THE NILE--II
The Nile varies considerably in width, from a quarter of a mile, as in
the deep channel before Cairo, to two miles or more higher up, where
the wide space between its high banks, filled to the brim during high
Nile, has almost the appearance of a sea; but as the river falls it is
studded with islands, many of them of considerable extent, and often
under permanent cultivation. The navigable channel is close under one
bank or other, though the shallow water which covers the shoals gives
the river the appearance of being considerably larger than it really
is. In character the scenery is generally placid, and the smooth
water, shimmering under the warm sun which edges the sand-banks with a
gleaming line of silver, is hardly broken by a ripple. I always think
the river prettiest when the Nile is low and the sand-banks appear. In
the shallows pelicans, ibis, heron, and stork are fishing together
without interfering with each other, while large flights of wild-duck
rise splashing from the stream. Eagles soar aloft, or, with the
vultures, alight upon a sand-bank to dispute the possession of some
carcass with the jackals and the foxes. Water wag-tails flit along the
shore, or in the most friendly manner board your steamer to feed on
the crumbs from your tea-table, while large numbers of gay-plumaged
king-fishers dart in and out from their nests tunnelled far into the
precipitous face of the river-bank.
On either side are the eternal hills, beautiful under any effect of
light.
It is astonishing how infinitely varied the Nile scenery is according
to the time of day. In the early morning, mists often hang upon the
water, and the air is bitterly cold, for these sandy wastes which abut
upon the Nile retain little heat by night. Above the cool green of the
banks the high hills rise mysteriously purple against the sunrise, or
catch the first gleam of gold on their rugged bluffs.
As the sun mounts higher a delicate pink tinge suffuses all, and the
hanging mists are dispersed by the growing heat to form little flecks
of white which float in the deep blue of the sky above you. Meanwhile
the life of the river and the fields has recommenced, and the banks
again become animated, and innumerable Nile boats dot the surface of
the stream.
At midday the landscape is enveloped in a white heat, while the bluffs
and buttresses of the rocks cast deep purple shadows on the sweeping
sand-drifts which lie against their base. It is a drowsy effect of
silver and grey, when Nature seems asleep and man and beast alike are
inclined to slumber.
Towards evening, glorified by the warm lights, how rich in colour the
scenery becomes! The western banks, crowned by dense masses of
foliage, whose green appears almost black against the sunset, are
reflected in the water below, its dark surface broken by an
occasional ripple and little masses of foam which have drifted down
from the cataract hundreds of miles away. Beyond the belt of trees the
minarets of some distant village are clear cut against the sky, for
the air is so pure that distance seems to be annihilated. Looking
east, the bold cliffs face the full glory of the sunset, and display a
wonderful transformation of colour, as the white or biscuit-coloured
rocks reflect the slowly changing colour of the light. They gradually
become enveloped in a ruddy glow, in which the shadows of projections
appear an aerial blue, and seem to melt imperceptibly into the glowing
sky above them. Gradually a pearly shadow creeps along the base of the
cliffs or covers the whole range, and one would suppose that the glory
of the sunset was past. In about a quarter of an hour, however,
commences the most beautiful transformation of all, and one which I
think is peculiar to the Nile Valley, for a second glow, more
beautiful and more ethereal than the first, overspreads the hills,
which shine like things translucent against the purple earth-shadow
which slowly mounts in the eastern sky. The sails of the boats on the
river meanwhile have taken on a tint like old ivory, while perhaps a
full moon appears above the hill-tops, and in twisting bars of silver
is reflected in the gently moving water at your feet.
The Nile is not always in so gentle a mood as this, however, for on
most days a strong north wind disturbs the water, and changes the
placid river into one of sparkling animation. The strong wind,
meeting the current of the stream, breaks the water into waves which
are foam-flecked and dash against the muddy cliffs and sand-banks,
while the quickly sailing boats bend to the wind, and from their bluff
and brightly-painted bows toss the sprays high into the air, or turn
the water from their sides in a creamy cataract. The sky also is
flecked with rounded little wind-clouds, whose undersides are
alternately grey or orange as they pass over the cultivated land or
desert rock, whose colour they partially reflect. The colour of the
water also becomes very varied, for the turn of each wave reflects
something of the blue sky above, and the sun shines orange through the
muddy water as it curls, while further variety of tint is given by the
passing cloud-shadows and the intense blueness of the smoother patches
which lie upon the partially covered sand-spits. This always forms a
gay scene, for the river is crowded with vessels which sail quickly,
and take every advantage of the favourable wind. Sometimes the north
wind becomes dangerous in its energy, and wrecks are not infrequent,
while from the south-west, at certain periods of the year, comes the
hot "khamsin" wind, which, lashing the water into fury, and filling
the air with dust, renders navigation almost impossible.
Some of the cargoes carried by these Nile boats are worth describing,
and large numbers are employed in carrying "tibbin" from the farms to
the larger towns. "Tibbin" is the chopped straw upon which horses and
cattle in the towns are mainly fed, and it is loaded on to the boats
in a huge pyramidical pile carried upon planks which considerably
overhang the boat's sides. The steersman is placed upon the top of
this stack, and is enabled to guide his vessel by a long pole lashed
to the tiller, and it is curious to notice that the "tibbin," though
finely chopped, does not appear to blow away.
