered by ropes down a shaft of about
30 ft., where is the entrance to the passages. These are all of lime
stone, well worked, but entirely undecorated, except that in places the
roof is made to resemble palm rafters. There are several sarcophagi,
but only the beautiful red granite one of Queen Nefert-hent bears any
inscription. One chamber, containing a sarcophagus, probably intended
for the king (Usertsen III.), is entirely of red granite painted white.
Bound about this pyramid thore were many mastabas, but only the
lie of the ground and an occasional piece of inscribed limestone testify
to the fact.
It is less than J hr.'s ride S.W. across the stony desert to the
great Stone Pyramid. As the stone is now extremely friable the
scramble up to the entrance is rather difficult, and since there is
nothing to be seen but a sloping passage leading down to the centre of
the pyramid, it is not necessary to make the ascent. It measures,
according to Col. H. Vyse, 700 ft. square, having been originally nearly
720 ft., only 40 less than the Great Pyramid; but its height was only
342 ft. 7 in., of which 326 ft. remain. It has 3 subterranean chambers,
one beyond another. It seems to have been built for King Sneferu
(III. Dynasty), who had another pyramid at Medtini.
The S. Brick Pyramid (of Amen-em-hat III.), like the N. one, is
in a ruinous condition, but is still an imposing pile, especially when
seen from a distance. The entrance on the N. side, tunnelled by
M. de Morgan after much calculation, is usually closed. After tra-


Sect. II. ] ROUTE 11.  THE PYEAMIDS. 203
versing this false passage for a considerable distance the real pyramid
passages and chambers are entered. Of these there are many, entirely
undecorated, and some of them low and narrow. It was at this
pyramid that, in the season 1894-95, M. de Morgan discovered the
hitherto unrifled burial place of two royal ladies of the XII. Dynasty.
The mummies were intact, and adorned with most beautiful jewelry,
which is now in the Cairo Museum (p. 132). Close by was also
discovered the tomb of Auabra Her, an ephemeral monarch of the
XII. Dynasty (perhaps a son of Amen-em-hat III., who was associated
with him but predeceased him). In it was found the beautiful wooden
statue of the youthful sovereign, also now in the Cairo Museum (p. 129).
The Southernmost Stone Pyramid, or the "Blunted Pyramid,"
presents the peculiarity of being built at two different angles, the lower
part at 54° 14' 46", the upper at 42° '59' 26" ; it' consequently presents
the appearance of a pointed pyramid resting on a truncated one. Its
height is 321 ft., and its base is 619 ft. The greater part of the original
casing is still in situ. This pyramid was opened as early as 1660 by an
English traveller named Melton.
Between the two brick pyramids are the ruins of the pyramid of
Amen-em-hat II. (XII. Dyn.) ; the inclined white limestone blocks of
the tomb-chamber roof just show above the sand.
5. From Dahshur to Sakkara and Giza (Camping Expedition).
Having seen the Dahshur group of pyramids the camp should be
moved on to the edge of the cultivated land near Sakkara. The ride
over the desert leads past the Mastabat el-Fara'un, an oblong tomb
with walls sloping inwards. With this commences the Sakkara group.
The casing has entirely disappeared. The interior arrangement much
resembles that of a pyramid, consisting of a sloping passage from the
entrance, which is on the N., a horizontal passage, with three slides for
portcullises and chambers. On the backs of some of the blocks, which
are of enormous size, are quarry marks with the name of Unas (V. Dyn.).
It was long thought that here was the tomb of that king, but the
discovery of the Pyramid of Unas farther N. (see p. 192) leaves the
question of the ownership of the Mastabat el-Fara'un doubtful. This
monument, which presents a very imposing appearance, probably
belongs to the Middle Empire.
Near this tomb is the Pyramid of Pepi II. built of small blocks of
limestone. It was called Mer-Ankh. In construction it is similar to
those of Pepi I. and Unas. The hieroglyphs are smaller, and its
texts are mainly similar to the partly religious and partly ritual texts
of the other pyramids. The walls have been much destroyed by
treasure-seekers, but. the granite sarcophagus and its lid pushed to one
side remain in good condition.
The Pyramid of Pepi I. dies a little farther N., about half-way
between the Mastabat el-Fara'iin and the Pyramid of Unas. It was
called Men-nefer. It. has been broken into from the top, and the
central chamber, which has a pent roof, is somewhat difficult of access.
But the beauty of the pale blue-green hieroglyphs makes the pyramid
worth a visit. It is of the same type as that of Unas (p. 192). Unfor
tunately it has been much destroyed and the chambers filled with


Sect. III.] EOUTE 12. — CAIRO TO EASTERN D1SEET. 205

SECTION III.
THE DESERT EAST OP THE NILE AND THE
PENINSULA OP SINAI.
Route PAGE
12. Caibo to the Convents op St. Antony and St. Paul in
the Eastern Deseet, by Beni Suep .... 205
13. The Valley op the Nile (Kena, Kupt, &c.) to the Bed
Sea (Kuseb), &c. ..... .208
14. The Egyptian Coast op the Bed Sea . . . 211
15. Caibo to Gaza (Syeia), by the " Shobt Deseet" . 214
16. Caibo to Mount Sinai  217

ROUTE 12.
Cairo to the Convents of St. Antony and St. Paul
in the Eastern Desert, by Beni Suef.
[This journey is not likely to be undertaken by the ordinary traveller, nor does it
present any great points of interest save to the geologist and the student of
Christian antiquities. The usual Preparations must be made for a desert journey
(see p. 217), as 3 or 4 nights at any rate must be spent in the open, and no provisions
can be obtained on the road, or indeed at the convents. Several roads lead from the
Nile to the convents, and to other parts of the desert ; but the best and most
frequented is that from Der Byad, a village opposite Beni SuGf. Beni Suef (see p. 303)
can be reached by rail from Cairo (6 trains daily, in 2£ to M hrs.), the most convenient
train leaving Cairo at 8.30 a.m. and arriving at Beni Suef at 10.50 a.m. It will be
advisable to have a letter of introduction to ithe Mudir from the Minister of the
Interior in Cairo. This should be applied for through the English Consul. On
arriving at Beni Suef it is necessary to send for the Shekh of the Mazi Arabs, who
occupy that part of the eastern desert which has to be traversed, and make arrange
ments with him for supplying camels and an escort. The contract with the shekh
should be signed at the Mudiriya or Government-house. To avoid delay it is well to
write to the Mudir some little time beforehand, requesting him to send for the
shekh by a certain date. Before starting, letters of introduction to the convents
should be procured either from the subsidiary establishment at Bush, a village on
the Nile, a short distance N. of Beni Suef, where indeed the Superior of the Convent
of St. Antony often resides, or from the Patriarch in Cairo.]
For the journey from Cairo to Beni Suef (77 m.), see Bte. 21.
The journey from Der Bydd, opposite Beni Suef, to Der Mar-
Antonios will take 3 days. The best plan is to encamp the night
before the start at Der Byad, bo as to be off early the next morning.
The road to Der Mar-Antonios, after crossing the head of Wadi
Senhur, where there is water (30 m. from the Nile), and various
torrent-beds, enters the Wadi el-'Araba, a, large valley, nearly 20 m.


206 EOTJTE 12.— CAIEO TO EASTEEN DESEET. [Sect. III.'
broad, which runs E. between the ranges of the N. and S. Gallala.
This valley has received its name from the 'arabas, or carts, 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. There are several watering-places in the wadi, tbe most con
venient of which are 'at Wddi el-Arida on the N., and at Wddi Vmm-
Aineba on the S. side. Gazelles may often be seen on the road ; and
on the higher ground is found the curious Anastatica or Jericho rose.
The scenery in parts is fine, especially in the neighbourhood of a large
wadi about 2 hrs. from St. Antony.
Der Mar-Antonios, "the Monastery of St. Antony," was founded
by St. Antony of the Thebaid, the friend and companion of Mar-B61os,
or St. Paul, a hermit who founded the neighbouring monastery,
called after him Der Bolos. It claims to be the oldest convent in
Egypt, and the first in size and importance. Visitors are hauled up
35 ft. by means of a rope and windlass, this being the only means of
entrance both here and at Mar-B61os. Its lofty walls enclose an
irregular mass of building's, and a large garden abounding in vegetables,
date-palms, carobs, and other trees, which is watered by rills conducted
from a fine spring that bursts out of a cleft in the rock. According
to an Arab tradition mentioned by Makrizi, Miriam, the sister of
Moses, bathed in this spring at the time of the Exodus. The monas
tery has been destroyed and rebuilt ; but the lower part of the kasr or
tower, in which there is as usual a chapel dedicated to St. Michael,
and the church of Mar-Antonios, are probably ancient. This church is
interesting, the walls being covered with old frescoes, many of them
very curious in design. There are three other churches within the
convent, and a large 12-domed one in the garden ; but they are all of
them of comparatively recent date. Tradition records that, about 400
years, ago, the monks were all murdered by some Mussulman slaves
whom they had bought to do the menial work and nominally converted
to Christianity. After a time these slaves died off, and the convents
were left a prey to the Arabs, who destroyed everything, MSS. included.
Subsequently, about 300 years ago, they were again taken possession of
by Coptic monks.
High up in the precipitous face of the mountain, 1050 ft. above the
convent, is the Maghdra, or Cave of St. Antony, a small natural fissure
in the rock, from the ledge in front of which there is a very fine view
of the desert and the cliffs of the Northern Gallala Hills.
Der Mar-B61os is a day's journey beyond Der Antonios nearer the
Bed Sea, 30 m. by the track at the foot of the hills, or 20 by one
through them, this latter impracticable for camels. This D3r also has
been destroyed and rebuilt. In general appearance and arrangement
it much resembles Der Antonios. The sites of other convents are said
to exist in the neighbouring desert. At one, called by the Arabs Dir
Beliet, there is a well of good water,.
The Quarries of Oriental alabaster, which supplied the stone for the
mosque of Mohammed Ali at the Citadel of Cairo, are in the Wadi
Vmm-Argub, a valley running into the Wddi Modthil, which again
falls into the Wddi Senhur, to the S. of the road leading to the con
vents. There is also a gypsum quarry near the Gebel Khalil, on the


Beet. III.] ROUTE 12,— CAIEO T'6 EASTEEN DESERT1. 207
N. side of the Wddi 'Araba J and Wansleb speaks of a ruined town in
the same neighbourhood,
In this part of the desert the mountains are all limestone, like
those that border the valley of the Nile, from Cairo southwards to the
sandstone of Hagar Silsila and its vicinity. The junction of the lime
stone and sandstone in "the Mazl desert takes place at about latitude
28° 42', to the Ss of Der Bolos, and a few miles farther down begins a
range of primitive mountains, granite, porphyry, &c, which continues
parallel with the sea to Abyssinia, throwing out a branch westward,
which touches the Nile at Aswan (see p. 498). The scenery among
these mountains, as they rise to heights of 3000 to 5000 ft., sometimes
almost sheer from the sand at their feet, is very grand, and contrasts
sharply with that of the monotonous plateau desert. Water can be
got in Wadi eth-Thahal, \ a day, and Wadi Hanshiya, 2 days, from
Mar-B61os. Considerably farther S are the porphyry quarries at Gebel
ed-Dokhkhan, " the Mountain of Smoke," about the latitude of Mon-
falfit, and 27 m. from the Bed Sea, which supplied Borne with stone
for columns and many ornamental purposes ; much importance was
attached to them by the ancients, and they are interesting from their
extent of quarries, the ruins there, and the insight they give into the
mode of working the hard stone. The remains consist of an Ionic
temple, of the time of Trajan, left unfinished ; a town irregularly built
of rough stones ; tanks, and two large wells, or rather reservoirs for
collecting water during the rains of winter, one cut in the porphyry
rock ; and the ruins of buildings in various parts of the mountains.
Mr. Brindley, who visited these quarries in the spring of 1887,
found that the quarries were at a, height of about 3600 ft. above the
sea. The Bomans used to send the blocks of porphyry to the Nile, a
distance of nearly 100 miles, but Mr. Brindley proposes to bring them
by a gentle incline to a point near the mouth of the Gulf of Suez,
which is only 25 miles distant. If this road is opened up, the best way
to visit the quarries will be from the Bed Sea.
The granite quarries at Gebel el-Fatira, with the town of Fons
'Trajani, lie in nearly the same latitude as Kau (Antseopolis), on the
Nile, and about 24 m.S.E. of the porphyry mountains. The stone has
a white ground with black spots, of which some columns are still seen
in Borne. The quarries are very extensive, and many blocks were
evidently taken from them. They were principally worked in the time
of Trajan and Hadrian. The Hydreuma, or Fons Trajani, is a town
of considerable size. The houses are well built, considering the rough
ness of the materials, and outside the walls are a temple and other
buildings. In the quarries are some large columns, and round blocks
probably intended for their bases and capitals. There are several Greek
inscriptions.


208 EOUTE 13. — NILE TO THE EEC SEA. L!='ect- i-U'

ROUTE 13.
The Valley of the Nile (iKena, Kuft, &c.), to the
Red Sea (Kuser, Berenik§, &c).
' [Kail from Cairo to Kena, 3 trains daily, in 12 to 14 hours. Several roads lead
from the Nile to Kuser, and other places near it on the Red Sea, across the Arabian
or Western Desert. Formerly, as has been already described, it was the highway
of commerce between Egypt and Arabia. Now it is rarely crossed, and to the
ordinary traveller it offers no attractions. The points of interest are the inscriptions
in the Valley of Hamamat, the breccia quarries, and the gold and emerald mines.
The journey is an easy one, and will take three or four days by camel. It will be
well to get a letter of introduction from the Minister of the Interior to the Mudir
of Kena, to prevent any difficulty in hiring camels.]
For the journey from Cairo to Kena (379 m.) or Kuft (see Bte. 21).
Kena or Kuft to Kuser. — The start can be made from either Kena
or Kuft, both of which places are reached by the Nile. There are
several roads, but they all follow the same line, and constantly diverge
and rejoin one another. The two most frequented are the Darb em-
Moila and the Darb er-Busafa, both of which start from Kena, and are
joined by the road from Kuft at the Wells of Lakiita (33£ m. from
Kena, 27 m. from Kuft). At this point they diverge, the Moila road
going by the Wells of Moila (45J m.), and passing nothing worthy of
notice. The Busafa Boad is more interesting, from the ancient Boman
stations met with at intervals, and from its having been the old road
from Koptos to Philoteras-Portus. There are eight of these stations,
or Hydreumas, some of which are distant from each other only 6,
others from 8 to 12 m. ; besides the wells of Lakeita already men
tioned, which were also known to the ancients. Water could always
be obtained at these stations by means of large wells sunk within them
to a great depth, and by supplies preserved in cisterns, frequently in
the solid rock. The cisterns were spacious and covered by awnings
supported on poles, or pillars of masonry,- and were filled as occasion
required, for the use of the soldiers quartered there, as well as those
who passed ; and hence the name of " Fons," or " Hydreuma."
Near the Wells of Hamdmdt (24£ m. from Lakeita) are the Breccia
Quarries, from which so many sarcophagi, fonts, tazze, and other
ornamental objects made of this beautiful stone, were cut by the
ancients, both in Pharaonic and Boman times. The valley of the
quarries is called Wddi Fawdkhir, from the quantity of pottery (Jokhdr)
found there, but it is known to Egyptologists as the Valley of Ham
dmdt,, in which are so many interesting hieroglyphs, some of very
early date.
The principal names are those of Assa, Unas, User-ka-Ba, Pepi
Meri-Ba, Mentu-hetep and Sankh-ka-Ba, of the V., VI., and XI. Dynas
ties. In the 8th year of Sankh-ka-Ba an expedition was sent from
Koptos to Tua (Kuser), two wells being dug on the road, and from thence
to the land of Punt near the Straits of Bab el-Mandeb. There are also
inscriptions mentioning Usertsen I. and III. ; Amen-em-hat I. and II. ;
Thothmes III. ; Seti I. and II. ; Bamses IV. and VIII. • Shabaka and


Sect. III.] EOUTE 13.  NILE TO THE EED SEA.

209

the Princess Ameniritis ; Psammetichus I. and II. ; Amasis ; Cam
byses ; Darius ; Xerxes ; Artaxerxes ; Amyrtseos (?) ; and Nektanebo.
There are many hieroglyphic and Greek ex-votos. In one of the
latter the writer is said to be a native of Alabastron. Min is the deity
of the place. He was supposed to be the particular " guardian of the
roads " ; and until the. worship of Serapis was introduced by the
Greeks and Bomans, he seems to have been the principal god to whom
temples were built and prayers made in the Egyptian deserts. The
triad of this valley consisted of Min, the infant Horus, and ' ' Isis, the
beautiful Mother of the gods, queen of heaven." There are numerous
huts in this valley of the workmen who lived these, and a small temple
of Ptolemy Euergetes II..
The district was called Bohennu in hieroglyphic, the part of it in
which the quarries were situated being termed Pa-du-n-bekhan, "the
mountain of green breccia." From an inscription of Bamses IV. we
learn that in his reign as many as 8368 workmen and officials were
employed at the quarries, for whom ten wagonloads of provisions were
despatched from time to time. Among the workmen were 800 Aperiu,
once supposed to be Hebrews, but now known to have belonged to the
Bedouins E. of Egypt.
The Busafa road continues by a well called Moiyet Haggi Sdliman
(33 m.), and joins the Moila road again near El-Bitda, at a well called
Bir el-Ingliz (15 m. from Moiyet Haggi Suliman, and 29J from Moila),
from having been dug by our Indian army on its way to the Nile in
1800. The water is brackish. The next point is the springs of
El-Ambagi (5J m.), where the water is bad, and 6 m. farther brings us
to Kuser (see p. 212).
Kuft (Koptos) to Berenike. — The stations on this road are men
tioned in the ' Itinerary ' of Antoninus as follows :  . H.P.
Phcenicon, or Peniconon, from Koptos . . xxvii
Didyme .. .. .. .. .. xxiv
Aphrodito . . . . . . . . . . xx
Compasi . . . . . . . . xxii
Jovis .. .. .. .. .. .. xxxiii
Aristonis .. .. .. .. . xxv
Phalacro . , . . . . . . . . xxv
Apollon .. .. .. .. .. xxiii
Cabalsi . . . . . . . . xxvii
Csenon Hydreuma . . . . . . . . xxvii
Berenice .. .. .. .. .. xviii
Total in Boman miles cclxxi

Besides all these stations mentioned in the ' Itinerary,' an intermediate
one between Didyme and Aphrodito is met with, on the direct road
from Koptos to Berenike, about 4J m. to the northward of the latter.
The Novum and Vetus Hydreuma are the last stations before reaching
Berenikg, the latter being out of the road, about 4 m. up a valley.
Pliny mentions the same route with fewer names, and makes the
distance 258 Boman miles. This road passes through the modern
Wddi Matuli and other valleys that succeed it to the southward. p


210 EOUTE 13.  NILE TO THE BED SEA. [Sect. III.
The road now usually taken lies through the Wddi Sakit, in the
neighbourhood of which, and at Gebel Zabdra, 5 or 6 hrs. to the N.E.,
are the Emerald Mines, which are far less interesting than might have
been supposed. They have been successively worked by the ancient
Egyptians, the Khalifs, the Mamelukes, and Mohammed Ali, 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 Zabara, extending downwards, at an angle of
37°, to the distance of about 360 ft., being 318 in horizontal length,
and 215 in perpendicular depth.
To the S. of Gebel Zabara is the extensive village of Sakit, con
sisting of numerous miners' huts and houses ; and independent of its
mines, a temple excavated in its rock, and some Greek inscriptions,
render it peculiarly interesting to the antiquary. The name of Saket
is evidently derived from that given to the town in old times. A
Greek inscription there speaks of the god Serapis and the lady Isis of
Senskis, or Senskete.
In the adjoining valley, called Wddi Nogrus, which is only separated
from Wadi Saket 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 reservoir, under the neighbouring cliffs, of excellent water.
These mines can also be reached from opposite Edfii, along the
old route from Contra- Apollinopolis (see below).
About 20 hrs. from Wadi Saket is Berenike, the ruins of which are
known to the Arabs as Saket el-Kubli, "the Southern Saket."
From Berenike a road leads to the basanite mountain, now Umm
Elaika, at which are some considerable workings, passing by some
ruined stations, and an ancient village of considerable extent ; and
some distance to the eastward of these quarries is the Mons Pente-
dactylus, now Gebel Faraik, whose five cones are still more remarkable
when seen from Berenike.
Other Roads. — Among other roads which may be mentioned was
one which left the Nile near Contra-Apollinopolis, and, taking a
southerly direction, ran probably to the Gold Mines at Gebel 'Oldki,
mentioned by Agatharchides (as quoted by Diodorus) and other authors,
and subsequently by Edrisi and Abu'lfeda. These mines lie some
distance to the S. of the Ababda desert, in the territory of the
Bisharin. They are, as Edrisi and Abu'lfeda observe, "in the land
of Beja," the Bishari country. From two Arabic funeral inscriptions
they appear to have been worked in the years a.h. 339 (a.d. 951) and
a.h. 378 (a.d. 989), just previous to, and some years after, the arrival
of the Fatimides in Egypt. It is certain, however, that they were
worked at a much earlier date. On an old Egyptian map at Turin a
spot is marked called Akita, and the annexed inscriptions speak of the
"mountains out of which gold was extracted," and mention in con
nection with it the name of Seti I. (XIX. Dyn.) as working the mines.
Still stronger evidence exists in an inscription found at Kubban
(Contra-Pselcis), opposite Dakka in Nubia, which celebrates the re
opening of the gold mines of Akita by Bamses II. (See ' Becords of
the Past,' New Ser. v. ; and Brugsch's ' Hist, of Egypt,' new edition,
p. 288.) No doubt a road anciently ran from Contra-Pselcis to the gold
mines. There is a road from Kena to Kimsa on the Gulf of Suez (p. 212),
passing by the porphyry mountain of Gebel ed-Dokhkhan. It was by


Sect. III.] EOUTE 13.  NILE TO THE EED SEA. 211
this road that the great blocks of porphyry were brought from the
quarries to the Nile. M. Floyer gives a valuable account of it, with
maps, in his Etude sur le Nord-Etbai, 1893.
The gold-mines of Wadi 'Olaki are now again being worked by
British companies. (For further references to the Etbai and its mines
see p. 540.)

ROUTE 14.
The Egyptian Coast of the Red Sea.
[This route will be chiefly of use to yacht-owners. Travellers who are well
conversant with Arabic and Arab customs, and are used to roughing it, can voyage
in Arab, dhows from port to port. Coasting steamers sometimes touch at Tor and
Kuser. The Khedivial Line from Suez goes to Kuser and Suakin.]
The ancient Egyptian name of the Bed Sea was Kam-uer, " the
Great Black " or " Very Black " ; the Coptic name was rUO JUL
ftcy<LpL " the Sea of Shari," corresponding to the Ydm Silf PpD W
of Hebrew, and Bahr Silf of Arabic. For though silf is translated
"flags" (Exod. ii. 5), which do not grow in the Nile, it is here the
same as the Arabic silf, a small seaweed common in this as in other
seas ; and so called from its resemblance to "mill " (silf). It is probably
the Bytiphlcea pinastroides (Phy. Brit. r. 85). The Greek appellation,
r\ epvBpa SaXaaaa, the Bed Sea, was originally applied to the Persian,
and afterwards to this gulf, as well as to that part of the Indian
Ocean which lies between them; but the name "red" was not from
any seaweed, or coral, or colour about the sea, or the mountains of
the western coast. It was probably the Greek literal translation of the
name of Edom, the "red " land.
The Red Sea extends from the head of the Gulf of Suez to the
Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, about 1400 m., and its greatest width is about
200 m. At Bas Mohammed it is split by the peninsula of Sinai into
two parts; one, the Gulf of Suez, about 150 m. long and from 10 to
18 wide, and the other, the Gulf of 'Akaba, about 100 m. long and
from 5 to 10 wide: Both sides of the Gulf of Suez are Egyptian
territory. The boundary line between Egypt and the Turkish territory
may be taken as extending from er-Baf'a ( Khaphia) on the Mediterranean
to the head of the Gulf of 'Akaba. This was settled in 1892, when
Egypt gave up her claim to the territory of el-Wej, on the Arabian coast
of the Gulf of 'Akaba. The Turks, however, have recently attempted
to encroach upon 'the Egyptian territory of Sinai, as they wished, for
strategical reasons connected with the building of the Damascus- Mecca
Bailway, to shift the frontier further west from 'Akaba. The village of
Tabah, on Egyptian territory W. of 'Akaba, was occupied by Turkish
troops, who were only dislodged by the delivery of an ultimatum by
the British to the Turkish Government (1906). The frontier has now
been settled in such a way that the Turks cannot any longer pretend
that it is not fixed. p 2


212 EOUTE 14.  EGYPTIAN COAST OF BED SEA. [Sect. III.
The only port on the E. shore between Suez and the division of
the sea is Tor, 2 days' journey from Sinai. Opposite the end of the
Sinai peninsula is Gebel ez-Zit, "the mountain of oil," close to the sea.
At this point the Egyptian Government have expended large sums in
searching for the petroleum which there is reason to believe exists.
Up to the present, although a certain amount of oil has been found, it
has pot been proved to exist in sufficiently large quantities to pay for
the money sunk, and the work has been discontinued. At El-Kimsa,
a headland, terminating the bay to the S.S.W. of it, are some sulphur-
mines, grottoes, and inscriptions in the Sinaitic character. About
27 m. inland are the old porphyry quarries of Gebel ed-Dokhkhdn.
"mountain of smoke" (see p. 207). The road from Kimsa, past
Gebel ed-Dokhkhan, may be followed to Kena, (p. 210) on the Nile.
The distance is about 140 m.
The ruins of Myos Hormos are on the coast in lat. 27° 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 Bed Sea in the time of
Strabo. According to Agatharchides 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 N. and S., a short distance from the coast, leading
to Abu Durrag and Suez on one side, and to Suakin on the S., to which
the Arabs have given the name of Dtheneb el-Aya, or "the ass's
tail." At Old Kusir are the small town and port of Philoteras, of which
little remains but mounds and the vestiges of houses, some of ancient,
others of Arab date. The name of Philoteras was given it by an
admiral of Ptolemy Philadelphos, in honour of the king's sister,
having been previously called iEnnum. The modern town of Kuser
stands on a small bay or cove, 4J m. to the southward. The popula
tion is about 2000. This is a separate governorship. It was formerly
a place of some importance, but is now falling into decay. The water
supply is bad. There is a custom-house, but the trade is very limited,
consisting principally of dates from Arabia. For the route between
Kuser a«nd the Nile, see p. 208.
After passing Kuser are the "several ports" mentioned by
Pliny, with landmarks to direct small vessels through the dangerous
coral reefs, whose abrupt discontinuance forms their mouth. These
corresponding openings are singular, and are 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 Nechesia and the Levkos
Limen ; the former now called Wddi en-Nukkari, the latter known by
the name of esh-Shuna, or "the barn." Nechesia has the ruins cf
a temple, and a citadel of hewn stone ; but the Levkos Limen is in
a very dilapidated state ; and the materials of which the houses were
built, like those of Berenike, are merely fragments of madrepore and
shapeless pieces of stone. About half-way between them is another
small port, 4 m. to the W. of which are the lead mines of Gebel er-


Sect. III.] EOUTE 14. — EGYPTIAN COAST OF EED SEA. 213
Busds ; and a short distance to the northward, in Wadi Abu-Kaika,
is a small quarry of basanite, worked by the ancients. About 20 m.
inland from the site of Nechesia are the old breccia quarries and
emerald mines at Gebel Zobara.
Behind the headland of Bds Bends called Bds el-Unf, or "Cape
Nose," by the Arab sailors, opposite Yembo on the Arabian coast, there
is a deep gulf at the head of which stood the old town of Berenike.
This gulf, according to Strabo, was called Sinus Immundus. The long
peninsula or chersonesus, called Lepte Extrema, projecting from this
gulf, is mentioned 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, Geziret Zibirga, or Semirgid, which seems to be the
'CHbiibfins, or Serpent Island, of Diodorus. (A " Serpent Isle," which
may be this, is mentioned in a very ancient Egyptian tale.) The inner
bay, which constituted the ancient port of Berenike, 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. Berenike can only be reached by dhow.
The town of Berenike (Sakit el-Kubli) was founded by Ptolemy
Philadelphos, and so called after his mother.. There is a temple at
the 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
chambers, with a staircase leading to the summit, the whole orna
mented with sculptures and hieroglyphs in relief. It was dedicated to
Serapis; and in the hieroglyphs are the names of Tiberius and Trajan.
The houses are built of madrepore.
For the old road between Berenike and the Nile, see p. 209.
Between Bas Benas and Bds Elba (also called Bds Edineb) are a
number of small harbours which are much used by Arab traders to
convey provisions to the Bisharin tribes. At Bir Shalatin the Egypt-
Sudan boundary reaches the sea. N. of Bas Elba is Halaib. Here is
a Sudanese station dependent upon Suakin. At Bds Bowey, a long low
promontory, are some very extensive salt fields, from which a consider
able amount of salt is exported annually, principally to India.
Muhammad Gol, a small port (p. 569).
Mersa Shikh Barglv&t (rechristened Band es-Silddn, Port Sudan)
is the seaward terminus of the Suakin-Berber Bly. (p. 569).
Suakin (11,000 inhab.), see p. 570, is the most important town on
the W. side of the Bed Sea. It is the port of the Anglo-Egyptian
Sudan. Trinkitat, the port of Tokar, lies 60 m. S.
Massawa, to the S., is in the Italian territory of Eritrea.
[For a fuller description of the coast of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Eritrea and
British Somaliland, see Rte. 29, p. 569.]


214

EOUTE 15.— CAIEO TO GA2A (syeia). [Sect. III.

ROUTE 15.
Cairo to Gaza (Syria), by the " Short Desert."
[This route was at one time much used as the easiest and shortest road from
Cairo to Syria, and was called the " Short Desert" route, to distinguish it from the
"Long Desert" route by Sinai and Petra. Now, however, that there are such
facilities for getting from Alexandria and Port Said to Jaffa, it is hardly worth
while to undertake a long and tedious journey on camels or donkeys through a
country which contains hardly anything of interest. Even those who-jmght be
disposed to undertake it for the sake ol a little experience of desert travermig would
probably avail themselves of the railway as far as Ismailiya, and the Suez Canal
thence to el-Kantara (see p. 66), sending on their camels, tents, &c. , to meet them
there, and employing the time that these would occupy to reach Kantara in paying
a visit to Suez and the Canal ; or the start might be made from Ismailiya ; or the
railway taken to es-Salhiya (see p. 72), and the start made from there. (For instruc
tions with regard to a desert journey, see p. 217). The traveller by this route can,
if he likes, ride a horse or a donkey, as there is no difficulty about carrying enough
water.] Es-Salhiya, a large village, is connected by rail with Cairo vid Zaga
zig. The country W. of it is celebrated for its dates. Several mounds
of ancient towns are seen in the distance, among them Tell Difenna
(12 m. E.), which marks the site of Daphne, the Tahpanhes of the
Bible, a fortified outpost of Pelusium, and distant from it 16 Boman
miles. Here Prof. Petrie excavated for the Egypt Exploration Fund
in 1886, and discovered a large building probably of the XXVI.
Dynasty, which is still called the "Palace of the Jew's daughter,"
recalling the flight of the Jews to Tahpanhes (Jeremiah xliii. 9). The.
early Greek pottery and other remains found on the spot show that
here was the site of the "Gamp" of the Ionians which Herodotus
(ii. 154) states was established by Psammetichus I. on the Pelusiac
arm of the Nile. The arm has now become a canal of brackish water.
A most important step in Greek archeology was made in the
excavation of this palace and camp occupied by the Greek mercenaries.
A great variety of figured Greek pottery — some of new types — was
found here, and is absolutely dated within just one century, from the
foundation of the camp by Psammetichus about B.C. 665, to the
abolition of the settlement by Amasis about B.C. 565. The pottery is
mostly in the British Museum.
From SalMya the road crosses the desert (19 m.) to Kantara
(Bte. 5), where there is a ferry over the Suez Canal.
At 14 m. from el-Kantara, 6J m. N. of the road, are the ruins of
Pelusium, the Sin of the Bible, the Peremoun or I'heromi of the
Copts, and the modern Tina. The remains consist of two mounds,
one large and one small, and a few broken columns. It is difficult of
access, as there is a mile and a half of black mud between it and the
sandbanks of the mainland, which begins to be firm enough to walk
over only in the month of January. The medieval Arab fort of Tina
lies another 3 m. N.W.
Pelusium in former times was a place of great consequence. It was strongly
fortified, being the bulwark of the Egyptian frontier on the eastern side, and
was considered the "Key" or, as Ezekiel calls it, the " Strength of Egypt"


Sect. III.] eoute 15. — caieo to gaza (syeia). 215
(Ezek. xxx. 15, r6). Near this the unfortunate Pompey met his death, basely
murdered by order of Ptolemy and his minister Photinos, 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 expelled the kingdom ; and the two armies
were encamped. opposite each other in the vicinity of Pelusium, when the galley
of Pompey arrived ; and Achillas, who afterwards figured so conspicuously in
tbe Alexandrian war against Caesar, ' ' under pretence of taking him ashore,
invited him into a boat, and treacherously slew him." A mound of sand on
the coast, about 4 hrs. tq the west 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 Caesar is said to have raised a
monument to his memory, which was afterwards repaired by Hadrian, and
visited by Severus. But " the ashes of Pompey were taken to his widow,
Cornelia, 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 east of Pelusium, in the direction
of. Mons Casius. The " Roman hill" cannot therefore be the " tumulus " of
Pompey ; and the tomb which Abu'lfeda, on the authority of Ibn Haukal, gives
to Galen, may perhaps be transferred to Pompey. Certain it is that the
physician of Aurelius was not buried in Egypt, but in his native place Pergamos ;
and the distance from Pelusium mentioned by Pliny seems too great for the
position of Pompey's tomb.
The ancient Magdolum is by some supposed to have been about half
way between Tacasarta and Pentaschoinon, which last may have been at
the modern Katiya. 5 hrs. N.W. of Katiya is Farama, with extensive
Arab remains, and 3 hrs. to the N. are the ruins of Muhnmmadiya ;
\ hr. from Katiya is a well now called Bir Bassiln, but formerly known
as Bir el-'Okba, where there are palms.
The first stage after leaving Kantara is at some date groves near a
large well. The route continues over and among low sandhills, with
now and then a hard mud-flat, which in the wet season is a pool, to
Bir el- Abd, where are a well of brackish water and some telegraph-
men's huts. On the coast N. of the Bir el- Abd is Felissiya, which
preserves the ancient name of Pelusium.
2 m. E. of Kantara is a mound (Tell Abu Sefa) with the remains of
a Temple of Seti I. and Bamses, dedicated to Horus, and of a Boman
camp, where Mr. Griffith found a Latin inscription of Diocletian and
Maximian. N., on~the road to Pelusium, is Tell Hatnoa (erroneously
called Tell es-Semilt on the maps), the site of a mediaeval fort of red
brick, and Tell el-Her, 13 m. from Kantara and 6 m. from Pelusium,
which may be the site of Magdolum, where there are the remains of
a mediaeval fortress. The next stage, 7 hrs. from the Bir el-'Abd, is
Mazar, with a well of brackish water, a shekh's tomb, and two or
three mud huts ; it is better not to camp near the well on account of
the camel ticks. Four hours from Mazar is Tawwil es-Sellim, the
highest of the low hills which extend from el-'Arlsh, and almost at
the end of the range. Another 4 hrs., and after passing through some
beautiful groves of date-palms, we reach
E1-' Arish, the ancient Bhinokolura, which was a place of exile in
the time of the Pharaohs, and said to be so called from the male
factors having their "noses cut off," instead of being punished by
death. The town contains about 800 inhabitants. There is a large
square fort, with battlemented walls, flanked at each corner by towers.
It is the residence of a governor, and is garrisoned by a few troops,


216 EOUTE 15.— CAIEO TO gaza (syeia). [Sect. III.
In the middle of it is a well, near the mouth of which is a granite
shrine, with a long hieroglyphic inscription, which has been trans
lated by Mr. Griffith in the ' Seventh Memoir of the Egypt Explora
tion Fund' (1890), pp. 71-73. It contains a curious legend of the
god Shu, and must have been brought from Ives (Goshen), now baft
el-Henna, near Zagazig. The ruins of Bhinokolura lie under the sand
S. of el-'Arish, and on the N. side of it a stone building of the
Christian period has been discovered. 3 hrs. from El- Arish are the
ruins of Kasr Berdowil, which gets its name from Baldwin I., King of
Jerusalem who died here in 1118 after an unsuccessful attack on
Egypt. All animals coming from Syria have to undergo a quarantine
of several days at el-'Arish. Wadi el-'Arish is supposed to be the
torrent or "river of Egypt," which was the ancient boundary on the
side of Syria. There is water in it after rain.
The road continues very near the sea-coast, the whole way from
el-'Arlsh to Gaza. About 6 hrs. from el-'Arish we reach the tomb of
Shekh Zuwid and some telegraph-men's huts, and 3 hrs. farther are
two columns which form the boundary-stones of the Egypto-Synan
frontier at er-Raf'a, the ancient Bhaphia, Egyptian Bepeh. These
two columns were overthrown by the Turks at the time of the
boundary dispute of 1906. Bhaphia is referred to by Josephus as
the first station in Syria at which Titus rested when on his way to
besiege Jerusalem, and it was here that Sargon defeated the Egyptians
in B.C. 721, and that Ptolemy Philopator defeated Antiochus in
B.C. 217. This battle is famous on account of the great part taken
in it by the war-elephants, which had been adopted by the Greeks
after the Indian campaign of Alexander. Ptolemy had 73 and
Antiochus 102. The battle, which began with a charge of elephants,
conclusively proved their uselessness in war. Nearly all those of
Ptolemy were captured by Antiochus, who was, however, defeated in
the end. 2 hrs. beyond the frontier we reach Khan Yunas, supposed to
occupy the site of Ienysos. Sheep and poultry can be procured in this
village. There is a picturesque ruin of a fort and a beautiful mosque
of the Sultan Barkuk ; a, good view of the surrounding country can be
obtained from the minaret. 2 hrs. from Khan Yunas is the village of
Bir Abd Balah, with a fine grove of date-palms and a large deep well;
and Gaza is reached in 2J hrs. more.
Gaza, now called Ghuzza, is a town of .some 10,000 inhabitants,
situated on a low flat hill about 3 m. from the sea. It was formerly,
as its Hebrew and Arabic names imply, a "strongly fortified place,"
but it is now quite open. It is a very old city, and played a great
part in Biblical history. Its position, as the last town in the S.W.
of Palestine and on the frontier of Egypt, made it an important
military position ; but since the conquest of Egypt and Syria by the
Moslems it has had no history. There is a telegraph station at Gaza,
and some English clerks, also an excellent English dispensary and
medical missionary. For a full description of Gaza, see Handbook for
Syria and Palestine.


Sect. III.] EOUTE 16.— CAIEO TO MOUNT SINAI". 217
ROUTE 16.
Cairo to Mount Sinai.
PAGE

PAGE
Preliminary Information . . 217
Cairo to Suez . . 220
Inhabitants of the Peninsula
op Sinai • . . 220
Geography and Natural Fea
tures  222
Natural-History and Climate 223
Ruins  224
. Koute of the Israelites from
Egypt to Mount Sinai . . 225
Routes from Suez to Jebel

MtiSA AND THE MONASTERY OF
St. Catherine .... 227
9. The Monastery of St. Cathe
rine  242
10. Ascent of Jebel' Musa and
Ras Sufsafa .... 245
U. Ascent of Jebel Katarina 247
12. Other Excursions .... 248
13. Continuation of the Journey
by the Long Desert, vid
'Akaba and Petra, or vid
Na'khl, to Palestine 249

1. Preliminary Information.
From Cairo to Mt. Sinai is one of the stages in what is called the
"Long Desert" route from Egypt to Syria; but, as many travellers
pay a visit to Mt. Sinai and then return to Egypt without going
farther, it will be convenient to describe it separately.
[Seasons. — The best for desert travelling is during the months of February, March,
and April. Earlier than February the nights are very cold, and snow is not un
common in the Sinai hills. Later than April the days are very hot. October,
although rather hot, is not at all bad for travelling. The time required for the
journey from Suez to the convent at Sinai and back will be from a fortnight to three
weeks, according to the time spent at the convent.
Preparations. — For large parties of tourists who cannot " rough it" a little, and
need dragomans, arrangements are usually made at Cairo, as most of the shekhs of the
Tawwara Arabs, who act as guides, and from whom camels are hired, are to be found
in the early spring at the Egyptian capital waiting for a job, and the dragomans like
to employ men they know, and have the terms of the contract settled, including the
camels, at Cairo. But unless the traveller is anxious to spend a few days in crossing
the desert from Cairo to Suez, instead of going to the latter place by railway in one
day, and if he does not mind giving himself a little extra trouble, he will save a good
deal of expense by telegraphing or writing to Suez a few days before he intends
leaving Cairo, to have some camels and guides ready by a certain date. If tliere
should be none at Suez, three or four days will suffice to bring in any number from
the desert. The contract with the dragoman can then be made at Cairo to include
everything but camels, which the traveller will make his own bargain for at Suez,
and tents, stores, &c, can be sent to Suez by rail. Perhaps the best plan of all is to
engage the shekh at Cairo, with the understanding that his camels will only be paid
for from Suez ; only by no means be persuaded to go to Tor on the Red Sea by water
from Suez, as when once there, the Arabs will ask what they like. Arrangements
for the trip can be made with the tourist agents in Caircas well as with a dragoman.
Those who know some Arabic and enjoy " roughing it" can find guides and camels
at Suez, and, as usual, dispense with dragomans and tourist agencies. Camels can
only be secured through the shekhs of the Tawwara Arabs, and enquiries should be
made in Suez as to whether any of the shekhs are there. Shekh Abu Ghanem, of
Wadi Maghara, and SMkh Madakhel, are influential chiefs. The chief contractor
for stores, etc., in Suez is named Abu Kudel. A letter of introduction must be
obtained at Cairo or Suez from the agents of the Convent of St. Catherine at Sinai,
as the monks may make a difficulty about admitting the traveller without one.
Expenses.— Supposing that the traveller dispenses with a dragoman and a con
tract, merely engaging a man as a servant, with or without a canteen, and providing
tents, stores, &c, and hiring camels himself, his expenses from Suez to Sinai and


218 EOUTE 16.— CAIRO TO MOUNT sinai. [Sect. 111.
back need not be more than at the rate of 30s. to 35s. a day, and two people could do
it for 2(. ; butof course more trouble is involved than if he engages a dragoman to
provide him with everything. A traveller with three camels and two men can
reckon that £1 a day for three weeks will be quite enough for camels, men, and
stores. Three camels are enough : one to ride, one for water one lor iooa
The charges of dragomans vary so from year to year that it is difficult to estimate
the expense of this journey ; but a party of four persons ought not to pay more than
30s. a day each for even/thing except wine; this proportion being lessened or in
creased according to the size of the party. Formerly people were content to travel
without beds and a hundred other little luxuries which appear now to be considered
indispensable; and indeed it would be difficult now to find a good dragoman who
would consent to undertake the job unless it was to be carried out in the gorgeous
manner he considers necessary, and for which he charges. accordingly. It should be
distinctly understood, when the contract is made with the dragoman to supply
everything, that the traveller is never to be troubled by the Arabs with any sort of
application for money or anything else ; the dragoman is responsible for everything ;
but at the end of the journey, if satisfaction has been given, a small bakhshish may
be distributed. The contract with the dragoman should be properly signed at the
Consulate where, if it is wished, a form of agreement can be obtained, m which
alterations can be made to suit any particular requirements. Half the amount of
the contract may be paid on the conclusion of the agreement, but the other naif
should be kept till the journey is over. If the traveller hires the camels himself, he
will have to make a separate contract with the shekh who supplies them, either at
Cairo or Suez It is impossible to lay down any fixed sum for the hire of camels ;
but it may be assumed roughly that while from 6s. to Ss. a day will be asked at Cairo,
they may I ie obtained at Suez for 4s. The traveller should remember that the going
is harder for the camels in the mountains than on the flat desert.
Tilings required.— The following list may be useful, even to those who entrust
everything to a dragoman, as they will find it advisable every now and then to
superintend his preparations. A party of 4 should have 2 large tents, one for
feeding and sitting in and one for sleeping in, and one smaller one for the kitchen and
servants. When the party consists of only 2, or even 3, one tent for day and night
might be sufficient. Beds (iron, that fold up), tables, chairs, and all the inside
appurtenances of a tent should be examined, and seen to be strong and sound. The
tents should be provided with extra ropes, as well as a double supply of pegs and
mallets. In October there is little need for a tent, except to provide shade at noon,
and, except for the first few days of flat desert, there is no difficulty in obtaining
this. The nights are dry, and it is far more enjoyable to sleep under the stars. All
water for drinking should be carried in barrels kept strictly locked, and the Arabs
never allowed to draw from them. In addition to this, each person should have a
small water-skin, called a zemzemlya, to hang at his saddle : these, if new, should be
filled and emptied several times, to get rid of the disagreeable taste they give to the
water. Water for washing may be carried in a goat-skin, called girba; but the
following description will show the traveller who does not care about roughing it too
much that he had better not be dependent on the girba and the water that is generally
to be met with in the Peninsula : — " To the traveller in these thirsty limestone
deserts, his dependence upon brackish and unpalatable water for his only supply is
one of his greatest hardships. To be constantly imbibing a fairly powerful solution of
Epsom salts is an amusement one soon grows tired of. We used to try all sortsof
plans to disguise the flavour, — lime-juice, brandy, strong tea, or Arab coffee as thick
as cream ; but neither these, nor boiling, nor filtering, nor anything we could do,
were really of much avail. Then again, the system of carrying it in girbas, or pre
pared goat-skins, though externally convenient in some respects, does not improve
its flavour or the relish with which you drink it. The appearance of a tilled girba is
very much that of a small black pig which has met with a watery grave ; so that,
what with the natural villainous taste of the water, its strong purgative, properties,
the little extra goatish flavour imparted to it by the girba, and the notion of the
drowned pig, you have to become pretty well hardened before you can be said to
enjoy it."— Capt. B. S. Palmer. It may' be added, however, that the water in the
granite district is excellent. A pair of Arab saddle-bags (khurg) should be taken, as
they are very useful for carrying everything required for the night, books, &c.
Provisions.— Travellers will provide themselves according to their wants and
tastes ; but it must be remembered that absolutely nothing can be bought after
leaving Suez, except sheep, which may sometimes be had from the Bedouins near
Sinai. In addition, therefore, to any preserved meats and other things, it is necessary
to take a stock of live fowls, turkeys and pigeons for the whole journey. Fresh bread
may be baked at Sinai. Tea will be found a very grateful and refreshing drink after


Sect. III.] EOUTE 16. — CAIEO TO MOUNT SINAI. 219
a hot day's ride. One of the best pick-me-ups after a hot and wearying day's ride is
a tumbler of tea « la russe, with a slice of lemon, some sugar, and a spoonful of
brandy. Milk can only be procured regularly if there happens to be among the
camels one with a newly-dropped young one ; it is better, therefore, to take some
preserved milk. A supply of oranges is a pleasant luxury, and will be much appreci
ated at the midday meal. Water should never be drunk alone, but always mixed
with a little brandy ; indeed, on the score both of health and convenience of carriage,
weak brandy-and-water is the best beverage on a desert journey ; but it is one, no
doubt, which many people do not like, and they will prefer to take claret,— though,
as 4 bottles of claret will hardly go as far as one of brandy, an extra camel will be
required for its transport. An extra supply of coffee and Suri tobacco, to give to the
Arabs occasionally,, will be found useful.
Medicine. — There ought to be but little need of medicine in the pure air of the
desert ; but if the traveller is provided with a small medicine chest, he had better
take it with him. Rose-water is often pleasant to the eyes after a hot day's march in
the sun ; ammonia, or a little powdered bismuth made into paste with water, are
both of them good remedies for bites and stings.
Clothing". — A flannel shirt and a suit of tweed of moderate texture, not too thin,
forms the best clothing. It is a great mistake to wear very thin clothing, as the
direct rays of the sun are felt through it in the daytime, and the evenings are often
quite cold. A rug and greatcoat should be taken ; an extra covering is often required
at night, and these are useful in adding to the comfort of the seat on the camel. The
head must be well protected from the sun : a pith helmet, or a white or grey felt hat,
well wrapped round with a puggaree, are perhaps the best coverings ; but especial
care should be taken that the nape of the neck is well protected. Those who intend
to do much walking and climbing among the Sinaitic hills must have at least one, if
not two, pairs of very stout strong boots, as the granite rocks destroy leather in an
incredibly short space of time. Though it will seldom be wanted in the desert it is
well to take a mackintosh sheet,-or American oilcloth, for clamp ground. The ordinary
Arab saddle-bags will be found very useful for carrying things in daily use.
Camel-Riding. — Much of the comfort in a desert journey depends on having a
good camel and a comfortable seat. The camel should be chosen and tried before
hand ; and the quieter he is, and the easier his paces, the better. A trotting
dromedary (hegin) nobody requires who is going to keep pace with tents and baggage,
but an animal less rough in its walk than the ordinary baggage-camel is a desidera
tum. Much careful preparation should be given to the seat. Some will prefer a
regular dromedary -saddle, with the addition of stirrups to rest the legs. The more
ordinary method is, first to sling the saddle-bags across the common camel pack-
saddle, and then to pile on the top as many wraps and rugs as you may have, so as to
form as soft and wide a seat as possible, taking care to strap them firmly down in
order to prevent them from slipping. \'ou may then sit in any position you please
— sideways, or astride, or lady-fashion. Stirrups may be hung on either from the
peak in the front of the saddle, or from the side, to give a rest to the foot. The
following plan is recommended by one who has had some experience in camel-riding :
— " Place a light box or package on either side of the pack-saddle, sutticiently closely
corded to form one wide horizontal surface. On this lay a carpet, mattress, blanket,
and wraps, thus forming a delicious couch or seat, and giving the option of lying
down, or sitting either side-saddle or cross-legged. Sheets, pillow, rug, &c. may be
rolled up and strapped to the back of the saddle, and form an excellent support to
the back or elbow." The object of the light box or package is to a certain extent
answered by a pair of well-stuffed saddle-bags. A proper supply of rope nets
(siiebeka) for packing the baggage on the camels is essential : otherwise the loads are
continually coming to pieces and falling : moreover the nets act as a protection
against projecting pieces of rock in a narrow defile.
General Hints. — Two more observations personal to the traveller in the desert
may be added. If strong and, able, he should walk as much as possible. Tlie Arabian
desert has not, like the African, a surface of deep sand, but offers to the pedestrian,
as a rule, a crisp gravelly foothold, very pleasant to walk on. The pace of the
camels— 2£ m. an hour— can always be exceeded by the walker, and this affords him
the opportunity, when there is no fear of losing the way, and the road is everywhere
secure, as it is between Suez and Sinai, of examining the country a little more in
detail than is possible from a camel's back. Another great relief to the uncontroll
able feeling of ennui and sense of monotony, which comes over most people during a
long day's ride on a camel's back under a broiling sun, is reading. The scenery may
be impressive and full of interest of all kinds, and your companions may be kindred
in spirit and pleasant to talk to, but nevertheless a book is an agreeable change, and


220 ROUTE 16.— CAIKO TO MOUNT SINAI. [Sect. 111.
a stock of light literature in the Tauchnitz edition, which can be thrown away as
read, will be found by many persons most useful in helping to pass away an hour,
when mind and body are too wearied for any exertion.]
2. Cairo to Suez.
It will be found much better to go to Suez by rail (2 trains daily,
in 5i hrs., see p. 37), as there is absolutely nothing to see on tbe
desert journey, which will require 4 days. For those who wish to
follow it, it may be mentioned that there are several routes, which,
however, all eventually merge into one.
1. Darb el-Hagg, "Eoad of the Pilgrims," passes by Heliopolis
and the Birket el-Hagg, beyond which it turns to the rt. by a stone
ruin called es-Sebil (''the Fountain"), and is shortly afterwards
joined by
2. Darb el-Hamra (the old Indian mail route), which leaves Cairo
to the S. of the Gebel Ahmar, and passes Kala't Baidn (9 m.) and
Wddi Halazdni (8 m.), between which places there is much petrified
wood. 10 m. farther on it joins the Darb el-Hagg, and continues to
Wddi Gendeli and Wddi Gaffra (10 m.), where, near the road, there is
water after abundant rains. Umm esh- Sharamit, ' ' the Mother of Rags "
(3 m.), is one of the pilgrims' halting places, and close to the principal
station (No. 4) of the old overland route. About 6 m. from Wadi
Gendeli the road is joined by the
3. Darb et-Tawwara, which on leaving Cairo runs almost parallel
to the last route, and is that generally followed by the Tawwara Arabs.
The three roads united pass Bir el-Barak, where the limestone
reappears and the petrified wood ceases with the sandstone, and reach
the Plain of el-Maggra (14 m. from Umm esh-Sharamlt), the highest
part of the road ; to the eastward of it all the valleys flow towards the
sea and to the westward towards the Nile. About 5 m. farther on the
road is joined by the
4. Darb el-Busatin, which runs S. from Cairo 3 m. to Busatin, and
then turns E. across the Mokattam range. This, according to Arab
tradition, is the route followed by the Israelites. All the above roads
are now united, and continue together to el-Muktala (10 m. from el-
Maggra), near which are traces of the course of an ancient road, and
on to Agriid (6 m.), where there is a fort. At this point the Darb
el-Hagg turns off to the Peninsula of Sinai ; while the road to Suez
continues to Bir Suez (8 m.), and thence to Suez (4 m.).
3. Inhabitants of the Peninsula of Sinai.
The collective name for the Bedouins inhabiting the Peninsula of
Sinai is the Tawwdra (sing. Tilri), or Arabs of Tor, the ancient name
of the Peninsula. They are subdivided into several tribes, of which
the principal are : — 1. The Saiudliha, the most important, with two
powerful and independent subdivisions : a. the Ulad Sa'id ; b. the
Gararisha; 2. the 'Alikdt; 3. the Emzina; 4. the Ulad Shdhin;
5. the Jebeliya. These last are called Sebdya ed-Der or "Serfs of the
Convent," and are looked down upon by the other tribes as not of
pure Arab descent. The Ulad Sa'id and the 'Alekat are the recognised


Sect. III.] EOUTE 16.  CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. 221
ghufara, or "guards," of the Monastery of St. Catherine, and with the
Jebeliya possess the right of conducting pilgrims to or from Tor or
Suez; but camels may be hired from any of the Tawwara tribes.
In addition to the Tawwara there are, in the northern part of the
Peninsula, the Terabin, the Tiydha, and the Haiwdt.
The total population of the Tawwara tribes may be estimated at
about 5000. They are a peaceful harmless people, but hardy, and,
though poor, dignified. Their camels are their chief support, and they
gain a scanty livelihood by conducting the traffic between Suez, Sinai,
and Tor. In the more fertile districts, such as the Firan, tobacco is
grown, and the fruit of the date-bearing palm is an important article
of food. Their few flocks of sheep and goats are chiefly useful for the
wool and hair they supply : it is seldom that any are slaughtered.
Another article of commerce is the min, the traditional manna, a sweet
gummy substance that exudes from the tarfa, or tamarisk-tree. It
continues to drop about two months, commencing in the autumn.
The name is similar to the Hebrew word given in the Bible, and some
think it was given to the food in consequence of the uncertainty of
the Israelites about the unknown substance, "they wist not what it
was," min signifying "what" in Hebrew and in Arabic. The dress
of the Tawwara consists of a nominally white shirt, with long open
sleeves, fastened round the waist with a leathern girdle, and over this
an 'abaya, or long cloak of camel's hair. Instead of the typical head
dress of the Bedawis — the kefiya, a gaily striped handkerchief, fastened
with a fillet of camel's hair — they wear fez and turban. The women
are generally closely veiled, and wrapped in a loose blue frock, with
a, blue mantle over it. Though they seldom perform the orthodox
and ostentatious Mohammedan prayer ceremonial, they frequently
during the day, without any outward sign of worship, recite some
petition. It would require too much space to describe the peculiar manners
and customs common among these or among other desert tribes ; but
some of their Traditions, connected with the Israelites and Moses, are
worth a short mention. Their legend of the passage of the Red Sea
agrees substantially with the story of the Bible, but the locale is
placed at Hammam Faraun, some way down the Gulf of Suez, where
the sulphurous hot-baths are supposed to have been caused by Pharaoh's
struggling to extricate himself from the waves. The memory of Moses
is preserved in the names of several places, such as "the Wells of
Moses," at Suez and at Jebel Musa; "the Seat of Moses," at Hammam
Fararin, where he watched the drowning of the Egyptians ; at El-
Watiya ; in the Wadi ed-Der ; and on Jebel Musa, where there is the
impression of a human head and back, said to have been made by
Moses when he shrank back as the glory of the Lord passed by. Other
mementoes also exist in the rocks said to have been struck by him, as
at Wadi Berah, near the Convent, where there is a divided rock called
Hajar el-Laghwa, "the Speaking Stone," said to have been severed
by Moses; at the Wadi el-Leja is another called Hajar el-Magdrin,
"the Rock of the United Ones"; and in the Wadi Firan is a rock
called Hesi el-Khattdtin, said by the Bedawis to be the identical one
from which water issued when struck by Moses. Other memories of
the Israelites linger in the names Sho'eb (Jethro), Imran (Amran),
Moneja (" The Conference "). The various primitive tombs and dwell-


222 ROUTE 16.  CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. [Sect. III.
ings, and every ruin of which the purpose is unknown to the Bedawis,
are called by them nawdmis, "mosquito houses," because, they say,
when the Israelites "rebelled against God and against Moses," the
Lord sent a plague of mosquitoes to torment them, and these edifices
were erected as a refuge from the tiny persecutors. It may be pointed
out, however, that the word namils, pi. nawdmis, means a hut in
which a hunter conceals himself, and this meaning furnishes a more
probable explanation of the term as applied to these ruins. (See also
pp. 237, 238.) 4. Geography and Natural Features.
The Peninsula of Sinai is in shape a triangle, of which the base,
a line drawn from Suez to 'Akaba, is 150 m. long, the western side
186 m., and the eastern 133 m.," the point at which the two sides meet
being Ras Mohammed. The area contained within these limits is about
11,500 square miles. Within this triangle, having the same base-line,
and with its vertex also towards the south, is a crescent formed by the
southern portion of the great tableland known as the Badiet et-Tih,
or Wilderness of the Wanderings. It is separated from the rest of
the Peninsula by a steep and lofty limestone ridge, forming a curved
frontier, of which the highest point is Jebel Emreka, situated about
midway between the two arms of the Red Sea. There are thus two
distinct tracts of country, the comparatively level desert of the Tih on
the N., and the rugged mountains of Tor on the S. The latter may
be considered as more emphatically the Peninsula of Sinai ; by the
Arabs it is known under the names Tor Sinai, Jebel Tor Sinai, and
Jebel et-Tor. The watershed of this mountainous region runs N. and
S., the valleys trending westward into the Gulf of Suez, and east
ward into the Gulf of 'Akaba. The central point in the system is Jebel
Katarina, 8550 ft., the highest mountain in the Peninsula.
There are three chief geological subdivisions. 1. The Sandstone
district : This occupies a comparatively small portion of the Peninsula.
The main part of it is in the N., and runs conterminous with the
line of the Tih escarpment. In it are the only plains of deep heavy
sand met with in the Peninsula. One of these, the Debbet er-Bamla,
covers a space of about 130 square miles, or one-eighth of the whole
sandstone area. There are smaller tracts to the E. The chief features
of this district are sandstone peaks, table-topped ranges, and plateaux
intersected by valleys and undulating plains. It is the richest in
objects of archaeological interest. In it are' found in great numbers
the famous "Sinaitic rock-inscriptions," the sandstone rocks of Wadi
Mukatteb being covered with these graffiti. At Maghara and at Sarabit
el-Khadim are the old Egyptian turquoise and copper mines, with
hieroglyphic tablets of great age. 2. The Plutonic and Metamorphic
Rocks : These compose the largest and most striking district of the
Peninsula, and indeed give its distinctive character to the whole
region. They extend in a triangular mass of mountains from the
margin of the sandstone belt to the apex of the Peninsula at Ras
Mohammed, and include the well-known peaks of Jebel Serbal, Jebel
Musa, and Jebel Katarina. The rocks are composed chiefly of granites
and syenites, and varieties of gneiss and mica-schist. The whole
region is a chaos of mountains, a bewildering network of rocky valleys


Sect. III.] ROUTE 16.— CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. 223
and glens, with but a few open spaces. This granite district is the
grandest and the most striking, containing, as it does, the massive
single pile of Serbal, and the magnificent lofty mass in the heart of
which are Jebel Musa and the Monastery of St. Catherine and the
towering peak of Jebel Katarina. 3. The Cretaceous and Tertiary-
Rocks : This district is comprised in the long narrow strip which
skirts the sea-board from Suez to Ras Mohammed. It is less moun
tainous than either the sandstone or granitic region, and the scenery
is without interest. The beach which lines the sea-margin on the W.
often spreads out into large plains, of which the chief is El-Ka'a, but
on the E. the granite hills descend to almost the shore-line.
The general aspect of the country is one of utter barrenness and
desolation, but there are a few green spots in the upland basins, and
in some of the narrow passes and rocky glens. The chief oasis is at
Wadi Firan ; and in the springtime many of the valleys have streams
running down them, whose stores are replenished by occasional showers
and heavy dews. These valleys, or "wadis," form the highways of
the Peninsula, and the homes of the Bedouins. Wddi, the participial
agent of the verb wadi, "to send out," "go out," and hence "to
flow," may be taken as implying a rent or depression, down which
water flows. Dean Stanley has described it as " a hollow, a valley, a
depression — more or less deep, or wide, or long — worn or washed by
the mountain torrents or winter rains for a few months or weeks in
the year." Perhaps the best English words to express it are "valley,"
or "watercourse." As a rule these wadis are dry, or have water only
on rare occasions, but it is easy to account for the traces they present
of the passage of large volumes of water, by the sudden storms which,
at rare intervals, break over some part of the Peninsula. The
prodigious quantity of rain discharged during one of these storms
produces a flood, which tears along the wadis like a raging torrent.
One of these floods, or "sels" as they are called, was witnessed by the
Rev. F. W. Holland in 1867, when the Wadi Firan, a valley 300 yards
broad, was for hours the bed of a resistless torrent from eight to ten
feet deep. 5. Natural History and Climate.
Notwithstanding the desert soil, there are few parts of the Peninsula
which do not show some signs of Vegetation. The valleys and the
plains are sparsely clothed with many varieties of almost sapless herbs
and shrubs ; and the granite mountains are particularly rich in herbs.
In addition to these there are some trees and large shrubs, such as
the tarfa, or tamarisk, already referred to as yielding the "manna,"
the retem, or broom, the "juniper tree" of the Bible, and the seydl,
or acacia, the " shittah-tree " of the Bible. There are many signs of
the vegetation having been formerly increased by cultivation ; and the
gardens of the Monastery of St. Catherine, and in the valleys round
Jebel Musa, are still kept up and tended by the monks with consider
able care. These gardens, oases, and dry herbage have, however, but
little effect on the general scenery of the country, and mitigate in no
appreciable degree its arid and desolate character. The beauty of the
landscape is derived from the effects of light and air, and the colours
and outlines of the rocks,


224 ROUTE 16.  CAIRO TO MOUNT sinai. [Sect. III.
Animal life exists to no very great extent in the Peninsula. Among
the mammals may be mentioned the spotted hyena (dliaba), whose
tracks are often seen in the wadis; the ibex (beden), the "wild goat"
of the Bible, to be found among the higher mountains, but very shy
and wild ; the dorcas gazelle (ghazdla) frequents the plains between the
mountains and the sea on both coasts, and is very difficult of approach ;
the Sinaitic hare (arneb), in the upland plains ; the coney (wabr, juta),
in the mountains ; the jackal (ta'leb) ; the, fox (abil el-hosin) ; the
porcupine-mouse, and others ; the leopard (nimr) is seen occasionally
in the mountains, an'd the wolf (dib) is not uncommon. The only
birds that the sportsman will find, and those but very seldom, are the
Greek partridge (shinndr), in the higher mountains; Hay's partridge
(hagil), more numerous and more generally distributed tban the Greek,
which seldom takes flight, but runs at a great pace and is difficult to
get near; the sand-grouse (kata), common in the Tih desert, but not
easy to shoot; and the quail (summdn), very rare. A few duck and
teal, and other waterfowl, may sometimes be seen in the neighbour
hood of the Red Sea. The other birds are chiefly chats, finches, and
warblers. The Climate of the Peninsula, especially of the mountain parts, is
very healthy. The old hermits, to whom tradition assigns an almost
fabulous longevity, believed that man needed in the desert "hardly
to eat, drink, or sleep, for the act of breathing will give life enough."
One of its most remarkable features is its intense dryness, observations
with wet- and dry-bulb thermometers showing a difference of 20°, and
even 30°. In winter it is very cold in the mountains, and snow often
falls, though it is never seen lower than 4000 ft. The heat in summer
is proportionately intense, especially in the limestone districts ; and
the khamdsin, which occur generally in the spring, render the usually
clear atmosphere stifling and oppressive. There is a great difference
between the temperature of the day and that of the night, especially in
winter, the thermometer sometimes falling below freezing-point at night,
to go up as high as 70° in the shade during the day. This change is not
so great in the plains. The prevailing winds are from the N. and E.
As a rule, the air is very still, with only a gentle cooling breeze, but
now and then heavy gales suddenly spring up. The rainfall is very
slight, unless there occurs one of those storms already alluded to.
Slight shocks of earthquake are said to be occasionally felt. Heavy
dews are common in the winter.

6. Ruins.
The archaeology of the Sinaitic Peninsula is of considerable interest.
The ruins may be divided into four classes. 1. Primitive remains, such
as stone circles, tombs, store-houses, the nawdmis, before referred to,
archaic sculpturings, &c, which may be referred to the early inhabitants
of the country, perhaps the "Amalekites" of the Bible. 2. Egyptian
remains, such as those of Maghara and Sarabit el-Khadim. 3. Monastic
ruins, consisting of buildings erected by monks and hermits from the
4th to the 7th centuries a.d. And 4. Post-monastic, consisting of the
few ruins which have a Mohammedan origin. Such ancient remains
as occur on the routes to Sinai will be noticed in their place.


Sect. III.] ROUTE 16. — CAIRO TO MoUNT\ SINAI. 225

7. Route of the Israelites from Egypt to Mount Sinai.'
One more subject requires perhaps to be referred to before starting
on the journey, and that is, the route followed by the Israelites in the
Exodus. Many theories exist on this subject, but the only one of any
real importance and probability is that of Professor Naville, who has
thoroughly discussed the question in his work ' The Store City of
Pithoiri and the Route of the Exodus,' published by the Committee of
the Egypt Exploration Fund. The starting-point in Egypt is called in
the Bible Raamses (Ex. xii. 37 ; Num. xxxiii. 3, 5); i.e. the " city of
Ramses." This, according to Naville, is close to Tel el-Maskhuta in
the Wadi et-Tumilat, where he has discovered the . remains of the
ancient city of Pithom (seb p. 45). Naville supposes the route to have
lain first to some point in the neighbourhood of the modern Bitter
Lakes or of Lake Timsah, which then formed the head of the Red Sea,
and thence southward to a point near Shaluf on the Suez Canal, where
the Red Sea must have been comparatively shallow and sufficiently
narrow to admit of the whole host crossing over in one night (Ex. xiv.).
He considers that Succoth was Thukut, the district in which was
Pithom, which he has identified as being the same as Tel el-Maskhuta.
Etham he considers to have been the region of Atuma, which began
at Lake Timsah, and extended W. and S. of it. Migdol Naville places
near the station of Serapeum on the railway line to Suez ; Pihahiroth
is the Osiris-shrine of Pikaheret close by, and the actual place of
crossing the sea he finds at a point about half-way between the Bitter
Lakes and1 Suez. This theory of Naville's has been confirmed and
reiterated by Petrie (' Researches in Sinai,' pp. 204 ff.).
It must be remembered, however, that the Yam Suph, mistranslated
"the Red Sea" in the Authorised Version, is nowhere in the Old
Testament identified with the Gulf of Suez, the Hebrew name of which
was "the Egyptian Sea" (Is. xi. 15). On the contrary, it is the Gulf
of 'Akaba (1 Kings ix. 26; Deut. i. 1 ; Numb, xxxiii. 8-10). With this
agrees the mention of the Amalekites (Ex. xvii.) who inhabited the
desert south of Juda?a (1 Sam. xv. 7 ; Gen. xiv. 7, xxxvi. 12), as well as
the geographical position of Paran (Numb. xiii. 3, 17, 22, 26) and the,
identification of Sinai with Seir in Deut. xxxiii. 2 ; Judg. v. 4, 5. It
has been Urged that Elim (Ex. xv. 27) must be Elath on the Gulf of
'Akaba, and that as the Sinaitic Peninsula was the Egyptian province
of Mafket, strongly garrisoned by Egyptian troops, the Israelites were
not likely to have ventured into it. According to this theory, therefore,
" the Sea " of Ex. xiv,, Numb, xxxiii. 8 is not the same as the Ydm
Silph (" Red Sea ") of Numb, xxxiii. 10, which was more than three
days' journey from it, and Mount Sinai has to be sought, not in the
Sinaitic Peninsula of modern days, but among the southern mountains
of Edom. (Sinai was, however, not a regular Egyptian province, nor
was it always occupied by Egyptian troops and miners.)
This theory of Sinai being in Edom may seem to fit with a German
theory that the Israelites never issued from Egypt or were in it at all,
but in another country of the same name (Musri) in Northern Arabia.
The descriptions of Musri in the book of Exodus show, however, that
that country' was Egypt, and we need waste no further space on a
theory so obviously nonsensical. Q.


226 ROUTE 16.— CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI: |_BeCI' 11J-
We may continue to accept the older belief that the Biblical Sinai is
the same as the modern Sinai (Jebel Musa or Serbal), and if we
endeavour to trace the route of the Israelites in accordance with this
belief, we see that some time after the passage of "the Sea the Israel
ites encamped in Elim (? the Wadi Gharandel), and then somewhere
perhaps on the broad level plain at the mouth of Wadi Taiyyiba.
The " Wilderness of Sin " is the next stage in the journey, and this
is supposed to correspond with the open plain called el-Markha,
extending by the sea from Jebel em-Markha to the entrance to Wadi
The next two places mentioned in Numbers are Dophkah and Alush,
which cannot be identified; but as they lay between the Wilderness^ of
Sin and Rephidim, they must be looked for somewhere in the Wadi
Firan. There are four roads leading from el-Markha to Jebel Musa,
and some writers have advocated the claims of one or other of these to
have been that taken by the Israelites ; but everything seems in favour
of the Wadi Firan having been the one chosen. It is a much easier road
than any of the others, and it was likely to have been chosen in
preference to the other easy one by Seh Sidra and Wadi Mukatteb, as
avoiding the Egyptian settlements at Maghara.
Ancient tradition, and most modern authors, agree in placing
Rephidim at Firan. Its position answers to all the requirements of
the account of the battle with the Amalekites (Ex. xvii. 8-16) ; and the
rock which Moses there struck to procure water being called " the
Rock of Horeb," is thought to present no difficulty, if, as is supposed,
" Horeb " is a general term applied to the whole granite district of the
Peninsula, and not to any one particular peak or mountain. This is
the view taken by Lepsius, Stanley, and all the members of the
Ordnance Survey, except Mr. Holland, who follows Burckhardt and
Robinson in placing Rephidim at el-Watiya, a narrow pass leading
through the granite wall which encloses the central group of Sinaitic
mountains to which, in Mr. Holland's opinion, the term "Horeb,"
answering to "el-Jebal," properly belongs. The arguments in favour
of this view are, that el-Watiya is within an easy day's journey of
Jebel Musa, a condition which some think is required by the Biblical
narrative, and that Mohammedan tradition points out a rock there
called " the Seat of the prophet Moses." Various other traditions, how
ever, say as much or more for Firan, and the account in Exodus xix. 2
does not seem necessarily to imply that only one day elapsed between
leaving Rephidim and camping " before the mount."
According to Prof. Palmer, from Firan the main body of the
Israelites, with their flocks and herds, would have passed up the Wadi
esh-Shekh, while Moses and the Elders went- by the Wadi Solaf and the
Nakb el-Hawa ; the final camping-ground, at which took place the giving
of the Law, being the plain of er-Raha at the foot of the peak of Jebel
Musa, called Ras Sufsafa. It would take too long here to examine at
length the claims of the different mountains that have been put for
ward to represent "Mount Sinai," "the Mount of the Giving of the
Law." They are five in number — Jebel el-Ejma, Jebel Umm 'Alawl,
Jebel Katarina, Jebel Serbal, and Jebel Musa, while Dr. Beke made it
Jebel en-Nur, 5 hrs. S.E. of 'Akaba, on the ground of an Arab tradition.
Jebel Serbal and Jebel Musa have had the most advocates ; but, until
recently, all research and discovery seemed to disallow the claim of


Sect. III.] route 16.— Cairo to mount sinai. 227
any but Jebel Musa. Its peak of Ras Sufsafa alone seams to meet all
the requirements of the case, viz. a well-defined precipitous mountain
summit, overlooking a large open space, on which a vast host like
that of the Israelites could encamp, and find sustenance for their flocks
and herds in the surrounding valleys. Prof. Petrie has, however,
recently (in his 'Researches in Sinai'), criticized the numbers of the
Israelites as given in the received text of Exodus, and has, by an
ingenious emendation, reduced them very considerably. On his
theory it is unnecessary to demand so large a space as the plain of
er-Raha for the Giving of the Law, which Prof. Petrie's lieutenant, Mr.
Currelly, would place in the Wadi Firan, at the foot of Serbal, which
he considers to be the true Sinai. It does not come within the scope
of the present route to trace the road followed by the Israelites farther
than Mount Sinai ; and, indeed, the materials for the identification of
any of their subsequent resting-places are so slight that hardly one site
can be fixed with any certainty.
8. Routes from Suez to Jebel Musa (Mount Sinai) and
the Monastery of St. Catherine.
There are several roads by which Mount Sinai may be reached from
Suez; but it will be sufficient here to describe three. The first two
given below (A and B) are usually followed by travellers, the one in
going to and the other in returning from Mount Sinai. And of these
two principal roads the first and the last parts coincide, the difference
in direction occurring between Wadi Shebeka and the mouth of Nakb
Hawa. The third is a shorter route, the return journey being made
from Cairo in 11 days.
A. — Vii Wadi Mhkatteb and FIban. 11 ilea.
Suez to 'Ayun Musa [Elim or MarahJ .... 8
WadiSadur . . . ... 21
Wadi 'Amara [Marah] . . 20
"Ain Hawara [Marah] . ... .6
Wadi Gtharandel [Elim] . . 7
Wadi TJset [Elim] . 6
WadiEthal .... 7
Wadi Shebeka (mouth of)  4
Wadi Taiyyiba (mouth of) [Encampment by the Sea] 4
Jebel el-Markha . . .... 7
Sen Ba'ba' ... 6
Wadi Shellal (mouth of) . . 2
Nakb Budera  4
Wadi Kena (mouth of, leading to Maghara) . 5
WMi Mukatteb . . 5
Wadi Firan .... . . 4
Firan (El-Maharrad) [Rephidim] . 14
Wadi esh-Shekh (mouth of)  B
Wadi Solaf (head of) and mouth of Nakb el-Hawa . IS
Nakb el-Hawa (summit of ) 5
Jebel Musa and Monastery of St. Catherine . . 5

For the road from Suez to 'Ayiln MAsa and a description of the latter
iplace, see p. 48.
On leaving 'Ayun Musa the traveller turns his back on civilisation, Q, 2


228 route 16.— cairo TO Mount Sinai. [Sect. Ill,
and enters on the wide desert. And nothing can well be more dreary-
and monotonous than the'first day's journey. At first the plain is a
little broken, but after a few miles, at Wddi ed-Dehsa, a flat desolate
expanse is entered on, unrelieved by any feature. The march is toil
some enough even if the weather be clear and fine ; but if, as is
frequently the case, a khamsin gets up, making the atmosphere oven
like in its heat and oppressiveness, and enveloping everything in a
shroud of sand, then indeed the first day's journey in the desert is
anything but a pleasant and encouraging experience, and the " flesh-
pots" of Egypt will be looked back upon with regret. So many
travellers mention having met with a khamsin and sand-storm in this
part of the desert that it seems as if it were a phenomenon peculiar to
this special region.
From Wadi ed-Dehsa three roads lead to the springs of Wadi
Gharandel. The westernmost passes along tbe coast to near Jebel'
Hammam Farailn, and then turns up Wadi Gharandel ; the eastern
most, which branches off a little N. of Wadi ed-Dehsa, runs in the
direction of Jebel Bishr in the Tih, and then passes near the outskirts
of the Tih range to the upper part of Wadi Gharandel ; and the
central and shortest, which, as the one usually followed, will be
described. Tbe sandy bed of Wadi Sadur (21 m.) is generally chosen as the
first camping-place after leaving 'Ayun Musa. A few stunted tamarisks
and other shrubs are dotted about, and at the head of the wadi is the
isolated peak of Jebel Bishr. The Tdset Sadur ("the Cup of Sadur"),
another similar peak, lies ten miles farther inland. In this neighbour
hood are the headquarters of the Terabin Arabs. The Wadi Sadur has
of late years acquired a painful interest for Englishmen, as it was the
scene of the murder of the late Professor Palmer, the well-known
Arabic scholar, Captain Gill, R.E., and Lieutenant Charrington, R.N.,
in August 1882. Professor Palmer and his companions went into
the desert with the double object of buying camels for the English
expedition, and of getting the desert-tribes to join the English
against Arabi Pasha. The ill-fated party left Suez on the 8th August,
and arrived at Wadi Sadur on the 10th August. Here they were taken
prisoners, and murdered on the following day. Whether the Arabs
killed them for the sake of the money they had with them, or in
consequence of orders from Cairo, is not positively known, but full
particulars of the crime were obtained by Colonel Sir C. Warren, R.E.,
and five of the principal culprits were hanged at Zagazig on the
1st March, 1883. The most marked feature after leaving Wadi Sadur
is Wadi Wardan (8 m.), a broad depression strewn with boulders.
From this point there is an effective view of the Tih and Er-Raha
cliffs, and the bold outlines of Jebel Bishr occupying the gap between
them. Gazelles may sometimes be seen in this neighbourhood.
Wadi Amara (12 m.) is the next halting-place for the night ; or
the camp may be pitched near the Hagar er-Bekkdb (" the Stone of the
Rider") (3 m.), a group of low rocks whose shade affords a tempting
resting-place. The country after passing Wadi Amara is not quite so
monotonous. The plain undulates, and is diversified by hills and
plateaux glittering in many places with crystals of gypsum • on the
left spurs come down from the Tih, and low ranges of hills run down


Sect. III.] ROUTE 16.— CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. 229
on the right to the sea, whose blue and sparkling waters may now and
then be caught glimpses of ; in front rise the high dark outlines of
Jebel Hammam Faratin. 'Ain Hawara (3 m.) is sometimes considered
to have claims to be identified with " Marah." It is an insignificant
spring situated on an eminence, and overshadowed by one or two desert
palms. The water is nasty and bitter, like that of all the other springs
in the limestone district. Passing on the way the Engi el-Fill (" the
Bean-field"), a small basin which collects sufficient moisture from
the neighbouring hills to support a little Arab cultivation, we reach
Wddi Gharandel (5 m.), a broad well-defined valley, at this point about
600 yards wide, and running between chalky cliffs 60 to 80 ft. high.
There is plenty of desert herbage, and small clusters of stunted palms
are frequent. In this valley grows plentifully the gJuirkud, a plant
with a small red berry, which some suppose to have been the " tree "
used by Moses to sweeten the waters at Marah. This plant, however,
has no such properties.
The Springs of Wadi Gharandel (2 m.) form' usually the third
halting-place of the traveller, as here the stock of water can be renewed,
and the camels refresh themselves after the 2J days' march from 'Ayun
Musa._ In springtime the supply of water is abundant, and bursts
forth in several places. In the cliffs on the left, above the springs, are
some old tombs. Wadi Gharandel has been fixed upon as one of the
most probable sites for " Elim" ; and the oasis which meets the eye of
the traveller, if he should make an excursion down the wadi to Jebel
Hammam Faratin, will answer to the requirements of the spot. Tho
valley narrows a short distance below the springs, the cliffs rise in
height, and a running stream gives life to thickets of palms and
tamarisks, and beds of reeds and bulrushes, abounding in waterfowl
and other birds, and through which the water gurgles, with brooks, and
pools, and tiny waterfalls. The water ends about a mile from the
mouth of the wadi, which issues upon the sea-plain, a gently-sloping
alluvial tract of sand and gravel about J m. broad.
Four miles along this plain to the S.W. is Jebel Hammam Faratin
(the "Mountain of Pharaoh's Hot-bath"), a splendid cliff of crystalline
limestone about 1570 ft. high. The hot springs gush out of passages in
the rocks in the northern end, and out of the sand. The two principal
springs are the hottest, with a temperature of about 160°. The water
has an unpleasant taste and a sulphurous smell, and is by the Bedawis
credited with marvellous medicinal properties. The name is derived
from a Bedawi legend which places the destruction of Pharaoh and
his host at this spot, and attributes the heat and sulphurous smell of
the water to their troubled spirits lying beneath the waves. The bluffs
of Jebel Hammam Faratin, and the neighbouring peak of Jebel Uset,
present a continuous and abrupt front to the sea, .5 m. long, and
impassable. Returning to the main route, we pass, soon after leaving Wadi
Gharandel, on to the high rolling plain of El-Gargal. The scenery
here is picturesque ; in front rises the triple peak of. Sarbilt el-Jemel,
while the outlines- of Jebel Serbdl and Jebel el-Bendt can be faintly seen
to the S.E. ; on the 1. are the spurs of the Tih, and on the rt. the ridges
of Jebel Hammdm Fan-aim and Jebel Uset.
Near this point is a heap of stones called Hosdn Shekh Abu Zenna


230 ROUTE 16. — CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. [Sect. III.
(" Horse of Shekh Abu Zenna "), which, according to an Arab story,
marks the spot where the mare of Abu Zenna, having been crueDy
over-ridden by its owner, broke down, and, on being violently spurred,
gave one final bound and expired. The cruel rider marked out the
leap, which was of marvellous length, with stones, and the Bedawis as
they pass throw a stone or some sand on the heap in token of dis
approval, with the ejaculation, " Food for the horse of Abu. Zenna."
Wadi Uset (6 m.) is the first broad valley crossed. It is sparsely
covered with vegetation, and just above the crossing-place are some
brackish wells, with a few palms. This place is another candidate for
being the site of " Elim." Wadi eth-Thal (7 m.) is the next feature;
it is about half a mile wide, and has the usual desert vegetation. Both
these wadis issue through narrow gorges, between high limestone cliffs,
on to the sea-plain. A short distance beyond Wadi eth-Thal is a heap
of stones called 'Arts et-Temmdn (the "Bride of Temman"), so called
from a female devotee who used to sit and beg at this spot, and was
buried there. The mouth of Wadi esh-Shebeka (the "Valley of the
Net") (4 m.) is reached after a labyrinthine course through chalky
hillocks and ridges, vertical cliffs, and great quarry-like recesses. At
this point branches off Route B, to be hereafter described.
The present route turns southward down Wadi Taiyyiba (the
"Pleasant" or " Fruitful Valley "). After 2J miles down this valley,
between walls of limestone rock from whose dazzling face there is a
terrific glare, a cluster of stunted palms and tamarisks is reached,
amongst which bubble up a few springs of brackish water ; and a short
distance farther on are one or two more springs, and a few more palms
and tamarisks. Yet another mile or so between hot vertical cliffs, with
the bright green caper-plant clinging to their faces, and then, passing
on the left a fine bluff of lava and conglomerates, arranged in bright
bands of red, black, and brown, we reach the mouth of Wddi Taiyyiba
(4 m.), and come out upon the coast-plain of el-Murkhiya. On this
plain, somewhere near the mouth of the Wadi Taiyyiba, is placed the
site of "the Encampment by the Red Sea," and somewhere about the
same spot the traveller will pitch his next encampment after leaving
Wadi Gharandel.
A hot and weary march follows over the plains of el-Murkheya and
el-Markha. A short distance down the coast is the low headland
called Ras Abu Zenima. The tomb of the saint from whom it is
named is to the right of the road, and is hung round with a mis
cellaneous collection of offerings. Farther on, the road crosses a low
promontory of limestone rocks, which at one point rise and approach
the sea so closely that camels have to go through the water at high tide.
We now reach the bold white cliffs of Jebel el-Markha (7 m.), and
crossing the promontory which juts out from it enter the plain of
el-Markha, a wretched desolate expanse of flints and sand, almost
without vegetation. For about 2 hrs. the road traverses this plain in
a S.E. direction, and a weary trudge it is. The sun is scorchingly hot,
and blazes down upon the traveller from a sky whose blue expanse is
unchequered by a single cloud. On the right the waters of the gulf, of
an even deeper azure, seem to simmer in a mirror-like motionless
expanse, that is hardly broken by a ripple even where they reach the
shore. The soil around is dry, baked, and glowing, Fortunate is be


Sect. III.] ROUTE 16. — CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. 231
who does not have to encounter a khamsin to add to the exhausting
heat, but meets rather with the fresh sea-breeze, which generally rises
in the afternoon, and changes the character of the scene.
At last the entrance of Seh Ba'ba' (6 m.) is reached. At its mouth
on the right-hand side is a slag heap, containing traces of copper. Ten
miles farther down the plain is the mouth of the Wadi Firan, up
which, according to the most probable conjecture, the Israelites
marched. We therefore here quit for a time their track, and advance
up the Seh Ba'ba', a narrow valley between hills of limestone, which
soon widens out at the mouth of the Wddi Shelldl (the Valley of the
Cataracts) (2 m.), so called from a remarkable fall. There is a footpath
to the head of Wadi Nasb. Up this valley lies the road, between
sandstone and limestone rocks of fantastic form and colours. The
scenery begins to be very fine, and to afford a sample of the grander
features of the Sinaitic country. The path rises rapidly over a rugged
tract of ground, and then comes suddenly to, the foot of Nakb Budera
(4 m.), an abrupt cliff of variegated sandstone, about 100 ft. high. Up
its face winds a steep path, here and there supported by a rubble wall ;
it is quite practicable for baggage-camels. At the summit is a very
small plain from which the road leads through a narrow winding pass,
shut in by beautifully coloured rocks, into the Wddi Nakb Budira
(2J m.), and then turns to the left up the Seh Sidra (1 m.). Here is
obtained the first glimpse of the red granite of the Peninsula. At first
it is only seen on the left bank of Seh Sidra, then it appears on the
right, after which it ends, and the gorge, sweeping round a cliff of
sandstone, issues on a broad valley. At the upper end of the gorge
comes in on the left a small valley, Wddi Kena (1J m.).
If the camp should be pitched for the night somewhere near this
spot, the traveller may think it worth while to devote a few hours to
visiting the old Egyptian Turquoise Mines of Maghara, which are
not far distant. Half a. mile from its mouth the Wadi Kena divides,
and a few yards up its northern branch, called Wddi Keniya, are the
turquoise mines, situated at from 150 to 200 ft. above the valley, in
some sandstone cliffs on the western side. At the fork of the valley is
a conical hill, strewed with the ruins of buildings occupied by the
captive miners and their guards ; and at the foot of the hill are the
remains of the house occupied by the late Major Macdonald, who
worked the mines for some time. From the ruins a bank of loose
stones runs down into the valley and up again to the mines, a causeway
apparently for the passage of the miners, and intended to save the
labour of climbing up and down the steep banks. From the house a
camel-road leads up the valley to a spring of good water, 3 m. distant.
Maghdra signifies " a cave," and is a term applied, not to one particular
spot, but to the whole district in which the mines are situated.
Besides the workings at this spot, others may be seen in the Seh Sidra,
near the mouth of the Wadi Kena, and in Wadi Umm Theman, which
enters Seh Sidra about a mile lower down.
According to the hieroglyphic tablets at Maghara, the first Egyptian
monarchs who invaded the Peninsula were Semerkhat of the
I. Dynasty, Sanekht of the II. Dynasty, and Tjeser and Sneferu, of
the III. Dynasty, the latter of whom put up a tablet recording his
eonquest of the country, and discovery of the mines, Jibufu (IV,


232 ROUTE 16.  CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. [Sect, III.
Dyn.), the builder of, the Great Pyramid, also has- a tablet close
to the entrance of the cave. There are records of various monarchs
of the V. and VI. Dynasties (Sahu-Ra, Ne-user-Ra, Men-kaU-Hor,
Dad-ka-Ra Assa, Pepi I., and Pepi IL). A temple was built on tbe
spot, and inspectors regularly visited the mines. We find no records
of the troublous age which followed the VI; Dynasty, but there is
a monument of Senuesret or Usertsen II. of the XII. Dynasty, and
in the second year of Amenemhat III. an expedition appears to
have been sent to the province of Mafket, as the Sinaitic Peninsula
was called, and there are various tablets of this monarch's reign
referring to the working of the mines. The name of his successor,
Amenemhat IV., also appears among the inscriptions. A gap in
the records again occurs until the XVlII. Dynasty, when there
is an inscription recording an expedition to the mine during the
joint reigns of Hatshepsu and Thothmes III. No more royal names
have been met with until we come to the reign of Ramses IL, whose
name is found on a column. After his age the mines seem to have
been exhausted, those of Sarabit el-Khadim taking their place. The
place was called in the hieroglyphic "the Mines of Sneferu," and was
under the protection of the goddess Hathor, with whom are associated
Thoth and Sopt (or Sirius, the presiding deity of the Arabian nome of
Goshen, to which the province of Mafket belonged). Besides copper,
the mineral extracted from the mines was mafket, or turquoise. The
mines were used as a convict settlement.
In modern days a Scotsman, Major Macdonald, lived at Maghara
for some years, mining turquoises ; and lately a company has
exploited the mines. Unhappily, whereas Major Macdonald was most
careful never to injure an inscription, the miners of the last few years
have not been so scrupulous, and have indeed ruthlessly destroyed
many of the ancient sculptures in order to get at the turquoises. Prof.
Petrie ,says. (' Researches in Sinai,' p. 46) that " ignorant engineers
destroyed what was, in the European market of museums, worth far
more than all the turquoises which they extracted." The inscriptions
of Khufu, Assa, Pepi and Amenemhat have been destroyed. Those of
Sneferu, Sahura, Men-kau-Hor and Ne-user-Ra have been damaged.
" Only the Semerkhet scene, high up above the quarries, the seoond
Sneferu scene and the tablet of Tahutmes IH. have escaped the
wanton mischief " (Petrie, loc. cit.). Those tablets that remained (in .a
more or less damaged condition} have now been removed by Mr. C. T.
Currelly, for the Egypt Exploration Fund and the Egyptian Govern
ment, to the Cairo Museum, with the exception of that of Semerkhat,
which is so high above the valley that it will, no doubt, escape future
damage. This monument is on the W. face of the Wadi, about 400 ft.
up the side. There are three figures of this early king (4000 B.C.),
wearing royal crowns ; the third figure smites a fallen Arab. In front
of the royal figures is that of a general (ha mermeshau) holding bow and
arrows. The style of work is simple and severe.
Leaving the point where the Wadi Kena joins the . Seh Sidra, we
continue along the latter till its junction with the Wadi Mukatteb
(the "Written Valley") (5 m.), a broad shallow watercourse, with
terraced cliffs, piled up at the base with crumbling blocks and fragments.
It derives its name from the so-called Sinaitic Inscriptions with which


Sect. III.] ROUTE 16. — CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. 233
its rocks abound. These inscriptions are to be found in more or less
abundance all the way from Wadi Kena to the head of Wadi Mukatteb,
but the greater number of them occur in clusters in the space of about
a mile at the lower end of this wadi. They are generally found in the
lower strata of sandstone. At one time supposed to be of great
antiquity, they are now known to have been the work of Nabathean
travellers and pilgrims of the 2nd-4th centuries a.d. Similar inscrip
tions have been found in the desert E. of the Nile, as well as at Petra.
and one (belonging to a Nabathean soldier) at Pozzuoli in Italy. The
language of them is Aramaic, and the alphabet is a cursive form of that
development of the old Aramaic, alphabet which we find in the Palmy-
rene inscriptions, and out of which grew the square Hebrew characters.
They generally begin with the word shaldm, "peace," and record the
names of merchants or of heathen pilgrims to the sacred places of the
Sinaitic Peninsula. From the watershed at the head of Wadi Mukatteb
the view is very beautiful, presenting striking contrasts of form and
colour! On the E. is a magnificent red granite mountain, Jebel
Merzega. The road now descends from the watershed, and enters a wide
boulder-strewn valley towards Wadi Firan (4 m.), the grandest of all
the Sinaitic wadis. About a mile up the valley, at the mouth of Wddi
Nisrin, are some stone circles and cairns, probably sepulchral monu
ments' of -¦¦ very early date. There are some 14 or 15 circles closely
grouped together, and of from 10 to 20 ft. in diameter. In the centre
of each is a cist, about 4 ft. long, 2J ft. broad, and 2£ ft. deep, composed
of four large stones, and a covering slab. Inside the cists have been
found human bones, teeth, &c, and in one instance a small bracelet of
copper, lance and arrow-heads, and a necklace of marine shells.
Though the bones were decomposed, the outline of the body could be
traced, placed on its left side, in the bent position usually considered
one of the oldest forms of burial.
The Wadi Firan now opens out into a succession of long open
reaches, with Jebel Serbal and its neighbouring peaks filling up the
background. The soil is a crisp granite gravel, with here and there
tracts strewn with boulders or shingle. The rich colouring of the
sandstone rocks is now exchanged for the somewhat more sober hues,
but more varied outlines, of granite, gneiss, &c. As we advance farther
the bed of the wadi narrows, and the scenery becomes grander at every
step. At a sharp angle of the valley, on its right bank, is a large block
of fallen granite, covered with a heap of pebbles and small stones.
This is called Hesi el-Khattdtin (11 m.), and is declared by the Bedawis
to be the identical rock struck by Moses to supply the thirsty Israelites
(Ex. xvii. 6). It should be noted that we are again on a route believed
to have been taken by the Israelites, who are supposed to have come
up Wadi Firan from the sea. Contrary to most of the traditional sites
in the Peninsula, this rock is just where we should expect to find it.
The Amalekites, encamped three miles higher up the valley at Rephidim
(Firan), cut off all access to the water supply there; and the eager
thirst of the Israelites, after three weary marches without coming to
any springs, may well at last have caused the murmurings described in
tije sacred, narrative, when they found themselves cut off from the
hoped-for oasis, The grandeur and desolation of the scenery now


234 ROUTE 16.  CAIRO TO MOUNT sinai. [Sect. Ill
become almost overpowering, and the eye rests with pleasure on the
little oasis of el-Heswa, to be followed not long after by the welcome
sight of the great palm-grove of Firan, a rich mass of dark-green foliage
winding eastward through the hills. A rugged valley, Wddi 'Aleydt,
at whose head stands Jebel Serbal, here comes in from the south-east ;
and in the centre of the open space caused by their junction stands a
low hill, el-Maharrad (3 m.), crowned with ruins. In this pleasant
oasis the traveller will pitch his tent with delight, and, if he can,
devote at least one day, or still better two days, to an examination of
the surrounding district.
Ascent of Jebel Serbal. — This will occupy a whole day, and should
not be undertaken by any but good walkers and climbers, as the way is
hard and toilsome, and the climbing near the summit requires a steady
head and some experience in mountaineering. The ascent from Firan
will take about 5 hrs. Jebel Serbal is in many ways the most striking
mountain of the Peninsula ; it rises abruptly to a height of 4000 ft.
above the valleys at its base, and its summit, a ridge about 3 m. long,
is broken into a series of beautifully outlined peaks of nearly the same
height. The loftiest 6734 ft., is towards the eastern extremity of the
ridge. Some writers have identified Serbal with the Mt. Sinai of tho
Bible, but many authorities agree in considering that the topographical
requirements of the Bible narrative are not met by its position. There
is no large plain in its vicinity on which the Israelites could have
encamped in sight of the mountain. But this objection does not
seem so important as it was formerly considered to be (see p. 227).
The way to Jebel Serbal lies up the Wddi 'Aleydt, a broad rugged
valley, with a few trees and a little herbage. At the upper part of the
wadi, which rises rapidly in its 3 miles' course, are some springs of cool
water and » few palms. The path now enters the lower slopes of
Serbal. Hence to the summit basin from which the peaks rise there
are two principal paths, or goat-tracks, one by a steep rocky ravine
called Abd Hamad (the Road of " the Wild Fig-tree"), and the other
and longer one by two less precipitous paths called Sikket Sadur and
Sihket er-Beshshdh (the "Road of the Sweater "). The principal peak
is an enormous smooth dome of granite surmounted by a cupola of like
nature. The climbing here is not easy, and it is only the coarse nature
of the rock, which affords a good foothold, that makes it possible to get
up or down, there being nothing to cling to. In a few places there are
steps of loose stones, laid probably ages ago, which make the task
easier. A narrow ledge runs out from near the summit of the peak for
about 50 yards, ending in a sheer precipice of 4000 feet. On this are
the ruins of the lighthouse, which gives its name el-Madhawwa to the
highest peak of Serbal. It was one in a system of beacon-fires kept up
from Matah Hudhera, or "Look-outs of Hazeroth," to Suez, and along
the sea coast. It is a rude stone structure, probably built by the same
men who traced the Sinaitic inscriptions, several of which are found on
the path up to the summit, and in a hollownear the lighthouse. Capt.
H. S. Palmer thus describes the view from the top of Serbal -—"From
the summit of Serbal the landscape on a clear day is one of the most
striking and varied, if not the most extensive, in the country. Looking
seaward a wild chaos of rock and mountain fills the foreground; then
comes the hot brown El ka'a; then Tor and its palm groves, faintly
seen, and the low coast range farther north ; then the glittering water


Sect. III.] ROUTE 16. — CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. 235
of the gulf, backed in the far distance by grey and purple ranges of
African mountains. Looking inland, the eye roams over an amazing
complication of desert mountains and valleys — a vast network, of which
the white and grey wadi beds, winding in fanciful snaky patterns over
the whole face of the country, form the threads, while mountains of
all sizes, forms, and hues fill the interstices ; northward the far
prospect is closed by the long blank of the Tih escarpment ; the peaks
of Katarina and Umm Shomer rise darkly in the south east ; at
your feet is Faran, a thin green line of palms straggling through the
hills." The derivation of the word Serbdl is, according to Professor E. H.
Palmer, whose etymology has been adopted in this account of the
Peninsula, from the Arabic word sirbdl, a "shirt" or "coat of mail,"
in allusion to the gushing of the waters, during a storm, over the round
smooth rocks of "the summit, which clothe it, as it were, with a shirt,
or coat of mail, of glittering fluid.
The objects of interest close to Firan itself are many, but they can
only be briefly alluded to here. The evidence in favour of its being the
Bephidim of the Bible has been already pointed out ; but there is one
more feature, and that an important one, that should be mentioned.
On the right bank of the wadi, opposite the hillock of El-Maharrad, is
a conical hill called Jebel et-Tahuna (the " Mountain of the Windmill"),
about 600 ft. high, so placed as to be in full view of the two valleys
'Aleyat and Flrsln, where the battle between the Israelites and the
Amalekites would have been fought, and accessible from a point near
el-Heswa, lower down the Wadi Firan. Access to this hill would have
been easy to Moses, and from its summit he could have witnessed the
battle raging below (see Ex. xvii. 9-12). An early Christian tradition
favours this view, and Antoninus Martyr (a.d. 600) states that a chapel
stood on the spot from which Moses viewed the battle. Ruins of such
a chapel still exist on the summit of Jebel et-Tahrina. Its aisles,
divided by square pillars of red sandstone, can still be traced, and the
form of the apse. It was afterwards altered and turned into a mosque.
The whole of the path, or rather flight of steps, which leads up from
Wadi Firan to the top of Jebel et-Tahrina, is lined with the remains
of small chapels, often built over the cells or tombs of anchorites,
and serving as "stations" on the way to the principal church
at the summit. All this seems to prove that Jebel et-Tahima was
regarded as a place of great sanctity by the Christian pilgrims of
early ages.
The Ruins of Firan itself are those of the old episcopal city of
Pharan, which is first mentioned by the geographer Ptolemy (2nd cent.
a.d.), though the Oasis of Pharan was known to Diodorus (B.C. 60).
The old convent and church stand on the top of the hillock (el-
Maharrad) already mentioned, at the junction of the wadis. The
principal walls of the convent still remain, built of flat stones and mud,
with sun-dried bricks at the top. The church is at the northern end,
and, from the number of capitals, broken shafts, and other remains
found within its walls, appears to have been a building of some import
ance. On a low neck of land which connects the hillock with the wadi
are the remains of the town, surrounded by a wall which was 7 ft. high;
parts of it remain, the composite of mud and srualj stones being here


236 ROUTE 16. — CAIRO TO MOUNT sinai. [Sect.HI.
faced with large unhewn boulders. Both within arid without the Walls
are the remains of buildings, and to the West, in a " jorf " or bank of
alluvium, is the cemetery; the tombs are partly cut perpendicularly
in the face of the rock, and partly built with large stones, and the
entrances are either closed by large slabs of stone, or built up with mud
and stones.' These tombs are often used by the Arabs. On the
right bank of the Wadi Firan is a deserted village, which probably
formed part of the old city, but which bears traces of having been
occupied at a later period by a settled Arab population. •
The hill called Jebel el-Moneja (the " Hill of the Conference "), in
the E. bank of Wadi 'Aleyat, is remarkable for the number of Sinaitic
inscriptions found on it. There is a small enclosure on the top, both
within and without which the inscriptions abound. It is looked upon
by the Bedawis as a place of great sanctity, and they sacrifice a lamb in
front of the enclosure at the time of the date harvest in Wadi Firan.'
On both banks of Wadi Firan were the homes of numerous ancho
rites who once lived there, and sat " like a lot of rabbits at the mouths
of their holes." There are also a number of tombs, generally with two
tiers of "loculi"; they lie almost invariably E. and W., and the
method of burial appears to have been to lay the bodies on their backs
on the bare rock, heads to the W., feet to the E., the arms stretched
out at full length by the side. _ ..
There are the remains of several monastic establishments in the
neighbourhood of Wadi Firan, of which tbe most remarkable are in
Wddi Sikiliya to the S. of Serbal, an almost inaccessible .gorge
approached by a road the construction of which, as shown by what
still remains of it, proves the monks to have been both skilled- and
energetic in road making.
The natural beauties of the Oasis of Firan are almost enough to
induce the traveller to spend a day in doing nothing else but giving
himself up to their delights. For 4 miles, beginning from the mouth
of Wadi 'Aleyat, which extends up the valley, a luxuriant mass of trees
and vegetation is hemmed in between magnificent rugged granite'cliffs
from 600 to 800 ft. in height. Here all the trees common to the Pen
insula show at their best, and the date-bearing palm is of unusual Size
and fruitfulness. A varied undergrowth of herbs and grasses, moss1,
turf, small flowers, rushes, and other marshy plants, covers the bed
of the valley, save where some stone-strewn dry torrent bed marks
the course of and the ravages of recent floods. Here and there are
clusters of rough Bedawi houses, with enclosed gardens, in which are
grown maize and tobacco, irrigated by means of water raised by shaditfs.
Through this long valley, the Paradise of the Arabs, the traveller
bends his way on leaving Firan, till, after about 3 miles, the palms and
water cease, and the only verdure is a tamarisk grove. In another
mile this also ends, and all is again barren and desolate. At this point
occur a series of curious alluvial deposits, consisting of banks of soil
rising sometimes to a height of 100 ft., and extending along the wadi's
brink. By tbe Bedawis they are called "jitruf" (sing. 'jorf). Their
origin is uncertain, but Mr. Holland attributes their formation to the
beds of alluvium gradually formed by slowly-flowing streams being
washed away by the rushing torrents that sweep down the Wadis
during a storm, El Buwib — an islet of gneiss in mid-channel^forms


Sect. III.] ROUTE 16.— CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. 237
"the gate" of Wadi Firan, through which the road passes into the
Wadi Solaf ; and a short distance farther on the mouth of Wadi esh-
Shekh (6 m.) is reached.
We continue up the Wadi Solaf; which opens out into long straight
reaches. At the mouth of Wddi Umm Tdkka are a number of the
primitive stone houses, before alluded to (p. 222), called nawdmis (sing.

NEIGHBOURHOOD OP THE MONASTERY OP ST. CATHERINE, MOUNT SINAI.
(From the Survey made by the Royal Engineers.)
namits-, not "nawdmi," a word that does not exist), which resemble
the "bothan," or beehive houses of Scotland. Their usual shape is
an ellipse or irregular circle from 40 to 50 ft. in circumference, with
walls 2£ to. 3 ft. thick : these walls rise perpendicularly for 2 ft., and
then begin to close in-, each successive course of stone projecting
. slightly beyond the one below it, till only a small hole, covered with a


238 ROUTE 16.— CAIRO TO MOUNT sInai. [Sect. Ill;
flat stdne, is left at the top. The doors are about If ft. wide, and the
same in 1 height, with lintels and doorposts. Sometimes a large
granite boulder forms n. portion of a wall. There is no evidence of
any tool having been used in their construction. Some of them were
examined in 1904 by Mr. C. T. Currelly, who found bone bracelets and
other remains of the primitive inhabitants.
About 3 m. beyond these stone houses the direction of the wadi
changes, and approaches the wall of granite cliffs which forms the
north-western frontier of the heart of the Peninsula. Through this
massive barrier, 14 m. in length, and which rises some 3000 ft. above
the level of Wadi Solaf, there are but two openings ; one through the
pass of Nakb el-Hawa, about half-way along the barrier, and the other
through the pass of el-Watiya, in the Wadi esh-Shekh, at -its extreme
northern end. At the entrance of the Nakb el-Hawa (14 m.) the camp
will probably be pitched on the day of leaving Firan ; and even if it
should be necessary the next day to send the baggage-camels by the
longer and easier route, the traveller himself will do well to follow
the magnificent approach by Nakb el-Hawa (the ' ' Pass of the
Wind"). At the turn from Wadi Solaf are some stone circles and nawdmis.
The foot of the pass is about a mile from the wadi. The first part of
the ascent is steep and difficult, and winds up an ancient road in and
out amongst tremendous blocks and boulders detached from the heights
and precipices which hem in the defile. A few wild fig-trees and
stunted palms, with straggling patches of vegetation, mark the bed of
the torrent. After a time the ascent becomes 'less steep, and after a
long 2 hrs.' climb the summit of the pass (5 m.) is reached, and the
cliffs of Ras Sufsafa are seen closing the prospect in the far distance.
After a short descent the path rises again along the Wddi Abil Sela,
which soon widens into a plain, and then the crest of the hill is reached
(5140 ft. above the level of the sea), and the whole plain of Er-Raha,
with Jebel Sufsafa only 2 m. off, and the Monastery of St. Catherine
nestling in the Wadi ed-Der, lies spread out before the astonished gaze.
"It is a view which, once seen, is not likely to be forgotten. Indeed,
the whole prospect from this point is so beautiful and sublime that no
beholder can fail to be impressed by it. It is indeed unrivalled ; there
is nothing else like it in this or any other part of the Peninsula— the
long wide plain sloping down to the mount, the grand outlines of the
surrounding hills, and the stately cliffs of the Ras Sufsafa, the ' brow '
of Sinai or Jebel Musa, overlooking and seen from every point in the
plain below, the most conspicuous and imposing feature in a landscape
where all is grand."— Capt. H. S. Palmer. Crossing er-Bdha, we
reach the foot of Ras Sufsafa, and leaving the Wadi esh-Shekh on
tbe 1. continue up the Wadi ed-Der to the walls of the Monastery
of St. Catherine (5 m.) ; unless indeed the traveller decides to
encamp, rather than seek the hospitality of the monks, in which
case the tents will probably be pitched at the entrance of the
Wadi ed-Der.
Before proceeding to describe the convent, and Jebel Musa and its
neighbourhood, it may be well to give a short account of the other
route, which leaves the one already noticed at Wadi Shebeka and
rejoins it at the Nakb el-Hawa.


Sect. III.] ROUTE i6. — CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. 239
B. — Via Sababit el-Khadim. Miles.
Ayun Musa to Wadi Shebeka (see A) . . 79
Sarbut el-Jemel  7
Wadi Suwik (mouth of) . IS
Sarabit el-Khadim (foot of) . .6
Debebat Shekh Ahmad .... .7
Erwes el-Eberik  21
Wadi Solaf (head op and mouth of Nakb el-Hawa . 12
Jebel Musa,;&c., vid Nakb el-Hawa (see A) . . .10 165
On leaving Wadi Shebeka, the road turns up Wadi Hamr, a fine
open valley with low chalk cliffs, till it reaches the base of Sarbut el-
Jemel (7 m.), a ridge of limestone and flint conglomerate rising 1200 ft.
above the valley. Passing round this mountain to the S.E., the wadi
contracts again between sandstone rocks, on which are some Sinaitic
inscriptions, and opens on to the great sandy plain of Debbet er-Bamla.
The way lies along the western side of this plain, gradually ascending a
terraced rocky tract till about midway the highest point is reached
(1797 ft.), commanding a fine view of the plain stretching eastward,
with the lofty Tth escarpment beyond, and on the S. the mountains of
Wadi Nasb and Sarabit el-Khadim. A steep descent now leads to Wddi
Baabra, and then after a short time an open seh is reached, formed by
the confluence of five wadis. This point forms the north-western
limit of the Egyptian mining colony, which, extending southwards to
Maghara (see Rte. A) and eastwards to Sarabit el-Khadim, is the most
interesting in the country for an archaeologist. A short distance from
the road to the rt., up Wddi Nasb, are some old mine-workings and slag
heaps. It is the great watering-place of this district, and the water is
excellent. We now leave the plain and turn up Wadi Suwik (13 m.), a
winding valley cut through sandstone. Leaving the baggage camels to
proceed along an easier route by Wadi Marra to Wadi Khamila, the
traveller toils through deep sand to the mouth of the small rocky
ravine which leads to Sardbit el-Khddim(6 m.). Here even the riding-
camels must be left, and the rest of the distance done on foot. There
is a fifteen or twenty minutes' walk up the wadi, and then half-an-
hour's tiresome climb up a rough incline, surmounted by a steep sand
stone cliff. On the top of the plateau, which is 700 ft. above the wadi,
are the
Ruins of Sarabit el-Khadim. — These consist of two temples of
different dates ; the earlier merely a rock-hewn chamber with an open
vestibule in front ; the latter a large building, connected with the
former, but not in the same straight line with it. Both appear to have
been reconstructed. In the centre of the rock-hewn chamber a square
pillar of solid rock has been left to support the roof ; both this and the
walls of the chamber were formerly covered with hieroglyphs and
coloured. At the end of the chamber are two recesses ; one of which,
formerly provided with a door, leads to a small space roofed over with
large flat slabs ; near this is another rock-hewn chamber, and in front
of the two stretches an open court, the walls of which are covered with
Bculptured scenes. In this court are some stelce (of the VI. and XII.


240 ROUTE 16. — CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. [Sect. Ill
Dynasties chiefly), which appear to have been removed from their
original position. The cave-shrine is apparently of XII. Dynasty
date. The later temple consists of a large square court, With frag
ments of pillars and Hathor-headed capitals, and of a long building
divided into numerous small chambers. At the end nearest the
rock-hewn temple is a large gateway. The walls are covered with
tablets and inscriptions, and the whole must have been very fine when
perfect ; at present it is one mass of ruin. Round the temples are
long heaps of stone, the remains probably of enclosing walls. The
whole is much buried in sand. The little digging done by the Ordnance
Survey resulted in the finding of a small gold ornament, a few scarabaei,
broken necklaces, fragments of pottery, &c. The number of s'tcUe
is remarkable : they were finely photographed by the Ordnance
Survey, so that all danger of the loss of the inscriptions to science
through destruction of the stelce was obviated. In 1902i the site
was visited and examined by Mr. R. C. Thompson, of the British
Museum, and in 1904-5 it was cleared by Professor Petrie for the
Egypt Exploration Fund, some interesting remains being brought back
to England. It appears, according to the late Dr. Birch, who edited the stelae-
inscriptions for the Ordnance Survey publications, that the colony of
Sarabit el-Khadim dates for the most part from a later epoch than that
of Maghara. Its Egyptian name was "the Mines of Ka," who was
probably their first discoverer. Like those of the Wadi Maghara, they
were worked as far back as the time of Sneferu or earlier, but not on a.
large scale. Amenemhat II. of the XII. Dynasty was the first to open
the chief mines, and found the temples. His name is cut on the face
of the rock near the temple. There are many other tablets with the
names of other kings of that dynasty, Amenemhat III. and IV. Like
Maghara, Sarabit el-Khadim was abandoned from the XII. to the
XVIH. Dynasties. Thothmes III. then recommenced working the
mines, aud was followed by Thothmes IV. and Amen-hetep III. The
kings of the XIX. Dynasty, especially Seti I. and Ramses II., have
nearly all left records here. Though the temple was probably founded
during the XII. Dynasty, the first name found on it is . that of
Thothmes III., and other monarchs follow down to Ramses IV., in
cluding Mer-en-Ptah, the Pharaoh of the Exodus (?), and Ramses HI.,
as well as his father Set-nekht, of the XX. Dynasty. On a fragment of
a temple-vessel the name of Ramses IX. has also been found. Hathor
is the principal divinity, with Set and Khnemu. There are many
tablets and inscriptions cut in the sandstone of the mining district
which surrounds Sarabit el-Khadim. Prof. Petrie has claimed that the
stelce are Semitic bethels or btetyli, and that the whole temple is, of
" Semitic type." Mr. R. C. Thompson has, however, pointed out in
Man, June and Aug. 1905, that these views rest on a slender foundation.
We cannot say that the temple is un-Egyptian in style, and the stela
seem quite Egyptian in form, while their inscriptions contain no
religious element of Semitic character. How far the Egyptian use of
stelce itself may be of " proto-Semitic " origin is another question.
Returning to Wadi Suwik, which gradually becomes broad and
steep, the road lies through heavy burning sand to the foot of Nakb
Sdwik. A winding rocky trail leads to the summit, and then we
descend again by a rugged path into Wddi Khamila, at which point


Sect. III.] ROUTE 16.  CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. 241
comes in the road followed by the baggage-camels. A short way
farther on, on the right-hand side, are two large rocks with Sinaitic
inscriptions. Continuing up the N. branch of Wadi Khamlla, we reach
a small sandy plain, called Debibat Shikh Ahmad (7 m.), from a Bedawi
saint who lies buried in the tomb by the wayside. Just beyond the
mouth of Wddi Merikh are some nawdmis (see pp. 222, 237) and circular
tombs. Wadi Barak, up which the road now turns, is a long broad
valley, steep and rocky, with a number of fine seydl-trees. The sand
stone is here exchanged for gneiss. Five miles up Wadi Barak is a
wah of loose stones, built by the Arabs to keep out Mohammed Ali's
soldiery. At the top of the valley is a group of nawdmis. Wadi
Labwa is a broad open valley with a granite gravel soil. About 1$ miles
up it, on the left of the road, is a cleft in a large rock, containing a
spring of cool delicious water ; it is called Shakik el-'Ajilza (" the Old
Woman's Rift "). Granite rocks now succeed to gneiss, and the wadi
expands into an open plain, two miles wide, well clothed with desert
herbage. The plain again contracts, and, crossing the watershed, the
road enters Wadi Berah, in a side valley to the N. of which there is
good water. Two miles up this valley is a rock, called Hajar cl-Lagh-
wah, with Sinaitic inscriptions ; and three miles farther on we reach
the feature from which the wadi derives its name, ' ' the Valley of the
Passers-Out " — two massive bluffs of red granite, standing like gigantic
sentinels, through which we pass out by a narrow gorge into a wide
plain called Erwis el-Ebirik (21 m.), not to be confused with a spot of
the same name near 'Ain Hudhera. A road leads hence to el-Buwcb
in Wadi Firan, 8 miles off.
From Erwes el-Eberik, which commands a fine view of Serbal, we
piss by the Wddi Solef into the Wddi esh-Shikh, and thence by the
Wddi Sahab to the head of Wddi Soldf and the mouth of Nakb el-Hawa
(12 m.). The road hence to Jebel Musa has been described under
Rte. A. C— Via Toe.
This, the third and shortest route, is made principally by sea, but
as storms in the Red Sea are rare except during the khamasin, this
part of the journey need not be otherwise than agreeable. The
traveller may go to Mt. Sinai' and back in eleven days by the following
route : —
Leave Cairo by an early train for Suez (p. 38), passing the night
there. Go on the next day by boat to the Wells of Moses (p. 48),
returning to Suez for the night. Proceed by steam launch to Tor,
which can easily be reached that evening. There is a good harbour,
well protected by coral reefs. The monks of Mt. Sinai have large
plantations here, and there is also a Greek monastery. The Monastery
of St. Catherine (below) can be reached easily in two days' journey from
Tor, and by two routes, but the most interesting is that by the
Wadires-Sleh. After a few hours' camel ride through the gradually
ascending desert, the base of the mountain is reached, and a descent
is then made into a valley, which appears to have been formed by
a mountain torrent. Water is plentiful, and palms and tamarisks
abound. Passing next through a rocky gorge and a narrow defile, the
valley gradually opens, and Wadi .Tarfa will be found a good camping- B


242 ROUTE 16.  CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. [Sect. III.
place for the night. From thence the journey to the Monastery of
St. Catherine can be made through the Wadi Rahaba and over a
mountain ridge, from which a fine view may be obtained of the Jebel
Musa. Allowing a stay of two days at St. Catherine, the Monastery
and its precincts can be seen, the Chapel of the Burning Bush visited,
and the ascent of Jebel Miisa made, passing the spring at which Moses
is said to have tended his father-in-law's sheep (p. 245). The return
journey will be exactly the same route as that before traversed.
9. The Monastery of St. Catherine.
History. — The first settlement of Christian communities in Sinai
probably took place during the persecutions which raged in Egypt and
Syria in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. There is no doubt that during the
4th century Jebel Miisa and the neighbouring mountains swarmed
with hermits, who in a.d. 373 were attacked by the Arabs and great
numbers slain. The monastery of Der el-'Arba'in in the Wadi el-Leja is
said to commemorate the death of 40 of them. After this they seem
to have chiefly settled at Firan and Mt. Serbal. They had so far
recovered themselves in the 6th cent, that a legate appeared at the
Council of Constantinople in a.d. 536 to represent " Holy Mount Sinai."
Six years previously, i.e. in a.d. 530, according to Procopius, Justinian
founded on the slope of Jebel Miisa a church, dedicated to the Virgin,
and a fortress to protect the monks from the Saracens. The fortress
is no doubt the present convent. From that period Firan declined in
importance, and in the 10th cent, the episcopal seat was transferred to
Sinai. Within their stronghold the monks were able to resist the
attacks of the marauding Arabs, whose habits of persecution were not
changed by their conversion to Islam. They were protected, too,
generally by the rulers of Egypt, who gave them certain privileges,
some of which they still enjoy. In the 14th cent. Rudolph von Suchem,
who visited the monastery, stated that it contained 400 monks, under
an archbishop. There were also at that time six other monasteries in
the Peninsula, and many hermitages. In the 17th cent, there only
remained the community of Sinai, dwindled down to 60 monks ; and
now it contains but 20 or 30. The monastery has always remained of
the Orthodox Greek rite, and never belonged to the Copts, of whom
there never were any in Sinai.
The monastery is nominally presided over by an archbishop. He
is elected by the monks themselves from among their priests, but tbe
election must be confirmed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The local
head of the monastery is the prior. The rule of the monks is very
strict. No meat and wine are allowed, and during fasts butter, milk,
and even oil are forbidden ; they are, however, allowed to drink a very
strong spirit distilled from dates ('araki). The services are long and
frequent, the Greek ritual being performed eight times in the 24 hours,
and every one must be present at least four times, twice during the
day and twice during the night. Most of the monks are quite unedu
cated, the lay brothers being recruited from the lowest class of Greek
peasants. They all follow some trade, which their situation compels
them to take up— baker, gardener, cook, shoemaker, &c. Now and
then an intelligent monk may be found there, undergoing a period of
banishment from his own monastery. *


Sect. III.] ROUTE 16.  CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. 243
Description. — There is no difficulty in obtaining admission to the
monastery, if the visitor is provided with the proper letter of intro
duction, already alluded to (p. 217). It is no longer necessary to enter
by the trap-door in the wall, some 30 ft. above the ground, up to which
all who sought admittance were formerly hauled by a rope. The
present entrance is by a low door in one of the buttresses on the north
side of the convent, through which a short vaulted passage leads to a
postern in the convent wall. The ancient entrance is a little to the
right, in the centre of the N. face, and is a fine door 7 ft. wide, but it
has for many years been closed with masonry. Above the lintel is a
relieving arch, and over this a machicoulis, in which is a tablet with a
Greek inscription not hitherto deciphered. As the machicoulis and the
inscription both belong to the period at which the monastery was built,
it is to be hoped that some one will succeed in reading the inscription.
There are other tablets above the buttress in which is the modern
entrance, with inscriptions in Greek and Arabic giving the history of
the building of the convent by Justinian. The whole of the N. wall is
much cracked, and the masonry concealed by rubble heaped against it.
The top is modern. The E. wall, in which is the trap-door mentioned
above, was almost rebuilt at the end of the last century by the orders
of General Kleber, and an inscription in modern Greek on a small
tablet in one of the round towers commemorates the fact. The S. wall
has also been partially rebuilt, and is supported with buttresses ; along
the top is a covered passage forming a pleasant promenade. The W.
wall, owing to its position, is the best preserved, and shows how strong
and massive the old building was. Numerous crosses and other devices
are seen in the covering stones of the loopholes. The original form of
the building was an irregular quadrangle, with slightly projecting
towers at each angle, and in the E., W., and S. sides. Its position was
probably determined by the abundant water supply in the neighbour
hood, and the existence near it of the traditional site of the Burning
Bush, and the chapel and tower built by order of the Empress Helena.
Having passed through the entrance, which is protected by no less
than three doors, and is so narrow that only one man can enter at a
time, the visitor finds himself in the interior, and will probably be
conducted at once to the guest chambers high up over the N. wall.
Here, if he means to remain in the monastery, he will take up his
abode. Lodging, bread, and water are what the convent provides for
its guests, so of course servants and food will have to be taken in. A
bakhshish of about £1 a head is expected when the traveller leaves, over
and above what his dragoman may have given for the things provided.
Originally the interior was laid out with great regularity, but there
are few signs of the old plan still remaining. The following is a graphic
description of the general view : — ' ' Though the interior presents a
scene of the most hopeless confusion when looked down upon from the
guest chambers, there is not wanting a certain quaint picturesqueness
and charm, which is heightened in spring by the bright green of the
trellised vines. Two tiers of loopholes are still visible in the W. wall,
and some few of the vaults and arches within remain intact ; but they
are for the most part broken down and filled with all manner of filth.
Over, above, and within them are the buildings of after-ages, mosques,
chapels, bakeries, distilleries, and stables, some themselves gone to
ruin, and serving as foundations for still later erections of mud and
B 2


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246 ROUTE 16.— CAIRO VO MOUNT SINAI. [Sect. 111.
(Economos or Bursar, a small building of unhewn stone, erected to
commemorate the miraculous extirpation of fleas from the convent—
a miracle which most visitors will agree in thinking needs repetition.
The road now turns to the rt., and ascends sharply to a clelt in the
rock, spanned by a circular arch with a cross on either face. Here sat
St. Stephen the porter and his successors and shrived the pilgrims,
who passed on repeating Ps. xxiv. 3, 4, "Who shall ascend into the
hill of the Lord," &c. A little farther on is another gateway, and then
a small plain at the foot of the peak of Jebel Miisa is reached. Here is
a ruined garden, a solitary cypress-tree, and a building containing the
Chapels of Elijah and Elisha. Monkish tradition points out a small
grotto in which the former lived (1 Kings xix. 8, 9).
From this point a stiff half -hour's climbing takes one to the top of
Jebel Miisa. On the way we pass the footprints of the prophet's
camel, and a stone said to mark the spot where Elijah was turned
back as unworthy to tread the holy ground above. On the top are
two buildings, a chapel and a mosque, both built of stones taken from
the ruins of an early convent. Tradition places the chapel near the
"clift of the rock" where Moses was when the glory of the Lord
passed by (Ex. xxxiii. 22), and says the cave beneath the mosque was
where he passed the forty days and forty nights. The summit of Jebel
Musa is 7363 ft. above the sea. The term "Jebel Mrisa" may be
applied to the whole ridge, of which this is the highest peak, but by
the monks and Arabs the term is confined to the summit on which
we now stand. The upper portion is of grey granite, the lower of red.
On the S. side is a sheer descent of more than 1000 ft.
There are few who will not wish to continue the excursion to Ras
Sufsafa, by some presumed to be the Mount of the Law. Descending the
peak of Jebel Miisa by the same path to the plain in which are the
chapels of Elijah and Elisha, we turn to the 1., and scramble for a mile
through a sort of rocky groove that runs along the top of the ridge ; then,
after passing the osier, or willow, which gives its name to Ras Sufsafa,
comes a climb of several hundred feet up a rugged ravine, and then the
summit ridge is reached, situated in a deep cleft between high walls of
rock. From this point the whole of the plain of er-Raha is distinctly
visible. That Ras Sufsafa has claims to be considered as the
Mt. Sinai has been already pointed out, and as we stand here the
peculiar fitness of the place demonstrates itself most unmistakably.
Here we have a mountain summit overlooking a plain, er-Raha,
in full view of the mountain, and affording plenty of camping space.
Every other requirement of the narrative in the Book of Exodus is
equally well met ; and if everything that took place during the year
of the Israelites' sojourn in Mt. Sinai must be minutely localised,
there seems little difficulty in doing so. But whether every small
detail can be made to rightly fit in and harmonise seems but a small
matter ; no one can fail to realise how suited is the whole of the
magnificent scenery around him to be the theatre of the majestic and
awful events described in the sacred narrative. (See, however, p. 227.)
The descent into the plain below may be made from Ras Sufsafa
to Aaron's Hill, but it is rather steep and rugged.


Sect. III.] ROUTE 16. — CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI, 247
11. Ascent of Jebel Katarina.
This is a stiff climb, and an early start should be made. Passing
down the Wadi ed-Der, the road skirts the base of Ras Sufsafa, and
turns up the Wadi el-Leja. On the way are passed various objects which
monkish legends have connected with events in the Bible. First there
is a rock called " the Mould of the Calf," but which the Arabs
name simply Nakb el-Bakara, "the Cow's Hole," saying that it was
caused by Moses thrusting his staff into the stone to procure water for
his cow ; the name, however, and the presence of a hill close by called
Hariin, have suggested the connecting it with the story of the Golden
Calf. Then comes the "Burial place of the Tables of the Law," and
" the Cave of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram." A little distance up the
Wadi el-Leja is a " Stone of Moses," called by the Arabs Hajar el-
Magarin, " the Stone of the United Ones," from Moses having severed
it with his sword. At the head of Wadi el-Leja is the Dir el- Arba'in,
"the Convent of the Forty," so called from being dedicated to 40
monks once slain by the Arabs. It is now deserted, but a few Arabs
keep up the cultivation of the gardens. I
The road now- turns south-west along a dark rocky glen called Shak
Miisa, running far up into the north-eastern slopes of Jebel Katarina.
A mile or two farther oh, the path leaves the ravine, and henceforward
it is a tiring heavy climb up an abrupt and crumbling mountain-side
to the foot of the rocky summit cone. On the way a beautiful spring,
M'ayan esh-Shinndr ("the Fountain of the Partridge"), is passed.
The peak is a huge naked block of syenite granite, steep, but so broken
that there is no danger or difficulty in climbing it. On the top is a
little chapel dedicated to St. Catherine, whose headless body is said to
have been carried by angels to the top of the mountain from Alex
andria, where she suffered martyrdom early in the 4th cent. This
peak of Jebel Katarina proper is 8536 ft. high, and what may be
considered its twin peak, Jebel Zeblr, is about the same, 8531 ft. "As
its peak is all but the loftiest, so is the view from Jebel Katarina one
of the finest in the country. From this high and freezing standpoint
you may, on any clear day, look down upon three-fourths of the
Peninsula of Sinai, from Jebel Hammam Fara'un on the north-west
to the mountains of WJdi el-'Ain on the north-east ; from Jebel Miisa
and Ras Sufsafa, which seem quite close to your side, and the labyrinth
of monster mountains spread out like a model at your feet, to the
glimmering water of the twin Gulfs, and the hills of Arabia and Africa
spread out beyond them on either hand. Jebel Zeblr and Jebel Umm
Shomer slightly spoil the view southward, and little can be seen
beyond the Tih escarpment on the north ; but in all other quarters
the prospect is most extensive. Ras Mohammed is not to be seen,
though you can trace the two arms of the Red Sea almost to their
point of junction. The whole prospect is magnificent, grander even
than that from Serbal ; the effects of colour, light, and shade excite
the admiration of every traveller ; the colours on land, sky, and sea are
simply enchanting, and. the intense stillness and silence of the desert
lend mystery and solemnity to the scene. But it is at sunrise or
sunset that a Sinai mountain landscape is seen to its greatest perfec
tion. Perhaps the hour of sunset is to be preferred to any other.
Then you have orange, pink, green, and blue in the sky ; indigo, lilac


248 ROUTE 16. — CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. [Sect. III.
and rich red-brown, like burnished copper, on the hills ; colours ever
changing and deepening, shadows ever lengthening, as the sun slowly
declines." — Capt. H. S. Palmer.
From the summit of Jebel Katarina you may go on to Jebel Zebir,
and, crossing that, bear eastwards across the high ground at the head
of the ravines that drain northwards into Wadi el-Leja. Gradually
shape your course northwards along the high ridge at the S. of Jebel
Musa, and thus descend to Jebel Monija. This, though a little longer
in distance, is an easier descent, and in the evening the sunset lights
over Jebel el-'Alawi are most beautiful. The road is little known, but
easy to find. 12. Other Excursions.
If there is time to spare, a day may be occupied in one or two
interesting walks in the neighbourhood of the Monastery. There are
good views of it and the valley in which it stands from the top of Jebel
Monija, a conical hill at the head of Wadi ed-Der, and from Jebel ed-
Der on the E. of the wadi. Perhaps the finest mountain scenery in
tbe Peninsula is to be found in the gorges of the Wddi et-Tla'a
and the Wddi Emlisa, which lie to the W. of Er-Raha and Nakb
el-Hawa. An excursion to Umm Shomer will take three or four days. The
road passes over Jebel el-Moneja, and then descends into the Wddi
Sebaiya, which it follows to its head. It then descends a steep ravine,
and ascending a valley reaches Wddi Rahaba. At the end of this wadi
is a little ravine called Wddi Zitilna, from the great olive-tree in it.
Here the camels must be left, and the ascent of Umm Shomer, a three
or four hours' climb, performed on foot. The distance from the con
vent to Wadi Zetrina is 16 or 17 m. by the direct road over Jebel el-
Moneja, but baggage-camels are sometimes obliged to take a longer and
easier road. The first ascent of 1000 ft. from the Wadi Zetrina brings
you to the summit of Jebel Abil Slieger. You then descend a steep
ravine, cross a ridge to its farther side, and then a difficult climb of
1800 ft. brings you to the highest point of Umm Shomer, 8449 ft.
Tor may be reached by this route, continuing from Wadi Rahaba
down some steep passes into the Ka'a. The distance altogether from
the convent is 48 in. A longer but easier road, 53J m., passes down
the Nakb el-Hawa, the Wadi Solaf, and the Wadi Hebran, into the
Ka'a. Tor is little more than a dirty village, and contains nothing of
interest. There are remains of convents in the neighbourhood, and an
old fortress on the seashore.
Six or seven days from Tor is a curious mountain called Jebel
Nakus. It takes its name — "the Bell Mountain," or, more correctly,
the "Gong Mountain "—from the peculiar noises which are heard
arising from it, and which somewhat resemble the sound of the wooden
semantron or gong (ndkHs) used in the Greek convents for summoning
the community. On the side of Jebel Nakus is a triangular sand-slope,
filling a recess in the sandstone hills. It 'is about 195 ft. high, 80 yds.
wide at the base, and narrows off towards the top. The cliffs rise about
200 ft. above it. The sand is caused by the waste of the sandstone rocks.
Being at so high an angle, the slightest cause sets the sand in motion,
and it is this movement of the surface-sand which produces the sound
above referred to.


Sect. III.] EOUTE 16. — CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. 249
13. Continuation of the Journey by the Long Desert, via.
'Akaba, and Petra, or via Nakhl, to Palestine.
(At present impracticable.)
;[Those who intend continuing their journey through the desert to 'Akaba and
Petra (Wadi Musa), and thence to Hebron, will find that journey described in the
Handbook for Syria and Palestine. It will be sufficient here to add a few additional
hints to those already given at the beginning, and conduct the traveller a short
distance on the way. It is necessary to make every possible inquiry at Cairo as to
the practicability of getting to Petra. If there is any chance of the road being open,
the Sheldi of the 'Alawin — the tribe which can best conduct the traveller from
'Akaba to Petra, and thence to Hebron— is generally to be found at Cairo in the
winter and early spring ; and from him all information can be obtained, and an
engagement made with him under the sanction of the Consul to provide camels and
an escort, and guarantee a safe passage, and as long a time as possible (3 days) at
Petra. A hakh.sh.isb. of so mucli a head, probably £3, has to he paid to the fellahin
of Petra for the permission to stay there. As the Bedouins of Arabia Petrrca are a
much more turbulent lot than the Tawwara who conduct the traveller to Sinai
and 'Akaba, it may be useful to say a little about their habits and ways, and the
best method of dealing with them.
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. Everybody who
knows Arab customs must be aware that no one of a hostile tribe can ever enter
the territory of any other Arabs without the insult being avenged by the sword ;
and it is evident, if uo resistance is made on the part of those who conduct the
traveller, that the attacking party are either some of their own, or of a friendly
tribe who are allowed to spoil him by the very persons he pays to protect him ; for
an Arab would rather die than suffer such an affront from a hostile tribe in his own
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 deducting the sum taken from their
pay; and it is as well, before starting, to make them enter into an engagement that
they are able as well as willing to protect him. Any 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 exposed.
Two parties of the same tribe quarrel for the right of conducting 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. The 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
sometimes thrown on the ground, to the utter destruction of everything fragile.
This may not occur, but it is as well to provide against it before starting, and a shekh
or guide should be secured who has decided authority, and can overawe all parties.
Above all things it is important to secure the goodwill of the Arabs, on whom so
much of the comfort of a journey necessarily depends. And nothing is easier. It
can, of course, be far better done if the traveller speaks Arabic ; and it will then
probably be his own fault if he meets with anything but good humour and willingness
to oblige on every occasion.
In engaging Arabs application is made to one of the shikhs ; and when one has
been found who has good recommendations, and his services have been engaged, it
is only necessary to go to the Consulate and have the agreement officially drawn up,
in which the proper prices, and other particulars, are stipulated.]
The road from Sinai to 'Akaba passes down the Wadi esh-Shekh as
as far as the tomb of Nebi Salih. The festival of this saint is a great
event for the Tawwara Arabs who flock to the tomb from all parts
of the Peninsula, and encamp round it for three days. Leaving the
Wadi esh-Shekh, and passing up the ravine of Abil Suwrra, the main
watershed of the Peninsula is crossed, and after traversing an open
tract we reach the gorge of Wadi Sa'al, 13 m. from the Convent.
16 m. farther on a sandy tract with blackish mounds, called Emves el-
Eb&rih, is reached, a spot identified by Prof. Palmer with Kibroth-


250 soute 16.— caibo <io mount slNAi. [Sect, ill,
hattaavah of the Bible (Numb. xi. 34). He is strengthened in this
conclusion by the tradition of the Arabs, which says that the
erection of rough unhewn stones on a neighbouring hill, surmounted
with a white pyramid-shaped block, and the numerous stone enclosures
all around, are the remains of an encampment of pilgrims, who in
remote ages pitched their tents here on the way to Hazeroth, and were
lost immediately afterwards, and never more heard of.
The road now leads across a desolate sandy plain with a few isolated
rocks, some of which are covered with Sinaitic inscriptions. The
principal of these is called Hudhibat el-Hajjdj (" the Pilgrim's Hall").
The ordinary road to 'Akaba here enters Wddi Ghazdla, and descends
to its junction with the oasis of Wddi el' Ain, and thence down tbe
magnificent gorge of Wddi Wetir to the Gulf of 'Akaba. If, however,
we wish to reach 'Ain Hudhera, the probable Hazeroth of the Bible,
we turn to tbe 1., and soon meet a magnificent gorge, in which nestles
the dark-green palm-grove of 'Ain Hudhera (incorrectly written
Khadhra). There are remains of old walls, an aqueduct, and many
Greek and Sinaitic inscriptions. On a hill at the E. side of the cliff is
a building which may have been a beacon, and gives its name to the
spot, Matdli Hudhera, " the Hazeroth Look-outs."
The Turkish frontier is crossed 3 in. W. of 'Akaba, where there is a
small Turkish garrison. The village of Tabah, which earned a tran
sient notoriety in the spring of 1906, on account of its having been
occupied by the Turks, lies by the sea-coast just within Egyptian
territory. The journey from Mt. Sinai to 'Akaba takes 6 days ; from 'Akaba to
Petra by the Wadi el-'Araba i days,' by the upper road 5 day's ; and
from Petra to Hebron 6 days. If on arriving at 'Akaba it should be
found that something has happened since leaving Cairo to render tbe
Petra route impracticable, the traveller must turn aside to Nakhl,
4 days' journey, and thence to Hebron, 7 days. It is better to make
sure of the Petra route by sending, as soon as Mt. Sinai is reached, a
man to 'Akaba to inquire if all is tranquil. He will be met coming
back with an answer some time probably during the third day's
journey from Sinai to 'Akaba, and if it be unfavourable, an alteration
in the route can be made at once.
In the winter 1895-6 the Petra route was open, the Bedawis of
Petra having been massacred or driven away from their old haunts by
Turkish troops in the summer of 1895. Since that time, however,
owing to the building of the Damascus-Mecca railway, about which they
wish as little as possible to be known in the outer world, the Turks
have become increasingly jealous of foreign curiosity in the Petra
region, and at present no European travellers are allowed to penetrate
into Turkey vid 'Akaba.
Prom Sinai direct to Palestine vid Nakhl is a route which presents
no object of interest to the ordinary traveller ; he had much better
return to Suez, and go thence, vid Port Said and the sea, to Jafia.


Sect. IV.] ROUTE 17.— CAIEO TO NATRON LAKES. 251

SECTION IV.
THE DESERT WEST OP THE NILE, AND
THE FAYYUM.
Route PAGE
17. Cairo to the Natron Lakes and Monasteries . . 251
18. Alexandria or Cairo to the Oasis of Siwa, or Ammon 258
19. Cairo to the Fayyum  261
20. Cairo to the Little Oasis, the Oasis of Dakhla, and
the Great Oasis, by the Fayyum .... 272

ROUTE 17.
Cairo to the Natron Lakes and Monasteries.
This excursion does not present any great attraction to the general
traveller ; but those who care for old Christian architecture and
antiquities will find much to interest them in the monasteries.
1. General Description of the "Wadi Natrun.
The Wadi Natrun was known anciently as the district of Nitria, or
Nitriotis, and sometimes as the desert of St. Makarios, whose monastery
still remains ithere. The vestiges of pagan date are rare ; and it is
difficult to fix the position of the two towns of Nitriotis, the only
ancient remains being the glass manufactory of Zakuk, and some heaps
of pottery near Der Makarios. The former, perhaps, marks the site of
Nitria, and the latter Sciathis or Scete (Skete), whence this district
received the appellation of Sciathia, or Sciathica (Scetica) regio, in
Coptic Shiet. Strabo says it contained two pits (lakes) of nitre
(natron), carbonate of soda ; the inhabitants worshipped Serapis, and
it was the only district of Egypt where sheep were sacrificed ; though
Herodotus tells us the Mendesians had also the custom of immolating
them to the deity of their city. The Coptic name of the town of Nitria
was Phanihosem, that of the district Pmam-pihosem. Hosem means
"natron." The Egyptians called the district Sekhet-hesmen (" Natron-
field "), & NtTpidrrns vofids.
The natron is found both in the plain and in two or three of the
lakes. There are 8 lakes which contain water all the year, and are called
Mellahat. The largest and most southerly, Mellahat umm-Risha,
produces only muriate of soda, or common salt. Next to this in size is


252 KOUTE 17. — CAIEO TO NATRON LAKES. [Sect; IV.'
Mellahat el-Jaar, also a salt lake ; the el-Gunfediya and Mellahat el-
Hamra, or Dawar el-Hamra (from its round form), both of which
contain natron ; then the larger Mellahat el-Jun, a salt lake ; then
Er-Rastiniya, another salt lake ; and last El-Khortai, and the lesser
Jim, which two produce natron, and are much inferior in size to the
preceding. There are also two ponds (birkeli), the Birket esh-Shukefa,
and the Birket er-Rumaid, 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 contain natron, or the carbonate, as well as the muriate,
of soda, the two salts crystallize separately ; the latter above in a layer
of about 18 in., and the natron below, varying in thickness, according
to the form of depth of the bed of the lake, the thinnest being about
27 in. All the lakes contain salt, though few have natron.
The water in the lakes varies much in height at different seasons of
the year in accordance with the rise and fall of the Nile. The lakes 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 birkchs are perfectly dry. The abund
ance of water in winter renders them less salt than in the subsequent
months, and even the height of the Mellahat diminishes greatly in
summer, leaving the dry part covered with an incrustation of common
salt or of subcarbonate of soda, according to the nature of the salt they
contain. The difference between the bed of the birkehs and of the salt
and natron lakes is that in the former, when the water has evaporated,
only mud is left, and in the two latter a firm incrustation ; and it is at
this time that the natron called Sultdni is collected.
The natron consists of two kinds — the white and the Sultdni; 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. This is the best quality. In measuring the specific
gravity of the water, that of the lakes containing natron and salt is
found to mark 1-035 in summer, immediately before it dries up;
in January and February, about 1-024; the well-water of the village
being 1-001, and that of the Nile 1-000. The Wadi Natrtin is not the
only district in which natron is produced. It is found in the valley of
Eileithyias, now El-Kab, in Upper Egypt, where it crystallizes on the
borders of some small ponds to the eastward of the ancient town. The
shores of the Lake Moeris are also said to yield it, as well as "the
vicinity of Alexandria, near the lake Mareotis, and the Isthmus of
Suez. At present the natron from the Wadi Natrrm is worked by tbe
Salt Department of the Egyptian Government, which has established
works there and a small colony of Sudanese is employed in extracting
the salt and natron. They are mostly old soldiers who have served
their time m the army. A light Rly. from el-Khatatba has been built
to bring the natron to the Nile.
There are several springs of fresh water in the Wadi Natriln, the
purest of which is at , Der Anba Bishoi, that of Der Makarios being
good but that of Der Baramus slightly salt. The water rises under no
great pressure and at the Monasteries is usually about 20 ft. from the
surface, though on the N. side of the lakes several springs of fresh
water occur among the rushes. It seems most probable? that the
source of this water is the same as that of the Bahariya Oasis to the


Sect. IV.] EOUTE 17. — CAIRO TO NATRON LAKES. 253
S., that it is originally sweet, but dissolves out the salt from the strata
it passes. through in the neighbourhood of the Wadi Natrun. The
water in the wells at the Monasteries shows a rise and fall of about
18 inches, the highest point being reached about three months after
the high Nile, but this is probably due to a raising of the water-level
in the neighbourhood of the Nile rather than to any transference of
water from the Nile by percolation.
The length of the Wadi Natrun is about 22 m. ; its breadth, reckon
ing from the slope of the low hills that surround it, is 5-J in the
broadest part; though the actual level plain is not more than 2 m.,
and is here and there studded with isolated hills and banks of rock
covered with sand. The lowest portion is about 70 to 80 ft. below
mean sea-level at Alexandria. The ascent from it towards the Wadi
Faragh is very gradual, but the descent to this last is rapid, more so
even than on the eastern side of the Natron valley ; the Wadi Faragh
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 Wadi
Faragh, are covered with rounded siliceous pebbles, with here and
there pieces of petrified wood and coarse sandstone, lying amidst loose
sand, the rocks below being a coarse sandstone. This silicified wood
(of a bombaceous plant called Nicolia cegyptiaca) is the same as that
which is found on the opposite side of the Nile, at the back of the
Mokattam hills behind Cairo, in what is called "the petrified forest"
(see p. 156). The pebbles and fossil wood were originally imbedded in
the sandstone, which has been weathered away by action of the wind,
aided by the disintegrating effect of the variations of temperature which
occur in the desert. The sand-grains are swept away to form the lines
of drift-sand hills which extend for miles in a N.N.W. to a S.S.E.
direction across the desert to the S. of the Wadi Natrun, while the
harder portions remain. Each line of these sand-hills is seldom more
than a quarter to half a mile wide, but they extend for as much as
four or five days' march, with a height of from 60 to 160 ft.
The Wadi Faragh, or, as it is sometimes called, Bahr bila-md
("River without water") extends towards the Wadi es-Sumar or
El-Maghara, on the road to Siwa on one side, and the valley of the
Nile on the other, a little N. of Abu Roash, about 5 or 6 m. N. of the
pyramids of Giza. The hills that border it are of irregular form, and
its bed is varied by numerous elevated ridges, depriving it of all the
character of a river, which it probably originally was. It seems to be
a very ancient bed of the Nile, in which that river flowed during the
Tertiary period.
The Productions of the Wadi Natrun are few, and from its dreary
appearance it might be supposed to boast of nothing but the salt and
natron 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 (sumdr) and bulrushes (birdi)
used for making the well-known mats of Egypt. Of the former the
best' kind are made, called Mendfi, from the town where they are
manufactured ; of the latter an inferior quality, most commonly used
at Cairo ; the Menufi being principally confined to the houses of the
rich. But it is not to the Natron valley that the Menufi mats are


254 ROUTE 17.— CAIRO TO NATRON LAKES. [Sect. IV.
indebted for the best rushes; those of El-Maghara or Wadi es-Sumfc
(p. 258) (" the valley of rushes") are greatly superior and are brought
across the desert expressly for this manufacture. Wad. el-Magbara is
on the road to Siwa from the Nile, and is 3 days W. from the Natron
lakes. The Animals that frequent this district are the gazelle wild boar
the jerboa, fox, and others common to the Libyan desert. Water-fowl
abound ; ducks are seen in great numbers, and water-hens, jack snipe
sandpipers and other birds common to the lakes and ponds of H.gypt
frequent the shores of the Natron lakes.
2. Routes to, and Description of, the Monasteries.
[The direct route from Cairo across the desert by the Wadi Faragh takes 16 hrs.
bv camel It is not absolutely necessary to take tents, as accommodation can be
had at Tris or Beni Salama, or the traveller might sleep in the railway-station at
El-Werdan This is perhaps best, especially on the return journey. Also the Ders,
and the huts at the end of the lake afford shelter for the night spent there ; but it is
decidedly more comfortable to be provided with one's own sleeping quarters Pro
visions must be taken. There is a full and interesting description of the monasteries
in Butler's ' Ancient Coptic Churches of Egypt,' which should be carefully read by
those who take an interest in the subject. „,...„.,
The best route from the Nile to the valley of the Natron Lakes, or Wadi Batrun,
is from Werdan on the left bank of the river.
1st day, Cairo to Werdan Station, and it is necessary to stop for the mgnt at
Beni Salama or Tris ; 2nd, Beni Salama to Der Makarios ; 3rd, Der Makarios and
Anba Bishoi to Der Sudani ; 4th, Der Suriani to Der Baramus, and thence to the
huts at the end of one of the lakes ; 5th, end of the lake to Werdan ; 6th, Werdan
to Cairo. A light rly. has been built from el-Khatatba to the .Natron Lakes, for
the transport of salt and nitre. This may be used.
Another way is to go by rail, vid Tanta to Shibin el-Kom, and thence on donkeys
to Sansaft, a little above which village is a ferry across the Nile to Tarrana. Camels
can be obtained at Tarrana for the journey of 10 or 12 hrs. across the desert to the
Wadi Natrun.]
The road from Tarrana (p. 32) passes over the ruins of an ancient
town (Terenuthis), which have of late years been turned up in every
direction for the purpose of collecting the nitre (sebakh) 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 2J ft. 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 therefore probable that its size was rather owing to
its having been the abode of the many persons employed in bringing
the natron to the Nile than to the importance it possessed as an
Egyptian town. This opinion is in some degree confirmed by the
appearance of a large road leading to it from the S. end of the Natron
valley, which is still used by those who go from that part of the
country to the Convent of St. Makarios. Though Tarrana has succeeded
to, and derived its name from Terenuthis, it is probable that these
mounds occupy the site of the ancient town, and that its successor was
built more to the E. in consequence of a change in the course of the
river. Momemphis and Meneldi Urbs also stood in the vicinity of
Terenuthis ; and the ancient road to Nitriotis is said by Strabo to have
left the Nile not far from those places.


