A LONG DAY.
Fostat, or Old Cairo, was the next place of interest which we visited.
The walls built round it by the Romans were of small squared stones,
mixed with tiles, and were about nine feet high. There were two towers,
each half a circle in shape, standing out from them, and two other large
towers at the principal gate. The gateway was almost buried in sand:
still, we could distinguish an eagle on one part of it.
The only entrance it now has is a small gate, too narrow for a carriage
to pass through. The streets are really only lanes, and the houses are
high. In old times this city was called Egyptian Babylon.
"Is it the same as Babylon the Great?" Hugh asked.
"No. Babylon the Great stood on the River Euphrates, and was the capital
of the Babylonian empire."
"Can you tell me anything more about this Babylon in Egypt?"
"Yes, a little. Sir Gardner Wilkinson mentions an early Christian
record, sculptured on wood, of the time of Diocletian. It is in the west
tower, and we will try and find it. Then the crusaders, under Louis IX.
of France, besieged but did not take it. The Sieur de Joinville, who
wrote the life of the king, has given an interesting account of the
siege. He describes the terror caused in the army when the 'Greek fire'
was thrown from the walls. In the middle ages it was a noted place, and
a stuff called 'cloth of Baldeck' was manufactured here. It was made of
silk and of gold and silver threads, and was ornamented with imitations
of trees, flowers, and birds. It was worn and much prized by persons of
high rank. Henry III. was, I believe, the first English king who wore
cloth of Baudekin or Baldeck, but it was worn in other countries of
Europe before his time."
We went to the upper chamber over the west tower of the old gateway, and
there saw the record described by Sir Gardner Wilkinson. The upper part
with the Greek inscription; below it a symbol of the Deity, a globe
supported by two winged angels; and on each side six figures, which Sir
Gardner Wilkinson believes to be the twelve apostles. We were very much
interested in this Christian record, and wished that we had had some
knowledge of who these early Christians were who had left the traces of
their assembly in this upper chamber.
[Illustration: OLD GATEWAY.]
We next went to see the mosque of Amer. This mosque was built by the
Saracen Amer on the spot on which he encamped with his army when he
besieged the city and took it. He founded the city of Fostat, which
became the capital of Mohammedan Egypt. Four hundred years afterwards
the present city of Cairo was built by one of the caliphs. He made it
the capital, and called it Masr-el-Kahira, or "the Victorious City." The
city built by Amer was then called "Old Cairo."
We were not so much struck by the mosque of Amer as we had been by some
other mosques. There are some fine pillars and arches, both pointed and
circular. But its chief interest is its great age. There is an old
tradition that whenever this mosque falls, the Mohammedan power will
fall in Egypt.
From Old Cairo we crossed over to the Island of Roda, to see the
Nilometer. It consists of a square well, in the middle of which is a
pillar marked in degrees, for measuring the rise of the Nile. There was
once a tower over it. At the time when the Nile is rising, the criers
come into Cairo every morning to proclaim the height to which it has
risen since the previous morning. This overflow of the Nile irrigates
the country for a long distance from its banks, and makes them very
fruitful.
From the Nilometer we went to see the gardens belonging to Ibrahim
Pacha; then to the spot where Moses is said to have been found by
Pharaoh's daughter. We could picture the cradle of bulrushes floating on
the still waters; the royal princess coming down with maidens to bathe,
the anxious Miriam watching with eager eyes to see what would be the
fate of her baby-brother. Hugh and Lucy both said that it made the Bible
seem much more real to them, now that they were in the very land where
so many of God's wonders of old were wrought. We all felt it so, as we
looked at the spot where Moses was preserved in his babyhood, while
floating in his cradle in the very waters which afterwards at his word,
by God's command, were turned into blood.
Our next expedition was to the tombs of the Mameluke kings. We rode
through a not very interesting part of Cairo to the "Bab-el-Nasr," or
"Gate of Victory."
The tombs stand at a short distance from Cairo, on the edge of the
desert. Each has its mosque, with dome and minarets. In one, called El
Kait Bey, there is the print of a man's foot on the marble slab. This is
said to be the footprint of "the Prophet" Mohammed. It is within a
covered enclosure which is open at the sides. The Arabs show their
respect for it by touching it reverently with their hands, which they
kiss afterwards.
[Illustration: THE FINDING OF MOSES.]
Another beautiful tomb is El Berbook. It has been faced with red and
white stones, many of which are still left. There is an open corridor on
the first floor. The entrance-hall leads into the large court of the
mosque, in which there once was a fountain. It has long ceased to play,
and the ornaments are all in ruin. The dome was richly ornamented. The
door to it was locked, and we could only peep through some holes at the
beauties within.
We next went to the tomb and mosque of Ahd Bey. The pavements, the
windows, the grand arch, the ornamentation, all were beautiful. And the
thought that the great Mameluke sultans, in whose honour these were
wrought, made us silent. These palaces were not for the living, but for
the dead. Even Hugh and Lucy grew grave. It was such a solemn thought
that we were walking among earthly palaces, dedicated to those to whom
earthly glory has for centuries been less than nothing! Here they sleep,
silent owners of their silent city in the desert, till the last great
trumpet shall sound, and the mighty dead shall (with their humbler
fellow-men) be judged according to their works. Thanks be to God who
giveth his people the victory in that day, through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
In silence we passed on from one tomb, one mosque, to another.
"Where are we going now?" Hugh asked, after we had ridden on for some
time.
"To the petrified forest."
"Shall we find the trees standing, all turned into stone? For petrified
means turned into stone, does it not?" said Lucy.
"Yes, it does. But I do not think we shall find any trees standing, from
what I have read about the 'petrified wood.'"
True enough. When we reached the petrified forest in the Valley of
Wanderings (this valley forms the beginning of the desert leading to the
Red Sea) we did not see a single tree, but the sand was for miles
covered with fragments of wood. Though these were turned into stone, we
could see knots and fibres, and even the rough bark, which showed them
to be fragments of trees.
"Is it not wonderful!" exclaimed Hugh.
It was indeed wonderful. And now we came to what looked like the trunk
of a large tree; there was another like it, at a little distance; they
must have been quite fifty feet long, or more; they lay in the sand, and
seemed to have broken as they fell, for there were small pieces
scattered about all around.
"What made it?" Lucy asked.
None of us could tell; nor have we since been able to find any account
of how these trees were turned into stone. But it seems certain that all
this part of the desert, on which there is not now a blade of grass,
must have been covered by a wood.
We could but look and wonder. "How unsearchable are the judgments of
God, and his ways past finding out!"
We all picked up some pieces to bring away with us. Then we sat down on
one of the large petrified trunks and ate our lunch, the wonders all
round us giving us plenty to talk about the while.
On our way home we came round by another group of tombs beneath the
mountains of Mokattam. We had had a long day, and it was nearly sunset
when we left the tombs.
The sunset clouds were gorgeous. All at once, as the sun sank beneath
them, the deep-toned sound of the muezzin called the faithful followers
of the prophet Mohammed to prayer. Every one around us prostrated
themselves. Our hearts obeyed the call; we offered our thanks to our
Heavenly Father, who has made such a world of beauty and wonder for our
enjoyment.
"O God, O good beyond compare,
If thus Thy meaner works are fair,
If thus Thy bounties gild the span
Of ruined earth and sinful man,
What must those glorious mansions be
When Thy redeemed shall dwell with Thee!"