TUTHMOSIS III. and his sister (Thebes; Rome).
TUTHMOSIS III. Tribute. Erection of Obelisks (Thebes.)
AMENOPHIS III. (Memnon) and his queen Tii before Ammon Ra (Thebes).
Progress of an Ethiopian Queen to Egypt under AMENTUANCH (Thebes.)
AMENOPHIS IV. (Bech-en-aten) the SUN-WORSHIPPER.
His procession in chariots with the queen and four princesses, in
the Sun-temple of Amarna (Grottoes of Amarna).
A favourite carried on the shoulders of the people before Amenophis
IV. Presentations of wreaths of honour throughout the whole of the
royal family.
HORUS running to Ammon (Karnak).
SETHOS I. makes war against Canaan (Karnak).
RAMSES II. War against the Asiatic Cheta (Ramesseum).
The same in the Tree of Life (Ramesseum).
The same triumphing; procession of kings (Ramesseum).
RAMSES III. Battle with the Robu (Medînet Habu.)
The same among his daughters playing with them (Medînet Habu.)
RAMSES XII. Magnificent Procession of Ammon (Quarna).
PISHEM the priest-king (Karnak).
SHESHENK I. (Shishak) leads the prisoners of Palestine before Ammon
(Karnak); King of JUDAH.
SABAKO the Ethiopian (Thebes).
TAHRAKA the Ethiopian (Barkal)
PSAMMETICHUS. Amasis (Thebes).
NECTANEBUS (Thebes).
ALEXANDER. PHILIP ARIDÆUS (Thebes).
PTOLEMÆUS PHILADELPHUS (Thebes).
CLEOPATRA and CÆSARION (Dendera).
Crowning of CÆSAR AUGUSTUS (Philæ).
Ethiopian matters from MEROE.
This, or a similar selection of representations, as large as the number
of wall divisions will allow, carried out in the strictly classical
Egyptian style, and with the rich mass of colours of the original, would
give, better than anything else could, an idea to the spectator of
Egyptian art on a large scale; the matter would present itself for his
decision, and their study would assimilate well with the small and
single original monuments. For except the graves that we are now taking
down, and which offer only the simplest things, no monument is large
enough to give an idea of Egyptian temples and wall-paintings in
general, in which a grandeur and a power of composition are often to be
found, and a feeling for general harmony of arrangement and division of
the whole, which will highly astonish the attentive. Such a selection of
the most beautiful and most characteristic in large, easily examined
pictures, would perhaps, conduce more than anything else, to procure a
larger public for Egyptological science, and, at the same time, produce
the inestimable advantage of obviating all malicious criticisms of the
paintings as modern compositions; for every hasty critic could be
referred to the originals, the highly important place of which, in the
early history of the human race, cannot be taken from them by any
peevish feuilletonist. Each would be told, that he must first study the
originals, ere he dare venture on pronouncing upon the faithful copies;
for if our young artists of three years’ practice are employed, I am
sure that little can be objected to their works with reference to
classicality of style. The novelty of the thought, and the large and
complete effect, could certainly not fail to produce considerable
impression on the learned and unlearned public, and clever men, and
above all his Majesty, would at once be satisfied with the arrangement,
without thinking of the execution. To this would finally be added the
proportionately very unexpensive execution, from the extreme simplicity
of the draught and painting, as all the cost of artistical composition
has already been borne by the ancient Egyptians themselves.
The painting must begin, according to the Egyptian custom, at a certain
height (which is also convenient for our purpose), and must rest upon a
high band running underneath, the colour of which must resemble simple
wood or stone. The high walls must also be divided into several sections
one above another, and in the frieze, the whole series of the Egyptian
Pharaohs, or even only their cartouches must be depicted. The ceilings
in the ante-chambers could be blue with golden stars, the usual manner
of denoting the Egyptian heaven, and in the historical saloons, the long
rows of wide-winged vultures, the symbol of victory, with which most of
the ceilings of the temples and palaces are ornamented in an
incomparably magnificent manner. Finally, a certain profusion of
hieroglyphical inscriptions might not be wanting, as they are so
intimately connected with all the Egyptian representations, and make a
splendid effect in gay colours. For the doors and middle stripes of the
ceilings, modern hieroglyphical inscriptions might easily be composed,
which would refer, after the ancient Egyptian manner, to the munificence
of the king, to the place and time, and to the aim of the buildings. How
glorious would be the two Egyptian orders of columns in their simplicity
and rich colours in the midst of all!
For the ante-rooms, at last, another idea might be realized. One could
here paint on the walls views of the present Egyptian localities, in
order to give the person coming in, some idea of the country, and of the
condition of the buildings whence the antiquities around him were taken.