Sect. IV.] ROUTE 17.  CAIRO TO NATRON LAKES. 255
The road and It. rly. from Beni Salama or el-Khatatba lead nearly
due W. across the desert, and cross a monotonous series of undulating
hills with little variety. "Each ridge is precisely like the last; the
ground slopes gently away, remains flat for a while, and then curves
upwards again to another hillock. The distances vary a little, but
the view is always bounded by a ridge in front and a ridge behind." —
Butler. At length, after crossing an elevation covered with shining black
pebbles, the tall chimney of a salt factory and the long line of the
walls of Der Makarios come in sight. This convent, as indeed are all
those in the Natron valley, is surrounded by a lofty wall, with an
entrance on one side so low that the visitor is obliged to stoop down
on entering ; and on the outside are two large mill-stones, generally
of granite, which in case of danger used to be rolled together into
the passage after the door had been closed, in order that the Arabs
should neither burn it nor break it open ; the stones being too
heavy and fitting too closely to be moved from without, and
intervening between the enemy and the door. Those who had rolled
them into the passage were afterwards drawn up by a rope through a
trap-door above ; and the want of provisions soon obliged the Arabs
to raise the unprofitable siege, which, not having been provoked by
any outrage committed by the monks, seldom left in the recollection of
the aggressors any rancorous feelings. It rarely happened that the
Arabs ill-treated any monks whom they happened to meet on their way
to the Nile. On account of the lowness of these doorways, the cattle
(that turn the water-wheels for irrigating the gardens and the mills for
grinding the corn) are made to pass through on their knees.
As soon as the bell has announced the arrival of a stranger, proper
inquiries 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 escort, they have someone responsible for their conduct.
On entering, you turn to the right and left, through a labyrinth of
passages and small courts, and at last arrive at the abode of the
superior and the principal monks. This part consists of numerous
small rooms, each with a door serving as an entrance for the inmate,
which is fastened up, during his absence at prayers or other avoca
tions, with a wooden lock, whose key might serve as an ordinary
bludgeon. A garden with a few palms occupies the centre of the principal court ;
and here are two of the churches — for these monasteries contain more
than one, and St. Makarios has no less than three within it — Abu
Makare, esh-Shiukh, and Abu Iskharun. In the tower there are three
chapels, dedicated to St. Michael, St. Anthony, and St. Suah, and on
the lower floor the chapel of El-Adra (" The Virgin"). The tower acts
as a keep to the monastery, and to this the monks would retire if the
main entrance was forced. Retreating to it, they pull up the wooden
drawbridge that separates it from the rest of the building; a well of
water and a supply of provisions always deposited there, and never
allowed to decrease below a certain quantity, secure 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 everything eatable, or valuable, from below, and render the


256 ROUTE 17.— CAIRO TO NATRON lakes. [Sect. IV.
occupation of the body of the place totally unprofitable to the
intruders. The Church of Abu Makare (St. Makarios) is worth inspection.
The chief point of interest is the hekal, which is 20 ft. long and 25 ft. in
breadth. It is covered by a fine dome, which seems to have been
ornamented with fresco-paintings. The hikal is square-ended and not
apsidal, as in the Cairo churches. The altar is of stone, and stands
on a raised platform. To the N. is the chapel of St. John, which
contains a beautiful screen of wood-work of great antiquity. The S.
chapel is used as a corn-bin. The bones of St. Makarios (d. 390 a.d.)
are said to rest in this church. ,..,,,
The church of esh-Shiukh is small ; and in it there is a picture of
St Makarios who founded the monasteries of Scete m the fourth
century. The Shekhs (Shiiikh), to whom it is dedicated, were forty-nine
martyrs, buried here. _ .
The church of Abd Iskhariln is basilican in form, and the choir and
nave are covered by one large dome of brickwork. The chapels in the
tower should also be visited. They contain the remains of ancient
fresco-paintings. The monastery contains about twenty monks, of
whom half are in priest's orders.
Near Der Makarios are the ruins of three other convents, and about
1 m. to the E. are mounds of pottery that indicate the site of an
ancient town, perhaps Scete. | m. N. is a good well.
About 11 m. W. from Der Makarios is Der Sudani, the finest
of the convents. It was built by one Honnes ("John"), 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
resemble Noah's Ark in form, though in no other respect : here, as at
other Coptic monasteries, the admission of women is strictly pro
hibited. But though stern and inflexible, like other monks, respect
ing the admission of women, and in refusing to all but the unmarried
the privileges of a monastic 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, even though it should happen
a few weeks after the celebration of the marriage rites. The priests
take the same view as that contained in 1 Tim. iii. 2-12, like the
Greeks. This convent contains 3 churches : the principal one, that of El-
Adra, is about 90 ft. in length. It consists of nave with aisles, choir,
and sanctuary. The nave is roofed with fine vaulting, carried on
pillars and high pointed arches. The choir is roofed with a fine dome
supported on each side by two semi-domes. These are ornamented
with fresco paintings ; between the choir and sanctuary is a beautifully
carved screen door inland with wood and ivory, and an iconostasis
also inlaid with ivory ; in a chapel is a curious double picture on a
panel with two saints on one side, and a crowned female head, perhaps
the Empress Helena, on the other. The library contains a small
collection of old but not ancient books and MSS. The treasures,
unrespected and uncared for, which this convent once contained have


Sect. IV.] ROUTE 17. — CAIRO TO NATRON LAKES. 257
long since passed into safer keeping. It was in a vault here that the
Duke of Northumberland and Linant-Bey discovered the remains of
the old Syriac library. Some of the MSS. in this vault were brought
away by the late Lord Zouche (author of Curzon's ' Monasteries in the
Levant') in 1833. The remainder were procured by Dr. Tattam and
others at different intervals, and now form a collection of about 1000
volumes in the British Museum. The oldest MS., which contains,
among other things, some works of Eusebius, is conjectured to have
been written about a.d. 411.
At a short distance from Der Suriani is Der Anba Bishoi. The
principal church, dedicated to Anba Bishoi, is a fine building, partially
basilican in form. The choir is shut off more completely from the
nave than is usual in Coptic churches. On the north side of the choir
is the chapel of El-Adra, which contains the bones of Anba Bishoi, the
patron saint of the church. On the south of the choir is the chapel
of Abu Iskharun. In the tower of the monastery is a chapel, dedicated
to St. Michael. The view over the desert from the lofty and massive
walls of this convent is very peculiar and striking. There is a
small garden within the walls. Some twenty monks live here. This
monastery possesses the best and purest water in the Wadi.
A ride of 2 hrs. brings us to Der Baramus, a large convent, for
which an antiquity of 1600 years is claimed. There are two churches,
and a chapel in the tower, dedicated to St. Michael, as is usual in
these desert monasteries. The finest church is that of El-Adra. The
refectory is worth a visit. Mr. Butler thinks it dates from the 5th or
6th century. Close by are the ruins of another convent, Der Anba
Miisa, and the vestiges of a few others may be traced here and there
in the Wadi Natrun ; but it would be difficult now to discover the
sites of the 50 mentioned by Gibbon, or even half that number. The
modern monks, though friendly and hospitable, are little interested
about the ruined abodes of their predecessors : 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 ambitious Cyril passed some
years under the restraint of a monastic life.
About 3J m. from Der Baramus, near the end of one of the lakes,
are a few wattled huts, inhabited by some Arabs. It is a, convenient
spot at which to pass the night, as milk and eggs can occasionally be
obtained. Wild boars are sometimes found in the reed beds close by.
About 3 m. from these huts is ZakUk, a now deserted village, occupy
ing the site of an ancient glass manufactory, probably of the Roman
period. Vestiges of the house, and scorice of common green glass may
still be seen. Zakuk may possibly mark the position of the town of
Nitria. From here to Tarrana is a journey of 11 or 12 hrs.
From Der Baramus a little used caravan-road leads S. to th6
Baharlya Oasis, 5J days. It is a very monotonous ride ; no water,
fuel, or forage for the camels being obtainable on the route.


258 ROUTE 18. — ALEXANDRIA TO OASIS OF AMMON. [Sect. IV,

ROUTE 18.
Alexandria, Cairo or the Fayyum to the Oasis of
Siwa or Ammon.
[This is a lum; and difficult journey ; to go and return will require about 5 weeks.
r'amels, tents, provisions, trustworthy guides and a dragoman will be necessary.
Letters of recommendation should be obtained from the Egyptian Government.
Siwa itself is safe, but the Turkish frontier beyond should not be crossed. Any
attempt to reach Jarahub (p. 260) will only lead to trouble with the Senusslya.
There are several routes which may be followed. They will take from 12 to 18
days, according to the length of each day's journey.]
1. From Alexandria, by Bir Lebuk or Baratun.— Along the coast
to Abusir Mariut, thence to Bir Hamdm and across the desert by Bir
Lebilk to Bir Gharddik (see below), where the Cairo road is joined.
The Baratun route is that followed by Alexander the Great. It follows
the sea-coast from Bir Hamani as far as Baratun, the ancient Parse-
toniuni, which Strabo describes as a city with a large port measuring
40 stadia across. By some it was called Ammonia. After leaving
Baratun the road turns S. into the desert, and reaches the route from
Cairo at Gara (see below).
2. From Cairo, by the Wadi Natrun. — Direct route from Cairo to
the Wadi Natrun, p. 254. For the route from Werdan or Tarrana, see
p. 254. After leaving the Wadi Natrun the road lies by Maghara, or
the Wad ics-Sumdr , Bir Gharddik (brackish water), the "sebkha" (salt
desert) of Gara, and el-Gara (or Umm es-Sughiir), a village in a small
sasis (good water). The village is built on a steep rock, surrounded by
palm groves. There are ancient graves here, and it is possibly tbe
Siropon of Ptolemy. Hence, passing some isolated rock-masses of
extraordinary form, across a peninsula of the hammdda or high
plateau, and down via Wddi Umm Huwemil into the Oasis of Slwa.
3. From the Fayyum by Maghara.— For the route to the Fayyum,
see p. 262. After leaving Medinet el-Fayyilm, the road follows that to
the Little Oasis (see p. 273) as far as Wddi Baiydn. It then crosses
the desert in a N.W. direction to Maghara (see above), and thence by
Gara to Siwa.
4. From the Fayyum, by the Little Oasis.— For route to the Little
Oasis, see p. 273. Alter leaving El-Kasr, the road passes through the
rocky valley of Huit Gibrdn to the salt lake of Sittra (4 days) where is
the first well, then to the well of Titasnrt in the valley of el-Araj
(p. 275-; 2 days) ; then to Bir Zumdg (1 day), and so to Zitiln (p. 260)
and Siwa.
The Oasis of Ammon, or Siwa, as it is called in Arabic, doubtless
from the ancient Egyptian name Sekhet-am ("Palm-land"), is about
6 m. long by 4£ to 5 m. wide. It is divided into two parts, of which
the eastern is the more fertile. This part ends in a lake of brackish
water on the N.E.,^ beyond which at a distance of about 10 m. is the
small Oasis of Zetun. There is also a lake of brackish water "on the


Sect. IV.] ROUTE 18.  ALEXANDRIA TO OASIS OF AMMON. 259
W., on which side, from el-Gara to el-Arashiya, there extends for
§0 m. a series of small oases, all of which, together with that of Zetun,
are included in the map under the general title of Slwa.
The Oasis is celebrated in history for its famous oracle, for the
purpose of consulting which it was visited by Alexander the Great.
According to Herodotus it was founded at the same time as that of
Dodona. Its repute continued under the Ptolemies, but fell off under
the Roman rule. When Pausanias visited it, about a.d. 160, it was
dumb, and all that he found were certain historical arid literary
souvenirs of its former importance. The Oasis subsequently became
a place of banishment for political offenders and criminals. After the
Mohammedan conquest of Egypt it became entirely independent and
was governed by its own shekhs. It was hardly known to the Arab
geographers of the Middle Ages,, who called it " Santariah," and the
first European to visit it was Alexander Browne, in 1792. Mohammed
Ali brought it again under Egyptian rule in 1820, when Hasan Bey
ShamashirgI invaded and took it, as well as the other oases. Since
then the inhabitants have more than once unsuccessfully attempted to
regain their independence.
The population of the Oasis is about 5500. The people are
suspicious and savage in their habits and feelings. They are also very
fanatical, and impose severe fines on those who fail in their religious
observances. The administration of the government is in the hands of several
shekhs, under an Egyptian Mamilr, who is responsible to the Mudir of
Damanhur, to whosei province Siwa is attached. The inhabitants are
divided into two factions, Easterners and Westerners (Sherkyin and
Gharbyin), and fierce feuds, attended with loss of life, frequently take
place between different villages and families, which are only stopped
by the interference of the fekkis (priests). The Gharbyin are the more
fanatical, as they all belong to the Senussi sect.
The people understand Arabic, but have a peculiar language of their
own of Libyan (Kabyle) type. The following are a few words : adrdr,
mountain ; izimir, sheep ; tizimirt, ewe ; egmir, horse ; tegmirt, mare ;
alghrum, camel ; talghrdmt, she-camel ; zitan, donkey ; shdha, goat ;
ragdwen, dates ; esdin, wheat ; tinifen, lentils.
The geological features resemble those of all the oases. The soil is
extremely fertile and covered with fruit-trees, principally the date-
palms, which constitute the principal commerce and source of revenue.
The Town of Siwa, the capital of the Oasis, is situated in 29° 12'
N. lat., 25° 30' E. long. It has all the appearance of a fortress. It is
built on two rocks. The streets are irregular and very narrow, and in
many places run beneath the houses, which are built over them on
arches ; they are consequently very dark, and a lantern is required to
find one's way about. The houses are built one on the top of another,
often to a very considerable height.
2 m. E. of Siwa is the walled village of Aghormi, built, like Siwa, on
a rock. Among the houses are the remains of the famous Oracle-
Temple of Ammon, which Alexander visited. The investigations of
Prof. Steindorff have shown that this building, which was quite small,
was erected by King Haker (Achoris) in the 4th cent. B.C. s 2


260 ROUTE 18. — ALEXANDRIA TO OASIS OF AMMON. [Sect. IV.
Not far off are the ruins of a second temple, that of Umm Beda
("White Mother"), surrounded by a forest of date-palms. Only one
wall remains erect; on this are reliefs depicting the prince of the
Oasis, Unamen, who lived in the 4th cent. B.C., offering to theram-
headed Ammon, " lord of oracles, great god dwelling in the Oasis," and
other deities. Near the temple, to the S.E., is a spring, 'Am Hammam,
which is probably the Fountain of the Sun.
About i m. to the S.E. of Umm Beda is a hill called Gebel e^
Hemeddt, where are some ancient tombs, and some Greek inscriptions
on the rocks.
1 m. N.E. of Siwa is Gebel Muta, or Gara el-Musaberin, "The Hill
of the Mummies," where are also tombs of the ancient Ammonians.
The tombs, which are of Ptolemaic and Roman date, have been
examined by Professor Steindorff . The best is that of a scribe named
Pa-thet, which has frescoes.
About 6 m. E. of Aghormi is the Grueco-Egyptian ruin of Kasr el-
Ghasham, and 4 m. further the tomb-field of Abu 'l-Auwdf, with a
well-preserved chapel. Prof. Steindorff found here interesting Roman
burials with glass mosaic-work on the coffins. Close by is Zitiln, and
S.E. the hills of Adrdr Mirdzdg and the Gebel et-Teldta'Abid, " the Hill
of the Three Slaves," beyond which is el-Araj (p. 275), with rock-tombs
in the cliffs.
4 m. W. of Siwa is Amildin (the "two columns"), where are some
unimportant ruins ; further on is the village of El-Khamisa, built in
the midst of some stone remains. About J m. to the S. are the ruins
of Kasr Bilmi, a small Doric temple of Roman date. To the N. of
this are other ruins, called Beled Rami.
About 90 m. W. of Siwa, beyond el-Arashiya, is Jarabiib, in Turkish
territory, once the headquarters of the great Mohammedan religious
sect of the Seniissiya, which has such an important influence throughout
North Africa.
The order was founded about 1849 by an Algerian of Mostaganem named
Sidi Muhammad ben-Ali es-Senussi ; now the greater part of Barka or Benghazi
(Cyrenaica) and all the oases are really ruled by the chiefs of the sect, which
has also great influence in Wadai and Kanem. Their doctrine or ' way ' is
strict ; wine and tobacco are both absolutely forbidden ; Christians are abomin
ated and all true believers are expected to withdraw themselves from lands
governed by the Infidel. It is probable that the first impulse to the foundation
of the order was given by the French conquest of Algeria, which was a new
phenomenon in the Moslem world, and must have betokened the speedy fall of
Islam to thinking men of the type of es-Senussi. In order to get away from
European influences the head zawia, or praying shrine, where the Great
Sh£kh of the order resides, was first fixed about in 1855 at Jarabiib, but some
years after the death of es-Senussi this was also considered too near civilisation.
So the head zawia was removed into the Sahara, to the oasis of Kufra
(230 E. long., 240 N. lat.). No European is allowed to visit either Jarabiib
(where there is now a zawia-school only) or Kufra ; the latter place has only
been visited once since the establishment of Senussiya, by the German traveller
Rohlfs in 1879. He was turned back, his camp plundered, and himself within
an ace of being murdered, notwithstanding the fact that he had the Urman ali
(High Firman) of the Sultan with him, and was only rescued by a messenger
(a soi t of reprieve, m fact) from the Shekh of Jarabiib. In t898 Mr Silva
White, who visited Siwa, was prevented from proceeding to Jarabub by the
opposition of the Senussi shekhs, who predicted his murder if he went





Fold out





Sect. IV.] ROUTE 18. — ALEXANDRIA TO OASIS OF AMMON. 261
A few years ago the headquarters of the sect were removed from Kufra to
Karu, between Kufra and Abeshr, the capital of Wadai, but owing to the
defeats inflicted on the Senussiya in Kanem by the French (p. 578), the present
Shekh returned to Kufra in 1902. The prestige of the Senussiya has greatly
suffered in consequence.

ROUTE 19.
Cairo to the Fayyum.
This expedition is well worth undertaking, as the Fayyum differs a
good deal in its general aspect from the valley of the Nile. The anti
quary will find much to interest him in the sites of Lake Mceris and
the Labyrinth, and the ruins on the shore of the Birket el-Kurun ;
while to the sportsman the Fayyum in the winter months offers more
attractions than any other part of Egypt.
[AH the necessaries of a camp life must be taken, unless the traveller is content
with a visit to Medina and the neighbourhood, and while there can put up with the
accommodation afforded by a Greek locanda. For a complete tour through the
Fayyum about a week or 10 days will be required. A dragoman will charge about
25s. to 30s. a day for providing everything (wine excepted), including railway fares.
At Medina camels and donkeys can be procured for visiting the Birket el-J£urun and
other places.
If the traveller visits the Fayyum from his dahabiya he can leave the river at
el- Wasta going up and at Beni Suef coming down, rejoining his boat again at Beni Suef
going up, and at el-Wasta coming down.
For merely obtaining a view of the province, the traveller can leave Cairo by the
morning train for Abuksa, changing at el-Wasta. This will take him near to the lake.
He can return by the same train, reaching Cairo in the evening].
1. Description of the Fayyum.
The province of Egypt called the Fayyum is a depression in the
Libyan hills, surrounded on all sides by desert, save where a narrow
strip of soil borders the canal leading to it from the Nile. It is thus
almost an oasis, owing its fertility to the water of the Nile, introduced
through a natural depression in the desert surrounding it. Its present
name, Fayyilm, is derived from the old Egyptian word P-ium, "the Sea "
or "Lake Country" — an appellation aptly applied to the great Lake
Mceris, which formerly filled the greater part of the depression, judging
by the levels obtained in the survey made in 1890-1 by Major Hanbury
Brown, R.E., Inspector-General of Irrigation for Lower Egypt.
In the hieroglyphic inscriptions it is referred to as Ta-she, "the land of
the lake," from the very beginning of the IV. Dynasty. At that time it was
probably a great marshy lake gradually being reclaimed. The Nile water flows
into the lake through the gap in the Libyan hills, by which the Bahr Yusuf
now enters the Fayyum from the Nile valley. This is the break in the hills
marked by the Pyramids of Ulahun and Hawara, which stand at its E. and


262 ROUTE 19. — CAIRO TO THE FAYYUM. [Sect. J- V .
W. ends respectively. Through this passage the flood-waters flowed into Lake
Mceris, to return to 'the Nile later on, wheh the level of the river had sunk.
The site of Medtna^-atlc'ient 'Sheiet, "the Reclaimed," Gk. CrocodllopoliSJ-was
already bruit- upoit'irl'the' time of the V. Dynasty (mentioned in the temple of
Ne-user-Ra at'Abusrr).- This was the shallowest portion of the lake, and thus
was naturally the first to be reclaimed : it is now the highest part of the Fayyum.
Being also the first to receive the Nile water as it spread out over the ground,
this land was the richest in the fertilizing deposit of the river. Under Amen-
em-hat III. (XII. Dyn.) a grand reclamation was made and the statues
erected upon the great dam at Biahmu. Regulation of the in and out flow
of the Nile was established, and the Lake Mceris considered as his special
work though its origin was purely natural. It remained as a Nile reservoir
until the time of Herodotos. The modern Birket el-Kurdn, the large lake at
the western end of the Fayyum, is the shrunken pool (it covers now about
70,000 acres) which occupies the lowest point of the original Lake Mceris, and
is all that is left of it. In Ptolemaic and Roman times this province was called
the Arsinoi'te nome, which Strabo says excelled 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 at Alexandria. It also
produced a great quantity of wine, as well as corn, vegetables, and plants
of all kinds. The cultivated land extended formerly far beyond its present
limits ; a great portion of the desert plain was then taken into cultivation, and
several places may be noted where canals and the traces of cultivated fields
are still discernible to a considerable distance E. and W. of the modem
irrigated lands. Its reputation for fertility it still enjoys, and though its merits
have been greatly exaggerated, it is certainly superior to other parts of Egypt
from the state of its gardens and the variety of its productions ; since, in
addition to corn, 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. This fertility
is owing to the peculiar irrigation conditions of the Oasis, which are in many
ways different from those of the rest of Egypt. Here only in Egypt can
brooks of running water be seen, for instance ; water-mills are not uncommon.
These peculiarities render a visit to the Fayyum extremely enjoyable as a
change from the rest of Egypt, and no traveller with time to spare should
omit it.
The whole extent of the cultivable part of the Fayyum measures about
23 m. N. and S. , and 28 E. and W. , which last was in former times extended
to upwards of 40 in that part (from Kasr Kurun to Tomia) where it has the
greatest breadth. Its length N. and S.,'if measured to the other side of the
Birket el-Kuriin, is increased to 32 m. The total population is about 200,000.
The annual revenue from the Fayyum is ,£165,000. Its chief commerce is
in corn, cotton, and cattle, chiefly sheep, of which it possesses the best breed
in Egypt. In addition to the various products mentioned above, the sugar
cane has lately been planted on large tracts of land, and mills have been
erected in various parts.
2. Cairo to Medinet el-Payyum.
[Cairo to Medina, vid el-Wasta, four trains daily, in 1\ hrs. The most convenient
train is at 8.80' A.M., due at el-Wasta 9.55, and Medina 11 18 A M Fare3 • 1st cl
P.T.27.1 The train after leaving Cairo passes Bedrashen and some other
stations, and reaches
56 m., El-Wasta Junct. Stat, for the Fayyum. The station is
about J mile from the river. Thence the line goes westward across the


Sect. IV.] ROUTE 19.— CAIRO TO THE FAYYUM. 263
cultivated land, passing Siyala Stat. The only noticeable object is
the Pyramid of Mediim (see p. 301) to the N. On reaching the
desert the road begins to ascend, and crosses the low chain of hills
that divides the valley of the Nile from the oasis of the Fayyum.
75 m., EUEdwa Stat.
8l m., Medinet el-Fayyum Stat.* (Here there are two Greek
hotels.) Medinet al-Fdris ("City of the Horseman") derives its
name from the neighbouring mounds which mark the site of the
ancient Arsinoe, formerly Crocodilopolis, the Egyptian city of Shetet;
these are called K6m Fdris ("Horseman's Mound") probably' in
reminiscence of some Boman equestrian statue found on the site
in the early Arab period. As the capital town of the Fayyum, it
is often called Medinet el-Fayyilm. It has 40,000 inhabitants, and
presents the usual aspect of a large Egyptian town, with bazaars,
baths, Greek coffee-houses, and a market every Sunday. It is situated
on the banks of one of the two main branches of the Bahr Yiisuf,
which conduct the water into the Fayyum through an opening in
the hills near Beni Suef. This branch canal, like nearly all those
in the Fayyum, has quite the appearance of a. natural river, with its
running water. Built on a bridge which crosses it is the dilapidated
Mosque of Kdit Bey, which contains antique columns and capitals from
the ruins of Arsinoe. The mounds of Kom Faris, which mark the site
of the ancient city, lie to the N. of the modern town. Objects of
interest, especially lamps and other articles of bronze, belonging to the
Christian period, have been found here, and important finds of Greek
papyri have been made : these are mostly in the collection of the
Archduke Bainer at Vienna, and have been published by Austrian
savants. A good view of the Fayyum may be obtained from the highest
mound. Leo Africanus says "the ancient city was built by one of the
Pharaohs, on an elevated spot near a small canal from the Nile,
at the time of the Exodus of the Jews, after he had afflicted
them with the drudgery of hewing stones and other laborious
employments." The town was certainly already in existence at the beginning of the
XII. Dynasty, when it bore the name of Shetet, "the Beclaimed." It
was the capital of the "Lake Province," and the centre of the worship
of the crocodile-god Sebek, the tutelary deity of the lake. Hence it
was often known as Per-Sebek, the Greek Crocodilopolis. The name
was changed to Arsinoe in honour of Arsinoe, queen of Ptolemy
Philadelphia, in the third century B.C., when a large number of
Greek settlers were introduced, and the town was largely hellenised.
It is said to have contained 100,000 inhabitants. The ruined streets
of the Greek town can still easily be traced to the N. of the
mounds. The ancient Temple of Sebek, probably founded under the XII. Dyn
asty and rebuilt by Barneses IL, lies to the northward ; little of it
remains. The sacred crocodiles of the god were buried on the nearest
spur of the low desert hills which divide the Fayyum from the Nile
valley.


264 ROUTE 19. — CAIRO TO THE FAYYUM. [Sect. IV-

3. Medina to the Labyrinth, Illahun, the Ruins of
Herakleopolis (Ahnasiyet el-Medina) and Beni Suef.
[A visit to the site of the Labyrinth and the Pyramids of Hawdra and Illahun
may be made from Medina. To Illahun and back, one day : donkey, P.T. 20. To
Ahnas and on either to Beni Suef or Gharak, tents must be taken.]
The distance to Hawara in a direct line is not more than 5 or 6 m.,
but a ditour of more or less length will have to be made, according to
the time of year and the state of the canals. Care should be taken to
ascertain that the donkey-boy who acts as guide knows the way and the
proper places for crossing the various canals, especially the arm of the
Bahr Yiisuf which runs N. to Tomia, and the deep narrow canal which
flows through the W. side of the Labyrinth. This arm of the Bahr
Yiisuf presents here the appearance of a natural ravine, sometimes
confined between steep banks, and at others widening out to a breadth
of several hundred feet. Between it and the ruins are a succession of
mounds, through which, immediately skirting the pyramid and ruins,
runs the narrow modern canal above referred to.
The site of the Labyrinth, which had long been a subject of doubt,
was fixed by Lepsius, and has since then been carefully surveyed by
Petrie. The founder of the Labyrinth has been variously named by
ancient authors, but it seems probable that its builder was Amen-em-
hat III. (XII. Dyn.), the same who regulated the Lake Mceris. His is
the oldest name found among the ruins. The whole extent of the
Labyrinth, including the pyramid, measured about 1150 ft. E. and W.
by 850 ft. N. and S., and it appears to have been built round an open
area 500 ft. broad and 600 ft. in length. This space could contain the
great hall of Karnak and the various temples adjoining it, together
with the large court and pylons, the temples of Mut, Khensu and
Amenhetep III., both the temples at Luxor, and the Bamesseum.
Within this area lie such remains as can still be seen, consisting of
broken columns and capitals of granite and hard white limestone. The
hieroglyphs on the granite have been painted green. Herodotus says
that there were 12 courts, and two different sets of chambers 1500
above ground, and beneath them 1500 under ground, and that the
underground ones "contained tbe sepulchres of the kings who built
the Labyrinth, and also those of the sacred crocodiles."
The word Labyrinth was originally the name-AojWpcfcK— of the great
palace of the pra-Hellenic "Minoan") rulers of the ^gean at Knossos in
Crete which is the scene of the legend of Theseus, Ariadne, and the Minotaur ;
and it was applied as a name to the great building of Amen-em-hat III. at
Hawara by Greek visitors, who saw a resemblance between its many halls and
corridors of hewn stone and those of the Labyrinth at Knossos. "That they
were not far wrong in their comparison is rendered very probable by the fact
that a contemporary connection between the Minoan civilization of Greece and
b6 v \ r? li. tUre °f *-gypt {circa B'c- 2400-2000) is now established,
thanks chiefly to the excavations of Dr. Arthur Evans at Knossos.
To the N of these ruins is a crude-brick pyramid, generally caUed
the Pyramid of Hawara. When entire it was 348 ft. square ; out it is
™fwmefi' ,The«briok8,.a7i very large- Strab0 Sivea * Plea™
(400 ft.) for the length of each face, and the same for the height, which
Herodotus calculates at 40 fathoms (240 ft.). It was originally cased


Sect. IV.] ROUTE 19. — CAIRO TO THE FAYYUM. 265
with fine white limestone. A successful attempt was made to open
this pyramid by tunneUing from the N. in 1888 ; subsequently the true
passage was opened from the S. The pyramid was found to belong to
Amen-em-hat III. and his daughter Ptah-neferu (XII. Dyn.). The
altar and various small objects belonging to Ptah-neferu are in the
Museum at Cairo. To the N. of the pyramid is the cemetery from
which the Boman portraits, now in Cairo, the British Museum and
National Gallery in London, were obtained.
About 6 m. to the E. of the labyrinth is another crude-brick pyramid
of the same type and period as that of Hawara. It takes its name
from the neighbouring village of Illahun or el-Lahiln to the S., the site
of the ancient Ptolemais Hormos.
The name el-Lahun is of ancient origin. Lahiine was the Fayyumish
dialect form of the Egyptian Ra-hiine(t), " mouth of the canal." The village
stands at the entrance to the Fayyum-waterway. The name of the Labyrinth
was formerly supposed to be o'f Egyptian origin, and to contain the same
element, la-hun : the derivation suggested was Ra-per-ra-hunt or Laper-ra-
hunt,\iAi would mean "the temple at the mouth of the canal." But in
the dialect of the Fayyum such a word would have been pronounced something
like Elfelahun, and the termination -Sos remains unexplained. There is no
doubt that the word pvpiv9os is of purely Greek origin, as stated above.
The Pyramid of Illahun was opened in 1889 by Mr. G. Willoughby
Fraser, and the site of its temple belonging to it, lying J m. E., was
cleared in the same year by Mr. Petrie, who afterwards brought back
some inscribed fragments from it to England. These mention the
King Usertsen II. (XII. Dyn.) ; so that the pyramid of Illahun is the
burial-place of this king. One of the most interesting discoveries was
that of the town of the builders of this pyramid which joins the
temple on the N. ; here may be seen rows of houses for workmen and
for stores. Many papyri and tools were found, and some important
fragments of early "Mycenaaan" pottery (Kamdres ware) imported
from Crete : this fact helps to prove the early connection of Crete with
Egypt. The ancient name of the town was Ha-hetep- Usertsen ; the
modern name assigned to it by Prof. Petrie, "Medinet Kahun," does
not seem to be recognised by the people of the neighbourhood ; ' ' Kahun "
may, however, be used as a convenient term for the place in scientific
work. W. and N. of the pyramid is a cemetery which was originally
used by the XII. Dynasty, and later used again from the XXI. to the
XXVI. Near the temple are Coptic graves of the 7th cent. a.d.
A short distance from Illahun are the great stone dikes and
sluices mentioned by Abu'lfeda, that " regulate the quantity of water
admitted into the Fayyum. Some remains of older bridges and dikes
are seen there ; and to the W. is a dike, serving as a communication
with the high land at the edge of the desert during the inundation.
[From Illahun runs N.E. the Bahr el-Magndn (" Mad Canal"X.which pursues a
devious course round the N. end of the low Gebel Abusir, past the villages of
en-lfawdmls (for the name see p. 222) and Abusir el-Melek, where the Germans
have recently carried on excavations (see p. 303), to the Nile between Ashmant and
Zitun (p. 303).]
At the S. end of the Illahun dyke is Medinet el-Ghuraib (" Gurob "),
"the Crows' Town." Here Thothmes III. (XVIII. Dyn.) built a
temple and founded a separate walled settlement which contained
many foreign settlers. The temple was destroyed and the foreign town


266 ROUTE 19. — CAIRO TO THE FAYYUM. [Sect. IV.
extended over its site. Pottery of Mycenaean type, imported from
Greece, was found here, besides many other objects of interest, by
Prof. Petrie. The inhabitants of foreign blood were apparently settlers
from Southern Asia Minor (Tursha) : they may have been war captives.
Behind the town is a cemetery, the S. end of which contains graves of
the XVIII., XIX., and XX. Dynasties, and the N. side graves of the
Ptolemaic period. Many Greek and demotic papyri were found worked
up in the cartonnage or papier-machi coverings of the mummies.
Further excavations carried on here in 1904 by Messrs. Loat and
Ayrton revealed a small shrine built for the worship of fish.
From the branch of the Bahr Yiisuf which runs from the bridge of
Illahun to Medina, numerous canals conduct the water to various parts
of the province, the quantity being regulated by sluices, according to
the wants of each. As of old, they offer still a more interesting speci
men of irrigation than any other part of Egypt.
From Illahun to Beni Suef on the Nile (see p. 303) is about 14 m.
in a direct line. On the road about 2 m. to the S.W. of the bridge of
Illahun are the mounds of an ancient town, called Toma. Farther on
to the rt. you see the lofty mounds of Ahnas or Ahnasiya, the ancient
Hiniusu or Hues (Herakleopolis) [Bte. 22, p. 304], which stood in an
island formed by the canal.
To the I. is. the town and battlefield of Sedment, with the Gebel
es-Sedment rising behind it, and separating the Nile valley from
the basin of the Bahr el-Gharak in the Fayyum. At Sedment the
French defeated the Mamelukes in 1798. On the Gebel es-Sedment is
the Necropolis of the ancient Herakleopolis. A few miles S.W. of
Sedment is the site of the ancient city of Tebtunis (Umm el-Baragat ;
see below, p. 267). Deshasha (p. 305) lies directly S. of Ahnas.
From Sedment and Ahnas the Nile and the Upper Egypt Bly. are
easily attainable, at Beni Suef.
4. Medina to Begig, el-Gharak, and the Wadi Raiyan.
[This excursion may be combined with No. 3 by, instead of proceeding from Ahnas
to Beni Surf, passing W. across the Gebel es-Sedment and by Umm el-Baritgat
S
 T b) t0T?1-°,hal':* t " "lis c.°urae be taken> l*w ran be visited on the return
to Medina. The line of the Fayyum Light Rlys., which run from Medina by Begig
and Etsa to el-Gharak, may be used when there is a train.]
At Ebgig; or Begig;, about 2 m. to the S.S.W. of Medina, is an
obelisk of tbe time of Usertsen .1., who erected that of Heliopolis. It
has been thrown down, and broken in two parts ; one about 26* ft the
other 16 ft. 3 in. long. One face and two sides only are visible; and
few hieroglyphs remain on the lower part. The mean breadth of the
face is 5 ft. 2 in or 6 ft. 9J in. at the lower end, and the sides are
about 4 ft. m width. At the upper part of the face are five compart
ments, one over the other ; in each of which are two figures of King
Usertsen offering to two deities. Below are columns of hieroglyphs,
many of which are quite illegible. The other face is under the
ground. On each of the two sides is a single column of hieroglyphs,
containing the name of the king, who on one is said to be beloved by
Ptah, on the other by Mentu-evidently the principal deities of the
place. On the summit of the obelisk a groove has been cut doubtless


Sect. IV.] EOUTE 19— CAIRO TO THE FAYYUM. 267
^}°}A S°ml orniim™t- This of Begig differs from that of Heliopolis,
f^rtl j!p'°ii,er «°^lls*s- in its. apex, being round and not pointed; and
m the breadth of its sides and its faces Eeing so very dissimilar. The
people of the country look on these, fragments with the same super
stitious feeling as on some stones at the. temple of Panopolis and other
places ; and the women recite the Fatha over them in the hope of a
numerous offspring.
3J m. S. of Begig is the village of Etsa, and 9 m. S.W. of this is
el-Gharak es-Sultani, 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 are some old sculpture and parts
of small columns and pilasters. Though the stones on the W. side,
from which the village has received the pompous name of Medinet el-
Hagar (" 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 the Bahr Gharak, the only branch of the Bahr
Yusuf that does not empty itself into the Birket el-Eurun ; it ends in
a series of pools at the W. end of the Gharak basin. The name el-
Gharak, "the submerged," has been given to the village owing to its
having been exposed to floods, by the lowness of its level, when accidents
have occurred to the dikes.
At el-Benidn ("the Buildings"), to the N.E. of el-Gharak, are an
old doorway, broken shafts, and capitals of Corinthian columns of
Boman time, built into a shekh's tomb ; and Talit, to the 1., is probably
the site of the ancient Talei.
The basin of the Bahr el-Gharak is separated from the Nile Valley
by a thin peninsula of limestone hills, the Gebel es-Sedment, so-called
from its proximity to the village of Sedment on its further side, and
the Gebel Abu Hamed. On the Gebel es-Sedment is the necropolis of
the ancient Herakleopolis (p. 304) : on the northern fringe of the desert,
west of the Gebel and on the south of the Bahr el-Gharak, is the ancient
site Umm el-Baragdt, the antique Tebtunis, successfully explored for
papyri by Messrs. Grenfell and Hunt at the expense of the University
of California. Tebtunis was inhabited as early as the time of the
XII.. Dynasty, as the tombs in the desert behind it shew. Sebek the
crocodile-god was worshipped here as elsewhere in the Fayyum. His
name, ' ' Sebek lord of Tebtunis," is found in the Greek papyri discovered
here as Seknebtunis.
From Gharak the Wddi Baiydn, lying to the W., may be visited on
camel-back. This great natural depression has been considered very
suitable for conversion into a great water-storage reservoir, and the
scheme, which owes its inception to Mr. R. Cope Whitehouse, may yet
be realized as a complement to the Aswan dam (see p. 517).
, A round journey back to Medina may be completed by proceed
ing (with camels) from the Wadi Baiyan to Nazla (p. 269), in the
Fayyum, and so back to Medina, or N. to Hdrit, the site of the ancient
Theadelphia, for a visit to the ancient sites in the neighbourhood of
the Kasr Kurun, whence the return journey may be made by Bly. from
Abuksa or by road through Senhur and Fidemin (p. 271).


268 EOUTE 19. — CAIEO to the fayyum. [Sect. IV.
5. Medina to the Birket el-Kurun and back, vid Biahmu.
[Tourists with little time at their disposal can visit the shores of the lake and
return to Medina in a day, but the prospect of crossing the lake to Dime in the time
is doubtful. Advantage must be taken of the Ely., which goes from Medina to
Abuksa (14im.), a village not far from the lake, vid Senaru (7 m.) and EbshwM,
(12 m.). The train takes li hrs. to do the whole distance. At Abuksa donkeys mnst
be obtained for the remainder of the distance to el-Wad! (see below) or elsewhere
on the lake, which lies from 4 to 5 m. N.E.
It is generally very difficult to hire camels or donkeys in the Fayyum, and it is
a good thing to get an order from the governor at Medina, addressed to the village
shekhs, requiring them to furnish the traveller with what he may require.
None of the ruins, which will presently be described, on the shore of the Birka
are particularly well worth a visit, except by archseologists who wish to see them
for scientific purposes. The tourist will visit the Birka for sport, and not to see
antiquities, with the exception of Dime.
The best headquarters for shooting is perhaps the small village of el-Wad!,
situate about midway along the S.E. shore of the lake, at the mouth of what is
called the Wadi river (Masraf el- Wddi), one of the main branches of the Bahr Yusuf
canal before alluded to, which here empties itself into the lake. Plenty of wildfowl
shooting is to be had here in the winter, and quail are abundant in February.
Hares, too, abound in the tamarisk-bushes on the shore of the lake to the east of
el-Wiidi. Boars and wolves may sometimes be seen, but the place to find them
is on the opposite or N.W. side of the lake. Tliere are some large clumsy fishermen's
boats at el-Wadi, but anyone who wants to shoot on the lake, and cross from one
side to the other readily, had better take his own boat with him. El-Wadi is about
5 m. from Abuksa.]
The Birket el-Kurun is about 15 m. distant in a straight line from
Medina. It is 35 m. long, and a little more than 7 broad in the widest
part, and has received its modern corrupted name of Birket el-Kwriln
("Lake of the Horns") from the point known as el-Kurn, which
projects into it from the N. shore ; the original form of the name seems
to have been derived from the ancient city of Karanis, near the E.
extremity of the lake (see p. 272). It has also been confused with the
name of the Arab hero Kariin, the Korah of the Hebrews (Numb, xvi.),
and so the lake is sometimes called Birket Kariin, " Korah's lake."
Towards the middle of the lake is a barren island, called Geziret Kariin.
The depth of the lake varies according to the time of year, but the
average in the deepest part may be about 30 ft. The surface is con
siderably below the level of the Nile. 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 springs,
which are probably derived from nitrations from the Nile over a bed
of clay. The first view of the lake from the higher eastern portion of the
Fayyum is very grand. Dense groves of palm-trees occupy the fore
ground in the neighbourhood of Senhur and Nazla : the plain sloping
gradually down to the lake is richly cultivated ; the immediate shore
is dotted with picturesque groups of tamarisk-bushes ; the lake itself,
on a calm day, glitters like a sea of molten silver ; while beyond it
stretches the desert, to the E. a succession of undulating sand-hills;
to the W. a chain of rocky mountains, extending to the edge of the
horizon. Mention has already been made of the numbers of aquatic
birds to be seen here, especially in winter. The lake also abounds in
fish, mostly of the same kind as those found in the Nile, but often of
larger size : the hilt and the fa'akh are sometimes from 3 to 6 ft. long.
From Ebshwai or Abuksa the traveller with archaeological interests


Sect. IV.] EOUTE 19. — CAIEO TO THE FAYYUM. 269
may visit the sites of the ancient cities of the western border of the
Arsinoite nome. 6 or 7 m. S.S.W. of Ebshwal is the large village of
Nazla on the banks of the river-like Masraf el- Wddi. The ravine from
bank to bank measures 673 ft. and 100 ft. in depth from the top of the
bank to the level of the water in the channel at the centre, which is
120 ft. broad. In the ravine itself are the remains of a wall which is
said to have been once used to retain the water, as at Tomia (p. 272),
where there is a similar broad channel. 2£ m. N.W. of Nazla
the desert border is reached, and 5 m. from Nazla or about 8 from
Ebshwal direct, vid Gebeli (without the ditour to Nazla), Hdrit, the
ancient Theadelphia. 1J m. farther is Kasr al-Bandt ("the' Castle of
the Girls "), a crude-brick building, of which the plans of 3 rooms only
can be traced, the whole measuring 30 paces by 10. Near it is the site
of the ancient Euhemeria, with much broken pottery, bricks, and other
fragments. 3J m. W.N.W. from Kasr al-Bandt, and well on the desert,
are the ruins of an ancient village, called Wadfa by the natives, which
is the ancient Philoteris. These three sites were excavated by Messrs.
Grenfell and Hunt in 1898-9 and have yielded many papyri ; the
cemetery at Harit also produced interesting burials of the Ptolemaic
and Boman periods. Wadfa lies about 2 m. S.E. of the ruined temple
of Kasr Kuriln, to which the traveller should now proceed (magnetic
bearing from Kasr Kurun 127°).
Kasr Kurun, the principal ruins on the shores of the Birket el-
Kurun, lie at the S.W. corner of the lake, about 15 m. from the village
of el-Wadi, the road from which lies over the desert and along the
shore of the lake.
The principal building, to which the name of Kasr Kuriln properly
belongs, is an Egyptian temple of Ptolemaic age, measuring 94 ft. by
63 ft., and 46 ft. in height, preceded by a court about 35 ft. in depth.
It contains 14 chambers, and 2 staircases on the ground-floor, besides a
long passage on either side of the adytum, whose end wall is divided
into 3 narrow cells. The whole is of hewn stone, and of a very good
style of masonry. About 380 paces (or 900 ft.) in front of the temple
is a square stone ruin, that probably formed the entrance of its
dromos : near it is another small building of similar materials ; and
130 paces to the S.E. is a Boman temple of brick, stuccoed, about
18 ft. square, on a stone platform, the outer face of its walls orna
mented with pilasters and half-columns. The roof is arched, and the
door in front opens upon a small area, part of the platform upon
which it stands. It has a side-door. Other vestiges of ruins are
scattered over an extent of about 900 by 400 paces, or about 2200 by
1000 ft. ; and at the western extremity of this space, 350 paces behind
the temple, are the remains 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 resembling
a stool, or an altar, also of Boman time.
It is not alone by the situation of this town that the former extent
of the cultivated land of the Arsinoite nome is attested, but by the
traces of gardens and vineyards which are met with on all sides of the
Kasr Kurun, whose roots now supply the Arabs with fuel when passing
the night there.
Broken pieces of old glass lie thickly strewn about the desert m the
neighbourhood, and there are many copper coins. It has been


270 EOUTE 19.  CAIEO TO THE FAYYUM. [Sect. IV.
conjectured that Kasr Kurun marks the site of Dionysias. In Boman
times it was a frontier-station with garrison and custom-house.
To the N.E., on the shore of Birket el-Kurun, are vestiges of
masonry, perhaps, of the port (if it deserves the name) of this town.
To the N., about 12 m. from the lake, is a lofty range of limestone
mountains, and behind them is the ravine that joins, and forms part
of, the Wadi Faragh, to the W. of the Natron Lakes.
The desert' route .round the N.W. corner of the lake from Kasr
Kurun to Dime (see below) is of no particular interest. It is best to return
to Abuksa vid el-Wadi and. Kafr Abiid. The lake may be crossed to
Dime at a point between el-Wadi and el-Hammam (see below), N.W. of
Kafr Abiid.
3 m. E. of Abuksa is Senhur, a; large picturesque village, buried
in a forest of palm-trees, and partly surrounded- by 'a deep watercourse.
It is about 5 m. from the lake. There arc extensive mounds and some
ruins. On the shore of the lake nearest to Senhur are some unimportant
ruins called el-Hammdm. Opposite' these, on the N. side of the lake,
and about 2 m. from the shore, are the ruins of Dime, the ancient
Socnopaei Nesus, which should be visited by the active tourist as well
as the archaeologist, if only for the sake of the interesting little voyage
on the lake. Bide from Abuksa or Senhur vid Kafr Abiid to the lake
at a point between el-Wadi and el-Hammam. Opposite (N.W.) is the
promontory of el-Kum ("the Horn"), from which the lake takes its
modern (corrupted) name ; W.N.W. is the I. of Kariin (Geziret Kaiiln) ;
directly N. the shore by Dime and the small island of el-Kenisa ("the
Temple ") close by.
[From this point, at which is a " succursale " of the Hotel Karun at Medina, a
boat must be taken across the lake. The boats are heavy and clumsy fishing-boats :
they can only be hired through the shekh of the fishermen. The usual charge is
from £E.l to P.T. 120 per day, with a bakhshish in addition. The voyage across the
lake takes about an hour and a half. The landing-place lies immediately W. of
el-Kum: Dime lies about 45 minutes' distance N.E. If the traveller has plenty of
time at his disposal, a tent may be pitched on the island of el-Kenisa to be clear of
hyenas and Arabs, and excursions made by day on the shore.]
In Pharaonic times Dime was an island, and though in Ptolemaic days
it must have been already joined to the mainland, it was still officially
designated as an island, SoKroirawv N-ncros, "the Isle of Soknopaios," a
form of the crocodile-god Sobk or Sebek (Souchos), who was worshipped
here in conjunction with Isis. A raised paved dromos, leading direct
through its centre to an elevated platform and sacred enclosure, forms
the main street, about 1290 ft. in length, once ornamented at the upper
end with the figures of lions, from which the place has received the name
of Dime es-Sabu'a. This remarkable street (which recalls the paved
approach to the temple of Bubastis), the lions, and the remains of
stone buildings, prove the town to have been one of great consequence.
The principal edifice, which is partly of stone, stands at the upper end
of the street, and wasdoubtless a temple ; it measures about 109 ft. by
67 ft., and is divided into several apartments, the whole surrounded by
an extensive circuit of crude-brick, 370 ft. by 270 ft. An avenue' of
lions was before the entrance of this sacred enclosure (or temenos),
87 ft. in length, connecting it with one of those square open platforms,
ornamented with columns, so often found before the temples of the'


Sect. IV.] EOUTE 19.  CAIEO TO THE FAYYUM. 271
Thebaid ; and this avenue formed a continuation of the main street.
The total dimensions of the area occupied by the town were about
1730 ft. 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.
From Dime the small temple of Kasr es-Sdgha, usually known as
" Schweinfurth's Temple," from the name of its discoverer, may be
visited. It lies about 4J m. N.E. It is of interest to the architect and
archaeologist on account of its peculiar style of building, of great and
fine blocks without a trace of inscriptions or reliefs, as in the Temple of
the Sphinx (p. 184). Both buildings probably date to the epoch of the
Middle Kingdom, and perhaps specifically to the reign of Amenemhat
III. Close by are the remains of a quay, and there is no doubt that
under the XII. Dynasty, when Dime was an island (" the Isle of Sebek "),
the Temple of Kasr es-Sagha stood on the shore of Lake Mceris ; it is
now 5 m. from the Birket el-Kurun.
In the neighbourhood of Kasr es-Sagha important palaeontological
discoveries have been made by Dr. F. S. Andrews, of the British
Museum. It is not advisable to visit the sites of the ancient Karanis and
Bacchias (Kdm Ushim and Umm el-'Atl), at the W. end of the lake,
from Dime ; the journey is more conveniently made from Tomia (see
below), on account of the difficulty of obtaining camels at Dime.
Archaeologists visiting Kom Ushim from Tomia may, however, very
well proceed with their camels to Kasr es-Sagha and Dime.
From Senhur the traveller may return direct to Medina by the charm
ing little village of Fidemin, situated on the banks of the Bali ret- Tahima
(" Mill Biver "), and through a most luxuriant and fertile country.
He may, however, continue his round to the Bly. Stat, of Senures,
a large village occupying the site of an old town (Psenuris), but
with no ruins, from which Medina is about 10 m. distant to the
S. by rail. On the way from Senures to Medina he passes Biahmu,
about 4 m. to the N. of Medina, where there are some curious stone
ruins. They are known to the Arabs as the Kiirsi Fara'un (' ' Throne
of Pharaoh"), or, more significantly, es-Senam, "the Idols." Mr.
Petrie, who made careful observations upon the ruins in 1889, believes
them to be the remains of courts surrounding two great pedestals
on which colossal statues of shining white quartzite — probably of
Amenemhat III. (XII. Dyn.) — had been seated. These were seen
standing by Herodotus, who describes two pyramids rising out of the
water, a stone statue being seated on each. His idea of their being
half-submerged pyramids is explained by the fact that he visited the
Fayyum during the inundation, and saw them from Arsinoe, and not
from Biahmu. They appear to have been placed on the parapet of a
great reclamation-dam erected by Amenemhat III. Each statue was
35 ft. high, with base 4 ft. high ; their pyramid-like pedestals were
21 ft. high, so that the whole of each colossus rose 60 ft. above the
ground. Fragments of them are now preserved in the Ashmolean
Museum at Oxford.
[The simple excursion from Medina to Biahmu and back can be made on donkey-
back in half a day (P.T.5). j
N.W. from Senures the Bly. runs past Kafr Makfiit, in the centre
of a most richly cultivated country, and 8 m. from Senures reaches


272 EOUTE 19.  CAIEO TO THE FAYYUM. [Beet. IV.
Tomia, the last village at the N.E. side of the Fayyum. It has no
ruins, but is interesting from the remains that exist of the old system
of dikes and reservoirs. The same system is still carried out on a
smaller scale. There is a deep ravine, or valley, as at Nazla, the lower
part of which was dammed by a buttressed wall of great thickness.
Water-fowl are very numerous in the neighbourhood of Tomia ; also
hares and sand-grouse ; and it is a good centre for sportsmen.
4 m. S.E. of Tomia is er-Rubiydt, and 5 m. E. of this a mound,
which is the site of the ancient Philadelphia, from which a large
number of Boman portraits were brought by Herr Graf of Vienna.
From Tomia a camel-route runs across the desert to Bedrashen
(p. 188) and Cairo, 30 ru. About 5 m. out to the I. of the route are
the two mounds of Umm el-'Atl, the site of the ancient Bacchias. The
remains of the brick-built town yielded papyri to Messrs. Grenfell and
Hunt in 1895-6. 4 m. E. is the mound of K6m Ushim, lying near the
E. end of the Birket Kurun, 4J m. W.N.W. of Tomia and 8 m. N. of
Senures. Here Messrs. Grenfell and Hunt discovered the remains of
the ancient town of Karanis, from which possibly the Birket Kurfhi
originally took its name. Here there existed an important stone
temple of Pnephcros (P-nefer-ho, "He of the Beautiful Face") and
Petesoukhos ("He whom Sebek has given"), forms of Osiris and Sebek.
From Kom Ushim or Tomia it is possible to reach Dime or Kasr
es-Sagha on camel-back in a day's journey.
[From Tomia, Medina is about 17 m. distant, and el-Edwa 12 m. ; and a road
leads across the desert to Kafr Ammar, 18 m., on the Upper Eyypt Railway.]

ROUTE 20.

Cairo to the Little Oasis, the Oasis of Dakhla,
and the Great Oasis, by the Fayyum.
A visit to these Oases will not come within the scope of the
ordinary traveller. From whatever point the start is made, it will be
necessary to make all the preparations for a desert journey (see p. 217),
and secure trustworthy servants and guides.
[The most frequented roads to the Little Oasis are from the Fayyum, from
Behnesa, and from Mima, to which mudiriya the Oasis belongs, the average distance
from them being the same, about three days' journey
. Th^^6at 0af S m^y be visitfd from Asyut, from Girga by Abydos, from Farshut,
froin Thebes, or from Esna ; and that of Dakhla from Beni 'Adi near Monfalut, or by
the Great Oasis. These two Oases are m the Asyut mudiriya
• ^ITH^ the,FWum and the Little Oasis "includes e'l-Hez and Farafra, and
gives the best idea of the character of the African desert ; but most persons who go
to the Oases will be satisfied with a visit to the Little Oasis from the Fayyilm or from
Behnesa, and to the other two from some point in Upper Egvct returning attain to
the same, or to some other place on the Nile. ee *«ypt, returning again to
As it is not always easy to procure camels at any of the Dlaces from which a. start
will be made, it is well to procure at Cairo a letter of reSSSttatoflS™^
of the province.] 6





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SeCt. IV.] EOUTE 20.— CAIBO TO THE OASES. 273
The Oases.— There is little to vary the monotony of the roads to
the Oases, which lead over a lofty table-land, intersected here and
there by small shallow valleys, or ravines, worn by the rain that
occasionally falls there. The Oases lie in certain depressions in this
mountain plain due to the cutting back of the limestone escarpment
at these points, so that, except to the S., where they are open, they are
surrounded by cliffs more or less precipitous, and very like those on
the E. and W. of the valley of the Nile. The Oasis itself comprises a
large area to which the cultivated part bears as a rule a very small
proportion, and it is only in the immediate neighbourhood of the
springs ('Ain, pi. 'Aydn) that we meet with a patch of fertile soil,
composed of sand and clay, which owes its origin to the springs that
rise here and fertilise it. Here are gardens, palm-groves, fields, and
villages, 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 the drifted sand that
collects around them. The distant hills, or the abrupt faces of the
high mountain-plain surrounding 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
exhalations account for the yellow complexion of the inhabitants, and
make it unsafe to visit the Oases in summer or autumn. The height
of these Oases varies ; the Little Oasis being about 300 ft. higher than
the Nile at Minia, while the Great Oasis and that of Dakhla are
nearly on the same level as the Nile. But in all of them the water seems
to rise from beneath a sandstone bed, the "Hagar el-Moiya," or water
rock, of the native well diggers.
On descending into the low plain in which the Oasis, properly so
called, stands, you perceive that the calcareous mountains repose on
sandstone, with a substratum of clay, holding the water that rises
from it in the form of springs. You pass numerous 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 Oasis.
These phenomena repeat themselves in every case. An oasis is
simply a large or small natural excavation in the desert plateau, which
usually has a number of centres of cultivation and population, on
account of the ease of obtaining water from springs or wells in it.
The cultivated tracts are necessarily restricted to the vicinity of such
natural or artificial effluxes of water, and in general they occupy the
lowest parts of the oasis-area, the rest being sandy desert.
The Arabic name for ' Oasis ' Wdh (pi. Wahdt) is the same as the
ancient Egyptian Uah, Uahet, which with the Greek termination
formed Auasis, or Oasis, and is the Coptic Ouahe.
The Oases are not so healthy as the Nile valley, fevers being
prevalent owing to the swampy nature of the cultivation round the
springs. The inhabitants of all are less intelligent than those of the
Nile valley, and in the Northern Oasis are inclined to be fanatical
owing to the influence of the Senussi sect (p. 260).
For the route from Cairo to Medinet el-Fayyum, see p. 263. The
first halt after leaving Medina will probably be at El-Gharak (see
p. 267), where the supply of water for the journey should be taken in.


Missing Page


Missing Page


276 EOUTE 20. — CAIEO TO THE OASES. [Sect. IV;
other the "projecting" Wah; Kharga being called projecting, as being
nearer to Egypt. The population of this Oasis of Dakhla is about
8000. A great portion of the road from Farafra lies between two of the
numerous high ridges of drifted sand that extend for many miles,
nearly due N. and S., parallel to each other. There is no water after
passing 'Ain ed-Dukker , the halting-place of the first day's march.
The first point we reach in the Oasis is el-Kasr, formerly the chief
town, containing about 3500 inhabitants, with some fairly good houses.
In the middle of the town is a mineral spring, the water from which
fertilises the surrounding land, and supplies some baths attached to
the mosque. It issues at a temperature of 102° Fahr. A little more
than 5 m. to the W.S.W. of the modern town of el-Kasr is a sandstone
temple, called Dir el-Hagar, "the Stone Convent," the most interesting
ruin in this Oasis. It has the names of Nero and Titus in the hiero
glyphs ; and on the ceiling of the adytum is part of an astronomical
subject. Amen, Mut and Khensu, the Theban triad, were the principal
deities : and the ram-headed Khnemu and the infant Horus were
among the contemplar gods ; but the Theban Amen and Mut held the
post of honour. The temple consists of a vestibule, with screens half
way up the columns ; a portico, or a hall of assembly ; a transept or
prosekos ; and the central and two side adyta ; 121 ft. before the door
of the vestibule is a stone gateway or pylon, the entrance to an area
measuring 235 ft. by 130 ft., surrounded by a crude-brick wall. At the
upper or W. end of it are the remains of stuccoed rooms ; and on the
N.E. side are some columns covered also with stucco, and coloured.
The old Egyptian name of the temple was Eset-ioh, "Place of tbe
Moon." There are many crude-brick remains in the neighbourhood;" and
about 1J m. from el-Kasr are the extensive mounds of an ancient town
with a sandstone gateway. The fragments of stone which lie scattered
about appear to indicate the site of a temple, now destroyed. Those
mounds are about half a mile square, and below them to the E. is a
spring called 'Am el-K'tad, whence .they have received the name of
Medina Kiad. They are now known as Lemhada. The only ruins
now remaining are of crude brick, apparently of Boman time.
The next place of importance is Kalamun, 8 m. S. of El-Kasr (Pop.
1000), a well-built village, whose shekhs, the Shorbagis, claim the
honour of having governed the Oases from the time of Sultan Selim.
Mut, at the southern edge of the Oasis, and to the E. of Kalamun,
is a village of some size perched on the top of a mound of yellow
cehreous sandy clay, and surrounded by a considerable area of cultiva
tion and palm groves, though some have been ruined by salt water
having been allowed to flood them. There are now no ancient remains
to be seen, but from a mound W. of the town two stelce have been
obtained bearing the name of Shishak II., and telling of an inspection
of the Oasis made by a royal official. Alum works were formerly carried
on here, but the transport of it was too costly.
From Mut we turn eastwards in the direction of the Great Oasis,
and reach .in about 10 m. the village of Isment, where is the capital of
a column with a Hathor (or Isis) head, and near it some crude-brick
ruins called, as usual, ed-Der, "the Convent." About 1J m. to the





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Sect. IV.] EOUTE 20. — CAIEO TO THE OASES. 277
S.W. is Mdsara. Continuing E. 2J m. brings us to the ruins of a large
town, called Israent el-Kharab, "the ruined Isment." The most
remarkable remains there are a sandstone building measuring 19 paces
by 9, consisting of 2 chambers, in a very dilapidated state ; and, another
near it, measuring 5 paces by 5, with an addition before and behind of
crude brick, stuccoed and painted in squares and flowers. Nineteen
paces in front of it is a stone gateway, the entrance to the area in
which it stood. There are also some large crude-brick buildings
ornamented with pilasters, apparently of Boman-Egyptian time ;
within which are vaulted chambers of sandstone. Many of the houses
of the town remain, mostly vaulted and stuccoed ; and the streets may
easily be traced. A little more than 1 m. from this are other ruins,
called Kasr el-Arisa.
About 7J m. E. of this is Ballat, a large village surrounded by walls,
and containing about 2000 inhabitants. The water here is very good,
and a stock of it had better be laid in. The small village of Beshendi
is 3 m. farther E. ; and at about the same distance beyond is 'Ain
el-Birba, where are some ruins. In another hour we reach Teneda,
a large village with water and rich vegetation. It is the last inhabited
spot in the Oasis.
Though noticed by Arab writers, the position and even the existence
of this Oasis were unknown in modern times, until it was visited by Sir
A. Edmonstone in 1819. It extends about 15 m. from N. to S., and
28 m. from E. to W. The population is reckoned at over 7000 males,
and it contains 11 villages. Its condition is superior to that of the
other Oases, and the numerous remains of ancient towns and villages
prove that it was the same in former times. The people are more
hospitable, and less ignorant and bigoted than those of the Little Oasis
or that of Farafra, where Senussi influence is strong. Much rice is
grown ; and fruits, particularly apricots and olives, abound ; but dates,
as in all the Oases, are the principal source of revenue. During the
Ptolemaic period it would appear that the vine was cultivated and
grape wine made in the Oases of Dakhla and el-Kharga. The wines of
Tjesti and Kenem are specially mentioned in inscriptions of that
period. [From this Oasis there is a caravan road leading direct to Asyut in about 6 days'
march.] Road from the Oasis of Dakhla to the Great Oasis. — Continuing
from the last point reached in the Wah Dakhla, we advance always E.,
and in 4 hrs. leave the depression formed by that Oasis and enter a
defile, which after an ascent of 4 hrs. brings us to the top of the
plateau. In 3 hrs., an isolated conical hill called Abil TarbUr is
reached ; and 2 hrs. farther we descend from the torrent-riven plain by
a ravine, which in J hr. leads to 'Ain Amur, a spring sheltered with
palm-trees, and close to which are the ruins of an old temple, with a
large enclosure of crude brick, intended to protect the temple, and
secure access to the spring. Khnemu, Amen-Ba, and Mut are the
principal deities. Though the name seems to be that of a Csesar, the
temple has an appearance of greater antiquity than the generality of
those in the Oases ; no remains of a town have been found, and it is
possible that this temple and enclosure were only intended to add »
sanctity to the site of the spring, and to ensure its protection. Water


278 EOUTE 20. — CAIEO TO THE OASES. [bed.. 1 V .
cannot always be depended on here. 'Ain Amur is situated on the
slope of Gebel 'Ain Arndr, more than 1000 ft. above the valley of the
same name. From this point there is a long wearisome march of
13 hrs., for the most part over a sandy plain strewn with black con
glomerate, till we reach a sandstone hill, from which there is a pleasing
and welcome view of the Great Oasis, at the borders of which we arrive
in another J hr.
[Another .road to Kharga from the E. end of the Dakhla Oasis follows the foot
of the limestone cliffs, and takes about 3 days' march. There is no water on this
road.] The Great Oasis, or Wah el-Kharga, is mentioned in the hiero
glyphic inscriptions under the name Kenem. Herodotus speaks of a
city called Oasis, seven days' journey from Thebes, and called in Greek
the " Island of the Blessed," which is probably this Oasis. _ Cambyses'
army reached it on its way to the Oasis of Ammon, and perished in the
desert, half-way to the latter place. By the other Emperors it was
used as a place of exile ; and Nestorius, after his condemnation by the
Council of Ephesus, was banished here in a.d. 435. This was a
revival of a very ancient custom, for we know from a stela of the 25th
year of King Menkheperra (of the XXI. Dynasty), found at Luxor, that
in his time 100,000 people had been banished from Thebes to the Oasis.
The number may be an exaggeration.
The Oasis, which lies between 26° and 24° N. lat., is about 90 m.
long from N. to S., by about 12 m. broad from E. to W. ; but a great
part of it is desert, with cultivable spots here and there. It is about
3000 sq. km. in extent. The population may be estimated at 2000. The
productions are much the same as those of the other Oases, with the
addition of the dom-palm, wild senna, and some other plants, but it is
inferior in point of general fertility. Politically, the Oasis forms part
of the mudiriya of Asyut.
Approaching as we have done on the W- side, the first object of
interest reached beyond the Jebel Taaref, an isolated hill within the
Oasis depression, is the Necropolis of el-Kharga, oalled el-Geban by
the natives, a most interesting burial-place of early Christian times.
It lies on a commanding hill to the 1. of the path. There are some two
hundred tomb buildings, many of remarkable architecture, with fronts
ornamented with pilastered and round-arched recesses. All the
buildings are rectangular, and built of unburnt brick. The cupola
roofs of some are still in place. On the stucco-coated interior walls are
Greek and Coptic scrawls. There is usually a pit in the centre of each
tomb, with a chamber in tbe bottom, in which the mummy of the
deceased was placed. The fact that the early Egyptian Christians
continued the pagan practice of mummification here obtains an in
teresting illustration. In connection with this it may be noted that
on the walls of several of the tombs and in the chapel the Egyptian
ankh ¦$, the sign of life, is painted. It was evidently confounded with
the Christian cross. The Chapel is basilican ; the aisles on each side
are separated from the nave by three arches, two pointed and one
rounded. On the wall of a cross-passage is a niche with a crude fresco
of Abraham and Isaac. In another building an interesting fresco was
discovered by Messrs. Mace and Myers in 1901 ; it depicts Abraham,
Isaac, Sarah, Adam, Eve, Thekla, Paul, Mary, Noah, Jacob Euche,


Sect. IV.] EOUTE 20.: — CAIEO TO THE OASES. 279
Dikaiosyne, Daniel,, and. Irene. Euche, Dikaiosyne, and Irene are
simply Prayer, Justice, and Peace personified ; Peace holds the ankh,
and Justice the scales. Abraham holds two knives, and a ram comes
out of a bush behind him. Noah stands in the ark with seven other
people, and the dove is represented. Daniel has the lions with him.
In the corners of the tomb are four figures of fowls.
Passing in 1J m. the Great Temple (see below), we reach 1J m.
farther El-Kharga (P., T.), the capital of the Oasis, a large village of about
4500 inhabitants. There is a telegraph offico here, and the post arrives
from Asyut about once a fortnight.
The Great Temple of el-Kharga, as has been already said, is
1J m. to the W. of the village. It is much larger than any other ruin
in the Oases, and is an interesting, monument. It was dedicated to
Amen, or Amen-Ba.
The sculptures of the temple are not of the spirited style of the early
Pharaonic 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,
probably of Ptolemaic or Boman time, when extravagant emblems took
the place of the more simple forms of an earlier period.
The oldest name met with is that of Darius, which occurs in many
places. The inscription of that king recounting the building and
dedication of the Temple, together with a hymn on the S.W. wall of
the. 2nd chamber, addressed to the god Amen-Ba, has been translated
by Dr. Birch in 'Becords of the Past,' vol. viii. On a screen before
the temple is the name of Amyrtjeos. There are also several Greek
inscriptions on the front gateway or pylon, one of which, bearing the
date of the first year of the Emperor Galba, consists of 66 lines.
The fullest account of the temple with its inscriptions and remains
is to be found, in Dr. Brugsch's' ' Beise nach dem grossen Oase el-
Khargeh in der Libyschen Wuste,' which contains an account of his
visit to the Oasis in 1875.
The whole length of the temple, which is built of sandstone, measures
about 142 ft. by 63 ft., and about 30 ft. 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 ft. 50 ft. in front of the outer pylon is an hyprethral
building on a raised platform, terminating the dromos, from which
there is an ascent to it by a flight of steps. The temple was enclosed
within a. stone wall, abutting against the innermost pylon. This
formed the temenos. Near the S.W. corner is another smaller hypse-
thral 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
dromos some brickwork has been raised in later times by the Arabs,
forcibly recalling the additions made during the Middle Ages to many
Boman buildings in Italy. The stone part itself is much higher than the
other two gateways, being about 45 ft. to the top of the cornice ; while
the other two, the first and innermost, are only respectively 15 ft. 7 in.
and 20 ft. 3 in. The stones are well fitted, and havo been fastened
together with wooden dovetailed clamps. Entering by the third pylon
(coloured reliefs), we find ourselves in a hall of twelve undecorated


280 EOUTE 20.  CAIEO TO THE OASES. [Sect. IV.
columns ; beyond is a room of four columns on the same plan. Here
are portraits of Darius and elaborate inscriptions, including the ' Hymn
to Amen ' described above, and another hymn of pantheistic character,
calle'd ' The Secret Words of Amen ' (transl. by Brugsch, loc. cit.), on
the wall to the 1., as one enters, and on the wall rt. of the entrance
to the Third Hall, respectively. The Third Hall, or Fore-hall of the
Sanctuaries, is supported on four columns, and has niches on each
side. Beyond this are three Sanctuaries, and a staircase on to the
roof.(?). In the vicinity of the temple stood the ancient town. It bore the
name of Hibis, or, in Egyptian, Hebi, "the Plough," under which
character it is frequently designated in the hieroglyphs with the sign
of land, and it was the capital of the Great Oasis.
On a height, S.E. from the temple, is a stone temple called en-
Nadara, surrounded by a spacious crude-brick enclosure. It is a
square building (three sides standing) with an entrance in each side.
Two of these have round arches ; the third is pyloniform, with the
winged sun beneath the cornice. It bears the name of Antoninus
Pius. There are other sandstone buildings of much the same style near
by ; one is a " fragment of a sandstone tower, octagonal outside and
round within, with a tunnel and small chambers underneath; the
stones are beautifully squared and fitted." At Kasr 'Ain Mustafa
Kashef, near the Necropolis, are the remains of a late Roman brick
building, probably a monastery. About 1 m. N. of Gebel Umm el-
Ghenaiem, near the E. escarpment of the oasis on the road to Girga,
are the ruins of a large Boman square Fort of unburnt brick, with
twelve round towers or bastions projecting from the walls. It is, as
usual, known to the natives as ed-Dir. Close by is a good well,
and there are tombs N.W. of the fort. At 'Ain Tabashir, on the Asyiit
road, is a fine Boman Columbarium or dovecote, called by the natives
Borg, " Tower." This is a very interesting building, being built with
great skill and care. It measures about 18 ft. by 15, and is about 20
ft. high at present. It has an outer wall, carefully rounded at each of
the two corners which are left, and a central column or tower, rectan
gular. Both are furnished with cotes for the doves. Through this
central erection passes a small staircase with a landing on an arch
between the column and the outer wall. Higher up there is a passage
through the tower which was evidently intended to be reached by a
small ladder from the landing ; the object being to facilitate the
cleaning of the cotes. The roof was supported on arches springing
from the central tower. N. of 'Ain Tabashir are the village of Mehirik
and various wells, the northernmost being 'Ain Karam Muhammad,
at the foot of the Gebel Aduza, near which is another Boman fort
of interesting construction, on a hillock to the I. of the track. From
'Ain Hager, where there are brick ruins, south of this, a path runs
W. to 'Ain Lebekha, at the foot of Gebel Ramliya ; here are the ruins
of a Christian chapel and a fort. Farther W., under the shadow of
the desert scarp, are the springs and ruins of 'Ain Umm Dabadib,
where there was in Boman times an important village, whose ruined
houses, castle, and chapel still exist. The castle has two square
towers. To the N. are ancient well-shafts and an aqueduct-tunnel
running towards and under the desert scarp.


Sect. IV] EOUTE 20. — CAIEO TO THE OASES. 281
S. of El-Kharga there is more to see. We first reach Genua
(2 hrs.), with pretty wells, 'Ain Magarin and 'Ain el-Estakherab, sur
rounded by palm groves, and then £asr el-Guehda (1 hr.), where is a
temple with the names of Ptolemy Euergetes I., of Philopator, and of
Lathyros. It was dedicated to Amen, Mut, and Khensu — the great
Theban triad. It has an outer court, a hall with four pillars and
sanctuaries.- At Kasr 'Ain ez-Zayan is another small temple, which was restored
in the third year of Antoninus Pius, and was dedicated to Amen-Khnemu.
A Greek dedicatory inscription over the door of the temple contains
this name and. that of the town, which was called Tkhonemyris. The
ruins of Tkhonemyris lie about 'J m. S. Among them good small
antiquities, especially bronzes, have been found.
The village of Billdk (1J hrs.), containing about 400 inhabs., is next
reached, about J hr. beyond which is the supposed tomb of the famous
Amir Khaled ibn el-Welid at Geltuma.
Dakakin ("Shops") (7 hrs.) follows, with low hills and springs,
and a ruined village on the rt., and then ^ris (2£ hrs.), a fair-sized
village of 500 inhabs. At Dush (3 hrs. E. on the Esna road) is a
temple, which has the names of Domitian and Hadrian, an<b was
dedicated to Serapis and Isis ; but the Greek inscription on the pylon
has the date of the 19th year of Trajan. The ancient name of the
town was Kysis ; and the inhabitants added this stone gateway for the
good fortune of the emperor, and in token of their own piety. The
temple is of good plan, with two isolated pylon gates in front ; between
which formerly existed a colonnade, of which the pillar fragments
remain, and a forecourt and hall with four columns, like" Kasr Zayan.
Beyond are the sanctuaries. The main portion of the temple lies in a
temenos court of great extent, bounded by walls of unburnt brick.
The last places are the small hamlets of Maks Bahari and Males Kibli
(1J hrs.) S. of Beris on the Darb el-'Arba'in, the caravan road to Dongola
and Darfiir (see below).
It will have been seen that the antiquities of the Great Oasis are
interesting. Probably nowhere else in Egypt is so much of the brick
architecture of the late Boman period preserved. This is largely
owing to the progressive decrease of the population and consequent
absence of all need to pull the old buildings down for the sake of their
bricks. Roads from the Great Oasis to the Nile. — There are three prin
cipal roads, viz. to Asyiit, Girga, and Esna.
1. The Boad to Asyut (p. 340) is the longest. It is the one (known
as the Darb el-'Arba'in, "Path of the Forty") along which the great
slave caravans used to pass on their way from Darfiir to Egypt through
the Great Oasis. Slaves used also to be brought this way by Takruris,
who are blacks from the interior of Africa and Moslems, but are
looked upon as an inferior kind of merchant. A caravan sometimes
included from 2000 to 4000 slaves. The rate of travelling by the slave
caravan was very slow ; they only went from sunrise to half-past 2 or
3 p.m., or about 8 hrs.' march ; and the journey from Darfiir to Beris, at
the S. of the Oasis, occupied 31 days— 10 from Darfiir to the Natron
' plain called Zegh&wa, 7 to 'Ain el-Agia, 4 to Selirna, 5 to Sbeb, and §
to Beris,


282 EOUTE 20. — CAIEO TO THE oases. [Sect. IV.
The time taken on the journey from el-Kharga to Asyut will be about
55 to 60 hrs. The path winds down the side of a high cliff about 5 m.
W. of Asyiit, and then proceeds past the cemetery to the canal-bridge
and causeway into the town.
2. The Boad to Giega ob Farshut (pp. 354, 365) is shorter, and
the journey is only about 40 hrs.' march with lightly laden camels.
50 hrs. had better be allowed.
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. Instead of going direct to Girga the traveller
may turn off and take the opportunity to visit Abydos (p. 356). The
Nile valley is usually struck near the village of Bit Khalldf (from
which to Girga, see Rte. 22, p. 355) or at Farshut, p. 365. A It. rly. is
now being built from el-Kharga Junction (near Farshut) to Dakhla vid
el-Kharga, which will follow this route (p. 298).
3. The Boad to Esna (p. 480) goes from near Genna, and from
Maks and Ditsh, and thence across the desert to the Nile. The culti
vation is reached at Ahmad Said Mitsa, from which the path goes vid
Shekh Fadl. The journey is performed in about 60 hrs.' march.
The natural features of all these routes are the same. We leave the
Oasis by an easy ascent up the eastern scarp, then proceed across a
nearly flat desert plateau for about 100 m. till the Nile-valley is
reached. The usual wadi descent is made. At Asyiit the path winds
down the side of a high cliff. The Girga route descends gradually
from the plateau over rolling lower desert to the cultivation; that to
Esna goes down the side of a wadi by a steep zigzag path, follows the
base of the cliffs for some distance, and then crosses rolling desert like
that on the Girga route to the cultivation.
Interesting geological observations may be made on the ascent and
descent of the desert-scarps, but the plateau is uninteresting, the same
beds of Eocene limestone being traversed all the way.


Sect. V] THE NILE. 283

SECTION V.
THE VALLEY OP THE NILE PROM CAIRO
TO THEBES.
Route I'AGE
Preliminary Information  283
21. Cairo to Luxor (Thebes), by Bail . . 295
22. Cairo to Luxor, by Biver ..... 299
23. Luxor and Thebes  378

PKELIMINAB.Y INFORMATION.
1. Modes of Travelling.
The various modes of travelling in Egypt have been already referred
to (see p. [10]), but as the journey up the Nile, of which this Section
forms the first part, has special features of its own, it will be con
venient to give here some detailed information as to the various ways
in which the journey can be performed.
The River is the highway of Egypt beyond Cairo, and along this
highway the traveller can proceed either in a boat of his own, or in a
steamer, or by the railway. The advantages of a steamer are economy
of time and money ; the disadvantages are the noise, the necessity of
doing everything at a fixed time, sightseeing in a crowd, and that for
those interested in the archaeological remains an utterly inadequate
time is allowed for their inspection. The great advantage of hiring a
dahabiya is that the traveller is absolutely his own master ; but as he
is dependent on the wind the voyage necessarily takes longer, and is
therefore more expensive. Those who are pressed for time, or who
wish to save expense, can take the train the whole way from Cairo to
Aswan, or can break the journey at Asyiit, Nag' Hamadi or Luxor, and
take the steamer thence to Aswan.
2. Voyage in a Dahabiya.
There is no question that the best and most comfortable method of
seeing the Nile is from a dahabiya, but it is at the .same time the
longest, and therefore the most expensive. Under the most favourable
circumstances the journey will take from 7-8 weeks to Aswan and
back, and 3 weeks longer if it is continued to the Second Cataract.
Dahabiyas, with dragoman, crew, and provisions, &c, complete, can be
hired from the tourist agents, or the traveller can hire his own boat,
which is but little more trouble and costs less. It is, however, usual
now to hire one of Messrs. Cook's dahabiyas (see below). The following
description of the usual procedure in case the traveller wishes to hire
one independently is nevertheless retained as it may be useful. If the
traveller has not engaged a dragoman before arriving in Cairo, bis first


286 THE NILE. [Sect. VI
In contemplating a winter on the Nile it is by no means necessary
to place one's self at once in the hands of tourist agents, it being a far
easier trip to arrange than people so often imagine. In securing'the
services of a .reliable dragoman the traveller has no more trouble-
beyond that of choosing his own dahabiya— than he would incur in
arranging through an agency, and has the advantage of being quite
independent, spending less money, and having everything under his
direct control.
The traveller can have a regular form of contract drawn up for him
at the Consulate, in which he can embody any particular point wished
for, the charge for preparing and witnessing of which is £1. He ican
also draw up his own contract and merely pay 5s. for having the
signatures witnessed.
The following draft contract embodies the most important points :—
CONTBACT between Mr. A. B., British subject, op the one paet,
and the Dragoman Y. Z., subject, op the other past.
i. The dragoman Y. Z. binds himself to conduct Mr. A, B. and his
party from Cairo (?) to Aswan (?) for the sum of pounds sterling.
2. The dragoman Y. Z. engages to supply a first-class dahabiya for
the trip, sufficiently manned and equipped to the satisfaction of Mr. A. B.,
and to entirely defray the cost of up-keep and provisions and the expenses
of such excursions as Mr. A. B. and his party may wish to make. Travellers
must provide their own wines and liquors, cigars and cigarettes, &c. , and
also defray the cost of the requisite permits to visit the monuments, to be
obtained from the Egyptian Government authorities on payment of£E.i
per head.
3. Tlie dragoman Y. Z. is alone to be responsible for damage done to
the dahabiya or the small boats, of which two shall be provided.
4. The voyage shall begin on , and the days of departure
and arrival are to be included in the duration of the trip.
5. The dragoman Y. Z. engages to provide Mr. A. B. and his party
with the following meals, daily : —
(t) Breakfast, consisting of
(2) Luncheon, consisting of
(3) Dinner, of
Also tea twice daily when required. The provisions must be of the best
quality, and to Mr. A. B. and his party's satisfaction.
6. The dahabiya will sail from sunrise to sunset of each day. When the
wind is unfavourable, it sliall be towed upstream, or rowed downstream.
7. No passenger or goods shall be received on the dahabiya without
permission from Mr. A. B.
8. Mr. A. B. shall reserve to himself the right of stopping for
days during the voyage, at such places and times as he may select. Halts
of less than 2 hrs. shall not be reckoned. The reiyis shall have the right
to stop on two occasions of 24 hours each, for the purpose of baking bread ;
these periods are not to be reckoned against Mr. A. B.
9. The dragoman Y. Z. shall arrange for the washing of the linen once
a week. He shall also provide a clean table napkin to each person every
second day, two clean towels every fourth day, and clean sheets once a
week. 10. The dragoman Y. Z. shall also provide the requisite staff of com
petent servants of good character.
n. One-third of the price agreed upon shall be paid before starting
on the voyage, one-third during the voyage, and the remainder on its
completion.


Sect. V.]

THE NILE.

287

12. In the event of disputes arising from differences ill carrying out
this contract; : or from any other cause whatsoever, Mr. A. B. and the
dragoman Y. Z. bind themselves to submit such disputes to the arbitration
of the Consul before whom this contract is signed.
Then follow the signatures of the traveller and dragoman, which
should be affixed in the presence of the Consul.

3. Voyage without a Dragoman.
Only those who know the ways and customs of the country and
who can speak Arabic can really dispense with the services of a
dragoman. This mode of making the Nile trip is not to be (generally
recommended, as travellers will find the task of catering, &c, a
tiresome and disagreeable one, unless housekeeping under difficulties
should happen to be a favourite occupation. It may be adopted by
those with some knowledge of Arabic who merely wish to spend a
certain time upon the river either for the sake of the climate or for
sporting purposes, &c, but it is not suited to those who wish to go to
a given point and back within a certain time to see and do all they can
within that period. A contract for the dahabiya will have to be made
with the reiyis and signed at the Consulate (for prices, see p. 284).
The following List of Provisions, etc. , will, it is thought, be found
to comprise all that is most essentially necessary in stocking a boat
for a voyage on the Nile ; but there are many other items which people
will add according to their individual tastes, by which, as well as by the
time intended to be spent, the quantity taken of each item must also
be regulated. Everything may be bought in Alexandria or Cairo,
fairly good in quality and reasonable in price. The traveller should
remember to make an arrangement allowing him to return unused
stores at a reduction of 10 per cent, on the price charged for them. A
note of this should be entered on the invoice. Nicolas Zigada, next to
Cook's office, Walker of Co., in the Shari'a Wagh-el-Birket, and Fleurent,
in the Halim Pacha Square, are all reliable firms.

Tea. Coffee.
Cocoa.
Chocolate.Milk (condensed).
Beer.Wine. Spirits.
Mineral Waters.
Butter (in \ lb. or
J lb. tins).
Cheese.
Biscuits. Marmalade.Jam.
Flour.Bice.Tapioca.Arrowroot.

Maccaroni. Sardines.Sugar;
Potatoes.Oranges.Lemons.Limes.Peas, split.
Preserved tables.
Currants.Baisins.Olives.
Dried Apricots.
French Plums.
Dates.Figs. Gelatine.Starch.

Vege-

Bacon.Ham.Tinned Tongues.
Pickles. Salt.
Pepper.Mustard.Vinegar. Salad Oil.
Lamp Oil.
Matches. Candles.
Night lights.
Soap.
Boot Polish.
Knives for opening
tins.
String.


288 the Nile, [Sect. V.
Preserved meats and soups may be taken, but are not necessities, as
mutton, beef, chickens, pigeons, and turkeys can always be bought.
Fresh vegetables are plentiful. Eggs are generally plentiful, and milk
may always be bought in the early morning at any village. Fresh
butter can be procured sometimes, and would be good if it were
properly made and not so dirty. Kishteh, a sort of Devonshire cream,
is an excellent thing, and can be made by any cook. A certain
quantity of fresh meat, and some pigeons, chickens, and turkeys should
be laid in at Cairo. Meat is sold by the oke (about 2f lbs.), or the rotl
(rather more than 1 lb.). Nearly all these things are cheaper in Upper
Egypt, and it is a good thing to fill the coops with turkeys, chickens,
and pigeons at some place where they are cheap. This should certainly
be done before entering Nubia, as everything there is scarce and
dear. Many of the objects enumerated above, such as soap, string,
pickles, jam, &c, can be bought in the local general shops (bakkals)
in the towns. The native bread is usually good, but for some reason
it is tabooed by the hotel-managers, who, being generally Continentals,
themselves prefer a bad imitation of French or Viennese bread. But
British visitors, used to their own brown bread, will appreciate the
native Egyptian loaf (ish beledi).
4. Additional Hints.
All information with regard to medicines, clothes, shooting, and
other matters which equally concern those who go with, and those who
go without, a dragoman , will be found in the Introduction, I. (§§ 12 and
13) and V., e, f, and § 12. A few useful hints, however, may still be
added. The Boat and things needed on it. — Do not be too much taken
with a boat because it has some modern appliances, such as, for
instance, water turned on, taps, basins and plugs, &c. First of all this
means that there is a cistern on deck into which the water has to be
pumped, an operation which it will be found extremely difficult to get
done regularly ; and then the cistern when full adds considerably to
the top hamper of the boat. Moreover, the pipes which lead from the
cistern to the baths and basins are generally so small that the flow of
water is provokingly slow. The fixed basins too are never properly
cleaned out, and the chain and plug always hold soapsuds, &c. The
river is conveniently close and buckets handy and cheap.
Poultry should never be kept on the deck, but always in a small
boat set apart for the purpose. Great care should be taken that they
are kept properly clean, as diphtheria is sometimes caught from fowls.
Those who wish to be certain of always having fresh milk will do
well to take a goat with them, which can be kept in the second boat.
However free the dahabiya may be from rats at starting, it is very
probable that some may come on board from the country boats near
which it is moored during the voyage ; therefore it is a good thing to
take one or two iron rat-traps.
Mosquito-curtains are usually provided; but unless there is any
inducing reason, such as bilge-water, to cause the presence of
mosquitoes, no annoyance ought to be experienced from them after
leaving Cairo.
Neither bugs nor fleas should be found on any properly clean


OBCTi. V.J THE NILE. 289
dahabiya, but it is as well to have some Persian flea-powder, which is
the best remedy for these unwelcome visitants.
_ Flies are a great plague on the Nile, and the most effectual snare
f&r them is what is known as "fly-paper," which can be procured at
Cairo and Luxor ; fly-flaps are also very useful. Insect powder on all
the window sills is also effective.
H the traveller be a smoker, he will know how to supply his own
wants in that line ; but even though he himself should not smoke, he
ought to take with him a few boxes of cigarettes, and Gebelli tobacco
for pipes, together with one or two chibfiks, so as to be able to offer
a smoke to any native visitors. Some common tobacco also may be
taken for occasional distribution among the crew.
Coffee should always be handed round on the occasion of any visit,
and it is well to have a few bottles of sirop for making the so-called
sherbet. It is customary to fly the national ensign of the passengers at the
stern of the dahabiya, and a special distinguishing pennant at the
yard-end : the former can be bought at Cairo, and the latter made,
but it is better to bring them from England, though the dragoman
probably can supply them.
The Crew. — Strict discipline should be. maintained with the crew,
and invariable obedience to orders, whatever they may be, with the
full understanding of course that they are reasonable and just. But
the stick need never be resorted to : firmness and the determination of
being obeyed seldom fail to command respect and obedience ; for, when
they know you will he obeyed, they will seldom disregard an order.
When once that obedience is established, 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
governor, or by substituting too late severity, either of which will only
draw upon him hatred and contempt. However much they may try
to impose on one whom they think to get the upper hand of, they
never harbour any feelings of revenge. They are like the frogs in the
fable with the log of wood. In short, be strict and just, without
unnecessary violence, in order to have the satisfaction of being indul
gent. When properly managed, no people are so willing or good-
natured as the Nile boatmen : when not understood, none so trouble
some. When going ashore to shoot or visit any ruins, it is customary
to be accompanied by one of the crew, for the purpose of carrying
anything that may be required. A few piastres to buy tobacco may
occasionally be given in return for this service. Some travellers,
especially if there are ladies, will find it more agreeable not to allow
the crew to come across the quarter-deck during the daytime. They
can easily go along the side from end to end of the boat.
The traveller will probably be asked before leaving Cairo for money
to buy the crew a tambourine and a darabUka, a sort of drum, these
being the musical instruments with which the sailors accompany their
songs. There is no necessity for acceding to this request, and some
may not care to encourage the men in singing ; but few would probably u


290 THE NILE. [Sect. V.
be disposed to put a stop to what is one of the chief delights of a Nile
boatman, and is itself in moderation not unpleasing to the ear.
Sailing. — One very necessary precaution in sailing is to order the
captain to forbid the boatmen to tie the sails, and to insist upon their
holding the rope called shoghill in their hands, which is termed keeping
it khdlus, "free" ; for to the neglect of this precaution almost all the
accidents that happen on the Nile are to be attributed. In those parts
where the mountains approach the river it should be particularly
attended to, as at Gebel Shekh Embarak, Gebel et-Ter, and thence to
Shekh Timai, Gebel Abu Feda, Gebel Shekh Haridi, and Gebel Tiikh
below Girga. In a high wind, and when strong gusts may be expected,
it is better to run no risk, and not to attempt to pass such mountains
till the wind has abated. Care should also be taken to have the proper
quantity of ballast on board, which is often curtailed in order to make
the boat lighter for towing.
Bakhshish. — Bakhshish to the crew is now specially mentioned in
the contract as devolving on the dragoman ; and the men have no
right to expect a piastre from the traveller. He may, however, at such
places as Thebes and Aswan give them a small sum, say 10 francs
between them, especially if they have behaved well, and have had a
good deal of towing. At the end of the voyage it is customary to give
a present to the captain, the steersman, and the crew. This should be
done in the following proportion : four times as much to the captain,
twice as much to the steersman, and half as much to the sailors'
cook-boy as to each man. A good present at the end of a three
months' voyage would be £2 to the captain, £1 to the steersman,
10s. to each man, and 5s. to the cook-boy. The money for the captain,
steersman, and cook-boy should be given to them separately, and that
for the men to the member chosen by them to receive it. Of course if
the traveller has reason to be dissatisfied with his crew, he will give
nothing at all.
In conclusion, travellers who go up the Nile in a dahabiya, under
their own management, are recommended to take a large stock of
patience with them, and not to allow themselves to be overmuch
troubled by the small difficulties which they will certainly meet
with. Messrs. Cook and Son's Dahabiyas.— Messrs. Thos. Cook and Son
(Egypt, Ltd.), have a number of private dahabiyas, both steam and
sailing, and launches for towing dahabiyas, for hire (particulars to be
had at Messrs. Cook's Offices).
5. Voyage by Tourist Steamer.
There is a complete service of Tourist Steamers up and down the
Nile during the season. Many of them are first-class vessels, and fitted
up with every modern improvement. Each carries a medical man,
and there is a small collection of books on board relating to both
ancient and modern Egypt.
There are two lines of Tourist Steamers, belonging to Messrs.
Thos. Cook and Son and the Anglo-American Nile Steamer and Hotel
Company.


>~>ciiu. v . j THE NILE. 291
The following are the present arrangements of Messrs. Thos. Cook
and Son's (Egypt, Limited) Tourist Steamers : — *
1. From Cairo to the First Cataract. — Steamer. — A steamer
leaves Cairo every Tuesday from the middle of November until the
beginning of March. The time occupied is 20 days from Cairo to
Aswan and back ; but it may be lengthened by stopping at Luxor and
Aswan, where there are good hotels, and continuing the voyage by a
subsequent steamer. Notice of this intention should be given at the
Cairo office before leaving, in order that arrangements may be made for
accommodation on the steamer at the required time.
The fare by tourist steamer, including food, donkeys, guides and all
expenses except wine : from Cairo to the First Cataract and back, £50 ;
for the few berths specially fitted up for invalids, £60. Three return
voyages from Cairo to Aswan can be made on any of the Tourist
Steamers for £100.
The Tourist Steamer stops on its way up the river as follows : —
Bedrashin, for Memphis, Sakkara and the Pyramid of Unas, 5 hrs.
Beni Hasan, for tombs of Ameni Amen-em-hat and Khnem-hetep,
3 hrs. Asyut, for tombs of Meri-ka-Ba and Stabl Antar, 5 hrs.
Kena, for temple of Dendera, 2 hrs.
Luxor, for Thebes and Karnak, 3 days.
Esna, for temple, 1 hr.
EdfH, for temple, 2 hrs.
K&m-Ombo, for temple, 1 hr.
Aswdn, for Philse and the Cataract, 2 days.
On the return voyage the steamer remains at Luxor for a morning
in order to give travellers an opportunity of revisiting the temple.
At Balidna there is a halt of several hours for the passengers to see
the temple of Abydos and the Coptic monastery. An afternoon is
spent at Asyiit. The steamer will call at Tell el-Amarna, to enable
passengers to visit the painted pavement belonging to the Palace of
Khu-en-Aten. 2. Bail and Steamer to AswAn. — Another Tourist Steamer Ser
vice leaves Asyiit every Tuesday, from the middle of January to
the beginning of March, for Aswan, in connection with the morning
train from Cairo at 8 a.m. This service enables travellers restricted to
time, but desirous of travelling with the greater comfort afforded by
these steamers, to perform the journey from Cairo to Aswan and back
in 14 days. Fare, including railway ticket from Cairo to Asyiit and
back, food, donkeys, guides, and all expenses except wine, £35.
The steamer stops for sight-seeing at

Dendera.Luxor.Edfii.Aswan.

Kom-Ombo.
Esna. Abydos.

The figures mentioned helow are subject to change. Travellers are recommended
to verily them by application to Messrs. T. Cook and Son's agents. Messrs. Cook
and Son's pamphlet, ' Egypt and the Nile,' is obtainable at all their offices. This
gives full details.


292

THE NILE.

[Sect. V.

Cairo

Bedrashen .

141

Bedrashen

Wasta .
50
35*
Wasta
Beni Suef
72
57*
22
Beni SuSf
Feshn .
96
81*
46
24
Feshn
Maghagha . .
109
94*
59
37
13 Maghagha
Abu Girga . .
119
104*
69
47
23 i 10 j Abd Girga
Kulilsna
136
121*
86
64
40 1 27 ! 17
Kulusna
Minia
153
139*
103
81
57 44
34
17
Minia
Beni Hasan
169
154*
119
97
73 60
50
33
16
Beni Hasan
Roda
178
163*
128
106
82
69
59
42
25
9
Roda
Mallawi.
184
169*
134
112
88
75
65
48
31
15
6
Mellawi
HaggKandll .
192
177*
142
120
96 j 83
73
56
39
23
14
8
Hagg Kandil
Gebel Abu. FMa
212
197*
162
140
116 1103
93
76
59
43
34
28
20
Gebel Abu Feda
Monfalut . .
222
207*
172
150
126 :113
103
86
69
53
44
38
30
10
Monfalut
Asyiit .
248
233*
198
176
152 139
129
112
95
79
70
64
56
36
26
Asyut
Abutig
262*
248
212*
190*
166* 153*
143*
126*
109*
93*
84*
78-1
70*
50*
40*
14*
Abut)
Kau .
277
262*
227
205
181 |168
158
141
124
10S
99
93
85
65
55
29
14*
Tahta . .
286-
271*
236
214
190 177
167
150
133
117
108
102
94
74
64
38
23*
Suhag .
310+
296
260*
238.}
214*201*
191*
174*
157*
141*
132*
126*
118*
98*
88*
62*
48
Ekhmim -
315*
301
265*
2431
219*
206*
196*
179*
162*
146*
1371
131*
123*
103*
93*
67*
53
Menshiya
325
310*
276
253
229
216
206
189
172
156
147
141
133
113
103
77
62*
Girga .
336
321*
286
264
240
227
217
200
183
167
158
152
144
124
114
88
73*
Baliana .
347
332*
297
275
261
238
228
211
194
178
169
163
155
135
125
99
84!
Farshut
374*
359*
324*
302*
278*
265*
254*
238*
211*
205*
196*
190*
182*
162*
152*
126*
1111
Kasr es-Sayyad
381
366
331
309
285
272
261
245
218
212
203
197
189
169
159
133
US
Deshna . . .
394
379
344
322
298
286
274
258
231
225
216
210
202
182
172
146
131
Kena . .
414
399
364
342
318
305
294
278
251
245
236
230
222
202
192
166
157
Nakada .
433
418
383
361
337
324
313
297
270
264
255
249
241
221
211
185
170
Luxor
454
439
404
382
358
345
334
318
291
285
276
270
262
242
232
206
191
Erment .
462
447
412
390
366
353
342
326
299
293
284
278
270
250
240
214
199
Esna
490
475
440
413
394
381
370
354 327
321
312
306
298
278
268
242
227
El-Kab .
510*
495*
460*
438*
414*
401*
390*
374*1347*
341*
332*
326*
318*
298*
288*
2601
2471
Edfil
522
507
472
440
426
413
402
386
358
353
344
338
329
310
300
272
259
Hagar Silsila
547
532
495
474
451
438
427
411
383
378
369
363
354
335
325
297
284
K6m Ombo
564
539
512
491 '
468
455
444
428
400
395
386
380
371
352
347
314
301
Aswan
590
565
538
517
496
481
470
454
426
421
412
406
397
378
373
340
327
Aswan to Korosko, 105 miles.


Sect. V]

THE NILE.

293

SCHEDULE OF DEEP CHANNEL MILES.

CAIEO TO ASWAN.

Kau

-
9
Tahta '
33*
24*! Suh&g
37*
29*; 5
Ekhmim
47
30 _
14*
9* Menshiya
58*
50
25*
20*i 11
Girga
69*
61*
36*
31*; 22
11
Baliana
97
S8*
64
50 49*
38*
27*
Farshut
103*
95
70*
65* 56
45
34
6*
Kasr-es-Sayyad
116*
108
831
78* 69
58
47
19*
13 1 Deshna
1361
128
1031
98* 89
78
67
39*
33 20
Kena
156*
147
122
117*108
97
86
58*
52 39
19
Naljada
176*
168
143
138*129
118
107
79*
.73 1 60
40
21
Luxor
184*
176
151
146*137
126
115
87*
81 68
48
29
8
Erment
212*
204
179
174 165
154
143
115*
109 97
76
57
36
28 1 Esna
233
224*'l99*
194* 186*
174*
163*
136
129*117*
96*
77*
56*
48*' 201 El-Kab
244*
235 ;211
206 197
186
175
147*
141 129
108
99
68
60 ' 32 J 11*
Edfu
2691
260 '236
231 222
211
200
172*
166
154
133
124
93
85 : 57 j 36*
25
Hagar Silsila
286
277 253
248 '239
228
217
189*
183
171
150
141
110
102 ' 74 ' 53*
42
17
Kum Omb
312
303 279 274 265
! !
254
243
215*
209
197
176
167
136
128 100 . 79*
68
43
26 | Aswai
Korosko to Wadi Haifa, 105 miles.


294 THE NILE. [Sect. V.
3. Combined Bailway and Steamer tours from Cairo to Luxor and
Cairo to Aswan and back, can be made at fares which vary from £12
to £23. 4. From the First to the Second Cataract. — Steamer. — A
Tourist Steamer leaves Shellal for Wadi Haifa every Sunday from the
beginning of December, and every Wednesday from the beginning of
January, until the beginning of March. It is in connection with the
steamers between Cairo and Aswan. The time occupied in the journey
is 7 days. Fare, £20 and £23 ; from Cairo and back £73, by steamer
all the way (train to Asyiit and back £56). Travellers to Aswan under
any of Cook's arrangements are charged £23.
On the way up from the First to the Second Cataract the steamer
stops at

Dendiir. Dakka.
Korosko.

Amada. Derr.
Wadi Haifa.

On the downward journey the steamer stops at
Abit Simbel. | Kalabsha.
5. Express Service. — There is another service of steamers, also
belonging to Thos. Cook and Sons, called the Express Service, which
leaves Cairo every Friday from Nov. 3 and Monday from Dec. 4, and
affords a more economical form of making the Nile Voyage. Native
passengers are conveyed on the lower deck of these steamers, conse
quently stoppages are made at many riverside towns and villages,
where glimpses of native life are obtained, not always compassed by
the tourist programme.
It should be understood that the accommodation is good, although
the cabins (2 persons) are not quite so large as those on the Tourist
Steamers. The fare from Cairo to the First Cataract and back, with 7 days'
hotel accommodation, divided between Luxor and Aswan, included, is
£22. The time occupied is about 20 days. Incidental expenses, such
as donkeys, guides, &c, are not included, and must be paid for by the
passenger. The Express Steamer stops at the following places for sight-seeing
on the way up ; —
Asyiit. | Dendera. | Edfii.
Three days' hotel accommodation are allowed at Aswan. On the
way down time is given to see
Kom-Ombo. | Esna. | Luxor, with three days'
Beni Hasan. hotel accommodation.
In connection with this service Messrs. Cook issue combined rail
and steamer tickets, which permit of parts of the Nile tour being
performed by rail and parts by steamer.
The fare from Cairo to Aswan, up by rail and back by steamer, is
£16 10s., including 7 days' hotel accommodation at Aswan.
6. KhartOm.— Thos. Cook and Son issue through tickets to


Sect. V.] THE NILE. 295
Khartum, by way of the aforesaid services to Wadi Haifa and thence
by train (p. 554 ; see below).
The Anglo-American Nile Steamer Company's Tourist Steamers
begin running between Cairo and Aswan in November. Time occupied
20 days. Fares, £35 and £40.*
Also the same Company's Express Service Steamers will run weekly
in each direction between Luxor and Aswan. Passengers will leave
Cairo by the Luxor Express on Tuesday night, arriving at Luxor at
10.10 a.m. the following day. Fare, £13 5s., which includes one day at
Aswan and three days at Luxor on board steamer. Should travellers
desire to do so, they can be conveyed to Aswan and back merely.
Single fare in either direction, £3 10s. Beturn journey, £6.
A steamer will run every week to the Second Cataract. Fare,
£E.15. Post Boat to Wadi Haifa. — There is a weekly service of Post Boats
(controlled by the War Office) running between Shellal and Wadi
Haifa. Fare, £12, and 10s. a day for food. For passage, apply to the
station-master at Aswan. Except during times of great pressure the
steamer will stop at Abu Simbel. Time enough to see it well is
allowed. Tickets may be obtained from Thos. Cook and Son. Fare,
including food, £15. Time occupied about 5 days.
6. Wadi Haifa to Khartum.
For particulars of the Bailway service between Wadi Haifa and
Khartum, see Bte. 28. Bly. fare from Haifa to Khartum and back
£E.20 (£20 10s. id.).
* These steamers stop at the same places as Messrs. Cook and Son's Tourist Steamers.

ROUTE 21.
Cairo to Luxor (Thebes), by Rail.
[From the Central Station (Upper Egypt Line), platform to 1. of terminal departure
platform (trains for Alexandria and Port Said). First class fare to Luxor, P.T.206 ;
return, P.T.350. Restaurant and sleeping-cars P.T.77* supplementary (Cie. des
Wagons-lits et Grands Express Europeans, may be obtained at the office of the
Company at the station). The dining and sleeping-car train (" Train de Luxe ") runs
three times a week during the season (Dec. -March), leaving Cairo at 8. 30 P. M. , reaching
Luxor at 9.55 the next morning. The ordinary night express leaves at 6.30 p.m. It
is of course preferable to go by the " Train de Luxe " when possible. Even it the
traveller has carefully secured a whole compartment for himself, in the ordinary
express he is not free from the possibility of his being awakened in the middle of
the night at Asyut for the purpose of checking his ticket, and the addition of
possibly undesirable companions. Nor are the carriages on the Upper Egypt line
as comfortable as those used in the Delta. If, however, the traveller has to go by
the ordinary express, he must remember to take food and wine for the journey, as,
except at Minia and Asyut, only native bread, oranges, melons, and hard-boiled eggs
can be obtained en route. ' The water offered in kullas by children should never be
drunk, The day journey in the ordinary slow train cannot be recommended for
comfort, chiefly on account of the flying dust, which renders it almost impossible to
keep the windows open ; this in the climate of Egypt is a considerable infliction.


296 BOUTE 21. — CAIEO TO LUXOR, BY BAIL. [Sect. V.
The railway-journey, stopping at various places en route, has this advantage, that
the railway traveller who knows a certain amount of Arabic is as much his own
master as the owner of a dahabiya, and many visitors to Egypt will be prepared to
put up with the minor inconveniences of the railway in return for the privilege of
freedom and the very great reduction in expense : indeed, the railway has rendered
it possible for the ordinary tourist of moderate means to visit Upper Egypt, which
previously he was unable to do on account of the expense of river travelling.]
Leaving Cairo the train passes (I.) the railway workshops of Bulak
and crosses the Embaba Bridge, a rather weak and insufficient structure
erected by a French company, which carries a single line of railway
and a road.
2 m., Embaba Stat. The line proceeds W.N.W. for a short
distance, and then turns sharply S., joining the Bly. from Teh el-
Barud (p. 32).
6 m., Bulak ed-Dakrur Stat. The line skirts the suburb of Giza
(p. 143), and passes beneath a bridge carrying the electric tramway to
the Pyramids.
8 m., Giza Stat. On the rt. the Pyramid-field is visible from Abu
Boash in the N., to Sakkara in the S. ; on the I. are seen the picturesque
citadel of Cairo and the Mohammed Ali Mosque, with the heights of
Mokattam (Gebel Giyiishi) behind. We pass the Stats, of Tirsd, Abu 'n-
Nemrils, and
17 m., Hawamdiya Stat. L. is a large sugar-factory. On the
opposite bank of the Nile we see the quarries of Turra and Ma'sara,
and the town of Helwan, a grey mass lying out on the desert.
19J m., Bedrashen Stat., for Sakkara (p. 191). Small buffet.
Bt. the pyramids of Dahshiir (p. 201). Stat. Mazghuna.
36 m., Kafr el-Ayyat Stat. Rt. are seen the pyramids of Lisht.
The Libyan hills are a long unbroken line but slightly raised above
the surface of the desert. The Stats, of el-Mataniya (40 m.) and Kafr
Ammar (45 m., p. 272) are passed.
51 m., er-Rikka Stat. To the I. rises the imposing pyramid of
King Sneferu at Midilm (p. 301).
57 m., el-Wasta Junction Stat., for the Fayyum (p. 261; change
carriages). This is the best place from which to visit Medum and
Abusir el-Melek (p. 303). We pass the Stats, of Beni Hodir, Ashmant,
and Bush, to
77 m., Beni Suef Stat, (see p. 303), the Stat, for the ruins of Herakle
opolis (Ahnas or Ahnasiyet el-Medina ; see p. 304), and the Monasteries of
the Eastern Desert (p. 205). It may be made the base of a round journey
through the Fayyilm, taking Ahnas on the way (Bte. 19). Stat. Etsa.
90 m., Bibba Stat., for the Deshdsha tombs (p. 305). We now
enter a very broad and fertile district, given over to the cultivation of
the sugar-cane. Light narrow-gauge railways to carry the canes branch
off the main line at Feshn and at nearly every important station for
some distance S. The canal running parallel to the Bly. is the
IbraMmiya ; the Bahr Yusuf lies several miles W.
Stats. Feshn, el-Fanta, and Maghagha (112 m.), the latter with an
important sugar-factory. Opposite is the Gebel esh-Shikh Embarak
and Wddi esh-Shikh (p. 306).
Stats, Aba el-Wakf and Beni Mazar (123 m.), for Behnesd, the site


Sect. V.] EOUTE 21. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY BAIL. 297
of the ancient Oxyrrhynchus, which lies 9J m. W. (see p. 308). Beni
Mazar, seen from the Bly., is a picturesque place.
Stats. Matdia, KuHsna (Fr. " Kolossaneh "), SamalHt (138 m.,
p. 310). Immediately opposite, on the E. bank, rises the picturesque Gebel
et-Tir, the " Mountain of the Birds" (p. 310). Cotton cultivation now
alternates with sugar.
154 m., Minia Stat. (Buffet), an important town, and capital of
Middle Egypt (20,000 inhab. ; see p. 313).
Bailway travellers may conveniently visit the tombs of Beni Hasan
from Minia, and rejoin the Bly. at Abu Kerkas, Etlidem, or Boda
(see p. 314).
Stats. Mansafis, Abu Kerkds and Etlidem. On the E. bank, oppo
site, are the tombs of Beni Basan (p. 316). Abu Kerkas is the best
point from which a hurried traveller can visit Beni Basan (see p. 315).
From Etlidem the way is rather long and roundabout.
177 m., Roda Stat., with an important sugar factory (p. 325).
183 m., Mallawi el-Arish Stat., for the tombs of el-Bersha (p. 326),
and Shikh Sdid (p. 329).
190 m., Der Mawas Stat. (Fr. "Deir Moes"), for Tell el-Amarna
(p. 331).
Biding from Der Mawas we can cross by the ferry at et-Tell and
return by that at Hogg Kandil. The ride is interesting and picturesque.
Too much must not be expected from the local donkeys. In order that
donkeys may be obtained without delay on arrival it is best to write or
telegraph to the station-master at Der Mawas to have them ready.
196 m., Derut Stat. Here the Bahr Yiisuf joins the Ibrahimiya
Canal. 205 m., Nazali Ganilb, Stat, for KHsiya, the ancient Cusae; for the
tombs of Miir and for Bdwit (pp. 335, 337). Stat. Beni Korra.
217 m., Monfalut Stat. (p. 337), opposite the crocodile-cemetery of
Ma'abda. Stat. Beni Husin.
235 m., Asyiit Stat. (Buffet), the first important town of Upper
Egypt (p. 340). This was the terminus of the railway for many years.
The Ibrahimiya Canal, which has accompanied us from Ashmant, here
joins the river at the barrage.
Stats. el-Moti'd, Abutig, Sedfa, Tema, Meshta, Tahta (opposite the
Gebel Shekh Haridi, p. 346). Tahta is a large town of picturesque
appearance, seen I. of the Bly. Stats. el-Mardgha, Shendawwil (Fr.
"Chandaouil"). 291 m., Suhag Stat, (correctly Suhdk, ordinarily " Sohag," p. 347),
an important town. For Akhmim, the ancient Apu (Panopolis or
Khemmis), p. 350, and the Red and White Monasteries (p. 348).
The railway leaves the river, which curves E. to Akhmim, and
passes the village of. BalasfHra to Stats. Menshiya (Fr. "Menchah"),
the ancient Ptolemais Hermiou (p. 353), and el-Assirdt. The imposing
unbroken line of the Arabian hills (Gebel Tfikh) on the E. bank is
remarkable. This mountain wall extends from el-Ahdiwa in the N. to
to Nag' ed-Der in the S. (p. 353), a distance of 12 m.
313J m., Girga Stat. (Fr. " Guergueh ") (p. 354), formerly the capital
of Upper Egypt. Its fine minarets look well from the railway, against


298 EOUTE 21.  CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY bail. [Sect. V.
the imposing background of the Gebel Tiikh. On the E. desert at the
foot of the Gebel Tiikh is the necropolis of This. (Nag' ed-Dir, p. 353).
This itself (el-Birba) lies on the way to Bet Khalldf and Rakakna
(W., see p. 355), which caravans to the Oases follow.
Stats. Ba/rdis and Baliana (323J m.), for Abydos (Arabat el-Mad-
filna), 9£m. W. (p. 356). Donkeys at the station. Interest in the hill-
boundaries of Egypt is now transferred from the Gebel Tiikh on the I.
to the mountain wall of Abydos on the rt.
328 m., Abu Shilsh Stat. (Fr. " Abou Chouche"). The imposing
mountain headland of al-'Amra (p. 364) is visible to the rt. The line
now leaves the river, which trends off E., for some distance, making
straight across the cultivated land to the inland town of Farshut.
Stats. Abu Tisht (334 m. ; p. 365) ; el-Kharga (junction for new
line to the oasis of that name) ; Farshut (340 m. ; p. 365), the
starting-place of caravans to the Oases of el-Kharga and Dakhla, and
for a short cut for camels across the desert to Thebes (Kurna and
Luxor), avoiding the great river-bend of the Thebaid. The railway now
makes for the river, which it meets at right angles and crosses by a fine
bridge 437 yds. long, immediately beyond
345 m., Nag' Hamadi (p. 365), with factories. Travellers by the
night train usually awake in the morning when the train is near
Farshiit, and they are recommended to see the crossing of the river by
the Nag' Hamadi bridge ; the effect of the morning light on the mag
nificent mountain mass of Kasr es-Sayydd (Khenoboskion) beyond the
bridge on the E. bank, on which the railway now runs, is also well
worth rising betimes to see. The Bly. preserves the E. and W.
direction of the bridge for some distance, as the river, now S. of the
Bly., here turns sharply E. The configuration of the valley here shows
that Nag' Hamadi was the best place for the Bly. to cross the river to
the E. bank (on which stand the succeeding important towns of Kena,
Kuft, Kus and Luxor), and at the same time pass through Farshut
without deviation.
Stats. ed-Debba, Fdu, Deshna, es-Samdta, Aulad 'Ami; Kenawiya.
379 m., Kena Stat. (p. 367), opposite Dendera (p. 367). ' This is the
chief seat of the manufacture of the pottery kullas. The Christian
church towers of this town (rt.), like minarets, but with the cross on
the top instead of the crescent, are noticeable. The E. mountains break
off into distant disconnected masses ; the W. hills become important
and imposing. The river turns S. again, followed by the Bly.
392 m., Kuft Stat. (p. 375), the ancient Koptos. The desert route
through the Wadi Hammamat to Kuser (p. 212) leaves the valley E.
398 m., Kus Stat. (p. 376). Imposing mountains on W. bank above
Nakdda (p. 377).
Stat. Khizdm. The outlines of the hills of Western Thebes,
probably familiar to the traveller from numberless photographs and
pictures, can now be recognised in the distance. The triple peak of the
Gebel el-Geir appears I., the E. outskirts of Karnak are quickly passed
rt., and the tram steams into
417 m., Luxor Stat. * (p. 379), the modern representative of ancient
Thebes. Hotel commissionaires and omnibuses meet the trains. The
hotels are about 10 min. W. near the river and temple
[Break of gauge and change here for Aswan : Ely. route p. 475.]





Fold out





Sect. V.] EOUTE 22. — CAIEO to LUXOE, BY eivee.

299

ROUTE 22.
Cairo to Luxor, by River.
The following list of the principal places on the way from
Luxor (Thebes), with their approximate distances from one
may be useful for reference. The distances by water marked
The banks of the Nile are always referred to as the East bank
the West bank (W.). Miles.
to Bedrashen (for

Cairo (Bulak).
Sakkara)
WastaBeni Suef
Feshn Maghagha Abu Girga
Kulusna .
Minia Beni Hasau
Boda '
Mallawi ...
Hagg KAndil (f0r Tell el-Amarna)
Gebel Abu Feda .
MonfalUt

14* 35*
¦22 2413 101717 16

20 10

Asyut Abutig .
Kau el-Kebir
TalrfcaSuhag .
MenshiyaGirga . . . .
Baliana (for Abydos)
Farshut .
Hau and Ka?r es-Sayyad.
Kena (for Dendera) .
Nakada . . . .
Luxor (Thebes)

Cairo to
another,
in miles.
(E.) and
Miles. .26. 14* lit
¦ 9
. 24*
. 14* 11 11
. 27*
. 6*
. 3319 21
454

Starting from the quay of Kasr en-Nil, and leaving on the W. Gezira,
and on the E. Kasr en-Nil, Kasr el-'Aini and the Island of Rdda, the boat
passes between Giza on the W. and Old Cairo on the E., into a|broad reach
of the Nile, from which we can see across the whole width of the valley
from Gebel Mokattam on the E. to the Libyan hills on the W. About
LJ m. beyond Old Cairo and the mounds which mark the site of the
still older Babylon is (E.) the picturesque Mosque of Atar en-Nebi,
situated on a projecting point of the bank, at the end of an avenue of
fine trees. Its name is derived from an impression of ' ' the Prophet's
footstep," said to be preserved there. On the low range of hills above
Atar en-Nebi is a fort, formerly used as a powder magazine.
A long reach of the Nile extends from Atar en-Nebi to the village
of ed-Dir, "the convent," inhabited by Copts; and inland is the
village of Busatin (see p. 159).
On the W. may be seen in succession the pyramids of Giza, Abusir,
Sakkara and Dahshur.
(E.) Before reaching Turra (Bly. to Cairo) were some low mounds
of earth, probably ancient walls of decayed crude bricks, belonging to
an enclosure, once square ; and to the E. of it was another long mound,
through which a passage led to the plain behind.
(E.) El-Ma'sara. In the mountains behind are the famous quarries
of Turra and Ma'sara ; opposite is the sugar factory of Hawamdiya.
(E.) Old Helwan, a village known as having been the first place
where the Arabs made a Nilometer, under the Khalifate of Abd el-Melek,
about the year a.d. 700. It was built by Abd el-' Aziz, the brother of
the Khalif ; but being found not to answer there, a new one was made
by El-Welid, his successor, about 10 years afterwards, at the Isle of


300 EOUTE 22.— CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY eivee. [Sect. V.
Boda, where it has continued ever since. Part of the pillar of this
Helwan Nilometer was found near the village. Abu'lfeda speaks of
Helwan as a very delightful village, and it was perhaps from this that
it obtained its name, helwa signifying "sweet" ; though it possesses
nothing particular to "recommend it on this score. The Baths of
Helwdn (New Helwan) are 2 miles inland (p. 160).
[Ely. from the Baths of Helwan to Cairo, trains about hourly.]
(W.) Bedrashen, 14£ m. (Bly. Stat.), is nearly opposite Helwan.
The village is a little way from the bank ; and a short distance farther
inland may be seen the mounds of Mitrahina, marking the site of
Memphis, with the pyramids of Abusir, Sakkara and Dahshur in the
distance. This is the best point on the river from which to make the
excursion to Sakkara (p. 191). About 5 m. farther up the stream is
(W.) Shobak (34 k.), with the pyramids of Dahshur, 4 m. inland; and
Mazghuna, 2 m. to the westward of which is el-Kafr, a small village
from which one of the principal roads leads across the desert to
the Fayyum. The scenery here on the W. bank is very lovely in the
winter ; glades of young bright-green corn run up into groves of
beautiful palms, with here and there a splendid sycomore-fig filling up
the open spaces in the landscape. The sandbanks in this part of the
river, beginning indeed from a little way S. of Cairo, will be found
covered with wild-fowl and large flocks of pelicans in the early winter.
. (W.) In this neighbourhood, probably near Dahshur, 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, Egyptian Ta-taui, was, according to Diodoros, 120 stadia,
or 15,000 paces, from Memphis, equal to nearly 14 Eng. m., which, if
correct, would place it much farther S., to the westward of Kafr
el-Ayyat, and it is therefore probably to be identified with Behbit,
Egyptian Pa-Hebt, where there are the scanty remains of an Egyptian
temple. (W.) Near Kafr el-Ayyat, at the extremity of a large bend of the
river, is, at KosMsh, the supposed site of Menes' Dike (p. 188).
(W.) At Tdhana, about 1\ m. from Kafr el-Ayyat, and near the
edge of the desert, are mounds, but no remains except small fragments
of stone ; and in the cliff beyond are ancient quarries.
Before reaching Kafr el-Ayyat may be 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. Mas-
pero's attempt to explore them failed, owing to the infiltrated water
with which they are filled. In 1895 M. Jequier found there colossal
limestone statues of Usertsen I. of the finest workmanship (now in the
Cairo Museum), and in 1896 a huge granite altar, exquisitely sculptured,
and dedicated to Usertsen I. It stood in a rectangular funerary chapel,
built on the E. side of the larger pyramid (that to the S.), which proves
to have been that of Usertsen I. Near Lisht is supposed to have existed
the royal city of the XII. Dynasty kings Athet-taui (p. 382).
(E.) Wddi Ghoma opens upon the Nile at es-Saf, where there are
ancient town-mounds. By this valley runs the southernmost of the
roads across the desert to- Suez.


Seen, v.j eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 301
( JfO About 4 m. inland from Rikka is the Pyramid of Medum
(4™-' tfde ; good donkeys). It is called by the Arabs Haram el-
Kadddb, or "the False Pyramid," from the idea that the nucleus is
of rock built round so as to give the shape of a pyramid. It belongs
to King Sneferu of the IV. Dynasty.
Adjoining the east face of the pyramid, and connected with it by an
open court, in which still remains the altar of offerings, is a perfect
specimen of a pyramid chapel. It is absolutely plain and uninscribed,
but visitors who came here to the festivals of Sneferu during the XII.
and XIII. Dynasties have left their records behind in pious graffiti on
the walls. On either side of it are two uninscribed obelisks or stelse
with rounded tops (like those at Sarabit el-Khadim, in Sinai), each
13 ft. high. It was found necessary to re-bury the temple in order to
preserve it.
The stone of the pyramid is of a peculiarly rich orange colour. It
has now the appearance of a square tower in three stages, rising from
an artificial mound. Mariette Pasha observes that this pyramid should
be compared with that known as the Mastabat el-Far'iin, adding that
the tombs of the ancient empire consisted of a square base with or
without a pyramid superimposed. This is an example of a mastaba
cased over as a pyramid.
The mound rises about 120 ft. above the surrounding plain. The first
stage above the mound is 69 ft., the second 20 ft., and the third, which
was originally about 30 ft., is now reduced to about 25 ft. The total
height from the foot of the mound is therefore about 230 ft., but the
foundation of the masonry is deeply buried in the rubbish. The
entrance is on the north side about 53 ft. above the level of the sand.
The passage descends at an angle for about 234 ft., then is level for
40 ft. From the end of it a, shaft leads vertically upwards into the
tomb, which is empty. Maspero considers that it was broken into and
the sarcophagus removed in very ancient times.
A smaller mound S. of the pyramid, opened by Prof. Petrie, con
tained rifled tombs. A hundred paces to the N. is another similar
mound, which has been found to be wholly artificial, consisting mainly
of crude brick, of which the E. face was plastered and whitewashed.
A stone facade, now much dilapidated, stood in front of the entrance to
the tomb. On it is some very fine sculpture commemorating Nefermaat,
who lived in the reign of Teta. Some of the pictures are in the low
relief characteristic of the sculpture of the ancient empire, but others
are made by incising the whole figure and filling it with a coloured
composition of great hardness. The style, one of the earliest practised,
was revived under Khu-en-Aten, and occurs in a modified form at Tell
el-Yahfidiya. At the sides are representatives from the estates bearing
offerings, and each marked with the name of a village or town. Nefer
maat himself is represented in several places, and his wife, Atet, is seen
on the wall to the right. On the left door-post are his three sons, the
eldest a full-grown man, the youngest a child.
About 50 ft. N. in the same mound is the tomb of Atet, the widow
of Nefermaat. She is represented to the right above the door in a
most interesting scene. A man is snaring wild-fowl in a net, which
3 others present to the lady. The net is arranged over the door so as
to form an ornament. Other scenes, hunting and agriculture, occur
within and at the sides, and the lady Atet is shown clasping the knees


302 BOUTE 22. — CAIBO TO LUXOE, BY eiveb. [Sect. V.
of her husband on the left. Here was found the beautiful fresco of the
geese, now in the Cairo Museum.
Another mound of a similar character adjoins on the N. In it are
also two tombs. The first is that of Khent, and Mara, his wife. The
mastaba is of limestone, covered with sculptures, among which occur
the hieroglyphs of the name of Sneferu. A few paces farther is the
ruined tomb of Ba-hetep and Nefert, his wife, both " royal relatives."
The tomb is one of the finest works of the ancient empire; but,
unhappily, it is almost ruined by being left exposed to the natives. In
it were found, in 1872, the marvellous statues, now in the Cairo Museum.
At no subsequent period did Egyptian art produce works more lifelike
or " speaking."
At Mediim have also been found graves of the lower classes in
Sneferu's time, who were mostly buried in a contracted position as in
prehistoric days (p. [74]). From this fact it has with reason been con
cluded that the fusion of the indigenous and Asiatic races of Egyptians
(p. [74]) had not yet been entirely effected in the time of the IV.
Dynasty. The Village of Midilm is on a high mound, 1J m. S. of the
pyramid, and occupies the site of the ancient city of Meri-Tum,
"beloved of Turn," the name of which occurs on monuments of the
IV. Dynasty.
In the canal, the Bahr Yiisuf, which passes close by, great numbers
of wild-fowl will often be found in the late winter and early spring.
(E.) At Atfih are the mounds of Aphroditopolis, or the city of
Hathor, the Egyptian Venus. It presents no monuments ; but a stone
with the name of Bamses II. (XIX. Dynasty) has been found in a
ruined mosque. Atfih was the capital of the Aphroditopolite nome, and
noted, as Strabo tells us, for the worship of a white cow, the emblem
of the goddess, whence its old Egyptian name Tep-ahe, or " Cow's
Head," corrupted in Coptic into Tpeh or Petphieh, which became in
Arabic Atfih. St. Antony fixed his first abode in the mountains east of
the city beside a spring and palm-grove.
(W.) el-Wasta Stat.,* 50 m. (P. 0., T. 0., and Bly. Stat, near
the river), close to Zdwiya. Mediim (N.W. ; see above) may be con
veniently visited from this station.
[Rly. to the Fayyum (p. 262), 3 trains daily, in 1* hrs. to Medinet el-Fayyum
(23 m.). J
(E.) Opposite Zdwiya, at the N. corner of the low hills overlooking
the Nile, is Brombel, where mounds mark the site of an old town,
probably Ankyrdnpolis. That city is supposed to have owed its name
to the stone anchors said to have been cut in the neighbouring
quarries. (W.) Zawiya appears to be Iseum, in the Coptic Naisi, the city of
Isis, which stood near the canal leading to Pa-Usiri, or Nilopolis, and
thence to the Crocodilopolite nome. This canal on the N., with part
of the predecessor of the Bahr Yiisuf on the W., and the Nile on the
E., formed the island of the Herakleopolite nome ; and the city of
Herakles was, according to Strabo, towards the southern extremity of
the province, of which it was the capital. And this agrees with tbe
position of Ahnas, or Umm el-Kimdn, "the Mother of the Mounds,"


Sect, v.j eoute 22. — caibo to luxoe, by eivee. 303
as it is often called by the Arabs, from the lofty mounds of the old
city, which are seen inland about 12 m. to the westward of Beni Suef.
(E.) Opposite Beni Hodir (Bly. Stat.) is a small monastery dedicated
to St. Antony, from which a road runs to the Bed Sea.
C(W.) Inland, about 9 m. to the S.W. of Zawiya, is Abusir el-Melek,
where in 744 A. d. the last Ommayade Khalif, Marwan II. , was killed. It is the
site ai Busiris or Nilopolis, in Coptic Pousiri, upon the canal already mentioned,
bounding the Herakleopolite nome to the W. The position of the City of the
Nile, at a distance from the river, was evidently chosen in order to oblige the
people to keep tbe canal in proper repair, that the water of the sacred stream
might pass freely into the interior, and reach the town where the god Nilus
was the object of particular veneration ; a motive which has been assigned to
the worship of the crocodile in towns situated far from the river. At Abtisir
el-Melek extensive excavations have recently been carried on by the German
Oriental Society, a prehistoric cemetery having been found.]
(W.) Ashmant, an important village. ZitUn has succeeded to an
ancient town called in the Coptic Phannigdit. It was in the district of
Poushin, the modern Bush, which is distant about 3 m. to the S., and
is marked by lofty mounds. It is remarkable that Zetun, signifying
"olives," is an Arabic translation of the old name Pha-n-ni-g6it, "-the
Place of Olives," probably given it to show a quality of the land which
differed from the rest of the Herakleopolite nome.
(W.) Dallds, about a mile to the W. of Zetim, possessed an early
synagogue of the Jews, and appears to be the Tgol (or Tlog) of the
Copts ; and at Shenowiya, close to Biish, are ancient mounds.
(.E.) EVMardzi, a picturesque village shortly before reaching Biish.
2 m. away is a Coptic monastery, Dir el-MemUn. The river is bad and
shoaling here.
(W.) Bush (Bly. Stat.) is a large village with about 6000 inhabs.,
half of whom are Copts ; and it has a large dipot 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 with fresh monastic recruits, and super
intending the regulations of the whole corps of ascetics.
(W.) Beni Suef, 72 m. (Bly. Stat.), (3 hrs. by train from Cairo, and
3J from Minia), a large and important town. It is the capital of the
province of the same name, and the residence of the Mudir or governor.
Population, 15,000. There are Telegraph and Post Offices, to which
letters may be addressed, but they are about 1J m. from the river.
The bazaar is tolerably well supplied, and there is a weekly market.
The chief industry is the manufacture of woollen carpets and coarse
linen stuffs for the fellahin. In the time of Leo Africanus it was
famous for its linen fabrics, and supplied the whole of Egypt with flax,
and exported great quantities to Tunis and other parts of Barbary.
This industry was revived by Mohammed Ali, who built a manufactory
here in 1826. The view of Beni Suef from the river is pretty, the banks
being well covered with trees and presenting an animated appearance.
Dahabiyas have to moor E. of an island which has formed in front of
the town.
From Beni Suef is one of the principal routes to the Fayyum (p.
266) ; and the brick pyramid of Illahiln, at its N.E. entrance, may be
seen from the town.


304 BOUTE 22.— CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. |_oe(3l. v-
(E.) The village of Der Byad, opposite Beni Suef, so called from a
neighbouring convent, is inhabited by people originally of the tribe of
Beni-Wasl Arabs. From it starts the road leading to the monasteries
of St. Antony and St. Paul, situated in the desert near the Bed Sea.
(See Bte. 10.)
( W. ) S. of Beni Suef is a large island. Some small mounds, called Tell
en-Nasdra and Tell et-Tin, inland on the S. of it, mark the site of ancient
villages ; and on the opposite bank are many mounds of larger towns, whose
ancient names are unknown.
Sedment el-Bahr, between 2 and 3 m. S. of Beni Suef, on the river
side, has an ancient name, and mounds, but no vestiges of rums, nor,
indeed, any relic of antiquity, except the margin of a well. It is called
Sedment el-Bahr ("of the Biver"), to distinguish it from Sedment
el-Gebel (" of the Mountain "), which stands at the foot of the hills
separating the Fayyum from the valley of the Nile (p. 266).
[( W. ) Ahnas, Ahnasiya or Ahnasiyet el-Medina, also called Umm el-
Kimdn , ' ' the Mother of Rubbish-heaps, ' ' lies g m. inland from Isment, and n m.
W. of Beni Suef. Its Coptic name of Ehnes or Hnes is derived from its ancient
name of Henen-suten or Hininsu, and may be the Hanes of the Old Testament
and the Anysis of Herodotus. This is the site of Herakleopolis, which was at
one time one of the most important cities of Egypt, and the capital of the kings
of the IX. and X. Dynasties. The history of these kings is in great part
lost, but there are remains of a temple of Ramses II. , probably built on the
site and with the stones of the temple of Usertsen II. , for part of his name was
found on the architraves. Of the limestone temple very little remains, and
the granite columns and statues found by Messrs. Naville and Petrie, who
excavated the site for the Egypt Exploration Fund, were in bad condition.
M. Naville also found here a series of most interesting Byzantine carved pillar-
capitals, &c. The necropolis of the ancient city of Hininsu lies on the other
side of the Bahr Yusuf towards the S.W. The rock-tombs, which have been
re-used more than once, have no decoration, either sculpture or painting, any
attempt at which would have been futile, owing to the friable calcareous rock
in which the tombs are excavated. It was here that the ichneumon, the enemy
of the crocodile, was particularly worshipped ; and the respect paid to that
animal by tbe Heracleopolitans, the immediate neighbours of the Arsinoite or
Crocodilopolite nome, led, in late times, during the rule of the Romans, to
serious disputes, which terminated in bloodshed, and made the contending
parties forget the respect due to the sacred monuments of their adversaries.
And judging from what Pliny says respecting the injuries done to the famous
Labyrinth, there is more reason to attribute the destruction of that building
to the superstitious prejudices of the Heracleopolitans than to the ordinary
ravages of time. 3
(W.) At Tansa, Branka, Bibba, Sits, and other places, are the
mounds of old towns, with whose names we are unacquainted.
(W.) Bibba (Bly. Stat.), Government dispensary. P. 0. 10 min.
from river. Telegraph Office and Bly. Stat. J hr. European provision
store. A rising village, which has succeeded to an ancient town, and
is noted for a Coptic convent, and for an imaginary Moslem santon,
thence called El-Bibbawi. This holy individual is the offspring of a
clever artifice of the Christians ; who, to secure their church from
outrage during the disturbances that formerly took place in Egypt,
gave out that a Moslem shekh presided over and dwelt in its precincts ;'


Sect. V.] eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 305
and the priests to this day, as they show the picture of St. George, tell
a heterodox story of his exploits and his wars against the infidels. The
name of infidel is indefinite ; it may satisfy the Moslem or the Christian,
according to his peculiar application of the word; and the "pious
fraud " is at all events as true as the scene represented by the picture.
So well indeed has it succeeded, that visits are frequently paid by the
passing Moslem to the sanctuary of this revered personage ; he reads
the Fdtha 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 contributes a few paras for " Sitta Mariam " (the Virgin) and
the lamps burnt before the picture of " El-Bibbawi," with the full
persuasion that his voyage will be prosperous, through the good offices
of the saint. But while the priest who receives the boon tells the
plausible tale of the power of the "shekh," the indifferent spectator,
who recognises the usual representation of St. George and the Dragon,
may smile at the credulity and the ignorance of the donor.
M. Clermont-Ganneau connects the veneration of St. George in
Egypt with the ancient worship of Horus. A small relief in the
Louvre, sculptured in Egypt in the late Boman period, represents the
god in armour on horseback killing a crocodile, in such a way that had
the head been wanting there would have been nothing to distinguish
the figure from that of the saint (' Horus et S. Georges,' Bevue
Archiologique, 1877).
In 1897 Prof. Petrie excavated near Deshasha, a V. Dynasty
cemetery, which extends over half a mile of low hills in the desert,
about two miles from cultivation, inland from Bibba. The most
important discovery was that of the serdab of a very fine tomb belong
ing to Ankheftka, the Governor of the District, and "Prince of the
southern town of the Oryx." Here had been placed the Ka statues of
Ankheftka, his wife Nefersems, and their son, Ankheftek. In the
British Museum may now be seen the large figure (three-quarter life
size) of the man, which is remarkable for its vigour and excellent
modelling, as also for the perfect preservation of the face, and may
justly claim to be one of the finest pieces of Egyptian sculpture
in Europe. The keys of the Deshasha tombs are kept at Medinet
el-Fayyum. (E.) Nearly opposite Bibba is Shikh AbH NUr, the site of an ancient
village, where the memory of Horus, the god of light, is perpetuated in
the name of the shekh (" the father of light ") ; and beyond Bibba the
positions of some old towns are marked by the mounds of Sits, Miniet
el-Gir, and Feshn.
The cultivation in this district is practically confined to the W
bank, the desert hills on the E. coming almost down to the water's
edge. As a set-off, the cultivation on the W. bank is very wide, reaching
beyond the Bahr Yusuf. It is almost entirely given over to the sugar
cane ; and sugar factories and light railways to carry the cane to the
rly. and river are seen everywhere.
( W.) Feshn, 96 m. (Bly. Stat.). P. O. and T. O. about 15 min. walk
from river. The country near the river bank is very well cultivated,
and there are several nicely-kept gardens with pomegranate trees,
palms, and a variety of shrubs and vegetables. x


306 EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. Lbect- V-
(E ) 2i m. higher up the river, behind the island that lies half-way between
Feshn and el-Fent, is El-Hiba or El-Hebi, also called Medinet el-Gahil, where
some remains mark the site of a small town of considerable antiquity, fortified
by Men-kheper-Ra (of the XXI. Dynasty, not Thothmes III.) and his wife,
Isi-m-kheb, against assailants from the N., as Gebelta was against assailants
from the S. (The Delta was then in the possession of a rival royal house,
with its seat at Tanis. ) They consist of crude-brick walls and remains of houses,
as well as relics of a fort constructed of large burnt bricks stamped with the
names of the High-priest of Thebes and his wife, as also of Pinetjem (towards
the end of the XXI. Dynasty). Traces of kilns have been found on the shore
below, ¦ On the N. side is a large mass of building of some height, founded on
the rock. It is the strongest part of the defences of this fortified place,
and one end runs out upon the rocks to the N.W. , following the irregular
direction of the river. It is built of smaller brick, and between every 4th
course are layers of reeds, serving as binders. Inland, a very 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 probably of a later time than the
buildings themselves. Near the water's edge are the remains of a stone quay ;
and some fragments of unsculptured blocks are met with in different places.
An immense number of tombs has been discovered inside and outside the
square enclosure as well as cut in the rock. A cave close to the river was
found filled to the roof with stone sarcophagi of the Roman period, when
Daninos Pasha excavated the place in r88i. In 1890 a small temple of
Shishak I. was discovered on the S.W. side of the town, dedicated to
the goddess Sekhemet, the name of Auput, the eldest son of Shishak, being
associated with that of his father. In 1891 a cemetery of the Roman period
was found in a mountain recess called ed-Dab', i£ m. S.E. of the mounds.
El-Hiba is supposed to be the site of the Egyptian He(t)-Bennu, the Greek
Hipponon, the capital of the XVIII. nome of Upper Egypt. Here Drs. Gren
fell and Hunt have made interesting discoveries of Roman papyri and antiquities.
(W.) At Malatiya are other mounds, and at the N.W. corner of
Gebel Shikh Embdrak (E.) is the site of a town of the Boman age. Near
here there was in prehistoric days a great manufactory of flint weapons,
the ground here and in the Wadi esh-Shekh close by being strewn with
flint implements, flakes and cores. A large number of these have been
collected, brought to England, and presented to various Museums by
W. H. Seton-Karr, Esq., during recent years. They appear to date
to all periods from the Quaternary (palaeolithic) to the time of the XII.
Dynasty. Galleries from which the flint was extracted have been found
in the mountain to the E. Gebel Shekh Embdrak is a lofty table moun
tain, approaching very close to the river, and detached from the main
chain of the Gebel el-Bdzam, which stretches far inland to the S.E.
(W.) Maghagha, 109 m. (Bly. Stat., P. 0. and T. 0. near river).
2 hrs. by train from Beni Suef, and 2J from Minia. This is one of the
most important sugar-factories in Egypt, and an immense extent of
ground in the neighbourhood is devoted to the cultivation of the sugar
cane. But the amount manufactured has considerably diminished of
late years. The factory is interesting and should be visited. A branch
line for the purpose of bringing the cane to the mills extends inland to
Aba el-Wakf and Beni Mazdr, but it is only used during the cane-
harvest season. The sandbanks above Maghagha are a favourite resort
of various kinds of water-birds. At K6m el-Akhdar, § m. from Mag
hagha, is an inscribed slab of Bamses II.





Fold out





Sect. V.] EOUTE 22.— CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY BIVEE, 307
A little above Maghagha is the Hagar es-Salam, or " Stone of Wel
fare, a rock in the stream near the shore, so called from the idea of
the boatmen, "that a journey 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 Sharona (E.) are the
mounds of an ancient town, perhaps Psenerds or Shenero, explored by
Messrs. Grenfell and Hunt some years ago. Here are also some VI. Dyn.
tombs. The sites of other towns may also be seen on the opposite (W.)
side of the river, as at Aba, 3 or i m. inland, and at Abu Girga some
distance to the S.
(E.) A mile above Sharona is Kom, el-Ahmar ("the Bed Mound"),
with the remains of burnt bricks and the site of a temple which was
destroyed only a few years ago. A stone from its cornice bears the
name of Ptolemy I.
(E.) Suares. § hr. ride eastward from the K6m is a mutilated but
very fine VI. Dynasty Tomb. Nestor l'Hote saw part of it during his
visit to Egypt. Since then it has been partially opened up, and in 1896
it was visited and the inscriptions were copied by Miss Brodrick and
Miss Morton. The entrance to the tomb, now almost destroyed, is in
the side of a hill : immediately on the rt. is an oblong shaft, round the
top of which a ledge has been cut to insert a slab and so hide the
opening. The shaft is filled to within a few feet with sand and rubbish.
On the 1. of the entrance is a passage descending at first by a few rough
steps leading into a chamber in which it is not possible to stand up
right ; in the right-hand corner is a tiny passage through which it is
possible to crawl on hands and knees into a small chamber. From this
a narrow entrance leads into another chamber having a square pillar
in the centre. Here lies the lid of a fine white limestone sarcophagus
made in human form and apparently without inscription ; a second
staircase descends from the N.W. corner, but has not been excavated.
The walls of the outer court of the tomb are covered with reliefs of
fowling and fishing scenes, in which Pepi-Ankh Khua, the owner of
the tomb, takes part. On the right-hand wall is a curious relief of a
man prostrate on a boat, with a small figure seated on his chest.
Pepi-Ankh Khua held among numerous titles those of Ha prince,
chancellor, superintendent of the south, and overseer of the plantations
of the Pyramid Men-Nefer of King Pepi I. His wife Merut was a royal
relation and priestess of Hathor.
On the top of the hill, a little way above Pepi-Ankh's tomb, is the
square shaft of a Ptolemaic tomb, on one face of which are some figures
and an inscription mentioning the town of Kynopolis. At the bottom
of the shaft are several chambers without inscriptions.
According to a local legend a heifer comes out of the tomb of Pepi-
Ankh on the night of January 18th (the Coptic festival of the baptism
of Christ), and goes to the Nile to drink ; after which it returns to the
tomb and remains invisible for the rest of the year. To the E. of this
are several dog-mummy pits, and the vestiges of an ancient village, in
the vicinity of Hamdtha.
( W.) Beni Mazar, 121 m. (Bly. Stat., P. 0. and T. 0. near river). To
the N. is Abu Girga, a large village with extensive mounds, situated
jn a rich plain about 2 m. from the Nile..
^ x 2


308 EOUTE 22.— CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY eivee. [Sect. V.
[About gi m. N.W. of Beni Mazar is Behnesa, the ancient Oxyrrhynchus,
in Coptic Pemtje. The peculiar worship of the Oxyrrhynchus fish gave rise to
the Greek name of this city ; and the form of its "pointed nose " shows that it
was the Hnni of the present day. The 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 cultivated land ; to the W. 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. On the S. side are some mounds covered with
sand, on which stand several shekhs' tombs ; and others, consisting of broken
pottery and bricks, sufficiently 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 monu
ments ; and if the size of its mounds proclaims its former extent, the appear
ance of its modern houses and the limited number of three mosques show its
fallen condition. These mounds have of late years yielded to the excavators of
the Egypt Exploration Fund, Messrs. Grenfell and Hunt, an enormous store
of Greek papyri of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, including numerous
fragments of the classics and a series of Aoyi'a "h\utm, traditional sayings of
Our Lord, which have been edited by the discoverers.
Like other towns, Bermesa boasts a patron saint. He is called Et-Takrurl,
and is known in Arab songs and legendary tales. He is even believed to
appear occasionally to the elect, outside his tomb, accompanied by a numerous
retinue of horsemen, but without any ostensible object.
There are some caverns (35 min.) on the N.W. side of the town filled with
water, and round one of them a row of columns. Oxyrrhynchus was once a
stronghold of Christianity, and in the 5th cent, was celebrated for the number
of monks and nuns, while the town itself contained 12 churches. Its Egyptian
name was Pematja (Coptic Pemtje) in the nome of Sep. At the period of the
Arab conquest Behnesa was a place of great importance, and of such strength
that, of the 16,000 men who besieged it, 5000 are said to have perished in the
assault. Behnesa in the time of the Mamelukes enjoyed considerable importance,
being one of the principal towns of modern Egypt. The Bahr Yusuf once
passed through the centre ; but the eastern portion of the city of Oxyrrhynchus
is no longer part of Behnesa, and, being now called Sandofa, may be
considered a distinct village.]
(W.) Above Abu Girga are el-Kes, Abii-'Akis (Matai), and other
places, whose mounds mark the position of old towns. El-Kes, 1J m.
from the river, the KaAs of the Copts, which is laid down' in Coptic
MSS. between Nikafar and Oxyrrhynchus, is the ancient Kynopolis,
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 Shekh Fadl. 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 convenient spot
offered itself for the construction of catacombs than in its 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 W. of el-Kes ; and this would accord
with the position of Kynopolis, in an island, according to Ptolemy, and
account for the statement of the Arab historian of Behnesa, el-Mukkari,
that el-Kes was on the E. bank. Ko, which Ptolemy places opposite
Kynopolis, should be some miles inland to the W. Beni Mohammed
el-Kofilr has succeeded to the. old Nikafar mentioned in the Coptic


Hect. V.J EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. 309
MSS. It was above Kais ; but another town, called Tamma, is placed
by them between Kynopolis and Oxyrrhynchus.
(E.) At Shekh Fadl (121 m.), nearly opposite Beni Mazar and el-Kes,
were the sites of two small temples. There is now a large sugar manu
factory on the spot, with a locanda and gardens. In the low hills to the
S.E., and about 2 m. from the river, are tombs in which dog-mummies
have been found ; from which it is evident that more than one breed was
common in Egypt, as the sculptures also show. Most of the large tombs
belonged to private individuals ; one of them with eight square pillars
is called el-Kenisa, "the Church." Some of the many mummy caves
are only small square holes, or coffins in the rock. On the way to them
from the village you pass over an open space, purposely levelled for a
considerable distance ; and here and there are oblong coffins cut in the
surface of this rocky plain . There are also some large tombs, to one of
which you descend by eight steps ; and as the Nile water percolates
and rises in it during the inundation to the height of at least 1J ft., it
has obtained the name of Bir Sitta Mariam ("Mary's Well"). It
consists of a large central chamber, 7 paces by 4J, with recesses on each
side and two at the end, each containing a coffin cut like the rest of it
in the rock. It is much respected by the Christians, who still bury
their dead in a mound in the vicinity.
(E. ) In the hills behind Shikh. Hasan, on the E. bank, are extensive limestone
quarries, in which is a record of Theologos, bishop of Kesha-Pirpi, ' ' IJes of
the temple (Eg. Pi-repir, Arab. Birha)," probably to distinguish it from some
other K.es. 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 esh-Shikh Hasan ; and similar
solitary masses of rock, left by the stonecutters, are met with to the S. , with
other quarries, and a few small tombs.
After (W.) Matai or Abu 'Akis (130 m.), the river makes a con
siderable bend to the W. just before reaching
(W.) Kulusna or Qolosana, 136 m. (Bly. Stat.), a large village. Just
above there is a very large island. P. O. and T. 0., about 10 min. from
river. The main branch of the river formerly ran down on the western
side of the island, and the town was somewhat endangered by the
encroachments. Boman columns and capitals are to be seen in a
ruined mosque here.
(E.) At the edge of the low rocky hills, just beyond the village of
Surariya, are the remains of two ancient towns or villages ; and a little
farther to' the S. these hills recede to the S.E., and form the northern
side of the Wadi ed-Der. On the N.W. of its mouth (J m. from the
river) are some large limestone quarries, in which is a painted grotto
temple dedicated to Hathor, and bearing the names of Mer-en-Ptah,
the son of Bamses IL, and Seti II. (XIX. Dyn.).
Bound the corner of the rock, outside the grotto, Bamses III. (XX.
Dyn.) is represented with the crocodile-headed god Sebek, Hathor, and
Horus, receiving the honourable distinction of "president of the assem
blies " ; and at the side are two large cartouches of the same Pharaoh.
In the low rooks just below to the westward is a tomb consisting of
3 small chambers, without sculptures.


