_Cairo, June 29th, 1838._
Wishing to make our tour up the Nile as soon as we were relieved
from quarantine, we had in part made our arrangements when that
took place. On the 21st, we were called down to be inspected
by the man of medical science, and were declared free from all
suspicious symptoms, and entitled to mingle with the good people of
the country, and travel where we pleased. It was farcical enough
to see the man stand at the distance of ten or fifteen feet, and
inspect our tongues, and make us move our arms, and then gravely
decide that we were free from infection. Our keepers, who, on the
whole, had been kind and attentive, but careful not to touch us,
now approached and gave us a cordial shake of the hand, and their
congratulations on our restoration to freedom. Each had to pay a
small rent for the room. We had also several small fees to pay--as
the board of our guardian. Through the aid of our consul a boat had
been engaged, and some other preparations made for our trip up the
Nile: deeming it best, after so long a delay, to lose no time in
making our visit to this place. We found the boat in readiness, with
such stores as were necessary; and the American flag floated in the
air at the mast-head. This was to make known to all whom it might
concern, that the boat was mine _pro tem._, and not to be searched
or molested while under my protection. We were soon in readiness to
leave. Several persons, however, whose animals we had used in riding
from the Lazaret to the boat, and some who had brought us various
articles, were to be paid. As I knew not what the usual prices
were, I requested a Janissary to give each what was right. He soon
settled the matter, and paid them about one-third of what they
demanded of me. Thus, almost perpetually, these people try to extort
from travellers more than is due, and especially if the traveller be
a stranger among them.
Alexandria does not stand on the Nile, but near thirty miles west of
the Rosetta branch of that river. A canal (the Mahmudieh) connects
the town on the western harbour with the river, not at its mouth,
but at Atfi. This place may be nearly sixty miles from Alexandria,
but not so far from the mouth of the river. This canal is the work
of the Pasha. Owing to the bars and shallows at the mouth of the
river, much difficulty was found in loading and unloading vessels;
and the trade of Egypt, which was carried on mainly through that
branch, was much impeded. Possibly a wish to build up Alexandria,
which was the best harbour for his navy, may have had its influence.
The Pasha resolved to open a canal from some point of the Rosetta
branch to Alexandria. Atfi was fixed on as the point. The course of
the canal marked out, and multitudes of people from all the adjacent
towns and villages, marched down to different parts of the line and
set to work. The greater part had nothing to work with but their
hands; but the soil was soft and no stone in it. In a few months
the work was done, but it is said, many lives were lost through the
hardships to which the people were subjected. Sail-boats are used
on the canal; but as the wind is not always fair, they at times use
the tow-line, but men, and not animals, pull it. The boats that are
on the canal do not pass into the river, nor those of the river into
the canal. There must of course be another boat taken at Atfi, and
the baggage changed from one to the other. This consumes time and
is attended with some expense.
The country through which the canal passes is nearly a dead level,
and, in some places, I should think, lower than the level of the
river. The banks of the canal were from eight to twelve feet above
the water. They were too high to allow us to have a good view of the
country over them. At some places, however, they were lower, and at
others, by stopping the boat, and ascending the bank, we had fine
views of the rich meadows of Egypt. For many miles after leaving
Alexandria, we passed a succession of houses and gardens, along the
canal, that had a very pleasant appearance. Several of them were
fitted up in Frank style, with glass windows, and other fixtures
indicating European society. They may have been occupied, possibly
owned, by Europeans. Connected with several of these houses, were
extensive gardens, and in a good state of keeping. In addition to
the palm tree, which is the tree of Egypt, there were several other
kinds along the canal, as the acacia. It is low, and not unlike the
olive in its shape and size, but its bark and leaf approach more to
the locust. It is pretty as a shady and ornamental tree, but I know
not its other uses.
