king of the country, previous to his departure for the upper part of the
Nile, on a war against the Ethiopians. He was so avaricious, that he did
not leave his family any thing to live on; and he was in close
friendship with a magician, whom he appointed to guard his treasure till
his return. But no sooner was he gone, than his relations attempted to
take possession of the treasure: the magician resisted, was killed in
the defence of his charge, and changed to an enormous serpent, which
devoured all his assailants. The king is not yet returned, but the
serpent still keeps watch over the treasure; and once every night, at a
particular position of the stars, he comes out of the caves, with a
powerful light on his head, which blinds all that attempt to look at it.
He is of an enormous size; descends to the Nile, where he drinks; and
then returns to his cave, to watch the treasure till the king returns.
The 24th, on our arrival at Assouan, I made application to the Aga for a
boat to proceed to Nubia; but, it being the last two days of Ramadan,
none could be had, for every body was feasting. I went the same evening
to the old town of Assouan, and found it more extensive than it appeared
from an external view. It stands on a granite rock, and its situation is
extremely pleasant. The higher part commands a view over the cataract,
the Elephantine, and the New Town. The granite quarries of the ancient
Egyptians are to be seen every where. From this spot we have a full view
of the cataract, which, when the water is high, scarcely deserves the
name; for it consists merely of several rapids, where the river is
divided in its course by various granite islands scattered about, and
ascending gradually to the island of Philoe, distant from Assouan about
three hours’ journey by water, but two only by land. When the Nile is
low, the cataract has a different appearance, as I shall have to
describe in my subsequent excursions. Above the New Town are the remains
of a small Egyptian temple, so buried in the rubbish and stones, that it
has escaped the notice of many travellers.
On my return to the boat, I found the Aga and all his retinue seated on
a mat under a cluster of palm-trees close to the water. The sun was then
setting, and the shades of the western mountains had reached across the
Nile, and covered the town. It is at this time the people recreate
themselves in various scattered groups, drinking coffee, smoking their
pipes, and talking of camels, horses, asses, dhourra, caravans, or
boats. The Aga came on board, with as many of his followers as the boat
could hold. We treated them indiscriminately with coffee, and a small
portion of tobacco each. As a present to the Aga, I sent to his house
about a pound of tobacco, some soap and raw coffee, which he gladly
accepted. His manners were pretty free; and, from motives of
self-interest, he proposed to furnish us with a boat of his own. This I
preferred, because I supposed we should be the more respected by the
people of Nubia, whither we were going. He promised, that I should see
the Reis of the Nubian boat the same evening, but he did not appear.
Showy as the appearance of the Aga was, the inside of his house was not
in conformity with his dress, which by no means corresponded with that
of many persons in Cairo employed by the Turkish government; who dare
not make the least show of riches, lest they should incur the suspicion
of having defrauded their master. This proves, that the fear of the
Turks has in a great measure lost its influence here. While remaining
with our boat, Mrs. Belzoni took an opportunity to visit his harem, or
seraglio, which consisted of two houses; for the old Aga had separated
the old wives from the young, though he still visited them.
Next morning early I went to see the island of Elephantine, named by the
Arabs El-Shag. As I could get no boat from the shore where we were, we
went to the old town, and crossed in the ferry-boat, which is made of
branches of palm-trees, fastened together with small cords, and covered
on the outside with a mat pitched all over. There were nine of us in
this boat. Its length was ten feet, its breadth five, and it might weigh
about fifty pounds. It cost, when new, twelve piastres, or six
shillings.