310 EOUTE 22.— CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. Lttecli- v-
The custom of placing quarries and other localities under the peculiar pro
tection of some god was observed by the Egyptians from the earliest to the
latest periods ; the quarries of Turra and Ma'sara, and the hills of the pyramids,
were under their tutelary deitv ; and the Latin inscription of Caracalla at Aswan
speaks of " Jupiter- Ammon, Chnubis, and Juno, under whose guardianship the
hill was placed," where new quarries had been opened.
At the extreme end of the hills, on the S. side of the Wadi ed-Der, are
vestiges of a small town, and near it some tombs of dogs and quarried
rocks A ruined wall of crude brick ascends the low northern extremity of
the Gebel et-Tir ; and some distance farther up to the E., near the spot
where the mountain road descends into the Wadi ed-Der, about E.S.E.
from the convent, is a bed of trap rock, rarely met with in the valleyd
the Nile. The wall appears again at the ravine, called Wadi el-'Agfiz,
4 or 5 m. farther S. near the village of Zinnega.
(W.) Samallut (Bly. Stat., P. 0. and T. 0., 10 min. from the river)
lies a short distance inland, about 5 m. S. of Kulilsna. It is a rather
large village, remarkable at a distance for a tall and graceful minaret
rising from amidst a thick grove of palm-trees. There are important
sugar-factories here.
(E.) We now approach the lofty and precipitous cliffs of Gebel et-
Ter, " Bird Mountain," which rise abruptly from the river to a height
of several hundred feet. Great care should be taken in sailing past
them, on account of the sudden gusts of wind, which are very dangerous.
On its flat summit stands the
Convent of Sitta Mariam el-'Adra (" Our Lady Mary the Virgin "),
hence called Dir el-'Adra, and by some Dir el-Bdkara ("of the Pulley "),
from the pulley or windlass by which visitors are drawn up through a
vertical cleft or "chimney " in the rock some 120 feet deep.
[The easiest way of reaching the convent is to land at the bank close to the N.
end of the cliffs, and walk up ; it is only a short distance, and is worth doing, if time
is not valuable, for the sake of the view from the platform outside the convent,
which is one of the most striking to be obtained on the Nile.]
It is inhabited by Copts, who frequently descend the face of the
rocks to the river, and, swimming off to a passing boat, beg for charity
from the traveller, not without being sometimes roughly handled by
the Arab boatmen. This practice has been forbidden by the Coptic
Patriarch, but is still carried on, though to a much smaller extent than
formerly. Like all the Coptic "Ders" in Egypt, it is a walled village
with a church, a few monks, and a few lay inhabitants, men, women,
and children. The church, which is partly underground, is curious,
the choir and sanctuary being cut out of the solid rock. It is said to
have been founded by the Empress Helena.
Gebel et-Tir, "the Mountain of the Bird," has a strange legendary
tale attached to it. All the birds of the country are reported to
assemble annually 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. The story is probably another version of that
mentioned by iElian, 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. Another form of the legend, related


Sect. V.] eoute 22. —caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 311
by Makrizi, says that on the feast-day of the founder all the bukir-
birds assembled here and thrust their heads into the cleft in the rock
one after another until one died. The convent is named after them
Der el-Buklr.
(E.) Between 3 and 4 m. S. of the convent is a well-preserved stretch
of the Gisr et-'Agiiz (" Old Man's Dike "). It is built across the ravine,
which is called the Wadi el-'Agiiz, and is evidently intended to prevent
any approach from the desert into the valley of the Nile. It was pos
sibly erected for the double purpose of keeping out marauders and also
the desert sandstorms. Beport says that it was built by an ancient
Egyptian queen, whose name was Daluka, and that it extended from
the sea to Aswan, at the edge of the cultivated land on either bank,
and many vestiges of it may be seen in various places. They are
generally, however, at the mouth of wadis, and were probably not
continuous. That in the Wadi el-'Agiiz protected an old town. Close
to it is the village of Zinniga, and at the S. end of the Wadi are rock-
tombs, which are being rapidly blasted away by the quarrymen. In
the next wadi are some Old Kingdom tombs ; those of persons named
Sneferu and Mer are the best. Between this and Tehna are other
tombs, none of which have sculptures or inscriptions.
(E.) 2 m. beyond this is the site of an ancient town, now called
Tehna, Tehnet el-Gebel, or Tehna il Mehna, the ancient Tatehni, Gk.
Akoris, Copt. Dehne (?). Its lofty and extensive mounds lie at the
mouth of Wadi et-Tehna, § m. from the river, under an isolated rocky
eminence of the eastern chain of hills, -whose precipitous limestone
cliffs overhang the arable land that separates them from the Nile.
Above a rough grotto in the lower part of the rock, about J m. to the
S. of the ancient town, is a Greek inscription of the time of Ptolemy
Epiphanes. The inscription is :
YnEPBA2IAEfl2IITOAEMAIOY @EOYEnl*ANOY2MErAAOYEYXAPI2TOY
AKnPI2EPrE05I2IAIMCXIAAI2OTEIPAI
"For the welfare of King Ptolemy, the God Epiphanes, the Great and Gracious,
Akoris the son of Ergeus, to Isis Mokhias, Soteira (the Saviour Goddess)."
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. This Akoris was evidently named after the city.
On the S. side of the rock, you perceive at the upper part of it two
figures in high relief, each holding a horse. Between them appears to
have been another figure, perhaps.that of a god.
The W. and S. sides of this hill are perforated with tombs, some of
which have Greek inscriptions, with the names of their owners. At
the door of one is a Boman figure who, standing before an altar, 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 hieroglyphs ; and the architecture of the grotto is more Boman
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.
Near the above-mentioned grotto, and below the isolated rock over-


312 EOUTE 22.— CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. L»ect. V.
hanging the town, is a niche of Boman time, with the remains of a
mutilated figure in relief within it ; and on either side of it is this
Greek inscription, — TPAMMMATA AXPHMAT15T02 E22H,
—which shows that people made mistakes in orthography in those
times as at the present day. About 760 ft. to the S. of this isolated
rock are other grottoes ; then a small quarry at the point of the hill ;
turning round which to the rt., you enter a ravine, and on reaching
the mountain summit to the S.W. you come to some curious trenches
and workings in stone.
The trenches at the top of the hill are curious, from their showing a peculiar
mode of opening a quarry, and of hewing square blocks of stone ; another
instance of which is met with near the N.W. angle of the Second Pyramid of
Giza. They began by levelling the surface of the rock to the extent admitted
by the nature of the ground, or the intended size of the quarry, and this space
they surrounded by a deep trench, _ forming a parallelogram, with one of its
sides open, to facilitate the removal 'of the.stones, which could be rolled down
to the valley without the trouble of carriage. They then cut other parallel
trenches along its entire length, about 7 or 8 ft 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. 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 quarry, which
continued to be worked downwards as long as the rock remained good. Where
circular blocks were required, for the drums, 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 Tehna.
On the summit of the" hills, about 500 ft. to the S. of these trenches, the
stone has been quarried to a great extent ; and about loo ft. from the edge
of the cliffs overhanging the cultivated land are some chambers sunk in the
rock, two of which are coated with red stucco. One of these is round, and
measures 17 ft. in diameter. It has a doorway leading into it, from a staircase
communicating with some small rooms ; and on one side is a ledge or hollow,
as if intended for a water-wheel. The other is square : it bas 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 workmen. It was doubtless filled by buckets
lowered from the brow of the cliff to the water below, which accounts for it
being made in this spot, close to the precipitous face of the hills, which rise
abruptly to the height of 400 or 500 ft. above the plain. Indeed it is evident
that the Nile formerly ran immediately below them, and even now, during the
inundation, it rises to the height of 5 ft. 4 in. at their base, covering the
narrow strip of alluvial soil it has deposited between them and its retiring
channel. Southward is an altar recording the XXII. legion, with an obliterated Latin
inscription, and at the back of the hill (E, face) are other tombs.
The story of the 300 ravens that assemble over this spot every year,
in the month of Babi' el-Awwal, and, after soaring above it with
repeated cries, fly away to the desert, is evidently another version of
the tale of Gebel et-Ter, already mentioned (p. 310).
In two of the tombs on the S. side of the Wadi, above the mounds
of the ancient city of Tehna, are hieroglyphic inscriptions of the
Ptolemaic period, which are still legible. One of them has a serpent
in relief twined round a staff, which the hieroglyphs entitle " Befi, the
great god." The word hefl means " snake."


Sect. V.] boute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 313
Descending the hill to the Kom el-Ahmar or " Bed Mound," a vast
rubbish heap of Boman potsherds and broken glass, the remains of the
ancient city will be distinctly seen to the W., and there is a curious
and very narrow staircase cut in the thickness of the rock leading down
to the plain below. It is called by the Arabs es-sillem al-Musayyin,
" The Barber's Staircase." On. the W. side of the K6m MM. Lefebvre
and Barry excavated in 1903-4 for the French Schools of Archaeology at
Athens and Cairo the interesting little Boman Temple of Tehna. It
is a hemispeos, like Gerf Husen in Nubia. The external portion consists
of a hall of eight round columns, approached by a sloping ramp of stone,
on either side of which are statue-bases. At the beginning of the
ramp were Ionic pillars. The hall measures 60 ft. by 30 ft. On its
walls are reliefs and incised hieroglyphs, containing the cartouche of
Nero, in whose reign the temple was evidently built. Fragments of
the name of Bamses II. shew that in all probability the Boman building
replaced a regular Egyptian temple of his time. The columns are
covered with Greek graffiti. The speos itself contains nothing. Amen
and Sebek seem to have been the gods of the place. At the N. end of
the mound is an old Coptic church, evidently partly constructed of
fragments from some Greek building. Crossing to the opposite (N.)
side of the wadi is a speos or rock-chapel, and on the summit of the
cliff above it (at the edge of the cliff, but a little to the E.) is an altar
with a Greek inscription in honour of Domitian (whose name has
been erased), recording the quarrying of stone for "the paving" of
Alexandria. J m. farther S., in the Gebel en-Nehas (" Copper Hill "), behind
el-Howdrte, are some interesting tombs of the Ancient Empire. One
of them, that of Nekht-ankh, contains 5 groups of figures now much
defaced, the cartouches of Men-kau-Ba, and User-ka-f (?). The hiero
glyphs are in relief, and the decorations round one of the ka doors
are very elaborate. There is also a fragmentary list of the nomes,
valuable on account of its antiquity. In another of these corridor-like
tombs are some well-executed figures. Beturning to the Greek inscrip
tion (donkeys should be sent round to wait at the Coptic church), ascend
the hill to a flight of steps cut in the rock, leading to a grotto, which
has a niche, but no sculptures. Following the path to the S., along
the western face of the cliffs, you come to a tablet of Bamses III.
receiving a falchion from the hand of the crocodile-headed god Sebek,
in the presence of Amen ; and beyond this is a large cartouche of the
same Pharaoh.
(W.) Inland, on the opposite bank, is Taha or Tdha el-Amildin, " of
the two columns," in Coptic Touhd, said to have been once a large
place, equal in size to Minia. Its mounds still mark it as the successor
of an ancient town. It is supposed to occupy the site of Theodosiou,
and appears from some Coptic and Arabic MSS. to have been distin
guished from a village of the same name beyond Eshmunen, by the
additional title of Medina, signifying " city."
In the desert behind Dawadiya on the E.bank is an alabaster quarry.
( W.) Minia (Miniet ibn-Khdsib), from the Coptic Tmcmi or Mooni,
signifying "the Abode"; 153 m. from Cairo (Bly. Stat., P. 0. and
T. 0. about 20 min. from river, 6J hrs. from Cairo) ; a large and
important town, population 20,000, capital of the province of the same


314 EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. |_Dbi;u. v.
name, and residence of a Mudir, prettily situated on the W. bank of
the river. There are two locandas, where, if necessary, accommodation
for the night can be procured. There is a hospital with native
physician, who has qualified in Europe. Minia is a thriving town, and
in the chief street travellers may obtain most of the requisites of life.
There are also a watchmaker and a tailor in Minia, and gardens where
fresh fruit and vegetables can be obtained. A market is held every
Monday. The first sugar-factory established in Egypt was built at
Minia, and it still "exists, greatly enlarged and improved. During the
cane-harvest, and when the mills are in full activity, the town presents
a busy and animated appearance. On the river-bank to the N. of the
factory is a palace of the Khedive.
Leo Africanus says, "Minia, on the W. bank of the Nile, is a very neat
town, built in the time of the Moslems by Khasib, who was appointed governor
under the Khalifate of Baghdad. It abounds in every kind of fruit, which,
though sent to Cairo, cannot, on account of the distance, arrive fresh in that
city, being 170 m. 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 Sudan."
Over the doorway of a mosque, near the river, are a few fragments of Grseco-
Roman architecture. Within are several granite and marble columns, 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 shekh's
tomb, overshadowed by a sycomore-tree, on the N. side of the town, near the
spot where boats generally moor, has a picturesque effect, and the numerous
figures on the bank and boats on the river make up a pretty and very typical
picture of Nile river-bank scenery. Numerous wild-fowl and other aquatic
birds frequent the sandbanks near Minia.
At K6m el-Kufara (" Heathens' Mound,") immediately opposite to
Minia, are some old tombs of uncertain date.
[The TomUs of Beni Hasan (see below, p. 316) may be conveniently visited from
Minia by those who are travelling by ordinary steamer or railway (see p. 297). The
journey is made by donkey from Sawdda, opposite Minia(hire in Minia). This excur
sion is of course unnecessary for those who have a dahabiya. We pass Zawiyet el-
Mdyitin and K6m el-Ahmar (see below) to el-NewHrdtor Nezlet Nuivir, and so to Beni
Hasan. Bailway travellers may rejoin the line at Abu Kerkas or Etlidem, opposite
Beni Hasan ; but those who wish to meet a steamer must go on to Shikh Abdda
(Antinoupolis), and cross to Rdda (see below). The journey from Minia to E6da,
with the Beni Hasan tombs thrown in, cannot be conveniently made in less than a
day and a half : the railway traveller can get to Abu Kerkas in the day from Minia.]
(E.) At Nezlet ez-Zdwiya, a small village to the S. of Sawada, are
the beautiful little property of Abu Sultan Pasha and the vestiges of an
ancient village, with a small fortress of rectangular shape on the
N. side of the ancient village. To the N. and N.E. of Nezlet ez-Zawiya
are extensive quarries of the Boman period, extending also between two
hills, on each side of the ravine that separates them. In one are remains
of mouldings painted over a niche of Christian time, the pilasters
having rude capitals ; in another some painted arabesques. Other
tombs which existed here have been destroyed by modern quarrying.
(E.) The modern cemetery of Minia is at (157 m.) Zawiyet el-
Mayitin (" Dead Men's Chapel " ; usually known as " ez-Zawiya " simply)
between Sawada and Kom el-Ahmar. Thrice every year the inhabitants
pay a visit of ceremony to the tombs, in the months of Shawwal (Td
es-Sughgr), of Dhul-Higga ('Id el-Kebir), and Begeb. The visit lasts
7 days, the 15th of the month, or the full moon, being the principal


oeCI. V.J EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. 315
day. During this time dates are offered and palm-branches presented
to the dead. The mode of ferrying over the bodies of the dead,
accompanied by the ululations of women, 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 remarkable 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
Egyptian custom of ferrying over the dead that gave rise to the fable
of Charon and the Styx, which Diodoros very consistently traces from
the funeral ceremonies of Egypt. Christians as well as Mohammedans
are buried in the cemetery.
The early tombs discovered by Champollion and Nestor l'Hote,
scenes from which are reproduced in the ' Denkmaler ' of Lepsius,
have been destroyed by recent quarrying, with the exception of that
of Nefer-sekheru, "the royal scribe" (XIII. Dyn.), which was shame
fully defaced in 1888. It is on the N.W. side of the hill. Above the
entrance is a representation of the 4 cynocephalous apes adoring the
sun as it rises over the dad. Inside and on the tomb wall Nefersekheru
and his wife are being introduced by Horus into the presence of Osiris,
who is seated ; Isis and Nephthys are behind him, and the four genii of
the dead on the opening lotus flower in front of him. Bepresentations
of two elaborate and beautifully executed lotus pillars are particularly
to be noticed. On the rt.-hand side of the tomb are various scenes of
domestic and agricultural life ; figures with offerings are depicted as
hurrying along in the most lifelike way ; and the plan of a pylon and
four lotus columns are also to be seen. Three niches, which once
contained figures, are immediately opposite the door, and the remains
of two Osiride figures are still distinctly to be traced. A seated cyno
cephalous ape once occupied the niche on the rt. hand, just outside the
tomb. Of the VI. Dynasty tombs that of Khunes was the finest.
(E.) At K6m el-Ahmar, a few minutes' walk S. of Zawiyet el-
Mayitin, are the mounds of an ancient town. Its name signifies the
" Bed Mound," which it has received from the quantity of pottery that
lies scattered over it, and the burnt walls of its crude-brick houses.
A great manufacture of alabaster vases was carried on in the
ancient city, and its site is strewn with the cores left by the manu
facturers. Its Egyptian name seems to have been Hebnu, and it be
longed to the Mahetj nome of Upper Egypt. The fragment of a column
with the cartouche of Amen-hetep III. has been found here.
(E.) The rock tombs S. of Nezlet Nuwir (el-Newiirdt ; p. 314) are
old, and from the form of their round lintels appear to be early. They
have been occupied by the early Christians, who have painted the
Egyptian Ankh, or sign of life, in lieu of the cross, accompanied by the
words EIC ©EOC. Others have vestiges of Coptic inscriptions.
( IV.) Abu Kerkas (rly. sta.).
(W.) At Shardra on the W. bank, used to be the mounds of an
ancient town. These mounds, which were called el-Anbagiya in the
time of Jomard, were probably the remains of the ancient city of Menat-
Khufu, "Nurse of Khufu," the capital of the Oryx nome, over which
ruled the princes who are buried at Beni Hasan. It has been supposed
that this town was on the E. bank of the river, but this does not seem
to be a necessary supposition.


316 EOUTE 22.— CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. [Sect. V.
Beni Hasan.
(.E.) Beni Hasan, 169 m. The nearest point to Beni Hasan on the
railway is the station of Abu Kerkds.
[By taking beds and provisions for one or two nights, the tombs might be visited
from Cairo by rail, as it would be possible to sleep in the station ; if not, a tent would
"e The'tombs of Beni Hasan are excavated in the rock in the side of the hills that
overhang the valley of fee Nile. The bank below, a detritus of sand and srayel, h«
been cut through by the river, which formerly encroached on this side but which
has again retired to the westward, so that a wide piece of cultivated land now lie
between the river and the tombs. Besides the tombs at Bern Hasan, there is a small
rock-cut temple called the Speos Artemidos, which, with one or two unimportant
tombs, lies 3 m. S. of the other group, a small wadi separating the two hills
The best way in coming down the river is to stop at the village visit the Speos
first, and then ride to the tombs, the boat being sent on to the nearest point tc i the
last-named. This will be a comfortable excursion of 6 or 7 hours, but the steamer-
tourists usually take only 3 or 4 hours.)
The present Village of Beni Hasan stands 2 m. to the S. of the
tombs and nearly 1 m. to the S.E. of it is the Speos Artemidos, to
which' the common name of Stabl 'Antar (" Stable of 'Antar," a famous
Moslem hero) has been applied by the modern Egyptians. It is
situated about J m. from the mouth of a small rocky valley or ravine.
To the rt., on entering the ravine, are several pits and tombs cut in
the rock. Some of these last have had well shaped doorways, with
the usual Egyptian cornice, and round one are still some traces of
coloured hieroglyphs. Three are larger than the rest. In the first of
these (going from the valley of the Nile) the paintings on wall and
ceiling have been blackened with smoke, and few of them can be
distinctly traced. Near its S.E. corner are some water-plants, and
here and there some Greek inscriptions scratched on the stucco.
Beyond this, to the E., is another excavation with a cornice over the
door, bearing the names of Alexander, the son of Alexander the Great,
Ptolemy Lagos 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 figure of Truth to Pakhet (a form of
Bast or Sekhemet), the cat-headed goddess of the place. Behind him
stands Hathor. On one side of the two central compartments the
king is standing in the presence of Amen and Horus, on the other of
Thoth and Khnemu.
The next large grotto to the E. is the Speos Artemidos (" the Cave
of Artemis "). Like the others, it is wholly excavated in the rock. It
was begun by Hatshepsu and Thothmes III. (XVIII. Dyn.), and other
sculptures were added by Seti I., the father of Bamses n. (XIX. Dyn.);
but it was never completed. It consisted of a portico, with two rows
of square pillars, four in each, of which only three pillars now remain ;
and though on one side rough and unfinished, each bears the name of
those two kings, and of the goddess Pakhet, identified by the Greeks
with Artemis, whose name is followed by the figure of a lioness. A door,
or passage, leads thence into the naos, which measures 8 J 'by 9 paces,
and at the end wall is a niche about 6 ft. deep and raised 8 ft. from
the floor, intended, no doubt, for the statue of the goddess, or her
symbol. It is unfinished ; but on one of the jambs is a figure of Pakhet.
In the doorway or passage leading to the naos are two recesses, cut in
the wall ; and there are others in the portico.


Sect. V.] eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 317
The only finished sculptures are on the inner wall of the portico.
They are of the XVIII. and XIX. Dynasty, and, therefore, of a good
period of Egyptian art ; but they vary in style, some being in relief,
others incised. On one side Thothmes III. is making offerings to
Pakhet and Thoth; on the other, Seti is kneeling before Amen,
attended by Pakhet ; and, in a line of hieroglyphs behind him, mention
is made of the sculptures added by him in honour of "his mother
Pakhet, thei beautiful lady of the Speos." In the portico, some of the
original hieroglyphs have been obliterated, and others incised in their
place. That this was done in the time of King Seti himself is evident
from the fact of their being incised, 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 1. of the picture,
which have been altered by Seti. Pakhet occurs again twice over the
door, and once in the doorway of the naos. She has always the head
of a lioness, and the title, " Lady of the Excavation " or " Speos."
On the face of the rock, over the facade of the portico, are 42 lines
of hieroglyphs, which were first copied in full by M. Golenistchev, the
Bussian Egyptologist. The first line, which has been erased, contained
the name of Hatshepsu, who further on refers to the Hyksos under
the name of the Aamu or "Asiatics." The words of the text are ; " I
restored that which was in ruins, and I completed what was left
unfinished, for there had been Aamu in the midst of Northern Egypt
and in Avaris, and foreign hordes from among them had destroyed the
monuments (of old)." There are several pits and smaller grottoes on
this and on the opposite side of the valley. In some of them the bones
of cats, and even dogs, are said to have been discovered, and in the
plain S. of the entrance of the wadi a vast cemetery of cats was found
in 1889. The Tombs of Beni Hasan. — On the way from the Speos to the tombs
the ancient cat cemetery is passed over, and the remains of the old
Beni Hasan villages are seen. They were destroyed by Ibrahim Pasha
owing to the incorrigible rascality of the inhabitants.
[The tourist's path leads up the hill to No. 39, the most southerly tomb of any
importance. Those farther S., Nos. 33 to 39, should be visited first if the tourist
wishes to see them ; but as they have no features that are not as well exemplified in
the other tombs, a visit is not necessary. The numbers of the most important tombs,
which should all be seen, are indicated in heavy type below. These are protected
by iron doors against the vandalism of the natives (the people of Beni Hasan . have
always had a bad name, like those of Abydos) : tickets must be produced to obtain
admission. ]
The Gebel Beni Hasan (half-hour direct ride from the river), in
which the tombs are excavated, is of eocene nummulitic limestone.
The tombs are excavated in two ranges about half-way up the hill, in
thick strata of fine white limestone. In the lower range the tombs
are merely mummy-pits. The tombs of the upper range may be
divided into three groups : I. Those with one or more halls of a square
plan, but without columns or portico. II. Those without portico,
but consisting of a main chamber, with roofs supported by one or more
rows of lotus-bud columns. III. Those with an open outer court, a
ortico, a main chamber, and a shrine.
The tombs have always been known, but were not properly cleared
d copied till 1892, when this work was carried out for the Archaeological


318 EOUTE 22. — caieo to luxoe, BY eivee. [Sect. V.
Survey of Egypt (Egypt Exploration Fund) by Mr. P. E. Newberry.
More recently a new series of tombs of the XI. and XII. Dyn. have
been discovered and cleared by Mr. John Garstang, of the University
of Liverpool. These were mostly intact, and have yielded a rich store
of typical tomb-furniture of the Middle Empire period.
The tombs belong to the period of the Middle Kingdom (circa 2800-
2500 b.c), that is, to the time of the Usertsens and Amen-em-hats.
Under these kings the nobles of the Mahetj or " Oryx " nome, who were
buried here, were very wealthy, and hence the rich decoration of their
tombs. There is very little sculpture, but the walls of many of the
tombs are entirely covered with scenes painted on a thin coat of
fine-grained plaster. The pigments were probably laid on with a
white-of-egg medium.
In these, as in all the excavated temples and tombs of Egypt, we
have decided proofs of their having been imitations of buildings. 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
times the Egyptians frequently omitted both the abacus and the
architrave in their excavated monuments, as in the tombs of the
kings, and several other tombs at Thebes. But this was an after
thought, and the oldest excavated monuments have the imitated
features of constructive architecture. The tombs are designed on the
same threefold principle as the mastabas and other tombs, there being
the main chamber for the chapel, the deep shaft, and the sepulchral
chamber at the bottom. There are also nine instances of the "false
door" with which the older tombs make us familiar; that is, the
semblance of a doorway carved or painted on the walls — generally
the W. or S.W. wall — which represents the way into the under
world. The paintings represent scenes in the life of the deceased ; they are
in fact a sort of pictorial biography, and the mystic signs and divinities
common to a later epoch are absent here as at the Pyramids and
Sakkara. There seems to have been less thought of rewards and
punishments in the future life. In grouping the various painted
scenes upon the walls, the artists seem to have been guided by a
natural principle which led them to place the Nile in the lowest
register, the agricultural scenes in the middle, and desert scenes at
the top. But little technical skill is shown in the drawing. The birds
are always better drawn than the human figures, but the natural
features of the country are represented in the most conventional way,
a series of zigzag lines standing for water, and a wavy outlined pink
space dotted with red and black being the desert.
Tomb 33, which has a door into No. 32, made by the Copts, is that
of Bakt II. From the position of the door-socket the door must have
opened to the right, while those of all the other tombs opened to the
left. The southernmost of the three tomb-shafts is the largest example
of the square type of shafts at Beni Hasan.
This Bakt was the eldest son of another Bakt (Tomb 29) and bis-
wife Tehutika, and probably father of Bemushenta (Tomb 27). His
titles were Ha prince, Sahu of the King of Lower Egypt, confidential
friend of the King, Boyal acquaintance, Great Chief of the Oryx nome,


Sect. V.] eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 319
and three legal titles, "He who is in the Chamber," "He who belongs
to the city of Nekhen," and " Chief of the city of Nekheb."
The frieze is of the kheker ornament with rectangles of colour above
and below. On the W. wall N. of the doorway is painted a figure of
Bakt, in front of whom is an altar to which men are bringing offerings.
Bound the false door are incised hieroglyphs, giving the usual prayer
formulae for per kheru offerings.
Of the four or five rows of scenes with which the walls were painted,
only the two topmost have escaped destruction at the hands of the
Arabs, who have scribbled graffiti over the lower part. On the N. wall,
row 1, is a hunting scene in the desert ; row 2, men fowling with a
clap-net. Tomb 32 consists of an outside portico with arched roof, and archi
trave supported by two octagonal columns ; a chamber beyond, of
which the floor-level is higher than the door-sill, though now no steps
remain to connect the two over the sloping shaft that goes down from
the door ; and a shrine at the end, on the back wall of which there
remain a few traces of sculpture. In the S.W. corner is a shaft about
30 ft. deep ending in a small unfinished chamber. The name of the
owner of the tomb is unknown.
Tomb 29, which has Coptic openings into Nos. 28 and 30, is that of
Bakt I. It was excavated too high in the stratum, and so the roof was .
left perforce in a rough state. Bakt was " Great Chief of the Oryx
nome," and bears, besides, the usual titles. He was father to the
Bakt of Tomb 33. As in Tomb 33, no representations of deities occur,
but prayers are addressed to the two chief funereal gods, Osiris and
Anubis. The frieze here is a kind of rope pattern. Though the W. wall
is much damaged, it is possible to see, to the N. of the doorway, a
figure of Bakt, in front of whom are scribes in three rows ; and to the
S. of the doorway a boating scene. At the E. end of the N. wall can
be seen a quarrel between two crews. Under the chair of Bakt on the
E. wall is a dog. The lowest row in the middle of the S. wall shows
six men trying to overturn a bull, which is tossing one of them. To
the rt. of this are three dwarfs. Further to the rt. are groups of
wrestlers, men leading and driving goats and oxen, bulls fighting, and
ploughing scenes.
Tomb 27 is a plain chamber which seems to have been carefully
finished, except the false door to the rt. of the entrance. It belonged
to Bemushenta, and it has six burial shafts. Bemushenta was the
father of Bakt ni. (Tomb 15), and also of a Kheti. He bears the
same titles as Bakt II. (Tomb 33). On the l.-hand side of the E. wall
stands a figure of Bemushenta in a leopard-skin, and on the rt. he is
again seen seated on a chair, underneath which is a dog.
In Tomb 24, now connected with 23, were found an undisturbed
burial of the XL or XII. Dynasty, the mummy lying in a plain wooden
coffin, inscribed roughly in blue paint, and thirteen stands for jars.
Tombs 22 and 23 are unfinished. No. 23 is that of Neter-nekht.
The painted eastern wall shows that the decoration of the tomb went
on side by side with its excavation. Traces of painted patterns are
still left on the ceiling; but the graffiti show that the chamber was
once used as a Coptic school-room. Neter-nekht was " administrator
of the eastern desert," and bears the other secondary titles found
usually in these tombs, but was not chief of the Oryx nome. His


320 EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. [Sect. V.
wife, who was a priestess of Hathor, was called Her-ab. Two men of
the name of Kheti and a Khnem-hetep are also mentioned in the
inscriptions. The ceiling beyond the architrave is elaborately painted.
It is divided into two by a simulated wooden beam. Low down, on
the N. wall among many other Coptic inscriptions, is an alphabetical
table. The E. wall has been much damaged by graffiti. At its N. end
stands Neter-nekht, with his mother Arit-hetep to the rt., and his
wife Her-ab to the 1. The inscriptions above give the titles of these
three persons.
Tomb 21, also finished, belonged to Nekhta. Perhaps because it is
excavated in a finer piece of rock, the work of this tomb is better than
that of most of the tombs of this group. To the larger of the interior
shafts has been left a low parapet in the rock. Nekhta was a "Great
Chief of the Oryx nome."
In Tomb 18 there are five burial pits still untouched. Though it is
not finished in any part, it is interesting as showing, from the varying
stages of completion in which we see its ten lotus-bud columns, the
manner in which the mason set about his work. The peculiar shape
of the tomb is owing to the presence of an earlier tomb (No. 19)
to the S.
The Tomb of Kheti (No. 17) is the second largest in this group.
On the N. side of the door is a curious buttress partly destroyed,
with traces of carving on its southern face. Two of the six lotus-
bud columns that supported the architrave are still intact, and show
remains of bands of colour, yellow, green, red and white. Kheti
was ' ' Great Chief of the Oryx nome to its entirety," in the time of
the XL Dynasty, and, besides bearing all the other titles found in
the foregoing tombs, he was " Captain of the soldiers in all different
places." He was a son of Bakt TIL, and his wife Khnem-hetep, and
he had a son Kheti. Among the local deities mentioned in the inscrip
tions is "Sekhemet, mistress of hunting." On the architraves are
rows of hieroglyphs. The style of painting throughout the tomb is
coarse, and the figures are not well drawn, nor the hieroglyphs clearly
inscribed. On the N. side of the entrance-wall is a picture of Kheti
harpooning fish. To the rt. of this are small scenes of pools of water
with clumps of papyrus and lotus plants. There are also boating,
fishing, and fowling scenes, and representations of hippopotami, wild
boars, and calves.
The S. side of the entrance wall is much defaced ; but to the 1. of
the false door may be traced pictures of women grinding corn and men
preparing confectionery. The band of hieroglyphs running round the
walls below the frieze gives the titles of Kheti, or the usual suten te
hetep formula (see Hieroglyphs, p. [115]). The scenes on the N. wall
show men and women working at various trades, or engaged in
domestic occupations ; also a procession of statues of Kheti and his
wife in a naos drawn by seven men. In front of a standing figure of
Kheti are three dogs. On the E. wall are 122 groups of wrestlers in
different attitudes ; below is a battle scene. Scenes of games and
diversions are represented on a pilaster on the S. wall, and between
this and the next pilaster is a colossal figure of Kheti attended by
a parasol-bearer. Before a large seated figure of Kheti on the W.
half of the S. wall a scribe and a priest burn incense in a censer. To


¦Sect. V.] mvit 22.— caieO To luxOe, by eiVeE. 321
the E. of a roughly-cut later recess, Champollion, the great Egyptologist,
has inscribed his initials.
Tomb 16 is the counterpart of 14.
The main chamber of Tomb 15, that of Bakt III., 54 ft. 9 in. by
32 ft., and averaging 15 ft. 6 in. in height, is the largest at Beni
Hasan. The two lotus-bud columns have disappeared. At the E. end
of the S. wall there is a small chamber, containing a table of offerings,
and a false door on the W. wall. There is a large tomb shaft just out
side which was cleared of its forty tons of stones and boulders to a
depth of 79} ft., where a doorway on the northern face was found
leading into a chamber about 12 ft. by 10 ft. 6 in., and in the centre of
this chamber another shaft 20 ft. deep was discovered, at the botton of
which on the S. side a doorway led into a chamber 12 ft. by 8 ft., with
benches on which were probably ranged the coffins. Leading off from
this is a carefully finished chamber on a lower level. The total depth
of this shaft is 105 ft. 3 in., the deepest yet found and cleared in -Egypt.
Bakt III. was the son of Bemushenta (Tomb 27), and father of Kheti
(Tomb 17). He was " Governor of the Oryx nome in its entirety," and
bears the usual titles. The drawing of the human figure here is good, the
wrestlers being the most naturalistically treated figures in Egypt ; but
that of the animals is weak. Some of the hieroglyphs — those above
the large figures of Bakt — are coloured with much care and detail. The
subjects of the paintings on the N. and E. walls resemble those on the
N. and E. walls of Tomb 17. To the 1. of the large figure of Bakt at
the W. end of the S. wall are some scenes representing various games,
thimble-rig (?), prisoner's base (?), draughts, "counting on the head
and on the hands," &c. Among the Coptic graffiti is one which reads
"pray for me," and another "The Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost,
Mary and Martha."
Tomb 14 belonged to Khnemu-hetep I., father of Nekhta(Tomo 21),
who bears, besides the titles mentioned before, that of " Superintendent
of the priests." His mother was called Bakt and his wife Set-ap.
On the S.W. wall of the main chamber is' a now almost undeci
pherable historical inscription, recording a naval expedition, and
mentioning Amenemhat I. by his prenomen Se-hetep-ab-Ba. It
mentions that the king made Khnemu-hetep ' ' Ha prince of the
town of Menat-Khufu," for certain services rendered. The paintings
are very much faded, but appear to have been of much the same style
as those of Tomb 15. In the lowest row on the E. walls is an
interesting group of foreigners (Libyans) being led by an Egyptian
superintendent. Tomb 13 is that of another Khnemu-hetep, a " Boyal Scribe " and
"Regulator of the Sa order in the temple'of Pakhet." He bears other
religious titles, such as "Enlightener of the temple," &c, and the
civil titles "Superintendent of the leading offices " and "Superinten
dent of the house." On the doorposts and lintel of the entrance to the
' small rectangular chamber are eight lines of inscription in incised hiero
glyphs, giving the names and titles of Khnemu-hetep. On the l.-h. post,
besides the usual seten te hetep formula, we read "the lover of his city,
whom his city loved, untainted by robbery (line 2), knowing what is
said, free of contradiction, long-suffering in the midst of nobles, know
ing the result of his speech, firm of foot."


322 eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. [Sect. V,
Tomb 9 has been carefully finished, but no remains of paintings can
be traced. Tomb 5 shows, in its unfinished state, the method of cutting out a
tomb. The sixteen-sided columns are merely roughed out, and blocks
remain all over the floor, cut but not split off from their bases. The
main chamber was designed to contain three aisles with curved roofs.
Tomb i of Khnemu-hetep IV., son of Khnemu-hetep II. (Tomb 3), is
unfinished. The owner's name is on the lintel of the doorway into the
main chamber.
Tomb 3. — Tombs 3 and 2 are the most important in the northern
group. No 3 is smaller but of better workmanship than No. 2. From
the plain, up the hill, to the court there was originally a road or
dromos, which is still distinguishable by the boulders rolled to either
side. Tombs 2 and 15 were also approached in this way. The two
sixteen-sided columns of the portico remain intact. The fluted
shafts taper slightly to the abaci, which support the arched roof of the
portico. No trace of the door remains except the pivot hole iu which
it swung. The columns of the nearly square main chamber have all
been cut clean away ; a portion of one was found in one of the shafts.
The roof is arranged in three flat arches. The shrine, containing a
large seated figure of the owner, is much better finished than that in
Tomb 2. A portion of the face of this figure was found on the hillside,
as was also the hand of Amenemhat from Tomb 2. The door of the
shrine was in two leaves. Of the four tomb shafts the central one on
the S. side of the tomb led down 30 feet to ohambers of almost the
same plan as those described in Tomb 15, in which sarcophagi were
found. Like most of the Beni Hasan tombs, this one also had been
plundered. The dado of this tomb was painted in imitation of rose-
granite, as were the doorposts and lintel of the entrance. The ceiling
is decorated with red and yellow squares containing black and blue
quatrefoils. The frieze is the usual kheker ornament, and coloured
rectangles. Between the paintings and the dado run two bands of
colour. The human figure is boldly drawn and well proportioned, and
the animals, fish, and birds are very cleverly depicted. The owner of
this tomb was Khnemu-hetep II., son of Nehera. Khnemu-hetep I.
had one son and one daughter ; his son Nekhta (Tomb 21) died without
a son, and therefore his daughter's son succeeded to the princely title
conferred upon his grandfather by Amenemhat I., i.e. " Ha prince of
Menat-Khufu, and administrator of the Eastern desert." He had also
ten priestly titles. He was priest of Horus and priest of Anubis. The
exterior inscriptions give a list of 23 festal days on which services of
funereal offerings are to be performed, and a prayer to the visitor to
make offerings. On the dado of the chamber is incised an inscription
of 222 vertical lines carelessly inscribed. It is biographical, ending
with the name of the architect of the tomb, which is Bakt. The
inscriptions round the shrine are similar to those round the entrance
door. Over the entrance doorway is a picture of Khnemu-hetep attended'
by his household servants; and above that a procession 'to the tomb of
the deceased carrying a statue of Khnemu-hetep in a nabs. To the S.
of this entrance, the scenes represent carpenters, fullers, boat-builders,
potters, weavers, bakers, and sculptors working at their trades. The
middle row shows the children and hariin of Khnemu-hetep journeying


beci. v.j eoote 22.— caieo , TO luxoe, M EIveE. 523
to. Abydos. . To,, the _N, of the entrance, are scenes,. representing the
storage of grain in granaries and scribes registering the amounts.;
harvesting and threshing, ploughing, voyage of the mummy to Abydos,
orchard, vineyard, and garden scenes, oxen fording a stream^ 'and .a
fishing Scene.
On the N. wall, Khnemu-hetep (fi. end), attended by a son, a servant,
and three dogs, receives agricultural and other produce, presented by
officers and members of his household, and a party of foreigners.
These latter, called Aamu, are headed by a royal scribe, who holds in
his hand a papyrus roll on which is written the prenomen of Usertsen IL,
and following it, "the number of Aamu brought by the son of the Ha
prince Khnemu-hetep, on account of the eye-paint [kohl, stibium],
Aamu of the desert, number amounting to 37."
These foreigners, according to the dragoman's story, are Joseph's
brethren arriving in Egypt ; but as these tombs were excavated long
before the period of Joseph, the description must not be credited. The
procession is, however, extremely interesting, as representing the most
ancient known immigation of Asiatic tribes into Egypt. The type of
face, the. wearing of the full beard, and the clothes of the group, are
entirely different from the pictures of Egyptians. The name of their
chief, who stoops over the gazelle, is Absha, an Arab name ( = Abishu' or
Ebishum). The groups of birds behind the Aamu are most beautifully
drawn. In the second row of pictures from the floor at the W. end
are men fattening cattle and geese, drawn with some attempt at
perspective. On the E. wall, Khnemu-hetep is seen fowling from a canoe,
accompanied by his Wife, his son, and two attendants. Among the fish
in the water below are a crocodile and a hippopotamus. Above the
shrine, Khnemu-hetep is accompanied by his son and Bakt, the con
tractor for the tomb. TO the rt, of the shrine,' beneath the picture of
Khnemu-hetep spearing fish with a trident, are men in canoes. The
detail of the papyrus marsh is worthy of close inspection. On the S.
wall, Khnemu-hetep is seen seated in front of an altar, above which is
a list of 53 offerings. The scenes represent priests performing services,
officers and servants of the household bringing offerings. No less than
88 officers and servants are mentioned in the , tomb, and 6 priests.
Among the servants are 2 "maid house-messengers."
The ceiling of the shrine is decorated like that of the main chamber.
The dado has been elaborately decorated in colour, but is now much
damaged. Flanking the almost entirely destroyed statue of Khnemu-
hetep on the 1. side, is an incised and painted portrait of his wife
Kheti. One of the women on the rt. side is Khnemu-hetep's mother.
On the N. wall are 3 daughters of Khnemu-hetep, and on the S, wall
5-sbn9 and 3 officers.
,Tomb 2 has an open outer court with remains of a front wall,
which was probably never more than 2 or 3 feet high. The shafts of
its ,,tjWO columns are octagonal, tapering slightly to the square abaci
which support the architrave and the arched roof. The wall separating
the court from the main chamber is 4 ft. 8 in. thick.. The four 16-sided
fluted, cplumns divide the chamber into a nave and two aisles with
curved" ceilings. The shrine at the E. end contains a colossal seated
statue of the owner of the tomb, flanked by two smaller standing ones,
Y 2


324 EOute 22— CAIeo tfO luxoe, bY eivee. i^w. ..
all hewn out of the solid rock. The openings of the two mummy shafts
have slightly raised and rounded rims,
This tomb belonged to Amenemhat or Ameni, aS his flame is
variously written, Who was governor 'of the Oryx nome, and a high
official in the court of Usertsen I. He was Erpa prince, Ha prince,
Sahu of the King of Lower Egypt, confidential friend of the King, true
royal acquaintance, regulator of the two thrones, superintendent of the
pools of sport, overseer of horns, hoofs, feathers, and minerals, chief
captain of the host of the Oryx nome, &c. Besides the 3 usual legal
titles, he bears 15 religious titles. Of the 63 officers and servants
mentioned in the tomb, there are 9 food providers, 5 scribes, 7 maid
house-messengers, a superintendent of canals, 4 herdsmen ; and there
are 9 priests.
The door-posts and lintel, which were painted to imitate granite,
are incised with hieroglyphs in green, the inscription giving the
titles of Amenemhat and also his character. We are told that he
' ' pleased the heart of all people, made the timid man to prosper,
forwarded travellers on the river,' that he was punctual [arriving at his
appointed time], did not devise evil, was not greedy, and spoke the
truth." The thickness of the walls makes a kind of entrance passage. On
the sides of this is a biographical inscription, commencing with dates
and going on with the usual address to visitors. " Oh ye who love life
and hate death say : Thousands of bread and beer, thousands of cattle
and wild fowl, to the Ka of the Erpa prince," &c. Then follows an
account of three expeditions, and then the character of Amenemhat
set forth in the first person.
Of the paintings, those on the S. wall are much more carefully
executed than the rest. The scenes on the W. wall show arts, trades,
and agricultural pursuits. The N. wall is chiefly taken up with a
representation of Amenemhat receiving cattle and agricultural produce
from his officers and servants, led by a scribe, who holds in his hand
a rtsumi of the objects, mentioning 30,000 asses (?) and 3000 oxen.
On the E. walls are represented wrestlers, soldiers attacking a
fortress 1., a battle scene rt., Amenemhat's funeral barge 1., towed by
two ships in full sail, and a harim boat rt.
At the E. end of the S. wall, Amenemhat sits in front of an altar,
before which priests perform services, and to which servants bring
offerings. The priests are led by his son Khnemu-hetep. At the W.
end of the wall sits Amenemhat's wife Hetept, similarly attended.
The paintings in the shrine have been very carefully done. They
represent priests performing services and bringing offerings. The
figure to the rt. of the colossal figure of Amenemhat is his wife Hetept,
that to the 1. his mother Henna.
(E.) At Shikh Timai, opposite Etlidem (rly. stat.), are some
catacombs, including a large tomb without inscriptions, and limestone
quarries. Near here was the ancient town of Neferus, where there
was a shrine of Hathor.
(W.) 3 m. S.W. of Etlidem is the village of HUr, the modern
descendant of an ancient town bearing the same name, which is
mentioned in the inscriptions at Beni Hasan.
(E.) The river here has, except at high Nile, almost deserted its


Sect. V.] eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 325
ancient course beneath the mountains, and takes a considerable bend
to the W. Near the S. end of the old channel is the site of Antinoe,
or Antinobpolis, the few ruins of which still existing lie among the
magnificent palm-groves of the modern village of Shikh 'Abdda. It
was built by Hadrian, and called after his favourite Antinoiis; who,
having accompanied him to Egypt, drowned himself in the Nile, with
the idea of securing the happiness of the Emperor (which an oracle had
declared could only be obtained by the sacrifice of what was most dear
to him) ; in commemoration of which Hadrian founded this city near
the spot, and instituted games and sacrifices in his honour.
Enough could be seen of its remains at the beginning of the last
century to show that it was a large and important city, filled with
public buildings worthy of the magnificence and taste of its founder.
Amongst them were a theatre, a triumphal arch, and two streets
flanked by columns, one of which ran from N. to S. towards the
theatre, the other from E. to W. towards the city gate and hippodrome.
Some of the bases of the columns are still visible, as well as the site of
the hippodrome. The monuments of Antinoe, many of them in
scribed, were destroyed and the stones carried to Cairo in 1827 for the
house of the Defterdar Bey at Bftlak, which was afterwards burnt.
What was left was burnt into lime at a later date for building the
sugar factory at Boda. On the N. side of the ruins is a half-buried
temple of Bamses II., the heads of 18 columns of which are visible.
We read upon them the names of Horus and the goddess Iusaas "the
mistress of On."
Antinoe was tbe capital of a nome, called after it the Antinoi'te, to which
Ptolemy says the two Oases were attached. This was one of the new provinces
or departments of Egypt, added at a late period, when Egypt was under the
rule of the Romans, and Heptanomis was then made to signify, or at least to
contain, 8 nomes instead of 7.
The modern name of Antinoe was given it, according to Wansleb, from a
Moslem who was converted to Christianity, and afterwards, under the name of
Ammonius el 'adid ("the Devout"), suffered martyrdom there. It is also
called Ansina or Insina, and Medinet Ontholae, in Coptic Antnou ; and the
old town of Antinoe itself succeeded to one of earlier time, the name of which
is unknown. Abu'lfeda describes it under the name of Ansina, as having
" extensive remains of ancient monuments, and much arable land"; and he
adds : " the Nubian geographer, Edrisi, speaks of it as an ancient city remark
able for the fertility of its land, and said by common report to be the city of
the magicians, who were sent for thence by Pharaoh."
(W.) At Roda, 178 m. (P. O., T. 0., Bly. Stat.), a town of 5000 in
habitants opposite the remains of Antinoe, is one of the largest sugar
factories on the Nile, well worthy of a visit. Close to them is a palace
of the Khedive, now used as a school.
(E.) A short distance to the S. of Antinoe are some crude-brick
ruins called Medina, "the City"; probably from the village having
succeeded to, or being peopled from, Antinoe. The modern peasants
believe them to be ancient. They appear to be wholly of Christian
time ; and though now deserted, the houses in many parts are nearly
entire. Beyond these again is a modern Christian village (on a tell),
called ed-Der, or Der Abu Honnes, "the Convent of Father John" ;
where stones of a temple of Bamses II. have been found ; and near the
summit pf the hill behind it, S, of the village, and to the N, of th§


326 eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. [Sect. V.
nearest ravine, is a very ancient church or chapel, in one of the exten
sive quarries with which it is honeycombed. On the walls are painted
several subjects from the New Testament, as Herod(HPU)THC)ordering
the slaughter of the Tnnocents, the Flight into Egypt, Elisabeth
("Elissa") and Zacharias, and on the side wall numerous saints, with
their names written over them. In one of two adjoining chapels in
the same quarry are the marriage in Cana (in which the Saviour uses
a wand while turning the water into wine) ; the raising of Lazarus
(treated in the same way as on a tomb of one of the exarchs at Bavenna) ;
the meeting of Mary and Elisabeth ; and other subjects: They are by
a better hand than those of the other chapel, though of the same date.
The walls and ceilings are covered with Coptic and Greek graffiti (and
one Ethiopic), among them being an extract from " a homily of St.
Gregory of Nyssa. Some of the saints here represented are (like " St.
Damianus") of the 6th century. From not having been altered by
later occupants, these rock-churches have an interest which the under
ground church at Abii Honnes itself has ceased to have, though it has
the reputation of dating from the time of the Empress Helena, the
mother of Constantine. Besides the triple church already described
there are numerous other monuments of the early Christian period in
the quarries. They were first the homes of anchorites, whose inscrip
tions, in Greek, are cut on stones outside the cells in which they had
lived. Thus we have "Anba Victor rested in the Lord God the 20th of
Mesore," " Anba Abraham rested in the Lord God the 16th of Mesore
of the 6th Indiction." The cells subsequently became shrines and
places of pilgrimage, and the ^pilgrims wrote prayers upon the walls for
the intercession of the saints. After passing a second ravine to the S.
we come to another church, in which is an elaborate piece of sculpture
representing a, Maltese cross with flowers, eagles, and clusters of grapes.
On either side is a bilingual inscription (Greek and Coptic) which is as
follows: " Papias the son of Melito, the Isaurian, deceased the 20th
Pharmuthi, the 7th Indiction. He was buried in the holy place of
the venerable Makarios. May the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost
grant rest to his soul in this holy place with peace ! Amen, Emmanuel ! "
A little S. of the triple church are the remains of a tablet, apparently
of tbe XVIH. Dynasty, and S. of the tomb of Papias, oh the summit of
the cliff at the entrance of a quarry at the S.W. corner of the nearest
ravine, is another tablet (defaced in 1889), which stated that the
quarries had been opened in the first year of Amen-hetep III. for the
sake of buildings at Khmunu (Eshmunen). Less than a mile farther
is another convent, or Christian village, called Der en-Nakhlaj" the
Convent of the Palm-tree," or Dir el-Bersha, from the name of the
village of el-Bersha, the ancient Mernefret, 1J m. S.
'(E.) Inland lies the tomb which formerly contained the painting
of "The Colossus on the Sledge." This well-known tomb, which
was discovered by the early travellers Mangles and Irby in 1817, is at
the left hand of the ravine, behind the convent aud village of Der
en-Nakhla, near the top of the hill, and a little way to the right of a
sort of road, which is seen from below running upon the upper part
of the hillside. The following are the bearings, by compass, -of the
prlnoipal objects from its entrance : Antinoe 332*° ; Beramun 2769 (or
6°N, Qf W,); Der en-Nakhla 288°, -| m, ; and el-Bersha 236"; 2m,


Sect. v.J eoute 2-2.— cairo to luxoe, by eivee.- 327
In the grotto, until ,1889, was one of the most - interesting subjects
found in any of the Egyptian tombs ; it is. now almost entirely
destroyed. It represented a colossus on a sledge, which a number of
men are dragging with ropes, one of the few paintings that throw any
light on the method employed by the Egyptians for moving weights.
The tomb was that of Tehutihetep, the son of Kai, a feudal prince
of the Hare nome, and the inscription attached to the picture states
that the colossus was ,13 cubits (over 20 ft.) in height, and had been
cut out of the alabaster quarries of Hat-nub (E. of Tell el-Amarna).
The transport was one of great difficulty, and the Egyptian inhabitants
of all parts of the nome were collected for the work. One hundred and
seventy -two men, in 4 rows of 43 each, pull the ropes attached to a ring
in front of the sledge ; and a blue liquid, perhaps grease, or water, is
poured from a vase by a person standing pn the pedestal of the statue,
in order to facilitate 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. .
Behind the; statue are 4 rows of men, in all 12 in number, repre
senting either the architects and masons, or those who had an employ
ment about the place to which the , statue was to be conveyed. Below
are others, carrying vases, apparently of water, and some machinery
connected with the transport of the statue, followed by task-masters
with their wands of office. 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 simultaneous draught ; and below, him is another man who
strikes in unison the narazdn or cymbals.
The colossus is bound to the sledge by double ropes, tightened by
means of long pegs inserted between them and twisted round until they
were completely braced; and, to prevent injury from the friction of
the ropes, a compress of leather, lead, or other substance 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 companies of men marching in an opposite
direction. They are probably the. reliefs .for dragging the statue.
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 ; and
below this the owner of the tomb is seated under a canopy. Boats, and
other subjects, are figured under the compartment of the colossus ;
and on the opposite wall are an. agricultural scene, potters, a garden
with a vineyard, 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 rof 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 have
fallen in, and in 1889 the paintings were shamefully mutilated.
Tehutihetep lived Under Amen-em-hat II. , Usertsen II. , and Usert
sen IIL, of the XII. Dynasty, and his second son was named Usertsen-
ankh. He was "great chief" or nojnarcb of tbe Hare nome, and his,
tomb-is numbered,2,


328 EOUTE 22. — CAIBO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. L^601- v-
Immediately W. of the Colossus tomb (No. 2) is the tomb (No. 1) of
Tehutinekht, a contemporary of Usertsen I. and nomarch, which has
been much injured by earthquake and quarrying. E. of No. 1 is the
ruined tomb (No. 3) of "the royal scribe " Sep, the son of Uatj-hau-es,
brother of Aha-nekht. Then comes the tomb (No. 4), still more ruined,
of the nomarch Nehera, the son of Kema, and great-great-grandfather
of Tehutihetep, which contains a fragment of a harper's song. Beyond,
to the E., is the tomb (No. 5) of the nomarch Aha-nekht, the governor
of the capital city and prime minister and the son of Tehutinekht.
Tomb 6, of Tehuti-nekht, son of Ankh, is almost entirely destroyed ;
beyond it is the tomb (No. 7) of Nehera, "the high priest of Thoth."
Below No. 5 is a group of 3 small tombs, the easternmost of which
(No. 8) was perfect a few years ago when the inscriptions in it were
copied by Prof. Sayce, but in 1889 it was more than half destroyed. It
records the names of Aha-nekht, the nomarch, and of Aha, "the
steward of the royal Harim." The two adjoining tombs (Nos. 9 and
10) are those of Khnemu(?)-nekht and the nomarch Aha-nekht. E. of
No. 7, round a corner of the path, was a stela dated in the 33rd year of
Thothmes III., which was destroyed in 1889. The large quarry beyond
contains the name of King Nekhtnebf (XXX Dyn.). In the same
quarry are drawings of two crocodiles, one of them accompanied by the
Trochilus bird, as described by Herodotus (II. 68). Below the tomb
of the Colossus are some smaller tombs, most of which belong to the
age of the VI. Dynasty, and in one is the ta-name of an unknown
king Nefer-khau. One of them has been transformed into an early
Christian Church.
The tombs have been published in facsimile in the ' Archa3ological
Survey of Egypt,' vols, iii.-iv.
There are also some tombs along the face of the hill on the S. side
of the ravine, though they are of little consequence. But some of them
are of the age of the VI. Dynasty, and in one the name of Pepi has
been found, though it is no longer visible. In two of them the names
of Ankh and Tehutinekht, the son of Teta, can still be read.
(W.) From Boda the river again makes a great bend, and reaches
on the same bank Bayyadiya, a village inhabited by Copts.
(W.) 2 m. beyond Bayyadiya, and nearly opposite Der en-Nakhla,
is Reramun, 4 m. inland from which is
Ushmunen or Eshmunen (3J m. inland from Roda, s m. from Bayyadiya),
which occupies the site of Hermopolis Magna. The modern name ("Two
Eshmuns) is derived from the Coptic Shmun, the Old Egyptian name being
Khmunu (' Eight, the city being called that of the " Eight "). The dual form
°f.,the Arabic name is due to the fact that the town had a sahil m port on the
Nile Khmunu was the capital of the Hermopolitan or "Hare" nome, and its
presiding god was Thoth. Accordingly it derived its Greek appellation from the
worship of this deity, who was supposed to answer to Hermes. He was the
patron of letters, and the scnbe of the gods ; his office was not less important in
imparting intellectua gifts from the deities to man than in superintending the final
judgment of the soul, and ,n recording the virtuous actions of the dlad when
admitted to the regions of eternal happiness. The modern town stands on the
southern extremity of the mounds, which are of great extent ; and objects of
antiquity are occasionally found by the peasants while removing the nitre In
an old mosque are some white marble columns and other remains of the Roman
period, and on the N, s,de of (he mounds granite columns and limestone


Sect. V.] EOUTE 22.— CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. 329
capitals mark the site of the ancient temple. N. of these are blocks with the
cartouches of Philip ArrhidEeus. This is all that is left of the magnificent
portico (124^ ft. long and 29I ft. wide), with columns 55 ft. high, which was
destroyed by Ibrahim Pasha to build a saltpetre factory. The temple was
usually called the " House of Thoth," and bore a very ancient and probably
mystical appellation also, "the House of the Net" (Het-abet). One of its
pylons bore the name of Meneptah (XIX. Dyn.) The city was of great
importance in Pharaonic times, and underwent a terrible siege in the eighth
cent. B.C., at the hands of the Ethiopian conqueror Piankhi. In Byzantine
and early Arab times Eshmunen was also of great importance. Recently Dr.
Rubensohn has excavated for papyri here for the German Oriental Society.
The tombs of the ancient city lie at the base of the Libyan hills to the west
ward, where numerous ibis-mummies have been buried. The cynocephalous
ape, the attendant of Thoth, is also met with, embalmed and buried in the
same consecrated spot. It is here that the ibis cemetery, the Ibeum, or Nhip
(of the Copts), probably stood ; for it is evident that the position given it
in the Itinerary of Antoninus is incorrect ; and Ibeum, the burying-place of
the sacred birds of Hermopolis, could not have been 24 m. distant to the N. of
that city. Not far from these tombs, about 3 m. W. of Tuna and the Bahr
Yusuf, is a curious sculptured stela, on the nummulite rock of Gebel Tuna,
representing the king Amen-hetep IV. or Khu-en-Aten, with his queen,
worshipping the Sun, which darts forth rays terminating in human hands — a
subject similar to those in the grottoes of Tell el-Amarna. They are accom
panied by two of their daughters, holding sistra, while 3 other daughters
are incised on altars in front of the king and queen. Below the figures are 25
lines of hieroglyphs, much defaced. 2 m. S. (S.W. of K6m el-Ahmar, with
Greek remains) is another stela, called el-Kal'a(" the Citadel "), with 27 lines of
inscription and figures of the king and queen and their two daughters. It was
much injured in 1889. Another (much injured) stela was discovered by Prof.
Petrie more than 6 m. to the S. , and S.W. of Dalgfit or Dilga. Between
here and Dashlut ( 1 hr. S. ) are inscribed tombs in which scarabs of Thothmes
III., bronze figures of Horus, and Greek coins have been found, as well as
mummies of the ibis. S. of this again, W. of Meir, some important sculptured
and inscribed tombs were discovered by Johnson Pasha, from which Greek
papyri have since been derived. They probably represent the cemetery of Kesi,
the modern el-Kusiya. 2 m. S. is another tablet with statues, and 7 m. S. of
that in the desert is a third stela without statues.
[( W. ) From Reramun to the mountain is a ride of about 3! hrs. on donkeys,
at a quick walk ; and Eshmunen is a little more than kalf-way from Reramun
to the Babr Yusuf, which in March has very little water. There is a town 4 m.
W. of Eshmunen, called Tuna or Tunet el-Gebel (" of the Mountain"): in
Coptic, Thoni. Another, called Deriit-Eshmun, ox Der tit en -Nakhl (" of the
Palms"), has the usual mounds of ruined towns, but no remains in stone. It
stands on the E. bank of the Bahr Yusuf, 4 m. S.W. of Eshmunen, and from
its name and position probably occupies the site of the Hermopolitana
Phylake (*vA<uc>i), as Derut esh-Sh.erif (p. 335) does that of the Theban Phylaki.
It is the Terot Shmlln of the Copts.
Abusir, of the South, the Pousiri of the Coptic MSS. , was on the W. of
the Babr Yiisuf, near the Libyan hills. D
(IF".) Mallawi el-Arish, 184 m. (Bly. Stat.), claims the rank of a
town (bender), and has a weekly market. The inhabitants are mainly
Copts. Its mounds probably mark the site of an ancient town.
(E.) Opposite Mallawi is the village of el-Bersha, already men
tioned. A little higher up the river at the projecting corner of the
mountains is a place called Shekh Sa'id (about 1 m. S. of el-Bersha),
bghind and to tb© northward of which are several grot|oes and modern


330 EOUTE 22.  CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. i0130.^ v-
quarries. Some of the former have the usual agricultural and other
scenes, and the various subjects common to tombs. They belong to
the period of the V. and VI. Dynasties. They were explored and
described by Mr. de iGaris Davies for the Arclueological Survey of
Egypt (vol. x.). The most important are (No. 25) of the prince and priest
of King Ne-user-Ba, Uerarna, which was apparently decorated by the
artist of the tomb of Khunes at Zawiyet el-Mayitin (p. 315) ; (20) Meru
Beba, chief of the palaces of Teta and Pepi ; (21) the Prince Uau sur-
named Yiu. That of the lady Henenet and Meru (18) is in the most
picturesque position; that of Serfka, father of the before-mentioned
Uerarna, and priest of the kings Userkaf and Khufu (24), is the most
ancient. An interesting point with regard to these tombs is the fact
that as the resting-places of the most ancient princes of the Hare-nome
they were regarded with special reverence by the chiefs of later days,
under the XI. and XII. Dynasties, who were buried at el-Bersha.
Tehutinekht the nomarch, son of Teta, put up a commemorative
inscription in several of the tombs, as also did the Prince Aha. We
find in them specimens of the false doors and architectural' ornaments
found at the tombs near the pyramids, and some figures in relief.
Before several of the grottoes are crude-brick walls, built when inhabited
by the Christians, who converted one of them into a church, cutting a
circular niche into the rock opposite the entrance. The 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
S. of the modern village of Tell el-Amarna. At Shekh Sa'id a bouhdary-
stela of Khu-n-aten was discovered by Mr. Davies. This is the most
northerly boundary of the royal territory of Tell el-Amarna on the
E. bank. S. of the corner of Gebel Shekh Sa'id, and below a tomb (without
sculptures or inscriptions), are the extensive ruins of a city, which ,
seems to have preceded that of Tell el-Amarna. Pottery of the
XVIII. Dynasty has been found on its site, as well as fragments of
wine-jars inscribed with the name of Khu-n-Aten. The city lasted
down to Boman times.
On the summit of. the same plateau, 12 m. E. of Derfit, and 5 m.
S.E. of Khu-en-Aten's tomb (p. 335), is the celebrated alabaster quarry
of Hat-nub ; it is the same quarry to which Una was sent to fetch the
altar for his sovereign's pyramid. There can be no doubt about it, as
the name Hat-nub is found inscribed in 5 different places. Cartouches
and short records of the following kings are also to be seen : Khufu
(IV. Dyn.), Pepi Mer-en-Ba, and Pepi II. (VI. Dyn.), and mention is
made of the 30th or jubilee year of Usertsen I. (XII. Dyn.). A road
10 paces broad, cut in the rock, leads into the quarry, and on the rt.
side are small niches, once apparently holding tablets or inscriptions.
There is a much smaller quarry near that of Hat-nub, containing the
cartouches of Amenemhat II. and Usertsen III. (XII. Dyn.).
(E.) Hagg- Kandil, 192 m., Bly., P. 0. and T. Stat, at Dir Maw&s
on the W. bank not far from tbe river. This is usually the best place
at which to disembark for paying a, visit to the ruined palace, , and
rock-cut tonjbs of Tell el-Amarna, about 3| m, distant from the river,"


Sect. V.] EOUTE 22. — CAIRO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. 331
Ruins of Tell el-Amarna.
, , [Donkeys bad. The steamers do not allow sufficient time to see the tpmbs ¦
the railway traveller, however, is bound by no such restrictions, and can spend here
as much time as he pleases. Historically, Tell el-Amarna is one of the most
interesting places in Egypt, and should not on any account be missed by those
who are interested in the history of the development of human civilisation and
religious and philosophic thought.]
The plain of Tell el-Amarna forms a break in the long chain of the
Arabian hills which extends from opposite Mallawi to Ma'abda (p. 338).
It is, about 6 m. long by 3 broad. Its name is derived from a Bedawi
tribe, the Beni Amran, who settled here, and occupied the villages of
et-Tell, Hagg Kandil, el-Hawata and two others. The whole are known
as the villages of el-Amarna ; et-Tell being the Tell el-Amarna proper.
The extensive ruins lying in the plain behind Hagg Kandil and the
rock-cut tombs in the hills are all that is now left of the city built by
Khu-n-Aten (XVIII. Dyn.), and called by him Akhut-Aten, " the
horizon or resting-place of the sun's disk." Amen-hetep IV. (Khu-n-
Aten) revolted from the worship of Amen-Ba at Thebes and endeavoured
to bring in a purer and more spiritual form of religion. Finding this
impossible in the priest-ridden capital of his kingdom, he quitted Thebes
and retired to this spot on the open plain, which was in the Hermo-
politan nome. Here he built his new capital, with a palace and temple
dedicated to a form of the god Harmachis, the " Aten," or sun's disk,
which he regarded as the only existing visible sign of the existence of
the Deity, "the Lord of the Disk," whose glory shone through it. A
special territory was marked out by boundary-stelfe, the northernmost
of which have already been mentioned, within which the king and his
court lived and the royal reformer was free to carry out his heretical
schemes. It formed a sort of Pharaonic Utopia, or better, perhaps,
Laputa, an enchanted island in which the king and his philosophers
and. artists could pursue their ideas without troubling themselves about
the profane world without. A reform in social matters as well as in
art went along with the reform in religion, and it is interesting to
notice — specially on the painted pavement in the palace — how the
artists of that period strove to break away from the old hieratic canon
into a nearer approach to nature. But the new religion and art died
with the royal genius who had inspired them, and the city of the
philosophers did not long survive. The court returned to Thebes, and
after only half a century of prosperity, Akhut-Aten was entirely aban
doned, and has never since been the site of a city. Its remains have
never been disturbed, and all the antiquities found here are of the time
of Khu-n-Aten, and of no later date ; the roads, too, which he made may.
still be seen radiating in all directions over the sun-baked plain at the
foot of the tomb-cliffs : — ¦
"They say the Lion and the Lizard keep
The Courts where Jamslty'd gloried and drank deep ;
And Bahram, that great hunter — the Wild Ass
Stamps o'er his Head, and he lies fast asleep."
(Fitzgerald — ' Omar Khayyam.')
The king lay buried in the hills not far from the city which he had
created, but his body was not allowed to rest there many centuries.
It wag undisturbed by tbe reactionaries jn their triumph but. was.


332 EOUTE 22.— CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY eivee. [Sect. V.
removed to Thebes when all the royal mummies were collected for
safety by the princes of the XXI. Dynasty. .
The Ruins of the City lie about 1J m. S. of the landing-place, and
the ground plan as well as the streets and ruined houses may be traced
without "difficulty. The temple lay to the N. of the city and was
Quadrangular ; adjoining it on the S.W. side was the Boyal Palace. It
had been gorgeously decorated with inlaid work as well as wiftpjmtaj
and sculpture. Several of the rooms contained beautiful Pavements
of oainted stucco work, of which four are still m a state of fair
pLsWrion. In thlt of'the hall of the harim we can distinctly see
where repairs have been made in ancient times.
A small house has been erected over these pavements m order to
preserve them, and is called by the Arabs d-Kenisa, or the church
(key with the ghafir, who lives at et-Tell). The first pavement be onged
evidently to the hall of the harim, the roof of which was supported by
twelve pillars. A band of fresco, representing Asiatics and the nine
bows " emblematic of the hereditary enemies of Egypt, divides it into
two portions. In each of these is represented a rectangular pond, in
which may be seen fish and water plants, while birds and animals
disport themselves in the tangle of marsh plants growing round the
sides. Bouquets of flowers and painted vases form a complete border.
The second room contains also a very fine pavement, divided like that
in the harim into two sections, and also representing a pond full of
marsh life. Notice the admirably drawn calf frisking about, and the
wounded wild duck falling through the air. The roof of this hall was
supported by sixteen columns; the bases of four of which are still
in situ. A few architectural fragments are also preserved in the second
° e' of the palace lay the "House of tlie Royal Rolls," otherwise the
Foreign Office of the city. Here were discovered, in 1887, 300 clay
tablets inscribed with the cuneiform characters of Babylonia (now
mostly in the museums of London and Berlin). They proved to be
despatches and letters from the kings of Babylon, Assyria, Mitanni,
and Cappadocia, as well as from the Egyptian governors in Jerusalem,
Canaan, Phoenicia, and Syria. They throw a flood of light upon the
life and manners of Egypt, Western Asia, and Babylonia in the fif
teenth cent. B.C. It is evident that at this time Canaan was governed
by the Egyptians ; and some of the most interesting of the letters are
those sent from Abdkhiba, the vassal king of Jerusalem. Some of the
correspondence is addressed to Amen-hetep III., the father of Khu-n-
Aten, and must have been removed from Thebes when the capital was
transferred to the northern city. Among the royal letter writers are
Burraburyash, king of Babylonia, who applies to the Pharaoh for gold,
and Dushratta, of Mitanni, who wishes to ally his family in marriage,
with the Pharaoh.
Most of the despatches from the Palestinian princes and governors
are urgent appeals to the secluded and unpractical king for help if he
wished to save his empire from the attacks of the peoples of Northern
Syria ; Khu-n-Aten was, however, too busy with his philosophers and
artists to trouble about so mundane a thing as his empire, which
accordingly fell temporarily to pieces, to be put together again, however,
more or less successfully by the conservative reactionaries after his
death, The whole story is an example of the disorganisation anij


Sect, V.J EOuTe 22. — caieo To lUxOe, by EiveE. 333
confiision which, pace Plato, generally come about when a philosopher
rules. The Northern Tombs lie about 1£ m. from the palace, and are in
plan the same as those of the XVIII. Dynasty found at Thebes. They
are numbered in black figures running from N. to S. (Key with the
ghafir, who lives at et-Tell).
No. I is that of Huia, the treasurer to the queen-mother, and over
seer of the king's harim. He is shown praying, in the entrance. The
king , and queen seated, with two princesses below them, are also
depicted, with the Aten rays ending in hands extended towards them.
They are surrounded by soldiers, servants, musicians, &c. On right end
wall is shown the temple of the Aten with large altar, a colonnaded
court, and statues ; on the right-hand side the king, escorted by his
guards, conducts his mother to her palace. On left end wall is a
representation of the king being carried shoulder-high to the temple.
The sculptor Anta is also depicted superintending the sculpture of the
statue of Queen Tii. The mummy shaft is in the side chamber to the
rt. The serddb still contains in the recess the mutilated sitting figure
of the deceased.
In this as in the other tombs the realism, practically amounting to
caricature, with which the ungainly figure and peculiar physiognomy
of the king are depicted, is very remarkable.
No. 2, of Merira, which is unfinished, contains representations of
royal life, the king presenting gifts from the palace balcony to a man
and a woman, processions of captives, &c. This tomb was under con
struction during the reign of Smenkh-ka-Ba, the son-in-law and
successor of Khu-n-Aten, who adhered to the Aten heresy.
No. 3 belongs to Aahmes, the "royal fan-bearer" on the right hand
of the king. It contains a hymn to the Sun, and the usual representa
tions of king and courtiers.
No. 4, that of Meri-Ra, high priest of the Aten, is the most
interesting. It has an imposing facade, nearly 100 ft. long, with a
doorway in the centre with a cornice above and sculptured jambs. One
passes through a vestibule into a spacious hall once supported by four
columns in the well-knowu of papyrus-stems bound together ; only two
columns, those on the right, now remain. From this a well-propor
tioned door leads into a somewhat larger chamber, unfinished, which
was to have had four columns like the first. The niche for the statue
of the deceased, at the far end, is only roughly blocked out. The
scenes on the walls of the tomb represent chiefly the honours paid to
Meri-Ba by the king and queen. On entrance wall are seen the king and
queen distributing gifts from the palace window. On the left wall of
the second chamber Khu-n-Aten is seen in his chariot driving from his
palace to the temple, attended by his guards ; the way is cleared for him
by soldiers and standard-bearers. Behind him come the queen and
princesses, also in chariots, and attended by a mixed multitude in
chariots and on foot. On right wall Meri-Ba may be seen being invested
with golden ornaments, the gifts of the king and queen, who are present.
A well-known scene on this wall (E. side) is that of the blind choir of
harpists and singers, who are celebrating the coming of the royal party
to the temple, of which a detailed plan is also represented.


334 EOUTE 22.— CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. Lotsou.--*..
No. S is that of Pentu, a. physician.
No. 6 that of Pa-Nehesi, "the Negro," contains representations
of palace' life. On the rt. is a flight of steps leading down, to the
mummy chamber. This tomb was converted into a church in Christian
times, and an apse-like recess can be seen on the rear wall.
These tombs were inhabited by Copts in the early centuries of
Moslem domination, and remains of their stone outer buildings, &c,
may be seen all along the ridge.
The Southern Tombs are about 3 m. S. There are eighteen opened,
but of these only a few are worth visiting. (Ghafir of southern tombs
and Khu-n-Aten's tomb lives at Hagg Kandil.)
Beginning at the N. end is No. 7, the tomb of Ai, who is repre
sented as being loaded with necklaces by his royal patrons, as a reward
for the rich tribute he has brought them.
No. 8 is the unfinished tomb of Tutu. On the doorposts is the
deceased praying. On the rt. of the doorway is a hymn to the Sun ;
on the 1. the king and queen offer sacrifice to the Aten. Out of the
main chamber, the ceiling of which was once supported by twelve
pillars in two rows, is the sarcophagus chamber.
No. 9 belongs to Mahu, the superintendent of the police. Notice
in the entrance the king with a censer, the queen and the princess
Mekt-Aten with sistra adoring the Aten. Below is Mahu kneeling;
his prayer is inscribed on the wall in front of him. In the main
chamber are representations of the deceased bringing captives, while
soldiers and servants are in attendance. The king again appears.
No. 10 is the unfinished tomb of Api. It is noticeable for its good
workmanship, and contains a hymn to the Sun-god.
No. II is that of Rames, the chamberlain of Amen-hetep III. The
recess contains seated statues of deceased and his wife. There are the
usual scenes from palace life.
No. 12, of Nekht -pa-Aten, and No. 13, of Hor-se-Kheper, are both
unfinished. Notice the method emploj'ed in hollowing Out these tombs.
No. 14 belonged to a " fan bearer on the king's right hand," whose
name is everywhere erased. The tomb is unfinished. Notice the black
outline drawing of the subjects intended to have been worked out on
the right-hand entrance wall.
Tomb 23 is that of Ani, the royal scribe and, steward. The scenes
are painted on thin stucco, and are now much faded. There is a
colossal statue of the deceased in the recess. The characters . of, the
inscription are inlaid in a peculiar way.
No. 25 is the tomb intended for Ai, the priest and "fan. bearer on
the right hand of the king," and probably his son-in-law and successor.
It is unfinished, owing possibly to the death of the king and the
removal of the court to Thebes. The actual burial-place of Ai is in the
western valley of the Tombs of the Kings (see p. 459). On the walls
the king, queen, and princesses may be seen invoking the sun, while
below them are Ai and his wife. There is also a representation of the
bestowing of royal gifts upon this favoured courtier in the presence of. a
multitude of retainers, &c. ,,. 1
Some of the sculptures have been left unfinished, and it will be
observed that as a rule the royal names have been chiselled out. Fiyfi


Sect. V.] EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. 335
cartouches were in use in Khu-n-Aten's time— two. containing the
nomen and prenomen of the king; one that of his queen; and the
two others, which are of larger size, the titles of the god.
The ravine in which the supposed Tomb of Khu-n-Aten (ghafir at
Hagg Kandil) is situated lies about 9 m. in an easterly direction from the
river, and opens into the plain between the N. and S. groups of tombs.
The royal sepulchre is unfortunately much mutilated, but is well worth
a visit. The entrance is approached by a flight of twenty steps, in the
centre' of which is a sloping plane for the conveyance of the coffin.
From this leads a sloping corridor, at the end of which sixteen steps
open on to an ante-chamber, where there is a filled-in shaft. The
Tomb Chamber, in which the sarcophagus was placed, adjoins. In
returning the traveller will find to the left of the shorter flight of steps
three rooms, two of which are decorated ; they were probably the tomb
of the princess Mekt Aten. The first room contains the usual scenes
of the king and queen offering gifts to the Aten, accompanied by
courtiers, captives, &c. ; in the third room is depicted the mourning
of the royal family around the mummy of the deceased princess — her
nurse stands at the foot of the bier. Passing along the corridor and
about half way down it on the left is a long sloping passage, but this
only leads to an unfinished chamber.
At the back of the cliff-ridge in which the northern group of .tombs
were excavated, is an interesting bifurcating wadi (opening into the
plain between the northernmost tomb (6) and the hills of Shekh Sa'id),
in which the denudation of the limestone may be noted. In one place
the floor of the wadi and the hillsides are powdered with innumerable
spherical boulders like giants' bowls. On the ridge itself is a prehistoric
dolmen .
(W.) Nearly opposite el-Hawata (where the southern boundaries
of Akhut-Aten are met with) inland, is Tanuf, whose lofty mounds
mark the site of Tanis- Superior, in Coptic Tli&ni. It has no ruins. A
short distance to the W. of it runs the Bahr Yiisuf, or Menhi, which
conveys the water of the Nile to the interior of tbe western plain,
passing by Behnesa, and thence by a lateral branch into the Fayyum.
(W.) About 2 m. to the S. of Tanuf is Derut esh-Sherif (Bly. Stat.,
P. 0. and T. O. near the river), in Coptic TerOt-n-shOons, which probably
occupies the site of the Thebaica Phylaki (ftroXaich), or Theban castle ;
a fortified place at the frontier of the Thebaid, where duties wero levied
on goods exported from that part of the country to Lower Egypt.
Strabo tells us the canal to Tanis passed by that castle. At Deriit are
a few mounds and some fragments of stone, but no ruins. Behind
Derut, on the borders of the desert, are the mounds of the village of
Bawit, which cover the remains of the ancient Coptic monastery of
St. Apollo, which were excavated by M. Jean Cledat for the French
school in Cairo in 1901-2. Many remarkable frescoes and other
examples of Egyptian Byzantine' art were discovered, besides inscrip
tions' (see 'Le Monastere et la Necropole de Baouit,' by M. Cledat,
twelfth volume of the Memoires de Vlnstitut Frant;ais du Caire). The
plan of the monastery, with its numerous small chapels, and the details
of the walls, windows, &c, are interesting. A few miles higher up the
Nile is the mouth of the Bahr Yiisuf.
(E.) On the eastern bank are the first DOm-trees, called also Theban


336 eoute 22. — caieO tO luxoe, by EiVeE. [beet. V,
palms, since they are not found in Lower Egypt, except in gardens^ as
at Minia and a few other places. Their dry fibrous fruit, when ripe,
exactly resembles our ginger-bread in flavour, and is eaten by the
peasants. It contains an extremely hard nutj which has been used by
the carpenters of ancient and modern Egypt for the sockets of their
drills ; before the fruit ripens it is a horn-like substance, which 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 withilarge fan-shaped leaves,
at the base of which the fruit grows.
In the Gebel el-Hawata, above the village of Ed-Dir, are some
small tombs with Greek inscriptions over the lintels. The large tomb
to the N. is uninscribed. Nearly 2 m. S., where the mountain takes
the name of Gebel Abu Feda (or Foda), is the Coptic village of Der
el-Amarna or Der el-Kuser, a corruption of the ancient name Kesora,
as we learn from an inscription in the neighbouring quarry. This
quarry, S. of the Der, and above the ruins of an ancient city, which
may be the Pescla of the Itinerary (24 Boman m. S. of Antinoe), is
approached by a winding road cut through the rock, and provided with
about 80 steps as well as seats for pilgrims. In the quarry is a hiero
glyphic stela containing the cartouches of Tiberius, and dedicated to
Thoth, Horus, and Hathor. The numerous Greek graffiti surrounding
it show that here was a shrine of Hathor, the goddess of Cusse on the
opposite bank, who was identified with the Greek Aphrodite Urania.
One of them is dated in the 6th year of Caligula, another in the 4th
year of Nero, and the name of Strabo also occurs. The shrine was
afterwards replaced by a church long since destroyed. On the S. side
of the wadi between the quarry and the Der is an old tomb with a few
hieroglyphs. (W.) Opposite El-Kuser is Nezlet (or Nazali) Gdnub (rly. stat.).
The river now makes a considerable bend, and approaches a fine
precipitous range of cliffs, which rise up sheer from the water's edge.
(E.) Gebel Abu Feda (or Foda), 212 m., is the name of these bluffs
which bound the E. bank of the river for some 10 or 12 m. Sudden
gusts of wind from the mountain often render great precaution neces
sary in sailing beneath them, and many accidents have happened in
this part of the river. The recesses in the rocks are the resort of
numerous cormorants and wild duck ; but, being generally very timid,
they are not easily approached, and a single shot disturbs them for a
great distance.
[In a wadi not far N. of the point where the cliffs turn off from the river were
the mounds of an ancient town called El-Khurayyib ("the Ruins"), with
grottoes and tombs containing dog and cat mummies. The town stood at the
mouth of a ravine, which after heavy rain pours a stream of water through its
centre. Until lately many of the walls were still standing, and some of the arches
within the houses were well preserved. These buildings were of a late Roman
or Christian time. But the bricks were mostly ancient, and the Christians may
have succeeded to the old town, vestiges of which still remain amidst the later
buildings. On the S. 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,
were in curved lines, like the enclosure of the temple at Thebes called Der el-


beet. V.J EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. 337
Medina, or the walls of El-Kab. Many of them were of considerable height,
and in some places the arched windows remained, even of the upper stories." In
several of the grottoes up the ravine to the N. E. are found human bones, and
the mummied bodies of dogs, jackals, cats, and apparently of the wild cat.
One of them has the Egyptian cornice, and in another are some demotic
inscriptions. On the N. side of the west wadi is the Coptic monastery of Der
Todros, and i m. S. of it some cartouches of Seti II. were discovered, which,
however, have lately been destroyed by the quarrymen. Still farther S. is an
old burial-ground of the Roman period, the tombs being built of crude-brick and
piled one upon the other. The tombs in the cliff above are without inscriptions. ]
(JV.) About 1J m. inland is Kusiya, the ancient Cusce, Chusce, or
Chusis ; in Coptic Kos-koo. According to the Greeks, Aphrodite
Urania was the deity of the place; and iElian reports that a sacred
cow was there worshipped, which is perfectly consistent with the
character of the Egyptian Hathor, of whom that animal was an
emblem. His words are, "It is a small but elegant town in the Her-
mopolite nome, where they worship Aphrodite, called Urania (the
heavenly), and also a cow." The Old Egyptian name of the city was
Kesi. N.W. of Kusiya is Meir, where a few years ago some Middle
Empire tombs were discovered and opened, yielding fine tomb-furni
ture, including the two models of Egyptian and Nubian bands of
soldiers, now in the museum at Cairo. The Grseco-Boman necropolis
of Cusa?, close to Meir, has also yielded antiquities, including mummies
with painted plaster heads acting as face-masks.
The Nile in this part of Egypt once rose to the height of 21 ft.,
judging from the highest mark made by the water on the cliffs of
Gebel Abu Feda, which rise abruptly from the river.
(E.) About 3 m. above el-Khurayyib, and beyond where the river
turns away from beneath the cliffs, is an old convent called Der el-
Bdkara, "of the Pulley." The name is common to many of these
monastic retreats, being derived from the custom of barricading the
doors and raising everything they required by a "pulley" as at Der
Antonios and Der Bolos in the eastern desert. Near the convent are
the ruins of another old town, and some quarries and tombs of the
Boman period. In one of the tombs is a painting representing the
corpse on a bier attended by Nephthys and Anubis, and accompanied
by three Greek inscriptions recording the names, lineage, and ages of
three persons. On the face of the cliff S. of the old town is a stela
representing a table of offerings. A portion of the Gisr el-'Agiiz
appears near this old town, which may possibly lay claim to the site
of Hierakon, though the distances in the Itinerary do not quite agree
with its position.
The Nile formerly ran beneath the cliffs for some distance farther
S., but it has now left them and bends away considerably to the W.
(W.) Between D&rfit esh-Sherlf and Monfalut, on the W. bank, is
the site of an old town, called in Coptic Manlau, whose Arabic name,
according to the MSS., is Mdwda el-Ashia; and between this last and
Mankabad (p. 339) mention is made of Mantout, the successor of a town
of the same name, in Coptic Manthut. Near the point where the river
turns eastward is Damanhilr, of the south, in Old Egyptian Dema-n-Hor,
" city of Horus."
(W.) Monfalut, 222 m. (P. 0. and T. O. \ hr.'s walk from river;
Bly. Stat.; Pop. 15,200), in Coptic Manbalot,\.is a bender or market- z


338 EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. [OeCt. V.
town, and a place of some importance. It is of considerable size, with
the usual bazaar, and a market, at which meat and other things can be
easily obtained. It has a governor's palace, and outside the walls are
several gardens.
There is reason to believe that an Old Egyptian town stood here in former
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 the 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 Egypt. Its
modern name is evidently taken from the Coptic, which Champollion supposes
to signify the "place of wild asses" ; but the modern Egyptians, with their
usual disposition to connect everything with persons mentioned in the Kuran,
have decided it to be the " place of exile of Lot." Abti'lfeda describes Monfalut
" on the bank of the Nile," but in Pococke's time it stood a mile from the
river, which then ran nearer the hills of Gebel Abu Feda. After that period
the Nile gradually encroached on the western shore, and threatened to wash
the town away. The river has again gone to the E. , the town is left far
inland, and is in no danger. For a short time during high Nile the river
extends up to the town, having thrown up a deposit of hundreds of acres, which
is covered for a short time when the water is at its highest, but the water soon
subsides, and this river ground is cultivated.
(E.) On the summit of the rocks of Gebel Abii Feda, near their
southern end, are the caverns of Ma'abda, where are the Crocodile
Mummy Pits. Those who wish to visit them must stop at Shekalkil,
and take from thence donkeys, guide, lights, and a ball of thread.
The ride is fatiguing (3J m.), first to the cliff, and then over the top
of it for a long distance. The entrance to the caves is through a small -
natural fissure in the rock. The visitor is first lowered 12 ft. deep
into a sort of chamber, and then has to force his way into a succes
sion of other chambers, through passages just large enough to crawl
through. The caverns were thoroughly explored in 1885 by Dr. E.
Lansing, and found to contain nothing but the charred remains of the
crocodile mummies. Some years ago the mummies were accidentally
set on fire by a party of tourists who never emerged again from the
caves. The fragments of the Iliad, procured by Mr. Harris, were
found in these caverns, in the hands of a human mummy.
( W. ) Beni 'Adi, a village at the edge of the Libyan desert, was the scene
of a fight between the French army under Gen. Desaix and the Arabs in 1798,
and was the headquarters of the Nizam, or disciplined troops of Mohammed Ali,
previous to their despatch to the Morea to assist the Turks in subduing the
Greek Insurrection (1826). It is a point of departure for the Oasis of Dakhla.
(E.) In Wadi Bula, at the southern corner of Gebel Abii Feda, on
the E. bank, are some old quarries and grottoes. Here the road from
Tell el-Amarna over Gebel Abii Feda rejoins the valley of the Nile, and
those travelling by land avoid a great ditour by following this moun
tain-pass. The rock-tombs in the corner of the hill behind Beni
Mohammed el-Kofiir (1J hrs. from the Convent of el-Gebrawi, but
donkeys can best be obtained at Ebnilb, 3 hrs. from the tombs) have
some interesting paintings of agricultural and other scenes of the early
time of Pepi II. (Nefer-ka-Ba) of tbe VI. Dynasty. Among the many
subjects are some curious boats ; also trades and various subjects.
The principal tomb of Der el-Gebrawi is that which was made by


Sect. V.] eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 339
Tjau for his father Tjau, and in which he himself was afterwards
¦quried. The father, had been "chief prince," ornomarchof thenomesof
This and Ant^opolis on both sides of the Nile, and Maspero proposes
to see in him the Tjau mentioned in a stela from Abydos, whose
sister was the queen of Pepi I. The son was nomarch only of the
Antsopolite nome (Du-hefi, "Serpent Mountain"). The king Pepi II.
(Nefer-ka-Ba) gave not only the linen for the mummy of the father,
but also the wood for the coffin, though it came from royal estates
which formed the endowment of the pyramid of the king. The
adjoining tomb (to the S.E.) is that of Aba, the nomarch of the Thinite
nome. As he had two sons, Khua and Tjau, he may have been the
father of Tjau I. We learn from the inscriptions that the lion-goddess
Maita was worshipped in the district. About 1 m. to the N.W. are
some more tombs, which however are much injured ; one of them was
that of Khata, "the Governor of the South," and the owner of another
was "the Governor of Ament," the 3rd nome of Lower Egypt. Theje
tombs have been published for the Archceological Survey of Egypt by
Mr. N. de G. Davies. An interesting point in connection with these
tombs is the fact that some of the scenes in that of Aba were copied
for the decoration of the tomb of a. Theban noble of the same name,
Aba, who. lived in the time of the XXVI. Dynasty, and was buried in
the Asasif at Thebes (see p. 469). It has occasionally been possible to
restore damaged scenes of the older tomb by the copies in that of the
Theban Aba.
To the S., behind Der el-Gedidiya (2J hrs. S.W. of Ebniib), is a
rock-tomb with sculptures and inscriptions, and in the desert below,
a cemetery of the age of the XVIII. aud XIX. Dynasties was dis
covered in 1895. The god worshipped in the locality was Hor-pes, of
the Antteopolite nome, and the temple was called Nebes.
[At the Convent of Der el-Gebrawi, or Mari Bokti (St. Victor), in the plain
below the tomb of Tjau, Mr. Harris found a Greek inscription of the time of
Diocletian and Maximian, mentioning the dedication of the camp of the ist
PriKtorian cohort of Lusitanians to Zeus, Heraldes, and Victory. On the desert
plain between the convent and the hills (which are here called Gebel Marag) is
an ancient square crude-brick fortress, which appears from the coins found there
to have been used by the Romans, though probably of earlier time ; and at the
convent are some old mounds of a town called Medinet Sinsini. Near Beni
Mohammed el-Kofur may be tbe site of Passalon.
About 6 m. beyond, near the edge of the cultivated land, behind Ebniib el-
Ham&m, are vestiges of the Gisr el-'Agiiz. In the tract of land on the border
of the desert, near the road going towards El-Wasta, is a crude-brick ruin and
the mounds of other small towns, but without any stone remains.]
(W.) The Nile makes several large bends between Monfalut and
Asyiit which often cause considerable delay. After passing Hawatka
(W.) we come to Mankabdd (W.), the successor of an old town called in
Coptic Mankapdt, "the place (manufactory?) of pots," probably from
its manufactory of earthenware ; though, from the great quantity made
in every part of Egypt, it seems unreasonable to apply this name to any
particular town-. Like Kena and Ballas at the present day, Mankabad
may have been noted for a particular kind. Perhaps the modern
pottery industry of Asyiit was transferred thither from Mankabad.
The Asyut Barrage is next passed (see p. [60]). This dam is com
plementary to the great dam at Aswan. It is placed here because this


340 EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY bivee. [Sect. V.
is the point of junction of the great Ibrahimiya Canal with the Nile.
Its duty is to hold up the river level during the spring and summer
months, when the water is low south of the canal, and to deliver into
both the Nile and the canal the flood supply. It is situated about a
mile N. of the town- of Asyiit. It is nearly 3000 ft. long, 41 ft. high,
and the roadway over it is ' 182 ft. 11 in. wide. In appearance it
resembles the Cairo barrage. It was built in the years 1898-1903 by
Messrs. John Aird & Co. Asyut.
(W.) Asyut, * 248 m. (Bly. Stat., a very tolerable Inn, the New
Hotel, E. of Bly. Stat., and a small locanda W. of Stat., both kept by
Greeks. 8 hrs. from Cairo. Population, 42,000), the capital of the
province of the same name, and residence of a Mtidir. It stands at
some distance from the river, but is now connected with its port el-
Hamra by a road and houses in the European style. The Bly. Stat.
and hotel are about midway between the port and the town. Near
the station, in the direction of the native town, is the Post and Tele
graph Office, and a cab and donkey stand is close by.
A branch of the new Native Tribunals has been established at Asyiit.
There is an excellent college and schools for both boys and girls
belonging to the American Mission, which are well worth visiting if
time allows.
Asyiit is of considerable extent, with several bazaars, baths, and
some handsome mosques, one of which is remarkable for its lofty
minaret. It is certainly the largest and best built town of Upper
Egypt ; and its position, with several gardens in the vicinity, is greatly
in its favour. In the town are a few good houses belonging to the
townspeople, but the generality are mere hovels. The streets are
narrow and unpaved, as is the case in all the provincial towns of
Egypt. Some of the Bazaars are little inferior to those of Cairo, and are
well supplied ; and the town is divided into quarters, each closed by a
gate, as at Cairo. On Saturday a market is held, which is frequented
by the people of the neighbouring villages ; and in the bazaars a great
supply of stuffs and various commodities is always kept for sale,
brought from Cairo and other parts of Egypt, as well as from Arabia
and the upper country. The red and black incised pottery of Asyiit is
celebrated, and finds a market all over Egypt ; it can be purchased
here much cheaper than in Cairo. The forms of some of the vases
made of this ware are of very good design. Pipe-bowls of the red
Sifiti ware are in great demand all over Egypt, and all kinds of objects
such as little figures of camels, crocodiles, monkeys, &c, are fashioned
of this peculiar pottery and may be purchased in the bazaars. It
should be borne in mind that the real price of these objects is
extremely low, and not more than a few pence should be given at
Asyut for anything made of Siuti ware; a small vase should cost
about two to five piastres, a pipe-bowl a piastre, and so on. The
dragoman may probably say that these prices are too low, but no
notice should be taken of this, and in the bargaining the seller should
be beaten down relentlessly : nothing should cost more than a shilling
at the utmost. The proprietor of the New Hotel can give information
as to prices.





Fold out





Sect. V.] EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. 341
The public Baths in the Bazaar are worth a visit. The pillars
which support the central dome are of granite, and are probably taken
from some ancient building. The fountain in the centre and the
pavements are of white marble. The whole edifice dates from an
early period in the Arab conquest of Egypt.
The principal native industries are the manufacture of articles in
clay, indigo, dyeing, opium and cotton-picking, &c.
Asyut has succeeded to the ancient Lykopolis, "the City of the
Wolves," so called from its worship of that animal, or of the deity
to whom it was sacred, the wolf-headed Uapuaut, "the opener of
the ways," who was early confused with the dog- or jackal-headed
deity, Anubis of Abydos : both were theriomorphic deities of the dead.
The Coptic name of the city, Si&dt, is the same it bore in ancient
times, as is shown by the hieroglyphs in the tombs, where it is written
Saut. The coins of the Lykopolite nome in the Boman period had
the cognizance of a wolf on their reverse, with the word Xvko. The
Boman town was remarkable only as having been the birth-place of
Plotinus, the Neo-Platonist philosopher (a.d. 205-270).
Little now remains of the old town except extensive mounds, and
a few stone substructions, which are found in digging for the founda
tions of houses, or in cutting trenches on its site.
Rock Tombs. — The Libyan chain advances considerably towards
the E. in this part ; and in the projecting corner of the mountain above
Asyiit are several tombs cut in the limestone rock, the burial-places
of the inhabitants of Lykopolis. Though not containing a great pro
fusion of sculpture, they are of considerable interest from their
antiquity, and some have the names of very old kings. The principal
tomb (No. 1) is called by the common appellation of Stabl 'Antar.
'Antar was an Arab chief, whose legend is popular, and whose name
figures in many other places, as at Beni Hasan (p. 316). The tomb is of
great size, and has an entrance-chamber or porch, open to the air, cut
like the rest in the limestone rock. On the rt. side of the entrance is a
long hieroglyphic inscription, which gives the name of Hap-tjefa, son
of the lady Ad-at I., a priest and grand functionary under the XII.
Dynasty. It is important as containing notices of the intercalary
days of the ancient year, while the inscription of 64 lines on the rt. of
the entrance contains 10 articles from the code of laws regarding the
worship of the dead. On the 1. side (E. wall) are the cartouches of
Usertsen I. The ceiling of this catacomb is vaulted and ornamented
with very elegant devices, which might be taken for Greek patterns if
one did not know that the ceiling was older than Greek art. In an
inner room are sculptures representing 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 festive 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.
The tombs are arranged in successive tiers at different elevations.
They may be visited according to their position, and a road about 4
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 Bomans at a late period. Near the middle of
the ascent is some crude-brick building ; and a square pit lined with


342 EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY eiveb. [Sect. V.
burned brick, very unusual, except in Boman times, with a tablet or
stela above on the rock, much defaced. Some of the small pits ate
very narrow, scarcely broad enough for a man, and they slope gradually,
as if to allow the coffins to slide down into them. Sometimes a tomb
consists of a large chamber with small niches or repositories for the
dead, and in the floor are the usual mummy-pits.
The tomb (No. 3) about half-way up the hill, called "the Soldiers'
Tomb," is that of Tef-ab, the son of Kheti, and in it are represented
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 mentioned by Xenophon in speaking of
the Egyptian troops in the army of Croesus. He says they amounted
to 130,000 men, " carrying bucklers, which covered them from head to
foot, very long spears, and swords called kottIocs " (klvopsh), and each
phalanx was "formed of 10,000 men, 100 each way." Prof. Maspero,
and Mr. F. LI. Griffith (who in 1886-7 made accurate copies of the
remaining inscriptions in the tombs of Asyiit and Der Bifa) have
shown that Kheti and his son Tef-ab lived under the X. (Herakleo
polite) Dynasty, and that Tef-ab describes a victory gained by the
Pharaoh over his rebellious subjects in- the S., who had collected their
forces from Elephantine to Kau. To the rt. of the tomb is No. 4, that
of Kheti II. , the son of Tef-ab, who tells us that he had restored the
King Meri-ka-Ba to his capital, Herakleopolis, from which he had
been driven by an insurrection. The cartouches of the king are on
the N. wall. Tomb No. 5 is that of another Kheti, probably Kheti I.,
the father of Tef-ab. Among other titles, he has that of "prophet of
Anubis " and Maita. No. 2, now destroyed, was the tomb of a Hap-
tjefa, "prophet of Osiris," who was the son of Ai.
The tombs on this mountain, like most others in Egypt, were once
the abode of the Christians, who retired thither, either from persecu
tion, or for the sake of that solitude which suited their austere habits ;
and it was perhaps from one of them that John of Lykopolis 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 Heaven ; and as the
progress of Christianity had silenced the Oracles of Delphi and Dodona,
he consulted an Egyptian monk who possessed, in the opinion of the
age, the gift of miracles and the knowledge of futurity. Eutropius,
one of the favourite eunuchs of the palace of Constantinople, embarked
for Alexandria, from whence he sailed up the Nile as far as the city
of Lykopolis, or of Wolves, in the remote province of Thebais. 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 he had dwelt above fifty 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
regularly opened a small window, and gave audience to the crowd of sup
pliants who successively flowed from every part of the Christian world.
The eunuch of Theodosius approached the window with respectful
steps, proposed his questions concerning the event of the civil war, and
soon returned with a favourable oracle, which animated the courage of
the emperor by the assurance of a bloody but infallible victory."


Sect. V] EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. -343
. .. Oti the N. side of the projecting corner of the mountain are some
limestone-quarries, and a few uninteresting grottoes.
" The View from these hills over the town of Asyiit and the green
plain in the early part of the year is very pretty, the prettiest perhaps
to be seen in Egypt. The brightness of the green is perfectly dazzling,
and of a tint such as probably can be seen nowhere else in the world ;
it stretches away too for miles on either side, "unbroken," as Dean
Stanley so graphically says, " save by the mud villages which here
and there lie in the midst of the verdure, like the marks of a soiled
foot on a rich carpet."
Immediately below the hills on the N. side is the modern Cemetery,
which is of remarkable size, and from the point of view on the hills
where the ancient tombs are, seems almost to rival the city of the
living in extent. The tombs are arranged with considerable taste, and
have a neat and pleasing appearance.
Going to the tomb-hill from the town you pass along a raised dike,
with a bridge over a canal that skirts the cultivated land. The latter
answers the same purpose as the Bahr Yiisuf 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 convenient"
spring mentioned by Michaelis is to be looked for, the credit of which
newly-married brides may often be greatly interested in maintaining.
On the southern corner 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. Coptic inscriptions exist here.
CNear this is a tomb of the XIII. Dynasty, with pictures of chariot-racing
on the walls, now almost destroyed. Farther to the S. (S m. from Asyiit) is the
Coptic monastery of Der er-Rifa, built over some tombs, the inscriptions in
which have been copied and published by Mr. F. LI. Griffith. Two of them
are of the age of the XII. Dynasty (the first being that of Khnem-nefer, son
of Metja, which is used as a dwelling-house),. while the 5 others belong to the
time of tbe XIX. Dynasty. In one of them are the cartouches of Ramses
III., and another, with columns and double-arched roof, belonged to Tutu,
the son of Ra-hetep and captain of the archers. As the tombs are partly
inhabited, it is difficult to see the inscriptions clearly.]
Pliny seems to think that these hills formed the northern boundary
of the Thebaid, since he says, "in Libyco Lycon, ubi montes finiunt
Thebaidem." But this could not be so, as it extended much farther N.
to the Thebaica Phylake.
(W.) At Shotb are the mounds and crude-brick remains of Hypseli,
in Coptic Shdtp, which gave its name to one of the nomes of Egypt.
The Egyptian name was Shas-hetep, the capital of the Hypseli te nome.
Near to Lykopolis was a fort called in Coptic Tgeli, and the village of
Paphor, in the district of Shotp, the sites of which have yet to be
identified. , Other villages beyond Shotb are M&sh and Bariig.
(E.) El-Wasta, on the E. bank, nearly opposite Asyiit, to be dis
tinguished from the el-Wasta of Middle Egypt, is probably the successor
of Contra-Lykopolis, but it has no remains. At the bend of the river
between esh-Shakab and el-Kutiya, on the E. bank, is a shekh's tomb,
and some distance from it, under the, hills, is a, ruin apparently of


344 EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY eivee. [Sect. V.
Christian time. Kutiya, on the W. bank, abounds in sont or Acacia
Nilotica ; and it is a good place for purchasing charcoal, with which it
supplies Asyut. At Matmar, just beyond el-Moti'd (W.), are the mounds
of an old town, by some supposed to be Muthis, a small place to the N.
of Antseopolis. But the distance of Matmar from Kau is too much, and
the position of Muthis given in the Itinerary requires it to have been
near Baina. At the N. of the projecting corner of the mountain,
behind Matmar, is a road called Darb Imau, which crosses this part of
the eastern chain of hills, and rejoins the valley of the Nile by a ravine
near the grottoes of Kau ; and another, called Nakb el-Hosin, leads from
a little above Dir et-Tassa, and descends at the corner of the same
mountain a short way to the W. of the same grottoes. To the E. of
Matmar are quarries of Oriental alabaster, from which columns have
been cut. At el-Khowalid is an XVIII. Dynasty cemetery.
(W.) Abutig, 262 J m., stands on the site of an ancient town on the
W. bank ; and Wansleb mentions Sidfa (or Sitfa) as the successor of
another, about 5 m. to the S. of it. Abutig is the Abutis of Latin
writers, the Apothyki or Tapothyki of the Copts ; which, as Champollion
suggests, is the Greek airodriKr), signifying " granary," adopted by the
Copts. Abu'lfeda says that in his time the poppy was much cultivated
in the vicinity, and it still continues to be grown there. Near the
river, on the S. side of the town, is the upper portion of an obelisk of
Queen Hatshepsu, which must have been brought from Thebes. From
Abutig the course of the river northwards formerly lay more inland to
the W. This is consistent with the position of Selinon, on the opposite
bank (opposite Sherk Selin), to which a canal is said to have led from
the Nile.
(W.) Kus-kam, in Coptic K6s-kam, stands on the W. bank, between
Abiitig and Kau el-Gharbiya. It was called Apollinis Minor Civitas, to
distinguish it from Apollinopolis Magna and Parva, now Edfil and Kits.
At Sidfa is a Bly. Stat.
(E.) Behind el-Beddri, on the E. bank, are some unsculptured
tombs of early time with round lintels. Here was the 12th nome of Upper
Egypt, that of Nut-ent-Bak (" Hawk's Town "), the Greek Hierakonpolis,
where Horus was worshipped under the form of a hawk. The discovery
of the cemetery of the sacred hawks, in the course of cutting a canal
in 1893, has approximately fixed the site of the ancient city. Iseum,
therefore, the " town of Isis," where the 4th ala of British
cavalry was stationed in the Boman period, must have been at Kbm
el-Ahmar close by, where there are a large tell and the remains of an
Egyptian temple. The presence of this garrison of their ancestors in
Egypt will be of interest to Welsh soldiers. Iseum lay between Hiera
konpolis and Muthis. In the cliffs to the E. are numerous tombs, one
only of which is inscribed. It is S. of the group behind Kom el-Ahmar,
in a line with el-Bedari, and belonged to a "royal scribe," whose
name is lost. A mile S., at the corner of the mountain' is Tell
Bayyadiya,, with Coptic remains, and several uninscribed tombs cut in
the rock. Three miles to the S. is
(E.) Rayaina, a pretty-looking village, with groves of palm-trees and
many pigeon-towers. In the hill behind, and close to Nezlet Baydina, are
some very old tombs hewn in the rock, of the same age as those near the
pyramids ; they have the same kind of subjects, and the same round


346 EOUTE 22.— caieo to luxoe, by eivee. [Sect. V.
and killed him. This is one of the most interesting Greek legends
dealing with Egyptian mythology. Antaeus must be regarded as
belonging to Egyptian mythology, although it is very probable that he
was of barbarian origin: the legend made him a Libyan king
M. Golenistchev's suggestion that he was an old local mountain-god
(Eg. ant, "mountain") is very doubtful. He occurs only in _ Boman
times, and tbe representations of him are entirely un-Egyptian in. style.
It is most probable that, like Bes, Beshpu, Anat, and the rest, he was, a
foreign importation, and, in addition, a very late one.
[Inland from Kau el-Kebir is a large lake, where capital goose and duck
shooting may be had in the early part of the year ; but the birds are very
difficult of approach, and if the traveller has a small English boat with him,
he should have it carried to the lake. 3
(W.) Kdu el-Gharbiya, on the opposite bank, has no ruins. It was
the centre of an insurrection in March 1865, which, however, was
promptly quelled, the rebels being shot and hanged, and several villages
destroyed. , ,, , , , . ,
At Tenia is a Bly. Stat. In the cliffs at the end of the dyke which
runs due W. from Tema are tombs.
(,W.) At Meshta, Shabeka, and Shikh Shenedi are the mounds of old
towns ; and inland, opposite Gebel Shekh Haridi, is
(W.) Tahta, 286 m., a large town of 16,300 inhabitants, distinguished
from afar by its extensive mounds, which probably mark the site of the
ancient Hesopis. Bemains of a temple called Hat-Thit (whence the
modern name of Tahta), with the cartouches of a "Cassar," Avihus
Maknes (Magnus ?) have been found here. The landing-place, or Sdhil,
is at the bend of the river, opposite Shekh Haridi. It has several
mosques and a Christian church. There are many Copts here, and the
town is one of the neatest on the Nile. There are good provision and
wine shops, and travellers may 'be able to replenish their stores at
this point in the voyage. The land hereabouts produces abundant
crops of corn, owing to the lowness of the level, and the consequent
length of time that the water of the inundation remains upon its
surface : and an important cattle-market is held outside the town.
(E.) Opposite the Sdhil of Tahta, a little S. of a quarry, the
cartouches of Bamses III. are cut on the face of the cliff, and the
figure of the king (16 ft. high) is represented joining hands with Horus
and Thoth, who offer him the gift of life. Bound the corner of the
mountain to the N., on the N. face of the cliff, are several rock-tombs,
one of which contains an inscription stating that it belonged to a certain
Aha, and in the plain below a large cemetery was discovered in 1893.
(E.) Gebel Shekh Haridi is a projecting part of the eastern chain of
hills, well known for the superstitious belief 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 are attributed to
this worthy successor of the emblem of iEsculapius. The serpent, which
reunites if cut into pieces and punishes insults by slaying the offender
with his fiery breath, is still venerated under the name of Sh&kh
Haridi, and two small kubbas have been built in his honour in a deep
hollow, which is approached by a wild and narrow gorge. The entrance
to- this is on the S. side of the village, and it is well worth a visit.
Every year in the month Shawwal a festival is held in honour of the


Sect. V.] ¦ eoute 22.— caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 347
serpent saint, which lasts for 8 days, and is largely attended, especially
by the Nile boatmen. This is an interesting example of the survival of
ancient popular beliefs in Islam. The local demon has become an
orthodox saint.
(E.) At the S.W. end of the mountain, a little S. of the village, a
steep path leads to some Ptolemaic quarries, through which is a passage
leading down on the other side to the kubbas of " Shekh Haridi." On
the rock are cut the words, iir' a.ya6§, showing that the modern kubbas
have succeeded to an ancient shrine. Farther S. the cartouches of
Apries are cut on the face of the cliff, and still farther S. is
a quarry in which one of the Ptolemies is offering to Min, Horus, and
Isis (?), and in the face of the rock to the S. of this are remains of an
old tomb of the Pyramid period. Farther to the S. are other quarries ;
and "beyond them, towards the S. end of this face of it, is another quarry,
before which are some brick ruins of Christian time. In this quarry are
some tablets, one of which has the name of a Ptolemy (probably
Auletes), and beneath it a long demotic inscription of 11 lines. On the
road which runs at the base of the mountain was a mutilated statue of
a man clad in the Boman toga, now destroyed.
Passalon or Passalos is supposed to have stood near here. It is
placed by Ptolemy in the nome of Antseopolis ; and the boundary
of the districts of Kau and Akhmim, which is still at Baina, may
mark that of the old Antsaopolite and Panopolite nomes.
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. Bound this projecting point to the eastward is a
quarry with Greek drawings, two of which represent scenes from the
IHad. (W.) At Benawwit (or Benawa), on the opposite bank, to the W. of
Mardgha (294 m.), are remains of a temple, with the name of Ptolemy
Alexander, and a bronze figure identifying the serpent-god (' ' Shekh
Haridi ") with Zeus Serapis has been found here, and at BasCrna, about
1J m. S. of Maragha, are some limestone blocks, one with the name of,
a Ptolemy or a Csasar ; another of larger dimensions with the figure of
a king (apparently a Ptolemy) offering to Min, Isis, and other deities.
The chief local deity of the nome (of Panopolis) was Min : it is for this
reason that we find him generally venerated here ; we have entered
the Panopolite nome.
(E.) In the mountains behind Ketkati are one large and numerous small
grottoes (without inscriptions), and the bodies appear to be preserved without
bitumen. There are others again behind Kalfdu ; and at the corner of the
mountain, to the N. of Akhmim, are many of Roman time. In one of them
are two frescoes representing a man and wife, equal to the best from Pompeii.
To the N. of the Roman tombs, high up on the cliff, facing W. , is a large
tomb with a fine front, containing the name of King Ai (XVIII. Dyn.).
- ¦ (W.) Shendawwil (301 m.) has aBly. Stat. Itfu, with a high mound,
lies inland. It was the ancient Aphroditopolis, in Coptic Atbo or Thbd,
in Old Egyptian Thebu. About J m. to the S.W. of Itfu is the Bed
Monastery; and 2J m. to the S.S.E. is the. White Monastery (see
below). The best road to them is from Sfihag, which stands near the
end of the reach of the river below Ekhmim.
(W.) Suhag (correctly Suhak, ordinarily "Sohag"), 310i m. from


348 EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY eivee. [Sect. V.
Cairo (Bly. Stat, and P. 0. close to river ; two locandas — on the river-
bank — Hotel du Nil and Hotel du Thebaid, both dirty), the capital of
the province of Girga, and a well-built and important town of 14,000
inhabitants, with some good houses and mosques, a well-supplied
bazaar and Greek shops. Its mounds show it to have succeeded to an
old town, but there are no stone remains.
Suhag has given its name to a large canal called Tiira, Khalig, or
Moiyat-Siihdg, that takes the water of the Nile into the interior during
the inundation, and is similar in size and purport to the Bahr Yiisuf.
It is this canal which irrigates the plain about Asyut, and the lands to
the S. of Derut esh-Sherif, assisted here and there by lateral canals
from the river. Its entrance is well constructed, being lined with
hewn stone. A gisr, or raised dike, forms the usual communication,
during the high Nile, with the villages in the interior ; and here and
there, on the way to Itfu and the two monasteries, you pass other
smaller canals, all which, as well as the Moiyat-Siihag, are without
water in summer. Several small ponds, also dry at this season,
are passed on the way ; and at the edge of the cultivated land
the peasants sink wells for artificial irrigation : the water of the Nile
filtering through the soil at any distance from the banks, and affording
a constant supply at the then level of the river. In the winter, when
the water still remains in the ponds, very good duck shooting may be
had on the way to the monasteries. " The ornithologist should make
the excursion if he is desirous of obtaining the Egyptian eagle owl
(Bubo ascalaphus), or the brown-necked raven (Corvus umbrinus)."
— Shelley. ( IF.) The White Monastery or Convent (Dir el-Abiad), \ m. from the
river, so called from the stone of which it is built, but better known by the
name of Der Anba-Shenitda, after its founder, stands on the edge of the desert,
and its inmates cultivate a small portion of the land about it, in the capacity
ot fellahin. The monastery is in fact only a Christian village, being inhabited
by .women as well as men, with their families. In former times 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. They have adopted the same precaution
as their brethren at Bibba, in order to secure the building in turbulent times
against the assaults of the Moslems ; and their Christian patron, St. Shenoute
or Shanftda, is, like St. George of Bibba, converted into a Moslem shekh, who
commands the respect of the credulous under the appellation of Shekh Abu
Shenudi. The monastery is built of hewn stones measuring about 3 ft. 3 in.
by 1 ft. 3 in., many of which belonged to ancient buildings of the neighbouring
town of Athribis. The walls enclose a space of about 240 by 130 ft. The
summit of the walls is crowned throughout by a stone cornice, like that of
Egyptian temples, though without the torus, which in Egyptian architecture
separates the cornice from the architrave, or from the face of the wall. On
the exterior of the S. side are square niches, once stuccoed, as was all the
building ; and on the N. are small windows, built up within the old square
niches, which are placed at intervals along all the walls, except on that side
nearest the mountain, which has been added at a later time.
Six doors formerly led into the interior, 5 of which have been closed with
masonry, leaving that alone on the S. side, which is now the only entrance.
This is called the Gate of the Mule, because, according to a legend, when a
certain heathen princess came riding on a mule in order to desecrate the
monastery, the earth opened and swallowed her up as she was passing through
this gate. Over all the doors a projecting wall of brickwork has been built


Sect. V.] eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 349
in order to strengthen them ; doubtless at a time when they were threatened
by an attack from the Arabs or the Mamelukes, on which occasion even the
solitary door now open was closed, and protected in the same manner. Near
the S. door are the fragments of red granite columns and statues. From the
walls project blocks not unlike the gargoyles 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 the
form of its exterior from those edifices, which the builders had been accus
tomed to see in the country, while the architectural details are Byzantine ;
and, judging from the number of columns and the style of the interior, it seems
to have been erected at a time when Christianity was under the special protec
tion of the imperial government, probably in the sixth century. (Shenoute the
founder was born A.n. 333, and died at midday on July 2, 451, at the age of
118. ) 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 guttse.
The church is a basilica with nave and aisles, separated from each other
by a row of about 14 columns, mostly of red granite, with various capitals
of a late time. One of the Corinthian, and another of the Ionic order, appear
to be of a better age. The total breadth of the building inside is 78 ft. At
the E. end is the choir, consisting of 3 semicircular vaulted apses, and before
the central one is a screen with some representations of St. George. Here
are several Coptic inscriptions, in one of which may be read the words
"Athanasius the Patriarch," the rest being much defaced. The half-domes
of the apses are painted with frescoes ; the centre one representing a large
figure of the Saviour seated on his throne with the emblems of the 4 Evangelists
at the side of a sort of vesica that surrounds him. The date of these subjects
is uncertain ; but they are evidently later than the building, its ornaments
being covered by the stucco on which they are painted. There are several
Coptic inscriptions in the church, and one in uncial Greek characters upon a
column to the 1. as you face the central apse. In the court in front of the
church are some granite stelce with illegible Ptolemaic inscriptions, and
one of the stones of the staircase at the S. end of the convent has the cartouche
of Darius. The bodies of St. Bartholomew and Simon the Canaanite are said
to be buried in the monastery. Shenoute himself is said to have been laid to
rest in a tomb in the hills behind.
[The monks are very willing to show the church to visitors, and are thankful for
a little donation.]
On three sides of this building, and at a short distance from it, are the
remains of brickwork, of which the outer wall was built ; and perhaps the
present building was only the church of a monastery formerly attached to it.
Tradition reports that this convent stands on the site of an Egyptian city
called Aledinet Atrlb, and the ruins in its vicinity may be the remains of an old
town ; but the remains of the old Athribis (of the South) or Crocodilopolis stand
about half an hour's ride to the southwards, where a ruined temple and
extensive mounds still mark its site under the name of Medinet Ashish (better
known to the natives as Shekh Hamid). In the midst of mounds of pottery
lie large blocks of limestone, T4 to 15 ft. long, by 3 and 5 ft. thick, the remains
of a temple 200 ft. by 175, facing the S. , and dedicated to the lion-headed
goddess Sekhemet. Over the door was a king offering to Sekhemet, Min,
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 of even a still earlier
date. 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 Hathor, surmounted by a globe containing the sacred 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


350 eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. [Sect. V.
and architraves on temples of the time of the empire, as at Dendera and other
places. On the soffit of the same were the cartouches of Tiberius Claudius
Kaisaros (Caesar) Germanicus (?) ; and on the other side a Greek inscription
accompanied by the cartouches of Claudius Caesar Germanicus.
On the face of the mountain about ^ m. S. of the White Convent are some
rock-tombs, having passages sloping in at an angle of 340 for lowering coffins.
They have scarcely any remains of hieroglyphs, but are of early date. There
are also many tombs of the Roman period, some of which have hieroglyphic
inscriptions. About £ m. beyond the ruins of 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 inscription,
saying that it was "the sepulchre of Hermias, the son of Archibios." It has
the Egyptian cornice and torus. 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 mountain appears to have had the
name in Coptic of Ptoou-n-atrepe, from the neighbouring city. It is here that
Shenute is said to have been buried.
The Red Monastery (Der el-Ahmar), so-called from the brick of which it
is built, but better known by the name of Der Anba. Bishoi, lies i\ m. to the
N. N.W. It is rather older than the White Convent ; but theyare probably
both of a later date than the Empress Helena. Its founder, according to
Wansleb, was a penitent robber, whose club was kept by the monks as a
memorial of his wicked course of life. Bishoi, probably the real founder, was a
disciple of Shenoute. It is built in the same style as the other convent ; its long
fiat walls surmounted by the Egyptian cornice, which is also of stone. Its small
brick windows are pointed and slightly stilted, and are in their construction very
like those in the convents of Old Cairo, added by the early Christians, and in
the mosque of 'Amr. The northern entrance (long since closed) is ornamented
with devices and capitals of Byzantine time, elaborately sculptured. What is
now the church was perhaps originally only the E. end of it, the outer- part then
forming the nave and aisles of this basilica-shaped building. The church
consists of a transverse corridor, and a central and two side apses ; and on
each half-dome is painted a fresco, as at the White Convent. Like other early
Christian churches, it does not stand E. and W. , but 670 E. of N., and that
of the White Convent 590 E. of N. by compass.
At the instance of Mr. Somers Clarke, who drew the attention of the
Government to the growing dilapidation of these two fine monasteries, an
arrangement has been made by which the Government pays half the cost of
the needed repairs, the Coptic patriarch providing the other half. The work
of repair is now (1906) in progress, and the squalid dwellings within the
monasteries have been removed.
In the face of the hill, i£ m. S.W. £ W. from tbe Red Convent, is a
rock-tomb, with a few vestiges of sculpture. It is called Magharet Kafes. An
ancient road leads towards it from near the convent.
(E.) Akhmim, 315 m., stands at a short distance from the river-
bank, nearly 5 m. above Stihag, with P. 0. near the river, and Gov.
dispensary ; antiquity dealers (Sidrak and others). It is a large town
of 28,000 inhabitants, with a bazaar, and a market-day every Wednesday.
Here are made the check cotton shawls with silk fringes, so often worn
by the Nile boatmen. The manufacture, which is carried on in the
private houses, should be inspected.
Akhmim occupies the site of the Greek Khemmis, or Panopolis, in Coptic
Khmin or $hmin (from the name of its tutelary deity Min, identified by the
Greeks with Pan), formerly one of the most considerable cities of the Thebaid.


Sect. V] EOUTE 22'.— CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. 351
In the hieroglyphic texts it is called "Apu, the abode of Min," who in other
inscriptions is entitled the master of Apu. Apu was the chief city of the ninth
nome (Panopolite) of Ancient Egypt. There is a Franciscan convent school
here and two Coptic churches. A great number (8000) of the inhabitants are
Christians. On the side of the town farthest from the river, beyond the present walls,
are the remains of some of the ancient buildings. A long inscription, bearing
the date of the 12th year of the Emperor Trajanus Germanicus Dacicus, points
out the site of the Temple of Pan (i.e. Min); who, as we learn from the
dedication, shares with Sekhemet the honours of the sanctuary. On the soffit
is a circle divided into 12 compartments, probably astronomical ; 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 Abu'lfeda, 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 have
belonged to the temple which Herodotus calls that of Perseus. A few are all
that now remain. Among them have been found the name of Thothmes III.
and the cartouches of Ramses II. , as well as those of Ptolemy XIV. , the brother
of Cleopatra, and the Roman emperor Domitian. Like the Roman quay, these
scanty remains are being fast carried away by the Nile.
According to Strabo, Panopolis was a very ancient city, and the inhabitants
were famous as linen manufacturers and workers in stone ; nor were they, if we
may believe Herodotus, so much prejudiced against the manners of the Greeks
as the rest of the Egyptians. The people of Khemmis, he says, are the only
Egyptians who are not remarkable ' ' for their abhorrence of Greek customs.
Khemmis is a large city of the Thebaid, near Neapolis, where there is a temple
of Perseus, the son of Danae. This temple is of a square form, and surrounded
by palm-trees. It bas stone propyla of considerable size, upon which are two
large statues ; and within the sacred circuit stands the sanctuary, having in it
an image of Perseus. The men of Khemmis affirm that Perseus has frequently
appeared to them on earth, frequently within the sanctuary, and that his sandal
is sometimes found, of two cubits in length, and that when it is found, all Egypt
is prosperous. So they say. They have adopted the following Greek customs
in honour of Perseus ; they celebrate gymnastic games, comprising every sort
of contest, giving as prizes cattle, clothes, and skins. And when I enquired of
them why Perseus was wont to appear only to them, and why they differed
from all the rest of the Egyptians in holding games, they said that Perseus had
sprung from their city, for Danaos and Lynkeus, who had emigrated to Greece,
had been Khemmites ; and, tracing the genealogy down from them, they got
to Perseus : and he, coming to Egypt for the same reason as the Greeks
allege, in order to bring away the Gorgon's head from Libya, came, to them
also, and recognized all his relations ; and that he had learnt the name Of
Khemmis when he came to Egypt, having heard it from his mother ; and that
they celebrated the games in his honour at his own command" (ii. 91). No
origin can be assigned for this very extraordinary tale ; but we have no warrant
for doubting either that Herodotus visited Akhmim or that he has faithfully
recounted the tale as it was told him.
The notion of the great antiquity of Panopolis seems to have been tradition
ally maintained even to the time of the Moslems ; and Leo Africanus considers
it "the oldest city of all Egypt," having, as he supposes, "been founded by
Akhmim, the son pf Misraim, the offspring of Cush, the son of Ham." It
seems- to bave suffered much at the period of the Arab conquest ; and to such
an extent was the fury of the invaders carried against this devoted city that
"nothing 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
fhe river, and used in the embellishment of Menshiya.


352 EOUTE 22.  CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY eivee. [Sect. V.
Nonnus the poet was born at Akhmim A.D. 410 ; and it was here that the
heresiarch Nestorius, who denied the divine motherhood of the Virgin, finally
ended his days, after 16 years' exile, in 447. He was banished first to Petra,
and then, in 435, to the western oasis of el-Kharga, whence he was carried off
by a party of raiding Blemmyes to the Thebaid, where he escaped, and sur
rendered himself to the prefect of Panopolis, to avoid being accused of wilful
flight. Here he died. His theological opponents said that his erring tongue
had been eaten by worms, and that rain never fell on his tomb. So even the
sunny climate of Egypt was made to serve the turn of the odium th£ologicum J
In the cemetery, near the ruins, is the Tomb of Shekh Abtt 'l-Kdsim, the
patron of the town. Boats, ostrich-eggs, and inscriptions are hung up within
it as ex-votos 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. Between 3 and 4 m. to the N. E. of Akhmim is the entrance of the valley
of "El 'Ain," "the Spring" (better known as Wddi Shekh Shekhiin), in
which are a spring of water and Coptic cells in the midst of palms and under
wood. Half-way up the wadi, the scenery of which is very picturesque, is a
large stone, covered with Greek and other inscriptions, among which are the
records of a sporting club and its members who hunted wild animals in the
mountains. Two of the " chief huntsmen " (dpxfcvvij-yot) were Alexikrates and
Messoueris. To the S. of the mouth of the wadi is an old road leading over
the mountains. At its end a modern pass called Nakb el-Koli crosses the
mountains, and descends again into the valley, in the district of Awlad Yahya,
nearly opposite Bardis (p. 356).
E. of Akhmim, beyond the village of Hawaiwish and near two
deserted Coptic monasteries in the low sand-hills, is the ancient
necropolis of Panopolis, discovered by Prof. Maspero in 1884 ; it is
distant about 2 hrs. from the town. The tombs date from the VI.
Dynasty to the Boman period ; that of Tutu, son of Set-Asar, is in a
good state of preservation. A large trade in mummies is done in
Akhmim. The cemetery has been constantly plundered during the past
few years, and has supplied a great quantity of Coptic embroideries,
papyri and many earlier objects. A large number of funerary stelce of
the Ptolemaic period have also been found here ; most of them are in
the British Museum.
The site of the cemetery may be the place called in Coptic Thmoui-
m-Panehiou ; but Champollion endeavours to show from a Coptic MS.
that this was an island on the western side of the Nile, opposite
Akhmim; and its name, "the Island of the place of Cattle," argues
that it was not on the mainland, if even it could be to the E. of Pano
polis. Tlwmu, however, is placed by the ' Itinerary ' on the E. bank,
4 m. 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 Akhmim ; but of their exact position nothing
is satisfactorily known. These are Pleuit, Shenalolit, and Tsmine, the
first of which appears to have been an ancient town of some conse
quence ; the second, from its name, a village with many vineyards in
its neighbourhood; and in the last was a monastery founded by St.
Pachomius. Greek ostraka (inscribed potsherds) found near Akhmim
show that in the late Boman period a considerable manufactory of olive
oil was carried on here. 3 m. S. of Akhmim is the Coptic convent of
Dir Man Girgis, on the S. side of which early Christian tombs have
been discovered.


Sect. V.] eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 353
(W.) Menshiya, 325 m. (Bly. Stat., P. O. near river-bank, 11,000
inh.), has extensive mounds, but the only vestiges of masonry consist
in a stone quay on the E. side of the town. By the Copts it is called
Ps&i, and sometimes in Arabic MSS. El-Monshat, as well as Menshiya.
It occupies the site of Ptolemais, the Greek capital of Upper Egypt.
It was founded probably by Ptolemy I. on the site of the Egyptian
town of Neshi (called also Pa-Sebek from its worship of the crocodile).
Under the Ptolemies it was known as Pasi-Ptulmaios, and in Greek
Ptolemais-Hermiou, or Pasion (whence the Coptic name). It enjoyed a
Greek city-constitution, and more than one decree of its bouli or senate
has been discovered. We learn from an inscription in the quarries of
the Gebel et-Tilkh that some of its public buildings had been erected
by "the architect Diothemis." Strabo speaks of it as "the largest
town in the Thebaid and not less than Memphis in size." Leo Afri
canus says it was "badly built, with narrow streets, and so dusty in
summer that no one could walk out on a windy day." This might
be said of many an Egyptian town. The neighbourhood, however, was
famous for abundance of corn and cattle. In the days of Shenoute
(fifth cent, a.d.) a tribe of Blemmyes settled down here. It was once
possessed by a certain Moorish prince from the Barbary coast, called
Howara. A great many antiquities have been found of late years in
the neighbourhood of Menshiya.
(E.) Prom Menshiya to Girga the eastern chain of hills comes down
close to the river, and is known by the name of Gebel et-Tilkh. It forms a
long and unbroken mountain wall, of very imposing appearance. At
its northern extremity are the ruins of an old fortified town, about a
mile above el-Ahdiwa. In the plain at the foot of it late Boman tombs
have been found which have yielded valuable embroideries. There are
many tombs in the face of the cliff, and large quarries of the Ptolemaic
and later periods, containing inscriptions in Greek, Latin, and demotic
writing (some of the last dated in the 11th and 21st years of Philopator).
One of these mentions Menippeides, who opened a quarry in the reign
of Domitian, when Mettius Bufus was Prefect of Egypt. There are
also salutations made by Boman soldiers of the ' ' third Ituraean
cohort," who kept guard over a quarry which was used as a penal
settlement. The site of the guard-house is still visible, and the shore
below is strewn with worked flints. Some way to the S. is a shekh's
tomb. S. of the Boman guard-house is a small quarry which was
consecrated as "a sacred place," and dedicated to Serapis, who is
declared to be "one" with Zeus and Heli(o)s Hermanubis. The god
is called upon to curse all those who polluted the spot.
(E.) There is a large tomb 1J m. S. of the quarries, as well as
several small ones, all uninscribed ; J m. S., opposite Girga, and a little
N. of the Coptic village of Nag' ed-Dir, are some interesting tombs of
the Old Empire, high up on the cliff, which have been much injured
by Ptolemaic and recent quarrying. In the 4th tomb to the N., that
of Thariri, "the prophet of Anhur and superintendent of the work
men," nude slaves are represented making bread. Here and in the
immediate vicinity extensive excavations have been carried on of late
years by an American expedition, working for the University of Cali
fornia, under Mr. Beisner, assisted by an English archseologist, Mr.
Mace, and by Mr. Lythgoe. Among the tombs explored are many of
the obscure period between tbe VI. and XI. Dynasties, which have
2 a.


354 EOUTE 22.  CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY eivee. [Sect. V.
yielded interesting antiquities. A prehistoric cemetery has also been
discovered, and graves of the IV. Dynasty. Descending the mountain
and passing a picturesque rocky ravine to the S., we come to some large
but uninscribed tombs, outside which Greek travellers, detained " by
stress of weather," in the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, have written
their names. Further S., behind the cemetery of the convent of Dir
el-Meldk, is the tomb of a Boman soldier of the 3rd Cyrenaic legion,
with a Latin inscription.
(E.) 5 m. S. of Nag' ed-Der is the village of Meshdikh, where the
remains of a temple of Sekhemet have been discovered, with images of
the goddess and monuments of Amen-hetep IL, Amen-hetep III.,
Bamses IL, and Pinetchem. The stone shrine was found to' be filled
with bronze fish. Above the village (N.E.) is a very interesting tomb
belonging to Anhur-mes, "the chief prophet of Anhur," and head of
the prophets of " Ba in This," who lived under Mer-en-Ptah II. .The
walls are covered with hieroglyphic inscriptions which have not yet
been published. Mesha'ikh is the Lepidotonpolis of Ptolemy, so called
from the worship of the fish lepidotos. Less than J m. to the S. is the
tomb of Iu-ma-tua, "the scribe of the recruits."
The whole tomb-series from Nag' ed-Der in the N. to Meshaikh
in the S. is the necropolis of the ancient This, the cradle of the
Egyptian monarchy according to legend, now probably represented by
the village of el-Birba, 3 m. inland, W. of the rly., between Eserat and
Girga. (W.) Eserat (el-Assirdt) on the W. bank is still noted, like Girga and
Kasr es- Sayyad, for its numerous turkeys.
(W.) Girg-a (officially misspelt "Guergueh," which conveys no
idea of the sound of the word, even to a Frenchman), 336 m. (Bly.
Stat., P. 0. and T. near the river). Population 17,200. Two Greek
locandas— passable for a night if necessary. Formerly the capital of
the province of the same name, but now much sunk in importance. It
contains a large Christian population. When visited by 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
m an inland position. Its position is picturesque, with its fine minarets
overhanging the river, with the imposing mass of the Gebel Tukh
behind. Girga is the modern representative of the ancient This as
district-centre and has been supposed to occupy its site. It seems more
probable, however, that the village of el-Birba, 3* m. N.W. of Girga (in
the direction of Eserat and Bakakna), where there are ancient remains,
in reality occupies the site of This. Girga is most probably of Coptic
origin, having arisen round a monastery dedicated to Mar Girgis (St.
George), from which it derives its name.
Leo Africanus tells us that " Girga 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 they annually sent a large sum to
the Patriarch of Cairo, to be distributed among the poor of their own


Sect: V.J eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 355
persuasion. About 100 years ago a dreadful plague afflicted Egypt, and
carried off all the monks of this convent, wherefore the prince of Men
shiya surrounded the building with a strong wall, and erected houses
within, for the abode of various workmen and shopkeepers. In process
of time, however, the Patriarch of the Jacobites (or Copts) having made
a representation to the Sultan, he gave orders that 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 30
monks." There is a Boman Catholic convent here, one of the oldest in Egypt.
(W.) From Girga to Abydos, via Bet Khallaf.
[Arclneologists should not fail to make this interesting excursion, visiting the
probable site of This, the tombs ot the kings of the III. Dynasty at Bet Khallaf, and
other excavated sites, on the way. This excursion will also serve to give a very good
idea of a typical Egyptian countryside, and the approach to Abydos over the
necropolis from B6t AUam, and past the Coptic monastery and ancient fortress
(the Shunet ez-Zebtb) of Abydos is remarkable. At least 2 days : Z better. If tents
are not taken, night-quarters may be had in the house of the o-inda of Bet Khallaf.
Good donkeys, with stirrups, must be insisted on.]
Passing the Bly. Stat., and leaving Girga, the. path goes N.W. to
the neighbourhood of el-Birba, "the Temple," which has been identified
by M. Daressy as the site of the ancient This, capital of- the Thinite
nome, and, according to legend, the home of the most ancient kings of
Egypt. It was certainly important in early days : a monument of a person
named Teta-ankhs (IV.-V. Dyn.) has been found here,- and remains of a
temple built by Bamses II. Thence we pass by a long cjisr or cause
way across the cultivation to the edge of the W. desert, at the village
of Bit Khalldf. Here and in the vicinity Mr. J. -Garstang carried on
excavations in the years 1900-1902. The desert here rolls down from
the low hills some three miles distant in a waste of undulating mounds
and sand-dunes, in the middle of which two of the kings of the III.
Dynasty erected great mastaba tombs for themselves, in order to be
buried near the holy Abydos. That of Tjeser Khet-neter, the largest,
lies rather more- than a mile W. of Bet Ehallaf. It is built of brick,
rises. about 33 ft. above. the plain, and is about 280 ft. long by 153 ft.
wide. The interior is open, and may be descended by a stairway
(unsafe) ; the tomb-chambers (not accessible) lie 60 ft. below the desert-
surface. Here were, found a .large quantity of the original offering
vessels of alabaster, etc. A short distance away to the N. is the similar
tomb of Sa-nekht, another king of the III. Dynasty. Bemains of his
skeleton were found, and are preserved in the Cairo Museum. He
was.of gigantic stature, and it is notable that Manetho states that a
king of this dynasty, whom he calls " Necherophes," was a giant. The
brick arches over the descending passages in these two tombs should
be noticed. Close by are small tombs of nobles of this period, and
between them and the cultivation is the mastaba (superstructure
entirely removed) of Netjem-ankh, a feu-prince in Tjeser's reign. A
Staircase gives easy access to the subterranean chambers. Other stair
way-tombs of the same type have been found by Mr. Garstang at
Rakdkna, 2 m. N. of Bet Khallaf, where there is another necropolis
of the IIL Dynasty. There is also here a fine "true" mastaba (with
out stairway) of the IV. Dynasty, with its E. face decorated with a row of
2 A 2


356 EOUTE 22.— ^CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. [Sect. V.
panel recesses in the brickwork. Architecturally these tombs are impor
tant, as in them occur several of the oldest known examples of the use of
the true arch. A few miles N. is Kawdmil, where there is an important
prehistoric cemetery explored by M. de Morgan. Turning S. from Bet
Khallaf we pass along the edge of the cultivation, seeing the camel-
route from Girga to the Great Oasis (p. 282) diverge and strike off into the
desert W., through the villages of Ilg and Bet Ddiid to el-Mahdsna,
4 m. from Bet Khallaf. The villages are picturesque, and unusually
clean; the road along the edge of the desert ("betwixt the Desert
and the Sown") is interesting, with the peasants and their animals
passing along it ; the view to the 1. over the green crops to the
palm-groves that mark the villages in the direction of Girga, whose
minarets show faintly against the long straight line of the Arabian
hills above Nag' ed-Der, is pleasing and grateful to the eye : while
to | the r. the lower desert has enlarged into a billowy expanse of
sand some six miles across to the foot of the Libyan hills, and most
impressive from its vast extent. At el-Mahasna a cemetery of the
Old Kingdom was investigated by Mr. Garstang, who made inter
esting finds in it, and also found a prehistoric settlement here.
Passing the site of this and the Maslahet Hariin, a pretty garden and
farm, we reach the villages of Bet Allam and Aldwniya, 8 m. from Bet
Khallaf, marked by a picturesque ruined kubba or she'kh's tomb. Here
there is a prehistoric cemetery, explored by Mr. Garstang, situated on
the lowest spurs of the Libyan hills, which here press forward towards
the river, and contract the lower desert to a small space. S. of
Alawniya the high hills themselves abut directly on the cultivation,
and we skirt their base, passing round the great promontory formed by
them into a vast bay in the hills four miles across, bounded on the S.
by a promontory like that of Alawniya. In the S. half of this bay is
situated the necropolis of Abydos; we direct our way towards the
prominent masses of the Coptic monastery and the Shilnet ez-Zebib,
and finally after a six-mile ride from Bet Allam over undulating desert]
reach the villages of el-Khcrba and 'Ardbat el-Madfuna, the modern
representatives of ancient Abydos. Distance from Bet Khallaf 14 miles ¦
from Girga, not counting visit to Bakaljna, 22. For a continuation of
this ride S. to al-'Amra and Abu Tisht (Farshut), see p. 364, Abydos to
Baliana (Bly.) below.
Lea;vi?Ti1Glrga by river we pass (E-) Awlad Tahya and Meshaikh
(p. 354), (W.) Bardis, a large village, and Baliana (Bellianali), 347 m.
(Ely., P. and T. 0. near river; Gov. Dispensary); Coptic Tpoarane
sometimes spelt Byliane or Tpolybiane. In the mosque is a stone with
the name of Psammetichus I. Donkeys (bad) can be procured here for
going to Abydos, distant 8 m. to the S.W., or 2£ hours.
Abydos.
[The way lies across a very rich plain till the edge of the desert, is rwheA nn
which stands the modern village of al-'Ardba, called by the Irate -Ardbat I
Mad/Una (¦¦ the buried "), from the ancient edifices that uiSllately ay cove ed with
the desert sand all around. The people of the village have, justly an extremely
bad reputation : they are as impudent as they can possibly be. No bakhshish Should
be given to any natives at Abydos, and nothing should be bought from them.]
Abydos (pronounced in English according to quantity, " Abydos";


Sect. V.] eoute 22. — caieo to luxor, by eivee. 357
in modern Greek, French and Italian, according to accent, "Abydos,"
"AfluSos; in Coptic Eb6t ; in Old Egyptian Abdu) was one of the
largest, and most important cities in Upper Egypt. Strabo indeed says
that, though in his time reduced to the state of a small village, it had
formerly held the first rank next to Thebes — a position which was pro
bably assigned to it as having been the burial-place of Osiris. "There
are many places," says Plutarch, "where his corpse is said to have been
deposited ; but Abydos and Memphis are mentioned 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."
The necropolis goes back to the very beginning of the monarchy, and
prehistoric cemeteries are numerous in the vicinity. We cannot doubt
that the cult of Osiris-Khentamenti ("He who is in the West"), and
that of the jackal guardian of the tombs Anubis tep-tuf, "on his hill "
(on which the worship of Osiris was, according to one theory, grafted
before the Middle Empire, Anubis being the original " Khenta-
menti"), were in vogue here from time immemorial. In early times
Abydos was the centre of the worship of the dead for Upper Egypt
only, the necropoles of Lower Egypt being the domains of the local
dead-god of Sakkara, Seker, and of Ba-neb-dad of Mendes. Compara
tively early, however, Osiris became identified with Seker, and the
undisputed ruler of the Egyptian Lower World. Sakkara then took
a second place in the general estimation, and Abydos became the
metropolis of the dead for all Egypt ; every Egyptian desired to be
buried here, and if he could not be, at least to have a memorial of
his name set up here. The Necropolis became of enormous size by the
Ptolemaic period. It was not customary for the kings to be buried
here except in the earliest times ; the later monarchs, however, some
times erected funerary temples here, on the model of those in the
Western Necropolis of Thebes (p. 412 ff.), where offerings could be made
to their spirits when dead. Those built by Seti I. and Bamses II. in
memory of the first-named and the royal ancestors of the early
dynasties who were buried at Abydos, and that in memory of Bamses
himself, still remain. Osiris had a special temple, of great antiquity,
to the north of these, by the modern K6m es-Sultdn (see below).
Beginning at the S. end, the first large edifice reached is the
Temple of Seti I., father of Bamses II. (XIX. Dyn.). This is the
building called by Strabo the " Memnonium," and deservedly praised
by him for the magnificence of its decoration. The plan of this temple
is somewhat irregular, and it is difficult to determine the meaning and
object of its various parts. In the outer court are some very fine
sculptures which retain much of their colour. They show Bamses
receiving blessings from Thoth, Anubis, Osiris, Horus, and other
divinities. There were originally seven entrances to the first hall,
corresponding to the seven shrines behind. But all except one were
wailed up by Bamses II. Two are now open. The First Hall has two
rows of columns. The sculptures are in the peculiar sunk relief which
under the Ptolemies became such a poor art. Observe in the N.W.
corner Bamses offering a golden statuette of himself to Osiris. The
king is here represented as a very young man. On the columns are
figures, supporting the royal cartouche, called rekhyut. They occur


358 eoute 22.— caieo to luxoe, by eivee. [.Sect. V.
also at Tell el-Yahtldiya, Esna, and some other places, and specimens
are in the British Museum. They resemble bats with ^maa hands. la
front of each is a star, and below is the hieroglyph neb (lord), iney
represent blessed spirits. , „  „„„
The Second Hall has 3 rows, each of twelve columns. Here are
perhaps the best sculptures. They are in low relief. Observe at the
NORTH.

SOUTH.
TEMPLE OF SETI I. AT ABYDOS.

N. end a bas-relief of Seti making an offering to Osiris of an image of
Maat, the goddess of justice. This is perhaps the finest example of the
art of the XIX. Dynasty, and may be considered the chef-d'ceuvreot
Hui who as we know from inscriptions at Thebes, was chief sculptor to
Seti'l. His coadjutor, Amen-uahsn, does not seem, to judge from the
paintinf here, to have been an equally clever artist, and it is , hardly


Sect. V] route 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 359
possible to regret that this figure of Seti has been wholly denuded of
paint, and now appears only in the' beautiful white limestone from
which it is cut. The seven doors leading out of the First Hall into the
Second are placed like the walled-up doors from the Entrance Court, in
line with the seven sanctuaries beyond the Second Hall. The first two
rows of columns are on a lower level than the third, owing to the fact
that the temple was built on sloping ground, which no attempt
was made to level before laying the foundations. The effect produced
is peculiar, and rather mars the otherwise impressive hall. Generally
speaking, the temple, may be said to be mire curious than beautiful, its
interest lying in the peculiarity of its plan and the beauty of its sculp
tures. The third row of columns differs from the first two also in
having no capitals, the shafts being crowned by simple abaci. Prom the
Second Hall seven short passages lead westward into as many Vaulted
Chambers, the sanctuaries or chapels of the deoeased king (No. 1, south),
and the deities Ptah, Harmachis, Amen, Osiris, Isis, and Horus (Nos. 2
to 7), in succession. These seven . chapels are the. key to the peculiar
conformation of the fore-part of the temple, which- was designed solely
as an approach to them. They themselves are a very peculiar feature
in Egyptian temple-architecture, unparalleled elsewhere ; in other
temples there are at most three or four end-chapels or sanctuaries.
The method of constructing the roofs of these chambers is very singular;.
They are formed of large blocks of stone, extending from one architrave
to the other ; not, as usual in Egyptian buildings, on their faces, but
on their sides; so that, considerable thickness having been given to the
roof, a vault was afterwards cut into it, without endangering its
solidity. The whole was covered with hieroglyphs and sculptures
beautifully coloured ; : and on the ceiling- the cartouches of the king
remain, with stars and transverse bands containing hieroglyphs. la
the piers separating the entrances of the chapels are rectangular
niches, also adorned with reliefs. A short passage , on the W. side of
the third vaulted chamber from the N. leads into a small hall (D)
supported by ten columns, only the E. row of which is perfect. They
are of the same type as those of the third row in the Second Hall.
The roof has largely fallen in. Here the colour is extremely fresh, and
the sculpture delicate. Observe Horus in his shrine on the E. wall.
On -the rt. of this hall as, you enter are some other small chambers
covered with very highly-finished sculptures.
To the S. of the King's Chapel (1 in the plan) is a hall (E) supported
by three simple columns of the peculiar type noted above. It was
dedicated, as a sort of religious compliment, to Ptah-Seker, the rival
Memphite God of the Dead. At the W_; end are the chapels of Ptah-
Seker and another Lower Egyptian deity, Nefer-tum.
. From the S. end of the Second Hall leads-a narrow slightly ascending
Passage (F), the ceiling and sides of which are covered with sculptures.
Amid the stars and king's cartouches with which the ceiling is
decorated is an inscription commemorating the dedication of the
temple. .On the 1. or E. wall are four scenes. The first, second, and
fourth represent offerings made to Amen, Horus, and Osiris. In the
third Seti and his son Bamses are represented standing in front of a
tablet on which are engraved the names of 130 divinities, which the
text calls " the great and the small cycle of the divinities of the sacred.
places of the north and the south." The rt. or W. wall is divided into,.


