What We Saw in Egypt Part 7

"I want to ask something before you go on, please," said Hugh. "Why was that city called 'the City of the Dogs'?"

"Because the dog was then considered to be a particularly sacred animal.

One of the largest repositories of dog mummies is found on the opposite bank. It was not unusual in Egypt for a city to bury its dead, as well as its sacred animals, on the opposite sh.o.r.e of the Nile, especially if a better place could be found there for making catacombs."

Minieh is a pretty and busy town. Near the landing-place we saw the tomb of a sheikh, shaded over by a palm-tree, which is very picturesque. We admired the houses too, with their trellised balconies overhanging the river. And there are such queer little coffee-shops! Some are tents, some only little huts made of reeds. We found the bazaar airy and some of the buildings handsome. The country round Minieh is rich and beautiful; it abounds in groves of palm-trees and in every kind of fruit. We enjoyed our ramble exceedingly, and the two guns brought back a fair share of wild fowl.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EASTERN BAZAAR.]

Our next stopping-place was Beni-Ha.s.san; we arrived this morning, and have been on sh.o.r.e all day.

The tombs of Beni-Ha.s.san are open to the Nile, and are ornamented with coloured figures or other devices, and are very old.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EGYPTIAN LOOM.

_a b_. Rollers for carrying and tightening the warp.

_c c c_. The warp _d d_. Frame of the machine.

_e f_. Movable bars, for pressing the successive weft threads together.

_g_. Roller for relieving the cloth when woven.

_h_. Hooked stick (used instead of a shuttle) to carry theweft threads.]

We went first into the most northern tomb. In front of the entrance is a portico, supported by pillars, which leads into a vaulted room: its roof is supported by four large pillars. These pillars have been coloured to imitate red granite, and so have the lower part of the walls. Above this coloured part of the wall are long lines of figures; some employed in outdoor work, some in indoor work, some in amus.e.m.e.nts. Some are fis.h.i.+ng, some are watering flax, some dancing, others wrestling.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIs.h.i.+NG.]

In one part there are men catching wild fowl in nets; in another part there are women kneading or making bread; and others playing the harp.

On one part of the wall we saw a procession. As we had heard that this procession represented the arrival of Joseph's brethren, we were very much interested with it. The first figure is an Egyptian scribe, who is giving an account of the arrival of the strangers to one of the chief officers of the king, and the owner of the tomb. The next, also an Egyptian, is ushering the strangers into his presence. Two of the strangers are advancing, and bring with them presents, a goat and a gazelle. Four men follow, carrying bows and clubs, and leading an a.s.s, which two children are riding on in panniers, accompanied by a boy and four women. Last, are another a.s.s, laden, and two men; one of these holds a bow and club, and the other a lyre.

[Ill.u.s.tration: POTTERS.]

We saw another curious tomb, where there is a hunting scene, and the name of each animal is written above it, in hieroglyphics. Below this are birds, and their names are also written. There we saw a group of women jumping and dancing; others playing at ball, throwing up three b.a.l.l.s one after another and catching them; men dancing on one leg and performing other feats of skill.

[Ill.u.s.tration: IDOL PAINTERS.]

The occupations and trades of the ancient Egyptians are also shown.

There are goldsmiths, gla.s.s-blowers, painters, potters, workers in flax.

On one wall there are wrestlers in different att.i.tudes; on another, some unhappy people who are undergoing the bastinado. We were surprised, too, to see that dwarfs and deformed people formed part of the trains of the great men of Egypt in those days, just as they did in Rome in later days.

In one of the tombs we saw a Greek alphabet on the wall; the letters were transposed in different ways, apparently for the purpose of teaching Greek.

We meant to have gone to see the Temple of Diana of the Egyptians, but were all tired, and have left it till our return.

We have been obliged to have a strict watch kept over our boat to-day.

The villages of Beni-Ha.s.san were destroyed by order of the pacha some years ago, because the people were such great thieves. But this cure for theft does not seem to have answered, for the villagers still have the character of a love of pilfering.

We sat up rather late last night, helping each other with our journal for your amus.e.m.e.nt. Just as we were putting by our pens and paper we were startled by seeing a bright light. Mohammed appeared and told us that a dahabieh was on fire, and that English travellers were on board.

We hurried on deck. The dahabieh was a ma.s.s of fire. Pillars of smoke rose from it, and large tongues of flame darted from them and seemed to lick down into the fire whatever came into their way. There was a great buzz of voices on the sh.o.r.e, and the wild light cast a lurid glare on the figures which were hurrying to and fro. A European figure rushed on sh.o.r.e with something in his arms, then darted back and was lost in the smoke. We did not wait to see more, but went on sh.o.r.e instantly.