On my arrival at the island, I went to see the temple, supposed to be
dedicated to the serpent Knuphis; and, I may truly say, the only
antiquity in it worthy of mention. It consisted of one chamber, with two
doors facing each other, and a gallery of square pillars all round. The
walls are adorned with hieroglyphics, and it has a staircase in the
front. I could not see the pedestal with Greek inscriptions, mentioned
by Mr. Norden. There was a subterraneous staircase leading from the
temple to the river; and, a little above it, two lateral parts of a
gateway, made of square blocks of granite, sculptured with
hieroglyphics. Several large pieces of granite are lying about,
apparently as if there had been a building of some magnitude. Towards
the centre of the island is a kind of gallery, built of several square
pillars of sandstone, full of hieroglyphics. The rocks of blue granite,
that project out of the earth, serve as foundations. Not far from this
temple, I saw a statue of granite, I believe of Osiris, about double the
size of life. It is sitting on a chair, with some hieroglyphics on it,
and its arms crossing the breast: but it was so mutilated, that it did
not appear worth taking away.
I crossed the island, and on the west bank found it to contain many
trees of cassia and sycamore. The ground is well cultivated, and
altogether it is pleasant enough; but it has not those beauties, which
have been ascribed to it by some travellers. In crossing the river, I
saw the rocks of granite, with the hieroglyphics and the Nilometer cut
on them. I returned to our bark, and prepared for our departure.
August 25, in the morning, I waited to see the Reis, whom the Aga had
promised to send to me the night before; but no one came. In the
afternoon I went to the Aga, who repeated, that I should see the Reis in
a few minutes. I waited patiently some time; at length the Aga himself
came on board. After the usual ceremonies and protestations, he gave me
to understand, that we must make an arrangement about the money to be
paid for the boat. I told him, that I should be very glad to see the
Reis himself on the business. He answered, that if I agreed with him, it
was the same thing. He added, that the bark was ready: but he demanded
so exorbitant a sum, that I told him I never would pay it, and that I
would contrive to provide myself with a Reis, who knew the cataract, and
would draw up our own bark. He seemed very much dissatisfied with my
answer, and said, that the Reis of the Shellal could agree with no
sailors but their own.
I went with my Janizary and the interpreter to the upper part of the
cataract at Morada, which is two hours distant. Two soldiers of the Aga
offered to accompany us, but I told them we were not afraid, as we were
well armed. They almost insisted on coming, but I would not permit them;
for I was aware, that they wanted only to see what we were doing, and to
interrupt my plans if possible. When we arrived, we found the boat not
ready, without a mast, and the Reis not there. On inquiry we met with a
man, who undertook to pilot our bark up the first cataract, and as far
as the second, and back again, for twenty pataks, which are equal to
forty-five piastres, or four dollars and a half. As we were returning,
the Reis of the first boat came, and protested, that his boat would be
ready early next morning. I asked him about the price, but he said, that
this was left entirely to the Aga. I was now certain of the Aga’s
tricks, and felt pleased that I had a Reis to pilot our own bark; but I
found myself much mistaken. While I was absent on this expedition, the
Aga had threatened our Arab Reis, if he proceeded any farther with his
bark; and he was glad to obey, for he thought I should leave him and his
bark to wait at Assouan till my return, and pay him his monthly money
during the whole time. I had scarcely arrived on board, when the Aga
came with great speed, attended by his whole train of courtiers, in
their rags and finery. They were all clad in their gala attire, as this
was their grand feast of the Ramadan.
I cannot describe the motley confused manner in which this great divan
was decorated: one had a new tunic of their brown cloth, and a ragged
turban: another had a fine turban, and a ragged tunic: a third, without
turban or tunic, had a fine red woollen shawl round his body: the Aga
himself was uncommonly dirty and showy, being dressed in green and red,
and without a shirt on his back. He came on board with all his suite. I
observed the Reis, whom I had brought from Morada, advance to kiss the
hand of the Aga; but he refused with an angry look, saying to him, “Do
you dare to hinder me from letting a boat?”—I then told the Aga that, if
my taking a boat from any one but himself would cause a disturbance, I
would rather return back, as I was not anxious to see a country, where
there was nothing to interest me, and which would occasion me such
enormous expense. At this he became all at once very mild; and still
more so when I told him, that I was determined to return, and not go any
farther, as my patience was worn out with the number of obstacles thrown
in my way. The result was, that he offered me his boat at the price a
Nubian would have paid; and with the positive condition, that it should
be entirely at my disposal, to stop where I pleased, go where I pleased,
and take us to the second cataract and back again; that it mattered not
how long I should stay in a place, even a fortnight if I liked it; that
the Reis should be obliged to bring on board four other sailors besides
himself, supply them with provision, and give us all the assistance and
information in his power; and for all this accommodation I was to pay
the sum of two hundred piastres, or twenty dollars, which was less than
I should have had to pay, if I had kept the former boat from Cairo, as I
incurred no extra expenses. The first demand of the Aga was fifty
thousand paras, equal to about a hundred and twenty dollars. Our luggage
was to be sent on board the next morning on camels, and we ourselves set
off in the evening.