These views might also be historically arranged, according to the
principal place of the different epochs; yet that historical knowledge
would here have to be taken for granted, which we are now seeking to
diffuse. Therefore a geographical arrangement would probably be the most
agreeable to the purpose, and should probably comprehend views of
Alexandria, Cairo, the Pyramids of Gizeh, Siut, Benihassan, Abydos,
Karnak, Qurna, Cataracts of Assuan, Korusko, Wadi Halfa, Sedeïnga,
Semneh, Dongola, Barkal, Meroe, Chartûm, Sennâr, and Sarbut el Châdem,
in Arabia Petræa.
Beside all this, there might be a very rich, highly-interesting, and at
the same time useful selection of articles and occupations of private
life in the other spaces, all copied from the larger originals, by which
in an equally inviting as certain manner, the comprehension of the
collected antiquities relating to domestic life, can be made more easy
in every way.
LETTER XXXVII.
JAFFA.
_October 7, 1845._
The taking down the tombs proceeded quickly; but as was to be expected,
the transport and embarkment caused our greatest hindrance. Also the
exportation of the whole of the monuments required a particular
permission from the Viceroy. I set off, consequently, on the 29th August
to Alexandria, in order to take leave of Mohammed Ali, and to obtain at
the same time an official termination to our mission.
The Pasha received me in his former friendly manner, and immediately
gave the necessary commands for the exportation of the collection,
which, in a special writing which was handed to me, he presented to his
Majesty our King. As soon as these preparations were concluded I
returned to Cairo; found there the last orders about the transport of
the monuments to Alexandria, and then, on the 25th September, departed
with Bethmann for Damietta. I visited, on this journey, several ruins of
cities in the eastern Delta, such as those of Atrib (Athribis), Samanud
(Sebennytos), Behbet el Hager (Iseum); but, excepting the rubbish mounds
of Nile earth, and fragments of bricks, which point out the historical
situation, we found only a few blocks, which lay scattered about the old
temples. Only in San, the anciently renowned Tamis, to which I made an
excursion from Damietta across the Lake of Menzaleh, are the
wall-foundations of a temple of Ramses II., and a number, namely about
twelve or fourteen, small granite obelisks of the same king; some whole
and some in fragments.
On the 1st of October we went from Damietta to the Rheda of Ezbe, and
sailed the following morning to the Syrian coast. We had contrary winds
almost the whole way, cruised about for a whole day on the picturesque
and rocky shores of Askalon, and only yesterday landed on the holy land
of the strand of Joppa.
LETTER XXXVIII.
NAZARETH.
_November 9, 1845._
My last letter of the 26th of October from Jerusalem, I am sorry to say,
you will not receive, as the courier (of Dr. Schulz, our consul), to
whom I had given it, with five others, was attacked by robbers on the
road to Berut, near Cesarea, much ill-used, and robbed of all his
despatches, together with the little money he had with him. The want of
order in this country is very great. The Turkish authorities, to whom
the country has been again given up by Christian bravery, are lazy,
malicious, and weak at the same time, whilst Ibrahim Pasha at least knew
how to maintain order and security as far as his government extended.
In Jerusalem we remained nearly three weeks, which I passed in obtaining
a knowledge of the religious circumstances of the present time, every
day becoming more important, and partly in some antiquarian,
topographical researches. The great affability and communicativeness of
the Bishop Alexander, who overtook us, with Abeken of Jaffa, and the
learned industry of Dr. Schulz, with whom I had been intimate since our
mutual stay in Paris, in the years 1834 and 1835, have greatly assisted
me in rendering these delightful days both important and instructive. An
excursion to Jericho, to Jordan, and the Dead Sea, and back over San
Saba formed an interesting episode. My copious diary of the whole time
was, however, contained in the lost letter, which will never appear
again, and which I can now but imperfectly replace.
On the 4th November we left the Holy City. On account of the war, now
becoming serious, which the Pasha of Jerusalem was carrying on with
Hebron, we had same difficulty in procuring mules and horses. The first
night beyond Jerusalem we passed under the tents in Bîreh. On the second
day we went through Bethin (Bethel), ’Ain el Haramîeh (the Robbers’
Well), Selûn (Silo), to Nablûs (Sichem, Neapolis), and ascended the same
evening the Garizim, the holy mountain of the Samaritans, the small
remains of whom (about seventy men or 150 souls) we made ourselves
acquainted with the next day. They are still abhorred by the Jews, and
have also as little in common with the Christians and the Mahommedans.
