Memnon, not far away, is a hard day's trip. The tourist crosses the Nile
in a small boat and takes a donkey or a carriage. The road leads along a
large canal, passing the remains of the great temple of Seti I at Kurna,
and thence winds around through two desert valleys into a gorge lined on
both sides with naked, sun-baked rocks that give back the heat like the
open doors of a furnace. Bare of any scrap of verdure, desolate beyond
expression, these rocky walls that shut in this gorge form a fitting
introduction to the tombs of the kings. The road finally turns to the
left and enters a small valley, encircled by huge rocks, cut by ravines.
Here one may see in the sides of the mountain wall the first of the
rock-hewn tombs, which happens to be that of Rameses IV. One enters the
large gateway and passes down an ancient staircase cut in the solid
rock, at an angle of forty-five degrees. Three corridors and an
ante-room, all carved out of rock, lead to the main chamber, which
contains the mammoth granite sarcophagus of the king (ten feet long,
eight feet high and seven feet wide), beautifully decorated with
inscriptions. Four other rooms follow, the walls of each being covered
with inscriptions. Recesses are found in the main hall for the storage
of the furniture of the dead and in several of the other rooms.
The theory of the Egyptians in the arrangement of these tombs was that
the dead king, guided by the great sun-god, voyaged through the
underworld every night in a boat. Hence he must have careful guidance in
regard to his route. This was furnished by elaborate extracts from two
sacred books of the Egyptians. One was entitled _The Book of Him Who Is
in the Underworld_ and the other was the _Book of the Portals_.
The walls of these tombs reveal extracts from the sacred books in great
variety, but all designed to serve as a guide to the dead kings. The
best tombs are those of Amenophis II, Rameses III, Seti I and Thotmes
III. They are all of similar design but the tomb of Seti I (discovered
by the Italian savant, Belzoni) is finer than any of the others. It
includes fourteen rooms, most of which are richly adorned with
inscriptions and designs from the sacred books. The sculptures on the
walls are executed with great skill and the decorations of the ceilings
show much artistic taste. In the tenth room are many curious
decorations, the ceiling, which is finely vaulted, being covered with
astronomical figures and lists of stars and constellations. From this
room an incline leads to the mummy shaft. The mummy of Seti I is in the
Cairo Museum, while the fine alabaster sarcophagus is in the Soane
Museum in London. The tomb of Amenophis II is noteworthy as the only one
which contains the royal mummy. In a crypt with blue ceiling, spangled
with yellow stars and with yellow walls to represent papyrus, is the
great sandstone sarcophagus of the king. Under a strong electric light
is shown the mummy-shaped coffin with the body of the king, its arms
crossed and the funeral garlands still resting in the case. The
effectiveness of this mummy makes one regret that the others have been
removed to the Cairo Museum, instead of being restored to their original
places in these tombs. Most of these royal mummies were removed to a
shaft at Deir-el-Bahri to save them from desecration by the invading
Persians, but when the mummies were found it would have been wise to
replace them in these tombs rather than to group them, as was done, in
the Cairo Museum. One or two mummies in that museum would have been as
effective as two dozen.
Not far from these tombs is the fine temple of Queen Hatasu at
Deir-el-Bahri. This queen was the sister and wife of King Thotmes III,
and for a part of his reign was co-regent. The temple, which was left
unfinished, was completed by Rameses II. A short ride from this temple
brings one to the Ramessium, the large temple (which is badly preserved)
erected by Rameses II and dedicated to the god Ammon. The pylon is
ruined, but one can still decipher some of the inscriptions that tell of
Rameses' campaign against the Hittites. The first court is a mass of
ruined masonry, but it contains fragments of a colossal statue of
Rameses, the largest ever found in Egypt. It probably measured
fifty-seven and one-third feet in height, as the various parts show that
it was twenty-two and one-half feet from shoulder to shoulder. The
colossal head of another statue of Rameses was found near by. The great
hall had many fine columns, of which eighteen are still standing. These
columns are very impressive and give one some idea of the majesty of the
temple when it was complete. Not far away are the tombs of the queens,
including the fine mausoleum of the consort of Rameses II, part of whose
name was Mi-an-Mut.
