to four hours; but even this will enable the passenger to see the
principal part of the town, which is exceedingly clean and handsome;
and its appearance in approaching the bay of Cadiz singularly beautiful
and striking. If the traveller can afford to stop for the next steamer,
he may make an excursion to Seville, between which and Cadiz steamers
run almost daily. Xerez de la Frontera, and Puerto de Santa Maria, with
the extensive _Bodejas_ of the wine merchants, are also well worthy of
a visit.
At Gibraltar, the steamer on the Indian line will receive the traveller
and convey him to Malta. In forming a calculation, it will be prudent
to reckon on having not less than seven or more than nine days' stay
at each place, provided it be intended to go forward by the next
steamer. Again, should a party desire to remain a fortnight in Egypt,
previous to joining the steamer at Suez, he can be accommodated by the
Peninsular and Oriental Company, who will convey him to Alexandria, and
cause him to be taken up by the vessel on the Indian side at any later
period.
The additional cost of a stoppage at any of the intermediate places
would depend upon the tastes, habits and means of the traveller; it
need not be much, and, to a party of friends proceeding thus, the
journey, at the proper season, would be instructive and delightful.
From Malta the traveller can diverge to Constantinople; or a few
hours will take him to any of the chief points of interest, either in
Italy or Greece. It would far exceed our limits to give details of
all the various trips that _might_ be made from so central a point as
Malta; luckily, however, there is no want of guide-books to classic
ground--indeed, from the nature of the subject, any such guide, to be
really useful, must in itself be much larger than the present volume.
Correct information as to the means of locomotion will be furnished by
Mr. Holton, the Peninsular Company's Agent at Malta, who can advise the
traveller how to save much valuable time, and also how to avoid trouble
and expense.
* * * * *
A FORTNIGHT IN EGYPT.
In a previous page we have pointed out the principal objects of
interest in the vicinity of Cairo and Alexandria, which are accessible
in the ordinary transit through Egypt. In the event, however, of a
prolonged residence in that country, either from necessity or choice,
the list of _videnda_ may manifestly be much extended.
Supposing the traveller, then, to start from Cairo, after inspecting
the pyramids and other sights near that city, he can, by application to
an agent on the spot, procure a boat, well supplied with provisions,
&c., and proceed a considerable distance up the Nile. We have stated
elsewhere that there is little besides the Pacha's palace, Pompey's
pillar, and Cleopatra's needle, to be seen at and in the neighbourhood
of Alexandria, and therefore call the attention of the sojourner in
Egypt to the interesting antiquities he will have an opportunity of
examining on the borders of the Nile. Should he purpose limiting his
trip to a fortnight, in order to be in time for the packet from Suez
or Alexandria, it must be borne in mind that he can only visit a few
of the places mentioned below, and must make arrangements accordingly;
but, in case he should desire to extend his travels, we subjoin some
notes from the best authorities, of the manifold wonders to be seen on
the banks of the mighty Nile, and, if the reader require even further
information, we commend to his perusal the admirable work on Egypt by
Sir Gardiner Wilkinson.
[Illustration: THE NILE BOAT.]
The great pyramid of Sacarah contains a small chamber with a few
hieroglyphics, differing in this respect from all others. The arched
tombs (now nearly destroyed) proving the pre-Augustan existence of the
masonic arch, is of the time of Psammeticus II., about B.C.
604.
Mit Raheny, a large colossus of Rameses II., the supposed Sesostris.
Mounds and indistinct remains of Memphis. On the right bank are the
quarries from which a portion of the stones for the pyramids were
drawn. In one part, oxen are represented drawing a block placed on a
sledge. A little to the south of the modern village is an inclined
plane, leading from the quarries to the river.
Thirty miles farther to the south, at Atfeh, mounds of Aphroditopolis,
but without ruins.
Left bank, false pyramid (Meidoum), difficult of access, on account of
the canal.
Three miles beyond Feohm, and on the opposite side (right bank),
remains of crude brick walls, with hieroglyphics on the bricks.
Right bank, eight miles N. of Meneijeh, is Fehnah, the ancient Acoris.
Greek Ptolemaic inscription. Tombs cut in the rock with inscriptions.
Roman figures in high relief. Quarries on top of mountain, with a tank
for water.