Early in the morning the Aga came again to our boat, begging for a
bottle of vinegar, which I gave him, accompanied with a trifling sum of
money for his trouble, to induce him to take care of the baggage we left
behind till our return. He was well satisfied, and promised to do all in
his power to expedite our departure. The boat I had from Cairo was to go
back; and I embraced the opportunity to write to the consul, informing
him of my scheme of ascending the Nile to the second cataract, during
the interval required for the arrival of the boat from Cairo, which was
to convey the colossal bust.
We arrived at Morada in the evening, and accommodated ourselves in the
boat as well as we could for the night.
In the morning of the 27th, long before the rising of the sun, I stood
at the stern, waiting the light to unveil that goodly sight, the
beautiful island of Philoe. My anxiety to see the ruins was as great as
my expectations; but, when I beheld them, they surpassed every thing
that imagination could anticipate. We crossed the water, and three hours
elapsed, which appeared to us as so many minutes; but, as I intended to
inspect these ruins minutely on our return, I only took a hasty view of
the island. I observed several blocks of stones, with hieroglyphics on
them in great perfection, that might be taken away, and an obelisk of
granite about twenty-two feet in length, and two in breadth. I thought
this also might easily be removed, as it lies in a good situation, and
not far from the water-side. On our return to the boat we set sail, and
in about three hours arrived at Debod: but I would not go to see the
temple there, as the wind was so favourable I did not like to lose the
advantage of it. This, therefore, I also deferred to my coming back. We
stopped near the shore above Sardeeb el farras.
28th.—We passed several ruins this day on the western bank of the Nile,
which I shall mention hereafter, and about noon we stopped at a village
on the eastern bank, I believe to take in provision for the crew. The
Reis, the Janizary, and the sailors went on shore; Mrs. Belzoni, the
interpreter, and myself, remained on board. Some time after, a few
natives came to our boat, and seemed anxious to see what we had in it;
but as it was covered with mats, they could not look into it so well as
they wished. After one of them had approached, and examined every thing
with attention, they all retired; but a few minutes had scarcely
elapsed, when we saw several of them returning armed with spears and
shields of crocodile skins. As they came straight towards us, and were
joined by some others, their appearance was rather alarming, and I
thought it was time to be on our guard. Though we were well armed, we
were only three in the boat: accordingly I took a pistol in each hand;
Mrs. Belzoni also seized one, and the interpreter another. They
approached us in their boats, as if with intention to come on board. We
asked them what they wanted; but, as they had no knowledge of the Arabic
language, they did not understand us. I made signs to them to keep off;
but they appeared indifferent to all we said or did. I then stepped
forward, and with my right hand prevented the first of them from
entering the boat, while I held the pistols in my left. He began to be
rather rough in his manner, but kept his eyes on the pistols, while the
others behind were urging him on. At last I pointed a pistol at him,
making signs, that, if he did not retire, I would shoot at him. On this
he drew back, and remained with the rest for some time, apparently in
consultation. The Reis, the crew, and the Janizary, now came on board. I
told the Reis what had happened to us, and he talked to the men in their
own language; but, at the same time, untied the boat, and we went from
the shore into the middle of the Nile. On my expostulating with him upon
the impropriety of leaving the boat without any one who could speak the
language of the country, he said, that these people had a dispute with
their neighbours, which was the reason of their being armed; and that
they only wanted our boat to go to another island, to fight with the
inhabitants, their adversaries. Whatever might have been their
intention, whether to attack us, or to fight others, neither would have
been a pleasant adventure to us.
