LITT.D. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/cookshandbookfor00budg_1 COOK’S HANDBOOK FOR EGYPT AND THE EGYPTIAN sudAn. WITH CHAPTERS ON EG YPTIAN ARCHsEOLOG Y. Sir E. A. WALLIS BUDGE, M.A., Litt.D., D.Litt., D.Lit., F.S.A., etc. KEEPER OF THE EGYPTIAN AND ASSYRIAN ANTIQUITIES IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. FOURTH EDITION. WITH 9 MAPS AND 182 PLANS AND ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT London : THOS. COOK & SON, LUDGATE CIRCUS, E.C. SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO., LTD. OFFICES OF THOS. COOK & SON-< (EGYPT), LIMITED: '"Cairo : Near Shepheard’s PIotel. Alexandria : Place Mohamet Ali. Port Said : Near Continental Hotel. Assouan, Halfa, Ismailia, Khartoum, Luxor, etc. 1921. [All rights reserved .] HARRISON AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HIS MAJESTY ST, MARTIN’S LANE, LONDON, W.C. 2. research library PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION. ♦ In 1886, after hearing some lectures which I gave that year in Aswan, my friend, the late Mr. J. M. Cook, asked me to write a short description of the principal Egyptian monuments on the Nile as far south as the Second Cataract, for the use of those who travelled in Egypt under the special arrange- ments made by Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son. Following the general suggestions which he made, I prepared a description of the most important ancient Egyptian remains, and it appeared in 1888-9 i n the form of a small octavo volume entitled “The Nile: Notes for Travellers.” This little work dealt exclusively with the temples and tombs on the Nile between the Mediterranean and the foot of the Second Cataract, a few miles to the south of Wadi Halfah. It made no attempt to describe all Egypt and Nubia, and in no way laid claim to be a “ Guide ” to Egypt. The increase in facilities for visiting ancient sites in Egypt, the quickened progress of archaeological research in that country, and the rapid development of its resources under British rule, made it necessary to enlarge from time to time my “ Notes for Travellers.” Mr. J. M. Cook spared no expense in having the text revised for each edition and brought up to date, and the work grew larger and larger, until, in the Twelfth Edition (which appeared in 1913), it contained nearly 1,000 pages. My “Notes for Travellers” seemed to fill a want. Messrs. Cook gave a copy of the book to every traveller who went up the Nile on their large and comfortable steamers, and in spite of a 2 iv PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION. the numerous applications for copies and pressing offers to purchase which have been made to Messrs. Cook in London and Cairo, they have kept the book “ out of the trade,” and have never parted with a copy for payment. Now, there remained a great deal of information about places and monuments off the beaten track which could not be compressed into the “ Notes for Travellers,” and as demands for a Guide to Egypt which could be purchased became more numerous and insistent, Messrs. Cook decided to issue a “Handbook for Egypt and the Egyptian Sfidan,” with new maps and plans and illustrations. The carrying out of this work was entrusted to my hands, and the present volume is the result. In preparing this Handbook I have endeavoured to include the principal facts relating to all the ancient monuments in the Nile Valley between the Mediterranean Sea and Khartum. Where necessary, brief descriptive paragraphs, chiefly of an historical character, have been added. In this edition full accounts of the routes to Mount Sinai, Jerusalem, the Natron Valley and the Oases in the Western Desert, Port Sfidan, Kfiser and Berenice on the Red Sea, and an Itinerary of the Nile Valley from Khartum to Sennaar, and from Khartum to the great Equatorial Lakes, have been added. In the Introduction (pp. 1-27) will be found a mass of practical information for travellers and a series of suggestions which should be carefully studied by those who intend to travel in Egypt. These suggestions are the outcome of the great experience of Messrs. Cook, and in drawing them up I have had the benefit of their invaluable assistance. Travellers in Egypt owe the ease and comfort which they now enjoy in journeying through the country entirely to the efforts of Messrs. Cook, who were the first to organize the tourist system and to make the antiquarian marvels of Egypt available to all classes. PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION. V They have spared neither pains nor money in perfecting their arrangements for travellers, and seize promptly every oppor- tunity of placing at the disposal of those who travel under their care the advantages of rapid and comfortable transit inaugurated by British enterprise. The experience of their officials is unrivalled, and on all questions concerning travel they impart full information to all enquiries freely and courteously. This Handbook is divided into Five Parts. Part I pp. (28- 118) contains a description of the land of Egypt in ancient and modern times ; of the Nile and its sources, and its Cataracts and Barrages ; of the modern Egyptians and their religions and manners and customs ; and of the Government of Egypt, Trade, Revenue, &c. Part II (pp. 119-347) describes the Delta, Alexandria, Port Sa‘id, Suez (Suwez) and the Suez Canal, Cairo, Heliopolis, Memphis, Sakkarah, and the Coptic and Arab buildings of Cairo and Fustat. In this Part too are included excursions from Cairo to the Fayyftm, Damietta, Siwah, and the other Oases, Jerusalem and Sinai. Part III (pp. 348-541) deals with all the principal antiquities from Cairo to Wadi Halfah ; and Part IV (pp. 542-634), with Nubia and the Egyptian Sudan. In Part V (pp. 635-862) is given a series of Chapters on Egyptian Archaeology. In earlier editions of this Handbook these appeared in the Introduction, but it was thought that the traveller might find them more convenient for reference if they were printed at the end of the book, and there, accordingly, they are now placed. They contain a connected outline of the History of Egypt, brief accounts of the Writing, Religion, Art, Architecture, Learning, &c., of the Ancient Egyptians, and descriptions of the principal facts about the Religion of the Muhammadans, Arab Architecture, &c. Hieroglyphic type has been used wherever necessary, and in the list of cartouches of Egyptian Kings, all the royal names vi PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION. which are commonly found on scarabs, as well as those ot Ptolemies and the Roman Emperors, have been included. For facts and figures connected with the British Occupation of Egypt, the Rebellion of the Mahdi and Khalifah, the Reconquest of the Sfidan, the Nile and irrigation works in Egypt and the Sfidan, I have drawn largely from the official reports of Lord Cromer, Sir Eldon Gorst, Lord Kitchener, Lord Allenby, Sir William Garstin, Count Gleichen and Captain H. G. Lyons, and on the non-official publications of Sir R. Wingate. Slatin Pasha, the late Father Ohrwalder, Charles Royle, Naum Shuker Bey, and others. The plans and illustrations given in this Handbook are derived from authoritative sources, among which may be mentioned the works of Coste, Prisse d’Avennes, Lepsius, Howard Vyse, Mariette, J. de Morgan, the great Description de VEgvpte , the Survey of the Palestine Exploration Fund, the Memoires of the French Archaeological Mission in Cairo, etc. The note on the age of the Temple of Amen at Karnak printed on pp. xviii-xx should have appeared in the section of this Handbook which treats of Karnak, but this was already in type when the pamphlet published by the Egyptian Govern- ment came to hand. My thanks are due to Messrs. Harrison & Sons, Ltd., for the care which they have bestowed upon the printing of this work, and to their staff, and especially to Mr. L. Lovett and Mr. H. Andrew. E. A. WALLIS BUDGE. British Museum, August 5, 1921. CONTENTS. Preface to the Fourth Edition ... ... ... ... iii Table of Contents ... ... ... ... ... ... ... vii List of Maps ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. xiii List of Illustrations ... ... ... ... ... ... ... xiii Note on the Great Temple of Amen-P a at Karnak ... ... ... xviii INTRODUCTION. Practical Information for Travellers. 1. Routes to Egypt 2. Season for Travelling 3. Length of Visit 4. Expenses and Hotels ... ... 5. Dragomans ... 6. Money and Coinage — Tables of Egyptian and English and American Moneys 7. Weights and Measures 8. Official Time 9. Passports and Customs 10. Postage and Telegraphs 11. Dress and Equipment 12. Medicine 13. Passengers’ Baggage Insurance 14. The Climate and Health Resorts of Egypt — Alexandria, Mena House, Helwan, Luxor, Aswan 15. The Voyage up the Nile — Tourist Steamers, Dahabiyahs, Private Steamer ... Tickets to visit Temples, Tombs, etc. 16. Bakhshish 17. The Traveller in Egypt ... 1 2 2 3 4 6 8 8 9 11 11 22 23 23 25 PART I.— THE LAND OF EGYPT. I. — Geographical Position, Geology, Area, Fayyum, Natron Lakes, Bitter Lakes, The Oases 28 II. — Natural History, The Year, Crops, Minerals ... ... ... 39 III. — Ancient and Modern Divisions of Egypt, Population... ... 52 IV. — The Niles in Egypt and the Sftdan, Upper or White Nile, Kagera, Equatorial Lakes, Bahr al-Ghaz&l, the Sawbat (Sobat) and Giraffe Rivers, White Nile, Blue Nile, Atbara. The Six Cataracts, Irrigation, Corvee 59 viii CONTENTS. PAGE V. — The Barrages on the Nile, north and south of Cairo ... ... 73 VI. — The Modern Egyptians — Language. Fallahin, Copts, Badawin, Nubians, Levantines, Turks, Armenians, Jews, Greeks, and other European peoples .. . ... ... ... ... 91 VII. — The Modern Egyptians — Their Narcotics and Amusements... 106 VIII. — The Modern Government of Egypt — The Flag, Revenue, Trade, Imports, Exports, Cotton, Religion, Education and Instruction .. ... ... 115 PART II.— LOWER EGYPT. I. — Alexandria — History and Population, Alexandrian Library and Museum, Theatre, Serapeum, Gymnasium ... ... 119 1. Pompey’s Pillar ... ... ... ... ... ... 126 2. The Catacombs — Recent Excavations. Museum of Anti- quities. Abusir, Bu Mina, Abukir, Canopus, Rosetta ... 126 II. — Alexandria to Cairo — Kafir Ad-Dawar, Damanhur, Nancratis, Kafr Az-zayyat, Tanta, Kalyhb ... ... ... ... 136 III. — Cairo ... ... ... ... ... ... .. ... 142 1. Museum of Egyptian Antiquities 149 2. The Museum of Arab Art and the Sultaniyah Library ... 156 3. The Zoological Gardens ... ... ... ... ... 157 4. The Aquarium at Gazirah ... ... ... ... ... 158 5. The Mosques of Cairo ... ... ... ... . . ... 158 6. The Quarters of Cairo ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 7 1 7. The Citadel and Joseph’s Well ... ... ... ... 172 8. The Mhski and Bazars of Cairo, Khalig Canal, Windmill Hill 174 9. The Coptic Churches of Old Cairo 178 10. Bfilak and the Bulak Bridge ... ... ... ... ... 181 11. The Island of R6dah and the Nilometer ... ... ... 182 12. Tombs of the Khalifahs and Mamluks, Petrified Forests ... 184 13. Heliopolis ... ... ... .. ... ... ... 185 14. Trip to the Barrages ... ... 189 15. The Pyramids of Gizah, The Sphinx, Temple of the Sphinx, Tomb of Numbers, Campbell’s Tomb, Pyramids of Abu Roash and Abusir ... ... ... ... ... ... 189 16. Memphis, Mit-Rahinah, Statue of Rameses II, Sakkarah, Step Pyramid, Pyramids of Unas, Teta, Merenra, Pepi II, Serapeum, Tombs of Thi and Ptah-hetep, Mariette’s House, Pyramids of Dahshfir ... ... ... ... 205 17. Helw&n of the Baths, the Quarries of Tfirah ... ... 219 18. Muhammadan Architecture and Art in Cairo ... ... 220 CONTENTS. IX IV. — Excursions from Cairo — page 1. To the Fayyum ... ... . .. ... ... ... ... 241 2. Cairo to Damietta, via Mansurah — Tall al-Yah&diyah, Khata‘anah, §an (Tanis), Nabeshah, Tamai al*Amdid (Mendes), Saft al-Hannah ... ... ... ... ... 246 3. Cairo to Siwah, or the’ Oasis of Jupiter Ammon, the Monasteries in the Natron Valley, Scete ... ... ... 252 4. 5. The Oases of Bahariyah, Farafrah, Ad-Dailah, Dakhlah, Khargah, Kurkur, Salimah ... ... ... ... ... 257 6. Cairo to Jerusalem by Railway ... ... ... .... 286 7. Cairo to Mount Sinai ... ... ... ... ... ... 289 8. The Exodus ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 324 9. Port Sa‘id to Cairo — Isma‘iliyah, Goshen, Pithom and Raamses, Succoth, Tall al-Kabir, Zakazik and Bubastis ... 329 10. Port Sa‘id to Suez via the Suez Canal — Tahapanes, Sera- peum, Bitter Lakes, Suez, Wells of Moses. History of the Suez Canal... ... ... ... ... ... ... 336 PART III.— UPPER EGYPT. Daily Itinerary of the Twenty Days’ Voyage by Messrs. Cook’s Tourist Steamers 349 Daily Itinerary of Messrs. Cook’s Tourist Steamer Service between Aswan (Shallal) and Wadi Halfah 351 I. — Cairo to Luxor by Railway ... ... ... ... ... 35 1 Pyramids of Lisht ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 35 1 Pyramid of Medum or False Pyramid ... ... ... ... 353 The Fayyum ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 353 Bani Suwef, Ahnas, Herakleopolis ... ... ... ... 354 Oxyrhynchus, Gabal at-Ter 355 Minya 3 56 Zawiyat al-Metin, Speos Artemidos, Tombs of Beni-Hasan ... 357 Rodah, Al-Barshah... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 ^ J Tall al-‘Amarnah ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 ^ 2 Manfalut ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3^5 Asyut-Lycopolis, Durunkah ... ... ... ... ... 3^6 Tahtah, White Monastery ... ... ... ... ... ... 3^7 Red Monastery, Akhmim ... ... ... ... ... ••• 368 Girga, Naga‘ad-Der ... ... ... ... ... ••• 37 ° Al-Balyana and Abydos, Temples of Seti I and Rameses II ... 371 Excavations at Umm al-Ka ‘ab ... ... ... ... ... 3 76 Kana and the Temple of Denderah 37 ^ Kuft (Coptos), Nakadah, Bail&s, Khizam 3^3 X CONTENTS. PAGE II. — Luxor and the Temples and Tombs of Thebes. Right Bank of the Nile. i. The Temple of Luxor — The Obelisk 390 2. The Temple of Amen-Ra at Karnak 398 3. The Temple of Ptah ... 410 4. Scarabaeus of Amen-hetep III 410 5. The Temple of Mut 410 6. The Temple of Madamut ... 411 Left Bank of the Nile. 1. The Temple of Kurnah 411 2. The Ramesseum ... - ... 411 3. The Colossi of Amen-hetep III 414 4. Madinat Habu 415 5. The Temple of Hatshepsut at Der al-Bahari 423 6. The Tomb of Hatshepsut 429 7. The Temple of Menthu-hetep 432 8. Der al-Madinat 438 9. Drah Abu’l-Nakkah — Excavations. Kurnat Murrai 438 10. The Tombs of the Kings Thothmes I, Hatshepsut, Thothmes III, Amen-hetep II, Thothmes IV, Amen- hetep III, Ai, Rameses I, Seti I, Rameses II, Amen- meses, Meren-Ptah, Seti II, Set-nekht, Rameses III, Rameses IV, Rameses VI, Rameses IX, Rameses X, Rameses XI, Rameses XII. The Tombs of Sa-Ptah, Iuaa, and Thuau and Ti 451 Luxor to Aswan. — Asna (Esna), Al-Kab and its Tombs, Edfu 475 Edfft to Berenice ... 484 Hagar Silsilah 486 Kom Ombos 486 Aswan, the Islands of Elephantine and Philse. The Tombs of the Vlth and Xllth Dynasties. Granite Quarries. Arab Cemeteries. The First Cataract 489 Aswan (Shallal) to Wadi Halfah (Second Cataract) 512 Archaeological Survey of Nubia ... 5i3 The Restoration of the Temples of Nubia 5i5 Dabftd, Kartassi, Wadi Tafah, Kalabshah, Bet al-Wali, Dandur, Dakkah, Kushtamnah, Dodecaschoenus, Hierasycaminus, Wadi Sabu‘ah, Korosko, ‘Amadah, Primis, Karanog 516 CONTENTS. Xi Luxor and the Temples and Tombs of Thebes — continued. page Abu Simbel and the Rock Temple of Rameses II ... ... 530 Faras Island 537 Wadi Halfah and Tawfikiyah ... ... ... ... ... 539 Second Cataract. Rock of Abusir 541 PART IV.— THE ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN AND THE GREAT LAKES. Ancient History of the Sudan ... ... ... ... ... ... 542 Modern History of the Sudan ... ... ... ... 547 The Country and its Divisions. The Peoples, Religion, Language, Revenue, Education, Justice, Irrigation and Cotton Growing... 551 Wadi Halfah to Abu Hamad : — ... ... ... ... ... 556 I. — By the Desert Railway ... ... ... ... ... 558 II. — By River, vid Karmah and Marawi... ... ... ... 559 Sarras, Gazirat al-Malik ... ... ... ... ... 560 Samnah and Kummah ... ... ... ... ... 561 ‘Ukashah 561 Farkat and the Third Cataract, Kashah, Ginnis ... ... 562 Kubbat Idris, Saddenga, Dush, Sftlb ... ... ... 563 Dulgo. The Third Cataract, Hannek, Tombos, Karmah, Hafir ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 564 Karman and Dafufah . . . ... ... ... ... ... 565 Donkola, Old and New ... ... ... ... ... 567 Pyramid Field of Tankasi ... ... ... ... ... 569 Marawi, Sanam Abu Dom, Napata ... ... ... ... 570 Temples of Piankhi and Tirhakah ... ... ... ... 572 Pyramid Field of Nuri ... ... ... ... ... 575 Abu Hamad — Karemah Railway ... ... ... ... 576 Abu Hamad and the Fourth Cataract ... ... ... 5 77 Abu Hamad to Khartum by Railway : — The Fifth Cataract. Berber .. ... ... ... ... 578 The Nile — Red Sea Railway, Port Sudan, Siwakin ... ... 579 The Atbara, Battle of the Atbara ... ... ... ... 585 Island of Meroe. — City of Meroe and its Pyramids ... ... 585 Shendi and Matammah ... ... ... ... ... ... 597 Wad Ba-Nagaa ... ... .. ... ... ... ... 598 Excursion to Nagaa, Bir Nagaa, and Temples at Nagaa ... 599 Sixth Cataract (Shablukah) ... ... ... ... ... 601 Kerreri ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 601 Haifa ah and Khartum (North) ... ... ... ... ... 602 xii CONTENTS. Abu Hamad to Khartum by Railway — continued. Khartum (South) — Gordon Memorial College, Ram from Sobah, Church of All Saints, Statue of Gordon Omdurman (Umm Ad-Durman), Khalifah’s House, Mahdi’s Tomb ... The Ruins of Sobah Excursions : — Khartum to Sennaar on the Blue Nile : — Kamlin, Rufa‘a, Abu Haraz, Kadaref, Kallabat, Wad Madani, Sennaar, Karkbg, Ruseres, A gam Deldi, Lake Sana Khartum to Kosti and Al-‘Obed by train Khartum to Kosti by river . . ... ... ... ... ... Khartum to Rejaf ... ... ... Khartum to Mashra ar-Rek ... ... Khartum to Gambelah ... ... Khartum to the Great Lakes. — Fa-Shoda or K6d6k, Lul, Sobat River, Duleb Hill, Giraffe River, Gazelle River, Lake N6, The Sadd, Shambi, Kanisah, Lake Powendael, B6r, Kir6, Mongalla, Lado, Raggaf Hill, Nimuli, Fola Rapids, Wadelai, Albert N’yanza, Semliki River, Victoria Nile, Ripon Falls, Owen Falls, Karuma Falls, Murchison Falls, Lake Albert Edward, Victoria N’yanza, Kagera River ... Kana to the Red Sea, via Wadi Hammjlmat, Myos Hormos, Berenice ... ... ... PAGE 603 609 612 613 617 617 617 617 617 618 631 PART V.— EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY. The Ancient Egyptians and their Language 635 Religion of the Ancient Egyptians ... ... ... 641 Egyptian Gods ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 653 The Egyptian Language and Writing 662 Amulets and Mummies ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 673 Hymn to Ra 684 The Learning of the Ancient Egyptians 694 Architecture . . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7°5 Cartouches of the principal Egyptian Kings ... ... 724 Egyptian Chronology and History 750 History of the Arabs, Muhammad and his Kur’an 822 Dervishes ... 854 Muhammadan and Christian Eras 857 Index ... ... 863 MAPS. Egypt and Sinai ( In Pocket.) The Nile — Delta To face p. 59 Alexandria ,, 119 Cairo ,, 143 The Suez Canal • ,, 341 The Nile — Cairo to Kana ... ,, 351 ,, Kana to Aswan ,, 378 ,, Aswan to Wadi Halfah ,, 513 „ WAd! Halfah to the Great Lakes ... „ 543 list of illustrations. PAGE Egyptian Moneys ... ... ... ... ... ... 5, 6 Picture of an Ancient Egyptian Shaduf being worked by a Fallah ... 42 Modem Shadufs ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 43 Modern Water-wheel ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 44 The Barrage at Asyut ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 78 The Dam at Aswan at Low Nile ... ... ... ... ... 84 The Dam at Aswan at High Nile ... ... ... ... ... 85 Plan of Catacombs ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 128 The Pronaos and Entrance to the Funeral Chamber ... ... ... 129 Plan of the Mosque of ‘Amr ... ... ... ... ... ... 160 Plan of the Mosque of Al-Azhar ... ... ... ... ... 161 Plan of the Mosque of Ibn Tfilun ... ... ... ... ... 162 Plan of the Muristan and Mosque of Kalaun ... ... ... ... 164 The Lantern in the Sanctuary of the Mosque of Sultan Hasan ... 165 Plan of the Mosque of Sultan Hasan ... ... ... ... ... 166 Plan of the Mosque of Barkuk ... ... ... ... ... ... 167 Plan of the Mosque of Ka’it Bey ... ... . . ... ... 168 Plan of the Mosque of Al-Mu f ayyad ... ... ... ... ... 170 xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Section of the Pyramid of Cheops at Gizah ... ... ... ... 193 Section of the Pyramid of Mycerinus at Gizah... ... 197 Plan of the Pyramid of Unas ... ... ... ... ... ... 209 Plan of the Pyramid of Meren-Ra ... ... ... ... ... 212 The Necropolis at Dahshur ... ... ... ... ... ... 217 The Mosque of Sultan Hasan ... ... ... ... ... ... 223 Section of the Mosque of Sultan Hasan ... ... ... ... 224 The Mosque of Al-Mu‘ayyad 225 The Niche and Pulpit in the Mosque of Al-Mu‘ayyad ... ... 226 Section of the Mosque of Ka’it Bey ... ... ... ... ... 227 Plan of a House in Cairo —Ground Floor ... ... ... ... 228 Plan of a House in Cairo — First Floor ... ... 229 Plan of a House in Cairo — Second Floor ... ... ... ... 230 Minaret of ‘Amr 233 Minaret of Iskandar Pasha ... ... ... ... ... ... 233 Minaret of Ibn Tulun ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 233 Minaret of Ka’it Bey ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 234 Minaret of Barkuk ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 234 Minaret of Al-Azhar ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 234 Minaret of Al-Mu‘ayyad 235 Minaret of Kala‘un ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 235 Minaret of Sultan Hasan... ... ... ... ... ... ... 235 Panel from the Pulpit in the Mosque of Ibn Tulun ... 237 A Window of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun ... ... ... ... 238 Plans of the Oasis Railway ... ... ... ... ... ... 261 Gateway of the Temple of Darius I at Khargah ... ... ... 263 View of the Temple of Darius I ... ... ... ... ... ... 265 View of the Interior of the same ... 267 An Underground Street in Khargah ... ... ... ... ... 269 Tomb of a Shekh at Khargah ... ... ... ... 271 The Mosque of KMrgah .. . ... ... ... ... ... ... 272 The Temple of Kasr Gaitah ... ... ... ... ... ... 273 Plan of the same ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 274 Remains of a Building at Al- Kasr ... ... ... ... ... 275 Plan of the Temple of Kysis ... ... ... ... ... ... 276 Plan of the Temple of Hibis ... ... ... ... ... 277 Figures of Gods in the Sanctuary ... ... ... ... ... 278 Plan of the Temple of Nadurah .. ... ... ... ... ••• 279 Christian Cemetery at Khargah 280 Interior of a Funerary Chapel ... ... ... ... ••• ••• 281 Christian Cemetery at Khargah .. . ... ... ... ... 282 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XV PAGE The Peninsula of Sinai, showing Positions of Mount Sarbal, Mount Musa (Sinai ?), and Ras as-Safsaf (Horeb)... ... ... ... 289 Scene in the Wadi Mukattab, showing Rocks with Figures of Animals and Men, and several “ Sinaitic Inscriptions ” cut upon them ... 298 Plan of the Monastery of St. Catherine ... ... ... ... 307 View of the Monastery of St. Catherine on Jabal Musa ... ... 308 Sketch of the Mosaic in the Church of the Transfiguration ... ... 309 The Cave of Moses and the “ Clift in the Rock ” ... ... ... 314 Plan of the Temple of Sarabit al-Khadim ... ... ... ... 317 Stele set up at Sarabit al-Khadim by an Official of Amen-hetep III, 1450 B.c ... ... 318 Inscription for Wa’ilu and others ... ... ... ... ... 322 Inscription for Faridu ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 322 Greek and Nabatean Inscription for Aushu ... ... ... ... 323 Plan of the Temple of Seti I at Abydos ... ... ... ... 373 Plan of the Temple of Rameses II at Abydos... ... ... ... 375 Plan of the Temple at Denderah ... ... ... ... ... 379 The Temple of Luxor, as it appeared about 1820 ... ... ... 391 The Temple of Luxor ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 393 Plans of the Temples on the Right or East Bank of the River ... 394 Plans of Karnak ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 400-405 Plan of the Temple at Kurnah ... ... ... ... ... ... 41 1 Temples, Tombs, etc., on the Left or West Bank of the River ... 412 Plan of the Ramesseum at Kurnah ... ... ... ... ... 413 Plan of the Temples and other Buildings at Madinat Habu ... ... 417 The Little Temple of Thothmes II at Madinat Habu ... ... 418 The Temple of Rameses III at Madinat Habu ... ... ... 421 The Temple of Hatshepsut at Der al-Bahari ... ... ... ... 424 Queen Hatshepsut ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 426 Pa-rehu, the Prince of Punt, his Wife, and his Two Sons and a Daughter ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 427 Plans of the Tomb of Queen Hatshepsut ... ... ... 429-431 The Temple of Hatshepsut as excavated by Prof. Naville for the Egypt Exploration Fund ... ... ... ... ... ... 433 The Temples of Menthu-hetep (A) and Hatshepsut (B) at Der al-Bahari ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .,. 434 Cow of Hathor ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 436 Tombs at Kurnah ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 439,440 Plan of the Tomb of Amsu (or Min)-Nekht 444 Plan of the Tomb of Ra-men-kheper-senb ... ... ... ... 444 Plan of the Tomb of Peh-su-kher ... 445 XVI LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Plan of the Tomb of Mentu-her-khepesh-f 445 Plan of the Tomb of Amu-netcheh ... ... ... ... ... 445 Plan of the Tomb of Mai ... ... ... ... ... ... 445 Plan of the Tomb of Nefer-hetep ... 446 Plan of the Tomb of Amen-em-heb ... ... ... 446 Plan of the Tomb of Peta-Amen-em-apt 450 Tomb of Queen Ti ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 451 Plan of the Tomb of Amenhetep II ... ... ... ... ... 455 Thothmes IV in his Chariot charging his Foes... ... ... ... 457 Plan of the Tomb of Amen-hetep III ... ... ... 458 Plan of the Tomb of Rameses I... ... ... ... ... ... 458 Ground Plan and Section of the Tomb of Seti I ... ... ... 459 Plan of the Tomb of Seti II ... ... ... ... ... ... 461 Plan of the Tomb of Amen-meses ... ... ... ... ... 461 Plan of the Tomb of Menephthah I ... ... ... ... ... 462 Plan of the Tomb of Rameses II ... ... ... ... ... 463 Plan of the Tomb of Setnekht ... ... ... ... ... ... 464 Plan of the Tomb of Rameses III ... ... ... ... ... 464 Plan of the First Tomb of Rameses III ... ... ... ... 465 Plan of the Tomb of Rameses VI ... ... ... 466 Plan of the Tomb of Rameses IX ... ... ... ... ... 466 Plan of the Tomb of Rameses IV ... ... ... ... ... 467 Plan of the Tomb of Rameses IV (from a Papyrus) ... ... ... 467 Plan of the Tomb of Rameses VII (?) ... ... ... ... ... 468 Plan of the Tomb of Rameses X ... ... ... ... ... 468 Plan of the Tomb of Rameses XII ... ... ... ... ... 468 Inscribed Coffer from the Tomb of Iuaa and Thuau ... ... ... 469 Set of Vases from the Tomb of Iuaa and Thuau ... ... ... 470 Inside of Head of Bedstead of Iuaa and Thuau ... ... ... 471 Chair of State from the Tomb of Iuaa and Thuau ... 472 Chariot from the Tomb of Iuaa and Thuau ... ... ... ... 473 Plan of the Temple of Asna, with Restorations by Grand Bey ... 477 Plan of the Great Temple of Edfu ... ... ... ... ... 483 Temple of Seti I on the road between Radasiyah and Berenice ... 484 Plan of the Temple of Kom Ombos ... ... ... ... ... 488 Environs of Aswan ... ... ... ... ... ... 490, 496 The Tombs at Aswan ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 497 Plan of the Island of Philae ... ... ... ... ... ... 505 Plan of the Temple of Dabud ... ... ... ... ... ... 5*6 Plan of the Temple of Tafah ... ... ... ... ... ... 517 Plan of the Temple of Kal&bshab ... 519 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XVli PAGE Plan of the Temple of Bet-al-Wali ... ... ... ... ... 519 Plans of the Temple of Dandur ... ... ... ... ... 519,520 Plan of the Temple of Kirshah ... ... ... ... ... ... 521 Plans of the Temple of Dakkah... ... ... ... ... 522, 523 Plan of the Temple of Miharrakah ... ... ... ... ... 525 Plan of the Temple of Wadi Sabu‘ah ... ... ... ... ... 526 Plan of the Temple of ‘Amadah 527 The Seated Colossi and Front of the Temple at Abu Simbel ... 531 Plans of the Temple of Rameses II at Abu Simbel ... ... 532, 533 Plan of the Chapel at Abu Simbel ... ... ... ... ... 535 Map of the Sudan Railways ... ... ... ... ... ... 557 Map of the Nile ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 562 Scene from a Chapel in a Pyramid at Gabal Barkal ... ... ... 570 The Pyramids and Temples of Gabal Barkal ... ... ... ... 57 1 The Temple of Piankhi at Gabal Barkal ... ... ... ... 573 The Temple of Tirhakah at Gabal Barkal ... ... ... ... 573 Senka-Amen-seken, King of Nubia, clubbing his Foes ... ... 574 The Pyramids of Nuri at the Foot of the Fourth Cataract ... ... 575 The Nile-Red Sea Railway ... ... ... ... ... ... 582 The Largest Group of Pyramids at Meroe ... ... ... ... 589 The Second and Third Groups of Pyramids at Meroe ... ... 590 Plan of the Large Temple at Nagaa ... ... ... ... ... 599 Plan of a Small Temple at right angles to the Large Temple at Nagaa ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 599 Plan of a Small Temple near the Plain of Nagaa ... ... ... 600 Plan of Temples on the Brow of the Hill at Nagaa ... ... ... 601 Khartum and Omdurman in 1920 ... ... ... ... ... 604 General Gordon Pasha ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 608 The Mahdi’s Tomb before the Bombardment of Omdurman... ... 610 The Great Equatorial Lakes ... ... ... ... ... ... 629 The Wadi Hammamat and Kuser route to the Emerald Mines and Berenice ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 633 Forms of Egyptian Gods ... ... ... ... ... 659-662 Entrance to an Early Tomb ... ... ... ... ... ... 705 Pyramid Tomb with Funeral Chapel ... ... ... ... ... 705 Plan of a Pyramid Tomb, with Vestibule, or Funeral Chapel, and Corridor, the whole enclosed by a Wall ... ... ... ... 706 Pyramid Tomb with Funeral Chapel (the core of the pyramid is built of rubble) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 707 Section of the Tomb of Seti I, showing how the Corridors and Chambers enter and descend into the Mountain ... ... ... 708 b xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Front of a Temple, showing Poles with Flags flying from them ... 710 A Group of Female Musicians ... ... ... ... ... ... 7 11 Upper Part of a Pillar with ornate Lotus Capital ... ... ... 7 x 3 Upper Part of a Pillar of Rameses II, with Palm Capital and square Abacus ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 714 Pillar with Hathor-headed Capital, set up by Amen-hetep III ... 715 Pillar with Hathor-headed Capital, of the Ptolemaic Period ... ... 715 Plain Palm-leaf Capital of a Pillar, with square Abacus ... ... 716 Ornate Palm-leaf Capital of a Pillar, with square Abacus ... 717, 718 Capital of a Pillar with inverted Ornamentation ... ... ... 718 Hathor-headed Capital ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 718 Pillar with Lotus-bud Capital ... ... ... ... ... ... 719 NOTE ON THE ANTIQUITY OF THE GREAT TEMPLE OF AMEN-RA AT KARNAK. Many of the greatest excavators of antiquities in Egypt have devoted much time and labour to the task of ascertaining the age of this wonderful temple. Mariette, in his masterly work “ Karnak,” showed clearly that certain parts of this great mass of temple-buildings were as old as the XHth dynasty, and he succeeded admirably in dating the works that were built there by kings of the XVIIIth, XIXth and succeeding dynasties. The late G. Legrain, in excavating a vast pit that had been filled up with the statues, &c., of priests and officials, found evidence that made it certain that a temple of some kind occupied the site of Karnak in the Xlth dynasty. There seemed to be no good reason why this Xlth dynasty temple should not have stood on the site of an earlier building, and the present writer believed, and still believes, that a “ God- house” or shrine of some sort stood there in early dynastic times. The “ God-house ” at Karnak was always associated ANTIQUITY OF TEMPLE OF AMEN-RA. xix with the cult of the god Amen, and the symbol of this local god, which was described some years ago by Daressy, suggests that he was known and revered in predynastic times, probably long before Ra was adopted as a national god by the Egyptians of the Delta. Be this as it may, it was quite certain that a temple dedicated to Amen existed at Karnak in the Xlth dynasty, and with this fact archaeologists had to be content. About the year 1890 the late Sir Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., visited Egypt and studied the temples and their sites, and he came to the conclusion that all the temples and pyramids of Egypt were oriented to celestial bodies, and that calculations based on observations of their major axes would enable him to assign correct dates for their foundation. In 1894 he pub- lished the result of his studies in his “ Dawn of Astronomy,’ 7 and stated that the temples were “astronomical observatories” (p. 109) built to enable the priests “to observe the precise time of the solstice,” and he regarded them as “ horizontal telescopes,” the apertures in the pylons and separating walls representing the “ diaphragms of the modern telescope.” His idea was that a narrow beam of sunlight would come through the narrow entrance about 500 yards from the Holy of Holies, and light up the figure of the god seated in the dark therein for about two minutes, provided the temple were properly oriented to the solstice. This would happen once a year and tell the priests that a new year was beginning. Applying his theory to the Temple of Karnak he proved by his calculations that it was founded in the year 3700 b.c. Few Egyptologists possessed sufficient astronomical knowledge to check Lockyer’s figures, and his results were not accepted by archaeologists generally. In 1920 the astronomical experts in the service of the Egyptian Government reviewed Lockyer’s figures and results, and carefully examined the whole site of Karnak and worked out the line of the major axis of the XX ANTIQUITY OF TEMPLE OF AMEN-RA. temple of Amen. They came to the conclusions that the temple could not have been oriented as Lockyer declared, that if it had been it would be much older than he stated, and that his theory is unsupported by facts and must therefore be abandoned. The dates proposed by Lockyer for the building of the pyramids on the Island of Meroe, which led astray the present writer and others, have been proved impossible by archaeological evidence. But the Egyptologist is just as incapable of judging the accuracy of the recent decision of the astronomical experts of the Egyptian Government as he was in estimating the true value of Lockyer’s calculations and the deductions he made from them. Lockyer may have been wrong, but it does not follow necessarily that his critics are right. The reader who wishes to find out details of the new theory will find it described in a pamphlet published by the Egyptian Government in Cairo, price ten piastres. HANDBOOK FOR EGYPT AND THE EGYPTIAN SUDAN. Practical Information for Travellers. (1) Routes to Egypt. — Starting from London, the traveller may journey to Egypt the whole way by sea, or he may use one of the quicker transcontinental routes. To those who have sufficient time, and who are either indifferent or superior to sea-sickness, the long sea route offers many attractions; it occupies from 12 to 14 days. The principal long sea routes to Egypt are : — From London, by the Peninsular and Oriental, Orient, and Royal Mail lines. From Liverpool, by the Bibby, Anchor, Henderson, and other lines of steamers. If the traveller decide to employ one of the transcontinental routes, he may embark at Marseilles, Toulon, Trieste, Venice, Genoa, Naples, or Brindisi, from which ports there is frequent communication with Egypt. Full particulars as to the days and hours of sailing, fares, etc., may be obtained from the offices of Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son. (2) Season for Travelling. — Speaking generally, the season for travelling in Egypt extends from the beginning of November to the end of April. In Lower Egypt, that is. all the country north of Cairo, November, February, March, and April are delightful months, but in Cairo it is somewhar cold in December and January, and when during these months rain falls in heavy showers throughout the Delta the climate occasionally is unpleasant. Those who like heat will find both May and October very enjoyable months, especially in Lower Egypt. Travellers who are intending to visit Palestine and Syria as well as Egypt cannot do better than select November, December, January, and February, or until the middle of March, for their Nile journey, and March, April, and May, the most genial months of the year, for Palestine. (See pp. 286-288). On the other hand, many people prefer to see the Holy Land in the 2 PRACTICAL INFORMATION. autumn, and in this case they should travel there during October and November, and make their journey up the Nile when they return in November or December.. (3) Length of Visit. — No hard-and-fast rule can be laid down as to the time which it is necessary to spend in Egypt in order to get a general idea of the country, for in the majority of cases this depends entirely on the individual. A traveller who can endure an ordinary amount of fatigue, and is tolerably active and industrious, and will be contented to be advised by those who have a practical knowledge of the country, can in from 35 to 40 days see a great deal of Egypt ; moreover, each year brings with it new and increased facilities for travelling, and the traveller can now move with extraordinary rapidity from one great town to another. All that is wanted is a care- fully thought-out plan, and fixity of purpose to carry it out. If a traveller can spare five weeks for his journey in Egypt itself he should give two days to Alexandria, 14 days to Cairo, and 20 to 24 days to his trip to Aswan, including a stay of three or four days at Luxor. In five weeks all the principal temples and ruins between Cairo and the First Cataract can be seen, and if another week can be spared, a visit to the Second Cataract and Wadi Halfah, and to the temple of Rameses II at Abu Simbel, can be included. Invalids and persons seeking relief from sickness or disease must, of course, follow the instructions of their medical advisers, and their movements cannot be taken as the standard for moderately healthy folk who have only a very limited time to spend on their trip, and who intend to see all they can in a short period. Before the advent of Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son’s Tourist Steamers in 1886 it was customary for travellers to make the voyage up the Nile in a dahabiyyah , i.e., a kind of large house-boat with sails, and it was no uncommon thing for a party to spend four or five months in travelling from Cairo to Wadi Halfah and back. By the aid of steam it was found possible for the tourist to see the principal antiquities on both banks of the Nile in about 30 days, and large numbers availed themselves of the opportunities offered to them by Messrs. Cook. The Tourist Steamer has been the means of throwing open the wonders of Egypt and the Nile to thousands of people who would otherwise have been debarred by expense from seeing one of the most wonderful countries in the world. (4) Expenses and Hotels. — The cost of a tour in Egypt varies according to its length and the needs of the traveller, EXPENSES AND HOTELS, DRAGOMANS. 3 and it is futile to estimate the daily cost of living unless the place of abode and the habits of the visitor are known. From 2 os. to 30s. a day should pay for board and lodging in an ordinary way, but carriages and the services of a good and capable dragoman, or interpreter, are somewhat expensive items if required frequently. The electric trams, though the clang of their bells is deafening, afford a very quick and cheap means of locomotion, and they have made readily accessible many parts of the city which formerly could only be visited in a carriage. There is no doubt that the cost of living comfortably in Cairo has risen since the War, and that servants of all kinds are not satisfied with the gratuities which would have been received gratefully a few years ago. It must, however, be remembered that it costs more to live among clean surroundings and in comfort than in discomfort, and that the proprietors of large luxuriously furnished hotels, built on sites in the most expensive and fashionable quarters of a town, must charge a higher rate per day than those who own hotels and pensions which stand * in old and insalubrious quarters. Thos. Cook &Son have made such arrangements in the East that the most inexperienced travellers may avail themselves of them without fear of not being able to get on as well as on the beaten Continental routes. Hotels. Accommodation may be secured in advance through Messrs. Cook & Son at any class of hotel, from single bedrooms to suites of apartments, on any floor, with whatever aspect may be desired, and “ en pension” terms are arranged for an extended stay. Those who propose making a Tour to Egypt, with extension to Palestine, Sinai, or elsewhere, should furnish a list of the places they wish to visit, and Thos. Cook & Son will promptly send them a quotation which will represent the lowest price possible for which the journey can be accomplished, according to the class of travel and character of the accommodation required. (5) Dragomans. — The traveller who is a stranger in Egypt, and has no knowledge of the language, will find his pleasure greatly increased if he hires a dragoman,* i.e., an * This interesting word is derived through the Arabic targuinan , j> ' . .. -j , from the old Assyrian, ^ , tar-gu-man-nu . ^ • J The word occurs in a list of officials written on a tablet in the British Museum (K 2012, Rev., line 5). A 2 4 PRACTICAL INFORMATION. “ interpreter,” for good dragomans save their employers time, trouble, and money. It often requires considerable moral courage to keep these individuals in their proper places, for the more useful and capable they are the more easy is it for their employers to lose control over them. Dragomans are of two classes, those who undertake the charge of parties on long journeys, and those who act merely as guides to the various places of interest in cities or towns. The former are often educated men, and can speak from two to five languages ; the latter can usually speak English or French, but are useful chiefly in conducting the traveller from one part of the city to another when his time is limited. Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son are now able to select their dragomans from a number of well-qualified candidates, and at the present time they are inferior to none in the country in general information about the temples, tombs, etc., and in courtesy. Many Egyptians who offer to escort the tourist, and call themselves dragomans, are neither authorized nor qualified to act as such, and they bring discredit on Messrs. Cook’s well-informed dragomans. (6) Money and Coinage. — Travellers are recommended to carry the money they require on the journey in Circular Notes issued by Thos. Cook & Son as these afford great security, and can be cashed readily. Circular notes are issued for sums of ^20 and upwards (in notes, ^20, ^10, and ^5 each), and Letters of Credit for sums of ^"ioo and upwards. Foreign moneys can be obtained from the head office and principal branches of Thos. Cook & Son, who, having branch offices and correspondents in all parts of the East, are in a position to offer special facilities to travellers for the arrangement of all matters connected with Foreign Banking and Exchange. The Egyptian pound (^E.) contains 100 piastres, and each piastre contains 10 milliemes ; it is worth 20s. 6d., or nearly 26 francs. The pound being divided into 100 piastres, each piastre, which is called a piastre* tariff (P.T.), is worth 2 \d., and a millieme is therefore worth \d. The English pound or sovereign is worth 97^ P.T. ; the Napoleon, or 20-franc gold piece, is worth 77^0 P.T. ; and the Turkish pound is worth 87I P.T. Silver coins are the Riyal, or dollar, * From the Low Latin plastra, a plaster, a thin piece of money (French piastre , Spanish and Italian piastra). The Arabic for piastre is kirsk tjMjS , or ghirsh . MONEY. 5 which is worth 20 piastres, the half and quarter Riyal, worth 10 and 5 piastres respectively, and the 2-piastre and i-piastre pieces. In nickel we have pieces worth 1 piastre, 1, 2, and 5 milliemes respectively. In the old system of coinage a piastre was worth 40 para , and 2-para and 1 -para pieces are struck at the present time. These are, however, chiefly used for scattering among children as bakshish. Egyptian Coins and Nickel Coinage. Silver 20-piastre piece. 10-piastre piece. 5-piastre piece. Value, 5 d. 1 -piastre piece. Value, 2 \d. Nickel. I-piastre piece ; Nickel. Half-piastre >T . , . ...„ i.e., “piastre tariff" piece; the Nlckel - 2 milhms. or “ big piastre.” “little piastre.” — — — Nickel. 1 muli Value, one half- Value, one far- penny. (10 mill. = thing or four 1 piastre.) paras. 6 PRACTICAL INFORMATION. Comparative Table of Egyptian and English Money. One Egyptian pound, or ioo piastres, or i,ooomilliemes = £i o^. 6d. Pias. £ s. d. £E- £ s. d. £E. £ s. d. 1 = 0 0 1 = 1 0 6 27 27 13 10 2 == 0 0 4 f 2 || 2 1 °4 28 = 28 14 42 3 = 0 0 71 3 = 3 1 62 29 = 29 14 IOi 4 = 0 0 9'i 4 = 4 2 °2 30 = 30 15 4 i 5 — 0 I 0 5 = 5 2 7 3 i = 31 15 10 1 6 = 0 I 2 i 6 = 6 3 1 32 32 16 5 ^ 7 = 0 I 5 7 7 3 7 33 = 33 16 11 8 = 0 I 7 h 8 = 8 4 i 4 34 - 34 1 7 5 9 = 0 I 10 9 S 9 4 7 4 35 = 35 17 ni 10 m 0 2 °h 10 = 10 5 J 4 36 =, 36 18 5 i 1 1 = 0 2 3 11 11 5 74 37 = 37 18 ni 12 0 2 12 = 12 6 2 38 = 38 19 6 13 - 0 2 8 13 13 6 8 39 = 40 0 0 14 = 0 2 io| 14 -- 14 7 2 40 = 41 0 6 15 = 0 3 1 15 15 7 4i = 42 1 0 16 ==. 0 3 3i 16 ■== 16 8 24 42 = 43 1 64 17 0 3 6 17 1 7 8 84 43 = 44 2 o 4 18 — ■ 0 3 H 18 - 18 9 3 44 = 45 2 64 19 = 0 3 ioj 19 = 19 9 9 45 = 46 3 1 20 = 0 4 20 == 20 10 3 46 = 47 3 7 30 = 0 6 2 21 — 21 10 94 47 : 48 4 1 40 = 0 8 2 h 22 == 22 11 34 48 = 49 4 74 50 0 10 3 23 - 23 1 1 94 49 = 50 5 *4 60 0 12 3 l 24 - 24 12 4 50 = 5 i 5 74 70 0 14 4 25 - 25 12 10 IOO = 102 11 3 i 80 = 0 16 5 26 — 26 13 4 90 -- 0 18 54 IOO = 1 0 64 1 Comparative Table of Egyptian and American Money Pias. Pias. 1 5 c. 5 ° = $2.50 2 = IOC. r 100 5 50c. < or 1 Egyptian = $5 20 = $1 |_ pound J = $10 40 $2 200 400 = $20 (7) Weights and Measures. Uktyah = 12 dirhams == 1 ’3206 ounces = *066 pint = 37 ’44 grammes. Rotl = 12 uldyah =144 dirhams = ‘4449312 kilogramme = * 99°49 lb. = 79 P int - Ukkah = 400 dirhams = 277 rotls = 2*19 pints = 2 ' 75 I 3 lbs. = 1 ‘235920 kilogrammes. Kantar = 100 rotls = 36 ukkah = 98*09 lbs. = 44*49312 kilogrammes. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 7 Measures of Length. Pile or Dira (Baladi, i.e ., of the country) Pik (Turkish and Indian) ... Pile (used in building) Pik (Nile gauge) Kasabah ... = 23 'oi inches = *585 metre. ... =26^ inches — *66 metre. . . =29 ’53 inches -- 75 metre. .. = *54 metre. .. = 11 ft. 8 in. = 3 ‘550 metres. Measures of Surface. Kirrat (square) Pik (square, used in building) Pik (cubic, used in building) Kasabah (square) Kasabah (cubic) Faddan = 1 75 ‘034722 square metres. = 6*43 square feet = 5 ’62 square metres. = 1 4 ’90 cubic feet. = 1 3 ‘04 square yards. = 44738875 cubic metres. = I '03808 acre = 5,082 square yards 4200*833333 square metres. This the unit of measure for land. is Dry Measure. Ardab = 3 kantars = 43'95 gallons = 5 '49 bushels =198 litres = 300 pounds = 108 ukkah= '19774770 cubic metre. A kila = T V ardab. The approximate weight of the ardab is as follows : — Wheat, 315 rotl. ; beans, 320 rotl.; barley, 250 rotl. ; maize, 315 rotl. ; cotton seed, 270 rotl. The Sa‘a (literally, hour) is any distance between 2\ and \\ miles. Old measures of length are : — Fitr, the space between the thumb and first finger when extended. Shibr, the space between the thumb and little finger, when extended, i.e ., a span. Kabdah, the measure of a man’s fist with the thumb erect. Kirrat (hence our carat) ... = 3 grains (Troy). Dirham (16 carats) ... ... = 48' 15 grains (Troy) = 'll ounce. Mithkal (24 carats) ... ... = 72'22 grains (Troy). Weights and Measures. (French and English compared.) 1 metre 1 ,, (square) 1 ,, (cubic) 1 ,, 1 , , , , 1 foot i ,, (square) 1 ,, (cubic) I gallon 1 bushel 1 kilogramme i lb. 1 acre 5 miles 3-28090 feet. 107643 „ (square). 35'3 l66 „ (cubic). 2 20 '09 7 gallons. 27 '5121 bushels. •304794 metre. ‘09290 ,, (square). •028315 ,, (cubic). •004543 '036348 2*2046 lb. ■453593 kilogramme. 404671 square metres. 8 kilometres (approx.). 8 PRACTICAL INFORMATION. (8) Official Time. — Official time is that of the 30th Meridian East of Greenwich (East European time), and is two hours fast of Greenwich or West European time, and one hour fast of Central European time. A gun is fired at the Citadel daily at noon (East European time) by an electric current sent by the Standard Clock from the Observatory at Helwan. The same current also gives an electric signal to Alexandria, Port Said, and Wadi Halfah. The day begins at sunset according to the Muhammadans and Jews, and at sunrise according to the Copts. (9) Passports and Customs : — Passports are absolutely necessary, and they are useful in order to procure admission to certain places of interest, to obtain letters from the Poste Restante, and especially to establish identity whenever required. The traveller must hold a valid passport bearing visa(s) of a Consular Representative in the United Kingdom for the country or countries to or through which he is proceeding. He must be careful to see that the endorsement and visas fully cover the period and route, as neglect of this may involve him in serious difficulties. Thos. Cook & Son will obtain passports with the necessary visas of foreign Ambassadors or Consuls. The Customs-house examination at Egyptian ports is carefully per- formed. There are Customs Houses at Alexandria, Port Said, Cairo, Suez, Damietta, Kuser (Kosseir), Kantarah, Isma’iliyah, Rosetta, A1 ‘Arish, Abu Zanimah, Safagah, Sollftm, Burgadah, and Gamisah. An 8 per cent, ad valorem import duty plus half per cent, import Customs dues is charged on all goods entering the country, and at Alexandria an additional half per cent, is charged for quay and paving dues. The import duty and dues of 8J per cent, are charged on objects in tourists’ accompanied baggage, if new, and the import dues of half per cent, are charged on all articles whether new or old arriving as unaccompanied baggage. The duty on tobacco is : — leaf, 60 piastres per kilo, manufactured; and cigars, 70 piastres per kilo ; an extra duty of 2 piastres per kilo is charged when not coming from countries having a Commercial Convention with Egypt. The export duty is 1 per cent, ad valorem on all products of Egypt and the Sfidan, and for all articles shipped as unaccompanied baggage or cargo, Export dues of 22 milliemes per ^E. 1 are charged. Antiquities and modern copies of antiquities must be packed in a box separate from other articles and sealed at the Cairo Museum, paying a sealing fee of OFFICIAL TIME, PASSPORTS, CUSTOMS, POSTAGE, ETC. 9 6 piastres for each package and 2\ per cent, ad valorem Export duty only. Thos. Cook & Son (Egypt), Ltd., have a special department in Cairo to arrange the above formalities. The importation of cartridges into Egypt by travellers is prohibited, but English cartridges of the very best make are pro- curable at reasonable prices in Cairo. As agents of the Nobels Explosives Company, Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son have always on hand a large stock of their sporting Ballistite and Empire Powder Cartridges, which are much in favour in Egypt. For Quail Shooting in the Gizah Province a licence is required. It is obtainable from Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son, and must be renewed in February each year. On leaving the country luggage is liable to be examined, and no traveller should attempt to export Egyptian antiquities without a special authorization to do so. Antiquities should be submitted to the authorities of the Egyptian Museum, who will assess their value for export duty, and have them duly sealed with the official seal, and will give the owner a signed permit addressed to the Mudir of the Customs, instructing him to allow the objects to leave the country. (io) Postage and Telegraphs. — Egypt is included in the General Postal Union, and its Postal and Telegraph Administrations are most ably worked. Every year increased facilities are given to correspondents, and printed statements of these, with the times of the despatch and arrival of mails from all parts of the world, can be seen at all the large Post Offices in Egypt, and at the Offices of Thos. Cook & Son, and at all hotels. The Cash-on-Delivery System has been introduced, and is working successfully ; a service between Egypt and Great Britain was established in 1908. At present (1921) the postal rates in and from Egypt are as under : — Inland and Foreign Postage. I. For the Interior. Letters, 5 mills, for 30 grammes or fractions. Post Cards, 3 mills. ,, ,, reply, 6 mills. Newspapers, 1 mill, per copy. Non-periodicals, 2 mills, per 50 grammes or fractions (up to 2,000 gr.); minimum, 2 mills. Samples, 2 mills per 50 grammes. Registration fee, 5 mills. 10 PRACTICAL INFORMATION. II. Countries in Postal Union. Letters, 15 mills. (U.K. 5 mills.) for each 20 grammes. For each 20 grammes beyond, 10 mills. Post Cards, 10 mills. „ ,, reply, 20 mills. Commercial Papers and Printed Matter, 4 mills, for each 50 grammes. (Minimum, 15 mills, for first-named.) The use of Currency Notes is increasing in Egypt, but as yet they are not readily accepted in small towns and villages off the beaten roads. There is a Parcel Post to all the countries in the Postal Union, and Money Orders are issued for payment in Egypt on a small commission. Telegraphs in Egypt are worked by the Egyptian officials for the Egyptian Government, and telegrams may be sent in any European language, except from small local stations, where they must be written in Arabic. The submarine cables connecting Egypt with other countries are worked by English companies with speed, regularity, and success. Inland Telegrams. The charges are 10 mills, for every two words or fraction of two words with a minimum charge of 40 mills. Urgent Telegrams are charged triple rates. Egypt to Sudan. Ordinary telegrams at 20 mills, per 2 words, with a minimum charge of 80 mills. Urgent telegrams at 55 mills, per 2 words, with a minimum charge of 2 20 mills. Double rates are charged on Sundays and official holidays. Telephones. — Trunk telephone lines exist between Cairo, Alexandria and Port Sa‘id. The public call-offices for it are : for Cairo, at the Bourse; and for Alexandria, in the State Telegraph Office. The charges are 75 mills, for three minutes’ conversation (10 P.T. between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.). Urgent calls, triple rates. Several villages are connected telephonically with the nearest telegraph office. DRESS AND EQUIPMENT, MEDICINE. 11 (n) Dress and Equipment. — It; is always desirable in travelling to dispense with unnecessary baggage ; at the same time, if the traveller intends to journey for months he must be well supplied with clothing. Gentlemen should take with them an evening suit, thick and thin light-coloured tweed suits, a suit of some dark-coloured material for wearing on special occasions, a flannel suit or two, riding breeches and gaiters, thick and thin overcoats, thin and thick pairs of shoes both in black and brown leather. A pair of strong thick-soled shoes, or boots, will be found invaluable in exploring ruins. Woollen socks, flannel and linen shirts, slippers, straw and felt hats, cloth caps, white umbrella lined with green, cork sun- helmet, and an ulster, make a fairly complete outfit. A kaflyyah , or turban cloth, to be tied round the hat or helmet in such a way that a good portion of it falls over the neck and sides of the face, should not be forgotten. Ladies will find very useful thick and thin brown shoes or boots, and short blue serge skirts, white and coloured cotton and linen shirts, dresses of thicker materials for cold days and evenings, wrappers and cloaks, etc. If shoes are worn in exploring ruins, gaiters will be found most useful for keeping out the sand and for protection against the bites of insects. Among small miscellaneous articles which will be found very useful are the following : — A good field or opera glass, a pocket filter and leather drinking-cup, leather straps, two or three small balls of twine of different thicknesses, a small strong writing case with plenty of writing materials, a good strong pocket-knife with a long blade of well-tempered steel, smoked spectacles, needles, pins, scissors, tape, thread, buttons, com- pass, small magnifying glass, soap, etc. Artists, geologists, entomologists, and those who wish to pursue a favourite line of study, should take all the most necessary materials with them ; photographers can obtain films, etc., in Cairo, but those who wish to be quite certain about the age of their films had better buy as many as they are likely to want before they start for Egypt. Doctors’ addresses may be obtained at any of the hotels. There are resident English practitioners at Cairo (a large number), Alexandria, Helwan, Luxor, Port Sa‘id, Suez, Aswan, Khartum, and Port Sudan. (12) Medicine. — Egypt is one of the healthiest countries in the world, and if the most ordinary care be taken by the traveller he should need neither physician nor medicine. This remark does not, of course, apply to invalids, who will 12 PRACTICAL INFORMATION. follow the advice of their doctors as regards diet, dress, place of abode, etc. In winter it is usually unnecessary to make any change in the way of living, for most people may eat and drink that to which they are accustomed in Europe. In summer those who have experience of the country are careful not to drink wine or spirits in any great quantity until after sundown. Bathing in the Nile should not be rashly indulged in on account of the swift and dangerous under-currents. A Turkish bath will be found delightful after a fatiguing day of sight- seeing, but the bather must be very careful of draughts, and dress with due regard to the temperature out of doors, especially in winter. At all costs the traveller should guard against chill or cold, for the results are troublesome and annoying, and may be dangerous. It should never be forgotten that the mornings and evenings are cold in winter, and the nights very cold, and arrangements for keeping the body warm should be made accordingly. Fever, diarrhoea, and dysentery are generally the result of cold. The old medicine, Dr. Warburg’s Febrifuge, gives much relief in fever, and quinine should be taken between , not during , the attacks. Remedies for diarrhoea are a gentle aperient, followed by concentrated tincture of camphor ; no fruit, meat, or fatty food of any kind should be eaten at the time, and arrowroot or rice, boiled in milk and water until the grains are well burst, is exceedingly beneficial. Warmth and rest are essentials. Diarrhoea should never be neglected, for in Egypt and the Sudan it often leads to dysentery. Headache and sunstroke are common in Egypt. Effectual remedies are cold compresses, warm baths, and rest in a shaded room or place. Great care should be taken to protect the head and back of the neck with a good broad-brimmed hat, or cork or pith helmet, and in making long excursions a long thin pad of khaki , tied inside the coat or dress in such a way that it lies along the upper part of the spine, has been found very beneficial. The nape of the neck should always be covered when walking or riding in the sun, even comparatively early in the day, for the sun’s rays are powerful, and many severe head- aches have been caused by their striking the head and neck horizontally or diagonally. A sprained ankle should be treated in the usual way, i.e., the sufferer must take rest, and keep his foot in wet bandages. Shoes with stout soles, low heels, and fairly wide welts form the best footgear to wear when clambering over the ruins of ancient temples and FEVER, OPHTHALMIA, BAGGAGE INSURANCE. 13 sites ; it is in such places that the ankle is often sprained. Ophthalmia has always been common in Egypt, a fact which is proved by the large numbers of natives who are deprived of the sight of one or both eyes. It is produced by many causes, and is seriously aggravated by dust and flies and dirt of every kind, and by the glare of the sun. When remedies are promptly applied this disease is not alarming in its progress. Fortunately good medical aid can now be obtained in all the large towns and cities of Egypt, and the sufferer is recommended to place himself in competent hands as soon as ophthalmia attacks him. Tinted spectacles may be often worn with great comfort and advantage. When travelling from place to place in Upper Egypt a small pocket medicine case will be found very useful. In selecting the medicines to stock it the traveller should before leaving home consult his own medical adviser, who, knowing his patient’s constitution, will take care that the remedies for his individual ailments shall be included in the selection. Cases of the kind are inexpensive and most useful, especially those which have vulcanite bottles with screw caps. Each individual will, of course, have a good idea of the medicines which he most needs, but the following will be generally useful : — Warburg’s tincture and quinine for fever ; bicarbonate of soda, ginger, bismuth, for stomachic troubles ; cascara sagrada, and some aperient salt, chlorodyne, and a small quantity of tincture of camphor or of opium, for diarrhoea, and ipecacuanha wine for dysentery ; a roll of sticking plaster, a roll of heftband , vaseline, lanoline, and cold cream ; boracic acid and a preparation of zinc to make lotions for the eyes ; a powder made of boracic acid and zinc, or something similar, for abrasions and chafings from riding, etc. ; a pair of scissors and a clinical thermometer in a metal screw case ; ammonia for treating the bites of gnats, mosquitoes, and scorpions ; carbolic acid soap of 5 and 10 per cent, strengths; eau de Cologne, and an emergency flask of liqueur brandy. (13) Passengers’ Baggage Insurance. — Travellers using Tickets issued by Thos. Cook & Son can have their personal effects insured on payment of a small premium. This insurance covers the articles specified by sea and land in all places and situations against the risk of their being lost, theft, and pilfering, and against the risk of damage by fire or sea-water but subject to the conditions stated. Insurances can be effected for amounts of jQ 20 and upwards. Jewellery, if not placed in the registered baggage, can be covered by the 14 THE CLIMATE OF EGYPT. insurance, but each article must be separately mentioned and separately valued. Full particulars can be obtained at any of the Offices of Thos. Cook & Son. (14) The Climate and Health Resorts of Egypt. The wonderful climate of Egypt is due entirely to the geographical situation of the country. A glance at a map of the two Egypts shows that the climate of Lower Egypt, i.e., the Delta, must, on account of its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, and the arms of the Nile and the large canals which flow from them, be different from that of Upper Egypt, i.e ., the Nile Valley between Cairo and Aswan, which has the vast Libyan Desert on the one side and the Arabian or Eastern Desert on the other. The most northerly cities and towns in the Delta have the usual sea-side climate which the traveller expects to find in that latitude, with the customary warmth and humidity at night ; but the cities and towns in Upper Egypt enjoy a much drier climate both by day and by night. In certain parts of the Delta, where practically whole districts are covered with growing crops which are frequently irrigated, and even in the Fayyum, the temperature drops considerably at sunset, and continues comparatively low through the night, and the air contains much moisture. Beyond all doubt, the climate of Egypt as a whole deserves the highest praise which can be given to it : for dryness it is nearly unparalleled, and the regular and unvarying warmth and sunshine combined make the country a health resort in the truest sense of the word. It should be distinctly under- stood that the sick and delicate need medical advice in selecting the sites which will be the most beneficial for their ailments, and care should be taken that the advice comes from a physician who has a practical, first-hand knowledge of the country and of the climatic peculiarities which are characteristic of its most popular health resorts. The wind in Egypt usually blows from the north or north-west, but in the winter it often comes from the south- west, and is at times extremely cold. In the late spring there blows a wind from the south-west which is commonly known as THE CLIMATE OF EGYPT. 15 Khamsin,* i.e., “ Fifty,” because it blows at intervals during a period of 50 days. Sometimes it blows with terrific violence, and brings with it a mass of sand which it has picked up in the deserts it has crossed, and for heat its blast is like the breath of a furnace ; fortunately it only blows for about a couple of days at a time. Rain falls oftener in Cairo and Alexandria than formerly, a fact which has been attributed by some to the increased area of land which is irrigated. The total rainfall at Cairo is about 2 inches, and at Alexandria it is much greater p at the latter place it was i2’8i inches in 1897 ; i2'3i inches in 1898; 9^67 inches in 1899; 7 *87 inches in 1900; 7*62 inches in 1901; and 10T3 inches in 1902. In recent years heavy rains have fallen in Upper Egypt during the winter; but, speaking generally, very little rain falls at Aswan and Luxor. It is, however, a mistake to declare that it never rains in Upper Egypt. Dew is heavy in all places where crops grow and in Cairo, but the further south we go the less dew will be met with until we reach Aswan, where there is practically none. Temperature : The coldest time of the day is a little before sunrise, and the hottest about 3 p.m. ; it is colder in fields where crops are growing than in the desert, and in Upper Egypt 2 0 or 3 0 of frost in the fields are not uncommon in the winter. In March and April the tempera- ture at Cairo is about 8o° ; a little later it rises from io° to 1 5 °, and in winter it falls to about 65° or 6o°. The mean annual temperature at Cairo is 70° ; the mean summer temperature is 85° ; and the mean winter temperature about 58°. The greatest heat in summer is about 125 0 in the shade. The greatest difference in the temperature during the day takes place at Aswan and equals about 30°. The Tables given below were drawn up by Capt. H. G. Lyons in 1906 ; but if they be compared with those published in the Almanack issued by the Survey Department year by year since that date, it will be seen that the variations are very slight, and that for all practical purposes they are unimportant. * The Arabs who speak correctly do not say Khamsin , but Khamdsin , which is really the vulgar plural of Khamsin , i.e ., “fifty.” The proper word for the period here referred to is Khamstin, which does not necessarily contain 50 days ; there may be a few days more or a few days less in it, according to the weather of the particular year. The word Khamsin also means “Pentecost,” but the period of the Jewish year which corresponds to it is called by the Arabs Khanisindt , and the last day of it is A l- Khamsin. 16 THE CLIMATE OF EGYPT. Mean Monthly Temperature (Centigrade). (From Tables compiled by Capt. H. Lyons, R.E.) Jan. Feb. Mar. - Apr. May j June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec Cairo 12-3 13-8 16*9 21*2 24*8 2 7*7 28 *6 28*1 25*6 23*6 18*9 14*8 Giza to "9 I 3 ”° i 5'2 i 9'3 22*7 24*8 2 5'7 2 ( 5*1 24*0 22*0 17 1 12*9 Beni Suwef 12*6 i 4 -x 16*8 20*8 24*9 26*9 28*1 27*2 2 5‘3 23*2 i 8*5 I 5 ’° Asyut io*6 i 3'5 16*9 21*9 25*8 28*7 2 9"9 29 ‘5 26*6 23*6 17*8 i 3’8 Luxor T 5‘4 I 7’4 21*1 24*1 16*9 Aswan (Rest i6*8 I 7'5 20*9 26*6 3°'3 33'3 33*9 32*0 3°"4 28*6 23*6 18*2 Camp) Aswan (Reservoir) 1 I 4'5 i8'S 21*4 26*1 1 3°’o 3 2 ‘4 3 2 7 3 2 '4 3° '3 27*9 21*7 17*0 Mean Maximum Temperature (Centigrade). Cairo l8*2 21*1 24*2 28*6 32'6 35 *i 36*1 34'9 32*2 30*1 24 3 20*2 Giza 19-1 22*2 2 4‘5 28*8 32*2 34 2 34‘9 34 *9 32 '5 3°7 25*6 21*3 Beni Suwef T 9‘5 20*9 24*2 28*3 32*5 34'3 34’9 33'4 30*8 29*1 24*8 21‘5 Asyut 20*2 24*7 28*4 3 2 "5 3 6*6 377 37‘9 37-8 34’° 3 1 '3 277 22*5 Luxor 23 ’ 1 25 '5 29*4 32*1 3 1 ’ 1 2 4’3 Aswan (Rest Camp) Aswan (Reservoir) 23*8 24*2 28*9 33'6 39'3 4 2 '3 4 2 ’3 39 ’ 2 3 7*6 35’8 29*6 24*9 22*9 28*0 31*1 36*2 39*i 4 r* 4 4 T '5 4 T *9 397 38*8 317 2 7'3 Mean Minimum Temperature (Centigrade). Cairo 6*9 8*2 9‘9 12*8 15*9 18*5 20*8 20*8 18*9 17*1 12*3 8*8 Giza 6*3 7*2 9 *o n *9 14*6 * 7*4 19*0 20*1 18*2 16*5 n *9 8*2 Beni Suwef 5-8 7*2 9’5 13*2 i 7'3 19*6 21*3 2T *0 197 T 7’3 12*2 8*5 Asyut 47 6*7 9*4 i 4 "o x 8-5 21*2 22*6 22 *9 20*7 17*4 10*9 7 -o Luxor 7*6 9*3 12*7 16*1 .. I | .. 12*9 9*6 Aswan (Rest Camp) 9*9 10*7 T2 *9 187 2 X* 3 j 24*3 25*5 24*8 2 3 # 3 21*2 i 7*5 IT ‘S Aswan (Reservoir) 9 *o «*5 13*8 18*3 22*0 ! 24*2 24*7 25*0 23*0 20*7 x 5*3 11 *4 Dryness of the air: No matter how hot the weather, the air of Egypt is always light, fresh, and invigorating, and in places which are quite away from cultivated lands only a minute amount of moisture exists in it. Another important characteristic of the Egyptian climate is its uniformity, and in this respect it probably is unique. How long this will last it is hard to say, for there is no doubt that the large surface of water in the Suez Canal, and the extensive irrigation works which are increasing yearly, to say nothing of the enormous lake which has been formed by the waters held up by the Aswan Dam, have produced local disturbances of the atmosphere, and contributed in some places to make the winters less dry and the summers less hot. The evenings and the mornings are beautifully cool, and the thermometer does not often fall below 40° in Cairo. The average temperature of Lower Egypt ranges between 75 0 and 90° in summer, and between 45 0 and 6o° in winter, and that of Upper Egypt between 90° and i-oo° in summer, and between 6o° and 70° in winter. THE CLIMATE OF EGYPT. 17 Mean Relative Humidity (per cent.). Jan. Feb. Mar. 1 Apr. May J une July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Cairo 69 65 59 5 i 47 47 5 ° 56 62 66 66 70 Giza.. 82 77 70 63 57 57 63 67 73 75 75 81 Asyut 69 66 56 40 30 3 i 36 42 56 62 69 69 Aswan 5 i 37 32 3 ° 25 24 22 23 30 39 34 5 i Relative Humidity (8 or 9 a.m.). Cairo . . 1 87 84 74 68 65 64 73 76 80 80 77 Giza 76 68 59 45 36 40 45 48 60 67 72 Asyut 59 32 24 19 14 18 19 18 2 7 28 36 Aswan 58 48 38 34 29 28 27 , 28 37 42 47 Relative Humidity (2 or 3 p.m.). Cairo .. 47 40 34 27 24 25 27 32 39 42 45 49 Giza . . •• 5 i 42 39 36 3 ° 33 ■36 3 6 44 52 44 50 Asyut •• 34 44 24 21 16 i 7 22 22 31 38 48 46 Aswan ••! 30 22 17 U 15 . i 5 13 I 3 18 22 25 3 ° The principal health resorts of Egypt are Alexandria, Cairo, Mena House and Helwan, both near Cairo, Luxor, and Aswan. Alexandria ( see p. 119) possesses a healthy sea-shore climate, which is on the whole drier than that of Cairo. The mean rainfall is about 8*57 inches, and the mean temperature 69° F. = 20*5° C. ; the mean winter temperature is 6o° E., and, generally speaking, Alexandria is warmer by night than Cairo. The prevailing wind blows from the north in summer, and from the north-west in winter. Close to Alexandria is Ramleh, which is much frequented by tourists and residents who wish to live close to the sea. Mean Temperature (Centigrade). Jan. T fa Mar. Apr. May June July 1 1 Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Alexandria 14-2 15-5 1 7 ’° : 19*2 2 I ‘9 2 4’3 26*2 26*9 25 '9 24-1 19-9 i 6‘2 Port Sa‘id i4'o J5'3 r 6 - 9 | 19-1 22*0 247 27*0 27’6 z 6'5 24-9 20*3 i6'i Isma‘iliya I 3 -2 * 5’2 J 7*5 20*8 2 3‘9 267 287 287 z6'i 23-8 i8 7 I 5 ‘ I Suez I 3'6 i 5'5 18-0 21-7 2 5'3 27‘6 29-4 29-2 27-1 24‘8 X 9 ‘ I I 5'4 Cairo ( see p. 141) possesses a dry and salubrious climate in winter, and the city is thronged at that time with seekers after health and pleasure. It is the headquarters of the Egyptian Government, and the visitor may, if he pleases, amuse and interest himself from morning to night for some B J 18 HEALTH RESORTS. weeks. The climate is not so dry as formerly, and in recent years the cold in winter has become sufficiently intense to necessitate the building of fire-grates in dwelling and other houses. In December, January, and February, the mornings and evenings are often very cold. Rain falls on from 25 to 30 days, and the sky is often overcast by clouds which are blown over the city by a strong wind from the north-west. In April the Khamsin wind makes Cairo hot and stifling, and in the summer the heat and moisture together make it close. Each year that passes brings with it a considerable improve- ment in Cairo as a health resort, and the authorities spare neither pains nor expense in the carrying out of systems of drainage and other sanitary works, and in the cleansing of all parts of the city. The modern hotels are large, commodious buildings, which have been planned with due regard to the comfort, well-being, and health of European and American travellers, and the most approved methods of ventilation and sanitation have been adopted in them. The regular sweeping, cleansing, and watering of the streets, and the abolition of several old, narrow streets of houses, have made the European quarter of Cairo, in which the hotels are situated, an extremely pleasant place in which to live. The native quarters of the city of Cairo also have for years past occupied the serious attention of the Government, and the Egyptian is no longer allowed to live amid dust and dirt as formerly. Many of the streets in the native quarters of the city are now paved with asphalt, some ^E. 30, 000 having already been spent in this work alone; and ^E.11,000 was spent in making the new thoroughfare called the “Boulevard Abbas” in 1905. At the present time more than one-half of the roads and streets in Cairo are paved. In 1902 it was decided to devote a sum of ^E. 1 0,000 a year to establish free taps in Cairo from which the poorer classes could obtain pure water, and the Govern- ment voted ^E. 20,000 to enable the Water Company to improve the quality and increase the supply. That such measures tend to promote the general health of the whole city is too obvious to need mention, ’ and when all the schemes now under discussion have been carried out, Cairo will be as healthy a dwelling-place as any large Oriental city can be. Mena House was built by Mr. Locke-King, and is situated on the skirt of the Libyan Desert, near the Great Pyramid of Cheops, about eight miles from Cairo. The air here is cleaner, MENA HOUSE AND HELWAN. 19 drier, and fresher than at Cairo, but the cold at night in December, January, and February is sometimes unpleasant ; in November, and in the latter part of March and April, the weather is perfect. In addition to health a variety of amuse- ments may be obtained here, and Cairo is easily reached by means of the electric tramway. Helwan ( see p. 218) is a small town which lies on the right or east bank of the Nile, about 16 miles to the south of Cairo, and contained in [907 about 4,119 inhabitants. This town, which stands about halfway between the river and the irrigated lands, owes its importance entirely to the sulphur and salt springs which come to the surface here in great abundance ; the water has a temperature of 91°, and the percentage of sulphur and salt held in solution is very large. These sulphur springs are thought by some to have been famous in very ancient days, and their healing properties were probably well known to those who gave to the place where they rise the name of “ Helwan.” Fresh water is brought into the town from the Nile, about three miles distant. The air of Helwan is clean and free from sand and dust, and the restfulness of the place is very grateful ; from the middle of November to the middle of April the climate is most beneficial for the sick and suffering. The baths which have been built during the last few years leave little to be desired, and it is not to be wondered at that it has recently become the fashion for the inhabitants of Cairo to resort there. The springs have been found specially beneficial in the various forms of skin disease to which residents in so hot a climate are subject. The Khedive Tawfik Pasha built a little palace there, and his luxurious bath-house may still be inspected. Helwan is easily reached by trains which run frequently, the journey lasting from3oto45 minutes. The Observatory at Helwan (lat. 29 0 5 T 33*5 " N., long. 31 0 20' 30*2" E., altitude 115 metres) is open to visitors from 3 to 5 p.m. daily, and at other hours by permission of the Superintendent. A Reynolds’ 30-inch reflector has recently been mounted there, and a “comparator,” for determining with precision the length of bars by comparing them with the standard 4-metre compound bar of platinum and brass, has been erected in a double-walled building. Luxor ( see p. 384 ff.) lies on the right or east bank of the Nile, about 450 miles to the south of Cairo, and can be easily and comfortably reached both by boat and by train. The wind is far less strong at Luxor than at b 2 20 LUXOR AND ASWAN. the northern health resorts, the climate is more equable, the air is drier, sunshine is constant, rain falls very rarely, and the regular warmth is extremely grateful to delicate folk. From December to March it forms a most agreeable place to live in, and the Luxor Hotel is well provided with means for recreation, besides being most comfortable. There is a church in the hotel grounds, and an English clergyman ministers during the winter. The temples of Luxor and Karnak on the east bank, and the temple of Madinat Habu, the Ramesseum, the Tombs of the Kings, the great Theban Necropolis, etc., on the west bank, form objects of the deepest interest, and afford means of occupation, to say nothing of instruction, which are well-nigh endless. Archaeo- logical investigations of a most comprehensive character are being carried out by representatives of the Egyptian and European Governments, and visitors to Luxor are in the fortunate position of seeing and hearing of the most recent discoveries in Egyptology as soon as they are made. Aswan (see p. 489 ff . ), at the foot of the First Cataract, is about 583 miles south of Cairo, and, like Luxor, may be easily and comfortably reached by boat and train. It is the driest and warmest health resort in Egypt, and as rain is rare, and there is no dew, the place forms an ideal abode for invalids and others whose comfort, or may be their very existence, demands a high temper- ature by day and warm, dry nights. The west wind passes over hundreds of miles of blazing desert, and is almost as dry as it is possible to be, and the north wind, owing to the little vegetation near the town, is also extremely dry, and to these causes must be attributed the wonderful crispness and bracing quality of the air, which is so beneficial to every visitor. In recent years large, commodious, and comfortable hotels have been built, one on the Island of Elephantine, one at the southern end of the town, and one close to the foot of the Cataract, and every attention is paid to cleanliness, sanitation, and drinking water, and three and a half months in winter, i.e., from the last week in November to the second or third week in March, may be passed most pleasantly at Aswan. In January the mornings are cold, but this hardly matters to those who have not to leave their hotels early ; care should be taken by boating parties to provide warm wraps if they intend to remain on the river after sunset, both for comfort’s sake and for the prevention of chills. ATTRACTIONS OF ASWAN. 