In a somewhat similar manner the immense quantity of balass and other
water-pots, which are manufactured at Girgeh, Sohag, and other places
on the Upper Nile, are transported down-stream. In this case, however,
large beams of wood are laid across the boats, which are often loaded
in couples lashed together, and from which are slung nets upon which
the water-pots are piled to the height of 10 or 12 feet, and one may
often meet long processions of these boats slowly drifting down stream
to Assiut or Cairo.
Another frequent cargo is sugar-cane, perhaps the greatest industry of
the upper river, and at Manfalut, Rhoda, Magaga, and many other places
large sugar factories have sprung into existence of late years. The
trade is a very profitable one for Egypt, but, unfortunately, their
tall chimneys and ugly factories, which are always built close to the
Nile bank, are doing much to spoil the beauties of the river, and,
worst of all, noisy little steam tugs and huge iron barges are yearly
becoming more numerous.
Though, as we have seen, crocodiles have long ago left the Lower Nile,
the river abounds in fish, and from the terraces of its banks one may
constantly see fishermen throwing their hand-nets, while in the
shallows and backwaters of the river, drag-nets are frequently
employed. I recently watched the operation, which I will describe.
Beginning at the lower end of the reach, seven men were employed in
working the net, three at either end to haul it, while another, wading
in the middle, supported it at the centre. Meanwhile two of their
party had run far up the banks, one on either side, and then, entering
the water, slowly descended towards the nets, shouting and beating the
water with sticks, thus driving the fish towards the nets. Usually the
fish so caught are small, or of only moderate size, though I have
frequently seen exposed for sale in the markets fish weighing upwards
of 300 pounds and 6 feet or more in length.
The Nile Valley is comparatively wide for a considerable distance
above Cairo, and while the hills which fringe the Lybian desert are
generally in view in the distance, those on the eastern side gradually
close in upon the river as we ascend, and in many places, such as
Gibel Kasr-es-Saad, or "the castle of the hunter," Feshun, or Gibel
Abou Fedr, rise almost perpendicularly from the river to the height of
1,000 feet or more, and although considerable areas of cultivated land
are to be found at intervals on the eastern side, practically all the
agricultural land of Upper Egypt lies on the western bank of the
river.
The rock of which the hills are formed is limestone, and it is a very
dazzling sight as you pass some of these precipitous cliffs in the
brilliant sunshine, especially where the quarrymen are working and the
sunburnt outside has been removed, exposing the pure whiteness of the
stone.
Along the narrow bank of shingle at the foot of the cliffs flocks of
dark-coated sheep and goats wander in search of such scant herbage as
may be found along the water's edge, and many native boats lie along
the banks loading the stone extracted by the quarrymen, who look like
flies on the face of the rock high above you. Enormous quantities of
stone are required for the building of the various dams and locks on
the river, as well as for the making of embankments and "spurs." These
"spurs" are little embankments which project into the river at a
slight angle pointing down-stream, and are made in order to turn the
direction of the current towards the middle of the river, and so
protect the banks from the scour of the water; for each year a portion
of the banks is lost, and in many places large numbers of palm-trees
and dwellings are swept away, for the native seems incapable of
learning how unwise it is to build at the water's edge. Sometimes
whole fields are washed away by the flood, and the soil, carried
down-stream, forms a new island, or is perhaps deposited on the
opposite side of the river many miles below. When this occurs, the new
land so formed is held to be the property of the farmer or landowner
who has suffered loss.
These changes of the river-banks are often rapid. One year vessels may
discharge their passengers or cargoes upon the bank whereon some town
or village is built, and which the following year may be separated
from the river by fields many acres in extent; and each year in going
up the Nile one may notice striking changes in this way.
As the Nile winds in its course the rocky hills on either side
alternately approach close to the river, revealing a succession of
rock-hewn tombs or ancient monasteries, or recede far into the
distance, half hidden in the vegetation of the arable land; but,
speaking generally, the river flows principally on the eastern side of
the valley, while all the large towns, such as Wasta, Minyeh, Assiut,
or Girgeh are built upon the western bank, where the largest area of
fertility is situated.
As we ascend the river the vegetation slowly changes; cotton and
wheat, so freely grown in the Delta, give place to sugar-cane and
Indian corn, and the feathery foliage of the sunt and mimosa trees is
more in evidence than the more richly clad lebbek or sycamore.
In many places are fields of the large-leaved castor-oil plants, whose
crimson flower contrasts with the delicately tinted blossoms of the
poppies which, for the sake of their opium, are grown upon the
shelving banks. The dom palm also is a new growth, and denotes our
approach to tropical regions, while the type and costume of the people
have undergone a change, for they are darker and broader in feature
than the people of Lower Egypt, and the prevailing colour of their
clothing is a dark brown, the natural colour of their sheep, from
whose wool their heavy homespun cloth is made.
The limestone hills which have been our companions since leaving Cairo
also disappear, and a little way above Luxor low hills of sandstone
closely confine the river in a very narrow channel. This is the Gibel
Silsileh, which from the earliest times has supplied the stone of
which the temples are built. These celebrated quarries produce the
finest stone in the country, and have always been worked in the most
scientific and methodical manner, deep cuttings following the veins
of good stone which only was extracted, while the river front has
remained practically untouched--a contrast to the modern method of
quarrying, where the most striking bluffs upon the Nile are being
recklessly blown away, causing an enormous waste of material as well
as seriously affecting the beauty of the scenery.