Right bank, seven miles beyond Meneijeh, is Rohn Ahman, some grottoes
and ruins of an old town.
Nine miles farther (right bank) Beni Hassan; remarkably interesting
grottoes of the time of Osortixen (about B.C. 1740), in
whose reign it is calculated that Joseph arrived in Egypt. The plans,
explanatory of the trades, amusements, domestic arrangements, &c., of
the ancient Egyptians, merit particular attention. In the columns of
the best grotto we recognise the _Doric Order_. In the entablature over
the doorway, observe that the ends of rafters are sculptured, instead
of mutules and tryglyphs.
About a mile and a half S. is another grotto, a temple of Pasht,
Bubastis, or Diana, the _Speos Artemidos_ (date Thotmeh III., 15th
century B.C.) The Speos is known by the name of _Stable
Antar_. Near it are deposited cat mummies.
Right bank, at Shekh Abadeh, are a few remains of _Antinöe_, built by
Adrian. The principal streets may be traced, as well as the hippodrome,
towards the east, out of the walls. Grottoes in rock, &c.
This whole district has been famous for thieves, from the time of Bruce
to the present day.
Right bank. El Rasheth, grotto in the mountain, with a statue
represented on a sledge.
The ruins of Hermopolis, at Ashmonnoyn, have been destroyed.
The Pacha's sugar-factory at E'Roamoon merits a visit.
Left bank. Ibayda, at the corner of the mountain, crude brick walls,
and some grottoes not very remarkable.
After Shekh Said, the mountains go off to the E., leaving the river. A
little beyond is Til el Amama, to the S. of which are the ruins of an
ancient town, of which only the brick houses remain.
To the S. are grottoes in the mountain, with curious sculpture, and
upon the mountain is an alabaster quarry. The sculptures represent a
king and queen offering and praying to the sun, which shoots forth rays
terminating in human hands, one of which gives the emblem of life to
the king.
Six miles before Maufalouat, at El Hareib, are ruins of an old town in
a ravine, in which are dog and cat mummies.
Near Maabdeh, opposite Maufalouat, are crocodile mummy-pits, difficult
of access and dangerous.
E'Siout, the capital of the Said, and standing on the site of
Lycopolis, merits a visit. The gardens are celebrated. Visit the
grottoes in the mountain, if it be only to enjoy the beautiful view,
which is, perhaps, unequalled in Egypt. The mummies of the wolf are
occasionally found.
The remains of the splendid temple of Antaopolis have been sapped and
carried away by the stream. A few stones only serve to point out its
site at Gau (right bank).
Right bank. Shekh Eredi, where a Moslem saint, transformed into the
form of a serpent, still performs very wonderful cures upon those who
can pay. Some small grottoes on the left bank. To the west, Loohag,
near the corner of the mountain, are remains of Athribi. Inscription in
stone, in a ruined temple. Grottoes in the mountain.
To the west of this is the white monastery, Deira-bow Sehwoodee. It has
very much the appearance of an Egyptian temple, having a cornice and
tomb, and is supposed to have been founded by the Empress Helena. Like
the other Deirs, it is inhabited by Christian peasants.
Right bank. At Ekhmin, nearly opposite Loohag, are remains of
Panopolis. A large mass of stone contains a Greek inscription of the
temple of Pan.
Left bank. Menshie, eight miles beyond Ekhmin, remains of a stone
quarry. Ptolemais Hermii.
Left bank. Abydus, three hours' ride from Girgeh, and two hours from
Bellianeh. Take donkeys at Girgeh and send the boat on to Bellianeh.
When last at Abydus, I was entertained for the night at the "Deir," to
the north or north-west of the village. The most remarkable monument is
what Strabo has described as a "Memnonium," a very singular building,
consisting of several parallel arches or arcades, leading, he says, to
a tank, now concealed. The arches are _not_ masonic, but cut out of
large masses of stone and it is this circumstance which has, in a great
measure, given rise to the error, as to the arch not having existed
previous to the Augustan era. The building was begun by Osirien, the
father of Sesostris, and finished by his son.