21 The antiquarian attractions of Aswan are very considerable, and many weeks may be profitably spent in visiting the various sites of interest in its neighbourhood. The beautiful little Island of Philae, with its graceful temples, will afford occupa- tion and enjoyment for many days, for the attractions of its most characteristic sculptures and pillars are well-nigh inexhaustible. The picturesque situation of the island, fixed as it is amid wild and weird scenery, is fascinating, and few of those who take the trouble to visit it several times will have difficulty in understanding how ideas of admiration and awe came to grow up in the minds of travellers, both native and foreign, as they stood and looked upon the sanctuaries which were made thrice holy by the shrines of Osiris and Isis of Philae. All the little islands in the cataract to the north of the Aswan Dam are worth several visits, and the inscriptions .on the rocks, which are found everywhere on them, are of great interest. One or two expeditions may be made to the ruins of the Coptic monastery on the west bank of the cataract, and the tombs of the Vlth and Xllth dynasties, -which are on the same side of the river, and run in terraces along the great hill immediately opposite Aswan, are among the most attractive of their class. Delightful rides may be taken near the old granite quarries, and in the desert further to the east, and the marks still remaining of the methods by which the blocks were got out of the quarries by the ancient Egyptians, to say nothing of the unfinished colossal statues and obelisk, afford much material for study. Many visitors take pleasure in tracing out the old road from Aswan to Philae, and in examining the remains of the great wall which was built to protect the settle- ments and forts in the cataract from the attacks of the tribes of the Eastern Desert ; there are also numerous inscriptions to be seen on the rocks by the way. To many visitors the camp of the Bisharin is a source of great amusement, and now that the bazars are once more becoming filled with the products of the handiwork of the tribes of the Southern Sudan, they are of considerable interest. The sense of physical well-being, which is obtained by riding in the desert in this delightful place, is rarely forgotten by those who have experienced it. Those who are attracted by desert scenery will derive great pleasure from a journey to Daraw, along the old caravan road which runs due north of Aswan. Even in fairly hot weather the air is light and relatively' cool, and very interesting mirages are frequently seen. 22 THE VOYAGE UP THE NILE. (15) The Voyage up the Nile. The method of ascending the Nile best suited to the majority of travellers is by the Tourist Steamer, one or more of which leave Cairo every week during the season for Aswan, connecting with other services from Aswan (Shallal) to Wadi Halfah. The daily itinerary of each of these services is given on pp. 349-351. These first-class Tourist Steamers are constructed of the best materials, with every known device and improvement con- ducive to the personal comfort and convenience of passengers. The cabins are large and furnished for long voyages, and in no case contain more than two beds, while many have but one. The decks are fitted up like the verandahs of a country cottage, the upper deck having a drawing-room and a large observation saloon, from the windows of which the varied scenes of the life of the Nile may be viewed; on this deck there are also self-contained suites of sitting and bed-rooms, with private baths with hot and cold water supplies and every toilet convenience. The dining saloons, from which uninter- rupted views are obtained, are large and airy, and the table is excellent and well served. Every steamer has a reading saloon with a library of interesting works on Egypt, and concerts, dances, and entertainments are frequent. All the saloons are heated by electricity. In short, a Nile Tourist Steamer means river travelling under the most favourable auspices, in the most comfortable quarters, on a floating hotel with a good and generous table, with pleasant com- pany and pleasant surroundings. The whole of the most interesting sights on the Nile — temples, ancient remains, bazars, native life — are brought within the compass of the traveller with a minimum expenditure of wear and tear. The charge for passage includes all outgoings on donkeys, boats, guides and so forth, with nothing more to pay but an optional douceur to the servants, as in all steamboat arrange- ments, and the inevitable bakshish — a few piastres — to the donkey boys. The voyage from Cairo to Aswan and back occupies twenty days, and from Aswan to Wadi Halfah and back seven days. Those who desire to make the voyage in the privacy of their own family or party may travel by dahabiyyah or by private steamer. THE VOYAGE UP THE NILE, ETC. 23 The Dahabiyyah is the most ancient style of boat known on the Nile. Although greatly modified and improved according to modern ideas, it still conforms in many respects to the type originally in use under the Pharaohs. It represents the most luxurious, but most expensive, means of travelling on the Nile. The drawback to the use of the sailing dahabiyyah is the chance of encountering contrary winds, but this may be entirely obviated by the employment of steam tugs, a number of which are always available. The Private Steamer is in great favour with those to whom time is of importance, but who yet desire to travel as a private party. These private steamers, like the sailing dahabiyyahs, are of various sizes, adapted to the requirements of large or small parties. Both are most luxurious in their appointments. For fuller information, see Thos. Cook & Son’s annual programme of arrangements for visiting Egypt, the Nile and Soudan, issued gratuitously on application. N.B. — A Government tax is levied on all travellers who wish to visit the monuments, temples, etc., in Egypt, such tax to be devoted to the maintenance and preservation of the monuments, temples, etc. ; therefore all travellers by steamers and dahabiyyahs will have to provide themselves, before leaving for the Nile voyage, with the necessary card admitting them to inspect the monuments. Tickets to visit Antiquities are available from July ist for 12 months. a. For the whole of Egypt ... 120 piastres (24^. 8 d.). b. Gizah Pyramids, ascent or entrance, each 10 piastres. c. Sakkarah ... ... ... ... ... 5 piastres. Obtainable of Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son, at the Egyptian Museum at Cairo, and of the officials at Luxor, Gizah and Sakkarah. (16) Bakshish, or Bakhshish.* — This word, which is the equivalent of “gratuity,” “tip,” or “ pourboire” literally means a “ gift,” and it will probably be the first word the traveller will hear when he lands on Egyptian soil, and the last as he leaves it. Those who render him the smallest service will demand bakshish, as likewise will those who render him * " < > bakshish , plur., > bakashish. The Persian form of the word is Bakhshish. 24 BAKSHiSH. no service at all, but who stand about, stare at him, and obstruct the way; the half-naked child lying in the dust will cry ’s/iish after him, the older children will shout the word at him in chorus, and labourers will stop their work and ask for bakshish on the chance that they may get something given to them for nothing. Formerly in Egypt highly placed officials took bakshish openly, but as they received no regular salary this is not to be wondered at ; in recent years this abuse has greatly diminished, and bakshish is now only demanded by those who wish to be overpaid for their services, and by beggars. So far as possible the traveller should agree on the price of every service beforehand, but he must remember that even when he has paid the sum agreed upon the native will ask for bakshish. So long as travellers will overpay the Egyptians for their services, so long will the cry for bakshish be a nuisance to everybody. No hard-and-fast rule can be laid down, for the simple reason that the generosity of benevolent men and women which finds expression in indiscriminate almsgiving and charity, even when known to be misapplied, refuses to be curbed. It must, however, be pointed out that those who bestow gifts on an unreasonably large scale make travelling difficult for people of moderate means, and for some wholly impossible. If each traveller would make it a rule never to give bakshish, except for some positive service rendered, worth the sum given, he would confer a boon upon the people and upon future travellers. In Egypt, as elsewhere, the traveller who pays best will always be waited upon first, and the more bakshish the native is given the more he will expect ; each season finds him more and more dissatisfied with the bakshish with which he would have been quite content a few years ago. A bargain once made should be adhered to, for when once the native realizes that his employer intends to stand firm, he rarely gives further trouble. Among claimants for bakshish must be mentioned the profes- sional beggars, who are numerous ; many of these are impostors. On the other hand many of the maimed, the halt, the blind, and the aged ought to be helped , and a few piastres judiciously bestowed often smooth the way of those who, through an accident, or sickness, or no fault of their own, have fallen on evil times. In country districts the traveller will save himself a good deal of trouble if he will provide himself with a bag of copper paras (40 = 1 piastre tariff) or nickel millims THE EGYPTIAN CHARACTER. 25 (io := i piastre tariff) before leaving Cairo, for the most urgent wants of the deserving beggars can be supplied with a few of these, and the danger of demoralizing the native is reduced to a minimum. (17) The Traveller in Egypt. — The traveller who visits Egypt for the first time will certainly be delighted with the country, but it is probable that he will not admire the natives with whom he will come in contact until he knows them fairly well. The Egyptians in general, until quite recently, have, like other Muhammadans, never been accustomed to travel, and they look upon those who wander from country to country as beings who are possessed of restless though harmless devils. Like their more fanatical co-religionists and kinsmen in Mesopotamia, they believe that the ancient Egyptians were idolaters and very wicked people, and that God destroyed them, and blotted out their kingdoms and buried their palaces and temples, because of their iniquity. That anyone should wish to make excava- tions for the love of learning or the advancement of science is more than they can understand, and the older generation regard all those who do work of this kind as wicked men. “ How do you dare to dig up what God hath buried ? ” said a native to the writer some years ago, and even when it was pointed out to him that the smallest object could not be dug up “ unless God willed it,” he was discontented with the explanation. Egyptians of the “ old school,” and especially those who have been much in contact with the orthodox Turkish official, still believe that the “Frangi,” or European traveller, has some ulterior motive in going about the country, and nothing will induce them to realize that the love of travel, and the wish to see new cities and new peoples, will draw men from their homes into remote countries. The younger genera- tion, though not generally fanatical, is as sceptical about the traveller’s motives as his elders, only, seeing that money is to be made out of the “ Frangi,” he conceals his doubts, and devotes himself to making money out of him. The Egyptian knows that the possession of money will enable him to keep wives, to dress well, and to gratify his desires for pleasure ; he therefore loses no opportunity of getting money from the stranger, whom he believes to possess an inexhaustible supply of gold and silver. Speaking generally, the traveller has very little oppor- tunity of seeing the better class of Egyptians, and he must by no means judge the whole nation by those who minister to his wants in the great cities. The Egyptian, the worst side of whose 26 THE EGYPTIAN CHARACTER. character has not been developed by cupidity, is a very estimable individual. He is proud of his religion, and is tolerant to a remarkable degree, but it must never be forgotten that the strictest Muhammadans despise the Christian faith in their hearts, although Christians are everywhere treated with civility. As the result of their religion, the Egyptians are benevolent and charitable to the poor,, and they are extremely hospitable ; they are cheerful, affable, easily amused, and many are temperate and frugal. They love their homes and their native villages, and when they are compelled by the exigencies of military service to leave them, large numbers of young men regularly transmit money to their parents and relatives to keep them from want. It has been wisely remarked by Lane that the Egyptian has no gratitude in his composition, and the traveller will discover for himself that even after he has paid a man lavishly for trivial services he will be met with the demand for bakshish. Partly through climatic influences, partly through constitution, and partly through his intense fatalism, the average Egyptian is lazy, and he will never do more than he is absolutely compelled to do. Truthfulness is very rare in modern Egypt, but this is in many cases only the natural result of loose and inaccurate thinking. The views of the Egyptian about his womankind are not of an exalted character, but he has only himself to thank for this so long as he adheres to the abominable system of divorce which is common throughout the country. In judging the Egyptian the traveller must make allowance for the centuries of oppres- sion and misery through which he has passed, and remember that in many cases he should be treated with a kind but firm hand, as if he were a child. He is quick to appreciate just and humane treatment. And he has grasped the idea of honour and the trust that may be placed in an Englishman’s word or promise which generations of English travellers in Egypt have left behind them. The influences which have been brought to bear upon him in recent years have already produced important results ; but unless he makes a radical change in his domestic arrangements, he will never be able to employ to the best advantage the benefits which the civilization of the West has brought to his land. In exceptional cases Europeans have made lasting friendships with Egyptians, but such friendships have not included their families, for the all-sufficient reason that women are never allowed to form friendships of this kind. Marriage between Europeans and THE EGYPTIAN CHARACTER. 27 natives is to be strongly deprecated. The most potent factor in the change which is now passing over Egypt is the progress of female education in Egypt. Formerly parents sent their daughters to school reluctantly, and took them away early, and to encourage the education of girls it was necessary to admit many to the schools free. Free education has now been abolished to all intents and purposes, and yet the demand for private schools for girls has greatly increased. The advance in the education of boys has stimulated female education, for the younger generation are beginning to demand that their wives should possess some qualifications other than those which can be secured in the seclusion of the harhn. Where educa- tion has made progress the age of marriage has risen, and thus it seems that girls are allowed to remain longer at school than was the custom formerly. The abolition of the use of the kurbash , i.e., of corporal punishment, by Lord Dufferin, early in 1883, has had effects which were not contemplated by him. As soon as the whip was abolished the people refused to work, and Lord Cromer said that the period which followed its abolition “ caused him greater anxiety than any other ” during his lengthened Egyptian experience. Another result was that life and property became insecure, and Nubar Pasha was obliged to appoint “ Commissions of Brigandage,” that is, to introduce martial law. The Egyptian has also learned that no one can be punished for a crime unless he is proved to be guilty, and that proof of guilt which will satisfy the law courts is hard to get. The result has been that large numbers of guilty people have escaped punishment, and throughout the country the people have little respect for the law. The inability of the governors to use the whip is the cause of the present state of unrest among a certain class of Egyptians, and it is clear that only corporal punishment will reduce this class to order and obedience. 28 PART I. THE LAND OF EGYPT. Geographical Position and Area, Geology, the Fayyfim, the Natron Lakes, the Lakes in the Delta, the Oases, Natural History, Ancient and Modern Divisions, the White Nile, the Nile, the Blue Nile, the Atbara, the Upper Nile, the Cataracts, Irrigation, the Corvee, the Nile Barrages, the Government, Revenue, Trade, Debt, etc., the Modern Egyptians, Narcotics and Amusements. I.— GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION, GEOLOGY, ETC. Egypt lies in the north-east corner of the continent of Africa, and is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the north, by the Sudan on the south, by Southern Syria and the Eastern Desert and Red Sea on the east, and by the Libyan Desert on the west. The Limits of Egypt have varied considerably at different periods, but, speaking generally, we may at the present time consider Egypt to be that portion of the Valley of the Nile which lies between the Mediterranean Sea and the Island of Faras, which is the most northerly point of the Sudan Government, and is 20 miles north of Wadi Halfah, i.e., between 22 0 and 31 0 30' north latitude. The 22nd parallel crosses the Nile at Gabal Sahabah, 8 miles from the Camp of Wadi Halfah. The Camp is 802 miles from Cairo by river, and Cairo is 16 1 miles from the mouth of the Rosetta Arm of the Nile, and no miles from the lighthouse of Bftrlus (Borollos). Its limit on the east is a point slightly to the east of Al-‘Arish, the ancient Rhinocolura, and the frontier which divides Egypt from Turkey in Asia is marked by a line drawn directly from Al- £ Arish to the head of the Gulf of ‘Akabah. The Peninsula of Sinai forms now, as it has for the last 6,000 years, a portion of Egypt. On the west the frontier is represented by a line drawn from the Gulf of Solium, due south, to a point a little to the south-west of the Oasis of Siwah ; from this point it proceeds in a south-easterly direction to the GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION, GEOLOGY, ETC. 29 22nd parallel of north latitude near Wadi Halfah. It must, however, never be forgotten that Egypt proper in reality consists only of the River Nile and of the land which is watered by the main stream and its branches, and this being so, the deserts which are included within the limits given above may be considered to possess significance from a political point of view only. The matter was well summed up by the Greek historian Herodotus,* who declared (Book II, §§ 17, 18) that “ the whole country inhabited by Egyptians is Egypt, as that inhabited by Cilicians is Cilicia, and that by Assyrians, Assyria.” He further gave it in his opinion that the country of Egypt comprised all the land which was watered by the Nile, and stated that this opinion was supported by Divine authority. It appears that certain peoples who lived in the Libyan Desert close to the Delta wished to free themselves from the restriction of not eating cow’s flesh which had been imposed on them as if they had been Egyptians, giving as the reasons that they lived out of the Delta, and that they did not speak the Egyptian language. When the question was referred to Ammon, the god replied that “all the country which the Nile irrigated was Egypt, and that all these were Egyptians who dwelt below (/.£., to the north of) the city of Elephantine, and drank of that river.” As the Nile during the inundation flooded the country “ said to belong to Libya and Arabia to the extent of about two days’ journey on either side, more or less,” the pertinence of the oracle of Ammon is obvious, and it is clear that the ancients considered Egypt to be the country which lay between Syene, the modern Aswan, and the Mediterranean Sea. The total area of Egypt is said to be between 400,000 and 430,000 square miles, including the deserts on each side of the Nile ; its length is about 620 miles and its breadth about 600 miles. The land covered by the Nile deposit was about seven and a quarter million acres, but since the building of the Aswan Dam nearly two million more acres are now irrigated. Strictly speaking, the area of Egypt varied with the annual inundation of the Nile, i.e., it was enlarged during a “high ” Nile, and contracted during a “low” one; in recent years, however, by reason of the improved means of irrigation, the area of Egypt has increased year by year, for more and more waste land has been gradually brought into cultivation, He was born about 480 B.c. and died about 400 b.c. 30 SEA-COAST, PORTS,. DESERTS, GEOLOGY, ETC. and there is every reason to believe that the absorption of the desert will go steadily on for some time to come. In 1888 the area of the unirrigated land was 269,110 acres, but in 1905, in spite of the river levels in June and July being the worst ever recorded, the area was only 45,000 acres. Since that time the area of the unirrigated land has greatly decreased, and the draining operations in the Delta have resulted in the reclamation of much land, which in process of time will become very valuable. In form Egypt somewhat resembles a lotus, the Nile from Cairo to Aswan representing the stem, and the Delta the flower. The sea = coast of the Delta is very flat and sandy, and no rocks are found until we reach the district to the west of Alexandria. In the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of ‘Akabah in many places the sea washes the feet of the mountains that stand on their shores. In the Red Sea the shore is usually sandy, but in many places pebbles and the detritus of stones are found. The Ports of Egypt are Alexandria, Port Sa‘id and Suez. On the Mediterranean are Sollftm and Matrfih ; on the Red Sea are Kuser and Safagah, etc. ; and in the Gulf of Suez, Tor, Abu Zanimah, Gamisah, Burgadan, etc. On each side of the Nile Valley is a great and terrible desert. The Libyan or Western Desert is a vast plateau of hard limestone on which nothing grows, but about four days’ journey from the Nile a series of hollows is found in it where springs of water (some warm) rise out of their depths, and it is possible for man and beast to live in them. These hollows form the Oases (see pp. 252, 257-286). The Arabian or Eastern Desert contains high mountains, eg., Gabal Shayib (7,200 feet), Gabal Hamata (6,500 feet), Gabal Shandib (6,300 feet), and large stony plateaux furrowed with wide and deep ravines called khor and ivadi. Wells and springs are found in many places, and patches of stunted shrubs which are nourished by subterranean springs. Geology. — The soil of Egypt consists of a very thick layer of sedimentary deposits of cretaceous and tertiary ages, which have been laid down upon the uneven and eroded surface of a great mass of crystalline rocks which come to the surface along the edge of Egypt on the east, and cover large areas in the Eastern Desert. The depth of these sedimentary deposits has formed the subject of much discussion, and boring experiments were made by Professor Judd, F.R.S., for the Royal Society, with the view of finding out where the mud ended and GEOLOGY, NILE VALLEY, CRYSTALLINE ROCKS. 31 the rock on which Egypt rests began ; at Zakazik in the Delta the borers were worked down to a depth of 345 feet, but the rock w'as not reached. The layer of mud and sand which forms the characteristic soil of Egypt came to an end at a depth of about no feet, and what was found below this depth consisted of coarse sand, clay, and shingle. The thickness of the mud soil of Egypt varies at different places. Thus at Bani Suwef it is only about 36 feet deep, and at Suhak it is about 56 J feet ; both these places are in the Nile Valley proper. At Banha and at Kalyftb it is 56^ feet and 40 feet respectively ; both these places are in the Delta. Up to the present the greatest depth of Nile mud has been found to be at Zakazik, and here, as said above, it is about no feet deep. To-day the Nile is depositing mud on its bed at the rate of nearly 4 inches in a century. This statement agrees with that of Capt. H. G. Lyons, who says : The resultant effect of this deposition during flood and erosion during the falling stage of the river has been to raise the river-bed between Aswan and Cairo at the average rate of about 10 centimetres per century during the last 2,000 or 3,000 years, and certainly for a much longer period. The direction of the Nile Valley is generally in a north and south direction, and this is due to great earth movements which took place in Miocene times ; and the long depression now occupied by the Central African Lakes, the lower area south of Abyssinia, the Red Sea, the Gulfs of Suez and ‘Akabah, and the Jordan Valley, is due to extensive fracturing of the earth’s crust. The line of this fracture can, in the opinion of Messrs. Willcocks and Lyons, be traced from the Medi- terranean Sea nearly to the First Cataract. In late Miocene or early Pliocene times the sea made its way so far south as Asna, and in doing so it laid down thick deposits of sand and gravel, and the tributary streams, fed by a rainfall much heavier than that of to-day, brought down masses of broken stony matter from the limestone plateaux and piled them up along the margins of the valley. A rise of the area turned this arm of the sea into a river valley, and the deposit of Nile mud and the formation of cultivable land began. The crystalline rocks begin in latitude 28° N., and form the southern portion of the Sinai Peninsula and the range of hills which border the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea, and extend as far south as the northern boundary of Abyssinia. 32 CRYSTALLINE ROCKS, GEOLOGY, ETC. In width they gradually increase, reaching two-thirds of the way to the Nile east of Kana, while at Aswan, Kalabshah, and Wadi Halfah, and at numerous points further south they occur in the Valley of the Nile, forming cataracts and gorges, though often still hidden over large areas east of the Nile by the Nubian sandstone. The crystalline rocks are at base a gneiss, which is overlaid by mica, talc, and chlorite schists, above which is a very thick volcanic series, and into this are intruded a grey hornblendic granite and also later a red granite. The best known of these rocks is the red hornblendic granite of Aswan, which was used by the Egyptians of all periods for obelisks, statues, stelae, and temples. Among the rocks of the volcanic series must be mentioned the famous porphyry, the quarries of which near the Red Sea were extensively worked in the Roman period. The three places in Egypt and Nubia where the old surface of the crystalline rocks lies nearest to the surface are Aswan, Kalabshah, and Wadi Halfah, and here the Nile has made cataracts in forcing its way through them. The layer of sandstone which lies on the crystalline rocks covers nearly the whole of Nubia, and extends so far north as Asna, where it is in turn covered over by the clays and lime- stones of Cretaceous age. It is yellow in colour, and at its base usually becomes a quartz conglomerate ; it was quarried chiefly at Kartassi in Nubia and at Silsilah in Egypt, and most of the temples in the southern part of Egypt and throughout Nubia are built of it. Above the sandstone in many places lie a large series of green and grey clays, and thick beds of soft white limestone ; and above these is a very thick layer of soft white limestone which forms the cliffs of the Nile Valley from Luxor to Cairo, and furnishes most of the stone used for building in Egypt. Another kind of siliceous sandstone is found at Gabal Ahmar, near Cairo ; this is, in reality, a shallow water deposit, which has been in many cases cemented into a hard refractory rock by silica ; this stone was largely used in building temples in the Delta. On all the above strata thick deposits of sand and gravel were laid down by the sea which, as has already been said, ran up as far as Asna in prehistoric times, and subsequently, under the influence of climatic conditions which closely resemble those of our own time, river deposits of dark, sandy mud were laid down at levels which were considerably higher than the deposits of to-day. There is a complete GEOLOGY. 33 absence of fossils in the Nubian sandstone. From Abu Simbel northwards the Nile Valley is bounded on the west by a high limestone plateau called Sinn al-Kiddab, which at this point is about 56 miles from the river, and it gradually approaches the stream until at Aswan it is only 25 miles distant, and at Gabalen it marches with the river. North of Aswan we find two interesting plains, which Sir W. Willcocks ■calls the “ plain of Kom Ombo ” and the “plain of Edfu ” ; these were once ancient Deltas of rivers coming down from the high ranges which skirt the Red Sea. The sands and clays of these belong to an age anterior to the Nile, and are covered with granite and porphyry pebbles brought down from the Red Sea range, and have no affinity with those met with at Aswan, Kalabshah, and Wadi Halfah. About five miles to the north of the temple of Kom Ombo is a good section which illustrates the relative positions and depths of the .ancient sandy clay and sand deposits overlaid by the more recent Nile mud. Limestone is first met with at Ar-Raghamah, ;a little to the south of Silsilah, and between this place and Victoria N’yanza there is no other limestone in the Nile Valley. It has been generally supposed that the pass at Gabal Silsilah was an ancient cataract of the Nile, but though the present channel is narrow, yet it is only a branch of the river ; the true channel is on the right of the hill in which the quarries are, and is at present buried under mud and silt. The word Silsilah, which has become the name of this place, means “chain.” The word Silsilah is usually applied to a cataract on the Nile, but the common Arabic word for cataract is shallal , the series of rocks being supposed to represent the hollows in the links of the chain. Gabal Silsilah can never have been a cataract, for the Nile deposits and certain shells are met with north and south of the pass at exactly the same level, and no change is experienced until we reach Gabalen, where there is a decided drop in the level of the ancient deposits. It is probable that a great cataract existed at Gabalen at a very remote period — at least, this is what the up-turned and undermined hills at Gabalen suggest. Between Kana and Cairo the Nile flows between limestone hills ; the Londinian formation extends to a point midway between Asyfit and Minya, where the lower Parisian strata appear on the tops of the plateaux. The upper Londinian strata disappear a little to the north of Minya, and c 34 THE FAYYUM AND LAKE MOERIS. the lower Parisian formation is now generally met with as far as Cairo. The Fayyum [for the description of the antiquities of the Fayyum see p. 2 4 1 ff . ] , whichsome have regarded as the first of the Oases in the Libyan Desert, is in reality a “deep depression scooped out of the Parisian limestone,” the greater part of the bed of which is overlaid with thick belts of salted loams and marls, and upon this Nile mud has been laid down. In connection with the Fayyftm must be mentioned the Birkat al = Kurun, i.e., “ the Lake of the Horns,” a long, narrow lake which lies to the north-west of the Fayyum province. A great deal has been written about Birkat al-Kurun, both by those who regard it as a part of the old Lake Moeris and by those who do not. Modern expert engineering opinion declares unhesitatingly that this lake, the water surface of which is about 130 feet below sea level, is all that remains of Lake Moeris, and it has, according to the authorities quoted by Sir W. Wilicocks, been definitely proved that Lake Moeris never had a natural outlet towards the interior of the country, and that it was never connected in any way with the Wadi Rayan, which it nearly touched. According to Mr. Beadnell ( Topography and Geology of the Fayum Province , Cairo, 1905, p. 26), the Fayyftm is a depres- sion which in Pliocene times was occupied by the sea, which then extended for some distance up the Nile Valley. Later on, in Pleistocene times, when the drainage of North-Eastern Africa flowed down the Nile Valley at a considerably higher level than to-day, the Fayyftm depression became a lake com- municating with the river. Later on, as the river eroded its bed, the depression was probably cut off from the Valley, until in early historic times the river bed had again risen sufficiently by deposition to render possible the diversion of part of its supply into the Fayyflm. From that time, by regulating the amount so diverted, it was possible to reclaim gradually almost the whole of the floor of this low-lying area for cultivation. Now all that remains of the former lake is an area of 233 square kilometres of brackish water, which is being reduced yearly, as the water which reaches it is less than that which is removed by evaporation. One of the most extraordinary facts in connection with Lake Kurun is that its waters are only slightly brackish ; they are, moreover, quite drinkable, and fresh- water fish from the Nile are found in them in abundance. The cause of this is said to NATRON LAKES, LAKES IN THE DELTA. 35 be clefts and fissures in the bottom of the lake and the very considerable drainage which has gone on. The streams of water which flow from these subterranean passages travel towards the Marmarica coast between Alexandria and Derma. There, “ owing to the tensile force inherent in all water at a high temperature, they are discharged at great depths below- the level of the Mediterranean Sea.” The effect of this constant drainage has been to lessen the quantity of salt in the lake, and to lower the level of its w r aters. In some places its depth is as much as 26 feet, and in others it is as little as 10 feet. As the Fayyum basin is closed in on all sides by bluffs and hills of considerable height, had there been no subterranean drainage the salt in the waters of Lake Kurfin must have increased, but the contrary is the fact, and the amount of salt in its waters at the present time bears no adequate proportion to that which the lowest estimate of experts entitles us to expect. In support of the explanation of the relatively slight brackishness of the waters of Lake Kurun given above, Dr. Schweinfurth and Sir W. Willcocks mention the case of Lake Tchad in the Central Sudan as exhibiting an example of subterranean drainage on a larger scale. The waters are perfectly sweet in spite of the absence of any apparent outlet. This lake is drained by active infiltration towards the north-east in low depressions, which are known as the Bahr al-Ghazal. In connection with Birkat al-Kurun must be mentioned the famous Natron Lakes, which lie in the Natron Valley, to the north-west of Cairo. From these are obtained carbonate of soda and muriate of soda, both of which salts have been loosely classed as ‘‘natron ” ; these Birak or “ Lakes ” are six or eight in number, and J:he valley in which they are situated is about 20 miles long, and varies in width from i-J to 5 miles. Dr. Sickenberger observed in 1892 that all the springs which gave birth to the “ Lakes ” were situated on the eastern side of the valley, and this fact suggests that the “ Lakes ” are probably due to direct infiltrations from the Nile. [For a description of the Monasteries near the Natron Lakes, see p. 256-7.] Along the northern coast of the Delta,* close to the Mediterranean Sea, are several large lagoons, of which the * “Delta” is the name usually given to the triangular island which is often formed by the mouths of large rivers, e.§., the Indus and Nile, because it resembles in shape the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, a. In the case of the Nile, the two sides are formed by the Rosetta and Damietta arms and the base by the Mediterranean Sea. C 2 A 36 SUBSIDENCE OF CITIES IN THE EASTERN DELTA. most important are Lake Manzalah (area, 1,930 square kilos.), Lake Burlus (area, 690 square kilos.), Lake Edkti (area, 270 square kilos.), Lake Abukir, and Lake Mareotis (area, 290 square kilos.) ; between these lakes and the sea are innumerable sand-bars or dunes. It was estimated in 1905 that the amount of land flooded by these lakes was equal to about 380,000 acres, but draining operations have been steadily carried out for some years, and Lake Abukir has been almost entirely reclaimed. Much land, too, has also been reclaimed from Lake Manzalah. The Delta measures : From Meks, west of Alexandria, to the shore of Lake Manzalah, a little to the east of Port Sa £ id, 250 kilometres (156 miles) ; from Cairo to the lighthouse of Lake Burlfis, 175 kilometres (no miles); and its area is about 23,000 square kilometres. The Delta now begins about 14 miles north of Cairo, at the Barrage, but in ancient days the bifurcation of the Nile took place some ten miles nearer Cairo. The alluvial sand and mud of the Delta rest upon a thick deposit of yellow quartz sands, layers of gravel and stiff clay, which was laid down when the sea extended some distance up the Nile Valley, in the “Fault Valley ” in which now lies the cultivated land of Egypt. In ancient days it is said that the land now occupied by the lakes mentioned above was divided into tracts of land each containing about 50,000 acres, and that whole districts were planted with vineyards, and that the region supported a large population. The heaps of bricks and pottery which are found round about in all directions suggest that this tradition rests on some good foundation, although the visitor, when he looks on the scene of desolation which the neighbourhood presents, will have some difficulty in believing it. Irrigation engineers declare that the present state of things is due chiefly to the fact that the system of basin irrigation was abandoned by the Egyptians under the rule of the Turks, who allowed 40 per cent, of the land of the Delta to fall out of cultivation, and, what is worse, by keeping the land out of cultivation for so many years, they have made it so salted and barren that it is exceedingly difficult to reclaim it. Besides this, moreover, an ancient tradition says that the level of the land itself sank some 1,000 or 1,500 years ago, and that in consequence the city of Teni, or Tanis, and the whole region of the “Field of Zoan,” disappeared. Sir W. Willcocks has explained the sinking of the land in the following manner : — THE SEVEN OASES. 37 “ The Nile, like all deltaic rivers, deposits each flood its annual layer of fresh soil. This deposit is greatest near its banks. The natural consequence is, that the river advances into the sea in a series of tongues corresponding to the different mouths of the river. There is a limit to their length in the fact that, after a time, during some year of high flood, the river breaches its banks, and, finding a shorter course to the sea, tears open a new channel, and silts up the old one. The flood- water of the Nile, however, as it forces itself into the sea, meets the prevailing north-west wind, which drives back the matters held in suspension, and carrying on the sand, deposits it in long bars, stretching from mouth to mouth on a regular curve. These sand-bars are added to every year, and are considerably higher than the land behind them.” The steep slopes of such sand-bars towards the sea render them liable to slide, provided the level of the sea falls, a thing which would happen during a severe earthquake ; given some appreciable lowering of the sea-level for a short interval of time, and the sliding of the sand-bars towards the sea, the whole of the land for some distance behind the sand- bars would be more or less swamped and thrown out of cultivation ( Egyptian Irrigation , second edition, p. 241). Lake Timsah and the Bitter Lakes have come into being through the construction of the Suez Canal; before 1865 they were mere swamps filled with reeds. The Oases. — In Ptolemaic times the Oases were said to be seven by Egyptian geographers: — (1) The largest of all is that which lies about 16 days’ journey to the west of Cairo, and is commonly known by the names of “ Oasis of Jupiter Ammon,” and “Oasis of Siwah ” ; (2) The Oasis of AUKhargah, which is best known as the Great Oasis, lies at a distance of about four days’ journey from Asna ; (3) Beyond Al-Khargah, to the north, lies the Oasis of Dakhlah, which some have thought to represent the Little Oasis ; (4) About half-way between the Great Oasis and the Little Oasis is the Oasis of Farafrah ; (5) To the north-east of Farafrah and Dakhlah is the Oasis of Bahariyah, which has also been identified with the Little Oasis of early writers ; (6) The district which was called by the Egyptians Ut or Uahet, i.e., “Oasis,” has not yet been satisfactorily identified ; (7) The region called Sekhet=hemam, i.e., Salt Field, is no doubt some portion of the Wadi Natrun, or Natron Valley. At the present time the Oases in the Western Desert which belong to Egypt are five in number, viz., Siwah, Bahariyah, Dakhlah, Khargah, and Farafrah. Of the history of the Oases in early dynastic times nothing is known, but they were probably raided by the tribes who lived between them and the Nile and even by the Egyptians themselves. Usertsen I., the founder of the Xllth dynasty, appears to have been the first king of Egypt who attempted to 38 NATURAL HISTORY. make the inhabitants of the Oases subject to him.* Usertsen I. found, as later kings did also, that it was useless to attempt to conquer the Sudan without first reducing the inhabitants of the Oases to submission. As long as the Oases were in the hands of people who were not subject to Egypt, the tribes of the Western Sudan could retreat northwards by the roads run- ning through the Oases, and find an asylum in the deserts of Northern Africa, until the Egyptian troops were withdrawn to Egypt. They appear to have been brought finally under the rule of Egypt about 1550 b.c., and there is reason to believe that they formed the Islands of the Blest in the popular mythology of a later period. Further details con- cerning the Oases will be found on pp. 252-255, 257-286. II.— NATURAL HISTORY. Natural History. — Trees, Plants, Animals, etc. — The different kinds of trees known to the ancient Egyptians were comparatively few in number. The principal were the sunt , i.e., the acacia, of which two or three species were known ; two or three species of tamarisks, the mulberry, the carob, and “Christ’s thorn tree.” In pre-dynastic times the country must have been covered in many places with low trees and masses of marshy undergrowth, which formed cover for the wild animals that lived near the Nile. Wood has always been scarce in Egypt, and we know that as early as 3500 b.c. expeditions were sent into the Sudan for the purpose of obtaining it ; and it is on record that when, about 1100 b.c., the priests of Amen-Ra at Thebes wished to provide a new barge for the god to occupy during the water processions, they were obliged to despatch an official to Berfit in order to buy cedar-wood suitable for the purpose direct from the merchants. In the neighbourhood of Cairo long avenues of labbakh trees were planted about 1870, and these not only improved the landscape but afforded very grateful shade to those who travelled along the roads by the sides of which they grew. The road to the Pyramids illustrated the importance of the labbakh tree for the comfort of the traveller. But in recent years some disease attacked the * See the Stela of Aquaa [J ^ " — jj in the Berlin Museum, dated in the 34th year of Usertsen I. TREES, FRUITS AND SEASONS. 39 labbakh tree and the foliage withered, and the authorities had them cut down and burned for firewood. The vine has always flourished in Egypt, and in ancient days large quantities of wine were made ; the grapes ripen in July. Among the commonest fruits may be mentioned oranges, lemons, pomegranates, figs, grapes, apricots, peaches, melons, mulberries, and bananas, and in recent years successful attempts have been made to grow the straw- berry, etc., in districts where water is plentiful, and the cost of distributing it over the gardens not prohibitive. The date palm is found everywhere, and its fruit is naturally one of the commonest articles of food. It has always been cultivated in Egypt, and the pruning and fertilization of the tree have always, at least in times of peace, been attended to with the greatest care. The blossoms appear in March and April, and the fruit is ripe at the end of August or early in September. Some 70 species are said by expert merchants to exist, and in many villages it is possible to find 20 or 30 sorts of date in the market. Very few kinds can be eaten fresh with impunity, and the fruit does not usually attain its full flavour until it has hung on the tree for several days, or, if gathered, has been allowed to lie on mats in the sun. Among the species grown in Nubia and the Eastern Sudan the ibrimi and the sultani are most prized, but owing to the neglect of the palm trees caused by the Dervish rebellion, it must be some years before the Sudan date harvests are as good and plentiful as they were before the advent of the Mahdi. The Dum palm flourishes in Upper Egypt and all along the Nile towards the south ; its large, dark-brown nuts contain a soft, sweet substance which is pleasant to the taste. In a country where wood is scarce the trunks of the date palm and the dum palm are very valuable, and the purposes for which the fibre, leaves, etc., are used are manifold. Sir W. Willcocks estimated in 1899 th at there were about 5,200,000 date trees in Upper Egypt, the value of their fruit being ^1,040,000, and that the value of the fruit of the 2,200,000 trees in Lower Egypt was ^440,000 — /.- Apu. Panopolis. Akhmim. Amsu, or Menu. Nome. Uatchet. Capital and God or Goddess. Tebu. Aphrodii- opolis. Hathor. II - S-J "T Set. Shas-hetep. Hyp- selis. Shut b. Khnemu. 12. C^rd Tu-f. Nut-ent-bak. I Iieraiconpolis. Ilorus. Saut. Lykopolis. Asyht. Am-f-khent. Up-uat. 14. A Kesi. Kusae. Al-Kustyah. > Hathor. Am-f-peh. * 5 ' Khemenu. Her- nr mopolis. Ash - uiltnin. Unt. <•> Thoth. v — 7- Kasa. Kynon- polis. Al-Kte. Anubis. Anpu (?). Het-suten. At- * Hibah. "T Anubis. Sept. DIVISIONS OF EGYPT, 55 Nome. Capital and God j or Goddess. r 9 - \ J | Pa-Matchet. OXYRRHYNCHUS. Bu-tchamui SaAnassO. o6t. Nome. Am-peh. Capital and God or Goddess. S men- Her u. Khnemu. nr Am-Khent. Suten-henen. Herakleopolis Magna. Aknas. (The Hanes of the Bible. ) Heru-shefit. nr Maten. Tep-Ahet. Aph- roditopolis. Atfih. Hathor. Anebhetch. (?) A. 3 - ^ Ament. Sapi-Rest Sapi-Meht 6 . Ka-semt. 7 - Nefer- Ament. Loiver Egypt. Men-Nefert. Memphis. MU-Rahinah. Ptah. Sekhem. Let- OPOL1S. Heru-ur. Pa-neb- Amt. Apis. Hathor. T cheka. Amen-Ra. Saut. Sais. Sd. Neith. Khasut. Xois. Amen-Ra. Pa-Ahu-neb- Ament. Metelis (?). Hu. 8. ft «=p- © Nefer-Abt Thekaut (Suc- coth),Pa-Tem (Pithom). Pa- TUMOS. Tall al- Maskh j'itah. Atem, or Temu. Athi (?) IO. ED vp © Ka-Kam. Pa-Asar. Busiris. Abu- Sir. Osiris. Het-ta-her- abt. Athribis. Heru -Ivhenti- Khati. Ii. Hesbet(?) Ka- V ® ' Hebset (?). Ka-heseb. Kabasos. Isis or Sebek. 12. i heb-neter(?). v ^ Sebennytos. v Sammanud. Theb- . . . An-Her. 3. ?f - n - © Heq-at. 14. ‘-y- © Khent-abt. Annu (The On of the Bible). Heliopolis. A fat arty ah. Temu. _ © Tchal. Tanis. Sdn. Horus. 56 MODERN DIVISIONS OR PROVINCES OF EGYPT. Nome. Tehuti. Capital and God or Goddess. Pa-Tehuti. Hermopolis Minor. T’noth. 1 6. © Hatmehit. Pa-Ba-neb Tet. Men- des. Tmai al-Amdid. Osiris. * 7 - ^ © "T~ Behutet. Pa - Khen - en- Amen. Diospolis. Amen-Ra. i Nome. Am-Khent Capital and God or Goddess. Pa- Bast. Pibeskth Bubastis. Tall Bastah. Bast. ! 9 . ^ © Am-peh. Pa-Uatchet. Buto. Uatchet. 20 . ^r® Sept. Kesem. Pha- KUSSA. FaMs. Sept. 3. Modern Egypt is divided for administrative purposes into Fourteen Provinces, of which six are in Lower Egypt and eight in Upper Egypt. Lower Egypt contains 1. Baherah, with eleven districts ; the capital is Damanhhr, and the population (including the Oasis of Siwah, 3,267) is 892,246. 2. Kalyubiyah, with four districts ; the capital is Banha, and the population is 528,581. 3. Sharkiyah, with six districts ; the capital is Zakazik, and the population is 9 5 5,497. 4. Dakhaliyah, with six districts ; the capital is Manshrah, and the population is 986,643. 5. Manufiyah, with five districts ; the capital is Shibin al-Kom, and the population is 1,072,636. 6. Gharbiyah, with eleven districts ; the capital is Tanta, and the population is 1,659,313. Upper Egypt contains 1. Gizah, with four districts; the capital is Al-Gizah, and the population is 524,352. 2. Bani = Suwef, with three districts; the capital is Bani- Suwef, and the population is 452,893. 3. Minya, with eight districts ; the capital is Minya, and the population is 763,922. This number includes the people of the Oasis of Bahriyah, and of the Oasis of Farafrah (6,497). POPULATION OF EGYPT. 57 4. Asyut, with nine districts ; the capital is Asyut, and the population is 981,197. This number includes the people of the Oasis of Dakhlah (17,699), and of the Oasis of Khargah (8,160). 5. Girga, with five districts ; the capital is SCihak, and the population is 863,234. 6. Kana, with six districts ; the capital is Kana, and the population is 840,317. 7. Aswan, with three districts ; the capital is Aswan, and the population is 253,340. 8. Fayyum, with three districts; the capital is Madinat al-Fayyfim, and the population is 507,617. The large towns like Alexandria, Port Sa‘id, Isma £ iliyah, Suez, Cairo, Damietta, Al-‘Arish, are generally governed by native rulers ; to these must be added the province of Aswan. 4. Population of Egypt. — In a country like Egypt, which contains so many people who only live in the country for a part of each year, it is exceedingly difficult to obtain an accurate statement of the number of the inhabitants. Ancient Egyptian texts throw no light on the matter, and we may assume that the Egyptians, like most other Oriental peoples, took no trouble to number the people ; so long as kings and governors could “ squeeze ” out of the inhabitants whatever supplies they needed, the number of the inhabitants who contributed to them mattered little. According to Mommsen, 7,500,000 people paid poll-tax in the reign of Vespasian, and if, as he believed, about 500,000 were exempt, it follows that the population of Egypt under the Romans amounted to about 8,000,000, without reckoning slaves. In 1800 the population was said to be about 2,460,200, and some fifty or sixty years later Sir Gardner Wilkinson, who knew Egypt well, estimated it at one million less. In 1821 the population was 2,536,400, and in 1846, 4,476,440. The census published in 1884 declared that in 1882 the population of Egypt amounted to 6,831,131 persons, of whom 3,216,847 were men, and 3,252,869 were women. Included in the number of 6,831,131 persons were 98,196 nomads, 245,779 desert Arabs (commonly called Badawin), and 90,886 foreigners. According to the census of 1897 the population of Egypt amounted to 9>734>4°5 persons, of whom 4,947,850 were males and 4, 7 86, 555 were females; in Upper Egypt the population was 4,058,296, and in Lower Egypt, 5,676,109. These people occupied 3,692 towns and villages, and 14,449 hamlets 58 POPULATION OF EGYPT. and smaller collections of houses. The number of houses occupied was 1,422,302, and the increase in the population since 1882 is 43 per cent. The Muhammadans numbered 8,978,775, the Jews 25,200, and the Christians 730,162. The population of Cairo is 790,939 (Muslims 631,163, Christians 128,988, Jews 29,207) ; of Alexandria, 444,617 (Muslims 322,437, Christians 94,525, Jews 28,858); Port Sa‘id, 70,873; Ismahliyah, 15,507; Al-‘Arish, 404; Suez, 30,996; Sinai, 655; Damietta, 30,984; Tanta, 210,877; Manstirah, 122,048 ; Zakazik, 227,422 ; Asyut, 92,855 ; Madinat al-Fayyum, 122,285. The total population of Egypt, including 97,381 nomads, was in 1907, 11,287,359, of which 5,667,074 were males and 5,620,285 females. As Egypt contains 12,026 square miles, the density of the population was 939 to the square mile. The net increase during the ten years 1897-1907 was 1,570,131, or 16 per cent., which gives an annual increase of 1*5 per cent, between 1897 and 1907. The increase of population in Cairo was 84,414, and in Alexandria 50,243 persons. The number of Muhammadans in 1897 was 8,992,203, or 92^2 per cent, of the population; in 1907 it was 10,269,445, or 91*8 per cent, of the population. The number of Copts in 1897 was 609,511, or 6^25 per cent, of the population; in 1907 it was 706,322, or 6*31 per cent, of the population. Of the Copts the Orthodox numbered 667,036, the Roman Catholic 14,576, and the Protestant 24,710 in 1907 ; in 1897 the numbers were 592,374, 4,630, and 12,507 respectively. The Jews numbered 38,635 in 1907. The Census taken during the night of March 6-7, 1917, shows that the population of all Egypt was in that year a little over 12,700,000, i.e. an increase of 1,400,000 above the total of 1907. No country in Europe is so densely populated as Egypt. On July 1, 1919, the population was 12,878,000; the births were 493,488, or 38 per 1,000 of the population, and the deaths 383,869 or 30 per 1,000 of the population. The reader will remember that during the winter of 1910-11 certain members of the Coptic community, who numbered in 1907 about 6*31 per cent, of the population, complained bitterly of the treatment which they re- ceived from the British rulers of Egypt as compared with their Muhammadan fellow-countrymen. A number of self-constituted representatives (about 500) of the Copts, who could not claim to represent more than 12,000 of their co-religionists, assembled in Congress at Asyut, and claimed : — I . The right of the Copts to take advantage of the educational facilities provided by the new Provincial Councils. 2. Recognition of capacity as the sole test for THE NILES. 59 admission to Government appointments. 3. Representation of the Coptic community in the representative institutions of Egypt. 4. Permission for non- Muslims in Government offices and schools to substitute another day for Friday as their day of rest. 5. Conferring of Government grants on all deserving institutions without invidious distinction. These claims having been enquired into by the Government it was found that in so far as claim No. 1 is concerned there was no solid ground for complaint. As regards claim No. 2, it was found that 45*31 per cent, of the Copts were em- ployed in Government service as against 54*69 per cent, of the Muslims in April, 191 1. These facts proved that the Copts were represented in the Egyp- tian Civil Service, both as regards numbers and salaries, to an almost dispro- portionate extent. In fact they had more than their share of Government appointments. Their only possible grievance lay in the fact that the posts of Mudir, Governor, and Ma’amur are held by Muslims, but it must be said that in this case, as elsewhere, the tests of capacity and natural aptitude are applied. As a rule the Muslim is a man of action, and as a rule the Copt is not ; moreover, in Upper Egypt at least he is not popular, and the Muslims would not obey him. As to claim No. 3, the Copt must always, by reason of his number, be in a minority on every governing body. As to claim No. 4, his cry for Sunday as a rest day was unreasonable. Facilities are given to every Copt to attend his church on Sunday morning, and on their New Year and Easter Festivals they are not required to be in their offices. Moreover, they profit by all Muslim holidays. As to claim No. 5, none of their charities can be regarded as national institutions, and there- fore no Government ought to support them. If we consider the wealth of the Copts such a claim is incomprehensible. IV.— THE NILES IN EGYPT AND THE SClDAN. The Nile is unquestionably one of the most important and interesting rivers in the world, for it and its two great tribu- taries, the Blue Nile and the Atbara, have transported soil from the highlands of north-east Africa, and laid it down many hundreds of miles from whence it came, and have thus formed Egypt. The Nile* has in all ages been considered a mysterious river, and when we remember that it was and still is the mainstay of all life in Egypt, and the source of all pros- perity in that land, it is not difficult to understand why the ancient Egyptians worshipped it. There is no reason for supposing that the pre-dynastic and dynastic Egyptians ever took the trouble to trace it systematically to its source, or that they ever attempted to define its influence upon themselves and their character, except in a rough-and-ready way; but there is no doubt that they were awestruck at the river which pursued its way resistlessly and unceasingly through hundreds * The word “ Nile ” is thought to be derived from the Semitic nakhal , 60 THE NILE A SOURCE OF CIVILIZATION. of miles of blazing desert, without any apparent diminution, and they felt themselves justified in regarding it as one of the mightiest of the manifestations of the Creator of the world to His people. Year by year they saw it rise little by little, until at length, with a burst, it overflowed all obstacles, and carried its mud-laden waters over the fields until they reached, and sometimes flooded, the skirts of the desert, and year by year they saw its waters subside, and the river return to its bed, and great crops spring luxuriantly out of the mud which they had left behind them. Experience soon showed them that in the year in which the Nile flood was abundant, food was cheap, cattle flourished, and the prosperity of the country was assured for the year ; similarly, when the Nile flood was too great * or too little, grain was dear, the cattle languished, business was paralysed, and want and misery filled the land. Everything in Egypt depended on the Nile, and it is not too much to say that the river was the cause not only of the physical characteristics of the Egyptians, but also of their learning and civilization. As it was of vital importance to the Egyptian to know when the Nile would rise, so that he might have his fields ready to receive its life-giving waters, and might make his domestic arrangements accordingly, he learned to watch the seasons and to measure time, and, as he no doubt made use of the stars for the purpose, he acquired rough ideas of chronography and astronomy. His need to make the greatest possible use of the waters of the inundation taught him to build small dykes and dams and embankments, and the example of the river, in spreading mud over the land yearly, showed him the necessity of top-dressing and of some kind of manure. In the earliest times, before he had learned to construct large canals and irrigation basins for the reception of the water, all the artificial divisions of the land into estates and properties were destroyed each year, and he was compelled to devise a system of men- suration which would enable a man to regain either his own property or its equivalent, and to work out a system of land valuation in which the distance of an estate from the river, the quality of the soil, etc., were carefully considered and provided for. In order to reckon the produce of the land he had to learn to count, and as records of sales of land and of exchanges were needed, systems of numbers, weights, measures, and some kind of writing would necessarily grow into existence. THE NILE A MYSTERY. 61 That disputes should arise would be inevitable, and we may be certain that the settlement of these would, at a very early period, be committed to disinterested outsiders or friends who were supposed to have some knowledge of the matter, and in this way the “ custom of the country ” would grow into a law, and the decisions of the arbitrators would form precedents, and those who gave them would gradually acquire the power of judges in a modern court of law. Among the laws which would be made for the protection of property, i.e ., wives and families, cattle, crops, etc., none were more carefully observed than those which referred to the protection of water-courses and the purity of the water. And it is certain that in the religion of the primitive Egyptians the worship of the Nile played the most prominent part, for in the dynastic period, when men knew more about the river, the praises which they offered to the Nile-god show that they regarded the celestial and teirestrial Niles as the sources of life, both of gods and men. The Nile was declared by the Egyptians to be “ a mystery,” and they felt that its source was “ hidden ” from them; in other words, the Nile was unlike any other river known to them. And this is true, for no other river in the world has exactly the same characteristics, and no other river has formed a whole country quite in the same way, and no other river has impressed so deeply upon the people, who have lived on the soil which it has brought from remote distances, its own characteristics of isolation, reserve, and conservatism. The sources of the Nile, that is to say, of the Upper Nile, the White Nile, and the river from Khartum to the sea, were declared by Captains Grant and Speke, and by Sir Samuel Baker, to be Albert N’yanza and Victoria N’yanza, but according to Sir W. Willcocks, its sources lie to the south of Victoria N’yanza, and it takes its rise in the Kagera River, at a spot a few degrees south of the Equator. This view has, however, been proved to be erroneous by Sir W. Garstin, who shows that the Ksgera represents the united flow of three rivers, and that the true source of the Nile is Lake Victoria itself. “ It has been maintained that the Kagera is the actual upper course of the Nile, and that before the subsidence took place which formed Lake Victoria, the Kagera flowed between the Sesse Islands and the western shore, then skirted the present northern shore by Rosebery Channel to Napoleon Gulf to join the Nile at the Ripon Falls ; a distinct current is also mentioned as setting across from the Kagera to the Ripon Falls. Seeing how small an effect the volume discharged by the Kagera, even in 62 SUDD ON THE BAHR AL-GABAL. the rainy season, can have on the water of this vast lake, any such current must be an effect of the prevalent winds, and as we have seen that winds blow from lake to shore by day at almost all seasons, it is more than probable that in places a regular drift of the surface water may be caused ” (Lyons, Physiography , p. 58). The Great Equatorial Lakes. Victoria N’yanza, i.e., Lake Victoria, which covers an area of 70,000 square kilometres, is the first reservoir of the Nile ; it lies in the region of almost perpetual rains, and receives an excessive supply of water from its western tributaries, from sub- soil springs and heavy rainfall. The second reservoir of the Nile is Lake Albert, which has an area of 4,500 square kilometres, and Lake Albert in its turn is fed from Lake Edward, which has an area of 4,000 square kilometres. Lake Victoria is 1,130 metres above sea-level, and 500 metres higher than Lake Albert. The White Nile between these lakes is called the Victoria Nile, or the Somerset River. From* Lake Victoria to Lake Albert is a distance of 242 miles, and when the Nile leaves Lake Albert it flows in a steady stream, with scarcely any slope or velocity, to Dufili, a distance of 125 miles. From this place it passes over the Fola Falls, and runs as a torrent to Lado for another 125 miles. From Lado the river flows in a single channel to Bohr about 75 miles, and then by many channels traverses a distance of 235 miles, when it meets the Bahr aLGhazal, or Gazelle River. The main stream between Lake Albert and Lake No is called Bahr al= Gabal, i.e ., the “ Mountain River.” Until recent years the fairways of this and the Gazelle River were seriously obstructed by nineteen dense barriers of floating vegetation, to which the natives have given the name of Sadd,* commonly pronounced “ Sudd.” In 1900 Colonel Peake cut through the sadd on the Bahr al- Gabal, and so established communication with the upper waters of the Nile. For 172 miles north of Shambi, the true bed of the Nile could not be found, and Colonel Peake was obliged to force a passage through a series of shallow lakes lying to the west of the true bed. Since 1900 this route has been used for boat and steamer traffic. In 1901 Lieutenant Drury (late R.N.) removed the worst of the blocks of sadd remaining north of Ghaba Shambi, and thus opened up to navigation a further length of 147 miles of channel; there still remained, however, the most formidable obstacle of all, * An Arabic word meaning “barrier, block, obstruction,” etc. BAHR AL-GHAZAL AND LAKE NO. 63 namely, a reach of some 25 miles in length in which the river had practically disappeared. In 1902 Major G. E. Matthews discovered the true bed of the river, and made some progress towards clearing a channel. In 1903-04 Lieutenant Drury and Mr. Poole resumed operations, and by their strenuous exertions they succeeded in clearing a passage by which freedom of navigation in the waters of the Upper Nile has at all times been secured. Meanwhile sadd cutting has been carried on in the Bahr al-Ghazal or Jur River, and during the flood of 1903 a waterway was cleared to Waw, and steamers succeeded in reaching that spot. To keep the river free of sadd is a very difficult matter, and year by year the Sudan Government are obliged to spend a considerable sum of money in cutting the blocks as they form, and in keeping the fairway clear. The blocks form very quickly, and are sometimes so thick that they have to be blown up with charges of dynamite. Miralai E. E. Bond, director of steamers, describes the blocking of the Bahr al- Ghazal in 1906 (. Reports , p. 470) in a graphic narrative, which forms both interesting and instructive reading. The Bahr al = Ghazal flows into the Upper Nile on its left bank, and at the junction is Lake No with an area of 1 50 square kilometres in summer ; here the waters of the Nile become polluted with decaying vegetable matter, and the green colour which is the result is, according to Sir W. Willcocks, observable so far north as Cairo in June and July. This green colour is due to large quantities of microscopic algae which are floating in the water, and it is the oil contained in some of these which gives the unpleasant taste and smell. The principal algae are the Aphanizomenon Kaufmanni, the Synedra acus, and the Anahaena variabilis. It has usually been supposed that the green water is caused by the mingling of the swamp water with that of the Nile, but it has been shown ( Egypt , No. 1 (1903), p. 70) that this explanation is untenable, and that the real source of the algae which are brought into the river in the early part of May is the Sobat River. The algae thrive in clear Nile water at low stage and under a hot sun, but are killed when the turbid flood arrives. The green water has been observed in a continuous stretch from Kalabshah to Cairo, about 564 miles. Sixty miles further north the Sobat River flows into the Nile on the right bank. Lakes Victoria, Albert, and Edward, the Bahr az-Zarafah, or Giraffe River, the Bahr al-Ghazal and 64 THE BLUE NILE AND WHITE NILE. Sobat Rivers are the sources of the Upper Nile. Between Lake No and Khartum the river is known as the White Nile. About 560 miles further north is the town of Khartum, towards which the White Nile flows in a stream more than a mile wide, and 6J feet deep. Between Khartum and the sea the river is known as the “ Nile.” The total distance from Ripon Falls to Khartum by river is about 1,560 miles ; from Khartum to Aswan is 1,165 miles, and from Aswan to the sea is 748 miles more ; therefore, the length of the Nile is 3,473 miles. If we add the length of the Kagera River, which rises near the northern end of Lake Tanganyika, about 375 miles south of Lake Victoria, and also the length of the lake itself, about 250 miles, as many do, the total becomes 4,098 miles. The town of Khartum is built at the junction of the Bahr aLAzrak, or Blue Nile, with the White Nile in 15 0 36' N. lat., and 32 0 32' E. long., and it is 1,253 feet above sea-level. The Blue Nile, called by the Abyssinians the Abai, or Abawi, is about 960 miles long. It rises in the mountains of Abyssinia, near Sakala, and enters Lake Sana after a course of about 155 miles; it leaves the Lake at its southern end. Lake Sana has an area of 3,000 square kilometres, and is about 5,785 feet above the level of the sea. Its perimeter is about 163 miles. The waters of the Abai are nearly clear in summer, but from the beginning of June to the end of October they are reddish-brown in colour and highly charged with alluvium ; because of this colour the river has been called Bahr al-Azrak, i.e., the “ lurid river,” as opposed to Bahr al-Abyad, i.e. t “the clear river,” or White Nile. Strictly speaking, the Nile of history is the stream which is formed by the Upper Nile, the White Nile, and the Blue Nile. About 201 miles north of Khartum the river Atbara flows into the Nile on the east bank, after a course of about 790 miles. This river is fed by the Abyssinian torrents, and in flood is of great size ; its waters are heavily charged with volcanic dust, and it provides the greater part of the rich fertilizing mud which the Nile carries in flood. The Atbara is in flood from July to October, and its stream is greatest in August. North of the Atbara junction the Nile has no other tributary, and it flows to the sea in a solitary stream. Between Khartum and the sea the Nile has six Cataracts. The Sixth Cataract (Shablukah) is 56 miles north of Khartum, and the Nile drops about 20 feet in little over one mile in length. The Fifth Cataract is 32 miles to the north of the Atbara, THE SIX CATARACTS. 65 and is over 100 miles long ; in the course of it the Nile drops 205 feet. About 60 miles lower down is the Fourth Cataract, which is 66 miles long ; in the course of it the Nile drops 160 feet. Between the Fourth and the Third Cataracts is a reach of 196 miles of open water; it begins about 12 miles above Gabal Barkal, and ends at Karmah. At the last-named place begins the Third Cataract, which is 45 miles long ; in the course of it the Nile drops 36 feet. The Second Cataract begins about 70 miles further north ; it is 125 miles long, and in the course of it the Nile drops about 213 feet. The town of Wadi Halfah lies a few miles to the north of the foot of it, on the east bank. The name given by the natives to the region through which the Second Cataract passes is “ Batn al-Hagar,” i.e., “Belly of Stone.” At Samnah, which is rather more than 40 miles south of Wadi Halfah, are the rocks whereon Lepsius discovered the Nile gauges which were cut by order of the kings of the Xllth dynasty, about 2300 B.C., and these show that the Nile flood recorded there was 26 feet higher than any flood of to-day. The distance between the Second and First Cataracts is 214 miles, and the stream is on an average 1,630 feet wide. The river in this reach is provided with gigantic spurs, which were built by one of the ancient kings to collect soil on the sides in flood, and to train the river in summer. The First Cataract is three miles long, and in the course of it the river drops between 16 and 17 feet. The Egyptians at one period of their history, for some unaccountable reason, believed that the source of the Nile was near Aswan, and that it lay under two rocks, which they called Qerti ; these rocks are mentioned by Herodotus, who calls them K pw(jn and M £0/, and he says that they were situated between the Islands of Elephantine and Philae. Muhammadan writers also thought that the Nile Springs were at Aswan. From Aswan to the Barrage, which lies a little to the north of Cairo, the distance is about 600 miles. Classical writers tell us that in ancient days the Nile emptied itself into the sea by seven mouths, to which were given the names Pelusiac, Tanitic, Mendesian, Phatnitic, Sebennytic, Bolbitic, and Canopic. Four- teen miles to the north of Cairo the Nile becomes two branches, which are known as the Rosetta and Damietta arms respectively; each of these is about 150 miles long. It has already been said that a register of the height of the Nile flood was found at Samnah in the Second Cataract, and E 66 THE RAINY SEASON. that it dated from 2300 b.c., and we must note that a Nile gauge existed on the isiand of Elephantine, opposite to the town of Aswan, at the foot of the Cataract, from very early times. It seems that the readings of the gauge at Elephantine * were always used as a base for -calculating the general prosperity of Egypt year by year. In the reign of Severus an officer of the Roman garrison there noted an exceptionally high Nile, but the maximum flood mark noted by the members of Napoleon’s great expedition was 2 ‘ 1 1 metres higher than the mark made by the Roman officer. The French savants, reckoning from the middle of the reign of Severus (say a.d. 200) to a.d. 1800, concluded that the bed and banks of the Nile had risen 2’n metres in 1,60b years, or 0*132 metre per 100 years. f Remains of Nilometers, or flood-marks, exist also at Kubush, Taif'ah, Philse, Kom Ombo, Silsilah, Edfu, Asna, Karnak, Luxor, Tahnah, and Kom al Gizah.J On the Island of Rodah is another very old Nilometer, which was restored in the 9th century : its zero is, however, said to be at the same level as a more ancient one whose readings have been preserved since 641. When the gauge was con- structed a reading of 16 cubits meant the lowest level at which flood irrigation could be ensured everywhere. The level to-day is 20^ cubits on the gauge, and the difference between them is i‘2 2 metres, and from these facts Sir W. Willcocks concludes that the river bed has risen 12 centimetres per 100 years. In the region of Lake Victoria the rainy season lasts from February to November, with one maximum in April and another in October; at Lado the rains last from April to November, in the Valley of the Sobat from June to November, in the Valley of the Bahr al-Ghazal from April to September, at Khartum from July to September, and in Abyssinia there are light rains in January and February. Thus it is clear * The new Nilometer, divided into cubits and twenty-fourths, was set up in 1869. t It is clear that about a.d. ioo the Nile often rose to 24 and sometimes above 25 cubits on the Nilometer scale, so that the high floods of that time reached the level of 91 metres above sea-level. To-day they reach 94 metres, as in 1874, or 3 metres above the level of about 1,900 years ago, corresponding to a rise of the bed of o' 16 metre per century at this point. If the mean flood level of the last 36 years is taken, the height becomes 93 metres and the rise o'li metre per century. (Lyons, Physiography , P- 3G-) J See Borchardt, Nilmesser tmd Nilstandmarken (Abhand. der kgl. Preuss. Akad. d. Wissenschaft, Berlin, 1905). THE INUNDATION AND IRRIGATION. 67 1 that in every month of the year, except December, rain, which is destined to flow into the Nile, is falling into one or other of the great reservoirs, or sources of that great river. Before the construction of the Aswan Dam Sir W. Willcocks estimated that the water took eight days to travel from Lake Victoria to Lake Albert ; five days from Lake Albert to Lado ; 36 days from Lado to Khartum in low supply, and 20 days in flood ;. 26 days from Khartum to Aswan in low supply and 10 days in flood; 12 days from Aswan to Cairo in low' supply and five days in flood ; three days from Cairo to the sea in low supply and two days in flood. Thus it took 90 days for the water in low supply to travel from Lake Victoria to the sea, and in flood 50 days. The water of the Blue Nile travelled from its source to Khartum in low supply in \ 7 days, and in flood in seven days ; and the Atbara and the Sobat Rivers took about five days in flood. It was calculated that it took the water in flood 50 days to reach the sea from Lake Vic- toria and one of its tributaries, the Kagera, a distance of, say, 4,000 miles, which gives the speed of the current at 3^ miles per hour. At low Nile it travelled at two miles per hour. The amount of silt brought down was said to be 100, coo, 000 tons. The following are the principal facts about the Inunda = tion : — In a usual season the heavy rains begin in April and force down the green water of the swampy region, which used to reach Cairo about June 20th. The White Nile begins to rise at Lado about April 15th, and this rise is felt at Khartum about May 20th. The floods of the White Nile and Sobat reach Khartum about September 20th. About June 5th the Blue Nile begins to rise, and is in flood about August 25th. The Atbara flood begins in the early part of July, and is highest about August 20th. The Nile continues to rise until the middle of September, when it remains stationary for a period of about three weeks, sometimes a little less. In October it rises again and attains its highest level. From this period it begins to subside, and, though it rises yet once more, and reaches occasionally its former highest point, it sinks steadily until the month of June, when it is again at its lowest level. The irrigation of Egypt is gauged by the height of the river at Aswan. When the maximum rise of the river is only 21 feet there will be famine in parts of Upper Egypt; w r hen the rise is between 21 and 23 feet much of the land of Upper Egypt will be imperfectly watered ; when the rise is between E 2 A 68 IRRIGATION. 23-J feet and 25 feet certain lands will only be watered with difficulty; when the rise is between 25 feet and 26^ feet the whole country can be watered ; when the rise is between 26J feet and 28 feet the country will be flooded; and any rise beyond the last figure will spell misery and the ruin of many. From what has been said above about the Nile flood and the formation of Egypt it will be clear that the land is highest near the river bank and lowest near the desert; this is not only true for the main stream itself, but for its branches also. With a view of modifying the difficulty of watering the land dykes have been constructed parallel with the Nile, and trans- versely across the directioif of the stream. These dykes enclose basins which are filled each year during the inunda- tion, and nearly every basin has its canal which brings directly into it the flood waters which are charged with alluvium. Usually these canals are from 10 to 13 feet below the level of the ground, and they thus become dry during the period oi the year when the Nile is not in flood. The mouths of such canals which admit the Nile are stopped up each year, but are opened about August 10th or r2th, so that the muddy waters may flow in freely. The basins are grouped according to system, and several of them may be supplied by one canal, and the amount of water admitted into each basin can be regulated by means of specially constructed apparatus, which is usually built of stone. The water is allowed to stand in the basins for 40 days, by the end of which time it will have deposited all the earthy matter suspended in it, and then the water which is left is allowed to flow out into the river by an escape. The filling of the basins begins about August 12th, but the time of emptying of .them varies as we travel north- wards, and the last basin is sometimes riot emptied until November nth. If the flood has been a good one the basins are emptied directly into the river, but if it has not, and all the basins have not been filled, wherever possible the upper series of basins are allowed to discharge their contents into the river by passing through the basins which were not sufficiently filled during the flood. Between Kana and Sfihak two systems of basins cover a distance of 90 miles. The basins between Sfihak and 125 miles northwards are fed by the Suh£k!yah Canal, which is almost as large as a river ; from the end of this canal to Girga, a distance of 147 miles, the Bahr Yusuf and six canals feed the basins, and the Girga Canal feeds them for 60 miles further north. The ibrahimiyah Canal, dug by IRRIGATION. 69 Ismail Pasha in 1873, waters the district which extends from Asyut northwards for a distance of close on 200 miles. The dykes are about 11^ feet high, and are about 20 feet wide at the top, and the average depth of the water in the basins is 5 feet. The villages in the basins are built on artificial mounds faced with stone, and during the flood they resemble small islands, between which communication is kept up by boat or by dyke. An average-sized basin contains an area of 9,000 acres. At the beginning of the XVIIth century all Lower Egypt was irrigated by means of basins (Basin Irrigation), and the whole country was under cultivation ; but between 1700 and 1 800 the population had dwindled from 12,000,000 to 2,450,000, and irrigation had been abandoned over the greater part of the Delta. About 1820 Muhammad c Ali changed the irriga- tion system of Lower Egypt by digging a number of deep canals to contain water all the year round (Perennial Irriga = tion) which permitted the cultivation of cotton on a large scale. According to Sir W. Willcocks, this change was unfortunate, for the old basins were neglected, the embank- ments ploughed up, “and now that rich mud deposit, which constituted the wealth of Low r er Egypt for thousands of years, can no longer be secured to renovate the land.” In other words, perennial irrigation more quickly impoverishes the land than basin irrigation. Meanwhile the work of converting the basin system is going steadily on throughout Upper Egypt, and up to the end of 1905 an area of 251,170 acres of basin land had been converted at a total cost of ^E. 1,740, 5 14. As a result, certain lands in the Fay yum which were rented at ;£E.i - I 2 per acre in 1898, were rented in 1905 at ^E.2‘03 per acre. The property of the Domains Administration, which was worth in 1898 about ^E.402,000, was valued in 1899 at ^E.625,000, and at ^E. 1,300,000 in 1905. Elsewhere in many places the land w r hich in 1898 was valued at from ^E.5 to ^E. 10 per acre now fetches from ^E.25 to ^E.40 an acre (see the details in Egypt , No. 1, 1906, p. 40). To clear the old canals used to cost ^530,000 a year, to dig the new ones cost ^3,300,000. For irrigation purposes Lower Egypt is divided into three circles. The first includes the provinces on the right bank of the Damietta arm of the Nile, and four main canals ; the second includes all the land between the Damietta and Rosetta arms of the Nile, and has one main canal ; and the third includes the province on the west bank of the 70 THE CORV&E. Rosetta arm of the Nile, and has one main canal. All these canals take their supply directly from the Nile, and their water surface is generally from io to 13 feet below the level of the surrounding country. In 1899 the area of Lower Egypt which was cultivated was about 3,430,000 acres, and the yield was worth .