A half mile from the Ramessium brings one to the Colossi of Memnon, the
two huge seated figures of stone, which were long included among the
seven wonders of the world. These figures were statues of King Amenophis
III and were placed in front of a great temple that he built at this
place; but time has dealt hardly with the temple, as scarcely a trace of
it remains. The figures with the pedestals are about sixty-five feet
high and, as they are on the level plain near the banks of the Nile,
they can be seen from a great distance. Though carved from hard
sandstone these figures have suffered severely from the elements, so
that the faces bear little trace of human features; still they are
impressive from their mere size and from the fact that they have come
down to us across the centuries with so little change.
The southern statue is in the best preservation, but the northern one is
of greatest interest because for ages it was believed to give forth
musical notes when the first rays of the rising sun fell on its lips.
The Greeks called it the Statue of Memnon, and invented the fable that
Memnon, who was slain at Troy by Achilles, appeared on the Nile as a
stone image and every morning greeted his mother (Eos) with a song. So
many good observers vouched for these musical notes at sunrise that the
phenomenon must be accepted as an historical fact. The Romans invented
the legend that when these sounds occurred the god was angry. Hence the
emperor, Septimius Severus, apparently to propitiate the god, made some
restorations in the upper portion of the statue, whereupon the
mysterious musical sounds ceased. Some modern experts in physics have
deduced the theory that this statue, carved from hard, resonant stone,
really gave forth sounds when warmed up by the early sun after the heavy
dews of night. Similar sounds have been observed elsewhere, due to the
splitting off of very small particles of stone by sudden expansion.
Whatever the cause of these mysterious sounds, the speaking statue has
served as an inspiration to many poets.
SAILING DOWN THE NILE ON A SMALL STEAMER
Few pleasure trips are more enjoyable than a steamer ride down the Nile
from Luxor to Cairo. My plans did not permit an extensive Nile trip, so
I went up the Nile by rail and came down by the Amenartas, one of Cook's
small boats. For one who has the leisure the best scheme is to take one
of Cook's express boats and make the round trip to Assouan from Cairo.
The Egypt and the Arabia are two luxurious steamers specially arranged
for the comfort of tourists.
The Nile at Luxor is about a half-mile wide at extreme low water in
December, although the marks on the bank show that it spreads over
several miles of flat land when the heavy rains come in June and July.
It is as muddy as the Missouri or the San Joaquin, but the natives drink
this water, refusing to have it filtered. They claim, and probably with
reason, that this Nile water is very nutritious. The Egyptian fellah or
peasant seldom enjoys a hot meal. He chews parched Indian corn and sugar
cane, and eats a curious bread made of coarse flour and water. Despite
this monotonous diet the native is a model of physical vigor, with teeth
which are as white and perfect as those of a Pueblo Indian.
All around Luxor are evidences of the tremendous force of the Nile
waters when in flood. At various headlands near the city the banks of
the Nile have been stoned up with solid walls, so that these may
receive the full sweep of the flood waters. The great dam at Assouan,
perhaps the finest bit of engineering work in the world, holds up the
main current of the Nile and prevents the destructive floods which in
the old days frequently swept away all the soil of the fellah's little
farm. This dam has now been increased twelve feet in height, so that no
water pours over the top.
The farmers in Egypt irrigate in the same way as the ryots of India.
They lay off a field into small rectangular patches, with a ridge around
each to keep the irrigation water in it. These rectangles make the
fields look like huge checker-boards. Plowing is done exactly as in the
time of Cleopatra. A forked stick, often not shod with iron, serves as a
plow, to which are frequently harnessed a camel and a bullock by a
heavy, unwieldy yoke. When these two unequally yoked animals move across
the field, agriculture in the Orient is seen at its best. Unlike the
Japanese, the Egyptian women do not work in the fields. Their labors
seem to be limited to carrying water in large jars on their heads and to
washing clothes in the dirty Nile water. The most common sight along the
river is that of two women, with their single cotton garment gathered up
above their knees, filling the water jars or rinsing out clothes in
water that is thick and yellow with dirt.