There was no possibility of saving the dahabieh. But every one on board was safe, and we brought the travellers to our dahabieh, where they are now.

They prove to be Mr. and Miss Roper, father and daughter, a European servant, and a negress girl, whom they call Rahaba. I never heard such an outpouring of fervent thanksgiving as Mr. Roper offered up to G.o.d as soon as they were all safely on board our boat. It reminded us of the history of Jacob wrestling with the angel, "I will not let thee go except thou bless me."

Rahaba has a sad expression of face, but her eyes brighten when Miss Roper speaks to her.

Mr. and Miss Roper only arrived at Beni-Ha.s.san that evening. There seemed little chance of their being able to get on to Cairo, so we asked them to be our guests and to return over their old ground with us.

We left Beni-Ha.s.san the next morning, and saw crocodiles that day for the first time. They were on a sandbank basking in the sun. One was very large, the two others smaller. A salute from our guns was fired at them, which made the smaller crocodiles rush into the water in a great hurry, but the larger one treated us with cool contempt.

The first sight of Manfaloot was charming. A sudden bend of the river brought us full in view of its minarets, which rise from a group of mingled buildings and palm-trees.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HEAD OF CROCODILE.]

We have not landed since we left Beni-Ha.s.san. Miss Roper has been making a sketch of our reis and the crew. Rahaba looks on her sketch-book and colour-box as some kind of magic possessions, and contrived to save them from the fire in consequence.

Miss Roper took the sketch at sunset. The sky was flooded with gorgeous tints, and their glow was reflected on our reis as he sat in his blue robes and crimson turban, smoking his pipe. We shall reach Thebes to-night, and shall go on sh.o.r.e early to-morrow to see some of the interesting sights of which Mr. Roper has been telling us.

[Ill.u.s.tration: RUINS OF THEBES.]

Our boat was moored as near as possible to the village of Koorneh, or Karnac, as it is often called. We went on sh.o.r.e early in the morning and visited the small palace and temple of Koorneh, and then rode on for about twenty minutes to the palace-temple of Rameses the Second. This is one of the most interesting temples in the valley of the Nile. The entrance leads into a court where are the ruins of the largest statue in the world. It is made of granite from the quarries of Syene.

Mr. Roper told us that this was a statue of the king, seated on his throne with his hands resting on his knees. Judging from the fragments the foot must have been eleven feet long and about four feet ten inches wide. The statue measured twelve feet ten inches from the shoulder to the elbow, twenty-two feet four inches across the shoulders.

The throne and the legs are quite destroyed. The figure is broken at the waist, and the upper part is thrown back on the ground. No one knows who erected or who destroyed this giant statue. We gazed at the ruin with astonishment, almost with awe.

In a beautiful court, with a double row of columns, we saw some interesting sculpture. An enemy is flying from the Egyptians. The complexions and features of the men are quite different from those of the Egyptians. They are fleeing towards the river in chariots; some are represented as drowning in the river, and others as entreating for mercy. In the grand hall we saw another battle-scene.

The great hall leads into a room with eight columns, which support the roof. On it are represented the Egyptian months, and on the wall are sacred arks borne by priests. The side walls of the temple are destroyed, so that the pillars are seen to great advantage.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GRAND HARP.]

We saw, too, the famous colossal statues; they are made of a hard stone, marked with black and red oxide of iron. The northern statue is called Salamet by the Arabs. It is the celebrated statue of Memnon, which was said to utter a sound of melody every morning at sunrise, and a mournful sound at sunset. The sides of the throne are ornamented with figures; they represent the G.o.d Nilus winding up a pedestal, over which is the name of the king who made them. The statues of his wife and mother are attached to the throne. We then went to the Temple of Medeenet Haboo.

The early Christians had a settlement here, and they used one of the deserted courts of the great temple for a church, hiding the idolatrous sculptures with a coat of mud. But a time of persecution came. The colony was invaded by Arabs, the Christians fled to the neighbourhood of Esneh, and the village of Medeenet Haboo fell into ruins.

We pa.s.sed the palace of Rameses the Third, and went into the temple. Two fine pillars ornament the doorway which leads from the court into a corridor before the second doorway. Over this doorway there is a beautiful winged globe and serpent, the colouring of which still remains.

This doorway leads into another corridor and afterwards into a small court. We looked at this court with great interest, because Mr. Roper told us that it was built by Tirhakeh, whose battles with Sennacherib we read of in the Bible.

On the outside wall of the temple, King Rameses is represented in his chariot, attended by fan-bearers and lions, and advancing with his army.

His enemies are defeated, and heaps of tongues are among the tokens of his victory.

In another part, the king, while pursuing his enemy, is attacked by lions. He kills two with his arrows, and is on the point of killing another with his spear.