£23,475,000; and it has been calcu- lated that if the old system of irrigation could be restored the value of the yield would be £’31,000,000, or a gain of £7,000,000 per annum. The Corvee. — -A moment’s consideration will convince the reader that each year it is necessary to carry out a very large amount of work in connection with the clearing of the canals and the building up of dykes and embankments to keep the waters of the Nile in their proper courses ; moreover, new cuttings have to be made, and the ravages caused by an exceptionally high Nile must be made good before the inunda- tion of the following year. No difficulty has ever been experienced in getting men to repair the damages done to the dykes by the river on their own immediate property, for self-protection and self-interest are sufficiently strong incentives to make men work. In the matter of works of general public utility the case is different, and from time immemorial the kings and rulers of Egypt have been compelled to force their subjects to dig and clean the necessary canals, to build dykes, and to guard the banks of the Nile during the inundation. 'The fairest way would be, of course, to make each village responsible for its own works, and when the interests of a number of villages are involved, to make each community supply its due proportion of labour. In practice, however, it was found that works of public utility were consistently neglected, until some calamity would force the attention of the Government to take notice of the neglect, and then the strong arm of the law would levy labour indiscriminately, and much injustice would be done. As time went on labour was levied for the performance of public works other than those connected with the river, and in dynastic times it is certain that all the great architectural wonders of the Pharaohs were raised by the hands of unpaid labourers. So long as the men were employed on works at no great distance from their villages, the hardship was not necessarily very great, and cruelty only began when they were torn from their homes and families and sent to labour in places far away from them. It was natural that terrible abuses should arise in connection with this system of THE CORVEE. 71 forced labour, and they were probably never greater than between 1800 and 1880. So long as Egypt was irrigated by the basin system, which has been briefly noticed above, the forced labour arrange- ment was not a bad one, for during the months of the year in which the works on the canals, banks, and dykes were being carried on the agricultural population had nothing else to do. When, however, Aluhammad 4 A!i changed the system from basin to perennial irrigation the abuses became very serious, and terrible injustice was done. Everybody had been interested in filling the basins, and the burden had fallen upon all. Under the new system the whole agricultural population was employed to do work which benefited only the few. Moreover, bodies of men were moved from district to district to work the whole summer through, whilst their own lands remained untouched. This system of daily forced labour is called corvee, and in the hands of Muhammad ‘Ali and his immediate successors it became the curse of the country. It will be remembered that Sa‘id Pasha employed the corvee on the Suez Canal, and Ismafil Pasha used it in working all his vast estates, and even dug with it the Ibrahimiyah Canal, which is nearly 200 miles long. Besides this, the favourite nobles of the Pasha of Egypt employed it, without payment, on their own estates, and any attempt at resistance on the part of the workmen was met by imprisonment, beating on the feet, or death. Practically speaking, the men of the corvee spent six months each year on canal work, and three months in pro- tecting the river banks during the flood ; their own lands were neglected, and though they did all the work they gained no benefit from it. They had to feed themselves, and to provide spades and baskets for their work, and if lights were required at night when they were watching the river banks they had to provide lanterns, and brushwood to repair any breach which the water might make. In Muhammad ‘Ali’s time every male between the ages of 15 and 50 had to serve, and one-fourth of the number of available men was called out every 45 days. Nobles and officials, of course, abused their positions and power, and cases were common in which the corvee were doing the work which their own men ought to have done. In 1881 it was enacted that a man could free himself from the corvee by providing a substitute, or by a payment in cash, which amounted to 120 piastres in Lower Egypt and 80 piastres 72 THE CORVEE. in Upper Egypt ; the moneys so collected were to be devoted to the reduction or^suppression of forced labour. As a result of this enactment every man who could raise 25s. freed himself, and the whole of the corvee fell on the poorest classes ; in fact, no man who owned more than five acres went to the corvee. In 1885 the Egyptian Government spent ^30,000 on clearing canals by contract instead of by forced labour, and dredging was recommended for the larger canals ; and in 1886 ^250,000 were spent in the relief of the corvee, and thus, probably for the first time in history, the Egyptian Government contributed to the maintenance of the canals and river banks. In 1889 the corvee was abolished, and it was decreed that in [890 no forced labour was to be used for the clearance of canals and repairs of banks ; the Public Works Department undertook to do the whole of the earthwork repairs for the sum of ^400,000. It must, however, be understood that the obligation of guarding the river banks during the inundation still devolved upon the people, and that it was, and still is, necessary to call out a number of men each year to do this. The number of men called out to guard the banks of the Nile during the flood season was 36.782 (for 10c days) in 1895, 14,180 (for 100 days) in 1900, and 19,201 (for 100 days) in 1910. Lord Cromer thought that the present system did not “ entail any very serious hardship on the population. At the same time, it is unquestionably true that the employment of forced labour for any purpose whatsoever is open to objection. Now that other more pressing matters have been disposed of, it is worthy of consideration whether the time has not come to abolish the last vestige of a bad system.” This was written in 1900. Mr. Verschoyle, Inspector-General of Irrigation for Lower Egypt, thought (1904) that the policy of reducing flood watchmen in the Delta had been rather overdone during the last few years, and he reported that the banks, which had been deprived of their protection of stakes and brushwood, had suffered from water action. Under the rule of the British in Egypt the men who are required for the protection of the river banks are chosen with due regard to justice, and the slight burden which falls upon the people is carefully adjusted, every care being taken to prevent the creeping in of any abuse, and the men called out recognize the justice of the call. If the abolition of the corvee for the clearance of the canals were the only benefit which had been conferred THE BARRAGES ON THE NILE. 73 by the British upon the Egyptians, it alone would be suffi- cient to make the British Occupation of Egypt for ever remarkable. V.— THE BARRAGES ON THE NILE. In connection with the foregoing article on the Nile it is necessary to add here a few particulars concerning the great engineering works which have been carried out for the purpose of storing the waters of the river, and distributing them systematically according to the needs and wants of the various districts at different seasons of the year. The three greatest and most important of these are: — (i) The Barrages to the north of Cairo; (2) the Barrage at Asyut ; (3) the Barrage at Asna ; (4) the Dam at Aswan. 1. The Barrages North of Cairo. — We have seen above that one o'f the Pharaohs marked the heights to which the Nile rose at Samnah, and we know that on the front of the stone quay at Thebes Shashanq I and his successors also recorded the heights of the Nile floods in various years ; but, so far as we know, no attempt was ever made by the ancient Egyptians to build a dam or barrage across the main stream, or to regulate the supply of its waters on any large scale. Yet the idea of a dam must have occurred to many of the great engineers of the Pharaohs, and the only wonder is that Amenemhat III, who did so much for the irrigation of Egypt, omitted to take in hand such an obvious work of improvement. According to Major Sir R. H. Brown, R.E. ( History of the Barrage, Cairo , 1896), Clot Bey has put it on record that Napoleon Bonaparte prophesied that the day would come when barrages would be thrown across the Rosetta and Damietta arms of the Nile, and that these, by means of coffer dams, would allow the whole of the Nile stream to flow into either branch, and in this manner the inundation would be doubled. Soon after Muhammad ‘Ali became Viceroy of Egypt he began to develop cotton growing, and he found that the basin system of irrigation, which was then in operation, was unsuitable for his purpose. In 1833 he decided that it was necessary to increase the water in the Damietta branch, and in order to effect this he proposed to dam the waters of the Rosetta branch, which supplied Alexandria and a whole province with water, and turn them into the Damietta branch. The Viceroy abandoned 74 MOUGEL’S BARRAGES. his scheme on th& suggestion of Linant de Bellefonds Bey, and agreed to his proposal to throw a barrage across the head of each branch of the Nile ; and such was the Viceroy’s haste to have the work completed that he ordered the Pyramids to be pulled down, and the stones of which they are built to be used in constructing the new work. With consummate tact Linant Bey proved that it would cost less to bring the stone from a quarry than from the Pyramids, and thus the Pyramids were spared. In 1833 Linant’s Barrage was begun by the corvee, and work went on until 1835, when the cholera raged, and the buildings came to a standstill; in 1837 Linant was made Director of the Public Works Department, and, in brief, his barrage was never finished. It is said that the Viceroy regarded the cholera of 1835 as a sign that the Almighty was displeased with his attempt to interfere with the arrangements of the Nile which Nature had made. In 1842 Mougel Bey proposed to the. Viceroy a barrage which could be combined with a fortress, and in 1843 he laid his plans before the Council of Roads and Bridges ; the Rosetta Barrage was to have 39 arches, and the Damietta 45, each being 8 metres wide. The Damietta portion was begun in that same year, and the Rosetta portion in 1847 ; and Muhammad ‘Ali was so impatient that he ordered 1,000 cubic metres of concrete to be laid daily, whether it had time to “ set ” or not ! Mougel, the engineer, endeavoured to carry out the Viceroy’s orders, even though his knowledge told him that it was bad for the work, and the result was, inasmuch as the river was 3^ feet higher that year than it was the year before, that part of the concrete was laid in running water. The current carried away the lime from it ; the remainder, of course, would not set, and the underground springs, forcing their way up, destroyed the last chance of the success of the work. Mougel wished to postpone the work for a year, but the Viceroy would not permit it, and so the building went on ; in 1848 Muhammad ‘Ali died, without seeing the barrage completed, and in 1853, as the result of an unfavourable report, ‘Abbas Pasha, the new Viceroy, dismissed Mougel, and told him to hand over his plans to Mazhar Bey. At that time, although 47,000,000 francs had been spent on the barrage, without mentioning the labour of the corvee and ot soldiers, scarcely any of the piers were above the level of the water. The total cost of the barrage, with its fortifications, canal heads, etc,, was about ^4,000,000. In 1S61 and 1863 mougel’s barrages. 75 Commissions were appointed to inquire into the barrage question, and in the latter year, because water was urgently wanted, the barrage gates were closed with the view of holding up about 4-^ feet of water q as a result, cracks appeared in the structure. In 1867 a section of 10 openings of the Rosetta Barrage separated itself from the rest of the work, and moved downstream. In 1871 Linant Bey reported that it would take five years’ work and an expenditure of 25,000,000 francs to make the barrage safe. In 1876 Sir John Fowler examined the barrage, and proposed to remedy its defects for the sum of ^1,200,000; but as Isma‘11 Pasha had no faith in the barrage, nothing came of the matter. In the same year General J. H. Rundall, R.E., made a report on the barrage, and he estimated that repairs would cost ^400,000, and the “training of the river” and new gates another ^100,000. “The manner of restoring the barrage, as recommended by General Rundall, is very nearly that which was actually adopted ; and, further, the cost of the restoration was correctly estimated ” (Major Brown, Barrage , p. 24). In 1883 Rousseau Pasha, Director of Public Works, declared the only use of the barrage was to distribute the river discharge between the two branches, and that to make it fit even for this work would cost ^400,000. He was in favour of pumps, and had recently signed a contract, which was to last until 1915, with a company who undertook to supply water to the Western Delta for ^50,000 a year, and it was solemnly proposed to extend the system, and to irrigate Lower Egypt by pumps at an initial cost of ^700,000, and an annual outlay of ^248,550. The English authorities declined to adopt this proposal, and directed Mr. (now Sir).W. Willcocks to examine the barrage and to report upon it. In 1884 this eminent expert was permitted to spend ^25,611 in providing the Damietta Barrage with gates and in general repairs. In June 1884, he was able to hold up water to a depth of 7 feet 2 inches in the Rosetta Barrage, and to a depth of 3 feet in the Damietta Barrage. The cotton crop that year •was 3,630,000- kantars, as against 3,186,060 kantars in 1879, which was the greatest known crop before 1884. In 1885 about ^18,246 were spent on the barrage, and the results were so successful that it was decided to restore the whole work ; the total sum spent in restoring both barrages was ^465,000, and the work lasted from 1886 to 1891. When finished the barrage was able to hold up a head of about 76 THE MANUFIYAH REGULATOR. 13 feet of water, and it has been doing splendid work ever since. The Rosetta Barrage has 61 arches and two locks and is 465 metres long; the Damietta Barrage has 61 arches (formerly 71) and two locks, and is 535 metres long. The two barrages are separated by a revetment wall about 1,000 metres long, and all the arches, except the two centre ones, are of 5 metres span. As a result of the completion of the barrage the cotton crop increased from 3,630,000 kantars in 1884 to 4,615,000 in 1894. Thus it will be seen that Mougel’s Barrage was turned into a success. It is evident that a great deal of the work which he put into it was good, but it was his misfortune to have served one impatient Viceroy, and to have been dismissed by his successor. After his dismissal in 1854 it seems that things did not prosper with him, for about the time of the restoration of the barrage he was found at Rosetta totally unprovided for. His case was brought before the Egyptian Government by Sir Colin Scott-Moncrieff, and a pension was given him which placed him beyond the reach of want. It will be remembered that the Manufiyah regulator, situated at the head of one of the most important canals in the Nile Delta, collapsed suddenly one evening in December, 1909. The regulator formed an integral part of the series of buildings known as the Delta Barrage, and regulated the supply of water, during both summer and flood, to the large and im- portant district of the middle Delta. For this reason it was essential that the structure should be replaced before the rise of the Nile in August, if at all possible. Mr. Dupuis, Adviser to the Public Works Department, decided on immediate re- construction, and contracts were accordingly arranged, since owing to extreme urgency it was not possible to call for tenders in the usual way. It being necessary to give an uninterrupted supply of water through the fallen building, it was found impossible to reconstruct the regulator on the old site. Con- sequently a diversion of the canal of about half a mile in length was entailed. The new site, situated in the gardens lying between the fallen regulator and the Rosetta Barrage, was cleared of its heavy timber, and excavation was begun on January 20. The final stone was laid on July 30. The new regulator is a bridge-like structure, consisting of nine arches of 16 feet 6 inches span each, with a roadway on top 23 feet wide. The piers are 24 feet high from the floor on which they rest and 6 feet 6 inches thick. There is a lock THE BARRAGE AT ASYUT. 77 on the eastern side for the accommodation of navigation, as this canal is the principal artery for river traffic between Cairo and Alexandria for a considerable period of the year. The floor, on which the stability of such structures mainly depends, is constructed of masonry in cement lofeet thick and 130 feet wide. Beyond this, there is a considerable width of stone pitching to protect the natural bed of the river, which is flush with the upper surface of the floor, from erosion. To prevent infiltration of water under the floor it has been enclosed with cast-iron sheet piles, driven to a point 13 feet 6 inches below the bottom level. The diversion from end to end has been dressed off and faced with stone to protect it against scour. Very large volumes of material had to be handled in the con- struction, there being about 700,000 cubic yards of excavation, 40,000 cubic yards of masonry, 42,000 cubic feet of ashlar, and 27,000 cubic yards of stone pitching. The ironwork employed included 720 tons of cast-iron piling, with 400 tons for the sluices and lock gates. The structure is founded on a bed of very fine sand and silt, excavated out to a depth of 47 feet. Owing to the numerous springs and the large quantity of water to be dealt with, this entailed heavy pumping, an average of ten 12-inch pumps being employed to get the water down while the building was under construction. 2. The Barrages South of Cairo. Barrage of Asyut. — The town of Asyut is about 250 miles from Cairo by river, and is the most important of all the towns of Upper Egypt. The chief importance of the district lies in the fact that it is the starting point of the great Ibrahimiyah Canal, which is nearly 200 feet wide, and nearly 200 miles long, and supplies Middle Egypt and the Fayyum with water. This canal carries enough water in flood-time for all pur- poses, but when che Nile is low its supply is insufficient for the irrigation of the lands on its banks. For many years the irrigation experts declared the necessity of a barrage at Asyut, and when it was decided to make a reservoir at Aswan, it w r as felt that a barrage at Asyut must form part of the great scheme. This barrage was planned by Sir W. Willcocks, K.C.M.G., but the original proposal was considerably modified by Sir Benjamin Baker, K.C.B., and by Sir W. Garstin, G.C.M.G. Its duty is to hold up the river level during the spring and summer months, when it is low, but when the flood is a very low one, the barrage may be called upon to raise the level then also, to insure the delivery into the canal 78 THE BARRAGE AT ASYUT. The Barrage at AsyOt. (From “The Barrage across the Nile at Asyfit,” by G. H. Stephens, C.M.G., itl Minutes oj Proceedings, Civic Engineers, Paper No. 3,462.) THE BARRAGE AT ASYUT. 79 of its flood supply. The site chosen for the barrage is about a mile from the town, where the river is about 2,953 feet wide, and to make adequate room for it it was found necessary to divert a short length of the Ibrahimiyah Canal. The highest Nile level at Asyut, of which records are available, was 43 feet 7 inches above the deep channel, and the lowest 14 feet above the bed ; in flood the velocity of the river is 4^ miles per hour, and at low Nile 2 miles. The ban-age at Asyut is an arched viaduct, somewhat similar to that near Cairo, which has already been described ; the width of the roadway over it is 182 feet 11 inches, and provision is made for wheeled traffic. It con- tains hi openings, each of which is 16 feet 5 inches wide, and has two sluice gates 8 feet 2 inches high; the toial length of the barrage between the abutment faces is 2,691 feet. The waterway between the piers is 1,821 feet wide, and superficial area of flood waterway is 63,924 feet. The average summer level of water downstream of the barrage is 148 feet 9 inches, and upstream 157 feet, the difference between the levels being 8 feet 3 inches. The depth of the water held up by the barrage is 8 feet 2 inches. The ordinary piers are 6 feet 7 inches wide, and the abutment piers, which occur after every ninth opening, 13 feet 1^ inches. The height from the floor of the barrage to the springing of the arches is 35 feet 1 inch, and 10 the roadway 41 feet. The Asyut Barrage was built by Messrs. John Aird and Co., who entered into an arrangement to construct : — 1. The Aswan Dam and Lock for ... ... .1,400,000 2. The Asyut Dam and Lock for ... ... 425,000 3. The Ibrahimiyah Regulator and Lock for 85,000 Land and subsidiary works were to cost ^49,000, and customs duty on material and plant was calculated at ^41,000. Messrs. John Aird signed the contract on February 20th, 1898, and agreed to complete the works in five years from July 1st, 1898. The Egyptian Government were to pay nothing until July 1st, T903, when they were to begin to pay a series of half-yearly instalments of ^78,613. The subsidiary works in the shape of canals and drains which it was necessary to make in connection with the dams were estimated to cost jQ 1,180, 000. From Lord Cromer’s Report (April, 1904, p. 21) we see that the accounts between Messrs. John Aird and the Egyptian Government have been finally closed, and that the precise sum paid for the Aswan Dam and the Asytit Barrage has been 80 THE BARRAGE AT ASNA. ^E.3, 439,864, including expropriation and indemnities ^E.127,626, a lock ^E.47,532, and minor works ^£E.6,oco. The General Reserve Fund contributed ^E. 1,346,699, the Special Reserve Fund ^E.143, [65, and ;£E. 1,950,000 was paid to Messrs. Aird with certificates. “ Under the arrange- ment negotiated with Sir Ernest Cassel, the Government in order to redeem the money raised on the certificates, has to pay 60 six-monthly instalments of ^76,648 each, the first of which fell due on July 1st, 1903, while the last will fall due on January 1st, 1933. In other words, the Government will pay ^E.4, 5 98,880 in interest and sinking fund before the certifi- cates are fully redeemed.” With the view of deriving the fullest possible benefit from the construction of the dams at Aswan and Asyut it has been found necessary to convert a large tract of land in Middle Egypt from basin to perennial irrigation ; the cost of converting 451,000 acres will be ^E.3, 200,000. 3. The Barrage at Asna. — The great Dam at Aswan and the Asyut Barrage had already demonstrated the value of such works in Egypt, and the formal opening by the Khedive in February, 1909, of the Asna Barrage constituted an important addition to these irrigation works. Asna, with 17,316 inhabi- tants, is situated in Upper Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile, and the work now completed will, even in the lowest of floods, ensure a plentiful supply of water to a great tract of land in the Nile valley from Asna northwards. The function of the Asna Barrage is to hold up the water in low floods. From the centre line of the lock to the east abutment the length is 2,868 feet; there are 120 openings, 16 feet 5 inches wide; 11 large abutment piers, 13 feet in thickness, all 37 feet 8f inches high, and 108 piers, 6 feet 6 inches in thickness. The barrage carries a roadway 19 feet 8 inches wide, and a tramway track runs along the whole length of the work, including the swing bridge of the lock. The main contract was in the hands of Messrs. John Aird and Co., and the preliminary work itself was an extensive undertaking. Granite, sandstone, and limestone quarries had to be opened up, temporary roads laid, and at one time no less than 24 miles of railway were in operation ; tugs, barges, and a general flotilla had to be requisitioned for river transport ; living quarters, workshops, and a hospital erected, while the problems surrounding a good water supply and proper sanitary arrange- ments for a staff of from 8,000 to 10,000 hands had to be solved. DETAILS OF THE A.SNA BARRAGE. 81 Work on the foundations was started in November, 1906, and the working areas from both east and west banks were such that the foundations and the necessary superstructure could be built above high flood level, so as to ensure continuous work in the superstructure during flood time. Meanwhile the ordinary traffic of the river had a fairway in mid-stream. A large sand-bank having formed itself adjacent to the east bank, it was a comparatively easy matter to take out as much excavation as would ensure 37 piers being built, while on the west bank it was deemed advisable to enclose as much of the foundations as would take in the lock and 26 piers, and both sides were completed in readiness to allow the flood water to pass over the work at the end of the season. As the foundations were built in wet running sand, cast-iron piles were driven, enclosing the entire floor, the joints being grouted to form an effective cut off, constituting a huge box inside which the actual foundations were built. The portion of each pile above foundation level was caulked with oakum, and the entire joint made absolutely watertight. The weight of the piles, which were cast by Messrs. Head, Wrightson, and Company, was each about one ton, and two rows, 60 feet 9 inches apart, were driven parallel across the river. Puddle clay topped with limestone pitching, 65 feet 7 inches wide, has been employed on the upstream side to protect the foundations from water percolation, while 13 1 feet 3 inches of limestone pitching is laid on the downstream side, forming an apron to resist the rush of water through the sluices. The floor is composed of concrete, 3 feet 3! inches thick, on the top of which 6 feet 6f inches of granite rubble masonry is built. The superstructure is built of sandstone. The piers are rounded to a radius of half their thickness on the upstream side, so as to form a cutwater, while the down- stream ends are built square and have a batter of 15 per cent. There are three parapet walls, and between the two upstream parapets, over the gate grooves, winches to lift and lower the gates travel on flat-bottomed rails, laid on longitudinal timbers fixed in the coping. There are two gates to each opening, each 9 feet 10 inches deep, which work vertically in grooves built in the pier. The lock is 262 feet 6 inches long from sill to sill, and 52 feet 6 inches wide, the gates being 40 feet deep. The lock copings and steps are of granite. The contract for the swing bridge over the lock, the lock gates, and sluice gates was in the hands of Messrs. Ransomes 82 DETAILS OF THE ASNA BARRAGE and Rapier, of Ipswich. After the floods of 1907 it was found that the sand-bank on the east side of the river, referred to above, still remained, and operations in line of the barrage were commenced in November of that year, the excavation being tipped into the river, at the same time forming tem- porary sudds as the work advanced westwards. There was at that time an intervening space of 1,280 feet between the two foundation ends which remained to be built in, and although work from the westward had to be carried on with extreme caution, another 830 feet from the east bank was successfully enclosed and the water pumped out. Gwynne’s centrifugal pumps were used throughout. With the exception of a small relief channel, the river was at the close of this work confined to a space of 740 feet. This meant that the westward sudd was subjected to a considerable rush of water, necessitating the protection of the toe of the outside slope, and meanwhile the work was pushed on with such speed that by the beginning of February, 1908, the space between the foundation ends was reduced to 450 feet. The most difficult part of the work followed — the building of new sudds in the stream channel, now greatly curtailed, with the view to forming a junction with the dry built sudd on the west bank floor. To carry out this work the river traffic was diverted through the lock, but it was only after the expenditure of valuable time that the sudds were finally joined, and but twelve weeks remained in which to build in the remaining portion of the work before the river attained the level of the temporary sudds. This was an anxious time, but by concentrating labour on the foundations they were finally joined up in May, 1908. The water was then allowed to rise inside slowly enough to enable the pier masonry to be carried up in advance. The piers having all been brought up to springing level, masonry in superstructure for arches and parapets went on continuously, and the work was actually completed a year and a half within the contract time. It should be pointed out that the scheme includes two small accessory works in the form of canal head regulators, the one for the Asfun canal, on the west bank, having five openings, while the Ivallabiyah canal regulator, on the east bank, has four. In most particulars the design of these subsidiary works follows that of the barrage itself, except that no piling was deemed necessary. Mr. (now Sir) A. L. Webb, Adviser to the Ministry of Public Works, is responsible for the design of the barrage, Mr. E. H. Lloyd acting as resident engineer. The THE ASWAN DAM. 83 contractors were represented in Egypt by Mr. H. McClure. The total cost of the works is about 000,000. (Times, January 13, 1909.) 4. The Aswan Dam and Reservoir.— In the year 1890 the Egyptian Government instructed Sir Colin Scott- Moncrieff and Sir William Willeocks to study the question of making a reservoir, and after three years’ labour the latter gentleman reported that the best site for a reservoir was at the head of the First Cataract, near Aswan, where he suggested that a masonry dam should be built. Sir William Garstin concurred in this view, but because of the magnitude of the work suggested that a Commission should be appointed to advise the Government. The Commission spent three months in Egypt and examined all the proposed sites, and they decided that Aswan was the best place for a reservoir-dam, but recom- mended certain modifications, all of which tended to make the design approach more closely to that of a solid dam, and to increase its stability. As a result it was decided to build a dam across the head of the Aswan Cataract, to the north of the Island of Philae. The maximum head was to be 85 feet, and the volume of water stored 88,300,000,000 cubic feet ; the level of the water held up was to be 374 feet above the mean level of the Mediterranean Sea. When the details of the proposal became known, a great outcry was raised by the principal archaeological societies of Europe, and a modified plan was made, which enabled the level of the water held up to be reduced to 348 feet above mean sea-level. When the plans were passed in 1895 there was no money to be had for such a great undertaking, and the beginning of operations was delayed un il 1898. Early in that year Lord Cromer wrote : — “The most crying want of the country at present is an increase in the water supply. . . . All that can be done with the present supply of Nile water has been already accomplished.” As we have seen above, Messrs. Aird & Co. agreed to con- struct th^ reservoir-dam and the barrage at Asyut for about ^2,000,000. The Egyptian Government were not required to pay any money in cash, except as regards excess quantities over the contract quantities, and Sir Ernest Cassel agreed to take over the bonds, and to pay the contractors on the usual monthly certificates ; bonds were issued for ,£4,716,780, an< ^ repayment was to be made in 60 half-yearly instalments of The Dam crosses the valley in a straight line, passing over f 2 84 THE ASWAN DAM, the five summer channels of the river ; the valley is 2,185 yards wide, and the dam is built on the coarse-grained red granite. At flood-time the water- way is 1,530 yards wide, with a maximum depth of 56 feet. The dam is intended to hold up water to the level of 348 feet ; the lowest level of water on the downstream side is 282 feet, and the greatest head of water will there- fore be 66 feet. The storage capacity is esti- mated at 37,612,000,000 cubic feet. No attempt is made to store water until the river is practic- ally free from silt, which occurs about three months after the Nile is in full hood. Usually the Nile reaches its maximum early in September, but the reservoir is not filled be- fore December-February ; the water is discharged during the months of May, June, and July. The total fall in water- level from Philse to Aswan is 16 feet 5 inches. The mean low Nile at Philae is 295 feet above mean sea-level, and the mean high 321 feet; between high and low Nile the river rises 26 feet. The rise of the water upstream of the dam is 52^ feet The Dam at Aswan at Low Nile. (From Fitzmaurice and Stokes, “ On the Nile Reservoir and Sluices, Assuan,” in the Minutes of Proceedings , Engineers , vol. clii, Session 1902-1903, Part ii, London, 1903.) THP: ASWAN DAM. 85 above low Nile, and 26 feet 3 inches above high Nile ; the effect of the reservoir is felt at a dis- tance of 140 miles south uf the dam. The sluices are 180 in number, and they are arranged at four different levels, viz., 328 feet, 315 feet, 3c if feet, and 287 feet; only 130 sluices are used for regu- lating the discharge, and the remaining 50 are re- quired for giving sufficient waterway to the Nile when in flood. About July 5th all the sluices are open, and the Nile is rising rapidly. At the end of July the discharge of the Nile is 159,000 cubic feet per second, and at the end of August the discharge is nearly 353,000 cubic feet per second. On December 1 st the first of the 50 sliding gates at the level of 3oif feet is lowered, and the remaining 49 soon after ; the 65 gates with rollers at the level of 287 feet are gradually shut, and next the 25 roller sluices are lowered, and early in February the sluices at the level of 315 feet are closed by degrees. By the end of February the reservoir usually is filled, and by July 7th it is empty. 86 THE ASWAN DAM. Work on the dam began in the summer of 1898, under the superintendence of Mr. John A. C. Blue, C.E., and Mr. (now Sir) M. Fitzmaurice, C.M.G., etc., and the founda- tion-stone was laid by H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught on February 12th, 1899. All the foundation work of the dam was completed in the summer of 1901, and all the masonry was finished in June, 1902, one year before the contract time, and less than thn e and a half years after the first stone was laid. The contract quantity of excavation in the dam and locks was 408,000 cubic yards, and the actual quantity exca- vated was 824,000 cubic yards. The total contract quantity of masonry was 484,000 cubic yards, and the actual amount built was 708,000 cubic yards. In places the dam is over 100 feet high, and about 90 feet thick at the base. The actual cash cost of the works came out to nearly ^2,400,000, which is practically £10 for every million gallons of water held up. Sir W. Garstin calculated that the volume of water capable of being stored would be 1,065,000,000 cubic metres. While the dam was being made it was necessary to cut a canal for the passage of large boats up and down the river ; this canal was cut through the granite hill on the west side of the Nile, and 26,000 cubic yards of granite were blasted away in its making. The total length of the canal is 2,180 yards ; it is 52 feet deep, and is 40 feet wide at the bottom. Since there is a difference of 66 feet between the water levels up and down stream, four locks are provided : each lock is 263 feet long and 31 feet wide at the bottom. The two upper gates are 59 feet deep, and weigh about 105 tons each, exclusive of the bascule; the three other gates are 46, 36, and 26 feet deep respectively. When we consider that through the Aswan Dam and the Asyut Barrage the annual wealth of the country will be increased by about ^E. 2, 600, coo, that the direct gain to the Government will be about ^E. 380, 000 a year, and that the value of the Government lands which will be reclaimed will be increased by more than ^E. 1,000,000, there can be no question about the wisdom of the decision of the Egyptian Government to under- take the works. And few will disagree with Lord Cromer’s assertion that with the “ moderate expenditure of roughly ^E. 3, 500, 000, more good has been done to the people of Egypt than by the ^E.ioo,ooo.oco of debt which Isma‘il Pasha contracted, and for the most part squandered.” As regards the results obtained by the construction of the THE ASWAN DAM. 87 Asyfit Barrage and the Aswan Dam, the main facts are as follows: — These two dams cost £E. 3, 237,000. Up to the end of 1904 a sum of 1,757,000 had been spent in subsidiary works in Middle Egypt, whic h must be constructed before the full measure of beneficial result can be derived from the construction of the dams. The total area so far affected is about 1,276,000 acres. The increased annual rental of these lands is estimated at about ^E. 1,553,000 ; their increased sale value at about ^E. 15,730,000. About 205.000 acres of land, formerly watered by the basin-irrigation system, have been adapted to perennial irrigation. About 246.000 acres remain to be similarly treated. It was esti- mated that the work of converting the remaining 246,000 acres would cost about ^"E. 1,424,000, and that the work would be completed in 1908. Thus, Sir William Garstin says, “ From expenditure of some 6 \ millions — by the end of 1908 — the annual rental value of the land affected in Middle Egypt should be increased by ^E. 2.637, 000, and its sale value by ^E.26, 5 70,000.” Lord Cromer doubts if, in the records of engineering work, another instance can be quoted of such results being achieved with so relatively small an outlay of capital (Egypt, No. 1 (1906), P . 34). In 1907 the Egyptian Government decided (on account of the poor inundation, and the fact that 96,985 faddans of land were wholly unwatered, and 15,400 were only partly watered) to raise the Aswan Dam a further height of 5 metres, for the result of this would be to raise the water level in the reservoir by 7 metres, and more than double its storage capacity. The increased water supply would, it was calculated, permit 1,000,000 faddans in the Delta, then lying waste, to be irrigated. The design for the raising of the dam was the work of the late Sir Benjamin Baker, and the contractors chosen were Messrs. John Aird & Co. and Messrs. Ransomes and Rapier. Work was begun in May, 1907, and in 1907-8 ^E.369,000 was expended. In 1909 a further sum of ^E. 1 76,000 was expended. The total cost of the work was expected to be ^E. 1,500,000, and the raising of the dam was completed in 1912. The protective works carried out in 1904-6 are "found to be efficient and satisfactory in every way. The raising of the dam was postponed for a time, first, because it was found necessary to construct a solid masonry apron down- stream of the dam sluices, in order to protect the rock from 88 CONDITION OF THE PHILiE TEMPLES. the severe action of the water issuing through them ; and, secondly, because certain mathematicians of great repute had expressed doubts as to whether the calculations heretofore adopted for determining the stresses and the stability of masonry dams covered a sufficiently wide range, and whether the con- sideration of certain important factors had not been neglected. The masonry apron was finished in due course and the other works were carried out satisfactorily. Here, naturally, reference must be made to the effect of the Aswan Dam on the temples of the Island of Philae. When the first scheme was proposed, it was at once seen that the temple of Philae would be drowned during the filling of the reservoir ; in the modified scheme the watqr was expected only to reach the level of the floor of the temple. An exami- nation by experts showed that a large portion of the main temple was founded on the rock, and that the southern end of the colonnade was built almost entirely on silt. At one side of the colonnade the cross-walls of a quay-wall had been carried down to the rock, and the long row of pillars forming that side of the colonnade was carried on sandstone sills, extending from cross-wall to cross- wall. The sills were cracked and broken, and many were supported only by the silt between the walls. The ground between the walls was excavated, steel girders were fixed below ground from quay-wall to quay-wall, and the steel girders were then completely surrounded by cement masonry, made watertight by forcing in cement grout. The other side of the colonnade was underpinned in cement masonry, the under- pinning in some cases being carried down to a depth of 25 or 30 feet from ground level ; Pharaoh’s Bed and many other buildings were similarly treated. In nearly all places where the underpinning was done, the superstructure of sandstone, in some places 60 or 70 feet high, was in a very dilapi- dated condition. The columns were out of the vertical, and the sandstone lintels, weighing many tons, were often cracked right through. The cost of these works was about £22,000. In the Journal de Geneve (December 17th, 1903), M. Naville, who speaks with unquestionable authority on this subject, bears generous testimony to the archaeological value of the work performed by the Egyptian Government, and says : — “ Je suis de ceux qui, a plusieurs reprises, soit par la voie de la presse, soit dans les Congres scientifiques, ont proteste contre la constitution d’un barrage a Assouan. J’estirne que les archeo- THE RAISING OF THE ASWAN DAM. 89 logues ont lieu d’etre satisfaits. Le monument est a l’abri de toute degradation pour de longues annees, et il ne semble pas que l’eau ait un effet facheux sur la pierre, sauf peut-etre dans quelques chambres, qui, n’ayant d’autre ouverture qu’une porte basse, conservent necessairement l’humidite et se couvrent de salpetre. On peut meme se demander si, a certains egards, le Temple de Phile n’est pas aujourd’hui dans des conditions meilleures que la plupart des edifices Egyptiens. Depuis plusieurs annees les grands temples passent par ce qui j’appellerais une crise de faiblesse senile. ... A Phile il serait arrive la meme chose qu’aux autres. Le temple se serait degrade petit a petit ; on aurait vu tomber tantot une colonne, tantot une .architrave, et il aurait fallu attendre pour le consolider d’avoir les ressources suffisantes. Maintenant cela est fait, et pour longtemps, et tout en sachant gre au Gouvernement Egyptien de l’empressement qu’il a mis a faire ce sacrifice pecuniaire, nous aimons a croire que nos protestations n’ont pas ete sans influence sur sa decision.” Professor Maspero says, “ L’ile de Philae continue a se bien comporter, et tout danger immediat parait etre ecarte. Le sal- petre se produit en quantite moins grande, et s’enleve plus aisement que les premieres annees. Tout va bien de ce cote pour le moment.” Sir W. Garstin has no doubt that the stability of the temples of Philae has not suffered by their submersion, but he calls attention to the band of saturated stone, from 2 feet to 2 feet 6 inches deep, which is immediately above the water line. In this band salts deleterious to the masonry have made their appearance. As regards the remedy for this evil, the general opinion appears to be that the only one possible is to wash the stone work thoroughly and carefully, as soon as the water has subsided, thus getting rid of the salts. These are reported as coming away easily. In October, 1907, a Committee was appointed by the Ministry of Public Works to report on the structural stability of the temples at Philae, to study the salt efflorescence and the discoloration of the walls, etc. This Committee found in 1908 that “there was no evidence of their “ stability having been in any way affected, or that any one of “ them had moved since the underpinning operations in 1902.” And they reported, “it may be confidently stated that, in con- sequence of the work which was done in 1902 in under- “ pinning and consolidating the temples and other structures “ on Philae Island, these buildings are now far more safely 90 REPORT ON THE PHIL^E TEMPLES. “ founded than they have ever been, except in the case of “ those which were originally built on the granite rock, and “ which, therefore, were never endangered ; that after five “ submersions no damage from settlement has occurred, and 4 4 there is no sign of any movement except in the case of a 44 few steps and pavement slabs which are laid on loose filling, 44 and even here the movement is slight and of no importance. 44 There is no temple in the Nile Valley at the* present time 44 which is more secured against failure by settlement or by 44 collapse under any conditions, short of a violent earthquake, 44 than those on Philae Island.” As regards the salt efflor- escence, the Committee found that the “action is purely 44 mechanical, and in no way a chemically corrosive one,” and their Summary stated : — i. Beyond the usual decay of old age no special destruction of the Philae temples is taking place, except a local disintegration immediately above high-water mark. 2. This local disintegration, which is purely physical, is confined to the surface layers of the stones. 3. This injury will cease at the present spots when the water level is raised, but will be transferred, though to a lessened extent, to fresh places just above any temporary high-water level. 4. The river water alone has no appreciable action, either erosive or corrosive, upon the stone ; the wave action shows no sign, either on the quay walls or on the buildings, of being effective. 5. The grey discoloration of the submerged stone is due to minute filaments of dead algae ; these do no harm, but are not readily removable. The experts employed to make the examination of the buildings, chemical analyses, etc., were Mr. E. T. Richmond, Mr. A. Lucas, F.I.C., and Captain H. G. Lyons, R.E., the last named being also responsible for the Committee’s Report. But in spite of all these assurances from eminent authorities the 61 temples of Philae are deterio- rating, and the condition of the Great Temple and the Temple of Nectanebo in 1915 was such that the Service of Antiquities sent one of its officials, Signor Barsanti, to carry out repairs on these buildings. When he arrived at Philae he found that when the Dam was full of water the previous year some boatman had sailed his boat close up to the buildings on the island, and that either in coming or going he had fouled the columns and had knocked three of them down. Barsanti executed all the repairs possible under the circumstances, but his conclusions are summed up in the following words: 44 Les inscriptions en relief souffrent de leur immersion prolongee THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. 91 succedant a 1’exposition au soleil et il faut se resigner a les voir pen a peu disparaitre ” ( Annales du Service, tome XVIII, p 2 S ). VI.— THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. Language. — The language most commonly spoken among the modem Egyptians is Arabic, and the writers in the native newspapers and scientific journals have succeeded in making it flexible enough to express the most modern ideas in connection with politics, science, and philosophy. Arabic is a member of the Southern group of Semitic languages, and many dialects of it are known ; the dialect of Egypt is one of the most interesting, although it differs very widely from the Arabic language of the Kur’an and the oldest commentaries on that work. There are three vowels in Arabic, a, i, and u ; it has neither e nor o ; a, i and u are made long by adding \ alif, j ye and ^ wau , respectively. Arabic is, like Hebrew and Syriac, read from right to left. The* Arabic alphabet is as follows : — Alif 1 Ba „> or < > Ta v or > •• ? Tha 5 or t ••• * Used with a vowel, a B T Th Gim ^ or Ha or Kha < or Dal G hard in Egypt. H soft guttural. Kh D 1 )hal D or Z Re R. Ze Sin V or Shin A or Sad ^ or Dad or Z S Sh S sharp S D a palatal. 92 THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. Ta T a palatal. Za Z ‘Ain or c ‘ a guttural. Ghain •i or £ Gh a guttural. Fe a or uJ F Kaf 3 or J K like Alif in Egypt. Kaf cJ K Lam 1 or J L Mini or M Nin or N He Jb or X H Wau • V W Ye or o Y i. The Ancient Egyptians.- — The Valley of the Nile in all periods been inhabited by peoples of different races, much as it is to-day. In the earliest times the immediate dwellers on its banks were natives of the various countries through which the Nile flowed. But these were always being invaded by the tribes who lived in the countries on the east and west of the Nile. Some of these settled down by the Nile, married wives and reared families, and occupied effectively many parts of the Nile Valley ; and became in fact Egyptians. In a few generations the posterity of these invaders acquired all the physical characteristics of the indigenous dweller on the Nile. The native civilisation of the Egyptians was modified chiefly by the peoples who came from Western Asia, commonly called Hamites and Semites, and from the country to the west of the Nile, called Libyans. It is probable that there was a steady inflow of all these peoples in all periods, and invasions by them must have taken place sometimes suddenly, on a large scale. But in spite of such inflow and invasions the writer believes that the primary origin of the Egyptians was African and not Asian. There is no doubt that the Semites and Hamites were superior to the Egyptians intellectually, and that the influence which both peoples had upon the dwellers on the Nile was far-reaching. The Egyptians learned a great deal from them and adopted THE FALLAHiN. 93 many of their improvements in agriculture and building, and absorbed many of their words into their language. According to some authorities the Hamites were an older people than the Semites, and it has been suggested that the earliest Semitic language was based upon Hamitic speech. Be this as it may, it is certain that at some time or other the Semites and Egyptians entered into very close relationship, and that each people in- fluenced the other very considerably ; but whether this relation- ship was due to war or trade it is impossible to say. That this relationship existed there is no foom for doubt. The whole question is one of great difficulty, and at present there is not sufficient evidence to show when the Semites and Hamites began to invade the Nile Valley, or by what routes they came. They may have crossed at Bab al-Mandib, or from the Peninsula of Sinai, or at Al-Kantarah, the “ Bridge of Nations,” or they may have embarked at some port of Southern Arabia and sailed up the Red Sea to the ports now called Sawakin and Kuser. The visitor who will take the trouble to stand in any of the large bazars of Cairo, or in the Mfiski, during the early busy hours of the day will see for himself that the population of Egypt comprises the Fallahin, Copts, Badawin, Jews, Turks, Negroes, Nubians, Abyssinians, Armenians, and Europeans. 2. The Fallahin, or what may be termed the Arab=Egyp = tians, form the bulk of the population of Egypt, and it has been asserted that 92*2 per cent, of the population of Egypt belong to this class. They are descended from the Arab tribes which settled in Egypt soon after the conquest of the country by ‘Amr, the commander-in-chief of ‘Omar, the Khalifah. When these tribes left the desert and began to live a non-nomad life, they married among the indigenous people, and their offspring, most of whom embraced Islam, resembled in many particulars the ancient Egyptians. Arab-Egyptians are usually about 5 feet 8 inches or 5 feet 9 inches in height, and in mature age most of them are remarkably well proportioned ; the men are muscular and robust, and the women are beautifully formed, and neither sex is too fat. In Cairo and the northern pro- vinces they have a yellowish but clear complexion, but further south it is darker and coarser. In the extreme south the people have a brown complexion, which becomes darker as we approach Nubia. The countenance of the men is of an oval form, the fore- head is of moderate size, seldom high, but generally prominent. The ^yes are often deep-sunk, and are black and brilliant ; 94 THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. the nose is straight, but rather thick ; the mouth is well formed, the lips are rather full, the teeth are particularly good and white, and the scanty beard is black and curly. The Fallahin, from constant exposure to the sun, have a habit of half-shutting their eyes, which often causes them to appear more deep-sunk than they are. Formerly a great number of the Egyptians were blind in one or both eyes, which was due partly to dirt and disease (ophthalmia), and partly to their own act, for many men, it is said, used to make one eye blind by squeezing into it the juice of a plant, in order to avoid military service. It is said that one of the autocratic rulers of the land, who refused to be defeated by such an artifice, raised a battalion of men who were blind in one eye ; and when the people began cutting off a finger from the right hand in order to disqualify them for military service, the same Pasha raised another battalion, each member of which lacked a linger of the right hand. In 1902 Sir Ernest Cassel constituted a Trust with a capital of ^40,000, the interest of which was to be devoted to the treatment of those suffering from diseases of the eye. In July, 1903, Dr. MacCallan, an English ophthalmic surgeon, was appointed to be in charge of the work connected with this Fund. Tents, equipment, and instruments were purchased, and a native medical attendant, together with the necessary staff, was engaged, and a travelling hospital was erected, at Manuf. The Egyptians generally shave portions of the beard above and below the lower jaw, and likewise a small portion under the lower lip, leaving, however, after the example of the Prophet, the hairs that grow in the middle under the mouth ; sometimes they pluck out these hairs. None shaves the moustache ; the grey beard is much respected, and only those of Persian origin make it orange colour or bright red by treatment with lime. Usually the Egyptians shave all the hair, or leave only a small tuft, which is called shusha , upon the crown of the head. Hair which is cut off the human head is usually buried. The tuft of hair is left so that, should the head ever be cut off by an infidel, he may have something to hold it by, and so be prevented from putting his fingers into the mouth to carry it. The women are characterized by a broad, oval countenance, and their eyes are black, large, and of a long almond shape, with long and beautiful lashes. The eyes are beautified by blackening the edges of the eyelids, both above and below the eye, with a black powder called “kohl,” which is made from THE FALLAHIN. 95 the smoke-black of a kind of aromatic resin, and also from the smoke-black of almond shells. These kinds of “ kohl are used merely for ornament, but several mineral preparations are known, and these are believed to possess healing properties. Kohl is applied to the eyelids with a small instrument made of wood, ivory, or silver, tapering towards the end, but blunt ; this is moistened, and, having been dipped in the powder, is drawn along the edges of the eyelids. The ancient Egyptians and the Hebrews also used kohl for the eyes, and there is little doubt that in the earliest times the object of its use was medicinal rather than ornamental. The nose is straight, the lips 'are usually fuller than those of men, and the hair is black and glossy, sometimes coarse and crisp, but never woolly. Fallahin women, as well as those of the upper classes, stain the nails of the fingers and toes with “ henna,” which gives them a deep orange colour. Some dye the tips of the fingers and toes as high as the first joint, and the whole of the inside of the hand and the sole of the foot. Many women tattoo blue marks upon the face, hands, arms, feet, and the middle of the breast ; the punctures are made with a bundle of seven needles, and the colouring substance which is rubbed in is. usually indigo. Tribal marks may often be seen on the. faces; both of men and women. The dress of the fallah consists of a pair of drawers, a long blue gown of linen or cotton, and a white or red girdle or a belt. The turban is wound round the tarbush , when the fallah has money enough to buy one, and in cold weather a skull-cap and cloak are worn. The dress of both men and women in Egypt, as elsewhere, varies according to their means and individual fancies. Most of the women of the lower classes wear a number of cheap ornaments, such as nose- rings, ear-rings, necklaces, bracelets, etc. The nose-ring, is usually made of brass, and has a few beads of coloured glass, attached to it. The Faliahin usually lead hard lives, and their earnings are small. Their food consists of maize or millet,, bread, milk, new cheese, eggs, salted fish, cucumbers, melons,, gourds, and onions and other vegetables, which they eat raw.. The ears of maize are often roasted and eaten ; among the poorest people of all rice is rarely seen, and meat never. Nearly every man smokes, and formerly he had nothing but native tobacco, which was very cheap ; the leaves of the plant were merely dried and broken up. The women work harder than the men, for they have to prepare and cook the food. 96 THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. bring the water from the river, and make the fuel, which is composed of cattle dung and chopped straw ; formerly they had to make the linen or cotton cloth required by the family, but much of this is now purchased in the bazars. In many districts the wife is still practically a maid-of-all-work and the bearer of all burdens, and the husband perpetuates, in respect of her, many of the customs which have come down to him from his ancestors, the wild, marauding tribes of the desert. 3. The Copts are the direct descendants of the ancient Egyptians, and inhabit chiefly the cities of Upper Egypt. They number less than one million, and most of them are engaged in the trades of goldsmiths, cloth-workers, etc., and a large number of the clerks in the postal, telegraph, and other Government offices in Egypt are drawn from their community. The name “Copt” (Kubt or Kibt) is the Arabic form of the Coptic form of the Greek name for “ Egyptian,” Kl^v7mo^ though some would derive it from “ Kubt,” the name of the city of Coptos, to which large numbers of the Egyptian Christians retired during the fierce persecutions which broke out against the Christians in Roman times. Though there are some striking points of resemblance between the Copts and the ancient Egyptians, there is a considerable difference between them ; this difference is, however, easily accounted for by the intermarriage of the ancestors of the modern Copts with foreigners. The complexion of the Copts varies from a pale yellow to a deep brown, according to the part of the country in which they live. The eyes are large, elongated, and black, and they incline from the nose upwards ; the nose is straight, but is wide and rounded at the end ; the lips are rather thick, and the hair is black and curly. In stature the Copts are slightly under middle size. The women paint their eyes with kohl, and many of them tattoo the cross on their faces and hands. Their male children are circumcised. The Copts wear garments of a subdued colour, and can frequently be distinguished from the Muhammadans by their dress. The women veil their faces, both in public and private, and a generation or so ago the unmarried women wore white veils. The Copts are Christians, and belong to the sect of the Eutychians, or followers of Eutyches, whose confession of faith was as follows : “ I worship the Father with the Son, and the Son with the Father, and the Holy Ghost with the Father and the Son. I acknowledge that the bodily presence of the Son arose from the body of the Holy Virgin, and that He THE COPTS. 97 became perfect man for the sake of our salvation. I acknow- ledge that our Lord, before the union (of the Godhead and manhood), had two natures ; but, after the union, I confess but one.” In other words, he abandoned “ the distinction of the two natures in Christ to the unity of the person to such an extent as to make the incarnation an absorption of the human nature by the divine, or a deification of human nature, even of the body.” He believed that Christ had but one composite nature, and his followers in their liturgies declared that God had been crucified. The doctrines which Eutyches rejected were embodied in the “ Definition of Faith,” which was promulgated by the Council of Chalcedon in 451, thus : “We then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent teach men to confess one and the same Son. One Lord Jesus Christ ; the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood ; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body ; con- substantial with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the manhood ; in all things like unto us without sin ; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, according to the manhood ; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only Begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably, the dis- tinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one person and one hypostasis, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only Begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophets from the beginning have declared concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the creed of the holy Fathers has delivered to us.” Because the Copts hold the belief in Christ possessing one nature only they are called Monophysites, and they are also known as Jacobites because they follow views of Jacob Baradaeus, a Syrian, who was an active propagator of the doctrine of Eutyches. The Copts who adhered to the Greek faith were called Melkites, or Melchites, i.e., Royalists, because they agreed in faith with the Emperor of Constantinople. The dissensions between the Melchites and the Jacobites were of a very serious character, and they were carried on with great bitterness on each side until the Arabs invaded Egypt ; the Jacobites then threw in their lot with the Arabs, and rejoiced z c 98 THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. co lend them their help in expelling the Greeks. As soon as ‘Amr became master of Egypt he appointed a number of Copts to positions of dignity and importance and wealth, but finding them to be unworthy of his confidence, he degraded them, and very soon afterwards they were persecuted with terrible rigour. The Copts declare that St. Mark, who is said to have been the first to preach the Gospel in Alexandria, was their first Patriarch, and their list of the Patriarchs of Alexandria begins with his name. The Coptic Patriarch is also the head of the Abyssinian Church, for the dwellers in Ethiopia profess the Monophysite doctrine. The Patriarch governs the Coptic Church by means of a Metropolitan of Ethiopia, commonly called “ Abftna,” i.e., “our Father,” 12 bishops, two kinds of priests, and deacons. He lives in Cairo, and is chosen from among the order of monks of the Convent of St. Anthony, who have always been very numerous among the Copts. The Coptic community is a very wealthy one, and the property, of which the Patriarch has almost unlimited control, is enormous ; it is asserted on good authority that a great deal of peculation goes on among those who assist the Patriarch to administer ecclesiastical property, and it is to be hoped that the Reform Party in the Coptic Church will succeed in forcing them to render accounts of the moneys which come into their hands, and to submit to some kind of audit. Until com- paratively recently the Coptic Patriarch had the power to excuse Copts from military service on the payment of certain fees to him, and it was only renounced under considerable pressure. Coptic monks and nuns form a very numerous body, and there is no doubt that the best of them lead lives of great austerity. They emulate the lives of St. Anthony and his immediate followers, and fast and pray with extraordinary zeal and persistence; they wear woollen shirts, and live chiefly upon vegetable food. They do not cultivate their minds or advance learning, and but few of them can read Coptic, their ancient language ; speaking generally, they know nothing of their own history and literature, and their ignorance, super- stition, and narrow-mindedness are almost incredible. In certain villages in Upper Egypt where Coptic monasteries exist the monks do not enjoy a reputation for sanctity. The Copts baptize their sons when 40, and their daughters when 80 days old ; the Holy Spirit is believed to descend upon the child in baptism, and it is thought that an unbaptized child THE COPTS. 99 will be blind in the next life. Like the ancient Egyptians they practise circumcision, and the custom is probably to be re- garded more in the light of a survival of a wide-spread habit of the ancient indigenous people of Egypt than as a religious rite. Boys are taught the Psalms in Arabic, and the Gospels and Epistles both in Arabic and Coptic ; but Coptic does not appear to be taught grammatically in Coptic schools. Prayers are said and portions of the Bible are read in Coptic in the churches, but it is doubtful how much the readers know of the language. In manuscripts an Arabic version of the Coptic text is usually written side by side with it, and recourse is always had to this in cases of difficulty. The Copts who are engaged in commerce have a lively appreciation of the education in modern subjects which will fit their sons for business,, and it is a remarkable fact that the percentage of Muhammadan pupils in schools and colleges under the Department of Public Instruction is less than the percentage of Muhammadans in the total popu- lation, whilst the percentage of Coptic pupils in the same schools is almost treble the percentage of Copts throughout Egypt. Thus Muhammadans form 95 per cent, of the total population, and the number of their children in the schools forms 82 per cent, of the pupils. When (in 1908) the Copts formed 6 per cent, of the total population the number of their children in the schools formed 1 7 per cent, of the pupils. The Copts owe their ability to perform the duties of clerks in Government offices in Egypt entirely to the American mis- sionaries, who have taught them English, and educated them on modern lines, and helped them to lead lives based upon a high standard of public and private morality. The Copts, like the Jews and Muhammadans, pray seven times daily, namely, at daybreak, at the third, sixth, ninth, eleventh, and twelfth hours, and at midnight. The strictest of them recite in Arabic the seventh part of the Psalter, and a chapter of one of the four Gospels each time they pray, and then either with or without the help of a rosary, they say : “ O my Lord, have mercy ! ” 41 times. They then say a short prayer in Coptic. The poor and the illiterate say the Lord’s Prayer seven times at each season of prayer, and, “ O my Lord, have mercy ! ” 41 times. The Copts usually wash before praying, and they face the east when praying. Coptic churches usually contain four or five divisions. The first contains the altar, and is separated from the second by a screen with a door in the centre which is covered by a curtain o a 100 THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. with a cross worked upon it. The second division is devoted to the priests, choir, ministrants, and the more influential or important members of the congregation ; it is separated from the third by a high wooden lattice with three doors in it. The third, or third and fourth divisions, are set apart for the less important male members of the congregation, and in the last division come the women. The walls are ornamented some- times with pictures of saints, but no images are admitted. Every member of the congregation removes his shoes on entering the church, and as the services are frequently very long, and he has to stand most of the time, he supports himself upon a kind of crutch. The service usually begins at daybreak, and lasts from three to five hours. In spite of the mats which are laid upon the floors the churches are very cold in winter. The strict decorum which a European associates with behaviour in church is not carefully observed, and many members of the congregation may frequently be seen conversing with each other on business matters, and the long service appears to be monotonous and uninteresting. At intervals a priest censes the congregation, and blesses various members of it. In the Eucharist only the priests partake of the wine ; the sacra= mental bread is made in the form of small round cakes or buns, which are stamped with the cross, etc.; after being moistened with wine they are administered to the congregation. The Copts make use of confession, which is obligatory before the receiving of the Eucharist, and they observe the following fasts : — (i) The Fast of Nineveh, which is kept one week before Lent, and lasts three days and three nights ; (2) the Great Fast, i.e., Lent, which originally lasted 40 days, but has now become extended to 55 ; (3) the Fast of the Nativity, the period of which is the 28 days immediately preceding Christmas Day; (4) the Fast of the Apostles, which is the period between the Ascension and the fifth day of Epip ; (5) the Fast of the Virgin, a period of 15 days previous to the Assumption of the Virgin. The Copts fast every Wednesday and Friday, except for one period of 50 days. Each fast is followed by a festival. The Festivals are: — (1) The Festival of the Nativity (6th or 7th of January) ; (2) the Festival Al-Ghitas (18th or 19th of January), in commemoration of the baptism of Christ; (3) the Festival of the Annunciation of the Virgin (6th of April) ; (4) the Festival of Palm Sunday ; (5) the Great Festival of Easter ; (6) the Festival of the Ascension ; (7) the Festival of Whit Sunday. For. COPTIC CUSTOMS. 101 merly on the Festival Al-Ghitas, whereon the baptism of Christ was commemorated, men and boys used to plunge into the water, the one saying to the other : “ Plunge, as thy father and grandfather plunged, and remove Al-Islam from thy heart.” Mr. Lane says : “ Some churches have a large tank, which is used on this occasion, the water having first been blessed by a priest ; but it is a more common practice of the Copts to perform this ceremony (which most of them regard more as an amusement than a religious rite) in the river, pouring in some holy water from the church before they plunge. This used to be an occasion of great festivity among the Copts of the metropolis ; the Nile was crowded with boats. Prayers are performed in the churches on the eve of thi^festival ; a priest blesses the water in the font on the bank, then ties on a napkin as an apron, and wetting the corner of a handkerchief with the holy water, washes (or rather wipes or touches) with it the feet of each member of the congregation.” As the Muhammadans declare that every true believer must visit the grave of the Prophet at Makkah (Mecca) once in his life, so the Copts hold it obligatory on every one of their com- munity to visit Jerusalem once in his life. The Copts are forbidden to marry anyone who is not a member of their com- munity, and if one does so he is married according to the civil law of the land, and as his own Church will not recognize the marriage it may be dissolved at pleasure. To marry a wife the Copt follows the same method of procedure as the Muhammadan, that is to say, some woman of his family looks out for a suitable partner ; when found, her face is rarely seen by her future husband. A contract in respec; of dowry is drawn up on strict business principles, a priest usually presiding and agreeing, or not, to the terms proposed ; when all parties have agreed to the contract they say the Lord’s Prayer three times. The Copts usually marry on Saturday nights, and the complete marriage festival lasts eight days. The festival begins on Tuesday, when the friends of the pair to be married are feasted. Mr. Lane describes an interesting custom which is observed during the early days of the festival, and says that the cook makes two hollow balls of sugar, each with a hole at the bottom. Then taking two live pigeons he attaches little round bells to their wings, and having whirled the poor birds through the air till they are giddy, puts them into the two balls before mentioned ; each of these is placed upon a dish, and 102 THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. they are put before the guests, some of whom, judging when the birds have recovered from their giddiness, break the balls. The pigeons generally fly about the room, ringing their little bells ; if they do not fly immediately, some person usually makes them rise, as the spectators would draw an evil omen from their not flying. On Thursday the bride is conducted to the bath, and on Friday the nails of her hands and feet are stained with henna. On Saturday two suits of clothing, one for the bride and one for the bridegroom, are sent from the bride’s house to that of the bridegroom, and a woman from her house goes to the bridegroom’s to see that all is prepared, and the bridegroom is taken to the bath. In the evening the bride sets out for the bridegroom’s house, being escorted by her women relations and friends, and as she is about to enter it, a sheep is killed at the door, and the bride musf step over the blood. A few hours later, after much feasting, the bride and bridegroom go separately to church, and the Eucharist is administered to the couple, and a long service is performed. The ceremonies and service often last until daybreak, when the newly-married couple go to the husband’s house. On the Monday the bride’s father gives a feast in the bridegroom’s house, and on the Tuesday the bride and bridegroom do the same, and with this the marriage festival closes. The Copt can obtain a divorce only on the ground of adultery on the part of his wife, but a separation can be effected for many reasons. The Copts follow the custom of the country in carrying their dead to the grave, and lamentation goes on in the house of the deceased for three days ; they visit the tombs thrice a year, and spend a night there each time. At each visit, those who are in easy circumstances give 'a meal to the poor. It is difficult to find out what the Copts believe about the judgment of souls, but some of them think that the soul is judged on the day when it leaves the body, and that it receives its reward of good or evil before sunrise on the following day. It is interesting in connection with this opinion to note that a large number of the ancient Egyptians held a somewhat similar view. They thought that the souls of all those who died during the day made their way to the realm of Osiris, which they reached a little before midnight ; the god then rewarded ’the blessed with grants of fertile land, which they cultivated for all future time or eternity, and here they lived lives of content and bliss. The souls of those who had led evil lives on earth were handed over to the THE BADAWIN. 103 ministers of the wrath of Osiris, and they were hacked to pieces with murderous knives, and then thrown into pits of fire where their mutilated members were consumed, together with the powers of darkness which had fought against Osiris and the Sun-god Ra. From this point of view a judgment took place daily, and each sunrise saw the judgment-halls of Osiris and Ra empty. The character of the Copts is hard to judge. They are extremely bigoted, and are said to hate other Christians more bitterly than they hate Muhammadans, but this is hardly to be wondered at considering what they have suffered from the hands of their co-religionists in past centuries. They are said, even by their own people, to be sullen in temper, greedy, and avaricious, and to pursue modern education merely for the love of personal gain. Against this view must be set the fact that until the rule of the British in Egypt they never enjoyed real freedom, and it is probable that just treatment and government may develop the best traits which they possess, and cause to disappear the results of centuries of persecution and oppression. Many competent authorities consider the Copts to be the ablest and most intellectual of all the natives of Egypt. _ The visitor who is interested in the history and literature of the Copts should not fail to visit the Church of the Virgin at Fustatand the adjoining Museum of Coptic Antiquities. Here, owing to the care of the eminent Copt, Simaika Pasha, are gathered together in cases series of Coptic ecclesiastical vestments, Coptic manuscripts written on papyrus, vellum and paper, sacramental vessels, ecclesiastical furniture, objects in metal, glass, wood, etc. The cases are well arranged and all objects are easily seen. The woodwork, screens, etc., and the panels and carved wood lintels are specially interesting. Many are unique. 4. The Badawin are represented by the various Arabic- speaking and Muhammadan tribes, who live in the deserts which lie on each side of the Nile; they amount in number to about 50,000. The Bisharin,* Hadanduwa, and ‘Ababdah tribes, who speak a language called “ tft badhawiya,” and who * The Bisharin (sing. Bishari are the representatives of the Baga or Baja of Arabic writers, of the BOYFAEIT.QN of the Axum Inscriptions, and probably of the Bukka, a nation conquered by Thothmes III. 104 THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. live in the most southern part of Upper Egypt, Nubia, and Abyssinia, are included among this number.* Among these three tribes the institutions of Muhammad are not observed with any great strictness. When the Badawin settle down to village or town life they appear to lose all the bravery and fine qualities of independent manhood which characterize them when they live in their home, the desert. The classical name for the desert tribes is “ Trabiyun,” or “ ‘Urban,” but a dweller in the flat, open desert is called “ Badawi,” or “ Badawi,” the plural being “ Badawiyun.” This name was introduced into European literature by the early French Arabists, who always spoke of “ les Bedouins.” The inhabitants of Cairo, Alexandria, and other large towns form a class of people quite distinct from the other inhabitants of Egypt ; in Alexandria there is a very large Greek element, and in Cairo the number of Turks is very great. In the bazars of Cairo one may see the offspring of marriages between members of nearly every European nation and Egyptian or Nubian women, the colour of their skins varying from a dark brick-red to nearly white. The shopkeepers are fully alive to their opportunities of making money, and would, beyond doubt, become rich but for their natural indolence and belief in fate. Whatever they appear, or however much they may mask their belief in the Muhammadan religion, it must never be forgotten that they have the greatest dislike to every religion but their own. The love of gain alone causes them to submit to the remarks made upon them by Europeans, and to suffer their entrance and sojourning among them. 5. The Nubians, or Berbers (Barabara), as they are sometimes called, inhabit the tract of land which extends from Aswan, or Syene, to the Fourth Cataract. The word Nubia appears to be derived from nub , “gold,” because Nubia was a gold- producing country. The word Berber is considered to mean “ barbarian ” by some, and to be also of Egyptian origin. They speak a language which is allied to some of the North African tongues, but often speak Arabic well. The Nubians found in Egypt are generally doorkeepers and domestic servants, who can usually be depended upon for their honesty and obedience. 6. The Negroes form a large part of the non-native popula- tion of Egypt, and are employed by natives to perform hard work, or are held by them as slaves. They are Muhammadans * See Almkvist, Die Bischari-Sprache Tii-Bedawie in Nordost Afrika , Upsala, 1881. Vol. II, Upsala, 1885. EUROPEAN POPULATION OF EGYPT. 