There are, all along the canal, water-wheels at work, raising water
for irrigating the adjacent gardens and fields. The mode of making
them is simple: a channel is cut into the bank, so deep that the
water will flow into it; a wheel is made to turn in this cut, being
suspended over it; a rope, with a set of jars, passes over this
wheel, and is turned by it. This is long enough to allow the jars
to pass through the water and come up full, and, in turning, the
water is poured into a cistern, and thence conveyed by small troughs
to the place where it is needed. The wheels are usually worked
by oxen. The number of wheels is very great, and most of them are
constantly in motion through the day.
We passed some villages near the canal, but none of much size. There
were some of a larger size at a distance, as we concluded, from
the minarets which we could see. In several places we saw water
at a distance that looked like a lake. In passing up the canal,
and the same was true after we entered the river, I could not but
notice how the people and the animals loved to be in the water. The
children and youth were seen in it, and the cattle seemed to have
a passion, not only for wading in the water, but for lying down in
it, so as often to cover their whole bodies, except a small part of
their heads. This may, in part, have been to keep off the flies,
but mainly, I judge, to enjoy the coolness which the water imparted
to them. I never before understood the force of the expression in
Pharaoh's dream, where it is said, he "saw seven kine coming up out
of the river." It is true to the life. They lie in the water until
satisfied, then come up and feed on the low grounds or meadows near
it.
We had often heard dismal accounts of the annoyances met with in the
boats of the Nile; we were now to have a proof of them. On entering
our boat we observed that it had recently been painted, and hoped
that this betokened a deliverance from those gentry that so annoy
Frank travellers. But in this we were mistaken. No sooner were our
lights put out, than they came upon us from their hiding-places
in such numbers, as to make it one of the most trying nights we
had ever passed. And especially did they assail our children. And
whether it was that they liked their young blood better, or that
the children, in their sound sleep, made less resistance, I know
not, but so it was, that in the morning their faces were disfigured
with bites, and their eyes so swollen that they could hardly see.
Fortunately, we were not doomed to spend another night in this
boat. We reached Atpi during the following day, in time to transfer
ourselves and baggage to a river boat, which was about leaving for
Cairo. This boat was happily less infested with the gentry above
referred to, and we made out pretty well as to sleeping.
Atpi is a small village at the place where the canal leaves the
river. It has grown up since the canal was made. There are some
stores and shops, and a number of persons who attend to the produce
and goods that pass and repass from the canal to the river. We here
procured a boat, and made other necessary arrangements. In all these
boats we had to provide for ourselves, from the beds we slept on to
the fuel with which we cooked our food. As necessary articles are
not to be had at all places, and especially as the boat may not stop
when you find yourself minus in some needful article, the only sure
way is to keep a good stock on hand. We had our flag, as before,
flying at the mast-head, and could not but feel a little national
pride at the notice which it attracted.
Near Atpi, on the eastern side of the river, is a considerable
town, with some pretty good buildings, and among them some occupied
as factories. There was also a large building on the western
side, where the red fez, now so much used throughout Turkey, are
made. These manufactories are, we were told, public property. The
government monopolizes all things in this land. The policy may
well be questioned. Possibly in no other way could they be so soon
introduced.
The average height of the banks of the Nile may be from twelve
to sixteen feet. Fields of corn and sugar-cane were seen on the
banks, but not in as great numbers as I had expected. This in part,
however, was accounted for by the fact, that the time of the rise
was at hand, and their crops were gathered off.
The productiveness of Egypt depends on the annual overflowing of the
Nile. The Nile is the river, and the only river of Egypt; and beside
it, it is said, there is not a brook, not a spring, of running water
in Egypt. There are wells; for by digging down to nearly the level
of the water in the Nile, water may be obtained at any place. There
is no rain in Egypt. Near the sea coast, as at Alexandria, light
showers may fall, but up in the country there are none. There may be
cloudy weather during the winter, but no rain. Once every year the
Nile rises so as to cover the greater part of the country. It begins
in the latter part of June, and gradually continues for nearly two
months, then gradually falls to its usual volume of water. The
rise has now begun, but it is perceivable only to those who are
acquainted with the river. The cause of this rise is supposed to be
the great rains, and possibly melting of snows, in the high country
in which its main stream rises; but the matter is not certain. As
the Nile falls, the grain is sown on the wet ground, and produces
most abundantly.
