The Mosque of the dancing dervishes we visited, and, arriving early, were received in a large upper room, and entertained with a cup of coffee. There were in the chapel more than a hundred visitors—mostly strangers. The worship consisted in the usual devotions, with singing, bowings, and dancing. Fourteen dervishes or priests I suppose in the centre of the church commenced to spin round upon their toes and heels, and generally with outspread arms, at the same time revolving round the fence or ring on the floor. This they did to music, consisting of pipes, drums, and I think some stringed instruments. It was monotonous and simple. The speed at first seemed steadily to increase till the dancers became pale or livid, and after about twenty minutes they dropped off, evidently only when nature was perfectly exhausted. They were of various ages—from twelve to sixty.
The whole ceremonial concluded with prayers, and then genuflexions to the high priest or sheik, who presided standing upon a bit of carpet on the margin of the ring, near the prayer-niche in the wall, with his face towards Mecca. The affair did not excite laughter, as I had expected. It was in some sense dignified throughout, but left a painful impression upon the mind. The female worshippers were kept apart in a gallery, as usual in the Mahomedan churches, and protected from observation by a latticed screen. The motion of the dancers was twofold, as if in imitation of that of the planets, one round their own axis, and one around the ring centre. Whether intentional or not, their several velocities of revolution were different, as also seemed to be the diameters of the orbits of their several dances. They threw their heads back, and were evidently blind as in a trance, although their eyelids were open, and yet while apparently imminent I noticed no collision. I presume their worship has no intentional reference to the sun, but may it not possibly be the remains of some very ancient religious ceremonial—probably descended from that of the original worship in the “Temples of the Sun”—evidently the oldest of idolatries?
The hundred mosques and multitudes of minarets of this large city—the famous bucket well on the citadel—the Nileometer—the Nile bridge—the Khedive’s wonderful stud of horses—the snake charmers[3]—and all the other well-known sights—I need not describe.
By rail we visited the site of the ancient royal city of Memphis, about nine miles south of Cairo. We took good donkeys with us, and were ferried across the Nile in a passage boat. The well-known wood of palm trees and the great colossal image of Rameses are the only objects of interest now remaining of this the former residence of the Egyptian kings. This ancient statue—perhaps the finest in Egypt—is a beautifully finished piece of sculpture, sixty feet high, in bluish black granite, and lies prostrate in the mud, but in perfect preservation, as fresh looking as if finished the previous day!
Returning by the western bank of the Nile, we—with several other travellers from our hotel—had a most amusing donkey race upon the sands northwards viâ the Pyramids of Ghizeh to Cairo. This valley seems one vast graveyard: numerous finely built tombs have been, and are still from time to time being uncovered; and near the locality is the famous temple containing “the tombs of the sacred bulls.” It is a large underground cavern cut out of the soft rock, and contains empty sarcophagi—I think about ten in number, each large enough to contain a live prize ox—cut out of an immense block of black granite, beautifully polished and covered with hieroglyphics. Even in this nineteenth century, with all our appliances, these would be considered works of high art and engineering skill. As to labour, the expenditure must have been immense.
Heliopolis stands north of Cairo, and about eighteen miles distant from Memphis. The drive from Cairo is along a fine wide road, lined on both sides with large healthy trees, carefully irrigated, whose branches meet overhead, and form the longest and finest natural arch I have ever seen. It reminded me of a similar one at Drummond Castle in Scotland, but this seemed much wider and loftier.
Heliopolis is said to be the site of the most ancient city of Egypt. It is otherwise called On and sometimes Noph; but nothing remains of it except a fine obelisk of granite covered with hieroglyphics, and about sixty-five feet high: perhaps there is no column still standing erect of greater antiquity. There was here a great Temple of the Sun, and the patriarch Joseph’s wife is mentioned as a daughter of a priest or prince of On. In New Testament times it is said to have been the retreat of Joseph and Mary with the infant Jesus. A very aged tree—I think a sycamore, of large size—and a well of excellent water, are still shown in connexion with that event. The country around seemed rich and fertile.
I do not propose giving any general description of Egypt and the Nile, although the subject is an extremely rich and interesting one. But before leaving it, I must remark that one is very much struck by the evidence everywhere around of progress and improvement, mercantile, agricultural, mechanical, and social, although probably not all judiciously carried on. The Khedive is Egypt, and Egypt is the Khedive—the claim of Turkey to the sovereignty being now very little more than a name. The present Viceroy is an impulsive man of extraordinary energy, and evidently aims at making Cairo an Eastern Paris, which he will very soon do if money do not fail him. But Egypt has less need of French opera-dancers and experimental engineers than of sugar-crushing machinery and irrigation works, neither of which, however, it must be allowed, has he neglected. But it appeared to me that by an ample and judicious extension of the latter the rich crops of the Nile valley might be doubled, and especially of sugar-cane, flax, and cotton.
The irrigation works are extremely important and admit of indefinite extension. When the Nile falls below the “high level” the country assumes the appearance of being cut up by a series of narrow irregular canals of different levels. The irrigation is carried on by numerous water mills or pumps which are worked by oxen, donkeys, and camels. Their construction is remarkably primitive and defective. Their snail, treadmill-like pace is a picture of waste, and the work done seemed not to exceed one-third of the power expended. This is inexcusable, because mechanical power of advanced construction is in general use by the Egyptian Government in almost all other departments. Much of the irrigation, however, is done by water-drawers whose energetic and efficient action it is pleasant to see, being just the reverse of that of the quadrupeds. With a light bucket having two cords attached, two young Arabs by alternate plunges and upward jerks raised water nearly ten feet, from a lower channel level to the higher, and seemed to continue with singular steadiness at the rate of some twenty bucketfuls a minute, even with a scorching sun overhead.
Ladies of the middle and upper classes are never seen unless veiled—all except the eyes and part of the nose—in a most unbecoming fashion. They are enveloped in a loose robe of pure black or white, covering the head and partially fastened at the neck; under this they seem to wear some kind of jacket or dress of rich-looking silk, green or other bright colour, and this, with loose leather slippers, constitutes their outward dress. Most frequently they ride on donkeys, and consequently on the dusty roads their feet appear in disadvantageous contrast with their spotless dress otherwise. They seem notable housewives at bargain-making in the bazaars, otherwise I never noticed them speak to a male, and no male speaks to them in public. Generally speaking I saw no “beautiful old women” anywhere after crossing the English Channel eastward—such as are frequently met with at home. The Bedouin women are rarely veiled, the girls are employed in degrading menial work, such as serving as mason’s labourers; and I was very much shocked to see a number of them carrying wet mortar on their backs up to a building in a piece of cloth, with the water running down their dress, which consisted apparently of only a frock of blue cotton cloth.