105 by religion, and come from the countries of the Southern Sfidan. Negro women make good and faithful servants. 7. The Syrian Christians who have settled down in Egypt are generally known by the name of Levantines. They are shrewd business men, and the facility and rapidity with which they learn European languages place them in positions of trust and emolument. 8 . The Turks form a comparatively small portion of the population of Egypt, but many civil and military appointments are, or were, in their hands. Many of them are the children of Circassian slaves. The merchants are famous for their civility to foreigners and their keen eye to business. The number of Turks in Egypt in 1917 was 30,796. 9. 10. The Armenians and Jews form a small but import- ant part of the inhabitants in the large towns of Egypt. The former are famous for their linguistic attainments and wealth ; the latter have blue eyes, fair hair and skin, and busy them- selves in mercantile pursuits and the business of bankers and money-changing. The number of Jews in Egypt in 1917 was 59 > 5 Sl - The European population in Egypt consists of Greeks, 56,735; Italians, 40,19 s i English, 24,356; French, 21,270; Austrians, 2, 789 ; Russians, 4,2 25; Germans, 157 ; Spaniards, 797 ; Persians, 1,496 ; Miscellaneous, 23,976. The greater part of the business of Alexandria is in the hands of the Greek merchants, many of whom are famous for their wealth. It is said that the Greek community contributes most largely to the crime in the country, but if the size of that community be taken into account, it will be found that this statement is not strictly true. The enterprise and good business habits of the Greeks in Alexandria have made it the great city that it is. The French, Austrian, German, and English nations are likewise represented there and in Cairo by several first-rate business houses. The destructive fanaticism peculiar to the Muhammadan mind, so common in the far east parts of Mesopotamia, seems to be non-existent in Egypt ; such fanaticism as exists is, no doubt, kept in check by the presence of Europeans, and all the different peoples live side by side in tolerable quietness. It should always be remembered that waves of fanaticism pass over all Muhammadan peoples at intervals, and it must be confessed that the Pan-Egyptian propagandists in Egypt are producing a feeling of unrest in the country, and that suspicion of the English and disaffection are general. A certain 106 THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. section of the community is always crying “ Egypt for the Egyptians,” and many of its members cannot see that they are being cleverly worked by emissaries from abroad whose real aim is “ Egypt for the Turks.” These emissaries do their best to blind the minds of the unthinking lower classes to the fact that they owe their freedom from the whip, the corvee and slavery to the British rulers in Egypt. And they also try to make the people believe that the money invested by European firms and companies in Egypt is the result of the labours of the Egyptians, which has been taken from them by unjust means. Happily the Anglo-French Agree- ment permits England to continue her great civilizing work in Egypt without check from the most enlightened nation on the Continent, the French, and there is now no fear that Egypt will sink back into the misery and corrupt state to which it had been brought by Turkish misrule. The great benefit derived by Egypt from the immigration of Europeans during the last few years is evident from the increased material prosperity of the country, and the administration of equitable laws which has obtained. The European element in Egypt now contributes to the revenue in taxation a consider- able sum annually. VII.— THE MODERN EGYPTIANS.— NARCOTICS AND AMUSEMENTS. One of the greatest enjoyments of many classes of the modern Egyptian is to do nothing, especially if he has sufficient means to provide himself with coffee, and with some narcotic in the form of tobacco, opium, hashish, Cannabis Indica, or Indian hemp, etc. The drinking of wine and strong drink of every kind is prohibited to the true believer with no uncertain voice in the Ivur’an, and the passages in which the prohibition is laid down have formed the subject of much comment by Muhammadans in all countries. A passage in Surah II says : “ They will ask thee concerning wine and lots ; answer in both there is great sin, and things of use unto men ; but their sinfulness is greater than their use.” Some are of opinion that excess in wine-drinking only is here forbidden, but the stricter Muhammadans hold that men should not taste, touch, or handle wine, spirits, or strong drink of any kind. In spite of this, however, it is quite certain that NARCOTICS AND AMUSEMENTS. 107 Muhammad the Prophet did drink a kind of wine called nabidh, and many of his followers considered that its use was lawful. Nabidh is made by soaking dried grapes or dates in water for a few days, until the liquor ferments slightly, or acquires sharpness or pungency. The Prophet drank the liquor in which grapes or dates had been soaked for one or two days, but on the third day he either gave it to his servants or had it poured on the ground. At the present time Muhammadans drink in private many kinds of European wines and spirits and beer, and excuse themselves for so doing by calling them 4 ‘ medicine.” Arab literature proves that the Muhammadans were great drinkers of nabidh , and contains records of many disgraceful acts committed by the illustrious when drunk, and shows that the punishments prescribed by the law for the drinking of wine and spirits did not act as deterrents. A freeman might be beaten with 80 stripes, and a slave with 40, and if the crime were committed in the day- time during the month of Ramadan, i.e ., during the great fast, the punishment for the offender was death. At the end of 1904 there were in all Egypt at least 4,015 drinking shops. In 1905 about 466 applications for licences to sell alcoholic drinks were made, and 370 were refused. There is little or no drinking in the villages in Egypt, but in the towns there is a certain amount of intoxication. The amount of alcohol made in Egypt is increasing yearly. The place of wine was taken by coffee, which is called to this day by a very ancient name for old wine, i.e., “ ‘Kahwah.” The properties of the coffee berry were discovered accidentally by one ‘Omar, who had fled into Yaman from persecution with a few followers in the thirteenth century. Being reduced by want of provisions to cook the berries of the coffee plant which grew there in abundance, he experienced the effects familiar to all who indulge in strong “black” coffee. About two centuries later coffee was drunk publicly in Aden and its neighbourhood, and it was introduced into Egypt at the end of the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth century by some natives of Southern Arabia. The use of coffee has been the subject of fierce debates, and the number of the decisions by Muhammadan divines condemning its use are as numerous as those which permit it. Its sale has been alternately prohibited and legalized, and at the present time it is drunk by every class of Muham- madan presumably without scruple. The modern coffee-house is a most popular institution among the lower classes, and is 108 THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. mostly frequented in the afternoon and evening ; the benches outside the shop, which are provided by the proprietor, are well filled, and men sit on them, and play games of chance and smoke their cigarettes or pipes. In the evening professional story-tellers appear, and being provided with a seat and a cup of coffee proceed to entertain the company with narratives of a vivid character. At intervals a collection is made in the story-teller’s favour, the amounts given varying, of course, in proportion to the pleasure which the listeners have derived from the entertainer. In times past coffee-houses have been hotbeds of sedition and conspiracy, and even now a better idea of the opinion of the Egyptian “ man in the street ” on any given social question can be obtained from the coffee-shop than elsewhere. Tobacco was introduced into Egypt about a century later than coffee, and its use has been discussed with as much keenness as that of coffee. Few Muhammadans scruple about smoking in these days, even though the following saying is traditionally ascribed to their Prophet : — “ In the latter days there shall be men who bear the name of Muslims, but they shall not be really such, for they shall smoke a certain weed which shall be called Tobacco”! Coffee and tobacco are considered so important that the following sayings have become proverbial : — (i) “ A cup of coffee and a pipe of tobacco form a complete entertainment ” ; and (2) “ Coffee without tobacco is meat without salt.” For several centuries past the Egyptians have been addicted to the use of hashish, or Indian hemp, which when smoked produces a species of intoxication, which is more or less intense according to the length of time it is smoked. The properties of the plant were well known in ancient times, for the Indians have from time immemorial chewed the leaves and seeds, and employed them in many ways, both for good and evil. The seeds pounded with sweet and aromatic substances in the form of jam have often been administered as an aphrodisiac. From India the herb passed into Persia, and subsequently into Con- stantinople and Egypt, where it is beloved by the lower classes. Its importation is prohibited, but although the coastguard service watches the ports and the neighbouring shores with sleepless vigilance, a very large quantity is smuggled into the country. In 1902 about 16,768 kilos, were seized and confiscated, and in 1903 about 24,349 kilos. ; in 1902 its price was 60 francs per kilo., and in 1903 it was even higher. In 1904 about 21,369 HASHiSH, OPIUM, GAMBLING. 109 kilos, were confiscated; 15,380 kilos., 16,290 kilos., and 23,000 kilos, were confiscated in 1907, 1908, 1909 respectively. The price per kilo, varied between £E.2^ and ^E.4. In each pipe a piece of hashish, weighing about 2 grains, value 1 \d., is placed with some hot charcoal ; the pipe is then handed to a company of eight persons, each of whom pays about three farthings for a long pull. The regular use of this drug is said to induce insanity, and of the 366 patients who were admitted to the lunatic asylum in 1903, some 67 were declared to be suffering from insanity due to hashish. The Government does all in its power to prevent the spread of hashish smoking, and in 1903 the tribunals ordered 22 cafes owned by Europeans, and 1,681 belonging to natives, where hashish was sold, to be finally closed. About 2,367, 1,820, 1,908 dens for smoking hashish were closed by the Government in 1906, 1907, and 1908 respectively. In 1909 some 3,258 persons and in 1910 some 2,764 persons were prosecuted for using hashish, and convicted. Statistics for recent years are not available, for during the War the police were occupied with weightier matters than the smoking of hashish. But there is reason to believe that the great cost of the drug, and the diffi- culty of obtaining it, have caused the excessive use of it to diminish. The hashish is brought from Greece to Tripoli, thence it is carried by camels to the Oasis of Siwah, then to the Oases of Bahariyah and Dakhlah, and so into Egypt. The regular smoker of hashish is called “ hashshash,” and the word indicates that the man to whom it is applied is a debauchee. Many Egyptians smoke opium, but as its effects are not so noisy or dangerous to his neighbours, the opium smoker is not regarded with such contempt as the smoker of hashish. Gambling has in all ages been one of the delights of the Egyptians. In recent years the Government have made serious attempts to put down gambling in Cairo and Alexandria, but to put a stop entirely to the vice is beyond the power of any Government. In 1907 the Police conducted 43 successful prosecutions of Europeans and natives for gambling; in 1908 about 80 professional gamblers were con- victed, and in 1909 about 30. These figures do not mean that gambling has ceased or is ceasing in Egypt, they only suggest that the gamblers are more careful about the time and place of their favourite amusement. Next to smoking the Egyptian’s chief enjoyment is the 110 THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. Bath, which is of the kind commonly called “Turkish”; the word for bath is “hammam.” Some baths admit male Arab customers only, others women and children only, and others both men and women, the former in the morning and the latter in the afternoon. When the bath is appropriated to women a piece of linen or drapery is hung over the entrance to warn men not to enter. The old baths of the city are built of brick, have domes in the roof, and are paved with earthenware and marble tiles. The Muhammadan believes that baths and lava- tories are haunted by spirits of a more or less evil and malicious nature, and when he enters them often does so with his left foot foremost, and he should say a prayer for protection against the spirits. The modern bath is much more luxuriously fitted than the old native bath, but the appointments and fittings of a bath in Egypt as elsewhere depend upon the class of customers who visit it. The older baths are not so clean as the new ones, the supply of towels is not so abundant, and the service is inferior. On the other hand, very expert bathmen are found in the older institutions, and these thoroughly under- stand how to knead the limbs, rub the feet, and crack the joints, in such a way as to do the bather the most good. The real view taken by the Egyptians about music, sing- ing, and dancing is not easy to find out, but no people are more pleased than they with these amusements. Music was forbidden by Muhammad himself, for he thought that it excited men’s passions and predisposed them to vice, and even in the Arabian Nights (No. 899) we read of the damsel who dressed herself in black, built a tomb, and repented that she had sung to the lute. As a matter of fact the Egyptians sing whenever they have a chance, and the boatmen and artisans, even when engaged in the most laborious duties, can find breath enough to sing a kind of rhythmic chant, for song, in our sense of the word, it can hardly be called. Among the learned the art of chanting passages from the Kur’an is carefully taught, and the member who has the best voice of the clergy of a mosque is usually chosen to sing the call to prayer from the minaret. Formerly blind men were chosen because they could not look down into the courts or rooms of their neighbours’ houses. The system of music which was in use among the ancient Arabs is not understood by the modern Egyptians, who appear to have borrowed such music as they possess from other more Eastern nations. Mr. Lane has pointed out that in the Arab MUSIC, SINGING, DANCING, ETC. Ill system the tone is divided into thirds, which, naturally, cannot be produced by native instruments. The construction of the tune is simple, and it contains many repetitions, but in the mouth of an expert singer it usually produces a restful effect. The old Arab songs usually chant the praises of the camel, the glory of war and fighting, the beauty of some maiden, or the exploits of some hero ; modern songs are usually about love, which is treated of in the characteristic Oriental manner. Many of the popular songs sung in Egypt at the present time consist merely of a number of obvious descriptions of facts, which are strung to a sort of monotonous chant ; others are of a ribald or obscene character, and such are often heard in the mouths of children. In every town and village of considerable size there exist professional musicians and singers whose services are hired for public and private entertainments. The male singer is called “Alati,” and the female “Almah” (plural, ‘Awalim) : the better classes of each sort can usually play some instrument. When employed in the house of a man of wealth a sort of “musicians’ gallery” is set apart for them near the largest room of the house, where the master and his family can hear them in comfort. Strolling singers are often met with on the great caravan roads, and the songs which they sing by the camp fire are weird and plaintive ; taken in conjunction with the surroundings, the clear starry sky, the shadowy forms of the camels and donkeys, and the picturesque forms of the members of the caravan, with their interested, fire-lit faces, they produce a curious effect upon the listener. The principal instruments are the kamangah, i.e., a two-stringed lute, the rababah, or one-stringed lute, the kanun, or dulcimer, the ‘ud, another kind of lute, which is played with a plectrum, the nai, or flute, the rikk, or tambourine, the nakkarah, or kettledrum, the baz, another kind of drum, the kas, or cymbals, the sagat, or castanets, the tar, a kind of tambourine, the durabukah, which is made of wood, and is covered sometimes with mother-of-pearl or tortoise-shell (this instrument is often made of earthenware), the zummarah, or double-reed pipe, and the arghul, or double-reed pipe, one pipe of which is shorter than the other. The dancing girls are called Ghawazi, and they used to perform unveiled in the streets ; their public exhibitions are now prohibited, but when they are hired to give an entertainment in the courtyard of some large house in the provinces, large numbers of people of all classes attend, and the performance 112 THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. is to all intents and purposes a public one. The dancing girls of Kana in Upper Egypt were notorious for their freedom and license. The snake charmers, who belong to the Rifah dervishes, perform some marvellous feats with serpents, and they certainly seem to possess wonderful powers in dealing with snakes and serpents of every kind known in Egypt. They handle them with the greatest freedom, and the reptiles appear to do what- ever they wish, and never attack them. These men, by means not apparent to the uninitiated, can detect the presence of a hidden snake wheresoever concealed, and they are frequently employed by the natives who suspect that serpents have made their homes in the walls and ceilings of their houses. It has been said by those who understand the art of snake charming as practised by experts in India that snake charmers inoculate themselves with solutions of snake poison, the strength of which they gradually increase until they are able to endure the bites of snakes of the most venomous character without losing their lives. They are also said to anoint themselves with snake fat, whereby they acquire an odour which is pleasing to the living reptiles, and to be able to know when a serpent is near them by their sense of smell. Be this as it may, they certainly discover the hiding places of snakes with great correctness, and many of them must possess some physical means whereby the presence of snakes is made known to them. Jugglers also thrive in Egypt, and they are warmly welcomed wherever they appear ; many of their tricks are quite ordinary, but every now and then a juggler is met with whose skill is quite equal to that of the best Indian performers. Tn former days numerous tumblers and rope = dancers attracted large audiences in the streets, and the Ape = men and the Buffoons earned a good livelihood. The performances of the last two classes were of a most varied character, and they usually ended in representations of scenes of gross obscenity. In recent years they have been rarely seen in the better parts of Cairo, but in the purely native quarters and the outskirts of the city they are still exceedingly popular. The fact is that the lower orders of Egypt love lewd stories, lewd jests, and lewd buffoonery of all kinds, and sooner or later all dancers, jugglers, and others who offer entertainment for an Egyptian crowd, introduce the element of indecency or obscenity, for the simple reason that it pays them better to do that than to POETS AND GIPSIES. 113 persevere in the exhibition of tricks of skill in sleight of hand or strength. The Egyptians delight greatly in the class of men called Shu‘ara, literally, “ poets,” who provide entertainment for the public by reciting compositions, which are part prose and part poetry, outside the cafes. A “poet,” or rather story - teller, is usually hired by the owner or keeper of the cafe, and having taken up his position on some raised place outside the shop he proceeds to relate some story, such as that of Abfi Zeyd, to the customers who, as they sip their coffee or smoke, listen with great attention to the adventures of this hero. At intervals he, or a companion, plays some notes on a kind of lute which he has with him. He knows the composition which he relates by heart, and if he has a pleasing manner and a good voice he makes an hour or two pass agreeably for his audience, and with profit for himself, for many of the customers give him small sums of money, especially if, knowing his audience, he is able to make “ topical allusions ” successfully. In Egypt the fortune-telling Gipsies abound, and marvellous stories are told of their prophetic powers, and of the success with which they forecast events. Few of them, however, possess the skill in their work which characterizes the fortune-tellers in India, and the European who consults them is usually disappointed with their efforts. On the other hand, it must be admitted that they possess considerable ability in reading character from faces, and among the older gipsies there are many whom long experience has made shrewd and correct exponents of men’s dispositions by observing their gait, actions, and manner of speech. The following gipsy story related by Sir Eldon Gorst in his report (Egypt, No. i, 1909, p. 27) is well worth quoting, for it illustrates the curious views of some of the people with whom the British Administrator came in contact, and shows that his task of governing them and of keeping the peace was not so easy as some imagined. The story would be incredible were it not supported by trustworthy evidence. In December, 1908, a party of some twenty rough-looking persons of both sexes, resembling neither fallahin nor Badawin, arrived at Asytit about the same time as a policeman in charge of six camels. As the result of inquiries made by an English official who happened to be on the spot, it appeared that these people were gipsies, known in Arabic as Halabyin, i.e., originally from Aleppo, who travelled from village to village, the women telling fortunes, and the men carrying on a considerable and apparently lucrative trade in camels, horses, and other live-stock. Six months previously, one member of the tribe had struck the camel of another with a whip, an insult which could only be wiped H 114 THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. out, according to their custom, by the voluntary loss of valuable property by each party, one bidding against the other, as at an auction, until the aggrieved or offending party could not afford to continue. When this occurs, the last bidder is considered to have won the case, by having proved that he is the richer and, therefore, the better man. Before the appearance of the camels at Asyfit, about j£ 400 worth of property had already been sacrificed in the following manner The aggrieved party began by slaughtering a buffalo, the carcase being appropriated by the neighbouring peasants. The offender replied by killing two buffaloes, as a proof of the justice of his cause. The first man then threw £$ into the Nile, to which his opponent answered with £ 10 , and so on, slaughtering animals or throwing away gold, until property to the value of ^400 had been destroyed. On the arrival of the gipsies and their camels at Asyut, the dispute broke out afresh, and the local authorities were unable to effect a settlement until the parties concerned had parted with their camels, which were worth about £i$o, and bid up to £416. In order to avert the slaughter of the camels and the throwing of more money into the Nile, as the litigants at first wished, it was suggested that the animals should be sold and the pro- ceeds of the sale, as well as the money staked, given to a Moslem charitable society. This solution was accepted, and when the result was made known there were great rejoicings among the Halabyin. The party then disappeared, apparently quite content that bloodshed had been avoided, and an insult avenged at the cost of nearly ;£ 1,000. On the whole, the result of the great invasion of Europeans and of Western civilization and methods, which has taken place in Egypt during the last 30 years, has been to thrust native amusements from the main streets of Cairo in the winter, and there is little chance now of the traveller enjoying the sights and scenes of Cairene life in the easy way that was possible some 50 years ago. The Egyptians themselves in large towns seem to be indisposed to amuse themselves in the old way, and their most characteristic customs are now best observed in provincial towns and villages. This result is not to be wondered at when we consider the number of the forces of Western civilization which the Occupation of Egypt by the British has caused to be brought to bear on her people. The children of well-to-do families in the large towns now attend schools, and the great object of parents is to get their sons into Government em- ployment. At the Government Schools, and in the Schools of the various Missions which are scattered throughout the country, the boys are taught to be clean in person, and the wearing of European clothes follows as a natural result. The life and amusements which satisfied their fathers do not please them, and youths and young men endeavour to assimilate Western ideas and Western culture as much as possible, even when they do not understand them. The status and THE MODERN GOVERNMENT OF EGYPT. 115 condition of women have greatly improved in recent years, and at the present time a great change is passing over the habits of a large portion of the population which must have far-reaching results. Formerly a mother and her children squatted on the ground and ate from a single bowl, or dish, with their hands, and the cost of a meal for the whole family was relatively a trifling matter. Mother, father, and children wore native dress, the cost of which was usually well within the reach of most families. When the boys went to the Government Schools they were obliged to adopt European dress, and as a matter of course the native garments were discarded. In a very few years youths and young men were seen wearing European suits, boots with spring sides, collars, cuffs, neckties, &c., and they began to frequent the restaurants, and to eat European dishes and to drink Western drinks. This change in their mode of life entailed a con- siderable increase in the cost of living, and the difficulty of finding the money necessary to support it began to cause serious embarrassment to their parents, and made them dislike Western manners and customs. This serious change is, the writer thinks, one of the chief causes of the unrest which undoubtedly exists in all the large towns of Egypt. Another cause clearly is the unsuitability of the educa- tion which is provided in the Government Schools for all classes of the community. When the Government Schools were first started, boys flocked to them, thinking that when they had passed all the examinations they were certain to find employment in the Public Service. When it was discovered that only a few of those who had passed all the examinations could obtain situations in the Government Offices the indig- nation of both boys and parents was very great. Yet another cause of discontent was the discovery by those who received appointments that their salary was insufficient to enable them to live as Europeans live in Egypt. VIII.— THE MODERN GOVERNMENT OF EGYPT. When His Highness Ahmad Fuad I, Sultan of Egypt (born 26th March, 1868), began to reign on 9th October, 1917, Egypt was no longer a Pashalik of the Turkish Empire, but a British Protectorate (declared 18th November, 1914). H a 116 THE MODERN GOVERNMENT OF EGYPT. The intention by Great Britain, as expressed by the High Commissioner, Field-Marshal Lord Allenby, is to preserve the autonomy of Egypt under British protection, and to encourage Egyptian self-government. The Sultan is assisted in government by a Council, with a President, who performs the duties of Prime Minister. There are eight Ministries, viz., the Interior, Finance, Public Works, Communications, Religious Endowments (Waki/f), Education, Justice, and Agriculture. The Legislative Assembly consists of eighty-three members in addition to the ministers. Justice is administered by the religious officials called Kadi, Native Tribunals, Mixed Tribunals, and Consular Courts. Cairo and Alexandria are Governorships, the former containing twelve Quarters or Divisions, and the latter eight. Each of the Fourteen Provinces is governed by a Mudir. The Provinces are divided into districts called markaz , and each of these is under a Ma’mur, who receives reports from and directs the subordinate officials, the ‘ umdah , a sort of deputy mcCmur, and the s'hekh al-balad , or shekh of the village. The peace is kept by the Egyptian Police (about 10,500 in number) and about 54,000 Ghajirs , or Watchmen, who are armed with stout cudgels, and serve by night. Military service is compulsory on all Egyptian subjects, but exemption can usually be obtained on payment of ^E.20. Egypt possesses no Navy in the modern sense of the word. The Revenue was in 1912 ^E. 17, 515, 000, in 1916-17 ^£E. 1 7,240,606, in 1919-20 ^CE. 28,850,000, and in 1920-21 about ^CE. 40, 2 7 1,000. Trade: the Imports for 1914 were valued at ^E.21,724,606, and for 1919-20 ^E.47,409,7 17; the Exports for the same years were valued at ^,£.24,091,796 and ^E.75,888,32 1 respectively. The British Empire's share in Egypt's exports in 1919 totalled ^'E. 4 1,2 14, 2 76, or nearly 55 per cent. ; its share in Egypt’s imports totalled ^E.2 1,840,957, or about 46 per cent. The Debt of Egypt : the Guaranteed Debt 3 per cent, in 1920 was (in sterling) ^6,098,400; the Privileged Debt 3^ per cent. ^31, 127,780 ; the Unified Debt 4 per cent. ;£55j97L96o ; total ^92,198,140. The revenue and expenditure for 1920-21 were estimated at ^40,27 1,000. The Date-tree tax was abolished on 1st April, entailing a loss to the revenue of ^£E. 136,500. The Egyptian Flag is red. On it are three crescents, with their horns turned away from the flagstaff ; between the horns of each crescent is a five-pointed star COTTON, RELIGION. 117 Cotton. — The export trade of Egypt is almost entirely dependent on the cotton crop. In 1913 cotton, cotton-seed, and cotton-seed cake accounted for ^E. 29, 103, 7 18 out of a total of ^E. 31, 267, 087, or 93 per cent.; and in 1918 for ^E.40,691,529 out of ^E.44,637,865, or 91 per cent. Total Export 1 of Cotton. | Kantars. i Import into United Kingdom in kantars. : Value, I 9 G 6,972,686 2,996,404 _ 1914 5 , 909,788 2,444,849 ^E. 1 5,494,000 I 9 I 5 6,899,132 3,198,096 ^E.18,416,000 1916 5,416,936 2,751,667 ^E. 38, 267,000 1917 4,073,700 2 , 549,993 ;£E. 48, 478,000 1918 5,019,689 3 , 5 2 8 , 40 i 2E.35, 866,000 1919 6,708,706 — ^E.76, 202,040 The cotton crop of 1918-19 was purchased by the British and Egyptian Governments at more than double the pre-war price ; in April, 1920, the price of cotton was nearly 10 times its pre-war price. The value per kantar was in 191412-01 dollars, and in 1919-20 it was 78*85 dollars. In 1919 the price of cotton-growing land rose as high as ^E.700 per acre. The value of the cotton = seed exported to Great Britain in 1917 was ^E. 3, 269, 180, and in 1918 ^E.6,394, 130 ; the cotton- seed cake exported in 1917 was valued at ^E.1,371,412, and in 1918 at ^E.9,716 ; the value of the egg's exported to Great Britain was in 1917 ^E. 1,015,340 ; the onions exported in 1919 were valued at ^E.424,634; rice at ^E.550,590 ; hides and skins at ^ E - I > 2 64,3 2 5 ; and cigarettes at ^E.1,032,076. Religion. — The census of 1917 showed that the population of Egypt (12,750,918) consisted of 11,658,148 Muslims, 856,778 Orthodox, 59,581 Jews; of the Christians 47,481 were Protestants, 107,687 Roman Catholics, 14,416 Christians of other denominations, and 8,827 miscellaneous. The Muslims form 9 r -43 per cent, of the population, Christians 8*03 per cent., Jews 0-47 per cent., others 0-07 per cent. The greatest Muslim institution in Egypt is the Mosque and University of Al-Azhar (founded a.h. 361 — a.d. 972) with about 400 teachers and 10,000 students. There are branch 118 THE MODERN GOVERNMENT OF EGYPT. institutions at Tanta, Damietta and Alexandria which had in 1914 about 2,900, 400, and 1,850 students respectively. Education and Instruction. — In 1917-18 there were 3,534 native schools (“Maktabs’’) in the country, with 6,582 teachers and 209,186 pupils, boys and girls; the grant-in-aid, given chiefly by the Government, amounted to 22,043. In 1919 there were 270 schools (special and technical, secondary, higher primary, higher elementary, infant, and higher colleges) under the immediate direction of the Egyptian Government. About 3,748 schools with 228,089 pupils were under the control of the Provincial Councils, and the Ministry of Education had under its direct management 104 schools of all classes with 34,381 pupils. COOK'S PLAN Scotch Presbyterian, Oaurrh. English, Telegraph* Office Scale %sm 119 PART II. LOWER EGYPT. Alexandria and environs, Pompey’s Pillar, the Catacombs, Abukir ; Rosetta ; Meks ; Ramleh ; Alexandria to Cairo ; Cairo and environs — Museums, Mosques and Muhammadan Architecture and Art, Old and New quarters of Cairo, the Citadel, the Muski and Bazars, Coptic Churches of Old Cairo, Buiak, Island of R6dah and the Nilometer, Tombs of the Khalifahs and Mamelukes, Heliopolis, the Nile Barrage, the Pyramids, Memphis and Sakkarah, Helwan, etc. From Cairo to the Fayyum, Damietta, Mansurah, the Oasis of Jupiter Ammon, Kh&rgah, etc.; to Jerusalem, to Mount Sinai, with notes on the Exodus. Port Sa‘id to Cairo, Port Sa‘id, Isma’illyah, Suez (Suwez) and the Suez Canal. I.— ALEXANDRIA. Cook’s Office, 2, Rue Fuad I. Hotels. — Savoy Palace Hotel, Majestic Hotel, Claridge’s Hotel, Regina Palace Hotel, Majestic Palace Hotel, Windsor Hotel. At Ramleh, Casino San Stefano. Electric Tramways in the town, starting from the Place Muhammad ‘All. Fares, 1st class 15 mill., 2nd class 7 mill. ; also to Ramleh and Meks. Post Office in the Rue de la Poste, open from 7 a.m. till 12 noon and 2 till 9.30 p.m. Telegraph Office of the Eastern Telegraph Co., Rue Telegraphe Anglais. Churches. — St. Mark’s, Place Mehemet Ali : Sunday services, 8 and 11 a.m., and 6.15 p.m. All Saints’, Bulkeley, 8.30 and 11 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. American Mission, Rue Sidi el-Metwalli, 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. St. Andrew’s (Presbyterian), close to the Post Office ; Sunday services, 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Wesleyan, close to the Egyptian Post Office. Roman Catholic, St. Catherine, Rue Ste. Catherine. British Consulate General. — Rue de l’Hbpital Egyptien. U.S. Consulate. — Rue Adib. Clubs. — Khedivial Club, 2, Rue Sharif Pasha ; Muhammad ‘All, 2, Rue Porte Rosette ; Union Club, 6, Rue de l’Ancienne Bourse ; British Club, 15, Ruede la Gare de Ramleh ; Alexandria Sporting Club, at Ibrahimiyah, Ramleh. 120 ALEXANDRIA. Cabs (within the town) — i horse. 2 horse. p. p. Not exceeding 10 minutes ... ... 3.5 5 ,, 20 ,, 4.5 6.5 ,, 30 ,, 5-5 8 Beyond half an hour 2 p. for every quarter of an hour for a one-horse cab, and 3 p. for a two-horse cab. Extra between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. (From the interior to the exterior, or vice versd.) These fares vary with time and distance (see local tariff). Theatres. — Nuovo Teatro Alhambra, corner of Rue de l’Hopital Egyptien and the Rue Missalla ; Jardin Rosette, Rue Porte Rosette. Goif, — At Sporting Club, 18 holes. The traveller from Europe or America who wishes to visit Egypt may enter the country either by Alexandria or Port Sa‘id. Formerly the majority of travellers disembarked at Alexandria, for facilities for so doing were greater than at Port Sa‘id, the hotels were better, and quick trains to Cairo ran at comparatively frequent intervals. All the great mail steamers called there, and the Indian and Australian mails began their journey to Suez at Alexandria. In recent years it has been found better to disembark the mails at Port Sa‘id, and as travellers usually adopt mail routes, the passengers to Port Sai‘d have greatly increased, while those to Alexandria have diminished in number, and this notwithstanding the fact that it takes some hours longer to reach Cairo from Port Said than from Alexandria. The Suez Canal Company’s steam tramway has been converted into a railway, and the time occupied in journeying from Port Said to Cairo has been reduced from 7^ to about 5 1 hours. Though it is more con- venient in many ways to enter Egypt via Port Said, there is a great deal to be said for the traveller entering Egypt via Alexandria. No one would venture to assert that the attractions of Alexandria, the Ptolemaic capital of Egypt, are equal to those of Cairo, the Arab capital of the country, still the city has an extremely well-defined interest of its own, and if the traveller does not visit it at the beginning of, or early in, his stay in Egypt, he is apt to find that at the end of his visit he has only a couple of hours to devote to it, or he may even be obliged to leave the country without seeing Alexandria at all. One or two days are sufficient to see what is best worth seeing in Alexandria, and less time is wasted if these are devoted to Alexandrian antiquities at the beginning of a tour in Egypt, than in the middle or at the end. POPULATION, TRADE, ORIGIN, ETC. 121 The population of the Municipality or Governorship of Alexandria in 1897 was 300,172 souls, 332,246 in 1907, and 444,617 in 1917. The receipts of the Municipality were in 1920 ^E.422,000, the expenditure was ^E.445,500 ; there was a deficit of ^E.23,500. The imports were in 1918 valued at ^E.33,535,624, and the exports £E. 40, 782,984. The British imports from Egypt were in 1918 valued at ^E-44,469,567,and British exports to Egypt at ^E. 13,824,498. Alexandria, i.e., the city of Alexander, was founded 332 b.c. by Alexander III of Macedon, or Alexander I of Egypt, who is commonly known as Alexander the Great. The site chosen by him was close to the old Egyptian town called Raqetit, ^ , hence the Coptic name Rakoti, and was opposite the Island of Pharos, and was situated between Lake Mareotis and the Mediterranean Sea. Alexander’s object in building a city on this site is clear : he intended it to be easy of access for the Mediterranean merchant ships, and to make it a central seaport of his empire, and there was no other site anywhere in the Delta which was so suitable for the purpose. The city, which was defended by a small guard, was in the form of a soldier’s coat, and had one large and well-built street running almost through the middle of the town. The architect was called Deinocrates, and his plans were carried out by Cleomenes of Naucratis, assisted by Heron, Krateros, Hyponomos, and others. It is said that Alexander made all the people within a distance of 30 miles come and live in the new city, and that he called them “ Alexandrians.” As, however, Alexander only spent about five months in Egypt, he cannot have seen more than the foundations of Alexandria’s walls and houses, and he can never have realized the importance to which his city was to attain. Ptolemy I Soter (323-285 b.c.) made Alexandria his capital, and did a great deal to develop the city; he founded the Museum and the famous Alexandrian Library, and he brought numbers of Jews to Alexandria and made them settle in the eastern part of it; these were followed by others who were tempted “by the goodness of the soil, and by the liberality of Ptolemy,” and the Jewish colony soon became a wealthy and powerful element in the city. Ptolemy introduced into Alexandria the worship of Hades, the Greek god of Death, and caused to be ascribed to him the attributes of Osiris and Apis, thus Hades became known as Osiris-Apis> or Serapis, 122 ALEXANDRIA. and a god was found whom both Greeks and Egyptians could worship with one accord. Ptolemy II appointed first Zenodotus of Ephesus to be Kepeer of the Great Library, which is said to have contained at that time 400,000, or according to some 700,000 volumes, and afterwards Callimachus the poet, who arranged and labelled the papyri. Ptolemy III added largely to the Great Library, and procured for it the original MSS. of the works of ^Eschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles ; the keepers in his reign were Aristophanes of Byzantium and Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy after Ptolemy added to the public buildings of Alexandria, and, thanks to the energy and enterprise of both Greeks and Jews, the city became one of the wealthiest in the world, and its inhabitants were renowned for their learning and enlightenment. In 48 b.c. Julius Caesar succeeded in entering the city, but unfortunately, if the tradition be true, the Library and Museum were burnt to the ground. Antony, Caesar’s successor in the affections of Cleopatra, is said to have attempted to make good this loss by presenting to her the Pergamenian Library, which was founded by Eumenes II, King of Pergamus 197 b.c., and was supposed to contain 200,000 MSS. During the Roman Period Alexandria was frequently the scene of terrible bloodshed and murder, and fighting between the Romans and Jews, and the Emperor Caracalla (a.d. 21 1-2 17) massacred large numbers of Alexandrians, because some of the more ribald of them dared to mock at his appearance and sacred person. Tradition asserts that St. Mark began to preach Christi- anity in Alexandria about a.d. 69, and the Coptic Church regards him as the first Patriarch of Alexandria ; whether this be so or not matters relatively little, for there is no doubt that there were many Christians in that city at the beginning of the second century. As their numbers grew they became the objects of intense hate both of Romans and Jews, but their presence was tolerated, and a century later they possessed a church and schools, and learned men directed their lives and religion. Under Decius, Valerianus, Diocletian, Julian the Apostate, and other Emperors the Christians suffered severe persecution, and neither peace nor security was to be enjoyed in the city for about 100 years, i.e., from about a.d. 250 to 360. Trade began to decline in the third century, and when the Emperor Constantine founded Constantinople, and made it take the place of Alexandria as the chief eastern seaport of his empire, HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY. 123 the decay of the city was assured. In the reign of Theodosius I the Christians attacked the pagans, and destroyed their statues, and either burned their temples or turned them into churches ; at the instigation of Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, the temple and statue of Serapis were burnt in this reign. The iniquitous behaviour of the Alexandrian Christians is well illustrated by the murder of Hypatia, the daughter of Theon, a modest, beautiful, and learned lady of Alexandria. She was charged with having withdrawn the friendship of the prefect Orestes from Cyril the Archbishop, and Peter the Reader and a number of monks dragged her from her chariot into a church, where they stripped her, scraped her flesh with metal combs, and then tore her limb from limb (a.d 415). The disputes which raged between Arius and Athanasius, George of Cappa- docia and Athanasius, Cyril and Nestorius, and the Anthropo- morphists did more to injure the city than a foreign army would have done. In 619 Alexandria was captured by Khusrau (Chosroes), King of Persia, 10 years later Heraclius regained possession of it, but in 641 it fell into the hands of ‘Amr ibn al-‘Asi, the commander-in-chief of the Khalifah ‘Omar. For about 1,150 years Alexandria possessed but little importance, but the bringing of the Mahmudiyah Canal to the town by Muhammad ‘Ali in 1819 helped to restore a little of its former prosperity, and the docks built by Ismail Pasha have done a great deal more. When Alexandria was founded at Rakoti, the Island of Pharos was separated from the mainland ; Ptolemy I, or his son Ptolemy Philadelphus, built an embankment or causeway which joined the two, and because it was seven stades long, the name of Heptastadium was given to it. This embankment has in the course of centuries been widened to such an extent that the greater part of the modern city of Alexandria is built upon it. The Heptastadium divided the harbour into two ; that on the east was called the Great Harbour, and that on the west Eunostos. It is the latter of these into which modern ships of large tonnage enter, and here are found the breakwater, which is if miles long, and the other harbour works which Ismail Pasha constructed at a cost of ^2,500,000 sterling. The Great Harbour is very shallow, and can only be used by fishing boats or craft of light draught. The Pharos, or lighthouse of ancient x\lexandria, was built on the island opposite the city in the reign of Ptolemy II by Sostratus, the 124 ALEXANDRIA. Cnidian. It was built of white marble, and cost 800 talents, a sum equal to, if the Alexandrian talent be referred to, about ^330,000 in our money ; if the Attic talent is to be under- stood the sum would be ^165,000. It is said that Sostratus was allowed to add his name to the monument with that of his royal master, and that he did so, saying, “Sostratus, the Cnidian, the son of Dexiphanes, to the gods, the saviours, for the benefit of sailors.” This done he covered over his own name with mortar, and in it cut the name of Ptolemy, intending, when the mortar was dried and cracked, and had fallen out, that his name should stand alone on the monument. Both the Museum and Library of Alexandria were probably founded by Ptolemy I. The Museum is said to have occupied one quarter of the whole area of the city, and to have been close to the palace ; in connection with it were several buildings which were devoted to the pursuit of learning, and spacious gardens. The earliest Library was in the Brucheion and seems to have been regarded as a part of the Museum ; the greatest additions to it were made by Ptolemy II, and it is pretty certain that before the close of the rule of the Ptolemies its papyrus rolls were numbered by hundreds of thousands. In 48 b.c., when Julius Caesar was besieging the Brucheion quarter, he set fire to the ships in the harbour, and, the flames spreading, the Library was destroyed, and all its books with it. Seneca says that 400,000 books were burned, and Ammianus Marcellinus puts the number at 700,000. According to Mr. A. J. Butler, the library of the kings of Pergamus, which Mark Antony sent as a present to Cleopatra, and which con- tained 200,000 rolls, was not lodged in the Museum buildings, but in the temple of the Caesarion, which was begun by Caesar and finished by Augustus ; a part may have gone to the Serapeum. The Serapeum was built to hold the statue of Serapis, and stood to the east of Rakoti, near Pompey’s Pillar ; it is said to have been one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, and to have been filled with remarkable statues and works of art. That some of the Museum buildings remained for a considerable time after the destruction of the first Library is quite certain, and it is nearly as certain that another great Library was founded in the Serapeum, and we know from Epiphanius that it was called the Daughter Library. The Caesarion Library probably perished in 366, and the Serapeum Library was, no doubt, destroyed by the Christians under Theophilus the Patriarch, when they destroyed the image MUSEUM, LIBRARY AND THEATRE. 125 of Serapis, and razed his temple to the ground. Some believe that this Library was not destroyed then, and that it survived until the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs ; this belief rests on the statement of Bar Hebrseus, bom a.d. 1226, died 1286. According to this writer, there was in Egypt at the time of the conquest a man called John the Grammarian, who possessed influence among the Arabs. By some means he was able to make himself known to ‘Amr ibn al-‘Asi, and after the capture of Alexandria, he ventured to beg for the books of wisdom which were among the Imperial treasures. ‘Amr was, however, unable to grant the request without the Khalifah’s orders, so he wrote to ‘Omar, and received this answer : “As concerning the books which you mention, if what is written in them is consistent with the Book of God (i.e., the Kur’an), they are not wanted ; if they be opposed thereto, they are not wanted. Therefore destroy them.” Thereupon, says Bar Hebraeus, the books were sent to the bath furnaces in Alexandria, and it took six months to burn them as fuel. This story first appears in writing five and a half centuries after the capture of Alexandria, but it had been current in an unwritten form apparently for centuries ; the Copts believe the story even to this day, though they reduce the 180 days of book-burning to 70. Mr. Butler brings forward many common- sense objections to the story, the chief being that John the Grammarian must have been dead several years before the Arabs captured Alexandria. On the other hand, ancient traditions usually have a kernel of truth in them, however small, and there is no reason why this tradition should form an exception. In the face, however, of tradition and facts, and at this distance of time from the event, we can only say, with the Arabs themselves, “ God knoweth the truth.” Other important buildings in Alexandria were : — The Theatre, which faced the little island of Antirrhodus in the Great Harbour ; the Soma, or Mausoleum, which con- tained the bodies of Alexander the Great and the Ptolemies ; the Gymnasium and Paneum, which stood a little to the south-east of the Museum ; the Caesarion, or Palace of Caesar, which stood a little to the north-east of the Library ; a temple of Artemis, in the Lochias quarter, and a temple of Isis on the island of Pharos. The Jews lived in the eastern half of the city, beyond which were the Hippodrome and the cemetery; in Christian times the Catacombs were on the west of the city. The eastern entrance of Alexandria 126 ALEXANDRIA. was called the Canopic Gate, or the Sun-gate. The most interesting remains to be seen now are : — 1. Pompey’s Pillar, a striking monument made of granite. The shaft is about 70 feet high, and is fluted, and the capital is ornamented with palm leaves ; the whole monu- ment, including its pedestal, is nearly 90 feet high. The circumference of the pillar at the base is nearly 28 feet. About the history of this pillar there have been many disputes, and for a long time it was supposed that it was set up in honour of Pompey the Great. It has, however, now been shown that it belongs to the reign of Diocletian, and that it was erected in 302 by the Prefect of Egypt, who appears to have been called Pompey. According to one view, the pillar was the outcome of the gratitude of the Alexandrians to Diocletian, who decreed that a portion of the tribute of corn which was sent from Egypt to Rome should be applied to the relief of the wants of the Alexandrians. On the top of the pillar a statue of the Emperor Diocletian is said to have stood. Some authorities think that the pillar once stood in the Temple of Serapis, and yet others believe that it was setup by Theodosius in 391, to commemorate the destruction of the Serapeum. But no one really knows which view is correct. 2. The Catacombs lie on the west of the city, and contain many tombs of interest ; they are built on the site of the old Ptolemaic Necropolis, and range in date from the first to the fourth century a.d. 3. In the year 1900 a magnificent tomb of the Roman period was discovered at Kom ash-Shukafah, near Pompey’s Pillar, in the quarry at this place, by some workmen, and thanks to the exertions of Dr. Botti, the Director of the Museum at Alexandria, this extremely interesting monument has been preserved in the state in which it was found. The tomb is divided into three stages, which descend into the living rock. It is entered by means of a circular staircase (a), which has been more or less restored, and when the visitor has passed through a narrow way with a semicircular recess (b) on each side, he arrives at a large rotunda (c) with a circular gallery (dddd), out of which open a series of chambers (eeee) which appear to have been dedicated to the worship of the dead. On the right the two chambers contain niches and sarcophagi ; on the left is a large rectangular chamber, the roof of which is supported by four pillars, and it contains three tables hewn out of the solid rock, which were used for festival purposes by THE CATACOMBS. 127 the relatives and friends of the dead who assembled there at certain times during the year. From the circular gallery a staircase leads to the second stage of the tomb, which contains the chief sarcophagus chamber ; but a little way down it forks, and passes round the entrance (g) to the third or lowest stage of the tomb. The ante-chamber (h) of the tomb, or pronaos, contains two Egyptian columns which support a cornice ornamented with the winged solar disk, hawks, & c., in relief. In each of the side walls of the chamber is a niche, in the form of an Egyptian pylon ; that on the right contains the statue of a man, that on the left the statue of a woman. It has been thought that these niches are ancient openings in the walls which were closed up for the purpose of receiving the statues. The door of the actual funeral chamber (i) is ornamented with the winged solar disk, and a cornice of ursei ; on each side of the door, on a pylon-shaped pedestal, is a large serpent wearing the double crown and with each are the caduceus of Hermes and the thyrsus of Dionysos. These serpents are probably intended to represent the goddesses Uatchet and Nekhebet, or Powers of the Graeco-Egyptian Underworld. Above each serpent is a circular shield with a Gorgon’s head. The roof of the funeral chamber is vaulted, and the stone is of the colour of old gold ; at each corner is a pilaster with a composite capital. In each of the three sides is a niche containing a sarcophagus, which is hewn out of the solid rock ; the fronts of the three sarcophagi are ornamented with festoons of vine leaves and bunches of grapes, the heads of bulls, heads of Medusa, &c. Curiously enough no one seems to have been laid in them. In the principal relief of the right niche we see the figure of a king, or prince, wearing the crowns of the South and North, making an offering of a deep collar or breastplate to the Apis Bull, which stands on a pylon- shaped pedestal, and has a disk between its horns ; behind Apis stands Isis with a solar disk encircled by a urseus upon her head, and holding in her right hand the feather of Maat. The walls of the niches are ornamented with figures of Egyptian gods, and in the central niche is a scene in which the mummy of the deceased is represented lying upon its bier. The bier has the usual form but above the lion’s head is the Atef crown of Osiris, and at the feet is the feather of Maat. By the side of the bier stands Anubis, with the solar 128 ALEXANDRIA. A. Circular staircase (entrance). B. Corridor with semicircular recesses. C. Rotunda. D. Circular gallery. E. Chambers. F. Staircase to second stage. G. Entrance to third stage. H. Ante-chamber. _ I. Funeral chamber. J. Sarco- phagus chamber. K. Funeral chambers with cavities for dead bodies. THE CATACOMBS. 129 disk and ursei on his head ; at the head of the bier stands Thoth, and at the feet is Horus, and under the bier are vases, containing the intestines of the deceased, dedicated to The Pronaos and Entrance to the Funeral Chamber. Qebhsenuf (hawk-headed), Kesta (human-headed), and Hapi (ape-headed). To the right and left of the door are figures of: — i. Anubis, standing upright, in human form, i 130 ALEXANDRIA. jackal-headed, with a solar disk on his head ; his right hand rests upon the edge of a shield which stands on the ground by his side, and in his left he clasps a spear ; round his neck and shoulder hangs a belt from which is suspended a short sword. 2. Set (?), in the form of a human body with arms and hands of a man, and the head and tail of a crocodile ; in his right hand he clasps a spear, and in the left the end of a cloak. Round the funeral chamber in which these reliefs occur, on three sides, is a comparatively spacious gallery, in the walls of which are hollowed-out cavities, each large enough to hold three dead bodies ; there are traces of the names of those who were buried in them. At the north-west corner of this gallery is a corridor which leads into four other chambers, two of which have in them niches for sarcophagi, and two are pro- vided with cavities wherein bodies might be laid on stone slabs at intervals, one above the other. We have already mentioned a third stage of the tomb, which was approached by an entrance situated just below the place where the staircase leading from the first to the second stage forked ; this is now filled with water, and cannot be investigated. The tomb is the most interesting of all the tombs of the Roman period which have been found in Alexandria, and is very instructive. It is, unfortunately, impossible to assign an exact date to it, but it was probably built in the first century b.c. or the first century a.d. The name of the man for whom it was built is unknown, but it is clear that he was of high rank, and there is no doubt that his religion was au fond Egyptian. The artistic treatment of the figures of the gods, and of the walls, pillars, &c., exhibits strong Roman influence, and the mixture of the two styles of funereal art is better illustrated in this tomb than in any other of the period to which it belongs. It is hard to explain why the sarcophagi in the niches of the main funeral chamber have not been occupied by the people for whom they were intended, and it is difficult to understand why others were made in other chambers of the tomb whilst these remained empty. It would appear that the tomb was made for the head of a large and powerful family, the members of which respected the places that had been left for certain members of it, and judging from the amount of space for burial which was actually occupied, we are justified in thinking that the tomb was used as a private mausoleum for about 150 or 200 years. In recent years a number of important excavations have THE CATACOMBS. 131 been carried on in Alexandria by Dr. Botti, Mr. D. G. Hogarth, and others, and several important monuments have been brought to light, but the additions to what was known of the site of the ancient city have been few. It is pretty certain that there is little hope of finding any remains of the buildings of the great Library, Serapeum, etc., and as each year the builder and the sea cover up a good deal of ground, the outlook for the archaeological excavator is not good. In 1914- 15 M. Gaston Jondet made a careful examination of the Island of Pharos, and discovered the remains of a Pre-Roman harbour on the west side of the island. The portion of the ancient harbour located by him was 2 kilometres long, and from 400 to 800 kilometres wide. Archaeologists have also turned their attention to the coast of the Delta, and M. Cledat has explored that part of it which runs from the site of Pelusium eastward to Al-‘Arish. He has discovered remains of the old military station of Ostracima (mentioned by Ptolemy and Pliny) near Lake Serbonis. During the Roman Period it was supplied with water by a canal which was fed from one of the eastern arms of the Nile. M. Cledat has also carried out some inter- esting excavations on an island o'ff Paraetonium, an ancient port of Marmarica or Ammonia, now known by the name of Mersa Matrfih. To preserve such remains the Egyptian Government founded the Museum of Graeco - Roman Antiquities at a cost of ^E. 10,000 ; it is maintained by the Municipality at an annual expenditure of ^E. 1,200. Herein are exhibited in more than 20 rooms a large and most interest- ing collection of the antiquities that have been found at Alexandria and in the neighbourhood, and a vast number of smaller objects which illustrate the art, architecture, sculpture, and funerary customs of the Egypto-Alexandrians during the Graeco-Roman Period and the early centuries of the Christian Era. The smaller objects are most important for understanding the religion of the Period, and their arrangement is admirable. The phallic collection is most varied and is probably unique, but it can only be inspected by the special permission of the keeper, and Dr. Botti’s Catalogue is a valuable work and merits careful study. An archaeological library also has been formed in the institution, and it already contains several thousands of volumes printed in various ancient and modern languages. Among places which may be visited if time permits are Meks, on the sea-coast to the south-west of the city, and Ramlah, on the coast to the north-east. The pair of granite 1 2 132 Cleopatra’s needle. obelisks which were brought from Heliopolis and set up before the Caesarion, and are commonly known as “ Cleopatra’s Needles,” stood near the railway station for Ramleh. The larger obelisk was given to the British by Muhammad ‘Ali early in the nineteenth century, but was not taken to England until [877, when the expense of transport was defrayed by the late Sir Erasmus Wilson ; after an eventful voyage it arrived in London, and now stands on the Thames Embankment. The second obelisk, which was given to the Americans, now stands in New York. The obelisks were made for Thothmes 111, but Rameses II added inscriptions to them in which he recorded his titles of honour and greatness. On the pedestal of “ Cleopatra’s Needle” the Earl of Cavan caused the following inscription to be cut : — In the Year of the Christian Era 1798, j The Republic of France | Landed on the Shores of Egypt an Army of 40,000 Men, | Commanded by their most able and successful Bonaparte, | The Conduct of the General and the Valour of the Troops, | Effected the entire subjection of that Country ; | But under Divine Providence it was reserved for the British Nation | To annihilate their ambitious Designs. | Their Fleet was attacked, defeated, and destroyed, in Aboukir Bay, J By a British Fleet of equal Force, | Commanded by Admiral Lord Nelson. J Their intended conquest of Syria was counteracted at Acre | By a most gallant Resistance under Commodore Sir Sidney Smith ; | And Egypt was rescued from their Dominion | By a British Army, inferior in Numbers, but [ Commanded by General .Sir Ralph Abercrombie, | Who landed at Aboukir on the 8th of March 1801, | Defeated the French on several Occasions, | Particularly in a most decisive Action near Alexandria | On the 21st of that Month, | When they were driven from the Field, and forced to shelter themselves j In their Garrisons of Cairo and Alexandria, | Which Places subsequently surrendered by Capitulation. | To record to Future Ages these Events ; j And to commemorate the Loss sustained by the Death of | Sir Ralph Abercrombie, f Who was mortally wounded on that memorable Day, | Is the design of this Inscription. | Which was deposited here in the year of Christ 1802 | By the British Army on their evacuating this country, | And restoring it to the Turkish Empire. The traveller who has time to spare should not fail to visit both Abusir and Bu Mna or the Town of St. Mina or Menas. Both places can be easily reached by train from Alexandria to Bahig, a station on the Mareotis Railway, and then by riding to the ruins, a few miles distant. The ruins of Abusir are thought to mark the site of Taphosiris, a famous Tomb of Osiris, and the remains of the massive lime- stone walls of the Egyptian temple, which was over 300 feet long, proves that the shrine was of considerable importance. By climbing a much worn stairway, in either of the towers, a splendid view of the surrounding country can be obtained. OTHER PLACES OF INTEREST. 133 The Town of St. Mina stood in the desert, and was for many centuries a famous place of pilgrimage. Mina, or Mena, was originally a soldier who served under Firmilianus in the reign of Diocletian. He fled to the desert, where he fasted and prayed for a long time, and then returned to the city, where he proclaimed himself to be a Christian. He was carried before Pyrrhus, the prefect, who tortured him and at length had him beheaded. His body was rescued from the fire into which it was cast, and buried in Alexandria, and his followers built a church over it, but subsequently it was taken to his native city of Mareotis, and many miracles were wrought in the place where it lay, through the water of a neighbouring spring. Church after church was built over his tomb, and that built by Theodosius (378-395) became the nucleus of the great monastery and town which, under the name of Al-Muna, flourished in the fifth century. The town was excavated in 1905 by Monsignor C. M. Kaufmann who has accurately fixed its site, which is situated half-way between Alexandria and Wadi an-Natrfin. It fell into decay after the Arab conquest of Egypt, but the Copts built a church to the saint in the eighth century, and the glory of the town revived. Before the close of the ninth century this church was destroyed by the Arabs, and the town gradually became a ruin. The church built by Arcadius (395-408) was a handsome building, and had nave, aisles and transept, and a large number of pillars. But the church which probably covered the body of the saint stands to the west of the basilica, and beneath it was a large crypt, reached by means of a marble stairway. In the course of his excavations Monsignor Kaufmann found the remains of several potteries in which the famous holy-water flasks of St. Mina were made, and the ovens in which they were baked. Those who are interested in the modern history of Egypt may visit the village of Abukir, near which the Battle of the Nile was fought on August 1st, 1798. Horatio Nelson engaged the French Admiral Brueys and captured nine’ of the enemy’s line- of-battle ships and burned two. The French ship “ L’Orient ” blew up with Brueys and 1,000 on board, and only about 80 escaped. At this place on July 25th, 1799, Napoleon with 5,000 soldiers defeated the Turkish army of 25,000 men ; on March 8th, 1801, Sir Ralph Abercromby defeated the French here, and Abukir fell into the hands of the British. About 3 miles from Abukir are the ruins of the city of Canobus, 134 ROSETTA. or Canopus, which stood at the mouth of the Canopic arm of the Nile. At this place the god Canopus, in the form of a vase with a human head, was worshipped, and the Ptolemies built a temple there to Serapis. A legend declares that Canopus, the pilot of Menelaus, died and was buried here on the return of the Achseans from Troy ; some derive the name of the town from this hero, but it is far more likely that the name of the town was called after the god Canopus. In old days a manufactory of henna , the dye used by women in staining the nails of their hands and feet, stood here. In the reign of Ptolemy III the priests ot Canopus promulgated a decree in which they enumerated the benefits conferred on the country by the king, and ordered that certain festivals, etc., were to be celebrated in his honour. The decree was drawn up in two forms of Egyptian writing, i.e., hieroglyphics and demotic, and in Greek, and copies of it were ordered to be set up in the great temples of the land. Three copies of the decree have been discovered, and the largest and finest of these monuments was found at San in the eastern Delta. Some 30 miles further on the line is the town of Rashid, or Rosetta, which marks roughly the site of the ancient city of Bolbitine, and stands near the mouth of the main western branch of the Nile. Rosetta was taken by the French in 1798, and by the British and Turks on April 19th, 1801 ; the Turks repulsed the British here on April 22nd, 1807. In the reign of Ptolemy V the priests of Memphis promulgated a decree similar in many ways to the decree of Canopus ; it enumerated the great benefits which the king had conferred on the country, and ordered that certain honours should be paid to his statues in the temples of Egypt. The last paragraph commanded that copies of the decree, written in the three forms of writing mentioned above in connection with Canopus, should be set up in all the great temples of Egypt. The last portion of the Decree reads: — “And the priests of all “ the temples which are called after his name shall have, in “ addition to all the other priestly titles which they may “ possess, the title of ‘ Servant of the god who maketh “ ‘himself manifest, whose deeds are beautiful’; [ and this title “ shall be e?idorsed on all deeds and documents which are laid “ up in the temples ]; and they shall cause to be engraved on “ the rings which they wear on their hands, the title of ‘ Liba- “ ‘ tioner of the god who maketh himself manifest, whose deeds “ ‘are beautiful.’ And behold, it shall be in the hands of those ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. 135 “ who live in the country, and those who desire [it], to establish “ a copy of the shrine of the god who maketh himself manifest, “ whose deeds are beautiful, and set it up in their houses, and “ they shall be at liberty to keep festivals and make rejoicings “ [before it] each month and each year ; and in order to make “ those who are in Egypt to know [why it is that the Egyptians “ pay honour — as it is most right and proper to do — to the “ god who maketh himself beautiful , no hose deeds are beautiful \ “ the priests have decreed '] that this Decree shall [be inscribed Q “ upon a stele of hard stone in the writing of the words of the “ gods, and the writing of the books, and in the writing of “ Nebu Meht (i.e., Greeks), and it shall be set up in the “ sanctuaries in the temples which [are called] by his name, “ of the first, second, and third [class], near the statue “ of the Horus, the King of the South and North “^Ptolemy, ever-living, beloved of Ptahj|, the god who “ maketh himself manifest, whose deeds are beautiful.” In obedience to this command the priests of Rosetta set up a copy of the decree of Memphis, inscribed on a slab of basalt, and a large portion of this slab was found by M. Boussard, a French Engineer Officer, in 1799, and was afterwards obtained for the British by the Treaty of Alexandria. This copy of the Memphis Decree is known as the Rosetta Stone, and from it was obtained the correct clue to the decipherment of the Egyptian hieroglyphics. The Rosetta Stone is in the British Museum. II.— ALEXANDRIA TO CAIRO. Between Alexandria and Cairo are passed several of the most important towns in the Western Delta. Immediately on leaving the city the railway runs by the shore of Lake Maryfit, the Mareotis of the classical writers, and the Merit Sebek were worshipped. The country around was famous for its wine, and the Egyptians described it as the “ vineyard of Amen ” ; it was watered by the Nile, and large numbers of fishermen and carriers lived there. During the Middle Ages large portions of the lake dried up, and the inhabitants of the of the hieroglyphic texts, where Hathor and 136 NAUCRATIS. country round about settled on the old lake-bed, and built villages there. During the war between the French and the British (1798-1801), the latter, knowing that the land round Alexandria was below sea-level, cut through the narrow strip of land between the sea and Lake Mareotis, and inundated the country with salt water. The villages were destroyed, and thousands of people were rendered homeless by this foolish, not to say wasteful, act. It can only be paralleled by the deed of the Alexandrians who, when Caesar was besieging the city of Alexandria, let the sea into the cisterns of fresh water from which the inhabitants drank. The sea was let into Mareotis by a breach cut near Abukir. In recent years the drainage of Lake Abukir has been begun, and it is said that when this has been effected, an attempt will be made to reclaim all the land which the British submerged. Incidentally a slight benefit has accrued to Egypt from the submersion, for during the summer pure white salt formed in layers 3 or 4 inches thick, and, salt being formerly a Government monopoly, some addition to the revenue was obtained. The village of Kafr Ad - Da war, with 14,755 inhabitants, is passed about mile 17, and at mile 39 we arrive at Daman = hfir, a town the inhabitants of which are engaged for the most part in the cotton trade. Its population in 1919 was 47,867. The town marks the site of the Egyptian town Temai-en- polis Parva. Damanhhr is the capital of the province of Baherah, and is a prosperous place, being an important cotton centre. There is little of interest in the town, and the mosques are not very attractive. West of the railway at about mile 50 is the village of Nabirah, with 3,476 inhabitants, and quite close to it are series of mounds which mark the site of Naucratis, a city in which the Greeks were permitted to settle and trade by the kings of the XXVIth dynasty, who bestowed upon them many privileges. It was founded by Amasis (II). The Egypt Exploration Fund carried on a series of excavations at Nabirah in 1884-5, and the results are described in the Third Memoir published in 1888. The ruins do not repay the traveller who visits them for his time as they are four miles from the railway. At mile 54 is Ityai al-Barhd, commonly called Tah-al = Barud, a village with about 5,057 inhabitants ; there are in the neighbourhood several mounds which probably contain the Heru, , which the Romans called Hermo SAIS, TANTA, TOMB OF SAYYID AHMAD AL-BADAWi. . 137 remains of Ptolemaic or Roman towns, but none appears to have been explored. At mile 64 Kafr Az = zayyat, a town on the east side of the Rosetta arm of the Nile, with nearly 13,628 inhabitants, is reached. The town is prosperous and thriving, but has little interest for those who are not occupied with the study of native character and customs. From Kafr Az-zayyat a journey may be easily made by river to the mounds at Sa al = Hagar, with a population of 7,187 inhabitants, which mark the site of Sais, the Saut, ^ 5 of the hieroglyphic in- scriptions. They lie on the east side of the Rosetta arm of the Nile, and prove that Sais, the home of the kings of the XXVIth dynasty, must have been a large and a thriving city. Tne chief deity of Sais was the goddess Net, or Neith, to whom were ascribed ail the powers of a self-produced deity. The city was raised artificially above the level of the sur- rounding country, and its walls were 100 ft. high and 70 ft. thick. The kings Amasis and Psammetichus were buried there. The mysteries of Neith or Isis were performed on the lake behind the temple of the goddess, who was made to declare, “ I am what hath been, what is, and what will be”; they were, no doubt, a sort of sacred play in which scenes connected with the incidents of the death and sufferings of Osiris were represented. The temple of Neith, or Minerva, as the classical writers called her, must have been a wonderful building, and it won the admiration of Hero- dotus, who appears to have been much impressed with all that he heard about Sais. From Sa al-Hagar by steamer down the arm of the Nile to Rosetta is an easy journey, and the traveller may obtain many interesting examples of Delta scenery on the way. About mile 75 we arrive at Tanta, a town which in 1919 had a population of 74,195 souls; it is the capital of the great province of Gharbiyah, and is a great commercial, social, and religious centre. From Tanta railways run to Mansurah on the north-east and to Manuf on the south-west, and to Banha, and in this way the town is easily accessible from all parts. From one point of view it has a holy character, and Muham madans flock thither from outlying and seaport villages, and from the Western Delta, their object being to pay their vows at the tomb of Sayyid Ahmad al = Badawi, a famous saint who was born at Fez in Morocco in the twelfth century, and who lived for many years at Tanta, and died there. A mosque has been built there in his name, and folk having sicknesses of 138 SAYYID AHMAD AL-BADAWI. all kinds come to his tomb for healing. The festivals of this saint are three in number : one is observed in January, one at the end of March, and one in the beginning of August, but the last named is the greatest of all. Each festival begins on a Friday and ends on the next Friday. The inhabitants of Tanta are somewhat fanatical at the best of times, but during the August festival they become much more so, for the whole town is given over to riotous rejoicings of every description, all the ordinary business of life is suspended, and clowns and buffoons of every class fill the main streets and open spaces of the town, and carry the revelry far into each night of the festival. In some quarters the scenes are indescribable. In view of the great interest which has recently been taken in the Tomb of Shekh Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawi the following facts about his life may be useful. Abu al- ‘Abbas Ahmad ibn ‘All al-Badawi was descended from Muhammad the Prophet on both his father’s and mother’s side. He was born at Fez in Morocco, whither his parents had emigrated during the time of Al-Haggag, who was slaying the Ashraf, or noble families in Mecca, towards the end of the Xllth century of our era. When he was seven years old his father took him back to Mecca (1206), and the whole family were welcomed by the inhabitants; here he lived until his father died in 1229. He was of so bold and fearless a disposition that he was nick- named Al-Badawi, /. the Hebrew Moph (Hosea ix, 6) and Noph (Isaiah xix, 13), and the Arabic Manuf. Other names were “ White Wall 01 and “ Balance of the Two Lands ” A^ A . and “ House of the Ka of Ptah ” y ^ ^ ° ^ LJ O , Coptic eKerrf The ruins of Memphis and the antiquities at Sakkarah are usually reached by steamer or train from Cairo to Badrashen, a village with 7,947 inhabitants, which lies about 14 miles south of Cairo. Leaving the river or station the village of Badrashen is soon reached, and a short ride brings the traveller to the village of MiDRahinah. On the ground lying for some distance round about these two villages once stood the city of Memphis, though there is comparatively little left to show its limits. According to Herodotus (ii, 99) : — “ Menes, who first ruled over Egypt, in the first place protected “ Memphis by a mound ; for the whole river formerly ran close to “ the sandy mountain on the side of Libya ; but Menes, beginning “ about a hundred stades above Memphis, filled in the elbow towards “the south, dried up the old channel, and conducted the river into a “ canal, so as to make it flow between the mountains : this bend of “ the Nile, which flows excluded from its ancient course, is still “carefully upheld by the Persians, being made secure every year ; “for if the river should break through and overflow in this part, “ there would be danger lest all Memphis should be flooded. When “ the part cut off had been made firm land by this Menes, who was “ first king, he in the first place built on it the city that is now called “ Memphis ; for Memphis is situate in the narrow part of Egypt ; “and outside of it he excavated a lake from the river towards the “ north and the west ; for the Nile itself bounds it towards the east. 206 CITY QF MEMPHIS. “ In the next place, they i-elate that he built in it the temple of “ Vulcan, which is vast and well worthy of mention." (Cary’s translation. ) [ J, built the town or not, it is quite certain that the city of Memphis was of most ancient foundation. The reason why the kings of Egypt established their capital there is obvious. From the peoples that lived on the western bank of the river they had little to fear, but on the eastern side they were always subject to invasions of the peoples who lived in Mesopotamia, Syria, and Arabia ; with their capital on the western bank, and the broad Nile as a barrier on the east of it, they were comparatively safe. Added to this, its situation at the beginning of the Delta enabled it to participate easily of the good things of that rich country. The tract of land upon which Memphis stood was also fertile and well wooded. Diodorus speaks of its green meadows, intersected with canals, and of their pavement of glotus flowers ; Pliny talks of trees there of such girth that three men with extended arms could not span them ; Martial praises the roses brought from thence to Rome ; and its wine was celebrated in lands remote from it. The site chosen was excellent, for in addition to its natural advantages it was not far from the sea-coast of the Delta, and holding as it were a middle position in Egypt, its kings were able to hold and rule the country from Philae on the south to the Mediterranean on the north. Its name, “ White Wall,” calls to mind the “White Castle” spoken of by classical writers. Teta, son of Menes, built his palace there, and Ka-Kau, the second king of the Ilnd dynasty, 4100 B.C., established the worship of Apis there. During the rule of the Illrd, IVth, and Vlth dynasties, the kings of which sprang from Memphis, that city reached a height of splendour which was probably never excelled. The most celebrated building there was the temple of Ptah, which was beautified and adorned by a number of kings, the last of whom reigned during the XXVIth dynasty. The Hyksos ravaged, but did not destroy the city; under the rule of the Theban kings, who expelled the Hyksos, the city flourished for a time, although Thebes became the new capital. When Raineses II returned from his wars in the east, he set up a statue of himself in front of the temple of Ptah there ; Piankhi the Ethiopian besieged it ; the Assyrian kings, Esarhaddon and Assur= Whether Menes, in Egyptian Mena ( ^ COLOSSAL STATUE OF R AMESES II. 207 banipal, captured it ; Cambyses the Persian, having wrought great damage there, killed the magistrates of the city and the priests of the temple of Apis, and smote the Apis bull so that he died ; he established a Persian garrison there. After the founding of Alexandria, Memphis lost whatever glory it then possessed, and became merely the chief provincial city of Egypt. During the reign of Theodosius (379-395), a savage attack, the result of his edict, was made upon its temples and buildings by the Christians, and a few hundred years later the Muhammadans carried the stones, which once formed them, across the river to serve as building materials for their houses and mosques in their new city of Fustat, founded by ‘Amr in 642. The circuit of the ancient city, according to Diodorus, was 150 stadia, or about 13 miles. In 1907, Professor Petrie began to excavate a portion of the site of Memphis. He traced out the enclosure of the temple of Ptah, discovered a part of a temple of Hathor, cleared out a building of King Sa-Amen, and a building of Mer-en-Ptah, and located the site of the camp of Memphis, where he found the ruins of the palace of Apries, which is said to have covered two acres, and was probably built upon the remains of earlier palaces. He recovered a number of bas-reliefs which illustrate the celebra- tion of the Set Festival. The Colossal Statue of Rameses II. — This magnificent statue, the larger of the two Colossi that were discovered by Messrs. Caviglia and Sloane in 1820, was presented by them to the British Museum. On account of its weight and the lack of public interest in such matters, it lay near the road leading from Badrashen to Mit-Rahinah, and little by little became nearly covered with the annual deposit of Nile mud ; during the inundation the greater part of it was covered by the waters of the Nile. During the winter of 1886-7 Sir Frederick Stephenson collected a sum of money in Cairo for the purpose of lifting it out of the hollow in which it lay, and the difficult engineering part of the task was ably accomplished by Colonel Arthur Bagnold, R.E. This statue is made of a fine hard limestone, and measures about 42 feet in height ; it is probably one of the statues which stood in front of the temple of Ptah, mentioned by Herodotus and Diodorus. The prenomen of Rameses II Ra-usr-maat-setep-en-Ra, is inscribed on the belt of the statue, and on the end of the roll which the king carries in his hand are the words “ Rameses. 