Journal on the Nile.
The wind was fair when we left Boulak. We passed Roda, the Nilometer, and Old Cairo. Then a long reach of the river brought us to the village of E Deyr, which is inhabited by Copt Christians. We next passed, on our left, El Masarah, where there are large stone quarries. The stone for the Great Pyramid was taken from these quarries.
At Bedreshyn we landed, Mohammed procured donkeys for us, and we set off to see the Pyramids of Sakkara.
We rode first to the village of Mitrahenny, where the ancient city of Memphis once stood. The country round it is very pretty. The village itself stands in a wood of palm-trees. We were told that at the time at which the Nile overflows its banks the people leave their houses and live in the palm-trees, where they put up a sort of scaffolding to sleep on. When the river falls again, they leave the trees, repair their mud huts, and live in them till the next overflow.
Memphis, formerly such a splendid city, is gone. There is scarcely a trace left of this once busy capital of Lower Egypt in which Moses lived, where the poor Jewish captives toiled to make up the tale of bricks for Pharaoh's taskmasters. Some few remains of foundation-walls are found in the sand. But nothing is left to tell of the temples and palaces of this ancient city, except only a part of a colossal statue of Rameses, called Sesostris. It is of a pure white, made of polished limestone, and must have been more than forty feet in height. The statue lay on its face, and we could not see the features. It has a scroll in its hands. Pieces of the legs and feet were lying about. All around are magnificent palm-trees.
BRICKMAKING (from Egyptian Sculpture).
The Pyramids of Sakkara are near the village of the same name. The largest of them is called by the Arabs "the Pyramid of Degrees." It has outside six stories or degrees, each smaller than the one below it. Inside are passages and chambers.
Near the pyramids are the famous pits, in which are ibis mummies. The ibis was a sacred bird among the Egyptians. We bought one of these mummies. It was enclosed in a round earthen jar, the top of which was shaped like a cone, and was fastened down strongly with cement.
BRICKMAKING (from Egyptian Sculpture).
The bird was rolled up in long bandages of linen. The head and neck were folded over the breast, the wings laid close to the sides, and the long legs were folded up and brought close to the beak. The bird was perfect. We said we knew how delighted you all, and especially Hugh and Lucy, would be to see it. But our curiosity was selfish. As soon as the air played on it, it crumbled into dust.
THE SACRED IBIS.
There are some fine tombs near the Pyramids of Sakkara. We went to the one which we were told was the best worth seeing. The roof was hollowed into the shape of an arch and covered with smoothly-cut stones cemented together. This led into a room in which is a deep well. We also saw some hieroglyphics, and some sculpture; most of these represented men carrying birds. It was not very interesting, and we did not stay long to look at it.
We had a delightful ride back to Bedreshyn, through fields and among clumps of thorny mimosa, on which the camels love to browse. The palm-trees looked beautiful in the clear sunlight. Nothing was wanting but the song of birds, and this is a want almost always felt by Europeans in the hot climates of Africa and Asia.
The next day we went to the Pyramids of Dashoor. Two are of stone and two of brick. The first was the largest. Colonel Howard Vyse gives its height as three hundred and twenty feet. The entrance was covered with stones and rubbish. The second pyramid is not so large. The ascent to the entrance is not very difficult, but the descent is exceedingly so, and there is not much to repay one for the trouble.
We returned to our boat in good time, and were much amused, after we had again started, by watching the peasants raising water from the river with poles and buckets, and with looking at the Arab boats, a number of which passed us.
We next came to El Kafr el Jyat. It is only a small village, but in it is the residence of a wealthy chief whose hospitable house is the resort of travellers. He bears the title of Khabeéree, or "the guide." We find from Sir G. Wilkinson's book[A] that this title "has been hereditary in his family since the time of Sultan Selim, who gave it to his ancestor as a reward for his services in that capacity, when he took possession of the country after the defeat of the son of El Ghoree."
[A] "Modern Egypt," vol. ii.
We next passed the False Pyramid. It takes its name from the base being of rock and not really part of the building.
The banks of the river and villages were enlivened with palm-trees. But we passed no place of any size or interest till we came to Benisooéf.
Benisooéf is the capital of the province, the Fyoom, and has several manufactories of cotton and silk.
We are lounging idly on deck looking at the scene before us. A great many boats are tied to the shore, and a number of people are on the quay. The children are tolerably clad, and some of the old men are exceedingly picturesque in their white dresses, with their cloaks thrown over their shoulders and leaning on their staves; girls are coming down to fill their jars with water and carrying them away most gracefully on their heads. And as for animals! Hugh would find more than enough to satisfy him. Dogs, goats, poultry, cows, horses, camels, buffaloes! And such a noise! we can scarcely hear ourselves speak for the clatter. But a gentleman who is going down to Cairo, and will leave at daybreak, has just sent to know whether he can take any letters for us. So good-by for the present.
SCENE ON THE NILE.