The Convent of the Pulley--Its inaccessible position--Difficult
landing on the bank of the Nile--Approach to the Convent through
the Rocks--Description of the Convent and its Inhabitants--Plan of
the Church--Books and MSS.--Ancient excavations--Stone Quarries and
ancient Tombs--Alarm of the Copts--Their ideas of a Sketch-book.
The Coptic monasteries were usually built in desert or inaccessible
places, with a view to their defence in troubled times, or in the hope
of their escaping the observation of marauding parties, who were not
likely to take the trouble of going much out of their way unless they
had assured hopes of finding something better worth sacking than a poor
convent. The access to Der el Adra, the Convent of the Virgin, more
commonly known by the name of the Convent of the Pulley, is very
singular. This monastery is situated on the top of the rocks of Gebel el
terr, where a precipice above 200 feet in height is washed at its base
by the waters of the Nile. When I visited this monastery on the 19th of
February, 1838, there was a high wind, which rendered the management of
my immense boat, above 80 feet long, somewhat difficult; and we were
afraid of being dashed against the rocks if we ventured too near them in
our attempt to land at the foot of the precipice. The monks, who were
watching our manœuvres from above, all at once disappeared, and
presently several of them made their appearance on the shore, issuing in
a complete state of nudity from a cave or cleft in the face of the rock.
These worthy brethren jumped one after another into the Nile, and
assisted the sailors to secure the boat with ropes and anchors from the
force of the wind. They swam like Newfoundland dogs, and, finding that
it was impossible for the boat to reach the land, two of the reverend
gentlemen took me on their shoulders and, wading through a shallow part
of the river, brought me safely to the foot of the rock. When we got
there I could not perceive any way to ascend to the monastery, but,
following the abbot, I scrambled over the broken rocks to the entrance
of the cave. This was a narrow fissure where the precipice had been
split by some convulsion of nature, the opening being about the size of
the inside of a capacious chimney. The abbot crept in at a hole at the
bottom: he was robed in a long dark blue shirt, the front of which he
took up and held in his teeth; and, telling me to observe where he
placed his feet, he began to climb up the cleft with considerable
agility. A few preliminary lessons from a chimney-sweep would now have
been of the greatest service to me; but in this branch of art my
education had been neglected, and it was with no small difficulty that
I climbed up after the abbot, whom I saw striding and sprawling in the
attitude of a spread eagle above my head. My slippers soon fell off upon
the head of a man under me, whom, on looking down, I found to be the
reis, or captain of my boat, whose immense turban formed the whole of
his costume. At least twenty men were scrambling and puffing underneath
him, most of them having their clothes tied in a bundle on their heads,
where they had secured them when they swam or waded to the shore. Arms
and legs were stretched out in all manner of attitudes, the forms of the
more distant climbers being lost in the gloom of the narrow cavern up
which we were advancing, the procession being led by the unrobed
ecclesiastics. Having climbed up about 120 feet, we emerged in a fine
perspiration upon a narrow ledge of the rock on the face of the
precipice, which had an unpleasant slope towards the Nile. It was as
slippery as glass; and I felt glad that I had lost my shoes, as I had a
firmer footing without them. We turned to the right, and climbing a
projection of the rock seven or eight feet high--rather a nervous
proceeding at such a height to those who were unaccustomed to it--we
gained a more level space, from which a short steep pathway brought us
to the top of the precipice, whence I looked down with much
self-complacency upon my companion who was standing on the deck of the
vessel.