208 THE STEP AND UNAS PYRAMIDS. beloved of Amen.” By the side of the king are figures of a daughter and son of Rameses. Lord Kitchener intended to remove it to Cairo and set it up in the square in front of the Citadel, and his plan only broke down because no bridge was strong enough to carry the weight of this statue. The famous temple of Ptah founded by Menes was situated to the south of the statue. A portion of the other colossal statue lies comparatively near it. Close by is a huge limestone sphinx which was made under the rule of the kings of the XIXth dynasty. It is about 25 feet long and 14 feet high. Sakkarah. — The name Sakkarah probably represents in sound the name of Seker an ancient Egyptian god of death. The tract of land at Sakkarah which formed the great burial ground of the ancient Egyptians of all periods is about 4J miles long and one mile wide ; the most important objects of interest there are : (1) The Step Pyramid ; (2) The Pyramid of Unas; {3) The Pyramid of Teta; (4) The Pyramid of Pepi I ; (5) The Pyramid of Mer-en-Ra; (6) The Pyramid of Pepi II; (7) The Serapeum ; (8) The Tomb of Thi ; (9) Tomb of Ptah-hetep; (10) Tomb of Kaqemna, etc.; (11) Mariette’s house. 1. The Step Pyramid was built by the third king of the Illrd dynasty (called Tcheser in the Tablet of Abydos), who is said to have built a pyramid at Kochome Ka-Kam), near Sakkarah. Though the date of this pyramid is not known accurately, we are undoubtedly right in asserting that it is older than the pyramids of Gizah. The door which led into the pyramid was inscribed with the name of a king called Ra-nub, and M. Mariette found the same name on one of the stelae in the Serapeum. The steps of the pyramid are six in number, and are about 38, 36, 34^, 32, 31, and 29^ feet in height ; the width of each step is from 6 to 7 feet. The lengths of the sides at the base are : north and south, 352 feet; east and west, 396 feet; and the actual height is 197 feet. In shape this pyramid is oblong, and its sides do not exactly face the cardinal points. The arrangement of the chambers inside this pyramid is peculiar to itself. 2. The Pyramid of Unas ^ , called in Egyptian Nefer-asu, lies to the south-east of the Step Pyramid, and was THE PYRAMIDS OF UNAS, TETA. 209 reopened and cleared out in 1881 by M. Maspero, at the expense of Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son. Its original height was about 62 feet, and the length of each side at the base 220 feet. Owing to the broken blocks and sand which lie round about it, Vyse was unable to give exact measurements. Several attempts had been made to break into it, and one of the Arabs who took part in one of these attempts, “Ahmad the Carpenter,” seems to have left his name inside one of the chambers in red ink. It is probable that he is the same man who opened the Great Pyramid at Gizah, a.d. 820. A black basalt sarcophagus, from which the cover had been dragged off, and an arm, a shin-bone, some ribs, and fragments of the skull of the mummy of Unas, were found in the sarcophagus Tomb of Unas. chamber. The walls of the two largest chambers and two of the corridors are inscribed with ritual texts and prayers of a very interesting character. Unas, the last king of the Vth dynasty, reigned about 30 years. The Mastabat al-Fir‘afin was thought by Mariette to be the tomb of Unas, but other scholars thought that the “ blunted pyramid ” at Dahshfir was his tomb, because his name was written upon the top of it. 3 - The Pyramid of Teta called in Egyptian Tet-asu, lies to the north-east of the Step Pyramid, and was opened in 1881. The Arabs call it the Prison Pyramid, because local tradition says that it is built near the ruins of the prison where Joseph the patriarch was confined. Its actual height is about 59 feet, the length of each side at the base is 210 feet, and the platform at the top is about 50 feet. The o 210 MONASTERY OF SAINT JEREMIAH. arrangement of the chambers and passages and the plan of construction followed are almost identical with those of the pyramid of Unas. This pyramid was broken into in ancient days, and two of the walls of the sarcophagus chamber have literally been smashed to pieces by the hammer-blows of those who expected to find treasure inside them. The inscriptions, painted in green upon the walls, have the same subject-matter as those inscribed upon the walls of the chambers of the pyramid of Unas. According to Manetho, Teta, the first king of the Vlth dynasty, reigned about 50 years, and was murdered by one of his guards. The Pyramids of Tcheser, Unas, and Teta belong to the Northern Group at Sakkarah. In the spring of 1905 Mr. J. E. Quibell began to excavate the portion of the great cemetery at Sakkarah which lies to the east of the Pyramid of Teta, with the view of clearing the funerary temple of this king. In the course of the work a mastabah and several tombs of various periods, etc., were found, and a certain number of small antiquities. In 1906-7, the work was continued, and several important objects, includ- ing inscribed sarcophagi of the Middle Empire, were discovered, together with some fine “ false doors ” in stone, portrait figures in wood, figures of servants, boats, etc. During this season Mr. Quibell began to excavate a site on the edge of the desert called Ras al-Gisr, or “ head of the dyke,” some 600 feet square, which contained the ruins of an ancient Coptic monastery. These were identified some years ago by Professor Maspero as the Monastery of Saint Jeremiah, a famous Coptic saint who flourished in the latter half of the fifth century of our era. The plan of the monastery as published by Mr. Quibell, and the coloured reproductions of the figures of saints, etc., which adorn the walls of several of its chambers, suggest that some parts of the monastery are older than this date, and that they belong to the fourth century. On the other hand many parts of the actual remains suggest a very much later date, and some of the repairs and several of the chambers are clearly the work of the ninth century. In 1908 the excavation of the monastery was continued, and the ruins of a church were brought to light. The form of this building was a basilica, with a nave about 33 feet wide, two narrow aisles, and three entrances, the main entrance being from the narthex. From the screen to the west wall is a distance of about 80 feet. Most of the columns were of limestone, four were of granite, and three of marble. The remains of the walls PYRAMID OF PEPI I. 211 show that their construction was bad, and they suggest that the church was the latest erected on the site. The east end was decorated with mosaics. The position of the foundations of the apse proves that the earlier building was longer than the later. Round about the church were several brick cells and rooms which served as dwelling-places for the brethren, offices, store rooms, etc. During the same season Mr. Quibell cleared out a portion of the funerary temple of the Pyra- mid of Teta, and in the course of the work discovered the death mask of King Teta, and a fine stele of Nektanebes, the last native king of Egypt, dated in the second year of his reign, and describing the building of a temple in honour of the living Apis. Besides this, several mastabah tombs were excavated, and the antiquities discovered in some of them were of considerable interest. “ Ra-meri, son of the Sun, Pepi,” lies to the south of the Step Pyramid, and forms one of the central group of pyramids at Sakkarah, where it is called the Pyramid of Shekh Abu Mansfir ; it was opened in 1880. Its actual height is about 40 feet, and the length of each side at the base is about 250 feet; the arrangement of the chambers, etc., inside is the same as in the pyramids of Unas and ^Teta, but the ornamentation is slightly different. It is the worst preserved of these pyramids, and has suffered most at the hands of the spoilers, probably because, having been constructed with stones which were taken from tombs ancient already in those days, instead of stones fresh from the quarry, it was more easily injured. The granite sarcophagus was broken to take out the mummy, fragments of which were found lying about on the ground ; the cover too, smashed in pieces, lay on the ground close by. A small rose granite box, containing alabaster jars, was also found in the sarcophagus chamber. The inscriptions are, like those inscribed on the walls of the pyramids of Unas and Teta, of a religious nature ; some scholars see in them evidence that the pyramid was usurped by another Pepi, who lived at a much later period than the Vlth dynasty. The pyramid of Pepi I, the third king of the Vlth dynasty, who reigned, according to Manetho, 53 years, was called in Egyptian by the same name as Memphis, i.e.j Men-nefer, and numerous priests were attached to its service. Pepi’s kingdom embraced all Egypt, and he waged war against the inhabitants of the peninsula of Sinai. He is 4. The Pyramid o 2 212 PYRAMID OP MERENRA. said to have set up an obelisk at Heliopolis, and to have laid the foundation of the temple at Denderah. His success as a eonqueror was due in great measure to the splendid abilities of one of his chief officers called Una, who warred successfully against the various hereditary foes of Egypt on its southern and eastern borders. 5. The Pyramid of Merenra nomen of with the pre- j Mehti-em-sa-f, the eldest son of Pepi I. This pyramid is No. 8 on the map of Vyse and Perring, and is called by the Arabs “ Haram as-Sayyadin,” Plan of Merenra’s Tomb. or the “Pyramid of the Hunters.” An entrance was made into the pyramid by natives in the Middle Ages, and at the beginning of the nineteenth century the villagers of Sakkarah reopened it and carried off a number of alabaster vases. They destroyed some of the walls of the inner chambers in their quest for buried treasure, and dug a pit in it some 16 feet deep in their search. The sarcophagus, which is of black granite, was opened by the thieves, and the mummy, now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, was stripped of everything. The length of each side of the pyramid at the base is about 260 feet, and its height about 87 feet. This pyramid was cleared out by Mariette in the winter of 1880-1, and the work was completed about a fortnight before his death, which took place on January 18th. The walls of the chambers and corridors of the pyramid are covered with religious texts, many PYRAMID OF PEPI II AND THE SERAPEUM. 213 of which are duplicates of the texts found in the older pyra- mids of this group. 6 . The Pyramid of Pepi II ^ O J 'U'J Nefer-ka-ra. This pyramid is No. 9 on the map of Vyse and Perring, and is called by the Arabs “ Haram al-Mastabah.” It is built in steps, and closely resembles the Pyramid of Merenra. The length of each side at the base is 245 feet, and its height is 95 feet. It was cleared out in 1881 by Professor Maspero, who in the April of that year was nearly buried alive in it owing to a sudden fall of stones and debris, which blocked the chambers for several hours. The walls of the corridors and chambers of this pyramid also are covered with inscriptions of a religious character, and of these some are found in this pyramid only. 7. The Serapeum or Apis Mausoleum contained the vaults in which all the Apis Bulls that lived at Memphis were buried. According to Herodotus, Apis “is the calf of a cow “ incapable of conceiving another offspring ; and the Egyptians “ say that lightning descends upon the cow from heaven, and “ that from thence it brings forth Apis. This calf, which is “ called Apis, has the following marks : It is black, and has a “ triangular spot of white on the forehead, and on the back the “ figure of an eagle ; and in the tail double hairs ; and on the “ tongue a beetle.” Above each tomb of an Apis bull was built a chapel, and it was the series of chapels which formed the Serapeum properly so called ; it was surrounded by walls like the other Egyptian temples, and it had pylons to which an avenue of sphinxes led. This remarkable building was excavated in 1850 by M. Mariette, who having seen in various parts of Egypt sphinxes upon which were written the names of Osiris - Apis, or Serapis, concluded that they must have come from the Serapeum or temple of Serapis spoken of by Strabo. Happening, by chance, to discover one day at Sakkarah a sphinx having the same characteristics, he made up his mind that he had lighted upon the remains of the long sought-for building. The excavations which he immediately undertook brought to light the Avenue of Sphinxes, 1 1 statues of Greek philosophers, and the vaults in which the Apis bulls were buried. These vaults are of three kinds, and show that the Apis bulls were buried in different ways at different periods : the oldest Apis sarcophagus laid here belongs to the reign ol C=UJ with the prenomen 214 TOMB OF THI. Amenophis III, about 1450 b.c. The parts of the Apis Mausoleum in which the Apis bulls were buried from the XVIIIth to the XXV ith dynasty are not visible ; but the new gallery, which contains 64 vaults, the oldest of which dates from the reign of Psammetichus I, and the most modern from the time of the Ptolemies, can be seen on application to the guardian of the tombs. The vaults are excavated on each side of the gallery, and each was intended to receive a granite sarcophagus. The names of Amasis II, Cambyses, and Khab- besha are found upon three of the sarcophagi, but most of them are uninscribed. Twenty-four granite sarcophagi still remain in position, and they each measure about 13 feet by 8 feet by it feet. The discovery of these tombs was of the greatest importance historically, for on the walls were found thousands of dated stelae which gave accurate chronological data for the history of Egypt. These votive tablets mention the years, months, and days of the reign of the king in which the Apis bulls, in whose honour the tablets were set up, were born and buried. The Apis tombs had been rifled in ancient times, and only two of them contained any relics when M. Mariette opened them out. 8. The Tomb of Thi lies to the north-east of the Apis Mausoleum, and was built during the Vth dynasty, about 3500 b.c. Thi s=> []fj was a man who held the dignities of smer, royal councillor, superintendent of works, scribe of the court, confidant of the king, etc. ; he held also priestly rank as prophet, and was attached to the service of the pyramids of Abusir. He had sprung from a family of humble origin, but his abilities were so esteemed by one of the kings, whose faithful servant he was, that a princess called Nefer-hetep-s was given him to wife, and his children, Thi and Tamut, ranked as princes. Thi held several high offices under Kakaa Vth dynasty. The tomb or mastabah of Thi is now nearly covered with sand, but in ancient days the whole building was above the level of the ground. The chambers of the tomb having been carefully cleared, it is possible to enter them and examine the very beautiful sculptures and paintings with which the walls are decorated. To describe these wonderful works of art adequately would require more space than can be given here ; it must be sufficient to say that the scenes represent Thi Useren-Ra f ”] P <=> j, kings of the MARIETTE S HOUSE. 215 superintending all the various operations connected with the management of his large agricultural estates and farm- yard, together with illustrations of his hunting and fishing expeditions. 9. The Tomb of Ptah = hetep, a priest who lived during the Vth dynasty, is a short distance from Mariette’s house. The scenes in this mastabah are splendid examples of the best class of the artistic work of the period as applied to tomb ornamentation, and well worthy of more than one visit. 10. To the north-east of the Step Pyramid, and close to the pyramid of Teta, are the tomb of Kaqemna, a high official under the Vth or Vlth dynasty, which was excavated under the direction of M. de Morgan ; the family vault of Mereruka, wherein his wife and son had separate tombs ; and a group of tombs, which were excavated by M. Victor Loret in 1899. The most important tomb of the group is that of Ankh = em = Heru, which is commonly known as the Tomb of the Physician because surgical operations connected with circumcision, etc., are depicted upon its walls. Further to the south is the Mastabat al = Fir‘aun, # a royal tomb, probably of the Vth dynasty. The most interesting of all the pyramids at Sakkarah are those having chambers and corridors inscribed with hieroglyphic texts, viz., the Pyramids of Unas, Teta, Pepi I, Pepi II, Mer-en-Ra, etc. 11. Mariette’s House. — This house, which lies a little to the east of the Serapeum, was the headquarters of M. Mariette and his staff when employed in making excavations in the Necropolis of Sakkarah in 1850 and 1851. It is not easy to estimate properly the value to science of the work of this distinguished man. It is true that fortune gave him the opportunity of excavating some of the most magnificent of the buildings of the Pharaohs of all periods, and of hundreds of ancient towns nevertheless, it is equally true that his energy and marvellous power of work enabled him to use to the fullest extent the means for advancing the science of Egyptology which had been put in his hands. It is to be hoped that his house will be preserved on its present site as a remembrance of a great man who did a great work. * The Mastabat al-Fir‘aun was visited by Edward Melton in the second half of the seventeenth century, and he says that the Arabs told him that the Pharaohs used to climb on to the top of it each time they had a new law to declare to the people. ( Zee-en Land-Reizen > Amsterdam, 1681, P- 54-) 216 PYRAMIDS OF DAHSHUR. The Pyramids of Dahshur, four of stone and two of brick, are miles from the Mastabat al-Fir‘atin, once thought to be the Pyramid of Unas. The largest stone pyramid is about 326 feet high, and the length of each side at the base is about 700 feet ; beneath it are three subterranean chambers. The second stone pyramid is about 321 feet high, and the length of each side at the base is 620 feet ; it is usually called the Blunted Pyramid, because the lowest parts of its sides are built at one angle, and the completing parts at another. The larger of the two brick pyramids is about 156 feet high, and the length of each side at the base is about 350 feet; the smaller is about 90 feet high, and the length of each side at the base is about 343 feet. The brick pyramids were excavated by M. de Morgan. The Northern Pyramid is built of unburnt bricks laid without mortar, in place of which sand is used, and an examina- tion of them shows that they belong to the period of the Xllth dynasty. Soon after the work of clearing had been begun, a stone bearing the cartouche of Usertsen III, o u uu was found, and thus a tolerably exact date was ascertained ; on February 26th, 1894, the entrance to a pit was found, and in the east corner there appeared an opening which led through a gallery and sepulchral chamber to several tombs. In one chamber were the fragments of a sarcophagus and statue of Menthu = nesu, and in another was the sarcophagus of Nefert = hent; it was quite clear that these tombs had been wrecked in ancient days, and therefore to the pit by which they were reached M. de Morgan gave the name “ Pit of the Spoilers.” Along the principal gallery were four tombs, and in the second of these a queen had been buried ; on the lower stage eight sarcophagi were found, but only two were inscribed. Subsequently it was discovered that the burial-place of a series of princesses had been found, and in consequence M. de Morgan called the place “ Gallery of Princesses.” In one of the tombs (No. 3) a granite chest containing four uninscribed alabaster Canopic jars was found, and in another similar chest a worm-eaten wooden box, containing four Canopic jars, was also discovered. The four sides of the box were inscribed, but the jars were plain. While the ground of the galleries was being carefully examined, a hollow in the rock was found, and a few blows of the pick-axe revealed a magnificent find of gold and silver jewellery lying in a heap among the fragments of the PYRAMIDS OF DAHSHUR. 217 worm-eaten wooden box which held it. The box was about n inches long, and had been inlaid with silver hieroglyphics which formed the name of the princess Hathor = Sat, for whom the ornaments had been made. In the same tomb was found a box full of the jewellery of the lady Merit. It would seem that special care had been taken by the friends of the deceased to conceal the boxes of jewellery, and thus the ancient spoilers of the tomb had overlooked them. These beautiful objects are now to be seen in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. The wooden boats and sledge which were discovered outside the wall enclosing the pyramid are worthy of note, and are of considerable interest. The Necropolis at Dahshur. a The Northern Pyramid, built of bricks. b The Southern Pyramid, built of bricks. The southern brick pyramid of Dahshhr is on a lower level than the northern, and much of its upper portion has been removed by the fallahin , who treated it as a quarry for the bricks with which they built their houses. It is, however, in a better state of preservation than its fellow, and is still an imposing object in the Egyptian landscape. M. de Morgan’s estimate of the length of each side is 125 feet; this pyramid is, like the northern, built of crude bricks, and it was surrounded by a wall of crude bricks, which enclosed the ground wherein the members of the royal family were buried. While excavating in this spot, M. de Morgan found some fragments of a base of a statue inscribed with the prenomen of Amen-em-hat III, 218 HELWAN, OR HELOUAN-LES-BAINS. O ^WAAM and, judging from this fact and from the general appearance of the site, he would ascribe this necropolis to the period of the Xllth dynasty. About 20 feet from the enclosing wall, at the north-east corner of the pyramid, two pits were found, and the second of these proved to be the entrance to a tomb. An inclined brick wall led to a small vaulted door, and in the ruins here the workmen found a small, beautifully worked, gilded wooden statue, on the base of which was inscribed, “ Horus, the son of the Sun, of his body, giver of life,’ O ^ /WWW CIM- Near the statue were two Canopic jars of alabaster, inscribed with the pre- nomen of a new was co-regent with king was king f© th Au-ab-Ra, who it seems Amen-em-hat IV ; the nomen of this Heru. In the tomb 1 of this king were found: — (1) A magnificent wooden shrine for the statue of the ka [_J of King Au-ab-Ra or Heru ; (2) Statue in wood of the ka | j of King Au-ab-Ra, a unique object of highest interest ; the execution is simply wonderful ; (3) Rectangular alabaster stele with an inscription of King Au-ab-Ra in 14 lines; the hieroglyphics are painted blue, etc. In the coffin the wrecked mummy of the king was found. On February 15th and 16th, 1895, M. de Morgan succeeded in bringing to light, in the necropolis of Dahshur, a further “find” of jewellery. These beautiful and interesting objects were found in the tombs of the Princesses Ita and Khnemit, which are situated to the west of the ruined pyramid of King Amen-em-hat. By good fortune they had been overlooked by the plunderers of tombs in ancient days, and so both the tombs and the coffins inside them remained in the state in which they had been left by the friends of the deceased more than 4,000 years ago. 17. Helwan, or Helouan = les= Bains. hotels. — Grand Hotel, Tewfik Palace Hotel, Hotel des Bains, Al-Hayat Hotel. The Golf Course and the Tennis Court at Plelwan are good. The town of Helwan lies about 14 miles to the north of Cairo, and is easily reached by train from the Bab al-Lhk HELWAN, OR HELOUAN-LES-BAINS. 219 station in Cairo. It was formerly a Kism or quarter of Cairo ; in 1917 it had a population of 11,022 inhabitants. It is situated on the right or east bank of the Nile, about three miles from the river, and is nearly opposite the Necropolis of Sakkarah on the western bank. It stands on a plain and has limestone hills on two sides of it. The little town owes its fame and prosperity entirely to its salt and sulphur springs, and it is frequented by Europeans and natives who are suffering from any kind of rheumatic and gouty ailment. (See afrove, p. 19.) A good and direct road to the town from Cairo was made under the auspices of Lord Kitchener, and is much used by motorists. The country around Helwan is interesting geologically, and there are several places in the hills and many ravines worth visiting if the traveller has plenty of time to devote to them. Many visitors prefer to visit Sakkarah from Helwan rather than from Cairo. On the east bank of the Nile, at a distance of about five miles from Helwan, are the Quarries of Ma ‘sarah and Turah. These quarries have supplied excellent stone for building purposes for 6,000 years at least. During the Ancient Empire the architects of the pyramids made their quarrymen tunnel into the mountains for hundreds of yards until they found a bed of stone suitable for their work, and traces of their excava- tions are plainly visible to-day. The Egyptians called the Ttirah Quarry P^-0 Re-au, or Ta-re-au, from which the Arabic name Tfirah is probably derived. An inscription in one of the chambers tells us that during the reign of Amenophis III a new part of the quarry was opened. Una, an officer who lived in the reign of Pepi I, was sent to Tfirah by this king to bring back a white limestone sarcophagus with its cover, libation stone, etc. The demotic inscriptions which are found in the galleries were examined, and many of them copied, by Dr. Spiegelberg in 1903. He found there the names of Heger f J"[] ^ J and Khnem-Maat-Ra-setep-en- Khnemu, ^0 Q ^ ^ and a number of votive texts 220 MUHAMMADAN ARCHITECTURE AND ART IN CAIRO. 18. Muhammadan Architecture and Art in Cairo. The Architecture and Art of the Muhammadans may be said to have sprung into being when the Arabs ceased to be a purely nomadic people, and when they found it necessary to construct large mosques and tombs, for these two classes of buildings are, after all, the principal sources from which our knowledge of Arab architecture and art is derived. As soon as the Arabs had conquered all Arabia, Syria, and Egypt, and their ruler wished to construct mosques at Damascus, Jeru- salem, and Madinah, he applied to the Greek Emperor at Constantinople, who sent him workmen that were skilled in Byzantine architecture and its methods and ornament, and thus it came to pass that the substratum of Arab architecture is of Byzantine origin, and that one of its most important characteristics, namely, the arcade on pillars, is due to this influence. In a very short time, however, the form of the arcade and of its supports was altered, and the decoration used to ornament them soon assumed the character which is the peculiar product of the Arab mind. The religion of the Arabs prevented them from employing figures of men and animals in their architectural works, for the Prophet Muhammad classed statues with wine, games of chance, and divination by means of arrows, and declared that all these were invented by Satan. This being the case the Arabs were driven to make use of designs of flowers, plants, fruits, &c., which they mingled with intricate leaf compositions and geometrical patterns, harmon- izing great detail with a comparatively bold and open treat- ment of symbols in a way which has won the admiration of the greatest experts in Western Architecture and Art. The forms and shapes of large buildings in Cairo and in other Muham- . madan centres have been greatly modified by the influence of climate as well as of religion. In the first place, the Arab ideal of a beautiful building in a dry and thirsty land was one wherein fountains and gardens were mingled with grand and imposing buildings ; and secondly, it followed almost naturally that if this combination were made, the buildings with their enclosures must be square or rectangular, and must contain several covered galleries which would provide both shade and coolness, among which fountains bowered in abundant vegeta- tion might play. One of the principal features of Arab archi- tecture is the naked exterior of the buildings, which strikes the MOSQUES OF CAIRO. 221 beholder with a sense of bareness and coldness, and it seems &s if this feature was specially repeated in order to make the contrast between the exterior and interior of the building more striking. The square capital is another peculiar feature of Arab mosques, tombs, etc., and when we consider this characteristic, which is derived from the Byzantine, in con- nection with its peculiar decoration, it is impossible to con- found an Arab capital with that of any other order of architecture. The oldest mosque in Egypt, that of ‘Amr, was founded a.d. 643, but has been frequently restored ; it was originally about 75 yards long, and 45 feet wide. Its shape resembled that of the mosque of Madinah, which consisted of a small enclosure of brick; this was partially covered over by a roof made of planks, which were supported on palm trunks plastered over with gypsum. Between 641 and 868 the Mosque of ‘Amr was enlarged twice, and it was almost entirely rebuilt by Abd Al-Malik and Walid, the builders of the Mosques of Jerusalem and Damascus. Mr. Fergusson says (. Architecture , Vol. II, p. 381): “In its present state it may be considered as a fair specimen of the form which mosques took when they had quite emancipated themselves from the Christian models, or rather when the court before the narthex of the Christian church had absorbed the basilica, so as to become itself the principal part of the building, the church part being spread out into a mere deep colonnade, and its three apsidal altars modified into niches pointing toward the sacred Mecca.” For about a century and a half after the rebuilding of the Mosque of ‘Amr there is a gap in the history of Arab architecture, and during this period no great building was undertaken in Egypt. In 868 Ahmad ibn-Tiilhn began to build the mosque which is called after his name, and this is preserved in a wonderfully complete state at the present day. It was completed in 878, and consists of a large court surrounded by arcades, which follow the general plan of the Mosque of ‘Amr. “The whole style of the mosque shows an immense advance on that of its predecessor, all trace of Roman or Byzantine art having disappeared in the interval, and the Saracenic architecture appearing complete in all its details, the parts originally borrowed from previous styles having been worked up and fused into a consentaneous whole. Whether this took place in Egypt itself during the century and a half that had elapsed is by no means clear ; and it is more than 222 MUHAMMADAN ARCHITECTURE. probable that the brilliant Courts of Damascus and Baghdad did more than Egypt towards bringing about the result. At all events from this time we hnd no backsliding ; the style in Egypt at last takes its rank as a separate and complete archi- tectural form.” (Fergusson, Ibid., p. 383.) The court of the Mosque of Ibn Tulfin is about 300 feet square ; no pillars are used in its construction, except as engaged corner shafts, and all the arches, which are invariably pointed, are supported by massive piers. The court has on three sides two ranges of arcades, and on the Mecca side there are five, but instead of running parallel to the side they run across the mosque from east to west. The general character of the arcades and their ornaments “is that of bold and massive simplicity, the counter- part of our own Norman style. A certain element of sublimity and power, in spite of occasional clumsiness, is common to both these styles. The external openings are filled with that peculiar sort of tracery which became as characteristic of this style as that of the windows of our churches five centuries afterwards is of Gothic style.” The next great Mosque of Cairo is Al = Azhar, i.e., “the splendid,” which was begun in 969 and finished in three years under the rule of Al-Mufizz Ma‘add ; it shows a great advance in elegance of detail over that of Ibn Ttilun. The Mosque of Al = Hakim was finished some 30 years later. Next in point of age come : (1) The tomb-mosque of As-Salih, which was built in the reign of Tfiranshah in 1249 ; (2) the Mosque of Az-Zahir Bebars I, built in 1268; (3) the Mosque of Kala’fin, built in 1279; (4) the Mosque of An-Nasir Muhammad, built in 1318 ; (5) the Mosque of Kfistin, built in 1329; (6) the Mosque of Al-Maridani, built in 1339 ; (6) the Mosque of Aksunkur, built in 1347 ; (7) the Mosque of Sultan Hasan, built in [356 ; and (7) the Mosque of Barkuk. In the last-named building the pointed arch is used “ with as much lightness and elegance as ever it reached in the West. The dome has become a truly graceful and elaborate appendage, forming not only a very perfect ceiling, but a most imposing ornament to the exterior. Above all, the minaret has here arrived at as high a degree of perfection as it ever reached in any after-age.” The Mosque of Sultan Hasan is one of the most remarkable mosques which has ever been erected in any country. Its appearance is bold and massive on every side, and “ the building has all the apparent solidity of a fortress, and seems more worthy of the descendants MOSQUES OF CAIRO. 223 ot the ancient Pharaohs than any work of modern times in Egypt.” Instead of the usual arcades we see here that one gigantic niche opens in each face of the court ; all four niches are covered with simple tunnel vaults of a pointed form, without either ribs or intersections, and for simple grandeur are unrivalled by any similar arches known to exist anywhere. One of its two minarets is the highest and largest in Cairo, and probably in any part of the world. The Mosque of The Mosque of Sultan Hasan. Al = Mu’ayyad, which was built in 1420, is a fine example of a mosque with columns, and the Tomb = Mosque of Ka’it Bey, outside the walls of the city of Cairo, is perhaps the most graceful of all this class of building in Egypt. It has been rightly described as a “ perfect model of the elegance we generally associate with the architecture of this people, and it is perhaps unrivalled by anything in Egypt, and far surpasses the Alhambra or the other Western buildings of its age.” Another authority on Saracenic Art, Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole, believes that in this building we see the dome and minaret in 224 MUHAMMADAN ARCHITECTURE. of the Mosque of Sultan Hasan. MOSQUES OF CAIRO, 225 The Mosque of Al-Mu’ayyad. F 226 MUHAMMADAN ARCHITECTURE. The Niche and Pulpit ip the Mosque of Al-Mu’ayyad. MOSQUES OF CAIRO. 227 their utmost perfection, and the proportions of the cruciform mosque most admirably displayed. The sanctuary of a mosque, or liwan , is on the Mecca side of the building, and its most important parts are : (i) The mihrab , which indi- cates the hiblah or direction of Mecca towards which the Muhammadans pray ; (2) the minibar, or pulpit, from which the weekly address on Friday is delivered ; (2) the dikka , or tribune, from which the prayers and the chapters of the Kur’an are read ; and (4) a seat for the shekh. Lamps are suspended from Section of the Mosque of Ka’it Bey. the roofs, the walls are ornamented with passages from the Kur’an, and outside, but quite near the mosque, is a fountain. p 2 228 MUHAMMADAN ARCHITECTURE. The following are the principal mosques which still exist in Cairo : — * Mosque of Built A.D. Mosque of Built a.d. ‘Amr 641 Aksunkur J 347 Ibn-Tulhn 878 Sheykhu 1 355 Al-Azhar 971 Suyurghatmish ... 13s 6 Al-Hakim 990-1012 Sultan Hasan ... 135 6 Ash-Shafi £ y 1 2 1 1 Umm Sha‘ban ... *368 As-Salih... 1249 Barkhk ... 1384 Adh-Dhahir 1268 Barkhk (in the KalaTm ... 1279 cemetery) 1405-1410 An-Nasir 1298 Al-Mu’ayyad 1420 Bey bars II 1306 Al-Ashraf Bars- An-Nasir (in the Bey ... ... M23 Citadel) ! 3 .8 A 1-Ashraf Inal . . . T 45 6 Singar Al-Gawaly Ka’it Bey 1472 and Salar 1323 Kigmas ... 1481 Al-Maridany [ 339 Ezbek ... J 499 .. Mosque and Tomb-Mosque of Ghoriyah ... 1503 The houses of Egypt and Svria consist of series of rooms which are built in two or three storeys round a rectangular courtyard ; the greater number of the windows in each storey Plan of a Mouse in Cairo — Ground Floor. (After Ebers and Poole. ) A. Stable. B. Bakehouse. C. Kitchen. D. Small Reception Room. E. Entrance. F. Guest Room. G- Large Reception Room. Hj^ittingRcrdrh. l. Court. J. Servants’ Room. look into the courtyard, and every window, whether it looks into the courtyard or into the street, is provided with high * See Lane-Poole, Art of the Saracens , p. 86. HOUSES OF EGYPT. 229 blinds of lattice work. The Arab in his house loves privacy, and he spares no pains in building passages with sharp bends in them to prevent the prying of inquisitive eyes, and he endeavours to prevent the women and girls in his house both from seeing strangers and being seen by them. The projecting windows which form such an important characteristic of Arab houses have their openings carefully covered over with wooden shutters and with blinds made of wood, and if they are glazed the glass is either painted or allowed to become so dirty that it is almost impossible to obtain a clear view of what is going on in the street through it. Speaking generally, the outer walls of the house are not ornamented, but the layers of stone in the lower courses are often coloured red and white alternately. The doors of the houses which were built from 70 to 100 years ago are often beautifully ornamented, and the stone arches above them are frequently carved with intricate and delicate designs. A short passage leads the visitor into the courtyard of the house, where there is often a tree by the side of a well, or even several trees. The rooms which are on the ground floor are devoted chiefly to the servants and the male occupants of the house, and among them is the chamber in which male visitors are received. The floor of one portion of this room is higher than the rest, and on it are laid carpets and cushions or mattresses on which the visitors are expected to sit cross- legged. Sometimes long, low, wooden benches, with arms and backs, are arranged along each side of this room, and on E. Reception Room. F. Space over Reception Room. First Floor. (After Ebers and Poole.) Plan of a House 230 MUHAMMADAN ARCHITECTURE. these the cushions are placed. The walls above the cushions are often only limewhitened or distempered red or some shade of blue or green ; usually there are a number of small niches in them, with shelves, and these take the place of cupboards with us. Wealthy folk have their walls panelled with wood, inlaid , with bone or ivory, mother-of-pearl, etc., and the roof and beams are often inlaid and painted. On one side of such a room there are often several windows, and there is generally a window at the end which faces the door. The visitors sit or recline on the cushions, and if they are partaking of a meal they group themselves round the tray of food which is placed on a low stand ; in some houses in Egypt strict attention is paid to the position in a room which a visitor is invited to take. If he is an honoured or a very welcome guest he is invited to sit up at the end of the room near the master of the house ; if he is not he takes his seat near the door. The floor of the room near the door is lower than the portion on which the visitors sit, and it is here that they leave their shoes or sandals before they walk up on to the carpets. In a house of two or three storeys the rooms of the harim , i.e ., the women’s apartments, are on the upper floor or floors, and here the women of the household live with their servants, often in very considerable comfort. The husband and sons often have their rooms on this same floor, and there is also a guest room, which can be MOUSES OF EGYPT. 231 turned into a bedroom by night by bringing into it a few cushions, a pillow, and a padded blanket. The houses even of the best Arabs have little furniture in them, and almost any chamber can be turned into a reception room, or a dining room, or a bedroom, in half-an-hour. All the ornamentation of the older houses is in good taste, but in recent years the cheap wall-mirrors and tawdry coloured glass vases, and hideous oleographs, which are exported to Egypt by civilized nations, have -become common, and the signs of a refined and cultivated taste are rapidly disappearing under Western influence. The arrangement of the rooms on the third storey is much the same as of those on the second, but they are usually much smaller in size, and are occupied by the least important female members of the house- hold. The roofs are flat, and the inmates of the houses bring up their cushions and sleep in the open air during several months of the year. On the roof of every house of a certain size will be seen a sloping construction made of wood, the open part of which always faces the north. The object of this is to catch the north wind, and to conduct it down a passage or flight of stairs into the house. Sometimes it is made large enough for people to sit in. In the construction of dwelling-houses there seems to be no hard-and-fast rule, and the above remarks must be taken to refer to a comfortable house such as a middle-class family would live in. Wealthy folk usually live in houses which stand each in its own garden or grounds, which are planted with trees, and have tiled walks and fountains, raised balconies, etc., and in such cases the decoration of the interiors of the rooms, and of the doors, doorways, etc., is extremely fine. The European who is interested in architecture in general, and is accustomed to admire the work of Western architects, will probably be disappointed with the mosques and tomb- buildings of the Muhammadans in Cairo. Different reasons for this have been urged by different writers, but the most con- clusive, probably, are those which are described by Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole, in his Art of the Saracens , where he says (p. 83), “ The Saracen builders do not seem to have been possessed with an architectural idea ; the leading consideration with them seems to have been not form, but decoration. For the details of the decoration it is impossible to feel too much admiration ; they are skilfully conceived and worked out with remarkable patience, honesty, and artistic feeling. But the form, of which 232 MUHAMMADAN ARCHITECTURE. they are the clothing, seems too often to want purpose ; there is a curious indefiniteness about the mosques, a want of crown and summit, which sets them on a much lower level than the finest of our Gothic cathedrals. It is perhaps unfair to judge of them in their more or less ruinous state ; yet their present picturesque decay is probably more effective than was the sumptuous gorgeousness of their colours and ornament when new. The want of bold relief in the ornament is one of the most salient defects to us of the north : we find the surfaces of the mosque exteriors flat and monotonous. The disregard of symmetry is another very trying defect to eyes trained in other schools of architecture; the windows, minarets, etc., are scattered with no sense of balance ; and the dome, instead of crowning the whole edifice, covers a tomb at the side of the building, and thus infallibly gives it a lop-sided aspect. It is chiefly to the grace of their minarets, the beauty of their internal decora- tion, and the soft effects of the Egyptian atmosphere upon the yellowish stone of which they are built that the mosques of Cairo owe their peculiar and indestructible charm. A charm they have undoubtedly, which is apparent and fascinating to most beholders ; but it is due, I believe, to tone and air, to association, to delicacy and ingenuity of detail, and not to the architectural form. . . . Nevertheless, when all has been said, the mosques and older houses of Cairo possess a beauty of their own which no architectural canons can gainsay. The houses in particular, by their admirable suitableness in all respects to the climate of Egypt, their shady, restful aspect, and subdued light, must take a high place among the triumphs of domestic architecture. We may detect a lack of meaning in this feature and in that, but we are forced to admit that the whole effect is soft and harmonious, sometimes stately, always graceful, and that the Saracenic architecture of Cairo, whatever its technical faults, is among the most characteristic and beautiful forms of building with which we are acquainted.” The art of the Muhammadans expresses itself chiefly in the ornamentation of surfaces, which it covers with intricate and beautiful designs. One of the oldest forms of decoration is the plaster frieze, which was worked with a tool when moist, and was not cast; for about 600 years (640-1320) designs in plaster were commonly employed in the ornamentation of great mosques, and then plaster work was abandoned in favour of carved stone or marble. In stone, as in plaster, the floral motif predominates, but the designs in stone are far less MINARETS, 233 Minaret of Iskandar Minaret of Ibn TCilun. Pasha. 234 MUHAMMADAN ARCHITFXTURE. Minaret of Ka’it Bey. Minaret of Barkuk. Minaret of Al-Azhar. MINARETS. 235 Minaret of Al-Mu’ayyad. Minaret of Kala’un. Minaret of Sultan Hasan. 236 MUHAMMADAN ART. intricate than those in plaster. The stone pulpit set up in 1483 by Ka’it Bey in the Mosque of Barkhk is believed to be “ the most splendid example of stone chiselling that can be seen in Cairo,” and the finest geometrical ornament and pure arabesque work belong to this period. The Wakkalah or Khan built by Ka’it Bey on the south side of Al-Azhar Mosque was beautifully ornamented with designs of every kind, and the front of it, which faces the mosque, still exhibits a fine variety.* The stalactite or pendentive, bracketing, which is so marked a characteristic of Saracenic art, is also well displayed in the Mosque of Ka’it Bey. Its first and principal use is for masking the transition from the square of the mausoleum to the circle of the dome. The pendentiye was speedily adopted by the Arabs of Egypt in a great variety of shapes, and for almost every conceivable architectural and ornamental purpose; to effect the transition from the recessed windows to the outer plane of a building ; and to vault, in a similar manner, the great porches of mosques, which form so grand a feature characteristic of the style. All the more simple woodwork of dwelling-houses was fashioned in a variety of curious patterns of the same character; the pendentive, in fact, strongly marks the Arab fashion of cutting off angles and useless material, always in a pleasing and constructively advantageous manner.f The mosaic work of the Muhammadans appears to have been borrowed from the Copts ; it is unlike any mosaic work known in Europe, and is highly characteristic, and often very beautiful. Pieces of marble or hard stones of different colours, small plaques of porcelain, and pieces of mother-of- pearl are arranged in geometrical patterns, and are set in plaster. Certain portions of mosques are ornamented with mosaic work, and mosaic pavements are not uncommon. Like the ancient Egyptians, the modern inhabitants of the country were skilled workers in metal, and whether in chasing or engraving, or inlaying with gold, silver, or copper, the best artists have produced most beautiful specimens of their handicraft. The designs which are inlaid in metal panels, lamps, bowls, caskets, tables, etc., are chiefly of a geometrical and floral character, and are remarkable alike for their beauty and their continuity ; the best examples belong to the four- * Casts of a number of these, made from paper squeezes taken by Mr. Stanley Lane- Poole, are to be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum. •j - See E. Stanley Poole in -Lane’s Modern Egyptians , 5th edit., pp. 586-588. WOOD-CARVING AND GLASS-MAKING. 237 teenth century, and suggest that they were developed from a system of ornamentation which was introduced into Egypt from the East by way of Baghdad and Damascus. The arts of wood = carving and ivory-inlay work appear to have been borrowed from the Copts, in whose churches carved panels and panels inlaid with ivory were well known before the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs. Panel from the Pulpit in the Mosque of Ibn Tulun. Glass = making is an art which was practised in Egypt in very early times., well-known examples of glass objects being the opaque blue glass vase inscribed with the pre- nomen of Thothmes III, and the glass vessels from the tomb of Amen-hetep II, now in the British Museum. The earliest examples of Muhammadan glass objects in Egypt are the 238 MUHAMMADAN ART. glass coin standards, which are stamped with the names of Egyptian governors who ruled by the grace of the Khalifahs of Damascus and Baghdad in the eighth, ninth, and eleventh centuries of our era. In the eleventh century there seems to have been a glass lamp market near the Mosque of ‘Amr, and in the fourteenth century the art of glass-making reached its highest pitch of perfection. The oldest Arab A Window of the Mosque of Ibn Tiilun. glass vessel known is said to be in the collection of M. Charles Schefer ; it was made before 1277 for Badr ad-Din. Muhammadan glass-workers excelled in the making of lamps for mosques, and these show that their makers were tolerably expert glass-blowers, and could produce vessels of considerable size ; but the glass is of bad colour, and full of bubbles and imperfections. The makers had learned, probably from the Byzantines, the art of gilding and enamelling glass, and made POTTERY, MANUSCRIPTS, ETC. 239 much use of it. Inscriptions in large characters are favourite ornaments ; figures of birds, animals, sphinxes and other monsters are found. The outlines are generally put on in red enamel, the spaces between being often gilt. The enamels are used sometimes as grounds, and sometimes for the ornaments; the usual colours are blue, green, yellow, red, pale red, and white.* A fine collection of more than 60 enamelled glass lamps is exhibited in the National Museum of Arab Art in Cairo, and it is thought that they were all made in Egypt. The art of making pottery of a high class has died out in Egypt, and it is now only represented by the porous water-bottles which are made in Upper Egypt, and by the red-glazed cups, jugs, etc., which are made at Asyftt. This is a curious fact, especially when we remember that the potters of the Pre-Dynastic Period were past-masters in their craft, and that in the eleventh century of our era the potters of Cairo were famous for the delicateness of their vessels, the gracefulness of their shapes and forms, and the beauty of the iridescent glaze with which they were sometimes covered. Glazed porcelain tiles were largely used for mosques and other buildings in the Middle Ages in Cairo, but experts are not agreed as to which exactly were home made, and which were imported from Damascus. A good specimen of modern tile-work, on which the Ka'abah at Mecca is represented in perspective, is No. 167, Room 6, of the National Museum of Arab Art at Cairo. Finally, those who wish to gain an idea of Muhammadan art as illustrated by the writing and binding of manuscripts should visit the Khedivial Library and the Museum of Arab Art. In the former building there have been collected the fine illuminated copies of the Kur’an which originally belonged to the chief mosques of Cairo. The oldest of these is written in the Cufic, or Kfifi, character; the titles of the chapters are ornamented with gold, and there are several coloured letters in the text. It is said to have been written by Ja‘far As-Sadik, who lived early in the eighth century, but, although the book is undoubtedly very old, no one believes this story. From an artistic point of view the Kur’ans which were written in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries are more interesting. The characters of the copy written for Muhammad An-Nasir are all gilded, and the opening pages of that written for Khamend Baraka in the * Nesbitt, A., Descriptive Catalogue , p. lxiv. 240 MUHAMMADAN ART. 769th year of the Hijrah contain wonders of illumination and penmanship. Very beautiful work, both as regards writing and decoration, is found in some of the small copies of the Kur’an, which were carried as amulets by pious Muslims. Examples of these appear from time to time, and they are always instructive. These little books are about 3 inches square, and the text is written on very fine leaves of vellum in good black ink. The diacritical marks and vowels are often added in inks of various colours, and the titles of the chapters are in gold. At the beginning of the book pictures of the Ka‘abah at Mecca and other objects sacred to the Muhammadans are given in well-chosen artistic colours. A Kur’an amulet often takes the form of a beautifully illuminated vellum roll about 2\ inches wide and several feet in length. The case in which such an amulet is carried is usually made of silver, inscribed with sacred names and richly carved. The bindings of many Arab MSS. are beautiful pieces of work, but they have, of course, all the characteristics of Saracenic ornamentation, and many find the minute designs and all their intricacies disappointing and fatiguing to the eye. Designs with polygonal figures are often employed, and the arabesques appear frequently. According to some authorities a change came over the binder’s art when the Turks conquered Egypt, and the native industry perished. The Turks abandoned the polygonal design and the arabesque, and introduced a series of ornaments, the Persian origin of which was pro- claimed by their naturalistic motifs. The next step was to make use of a mould-stamp for the cover, and designs now became filled with figures of men and animals ; at a later time designs were pinked out, and portions of the leather were gilded or coloured according to the somewhat garish taste of the workman. The varnished bindings appear to be of Persian origin, and they do not in any case concern us, for they are too modern. At the present day fine binding is a lost art in Egypt. THE FAYYUM. 241 EXCURSIONS FROM CAIRO. I. The Fayyum. Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son have arranged Eight=day and Six=day Excursions to the Fayyum on camels, camping out each night in the desert, and returning from Madinat al-Fayyum, the chief town of the province, by train. The route is as follows : — First Day. — Start from Gizah Pyramids for Sakkarah and Dahshur. (Camp.) Second Day. — To Umm al-Dtal. (Camp.) Third Day. — To Tamiyah. (Camp.) Fourth Day. — To Lake Karun. (Camp.) Fifth Day . — Sail on Lake Karun, and ride to Sannures. (Camp.) Sixth Day . — At Sannures and ride to Madinat al-Fayyum. Seventh Day. — Ride to Hawarah and Lahun and back. Eighth Day. — Train from Madinat al-Fayyum to Cairo. The Six-day Excursion reaches Lake Karun on the second day, but to do this the traveller must ride from eight to ten hours each day ; this entails considerable fatigue and is not recommended for ladies. Beyond Lake Karun the Itineraries are identical. Information as to fares, days of starting, etc. , may be obtained from the Cairo office, or any other office, of Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son. The visitor to the Fayyum leaves the main line at Al-Wastah, with about 3,388 inhabitants ; for the stations on the line, see pp. 353, 354. The line from Wastah runs westwards, and its terminus is at Madinat al = Fayyum, with 44,400 in- habitants, a large Egyptian town situated a little distance from the site of Arsinoe in the Heptanomis, called Crocodilopolis by the Greeks, because the crocodile was here worshipped. The city was one of great importance under Ptolemy II, and it became virtually the Greek capital of Upper Egypt, and was actually regarded as a nome. The Egyptians called the Fayyum Ta-she <^==^ “the lake district,” and the name Fayyum is the Arabic form of the Coptic Phiom, “ the water.” The Fayyftm district has an area of about 850 square miles, and is watered by a branch of the Nile called the Bahr-Yftsuf, which flows into it through the Libyan mountains. O11 the west of it lies the Birkat al = Kurtin. This now fertile land is thought to have been reclaimed from the desert by Amen-em-hat III, a king of the XFIth dynasty. Q 242 LAKE MOERIS. The Birkat al-Kurun is formed by a deep depression in the desert scooped out of the Parisian limestone, which has become covered in great part by thick belts of salted loams and marls. On these Nile mud has been deposited. The Birkat al-Kurun is all that is left of the ancient Lake Moeris, and its water surface is about 130 feet below sea level. Its cubic contents are estimated at 1,500,000,000 of cubic metres. According to Pliny (v, 9), Lake Moeris was 250 miles (Mucianus says 450 miles) in circumference, and 50 paces deep; and its functions are thus described by Strabo (xvii, 1, § 37) : “ The Lake Moeris, by its magnitude and depth, is able “ to sustain the superabundance of water which flows into it at “ the time of the rise of the river, without overflowing the “ inhabited and cultivated parts of the country. On the “ decrease of the water of the river, it distributes the excess by “ the same canal at each of the mouths ; and both the lake “ and the canal preserve a remainder, which is used for “ irrigation. These are the natural and independent properties “ of the lake,* but in addition, on both mouths of the canal are “ placed locks, by which the engineers store up and distribute “ the water which enters or issues from the canal.” The Bahr-Ytisuf is said by some to have been excavated under the direction of the patriarch Joseph, but there is no satisfactory evidence for this theory ; strictly speaking, it is an arm of the Nile, which has always needed cleaning out from time to time, and the Ytisuf, or Joseph, after whom it is named, was some Muhammadan ruler of Egypt. Herodotus says (ii, 149) of Lake Moeris, “The water in this lake does not spring “ from the soil, for these parts are excessively dry, but it is “ conveyed through a channel from the Nile, and for six “ months it flows into the lake, and six months out again into “ the Nile. And during the six months that it flows out it “ yields a talent of silver (^240) every day to the king’s “ treasury from the fish ; but when the water is flowing into “ it, twenty rninae (^80).” That Lake Moeris was believed to have been artificially constructed is evident from the writings of many ancient writers, and Herodotus says, “ That “it is made and dry, this circumstance proves, for about “ the middle of the lake stand two pyramids, each rising “50 orgyse above the surface of the water, and the part built “ under water extends to an equal depth ; on each of these is “ placed a stone statue, seated on a throne.” The pyramids here referred to can be no other than the pedestals of two THE LABYRINTH. 243 large sandstone statues of Amen-em-hat III, which were set up either close by or in Lake Moeris ; remains of these were found at Biyahmu, with 3,918 inhabitants, by Dr. Lepsius, and later by Professor Petrie also. On the other hand, it has been proved recently by Sir H. Brown that there never was a Lake Moeris, and that what Herodotus saw and thought was a lake, was merely the Nile-flood, the “containing walls of the lake ” being only the dykes which separated the basins from each other. Thus, it seems, we must give up our belief in the existence of Lake Moeris. The Pyramid of Hawarah, about five miles from Madinat al-Fayyftm,was the tomb of Amen = em = hat III, and his daughter Ptah-nefert ; it is built of sun-dried bricks, and even now is of considerable size. It was entered in 1890 on the south side by Professor Petrie, who discovered the mummy chamber ; the remains of what must have been the funerary temple were also found near the entrance. The Labyrinth stood on the banks of Lake Moeris, and some have identified the ruins of the funerary temple of Amen-em-hat with it. Strabo (xvii, 8, § 37) declared that the tomb of the king who built the Labyrinth was near it, and describes it thus : “ After proceeding “ beyond the first entrance of the canal about 30 or 40 stadia, “ there is a table-shaped plain, with a village and a large palace “ composed of as many palaces as there were formerly nomes. “ There are an equal number of aulae, surrounded by pillars, “ and contiguous to one another, all in one line, and forming “ one building, like a long wall having the aulae in front of it. “ The entrances into the aulae are opposite to the wall. In “ front of the entrances there are long and numerous covered “ ways, with winding passages communicating with each other, “ so that no stranger could find his way into the aulae or out of “ them without a guide. The surprising circumstance is that “ the roofs of these dwellings consist of a single stone each, “ and that the covered ways through their whole range were “ roofed in the same manner with single slabs of stone of “ extraordinary size, without the intermixture of timber or of “ any other material. On ascending the roof — which is not of “ great height, for it consists only of a single story — there may “ be seen a stone-field, thus composed of stones. Descending “ again and looking into the aulae, these may be seen in a “ line supported by 27 pillars, each consisting of a single stone. “ The walls also are constructed of stones not inferior in size to “ them. At the end of this building, which occupies more Q 2 244 THE LABYRINTH. “ than a stadium, is the tomb, which is a quadrangular pyramid, “ each side of which is about four plethra (i.e:, about 404 feet) “ in length, and of equal height. The name of the person “ buried there is Imandes [Diodorus gives Mendes or Marrus]. “ They built, it is said, this number of aulae, because it was the “ custom for all the nomes to assemble there according to their “ rank, with their own priests and priestesses, for the purpose “ of performing sacrifices and making offerings to the gods, and “ of administering justice in matters of great importance. Each “ of the nomes was conducted to the aula appointed for it.” The account given by Herodotus (ii, 148, Cary’s translation) is as follows : — “ Yet the labyrinth surpasses even the pyramids. For it has “ 12 courts enclosed with walls, with doors opposite each other, “ six facing the north, and six the south, contiguous to one “ another ; and the same exterior wall encloses them. It con- “ tains two kinds of rooms, some under ground and some “above ground over them, to the number of 3,000, 1,500 “of each. The rooms above ground I myself went through, “ and saw, and relate from personal inspection. But the “ underground rooms I only know from report ; for the “ Egyptians who have charge of the building would on no “ account show me them, saying, that there were the sepulchres “ of the kings who originally built this labyrinth, and of the “ sacred crocodiles I can therefore only relate what I have “ learnt by hearsay concerning the lower rooms ; but the upper “ ones, which surpass all human works, I myself saw ; for the “ passage through the corridors, and the windings through the “ courts, from their great variety, presented a thousand occa- “ sions of wonder as I passed from a court to the rooms, and “ from the rooms to halls, and to other corridors from the “ halls, and to other courts from the rooms. The roofs of “ all these are of stone, as also are the walls ; but the walls are “ full of sculptured figures. Each court is surrounded with “ a colonnade of white stone, closely fitted. And adjoining “ the extremity of the labyrinth is a pyramid, 40 orgyse (about “ 240 feet) in height, on which large figures are carved, and a “ way to it has been made under ground.” The existence of the Labyrinth in Egypt has also been disproved, for it has been shown that the buildings which Herodotus regarded as a temple were, in reality, the town which had grown up in connection with the construction and maintenance of the pyramids close by. KASR KUR^N. 245 The Pyramid of Al = Lahun was entered by Mr. W. Fraser, who found it to be the tomb of Usertsen II ; like the Pyramid of Hawarah, it is built of sun-dried bricks. In 1914 Prof. Petrie found, near the Pyramid of Usertsen II at Al-Lahun, the tomb of an Egyptian Princess containing most beautiful jewellery of the same kind as that di^overed by Mr. J. de Morgan at Dahshur. With the exception of the pieces kept by the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the whole “ find” was sold by its discoverer to the Metropolitan Museum of New York, where it now is. The Birkat al = Kurun, which lies a few miles to the north-west of Madinat al-Fayyum, is the Lake Moeris of the Greeks. It has a surface of 2,500 square kilometres; its waters are about 130 feet below sea-level, and are brackish to the taste. A few miles to the east of the lake stood the towns of Karanis and Bacchias, the ruins of which have been excavated by Mr. D. G. Hogarth and Dr. Grenfell, and to the north are the ruins of the town of Dimah ; all these appear to have been founded in Ptolemaic times, but probably on the sites of old Egyptian towns. The ancient god of the whole district was Sebek, at one time a solar deity, who became incarnate in the crocodile. A little to the south-west of the lake is Kasr Kurun, i.e., the remains of a small Egyptian temple of the Ptolemaic Period ; it was dedicated to Amen-Ra, who became incarnate in a species of ram. The whole district of the Fayyum is one of considerable archaeological interest, and a careful examination of it would certainly result in the discovery of ruins now unknown. It is, however, unlikely that any very ancient remains will be found there, /.r ~y 1 that the place was situated in a swampy district, and that foreigners dwelt there. The Arabs have adopted the shorter name of the town, and call it San. Dr. H. Brugsch endeavoured to show that Tanis represented the town of Rameses, which was built by the Israelites, but his theory has not been generally accepted, although there is no doubt whatever that Tchar and Tanis are one and the same town. The other names of Tanis given by Dr. Brugsch in his great Dictiomiaire Geographique are “ Mesen, Mesen of the North, Teb of the North, and Behutet of the North.” Tanis was * See the Seventh Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund, London, 1890, p. 56, col. 2 ; also Fourth Memoir , London, 1887, p. 2 \ ff. j Zoan must have been considered a place of great importance by the Hebrews, for they date the founding of Hebron by it (Numbers, xiii, 22), and Isaiah, describing the future calamities of Egypt, says, “ Surely the princes of Zoan are fools” (Isaiah xix, 11). 248 TANIS, THE FIELD OF ZOAN. situated on the right or east bank of the Tanitic branch of the Nile, about 30 miles nearly due west of the ancient Pelusium ; and as it was near the north-east frontier of Egypt, it was always one of the towns which formed the object of the first attack of the so-called Hyksos, Syrians, Assyrians, Greeks, Arabs, and Turks. The excavations which have been made in the ruins round about San by Mariette and Petrie prove that Tanis must have been one of the largest and most impor- tant cities in the Delta. The earliest monuments found here date from the time of Pepi I, Vlth dynasty, about 3233 b.c. ; the next oldest are the black granite statues of Usertsen I and Amenemhat II, a sandstone statue of Usertsen II, an inscribed granite fragment of Usertsen III, and two statues of Sebek-hetep III. Following these come the most interesting black granite sphinxes, which are usually said to be the work of the so-called Hyksos, but which are, in the writer’s opinion, older than the period when these people ruled over Lower Egypt. The cartouches inscribed upon them only prove that many kings were anxious to have their names added to these monuments. The greatest builder at Tanis was Rameses II, who erected a temple with pylons, colossal statues, obelisks, and sphinxes. Pasebkhanu, Shashanq I, and Shashanq III repaired and added to the buildings in Tanis, and they took the opportunity of usurping sphinxes, obelisks, &c., which had been set up by earlier kings. Traces of such usurpations are found everywhere at San. Here, too, was found in the eastern portion of the ruins of the great temple, near the shrine, the famous Stele of Four Hundred Years. The stele was set up in honour of the god Set, by an official called Seti, who appears to have flourished in the reign of Rameses II. The inscription upon it, which is of the time of Rameses II, is dated in the four hundredth year of a Hyksos king named “ Aa-pehti-Set, son of the Sun Nub-Sel” which appears to prove that this king reigned 400 years before the time of Rameses II. Instead of being dated in the day and month and year of Rameses II in which it was set up, it is dated in the 400th year of the Hyksos king Nubti, a very remark- able fact. After Mariette had read and copied the text he reburied the stele in the place where he had found it. The last native king of Egypt whose name is mentioned at THMUIS— MENDES. 249 Tanis is Nectanebus II, and after him come the Ptolemies. The stele, commonly called the Decree of Canopus, which was set up in the ninth year of Ptolemy III, Euergetes 1 (238 b.c.), was found here. Under the Roman Empire Tanis still held a high position among the towns of the Delta, and the Egyptians considered it of sufficient importance to make it an episcopal see. In the list of the bishops who were present at the Council of Chalcedon (a.d. 451), the name of Apollonius, Bishop of Tanis, is found. Tanis must not be confounded with Tennis, the seaport town which grew and increased in importance as Tanis declined ; and it is difficult to understand why Tanis should have dwindled away, considering that Arab writers have described its climate as being most salubrious, and its winter like summer. Water was said to flow there at all times, and the inhabitants could water their gardens at their will ; no place in all Egypt, save the Fayyum, could be compared with it for fertility, and for the beauty of its gardens and vines. After the sixth century of our era the sea invaded a large portion of the territory around Tanis, and it went on encroaching each year little by little, until all its villages were submerged. The inhabitants removed their dead to Tennis, and established themselves there ; Tennis was evacuated by its inhabitants a.d. 1192, and the town itself was destroyed A.D. 1226. 4. About half-way between San and As-Salakiyah is Tall = Nabeshah, which marks the site of a fortified frontier town under Rameses II, and no doubt formed one of the chain of fortresses which he built across the north-east border of the Delta. The town existed in the XXVIth dynasty, for some of the kings of that dynasty repaired the temple of the local goddess. There is nothing of interest at Tall-Nabeshah. 5. Near Sinballawen, which is on the main line between Zakazik and Mansfirah, is the mound which the Arabs call Tamai al = Amdid, and which marks the site of the classical Thmuis. Close by is another mound, to which ancient Arab writers gave the name of Al = Mandid ; this marks the site of Mendes. In, or a little before, the Ptolemaic Period Thmuis and Mendes were incorporated, probably because the inhabitants of both places worshipped the ram. In the fourth century of our era Thmuis was a flourishing town, and possessed its own magistrates, and was exempt from the jurisdiction of the Governor of Alexandria. It was also an episcopal see, and Serapion, one of its bishops, is motioned 250 SAFT AL-HANNAH. by Herakleanus. The importance of Thmuis-Mendes is proved by the fact that Amasis II dedicated to the Ram-god a shrine, which was 23 feet high, and Ptolemy II restored the sanctuary, and took part in the ancient ceremonies which were performed in that city at the installation of a new Ram. The statues of Ptolemy II and his wife Arsinoe were placed near the Ram in the procession, and were carried through the streets followed by the chief men of the city, and- by crowds of rejoicing citizens. A few Egyptian monuments are still to be seen at this place. The name Tamai al-Amdid represents the two names Thmuis and Mendes. Tamai = Thmuis, and Amdid is a corruption of Mendes, which is the Greek form of the Egyptian name Ba-neb-tet, n S • There are a great many mounds in this district which conceal remains of ancient Egyptian buildings, and there is no doubt that under the XIXth dynasty the whole region was full of small towns, many of which were strongly built and fortified, so that they might resist the attacks of the nomad tribes from the Eastern Desert and Syria. It seems, however, that they had to be built on mounds artificially constructed, the object being to keep them above the waters of the inundation. The saturated soil and the storms of war and conquest do away with any hope that many fragile objects or papyri will be found among the ruins. 6. Close to the railway which joins Zakazik and Abti Hammad, and a little to the south of it, is Saft al = Hannah, which was explored by Professor Naville in 1884 ; it marks the site of a large, ancient Egyptian town, in which Raineses II built a fine temple, for a colossal statue of this king in black granite was found in a cornfield near the village. Some 40 or 50 years ago the fallahm discovered a rectangular, monolithic shrine, measuring 7 feet by 6 feet 9 inches by 6 feet, covered inside and out with beautifully executed inscriptions and scenes. The local Pasha, who thought that gold was hidden inside it, promptly had it broken in pieces, two of which were carried to his farm, and the remainder were used for building the bridges of Saft and Tahra Hamad ! The shrine was dedicated to the Ram-god and the Hawk-god of the East by Nectanebus II, the last native king of Egypt, about 360 b.c. A restoration of the sanctuary of these gods was made by Ptolemy II, probably about 100 years later. 7. West of the railway which runs from Mansurah to Mit DAMIETTA. 251 Samannud are the remains of a town which the Arabs call Bahbit aUHagar; these mark the site of an ancient Egyptian town which was either founded or rebuilt by Nectanebus II. At this place stood a temple of Isis, which was begun by Nectanebus II, and finished by Ptolemy II. The Egyptians called the town Pa-Hebet, from which the first part of the modern name is derived. The traveller who is visiting places in the Delta which are off the beaten track should not fail to include Damietta and Mansfirah in his route, for though nothing much is known of the early history of these towns, each possesses an interest peculiar to itself, and there are no places quite like them in the Delta. Damietta, the Dumyat of the Arabs, the Tamiati of the Copts, and the Thamiatis of the Greeks, is a flourishing town containing 30,984 inhabitants ; it stands on the east bank of the Phatnitic arm of the Nile (now called the Damietta branch), is about no miles from Cairo, and from four to six miles from the sea. A seaport town of considerable size must have existed here when the Pharaohs were reigning, and under the Ptolemies and Romans it was, no doubt, a position of great importance ; the old town probably stood nearer the sea than the modern one. Brugsch identified it with the Het-nebs, L,' — ~ J P©’ of the texts, but this identification is doubtful, and that town is probably that which the Arabs called Banabus. Damietta formed a port of call for many fleets, and the harbour was, as now, generally filled with sailing craft of all kinds. In the Middle Ages it did a large trade in a kind of linen stuff called, from the name of the place, “ dimity” (just as “damask ” is called after the name of Damascus), oil, coffee, dates, fish, etc. It was attacked in 1169 by the King of Jerusalem, who set up siege-towers and mangonels against it, but Saladin defended it ably, a storm wrecked many of the ships of the invaders, and they were obliged to return to Palestine. In 1218 it was besieged by John of Brienne in April of that year, and on St. Bartholomew’s Day, August 24th, it capitulated ; but after a two days’ battle the Crusaders were beaten, on August 31st they were obliged to evacuate Damietta, and on September 7th the whole of the Crusading army left Egypt in shame. In June, 1249, Louis IX landed at Damietta, the garrison fled, and the French king occupied it without striking a blow. The French made the same mistakes as John of Brienne, they were defeated in many fights, their ships were 252 CAIRO TO SlWAH. captured, and at length Louis and his army were held at ransom for 10,000,000 francs ; a large proportion of the ransom was paid, and the remnant of the force of the Crusaders sailed for Akka in November, having utterly failed to break the Arab power in Egypt. Damietta was then destroyed, and a new town was built further inland. The French took possession of Damietta in 1798, and gained a victory over the Turks in the following year ; they were, however, expelled soon after by the British under Sir Sidney Smith. Under the rule of Muhammad ‘Ali some attempt was made to increase the com- mercial prosperity of the town, but the good effect was not permanent ; in recent years the town has suffered greatly through the growth and development of Port Sa‘id. Mansurah, the “city of victory,” is about 95 miles from Cairo, and has a population of 49,238 inhabitants, the principal occupations of which are connected with the cotton trade. There are numerous large manufactories here where cotton is worked and oil is pressed from the seeds, and the town is a thriving one. Several of the streets are wide, and the houses are large and well built, according to the French pattern. The mosque is well worth a visit, for several of the pillars of its arches were taken from buildings which were probably Christian, and the pulpit is of carved woodwork. The town stands on the right or east bank of the Phatnitic (Damietta) branch of the Nile, which is here both broad and deep. Mansurah is not older than the time of the Crusaders, and it was to this place that the Egyptians fled when Louis IX of France seized Damietta. During this unfortunate crusade Louis and his three armies charged right through the Muslim camp into Mansurah, and out on the other side ; but here he was attacked by 10,000 Mamluks, and Robert, Count of Artois, and 300 of his men, and nearly all the Templars, and William Longsword and nearly all the English, were slain. The Muslims counted t,5oc knights and nobles among the dead. 3. Cairo to Siwah, or the Oasis of Jupiter Ammon. A journey to the Oasis of Jupiter Ammon may be made either from Cairo or Alexandria, but the shorter route is from Cairo via the Oasis of Garah. If the traveller decides to start from Alexandria, two ways are open to him : he may journey along the sea-coast from Alexandria to Baralum, the Parsetonium OASIS OF JUPITER AMMON. 