To the north of the Memnonium, is the small temple of Osiris, built, or
at least finished, by Ramses II., and remarkable for having a sanctuary
made of alabaster, for the reception of the famous tablet of the kings,
which, next to the Rosetta stone, has been of the greatest assistance
to the students of hieroglyphics. The Necropolis has been robbed to
form the collections of Salt, Drouetti, and others.
Right bank. How (Diospolis parva)--few remains--vestiges of a temple of
late date, and about a mile and a half to the S., of other mounds.
Left bank. Dendera (Tentyris) opposite Genneh. The principal temple
was consecrated to Hathor, the Egyptian Venus, and not to Isis. The
most interesting, as well as most ancient sculptures, are outside, at
the western extremity, where we see Cleopatra and her son Casasion.
The sculptures above are of the time of Augustus, as are those of the
lateral walls of the Naos. The pronaos presents the portraits and
names of Caius, Claudius, and Nero, as well as Tiberius, by whom it
was constructed. The pylon, leading to the temple, is of the time
of Domitian and Trajan. The Peripteral temple to the right, is the
Typhonium, and immediately behind the great temple is a small one
consecrated to Isis. The pylon towards the south is connected with the
latter, and was raised in the reign of Augustus. The walls of the town,
and a second wall for the sacred edifices, may be traced, and there
are, I believe, some tombs in the mountain behind the town, that have
not been properly explored.
Right bank. Quoph, the ancient Coptas--ruins of town and temple--small
Roman-Egyptian temple, in the village of El Qalah, towards the N.,
forming once a part of Coptas, (Qoos, Apollinopolis parva). No more
remains left, but a monolith converted into a tank, and to the north of
the town is a well.
Thebes (_Diospolis magna_), on the eastern side, consisting of Karnak
and Luxor: the _Lybian Suburb_ on the west bank, consisting of Gormah,
Medinet Haboo, the tombs of the kings, queens, &c.
* * * * *
KARNAK.--At least fifteen centuries combined to raise the
great temple, the different ages of the various portions of the edifice
being distinctly traceable, from the time of Osortiren I. (B.
C. 1740) to the Ptolemies. On approaching the great western
propylon, observe the holes (almost like windows, and by some described
as such) for fixing the _flag-masts_, as well as the recesses below, in
which they were planted. After looking at the great hall of columns,
and the obelisks, &c., notice particularly the granite sanctuary, which
is a restoration of one destroyed by the Persians. It was raised by
Alexander, in compliance with a vow of Philip. On the _sandstone_
wall that encloses and protects this sanctuary, observe (north wall)
a very curious and rich offering, in which a Pharaoh presents to the
temple, obelisks, flag-masts, gold, silver, &c. The sculptures deserve
particular attention. Those on the outside of the southern wall relate
to the conquests of Shishah, who plundered the temple of Jerusalem.
The name of the place (Joudamallah) is legible on a cartouche,--one of
thirty led captives before the god of Thebes.
The whole north wall is covered with historical sculptures, all of
which were originally painted, representing the conquests of Osirien,
the father of Sesostris. Some little attention is required to see them
well. One group is more curious than the rest: the king has caught
his adversary with the bow-string, and is decapitating him. Notice
the triumphal return to Thebes, and remark the Nile (distinguished by
crocodiles) with a bridge thrown across it.
To the south of the great temple is a _tank_, then come several immense
propyla, part of an avenue of sphinxes, and lastly some remains of a
considerable temple which was surrounded by a lake.
To the north are other remains, with a handsome propylon of Ptolemaic
date, and an avenue of sphinxes.
The temple, second in importance at Karnak, is of the Pharaonic period,
but approached by a pylon of Ptolemaic date, at the extremity of the
great avenue of sphinxes leading to Luxor. On the right of the first
or hypoetheral court, notice a sculpture illustrating the manner
in which the _flag masts_ were raised before the temples. Adjoining
this temple, and on its west side, is a small temple of Oph, in which
travellers sometimes lodge.
From Karnak to Luxor, it is easy to trace the line of sphinxes, which
connected the palace of the latter with the temples of the former.