We saw from the Garizim the naked rocky level, surrounded by some old
walls, where these Sámari still offer yearly, as in former times, their
sheep to their God. The next morning, after we had visited the house of
prayer of the Samaritans, in which we were shown the ancient Samaritan
handwriting of the Pentateuch, as well as Jacob’s well and the
vine-covered grave of Joseph, we rode on, accompanied by an armed
servant of Soliman Bey, in whose house we had lodged, to Sebastîeh
(Sebaste, the ancient Samaria) where we saw the ruins of a beautiful
old church, of the time of the crusaders, which is said to be built over
the grave of John the Baptist. The night we passed in the well-wooded
Gennîn (Egennin). From thence our road led through the wide fertile yet
nevertheless deserted plain of Jesreel (Esdraelon), across the great
battle-field of Palestine, to Zerîn, and to the beautiful Ain Gulût
(Goliath’s spring), where Naboth’s vineyard lay, and Ahab’s whole family
were murdered, then over the Gebel Dah’i, the little Herman, behind
which arose Tabor (Gebel e’ Tûr) which, on account of its magnificent
cupola form and its open situation, distinguished itself, and enchained
our eyes, till we road again into the mountains to the lovely Nazareth,
amphi-theatrically situated in a mountain-hollow. Early yesterday we
made an excursion from here over Mount Tabor, to Tiberias, to the Lake
of Genezaret, and have just returned. There also we were obliged,
against my will, to take with us armed Arabs as bodyguards, and, in
fact, we met, particularly in the neighbourhood of the woody beautiful
Tabor, many vagabond Bedouins, in their picturesque gay costume,
watching on the roads or riding across the fields right up to us, whom I
should not have liked to have met alone.
LETTER XXXIX.
SMYRNA.
_December 7, 1845._
From Nazareth we went down the plain of Jesreel to Mount Carmel, where
we passed the night in the stately newly-built convent. The next morning
we ascended from thence the mountain which commands the sea, with its
fragrant shores, and down to Haipha (Hepha), sailed across the creek to
Acca (Ako, Ptolemais), and rode then along the coast upon the wet sand,
with the continued view of the accompanying mountains, through Sur
(Tyrus) and Saida (Sidon) to Berut (Berytos), where we were received
most cordially by the Prussian Consul General, Herr von Wildenbruch.
On the 13th of November we set off from Berut to Damascus. I left Gabre
Mariam at the Herr von Wildenbruch’s, and took only my faithful Berber
Ibrahim and a _khawass_ back with me. Behind the nearest sand-hills to
Berut, the road leads immediately up the flowery and richly-wooded and
watered mountains, which we crossed about the frontier, between the
territories of the Drusen and the Maronites. We ascended the whole day,
sometimes upon incredibly bad rocky roads, and remained one night on
this side the mountain brow; this we reached only the next morning, and
had now a wide view over the fertile plains of Leontes, which divides
Libanon and Anti-lebanon, and, with the exception of the interruption of
Gebel e’ Shech (Hermon) and its branches, which are pushed in between,
forms a continued broad immense fissure along the whole of the valley of
Jordan to the Dead Sea, to the Gulf of Akaba and the Red Sea. We
descended to Mekseh, breakfasted on one of its flat roofs, and were to
have cut across from here south-eastward through the valley to Megdel
and Aithi; but we preferred taking a round northward to Zachleh, which
is one of the largest and most flourishing towns of Christian Libanon.
On the road we met with a party of soldiers, who were escorting several
thousand muskets upon donkeys, which they had the day before taken from
the inhabitants of Zachleh. The disarming of the whole of Libanon by
Sheikh Effendi had commenced from the south with great partiality, as is
well known, against the unhappy Christians, who were shamefully
sacrificed by a merciless policy. In order to disarm the strong and
influential Zachleh, it had been invested with 200 men of the regular
troops, of whom we found some still stationed there, and an innumerable
multitude of Bedouins, whose assistance they would make use of, in cases
of necessity, against the Christians encamped in the valley of Beqâ’a;
these last, however, were already gone. We inquired, in the still
agitated city, after the Bishop Theophilus, who was described to us as
having been a heroic and powerful champion in the battle; unfortunately
he was gone to Berut. After we left there, we met on the road a German
Catholic priest, who accompanied us to the frontier Mo’allaqa, and
related to us many cruelties committed by the Turks, here, as every
where else, on the tormented inhabitants. Some hundreds of guns more
than were in the whole place, had been demanded, and the old Sheikhs who
had to collect them, bastinadoed so long, till the inhabitants bought
them with great trouble and at a high price in the camp of the Turks
themselves.
From Zachleh we went to Kerak, in order to visit the grave of Noah. We
found a long narrow building of well-united free-stone, and near it a
small cupola building, surrounded with a few trees, from whence we had a
beautiful view over the plain, and disclosed Anti-libanon. I saw through
a window hung with votive rags, in an arched space, a bricked-up tomb,
in the usual oriental form, but I was not a little surprised, upon
looking through all the windows the whole length of the building, always
to see the continuation of the same tomb, which appeared neither to have
beginning nor end. At last the door-keeper came, and I convinced myself,
with astonishment, that the tomb was forty ells long, according to exact
measurement 31m. 77´, thus something more than forty common Egyptian
ells.[153] This allows us to suppose that the measure of Noah’s body
was in proportion to his life, of a thousand years long.