253 of classical writers, and then march southwards to Siwah, that is to say, to the Oasis, or, he may travel still further along the sea-coast until he reaches Katabathm,us Major, the modern ‘Akabat al-Kabir, when, marching southwards, he will reach Siwah without difficulty. In each case the length of time required for the journey varies between 18 and 20 days ; it is impossible to make a more definite statement, for so much depends upon the individual traveller and his mounts. Apart from this, sandstorms are more frequent and intense at some seasons of the year than others, and caravans, small or great, may be delayed for days at a time by them. If the traveller prefers to start from Cairo, he must set out from the neighbour- hood of Gizah, and follow the old Pilgrim Route, which runs in a north-west direction, until he arrives at the south-east end of the Wadi Natrun or “Natron Valley.” From this point he travels almost due west for about 15 days, when Siwah is reached. The ancient Egyptians called the . Oasis of Jupiter Ammon by the name of Sekhet-Amit, OT and the Arabic name is Siwah. Of the early history of the Oasis nothing is known. Herodotus tells us (iii, 25) that when Cambyses reached Thebes he sent 50,000 men to reduce the inhabitants of this Oasis to slavery, and to burn their temple. It is said that this force marched for several days from Thebes, and reached the Islands of the Blessed, i.e . 9 the Oases of Khargah and Dakhlah, but that having attempted to proceed to the Oasis of Jupiter Ammon, when they were about half way, “as they were taking dinner a strong and vehement south “ wind blew, and carrying with it heaps of sand, covered them 61 over, and in this manner they disappeared.” Alexander the Great visited the Oasis, and on his way the Cyrenaeans brought him gifts ; the god worshipped there was Amen. The object worshipped was made of emerald, surrounded by precious stones, and was, as Prof. Naville has shown, set in the circular hollow of a shield-shaped object which was placed in a boat. Amen saluted Alexander, and acknowledged him as his son ; this was the whole point of the visit. According to Quintus Curtius (iv, 7) the track to the Oasis was barely practicable to a small band lightly equipped. Water, from springs or from the clouds, is rarely afforded. The solar heat is in- tolerable ; the atmosphere is a glowing vapour ; a desolate expanse of sand burns the feet. The traveller has to struggle 254 OASIS OF JUPITER AMMON. with a deep layer of loose sharp dust, which, giving way to the tread and sticking to the flesh, renders stepping painful. Alexander, however, was stimulated by a powerful desire to present himself before “Jupiter, whom, dissatisfied with a mortal origin, he believed to have been his father ; or, he designed that others should believe it.” As the king was approaching, the senior priest saluted him as “ son,” affirming that his father Jupiter bestowed that title. Alexander replied that he accepted it, and enquired whether his father had destined him to the empire of the globe. The priest replied that “ he should govern the whole earth.” He then asked whether all who conspired and killed his father had been punished, and the answer was that “the crime of no one “could hurt the memory of his father, and that all the “ murderers of Philip had suffered punishment, and that “ Alexander should continue to be invincible till he joined the “ assembly of the gods.” Alexander’s friends then asked the god if they were to pay divine honours to their king, and he replied that “it was agreeable to Jupiter that they should “ render to their victorious king the honours of divinity.” The Oasis is about six miles long, and from a quarter of a mile to four or five miles wide; it possesses hot springs and a sulphur mine, and the Fountain of the Sun (18 feet deep), and about 150 springs. It contained 300,000 olive trees and palm trees in 1907, and in 1917 its inhabitants were 3,267. The hill called Gabal Muta is full of ancient tombs, which have never been properly examined. The principal towns of the Oasis are Siwah and Akermi, each being in the possession of a powerful tribe ; these two tribes are often at war, but hostilities are not carried so far as formerly, when the Oasis was independent of Egypt. In the town of Akermi apparently was situated the Egyptian fortress which is described by Diodorus, and the temple which belonged to it stood on the site now occupied by the village of Umm al-Bedah. In the latter place Cailliaud and Minutoli found the remains of a sanctuary, with many lines of hieroglyphic writing, and close by were discovered reliefs, with figures of the gods, and the ordinary descriptions of the gifts which they gave to the king accom- panied them. The size of the reliefs suggested that the temple was one of considerable importance, and it is probable that the Oasis was fortified at the end of the XIXth dynasty, when the Libyans began to occupy the outlying lands of the Western Delta. The remains which have been found in THE NATRON VALLEY. 255 various parts of the Oasis prove beyond a doubt that the occupation of the place by the Egyptians was a very effective one. The advantage of visiting the Oasis of Siwah from Cairo is that, either going or returning, the traveller can pay a visit to the Monasteries in the Wadi an-Natrfin, or Natron Valley.* Those who do not wish to see more of the desert than they can help, and who only care to visit the Monasteries, had better go by train from Cairo to Al-Wardan or Bani Salamah, and then cross the desert to the Natron Valley. The Natron Valley obtains its name from the muriate of soda t which has always been obtained there in large quantities ; the Egyptians called the salt lies men, § f| , and the classical writers “ natron.” According to Strabo (xvii, i, 23), this was produced by two lakes, but other writers give the number of lakes as six, and some enumerate eight ; the old inhabitants of the Natron Valley worshipped Serapis, and Strabo says they were the only people in Egypt who sacrificed the sheep. The length of the Natron Valley is about 20 miles, and near the middle of it was the town, commonly called Scete, where the Christian monks built a large settlement; Scete is said to have been one and a half day’s journey from Lake Mareotis, but exactly which part of the Lake is referred to is not said. Ecclesiastical writers distinguish carefully between the different parts of the Natron Valley, thus there was the town of Nitria, the town of Scythia (Scete), Petra, the Cells and the Ladder (/A/yimf). At the end of the first half of the fourth century Christian recluses began to assemble there, and, led by Macarius the Egyptian, they emulated the lives of Anthony the Great, and other early ascetics. Some 5,000 monks lived there, and there were 600 anchorites in the desert near ; there were seven bakeries there, a church, and a guest house or khan , where doctors practised. The monks fasted all the week, went to church on Saturday evening and Sunday, and ate a meal on the latter day, and drank water. They maintained themselves by the weaving of mats, which, incidentally, gave their hands something to do, and yet permitted them to think of their sins. The place called the Ladder was 18 miles from water ; the Cells were 10 miles from Nitria and four from * For the interesting description of the Wadi an-Natrun by the Hon. N. Charles Rothschild and the Hon. Francis Henley see W. E. de Winton in Novitates Zoologicae , Vol. X, August, 1903. t Also sulphate of soda, carbonate of soda, chloride of sodium, etc. 256 LIBRARIES OF THE NATRON VALLEY. the church. The buildings which may now be seen in the Natron Valley are : — The Monastery of Macarius contains three churches, and two or three chapels ; the saint is said to be buried in this Monastery. About io miles to the west is the Monastery of Anba Bishai, and in the chapel dedicated to the Virgin the saint is said to be buried. A little further to the west is the Syrian Monastery, or Der Suryani, which was built by John the Dwarf in the reign of Constantine, the son of the Empress Helena, who, tradition asserts, found the True Cross ; it was formerly in a very flourishing condition, and in the filth and sixth centuries possessed a very valuable library. It contains three churches, the largest and finest being dedicated to the Virgin. The Monastery of Baramus lies six or eight miles further to the west, and also contains a church dedicated to the Virgin. The few monks who live in these monasteries are poor, but their courtesy and hospitality are well known ; their possessions are few, and, though they may not equal Macarius in their ascetic strenuousness, no one will deny that their lives are sufficiently hard, and that they are dead to the world. The Natron Valley has been the resort of ascetic Christians from the earliest times, for Frontonius took up his abode there in the second century ; Habib, the Arab, the friend of the Prophet, also withdrew there in troublous times. In the seventh century the monks there numbered 3,500. In modern times the Valley has been visited by Egidius Lochiensis in 1633, who saw 8,000 MSS. there ; Wansleb in 1672 and 1673, who saw three or four chests full of MSS. ; Huntingdon in 1678 and 1679; Gabriel Eva in 1706, who saw a cellar full of MSS.; J. E. Assemani in 1707, who bought some MSS., which came to the Vatican; J. S. Assemani in 1715 (with Claude Sicard) ; Granger in 1730; Sonnini in 1778; Andreossi in 1799, who brought away some MSS. with him. In 1828 Lord Prudhoe went to the Natron Valley, and acquired a number of Coptic MSS. from the Monastery of Baramfis ; in 1837 the Hon. R. Curzon also obtained several vellum MSS. at the monasteries, and in 1838 the Rev. H. Tattam purchased 49 Syriac MSS., which he sold to the Trustees of the British Museum. The same year the Trustees of the British Museum sent Mr. Tattam to Egypt to obtain the MSS. which were still there, and of these he was so fortunate as to secure about 314, which arrived at the British Museum in 1843. In 1845 M. A. Pacho (not the THE OASES. 257 traveller Pacno, who committed suicide on January 26th, 1829) went and lived with the monks for six weeks, and in the end succeeded in obtaining the remainder of the MSS., about 190 in number ; 172 of these came to the British Museum in 1847, 10 were sold to the Trustees in 1851, and M. Pacho kept back and sold several to the Imperial Public Library in St. Petersburg in 1852. All these MSS. really came from the Convent of St. Mary Deipara (Der Suryani), and the impor- tance of the Library cannot be over-estimated, for it has supplied us with some of the oldest dated books in existence, has given us the Syriac Bible in several versions, the Epistles of Ignatius, the works attributed to Clement, Patristic litera- ture of all kinds, and a considerable number of native Syrian works, most of which were unknown prior to the discovery of the Library. As we are told that the Natron Valley held about 100 monasteries during the sixth and seventh centuries, it is not difficult to imagine what literary treasures their Libraries must have contained. At the present time there are no MSS. of importance in the Natron Valley, and only those who are interested in archaeology are recommended to visit it. The reader who is interested in the history of the discovery of the MSS. should read Visits to Monasteries in the Levant, by the Hon. R. Curzon, 5th ed. 1865, p. 86, an article by Cureton in the Quarterly Review , No. CLIII, p. 51 ; and the privately printed “Journal” kept by Miss Platt, who accompanied her stepfather, the Rev. H. Tattam, on his journey in search of MSS. in 1839. The population of the Wadi an-Natrhn was 1,104 in I 9 I 7 - 4. The Oases. To the west of the Nile, in the Great Libyan Desert, at various distances from the river, are a number of fertile tracts of land, with trees, wells, etc., which have been inhabited from time immemorial. To such a place the ancient Egyptians gave the name of Uahet G ^ [W)’ whence the Copts derived their word and the Arabs A l- Wah, and western nations the word “ oasis.” The exact meaning of the Egyptian word is unknown, but it no doubt was intended to convey the idea of the limited area which could be irrigated by the natural springs or wells which existed in it. The principal Oases in the R A 258 THE OASES OF StWAH AND BAHARIYAH. western desert are : — (t) The Oasis of Siwah, or Jupiter Ammon. (2) The Oasis of Bahariyah. (3) The Oasis of Farafrah. (4) The Oasis of Dakhlah. (5) The Oasis of Al-Khargah. (6) The Oasis of Khrktir. (7) The Oasis of Salimah. The Oasis of Siwah may be reached without difficulty from Cairo or Alexandria ; both routes have already been described (see p. 252). It may be reached in 12 days by camel from Damanhftr. The Oasis of Bahariyah, /. and is derived from the old Egyptian. “ Oasis” is a Graecized form of the same word. Oases is called in Egyptian had its special name ; Khargah was , the “Southern “ Oasis dwellers ” 1. Under the XVIIIth and OASIS OF KHARGAH, 265 View from the east of the Temple dedicated to Amen-Ra by Darius the Great in the city of Hebt (Hibis). (From Hoskins.) 266 OASIS OF KHARGAH. Christian Era many Christians in Egypt were driven to flee from persecution to Khargah,* where, according to an ancient tradition preserved among the Ethiopians, St. Bartholomew preached the Gospel. Khargah was a place of banishment, and many dignitaries of state, both civil and ecclesiastical, were deported thither. Nestorius was sent there in banish- ment, but curiously enough was rescued by a company of the Blemmyes from the Northern Sftdan, who conveyed him back to Egypt, where, however, he soon after died. With the bishops and others who were banished to Khargah went many well-to-do folk, and by the end of the IVth century there were several monastic institutions there and churches, and the Christians were to a certain extent allowed to worship God in their own way. The size and importance of the Christian settlement is proved by the fine, large, crude- brick tombs which are still to be seen there on the hill to the west of the railway line, about one mile to the north of the temple of Darius. In the second half of the Vllth century Islam was brought to the Oasis, but the Arabs allowed the halting places on the plateau to fall into decay, and little by little Khargah became cut off from Egypt. The first modern traveller to visit Khargah was Poncet, who left Asyflt on October 2, 1698. He says : — “From that very Day we enter’d a frightful Desart. These “ Desarts are extremely dangerous, because the Sands being moving “are rais’d by the least Wind which darken the Air, and failing “afterwards in Clouds, Passengers are often buried in them, or at “ least lose the Route; which they ought to keep. We Arrived on the “6 th of' October at Heloane ; ’Tis a pretty large Borough, and the last “ that is under the Grand Signior’s Jurisdiction. There is a Garrison “in it of 500 Januaries and 300 SpahUs under the Command of an “ Officer whom in that Country they call Kashij r .+ Heloane is very “ pleasant, and answers fully its Name, which signifies a Country of “Sweetness. Here are to be seen a great number of Gardens “ water’d with Brooks, and a World of Palm-trees, which preserve “a continual Verdure. Coloquintida is to be found there, and all “ the fields are fill’d with Senna, which grows upon a Shrub, about “three Foot High. This Drug which is so much Esteem’d in “ Europe, is of no use in the Country hereabouts. The Inhabitants “ of Heloane in their Illnesses, make only use of the Root of Ezula , “which for a whole Night they infuse in Milk, and take the day “ after, having first strain’d it thro’ a Sieve. This Medicine is very “ Violent, but ’tis what they like and commend very much. The * The word used is ■ “ Al-Wah,” i. e. , the Oasis. I /.., Asyftt), who paid a portion of the price in clothes, ornaments, spices, arms, beads, mirrors, perfumes, metal vessels, nails, tools, etc., and the rest in hard cash, wherewith the taxes were paid to the Government. Each palm above a certain age pays a tax of 15 milliemes (3fd.) a year, and each 250 cubic metres of water are taxed 1 millieme a year. Trades and manufactures there are none, and the people have been content to take what Nature has given them, and neither to seek nor expect anything else. Formerly they only received news of the outside world once a year, in the autumn, when the Dar Ffir caravan from Asyfit passed through Khargah on its way south, by the famous Arba‘in, or Forty Days’ Road, which is about 1,000 miles long. Men usually wear only one loose woollen garment and a white cotton cap ; the women also wear only one garment, but the wives and daughters of the well-to-do wear many ornaments. Many of the children resemble Italian children, and some are pretty. The women make baskets of various shapes and sizes with consummate skill, and the traveller will find their palm-leaf fans and “fly-flappers ” very useful. It is interesting to note that far less coffee is drunk than formerly, and that tea is rapidly taking its place. Population. — The Omdah Shekh Mustafa Hanadi informed me that the population of Khargah was in 1917 5,400, of Bfilak 1,091, of B&ris 1,316, and of Gannah 373 souls; total 8,160 souls. The number of Christians in the whole district was 20. In 1837 the total population of the Oasis was 4,300 (Hoskins, p. 89). Religion. — The inhabitants are Muslims, and, except a Coptic clerk, there was not a Christian in the Oasis in April, 1909. Although they are followers of the Prophet, a great many characteristics of the Christianity of earlier times have been preserved in their manners and customs. Thus they OASIS OF KHARGAH. 271 baptize their children on the second day after birth, and they bury their dead in a very simple manner. The marriage ceremony is simple also. The man says to the woman “ I have taken thee ” in the presence of a witness, and the marriage is legal, in every respect. Their chief festival of the year is celebrated at Easter, and for weeks before the natives save their eggs and colour them purple with a solution of perman- ganate of potash. The laws are the laws of their ancestors, and the precedents always quoted are the acts of the “ grandfather ! Tomb of a Shekh at Khargah. of my father.” The fanaticism usually attributed to the Muhammadan is not found in the Oasis. Description of Khargah Oasis. — The Oasis is divided into two parts by a waste of sand which lies across the middle of it. The village of Khargah lies about a mile and a half from the terminus of the railway. On the northern outskirt are several Kubbas (pronounced Gubbas) or sheikhs’ tombs, among them being the tombs of Atman, Mukullah, Yftsuf, Arif, Husert, Hammad, Radwan, etc. Passing over several broad spaces where the cattle usually tread out the corn, the village is entered. The houses are of crude brick, and vary greatly in size. The tops of the walls are decorated with palm leaves, 272 OASIS OF KHARGAH. which are renewed at the great festival of the year. The streets are tortuous, and when those which are covered over are reached, they become very narrow; many are cut through the living rock. It is impossible to see at all in some of them, and a guide is absolutely necessary. They are cool in the hottest weather, and were formerly used as hid- ing places by the natives when attacked by desert Arabs. Much grain is stored in the houses, and the cattle can be hidden there. The chief shop is a curious place. Further on is a square, with a post office on one side, a small barracks on another, and the Government office ot the Muawin, or Governor, on the third. A few minutes brings the visitor to the mosque, the prin- cipal walls and minaret of which are built of stone. A few of the stones have Christian symbols upon them, and must have come from some Coptic build- ing ; on one stone I saw Egyptian hieroglyphics. Portions of the building must be several hundreds of years old. Close by is a house of entertainment, where tea and eggs, fried on an earthenware platter, can be obtained. There The Mosque at Khargah. is nothing else to be seen in the village, but the gardens and groves of palms form a lovely setting for this quaint old- world place. Most of the openings in the ground from which OASIS OF KHARGAH, 273 Temple of Kasr Gai'tah. 274 OASIS OF KHARGAH. water rises are artificial, and such pipes as exist, except those recently placed there by Europeans, are of wood. The water is sometimes salt, sometimes it smells of sulphur, and some- times it is sweet. The fields are usually triangular in shape. Excursions. — About ten miles south of Khargah is TTrrr - 1 , . wiiiyii Gannah, near which stand the §11111 Q| IQ BBS ruins of a Ptolemaic temple, which i was dedicated to the triad Amen- Wm H Ra,Mut and Khensu by Euergetes. I ——™ H Here are two famous wells from SB which water has been flowing for Bp many hundreds of years. The i BLg— nr i ii w i flzimjnBfj temple is commonly known as B BB pBMI PjBKBBll Kasr Gaitah, or Kasr al-Guatah. |H Six miles from Bfilak is Kasr az = jlll H % HI Zayan, where stands a temple m built by Antoninus Pius . (a.d. .] 142). It was dedicated to Amen, |Bf ^ ® HB the god of the city of Hebt, in and to the Egyptian HlJ § , Plan of the Temple Gaitah. Kasr other gods who were worshipped with him there, as stated in the Greek inscription found in the temple.* The ancient name of the place is Tchonemyris, i.e., the town of Khnemu-Ra. The temple was surrounded by a brick wall 230 feet long, 84 feet broad, and 3 feet thick ; and the temple itself measured 44J feet in length and 25 feet in width, and is oriented to the south. In the reliefs Antoninus Pius is seen making offerings to Khnemu, Osiris, Isis, and Horus. In the southern half of the Oasis are the following villages : Dakakin, a very pretty oasis village ; Baris, the chief village in the south part of the Oasis ; and Maks, the last village in the south, which is divided into two parts, North Maks and South Maks. About half-way between Baris and Maks is Dush al- Kala‘a, where are found the ruins of the famous temple of Dftsh, or Kysis, to give the place the classical form of the Egyptian name * The temple and vestibule were repaired and renewed under Avidius Heliodorus, governor of Egypt, Septimius Macro being Commander-in-chief, and Plinius Capito general of the forces. OASIS OF KHARGAH. 275 Kus. The temple stands on a hill, within a very thick wall in which are built several staircases and galleries ; the total length of the enclosure was about 250 feet. The temple was built in the 19th year of Trajan, i.e., a.d. 116, when Marcus Rutilius Rufus was Prefect of Egypt,* and measures 48 feet in length, 25 feet in width, and is oriented to the south. The vestibule is 13 feet in length and 16 feet in breadth , the portico next it measures 27 feet in length and 18 feet in breadth, and has four columns. Three doorways in the north wall lead into two long chambers and the sanctuary, which had a division across the centre. The length of this portion of the temple is about 23 feet. Both the chambers and the sanctuary have arched roofs. Remains of a building at Al-Kasr. (From Cailliaud.) On the north wall are sculptures in which the Emperor Domi- tian is represented making offerings to Horus. About 180 feet from the temple is the ruin of some brick building, probably of a monastery ; it is about 60 feet in length, and is remarkable as containing a true Gothic arch. The age of the building is unknown. * A correct copy of the Greek text of the inscription on the first pylon is given by Dittenberger (ii, p. 421). S 2 276 OASIS OF KhArGAH. Antiquities of Khargah. — The most important of these is the famous temple at Hibis built by Darius I, 521 b.c., and added to by Darius II, and restored by Nektanebes, 378-360 b.c. ; it is the only Persian temple in Egypt. It is about 150 feet in length and 60 feet in breadth, and has a forecourt and three pylons ; its enclosure was about 500 feet long. It is oriented almost due east and west. On the north side it is almost hidden by thick groves of palm trees, and close by it runs a clear stream of water ; on the south is a large pool of water, which probably occupies the site once held by the sacred lake. On the north side of the first pylon is a Greek inscription of 66 lines dated in the second year of the reign of the Emperor Galba (a.d. 69), and from it we learn that the inhabitants had made complaints about the manner in which they were ruled and had formulated their grievances in various petitions to the authorities. The inscription is a decree in which redress Plan of the Temple of Kysis. is promised to the people, and it lays down regulations con- cerning taxation and orders that henceforth the persons of men shall not be seized for debt, that men shall not be made tax- collectors against their will, that no freeman shall be imprisoned, that a man shall not be tried twice for the same offence, etc. On the south side of the same pylon are Greek inscriptions, one of which was cut in the reign of the Emperor Tiberius Claudius. Between this pylon and the gateway are the remains of an avenue of sphinxes, or rams, and the first and second pylons were joined by a similar avenue, nearly 50 feet long. The third pylon is 140 feet from the second, and on it are sculptures, in which Darius is represented making offerings to Amen and other gods. The vestibule is 25 feet from the third pylon, and is about 52 feet long and 32 feet broad. At each side of the vestibule is a doorway. The OASIS OF KHARGAH. 277 temple proper is about 150 feet long. The hall contains 1 2 columns, the pronaos four columns, and the sanctuary has likewise four columns, and several small chambers on each side of it. Strictly speaking, there are two sanctuaries in this portion of the temple, a fact which is proved by the breach in the sequence in the reliefs on the walls. On the south side are the staircase, which leads to the roof, and a crypt; on the north side are the staircase and the chambers which were dedicated to the worship of Osiris. There are also three doorways, one in the hall, one in the pronaos, and one in the sanctuary. The portion of the temple here called the pronaos, though it has been thought to be the chamber in which offerings were presented, is peculiar to this temple. In it we find representations of the king offering jars of wine to Amen and other deities, and inscriptions containing a list of offerings, a wonderful Hymn to Ra in 46 lines, and the Secret Ordinances of Amen, which, it is stated, were copied from wooden tablets. As the visitor passes into the sanctuary he will see cut on the door jambs inscriptions in the so-called “ enigmatic writing.” The reliefs in the sanctuaries are of great interest mythologically, and it is clear that they deal chiefly with the ceremonies which were per- formed annually in Egypt in connection with the festivals held to commemorate the death, burial, and resurrection of Osiris. Many of the gods have forms which appear to have been unknown about 1500 b.c., but several of them are cut upon the well-known “ Metternich Stele.” The outside of the temple is covered with poorly executed sculpture of little interest. The scenes are presentations of offerings to the gods. In some places the decorations are un- finished. For the cartouches of the kings who restored this temple see the List of Kings on pp. 727-749. Behind the temple is a small detached building, the use of which is un- known, and to the south-west of the west 1 i r. I Plan of the Temple of Hibis. 278 OASIS OF KHARGAH. end is another detached building, which Hoskins thought might have served as a dwelling for the priests. Compared with the great temples of Karnak and Abydos, the temple of Darius is inferior both as regards plan and execution. Still, it is a remarkable building, and should be seen and carefully Figures of the gods and mythological scenes from the Sanctuary of Osiris in the Temple of Darius at Khargah. (From Hoskins.) examined by every lover of Egyptian architecture. It is unfair to contrast it too closely with highly-finished buildings like the Temple of Seti I at Abydos, for we do not know what it would have been like had it been completed. It must also be re- membered that Khargah is about 130 miles from the Nile, and that workmen and tools would have to be transported from Egypt across that terrible stone plateau to build the temple. It may reasonably be asked, Why did Darius and the Ptolemies OASIS OF KHARGAH. 279 and the Roman Emperors build so many fine temples in this Oasis? None of the kings of Egypt built temples solely with the view of spreading the knowledge of their religion among the outlying peoples of their Empire, for none of them possessed the spirit of missionary enterprise. They built temples in the Sfidan and the Oases and Sinai solely with the idea of encouraging and developing trade and commerce, and temples and their neighbouring buildings served both as fortified outposts and storage places for gold and other merchandise. The great trade route from Egypt to Dar Ftir passed through the Oasis of Khargah, and the temples stood near it, so that the garrisons might afford protection for the caravans and the goods which they brought from the far south. The temple of Dush (Kysis) was at the south end of the Oasis, and the temple of Khargah at the north. Wherever an important trade centre existed there was a temple built. Darius, the Ptolemies, and the Romans developed the Sftdan trade to a remarkable degree, and the temples of the Oasis prove that the products of the south were of great value. In recent years the glory of the old Forty Days’ Road (Darb al-Arba‘in) has departed, and the British have caused most of the Sftdan trade to follow the course of the Nile. Should that route, however, become unsafe, the old desert roads would be again used by the merchants, and caravans would travel to the south by the routes which they followed for thousands of years. Wall of unbaked bricks. ■J The temple of Nadurah stands on a hill rather more than half a mile to the south east of the temple of Darius. The main building is about 36 feet in length and 26 feet in breadth, and stands in an en- closure surrounded by a brick wall. It was probably built by- Antoninus Pius about a.d. 140. Of special interest is the early Christian Cemetery, called Plan of the Temple of Nadurah. Al-Baghwat, j “the tombs,” which stands on the southern slopes of Jabal Ter, about a mile from the temple of Darius. Here are the ruins of about 200 tombs. These rise one above the other, and as they are built in streets the place may be fittingly described as a city of the dead. The tombs are built 2S0 OASIS OF KHARGAH. General view of the Christian Cemetery at Khargah. OASIS OF KHA.RGAH. 281 of crude brick, and many consist of a single chamber measuring about 20 feet in length by 15 feet in width. Inside many have arches with recesses, and the doorways are usually ornamented with pillars. The bodies were laid in pits, like the mummy pits of Egypt, and even in Hoskins’ days many of the tombs had been plundered by the natives, who left portions of the grave-clothes of the dead lying about in all directions, Most of the tombs are rectangular and have domes ; the fronts and sides are decorated with arches, which are supported by pillars. One is a large building, and has aisles, like a church, and a Interior of a funerary chapel at Khargah. few are decorated with painted figures of Christian saints. The building with the aisles was probably a funerary chapel, in which services commemorative of the dead were held. Its facade is ornamented with eleven columns, supporting ten arches ; under each arch is a window, and a triangular niche. On the inside, the visitor will notice the Egyptian symbol of life ankh, which the early Christians identified with the cross. In one tomb, which is well worth a visit, the inside of the dome is covered with pictures representing Adam and Eve ; Abraham, Isaac, and Sarah, with a ram and a sacrificial altar ; Daniel and the lions’ den ; Noah in the Ark, wherefrom a dove is departing; Justice with the Scales; and figures of Christ, 282 OASIS OF KHARGAH. Isaiah, Mary, Paul, Thekla and Irene. The legends in Greek describe the scenes depicted. There is another tomb decorated in the same manner, but the scenes are more elaborate and in some respects more interesting. The artist attempted to depict the principal scenes in Bible history, and even some of the The Christian Cemetery at Khargah. (From Cailliaud. ) Parables, for in this tomb we find figures of the Wise and Foolish Virgins. In the centre of each tomb is the pit wherein the body was buried, after it had been embalmed and swathed in linen. These tombs were built for wealthy Christians who resided in the Oasis, and they prove that at the time when they were built the town of Hebt was in a flourishing condition. In 1908-9, Mr. Lythgoe and Mr. Winlock began to excavate a portion of the Christian cemetery at the expense of Mr. Pierpont Morgan. During the winter of 1909-10 they con- ducted a series of excavations at the great temple of Hibis, and Prof. Maspero appointed M. Emile Baraize to consolidate and restore the temple whilst it was being cleared by them. They cleared the ground outside the temple, and on both sides of the temple excavations were made down to the ancient surface level. A number of reliefs, hitherto buried, were brought to light, and in one of them Darius is seen in a boat picking OASIS OF KHARGAH. 283 flowers to offer to the god Menu, and in another the god Sutekh is seen slaying the Serpent of Evil. Mr. Winlock states in his report that of the existing temple two stages of construc- tion have been discovered earlier than the reign of Nektanebo, also remains of additions and changes which were made in Ptolemaic times, and have been hitherto unknown. The remains of an exterior stone wall built by Ptolemy II have been discovered, and portions of reliefs of Ptolemy III, etc. The temple flourished during the whole of the Ptolemaic Period, and all through the early centuries of our era. In Christian times a small church was built in the north-east corner, and fragments of Arab glass prove that the Oasis was occupied by the Muslims. The Oasis Wells. — According to Mr. Beadnell there are 230 native-owned wells in the Oasis, which yield a total discharge of 295 kirats, or 8,000 gallons a minute, i.e., 11,500,000 gallons a day. The largest well in the Oasis is ’Ain Istakhrabat Gannah, with a discharge of between 700 and 800 gallons per minute. Under the rule of the Romans many important irrigation works were carried out in the Oasis, and they made trenches and drove underground aqueducts through the solid rock with consummate skill. The most remarkable of these aqueducts are found at Umm al-Dabadib, about 22 miles north-west of Khargah, and when one of them was cleared out in 1900 water again began to flow. This supply enabled the authorities to reclaim about twelve acres of land from the desert. Mr. Beadnell explored one of the under- ground aqueducts and found that it was 4’6 kilometres long, and he states that the excavation of the manholes or vertical shafts which connected it with the surface must have been a gigantic task. One of these was 175 feet deep, and the con- struction of the four subterranean aqueducts, with their 600 or 700 vertical shafts, which he describes, necessitated the excavation and removal of 20,000 cubic metres of solid rock. The water which flowed from the aqueducts was sweet and had a temperature of 87° Fahrenheit. The bores of many ancient wells are lined with casing made of palm or acacia wood, and the timbers were fitted together with water-tight joints. In spite of all the efforts which are being made to keep up the water supply in the Oasis, it is becoming clear that many parts of it must eventually be overwhelmed by the sand dunes,* which are usually of a crescent or horse-shoe Oi * The natives call the sand dune burkdn (Arabic plur. 284 OASIS OF KHARGAH. shape. In size they vary from i or 2 metres from horn to horn to 200 or 300 metres, and they vary in height from 1 to 130 feet. In high winds the dunes move bodily, and they travel from 30 to 60 feet in a year, even over rising ground. The native builds fences to keep the sand off his crops, but in the end he finds his land overwhelmed by the sand which piles itself up against the fences. The history of the Oasis is practically that of one long endless fight of man against sand. The principal export is dates, the various varieties of which are much appreciated all over Egypt. The number of date- palms in the Oasis is between 65,000 and 70,000, the most important groves being at Khargah, Gannah, Bfilak, and Baris. A mature palm bears about 150 lbs. of dates each year, which sell for from 45 to 50 piastres, i.e., between gs. and io^. Certain kinds of dates are reserved for use in the Oasis, and these are kept in earthenware jars, as in the Sfidan ; the dates exported are sold “ in the lump,” in palm-leaf baskets, and no attempt is made to pack them. It is a great pity that the best Khargah dates cannot be packed in boxes as is done with the dates at Basrah, on the Persian Gulf, for they would certainly fetch a good price in the markets of Cairo. Date palms begin to bear fruit when about 20 years old, and they continue to bear fruit for 100 years ; many of the most valuable trees are said to be over 100 years old. During the last twenty years the potato has been cultivated at Khargah with great success. In connection with the Khargah Oasis, Professor Maspero has made some interesting remarks about the Egyptian word which is used for “oasis,” viz., Uahet, ^ This word is akin in meaning to ^ also pronounced ut or ualiet , q I which signifies the “apparel of a mummy,” w., the swathings with their jewellery and amulets, in fact, that with which the mummy is enveloped or covered. Dr. Brugsch thought that an oasis was so called because it was covered up, or enveloped, with sand, but Professor Maspero’s view is different. Now, when Herodotus speaks (iii, 26) of the expedition which Cambyses sent against the inhabitants of the Oasis of Jupiter Ammon, he mentions that they arrived at the town of Oasis, a distance of seven days from Thebes. The Oasis here referred to is, of course, Khargah, which, he explains incidentally, is called in his own language Matcapivv 1 ^' dda of Macc. xi > 34. and Acts ix, 32), is of special interest to Englishmen as the birthplace of Saint George, the patron saint of England. The church that holds his tomb stands on the site of the Church that the Crusaders built over his tomb in the second half of the twelfth century. From Ludd the line runs through the dense olive groves that surround the little town of Ramleh, the seat of the Bishop appointed by the Crusaders in the eleventh century. Then, taking a southerly direction, the line crosses the plain of Sharon (Isaiah xxxv, 2 ; lxv, 10), which in spring delights the eye with its myriads of wild flowers. On every side are hills and valleys and sites of towns w r hich from our childhood we have read about in the Bible ; moreover, a great deal of the country through which our troops passed in their rapid advance from Gaza to Beersheba is within view. About a mile and a half away on the right is ’Akir, the Ekron of Joshua xiii, 3, a city of the Philistines to which the Ark of the Covenant was brought from Ashdod, and whence it was conveyed to Beth Shemesh (1 Sam. v, 1). About three miles south of Ekron is the hilltop village of Al-Mughar, which may be identified with Makkedah (Joshua, x, 16 ; xv, 41), where the five Amorite Kings hid in a cave after the battle of Ajalon. It was here that General Allen by encountered the most determined resistance of the Turks in his advance. Soon the train passes round the base of Tall Gezer, a prominent and solitary hill (on the left of the line). On the top of this hill once stood the important Canaanitish City of Gezer (Joshua xvi, 10; Judges i, 29). The city is frequently mentioned in the history of the wars between David and the Philistines. The Crusaders under Baldwin IV defeated Saladin here, and the place was carried by the magnificent rush of Allenby’s mounted troops, who charged up the hill from the south. From Sagad station the line runs eastward and parallel with the ancient highway from Ekron along which the kine took the Ark of the Covenant to Beth Shemesh (1 Sam. vi, 9 : 288 CAIRO TO JERUSALEM BY RAILWAY. i Kings iv, 9), which is now called ‘Ain ash-Shams. This is the famous “valley of Sorek” (Judges xvi, 4), and many of the scenes in the life of Samson and Delilah occurred in the immediate neighbourhood. A few minutes after leaving Junction Station, Zorah (Sar‘a, the Zoreah of Joshua xv, 33), the birthplace of Samson, is seen standing conspicuously on the summit of a lofty hill which rises directly above the railway track on the left. On another hilltop, to the right and exactly opposite Zorah, is ‘Ain ash-Shams, the ancient Beth Shemesh. The next station, Der ‘Aban, marks the site of Ebenezer (1 Sam. iv, 1), where the Philistines defeated the Israelites and captured the Ark in the time of Eli. In was to this place that Samuel referred when he set up the stone “ Eben-ezer ” between “ Mizpeh and Shen ” (1 Sam. vii, 12) The Wadi As-Sarar, the savage and rocky gorge that forms the pass to the highlands near Jerusalem, is now reached. As soon as the train enters this wild ravine there comes into view a large cave in a beetling precipice, overhanging the valley and several hundred feet above it. This is the rock of Etam (Judges xv, 11), on which Samson sought refuge from the Philistines, and where the men of Judah bound him with cords and delivered him to the enemy. At the sight of the Philistines he broke his bonds, and taking up the jawbone of an ass, slew a thousand Philistines with it. The place where this combat took place is called the “ Height of the Jawbone.” The line winds and doubles along this very remarkable and tortuous valley to Bittir, the site of a very ancient Canaanitish city which has been identified by some with the Beth-arabah (Joshua xv, 61) conquered by Joshua. The inhabitants of the town took a prominent part in the rising of the Jews against the Romans in the second century of our era under Bar Cochba, and when the Romans captured it they slew the Jews by hundreds. Leaving Bittir, the line soon enters the large and fertile valley of the Rephaim, or “Giants,” where David defeated the Philistines (2 Sam. v, 18), and in half an hour after leaving Bittir the train reaches the terminus of Jerusalem, which is nearly a mile distant from the time- honoured city. Arrangements for sight-seeing in Jerusalem and for visiting Lower Palestine, Samaria, or Galilee, with private dragomans, may be made at Messrs. Cook’s Office in David Street, Jerusalem, or at their Cairo Office before leaving Egypt. CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. 289 6. Cairo to Mount Sinai. For the traveller who has the time to devote to the journey and is prepared to do a certain amount of “roughing it,” nothing can be more delightful than an expedition to the sites in the Peninsula of Sinai, with certain places in which ancient tradition has associated some of the most remarkable of the The Peninsula of Sinai, showing positions of Mount Sarbal, Mount Musa (Sinai?), and Ras as-Safsaf (Horeb). events recorded in the Bible. Apart from this consideration, moreover, this weird country is worth seeing for the sake of its Egyptological associations, and for its desert and mountainous character, and for its scenery, which is always fine ; sometimes it is picturesque, at other times it is awe-inspiring and, in its mountain fastnesses, it is savage and even terrible. It should 290 CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. also be remembered that the traveller who has made the journey to Jabal Sarbal,* and Jabal Musa, which is now generally identified as Mount Sinai, and Jabal Ras as-Safsaf (Horeb ?), and has visited the desert places which have been sanctified by generations of holy men, has acquired an experience which will enable him to understand desert life past and present, and a knowledge of the conditions under which monks and anchorites lived, which can be obtained in no other region nearer than the mountains of Armenia and Persia, which lie on the northern and eastern borders of Meso- potamia. In a short description of the routes which enable the visitor to see the Holy Mountain, and the sites of the mines worked by the Egyptians for thousands of years, and the Monastery of St. Catherine, it is out of the question to attempt to enumerate all the identifications of sites mentioned in the Book of Exodus, especially as authorities differ in many important particulars. For these and many other details which do not fall within the province of a book of this kind, the reader is referred to the splendid Survey^, published by the Palestine Exploration Fund, which contains accurate maps, lists of names, archaeological and historical notes, and a vast amount of information on all subjects connected with the peninsula. This is the most exhaustive work on Sinai which has ever appeared, and it contains, without doubt, the best description of the peninsula hitherto published. Professor Hull’s small but excellent book, Mount Seir, Sinai, etc. (London, 1885), will be found most useful; Ebers’ Durch Gosen zum Sinai (Leipzig, 1881) contains very valuable information on Sinai ; and by those whose interest lies chiefly in the Bible narrative of the Exodus and in the wanderings of the children of Israel, the late Dean Stanley’s Sinai and Palestine , and Palmer’s Desert of the Exodus (London, Cam- bridge, 1871), and Ancient History from the Monuments , Sinai (London, 1892), should be read. Every traveller to Sinai will, of course, have with him a copy of the Bible. Among other works on Sinai must be mentioned Laborde, Voyage de f Arable Petree , 1830 ; Lottin de Laval, Voyage dans le Peninsule Arabique , 1855-1859; Lepsius, Egypt , Ethiopia , and Sinai , London, 1853 ; Brugsch, Wanderung * The g is pronounced like j in the Sinai District. t Ordnance Survey of the Peninsula of Sinai , 1869, consisting of one volume of text, three volumes of photographs, and a portfolio contain- ing a map. CAIRO TO MOUNT SINAI. 291 nach der Turkisminen , 1866. The maps, plans, views and inscriptions published by Lepsius in his Denkmaler are accurate and good, and they have formed the base of all the archaeo- logical works on Sinai which have appeared since they were issued. A most valuable book for the study of the archaeology of Sinai is Raymond Weill’s Recneil des Inscriptions Egyptiennes du Sinai ’ Paris, 1904. The author has revised the texts pub- lished by the late Dr. Birch in the Ordnance Survey, and thrown much light upon obscure portions of the history of the occupation of the Peninsula of Sinai by the Egyptians. The best months of the year for visiting Sinai are March, and from October 15th to November 15th; in excep- tional years, when summer or winter is earlier than usual, the journey may conveniently be made a fortnight earlier. The time spent on the journey depends, of course, upon the traveller himself, but unless he wishes to make special investi- gations of certain outlying districts, or to make collections of natural things, 16 to 20 days will be sufficient for him to see all the principal places in the peninsula, including two to four days’ visit to the Monastery of St. Catherine. As concerns expense, that also depends entirely on the amount of comfort which the traveller requires on the journey. He who is content to travel without a tent, and will carry with him tins of meat, jam, milk, biscuits, etc., a small spirit stove with a supply of methylated spirit, and three or four good rugs, and is willing to ride a camel 10 or 12 hours a day, may perform the journey cheaply in eight to 10 days. In the case of a party which includes ladies and men unused to desert life under such conditions, tents and beds, and a cook with a portable cooking stove, and an ample supply of provisions, wine, etc., must be taken. The hire of camels and attendants is in this case an important item in the expenses. Bakshish must, of course, also be considered. It must be remembered that in Sinai, as in all places visited by tourists, the expenses tend to increase rather than decrease in the case of strangers or those who are unacquainted with the people and country, and it is therefore best to apply to Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son, who will supply an estimate for the entire journey, in which a fixed sum per day will be charged per person according to the number of the party. Travellers are thus saved all the trouble in bargaining about the hire of boats, camels, and servants, and it is unquestionably the only way of performing the journey in comfort. In addition to the articles required for personal use t 2 292 PENINSULA OF SINAI. the traveller may, with great advantage, take with him a supply of cheap pen-knives and native-grown tobacco, and a few cheap compasses for the men of Sinai (the latter being much prized, as by their means they are able to find the direction in which to pray when travelling in the desert), and small packets of needles, thread, cakes of highly scented soap, small mirrors (to be obtained very cheaply in the native bazars of Cairo), and a supply of bright-coloured Manchester cotton handkerchiefs, which cost a shilling or so apiece in London, and are greatly prized in every desert in the East. Gifts of the kind are relatively inexpensive, and in many places are valued far more than presents of money. The Peninsula of Sinai is one of the most mountainous deserts in the world, in short, “ a desert of rock, gravel, and “ boulder, of gaunt peaks, dreary ridges, and arid valleys and “ plateaux, the whole forming a scene of stem desolation which “ fully merits its description as the ‘ great and terrible desert.’ ” The peninsula has on its eastern side the Gulf of ‘Akabah, and on the western the Gulf of Suez. If we regard Suez, ‘Akabah, and Ras Muhammad, the most southerly point of the peninsula, as the three points of a triangle, we find that the two sides measure 186 and 133 miles respectively, and that the length of the base is 150 miles; the area of the peninsula is 11,500 square miles. Nearly the whole peninsula is mountainous. The valleys fall away to the east and west towards the coasts from a range of mountains which practically divides the main portion of the peninsula into two parts ; the highest point of the range is Jabal Zabir-Katharina, which the officers of the Ordnance Survey estimated to be 8,550 feet high. Geology. — A broad belt of dark red or brown sandstone stretches across the peninsula, and reaches nearly from shore to shore. Southward from the margin of the sandstone belt extends a triangular mass of mountains, formed of plutonic and metamorphic rocks, chiefly granites, and syenites, and varieties of gneiss and mica-schist. On the western seaboard, south of Suez, is a narrow strip of territory with rocks of cretaceous, tertiary, and post-tertiary formations. Population. — The population of Northern Sinai, including Al-‘Arish(3,935 inhabitants), was 4,385 m 1917; and of Southern Sinai 5,430, in the same year. The peninsula is inhabited by a number of nomads, who earn their living chiefly as carriers of stores of various kinds, and as traders who journey between Cairo and Suez and dispose of any charcoal, millstones, gum- PENINSULA OF SINAI. 293 arabic, etc., which they have acquired. Among other things sold is the munn , or “manna,” which is a gummy, saccharine substance exuding from the tarfah , or tamarisk tree. Palmer describes the Arabs of Sinai as a hardy, well-made race, and the men, though clad in the most wretched tatters, have often a certain air of dignity about them. Their dress is a white shirt, with long open sleeves, fastened round the waist with a leather girdle, and over this is worn the ‘abba, or long robe of goat’s or camel’s hair. On their heads they wear a turban and the fez , and on their feet fish-skin sandals. The women wear a loose blue frock, a blue mantle, strings of beads, amulets made of metal or glass, etc. ; they tattoo their chins. Matrons plait their hair into a knot, and maidens dress their hair in short curls over their foreheads. The children wear nothing, except in the cold weather, when they sometimes have pieces of goat skin, which they turn towards the direction of the wind and try to shelter themselves behind them. The Sinai Arabs are for the most part Tawarah, i.e., Arabs of Tur, a town on the eastern side of the peninsula; in 1899 their males were said to be 4,000 in number. In 1917 the population of Tur was 1,045. The Tawarah are divided into seven tribes, which Palmer enumerates in the following order : — (r) Sawalihah ; (2) Awlad Sa‘id ; (3) Gararishah ; (4) ‘Alekat; (5) Amzenah ; (6) Awlad Shahin ; (7) Gibaliyah. There are several subdivisions of these. Each tribe has three shekhs. In the matter of laws, life is taken for life, and adultery, though usually punished by death, may be atoned for by the payment of money or camels. The Sinai Arabs pray twice daily, and believe in a general resurrection, and offer up sacrifices at the tombs of their saints, especially to Nabi Salih and Nabi MCisa. According to Lord Cromer’s Report (Egypt, No. 1, 1906) there are said to be about 30,000 dwellers in the peninsula, which he describes as a “vast waste land.” They are all of Arab origin, and are said to be the descendants of the soldiers whom Justinian sent to Sinai in the Vlth century of our era. They still observe their old tribal customs, and the system of taking blood-money, and the hereditary “ vendetta,” are in full force. The blood-money is fixed at forty-one camels. Early in 1905 the Sinaitic people became very restless, several raids took place, and two brothers were murdered. The Egyptian Government sent Mr. Jennings Bramly to Sinai to report on the country generally, and in a short time he settled thirty or forty cases, and the murderers of the two brothers 294 PENINSULA OF SINAI. were hanged at Nakhl on May 28th. A well-equipped camel corps has been organized ; a rest-house, mosque, barracks, and police station have been built at Nakhl. On February 20th 1906, two Staff Officers left Constantinople for Alexandria, and on their arrival in Cairo they lodged in the house of the Ottoman Delegate Mukhtar Pasha, and held no communica- tion with any member of the Egyptian Government, or with H.M.’s Agent and Consul-General. On March 4th they suddenly left for Berut, whence they were to proceed to ‘Akabah. Meanwhile Turkish troops occupied Tabah, A 1 Gattar, and Marashash, and additional troops were dispatched from Damascus and other Syrian towns to the frontier. It became evident that the “ Ottoman Government were abusing “ the patience of H.M.’s Government and trifling with the “ question at issue.” The boundary between Turkey and Egypt at Rafah was marked by a tree, on each side of which was a marble pillar ; about this time the pillars were pulled down and removed in the Turkish interest. The Report of the Officers who had gone to ‘Akabah was received on April 2nd, and was found to be “eminently unsatisfactory.” The Porte then referred the matter to Mukhtar Pasha, who boldly stated that “the Peninsula of Sinai consisted only of the territory lying “ south of a line drawn directly from Akabah to Suez, and the “ boundaries between Egypt and Turkey were lines drawn “ from Rafah to Suez, and from Suez to Akabah. A com- “ promise was hinted at by Mukhtar Pasha, by whose orders “ it is not clear, of a frontier from Ras Muhammad to Al-‘Arish.” According to Mukhtar Pasha’s contention, the Turks would have had the right to construct a strategic railway to Suez, and the effect of his compromise would have been to advance the Turkish frontier to Nakhl, and to turn the Gulf of ‘Akabah into a mare clausum in the possession of Turkey, and into a standing menace to the security of the trade route to the East. On April 30th, the British Ambassador received instructions to inform the Ottoman Government that ten days would be given them to comply with the British demands, failing which the situation would become grave. A fortnight later the Sultan gave orders for the evacuation of Tabah by Turkish troops, and accepted the demands of H.M.’s Government. In modern times the antiquities of Sinai were discovered by Niebuhr in 1762, and he published an account of them in 1774. They were next examined by Seetzen in 1809; by Bontin in 1811 ; by Burckhardt in 1812 and 1813 ; by Riippell HISTORY OF SINAI. 295 in 1817; by Ricci and Linant in 1820; by Bonomi, Lord Prudhoe, Major Felix and Burton between 1820 and 1828; by Laborde and Linant in 1828; by Robinson in 1838; by Lepsius in 1845 1 by Lottin de Laval in 1850; by Brugsch in 1866 ; by Holland in 1868 ; by Lord in 1869 ; by the members of the Ordnance Survey, including E. H. Palmer, between 1865 and 1869 ; and by many other travellers in the following years. Among recent travellers must be specially mentioned Monsieur G. Benedite, who made two journeys to Sinai during the years 1888-1890. In this period he visited every part of the peninsula, and saw and copied and photographed every inscription of importance in the country, and as a result of his work he contributed 2,400 copies of texts, chiefly unpublished, to the Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum. M. Benedite and M. Weill together left no archaeological work that was worth doing in Sinai undone. In 1905 Mr. C. T. Currelly visited Sinai and arranged for the removal of some of the Egyptian monuments to the museum in Cairo ; he was assisted by Mr. Frost in cutting out the inscriptions at Wadi Magharah, and he published an account of his work in Prof. Petrie’s Researches in Sinai, London, 1906. In the same year Prof. Petrie, on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Fund, examined some of the sites in Sinai which had been described by Lepsius, Weill, and others. History of Sinai. — In pre-dynastic times the Egyptians appear to have been perfectly aware that there were copper and turquoise mines in the Peninsula of Sinai, and there can be but little doubt that the kings of Lower Egypt had worked those in the Wadi Magharah before the union of the countries of the south and the north. In the dynastic period the oldest kings mentioned are Smerkha, if £»— => (1st dynasty) and Tcheser, a king of the Hlrd dynasty; their figures are found in the Wadi Magharah. Next we have mentions of Seneferu,* Khufu (Cheops), Sahu-Ra, Men-kau-Heru, Tetka-Ra, Pepi I, and Pepi II, all before the end of the Vlth dynasty. Under the kings of the XII th dynasty, Sarabit aUKhadim was opened up, and here we have monuments of Amen-em-hat III, Amen-em-hat IV, etc. Between 1500 and 1400 b.c. Hatshepsut and Thothmes III opened the mines, which had been closed 296 JABAL SARBAL, JABAL MUSA. for several hundreds of years, and several of their successors carried on works there, and made profits out of the copper and turquoises, which were found there and were highly prized. After the XXth dynasty no royal inscriptions are found at Sinai. It is difficult to account for this, but such is the fact. The absence of royal inscriptions perhaps suggests that the working of the copper mines of Sinai was no longer a Government monopoly, but even so the reason is wanting. From about 1200 b.c. until the beginning of the Christian era nothing of importance is known about Sinai, but it seems tolerably certain that monks and anchorites settled there in the second and third centuries, after Sinai had been made a part of the Roman Empire. This naturally brings us to the consideration of the question where they settled, and why they took up their abode in certain districts. We should expect that they would gather near the places which tradition pointed out as being made holy by occurrences related in the Old Testament, and if this be so we may conclude that they gathered round the mountain on which the Law was given to Moses. But which mountain is the Mount Sinai of the Bible? An old tradition makes Jabal Sarbal to be Mount Sinai, and even in early times this mountain possessed its “ holy places.” On the other hand, another tradition, but a later one, regarded Jabal Musa as Sinai, and it too possessed its “ holy places.” Modern authorities differ on this point, for Lepsius, Ebers, and others pronounce Sarbal to be Mount Sinai, and Robinson, Stanley, and Palmer declare the plain of Ar-Rahah to have been the place where the Israelites encamped. On the other hand, Tischendorf, Laborde, Ritter, and Strauss consider Jabal Musa to be Sinai. The oldest writers who discuss the matter, from Eusebius to Cosmas Indicopleustes, accept the older tradition in favour of Mount Sarbal, and the numerous monasteries which were founded near it in the early centuries of the Christian era prove that their inhabitants favoured the view that Sarbal was Sinai. Moreover, Ptolemy, in the second century, mentions the episcopal town of Pharan, which was situated in the Wadi Firan. There is no early tradition in favour of Jabal Musa, and it was only declared to be a holy place by Justinian (a.d. 527-565), who built a church there in honour of Mary the Virgin. By the side of his church Justinian built a fort to protect the monks against the Arab tribes of the district, and this assured the downfall of the monastic institutions of Sarbal, where the monks were unde- WADI MUKATTAB. 297 fended. They suffered much at the hands of the Saracens in 373, and again in 395 or 41 1, and, when they found that the church and monks of Jabal Musa were protected by a fort, they appear to have deserted Sarbal entirely, and to have adopted a new set of holy places. The witness of the Nabatean Inscriptions is in favour of Sarbal, for the oldest of these and the greater number of them are found in the Wadi Mukattab, which is close by Sarbal. The inscriptions are not mere scrawls which were made by the members of caravans, but are funereal texts cut on the rocks to commemorate the names of travellers who died on their journey. Antoninus Martyr, who flourished in the sixth century, describes ( see Chapter 38 of his Itinerary , ed. Gildemeister, p. 27) Sinai as rocky, and says that it has about it the cells of many holy men ; Horeb also has the same, and he adds, “ they say that Horeb is holy ground ” (et dicunt esse Horeb terram mundam). He then goes on to mention the snow- white marble idol which the Saracens set up in the mountain, and which changed its colour during the festivals which were celebrated there in honour of the moon. Antoninus next speaks of the valley between Sinai and Horeb, where the dew from heaven descends, which is called “manna,” and he tells. how it was collected and brought into the monastery, where small quantities were placed in bottles, and given away as a thing which brought a blessing on its possessor. To Antoninus himself some was given, and he tasted the drink which the monks made from it. He went up to Sinai from Horeb, and was met by an innumerable company of monks, carrying a cross and singing Psalms, and the monks and party of Antoninus prostrated themselves before them and they wept together. The monks then showed Antoninus the fountain where Moses saw the burning bush ; this fountain was sur- rounded by walls, and was inside the monastery, which had three abbots, one knowing Latin, another Greek, and the third Egyptian. From there he went a distance of 3,000 paces, and arrived at the cave whereto Elijah fled from Jezebel, and 3,000 paces more brought him to' the highest point of the mountain, where there was a small chapel about 6 feet square. In this place no one dared to remain, but at dawn the monks were in the habit of going up there and performing divine service. It was the custom for men to shave off their hair and beards at this place, and throw them away, and this Antoninus did. We may note that nowhere does Antoninus describe Sinai as a 298 WADI MUKATTAB. Scene in the Wadi Mukattab, showing Rocks with figures of Animals and Men and several “ Sinaitic Inscriptions” cut upon them. WELLS OF MOSES. 299 “holy place,” and that he does not say he believed the giving of the Law to have taken place there ; on the other hand, he does speak of Horeb as a “ holy place,” though why he does not say. It is impossible to arrive at any identification of Sinai which will satisfy all critics, and all that can be said finally on the matter is that Mount Sinai has been identified with : — (i) Sarbal ; (2) The peak called Horeb in Christian times ; (3) Jabal Mfisa ; (4) Ras as-Safsaf. 1. Suez to the Monastery of St. Catherine, via Wadi Magharah. The distance from Suez to the Monastery of St. Catherine by the shortest route is about 150 miles, and by the longest about 180 miles. Having crossed over to the east side of the peninsula and set out on his journey, the traveller’s first halting place is ‘Ayun Musa, or the Wells of Moses. About mile 21 the Wadi Sudur is reached. This Wadi is memorable as the scene of the murder of Professor E. H. Palmer, Flag-Lieutenant Harold Charrington, and Captain W. J. Gill, R.E. Professor Palmer started on a secret mission on June 30th, 1882, to the Arabs of the desert and Sinai, the object of which was to buy their neutrality, and to prevent them from destroying or blocking any portion of the Suez Canal. Preliminary inter- views with the shekhs convinced him that their neutrality could be secured for the sum of ^20,000, and the Admiral of the British Fleet placed this sum at his disposal. Taking ^3,000 with him, he set out with Charrington and Gill, who intended to cut the telegraph wire between Cairo and Constantinople, meaning to go to KaPat An-Nahlah to make final arrangements for the payment of the money to the shekhs. The guide of the party was Matar Abu Sofia, and as they were passing through the Wadi Sudfir, on August 10th, he led them into an ambush, and the three Englishmen were captured by Arabs and bound. The following morning they were placed in a row facing a gully with a fall of 60 feet in front of them, and five Arabs behind them, three of whom had been ordered to shoot his man. Palmer fell first as the result of his murderer’s fire, but the other two were missed, and began to scramble down the gully ; on their way down, however, or at the bottom, they were despatched by the Arabs, and thus the three envoys were murdered. Their remains were brought to England, and buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral on April 6th, 1883. A price had been 300 pharaoh’s bath. set upon Palmer’s head by the rebels in Cairo some time before he was murdered, and it seems that he was shot, not for the sake of the money which he was carrying, but in obedience to ‘Arabi’s orders. The Wadi Wardan is next passed, and then the Wadi Hawarah, a place which, on account of a bitter spring that rises there, has been identified as the Marah of the Bible (Exod. xv, 23). In the Wadi Gharandal, about 50 miles from Suez, a certain amount of vegetation is found; this is due to the water, of a not very good quality, which exists here. Some have identified the valley with the Elim of the Bible (Exod. xv, 27). About five miles further on is the Wadi Usat, where there are springs, and in five miles more Wadi Kuwesah is reached. Near the seashore is Jabal Hammam Fir‘atin, or the Mountain of Pharaoh’s Bath. On the slope of this mountain is a sulphur spring, which is nearly boiling hot ; its waters are much resorted to by the Arabs who suffer from rheumatism. No Arab will, however, dip in the waters until he has first offered an oil-cake to the “angry ghost ” of Pharaoh, which is regarded as the presiding genius of the place. Professor Palmer relates the Arab legend in the following words : — “When our Lord Moses had quarrelled with Pharaoh, and “ determined to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, he found “himself stopped by the salt sea, but at the command of God Most “ High he raised his staff and smote upon the waters, whereupon “ they parted upon the right hand and on the left, and the children “of Israel found a dry passage in the bottom of the deep. Then “ Pharaoh and his soldiery essayed to follow, but when they had “come midway Moses again raised his staff and, smiting the waters, “said, ‘Return, O sea, into thy former course,’ and the waters “closed over the Egyptians, and the children of Israel saw the “corpses of their enemies floating on the waves. But Pharaoh “was a mighty man, and struggled with the billows ; then, seeing “ Moses standing on a rock above him, he waxed exceeding wroth, “and gave so fierce a gasp that the waters boiled up as they closed “ over his drowning head. Since that time the angry ghost of the “king of Egypt has haunted the deep, and should any unfortunate “vessel come near the spot, he rises up and overwhelms it in the “waves, so that to the present day no ship can sail on Pharaoh’s “ Bath.” Having passed Wadi at = Tal and Wadi 5habekah, the place is soon after reached where the valley joins the Wadi al = Homr; here the road starts which leads to Sinai via Sarabit al-Khadim. Keeping to the road on the right which is near the sea, and journeying along Wadi Tayyibah, WADI MAGHARAH. 301 AUMahair is passed, and Ras Abu Zanimah is reached; at this place is the tomb of a Muhammadan saint, which is usually decorated with a miscellaneous assortment of gifts from the faithful. The Arab legend of the mare of Abu Zena is given in the Ordnance Survey of the Peninsula of Sinai , Part I, p. 67, and runs thus : — “An Arab named Abu Zena was riding a mare that was with “ foal, and, notwithstanding her condition, was urging her along “at a cruel speed. When she came to the spot which now bears “her name, he dug his spurs into her sides, whereupon she made a “ tremendous bound, and immediately after foaled and fell down “dead. Abu Zena, in wonder at the immense length of the stride “which his unfortunate beast had taken, marked the distance with “stones, and related the incident to his friends. The matter was “soon noised abroad, and every Arab that came by would relate “the story, marking out the distance as he did so with a stone. “Admiration for the mare’s performance soon grew with the pagan ‘ 4 Arabs of that time into a stronger feeling of veneration, and the “mare was worshipped as a deity, and offerings of corn were “ brought to the spot. But when they forsook idolatry, and came “ to look upon their previous idols as devils, they turned their late “idolatrous observance into ridicule, and an expression of aversion “ from the demon supposed to haunt the spot ; and instead of “ bringing offerings of barley or wheat they would throw pebbles “ on the heap, and kick a little sand on it with their feet, crying, “ 4 Eat that, and get thee gone ! ’ (‘Agsa ‘allig ’). This custom is kept “up to the present day, and no Arab passes the spot without “kicking the sand and throwing a pebble on to the heaps of stones, “exclaiming, as he does so, * ‘Agsa ‘allig.’ ” In ancient days there was a harbour here, and it was at this point that the copper, malachite, and turquoise stones brought down from the mines were exported to Egypt. Tradition points to this place as the site of the Israelitish camp after the Hebrews had crossed the sea. The road now crosses the plain of AUMarkhah, through Wadi Hanak aULakam, and then through Wadi Shallal ; here the route begins to enter mountainous country, and Wadi Budrah is reached. From the Pass of Nakb al = Budrah the Wadi Sidr is reached, and in a very short time Wadi Magharah comes in sight. The mines of Wadi Magharah were worked by the kings of Egypt from the 1st to the Vlth dynasty, and the overseers who were in charge of the works cut reliefs of many of them, together with their names and titles, on the rocks. Work appears to have been suspended from the Vllth to the Xlth dynasties inclusive, but the mines were reopened under the Xllth dynasty. The miners were probably protected by a garrison of Egyptians, who from time to time raided the inhabitants, ,302 WADI MUKATTAB. who are called Antiu and Mentiu in the inscriptions, and the district was held to be under the direction of the god Sept, and the goddess Hathor. The mines yielded the mafket , A ^ , stone, i.e ., turquoise, which was greatly prized in O III Egypt, and was much used for inlaying jewellery and other objects, and was made into amulets. These mines were abandoned at the end of the Xllth dynasty, probably because the Egyptian Government could not work them at a profit. The Egyptian inscriptions have been much injured by the Arabs, who blast away the stone in search of turquoises. The mines are well worth a visit, especially for those who wish to examine old Egyptian mining methods, the roof pillars, tunnelling, etc. Professor Palmer found on the various fissures and cuttings in the rock chisel marks, which indicate the vast amount of labour expended on them. The inscriptions are on the rocks on the western side of the valley, opposite the site of the old Fort and the ruins of Major Macdonald’s house. This gentleman was an English officer who lived here for some years, and reopened the mines, and employed the Arabs to work; commercially his venture was a failure, and he subse- quently died in Egypt a ruined man. Passing out of Wadi Magharah, and journeying south through Wadi Sidr, the interesting Wadi Mukattab, “Valley of “ Writings,” is reached. Here are the famous Sinaitic inscrip- tions and rude drawings, which many, on the authority of Cosmas Indicopleustes, have declared to be the work of the Children of Israel. It is now known that these were the work of the Nabataeans, who were masters of Sinai during the early centuries of the Christian era ; the Arabic, Greek, and Coptic graffiti belong to a still later date. Many of the symbols are Pagan and many Christian. The Wadi Firan is next entered, with its wild and striking scenery ; in this valley, not far from the Oasis, is the rock called H£si al = Khattattn, which Arab tradition says is the rock which Moses struck when he made water to flow forth (Exod. xvii, 6). It is surrounded by small heaps of pebbles, and tradition declares that these were thrown there by the Israelites after they had drunk their fill, in order to amuse themselves. Any Arab who has a sick friend throws a pebble in the name of Moses, and believes that he will be cured. The Valley of Firan has been identified by some with Rephidim (Exod. xvii, i). JABAL SARBAL. 303 Towards the end of the valley is the Oasis of Firan, a beautiful spot, and close by are the ruins of the old town of Firan, upon the elevation called Al = Maharret. Firan is the old episcopal town of Pharan, which is men- tioned by Stephen of Byzantium, Ptolemy the Geographer, and by Makrizi about a.d. 1400 ; the precious stone found in this valley was called “ Pharanitis.” About a.d. 372 the Blemmyes crossed the Red Sea in ships, and went to Raithou and slew 43 monks, and Paul, their leader ; when they returned to the coast they found that their ships had been burnt during their absence. On hearing this news the Saracens from Pharan, 600 in number, led by Obedien, came down and killed all the Blemmyes, who were afterwards buried with proper care. About a.d. 400 the Bishop of Pharan was Nathyras, who had formerly been a monk of Sinai, and a disciple of Silvanus, the leader of the monks of Sinai; about a.d. 450 the Bishop was one Macarius. The ruins consist of the foundations of a monastery and parts of the church walls ; among the latter Professor Palmer found a relief with the figure of a seated man holding his arms aloft ; he was disposed to regard it as a representation of Moses at the Battle of Rephidim. The hills near are honeycombed with monks’ cells, and on their tops are the remains of their graves. On the right side of Wadi Firan is Jabal at = Tahunah, or Mountain of the Mill, which is remarkable for the number of tombs, cells, and chapels on it. About half-way up is a ruined church, above this are several small chapels, and on the summit is a church, built on a foundation of large stones ; this church was turned into a mosque after the Christians left it, and a flight of steps leads to it from the valley. This mountain has been identified with Gibeah by some writers. From the top a splendid view of Jabal Sarbal is obtained, and no one should fail to make the ascent and enjoy it. Jabal Sarbal stands in a ridge which is three miles long from end to end; it is about 6,700 feet high. When looked at from Wadi ‘Alayat it is seen to consist of five distinct peaks, the highest of which, AUMadawwah, is 6,734 feet above sea level. The name Al-Madawwah means “ light-house,” and is so called because fires were lit there to warn the tribes of danger or invasion of hostile tribes. The name Sarbal is said to mean “coat of mail,” in allusion to the appearance of the mountain when water rushes over the smooth rocks upon its summit during a storm. Mr. Holland described the mountain 304 JABAL SARBAL. after a heavy winter rain as “ covered with a sheet of ice that “ glittered like a breastplate/’ Of the claims of Mount Sarbal to be considered as Mount Sinai, mention has already been made. The ascent of the mountain requires a full day, and should not be attempted by any who have not experience in mountain climbing ; the upper portion of the mountain especially is declared by experts to be difficult. The whole district is full of remains of the greatest interest, and three or four days may well and profitably be devoted to its exploration. Continuing the road to Sinai, before the end of Wadi Firan is reached, note should be taken of Jabal al = Munayah, i.e. the “Mountain of the Conference”; here tradition declares God held converse with Moses. On this mountain the Arabs still offer sacrifices to Moses. At Al = Buw£b the Wadi Firan ends. From this point the least difficult road is by the Wadi ash = Shekh, where manna is found, but the more convenient road passes through Wadi Salaf and Nakb al-Hawi. In the Wadi Salaf are to be seen numbers of the small stone houses, like beehives, which the Arabs declare to have been built by the Israelites, who took shelter in them from the mosquitoes which infested the peninsula ; they are called nawanils (sing, namis). The Arabic word for mosquito is namus. About six miles further on, at Wadi Ajjawi, the road joins that which leads to Mount Sinai from Tur, the port on the Red Sea. At the end of Wadi Salaf is Nakb al = Hawi, i.e., the “ Cleft of the Wind.” This is one of the grandest passes on earth, and forms a fitting gateway to the awful heights of Sinai. “It is a narrow and precipitous passage through lofty granite “ mountains rising to the height of 1,500 feet, while large “ masses of rock on either side seem ready to fall on the “ adventurous traveller.” Passing through Wadi ar = Raha the mountains of Sinai are seen in full view; the Wadi ad = Der is next entered, and in a short time the traveller arrives at the Monastery of St. Catherine. At the entrance to this Wadi, which is also called Shu‘aib, is Jabal Hartin, where tradition says Aaron set up the golden calf (Exod. xxxii, 4) ; and since tradition connects this valley with Jethro, the Well of Jethro (Exod. ii, 15) is pointed out. Close by is the magnificent peak of Jabal Musa, and to the west is Jabal as = Safsafa, or Ras as-Safsaf, from which the Law is said to have been given to the Israelites assembled in the plain of Ar-Rahah. SUEZ TO SINAI VIA TUR. 305 2 . 