Proceeding on our voyage, we passed Taffa, and entered the rocks of
granite above that place. Here the Nile seems as if a passage had been
cut for it through a chain of high mountains, which rise nearly
perpendicular on each side of the river, and open gradually to the
south, into another country. According to late observation, this place
is calculated to be under the tropic of Cancer. As we advanced forward,
the view extended more and more. On the right of the Nile there are
several groups of palm-trees, and a distant view of the ruins of
Kalabshe; and in the centre, the island of the same name, which has a
formidable appearance at a distance, owing to the ruins of some
Saracenic houses, which give it the resemblance of a castle. We arrived
at this island the same evening.
29th.—This day we arrived at the village named El Kalabshe. At the foot
of a rock, and facing the river, stand the ruins of a temple, which
certainly must have been of later date than any other in Nubia; for it
appeared to me to have been thrown down by violence, as I did not see
that decay in its materials, which I have observed in other edifices;
and what remained standing clearly proved, that time had had nothing to
do with the destruction of it. On the water-side, before the temple, is
a landing-place, which leads straight to the propylæon, as the gate of
this does to the portico. The propylæon is in good preservation, but the
portico is quite destroyed. There are two columns, and one pedestal, on
each side of the door into the pronaos. They are joined by a wall raised
to nearly half their height, which proves the late period when this
temple was erected, as such a wall is clearly seen in all other temples
of later date; and I would not hesitate to say, that Tentyra, Philoe,
Edfou, and this temple, were erected by the Ptolemies: for though there
is great similitude in all the Egyptian edifices, yet there is a certain
elegance in the forms of the more recent, that distinguishes them from
the older massy and enormous works; whence they appear to me to have
been executed by Egyptians under the direction of Greeks. The pronaos
and the cella are detached from the main wall all round; the
intermediate space forms a gallery, so as to leave them isolated from
the rest of the wall. The roof has fallen down, except a small portion
on the chamber behind the adytum, in the wall of which there are several
cells, merely large enough to contain a single person in each. They must
have been either prisons for men, or places for the sacred animals.
There are groups of figures on the walls of the cella, which retain
their colours remarkably well; better indeed than in any other temple in
Egypt; which I think is another proof of its being of later date than
many others. As we entered this temple immediately on our landing, there
were none of the people at its door: but when we were coming out, we
found a great number of natives assembled at the entrance of the
propylæon; and as we attempted to pass through it, they closed it
entirely, and demanded money. They were all armed with spears, shields,
halberts, &c. I told them that I would not be forced to part with money
thus; but if they would let us pass, I would do what I thought proper. I
did not allow them time to reflect, but immediately walked forward,
staring them in the face, and no one touched us. When on the outside, I
gave them a bakshis, and told them, I was ready to give them a farther
present, if they would bring me some antiquities. This they did, and I
bought several tombstones with Greek inscriptions.
They took us to see a smaller temple, a quarter of a mile distant; and
we passed a great deal of rubbish and stones, which indicate the ruins
of an ancient town, extending about a mile. Mr. Burckhardt says, this
seems to have been the town of Talmis. The quantity of pottery in the
ruins is all of Greek manufacture; scarcely any thing Egyptian is found
among them: but if this be not sufficient evidence that the town was
built by the Greeks, I can produce an incontrovertible proof that the
temple was a place of their worship. It was only a few months previous
to our arrival there, that one of the natives, raising a stone among the
ruins of the temple, saw a piece of metal. He did not know what it was;
but as whatever is found in the ruins the natives always suspect to be
gold, he took this to be so. Not being certain of it, however, he
communicated his discovery to others, who immediately claimed a share of
it, and of course a scuffle ensued. Some time after, the circumstance
came to the ears of Ibrahim Bashaw, or his soldiers at Assouan, who did
not fail to take possession of it, on their first tour to collect the
Miri in that country. The piece turned out to be a golden lamp of
Grecian form, with part of a chain attached to it. It was sent to Cairo,
and I believe money was made of it. This will prove two points; one,
that the temple was used by the Greeks; and the other, that it was
destroyed by violence; for if the temple had fallen gradually by decay,
the lamp would not have been left there, to be buried under the ruins.