360 eoute 22. — caieo to luxOe, by SiveE. [Sect. V
4 scenes like the other, and in the one immediately opposite the tablet
of divinities just mentioned is tbe
Tablet of Abydos, in which Seti and Bamses are offering
homage to 76 kings their predecessors, Seti himself being included.
This Tablet of Ancestors is consonant with the general intention and
design of the temple, which Seti built not only as a memorial of him
self in the realms of the dead, but of all the kings his ancestors who
had passed thither and been venerated at Abydos before him, especially
those of the earliest days, who were buried (or commemorated) out in
the desert at Abydos itself (see below, Umm el-Kaab), and towards
whose graves the temple was oriented. From the beauty of the
engraving, the perfect state of preservation in which it was found, and
its historical importance, this tablet is one of the most interesting
monuments in Egypt. The list of these 76 kings begins with the
legendary Mena and ends with Seti I. It is arranged in three lines,
but the last line consists entirely of the two names of Seti. The tablet
was discovered in 1865, and is conjectured by Mariette to be the
original of the fragmentary one found in the temple of Bamses II.
at Abydos, and now in the British Museum. Bamses copied the list
made by his father.
Beyond the Tablet of Ancestors is a passage (G) leading W. to a long
staircase (H) which opens out on to the desert beyond. On the walls
of the pasaage are reliefs, including a picture of Bamses assisting
one of his sons to catch a wild bull. In spite of the conventional
proportions, this picture is full of spirit. Other pictures show the
young Bamses sacrificing, and in one curious scene he is apparently
fowling, assisted by a number of divinities.
The staircase (H) played a considerable part in the later history of
the temple. It apparently became identified with the mystic staircase of
the Book of the Dead, at the head of which Osiris was to be found (he is
often called "He who is at the Head of the Stairway "), and became
a place of pilgrimage. The numerous Greek, Cypriote, Karian, and
Phoenician graffiti which cover the walls show that from the sixth cent.
B.C. downwards the temple was in ruins, and that an oracle had been
established in the room immediately S. of the staircase on the W.
Those who consulted the oracle slept on the steps of the staircase and
received an answer to their question in dreams. The oracle was
worked at first in the name of Osiris, but in the Ptolemaic age Osiris
became Serapis, and under the Bomans Serapis passed into Bes.
To the S. of the stairway passage (G) is a chamber (K) supported on
six columns and with a stone bench round three sides of it. To judge
from the representations on the walls, it was the room in which the
sacred boats of the gods were kept, resting on the bench, when not
actually being carried in procession. It may be compared with a
somewhat similar chamber in the funerary temple of Bamses III. at
Medinet Habfi (p. 424).
Farther S. again are various other smaller columnar halls and
chambers, forming, with the chambers and passages E to F already
described, a large S. wing to the temple, in itself a very 'peculiar
feature and one difficult to account for. One of these further southern
chambers (L on the plan) was, judging from the reliefs on its walls,
the place where the sacrificial animals were slaughtered. It had seven
columns. Most of this part of the temple is ruined.


Sect. V.] EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. 361
Immediately behind the temple the excavations of the Egyptian
Besearch Account under Miss Murray in 1902 resulted in the discovery
of a great subterranean chamber, the Osireion described by Strabo,
decorated with elaborate reliefs by King Merenptah (XIX. Dyn.).
Temple of Ramses II. — This temple lies a short way across »
high mound to the N. It is dedicated, like that of his father Seti, to
Osiris. The materials of which it was composed were of unusual
richness, the walls of one chapel being lined with Oriental alabaster,
and covered, so far as can be gathered from the few fragments that
remain, with very fine sculptures richly painted. It was from a wall of
this temple that the mutilated tablet of Abydos referred to above was
taken. It was first discovered by Mr. Banks in 1818 ; and having been
carried away by M. Mimaut, the French Consul-General, and sold in
Paris, is now deposited in the British Museum.

Jlli-I

TEMPLE OP BAMSES II., ABYDOS.

The temple is scarcely inferior in extent to the first, but has
suffered much more at the hands of the destroyer and is now entirely
ruined, little more than the bare walls still existing. The plan is clearly
marked and very symmetrical. A great court, surrounded by Osiride
figures, opened into the inner chambers, by a magnificent doorway of
red and black granite. On either doorpost are sculptured long car
touches, in which the many names and titles of Bamses II. are
summed up, the whole appropriately supported below by a figure of
Maat, the goddess of justice. The entrance to the court is from the E.,
where a similar gateway of red granite has the same sculptures. The
walls rise to a height of 8 ft. in places, and are covered with pro
cessions, among which may be found some pictures of fat cattle. The
remaining sculptures, though they retain much colour, are uninterest
ing, being merely repetitions of the scenes in the other temple in
a style of art slightly inferior. The actual building of the temple,


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Missing Page


364 EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. [Sect. ?.
the early kings at Umm el-Ka'ab, and the same distance from the
Temple of Seti, the southern wall of hills turns sharply S. to the
imposing promontory of al-'Amra (see below). Just beyond the turn
Mr. A. E. P. Weigall discovered a great bdb or rock-cut tomb, which
was probably a second tomb made for the king Senusret or Usertsen III.
of the XII. Dynasty. This was, so to speak, a " dummy " tomb, made,
not with the intention of the king being actually buried in it (his actual
tomb was the N. Brick Pyramid at Dahshur (see p. 202), but in order
that he might also have a " secondary " tomb as a memorial in the holy
necropolis of Abydos, where it was the aim of every pious Egyptian to be
either buried or at least commemorated. This tomb, which is of great
length, is evidently connected with a small funerary temple of Usertsen
HI., on the edge of the cultivation and in line with the tomb. This
temple was excavated for the Fund in 1900 by Mr. Bandall Maclver. The
tomb had been entirely plundered. In front of it were dummy mastabas
and a large necropolis of the XII. Dynasty. The mastabas may have
been the memorials of great personages buried near the king at Dahshiir.
They are made of the excavated rubbish from the great tomb, which
was thus conveniently disposed of. Some distance S. of this a similar
memorial tomb was excavated for King Aahmes I., of the XVIII.
Dynasty, who was certainly actually buried at Dra' Abu '1-Negga in the
Theban necropolis (see p. 472). This tomb, which is roughly excavated,
and turns round on its own tracks in a curious manner, was discovered
by Mr. C. T. Currelly. The remains of a terrace temple of Aahmes,
built up against the face of the cliff, were also found by Mr. Currelly
immediately behind the tomb. In direct line with this temple and
tomb, and on the edge of the cultivation, is a Pyramid, which had been
unsuccessfully examined by Mr. Mace in 1900. Mr. Currelly has shown
that this was a dummy pyramid, of rubble faced with limestone, built
to commemorate Queen Teta-shera, the grandmother of Aahmes.
Between it and the tomb of Aahmes are the remains of a small shrine
of Teta-shera, in which Mr. Currelly discovered an interesting memorial
stela, which tells us that both pyramid and shrine were erected by
Aahmes in honour of his grandmother, whose actual tomb, he says,
was at Thebes (no doubt at Dra' Abu '1-Negga), after consultation with
his sister- wife Aahmes-Nefretari : "the one spake unto the other," as
the inscription picturesquely says, "seeking to do honour to Those
Yonder a quaint euphemism for the departed dead. The inscription
is translated by Mr. A. H. Gardiner in the Egypt Exploration Fund's
publication, "Abydos III." (1904).
From Abydos a road leads to the Great Oasis, ascending the Libyan
chain of mountains nearly due W. of the town. Another road runs to
the same Oasis from el-Khawaled, a village S. of Samhiid {see below),
which is the one taken by those who go from and to Farshut and other
places m this part of the valley ; the ascent and descent being so much
more easy than by the mountain road, or path, to the W. of Abydos
(see p. 282). J
From Abydos to al-'Amra and Abu Tisht or Farslnlt (a possible
extension of the route, interesting to archaeologists, from Girga to Abydos
via Bet Khallaf ; see p. 355) We ride S. along the desert, visiting the
tombs and temples of Usertsen HI., Aahmes, and Teta-shera, on the
way to (5 m from el-Araba) al-'Amra, which is commanded by the
striking headland of cliff which bounds the southern landscape seen from





Fold out





Sect. V.] EOUTE 22.— CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. 365,
Abydos. There Messrs. B. Maclver and Wilkin excavated for the Egypt
Exploration Fund in 1900 a very interesting and important prehistoric
cemetery. Hence to the railway station of Abu Shush (" Abou Chouche ")
on the Nile is about 4 m. To Samhud (see below) and the station
of Abu Tisht (p. 298) or along the desert by the villages of Abu Tisht,
el-Khawdled and el-'Araki (tombs ; see below) to Farshiit or Nag Hamddi,
25-30 m. from Abydos. Beyond al-'Amra the hills run back again into
the desert, coming near the river again at Hau (p. 366).
From Farshut to Thebes across the desert see below.

Leaving Baliana for the south by river, we first pass
(E.) Saghel el-Baklia, where is a prehistoric cemetery investigated
by M. de Morgan.
(W.) Abu Shush (Eg. Pa-tiuti), Bly. Stat, for al-'Amra and
Samhud, 2 m. inland, occupying the site of an ancient town, called in
Coptic Semhdout, or Psenhoout ; Old Egyptian, Samhudti. Its mounds
sufficiently indicate its antiquity.
(_E.) About the district of Slierk el-Khdyydm the Nile makes a
considerable bend, but resumes its general course near el-Ambar.
(W.) Farshut, 4 m. inland, derives its name from the Coptic
Bershdout. It is a good-sized village, with a large sugar-factory
belonging to the Khedive.
In Pococke's time Farshiit was the residence of the great shekh who
governed nearly the whole country on the W. bank ; but he had already
lost much of his authority, and had great difficulty in collecting his revenues.
The inhabitants are descendants of the Hawwara tribe of x^Vrabs, who for several
years enjoyed undisturbed possession of the soil, under the government of their
own shekhs. They lost their independence under their last shekh, Hammam,
who with an army said to have consisted of 36,000 horsemen was entirely
defeated by Mohammed Bey. The family still remain, but they are now like
the other peasants.
The Hawwara were always famed for their skill in breeding and managing
horses: the name Hawwari, like Faris, signifies "a horseman," and is still
applied to the native riding masters and horsebreakers of Egypt.
The Farshfitis used to have a very bad reputation as thieves.
[From Farshut a desert-road runs (one day's journey) to Kurna, opposite
Luxor, cutting off the great bend made by the Nile. It descends into the
valley on the N. side of the Western Valley of the Tombs of the Kings (see
p. 472), passing the hill christened by Prof. Schweinfurth " Lucina-Hiigel "
(grand views). A caravan-route (p. 282 ; and see above, p. 364) also runs W.
across the desert to the Oases of el-Kharga (p. 278) and Dakhla (p. 276). Rly.
building from el-Kharga Junction, see p. 298.]
The W. bank of the Nile in the whole of this district, which is
called el-Hamran, is remarkably rich and fertile ; and the beauty of the
landscape is much increased by the large groves of palm-trees and
acacia which line the bank.
On the edge of the desert, 6J m. distant, at a place called 'Araki, numerous
tombs of the XVIII. and XIX. Dynasties have been found, built of brick.
(W.) Nag' Hamadi (375 m.), with Bly. Stat., P.O. and T.O. The
railway crosses the river here by a bridge 1362 ft. long, and there is a
large sugar factory. The river takes a very long curve ; and as it runs
from Kena to Hau its course is S.W., so that the former stands about 9'
of latitude more to the N. than Hau, though higher up the stream. A


366 eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. [Sect. V.
similar deviation from its course does not occur again, except in the
vicinity of Derr in Nubia, and at the great bend of the river above
Dongola, which was formerly called the Siytcaves or elbows of the Nile.
(W.) Hau, in Coptic H6, Hou, or Ano, a -large village with market,
occupies the site of Diospolis ParVa. Among the usual mounds of
rubbish W. of the town are the foundations of a sandstone temple.
Behind the village is a Coptic Dir. About a mile to the S., at the edge
of the desert, are other mounds and the remains of buildings. Many
tombs of the New Empire have been found here.
Excavations were carried on at Hau and Abadiya, close by, by Prof.
Petrie in 1897. Traces of a primitive population that buried its dead
with rude cross-hatched red and black pottery in so-called "pan-
graves " were found. Burial-places of these " pan-grave " people have
been found in many places in southern Egypt, and especially in Nubia.
They may have been Nubian invaders, somewhere about the time of
the XII. Dynasty.
It was at Hau that a holy lunatic named Shekh Selim used to sit
on the banks of the river stark naked. He died about thirty
years ago, after having sat in the same place naked for 53 years. He
was regarded with great reverence by Moslem sailors, who deemed his
prayers most efficacious in ensuring a good voyage.
(E.) At Kasr es-Sayyad, or " Hunter's Castle," 381 m., on the
opposite bank, are the mounds of the ancient Khinoboskion, in Coptic
Senesit. It was famous for its geese, which were fed there in great
numbers ; and it was from this circumstance that it borrowed a
name (" Goose-pen ") which was probably a translation of the original
Egyptian. The fine bold bluff which here rises abruptly from the river
is called Gebel et-Tilkh. It looks specially imposing by afternoon light,
and the traveller should delay, if necessary, to see and admire the effect.
(E.) About a mile S. of Kasr es-Sayyad is the mouth of a canal and
a syphon, from whence a dike runs (lj m.) to the desert. Half a mile
S.E. of its extremity, near the village of Isba, are 2 very interesting Old
Empire tombs, of princes of the Seventh Nome of Upper Egypt under
the VI. dynasty, the most perfect of which was partially destroyed in
1887, in order to procure stone easily for the canal already referred to.
It belonged to Tjauta, a high official of Pepi IL, Nefer-ka-Ba (VI. Dyn.).
There are 6 Greek proskynemataAn it to Zeus Serapis in red paint. The
adjoining tomb is that of Atu, who had to do with the pyramid of
Pepi I. It has been said that in this tomb the dec'eased is represented
striking down an enemy, which would indeed be a most unusual atti
tude for the figure of a simple noble. In reality, however, he is merely
represented fowling in the marshes, and is striking at a bird with his
stick. The coiffures of both Atu and his wife are unusual. Agricultural
and other scenes are painted on the walls, and a giraffe is represented
in one place. Among the tombs to the N. is one with a long but
valueless Coptic text, and another of the Boman age with a zodiac on
the roof.
" The eastern chain of hills here approaches close to the river for the
last time before reaching Thebes, and the western or Libyan range, of
far bolder and more striking outline, is soon seen advancing on the right.
(E.) Fau Kibli (391 m.), the Coptic Phboou. where St. Pachomius
founded a monastery, at which all the monks in Egypt used, to assemble


Sect. V.] eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 367
twice a year. Further S. was the monastery of Tabennesi or Tabenna,
the most ancient monastery in Egypt, founded by Pachomius with 1400
brethren about the middle of the fourth cent. (The saint, who was
converted to Christianity at Khenoboskion, died about a.d. 349, aged 57.)
(E.) Deshna, 394 m., a good-sized village, with a well-supplied
market on Sundays. Sand-grouse may often be found in the neigh
bourhood among the lialfa grass. The village is built on the ruins of
an ancient town.
(W.) Nearly opposite Deshna is the large triple village of el- Wakf
from which it is J hr.'s ride to the vast necropolis of Tell es-Semdina
and K6m Mihras, discovered in 1887. The crude-brick tombs are in
the desert, and extend from the age of the XL Dynasty to Boman
times. In 1893 another cemetery was discovered to the S., in the desert
behind Marashda. It contained VI. Dynasty tombs, and was probably
the necropolis of Dendera.
We now come to the large town of Kena (p. 373), the official capital
of Upper Egypt, and the adjacent Temple of Dendera, which will be
described first, Dendera.
(W.) Temple of Dendera, to the S. of the modern village of that
name, about J m. from Taramsa, on the W. bank opposite Kena.
The name of Tentyris, or Tentyra, in Coptic Tentore or Nikentore, comes
from the hieroglyphic Ta-n-ta-rer, " the district enclosed by ramparts," though
the more usual name in Old Egyptian was An, the town of the "column."
The great temple was dedicated to the goddess Hathor, whom the Greeks
identified with Aphrodite, and its original foundation was ascribed to the
Hor-shemsu, the mythical predecessors of Menes. The account of the building
was said to have been found in the time- of Pepi I., who restored the edifice,
' ' written in ancient characters on skin. ' ' The real founder, however, seems
to have been Khufu of the IV. Dynasty, whose plan was used again by
Thothmes HI. "Stones with the names of Amenemhat I., Thothmes IV.,
Ramses II. and Ramses III. have also been found. The present temple,
however, though built on the old foundations and in accordance with the
ancient design, is of late date. The crypts were constructed by Ptolemy X.
(Lathyros), Ptolemy XI. (Alexander I.), and Ptolemy XIII. (Auletes). The
inscriptions which run round the temple mention Ptolemy XVI. (Csesarion)
and Augustus, while on the exterior of the back wall we have Ptolemy Caesar,
the famous Cleopatra with her son Caesarion, and the unknown Hormes,
probably an ephemeral native rebel king of the Ptolemaic period. The comple
tion of the temple took place in the reign of Tiberius, as we learn from a Greek
inscription of three lines which runs round the cornice on the exterior of the
building: "On behalf of the Emperor Tiberius Csesar, the young Augustus,
the son of the deified Augustus, and under Aulus Avilius Flaccus the Prefect
and Aulus Fulvius Crispus the Sub-prefect (Epistrategos), Sarapion Trychambus
being the district-governor, the inhabitants of the capital and the nome dedi
cated the pronaos to the great godde" Aphrodite and her fellow-gods, the 20th
year of Tiberius Caesar (the 21st day of Athyr). " The outer wall of the temple
was not decorated till the 2nd year of Claudius (a.d. 42), and in the Hypostyle
or Khent Hall Nero is represented leaving his palace and conducted by Mentu
of Thebes and Turn of Heliopolis before Hathor.
Egyptian sculpture had long been on the decline before the erection of
the "present temple of Dendera ; and the Egyptian antiquary looks with little
satisfaction on the graceless style of the figures, and the crowded profusion
of ill-adjusted hieroglyphs, that, cover the walls of this. as of other Ptolemaic


368 eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. [Sect. V.
or Roman monuments. But architecture still retained the grandeur of an earlier
period ; and though the capitals of the columns were frequently overcharged
with ornament, the general effect of the porticoes erected under the Ptolemies
and Caesars is grand and imposing, and frequently not destitute of elegance
and taste.
These remarks apply very particularly to the temple of Dendera ; and from
its superior state of preservation it deserves a distinguished rank among the
most interesting monuments of Egypt. For though its columns, considered
singly, may be said to have a heavy, perhaps a barbarous, appearance, the
portico is doubtless a noble specimen of architecture ; nor is the succeeding
hall devoid of beauty and symmetry of proportion. The preservation of its
roof also adds greatly to the beauty, as well as to the interest, of the portico ;
and many of those in the Egyptian temples lose their effect by being destitute
of roofs. Generally speaking, Egyptian temples are more picturesque when
in ruins than 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
this cannot be said of the portico itself ; nor did a temple present the same
monotonous appearance when the painted sculptures were in their original
state ; and it was the necessity of relieving the large expanse of flat wall which
led to this rich mode of decoration.
The names of the Caesars mentioned in the texts are numerous. 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 pronaos, 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 Portrait of Cleopatra and that of her son Ccesarion are on
the back wall of the exterior. Neither her features (which may still be traced)
nor her figure correspond with her renowned beauty. But the Egyptian
artist merely followed a conventional pattern, and had probably never seen
the queen herself.
Description of the Temple. — Like all Egyptian temples, it stands
in the centre of a large crude-brick enclosure, the height and thickness
of whose walls prevented anything that took place inside from being
seen or heard outside. From an isolated stone pylon, bearing the names"
of Domitian and Trajan, a dromps leads up to the entrance.
The Portico or pronaos (a) is a magnificent hypostyle hall supported
by 24 columns. Between the columns of the first line on either side of
the entrance stretches a high stone screen. In each of the side- walls is a
small doorway, which served for the passage of the priests and acolytes
bearing offerings. The main entrance was reserved for the king.
Immediately on the right after entering the hall are four pictures,
representing the ceremonies observed by the king before penetrating
into the interior of the temple. In the first Nero, in the guise of an
Egyptian Pharaoh, is leaving his palace, sandals on foot and sceptre in
hand, and preceded by five standards. The next scene shows him
undergoing the ceremony of purification at the hands of Thoth and
Horus. He then, in the third, receives the two crowns of Upper and
Lower Egypt from the goddesses Uatjet and Nekhebet. Thus recognised
as sovereign of the whole country, he, in the fourth picture, is seen led
by Mentu of Thebes and Turn of Heliopolis into the presence of the
goddess Hathor, to taste of the divine beauty and goodness. Similar
scenes occupy the walls on the left of the entrance.
On the ceiling is the Zodiac which led to so much learned con
troversy. Through the assistance of the Greek inscription, which was
strangely overlooked at the time of the first speculations as to its date,


Sect. V.] EOUTE 22.— CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY ElVEE. 369
and the hieroglyphic names of the Caesars on the exterior and interior
walls, Which were at first unknown, its date was satisfactorily ascer
tained ; and instead of being of early Pharaonic time, or of an
ante-diluvian age, it is now confined to a more modest and probable
antiquity. The only three Zodiacs known in Egypt, at Dendera,
Esna, and its former neighbour ed-Der, are of Ptolemaic or of
Boman date. The astronomical subjects on the ceilings of the tombs
of the kings and other ancient Egyptian monuments, even if they
may be considered zodiacal, are represented In a totally different
manner ; and we may be certain that the Zodiac, as we know it, is not
Egyptian. But it is remarkable that in those of Dendera and Esna the
sign Cancer is represented by a scarabaeus, not a crab ; though other
signs, as Sagittarius under the form of a Centaur, evidently of Greek
invention, are admitted. The introduction of the Zodiac is due to the
fact that the Khent, or Entrance Hall, is called "the Great Hall of
Nut," who symbolised the sky, into which the image of Hathor
was carried in a boat at the time of her festivals to meet her father
the Sun-god.
The details of the cornice of the portico offer a very satisfactory
specimen of the use of a triglyphic ornament. It is common in many
of the oldest Pharaonic temples, though arranged in a somewhat
different manner, and without so remarkable a metope as in the
present instance. On the frieze, or rather architrave, is «¦ procession
to Hathor ; and among the figures that compose it are two playing the
harp, and another the tambourine. The Greek inscription which
records the building of the portico is on the projecting fillet of the
cornice, and commences with the name of the Emperor Tiberius.
To the portico succeeds a Hall of 6 columns (e), called the " Hall of
the Appearance" (Usekh Khd), with 3 rooms on either side; the centre
one on the right (i) and the last on the left (h) having entrances from
the outside. Then comes a chamber (o) communicating on the left with
two rooms, from the first of which (q) a staircase (b) leads to the roof,
and on the right with a passage leading to 3 rooms (n, m, l) and
another staircase (k). Another chamber (d) follows, with one room (k)
on the left ; and then comes what has been called the sanctuary (b) ,
with a passage (s) leading round it communicating with several lateral
chambers, that in the centre at the end (z) being the one in which the
emblem of the divinity was preserved.
According to Mariette, each of these halls and chambers hacL-its
peculiar destination. The hall e was where the processions first
assembled. On its walls is a sort of calendar of the different fete-days.
"The Hall of the Altar " (o) and "The Middle Hall " or " Hall of the
Cycle of the Gods " (d) were annexes of b, containing altars at which
prayers were said as the procession passed on. In the " Sanctuary of
the Golden Hathor " (e) were kept the four sacred boats, which played
the. principal part in these processions. In the centre of each of these
boats was a small temple, containing the emblem of the god to which
it was sacred. Toward the innermost end of this chamber there is a
row of sockets crossing the floor, which may have supported pillars and
a curtain cutting off this part of the chamber, in the same manner as
the veil divided the holy place in the Tabernacle, f (called the Asit)
served as a laboratory in which were prepared the oils and essences
used for perfuming the temple and statues. G (the Sahit) was where
2 B


ft fist-.

NOBTH

ill nil

TKMPT.E OF DiSKLlERA.


Sect. V.] EOUTE 22— CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. 371
the fruits of the soil intended for offerings were collected and conse
crated., h and i were passages through which were brought in the
Offerings from Upper and Lower Egypt respectively. J ("the Silver-
house") was the treasure-chamber. All the scenes on' its walis
represent the king consecrating and offering different objects in gold
and silver. In k ("the Wardrobe ") were deposited all the sacred
vestments. The chambers l, m, n, o, p, and Q and the small temple
on the terrace were especially devoted to the celebration of the festival
of the New Year, marked by the appearance of the star Sirius. A
steep passage leads out of the chamber n to a vault which was
probably a place of concealment for the treasures of the temple. On
the walls of the two staircases (b) are pictured the details of the
processions that took place on New Year's day. At the head marches
the king ; behind him are 13 priests bearing standards surmounted
with the emblems of various divinities. The procession' first mounted
the northern staircase, and stopped at the hypasthral temple above
mentioned, each of whose 12 columns was dedicated' to one of the
months of the year ; it then descended by the southern staircase. The
rest of the temple was more particularly devoted to divine worship.
The corridor (s) is covered with the usual scenes, representing the king
making offerings to various divinities and receiving some gift in return ;
each scene being accompanied by an explanatory text. The chamber
T, "the room of the Besurrection," was dedicated to Osiris restored
to life ; u, " the Birthplace," to Isis brought to bed in the form of a
black and red woman; v, "the room of Sekari," to Osiris-Un-nefer
vanquishing his enemies under the form of crocodiles ; w to the same
god under the form of Hor-sam-taui. In X and Y Hathor was
especially Worshipped as the divinity who received and gave fresh life
to the sun each day. In z, "the' dwelling of Hathor," the same
goddess was. adored under her general titles, and in a niche in the wall
which the king' alone might enter was preserved her mysterious
emblem, a great golden sistrum. Here Pepi is twice represented
kneeling before Hathor with her son Ahi in his hands. The remaining
chambers (a, b, and d) were dedicated to Sekhet, Horus-Ba, and Ahi.
In the thickness of the walls and foundations are arranged long
narrow passages without openings of any kind. Admittance to them
could only be obtained by moving, by some mechanical contrivance, the
stone which concealed the entrance. Here were probably concealed
the statues in precious metals' and' the, other objects of value used in
the service of the temple.
TJbese Crypts are well worth inspection. Their walls are as pro
fusely decorated with sculpture as' those Of -theTemple above. Their
reliefs date from the reign of Ptolemy XHL, Neos Dionysos. In the
wall of Crypt No. 4, entered from Boom d, is a relief representing
King Pepi of the VI.. Dynasty offering a golden statuette of the god
Ahi to four images of Hathor. It is probable that images presented by
Pepi to the ancient ' temple which preceded the Ptolemaic one were
kept in this crypt.
Mention has already been made of the small Temple on the Roof.
It. is dedicated as a whole to Osiris' of An, the local divinity of Dendera,
and its six chambers are appropriated to the different forms of that
divinity worshipped in each of the 42 nomes into which ancient Egypt


372 eoute 22.— Caieo TO luxoe, by eivee. [Sect. V.
was divided; the three chambers on the N. to the northern nomes,
and the three on the S. to the southern nomes. In the second
chamber on the S. side was the planisphere or zodiac, which is now in
Paris. Other Buildings.— The Chapel of Isis was, according to Strabo,
behind the temple of Aphrodite, and this observation agrees remarkably
well with the size and position of the small temple of that goddess,
consisting, as it does, merely of 1 central and 2 lateral adyta, and a
transverse chamber or corridor in front ; and it stands immediately
behind the S.W. angle of that of Hathor. It is in this temple that the
cow is figured, before which the Sepoys are said to have prostrated
themselves when our Indian army, under Sir David Baird, reached
Egypt, by way of Kuser and the Wadi Hammamat, in 1800.
To the temple of Isis belonged the other pylon, which lies 170 paces
to the eastward, and which, as we learn from a Greek inscription (now
destroyed) on either face of its cornice, was dedicated to that goddess
in the thirty-first year of Caesar (Augustus) ; Publius Octavius being
military governor or prefect, and Marcus Claudius Posthumus
commander-in-chief. The same inscription is repeated on the E. side of
the same gateway.
Ninety paces to the N. of the great temple of Hathor is another
building, consisting of 2 outer passage-chambers, with 2 small rooms
on either side of the outermost one, and a central and 2 lateral adyta ;
the whole surrounded, except the front, by a peristyle of 22 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 Hathor, it is evident that it appertains to
the great temple of that goddess, who is here styled his mother. The
monster, moreover, has nothing to do with Typhon, but is the god
called in the hieroglyphs Bes, patron of mirth and the dance, and as
such his image figures frequently on various articles of the toilette-
table. These temples were styled by Champollion the mammisi, or
"lying-in-places," set apart for the accouchement of the goddess, and
where the third member of the triad worshipped in the adjoining
temple was born.
About 230 paces in front of the pylon of Hathor is an isolated
hypcethral building, consisting of 14 columns, united by intercolumnar
screens, with a doorway at either end ; and a short distance to the S.
are indications of an ancient reservoir. A little to the N.E. 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 S. of the pylon of Isis is another crude-brick en
closure, 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 funeral
monuments, Isis on one side, Nephthys on the other, of the deceased ;
which might lead us to suppose this enclosure to have been for sepul
chral purposes. The area within it measures about 155 paces by 265 ;
and at the S.E. corner is a well of stagnant water.


Sect. V.] eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 373
Under the auspices of the Egypt Exploration Fund, Prof. Petrie
examined, during the spring of 1898, the cemetery behind the Temple
of Dendera. With one exception, the III. Dynasty tomb of Abu-suten,
no tombs earlier than the IV. Dynasty were discovered, the greater
number having belonged to the period between Dynasties VI.-XI.
The small stelas belonging to this little-known period which were found
are of great archaeological value. Several of these stelas, as well as
that of Abu-suten, are now in the British Museum. During Ptolemaic
and Boman times an immense number of burials took place there.
Catacombs for sacred animals extending over a large area were also
found. They consist of tunnels of brickwork branching from main
galleries, in which were laid thousands of bodies of dogs, cats, goats,
ibises, monkeys, &c, which at some time or other had evidently been
burnt. The Town of Tenty rls 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 appear to be the remains of tombs. They
were, probably, of a time when Tentyris ceased to be a populous city, and
when a deserted part of it was set apart for the burial of the dead. In the
limestone mountains S.S.E. 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. Between the town and the edge of the sandy plain to the S. 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 mentioned 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 Romans 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 Seneca accounts for it by the
contempt and consciousness of superiority they felt in attacking their enemy,
those who were deficient in presence of mind being frequently killed.
The hatred of the Tentyrites for the crocodile was the cause of serious
disputes with the inhabitants of Ombos (near Dendera ; see below, p. 374),
where it was particularly worshipped ; and the unpardonable affront of killing
and eating the god-like animal was resented by the Ombites with all the rage of
a sectarian feud. No religious war was ever urged with more energetic zeal ;
and the conflict of the Ombites and Tentyrites terminated in the disgraceful
ceremony, of a cannibal feast, at which (if we can believe the rather doubtful
authority of Juvenal) the body of one who was killed in the affray was eaten by
his triumphant adversaries.
(W.) At Taramsa is a ferry to
(E.) Kena (often written Keneh), 412 m. The chief town of the
province.' (Pop. 24,500.) A large and important town situated on the
banks, of a canal about 2£ m. from the Nile. It stands on the site of
Kainopolis, or Neapolis, "the New City," but boasts no remains of
antiquity. There are baths, and a good bazaar with several Greek
shops. The market is held every Thursday. Excellent dates are grown
and sold at Kena. They are in drums, or small boxes, and are thus
preserved, in. a soft state, They are put in whole like SJniyrna. figs ; n.Q.t


374 EOUTE 22. — CAIEO TO LUXOE, by eivee. [Sect. V.
broken up into a mass like the Agwaot Cairo. To one of these processes
Pliny alludes when he says, " Thebaidis. fructus extemplo in cados
conditur." Kena has succeeded Kuft and Kus as the exporium of trade
with the Arabian coast, which it 'supplies with corn, carried by way of
Kuser .to Emba (Yambo) and Jeddah. It is noted for its manufacture
of porous water-jars and bottles, the former called in Arabic zir, the
latter kulla and dorak, which are in great request throughout Egypt.
The clay used for making them is an argillaceous shale (tafl), found in a
wadi to the northward of the town. It is mixed with the sifted ashes of
halfa grass in proper proportions.
At Kena is a large colony of ghawdzi (sing, ghdziya). ¦ These
dancing-girls are often erroneously called 'almas, the 'alma being a
female professional singer, while the ghdziya is a dancer, and a much
more disreputable character. They are to be met with in most of the
large villages and towns of Egypt. Many travellers have raved about
the beauty of these ghawdzi, and the gracefulness of their dance ; but
the real truth is that nine-tenths of them are ugly and repulsive, and
their dance inelegant when kept within the bounds of outward decency,
and disgusting when allowed full swing. The Christian community at
Kena is large. The church towers, like Moslem minarets, but sur
mounted by the cross, are well seen from the railway.
The direct road to Kuser on the Bed Sea goes from Kena (see
p. 208). ( W. ) The ancient village of Pampanis, the next mentioned by Ptolemy
after Tentyris, stood inland. Dumichen pointed out that it is the Pa-Nubt,
or " Temple of Nubt," mentioned in the texts at Dendera, which on a statue of
Pen-nut found at Dendera is called "Nubt of An," i.e. Ombos of Dendera.
Prof. Petrie's excavations in 1895 have shown that the site is at a kom on the
edge of the desert, z\ m. W.S.W. of Zawayda (south of Ballds ; see below),
where he discovered the remains of a temple dedicated by Thothmes III. to
' ' Set of Nubt " or Ombos. This is the Ombos referred to by Juvenal (Sat. xv. ).
A few paces N. of the temple is a small ruined pyramid. The temple was
founded in the time of the IV. Dynasty and partly rebuilt by Thothmesl. and
Ramses II. This small town of Upper Egypt was one of the few places where
the worship of Set was always maintained.. Between 4 and 5 m. S. of the
kom, inland from the village of Tiikh (nearly opposite Kits), are tombs of the
XVIII. Dynasty, partly excavated in the rock, partly built of crude brick in the
desert. In this district a large prehistoric cemetery was excavated by Messrs.
Petrie and Quibell in 1896. The cemetery was at first thought by the
discoverers to belong to a "New Bace" of invaders who had occupied
this part of the Nile valley between the VI. and XL Dynasties.' The
true position of these neolithic people was however shewn by , the
discoveries of M. de Morgan to be anterior to the dynastic period of
Egyptian history (see De Morgan, Recherches : I' Age de Pierre en
" i«e, vol. i.).

(W.) Ballas, Copt. Pallas (421 m.), is well known for its manufacture
of earthen jars, which from this town have received the name Of
balldsi, and are universally used in Egypt for the purpose of carrying
water. When ' full they are of great weight ; and; while admiring the
graceful gait of the women as they walk with them from the river, one
is surprised to find them able to bear them on their heads. The same
kind of jars is used, like some amphorae of the ancients, for preserving


Sect. V.] eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 375
rice, butter, treacle and oil, and for other domestic purposes ; and large
rafts made of balldsi jars are frequently floated down the Nile, to be
disposed of in the markets of the metropolis. The word ballds is now
generally used for a large pot, with plur. baldlis.
The Western Hills now become very high and imposing, as the
Thebaid is entered. On the E. the mountains are low and broken, and
do not become important again until S. of Khizam (see below).
Near Ballas should be the site of Contra-Coptos, which is probably
at Der el-Ballas, where there is a kom in which a stone with the name
of Ba-Sekenen Taa II. (XVII. Theban Dynasty) has been found.
(E.) Kuft (422 fa. ; 4,200 inh.), the ancient Koptos, is lm. from the
river, on the E. bank, the port being named Barild, In Coptic Kuft
was styled Keft or Kcbet, and in the hieroglyphs Kebt. The local deity
was Min.
Ku.ft is historically one of tbe most interesting places in Upper Egypt, for
it would seem as if the whole country takes- its name from it. It has been
ingeniously conjectured that the revival of the monarchy under the XI. Dynasty
was much furthered by the wealth derived from u-ade with Arabia and the Red
Sea — trade which must have passed through Kebt, and is specially described,
in an inscription of that period, on the rocks in the valley of Hammamat, in
which "the perfumed gums collected by the desert chiefs " are mentioned ; and
that perhaps in this way Upper Egypt first became known to the foreign
nations of antiquity. One of the Mentu-heteps, of the XI. Dynasty, according
to the inscription in the valley of Hammamat, ordered wells to be dug on the
road through the desert, between Kebt and the Red Sea. Kebt was certainly
later on the headquarters of the religion of Egypt, for in the early ages of
Christianity, and especially during the persecutions of Diocletian, the Chris
tians of Koptos acquired the name now universally applied to their descendants
throughout the country.
Kebt is the scene of a very curious legend (translated in ' Records of the
Past,' ist ser., iv. 129), preserved in a papyrus in the Giza Museum: The prince
Setna is represented in it as receiving from Ahura, a ghost, the account of a
voyage from Memphis to Kebt, where her son and she herself are successively
drowned and are buried. Her husband and brother, Ptah-nefer-ka, goes back
with a magic book he had discovered in the "midst of the river of Koptos,"
and afterwards Setna comes to Kebt, and removes the bodies of Ahura and her
son Merhu, in the necropolis there, to rebury them with her husband at
Memphis. In the papyrus mention is made of tbe worship of Isis and Horus at
Kebt. Mr. Harris found here an inscription of the 8th year of Trajan,
containing a dedication to Isis. MYiaa relates a story of the respect paid by
scorpions to her temple.
Some remains of its old wall are still visible, and even the towers of the
gateway, which stood on the E. side. The ruins are mostly of a late epoch :
the names on the fallen fragments of masonry that lie scattered within its
precincts, or on those employed in building the Christian church, being of
different Csesars. S. of the town a granite pillar and several. other blocks of
stone bearing the cartouche of Thothmes III. show that some monument
existed at Koptos of a very remote date, to which the Roman emperors after
wards made additions ; and on a stone built into a bridge on the road to the
river were the name. and prenomen of Antef V., of the XIII. or XVII. Dynasty.
During the winter of 1893-94, Prof. Petrie excavated the site of this ancient
city. The remains of no less than six superposed temples were discovered,
ranging from the- most remote period to Ptolemaic times. On a piece of
alabaster was found the name of Khufu, the builder of the Great Pyramid, and
the second king of the IV. Dynasty. Several sculptures of the temple built by
'AnfefViweffe 'recovered. ' Three statues of the god Min belongm§rto the roost


376 EOUTE 22. —CAIEO TO LUXOE, by eivee. [Sect. V.
archaic period were also found ; they are rude in style and of primitive work
manship : also stone lions and hawks, which, judging from their style, must
belong to the earlier reigns of the I. Dynasty.
One of the most interesting " finds " of all was a Greek inscription giving the
list of tolls to be paid by persons arriving at the Red Sea gate of Koptos.
But owing to the depredations of the early Christians, little can be traced of the
ancient buildings, their materials having been used to construct the church, part
of which too only now remains. There are also the remnants of some hiero
glyphic inscriptions, with the name of Ptolemy XIII. (Auletes), as well as the
scanty ruins of a temple on the wall of which the inscriptions and sculptures
of Tiberius have been cut over earlier Greek graffiti. S. of the granite column
of Thothmes III. is a staircase with 14 ascending and descending passages,
and the cartouches of the Roman Emperor Caligula.
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 that emperor. It bad played a
conspicuous part in the rebellion against his authority, and the severity which
he exercised at the same time upon the Alexandrians fell with still greater
weight on the inhabitants of Koptos. At the village of al-Kal'd, "the
Citadel," N. of Kuft, is a small and very perfect temple, of Roman date,
bearing the cartouches of Tiberius Claudius.
Besides the ruins of temples and other buildings, the vestiges of its canals
still attest the opulence of this city ; which continued to be the mart of Indian
commerce from the foundation of Berenike till its destruction in the reign of
Diocletian ; and though, as in Strabo's time, the Myos-Hormos was found to
be a more convenient port than Berenike, and was frequented by almost all the
Indian and Arabian fleets, Koptos still continued to be the seat of commerce.
Myos-Hormos was afterwards succeeded by Philoteras Portus, and this again
gave place, at a later period, to the modern town of Kuser. Koptos, too, was
supplanted by Kus, 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 Kena.
It was to Koptos that much of the stone quarried in the porphyry and
other mountains of the eastern desert was transported ; for which purpose
large roads were constructed, at considerable labour and expense, over sandy
plains, and through the sinuosities of valleys. But that of the emerald-mines
took the direction of Contra-Apollinopolis ; nor does it appear that any other
communication was established with these mines from Koptos than by the
Berenike road (see Rte. 13).
(E.) The town of esh-Shurafa, to the N. of Kuft, is so called from
having been founded and inhabited by some Sherifs, or descendants of
Mohammed ; who are distinguished from other Moslems by the peculiar right
of wearing a green turban — a custom first introduced by one of the Baharide
Mameluke sultans of Egypt, El-Ashraf Sha'ban, A.D. 1363-1377.
Abu'lfeda says that the town of Kuft was a wakf, " entail," of the Sherifs,
though it appears rather to have belonged to the Haramin of Mecca and
Medina. How the inhabitants of Kuft came to be Shiites, as he says they
were, he does not explain ; and it would be curious to ascertain if this was
really the case in former times.
(E.) At Kus (429 m.), in Coptic Kos-Birba ("Temple Kos"), is the
site of Apollinopolis Parva (in hieroglyphics Kesi). In the time of
Abu'lfeda, about a.d. 1344, it was the next city in size and conse
quence to Fustat, the capital, and the emporium of the Arabian trade ;
but it is now reduced to the rank of a small town (pop. 13,000). At a
sebil is a monolith, now converted into a, tank, with a hieroglyphic
inscription on the jarnbs, containing the name of Ptolemy Philadelphos j


Sect. V.] eoute 22. — caieo to luxoe, by eivee. 377
and a short distance to the W. of the town, near a shekh's tomb, are
some fragments of sandstone, and a few small granite columns.
Little, however, now remains of the temple, the pylon of which was
still standing in 1850. It had a Greek inscription stating that Cleopatra
and Ptolemy VII. (Philometor) had dedicated the building to Aroijris
(the younger Horus) and his fellow-gods.
Large sandbanks here obstruct the course of the river for some
distance. In the early part of the year they are a favourite resort of
all kinds of water-birds. Later on they are planted with melons.
(W.) Nakada, 433 m. (Post and Tel.), a short distance S. of Kris, and on
the opposite bank, is noted for its Coptic and Boman Catholic convents,
and, in Abu'lfeda's time, was famous for its gardens and sugar-cane.
The bend of the river here offers one of the most lovely and picturesque
views on the Nile. The town itself is old, and presents a curious and
pleasing appearance, owing to the lofty pigeon- towers which crown every
house. This effect is of course seen in many villages on the Nile, but
in none are the number of pigeon-towers greater or their battlemented
appearance more remarkable than at Nakada. The pigeons are kept for
the sake of their dung, which is the only manure used in Egypt, but it
is doubtful whether the profit thus obtained from them is not more
than counterbalanced by the ravages they commit in the fields.
Between Nakada and Kamula (see below), on the edge of the desert, are 4
very old convents, which as usual are ascribed to the time of Helena. The
principal of them is Der el-Melak (of St. Michael), about 3 m. behind Nakada.
The inclosure and other walls are constructed almost entirely of crude brick,
but a few courses of burnt brick appear in one or two of the apses outside.
The church, which is rather a congeries of small churches than a single building,
is very curious. It is very low, and all the arches are round. This church is
remarkable for the perhaps unique feature of having no wooden screens in any
part of it, they being all constructed of solid masonry. The screens of the
three principal hekals differ likewise from the ordinary plan in having two doors
with a window between them, instead of a central door between two windows
or apertures. The church is surmounted by no less than 28 domes, and has
besides a small chamber with a vaulted barrel roof. A chamber of larger size
in the domestic buildings has a roof of similar construction. This der is now
unoccupied, but service is celebrated on certain festivals by clergy from the
convent at Nakada. The other convents are those of Es-Salib (of the Cross),
near ed-Denfik, with a very small church ; of Mari Girgis ; and of Mari Bokti
(St. Victor), about i\ m. beyond El-'Araba, the oldest of all, with a. church
with a semicircular apse, and some remains of frescoes on its domes. On the
desert W. of Nakada is the great mastaba-tomb of King Aha, one of the
earliest monarchs of Egypt, and in all probability one of the originals of the
legendary Mena. It was discovered and excavated by M. de Morgan in 1897,
and has since been re-examined by Mr. Garstang (1904). One of the romances
of Egyptology may be recorded here. Part of a small ivory plaque with a very
important inscription, which has been supposed to identify Aha definitely with
Mena, was found in this tomb by M. de Morgan. Mr. Garstang found the
rest of it (a fragment only an inch in diameter) and the two pieces are now
re-joined in the Museum at Cairo. The crenellated walls of the tomb are
remarkable, and resemble the walls of Telloh in Babylonia.
(E.) At Senhur, about two hours' ride from Kus by the inland road to
Luxor, there are extensive mounds of an ancient town, and both a small temple
and the remains of a Christian church. The temple is worth seeing from the
simplicity of the arrangements, which will enable the beginner in Egyptian
antiquities to understand better the plan of sopie of the vast and complicated


378 EOUTE 22.  CAIEO TO LUXOE, BY EIVEE. [Sect. V
edifices he is now approaching. In the sanctuary, which is quite whole,
Tiberius, represented as a young man, is seen offering to Amen-Ra, Horus, and
Min. The name of the town, Sen-Hor, may be found among the hieroglyphs.
Only a few pillars of the church are to be seen in front of the temple. The
minaret of the mosque is of an early and peculiarly picturesque type, reminding
the traveller of an Irish round tower, which it exactly resembles. In the
desert E. of Senhur there is a brick enclosure within which tombs of the
XI. Dynasty have been found.
(W.) The characteristic mountain mass, of Western Thebes, the
culminating point of the Thebaid hills, is now clearly visible to the S.
Between Nakada and Thebes the river makes a considerable curve to
the E. (IF"., e'd-Denfik ; Kerektan ; E., Khizdm (Bly. sta.), with an XL
Dyn. necropolis), and a little above this bend, just below Thebes, on the
W. bank, is Kamula. It was noted in Abu'lf eda's time for its numerous
gardens and sugar-cane plantations, which are mentioned also by
Norden. At the time of the rebellion of Shekh Ahmad, the soi-disant
vizier, in 1824, it was the residence of the well-known ' Ali Kashef Abii
Tarbush, who defended the military post there against the insurgents
with great gallantry.
(E.) Medamot (2£ hrs. from Luxor) stands some distance inland on
the E. It is supposed to mark 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 esh-Sherkiya, or "the eastern Karnak."
It is generally visited from Thebes (see p. 405).
Even before Kamula is reached the ruins of Karnak, the Colossi, and
all the temples on the W. bank, come into sight ; and in a short time
the boat is moored to the E. bank, close under an ancient temple, near
whose ruins cluster the hotels and mud huts of the modern town of
(E.) Luxor, 454 m.

1. Preliminary Information . 379
2. General History and Topo
graphy  380
3. The Eastern Bank : Luxor . 387
4. Karnak . . 392
5. Medamot  406
6. The Western Bank : General
Description . 406
7. The Colossi . 409
The Eamesseum 412

ROUTE 23.
Luxor and Thebes.
PAGE I PAGE

10. The Tombs of the Queens . 431
11. Der el-Medina . . 432
12. KfjRNET MURRAI  434
13. The Tombs of Shekh 'Abd el-
Kurna .... 436
14. The Temple of Kurna 444
15. The Tombs of the Kings . 446
16. Der el-Bahari . 460
17. The Asasif'  468
18. Dra' Abu 'l-Negga . . 471

9. MEDINET HABU . 419 \ 1$. THE WESTERN DESERT . ' ill





Fold out





Sect. V.} ROUTE 23, — LUXOK AND THEBES. 379
1. Preliminary Information.
The Town of Luxor. — Luxor £ (for Hotels see the Index-Directory)
(P.T., British. Vice- Consulate) is a small but increasing town (12,000
inh.) and is the chief stopping-place, on the Nile voyage. It is
the head-quarters from which to visit the ruins of Thebes, the most
important and interesting in Egypt.
Luxor is 454 m. S. of Cairo, and 136 m. N. of Aswan. Its name is
properly spelt el-TJk*ury " the Palaces," from its many temples.
Mooring -place for dahabiyas. — The usual mooi'ing-place for dahabiyas is against
the E. bank S. of the town ; but it is preferable to anchor on the W. bank, as it is
Quieter and cleaner, and cross over to the town when occasion requires in the feluka.
The steamer landing-places are immediately in front of the Great Temple, and close
to the Luxor Hotel. Here also the ferry-boats to the "VV. bank lie : fare there and
back, P.T.2 per head for a European; P.T.I for a native. Hotel-boats, P.T.5, more
comfortable. Tickets at hotels. Donkeys P.T.10 the day; P.T.5 half-day. There
are two or three cabs. Hotel-omnibuses meet the trains. The rly. station is E. of
the town, 10 minutes' walk from the river. Post-office on the quay; Tel. at the
Luxor Hotel.
Shooting. — Capital quail -shooting may be had on both sides of tbe river in the
month of March, or even earlier. About 4 hrs.' ride inland on the W. bank, in the
direction of Erment, is a lake, at which good duck-shooting may be had in the
winter. It is necessary, however, to be provided with a tent, so as to spend the
night near the lake, and be ready for shooting at daybreak. A visit to the ruins of
Karnak by moonlight — a visit which none should neglect to pay if they have the
opport unity —may be combined with a night's watching for hysenas, which occa
sionally, but very seldom, are to be seen there.
Purchase of Antiquities, — There are several resident antiquity dealers in
Luxor : el-Hagg Mohamed Mohassib is the most reliable, and is always
extremely careful with regard to the genuineness of his antiquities ; the same
cannot, however, be said of all the Luxor dealers, though several are desirous
of securing as good a reputation as Mohamed Mohassib's in this respect ;
and as during the season the town is invaded by smaller dealers and bric-a-brac
sellers, besides being overrun by natives with scarabs (mostly forged) to sell,
antiquities and curiosities should be purchased with great caution. Genuine
things are to be had : but there is a regular manufacture of antiquities,
especially scarabaei and basalt images, at Luxor ; and some of the imitations
are very clever and difficult to detect. If it can be arranged, a visit to one of
the houses where these are made is interesting. The most tempting objects,
as a rule, are papyrus rolls. When genuine they should, if possible, be
bought, but forgeries are very common, and it is seldom possible to tell what
the roll contains. Should the roll be a valuable one, injudicious attempts at
opening may seriously injure it. Many of the best papyri in existence in
European museums, want the first lines, owing to want of care in opening them.
As a general rule, really valuable articles are not produced for the inspection
of ordinary travellers. Some dealers keep successive rooms of (i) forgeries,
(2) bad, (3) good, and (4) fine articles, and permit visitors to go as far in the
.series as they judge profitable.
Mode of Seeing Thebes.— Those who are on their way up the
river to the First or Second Cataract will do well, if the wind is
favourable on their arrival at Luxor, to stop .there no longer than may
be absolutely necessary for procuring provisions, getting letters, &C,
and leave all the sight-seeing till they come back on their way down.
This course has the further advantage of putting off the visit to
Thebes till the days are longer than in December and January. -
For those pressed for time three days may best be spent jn. the following
manner ;—


380 EOUTE 23.  LUXOE AND THEBES. [Sect. V.
1st Day.— Cross early to the W. bank, visit the Colossi, the JRamesseum, Der el-
Medina, and Medinet Habu. If time permit, one or two of the Tombs of Shekh
'Abd el-Kurna, or the Tombs of the Queens might be visited between the temples of
Der el -Medina and Medinet Habu, in which case it is better to visit the latter
temple first.
2nd Day.— The Temples of Luxor, Karnak, and the adjacent ruins.
3rd Day. — Cross early to the W. bank, visit the Temple of Seti I. at Kurna, and
then ride along the valley to the Tombs of the Kings. Instead of coming back the
same way climb the path to the top of the Libyan Mountain, whence there is a
magnificent view over the plain of Thebes ; descend to Der el-Bahari, thence, if there
is time, to the Tombs of the Asasif.
In this way the traveller who merely wishes to say he has seen
Thebes may get through it in three days. But all who can should
spend at least a week there. Karnak alone ought to have 2 days given
to it ; and, as will be seen from the description of the various remains
on the W. bank, there is plenty there to occupy several days.
Candles, matches, and magnesium wire should be taken for seeing the
interiors of the tombs properly. Torches should never be used for this
purpose, as they blacken the sculptures and utterly spoil them. Many
of the private tombs are so blackened by the fires of the peasants who
inhabit them as no longer to be worth visiting ; and if torches were
used for lighting up the Tombs of the Kings their smoke would soon
completely disfigure them. Travellers are ready enough to reproach
the ignorant natives for the injury they do to the monuments, though
they themselves are often quite as deserving of reproach for their share
in the destruction, for the encouragement they give to the peasants to
break off some piece of sculpture by buying it when brought, and often
by employing them to obtain it.
[It is unnecessary to provide candles for seeing the Tombs of the Kings, as they
are lighted by electricity. If tickets for seeing the antiquities have not been
obtained at Cairo, they must be provided here. Office of the Chief Inspector of
Antiquities, Mr. A. E. Weigttll, Luxor.]
2. General History and Topography. "By the fertile stream
Where, in Egyptian Thebes, the heaps of precious ingots gleam,
The hundred-gated Thebes, where twice ten score in martial state
Of valiant men with steeds and cars march through each massy gate."
(Blackie's Translation of the Iliad.)
Name. — The name Thebes is derived lromApe(t), the name given by
the old inhabitants of the nome of Uaset or Tjdmet (the Thebaid) to the
two large towns which stood close together on the E. bank of the Nile,
on the sites of the modern Karnak and Luxor. The ancient repre
sentative of Karnak was called Apet-asut, "The seats of Apet," while
ancient Luxor was named Apet-reset, "Southern Apet." The Coptic
inhabitants of the Thebaid called Karnak Ape, with the article Tape ;
this form was probably in vogue in more ancient times, and was
corrupted by the Greeks to 0i)0ai, Thebes, a name well known to them.
The name Thebes was not, however, generally used by the Greek inhabi
tants in Ptolemaic and Roman days ; by these it was called Diospolis,
"City of Zeus," because the god Amonrasonter (Amen-Ba su-ntiru,
"king of the gods "), local deity of Thebes, and head of the Egyptian
pantheon, had been identified with Zeus as " Zeus Ammon." It was
further designated Diospolis Magna, to distinguish it from the lesser
Piospolis further nortl} (see p. 366),


Sect. V.] sOute 23.— r-uxoK and Thebes 381
In Pharaonic times, when the two Apets had joined together as one
city, and suburbs had sprung up on the W. bank of the river, at
Medamot and elsewhere, the united city was generally known simply
as No, "the City"^>a»- excellence, or No Amon, "the City of the god
Amon," in the Assyrian inscriptions called Ni. The great necropolis
of the W. bank, extending from the Tombs of the Queens in the S. to
the mouth of the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings in the N., and its
attendant suburb, was generally known as Uaset, or Tjamet Amentet,
"Western Thebes"; in later times as Pafhyris (Pa-Hathor), as being
under the special protection of the goddess Hathor, who is called
" Mistress of the West," or " She who is in the Western Desert " ; for
though Amen-ra was the chief deity worshipped there, as in other
quarters of Diospolis, Hathor had a special claim over the necropolis
beneath the western mountain, where she was fabulously reported
to receive the setting sun into her arms. She is, generally speaking,
the mistress of the waste. Der el-Bahari was the centre of her worship,
on the western bank. (A peculiar form of her, named Mersegret,
" She who loveth Silence," was especially venerated in the necropolis,
in the form of a serpent with the head of a woman — the snake-guardian
of the tombs.)
The district in which the temple of Medinet Habu is situated was
anciently known as Atjcmet ; either from this name or from the word
Tjamet, signifying the Thebaid generally, was derived the Coptic name
Tjeme, which was borne by the monasteries of the western bank from
Medinet Habu to Der el-Bahari; ptoou ntjeme, "the Hill of Tjeme,"
was in the seventh century a.d. the regular designation of the Western
Mountain, in which large numbers of anchorites lived.
History. — The date of the formation of Thebes still remains, like
that of Memphis, the capital of Lower Egypt, enveloped in that
obscurity which is the fate of all the most ancient cities. We first
hear of it in the time of the XI. Dynasty. Originally Hermonthis, now
Erment, was the capital of the Tjamet or Uaset-nome, and its god
Mentu was the original patron of the Thebaid ; he was displaced from
this position when" Thebes, the city of Amen, came to the front under
the XL Dynasty.
In early days the TJamet-nome was ruled by Art-princes of the usual type :
the tomb of one of these was found at K.urna by Mr. P. E. Newberry in 1896,
and the British Museum possesses two fine funerary statuettes of Mera, a
Theban chief of the Herakleopolite period. Theban princes of the early period
were also buried at Khizam, N. of Karnak. The false-door of the tomb or
one of them, named User, is in the Cairo Museum.
It is possible that the Theban chiefs who revolted from the Herakleopolites
were of Hermonthite origin, and removed the seat of their government to
Thebes when about to assume independent sovereignty. We have accounts
of some of the fighting between the Thebans and the Herakleopolite kings in
the biographies of the Tefabas and Khetis of Asyut, who describe their cam
paigns against the Southerners in their tombs in the mountain of Asyut (see
P- 342)- When the Theban princes, after having assumed the royal title, extended
their authority over the greater part of the kingdom, Thebes became the royal
seat of government, the " capital " of Egypt, as we should say, and the kings
of the XI. Dynasty were buried in the western necropolis, where the greatest
of them, Neb-hapet-Ra Mentuhetep, built his funerary temple at Der el-Bahari
(discovered in 1903 ; see p. 460). He was afterwards worshipped as tutelary


382 r6ut£ 23.— luxob akd tHeSees^ [Sect. V.
daemon of the necropolis. The monarchs of the XII. Dynasty actually ruled
from a royal burg called Athet-taui, ' ' Controlling the Two Lands, in the
neighbourhood of Lisht'(p. 300), near the Fayyum, , to which they showed
special partiality (see pp. 261 ff.) ; but they were Theban princes, and Thebes
remained the chief city of the country, growing in importance under their rule
and that of their descendants. When Lower and Middle Egypt had been
overrun and conquered by the alien Hyksos, Thebes became the centre Of the
national resistance to the invader, and its princes were the undisputed leaders
of the nation. When the Hyksos were expelled, the Theban princes inaugu.
rated the imperial age of Egypt, and Thebes became one of the greatest cities
of the ancient world.
Ancient authors do not agree as to the extent of this city, which, according 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 supposing that the
latter speaks of it when still an ancient city. The epithet Hekatompylos, applied
to it by Homer (//. ix. 379-384 ; a passage probably not older than the sixth
century B.C.), has generally been thought 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 propyksa of the temples," and that this
metaphorical expression rather implies a plurality than a definite number.
This is certainly the correct explanation; the " hundred gates of Thebes "
are the great pylons of the temples. The well-known Homeric passage is of
great interest as showing how far the renown of Thebes had penetrated beyond
the borders of Egypt in the early classical period.
There is no doubt that from the sixteenth to the eleventh century B.C.
Thebes was the most magnificent and the most populous city in the ancient
world. Babylon may have rivalled it in extent and, later, in population, but
can never have equalled it in magnificence or even in wealth. To it flowed the
stored riches of the conquered countries of Asia and the gold won from the
mines of Nubia. Thebes had been the seat of the kings of the XVII. Dynasty
who had expelled the Hyksos conquerors, and of their successors who carried
the war against the Semites into Asia, and bore the standards of Egypt in
triumph to the banks of the Euphrates. Until the rise of the " Hittite" and
Assyrian powers in the fourteenth century B.C. all Mesopotamia arid Syria
obeyed the behests of the Egyptian emperor who ruled from far-distant Thebes ;
and until the founding of the kingdom of David and Solomon Palestine con
tinued subject to Egypt. Through all these centuries the tribute of the
conquered nations poured into the treasuries of the kings and into the coffers
of the powerful confraternity of the priests of Theban Amen, " King -of the
Gods," who had inspired the kings to expel the Hyksos, and under whose
protection they had overthrown the world of foreigners and placed their feet
upon the necks of the barbarians. So long as the great empire endured so
long endured the greatness of Thebes, but when foreign conquests fell away
and the sources of tribute were dried up, the magnificent city shrank. Its
priestly monarchs of the XXL Dynasty, poverty-stricken and powerless, were
compelled to see the control of Lower Egypt slip away from /Thebaic hands ;
but Theban pride maintained the fiction that the rulers of Tanis and Bubastis
were merely "those to, whom Amen has committed the guardianship , of his
North-land," no true Phafaohs, but only the viceroys, of the Theban theocrats.
When this theocratic Theban government of Upper Egypt disappeared and
Thebes was added to the dominions of the Bubastite Pharaohs of the XXII.
Dynasty, the eclipse of Thebes was in full progress, but the final obscuration
was not effected till the epoch of the Assyrian conquest of Egypt, when, about
B.C. 665, the generals of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, after repeated revolts,
razed it to the ground, carried its inhabitants into captivity, and destroyed its
temples so far as was possible, removing to Nineveh two of its obelisks as '
trophies (see Nahum iii. 8).
Still, even after this disaster, though shorn of all her ancient imperial glory,


Sect., V.] ROUTE 23.— LUXOR AttD THEBES:. §83
Thebes continued to exist as an important city, and Amonrasonter continued
to be the greatest god of the pantheon even under the Sa'ites arid earlier
Ptolemies. Indeed we may almost speak of a certain revival of Thebes under;
the first Ptolemies. After the Assyrian conquest, which dissolved all the ancient
Theban glories of the Thothmes and Ramses into thin air, the magnificent
traditions of the Empire had seemed to the Egyptians vain and of no account :
and the artists and architects of the XXVI. Dynasty had turned from Theban
models to seek their inspiration in the simplicity of the art and architecture of
the Old Kingdom, as exemplified at Memphis and Sakkara. When, however,
under the Ptolemies, Egypt again appeared as an Asiatic conqueror, and
Euergetes rivalled the campaigns of Thothmes III., the Theban tradition
revived, and the Greek kings began not only to masquerade upon the walls of
its temples in the guise of Ramses, but actually to repair the temples and add
new buildings to them : a notable example is the fine granite central shrine of
Amen at Karnak made in the reign of Philip Arrhidaeus. This Theban revival
was, however, but an artificial one, and was confined to the priestly archaeo
logists, architects, and artists.
Commercial wealth, on the accession of the Ptolemies, began to flow
through other channels ; and Ethiopia no longer contributed to the revenues of
Thebes. Its subsequent revolt under Epiphanes, and destruction, after a three
years' siege, by Ptolemy Lathyros, struck a death-blow to the welfare and
existence of this capital, which thenceforth ceased to be called a "metropolis"
or city, and is entitled simply the "villages." Some, few repairs were, how
ever, made to its dilapidated temples by Euergetes II. 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.
Yet it still retained in Roman days the proud name of Diospolis, and the
tradition of its ancient greatness has never died. Diodorus, who visited it
about B.C. 57, thus describes its antique glory (Bk. i., 45-46) ;—". After this
reigned Busiris and again eight of his descendants, the last of whom, who
bore the; same name as the first, is said to have built the city called by the
Egyptians Diospolis the Great, by the Greeks Thebes. The circuit of it was
one hundred and forty stadia (twelve miles), and he adorned it wonderfully
with great buildings and stately temples and other monuments, and Ukewise
provided it with the houses of the private citizens, some four stories, others five
stories high, and generally made it the finest city, not only in Egypt, but in all
the world. And on account of the superabundance of its wealth and power its
fame was noised abroad in every place, and the Poet (Homer) speaks of it when
he says ovS' oaa ©tJSois
AiyvTTrias, 0O1 7rAeia-ra 56/aois eft KTrpjiara klItoj.,
at 0' eKwrop-irvKol eitrt, Scijkoitioi S' ai/' eKaonje
aiiepes e£oixvey<rt ovv imrouriv xai 6xe(T</>ip.
(see Translation at head of this section. ) \
Some say that the city had not a hundred gates, but many great propylaia of
the temples, from which it was called ' Hundred-gated ' (Hekatompylos), so to
say •-' Many-gated. ' That two thousand chariots set out from it to the wars is
true : for there were the hundred stables along the river bank from Memphis
to Thebes towards Libya, each holding more than two hundred horses ; of
these the foundations are still shown.
" We have it that not only this king, but many of those who reigned after
him, busied themselves with the increase of the city ; for that no city under the
; sun was so adorned with many great monuments of silver and gold and ivory,
and with a multitude of colossal statues, and also with monolithic obelisks.
Of four temples which were built, the most wonderful lor beauty and size is the
oldest, thirteen stadia in circuit, five and forty cubits in height, and with a wall
twenty-four feet broad. And answering to this magnificence was the decora-


384 route 23. — luxor and tSEbeS. [Sect. V;
tion of the monuments in it, wonderful for cost and accurate in handiwork.
The buildings have remained to our own time, but the silver and gold and the
decoration of ivory and fine stone were robbed by the Persians what time
Cambyses burnt the temples of Egypt .... Here also, they say, are the
tombs of the ancient kings, wonderful to see and in no way behind those of
later days which arc most highly esteemed."
In Roman times the city had become much what it is now, a collection of
villages with the ancient temples and tombs rising among them, and was, as it
is now, a place for tourists and scientific men to visit. The fame of the musical
statue of Memnon brought many noble and learned Romans to the city ;
among them the Emperor Hadrian, and, at an earlier period, the prince
Germanicus and the geographer Strabo (B.C. 24), who thus describes his
visit: "After the city of Apollo comes Thebes, now called Diospolis, 'with
her hundred gates, through each of which issue two hundred men, with horses
and chariots,' according to Homer, who mentions also its wealth ; ' not all the
wealth the palaces of Egyptian Thebes contain.' Other writers use the same
language, and consider Thebes the capital of Egypt. The remains of its
greatness which still exist extend eighty stadia (nine miles) in length. There
are numerous temples, many of which were damaged by Cambyses. The site
is at present occupied by villages. The part in which the city lay is on the
Arabian bank ; on the other bank is the part in which the Memnonium lies.
Here are two colossal figures near one another, each consisting of a single
stone. One is entire ; the part of the other above the throne has fallen down,
the effect, it is said, of an earthquake. It is believed that once a day a noise
as of a slight blow issues from the part of the statue which still remains on the
throne. . . . Above the Memnonium are tombs of the kings cut out of the
rock, about forty in number: they are executed with singular skill and. are
worthy of notice. Among the tombs are obelisks with 'inscriptions, denoting
the wealth of the kings of that time, and the extent of their empire, as reaching
to the Scythians, Bactrians, Indians, and the present Ionia, the amount of
tribute also, and the number of soldiers, which amounted to a million men.
The priests of Thebes are said to be for the most part astronomers and philo
sophers. . They ascribe to Hermes (Thoth) all knowledge of this kind.
To Zeus, whom they worship above all other gods, a virgin of the greatest
beauty and of the most illustrious family (such persons the Greeks call palla-
kides) is dedicated " (xvii. 1, 46).
It is much to be regretted that Herodotus has left us no account of Thebes
at the much earlier date at which he visited Egypt. We have no right to
assume from his silence that he never visited Thebes : he may have lost his
notes or intended to describe the great city elsewhere.
In late Roman times the Theban villages lost the proud title of Diospolis,
and even Pathyris disappeared as the name of the western suburb : Karnak
was known to the Copts as Ape, and Pathyris as Tjeme. Both were in the
nome of Erment, which was the largest town of the Thebaid.
Tjeme was in the 7th and 8th centuries a great monastic settlement.
The bishop Pisentius fled into the western mountain here before the idolatrous
Persians, and took up his abode in a tomb, which he found full of mummies,
with one of which, according to the tale, he held miraculous converse, on the
subject of the state of the souls of the mummy and his friends (who had been
pagans) in hell. Many anchorites followed his example, and also monasteries
of regular monks were founded. The most important of these seems to have
been that of St. Phoebammon at Der el-Bahari. We have a large number
of contemporary documents referring to this settlement, mostly of the time of
the bishop Abraham (7th cent. ). In these Ape seems to be the seat of the
local secular authorities, while Erment was the "county town."
Erment and the Coptic centre of Nakada, north of Thebes, remained the
chief places of the district till modern times. The Coptic tradition of Tjeme
survived in its modern representative, Kurna, where there are still Christian


Sect. V.] route 23. — luxor and thebes. 385
inhabitants. But the bulk of the people are of Arab origin : a Bedawi tribe
which settled here a century or two ago. Luxor was colonized by these
Kurnawi Arabs.
The modern fame of Thebes dates from the travels of Pococke in
the middle of the 18th century, and the French expedition of 1798, when
the savans who accompanied Desaix gave the world the first modern
description of the place. In the early years of the 19th century it was
visited by a succession of European travellers, Belzoni, Salt, Drovetti,
Cailliaud, Wilkinson, Hay, Hoskins, and others, who'often stayed for months
among the ruins, studying the wonderful monuments which were now for
the first time rendered accessible. Salt brought back to England from
Karnak the greater part of the larger monuments of the Pharaonic age
which are preserved in the Egyptian Saloon of the British Museum. In 1817
Belzoni discovered the great tomb of Seti I. in the Valley of the Kings, and
brought back the wonderful inscribed alabaster sarcophagus of the king, which
is in Sir John Soane's Museum. Wilkinson lived in the outer colonnade of a
great tomb on the hill of Kurna, which has in front of it the ruined brick tower
which is still known as Abu Wilkinson. Here he lived while collecting the
materials for his great work, ' ' The Manners and Customs of the Ancient
Egyptians." Hoskins describes the place when he was there in 1832 as already
filled with interested visitors, mostly English, including several ladies, who
spent their days sketching and drawing among the ruins. The accounts of
Hoskins and his predecessors are also interesting as giving us a glimpse of
Egypt under the old regime of the Turkish kashefs and kaimakams, and enable
us to form an idea of the old oppression of the fellahin by the Pasha's men,
instances of which they were obliged to witness and were powerless to prevent.
These older travellers, who did so much for the science of Egyptology in its
early days, have left very visible memorials of their presence in the shape of
their names and the dates of their visits cut in large letters on the sandstone
blocks of the temples. Modern taste regards this sort of thing as vandalism of
the worst description, but these older memorials are interesting, and do not
offend the eye, except in one instance, a terribly philistine British cognomen,
which is cut in the middle of the ancient visitors' inscriptions on the Vocal
Memnon !
Later on one of the most prominent European residents at Luxor was
the somewhat remarkable Lady Duff Gordon , who was greatly beloved by the
natives. The great Prussian expedition under Lepsius worked here for several
months in 1844-5, giving the results to the world in the colossal ' Denkmaeler. '
They also fixed their head-quarters on the hill of Kurna. During the 'fifties
and 'sixties excavations were carried on by Greene and Rhind, the latter of
whom has left a very interesting book, ' The Temples and Tombs of Thebes. '
At this time the French excavator Mariette appeared on the scene as head of
the new Museum at Bulak, which had been founded at French instigation by
the Khedive Said. All private excavations were now stopped, and M. Mariette
kept the monopoly of such work in his own hands for the benefit of the Bulak
Museum. He cleared one corner of the beautiful Temple of Der el-Bahari
here. The work of clearing Karnak and Luxor was carried on by MM. Mas
pero and Grebaut, and the former temple is now being put in a state of
thorough repair by another French official of the Museum, M. Georges Legrain,
whose magnificent find of a cache of historical statues of all ages made such a
sensation in 1903. The Temple of Medinet Habu has been cleared by M. Daressy,
and the Ramesseum by Mr. Howard Carter, the late British Inspector of Anti
quities for the Museum. In 1881 occurred the momentous event of the
discovery, near DeY el-Bahari, of the hiding-place to which the kings of the
XXI. Dynasty had removed for safety the mummies of many of their great
predecessors of the three preceding Dynasties, which gave to the world the
actual bodies of the great kings Seti I., Ramses II., and Ramses III., which
are now in the museum of Cairo. Ten years later M. Grebaut found in the
2 c


386 ROUTE 23.  LUXOR AND tHebes. [Sect. V.
same place a similar cache of 163 mummies of the priests of Amen, and in
1898 M. Loret, his successor in the general direction of the Giza Museum,
discovered in the Valley of the Kings the tomb of Amenhetep II., with, the
mummy of the king in its sarcophagus, and the bodies of many other monarchs,
among them Amenhetep III. These discoveries have been paralleled by the
finding in 1902 and 1905, by Mr. Theodore N. Davis, of Newport, R.I., of the
tombs of Thothmes IV. and the mother and father of Queen Tii, the wife of
Amen-hetep III., which have yielded to the Cairo Museum a most wonderful
treasure of funerary objects of the XVIII. Dynasty, including chariots of
embossed leather-work and plated with gold. Of late years many of the private
tombs on the hill of Shekh' Abd el-Kurna have been cleared and conserved by
Messrs. Newberry and Mond.
When, in 1881, Mariette died, the policy of exclusive reservation of the
right of excavation to the officials of the Bulak Museum was, with characteristic
liberality and breadth of view, reversed by his successor, M. Maspero. The
attention of British amateurs of Egyptian art was now once more. drawn to
Thebes by the thorough excavation and clearance of the Temple of Hatshepsu
at Der el-Bahari, which was carried out by the Egypt Exploration Fund, under
the direction of Prof. Naville. The latest event in the history of Thebes to be
chronicled is the discovery and excavation in 1903-6, by Messrs. Naville and
Hall, working for the Egypt Exploration Fund, of the much older temple of
Mentuhetep III. at D6r el-Bahari. This, the last to be discovered, is the most
ancient temple at Thebes.
Topography :—
"Alone of the cities of Egypt, the situation of Thebes is as beautiful by
nature as by art. The monotony of the two mountain ranges, Libyan and Ara
bian, for the first time assumes a new and varied character. They each retire
from the river, forming a circle round the wide green plain ; the western rising
into a bolder and more massive barrier, and enclosing the plain at its northern
extremity as by a natural bulwark ; the eastern, further withdrawn, but acting
the same part to the view of Thebes as the Argolic mountains to the plain of
Athens, or the Alban hills to Rome— a varied and bolder chain, rising and
falling in almost Grecian outline, though cast in the conical form which marks
the hills of Nubia farther south, and which, perhaps, suggested the Pyramids.
Within the circle of these two ranges, thus peculiarly its own, stretches the
green plain on each side of the river to an unusual extent ; and on each side the
river, in this respect unlike Memphis, but like the great city farther E. on the
Euphrates — like the cities of Northern Europe on their lesser streams — spreads
the city of Thebes, with the Nile for its mighty thoroughfare. ' Art thou better
than No- Amon that was situated by "the river of the Nile" — that had the
waters round about it — whose rampart was " the sealike stream," and whose
wall was " the sealike stream "? ' Nahum iii. 8." — A. P. Stanley.
Dean Stanley's sketch well describes the salient features of the Theban nome.
The traveller will have noticed that the mountain-cliffs on either side of the
valley became finer as he ascends the river ; in Middle Egypt they are insignifi
cant and monotonous, but from Akhmim to Girga the eastern range is lofty and
impressive ; then come on the west the fine escarpments of Abydos, ending in
the lion-headed promontory of al-'Amra, and then, where the railway crosses
the Nile, on the eastern bank the splendid fortress-like cliffs of Kasr es-Sayyad.
Thenceforward the hills of the Libyan bank become finer and loftier (at
Nakada), until they culminate in the western hills of Thebes, opposite to which
rises the triple peak of the Gebel el-Ger (or Gebel esh-Shark, " Mountain of
the East"), "rising and falling in almost Grecian outline," which is perhaps
the most salient feature of the Thebaid, as the peak is a very unusual
mountain-form in Egypt. At Thebes the desert-hills are finest, and riot orrly
does the sight of them entirely remove the impression of monotony which may
have been given by the low straight cliffs of Middle Egypt, but the beholder of
them will readily allow that they formed a splendid setting for the imperial city


Sect. V.] route 23. — luxor and theses. 387
of Egypt. The best point from which to appreciate the truth of Dean Stanley's
description is from the saddle of the Western Hill overlooking Der el-Bahari ;
most tourists will pass over this on the way back from the Tombs of the Kings,
and will be repaid for the climb by the most beautiful prospect in Egypt :
indeed, the trouble of the ascent is fully repaid by this famous view (see p. 459),
which overlooks the whole extent of ancient Thebes. At one's feet lies the
Western Suburb of the Necropolis, the Pathyris of Greek times, which must
always have been a city of the dead, a town of countless tombs, among which
rose the great funerary temples of the kings, the Ramesseum and Medinet
Habft. The villages of the living which were built among them, like the
houses of Kurna to-day, were inhabited by the vast army of kolchytes,
embalmers, undertakers, tomb-attendants, watchmen, and the rest. An exact
parallel may be seen in the town of the Tombs of the Khalifs at Cairo. South
of Medinet Habft, in the sandy tract now known as el-Malkata, "the Salt
pans," the necropolis ceased, and the palace of a living king, Amen-hetep III.,
with the great pleasure-lake attached to it (the modern Birket Habu), took
the place of tombs. The cultivated land between the desert and the Nile
was probably studded with the houses of wealthy inhabitants, surrounded
by their gardens. Just on the border of the cultivation, between the Rames
seum and Medinet Habu, rose for a time a great temple built by Amen
hetep III. (about 1450 B.C.), the only relics of which are the two huge colossi
of " Memnon," es-Sanamdt, "the Idols," as they are now called, which seem
to keep an eternal watch and ward over the necropolis of Thebes, as the Sphinx
does over that of Giza. A visitor to Thebes early in the season will see the
colossi standing up not amid the cultivated fields, but out of the waters of the
inundation ; the result is to intensify the impression of their lonely majesty.
' On the opposite bank of the Nile, where from the western heights we now
see the white houses of Luxor with the triple peak of the Eastern Mountain
behind them, there were then, as now,' two centres of population, Apet-reset or
Luxor, and Apet-asut or Karnak. These were the two main ganglia of
the city, with their houses of the ordinary people, their bazaars and quays,
as at present, but on a larger scale. Each town-aggregate was grouped round
the two chief temples. The road between them was probably one continuous
village, while out to the desert beyond stretched houses, gardens, and irrigation
canals, as on the western bank. Doubtless the margin of cultivation was then
pushed much farther back to the east than it is at present. Medam6t itself
may have been included within the boundaries of the city. Such is the pro
spect which we see from the hills above Der el-Bahari, and so may its ancient
aspect be reconstituted. In historical interest it is second only to the view of
Athens from the Acropolis or of the Roman Forum from the Campidoglio.
3. The Eastern Bank: Luxor.
[The first portion of ancient Thebes to be visited is naturally the Temple of Luxor,
which is close to the hotels and station on the bank of the river, immediately
behind the steamboat landing-place. The present entrance is from the quay, just
beyond the donkey-stand : tickets must be shown. The visitor enters the temple in
the centre of its western side : the original N. entrance between the two pylons is
not open : the path there leads only to the Mosque of Abu '1 Haggag, which is built
in the N.E. corner of the First Court.]
Temple of Luxor. — The original sanctuary, and the adjoining
chambers, with tbe addition of the large colonnade and the pylon
before it, were built by Amen-hetep III. in honour of Amen. Bamses II.
afterwards added the great court, the pyramidal towers, and the
obelisks and statues. The whole plan of the temple is very irregular,
from its having been built on the bank of the river, and following the
direction of the quay. The excavations made by M. Maspero and
M, Grebaut have exposed the temple to view ; it had previously been •
2 c 2


A. Modern entrance,
B. Court of Amenhetep III.
C. Shrine of Alexander,
D. Birth House.
E. Colonnade of Horemheb.
F. Court of Ramses II.
G. Site ofMosqueofA bu'l-Haggag
H. Pylons, Colossi, and Obelisk of
Ramses II.

THE TEMPLE OF LUXOR

p f ip is ao


Sect. V.] route 23. — luxor and thbbes. 389
so covered up with rubbish and modern buildings that it was difficult
to trace the plan. It would appear that when first constructed it was
not separated from the Nile as it is at present, but rose direct from the
water's edge.
The parts built by Ramses II. , though last in the order of antiquity,
necessarily form the present commencement of the temple (as stated
above, however, the present entrance is on the W. side), which, like
many others belonging to different epochs, is not two separate edifices,
but one and the same building. A. dromos, flanked by ram-headed
sphinxes, connecting it with Karnak, extended in front of the two
beautiful Obelisks of red granite (only one of which now remains
in situ, the other having been removed to the Place de la Concorde
at Paris in 1836), whose four sides are covered with a profusion of
hieroglyphs, no less admirable for the style of their execution than
for the depth to which they are cut, which in many instances exceeds
2 in. The remaining obelisk is 84 ft. in height, but of this a con
siderable part is hidden in the rubbish. The obelisk in Paris is 77 ft.
in height. Behind the remaining obelisk are two sitting Statues of Ramses II.,
one on either side of the pylon or gateway. On the pedestals are the
figures and names of the people whom Bamses II. claims to have
conquered. Among them may be noticed the name of Muab or Moab.
Besides the two sitting statues there were four other standing ones ;
of these, only one is left. On the front of the towers are pictures of
the war with the Hittites ¦: on the E. tower is a representation of the
battle before Kadesh, mentioned in the description of the Bamesseum,
while on the W. tower is the Pharaoh's camp, surrounded by a wall,
represented by Egyptian shields, with a guard posted at the gate.
Within are chariots, horses, and the spoil taken from the enemy, as
well as the holy place that held the Egyptian ark in a tent, instances
of which are found on other monuments, as at Abii Simbel. There is
also the king's chariot, shaded by a large umbrella or parasol. At the -
doorway itself is the name of Sabaco, and on the abacus of the columns
beyond, that of Ptolemy Philopator, both added at a later epoch.
The Hall within, whose dimensions are 185 ft. by 167 ft., is surrounded
by a peristyle, consisting of two rows of 36 columns, partially concealed
by the mosque-tomb of the Shekh Abu '1 Haggag, the patron saint of
Luxor, which will probably not be removed till Moslem religious
prejudices become ameliorated. The line of direction no longer con
tinues the same behind this Court, the Bamessean front having been
turned to the eastward, which was done in order to facilitate its
connection with the great temple of Karnak, as well as to avoid the
vicinity of the river.
The external walls of the Hall were adorned with historical scenes
and accounts of Egyptian victories. Among those that remain we
read of the capture of a fortress in "the land of Kati near Naharaim,"
or Mesopotamia, of the city of Tunip (now Tennib) "in Naharaim," of
a campaign against the Hittites, and of victories in the land of Satuna,
near the Gulf of Antioch. On the interior walls of the Hall we
have a list of the 21 places, including the Sinaitic Peninsula and
Cyprus, from which Bamses received metals and various kinds of stone ;
an account of his building at kuxQr I a picture of the great pylon with


390 route 23. — luxor and thebes. [Sect.,V.
its obelisks; statues, and flagstafis at the moment of inauguration^ _a
ceremony in which his 17 sons took part, and a catalogue of his
daughters. In the N.W. corner of the Hall are three chambers dedi
cated to Mut, Amen, and Khonsu, and constructed of older materials.
In front of the S. gateway are two colossal black granite, statues of the
king, seated, with his wife Nefertari at the side. On the pedestals is
a list of subject nations, among which Mesopotamia (Naharam and
Mitana), Assyria, and the Kheta (who have been doubtfully identified
with the Biblical "Hittites") are reckoned. Eleven other. standing
statues of red granite and of smaller size are. placed between the
columns of the S. half of the Hall. At their sides are the "royal"
wives and daughters of Bamses. His son Mer-en-Ptah has engraved
his name on most of them. The S. gateway of the Hall was built by
Amen-hetep III., and formed the N. pylon of his temple.
Passing through it, we arrive at the great Colonnade, where the
names of Amen-hetep IH. and of Tut-ankh-Amen are sculptured. The
latter, however, has been effaced, as is generally the case wherever it
is met with, and those of Hor-em-heb and of Seti I. are introduced
in its stead. The colonnade was begun by Amen-hetep and finished
by Tut-ankh-Amen. Hor-em-heb presumably usurped the work of
Tut-ankh-Amen in pursuance of his policy of vengeance against the
heretical Khu-n-Aten and his successors ; Khu-n-Aten apparently built
a sun-temple here, judging from some fragments of his work which
were found here some years ago, and are to be seen lying in the
temple. Between the gateway and the colossi Philip ArrhidEeus, the
brother of Alexander the Great, built a door. On the walls of the
colonnade is a series of scenes representing the celebration of the
festival of Amen, on the first day of the new year. , On this day the
sacred boats of the gods were brought from Karnak to Luxor, borne
into the temple at Luxor, and taken back to Karnak in the evening.
The procession by water was depicted in all its details ; but much of
the representation has perished with the upper part of the walls. The
length of the colonnade to the next court is about 170 ft.
To this succeeds a Hall of 155 ft. by 167 ft., surrounded by a peri
style of two rows of 34 columns, terminating in a covered portico of
32 columns, 57 ft. by 111 ft. This is the court which we enter from
the quay. It was built by Amen-hetep III. The beauty and excellent
preservation of the columns should be noted, as also their effective
arrangement. Here was found an altar, with a Latin inscription,
dedicated to the Emperor Constantine (standing on the left, in S.
colonnade) ; and on the exterior S. wall, near, ' the E. corner, thet
Ethiopian Shabataka (XXV. Dyn.) has left his name. The sculptures
on the exterior walls are due to Bamses III. Among those in the
interior are representations of Amen-hetep III. before the gods of
Thebes and the Nomes of Egypt, bringing him gifts.
The portico leads into a hall once supported on 8 columns. It
measures 34 ft. 6 in. by 57 ft. 1 in. On each of the two sides (E. and
W.) are three small chambers dedicated to Mut and Khonsu, and in
the westernmost of them was a staircase leading to the roof. The
entrance to the large chamber was repaired by Ai (XVIII. Dyn.).
This hall was in early Christian times converted into a Christian
church. A niche or apse was hammered out in the S. wall, and the>
ancient reliefs were daubed over with frescoes, which have now nearly


Sect. V.] route 23. — luxor and thebes. 391
disappeared. At the S. end are painted three figures larger than life,
wearing the toga and sandals. The centre one (Christ) holds a staff or
sceptre in the right hand and a globe in the left ; and near him was
some object, now defaced. The other two figures have each a scroll in
one hand. On the walls to the right and left are the traces of figures,
which are interesting from their costume,; and on the side-wall to the
E. are several soldiers with their horses, drawn with great spirit. The
colours are much damaged by exposure, and the frescoes can hardly
be, distinguished. They probably date after the age of Constantine.
The costumes are remarkable ; and some of the men wear embroidered
upper garments, tight hose, and laced boots, or shoes tied over the
instep. The false wainscot, or dado, below,, is richly coloured, in
imitation of porphyry and other stones incrusted in patterns, and is
better preserved than the frescoes of the upper part, where the old gods
of Egypt in bas-relief have outlived the paiptings that once concealed
them, There appear to be traces of a small cross painted at one side
of the tribune, and the figures have a nimbus round their heads.
Behind this is. a chamber supported on four columns, on the walls
of which Amen-hetep is represented making offerings, to the gods.
We pas? out of the S. colonnade of the. Great Court by a door, and
go round the outer wall of the temple to the Birth, Room, described
below, which leads into another chamber, the centre of whioh was
originally occupied by four columns of Amen-hetep III.'s design.
These were removed in the time of Alexander the Great and replaced
by walls enclosing a sanctuary, in accordance with the later taste.
Alexander declares in the inscriptions that he had "constructed anew
for his father Amen-Ba the Great Mansion of sandstone, with gates
of acacia-wood overlaid with gold ..... according to all that had
been in the time of Amen-hetep." This substitution of a naos within
an ambulatory for the original open hall was in accordance with the
later taste. It is- interesting to compare the reliefs of Alexander's
time on the outer walls of the new building with those of Amen
hetep III. on the inner face of the original wall of the hall. These
are over a thousand years older than Alexander's, yet one would say,
comparing them as they stand on either hand, that they look the
newer. E. and W. of this and the preceding chambers are two other
chambers on each side. Those on the W. side, are destroyed ; the
northernmost of the two on the E- side, known as the
Birth Room, contains sculptures and texts describing the accouche
ment of Queen Mut-em-ua and the miraculous birth of her son,
Amen-hetep, whose father was the god Amen himself. Dr. Naville's
excavations have shown that the texts have been borrowed from! the
temple of Queen Hatshepsu at Der el-Bahari, where they are applied to
the birth of the queen. Amen is stated to have "incarnated himself "
in order that he might be the husband of the queen, who was thus
permitted to " behold him in his divine form." And the god is made to
say at the end of the inscription : " Amen-hetep is the name of the son
who is in thy womb. He shall grow up according to the words that
proceed out of thy mouth. He shall exercise sovereignty and righteous
ness in this land unto its very end. My soul is in him, (and) he shall
wear the two-fold crown of royalty, ruling the two worlds like the sun
for ever."
1 The scenes, on the W. wall are as follows, beginning with the '


392 route 23. — luxoe and thebes. [Sect. V.
Lowest row, and going from left to right, (i.) The god Khnemu, the
creator, fashions the bodies of the child Amen-hetep III. and his
double or ka upon his potter's wheel. Opposite him is the goddess
Isis. (ii.) Khnemu and Amen, (iii.) Queen Mut-em-ua_ in heaven,
hearing the declaration of Amen before the goddesses Neith and Selk
that he is the father of the child, (iv.) Amen and Thoth. (v.) Amen
presenting Mut-em-ua to Isis. Middle row : (i.) Thoth announcing to
Mut-em-ua that she will conceive a son. (ii.) The pregnant Mut-em-ua
sustained with life by Isis and Khnemu. (iii.) Confinement of Mut-
em-ua in the presence of Taueret and Bes, deities who ward off evil
from women at childbirth, (iv.) Isis presents the new-born child to
Amen, who salutes him as "Son of the Sun." (v.) Amen takes the
child in his arms, while Hathor foretells his destiny, and Mut presents
him with the emblem of many prosperous years. Top row : (i.) The
queen, attended by the goddess Selk, watches the child and his double
being given suck by Hathor and her cow. (ii.) The nine goddesses
nursing tbe child, (iii.) The child and his ka purified by the Nile-
gods, (iv.) Horus presenting the child and his ka to Amen, (v.) Khnemu
and Anubis. (vi.) The child and his ka seated and standing before
Amen, (vii.) Amen-hetep III. enthroned as king. The scenes on the
S. wall represent the gods of Egypt recognising him as king at his
coronation. Down the middle of each of these side-chambers ran three lotiform
columns. Prom the sanctuary of Alexander we pass into a rect
angular room supported on two rows of 6 columns, and from this
into the original sanctuary of Amen-hetep, with its 4 columns. It is
flanked by two small chambers, each resting on two columns. In the
sanctuary there are traces of the naos which formed part of the
building. On the W. side of the temple is a stone Quay of the early Boman
age. Opposite the N.W. corner of the temple it takes a more easterly
direction, and points out the original course of the river, which
continued across the plain now lying between it and the ruins of
Karnak, and which may be traced by a depression in the level of the
ground it gradually deserted. The southern extremity of the quay
is of brick (probably a Boman addition), and indicates in like manner
the former direction of the stream. . When the temple was first built,
the river seems to have flowed close under its walls.
4. Karnak.
The modern road to Karnak follows very closely the ancient paved
road which led from the N. pylon of the temple of Luxor to the
pylon of the temple of Khonsu at Karnak. M. Grebaut's excavations
have revealed a portion of the road near the Luxor market and the
new Boman Catholic church, the Coptic cemetery, in which are some
English graves being W. of it. The -ancient road was about a mile in
length and bordered the whole way with sphinxes, some of which still
exist They have the head of a ram (for which Nekhtnebf substituted
the human head) on a lion's body, and between their fore-feet is a
statue of Amen-hetep III., who no doubt improved this road at the
same time that he built the principal part of the Temple of Luxor
Beyond the village of Kafr Karnak, the avenue turns slightly to the 1 '





Fold out





Sect. V.] route 23. — luxor and thebes. 393
and from this point is bordered with sphinxes with rams' heads, and
called the Avenue of Krio-sphinxes. At the end of this avenue is the
majestic Gate of Ptolemy Euergetes I. (b.c. 247-222), who is represented
upon it as, in company with Queen Berenike, making an offering to
their predecessors and parents, Philadelphos 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 monu
ments. Prom this pylon another avenue of sphinxes leads to the
Temple of Khonsu (XX. Dyn.), founded by Bamses III., and continued
by some of his successors, the hall of 8 columns having been built by
Bamses XII. The temple is dedicated to Khonsu, one of the great
Theban triad. It has been thoroughly repaired by M. Legrain. The
decorations were completed by Bamses IV. and XII., and added to by
the high priests of Amen, Her-Hor and Pinetjem I., who were the
rivals of the XXI. Dynasty. The pylon, which was built by Pinetjem I.,
was finished by Alexander II. It is 60 ft. high. The temple contains
a picture of the rite of circumcision, and in it was found the famous
stela of "The Possessed Princess," the daughter of the King of Bakhten,
of which a translation is given in the ' Becords of the Past,' iv.,
pp. 53 sq. On the W. side of the temple of Khonsu is the little temple
of Osiris and the goddess Apt, a form of Taueret, ' built by Ptolemy
Physkon, Ptolemy Auletes, and Augustus, which is now used as a local
museum. The Great Temple. — We next reach the Great Temple, of which
the principal entrance (the First or Great Pylon) is about five minutes
to the N. of the Temple of Khonsu. This entrance lies on the N.W.
side, facing the river, and about half a mile distant from it. Prom
the temple of Khonsu the great temple is often entered by the second
gate, in the transverse court between the third and seventh pylons
(see plan) ; but this should be reserved for the point of departure, and
the donkeys should be directed to take the visitor to the Great Pylon
and await him at the second entrance.
The temple of Karnak (which signifies a "window " in Arabic) was
called Khu-mennu, " the glorious building," or Nesut-tatii, "the thrones
of the two lands," in Old Egyptian. It was first built on a large scale
by the kings of the XII. Dynasty, but an older building may have
existed before their time. It was dedicated to Amon, the chief god of
Thebes. When he, at the elevation of his city to the primacy among
Egyptian towns and the capital of the empire, became the "King of the
gods," his temple became, so to speak, the cathedral temple of Egypt,
and all the energies of succeeding kings were bent towards its extension
and embellishment. The result is that it is not only the greatest
temple in Egypt, but probably the most stupendous religious monu
ment in existence. This is the great temple, 1J miles in circumference,
described by Strabo.
Plan of the Temple. — Of the First Propylon (a), before which
stood two granite statues, now mutilated and buried in the soil, one of
the pylon 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 perforated through their whole breadth, for the purpose of
fastening the timbers that secured the flagstafis usually placed in front)


394 boute 23. — luxoe and thebes. [Sect. V.
of these propyla; but no sculptures have ever been added to either
face, nor was the surface levelled to receive them. The pylon, which
dates from the Ptolemaic period, was never completed, and on the
inner face of the S. wing still exist the remains of the earth scaffolding
and ramps which were used for its erection. The total breadth of
this enormous propylon is about 370 ft., and its depth 50 ft. ; the
height of the standing tower is 142J ft. A narrow staircase leads up
to the top, whence is obtained an excellent bird's-eye view of the ruins.
Just outside the gate is the house of the Inspector of the Temple,
M. Legrain.
The pylon was approached from the Nile by an avenue of rain-
headed sphinxes about 200 ft. in length, constructed by Bamses IL,
but usurped by Seti IL, who also erected two small obelisks at their
W. extremity. Here there is a stone quay which once projected into
the river, Which has retreated a considerable distance to the W.
On its W. face a number of interesting inscriptions were discovered
in 1896, dated for the most part in the reigns of the monarchs of
the XXIL, XXV., and XXVI. Dynasties, and recording the height of
the Nile in the year they were written. S. of the avenue and at tbe
S.W. corner of the pylon, a small temple built in honour of Amen
by King Haker (Achoris) and his successor Psamut, about B.C. 390
(XXIX. Dyn.), was discovered in 1883.
Passing through the gateway of the propylon (tickets to be shown
here) you arrive at a large open area, the First Court (b), 275 ft. by
338, with a covered corridor on either side, and a double- line of columns
down the centre, of which only one remains standing. It has upon it
the names of Tirhakah, Psammetichus I. and Ptolemy Philopator. The
corridors are 50 ft. high ; that on the N. presents an even front of 18
columns ; that on the S. is broken by a small Temple of Bamses III.,
the entrance to which abuts on the great area. This court was added
by Shishak I. (XXII. Dyn.). M. Maspero considers that he intended to
roof over the columns, but never completed the work. A restored
pyloniform pedestal for a statue stands on the 1. of the axis of the
court. In the N.W. corner of this court are the remains of a small
Temple of Seti II. (ii). Behind this is a line of ram-headed sphinxes.
The little Temple of Ramses III. (l), in spite of its small size
(170 ft. long), is.a good specimen of a complete temple, built on a
single homogeneous plan. Beyond the entrance pylons is a court with
colonnades at the sides, supported by Osiris pillars. The small pillar
hall of eight columns leads to a triple ohapel dedicated to the triad
of Thebes— Amen, Slut, and Khonsu. The triple cella isolated close
under the N. pylon was built in honour of the triad by Seti I.
Between the temple of Bamses III. and the second pylon in the
S.E. angle of the court is a space, which has been called the Portico
of the Bubastides, from the sculptures on the walls containing the names
of the kings of the XXII. Dynasty. Among them we find the names
of Shishak I., Osorkon I. and Takeleth I., and a long inscription
dating from the 12th year of Takeleth II. Bound the corner (b), 'on
the external wall of the temple, is the list of the places in Palestine
conquered by Shishak I. (see p. 401).
A flight, of seven steps, on either side of which was a granite statue
of Bamses II, , only one of which now. remains, much mutilated,


BAST.

jri-mibli"?]

COURT OF 03 S THOTHMES 1.
dm met

A. First Propylon.
B. Opeii Area, with corridors, and
a single column erect.
C. Second Propylon.
D. Great Hall. :
E. Third Propylon,
F. Fourth Propylon.
G. Hall with Osiride figures.
H. Granite Sanctuary and ad
joining chambers.
I. Open Court.
K. Columnar Edifice of Thoth
mes III. {XVIII. Dyn.).
L. Temple of Ramses III. (XX.
Dyn.,).
M. Temple of Seti. II. (XIX.
Dyn.):

a.. Sculptures of Seti I. (XIX.
Dyn.).
b. Sculptures of Shishak (XXII.
Dyn.).
c. Sculptures of Ramses II.
(XIX. Dyn.).
d. Small Obelisks.
e. Large Obelisks.
/. Pillars- of Usertsen I. (XII
Dyn.).

Hall of Ancestors,

GREAT COURT
• O
¦ o
SHISHAK


396 EOUTE 23. — LUXOB AND thbbes. [Sect. V.
led up to the entrance, through the Second Propylon (c), built by
Bamses I., of
The Great Hall (d), the largest and most magnificent of the old
Egyptian monuments. The lintel stones of its doorway were 40 ft. 10 in.
in length. It measures 170 ft. by 329, and is supported by a central
avenue of 12 massive columns, more than 80 ft. in height and 11 ft. 6 in.
in diameter ; besides 122 of smaller or (rather) less gigantic dimensions,
being 28 ft. in circumference, distributed in nine line's of seven, each
wanting four — 134 columns in all. Originally the hall was roofed over,
and the light only penetrated into it through the sort of clerestory,
remains of which may still be seen on the S. side. Prom the windows
with stone bars, by means of which the Great Hall was lighted, comes
the Arabic name of Karnak. The oldest king's name found in this hall
is that of Seti I., but the plan was due to Bamses I. The work was
completed by Bamses II. Attached to the W. doorway are two large
towers, closing the inner extremity of the hall, and inside it a second
doorway was built during the joint reign of Ptolemy Philometor
and Ptolemy Physkon (b.c. 170-165). The excavations and repairs of
1896 and later years have largely increased the height of the columns
and walls, and made the appearance of the Hall more colossal even
than before. In 1899 a great disaster happened, eleven columns of
one of the aisles having fallen. One result was that the famous
leaning papyrus-bud column, which is seen in all photographs taken
before that date, was destroyed. The columns are now being replaced
in position. The progress of the works, which are still (1906) being
carried out by M. Legrain, is very interesting to watch ; the drums
and capitals of the columns are being gradually replaced in position
by means of inclined ramps of earth, which is precisely the means
employed by the ancient architects to erect them.
Comment on the magnificent effect of the Hypostyle Hall is
needless. More than in any other temple an impression of religious
solemnity is given akin to that felt on entering a great European
cathedral. This impression is heightened by the resemblance of the
plan, with its nave, aisles, and clerestories, to that of a Western
cathedral. The great inscribed aisle-architraves correspond to a Western
triforium. One feels impelled to remove one's hat when entering this
masterpiece of ancient ecclesiastical architecture. Por, utterly unlike
the Parthenon or Psestum, the impression is ecclesiastical : the Egyptian
priests were true ecclesiastics, the Greeks were not.
At the E. end of the Great Hall is a Third Propylon (e), much
ruined, on which is an inscription of Amen-hetep III. This served
as the entrance to the temple up to the reign of Bamses I. Through
it we pass into a narrow uncovered court, extending along the whole
width of the_ building, in which stood four Obelisks of red granite (d),
76 ft. in height. Two have disappeared, one is thrown down and
broken, the fourth still stands. They bear on one side the name of
Thothmes I., of the XVIII. Dynasty, and added at either side of the
original inscription is another by Bamses II. of the XIX.
To this court succeeds a ruined Fourth Propylon (p) of smaller size
built by Thothmes I., passing through the vestibule of which— about
40 feet long— we reach the Hall of Osiride. Figures (a), surrounded by a
peristyle of the pillars so called. In it are Two Obelisks of red granite
(e) like tbe others, but of larger dimensions, the one now standing


Sect. V.] boute! 23, — luxoe and tHHbiIs. 397
being 97 ft. 6 in. high. This is the second tallest obelisk in the world,
being only surpassed in height by that of St. John Lateran at Boms,
(The latter obelisk was erected by Thothmes III. at Heliopolis. It is
105 ft. 7 in. high.) This part of the building bears the name of
Thothmes I. ; the obelisk, that of his daughter Hatshepsu. Prom an
Inscription on the base of the obelisk (N. side), we learn that only
seven months were employed in its erection, including the time spent
in transporting it from the quarries of Aswan. (It is a monolith,
like all other ancient obelisks). The work was begun on the 18th day
of Mekhir in the 15th year of the queen's reign, and was finished on
the last day of Mesore in the 16th year, and it included crowning the
obelisk with a cap of electrum (a mixture of gold and silver) and
gilding the stone itself. These obelisks bear the original central
inscription simply, and are without the two lateral inscriptions which
Bamses II. loved to add on the obelisks of his predecessors, as on the
London " Cleopatra's Needle."
Erom the hall of Thothmes I. we pass through the portal of a small
dilapidated pylon (the Pifth) into a small area, at either end of which a
door led into two chambers, each with two rows of columns, and
communicating with the passages. This area was also the work of
Thothmes I., and contained two rows of 10 columns, but two ugly
chapels were built in the middle of it by Thothmes III., who also
engraved on the W. face of the pylon to the E. (which forms the E.
limit of the area) a list of the peoples he had conquered in the Sudan
and Asia. The names of the southern natives are on the S. side of
the gateway ; those of plaoes in Palestine and Syria on the N. side
(' Becords of the Past,' New Series, v.). Among them are Megiddo,
Damascus, Hamath, Hazor, Joppa, Gath, Carmel, and other places
familiar to us from the Old Testament. Over the names are portraits
of the Amorite inhabitants of Palestine, alternately painted yellow and
light-red. The pylon (sixth) on which the names occur leads into a
small vestibule (to 1. is a good head of a colossal statue of Amen-Ba,
dedicated by Horemheb, and apparently his portrait) in front of the
granite gateway of the towers which form the facade of the court
(adorned by Thothmes III. with two flat red granite pillars of great
beauty, one bearing the lily of Upper Egypt, the other the papyrus of
Lower Egypt, in relief) before the
Saunctary (h). — This is of red granite, divided into two apartments,
and surrounded by numerous chambers of small dimensions, varying
from 29 ft. by 16 to 16 ft. by 8. These were erected by Hatshepsu.
They have fine black granite portals with her cartouches, usurped by
Thothmes III. The actual sanctuary itself is one mass of ruins, but
some of the chambers are still standing, and are covered with the
sculptures of Thothmes III. The date of the original sanctuary is much
earlier, though the blocks now in situ bear the name of Philip Arrhidseus
(XXXII. Dyni), who restored it ; for in the large Open Court (i)
immediately behind are the bases and remains of some polygonal columns
(/), with the cartouche of Usertsen I. (XII. Dyn,), in the midst of fallen
architraves of the same era ; showing that the original construction of
the sanctuary dates from the XII. Dynasty. It was, however, entirely
rebuilt by Thothmes III., but later kings, Seti IL, Shishak I., Sabako,
and Taharka have left their names in some of the chambers, and Philip
Arrhidseus restored the whole. The walls of the corridor on the N.


398 soute 23. — luxoe AND thebes. [Sect. V
and N.W. sides of the Sanctuary were inscribed by Thothmes III. with
the annals of his reign. Part of the inscription has been removed to
Paris. A translation of it, so far as it has been preserved, is given by
Brugsch in his ' Egypt under the Pharaohs,' p. 154. The annals begin
in the 22nd year of the Pharaoh's reign (about 1500 B.C.), and continue
to his 42nd year (though the sculptor has by mistake written 32,
for 42), and describe his conquest of Palestine and northern Syria. E.
of the Sanctuary is an open space in which are two pedestals of red
granite. They are the bases of sixteen-sided columns erected by
Usertsen I. This open court is filled with water during the inundation.
It appears to have been surrounded by a gallery of statues of the chief
dignitaries of various reigns.
At the end of this court is the Festival Hall of Thothmes III. (k).
Its exterior wall is entirely destroyed except on the N. 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 front columns does not accord with that of
those of the centre ; and an unusual caprice has changed the established
order of the architectural details, the capitals and cornices being
reversed, without adding to the beauty or increasing the strength of the
building. Observe on some of the columns traces of the walls of a
Christian church, built here after the abolition of paganism. Several
columns still bear pictures of saints, among which a figure resembling
the conventional representations of St. Peter may be made- out.
Adjoining the S.W. angle of its front is a small room, commonly called
the Hall of Ancestors (g), from its having contained On its walls a bas-
relief representing King Thothmes III. making offerings to 56 of his
predecessors. This valuable monument (the "Tablet of Karnak" or
" Karnak List ") is now at Paris. A series of small halls and rooms
occupies the extremity of the temple, in one of which Set of Nubti
(opposite Koptos) and Horus are teaching Thothmes III. the use of the
bow and spear.
The central chamber is the sanctuary, in which are the vestiges of a
colossal hawk, seated on a raised pedestal ; the sculptures within and
without containing the name of Alexander IL, by whose order it was
repaired and sculptured.
On the N. side are the foundations of a room, on the walls of which
are depicted the foreign animals and plants transported by Thothmes
III. in his zoological and botanical gardens in Thebes. Most of them
were brought from Syria in the 25th year of his reign.
Tbe total dimensions of this part of the temple, behind the inner
propylon of the grand hall, are 600 ft., by about half that in breadth,
making the total length, from the front propylon to the extremity of
the wall of circuit, inclusive, 1180 ft.
The whole was surrounded by Bamses II. with . a girdle-wall,
embellished with reliefs : at the back of this, and in the axis of the
main temple, are the ruins of an Osiride colonnade built by him.
Comparative Antiquity of the Buildings.— No part probably remains
of the earliest foundations of the temple ; but the name of Usertsen I.
suffices to support its claim to great antiquity. The original sanctuary
doubtless existed in the reign of that monarch, and may have stood


Sect. V.] Eoute 23. — luxoe And thebes. 399
on -the site of the present one, an. Opinion confirmed by our finding
the oldest remains in that direction, as well as by the proportions of
the courts and propyla, whose- dimensidns were necessarily made to
accord with .those of the previous parts, to Which they were united.
This consideration does not conflict with the other view that it stood
further east, in the present open court. The" sanctuary which was
replaced by that of Philip Arrhidaeus was apparently built by Thothmes
III. ; he may have shifted the position of the sanctuary just as Alexander
shifted that of Luxor. The original building, which we may conceive
as a shrine, perhaps of sandstone or fine limestone with a surrounding
colonnade or pillar-hall of sixteen-sided granite columns (judging from
the existent remains and the analogy of the only other temple of that
early period remaining to us, that of Mentuhetep III. at Der el-Bahari),
was added to by Amenemhat II. and III. (XII. Dyn.), but remained
little changed until the XVIII. Dynasty.
Then Thothmes I. built the court of Osiride columns, and put up
the two obelisks in the open space outside it. The great obelisks
inside the Osiride court were erected to his memory by his daughter
Hatshepsu, whose name also appears on the walls of some of the
chambers near the sanctuary. Thothmes I. also erected the three great
pylons in front of the sanctuary, and rebuilt part of the latter. Some
years later, King Thothmes III. made considerable additions to the
buildings and sculptures, and erected the great festival hall at the
extreme east of the enclosure of the Great Temple. He also built the
two pylons facing towards the South (see p. 404).
The sanctuary, rebuilt by Philip Arrhidaeus, was also erected by the
same Pharaoh, 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 Thothmes III., belonged most probably to the
sanctuary he rebuilt.
At the close of his reign the temple only extended as far as the
smaller obelisks ; before which were added, by Amenhetep III., the
towers of the propylon, whose recesses for the flagstaves, proving them
to have been originally the front towers of the. temple, are still visible
on the W. face.
The Great Hall was added by Seti I., the second king of the XIX.
Dynasty ; and besides the innumerable bas-reliefs that adorn its walls,
historical scenes, in the most finished and elegant style of Egyptian
sculpture, were designed on the exterior of the N. side (see p. 399).
In the reign of Seti's son Bamses IL, great additions were made.
He completed the sculptures on the S. side of the Great 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. It may be worth noting in connection with this part of the
building that on a statue in the Munich Museum is an inscription
giving an account of the career of the person represented, one Bek-en-
Khensu, " skilled in art, and the first prophet of Amen," in which
fhe following passage occurs: — "I did the best I could for the
temple of Amen, as architect of my lord. I executed the pylon ' of
Bamses IL, the friend of Amen, who listens to those who pray to him'
(thusis he named), at the first gate of the Temple of Amen. I placed
obelisks at the same made of granite. Their height reached to the
vault of heaven. A propylon is before the same in sight of the city of


400 moute 23. — luxoe and thebes. [Sect. V,
Thebes, and ponds and gardens, with flourishing trees. I made two
great double doors of gold, Their height reaches to heaven. I caused
to be made a double pair of great masts. I set them up in the splendid
court in sight of his temple."
The principal edifices united to the main temple by the successors
of Bamses II. are the three chambers below the front propylon, and the
small but complete temple (l) on the W. side of the large area ; the
latter by Bamses III., the former by Seti II. Several sculptures were
added, during the XXII. Dynasty, at the western corner of the same
area. The columns in this court, one alone of which is now standing,
bear the names of Tirhakah (XXV. Dyn.), Psammetichus I. (XXVI.
Dyn.), and Ptolemy Philopator (XXXIII. Dyn.) ; and the gateway
between them and the grand hall having been altered by Ptolemy
Physkon, additional sculptures, bearing his name, were inserted amidst
those of Bamses II.
It will be seen from the above account that the earliest name found
on any of the buildings of the Great Temple is that of Usertsen I.,
while the latest is that of Alexander II. , whose name appears in one of
the small chambers belonging to the columnar edifice of Thothmes III.
Historical Sculptures. — The principal historical sculptures are on
the exterior of the Great Hall, which were commenced by Seti I., and
finished by his son Bamses II.
Extebiok of Gbeat Hall — Nobth Wall. — These relate to the
campaigns of Seti I., in Syria. Beginning at the N.W. end (a) : the
upper compartment represents the king attacking a fortress near
Kadesh "in the land of the Amorites." It 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 Egyptian
army. The city is taken, and its Hittite defenders thrown from the
walls. In the first compartment of the second line, the king engages tbe
enemy's infantry 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 remarkably 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 designed. 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 prostrate foe, he seizes his
companion, who is also destined to fall by his powerful hand. Beturn-
ing in triumph, he leads before his car the fettered captives, who are
called Butennu (Syrians) and Tahennu (Libyans), whom he offers, with
the spoil of the cities he has taken, to Amen-Ba, Mut, and Khonsu.
This consists of vases, silver, gold, and other precious things, 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 Butennu. Their chief is wounded
by the arrows of the Egyptian monarch, who closely pursues him, and
disables one of his horses with a spear. He then attempts to quit his
car, as his companion falls by his side covered with wounds. The
rout of the hostile army is complete, and they fly in the utmost con-


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 401
sternation. One is on horseback. The victorious return of King Seti
is the next subject; and, alighting from his chariot, he enters the
temple of Amen-Ba, to present his captives and booty to the protecting
deities of Thebes. He then slays with a club the prisoners of the two
conquered nations, in the presence of Amen-Ba, the names of their
towns and districts being attached to other figures on the lower part of
the wall.
The order of the other historical subject commences at the N.E.
angle. In the upper line Seti is alighting from his chariot among the
forests of Lemenen or Lebanon in the land of the Butennu, who are
compelled to cut down their cedars for the Egyptian conqueror. In
the lower line Seti drives his chariot over the slain, the names of his
horses being written beside him. On the 1. is the fortress " of the
Canaanite " (Pa-Kanana), identified by Col. Conder with Khurbet
Kan'an, near Hebron. It is situated on a rock, and surrounded by
water, except on the side where the steepness of the cliff makes it
inaccessible. The bodies of its Shasu or Bedawi defenders lie below
it. Their arms are a spear and a battle-axe, and they are clad in a coat
of mail, with a short and close dress.
We now turn the angle of the wall and proceed westwards. In the
upper line the capture of Ni on the Upper Euphrates is depicted, and
its Butennu or Syrian inhabitants hide themselves behind trees or are
dragged behind the chariot of the victorious Pharaoh, who presents
the spoil he has gained to the deities of Thebes. In the lower line
are the chiefs of Khar or southern Palestine, on whom Seti turns his
back. Then he drives past various stations on the road between
Egypt and Palestine, some of which had been built by himself, and
discharges arrows against the Shasu (the Amalekites of the Old
Testament). Next comes a picture of his return home. Behind his
chariot is the "Migdol of King Seti," which guarded the approach to
Egypt, and between the legs of his horses a fortress, called the " Castle
of Lions." In front is a canal full of crocodiles, which formed the boundary of
Egypt, and on the W. side of which the Egyptian priests and nobles
are waiting to welcome the conqueror. The canal was that which
united the Nile with the Bed Sea, and was afterwards reopened by
Darius. It followed the course of the present Freshwater Canal, and
the crocodiles in it remind us of the name of Lake Timsah, "the
Crocodile" Lake. Next, Seti is represented at Thebes, where he offers
to Amen the captive princes of Syria and vases of gold and silver. On
the gateway which opens into the Great Hall, Seti calls himself the
conqueror of the Mentiu, or Arabs of Sinai and Arabia Petrsea, the
Penkhu, the Sittiu or Bedawis, and the natives of the Mediterranean
coast of Asia Minor.
South Wall. — As has been already noticed, if we pass out of the
Portico of the Bubastides, and turn to the E., we find the external
wall of the temple covered with geographical cartouches (b). They
commemorate a victorious campaign undertaken by Shashank I.
(XXII. Dyn.), the Shishak of the Bible, against Palestine. To the rt.
Shishak is represented with upraised arm in the act of striking a group
of captives at his feet. To the 1., the god Amen of Thebes, and the
goddess of Thebes, holding a quiver, a box, and a mace, present them
selves before him. Behind them are 133 persons whose heads alone
2 D


402 eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. [Sect. V.
are visible, their bodies being hidden by a sort of battlemented shield,
on which is figured the plan of a fortified town. These 133 heads and
shields, as we learn from the hieroglyphs, represent the towns taken
by Shishak in his campaign. The name of Iuthmrk on the 29th shield
led Champollion, supplying the necessary vowels to read it lutah-
merek, to suppose that the head surmounting it was that of the King of
Judah, Behoboam, vanquished by Shishak. But Dr. Brugsch has
shown that Iuthmrk can only be considered, like the others, as the
name of some place in Palestine, and is probably to be read not Iutah-
merek (Judah-melek) but Yud ham-Melek, " Jehud (Josh. xix. 45) of
the king." It is not impossible that this "Yud of the king" maybe
Jerusalem itself. The list not only includes towns in Judah and
places in the desert S. of it, but also Megiddo, Taanach, Shunem,
and other cities of the northern kingdom, indicating that Shishak's
campaign was as much directed against Jeroboam as against Beho
boam. The inscriptions tell us nothing of the actual campaign.
Eor this we have only the meagre Biblical accounts, 2 Chron. xii.
2-4, and 1 Kings xiv. 25, 26: "And it came to pass, that in the
fifth year of king Behoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against
Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the Lord, with
twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen : and
the people were without number that came with him out of
Egypt ; the Lubim, the Sukkiim, and the Ethiopians. And he took
the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem."
"And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Behoboam, that
Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem : and he took away
the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's
house ; he even took away all : and he took away all the shields of
gold which Solomon had made."
Continuing eastwards along this same S. wall, we reach a wall
jutting out from it at right angles, on the W. face of which is a stela,
containing the treaty of peace concluded between Bamses II. and
Kheta-sira, king of the Kheta, in the 21st year of the reign of the
former prince. The inscription is the more interesting as containing
the text of the first extradition treaty on record (see Brugsch's ' History
of Egypt,' new edition, p. 281). The concluding portion of the
inscription, which is not given by Dr. Brugsch, has been published in
the ' Becueil de Travaux relatifs a la Philologie et a TArcheologie
Egyptiennes et A'ssyriennes,' xiii. 3, 4 (1890), by M. Bouriant, who
cleared away the rubbish that covered it. Fragments of another copy
of the treaty are to be found at the Bamesseum. The incidents are
probably those which preceded this peace and are sculptured on the
mam wall to the W. of this side wall (c). Beyond this again, on the
same wall, is an inscription of Merenptah, recounting the victory of
that king over the allied Libyans and northern tribes, Shardina,
Tuirsha, Akawasha (Achaians, 'AXaifo\), and Philistines, at Piari
in the Delta. To the E. of this cross wall, on the main wall, is a long
column of hieroglyphs containing the famous poem of Pentaur, recount
ing the great feats of arms accomplished by Bamses II. This poem is
repeated on the walls of the temples of Abydos, Luxor and Abu
Simbel, as well as here, and a copy of it is preserved in a papyrus in
the British Museum. The first to present a translation of it to the
world was M. de Eouge. An English translation of it will be found in


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 403
'Bocords of the Past,' ii. 65. There are a variety of other warlike
scenes, all more or less like those already described.
Other Buildings and Remains.— North Side.— The first ruins met
with to the N. of the Great Hall are those of a little temple with the
names of Amasis and Psammetichus III., as well as of the queens
Ankhnesneferabra and Nitokris, of the XXVI. Dynasty. Surround
ing the temple are the remains of a village of the Greek and Boman
age, in which an immense number of Greek and demotic ostraka
(inscribed potsherds) have been found, beginning with the reign of
Ptolemy Physkon, and coming down to that of Aurelian (a.d. 270).
Close by are some interesting private sanctuaries of brick, dating to
the time of the XVIII. Dynasty, in which M. Legrain discovered
votive statues of the owners. About 150 yds. eastward of this are the
remains of the small Temple of Ptah and Hathor, in which are
found the names of Thothmes III., Hor-em-heb, Bamses III., Shabak,
Taharka, and several of the Ptolemies. This temple, which is very
perfect, and contains some interesting objects found during the excava
tion of it, was built against the great exterior wall of crude brick
which surrounded the principal monuments at Karnak, and the remains
of which can still be seen on the E., W., and S. sides.
On the other side of this girdle-wall is a small enclosure, containing
the Temple of Mentu or Mont, the older god of the Thebaid, erected
by Amen-hetep III. It was once adorned with elegant sculptures and
two granite obelisks, but is now a confused heap of ruins, whose plan
is with difficulty traced beneath its fallen walls. In it were employed
Hathor capitals, whiefc are unusual at Thebes. The entrance to it is
on the N., and was approached by an avenue of sphinxes, of which
some are still in their places. They lead up to a well-proportioned
pylon, bearing the names and sculptures of Ptolemy Philadelphos with
Berenike and of Philopator, which is called Bdb el-'Abid, "the Gate
of the Slaves," by the natives, who believe that it opens into a magic
treasure-chamber guarded by a gigantic negro slave. It is the only
portion of this building which has remained uninjured ; and, though we
may with reason attribute much of the ruinous condition of Thebes to the
Assyrians, the names on this pylon, and many Ptolemaic additions to
the temple of Amen, fully prove that its capture by Lathyros was far
more detrimental to this city than any previous one.
To the W. of the temple is a small Ptolemaic temple, of which
little is left, and against the encircling wall of brick are six chambers,
the first of which contains the name of Nekht-her-heb, the second
those of Osorkon II. , Takeleth IL, and Naifaarut (XXIX. Dyn.), and
the fifth those of Amenartas and Shabak.
East Side.— A little beyond the Festival Hail of Thothmes HI. and
Bamses II.'s colonnade are the ruins of a small temple of Bamses IL,
beyond which the magnificent East Gate leads through the wall of enclo
sure. The sculptures of it have never been completed. In the doorway
is the name, of Nekhtnebf , and on the upper part of the S.E. side those
of Ptolemy Philadelphos, and of Arsinoe, his sister and second wife.
In the area within this gateway are a few other remains of the time of
Seti I., Bamses IL, Taharka, Ptolemy Physkon, Auletes, and Tiberius.
Inside the enclosure, near the N.E. angle, is a small sanctuary of
psiris, dedicated by Queen Amenartas (XXV. Dyn.) and her daughter
2 D 2


404 EOUTE 23.  LUXOE AND THEBES. [Sect. V.
Shepenapet, the queen of Psammetichus I. All the ground to the
N.E. is covered with mounds and crude-brick remains, among which
may be noticed the ruins of a Temple of Ptolemy Euergetes I. close to
the village of Negga el-Fokanl.
South Side. — Close to the S. wall of the eastern part of the Great
Temple is a crude-brick enclosure surrounding the Sacred Lake, which
still receives an annual supply of water by infiltration from the Nile,
but is strongly impregnated with nitre and other salts, and stagnant
during the summer. The lake is lined with masonry. On it the
sacred boats of the gods floated on occasions of high ceremony. It is
remarkable that the fellahin tell a tale of how once a year a- ghostly
golden "dahabiya" is seen passing across the lake at night. This is
very probably a real tradition. Between the lake and the E. wall of
the temple is part of the buildings of Thothmes III., and a room built
by Taharka. To the S. of it are the remains of some building with
the names of Bamses II. and Psamut. S.W. again is a small building
with a pylon, bearing the names of Amen-hetep II. and III.
Beturning from these unimportant ruins to the S. end of the open
court between the Great Hall and the Hall of Osiride Pillars (between
B and f), we have in front of us, looking S., a long avenue marked at
certain distances by Four Pylons, resembling so many triumphal gates,
which was adorned by an avenue of Colossal Statues. All these pylons
are more or less ruined, and the first and fourth almost entirely so.
They all bear the name of the Thothmes and other kings of the
XVIII. Dynasty. On the first (Pylon VII.) Thothmes III. has engraved a
list of the places and peoples conquered by him in the Sudan (on the E.
side), and in Palestine and northern Syria (on the W. side). In front
of this pylon were erected statues of this king and of monarchs of the
XIII. Dynasty (with later names) ; it is doubtful whether these last
are in their original position, or were not moved there by Thothmes.
The E. wall of the court between this pylon and the main temple is
inscribed with the Treaty of Bamses II. with the Hittites and the
Victory of Merenptah over the Libyans and Northerners, already
described. On the W. side is the second entrance to the temple, men
tioned on p. 392. Immediately N. of this, within the court, is the
piece of ground in which, in 1903-4, M. Legrain discovered the famous
cache of votive statues of all ages from the VI. Dynasty to the Boman
period, which had been dedicated in the temple, and buried here, very
possibly at the time of the Edict of Theodosius, when the temples were
finally closed and the statues of the gods overthrown. The find com
prised hundreds of perfect statues and statuettes ; one figure, two feet
high, is of green felspar or " mother-of -emerald." All are now in the
Cairo Museum (see description, p. 129, especially Boom M, with the
wonderful portrait statue of Thothmes III.). Fragmentary reliefs of
Amen-hetep I., of great delicacy of workmanship, were also found in
this court by M. Legrain. On the further (S.) side of the pylon are two
mutilated colossi of Amen bearing the names of Merenptah, Bamses HI.
and other kings The second pylon (Pylon VIII.) was erected by
Hatshepsu, and finished by Thothmes II. and III. There are also the
names of Amen-hetep II. , Seti I., and Bamses III. In front of the
pylon, which is the best-preserved of this series, stand colossi One in
calcareous white limestone, was erected by Amen-hetep I and next to


Sect. V.] EOUTE 23. — LUXOE AND THEBES. 405
this is a small figure of Queen Aahmes-nefertari. Close by is a mutilated
stela of Amen-hetep IL, announcing that he captured Ni in northern
Syria (restored by Seti I.). Another colossus was erected by Thothmes
III., in the 42nd year of his reign, in memory of Thothmes II. It is of
red quartzite. The reliefs on the pylon originally depicted Queen
Hatshepsu in various scenes : her place was usurped by the later kings,
especially Bamses II. (good portraits in the doorway). The third pylon
(Pylon IX.) was built by Hor-em-heb, out of the ruins of a temple erected
by Khu-n-Aten to the Solar Disk. The limestone colossi on the N.
side of the pylon were usurped by Bamses II. In the middle of the
wall is a building with square columns which was built by Amen-hetep
II. On the S. side of the fourth pylon (Pylon X.) stood a statue of
Hor-em-heb. From this fourth pylon (the tenth of the whole temple) an avenue
of sphinxes leads through a Ptolemaic gateway to the Temple of Mut,
the mother goddess, second person of the Theban triad. This was
known as the Temple of Mut "in Asheru," the name of the locality.
Outside the temple is a double avenue of sphinxes connecting it with
the line of sphinxes which run between the Temple of Luxor and
Karnak. A horseshoe lake lies round the W., S., and E. sides of the
temple. The first and second courts of the temple contain about
100 black granite statues of the lioness-headed goddess Sekhemet. Some
of these are nearly perfect, but the greater number are much broken
and decayed. They average about 5 ft. 6 in. in height; but three or
four are over 9 ft. high, and there is one very large and perfect head
which must have belonged to a statue from 14 to 16 ft. in height. Most
of them were dedicated by Amen-hetep III. It is probable that the large
number of Sekhemet figures in the British and other museums were
brought from this temple. In the second court there is also a black
granite sitting statue of a king about 11 ft. high ; the cartouche and
inscription on this are erased, but the workmanship has been thought
to indicate that it dates from the XIII. Dynasty. The southern part
of the temple consists of passages, in which are more Sekhemet statues,
and chambers. It is doubtful which of these latter was the sanctuary,
but probabilities point to a chamber on the axis of the temple, having
a small vault beneath it. At the southern end another small Ptolemaic
gateway opens on the lake with two Sekhemet figures picturesquely
placed before it. The temple is a patchwork of different reigns, and
so many reworked stones are used that it is difficult to decide with
certainty when any part was built. Amen-hetep III. was the founder ;
the gateway was known to have been built by Seti II. Pinetjem II.
and Shashank I. dedicated Sekhemet statues ; Taharka built and
inscribed a small chamber on the eastern side of the temple, and there
is a Ptolemaic addition to Seti's pylon giving figures of Bes in relief.
During the excavations carried on by Miss Benson in the winter of
1895-96 there were discovered a statue of Sen-Mut, the architect of
Der el-Bahari, bearing the cartouche of Hatshepsu, and showing by the
inscription that he was concerned in the building of this temple of
Mut ; reworked blocks which originally bore the name of Thothmes III. ;
a statue of a royal scribe with the cartouche of Amen-hetep II. ; a
block of rose granite bearing the cartouche of Tutankh-Amen ; a statue
of Bamses IL, and one of Bek-en-Khensu, a high priest of Amen during
the XIX. Dynasty; the cartouche of Set-nekht on a gateway of the


406 EOUTE 23. — LUXOE AND thebes. [Sect. V.
second court ; two cynocephali inscribed by Bamses III., and pieces of
two portrait Sphinxes of the same king. Cartouches of Bamses IV.
on walls of the second court, which seem to point to extensive rebuild
ing during this reign; the remains of a frieze bearing an important
inscription of the Ethiopian king Piankhi on the subject of the capture
of galleys from the native Egyptian princes. Besides this a large
number of mutilated statues were discovered dedicated by private
persons and belonging to different periods ; the mutilation of these and
the havoc made in different parts of the temple indicates an intentional
destruction which possibly took place at the time of the Assyrian
invasion. Among them was a fine head of the prince Mentuemhat,
who governed Thebes about the time of the invasion, and was buried
in the Asasif (see p. 471).
On the W. side of the Sacred Lake are the ruins of a small temple
of Ramses III., in which he recorded his campaign in Tjahi or Pales
tine. It was included within the brick surrounding wall of the temple
of Mut. 5. Medamot.
The ruins of Medamot, which lie about 2 hrs.' ride from Luxor,
beyond Karnak in a N.E. direction, consist of the crude-brick houses
of a small town, about 464 paces square, in the centre of which is a
sandstone temple dedicated f o Mentu ; but of this little remains,
except part of the portico, which is apparently, from the style of its
architecture, of Ptolemaic date. On the columns (the capitals of which
are covered with wild bees' nests) may be traced the cartouches of Ptolemy
Euergetes IL, of Lathyros, and of Auletes, as well as those of the
Emperor Antoninus Pius ; but a block of granite with the name of
Amen-hetep II. proves the temple to be of much greater antiquity.
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 reigns of Seti I. and Bamses II.
This pylon formed one of several doorways of a crude-brick enclosure
which surrounded the temple ; and a short distance before it is a raised
platform, with a flight of steps on the inner side, similar to that before
the temples at El-Kharga (in the Great Oasis), at Karnak, and many
other places. To the southward of the portico appears to be the site
of a reservoir, beyond which a gateway leads through the side of the
crude-brick wall to a small ruin, bearing the name of Ptolemy Euer
getes I. Beside the enclosure of the temple is a wall of similar
materials that surrounded the whole town, which was of an irregular
shape. These ruins, though small, are exceedingly picturesque, and
the pastoral scenes around very beautiful.
6. The Western Bank: General Description.
The remains of antiquity on the Western Bank are scarcely inferior
in interest to those on the Eastern, and rise superior to them in the
fact that they are seen in the beautiful setting supplied by the majestic
Western Hills of the Thebaid.
The ancient western city was, as has been said, a city of the dead •
its houses were tombs, its temples funerary chapels of the kings its
inhabitants mummies ; the only living inhabitants, as far as the desert
and the hills were concerned, being those connected with the necro-


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 407
polis, where dwellings were intermingled with the tombs much as are
the modern villages of Kiirna. The cultivated land was of course
occupied by the villas and farms of the wealthy among those still
"living on earth." The ancient names of the western city have been
given ; the various parts of the necropolis were very carefully marked
off, and in the time of the Ptolemies even the tombs were portioned
off into districts, attached to the quarters of the town. Thus we find
that Thynabunun, where the priests of Osiris were buried, belonged to
and stood within the limits of the Memnonium. It is probable that
in late times, when the city and its territory were divided into two
separate nomes, the portion on the western bank being under the pro
tection of Hathor, received the name "Pathyritic" ; and Thebes being
afterwards broken up into several small detached towns, which was
the case even in Strabo's time, Pathyris became a distinct city.
The same small subdivision of the desert tract is still in existence :
Kurnet Murrai, Shekh 'Abd el-Kurna, Kurna proper, Dra' Abu '1-Negga,
the Asasif, and the rest are quite small tracts of land, marked by some
prominent feature such as a small hill, a temple, or a tomb. The
district has a large population, who live to some extent in the actual
tombs, with a small forecourt in front. The brick constructions
above ground have the usual poverty-stricken appearance, but it
must be remembered that much that we regard as necessary even
for the very poorest is entirely unnecessary here, and that in this
climate a roof is more or less a superfluity, except to sleep on in
the hot summer nights. A characteristic object to be noticed is the
strange mushroom-like erection of mud, sometimes decorated in a
barbaric style, which is seen outside most of these hovels ; it serves as
a receptacle for odds and ends of various kinds, a place for the hens
to lay eggs in, for the pigeons to roost, and the dogs to sleep on, as a
safe receptacle for babies, &c. The whole place is usually known as
Kurna, though properly this appellation should be restricted to the
northern village, where is the mosque and the tomb of Shekh Taia,
the local saint; this lies N. of the temple of Kurna. In common
parlance, however, "Kurna" is the equivalent of the ancient Pathyris
or "the Memnonia." ' Kilrna proper, where is the Temple of Seti I., lies
at the mouth of the Wddiyin, the great twin- valley, which runs W. and
S.W. into the mountain-ganglion which here projects into the plain, the
most prominent point of which, called el-KUrn, "the horn," reaches an
altitude of 1400 ft. This is the stately hill which faces the visitor as he
rides out across the cultivation to the Colossi and the Eamesseum. Its
summit, which looks so solid from below, is really a very narrow knife-
edge ; the hills behind, which are in reality higher, and only look lower
on account of their greater distance (they are on the farther side of the
Valley of the Kings), form a solid plateau. The Wadiyen divides into the
two valleys from which it takes its name ("Two Valleys") : the eastern,
which runs S., parallel to the plain, is the Bibdn el-MuUk, the Valley of
"the Tombs of the Kings^" properly speaking, which again splits into
two valleys, of which the westernmost is known as "the Western Valley "
(Wddi el-Gharbi). The long spit or spur of lower hill which separates
the Biban el-Muluk from the plain is known as ed-Dra' Abu 'l-Negga,
"Abu '1-Negga's Arm." The houses which bear this name lie at its
N. end, and are hardly to be distinguished from Kiirna proper. At
the end of the Biban el-Muluk and foot of the Kiirn, which forms


408 boute 23.— luxoe and thebes. [Sect. V.
the southern barrier of both the Dra' and the Biban, the breadth
of the Dra' is very small, as the lower desert of the plain here
cuts into the hills, forming a semicircular bay bounded on the W.
by high cliffs. In this bay stood the two temples of Mentuhetep III.
and Hatshepsu, known to the ancients as Tjesret or Tjeserti, "the
Holy Place" or "Two Holy Places," and to the moderns as Der
el-Bdhari, from the "Northern Convent" of St. Phcebammon, which
was built on their ruins. Beyond Der el-Bahari a great mass of
the hillside has, as the result of some primaeval landslip, fallen
bodily forward towards the cultivated land, forming an isolated hill
known as Shikh 'Abd el-Kiirna. The whole eastern face of the hill
is honeycombed with tombs of the time of the XVIII. Dynasty, the
colonnaded outer galleries of which are conspicuous from afar. A
small wadi running into the hills towards Der el-Bahari separates
this hill from another, known as Kiirnet Murrdi. The eastern flanks
of both hills have good-sized villages clinging to them ; the hovels are
inextricably mixed up with the tombs, which often form actual parts
of the dwelling-places. The gap left by the Shekh 'Abd el-Kuma land
slip forms a small pass by which Der el-Bahari can be attained from
the wadi just mentioned. A similar pass at the back of Kiirnet
Murrai contains the picturesque little temple of Hathor of the Waste,
known now as Dir el-Medina, from having been colonized by Coptic
monks. From the wadi on the farther (southern) side of Kumet
Murrai and Der el-Medina the valley of the Tombs of the Queens is
attained by a rocky path over a shoulder of hill ; this valley, which
shows very plainly the traces of the mountain-stream which filled it
during the geological age corresponding to our northern Glacial period,
leads out on to a flat and open desert plain, in which, on the borders
of the cultivation, stand the temples of Medinet Habu. South of this
is the arid tract of el-Malkata, in which are the ruins of the palace of
Amen-hetep III. and a small Coptic dir. The remains of the great
dike which enclosed the artificial lake attached to the palace stand up
out of the plain and are crowned with the huts of the villages of el-
Bd'irdt. The land on the site of the ancient lake is called the Birket
Habd, "Habu Lake." Not far south of this is the Boman temple of
Der esh-Shalwit. Beturning north to Kurna, to the eastward of Kiirnet
Murrai, on the right the low mounds of KCrm el-Hettdn, "the Mound of
the Walls," is passed ; this represents all that is left of the temple in
front of which the Colossi of Memnon were erected. The great temple
of the Bamesseiim is next passed, also on the right, and we enter the
tract of desert which stretches up from the cultivated land to Der
el-Bahari ; this is called the Asasif. It is honeycombed in the most
extraordinary way with pit-tombs, mostly of the time of the XXVI.
Dynasty. The arid chaos of pits and mounds resembles a landscape on
the moon, with its wilderness of dead craters, rather than anything
sublunary. Standing up prominently in the direction of Der el-Bahari
are the brick- pylons of the huge subterranean tombs of Mentuemhat
and Petuamenapt, dignitaries of the XXV. and XXVI. Dynasties.
Further north lie Dra' Abu '1-Negga and Kiirna again.
[We have now completed our general survey of the " Metnnonia " It is evident
that such a confused wilderness of hills and valleys, temples and tombs is difficult
to visit on any one specified route without constant crossing and recrossin" of the
route. It is therefore advisable to describe each well-defined area centreing round


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 409
some prominent temple or village, separately, leaving the visitor to combine them
in any order he pleases. In the earlier part of the winter season (Oct.-Nov.), when
the cultivated land is still partly covered with water or is impassable on account of
the not yet hardened mud, he will have to begin his survey with the temple of
Kurna, which lies at the end of a long gisr or canal-dike running up from the
direction of Luxor, and will find Medinet Habu his furthest goal. But in December
he will be able to cross the fields directly to the Colossi. Tourists then usually visit
Western Thebes on different days. The Colossi, the Eamesseum, and Medinet Habu
are usually visited together : the tombs of Shekh 'Abd el-Kurna are sometimes
combined with the Eamesseum and Der el-Bahari ; Kurna, the' Tombs of the Kings,
andiDer el-Bahari is a regular route.
Details as to the ferry-boats will be found on p. 379 ; donkeys are usually taken
across from Luxor, but local Kilrna donkeys are to be had, and are naturally not so
expensive, the ferry-fare being avoided ; they are quite good. Tariff usually P.T.5
half-day ; P.T.10 whole day. Bakhshish should not exceed P.T.2.
In December and later, when the river is getting low, the donkeys await the
boats on the sand-spit opposite Luxor : from this to the cultivated land is rather
heavy going over sand. In November it is necessary to go further S., where an
embankment or gisr comes near the river-side.]
7. The Colossi.
From the border of the cultivation we ride up a narrow lane, on
the right of which is a farmhouse (Ezbet Ayub Bey) standing in a
garden. Turning sharply to the rt. the lane runs between the wall of
the garden and the Fadliya Canal, which we cross by a couple of small
bridges (I.), beyond a house with some magnificent acacias (lebbek)
standing in front of it. Beyond the bridges the path to Kurna runs
along the top of the dyke on the W. bank of the canal ; that to the
Colossi and the Bamesseum diverges I. by the side of the embankment
of the Light Railway from Erment, finally, when the rly. turns S.,
making direct across the fields to the Colossi (25 min. from the Nile).
These two gigantic statues, commonly called The Colossi (in Arabic
es-Sanamdt, "The Idols"), both represent Amen-hetep III., and no
doubt stood at the entrance of the temple of that monarch, already
mentioned, of which hardly anything remains. They are of a coarse
hard gritstone mixed with chalcedonies, and were both originally
monoliths. They stood on pedestals of the same material, which in
their turn rested on a built sandstone foundation. The height of the
statues alone is 52 ft. ; but with the pedestals they are 65 ft. above the
surrounding plain. The weight of the southern colossus is calculated
to be 1175 tons. At the time they were erected, the ground imme
diately surrounding them was desert. The soil, which now rises to a
height of about 7 ft. above their base, has been deposited by the Nile
in the course of the successive years which have since elapsed. During
the inundation they are surrounded by water.
The northernmost of the two statues is known as the Colossus of
Memnon, or the Vocal Statue of Memnon ; and was once the wonder
of the ancients, owing to the sound which it was said to emit every
morning at the rising of the sun. Like the other statue, it was a
monolith ; but it is conjectured to have been partially thrown down by
the earthquake of B.C. 27, to which Eusebius attributes the destruction
of so many of the monuments of Thebes. The repairs, effected by
means of blocks of sandstone placed horizontally in five layers, and
forming the body, head, and upper part of the arms, were made in tbe
reign of Septimius Severus.


410 EOUTE 23. — LUXOE AND thebes. [Sect. V.
No record exists of the sound which made the statue so famous having been
heard while it was entire. Strabo, who visited it with /Elius Gallus, the
Governor of Egypt, speaks of tbe "upper part" having been " broken and
hurled down," as he was told, " by the shock of an earthquake," and says that
he heard the sound, but could "not affirm whether it proceeded from the
pedestal or from the statue itself, or even from some of those who stood near
its base ; for the cause being uncertain, I am disposed to believe anything
rather than that stones thus erected could emit a sound." And it appears,
from his not mentioning the name of Memnon, that it was not yet supposed
to be the statue of that legendary personage. But it was not long before the
Roman visitors, misled by the sound of the name Amenothes or Amenophis,
ascribed it to Memnon, the son of Tithonus (see p. 546), who was said to have
led a host from Ethiopia to the siege of Troy, and a multitude of inscriptions,
the earliest in the reign of Nero, and the most recent in the reign of Septimius
Severus, testify to its miraculous powers, and the credulity of the writers.
Pliny calls it the statue of Memnon, and Juvenal thus refers to it : —
" Dimidio magicre resonant ubi Memnone chorda?."
Various opinions exist among modern critics as to whether the sound this statue
was said to emit, and which is described as resembling either the breaking. of a
harp-string or the ring of metal, was the result of a natural phenomenon or of
priestly craft. Some say that tbe action of the rising sun upon the cracks in
the stone moist with dew caused the peculiar sound produced ; while others
declare that it was a trick of the priests, one of whom hid himself in the statue,
and struck a metallic-sounding stone there concealed. The chief arguments in
favour of this last view are, that such a stone still exists in the lap of the statue,
with a recess cut in the block immediately behind it, capable of holding a
person completely screened from view below, and, above all, the suspicious
circumstance that the sound was heard twice or thrice by important personages,
like the Emperor Hadrian. An inscription states that, rejoicing (at the
presence of the emperor), it "uttered a sound a third time," — while ordinary
people only heard it once, and that sometimes not until after two or three visits.
The fact, however, of there being no record of the sounds having been heard
when the statue was entire or after it was repaired, is very much in favour of
their having been produced by the action of the hot sun on the cracks in the
cold stone, similar phenomena being by no means uncommon.
The form of these Colossi resembles that mentioned by Diodorus in the tomb
of Osymandyas, 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 7 cubits, or 3^ yards. Such indeed is the size of their feet ; and
on either side stand attached to the throne the wife and mother of Amen-hetep,
in height about 6 yards. The traces of a smaller figure of his queen are also
seen between his feet.
The proportions of the Colossi are about the same as of the granite
statue of Ramses II. in the Bamesseum ; but the Colossi are inferior in
the weight and hardness of their materials. They measure about 18 ft.
3 in. across the shoulders ; 16 ft. 6 in. from the top of the shoulder to
the elbow ; 10 ft. 6 in. from the top of the head to the shoulder ; 17 ft.
9 in. from the elbow to the finger's end; and 19 ft. 8 in. from the knee
to the plant of tbe foot. The thrones are ornamented with figures of
the god of the Nile, who, holding the stalks of two plants peculiar to
the river, is engaged in binding up a pedestal or table, surmounted by
the name of the Egyptian monarch— a symbolic group, indicating his
dominion over the upper and lower countries. A line of hieroglyphs
extends perpendicularly down the back, from the shoulder to the
pedestal, containing the name of the Pharaoh they represent


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 411
The pedestal of "Memnon," called Tama by the Arabs, the southern
colossus being Shama, is covered with the Greek and Latin inscriptions
of the visitors who came to hear the sounds emitted by the statue,
usually at sunrise. The earliest dated one is of the 11th year of Nero.
Some of them are very bad verses by the court poetess, Balbilla,
celebrating Hadrian's visit in a.d. 130. There is also a poem of six
elegiac verses by Asklepiodotos, and on the right leg of the Colossus is
a curious cento of four lines from the Iliad and Odyssey by a certain
Areies. On the left leg are two inscriptions in unknown characters,
one of which ends with the Greek words, "the third hour." Some
modern names have been barbarously cut over some of the ancient
inscriptions. 300 ft. behind the Colossi are the remains of another Colossus of
similar form and dimensions, which, fallen prostrate, is partly buried
by the alluvial deposits of the Nile.
Corresponding to this are Four Smaller Statues, formed on one
block, and representing male and female figures, probably of Amen
hetep and his queen. They are seated on a throne, now concealed
beneath the soil, and two of them are quite defaced. Their total
height, without the heads, which have been broken off, is 8 ft. 3 in.,
including the pedestal, and they were originally only about 9 ft. 10 in.
high. They are therefore a strange pendant for a colossus of 60 ft.,
and, even making every allowance for Egyptian symmetrophobia, it is
difficult to account for their position. But the accumulation of the
soil, their position on sandy ground, and their general direction, satis
factorily prove that they occupy their original site.
83 yds. behind these are the fragments of another Colossus, which,
like the last, has been thrown across the dromos it once adorned ; and
if the nature of its materials did not positively increase its beauty,
their novelty, at least, called on the spectator to admire a statue of
an enormous mass of crystallized carbonate of lime. From this point it
is readily perceived 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.
This dromos, or paved approach to the temple, was probably part of
the " Royal Street " mentioned in some papyri found at Thebes ; which,
crossing the western portion of the city from the temple there, com
municated, by means of a ferry, with that of Luxor, founded by the
same Amen-hetep, on the other side of the river ; as the great dromos
of sphinxes, connecting the temples of Luxor and Karnak, formed the
main street in the eastern district of Thebes.
The dromos from the Colossi to the Kom el-Hettan, which marks
the site of Amen-hetep's temple, is 1100 ft. long. All that now exists of
the temple are the bases of its columns, some broken statues, and
syenite sphinxes of the king, with several lion-headed figures of black
granite. About 200 ft. from the N. 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
(stelce) of gritstone, with the usual circular summits, in the form of
Egyptian shields, on which are sculptured long inscriptions, and the
figures of the king and queen, to whom Amen-Ba and Ptah-Sekar
present the emblems of life.


412 EOUTE 23.— LUXOE AND THEBES. [Sect. V.
Proceeding northwards, and skirting the edge of the cultivated land,
we reach in about 20 min.
8. The Eameaseum, or Memnonium.
The Ramesseum, or mortuary Temple of Bamses II. (XIX. %«•),
was erroneously called by the Greeks the Memnonium, and the Tomb
of Osymaudyas. It has been supposed that the name Memnonium is a
corruption of the Egyptian word mennu, " monument." It is certainly
the Tomb of Osymandyas described by Diodorus, Osymandyas being
User-maat-Ba, otherwise Bamses II. The word " Tomb " as applied to
it is no misnomer, as it is purely funerary in its character, and was
intended to be the chapel of the royal tomb, which was itself placed in
the Biban el-Muluk.
Plan.— For symmetry of architecture and elegance of sculpture the
Bamesseum may vie with any other Egyptian monument. No traces
are visible of the dromos that probably existed before the pyramidal
towers (a a), which form the facade of its first area (c c) — a court whose
breadth of 180 ft., exceeding the length by nearly 13 yards, was reduced
to a more just proportion by the introduction of a double avenue of
columns on either side, extending from the towers to the N. wall. In
this area, on the rt. of a flight of steps leading to the next court, was a
stupendous Syenite Statue of Ramses II. (d), seated on >•¦ throne, in
the usual attitude of Egyptian figures, the hands resting on the knees,
indicative of that tranquillity which the king had returned to enjoy in
Egypt after the fatigues of victory. But the hand of the destroyer has
levelled this monument of Egyptian grandeur, whose colossal fragments
lie scattered round the pedestal : and its shivered throne evinces the
force used for its destruction. If it is a matter of surprise how 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 attributing it to the explosive force of powder had that composition
been known at the supposed period of its destruction. But is this
early destruction certain ? It is hardly conceivable that this tremendous
and evidently sudden overthrow can have been due to an earthquake. The
throne and legs are completely destroyed, and reduced to comparatively
small fragments, while the upper part, broken at the waist, is merely
thrown back upon the ground, and lies in that position which was the
consequence of its fall ; nor are there any marks of the wedge or other
instrument which should have been employed for reducing those frag
ments to the state 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. To say that this is
the largest statue in Egypt will convey no idea of the gigantic size or
enormous weight of a mass which, from an approximate calculation,
exceeded, when entire, nearly three times the solid contents of the
great obelisk of Karnak, and weighed over 1000 tons. The ear alone is
3J ft. in length, while the circumference of the arm at the elbow is 17J ft.
The second area (gg) is about 140 ft. by 170, having on the S. and
N. sides a row of Osiride pillars (hh), connected with each other by two
lateral corridors of circular columns. Three flights of steps lead to the
northern corridor (which may be called the portico), behind the Osiride


PLAN OF THE BAMESSEUM, OE MEMNONIUM.