5uez to the Monastery of St. Catherine, via Ttir. The journey to Mount Sinai may be made partly by sea, and if it be decided to follow this route a large boat with a crew must be hired at Suez; the traveller having embarked with his baggage at Suez, sail is set for Tur, or Tor, on the western side of the peninsula, some 120 miles down the Red Sea. An agreement must be made carefully with the owner or captain of the boat as to the amount of hire, etc., so that there may be no misunderstanding on this point during the journey ; in cases where no definite agreement has been made captains have, when at sea, demanded exorbitant sums for the hire of their services and boat, and have refused to proceed until their victims have handed .over the money. The start should be made in the afternoon, and the journey to Tur occupies practically a day. At Tur camels must be hired for the journey through the desert. There is no difficulty in obtaining them, but if the traveller can obtain introductions to the shekh he should do so, for the animals placed at his disposal will then be better than usual. A few years ago Tur was a wretched little hamlet, consisting of a few fishermen’s huts, but in ancient days it must have been a seaport town of very considerable importance, and most of the sea-borne goods intended for the monks and recluses must have entered Sinai by this port. It is now the great quarantine Station for pilgrims to Mecca, and soldiers are maintained here to enforce the rules and regulations , of the Quarantine Board. The arrival of the pilgrims brings in its train “ merchants ” from Cairo, and then Tur has somewhat the appearance of a desert" market, but their wares are chiefly modern and are uninteresting. There is nothing of importance to see at Tur. Close by is Jabal Hammam Musa, i.e., the Mountain of the Bath of Moses, where are hot sulphur springs, which trickle down by various canals into the midst of a large palm grove belonging to the Monastery of St. Catherine. A number of chambers similar to those of a Turkish bath have been built over them, and these are much frequented by natives suffering from diseases incidental to residence in a very hot climate. About 12 miles from Ttir is a sand-slope from the mountain called Jabal Nakus, i.e., the “Bell Mountain,” because loud and mysterious noises are heard to proceed from it. (The nakus is really a board which is beaten in monasteries to call u 306 THE BELL MOUNTAIN. the monks to prayer, and not a bell.) This slope is 195 feet high, and 240 at the base; the sand is of a yellowish-brown colour, and lies at such an angle that the slightest cause sets it in motion. When any considerable quantity of sand rolls down, a deep, swelling, vibratory moan is heard, which gradually rises to a dull roar, loud enough when at its height to be almost startling ; as the sand ceases to roll the sound dies away. Some think the sound is caused by the movement of the surface sand, others say it is due to the movement of the sand over hollow rocks, or from its falling into cavities, and the Arabs explain the sound in a characteristic legend which is given in the Ordnance Survey , p. 69, as follows : — “A Bedawi who was encamped at Abu Suweirah on the sea “coast near Tor. as he walked along the shore found himself “ unexpectedly before a small convent, situated in a pleasant garden “ and inhabited by seven monks. They invited him to enter their “ abode, and entertained him with a hospitable meal, enjoining him “at the same time not to inform a living soul of what he had seen “or heard. As they conducted him back towards his tents he took “the opportunity of dropping the stones of some dates that he was ‘ ‘ eating, in order that he might be able again to recognise the path. “ On regaining his encampment he, notwithstanding the promise “which he had made, revealed the secret of the monastery and “ proposed an attack upon his entertainers. No one could be found “ to believe his story, and when he offered to conduct them to the “ spot, he found that the monks had become aware of his intentions, “and had carefully removed the date stones which were to have “served him as a clue to guide him to their dwelling. Arrived at “Jebel Nagus, however, he recognised the spot, but neither “ convent, garden, nor monks were to be seen. They had mysteri- ously disappeared beneath the ground, but from the heart of the “mountain could still be heard the sound of their nagus, or wooden “gong, calling the brethren to prayers. The Arab who had thus “ broken his oath and violated the sacred claims of ‘ bread and salt ’ “was repudiated by the rest of his tribe as a liar and deceiver, and “perished miserably in solitude and want.” The desert journey to Mount Sinai from Tur may be now briefly described. The plain of Al = Ka‘a is first crossed, and then the Wadi as = Sle is entered; passing through Wadi Tarfa, Wadi Rahabah, and Wadi Sabafiyah, and thence by a pass, the Wadi ad-Der, wherein the Monastery is situated, is entered. The journey may be made in two or three days, but it is uninteresting, and there is nothing of importance to be seen on the way. Another route, via Wadi Habran, may be taken ; this joins the road to Sinai, via Magharah at Nakb al-‘ Ajjawi, and before this point is reached numerous inscriptions are seen on the rocks. MONASTERY OF SAINT CATHERINE. 307 3. The Monastery of St. Catherine and the Holy Places of Sinai. The Monastery of St. Catherine stands on the left bank of the narrow valley which lies between Jabal Musa and Jabal ad-Der, and it encloses the spot where Moses saw the Burning Bush, and the chapel and tower built by Helena. The old walls are built of well-dressed blocks of granite, and still form a solid foundation for the modern walls built upon them. The east wall was almost rebuilt in 1799-1800 by u 2 Plan of the Monastery of St. Catherine. (From the Ordnance Survey.) View of the Monastery ot St. Catherine on Jabal Musa. (From Voyage de L' Arabic Pdtree , by Laborde and Idnant, Paris, 1830.) MONASTERY OF SAINT CATHERINE. 309 General Kleber, and this fact is commemorated by a tablet with an inscription in modern Greek. The old entrance is on the north side, but its door, 7 feet wide, has been walled up ; the' present entrance is a little to the left of the old one. Water is obtained from two wells within the walls, and outside, on the east, is a reservoir. The monastery was founded by Justinian (a.d. 527-554) in the year 530, and its church certainly dates from the reign of this Emperor. A portion of it is probably of earlier date, for the tower of the south-west corner of the church is said to have been a separate building, with its own entrance. This building may have been Helena’s tower, but Sketch of the Mosaic in the Church of the Transfiguration. 310 CHAPEL OF THE BURNING BUSH. some regard it as the fort which Justinian built there before the church. The Church of the Transfiguration is divided into a nave and two aisles by two rows of columns, and at the eastern end of the nave is a large apse, on the vault of which is the well- known mosaic. In the centre of the mosaic is Christ ; on His right is Elijah, on His left Moses, at His feet Peter, and James and John kneel one on each side. Round the whole are mosaic portraits of saints and prophets, each with his name in Greek below his effigy. Above the apse are scenes of Moses at the Burning Bush, and Moses receiving the Law on Mount Sinai ; below are two angels, and two medallions with portraits which some declare to be those of Justinian and Theodora, and others of Moses and St. Catherine. The Bishop’s throne is modern, but the bronze lions which are near the screen are ancient. On the north are chapels dedicated to Antipas, Con- stantine and Helena, and Marina; on the south to Cosmas, Damian, Pantalewon, Simon the Pillar-Saint, and Joachim and St. Anne. The granite columns are heavy in appearance ; and each has a metal cross let into it 2 feet above its base. Close to the altar are the relics of St. Catherine, whom one legend declares to have been the daughter of Moses ! When Professor Palmer visited the monastery he thought that in spite of its massive walls it was ill adapted to resist a deter- mined attack, for it was commanded from both sides of the valley ; he entered by a small wicket gate of massive iron, andl not by the wicket, covered by a pent-house, 30 feet from the ground, through which travellers were formerly drawn up into* the building. The apartments for travellers he describes as; clean, and says they were furnished with a table in the centre and cushions were on the diwans all round. They are now provided with bedsteads. The Chapel of the Burning Bush is at the east end of the church, and Palmer tells us that the visitor before entering it is requested to take his shoes from off his feet, as the place whereon he is standing is holy ground. The altar has on it a silver plate which is intended to indicate that it stands on the very spot where the Bush stood. Over the altar is a little window through which it is said the sunlight only penetrates one day in the year, and then a solitary ray darts through a cleft in the mountain above and falls upon the chapel floor. The cleft in the mountain is marked by a wooden cross, and the Arabs call it therefore LIBRARY OF SAINT CATHERINE. 311 Jabal as-Salib, or Mount of the Cross. A legend says that the original Book of Moses, which was written on stone, was brought down by the monks from Sinai and built into the wall of this chapel, and that this window was left where it is so that the people might be able to look on the Book from time to time. The people are said to believe that blessings and curses can be brought upon the country by opening the window in certain ways. Professor Palmer records that ‘Abbas Pasha always prayed in this chapel instead of in the mosque ! The Mosque has a mean and shabby appearance and is said to have been built by the monks, who were alarmed on hearing that the Arabs were bent on destroying their monastery, and that an officer had been told to carry out this act of sacrilege. When the Arab arrived he found the mosque standing, and the monks declared that they possessed a charter which had been given to them by Muhammad the Prophet himself, and bore the impress of his hand, for as is well known, he could neither read nor write. As a matter of fact the mosque is not older than the fifteenth century. The Library contains a very considerable number of manu- scripts in Greek, Arabic, Syriac, Ethiopic, Persian, Armenian, etc., and the more valuable MSS. have now been removed to a room near the Archbishop’s house, and into his own apart- ments. The famous “ Codex Aureus,” i.e., the Evangeliarium Theodosianum, which is erroneously said to have been given to the monastery by the Emperor Theodosius in the eighth century, was written in the tenth or eleventh century ; the leaves are of fine vellum, with two columns to a page, and the writing is in gold. At the beginning, painted in gold, are portraits of Christ, Mary, Peter, and the four Evangelists (Cat. No. 204). Another interesting MS. is the Psalter, which was once thought to have been written by Cassia, a woman, in the ninth century ; it only consists of six leaves, with two columns to the page. The writing is extremely minute, and was produced by a scribe in the fourteenth or fifteenth century (Cat. No. 108). It will be remembered that the famous Codex Sinaiticus was obtained from this Library. When Tischendorf was here in 1844 he picked 43 leaves of the Septuagint out from a basket of papers destined to light the oven of the monastery, and these the monks gave him. In 1853 he returned, and tried to obtain the rest, but failed ; in 1859 he went back again, and on February 4th of that year he was able to bring the MS. away from Cairo, 312 SAINT CATHERINE. where it had been sent for his use, and it was taken to St. Petersburg. The Emperor Alexander II purchased the MS. from the monks for about ^320. The Codex Sinaiticus dates from the second half of the fourth century ; it contains 346-J leaves of vellum, which measure 13^ inches by 14^ inches. The Greek MSS. have been catalogued by V. Gardthausen (Catalogus Codd. Grcecorum Sinaiticorum , Oxford, 1886, 8vo) ; the Syriac MSS. by A. S. Lewis ( Catalogue of the Sy riac MS.S. in the Convent of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai , Cambridge, 1894); and the Arabic by M. D. Gibson (Cambridge, 1894). In the garden is the Crypt where the monks are buried after death. “It is a curious and ghastly sight. The defunct bishops are “brought here and stowed away in what I at first took for cigar “boxes; and a few hermits of unusual sanctity are hung up in “bags, like hams, against the wall. There are two compartments “ in this mansion of the dead — one for the priests, the other for the “ lay brethren ; and seated against the low, iron door which connects “ the two is a dried and crouching figure, the mortal remains of a “ certain Saint Stephanos, who was a porter at the convent some “300 years ago. He sits there still, in hideous mockery of his “former office ; and, as if to make his appearance still more ghastly, “some Russian pilgrims have decked him out in a silk shirt and “gaudy skull-cap. In one of the boxes are the remains of two “hermits, sons of an Indian king, the legend says, who lived and “died upon the mountains, in adjoining cells. Their skeletons are “ still connected by the chain which bound them together in life, and “which was so contrived that when one lay down to rest his ‘ ‘ neighbour was dragged up to pray, so that one of them was ever “watchful at his post” The Arab servants of the monastery are descended from the Wallachian and Egyptian slaves whom Justinian placed there to guard the monks, who at that time regarded the church as sacred to Mary the Virgin, and not St. Catherine ; these servants are called Jabaiayah (i.e., “ mountaineers ”), and are to all intents and purposes the serfs or vassals of the monks. In the eighth or ninth century the monks disinterred a body of a woman which they declared to be that of St. Catherine ; monks and serfs alike transferred their allegiance to the victim of the persecution of Maximinus, and the monastery has apparently been called ever since by the name of the virgin Catherine, whose body was broken on the wheel. She is commemorated on November 25 th in the Greek and Latin calendars, and the festival of the finding of her body is celebrated on May 13th. The monks believe that vast treasures are hidden in a chamber below the building, the door of which is guarded by a JABAL Ml)SA. 313 mysterious power which would kill any intruder ; they believe, too, that the cross is their safeguard, and wear it as an amulet, and encourage the natives to do the same. For travellers who are fond of climbing mountains, ascents of Jabal Musa and Ras as = Safsaf may be recommended. Of the five routes possible the one which ascends the pilgrims’ steps may be chosen. The first place to note is the Well of Jethro, whereat Moses watered the flocks of his father-in-law, -but the monks only regard it as the spring at which the cobbler saint, Sangarius, drank when he lived here. Further up is the Chapel of the Virgin, concerning which Professor Palmer relates the following : — Once upon a time the supplies failed, and our monks had nothing to eat. In addition to the famine, a plague of fleas infested the monastery, and these were so large in size and so great in numbers that the monks deter- mined to leave the place. Before they went, however, they marched up the mountain to pay a farewell visit to the top, and as they filed out the steward remained behind to lock the doors. Whilst he was there the Virgin and Child appeared to him, and Mary bade him tell his companions to return, as she would help them. The monks did so, and they found ioo camels laden with provisions, and not a flea was left ; from that time no flea has ever been seen in the monastery. At the top of the ravine is a splendid cypress tree, and near it is the Chapel of Elijah. A little higher up is a* gateway, and beyond it is a second gateway ; at each of these a friar sat to hear the confessions of pilgrims, and to shrive them. Beyond the second gate is a building containing tw*o chapels, one dedicated to Elijah, and the other to Elisha. Further up the steps is a small plateau, on which is a camel’s footprint ; tradition says the camel is that of Muhammad the Prophet, who visited Sinai. “ The view from the summit [of Jabal Mfisa] “ does not embrace so comprehensive a prospect of the peninsula “ as that from the more commanding peaks of Katarina, or “ Serbal ; but the wild desolation of those majestic crags, “solitary ravines, and winding valleys, added to the solemn “ and sacred associations of the scene, cannot fail to impress “ the beholder with wonder and awe.” (Palmer, Desert of the Exodus , p. 109.) The summit of Jabal Musa is about 7,400 feet above sea-level, and is about 2,000 feet above the ^monastery. It is occupied by a chapel and a mosque, both ouilt of granite, and outside the former, at the north-east corner, is a rock containing a grotto, sufficiently large to admit of a 314 THE CAVE OF MOSES. person creeping into it ; the upper side is indented with a mark as of a man’s hand and head. Here it is said Moses received the Law and into this, the Arabs say, he crept when God said unto him, “ Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt “ stand upon a rock : and it shall come to pass, while my glory “ passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will “ cover thee with my hand while I pass by : and I will take “ away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts : but my The Cave of Moses and the “ Clift in the Rock.” “ face shall not be seen ” (Exodus xxxiii, 21-23). The mosque is a square building, and is partially ruined ; only the mihrab , or niche, indicating the direction of Mecca, remains. Here Moses is said to have dwelt for the 40 days of his sojourn on the Mount. Once a year the Arabs sacrifice a sheep or a goat on the top of the mountain to Moses, and the doorway of the mosque is stained with the blood of the victims. When the year has been a fruitful one a camel is sacrificed to Aaron, at ROCK OF HOREB. 315 the hill in the valley which bears his name. Jabal Musa is not a single mountain, but a mountain block two miles long and one mile wide, and at the other end of the block is Mount Safsafa, i.e., Willow Mountain, which is about 6,600 feet high. Between Musa and Safsaf are a narrow ravine and a plain, at the end of which is a chapel dedicated to the Holy Belt of the Virgin Mary, and near it is the willow tree w'hich gives the name to the mountain ; from this tree Moses cut his rod. At the north-east corner of the mountain is the Sikkat Shu‘aib, or Jethro’s road, and a path through it leads to the Hill of the Golden Calf. Following the road of the Russian pilgrims the traveller descends into the Wadi Laja ; Laja is said to have been Jethro’s daughter. In this valley is the Der al = ‘Arba‘in, or Monastery of the Forty [Martyrs], who were slain by the Saracens ; round it is a fine garden with a grove of olive trees. In the middle of the garden is the Chapel of St. Onuphrius. At the mouth of the valley is the Chapel of the Twelve Apostles, and a little further on is shown the spot where the earth swallowed up Korah, Dathan, and Abiram and their company (Numb, xvi, 32). In this valley too is the Stone of Moses, or the Rock of Horeb, from which Moses obtained water by striking it with his rod. It is made of granite, and is several feet high, and is said to have followed the Israel- ites about as long as they were likely to need water, and then to have returned to its place in this desert. Certain fissures in it have been declared to be 12 mouths, each of which supplied water for one tribe. It need hardly be pointed out that most of these legends are due to the intense love of realism which is inherent in the Arabs and other Oriental peoples. Jabal Katarina, or Jabal Katarin, the highest peak but one — Jabal Zabir — in the peninsula, is a mountain which many will wish to climb, but the ascent is difficult ; the interest in it is purely legendary. It is said that the angels carried St. Catherine’s body from Alexandria, over the Red Sea and desert, and placed it on this mountain-top. The body was found by the monks, who set out to bring it to their monastery, and they were fainting from heat and thirst; at this moment a partridge flew out from a well, and thus showed them where water was, and from that time the well has been called Mayan ash = Shunnar or Bir ash = Shunnar. The road starts in the Wadi Laja, and passes through a ravine containing many Sinaitic inscriptions, and, having passed the Partridge’s Well, Mount Katarina is reached. This mountain has three peaks, 316 SARABIT AL-KHADIM. Jabal Katarina, Jabal Zabir, and Jabal Rumel ; the second is the highest, 8,536 feet above sea level, and consists of one huge block of porphyry. To the north-east is Jabal Musa; on the right are Jabal ad-Der and Ras as-Safsaf, beyond which is Nakb al-Hawi. Westward are Jabal al-Banat, Al-Joza, and Sarbal. From this spot may be seen Jabal at-Tiniyah, with a white edifice on its highest point. This is the half-finished palace of ‘Abbas Pasha, who was ordered here for the benefit of his health. He lived with the monks of St. Catherine whilst his palace was being built, but before it was finished he changed his mind, and decided to live in the great monastery. He began to build the Pasha’s Road, but the Arabs say that one day as he was going along it Moses met him, and shook him, and frightened him so much that he cursed Sinai and everything in it, and departed to Egypt, where a few weeks later he was murdered. 4. Mount Sinai to Suez via Wadi ash = Shekh and Sarbut al = Khadim, or Sarabit al = Khadim. Taking the road towards the north, the traveller makes his way along the Wadi ad-Der, and after a few miles arrives at the tomb of Shekh Salih, an early Muhammadan saint, and “ companion of the Prophet ” ; he must have lived, therefore, early in the seventh century. The tomb belongs to the Tawarah Arabs, and is visited by them alone ; it is a small, square, white- washed building with a dome. The saint is buried in the ground, and an empty wooden coffin stands above the grave ; round about are hung the gifts of the faithful. The Shekh was a good man, and worked miracles, and his tomb is the Mecca of Sinai. Once a year, in May, the Arabs sacrifice sheep and camels at the tomb, and sprinkle their blood on its walls ; the people dance and run races, and funeral games of various kinds are celebrated. Continuing the route, the pass of Al-Watiyah is traversed, and soon after the Wadi ash = Shekh is entered: crossing numerous valleys, the route proceeds via Wadi Sulef, Wadi Barah, Wadi Labwah, and Wadi Barak, which is long and broad, and is enclosed by steep gneiss rocks. At the entrance of this valley is a group of the “ mosquito huts ” already mentioned, and soon after are seen the ruins of the fortifications which the Arabs raised against Muhammad ‘Ali. The Wadi Sik is next entered, and in a short time Dabebat Shekh Ahmad is reached ; the tomb of the Shekh is seen by the side of the Sarabit At - Kha SARABiT AL-KHADIM. 317 STEUt Stele set up at Sarabit al-Khadim by an official of Amen-hetep III, 145° The King is seen making offerings to Hathor, the goddess of the district. (From the Ordnance Survey , Part III, PI. 14.) THE TURQUOISE AND COPPER MINES. 319 road, and in the neighbourhood are several other tombs. Traversing Wadi Khamflah, and descending into Wadi Suwik by a winding path, the traveller soon arrives at Wadi Marattamah, near which is the famous Sarabit al = Khadim. To reach Sarabit al-Khadim a climb of about 700 feet up very difficult road must be made. “ A scramble over a rough slide “ of loose sandstone at the upper end of the valley, a “ treacherous sloping ledge of rock overhanging an awkward “ precipice, and a steep ravine which brings into play all one’s “ gymnastic capabilities, leads to an extensive plateau broken “ up by many deep ravines and rising knolls.” On one of the small peaks is a heap of ruins of walls made of sandstone, and round about are broken columns and sandstone stelae, some still in situ , but the greater number have fallen down ; all these are enclosed by the ruins of an outer wall. In the reign of Amen-hetep III a small rock-hewn sanctuary was made here, and furnished with an ante-chamber, and Thothmes III enlarged the building on the west, and added a small pylon, with an outer court. Within the walls of these numerous stelae, recording the lives and deeds of Egyptian officials, were set up, and from time to time additions to the main building were made by later kings. The temple was dedicated to Hathor, the lady of Mafkat, *e “land of “ the turquoise,” who was also the presiding deity of Magharah ; in it were niches, intended to hold statues of the higher mining officials and military officers, but these were all found to be empty. The form under which this goddess was worshipped was that of a cow, and the “molten calf” which Aaron made (Exodus xxxii, 4) for the Israelites to worship during the absence of Moses was, no doubt, “fashioned with a graving “ tool ” into a resemblance of Hathor. The Israelites, in fact, influenced by the prevailing local worship of Hathor, forced Aaron to fall in with the custom of the natives of Sinai, and gave him their gold ornaments to make the “molten calf.” The walls were ornamented with painted reliefs, and traces of the inscriptions which described them, and recorded the titles of the king and the names of his gods, still remain. The outer wall encloses a space about 175 feet long and 70 feet broad, and there is reason for believing that a sanctuary stood here for more than 1,300 years, i.e., from the Xllth to the XXth dynasty, during which period the mines in the neighbourhood were worked by the Pharaohs with more or less regularity. 320 SINAITIC INSCRIPTIONS. The mines were situated in the Wadi Nasb, and; between them and the temple the valley was occupied by the miners and by the soldiers who guarded them. To the east and west of the temple are mounds, one of which is 500 feet long and 200 feet broad, covered with layers of slag which vary in thickness from 1 2 feet at the base to 4 feet at the tops ; this slag is not natural, and authorities are agreed in thinking that it represents the remains of the smelting operations which were carried on near the temple. LepsiuS thought that the place was chosen on account of the keen draught of wind which is always blowing there, and which would form an excellent blast for the smelting fires. As large quantities of fuel would be required for smelting the copper ore, we may assume that the neighbourhood was well wooded, and that the country enjoyed a larger rainfall than at present. About the meaning of the name “ Sarbut (plur. Sarabit) “ al-Khadim ” there is a difference of opinion. “Sarbfit” means “hill ” no doubt, and “ Khadim,” in Arabic, means “servant,” and so the name of the place has been translated “ Hill of the servant.” Some colour is given to this; view by the statements of the Arabs, who affirm that the hill obtains its name from the black statue of an official, or king, which formerly stood there and was carried off by the French during their occupation of Egypt. On the other hand, the word “Khadim” may be the equivalent of the old Egyptian “ khetem ” ^ □ , a “fortress,” and if this be so “ Sarbut ” may also be a form of one or more Egyptian words. Leaving the mines the route is resumed in the Wadi Sfiwik, and eventually Wadi al = Homr is reached ; this leads into Wadi Shabekah, and in due course the traveller arrives at Suez. In the brief descriptions of the places, etc., passed on the roads to and from Sinai, no attempt has been made either to trace the course of the Israelites in their journey to Sinai or Ur identify their halting places. A mere statement of the opinions of one authority or another would be misleading in most cases, and the space available here is too limited to admit the intro- duction of general arguments. On one point, however, it is important to state a few facts, viz., the Sinaitic Inscriptions, for the most extraordinary statements have been made about them. According to the old traveller Cosmas Indicopleustes (a.d. 536) they were written by the Hebrews themselves, in SINAITIC INSCRIPTIONS. 321 the time of Moses, at the various stations in the desert at which they halted, and he asserted that the letters were identical with those with which the Tables of the Law were written. In 1636 Athanasius Kircher wrote great nonsense about them, and many other travellers, etc., described their contents entirely after their own imagination. Copies were made by Egmontvan der Nyenburg (1721), Pococke (1738), who transcribed 86 ; Niebuhr (1766), Wortley Montagu (1766), Coutelle and Roziere (1799), Seetzen (1807), Burckhardt (1812), Riippell (1817), Grey (1820), Henniker (1820), Laborde (1828), Lord Prudhoe and Major Felix (1835), Laval (1850), Frazer (1855), etc. In 1866 Professor E. H. Palmer copied about 300 of the Sinaitic inscriptions, and in 1888 and 1889 M. G. Benedite, under the auspices of the French Academy, copied about 2,400 inscriptions. This splendid material has been published in Corpus Inscriptionum Semitic arum, Pars II, Tom. 1, fasc. Ill, Paris, 1902, and it is now possible to discuss the inscriptions as a whole. The first to attempt the decipherment of the Sinaitic inscriptions was E. F. F. Beer in 1840, who declared them to be the work of the Nabateans; he was followed by Tuch in 1848, Lenormant in 1859, Levy in i860, and J. Euting in 1891, who published and translated about 600 inscriptions. The labours of these scholars have proved that the translations made by C. Forster and Samuel Sharpe in 1875 were the result of guesses, and that they were utter nonsense. The Sinaitic inscriptions are funereal in character, whether they be found in Petra or Sinai ; they are quite short, and merely record the names of deceased persons, with exclamations, thus : — “ Peace, ‘Abdaharatat the “ Eparch, and Garmu his servant ” (No. 790); “May ‘Amru “ the son of Ashbatu be eternally remembered for good ” (No. 788); “Peace, ‘Ammayu, the son of Harishu, priest of “ ‘Uzzia” (No. 61 1). The inscriptions are cut in the rocks in letters of different sizes, some being only 1 inch in height, and others 1 3 inches ; they have all the appearance of having been cut in a hurry, for the forms of the letters are often very careless. In fact, most of them commemorate persons who died when travelling, and were buried by their friends in a hurry. The language in which they are written is Nabatean, /. -■ iron mto win in win toto May Aushu, the son of Hirshu, the son of Turiyu, be remembered for good.” MNHC0H AYCOC EPCOY KAA5TAI GYMAPOY E[N AfAGOIC] (No. 1044.) Nabatean Alphabet. i n i 1 1 /I A/ n KH Jy K 9 6 D T 3 a “5 Ol B * Y > sr 3 G 5 3 K / P 1 D JH n H V L 1 W (DOI D M f * 1 Z J 3 N il J] n ID D S p s K R S T x 2 324 THE EXODUS. 5. The Exodus. The Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt is a subject of general interest, and, with special reference to the account of the holy places of Sinai, it may be well to refer briefly to the principal views on the subject. The facts of Egyptian history show that a vast number of people, probably Semites, were expelled from the Delta about 1700 b.c., and the process of expulsion went on under the reigns of the first three or four kings of the XVlIIth dynasty ; this being so, there must have been on several occasions an exodus of Semites, or at least of Canaanites, from Egypt. Traditions of these expul- sions must have lingered among the Canaanitish tribes of Palestine, and when the Hebrews had occupied the country, their annalists incorporated them in their accounts of the emigration of their own ancestors from Egypt. Even Egyptian writers confused the traditions of two distinct events, /.our task in making brick both yesterday and “ to-day, as heretofore ? ” When we remember that Rameses II built a wall from Memphis to Pelusium to keep out of Egypt the hordes of nomad Semites who infested the Eastern Desert, and that he dug the great canal which joined the Nile and the Red Sea, to say nothing of the great building operations which he carried out in stone, there seems to be no reason to 326 EGYPT AND SINAI. doubt that the passage quoted above accurately describes the miserable conditions of the Israelites in the Delta under Rameses the Great. On the other hand, the narrative in Exodus gives us to understand that the oppression of the Israelites took place after Joseph’s death, and because another Pharaoh, who knew not Joseph, sat on the throne of Egypt. But the name of Joseph’s wife, Asenath, and that of her father, Potipherah, and Joseph’s title Zaphnath-Paaneah, all belong to a period which falls about 250 years after the Exodus, which probably took place under Menephthah, and we are therefore driven to the conclusion that the first few verses of the Book of Exodus and Genesis xli, 45, belong to a much later period than the story of the Exodus given in the Bible. These passages and the early chapters of the Book of Exodus were, in their original forms, the work of a writer who possessed accurate local knowledge of the Eastern Delta, and the assigning of late names to Joseph’s wife and her father is the work of a later edition. It must never be forgotten that there is no mention whatsoever in the Egyptian inscriptions of an exodus of Israelites, and up to the present no monument of any kind has been found which can be said truthfully to refer in any way to their sojourn in Egypt. No surprise need be felt at this, for it was not the custom of Egyptian kings to commemorate the deeds of the peoples who were subject to them. That a great exodus of Israelites from Egypt took place cannot be doubted, but it is equally beyond doubt that the story of it in its present form is the work of one whose knowledge of the sequence of events was incomplete. The date of the Exodus and the route which was followed by the children of Israel on their departure from Egypt have given rise to endless discussions and theories, none of which, however, explain away the difficulties of the Bible narrative. The exodus may have taken place 1270 b.c., 1314 b.c., or 1335 b.c, but the all-important fact to be considered is that, speaking historically, it could only have happened on the scale described in the Book of Exodus, in the reign of Menephthah during the period of the rising of the Libyans and others against the Egyptian power. As for the route they followed, the Israelites, we know, were living in Goshen, i.e ., in that portion of the Delta and of the Wadi Tftmilat which has Zakazik on the north Balbes on the south, and the modern Tall al-Kabir on the east ; and we know that they set out from the Wadi Thmilat. When they did so, two THE ROUTE OF THE ISRAELITES. 327 ways were open to them. They could either go into Syria by way of Tanis, or they could go eastwards through the district of Rameses, and so make their way to the northern end of the Red Sea, which it is supposed reached nearly as far as the modern town of Isma‘iliyah. Some think that having arrived at Succoth, the Egyptian Thukut, they passed into the desert at Etham, and then turned to the north, whilst others think that they turned to the south. The Bible narrative says they went to the south, in obedience to the command, “Turn and “ encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over “against Baal-zephon ” (Exodus xiv, 2). These frontier towns or fortresses were, no doubt, well known at the time when the narrative was written, but they cannot now be identified with certainty. If the Israelites marched southwards, three ways were open to them to cross into the desert. The first way passed between Lake Timsah and the Bitter Lakes, the second lay to the south of the Bitter Lakes, and the third way was quite close to the modern town of Suez. The late Dr. Brugsch put forward a theory of the route of the Exodus which made the Israelites to pass through the Field of Zoan, and by the fortresses of Etham, Migdol, near Pelusium, the great Sirbonian Bog, and Pi-hahiroth, and so into Syria. The great drawback to this theory is the extreme improbability that the Israelites would have ventured to march straight into the line of strong Egyptian fortresses which had been built on the eastern frontier of the Delta, and which clearly it was to their interest to avoid. Moreover, we know that Etham and Migdol were common terms for “fortress,” and there must have been several Ethams and Migdols between Goshen and Syria. Taken together the known facts indicate that the Israelites made their way into the desert by the nearest route possible, and that route probably lay through some part of the country now occupied by the modern Lake Timsah, which is relatively close to the eastern end of the Wadi Thmilat. The narrative of the Book of Exodus calls the water which the Israelites crossed the “Yam Suph,” i.e ., the “sea of reeds,” a name which would never have been given to the sea in general ; and there is no doubt that they called the water by that name because it was of considerable extent, and because it contained reeds. The identification of the “ sea of reeds ” with the Red Sea was made by someone who knew nothing about the geography of the Isthmus of Suez, but knowing that the Israelites had passed over a vast stretch of water, he assumed 328 PORT SA‘!d AND THE SUEZ CANAL, ETC. that that water must be the Red Sea. The views on the subject of Goshen and the route of the Exodus which Professor Naville has enunciated deserve careful attention, for they are based on first-hand knowledge derived from the results of the excavations which he made in the Wadi Tumilat, where he discovered the remains of the store city of Pithom. He has treated the subject of the Exodus and the identifications of the cities mentioned in the Bible narrative with common sense and moderation. In the present state of Egyptological knowledge it is impossible to “ settle ” the difficulties which beset the Exodus question, but the present writer, who has gone over the routes proposed both by Professor Naville and Sir William Dawson, thinks that, if the matter is to be considered from a practical standpoint, the only possible way for the Israelites to escape quickly into the Etham desert was by a passage across some portion of the ground which is now covered by Lake Timsah. Recent investigations into the geography of the Eastern Frontier of Egypt suggest that the region at the northern end of the Gulf of Suez has changed very considerably since the early centuries of the Christian Era, and that it is impossible to identify satisfactorily all the sites mentioned in the Book of Exodus in connection with the departure of the Israelites from Egypt. It seems, however, to be generally admitted that the Gulf of Suez extended further to the north than it does to-day, and some think that the sea reached nearly as far as the northern end of Lake Timsah. HI.— PORT SA‘ID, ISMA ILIYAH, SUEZ, AND THE SUEZ CANAL. PORT SA‘ID. Cook’s Office. — Shari‘a Sultan Hussen. Hotels. — Casino Palace Hotel, Eastern Exchange Hotel, Marina Palace Hotel, Continental Plotel. Post Offices in the Rue al-Nil (Egyptian) and Rue Eugenie (French). Telegraph Office of the Eastern" Telegraph Co. on the Shari‘a Sutlan Hussen. Telegraph Office (Egyptian). — Main Street. Tramways through the town and to the Arab quarter and cemetery. Cabs. — By the course 4 piastres, extra at night ; per hour 12 piastres, at night 15 piastres. British Consulate.— Rue al-Nil. U.S. Consulate.— Rue al-Nil. Churches. — Church of the Epiphany; Ste. Eugenie (K.C.). Golf. — Daily at the International Sporting Club. Motor Cars. — By the course, 10 piastres ; per hour, 80 piastres, by night and day. PORT SA‘lD TO CAIRO. 329 6. Port Sa‘id to Cairo, Port Said is a town of very recent growth, and it owes its being entirely to the Suez Canal; in 1917 its population was 70,873, including 15,741 Europeans. About sixty years ago the site on which Port Said now stands was a spot whereon dwelt a few Arabs, who gained their livelihood as fishermen. When the engineers of the Suez Canal Company commenced operations on this narrow strip of sand there was barely suffi- cient room to erect a few tents and sheds. At first wooden houses, raised on piles, were constructed ; and the dredgings from the harbour and from the channel leading to the mouth of the canal were employed for reclaiming and extending this sand-bank. When the site for a port in the Mediterranean, at the entrance to the Suez Canal, had to be selected, it was difficult to find on the flat shore a spot possessing some natural advantages that might prove of use in the construction of a harbour. The reason which finally led the Company’s engineers to select the position which Port Safid now occupies was that the line of deep water was found to be less distant from the shore at that point — 30 feet of water at 2,870 yards — than at any other in the vicinity of that part of the Gulf of Pelusium. The port is formed by two, breakwaters or moles ; the western mole is about 2,726 yards long, and the eastern 1,962 yards, and the area which they enclose is triangular, and about 560 acres. These moles are 26 yards wide at the base, 12 yards high, 6 yards wide on the summit, and the slope of the sides is 1 in 1. Each block weighs 22 tons, and cost about £ 1 7. At the entrance to the port the depth of water is rather more than 30 feet, but the uniform depth of water in the harbour is 26 feet. On the west mole is a lighthouse about 175 feet high, and the flash of its electric light can be seen on a clear night at a distance of about 20 miles. Beyond the lighthouse, on the same mole, is a fine statue of Ferdinand de Lesseps, who was born in 1805 and died in 1894, and who is famous as the builder of the Suez Canal. In Port Safid there is little to be seen which is not connected with shipping and the Canal, but the coaling operations which are here carried out on a very large scale, however unpleasant to the traveller, are always a source of interest. Loaded barges are brought alongside the vessel which is to be coaled, but before they are made fast gangways are run up, and scores of men, each bearing a basket 330 ismaIliyah. of coal, immediately begin their work amid shouts and cries and singing. The largest steamer, which may require several hundreds of tons of coal, can be supplied in about two hours, and when the work is carried on at night, the huge fires which illumine the barges produce a peculiarly weird effect. The Suez Canal steam tramway on the west bank of the Canal, which connected Port Sa‘id with Ismahliyah, has been converted into a railway, and the visitor is now able to journey to Cairo in about five hours instead of seven as formerly. Leaving Port Sa £ id by the railway, the traveller skirts the eastern end of Lake Manzalah, on the islands in which large numbers of birds congregate. The stations passed are : Ras al-‘Esh (kilom. 15), Tinah (kilom. 24), Le Cap (kilom. 34), Al-Kantarah (kilom. 45), where the traveller to Jerusalem leaves the train and crosses the Canal, Balah (kilom. 55), and Al-Fardan (kilom. 65). Here the line leaves the Canal and runs across country to Ismafiliyah. Isma‘iliyah (called after Ismafil Pasha) has a popu- lation of about 15,507. The town contains many pretty villas with gardens, and the verdant labbakh tree has been planted generously along the roads, which are clearly defined and well kept. A great deal of taste has been displayed by the inhabitants in laying out the streets and squares, and looking on the town from a distance it seems incredible that less than 60 years ago its site was a howling wilderness. Here the sweet = water canai, which is brought from the Nile at Zakazik, 50 miles distant, divides into two branches, the one entering the Suez Canal by double locks and the other running on to Suez. From 1862, when the town was founded, until 1877 the health of its inhabitants was very good ; in the latter year, however, 335 cases of fever appeared, and the disease became endemic, and between 1884 and 1897 there were 1,700 cases of fever each year, and between 1898 and 1902 there were 1,800 cases of fever. Up to the end of 1897 the Suez Canal Company had spent nearly ^32,000 on sanitary works and medicine, but no impression was made on the fever. Subsequently Major Ross was invited to examine the town, and he came to the conclu- sion that the fever was caused by the anopheles mosquito, which bred in vast numbers in the pools of stagnant water that lay round the town. On December 27th, 1902, it was decided to adopt Major Ross’s system of dealing with the insect, and in 1963 there were only 213 cases of fever as against 2,209 in 1902. Of the 213 cases in 1903, 203 were PITHOM AND SUCCOTH. 331 cases of those who had had fever previously ; thus the number of new cases in 1903 was only 10. In recent years the number of cases of malaria has still further diminished. After leaving Ismafiliyah, which is about 94 miles from Cairo, the first place stopped at is Nafishah ; this is merely a station that belongs to the triangle by which trains to and from Cairo and trains to and from Suez arrive at and depart from Ismafiliyah. About 12 miles from Nafishah is Abu Suwer, the station in the Wadi Tumilat; this Wadi, or valley, is about 30 miles long, and runs almost due east and west, and leads into the tract of country which is called Goshen in the Bible. At mile 18 from Ismahliyah is Mahsamah, a town which stands on the site of a part of a frontier fortress town built by Rameses II, about 1300 b.c. ; in 1917 it had 11,974 inhabitants. Between Mahsamah and Abu Suwer are a number of ruins to which the name Tall al = Mas = khutah has been given ; this name means the “ hill of the statue,” and the place was thus called by the Arabs because of a monolithic group in red granite, representing a king sitting between two gods. The inscriptions on the back of the group showed that the king was Rameses II, and Dr. Lepsius, without any hesitation, identified Tall al-Maskhutah with the city of “ Raamses ” built by the Israelites during the oppression. This identification was generally accepted, and the place was henceforth called “Raamses” by Europeans until 1883, when the excavations which Professor Naville * made on the site proved that the Egyptian town which stood here was not Raamses at all, but Pi thorn, and an inscription gave the information that the district was called Thuku , by the Egyptians, and Succoth by the Hebrews. These discoveries were of great importance, for they showed beyond a doubt that Pithom was a town in Succoth, and that Succoth was in the neighbourhood of Goshen. Joseph said to Jacob, “And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and “ thou shalt be near unto me . . . and there will I nourish “ thee ” (Genesis xlv, ro); and it was to Goshen that Jacob came from Canaan (Genesis xlvi, 28), and “ Israel dwelt in the “ land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen ; and they had “ possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly ” (Genesis xlvii, 27). We see that the Hebrews called Thuku * The Store City of Pithom, London, 2nd edition, 1903 332 EXCAVATIONS AT TALL AL-MASKHUTAH. “Succoth,” which means “tents,” not because the Egyptian name meant “tents,” but because they pronounced Thuku as Suku, and this done, popular etymology supplied a Hebrew meaning. In much the same way, as Professor Naville has already remarked, the word Mesu, * which means “child,” was turned into the proper name “Moses” (Mosheh), and this done, the Hebrew philologists connected it with a root in their own language, which means “ to draw out.” In Exodus i, n, ff, we read, “Therefore did they (i.e., the “ Egyptians) set over them taskmasters to afflict them with “ their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, “ Pithom and Raamses. . . . And the Egyptians made the “ children of Israel to serve with rigour : and they made their “ lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in “ all manner of service in the field : all their service, wherein “they made them serve, was with rigour.” The name of the Egyptian town excavated by Professor Naville was Pa-Temu, ° c whence is derived the Hebrew form Pithom, with which all are familiar. In the course of the excavations a large number of chambers were found, the walls of which were built of crude bricks, and were from 6 to q feet thick, the chambers were rectangular in shape, and were not con- nected by doors or any other opening. There is little doubt that these chambers were the store-places for grain, which was shot into them through holes in the roofs, and it is evident that a very large reserve of grain could be kept in them. The object of such “ treasure cities,” or rather store cities, was to supply the troops that were stationed on the frontier to “ward the marches ” between Egypt and Syria. The town of Raamses was not far from Pithom, and there is every reason to assume that it was in the construction of the crude brick buildings which belonged to them that the Israelites worked. In respect of the bricks of Pithom, Mr. Villiers Stuart remarked (Egypt after the War , p. 81), “I carefully examined the “chamber walls, and I noticed that some of the corners of the “ brickwork throughout were built of bricks without straw. “ I do not remember to have met anywhere in Egypt bricks so “made. In a dry climate like Egypt it is not necessary to * The name Mesu fjj P has actually been found in hiero’ glyphics. ( See Ostrakon in the British Museum, No. 5631.) TALL AL-KABlR. 333 “ burn the bricks ; they are made of Nile mud, and dried in the “ sun. Straw is mixed with them to give them coherence. ” This evidence is not so conclusive as it seems, for often straw (/.*., teben ) is only used in mud bricks when it can be spared for this purpose, and everywhere in Egypt, especially in poor districts where all the straw is required for food for the cattle, mud bricks in which there is no straw “ binding ” will be found. In 1908 M. J. Cledat carried out excavations at Tall al- Maskhutah, near the ruins of the old town of Pa-Tem (Pithom), and recovered a number of small objects chiefly of the Saite Period. Of the older things, the most important is a cylinder- seal which was made for an official who served under Merenra and Pepi II, kings of the Vlth dynasty. The Horus names of these kings are given side by side, and beneath them is cut a scene representing a king sacrificing a prisoner to his god. The official for whom the cylinder was made was a priest on the foundations of the pyramids of king Assa (Vth dynasty) and king Pepi I (Vlth dynasty). The cylinder is important as proving that there must have been some fortress on the site under the Ancient Empire, and that this stood on the eastern frontier of the Delta. At mile 24 from Ismafiliyah is Kasasin, commonly spelt Kassassin. It was here that on August 28th, 1882, a battle between the British and the forces of Arabi Pasha was fought, and General Graham deeated an Egyptian force of 1,000 cavalry, 8,000 infantry, and 12 guns. The British loss was ri killed and 67 wounded. The famous “moonlight charge” was an episode of this battle, but it is said to have had no real effect on the fortunes of the day. At mile 3 4 from Ismafiliyah is Tall al-Kabir, more correctly At-Tall al-Kabir, i.e ., the Great Hill, a wretched village, but made famous by Lord Wolseley’s victory over Arabi Pasha in 1882. Arabi was exiled here with his mutinous regiment in 1881, and the place had been used as a military station and camp for some years. Tall al-Kabir and Kafr ad-Dawar are the two great strategical points to be held in defending Lower Egypt. Arabi’s force consisted of 70 guns, 18,000 infantry, three regiments of cavalry, 6,000 Badawin, and at As-Salahiyah was Arabi himself, with 24 guns and 5,000 men in reserve. The battle began at dawn on September 13th, and by 6.45 a.m. Arabi’s headquarters and the canal bridge were seized ; the British casualties were 459 killed, wounded, and missing, and the Egyptian losses were 2,000. Arabi and his second in command were the first to 334 BUBASTIS. escape, but the Egyptian soldiers displayed real courage, as the contents of the trenches proved. The British cemetery is to the south of the railway line, a little distance from the station. The army of Arabi ceased to exist after the battle of Tall al-Kabir, Zakazik was occupied at 4 p.m. on the day of the fight, Cairo was occupied by General Drury-Lowe at 4.45 p.m. the following day, and Lord Wolseley arrived by train on the morning of the 15 th. At mile 40 from Ismafiliyah is Abu Ham mad (population 3,709), four miles further on is Abu AI = Akhdar, and in four miles more Zakazik is reached. Zakazik is the capital of the province Sharkiyah, and contained in 1917 some 41,741 inhabi- tants. The town is an important centre of the cotton trade, as the trains loaded with steam-pressed bales, each weighing about 760 pounds, which are seen in the sidings testify ; here, too, there is a grain market, and many wealthy merchants, both native and European, live in and about the town. Zakazik probably stands on the western boundary of the Land of Goshen, for the fertility of the district is unsurpassed, and the crops are abundant. The large stream which runs through the town is the Mufizz Canal, and it represents the old Tanitic arm of the Nile ; the town is connected by rail with Mansurah, and there are two lines to Cairo, one via Balbes, and the other via Banha. Close to the town is the Fresh Water Canal, which in many places, follows the course of the Nile and Red Sea Canal first built by Rameses II, and later repaired and enlarged by Necho, Darius I, Ptolemy II, Trajan, and one of the early Khalifahs. Quite close to the station are a number of mounds which mark the site of the great city, which the prophet Ezekiel calls “ Pi-beseth,” and of which he says : “The young men of “ Aven (On, or Heliopolis) and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the “ sword : and these cities shallgo into captivity. At Tehaphnehes “ also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the “ yokes of Egypt,” etc. (Ezek. xxx, 17, 18). Pi-Beseth is the glyphic inscriptions, and the Bubastis of classical writers This name is preserved in the Arabic Tall Bastah. The excavations made at this place by Professor Naville for the Egypt Exploration Fund in 1887-8 prove that a flourishing city, with a temple, stood here so far back as the IVth dynasty, and that most of the great kings of the Vlth, Xllth, XVIIIth, XIXth, XXIInd, XXVIth, and XXXth dynasties repaired, or city Pa-Bast, or of the hiero- BUBASTIS. 335 added to or beautified, the temple and city. Bubastis was captured by the Persians about 352 b.c., and they wrecked the strong walls, which were several miles long, and inflicted injuries on the fortifications from which the town never recovered. It is probable that the whole of the land within the walls was raised above the level of the surrounding country by artificial means. The great deity of Bubastis was the goddess Bast, and she was worshipped under the form of a cat-heated lioness ; she is represented with a disk encircled by a uraeus on her head, and she holds a lotus sceptre in one hand. The cult of this goddess is very ancient, and it goes back to the time when the cat was regarded as the incarnation of the chief deity of the neighbourhood ; under the influence of the Sun- worshippers, who came into Egypt from the east, the old attributes of the goddess were forgotten, and new ones' of a solar character were ascribed to her. The festivals of Bast were celebrated with great rejoicings, and it is said that so many as 700,000 visitors sometimes arrived at Bubastis on such occasions. The account of the temple and its festivals, according to Herodotus (Book II, §§ 60, 137, 138), is as follows “ Although other cities in Egypt were carried to a great height, “ in my opinion the greatest mounds were thrown up about the city “of Bubastis, in which is a temple of Bubastis well worthy of “ mention ; for though other temples may be larger and more costly, “ yet none is more pleasing to look at than this. Bubastis, in the “Greek language, answers to Diana. Her sacred precinct is thus “ situated : all except the entrance is an island ; for two canals from “the Nile extend to it, not mingling with each other, but each “reaches as far as the entrance of the precinct, one flowing round “ it on one side, the other on the other. Each is 100 feet broad, and “shaded with trees. The portico is 60 feet in height, and is “adorned with figures 6 cubits high, that are deserving of notice. “This precinct, being in the middle of the city, is visible on every “ side to a person going round it : for as the city has been moulded “ up to a considerable height, but the temple has not been moved, “it is conspicuous as it was originally built. A wall sculptured “with figures runs round it : and within is a grove of lofty trees, “ planted round a large temple in which the image is placed. The “ width and length of the precinct is each way a stade [600 feet]. “Along the entrance is a road paved with stone, about three stades “in length [1,803 feet], leading through the square eastward ; and “ in width it is about four plethra [400 feet] : on each side of the “ road grow trees of enormous height ; it leads to the temple of “ Mercury. “ Now, when they are being conveyed to the city of Bubastis, “they act as follows: for men and women embark together, and “ great numbers of both sexes in every barge ; some of the women “ have castanets on which they play, and the men play on the flute 336 PORT SaId TO SUEZ, VIA THE SUEZ CANAL. “ during the whole voyage ; the rest of the women and men sing “and clap their hands together at the same time. When in the “course of their passage they come to any town, they lay their “ barge near to land, and do as follows : some of the women do as “ I have described; others shout and scoff at the women of the “place ; some dance, and others stand up and behave in an unseemly “ manner ; this they do at every town by the river side. When they “arrive at Bubastis, they celebrate the feast, offering up great “sacrifices ; and more wine is consumed at this festival than in all “the rest of the year. What with men and women, besides “children, they congregate, as the inhabitants say, to the number “of seven hundred thousand.” Between Zakazik and Cairo, via Banha, the following stations are passed Zankalun, with 7,334 inhabitants ; Gudaya= dat al = Halah, with 8,203 inhabitants; Minyat Al = Kamh, with 6,451 inhabitants ; Mil = Yazid, with 4,327 inhabitants; and ShabSangah, with 7,202 inhabitants. The distance between Zakazik and Banha is about 20 miles; Banha and the remainder of the route to Cairo have already been described. 7. Port Sa‘sd to Suez, via the Suez Canal. On leaving Port Safid the canal at once enters Lake Manzalah, through which the channel runs for 29 miles : the waters of the lake are shallow, and the bottom is mud, which has been deposited by the Pelusiac, Tanitic, and Mendesian branches of the Nile, all of which flow through the lake. The banks on each side of the canal were formed of the materials which were dredged up from the bottom. Enormous flocks of water fowl may be seen standing in shallow lagoons at a short distance from the railway. On the site of Lake Manzalah stood Tanis, the capital of the Tanitic Nome, the Zoan of Numbers xiii, 22, and the Field of Zoan of Psalm lxxviii, 12, 43. The fields were exceedingly fertile, and wheat and vines were grown abundantly. About the eighth or tenth century the sea invaded the district which, until the present day, has remained a shallow marsh. The draining of Lake Manzalah has been begun. At Al = Kantarah, i.e., the “ Bridge,” at the southern end of Lake Manzalah, is an important railway station on the Egypt=Palestine Railway. The exigencies of the shipping traffic of the Suez Canal made it necessary to remove the railway bridge, and passengers for Jerusalem, Berut, Damascus, etc., must now leave their carriages on the west bank of the canal, and cross by ferry to the railway station on the east bank. For the journey from Cairo to Jerusalem, see p. 286 ff. THE BITTER LAKES, SUEZ. 337 The place bears this name because it stands on the narrow strip of land which divides Lake Manzalah from Lake Balah, and which may be regarded as a bridge. As a matter of fact the old caravan route between Egypt and Syria passed over this “ bridge.” A small town seems to have existed near this “ bridge ” from time immemorial, and it was a place of importance in Ptolemaic times and later, for in excavating the site for the Railway station, cemeteries of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods were discovered. A little to the north of Al-Kantarah are the mounds of Tall Dafannah, which mark the site of the city Tahapanes (Jeremiah ii, 16), i.e , the Daphnse of the Greeks. The canal runs for two miles between low sand-hills, when it enters Lake Balah, which is eight miles long ; at the end of the lake is AI = Fardan, and here the canal enters a cutting which extends to Lake Timsah. Four miles south of Al-Fardan is Al = Gisr, which is the deepest cutting along the whole course of the canal, for mud and sand had to be excavated to a depth of about 70 feet. Three lines of tram- way were laid down, and six engines and 250 wagons were employed in removing the soil ; the work was finished in January, 1868. It was to this point that, during the early stages of the undertaking, the 20,000 fallahm who were supplied by the Government were sent in order to make a narrow channel wherein the dredgers could be floated and utilized. Two years were spent in making this channel, and then the waters of the Mediterranean flowed into the basin of Lake Timsah, which took five months to fill. Most of the excava- tion was done by piecework, and each labourer earned from is. 6 d. to 2S. 6 d. per day. The circumference of Lake Timsah is nine miles, and 95,000,000 cubic yards of water were required to fill it. The second half of the Suez Canal, that from Ismafiliyah to the Red Sea, may be divided into two portions ; the first extends from Lake Timsah, through the cutting of Tusun to the southern end of the cutting of the Serapeum, and the second from the Bitter Lakes and through the Shalfif cutting to Suez. Near the Serapeum monuments of Darius have been found. The length of the Bitter Lakes is about 24 miles. In the Shaluf cutting a stratum of conglomerate rock was found, about 52,000 cubic yards of which had to be blasted and cleared away. Numerous fossil remains were found here, and those of the shark in considerable quantities. Y 338 THE TOWN OF SUEZ. The journey from Isma'iliyah to Suez by train is uninteresting. Nearly three hours are spent in covering the 60 miles, and beyond a glimpse of the Bitter Lakes, and the rigging of a ship passing through the Suez Canal, there is little to be seen on the west side of the railway. On the east side the desert scenery and the mountains are, in places, very picturesque. SUEZ. Cook’s Agent. — Mr. G. C. Mavro. Hotels. — Hotel -Bel- Air, Savoy Hotel. At Port Tawfik, Hotel du Sinai. Post and Telegraph Offices. — Eastern Telegraph Co., near Railway Station and at Port Tawfik. Egyptian State Telegraphs, near Gover- norate and Port Tawfik. Post Office, near French Consulate and also at Port Tawfik. Trains every hour between the town and Port Tawfik. Single fares only, payable in train, ist class, 15 millims ; 2nd class, 10 millims. Golf, — At Arbain. Tennis. — At Suez and Port Tawfik. British Consulate. — At Port Tawfik. Norwegian Consulate. — At Port Tawfik. Dutch Consulate.— At Port Tawfik. American Consulate.— None. Greek Consulate.— At Suez. French Consulate.— At Suez. Danish Consulate. — At Suez. Spanish Consulate. — At Suez. Swedish Consulate. — At Suez. Portuguese Consulate. — At Suez. Italian Consulate. — At Suez. Russian Consulate. -At Suez. Motor Cabs.— Per hour, P.T. 80 ; for each half-hour, 50 piastres ; for each quarter-hour’s waiting or less, 5 piastres. On approaching the town of Suez the canal is continued into the Gulf of Suez, which ends in a shallow. In i860, before the works were begun, Suez was an unimportant village, con- taining, according to Mr. J. Clerk, about 4,000 inhabitants, who lived by fishing and by work on the large steamers which embarked and disembarked passengers by the overland route ; the absence of a good supply of fresh water and the dearness of provisions effectually prevented the growth of the town. In 1917 its inhabitants numbered 28,403 persons. Formerly, after the opening of the Suez Canal, when pas- sengers disembarked and embarked at Suez, the little town was comparatively prosperous, but in recent years, in spite of the reclamation of land and the plentiful supply of fresh water, its development has become arrested. The history of Suez in antiquity is not very clear, and though a few unimportant objects of the dynastic period have been found in its neighbourhood, THE WELL OF MOSES. 339 the Egyptian inscriptions yield no information about it. Classical writers speak of a town or fortress called Clysma, which was situated at the head of the western gulf of the Red Sea, and it seems that it must have stood quite near the modern Suez. An ancient tradition makes the passage of the Israelites across the Red Sea to have taken place near here. There is little to interest the traveller in Suez, for the bazars are unimportant, and the shops only contain the tawdry things which are bought by the poorest of native travellers in their passage through the town. As Port Sa‘id is fittingly ornamented « with a statue of M. de Lesseps, that wonderful man to whom the world owes the successful completion of the Suez Canal, so is Suez ornamented with a statue of Thomas Waghorn, which was set up by M. de Lesseps on the island made from the dredgings of the canal. Waghorn was bom in 1800, and died in January, 1850. He served in the navy for six years, and was a pilot in the Bengal Service for five years ; between 1827 and 1830 he advocated the overland route from Cairo to Suez for passengers to India, and before 1841 actually proved his views to be possible by organizing the transport service foi it. He arrived in London on October 31st, 1845, bringing with him the Bombay mail of October 1, and the ordinary express mail did not arrive until two days later ; he was fully persuaded that he could bring the mail from Bombay to London in 21 days. He was made lieutenant in the Royal Navy in 1842, but the man who had done so much for Britain and British commerce, and had fought in the Burmese war, was allowed to end his days in penury and to die in want. Travellers to Suez who have a day to spare usually visit the Well of Moses, or Fountain of Moses, which is situated on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez, about 7 miles from the town. Tradition asserts that Moses and the Children of Israel rested here and drank water after they had crossed the sea, but the Moses after whom the place is named was probably not Moses the great law-giver. The Well of Moses is in reality a small oasis, about half a mile in length, where there were said to have existed originally seven gardens or groves, and 12 fountains of brackish, or actually salt, water. There are many beautiful date palms here, and the luxuriant growth of green things is very refreshing to the eye. The tradition referred to above would identify the Well of Moses with Elim “ where were “ twelve wells of water, and three score and ten palm trees,” and where the Israelites encamped (see Exodus xv, 27;. y 2 340 CLYSMA. Another tradition says that the waters which the Israelites drank were made sweet by a plant which Moses cast into it by Divine command, and this would identify the place with Marah (Exodus xv, 23-25). Antoninus, called by some “ Martyr,” tells us in his “Itinerary” how he journeyed to Sachot and to Magdal, and also to the place where there were 72 palms and 12 wells. Here there were a little castle called Surandala, and two houses for receiving strangers, and here he saw pepper trees growing, and plucked some of their fruit. Next he came to the place where the Israelites camped after crossing the sea, and then he passed on to the spot on the sea shore where they came up out of the sea. Here he found a chapel dedicated to Elijah, and on the other side of the sea, where the Israelites entered it, a chapel dedicated to Moses. Close by was the little town of Clysma to which the ships from India came. Stretching out of the sea he found a gulf which reached far inland, and wherein ebbed and flowed the tide, and Antoninus declares that when the tide was out it was possible to see the weapons of Pharaoh and the remains of the wheels of his chariot, all of which, however, were turned into marble. Antoninus made his famous journey about the year 570, but the tradition about the scene of the overthrow of the hosts of Pharaoh is considerably older. This narrative is interesting, because it shows that the belief which asserted that the Egyptian army was drowned near Suez was accepted in his day ; it is also important as proving that Clysma was a port for ships which traded between India and Egypt, and it suggests that the Indian merchandise was carried overland, probably to the city which is represented by the modern Cairo, and to Alexandria. Had the canal from the Red Sea to the Nile (Amnis Trajanus) been in working order, the wares of India would no doubt have been carried by it to the great cities of the Delta. The geography of the district at the southern end of the present Suez Canal is of great interest, but it is very difficult to identify the sites mentioned by classical and other writers, and to harmonize the statements about their position which are made by ancient historians. Some recent authorities think that the conformation of the coast at the north end of the Gulf of Suez was different about 2,000 years ago from what it is at the present time, and if this be so, the generally accepted identifications of sites will need revision. MENZAIjEB ]'LinTl^E \hittiw COOK'S MAP OT THE SUEZ CANAL (1072/7/Ztj) HISTORY OF THE SUEZ CANAL. 341 The Suez Canal. — A glance at the map of Africa will show that this vast country is attached to Asia by means of a relatively very narrow strip of land, i.e. } the Isthmus of Suez, and a closer examination reveals the fact that this strip of land, though consisting chiefly of swamp and sand, has for thousands of years been a serious obstacle to communication by ship between Europe and the East. At the south end of the Isthmus is the Gulf of Suez, and at the north of it rolls the Mediterranean. It is possible that in remote ages the sea flowed entirely over the place where the Isthmus now is, but some authorities hesitate to assert this, because the marine faunas of the two seas neither resemble each other, nor are found together. In historic times probably nothing more than a series of salt-water lagoons existed between the two seas, and this must certainly have been the case in the Pharaonic period, otherwise the kings of Egypt would never have felt compelled to attempt the great work of constructing a canal. The Egyptians in the reign of Rameses II, 1330 b.c., seem to have contrived to make a canal, about 92^ miles long, which ran from the city of Bubastis to the head of the Gulf of Suez ; this canal passed through the Bitter Lakes for a distance of about 27 miles. Some 720 years later, Nekau (Necho), the son of Psammetichus, determined to make a canal to connect the Nile with the Red Sea, and he began the work. Herodotus tells us that he was warned to desist from the undertaking by an oracle which declared that he was only con- structing it for the use of the barbarians. Notwithstanding the threats of famine and disaster which the oracle indulged in, Necho carried on the work until he lost 120,000 Egyptians, when he was compelled to abandon it. The labours of Necho were, however, not in vain, for Uarius the Persian made use of them in the construction of his canal, and this channel was maintained and improved by the Ptolemies, and later by the Romans under Trajan. Ptolemy II mentions quite distinctly that “ he dug “ out the canal in the east of Egypt to make it his frontier dotus says that the canal was sufficiently wide to admit two tri- remes abreast, and that the navigation from sea to sea occupied about four days; Pliny estimated its width at 100 feet, and against the desert Hero- iii- 342 HISTORY OF THE SUEZ CANAL. Strabo at ioo cubits, i.e., 150 feet, and both writers are probably correct, for the traces of the canal which still exist indicate that its width varied between 100 and 200 feet. Cleopatra, after her defeat at Actium, endeavoured to save the remnant of her fleet by passing it through this canal into the Red Sea, but she failed, owing to the lowness of the Nile at that season. Of the history of the canal during the early centuries of the Christian era we know nothing, but it seems that it must have become blocked, for shortly after the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs in 640 ‘Amr ibn-al-‘Asi, the Muhammadan general, proposed to make a canal direct from Suez to the Gulf of Pelusium, and to restore the old canal of the Pharaohs. His object was to connect Egypt with iVrabia, and to make a route for the transport of grain from one country to the other. ‘Amr’s commander-in-chief opposed the scheme until 649, when the canal was reopened, and it remained in a navigable condition for about 18 years; it was filled up in 767 by a Caliph who was fighting against Mecca and Madinah, and who hoped, by stopping the supply of grain, to starve out the populations. Between the ninth and the eighteenth centuries many far-sighted rulers wished either to open up the old canal or to make a new one, but the cost and labour of such an undertaking prevented the translation of the wish into work. In 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte, having himself found remains of the old Egyptian canal near Suez, at once perceived the importance of water communication between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and appointed a Commission to inqure into the matter ; and M. Le Pere was directed to prepare a plan of the route of a canal across the Isthmus of Suez, which should include the restoration of the old channel. M. Le Pere declared the level of the Red Sea to be 30 feet higher than that of the Mediterranean, and he proposed to overcome the difficulty as to levels by a series of locks. He was so certain of the correctness of his views that he wrote : — “ It is therefore “ certain, after a careful study of the surveys we have made, “ that the Delta is liable to be inundated by the waters of the “ Red Sea, and that the fears entertained by the ancient “ Egyptians of submersion in case a canal were made were “ well grounded in past times, when the Delta, and the bed of “ the Nile itself, were undoubtedly at a lower elevation.” But Napoleon, though baffled, did not give up the idea of carrying out the scheme. HISTORY OF THE SUEZ CANAL. 343 During the early years of the last century M. Talbot proposed to build a canal from Suez to Cairo, and to take it by an aqueduct over the Nile at Cairo, and thence to the Mediterranean at Alexandria. In 1846 M. Bourdaloue, after making a double survey from Suez to Tinah, and from Tinah to Suez, decided that the difference between the levels of the two seas was so slight that, if the canal were made, it would be unnecessary to face the embank- ments, except in places near the Red Sea. Meanwhile, Chesney had surveyed the route for the canal across the Isthmus of Suez, and it is an interesting fact that the present canal exactly follows the route marked out by him. In 1849 M. Ferdinand de Lesseps worked out a scheme for a canal across the isthmus, and in 1854 he brought his plans before Sa‘id Pasha, who supported them warmly and gave him a preliminary concession which authorised him to form a company for the purpose of excavating a canal between the two seas. M. de Lesseps visited England, and found many capitalists ready to help him, but the British Govern- ment under Lord Palmerston looked coldly on the scheme, and even the French Government were not over-pleased with it. When it became evident that the Company would certainly be floated, the British Government, through the British Minister at Constantinople, brought all its influence to bear on the Porte to induce it to veto the making of the canal. As soon as possible M. de Lesseps had a new survey of the route made by Linant Bey and Mougel Bey, which was finished in 1855, an d submitted to an International Commission nominated by the Great Powers of Europe. The Commission declared the scheme to be possible, and M. de Lesseps obtained a second concession, notwithstanding that the Sultan had declined to confirm the previous one which had been submitted to him by the Viceroy. The Suez Canal Company was then finally organized, nearly on the same basis on which it at present stands ; the concession is to last 99 years from the date of the opening of the canal, and the Government to receive 15 per cent, annually of the earnings of the Company. In January, 1856, the Porte objected to some of the details connected with the working of the scheme, and so brought everything to a standstill for nearly two years. Finally, the whole matter was submitted for arbitration by the Viceroy of Egypt to the Emperor Napoleon, who in July, 1 864, awarded the Company an indemnity of .£3,360,000. Meanwhile M. de Lesseps had 344 HISTORY OF THE SUEZ CANAL. many serious difficulties to contend against, and he and his engineers were ordered to leave the country ; and on one occasion, when cholera was raging, all their workmen ran away. When the works were commenced, the engineers were con- fronted with the difficulty of obtaining drinking water. In 1856 the Egyptian Government had agreed to make a fresh- water canal from Ismaflliyah to Port Safld, but having experience of the tactics of high officials, M. de Lesseps soon realized that if it was to be made within any reasonable period his Company must make it. Before the fresh-water canal was constructed, 3,000 camels and donkeys were employed in carrying water from the Nile to the works; when the Company had made the fresh-water canal, the Egyptian Government in 1863 purchased it for ^400,000. The machinery employed in the making of the Suez Canal cost ^2,400,000, and it is calculated that 96,938,066 cubic yards of mud, sand, etc., were dredged and excavated ; the cost of the coals consumed was ^40,000 per month. Mention has already been made of the difference in level which exists between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, and we may also note in passing the action of the tide, which is felt in the southern portion of the canal between Suez and the Bitter Lakes. There is a regular flow and ebb, the flow running in for seven hours, and the ebb running out for five hours. At the Suez entrance the rise at spring tides, unless affected by strong winds, is between 5 feet and 6 feet ; about half-way from Suez to the Small Bitter Lake, a distance of 6 miles, it is under 2 feet ; at the north end of the Small Bitter Lake, a few inches only ; while at the south end of the Great Bitter Lake there is scarcely any perceptible tidal influence. Since the filling of Lake Timsah by the waters of the Mediterranean in April, 1867, the level of the Great Bitter Lake has risen 4 inches, and there is a current of from half a mile to a mile per hour always running from Lake Timsah towards the Mediterranean. The exact distance across the isthmus from Tinah, which marks the site of Pelusium, to Suez is only 70 miles, but the actual distance which the canal traverses from Port Safid to where it enters the Red Sea, a little to the south-east of Suez, is 100 miles. This additional length is amply compensated by the natural advantages gained in the adoption of the present line, and the credit of suggesting this particular route is due to M. Lavallay, who saw how the work would be facilitated, and the moneys economized by making the beds of Lake HISTORY OF THE SUEZ CANAL. 345 Manzalah, Balah, Timsah, and the Bitter Lakes form parts of the bottom of the new canal. About 60 miles of the canal’s course lies through these lakes. The width of the canal at the Suez end is about 300 yards in the widest part. The width of the canal between banks in 1920 varied between 480 and 525 feet; its width at the bottom was between 180 and 225 feet, and its depth between 36 and 40 feet. The inauguration of the Suez Canal took place on November i6th, 1869, with splendid ceremonies. A benedic- tion of the canal in Arabic was pronounced by the Shekh Apagada of Cairo, and Monsignor Bauer, Archbishop of Alexandria, conducted an impressive service in the presence of the Khedive, the Emperor of Austria, the Empress of the French, and a crowd of notables of every nationality, and pronounced an eloquent encomium on M. de Lesseps, and on the “obscurs illustres” who had fallen in the course of the work. The cost of entertaining the guests and the inaugural fetes is said to have been about ^2,000,000 ; some declare that they cost ^4,000,000, and some name even a higher figure. The Opera House at Cairo cost ^60,000, the palace built at Ismafiliyah for the occasion ^40,000, and for several weeks hospitality was dispensed lavishly to everyone who asked for it from one end of the canal to the other. At the opening ball 6,000 persons were present, but of these 2,000 were uninvited. The total amount of money received by the Suez Canal Company up to April 30th, 1863, was^i3, 853, 866. The original capital was subscribed in 400,000 shares of ^20. In 1868 an additional sum of ^4,000,000 was needed, and 333,333 bonds at ^12 were issued; only ^1, 143,687 of this amount were subscribed, and the balance of ^2,856,313 was raised in a few days by lottery. In 1871 a loan of ^C8oo,ooo was raised, and further loans were raised in 1880 and 1887. Besides the ordinary shares there were 100,000 founders’ shares, which gave their owners the right to participate in the surplus profits under certain conditions. In 1875 Isma‘il Pasha sold 176,602 Suez Canal shares to the British Govern- ment for ^3,976,582 sterling; these shares are now worth about ^40,000,000. On April 7th, 19 it, the Egyptian Government brought before the General Assembly proposals with regard to the renewal of the Suez Canal Concession, and after a prolonged discussion, they were rejected by 66 votes to one. It will be remembered that the concession of the Suez 346 TRAFFIC RECEIPTS, ETC. Canal Company expires on November 17th, 1968. The pro- posed Convention, which was rejected by the Egyptian General Assembly, provided that the concession should be prolonged for an additional 40 years to the end of 2008. The Company was to pay the Government ^E.4,000,000 in four equal annual instalments beginning on December 15th 1911 ; from 1921 the Government was to receive a proportion of the net revenue, ris- ing from 4 per cent, in 1921 to 12 percent, in the years 1961-8. From January 1st, 1969, to the expiration of the prolonged concession in 2008, the net revenue was to be divided between the Company and the Government on the following plan : — When below £ 2,000,000 the whole was to go to the Company ; when between ^2,000,000 and ^4,000,000, ^£2,000,000 was to go to the Company and the rest to the Government ; when over ^4,000,000 it was to be divided equally. From January 1st, 1969, the Government was to forgo the 15 per cent, of the receipts allotted to the Egyptian State by Article 63 of the present Convention. From the same date the Government was to be represented on the Board of Administration by three members. The following figures will illustrate the development of traffic on the Suez Canal : — Year. No. of Vessels. Gross Tonnage. Receipts. Passengers. 