The small temple we saw cut out of the rock, I think, is considerably
older than this, and of a construction more conformable with the others
of that country.
On the south of the large temple stands the village, which consists of a
few huts built of earth and of stones from the ruins. Near the temple I
observed an ancient wall, parallel with the front of it, and having
several divisions, apparently the habitations of the priests. The
country round has a pleasing aspect, owing to the groups of palm-trees,
and their contrast with the barren rocks every where else; but the
cultivated grounds are very scanty. Behind the mountain are valleys with
some acacia trees, of which the natives make charcoal: when the Nile is
at its height, they make rafts of the same wood; and the charcoal, put
into sacks fabricated of palm leaves, or of a kind of rush, is conveyed
on them to Cairo for sale; dhourra, salt, and tobacco, being brought
back in return.
We arrived on the same day at Garba Dandour, where are the ruins of a
small temple, consisting only of a pronaos and two chambers in the
front. There is a small portal, and a species of platform, which extends
from the propylæon to the river, one hundred feet long and fifty wide.
This could not have been built as a landing-place, as there are no marks
of stairs any where. The inner apartments have a few hieroglyphics, and
two columns. The rocks here are pretty close to the water, and for some
miles without a spot of cultivated land.
We proceeded on to Garba Merieh, and early the next morning landed at
Gyrshe. This temple is partly hewn out of a rock, which rises
perpendicularly, facing the east, a quarter of a mile from the river. In
our way to it we crossed the ruins of a small ancient town. I observed
the fragments of four lions, probably sphinxes, which stood before the
temple; and a mutilated statue, apparently of a woman. The portico
consists of five pilasters on each side of the door, of mason work, each
of which has a striking figure before it, I believe representing Hermes.
In the front of the portico are four columns, formed of several blocks
of stone: the pronaos is hewn out of the rock, and has three square
pillars on each side, in a line from the entrance into the cella. In
front of each of these pillars stands a colossal figure, about eighteen
feet high, elevated four feet above the ground. We may here see how the
sculpture of primitive ages differs from that of the more modern school.
The figure of these colossi indicates that the artist meant to represent
men; but this is all: their legs are mere shapeless columns, and their
bodies out of all proportion: their faces are as bad as the artist could
make them from the model of an Ethiopian: they have the usual mitres on
their heads; and are adorned on the lower part of their bodies with
curious appendages, not unlike the tobacco pouches used among the
Highlanders; though I hope no one will suppose, that I mean to suggest a
comparison between the two nations. The place is blackened with smoke, I
presume from the fires made by the natives. Behind the pillars are
several niches cut in the rock, but all mutilated. In the cella are two
small chambers, one on each side, cut also in the rock; and at the end
two lateral doors leading into smaller apartments, independent of the
adytum. In the wall at the end of this are four figures seated, as large
as life, and an altar before them, as I have seen in other places,
without hieroglyphics or any inscription. The floor is in many places
dug up, I suppose by the Barabra or other nations, in search of
treasure. The natives of this place are rather rough in their manners,
but were easily satisfied with a piece of soap, a pipe of tobacco, and a
few paras. Here we bought some gargadan, a grain of the size of a small
shot, which the Nubians use as coffee. It is a good substitute where no
coffee is to be had, and is much cheaper. A little above this place is a
dangerous passage of the Nile, a chain of rocks running across the
river, and making it very alarming, when the waters are low; but as they
were now high, we passed without danger. The country here still
continues quite barren.