The convent stands about two hundred paces to the north of the place
where we ascended. It had been originally built of small square stones
of Roman workmanship; but, having fallen into decay, it had been
repaired with mud and sunburnt bricks. Its ground plan was nearly a
square, and its general appearance outside was that of a large pound or
a small kitchen garden, the walls being about 20 feet high and each side
of the square extending about 200 feet, without any windows or
architectural decoration. I entered by a low doorway on the side towards
the cliff, and found myself in a yard of considerable size full of
cocks, hens, women, and children, who were all cackling and talking
together at the top of their shrill voices. A large yellow-coloured dog,
who was sleeping in the sunshine in the midst of all this din, was
awakened by its cessation as I entered. He greeted my arrival with a
growl, upon which he was assailed with a volley of stones and invectives
by the ladies whom he had intended to protect. Every man, woman, and
child came out to have a peep at the stranger, but when my numerous
followers, many in habiliments of the very slightest description,
crowded into the court, the ladies took fright, and there was a general
rush into the house, the old women hiding their faces without a moment's
delay, but the younger ones taking more time in the adjustment of their
veils. When peace was in some measure restored, and the poor dog had
been pelted into a hole, the abbot, who had now permitted his long shirt
to resume its usual folds, conducted me to the church, which was
speedily filled with the crowd. It was interesting from its great
antiquity, having been founded, as they told me, by a rich lady of the
name of Halané, who was the daughter of a certain Kostandi, king of
Roum. The church is partly subterranean, being built in the recesses of
an ancient stone-quarry; the other parts of it are of stone plastered
over. The roof is flat and is formed of horizontal beams of palm trees,
upon which a terrace of reeds and earth is laid. The height of the
interior is about 25 feet. On entering the door we had to descend a
flight of narrow steps, which led into a side aisle about ten feet wide,
and which is divided from the nave by octagon columns of great thickness
supporting the walls of a sort of clerestory. The columns were
surmounted by heavy square plinths almost in the Egyptian style.
As I consider this church to be interesting from its being half a
catacomb, or cave, and one of the earliest Christian buildings which has
preserved its originality, I subjoin a plan of it, by which it will be
seen that it is constructed on the principle of a Latin basilica, as the
buildings of the Empress Helena usually were; the Byzantine style of
architecture, the plan of which partook of the form of a Greek cross,
being a later invention; for the earliest Christian churches were not
cruciform, and seldom had transepts, nor were they built with any
reference to the points of the compass.[8]
[Illustration: Plan of the church, the convent of the Pulley.
1. Altar.
2. Apsis, apparently cut out of the rock.
3. Two Corinthian columns.
4. Wooden partitions of lattice-work, about 10 ft. high.
5. Steps leading up to the sanctuary.
6. Two three-quarter columns.
7. Eight columns.[6]
8. Dark room cut out of the rock (there is another corresponding to it
under the steps).[7]
9. Steps leading down into the church.
10. Screen before the Altar.]
The ancient divisions of the church are also more strictly preserved in
this edifice than in the churches of the West; the priests or monks
standing above the steps (marked No. 5), the celebrant of the sacrament
only going behind the screen (No. 10); the bulk of the congregation
stand, there are no seats below the steps (No. 5), and the place for the
women is behind the screen marked No. 4. The church is very dimly
lighted by small apertures in the walls of the clerestory, above the
columns, and the part about the apsis is nearly dark in the middle of
the day, candles being always necessary during the reading of the
service. The two Corinthian columns are of brick, plastered; they are
not fluted, but are of good proportions and appear to be original. The
apsis is of regular Grecian or Roman architecture, and is ornamented
with six pilasters, and three niches in which are kept the books,
cymbals, candlesticks, and other things which are used for the daily
service. Here I found twenty-three manuscript books, fifteen in Coptic
with Arabic translations, for the Coptic language is now understood by
few, and eight Arabic manuscripts. The Coptic books were all liturgies:
one of them, a folio, was ornamented with a large illumination, intended
to represent the Virgin and the infant Saviour; it is almost the only
specimen of Coptic art that I ever met with in a book, and its style and
execution are so poor, that, perhaps, it is fortunate that they should
be so rare. The Arabic books, which, as well as the Coptic, were all on
cotton-paper, consisted of extracts from the New Testament and lives of
the saints.