From Kerak we at last turned to the right, into the plain towards Tel
Emdieh, then to the left into a valley, which led us straight to the
north, and by sunset we came to El’Ain, a small village by a well, which
lies at the end of the valley, at a tolerable height above the great
plain. On account of the round to Zachleh and Kerak, we were somewhat
behind our days’ reckoning, and for this reason, much to the
disappointment of our mule drivers, we determined to go on further to
Zebedêni, which is situated on the eastern declivity of Anti-libanon,
two hours from here. As none of our people had gone this journey through
the mountains, we took a guide with us, who conducted us soon out of our
valley, which passed between the outer mountains and the principal ridge
northward, up a tremendously steep, laborious, and endless rockway. The
moon rose, the hours passed, and yet the desired Zebedêni was not
reached. At length we stood at the steep verge of another valley, into
which we had to climb on foot laboriously, leading the horses, for a
whole hour, until we arrived at Zebedêni after a six hours’ march.
Every one here lay in the deepest sleep; we had to knock at several
houses, to ask the way to the convent, where we hoped to find shelter.
At last it was found that there was certainly a church in the place, but
no room to take us in, in the adjoining convent. We therefore quartered
ourselves in the last house, which after much knocking was opened to us.
It contained only one large room, which was, however, large enough for
us and our servants, and the numerous family of men, women, and
children, had withdrawn into one corner. But the people were friendly
and kind, got their _bakshish_ next morning, and let us go with the
invitation to repeat our visit upon our return. We now journeyed down
the beautiful fertile valley of Zebedêni to the south, until we turned
eastward again in an hour and a half into the steep rock pass, where the
running brook by which we had hitherto travelled, swelled into a little
river named Bárada, which forces itself a passage in incomparably
beautiful and picturesque cascades through the luxuriant green to the
great plain of Damascus. For several hours we rode along its steep
banks, and sometimes along its bed until we came to a high arch, which
served as a bridge from the left to the right shore. Here the road went
up the mountain, and we found in the continuation of the steep rock-wall
we had just quitted, a number of ancient rock tombs. Soon after the wild
gorge opened into a broader valley, in which the dashing river
serpentines on more easily, passing several friendly lying villages in
its course. Up to this place it had broken through a mountain ridge
running due north and south, in an easterly direction, and whence it now
flowed through a gateway formed of rock. Two single crags stood forth to
the eastward like mighty pylones, of which the southern one bore upon
its crown of several thousand feet in height, a little tomb, surrounded
with some trees. This place is revered as the grave of Abel Hebbi Habîl,
who, according to tradition, was buried here. The elevation is hardly to
be climbed; so it seemed from this side at least. We, therefore, did not
seek to ascertain whether the youth Habel had also had a grave of forty
ells in length built for him. At the foot of the rock, the ancient town
of Abila had been situated, the name of which had probably given rise to
the story.
We now left for some hours the charming valley of Bárada, and rode over
naked rocky _plateaux_, until we descended to it again near Gedîden, and
took a short rest on its shore in the shadow of high platanes and
glistening larches. At length we again quitted the river, which had
grown fuller and more violent from the many streamlets running into it,
climbed a high mountain, and stood suddenly in sight of the boundless
plain, which, stopped by no mountains to the east, lay before us like a
single great garden, with innumerable thick-leaved green trees, cut
through by roads and water. Directly at our feet, in the middle of this
garden, lay glorious Damascus, with its cupolas, minarets, and terraces.
We knew that we had to expect one of the most renowned views in the
world. Nevertheless we were astonished, and found our expectations
surpassed by the magnificent picture, which, as if by a magic stroke,
unfolded itself before us, after the lovely, but narrow valleys, which
alternated with the naked rock wildernesses. We remained at least an
hour on this spot, which has been distinguished by the stately erection
of a cupola resting on four open columns, called Qubbet e’ Nasr, “the
Cupola of Victory.”
Damascus is one of the most holy and most celebrated cities of the East.
The prophet Mahommed considered it thrice blessed, because the angels
spread their wings over it, and he, on perceiving the beautiful view,
did not conquer it, as to man but one paradise was promised, and he was
to find his in heaven. In the Koran God swears by the fig and the olive,
that is, by Damascus and Jerusalem, and the Arabian geographers call it
“the mole on the cheek of the world,”--“the plumage of the bird of
paradise,”--“the necklace of beauty;” in the titles of the sultans, “the
paradise-scented Dimishk.”[154] According to the saying of the eastern
Christians, Adam was made here out of the red earth; and the
neighbouring mountain Kassiûm the legend points out as the place where
Cain murdered Abel.