The steamer Amenartas started down the river at two in the afternoon.
The current was strong and the little steamer easily made fifteen miles
an hour. Now began a series of exquisite views of river life, which
changed every minute and saved the voyage from monotony. The first thing
that impresses the stranger who is new to Egypt is the number and
variety of the shadoufs for bringing the Nile water to the fields.
These consist of three platforms, each equipped with two upright posts
of date palm trunks, with a crossbar. From this crossbar depends a well
sweep, with a heavy weight at one end and a tin or wooden bucket at the
other. One man at the level of the river scoops up a bucket of water and
lifts it to the height or his head, pouring it into a small basin of
earth. The second man fills his bucket from this basin and in turn
delivers it to the third man, who is about six feet above him. The third
man raises the water to the height of his head and pours it into a ditch
which carries it upon the land. The heavy weights on the shadouf help to
raise the water, but the labor of lifting this water all day is
strenuous. The shadouf men work with only small loin cloths, and
occasionally one of these fellows in a sheltered hole toils stark naked.
Despite the fact that their work is as heavy as any done in Egypt, they
receive the wretched pittance of two piasters or ten cents a day, out of
which they must spend two and one-half cents a day for food. The shadouf
is as old as history, and the methods in use for raising this Nile water
are the same to-day that they were in the earliest dawn of recorded
history.
As in India, there is a great dearth of farmhouses in these rich lands.
The peasants are herded in squalid villages, the mud huts jammed close
together, and the whole place overrun with goats, donkeys, pigs,
chickens and pigeons. The houses are the crudest huts, with no window
and no roof.
Life in these villages along the Nile is as primitive as it is among the
Pueblo Indians of Arizona and New Mexico. Although their religion
admonishes them to wash before prayers, these peasants appear to pay
little heed to such rites. Men, women and children are extremely dirty,
and it is unusual to find anyone with good eyes. Inflammation of the
eyelids is the most common complaint and this disease is aggravated by
the fact that the natives make no effort to drive away the flies that
fasten upon the sore eyes of their little children. This is due to the
common superstition that it brings ill luck to brush off flies. At every
small station where the steamer stopped to land native passengers and
freight a score of villagers would be lined up, each afflicted with some
eye complaint, and all swarming with small black flies.
At only a few towns along the Nile from Luxor to Cairo were there any
houses which looked like comfortable homes. The great majority of the
houses were of sun-dried brick, and these were often in a ruinous
condition. Yet with their framework of graceful date palms, these
squalid villages would delight the eye of an artist. For nearly the
whole distance the west side of the Nile is marked off from the desert
by the high Libyan mountains, gleaming white and yellow in the brilliant
sunshine. These limestone cliffs were chosen for the tombs of the kings
at Thebes, and all along the river one could make out with a glass
frequent tombs carved in the steep sides of these hills. The other side
of the river was flat, with low ranges of hills. At sunrise and at
sunset the most exquisite colors transformed the country into a
veritable fairyland. The sun sank behind bands of purple and amethyst,
and his last rays brought out in sharp silhouette the statuesque forms
of women water-carriers and long lines of laden camels moving in ghostly
silence along the river bank. Very beautiful also were the pictures made
by the dahabiehs and other native boats, with their big lateen sails and
with the motley gathering of natives in the stern. All these boats have
enormous rudders which rise high out of the water and add greatly to the
effectiveness of the picture as seen against the sunset glow.
The atmosphere along the Nile is wonderfully clear, the sky is as blue
and lustrous as fine silk, and the wind blows up clouds in fantastic
shapes, which add greatly to the beauty of the scenery. All day the
little steamer passes half-ruined villages, embowered in feathery palms,
with camels in the background and an occasional bullock straining at the
wheel which lifts the Nile water on the shadouf. All day natives passed
along the sky line, some on donkeys, others on camels, still others
driving in front laden animals, whose forms could scarcely be
distinguished amid the thick clouds of dust raised by their heavy feet.
The creak of the shadoufs could be heard before we came abreast of the
tireless workers.