A A, Towers of Pylon. E, Entrance, c c,
Area. D, Broken granite statue of Ramses
II. e, Entrance, between ff, the Pylon.
80, 2nd Area, with BE, Osiride columns.
I and J, Traces of Sculpture. K, Sculptures
laiMeDtingtha war s of Ramses II. L and

M, Sphinxes. N, 0, P, Entrances into Q,
the grand hall. R, s, Pedestals for statues.
T, Sculptured battle scenes, o, Chamber
with astronomical subject on ceiling, v,
Another chamber, with w, X, Sculptured
scenes. T, z, Other chambers.


414 EOUTE 23.— LUXOE AND THEBES. [Sect. V.
pillars, the centre flight having on each side a black granite statue of
Bamses II. , the base of whose throne is cut to fit the ascent.
Behind the columns of the northern 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 (nop) open into the grand hall (q), each with a sculptured
doorway of black granite : and between the first two columns of the
central avenue, two pedestals (r s) supported (one on either side) two
other statues of the king. Twelve massive columns, 32 ft. 6 in. high,
without the abacus, and 21 ft. 3 in. in circumference, form a double
line along the centre of this hall, and 18 of smaller dimensions (17 ft.
8 in. in circumference), to the rt. and 1., complete the total of the 48,
which supported the solid roof studded with stars on an azure ground.
To the hall, which measures 100 ft. by 133, succeeded 3 central (u V z)
and 6 lateral chambers (y y y y yv), indicating by a small flight of steps
the gradual ascent of the rock on which this edifice is constructed. Of
9, two only (u v) of the central apartments now remain, each supported
by 8 columns, and each measuring about 30 ft. 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.
Sculptures. — The sculptures, much more interesting than the
architectural details, have suffered far more from the hand of the
destroyer : and of the many curious battle-scenes which adorned its
walls, 4 only now remain ; though the traces of another may be per
ceived behind the granite colossus on the N. face of the wall.
On the N. face of the eastern pyramidal tower or propylon (a), which
is in a picturesquely ruinous condition, was represented the capture of
18 towns in Palestine and Syria, 14 of which now alone remain. We
learn from the texts annexed to the sculptures that one of them was
" Shalem," or Jerusalem, and that the campaign took place in the 8th
year of Bamses. Among the other names are those of Askelon, Beth-
Anath, Merom, and Damascus. The campaign was waged against the
Kheta, who are possibly the Biblical " Hittites."
It will be noticed that in the scene before us, an insolent soldier
pulls the beard of his helpless captive, while others wantonly beat a
suppliant ; and the display of this principle is the more striking, as the
Egyptians on other occasions have recorded their humane treatment
of an enemy in distress. The inscription close by reads, " bringing
the vile Kheta before Pharaoh : beating those of the vile Kheta who
were there." Beyond these is a corps of infantry in close array,
flanked by a strong body of chariots ; and a camp, indicated by a
rampart of Egyptian shields, with a wicker gateway, guarded by four
companies of sentries, who are on duty in the inner side, forms the
most interesting object in the picture. Here the booty taken from the
enemy is collected ; oxen, chariots, waggons, horses, asses, sacks of gold,
represent the confusion incident after a battle ; and the richness 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 homewards ; and beyond them the king, attended


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 415
by his fan-bearers, holds forth his hand to receive the homage of the
priests and principal persons, who approach his throne to congratulate
him on his return. His charioteer is also in attendance, and the high-
spirited horses of his car are with difficulty restrained 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. We may also
observe some drunken and riotous soldiers, as well as a surgeon,
operating on the hoof of an ass.
The sculptures on the gateway refer to the pancgyries, or jubilee-
festivals, of the king, to whom different divinities are said to " give life
and power." Over this gate passes a staircase, leading to the top of
the building, whose entrance lies on the exterior of the E. side.
Upon the W. tower is represented a battle against the Kheta or
Hittites (?), 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, who, in the hieroglyphs above, are called " the
chiefs of the foreign countries." In the next compartment, still
wearing his helmet, he approaches the temple attended by his sons,
whose names are enumerated, the fan-bearers being Amen-her-khopesh-f ,
Bamses, and Ba-her-unami-f , followed by others to the number in all
of 23, of whom the 13th is Mer-en-Ptah, his successor ; and to this the
hieroglyphs before him allude.
On the N. face of the S.E. wall of the 2nd Area (gg) is another
historical subject (k), representing Bamses II. pursuing the Kheta,
whose numerous chariots, flying over the plain, endeavour to regain the
river Orontes, and seek shelter under the fortified walls of their capital-
city Kadesh, close to the Lake of Horns. And so forcibly do the details
of this picture call to mind the battles of the Iliad, that some of them
might serve as illustrations to that poem. In order to check the
approach of the Egyptians, the enemy had crossed the river, whose
stream, divided into a double fosse, surrounded the towered walls of
their fortified city, and had opposed their advance by a considerable
body of chariots ; while a large 'reserve of infantry, having crossed the
bridges, is posted on the other bank, to cover the retreat or second their
advance ; but, routed by the Egyptians, they are forced to throw them
selves back upon the town, and many, in recrossing the river, are either
carried away by the stream, or fall under the arrows of the invaders.
Those who have succeeded in reaching the opposite bank are rescued by
their friends, who, drawn up in three phalanxes (described in the
hieroglyphs as 8,000 strong), witness the defeat of their comrades, and
the flight of the remainder of their chariots. Some carry to the rear the
lifeless corpse of the King of Khilibu (Aleppo), who has been drowned
in the river, and in vain endeavour to restore life, by holding his head
downwards to expel the water ; and others implore the clemency of the
victor, and acknowledge him their conqueror and lord. Among the
Kheta slain were their scribe Khirpasar, "the writer of books," the
prince Mejarima, " brother of the vile Kheta," Kemaija and Tidur,
" the chiefs of the men of valour " (aa n tuhiru), Agma and Irbasunna,
the " chiefs of the bowmen," Javajasa, " chief of the land of Tanisa,"


416 EOUTE 23.  LUXOE AND THEBES. [Sect. V.
Payasa and Targamenasa the Kajens, and two other chiefs named
Targatijasa and Girbatusa. The flower of the Kheta host had
perished. The scene thus represented in sculpture was the subject of a long
historical poem, carved on one of the exterior walls of Karnak, and on
the N. face of the pylon of the temple of Luxor. It is known as the
Poem of Pentaur, the court poet of Bamses II. , and has been translated
by M. de Bouge ; and into English by Dr. Lushington (' Becords of the
Past,' ii. 65). It was suggested by the personal bravery of Bamses
himself, who in the battle before Kadesh found himself deserted by his
own soldiers, and confronted by 2508 hostile chariots. Thanks to the
gods, however, and his own prowess, the Pharaoh succeeded in escaping
from the danger that threatened him, and eventually inflicted a signal
defeat on the foe. It should be noticed that in one part of the sculp
tures (which were the work of more than one artist) the Kheta are
represented with those " snow-boots " with upturned toes which were
characteristic of their northern home in Asia Minor, and which, like
the Turks in later days, they must have carried with them to the warm
plains of Syria. Similar boots have always been worn in Crete.
Above the battle-scenes is a procession of priests, bearing the
figures of the ancestors of Bamses II. The first of these is Mena;
then a king of the XL Dynasty ; and after him those of the XVIII.
Dynasty. The intermediate monarchs are omitted. The remaining
subjects are similar to those in the coronation of the king at Medinet
Habu, where the flight of the four birds into which the children of
Horus have transformed themselves, the king cutting ears of corn
(afterwards offered to the god of generation), the queen, the sacred
bull, and the figures of his ancestors, placed before the god, are more
easily traced frt>m the greater preservation of that building. This wall,
which was in a dangerous condition, standing only by the weight of its
own stones, was supported by brick buttresses by Mr. Garter, then Chief
Inspector of Antiquities at Thebes, in 1899, and. is now safe. Beyond
the W. staircase of the N. corridor, the king kneels before Amen-Ba,
Mut, and Khonsu ; Thoth notes on his palm-branch the years of the
panegyries ; and the gods Mentu and Atmu introduce Bamses into the
presence of that triad of deities.
On the other side, forming the S. wall of the Great Hall (q), is a
small but interesting representation of the storming of "Dapur in the
land of the Amorites," which was probably an incident of the Kheta
war (t), where the use of the ladder and of the testudo throws con
siderable light on the mode of warfare at that early period. The town,
situated on a lofty rock, is obstinately defended, and many are hurled
headlong from its walls by the spears, arrows, and stones of the
besieged ; but the defenders, on the nearer approach of the Egyptian
king, are obliged to sue for peace, and send heralds with presents to
deprecate his fury; 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 Egyptian troops, who are led by Kha-em-uaset and
other sons of Bamses.
One of the architraves in the Great Hall presents a long inscription,
purporting that Bamses Meri-Amen has made the sculptures (or the
work) for his father Amen-Ba, king of the gods, and that he has erected


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 417
the hall  of hewn stone, good and hard blocks, supported by
fine columns (alluding, from their form, to those of the central colonnade)
in addition to (the side) columns similar to those of the lateral colon
nades. At the upper end of this hall, on the N.W. wall, the king
receives the falchion and sceptres from Amen-Ba, who is attended by
the goddess Mut; and in the hieroglyphs mention is made of this
palace of Bamses, of which the deity is said to be the guardian. We
also learn from them that the king is to smite the heads of his foreign
enemies with the falchion, and with the sceptres to defend or rule his
country, Egypt. On the corresponding wall he receives the emblems
of life and power from Amen-Ba, attended by Khonsu, in the presence
of the lion-headed goddess. Below these compartments, on either
wall, is a procession of the twenty-three sons of the king ; and on the
W. corner are three of his daughters, but without their names.
On the ceiling of the next chamber (u) is an astronomical subject.
On the upper side of it are the twelve Egyptian months, and at the
end of Mesore a space seems to be left for the five days of the epact,
opposite which is the rising of the Dog-star, under the figure of Isis-
Sothis. In the hieroglyphs of the border of this picture, mention is
made of the columns and of the building of this chamber with " bard
stone," where apparently were deposited the " books of Thoth," so that
it must have been a library. On the walls are sculptured sacred arks,
borne in procession by the priests ; and at the base of the door leading
to the next apartment (v) is an inscription, purporting that the king
had dedicated it to Amen, and mention seems to be made of its being
beautified with gold and precious ornaments. The door itself was of
two folds, turning on bronze pins, which moved in circular grooves of
the same metal, since removed from the stones in which they were
fixed. On the N. wall of the next and last room that now remains (z), the
king is making offerings and burning incense, on one side to Ptah and
the lion-headed goddess ; on the other to Ba (the sun), whose figure is
gone. Large tablets before him mention the offerings he has made to
different deities. It has been conjectured that Bamses II. was actually
buried in this temple. The tomb in the Biban el-Muluk which bears
his name seems to have been abandoned incomplete.
About 120 ft. to the E. of the outer court and the front towers of
the Bamesseum is the tank cased with stone usually attached to the
Egyptian temples.
Other Ruins, — The Bamesseum was built on an ancient necropolis
of the XL and XII. Dynasties, and as at a later period, in the time of
the XXII. Dynasty, tombs were again sunk in the ground immediately
around the building, the whole place is like a gigantic rabbit-warren.
The Bamesseum itself was partly built out of the ruins of other
temples in the neighbourhood, including that of Der el-Bahari. From
the west end of the temple we step out into the ancient Town of
Storehouses and Priests' Dwellings, attached to the temple. They
are built of brick and form a regular village, with streets and lanes.
They were investigated by Prof. Petrie in 1895-6 and have since been
partially cleared by the Service of Antiquities under the direction of
Mr. Carter ; the excavated rubbish being disposed to form a rectangular
girdle-wall round the town. From this a good view of the buildings
2 E


418 route 23. — luxoe and thebes. [Sect. V.
can be obtained. Walking down the main street we see to rt. and 1.
the long brick cellars or storehouses, with their arched roofs ; further
on a regular colonnaded forum, with limestone pillar-bases in position,
is reached; out of this opens a gallery with remains of seated statues,
of brickwork cut to shape and covered with plaster, placed against the
E. wall. Beyond this is an altar, and W. of this an entrance in the
modern girdle wall, which leads out on to the desert. Here the donkeys
may be ordered to await the visitor.
This mass of buildings is extremely interesting, and is a veritable
little Egyptian Pompeii. The ruins show considerable alterations of
plan, probably in the time of the XXII. Dynasty. Under the arches
of the ruined brick buildings on the N. side of the Bamesseum, several
hundred fragments of wine-jars have been found, giving the year
of the reign of Bamses II. in which the wine was "bottled" in each
jar, as well as the name of the superintendent of the temple-
cellars. Prof. Petrie's excavations in 1895-6 have shown that to the N. and
S. of the great temple were temples of the XVIII. and XIX. Dynasties.
Immediately to the S. was a small chapel of Uatj-mes, an official of
Bamses II. ; S. of this was the temple of Thothmes IV. ; S. of this
again, and in the S.W. corner of an older cutting in the rock, was the
temple of a queen whose cartouches read Set-Ba-merit-Amen Ta-usret-
setep-n-Amen, and who is probably Ta-usret, the wife of Si-Ptah and
last sovereign of the XIX. Dynasty. S. of this are the foundations of
another temple hitherto supposed to have been that of Amen-hetep III.,
whose name occurs on several of the stones belonging to it. Professor
Petrie found, however, that it had really been built by Mer-en-Ptah,
the son of Bamses IL, out of the ruins of the temple of Amen-hetep III.,
which stood further to the S.E. near the Colossi. In it he discovered
a large granite stela with an inscription on one side which, after having
been erased in the time of Khu-n-Aten, had been re-engraved by Seti I.,
and on the other side a valuable historical inscription of Mer-en-Ptah,
in which he refers to the defeat of the Libyans and to a subsequent
campaign in Palestine, " the Israelites " being mentioned in connection
with Canaan and Ashkelon.
On the N. side of the Bamesseum was a temple of Amen-hetep II. ;
immediately to the N. of this, a temple of Si-Ptah, who is associated
with his prime minister Bai ; and to the N. of this again a temple of
Thothmes III. This last has been cleared by Mr. Weigall, the present
Chief Inspector of Antiquities at Luxor. The site of the' central hall
is approached by an ascending way. The plan may be made out
without much difficulty. There are interesting remains of brickwork
and coloured reliefs. Still further to the N. Dr. Spiegelberg has
discovered the traces of a temple of Amen-hetep I., probably the
" Temple of Amen-hetep in the Garden," which is mentioned in the
Abbott Papyrus.
To the S.E of the temple of Mer-en-Ptah lie two broken statues of
Amen-hetep III. which once faced towards the palace of Bamses II
They stood in the usual attitude of Egyptian statues, the left leg
placed forward and the arms fixed to the side. Their total height wa!
about 35 ft. These are probably connected with the great Temple of the
Colossi, which has disappeared. The Kom el-Hettdn, which marks its
site, lies about 700 ft. S. (see p. 411).


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 419
9. Medinet Habft.
Biding S.W. from the Colossi, we pass a house belonging to the Service
of Antiquities and soon reach the ruins at Medinet Habu (XVIII.-XX.
Dyn. and later). They have been recently cleared of rubbish by M.
Daressy, and exposed to view. They form undoubtedly one of the four
temples mentioned by Diodorus ; the other three being those of Karnak,
Luxor, and the Memnonium or first Bamesseum. Strabo, whose own
observation, added to the testimony of several ruins still traced on the
W. bank, is far more authentic, affirms that Thebes " had many temples,
the greater part of which Cambyses defaced."
During the Boman empire the village of Medinet Habu was still
inhabited, and the early Christians converted one of the deserted'courts
(d) of the great temple into a church, having its nave separated from
the aisles by columns, and terminating in an apse at the E. end ; the
idolatrous sculptures of their Pagan ancestors being concealed by a
coating of clay. The small apartments at the back part of this building
were appropriated by the priests of the new religion, and houses of
crude brick were erected on the ruins of the ancient village, and within
the precincts of the temple. The size of the church and extent of the
village, the brick ruins of which, built on the top of the old storehouses
and priests' dwellings (analogous to those of the Bamesseum), still
partly surround the temple, prove its Christian population to have
been considerable, and show that Thebes ranked among the principal
dioceses of the Coptic Church. But the invasion of the Arabs put an
end to its existence, and its timid inmates, on their approach, fled to
the neighbourhood of Esna, from which time Medinet Habu ceased
to hold a place among the villages of Thebes. Its Coptic name seems
to have been Pkastron n-Tjeme, " the Castle of Tjeme " (see ante,
pp. 381, 384).
The Temple of Medinet Habu is mainly the work of Bamses III.
(XX. Dyn.), Who built it as his funerary temple, in which the offerings
due to his spirit should be made for all time. On the walls the chief
events of his life, including the defeat of the Libyan and northern
invaders of Egypt, are chronicled. Its temenos-wall inclosed a small
temple of the XVlII. Dynasty, opposite to which in later days the
Ethiopian princess Amenartas built another shrine on the S. side of
the great court. In front of all was built a Boman court.
We enter by the great Gate of Bamses III., which is described
below. Beyond this is the court before the First Pylon, with, on the
left, the Temple of Amenartas, on the rt. the Temple of the XVIII.
Dynasty. The Small Temple of the XVI 1 1. Dynasty.— In front of this temple,
facing S.E., is an open court about 80 ft. by 125, whose front gate bears
on either jamb the figure and name of Antoninus Pius. Besides this
court, Antoninus Pius added a row of 8 columns, united (4 on either
side) by inter-columnar screens, which forms its N. end ; and his name
again appears on the inner faces of the doorway, the remaining part
being unsculptured. Of the columns the two by the entrance are
complete. In the court is a large red granite funerary stela of
Thothmes IH., and here lie the fragments of a large colossus of
Bamses III. and his wife, Queen Titi ; the. head of the latter is re
markably beautiful (it is proposed to remove this head to the Cairo


420 eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. [Sect. V.
Museum). On the N. of the transverse area, behind this colonnade,
is a pylon with a gate bearing the names and sculptures of Ptolemy
Lathyros on the S., and of Ptolemy Auletes on the N. face. To this
succeeds a small hypsethral court and pylon of the Ethiopians Shabak
and Tirhakah (XXV. Dyn.), which, previous to the Ptolemaic addi
tions, completed the extent of the elegant and well-proportioned ves
tibules of the original temple. This court was formed by a row of
4 columns on either side, the upper part of which rose considerably
above the screens that united them to each other and to the towers at
its northern extremity. Here Nekhtnebf (XXX. Dyn.) has effaced the
name of Shabak and introduced his own ; and the hieroglyphs of
Ptolemy Lathyros have usurped a place among the sculptures of the
Ethiopian monarch. The screens between the columns were probably
entirely added by Nekhtnebf.
Passing these towers you enter another court, 60 ft. long, on either
side of which stood a row of 9 columns, with a lateral entrance to the
right and left. The jambs of one of these gateways still remain. They
are of red granite, and bear the name of Thothmes III.
The corresponding door is, like the rest of the edifice, of sandstone
from the quarries of Silsilis. This court may be called the inner
vestibule, and to it succeeds the original edifice, composed of an
isolated sanctuary, surrounded on three sides by an open corridor of
square pillars, and on the fourth by six smaller chambers. The whole
is an interesting example of the smaller type of temple.
The original founders of this part of the building were Amen
hetep I. and Thothmes I., and it was completed by Hatshepsu,
Thothmes IL, and Thothmes III. It was restored by Hor-em-heb, and
again by Seti I. We find also the names of Mer-en-Ptah (2nd year),
Bamses III. (who covered the exterior with the huge hieroglyphics
characteristic of his inscriptions), the priest-king Pinetjem I., and
Haker (XXIX. Dyn.). Some restorations Iwere afterwards made by
Ptolemy Physkon ; and, in addition tc the sculptures of the two front
doorways, he repaired the columns which support the roof of the
peristyle. Haker had previously erected the wings on either side, using
for the purpose old blocks of Bamses III., inserted at haphazard, often
upside down. The two unfinished stumpy columns in the N. wing
are also Haker's. A stone gateway was also added at the N.E. extremity
of this temple by Petuamenapt, an official of the XXVI. Dynasty, who
was buried in the large tomb in the Asasif, mentioned on p. 469. The
doorway is curious, from being made in the fashion of those of the
early time of the Pyramid kings. About 170 ft. N. by E. from this is
an underground passage, upwards of 60 ft. in length and 2 ft. 5 in. in
breadth, descending to a small tank, also of hewn stone, and still
containing water, about 8 ft. deep ; and what is most remarkable is
that the water is perfectly sweet, though in the midst of mounds
abounding in nitre. This is a nilometer.
About 90 ft from the E. side of the inner court is an open Tank or
basm cased with hewn stone, whose original dimensions may have been
about 50 ft. square ; beyond which to the S., 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 Bamses V bv whom
it was probably erected. This wall turns to the N. along theE face of
the mounds, and appears to have enclosed the whole of the temenos


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 421
surrounding the temples, and to have been united to the E. side of the
front tower of the great temple. W. of the tank are the remains of a
brick chapel containing broken statues, bearing the cartouches of
Bamses II. and Nefertari his queen ; and several stones, inscribed
with the name of this Bamses, have been used in the construction of
the gateway of Lathyros and the adjoining towers. S. of this chapel
is a gate built by Domitian, and by the wall to the N. are two peculiarly
thin and small columns belonging to an earlier edifice.
Great Temple of Ramses III. (XX Dynasty).— Plan and
General Features. — The S. or front part consists of a building once
isolated, but since united by a wall with the Ptolemaic towers of
the last-mentioned temple. On each side of the entrance is a rect
angular watch-house for the guard, covered with deeply-cut inscrip
tions. Still farther to the S. of these stood a raised platform,
strengthened by other masonry, bearing the name of the founder of the
edifice, similar to those met with before the dromoi of several Egyptian
temples. Within, or to the N. of the lodges, is the main part of the
building. It consists of a massive tower with two wings, between which
runs an oblong court, terminated by a gateway, which passes beneath
the main tower, which is crowned with battlements. 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 the apartment over the gate on the 3rd floor are interest
ing, as they represent the king attended by the ladies of his harim,
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 in a gorgeous chair amidst his
female attendants — a custom still prevalent throughout the East. The
queen is not among them ; and her cartouche is always blank, wherever
it occurs, throughout the building.
The same game of draughts is represented in the tombs of Beni
Hasan, which are of a much earlier period, as they belong to the
XII. Dynasty. That it is not chess is evident from the men being
all of similar size and form, varying only in colour on opposite sides of
the board. They have sometimes human heads ; and some have been
found of a small size, with other larger pieces, as if there was a distinction
like our kings and common men in draughts.
On the front walls the conqueror smites his suppliant captives in the
presence of Amen-Ba, who, on the N.E. side, appears under the form
of Ba, the Sun, with the head of a hawk. An ornamental border, re
presenting "the chiefs" of the vanquished nations, European, Asiatic,
and African, extends along the base of the whole front ; and on either
side of the oblong court or passage of the centre Bamses offers similar
prisoners to the deity of the temple, who says, "Go, my cherished and
chosen, make war on foreign nations, besiege their forts, and carry off
their people to live as captives." Here ornamental balustrades, sup
ported each by four figures of African and Northern barbarians, remind
us of the gargoyles of Gothic taste, and the summit is embattled.
This remarkable building is not a palace or a pavilion, as it has some
times been called, but a triumphal entrance "to the temple, designed in
the style of the embattled forts or " migdols " of the Semitic neighbours
of Egypt.


422 EOUTE 23.— LUXOE AND thebes. [Sect. V.
From this grand entrance a dromos of 265 ft. led to the Great
Temple. In the Great Court, between the " Pavilion" and the Great Temple,
to tbe rt. is the temple of the XVIII. Dynasty, already described. _ To
the 1. is a well-preserved Temple of Amenartas, or Amemritis, the sister
of Shabak and wife of Piankhi IL, whose daughter Shep-en-apt married
Psammetichus I., the founder of the XXVI. Dynasty, and so gave him
a legitimate right to the throne. On the walls of the temple the name
of Amenartas is associated with that of her father, tbe Ethiopian King
Kashta. ,
The vaulted shrine is surrounded by a dark ambulatory, the wails of
which are covered with inscriptions. On the 1., passing from E to W.
round the ambulatory, are good portraits of the queen. A little light
is let into the passage by square openings in the roof.
The sculptures over the gateiof the First Pylon of the Great Temple
(a) (tickets to be shown here) refer to the panegyrics of the king, whose
name appears in the centre. Those on the pylon represent the monarch
about to slay two prisoners in the presence of Amen-Ba-Harmachis,
others being bound below and behind the figure of the god. In the
lower part is an inscription recounting the victory of the Pharaoh
over the Libyans in the 11th year of his reign, and to rt. of the gate is a
tablet dated in the 12th year of Bamses and containing a conversation
between Ptah and the Pharaoh.
The exterior walls of both towers of the pylon are covered with
cartouches containing the names of the countries and cities which
Bamses III. claims to have conquered. They are of considerable
historical importance, even if in some cases the claim made by the
Pharaoh was not founded on fact. We gatherdrom them that he made
a campaign in the S. of Palestine and occupied among other places the
districts of Hebron and Jerusalem. Many of the names are those of
countries and tribes in northern Syria and Asia Minor. We also find
the name of Shenir, the Amorite name of Hermon (Deut. iii. 9), along
with that of Hamath.
Passing through the pylon, you enter the First Court (b), about 110 ft.
by 135 ft., having on the rt. or N. side a row of seven Osiride pillars, and
on the 1. or S. eight circular columns, with bell-formed capitals, repre
senting, not as is erroneously supposed, the full-blown lotus, but the
papyrus plant.
On the inner walls of the towers is an account of the overthrow of
the Libyans and Mashauasha, or Maxycs, under their King Mashashal,
son of Kapul, and of the slaughter in one battle of 4227 Maxyan
warriors. We now come to the Second Pylon (c).
On the W. tower Bamses III. leads the prisoners he has taken to
Amen-Ba, who presents the falchion of vengeance, which the king holds
forth his hand to receive. The prisoners in the topmost row are
Shakalsha, probably Sagalassians of Pisidia, those in the second row
being Daanau, the " Danaans " of Homer, while in the third row are
the Pulsata or Philistines. On the E. tower is an inscription dated in
the eighth year of Bamses III., which describes the great invasion of
Egypt by the northern nations of Asia Minor and the Greek islands. In
the fifteenth and following lines we read: "the Isles were restless,
disturbed among themselves at one and the same time. No land stood


424 EOUTE 23. — LUXOE AND THEBES. [Sect. V,
before them, beginning from Kheta (Cappadocia and Cilicia), Kedi (the
North Syrian coast), Carchemish, Arvad and Alasiya (Cyprus ?). They
wasted these countries and pitched their camp together in the land of
the Amorites. . . . Then they marched against Egypt. They had
come from the lands of the Philistines, the Tjakarai, the Shakalsha, the
Daanau, and the Uashuash (Cretans ?)." But Bamses was ready for
the attack, and in a great battle, partly on land, partly on the water, off
the Palestinian coast, he utterly annihilated the invaders.
The gate (c) is of red granite. The hieroglyphs on its jambs are cut
to the depth of 2 or 3 in. Those on the outer face detail -offerings to
different deities, among which we find a representation of the gateway
itself ; and at the base of the jambs are four lines, stating that "Bamses
made these buildings for his father Amen-Ba, (and) erected for him
(this) fine gateway of good blocks of granite stone, the door itself of
wood embellished with plates of pure gold ... for his good name
(Bamses'), Amen rejoicing to behold it."
The summit of this pylon is crowned by a row of sitting cynocephali
(dog-headed apes), the emblems of Thoth.
We now enter the Second Court (d), one of the finest which adorn
the various temples of Egypt. Its dimensions are about 123 ft. by 133
ft., and its height from the pavement to the cornice 39 ft. 4 in. It is
surrounded by an interior peristyle, whose E. and W. sides are supported
by five massive columns, the S. by a row of eight Osiride pillars, and
the N. by a similar number, behind which is an elegant corridor of
circular columns, whose effect is unequalled by any other in Thebes.
The colours, too, add greatly to the beauty of its columns, of whose
massive style some idea may be formed, from their circumference of
nearly 23 ft. to a height of 24 ft., or about three diameters. This court,
which was called the Festival Hall, was converted into a Christian
church, and an inscription in bad Greek states that it was "decorated"
for the purpose by the Arch-priest Imuthi-Ple. The remains of this
church, including a large number of interesting columns with sculptured
capitals, were removed during the clearing of the temple by M. Daressy.
The architraves of the Temple present the dedication of the palace of
"Bamses at Thebes," which is said to have been built of hard blocks of
sandstone, and the adytum to have been beautified with the precious
metals. Mention is also made of a doorway of hard stone, ornamented
in a manner similar to the one before noticed.
The reliefs of the N. and N.E. Colonnades represent Scenes from the
Festival of tlie God Min, in which the king takes part in solemn
processions, and goes through the ceremonies of cutting the first sheaf
of corn, which is presented to the god by the attendant priests.
Tlie S. and S.E. Colonnades have reliefs depicting a Festival of Ptah-
Seker and the Campaigns of Ramses. (For more detailed description see
below.) In the E. wall of the corridor of the court is a secret passage which
leads to an opening over the side door, as if intended to enable those
within to look down and annoy any assailants from without- and
another passage is on the W. wall ; but both appear to have been made
after the building was completed.
The remainder of the temple to the W. was until lately completely
buried beneath the ruins of the Coptic village. A doorway leads into a
hall of columns (e), now in a state of ruin, but which must have been


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 425
magnificent when first erected, On either side of the nave is a red granite
colossal group : that on the 1. of Amen and Maiit, that on the rt. of Turn
and Thoth. The chambers on either side of it contained the treasures
presented to the temple by Bamses, and the representations on their
walls of the objects of gold and silver, including solid ingots as well as
splendid specimens of the goldsmith's art, give a high idea of the wealth
and liberality of the king. Indeed, as we learn from the great Harris
papyrus, his gifts of gold, precious stones and other valuables, to the
various temples of Egypt, were on the most prodigious scale, and it is
little wonder that they earned for him in later folk-lore the name of
the "wealthy" Bhampsinitos. In his day indeed the "heaps of
precious ingots gleamed " in hundred-gated Thebes. In one room,
besides the ingots already mentioned (which are of the same peculiar
shape as the pigs of bronze discovered a few years ago at Agia Triada,
near Phaistos in Crete) , we see heaps of gold rings and bags containing
different sorts of gold and lapis-lazuli.
To the hall of columns succeed two smaller columnar halls
leading to the sanctuary of the temple (p) ; on either side are an
immense number of small funerary chambers, the walls of which are
adorned with religious scenes, many of them being illustrations of the
"Book of the Dead," and shewing the adventures which would befall
the dead king in the next world. Thus in a small room (which opens
out of another containing a sort of stone ledge or divan) we see the
snake-headed Bark of Harmachis on the waters of Seh near the lake
Henem (of which a map is represented on the wall), " after he [the king,
now identified with Osiris] has sailed across the Field of Iaret " ; and
we read the ' ' Chapter of the Hippopotamus on the Biver Em-uteb-f,
there is no fish in it, there is no snake in it." A map of the infernal
lake Neter -am-i-s is also, provided for the use of the dead man. These
representations emphasise the funerary character of the temple, which
was the chapel of the king's tomb, just as the Bamesseum was Bamses
II.'s funerary chapel and the Temple of Kurna that of Bamses I. The
colours of the paintings in some of these chambers are still very bright.
In the corner of one of them a large number of little Osiride figures,
all broken, was found under the pavement ; they had been placed there
probably for the purpose of consecrating the place.
Characteristic of the whole temple are the huge size and deep cutting
of many of the hieroglyphic inscriptions. The head and forepart of
several lions project, at intervals, from below the cornice of the exterior
of the building, whose perforated mouths, communicating by * tube
with the summit of the roof, served as conduits for the rain-water
which occasionally fell at Thebes. Nor were the builders 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 impervious to the heaviest storm.
For slight showers fall annually in Thebes ; and every eight or ten
years heavy rains fill the torrent-beds of the mountains, which run to
the banks of the Nile. It was a storm of this kind that did much
damage to the tomb of Seti I.
Square apertures were also cut at intervals in the roofs, the larger ones
intended for the admission of light, the smaller probably for suspending
the chains that supported lamps for the illumination of the interior.


426 eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. [Sect. V.
Sculptures.— The sculptures on tbe walls of this temple are very
interesting. Some of them have been referred to in passing through it,
but others merit a more detailed description. We will" begin with those
in the Inteeiob op the Second Court (d). — The upper compartments of the
N., S., E., and W. sides of this court are occupied with a representation
of the ceremonies of a coronation, and of the Festivals of the gods Min
and Ptah-Seker. Beginning with the E., or rather N.E. side (to the rt.
on entering), Bamses is borne in his shrine, or canopy, seated on a
throne ornamented by the 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. Nine Egyptian princes, whose names
are above them, sons of the king, bear the shrine ; officers wave flabella
around the monarch ; 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 soldiers
bringing up the rear of the procession. Before the shrine, in one line,
march six officers, bearing sceptres and other insignia ; in another, a
scribe reads aloud the contents of a scroll he holds unfolded in his hands,
preceded by two of the king's sons and two distinguished persons of the
military and priestly orders. The rear of both these lines is closed by
a priest, who, turning round towards the shrine, burns incense before
the monarch ; and a band of music, composed of the trumpet, drum,
double pipe, and crotala, or clappers, with choristers, forms the van of
the procession. The king, alighted from his throne, officiates as priest
before the statue of Min ; and still wearing his helmet, he presents
libations and incense before the altar, which is loaded with flowers and
other suitable offerings. The statue of the god, attended by officers
bearing flabella, 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. Before the statue is the sacred bull, followed
by the king on foot, wearing 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 his hands, brings up the rear of a long procession of hieraphori, carry
ing standards, images, and other sacred emblems ; and the foremost bear
the statues of the king's ancestors. This part of the picture refers to
tbe Coronation of the king, who, in the hieroglyphs, is said to have
" p.;	 on the crown of the upper and lower countries " ; which the four
childien of Horus in the form of geese, flying to the four sides of the
world, are to announce to the gods of the S., N., E., and W.
In the next compartment the president of the assembly reads a long
invocation, the contents of which are contained in the hieroglyphic
inscription above ; and the six 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. This has reference to the fact that the
harvest was gathered in during the month Pakhons. The white bull
and the images of the king's ancestors, are deposited in his temple in
the presence of Min, the queen still witnessing the ceremony which is


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 427
concluded by an offering of incense and libation made by Bamses to the
statue of the god.
In the lower compartments on this side is a procession of the arks
of Amen-Ba, Mut, and Khonsu, which the king, whose ark is also carried
before him, comes to meet. In another part the gods Set and Hathor
pour alternate emblems of life and power (or purity) over the king ;
and on the S. wall he is introduced by several divinities into the presence
of the patron deities of the temple.
In the upper part of the W. wall Bamses makes offerings to Ptah-
Seker and to Khnomu ; in another compartment he burns incense to the
ark of Seker. ; and near this is a tablet relating to the offerings made to
the same deity. The ark is then borne by 16 priests, with an arch-
priest 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 iround to offer incense to the
monarch. The hawk, the emblem of the king, or of Horus, precedes
them, and 18 priests carry the sacred emblem of the god Nefer-Atmu,
which usually accompanies the ark of Seker.
On the S. wall marches a long procession, composed of hieraphori,
bearing different standards, thrones, arks, and insignia, with musicians,
who precede the king and his attendants. 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 pskhent, we may gather that it is again a scene
from his coronation.
On the N. wall the king presents offerings to different gods, and
below is an ornamental kind of border, composed of a procession of the
king's sons and daughters. Four of tbe former, his immediate
successors, bear the sacred uraeus, the emblem of majesty, and have
their names enclosed in cartouches.
The lower compartments of the N., S., E., and W. sides of this
court are filled with Historical or Battle Scenes. They commence on
the S.W. wall (to the 1. on entering).
Here Bamses, standing in his car, which his horses at full speed
carry into the midst of the Libyans, discharges his arrows on their
flying infantry. The Egyptian chariots join in the pursuit, and a body
of their allies assist in slaughtering those who oppose them, or bind
them as captives. The right hands of the slain are then cut off as
trophies of victory.
The sculptures on the lower part of the W. wall are a continuation
of the scene. The Egyptian princes and generals conduct "captive
chiefs " into the presence of the king. He is seated at the back of his
car, and the spirited horses are held by his attendants on foot. 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 hieroglyphs above, where the name of the Libu
(Libyans) points out the nation against whom this war was carried on.
A long hieroglyphic inscription is placed over the king, and a still longer
tablet of 75 lines, occupying a great part of this wall, refers to the
exploits of the Egyptian conqueror, and bears the date of his fifth year.
The continuation of this historical subject is on the S. wall, The


428 eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. [Sect. V.
king, returning victorious to Egypt, proceeds slowly in his car, con
ducting 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 the several regiments of Egyptian infantry,
with a corps of their allies, under the command of three other of these
princes, marching in regular step and in the close array of disciplined
troops, accompany their king. He arrives at Thebes, and presents his
captives to Amen-Ba and Mut, the deities of the city, who compliment
him, as usual, on the victory he has gained, and the overthrow of the
enemy he has "trampled beneath his feet."
Extebioe op the Building. — But if the sculptures of the area
arrest the attention of the antiquary, or excite the admiration of the
traveller, those of the exterior of the building are no less wonderful, and
the N. and E. walls are covered with a profusion of the most varied and
interesting subjects, which may also be divided into ceremonial and
historical. The Ceremonial Scenes are on the W. wall, which is entirely covered
with a list of the Festivals celebrated between the 26th of Pakhons, the
day of Bamses' accession, and the 19th of Tybi, and on the upper part
of the N. wall, where the king is making suitable offerings to the gods.
The Historical or Battle Scenes are on the N. and E. walls. Begin
ning at the E. end of the W. wall, there is a succession of ten pictures,
arranged in compartments, illustrating the history of a war waged by
Bamses. III. against the Libyans or Libu, and the Zakkal or Tjakarai,
who are associated with the Philistines.
1st Picture : A trumpeter assembles the troops, who salute the king
as he passes in his car. Bamses 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 Osymandyas,
who was said to have been accompanied in war by that animal. Other
instances of it are met with in Nubia, among the sculptures of the
second Bamses.
2nd Picture : The enemy are the Tamahu, or Libyans, who await
the Egyptian invaders in the open field ; the king presses forward in
his ear, and bends his bow against the enemy. Several regiments of
Egyptian archers in close array advance on different points, and harass
them with showers of arrows. The chariots rush to the charge, and a
body of allies maintains the combat, hand to hand, with the enemy,
who are at length routed, and fly before their victorious aggressors.
3rd Picture : Some thousands of Libyans and Maxyes (Mashawasli)
are left dead on the field, whose phalli and hands, being cut off, are
brought by the Egyptian soldiers as proof of their success. 3535 hands
and phalli form part of the registered returns ; and two other heaps,
and a third of phalli, containing each a somewhat larger number, are
"brought" under the superintendence of the chief officers, like David's
trophies, "to the king." (Cf. 1 Sam. xviii. 27, and 2 Kings x. 8.)
ith Picture : The monarch then alights from his chariot and dis
tributes rewards to his troops, and harangues the generals, while his
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 hieroglyphs of the horses
that have been captured.
5th Picture : Bamses then proceeds in his car to Tjahi (the coast of


430 EOUTE 23.  LUXOE and thebes. [Sect. V.
9th Picture : The conquering army leads in triumph the prisoners
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 abovo
conflict, where the soldiers on the shore and in the ships do their utmost
to rescue their enemies from a watery grave. The king distributes rewards
to his victorious troops, and then commences the march back to Egypt.
On the way he stops at a fortress, called in the hieroglyphs the Migdol
of Bamses-hak-On. 10r7* Picture : Triumphal return of the king to Thebes, conducting
his Libyan and Tjakarai prisoners in triumph, and making offerings to
the Theban triad, Amen-Ba, Mut, and Khonsu. The text contains his
address to the divinities, and their response, and also an address of the
prisoners to the king imploring his clemency, in order that they may
live and celebrate his courage and virtues.
On the remaining part of the E. wall, to the S. of the second propylon,
another war is represente'd. In the first picture the 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 the trees in the woody
country which surrounds 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 precipitated over the parapet,
by the victorious assailants, who announce by sound of trumpet the
capture of the place.
In the third compartment, on the N. face of the first propylon,
Bamses attacks two large towns, the upper one of which is taken with
little resistance, the Egyptian troops having entered it and gained
possession of the citadel. In the lower one, the terrified inhabitants
are engaged in rescuing their children from the approaching danger by
hurrying them into the ramparts of the outer wall.' The last picture
occupies the upper or N. end of the E. side, where the king presents
his prisoners to the gods of the temple.
Other Ruins.— 650 ft. S.W. of the pavilion of Medinet Habit is a
small Ptolemaic Temple, called the ' Kasr el-'Agiiz, "Old Man's Castle,"
built of sandstone, and dedicated to Thoth. In the adytum are some
curious hieroglyphic subjects, which have thrown great light upon the
names and succession of the Ptolemies who preceded Physkon, or
Euergetes II. This monarch is here represented making offerings to
four of his predecessors, Soter, Philadelphus, Philopator, and Epiphanes,
each name being accompanied by that of their respective queens. The
building, whose total length does not exceed 48 ft., consists of a trans
verse outer court, and three smaller successive chambers, communicating
with each other.
Near it, to the W., was an artificial basin, now forming a pond of
irregular shape during the inundation, and surrounded on three sides
by mimosas with a pretty well and sakiya ; beyond which to the N W
and W., is the sandy tract known as el-Malkata, "the salt-pans"
where in 1889 M. Grebaut discovered the foundations of a palace of
Amen-hetop III., with frescoed floors like those at Tell-el-Amarna
This has since been completely excavated by Messrs. Newberry and


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 431
Tytus, and the complicated plan is interesting, as is also the simple con
struction of this royal palace, with its mud-brick walls once lined with
frescoes. The limestone bases of the wooden pillars that supported
the roof are in place ; and in several rooms are the remains of the
thrones, made of mud brick, on which the Pharaoh whom the Greeks
identified with Memnon sat and held his state in the fifteenth century
B.C. The ghafir, to whom tickets must be shown, conducts the visitor
over the ruins. Here also were found the traces of an extensive manu
factory of blue-glaze scarabs, beads, &c, contemporary with the palace.
A low plain bounded by a rectangular series of mounds, forming an
area 7,300 ft. by 3,000 ft. and covered with cultivation, lies S.W. of the
Kasr el-'Aguz and el-Malkata. This is the Birket Habil, already men
tioned, and is the bed of the artificial lake of Tjarukha, attached to the
palace of Amen-hetep III. On it, we are told, the royal pleasure-bark
Tehen-aten, " the Sun-Disk gleams," used to float, bearing the court
of the great king and his consort Tii, the mother of the heretic
Khu-n-Aten of Tell el-Amarna. On one of the mounds stands the village
of Kom el-Bd'irdt.
S.W. of el-Malkata is a small Coptic der or church, of modern but
interesting construction. It should be visited as a specimen of a
provincial Christian church. The holy objects shewn are valueless and
of little interest. A gratuity should be given to the Kummus or Arch-
priest, for the church, on leaving.
1,000 yds. S.W. of the western angle of the plain is the small Temple
of Der esh-Shalwit, bearing the names of Hadrian and of Antoninus
Pius, who completed it, and added the pylon in front. The pylon also
bears the names of Vespasian, Domitian, and Otho. Its total length is
45 ft., and breadth 53 : with an isolated sanctuary in the centre, two small
chambers on the N.E., and three on the S.W. side; the first of which
contains a staircase leading to the roof, on which are some very curious
Coptic graffiti depicting caravans of camels, horsemen fighting, &c.
These were cut by the monks, who turned the temple into a dir. In
front stand two pylons, the outermost one being distant from the door
of the temple about 200 ft. The temple was dedicated to Isis of
Erment. The main building is remarkably perfect.
10. Tombs of the Queens.
About J m. to the N.W. of Medinet Habu, up a broad wadi, is the
valley of the Tombs of the Queens. The valley is picturesque ; W. is
the mass of the Kuril (see p. 407) ; S. are the rugged scarps of the foot
hills : the valley ends in a gorge with precipitous sides, hollowed out
by the ancient watercourse. The view of the valley and plain beyond
from the end of the little gorge, framed in the sides of its entrance, is
remarkable. The tombs here are mostly of Queens of the XIX. and XX. Dynasties.
Among the most distinguished names in the sepulchres of the queens
are those of Set-Ba, wife of Seti I. ; of Nefertari, wife of Bamses II. ;
of Titi, an unknown queen ; of Bint-Anath, the favourite daughter of
Bamses II. ; and of Isis, the consort of Bamses IV. In another appears
the name of the third Bamses, but that of his queen is not met
with either on its walls or on its broken sarcophagus. Here also are
buried Bamses-kha-em-Uaset and Set-her-Khopeshf, princes of the XX.


432 eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. [Sect. V.
Dynasty. Many of these tombs have suffered from the effects of fire ;
and little can be satisfactorily traced of their sculptures, except in those
of Queen Titi, Queen Nefertari, and the two princes.
The Tomb of Queen Nefertari, discovered by Professor Sehiaparelli
in 1904, is very fine and well worth a visit (closed 1906). The colours
of the frescoes are extraordinarily bright. Unluckily the lower part of
the Tomb has been considerably damaged by infiltration of. water, and
many of these beautiful paintings are in a very delicate condition.
Visitors must on no account touch tlie walls : the evidence of the eyes is
sufficient without adding that of the fingers. We descend a steep stair
way into a square hall, out of which open small rooms to the rt. The
beautiful portrait of the Queen, and the paintings of oxen, should be
noticed. The stairway descends again to a lower chamber (damaged by
water). The Tomb of Queen Titi is of different construction, consisting
simply of a straight tunnel driven into the rock, at the end of which is
a chamber. The frescoes, which are no longer bright and are damaged,
show that this queen was of a very different type from Nefertari : she
was fair, with a retroussi nose ; Nefertari was dark and aquiline of
feature. The Tombs of the Princes Ramses-kha-em-Uaset and Set-her-
Khopeshf, discovered by Professor Sehiaparelli, are of the same type as
that of Titi, and are almost exactly alike. The paintings are bright,
but crude and weak in execution. The portraits of the princes and of
the young king, their father, are noticeable, also the pictures of the
demons of the Underworld. One has the head of an antelope and is
called Dendeni ; another, "the Watcher who comes out in the morn
ing," has apparently a black block for a head.
It is not improbable that these are the burying-places of the
Pallakides, or Pellices Jovis, mentioned by Strabo and Diodorus ; and
the distance of 10 stadia from these "first " or westernmost tombs to
the sepulchre of Osymandyas agrees with that from the supposed
Memnonium to this valley. The mummies of their original possessors
must have suffered in the general conflagration which reduced to ashes
the contents of most of the tombs in this and the adjacent valley of
Der el-Medina ; 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.
About I hr.'s walk further to the S.W. is the Gabbanet el-Kurud,
or "Apes' Burial-ground," so called from the ape-mummies found in
the ravines of the torrents in its vicinity. It has lately been scientific
ally explored by the naturalist M. Lortet.
11. Der el-Medina.
Leaving the Tombs of the Queens, we wend our way up a steep and
rough ascending path over the col which divides this valley from that
of Dir el-Medina. The rock-face to the rt. is scarred and seamed with
the broken-down remains of tombs, and is sculptured at intervals with
Monumental Tablets or stelfe erected by Bamses III. and other mon
archs of the XX. Dynasty. Arriving at the top of the ridge, we see
below us the picturesque little temple of Der el-Medina, so called


Sect. V.] EOUTE 23\— LUXOE AND THEBES. 433
from its having been used by the Copts for a monastery, the "Town
Cloister," standing enclosed by its great wall of brickwork, so tall that
It seems almost to hide the little shrine set within it. The history of
this temple is interesting. By some it is considered to have been
originally founded in honour of the Desert-goddess Hathor by Amen
hetep, son of Hapu, a prominent dignitary of the court of Amen-hetep
III., and apparently a trusted counsellor of that king. His statue,
depicting him as an aged man of dignified and impressive aspect, is
now in the Museum of Cairo. The brick encircling wall dates from the
time of his original foundation, in the fifteenth century B.C. (His
connection with the temple has, however, been doubted by Prof. Sethe.)
In the days of the Ptolemies, when priestly antiquarianism had revived
an interest in the period of the great Pharaohs, Amen-hetep (called in
Greek Amenothes, son of Paapis) was revered as a semi-divine sage,
though he never attained the fully divine honours which had been
accorded under the XXVI. Dynasty to another sage, of the period of
the Ancient Empire (of which the Saite archaeologists were amateurs),
named Imhetep (Imouthes). Accordingly the temple of Der el-Medina
was rebuilt by PtolemyPhilopator, and both Amen-hetep and the divine
Imhetep were represented in relief on its columns as receiving the
offerings of the pious. The temple measures 60 ft. by 33. It was
completed by Physkon, or Euergetes II. (B.C. 146-117), who added
the sculptures to the walls of the interior, and part of the archi
tectural details of the portico ; the gate in front bears the name of
Auletes. The vestibule is ornamented with two columns supporting
the roof, but it is unsculptured. The corridor is separated from this
last by intereolumnar screens, uniting, on either side of its entrance,
one column to a pilaster, -surmounted by the head of Hathor. On these
columns are the representations of Amen-hetep and his fellow-sage.
On the E. wall of this corridor or pronaos, Ptolemy Philometor, followed
by "his brother, the god," Physkon, and the queen Cleopatra, makes
offerings to Amen-Ba ; but the rest of the sculptures appear to present
the names of Physkon alone.
A staircase, lighted by a window of peculiar form, once led to the
roof ; and the back part of the naos consists of three parallel chambers.
The centre one, or adytum, presents the sculptures of Philopator on
the back and half the side walls, which last were completed by the
2nd Euergetes ; as recorded in a line of hieroglyphs at the junction of
the first and subsequent compartments. Amen-Ba, with Mut and
Khonsu, Hathor and Maat, share the honours of the adytum ; but the
dedication of Philopator decides that the temple was consecrated to
Hathor, " the Mistress of the Western Waste." In the eastern chamber
Philopator again appears in the sculptures of the end wall, where
Hathor and Maat hold the chief place : while Amen-Ba and Osiris, the
principal deities in the lateral compartments, receive the offerings of
Euergetes II. The name of Augustus also appears at the back of the
naos. In the western chamber the subjects are totally different from any
found in the temples of Thebes ; and appear to have a sepulchral
character. Here Philopator pays his devotions to Osiris and Isis ; on
the E. side Physkon offers incense to the statue of Min, preceded by
Anubis, and followed by the ark of Seker ; and on the opposite wall is
the judgment scene, frequently found on the papyri of the Egyptians. 2 F


434 EOUTE 23. — LtfXOE AND THEBES. [Sect. V.
Osiris, seated on his throne, awaits the arrival of those souls which are
ushered into Amenti : tbe four genii stand before him on a lotus-
blossom ; and the female Cerberus is there, with the infant Horus
seated on the crook of Osiris. Thoth, the god of letters, presents him
self before the king of Hades, bearing in his hand a tablet, on which
the actions of the deceased are noted down ; while Horus and Haroeris
are employed in weighing the good deeds of the judged against the
ostrich-feather, the symbol of Justice or Truth. A cynocephalus, the
attendant of Thoth, is seated on the top of the balance. At length
comes the deceased, who advances between two figures of the goddess
Maat, and bears in his hand the symbol of truth, indicating his 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 on the W. wall ; and all these symbols seem to show that
the chamber was dedicated to Osiris, in his peculiar character of judge
of the dead.
Several demotic and many Coptic inscriptions have been written in
the interior, and on the outside of the vestibule, whose walls, rent by
the sinking of the ground and human violence, make us acquainted
with a not uncommon custom of Egyptian architects — the use of
wooden dovetailed 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 syeomore
cramps. The Coptic inscriptions are epitaphs of monks. Among them
may be noticed an inscription in modern Greek, " Saluting the Ancient
Hellenes," and dated 1854. The patriotic neo-Hellenic writer apparently
mistook the Coptic inscriptions for the lucubrations of his ancestors.
The walls surrounding the court of this te.mple present a peculiar
style of building, the bricks being disposed in concave and convex
courses forming a waving line, which rises and falls alternately along
their whole length. The same mode of building distinguishes the walls
of el-Kab and other monuments of ancient Egypt. The contrast
between the big bricks of the XVIII. Dynasty wall and the small thin
ones of the Coptic restorations of the breaches and the vaulted monas
tery-roof on the S. side, is interesting.
12. Tombs of gurnet Murr&i.
The hill E. of Der el-Medina (from the top of which a good view of
the little temple may be obtained) is that of Kurnet Murrai. J m. S.E.
and 10 minutes' ride from the Temple of Der el-Medina are some more
tombs, similar in their character to those on the hill of Shekh 'Abd el-
Kurna, and known by the name above. Among them are one or two
interesting ones, especially the Tomb of Hui, a great functionary of
the XVIII. Dynasty. It is covered with paintings, which, unfortunately,
as in the case of so many of the tombs, are fast disappearing. In one
of the pictures the king is represented on his throne, within a richly-
ornamented canopy, attended by a fan-bearer, who also holds his
sceptre. A procession advances in four lines into his presence
The lower divisions consist 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 the
royal courts, and are preceded by a scribe, and others of the priestly


Sect. V.] EOUTE 23. — LUXOE AND THEBES. 435
order, who do obeisance before the deputy of his majesty, as he stands
to receive them. This officer was the owner of the tomb, and is styled
"Boyal Son," and "Prince of Kush," or Ethiopia, a title which, like
that of "Prince of Wales," seems originally to have been given to one
of the sons of the king, but which in the age of the XVIII. and XIX.
Dynasties was often borne by "princes " of non-royal blood. In the
second line black " chiefs of Kush " bring presents of gold rings, copper,
skins, fans, or umbrellas of feather-work, and an ox, bearing on its
horns an artificial garden and a lake of fish. Having placed their offer
ings, they prostrate themselves before the Egyptian monarch Tut-ankh-
Amen. 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 giraffe, panthers' skins, and long-horned cattle, whose heads and
horns are strangely ornamented with the heads and hands of negroes.
In the upper line, the queen of the same people arrives in a chariot
drawn by oxen, and overshadowed by an umbrella, accompanied by her
attendants, some of whom bear presents of gold. (See Wilkinson's
' Ancient Egyptians,' vol. i., p, 235.) She alights, preceded and followed
by the principal persons of her suite, and advances to the presence of
the king. This may refer to a marriage that was contracted between
the Egyptian monarch and a princess of Ethiopia, or merely to the
annual tribute paid by that people. 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 negroes differ in the upper line from those below,
the latter having partly the costume of the Egyptians, with the plaited
hair of their national headdress;, but those who follow the car of the
princess are clad in skins, whose projecting tail, while it heightens tbe
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 these are women of the same nation,
bearing their children in a kind of basket suspended to their back. On
the rear wall Hui is represented before the king, as well as another
" Prince of Kush," Amen-hetep, who is offering the monarch pieces of
lapis-lazuli on a dish. A band of Syrians, partly yellow, partly light-red
in colour, and wearing long robes, is introduced by Hui, bringing
tribute, which consists of gold and silver vases, lapis-lazuli, and other
precious stones, a lion and two horses.
In another Tomb, unfortunately much ruined, is a spirited chase,
in which various animals of the desert are admirably depicted. The
fox, hare, gazelle, ibex, oryx, ostrich, and wild ox fly before the hounds ;
and the porcupine and hyama retire to the higher part of the mountains.
The female hyfena alone remains, and rises to defend her young ; but
most of the dogs are represented in pursuit of the gazelles, or in the
act of seizing those they have overtaken in the plain. (See Wilkinson's
' Ancient Egyptians,' vol. ii., p. 92.) The hunter follows, and discharges
his arrows among them as they fly. These arrows were very light,
being made of reed, feathered, and tipped with stone. They have been
found in the tombs, together with those having metal points ; both
being used, as the sculptures show, at the same periods ; the latter for
war, the former for the chase.
At the entrance of a valley to the S.W. of Kurnet Murrai, leading up
*o Der el-Medina, are several Tombs of the early date of Amen-hetep I,
2 F 2


436 EOUTE 23. — LUXOE AND THEBES. [Sect. V.
(XVIII. Dyn.), which claim the attention of the chronologist rather
than the admiration of the traveller who seeks elegant designs or
interesting sculptures ; and a series of pits and crude-brick chambers
occupy the space between these and a brick enclosure to the E.
Among the most remarkable of these tombs is one containing the
members of Amen-hetep's family, and some of his predecessors ; and
another, whose crude-brick roof and niche, bearing the name of the
same Pharaoh, proves the existence of the arch at that period ; a crude-
brick pyramid of an early epoch ; and a tomb, under the western rock,
which offers to the curiosity of chronologists the names of three
successive kings, and their predecessor Amen-hetep I. seated with
Nefertari. Other vaulted tombs have been found of the XVIII. and
XIX. Dynasties. Here also are some finely-painted tombs of the XX.
Dynasty, shown only by special permission of the Chief Inspector.
Those of Peskhetu (No. 12) and Sennetjem (No. 20), both officials of the
necropolis, are interesting.
The deity who presided over this valley, and the mountain behind it,
was Hathor, " the guardian of the west " ; and many of the tombs have
a statue of the cow, which was sacred to her, with its head and breast
projecting in high relief from their innermost wall.
13. Tombs of Shekh 'Abd el-Kflrna.
These Tombs lie N. of Kurnet Murrai and N.E. of Der el-Medina,
on E. and N.E. faces of the hill called Shekh 'Abd el-Kiirna, immedi
ately behind the Bamesseum. The principle of these tombs is the
same as of those at Beni Hasan — a chamber hollowed out in the rock
to serve as a mortuary chapel, and a well leading from it to the vault
in which reposed the mummied body. From a distance the great
square doors of these tombs, extending in symmetrical order along the
side of the hill, have all the appearance of the batteries of a fortress.
Many of them are covered with most interesting sculptures. It
will be sufficient to mention and describe some of the more important.
Like the Tombs of the Kings, they were numbered by Sir G. Wilkinson,
and his numbers still remain officially, and are known to the ghafirs,
who will conduct the visitor to those best worth seeing and in the best
state of repair.
Archaeological students or those whose interest is more than passing
must make it clear to the ghafirs that they are not mere tourists, who
are usually satisfied with a careful inspection of one or two tombs and
a cursory glance at a few others ; they must insist upon being conducted
to any tomb of which they give the number (if it is open), and on being
allowed to stay in it as long as they please. No gratuities. (On the
annexed sketch-plan a convenient route is indicated.)
Visitors reach Shekh 'Abd el-Kurna from Kurnet Murrai and Der el-
Medina, from the Bamesseum, o'r from Der 'el-Bahari. If they come
from the latter place, they pass between the tombs of Mena and Tjai
and reach the Tomb of Nekht (see below). Those coming from the
Bamesseum ride a short distance up the hill and dismount at the house
of the Copt Todros (Bet Todros on plan). Those from Kurnet Murrai
or Der el-Medina reach the same place after passing the new German
House, with its conspicuous migdolAUie tower and white porch (built
for the accommodation of German archaeologists), and the abodes of the


Sect. V.]

EOUTE 23. — LUXOE AND THEBES.

437

Abd er-Basul family. Immediately behind the House of Todros, where
the donkeys stay, is Tomb No. 35. (Tickets to be shewn.)
No. 35 : the Tomb of Rekh-ma-Ra. This is in some respects the
most interesting tomb of all. Its construction is unusual ; it is T-
shaped, the outer chamber forming the cross-bar. Bekh-ma-Ba was a
Governor of Thebes who died in the reign of Amen-hetep II. The
paintings and inscriptions in his tomb have been published and translated
by M. Virey in the ' Memoires de la Mission Archeologique Francaise
au Caire,' v. 1, and since then more accurately by Mr. P. E. Newberry
in his ' Life of Bekhmara, ' (incomplete at present).

TOM B S OF
SHEKH ABD EL -KURNA
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StaJ^'orcLs Geog1 EstahP

In the Outer Chamber on the Ze/< TkzjkZ (entering) is a grand pro
cession of Ethiopian and -Asiatic chiefs, bearing tribute to the Egyptian
monarch, Thothmes III. (See Wilkinson's ' Ancient Egyptians,' vol. i.,
pi. ii.) They are arranged in five lines. The first or uppermost consists
of negroes, and others of a red colour from the country of Punt, who
bring ivory, apes, leopards' skins, and dried fruits. -¦- r-_-f
In the second line are a people of a light red hue, with long black
hair hanging down to their waists, but without beards ; their dress
consists of a short apron thrown round the lower part of the body,
meeting and folding over in front, and they wear high boots richly
worked, Their presents are vases of elegant form, ornamented with


438 EOUTE 23.  LUXOE AND THEBES. [Sect. V.
flowers, necklaces, and other costly gifts, which, according to the
hieroglyphs, they bring as offerings from " the chiefs of the Keftiu
and the Isles of the Mediterranean." These people are " Myoenaeans,"
as is shown by their costume, etc. ; i.e. they are Greeks of the prehistoric
period, when Mycenae, Tiryns, and the Palace of Knossos (the ancient
" Labyrinth ") were built. In all probability they are actual ambassadors
from the Minoan people of Crete, who erected Knossos and Phaistos.
This fresco and that representing the same people in the Tomb of
Senmut (see below), besides other evidence, prove the early Mycenaean or
Minoan Age in Greece to be contemporary with the Egyptian XVIII.
Dynasty (sixteenth cent. B.C.) The picture before us is therefore
one of the most important monuments of ancient history. Its begrimed
and blackened condition, due to the necessity of using candle-light in
order to see it, is much to be deplored. Visitors are requested to be
careful not to bring the candle too close to the fresco and not to touch
it with the hand.
In the third line are Ethiopians, who are styled " nations of the
South, the Petti of Takens and Khent-hennefer " (Nubia, S. of the First
Cataract). 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 (?) or rather gold-dust, hides,
apes, leopards, ebony, ivory, ostrich-eggs and plumes, a giraffe, hounds
with handsome collars, and a drove of long-horned oxen.
The fourth line is composed of men of an olive colour, clad in long
white garments, with a 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. Among other offerings are vases, similar to those of the Keftians,
a chariot and horses, a bear, elephant, and ivory. They are the Butennu
or Lotan, the inhabitants of Syria.
In the fifth line Egyptians lead the van, and are followed by women
of Ethiopia (Kush), "the Gentiles of the South," carrying their
children in panniers suspended from their heads. Behind these are
the wives of the Butennu, 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 eups, ivory, leopard-skins,
ingots and rings of gold, sealed bags of precious stones or gold-dust, and
other objects ; and on the fourth line are gold and silver rings, vases
of the same metal and of porcelain, with rare wood and various other
rich presents.
The Inner Chamber contains subjects of the most interesting and
diversified kind. Among them, on the left wall (entering), are cabinet
makers, carpenters, rope-makers, and sculptors, some of whom are
engaged in levelling and squaring a stone, and others in finishing a
sphinx, with two colossal statues of tbe king. The whole process of


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 439
Brick-making is also introduced. The 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 drying. The makers are not, however,
Jews, as some have supposed ; but inhabitants of the countries
mentioned in the sculptures. It is sufficiently interesting to find a
subject illustrating so completely the description of the Jews and their
taskmasters given in the Bible, without striving to give it an importance
to which it has no claim. (See Wilkinson's ' Ancient Egyptians,' vol.
i., p. 344, woodcut 112.)
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 pressing them alternately, while
he pulls up each exhausted skin by a string he holds in his hand. In
one instance 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
fact is learnt from these paintings — an acquaintance 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 the workmen then applies two pieces of
different-coloured wood to each other, and this circumstance seems to
decide that glue is here intended to be represented rather than a
varnish or colour of any kind.
On the right wall (entering) the attitude of a maid-servant pouring
out some wine for a lady, one of the guests, and returning an empty
cup to a black slave who stands behind her, is admirably 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 very characteristic of a custom peculiar to the
blacks. The guests are entertained by music, and the women here sit
apart from the men.
Among other subjects on this wall worthy of notice may be
mentioned a garden where the owner of the tomb is introduced' in his
boat, towed by his servants on a lake surrounded by Theban palms and
date-trees. Numerous liturgies (or parentalia) are performed to the
mummy of the deceased.
At the upper end of the tomb various offerings are registered, with
their names and number, in separate columns.
A long inscription of great interest gives a full description of the
duties of a vizier of Egypt at this time.
The form of this inner chamber is singular, the roof ascending at
a considerable angle towards the end wall ; from below which the
spectator, in looking towards the door, may observe a striking effect of
false perspective. In the upper part is a niche, or recess, at a consider
able height above the pavement.
Going up the hill to the left we reach No. 50, the Tomb of Sennefer,
known as the "Tomb of the Vine," from the beautiful decoration,
representing a vine, which covers its roof. We descend by a steep
curving flight of steps. The frescoes, which are very: bright, represent
Sennefer, who was overseer of the gardens of the god Amen, and his
sister Merit worshipping Osiris and receiving the funeral oblations
from the priests. This tomb stands in the outer court of a larger one,
used as a magazine. This belonged to another Sennefer, a city -governor
under Amen-hetep II,


440 EOUTE 23.  LUXOE AND THEBES. [Sect. V.
Above this is No. 46, the large Tomb of Ken-Amen, lately cleared
by Mr. B. L. Mond, which has remarkable frescoes of antelopes and
other animals drawn in a very naturalistic spirit (on rt. wall of corridor).
This tomb has a very large court in front of it. The door opens into a
long forehall with ten square columns, beyond which the corridor leads
to a second pillared hall, the roof of which has fallen m, disclosing a
huge cavern above. At the end is a chapel for offerings with a fresco
of Osiris and Anubis seated back to back.
Below to the right, above the Tomb of Bekhmara, are Nos. 36 and 34,
the Tombs of the General Amenemheb and the Chief-Priest Men-
kheperrasenb. The former was a leader in the Asiatic campaigns of
Thothmes III. and Amen-hetep II. In an important inscription on the
back wall of the first chamber (rt. of the passage), he recounts his
deeds and the honours which were conferred upon him. The representa
tions of tribute-bearing Syrians in both tombs are interesting, as are
also those of an Egyptian dinner-party (No. 36 ; rt. back wall of second
chamber). In both Tombs the Keftiu are mentioned. Above No. 34 is
the pit-tomb of Nekhtmin, decorated with well-painted texts.
Ascending the hill again, we reach No. 26 : the Tomb of Anna,
overseer of the granaries of Amen, who died in the reign of Amen-hetep
III. We enter a vestibule, partly ruined, the pillars and walls of which
are adorned with very interesting representations of scenes of harvest
fishing, and the chase. At the end of the vestibule is the lower part
of the stela or gravestone proper, with an inscription painted in blue
hieroglyphs. At the end of the inner chamber are three statues, cut
in the rock, one of which represents Anna.
Ascending further, almost to the top of the hill, we attain
No. 16 : a very interesting tomb, as well in point of chronology as
in the execution of its paintings. It belonged to Hor-em-heb, who
was a royal scribe and overseer of the horse under Thothmes II.
and III., Amen-hetep IL, Thothmes IV., and Amen-hetep III. In the
Outer Chamber Hor-em-heb, seated with his mother Isis, caresses on
his knee the princess Amen-em-apt. In the Inner Chamber, the inmate
of the tomb, a " royal scribe," 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
lamentations of the women, and the approach of the coffin, containing
the body of the deceased, drawn on a sledge by four oxen. In the
second and third lines men advance with various articles of tomb-
furniture, a chariot, chairs, and other objects ; and in the last line a
priest, followed by the chief mourners (merely sketched in), officiates
before the boats in which are seated the basilico-grammat and his
sister. "The rudders," as Herodotus states, "are passed through the
keel " ; or rather attached to the top of the stern-post, or to the taffrail,
in the 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
centre 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 centre to the summit of a short mast, which stands in the middle,
and is braced by stays fastened to the fore and after parts of the boat.
Beyond this are representations of lapis and gold necklaces and collars',


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 441
gold crowns, vases, &c, probably, like the chariot, bed and chairs
represented in the other paintings, objects of the funeral state of a
king which was overseen by Hor-em-heb.
On the opposite wall is a fowling and fishing scene ; and the dried
fish suspended in the boat remind us of the observations of Herodotus
and Diodorus, who mention it as constituting a very considerable
article of food among this people ; for, with the exception of the priest
hood, they were at all times permitted to eat those fish which were not
comprised among the sacred animals of the country. There is a
portrait of the "chief fisherman," Ptahmes, an old man with his hand
raised to his head, below this scene. Here is also represented the
performance of the liturgies to the mummies of the deceased.
Nor do the paintings of the Outer Chamber less merit our attention.
Among the most interesting is a party entertained at the house of the
royal scribe, who, seated with his mother, caresses on his knee the
youthful daughter of his sovereign, to whom he had probably been tutor.
Women dance to the sound of the Egyptian guitar in their presence, or
place before them vases of flowers and precious ointment ; and the
guests, seated on handsome chairs, are attended by servants, who offer
them wine in "golden goblets," each having previously been welcomed
by the usual ceremony of having his head anointed with sweet-scented
ointment. 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 as of the master and mistress of
the house. A lotus-flower was also presented to them on their arrival.
In the lower part of the picture, a minstrel, seated cross-legged
according to the custom of the East, plays on a harp of seven strings,
accompanied by a guitar, and the chorus of a vocal performer, the
words of whose song appear to be contained in eight lines of hieroglyphs,
which relate to Amen, and to the owner of the tomb, beginning,
" Incense, drink-offering, and sacrifices of oxen," and concluding with
an address to the royal scribe. Beyond these an ox is slaughtered, and
two men, having cut off the head, remove the skin from the legs and
body. Servants carry away the joints as they are separated, the head
and fore-leg with the shoulder being the first, the other legs and the
parts of the body following in proper succession. A mendicant receives
a head from the charity of one of the servants, who also offers him a
bottle of water,. This gift of the head shows that Herodotus was
wrong when he said " no Egyptian will taste the head of any species
of animal." On the opposite wall are some buffoons who dance to the
sound of a drum, and other subjects.
Ascending to the 1. we attain the summit of the hill (fine view of
Der el-Bahari). Bearing round to the rt. we descend past No. 104
(Sebekhetep), and after a scramble over the disintegrated rock-talus,
reach No. 110, the ruined Tomb of Senmut, the architect of Queen
Hatshepsu, who built the temple of Der el-Bahari. The tomb looks over
the valley towards the temple. The roof of the vestibule has fallen in,
luckily without damaging much the very important and interesting
fresco (rt.) of Keftian (Minoan Cretan) Ambassadors bearing as tribute
fine gold and silver vases of the " Vaphio " type (like those found at
Vaphio in the Peloponnese, now in the Museum of Athens). From
this tomb one can descend quickly to Der el-Bahari. Further round
to th§ 1, are two figures of a noble (a " king's, nurse " or tutor) and. bis


Sect. V.] eoute 23<- — luxoe and thebes. 443
the obliterators mistook the men in the name of Menna for the word
Amen. Beyond the houses near by, and close to the path from the
Bamesseum to Der el-Bahari, is No. 125, the Tomb of Nekht, a tiny
chamber, beautifully decorated with frescoes, whose colour is absolutely
undimmed by time. They represent the usual scenes of harvesting,
vintage-gathering, &c, and the offering of funeral oblations to Nekht
and his wife. The pictures of Nekht fowling in the marshes with his
wife are very pretty.
S. of this is the much damaged and roofless forehall of No. 118, the
Tomb of Rames, a vizier of the heretical disk-worshipping king
Amen-hetep. IV., Khu-n-Aten. Barnes began this tomb when Khu-n-Aten
had not yet transferred his residence to Tell el-Amarna (see p. 331), and
was still known by the name of Amen-hetep. The reliefs on the left wall
were executed before the king had adopted the Aten heresy, and. are
executed in the usual conventional manner of the XVIII. Dynasty,
the king being represented in the ordinary way. But on the right wall
we see him depicted in the heretical, style of Tell el-Amarna, with full
fidelity to the life, on a balcony of the palace, with his queen Nefertiti
conferring golden rings on the favoured Barnes. The tomb was never
finished. Barnes went to Tell el-Amarna and built himself a new tomb
there, abandoning the Theban one. No. 118 is therefore an important
historical monument.
Farther S. below the House of Todros and the Tomb of Bekhmara
(No. 35) is No. 120, the Tomb of Khaemhat, an official of Amen-hetep
III., with fine relief decorations, considerably damaged of late years.
This, as well as the Tomb of Userhat, has been cleared by Mr. Mond,
who discovered near by the Tomb of Tahuti-em-heb, chief of the
weavers of Amen-Ba (XVIII. Dyn.), which has reliefs of the usual
character. In the Tomb of Nefer-hetep, a royal scribe, who lived under Hor-
em-heb (XVIII. Dyn.), immediately below the isolated hill to the W.
of the entrance of the Assasif, are some very curious sculptures. In the
Outer Chamber is the most complete procession of boats of any met
with in the catacombs of Thebes. Two of them contain the female
relatives of the deceased, his " sister " being chief mourner; One has
on board the mummy, deposited in a shrine, to which a priest offers
incense ; in the other several women seated, or standing on the roof of
the cabin, beat their heads in taken of grief. In a third boat are the
men, who make a similar lamentation, with two of the aged matrons
of the family ; and three others contain the flowers and offerings
furnished by the priests for the occasion, several of whom are also in
attendance. (See Wilkinson's ' Ancient Egyptians,' vol. iii., pi. lxvi.)
" 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 grounded and was pushed off the bank, is struck by the rudder, and
a large table, loaded with cakes and various things, is overturned on the
boatmen as they row. The procession arrives at the opposite bank,
and follows the officiating priest along the sandy plain. The "sister"
of the deceased, embracing the mummy, addresses her lost relative.
On the corresponding wall, men and women, with the body exposed
above the waist, throw dust on their heads, or cover their faces with


444 eoute 23. — luxor and thebes. [Sect. V.
mud — a custom recorded by Herodotus and Diodorus, and still retained
in the funeral ceremonies of the Egyptian peasants to the present day.
The former states that "the females of the family cover their heads
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."
We also see the figures of the mother, wife, and daughter of the
deceased, following a funeral sledge drawn by oxen, where the character
of tbe three ages is admirably portrayed.
In the Inner Chamber are an Egyptian house and garden, the cattle
and a variety of other subjects, among which may be traced the
occupations of the weaver, and of the gardener, drawing water with tbe
pole and bucket, the shadilf of the present dajT.
Behind the figures of Nefer-hetep and his sister in the Second
Chamber is the " Song of the Harper," embodying a strangely modern
view of death. (See ' Becords of the Past,' vol. vi., p. 72.)
Statues in high relief are seated at the upper end of this chamber,
and on its square pillars are the names of Amen-hetep I. and Queen
Aahmes Nefertari, the tutelary deities of the necropolis.
Close by are the Tombs of Amen-uah-su and Aakheperkara-senb.
The former was librarian of the Temple of Amen ; both lived under
the XVIII. Dynasty. In the tomb of Amen-uah-su is an interesting
flight of steps leading down to the well on the 1. : in that of Aak-
kheperkara-senb are good frescoes and a finely decorated ceiling, with
spiral patterns. These were cleared by Mr. Mond.
14. The Temple of Kurna.
Temple of Kurna (XIX. Dyn.). — The northernmost ruin on the W.
bank, worthy of notice, is the small temple at Old Kiirna, dedicated to
the memory and worship of his father, Bamses I., by Seti I., and
completed by his son Bamses IL, the supposed Sesostris of the Greeks.
It is sometimes called Kasr cr-Rubek. It was named by Seti "the
Temple of Millions of Years."
Plan. — Its plan offers the usual symmetrophobia of Egyptian monu
ments, but it presents a marked deviation from the ordinary distribu
tion of the parts. The entrance leads through an almost entirely
ruined pylon, bearing, in addition to the name of the founder, that of
Bamses II, , beyond which is a dromos of 128 ft., 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 intercolumnia-
tions of these 10 columns 3 only agree in breadth, and a similar dis
crepancy is observed in the doorways which form the 3 entrances to
the building. The temple itself presents a central hall about 57 ft.
in length, supported by 6 columns, having on either side 3 small
chambers, one of which leads to a lateral hall, and the opposite one to
passage and open court on tbe E. side, Upon the upper end of the


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes^ 445
hall open 5 other chambers, the centre one of which leads to a large
room, supported by 4 square pillars, beyond which was the sanctuary
itself; but the N. 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 W., which possibly belonged to the palace of
the king, is supported by 2 columns, and leads to 3 other rooms, behind
which are the vestiges of other apartments ; and on the E. side, besides
a large hypeethral court, Were several similar chambers, extending also
to the northern extremity of its precincts.
Sculptures. ^On the architrave over the corridor is the dedication
of Bamses II. , to whom, in his character of the Sun, under the symbolic
form of a hawk, Amen-Ba is presenting the emblem of life. Therein,
after the usual titles of the king, we are told that " Bamses, the
beloved of Amen, has dedicated this work to his father, Amen-Ba, king
of the gods, having made additions for him to the temple of his father
the king (fostered by Ba and Maat), the Son of the Sun (Seti)." The
whole of this part of the building bears the name of Bamses IL,
though his father is represented in some of the sculptures as taking
part in the religious ceremonies, and assisting in making offerings to
the deities of the temple he had founded. ' ' The temple of Kilrna was,
so to speak, haunted by the memory of Bamses I. It was the memory
of this king that the faithful came to evoke on certain days prescribed
by the rite. The mummy itself reposed afar off, deep down in the
hypogeum of the Biban el-Muluk, just as in the mastabas of the Ancient
Empire the mummy reposed at the bottom of an inaccessible well." —
Mariette. On the N.W. side of the inner wall of this corridor, the arks or
shrines of Queen Nefertari Set-Isis, and of Amhi, are borne each by
12 priests, in the "procession of shrines," attended by a fan-bearer
and high priest to the god of the temple ; and in a small tablet, added
at a later period, the king Si-Ptah is represented in presence of Amen-
Ba, Aahmes Nefertari, Seti, and Bamses II. , receiving the emblems of
royal power from the hands of the deity.
The most interesting sculptures are in the lateral hall on the W.
side, which, with the 3 chambers behind it, King Seti dedicated to his
father Bamses I. ; but dying before the completion of the hall, his
son Bamses II. added the sculptures that cover the interior and
corridor in front of it. Those within the front wall, on the rt. hand
entering the door, represent, in the lower compartment, King Bamses
II. introduced by Mentu to Amen-Ba, behind whom stands his grand
father Bamses I., bearing the emblems of Osiris. Over him we read :
"The good God, Lord of the world; son of the Sun, lord of power,
Bamses deceased, esteemed by the great God, Lord of Abydos (i.e.
Osiris)." Thoth, the god of letters, notes off the years of the panegyries
of the king on a palm-branch, the symbol of a year. In the compart
ment above this be is introduced to the deity by Atmu and by Mentu,
who, presenting him with the emblem of life, say, "I have accom
panied you in order that you may dedicate the temple to your father
Amen-Ba." In the compartment over the door, 2 figures of Bamses I.,
seated in sacred shrines, receive the offerings or liturgies of his grand
son, one wearing the crown of the upper, the other that of the lower
country. On the other side of the door, the kingi is offering to Amen-


446 EoutE 23.— LtrxOS And thebes. [Sect. V,
Ba, Khonsu, and Bamses L; and on the side walls King Seti also
partakes of similar honours. - .
In the centre chamber Seti officiates before the statue of his father
placed in a shrine like that before mentioned; from which it is
evident that Bamses II. continued the dedications to the first Bamses,
which had been commenced by his father, as the hieroglyphs them
selves state. All the lateral chambers and the bypaethral court are
of Bamses II. ; and on the jambs of the side-doors in the great hall
the name of his son, Mer-en-Ptah, was added in the succeeding reign.
Queen Aahmes Nefertari occurs again in the court, and on the outside
of the N.E. comer, and on the fragment of a wall on the other (S.W.)
side, are an Ethiopian ox and goat, 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 Amen-Ba,
whose door the king has just opened, previous to his performing "the
prescribed ceremonies" in honour of the deity. In the hieroglyphs,
though much defaced, we read, "Behold, I open . . . my father
Amen-Ba." 15. Tombs of the Kings.
These are known in Arabic under their title Biban el-Muluk, the
"Gates of the Kings." The distance from the river is about 3 miles.
The road lies past the temple of Kiirna, and then enters a highly
picturesque but barren desolate valley, utterly blasted by the heat of the
sun. Near the entrance to the gorge in which are the tombs usually
visited, belonging entirely to the XIX. and XX. Dynasties, another
wiidi (the Western Valley) opens to the rt. In this are some tombs of
the XVIII. Dynasty (see Plan, p. 451).
The principle of construction in the royal tombs of Biban el-Muluk
is entirely different from that which regulated the ordinary Egyptian
mausoleum (see p. [161]). Here there is no mastaba, and no exterior
chambers, in which the surviving relations met at certain seasons to
pay their respects to the dead. The "Tombs of the Kings" at Biban
el-Multik are all excavated out of the rock, and consist of long inclined
passages, with here and there halls and small chambers, penetrating
to a greater or less distance into the heart of the mountain. Once the
royal mummy was safely deposited in its resting-place, the entrance
was built up, and the surrounding rock levelled, so as to leave no trace
of the existence of the tomb. It has been conjectured by M. Mariette
that the representatives, to a certain extent, of the mastabas, are to be
found at Thebes in the temples that line the edge of the desert, and
which were cenotaphs in which the memory of the king was preserved
and worshipped. The idea of burial here was to keep the actual royal
tombs remote and secret (they were made "no one seeing, no one
hearing"), while the offerings to the dead monarchs could be made in
funerary temples at Kiirna, which were known and accessible to all.
When the funerary chapel was close to the actual tomb, as was the
case up till the time of Thothmes I., the danger of violation of the'
royal dead was too great. Thothmes I. was the first to have his tomb
made far away from his funerary temple in the desert valley behind
Der el-Bahari. Here, in the " Place of Eternity," his " August Habi
tation in the West " was made by the engineer Anna (see below), and


Sect. V.]

EOUTE 23. — LUXOE AND THEBES.

447

for five hundred years afterwards his successors on the throUe Were
buried in this "Valley of the Tombs of the Kings."
The number of tombs now known in the two valleys is 55, but
they are not all kings' tombs ; some are those of princes and high
functionaries and some are mere mummy-pits. Diodorus, who, on the
authority of the priests, reckons 47, says that 17 remained in the time
of Ptolemy Lagus. From this we may infer that 17 were then open,
and that the remaining 30 were closed in his time. Strabo too supposes
their total number to have been about 40.
Some of the sepulchres of the kings were open from a very remote
period, and seen by Greek and Boman visitors, who mention them in
inscriptions written on their walls, as the syringes (aopiyyes) or tunnels
— a name by, which they are described by Pausanias.
It would be impossible to give a detailed account of all these tombs,
nor are many worth it, as some are entirely uninscribed or are mere
mummy-pits, while others, though inscribed, are mere replicas of
others or contain nothing of real interest. It will be sufficient to
notice at length the most important. They are officially known by the
numbers affixed to them by Sir Gardner Wilkinson. No. 1 is in the
first short valley branching to the right ; No. 2 is in the main valley.
.Subjoined is a complete list of the tombs in both valleys ; those in
the western valley are Nos. 22 to 25 : —

No.

No.

I.

King Ramses X.

25. (Uninscribed.) (Western Valley. )

2.

,, IV

26. (Mummy-pit.)

3-

,, III. (unused).

27.

4'

,, XII.

28.

S-

(Uninscribed.)

29.

6.

King Ramses IX.

3°-

7-

II-

31- ...

8.

Merenptah.

32. (Uninscribed.)

9-

,, Ramses VI.

33-

io.

,, Amenmeses.

34. King Thothmes III.

n.

Ramses III.

35. ,, Amen-hetep II.

12.

(Mummy-pit.)

36. The Lord Maherpra.

r3-

The Vizier Bai.

37. ( Uninscribed. )

14.

Queen Tausretand KingSetnekht.

38. King Thothmes I.

*5-

King Seti II.

39. (Uninscribed. )

16.

,, Ramses I.

40. (Mummy-pit.)

r7-

,, Seti I.

41.

18.

,, Ramses XL

42. Prince Sennefer.

19-

Prince Mentherkhopshef.

43. King Thothmes IV.

20.

Queen Hatshepsu.

44. The Lady Tentkareu.

21.

( Mummy-pit. )

45. The Lord Userhat.

22.

King Amen-hetep III. (Western

46. Iuaa and Tuaa.

Valley).

47. King Siptah.

23,

King Ai (Western Valley).

48. The Vizier Amencmapt.

24.

(Uninscribed.) (Western Valley. )
55- Qu

49-54. Unimportant tombs.
een Tii.

The most important of all is
No. 17. Tomb of Seti I. (XIX. Dyn.), commonly called Belzoni's
Tomb. — This tomb is in the second short valley to the left. It was
discovered by Belzoni in 1817, and is by far the most remarkable for
its sculpture and the state of its preservation.


448 EOUTE 23. — LUXOE AND thebes, [Sect. V,
Plafi.— This is far from being Well regulated, and the deviation
from one litis of direction greatly injures its general effect ; nor does
the rapid desflent by a staircase of 24 ft. in perpendicular depth on a
horizontal length of 29, convey so appropriate an idea of the entrance to
the abode of death as the gradual descent of others of these sepulchres.
To this staircase succeeds a passage of 18J ft. by 9, including the jambs ;
and passing another door, a second staircase descends in horizontal
length 25 ft. Beyond, 2 doorways and a passage of 29 ft. bring you to
an oblong chamber 12 ft. by 14, where a pit, filled up by Belzoni, once
appeared to form the utmost limit of the tomb. Part of its inner wall
was composed of blocks of hewn stone, closely cemented together, and
covered with a smooth coat of stucco, like the other walls of this
excavated catacomb, on which was painted a continuation of those
subjects that still adorn its remaining sides.
Independent of the main object of 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. The preservation of
the inferior part of the tomb was effectually guaranteed from the
destructive inroad of the rain-water, whose torrent its depth completely

PLAN OF BOCK-OUT TOME OF SETI I.
intercepted. A storm some years ago, by the havoc caused in the
inner chambers, sadly demonstrated the fact.
The hollow sound of the wall of masonry above mentioned and a
small aperture betrayed to Belzoni the secret of its bidden chambers ;
and a palm-tree, supplying the place of the more classic ram, soon
forced the intermediate barrier. The breach displayed the splendour
of the succeeding hall, at once astonishing and delighting its discoverer,
whose labours were so gratefully repaid. But this was not the only
part of the tomb that had been closed. The outer door was also
blocked up with masonry ; and the staircase before it was concealed by
accumulated fragments, and by the earth that had fallen from the hill
above. And it was the sinking of the ground at this part, from the
water that had soaked through into the tomb, that led the peasants
to suspect the secret of its position, which was revealed by them to
Belzoni. The four pillars of the first hall beyond the pit, which support a
roof about 26 ft square, are decorated, like the whole of the walls,
with highly-finished and well-preserved sculptures. From their vivid
colours they appear but the work of yesterday. 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 unfinished state The sculptors


Sect. V.] EOUTE 23.— LUXOE AND THEBES. 449
had not 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 descends at the southern corner of the first hall. It is
noticeable that in excavating this staircase the mistake was made of
cutting too near the chamber on the right, so that the thin partition
of rock between was broken through.
To this last succeed two passages, and a chamber 17 ft. by 14, com
municating, by a door not quite in the centre of its inner wall, with
the grand hall, which is 27 ft. square, and supported by six pillars.
On either side of this hall is a small chamber, opposite the angle of
the first pillars. The upper end terminates in a vaulted chamber.
19 ft. by 30, in whose centre stood the wonderful inscribed alabaster
sarcophagus now in the Soane Museum. It was upon the immediate
summit of an inclined plane, which, with a staircase on either side,
descends into the heart of the argillaceous rock (tafl) for a distance of
150 ft. When Belzoni opened this tomb it extended much farther ; but
the rock, which from its friable nature could only be excavated by sup
porting the roof with scaffolding, has since fallen, and curtailed a still
greater portion of its original length. The mummy of Seti I., which
had been removed in the time of the XXI. Dynasty to the pit at
Der el-Bahari, is in the Cairo Museum.
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.
A small chamber and two niches are made in the N.W. wall of
this part of the grand hall ; and at the upper end a step leads to an
unfinished chamber, 17 ft. by 43, supported by a row of four pillars.
On the S.W. are other niches, and a room about 25 ft. 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, 4 ft. high, with four
shallow recesses on each face, and surmounted by an elegant Egyptian
cornice. It is difficult to understand the purport of it, unless its level
summit served as a repository for the mummies of the inferior persons
of the king's household ; but it is more probable that these were also
deposited in pits.
The total horizontal length of this catacomb is 320 ft., without
counting the inclined descent below the sarcophagus, and its perpen
dicular depth 90. But, including that part, it measures 470 ft., and
depth about 180 ft. to the spot where it is closed by the fallen rock.
" Sculptures. — Although when this tomb was discovered by Belzoni
it had already, at some remote period, been opened and violated,
possibly at the time when the mummy of the king was removed to
Der el-Bahari, no injury had been done to the sculptures on the walls,
and when he first saw it every bas-relief was perfect, and the paintings
as vivid and fresh as the day they were done. Ninety years' exposure
to the tender mercies of the savant, the antiquity-monger, and the
tourist, have considerably spoilt its original beauty, and the thoughtful
visitor cannot fail to mark with regret the spoliations and defacements
to which it has been subjected.
The inscriptions in the First Passage consist of the first chapter
of "The Book of the Praise of Ba in the Lower World," the later
2 G


450 EOUTE 23.  LUXOE AND thebes. [Sect. V.
chapters of the ritual following subsequently. In the staircase which
succeeds it are on one side 37, on the other 39 genii of various forms.
In the Second Passage is the boat of the body of Ba ; and several
descending planes, on which are placed the valves of doors, referring
to the descent into" Amenti, or the Lower World. The texts are from
the "Book of the Gates," in which is described the progress of the
sun-god at night through the Lower World. The serpent-demon Nehebka
opposes the progress of the boat, which is protected by Horus, who
stands on a winged snake. The goddess of Truth or Justice stands at
the lower extremity. In the small chamber over the pit the king
makes offerings to different gods, Osiris being the principal deity.
Hathor, Horus, Isis, and Anubis are also introduced.
On the pillars of the First Hall the monarch stands in the presence
of the guardians of the dead, among whom are the "fire-eyed' and
" torch-faced " serpents. But one of the most interesting subjects here
is a procession of the four races of the Egyptian world, of red, white,
black, and again white complexions, four by four, followed by Ba, "the
sun." The four red figures are Egyptians, designated under the name
romitt, "men" ; the next are the Asiatics, a white race, with blue eyes,.
long bushy beards, and clad in a short dress ; the negroes (called
Nahasiu) come next ; 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 flowing robes, are the
Libyans. These representations also come from- the " Book of the
Gates " (Fifth Division of the Tuat) ; others in this tomb, and the
royal hypogaea generally, also come from the " Book of the Ami-tuat,"
i.e. "That which is in the Under-world" (see Budge, 'The Egyptian
Heaven and Hell,' London, 1906).
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 introduction of the king, by
Horus, into the presence of Osiris and Hathor.
Though not the most striking, the most interesting drawings in this
tomb are those of the Second Hall, which was left unfinished ; 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 preparing
the wall to receive the bas-reliefs, it was sometimes customary to
portion it out into squares ; but it was not the method universally
adopted for drawing Egyptian figures. We see in this and other places
that they were sketched without that prescribed measurement ; and
it is probable that this was principally used when a copy was made of
an original drawing — a method adopted by us at the present day. Here
we find that the position of the figures was first traced with a red
colour by the draughtsman ; when, having been submitted to the-
inspection of the master-artist, those parts which he deemed deficient
in proportion or correctness of attitude were altered by him in black
ink (as appears to have been the case in the figures here designed) ; and
in that state they were left for the chisel of the sculptor.
The subjects in the succeeding Passages refer mostly to the liturgies
or ceremonies performed to the deceased monarch. In the Square*
Chamber beyond them the king is Seen in the presence of the deities
Hathor, Horus, AnuDis, Isis, Osiris, Nefer-Atmu, and Ptah.


Sect. V.]

EOUTE 23. — LUXOE AND -THEBES.

451

The Grand Hall contains numerous subjects, representing the
passage of Ba through the Tuat, or Lower World. Here we see his

SCALES

100 Yards
too Metres

Stanford^ Gcoj * Estaif LonJari
¦PLAN OF THE TOMBS OF THE KINGS (BIBAN ED-MULtSE).
boat drawn by the inhabitants of Hudes, Atmu /after his oonquest Of
the enemies of the Sun-god, the 9 apes which sing praises when Ba
inters "the depths," 'the fire-breathing serpents which illuminate . the
2 G 2


452 eoutE 23.— luxoe And thebes. [Sect, V.
darkness, the 9 men who praise Ba on the 9th of the month, and the
12 women who pay him homage when he enters the celestial ocean,
with the rest of the strango beneficent and maleficent demons of the
"Book of the Ami-Tuat." The astronomical representations of the
constellations &c. (figured as men and animals) on the ceiling are
interesting, and the Contrast of the rich yellow figures with the black
ceiling is remarkably effective.
In the Side Chambers are some mysterious ceremonies connected
with fire, and various other subjects.
No. 11. Tomb of Ramses III. (XX Dyn.), commonly called Bruce's,
or The Harpers' Tomb. — This tomb was discovered by the traveller
Bruce, hence one of its names. The other appellation is derived from
the famous picture in one of the chambers of the men playing the
harp. The execution of the sculptures is inferior to that in No. 17,
but the nature of the subjects is more interesting.
Plan. — The line of direction in this catacomb, after the first 130 ft.,
is interrupted by the vicinity of the adjoining tomb, and makes, in
consequence, a slight deviation to the rt. of 13 ft., when it resumes
the same direction again for another 275 ft., which give it a total
length of 405 ft. Its plan differs from that of No. 17, and the rapidity
of its descent is considerably less, being perpendicularly only 31 ft.
Beyond the grand hall of the sarcophagus are three successive
passages, in the last of which are benches intended apparently for the
same purpose 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. The body of it is in the Louvre, the
lid in the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge.
Sculptures. — This tomb is much defaced, and the nature of the
rock is unfavourable for sculpture.
The subjects in the first passage, after the recess to the rt., are
similar to those of No. 17, and 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 colours of the four races
in the first hall differ slightly from those of the former tomb; four
blacks, clad in African dresses, being substituted instead of the
Egyptians, though the same name, Bomitu, " Men," is introduced
before them.
The most interesting sculptures are in the small chambers on either
side of the first two passages, since they throw considerable light on
the style of the furniture and arms, and consequently on the manners
and customs, of the Egyptians.
Left side (on entering), 1st Chamber. Here we have kitchen scenes.
The principal groups, though much defaced, may yet be recognised.
Some are engaged in slaughtering oxen, and cutting up the joints,
which are put into caldrons on a tripod placed over a wood fire ; and
in the lower line a man is employed in cutting a leather strap he holds
with his feet — a practice still common throughout the East. Another
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


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 453
meat, pastry, and broth, probably 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 siphons,
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 being
sprinkled on the surface of the cakes, they are carried on a wooden
pallet to the oven.
The 2nd Chamber merely contains emblems and deities. In the
3rd Chamber are birds, and some productions of Egypt, as geese and
quails, eggs, pomegranates, grapes, with other fruits and herbs, among
which last is the ghillga, or Periploca secamone of Linnaeus, still
common in the deserts of Egypt, and resembling in form the ivy, which
is unknown in the country. The figures in the lower Hne are of the
god Nilus.
The principal figures of the Last Chamber are two harpers playing
on instruments of not inelegant form, the one before Anhur and
Harmakhis, the other before Shu and Atmu. From these the tomb
received its name. One, if not both, of the minstrels is blind, but
their faces are now much injured (see Wilkinson's ' Ancient Egyptians,'
vol i. pi. ix., bis).
Bight side (on entering) 1st Chamber. Several boats are seen with
square checkered sails, some having spacious cabins, and others only a
seat near the mast. They are richly painted, and loaded with orna
ments ; and those in the lower lines have the mast and yard lowered
over the cabin (see Wilkinson's ' Ancient Egyptians,' vol. ii., pi. xiii.).
The 2nd Chamber contains the various arms and warlike imple
ments of the Egyptians ; among which are knives, quilted helmets,
spears, daggers, quivers, bows, arrows, falchions, coats of mail, darts,
clubs, and standards. On either side of the door is a black cow with
the head-dress of Hathor, one accompanied by hieroglyphs signifying
the N., the other by those of the S. ; intimating that these are the
legends of Upper and Lower Egypt. The blue colour of some of the
weapons suffices to prove them to have been of steel.
The 3rd Chamber has chairs of the most elegant form, covered with
rich drapery, highly ornamented, and in admirable taste (see Wilkin
son's 'Ancient Egyptians,' vol. i., pi. x.). Sofas, couches, vases of
porcelain and pottery, copper utensils, caldrons, rare woods, printed
stuffs, leopard skins, elephant tusks, a lapis lazuli eye with a string
of bullion through it, baskets of a very neat and graceful shape,
and basins and ewers, whose designs vie with the productions of the
cabinet-makers, complete the interesting series of these paintings. The
yellow vases with a "stirrup" handle, decorated with geometrical
designs in red, which are immediately opposite the entrance, are impor
tant, since theyare evidently Mycenaean (prehistoric Greek) "Biigel-
kannen," or false-necked pots of gold, imported to Egypt in the time of
Bamses III. (about 1100 B.C.).
The ith Chamber contains agricultural scenes, in which the inunda
tion of the Nile passing through the canals, sowing and reaping wheat,
and a grain which from its height and round head appears to be the
dilra or sorghum, as well as the flowers of the country, are represented.
But, however successful the Egyptians may have been in seizing the
character of animals, they failed in the art of drawing trees and flowers.


454 eoute 23. — luxoe and_ thebes. [Sect. VT
and their coloured plants would perplex the most profound botanist
equally with the fanciful productions of an Arab herbarium.
In the 5th Chamber are different forms of the god Osiris having
various attributes. In the 6th Chamber are rudders and sacred
emblems. Each of these small apartments has a pit, now closed.
In this tomb are several Greek graffiti, a fact which shows that it
was one of those open during the reign of the Ptolemies.
No. 9. Tomb of Ramses VI. (XX. Dyn.), called, as we. learn from
the graffiti inside, by the Bomans the Tomb of Memnon, probably from
its being the handsomest then open ; though the title of Meri-Amen
(Meiamon) given to the occupant of this catacomb, in common with
many others of the Pharaohs, may have led to this error.
It was greatly admired by the Greek and Roman visitors, who expressed
their satisfaction by ex-votos, and inscriptions of various lengths, and' who
generally agree that, having "examined these syringes," . or tunnels, that of
Memnon had the greatest claim upon their admiration ; though one morose
old gentleman, of the name of Epiphanius, declares he saw nothing to admire
"but the stone," meaning the sarcophagus, near which (on the rt. wall of
the chapel-recess beyond) he wrote his laconic and ill-natured remark : E^avios
uTTopritra ouSe,/ fie *,9avna<ra n p-v roe 	floi'. In the second passage, on the 1.
going in, immediately under the figure of a wicked soul or daemon returnipg
from the presence of Osiris in the form of a pig, is a longer inscription of an
Athenian, the Dadouclios of the Eleusinian mysteries, who visited Thebes in
the reign of Constantine. This was about sixty years before the mysteries
were abolished by Theodosius. ' The inscription is also curious, from the
writer's saying that he visited the (mpiyyes "a long time after the divine Plato."
The inscription lanvarivs vidi et miravi occurs two or three times. '
The total length of this tomb is 342 ft., with the entrance passage,
the perpendicular depth below the surface 24 ft. 6 in.; and in this
gradual descent, and the regularity of the chambers and passages,
consists the chief beauty of its plan. The general height of. the first
passage is 12 and 13 ft., about two more than that of No. 11, and three
more than that of No. 17.
The sculptures differ from those of the above-mentioned tombs, and
the figures of the four races are not introduced in the first hall ; but
many of the ceilings present very interesting astronomical subjects.
The walls are covered for the most part with representations of the
defeated enemies of the Sun-god, whom he meets in the world below
during the hours of night.
In the last passage before the hall of the sarcophagus, the tomb
No. 12 crosses over the ceiling, at whose side an aperture has been
forced at a later epoch. The sarcophagus, which is of granite, has been
broken and lies in a ruined state near its original site. The vaulted
roof of the hall presents an astronomical subject, and is richly orna
mented with a profusion of small figures. Indeed, all the walls, of this
tomb are loaded with very minute details, but of small proportions.
No. 35. Tomb of Amen-hetep II. (Aakheperura) (XVIII. Dyn.),
the son and successor of Thothmes III. (1470 b.c). This tomb which
was discovered by.M. Loret in 1898, lies at the end of the valley to
the rt, It is especially interesting as being the first tomb in which the
mummy of its owner was found in position. As is the case with many
of the earlier tombs, its, tunnel is constructed Ion a smaller scale than
those previously, described.. We descend by a stairway into a low


.Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and' thebes. 455
tunnel," which conducts us to a modern bridge Over the deep chasm
which was cut in order to bar the way to possible tomb spoilers. In
order to give them the idea that the tomb was unfinished, and unused,
the fresco decoration of the upper part of the wall here was left only
just begun. Passing into a tunnel, the entrance to which was also pur
posely left unfinished (take care of the overhanging piece of rock), we
turn to the 1. through a hall the walls and single square pillar of which
are unpainted, probably to keep up the impression of an incomplete and
unoccupied tomb, in case spoilers got as far. Here was found a wooden
funeral boat (afterwards stolen), across which lay the body of a woman,
now removed to the lower hall. Hence we descend to a second hall,
the roof of which is borne by six square pillars, adorned with frescoes
representing the king being received by the gods of the dead. The wall
paintings are scenes from the Book of the Ami-tuat, " That which is in
the Underworld." The groundwork of these paintings is a yellowish-
brown, to imitate papyrus. In a chamber to the rt. lie the mummies
of the woman already mentioned, which has the long hair and features
intact, a man, and a girl. These mummies are no doubt those of royal
personages, and it is'not impossible that the female mummy is that of
Hatshepsu, which has not yet been found. The tomb appears to have
been used as a storehouse for royal mumniies in later times, as, besides
these, the mummies of Thothmes, ,IV., Amen-hetep III., Meneptah,
Siptah, Seti IL, Bamses IV., Bamses V. and .Banises VI. were also
found here. From the pillar-hall we see the , royal chamber of death,
in which lies the actual mummy of Amen-hetep II., in its rose sandstone
sarcophagus; The lights will be turned off by the ghafir, and t}ien,
after a moment's darkness, a single light will be switched on at, the
head of the sarcophagus, showing the head of the king only illuminated
and standing out against the profound obscurity. The, sight is most
impressive. The royal mummy has only twice been removed from the
tomb since the fifteenth century' B.C., the second time when, in
January 1901, it was brought out for a few minutes into the sunlight
in order to be photographed by Mr. Carter, then Chief Inspector of
Antiquities at Thebes. The writer assisted at this ceremony, and
nothing more weird can well be imagined than the bearing of the body
of Aakheperura up through the passages of the tomb on the shoulders
of the Italian electric-light workmen, preceded and followed by
impassive Arab candle-bearers. The idea of retaining the royal
mummy in its tonib is due to Sir Wm. Garstin, then Under-Secretary
of the Interior. (
No. 8. . Tomb of Mer-en-Ptah (XIX. Dyn.), the son of Bamses II.
On the L side, entering the passage, is a, group of very superior sculpture,,
representing the king and the god Ba. Over the entrance are Isis and
Nephthys adoring the scarab of Khepra and the dead sun-god Auf in
the sun-disk.
The style of this tomb resembles that of No. 17, and others of that
epoch ; and in the first hall are figures of thd four races. The descent
is very rapid, which, as usual, takes off from that elegance so much
admired in No. 9 ; and the sculptures, executed in sunk relief on the
stucco, have suffered much from the damp occasioned by the torrents,
which, when the rain falls, used to pour into it with great violence
from a ravine near its mouth. This danger from rain-torrents has now
been obviated by a wall in front of the entrance, over which we pass by


456 eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. [Sect. V.
steps, but the rain of times past has irrevocably destroyed much of the
tomb. We pass a landing with four pillars, out of which opens on
the rt. a large uninscribed room with square pillars. On the rt; we
pass the lid of a huge red granite sarcophagus, inscribed with religious
texts, and reach the lower hall, which has lately been cleared by Mr.
Carter. It is vaulted and of magnificent proportions, with a colonnade
of four huge pillars (ruined) on each side. In it is the granite sarcophagus
of the king, with its beautifully modelled portrait-head. The mummy
was found in the tomb of Amen-hetep IL, and is now at Cairo. It is
generally supposed that Merenptah was the Pharaoh of the Exodus,
and it will be remembered that the record in Exodus xiv., xv., does not
expressly say that the Pharaoh perished in the Sea of Beeds. A dirge,
in which he is spoken of as dying at a good old age, will be found in
' Becords of the Past,' iv. 49.
Half-way down the tomb-passage is the flat lid of a huge granite
sarcophagus, beautifully engraved with texts from the Book of the
Ami-tuat. No. 43. The Tomb of Thothmes IV. (XVIII. Dyn.) lies up a side-
valley to the W. It was discovered and excavated by Mr. Theodore
N. Davis in 1902-3, and yielded a rich harvest of antiquities belonging to
the funeral state of the king, including a chariot with sides of embossed
and gilded leather, with representations of the king's warlike deeds ; this
is now in the Cairo Museum. The tomb is of peculiar construction, as
it returns upon itself, describing a curve. The tunnel descends sharply,
as is the case with all the earlier tombs in the Biban el-Muluk, and
care must be taken in the descent, as the steps are broken away and are
very slippery. At the end of the slope the way is barred by a well, as
in No. 35. Beyond this is a hall with two columns. Bound the
nearest column and hanging down into the well is an ancient rope of
palm-fibre, which was used by the plunderers. From the left-hand
corner of this hall a passage descends to an ante-chamber, on the wall
of which are two hieratic inscriptions recording the repair of the tomb
in the eighth year of Horemheb by Maya, " Superintendent of Works
in the Place of Eternity," i.e. the Tombs of the Kings. It is thus
evident that the tomb had already been violated in the short period
between the reigns of Thothmes IV. and Horemheb, probably during
the anarchy which prevailed in tbe reign of the heretic Khu-n-Aten.
Out of this chamber to the 1. opens a hall with four columns, and
beyond this is the royal sarcophagus of rose granite. In a chamber to
the rt. is the mummy of a boy, left as it was found, leaning against the
wall. The stomach had been ripped open by plunderers with a very
sharp knife. The frescoes of the tomb are good.
No. 6. Tomb of Ramses IX. (XX Dyn.).— The sculptures and
paintings differ widely from those of the preceding tombs. In the
second chamber the king is said to enter the Great House in " the City
of the Thousand Gates," the kingdom of Ba. 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 these sculptures actually
offer portraits. On the inner wall of the last chamber, or hall of the
sarcophagus, is a figure of the infant Horus, seated in a winged globe ¦
and from being beyond the sarcophagus, which was the abode of death'
it appears to refer to the well-known idea that dissolution was followed


Sect. V.] boute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 457
by reproduction into life. The total length of this tomb is 243 ft.,
including the outer entrance of 25 ft. It was open during the time of
the Ptolemies.
No. 2. Tomb of Ramses IV. (XX. Dyn.).— This is a small but
elegant tomb, 218 ft. long, including the hypasthral passage of 47 ft.
The colossal granite sarcophagus remains in its original situation,
though broken at the side, and is 11 ft. 6 in. by 7 ft., and upwards of
9 ft. in height. The graffiti prove this tomb to have been one of the
seventeen open in the time of the Ptolemies. One, in Latin, records
the visit of Januarius (see p. 454) and his daughter Januarina ; another,
in Greek verse, that of a cynic philosopher.
No. 14. Tomb of Queen Tausret (XIX. Dyn.), the Thueris of
Manetho. This catacomb was afterwards appropriated by King Set-
Nekht, the founder of the XX. Dynasty. The name of Seti II. also
appears in it. In the passages beyond the staircase the subjects relate to
the liturgies of the deceased monarch, and in the side chamber to the 1
is a bier attended by Anubis, with the vases of the four genii beneath it.
In the first grand vaulted hall, below the cornice which runs round
the lower part, various objects of Egyptian furniture are represented,
as metal mirrors, boxes and chairs of very elegant shape, vases, fans,
arms, necklaces, and numerous insignia. In the succeeding passages
the subjects resemble many of those in the unfinished hall of No. 17.
The sculptures are in sunk relief ; 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 sunk relief and partly in outline, but of a
good style. The sarcophagus has been broken, and the lid, on which
is the figure of the king in relief, has the form of a cartouche.
This tomb was open in the time of the Ptolemies. Its total length
is 363 ft., without the hypasthral entrance, but it is unfinished ; and
behind the first hall another large chamber with pillars was intended
to have been added.
No. 47. Tomb of Siptah (XIX. Dyn.), husband of Queen Tausret.
He seems to have reigned in right of his wife, as she occurs sometimes
alone making offerings to the gods, and sometimes in company with
her husband. The great vizier Bai, who was "mayor of the palace"
to Siptah and Tausret, is buried in Tomb No. 13 close by. No. 47
was discovered in Dec. 1905 by Mr. Theodore Davis and Mr. E. B.
Ayrton. Over the entrance is the usual representation of the dead sun-
god Auf, with the head of a ram, and the beetle Khepri within the
sun-disk, which is travelling through the under-world from its setting
to rising, in its boat. Isis and Nephthys are adoring the boat. The
portrait of the king being received by Ba-Harmachis (left wall of
entrance) is very fine ; so also is the decoration of the first gallery,
especially that of the roof. A curious point about the inscriptions is
that the name of Siptah was chiselled out, probably not long after his
death, and re-inserted under the XX. Dynasty in the style of the
inscriptions of the Tombs of the Queens. The other galleries and
chambers are much damaged by infiltration of water after the original
plundering, which probably took place as early as the time of the
XX. Dynasty.
No. 38. Tomb of Thothmes I., discovered by Loret in 1899, lies
between Nos. H sw4 lo, The frescoes have been destroyed by the


458 boute 23. — luxoe and thebes. [Sect. V.
infiltration of water. This tomb is the most ancient in the Biban
el-Muluk, and with it was inaugurated the custom of royal burial in
this remote valley. Its excavator, or engineer, was named Anna, and
in an inscription he says, " I supervised the excavation of the cliff-tomb
{heret) of His Majesty, alone, no one seeing, no one hearing."
No. 15. Tomb of Seti II. (XIX. Dyn.). — The figures at the
entrance are in relief, and of very good style. Beyond this 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 sunk relief ; and his
figure on the lid, a fine specimen of bold relief in granite, is raised 9 in.
above the surface. This catacomb was open at an early epoch.
No. 16. Tomb of Ramses I. (ATX. Dyn.), the father of Seti I., and
grandfather of Bamses II. It was among the number of those opened
by Belzoni. The sarcophagus of the king is intact. The freseoes",
painted on a grey ground, are of the usual conventional type.
No. 20. Tomb of Hatshepsu, to the N. of that of Thothmes IV.,
is of very peculiar construction, having a very small and narrow tunnel,
roughly excavated, unfinished and unadorned, descending in corkscrew
fashion to a great depth. It was partly excavated by Lepsius, and fully
cleared in 1904 for Mr. Theodore N. Davis by Mr. Carter, great difficulty
being found in the work owing to the foulness of the air and the great
heat in the depths of the tomb. The sarcophagus-chamber was origin
ally lined with slabs of painted limestone. In it were the polished
sandstone sarcophagi of Hatshepsu and her father, Thothmes I., which
shows that the tomb was originally built for the latter. The royal
mummies had been removed at an early period, that of Thothmes I.
having been found with those of Seti I. and Bamses II. at Der el-
Bahari in 1881 (see p. 466). Outside both this tomb and that of
Thothmes IV. foundation-deposits were found with objects bearing' the
names of these monarchs, showing that tombs were "founded " in the
same way as temples. No antiquities of note were found in this tomb,
but better luck attended the work of Mr. Davis in the discovery of
No. 46. The Tomb of Iuaa and Tuaa, the father and mother of
Queen Tii, the famous consort of Amen-hetep III. and mother of
Khu-n-Aten the heretic. Iuaa and Tuaa are mentioned in one of the
large memorial scarabs of Amen-hetep III., which commemorates his
marriage. The tomb, which was excavated in 1905 by Mr. Davis and
Mr. Quibell, tbe successor of Mr. Carter in the Chief Inspectorate of
Antiquities at Thebes, has yielded an incredible treasure of funerary
furniture of the greatest richness and magnificence, including chairs,
boxes, and a chariot overlaid with gold, besides the mummies of its
occupants (see description of Boom T on the upper floor of the Museum
at Cairo). The tomb lies in the side valley between Nos. 3 and 4
(Bamses III. and XII.). It is small and in itself not interesting.
In January, 1907, Mr. Davis and Mr. Ayrton discovered, close to
No. 6,
No. 55. The Tomb of Queen Tii, containing the mummy of the
great queen herself, lying in splendid funeral state. It is a small tomb,
like No. 46.
No. 34. Tomb of Thothmes III., discovered by Loret in 1899 It
has a well like those of Amen-hetep II. and Thothmes IV The tomb-
chaniber, which is decorated with scenes from the book of the imi-tuat


460 EOUTE 23.  LUXOE AND thebes. [Sect. V.
All who have the time and are not too tired, instead of returning to
the river by the way they came, should climb the Footpath that leads
up from the eastern valley of the Tombs of the Kings to the top of the
mountain overlooking the plain of Thebes, and immediately above the
temple of Der el-Bahari. (This is the usual route of Cook's tourists,
who descend hence to Der el-Bahari ; seeing the Tombs of the Kings
and Der el-Bahari in the same day.) Not only is the View to be
obtained from the flat plateau on which the path emerges the most
beautiful in Egypt, but the map of Thebes can be better understood
from this point than from anywhere else. This view has already been
partly described (p. 387). At our feet we see the cup or bowl in
which lies Der el-Bdhari, with its two temples side by side ; and the
traces of their processional ways (dromoi) extended down to the cultiva
tion. The great oblong space, plainly marked by a trench, and with its
pylons of black unburnt brick at the side and further end, lying athwart
and interrupting the traces of the temxAe-dromoi, is the enclosure of the
great tomb of Petuamenapt in the Asasif (p. 469). Beyond is the pylon
of the similar tomb of Mentuemhat. To the right is the complex of
desert hills and valleys of Shekh 'Abd el-Kiirna, Der el-Medina, and
Kurnet Murrai : the glimpse of the valley of Der el-Medina over the
intervening southern spur of tbe Der el-Bahari cliffs is fine. The Nile
valley, with its green fields and the winding Nile between them, its
waters shimmering in the heat, and the sails of its boats looking like
some sort of white- winged insects skimming the surface of the water,
forms the vast background of the picture, which is closed in the
distance by the broken ranges of the Arabian hills from the Gebel Karn
opposite Kus past the isolated and more distant Gebel Timet, the
conspicuous triple peak of the Gebel el-Ger or Gebel esh-Sherk (Eastern
Hill) to the rounded hill-mass above Tud and Erment in the south,
where the river curves round to Gebelen (p. 479). Looking back we see
to the 1. above us the towering mass of the Kum, and beyond it, on the
further side of the Valleys of the Kings, the similar flat-topped kopje
like mountains of the desert plateau, up whose flanks gradually ascends
the white camel-route from Thebes to Farshut. The square doors of
the royal tombs seem like the entrances to an ants' nest, the forms of
the guards, tourists, and donkey-boys coming in and out of them
seeming no larger than ants. The rhythmical throbbing of the steam-
pipe of the electric light engine in the tomb of Bamses XL gives an
oddly modern and inappropriate impression. The heat and glaring
light reflected from the red cliffs and rock pinnacles seem almost
insupportable, and we turn with relief to the eastern descent, with the
green fields and shining Nile as our goal. There are two footpaths
descending the face of the cliff directly to Der el-Bahari: the first
should only be attempted by good climbers with somebody who knows
it already ; the second is perfectly easy. The donkeys and most
tourists descend by a third path to Cook's Rest House, where lunch is
usually served. This is immediately S. of the temples of Der el-Bahari,
which are visited after lunch by Cook's tourists who arrive from' the
Tombs of the Kings.
16. Der el-Bahari. (XL and XVIII. Dyns.)
Coming from the Bamesseum, we proceed direct to the N. end of
the hill of Shekh 'Abd el-Kurna, up a small ascent to the native village


Sect. V.] EOutE 23. — luxoe and thebes. 461
rest-house, which lies close to the Tomb of Nekht. We pass betweSn
the tomb and the rest-house, and then along a path which somewhat
resembles a switchback railway, curving up and down and left and
right to avoid the tomb-pits. To the left the tower of Abu Wilkinson
on the hill of Shekh 'Abd el-Kiirna looks rather like a ruined German
Lanzknecht's hold on the Bhine.' On the 1. is the prettily decorated
Tomb of Menna, on the rt. the Tomb of Tjai, with a large pillared fore
hall (roofless), the sides of which have good reliefs. Both these tombs
were cleared by Mr. Mond. We soon come to a point from which we
look down into the cup or bowl of Der el-Bahari, with tbe fine reddish-
yellow cliffs, four hundred feet in height, beyond. We descend, and
passing the tips or rubbish-shoot from the excavations, and the houses
of the Egypt Exploration Fund's excavators, on the left, we reach the
two temples of Der el-Bahari. They anciently bore the name of
Tjeserti, the "Two Holy Places," and the whole district was known as
Tjesret, "The Holy." From a Coptic monastery, the topos of St.
Phoibammon, which was erected here in the seventh century a.d., the
place derives its modern name of Dir el-Bdhari, "The Northern
Convent." Tjesret seems to have been first used as a necropolis in the time of
the XI. Dynasty (2500 B.C.), when the Pharaohs Neb-hapet-Ba Mentu
hetep and Neb-hetep Mentuhetep were buried here, surrounded by
their courts, and with the priestesses of the desert-goddess Hathor,
who was more especially venerated here. The tomb of Neb-hetep was
discovered in 1899 by Mr. Carter, almost beneath the larger Egypt
Exploration Fund House (and so within the temenos of the XL Dynasty
temple). It is called the Bab el-Hosdn, "the Gate of the Horse," on
account of the soil above the tomb having given way beneath Mr. Carter's
horse, which led to the discovery. Its entrance-sealing was intact, but
nothing was found in it except a seated statue of the king (Cairo
Museum) and a small wooden box. It is now filled up. The tomb of
Neb-hapet-Ba has not yet been found, but it is probably also within the
temenos of the XL Dynasty temple. It is mentioned as being in
Tjesret, and as intact, in the time of King Bamses IX., when a com
mission reported on the state of the royal tombs (about 1100 B.C.). In
their report (the ' Abbott Papyrus ') it is described as a pyramid-tomb.
We know that it had a pyramid also from an inscription, which,
further, gives its name as Akh-aset. During the course of the excava
tions here in 1903 the stela of a priest of Akh-aset was found, and the
central feature of the XL Dynasty (the southern and smaller) temple,
which was the funerary chapel of Neb-hapet-Ba, was, apparently, a
small pyramid. It is probable then that the tomb of Neb-hapet-Ba is
near, and that the ancient name of the XL Dynasty temple is Akh-aset
("Glorious is its Seat "), which is certainly an appropriate name.
This temple was unknown till 1903, when it was discovered by Prof.
Naville and Mr. H. B. Hall, working for the Egypt Exploration Fund.
It stands in the southern half of the circus or theatre of Der el-Bahari ;
the northern half is occupied by the later Great Temple, which was
built by Queen Hatshepsu, of the XVIII. Dynasty (about 1500 B.C.).
This remarkable and impressive building, with its succession of courts
and colonnaded terraces, which seem to rear themselves up against the
cliffs, has always been known, thanks to the great trilithon gate of
granite, which always kept its head above the debris, partly talus which


462 eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. [Sect. V.
had fallen during centuries from the cliffs, partly the result of deliber
ate destruction and quarrying for limestone, which had accumulated
over the two temples. The temple was partly excavated by Mariette,
and the whole of it has now been thoroughly excavated and restOrerTby
Dr. Naville (1893-96). It proves to be one of the most striking of the
ancient monuments of Thebes. '
An extensive dromos of 1600 ft., terminated at the' S.E. by a sculp
tured 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 were two obelisks. Dr. Naville has
found a stone containing part of a representation of the transport of one
of these obelisks by water. In front of these were two sacred persea-
trees, planted in masonry enclosures. The stumps of these trees still
remain in position. Following the same line, and 200 ft. to the N.W.
of this gateway, is an inclined plane of masonry, leading to a granite
gate in front of the inner court ; and about 150 ft. from the base of
this ascent a wall at right angles with it extends on either side to the
distance of 100 ft., having before it a peristyle of eight polygonal
columns, forming a covered corridor.
The plan on which this temple was constructed is curious, and
differs entirely from that of any other in Egypt, except the XI.
Dynasty temple at its side. It was built in four terraces cut in
the slope of the mountain, flights of steps leading from one terrace
to the other. It was begun by Thothmes I., probably as a mortuary
chapel for himself. But the true builder and designer was his
daughter Hatshepsu I., the wife of Thothmes II. and aunt of Thoth
mes III., the architect being Sen-Mut, a statue of whom is in the
Berlin Museum, while another statue was discovered in 1896 in the
Temple of Mut at Karnak, of which also he was the builder. The
temple was never finished, though Thothmes III. appropriated his
aunt's work, and repairs or restorations were subsequently made in it
by Bamses IL, Ptolemy Physkon, and Ptolemy Lathyros. The name
of Hatshepsu appears constantly in various parts of the building,
though nearly always it has been defaced, and replaced by that of
Thothmes III. Considering the material of which this temple is built,
a beautiful white limestone, it is astonishing that it should have
escaped destruction, were it not that the tombs of the Asasif afforded
a quarrying ground as rich and more accessible. It must, however,
have been covered with talus from the cliff behind at an early period,
since its site became a necropolis of the XXII. Dynasty.
Sculptures. — On the wall of the South Colonnade (on the S.W. side)
of the Lower Platform of the temple — the one first arrived at from the
E. — are some interesting sculptures, unfortunately much disfigured,
representing the erection and dedication of obelisks to Amen. The
ships bearing the obelisks from Aswan are also depicted. Several
regiments of Egyptian soldiers are marching with boughs in their
hands, bearing the weapons of their peculiar corps, and forming a
triumphal procession 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 compartments were
finished with the same care as the others. The other walls' contain
remains of similar sculpture. This colonnade has been roofed over to


Portion completely cleared bt/ Mariette - Scale of Feet
Portion completely cleared by E.C. Fond ',°. ? r.° *? 3° 4" 5? &> 7," 8° go loo
TEMPLE OP DEB EL-BAHAEI.


464 Eoute 23. — luxoe and thEbEs. [Sect. V.
preserve the sculptures : the northern one has been left Unroofed, as if
is much ruined.
We ascend the Ramp to the Middle Platform, on the N.W.
side of which is an uncompleted colonnade of fifteen columns of
white limestone, with sixteen-sided shafts, similar to those of Beni
Hasan. Behind them is a wall built against the rock, out of which
4 chambers have been cut. At the W. end of the colonnade is a
hypostyle hall supported on three rows of four columns of the same
size as those of the colonnade^ The hall leads into a painted chapel,
approached by 3 steps and dedicated to Anubis. The paintings of the
Chapel of Anubis are extraordinarily bright, and have not only kept the
freshness but the delicacy of the original colouring as well. It is by
greater delicacy of colour that the original paintings of Hatshepsu's
time are distinguishable from the later restorations of Bamses II.
Thus the figures of the gods on either side of the entrance to the shrine
of Anubis were restored after the obliterations of Khu-n-Aten ; the reds
and yellows of their colouring are cruder and duller than those of
Hatshepsut's paintings around. The beautiful vultures and hawks,
protecting the queen (who is obliterated), should be noted for their
delicacy of colour. It seems hardly possible to believe that these
coloured reliefs have not been retouched since the sixteenth and
thirteenth centuries B.C., yet such is the case. Their wonderful
preservation is due in old days to the extraordinary dryness of the
climate of Der el-Bahari, and, since the time of Bamses, to the pro
tecting dehris. S., and in a line with the hall, is the Middle Colonnade,
divided in the centre by a gateway which leads to the third terrace.
Each half of the colonnade rested on 2 rows of 11 columns. The
columns have been built up, and the colonnade roofed, to preserve the
sculptures. On the W. wall of the N. half are depicted the birth,
infancy, and enthronement of Hatshepsu, and the hieroglyphic text
accompanying the sculptures declares that she was born of a virgin
mother and the god Amen. A large part of the sculptures and text has
been erased by Thothmes III. The View from the interior of the
Anubis-shrine, with the white columns of the temple standing out
against the background of desert, cultivation, the Nile, Luxor, and the
triple peak of the Eastern Mountain beyond, is very beautiful. We see
the same view from other parts of Western Thebes, but here its setting
enhances its beauty. The temple-columns give an almost Greek
impression, so pure and white are they and so simple is their outline.
On the rear wall of the southern half beyond the ramp are the
beautiful sculptures commemorating the expedition sent by the queen
to the " holy land " of Punt in the neighbourhood of the Straits of
Bab-el-Mandeb. We see the members of the expedition bringing to
Thebes quantities of incense and 10 Neha or incense-bearing trees.
Then we have a picture of the 5 ships which were sent to Punt. The
fish of the Bed Sea have been drawn with such fidelity to nature that
Prof. Donitz has been able to determine their species. One of the
stones of the wall, now removed, represented Parehu, the Prince of Punt,
with boomerang and dagger, and his fat wife Ati, in a yellow robe,
dismounting from her ass. One of the accompanying inscriptions
enumerates the various objects brought back by the expedition— different
kinds of incense, ebony, gold and silver, antimony, apes African grey
hounds, and panther skins. The great heap of red dnti (incense gum)


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 465
which is being shovelled by attendants, is noticeable. A piece of this
gum, probably part of the identical cargo here represented, was found
at Der el-Bahari in 1903.
From the Middle Platform we ascend the ramp to the Upper
Platform. The granite Trilithon Gate at the upper extremity of the
inclined ascent bears, like the rest of the building, the name of the
founder, Hatshepsu, which, in spite of the architectural usurpation of
the third Thothmes, is still traced in the cartouches of the jambs and
lintel. We read after the name of Thothmes III. (but still preceded by
the fca-name of Pharaoh Hatshepsu), " She has made this work for her
father, ' Amen-Ba, lord of the regions ' [i.e. of Upper and Lower Egypt] :
slie has erected to him this fine gateway — ' Amen protects ' the work
— of granite; she has done this [to whom] life is given for ever."
Thothmes forgot to alter the gender of the personal pronouns.
Passing through this imposing entrance, we reach an open court on
the opposite side of which is the Speos, or rock-cut sanctuary. On the
N. side of it is another court, of rectangular form and entered by a
vestibule supported on 3 columns, irregularly spaced. This note of
asymmetry in the design is interesting. In the centre of it is a fine
white limestone Altar of great size, to the top of which the sacrificing
priest mounted by a flight of steps. This is one of the most beautiful
relics of antiquity ever found in Egypt, and that the Egyptians them
selves admired it is shown by the inscription running round it, which
states that it was made in honour of the god Ba-Harmachis, "a great
altar of beautiful white stone of Anu." It was discovered in place by
M. Naville. N. of the altar is a mortuary Chapel (opened by tho ghafir)
cut out of the rock, the paintings on the walls of which are as fresh and
brilliant as if they had been executed yesterday. The chapel was
dedicated to the memory of Thothmes I. and his mother Sen-Seneb.
Oil the rt. (E.) side of this little chapel the obliterations of the figures
in the paintings are noticeable. The obliterations of the queen made
by order of Thothmes III. are quite different in appearance from those
of the god Amen made by order of Khu-n-Aten. The former are chiselled
out, the latter battered out with a hammer. On the S. side of the
platform are the chambers of a Hall of Offerings, corresponding to one
on the W. side of the altar-court. At the end of this hall is the funerary
stela of the queen. On the walls are interesting reliefs, representing
sacrificial animals, &c. Along the W. wall of the platform is a series of
niches cut out of the rock, in which are representations of the kings
offering to the gods. In the centre is a long passage-like Speos or
Sanctuary approached by one or two steps and a granite doorway. The
third and innermost chamber of the Speos, originally excavated by
Thothmes I., was decorated with inscriptions in honour of Amen-hetep,
son of Hapi, in the time of Ptolemy Physkon. Before the entrance of
the Speos is a small unfinished vestibule of the poorest Ptolemaic work,
consisting of three weak pillars, connected by a screen, on each side.
On its walls are scribbled many graffiti, and there is an inscription cut
on one pillar in honour of Amen-hetep, son of Hapi. In this occurs
the name of Amen-hetep III. in a curious late form.
Towards the S.E. angle of the upper platform the Copts built a
tower of brick which was removed when the total clearance of the
temple was effected. S. of this and beyond the third terrace is a Speos


466 boute 23.- — luxoe and thebes. [Sect. V.
in the rockj dedicated to Hathor by Hatshepsu and Thothmes IL, with
colonnaded halls in front. In this Speos of Hathor is a painting repre
senting Hatshepsu drinking the milk of life from the Hathor cow, which
is a masterpiece of animal delineation. The ground of the hieroglyphs
here is unusual and remarkable, being a deep and vivid red. This gives
an aspect of great splendour to the chapel. This shrine of Hathor was a
much-frequented place of pilgrimage in the time of the XVHI. and
XIX. Dynasties, as is shown by the discovery, in the court below it to the
S., of a dustheap on to which were thrown the votive offerings of the
fellahin when broken, or when the sacristans found the shrine too full.
From the terrace of the Hathor shrine we obtain a good view of the
XL Dynasty Temple, which is separated from us by -a small court
about 60 ft. broad, bounded on the S. by the artificially squared rock-
platform, faced with walls of magnificent limestone blocks, on which
stand the ruins of Akh-aset. To reach it, we retrace our steps to the
bottom of the ramp and pass by the angle of the S. lower colonnade
(where tourists sometimes lunch) into the Court already mentioned.
On the way the long alley between the facing and masking walls of
the Lower Terrace should be inspected. Out of it opens a small XI.
Dynasty tomb passing under the fabric of the temple. Half-way, in
the centre of the alley, is the spot where the fine Foundation Deposits
of Hatshepsu were found by Prof. Naville. The facing wall is very
fine, with its beautifully cut pilasters, each surmounted by a great
royal hawk or serpent in relief. The South Wall is really the N.
temenos wall of the XL Dynasty temple (corresponding to the exactly
similar S. temenos wall of that, temple, discovered in 1905 by Mr. Hall).
It was heightened, and an inclined coping given to it by Hatshepsu.
The distinction between the earlier and later work is easily seen. In
the Court we notice the sharp angle at which the two, XL Dynasty
boundary- walls meet. The W. wall, which passes away N.E. beneath
the Hathor shrine, was originally the temenos- wall of Akh-aset;
Hatshepsu's architects reared the Hathor shrine on the top of it.
The contrast between the beautiful masonry of the XL Dynasty and
the poor and careless work of the XVIII. is very noticeable, especially
as regards the sandstone wall-bases. To the 1. of the court, immediately
S. of a small boundary wall of which portions still remain, opens the N.
Lower Colonnade (originally of 26 square sandstone pillars bearing the
cartouches of Mentuhetep III.) of
TheXI. Dynasty Temple. Theapproachestothisare,likethoseof the
Great Temple, a ramp flanked by colonnades of square pillars. There
can be no doubt that this arrangement was copied by Hatshepsu's
architects from the earlier temple. It is doubtless true that, both
being built on a slope, they had to be constructed in terraces, connected
by steps or a ramp. But at Abydos we have the remains of a terrace-
temple (see p. 364) which has no ramp in the centre ; the terraces were
a necessary feature of the design, the central ramp and colonnades were
not It is for this reason that these last must have been copied by
Hatshepsu s architects from those of the older temple which thev found
already existing in Tjesret The terraces are different in the two
temples ; the XL Dynasty temple has one only, and this is not a true
longitudinal terrace, but a square platform. This was the base of an
erection apparently a small pyramid 60 ft. square, which was mounted
on a pylomform pedestal like those seen in the vignettes of the 'Book


Sect. V.] eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. 467
of the Dead,' with the Hathor-cow coming out of the Western Hills
behind. Ofi this pedestal the core of heavy flint nodules remains, with
some of the fine limestone facing-blocks at the N.W. corner. This
pyramid was a mere architectural erection : it covered no tomb. It was
surrounded by an ambulatory of octagonal sandstone columns, many of
which remain in position. The walls of the ambulatory were covered
with reliefs of religious and civil scenes, many of which have been
brought to England. Behind the pyramid-base are the remains of
shrines of priestesses of Hathor under the XI. Dynasty, who were
buried here. The coloured reliefs of the remains of one of these
shrines, representing a king and a priestess, the sacred cows of Hathor,
&c, are very remarkable. They are executed in a high .relief of a type
unknown before their discovery. It is probable that many of these fine
reliefs, which have thrown an entirely new light upon the art of the
XL Dynasty, are the work of Mertisen, who was the chief court-sculptor
in the reign of Neb-hapet-Ba Mentuhetep, and of his school. The tombs
of the priestesses, in one of which was found the magnificent limestone
sarcophagus of Kauit, now in the Cairo Museum, lie immediately
behind the shrines. Cut on the lower blocks of the XL Dynasty facing-
wall of the pyramid-base, at its N.W. corner, is an inscription of the
Chancellor Bai, with reliefs of himself and King Siptah offering to
a deity, probably the cow of Hathor. N.W. of this are the remains of
a small building of the XVIII. Dynasty, built over the XL Dynasty
pavement. At the end of it Dr. Naville made his remarkable discovery
of a shrine of Hathor, ornamented with coloured reliefs of the time of
Thothmes III., and containing a life-size image of the cow of Hathor,
dedicated by Amen-hetep II. This is the only discovery known of a
cult-image in position in its shrine. Both cow and shrine have been
removed to the Cairo Museum. W. of the pyramid is an open court, in
the centre of which is the opening of a subterranean tomb-sanctuary,
probably dedicated to the ka of King Mentuhetep. The corridor is 500
feet long, and ends in a chamber faced with magnificent granite blocks,
in which stands an alabaster shrine. Behind this court is another
hall, at the foot of the cliff, with a small cella, in which is an altar, in
front of a niche in the rock. At the S.W. corner is a tomb containing
a large alabaster sarcophagus, known before the present excavations. In
1906 was discovered in this temple the name of King Dudumes, who is
otherwise known only at Gebelen and el-Kab (pp. 479, 483).
It was a little S. of Der el-Bahari that M. Maspero made a most important
discovery of royal mummies in 1881. For some time he had suspected that the
Arabs knew of some treasure-house, from which they had obtained antiquities
of value, and it was a dispute between the Arabs during the course of M.
Maspero's investigation which led to the revelation of the hiding-place. This
was a pit in the N.W. corner of the next bay of cliffs S. of DSr el-Bahari,
(just across the hill-spur which bounds the temple of Mentuhetep III. on the
south), in which were deposited the, mummies of a number of kings, principally
of the XVIII. and XIX. Dynasties, and other royal personages. These
mummies appear to have been brought from the original tombs in the Valley
of the Tombs of the Kings, in the time of the priest-kings of the XXI.
Dynasty, and deposited at Der el-Bahari for safety. They were removed
to Cairo, and are now in the Museum there. In February, 1891, further
important discoveries of antiquities were made at Dgr el-Bahari. The site of
the discovery is E. of the temple of Queen Hatshepsu., -Sarcophagi were piled
upon sarcophagi, and alongside were boxes, baskets of flowers, statuettes,
2 n 2


468 BOUTE 23.  LUXOE AND THEBES. [Sect. V.
funereal offerings, and boxes crammed with papyri. There is every indication
that the place, though originally constructed as a vast tomb, was chosen lor
hurried concealment in time of tumult. Some of the exteriors of the mummy-
cases are unusually richly decorated with religious subjects, carefully depicted.
The mummies are those of priestly and official personages attached to Amen,
Anubis Set, and Queen Aah-hetep, numbering 163, belonging to the XIX.,
XX., and XXI. Dynasties. The entire find was sent to Cairo, where it is
exhibited in the Museum.
From Der el-Bahari a bridle-path leads over the low ridge between
the hill of Shekh 'Abd el-Kiirna and the mountain-cliffs to Dir el-Medina
(p. 432), passing on the rt. the small bay at the end of which lies the
Kinds' Mummy-Pit already mentioned. There are tombs in the hills
andDcliffs on either side. The scenery is very fine ; especially the View
over Der el-Medina to the Nile near Erment, from the top of the ridge.
Leaving the Great Temple and riding down the dromos, with the
distant pylon of Karnak in view to the E., we pass through an artificial
cutting in the hills (probably contemporary with the making of the
dromos) to Kilrna. On the 1. is the hill of Dra' Abu 'l-Negga, with
several tombs of the Middle Kingdom ; the curious formation of green
shaly tafl. is remarkable.
On the right we pass the pylons of Mentuemhat and Petuamenapt
and beyond them the waste of tomb-pits known as the Asasif.
17. The Asasif.
This part of the necropolis is situated as it were in the centre of the
amphitheatre at the back of which is Der el-Bahari. The tombs of the
Asasif, as they are called, are excavated out of the hard white limestone
which forms the nucleus of the Libyan hills ; and to this circumstance
must be attributed the dilapidated state in which they now are, they
having been destroyed and broken up for the sake of the lime. They
are not less remarkable for their extent than for the profusion and
detail of their ornamental sculpture. The smallest commence 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 dates of the tombs in this necropolis are of the XIX., XXII.
and XXVI. Dynasties. In visiting them, the best plan is to trust to
the guides, who know which are worth showing. The Asasif is thus
described by Lepsius (' Letters from Egypt,' p. 264) : "Among the later
monuments, tbe tombs from the XXVI. Dynasty of the seventh and
sixth centuries before Christ are especially worthy of notice. The
greatest proportion of these are dug in the flat ground, in the front part
of the rocky valley between Kurna and the hill of 'Abd el-Kiirna . .
and they are called specially el-Asasif. The rocky plain alone afforded
room at that time for sepulchral buildings of any considerable size, and
was therefore employed for that purpose on a vast scale. Even in the
distance a number of lofty gates and walls built of black bricks are seen.
These enclosed great sunken courts within an oblong, to which tbe
entrance led by immense arched pylon gates, resembling at a little
distance Boman triumphal arches."
Tomb of Petuamenapt.— This, the largest of all the tombs, and


Sect. V.] EOUTE 23. — LUXOE AND THEBES. 469
indeed of all the sepulchres of Thebes, far exceeding in extent any of
the Tombs of the Kings, is situated at the extreme west of the cemetery.
It is very much infested with bats, and had better therefore not be
entered by those who dislike them. (At present it is practically
inaccessible.) Its outer court or area is 103 ft. by 76 ft., with a flight
of steps descending to its centre from the entrance, which lies 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 ft. by 67 ft., with a peristyle of pillars on
either side, behind which are two closed corridors. That on the W.
contains a pit and one small square room, and the opposite one has a
similar chamber, which leads to a narrow 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 rock, has the light form of a small
segment of a circle ; and from the surface of the inner wall project the
cornice and mouldings of an elegant doorway.
This opens on the first hall, 53 ft. by 37 ft., once supported by a
double line of. 4 pillars, dividing the nave (if it may so be called) from
the aisles, with half pillars as usual attached to the end walls. Another
ornamented doorway leads to the second hall, 52 ft. square, with two
pillars in each row, disposed as in the former. Passing through another
door, you arrive at a small chamber, 21 ft. by 12 ft., at whose end wall
is a niche, formed of a series of jambs, receding successively to its
centre. Here terminates ithe 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, immedi-
diately before -which is another door on the right. Beyond these is
another passage, and a room containing a pit 45 ft. deep, which opens
at about one-third of its depth on a lateral chamber.
A third line of direction, at rt. angles with the former, turns to
the rt., and terminates in a room, at whose upper end is a squared
pedestal. Beturning through this range of passages, and re-ascending the two
staircases, the door above alluded to presents itself on the 1. 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
room, surrounded by long passages, arrests the attention of the curious
visitor. At each angle are the figures of two of the eight following
goddesses — Neith, Sati, Isis, Nephthys, Maat, Selk, and Hathor — who,
standing with outspread 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
frieze of hieroglyphs. Three chambers lie behind this square, and the
passage which goes round it descends on that side, and rejoins, by an
ascending talus on the next, the level of the front. A short distance
beyond is the end of this part of the tomb ; but the above-mentioned
pit communicates with a subterranean passage opening on a vaulted
chamber, from whose upper extremity another pit leads downwards
to a second, and ultimately, through the ceiling of the last, upwards, 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


470 EOUTE 23. — LUXOE AND THEBES. [Sect. V.
whole loaded with sculptures, which cover the walls in every part of
this extensive tomb.
An idea of its length, and consequently of the profusion of its orna
mental details, may be gathered from a statement of 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 rt. line, is 320 ft. The total of the next range of
passages to the chamber of the great pit is 177 ft. The third passage,
at rt. ahgles to this last, is 60 ft. ; that passing over, the second pit is
125 ft. ; and adding to these three of the sides of the isolated square,
the total is 862 ft., independent of the lateral chambers. ,
The area of the actual excavation is 22,217 square ft., and with the
chambers of the pits, 23,809 ft. ; though, from the nature of its 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 its extent. Petuamenapt,
for whom the tomb was made, was a high official of the XXVI. Dynasty,
who built a gateway at Medinet Habu.
Among the tombs to the N. of that of Petuamenapt is that of Aba,
a functionary of the queens Shep-en-Apt and Nitakrit or Nitokris.
Shep-en-Apt was the daughter of the Ethiopian King Piankhi H. and
the wife of Psammetichus I. (XXVI. Dyn.), while Nitakrit was their
granddaughter and the wife of Psammetichus II.
The tomb of Aba is interesting, because certain scenes on its walls
were copied from those in the tomb of a namesake of his who lived far
back in the days of the VI. Dynasty, at Der el-Gebrawi between
Monfalut and Asyiit (see p. 339). This is an interesting example of the
deliberate archaism and antiquarianism of the XXVI. Dynasty, whose
artists, wearied of the formalized and debased imitations of the grand
style of the XVIII. and XIX. Dynasties, sought a new inspiration in
the simpler productions of the earlier dynasties. (By a curious counter-
reaction, the Ptolemaic artists abandoned the Saite archaism for an
attempted revival of the style of the Thothmes and Bamses). It has
occasionally been possible to restore scenes in the older tomb at Der
el-Gebrawi by the copies in the Theban tombs. These copies are some
times very accurate, at others they might be described as adaptations,
occasionally modernized. The Theban tomb is thus described by
Mr. de Garis Davies (' Deir el-Gebrawi,' i., p. 36) : "It consists of an
extensive and elaborate suite of underground chambers excavated in
the rock and reached by an open stairway. This descends in a southerly
direction to a small antechamber, the walls of which are adorned with
sculptures. A doorway on the rt. leads hence into a larger sculptured
chamber, the roof of which was formerly supported by two square
pillars, probably with Hathor-head capitals. It is on the S. wall of
this room that the scenes are found which have been borrowedTrom
Deir el-Gebrawi. From the N. wall a doorway leads into a third
chamber, the walls of which are decorated as before. The tomb is
continued to the N., first by a hall supported on six columns and then
to the N. and W., by a suite of smaller rooms which are undecorated'
In the hall, also, only the columns are inscribed. The tomb though
magnificent in construction, cannot lay claim to great excellence in the
execution of its sculpture. A part of the decoration, including the


Sect. V.] EOUTE 53.— LUXOE AND THEBES. 471
large .figures of the deceased, is in high, relief, and the work is. here of
considerable merit. But the smaller scenes are in relief eh creux, and
though in many 'J>a?ts. a certain amount of care has been bestowed
upon them, and detail introduced, they cannot claim to rank as works
of art. All the hieroglyphs are incised and coloured blue."
Further N. is the' tomb (a hypogceiim like those of Petuamenapt
and Aba) of another queen's, official of the same period, Horua, who
served Amenartas, sister of the Ethiopian king. Kashta, and mother of
the Shep-eh-Apt already' mentioned. Amenartas is the builder of the
small temple at Medinet Habu. A rather barbaric statuette of Horua,
holding the figures of two goddesses, is in the British Museum. His
tomb is of inferior style. The brick pylons N. of that of the tomb of
Petuamenapt belong to a building erected by the vizier Mentuemhat,
who ruled Thebes about the time Of the Assyrian invasion Of 668 B.C.,
and whose fine portrait statue was found during Miss Benson's excava
tion of the Temple of Mut in Asheru (Karnak : see p. -405).
18. Dra' Abu 'l-Negga.
On turning to the 1., after emerging from the ancient artificial
cutting through which the path from Der el-Bahari runs (p. 468), we
see (1.) the houses of the village of Dra' Abu '1-Negga, which is
practically one with Kurna proper. A conspicuous square white house
is the central point of the place ; behind this,& small rocky ravine
runs back into the hillside. Close to this, a path runs up on to the
Dra', or "Arm," the hill-spur of Abu 'l-dSTegga, from which the village
takes its name, and so on to the pass between Der el-Bahari and the
Tombs of the Kings. The hill has many tombs, which are, next to
those of the VI, Dynasty found by Mr. Newberry on the E. slope of
Shekh 'Abd el-Kurna and those of the XL Dynasty at Der el-Bahari,
the oldest at Thebes. They date to the XVII. Dynasty, when Upper
Egypt, under Theban princes, was contesting the sovereignty of Lower
Egypt with the Hyksos or Shepherd-Kings, who had conquered it and
laid claim to the lordship of the whole country. The coffins of two
kings named Antef, of the early part of this dynasty (they were
formerly regarded as belonging to the XL Dynasty), were found here,
and are now at Paris. That of a third, finely gilded, is in the British
Museum. Mr. Villiers Stuart found here two stunted obelisks with
the names . of King Nub-Kheper Ba Antef, which were afterwards lost
in the Nile off Kamula. The tombs of the Taa kings of the end of the
clynasty were prohably hereabouts, including the original resting-place
of tbe Sekenen-Ba, Taa, killed in battle with the Hyksos, whose
mummy was found in the king's pit near Der el-Bahari, and is now
at Cairo. Hence, no doubt, was taken the coffin °f Queen Aah-hetep,
the wife of Karnes, the last king of the XVII. Dynasty, and mother of
Aahmes, the expeller of theHyksos, which was found, with its magnifi
cent collection "of funerary jewellery, intact, by M. Mariette in 1859,
buried in the sand near the Kurna temple. The thieves had not been
able to get further" with their booty. Aah-hetep's jewellery is one of
the greatest treasures of the Cairo Museum. Here also were probably
buried Aahmes and Amen-hetep I., the first two kings of the XVIII.
Dynasty. The mummy of Aahmes was found at Der el-Bahari, with
the other royal bodies, and is now at Cairo. He had, also, like Usertsen


472 EOUTE 23. — LUXOE AND THEBES. [Sect. V.
or Senusrct III., a second or dummy tomb at Abydos (see p. 364),
erected there as being the burial-place of Osiris himself, and the land
where above all others the pious Egyptian would wish to be com
memorated, if he could not actually be buried there. Teta-shera, his
grandmother, also had at Abydos a dummy tomb : in her case a sham
pyramid, like that in the temple of Mentu-hetep III. at Der el-Bahari
(see p. 466), and shrine ; the inscription from it tells us that her real
tomb was at Thebes, no doubt at Dra' Abu '1-Negga, like those of the
rest of her family. The actual tombs of these royalties have not yet
been found ; that of Amen-hetep I. will probably prove very interesting
when it is found, as it is described by the inspectors who examined it
in the reign of Bamses IX. as having " 120 cubits of depth in its great
hall," i.e., was over 200 ft. long, and so was evidently like the great
tombs in the Biban el-Muluk. It is described as intact when examined.
Its site is lost now, but as it is described in the report of the inspectors
(' Abbott Papyrus ') as being "north of the temple of Amen-hetep of the
garden," it probably lies somewhat to the N. of the funerary temple of
the king, which was discovered in 1896 by Dr. Spiegelberg on the edge
of the desert opposite Dra' Abu T-Negga. There are now no tombs
at Dra' Abu '1-Negga worth seeing, but it is a curiously weird place,
with its barren terraced hills covered with the clibris of the excavations.
19. The Western Desert of Thebes.
[A visit to the top of the gebel, to the high desert plateau of Western Thebes, is
quite easy for energetic pedestrians.]
The Theban hills form a sort of ganglion, the main artery of which
is the Wddiyen, out of which open the two valleys of the Tombs of the
Kings. The hills at the end of these valleys and their side-glens circle
round from south and north, joining on to the hammada, the high desert
plateau, behind, by an isthmus (the 'akaba or "neck"), along which
passes the caravan-road from Thebes to Farshut (see p. 365), which
ascends from the plain of Kurna N. of the entrance of the Wadiyen,
and slowly climbs the flank of the hills to the plateau. From Thebes
to Farshut is a day to a day-and-a-half's journey. To the 1. in the wadi
(N. of the Wadiyen) up which the road runs before it begins to ascend,
are large Limestone Quarries, used as habitations in later times by the
Copts. To the rt. is the entrance, guarded by Byzantine watch-towers
on eminences on either side, of an extremely picturesque wadi, much
greater in extent than the Valleys of the Tombs of the Kings. On the
1., beneath the S. watch-tower, are more quarries, with Bamesside and
Coptic graffiti, mostly in red paint. On the summit of the high moun
tain to the N. is another ma'abed or watch-tower, probably built by the
ancient tomb-guards. This is the site of a small XXVI. Dynasty
temple of Thoth, discovered by Dr. Schweinfurth.
We may reach the summit of the hills in several ways : by this road
(magnificent views), or by the tongue or spit between the Eastern and
Western Valleys, or by the paths from Der el-Bahari and Der el-Medina
to the base of the Kurn. There are native paths everywhere, all over
the hills, but they should be avoided unless one is accompanied 'by some
body who knows them, as occasionally they present small mountaineer
ing problems, such as chasms to be leapt or chimneys to be ascended
which are nothing to the accustomed and barefooted Egyptian but


Sect. V.] EOUTE 23.— LUXOE AND THEBES. 473
may be Unexpected to the ordinary walker. The climber should
realise that difficulties which in Europe would be insignificant are in
Egypt serious, owing to the dryness and disintegrated nature of the
rock. In climbing a " chimney," a whole piece of mountain may
quite quietly come off in one's hand or beneath the foot ; the sliding
talus is dangerous also.
The best method for pedestrians is to ride to Der el-Bahari in the
morning and leave the donkeys there, ordering them to return at
the end of the day to the Biban el-Muliik ; you ride down the valley,
meet them there, and return by Kiirna. Those who wish to ride to the
top of the plateau must go and return by the Farshut road on camel-
back ; it is too heavy work for donkeys.
We climb the hill to the neck between Der el-Bahari and the
Tombs of the Kings, and keep along the edge of the cliffs, to the 1. of
the upper part of the hill. To the 1., a climber's path descends a
dangerous chimney with a jump in it, to the Der el-Medina valley.
We keep along the edge of the cliffs to the end of the hummock of
hill, when we find ourselves on a neck or pass, with a path going
from Der el-Medina (1.) to the Tombs of the Kings (rt.). This pass is
covered with the remains of rude stone huts, possibly the barracks of a
force of guards maintained here to prevent thieves from entering the
Valley of the Tombs. Other similar huts are found elsewhere at
points commanding the valley. All seem to have been inhabited in
later days by Christian anchorites, fragments of whose ribbed pottery
jugs lie around. Immediately in front rises the Kum (p. 407), a
long peak shaped like a haystack, with gabled top ; the summit
(1400 ft.) is a very narrow knife-edge. We can attain it by climbing
the N.E. corner of the stack. Successive stages in the ascent are
marked by harder strata of calcareous rock, which has resisted the dis
integrating effects of sun and air better than the softer strata between.
The summit is formed of a long mass of this calcareous rock. The View
is of course magnificent ; it is that already described as being seen
from Shekh 'Abd el- Kiirna or the cliffs above Der el-Bahari, but on a
far grander scale. To reach the further plateau we descend the S. end
of the stack and ascend again beyond. The Kum was the sacred
mountain of the goddess Hathor.
To reach the plateau without the trouble of ascending and descend
ing the Kum, we bear to the rt., from the pass with the stone huts,
and round the end of the Biban el-Muluk and N. of the Kurn. This
path is an ancient one, having been made for the patrols of the old
Egyptian tomb-guards. It turns 1. up over a shoulder of the hill by an
ancient step-way (no doubt as old as the XVIII. Dynasty), whose
stones are blackened and warped by the sun's fire of nearly four
thousand years. We pass by the W. face of the Kurn about half-way
up, and along the edge of the cliffs immediately above the Western
Valley. Turning 1. again we ascend to the rt. on to the plateau. We
may return by the Farshut road, making the whole circle of the
Eastern and Western Valleys, or by the spur between them to the
entrance of the Tombs of the Kings, where the donkeys can await us.
The summit of the plateau is strewn with small flints, burnt black
by the sun's heat of ages, among which large numbers of actual worked
implements (of the Paleolithic Period, and therefore contemporary
with our Later Glacial Age) have been found. The types found are those


474 eoute 23. — luxoe and thebes. [Sect. V.
of Mesvin, Chelles, St. Acheul, and Le Moustier. They are on the surr
face and are evidently remains of an ancient flint-knapping industry
which was carried on up here by the primeval Nilotes, who were in the
same stage of civilization as our men of the Drift Period, and were perhaps
their contemporaries. It would seem that in their time the climate
was rather different to that now obtaining, in about the same degree
as that of Europe was more rigorous than that of to-day ; the rainfall
was probably much heavier, and we find flints of the same" types as
those found on the surface of the plateau buried in the deposit of
water-washed dibris at the mouth of the Wadiyen, which is to be
ascribed to our Second Interglacial Period. The much blackened
surfaces which occur here and there are original surfaces of Palaeolithic
days, which have not been washed down into the valley and plain;
The surface of the plateau here has been denuded of most of its
good flints by the searchers of late years — Dr. Schweinfurth, Messrs.
Seton-Karr, Blanckenhorn, Hall, Ayrton, Pdrtch, and Currelly. Anybody
who desires good trophies must now push his search farther afield, in
a southerly direction, to the head of the minor wadis, which debouch
into the plain beyond Medinet Habu and S. of the Kurn. The, best
way is to ride out beyond el-Malkata and the Coptic Der, and up the
second wadi (that of the Gabbanet el-Kurild) to the right. Bound the
head of this runs a sort of platform, with picturesque cliffs and pinnacles
of rock. Ascend to the 1. Here good palaeoliths may still be found.
Fine View over the great Erment wadi to the S. The hills above are
the plateau. They are difficult of ascent, as the , rock is more than
usually friable and disintegrated. The summit to the I. is a knife-edge
like the Kurn, and is not worth the trouble of ascending (difficult).. ~
The flat lower desert N. of Kurna and the entrance to tlie Wadiyen
is crossed in various directions, not only by the modern paths of the
scbakhin, but also by several Ancient Boads, leading up to the two
Boman guard-houses, already mentioned, and the route to Farshut.