There are many canals, from four to six and eight feet deep, and
wide enough to convey a considerable body of water. These pass off
from the river, and from these, smaller channels pass in various
directions, so as to divide much of the surface into lots or small
fields. These were much more observable at some places than at
others. The design of these channels, probably, was to bring the
water more generally over the ground than it would otherwise come;
or when the Nile did not rise high enough to cover the field, the
water, by means of these small canals, would pass in so many
directions through the district, as, by percolation, to moisten the
ground more generally than it otherwise would do.
There were along the river a great many water-melons, cucumbers, and
other vegetables. It reminded me of the complaint of Israel, in the
wilderness, that they were deprived of the melons and cucumbers of
Egypt. Num. xi. 5.
The Nile winds a good deal. It has many of those long sweeps that
characterise the Ohio and Mississippi; and as the whole country is
alluvial, the water at those turns washes away the banks against
which it strikes, while, on the opposite side of the river, a shoal
or a sand bank is formed. In these places, and they increased as we
ascended, considerable districts lay along the edge of the water,
and only a few feet above it, and on them the vegetables above
named, with many others, were raised in great numbers. There was
usually a small place in these garden spots built to protect a
person from the rain, whose office it is to prevent pillage, and
sell the vegetables to boat-men and passengers; for almost all the
travelling from Alexandria to Cairo is done in boats on the Nile.
It reminded me of the "cottage in a vineyard,"--"a lodge in a
garden of cucumbers." A little more than half-way, from Alexandria
to Cairo, on the western side of the river, we saw the end of a
new and much larger canal, now being made in a more direct course
to Alexandria. It will probably intersect the Mahmudieh canal, at
some point south of Alexandria. The southern end is near where the
sands have almost covered the district west of the Nile. Whether
it will pass into the sandy district, and thus reclaim some of it,
and prevent the farther encroachments of the sand, I know not.
There is no doubt that tillage extended much farther to the west,
in some places, formerly, than at present. The canals and means
of irrigation have been neglected, and the sands have spread over
considerable districts; some of these might no doubt be reclaimed,
were a proper mode followed with respect to them. This will hardly
be done at present, as there are large parts of Egypt now irrigated,
that lie neglected; the population, with their idle habits, are not
sufficient to cultivate the whole. For a considerable distance on
the west of the river the sands from the desert covered the banks,
and ran down to the edge of the water; it was a very white, fine
sand, and easily moved by the wind.
A little below the junction of the Rosetta and Damietta branches of
the Nile, which takes place twelve or fifteen miles below Cairo,
the Pasha has begun a great work for the more perfect irrigation of
the Delta, or the district between the rivers which is thus called.
The plan is to make a strong dam across both branches of the Nile,
and throw the water into a new channel, the bed of which shall be
much more elevated, and thus bring the waters nearer the level of
the country, and of course greatly facilitate the irrigation of the
land at all seasons. The greater part of the most valuable land
of Egypt lies between the rivers. This part is called the Delta
from its likeness to the Greek letter of that name, which is of a
triangular form. A district of land on both sides of the triangle
was cultivated and productive as far as the waters of the Nile could
be made to reach it; but beyond that, the long burning suns scorch
up vegetation, and convert all into a waste of barren sand. At some
distance in the interior, both to the east and west, water is found,
and there vegetation exists, but these places are not in the valley
of the Nile.
Most of the villages we passed were poor and small; the houses for
the most part made of mud or unburnt brick; sometimes the brick had
straw in it. We saw several places where they had establishments
for hatching eggs. This practice has long prevailed in Egypt. They
spread the eggs in layers on the floor; and have a way of subjecting
them to such a degree and uniformity of heat as perfects the process
of incubation. Their fowls seemed to me to be inferior both as to
size and flavour.