_Luxor_, with the exception of the sanctuary, is entirely Pharaonic,
having been founded by Amanoph III., and finished by Rameses II., in
the 15th century B.C. The granite sanctuary, like that of
Karnak, is a restoration, and of the same age. In one of the halls,
approachable from the river side, observe a curious set of sculptures,
relative to the birth of the founder of the palace. His mother, the
queen, is seated on the stool of accouchement, surrounded by midwives
and genii. The latter present him the emblem of life. A little farther
on, the infant is presented to and caressed by Amunre; and Thoth, the
god of letters, is choosing for him his prenomen, "Sun, Lord of Justice
and of Truth."
To see the interesting sculptures on the great propylon, it is
necessary to visit the palace at an early hour. They relate to the
conquests of Rameses II., but much attention is required to make out
their details. In the midst of the fortified camp is a lion, the
companion of Sesostris in war.
_Lybian Suburb._--To see the tomb of the kings, one night should be
passed in the valley of Biban el Melook; but the entrance of one of
the excavations affords sufficient accommodation. That of Belzoni is
usually preferred.
Belzoni's tomb (that of Osirien, whose conquests are depicted on the
north side of the great temple of Karnak) is the most magnificent; next
to that, the tomb of Rameses III. is the most interesting. It is near
an angle of the rock, and will be readily distinguished by the recesses
on either side of the principal shaft. These little cabinets contain
some exceedingly curious sculptures or paintings, and it is from one of
them that Bruce drew his harp scene.
The tombs of the queens are in a separate valley, to the west _of
Mehdenet Habor_.
At Goorneh (old Goorneh) is the palace of Osirien. In the Aposiet are
some remains of a very ancient temple, of which a portion is cut in the
rock,--an arch (not masonic) very similar to those of Abydus. Between
the Aposiet and the Memnonium are many tombs deserving attention.
The Memnonium (now perhaps more properly called the Rameseion, _i.e._,
"Rameseseion," the "house of Rameses") is the most uniform and elegant
of Egyptian structures. Pay particular attention to all the battle
scenes, to the immense statue of Rameses II., supposed to have weighed
nearly a thousand tons, to the circumstance of the bases of the columns
of the hepastyle being made seats--to a very remarkable sculpture at
the western extremity of the hall--to the private apartments which
follow--the Pharaoh seated in the sacred Persia--the next apartment,
supposed to be the library--traces of gilding on the doorways, &c.
_The Colossi in the Plain._--Of these the northern one is the vocal
statue of the ancients. It is of Amunoph III., the founder of Luxor,
who reigned in the 15th century, B.C. Wilkinson discovered
the means of deception; a stone, which, when struck, produces a sound
similar to that described by Strabo or Pausanias, is still to be found
in the lap. The other statue bears the same cartouches, and both are
supposed by Wilkinson to have stood at the commencement of a dromio or
avenue of the sphinxes running nearly twelve hundred feet towards an
indistinct mass of buildings now called Kom el Hattan. Champollion and
some architects suppose that they stood before a propylon.
_Mehdenet Habor._--A temple-palace, a private palace or harem, and
a temple. The harem is very interesting, but partly destroyed. It
consists principally of a pavilion in advance of the palace, and in
it are some curious sculptures, among which the king is represented
playing chess with his ladies. A ladder is necessary.
The great temple-palace is remarkable not only for its architecture,
but for the sculptures representing the conquests of Rameses III.
(about the 13th century, B.C.) These are particularly
remarkable in the hypoetheral court, where there is exhibited, in the
northern side, a magnificent pageant, the coronation of the Pharaoh.
The whole exterior of the northern side of the building is covered with
battle scenes. Among the heaps of hands poured out before the conqueror
are _lions' paws_. There are also heaps of phalia.
The great lake, for the ceremonies of the dead (the hippodrome of
the French _savans_), will be best distinguished from the top of the
pavilion. There are several other remains, and tombs without number.
There is no trace, whatever, of a wall of circumvallation, though the
crude brick enclosures of the temples still remain.
We add to the foregoing, the observations of other writers upon the
subject of some of the most interesting of these wondrous antiquities.