Sect. VI.] eoute 24. — luxoe to Aswan, by bail. 475

SECTION VI.
THE VALLEY OP THE NILE FROM LUXOR
TO WADI HALPA.
Route TAGE
24. Ltjxbb to Aswan and Shellal, by rail .... 475
25. Lttxok to Aswan, the Fiest Catabact and Phil^e, by
kivek .......... 477
26. Shbllal to WAdi Half a  519

ROUTE 24.
Luxor to Aswan and Shellal, by Rail.
[Narrow-gauge line (3 ft. 6 in.), the same as that of the S. African rlys., hut tl>e
permanent way and rolling-stock are lighter ; the carriages arc not so roomy. The
ordinary journey in the day-train is slow, hot, dusty, and uncomfortable ; tourists
with plenty of time at their disposal are recommended to go by river. But the
restaurant-car (in the season) Considerably lightens the discomfort of the journey,
which everything possible is done to obviate. The slow speed is necessitated by the
narrow gauge and light construction of the line ; the dust is inseparable from railway
travelling in Egypt, and its discomfort is merely accentuated in the small carriages
of the Aswan line. Two trains daily : to Edfil three.]
The train leaves Luxor Stat., and traverses a monotonous desert
tract past Tiid (Tuphium, p. 478) to
13 m,, Armant Stat. (Erment; the ancient Hermonthis), 430 m.
from Cairo. The town (p. 477) lies on the opposite bank of the river,
2 m. N. The valley turns S., and the Bly. runs at the foot of the rocky
hills of the Gebel esh-Shakab, among which stands
17J m., Shakab Stat. (Fr. " Chagab "). On the opposite bank is the
twin-hill of Gebelen (p. 479), with a shekh's tomb at one end. The line
passes el-Ma' alia, where there are extensive necropoles, to
29 m., Mat'ana Stat., opposite Aifiln el-Mat'dna (p. 479), and
36 m., Esna Stat. (453 m. from Cairo, p. 480). The town, with its
temple, lies on the opposite bank. The desert hills in the distance on
the E. bank are very picturesque, the isolated peak of Sabahiya
standing out conspicuously S., while N. a level wall of limestone
mountain curves westward towards Esna.
45 m., es-Sabahiya Stat. (Fr. " el-Sabaieh "). Depot of the
Egyptian Nitrate and phosphate Co. at the station. The rocky eastern
hills come down almost to the water's edge, and the Bly. passes some
fine views, and the picturesque village of el-Khiwa (immediately 1.)
S3 m., Mahanud Stat. (470 m. from Cairo) for el-Kab and KOm el-
Ahmar (Hierakonpolis; Nekheb-Nekhen), see pp. 483 ff. Mahamid is a
large village with many conspicuous dovecotes on the roofs of the


476 EOUTE 24.— LUXOE TO ASWAN, BY eail. [Sect. VI.
houses, which look like miniature temple-pylons. Fine views of the
sandstone rocks and desert hills 1.
66 m., Edfu Stat. (483 in.). The town and beautiful temple (p. 488),
whose gigantic pylons tower up above the houses, lies on the W. bank
(ferry). It is possible to come by rail from Luxor to Edfu in the
morning, see the temple, and return by the afternoon train on the
same day. (Luxor dep. 6.20 a.m., arr. Edfu 10.31; Edfu dep. 1.14, arr.
Luxor 4.20 p.m.)
76 m., es-Serag- Stat. The line passes immediately beneath the
Gebel es-Serdg, crowned with the picturesque Byzantine fortress of
Bilib (p. 491), through cuttings and over embankments overhanging the
river (fine views).
85 m., Silwa Stat. (205 m.), opposite the Shatt er-Riggdla (p. 492).
90 m., Nag' Kagug- Stat., N. of Silsila (p. 492). The Ely. here
leaves the Nile, and proceeds directly S. across the desert, avoiding the
bend N. of Kom Ombo to
104 m., Kom Ombo Stat, (the old station of Aklit is disused), the
centre of large reclamation works undertaken by an English company
under the direction of Sir Ernest Cassel. There is a small town of
bungalows for the European engineers close to the station, which lies
in the desert E. of the hill and temple of Kom Ombo, which stands out
conspicuously rt. The tall smokestack of the pumping works is notice
able N. of the temple-hill. The line reaches the river again at
108 m., Daraw Stat. (525 m., p. 497), a straggling town. Here the
Nubian language (p. [31]) is first met with, and the peculiar Nubian
coloured basket- and wool-work — little flags, baskets, &c. — is sold to
tourists at the station. The river views are now very beautiful ; the
train passes through fine palm-groves and in and out of rocky cuttings,
affording glimpses of the narrowing stream, with an occasional daha
biya with bellying sails and flying streamers on its glittering surface,
and the broken hills of the W. bank, half overwhelmed by the golden
Nubian sands, beyond.
124 m., el-Khattara Stat., and
128 m. , Gezira Stat., with the racecourse and Christian cemetery of
Aswan ; on the W. bank is the fine sandy hill of the Aswan tombs,
crowned at its N. end by the shekh's tomb called el-Kubbet el-Hdwa
("the Dome of the Winds"). The train curves sharply round the
outskirts of Aswan, with the conspicuous towers of its Turkish fort,
past the Bisharin village (p. 501) to
130 m., Aswan Stat. (547 m. from Cairo), p. 498. The Stat, is close
to the Cataract Hotel : ferry to Elephantine and the Savoy Hotel. The
Stat, is a terminus.
The extension to Shellal curves round E. out of the town and runs
past Aswan Junction through the granite quarries (p. 501) and across
the ancient broad road to Philse (p. 508), amid fantastic rocks of red
granite (syenite) rounded and blackened by immemorial exposure to the
sun, to
135 m., Shellal Stat. ("The Cataracts"), the terminus and river-port
of the Bly.,- opposite Philae (p. 508) and a short distance S. of the
Aswdn Dam (p. 517). Here the Government (Cook's) steamer for Wadi
Haifa (p. 519) starts. (The Anglo-American Co.'s steamer starts from
Aswan itself.)


Sect. VI.] route 25. — luxoe to phil^s. 477

ROUTE 25.
Luxor to Aswan, the First Cataract, and Philse.

Miles.
luxor to Erment 8
Esna  38
El-Kab (Eileithyias) 20}
Edfu .... 11*
Hagar Silsilis 25

Miles.
K6m Ombo IV
Aswan 26
136
Philse . 5

Leaving Luxor, with its beflagged houses and the picturesque
dahabiyas with streaming pendants which line the banks, we steam
southwards. The Theban hills gradually disappear, the triple peak of
the Gebel el-Ger, on the E. bank, remaining last in view. (W.) We see
in the distance the mounds of el-Bd'irdt, which surround the Birket
HabU, the bed of the ancient pleasure-lake of Amen-hetep III., to the
S. of which, on the border of the desert, is the small but very perfect
Boman temple of Dir esh-Shalwit (p. 431), best visited from Medinet
Habu. (E.) The cultivated tract narrows considerably and for a short
distance entirely disappears, the desert coming down to the water's edge.
(E.) At Rawafa (6 m. S. of Luxor) are the remains of a palace (or
fort) built by the high priest Ba-rnen-Kheper, consisting of burnt bricks
stamped with his cartouches, like those at El-Hiba and Gebelen.
(W.) Armant or Erment (462 m. from Cairo; Pop. 10,000; Post and
Tel.). New Erment, on the bank of the river, consists mainly of the
sugar-factory, which has been built in part of the stones of the old
temples. The boat usually stops close to a large sugar-factory on tbe
W. bank, picturesquely surrounded by trees and gardens, and with a
small village attached to it. The fine avenue of acacias (lebbek) along
the river bank should be noticed. The whole aspect of the country here
is very pretty. On the 1. bank are fine avenues of sycomore-figs, running
alongside the river and inland ; on the rt. are some picturesque villages
with groups of trees, and bright patches of cultivation, while, as a back
ground to the whole, rises the yellow desert and a splendid range of
mountains. The large dogs of Erment are celebrated. They make
good watch-dogs. They are said to be descended from Pyrenean sheep
dogs left here by the French expedition of 1798.
The Buins of the ancient Hcrmonthis may be visited if time
should allow. A pleasant shady road leads to the extensive mounds
and fallen columns which mark the site of the old town. The temple,
which once contained representations of Cleopatra and her son Cfesarion,
has been destroyed, and its materials used in the construction of the
sugar factory on the bank of the Nile. The mammisi or "lying-in
house" of Bataui, the mother of Horus, was built by the celebrated
Cleopatra, and consisted of an exterior court, 55 ft. by 65 ft. , formed by
two rows of columns " connected by intercolumnar screens, a small
transverse colonnade, serving as a portico, at rt. angles with the former,
and the naos, which was divided into two chambers. Cleopatra was
represented adoring the bull of Hermonthis. This sacred animal is
found on the reverse of the coins of the Hermonthite nome. Its head


478 eoute 25. — luxoe to phil^:. [Sect. VI.
is depressed, while that of Apis on the Memphite coins is raised, which
may serve as a distinguishing mark when the legend containing the
name of the nome has disappeared. It was identified with Mentu of
Thebes. The Egyptian names of Erment were An-Mentu and An-Kemat
"On of the South," to distinguish it from Heliopolis, "On of the
North." The deity chiefly worshipped here was Mentu, the protecting
god of the Thebaid, whose pre-eminence was afterwards yielded to
Amen, the local God of Thebes itself. The Theban Dynasty which
defeated the Hermopolite rulers of the IX. Dynasty, and assumed the
pharaonic dignity, was originally a family of Hermonthite nobles. W.
of Erment is the ancient cemetery where stelce of the Boman period
have been discovered, ornamented with figures of the sacred bull and a
hawk-headed crocodile crowned with the sun. An early Coptic cemetery
is in the immediate neighbourhood.
The scattered ruins of the Christian church date fromthe time of
the Lower Empire. It was evidently of considerable size, measuring 75
paces by 33 (about 190 ft. by 85) ; and from the style of the small
portion of the outer wall that still remains, and its granite columns,
there is little doubt that it was erected after Christianity had become
the established religion of the country.
In Coptic times Erment was of great importance. It was the capital
of the Thebaid, and Ape and Tjeme, the representatives of ancient
Thebes, were but villages depending on it.
At Rizkat (W., 4J m. S.W. of Erment), where an ancient road leads
to the oases, a necropolis of the XII. Dynasty (lately plundered by
antiquity-hunters) has been found. Bizkat is probably the Crocodilopolis
of Strabo — Su-kha in the hieroglyphics.
(E.) Tud (1 m. N. of Erment Stat.), in Coptic TlimM, lies § hr. from
the river, in the district of Salamiya, and is easily distinguished by its
lofty minaret. It is the Tuphium of classical geography, called " the
great city of Ophieon " on the stela of Cornelius Gallus found at Philae
— Tjerti in old Egyptian. The temple was termed Ha(t)-Ra, "the
House of Ba." The only ruins consist of a small temple, probably also
a mammisi, now half concealed by the hovels of the villagers. On the
blackened walls is the name of Ptolemy Physkon.
In a shekh's tomb at the entrance of the village is a fragment of a
granite obelisk with the name of Usertsen I., and some sandstone
blocks with the cartouches of Nekhtnebf. The cemetery of Tud was in
the desert district of Salamiya, between Tud and Bawafa, where large
numbers of tombs have been discovered, many of which were of the age
of the XII. and XIII. Dynasties, while others belonged to the Boman
period. The mountains between Tud and esh-Shakab (see below) are
of fine outline. The Bock of Gebelen (see below) now comes into view
to the S. The river above Erment is intersected by numerous sand
banks, and the navigation of a dahabiya here is very tedious, unless the
wind is favourable.
(E.) In a wadi a little to the N.E. of Dababiya, nearly opposite
Gebelen, and where an old road from Luxor to the south ran behind
the cliffs, are ancient quarries. In one of them is a stela of Nes-Bindidi
Miarnun, or Smendes, the founder of the XXI. Dynasty (translated by
Prof. Maspero in the 'Records of the Past,' New Ser., V.), which states


Sect. VI.] eoute 25. — luxoe to phiL^;. 479
that stone was excavated here in order to repair a canal made by
Thothmes IH. at Thebes on the E. bank of the Nile. It is the only
existing, monument of Smendes, and shows that his authority was
recognised throughout Upper Egypt. In another quarry 30 yds. to the
N. is a stela of Seti I., in which he says that he had sent workmen to
the quarries of the city of Hathor or Gebelen in order to fetch stone for
his temple of Kiirna. Inside the same quarry are four Greek graffiti,
one of which is dated in the reign iof Caracalla, another in the first
year of Elagabalus and Alexander Severus (a.d. 221), arid a third in the
11th year of Alexander Severus (a.d. 332). The latter is dedicated to
"Priotos, the chief god, and Oregebthis and Isis Besakemis."
(W.) Gebelen, "the two mountains" (471 m.), is a curious detached
serrated ridge of rocks, one of them called Shekh Musa, from the shekh's
tomb with which it is crowned. They were called by the same appella
tion — Anti, "the two mountains" — in ancient Egyptian. At the foot
of them, on the N. side, are the mounds of an old town, the Phatyris
of classical geography, as is shown by a Greek inscription dated in the
12th year of Trajan which has been found on the spot. Phatyris is
derived from Pa-Hathor, "the Temple of Hathor," the sacred name of
the ancient city, the civil name of which was Amitru (" Isle in Biver "),
for Gebelen was then an island. In late Boman times Gebelen was
for a long while in the possession of the Blemmyes. Several docu
ments relating to their occupation have been found here, such as the
deeds of gift of the island of Temsir or Tanare (Gebelen?) by the
barbarian kings Pakytimne and Kharakhein (see p. 521). Demotic and
Greek ostraka have been found here. In the rock-tombs to the N.W.
sarcophagi of the XL and XII. Dynasties have been discovered, and in
the desert at the foot of the cliffs are other tombs from which Greek
papyri of the third and second centuries b.c. have been obtained. On
the top of Shekh Musa are the remains of a temple, built or restored by
Dudumes Dad-nefer-Ba (XL or XIII. Dyn.), whose name occurs at
el-Kab and has lately been found in the XI. Dynasty temple at Der
el-Bahari, Mentu-hetep I. (XL Dyn.), who calls himself the vanquisher
of the Libyans and the Nubians, Senb-ma-iu (XIV. Dyn.), Apepi I.
Aa-iiser-Ba (a Hyksos king), Hor-em-heb (XVIII. Dyn.), Seti I. (XIX.
Dyn.), and Ptolemy Euergetes II. A fort was built here by Pinetjem
III., the bricks of which are stamped with his name and that of his
mother Isi-em-Kheb, like those of the fortress of El-Hiba in the N.,
constructed by his father and himself as a defence against the kings of
the legitimate XXI. Dynasty (Tanite). A prehistoric cemetery has also
been discovered here.
(E.) Ma'alla (473 m.), where a large necropolis has been discovered.
There is also a rock-tomb of the XVIII. Dynasty with the remains of
painting. At Ma'alla Mr. E. Floyer has experimented on the tafl or
nitrogenous shale found in the neighbouring hills, which when
thoroughly dried yields a large percentage of nitrate and is conse
quently valuable as manure.
(W.) Asfun el-Mat'ana, with a large sugar-factory and pumping-
engine for sending water along an aqueduct to Wddi Gin, some distance
from the river, probably the ancient Aken (Aphroditopolis Parva).
Asfun is on the site of Asphynis, the Hesfenct of the hieroglyphs ;
and' in the plain, about 2| m. to the N.W. of Esna, was the smaU temple


480 eoute 25. — luxoe to phil^. [Beet. VI.
of ed-Der ("the Convent"), which marked, perhaps the position of
Chnubis, though Ptolemy seems to place it on the E. bank, /U b.ot
Tuphium and 15' N. of Eileithyiaspolis. The temple, which like that
of Contra-Lato, was destroyed about 1830, and its stones built into the
suoar-factories of Mohammed Ali, is described by the archaeologists of
the French expedition. It seems to have been built by Ptolemy
Euergetes I who recorded on its walls the names of the nations he had
conquered including the Macedonians. Near its site is a cemetery of
mummified fish. At Der er-Rumaniya (E.), opposite Asfun, Prof.
Sayce excavated a XII. Dynasty cemetery in 1905.
(W.) Esna (490 m.), in the hieroglyphs Snet, Coptic Sne, was
known to the Greeks and Bomans by the name of Lato-polis, from the
worship of the latus fish, which, according to Strabo, shared with
Athena the honours of the sanctuary. It was in modern times the
capital of the province of the same name, and residence of the governor ;
but in 1889 Aswan was made the capital of a new province, called the
Frontier province, and Esna was divided between the Frontier province
(Aswan) and the province of Kena, the Government offices, &c, being
removed to Aswan. Esna has a population of 13,500 inhabitants, of
whom a large number are Copts. There is a road to the oasis of
Kharga (p. 278). Esna is a good place for laying in live stock for
the remainder of the voyage up to the Second Cataract, as, though they
are not much dearer at Aswan, the supply of sheep, turkeys, and
chickens is more limited, and in Nubia everything is dear. There
is a fair Bazaar and also a Chemist's shop. Many of the houses
have inscriptions over the doors in Coptic, and some in Coptic and
Arabic. The usual mooring-place at Esna is at the upper end of the town,
close under the numerous coffee-shops adjoining the separate hamlet
inhabited by tbe ghawdzi or dancing-girls, who have a numerous colony
here. Those, however, who prefer quiet to noise should moor below
the town. They will, no doubt, find various objections started to
this proposal, as the crew naturally prefer society and the coffee-shops.
Esna has the reputation of being the healthiest place in Egypt.
The temperature is more even than either at Thebes or Aswan — the
nights being fresh without being cold, and the day's warmth nearly
always tempered by a breeze from the N.
The Temple of Esna is in the middle of the town. The portico,
which was cleared out by Mohammed Ali, during his visit to Esna in
1842, is the only part visible. The remainder is buried beneath the
houses of the modern town. The fayade is 120 ft. wide and nearly
50 ft. high, the hall within being 52$ ft. deep and 108 ft. broad.
Each of the 24 columns is 37 ft. high and 17| ft. in circumference.
The roofing slabs are from 22 to 26 ft. in length and 6J ft. wide. We
now descend into the hall almost from the level of the column-capitals
by a steep stairway.
We learn from one of the inscriptions that the original temple was built
by Thothmes III. (XVIII. Dyn.) ; and as there is a stone on the shore
with the cartouches of Bamses II. (XIX. Dyn.), it would seem that he
built here also. The rebuilding of the present portico was begun by
Ptolemy Philometor. The other royal builders, however, were Boman
emperors. Above the entrance is tlie dedication inscription of Tibeiius


Sect. VI.] eoute 25. — luxoe to philjj. 481
and Vespasian, and we further find the cartouches of Titus (on the
abacus), Domitian (on the lower side of the main architrave), Nerva
and Trajan (on the columns), Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus
Aurelius and Commodus (on the external wall), Septimius Severus,
Caracalla and Geta (on the N. and S. walls), Julius Philippus (on the
1. side of the rear wall), and Decius (at the foot of the rear- wall to rt.
of the bricked-up E. door), the last emperor's name found in hieroglyphs
(a.d. 249-251). The temple was dedicated to the ram-headed Khnemu or
Khnum, who was associated with Isis-Neith (the Athena of Strabo)
under the special name of Nebuut, and a peculiar form of the young
Horus, called Hirka (or Kahi) Benp. On the rear-wall, Khnemu is
conjoined with the latus fish, from which the Greek name of Latopolis
was derived. On the ceiling is a zodiac, similar to that of Dendera ;
and upon the pilasters, on either side of the front row of columns, are
several lines of hieroglyphs, which are interesting from their con
taining a calendar of festivals. The capitals of the pillars are very
striking. It is to be hoped that the whole of the temple will be
cleared out at some future time.
Extensive mounds sufficiently prove the size and consequence of
the ancient Latopolis ; but no remains are now visible, except the
portico of the temple and the remains of a stone quay on the E. side.
Many of the stones of the quay have been taken from older buildings,
and on one are the cartouches of Marcus Aurelius. Mr. Bankes found
here a Greek inscription recording its erection. At the N. end of the
town is the palace of Mohammed Ali, now a Government school.
Esna was an early seat of Christianity in Egypt. Here, no doubt,
the Decian persecution raged, and we may ascribe the name of this
emperor in the temple to an impulse of pagan devotion caused by the
apparent suppression of the Christians. Wansleb mentions the tombs
of Christian martyrs who were buried near Esna, and are believed to
have been put to death during thff persecutions of Diocletian. In
1895 an early subterranean church and other buildings, adorned with
paintings in the Byzantine style, were discovered in the desert J m. W.
of the cultivated land. There is a Coptic church in the town, and a
large Coptic population.
Near Esna are two ancient dirs. Dir Manaos wa Shenildi, 3 m. S.,
on the edge of the desert, claims the Empress Helena as its original
foundress. It is dedicated to SS. Ammonios and Shenoute. There are
several early sepulchral inscriptions worked into the walls. One
circular stone bears the Labarum and Ail EIC 0EOC BDHSflN H[MAC].
Another reads PEBEKKA. The church is a maze of small domed
chapels, and contains remains of very ancient fresco-paintings with
Coptic inscriptions. Dir Anba Mattaos, on the N., is two hours
distant ; it contains nothing of any particular interest.
(E.) Near the village of el-Hella, on the opposite bank, stood the
small town of Contra-Laton, with a small temple, the columns of
which had Hathor capitals,- as at Dendera. It was destroyed about
1830, and only its site is now visible in the midst of a mound of burnt
bricks and pottery. The builders had been Cleopatra Kokke, Ptolemy
Lathyros, Marcus Aurelius, and Commodus.
(E.) Behind es-Sabahiya is the fine conical mountain of the same
name, which is visible for a great distance. There is here a depot of
the Egyptian Nitrate and Phosphate Co. z, I


482 EOUTE 25.— LUXOE TO PHIL2E. [Sect' VL
The subcarbonate of soda, natron, is found in the vicinity of es-Sabahiya and
el-Hella. The Ababda also bring from the eastern desert a talcase stole
called hamr, for which there is a great demand throughout L PTe^P ^e £f
peculiarly adapted to the manufacture of the Hmm, or earthen ^vessels lor
cooking, which have the power of resisting a great degree of ^heat, and are
universally used by the peasants. It is also used to make Pavements. It isUu,
lapis ollaris of the Romans. The hamr is first po unded and sifted and after
being moistened and mixed with brickdust, 1S fashioned with the hand, and
baked in a kiln heated to a proper temperature.
(W.) 7 m. above Esna are mounds of an old town, now called Kom
el-Mera, or Kommir, the Pa-Mer or "Temple of Mer " of the hiero
glyphs. A colossal crown of granite and other relics of a temple exist
in the village, and in the low cliffs, i m,W. are tombs containing the
mummies of gazelles and sheep. 4 m. farther is El-Kenan; a shor
distance abovl which, and about 14 m. from Esna was an ancient
quay of hewn stone. Some suppose it to mark the site of Chnubis.
(W) At Bassaliya, 3 m. beyond this, and a short distance from tbe
river, is a ruined pyramid of the XIII. Dynasty, called el-Kula. It is
built' in degrees, 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, 25 tiers still remain, and its total height, now
reduced to about 35 ft., may perhaps originally have exceeded 50 ; the
base being about 60 ft. square. In 1884 Prof. Naville endeavoured,
unsuccessfully, to discover the sepulchral chamber. The name
" Mohammeria," which occurs here on the old maps, is a corruption of
Mahamid (see below).
( W.) 4 m. farther is Kom el-ahmar, or ' ' the Bed Mound," 2 m. W. of
Moijisdt. It marks the site of Hierakonpolis, which, as Strabo informs
us, was opposite Eileithyiaspolis. In Old Egyptian it was called Neklien,
and its origin went back to prehistoric times. Adjoining the mounds
is an ancient fortress of crude brick with the usual double wall, the
inner one being of considerable height. It has one entrance between
two towers. Five minutes to the W. is a mound full of tombs, partly
excavated in the rock, partly built of crude bricks. Two of them,
opened by Mr. Tylor in 1893, are of the time of Pepi I., and contain
paintings, some of which are well preserved. In the sandstone cliff
J m. W. is a row of tombs, one to the N. belonging to a certain Thoth
who lived in the reign of Thothmes I. In the large stela on the right-
hand wall of the tomb the word lieter, which afterwards came to
signify "horse," is used in the sense of "yoke of oxen." The next
inscribed tomb is that of Aahmes, while the tomb farthest S. belonged
to Hor-aahmes, who lived under Thothmes III. At a later date the
tomb was again occupied, and the walls covered with paintings, in
which the name of Bamses XII., the last king of the XX. Dynasty,
frequently recurs. Both here and in the tombs of the Kom (which,
it may be noted, were built with brick arches) the chief deity is Akhem,
the mummified hawk of Nekhen. In 1892 black stone statues of Pepi I.,
Usertsen IL, and AmenemhSt III. were found in the Kom. The
columns of a temple of Usertsen I., formerly observed here, no longer
exist. During the winter of 1897-98, Messrs. Quibell and Green were
excavating at Hierakonpolis. The fort was found to have been


Sect. VI.] eoute 25. — luxoe to phil^. 483
completely exhausted by sebakh diggers, and the cemetery on the
edge of the desert did not yield anything of much interest. The
discoveries made upon the temple site were, however, of the highest
archaeological value. Among, the most important "finds" were a
magnificent hawk's-head in pure gold, a large memorial "palette" on
which is represented King Nar-mer, of the I. Dynasty, a colossal cere
monial mace-head of the same king, an alabaster vase 33 inches high, and
2 feet across, bearing the name of King Besh, whose fca-name was
Kha Sekhem (JJ. Dyn.), and a very fine statue in beaten copper, thought
to represent Pepi I. (VI. Dyn.). A statuette of the same material was
found inside the larger figure, and is probably his son Mehtiemsaf.
Finely-carved maces, flint knives, ivories, figurines, alabaster and
diorite bowls were also found in the temple area, as well as an immense
number of animal figures in green-glaze, haematite, serpentine, and
crystal. Many of these objects are considered to date back to the
I. and II. Dynasties. The most important are in the museums of
Cairo (see description, pp. 125 ff.) and Oxford. In 1904 Mr. Garstang
also excavated here.
Opposite el-Kenan commences the region of sandstone, whose
compact and even grain induced the ancient Egyptians to employ it
in the erection of most of the large buildings in upper Egypt. The
village of el-Khiwa (E.) is picturesquely situated among tumbled sand
stone rocks.
(E.) A short distance from el-Mahamid (Bly. Stat, for el-Kab), a
large village with many dovecotes, is an isolated rock, which was
quarried at an early period. There are no inscriptions or graffiti on it,
but a local legend relates that a king's daughter was once confined to
the top of it in consequence of a prophecy that her father would be
slain by her offspring. In spite of all precautions, however, a son was
born to the princess and the prophecy fulfilled.
(E.) El-Kab (507 m.) is the modern name of Eileithyiaspolis, in the
hieroglyphs Nekheb. The town was surrounded by a large crude-brick
wall, which, though it probably dates from the time of the XII. Dynasty,
is still in a magnificent state of preservation. It was originallyi rect
angular, with'a gate in the centre of each side ; but part of the W. side
has been carried away by an alteration in the course of the Nile. There
are several ramps, or inclined planes, leading to the parapet, as well as
stairways built in the thickness of the wall (one immediately S. of the
W. or desert gate — the wall should be ascended by this : fine view).
The wall has a circumference of 2800 yds. On the S. side was another
enclosure of much earlier date (probably II. or III. Dynasty), furnished
with doorways of masonry, which contained the temple, and a reservoir
cased with hewn stone.
Eileithyiaspolis was a very old city, as is shown by the names of
the kings which have been found among its remains. They include
Khasekhemui (II. Dyn.), Usertsen I. (XII. Dyn.), Ba-sekhem-uatj-taui
(XIII. Dyn.), Amen-hetep I. (XVIII. Dyn., with the Amen in the name
erased by the disk-worshippers), Thothmes III., Hatshepsu, Amen
hetep III., Seti I., Bamses II. , Bamses III. (XIX. Dyn.), Darius,
Haker (XXIX. Dyn.), and Nekhthorhebet (XXX. Dyn.). A Hyksos
sphinx, now in the Cairo Museum, was also found here in 1892. What
had been left of the temple was destroyed in 1829, but a drawing of it
2 i 2


484 EOUTE 25.  LUXOE TO PHILiE. [Sect. VI.
with its six columns bearing the name of Haker is given in ' Plates
illustrative of the Besearches and Operations of G. Belzoni ' (Murray,
1820). Mr. Somers Clarke's recent excavations (1895-96) have laid
bare the foundations of the Temple, and have shown that while
Bamses II. made use of the ruined materials of Thothmes III., the
later builders (Haker and Nekhthorhebet) worked up his materials, as
well as those of Thothmes III., Amen-hetep III., and Bamses III., into
the foundation of their new constructions. The remains of the temple,
which lies in the W. portion of the city-enclosure, near the Nile, are of
considerable extent. The curious figures of apes, which were placed in
one of the courts, should be noticed.
Excavations carried on by Mr. Quibell during the winter of 1896-97
have proved the existence of IV. Dynasty tombs in this town, from
which were procured some beautiful alabaster and diorite bowls, vases,
cups, and tables ; one bowl, now in the Cairo Museum, was inscribed
with the name of king Sneferu, while a flat dish bore the io-name
of that monarch. The tomb of Ka-mena, an official of the time of
Sneferu, produced some fine bronze and stone vessels, some model tools,
and a representation in pottery of a granary. The approximate date of
these is about 4000 B.C. A great quantity of Old Empire pottery was
also found. Since then further excavations have been carried on by
Mr. Somers Clarke and Prof. Sayce. On the river bank W. of the
temple is the picturesque house of the Service of Antiquities, built by
Mr. Somers Clarke in the form of a modified shekh's tomb, and called by
the natives " Shekh Antar," after the name of his dahabiya, the Antar.
The principal ruins in the neighbourhood of el-Kab now consist of
three temples, which lie in the desert to the E. of the old city. We
pass the rock-tombs (for which see later) on the left, and the village of
el-Hilldl on the right, and after a walk of 2J m. reach a small rect
angular chapel, originally built by Bamses II. , but restored in the
Ptolemaic period, and connected with a temple to the left of it. This
latter was built in front of a tomb of the Bamesside age (a fragment of
the original sepulchral inscription still remaining within it on the left
of the entrance), as well as of a rock- tablet of Bamses VI. The con
structor was Ptolemy Physkon (Euergetes II.) , whose texts, along with
those of Ptolemy Soter II. , are to be read on the stuccoed walls and roof
of the speos. On the S. side the temple was provided with a staircase
of 41 steps leading towards the chapel of Bamses II. It contained two
main halls, together with the sanctuary, which was formed by the
speos. It was dedicated to Nekhebet, the lady of Nekheb, unlike the
chapel of Bamses IL, which was consecrated to Thoth. In Greek
graffiti here the goddess is called " Sniithis."
On a lofty and precipitous isolated rock \ m. beyond these two
temples are many early graffiti, including the names of Teta and Pepi
of the VI. Dynasty, and on a cliff J m. S.E. are many more inscriptions
of the same and earlier date, containing the names of King Dudumes
(also found at GebelSn and Der el-Bahari; see above, p. 467), of Nefer-
shemem, Nenkheftek, Akeku, and other early high-priests of Nekhebet.
They shew that a temple of the goddess Nekhebet existed at the
"Corner of the Mountain" at least as early as the age of the VI.
Dynasty, perhaps near the ancient well, with steps cut iu the rock
leading down into it, a little N. of the isolated rock. All around are
fragments of pottery of the earliest dynasties (II.-IV.) showing that


SSct. VI.] EOUTE 25.— LtfXOE TO PHILiE. 485
this is one of the most ancient holy places of Egypt. On another
isolated rock, 1 m. S., is the name of Pepi. Half a m. E. of the rock,
at a spot called Ro-anti, "the Mouth of the Wadis," in Old Egyptian,
and on a low plateau, is the
Temple of Amen-hetep III., also dedicated to Nekhebet. It con
sists of a single chamber supported by four columns, measuring 11 paces
by 9, with a paved platform on three sides and an open area in front,
8 paces by 17, formed by columns and intercolumnar screens ; to
which the pylon, connected with the body of the temple by a double
row of columns, forms the entrance. The subjects of the interior are
mostly offerings made by King Amen-hetep to the contemplar deities ;
and near the door are represented this Pharaoh and his father
Thothmes IV. On one of the jambs of the door the name of King
Seti I. has usurped the place of his ancestor's prenomen ; and beyond,
on the outside wall, is a tablet of the 41st year of Bamses II. , in which
the fourth son of that Pharaoh, Kha-em-uaset, a priest of Ptah, is
attending his father in the capacity of fan-bearer. The inscription
records the coming of Kha-em-uaset to see the temple. There are also
hieratic graffiti of other XIX. Dynasty visitors. Just below is a ridicu
lous modern inscription in hieroglyphs informing us that "in the year
13 under the Majesty of the Lord of the Two Lands Napoleon III.,
Giver of Life, a royal offering" was made "to Nekhebet for the spirit
of Merhet." Merhet is, being interpreted, Mariette I The inscription
is cut on the wall of the ancient temple : it is curious that the great
Mariette should have lent himself to such a childish piece of vandalism.
An ancient Greek named Melanippos has also recorded his visit here.
Egyptologists will note among the graffiti the mention of priests of a
local form of the god Amen: "Amen Pennekheb," " He of Nekheb."
The drawing and painting in this little temple are very good, and
in some places the colour is well preserved, and the Hathor-headed
columns are very complete. Amen-hetep states that it was "built of
stone," and it was doubtless the successor of the temple of the Old
Empire. On the ceiling at the E. end are the cartouches of Ptolemy IV.
(Philopator). Some of the colouring of the reliefs seems to have been
restored in his time.
On returning from this ruin, and following the bed of the valley,
nearly opposite the naos of Bamses (p. 483), the geologist may examine
the numerous ponds, on whose brink is found natron, or subcarbonate
of soda. Or he may continue a little beyond the temple of Amen
hetep III., and then turn to the 1. down a broad valley, also filled with
numerous natron-ponds, which will bring him to the railway station of
Mahamid, close to the isolated rock already mentioned, about 2 m. N.
of the crude-brick fortress of el-Kab.
The most interesting objects at el-Kab are the rock-cut Tombs in
the mountain £ m. to the N. of the ancient town, some of which date
from the XIII. Dynasty. The chief peculiarity of these tombs is the
barrel-shaped vaulting of the main chamber, which we see also in the
Bamesside tomb which was turned into a speos-temple in Ptolemaic
times (see above), and as late as the time of the XX. Dynasty, when the
tomb of Setau (between those of Paheri and Aahmes, son of Abana)
was made. The main chamber also invariably here has a very
wide door leading directly into the open. Usually there are small


Sect. VI.] EOUTE 25. — LUXOE TO PHILiE. 487
was not submitted to the same process as the wheat, nor was it reaped
by the sickle; but after having been plucked up by the roots, was
bound in sheaves, and carried to the threshing-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 were
forcibly drawn through them. The text accompanying these scenes
gives the song sung by the labourers as they drive the oxen, which was
periphrastically rendered by Mr. Gliddon (the pioneer of Egyptology in
the United States) as follows : —
" Hie along, oxen ! tread the corn faster ;
The straw for yourselves, the corn for your master."
Below are the cattle, asses, pigs, and goats belonging . to the
deceased, which are brought to be nuiribered 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 party of guests, the procession of the bier, and
some sacred subjects occupy the remainder of the wall.
From these and other paintings we find that the boats of that
period were richly coloured and of considerable size. They were
furnished with at least twelve or fourteen 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. Such were the painted boats
that surprised the Arabs when they invaded the country. On the
opposite side, the proprietor of the tomb, seated with his wife on a
handsome chair, to which a favourite monkey is tied, entertains a
party of his friends ; the men and women are seated apart. Music is
introduced, as was customary at all Egyptian entertainments, but the
only instruments here are the double pipe, clappers, and harp.
The View from the tomb-entrance, looking S., with the winding
Nile, the salt plain and the ancient walls of el-Kab, past which a
modern railway train may perhaps be speeding, is very fine.
The greater part of the remaining Tombs are very imperfectly
preserved, and are often encumbered with tumbled rocks, which makes
their exploration difficult ; that of Aahmes Pen-nekheb, a general of
the time of the early XVHI. Dynasty, contains a fine portrait of his son
Amen-hetep, priest of Nekhebet (1. wall at end). One, much ruined,
belonged to Ranni, a priest of the time of Amen-hetep I., who owned,
it is stated, 1500 Swine,, while another, of Sebek-hetep, son of Imeru, was
constructed in the time of Sebek-hetep IV. of the XIII. Dynasty. Two
other personages of the same period, a lady named Aahheferu and a,
man named Bebi and his wife Sebeknekht, are also buried here. These
tombs are to'the 1. (N.W.) of that of Paheri. Further S., and rather
higher, is a XII. Dynasty tomb, of a certain Senusret, discovered by
Prof. Sayce in 1903, and one of a man named Apu, with two siriall
painted stelae inserted in the wall. The latest is perhaps that of Setau,
priest of the goddess Nekhebet, under Bamses IX. The decoration is
but slightly modified from that of the early tombs.
The Tomb of Baba, father of Aahmes, who lived before the rise of
the XVIII. Dynasty, and in which is a reference to "a famine lasting
many years," is in the hill' at' the back of that, which contains the
tombs of Aahmes and Paheri.
' The lower desert of the E. bank of the Nile, on which Mahamid and


488 eoute 25.— luxOe tO pHiLig. [Sect. VI.
el-Kab stand, is a chaos of scattered blocks of sandstone, often of
remarkable appearance : some strongly resembling dolmens and crom
lechs. The hills are often of remarkably pyramidal shape, and when
we remember that we are now in the district of Nekheb-Nekhen, in
all probability the cradle of the Egyptian monarchy in Upper Egypt,
the idea may well be entertained that the original conception of the
pyramid-tomb was derived from the hills of el-Kab.
Leaving el-Kab we see on the 1., close to the riverside, a picturesque
hill, Gebel 'Antar, just below which is the residence of Mr. Somers
Clarke. Some time before reaching Edfu the pylon of its magnificent temple
can be seen towering up on the W. bank.
(W.) Edfu, * 522 m. (in Coptic, Phbdou, or Abto ; in the hieroglyphs
Dbu Behutet (?), is the ancient Apollinopolis Magna. The present
temple is Ptolemaic, but Edfu was certainly one of the most ancient
sacred places of Egypt, and a stela of Usertsen I., as well as a slab of
Bamses IL, has been found here. The village, of about 6,000 inhabitants,
is half a mile from the river bank. Post and telegraph office 15 min.
from mooring-place.
In the middle of the village stands the Temple, entirely surrounded
by mud-huts and heaps of rubbish. It is only since 1864 that anything
but the pylon has been visible. Up to that time its terraces and roofs
were covered with the mud-huts of the villagers, and the inside filled
with dibris of all kinds up to the roof. To clear it out was one of
the first works undertaken by M. Mariette, after his appointment as
Conservator of the monuments of ancient Egypt and Director of the
excavations and researches in connection with them. As a perfect
specimen of an Egyptian temple, complete in all its parts, that of
Edfu stands unrivalled ; for, though Dendera is as complete, so far as
the actual temple is concerned, the magnificent propylon towers at
Edfu and the wall of enclosure are quite unique. Edfu was the
capital of the nome in which Set was said to have been conquered
and "pierced" (dbu) by Horus, whom the Greeks identified with their
Apollo. The temple was accordingly consecrated to him, and its
foundation went back to very early times. All that remains, however,
of the older building is the granite naos of Nekhthorhebet I. The pre
sent structure, as we learn from the inscription which runs along the
external W. wall of the sanctuary (e p g), was begun by Ptolemy III.
(Euergetes I.) on the 7th Epiphi (Aug. 23), B.C. 237, the great hall (e)
being finished and the mesen or sanctuary (h) prepared by the
7th Epiphi (Aug. 17), B.C. 212, in the reign of Ptolemy IV. '(Philopator).
The next six years were spent in sculpturing the walls and erecting
the doors. Then a rebellion broke out in Upper Egypt, and the temple
was used as a fortress by the rebel leaders, so that the work of building
was not resumed till the reign of Ptolemy VII. (Philometor). At last
all was completed and the temple consecrated on the 18th of Mesore
(Sept. 10), B.C. 142, in the reign of Ptolemy IX. (Physkon). Two
years later the foundation of the Klient Hall (d) was laid, and the roof
was finished on the 18th of Mesore (Sept. 5), B.C. 122. Other inscriptions
state that the great forecourt (c) was built by Ptolemy Lathyros
(Soter IL), and the wall of enclosure by Ptolemy XL (Alexander),
while the bronze gates of the pylons were set up on the 1st of Khoiak


Sect. VI.] EoutE 25. — Luxoe TO phil£!. 489
(Dec. 5), b.c. 57, in the 25th year of Ptolemy XIII. (Auletes) and
Cleopatra Tryphaena.
The whole length of the temple, including the pylon and the wall

THE TEMPLE OP EDPU.
of circuit, is about 450 ft. The breadth of the propylon is about 250 ft
and height 115 ft. The hollows in its outside facade were for holding
the huge flagstaves with which it was decorated.


490 EOUTE 25.— LUXOE TO PHIL2E. [Sect. VI.
The Plan of the Temple of Edfu resembles in its general features
that of Dendera, and the same religious ideas and feelings which have
been alluded to in the description of that temple are evident here.
From the pylon (a a), which is decorated with battle scenes in imita
tion of those on the early Pharaonic temples, we pass through the
door (b) into the First Court (c), called the Court of Offerings, sur
rounded on three sides by a peristyle of 32 columns. In the walls of
the pylon which form the W. side of this court are two doors, each
opening on a staircase of 242 steps leading to the top of the pylon.
These staircases are lighted by embrasures and are divided into
14 stages, each landing-place having some small store-rooms. The
View from the top of the pylon is very fine, and the staircase excel
lent. In the external walls of the pylons are four incisions for
fiagstaves, which an inscription says served as lightning conductors.
Tho First or Khent Hall (d) has 18 columns, between the first line of
which on either side of the entrance is a high stone screen. The
chamber to the 1. was where the king purified himself before entering
the temple ; that to the rt. was the Library, a catalogue of the books
preserved in it being inscribed on the walls. The Second or Festival
Hall (e) is supported by 12 columns, and has small rooms opening
from it on either side and leading to the outside passage (l). A small
chamber, the Hall of the Altar (p), follows, communicating on either
side with a staircase, of which the one on the 1. goes straight up to the
roof, while that on the rt. leads to numerous small chambers and
passages. Then comes another small chamber (g) the Hall of the Centre,
or of the Repose of the Gods, with a room on each side ; and to this
succeeds the Sanctuary (h), called the Chamber of the Great Throne,
in the corner of which is a magnificent monolith of grey granite.
From that on the rt. we ascend a small flight of steps to a very beautiful
Chapel or kiosk (k), with fine pillars with floreated capitals. From
the inscription on it we learn that it was made by Nekht-hor-hebet,
of the XXX. Dynasty, to serve as a naos to the old temple, subsequently
destroyed and replaced by the actual one. In this species of cage was
kept the hawk, the emblem of the god Horus, who was the principal
divinity of the temple. Bound this are ten small rooms. The
inscriptions on them and the two preceding chambers show that, as
at Dendera, they were used for the storing of religious utensils,
offerings, &c. Bound the whole of the temple, extending from the
First Hall, runs a magnificent wall, covered with inscriptions, including
hymns to Horus and records of grants of land to his temple. The
E. Pylon should be ascended for the sake of the magnificent view,
which gives an unrivalled idea of the nature and characteristics of the
Nile valley, with its desert hills on either side. The staircase is perfectly
preserved. The door is on the N. side of the pylon, in the court. The
staircase ascends directly to the top, winding upon itself. In this
respect it is unlike the older pylon staircases, as in the temple of
Medinet Habft, which ascend in a straight line from an entrance at the
narrow end of the pylon. The visitor should not omit to pass out by a
door half-way up on to the roof of the colonnade of the court, from
which a fine view, on the one side of the pronaos, on the other of the
cornice of the entrance gateway and the pylons, is to be obtained.
The Sculptures with which every part of this temple is covered are,
many of them, extremely interesting. Some of them contain valuable





Fold out





Sect. VI.] EOUTE 25.— LUXOE TO PHIL2E. 491
information respecting the ancient geography of Egypt. Others give
the names of the several chambers of the temple, and their dimensions
in cubits and parts of cubits, so that the ancient Egyptian measure
ments can be compared with the modern ones. The style of the
sculptures is of course more or less debased and bad, the proportions
of the figures beihg often stumpy and the style of work forced and
mechanical. The hieroglyphs often present to the Egyptologist very
remarkable forms and combinations, entirely unknown to the Pharaonic
script, and are usually executed in the scamped and scratchy high relief
characteristic of the late Ptolemaic and Boman period.
Close to the large temple, outside the pylons, is a small mammisi, or
birth-house, erected by Ptolemy Physkon, and decorated by Lathyros,
but it is much damaged and defaced. It consists of a cella within an
outer colonnade with Hathor pillars. In front is an outer hall. The
huge brick walls of the temple enceinte, close by, should be noted. The
whole space in front of the pylons is now (1906) being excavated under
the direction of Mr. Barsanti.
In the hill behind Edfu is an old Coptic Dir.
[Shooting. — During the winter months numerous geese, teal, and other wildfowl
frequent a sort of marsh or lake to the westward of Edfu ; and the sand-banks in
the river are covered with aquatic birds. Unless the traveller has a boat, the only
way of getting at the geese is to go out before daybreak and crouch under the lea of
the large embankment running inland. As soon as day dawns, the geese will begin
flying inland to feed, from the sand-banks where they have slept, and a good many
shots may be had at them as they come flying low over the embankment.]
(W.) Two hrs. S. of Edfu, in the desert near the village of Hassaya,
a cemetery bas been found, for the most part however of a late period,
from which many stelae have come. In 1905 Mr. Garstang excavated
here for the University of Liverpool. Another portion of the cemetery
exists, still further S., near the village of el-Kasa', opposite Bueb.
- (E. ) A short distance above Edfu is Redesiya (850 k. ), a village at which
resides one of the principal shekhs of the Ababda Arabs, with whom arrange
ments may be made for visiting the mafkat mines on the road to Berenike (sec
Rte. 13). At the second of the old stations on the road, 37 m. inland from
Redesiya, is a
Temple of Seti I., dedicated to Amen. Though small, its sculptures
are of a very good style ; and in the hall is a curious tablet of hieroglyphs
stating that Setr came here in the 9th year of his reign and caused wells to be
sunk. It consists of a porticb supported by four columns, and a hall, with
four pillars in the centre, at the end of which are three small chambers, or
rather niches, each containing three statues. Many visitors have written Greek
inscriptions on its walls, most of which are ex-votos to Pan ; but one is remark
able as being that of the soldiers quartered in the fortified station, whose thirteen
names are inscribed on one of the columns of the portico. M. GolCnistchev
found one in Sinaitic (or Nabathean) letters. On a neighbouring rock are three
stelae, in one of which Ani, "the royal son of Kush," and "Commander of the
Matjai," or police, is represented, while in another the goddess Isis is represented
on horseback, with a shield in the 1. hand. There is also the cartouche of
Amen-hetep III. The name Redesiya has been misspelled by modern engineers
• as " Rhodesia " !
(E.) Halfway from Edfu to Gebel Silsila is a ruined town on the E.
bank, called Bfieb (534 m.), once fortified with a wall flanked by round
towers, not of very ancient date, and apparently throughout of Byzan
tine Arab construction. It may have been the site of Pa-Tmu or Tmu,
the ancient Thmuis; though this should be half-way between Edfu


492 EOUTE 25.— LUXOE TO phil^. [Sect. VI.
and Ombos. Thmuis is evidently the Tftm of Ptolemy, who places it
inland, 14' N. of Ombos, and 25' S. of Eileithyias. The town has been
partly built among some old quarries in which are hieroglyphic dedica
tions to " Horus of Edfu," and one inscription (S. of the ruins) contains
the name of Thothmes III. Half a mile N. of Biiib, on the top of a
hill, but invisible from the river, is another ancient fortress, now called
el-Kala'. The hills are known as es-Serdg : they come down very
close to the river. The rock-tomb further N. is without sculpture or
inscriptions, but has a fine descending stairway. It was discovered
during the railway operations.
(W.) Opposite Silwa, in a ravine called Shatt er-Riggdla, Mr. Harris
discovered a tablet containing the figures and names of Neb-hapet-
Bii (Mentu-hetep III., of the XI. Dyn.), and a prince Antef, who is
making offerings to the king. The deceased Seankh-ka-Ba, the last
king of the same dynasty, is also represented, with a table of offerings
before him. There are numerous inscriptions in the valley, through
which a caravan road once passed. Among them are the cartouches of
Hatshepsu and Thothmes III., as well as of Amen-hetep I., Thothmes I.,
and Thothmes II. At the N. corner of the entrance to the ravine the
name of Neb-hapet-Ba occurs again. Half a mile N., on the bank of
the river, are some tombs and the Greek inscription : " Antoni, the Trogo-
dyte (TpoyoSvrris, sic), the 4th year of Hadrian." Another \ m. to the
N., starting from the N. corner of a ravine, the rocks are covered with
graffiti, hieroglyphic, Phoenician (or rather Aramaic), and Greek. Some
of the hieroglyphic graffiti go back to the age of the VI. Dynasty. The
Greek and Aramaic inscriptions show that the spot was accounted
sacred, the Aramaic texts reading : " Blessed be Abed-Nebo of Khnem,"
"Blessed be Augah of Isis," &c. Most of the Greek graffiti are of
the Ptolemaic period, and in two of them mention is made of the
" strategos " Artapates. The graffiti extend N. to the village of el-
Hosh, on the N. side of which are the remains of a quay as well as
quarries with Greek inscriptions, from which we learn that in the
11th year of Antoninus " great blocks of stone " were removed from
this place (then called " the Harbour ") under the superintendence of
the "engineer" Apollonius for the pylon of the temple of Edfu.
A mile S. of the Shatt er-Riggdla, on the edge of a small quarry,
Sayce discovered in 1893 a supposed Lydian inscription in two lines of
large letters.
(W.) About 5 m. above Bfteb the hills come down to the bank and
form a sort of bluff. They are called Gebel Abii Ghabah. Sharp gusts
of wind often render the navigation under them rather dangerous.
(E. and W.) Gebel Silsila (Silsilis) (547 m.), the "mountain
of the chain," is so called, according to an Arab tradition, from the
navigation of the river at this spot having been stopped by a chain,
which the jealousy of a king of the country ordered to be fastened
across it. The narrowness 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 Silsilis, so similar to the Arabic Silsila,
doubtless gave rise to the tradition. Silsilis is a Boman pronunciation
of the Coptic Kholkliel ("barrier"). The Old Egyptian name was
Kliennu, the city of Pa-Khennu probably standing on the W. bank, on
the site of the modern village of el-Hammdm, which derives its name


Sect. VI.] eoute 25. — luxoe to philje. 493
from some Boman ruins on which it is built. The kings of the XII.
Dynasty resided at Pa-Khennu, and there was a college there in the
age of the XIX. and XX. Dynasties. One of the British Museum
papyri warns its students against drunkenness and idleness. The city
was also the headquarters of the officials who looked after the convicts
who worked in the quarries. The breadth of the Nile here is only
1095 ft. at the narrowest part.
Silsila is remarkable for the immense Quarries of sandstone, from
which the blocks used in the greater part of the Egyptian temples were
taken. They extend on both sides of the river, those on the E. bank
being the most remarkable for their extent, and those on the W. for
the curious grottoes and inscriptions. The dahabiya is usually moored
to the W. bank, but it is easy to row over to the other side in the
feluka, and no one should omit to do so.
East Bank. — The most curious entrance to the vast quarries on
this bank is by a long passage cut in the rock, nearly opposite the
Tablet of Mer-en-Ptah mentioned below. It is not by the size and
extent of the monuments of Upper Egypt alone that we are enabled 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 Silsilis : " Quantislibet molibus caedendis
sufliciunt lapidicinae." The quarries on both banks are full of demotic
and more especially Greek graffiti, those in the quarries on the E. bank
being the more numerous. Many of them are proskynemata, and
among them is one dated in the 16th year of Tiberius, and another in
the 8th year of Claudius (written TKavnos). A little above the bank
are the cartouches of Apries, and to the N. of these a sphinx, which
was never transported to its destination. Companion sphinxes, which
however were never finished, are to be found in a quarry to the N.,
halfway up the cliff. In the same quarry is a small naos of Amen
hetep III., which was never separated from the rock out of which it
was cut, and which has been partially shattered by an earthquake. It
was intended for a temple of Amen, but the name and figure of Amen,
and even of Amen-hetep himself, have been carefully erased by the
" disk- worshippers " of his son's reign. A path leads from the quarry
down into the plain on the N. On the cliff, a little to the 1. of the spot
where we enter the plain, is a large stela of Thothmes I. A quarter of
a mile S. of the quarry from which the sphinxes have been cut, but at
a considerably higher level, are three chapels of Amen-hetep III.
excavated in the rock and facing W. One of them is provided with a
long inscription, from which we learn that it was made in the 27th year
of the king's reign. If we descend to the river in a southward direction,
we shall come across a stela of Seti I.
West Bank. — The quarries on this side, less extensive than on the
other, are remarkable for the way in which the excavations have been
turned into sepulchral grottoes and chapels.
The first Grotto to the N. is the Speos of Hor-em-heb. It consists
o|»a long corridor, supported by four pillars, cut in the face of the
rock, on which, as well as on the interior wall, are sculptured several
tablets of hieroglyphs, bearing the names of different kings. It was


494 eoute 25. — luxoe to phil^i. [Sect. VI,
commenced by Hor-em-heb, the last Pharaoh of the XVIII. Dynasty,
who has here commemorated his defeat of the Kush or Ethiopians. 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 Egyptian 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 receiving the emblem of life from the god Amen-Ba.
One of the most perfect specimens of Egyptian sculpture during its
best period is seen in the tableau representing Hor-em-heb as an infant
suckled by a goddess. Unfortunately the paintings in this grotto are
much injured by the smoke of torches, and by the fires often lighted
by the sailors.
In a recess on the back wall to the rt. Siptah (the last king of tho
XIX. Dynasty) appears with the prime minister Bai. Then comes a
stela of Pa-Nehas ("the Negro"), dated in the 2nd year of Mer-en-
Ptah I., the successor of Bamses II. ; then a stela of Bamses I., and an
inscription which records the celebration of the festival instituted by
Prince Kha-em-uaset in honour of his father Bamses II. The tablets
recording the successive celebrations of the festival are dated in the
30th, 34th, 37th, and 40th years of the king's reign. Besides a sanc
tuary of Bamses II. , the speos also contains a stela of the high-priest
Mai, dated in the 3rd year of Mer-en-Ptah I., and the chapel of Pa-ur,
in which Bamses II. is represented with his wife Isis-nefert and
favourite daughter Bint-'Anat before Ptah and Nefer-Tum. On the
second door from the 1. Bamses III. (XX. Dyn.) is depicted with the
commander of his cavalry, and inside the front wall is a hieratic
inscription, dated in the 5th year of the same king, which states that
2000 workmen, 40 ships, and 4 boats were employed by Setem-heb, the
superintendent of the palace, to convey stone from Silsilis for the royal
tomb in the Biban el-Muluk at Thebes.
S. of the speos is a stela with the name of Bamses V. (XX. Dyn.),
and close to it another stela dated in the 21st year of Shishak I. (XXII.
Dyn.), which records the visit of his architect Hor-em-sat to Silsilis to
quarry stones for the pylon of the Bubastide Court at Karnak. Further
S. is a representation of Bamses III. before Amen, Mut and Khonsu, as
well as tombs, one of which contains the names of Hatshepsu and
Thothmes III. Still further S. is a Greek proskynema by Kleonidas,
" a pilot of the Nile," to the gods Zeus and Nephotes in the 10th year
of Trajan, with the picture of a tree on one side and of a bull and a boy
on the other. On a rock in the vicinity is the name of Meri-Ba, the
prenomen of Pepi I., of the VI. Dynasty.
To the S. again are other Tablets and Open Chapels, of very
elegant form. They are ornamented with columns, having capitals
resembling the bud of the lotus, surmounted by an elegant Egyptian
cornice, and m general style and design they very much resemble one
another. The first is of the reign of Mer-en-Ptah I the son and
successor of Bamses II. The second is that of Bamses himself, and
the third is that of his father Seti I. The subjects of the two last are
very similar, and their tablets date in the first year of either monarch!
Each tablet contains a hymn to the Nile god.


¦Sect. VI.] EOUTE 25.— LUXOE TO PHILiE. 495
tvt lU *¥ Chapel of Ramses, the king makes offerings to Amen-Ba,
itu ' an,d -Khonsu, the Theban triad; and to Ba, Ptah, and Hapi-mu
(the god Nilus), and other contemplar deities, such as Sebek, Mentu,
Osiris, Shu, Maat, Tefnut, Seb, Atmu, Min, Hathor, Thoth, Sati, and
a few others, whose name and character are less certain. In the
principal picture Bamses presents an offering of incense to the Theban
triad, and two vases of wine to Ba, Ptah, and the god of the Nile, who is
here treated as the other divinities of Egypt. Indeed it is remarkable
that he is only represented in this manner at Silsilis. He usually bears
lotus plants and water-jars, or the various productions of Egypt, among
the ornamented devices at the bases of the walls iu certain parts of the"
temples, or on the thrones of statues ; and he frequently carries the
emblems of the different nomes and toparchies of Egypt. Isis-nefcrt,
the queen of Bamses IL, 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 Amen-hetep II. , another of Eoi the high priest of Amen
under Mer-en-Ptah I., and a larger one of Bamses III. offering to Ba
and Nilus.
Sebek, the deity of Ombo, with the head of a crocodile, is the pre
siding god of Silsilis, and his titles of Lord of Ombo and Lord of Silsilis
are frequently found alternating in the stelce of these quarries.
The particular honour paid to the god Nilus at Silsilis was perhaps
connected with the transmission of the blocks of stone by water, which
were there committed to the charge of the river-god ; but it may have
originated in the peculiarly narrow character of the river itself in that
part. (W.) At Fares, to the S. of Silsilis, some coffins of burnt clay have
been found, similar to a few met with at Thebes, made in the form of
the body, in two parts, laced together with thongs or string. A mile
and a half S., at the K6m er-Resras is the site of an ancient city and of
a small rectangular temple, the sanctuary of which is 12 ft. by 12J ft.
The inscriptions that remain show that it was built by Domitian, and
it seems to have been dedicated to Isis. The Moon-god (Aah), Orion,
and Sirius are also commemorated. A quarter of a mile N. is a ruined
Coptic monastery.
Just before reaching Kom Ombo we see (E.) the huge chimney-stack
of the pumping-engine which raises the water to irrigate the desert-
land which is being reclaimed by an English company (see p. 476).
(E.) Kom Ombo (564 m.) marks the site of the ancient Pa-Sebek or
Nubit (Unbit), in Coptic Mbd. The ancient town and the more modern
village which succeeded it have both been buried beneath the sand.
The Great Temple, that stood on an artificial platform high above the
river, where however a portion of it had already been carried away by
the river, was cleared of the sand, which almost entirely covered it, by
M. de Morgan in 1893. It is now one of the finest and best-preserved
temples of Upper Egypt.
It was built on the site of an older one of the XVIII. Dynasty, in
the age of the Ptolemies. One of the texts recently brought to light
gives an account of the repairs made to it by Ptolemy VII. (Philometor)


496 EOUTE 25.  LUXOE TO phil^:. [Sect. VI.
and his queen Cleopatra. The inner colonnaded Hall was finished by
Ptolemy IX. (Physkon), who also built the smaller temple (or mammm)
on the W., which is now almost entirely destroyed by the river. The
passage which runs round three sides of the building was the work of
Ptolemy XIII. (Auletes), though the completion of the adornment of
its walls was due to Vespasian. The hypostyle forecourt belongs to the
same Ptolemy, and it was in honour of him and his queen Cleopatra
that the soldiers in the district of Ombos dedicated the temple to
"Haroeris, the great god" (the elder Horus or Har-ur), and "Apollo,"
as we learn from a Greek inscription under the cornice of the back wall
of the inner colonnaded hall. Tiberius finished the ornamentation of
the forecourt, and at the back of the sanctuary (on the walls of the
encircling passage) we find not only the cartouches of iElius Antoninus
(Pius), but those also of Macrinus and Diadumenus (a.d. 217). On the
S. side is a small chapel, which a Greek inscription over the entrance
states was erected to the goddess Aphrodite by Petronia and her
children in the 7th year of Domitian, when G. Septimius Vegetus was
prefect of Egypt.
The temple bas the peculiarity of possessing two entrances and two
parallel sanctuaries. It is, in fact, a double temple, dedicated to the
two hostile principles — of Light adored under the form of Horus, and
Darkness under that of the crocodile-headed god Sebek. The appear
ance of the two winged disks over the entrance rather adds to the
general effect. On the under surface of some of the architraves of the
portico the figures have been left unfinished, and present a satisfactory
specimen of the Egyptian mode of drawing them in squares, when the
artists began their pictures. A similar arrangement is met with in
some of the tombs at Thebes, of the time of the XVIII. and XIX.
Dynasties ; from which it appears that the proportions of the human
figure differed at various periods. In these last the lower leg, from the
plant of the foot to the centre of the knee, occupied six squares in
height, and the whole figure to the top of the head 19 squares. At
Ombos and in other Ptolemaic buildings the proportions are somewhat
different, and the figure (as in the earliest, or Pyramid, period) is less
elongated than in the XVIII. and XIX. Dynasties. The difference in
the character of the human figure during the early Pyramid age is
rather in its breadth compared with its height ; and it is remarkable
that statues were then less conventional, and bore a closer resemblance
to nature, than in later times.
Overlooking the river is the great platform, on which stood a large
stone altar approached by a flight of wooden steps. On the W. side is
all that now remains of the smaller temple of Ptolemy Physkon, which
seems to have been a birth-house or mammisi. The fowling scene on
the wall should be especially noticed. From the great platform we
pass into the hypostyle forecourt, and then into the colonnaded Hall
and inner sanctuary. At the back are a row of unfinished cella, each
dedicated to a separate divinity. On the walls of the inner hall are
long and valuable calendar texts recording the festivals of the deities
worshipped at Kom Ombo and neighbouring places, such as "the lake
of Geb." The walls of the encircling passage, N. and S., are orna
mented with the imaginary conquests of Ptolemy Auletes, and lists of
conquered nations are given in cartouches in imitation of those of the
older Pharaohs. Among them are two names — Keptar and Kesrdb or


Sect, VI.] eoute 28— l«x;oe to pHil^!. 497
Keserhet, which may be the Biblical Caphtor and Casluhim (Gen. x. 14).
They are found in the S. passage (1st and 21st cartouches from the W.),
It should however be remembered that this inscription is of Ptolemaic
date, and we have no guarantee that these names were not derived by
the scribes of Ptolemy Auletes from Jewish sources. They do not occur
in the really ancient inscriptions — in which Caphtor appears in its
genuine old form of Keftiu — and so cannot be regarded definitely as an
Egyptian confirmation of the Biblical narrative. In the same inscrip
tion occur mentions of Persa (Persia) and Hinto (Sindh, India), both of
which names were probably not known to the Pharaonic Egyptians
before the Saite period, when they came into direct contact with Persia
and through them with the Further East. The name of Sindh is given
in the Persian form, with an H, not an S, as initial letter, and the name
of Persia is spelt in the Greek way (Persa, Persya), not in the Semitic
(Peres). In the N. passage is the name of Canaan (No. 14).
The sacred precincts of the temples were surrounded by a strong
Crude-brick Enclosure, much of which still remains. On the eastern
face of this enclosure was until lately a stone Gateway, dedicated to
Sebek, the Lord of Ombos, which bore the names of Thothmes III. and
of Hatshepsu. This satisfactorily proves that, though the ruins only
date after the accession of the Ptolemies, there had previously existed
a temple at Ombos, of an earlier epoch. Other remains of the same
period, with the name of Thothmes III., were to be found on the bank
before the recent excavations. The upper part of the gateway was
added by a late Ptolemy, or by one of the Caesars.
The mounds of the town and remains of houses extend consider
ably to the E. of this enclosure; and, to judge from their appearance,
Ombos must have suffered by fire, like many other cities of Upper
Egypt. Among them has been found a granite block with the cartouche
of Thothmes I., " beloved of Sebek, lord of Nubit," whose figure is
represented upon it.
(W.) Opposite Kom Ombo is a large island called Mansuriya. Sand-
grouse and quail are often to be found in large numbers there. On
the mainland, W. of the island, and on the edge of tbe desert, 1J m.
W. of the village of Sabakhayya, is a large K6m consisting of tombs,
mostly of the Boman period. Half a mile E. of it, in the cultivated
land, is a smaller Kom, the site of the temple of Contra-Ombos, now
entirely destroyed.
(E.) Tuwisa, 2 m. S. of Kom Ombo, with the site of a Boman town
with quays, a Coptic church, &c. S. are the quarries of Khanndga,
with a Latin inscription.
(E.) At the village of Shotb, on the edge of the desert, a Necropolis
of the Boman age has been discovered.
(E.) Daraw (9000 inh.) is the headquarters of the Melekab division
of the Ababda Arabs. This town marks the boundary between the
Arabic and Nubian languages (see p. [31]).
Soon after passing Edfu the valley of the Nile is confined within
very narrow limits, and, though slightly enlarged in the vicinity of
Ombos, the mountains again approach the Nile a little farther to the
S. The general features of the country begin to resemble Nubia, and
this peculiarity of character is increased by the appearance of the


498 route 25. — luxoe to ramaa. [Sect. VI.
water-wheels, which occur at short intervals, instead of the pole and
bucket. Being generally 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 W.
bank ; and here and. there are quarries of sandstone, once worked by
the ancient Egyptians. The junction of the sandstone and granite is
observed about two-thirds of the way from Ombos to Aswan, in the
vicinity of El-Khattara; from which point the former continues at
intervals to present itself over the syenite and other primitive beds, as
at Aswan and in Nubia. A little N. of Aswan, 30 ft. above the level
of high Nile, Mr. Willcocks, in 1892-93, discovered the bones of
elephants and other animals.
(W.) At Kermila there is an ancient stone quay, and a ruined Coptic
monastery of large size £ m. up the Wadi (W.) ; tombs have been found
in the low hills at the edge of the desert.
(E.) At 'Akabet cl-Kebtra there is a road into the desert, and a rock-
tomb with a Greek graffito by the side of it, which seems to show that
the ancient name of the place was Psdkhempis.
(E ) Nag 'Issa, with the Bly. sta. of Gezira, the racecourse and
Christian cemetery of Aswan.
The approach to Aswan is very picturesque. Keeping to the channel
E. of the island of Elephantine, the dahabiya runs up between islets of
polished black rock, and, passing the town, moors to a sloping bank of
sand just above it. At very low Nile the effect is marred by the large
sand-banks at the mouth of the B. channel ; arid so rapidly are these
increasing, that they threaten to block the way altogether before long.
Even now, large boats are obliged, when the river is low, to go by the
channel W. of Elephantine, and come round by the top of the island.
Steamers frequently are" obliged to be moored at some distance froni
Aswan itself. Aswan and its Environs.
(E.) Aswan £ (for hotels, &c, see Index-Directory; 590 m. from
Cairo ; and about 730 m. from the Mediterranean. Bly. Stat, and P,
and T. offices near the river). Aswan has now become a health-resort
of the best, and in the season the most expensive, kind. But more
economical visitors will find that before the beginning of the season,
in November, a stay at Aswan is comparatively inexpensive and quite
quiet. The beauty of Aswan, with its placid river, its tree-lined street
on the river bank, the palm-covered island of Elephantine^ and the
bare desert hills beyond, is much enhanced by quietude, and is apt
to be clouded by the throng of European tourists who stay here ill
January and February. Aswan is the frontier town of Egypt proper, and
the capital of El-Hadud, the most S. province of Upper Egypt. It
occupies the site of the ancient Egyptian town of Suenet (the Greek
Syeni, and the Coptic Suan). Prior to the Mahdist rebellion Aswan
was the centre of a flourishing trade with the Sudan and Abyssinia ; the
annual value of the commerce passing through the town having been'
estimated at £2,000,000. With the death of the Khalifa and the reopening
of the Sudan it is expected that the trade in india-rubber, ostrich feathers;
wax, horns, skins, tamarinds, ivory, &c, will rapidly revive. The popu-





London ¦¦ EoVard, Stanford, 12, 13 & 14, Long Act« , "W! C .


¦Sect. VI.] EOUTE 25. — LUXOE TO PHIL2E. 499
lation of Aswan is, over 13,000, and is increasing; it is very mixed,
consisting of Egyptians, Greeks, Levantines, Nubians, Bisharin, Negroes,
and a few Turks, &c. In mediaeval and modern times the town, has
suffered greatly from the incursions of Persians, Arabs, and Turks.
Aswan itself contains nothing of interest to an Egyptologist, except a
ruined Ptolemaic temple and the granite quarries ; but in the neigh
bourhood are interesting tombs (see below), and the world-renowned
Philse is close by.
History. — Of .the time when Syene or Aswan supplied Egypt with the
material for so many magnificent monuments, and its granite quarries must
have swarmed with an army of workmen, few traces are left, except, the names
of one or two, kings of the XII. Dynasty on the rocks in the neighbourhood.
The prophet Ezekiel mentions it as the southern frontier of Egypt: "From
Migdol to Syene" (Ezek. xxix. io). In the time of the Ptolemies^ Syene
became famous from being considered by the astronomers of Alexandria as lying
immediately under the tropic ; a belief which arose from the circumstance that
during the summer solstice the rays of the sun fell vertically to the bottom of a
well here. It was on the knowledge that the sun cast no shadow at Aswan,
combined with the measurement of the sun's shadow at Alexandria on
the longest day, and tbe distance between the two places, that Eratosthenes
(276-196 B.C. ) based his calculations for the measurement of the earth. Search
has been made for this well, and it has now beeii discovered by Mr. Howard
Carter, late Inspector of Antiquities for Upper Egypt. It is on the Island of
Elephantine" (see below). Aswan was also celebrated in Ptolemaic times for the
goodness of its wine. Under the Romans, Syene" was an important frontier
town. Juvenal was banished there by Domitian as a punishment for his scathing
attacks upon the Roman nobles, and revenged himself for being obliged to
exchange the society of Rome for the command of a cohort at the extremity of
Egypt by satirising with equal impartiality the Roman soldiers and the
Egyptians. In the first ages of Christianity, Syene was the seat of a bishopric, and there
are the rums of more than one Coptic convent in its vicinity. Arab writers
describe Aswan as a flourishing town, and the story, if it be true, that, in con
sequence of a pest which destroyed more than 20,000 of the inhabitants, a
part of the old town was abandoned for the neighbouring hills, on which the
Saracens had settled, shows it to have been a place of great size. But in the
latter half of the twelfth cent, it suffered so severely from the depredations of the
Nubians on the S. , and the desert tribes on the N. , that it was almost completely
reduced to ruins ; and though it rose again a little when Sultan Selim placed a
Turkish garrison there, it never became of more importance than it is at present.
Many of the inhabitants of Aswan are descended from these Turkish soldiers.
The wonderful picturesqueness of Aswan is well known. Perhaps
the most characteristic "bit" where all is picturesque is the ruined
Saracenic Castle, perched on the top of the great granite boulder which
bars the river opposite the Boman quay at Elephantine, and, with that
island forms the " Gate of the Cataract." The best time to see this is at
sunset, when the colouring of sky, river, rocks, and town is extraordinary :
nowhere else in Egypt can the characteristic Egyptian sunset-glow be
seen in so picturesque a setting. The effect of the gaunt black ruins of
the castle standing out against the many hues of the sky and bathed in
the reflection of light from the river, which at this time takes the
¦appearance of molten metal, is most remarkable. What is ancient
of the castle (part of it is a modern imitation ruin) dates from the
early Middle Ages. The view from it of the cataract is very fine ; it
is identical with that to be had from the terrace of the Cataract Hotel
¦ 2 k 2


500 eoute 25. — luxoe <£o pkiLiE. [Sect. VI,
close by, beyond which are Fort Tagug, and the numerous tombs, mostly
cenotaphs, of different shekhs or Moslem saints of Egypt.
One of the most conspicuous features of Aswan is the Brick Wall,
like a groyne, projecting into the river, S. of the Grand Hotel. It is
probably of Boman construction, and has apparently formed' part of
a bath. In one of the arches, on the N. side, is a Greek inscription,
brought from some other building, relating to the rise of the Nile.
The cartouche of the Emperor Aelius Verus also occurs. There is
also a stone built into the wall to the S. of this, which belonged
to a Nilometer, being part of a scale with 12 lines, or 11 divisions,
which measure 1 ft. 3 in. each. They are double digits ; and as the
cubit consisted of 28 digits, this fragment wants three divisions, or 6
digits, of the whole cubit, which would thus have been 1 ft. 6-96 in. in
length. At the upper end (now the lower, as it stands upside down in
the wall) is \, the sign of the^ cubit in demotic. This differs from
the cubit of the Nilometer at Elephantine, which measures 1 ft. 8-625
in. ; but the divisions are very irregular. The average cubit at
Elephantine for the top 7 cubits is 1 ft. 8 in.
The Ptolemaic Temple lies to the S.E. of the Bly. Stat, and to the
1. of the road to Philae. It is almost embedded in the rubbish mounds
of the old city (key with ghafir). Ptolemy Euergetes built it, and his
successor, Philopator, decorated it. On the inner sides of the doors
leading to the ante-chapel and sanctuary are hymns to Isis of Syene,
to whom the temple is dedicated. The main entrance, surmounted by
a concave cornice, is now built up. On rt. jamb of the doorway, in
the top register, Euergetes stands before Amen-Min ; in the lower,
he is sacrificing to Hathor. On the 1. jamb — top register — the same
king presents a figure of Maat to Amen; lower register, he presents
milk to a goddess. To the rt. of the lintel Euergetes offers a sacrifice to
Osiris, Isis, and Harpokrates ; he is also represented standing before
Hathor and Sebek of Syene ; to the I. he stands before Khnemu, Satit
and Anukit, the cataract triad, and presents them with a figure of
Maat ; he is again represented with his wife, Berenike, standing before
Isis. Near the temple (E.) is an Inscription of the time of Khu-n-Aten,
with hands from the solar disk descending to the figure of the
king. Among the rubbish-mounds due E. of the station the foundations
of a Gate of a temple were discovered in 1895, with the granite bases of
three statues, two on one side, and the third on the other side of the
approach to it. The Latin inscriptions upon them are of considerable
historical importance, as they mention not only the prefects of Egypt,
but also the prefects of "the camp" and tbe commanders of the
Spanish, Iturtean, and Theban cavalry. One is dedicated to Germanicus
and Nerva, another to Antoninus Pius, and the third to Aurelius Verus.
Leo Africanus in the fourteenth cent, refers to the lofty pylon of this
temple. Possibly this may have been the temple which, according to Abu
Salih (twelfth cent.), contained the figure of a scorpion (the emblem
of the goddess Selkit), "which the children are brought .to touch every
year on the 12th of Barmuda," in order to preserve them from
scorpion-bite.


Sect. VI.] EOUTE 25.— LUXOE TO PHILiE. 501
™tTSLM(liaUe ^fG^i-Beldd has pointed arches, and is probably
rw^JS"1 ^ I m' Tht co/°^»g is very simple. The Turkish
Castle, with round towers, stands E. of the town. The Bazaars of
Aswan are chiefly noted for the Sudanese goods of leather and metal
which are retailed m them to tourists. A tour of them is sufficiently
amusing. On the Rwer-front the varied scenes of loading and unloading
the native boats or gyassas may be watched with interest. Aswan is a
considerable port. There is a kind of dock for gyassas formed by the
rocks at the N. end of the river-front. Here a curious contrast is
presented by a row of small European dwelling-houses which make
Aswan look like Putney or Bougival. The road is continued along the
river-bank to the Racecourse and Cemetery at Nag' Issa (p. 498) • sta
Gezira. The English Church, designed by Mr. Somers Clarke is 'close
to the Cataract Hotel.
The Environs of the town are sandy and barren, producing little
else than palms; grain, and almost every kind of provision, being
brought, as in Abulfeda's time, from other parts of the country. But
the dates still retain the reputation they enjoyed in the days of Strabo ;
and the palm of Ibrim is cultivated and thrives in the climate of the
First Cataract. Dates are among the principal exports of Aswan, and
senna, charcoal, henna, wicker baskets, and formerly slaves from the
interior, from Abyssinia and Upper Ethiopia, were sent from thence to
different parts of Lower Egypt.
A pleasant ride of half an hour may be made to the Bisharin
Village, lying to the E. of the town, in an old Arab cemetery. Some
of the Ababda tribe also live there. These two Arab tribes are quite
different, both in their type of face, dress, &c, from those usually met
with in Egypt. Eeturn to the town by way of the Arab Cemeteries
(see p. 502).
Many of the Inscriptions on the granite rocks in the immediate
neighbourhood of the town have been destroyed by recent improve
ments, but there are still several to be found. Among them is one of
the time of Mer-en-Ba (VI. Dyn.), several of the age of the XII.
Dynasty, and one with the name of Aahmes I., the founder of the
XVIII. Dynasty.
The N. Granite Quarries lie beyond the Arab cemeteries, at about
20 min. ride S.E. from the town. Notice a huge undetached block,
probably intended for an Obelisk, which remains still in situ in the
quarry. The fissure, which gives it the appearance of being broken,
was made in it at a later period. It would have been more than 95 ft.
in height, and 11 ft. 1J in. in breadth in the largest part ; but this last
was to have been reduced when finished. An inclined road leads to
the summit of the hill to the S.E., and on the descent at the other
side was a fallen pillar (now taken away), with a Latin inscription,
stating that "new quarries had been discovered in the vicinity of
Philse ; that many large pilasters and columns 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 Khnemu and Satit," the deities of Elephantine. Between
this and the river is a large sarcophagus, which, having been broken,
was left in the quarry, and various other remains, such as polumns,
pbiefly unfinished,


502 eoute 25. — luxoe to phil^i. [Sect. VI.
Besides these, several of the rocks about Aswan bear the evident
appearance of having been quarried ; and the marks of wedges, and the'
numerous tablets about this town, Elephantine, Philae, and Bigga,
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 XVIII. Dynasty, while others bear
the names of later monarchs of the XXVI., immediately before the
invasion of Cambyses ; but some merely record the victories of 'kings
over the enemies of Egypt, or the ex-votos of pious visitors.
It is curious to observe in these quarries the method adopted for
cutting off the blocks. The masons appear to have used wooden wedges,-
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 tbe fact of the wedge-holes' being frequently seen,
where the stone is still unbroken, strongly confirms this conjecture.
Beyond the granite quarries is a wide valley, containing some most
interesting inscriptions, dating from the XL Dynasty to the times of
the Bomans. Among these is a figure of Seti I.
The S. Quarries lie about half an hour farther to the S., 1J m.
N.E. of Shellal, near where the Bly. turns westward, and contain
more interesting remains than do the N. quarries. There is a stela of
Amen-hetep III. (on which the name of Amen and the head of the king
have been carefully effaced), statirig that a great image of his father,
" the Sun-god of princes," had been carved out of the rocks hard by.
The death of Amen-hetep III., and the accession of "the heretic king,"
seem to have suddenly interrupted the work. Less than J m. S. is tile
image in question, still lying unremoved and unfinished on the ground,
as well as another in a still less finished state. Between them and
the stela are sarcophagi, of Ptolemaic or Boman period, apparently
intended for the Apis bulls of Sakkara, which have never been detached
from the granite out of which 'they Were cut. There is a figure of
Osiris 20 ft. in height carved on the top of the cliff a little farther S.
(called by the Arabs " Bamses "). Shellal may be reached in about
20 min. from this point.
The rocks about Syene are not, as. might be expected, of syenite but on
the contrary, consist 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, instead of mica, or solely of felspar and quartz ;
and granite of felspar quartz, and mica. According to some, the ingredients
of syenite are quartz, felspar, mica, and hornblende ; but the syenite of antiquity,
used for statues was really granite. (That is to say, the modern scientific term
syenite is really a misnomer, the true syenite being the red granite of Syene. )
Indeed many of the rocks of Syene contain all the four component parts ; and
from their differing considerably in their proportions, afford a variety of
specimens for the collection of a mineralogist.
South of the town lie the Ancient Arab Cemeteries, from the
graves of which many interesting tombstones, engraved in the Kufic
characters, have been removed to the museum in Cairo The eoitaohs
usually 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


Sect. VI.] eoute 25. — luxoe to fhil.ze. 503
and apostle of God." Some end with the date, but in others, parti
cularly those of the earliest epochs, it occurs about the centre of the
inscription. This is supposed to be the place of martyrs mentioned
by Abu'lfeda. The dates vary from the 3rd to the 5th cent, of the
Hijra. On the top of the hill are some mosque-like ruins which were
erected to the memory of sundry Mohammedan saints. Yearly festivals
are held here in their honour.
The Rock Tombs in the hillside of Kubbet el-Hdwa opposite to
Aswan are easily reached by boat, and are the "eternal habitations"
of some of the great lords and officials of Elephantine. The best pre
served of the tombs are locked up. (The key with ghafir. Antiquities
ticket required.) These tombs were mostly excavated by Dr. E. , A.
Wallis Budge for Sir F. (now Lord) Grenfell, in 1885-6. Visitors land
at the foot of the cliff and ascend by a winding path. The wonderful
golden colour of the sand, which is peculiar to the W. bank, will strike
the eye at once. Begin from the south and proceed northwards.
Tombs 25 and 26, a double tomb, belonging to Mekhu and his son
Sabna, who took part in the construction of the pyramid of Pepi II.
(VI. Dyn.). The entrance is remarkable, being divided by a cross beam
which forms a door with window above it. The tomb chamber of
Mekhu (No. 25) contains 3 rows of 6 roughly worked columns ;
immediately opposite to the entrance is a three-legged stone altar for
offerings. On the walls there are representations of ploughing, reaping,
harvest, and other agricultural scenes — also the deceased is seen receiving
gifts. At the end of the tomb is a recessed stela, with a low stone
screen, and 3 steps in front of it.
The roof of Sabna's tomb (No. 26) is supported by two rows of
7 square pillars. Scenes from the domestic life of the deceased are
depicted on the walls : he is shown fowling in the marshes with his
daughters, spearing fish from a small papyrus boat, &o. (candles required).
Outside the door of the tomb is an inscription containing the name of
the King Pepi II. A double stone staircase has been cut in the rock
from the river with a slide for the coffin between the steps. In the
Boman period the double tomb was used as a common burial-place.
No. 28 is the Tomb of Hek-ab, son of Penatmai the negro (who,
notwithstanding his coloured descent, attained to high rank in Egypt)
and his Egyptian wife, the lady Apt. The tomb though very small is
full of brilliantly coloured representations of Hek-ab hunting the wild
ox, gazelle, &c.
No. 31 is the next tomb of importance, and was made for Se-
Renput, son of Sati-hetep, one of the old feudal princes of Elephantine
and governor of the cataract district. He served as a general under
Usertsen I. (XII. Dyn.), in his wars against Kush. In the First
Hall, which is undecorated, are 6 square columns hewn in the
living rock ; a Corridor leads' out of this in which are 3 recesses on
either side, each containing a painted figure of the deceased in the
form of an Osiris mummy. These are also cut out of the rock. At
the end of the corridor is a small Hall supported on 4 square pillars,
on each of which is a painted figure of the deceased. On the End
wall is a beautifully executed representation of Se-Benput seated at a
table of offerings; his son stands before him with flowers, On the rt.


504 EOUTE 25.  LUXOE TO PHILJ3. [Sect. VI.
side of this his mother sits before a table accompanied by tbe deceased,
and on the 1. side are seen Se-Benput with his wife and son.
Then follow the three unimportant tombs of Aku, Khui, and
Khunes, containing much destroyed representations of trades, crafts,
&c. Coptic monks have at some period taken possession of the two
last-mentioned tombs, and used them as dwellings. Graffiti and taint
representations of painted angels or saints can still be traced on the walls.
The tomb of Her-Khuf, "governor of the south," though of no
interest inside, contains on the outside on each side of the doorway
most valuable historical inscriptions. From them we learn that, along
with his father Ara, Her-khuf was sent by King Mer-en-Ba (VI. Dyn.)
"to the land of Amah (or Am, the negro tribes S. of horosko) to dis
cover the road to that region ; the journey was performed in 7 months,
and all kinds of tribute were brought back." Then he was sent a
second time by himself. "I departed," he says, "by the way of
Elephantine, and visited the land of Arth (the district S. of the First
Cataract on the W. bank), namely, the lands of Meskher, Terres, and
Arth, in 8 months ; I returned with tributes from that country in such
quantities as had never been seen before .... When his Majesty sent
me tbe third time to Amam, I started from the Lykopolite nome by
the way of the land of Uhat (the oasis) ; I found the Prince of Amam,
who was marching to the country of the Tamahu (Libyans) to smite
the Tamahu, toward the west ; then I reached the land of the Tamahu."
To the rt. of this inscription, and, like it, on the external face of the
wall on tbe right-hand side of the entrance, is another inscription
which gives "a copy, authenticated by the king, of the royal decree,
dated in the 2nd year of the king's reign, the 16th day of the month
Athyr, in favour of " Her-khuf. In this it is stated that in the reign of
Nefer-ka-Ba (Pepi II.) Her-khuf brought the king, "from the land of
the Spirits," a Danga dwarf, "who danced the dances of the god like
the Danga dwarf brought by the chancellor Baurdad from the land of
Punt in the reign of King Assa" (V. Dyn.). The "Danga dwarf"
must have belonged to one of the pigmy tribes discovered by modern
travellers in Central Africa, one of which (on the Upper Juba) is still
known by the name of Dongo. Notice the way Her-khuf leans on his
long staff ; it seems peculiar to the lords of Elephantine.
In the tomb of Pepi-Nekht, a little further S., are more historical
inscriptions concerning the wars of Nefer-ka-Ba (Pepi II.) against the
Nubians and the tribes of the Eastern desert.
The last and by far the most interesting tomb of all is that of
another Se-Renput, son of Set-Theni, and a local prince in the reign
of Usertsen I. There is an open forecourt in front of it, which, as it
contains the lower parts of 6 square pillars, must have either been
roofed in or else been surrounded by a colonnade. The jambs of the
door are of white limestone. On the right-hand side of the doorway,
leading into the tomb chamber, stands the deceased, accompanied by
his three sons, his dog, and his bow-bearer ; above this he is seen seated
with four women, while three persons, evidently playing some game,
are immediately below. On the left-hand side he is seen spearing fish
from a papyrus boat, upon the prow of which stands a goose, and cattle
are being brought to him, while his servant, carrying his pandajs, walks.
behind, hiin with two dogs,


Sect VI.] EOUTE 25. — LUXOE TO PHIL.33. 505
In the tomb chamber itself the walls have been painted with scenes
from the life of the deceased, and from the agricultural life of his
province— unfortunately these representations, which are particularly
interesting, have been much injured.
In the inner shrine of the tomb Dr. Budge found a headless black
granite sitting statue of Se-Benput, which is now in the British Museum.
On the summit of the hill is a dilapidated shekh's tomb, the Kubbct
el-Hdiva ("Tower of the Winds": a very appropriate name)', from
which a magnificent View of Aswan, Elephantine, and the extraordinary
waste of granite desert-hills behind them, is to be obtained. This view
is well worth the fatigue of the ascent through the drifted sand of the
hillside. Farther N., and lower down the hill, is the small but well-decorated
tomb of Ka-em-ahiu ("The Bull among the Cows "), an official of the
XVIII. Dynasty, opened by Lady William Cecil in 1901-2. S. of the
" Grenfell Tombs " Lady William Cecil excavated in 1904 several other
tombs. Following the telegraph-poles S. we reach
(W.) The ruined Coptic Monastery of Amba Sama'an (St. Simeon)
is well worth a visit. It lies at the head of a desert road which runs
inland (about half an liour's walk uphill) from a small bay opposite to
the island of Elephantine. The golden colour of the sand is even more
accentuated here than at the Kubbet el-Hawa.
Of its origin and date nothing certain is known, but it has been
abandoned since the 13th cent., as there is a graffito on one of the
walls written in Arabic by a Moslem named Mutammar Ali, dated
a.h. 694 (a.d. 1290). The monastery of " Abu Hadri on the western
mountain," which is mentioned by the historian Abu Salih, and is
probably to be identified with Der Anba Sama'an, was in ruins in his
time, a century before this. It is possible that the monastery (which
was also a fortress) was occupied as late as the conquering expedition
of Turanshah, brother of Saladin, against the Nubians in 1173, and was
then abandoned by the monks : a graffito seems to have been formerly
visible here stating that it was taken in that year, when " Marcus was
Archbishop of Alexandria and Theodoros Bishop of Aswan." The
Moslem graffito mentioned above is a relic of the later expeditions of
Sultan Kala'un against the Nubian Christian king Shemamun in 1287
and 1290 : Mutammar Ali was probably one of Kala'un's officers. It
seems most probable that this fortress-monastery, which perhaps
occupies the site of the Boman fortress of Contra- Syini, was built
in the sixth or seventh cent. a.d. It may have served the Christian
Nubians as a northern outpost at times when weak government
allowed them to obtain control of Aswan, as happened occasionally.
The surrounding wall, which is of stone surmounted by crude
brick, is crumbling away in parts, but the monastery is still, on
the whole, in a marvellously complete state of preservation. There
is a tower by the S. postern gate which is as perfect as on the day
it was built, and the powerful drying and cleansing properties of
the desert air here give in addition a, strange air of newness to the
whole building. We enter by a gate in the N. wall and through a
vaulted room, which leads into the Inner Court. The peculiar wavy
line of the parapet and machicolations of the wall of defence (the


Missing Page


Missing Page


508 EOUTE 25.  LUXOE TO PHILJ3. [Sect. VI.
documents have also been found : there seems to have been a colony of
Syrian merchants here in Ptolemaic times.
The First Cataract. — All the cataracts — called by the natives esh-
Shelldl — are little more than a series of whirlpools, rapids and eddies,
caused by the rock and rocky islands. The first cataract begins a little
S. of Aswan near the island of Sehel, and ends just N. of Philse.
During the flood Nile all but the highest rocks are under water, and
then it is possible for a boat to sail upstream ; but as the river falls it
becomes more difficult and necessitates the use of towing ropes. Before
the construction of the great reservoirs and locks at Shellal the ascent
of the cataract by dahabiya was one of those small incidents of the Nile
journey which were more exciting and amusing than pleasant ; as the
rapid passage of the boat was more or less dependent upon excessive
bakhshish and the temper of the Beis of the cataract. Now that
the engineering works are finished, dahabiyas ascend the so-called
cataract in comparatively untroubled waters, and passing through four
locks proceed to Philae.
The scenery of the cataract is weird and desolate, and not without
a certain beauty and grandeur ; and it is worth while to row about the
northern end of it. There are no rapids before reaching the Island of
Sehel, which is interesting from the number of hieroglyphic tablets
sculptured on the rocks, and should therefore be visited. Many of
these inscriptions are of a very early period, and contain the names of
kings of the XII., XIII. , XVIII., and three following Dynasties. They
record the passing of the Pharaohs and their officers on their expedi
tions to the Sudan, and are of great historical value. The island was
under the special protection of Satit, Khnemu, and Anukit, the cataract
triad. To the last were dedicated two temples, one dating from the
XVIII. Dynasty, the ruins of which lie to the S. of the island, and the
other, of the time of Ptolemy Philopator, on the W. side, near the
modern village of Sehel. There is a very important Ptolemaic inscrip
tion high up on the rocks (the name of the hill is Bibi Tagug) at the
S.E. end of the island, which states that in the days of King Tjeser
(III. Dyn.) there arose a famine of seven years' duration, in consequence
of seven successive low Niles, which calamity was only removed at the
earnest prayers of the king and by the rich gifts presented to the god
Khnemu. Another interesting inscription states that in the time of
Usertsen III. (XII. Dyn.) a canal, sufficiently large to admit of the
passage of warships, was cut through the opposite mainland. From
other inscriptions we learn that this canal was re-opened in the reign of
Thothmes III. (XVIII. Dyn.). The rocks of Sehel are of considerable
height : the higher elevations are called tagiigs.
Opposite to Sehel is the little village of Mahatta, which is the place
for the embarking and disembarking of the cargoes that are transhipped
from the different native boats above and below the cataract.
S. of Mahatta is the village of Koror and the Great Dam (see below).
Boats pass through the series of locks at the W. end.
Philse and the Great Dam.
tRoutes.-(l) By rail from Aswan to Shellal in half an hour Farps 1st rlass
single, P.T.10 ; return, P.T. 20. Trains leave daily at 9 AM, S'nin- from ShelM
at 11 A.M. and 5 P.M. The line skirts the JBishari village, which is seen on the 1 L,


510 EOUTE 25. — luxoe to philse. [Sect. VI.
under 'Amr Ibn el-'Asi overran Egypt in the 7th cent. A.D. Philae became
Mohammedan. The island was dedicated to Isis, the mother goddess, but the Cataract
gods and Hathor were also worshipped here. More especially was Osiris
venerated ; it was thought both by Egyptians and Nubians to be one of
his burial-places ; and an oath taken in the name of Osiris of Philae was
inviolable. It appears to have been called the " Holy Island," and to have
been considered peculiarly sacred. Annual pilgrimages were made to it, but
no one was allowed to land without special permission. Diodorus calls it " the
holiest of places." Philse appears to have been inhabited until the close of the
18th cent. , when the French under Belliard, one of Desaix's generals, besieged
it, and the inhabitants fled.
The island is now partially submerged from January till the summer,
owing to the water being held up by the Dam : the high-water mark
may be seen on the sides of the Kiosk. An inevitable drawback is that
the picturesque palms, which now stand in the water all the year
round, are dying.
[Passengers are. generally landed on the "W. side of the island near the Nilometer ;
but they should by all means begin visiting the ruins from the extreme south of the
island. In this way they see to advantage the Colonnade and Pylons, and are able
to grasp far more easily the position of the different temples. The most important
buildings to be visited are the Temple of Nekhtnebf, the Colonnades, the Temple of
Isis, Hadrian's Gate, the ruins at the N. end of the island, the Temple of Hathor,
and the "Kiosk" or "Pharaoh's Bed" (the Temple of Trajan). In January and
February the felukas sail into the Kiosk and actually into the first court of the
Temple itself. This must cause damage to the sculptures.]
Commencing at the S. end of the island there is the small Temple
of Nekhtnebf (15), dedicated to Isis. It is built of older foundation
blocks, and the dedication-inscription speaks of the temple having been
enlarged and beautified by this king. It was reached by a stone stair
case at the S. extremity. A high Nile seems to have carried away part
of the temple soon after it was finished, and Ptolemy Philadelphos
restored it, and cut his .cartouche on the walls. When the present
quay wall was built it was carried across the forecourt of the temple,
cutting off a portion of the court and all the chambers behind— if they
had not already been undermined and carried away by the Nile.
Fourteen columns originally supported the roof, of which only six now
remain. The capitals were a composite floral decoration, surmounted
by a second square capital with Hathor heads. A continuous screen
about 6 ft. high connected the columns ; it was surmounted by a
concave cornice crowned with ursei. On the walls Nekhtnebf is seen
making offerings to the gods. The dedication inscription— on the
columns — states that Nekhtnebf built the temple to "his mother Isis,
mistress of Phila?, and revered at Abaton." Two sandstone obelisks
once stood at the temple gates ; only the base is left of one, while the
other has lost its apex.
The massive sandstone blocks forming the platform on which the
temple is built have, in many instances, cracked and sunk, which has
contributed to damage the building. To the E. of this temple is a
broad Stairway leading up from the river, and beneath this is another
one which is entered from the W. side of the former by a door over
which, on a roof block, can be seen a Greek inscription of the date of
the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Prom here the visitor looks directly
up the open court, enclosed by two colonnades of unequal length
towards the Great Temple of Isis, the principal building on the island.'


.Sect. VI.] EOUTE 25.— LUXOE TO PHlLiE. 511
Temple of Ar-hes-nefer (14).— At the S. end of the E. Colonnade
are the remains of a temple surrounded by a high wall, of which the
N.and E; sides now alone remain. On the pavement can be seen the
¦guiding lines of the ancient masons, and by means of these a certain
number of blocks have been recently replaced in their original positions.
The temple was dedicated to the Ethiopian god Ar-hes-nefer, and bears
the cartouches of Ptolemy IV. and V., and of the Ethiopian King
Arkamen or Ergamenes, while tbe outside face of the temple and the
surrounding outer wall were decorated by the Emperor Tiberius. It
consisted at first of three chambers, to which a fourth was added later
at the E. end ; and finally the outer wall, with a small forecourt. In
Christian times the temple was completely dismantled, except the two
portions of the outer wall now standing, and a Coptic church was built
on the site, but no traces of this now remain except the crosses and the
names of Coptic saints, which are cut upon the figures of the Egyptian
gods on the N. wall.
The Chapel of Mandulis (12), a Nubian deity, lies to the N. of the
temple of Ar-hes-nefer. It is in a ruined state.
The East Colonnade, with 16 columns in front and one in the line
of the wall behind, is of later date, and starting from the temple of Ar-
hes-nefer runs to that of Im-hetep (10). Only six of the columns at
the N. end have their capitals finished, the others being only blocked
out as they were received from the quarry. Behind this wall there are
the foundations of three small chapels (11, 12, 13), while at the N. end
(10) is the Temple of Im-hetep (Asklepios), built by Ptolemy IV. and
Ptolemy V., bearing a dedication-inscription in Greek over the entrance
door : BASIAEYS TTTOAEMAIOS KAI BA2IAI2SA KAE011A////////
©EOI Eni*ANEI2 KAI IITOAEMAldS O YIOS ASKAH/////
The temple was inhabited in Coptic times, and two doorways were
cut in the inner chamber. A Coptic inscription, accompanied by
figures of saints, may still be traced in red paint. In front of this
temple have been placed a number of fragments of late Egyptian and
Coptic work which were brought to light when the island was
cleared. The W. Colonnade begins near the Chapel of Nekhtnebf, and runs
along the bank close to the river- wall for 100 yards. It has 32 columns,
with floral capitals of different forms, no two being alike. On the roof
are gold stars on a blue ground. Both here and in some of the sculp
tures on the walls representing Tiberius, Gaius, and Claudius, the
colours are well preserved. Between the eleventh and twelfth columns
a staircase leads to a postern immediately above the river-side.
On the back of the colonnade the king makes offering to the gods.
Over the window at the S. end Nero presents two utjats — the sacred
eyes of Horus— to his " good sister Isis."
The First Pylon, consisting of two massive towers and a central
gateway, is 150 ft. wide and 60 ft. high. On its exterior face, right-
hand side, Ptolemy Philometor swings his battle-axe over a batch of
bound prisoners, whom he has grasped by the hair ; on the "left-hand
side stand colossal figures of Isis, Horus of Edfu, and Hathor. In the
upper register, left-hand tower, right side, Horus and Nephthys receive


512 eoute 25. — luxoe to FffiL^!. [Sect. VI.
the double Brown of Egypt at the hands of the king; left side, the king
offers incense to Isis and Harpokrates. The pictures on the right-
hand tower are the same. Near the bottom of the towers are a series
of figures representing the god Nilus carrying various emblems, on
which are the names of different towns and districts in Egypt. The
name of Nekhtnebf is found in this pylon on the centre gateway.
Two obelisks and two lions once stood in front of the pylon ; one
obelisk, and part of the other, were carried away by Bankes to England,
and placed at Kingston House, Dorsetshire. One lion lies on the
ground and the other sits on the base of the obelisk. On the 1. or W.
side of the gateway as we pass through it are sculptured some small
figures, and a colossal one of Isis ; and on the rt. or E. side is a tablet
put up by the French army under Desaix to commemorate their
reaching this point during the expedition to Egypt at the end of the
eighteenth century. A few blocks of the stairway which led to the main
gateway through the terrace in front of it can still be seen, while to the
rt. is a gateway bearing the name of Ptolemy II. which has been joined
on to the more recent pylon.
Through the pylon we pass into a large Court, on the E. of which
is a building thought to have been erected for the use of the priests,
and on the W. a small temple, while another pylon closes its N. end.
The portico was begun by Ptolemy Philometor, continued by his
successors, and finished by Tiberius. It consists of 10 columns, and to
the E. of it were several chambers, each with a door opening into it
from the portico. In the southernmost of these chambers, the one
next to the pylon, is a staircase leading to several rooms and on to the
roof of the pylon, from which there is a magnificent View. The
northernmost of these chambers is larger than the others, and is sup
posed to have been the library.
The Temple of Isis Usret (7), commemorative of the birth of
Horus, is on the W. side of the court, and is surrounded by a colonnade
with floral and Hathor capitals ; some of the columns are unfinished.
Ptolemy Euergetes decorated and perhaps added to the temple, but the
cartouches of both Augustus and Tiberius occur upon the walls. The
back chamber and the enclosing colonnade are both additions to the
original structure. On the outside wall of the E. side is a bilingual
duplicate of the famous Bosetta-stone inscription: the Greek text is
wanting. The interior of the temple consists of a vestibule entered
from behind the pylon and three chambers. The first two chambers
do not contain anything of interest ; the third has two rows of bas-
reliefs containing scenes from the birth of Horus in the marshes of
Buto. To the W. of this is a Nilometer, consisting of a stairway leading
down to the river, while on the walls on either side are engraved scales
for recording the height of the Nile. There are three of these scales,
one on the N. wall, one on the S. wall, and one partly on one and
partly on the other. The oldest is a vertical line cut in the stone with
horizontal marks cut at the end of each cubit; the four upper portions
are on the N. wall and two lower ones are on the S wall The next
which has demotic numerals by the cubit marks, is all on' the N wall'
and here each cubit has been divided into 7 palms and each palm into"
4 digits; the scale is fairly well preserved, but it cannot all be seen now


Sect. VI.] EOUTE 25.— LUXOE TO PHILJE. 513
since the steps which were renewed in Coptic times, probably when the
third scale was cut, now cover portions of the earlier scale.
The third scale is in perfect condition and is of Coptic age ; each
cubit in it is divided into 14 parts. The length of the cubit varies in
the different scales, and errors of division and of levelling are numerous.
The average length of the cubit of the first scale is 1 ft. 7 '02 in. ;
of the second, 1 ft. 7-44 in.; and of the third, 1 ft. 7 -68 in. There
seem to have been 17 cubits originally in each scale, and the highest
point of the scale was about 20-24 ins. above the high Nile level to-day,
before the building of the Dam. The Nilometer is now usually filled
with water.
The Second Pylon is of smaller dimensions than the first, and is
only 105 ft. high and 50 feet wide. The great gateway between the
towers is approached by a very shallow stairway, with ramp on either
side. The eastern tower stands on a granite bed whose face has been
cut into the form of a tablet, and bears an inscription in which are
mentioned large grants of land made to the temple of Isis by Philometor
and Euergetes. Immediately in front of this tablet is a small ruined
chapel of the Boman period. On the right-hand tower is a representa
tion of the king offering sacrificial victims to Horus and Hathor.
Above are, on the right-hand side, the king presenting a wreath to
Horus and Nephthys. On the left-hand side ho is pouring out a
libation and offering incense to Osiris, Isis, and Horus. On the left-
hand tower the representations have been chiselled out. Notice the
grooves for the festival flag-staves.
The gateway leads into the Temple of Isis (6), which consists of a
small open court, a Hypostyle Hall, and a Sanctuary, preceded by 3
small halls, and with adjoining chambers.
The Court had originally a small covered colonnade running all
round it. There was a door on each side.
The Hypostyle Hall, with its 8 large columns, is remarkable for the
brilliancy of the colours still left upon their capitals. The walls and
ceiling are covered with astronomical and other subjects, and figures of
divinities. Everywhere are signs of the temple having been used for
Christian services, and many Coptic crosses are cut into the walls and
on the columns. Possibly this may have been the site of the church of
St. Stephen, into which part of the temple was turned in the sixth cent.
a.d. The Sanctuary — containing a monolithic shrine — with its 3 halls
and surrounding chambers, requires candles to be properly seen.
Under these chambers are crypts, of which the western and centre ones
can be reached by a wooden ladder in the western chamber. After passing
the halls a small open court is reached, used originally for sacrificial
purposes ; here. Ptolemy Philadelphus is seen making a libation and
offering incense ; in front of him is an altar, and before him food and
wine jars.
A staircase from the left-hand hall leads to the roof and to the
exceedingly interesting Osiris Chamber, so called from the walls being
covered with sculptures relating to the death and resurrection of Osiris.
The chamber itself is at the bottom of a narrow flight of steps. Accord
ing to the ancient myth the body of the god was cut up and buried in
different places. On the walls are shown the shrines containing the
limbs, &c, of Osiris, each shrine being differently shaped— over each
2 L


514 eoute 25. — luxoe to PHiLiG. [Sect. VI.
Isis and Nephthys, " the great weepers," keep guard. He is also
depicted lying among lotus buds and other marsh plants figurative of a
returning life. Finally he is represented with all the scattered limbs
reunited to his body, in the act of arising from his bier. Isis at his
feet stretches out her arms to him and Nephthys presents to his nostrils
the breath of life.
From a Greek ex-voto in this chamber we learn the interesting fact
that the worship of Isis and Osiris was still carried on at Philse in A.D.
453, more than 70 years after the famous edict of Theodosius abolishing
the Egyptian religion. This fact may also be gathered from some of
the other numerous ex-votos inscribed on the walls of the pylon and
other parts of the temple. The ruin of the temple is attributed to
Justinian. The Roof should be visited, as an exceedingly good bird's-eye view
may be obtained northwards of the ruins of the Boman temples and
the old Coptic town.
Descending to the Hypostyle Hall, on the W. side is the Gateway
of Hadrian (5), built on the older temenos wall of the temple, and on
the walls which connected it to the main temple may be seen several in
cidents connected with the legend of Osiris. On the S. wall the mummy
of Osiris is being carried across to the island on the back of a crocodile,
above are mountains, behind which the sun appears, while above again
are the sun, half-moon, and stars. On the N. wall is the rocky island
of Bigga, surmounted by Mut and Horus as the vulture and the hawk,
while in. a cave beneath the island, guarded by a sacred snake, sits the
Nile-god pouring water out of two vases, emblematic of the Egyptian
belief that the Nile rose from beneath this island and flowed in two
streams to the N. and S.
A few yards to the N. is a Stairioay leading down to the water at
low Nile level, which may have been intended for a Nilometer, but no
scales are visible in it.
To the N. of this again are the pavement and foundation blocks of
the Temple of Har-netj-iotef ("Horus avenger of his father ") (4). The
building was originally square, with 4 columns on the eastern face — a
large chamber lay behind in which was placed the sanctuary ; round
this ran a narrow passage, off which lay 2 small rooms. A stairway of
6 steps with a gentle slope leads up to the temple. All the upper
blocks, &c, have been carried away to build the Coptic church of St.
Mary (2), lying a little to the N. The temple is of late date apparently,
since the blocks bear the cartouches of the Emperor Decius. In the
doorway of the sanctuary not only the hard granite blocks for the
door-posts remain, but also the bronze plugs on which the doors turned.
The Coptic Church (2) near is built, as already mentioned, of the
blocks of the temple of Har-netj-iotef, and presents no very striking
feature. An inscription, now placed in the church at the S.W. end,
records the repair of it in the year a.d. 773, and describes it as dedicated
to St. Mary. Another and larger Coptic church lies to the E., in the
angle of the roadway, but only the floor and the bases of the pillars
remain. A little way further on at the N.E. end of the island is a late Roman
gate-way with three arches, leading to a stairway down to the river,


S*Jci VI.] i eoute 25'.— luxoe -to philae. 515
which was apparently at that period the principal landing-place of the
island. W. of this gateway are the remains of the Temple erected to the
Emperor Caesar Augustus in his 18th year (12 b.c.) by the people
of Philse and the Dodekaschoinos under the governorship of Publius
Bobrius Barbaras, as the inscription on the granite architrave and the
fragment's of the dedication-inscription show. The Walls have been
cracked and fissured, apparently by the earthquake shock which over
threw the granite columns. From the remains we can see What the
original temple was like, and mentally reconstruct it. ' The columns
are of red granite, and the diorite capitals are extremely well worked.
It is worth remarking that in this purely Boman work the blocks of
the capitals were fastened together by iron clamps run in with lead,
while all Egyptian work has wooden dovetailed clamps for the same
purpose. About 30 ft. in front of it was found a trilingual inscription in demotic,
Latin, and Greek recording the suppression of a revolt against the Romans in
the days of Cornelius Gallus (B.C. 29). It is of historic interest as corroborating
the account given by Dio Cassius of the first prefect of Egypt.
Continuing in a south-easterly direction among the intricate ruins
of old houses, we reach a Coptic Church (3) with semicircular apse.
From here, if the main street of the old town be followed, the little
Temple of Hathor (8) is reached. It was built by Ptolemy IX.,
and dedicated by him and his sister-queen Cleopatra to the goddess.
Only the , forecourt and one chamber now remain. The temple
consisted originally of three chambers, to which a fourth was added
later. The columns in the forecourt are remarkable for the grotesque
representations of the god Bes, &o., on them. There is also a baboon
playing on different kinds of musical instruments.
The curious construction of the Temenos Wall of the great Temple
of Isis is worth notice, and it is best seen on the W. side of the roadway,
which passes in front of the Temple of Hathor, where the alternate
sections of curved and horizontal work divided from one another by
vertical joints produce a curious effect. This wall may be traced almost
all round the temple, except where it has been cut away to afford space
for the Temple of Har-netj-iotef.
Lying to the' S. is the little Temple of Augustus and Trajan,
usually called Pharaoh's Bed, or "the Kiosk" (16); it was 'never
finished. The roof was not put on, and the high abaci above the
capitals were to have been cut back into Hathor heads, since it will
be seen that. they, project slightly beyond the architraye, just as do the
unfinished abaci on the N. side of the Temple of Isis Usret (7). There
are reliefs out on the inner side of two of the screen walls, which
represent Trajan presenting wine to Isis and Horus and the same
emperor standing before Osiris and Isis. On the E. side is a door
leading to a stone platform above the river, from which a path descends
to the shore.
The N.E. end of the Island was covered with the ruined churches
and houses of a Coptic Town which have been destroyed by the waters
of the reservoir. The following, description, by Captain Lyons, is
therefore of great interest. ¦' - ¦¦¦¦¦!
2 L 2


516 eoute 25. — luxoe to phil^. [Sect. VI.
' ' These grew up round the ancient temples on the lines of an earlier village,
though in later times it encroached upon them and upon the streets which
crossed the island in various directions. "We can still see one main street
which seems to have started from the gateway (Roman?), and after some
40 metres turns south-west so far as the angle of the temenos wall of the
Temple of Isis, which it follows as far as its south-east angle. Here another
street from the Kiosk (Pharaoh's Bed) meets it, and perhaps led in front of
the East Colonnade, though the connection between these two could not be
accurately traced.
"These main streets are paved with slabs of sandstone, and where they
have not been encroached upon have a width of about 3 metres, while the
smaller ones which intercept the village are from 1-5 to 2 metres only.
' ' Starting from the Kiosk, the steps of the western gateway are no longer
in position at the head of the paved main street, which leads up to the angle of
the temenos wall and under the gateway of Ptolemy II. , in front of the great
Pylon. Here it joins the other from the gateway in front of the little temple.
In the angle formed by these two streets are what appear to be some of the
oldest houses of the village. They are built of cut stone for a height of about
1*5 metres, above which the walls were carried up in mud brick, of which also
the arches were made, which served as ceilings to the lower rooms, and to
carry the floor of the room above. The stones used are from *i8 to "20 metre
thick, and were very likely obtained from the pavement which surrounded the
Temple of Isis, as the chiselled lines on the ground level course of masonry
show. At this time little, if any, damage would appear to have been done to
the Temple of Hathor, since no stones of it have been utilised in these
houses. On leaving the Kiosk, the second room on the left bears a rude Coptic
cross on the stone door-post ; the fourth is much larger, and still contains
some remains of its vaulted roof of mud brick, which carried an upper floor.
They were built of sun-dried mud brick. There has been an attempt made to
give additional strength by burning them in situ, since the walls and arched
roof are burnt red from -oi to '02 metre from the surface, gradually passing
into the unaltered mud brick ; the same thing may be seen in other parts of the
village. . . . Where the main street turns to the rt. and passes along the south
side of the Coptic church the houses are larger and better, and in one of these,
opposite the S.W. door of the church, a diorite statue of a somewhat Roman
type was found built into a wall. Some 12 or 13 metres south of the corner of
the road is a water tank with steps leading" down into it, a drain hole for
emptying it, and the remains of a small supply channel through which the
water flowed and poured into the tank through a carved lion's head.
" From this the street follows the quay wall, which here has a backing .of mud
brick, and the gateway opens into the space in front of the Temple of Caesar
Augustus. To the north of this there are only small lanes and alleys between
the houses, which seem to have grown up round a central building, which has
been recognised by Herr L. Borchardt as a monastery somewhat similar in plan
to the large one opposite to Aswan (Der-es-Samaan). The houses W. of this
call for no very special notice, and except the street leading from the main one,
already described, to the S.E. door of the Coptic church, narrow alleys alone
twist about among them.
" Between the colonnades one street is recognisable in front of the columns,
but beyond this it is lost amongst the ruins of the Coptic houses. In the
southern part of the island the general direction of the streets is west, and
some of the houses adjoining them are of considerable size, especially near
the back of the Eastern Colonnade, where some of those which are built of
stone show a concave laying of the courses similar to that employed in the
temenos wall. This part of the island seems to have been even more dug
over than the northern part, as often piles of rubbish of earlier excavations
have obliterated the traces of any Coptic buildings there may have been.
Fragments of Coptic and other stone work were found in many of the houses'


Sect. VI.] eoute 25. — luxoe to phil.ze. 517
but hardly ever in place, having been moved about as being convenient building
material by the later Nubian inhabitants of the island."— H. G. Lyons.
The Island of Bigga lies to the W. of Philae. It is called Senem in
the hieroglyphs, and appears afterwards to have borne the Greek name
of Abaton, " inaccessible," though Plutarch seems to apply that name,
at least in one sense, to Philae, when he says that " it is inaccessible and
unapproachable . . . except when the priests go to crown the Tomb of
Osiris." From the number of inscriptions it is evident that Bigga was
from a very early period considered as a sacred place, and the presence
of a red granite statue with the cartouche of Amen-hetep II. of the
XVIII. Dynasty points to the existence here of a temple of ancient
date. The only building remaining is the small Temple of Hathor in
front of the statue, built by Ptolemy Euergetes I. It was subsequently
turned into a church, to which period the arch in the centre belongs.
Most of the inscriptions refer to the functionaries sent to govern the land
of Kush — that is the Greek Ethiopia, the modern Nubia. They begin
from the time of the XVIII. Dynasty. On the E. side of the island,
facing Philae, is a granite stela with the name of Psammetichus I.
engraved on a rock known to the natives as " Pharaoh's Throne."
On the same side also is a rock inscription in hieroglyphs, and
further N. is a Necropolis of the Boman period. On the N. shore of
the island is the granite pedestal of three statues, with a bilingual
inscription in Greek and demotic, stating that it had been dedicated to
Isis and Horus on behalf of Ptolemy Philometor, his queeu Cleopatra,
and their ill-fated son Ptolemy Philopator II.
There is a capital View of the temple of Philae from the high rocks
at the S. end of Bigga.
On the E. bank of the river, a little S. of the village of Shellal, is a
ruined Medieval Fortress on the crest of the rocks, with square and
round towers, and on the S. side is a doorway having a round arch of
brick between two round towers, and leading into a court.
Here, also, are the ruins of two large mosques, which were originally
Coptic monasteries ; the southernmost one is built in great part of -
stones from the temples of Philae, many of them being covered with
hieroglyphs ; the superstructure is chiefly bricks baked and crude. On
the hill above is a santon's tomb, from which there is a fine view of
Philae and Bigga.
About 1 m. S. of the southernmost of the mosques, and just opposite
to the island of Hessa, is an Inscription on a granite rock, dated in the
5th year of Mer-en-Ba of the VI. Dynasty, and stating that the chiefs
of the Wawat and Arth (on either bank of the Nile southward to
Korosko) offered homage in that year to the Pharaoh in the island of
Senem or Bigga. On Hcssa there are also inscriptions.
[Visitors should proceed from the E. bank, where they will arrive from Aswan or
be landed by the boat from Philse, along the top of the Dam to the Locke at the W.
end, which are well worth seeing. The distance is easily covered there and back in
a trolley, which will be placed at the disposition of visitors. Bach trolley seats four
persons ; fare P.T.10 each. (This fare is dearer than it ought to be ; P.T.5 (one
shilling) for the use of the trolley, whether by one person or four, would be quite
enough.)] The Reservoir and Dam.— In 1898 the Egyptian Government signed
a contract with Messrs. John Aird & Co. for the construction of the
great reservoir and dam at Shellal, which serves for the storage of water


518 eoute 25. — luxoe to philje. [Sect. VI.
at the time of the flood Nile: The river is "held up " here 65 feet
above its old normal level. A great masonry dyke, 150 feet high in
places, has been carried across the Bab el-Kebir of the First Cataract,
and a canal and four locks, 200 ft. long and 30 ft. wide, allows for the
passage of traffic up and down the river. The dam is 2,185 yards long
and over 90 feet thick at the base ; in places it rises 100 feet above the
bed of the river. It is built of the local red granite, and at each end the
granite dam is built into the granite hillside. 708,000 cubic yards of
masonry were used. The sluices are 180 in number, and are arranged
at four different levels. The sight of the great volume of water pouring
through them is a very fine one. The Nile begins to rise in July, and
at the end of November it is necessary to begin closing the sluice-gates
to hold up the water. By the end of February the reservoir is usually
filled and Philae partially submerged, so that boats can sail in and out
of the colonnades and Pharaoh's Bed. By the beginning of July the
water has been distributed, and the water has fallen to normal level.
It is of course regrettable that the engineers were unable to find
another site for the Dam, as it was inevitable that some damage should
result to the temples of Philae (chiefly in the matter of picturesqueness),
from their partial submergence. Korosko was proposed as a site, but
was rejected for cogent reasons ; and apparently Shellal was the only
possible place. Further, no serious person, who places the greatest
good of the greatest number above considerations of the picturesque
and the "interesting," will deny that if it is necessary to sacrifice
Philae to the good of the people of Egypt, Philae must go. " Let
the dead bury their dead " : the concern of the rulers of Egypt
must be rather with the living people of Egypt than with the dead
bones of the past ; and they would not be doing their duty did they
for a moment allow artistic and archaeological considerations to out
weigh in their minds the practical necessities of the country. This
does not in the least imply that they do not owe a lesser duty to the
monuments of Egypt, which are among the most precious relics of the
past history of mankind : they do, and this lesser duty has with regard
to Philae conscientiously been fulfilled. The whole Temple, in order
to preserve its stability under the stress of submersion, has been braced
up and underpinned, under the superintendence of Mr. Ball, of the
Survey Department, who has most efficiently carried out this important
work, at a cost of £22,000. Steel girders have been, fixed across' the
island from quay to quay, and these surrounded by cement masonry,
made watertight by forcing in cement grout. Pharaoh's Bed and the
Colonnade have been firmly underpinned in cement masonry, and there
is little doubt that the actual stability of Philae is now more certain
than that of any other temple in Egypt. The only possible damago
that can accrue to it is the partial discoloration of the lower courses
of the stonework of Pharaoh's Bed, &c, which already bear a
distinct high-water mark. Some surface disintegration from the
formation of salt-crystals is perhaps inevitable here, but the effects of
this can always be neutralized by careful washing, which it should be
an important charge of the Antiquities Department regularly to carry
out. [It has (1907) been determined to raise the Dam 20 ft., which
will have the effect of entirely covering Philae with water for part of
the year.]


Sect. VI.] eoute 26. — fiest cataeact to second. 519

ROUTE 26.
The First Cataract (Shellal) to the Second Cataract
(Wadi Haifa).
Miles. 2012* VIi
13
:il30
200

Miles.

Shellal to Dabod

10 i

Wadi es-Sebu'a

Kartassi

15

Korosko

Tafa .

7

'Amada

Kalabsha .

¦ 64-

Derr

Dendur

13

Ibrim . .

Gerf Husen

9

Abu Simbel

Dakka .

. 10}

Haifa .

Korti . .