The Nile seemed to me to be about as large as the Ohio at
Cincinnati. It was, however, at its lowest state when I saw it. The
rise began while I was at Cairo, but at first it is so slow, that
a person not acquainted with the river would probably not observe
it for several days. Our boat, which was not as large as a common
steam-boat, grounded several times in ascending the river. The
boatmen would readily get out in the water and push her off. This
was easily done, as there were no rocks in the river, but mud and
sand banks. The boatmen are a shameless set and were often, and
especially when in the water, in a state of perfect nudity, and this
was the common condition of the multitudes which we saw bathing in
the river.
We had a daily wind up the river, which at times blew pretty strong.
It usually began soon after sunrise, and increased as the day
advanced. Towards night it began to abate, and nearly ceased soon
after sundown. The causes which give it this regularity we leave to
be explained by those wise men in philosophy who feel bound to give
reasons for all the phenomena of nature. During one or two months in
the year it is said to change its direction, and blow the other way.
I had several times in the south-west a fine view of the whirlwinds
of the desert; several of them could often be seen at the same
time. A thick column of dust and sand seemed to run up to the
clouds, and then gradually disappear; at times they would pass with
considerable rapidity; and while thus in quick motion, had a pretty,
but rather singular appearance. While considerably below Grand
Cairo, we had a view of the pyramids. Their tapering points ran high
in the air, and broke the smooth outline of our southern horizon.
Grand Cairo stands on the western bank of the Nile, and at the
distance of above a mile from the river. One of its large suburbs,
called Bulack, is on the river, and may be considered its port.
There the boats lie, and there much of the business of the town
is transacted. For several miles before we reached Cairo, we were
passing gardens and country-houses, some of which are of a superior
kind. Cairo is rather an assemblage of towns than one great and
continuous city; its parts lie contiguous to each other, as chance
and caprice may have decided. Close to the south-east side of it a
range of hills rises, the first and almost the only hills that we
saw in Egypt--those back of the pyramids of Gheza excepted--on a
part of these hills the citadel is situate, which commands the city,
and is a place of considerable strength.
Between the town and the river there lies a large open
space--immense piles of rubbish disfigured some parts of it. The
Pasha is making improvements here that will add much to the beauty
of this open space--he is levelling it, and with the rubbish
filling up low places, and making wide, elevated roads across it
in various directions, and having it planted with trees. A large
canal crossed this place; many people were employed in cleaning it
out, and putting it in order to receive the waters from the Nile.
There is also within the city, and before the palace, an open space
of considerable size, which has lately had much labour bestowed
on it. Elevated roads or causeways are made round it and through
it, and their edges set with trees, which give the whole a pretty
appearance. The water from the Nile, when at its height, is let into
this square; but the elevated parts are designed to be above the
waters, and afford pleasant walks for the idlers and loungers, which
are found even in Egypt.
The pyramids, so much talked of, lie near Grand Cairo, and it would
have argued a great want of curiosity not to have visited them when
so near. A few days ago, we made a visit to those of Gheza, which
lie on the west side of the Nile, and in full view of the city. We
set off about six in the morning, and rode up the river to the upper
part of old Cairo; this took us about an hour. We then crossed the
Nile in boats, to a small old village called Gheza, which gives its
name to this cluster of pyramids. We then had the wide river bottom
of the Nile to cross; this took us about two hours. The river being
low, there was no water in the several deep and wide canals that
pass through this river bottom, and we were able to cross them. This
shortened our ride much. We passed several remains of villages on
this plain. As we drew near the last village, which seemed little
better than a pile of ruins, several Bedouin Arabs came out, with
nothing but a long shirt on, and ran as hard as they could until
they met us, and urged us to employ them as our guides. It now
appeared, that it was a race among themselves, on the plan that
those who first reached us, were considered as having the right to
be employed as a guide and get the pay. As we had a cawass with us,
whom we brought from Cairo to manage all such matters, and among
other things to save us from the annoyance which these Bedouins at
times give travellers, we left it for him to make such a bargain
with them as he thought best. He engaged one or two, and let the
remainder know that we did not need their aid. We saw, at a distance
on our right, a line of arches on the plain, and a bridge-like place
over them, the uses of which we could not ascertain.