Seen from the steamer the glamour of the Orient was over all this
poverty-stricken land, but seen near at hand were revealed all the ugly
features of dirt, disease, hopeless poverty, unending work that yields
only the coarsest and scantiest food. We passed miles on miles of waving
fields of sugar cane, with great factories where this cane was worked up
into sugar. We passed broad fields of cotton, with factories near at
hand for converting the product into cloth. Principalities of
wheat--great seas of emerald green that stood out against a background of
sandy desert--lined the banks at frequent intervals. But all these
evidences of the new wealth that scientific irrigation has brought to
this ancient valley of the Nile means nothing to the Egyptian peasant.
These great industries are in the hands of native or foreign
millionaires, who see to it that the wages of the native workers are
kept down to the lowest level.
BEFORE THE PYRAMIDS AND THE SPHINX
Wintry winds in Cairo, which raised clouds of dust and sand, prevented
me from seeing the pyramids until after my return from Luxor. Then one
still, warm day it was my good fortune to see at their best these oldest
monuments of man's work on this earth. Yet impressive as are these great
masses of stone rising from barren wastes of sand, they did not affect
me so powerfully as the ruins of Karnak and the tombs of the Kings of
Thebes. Three pyramids were constructed at Gizeh and four other groups
at Sakkara, the site of the ancient city of Memphis. That these pyramids
were built for the tombs of kings has now been demonstrated beyond
question, so that the many elaborate theories of the religious
significance of these monuments may be dismissed. The ancient city of
Memphis was for centuries the seat of the government of Egypt, and the
tombs that may be seen to-day at Sakkara preceded the rock-hewn tombs at
Thebes in Upper Egypt. The great antiquity of the tombs at Sakkara makes
these of importance, although much of the work is inferior to that at
Thebes.
The pictures of the pyramids are misleading. They give the impression
that these great masses of stone rise near palm groves and that the
Sphinx is almost as huge as the pyramid of Cheops which overshadows it.
In reality, the pyramids are set on a sandy plateau, about fifteen feet
high, while the Sphinx is practically buried in a hollow to the west of
the great pyramid and can only be seen from one direction. When you
stand in front of the big pyramid you can form no idea of its size, but
you know from the guide book that it is seven hundred and fifty feet
long and four hundred and fifty-one feet high. The height of each side
is five hundred and sixty-eight feet, while the angle of the sides is
fifty-one degrees fifty minutes. These statistics do not make much
impression on the mind but, when it is said that this huge pyramid
actually covers thirteen acres, the mind begins to grasp the stupendous
size of this great mass of masonry. This pyramid to-day is of dirty
brown color, but when finished it was covered with blocks of white
limestone.
These were removed by various builders and have served to erect mosques
and temples. Had this covering remained intact it would be impossible to
climb the pyramid of Cheops. From Cairo and the Nile, as well as from
the desert, the pyramids are an impressive sight. Unique in shape and
massive as the Libyan hills beyond them, they can never be forgotten,
for they represent more perfectly than any other remains in Egypt the
control by the early kings of unlimited labor and materials.
It used to be the fashion to sneer at the stories told by Herodotus, but
the excavations in Egypt during the last thirty years have demonstrated
that this old Greek traveler was an accurate observer and that what he
saw may be accepted as fact. He was the first to give any detailed
description of the pyramids and of the enormous work of building them.
Herodotus visited Egypt about 450 B. C., and he related that one hundred
thousand men were employed for three months at one time in building the
great pyramid of Cheops. The stone was quarried near the site of the
citadel in Cairo, and ten years were consumed in constructing a great
road across the desert to Gizeh by which the stone was transported. The
remains of this road, formed of massive stone blocks, may now be seen
near the Sphinx. The construction of the big pyramid alone required
twenty years. The story of Herodotus that one hundred thousand men were
once employed on this pyramid is plausible, according to
Flinders-Petrie, as these months came during the inundation of the Nile,
when there was no field work to occupy their time.