3-{

Maharraka

. 3i

1. Preliminary Information.
Character of the Country. — We have no hesitation in advising
everyone who gets as far as Aswan to continue the voyage to Wadi Haifa.
The scenery differs considerably from that of Egypt ; the climate is if
anything more perfect (except perhaps between Abii Simbel and Wadi
Haifa, where a strong cold north wind is often very disagreeable),
and the giant statues of Abu Simbel certainly rank next in antiquarian
interest to the Pyramids and the ruins of Thebes, besides being in
themselves something quite unique. On the other hand, it may be
said that of antiquities there is little worth seeing in Nubia by the
ordinary traveller but Abu Simbel, and there is a general absence of
animal life which some might find wearisome. The inhabitants are
few, and, with the exception of an occasional duck, the sandbanks and
borders of the river are untenanted, but some few birds are more likely
to be met with in Nubia than in Egypt. Among them may be
mentioned the beautiful yellow-breasted sunbird (N. metallica), a
species of bush-babbler (Crateropus acacice), aud the " bulbul " (Pycno-
notus Arsinoe). A white- winged wagtail (M. vidua) is almost confined
to the neighbourhood of the First Cataract, but is there plentiful.
The desert hare may occasionally be met with, and patience and the
assistance of a native hunter may succeed in procuring the chance of
a shot at a gazelle.
Should the traveller from any cause be unable to pass the First
Cataract in the dahabiya he has hired at Cairo, he will be able to
procure another one at Mahatta (see p. 508), though the latter will not be
very comfortable or clean ; or he may proceed from Aswan by steamer.
It will take from three to four weeks to go from Philae to Haifa and
back in a dahabiya. It only takes one week by steamer, and this gives
time to see Abii Simbel and other points of interest.
Ancient History and Geography.— The countries bordering the
Nile south of Egypt were known to the Old Egyptians by the name of
Kesh (Kush). The name Kens is also found applied to that part nearest


520 EOUTE 26.  FIEST CATAEACT to second. [Sect. VI.
the Egyptian frontier. This is the same as the present name of the
district, El-Kenus. Another name, used for the part of the valley N.
of Wadi Haifa, was Akin (p. 546), which survived in the Boman times
as the name of a town, Acina, mentioned by Pliny.
The first Pharaohs of whom there is any record as having conquered
the Kushites were the kings of the VI. Dynasty, whose example was
followed by those of the XL and XII. Usertsen III. built a temple at
Semneh above the Second Cataract, and fixed the Egyptian frontier
there. Thothmes I. of the XVIII. Dynasty has left a record of h^s
triumphs over the Kushites on a rock opposite Tombos. Thothmes III.
built temples at 'Amada, at Semna and at Soleb. Amen-hetep III.
also built at Soleb, and at Gebel Barkal near Abii Hamed. Bamses II.
of the XIX. Dynasty added to this temple at Gebel Barkal, and besides
the smaller rock-cut temples of Derr and Bet el-Wali, the grand
monument at Abu Simbel dates from his reign.
At the epoch of the XXIII. Dynasty we find Egypt and Kush have
greatly changed places, Egypt, or at any rate the southern portion of it,
having become a province of Ethiopia, a general name by which the
countries on the Nile south of Egypt became afterwards generally known.
This change reached its height under the XXV. Dynasty, which was com
posed entirely of Ethiopian sovereigns, the last of them being Tirhakah.
The pyramids at Meroe may probably be referred to the Tirhakah
period. In the time of Psammetichus, Elephantine was the border
of Egypt. Under the Ptolemies the frontier was fixed at Hierasy-
kaminos, about 80 miles S. of Syene, and the district was called Dode-
kaschoinos, from that distance equalling 12 Egyptian schceni. Its
Egyptian name was " the district of the 12 Ar," which is mentioned in
the hieroglyphic inscriptions of Philae, Dendiir, and Dakka, where it is
described as extending to the island of Takompso (Ta-kem-sat) (Prof.
Sethe restricts the word to the district between Aswan and Philae).
Many temples, Kalabsha, Dakka, &c, belong to the Ptolemaic period.
Under the government of Cornelius Gallus, the first Boman prefect
of Egypt, we learn from a trilingual stela that an Ethiopian embassy
arrived in Philae, and the king of the Triakontaschoinos (beyond the
Dodekaschoinos) was taken under Boman protection. In the time of
the second (or, according to Mommsen, the third) prefect, Petronius,
an expedition was undertaken against the Ethiopians in consequence
of an attack made by them on the Boman garrison of Syene, the then
frontier town. Petronius penetrated to and destroyed Napata, the
capital of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians. Napata, according to
Pliny, was 870 Boman miles above the Cataracts, and is supposed to be
el-Barkal of the present day, where pyramids and extensive ruins
denote the former existence of an important city.
In the time of Strabo, who visited Egypt during the government of
rElius Gallus, Petronius's successor, Syene was again the frontier, the
Bomans having, as he observes, " confined the province of Egypt within
its former limits." Philae then belonged "in common to the Egyptians
and Ethiopians." This did not, however, prevent the Caesars from
considering Lower Ethiopia as belonging to them, or from adding to
the temples already erected there.
Strabo says the Ethiopians above Syene consisted of the Troglodytae,
Blemmyes, Nubae, and Megabari. The Megabari and Blemmyes in
habited the eastern desert N, of Meroe, towards the frontiers of Egypt,


Sect. VI.] eoute 26. — fiest cataract to second. 521
and were under the dominion of the Ethiopians. The Ichthyophagi
lived on the shore of the Bed Sea; the Troglodytae from Berenike
southwards, between it and the Nile ; and the Nubae, an African nation,
were on the left bank, and independent of Ethiopia.
The Blemmyes are the modern Bisharin and 'Ababda, while the
Nubae or Nobadae were the true Nubians or Berberines, who belong to a
perfectly distinct race. The Blemmyes were and are desert nomads ;
the Nubians are settled cultivators of the valley.
In the third cent. a.d. the Blemmyes became subject allies of the
Ethiopian king of Axum (p. 559) ; the inscription at Adulis speaks of the
overthrow of the chiefs of the Bega, as the Blemmyes were called, and
in the (later) bilingual inscription of Axum, king Aeizanes calls himself
fSatrtKtus of the Bugaites (Bega) and says that six of their $ao-iKiaKoi
were conquered by him. In 273 a.d. we find the Blemmyes assisting
the rebel Firmus against Aurelian ; and that this was done with the
sanction of their overlord, the king of Axum, is shown by the fact that
Aurelian brought Axumite prisoners to Borne. The Blemmyes, however,
had now grasped theidea that they might overrun and conquer the rich
valley ; they returned and took Thebes and Koptos, but were driven out
by Probus. Vopiscus describes the appearance of the captives for us.
From Procopius we learn that in a.d. 296, in the reign of Diocletian,
some Nubae, or Nobadae, were brought from the Oasis of El-Kharga,
and given the country above Syene on condition of their protecting
Egypt against the incursions of the Blemmyes. The Blemmyes,
however, succeeded in occupying the five towns of the Commilitium
Bomanum, making Talmis or Kalabsha their capital, and even pene
trated into the Thebaid, where in a.d. 452 Maximus, the general of
Marcian, was forced to make a treaty with them for 100 years. One of
the provisions of this treaty was that the pagan worship at Philas should
go on undisturbed under the protection of the Blemmyes, who were still
heathen. Olympiodorus speaks of the sympathy of their priests for Greek
culture. One of them, named Poae, is mentioned in a very interesting
document found at Gebelen (p. 479) and preserved at Cairo. This is
a grant of the island of Temsir or Tanare (at Gebelen ?) to this priest
by the fiaaiKeuricos (regulus) of the Blemmyes, Pakytimne. A similar
document of the same period (end of the fifth cent.), also found at
Gebelen, is the grant of the same island by the " basilisk" Kharakhein
to his sons Kharapatkhar and Kharazieu (Cairo Museum ; see above,
p. 132). Krall reads the last name " Kharaliiet," but this is improb
able : the word seems to be Xapa&ev, or, at any rate, Xapa(ier. From
these documents we learn that Upper Egypt, at least as far north as
Gebelen, was Blemmyan territory at this time, and that the " Boman "
inhabitants were governed by regular officials, appointed by the
barbarian king. The peace of 452 a.d. was soon broken by the bar
barians. St. Shenoute says they raided as far north as Tabenne (near
Dendera). At last, in the sixth century, the " Nobadae " were converted'
to Christianity, and at Kalabsha their King Silko, in an inscription in
somewhat barbarous Greek, records his triumph over the Blemmyes.
Half a century afterwards the country was conquered by the Arabs, by
whose writers it has always been called Noba. In a.d. 969 the Nubians
recovered their independence, but in 1172 they were again conquered
by the brother of Saladiu. Their conversion to Mohammedanism
followed, though Christianity was not entirely extinct in Nubia till the


524 EOUTE 26.  FIEST CATAEACT TO SECOND. [Sect. VI.
(W.) Kartassi, 26 m. from Shellal. The Temple is a short distance
N. of the village, to the N. of which are also some rock-tombs. Only a
few columns are standing. What interest it has is derived from its
picturesque position. A short distance S. of the temple is a sandstone
quarry, in which are one demotic and upwards of 50 Greek ex-votos.
They are mostly of the time of Antoninus Pius, M. Aurelius, and
Severus, in honour of Isis-Sruptikhis, to whom the neighbouring
temple was probably dedicated. Most of them were engraved by priests
of the " Gomos," or carriage of stones from the quarry for the construc
tion of temples, and one of them mentions the number of stones cut by
the writer for the great temple of Isis at Philae. In the centre of the
quarry 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 Boman workmanship. The
road by which the stones were taken from the quarry is still discernible,
and some inscriptions are found on either side of it. In one of these
Osiris is identified with the local god Pursepmunis.
The quarry lies midway between the temple and an ancient
enclosure of large hewn stones (25 min. S. of the temple), in the S.E.
part of which once stood a temple of Isis, seen by Legh in 1812, when
it possessed " 6 beautiful columns of 3 ft. diameter." On the N. side
of the enclosure, which now contains the houses of a village, is a pylon
having a few hieroglyphs, and the figure of Isis, with a head-dress
surmounted by the horns and globe (on the inner side of the E. wall).
(17.) Tafa, or Wadi Tafa (Taphis), 31 m., a prettily situated village
among groves of palms. Here are some more stone enclosures, but on
a smaller scale than that of Kartassi, being about 22 paces by 18. The
position of the stones is remarkable, each row presenting a crescent or
concave surface to the one above it, the stones at the centre being
lower than at the angles. In a length of 50 ft. the depression below
the horizontal line is 1 ft. 3 in. This form of wall-building occurs in
all Nubian temples of late date. In one enclosure are several rooms
communicating with each other by doorways ; but the enclosures
themselves are quite unconnected, and some at a considerable distance
from the rest. They are of Boman date, as the mouldings of the door
ways show ; but it is difficult to ascertain the use for which they were
intended. The stones are rough in the centre, and smooth at the edges,
as in many Boman buildings.
There are the remains of only one temple at Tafa ; they are inside
the village, and are in fact used by the natives as a dwelling-house.
The columns of the portico have disappeared. Behind the portico is a
chamber, which may have been the adytum. It was converted into a
church by the early Christians. On one of the walls is an almanack,
supposed to be of the fourth or fifth century. Christianity, introduced
in the age of Justinian, was the religion of Ethiopia till a late period
(though Edrisi considered it extinct in 1154 except in the desert),
since in Wansleb's time, 1673, the churches were still entire, and only
closed for the want of priests. Another temple, which was close to the
river, with a flight of steps leading down between two walls to a quay,
has lately disappeared. On the E. bank opposite Tafa are the founda
tions of a temple (Contra- Taphis).
Soon after passing Tafa the granite begins to reappear, and the
scenery reminds us of Philae and tbe Cataracts': Boulders of basalt





Fold out





Sect. VI.] EOUTE 26.— FIEST CATAEACT TO SECOND. 525
hnd6t= ^Z3^^6 ™ th,6 ltream' wMch flows ™th g^eat rapidity,
ho™ if lnt°, S6Veral channels by islands, not utterly barren
' 3ever. but. covered m many places with signs of cultivation. This
; « *v,7n re..n-Tev .exte.ndf for two °r three miles, and is called el-Bdb,
the Gate, it being in fact a series of rapids on a small scale.
+1 J wi Kafcbsha, 38 m., a village lying just above the rapids. It is
Nubia" Itinerary, and possesses ruins of the largest temple in
The Temple of Kaldbsha appears to have been built in the reign of
Augustus ; and though other Caesars, particularly Caligula, Trajan and
beverus, made considerable additions to the sculptures, it was left
unfinished. The stones employed in its construction had belonged to

THE TEMPLE OF KALABSHA.

an older edifice, to which it succeeded. On the inner E. wall of the
existing edifice Amen-hetep II. (XVIII. Dyn.) is mentioned as one of
the founders of the temple. The name of Thothmes III. could formerly
be traced on a granite statue, now lost, which lay near the quay before
the entrance, and in the small temple in the N.E. corner of the
exterior corridor we find the name of Ptolemy X. The present temple
was turned into a Christian church by Epimachus, the bishop of
Talmis, as we may gather from a mutilated inscription on the S. side
of the entrance.
This extensive building consists of a naos, hall of columns, and
court. The naos is divided into three successive chambers — the
adytum, a hall, and a third room opening on to the hall of columns,
40 ft. by 66 ft., which has twelve columns, three in depth and four in


Missing Page


528 EOUTE 26. — FIEST CATAEACT TO SECOND. [Sect. VI,
is perhaps alluded to in Deut.xxi. 12, though our translation has "pare
her nails." It is the Lawsonia spinosa et inermis of Linnaeus.
After passing Kalabsha, the hills shut in the river closely on both
sides, and hardly a strip of cultivation relieves the bare and arid
monotony of the scene. Here and there are to be seen jetties of loose
stones, intended to turn the force of the current, and prevent it washing
away what little soil there is. At Abu Hor (Markaz of Keniis ; P.T.)
is a stone quay of the Boman age, with some stones with hieroglyphs.
These jetties of course cannot be seen in winter, when the water is held
up by the dam at Aswan. The same may be said of most of the walls,
stone quays, and odd ruins mentioned in this part of the valley.
Further on the hills recede, and the scenery is less drear.
(W.) Dendur, 51 m., the ancient Enthilre. — The Temple of Dendilr
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 which is
a tablet, with the figure of a goddess, apparently Isis. In front of the
portico is a pylon, opening on an area 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 Egyptian cornice over the door, and
before it is an entrance-passage built of stone.
The sculptures are probably of the time of Augustus. The inscrip
tions commemorate a number of native gods, who seem to have been
deified Ethiopian princes. The Boman emperor, or "Pharaoh in
Senem," stands before Petisis and Pa-Hor, the sons of the dead Kupar,
as well as before the god Ar-hes-nefer. Petisis is called p-shai Enihuret,
"the good daemon of Dendur," and "prince of Sneui" ("the city of
the two divine brothers "), i.e. Dendur. Among the ruins of the town,
N. of the temple, is the image of the god (perhaps Kupar) which once
stood in the sanctuary. It represents an Ethiopian king. On the E.
wall of the platform of the temple the stones are covered with signs
which may be masons' marks. On the E. side of the S. wall of the
sanctuary is an important Coptic inscription, stating that the monk
Abraham had " planted the cross " there during the reign of the Nubian-
king, Eirpanome, when Joseph was exarch of Talmis (Kalabsha) and
Theodoros (a.d. 577) bishop of Philae. In the sanctuary the two lions
face to face at the feet of the central columns should be noticed.
(E.) The ruined mediaeval town of Sabagura, nearly opposite Gerf
Husen, occupies 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. The modern village is called Girsha.
(W.) Gerf Husen, 60 m., the ancient To-utj, Tutzis, in Coptic
Thosh, but, from being under the special protection of Ptah, the deity
of the place, called by the Egyptians Pa-Ptah, or " the Abode of Ptah,"
as well as To-utj or "Greenland."
The Temple is of the time of Bamses II. , entirely excavated in the
rock, except the portico or area in front. It is, therefore, a hemispeos.
At the upper end of the adytum are four sitting figures in high relief.
Three similar statues occur in each of the 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 remains
of the wall that enclosed it ; and the total depth of the excavated part
does not exceed 130 ft. The Osiride figures in the hall are very badly


Sect. VI.] eoute 26. — fiest cataeact to second. 529
executed, ill according with the usual sculpture of the second Bamses ;
nor are the statues of the sanctuary of a style worthy of that era. An
avenue of sphinxes once led from the temple to the river.
Opposite Gerf Husen is the village of Kosh, the ancient Kerkis. On
the W. bank, opposite Koshtamna, are the remains of a large fortress
and temple of the age of the XII. Dynasty. Here, in the spring of 1906,
excavations were carried on for the University of Liverpool, by Mr.
John Garstang, who found an interesting necropolis of the XII.
Dynasty, with pottery of prehistoric and " pan-grave " types.
(W.) Dakka, 70J m., is the Pselkis of the ' Itinerary ' of Pliny and of
Ptolemy. In hieroglyphs the name is written Pa-Selket, "the abode
of Selk, the scorpion-goddess." Strabo, who calls it Pselchi, says it was
an Ethiopian city in his time ; the Bomans having given up all the
places south of Philae and the Cataracts, the natural frontier of Egypt.
It was here that Petronius (in a.d. 23) defeated the generals of Candace,
and then, having taken the city, advanced to Primis (Ibrim) 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
Bomans, who crossed over in boats and rafts.
The Temple was founded by Ark- Amen, an Ethiopian king, on the
site of an older one which went back to the time of the XII. Dynasty,
as a stone with the name of Amenemhat I. has been found here. On
other stones are the names of Thothmes III. and Seti I. The existing
edifice was added to and decorated by the Ptolemies and Caesars. 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. Ark-Amen is the Ergamenes of Diodorus, who, according to the
Greek historian, was the first to put an end to the power of the priests
in Ethiopia; and when, in accordance with the prerogative they
claimed, they sent him a message from the gods ordering him to die,
he not only declined to obey, but ordered the priests themselves to be
slaughtered. That he failed not, however, to do honour to the gods
is shown by the representations of him here presenting offerings to the
different deities of the temple. Over one of the side doors he is styled
" Son of Khnemu and Osiris, born of Sati and Osiris, nursed by Anukit
and Nephthys." His wife Kleopatra is also commemorated here.
The temple was dedicated to Thoth of Penubs or Hierasykaminos,
called Hermes Pautnuphis and Hermes Trismegistos in the Greek
inscriptions ; but various other deities are commemorated, including
the Ethiopian Ar-hes-nefer, "the great god, the lord of Abaton." Ark-
Amen declares that Isis of Abaton and Philae had given him the land
of Kens, or Nubia, "even the district of Dodekaschoinos (the 12 Ar)
from Syen6 (Sunnu) to Takompso." On the W. side of his sanctuary
is a staircase leading to the roof, and on the E. side a cella of the Boman
age, on the wall of which are the two lions of Shu face to face, and
above them Tefnut as the lion of the south in the holy island of Philae.
At the N. end of the sanctuary Ptolemy Philopator built a pylon, com
memorating on its doorway his wife Arsinoe, as well as Philadelphus
Euergetes I. and their queens. This building became a sekos when
Ptolemy Physkon added a pronaos (24.J ft. by 27 ft.) and gateway, on the
2 M


Sect. VI.] eoute 26. — fiest cataeact to second. 531
the names of Thothmes III. (XVIII. Dyn.) and Bamses II. (XIX. Dyn.)
and on a lion-headed statue is that of Hor-em-heb (XVII. Dyn.). *
The most interesting inscription is one which relates the boring by
Bamses II. of a well at the goldmines of " Akita," and the re-opening
of the mines. It has been translated by Dr. ' S. Birch in ' Becords of
the Past,' viii. 75 et seep Dr. Brugsch conjectures that this fortress
marks the point of departure at that period for communication with
the gold mines in the Wadi 'Olaki (see ' Egypt under the Pharaohs,'
p. 288). The modern mines in this wadi (Umm Garaiart) are usually
reached from
(E.) 'Oldki or Alagi, the village which gives its name to the Wadi,
5 m. S. of Ktibban.
(W.) Korti, 74 m., the ancient Corte. 1 m. N. of the village was a
small unadorned temple, dedicated to Isis, and a block of stone with
the name of Thothmes III., now entirely destroyed. W. of the site arc
the traces of a large city, which may have been Takompso.
(W.) Maharraka, 77| m., marks the site of Hierasykaminos, the
limit of the Dodekaschoinos, and S. boundary of Egypt under the
Ptolemies. A large part of the temple has fallen. On a wall is a rudo
representation of Isis seated under the sacred fig-tree, and some other
figures of a Boman epoch. Near it is an open court with peristyle on
two sides, of the time of the Caesars, unfinished as usual ; and, as we
learn from a Greek ex-voto on one of the columns, it is dedicated to
Isis and Serapis. Five lotus-columns still stand, with the architrave
above them. Like most of the edifices in Nubia, it has been used as a
place of worship by the early Christians. Maharraka is called Mauragi
in Coptic, and is the Penubs of the hieroglyphic texts. The temple is
sometimes called that of Ofedina, from the name of a neighbouring
village. Soon after leaving Maharraka, the cultivated soil on the banks again
narrows, and the desert comes almost to the brink of the river.
On the W. bank is the ruined Coptic town of Ikhmindi or Mehendi
(Copt. Mohon), the S. gate of which has been built of stones taken from
an Egyptian temple. The houses are well preserved and are interesting.
(W.) Wadi es-Sebu'a, 97 m., or the " Valley of the Lions," so
called by the Arabs from the andro-sphinxes of the dromos that led
up to the temple. This temple is of the epoch of Bamses II. 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 side, now more or less broken and buried, and terminated by
two statues with sculptured stelce at their back, still standing, as well
as by two Osiride figures on either side of the pylon at the W. end of
the dromos : to this succeed the two pyramidal towers of the propylon ;
the area, with eight Osiride figures attached to the pillars, supporting
the architraves and roofs of the lateral corridors ; and the interior
chambers, which are generally closed by the drifted sand. On the
walls of the area, near the ground, is what purports to be a list of the
children of Bamses IL, each with his name and title. According to
this wonderful catalogue, he had 178.
The chambers, now buried under the sand, afford some curious
evidence of having been used as a Christian church. Over the god
whose image was carved in the adytum has been plastered a picture of


532 EOUTE 26. — FIEST CATARACT to second. [Sect. VI.
St. Peter : the other paintings, however, have not been altered and the
result is that Bamses II. is now seen making offerings to a Christian
saint. All these rock-hewn chambers have been thickly plastered, in
order to fill up many holes and cracks that occurred, owing to the
coarseness of the grain of the stone, and the hieroglyphs have been
impressed in this plaster when wet. The ancient name of the place
seems to have been Pa-Amen, "Temple of Amen." A small temple of
Thothmes III., with coloured reliefs, was found here by Mr. B. L. Mond
in 1905. Soon after passing Sebu'a, the hills close in on the E. bank, and at
Malka the river begins to take a considerable bend. In the northern
angle of this bend, where the eastern hills again fall back considerably,
lies (E.) Kor6sko (109 m., 703 m. from Cairo), the chief town of the
district (P., T.)'. From this point the direct road lies across the desert
to Abu Hamed and the Upper Nile, Berber, Sennaar, Khartum, &c.
Formerly a large amount of traffic came from the Sudan into Egypt
by this road; but during the wars of the last few years and the
abandonment of the Sudan the trade entirely ceased, and is now
seriously rivalled by the steamer and rly. from Wadi Haifa. It was by
this road that General Gordon went to Khartum in 1884.
[The distance to Abii Hdmed is about 240 m., and the journey takes
8-9 days ; the chief place on the way (4 days from Korosko) is
Miirhad or Murat Wells, held by an Egyptian garrison during the
interregnum in the Sudan. The Wells lie in a hollow among the hills
which are seen to the E. by the rly. traveller from Wadi Haifa to Abii
Hamed. There are no trees, the rock is granite, and generally speaking
Murat Wells may be considered one of the most desolate places on earth.
From Murat to Abu Hamed is flat desert : 4 or 5 days.]
It is worth while to walk a little way inland from Kor6sko, and
climb one of the highest peaks. The view obtained will give a vivid
impression of the savage sterility of this desert : barren hills rising one
behind the other as far as the eye can reach, only separated by as
barren valleys. The rock is sandstone, thickly covered here and there
with volcanic remains. A rock-cut inscription of Amenemhat I. exists
here. Looking up-river towards 'Amada the view is most beautiful.
The bend of the river still continues, and to such an extent that its
course between Korosko and Derr is S.S.E. This often detains boats
for a considerable time on the way up, as it is impossible to get on if a
N. wind is blowing. Government tugs are generally to be had at
Korosko, to haul dahabiyas up to Derr.
(ir.) 'Amada, 117J m. Here, high up on the sandy bank, is a
small but very elegant Temple, which has lately (1906) been cleared
of sand by jProfessor J. H. Breasted, of Chicago. The name of
Usertsen III., probably the founder of the original shrine, occurs in it.
The existing temple was founded by Thothmes III., who dedicated it
to Harmachis and Amen-Ba, and in one picture is represented as
embraced by Isis. It was completed by Amen-hetep II. and Thothmes
IV., whose names are found on some of the columns in the portico.
It consists of a portico with square pillars, a transverse corridor with
three round columns with square abaci, and three inner chambers the
central one of which is the adytum. The sculptures on the walls are
as remarkable for the beauty of their style as for the wonderful way iq


Sect. VI.] eoute 26. — fiest cataeact to second. 533
which, in many places, the colouring has been preserved. This is no
doubt owing to the unintentional aid of the early Christians, who here,
as in many other places, covered the sculptures with mud and mortar
to conceal them from sight, and thus protected them from the ravages
of time. In the doorway is an ex-voto of Setau, Prince of Kush in the
time of Bamses II.
At the rear of the adytum is a stela of Amen-hetep IL, in which he
describes his treatment of the seven Amorite kings whom he captured
after a revolt in the land of Takhisa (the Biblical " Thahash ") in Syria.
They were carried up the Nile, bound, in the royal dahabiya, as far as
Thebes, where six of them were hanged on the city wall. The seventh
was taken to Napata in Ethiopia, and there hanged on the city wall
in order to strike terror into the minds of ' ' all the tribes of the
Negro-land." Near here, in 1907, Mr. Bandall-Maciver discovered an
Ethiopian town of the Saite period.
(E.) Derr, 121J m., a village of 1,000 inhab., in former times important
as the seat of the Kashef of Derr, who ruled Lower Nubia. At the back
of the town, on the edge of the desert, is a rock-cut Temple of no great
size, the total depth being only 110 ft. It is of the time of Bamses II.
(XIX Dyn.), but the speos is badly excavated (the axis of the main
hall is curved) and the sculptures are not worthy of that epoch. They
are now, too, very much mutilated. In the area, built partly in tbe
open, which contained a triple row of Osiride columns, was a battle-
scene ; but little now remains, except the imperfect traces of chariots
and horses, and some confused figures. On the rt. of the entrance to
the pronaos the king is represented, in the presence of Amen-Ba, slaying
the prisoners he has taken, and accompanied by a lion ; and on the
opposite side the lion seizes one of the falling captives as he is held by
the victorious monarch. Below, on the rt., is a procession of the royal
children, headed by Amen-hcr-khopeshef. At the upper end of the
sanctuary is a niche which contained four sitting figures.
Ba was the chief deity of the sanctuary, from whom the ancient
town received the name of Hat-Ba, " the Abode, of tbe Sun " ; and we
find that this "temple of Bamses" was also considered under the
special protection of Amen-Ba and of Thoth. Ptah likewise held a
distinguished place among the contemplar gods.
S. of the temple are some rock-tombs without inscriptions, and to
the N. are numerous other tombs, besides stelce. In the tomb of a
certain Anupa is a representation of two dogs. There is also a tombj,
approached by a staircase, near which are the name and titles of its
owner in hieratic, and a niche once containing an image of the deceased,
to whom offerings were made, afterwards occupied in Christian times
by a picture to Christ, and now dedicated to the " Shekh Isu." or
Jesus, to whom bread and dura are still offered.
After leaving Derr, the aspect of the river-banks is much less bare.
The strip of soil is broader here than elsewhere in Nubia, and nowhere
is it cultivated with more care. The sakiyas are innumerable. There
is one at nearly every 100 yards ; and where the banks are high, there
are often two or three one above the other. The noise made by these
machines, which go night and day, is something astounding. They are
never greased, and turn round with one constant shrill shriek or dull
groan according as the wood is new or old.
IE.) On the road from Derr to Ibrim, inland, is a speos cut m the


Sect. VI.] eoute 26. — fiest cataeact to second. 535
It is probable that the Bomans, finding the position of Primis so
well adapted for the defence of their territories, 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 Sultan Selim as one of the
places peculiarly adapted for a permanent station of the troops left by
him to keep the Nubians in check ; and the descendantsof Sultan Selim's
Bosniak Turks remained there till expelled from it by the Mamelukes
(or Ghfiz), on their way to Shendi, in 1811. The Mamelukes reduced
it to its present state of ruin. It is well worth climbing to the top
of the hill for the sake of the View.
In the cliff beneath Kasr Ibrim are five interesting painted grottoes
(extremely difficult of access ; only possible with ropes), bearing the
names of Thothmes I. and III., of Amen-hetep IL, and of Bamses IL,
with statues in high relief at their upper end. On the wall of one is
sculptured a representation of the bringing of the Nubian tribute to
the king at Thebes.
Starting from the S., the first is that of Nahi, governor of the South
under Thothmes III., whose image is placed between those of Horus
and Sati at.the E. end. The second belongs to the reign of Bamses II.
In it is a representation of Setau, prince of Kush. The third is of
the time of Thothmes III., and the fourth of that of Amen-hetep II.
On the N. side of the, cliff are the site of the old Egyptian tcwn of
Mam and an early Coptic church, and near the latter a rock-inscription
recording the visit of a certain Mentu-hetep in the age of the XL
Dynasty. On the S. side are extensive Coptic potteries, and on the W.
face of the next cliff to -the S. of Kasr Ibrim ,Sayce discovered, in 1894,
an inscription of twelve lines, celebrating the victories of Set* I. in the
Sudan and Asia. At the side are three vertical lines of text in which
¦ Amen-em-apet, prince of Kush, praises Aten-Ba, and above is a figure
of the Pharaoh slaying an enemy, while a two- horsed chariot is gallop
ing away from the field of battle.
Midway between Kasr Ibrim and Fereg, and J m. N. of Ermenna, is
a stela at an angle of the cliff, which contains a hymn of praise to Horus,
lord of Mam, by a governor of the South.
(W.) Opposite Ermenna is the site of a town of the Boman period. .
(E.) About half-way from Ibrim to Bostdn Wilkinson saw a mound
and a stela, about 6 ft. high, with hieroglyphs. " Bostan " is the Turkish
word for "garden," and the name was probably given to the place by
the soldiers of Sultan Selim.
A short way beyond it-, at Toski (the Nubian word signifying
" three "), are 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 without a pilot. Toski el-Gharb, where the Dervishes
under the Emir Wad Er-Nejumi were defeated by Sir Francis (now
Lord) Grenfell on Aug. 3, 1889, is on the W. bank, seven miles distant.
After passing Toski, the river in many places flows literally through
the desert. There is no cultivation on either bank. But the aspect of
the E. bank is quite different from that of the W. : bleak, black, and
weird-looking, the former lacks the golden sands which brighten up the
Libyan desert, and clothe its valley and hillsides.
. (W.) Abu Simbel ("Father of the Ear of Corn"), 168 m., the ancient


536 eoute 26. — fiest cataeact to second. [Sect. VI.
Abshek, the classical Abokkis. Here are the most interesting remains
met with in Nubia. It has two temples hewn in the gritstone rock,
both of the time of Bamses II. ; which, besides their grandeur, contain
highly-finished sculptures, and throw great light on the history of that
conqueror. Electric light is installed in the temples of Abu Simbel. But
magnesium lamps are the best things to use in all cases where a strong
light is required for seeing the general effect. In the early part of the
year the rising sun streams through the entrance of the temple and
lights up the whole of it.
The small Temple of Hathor, between which and the Great Temple
a subterranean passage seems to have existed, is excavated in the

PLAN AND SECTION OP THE GREAT TEMPLE AT ABU SIMBEL.
perpendicular side of the rock, and is the first reached from the N.
The facade (90 ft. broad) is adorned with several statues in prominent
relief of the king. The interior is divided into a hall (34 ft. by 27 ft.)
of six square pillars bearing the head of Hathor, a transverse corridor
with a small chamber at each extremity, and an adytum, in which the
goddess Hathor is represented under the form of the sacred cow, her
emblem, which also occurs in the pictures on the wall. Her title here
is "Lady of Abshek" (Abokkis), which, being in the country of the
Ethiopians, is followed in the hieroglyphs by the sign signifying " foreign
land." Among the contemplar deities are Horus, Set, Ba, Amen-Ba,
Isis, and Ptah, as well as Khnemu, Sati, and Anukit, the triad of the
Cataracts. The monarch is throughout accompanied by his queen,


Sect. VI.] eoute 26. — fiest cataeact to second. 537
Nefert-ari. The total depth of this excavation is about 90 ft. from the
floor. To the N. is a stela of Ani of Herakleopolis, prince of Kush,
who stands before Bamses II. ; still further to the N. Nefert-ari, the
favourite wife of that king, is represented, seated, in a niche cut out of
the cliff. After passing some rock-inscriptions to the N., we next reach
the desert and the site of an ancient city, probably the Heri-ab-Amen
(" Contenting the heart of Amen ") of the hieroglyphic inscriptions.
The Great Temple is a little to the S., and separated from the
Hathor-temple by a great flow of sand from the top of the cliffs.
Exteriob. — It also is excavated in the rock, the surface of which
has been cut away so as to form a gigantic facade, more than 100 ft.
high and 119 wide. It does not directly face the river, but looks across
it in an oblique direction northwards. The Cornice, formed by 22
seated cynocephali, is surmounted by a frieze, on which is the dedicatory
inscription to Ba-Harmachis and Amen, and in a niche over the entrance
is a large statue of the sun-god, the protector of the place, to whom
Bamses II. , the founder of the temple, is offering a figure of Maat.
Amen and Ptah are the contemplar gods, so that three chief divinities
of the empire are commemorated in this truly imperial temple.
The wonder and marvel of this stupendous facade are the four
gigantic statues which adorn it, the most beautiful of all Egyptian
colossi. They represent Bamses II. They are seated on thrones
attached to the rock, and the faces of some of them, which are fortun
ately well preserved, evince a beauty of expression the more striking
as it is unlooked for in statues of such dimensions. Their total height
is about 66 ft. without the pedestal. The ear measures 3 ft. 5 in. ;
forefinger (i.e. to the fork of middle finger), 3 ft. ; from inner side of
elbow joint to end of middle finger, 15 ft., &c. The head of one of the
statues (S. of the entrance) is broken off, but the others are tolerably
intact. That to the N. was restored by Seti II. On their legs are the
Greek and Karian inscriptions of the Ionian and Karian soldiers of
Psammetichus first discovered by Mr. Bankes and Mr. Salt. There
are also some Phcenician inscriptions of a little later date, one of
which was written by Kushi "the Ethiopian," the son of 'Abd-Pa'm,
while in another Eshmunyathon says that he ascended the river
as far as the city of Soharu. The early Greek graffiti are eight in
number, among the writers being a Teian, a Kolophonian, and an
Ialysian from Bhodes. The longest and most important is on the
leg of the colossus left of the entrance. It reads : " When King
Psamatikhos came to Elephantine, those who sailed with Psamatikhos,
son of Theokles, wrote this. Now they came above Kerkis as far as the
river let them go up. And Potasimto (Eg. Petesamtoui) led the
foreigners (aAAoyAoaos, sic) and Amasis the Egyptians. And Archon
the son of Amoibichos, and Pelekos, the son of nobody (ovSa/xov), wrote
this (lit. us)." The expedition must be the one described by Herodotus
(ii. 30), when Psammetichus pursued the 240,000 native troops, who,
tired of their three years' service at Syene, had deserted and were
flying to Ethiopia. Herodotus makes the Pharaoh Psammetichus I.,
but epigraphists believe that it was really Psammetichus II. Of the
names in this inscription that of Potasimto has been doubted, and
ovSa/xov has been translated "son of Udamos," rather than "son of
nobody," but the latter explanation is probably correct, and Potasimto


538 EOUTE 26.  FIEST CATAEACT TO SECOND. [Sect. VI-.
is certainly right, as it is a good Egyptian name, characteristic of this
period, Petesamtoiii, " He who is given by (Horus) the uniter of the two
lands." Besides these inscriptions are others, written by Greeks who visited
the place at a later time.
By the side of the colossi, on either side of the entrance, are the
figures of Nefert-ari, and attached to the colossi are also the figures of
Tua, the mother of Bamses II. , his eldest son Amen-her-khopesh-ef, and
his.daughters Nebt-taui and Bint-'Anat. The walls of the passage lead
ing to the entrance are adorned with rows of figures representing the
nations of Africa (S. side) and Asia (N. side) conquered by the king, and
to the S. is a passage with a stela, facing N. , dated in the 34th year of
Bamses II. , celebrating his marriage with a Hittite princess. Above,
the king is represented under a canopy between two gods, and at his side
is Ur-maat-neferu-Ba, the Hittite princess, whose marriage with the
Pharaoh sealed the treaty between him and Khetasar, the Hittite
(Kheta) king. Her father accompanies her in Hittite dress. There .
is also a stela of the general Amen-her with the prince Seti (afterwards
Seti II. ), Tua, and Bint-'Anat, as well as an inscription of 23 lines in
which Bamses declares that he had subdued both Kush and Kheta.
Immediately in front of the temple is the grave of Major Tidswell,
who was wounded during the Sudan war of 1884-85, and died here on
his way to Cairo.
Interior. — The interior of the temple was first cleared of sand and
entered by Belzoni, Beechey, Irby and Mangles, in July 1817, in the face
of great difficulties and the opposition of the natives. The sand, how
ever, soon poured into it again, and it was accordingly cleared by
Lepsius in 1844 and by Mariette in 1869. Since the British occupation
a wall has been built at the top of the cliff to check the overflow of
the sand, and the cliff itself has been made secure. These operations
were carried out by a detachment of Boyal Engineers, under Col. J. H.
Johnstone,, B.E., in 1892. But the sand is now again encroaching.
We pass through the entrance (a) into a large Hall (b), supported by
8 Osiride columns. Each of the figures attached to these columns
is, without the cap and pedestal, nearly 18 ft. high ; their other
dimensions are, from the shoulder to the elbow, 4 ft. 6 in. ; from .the
elbow to the wrist, 4 ft. 3 in. ; from the nose to the chin, 8 in. ; the
ear, 13$ in. ; the nose, about 10 in. ; the face, nearly 2 ft. ; and the total
height, without the cap and pedestal, 17 ft. 8 in. The hall measures
58 ft. by 54 ft.
The sculptures on the walls are chiefly historical subjects relating to
the conquests of Bamses II. A large tablet, containing the date of his
1st year, extends over great part of the N. wall ; and another, between
the last two pillars on the opposite side of this hall, of his 35th year,
has been added long after the temple was completed. Among the
battle-scenes is a representation of the defeat of the Hittites before
Kadesh, in the' 5th year of Bamses— a repetition of that at the
Bamesseum, but more perfectly preserved. The river Orontes which
encircled Kadesh, is painted blue. To the 1. is the Egyptian camp
attacked by the Hittites, who, however, were repulsed by the regiment
of Amen, commanded by the king himself, the other Egyptian troops
having been sent northward in consequence of the false report of two


Sect. VI.] EOUTE 26.— FIEST CATAEACT TO SECOND. 539
Bedawi spies, who in the lower scene arc being flogged and examined
before the Pharaoh.
On the S. wall Bamses is represented storming a fortress in the land
of Betennu or Syria, with his 3 sons, Amen-her-khopesh-ef, Bamses
and Ba-hor-unami-f , behind him ; in a second scene he is trampling on
a prostrate Syrian ; and in a third scene he returns home in triumph
with two rows of prisoners from the land of Wawat or Nubia marching
before his chariot. We see also the sacred arks of the Egyptians,
which they carried with them in their foreign expeditions.
From this hall we pass into another (c) supported by 4 square
columns, on which and on the walls are depicted religious subjects,
among them the procession of the sacred barque. Three doors lead
from this hall into a third (d) covered with similar scenes, out of which
open three rooms. The centre is the sanctuary (e), with an altar in the
middle, and at the end four seated figures, the first of which to the
right is Harmachis, and then come Bamses himself, Amen, and Ptah.
Eight other rooms open out of the large Hall ; some of them have lofty
benches projecting from the walls.
The total depth of this excavation, from the door, is about 200 ft.,
without the colossi and slope of the facade.
S. of the Great Temple is a rock-cut chamber, 21 ft. by 14 ft. in
width, elaborately sculptured and painted, with inscriptions by Bamses
II. " This chamber is preceded by the ruins of a vaulted atrium (25 ft.
by 22J ft.), in sun-dried brickwork, and adjoins the remains of what
would appear to be a massive wall or pylon, which contains a staircase
terminating in an arched doorway leading to the vaulted atrium before
mentioned." _ The chamber is a chapel dedicated by Bamses to Thoth
"in Heri-ab-Amen." It was discovered by Mr. McCallum, Miss Amelia
B. Edwards, and party in 1874 (see ' A Thousand Miles up the Nile,'
eh. xviii.).
It is a toilsome climb to the top of the cliff above the statues, but the
View is a very fine one.
(E.) Nearly opposite Abu Simbel is the village of Fereg, behind which
are some uninscribed tombs. To the S., in the W. face of the Gebel
Adda, and a little above the water-level, is a small excavated Temple,
consisting of a hall (25 ft. square), supported by four columns, two side
chambers or wings, and an adytum. It was constructed by Hor-em-
heb, who on the W. wall of the Hall is suckled by Anukit, while
Khnemu, "lord of the pure water in Du-uab," stands beside her. Else
where the king is represented before Thoth, Set and Horus, who is
called lord of the Nubian districts of Maha, Bak (perhaps Gebel Adda),
Buhen (Wadi Haifa), Kensi and Mam. At a later time the temple
became a Christian church, for which its cruciform plan was probably
thought particularly appropriate. On the ceiling are paintings of our
Saviour with a glory, and raised hand in act of blessing St. George, who
is spearing the dragon. In the sanctuary are two sedilia. On the
walls are some Coptic inscriptions, and on the S. wall of the adytum is
a long text of 14 lines, in what Lepsius calls " Christian Ethiopic," of
which other examples exist on a rock (now partly broken) at the foot
of the cliff on which Kasr Ibrim stands, and at Soba and Geteina in
the Sudan. The letters are those of the Coptic alphabet, but the
language is unknown.


540 EOUTE 26. — FIEST CATAEACT TO SECOND. [Sect. VI.
(E.) S. of Gebel Adda is the village of Shatawi, opposite which rises
(W) a conical hill called Mashal-kit, or "Sun-rock" in Nubian, of
which Gebel esh-Shems is the Arabic rendering. On the summit are
the ruins of the Saracenic fortress of Kala'at Adda. On the W. slope
is the tomb of Paser, prince of Kush and governor of the South. The
cartouche of the Pharaoh under whom he lived is much injured, but
seems to be that of Ai (XVIII. Dyn.). On either side of the tomb are
several ex-votos, that in 4 lines to the S. being addressed by Kaja, son
of Thothmes, to " Anukit of Heri-ab-Amen," while on the S. wall of the
tomb is a record of Pen-nut, whose tomb is near Aniba (see above).
(E.) Adenddn, the last village belonging to Egypt. This place was
attacked by Dervish raiders so late as 1895. The frontier of the Sudan
is soon passed.
(W.) Farras (179J m.), a little S., is supposed to be the Phthuris of
Pliny ; and, from the many sculptured blocks and columns there, it is
evident that some ancient town existed on that spot ; judging from the
style, they appear to belong to the Boman epoch. In the walls of a
Saracenic fortress, however, are fragments of an Egyptian temple.
A little to the S. is a small tomb with hieroglyphs of the time of
Bamses II. , " beloved of Hathor, the mistress of Abshek " ; and in the
hills, J m. to the westward, are three tombs hewn in the rock, the
central one of which was turned into a church in the early days of
Nubian Christianity, and its walls are covered with Coptic inscriptions.
Most of these consist of passages from the Bible or homilies, but one
of them is an early Coptic version of the letter of Abgarus, king of
Edessa, to Christ; another gives a list of the bishops of Heroopolis
(near Suez), and a third is dated in " the 10th year of the Indiction, the
year of Diocletian 455," i.e. a.d. 739. They swarm with bats. To the
S.W. are ruins of baked brick, with stone columns, of late date.
(E.) Opposite Farras is a ruined town of the Coptic age.
Farras is the first village in Anglo-Egyptian territory : the frontier
of the Sudan, where the British flag flies, has been passed.
Nominally the frontier runs from Farras parallel with the E. bank
of the river to the 22° N. lat., which it follows to the Bed Sea, but the
administrative boundary runs from Korosko in a zigzag direction,
following the tribal boundaries, to the sea at Bir Shalaten, near Bas
Elba or Edineb (p. 213). The desert country which the frontier
crosses is called the Etbai. Its most important valley, the Wadi
Alagi or 'Olaki (p. 531), is partly in Sudanese territory, its upper
portion, in the direction of Jebel Humeitra, lying almost on the 22nd
parallel. (W.) J m. from Serret el-Gharb (West Serra, 183 m.), near the
river-bank, are the ruins of a small temple of Bamses II. , excavated by
Capt. Lyons in 1892. On the N. side (crowned by a conspicuous Coptic
arched window of brick) of the entrance is a list of the Asiatic people
the king claims to have conquered, and on the S. side are the names
of his Sudanese enemies. The temple was dedicated to Amen-Ba and
was called User-Madt-Rd-ser-shefi. It is often erroneously called the
temple of " Aksheh."
(E.) At Serra, opposite Serret el-Gharb, are the ruius of a Coptic
town, three churches, walls of fortification of the Boman age, and a
stone quay of the same date. On the S. side are five rock-tombs, and


Sect. VI.] eoute 26. — fiest cataeact to second. 541
on the N. side some quarries of the Egyptian period. The three ruined
Coptic churches on the W. bank S. of Serret el-Gharb do not repay a visit.
(E.) Eshka, 193 m. (W.) Argin, where on July '2, 1889, the Dervish
emir En-Nejumi, when on his way north to Toski (see above), was
attacked and severely handled by a small force under Colonel
Wodehouse. The hamlet of Dabrosa is now the town of Taufikiya* (198 m. ;
800J m. from Cairo ; P. T., mudiriya), the civil cantonment of Haifa,
surrounded by a wall and containing the post-office, hotel, shops, and
Haifa Rly. Station, the northern terminus of the Sudan Government
Bailways. The town has a population of about 2,500. " Wadi Haifa "
is really the name of a village some miles to the south (see below) ; but
until lately the place usually meant by the name has been Wadi Haifa
Camp ; now, however, the name " Haifa " is usually restricted to the
town of Taufikiya, and the latter word is being allowed to drop into
disuse. " Wadi Haifa " will soon mean the native village of that name
only, and much confusion will then be avoided. 1J m. S. of Haifa is
the Camp or "Lines," with the houses of the officers, an esplanade
along tbe river-bank, barracks, and the " Camp " rly. station and works.
The Egyptian troops are stationed to the N., and the Sudanese troops
to the S. of it. The "Lines" are built on tbe site of the villages of
Aukash and Sukkoi, which were destroyed to make room for the Camp.
The island of Siiwarti, marked on the maps, no longer exists. About
2 m. S. of the village of Wddi Haifa proper, which is itself 3 m. S. of
the Camp, is the N. end of the Second Cataract.


542 THE ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN. [Sect. VII.

SECTION VII.
THE ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN.
Route. I'AOK
The Sudan : Preliminary Information . . . 542
27. Halfa to Dongola and Gebel Barkal . . . 543
28. Halfa to Khartum . . . . . 554
29. Khartum to Port Sudan and Suakin (Bed Sea) . 569
30. Khartum to the Abyssinian Frontier . . . 573
31. Khartum to Kordofan and Darfur . . . 577
32. Khartum to the Bahe el-Ghazal, Uganda and Mombasa 579

THE SUDAN" : PRELIMINARY IN FORMATION".
The traveller has now passed under another Governmental system,
entirely independent of that of Egypt, which preserves a suzerainty over
the country in conjunction with that of England. The Sudanis under
the joint control of England and Egypt, and the two flags fly side by
side in it. But to all intents and purposes the Sudan is a British
colony. All the higher officials are British. The history of the
country, including the story of its reconquest from the barbarous rule
of the Mahdi and his successor the Khalifa, has already been told in the
Introduction (p. [85]), where also a description of the Sudanese
administration and railways has been given (pp. [23], [6]). By the
treaty of Jan. 19, 1899, the Governor-General of the Sudan is a British
officer, the Sirdar of the Egyptian army, who is nominated by the
Khedive on the recommendation of the British Government, and can
not be removed except with the consent of the latter. Egypt pays for
the cost of the Anglo-Egyptian army of occupation, and makes good
the deficit on the cost of administration : England pays the interest of
the Sudan loan. The revenue still shows a deficit, as the population
has been much thinned by years of war and Mahdist tyranny, and it
is impossible to lay any very heavy taxation on the impoverished people.
[Gum, india-rubber, ostrich-feathers, and ivory pay an export duty of 20 per cent. ;
there are the usual taxes on palms, horses, sakiyas, and boats. It should be noted
that in the south tlie Maria Theresa dollar (P.T.9*) may he met with, as well as the
Egyptian currency. In Abyssinia this dollar is the usual monetary medium of exchange.
The ordinary tourist who goes to Khartum by corridor train needs no further advice
beyond that already given in the Introduction ; the traveller who leaves the beaten
track will know what he wants in the way of camp paraphernalia, &c. All contracts
for guides, boats, camels, &a., should be concluded in the presence of the Mamur of
the 'district. For Guns a licence is required, obtainable at the Haifa mudiriya.
Gun, P.T. 50, pistol, P.T.25. The shooting licence costs P.T.25 per day, £E.5 a year.
For Big Game, £E.25, and a special fee for each animal shot. The giraffe,
rhinoceros, eland, zebra, and onager are strictly preserved.]





Fold out





Sect. VII.] route 27. — halfa to dongola. 543

ROUTE 27.
Haifa to Dongola and Gebel Barkal.
[This route will be used by ordinary tourists as far as the Second Cataract ;
beyond it is of interest to archicologists only. Special arrangements must be made
at Haifa, as the Ely. to Kerma is in bad repair, and is only occasionally used as
far as Kosheh.]
(W.) Opposite Wadi Haifa are two temples, first explored by Cham
pollion, and excavated by Col. Holled Smith and Capt. Lyons in 1892.
The small Northern Temple, which is now filled up with sand, was
founded by Usertsen I. (XII. Dyn.), who gives a list of the Sudanese
peoples conquered by him on a broken stela, now at Florence, which
was found in the sanctuary of the temple. The upper half of it was
discovered in 1829, and removed to Florence by Bosellini ; the lower
half was found by Capt. Lyons in 1895, and is now re-joined to the
upper half at Florence. It was published in the ' Proceedings of the
Society of Biblical Archaeology,' 1901, by Prof. Breasted. The temple
was rebuilt by Amen-hetep IL, whose name is on some of the columns.
A stela oi Bamses I. was found in it, and at the foot of a column on
the N. side of the pronaos is an ex-voto of the viceroy Pinehasi dated
in the reign of Bamses XII. (XX. Dyn.). The Southern Temple has
by some strange misconception been christened by tourists " The
Temple of Ben Hur." It was cleared and further excavated in 1905
by Mr. J. W. Crowfoot, of the Sudan Service, and Mr. P. D. Scott-
Moncrieff, of the British Museum, who carried out necessary repairs
and covered the central chamber with a roof. Dedicated to the Horus
of Buhen, it was begun by Thothmes II. and completed by Thothmes
III., who caused a stela to be engraved on the square column on the S.
side of the forecourt, recording his victories over the Menti of Sati
(tribes of the eastern desert), the Tahennu (Libyans), Fenkhu, and
other nations, up to his 23rd year. Some of the columns in the fore
court bear the cartouches of Bamses III. and Bamses IV. The fore
court is bounded by a later brick wall, in which are imbedded 13 square
pillars which originally formed an open colonnade, and 13 columns
arranged in a rectangle, 5 on the E. side, 6 on the W., and 1 at each
of the N. and S. ends. The columns are round, except on the E. side,
where they are alternately round and square. Three of the columns
were originally round, but have been enlarged by the addition of a
square pilaster on one side. The asymmetry of the forecourt is due to
an alteration of plan during building. From the forecourt we enter
the sanctuary, which is surrounded by an open colonnade of 8 columns
on either side (counting in two at the junction with the forecourt).
The small chamber on the S.W. side of the forecourt has been formed
by uniting 3 of the columns with brick walls containing ancient frag
ments. The sanctuary consists of a pronaos, which opens into
3 chambers, the southernmost of which serves as a passage to the
adytum. The XVIII. Dynasty reliefs are very good, and their colour
is well preserved. On the columns of the colonnade are 7 Karian and


544 EOUTE 27.  HALFA TO DONGOLA. [Sect. Vll.
4 Greek graffiti, besides numerous hieroglyphic ex-votos, published by
Prof. Sayce some years ago, which are dated in the reigns of Mer-en-
Ptah, Seti II. , and Si-Ptah of the XIX. Dynasty, and Bamses IX. of
the XX. The last was written on the N. side of the entrance to the
forecourt in the first year of the king by Seti, a prince of Kush. One
of the graffiti is dated by Hora, the prince of Kush, in the 6th year of
Si-Ptah. In another graffito, dated in the 3rd year of Si-Ptah, Hora
calls himself ' ' son of the deceased Kama of the harim of the palace of
Seti II." ; while the author of a third states that he had been Si-Ptah's
ambassador to Khar (Southern Palestine) and Kush. In front of the
temple are some brick remains excavated by Mr. Scott-Moncrieff.
Immediately behind the temples (W.) Capt. Lyons discovered a deep
trench cut through the rock, and once strengthened on either side by a
wall. To the W. is the ancient necropolis, consisting of rectangular
tombs with sloping passages cut in the rock. W. of these, at the
top of a conical hill, are hieratic rock-inscriptions, recording the visits
of Mentu-heteps and Antcfs in the time of the XL Dynasty.
Second Cataract. — A good view of the Second Cataract is to be
obtained from the rock of Abusir. It is situate on the W. bank,
about ten miles above Haifa. It is a rather fatiguing walk, owing
to the loose sand, but donkeys can be procured from Haifa. The
Second Cataract is perhaps less interesting than the First, but more
extensive, being a succession of rapids, which occupy a space of several
miles, called Batn el-Hagar, "the Belly of Stone." On the W. bank,
just below this rocky bed, is the high cliff of Abusir, from which there
is a fine and commanding view of the falls ; and this is the usual ultima
Thule of tourists in this direction : the Khartum Bly. (p. 554) crosses the
desert E. to Abfl Hamed. The Second Cataract is impassable for boats,
except at one season of the year, during the high Nile ; and the same
impediments occur at the various rapids above it.
From this cliff is a grand bird's-eye view of the cataract, with its
numerous black shining rocks dividing the river into endless channels,
and the Nile spreading out to a considerable breadth. Southwards the
view extends for a long distance, amongst the plains of sand and the
ranges of hills which stretch away into the horizon, while here and
there the Nile may be seen, like a silver thread, running through the
dreary waste. Two mountains on the horizon point the way to
Dongola. T,he Rock of Abiisir is a veritable livre des voyageurs, and custom
sanctions here, as innocent and not without a certain interest of its
own, a practice which good taste and common sense alike condemn
most strongly when indulged in to the injury of priceless monuments
of antiquity and works of art.
Bather more than 3 m. S. of Abusir is the great Egyptian fortress of
Matuka or Mirgisse, built by Usertsen III. (XII. Dyn.), which is in an
almost perfect state of preservation. On three sides it is defended by a
double crude-brick wall of enormous thickness, the natural cliff serving
for its protection on the E. side. In the S.E. part of the enclosure
Capt. Lyons excavated a small temple built by Usertsen III. The place
was called Ba by the Egyptians, and on the N. side of the fortress is
the site of an old city, below which are brick tombs. On a large island
opposite, called Tabai, are the remains of a similar fortress ; and on a


Sect. VII.] eoute 27. — halfa to dongola. 545
second island, a little to the S., are the ruins of a Coptic church called
Darbi. For the journey to Dongola the Bly. to Kosheh may be used
occasionally. Passing the villages of Amka and Gemai (Christian
remains), the first place of importance is
(E.) Sarras (34J m. from Haifa), on the river, and marked by a
curious double-peaked island. Sarras and Gemai were occupied by the
Dervishes from 1886 till 1889, after the abandonment of the Dongola
.province, until, after the defeat of the Emir Wad En-Nejumi at Toski
in August, 1889 (p. 535), it was considered necessary to occupy Sarras
and hold it as an advanced post, which it remained till the expedition
of 1896. The scenery here is remarkably forbidding and gloomy in
character, the river running through a dark gorge.
On the river beyond Sarras are the XII. Dynasty brick fortresses of
Shalfak and Ouronarti ("King's Isle"), in Arabic " Geziret el-Melek."
Here in 1905 a small Temple of the XVIII. Dynasty was discovered and
excavated by Dr. Budge and Mr. J. W. Crowfoot. There is also an
inscription of Turi, Viceroy of Kush in the reign of Amen-hetep I. Two
hours S. of Ouronarti we reach the chief point of the Second Cataract,
where the Nile passes over the granite rocks in a series of rapids between
the twin fortresses of Semna and Kumma, built by Usertsen III. of the
XII. Dynasty and rebuilt by Thothmes III. of the XVIII., to guard the
passage of the cataract. They may be visited on camel-back from
Sarras in one day.
[If the rly. is not working, camels can be hired at Haifa (arrangements to be
made at the mudiriya) 2i-3 days' journey, for about P.T.15 a day per camel,
including the pay and food of the gammali, but not his bakhshish. All provisions
must be taken, and tents, &c].
The system of fortresses guarding the Second Cataract, of which Semna
and Kumma are the most important features, was devised by King Khakaura
Usertsen III. of the XII. Dynasty, the Sesostris of the Greeks, who definitively
annexed and organized the Nubian conquests of Usertsen I. The object of the
conquest of Lower Nubia was no doubt the control of the gold mines of Kush,
at Wadi 'Olaki (p. 531) and elsewhere. Sihathor, an official of Amenembat II.,
the successor of Usertsen I. , tells us on his monument in the British Museum how
he made both young and old wash gold for him in Nubia. The chief system
of defence works against the more southern negroes, who seem to have been
formidable in war, was at the Second Cataract, but the country between it and
the Third Cataract, the land of Heh, had also been invaded by Usertsen I., and
was probably conquered by Usertsen III., who tells us on his monumental
stela of the 16th year at Semna (now in the Museum of Berlin) that His
Majesty made his southern boundary at Heh. I have made my boundary further
upstream than mv fathers ; I have added to what was committed to me by
them " (see p. [isi]). It is probable that the forts at the Third Cataract, Said
Fanti Defufa and Kerman are to be attributed to him, and that the Egyptian
dominion was extended by him to Tombos, where the quarries were worked by
die kings of the succeeding dynasty (p. 548 • 1 he stela at Semna, which marked
the boundary beyond which no boat with negroes in it was to pass northwards,
and fixed the actual frontier of Egypt there, was erected in the eighth year
of Usertsen ei-ht years before that which records the conquest of H.eh.
I s inscriptjon reads^ "Boundary made in the year 8 under the majesty of
king Khakaura (to whom may life be given for ever and to all eternity !) to
oVeventW negro from passing downstream, with the exception of a boa with
any cattle goats, and sheep of the negroes, or a negro coming to barter in


546 B0TJTE 27.  HALFA TO dongola. [Sect. VII.
the land of Akin. To these, on the contrary, let everything good be done.
Otherwise it is not permitted to a negro boat coming downstream to enter the
land of Heh for ever." Thothmes I. and HI. found tlie frontier established
at the Third Cataract, and pushed south beyond it. The additions of
Thothmes III. at Semna and Kumma were actuated by motives of piety
towards the memory of Usertsen III., as the greatest conqueror and organiser
of Nubia, rather than dictated by military necessity. The Third Cataract,
which at the end of the XII. Dynasty had been the advanced frontier of Egypt,
with Semna and Kumma as the base fortress in the rear, had now itself become
the base fortress, the frontier having been pushed forward to Gebel Barkal ; so
that Buhen (Wadi Haifa) and its forts no longer possessed any real military-
importance, and had become the secure capital of the viceroyalty of the ' ' Prince
of Kush. "
At Semna and Kumma were taken accurate records of the height of
the Nile, which still remain, and show that in the reign of Amenem
hat III. the flood-height was about 25 ft. higher than it is at the present
time. Sir William Willcocks accounts for this by supposing that a
barrage was here erected under the XII. Dynasty in connection with the
regulating works at ~La~ke Moeris in the Fayyum (p. 262). One of these
records is inscribed upon a red granite door-jamb lying amongst the
stones above the river. Semna stands on the 1. bank, about 300 ft;
above the river, Kumma, on the rt. bank, some 400 ft. Semna has the
larger enceinte of the two. It contains the ruins of a temple built by
Hatshepsu and Thothmes III. in honour of the Nubian god Dedun
(the Titbonos of the Greeks, see p. 410) and the kings Usertsen I. and
III., the first conqueror of the Sudan and the builder of Semna and
Kiimma. The Temple consists of one chamber, about 30 ft. by 11 ft.,
with three square pillars, remains of an outside colonnade, on the S.
side, and an entrance in front, and another on the W. side, opposite
whose northern jamb is, instead of a square pillar, a polygonal column,
with a line of hieroglyphics down its central face. On the E. and W.
walls are reliefs of Usertsen III. in a boat, being worshipped by
Thothmes; that on the W. wall is the best- preserved. The walls are
covered with graffiti. Becently Messrs. Budge and Crowfoot excavated
at Semna a small shrine of Tirhakah, below the main temple and
overlooking the river. It contains an altar. The doorposts, with
relief figures of the king, have been removed to the new museum at
Khartum. The Kiimma Temple is like that of Semna, but smaller and
not so well preserved.
7 m. S. is the Atiri Rapid.
(E.) 65 m. from Haifa (inland), Ambigol Wells (stat. on the old rly.).
Here the late Capt. 'Boddy' Owen is buried. At Tangur (E.), on a
rock above the river, 74 m. from Haifa, is an inscription of a royal
scribe m tbe reign of Usertsen I. or Thothmes I. (the name is not clear).
(E) 88 m., Akasha (mamuriya). Here took place the first fight
with the Dervish foreposts in the advance to Dongola in May 1896
At Okma (W.) are hot springs. On an island in the Dal Cataract
(99 m.) is a Mameluke fort. The cataract is 4 m. long. The Bly cuts
across the desert from Akasha to
(E.) 103 m., Firka or Firket. Here the Dervishes attempted to bar
the way to Dongola : they were easily defeated in a two hours' fight
(June 7, 1896). The Dar Sukkot, famous for its dates, is now entered.
(E.) S. of Pirka is Kosha (Kosheh) (river 115 m., rly. 109 m. ¦ mamu-


Sect. VII.] boutb 27. — halpa to dongola. 547
riya), beyond which the rly. is entirely abandoned. The river here
makes a great curve to the westward. At Ginnis (117 m.) was fought a
small action against the Dervishes (Dec. 12, 1885). 3 m. further are the
ruins of an Ethiopian temple of late period, at Amara. The sculptures
are of the same debased style as those of Naga and Musawwarat (p. 561),
and are equally relics of the Meroitic kingdom of the Candaces, which
flourished in Nubia at the beginning of the Christian era. The temple
consisted of a hall 53 ft. by 30 ft., with eight columns. (W.) Further
S. Dr. Budge discovered asmall temple containing a stela of Bamses II.
We pass Arnitti I. and (126 m.) Sakiet el-'Abd (W.), where a desert
road from Sarkamatto on the Dal Cataract (see above) rejoins the Nile,
and a route to the Oasis of Selima, 55 m. W, on the Darb el-'Arba'in
(p. 282), leaves it. At Selima is a ruined convent, built of ancient
inscribed stones.
Following the river, we reach the island of Sai (132 m. from Haifa),
on which is a temple built by Thothmes III. and Amen-hetep II. ; also
an early fort and the ruins of a Christian church with monolithic
granite pillars.
(E.) Suarda (143£ m.). Messrs. Budge and Crowfoot discovered
ancient remains here. At Kiibbet Selim and Ktibbet Idris (W.) are
remarkable shekhs' tombs.
At Sedenga (156 m. IF.) are the remains of a temple built by Amen
hetep III. and Queen Tii. A single battered Hathor column stands up
out of the chaotic debris.
At Gebel Ddsh (162 m.) is a tomb with reliefs of the reign of
Thothmes III.
At Soleb (163 m.) are the ruins of the finest Temple in the Sudan,
also built by Amen-hetep III. It is described by the traveller Hoskins
as being " very imposing as it rises up proudly at the extremity of the
desert, the only beacon of civilisation in a sea of barrenness." Hoskins
considered that there was a first pylon, 600 ft. from the Nile, "entirely
ruined, and the material nearly all carried away. A flight of steps led
up to a court, before the second pylon ; this court is 70 ft. long and
45 ft. wide. Six massive columns of 10 ft. diameter stood in the court ;
but they have been carried off, only their bases remain." Behind this
court is the second (existing) pylon, each tower of which is 78 ft. wide,
the doorway 11. This opens into a colonnaded court, 113 ft. by 90 ft.
with 28 columns, of which six still stand. These are all of the lotus-
bud capital type, exactly similar to those of Amen-hetep III. in the
Temple of Luxor, and no doubt designed by the same architect. A
second, smaller court, 78 ft. long, opened out of this ; it had 32
columns, all overthrown. Beyond this was a hypostyle hall of twelve
palm columns, of which one still stands complete; and beyond this
again other halls, which are entirely ruined. On the wings of the
doorway between the first and second courts are reliefs of the king
celebrating the M-festival. It seems to the present writer very
probable that the temple of Amen-hetep III. consisted of the second
nvlon and its courts only, and that the small court with six massive
columns and the first pylon, now destroyed, were later additions,
nossibly of the Ethiopian period (Taharka or Arkamen). The two red
granite lions of Amen-hetep III. in the British Museum, which were
brought by Lord Prudhoe from Gebel Barkal in the early years of the


548 botjte 27. — halpa to dongola. [Sect. VII.
last century, were considered by Lepsius to have been originally
dedicated at Soleb; they were taken to Gebel Barkal by Taharka
(according to Lepsius), or possibly by some later Ethiopian. The
great Bam from Gebel Barkal, taken by Lepsius to Berlin, was also
thought by him to have come originally from Soleb. But this does not
seem to be absolutely certain, at any rate as regards the ram. Dr.
Budge discovered here altars and other objects, now in the Khartum
Museum. S. of Soleb is Sesebi, with three palm columns standing of a small
temple built by Seti I. Opposite is
192 m., Dalgo, in the Dar Mahass, and beyond it
Said Fanti, with remains of ancient Egyptian forts, and Hannek,
opposite the island of Tombos, where there are ancient quarries of grey
granite, in one of which Hoskins saw an unfinished colossus of a king
of the XIII. Dynasty. Immediately S. is
(E.) 247 m., Kerma (Best-house) at the Third Cataract. Close by
are two ancient brick forts, called Defiifa and Kermdn.
The Third Cataract marked the S. frontier of Egypt at the end of the
XII. Dynasty. Under the XIII. it is probable that the Sudan had been
effectively occupied farther south, since we find the quarries of Tombos
regularly worked there, and colossi of XIII. Dynasty kings taken south to the
island of Arko. All the great brick forts of the Third Cataract, including those
of Said Fanti, Defiifa and Kerman, which protected the frontier here, and
were utilised for military purposes by the New Empire kings, were, no doubt,
like Semna and Kumma, originally built by the Usertsens. These huge
military works give a high idea of the formidableness of the Sudanese tribes in
the time of the XII. Dynasty. To guard Egypt against possible attack from
the fanatical Dervishes during the Mahdist usurpation only a small fort or two
at Sarras and Wadi Haifa were necessary ; but Usertsen III. deemed it
requisite to erect regular fortresses against the attacks of the negro inhabitants
in his day. It is probable that in the time of the XVIII. and XIX. Dynasties
the inhabitants of the Sudan, who in the days of the XII. Dynasty were pure
negroes, had been considerably weakened in military strength, and that the
incessant razzias of the Egyptians had largely depopulated the country. In the
time of the Thothmes and Rameses it is not probable that the great fortresses
of the Usertsens were necessary against the negroes, but they remained, as they
remain still, as monuments of the first conquest, and to guard against a new
enemy. This partial extinction and expulsion of the negro population
apparently left the country free for occupation by tribes of Abyssinian origin,
the true Nubians or Ethiopians, who seem to have penetrated from the south
as far as the modern Dongola province (between the Fourth and Third
Cataracts), before the time of the XVIII. Dynasty. Their military power
probably made them a danger to the safety of the Nubian possessions of
Egypt, and we find the kings of the XVIII. Dynasty advancing beyond the
frontier at Tombos and raiding the modern Dongola province, in which,
near the mountain of Gebel Barkal, the Ethiopians had established their chief
town, Napata. Thothmes I. had inscribed his name at Tombos, but it was
probably Thothmes III. (the renovator of the name and fame of the first
conqueror of the Sudan, Usertsen III.) who actually conquered the Dongola
province. Above the Third Cataract the river, which has been one series of
rapids all the way from Wadi Haifa, changes its character. The desert,
too, is no longer hilly, but a wide sandy plain.
Kerma was the terminus of the old Bly. (now abandoned). A
Government steamer carries the traveller to Dongola past the works of


Sect. VII.] eoute 27. — halpa to Dongola. 551
\Ve have seen that Napata was probably founded by the Ethiopian con
querors who replaced the original negro inhabitants of this part of the Nile
Valley some time between the periods of the XII: and XVIII. Dynasties, that
it was apparently conquered by Thothmes III., who advanced beyond the old
XII. Dynasty frontier at Tombos, and that it was regarded by his successor,
Amen-hetep II. , as the southern frontier-city of Egypt, on whose walls the dead
bodies of the rebellious chiefs of Takhisa, the northern frontier-city in far-away
Syria, were suspended as a warning to possible rebels. The actual capital of
the dominion of Kush continued to be the more accessible Buhen (Wadi Haifa),
where the " King's son of Kush," usually a general or notable of importance,
exercised viceregal power. But there is no doubt that Napata soon received
considerable attention from the Egyptian kings, in all probability from Amen
hetep III. Though Lord Prudhoe's lions, now in the British Museum, and
the colossal ram and the hawk, now at Berlin, were supposed by Lepsius to
have been brought to Gebel Barkal, where they were found, from Amen-hetep's
temple at Soleb by a later king, there is no real proof for this surmise. It is
highly probable that in the "spacious times" of Amen-hetep III., when under
the good government of this king, his capable wife Queen Tii, and the wise
minister Amen-hetep son of Hapu, peace reigned over the whole empire, from
the banks of the Tigris to the Fourth Cataract, the distant city of the Pure
Mountain was embellished by a temple of the King of the Gods, Amen-Ra of
Thebes, whose emblem the ram of Berlin is. In the reign of his successor a
shrine of the heretical cult of the solar disk was erected here, but we may well
surmise that it did not exist very long. Ramses II. , in whose reign the
energetic Setau was Viceroy of Kush, undoubtedly built a small temple to
Amen here, and from the fact that the descendants of the Theban priest-kings
of the XXI. Dynasty, when superseded by the Bubastite Sheshenk, retired
here to found an Ethiopian dynasty, it seems very probable that after the
conquest Napata was given to the Theban priests of Amen as an appanage,
and became a sort of second Thebes, with its city on both sides of tlie river
at the modern Merawi and Sanam Abu Dom, and its temples built against the
face of Gebel Barkal, like Der el-Bahari against the western Theban hills. The
descendants of the priestly house which had arrogated to itself the Pharaonic
dignity at Thebes, and had finally been expelled by the Bubastite heirs of the
more legitimate royal title of the Tanite monarchs, who had reigned in the
Delta contemporaneously with the priest-kings, naturally retired to their
southern appanage of Napata. Hero they still exercised the regal dignity,
and, when Egypt had fallen into anarchy after the fall of the Bubastites, it was
one of these Napatan kings, Piankhi, " beloved of Amen," who descended the
river and subdued all Egypt to his sceptre, in the eighth century B.C. During
the exile of nearly two centuries at Napata the priestly house had become
largely iethiopized, and it was as "Ethiopians" that Piankhi's successors,
Kashta, Shabak, Shabatak, Taharka (Tirhakah), and Tanutamen (Tandamane).
were regarded by their Egyptian subjects. Tirhakah's reign was spent in a
succession of advances into Egypt against, and retreats into Nubia before, the
Assyrians. He built largelv, for his troubled reign, in Egypt, and evidently
regarded himself as a patriotic Egyptian king ; but Napata was his real capital,
and it was to Napata, "the city of Kits!" or Kush, that the Assyrian king
Esarhaddon sent an embassy to the court of Tirhakah : " none of his ancestors
had ever done the like before on account of the distance and difficulty of the
way." We can imagine that the journey from Nineveh to Gebel Barkal did
seem endless to the Assyrian ambassadors ! ,,„,,,.. .-,,
Both Piankhi and Tirhakah built temples at Gebel Barkal, which still exist.
Tandamane set up a monumental stela (now in the Cairo Museum) here, on
which he, his wife Kerearhenti, and his sister Karahta make offerings to Amen.
In the inscription he describes his progress to Memphis to receive the sub
mission of Egypt, in response to a dream in which he saw two snakes, one on
his ri<dit hand, the other on his left, which his magicians interpreted to be the


Sect. VII.] ROUTE 27.— HALPA TO DONGOLA. 553
after the conquests of Silko, the new Christian kingdom was established not at
Napata but at Dongola. The modern inhabitants of this part of the Nile
Valley are not Nubians, but Shaikiya Arabs, who came from Arabia two or
three hundred years ago. Arabic only is spoken, Nubian having ceased S. of
Old Dongola ; but most of the place-names are Nubian. Merawi is an
instance in point. This is the same as the ancient Meroe, which was, however,
at Bakarawiya, 200 miles away; both names meant and mean "white" in
Nubian. The Nubian language now entirely gives place to Arabic again,
until Abvssinia and the lands of the Blacks are reached.
Gebel Barkal is some little distance from Old Merawi and Sanam
Abu-D6m, the modern representatives of Napata ; between lies the vil
lage of Shibba. Immediately in front of the mountain are some small
Pyramids of the Ethiopian period, which were examined by Dr. E. A.
Wallis Budge, of the British Museum, in 1897, who describes them as
varying from 23 ft. to 88 ft. square, each having had " a chapel con
taining one or more chambers, the walls inside being decorated with
reliefs, in which the deceased was represented standing in adoration
before the gods of the Holy Mountain, and receiving offerings of
incense, etc., from priests and others" (Cook's 'Handbook for Egypt
and the Sudan,' p. 688). The existing pyramids are much ruined.
Originally there were about 25, in three groups.
The Temple of Piankhi, built against the face of the mountain, is
the largest of the temples of Gebel Barkal. It was built by the king
Piankhi Meriamen in the eighth cent. B.C. It seems to have originally
consisted of a great colonnaded court 150 ft. long with 26 columns each
6 ft. in diameter, with beyond that a smaller court with 40 columns,
and then a hypostyle of 10 columns, 51 ft. long, leading to the triple
sanctuary of Amen-Ba, Mut and Khonsu, the triad of Thebes.
The Temple of Tirhakah, built a century later, had a court 59 ft.
long with 8 Hathor-columns and 8 Bes-pillars, approached by a portico
of 4 columns : behind the court was a hypostyle hall with 8 columns,
and the rock-cut sanctuary. The chambers were decorated with
coloured reliefs.
Tbe Temple of Ramses II. is small and ruined. There are also
the ruined pylons of a later temple, on which the king Sekheper-n-Ba
Taneka-Amen-Seken is seen destroying his foes in the presence of Amen.
All these buildings have been much damaged since Hoskins'time by
falls of rock. It was in the temple of Piankhi that the historical stelce
recording the Egyptian conquests of Piankhi and Tandamane, the
episode of the Baw-meat Heretics, and the Coronation of Asparata,
were found; that of Nastasenen, recording the defeat of "the man
Kambasauden," was also probably found here originally.
On the opposite bank of the Nile, 7 m. N. of Sanam Abu Ddm, are
the pyramids of Nuri, which are not so elongated in form as those
previously described, are better built, and may be of earlier date. One or
two are of the broken-backed shape well known from the second pyramid
at Dahshur (p. 202). There are about 25 in all. One is 110 ft. square.
Inland in the Wddi Ghazal, are the ruins of a large Christian
convent, with a three-naved basilican church of the usual type, built of
sandstone and brick, covered with a thick coat of plaster, and painted.
It measures 80 ft. by 40 ft. The church is surrounded by a large court


554 EOUTE 27. — HALPA TO DONGOLA. [Sect. VII.
with monkish cells. The cemetery had gravestones with Greek and
Coptic inscriptions, most of which were removed by Lepsius.
The great Wddi Abu D6m, running inland from Sanam Abu Dom,
leads into the Gilif Desert, and a route to Metemma (p. 560) passes by
the wells of Umm cs-Seyyala, Hannik, Umm esh-Shibbdk, el-Merui,
Wddi Kalas, Mageka and Gakdul (p. 550).
New Merawi, the capital of the province, consists merely of the
mudiriya and a few houses, including P.T. offices. It lies 1 m. E. of
Sanam Abu Dom.
From Merawi and Kareima to Abu Hamed (p. 555), where the
Khartum Bly. reaches the river, which there turns S., is about 150 m.
(For the railway route, see below.) The river is not navigable owing to
the cataracts.

ROUTE 28.
From Haifa to Abu Hamed and Khartum.
[Rly. — In the season train de luxe in 27 hrs., with sleeping and restaurant cars,
on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 5. SO P.M.; from Khartum to Haifa on Thursdays
and Sundays at 9 A.M. Fare, r.E.10 ; return, £E.20. Ordinary train every day Jroin
Abu Hamed to Khartum. Faiv from Haifa, 1st cl., r.E.6 P.T.75. (Camp-bed
and food must he taken, hut. 1st cl. passengers by the train de luxe may use the
dining-car for meals. Daily charge, P.T.70). There are four classes of carriage ; the
fourth is for natives only.]
The main line of the Sudan Blys., from Haifa to Khartum, runs
across the Eastern Desert direct to Abu Hamed, thus cutting off the
great Dongola bend of the river. This remarkable "short cut" was
designed as a military strategic movement in the second year of the
advance against the Khalifa (1897), in order to enable Abu Hamed to
be seized and held with ease and assure the communications with
Wadi Haifa of the army operating southward from Abu Hamed. The
line was begun in May and finished in October : its length is 232 m.
From 1 to 3 m. were laid in a day, in the hottest time of the year.
This, as well as the line to Kerma, was built under the superintendence
of Sir Percy Girouard (then Lieut. Girouard, B.E.) and other officers of
the Boyal Engineers. From Abu Hamed the line passes along the rt.
(E.) bank of the Nile, crossing the Atbara by a fine bridge, and avoiding
the Jebel Boyan by a deviation through the desert, to Khartum North,
to which the Bly. was completed in 1901. The receipts of the line in
1904 were £E. 130,400, and the working expenses amounted to
£E. 116,200, or 89 per cent, of the gross receipts.
On the desert line ten wayside stations, with tanks and sidings, are
passed: numbered 1 to 10. The watershed is passed at No. 5.' At
Umm Nabardi, E. of No. 6, the Sudan Gold Field Company has taken
out a, mining concession. The horizon on the I. (E.) is bounded
throughout the journey by ranges of desert mountains, which have


Fold out





Sect. VII.] BOUTE 28.— HALPA TO KHARTUM. 555
many names, Jebel Mandira being the most conspicuous. Mirages are
constantly seen. No. 10 stat. is the junction for Kareima (see below).
230 m., Abu Hamed Stat. Here the river begins its violent dislo
cation S.W. to Gebel Barkal and Dongola (p. 549). The former place
may now be most conveniently visited from Abu Hamed. At Abii
Hamed Stat, are Baths for the use of passengers after the journey
across the desert (P.T.10).
[From Abu Hamed to Kareima and Gebel Barkal (150 m. ) by rail.
Train Fridays and Mondays 2.15 a.m., reaching Kareima 2.45 p.m. ; returning
from Kareima Wednesdays and Saturdays 2.15 p.m. ; arr. Abu Hamed 1.0 A.M.
We pass the island of Mograt, in the Nile, and, after No. 10 Junction, follow
the curve of the river S.W. , stat. Mehaisa. The line is laid at some distance
from the river most of the way to Kareima, owing to the prohibitive cost of the
rock-cutting which would have been necessary had it been carried along the
actual bank-. The first place of any importance reached is
Hebba (stat. Kehiili, 49 m. from Abu Hamed), where, on Sept. 18, 1884, the
steamer ' Abbas,' bearing Colonel Hamill Stewart and Messrs. Power and Herbin
as messengers from Gordon, was wrecked, Stewart and nearly all on board being
murdered by order of Suleiman Wad Gamr, the shekh of the Monasir tribe
of Arabs, in whose territory this part of the valley lies. In the following
February the troops of Sir Garnet Wolseley destroyed the property of this
shekh at Salamdt, 11 m. farther down the river — that is to say, his house,
palm-trees, and sakiyas — but this, the utmost satisfaction that can be got out
of a delinquent Nubian shekh, was poor compensation for the loss of Gordon's
gallant messenger.
Some small rapids are passed, including the picturesque 'Akabet el-Gemcl,
or "Camel's Neck," stat. Dakfili, 76 m. On the /. bank, 80 m. from Abu
Hamed, is Kir-bekan, where, on Feb. 10, 1885, the Dervishes were defeated,
but with the serious loss of the British commander, General Earle, and Cols.
Coveney and Eyre. The Dervish force, about 2,000 in number, held a ridge
of rocks opposite Dulka Island. They were dislodged after a sharp fight,
General Earle being killed by a shot from a small hut among the rocks.
Beyond Birti, on the /. bank, 92 m. from Abu Hamed (stat. Abu Gharban),
the Fourth Cataract begins. The forms of the granite rocks are weircUy
picturesque, especially near Kauli Island, opposite Hellet el-Bib, a ruined
castle of unbumt brick, standing on a low rock above the river. Judging from
its arched doors and the niches in its rooms, it is of Byzantine date, and is
probably a relic of the Christian kingdom of Dongola. The country of the
Shaikiya Arabs (p. 550) is entered : stat. Abu Haraz (108 m. ). On the I. is Jebel
Kulg'e'li, 124 m. On the island of Ishishi (crossing dangerous, owing to cur
rents) are ruins of uncertain date. Opposite Hamdab I. are the ruins of a
pyramid. 6 m. further (/.) are the remains of a Coptic church and fortified
monastery. L. Belial, at the foot of the Cataract. The characteristics of the
district of the Fourdi Cataract are thus described by Lepsius (' Letters,'
p ' 225) • "The granite rocks . . . leave but a small space for a scanty vegetation.
Almost all the numerous, though generally small, islands refresh the eye by
green groups of trees and cultivated bits of ground, which are cut up in a
variety of ways by the black rocks. There would be scarcely room in this rocky
channel for villages of any considerable size, still less sufficient to maintain them.
Those that exist are distributed in houses standing singly, and small groups of
houses far apart but which bear one and the same name up to certain frontier
points "' L the Pyramids of Ntlri (p. 551)- Rt. Kasingar stat., 140 m. We
reach Gebel Barkal (rt. ; p. SSo), Old Merawi, and
Rt Kareima (156 m. ), the terminus of the Rly., on the opposite bank of the
river from New Merawi, the chief place of the district, and Sanam Abu Dom
(P SS°) 447 m. from Wadi Haifa byriver (Rte. 27).]


556 EOUTE 28. — HALFA TO KHARTUM. [Sect. VII.
Leaving Abu Hamed for Khartum, the Bly. passes (rt.) Mograt
Island; Stats. Meshra ed-Dakhesh (246 m. from Wadi Haifa), chief
town of the Bobatat branch of the Monasir Arabs; Abu Dis (265 m.);
Sherik (292 m.) ; Abu Sallam (306$ m.) ; Abadiya (343 m.). For
some distance the Bly. runs through desert, away from the Nile,
avoiding the hills of the Fifth Cataract between el-Bakara and
Gininetti, 10 m. N. of Abadiya.
361 m., Berber Stat., also called el-Mekhiref, chief of a mudiriya,
with about 13,000 inh. ; a long straggling town on the rt. bank of the
river, surrounded on the land side by barren desert. In former days it
was of great importance as the Nile entrepot of commerce with the
Bed Sea at Suakin, and bids fair to regain this importance, since the
Suakin-Berber Bly., so often begun and abandoned, has now been con
structed, with a terminus and harbour at Shikh Barghiit (renamed
Bandar es-Sudan or Port Sudan), N. of Suakin. [For the rly. and
camel routes from Berber to Port Sudan and Suakin, see Bte. 29.]
Stats. ¦ Kenur (381 m.) ; Dakhela or Atbara (390 m.), where the Bly.
crosses the River Atbara by a bridge 450 yds. long, built in the United
States, on account of the great engineering strike in England, which
paralysed British industry for the time being. There are six spans,
each of 200 ft. Atbara (385 m.) is the junction of the Bly. to Suakin.
Crossing the bridge, we reach
392 m. , Ed-Damer, formerly known as a, seat of Moslem learning
in the Sudan, and now the starting-place of a caravan-route to Goz
Bejeb and Kassala on the Erythraean (Italian) border, following the
course of the Atbara.
[From Ed-Damer to Kassala.— The River Atbara, the Aslaboras oi the
ancients, is the first tributary of the Nile, draining the well-wooded mountains
of N.W. Abyssinia. From its dark waters it has received the name of Bahr el-
iswad, "Black River," and is sometimes called the " Black Nile." It also
bears the native name Mukrdn. A large portion of its course between Adarama
and Berber is partially dried up during the summer, long pools being left. It
has several tributaries, of which the most important is the Setit, higher up.
The Gash, marked on the maps as joining the Atbara at Adarama, in reality
does not do so, as though its bed reaches that of the Atbara there, the water
never gets as far, but is lost in sand. The Suakin Rly. runs up the rt. bank of
the Atbara to Khor Hudi (15 m.), where it strikes off into the desert. The
most notable place between Atbara and Adarama is Nakhela, 37 m. from the
former, where on April 8, 1898, the Battle of the Atbara was fought, and
Mahmiid, the Dervish general, captured. The Dervish position, a strong zariba
of thorn-bushes, &c. , was on the rt. bank, with the dry bed of the river in its
rear. It was captured by a single attack, the Highlanders of Gen. Wauchope
(afterwards killed at Magersfontein) especially distinguishing themselves.
Adarama, 78 m. from Atbara, was for a time the headquarters of the
redoubtable brigand, Osman Digna, who gave us such trouble at Suakin in
1884-5 (see p. 570). He was present at the Battle of the Atbara, but escaped.
Goz Rejeb lies on the 1. bank of the Atbara about 70 m. beyond Adarama.
From it there is a caravan route to Khartum via Abu Delek. We have now
left the characteristic desert and Nile cultivation of Egypt, and have entered a
region of high bush-covered steppe, with little water. Irrigation is difficult,
owing to the torrential and intermittent character of the Atbara, and wells are
rare. At Goz Rejeb are hills with curious granite boulders. 
80 m. S. of Goz Rejeb is Fasher (p. 576), on the Atbara, 40 m. S W. of
Kassala, which lies about 70 m. S.E. of Goz Rejeb, across a level uncultivated


Sect. VII.] route 28. — halfa to Khartum. 559
of these queens who is mentioned in the New Testament (Acts viii. 27), and
whose eunuch, who was set over all her treasure (i^p AiSi'oi/, eirovxos
8vvao~!-ns Kai6aK7)5 /3aa-iAur<rrjs Al0i6ttwi', 09 fy eiri Trao-fj? Trjs yo^ls avTvjg), was
converted to Christianity and baptized by St. Philip on the way' from
Jerusalem to Gaza. He had been sent by his mistress to make offerings
at the world-renowned Temple of Jerusalem, and was returning to far-
distant Meroe, reading one of the sacred books of the Jewish religion as
he proceeded on his way homeward, when "the Spirit said to Philip,
Approach and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip running forward heard
him reading Esaias the prophet, and said, Comprehendest thou what thou
readest? And he said, Nay, how should I be able unless one should guide
me? and he bade Philip mount and sit with him." This embassy to do
reverence to the great god of Jerusalem shows how far the civilized interests
of the Ammon-worshipping Kandakes of Meroe could extend. They seem
to have been sovereigns of considerable power and energy. Either this queen
or her immediate predecessor endeavoured to reclaim the dominion of
Ergamenes, built a temple at Amara S. of Wadi Haifa, and attacked Egypt,
capturing Philse, Elephantine and Syene. To attack Egypt was, however,
now to attack Rome, and the Ethiopians had challenged the legions. The
Roman general Petronius destroyed Napata in 22 B.C., and advanced 870
Roman miles beyond Syene. The Kandakes now probably centred their power
entirely at Meroe. To them are no doubt due the temples of Naga and
Musawwarat es-Sufra, described below (p. 561), which though debased in style,
show great vigour of design and power of execution. But the artistic style
of their sculpture grew steadily more and more debased and barbarous ; the
knowledge of the hieroglyphs was lost, and unmeaning collocations of signs
fill the imitation royal cartouches ; a peculiar script, evidently derived from
Demotic, was used to express their language in writing. Thus the stream of
Egyptian culture was gradually dried up and lost in the sands of the desert,
like one of the rivers of Ethiopia itself. We may well compare the isolation
and gradually increasing barbarism of the Greek kingdom in Bactria after the
conquests of Alexander the Great.
How the kingdom of the Kandakes came to its end we do not know. But
in the second century A.D. we find that a new centre of power has arisen in
Ethiopia, more distant from Egypt even than Meroe, and not in the Nile valley.
This is the civilized and well-organized kingdom of Axum, which was situated
in the modern Abyssinia and on the Erythrcean coast. It was the successor of
the ancient Punt, and the forerunner of the modern Abyssinia. Zoskales, king
of .Axum, ruled the whole coast from the land of the Moschophagi or calf-
eaters ne'xP' t*J5 oAAijs papPapim ; i.e., from Suakin to Somaliland. Later kings
extended their power inland, no' doubt at the expense of the Kandakes of
Meroe ; in the fourth century Aeizanes calls himself king of the Bugaites
(Beja or Blemmyes) as well as of Axum, and Axumites had fought with the
Blemmyes in the Nile-valley against Aurelian in the preceding century (see
above p 521) Like the Blemmyes, the Axumites seem to have had a con
siderable liking for Greek culture, and we find their kings setting up Greek
inscriptions, to commemorate their deeds at far-away Axum and Adulis
(0 572) With the power of the heathen Blemmyes fell that of the equally
heathen Axumites, and in the sixth century A.D. we find S.lko, king of the
Nobadae setting up a kingdom, which either then or shortly before had become
christianized, m Ethiopia, with its centre at Dongola (see -.ante p. 549), and
reaching northwards beyond Aswan, southwards beyond Khartum, where the
Christian remains at Soba (see below, p. 574) attest its power and extent. This
kinedom separated from Christian Europe by Moslem Egypt from the seventh
century onward, lasted well into the Middle Ages and may have contributed to
the formation of the medieval legend of Prester John. We have seen (p. 521)
thnt it was not till tbe fourteenth century that Islam was established in -Lower
Nubia The Nubians remained, and still speak their language there, but the


Sect. VII.] ROUTE 28.— HALFA TO KHARTUM. 561
Wortley and twelve men were despatched in a boat to Gubat for assistance,
and rowed forty-two miles in a few hours. Sir Charles Beresford immediately
lett in the steamer Safia for the scene of the wreck, where he was received with
a heavy fire from the Dervishes, who had arrived on the E. bank. One of
their shells pierced the Safia' 's boiler, but the damage was repaired under fire,
and Sir Charles Wilson's party was safely brought back to Gubat. The
Bordein was afterwards refloated by the Dervishes, and used by them till
recaptured in the advance of 1898. It is now kept at Khartum as a memorial
of the defence. Gubat was the most southern point reached in the advance,
as the first intention to take Khartum and avenge Gordon's death was given
up owing to the complications with Russia over the Penjdeh incident, which
demanded the recall of our army from the Sudan to be ready for possible
eventualities elsewhere. Gen. Sir Herbert Stewart died of his wounds at Gakdul
on Feb. 16. In 1898 Metemma was abandoned to Gen. Hunter by the
Dervishes after the battle of the Atbara.
Passing Shendi, the next Stat, is
496 m., Wad Ben Naga. Since leaving the Atbara the country
has considerably altered its character, becoming gradually less Egyptian
in appearance. The train passes over numerous khors or dry water
courses which, unlike the wadis of Egypt proper, actually receive water
for a short time every summer. The desert has ceased to be true
desert, and has become an atmilr, or steppe, covered with low brush,
quite different from anything in Egypt. A large portion of this was
formerly irrigated and cultivated to a considerable distance inland, and
about 20 m. E. of Wad Ben Naga, and 35 m. S.E. of Shendi, are the
ruins of important Ethiopian temples at Naga in the Wddi Awateb,
and 14 m. nearer Shendi those of Musdwwardt es-Sufra. It is evident
that in the days of the Kandakes the valleys of the Meroitic atmilr
were well cultivated and had a considerable population, and important
towns must have existed in the Wadis Awateb and es-Sufra, or such
large temples would not otherwise have been built so far from the
Nile. These temples are most easily visited from Shendi. Leaving Shendi we
journey for a distance of about 12 m. in a S.E. direction over a flat desert to a
small Temple, consisting of a single chamber of sandstone with bas-reliefs of
Ethiopian style. Leaving this we approach the blue line of mountains which
has been seen in the distance since leaving Shendi. We ascend through Mors
studded with scrub-brush, and over rough ground to a gap in the chain of hills
through which we pass into the circular basin in the hills, in which lie the ruined
temples of Musawwarat es-Sufra (over 20 m. from Shendi). The hill-mass
with its depression, in which they lie, is known, from its resemblance to an
Arab table with the usual circular brass tray on the top, as es-Sufra, "the
Table." The word Musdwwardt means "sculptured" or "painted" ruins.
There are here the ruins of two temples within a girdle-wall, and a small
isolated temple (about ij m. away). The smaller of the main temples is in a
very ruined condition ; on each side of the gateway is a colossal figure in high
relief. The larger covers a great extent of ground, and is especially notable for
its sloping ramps and fine colonnades. The pillars have a curious resemblance
to those of Persepolis : we may perhaps ascribe this to some Eastern influence,
which reached Ethiopia during the Roman period, to which the temple
undoubtedly belongs. On the pillars of the small isolated temple are remark
able reliefs of men riding on elephants and lions, ' ' and other barbarous
scenes." Leaving these curious ruins, we ride 14 m. (four to five hrs.) in a S.E.
2 o


beet. VII.] ROUTE 28.— KHARTUM AND OMDURMAN. 563
opposite Khartum, which is separated from it by the Bahr el-Azrak or
Blue Nile. (Ferry-launch P.T.5. There is also a steam chain-ferry.)
Omdurman lies on the W. bank of the Nile, beyond Tuti Island.
Khartum and Omdurman.
The cities of Khartum and Omdurman lie at the junction of the
Blue and White Niles, in N. lat. 15° 40', and at a height of 1240 ft.
above sea-level. At the point of junction is the Island of Tuti, formed
by the Blue Nile, which enters tbe White by two channels. Khartum
lies on the S. bank of the Blue Nile, opposite the E. end of Tuti
Island; Omdurman, ou the W. bank of the White Nile, opposite its
W. end. Khartum was founded as the capital of the Egyptian
dominions in the Sudan after the expedition of the Defterdar Bey
(Commander-in-chief) in 1821 to avenge the murder" of Ismail Pasha
at Shendi (p. 560) ; Omdurman in its present form dates only from the
time of the siege of Khartum in 1884, when it was made the camp of
the Mahdist army. After the fall of Khartum it became the Mahdist
capital, Khartum being abandoned till the reconquest in 1898. The
name Khartiim is Nubian, meaning "Elephant's Trunk," from the
shape of the long spit of land (Rds el-Khartum) which runs out between
the two rivers S. of the island of Tuti. Omdurman is Arabic, being
properly Umm ed-Durmdn.
Until the late 'sixties Khartum was chiefly important as the centre of the
Sudan slave trade, and one of the chief of the slave-traders, who carried on
their traffic with practically no interference from Egypt, was the well-known
Zuber. In the reign of Ismail, after that would-be European monarch had
opened the Suez Canal, and Egypt " ceased to be in Africa and was now part
of Europe," it became obligatory to remove the reproach of barbarism implied
by the existence of the slave-trade. Accordingly, in 1869, the year of the
opening of the Canal, Sir Samuel Baker (Baker Pasha) was sent to the Sudan
to abolish the traffic. He did so partially by bringing the Equatorial Province
under Egyptian sway. In 1874 General Gordon, who had made his name as a
leader of men famous in the service of the Imperial Chinese Government
against the Tacpings, succeeded him in the government of the Equatorial
Province, and in 1877 was made Governor-General of the Sudan, with plenary
powers to stop the traffic. In carrying out his work he came into conflict
with the powerful Zuber, who in 1874 had added Darfur to the Egyptian
dominions. He found it necessary to arrest and exile Zuber, and Gessi
Pasha, his subordinate, executed Zuber's son for rebellion. In 1879, at the
deposition of Ismail, he left the Sudan, but his work against the slave-
trade was carried on till the murder of Gessi Pasha in 1881. The disturb
ances caused by the arising of the false Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad, and the
Arabist rebellion in Egypt proper, caused the whole of the work of Baker,
Gordon and Gessi to be undone. After the annihilation of the army of Hicks
Pasha on the march to el-Obfiid in 1883 by the Mahdists, it was determined by
the British Government, which had now become responsible for the maintenance
of order in E°vpt, to send Gordon once more to the Sudan to restore peace, ¦
subdue the Mahdist rebellion, and again destroy the slave-trade. For this
work no other troops were available than the Egyptians, whose morale had
been affected by successive defeats at the hands of the English and the
Mahdists. His suggestion that his old enemy Zuber should be made Governor-
General of the Sudan was refused. This suggestion was not understood at
the time because Gordon had previously attacked- Zubgr as the chief of the
2 O 2


564 ROUTE 28. — KHARTUM AND OMDURMAN. [Sect. VIL
slave-traders, and was regarded by the latter as his personal enemy." The
request was instanced as an example of Gordon's extraordinary inconsistency
and even flightiness, when in reality, quite apart from its personal magnanimity
towards an old enemy, it was a fine example of policy in entire accordance with
oriental conditions : in the East you put in command the strong man, "whose
word goes," quite irrespective of his personal antecedents, which there seem to
be popularly regarded as beside the mark. Zuber was the only man who
could have made any headway against the Mahdi. The whole episode was in
thorough accord with Gordon's character, which was such an extraordinary
combination of the straitest Christian virtues with thorough comprehension of
the ways of the East and the workings of the oriental mind.
Gordon was soon invested in Khartum and Omdurman by the fanatical
followers of the Mahdi, and it became necessary to send an expedition
under Lord Wolseley to relieve him, with a regular flotilla of whale-boats,
manned by sailors and Canadian voyageurs, to convey tbe troops. We have
traversed the route of this expedition, we have seen the points, Dongola,
Korti, Abu Tli'h, Kirbekan, Gubat, which mark the successive stages of the
advance, and have passed the country of the Monasir Arabs, where the ill-
fated steamer Abbas, conveying Colonel Hamill Stewart, Mr. Power, the corres
pondent of the Times, and the French Consul at Khartum, M. Herbin, sent to
communicate with Egypt, was wrecked and its occupants murdered. We have
already seen how the advance-guard of the expedition reached Khartum too
late, only two days after the fall of the place and the murder of Gordon.
Perhaps Gordon was too optimistic : his despatches were always to the effect
that he could hold on almost indefinitely, so that the real pressing necessity
for relief and the formidable nature of the Mahdist rebellion was not quite
realized till just a little too late. On Jan. 15th the fort at Omdurman sur
rendered, and the fall of Khartum became only a matter of days. Treason
was rampant, and finally, on the 26th the traitor Faraz Pasha opened the gate
at one end of the town when the attention of the garrison had been attracted to
the other, and the Mahdist hordes entered the city from the side of the White
Nile. Gordon was speared as he stood on the steps of the Governor's Palace,
and his head cut off. Then followed the usual massacre.
Khartum was abandoned, and the Mahdi established the seat of his power
at Omdurman, which became practically a vast war-camp, a temporary camp,
the Mahdi said, for it was fated that he should die at the Holy City. He was
poisoned here, however, very soon, and was buried in the tomb, in semi-
European style, erected over his body, which was destroyed in 1898. The
rule of his successor, Abdullahi Taishi, the Khalifa, was one long, orgy of
cruel massacres and every abomination of oriental tyrann)' exercised by an
oriental. The details may be read in the books of Father Ohrwalder and Slatin
Pasha. The legend, which had obtained some currency in 1885 (when the true
condition of things in the Sudan had not been understood in England), that
the Mahdists were "brave Arabs," " rightly struggling to be free," was finally
exploded by Slatin. The vile tyranny at Omdurman was now seen in its true
colours, and the necessity of its removal in the cause of civilization became
obvious to all.
The progress of the second expedition of 1896-8, which resulted in the
overthrow of the usurping power at Omdurman and the restoration of the
Egyptian Sudan to the civilized world, has already been traced. On Sept. 2,
1898, was fought the decisive struggle on the plains of Kerreri, 7 m. N. of
Omdurman, where 10.000 of the most fanatical Mahdists bit the dust, and the
world was rid of 10,000 dangerous savages. On the same day Sir' Herbert
Kitchener entered Omdurman ; the tomb of the original usurper was destroyed
and his remains cast into the Nile, and on the 4th the general and his troops
landed at Khartum and hoisted the British and Egyptian flags over the ruined
palace of Gordon, a solemn religious service being held on the river bank by
the four military chaplains to mark the occasion.


566 ROUTE 28.  KHARTUM AND OMDURMAN. [Sect. VII.
Naga (p. 562). It was found among the Christian ruins at Soba,
and has therefore usually been regarded as a Christian lamb. There
is, however, no doubt that it is a heathen Bam, and was quite
possibly originally erected at Naga, and transported thence to Soba.
It bears an inscription in Ethiopian hieroglyphs in which the
Egyptologist Diimichen thought he could detect the name of Alua;
but this is doubtful ; the name of the king in the royal cartouche in it
cannot be read, as the Ethiopian values of the Egyptian hieroglyphs
are uncertain ; the collocations of hieroglyphs on this ram would be
meaningless in Egyptian, and it is quite possible that they were mere
senseless imitations of hieroglyphics uncomprehended by the later
Ethiopians and used by them simply for ornament. Over the palace
float the British and Egyptian flags side by side, and a Sudanese and
a British sentry mount guard before it, symbolizing the two masters
of the country. Beyond the palace are the Offices of the Works Depart
ment and the Sudan Club, a building with comfortable verandahs.
Beyond this are several bungalows belonging to British officials, the
Hospital, and the buildings of the Gordon Memorial College, built in
memory of the hero of Khartum by means of subscriptions to the
amount of £100,000 collected in England in response to an appeal
made by Lord Kitchener on his short visit to England - to receivo
his title and the thanks of King and Parliament in 1898, after
the reconquest of the Sudan. The aim of the college is to give
the better class. of native boys higher education in order to fit them
for administrative posts in the future, especially as schoolmasters
and kadis, &c. Mechanical training is also given. There are work
shops, equipped by Sir William Mather, and a chemical laboratory
given by Mr. H. Wellcome. The director of the college is Di. A.
Balfour, under the Director-General of Education, Mr. Currie, who is
assisted by Mr. J. W. Crowfoot. One of its treasures is the MS. journal
kept by Gen. Gordon during the Taeping Bebellion. There can be no
doubt that the education given by the Gordon College will be such as
no Moslem of the class affected has ever received before, and the effects
may be remarkable. There are about 150 boys now at the college, so
that it is evident that the "Hubshee" (Indian name for a Sudanese, =
Hdbashi, Abyssinian) has taken the advice of Kipling's Bengali school
master and has gone with eagerness to "Kitchener's School"
(Madrissa). " Knowing that ye are forfeit by battle and have no right to live,
He begs for money to bring you learning— and all that the English give ;
It is their treasure— it is their pleasure— thus are their hearts inclined,
For Allah created the English mad— the maddest of all mankind.
*****
" Certainly they were mad from of old ; but I think one new thing,
That the magic whereby they work their magic— wherefrom their fortunes
spring-
May be that they show all peoples their magic- and ask no price in return ;
Wherefore, since ye are bound to that magic, O Hubshee, make haste and
learn.
" Certainly also is Kitchener mad. But one sure thing I know—
If he who broke you be minded to teach you, to his Madrissa go I
Go, and carry your shoes in your hand and bow your head on your breast
For he who did not slay- you in sport, he will not teach you in jest."
(From the ' Five Nations,' Methuen & Co.)


Sect. VII.] route 28. — Khartum and omdurman. 567
Opposite the Club is the Bly. Stat, at Khartiim North. E. of the
college are the riverward end of Gordon's old Lines- of circumvallation
(el-Istaham), the British Barracks, and the native suburb of Burri.
The native barracks are further along the lines to the W., where also
is the Cemetery.
To Omdurman (4 m.) a ferry-launch (fare, P.T.5) plies every
morning from the Bas el-Khartum, 1 m. W. of the hotel (steam tram
way), passing the island of Tuti, on which was a fort bravely defended
during the siege. A donkey is necessary at Omdurman.
The entirely native city of Omdurman has a population of about
50,000. In the -Mahdist time it had more than 100,000, as it was the
policy of the Mahdi to collect here practically all of the faithful he
could lay hands on, in a vast military camp, under his own eye, pre
paratory to an advance to the conquest of the infidel. The houses
extend along the river for a distance of five miles. The central portion
of the city, containing the walled town of the Baggara, fellow-tribes
men of the Khalifa, founded in 1885, and, outside it, the mosque and
houses of the chief emirs of the Mahdi,. was called el-Bugd, "the
Place"; the district to the N. is the Haret en-Nasara, where the
Christians live ; to the S. is the original village of Umm ed-Durmdn.
The buildings of the Buga are of great interest as the scene of many
of the episodes of the dominion of "Fire and Sword" in the Sudan.
Nearest to the river is the prison of the Sdicr, where Neufeld and other
Europeans were confined in chains, besides many of the more impor
tant native victims of the Mahdist tyranny. Westward of this, to the
left, is the Bit el-Amdna or Bet el-Mdl, the Treasury of the Mahdists
(in it is an interesting collection of dervish arms) ; to the S. of it was
the slave market ; N. are the Houses of the Emir Yakub, of tlie Khalifa,
and of his son the Shekh ed-Din, who was afterwards wounded and
captured at the Battle of Omdebrekat (p. 581), where his father and
other emirs were killed. These houses were the only two-storied ones
allowed in Khartum. The Khalifa's bas a verandah supported on two
pillars. Behind is the Great Square where the faithful were summoned
to pray by the Khalifa. Close by is the Mosque, a building of whiter
washed brick in a large court. Let into the wall of a house near by is
a tablet in memory of the Hon. Hubert Howard, son of tbe present
Earl of Carlisle, who was killed here by a fragment of shell on Sept. 3,
1898, after the battle of Kerreri. He was acting as correspondent of
the Times. Beyond are the ruins of the Mahdi 's Tomb. This was a
building erected with the help of Neufeld, the unhappy prisoner of the
Saier ; it consisted of a square hall within a court and crowned by a
high cupola. The actual tomb was surrounded by an iron grille of not
ineffective design. The cupola was considerably damaged by shell fire
from the gunboats and the British siege batteries on the E. bank after
the battle of Kerreri, and it was decided to complete the destruction as
an object lesson to the people of Omdurman. Accordingly the cupola
was blown up, and the body of the Mahdi taken out of its tomb, burnt
and the ashes thrown into the Nile. This act, which was fully under
stood by the Sudanese, was however not entirely comprehended in
England by people ignorant of the East and its ways of looking at
things There is no doubt that it was the only possible thing to do ;
had the tomb remained intact with the Mahdi's body left undisturbed^


568 ROUTE 28. — KHARTUM AND OMDURMAN. [Sect. VII.
every native in the Sudan would have concluded that the English and
Egyptians were still afraid of the Mahdi even when dead, and dared not
touch him ; the prestige of his name would have increased enormously ;
he would have been always revered as a powerful saint, pilgrimages would
have been made to his tomb as before (the Khalifa had prohibited the
proper pilgrimage to Mecca), and in a very short time it would have
become the focus of a recrudescence of religious fanaticism and probably
of a fresh rebellion and attempt to plunge the whole land back again into
barbarism. As it is, the ruined tomb stands as a reminder to the
Sudanese that Muhammad Ahmad was no true Mahdi (see p. [34]), but
a criminal tyrant at the mention of whose name every honest Muslim
should spit.
Slatin Pasha's House (now the telegraph office), in which that
undaunted officer spent his weary years of confinement as a State
prisoner of the Khalifa, lies to the S. of the Mosque. For the details
of his residence here, and of the difficulties and dangers he underwent,
the reader is referred to his book, 'Fire and Sword in the Sudan.'
The Market, in which extraordinary scenes of almost mid-African
barbaric life may be seen, lies N.W. The great admixture of races
brought together by the centralizing policy of the Mahdi, and the pre
ponderance of women in the population owing to the killing-off of the
men in war, may be noticed. E. is the Place of Execution, where the
gallows of the Khalifa stood. Here took place the continual "judicial"
murders of which the Khalifa Abdullahi was guilty, including on one
occasion the butchery of a whole tribe, the Batahin (see ' Fire and
Sword in the Sudan,' p. 267).
The Battlefield of Kerreri lies 7 m. N. of Omdurman, near the
Jebel Surgham. The advance of the Anglo-Egyptian army under Sir
Herbert Kitchener was contested here, on the rolling desert steppe,
by the Khalifa and his troops, numbering about 40,000 in all. The
fanatical onrush of the Dervishes, led by their emirs, was shattered at
long range by the steady fire of the troops, and then the advance to
Omdurman, in a succession of squares in echelon, began. A second
attack was made by the Khalifa, and for a time the Sudanese brigade
of Gen. Sir Hector Macdonald had to bear the brunt of this last
despairing attempt, but it was beaten off with great skill by Macdonald.
A charge made by the 21st Lancers (who here received their baptism
of fire, having never been in action since their formation) was some
what unfortunate, on account of the existence of the khors, or dry
watercourses seaming the plain, into one of which some of the troopers
fell and were speared by the Dervishes lying in ambush in it. Here
was killed Lieut. Grenfell, nephew of Gen. Lord Grenfell, the former
Sirdar of the Egyptian army, who defeated the Dervishes at Toski
(p. 535). An obelisk marks the scene of his death. The gunboats
accompanied the troops in the march, and also, on the opposite bank,
a battery of 40-pr. siege guns and the 37th British howitzer battery ;
all doing considerable execution among the Dervishes. The loss of the
latter was altogether enormous; nearly 11,000 corpses being counted,
and 16,000 wounded and 4000 unwounded prisoners. The British loss
was only 25 killed and 99 wounded ; that of the Egyptians 21 dead and
230 wounded, General Kitchener entered Omdurman the same after,





London * Edward Stanford 12, 13 & 14:, Long Aero , "W. C .

Stanford's Gcog -' fst&hP London.


570 ROUTE 29. — KHARTUM TO SUAKIN. [Sect. VII.
Gol ; 3 days' camel-ride inland from which are the mines of Gebit,
now being exploited by an English company. N. of this are Rds
Rowiy and Rds Elba or Edineb, beyond which is Halaib, the most
northerly Sudanese station. At Bir Shalatin, further N, is the
administrative boundary between Egypt and the Sudan (see p. 213).
Suakin (properly Sawdkin) or Suakim (pop. 11,000), the most impor
tant town on the W. side of the Bed Sea, lies 36 m. S. of Port Sudan.
The town is built partly on an island, partly on the mainland \ the two
parts are connected by a causeway. There is an Egyptian mudir, and,
since the town was never .abandoned to the Dervishes by Egypt, the
Egyptian flag here flies alone, unaccompanied by that of Great Britain.
The " capitulations " are however not in force, and there is no " mixed
tribunal." It resembles the other Bed Sea towns, with its Arab houses
of stone and coral with mushrabiya windows, and native huts of poles
and grass. The gates (" Kitchener's " and " Gordon's1') are not unpic-
turesque. The Mudiriya stands on the shore. Before the entrance are
two mortars, which played a part in the fighting of the 'eighties. Tbe
harbour is dangerous to navigate at night, owing to the coral-reefs, and
so is inferior to that of Port Sudan. It is dangerous to bathe in the
sea, on account of sharks. Pearl-fishing is a great local industry, and
lately its possibilities of development have been investigated for the
Sudan Government. Cotton is cultivated locally,' 7425 feddans having
been under cultivation in 1904, with a large yield. There is now
considerable trade with the Sudan, and this will be much increased
now that the railway is completed from Atbara. The immediate result
will be a great cheapening of necessaries in the Sudan, especially coal.
Suakin is especially interesting to Englishmen as the scene of the inter
mittent campaign against the redoubtable and elusive brigand, Osman Digna,
who constituted himself the leader of the Mahdists in this part of the country.
His one aim and object was the capture of Suakin, which he was naturally
never allowed -to effect. He always obtained support among the local
Hadendua and Amarar Arabs, though the garrison of Suakin was also
supported by "friendlies '' under Shekh Mabmud Ali. The war in the neigh
bourhood of Suakin opened on Feb. 4, 1884, by the complete destruction of
a motley and undisciplined Egyptian force under Baker Pasha at el-Teb-, when
on his way to relieve the garrison of Sinkat. This defeat was speedily avenged
by General Graham in the second battle of el-Teb, on Feb. 29. On March
13 General Graham defeated Osman Digna at Tamai, and on tlie 27th at
Tamauieb. But defeat could not cow the growing fanaticism of the Mahdists,
and the successful siege of Khartiim gave Osman Digna new strength.
After the disaster of Khartum it was decided to concentrate our efforts at
Suakin to build a railway to Berber, and, apparently, to hold the country
across to the Nile, preparatory to an advance on Khartum. Before the railway
could be made, however, Osman Digna had to be beaten again. Accordingly,
General Graham, whose force was intended to be augmented by a contingent of •
Australian volunteers from New South Wales, as well as Indian troops,
advanced again and defeated Osman Digna at Ha shin (March 20, 1885).
On March 22, at Tofnk, 6 m. from Suakin, on the road to Tamai, a
disaster nearly occurred. This fight is known as that of " M'Ncill's Zariba."
Gen. Sir John M'Neill was in command. The zariba or breastwork of thorn-
bushes was surprised by the Dervishes, who got among the troops and transport
and caused the utmost .confusion till they were driven out. The British loss
was severe, 6 officers (Lieut. Newman, R.N., Major von Beverhondt of the
Indian contingent, Licuts. Newman, R.E., and Swinton of the Berkshire Re°-t.,


574 ROUTE 30.  KHARTUM TO kassala. [Sect. -VII.
Nile crosses the Abyssinian border above Famaka, in long. 35° E.,
lat. 12° N. ; in Abyssinia it is known as the Abai, and ultimately rises
S. of Lake Tsana, through which it flows to the Sudan, reaching the
White Nile after a course of about 430 m. through Sudanese territory.
The White Nile enters Anglo-Egyptian territory below Gondokoro,
which is the first station in the British protectorate of Uganda ; between
Gondokoro (rt. bank) and Kiro (I. bank), 30 m. N., only the rt. bank is
Sudanese, the I. being leased till his death to the King of the Belgians
personally as sovereign of the Congo State. The N. boundary of the
Belgian leasehold territory (the Lado Enclave) is lat. 5° 30'. This, the
main stream of the White Nile, is usually known as the Bahr el-Jebel,
or "Mountain Biver," to distinguish it from the Bahr el-Ghazal,
"Gazelle Biver," which, flowing from the watershed separating the
Nile basin from that of the Ubanghi and Congo, joins the main White
Nile or Bahr el-Jebel in the waters of Lake No, in 31° E. long, and
9° N. lat. ' Above Lake No, on the White Nile, is the Sudd Region,
described on p. 583, in which the waters of the river are almost hidden
by the peculiar vegetable growth called "sudd," which has now been
partially cleared away, in order to make a passage for steamers and
prevent the absorption of much water which is needed for the irrigation
of the lower valley. The conditions of the Upper White Nile and Bahr
el-Ghazal are of course entirely Central African, and bear no resem
blance whatever to those of Egypt.
In our description of the Sudan beyond Khartum, we begin with
the Blue Nile routes, in order to complete our survey of the "Isle" of
Meroe, the northern part of which has already been described on p. 557,
the subsidiary route from ed-Damer to Kassala.
Leaving Khartum, the first place of interest on the Blue Nile is
(E.) 14 m., Soba (village on W. bank). Here there are important
relics of the Christian kingdom of Aloa, an offshoot of that of Dongola
(p. 549), in the shape of the foundations of a basilican church, with
remains of pillars and capitals, on which is sculptured the cross
patter, &c. These remains were discovered by the German Egyptologist
Diimichen in 1863, and identified by him with the ancient Aloa.
Here was found the stone ram now at Khartum (p. 565). The graves
of the Christian cemetery have also been found. 20 m., el-Afim,
starting-place of a direct desert route to Kassala (p. 557).
(IF.) Kamlin (64 m.), a town formerly known as a centre of indigo
planting. Beyond (E.) er-Ruf'a, (IT'.) Musalamiya (6 m. inland), is
Abu Haraz (114 in.), where the Bahad joins the Blue Nile, starting-
place of the caravan route to Gedaref (see below).
(W.) 123 m., Wad Midani (P.,T. O.), a populous town (14,000inh.),
capital of the Blue Nile (Gezira) Province, and a great centre of trade.
From it a route runs E. across the Gezira (the land between the Blue
and White Niles), vid the towns of Managil and Abiid (wells) to the
White Nile opposite ed-Duim (p. 581), the emporium of Kordofan. The
Gezira province has both rain and sakiya irrigation; in 1904, 6,840
feddans of cotton were under artificial irrigation, 2,757 under rain
cultivation. The land is very fertile. As in Kordofan, towns are found.
here at a long distance from the rivers. Above Wad Medani the Dinder
joins the Blue Nile, and we reach
213 m., Sennaar, the former capital of the district, now partially


Sect. VII.] ROUTE 30. — KHARTUM TO KASSALA. 575
ruined. The remains of the ancient mosque (built by Sultan Baadi
about 1650), with a good minaret, can be examined.
Sennaar was the centre of an important Moslem kingdom till the
Egyptian conquest in 1820. This was the kingdom of the Ffindyi or
Flings, a half-Arab, half-negro tribe, whose territory, the Dar Fung,
lies S. of the 12° parallel, and N. of the Burun negroes, between the
two Niles. The tribe is now unimportant, but at the end of the 15th
century (1493) the Fungs started on a career of conquest which, in a
contury, made them the tyrants of the Sudan. Sennaar became their
capital, and at the end of the 16th century was a most flourishing city.
But after another century (in 1786) the dynasty and culture of the
Fungs came to an end ; their empire fell apart into a number of small
principalities, which easily fell victims to the invading armies of
Muhammad Ali. The ancient kingdom of Sennaar and Dar Fung was
then exploited for slaves in the usual manner. Sennaar itself revolted,
and was recaptured like most of the Sudanese towns. Under Ismail it
was intended to be a great centre for cotton and indigo, but the Mahdist
rebellion upset all such projects. The town was taken in 1885 by the
Emir en-Nejumi, and destroyed. It has never recovered, and its place
as the capital of this part of the country has been taken by Wad
Medani. We have now entered the area of rain-cultivation. The Sennaar
district bears the same relation in this regard to the Upper Nile-
valley that Southern Palestine does to' the Delta. The banks are
fertile ; cotton can be raised in great quantity. There arc many
trees (among which may be noticed the baobab, duleb palm and
tamarind), and plenty of pasture for cattle. But fhe Mahdist depopu
lation has severely affected the whole country between Sennaar and
Abyssinia, and the people are needed to grow the cotton.
The river-banks become very picturesque here, with an impenetrable
thorny jungle on each bank, beyond which, at some distance from the
river, are the villages and durra fields, which in ,the Gezira stretch
across to the White Nile. The chief places between Sennaar and the
Abyssinian frontier are Kabush, Senga (266m., P. T., mudiriya; head
quarters of the Sennaar Province), Kharab Dini (rapids), Karkoj,
Roseires (382 m., P., T., mamuriya and small garrison) ; Fazokl and
Famaka (434 in.). At Boseires on Dec. 26, 1898, a Mahdist force under
the Emir Ahmad Fadil was completely defeated by Colonel Lewis,
the leader only escaping with a small number of men. The population
of the Boseires district is chiefly composed of the half-negro Hameg.
W. of Boseires is the Dar Fitng (see above) : its chief places are Gule,
on' the road from Boseires to Benk (p. 581), Soda, and Keili ; the
latter place is 45 m. by road S.W. of Fazokl (see below), which, as
well as the neighbouring Famaka, formed part of the original territory
of the Flings and the related Hamegs. South of Fazokl is the country
of the Beni Shangul (Shangalla) and of the Burun negroes, who in
years past suffered much from the raids of a slaver named Ibrahim
Wad Mahmiid, who was however captured and executed by Col.
Gorringe, then 'Mudir of Sennaar, in 1904. All game in this area is
strictly preserved.
[The Beni Shangul country falls within the limits of Abyssinia. Rte.
through it by Belfodio (6o ra.), the. headquarters of an Abyssinian official


576 ROUTE 30. — KHARTUM TO KASSALA. [Sect. VII.
(Fitaurari), who is here a Moslem ; Nekempti (253 m. ), residence of a powerful
Abyssinian noble, the Dejaj Gabra Xiavrihir, and Addis Alem (399 m.) where
British and Italian locations are being built, to Addis Abbaba (see above,
Rte. 29), 430 m. from Famaka. 3
From Abu Haraz, at the confluence of the Blue Nile and the
Bahad, runs the caravan route to Geddref, and thence, bifurcating,
to Galldbat and Kassala. The road runs N. of the Bahad, which is a
stream like the Atbara, dry at certain seasons of the year, with only
pools left in its bed to mark its course. Its upper course is like that
of the Blue Nile, pretty, with its jungle on each bank, but rather
monotonous. The road crosses the low steppe watershed between the
Bahad and the Atbara. The villages of Gedaref (P. T., mamiiriya ;
pop. 5,300 ; 156 m. from Abu Haraz) lie in an open steppe-valley, with
a few wells. Gedaref was captured by a column from Kassala under
Col. Parsons in 1891, and held its own against the Emir Ahmad Fadil
till his defeat at Boseires. From Gedaref to the district and town of
Galldbat near the Atbara, on the Abyssinian frontier, is 94 m. (364 m.
from Khartum), vid Doka (wells). Gallabat (P. T., mamuriya ; pop.
about 1,500 ; the name of the town is, properly, Metamma) is
picturesquely situated about 5 m. from the Atbara (here about 300 ft.
wide), with the Abyssinian mountains in the background, and com
manded by the old Dervish fort on a hill 150 ft. above the village. It
has often been in the hands of the Abyssinians, and in 1889 was the
scene of a great battle between the Neg&s Negest (King of Kings)
Johannes (John) and the Dervishes. The latter were defeated, but
King John was killed by a stray shot as he was directing the pursuit
from his palanquin ; the Abyssinians immediately retired, and the
Dervishes were enabled to claim a victory. The fort was handed over
by the Abyssinians to the Anglo-Egyptian forces in December 1898.
The districts of Gedaref and Gallabat have a heavy rainfall from
May to October ; the cotton grown by rain cultivation is good, but
owing to the great lack of population, much cannot be grown, and
much land which otherwise would be cultivated has to be left to
the jungle.
25 m. W. of Gallabat is Meshra 'Abid, on the Bahad, which joins
the Blue Nile between Wad Medani (see above) and Abu Haraz.
The road from Gallabat to Lake Tsana in Abyssinia is picturesque,
leading through forests of bamboo and over plains covered with high
grass, with mountains on either hand. The watershed between the
Atbara (called Goang by the Abyssinians) and Lake Tsana (Blue Nile)
is crossed. Goja, on Lake Tsana, is 198 m. from Gallabat.
[Rte. from Goja to Addis Abbaba, passing on the W. side of the lake and
via Debra Marios, or on the E. side via Gondar. By the former route Addis
Abbaba is 403 m. from Gallabat.]
From Gedaref to Kassala the road runs to the junction of the
Atbara and Setit, which higher up its course leaves Sudan territory and
forms the boundary between Abyssinia and the Italian colony of
Eritrea. Thence it follows the Atbara generally northwards, often
running away from the river in order to avoid its ravines, to Khashim
el-Girba and Fasher (85 m.) ; from which to Kassala (40 m. ; 395 m.
from Khartum), see p. 557. The whole country is overgrown with bush,
but might be turned into good cotton-land were there more inhabitants
and were the water supply better controlled.


Sect. VII.] ROUTE 30. — KHARTUM TO KASSALA. 577
[Desert route direct from Kassala to Khartum (275 m.), via. Umm Rashid
(well), crossing the Atbara at Asubri, between Fasher and Goz Rejeb, and
reaching the Blue Nile a few miles S. of Soba. Another Rte. via Goz Rejeb
and Abu Delek, see p. 556.]
The whole of this part of the country has lately been explored by
Mr. C. E. Dupuis, who was despatched by Sir William Garstin fo
report on the irrigation possibilities of the Blue Nile and Atbara
basins, and the junction of the headwaters of both and of Lake
Tsana as affecting the Nile water-supply. Mr. Dupuis extended his
investigation into Abyssinia, and explored the whole basin of Lake
Tsana, coming to the conclusion that an arrangement should be made
by which the waters of Lake Tsana and the Blue Nile should be
utilized for the needs of the Sudan, a regulator for the water being
made some ten miles from the exit of the Blue Nile from the lake.
But in his official despatch enclosing Sir Wm. Garstin's report on
the Upper Nile irrigation projects, 1904, Lord Cromer seems doubtful
as to the possibility of regulating the waters of Lake Tsana, on
political grounds, the lake lying wholly in Abyssinian territory.

ROUTE 31.
From Khartum to Kordofan and Darfiir.
A railway from Omdurman to el-Obeid is projected. The caravan
road to el-Obeid starts from ed-Duim (p. 581) on the White Nile.
The chief place on the way is Taiara, about 100 m. S.W. of ed-Duem
and 70 m. E. of el-Obeid. The country traversed is rolling steppe
(atmilr) with low scrub or bush, and a good many trees. Water is
obtained from wells of great depth (70 to 80 ft.), and is stored in a
manner peculiar to Kordofan, in the hollow trunks of trees. Good
water-trees (homr) are valuable property. The Kordofan steppe is a
plain lying about 1,800 ft. above the sea ; there are hills rising about
500 ft. above the plain.
El-Obeid (pop. 8,000, P., T., mudiriya, 158 m. from ed-Duem) is
situated on a plateau about 1,800 ft. above sea-level, in lat. 13° 11' N.,
long 30° 14' E. It was occupied, and Kordofan annexed, by the
generals of Mohammed Ali in 1821. In 1883 it was besieged and cap
tured by the Mahdi. An Egyptian army was sent from ed-Duem to
re-take it under Hicks Pasha. This army was annihilated and Hicks
Pasha killed, near Lake Rahad, S. of el-Obeid, in November 1883.
El-Obeid was' re-occupied in 1899, after the re-conquest of Khartum,
and is now on the way to become one of the most prosperous towns in
the Sudan. The Mudiriya, a brick building with a (for this country)
imposing entrance-gate, which still bears the marks of Dervish shot,
dates from the time of Ismail.
165 m W. of el-Obeid, and 80 m. from the Darf ur border, is en-NaMd
2 p


578 ROUTE 31.  KHARTUM TO DARFUR. [Sect. VII.
(pop. 7,000), a town founded by refugees from Mahdist tyranny at
el-Obeid. It lies on the Darfiir trade-route, and is a flourishing place.
Other towns in the same direction are Wad Banda and Dem Jamad, on
the Darfiir boundary. The Arab population belongs to the Baggara,
Danagla and Kababish tribes.
In the north and south is a Nubaioi population, akin to the Nubians
or Barabra. The most important southern villages are Fungor (100 m.
N.W. of Kodok), a picturesque place built on the side of a rocky hill,
Tendik, Talodi and Dem Bekir. The " Dar Nfiba " has fine scenery,
which is a great contrast to the monotony of Northern Kordofan.
Kordofan is the great centre of the production of gum-arabic, of
which in 1904 9,370,000 kg. (value £E. 211,000) were exported. There
are regular forests of grey gum acacias (hashab) in the central districts.
There is also a large cattle trade. Ivory and feathers come from the
west (en-Nahud) and south and from Darfiir.
Darfiir (Dar Fur, " Land of the Furs "), the capital of which is
el-Fasher, some 380 m. W. of el-Obeid, is tributary to the Sudan.
It was actually annexed to Egypt by Zuber Pasha in 1874, and
afterwards governed by Nfir Bey Angara, but naturally fell away during
the Mahdist interregnum. The present sultan is Ali Dinar, who
appears to be an intelligent ruler, and well-disposed to the govern
ment at Khartum. But it is not considered advisable for Europeans
to visit el-Fasher at present, in case of accidents. Though there
are no Sennusiya now at el-Fasher, there probably are many in
western Darfiir, towards Wadai, and the people are generally inclined
to be fanatical. Darfiir was always a dangerous place to visit, and the
English traveller Browne, who went there in the guise of a merchant
about 1794, met with considerable difficulties, and barely escaped with
his life. He went by the old Darb el-'Arba'in, the slave-route from
Asyut vid the Oasis of el-Kharga (p. 282). Considerable trade, however,
exists between el-Fasher and el-Obeid, the principal articles of export
being ostrich-feathers, ivory and pepper.
[Wadai, further W., is in the French sphere of influence. The capital,
Abeshr, lies about 300 m. W. of el-Fasher. The people are partly Senussiya.
In 1900, Kanem, still further W. (between Wadai and Lake Tchad), which is
strongly Senussi, was occupied by the French, with the result that in 1901 the
Jehad (holy war) was proclaimed against them by the Shekh es-Sen(issi, who
had in 1900 removed his headquarters from Kufra (p. 260) to Karu, N. of
Abeshr. The resulting war turned out badly, however, for the Senussiya, who
were severely handled by the French, and the Shekh died (May 1902), it is
said, of anxiety. His successor has returned to Kufra, and there is no doubt
that the prestige of Senussiya has suffered heavily in consequence. (See p. 261
with regard to the previous history of the Senussi sect and its connections with
the oases of Siwa and Jarabub in the N.)3


580 ROUTE 32.  KHARTUM TO GONDOKOBO. [Sect. VII.
Ghazal to Abyssinia and Djibouti, then to annex the Upper Sudan and use its
possession as a lever to eject the British from Egypt proper, if possible. This
bold scheme was supported as far as Abyssinia was concerned by France's
Russian allies, who, for some mediaeval semi-ecclesiastical reasons not easily
comprehended by the modern and secular British mind, had discovered that
Abyssinian Christianity was first cousin to their own, and ought to be cultivated
by them. In pursuance of this plan Colonel Marchand was sent from the
Ubanghi to plant the tricolour on the Upper Nile in the vicinity of the Sobat,
there to be joined by Abyssinians and French from Djibouti and Addis Abbaba.
This he did, in Aug. 1898, but the whole scheme was brought to naught by
the independence and common-sense of the Negus Mcnelek and his consort
Queen Taitu, backed by the straightforward diplomacy of our representative
at Addis Abbaba, Captain Harrington ; by the decisive yet politic action of Sir
H. Kitchener when, immediately after the capture of Omdurman, he heard of
Marchand's arrival on the Nile ; and by the firmness of Lord Salisbury and
the British Cabinet when the question had to be finally decided. The name of
Fashoda has now been erased from the map, Kod6k having taken its place ;
and this is as well, for its continuance would only have served to remind a
great and happily now friendly nation of a diplomatic reverse which it had
suffered only on account of the Chauvinism of one set of its rulers and their
miscalculation of the length of British long-suffering. The plan was a bold
one — nay, an admirable one from the French point of view — and it was within
an ace of success. Had the Egyptian advance to Dongola in 1896 been
delayed a year it would probably have succeeded, and Britain would either
have had to give way, thus jeopardizing the future of her rule in Egypt,
besides leaving the control of Egypt's waterway in non-Egyptian hands, or
have gone to war with France.
By treaty with France the whole of the Bahr el-Ghazal is left to the Sudan,
the boundary between the French Congo and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
being the natural one of the watershed between the Congo and Nile basins.
Dariur also falls to England and Egypt, as originally it was an Egyptian
tributary state ; Wadai, which never was attached to Egypt, being French,
and serving to link up the Ubanghi with the French Sahara and Algeria.
The boundary between the French and Anglo-Egyptian spheres of influence
is continued N.W. to the frontier of the Turkish pashalik of Tripoli, the
Senussi centre at Kufra (p. 260) thus falling to the Sudan. The expedition
of Sir H. Kitchener to Fashoda in Sept. 1898 was the first re-occupation of
the White Nile valley : garrisons were also established on the Sobat. The
way southwards was barred by the vast accumulation of sudd (p. 583) during
the Dervish misrule on the Bahr el-Jebel and Bahr ez-Zaraf ; this was largely
removed by Col. Peake a year later, and the river was clear to Gond6koro,
hands being thus joined with the British protectorate of Uganda, and the
whole Nile (with the temporary exception of the Lad6 Enclave) being, as it
ought to be for the safety and well-being of Egypt, in the hands of Egypt and
the friends of Egypt. Political matters were finally straightened out by the
annihilation of the last remnants of Mahdism at Omdebrekat in Nov. 1899
(see p. 581).
[Government Steamer once a month to Gondokoro, leaving Khartum on the 15th
of each month, and leaving Gondokoro about the 29th, reaching Khartum about the
10th. Two tourist-trips in the season. Tares to Gondbkoro and back, £B.65 ; time
taken, about 28 days. To Wau and Meshra er-Eek (Bahr el-Ghazal) once a month,
leaving Khartum on the 1st of each month. To Koddk twice a month. To Goz Abu
Guma weekly. For stations above Koddk a permit must be obtained at Khartum.
For cargo there are the steamers of the Sudan Development Company, to which the
Khartum hotel belongs. Steamer and barge traffic is under the general direction of
Commander Bond, R.N.]
Leaving Khartum and Omdurman, the steamer turns S. The river-
banks are fiat and uninteresting, and there are no palm-trees.


Sect. VII.] route 32. — Khartum to gondokoro. 581
(-E.) El-Getiina (P. T., mamuriya, 55 m. from Omdurman), in the
cultivated and thickly-inhabited province of Gezira, which has a mixed
population of Danagla aud Jaalin Arabs and blacks. Here some
pottery and bricks of the Christian period, inscribed in " Christian
Ethiopic " (see p. 539) have been found, and are now in the Khartum
Museum. This is the most southerly "find-spot" of antiquities yet
known in the Nile valley. Passing (W.) the volcanic Jebel Arashkol
(109 m.) we reach
(W.) ed-Duem (124 m., P., T.), 7,000 inh., the Nile entrepot for the
gum-arabic of Kordofan, and starting-place of the transport-road to el-
Obiid (Rte. 31). Prom opposite ed-Duem to Wad Midani via Maatuk,
Managil (mamuriya) and Abiid (see p. 574), 80 m.
(E.) Kawa (146 m.), an important village on the low river-bank, of
the usual tukul construction.
We pass the island of Abba (163 m.), the birthplace of Mahdism,
where the Mahdi lived before his revolt, to
(W.) Fashi Shoya (176 m.), the starting-place of Sir B. Wingate's
expedition to destroy the Khalifa's army at Umm ed-Debrikdt or
Omdebrikat, which lies about 40 m. S.W., beyond the villages of
Nefissa and Gedid. This is the country of the Baggara, the fellow-
tribesmen of the Khalifa and his chief emirs, and here he had
sought refuge after the defeat of Omdurman. In Nov. 1899, more
than a year after his expulsion from his former capital, he had
resolved to make an attempt to recapture Omdurman, and sent
forward his lieutenant Ahmad Fadil (the defeated of Gedaref and
Boseires the year before ; see p. 575) to the Nile to occupy the
original sanctuary of Mahdism, Abba. On Nov. 13 Ahmad Padil
was expelled from Abba and retreated to the Khalifa's camp. Sir
H. Kitchener despatched Sir B. Wingate against the rebels ; he
landed at Pashi Shoya, defeated Ahmad Padil at Nefissa, and found
the Khalifa with his army at Omdebrekat, where, on the 24th Nov.,
the final scene took place. The Mahdists, 4,000 in number, made the
usual Dervish attack, with the Khalifa and his emirs at their head.
They were mown down, and the Khalifa and his followers,' spreading
their sheepskins out beneath them, sat down to receive their death.
The Khalifa, Ahmad Padil, Ali Wad Helu, two sons of the Khalifa, and
a son of the Mahdi, were killed. The Shekh ed-Din, the Khalifa's
eldest son, was wounded and captured. Osman Digna actually
succeeded in escaping once again, and fled to his old hunting-grounds
near Suakin, where, however, he was betrayed and captured early in
1900. He is'now imprisoned at Damietta. 600 Dervishes were killed :
the Egyptian loss being 4 killed and 29 wounded. Beyond Pashi
Shoya :
(E.) Goz Abu Guma (192 ni.) ; mamuriya; P., T. ; from Goz Abu
Guma to Senga, on the Blue Nile, 85 m. Then follows the remarkable
ford of Abu Zid (208 m.), where the Nile is extraordinarily shallow;
(E ) Jebelin (238 m.), so called from two isolated hills, about 300 ft.
high close to the river ; Dar el-Ahamda ; (E.) Renk, 5 m. inland
(298 'm ' P- T., mamuriya). Here Sir H. Kitchener's Fashoda expe
dition caught up the Dervish steamers sent by the Khalifa to attack
Marchand; their vessels, among them the Safia (p. 561), were captured.
Prom Beuk a road runs via Jebel Gule to Boseires (p. 575), through the
Dar Fung the country of the Fung or Fiindyi tribes, who, under the


582 route 32. — khartOm to gondokoro. [Sect. VII.
princes of Fazokl, ruled the Sudan, with their capital at Sennaar
(p. 574), from the 15th to the 18th centuries. The Fungs are now a
comparatively unimportant tribe. We pass (E.) Jebel Ahmad Aghd
(353 m.), a solitary cone 250 ft. high, near which are Dinka villages,
to (W.) Kaka (391 m.), a Shilluk village. We have now reached the
land of the Blacks, properly so-called, the Baggara being the most
southerly Arab tribe, and the Shilluks and Dinkas the most northerly
of the true negroes in the Nile valley. They are a thin and tall race,
often gigantic (7 ft.), and their spindle shanks, the leg having no
calf to speak of, are at once noticeable. They have a curious habit
of resting standing on one leg, which makes them look like gigantic
cranes. They are largely Moslems, the Nuers, to the south of them,
being true pagans. Already among the Dinkas, Islam ceases to be the
religion of the people, and is only professed by chiefs with Arab blood
or connections. The Nuers are pure savages, wearing no clothing
whatsoever. (E.) Melut (413 m.), P., T. 0. At (B.) Demtemma (416 m.)
there are Dinkas as well as Shilluks. The next station is
(W.) Koddk (459 m. ; N. lat. 9° 53', E. long. 32° 8'), the successor of
Fashoda, a, little further S., which is now abandoned, owing to its
unhealthiness. The visitor to the Sudan for pleasure will now note
that he must be on the watch against the various ills of Central Africa,
blackwater fever, for instance.
Fashoda was occupied on July 10, 1898, by Major Marchand (see p. 580),
and finally evacuated on Dec. 11, the gallant explorer returning to France
by way of tbe Sobat, Abyssinia, and Djibouti in order to complete his crossing
of Africa. On hearing of the occupation of Fashoda by white men the Khalifa
had sent steamers up the Nile to find out who they were. They were fired
on by the Senegalese tirailleurs on Aug. 25, and returned to Khartum with
Lebel bullets in their woodwork. One of the steamers fell into tbe hands of the
British on Sept. 7, a few days after the capture of Khartiim. Kitchener's
decision to nip the French project in the bud by an immediate rehoisting of
the Egyptian flag at Fashoda and on the Sobat was instantly taken, and on the
10th he left, reaching Fashoda on the 19th. The historic interview with
Marchand took place on board the Sirdar's steamer, the Dal. The British and
Egyptian flags were hoisted by the side of the French at Fashoda, and steamers
were sent to take effective possession of the mouth of the Sobat and of Meshra
er-Rek in the Bahr el-Ghazal. The subsequent history of the negotiations till
Nov. 4, when Lord Salisbury announced that the French Government had
given way, and would evacuate Fashoda, are within the recollection of all.
From opposite Kod6k a track runs to Nasser on the Sobat (see
below) via, Uryong (40 m.). At (W.) Lul (477 m.), beyond Fashoda, is
a settlement of the Austrian Boman Catholic Mission, which does good
work among the Shilluks. The frontier of Islam being practically
passed, there is here no objection to Christian proselytism (see below).
At (E.) Taufikia (515 m.) is the mudiriya of Kodok, with canton
ments for troops. 5 m. higher up is the mouth of the Biver Sobat,
which comes down from the Abyssinian highlands. At Doleib Hill,
5 m. up the Sobat, there is a station of the American Mission in Egypt,
and it is contemplated to found another farther up the river. The
Church Missionary Society is also beginning work in these regions.
"Doleib Hill" is so called from the fine grove of "doleib" or
duleb palms among which the settlement stands. Cotton-growing and
brick-making have been established here by the missionaries among


584 ROUTE 32. — KHARTUM TO gondokoro. [Sect. VII.
cally a . huge swamp over 300 miles long. So difficult indeed is the
problem of the Sudd that in his Beport of 1904, on the Upper Nile
irrigation projects, Sir William Garstin proposes to construct an entirely
new channel for the Nile between Bor and the Sobat. Lord Cromer
prefers this plan to the alternative one of improving the Bahr ez-Zaraf,
and it will quite possibly be carried out, if the survey shows it to be
feasible. The roughly estimated cost is £E.5,500,000, and there is
little doubt that tbe advantage to Egyptian irrigation will be worth the
expense. The stations in the Sudd country between Lake No and Bor are
(E.) Hellet Nuer (726 m.), Shambe (838 m., on a small lake about 1 m.
from the river : road to Rumbek in the Bahr el-Ghazal ; thence to
Wau, see above), (E.) Kenisa (888 m.), where there used to be an
Austrian mission-station. We pass through Lake Poivendael (930 m.)
to (E.) Bor, about 960 m. S. of Omdurman, in N. lat. 6° 12', the last
Dinka village. The inhabitants south of it are Baris. The Sudd
region with its extraordinary floating bush and its swamps of papyrus
and ambatch is now left behind, and the Nile becomes an imposing
and stately stream once more. We steam past the Dervish fort (E.)
held for so long by the Mahdist Emir Dafa'allah to Bor Military
Station, 16 m. further on. The frontier of the Lado Enclave, leased
to the Congo State till the death of the present King of the Belgians,
is passed on the W. bank (N. lat. 5° 30').
(W.) Kiro, 1,045 m., about 80 m. from Bor, is the first Congolese
Station. (E.) Mongalla (a picturesque but unhealthy place, 15 m. from
Kiro), the last Sudanese post. On the W. bank is the Congolese post
of Lado (1,063 m.), near the isolated mountain of the same name. At
lat. 5° N. the Uganda frontier is reached, Gondokoro (1,070 m.), the
terminus of the Sudan steamer service, and the most northerly British
post, being 9 m. above Lado, on the E. bank. A detachment of Uganda
Bifles with a British officer is stationed here. Hippopotami are
numerous hereabouts, from Shambe southwards, and at Gond6koro
lions, leopards, rhinoceros, zebra, giraffe, hartebeeste, warthog, &c,
abound. Elephants are also common in the Nile provinces.
Gondokoro to Entebbe and Mombasa.— The remainder of the Nile journey
is in British territory (from Gond6koro to Wadelai by road, owing to the
rapids ; from Wadelai to Butiaba by sailing-boat).
The chief places are Ibrahimiya ; Rejaf(W. , Congolese), commanded by a
conspicuous volcanic cone — here the Dervishes were defeated by the Belgians ;
Fort Berkeley, Bedden Rapids; Labor'e (W. , Congolese); Nimuli (112 m.),
capital of the Nile Province of Uganda (Assistant Commissioner), and head
quarters of a wing of Uganda Rifles. Beyond Nimuli are the Fola Rapids,
which are very fine; Dufile (W. , Congolese), Emin Pasha's old capital;
Wadelai (207 m, ), and the Albert Nyanaa, about 240 m. from Gonddkoro.
Butiaba, pier and landing-stage on the E. shore, 265 m. Road from Butiaba
to Kampala and Entebbe (see below) via Hoima, 180 m.
The Albert Nyanza receives its waters from the Semliki River, and this
from the smaller Albert Edward Nyanza, lying just S. of the Equator, which is
thus one of the principal sources of the Nile. The valley of the Semliki is
dominated by the mighty mountain mass of Ruwenzori, partly in British
territory, which was discovered by Stanley in the course of the Emin Relief
Expedition, and first ascended by H.R.H. the Duke of the Abruzzi in 1906.


Sect. VII.] route 32. — Khartum to gondokoro. 585
The Victoria Nile enters the Albert Nyanza below Murchison Falls;
ascending it the chief places are Fajao, Foweira and Mruli, the southernmost
outposts of the old Egyptian regime. After passing through Lakes Kwanya
and Choga, we reach the Ripon Falls, by which the Nile leaves the Vietoria
Nyanza, its great source-reservoir, at a rate of 575 cubic metres a second.
From the Ripon Falls to the Rosetta Mouth the Nile measures 3473 m.
The Ripon Falls lie E. of Kampala and Mengo, the royal fort and town,
and Entebbe (hotel), the seat of Government (High Commissioner) of
Uganda. Entebbe lies on the lake shore just N. of the Equator, 23 in. S. of
Kampala. From Entebbe (Port Alice) by steamer (fortnightly ; passage, 3 days) to
Port Florence (dak bungalow) in Kavirondo, about 80 m. S. of the great
extinct volcano Mount Elgon (14,200 ft. ). Port Florence is the starting-place
of the East African Rly. to Mombasa through Masailand (train weekly) ;
chief stations (20 m. ) Kibigori ; (28 m. ) Muboroni (dak) ; (45 m. ) Fort Ternan ;
(80 m. ) Londiani ; (90 m. ) Man, at the western or Mau escarpment of the
"Great Rift Valley"; (108 m. ) Elb-urgon; (137 m. ) Nakuro (dak), at the
N. end of the lake of the same name; (148 m. ) Elmenteita; (187 m.)
Naivasha, also on a lake of the same name, at the foot of the eastern
(Likipia) escarpment of the valley, and distant about 100 m. W. of Mount
Kenia ; (250 m. ) Nairobi, in Kikuyu, an important centre ; (304 m. ) Machakos
Road; (335 m.) Sultan Hamdd; (375 m. ) Makindu (dak) ; (390 m. ) Kibwezi ;
(451 m. ) Tsavo; (480 m. ) Voi (dak), about 60 m. E. of Taveta and Mount
Kilimanjaro, which is in German territory; (516 m.) Mackinnon Road;
(584 m. ) Mombasa>(c (Kilindini ; hotel: see Index-Directory), the seaport of
Uganda and capital of British E. Africa (Ibea). The rly. journey takes
2.\ days ; fare, Rs. 109J.
From Mombasa there is steamer connection with India direct, and with
Egypt via Aden. Messrs. Cook issue through tickets from Entebbe to
Mombasa, and can give all information as to the return by steamer from
Mombasa to Egypt at their Cairo office.

2 Q





588

INDEX-DIRECTORY.

Air.' ed-Dukker, 276.
'Ain el-Agia, 281.
'Ainel-BIrba, 277.
'Ain el-Estakherab, 281.
'Ain el-K1ad Spring, 276.
'Ain Hager, 280.
'Ain Hammam Spring, 260.
'Ain Hawara, 229.
'Ain Hudhera, 241, 250.
• 'Ain Kakam Muhammad
Wh,l, 280.
•Ain Lebekha, 280.
'Am Magarin, 281.
'Ain Sittra, 275.
'Ain Tabashir, 280.
'Ain Umm Dabadib, 280.
'Akaba, Gulp op, 211, 222,
225, 250.
'Akaba Territory, 211, 249,
250.
'Akaba to Petra, 250.
'Akabet el-Gemel, 555.
'Akabet el-KebIra, 498.
Akasha, 546.
Aken, 479.
AkhmIm, 297.
Aklit, 476.
Aksum, 572.
Alagi, 531.
Al- (see £l-).
Al-'Amra, 298, 356, 364.
Al-'Ahaba, 356..
AlawnIya, 356.
Albert Nyanza, 584,
Albert Edward .Nyanza,
584.
ALEXANDRIA, 1-22.
Alexander's Tomb, 14.
Arsienian Church, 21.
Arsenal, 3, 21.
Bay of, 2.
Breakwater, 2.
bdldingsand monuments,
Ancient, io.
Buildings, Modern, 19.
C^sareum, The, 14.
Catacombs, 17. ,
Circus, Ancient, 17.
Cisterns, 18.
Cleopatra's Needles, 15.
Climate, 18.
Commerce, 18.
Coptic Convent, 21.
Costom House, 4,
Gates, 15.

Gymnasium, The, 14.
Harbour, East or New,
3,22.
Harbour, Outer, 3.
Harbour, West, 2.
Heptastadion, The, 10.
History of, 4.
Jisws' Quarter, 14.
Latin Church, 21,
Library, 11.
Mole, 3.
Mosques, 21.
Museum, 11.
Museum, Modern, 22.
Necropolis, 3, 14.
Palace of the Kings, 14.
Panium, The, 14.
Pharos, The, 10, 20.
Pompky's Pillar, 2, 16.
Population, 9.
Public Library, 22.
Ras ET-TiN Palace, 20.
St. Saba, Church, 22.
Saracen Circuit, 15.
Serapeum, The, 12, 13.
Streets, 19.
Tombs of the Kings, 14.
Topography of, 4.
Hotels : Sawy Palace,
Rue de la Porte de Kosette,
35 ; P.T.60 tu 90 per day.
JVe«j Khedivial, Rue de la
Porte de Rosette, 15; P.T.80.
Abbatt in tbe P. Ste.
Catherine ; P.T.60 a day ;
arrangements for a pro
longed stay. Tel. V.372.
Hdtel Continental, 2, Rue
de France ; small hotel, hut
very clean. P.T.40 a day.
Hdtel des Vnyageurs, 4,
Rue de l'Eglise Ecossaise.
Tel. V.591.
Hdtel Bonnard, 7, Rue
Champollion ; P.T.50 a day.
Windsor. ¦
New Victoria.
Pension : Mrs. Howsell ;
P.T.28aday'; comfortable.
Restaurants : Pirenze,
opposite the Post ^Office;
V Universel ; L'Egypte ;
Pilsner Urquell, "Rue de
1'figlise Ecossaise 2; Dock-
horn, Bue Champollion, 5.
C af 6 s : The principal
European are the Paradiso,
on the & harbour, and the
Alhambra, Rue Tuussoum.
During the summer
months a Casino or Club is
open at San Stefano, on the

coast at Ramleh. It con*
tains an hotel and restau
rant, and provides good sea
bathing, concerts, balls, &c
Banks : Bank of Egypt,
Rue Tewfik Pasha; manager,
M. Luzatto. Tel. V.159.
Imperial Ottoman Bank,
PI. Mob. AU ; manager, Mr.
Reeves. Tel. V.584. Anglo-
Egyptian Bank, Rue Cherif
Pasha; manager, M. Goussiu.
Tel. V.27. Credit Ijyonnais,
Rue Cherif Pasha; manager,
M. Escoffier. Tel. V.65.
Bank of Athens, 2, Rue Tew
fik. Tel. V.304.
Boats can be obtained at
a fixed tariff by applying at
the Port Police Office on- the
Marina Kadim.
Booksellers and Station
ers : Schuler, Papeteiie et
Librairie Generate, 4, Rue
Cherif Pasha. Tel. V.431.
There are several in the Rue
Cherif Pasha.
Bootmakers : Strapani
(English boots), B. de Ram
leh ; Cordonnerie Paris-
ienne, Rue Cherif Pasha.
Bourses : Bourse Khe'di-
male, PL Moh. Ali; Bourse
Commerciale de Miniet el-
Bassal. There are four Chambers
of Commerce.
Carriages : — p.t.
Short course, with 1
horse ' (within the
town)  2
Short course, with 2
horses (within the
town)  3
By the hour in the town,
with 1 horse ... 6
By the hour in the town,
with 2 horses ... 8
By the hour outside the
town, with 1 horse . 8
By tbe h<ur outside the
town, with 2 horses . 10
For long distances or by
time make a bargain.
From station to quay,
P.T.4, with 1 horse- a trolly
for heavy luggage, P.T.5. ¦
Chemists : German-Eng
lish Dispensary {Huelberg),
Rue de la Bourse. Otto
Huber, 35, Hue Oherif Pasha.
Tel. V.251. Pharmacie
Galetti, 12, Rue de France.
Tel. V.306and367.
Churches ; St. Mark's
(English), PL Moh. Ali,
Sundays, 11 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Presbyterian, .10.30 a.m.
6 P.M.


INDEX-DIRECTORY.

589

ALEXANDRIA-conimued. German and French. Pro
testant. Service on Sundays
at 11 a.m. In German and
French alternately.
Italian B. C. Churck,ne&r
the Customs, belonging to
the San Franciscan Sisters.
St. Catherine and the
Peres Lazaristes (Roman
, Catholic), &c.
There are also Orthodox
Greek, Greek Catholic, Cop
tic, Armenian, and Maronite
Churches and several J e wish
¦ Synagogues. Clubs : Cercle Mohammed
Alt, next to the English
Headquarters the oldest
club ; very good. Strangers
can have their names put
down at either Club by
members for a fortnight.
Cercle Khedivial, in the
Bourse Khediviale.
Alexandria Sporting Club,
It in. from the town, at
Ibrahimiya. English Cricket, Football,
and Tennis Club, immedi
ately to the right of the
Ramleh Terminus. Apply
to Hon. Sec, H.B.M. Con
sulate. Ladies' Cltib, where after
noon tea can be pocured.
opposite the English Consu
late. Subscription, 8s. per
annum. Consulate — British :
Sir Eldon Gorst, E.C.M.G.,
H.B.M.'b Agent and Consul-
General for Egypt, resides
in Cairo. E. J. Gould, Esq.,
Consul-General and Judge
of the Consular Court, Alex
andria. Vice-Consul, A. D.
Alban, Esq., Boulevard de
Ramleh. American: Mr.
E. A. Powell, St. Mark's
Building, Place Mehemet
Ali, Consular-Agent.
Dentists: Dr. Love
(American), Rue Nebi
Daniel ; Dr. Keller, Rue
Tewfik. Donkeys may be found
everywhere; P.T.2 for a
short course; P.T.4-5 for
an hour: P.T- 15-20 for a
day* Dressmakers: Mme.Zan-
de Ramleb, Pf10"1!^™/
the English • Mme. Luccom,
Rue Missalla.

Forwarding Agents :
Moss <fc Co., 4, Rue du Tele-
graphe Anglais; Tel. V.120.
Furnished Apartments :
Miss dt Mech ; 102. a month,
with board ; comfortable,
and good sanitary arrange
ments. General Outfitters : Cha
lons, Hochapfel. & Co., and
Davies, Bryan & Co., Rue
Cheiif Pasha.
Guides can be obtained at
the hotels.
Gunmaker : Bedding, PL
Moh. AIL
Hospitals, Charities, So
cieties : The Hospital of the
Deaconesses of Kaisers-
wertfi, outside the Mohar-
rem-Bey Gate, is well worth
a visit. It is attended by
English and German doctors,
and the nursing is done by
the deaconesses. There are
three classes of patients ;
the first-class paying 6 frs.
a day, the second, 4 frs., and
the third, treated gratis.
There are 13 private rooms
at 10 frs. a day, which in
cludes everything. There
are no restrictions as to re
ligion, and patients may be
visited by a clergyman of
their own persuasion. This
hospital, which is in a very
flourishing condition, is one
of the many established in
different parts of the world
by the Kaiserwerth Deacon
esses, but is hampered by
being governed from Berlin
instead of by a local com
mittee. There is no English
general hospital.
The European Hospital,
in the Rue de la Mo^quee
d'Attarin, is managed by a
committee composed of
members of the European
community. Patients are
admitted by a ticket fmin
the Consulate of the nation
to which they belong. The
charges are from 8 to 20 Irs.
per day. Sisters of Charity
of the Order of St. Vincent
de Paul are the nurses, and
religious ministrations are
conducted by the Francis
cans of tbe Holy Land.
There are also the Govern
ment Civil and Military
Hospital for natives, the
Greek Hospital, attached to
the Orthodox Greek Church,
the Jewish- Hospital, and
the Egyptian Hospital.

There are several charit
able Societies established at
Alexandria, most of tbein
in connection with the differ
ent European communities.
They are chiefly for tlie
purpose of providing help
in various ways to poor
fellow-citizens, such as giv
ing them money for return
ing home, paying their ex
penses in hospital, &c. The
Sisters of Charity have an
Establishment for Found
lings, and also give assist
ance in various ways to the
poor of all nations.
The Victoria Bouse and
Nurses' Home, B. de Ramleh.
Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals, British Consulate.
Jeweller (working), re
pairs, Vcntrella, PL Moham
med Ali.
Medical Men: Dr. Xe-
grand, 4, Rue de la Gare
de Ramleh; Dr. Haddad
(Syrian — speaks English),
4, Rue de la Gare de Ram
leh ; Tel. V.119 i'Dr. Berard,
Oculist 21, Rue Cherif Pasha.
Merchant Seame n's
Home : Oppo-ite the laud
ing wharf, maintained by
voluntary coutributions of
shipowners, residents, and
the Scotch Mission.
Photographers : Tjxssare,
Rue de l'Eglise Debbane, 7 ;
Tel. V.1218; San Stefano,
Tel. R.72; Fettel, RueTous-
soum Pasha, 1.
Views and Picture Post
cards of Egypt and the Nile
can be obtained at the book
sellers' and tobacconists'.
Post Office : Opposite the
German Church, open from
7 a.m. to 9.30 p.m., except
for two hours after noon.
Avoid posting letters in
the boxes placed in the
smaller streets.
Provision Merchants :
Borman, Rue Cherif Pasha,
Tel. V.228 ; Mellor, R.
Ancienne Bourse, Tel. V.
104 ; Monferrato, 1, Bue
Cherif Pasha; Pappa, Rue
Cherif Pasha.
Railway Stations : —
The Moharrem Bey at
Porte M. B., for all places
except Ramleh.
The Bamleh at the Porte
Neuve, top of Rue de la
Porte de Ramleh. 2 R 2


590

INDEX-DIRECTORY.

ALEXANDRIA— cont inued.
Sailors' and Soldiers' In
stitution: Near R. de Ram
leh. Schools: The Government
Schools con-ist of a Primary
and a Secondary school.
The system of instruction
i'i the Government schools
generally will be found else
where, (p. [69]). Les Freres
de VEcole ChrHi-nne have
a large establishment well
worth a visit, " near the
Roman Catliolic Church ;
there are nearly 600 pupils,
of whom more than 300 re
ceive gratuitous instruction:
natives and Europeans of
all creeds are alike taken.
The Greek Church has large
schools both for boys and
girls, and there is a Protes
tant School in connection
with the Scotch, Chun h,
which has more than 100
boys and girls, of whom
many receive instruction
gratuitously. The American
United Presbyterian Church
has a school attached to the
Mission :¦ there are about
300 boys and girls, Chris
tians, Jews, and Aioslems.
The Deutsche Schule and
the Crischona Mission are
well attended. There is
also a F7-eemasons' SchooL
Steamers: Austrian
Lloyd Steam Navigation
Co., Office, Rue de l'Eglise
Debbanp, 5, Tel. V.139,
witii branch office in Cairo.
Agent, Mr. Ditnisch.
To BHndisi and Trieste
(see p. [13]).
To Syrian Ports, Cyprus,
and Constantinople, once a
fortnight. To Syria and Caramania,
once a fortnight.
P. & 0. from Marseilles
every fortnight, and from
Vtnice every three wetks.
Prince Line to London
and Manchester every three
weeks. Messageries Maritimes
Steam Navigation Co., Rue
de la G»re de Ramleh, 3 ;
Tel. V.337 :—
To Marseilles (see p.
[13] I-
To Syria, 1'irieus, Odessa,
and Constantinople, once a
fortnight. Florio Bubattino Steam
Navigation Co. (Comp.

Gen. di Navigazione I tali-
ana . Offices, R. de la Poste
Italienne: —
To Genua and ports on
the W. coast of Italy, once
a fortnight (see p. [13]).
Russian Steam shin Co.,
Office, Rue de la Poste; Tel.
V.282:— To Constantinople, Pirae
us, Smyrna, and tbe Syrian
coast, once a week.
Khedivial Mail Line,
Rue de l'Ancienne Bourse,
•2.\ Tel. Y.454:—
To Constantinople, Pirae
us, Smyrna, Dardanelles,
and GalUpoli, weekly.
To Port Said and all the
Syrian Ports, weekly.
Hajji Daoud Farkuk, 10,
PI". Mohamed Ali.
Bell's Asia Minor Steam
ship Co., 17, Kue Cherif
Pasha. R, J. Moss & Oo. : oppo
site the E. Telegraph Office.
Tel. V.120.
Leyland & Co. : Agent,
M. E. Tamvaco, Rue Sesos
tris. Papayanni: Agents,
Barker d- Co., Rue du
Telegraphe. Cunard : Agent, Rodo-
canachi, Rue Cherif Pasha.
Tbe four last lines all go
to Liverpool.
Telegraph Offices r The
Eastern Telegraph Co.,
Rue du Telegraphe, despatch
messages to all parts of the
world. Tariff to England,
83 milliemes per word.
The Egyptian Government
Telegraph, in the Rue Tew
fik, is in operation through
out the whole of Egypt, and
messages can be sent to and
from most of the principal
towns. The rate is 20
milliemes for eight words.
Messages are 6ent vid Con
stantinople to most of the
principal cities of Europe,
but the route is not to be
recommended. The use of
tbe Government wires is
obligatory for tbe interior.
Reuter's Telegraph Co.,
R. Cleopatre, 3.
The Telephone Exchange
is hi St. Mark's Buildings.
Theatres: Zizinia, A v.
Porte Rosetie; Tel. V.9U7;
Abbas Hilmy, PI. Moh. Ali ;

Alhambra, Rue de la Gare
du Caire.
During the winter monllis
Italian or French Operas in
Alexandria give perform
ances in the Zizinia and
Abbas Hilmy theatres.
Tobacconists: Flick,
Rue de l'Anc. Bourse, 1 ;
Tel. V. 730 ; and many
others. Tourist Agents : Cook tfe
Son, Av. Rosette, 2; Tel.
V.30.
Aloa, Site of, 574.
Alphabeto-SylLabic System,
[116].
Aluro, River, 583.
'Amada, 532.
Amara, 547.
Amba Sama'an, Monastery
of, 505.
Ambigol Wells, 546.
Ambukol, 550.
Amenartas, Temple of, 422.
Amenemheb, General, Tumb
of, 440.
Amen-hetep, Tomb of, 442.
Amen-hetep II., Tomb of,
454.
Amen-hetep III., Temple of,
485.
Amen-hetkp IH., Tomb of,
459.
amentogo, 549.
Amkn-uah-su, Tomb of, 444.
Amhara, Province of, 572.
Amka, 545.
Ammon, Oasis of, 258, 276,
278.
Ammon, Temple of, 259.
AmOdkn, 260.
Anba Musas Monastery ,
363.
Anba Shenuda Church, 1^8.
Aniba, 534.
Animals, Domestic, [5flj.
Animals, Wild, [50].
Ankyr6npolis, Site of, 302.
Anna, Tomb of, 440.
Annesley Bay, 572.
Antefaker, Tomb of, 442;
Antinoe, Site of, 325.
Antiquities. [i>], [108].
Antutto, 572.
Anubis, Chapel of, 464.
Apartments, [13],
" Apes' BuRfAL-GKouNo," 432.


INDEX-DIRECTORY.

593

CAIRO — am tinued.
Histokt, 87.
I£aSe bn-N!l Bbidge, 94.
Khedivial Libhaky, 123,
125.
Modebs Cairo, 90.
Mosques, 104.
Mueibtan, 106, 107.
Museum, National, 93, 125,
Museuu of Arab Antiqui
ties, 123.
Muski, 92, 95.
Old Cairo, 133.
Oriental Crrr, The, 94.
Population, 88.
Quarters, 94.
Roda Bridge (opened Nov.,
1907); 1,740 ft. long, and
65 ft. wide; from Ruda to
Giza ; add to p. 143. See
also p. 596 (tramways).
Rohan Fortress of Baby
lon- , 136.
Sebils, 99.
Streets, 95.
Walls, 97.
Hotels : Savoy Hotel
(George Nungovitch Hotels'
Company), Sharia Kasr-en-
Nil. Tel. V.125. Fi'rst-cl..ss
hutel, under excellent man
agement. Every conveni
ence; suites of rooms. Res
taurant. P.T.90 -120 a day.
Semiramis (Bttcher-Dur-
rer), on the Nile bank, S.
of the Kasr en-Nil Bridge
(in l^asr'ed-Dubbara). First
class; 'luxurious; P.T.90-
120. The Continental Hotel, in
the Sharia Kamel. A res
taurant, grill-room, and
American b »r are attached
to it. Beautiful garden with
lawn tennis courts. Band
plays In the verandah during
the afternoons. Terms,
P.T.80 a day. Open all the
year. Shepheard's, Sharia Ka
mel. Tel. V.12. Rebuilt
in 1891. P.T.80-100 a day ;
sitting-room P.T.60 ami up
wards; now managed by
a company. Frequented
chiefly by Americans.
jingUterre, charming
dte ^t he WlUb Church.

Hdtel National, Sharia
Suliman Pasha. P.T.50-60.
Hotel du Nil et Bristol, in
the Esbekiya. P.T.60-80.
Eden Palace Hotel, in the
Esbekiya. P.T.50-60.
Hotel Mitropole, in llarat
Zogheb. P.T.50 a Hay.
Villa Victoria, 14, Sharia
el-Manakh. Tel. V.207.
P.T.60 a day, or 400 francs
a month. New Khedivial Hotel, in
the Sharia Kamel, opened
1906. Hotel Royal, in Sharia
Wagh el-Birket.
Hdtel des Voyageursy in
Sharia Wagh el-Birket.
( Besides the above there
are some smaller hotels.)
Gezira Palace Hotel, on
the other side of the Nile.
From P.T.80-TO0 ; servants
P.T.40aday. Wellmanaged.
Restaurant. Anglo-Ameri
can bar. Barber. Dispensary.
P. and T. O. Large gardens.
Motor-cars run every half-
hour between the Place de
I'Opera and the. hotel,
except when the bridge is
opened for river traffic from
12.30 to 1.30 p.m., when the
moturs will run to Bulak,
where the hotel steam ferry
boat is at the disposal of the
visitors. Mena House Hotel, 9 in.
from Cairo, and situated be
neath the Great Pyramid.
From P.T.80 a day; month
ly, from P.T.70; servants,
P.T.40; sitting-room from
P.T.60. A mail coach leaves
Cook's office daily at 11.45
a.m. (Sundays excepted),
and leaves Mena House for
Cairo at 4 p.m. Return fare,
P.T.25 ; box seat extra.
A char-a-bancs leaves for
Cairo daily at 10 a.m., and
returns from the Mena
House Office at 4 p.m. Eng
lish chaplain, physician, and
nurse are resident during the
season. Hotel Abbas, at AbbaBiya,
on the edge of the desert.
Heliopolis Falace Hotel,
at Heliopolis, in course of
construction. Pensions: Carlton House,
MSidan Ismailiyeh; Nati-
onale; The Misses Frizell,
RoBsmore Hou-e, i-harifl. el-
Madabcgh ; Fink, 48, Sharia
Suliman Pasha ; Sima, Sha-
rta el-Magarabl ; and others.