* * * * *
LUXOR.--In approaching this temple from the north, the first
object is a magnificent propylon, or gateway, which is two hundred feet
in length, and the top of it fifty-seven feet above the present level
of the soil. In front of the entrance are the two most perfect obelisks
in the world, each of a single block of red granite, from the quarries
of Elephantine; they are between seven and eight feet square at the
base, and above eighty feet high; many of the hieroglyphical figures
with which they are covered are an inch and three quarters deep, cut
with the greatest precision. Between these obelisks and the propylon
are two colossal statues, also of red granite; though buried in the
ground to the chest, they still measure twenty-one and twenty-two
feet from thence to the top of their mitres. The attention of the
traveller is soon diverted from these masses to the sculptures which
cover the eastern wing of the north front of the propylon, on which is
a very animated description of a remarkable event in the campaigns of
Osymandrias or Sesostris. The ruined portico, which is entered from the
gateway, is of very large dimensions; from this a double row of seven
columns, with lotus capitals, two-and-thirty feet in circumference,
conducts you into a court, one hundred and sixty feet long, and one
hundred and forty wide, terminating at each side by a row of columns,
beyond which is another portico of thirty-two columns, and the adytum,
or interior apartments of the building.
The temple of Luxor was probably built on the banks of the Nile, for
the convenience of sailors and wayfaring men; where, without much loss
of time, they might stop, say their prayers, present their offerings,
&c. Great and magnificent as it is, it only serves to show us the way
to a much greater, to which it is hardly more in comparison than a kind
of porter's lodge; I mean the splendid ruin of the temple at Karnak.
The distance from Luxor to Karnak is about a mile and a half, or two
miles. The whole road was formerly lined with a row of sphinxes on each
side. At present these are entirely covered up for about two-thirds of
the way, on the end nearest to Luxor. On the latter part of the road,
near Karnak, a row of criosphinxes (that is, with a ram's head and a
lion's body), still exist on each side of the way.
* * * * *
KARNAK.--The name of Diospolis is sufficient to entitle us
to call the grand temple at Karnak the temple of Jupiter. This temple
has twelve principal entrances, each of which is composed of several
propyla and colossal gateways, or _moles_, besides other buildings
attached to them, in themselves larger than most other temples. One
of the propyla is entirely of granite, adorned with the most finished
hieroglyphics. On each side of many of them have been colossal statues
of basalt, breccia and granite; some sitting, some erect, from twenty
to thirty feet in height.
The body of the temple, which is preceded by a large court, at the
sides of which are colonnades of thirty columns in length, and
through the middle of which are two rows of columns fifty feet high,
consisting, first of a prodigious hall, or portico, the roof of which
is sustained by one hundred and thirty-four columns, some of which are
twenty-six feet in circumference, and others thirty-four; there are
four beautiful obelisks marking the entrance by the adytum, near which
the monarch is represented as embraced by the arms of Isis.
The adytum itself consists of three apartments, entirely of granite.
The principal room, which is in the centre, is twenty feet long,
sixteen wide, and thirteen feet high. Three blocks of granite form the
roof, which is painted with clusters of gilt stars on a blue ground.
Beyond are other porticoes and galleries, which have been continued to
another propylon, at the distance of two thousand feet from that at the
western extremity of the temple.
It may not be uninteresting to add a few particulars relative to this
temple, the largest, perhaps, and certainly one of the most ancient, in
the world.
Two of the porticoes within it appear to have consisted of pillars in
the form of human figures, in the character of Hermes, that is, the
lower part of the body hidden, and unshapen, with his arms folded, and
in his hand the insignia of divinity; perhaps the real origin of the
Grecian Caryatides.
Exclusive of these columnar statues, which have been thirty-eight in
number, and the least of them thirty feet high, there are fragments,
more or less mutilated, of twenty-three other statues, in granite,
breccia and basalt; seventeen of which are colossal, and have been
placed in front of the several entrances. They are in general from
twenty-five to thirty feet in height, and executed in the best Egyptian
style.
* * * * *
BIBAN-OOL-MOOLK, OR, THE TOMBS OF THE KINGS, is a most
dismal-looking spot, a valley of rubbish, without a drop of water or
blade of grass. The entrance to the tombs looks out from the rock like
the entrance to so many mines; and, were it not for the recollections
with which it is peopled, and the beautiful remains of ancient art
which lie hid in the bosom of the mountain, would hardly ever be
visited by man or beast. The heat is excessive, from the confined
dimensions of the valley and the reflection of the sun from the rock
and sand. The whole valley is filled with rubbish that has been washed
down from the rock or carried out in the making of the tombs, with
merely a narrow road up the centre.