1869 10 io ,557 Francs. 54,460 1874 1,264 2,423,672 24,859,383 73,597 1879 i,477 3,236,942 29,686,060 82,144 148,298 1884 3,284 8,319,967 62,378,115 1885 3,624 8,985,411 62,207,439 201,771 1889 3,425 9,605,745 66,167,579 175,505 1896 3,409 12,039,858 79,569,994 308,227 1897 2,986 11,123,403 13,699,237 72,830,545 191,215 1900 3,44i 90,623,608 282,194 1901 3,699 i 5 , j 63, 2 33 100,386,397 270,221 1907 4,267 20,551,982 116,000,096 243,580 1908 3,795 19,110,831 108,452,235 218,785 1909 4,239 21,500,847 120,642,677 213,121 1912 5,373 28,008,945 136,423,831 266,406 1914 4,802 26,866,340 122,248,853 39G773 I9G 3,7o8 21,027,457 93,522,616 210,530 1916 3,no 16,894,288 80,862,403 283,030 1917 2,353 1 1,414,482 64,147,850 142, 3G 1920 4,000 1 7, 500,000 150,000,000 The total expenditure in 1920 was 60,000,000 francs plus 11,500,000 of francs sunk in improvements. TRAFFIC RECEIPTS, ETC. 347 Of the 2,353 vessels which passed through the canal in 1917, 1,647 were British, 163 French, 33 Dutch, 4 Russian, 231 Italian, 8 Spanish, 20 Norwegian, 15 American, 11 Danish, 127 Greek, 7 Swedish, 6 Portuguese, and 80 Japanese. Since the introduction of the electric light, ships have passed through the canal bv day and by night. In 1917 the mean duration of passage for all vessels navigating the canal was 15 hours 44 minutes. The saving of distance effected by the Suez Canal for a ship sailing from New York, or England, or Marseilles, or St. Petersburg, to the East amounts to 3,600, 4,840, 5,940, and 4,840 nautical miles respectively. 348 PART III. UPPER EGYPT. Cairo to Luxor ; the Temples and Tombs of Thebes ; Luxor to Aswan; Aswan (Shallal) to Wadi Halfah (Second Cataract). (a) By Steamer on the Nile to Aswan. (b) By Railway to Aswan. The marvellous monuments from which Egypt’s long history has been deciphered lie mainly along and within easy reach of the banks of the Niie, and the most enjoyable method of visiting them is by one of Messrs. Cook’s First Class Tourist Steamers, alluded to on page 22. These vessels make frequent sailings during the season between Cairo, Luxor, and Aswan, and between Aswan and Wadi Halfah, making long halts at every place of interest, tying up to bank each night by some historic town and providing the means for visiting each famous temple and tomb within reach. Native life and manners as seen from the steamer, both on the river and at the various stopping places, are as quaint a study as can well be imagined. You see the “ Gyassa,” or sailing boats, gliding along, their huge sails spread on long tapering masts, and gracefully bending to the wind. Now pyramids spring into view, wondrous ancient temples, strings of camels wending their way through the desert — ever picturesque and supercilious — deigning to bear their burden. There is the snake-charmer, with his hideous hooded cobras, with which he plays as with a blindworm ; the .sellers of all kinds of oddments of local manufacture, and there is, of course, everywhere the artist with the antikas from the tombs — which he has spent the past summer in making. Then, as the steamer ploughs lazily along, the inter-village life of the banks is revealed in a series of old-world tableaux —the quaint native houses that seem to have retained to-day the form of the days of the Pharaohs ; the date groves with their cool shade and great clusters of tawny fruit gleaming through the palm leaves ; and the waving fields of tall green dhura — all DAILY ITINERARY OF THE TWENTY DAYS* VOYAGE. 349 combine to make a marvellous setting for the human and animal life that animates each picture. You watch the bronze figure of the man working the shaduf, which he has done since the time of the Pharaohs, and perhaps mentally compare his bucketful with the huge mass of water so successfully engineered into security by the dam at Aswan which soon you will see. You listen to the sleepy, gentle groan of the water-wheel turned by the old gamus with its huge bulkiness, slate-coloured skin, and ridiculous blue eyes. Presently the sun begins to set ; palms and camels make silhouettes against the sky. Soon a lovely glow spreads over all, giving beautiful tints and lights and shades, which in turn give place to deep shadows and a mysterious haze disappearing in the distance into deep blue. So night comes quickly, and the stars hang like great jewels low in the sky. Detailed information as to fares and other particulars will be found in Messrs. Cook’s Nile programme, published annually, and obtainable gratis at any of their offices. The voyage from Cairo to Aswan and back occupies three weeks, and from Aswan to Wadi Halfah and back (see p. 351) one week. DAILY ITINERARY OF THE TWENTY DAY5 VOYAGE BY MESSRS. COOK’S TOURIST STEAMERS. (Cairo to Aswan and back.) 1 st Day. — Leave Cairo on Tuesday at 10 a.m. from the landing stage above the Kasr an-Nil Bridge (p. 172). From Badrashen a desert excursion on donkeys is made to Ancient Memphis and the Necropolis of Sakkarah (p. 208 f.). Steamer proceeds in the evening to Al = ‘Ayat (p. 351 ), 36 miles from Cairo. 2nd Day. — Steamer to Maghaghah (106 miles), passing the Pyramid of Medum, Ai=Wastah and Bani = Suwef (P- 353 ff-)- 3rd Day. — Steam to Bani- Hasan. Visit the Speos Artemidos and the tombs of Ameni- Amenemhat and Khnemuhetep (p. 357 ff.). Thence to Rodah (182 miles) (p. 361). 4th Day. — Steam to Asyut (250 miles). Visit the town, rock-tombs and Barrage. Splendid view of the Nile Valley (P- 365 ff-)- 5th Day — Steam to Suhak (318 miles) (p. 367) 350 DAILY ITINERARY OF THE TWENTY DAYS’ VOYAGE. 6th Day.— Steam past Balyanah (Abydos is visited on the return journey) through the passes of Abu Shftshah to Dishnah (388 miles) (p. 378/.)- 7th Day. — Steam to Denderah and visit the Temple of Hathor, afterwards steaming to Luxor, which is reached about sunset (450 miles) (p. 378 ff.). 8th— 10th Days. — At Luxor, visiting Thebes, Karnak, Temple of Luxor, Tombs of the Kings, Temple of Der=aI=Bahari, Ramesseum, the Colossi, Temple of Madlnat Hafeu, etc. (p. 384^). nth Day. — Steam to Asna (Isna or Esneh) (488 miles) and Edfu (516 miles), visit the Temples at each (p. 476-485). 12th Day. — Steam through the gorge of Silsilah (p. 486) to Korn On? bo (556 miles) where the temple is visited (p. 486). Thence to Aswan (583 miles) arriving there after lunch, visit the Island of Elephantine with its Nilometer and Museum before dinner (p. 489 ff.). 13th and 14th Days. — At Aswan visiting the town, bazars, the rock-tombs, the Island of Philae, the Great Dam (PP- 8 3#> 5°4)- 15th Day. — Leave Aswan on the return voyage and steam to Luxor. 1 6th Day. — Travellers who wish to re-visit Karnak, etc., may do so without extra charge. The steamer leaves Luxor at noon and proceeds as far as Nag' Hamadi, which is reached in the evening (p. 378). 17th Day. — Steam to Balyanah, visit Abydos (p. 37 r ff.). 1 8th Day. — Steam to Asyut, arriving in the afternoon. 19th Day. — The steamer proceeds as far as Gabal at=Ter, where it anchors for the night. 20th Day. — Arrive at Cairo. For passengers by train from Cairo, regular communication is maintained between Aswan and Wadi Halfah by the stern- wheel express steamers of the Sftdan Government, which perform the double journey in about 64 hours. Travellers who wish to inspect the temples and ruined sites of Nubia may make the voyage more leisurely by the Tourist Steamers, which occupy a week on the double journey and afford facilities for visiting the ruins. cook's map THE NILE CAIRO TO LUXOR BY RAILWAY. 351 DAILY ITINERARY OF MESSRS. COOK’S TOURIST STEAMER SERVICE BETWEEN ASWAN (SHALLAL) AND WADI SiALFAH. ist Day. — Leave Aswan (Shallal) at 9.10 a.m., passing Dabod, Kartassi, and Kalabshah (the temples are visited on the return journey), and halting at Dandur and at Garf Husen to visit those temples (pp. 516-521). 2nd Day. — Steam to Sabu‘a. Visit the temple and the mounds of sixteen Sphinxes, and proceed to ’ Arrsadah (ancient temple) and past Derr to I brim in time for the wonderful View of Sunset from the Nile (pp. 525-528). 3rd Day. — Steam to Abu Sim be!. Visit the Great Temple of Rameses II (p. 530). 4th Day. — Steam to Wadi HaSfah (p. 539), arriving about 1 p.m. 5th Day. — Visit Abu Sir (magnificent view of the northern end of the Second Cataract), the village of Tawfikiyah and its bazars (pp. 539-541). 6th Day. — Return from Wadi Haifah, steam to Gabal Addah and visit the rock temple (p. 537), thence to Dakkah (p. 521) or further north for the night. 7th Day. — Steam to Kalabshah. Visit the temples (p. 517), and arrive at Shallal in the afternoon. I.— CAIRO TO LUXOR BY RAILWAY. The journey from Cairo to Aswan, if the traveller be disposed to proceed thither direct, occupies between 22 and 23 hours; the distance from Cairo to Luxor is 420, and from Luxor to Aswan is 130 miles. The ordinary gauge is used from Cairo to Luxor, and a narrower gauge from Luxor to Aswan ; this necessitates change of carriage at Luxor. After leaving Cairo the first station passed is Gizah, with 18,714 inhabitants, the capital of the province of that name; the next station is Hawamdiyah, with 7,688 inhabitants. Badrashen, at mile 14, with 7,947 inhabitants, is the stopping place for visitors to Sakkarah ; having passed Maz‘unah, with 2,370 inhabitants, the little village of AI = ‘Ayat, with 3,182 inhabitants, is reached at mile 31. Near the village of Mataniyah, with 3,738 inhabitants, are the Pyramids of Lisht, where Amenemhat I and Usertsen I, kings of the Xllth dynasty, built their tombs. In 1908 -14 the officials of 352 TOMBS AT MEDUM. the Metropolitan Museum of New York carried out a series of important excavations on the pyramid-field of Lisht. They excavated the northern pyramids, that of Usertsen I, and the tomb of I-em-hetep, High Priest of Hermopolis. Among their spoil was a foundation deposit of Usertsen I, two wooden statues of the king (each 2 feet high), one wearing the crown of the north and the other the crown of the south, and a wooden shrine containing a model of the symbol associated with Osiris, namely the pied bull’s skin, headless, attached to a rod inserted in a funerary vase. Round about the southern pyramid, that of Amenemhat I, they discovered several tombs of the Ancient Empire, and obtained from them many objects of interest. The next station is Kafr ‘Ammar, with 6,702 inhabitants, at mile 46. Rikkah, with 2,971 inhabitants, the next station, is the stopping place for visitors to the Pyramid and Mastabah tombs of Medum. In the winter of 1909-10 Professor Petrie excavated a number of tombs at Medum, which he describes as follows : — “ The mound over the tomb No. 17 was mined through to a depth of “ 45 feet. At the bottom was found a closed stone building, which had “ been completely buried beneath the mound, without leaving any external “ opening. The burial had, therefore, taken place before the mound was “ thrown up, and as the material of the mound was clearly from the “ mason’s waste left in building the pyramid adjacent, the burial must “ have been made before the date of the Pyramid of Sneferu, 4650 B.c. “ This was the earliest private stone tomb that could be dated. The “ passages were lofty, and the great chamber was roofed with beams of “ stone which weighed up to 40 tons each. In a recess at the end of the “ hall stood the sarcophagus of red granite, the oldest stone sarcophagus “ known. The burial was of the greatest interest, as it showed that the “ body was completely unfleshed before it was wrapped in linen. The “ bones had been completely stripped and severed, excepting that the “ spine was not dissevered. Each bone was then wrapped separately in “ fine linen, the spine was packed closely with linen, and linen was “ pressed into the empty eye sockets. The skull, which was found with “ the rest of the bones, as compared with the usual Egyptian heads, was “ large, with narrow face, extremely orthognathous, and very narrow nose. “ The neighbouring tomb of the noble Nefer-maat was the largest of all, “ the size being 380 feet by 206 feet. The body of it was of Nile mud. “ A pit 34 feet square had been sunk in the rock, 5 feet of mud had been “ poured into it and left to harden, then the stone chamber had been “ built upon that, and heaped over and around with large blocks of stone. “ This arrangement was unique, as also was the inlaid colour decoration “ of the tomb-chapel. The burial of Nefer-maat again proved to have “ been an unfleshed skeleton. It was in bad condition, as the last work- “ man before closing the chamber had rifled the body and broken up the “ wooden coffin.” PYRAMID OF MEDIUM. 353 The pyramid of Medum, called by the Arabs Al-Haram al-Kidddb , or “the False Pyramid,” is so named because it is unlike any of the other pyramids known to the first king of the IVth dynasty, for the name of this king is found at various places in and about it. The pyramid is about 1 15 feet high, and consists of three stages ; the first is 70, the second 20, and the third about 25 feet high. The stone for this building was brought from the Mukattam Hills, but it was never finished ; as in all other pyramids, the entrance is on the north side. When opened in modern times the sarcophagus chamber was found empty, and it would seem that this pyramid had been entered and rifled in ancient days. It was opened by Professor Maspero in 1881, and 10 years later was examined by Professor Petrie. On the north of this pyramid are a number of mastabahs in which “ royal relatives ” of Seneferu are buried ; the most interesting of these are the tombs of Nefermaat, one of his feudal chiefs ( < TT > erpa ha), and of Atet his widow. V a a The reliefs and paintings in the tomb of Ra-hetep are very good. The sculptures and general style of the work are similar to those found in the mastabahs of Sakkarah. Opposite Rikkah, across the Nile, is Atfih, with 10,221 inhabitants, which marks the site of the ancient Egyptian city of Tep-ahet, the Aphroditopolis of the Greeks, who regarded it as one of the chief cities of the Heptanomis.* The deity of the town was a form of Hathor, incarnate in a cow. In the mountains to the east of the town St. Anthony the Great, the founder of Christian asceticism, was born at Coma, a.d. 250 ; he died in 355, aged 105 years. About mile 57, Al = Wastah, with 3,388 inhabitants, is reached, and passengers for the Fayyfim change here (see pp. 241-245). The Fayyum. — The stations on the line to Madinat al-Fayyfim are Selah,t with 10,258 inhabitants, 13*4 kilometres from Madinat al-Fayyfim; ‘Adwah, with 5,987 inhabitants, 7 7 kilometres from Madinat al-Fayyum ; and Al-Maslub, with * I.e.y Middle Egypt, or the district that lies between Egypt and the Thebaid. The seven nomes in it were Memphites, Herakleopolites, Crocodilopolites, Aphroditopolites, Oxyrhynchites, Cynopolites, Iiermo- polites. t For an account of the Pyramid of Selah and its examination by Dr. Borchardt in 1898, see Annales du Service , Cairo, 1900, p. 21 1. them ; it was probably built by Seneferu, z 354 MADINAT AL-FAYYUM, BANI SUWEF, ETC. 2,785 inhabitants, 4 kilometres from Madinat al = Fayyum, the capital of the Province of the Fayyftm, with 44,400 inhabitants, i2 9’3 kilometres from Cairo. The main line runs on to Al-Mandarah, with 2,017 inhabitants, and then to Sinaru, with 8,433 inhabitants, 11*3 kilometres from the capital; the branch to Biyamu, with 2,918 inhabitants, then to the terminus, Sannures, with 18,852 inhabitants, 12 kilometres from Madinat al-Fayyflm. Mr. H. W. Seton-Karr made excavations in the western district and discovered, a little to the north of the Fayyum, the remains of a Neolithic settlement, and in the Province of the Fayyfim itself he found large numbers of flints belonging to the Neolithic Period. These include disks about 10 centm. in diameter, scrapers, like the Palaeolithic “racloir,” and two types peculiar to the Fayyftm. The first type is a rough, irregularly shaped flat knife, pointed at both ends, and the second is a round, or oval, flat knife, with a concave edge. {Report , US. Nat. Hist. Museum , 1904, PP- 745 - 75 1 -) . Passing Bani-Huder, with 1,783 inhabitants; Ashmant, with 6,446 inhabitants ; and Bfish, with 13,842 inhabitants, we come, at mile 73, to Bani Suwef, with 31,986 inhabitants; this town is the capital of the province bearing the same name, and is governed by a Mudir. In ancient days it was famous for its textile fabrics, and supplied Akhmim and other weaving cities of Upper Egypt with flax. A main road leads from this town to the Fayyum. About 12 miles to the north of Bani Suwef the Bahr Yusuf bends towards the east, and runs by the side of large mounds of ruins of houses, broken pottery, etc. ; these mounds cover an area of 360 acres, and are commonly called Umm al-Kfiman, or “ Mother of Heaps of dust,” though the official name is Hanassiyah al-Madinah or Ahnas, with 8, 1 20 inhabitants. They mark the site of the great city which was (J AAAAAA ^ I ^ 13 ) /vwws Het-Henesu from n T AAAAAA J 1 O © ‘ which the Jews made the name DJHj and the Copts ; the Greeks made this city the capital of the nome Herakleo- polites, and called it Herakleopolis. No date can be assigned for the founding of the city, but it was certainly a famous place in the early empire, and in mythological texts great importance is ascribed to it. According to Manetho, the kings of the IXth and Xth dynasties were Herakleopolitans, but in the excavations which Messrs. Naville and Petrie BIBAH, OXYRRHYNCHUS, CYNOPOLIS, ETC. 355 carried on at Hanassiyah, or Ahnas, they found nothing there older than the Xllth dynasty. Travellers who wish to visit the famous Monastery of Saints Anthony and Paule, the first great Christian ascetics, near the Red Sea, usually set out on their road from the village of Biyad al-Nasara (population 2,096), which lies to the east of the town. The Monastery is about 90 miles from the Nile and 20 from the Red Sea. Passing Bibah, with 12,1642 inhabitants, we come to Fashn, with 13,953 inhabitants, near which are the ruins of the city of Het-Bennu (Al-Hibah, population 1,650), where the Phoenix was worshipped, and after Fant, with 5,909 inhabitants, we arrive at Maghaghah, with 10,480 inhabitants, 108 miles from Cairo. This town is now celebrated for its large sugar manu- factory, which is lighted by gas, and is well worth a visit ; the manufacturing of sugar begins here early in January. About 24 miles farther south, lying inland, on the western side of the Nile, between the river and the Bahr Yftsuf,. is the site of the town of Oxyrrhynchus, so called by the Greeks on account of the fish which they believed was worshipped there. The Egyptian name of the town was Per- matchet, whence the corrupt Arabic form Behnesa, with 2,961 inhabitants. The excavations made here by Messrs. Grenfell and Hunt have been attended with important results. A little above Abh Girga, and near Bani Mazar (with 11,699 inhabitants), on the west bank of the Nile, is the town of Al-Kes (with 6,613 inhabitants), which marks the site of the ancient Cynopolis or “ Dog-city ” : it was the seat of a Coptic bishop. Thirteen miles from Abft Girga, also on the west bank of the Nile, and a few miles south of Matai, an important railway junction (with 5,396 inhabitants), is the town of Kulussana, with 7,320 inhabitants, 134 miles from Cairo, and a few miles south, lying inland, is Samalfit, with 8,988 inhabitants. Farther south, on the east bank of the Nile, is Gabal at = Ter, or the “Bird mountain,’ 7 so called because tradition says that all the birds of Egypt assemble here once a year, and that they leave behind them when departing one solitary bird that remains there until they return the following year to relieve him of his watch, and to set another in his place. As there are moun- tains called Gabal at-Ter in all parts of Arabic-speaking countries, because of the number of birds which frequent them, the story is only one which springs from the fertile Arab imagination. Gabal at-Ter rises above the river to a height z 2 356 THE CONVENT OF THE PULLEY. of 600 or 700 feet, and upon its summit stands a Coptic convent dedicated to Mary the Virgin, Der al-‘Adhra, but commonly called Der al°Bakarah, or the “Convent of the Pulley,” because the ascent to the convent is generally made by a rope and pulley. Leaving the river and entering a fissure in the rocks, the traveller finds himself at the bottom of a natural shaft about 120 feet long. When Robert Curzon visited this convent, he had, to climb up much in the same way as boys used to climb up inside chimneys. The convent stands about 400 feet from the top of the shaft, and is built of small square stones of Roman workmanship; the necessary repairs have, however, been made with mud or sun- dried brick. The outer walls of the enclosure form a square which measures about 200 feet each way; they are 20 feet high, and are perfectly unadorned. Tradition says that it was founded by the Empress Helena,* and there is in this case no reason to doubt it. Minya, 153 miles from Cairo, with 34,945 inhabitants, on the west bank of the Nile, is the capital of the province of the same name, with 763,922 inhabitants; its Arabic name is derived from the Coptic Mone, which in turn represents the Egyptian Ment. There is a large sugar factory here, in which about 2,000 men are employed. From Minya an excursion can be made to Beni-Hasan in about a couple of hours. The tombs of Beni-Hasan lie on the east bank, and the traveller must use the ferry. A few miles to the south of Minya are a number of tombs which were excavated by Mr. George Fraser in 1893 ; they are near the ancient site now called Tahnah al~Gabal, with 2,249 inhabitants. These tombs are mastabahs cut in the solid rock. In all the undisturbed burials Mr. Fraser found that the body was placed with the head to the north ; it lay on its left side with the face to the east, the knees drawn up and the arms straight, and a dome of stones and mud was built over each body. In one of the tombs the cartouches of Userkaf and Men-kau-Ra were found. In 1903 MM. G. Lefebure and Barry excavated the temple of Tahnah which was, apparently, built in the reign of Nero. The hypostyle hall contained eight columns, and was built close to the mountain, and was approached by a ramp ; in each wall was a door. The sanctuary consisted of four chambers hewn out of the rock ; in the first was a rectangular well, or pit, which contained a * Died about a.d. 328, aged 80. (Sozomen, Eccles. Hist., ii, 2.) BENI-HASAN. 357 black granite figure of Sekhmet, and in the fourth was an altar. The hypostyle hall is 20 metres long and 11^ metres wide ; the sanctuary, or speos, which is probably an ancient tomb, is about 28 metres long. The ramp was 25 metres long and 7 metres wide, and had a row of statues on each side of it ; half-way up was a terrace 1 1 metres long which extended to the right and left of the ramp. A few miles south, on the eastern side of the river, is the village of Zawiyat al = Metin, or Zawiyat al-Amwat (with 2,232 inhabitants), near which are the remains of some tombs of the Vlth dynasty. They are the tombs of the nobles of the city of Hebenu, the capital of the XVI th nome of Upper Egypt. Beni = Hasan = aI = Ashraf, 167 miles from Cairo, on the east bank of the Nile, is remarkable for the large collection of fine historical tombs which are situated at a short distance from the site of the villages known by this name. The villages of the “ Children of Hasan ” were destroyed by order of Muhammad ‘Ali, on account of the thievish propensities of their inhabitants. The Speos Artemidos is the first rock excavation visited here. This temple was built by Thothmes III and Hatshepsut ; about 250 years later Seti I added his name to several of the half obliterated cartouches of Queen Hatshepsut, but it seems never to have been finished. The work of Seti I must have been very considerable, and his long inscription in the passage is of interest. The cavern was dedicated to the cat- goddess Pakhet, who was called Artemis by the Greeks ; hence the name “cavern of Artemis.” The Arabs call the cavern the “ Stable of ‘Antar,” a famous Muhammadan hero.* The portico had originally two rows of columns, four in each ; the cavern is about 21 feet square, and the niche in the wall at the end was probably intended to hold a statue of Pakhet. The famous Tombs of Beni = Hasan are hewn out of the living rock, and are situated high up in the mountain ; they are about 39 in number, and all open on a terrace, somewhat similar to the terrace outside the tombs at Aswan. Each tomb preserves the chief characteristics of the mastabahs of Sakkarah, that is to say, it consists of a hall for offerings and a shaft * ‘Antar was the son of Shaddad al-Absi by an Abyssinian slave, and died about a.d. 615. He was a mighty warrior and performed many deeds of surpassing bravery during the 40 years which Muhammad the Prophet spent in subduing ihe tribes. He was also a great poet and was the author of one of the Seven Mu‘allakat, i. e . , the poems that were “suspended” at the gate of the Ka'abah at Mecca (Makkah). 358 BENI- HASAN. leading down to a corridor, which ends in the chamber con- taining the sarcophagus and the mummy. The tombs were hewn out of a thick layer of fine white limestone, and the walls were partly smoothed and then covered with a thin layer of plaster, upon which the scenes in the lives of the wealthy men who ordered them to be made might be painted. Lower down the hill are some scores of mummy pits, with small chambers attached, wherein, probably, the poorer class of people who lived near were buried. Of the 39 tombs at Beni-Hasan only 12 contain inscriptions, but it is clear from these that the men who made the necropolis there were well-born, independent, and almost feudal proprietors of the land in the neighbourhood, who filled various high offices in the city of Menat-Khufu, which was situated not far off, and that they flourished during the Xlth and Xllth dynasties. Of the 12 inscribed tombs, eight are of governors of the nome Meh, two are of princes of Menat-Khufu, one is of the son of a prince, and one is of a royal scribe. The 39 tombs were divided by Lepsius into two groups, northern and southern ; in the former are 13 and in the latter 26 tombs. Six of the inscribed tombs belong to the reigns of Amenemhat I, Usertsen I, and Usertsen II, and the other six were probably made during the rule of the kings of the Xlth dynasty. The tombs of Beni-Hasan are extremely inter- esting, and the visitor should examine as many of them as possible, for as examples of Xllth dynasty work they are unrivalled. No. 2. Tomb of Ameni, ijtj, or Amenemhat Ij Ameni was the governor of the XVIth nome of Upper Egypt, called Meh by the Egyptians and Antinoe by the Greeks, and he flourished in the reign of Usertsen I. He was by birth the hereditary prince of the district, and he held the rank of “ha,” or “duke,” and the office of priest to various gods and goddesses ; he seems to have combined in his own person the offices of almost every high state official in the nome. Architecturally his tomb is of great interest, and it is instructive to find examples of the use of octagonal and polyhedral pillars in the same tomb ; the shrine is at the east end of the hall, and two shafts, which lead to mummy chambers below, are on one side of it. The inscriptions show that Ameni was buried in the forty-third year of the reign of Usertsen I, on the fifteenth day of the second month of the Inundation, /.T THE AMERICAN MISSION. 365 Kandil, 209 miles from Cairo, on the east side of the river, is the range of low mountains about 12 miles long known by this name. Passing Derut ash = ShariS with 10,184 in- habitants, and Bawit, with 1,686 inhabitants, and Nazali Ganub, with 3,165 inhabitants, we come to Al = Kusiyah (with n,2i2 inhabitants), which marks the site of the Greek city of Cusae, the Qes of the hieroglyphic texts, and the © capital of the XIVth nome of Upper Egypt. The name seems to mean, “the town of the mummy bandages.” According to JElmn (H.A. x, 27), the goddess of the city was worshipped under the form of a white cow. Towards the southern end of this range there are some crocodile mummy pits. Manfalut, with 14,482 inhabitants, 220 miles from Cairo on the west bank of the Nile, occupies the site of an ancient Egyptian town. Leo Africanus says that the town was de- stroyed by the Romans, and adds that it was rebuilt under Muhammadan rule. In his time he says that huge columns and buildings inscribed with hieroglyphs were still visible. The Coptic name Ma-en-balot, “ place of the sack,” is the original of its Arabic name to-day. Quite close on the east bank is Ma‘abdah (population 7,986), in the hills of which was found a burial place full of mummies of Crocodiles. At Der al = Gabrawi are many fine tombs of the Vlth dynasty. Asyut,* 249J miles from Cairo, with 51,431 inhabitants, is the capital of the province of the same name, and the seat of the Inspector-General of Upper Egypt ; it stands on the site of the ancient Egyptian city called Saut , whence the Arabic name Sitit or Asyflt, and the Coptic Siout. The Greeks called the city Lycopolis, or “ wolf city,” probably because the jackal- headed An u bis was worshipped there. In ancient Egyptian times the sacred name of the city was Per-Anpu, and it formed the capital of the XVI Ith or Anubis nome of Upper Egypt. Asyfit is a large city, with spacious bazars and fine mosques ; it is famous for its red pottery, carved ivory figures and sticks, inlaid tables, boxes, Kur‘an stands, articles in leather, head- cloths, shawls worked with gold and silver, and strings of really beautiful round ivory beads, and for its market, to which wares from Arabia and Upper Egypt are brought. The American Missionaries have a large establishment, and the education of the natives is carried on here on a large scale. The Asyut Training College was specially established * An American Consular Agent is stationed here. 366 EXCAVATIONS AT DURUNKAH. to provide and prepare workers to carry on the educational and evangelistic operations of the Evangelical community in Egypt, and nearly all the male teachers have been trained in it.* The Arabic geographers describe Asyut as a town of con- siderable size, beauty, and importance, and before the abandon- ment of the Sfidan by the Khedive all caravans from that region stopped there. In the hills to the west of the town are a number of ancient Egyptian tombs, which date back as far as the VUIth dynasty. The most important of these is the Tomb of Heptchefa, which is large and most interesting. The deceased was Viceroy of Nubia under Usertsen I, of the Xllth dynasty, and he died and was buried at Karmah, near the head of the Third Cataract. His tomb in Nubia was discovered by Dr. Reisner. Hence the tomb at Asyftt was never used by Heptchefa. The tomb of Khati, who flourished under the IXth dynasty, and of Tefab, should be visited. The ancient history of the town is obscure. Events of great importance mythologi- cally seem to have taken place here, and the importance which Asyfit possessed was rather religious than political. Christianity found a resting place here very soon after Anthony the Great began to teach Asceticism, and the large rock-hewn tombs in the hills to the west of the town became the abodes of great numbers of monks and solitaries. These fanatics destroyed the statues in the tombs and defaced the pictures of the gods on the walls, because in their heated imaginations they thought they were devils appearing to them. One of the most famous of the Christian teachers of this place was John, commonly known as John of Lycopolis, whose life is given us by Palladius. He is said to have declared to the Emperor Theodosius that he would conquer Maximus the rebel, and defeat Eugenius, both of which things took place. In 1912- 13 Sa‘id Bey Khashabah, a native of Asyfit, excavated a considerable number of tombs at Durunkah, a village with 7,679 in- habitants. About a mile from the town he found many fine rectangular wooden sarcophagi of the period of the Xlth and Xllth dynasties, and a few fine burials of the Christian period. The men buried in these tombs were nobles and officials of the town of Shas-hetep, which was about five miles from Durunkah, and is represented by the village ot Shutb (with 5,236 inhabitants). From time immemorial the caravans * See page 149. The history of the work which the Mission has carried on with such conspicuous success is modestly told by Dr. Andrew Watson in the “American Mission of Egypt, 1854-1896,” Pittsburg, 1898. WHITE MONASTERY. 367 for Dar Fur and Kordofan by the Darb al-Arbaln route have started at Asyut. The town is beautifully situated on a fine wide plain, and the view of the Inundation here by moonlight is a thing never to be forgotten. The Barrage at Asyut has already been described in a separate section of this work {seepp.j:fj). Fifteen miles farther south is the Coptic town of Abu Tig, with 14,276 inhabitants. The name appears to mean “granary” ; and 14^ miles beyond, 279 miles from Cairo, is Kau al = Kabir (the T TKCOCnf of the Copts), on the east bank, which marks the site of Antaeopolis, the capital of the Antaeopolite nome in Upper Egypt. The temple which formerly existed here was dedicated to Antaeus, the Libyan wrestler, who fought with Hercules ; he was the son of Poseidon and Ge, and was invincible as long as he remained in contact with his mother earth. The temple was built by Ptolemy Philometor and was repaired by Marcus Aurelius, and its ruins were finally submerged by the disastrous Nile-flood of 1821. In the plain close by it is said by Diodorus that the battle between Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, and Set or Typhon, the murderer of Osiris, took place ; Typhon was overcome, and fled away in the form of a crocodile. In Christian times Antaeopolis was the seat of a bishop. Tahtah, with 20,658 inhabitants, 291J miles from Cairo, contains some interesting mosques, and is the home of a large number of Copts, in consequence of which, probably, the town is kept clean. Suhak, with 20,760 inhabitants, 31 7 J miles from Cairo, is the capital of the province of Girga ; near it are the White and Red Monasteries. The Der al-Abyad or “White Monastery,” so called because of the colour of the stone of which it is built, but better known by the name of Amba Shenfidah, is situated on the west bank of the river near Suhak, 317^ miles from Cairo. The convent was built by the Empress Helena, in the ancient Egyptian style. The walls slope inwards towards the summit, where they are crowned with a deep over- hanging cornice. The building is of an oblong shape, about 200 feet in length by 90 feet wide, very well built of fine blocks of stone ; it has no windows outside larger than loop- holes, and these are at a great height from the ground. Of these there are 20 on the south side and nine at the east end. The monastery stands at the foot of the hill, on the edge of the Libyan desert, where the sand encroaches on the plain. 368 RED MONASTERY. There were formerly six gates ; the single entrance now remaining is called the “mule gate,” because when a certain heathen princess came riding on a mule to desecrate the church, the earth opened and swallowed her up. The wails enclose a space measuring about 240 feet by 133 feet. The convent was dedicated to Shentiti, who was born a.d. 333 ; he died at midday on July 2nd, a.d. 451 ! The library once con- tained over a hundred parchment books, but these were destroyed by the Mamlfiks when they last sacked the convent. In this monastery the bodies of St. Bartholomew and Simon the Canaanite are said to be buried, but the body of its founder was laid in the monastery which stood on the Mountain of Athribis, a name derived from the Egyptian Het-erpiti. The Der al-Ahmar or “Red Monastery,” so called because of the red colour of the bricks of which it is built, was also built by the Empress Helena; it is smaller and better preserved than the White Monastery, and was dedicated to the Abba Besa, the disciple and friend of Shenfiti. The pillars of both churches were taken from Athribis, which lay close by ; the orientation of neither church is exact, for their axes point between north-east and north-east by east. The ruined church of Armant near Thebes is built on the same model. All lovers of Coptic buildings will be grateful to Lord Cromer for the promptitude which he showed in connection with the repairing of these monasteries, which contain the two most important churches in Egypt. Mr. Somers Clarke called attention to the ruined state of the monasteries, and very soon after Herz Bey, Architect to the Comite de Conservation, took steps to preserve the buildings and to clear out the squalid houses which had been built up within the walls. The Egyptian Government granted ^E.4,000 for the work of restoration, and to this sum the Coptic Patriarch added ^E. 1,000. A few miles south of Sfihak, on the east bank of the river, lies the town of Akhmim, with 26,023 inhabitants, called Panopolis by the Greeks ; Strabo and Leo Africanus say that it was one of the most ancient cities of Egypt. The ithyphallic god Menu, identified by the Greeks with Pan, was worshipped here, and the town was famous for its linen weavers and stone cutters. Its Egyptian name was Apu. Of this city Herodotus (ii, 91) says : “There is a large city called “ Chemmis (i.e., Panopolis), situate in the Thebaic district, “ near Neapolis, in which is a quadrangular temple dedicated AKHMIM-PANOPOLIS. 369 “ to Perseus the son of Danae ; palm-trees grow round it, and “ the portico is of stone, very spacious, and over it are placed “ two large stone statues. In this enclosure is a temple, and “ in it is placed a statue of Perseus. The Chemmitae affirm “ that Perseus has frequently appeared to them on earth, and “ frequently within the temple, and that a sandal worn by him “ is sometimes found, which is two cubits in length ; and that “ after its appearance, all Egypt flourishes. They adopt the “ following Grecian customs in honour of Perseus : they cele- “ brate gymnastic games, embracing every kind of contest ; and “ they give as prizes, cattle, cloaks, and skins. When I “ enquired why Perseus appeared only to them, and why they “ differed from the rest of the Egyptians in holding gymnastic “ games, they answered, ‘ Perseus derived his origin from their “ ‘ city ; for that Danaus and Lynceus, who were both natives “ ‘ of Chemmis, sailed from there into Greece ’ ; and tracing the “ descent down from them, they came to Perseus ; and that “ he coming to Egypt, for the same reason as the Greeks “ allege, in order to bring away the Gorgon’s head from Libya, “ they affirmed that he came to them also and acknowledged “ all his kindred ; and that when he came to Egypt he was “ well acquainted with the name of Chemmis, having heard it “ from his mother ; they add, that by his order, they instituted “ gymnastic games in honour of him.” Akhmim is still famous for its linen weavers, who seem to have inherited the skill of their predecessors in making many-coloured woven fabrics. The city is also famous as the birthplace of Nonnus, the poet, a.d. 410, and as the burial place of Nestorius, a.d. 450. This wretched man was banished first to Petra, in Arabia, and then to the Oasis of Khargah in 435 ; he was seized by the Blemmyes and carried off, but eventually found his way to Panopolis. He was again banished and tortured by sufferings and privations, and at length died of a disease in the course of which his tongue was eaten by worms : his religious opponents declared that rain never fell on his tomb. In former days Akhmim had a large population of Copts, and large Coptic monasteries stood close by. The Necropolis of Akhmim was discovered by M. Maspero in 1882-3. Al = Manshah, or Al = Manshiyah, on the west bank of the river, with 21,652 inhabitants, 328 J miles from Cairo, stands on the site of a city which is said to have been the capital of the Panopolite nome ; its Coptic name was Psoi. In the time of Shenhti the Blemmyes, a nomad warlike Ethiopian tribe, 2 A 370 EXCAVATIONS AT NAGA’ ‘AD-D^R. invaded Upper Egypt, and having acquired much booty, they returned to Psoi or Al-Manshah, and settled down there. Close to the village of Al = Ahaiwah, which is almost opposite to Al = Manshiyah on the west bank, are the remains of cemeteries of the Predynastic Period. In the quarries of Gabal Tukh close by are many inscriptions in Greek and Demotic of the Graeco-Roman Period. Girga, with 21,652 inhabitants, on the west bank of the river, 341^ miles from Cairo, has a large Christian population, and is said to occupy the site of the ancient This, whence sprang the first dynasty of historical Egyptian kings. But it is far more probable that the site of This is marked by the modern village of Al=Birba (with 3,309 inhabitants), about half-an-hour’s ride from Girga. A Tomb of Tcheser, a king of the Illrd dynasty (excavated by Prof. Garstang in 1901), lies a few miles to the west of Girga. During the years 190 1-3 the Hearst Egyptian Expedition carried out the excavation of a series of cemeteries situated at Naga’ ‘ad = Der, nearly opposite Girga. Dr. Reisner found near the promontory on which stands the ruined tomb of Shekh Farak three ravines, which served as burial places for the Egyptians from the Predynastic Period to a very late date. As the result of his investigations of these he has formulated the following theories : That from the predynastic times to those of the third and following dynasties the burial customs of the Egyptians remained unchanged. On the other hand the differences between the things placed in the graves, and in the construction of the tombs, are very great. The tombs of the early dynasties contain the products of technical skill, i.e., bored and engraved stones, which are never found in graves of the early Predynastic Period. On the other hand, chipped or worked flints, hand-made pottery, plaited reed work, etc., similar to those found in predynastic graves, still occur. The differences between the people of the predynastic graves and those of the early dynasties depend on two mechanical in- ventions, viz., stone boring and writing, and on the spread of a third invention, copper working. “ It is, I believe, impossible u to escape the conclusion that the inhabitants of Egypt from “ the earliest Predynastic Period down to the end of Proto- “ dynastic Period, form one continuous race and that we are here “ witnesses of the steps by which they conquered the stubborn “ materials of the earth and earned that civilization which we “ call Egyptian.” And again : “ The invention of copper working “ is Egyptian ; the invention of the stone borer is Egyptian ; and ABYDOS. 371 “ the invention of the hieroglyphic system of writing is Egyptian.” As regards the chronology of the Predynastic Period he finds “ that the length of time indicated by the size of the pre- “ dynastic cemeteries and by the changes introduced during the “ course of the burials cannot possibly carry us beyond 4500 “ [b.c.] for the earliest predynastic grave known. In fact, it is “ extremely doubtful if the earliest known grave is earlier than “ 4000 b.c. In any case, 4200 b.c. was a period of undoubted “ barbarism, the nearest approach to the Neolithic which we “ have in Egypt.” A few miles further on is Al=Balyana UuJjJl, with 9,599 inhabitants, where travellers who intend to visit Abydos, about 7 miles distant, usually start. The temples of Seti I and Rameses II at Abj'dos. Abydos,* in Egyptian f j Abtu, Arabic ‘Arabat al = Madfunah, with 10,604 inhabitants, on the west bank of the Nile, was one of the most renowned cities of ancient Egypt ; it was famous as the chief seat of the worship of Osiris in Upper Egypt, and the principal sanctuary of this god was here. But before the priests of Osiris established themselves here, two great local gods were worshipped here, viz., An-her £) o . . W/l and Khenti-Amenti ft . In very early times Osiris ab- ^wl'w sorbed the attributes of the latter, and his priests called him Khenti-Amenti, i.e. t “ Prince of Amend,” (the kingdom of the dead in the Tuat or Other W orld). The town itself was dedicated to Osiris, and the templein it, wherein the most solemn ceremonies connected with the worship of this god were celebrated, was more reverenced than any other in the land. Tradition declared that the head of Osiris was preserved at Abydos, and the name of the coffer which held his head became the name of the town. The town and its necropolis were built side by side, and the custom usually followed by the Egyptians in burying their dead away from the town in the mountains was not followed in this case. The town of Abydos, a small town even in its best time, was built upon a narrow tongue of land situated between the canal, which lies inland some few miles, and the desert, and owed its importance solely to the position it held as a religious centre ; from this point of view it was the second city in Egypt. The necropolis of Abydos is not much older than the Vlth dynasty, * In ancient times the name was pronounced Abydos, and not Abydos. 2 A 2 372 ABYDOS. and the tombs found there belonging to this period are of the mastabah class. During the Xlth and Xllth dynasties the tombs took the form of small pyramids, which were generally built of brick, and the ancient rectangular form of tomb was revived during the XVIIIth dynasty. Abydos attained its greatest splendour under the monarchs of the Xlth and Xllth dynasties, and though its plain was used as a burial ground so late as Roman times, it became of little or no account so early as the time of Psammetichus I. It has often been assumed that the town of Abydos is to be identified with This, the home of Menes, the first historical king of Egypt ; the evidence derived from the exhaustive excavations made by M. Mariette does not support this assumption. The oldest tombs at Abydos fie close to the Temple of Rameses II, and those of a later period further to the north-west, and a little to the north of the Shun at az = Zabib. The latest tombs occupy the level ground on the north and west of the Temple of Seti I. The oldest town of Abydos lay still further to the north, and it was here that the oldest temple of Osiris was built, probably quite early in the Dynastic Period. Plutarch says that wealthy inhabitants of Egypt were often brought to Abydos to be buried near the mummy of Osiris, and curiously enough, the tombs close to certain parts of the temple of Osiris are more carefully executed than those elsewhere. Of Abydos Strabo says (Bk. xvii, cap. i, sec. 42) : “ Above this city (Ptolemais) is “ Abydos, where is the palace of Memnon, constructed in a “ singular manner, entirely of stone, and after the plan of the “ Labyrinth, which we have described, but not composed of “ many parts. It has a fountain situated at a great depth. “ There is a descent to it through an arched passage built “ with single stones of remarkable size and workmanship. “ There is a canal which leads to this plaee from the great “ river. About the canal is a grove of Egyptian acanthus, “ dedicated to Apollo. Abydos seems once to have been a “ large city, second to Thebes. At present it is a small town. “ But if, as they say, Memnon is called Ismandes by the “ Egyptians, the Labyrinth might be a Memnonium, and the “ work of the same person who constructed those at Abydos “ and at Thebes ; for in those places, it is said, are some “ Memnonia. At Abydos Osiris is worshipped ; but in the “ temple of Osiris no singer, nor player on the pipe, nor on “ the cithara, is permitted to perform at the commencement ABYDOS. 373 “ of the ceremonies celebrated in honour of the god, as is “ usual in rites celebrated in honour of the gods ” (Bk. xvii, i, 44, Falconer’s translation). The principal monuments which were brought to light by the excavations of M. Mariette at Abydos are : — i. The Temple of Seti I, better known as the Mem = Plan of the Temple of Seti I at Abydos (Mariette). nonium ; it is built of fine white calcareous stone upon an artificial foundation made of stone, earth, and sand, which 374 TEMPLE OF RAMESES II. has been laid upon a sloping piece of land; it was called Menmaat-Ra, after the prenomen of its builder. The Phoeni- cian graffiti show that the temple must have ceased to be used at a comparatively early period. It would seem that it was nearly finished when Seti I died, and that his son Rameses II only added the pillars in front and the decoration. Its exterior consists of two courts, a and b, the wall which divides them, and the facade ; all these parts were built by Rameses II. The pillars are inscribed with religious scenes and figures of the king and the god Osiris. On the large wall to the south of the central door is an inscription in which Rameses II relates all that he has done for the honour of his father’s memory, how he erected statues of him at Thebes and Memphis, and how he built up the sacred doors. At the end of it he gives a brief sketch of his childhood, and the various grades of rank and dignities which he held. In the interior the first hall, c, is mainly of the time of Rameses II, but it is possible to see under the rough hieroglyphics of this king the finer ones of Seti I ; this hall contains 24 pillars, arranged in two rows. The scenes on the walls represent figures of the gods and of the king offering to them, the names of the nomes, etc., etc. The second hall, d, is larger than the first, the style and finish of the sculptures are very fine, the hieroglyphics are in relief, and it contains 36 columns, arranged in three rows. From this hall seven short naves dedicated to Horus, Isis, Osiris, Amen, Harmachis, Ptah, and Seti I respectively, lead into seven vaulted chambers, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, beautifully shaped and decorated, which are dedicated to the same beings. The scenes on the walls of six of these chambers represent the ceremonies which the king was supposed to perform in them daily ; those in the seventh refer to the apotheosis of the king. At the end of chamber g is a door which leads into the sanctuary of Osiris, l, and in the corridor m is the famous Tablet of Abydos, which gives the names of 76 kings of Egypt, beginning with Menes and ending with Seti I. 2. The Temple of Rameses II ; it was dedicated by this king to the god Osiris ; it lies a little to the north of the temple of Seti I. Many distinguished scholars thought that this was the famous shrine which all Egypt adored, but the excavations made there by M. Mariette proved that it was not. It would seem that during the French occupation of Egypt in the early part of the last century this temple stood almost intact ; since that time, however, so much damage has been wrought upon it, that TEMPLE OF RAMESES II. 375 the portions of wall which now remain are only about 8 or 9 feet high. The fragment of the second Tablet of Abydos, Plan of the Temple of Rameses II at Abydos. now in the British Museum, came from this temple. The few scenes and fragments of inscriptions which remain are interest- ing, but not important. A little to the north of the temple of 376 NEOLITHIC GRAVES AT ABYDOS. Rameses II is a Coptic monastery, the church of which is dedicated to Amba Musas. The excavations that have been made during the last thirty years have been productive of important results. In 1896 M. de Morgan discovered a number of remarkable tombs of the Neolithic Period at AI = ‘Amrah, about three miles to the east of Abydos. In 1895, *896, and 1897 M. Amelineau excavated the tombs of a number of kings of the first three dynasties at Umm al = Ka‘ab, which lies to the west of the necropolis of the Middle Empire, and in the course of his work at Abydos he also discovered a shrine which the ancient Egyptians placed on a spot where they seem to have believed that the god Osiris was buried, or at any rate where some traditions declared he was laid. In the winter of 1899-1900 Professor Petrie also carried on excavations on M. Amelineau’s old sites at Abydos, and recovered a number of objects of the same class as those found by M. Amelineau. The true value and general historical position of the antiquities which were found at Abydos by M. Amelineau and M. de Morgan, as well as of those which were found by M. de Morgan at Nakadah and Abydos, and by Professor Petrie at Balias and Tfikh, were first indicated by M. de Morgan himself in his volumes of Recherches sur les Origines de VEgypte, Paris, 1896 and 1897. The royal names TEN, ATCHAB, and SMER- KHAT, discovered by M. de Morgan, were tentatively identified with the kings of the 1st dynasty who are usually called Hesepti, Merbapen, and Semen-Ptah, by Herr Sethe in the Aegyptische Zeitschrift, Bd. 35, p. 1 ff., 1897 . M. Jequier identified PERABSEN with Neter-baiu, a king of the Ilnd dynasty, and Professor Petrie identified QA with the king of the 1 st dynasty who is usually called Qebh. The identifica- tions of AHA with Menes, and Narmer with Teta, and Tcha with Ateth, and Mer-Nit with Ata, kings of the 1 st dynasty, at present need further evidence. Some of these are more probably predynastic kings. In 1908-9 Professor Naville and the late Mr. Ayrton continued excavations at Abydos on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Fund. During the winters of 1909-10 and 1910-n Professor Naville, assisted by Messrs. Peet, Dixon, Hall, and Legge, carried out excavations on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Fund in the Royal Tombs at Abydos, and in a cemetery, which he calls the “mixed cemetery,” situated near the edge of the desert. Among other NEOLITHIC GRAVES AT ABYDOS. 377 important things found was a potsherd bearing the name of a king similar to that of Smerkhat, and a fragment of a crystal vase. The latter once bore the name of Merpeba, but this has been rubbed off, and the name of another king Hu, or Nekht, or Semempses as Professor Naville suggests, cut in its place. In front of this are the signs ^ which have been usually read Semti and believed to form a name of King Ten, but Professor Naville thinks this is now doubtful; this doubt is shared by Messrs. Weill and Legge, and the latter believes that the tomb of Ten belongs to a later period than the 1st dynasty, to which it has been generally assigned. Professor Naville first cleared the square on the north side of the tomb of Ten and east of the tomb of King Khent, where in 1897 M. Amelineau discovered the famous Cenotaph of Osiris. Certainly at one period of Egyptian history the tomb of Khent was regarded by the Egyptians as the veritable tomb of Osiris. In the course of the work a very large number of pots were found, the presence of which cannot be explained ; in the desert sand were found hundreds of coarse earthenware cups or tumblers, which had never been used. Amelineau’s theory is confirmed by the finding of six mud figures of Osiris, two of which had strings of blue glazed beads round the neck. Mr. Legge cleared the tomb of Perabsen, and found several clay sealings. In the “ mixed cemetery ” were found tombs of true Egyptian character, tombs of pre-dynastic character, and tombs with characteristics partaking of both. In the winter of 1910-n Professor Naville and Mr. Peet continued their excavations at Abydos, and they found there what Professor Naville believes to be the famous well described by Strabo. This well was, as M. Lefebure has shown, believed to be the true entrance to the Other World, or Kingdom of Osiris, and into it were thrown all the offerings made to the god. These were said to be carried by some underground passage to the spot where Osiris sat enthroned by the side of, or on, the celestial waters which formed the source of the Nile in this world. We hope that excavations will be continued on this site, for, being the traditional home of the cult of Osiris, it is tolerably, certain that sooner or later important ancient remains will be discovered. A large part of the site, however, still remains to be excavated, and it may be asserted confidently that the clearing of it will occupy several excavators for many years. 378 TEMPLE OF DENDERAH. The next station reached is Abu Tisht, with 2,751 inhabi- tants, and the next Farshut, with 17,237 inhabitants, 368 miles from Cairo, on the west bank of the river. Between Abft Tisht and Farshht is Muwasiat al-Khargah, or Khargah Junction, where the traveller starts for the Great Oasis. The narrow-gauge railway (2 feet 6 inches) is seen on the right-hand side of the main line on going south. At Nag‘ Hamadi, with 5,047 inhabitants, 373 miles from Cairo, is the iron railway bridge, 1,362 feet in length, across the Nile. Kasr as=Sayyad, or “the hunter’s castle,” with 11,118 inhabitants, 376 miles from Cairo, on the east bank of the river, marks the site of the ancient Chenoboskion, t'.e., the “ Goose- pen,” or place where geese were kept in large numbers and fattened for market. The Copts call the town Sheneset, which is probably a corruption of some old Egyptian name, meaning the place where geese were fattened. The town is famous in Coptic annals as the place where Pachomius (he died about a . d . 349, aged 57 years) embraced Christianity, and a few miles to the south of it stood the great monastery of Tabenna, which he founded. In the neighbourhood are a number of interesting tombs of the Early Empire. Passing the stations at Al = Dab‘ih, and Faw Kibli, with 11,346 inhabitants, at mile 387 from Cairo Dishna, with 11,443 inhabitants, is reached. Kana (locally called “Gina”), with about 22,958 inhabitants, 405-^ miles from Cairo, on the east bank of the river, is the capital of the province of the same name. This city is famous for its dates and the trade which it carries on in the porous ware drinking bottles, which are made here in myriads. The Arabic P. name for this kind of bottle is “kullah,” , which is commonly s' ? s' called gullah ; its plural is either hulal , or kilal, JJjj > or JU*- O Denderah. A short distance from the river, on the west bank, a little to the north of the village of Denderah, stands the Temple of Denderah, which marks the site of the classical Tentyra or Tentyris, where the goddess Hathor was worshipped. During the Middle Empire great quantities of flax and linen fabrics were produced at Tentyra, and it gained some reputation thereby. TEMPLE OF^DENDERAH. H j 379 In very ancient times Khufu, or Cheops, a king of the IVth dynasty, founded a temple here, but it seems never to have become of much importance, probably because it lay so Plan of the Temple at Denderah. close to the famous shrines of Abydos and Thebes. The wonderfully preserved temple now standing there is probably but little older than the beginning of our era; indeed, it cannot, 380 TEMPLE OF DENDERAH. in any case, be older than the time of the later Ptolemies : hence it must be considered as the architectural product of a time when the ancient Egyptian traditions of sculpture were already dead and nearly forgotten. It is, however, a majestic monument, and worthy of careful examination. Strabo says (Bk. xvii, ch. i, 44) of this town and its inhabitants : “ Next to “ Abydos is . . . the city Tentyra, where the crocodile is held “ in peculiar abhorrence, and is regarded as the most odious of “ all animals. For the other Egyptians, although acquainted with “ its mischievous disposition, and hostility towards the human “ race, yet worship it, and abstain from doing it harm. But the “ people of Tentyra track and destroy it in every way. Some, “ however, as they say of the Psyllians of Cyrenaea, possess a “ certain natural antipathy to snakes, and the people of Tentyra “ have the same dislike to crocodiles, yet they suffer no injury “ from them, but dive and cross the river when no other person “ ventures to do so. When crocodiles were brought to Rome to “ be exhibited, they were attended by some of the Tentyritae. “ A reservoir was made for them with a sort of stage on one of “ the sides, to form a basking place for them on coming out of “ the water, and these persons went into the water, drew them in “ a net to the place where they might sun themselves and be “ exhibited, and then dragged them back again to the reservoir. “ The people of Tentyra worship Venus. At the back of the “ fane of Venus is a temple of Isis ; then follow what are called “ Typhoneia, and the canal leading to Coptos, a city common “ both to the Egyptians and Arabians.” (Falconer’s trans- lation.) On the walls and on various other parts of the temples are the names of several of the Roman Emperors ; the famous portraits of Cleopatra and Caesarion her son are on the end wall of the exterior. Passing along a dromos for about 250 feet the portico, a, supported by 24 Hathor-headed columns, arranged in six rows, is reached. Leaving this hall by the doorway facing the entrance, the visitor arrives in a second hall, b, having six Hathor-headed columns and three small chambers on each side. The chambers held the priestly apparel and stores of the temple. The two chambers, c and d, have smaller chambers on the right and left, e was the sanctuary, and in f the emblem of the god worshipped in the temple was placed. From a room on each side of c a staircase led up to the roof. On the ceiling of the portico is the famous “ Zodiac, ” which was thought to have been made in TEMPLE OF DENDERAH. 381 ancient Egyptian times ; the Greek inscription written in the twenty-first year of Tiberius = a.d. 35, and the names of the Roman Emperors, have clearly proved that, like that at Asna, it belongs to the Roman time. The Zodiac from Denderah, now at Paris, was cut out, with the permission of Muhammad ‘Ali, in 1821, from the small temple of Osiris, generally called the “Temple on the Roof.” The Iseium is situated to the south of the temple of Hathor, and consists of three chambers and a corridor; near by is a pylon which was dedicated to Isis in the thirty-first year of Caesar Augustus. The Mammisi, or birth-house, was built by Augustus ; this is the dwelling where the goddess was supposed to have brought forth the third person of the triad which was adored in the temple close by. The Typhonium stands to the north of the Temple of Hathor, and was so named because the god Bes, figures of whom occur on its walls, was confused with Typhon ; it measures about 120 feet by 60 feet, and is surrounded by a peristyle of 22 columns. If time permits, the Crypts should be visited, for the late Ptolemaic bas-reliefs are of interest. Travellers who intend to visit the ancient Ports of Myos-Hormos and Leukos Limen (Kuser) and Berenice, nowadays set out on their journey from Kana. A brief description of the routes will be found at the end of Part IV of this book (p. 630 ff.). A few miles beyond Denderah, on the east bank of the river, lies the town of Kuft, the Qebt of the hieroglyphics, and Keft of the Copts, with 10,858 inhabitants; it was the principal city in the Coptites nome, and was the Thebais Secunda of the Itineraries. From Kuft the road which crossed the desert to Berenice on the Red Sea started, and the merchandise which passed through the town from the east, and the stone from the famous porphyry quarries in the Eastern Desert, must have made it wealthy and important. It held the position of a port on the Nile for merchandise from a very early period ; and there is no doubt that every Egyptian king who sent expeditions to Punt, and the countries round about, found Kuft most usefully situated for this purpose. A temple dedicated to the ithyphallic god Menu, Isis, and Osiris, stood here. It was nearly destroyed by Diocletian a.d. 292. A copy of a medical papyrus in the British Museum states that the work was originally discovered at Coptos during the time of Cheops, 382 NEOLITHIC GRAVES AT COPTOS. a king of the IVth dynasty ; thus it is certain that the Egyptians considered this city to be of very old foundation. Early in the year 1910 MM. Weill and A. J. Reinach carried out the excavation of a portion of the ruins of the ancient city of Coptos. In the course of their work they un- covered the remains of two or three Egyptian temples, and cleared out the ruins of two Coptic churches, and they dis- covered a number of objects of very considerable interest. Among these may be specially mentioned a stele of Pepi I sculptured with a figure of the king adoring the god of Coptos, Menu, and with a figure of his mother, Aptu, whose name appears for the first time ; two stelae of Pepi II; a stele of king Uatch(?)-ka-Ra (oJ'U'l, whose Horus name was Temt-ab- taui (No. 1), and who may have been one of the immediate No. 1. No. 2. successors of Pepi II, the last king of the Vlth dynasty; a stele of Nefer kau-Heru U U uj, whose Horus name was Neter-baiu (No. 2), and who may also have been one of the immediate successors of Pepi II. These stelae prove that the authority of the last kings of the Vlth dynasty was as effective in Coptos as in their capital, Memphis. Besides these things remains .were found of a temple o Usertsen II, a temple of Thothmes III, which was restored by the Ptolemies and several of the Roman Emperors. The labours of Weill and Reinach, taken with the results obtained by other workers, prove beyond all doubt that Coptos was a very important town in early dynastic times, and that its oldest god was Menu, who was probably worshipped there in the Predynastic Period. It owed its importance entirely to its position on the great caravan route between the east and the west, and its importance grew with the development of the routes from Coptos to the Red Sea ports, first, by the Pharaohs, and next by the Ptolemies and Roman Emperors. These excava- tions form a valuable supplement to those of Professor Petrie in 1903. Kus, with 15,045 inhabitants, 425 miles from Cairo, on the east bank of the Nile, marks the site of the city called Apollinopolis Parva by the Greeks, and Qeset by the Egyptians. On the west bank, opposite Kfis, Prof. Petrie excavated a mass NEOLITHIC GRAVES AT NAKADAH. 383 of ruins that lay close to the modern village of Tukh, and found that they covered the ruins of a temple dedicated to Set, the principal of Evil, probably of a very early period. The particular form of Set which was the object of worship in this temple was that of Set of Nubt, or Ombos. In the mountains near Kus are a large number of tombs which were “ usurped ” by wealthy and important Greeks during the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods. From these much jewellery of a massive kind has been brought by the natives in recent years, and if the reports current about the treasures to be found in these tombs be true, the whole site would well repay excavation. Large necklaces, formed of Roman gold coins, have also been found. To the west of the city stood the monastery of St. Pisentius, who flourished in the seventh century, and the well of water which is said to have been visited by our Lord and the Virgin Mary and Joseph. The Copts built numbers of churches in the neighbourhood. Nakadah, with 9,208 inhabitants, chiefly Copts, 428 miles from Cairo, on the west bank of the river, nearly opposite the island of Matarah, was the home of a large number of Copts in early Christian times, and several monasteries were situated there. The four which now remain are dedicated to the Cross, St. Michael, St. Victor, and St. George respectively, and tradition says that they were founded by the Empress Helena ; the most important of them is that of St. Michael. In 1897 M. de Morgan carried on some important excavations here, and discovered a large ttumber of prehistoric tombs, and the tomb of a king called Aha, who has, by some, been identified with Mena, the first king of the 1 st dynasty. Professor Petrie also made excavations here as well as at Balias. Behind the village of Khizam, or Khuzam, with 4,483 inhabitants, are cemeteries belonging to the Predynastic Period and to the Xlth dynasty. A considerable number of figures of women and animals, and a seated youth with his head bowed over his knees, all made of mud, were found at Khizam and are now in the British Museum. At Luxor, with 15,439 inhabitants, 450 miles from Cairo, the railway gauge is altered, and the travellers to the South by railway must change carriages. 384 LUXOR. II.— LUXOR, THE TEMPLES AND TOMBS OF THEBES. LUXOR. Cook’s Office, near Winter Palace Hotel. Hotels. — Winter Palace Hotel, Luxor Hotel. Central Post Office in street leading to Railway Station ; there are also Post Offices in the Luxor Winter Palace and Luxor Hotels. Telegraph Office near Luxor Hotel. Churches. — English, in the grounds of the Luxor Hotel ; Sunday services, 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Roman Catholic, on the road to Karnak. Excursions to Karnak, Tombs of the Kings, etc. ; the Colossi of Amen-hetep III (Memnon), Der al-Bahari, etc. Luxor, 450 miles from Cairo, on the east bank of the river, is a small town with 15,439 inhabitants (9,676 being Muslims, and 5,753 being Christians), and owes its impor- tance to the fact that it is situated close to the ruins of the temples of the ancient city of Thebes. The name of Luxor is a corruption of the Arabic name of the place, El-Ukshr, which means “ the palaces.” Little more than 35 years ago Luxor was nothing more than a cluster of poorly built mud-houses, which stood close to the edge of the river bank, and inside the various courts of the Temple of Luxor. The village, as we may call it, was ill-kept and ill- scavenged, its alleys were unlit at nights, and it was not in a prosperous condition. In 1886 a great change came over the place, for, owing to the enterprise of Messrs. Thos. Cook and Son, British tourists began to come to Upper Egypt in comparatively large numbers, and prosperity for the town followed in their train. In December of that year Messrs. Thos. Cook and Son inaugurated a new line of steamers which ran at regular intervals from Cairo to Aswan and back. The advent of these steamers on the Nile marked a new era in the history of river travel in Egypt, and the late Mr. John M. Cook, who superintended their journeys personally, and devoted much time and care to every detail of their management, was the first to undertake the transformation of the dusty village of Luxor into a town suitable for European travellers to live in. He first caused steps to be built up the bank, the convenience of which the natives were not slow to perceive, and he improved the river front, and induced the local authorities to clean the streets and alleys, and to remove the stones which blocked the ways. He first enlarged and then rebuilt the old Luxor Hotel, and inaugurated improvements everywhere. LUXOR. 385 i Gradually the streets were widened, and as the trade which followed in the wake of his steamers grew, the natives began to build better houses for themselves, and European wares began to fill the bazars. Quite early in the history of the modern development of Luxor, Mr. Cook founded a hospital, and hundreds of the sick and suffering gladly and promptly availed themselves of the medical assistance which he provided gratis. In this, as in many other things too numerous to mention, his sound advice, shrewd business capacity, and ready generosity, laid the foundation of the prosperity which has subsequently come to Luxor. He encouraged the natives to learn new methods, and quietly and unostentatiously supported struggling local undertakings until they were estab- lished, and the trade which he enabled the natives to do with his steamers literally “made” scores of villages on both banks of the river. The great organizer of the tourist traffic of Egypt was well called the “friend of the poor,” and the “father of Luxor.” The excavation of the Temple of Luxor was begun by Prof. Maspero in 1883, and continued with conspicuous success by M. de Morgan. The houses inside the temple were pulled down, the road along the river front was widened, and the quay built, and several improvements were made at both ends of Luxor. The sacred lake of the temple of Mut, which had degenerated into a mere stagnant pool, was filled up, to the great benefit of the community. The advent of the railway from Cairo led to the introduction of carriages, and these have brought about a great improvement in the roads to Karnak and in those which traverse the town itself. The resultant of the forces of civilization which have been brought to bear on Luxor during the last few years is a clean, well-kept tow T n, and the waste of time, fatigue, and annoyance which used to accompany a prolonged series of visits to the temples on •each side of the river are now things of the past. Nowhere in Egypt can time more profitably or more comfortably be spent than at Luxor. In recent years much has been done to improve the town by the natives themselves, and many of the new houses are substantial and comfortable dwellings. In the year 1906 a new and handsome mosque w r as built and dedicated to the service of Almighty God by a native of the towm, Al-Hagg Muhammad Muhassib Mfisa Ash-Shairi, who is descended from one of the Ashraf or “ nobles ” of Mekka, who settled at Luxor in the fourteenth century, when Abft 2 B 386 THEBES. Hagag, the builder of the old mosque, which stood in one of the temple courts, came to the town. The building stands in the heart of Luxor, and is 59 feet long, 52 feet wide, and 23 feet high ; the height of the minaret is about 122 feet. The roof is supported by six columns of hard stone from Akhmim, and has six windows, three on the north side, two on the west side, and one on the south side ; there are doors on the west, north, and south sides. Within the mosque is a Hanafiyah, and the decoration is of a partly Muslim and partly ancient Egyptian character. Over the main door is the inscription in Arabic : “ In the Name of God, the “ Merciful, the Compassionate ! Say r May God pray for the “ Apostle of God, and give him peace. He who buildeth for iJt God a house of worship shall the face of God, the Most “ High, follow, and God shall build for him therein a u house of Paradise. Al-Hagg Muhammad Muhassib Musa “ Ash-Shain founded this House of Assembly in the year of “ the Hijra 1323.” Provision has been made for a garden, and in 1921, the buildings of the mosque being finished, the founder and endower of the mosque handed over to its keepers a series of alms-houses, worth several thousands of pounds, for the benefit of the deserving destitute of Luxor. In connexion with the American Mission at Luxor may be mentioned the Boarding: School for Girls. This new and commodious school, which stands on the right-hand side of the road to Karnak, was opened to receive boarders and day pupils on 24th February, 1905. History of Thebes. — Ancient Thebes stood on both sides of the Nile, and was generally called in hiero- glyphics Uast ; that part of the city which was situated on the east bank of the river, and included the temples of Karnak and Luxor, appears to have and the name Thebes have been derived. The cuneiform inscriptions and Hebrew Scriptures call it No, i.e. y Nut, “ the City ” (Ezek. xxx, 14), and No-Amon,* /., and the legend, “ The giving of “ fresh unguents and eye-paint to the scribe Nekht, triumphant ! ” Beneath the stele is shown a pile of funereal offerings con- sisting of fruits and flowers, bread and cakes, ducks, haunches of beef, etc. ; on each side is a female wearing a sycamore the emblem of the goddess Hathor, upon her head, and holding offerings of fruit, flowers, etc., in her hands, and behind each is a young man bringing additional offerings. The scene on the wall at the other end of the chamber was never finished by the artist. In the upper division are Nekht and his wife Taui seated, having a table loaded with funereal offerings before them ; a priestly official and the nine smeriu bring offerings of oil, flowers, etc. In the lower division also are the cornice is formed of the khakeru pattern On TOMB OF NEKHT. 443 Nekht and his wife Taui seated, having a table of offerings before them, and four priestly officials are bringing haunches of veal or beef to them. On the wall to the left of the door- way leading into the smaller chamber are painted the following scenes connected with agriculture : — i An arm of the Nile or a canal — on one side are two men ploughing with oxen, and labourers breaking up hard sods with mallets, while a third scatters the seed ■; 0 n t^ e °ther are seen men digging up the ground with hoes and the sower sowing seed. At one end sits the deceased Nekht in the sek hall, j^pj, and at the other is a tree having a water-skin on one of the branches, from which a man drinks. 2. Men reaping, a woman gleaning, men tying up sheaves in a sack, women twisting flax. 3. The measuring of the grain. 4. Winnowing the grain. Above the head of Nekht, who sits in a sell chamber, is the inscription : — “ Sitting in the seh seeth his fields the temple-servant of “ [Amen, Nekht], triumphant before the great god.” On the left of the agricultural scenes stands Nekht pouring out a libation over an altar loaded with all manner of funereal offerings ; behind him is his wife Taui holding a menat emblem of joy and pleasure, in her right hand, and a sistrum ^ in her left. Beneath the altar two priests are sacrificing a bull. The inscription above the whole scene reads : — “ Offering of things all beautiful, pure, bread, beer, oxen, ducks, “ heifers, calves, to be made upon the altars of “ Harmachis to Osiris, god great, and Hathor, president of the “ mountain of the dead, to Anubis upon his mountain by the “ temple-servant Nekht. His sister, his darling, of “ the seat of his heart, the singing priestess of [Amen, Taui, “triumphant!]” On the wall to the right of the doorway leading into the smaller chamber are painted the following scenes : Upper register ; Nekht in a boat, accompanied by his wife and children, spearing fish and bringing down birds with the boomerang in a papyrus swamp. Above is the inscription : — “ Passeth “ through wild-fowl marshes, traverseth wild-fowl marshes with “ gladness, speareth fish Nekht, triumphant!” On the bank stand two of Nekht’s servants holding sandals, staff, boomerang, etc., and beneath is another servant carrying to Nekht the birds 444 THEBES — LEFT BANK. which Nekht himself has brought down. The inscriptions above read : — (i) “ Rejoiceth, seeth happiness [in] making the chase, “ [and] in the work of the goddess Sekhmet, the friend of the “ lady of the chase, the temple-servant, the scribe Nekht, “ triumphant ! ” (ii) “ His sister, the singing priestess of u [Amen], the lady of the house, Taui, saith, ‘ Rejoice thou in “ ‘ the work of Sekhmet, [and] the birds [which] he setteth apart “ ‘ for his selection.’ ” (iii) “ Rejoiceth, seeth happiness in the “ produce of the fields of the land of the north, the temple- “ servant the scribe Nekht, triumphant ! ” Lower register: Nekht and his wife sitting in a summer- house “ to make himself glad and to experience the happiness “ of the land of the north ” (i.e., Lower Egypt) ; before them funereal offerings are heaped up. In the upper division of this register are seen Nekht’s servants gathering grapes, the treading of the grapes in the wine-press, the drawing of the new wine, the jars for holding it, and two servants making offerings to Nekht of birds, flowers, etc. In the lower division we see Nekht instructing his servants in the art of snaring birds in nets, the plucking and cleaning of the birds newly caught, and two servants offering to Nekht fish, birds, fruit, etc. In the other scenes we have Nekht, accompanied by his wife Taui, making an offering of anta unguent and incense to the gods of the tomb, and a representation of his funereal feast. Other sepulchres worthy of a visit are 1. The tomb of Amsu (or Menu) = nekht, > an overseer of granaries. 2. The tomb of Sen-nefer, an official of Amen-hetep II, and an important member of the brotherhood of Amen. Plan of the Tomb of Amsu (or Min) -Nekht. Plan of the Tomb of Ra-men- kheper-senb. TOMBS OF OFFICIALS. 445 0 3. The tomb of Ra = men = kheper = senb, |LLL11XJi high priest of Amen under Thothmes III. 4. The tomb of Peh = su = kher, — ^ .A p J • Plan of the Tomb of Mentu-her- khepesh-f. Plan of the Tomb of Peh-su-kher. 5. The tomb of Mentu = her = khepesh = f , /WW\A a prince and chancellor. ^ A "fV