Restaurants: Savoy
Hotel; Flasch, Esbekiya Gar
dens, dejeuner, P.T.12, din
ner, P.T. 14, full board for a
month, P.T.520-720 ; Anglo-
American Grill Room,
Sharia el-Maghrabi ; New
Bar, Place de I'Opera; St.
James', Sharia el-Maghrabi ;
Bavaria, Meidan Kantaret
ed-Dikka ; Shutter's ; Au
gust (iorff, Sharia Wagh
el-Birket (uW> a small pen
sion, P.T.40, clean, open all
the year round).
Cafes : In and around the
Esbekiya Gardens are in
numerable cafes ; not suit
able for ladies. Many-have
gaming tables and caf^s
cltantants. Agents for Forwarding
Goods : Caffari, Sharia
Kamel; Tel. V.398; Butler
& liencini, near English
Church; Crozitr. oppcite
to Shepheard's ; Thos. Cook &
Son; Geo. W. Wheatley A
Co. ; Pitt & Scott, Ltd.
Arab Woodwork, &c. :
Mattuk, in the Muski, fo?
brass-work, embroideries,
old and modern Oriental
silks, and carpets. Fixed
prices ; goods marked in
plain figures. Hatun, in
the Muski ; Farvis, In a
court near entrance to Muski
—very expensive ; Philip,
opposite Shepheard's Hotel ;
and tbe Bazaars.
Bankers : National Bank
of Egypt, Stuiria Kasr en-
Nil. T.60. Hank of Egypt,
in Sharia Kasr en-Nil.
Tel. V. 58. Credit Lyonnais,
near the Post Office. Tel.
V.644. Anglo- Egyptian
Bank, in Sharia Kasr en-
mi. Tel. V.298. Imperial
Ottoman Bank, Sharia el-
Manakh Tel. V.187. Credit
Fonder Egyptien, Sharia el-
Manakh. Tel. V.39. Bank
of Athene, Sharia el-Magh
rabi. Most of the banks of
Alexandria have agencies
at Cairo.
There »re money-changers
(ser&f) in most of the
streets, but the traveller had
better be well acquainted
with tbe value of the differ
ent coins before dealing with
them. Bath* : The Cairo baths
are hardly worth visiting,
because of their general dirt,
squalor, and stench. They


594

INDEX-DIRECTORY.

CAIRO — continued.
can certainly not be recom
mended fur the use of any
Kuropean in search of clean
liness. Some of them are
very old, and contain well-
built domes supported by
Byzantine pillars.
For those who desire such
a Turkish bath as can be
enjoyed in London, there is
the Hammam Schneider
(for ladies and gentlemen?,
near Shepheard's Hotel,
where also douches and
massage can be obtained
with or without medical
supervision. Every species of bath will
be found in this establish
ment. The prices are as
follows : - p>T#
Swimming or douche 5
Hydi o-therapeutic . 6
Bdth-room. ... 6
Hydro-therapeutic and swimming. . 8
Hydro-therapeutic, swimming, and
frottement ... 12
Frottr-meut and, Hy
dro-therapeutic . 12
Turkish bath, com-
, plete  16
Russian bath . ... 16
Medicinal bath (from) 12
Private Turkish bath
for families. . . 100
MaBsage . . . 20-70
Medicinal . massage
given by the doc
tor .... 40-100
Booksellers and Station
ers : Boehme & Anderer,
6hariael-Miighrabi ; Diemer,
near Shepheard'B Hotel ;
Zacharia & Livadas, both
.opposite SbepliearJ's ; Veg-
nios & Zachos, opposite
Savoy Hotel; Delburgo,'2,\,
Sharia el-Manakh.
Bootmakers : Callico-
poulos, Meidan et-Teatro ;
Juster, in the Muski.
Cab Pares.
By Distance.
If hired and discharged
within City circle* — P.T.
1. For 1 kilom. or less . 3
2. Exceeding 1 kilom. . 5
If hired within and dis
charged without — " P.T.
Per extra kilom. orrless. . 1
* A circle of 2 kilom.
(about li m.) radius from
Gouvernorat.

By Time. p.t.
For 1 hr. or less ... 6
For 1 hr. or less between
midnight and 6 a.m. . 8
Above 1 hr. — every 15
min. or less . . . . • 2
By the day, from 8 a.m.
to H p.m  60
By the night, from 8 p.m.
to S a.m  SO
Special Fares, Singlf. Betiirn.
Wait ing-
P.T. hr. P.T.
Polo ground . . 5 1 15
Gezira Hotel . , 5 1 15
Grand Stand (Race
days) . . . 10 3 30
Giza Gardens. .10 a 20
Pyramids ... 50 3 77
Fumm el-Khalig 6 1 ' \2
Old Cairo ... 8 1 16
Abbasiya Bar- .
racks ... 7 1 15
Kubba ... 10 1 20
Heliopolis . . 20 2 40
Citadel. ... 7 l' 15
Tombs of Khalifs 10 3 30
Shubrah (Kasr el-
Nosah) ." '. . 7 $ 10
Biilak (Printing
Office) ... ; 5 * 7
Extra Payments.
Whether hired by distance
or time— p<T
For each package carried
outside . ... 1
If more than 3 persons
carried, each extra per- .
son  1
Fri. and Sun. between
4 p.m. and 8 p.m., per
hour extra . . . . - 4
If hired by distance, for '
each wait of 15 min, . 1
If hired by distance, lor
each wait under 5 min. -
Unless otherwise specified
hiring shall be by distance.
Carriages taken from out
side the large hotels are
" always charged more than
those from the stand or at a
short distance from the hotel.
It is better to wulk a little
way down the street before
taking a carriage unless
visitors do not object, to pay
exorbitant prices. . The
Cairene driver is notoriously
extortionate, and it is always
well to have a clear under
standing with him before
hand: • The regular tariff
should be adhered io in
general*' but sometimes the
. driver expects a little more,

and will take less if a bar
gain is made. It is better'
tor travellers to settle with
the driver personally than
through a dragoman, .More
is expected after dark, and
on Sun., Fri., and holidays.
The continually increasing
number of broad roads and
streets makes it possible to
get about a great deal in
carriages ; but for the Orien
tal parts of the city a donkey
will still be found to be the
pleasantest means of con
veyance. Motor-Cabs have reo ntly
been introduced. Fares
start at 3 P.T.
Chemists : , The New
English Dispensary and
Kiipper*s Anglo-Americdn
Pharmacy, both ' in the
M&dan et-Teatro. . Tbe
British Pharmacy of Joan-
novich,&nd kaiser's German
' Pharmacy (Nardi). Myria-
laki, in the Halim Buildings ;
del Mar, in the Muski ;
Savoy Pharmacy (opposite
tbe National Bank); Wind
sor Pharmacy, Roridpoint
K.aBr en-Nil ; London*Phar-
macy, Sharia Kamel. All
these can be safely recom
mended. Churches: Church- of
England : All Saints, Sharia
el-Madabegh. Sun. Services,
8.30 and 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m.
St. Mary's, next to the Head
quarters of tbe Egyptian
Army, and attached to the
English schools in connec
tion with Bishop Bl-yth's
mission to the Jews. The
new Church and schools of
St. Mary are in tbe Sharia
KaBr el-Aini (Rev. N.Odeh).
' Church of Scotland : Gar
rison Church, Kasr en-Nil.
Sun. 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
¦St. .Andrews, Sharia Kasr
en-Nil. Sun. 10.30 a.m. and
6 P.M. American Presbyterian
Church, attached to the
- American Mission in the
Esbekiya.
• German Lutheran Church,
in Sharia el-Maghrabi.
French Service on last Sun
day in the month.
Several Roman Catholic
Churcfies; in the Frank
quarter to the 1. of the
Muski. Coptic Cathedral, in the
Copt quarter near the Esbe
kiya.


INDEX-DIEECTOBY.

597

Courts of Justice, [7],
Cozzica, 159.

Crocodilopolis op Strabo,
478.
Crops, [58].

Cusae, Site of, 297, 337.
Custom House, [6],

CAIRO— continued.
Wine Merchants;
£"' *£?£, Ka I CHocor.iLOPor,8, Spte op, ,63.
el-Maghrabi.  '"' 
Zoological Gardens on the
Giza Road, near the \V. end
of the Roda Bridge ; Tram Currency, Paper, [71.
Station. Open daily. Ad-
mission ; see p. 143. Mili
tary Band every Sunday
afternoon during the season.
Splendid gardeus and an ex
cellent collection of animals.
Director, Major Flower.
Camels, [11], 219.
Canals, Ancient, 49.
Canopus (*ee Kanobos).
" Canopus, Decree of," 25.
Cartouches, List of, [122].
Cataract, First, 508.
Cataeact, Second, 541, 644,
Cataract, Third, 548.
Cataract, Fourth, 555.
Cataract, Fifth, 556.
Cataract, Sixth, 562.
Causeways to the Pyramids,
186.
Census, [27],
Chatby, 4.
Chnubis, Site of, 482.
Chot.a, Lake, 585.
Chronological Tables, [86}-
[110].

Ciccolani, Villa, 145.
Cleopatra, Baths of, 26.
Climate, [14],
Clothing, [17], 219.
Coastguard, [68],
Coatit, 571.
Colossi, The, 409.
Colossus on a Sledge, Tomb
OF, 326.
Commerce, [71].
Consulates, [6].
Contra-Apollinopolis, 210.
contra-coptos, slte of, 375.
Contha-Latox, Site of, 481.
Contra-Lycopolis, 313.
Contra-Pselcis, Site of, 530.
C'ontra-Syene, Site of, 505.
Coptic Art, [164].
Coptic Churches and Con,
VENTS, 122, 137.
Copts, [30], [45], tin].
Copts, Cathedral of the,
122.
Corte, Site of, 531.

Corvee,

Tur 1631.

D.
Dabc'id, 523.
Dabrosa, 541.
DaHabIya, 478.
DahabIyas, [11], 283-290.
Dahlak Archipelago, 572.
Dahshur, Pyramids of, 201,
296, 299.
DakahlIya Province, 78, 79.
DakakIn, 281.
Dakfili, 555.
Dakhela, 556.
Dakhla, Oasis of, 272, 273,
275, 278, 298, 338, 365.
Dakka, 529.
Dal Cataract, 546.
Dalgo, 548.
Dallas, 303.
Damanhur, 31.
Damanhur (Sooth), 337.
Damascus-Mecca Railway,
211, 250.
DAMIETTA, 35, 76, 85.
Inns : Hotel Khedivial;
Hotel de France, bargain.
Cafe, du Nil.
Post and Egyptian Tele
graph Office.
Daphne, Site of, 46, 66, 72,
214.
Da raw, 476, 497.
Darre CHURCn. 545.
Darb el-'Arba'In, 281, 678.
Darb el-BusatIn, 220.
Darb el-Hagg, 220.
Darb el-Hamra, 220.
Darb el-Moila, 208.
Darb er-Rusafa, 208.
Darb et-TawwAra, 220.
Darb Imau, 344.
Dar el-Ahamda, 581.
Dar Fertit, 583.
Dar Fung Territory, 675,
581.
DaepOr. 281. 578.

Darius, Monument of, 49.
Dar Mahass, 548.
Dar SrxK&T, 546.
DawadIya, 313.
Dawar el-Hamra Lake, 252.
Debuet er-Ramla. 222, 239.
Debebat Shekh A^mad
Plain, 241.
Debra Markos, 572, 576.
Debra Tabor, 572.
Defofa Fort, 548.
Dekernes, 76, 79.
Delingat, 31.
Dem BekIr, 578.
Dem Jamad, 578.
Demtemma, 582.
Dem Zuber, 583.
Dendera, 298, 367.
Dendera, Temple of, 368.
Dendur, 528.
Denshwai, 35.
Der AbO Honnes, 325.
Der Abu Sefen, 138.
Der Anba Bishoi, 252, 254,
257.
Der Anba Mattaos, 481.
Der Anba Musa, 257.
Der Bablun Convent, 141.
Der Baramus, 252, 254, 257.
Der Behkt, 206.
Deb Byad, 205, 304.
Der el-AdawIya Church,
141.
Der el-'Adra, 310.
Der el-Amarna, 336.
Der el-'Arba'In Monastery,
242, 217.
Der el-Bahari, 408, 460-8.
Der el-Bakara, 310, 337.
Der el-BallAs, 37s.
Der el-Be'nat Convent, 138.
Deb el-Bersha, 326.
Der el-Gebel, 159.
Der f.l-Gebraw1 Convent,
336, 339.
Der el-GedidIya, 339.
Der f.l-11 agar, 276.
Der el-Kuser, 336.
Der el-Med!na, 408, 482.
Der el-Melak, 354, 377.
Der el-Memun Monastery,
303.
Der en-Nakhla, 326, 328.
Der ex-N asara, 136.
Der er-Rifa Monastery, 343.
Deb er-RumanIya, 480.


598

INDEX-DIRECTORY.

Der esh-ShalwIt, Temple
of, 408, 431, 477.
Deb. et-Tassa, 344.
Der Makarios, 251, 252, 254,
255.
Der Manaos wa ShenudS,
481.
Der Mar-Antonios, 205, 206.
Der Mar-B6los, 206.
Der Mari Mena, 137.
Der Mari Todi.os, 123.
Der MawAs, 297, 330.
Der Melek Michael Con
vent, 141.
Deer, 365, 533.
Der Suriani, 254, 256.
Der Todros, Convents of,
141, 337.
Derut, 28, 31, 84, 297.
Derut en-Nakhl, 329.
Derut-Esnmun, 329.
Derut ksii-SherIf, 335, 337
Dervishes, [36], 116.
Der "Welli Gikghis, 136.
Derb et-TarabIk, 169.
Deshasha, 266, 296, 305.
Deshna, 298, 367.
Desuk, 31, 35, 84.
Diarb Nigh, 43, 71.
D!me, 268, 270, 271.
DlMKI, 523.
Dionysias, Site of, 270.
Diospolis Inferior, Site of,
85.
Diospolis Magna, 380.
DiospolisVarva, Site of, 366.
Dire Daw a, railhead of Abys-
sinian line from Djibouti.
.Near Gildessa (p. 572).
Diseases benefiied, [17],
Dissibil, 569.
Divinities List of* [151].
Djibouti, 572.
Doka, 576.
Doleib Hill, 682.
Domestic Arab Art, [167].
D6m-palms, 335.
Dongola Gharbi, 549.
Dongola, New, 549,
Dongola, -Old, 549.
Donkeys, [11].
Dra' Abu 'l-Negga, 407, 471.
Dragomans, [13], 283-7.
Dronka, 343.
Dt'FILE, 584.
Dulka Island, 555.
DC6H, 281, 282.

E.
Ebgig, 266.
EbnUB, 338.
Ebxub el-Hamam, 339.
Bbshwai, 268, 269.
Ed-Damer, 556.
Ed-Debba, 298, 550.
Ed-DexfIk, 377, 378.
Ed-Der, 299, 325, 336.
Ed-Duem, 574, 577, 581,
Ed-Duknesra, 634.
Edfixa, 28, 84.
EDFU, 210, 476, 488.
There is a good Native
Doctor at Edfil.
Poor Greek Inn.
Edfu, Temple of, 488.
Edku, 28.
Edku, Lake, 28.
Education. [69].
Ehrenberg, Mount, 275.
Eileithyiaspolis, 483.
El-Adra Church, 140.
El-Afun, 574.
El-Ahaiwa, 297, 353.
El-Amarna, 331.
El-AmbagI Springs. 209.
El-'Araba CoxVENr, 377.
El-AkAJ, 260, 275.
El-Araj .Valley, 258.
El-'Araki, 365.
El-ArASHIYA, 259. 260.
El-'Arish, 45, 72, 215.
El-Assirat, 297, 354.
El,Bahu, 72. ;
El-BA'irAt, 408, 477.
El-Bakara, 556. .
El-Banawan, 82.
El-Bedari, 344.
El-BeniAn, 267.
El-Bersha, 329.
El-Bersha, Tomb(s) of, 297.
El-Birba, 298, 354.
El-Boda, 209.
Elgurgox, 585,
Ei.-Buweb, 236, 241.
El-Edwa, 2-3.
Elephantine, Island of, 506.
El-ErrSs, 27 v
El-Fanta, 296.
El-Fasher, .578.

El-Fent, 306.
El-Ferdan, 45, 66.
El-Ga'far1ya, 77.
El-Gara, 258, 259.
Kl-Gargal, 229.
El-Geban, 278.
El-Gebana, 85.
El-Geteina, 581.
El-Gharak es-Sultanx, 266,
267, 273.
El-Ghuzna, 80.
El-Gisr, 65.
Elgon, Mount, 585.
El-Goe, 550,
El-Gunfed1ya Lake, 252.
El-Haf1h, 548.
El-Hakim, Mosque of, 107.
El-HammAm Ruixs, 270. .
El-Hammam, 4 92.
El-Hamra, 340.
El-Hamran, 365.
El-Hawata, 331, 335.
El-Hebi, 306.
El-Hella, 481.
El-Heswa, 234.
El-Hfz,.272, 275.
El-Hiba, 306.
El-HielAl, 484.
El-HowArte, 313.
El-Hddi, 569.
El-Huweyat, 550.
El-KA'a, Plain of,- 223, 234.
El-Kab, 252, 475, 483.
El-Kafr. 300.
El-Kala', 492.
El-Kantara, 44, 66, 72, 214.
El-Kasr, 258, 274, 275, 276.
El-Kenan, 48 •-.
El-Kenisa, 270.
El-Kenus, 520.
El-Kes, 308.
El-KhamIsa, 260.
El-Khanka, 150.
EL-KHARGA, 278, 279, 282,
298,-65. Kiiilway, from- el-
Kharga Junction, near Far
shiit, now open ; trains twice
a week (Tuesday and Fri
day), journey .of 8 hours
(return Thursday and Mon
day). Passengers from
Luxor speud the preceding
night at T£ara, where there
is a Rest-house. . Food and
lodging here and at North
Kharga (( >asis) Rest-house,
provided by arrangement
with the superintendent of


INDEX-DIRECTOKY.

599

the railway at Kara. No Tel.
now at Kharga; telegrams
sent by rly. telephone to
Kharga Junction. Govern
ment phjsician.
El-KhArga, Great Temple
of, 279.
El-Kharga, Necropolis of,
278.
El-Khatatba, 32, 252, 254,
255.
El-Khattara, 476, 498.
El-Khawaled, 365.
El-Kherba (Beni Maksur),
356, 362.
El-Khewa, 475, 483.
El-KhortAi Lake, 252.
El-Khowalid 344.
El-Khueayyib, 336.
El-Kimsa, 212.
El-Kubbet el-Hawa, 476.
El-KULA, 482.
El-Kurn Point, 268, 270.
El-Kuen (Thebes). 407, 431.
Ei.-Kut!ya, 343, 344.
El-Lahun, 265.
Ellesiya, 534.
El-Maadi, 159.
El-HaadIya, 28.
El-Ma'alla, 475.
El-Madhawwa, 234.
El-Maggra, Plain of, 220.
El-MaghAra, 254.
El-MahamId, 483.
El-Maharrad Hill, 234, 235.
El-Mahasna, 356.
El-Malkhata, 408, 430.
El-Mandara, 28.
El-Maragha, 297.
El-Marazi, 303.
El-Markha Plain. 226, 230.
El-Ma'sara, 159, 299.
El-Mataniya, 296.
El-Meiga, 562.
El-MEKHKREF, 556.
Klmenteita, 535.
El-Merg, 150.
El-Merui, 554.
El-Mo'allaka Church, 139.
Bl-Moti'a, 297, 344.
El-Muktala, 220.
El-Murkheya Plain, 230.
El-Obeid, 577, 581.
Rly. projected from Ltoz
Abu Guma («.».), «"'" Kosti
and Lake Rahad.
El-Orda, 549.
El-Teb, "n

El-Uksur (Luxor, q.v.~).
El-Wad!, 268, 270.
El-Wah ed-DakhlIa, 275.
El-\Vakf, 367.
El-Wasta, 261, 262, 296, 302,
339.
El-Wasta (Asyut), 313.
El-WatIya, 221, 226.
El-Wej Territory, 211.
Emba, 374.
EmbAba, 32, 76, 188, 296,
Emerald Mines, 210.
, EngI el-Ful, 229.
En-Nadara (N a dura)
Temple, 280.
En-Nahud, 577.
En-NAsir, 107.
En-Nawam1s, 265.
En-NeweirAt, 314.
ENTEBBE, 581, 585.
Hotel : (Cook's coupons
taken).
Eritrea, Territory of, 213,
557, 571.
Erkoweit, 570.
Ermekxa, 535.
Erment, 409, 460, 475, 477.
Er-Raf'a, 211, 216.
Er-Raha Plain, 226, 227. 238,
246, 248.
Er RasunIya Lake, 252.
Er-Rikka, 296.
Er-Rubiyat, 272.
Eu-Ruf'a, 574.
Erwes el-Eberik Plain, 241,
249. ¦
Eserat, 354.
Eshka, 541.
Eshmunen, 320.
Esh-Shakab, 343.
Esh-Shiukh Church, 255, 256.
Esh-Shona, 212.
Esh-Shurafa, 376.
Esna, 272, 282, 475, 480.
Temple now (1910) being
entirely cleared.
Esxa, Temple of, 430.
Ks-SabahIya, 475, 481.
Es-Saf, 300.
Es-SalhIya, 41, 72, 214,
Es-Sal1b Convent, 377.
Es-SamAta, 298.
Es-SebIl Kuin, 220.
Es-Seliha Valley, 562.
Es-Serag, 476, 492.
Es-Siri'akus, 150.
Es-SOR, 558.
Etbai, 211, 540.

Etlidem, 297, 314.
Etsa, 267, 296.
Et-Tell, 29', 331.
EtyAi (see Teh el-Barud).
Eunostos Point, 2, 20.
Europeans, [32].
Expenses, [2], 217.
Ezbet Ayub Bey, 409.
Ez-Zawiya, 314.

Fadliya Canal, 409.
Fajao, 585.
Fakus, 71.
Famaka, 572, 675.
Farafra, 272, 274, 275.
Farama, 215.
Fares, 495.
Fareskur, 79, 85.
Farras, 540.
Farshut, 272, 282, 298, 364,
365.
FarunIya, 76.
Fasher, 556, 676.
Fashi Shoya, 581.
Fashoda, 582.
Fau, 298.
FAu Kibli, 366.
Fayed, 46.
Fayyum, The, 268, 261.
Fazokl, 575.
FelissIya, 216.
FellahIn, [27].
Fereg, 535, 539.
Feshn, 296, 305.
Festivals and Fasts, Cop
tic, [47].
Baramun Fast, [48].
Id el-Ansara, [48J.
Id el-Bishara, [48],
Id el-GhitAs [48J.
Id el-Keb!r, [48].
¦ Id el-KiAma, [48],
Id el-MilAd, [47].
Id er-Rasul, [48].
Id esh-ShanIn, [48].
Id es-Sal1b, [48].
Id es-Suod, [48].
Khamis el-Ahd, [48].
KhamsSn, The, [48].
S6m el-Adra, [4s].
S6m el-GhitAs, [48],
S6m el-Keb1r Fast, [48],
S6m el-Milad, [48].
S6m er-Rasul, [48],


600

INDEX-DIRECTORY.

Festivals, General, [49].
KhamsIn, The, [4.3], [50].
l&let kn-nukta, [50].
MoLID EL-Af1f1, [49J.
M6ud el-Beyumi, [49].
M6lid es-Sitt Dimiana,
[49].
Molid Shekh Abu Rish,
[49].
M6lid Shekh Ahmad el-
BeDAWI, [49].
M6lid Shkkh Embaba, [49],
Molid Shkkh Ibrahim ed-
DeSUkI, [49].
noroz es-sultani, [50].
Shem en-NesIm, [49],
Festivals, Mohajimkiian,
. [38].
Idel-KebIr, [-15].
Kiswa, Procession of the,
. [**]¦
id es-sogheyyih, t44].
Lelet-Ashura Festival,
[39].
Lelet el-Kadr, [43].
Lelet el-Miarag, [42].
Mahmal, Procession of
the, [44],
Mahmal, Return of the,
[40].
Molid el-Hasanen Festi
val, [41].
M6lid kn-Nebi Festival,
[40].
Lelet en-Nuss min Shaa-
ba>% [43].
M6lid er-Rifa'i, [41].
Molid ks-Sexyida Nefisa,
[42].
M6liu es-Seyyida Zenab,
[42].
M6LLD OF THE SHEKH AbO
Sala et-Tashtushi, [43].
M6lid of the Sultan es-
Sala, [41].
Ydai* Ashura Festival,
[40].
Fidf.mJn, 267, 271.
Filik, 557.
Firan, 235, 243.
FiRAN, Oasis of. 236.
Firearms, [6].
Fiugi, 549.
Fteka (Firket), 546
Fish, [65].
Fleming, 26.

Flora, [66].
Fola Rapids, 584.
Fons Tadmos, The, 212.
Fons Trajani, 207.
Fort Berkeley, 534.
Fort Hossixgeb, 583.
FortSii.sila, 20.
Fort Terxan, 535.
Foweiiea, 585.
Fdah, 31.
Fumm el-KhalIg.89,94, 133.
Fundyi, or Fung, The, 560.
Fusgok, 578.
Fustat, 134.

Gabbanet El Kurud, 432, 474.
Gabra, 550.
Gakdul, 550, 554.
Gallabat, 572, 576.
Gallala Hills, 206.
Gami' Belad Mosque, 501.
GAmi' ez-Zahir, 146.
Gami'a Giyushi, 156.
Gaba (SIwa), 258
Gaba (Kara), see El-Kharga.
Gara el-Musaberin, 260.
Garnuk (Kaba N6g), 534.
Gash, 556, 557.
Gaza, 216.
Gebel AbO Feda, 336, 338.
Gebel Abu Ghabah, 492.
Gebel Abu Hamed, 267,
Gebel AbusIk, 265.*
Gebel Adda, 539.
Gebel Aduza, 280.
Gebel Ahmar, 220.
Gebel 'Ain Amur, 278.
Gebel 'Antar, 488.
Gebel 'AtaKa, 46, 47.
Gebel Barkal, 550, 553.
Gebel Beni Hasan, 317.
Gebel Deka, 550.
Gebel Dush, 547.
Gebel ed-Dokhkhan, 207,
210, 212.
Gebel el-Ahmar, 156.
Gebel el-Bazam, 306.
Gebel el-FatIra, 207.
Gebel el-Geir, 298, 460, 477.
Gebel el-Giyushi, 159.
Gebel el-Hawata, 336.
fJEBEL EL-HeMEDAT, 260.
Gebel en-Nehas, 313.

Gebel ee-Rusas, Lead Mines
of, 212.
Gkbel ksh-Shakab, 475.
Gebel esh-Shems, 540.
Gebel esh-Shere, 460.
Gebel es-Sedment, 266, 267.
Gebel es-Seeag, 476.
Gebel et-Telata 'AsiD, 260.
Gebel et-Ter, 297, 310.
Gebel et-Tukh, 353, 366.
Gebel ez-Zet, 212.
Gebel Faraik, 210.
Gebel Geneffa, 46,
Gebel Gerri, 562.
Gebel Gilif, 550.
Gebel Giyushi, 104, 156.
Gebel!, 269.
Gebel Kaen, 460.
Gebel KhalIl, 206.
Gebel Marag, 339.
Gebel Muta, 260.
Gebel Na§f, 550.
Gebel 'Olaki Gold Mines,
210.
Gebel Ramliya, 280.
Gebel Shekh Embaeak, 296,
306.
Gebel Shekh HarIdI, 297.
Gebel Shkkh Sa'Id, 330.
Gebel Shemt-el-Wah, 523.
Gebel Silsila, 492.
Gebel Timi*:t, 460.
<iEBEL TOkh, 297, 298.
Gebel Umm el-Ghexaiem,
280.
Gebel Zabara, 210, 213.
Gebelfn, 475, 479.
Gebet, 570.
Gedaref, 557, 576.
GedId, 581.
GedIda, 38.
Geila, 562.
Geltuma, 281.
Gemai, 545.
Gemei.Iya, 80.
Geneffa, 46.
Genna, 281, 282.
Geography, [19].
Geology, [63].
Gerf Husen, 523.
GezJra, 145, 476.
GkzIra Province, 574.
GezJret Anas el-Wogud
(Viulje), 509.
•'KztKET Aswan, 505.
GezIeet el-Buiba, C09.


INDEX-DIKECTORY.

601

GezIret el-Melek, 545.
GezIret Karux, 268, 270.
Geziret-KIAti, 534.
GezIret ZibIkga, 213.
Ghabat, 363.
Gharak, 264.
GharbIya Province, 35, 36.
Gheta, 40.
Gildessa, 572.
Gilif Desert, 550, 554.
Gisnis, 547.
GlNENETTI, 556.
GIrga, 272, 232, 297, 354.
GtltSHA, 528.
GlSR EL-'AGUZ, 311, 337, 339.
GIza, 1.43, 188, 296, 299.
GIza, Pyramids of, 164, 299.
Glass, [164], [166].
Goja, 576.
Gojjiam, 572.
Gondar, 572, 576.
Gondokoro, 584.
Goshen, Land of, 43, 216.
Government, [66].
Goz Abu Guma, 581.
Rly. bridge b»ing built to
carry line from Sennaar
tq.v.) to El Obcid, viii Kosti
(on river, S. of Fashi Shoya)
and Lake Rahad.
Goz Rejeb, 55C, 577.
Great Dam, The, 508, 517.
Great Oasis, The, 272, 273,
278
" Great Rift Valley," 585.
Gubat, 560.
Gule, 575.
Guzza, 216.

Hadra, 24, 30.
Hadrian, Gateway of, 514.
HiGAR ee-Rekhab, 228.
Hagar es-Salam, 307.
Hagar Silsila, 207.
Hagg, The, [85].
Hagg KandIl, 297, 330, 331.
HAjar el-Laghwa P.OCK,
221, 241.
Hajar el-MagArIn, 221, 247.
Halaib, 213, 570.
HAIFA, 541.
Hotels • Grand Haifa
Hotel, P.T.80, "ft meting
afternoon tea and oMi-.. it
Staged bv the Brothers

Loiso, who are contractors
to the Army.
Georgiadis, Room, P.T.
8-10 ; food in restaurant.
General Store (includ
ing drugs and camp equip
ments). Doctors : A Syrian doctor
lives at the Camp, and an
Egyptian at Haifa.
Steam Launches and Boats
can be hired from the Hotel.
Halfa Temples, 543.
Exetvations now in pro
gress (1910), under direction
of Prof. Randall Maciver,
for Philadelphia.
Hamahat Valley and
Wells, 2*8. .
Hamdab Island, 555.
Hammam Far auk, 221;
Handub, 569.
Hannek, 548.
Hannik, 554.
ii aram el-kaddab, 301.
Harbet, 71.
Har!t, 267, 269.
Har-netj-iotef, Temple of,
514.
Harrar, 572.
Harun, 247.
Hashin, 570,
H ASS AT A, 491.
Hathor, Temples of, 372,
40H, 515, 517, 536.
Hathor of the Waste, Tem
ple of, 408. T
Hatshepsu, Temple of (Dkr
el-Ba^ari), Tomb of, 458.
Hau, 366.
Hawalid, 84.
HawamdIta, 296, .299.
Hawara, Pyramid of, 261,
264.
Hawatka, 339.
Headquarters (El-Khai:ga,
q.v.). Rest-house for visi
tors to the Oasis.
Health, [1],
Hebba, 555. -
Hebron, 249, 250:
Hehia, 71.
Hek-ab, Tomb of, 503.
Heliopolis, new residential
suburb of Cairo.
Hotel : Heliopolis Palace,
being built (1910).
Heliopolis, Site o*\ 37, 148,
220.
Hellkt el-Bib, 555.
hklletnueb,'584.

HELWAN, 160, 296.
Hotels : * Grand Hotel
Helwan (George Nungovitch
Hotels' Company). Sani
tary arrangements firet-rate.
Cuisine and water supply
excellent. Winter garden.
Band plays constantly.
Tariff, irom P.T.60 a day,
including pension and
room. HGteldes Bains(Geo, Nun
govitch Hotels' Company),
clean and comfortable, good
cuisine. Close to the new
Royal Baths. TarifT from
P.T.50. Thewftlcieh Palace Hotel
Sjanaged by the LVsert
otelB Company). Tariff
from P.T.70 per diem.
Holtzel's Hotel, from P.T.
45. Pension : Villa Antonio,
P.T.40 per day ; Sanatorium
eUHayat, P.T. 90 : Miss Dod,
English Winter Home, from
P.T.60 ; Sanatorium, Dr.
Urbahn, P.T.50-100.
Chemist : Kiipper's Anglo-
American Dispensary.
Physician : Dr. Page
May, Villa Sakkarah.
Swimming Baths for both
ladies and gentlemen. Of
the natural sulphur and salt
waters. Tariff P.T.2.
The Royal Bath Esta
blishment : The property of
the Egyptian, Government,
opened in 1899. English
Medical Director, Dr. Page
May. ,
Helwan, Baths of, 160, 300.
Herakleopolis, Site of, 266,
267, 296, 304.
Her-Khuf, Tomb of, 504.
Hehmonthis, Ruins of, 477.
Hermopolis Magna, Site of,
323.
Hermopolis Parva, Site op,
31, 76.
HEKMOPOLITANA PHTLAKfi,
Site of, 329.
HeboOpolis, Gulf of, 46.
Hesi el - KhattatIn Rock,
221 , 233.
Hi ssa, Island of, 517.
Hibis, Site of, 280.
Hierakon, Site of, 337.
Hieuaeonpolis, Sits of, 344,
475, 482.


INDEX-DIRECTORY.

603

Kalnopolis, Situ of, 373.
"Kait Bey, Cemetery of,
150.
Kait Bey, Fort, 11.
Kait Bey, Mosque of, 263,
Kara, 582.
Kaxa'at Adda, 540.
Kala'at Raian, 22oi
Kalabsha, 525.
Kalamun, 216.
KallIn, 79, 82, 84.
Kalyub, 37, 38.
Kamakia Fort, 2.
Kamlin, 574.
Kampala, 584, 585.
Kamula, 377, 378.
Kanayat, 43.
Kakf.m, 578.
Kanobos, Site of, 25.
Kantir, 71.
Kaeanis, Site of, 268, 271,
272.
Kara N6g (see Koronko).
Kara (see El-Kharga).
Kareima, 550, 555.
Karlnen Canal, 77.
KarkOJ, 575,
Karnak, 392-406.
Karnak, Great Tejiple of
393.
Karnak esh-Sherk!ya, 378.
Karora, 570.
Kartassi, 523-4.
Karu, 261, 578.
Kasingar, 555.
Kasr 'Ain ez-Zayan, 281.
Kasr 'Aln "Mustafa Kashef
280.
Kasr al-Banat, 269.
Kasr ed-Dubara, 94.
liASK el-'AgUZ, 430.
Kasr el-'Aini, ui, 299.
Kasr el-Alam Ruin, 274.
KaSr<el-Ar1sa, 277.
Kasr el-Ghasham, .2.6.0.
ISase el-Guehda, 281.
Kasr en-NIl Bridge and
Barracks, 293, 99.
Kasr en-Nuzha Palace, 145.
Kasr esh-Shamma, 136.
Kasr es-Sagha Temple, 271.
Kasr es-Sayyad, 298, 366.
Kasr IbrIm, 534.
£asr K™611' 262' 26V' 269'
' 270.
Kasr NusrAni, 274.

Kasr Rumi, 260.
Kassala, 556, 557, 576.
Kassassin, 44.
KatIya, 215.
Kau el-GhaubIya, 344.
Kauli Island, 555.
Kavirondo, 585.
Kawa, 549, 581.
KawAmil, 356.
KedIsa Berbarra Church.
140.
Keheili, 555.
Keili, 675.
Ken-Amen, Tomb of, 440.
Kena, 208, 210, 298, 367, 373
KenawIya, 298.
Kenia, Mount, 585.
KenIsa, 584.
KenIsa Mari Giugis, 123.
KenIset el-Adra, 122.
Kenur, 556.
Kerektan, 378.
Keren, 557, 571.
Kerkis, Site of, 529.
Kerma, 548.
Kerman Fort, 548.
KermIla, 498.
Keriieri, 562, 568,
Kes, 216.
Khaemhat, Tomb of, 443.
Khalkwa, 549.
KhalIfs, Tombs of the, 160,
151.
Khandak, 549.
Khan el-Khal1li Bazaar,
99, 150.
Khannaga Quarries, 497.
Khan Tunas, 216.
Kharab Dini, 675.
Kharga (see El-KhAkga).
Kharga Junctios, 298, 598.
KHARTUM, 563..
Hotel : Khartum Grand
Hotel, with garden ; P.T.
100-120 per day. Also a
second hotel (Gordon's):
Banks : Anglo- Egyptian
ma Bank of Egypt.
Khartum North, 562, 567.
Khashim el-Girba, 576.
Khata'ana, 71.
Khenoboskion, Site of, 366.
-Khizam, 298, 375, 378.
Khonsu, Temple of, 393.
Khor Baeaka, 570.
Khor Hudi, 556,
KiniGor.i, 585.

Kibwezi, 585.
Kikuyu, 585.
Kilimanjaro, Mount, 585.
Kilindini, 685.
Kimsa, 210.
Kings, Tombs of the, 446.
Kings, Valley of the, 407.
Km, River, 583.
Kiebekan, 555.
Kiro, 584.
Kod6k, 582.
Kokreb, 569.
Kol6sana (see Kulusna).
K6m el-Ahmar, 307, 313, 314,
315, 344, 475, 482.
K6m el-Akhdar, 306.
K6m.el-Hettan Mounds, 408,
411.
K6m el-K0fara, 314.
Kom el-Mera, 482.
K6m en-Nadura, Fort, 3.
K6m ee-Resras, 495.
K6m esh-Shukafa, 17.
k6m es.-sultan mound, 362.
Kom FaRIS, 263.
K6m Ka'if, 32.
K6m Mehras, 367.
K6m Qmso, 476, 495.
Kom Ombo, Temple of, 495.
K6mUsh1m, 271,272.
Konosso, 509.
Koptos, Site of, 208, 209, 298,
375,
Kordofan, 578.
Koronko (Kara N6g), 534.,
Koroe, 508.
Korosko, 532.
Korti, 531, 550.
Kosn, 629.
KOSHA, 546.
Koshesh, 300.
Koshtamna, 629.
Kosn, 601.
Kotur, 35, 82.
Kouesna Palace, 36, 77.
Kubba Palace, 147.
Kubba, Plantations of, 37,
Kubban, 530.
Kubbet el-Hawa, 503, 505.
KObbet IdeIs, 547.
KObbet SelIm, 547.
KUFRA, 261, 578.
Kuft, 208, 209, 298, 375,
JColusna, 297, 309.
Kum KhanzIri, 84.
KObibia, 545. 2 s


604

INDEX-DIRECTORY.

Kum Wahal, 84.
Kunusaw (Konosso), 509,
Kuran, The, [34].
Kurkur, Oasis of, 523.
Kurn, 460, 473.
!K:urna, 365, 407, 444,
R/urna, Temple of, 444,
£urnet Murrai, 407, 408, 434
Kurru, 550.
Kus, 298, 376, 460.
I£user, 209, 212, 298, 374,
Kusiya, 297, 337.
Kus-KAM, 344,
Kwanya, Lake, 585.
Kynopolts, Site of, 308.
Kysis, Site of, 281.

IjABORe, 584.
Labyrinth, The, 261, 264.
Lado Enclave, 584.
Lakeita Wells, 2081
Latopolis, Site of, 480.
Lemhada Mounds, 276.
Leontopolis, Site of, 77.
Lepidot6npolis, Site of, 354.
Left is Extrema, 213.
Levantines, [32].
Levkos Limen, Site of, 212.
Libyan Hills, 37, 261, 296,
356, 366.
LlKIPIA, 585,
Lisht, Pyramids of, 296, 300
Little Oasis, The, 258, 272,
273, 274.
Lochias, Site of, 20,
Londiani, 585.
" Long Desert" Route, 217,
249,
Lur., 582.
LUXOR, 298, 378-392.
Hotels : Winter Palace,
on the Nile, looking west;
tariff P.T.80-100 ; opened
Jan. 1907: First class.
The Luxor,' P.T.90 a day
during Jan., Feb., and Mar.;
P.T.60 before Jan. and after
Mar. Omnibus to meet
every train. Tlie Karnak
(quiet and small), P.T.60 a
day during Jan., Feb., and
Mat.; P.T.40 before Jan.
and after Mar. (usually not
opened before Dec). J hese,
belonging to the Upper

Egypt Hotels Company,
are under the supervision of
M. Faguou, assistei by M.
Schaich. The Grand, P.T.65
a day wHi reduction for
prolonged stay. The Savoy.
The Grande Pension de
Famitte, cheap. The Luxor
hotels have good gardens.
Antiquities (see p. 379) j —
Inspector; A. E. Weigall,
Esq. Carriages: To Karnak.
Tariff, P.T. 80 per day,
P.T.40 per half-day. To
Kiirna and the Tombs of the
Kings by special arrange
ment. Chemist : A chemist's
shop is open during the
season. It is close to the en-
trance to the Luxor Hotel.
Churches: English
Church, in the garden of the
Luxor Hotel. Services on
Sun., 8 a.m., 10.30 a.m.,
6.30 p.m.
Boman Catholic Church,
next to the Austrian Con
sul's behind the Grand
Hotel. Doctors : An English
doctor is resident at the
Winter Palace Hotel during
the season ; fee, 11. Is. for
the first visit, 10s. ad. subse
quently; and a European
doctor at the Grand
Hotel. Donkeys: P.T. 10 per day,
P.T.5 per half-day, not In
cluding bakhshish. From
the Wimer Palace to Kurna
and the Tombs of the Kings.
P.T.15. English Consular Agent :
Said Bey Ayad, jr.
European Barber : Wein-
rich, at the Winter Palace
Hotel. Ferry-boat : Nativeferry-
boats to W. bank, P.T.f-i,
Ferry-boats belonging to
hotels, P.T.5 return.
Guides : Mahomed Effendi
Tahya, Sayed Abd er-
Ra/tim; Mohammed Yusef;
Dries Awad Allah; Slia-
mand el-Sliami; Hamid
Abdu; Mansur Mohammed;
Ahmed Abd el- Sal am; Abd
el-Gal il. P.T. 20 per day,
P.T. 10 per half-day.
Hospital for natives
opened in 1891. It receives
no State aid, but is entirely
dependent upon the dona
tions and subscriptions of
travellers on the Nile and

the annual donation of
Messrs. Cook.
Miss ions : American
Presbyterian, with ecbxol
for natives attached.
Nurse: "Visitors staying
in the Winter Palace or the
Luxor Hotel can obtain the
services of a trained nurse,
who is resident during the
season. Post Offices : At the town
e: d of station Street and iu
the Winter Palace Hotel.
Mails daily during the
season. Railway Stat, to S.E. of
the town. Passengers for
Aswan change here, and pro
ceed by the narrow gauge
line. Three trains daily from
Luxor to Cairo during the
winter season ; one slow
train in the morning, reach
ing Cairo in the evening;
one ordinary night express
and the "train de luxe"
(see p. 295).
Shops : There are some
small Arab and Greek pro
vision shops. There is also
a market held every « ay.
Steamers : Cook's, and
Anglo-American Co.'s, call
ing several times during the
week in the w inter season.
Telegraph : Near the
Lux»r Hotel. It is in com
munication with other parts
of Egypt, and with Europe
and America. Telegrams
are transmitted in English,
French, and Arabic For
tariff, see p. [12].
Luxor, Temple of, 387.
Lykopolis, Site of, 341.

Ma'abda, 297, 331, 338.
Ma'alla, 479.
Maatuk, 581.
Machakos Road, 585.
Mackinnon Road, 585.
Magal, 550.
Magdala, 572.
Magdolum, Site of, 215.
MAGEK.A, 554.
Maghagha, 296, 306.
Maghara, 222, 224, 226, 239,
258.
Maghara Cave, 206.


INDEX-DIRECTORY.

605

Maghaea, Turquoise Mixes
OF, 231-2.
MahamId, 475.
Mahaeeaka, 531.
Mahatta, 508, 519.
Mahdi's Tomb, 567.
Ma^imudIya Canal, 3, 23, 28,
30, 31.
Mahsama, 44.
Mails, Inland, [11].
Makindu, 585.
Maes Bahabi, 281, 282.
Maks IJibli, 281, 282.
MalatIya, 306.
Malka, 532.
Mallawi el-Abish, 297, 329,
331.
Mamelukes, Tombs of the,
151, 155.
Managil, 574, 581.
MandIsha, 274.
Mandisha el-Aguza, 274.
Mandulis, Chapel OF, 511.
Mankabad, 337, 339.
HANSUEA, 35, 37, 76, 78,
Hotels: Royal, close to
the river, cafe attached;
Grand. Restaurant : Pasticcieria
Feliciana. British Vice-Consul.
Inspector of Antiquities ;
J. E. Edgar, Esq., M.A.
MansubIya, 497.
Maeaboot, Fort, 2, 23.
Maeashda, 367.
Mabeb, River, 571.
Maeeotis, Lake, 2, 24, ?0,
252.
Maki Bokti Convent, 377.
Maki Gieghis Chuech, 140.
Maei Giegis Convent, 377.
Makina GadIm, 23,
Maeuga, 558.
Masalland, 585.
Masara, 277.
Ma'saea, Qhaeeies of, 160,
296.
Maslahet Haeun, 356.
Mashal-kit, 540.
Masbaf el-Wad!, 268, 269.
Massawa, 213, 557.
Mastabat el-Fara'un, 201,
202, 203.
Matai, 308, 309.
Mataia, 297.

Matali Hudhera, 234, 250.
Mat'ana, 475.
MataeIta, 79, 80, 147.
Matariya, Gaedens of, 37,
75.
Matmar, 344.
Matoka, 544.
Mau, 585.
M'ayan esh-ShtnnAr, 247.
M'ayan Musa, 245, 250.
Maximianopolis, Site of, 378.
Mazar, 215.
Mazghuna, 296, 300.
Mecca, Pilgrimage to, [35].
Medam6t, 378, 406.
Medicine, 219.
MedIna (Antinoe), 325.
MedIna KiAD Mounds, 276.
MedInet al-Fabis, 263.
MEDINET EL-FAYYUM,
258, 263, 273.
Hotel : Hotel du Fayyum,
P. T. 40 per day j Hotel
Moeris, nr. Ebshwai, q.v.
MedInet el-Gahxl, 306.
MedInet el-Ghuraib, 265.
MedInet el-Hag-ar, 267.
MedInet Habu, Temple of,
408, 419,
MedInet SlnsIni Mounds,
339.
Mkdum, 302.
Medum, Pyramid of, 263, 296,
301.
Mehaiza, 555.
Mehallet Dajina, 79.
Mehallet el-Kubra, Me-
halla Kebir, 35, 77, 82, 84.
Mehallet Menuf, 35.
Mehallet Roh, 35, 82.
Mehendi, 531.
Meheeik, 280.
Stat.' on W. Oases Rly.
Meir, 337.
Meir, Tomb(s1 of, 297.
Mekhu, Tojib of, 503,
Meks, 2, 24.
Mellahat el-Hamra, Lake,
252.
Mellahat el-Jaae, Lake,
252.
Mellahat el-Jun, Lake,252.
Mellahat umm-R!sha, Lake,
251.
Melut, 582

Memnon, Colossus of, 409.
Memnonium, The, 412.
Memphis, 185, 187, 188, 202,
300.
Menazel, IS.
Mendes, Site of, 75.
MenelaOpolis, 32.-
Menes' Dike, 300.
Mengo, 585.
Menhi, 335.
Menkhep.ehrasenb, Tomb of
Chief- Priest, 440.
Menna, Tomb of, 442, 461.
Menshiya, 297, 353.
Mentu, Temple of, 403.
Mentuhetep II., Temple of
(Dee el-BAhaei), 466.
Menuf, 35.
Menufiva Canal, 76, 77.
Menzala, 75, 80,
Menzala Canal, 78, 79.
Menzala, Lake, 46, 66, 70,
71, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80.
Meeawi, New, 550, 554, 555,
Mee-en-Ptah, Tomb of, 455.
"Meeoe, Island of," 557,
573.
Meesa Shekh Baeihut, 213,
569.
MeshaSkh, 354, 356.
Meshra 'AbIp, 576.
Meshra ed-Dakhesh, 556.
Meshra ee-Rek, 583.
Metakompso, Site of, 530.
Metal Work, [164],
Metamma, 576.
Metemma, 550, 560.
MInet el-GedId, 23.
MlNET EL-KAMH, 38, 40,
MINIA, 272, 274, 297, 313.
Hotel ; Minieh Palace,
good.
Miniet el-G!e, 305.
MlNIET-SlLSIL, 80.
Minutoli, Mount, 275.
Mirgisse, 544. l*
M!t Assas, 35, 82
MSt Beeah, 37, 77
Mil DamsIs, 78.
Mir el-Ghoeaka,,82.
Mit en-Nasaba, 79.
MlT esh-Shoeaka, 78.
MIt-Fabes, 79.
MIt-Ghame, 37, 43, T5, ?fl,
11.


606

INDEX-DIRECTORY.

MiT Mohsen, 75, 77.
MiTEAHiNA, 188, 300.
MiT Samanud, 78.
M!t Yaz!d, 38.
MffiRis, Lake, 262, 261, 262,
264, 271.
Mograt Island, 556.
Mohammed Ali Lighthouse,
2.
Mohammed 'Ali's Palace,102.
Mohammedanism, [34].
Mohareeh Bey (Stat.), 23.
Moila Valley, 274.
Moila Wells, 203.
Moiyet Hagg! Suliman
Well, 209.
Mokattam Hills, 37, 104,
156, 159, 220, 253;
M6lid esh-Shekh Abu Rish,
31 (and see Festivals).
MOMBASA, 585.
Hotel : Grand.
MONEJA, 221.
Money, [7].
Monfalut, 207, 272, 207, 337.
mongallo, 584.
Mons Pentedactylus, 2L0.
Montaza, 26, 28.
Morgos, Islandof, 523.
Moses' Well, 156.
Moses, Wells of, 47, 48.
Mosques : —
Abbas Pasha, 122.
'Abd-el-KerIm, 122.
Abu Beke Mazhar, 109.
Abu'l-Maata, 85.
Ak-Sunkur, 114
'Amr, 134.
AmurYakhor, 122.
Aslam, 122.
Atar en-Nebi, 299.
BekeIya, 156.
Dhahir el-Yebars, 122,
El-Akbar, 116.
El-Ashraf, 122, 152,
El-Azhar, 96, 109.
El-Buedeni, 119.
El-GhAmri, 122.
El-Ghuri, 109.
El-Hakim, 96, 108.
El-Hasanen, 112.
En-Nasir, 107.
Er-RifA'iya, 96.
Es-Sitt Nasra, 1 22.
GAI EL-YtSUFI, 122. ' '

GAMBEK, 122.
Gami' Abu 'l Ila, 144.
Gami' Belad, 501.
GAmi' el-Ahmar, 112.
Gami' el-MAs, 121.
GAmi' es-Sadat, 155.
GAmi' et-TubkomAni, 121.
GAmi' Ezbek, 121.
GAmi' KHEiAiiN, 121.
GAmi' Mehkema, 144.
GAmi' Mirza, 144,
GAmi' SaId es-SAada, 121.
GAmi' Saleh, 121.
GAmi' Sinaniya', 144.
GAmi' Zen el-AbdIn, 121.
GashenkIr, 108.
HAkim, 107.
¦Ibn-Kalaun, 103.
Ibn-Mizheh, 108.
Ibn Tulun, 96, 119.
¦ Kait Bey, 120, 153, 263.
Kesun, 117.
Kher-bek, 114.
Kismas el-IshAki, 122.
MAbed ee-RifAi, 152.
Merdani, 113.
Mohammed 'Ali, 1 02.
Mohammed Bey, 1 12.
Mohammed edh-Dhumue,
156.
Muayyad, 112.
Mustafa Pasha, 122.
Nebbi Daniel, 21.
RifA'iya, 116.
St. Athanasius, 21.
SekIna, 122.
Seyyid Ahmad el-Bedawi,
35.
SEYriDA NEFiSA, 122.
SeyyIda Zenab, 120.
Shkkh Bayumi, 122.
Shekh Hanafi, 122.
Shekh Shaeawi, 122,
Shekhs Sala Abu-HadId,
122.
SheKHUN, 116.
Sidi Saria, 103.
Sitt Ayesha en-NebawIya,
122.
Sett Fatma en-NebawIya,
122.
Sitt SafIta, 117.
Situ, 120.
Suleman Pasha, 103.
Sultan Barkuk, 107, 152,
26.

Sultan Hasan, 96, 114.
Sultan Kalaun, 106.
Sultan Suleman ibn-
SelIm, 152.
Tewfik, Khedive, 154.
Thousand and one Co
lumns, 21.
Umm es-Sultan ShabAn,
122.
* ' Mouth of the Wadis, the,"
485.
Moyisat, 482.
Mruli, 585.
Muboroni, 585.
Muhammad Gol, 213, 570.
MuHAMMADiYA RUINS, 215. '
Muizz Canal, 72, 77, 80.
MukhmIa, 557.
McjkrAn, 556.
Murchison Falls, 585.
Murhad (Muerat), Wells
op, 532,
MueistAk, The, 106, 10?.
MusalAmIya, 574.
Musawwaeat en-NAga, 562.
MusAwwaeAt es-Sufra, 561.
Mush, 343.
Mut, 276.
Mut, Temple of, 405.
Muthis, Site of, 344.
" Mutmir" (see MukhmIa).
Myob Houmos Ruins, 212.

N,
NabaeO, 77, B2, 84.
Naduka, 280.
Naga, 547, 661.
Nag' ed-Der, 297, 298, 353,
356.
Nag' HamAdi, 298, 365.
Nag' Issa, 498.
Nag' Kagug, 476.
Nairobi, 685.
Naivabha, 585.
Nakada, 298, 362, 377,
Nakb Budeea, 231.


608

INDEX-DIRECTORY.

POET SA'ID— continued.
Cafes Chantants : Casino,
and El Dorado.
Consuls : British, Ameri
can, German, and French.
Bookseller : Home's An
glo-American Book Depot.
Doctors : There are 2
English doctors.
Boat from ships to shore,
30 centimes.
Port Sudan, 213, 519.
Post, Parcel, [11],
Postage Rates, Foreign,
[11].
Posts, [11].
Pottery, [164], [166].
powendael, lake, 584.
Primis Parva, Site of, 534.
Provinces, [23].
Provisions, 218, 287.
PselkIs, Site of, 529.
Psenuris, Site of, 271.
Ptah and Hathou, Temple
of, 403.
Ptah-Shepses, Mastaba of,
200, 204.
Ptolemais, Sitk off, 353.
Pxolumy Euergetes I., Gate
of, 393.
Pyramids, The, 162.
Pyramids :—
Abu Girab, 201.
Abu Roash, 187.
Abusir, 200, 204, 299.
Dahshur, 201.
El-Kula, 482.
Giza, 165i
Great Pyramid, 167.
Hawara, 261,
Illahun, 265.
Lisht, 296, 300.
Medum, 263, 296, 301.
Meroe, 557.
Nuri, 553.
Pepi I., 203.
PkpiII.,203. Righa, 201.
Sakkara, 192.
Second Pyramid, 177.
Shibba, 553.
Step, The, 192.
Teta, 192.
Third Pyramid, 178.
Unas, 192, 204.
ZawIykt el-' Aryan, 201.

Qara (see Kara)*
Quarrying, [164].
Queens, Tombs of the, 431.

B.
Raf'a (Raphia), 211, 216.
Rahad, Lake, 577.
RahmanIya, 31.
Railways, [9], 295.
Rain, [16].
RAKAKNA, 298, 355.
Ramadan, Fast of, [35], [43].
Rames, Tomb of, 443.
Ramesseum, The, 412.
RAMLEH, 26, 28.
Hotels : H. San Stefano,
restaurant and casino ; good
cuisine, terrace on sea-front,
sea baths, garden. P. 0. and
Telephone. P. T. 65 per
day. Manager, Luigi Stein-
sctaneider. There is also a
dependence for families &c.
with rather lower tariff.
Excellent. H. Beaurivage.
H. Miramar, at FlemiDg
Stat. H. Carlton (Bulke-
leyj. Pension : Mrs. Witson,
*' Aberdour," Fleming, very
comfortable, charming house
and parden ; 2 min. from
Fleming Stat. From 31. 3s.
a week, exclusive of wine
and extras.
Carriages : Same fares as
in Alexandria,
Churches: English
Church : All Saints, Bul-
keley ; two Greek Churches
one Boman Catliolic.
Donkeys : Same fares as
in Alexandria.
English Dispensary.
Ibrahimiya Sporting

Club : Race-course ; polo-
ground ; lawn tenuis courts,
&c. Within i m. uf Mus-
tapha, and close to Army of
Occupation barracks.
Market : Good Arab mar
ket. Physicians : Dr. Morison,
Mr. Grant, and Dr. Haddad.
Post Office : Bacos.
Telegraph Office : Bul-
keley. Telephone Office ; Bui-
keley. Tramway from Alexan
dria to San Stefano.
Ramses I., Tomb of, 458.
Ramses IL, Statues of, 190.
Ramses II., Temple of, 553.
Ramses II., Tomb oe, 459.
Ramses III., Temple of, 421.
Ramses III., Temple of, 394.
4 03, 406.
Ramses III., Tomb of, 452,
459.
Ramses IV., Tomb of, 457.
Ramses VI., Tomb of, 454.
Ramses VII. , Tomb op, 459.
Ramses IX., Tomb of, 456.
Ramses XL, Tomb of, 459.
Ramses XII., Tomb of, 459.
Ra ms es-khi-em- Uaset, Tomb
of Prince, 432.
Ranni, Tomb of, 487.
Ras Abu Zenima, 230.
Ras Benas, 213.
Ras Edineb, 213, 540, 570,
Ras Elba, 213, 540, 570.
Ras el-Esh, 45, 68.
Ras el-KhalIg, 85.
Ras el-Khartum, 563.
Ras el-Unf, 213.
Ras el-Wadi, 44.
Ras-et-Tin, 2, 20.
Ras Kasar, 571.
Ras Mohammkd, 211, 222, 223,
Ras Rowey, 213, 570.
Rassua, 45.
Ras Sufsafa, 226, 227, 238,
246, 247.
Rawapa, 477.
RayaIna, 344.
RedesIya, 491.
Red Monastery, 297,
Red Sea, 46, 49, 211, 225 241
247.
Rejaf, 584.


INDEX-DIRECTORY.

609

Rekh-ma-Ra, Tomb of, 437.
Religion, [34].
Religion, Ancient, [146],
Renk, 581.
Reptiles, [54].
Requisites, [5], 218,
Reramun, 328.
Revenue, [70],
Rhaphia, 211.
Rhinokolura, Site of, 215.
Kikka, 301.
Ripon Falls, 585.
Rizkat, 478.
Roads, [10], [62].
RdDA, 297, 314, 325.
R6da, Island of, 141, 299.
R6da Bridge, 593.
Roseires, 572, 575.
Rosetta, 28, 84.
"Rosetta Stone," 29.
Routes to Egypt, [4].
Roweik, 569.
Rumbek, 583, 584.
ruwenzori, 584.

s,
Sabagura, 528.
SabahIya Peak, 475.
Sabakhayya (Sabah1ya),497.
Sabderat, 557, 571.
Sabna, Tomb of, 603.
Sa el-Hagar, 33.
Saft el-Henna, 43, 216.
Saganeiti, 571.
Saghel el-Baklia, 365.
Sahil el-Kiblt, 159.
Saheaght, 43, 77.
Sal, Island of, 547.
SaId Fanti, 548.
SaId Pasha's Palace, 24.
Sailing on the Nile, 290,
St. Apollo, Monastery of,
335.
St. Catherine, Monastery
OF, 227, 238, 242.
St. Georges, 159.
St. John, Peak of, 213.
St. Makarios, Desert i of,
251.
p.aya. Ruins of, 33.

Sakkt, 210.
Saket el-Kubli, 210, 213,
Sakha, 82, 84.
Sakjet el- 'Abd, 547.
Sakkara, 191.
Monastery of Apa IeremiaB
(Vth-VIIth cent. a.d.).
discovered and excavated
by Mr. J. E. Quibell,
1907 ; near the Step Py
ramid.
Necropolis, 191.
Pyramids, 192, 299.
Tombs, 192.
Salamat, 555.
Salam!ya District, 478.
Sallom, 569.
Samallut, 297, 310.
Samanud, 35, 76, 78, 82.
Samhud, 365.
Sanam Abu-D6m, 550, 555,
Sandofa, 308.
San el-Hager, 71, 72, 72.
"SAn, La Pierre de," 25.
Sanitation, [14],
Sansaft, 254.
San Stefano, 26.
Sarabit el-Khadim, 222, 224,
239.
Saracenic Art, [165].
Sarbut el-Jemel, 229, 239.
Sarkamatto, 547.
Sarras, 545.
Sawada, 314.
Schedia, Remains of, 30.
Schutz, 26.
" Schweinfueth's Temple,"
271.
Sculpture, [163].
Seasons, [15], [59].
Season for Visiting, [l],
217.
Sebek, Temple of, 263.
Sebennytos Mounds, 78.
Sedenga, 547.
Sedfa, 297.
Sedment, 266.
Sedment el-Bahr, 304.
Sedment el-Gebel, 304.
Seffer, 26.
Sehel, Island of, 508.
Seh Sa'ba', 231.
Seh Sidra, 226, 231, 232.
SelIma, 281.
Sel!ma, Oasis of, 547.
Selinon, Site of, 344.
Semkrgid, 213.

Semliki River, 584.
Semma Fortress, 545.
Senafe, 572.
Senaru, 268,
Senga, 675, 581, 612.
Senhur, 267, 268, 270, 377.
Senmut, Tomb of, 441.
Rly; fW>m Khartum, via
Wad Medani (g.-u.) to be
completed 1910.
Sennaar, 674.
Sennefer, Tomb of, 439.
Senures, 271.
SenussIya Sect, 260, 274,
277, 578.
Serapeum, 46, 49, 62, 225.
SkkBAL, 223, 226, 241, 242.
Se-Renput, Tomb of, 503,
504.
Serra, 540.
Serret el-Gharb, 540.
Servants, [13],
Sesebi, 548.
Set-her-Khopeshf, Tomb op
Prince, 432.
Seti I., Temples of, 215, 357,
407, 491.
Seti I., Tomb of, 447.
Seti II., Tomb of, 458.
Setit, River, 556, 572.
Seyyida Zenab, 159.
Shabakat, 550.
Shabluka, 562.
ShabshIr, 77.
ShaKab, 475.
ShakIk el-'Ajuza, 241.
Shak Musa, 247.
Shalfak Fortress, 245.
Shaluf, 46, 225.
Shambe, 684.
Sharara, 315.
Shari'a Kamel, 92.
Shar6na, 3u7.
Shatawi, 540.
Shatt ek-Riggala, 476, 492.
Sheb, 281.
Sheblanga, 38.
ShekalkIl, 338.
Shekh Abada, 314, 324.
Shekh 'Abd el-Kurna, 407,
408, 434, 436, 460.
Shekh 'Abdallah, 81.
Shekh Abu Nur, 305.
Shekh Barghut, 556.
Shekh Fadl, 282, 308, 309.
Shekh Hasan, 309.


610

INDEX-DIRECTORY.

Shekh Morghani, Tomb of,
657.
Shkkh Musa, 479. ¦
Shkkh Sa'Jd, 329.
Shekh Sa'id, Tumb(s) of, 297,
335.
Shekh TiMAr, 324.
Shkkh Zuwi'd, Tomb of, 216.
Shellal, 476, 509.
ShendawwIe, 297,
Shendi, 550, 560,
ShenowIya, 303.
Shekek, 556.
Sheer el-Khayyam, 365.
Sherkiya Province, 41.
SherK SECtN, 344.
ShibIn Canal, 77.
Shibin el-Kanater, 38.
Shibin el-K6m, 35, 254.
Shibba, 553.
SaiN, 33, 82, 84.
ShIrbIn, 79, 84,
Shoa, Province of, 572.
Shobak, 300.
Sh6'kb, 221.
Shooting Hints, [55].
" Short Desert " Route, 214.
Shotb, 343, 497.
Shubra, 38, 76, 145.
Shubra esh-ShabIya, 145.
Shubrakhit, 31, 32.
Shunet ez-ZebIb, 355, 356,
362, 363.
Sidfa, 344 .
Sidi Gaber, 24, 26, 30.
Sikketer-Reshshah, 234,
Sikket Sadde, 234,
Sikret Seyidna Musa, 245.
Silsila, Quarries at, 493.
Silsila Point, 4.
Sclwa, 476, 492.
Simbellawen, 43, 75.
Sinai, Mount, 47, 206, 211
225, 226, 227. 234, 250.
Sinai, Peninsula of, 220.
AltCHJEOLOGY, 224.
Climate, 224.1
Geography, 222.
Inhabitants, 220.
Natural History, 223,
Sing a (see Senga).
Sinus Immundus, 213.
Siptah, To>ib of, 457.
" Siijdar's Island," 506.
Siroi'on, Site of, 258.
Sits, 304, 306.

Sitt Miriam Church, 138.
SlTTA MAEIAM EL-'AdBA
Convent of, 310.
Sittra, Lake of, 258.
SiWA, 253, 254, 258, 259, 274
275, 578,
SiwA, Oasis of, 258, 259.,
SlYALA, 263.
Slatin Pasha's House, 568.
Soba, 574.
Sobat, River, 582.
Socnop^ei Nesus, Site of,
, 270.
Soda, 575.
Soleb, 547.
Sonta, 35, 77.
Sphinx, The, 181.
Sphinx, Temple op the, 184.
Sport, [50].
Steamboats, [11], 290-295.
Suakin, 212, 213, 569, 570.
Suakin- Berber Railway,
213.
SUARDA, 647.
SUARES, 307.
Sudan, The Anglo-Egyptian,
[23], 542.
Sudan Gold Field Co., 554.
Sudd Region, 574, 683.
SUEZ, 46, 220.
Hotels : Bel Air ; Bachet.
Suez Canal, 49-68.
Suez, Gulf of, 2:0, 211, 222.
Suez, Plain of, 59.
SUHAG (SuHAK), 297.
SUKKOI, 541.
Sulb (see Soleb).
Sultan Barkuk, Mosque of,
107, 152, 216.
Sultan Hamud, 585.
SurarIya, 309.
Suwakti, 541.

Tabah, 211, 250.
Tabat, Island of, 544.
Tabenna Monastery, 366.
Tablet oe Abydos, 359.
Tablrt of Sakkara, 191.
Tacasarta, Site of, 215. .
Tafa, 524.
Taha, 313.
Tahana, 300.
Tahta, 297.
Tahuti-em-heb, Tomb of, 443.
Taiara, 577.
Tajurra, 572.
Tajurra, Gulf of, 572v
Takazze, River, 572.
Takompso, 531.
Talgwareb, 569.
TalIt, 267.
Talkha, 35, 76, 78, 82,
Talodi, 578.
Tamai, 570.
Tamanieb, 570.
Tambuk, 569.
Tanis, Ruins op, 72-5.
Tanis Superior, Site of, 335.
Tankassi, 550.
Tansa, 304.
TANTA/33, 35.
Hotels : Pyr amides, 'H
topaia 'EAAas.
Tanuf, 335.
Taramsa, 367, 373.
Tarrana, 32, 254.
Taset Sadur, 228.
TaufikIa, 582.
TaufikIya, 541.
Tausret, Tomb op Queen,
457.
Taveta, 585.
Tawwara Tribes, 220, 249,
TawwIl es-Selum, 215.
Tchad, Lakk, 578.
Tebtunis, Site of, 266, 267.
Teh (etyai) el-Barud, 31, 32.
Tehna, 311, 313.
Tekiyet el-Maghawri Mon
astery, 156.
Telegraphs, [12].
Telephones, [12],
Tell Abu Sefa Mound, 215.
Tell Basta Ruins 41.
Tell Bayyadiya. 344.


INDEX-DIRECTORY.'

611

Tell Bedawi, 72. i

Hibis (see El Kharga).

Tirhakah, Shrine of, 646.

'I ell Defenna, 46, 66, 72, 214.

Isis, 372.

Tirhakah, Temple of, 553.

Tell el-Amarna, 297, 330,

Kalabsha, 526.

Tiksa, 296.

331-335,

Karnak, 393.

Titasurt, 275.

Tell el-Balamun, 85.

Kasr 'Ain ez-Zatan, 281.

Titasurt, Well of, 258.

Tell el-Her, 215.

Kasr el-Guehda, 281.

Tin, Tomb of Queen, 432.

Tell el-KebIr, 30, 44.

Kasr es-Sagha, 271.

Tjai, Tomb of, 442, 461.

Tell el-Maskhuta, 44, 49,

Kask Rumi, 260.

Tjarukha Lake, 431.

65, 225.

Khonsu, 393.

Tjesret, Tomb of, 461.

Tell el-Yahud1ya Ruins,

K6m Ombo, 476, 49S.

T-MEI el-AmdId, 75.

38/150.

Kurna, 444.

TOFREK, 570.

Tell en-Nasara, 3D4.

Luxor, 387.

Tokar, 213, 557, 570.

Tell er-Roba Mound, 75.

Medinet Habu, 408, 419.

T6ma Mounds, 266.

Tell er-Kotaba, 44.

Mentu, 403.

Tombos, Island of, 548.

Tell es-Semaina, 367.

Mut, 405.

Tombs, [160] :—

Tell es-Semot, 215.

Philae, 510-515.

Aba, 470.

Tell et-T!h, 304.

Ptah and Hathor, 403.

Aha, 377.

Tell Fera'In, 32, 84.

Ramses, 215.

Amenhetep I., II., &c. (see

Tell GemaItemi, 72.

Ramses II., 361, 403, 412.

Amenhetep).

TellHabwa, 215.

Ramses III., 394,. 406, 421.

Amen-hetep and Hui, 274.

Tell ibn es-Salam Mound, 75.

Sarabit el-Khadim, 239.

AmIr Khaled ibn el-

Tell Mokdam, 77.

" Schweinfurth's," 271.

WelId, 281.

Tell MondId Mound, 75,

Sebek, 263.

Anna, 440.

Tell Nebesha, 72.

Seti I., 215, 367, 407, 491.

Antefaker, 442.

Tell Tennes, 70, 81.

Soleb, 547.

Apis, 198, 204.

Tema, 297.

Tehna, 313.

Aswan, 503.

Tempekature, [14].

Thoth, 472.

Asyut, 341.

Temples : —

Umm Beda, 260.

Bab el-Hosan, 461.

Abu Simbel, 537.

Wadi Halfa, 601, 543.

Beni Hasan, 297, 314, 316-

'Amada, 532.

Tendik, 578.

324.'

Amenartas, 422.

Teneda, 277.

Btban-el-Muluk, 446.

Amen-hetep III., 485.

Tennes Island, 68, 81.

BURCKHARDT, 151.

Ammon, 259.

Tentyris, 367, 373.

Campbell, 185.

Aswan, 500.

Terenuthis, Site of, 254.

Colossus on a Sledge, 326.

Bet el-WalI, 526.

Thamiam, 569.

Crocodiles (Ma'abda), 338.

Dakka, 529.

Theadelphia, Site op, 267,

Der el-Bahari, 461.:

Dendera, 367.

269.

Der el-Med!na, 432.

Dendur, 528.

Thebaica Phylace, Site of,

El-Adel Toman Bey, 146.

Dee el-Bahari, 461.

335, 343.

El-Ashraf, 152.

Der el-Hagar, 276.

Thebaid, 343, 375, 378, 406.

El-Bersha, 297.

Der el-MedIna, 432.

Thebes, 272, 298, 378-476.

Es-Sala Neom-ed-dj'n

Der bsh-Shalw!t, 408, 477.

Thenuna, Tomb of, 442.

Ayyub, 150.

Deijr, 533.

Theodosiou, Site op, 313.

Gami' es-Sadat, 155.

Dush, 281.

This, Necropolis of, 298,

Gemnikai, 193, 204.

Edfu, 488.

354, 355.

Hatshepsu, 458.

El-Kab, 484, 485.

Thmuis, Site of, 75, 491.

Hentsen, 180.

El-Kharga, 279.
En-Nadara, 280.

Thoth, Temple of, 472.

Horemheb, in the Biban el-

Thothmes I., Tomb of, 457.

THuluk (p. 446, q.v.) ; dis
covered 1908. Unfinished,

Esna, 480.

Thothmes III., Tomb op, 458.

¦but interesting on this

Gekf Husen, 528.

Thothmes IT., Tomb of, 456.

account, as showing pro

Halfa, 543, 601.

Tigre, Province op, 572.

cesses of the decorators.

Har-netj-iotef, 514.

T1h Range, The, 222, 228,

Imadua, 442.

Hathor, 372, 403, 615, 517,

229, 235, 239, 247.

Imam ESH-SHAFi', 155.

536.

Tii, Tomb of Queen, 468.

"Kabin," 193.

Hathor of the Waste,

Timsah, Lake, 45, 63, 65, 225.

Kagemna (Gemnikai), I5J,

408.

TlrfA, 214.

201.


612

INDEX-DIRECTORY.

Tom bs — continued.

TOR, 212, 241, 248.

Kait Bey, 153.

Tor Mountains, 222.

Ken-Amen, 440.

Toski, 535.

KhaemHAt, 443.

Toski el-Gharb, 535.

KhalIfs, Tombs of the,
Traditions, Arab, 221.
V.
150.
Travelling, Modes of, [9],
Kha wand, The Lady, 154.
283.
Vegetation, [56].
Kings, The; 446.
Trees, [58].
Victoria Nile, 585.
KDrnet Murrai, 434.
Trinkitat, 213, 570.
Victoria Nyanza, 585.
*' Mamelukes, Tombs of
Tris, 254.
" Vine," Tomb of the, 439.
THE," 151, 155.
Tsana, Lake, 572, 576, 577.
" Virgin's Tree, The," 148.
Mkir, 297.
Tsavo, 585.
Menkheperrasenb, 440.
T&D, 460, 475, 478.
Menna, 442, 461.
Tukh, 37, 76, 374.
Mentuhetep IL, 466.
Tukh el-Karamus, 71.
Mera (Mereruka), 193.
Tuna, 329.
Mereruka, 193, 204.
Tuna Island, 68, 81.
Nebi Salih, 249.
Tuphium, Site of, 478.
W.
Nekht, 443, 461.
Turbet el-Kurud, 459.
Nekhtmin, 440.
Turks, [31],
Wadai, 578.
Numbeks, 185.
Turra, 159, 299.
Wad Banda, 578.
Omar ibn el-FabId, 155.
Turra, Quarries of, 160,
Wad Ben Naga, 561, 562.
Petuamenapt.
296.
Wad Medani, 574, 581.
Ptah-hetep, 197.
Tuti Island, 563, 573.
Rly. completed from-
Ptah-Shepses, 200.
Tuwesa, 497.
Khartam (UO mis.). 1910.
Puamra, iii the Asasif (p.
Tzitzis, Site of, 523.
Continuation to Senga and
468, a.v.), of the XVIllth
branch to Goz Abu Guma on
Dyn., re-excavated 1909;
White Nile in course of con
Interesting portrait of a
struction (line to be con
Keftian (Minoan Cretan).
tinued to El Obeid, q.v.).
Queens, The, 431.
Wadelai, 584.
Ramses I., IL, &c. (see
Wadfa, 269.
Ramses).
" Wadi," Definition of, 223.
Reigning Family, The, 155.
Wadi Canal, 49.
Rekhmara, 437.
XT.
Wadis : —
Senmut, 441.
Abu D6m, 554.
Sesiiem-nefer, 197.
Uganda, 584.
Abu-Raika, 213.
Shekh 'Abdel-I£urna, 434,
Umm ed-Debrekat (Omde
Abu Sela, 238.
436.
brekat), 581.
Abu Seyal, 550.
Shekh Sa'Id, 297.
Umm ed-Ddeman (Omdur
ALAGI, 211, 540.
Shekh Zuwed, 216.
man), 563.
'Aleyat, 234, 236.
Street of Tombs, 194.
Umm Elaika, 210.
Amara, 228.
Sultan Barkuk, 152.
Umm el-'Atl, 271, 272.
'Araba, 207.
Sultan Suleman ibn-Sel!m,
Umm el-Baragat, 266, 267.
Awateb, 561, 562,
152.
Umm el-Ka'ab, 362.
Baabra, 239.
Tahuti-em-Heb, 443.
Umm EL-KrMAN, 304.
Barak, 2U.
Tell el-Amarna, 331-335.
Umm el-Kubeba, 2.
Berah, 221, 241.
Tewfik, Khedive, 154.
Umm el-Muftlli, 274.
Bula, 338.
Thi, 194, 204.
Umm esh-ShaeamIt, 220.
ED-DEHSA, 228.
Thothmes L, 11., &c. (see
Umm Nabaudi, 554.
Ed-Der, 221, 238, 217, 248,
Thothmes).
Umm es-Sevyala, 554.
309.
Tn, Queen, 458.
Umm es-Sugheir, 258.
EL-'AGUZ, 310, 311.
Tunur, 191, 197.
Umm esh-Shibbak, 554.
El-'Ain, 247, 250.
User hat, 443.
Umm Rashid, 577.
El-' Araba, 205, 250.
"Vine, of the" 439.
Urtong, 582, 583.
El-Areda, 206.
TomU, 262, 254, 269, 271,
Useuhat, Tomb of, 443.
El-Gharbi, 407, 459.
272,
Ushmunen, 328, |
El-Kikbekak, 562


INDEX-DIEECTOEY.

613

Wadis— continued.

'OlaKI, 211, 531, 540,

El-Leja, 221, 242, 247

248.

Bahaba, 242, 248.

El-MagharA, 254.

Raiyan, 267, 274.
Emlesa, 248.
Kamla, 562.
En-Nukkari, 212.
Sa'al, 249.
X.
Esh-Shebeka, 230.
Esh-Shekh, 226, 237,
241,
Sadur, 228.
Sahab, 241.
Xors, Site of, 84.
249, 296, 306.
Saket, 210.
Es-SebU'a, 531.
SebaIya, 248.
Es-Sleh, 241.
Senhur, 205, 206.
Es-Sumab, 263, 254.
Shebeka, 227, 238.
Es-Sumae BiR Ghaeadik,
Shellal, 231.
258.
SiKilita, 236.
Eth-Thahal, 207.
Solaf, 226, 237, 238, 241,
EtM-Thal, 230.
248.
ET-Tehna, 311.
Suwilf, 239, 240.
Et-Tih, 167, 159.
Tafa, 524.
Et-Tla'a, 248.
TXiyyiba, 226, 230.
Et-Tumilat, 225.
Tarfa, 241.
Y.
Faragh, 253, 254, 270.
Tumilat, 41, 43, 71.
FAWAKHiR, 208.
Umm-Aineba, 206.
Yembo, 213.
FIrAn, 221, 223, 226,
227,
Umm-Arguk, 206.
Yumga, TV Adi, 569.
231, 233, 235-6, 241.
Umm Garaiakt, 531.
Gaffra, 220.
Umm Huwemil, 258.
Gendeli, 220.
Umm Takka, 237.
Gharandel, 226, 228,
229.
Umm ThemAn, 231.
Ghazal, 553.
Uset, 230.
Ghazala, 250.
WardAn, 228.
Ghoma, 300.
WetIr, 250.
GiN, 479.
Yumga, 669.
HALAZdNI, 220.
Zetuna, 248.
Halfa, 519, 541, 543
WAdiyen, 407, 472.
Hammamat, 298.
Wah Dakhla (Oasis), 275,
Z
Hamr, 239.
277.
HakshIta, 207.
Wah el-BaharJya, 274.
Zaffaran Palace, 147.
Haratreb, 569.
Wah el-GhArbi, 274, 275.
ZAGAZIG, 36, 38, 41, 77.
Hassanatvi, 550.
WAh el-Hez, 275.
Hotels : H6tel d'Egypte ;
Hdtel Corbure.
Hebean, 248.
Wah el-Kharga, 278, 298.
Kalas, 554.
Wah el-MandIsha, 274.
Kena, 231, 232.
Wan, 583, 584.
Zakuk, 251, 257.
Keneya, 231.
Weights and Measures, [8].
ZANKALUN, 38.
KhamIla, 239, 240, 241.
"Wells of Moses," 221, 241.
ZAwiYA, 302.
Labwa, 241.
Werdan, 35, 254, 268.
Z A Wl Y E T E L - M A Y 1 T i N
Maghara, 240.
Western Desert, The, 472.
(Zatviyet el-Meit!n), 314.
Marra, 239.
White Monastery, 297.
Zeghawa Plain, 281.
Mathli, 209.
" Wilderness of Sin," 226.
Zkidab, 557.
Merekh, 241.
W!sh, 78.
Zeila, 572.
Moathil, 206.
Writing, Method of, [111].
Zetun, 258, 260, 265, 303.
Mukatteb, 222, 226, 232.
Zetun, Oasis of, 258, 259.
Musa, 249.
Zifta, 35, 76, 77.
JSAKB BUDERA, 231.
Zinnega, 310, 311.
Nasb, 231, 239.
Zoan, 73.
Uatrun, 32, 251-3,
254,
Zubbo, 274.
258.
Zulla, 572.
NlSRiN, 233.
¦
Zuma, 550.
NOGRUS, 210,
Zuwelen, Mounds of, 72.


MURRAY'S HANDBOOK
ADVERTISER, 1910-1911,

CONTAINING

USEFUL INFORMATION FOR TRAVELLERS,
RAILWAY

AND

STEAMBOAT ^ COMPANIES,
HOTELS,

AND

MISCELLANEOUS ADVERTISEMENTS.

LONDON : EDWARD STANFORD,
12, 13, & 14, Long Acre, W.C.
Geographer to His Majesty the King,


i MUERAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. May^
ALGIERS.
HOTEL DE L'OASIS.
(BOULEVARD DE LA REPUBLfQUE.)
Splendid Sea Views. Every Modern Comfort. Illustrated Tarifi on
application. JAMAR, Proprietor and Manager.
ANGERS (France).

GRAND HOTEL;
Private Bath Rdoms. Lift.
MOTOR CAR MEETS ALL THE TRAINS.
H. BAUDBY, Proprietor.
Electric Light. AKLES-SUK-EHONE (FRANCE). Auto-Garage
GRAND HOTEL DU NORD— PINUS. -•&.
First-class Hotel and the best equipped ift Aries. Entirely re-furnished and re-decoratod.
Only Hotel adjoining Roman Forum. Only entrance to Roman Catacombs in the Hotel. Furnished
with all modern accommodation and sanitary arrangements. Telephone. English spoken.
Omnibus meets every train. Table d'H6te Luncheons and Dinners at separate Tables. Private
Dining Saloons, Smoking Room, Bath Rooms, Automobile Garage, etc.
Every Comfort afforded to Families. Moderate Prices. Managing Proprietor, F. BESSIERE,.
BADEN-BADEN.
HOLLAND HOTEL.
MODERN PALATIAL BUILDING.
Up-to-Date with LARGE PARK, nearest Kurhouse
and Bathing Establishments.
.Automobile Garage. . Apartments and Single Rooms with Private Baths, &c.
BALLATBB, near BALMORAL CASTLE.
INVERCAULD ARMS HOTEL.
Principal and only licensed First-class Hotel. Patronised by Royalty t ' ." •
Deeside, Royalty's favourite Scottish Resort, has exceptionally magnetic-/"
attractions for Tourists and Health Seekers. New First-Class 18-hole 06H-, ;
Course. Bowling and Tennis Courts. Posting. Garage, &o. ¦ . -¦ "VK '
 WILLIAM PROCTOR, Lessee.
BASLE.
PARC HOTEL BERNERHOF.
Most convenient and quiet position.
FACING the Promenaded, near the Central Bailway Station. House of old reputation. ElectsioS i
Light and Hot- Water Heating throughout. Tahle d Hoto at separate Tables. Restaurant.
Baths. Moderate Tariff. Uooms from 8 Francs. Porter meets trains. -"*"•
Managed by the Proprietor : ALF. GEILENKIRCHKN.


1910.

' MUKKA'fWTHAllDBOOk ADVERTISER.

BASLE.
HOTEL SCHRIEDER ZUM
DEUTSCHEN HOF.
Opposite the Baden Railway Station. Com
fortable Accommodation. Moderate Charges.
Electric Light. M. ERNE. Proprietor.

MURRAY'S HANDBOOK
FOR
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BAYEUX.

GRAND HOTEL LUXEMBOURG.
Entirely Refurnished. Complete Hydropathic Bath Installation. Central Heating.
Jiestaurant a la Carte. Near the Cathedral. Garden. Terrace. Telephone No. i.
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BEY ROUT (Syria). ~*
GRAND HOTEL D'ORIENT
THIS FIRST-CLASS HOTEL, newly rebuilt, enlarged and fur
nished with the latest improvements, situated in the best and
Healthiest part o£ the city, offers every comfort. Commanding a fine
view of the Mountains, Bay, and Suburbs. With lofty, dry, and large
Bedrooms.. Hot and Gold Baths. Reading and Smoking Rooms.
Excellent Cuisine and Service. Moderate Charges. Arrangements for
prolonged stay. Interpreters meet all steamers. All European Ian-.
guages spoken. The only Hotel reoommended by Cook,
JV. BASSOUL & SONS, Proprietors,,
BIARRITZ. ^""^
HOTEL VICTORIA AND DE LA GRANDE PLAGE.
, First- class Hotel, Imperial Grounds.
THE finest, situation, opnosite the British Club and the Grand Caeino. on the way to the Golf
Grounds : Lawn Tennis ; Lift. 150 , Booms and Saloas full south and sea. Large Garden
Verandah; Bath Rooms; Electric Light j Calorifere. j. FOURNEAU
BLAIR ATHOLL. — ^
ATHOLL ARMS HOTEL.
Adjoining the station. first-class family hotel.
~ BLAIK ATHOLL is much the nearest andl most central point from which to visit Killiecrankie,
the Queen's View, Loch TumTiei, llannoch, Glen Tilt, Braemar, the Falls of Eruar. Garry, Turn-
- tnel, and Fender ; the Grounds of Blair Castle, eto. ;:*nd it is the most convenient resting-place
for breaking the long railway journey to and from the North of Scotland. Golf. Salmon and
' .Trout Fishing.  J>. MACPONAIiD & SONS, Proprietors.
BLOIS. Telephone : 11 F.
GRAND HOTEL
AND
GRAND HOTEL OE BLOIS.
<NWr the Castle of Blois.) THIBAUDIER-<HGNON, Proprietor.
'ed to Families..
Chauffage central.

Most highly recommended to Families. Motor Cars for Hire.
mu — *...s~i.„ r'i.^..ffo,,t. nontmi English spoken.

Electricity.

BORDIGHERA.
HESPERIA HOTEL.
UP-TO-DATE.
PROMINENT POSITION.
Opened in JANUARY, 1906.

LA BOURBOULE-LES-BAINS
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PALACE HOTEL
and VILLA MEDICIS.
Sanitary System (Gravitation). Very comfort
able. Electric Light, Telephone, lift, Omnibus
Interpreter, Baths, Calorifere. Lawn Tennis;
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MURRAY'S ' HANDBOOK I'ftv'lJM'ltiM.

Miy,

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3,400 feet. above DDHUIO 8,400 Oberland;;
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BRUNSWICK.
HOTEL DEUTSCHES HAUS.
Prominent Central Location, opposite the Dome and the Castle
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FIRST-CLASS HOUSE. NEWLY BUILT.
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SANTA

CANARY ISLANDS.
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HOTEL,

PatroniBed by His Majesty the King of Spain. . . ¦'.[¦ :~ ;*¦?-&?..
Facing the Sea. Surrounded by its own beautiful gardens. Sanitary arrangements perfect.
Private Sitting Rooms and complete Suites of Apartments. Resident English Physician an<L-
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Addreas-THE CANARY ISLANDS COMPANY, Limited, 5, Lloyd's Avenue, London, B.C., >^J;
CANNES. ^
HOTEL DUPARADIS* ^
First Class, high and sheltered position in a Park ot 22,000 Metres, close to St.- *antft
Church. Sriites with Baths. Hot Water Heating in Every Koom. Electric Liglnj'j
Tennis, Lift. Automobile Omnibus to and from town, 30 c/mes. Open till June; V :
', .' ¦¦-¦¦'- CH. STAEHLE, *
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CANNES.
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• Electric Light. Large Garden. Pension
from 9 francs. . ,

MAPS. — /.g
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CARLSBAD.
SAVOY WEST-END HOTEL
Villa Carlton. Villa Cleopatra. Villa Hohenbupg.
Honoured by II. M. the King of England, T.I.H. the Grand Dukes of Russia and
Grand Duchesses of Russia, the Shah of Persia, H.H. the Khedive of Egypt, &c.
The Savoy is situated in the West-End quarter, the finest, prettiest, and healthiest
of Carlsbad, in. close proxintity tp. the different Springs, surrounded by beautiful-
Gardens arid Woods. Verandah- Gardens. Terraces. Vienna Orchestra. Every
Modern Comfort. Apartments 'with'. Private Bath. During May aud September
reduced terms. Telegraphic Address : "SAVQi Hotel, Carlsbad."
Fashionable Restaurant, famous for Us excellent Cuisine.
A. AULICH, Proprietor.
Connected with Astoria Hotel, Piris, Hotel Roches Noires, Trouvilio, Hotel Imperial, Nice.


1910.

MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER.

CARLSBAD.

WURTTEMBERGER HOF,
FIRST-CLASS HOTEL on the Market Place. Opposite the Sprudel
and Marktbrunnen. Lift. Electric Light. Baths. Steam
Heating. Open air the year round. Best frequented Restaurant.

CHAMON1X.
HOTEL PENSION BALM AT.
Highly recommended. Splendid View of Mont
Blanc and AlpH. Moderate Terms. Good
Cuisine. Breakfast, 1 fr. ; Luncheon, 2 f r. ;
Dinner, 2.50 fr. Nice Room, 1.50, 2, 3, and 4fcs.
Pension from 6 fee. Special Terms for a stay.
Meal ii la carte at all hours. Baths. Electric
Light. Telephone, No. 19. English. German,
and French spoken.— Mine. C. CAROLINE
BALMAT, Proprietress.

GOBLENCE-ON-RHINE AND MOSEL.
Riesen-fws.enhof, Aoker Hotel
Opposite lauding place of the Ithine
Steamers and Fortification, Ehren-
breitstein. First Class. Every Comfort.
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COLOGNE.
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MURRAY'S HANDBOOK
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CONTREXVILLE (Vosges, France).
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Garden. Electric light. Telephone.
CHEVET et DENOUH, Proprietors.

QOUTANCES.
GRAND HOTEL DE FRANCE.
Centre of the town. First - class
House. Recommended to Families.
Member of the French, Belgian, and
English Touring Chibs. Omnibus
meets all Trains.

COPENHAGEN.
TURIST HOTEL
i Vestre Boulevard |,
First Class. Beautifully situated, overlooking
the Bark, 3 minutes from Station and Tivoli.
100 Elegantly Furnished Rooms. Electric
Light, lifts. Baths. Perfect Sanitary Arrange
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T. E-HAN8EN, Proprietor.

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MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER.

May, J

DRESDEN
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World Renowned Select Hotel.
Under personal management of Director, E. IIONNEFELD.
Unique position on the River, with beautiful
Garden and Tervace,
facing the Royal Palace, . Opera,
Cathedral, and Picture Gallery.
LIFT. ELECTRIC LIGHT THROUGHOUT BATHS.
Suites, and Bedrooms with Private Bath and Toilet attached.
Auto-Oarage?, separately locked.

DRESDEN.
CONTINENTAL
Opposite the principal Railway Station. - One of
comfortable Hotels in Dresden. Private Suites
attached. Beautiful Garden. Auto-Garage, gp

HOTEL.
the most modern and
with Bath and Toilet
. POSSE L, Manager.

DUBLIN. ^_______ —  '
Charming situation, overlooking Steplien's ^mrt' ^E& —
Green Park. Most Central Position. ' __— ^~"*^S-FTEC» J^W ¦*
Moderate Charges. _  ~ZZ*4T% Ti—  """' "
_-^^gS^^-""^ HOTEL.
^______  Electric Light. Free Garage. Elevators.
DULVERTON (West Somerset).
Five miles Private Trout Fishing.. .Golf.
CARNARVON ARMS HOTEL.
Also WHITE HORSE, EX FORD.
830 feet altitude. Close to Stag Hounds. Booklets free. ,
Wire : " Neldkr, Dulverton."
ORDNANCE SURVEY.
ORDNANCE MAPS.— A Resume of the Publications of the Ordnance
.and Geological Surveys of England and "Wales, with' Index Maps to the
1-inoh and f-inch surveys, and a Supplement on Methods of Map
Mounting. 56 pp. demy 8vo., in Wrapper. Gratis on application.
LONDON: EDWARD STANFORD, 12, 13, & uTlONG ACHE. W.C.


10 MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. May,?
GENOA.
HOTEL CONTINENTAL.
CLOSE TO COOK'S AND NORTH GERMAN LLOYD'S OFFICES.
APARTMENTS WITH. BATH.
Quiet Rooms with Dressing- Room and Running Water.
GARDEN ON THE FOURTH FLOOR WITH SPLENDID PANORAMA.
Restaurant. Auto-Garage. L. MELANO, Proprietor:
GENOA (GENOVA).
GRAND HOTEL I>E GENES.
FULL SOUTH. BEST PART OF THE TOWN.
Patronised by Royalty and best English and American Families.
ALL MODERN COMFORT.
GRAND HOTEL ISOTTA,
G|— H | ^\ « -Family House. Most Comfortable, at Mode-
^ |^ ^J f\ rate Terms. Rooms from Lire 4. Pension
Entirely Renovated. ' from Lire 11. Central Position.
GENOA.
HOTEL B07AL.
AQUII.&.)
THE nearest Hotel to the Bailway- Station (close by) and the Landing Pier. -JTo
noise of Trains. Exceedingly well situated. Very quiet Bedrooms. Perfect
Sanitary arrangements. Moderate Charges. Central Heating throughout. -Lift^.
A. & V. ROD1NO BROTHERS, Proprietors^ -:;
GENOA.

MODERN COMFORT. PENSION FROM 8 FRANCS.
Central Heating. Restaurant. Electric Light. Lift. Moderate Prices,
 SOOP VIEW OF THE SEA. 
GLIOIM above MONTREUX, TERR1TET.
Grand Hotel du Righi Vaudois Glion.
TjlIRST-CLASS HOTEL, enlarged and entirely renewed, with the best
J- comfort. 150 Rooms. One of the finest situations .in Switzerland-. Central,
Heating. Moderate Charges. Open all the jear. Beautiful Garden, and Park.
Apartments with Bath. __-- F. RIECHELMAlTir, Proprietor.
 ,  f  .
P/l QQPOff TS British subjects who are pre-
r~ r\Doi—y*rr\ i %j. paring to visit the Oontinent
maybe saved much trouble and expense by obtaining Foreign Office
Passports through EDWARD STANFORD'S AGENCY, 12, 13, & 14,
Long Acbe, London, W.C.


1910. MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 11

HANOVER.
HOTEL ROYAL,
FACING CENTRAL STATION.
Patronised by Royalty and best English and
American Society.
THE QUIET AND DISTINGUISHED HOTEL OF HANOVER.
Every Comfort for Travellers. Suites and Single' Rooms with private
toilet and bath rooms of American model. Motor Car Garage.
HARROGATE.

THIS FIRST-CLASS .HOTEL stands in its own extensive Grounds,
- and is situated in the best, part of High Harrogate, facing the Stray. South
aspect. Tennis and Croquet Grounds adjoin the Hotel. The, nearest Hotel to i the
-Golf Links'. Motor Garage and Inspection. Petrol.
For Terms apply, THE MANAGER.
HAVRE, NORMANDY HOTEL,
109, 108, RUE DE PARIS (Centre). FIRST CLASS.
Lift. Central Heating. 'Electric Light. Restaurant a la Carte. Well-stocked Wine
(Cellar. Breakfast, 2,fr. 60 c,, Table d'Hote, 3 if r.: 60 c." Large Smoking Hall. English
Newspapers. Music and, Redding Rooms. Interpreter speaks all Languages. '
Omnibus. A. MOREAU, Proprietor:
Only Hotel in Havre with Lift and Central Heating.
HEIDELBERG:
HOTEL EUROPE,
THIS most charming FIRST-CLASS HOTEL stands in its own
Park, situated in the best part, of town, near the Station. All
Modern Comfort, Apartments, Open-Air Restaurant on Terrace.
Garden Concerts. Hot Water , Heating throughout. Arrange
ments made for stay. " Large Automobile House. Specially
patronised by the leading members of English and American
Society. F. GABLER, Proprietor*
— HEIDELBERG.

FIRST CLASS in every respect. Beautiful situation. Newly enlarged and reno
vated. Apartments with Bath, Terrace Restaurant. Garage. Concert every >
evening. Specially recommended to English and American Society. Arrangement* ',•
v made for a stay- MULLER & PIGUERON, Proprietors.™ ":

HEIDELBERG.

DARMSTADTER HOF.
1 Four minutes from the Station. Rooms
from M. 2.60. Electric Light. Bath. Lift.
Steam Heating. 

V STANFORD'S
CEOLOCICAL ATLAS of GREAT
BRITAIN and IRELAND.
By H. B. WOODWARD, F.R.S., F.G.S..
Price 12s. 6d. net.


1910.

MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. '

13

irtktsekuck:.
Thirty-one hours from London, via Arlberg, to Innsbruck. Through'tickets
and luggage registered through. Twenty-three hours from Paris.

THE BEAUTIFUL A^T)-' SHELTERED situation of
INNSBRUCK renders* it a very agreeable -place
of residence all the year round. In spring asTvell as
iii autumn it is especially to be recommended as a stopping
glace between, the different watering, places. It is also
a be recommended after a sojourn at the sea-side.
INNSBRUCK is the centre from which many splendid
excursions can be made in every direction, and of any
length. Attractive walks in the immediate neighbour
hood of the town and the different elevations.
The climate in Winter— dry, strengthening, swnny, free
from, cold -winds and fogs— has attracted many visitors of
late years, and among those who have found, the' greatest
relief are weak, convalescent, wrvous, appetiteless, and
sleepless persons.
NtBi — University, Grammar, M ueic, and other schools.
Private Lessons of every kind are available, So that studies.
can be continued and the.education of children carried on.

Hotel Tyrol
FIRST CLASS.
NEW SUITES OF
APARTMENTS,
ALL FIREPROOF
(Systlme Hennebrlque).
HOT- WATER HEATING.
TWO LIFTS.
Lawn Tennis.
MOTOR CAR SHELTER, Ac,
CARL LANDSEE, Proprietor.

M!SE

IS

liiiiiii

Hjyp

llPfSij

tT£0
fifil

Mp3tii

Sgyfi

^Hffll

s5fg&5
^Sfep^BSiSgi
sps^
HOTEL
DE L'EUROPE.
First-class Establishment.
Affords every Modern Comfort.
Electric Light in Every Room.
STEAM AND OTHER BATHS.
Anton Hanreich, Proprietor.
ifoa£l
HOTEL
COLDENE SONNE
(Opposite the Station).
FIRST-CLASS HOTEL.
RENOWNED FOR ITS SUPERIOR
CUISINE AND WINE.
"Restaurateur?' of the South
Railway Station.
CARL BEER, Proprietor.
RICHLY ILLUSTRATED GUIDES of INNSBRUCK sent on application by the
Proprietors*of above Hotels, free of charge.


,14 MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER/  May,^
¦  :  — — -\  "  " '
INTER LAKE N.
REGINA HOTEL JUNCFRAUBLICK.
FIRST CLASS. COMMANDING POSITION.
Extensive Gardens, leading into Pine wood Park
TENNIS. GARAGE. REASONABLE RATES.
OPEN APRIL— OCTOBER.
FAMILY OESCH, Proprietors.  _E. AMSTAD, Manager.
INT ERLAKEN.

(And Hotel Seau Rivage.) ^ ¦ - ..' -
. This beautiful First-class Family Hotel is situated in its own Park on the Principal Promenade.
Splendid Vies ofi Jungfrau and the Alps. Open-air Restaurant. Table d'Hdfe at separate
tables.". Special Arrangements for prolonged stays. Open May — October. > - ;\
ALBERT DOEPFNER, proprietor <6 Manager. -
INTERLAKEN.
GRAND HOTEL DES ALPES
First Class. 200 Beds. -,,-
HOTEL DU NORD* Comfortable Family Hatch :
These two renowned Hotels are situated in best position on the principal Promenade, near- 1>h.e
English and Scotch Churches, the Kursaal, and the Mountain Railway Stations. Modern comfort; t
Perfect Sanitary Installations. Lifts. Large Gardens and Park on Riverside. Baths. Auto-@a"cage. ..
MAURER BROTHERS & BRAWAND, Proprietors and Managers?;;,
INTERLAKEN, Switzerland.
GRAND HOTEL METROPOLE.
First-class House. Moderate Charges. •¦- ¦
BAD KISSINGEN.
HOTEL VICTORIA & KAISERHOF.
FIRST CLASS.
BEST POSITION. OPPOSITE KURGARDEN. '-. -J.
/.' G. LIEBSCHER, Proprietor; .
KREUZNACH.
HOTEL. ORANIENHOF (First Class).
FINEST and highest situation, in the most extensive private grounds.; near- the
Kurhaus and the Palines. A well-known and. extensively patronised- Establish
ment'. Visited hy Royalty. Own strongest Mineral Well. Every modern comfort.
Lawn -Tennis. Shooting and Fishing. Moderate Terms. Advantageous arrange
ment. Radium-Sol Baths in the Hotel.. - H. D. ALTEN, Proprietppv.
Tft WinTnRIQTQ Write at once for Stanford's
i u iviu i um& i ^, Concise List of Mm and
Books, &c, for Motoring— Gratis. _

EDWARD STANFORD, 12, 18, & 14, L6ng Acre, London, W.O.


191a  MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER.

15

XAERO, JW.

THE

SUTHERLAND ARMS HOTEL
Is beautifully situated, looking up the wide expanse
of Loch Shin, and surrounded by the finest scenery.

GOOD FISHING ON SBVERAL EXCELLENT LOCHS

OFFICIALLY APPOINTED HEADQUARTERS IN
SUTHERLAND OF SCOTTISH AUTOMOBILE CLUB.

Telegrams: "Wallace, Lairg."

WILLIAM WALLACE, Proprietor.

Sutherland Motor Traffic Company conveys'; the Mails to and from
Lairg to Lochinver, Scourie, Durness, and Tonguerthus ensuring a regular
and efficient service. . Motors for Hire by week or month.

LISBON.
HOTEL DURAND (English Hotel)
JDARGO X>0 QUINTELLJ..
FIEST-CLASS ESTABLISHMENT.
Situated in the most central part of the Town.
Recently enlarged and renovated. Terms en
pension. Electric Light. Lift.

MURRAY'S HANDBOOK
FOR
SWITZERLAND.
With numerous Maps and
Plans. Jus.

LIVERPOOL.
"THE SHAFTESBURY," Mount Pleasant.
About four minutes' walk from Lime Street and Central Stations.
A First-class Temperance Hotel, with Moderate Charges.
'Phone: 3882 Eoyal. Telegrams: "Shaftesbury -Hotel, Liverpool."
LLANGOLLEN, NORTH WALES.

On the Banks of the Dee.
One of tbe most convenient in this " Lovely Vale," and second to none for Comfort, Catering, and
Situation. 60 Bedrooms. Large Private Sitting Rooms. Electric Light throughout. Favourite
stop between Holyhead and London. Golf. Extensive Motor Garage for 40 Cars. Posting in all
' its Branches. National Telephone : No.' 7.
Address :" Hand, Llanoolles.  Resident Proprietor, J. S. SHAW.
Mb. EDWARD STANFORD is Sole Agent for the sale of the
publications issued by the LONDON TOPOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.
Complete List of this interesting and valuable collection of Maps and
Views of Old London will be sent gratis on application.
12, 13, and 14, LONG ACRE, LONDON, vW.C.


1910.

MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. '

17'

LUCERNE.
Hotel SchweizerKof

AND

Hotel Luzernerhof

FIRST-CLASS HOTELS.
IN THE BEST SITUATION ON THE LAKE AND PROMENADE.
600 BEDS.
PRIVATE BATH ROOMS.
ARRANGEMENT EN PENSION WITH PROTRACTED STAT
(EXCLUSIVE OF JULY AND AUGUST).
SCHWEIZERHOF OPEN ALL THE YEAR.
WITH GOOD WARMING SYSTEM.
Proprietors: HAUSER BROTHERS.
lucerne:.

THE GRAND HOTEL DU LAG.
FIRST CLASS.
PRIVATE BATH ROOMS.
OPEN ALL THE YEAR ROUND.
Proprietors: SPILLMANN & SIOKERT.


18 MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. May,

LUGANO.
HOTEL VICTORIA AU LAC.
FIRST CLASS FAMILY HOTEL. ( \ ' ¦
: Opposite the Lugano Pajadiso Steamboat Pier' and'neni Embankment. Full panorAmirof the
Late and Mountains. Newly built. 80 Beds All Modern Comforts. Meals at Separate Tables.
Beautiful View of the 'Lake from the Garden Rooms from 3 fcs. Full Pension from fcs-8.
 C. JANNETT, Proprietor.
No Winter. MADEIKA CFunchaO. No Dust.
Si DAYS' VOYAGE EftOM ENGLAND. 7 FROM NE W YORK; i
REIDS HOTELS.
(ESTABLISHED 1850.) 
By appointment to H.K.H. the late Duke of Edinburgh.
SKID'S PALACE HOTEL; and ANNEXES.-Situated on the Cliffs to the west of Funchal
on the New Road, overlooking the Sea. Grand view of the Mountains. Sea bathing andi
boating. Lift. Largest Gardens in Madeira. French Cuisine. Open all the year.
CABMO HOTEL.— In sheltered central position. ' v
These FIRST-CLASS HOTELS afford every comfort for families and travellers, giving great choice
of situation. Electric Light throughout. Tennis Courts, large gardens, baths, reading and smoking
rooms. Lounge. English, French, and German newspapers. Billiards. The S ANITA&Y arrange
ments by the BANNER SANITATION CO., LONDON. Water laid oninironpipesfroniamomitoui
source direct. All Steamers met. Pension from 9/- to 25/- per diem, according to accommodation.
REID'S MOUNT PAB.K HOTEL.- ftOOO ft. above sea.
Pamphlet Free. Apply to Messrs. 8. STRAKEK ft SONS, 22, Leadenhall Street, London : Messrs.
T. OOOK ft SON, Ludgate Circus, E.C. : THE HOTEL TARIFF BUREAU, 275, Regent Street,
London, W. ; at the STEAMSHIP COMPANIES' OFFICES ; or from W. ft A. EEJD; Madeira:
Lieber, A B C, and Unicode. Telegraphic Address :" REID, FUN CHAL."
MARIENBAD.

FIRST-CLASS ENGLISH HOUSE.
Best Position in the Town. Opposite the Springs ' ' Kreuzbrunnen "and the Bathing
Establishment. Hall. Two""Lifts. Electric Light.- Baths. Vacviuni Cleaning.
Omnibus at the Station. Best Golf Links. j
I. A. HUBRITIUS, Proprietor, Purveyor to the.Courfc
MENTONE. ; -'¦-'''
GRAND HOTEL DES ANGLAIS
ISO ROOMS. CENTRE EAST BAY.
The favourite Residence of Anglo-Americans,
Rooms and, Private Suites with Bath and Toilette attaohe'd. Entirely
Renovated in Summer, 1909. New Splendid Lounge. -Renowned Cuisine
and Cellar. Moderate Charges. Gplf, links. Restaurant." Garage.
 J. CHABASSIERE, Manager and Proprietor; ¦
MENTONE (the Pearl of the Riviera).
GRAND HOTEL DE YENISE.ET CONTINENTAL.
The leading first-class English Family Hotel in Mentone, with every up-to-date
comfort. Close to the magnificent new Casino Municipal.
 «/• SOMAZZI, Proprietor.
MENTONE.
HOTEL PRINCE DE GALLES.
English Family House. Central West Bay. Palm Garden. Every
Comfort. Moderate Charges. j. PERINO, French Proprietor;


1910.

MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER.

19 :&i

MENTONE.

HOTEL BRISTOL.
English Family House in best'
positfon. Moderate Charges,-
T. RONZI, Proprietor (Swiss).

MAPS.
The best Tourists' Maps of all parts, of
the World are kept in stock by
Mr. EBward Stanford,
12, 13, & 14, Long Acre, London, W.C.-
¦ ¦ Write static requirements.

MILAN.
PALACE HOTEL.
New First-class Hotel, right opposite Central Station. Every modern Comfort
and Luxury. Excellent Kestaurant. 150 roams, many of them with connecting Bath
and Toilette. Railway Office, Post, and Telegraph in the Hotel.
¦ ' i BUfcHER-DURRER, Proprietor (frpm Lucerne).
BRANCH HOUSES : The SEMIRAMIS, Cairo ; QCIrinai, Eome j MediteR:
ranee, Pegli ; Palace, Lugano ; Palace, Lucerne ; the Hotels Bbrohnstock and
Stanserhorn, near Lucerne.
MILAN.
HOTEL CAVOUR.
The Finest, Quietest, and Healthiest Situation in the Town/' Facing the Park.
-Every Modern Comfort Railway Booking Office in the. Hotel.
HEIRS SUARDI, Proprietors.

MILAN.

BELLINI'S
Hotel Terminus,
Place Gare Centrale.

MILAN.

HOTEL DU NORD.
, . Eirst-Glass Family Hotel.
On the Central Railway Station Square.
Every Modern Comfort.
0. GALLIA, Proprietor,

STANFORD'S NEW MAP OF THE
COUNTY OF LONDON.
On the scale of 4 ins. to 1 mile (1 : 15, 840). In twenty sheets.'attractively coloured j
size, separate sheets, 18 by 16 inches, the whole Map joined up, 84 by 57 ins;
f Thoroughly Revised and brought up to date.
Prices : Coloured Sheets, 158., flat in portfolio, 16s. ; mounted to fold in case in five
divisions, 45s. ; mounted on mahogany rollers and varnished, 45s. j mounted on
spring roller, £6 ; separate ; sheets, price One Shilling each.
., Postage, and, wher.e necessary, a packing roller, extra.
' " The best and simplest map of the capital published."— Satwrday Review.

EDWARD STANFORD, 12, 13..& 14, Long Acre, London, W.C.
Geographer to Eis Majesty the King.


1910.

MTJKBAY'S HANDBOOK ADVEBTISEB.

21

• •

PALERMO.
VILLA IfilEA" GRAND HOTEL.

Built and Furnished according to the most modem
and perfect sanitary arrangements;
THE BEST AND HEALTHIEST SITUATION.
250 BED AND PRIVATE AND PUBLIC BATHROOMS
SITTING ROOMS. ON EVERY FLOOR.
French Cuisine. American Bar. Lawn Tennis, Pigeon Shooting,
Golf Links, Roller Skating.
STANDS IN THE MIDST OF ITS OWN ENORMOUS PARK.
 ;  U. GALANTI, Manager.
PETERSBERG (Rhine).
HOTEL ON THE PETERSBERG,
One of the most beautiful Mountains of the Siebengebirge.
s .Comfortable First-class Hotel. Airy,Xodging Rooms and Saloons with a fine view.
Large Dining and Restaurant Rooms. Electric Light. Baths. Large Plateau, with
Forest and Parks a,nd beautiful shad.y Promenades. Magnificent Views in greater
variety than from any other point of the Seven Mountains. Every Wednesday
Military Free Concert.' Table d'Hote at 1 o'clock. Dinners and Suppers at any
hour. Acknowledged Gojd Cuisine and Choice Wines. Post and -Telegraph in the
house. PAUL NELLES, Manager.
Address for letters and telegrams : ltN"ELLES, Petbrsberg (Rhine)." / -
Communication with Kbnigswinter directly by. a Cog-wheel Railway.-, Corre
sponds with all trains of the State Railway and Steamers. >, j -
PETITES-DALLES (Seme Inferieure), FRANCE.
GRAND HOTEL DES BAINS.
ENTIRELY REFURNISHED.
Facing /the Sea. .Moderate Prices. Excellent Cuisine. Comfortable Booms. Salon. Garden.
Dark Room. Gratuitous Garage for Bicycles and Automobiles. Bathrooms. Horses. Carnagesv
Forest extending to the Sea. Beautiful Excursions. Post and Telegraph Office in the Hotel.
English spoken. LEBLANC, PROPRIETOR.
Communications : London— Dieppe— Cany ; or London— Havre— Cany, where Automobiles
of the Hotel are waiting every train. 

PISA.
NETTUNO HOTEL,
RESTAURANT.
Full South. Every modern comfort.
Moderate Charges.
Auto-Garage. Hot-Water Heating.

A YACHTSMAN'S GUIDE TO THE
DUTCH WATERWAYS.
By T. E. THORPE, O.B., LL.B., F.B.S.
Price 10s. 6d. net.
LONDON: EDWARD STANFORD,
12, 13, .& 14, Long Acre, "W.O.

POITIERS. 
GRAND HOTEL DE FRANCE.
tost Office, Museum, Historical Monuments, and Promenades. Speciality of Fowls and
truffledHfc Vol. all sorts. Carriages for Drives. Railway Omnibus caUs at Hotel. English
5ffi&£S X Baths. Telephone. ROBUN-BOUOHARDEAU. Proprietor. ;

PRAGUE.

HOTEL ERZHERZOG STEFAB.
Hrst-class Hotel, Wenzelsplate, centre
6 m depot. ISO rooms. 4 Krbn upwards,
no extras. Lift. Light. Steam Heat
ing. Cook's house. English spoken.

PRAGUE.
HOTEL VICTORIA.
FIRST-CLASS FAMILY HOTEL.
Electric Light in all Rooms. Very
Moderate Pension Terms.
OTTO WELZER, Proprietor.


'22 MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. May,

ROME.
HOTEL QUIRINAL.
FINEST SITUATION ON FAMOUS VIA NAZIONAL.E.
The Hotil which combines true 'home-comfort and luxury. 60 Bath
and Toilette Rooms. Fashionable Restaurant. American Bar. Splendid
Winter Garden. 'Choice Orchestra. BUCHER-DURRER, Proprietor and Manager.
Branch Houses:— The Sbmibamis, Cairo ; The MEmTEKRAWEE, Pegli* The PALACE,
1 Milan ; The Palace, Lugano ; The Palace, Lucerne ; The Hotels Burseh-
ST0CK and STANSEBHOKN, near Lucerne.
ROME.
GRAND CONTINENTAL
HOTEL.
PATRONISED BY THE ROMAN ARISTOCRACY.
One of the Largest and most Magnificent Hotels in Italy. -
Baths in all: Suites and in many separate Rooms. •
ROME.
THE SELECT HOTEL.
Every. Room has its own Private Bath and Toilet Room, and
the equipment comprises latest and most
LUXURIOUS COMFORTS AND CONVENIENCES.
Under the same Management as the GRAND CONTINENTAL
HOTEL, Rome. ROME.
GRAND HOTEL DE RUSSIE,
Via Babuino and Piazza del Popolo.
TjHRST-CLASS HOTEL, with latest Modern Comfort and
-L Improvements. Apartments -with Bathroom and Toilet.
The only one having a' very large and entirely Sunny Gardea."
Unique Position. Two Winter Gardens,
F. & L. SI LENZI, Proprietors.


191°- MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER.

28

ROME.
HOTEL IMPERIAL.
Via Veneto (Ludovisi Quarter),
FAVOURED BY THE BEST ENGLISH
SOCIETY.
Summer-: HOTEL HUNGARIA, RIMINI O/ADRIA (Sea Bath).
OPEN MAY— OCTOBER.

ROM E.
GRAND HOTEL MARINI.
First Class. Unrivalled for its healthy, quiet, and central situation.
Full South. Lift. Electric Light in every Boom.
APPARTEMENTS WITH STEAM HEATING.
(OPEN ALL TEE YEAR.)
EUGENE MARINI, Proprietor.
ROME.
MTJLLER'S HOTEL BAVARIA.
FIRST-CLASS HOUSE, with Moderate Charges. In-the best, central, and most quiet position,
Via Alihert, near Piazza di Spagna. Newly refurnished. Renowned for its goqd Cuisine. Large
and Sunny Rooms. Steam Heating and Eleefcric Light throughout. Large Dining, Ladies'„-and
Smoking Rooms. Bath. Lift. Special arrangements, for JjraK stay. Trams to any part, of the
town. Omnihus at the Station. . MULLER, Proprietor (Swiss).
" ~ ROME.
PENSION SCHWABE
(Removed from 27, Via Venti Settembre, and ffom 11, Via Victoria Colonna),
15, VIALE GIULIO CESARE.
Central position.' Electric Light. Special arrangements lor prolonged stay. Open
the whole year.- Address : Miss MATHILDE A. SCHWABE.
ROME.
SAVOY HOTEI.,
15, VIA LUDOVISI.
¦pASHIONABLE MBST-CLA8S FAMILY HOTEL, situated in the healthiest and highest part
j! of Koine, near the Gardens and. opposite Quean Margheritft's Residence. Modern.
Comfort. Special arrangements for Families. Private Bathrooms. ChaufCage Central^
Beetaurant F.ancais. ^ 1ENGVE1., Proprietor and Hanagsr,


26

MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER.

May,

SPA.
GRAND HOTEL BELLE YUE,
First Class. Magnificent Situation on the Promenade. Near the
Royal residence, the. Park and Baths. Beautiful Garden. Omnibus at
the Station. Modern Comfort. . . Garage Automobile.
Telegrams : "Beu.e Vue. Spa." Telephone: No. 34.. -
SPA (Belgium).
The Oldest Mineral Ferruginous Water Place in Europe.
GRAND HOTEL DE L'EUROPE.
First-class Hotel. Magnificent Situation. If ear the Springs, Kursaal,_and English
¦Church. Highly recommended. Omnibus at the Station to meet every train. Large
Garage for Motor Cars Free. Telephone No. 28. HENRARD-SCHALTIN; Proprietor.
STypTGART.
hotel ivi^:r,ci,tt^:fmdt.
Direct Entrance from the Railway Station,
FINEST POSITION IN TOWN. SPLENDID NEW BUILDING. FIRST CLASS. 300 ROOMS.
Electric Light. Central Heating. Elevators. Vacuum Cleaner.
Rooms from 4 Marks upwards. Breakfast Included.
APARTMENTS WITH BATH. H. & O. MARQTTARDT. _j
SUSTENPASS (Oberland-Gotthard).
HOTEL PENSION STEINGLETSCHER.
1,866 metres above sea. Eight near the Glacier. „ In the
midst of a wonderful Alp Landscape. Surrounded by a
wreath of the Giants of High Mountains. Electric Light and
¦'' Heating. Pension from 7 to li fcs.
Family J OSS I, Proprietors.

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First-class Hotel. Suitable for Families.
Special Arrangements for the "Winter.
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12, 13, & H, Long Ackk, London, W.C.

NOW READY.
ASTRONOMICAL

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In wooden box, with complete instructions for use. - -' r' •
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32 MURRAY'S HANDB00^5U,By-Ij!BeBEa— ^May, 1910.
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THE ARABIC LANGUAGE.
By H. R. HALL.

The dominant language of Egypt and the Sudan is Arabic, a
member of the Semitic family of tongues, to which Hebrew
belongs. In Egypt, as far south as Daraw, Arabic alone is
spoken, both by the fellahin, whose original language was
Ancient Egyptian, and by the Northern Desert Arabs (of Sinai,
&c), whose own language it is. It was introduced into Egypt
by the Muhammedan conquerors in the Vllth. century a.d.,
and by the XVIth century had succeeded in entirely supplant
ing Coptic, the descendant of Ancient Egyptian,
The modem colloquial Egyptian dialect of Arabic has been
considerably influenced by the fact that it is spoken by a people
to whom it does not really belong. Tlie natural result is seen
in the simplification of many of the characteristically complicated
guttural and aspirated sounds of ancient Arabic, which were
difficult for the Egyptian, used to simpler sounds, to pronounce.
Also one finds in Egypt various turns of expression which are
evidently borrowed from old Egyptian, as well as many Egyptian
words. The traveller who has learnt Syrian Arabic will often
be nonplussed by the different expressions and sounds that he
will meet with in Egypt: but he who has learnt the language
in Algeria will feel more at home in Egypt than in Syria. For
example, "bread" is in Syrian Arabic khubz, in Egyptian it is
l<esh, and the Egyptian puts the word ehi "what?" at the end
of a sentence : t'amil eh 1 " what are you doing ? " whereas the
Syrian would say, Ssh t'amtt? Esh? is the proper Arabic word
for " what ? " (distinguish from 'esh, " bread ") : the Egyptian
word eh? is a survival of the ancient Egyptian eh ? (akh ?),


THE ARABIC LANGUAGE 7
The Definite Article in Arabic is the word al or el (see above).
The form is the same for singular, dual, and plural words. Before
t, th (s), d, dh (z), r, z, s, »h, s, t, d, n, the Z-sound is elided or
" assimilated," so we say ed-Per (" the monastery "), ez-zahr, (" the
flower "), en-nasr, (" the victory "), &c, but write el-Der, &c.
The Indefinite Article is expressed by the word wdhid, fem.
wahda, "one."
Nouns are of masculine or femiuine gender. The latter usually
terminate in a. There iB a dual, as well as plural form. The dual
is always expressed by the additional syllable -en (masc), -ten
(fern.) ; the plural usually either by the addition of -en (mascu
line), -it (feminine), or by an internal change in the word ; such
plurals are called " broken." Words ending in -i often make
their plural -iya ; others endiDg in -a merely drop the a. There are
a large number of irregular plurals as well. Thus the word
muzeyyin, " barber," makes the regular plural muzeyyinin; 'ara-
biya (fem.), " carriage " makes the regular plural 'arabiyid ; the
duals of these two words will be muzeyyinen, " two barbers," 'arabi-
yaten, " two carriages." The word 'arbagi, " coachman," however,
forms its plural 'arbagiya, and other words ending in -i do the
same. It is the shorter words that usually make a " broken "
plural : " man " is thus rdgil, " two men," rdgilen, but " men," the
plural, riggala. The plural of kelb, " dog," is kildb ; of sanduk,
" box," sanddik ; of muftdh, " key," mafdtih ; of sdhib, " friend,"
ashdb (s and h separate, not sh). This will show the nature of the
" broken plurals," which are often of unexpected form, and are
difficult to remember. Of irregular plurals such an example as
imdn, " person," plur. nds, " people," will suffice. Of the plurals
formed by dropping the final syllable of a word ending in -a may
be quoted hamdma, " pigeon," plur. ha/mdm (not to be confounded
with hdmmdm, which means " bath," plur. hdmmdmut), or kazdza,
" bottle," pi. kazdiz, in which there is an internal change as well.
The plurals are difficult, but their correct use is a great sign of
proficiency in talking Arabic. The traveller should get his servant
or dragoman to tell him the proper plurals of ordinary words.
Pronouns. I, ana ; thou, ente ; he, huwa ; she, hiya ; we,
efyna ; ye, entum ; they, hum.
Possessives are expressed by affixes : -i (-ya), -7c, -ik (-lei), -uh (-7»),
(-ha), -na, -kum, -hum, e.g. dbui (abuya), abulc, abiid, abuh, abuha,
abuna, abulcum, abuhum : my, thy (masc), thy (fem.), his, her, our,
your, their, father.
The Pronominal affixes are similar : e.g. dardb-ni, -all, -ik, -uh,
-ha, -na, -kum, -lium. " He. struck me, thee, him, her, us, you,
them."


10

THE ARABIC LANGUAGE

200, r.

miten.

6000,

• sittdldf.

300, r.

tultemiya.

7000,

¦ saba'tdldf.

400, !••

rub'amiya.

8000,

¦ temdntdldf.

500,

khumsemiya.

9000, »•¦

• tisa'tdldf.

600,

suttemiya.

10,000, '-,•

¦ 'dshera elf.

700,

sub'amiya.

20,000, r.,..

• 'ishrin elf.

800,

tunvnemiya.

100,000, ......

• mit elf.

900, i ¦

tus'umiya.

200,000, r..,.

¦ miten elf.

1000, !••

alf.

300,000, r..,.

¦ tultemiyat

2000, r..

alfeii.

did f

3000, r..

telatdldf, &c.

1,000,000, i,--.,-

¦ milyun.

4000, f..

arba'tdldf.

¦ milyunen.

5000,

kliamastdldf.

3,000,000, r,...,.

¦ ¦ teluta milyun

Once, marra u-ahda, wdhid ndba ("one time").
Twice, marraten.
Thrice, teldt marrdt.
Four times, arba' marrdt, &a.

Those who wish to learn the language of the country should
use the following books : A Grammar of the Modem Egyptian
Dialect of Arabic, by K. Vollers, translated by F. C. Burkitt
(University Press, Cambridge, 1895); The Egyptian Travelling
Interpreter, by Gabriel Sacroug (Cairo, 1874); Vocabulary, English-
Arabic, by Col. G, T. Plimkett (Cairo and London, 2nd edit.,
1S96); An Arabic-Engluli Vocabulary of the Colloquial Arabic of
Egypt, by Socrates Spiro (Cairo and London, Quaritch, 1895);
Willmore's Spdlien Arabic of Egypt (London, 1901); and Dirr's
Colloquial Egyptian Arabic Grammar (London : Henry Frowde,
1904, price 4s. net.). For those who wish to study the language
scientifically, Spitta-Bey's Grammatik des arabischen Vuhj'dr-
dialeides von Aegypten (Leipzig, Hinrichs, 1880) is indispensable.


12

ENGLISH-ARABIC VOCABULARY

Another, wahid tdni.
Answer (subst.), rad. You are
answerable for, glzemak.
Ant, namla, pi. naml.
Antiquities, anWca. Have you
any antiquities? fi 'andalc
antihdt ?
Ape, kird, pi. kurucl.
Apostle, rasul.
Appear. It appears, bayin.
Appetite, shahiya.
Apple, teffahah, pi. teffdh.
Apricots, mishmish.
Arab (i.e. of the desert). Beddwi,
pi. Bedu'w. An Arab chief,
shelch, el-' Arab.
Arabic, 'Arabi. In Arabic, bi'l
'Arabi.
Archbishop, reyyis asdkfa.
Archpriest, Mmmiis.
Arm (of man), dra'.
Arms (weapons), sildh.
Army, 'dskar.
Around (see Round).
As, se.
Ashes, nimdd.
Asp. Horned asp, hei bi'l-
kurun.
Ass, homdr, pi. 7/amir,
Ask (v.), essdl, saal. To ask
for, etlub.
At, fi, 'and.
Autumn, 7tharlf.
Awake (v.a.), sahlfi. Awake,
adj. sdhheli.
Awl, malchruz.
Awning (of boat, etc.), tenda.
Side awning, berdesol, pi.
berdesoldt ; awning over dalia-
biya windows, sitdra ; put
up the awning, ifrid et-tenda.
Axe, balta. Pickaxe, kazma.
Back, dahr. Back of the neck,
kafa ; back-stream (eddy),
shimiya.

Bad, battdl.
Bag, his. Travelling - bag,
shenta; where is my bag?
esh-shenta betd'i fen?
Baker, khabbdz.
Balcony (on dahabiya), Icabana.
Bananas, mdz.
Bank (of river), barr, shatt. The
other bank(across the stream),
barr et-tdni.
Baptism, ta'mid, tansir.
Baptize, 'ammid, nassar.
Barber, mmeyyin, lidlldk.
Bark (v.), hdbhdb, nabdli.
Bark (subst.), kishr.
Barley, sha'ir.
Barrel, barmil.
Basket, muktdf (pi. malcatif),
zambil. Large basket, sebet;
basket for hens, kdfas.
Basin, tisht. Slop-basin, sul-
taniya.
Bat, watwat, pi. watawit.
Bath, hammam.
Bathe (v.), istahdmma.
Battle, harb.
Beads, kharaz, kafur. String
of beads (carried by Moslems),
sibha.
Beans, (native), jftM.
Bear (support, v.), istahmil.
Bearer, rdfa', hamlu.
Beard, dakn. His beard, daknu.
Beat (v.), idrub. Do not beat
(the ass), mdtidrubush (el-
Iwmdr).
Beauty, 7mwdsa.
Beautiful, kuwdyyis.
Because, 'alashdn, minsltdn.
Become (v.), ibka, yigi.
Bed, fersli. Bedstead (native),
serir.
Bee, nahia, pi. nahl.
Beef, lalim bakari.
Beer, birra.
Beetle, go'rdn, 7ihunfin.
Before (place), kudddm.


ENGLISH- ARABIC VOCABULARY

13

Before (time), kabl.
Beg (v.), ishat.
Beggar, shahdt.
Beginning, dwwal.
Behind, warra.
Belaying-pin, shem'a.
Believe, 'amin. I do not believe,
ma-aseddek-shi.
Bell, geras. Church-bell, nakas.
Belly, batn.
Belonging to, beta', fem. betd'et,
pi. butu'. This belongs to me,
di betd'i.
Below, taht.
Bench, mastaba, dikka.
Bend. A bend of the river,
kiydm.
Bend (v.), etni, intenni.
Bent (crooked), metni, mu'aw-
wag.
Beside, ghayr, lcheldf.
Besides (except), ilia, il'.
Best, the best, el-ahsan.
Better, ahsan, kher. You had
better do so, ahsan t'dmil
lieda.
Between, ben.
Beyond, ba'd, warra, (i.e. be
hind).
Bible, kitdb al-mukaddis.
Bicycle, 'agala.
Big, kebir. Bigger, akbar.
Bill (account), hesdb.
Bird. Large bird, ter; small
bird, asfur.
Bishop, uskuf, pi. asdlcfa.
Bit (piece), hetta.
Bit (horse's), legdm.
Bite (v.), 'add or 'add.
Bitter, murr.
Black, iswed, fem. sdda.
Blacking, buya.
Blacksmith, hadddd.
Blade, sildh.
Blanket, lierdm, battaniya.
Blind, a'ma, pi. a'midn.
BJood, dam.

Blow, derba.
Blow (v.), infukh.
Blue, azralc. Light blue, fatih,
genzdi ; purple blue, udi ; sky
blue, samdwi.
Blunt, mutallem.
Boar, wild, hall&f.
Boat, feluka, sanddl. Ship's
boat, me~rlceb, sefina.
Boatman, nuti, maralcebi.
Body, gesm.
Boil (v.), iglili. He boiled, salak.
Boiled (of water), mughli ;
boiled (of meat), masluk.
Bolt. Bolt the door, ukk el-
bdb.
Bone, adma, pi. ddm,
Book, 7-dtdb, pi. Icutub.
Boot, gnzma, pi. gazm.
Both, 'l-etnen.
Bottle, kezdzali. Earthen bottle
(for water), kulla, dorak.
Bow, kds. Bow and arrows, kds
u-nishab.
Bowl, kussa.
Box, sanduk, pi. sanddik, 'ilba.
Boy, weled, pi. ulad. Donkey-
boy, hammdr.
Braces. Raise the braces (on
dahabiya), rdba' el-mesasin.
Brain, m67c7i, demdgh.
Brandy, 'aralti, kunydlc.
Brass, nahds.
Brave, sugd'.
Bread, 'esli. Loaf of bread, ra-
ghif; bring some bread, gib
shweyat 'esh.
Breadth, 'ard7i. Breadth (ex
tent), icdsa'.
Break (v.), i7csur. He broke,
7casar ; broken, malcsur ;
broken (of a rope), maktu.
Breakfast, futur. Is breakfast
ready? futur hdder? bring
the breakfast, hat el-futur.
Breast, sudr.
Breath, nefes.


Missing Page


18

ENGLISH-ARABIC VOCABULARY

Drop (subst), nulcta.
Drown, eghrtik, gherrak.
Druggist, agzagi ; druggist's
shop, abteJciya.
Drunken, sa7crdn.
Dry, ndshef.
Dry (v. a.), nashshif.
Duck, batta.
Dust, turdb.
Each (every one), 7cv.ll wdhid.
Ear, widn.
Early, bedri ; very early, bedri-
bedri ; call me early, sahhini
bedri.
Earth, ard.
East, sherlc ; Eastern, sherki,
sherkiya.
Easy, sahl.
Eat, dkul ; I have eaten, dkalt.
Eddy, shimiya.
Edge, tarf; edge (of a sword,
etc.), had, tarf.
Egg, bed ; a couple of eggs,
beden.
Egypt, Misr.
Elbow, few'.
Electricity, kahrubd-iya; elec
tric light, nur kahrubd'i.
Elephant, fil.
Else. There is nothing else,
mafihsh hdga ghdyru.
Embankment, gisr.
Emerald, zvmitrrud.
, Empty (adj.), fddi, fdrigh.
Empty Qv.),ferregh.
Engineer, malidndiz.
English, Ingliz ; I am an
Englishman, ana Inglizi.
Enough 1 bass ! yikdffl, ! It is
enough, ilcfi, yikfi,jih ziyada.
Enter, idkhol, Ichosh ; entering,
kdlchil.
Entrance, dukliul.
Equal to, dla kadd, yesdwi ;
equal to each other (alike),
kadd-e-ba'd, zebd'du.

Eucharist, kurbdn.
European, Ifrangi (i.e. Frank).
Even (level), mesawi.
Evening, mesa, ashiya ; good
evening, mesa eVkheir.
Every, kiill; Everyone (all),
hill wdhid, kiilluhum ; every
where, fi hull mdtrah ; every
moment, hull es-sa'.
Evil, rddi.
Ewe, na'ga.
Exactly, temdm (i.e. perfect) ;
Exactly like it, zein sdwa.
Examination, imtihdn.
Example. For example, ma-
saldn.
Excavate, efhdt
Excavation,/aM(usually spoken
of as " el-ishtdghal " or " es7»-
sliughl," "the work").
Excellency. Your excellency,
sa'adtak (i.e. " your blessed
ness "), sd-adatkum.
Excellent, 'azim.
Except (adv.), ilia.
Exchange, bddil, ghayyar.
Excuse. Excuse me (1 beg par
don), ma'alesli, mdtekhiznish.
Eye, 'ain, pi. Hyyun; Eyeball,
7:abbetel-'ain ; eyebrow, hdgeb,
pi. hou-dgib ; eyelash, rimsh ;
eyelid, gifn; one-eyed, a'tcar.

Face, roishsli.
Fair (tolerable), mendseb.
Faith (creed), shahdda, din.
Faithful, mumdn, pi. mumdnin.
Fall (v.), woka'. He (it) will
fall, yitoka' ; don't fall, ma'-
tola'sli.
False (lying), 7;adddb.
Family, His family, d}il beta,
alilu.
Fan, merwdha.
Far, bu'id ; farther, dba'd. How
far from this ? kadd eh min


ENGLISH-ARABIC VOCABULARY

19

Mna'f how far is it? kfidd
ehbatd?
Fare. TVhat is the fare? el-'Ugra
ham?
Farewell ! ma'saldma !
Farm, 'ezba..
Fat (adj.), semin.
Fat (subst.), tfialim, dehn.
Father, ab, abu. His father,
abuli ; her father, abuha.
Fatigue, ta'b, ta'bdn.
Fault. It is not my fault, md-
lish zemb, mdlish da'wa ; it is
his fault, ez-zemb 'aleli.
Favour (kindness). Do me the
favour, 'dmil ma'ruf.
Fear, 7c7iqY; I fear, ana dkliaif.
Feather, rts7ia, pi. risTs (feather-
brush).
Female, unseh.
Fender (on boats), firmila (fir-
mildt).
Ferry, ma'addtya.
Field, gliet
Fig, Una, pi. tin.
Fight (v.), ektel, hdreb.
Fight (subst), ketdl, harb.
File, mubred.
Fill (v.), imla.
Filter, zin.
Find (v.), ellca.
Finger, subd'. Fore-finger, es7i-
shdhed ; middle finger, subd'
el-wustdni; fourth finger, beyn
el-asdbi' ; little finger, 7chan-
sur, klmnser.
Finish ! (have done !) ilclilas !
It is finished, khalds.
Fire, mar ; fire (live coal), bussa,
busset-nar, gumr; to fire (a
gun), idrub (bundukiya).
Firewood, 7iatab.t
Firm (hard), gamit
First. The first, el-dwwal; at
first, dwwelan; when first I
came, awwal ma jgayt.
Fish, samalca, pi. samak.

Flag, bandera.
Flat, mebuttut.
Flax, kettdn.
Flea, barglmt, pi. bardghit.
Flesh, lahm.
Flies (subst.), debbdn.
Flint, suwdn.
Flour, dakik.
Flower, zahra, nawdr (blossoms).
Fly-flap, menashsha, nesbdsha.
Fly (v.), tir.
Fog, shabura.
Food, did.
Fool, mat/nun ; I am not a fool,
ana musli magnun.
Foot, rigl.
For, minslidn, 'ala-shdn.
Forbidden, mamnu'a. God for
bid ! istdghfir Alldh !
Forehead, kura ; lower part of
forehead, gebin.
Foreign, barrdni, gharib. The
Foreign Office, diwdn el-khar-
giya.
Forenoon, ddha, awwal ed-duhr.
Forged (spurious), muzauwer.
Forget (v.), insa. I forgot, ana
nesit; do not forget, ma tin-
sdsh.
Forgive. Forgive me, mdtd-
khiznish, md'lesh.
Fork, shdka.
Formerly, min zemdn, min
kabla.
Fouutain, /esfei'j/a, sebil.
Fowl, farkha, dik.
Fox, fa'?e&.
Free, horr.
Frenchman, Fransdwwi, pi.
Fransiya.
Fresh (new), gedid.
Fresh (of fruit), tdza ; fresh
(sweet) water, mdiya hilwa.
Friend, sdheb, liabib, refik.
From, min.
Fruit, fowdka.
Fuel, wekid.


20

ENGLISH-ARABIC VOCABULARY

Full, malydn.
Furl (of sails), Umm.
Gallop, (v.), ermah.
Garden, ginena, pi. ginneyin ;
bostdn, pi. busatin.
Gardener, geneni ; gardener who
irrigates, Ichdli.
Garlic, turn.
Gate ^door), bob, pi. abwdb,
bibdn.
Gazelle, gliazdl.
Generous. He is generous,
idv. maftuh (i.e. " his hand is
open ").
Gentlemanly, latif, zerif.
Gently, bi'shwesh.
German, Nimsdwwi.
Get. Get up, kiLm ; get up,
men ! kumu, ya nds ! fiz !
Gift, bakhshish, hediya.
Gilt, meddhab.
Gimlet, barima.
Ginger, genzabil.
Girdle, liezdm.
Girl, bint, pi. bendt.
Give, iddi, 'ddi.
Glad, ferhdn ; to be glad, efrah.
Glass, kubbdya ; pane of glass,
bannur.
Glove, guanti (Ital.)
Glue, ghira.
Gnat (mosquito), namusa, pi.
namus.
Go, ruli ; going, raih ; gone,
rah ; I am going, ana rei ; I
went, ana ruht; he is gone,
huwa rail ; to go in, idlchul
going in (part), dakhel
going in (subst.), dokhul ; to
go out, ikhrug, etla' ; do not
go out, ma-tetla'sh bdrra ; go !
(get away 1 get out !) imshi !
ruah 1 etla' bdrra ! go on,
yalla ! (i.e. ya Allah !) ; go
faBt, suk, imshi, (in sailing),
mdshi ; go slowly, 'dla muhlak

• (mahdlkum) ; (in sailing), shdr
'oleic ; go backwards (in sail
ing), imu.
Goat (kid), may'za, fem. 'anza.
God (our Lord), Allah (Bab-
buna) ; a god or deity, ildh
(as Id ildha il 'Allah, there is
no deity but God); a god, idol,
sendni.
Gold, ddhab.
Good, tayyib. Good-bye 1 'al'-
Alldh! (or ichatrdkl); good
gracious ! yd sdldm.
Goose, wizza, pi. wizz.
Gradual (little by little), slvwe-
ya-shweya, bishwesh, bi'lmel.
Grain (or pill), habba.
Grand, 'azim.
Granite (syenite), hagar aswdn.
Grape, 'anb, pi. 'enab.
Grave (subst), turba, pi. turob.
Grease, zafar, shahm.
Great, kebir, pi. kubdr ; greater,
akbar ; greatest, el-akbar.
Greek, Mumi.
Green, dlchdar, fem. 7c7iddra.
Greet, sellim. Greeting ! sola-
mat.
Grind, it-7ian.
Groom, sHyis.
Grotto, maghdra.
Ground (subst), ard.
Guard (keeper), ghafir, pi.
ghufara.
Guide (subst.), lchabir, dalil.
Guilty. . He is not guilty, ma
lush zemb.
Gum, samgh.
Gun, bundukiya.
Gunpowder, barud.
Gust (of wind), shurd, pi. s7»o-
rud.

Hair, sha'r.
Half, nuss; in halves, nusen.
Halt (v.), wulcaf.


ENGLISH-ARABIC VOCABULARY

25

Mosque, gdma', miisged (from
siged, to bow down).
Mosquito, namusa, pi. namus;
mosquito-net, namusiya.
Most. At most, at the utmost,
nahditu.
Moth (clothes'), Htt'a.
Mother, Umm.
Mother-of-pearl, sadaf.
Mound, kdm.
Mountain, gibel, pi. gebdl.
Mount (ascend), etla' fdk.
Mount (ride), erlcab.
Moustache, smneb.
Mouth, fiimm.
Move (r.o.), kawwim.
Move, shake (v.n.), hizz.
Much, ketir ; more, alitar.
Mud, wald.
Mug, kuz.
Museum, antikhdna.
Musk, mislc.
Must. You must, lazim, Idzim-
lak.
Mustard, khardal, mostarda.
Mutton, lahma dhdni.
My, betd'i, fem. betd-ti. My
mare, fards betd'ti; my son,
ibni.
Nail (subst), musmdr, pi. ma-
samir.
Nail (v.), sammer.
Naked, 'aridn, malt.
Name, ism. What is your name ?
ismalc eh ? what is the name
of this ? di ismu (ismahi) eh ?
Napkin, futa, pi. fuat.
Narrow, deyyik.
Near, kuraiyyib' (kreb) ; nearer,
akrab.
Neat (elegant), zerif.
Necessary. It is necessary Idzim,
e'lzim.
Neck, akaba.
Necklace, 'ukd.
Needle, ibra, pi. ubar.

Negro, 'abd ("slave").
Neighbour, gdr, girdn.
Neither, wala wdhed wala et-tdni
(" neither one nor the other ").
Net, shabeha.
Never, abiddn. Never mind,
ma'lesh.
New, gedid.
News. Have you any news?
'dndak hhtibar eh ?
Newspaper, gurndl, pi. garanil.
Next, et-tdni, 'ala-gdnbu (i.e.
" at its side ") ; next month,
esh-shahr illi gai.
Night, lei, pi. leydl ; goodnight!
ledak sa'ida.
Nitre, sebalch.
No, Id.
Noble (prince), s7*eri/, amir, pi.
umara.
Noise. Don't make a noise,
matza'aksh.
Nor, wala.
North, shemdli, bdhri.
Nose, munhhar, anf, nazla.
Not, mush, ma  s7i (ne 
pas) ; not so, mush keda.
Nothing (none), ma fihsh lidga ;
for nothing, baldsh.
Now, dilwdkti.
Number (subst), nimra; a great
number, 7cettr If dun (Cairenes
pronounce 'owi).
Number (count, v.), dhseb, 'edd.
Numbers, the, el-a'ddd (See
pages 9, 10).
Nurse, dddd (Turk.), mordha a.
Nut, benduk ; walnut, gdza.
Oar, makddf, pi. makadif.
Oath, yamin.
Ocean, el-balir el-melh.
Offended. Do not be offended,
ma-takhodshi 'aJa khdiralc. ^
Often (many times), 7cetir' noba,
kdm nbbal (i.e; how many
times !) ketirdn.


ENGLISH-ARABIC VOCABULARY

29

Rose, ward; rose-water, moycd
el-ward; attar of roses, 'itr
el-ward.
Rough, khishin.
Round (adj.), muddwwer ; round
about (around), hawalen.
Rouse (v.), kaivwem.
Rowing-seat, bank.
Rowlock, ishkirmat
Royal, sultdni.
Rudder (tiller), daffa. Fix the
tiller, urbut ed-daffa.
Euins, khardba ; ruins of a
temple, birba, khardba ; are
there any ruins (ancient monu
ments) here ? fi birba hina ?
Run (v.), igri; to run (as a
liquid), khdrr.
Rust, suda.

Sack, zelciba, his.
Sacrament, sirr, pi. asrdr.
Saddle (horse's), serg, pi. surdg ;
camel's saddle, shdghir,
hawiya (pad for loads) ;
donkey's saddle, berda'a ;
dromedary's saddle, malchlufa;
saddle-bag, khurg.
Sail (subst), kaV, komdsh (i.e.
cloth) ; small sail, belek6n.
Sailor(of aboat), nuti, mardkabi.
Saint, kaddis, mari (in titles, as
Mdri Girgis, St. George).
Sale. For sale, Vel-bai'.
Salt (adj.), mdlah.
Salt (subst), melh.
Same. The same, bardu, pi.
bdrduhum ; all the same, it
doesn't matter, ze bardu.
Sand, ram7.
Sandal, na'l.
Sandbank, tamiya.
Sash, hezdm.
Saw (subst.), minshdr.
Say (t>.), kul, kallim ; what do
you say ? betkul eh ?

Scarab, isgereb.
Scarlet, werdi.
School, medrdsa, pi. meddris
Agricultural School (College),
madrdset ez-zira'a; School of
Law, madrdset el-hukuk;
School of Medicine, madrdset
et-tibb ; Preparatory School,
el - madrd&a et - tag - hiziya ;
Primary School, madrdset el-
mubtadiydn ; Polytechnic
School, madrdset el-mahdndiz-
khdna.
Scissors, makds.
Scold (v.), klidnik.
Scorpion, 'agrab.
Screw, barima.
Scribe, kdtib.
Sea, 6a7ir, bahr el-melh.
Seal (impression), khitm.
Search (v.),fettish.
Search (inspection), teftish ; in
spector, mufettish.
Second (of time), tdni.
Second (in order), et-tdni (" the
other ").
See, shuf.
Seeds, bizr.
Seek for, dawwar 'ala.
Send, e~rsel, ba't; to send for,
b'at '1-.
Separate (one from another,
v.), ifrid.
Sergeant, shawesh.
Servant, khadddm.
Serve (v.), ikhdem.
Sew (v.), hhayyat.
Shade (subst), dill.
Shadow, khiydl.
Shallow. Shallow water, 'dli,
Shave (¦».), ahlik ; he shaved,
halldic.
Shawl, shdl.
She, hiya.
Sheep, ghdnam (pi.); ewe,na'ga;
ram, lcharuf.
Sheet, mildya.


ENGLISH-ARABIC VOCABULARY

33

Truck (railway), 'drabiya.
True, sahih, dughri.
Trunk (portmanteau), sanduk.
Trustworthy, amin.
Try (test, v.), garreb.
Tub, mastilla.
Turban, 'emma.
Turk, Turki, Osmdnli.
Turkey, farlcha Rumi (" Greek
fowl ").
Turn (v.), ddwwer ; turning,
ddwrdn.
Turquoise, farusi.
Twice, marraten, nobaten.
Twist (v.), ibrum.

Ugly, wdhesh.
Umbrella, sTiemsiya; open the
umbrella, iftah esh-shemsiya.
Uncle, amm; uncle (mother's
brother), lchdl.
Under, taht
Understand. Do you under
stand ? fehimt ? tifliimt '? I
understand, fdhim.
Undo (untie, v.),fulck, hill.
Uneven. Unevfen bottom (in
sailing), hadab.
Until, lihad,, hatta.
Up (upon),/<5fe.
Upper, fokdni.
Use. It is of use, yinfa' ; it is
of no use, ma yinfctsh.
Used (worn, second-hand), mes-
ta'mel.
Usury, ribd.

Valley, wddi.
Value (price), temen.
Vapour (steam), bokhdr.
Vegetables (green), khoddr.
Very, kdwi ; very large, kebir
kdwi.
Violet, benefsig.
Vinegar, Ichall,

Virgin, 'adra ; Virgin- Mary,
sitta Maryam el-'Adra.
Vocabulary, kdmus.
Voyage, safer.
Vulture, ra7chdma, nisi;
Wages, 'iigra; what wages do
yoii want? 'duz ledm 'iigra?
What is the pay of the
donkey ? 'ugret el-homdr kdm ?
Waist, khasr,
Wait (stop, v.), usbur, istdnna ;
wait for me, istanndni, u;bur-
li ; wait for him, istdnnu.
Wake (v.a.), sahi.
Wake (v.n.), is-hi.
Walk (v.), imshi; walking,
mdshi ; take a walk, itfe'ssih ;
a walk, fasdh.
Walking- board (round daha
biya), mamslia.
Wall, binydn ; het, pi. hetdn ;
wall (round a town), sur.
Walnut, gdza.
Want (v.), I want, ana 'duz, ana
arid ; I do not want, ana
mush 'duz; I want nothing,
mush 'duz hdga ; we want,
'duzin ; what do you want ?
'duz eh?
War, 7<ar& ; Minister of War,
ndzir el-harbiya.
Warm, sukhn ; lukewarm, ddfi.
Warn, nabbih 'ala.
Was («. to be). I was, hunt,
ana k-dnt ; he (it) was, lean ;
she was, Icanet ; we were,
kunna ; you were, kiintum,
ktlntn ; they were, kdnu.
Wash (v.), ighsil ; take the
clothes to be washed, waddi
el-hedum lil-ghasil.
Watch (timepiece), s'l'a.
Water (subst), mdiya ; fresh
water, mdiya helwa; rain
water (pool of), magdra ; small
basin of water, mesdyk ; basin