I had been told that there was a great chest bound with iron, which was
kept in a vault in this monastery, full of ancient books on vellum, and
which was not to be opened without the consent of the Patriarch; I
could, however, make out nothing of this story, but it does not follow
that this chest of ancient manuscripts does not exist; for, surrounded
as I was by crowds of gaping Copts and Arabs, I could not expect the
abbot to be very communicative; and they have from long oppression
acquired such a habit of denying the fact of their having anything in
their possession, that, perhaps, there may still be treasures here which
some future traveller may discover.
While I was turning over the books, the contents of which I was able to
decypher, from the similarity of the Coptic to the Greek alphabet, the
people were very much astonished at my erudition, which appeared to them
almost miraculous. They whispered to each other, and some said I must be
a foreign Copt, who had returned to the land of his fathers. They asked
my servant all manner of questions; but when he told them that he did
not believe I knew a word of Coptic, their astonishment was increased to
fear. I must be a magician, they said, and some kept a sharp look-out
for the door, to which there was an immediate rush when I turned round.
The whole assembly were puzzled, for in their simplicity they were not
aware that people sometimes pore over books, and read them too, without
understanding them, in other languages besides Coptic.
We emerged from the subterranean church, which, being half sunk in the
earth and surrounded by buildings, had nothing remarkable in its
exterior architecture, and ascended to the terrace on the roof of the
convent, whence we had a view of numerous ancient stone quarries in the
desert to the east. They appeared to be of immense extent; the convent
itself and two adjoining burial-grounds were all ensconced in the
ancient limestone excavations.
I am inclined to think, that although all travellers in Egypt pass along
the river below this convent, few have visited its interior. It is now
more a village than a monastery, properly speaking, as it is inhabited
by numerous Coptic families who are not connected with the monks. These
poor people were so surprised at my appearance, and watched all my
actions with such intense curiosity, that I imagine they had scarcely
ever seen a stranger before. They crowded every place where I was likely
to pass, staring and gaping, and chattering to each other. Being much
pressed with the throng in the court-yard, I made a sudden spring
towards one of the little girls who was foremost in the crowd, uttering
a shout at the same time as if I was going to seize her as she stood
gazing open-mouthed at me. She screamed and tumbled down with fright,
and the whole multitude of women and children scampered off as fast as
their legs could carry them. Some fell down, others tumbled over them,
making an indescribable confusion; but being reassured by the laughter
of my party, they soon stopped and began laughing and talking with
greater energy than before. At length I took refuge in the room of the
superior, who gave me some coffee, with spices in it; and soon
afterwards I took leave of this singular community.
We walked to some quarries about two miles off to the north-east, which
well repaid our visit The rocks were cut into the most extraordinary
forms. There were several grottos, and also an ancient tomb with
hieroglyphics sculptured on the rock. Among these I saw the names of
Rameses II. and some other kings. Near this tomb is a large tablet on
which is a bas-relief of a king making an offering to a deity with the
head of a crocodile, whose name, according to Wilkinson, was Savak: he
was worshipped at Ombos and Thebes, but was held in such small respect
at Dendera that the inhabitants of that place made war upon the men of
Ombos, and ate one of their prisoners, in emulation probably of the god
he worshipped. Indeed, they appear to have considered the inhabitants of
that city to have been a sort of vermin which it was incumbent upon all
sensible Egyptians to destroy whenever they had an opportunity.
In one place among the quarries a large rock has been left standing by
itself with two apertures, like doorways, cut through it, giving it the
resemblance of a propylon or the front of a house. It is not more than
ten feet thick, although it is eighty or ninety feet long, and fifty
high. Near it a huge slab projects horizontally from the precipice,
supported at its outer edge by a single column. Some of the Copts, whose
curiosity appeared to be insatiable, had followed us to these quarries,
for the mere pleasure of staring at us. One of them, observing me making
a sketch, came and peeped over my shoulder. "This Frank," said he to his
friends, "has got a book that eats all these stones, and our monastery
besides." "Ah!" said the other, "I suppose there are no stones in his
country, so he wants to take some of ours away to show his countrymen
what fine things we have here in Egypt; there is no place like Egypt,
after all. Mashallah!"
RUINED MONASTERY AT THEBES.