The ascent of the pyramid is an easy task for any one in good physical
condition and accustomed to gymnastic work. Two Bedouins assist you from
the front while an ancient Sheik is supposed to help push you from the
rear. In my case the Bedouins had a very easy job, while the Sheik
enjoyed a sinecure. The stones are about a yard high, and the only
difficulty of the ascent lies in the straddle which must be made to
cover these stones. The ascent is made on the northeast corner of the
pyramid, and much help is gained by inequalities in the great slabs of
limestone which enable one to get a foothold. Two rests were made on the
upward climb, but we came down without any rest, covering the whole trip
in about fifteen minutes.
The view from the summit is superb. On two sides, the south and west,
sketches the sandy desert, broken only by the groups of pyramids at
Abusir, Sakkara and Dashhur, which mark the bounds of the ancient city
of Memphis.
The average tourist has more curiosity about the Sphinx than about the
pyramids, and here the reality is not disappointing. An impressive
figure is this of a recumbent stone lion one hundred and eighty-seven
feet long and sixty-six feet high, with a man's head that is full of
power and pride. The nose is gone and the face is badly scarred, but
here is the typical Egyptian face, with the fine setting of the eyes and
the graceful head.
The journey to the rock tombs of Sakkara and the site of ancient Memphis
is tedious, as it includes a ride across the sandy desert of eighty
miles. A stop is made at the old house of Mariette, the famous French
Egyptologist, who uncovered many of the finest remains in Memphis. Near
by is the Step pyramid, the tomb of a king of the fifth dynasty and one
of the oldest monuments in Egypt.
Near by are several pyramids and tombs that will repay a visit, as each
gives some new idea of the extraordinary care taken by the ancient
Egyptians to preserve their dead and to assure them proper guidance in
the land beyond the tomb.
In one chapel are exquisitely carved mural reliefs, many of which still
retain their original colors. In these chambers the hot, dry air is like
that of the desert. A hundred years seem like a day in this atmosphere,
where nothing changes with the changing seasons. Under one's feet is the
soft, dry dust stirred up by the feet of many tourists, but rain and
sunshine never penetrate this home of the dead, and a century passes
without leaving a mark on these inscriptions which were chiseled long
before the children of Israel made their escape from bondage in Egypt.
It seems incredible that so many momentous things should have occurred
while in these still, warm tombs day followed day without change.
[Illustration: PLATE LVII
A Typical Street in Old Cairo.
These Buildings Show the Architecture of Cairo,
With a Mosque on the Left With Dome
and Minaret]
[Illustration: PLATE LVIII
An Arab Cafe In One
of Cairo's Streets.
The Open Air Cafes,
Facing the Sidewalk,
Abound In Cairo.
The Smokers and
Coffee-Drinkers Pay
No Attention to
Passers-by]
[Illustration: PLATE LIX
Women Water Carriers in Turkish Costume.
One of These Women is Uncovered, While the
Other Wears the Yashmak or Face Mask.
They Carry Large Water Jars on
Their Heads]
[Illustration: PLATE LX
The Rameseon at Karnak.
Six Colossal Statues of Rameses II of Which Three
Are in Fair Preservation]
[Illustration: PLATE LXI
The Avenue of
Sphinxes at Karnak.
The Road From Luxor
to Karnak Was Lined
With Recumbent Rams,
Called Krio-Sphinxes,
Many of Which Still
Remain]
[Illustration: PLATE LXII
An Arab Village on the
Nile. This Is a
Typical Village, the
Houses of Sun-dried Brick,
like the California
Adobe, and the
Whole Shaded
By Palms]
[Illustration: PLATE LXIII
The Colossi of Memnon, near Thebes.
These Gigantic Figures on the West Bank of the
Nile May Be Seen for Many Miles. They are
Sixty-five Feet High, and Stood Originally
in Front of a Temple]
[Illustration: PLATE LXIV
The Great Sphinx, Showing the Temple
Underneath. This is the Best View of the Face,
Which Has a Certain Majesty. The Lion's Figure
is Sixty-six Feet High and One Hundred
and Eighty-seven Feet Long]
APPENDIX
HINTS FOR TRAVELERS
SOME SUGGESTIONS THAT MAY SAVE THE TOURIST TIME AND MONEY