We ascended the high thrones of our camels on the 16th of January, at half-past seven o’clock in the morning, and looked down thence towards the Nile. It was, however, only visible shortly before our arrival. The stream here does not flow through a broad valley, but runs along a bare rock-channel, that stretches through the flat wide plain of rock. On the other side of the river only was there any appearance of the valley, and on an island formed there stood a few dûm-palms. A little way from the shores we met another train of 150 camels, which had just left Abu Hammed. Then came an extensive earthwork, with a few towers like fortifications, which had been erected by the great Arab sheikh Hassan Chalif, for government stores. A little ravine contains five huts, one of stones and earth, another of tree trunks, two of mats, and one of bus or durra straw; then a wider place opened, surrounded with several poor-looking houses, one of which was prepared for us. A brother of Hassan Chalif, who resides here, came to receive us, led us into the house, and offered us his services. A few anqarêb (cane bed-places), which are much used here, on account of the creeping vermin, were brought in, and we established ourselves for that day and the following night; we felt that we must give the camels so much grace.
A great four-cornered space surrounded us, thirty feet on every side, the walls formed of stone and earth; a couple of trees, forked at the top, bore a great trunk for an architrave, above which there were again other roof-branches laid, and bound up and covered with mats and hurdles. It reminded me much of a primeval architecture which we had found imitated on the rock caves of Beni-hassan; there were the same pillars, the same network of the roof, through which, except by the door, as at those caves, the light only entered by one four-cornered opening in the middle, at the top, and no windows. The door-posts were composed of four short trunks, of which the upper one quite resembled the lintel in the graves of the pyramid era. We hung up a curtain before the door, to protect us from the wind and dust; at the opposite corner, a doorway led into a space that was used as a kitchen. The day was windy, and the air unpleasantly filled with sand, so that we could scarcely get out of doors. We refreshed ourselves, however, with pure, cool Nile water, and an excellent dinner of mutton. The great desert was behind us, and we had only four days more to El Mechêref, the chief, town of Berber, following the course of the river. We learned that Ahmed Pasha Menekle was in our neighbourhood, or would soon arrive, in order to make a military expedition from Dâmer, a short day’s journey on the other side of El Mechêref, up the Atbara, to the province of Taka, where some of the Bishari tribes had revolted.
When we came forth the next morning, our Arabs had all anointed themselves and put on good clothes; but what more particularly surprised us was the sight of their stately white wigs, making them look quite reverend. It is a part of their “dress,” to comb the hair into a high toupé, which is sprinkled with peculiar finely drifted butter, shining white, as if with powder. In a little while, however, when the sun is risen higher, this fat snow melts, and then the hair looks all covered with innumerable pearly dew-drops, till these, too, disappear, and run down their shoulders and neck from their dark brown hair, spreading a light upon their well-burned limbs, like antique bronze statues.
We set forward the next morning at eight o’clock, with a new camel that we had found opportunity to exchange for a tired one. The valley becomes broader and more fertile the nearer we come to the island of Meroë; the desert itself became more rank and wild, like steppes. The first station was Geg, where we spent the night in an open space; the air is very, very warm; at half-past five in the afternoon we had 25° Reaumur. The second night we stayed on the other side of Abu Hashîn, in the neighbourhood of a village, which is in reality no station, as we desired to pass the five usual stations in four days; the third day we stopped out in the air by a cataract of the Nile. On the fourth day from Abu Hammed, we kept a little further away from the river in the desert, but still within the limits of the original valley, if I may so call a yellow earth, which is not covered by the inundations, but is dug out by the villagers immediately below the sand, in order to mend their fields. We halted in the evening at the village of El Chôr, an hour from El Mechêref, and arrived in the metropolis of the province of Berber early on the fifth day.
I sent the dragoman forward to announce us, and to demand a house, which we received, and immediately entered upon. The Mudhir of Berber was in Dâmer; his vakeel, or lieutenant, visited us, and soon came Hassan Chalif, the chief Arab sheikh, who promised us better camels to Dâmer, was rejoiced to hear good tidings of his and our friends, Linant and Bonomi, and amused himself with our own books of plates, in which he found portraits of his relations and ancestors. We had scarcely arrived, ere we received intelligence that Hassan Pasha had entered the town on another side. He had journeyed from Korusko to his province of Dongola, and now returned from Edabbe, on the southern boundaries of Dongola, right through the desert of El Mechêref, where Enrin, the new Pasha of Chartûm, had come to meet him. The rencontre caused some disturbance in our plans; but we managed to travel southward on the next morning, the 22nd of January, soon after Hassan Pasha’s departure, after leaving two camels, no longer wanted for water-carrying, behind, and exchanging three others for better ones.
We rode off towards noon, and stayed in the evening at the last village, before the river Mogrân, the ancient Astaboras, which we had to pass before reaching Dâmer. It is called in the maps Atbara, evidently a corruption of Astaboras; but this designation seems to be applied to the upper river, from the place of that name, and not to the lower one. Next morning we passed the river near its embouchment. Even here it was very narrow in its great bed, which it entirely fills in the rainy season, while for two months it is only prevented from disappearing entirely by some stagnating water. On the other side of the river, we landed on the island of Meroë of Strabo, by which name the land between the Nile and Astaboras was designated. Yet two hours and we reached Dâmer.
The houses were too poor to take us in; I therefore sent Jussuf to Emin Pasha, in whose province we now were, and who had encamped, with Hassan Pasha, on the shore of the river. He sent a khawass to meet us, and to invite us to dine with him. I, however, judged it more expedient to pitch our tent at some distance, and to change our travelling costume. Immediately the Mudhir of Berber paid us his visit, to ask after our wishes, and soon after Emin Pasha sent an excellent dinner to our tent, consisting of four well-prepared dishes, and besides that, a lamb roasted whole upon the spit and filled with rice, and a flat cake filled with meat.
Toward Asser (three o’clock in the afternoon) we had our visit announced; just as we were about to proceed to it, we heard the singing of sailors; two boats came swimming down the stream with red flags and crescents: it was Ahmed Pasha Menekle returning from Chartûm. The Pasha and the Mudhir immediately proceeded on board, and they did not separate till late; our friend, Dr. Koch, was unfortunately not expected from Chartûm for two days. I had received a note from Erbkam at an early period after my arrival, in which he informed me, by the medium of a passing khawass, that he had left Korusko with Ibrahim Aga, on the 15th of January; he wrote from their first camp. The khawass had ridden with incredible swiftness from Cairo to Berber, in fourteen days, and brought Ahmed Pasha the desired permission to raise the government price for the camels from Korusko to Berber, from sixty piasters to a higher price than before, i. e. ninety piasters.
January 26th. The day before yesterday we made our visit to Ahmed Pasha, which he returned yesterday. He will do everything to facilitate our further journey. He informed us, that he, in accordance with his former promise, had sent an officer from Abu Haras to Mandera, three days into the desert, and had obtained the information from him that great ruins were existing there. The same was told us yesterday in a letter by Dr. Koch, and confirmed to-day by his word of mouth. After dinner he will bring us Musa Bey, who has been there. He also announced to us that some letters had arrived for us, and were deposited at Chartûm, and that the artist sent for from Rome had arrived at Cairo.
For our fellow-travellers a bark is prepared at El Mechêref; but I shall precede them with Abeken. Ahmed Pasha sends me word, that in an hour a courier will leave for Cairo, who shall bear these letters.