The pyramids stand on the first rise after leaving the river flats.
The ridge of that place may be from one hundred and fifty to two
hundred feet. The ground on which the large one stands (the Cheops)
is nearly level. The pyramid is square, and stands to the four
cardinal points. Each side, its base is said to be seven hundred
feet, while its height is only six hundred. It seems to be a solid
mass of rock, excepting the small rooms which I shall presently
mention. The plan on which it is built is singular. A large platform
is laid down, seven hundred feet square--this is the first row;
the stone is nearly three feet in thickness. A second row is laid
on of a similar size. This row is not laid out to the edge of the
other, but falls back all round about eighteen inches. The third
and fourth and following rows are laid in the same manner--forming
stairs. There are about two hundred rows of stones, which average
nearly three feet in thickness, and terminate in a small flat at
the top of about thirty feet square. The ascent is usually made at
the north-east corner. About half-way up there is a small room,
which seems designed as a resting place. There have evidently been
some stones thrown from the top, a part of one row being left, and
possibly one stone of a second row at the south-east corner. It
took me not quite half an hour to ascend; this included the several
stops in order to rest. From the top I had a most splendid view,
as to space--Grand Cairo and all the villages and gardens about
it; the valley of the Nile far to the north; the several groups
of pyramids, and the palm trees that lay to the south, and in the
region of ancient Memphis. The descent required about as much time,
but was attended with less difficulty than the ascent. The whole,
with the time spent on the top, occupied about an hour, and did not
seem to have half the peril or labour that some have represented.
The entrance to the interior is on the north side. We went to the
mouth and examined it, but, on the whole, concluded we would not go
in; the descent is long, and nothing to be seen within, but one or
two empty rooms. While the rocks of which the pyramids are built,
are limestone of the secondary formation, as is manifest from the
shells in it, the passage is lined with polished Egyptian granite;
the same is said to be the case with the rooms. The entrance of the
passage may be fifty feet above the ground, but it descends as one
enters.
A little to the south-west is a second pyramid, nearly as large
as that of Cheops. It is sharp at the top, and cannot, with ease,
be ascended. To the south is a small one. There were in all
directions tombs, many of them of most enormous size. The pyramids
are in the midst of a large grave-yard. We went up the hill to the
north-west some distance, and visited several rooms that were full
of hieroglyphics. Passing round the southern side of the pyramids,
we examined several places where excavations had recently been
made. Some old monuments, that had been covered with sand, were
laid bare; and, from the bottom of some deep well-like places,
several most beautiful sarcophagi had been raised--two of black
porphyry, beautifully polished, and covered with hieroglyphics, lay
on the ground; others had probably been removed. We then visited
the Sphynx, and took our lunch under the shade of its head. It has
a lion's body, in a couching posture, with the head and face of a
Nubian female, and is of most enormous dimensions. The head about
ten feet in diameter. The height from the ground, and the length
of the body, in proportion. It is hewn out of a rock, which is
the soft limestone, and has much disintegrated; the features are
much injured. The back is almost wholly covered with sand, which
has blown in from the desert. As we crossed the low grounds to the
river, on our return, we had a fine specimen of that wonderful
phenomenon called the mirage. From some cause, the air near the
ground assumes the appearance of water; the similarity is such, that
persons are often deceived, and are confident that it is water,
when seen at a little distance. We had crossed the plain about
nine or ten o'clock A.M., and there was no appearance of water;
but now, between one and two P.M., there were many places, at some
distance, that had the precise appearance of water. In some cases,
the spots that had this appearance were but a few inches, or one or
two feet in width, and looked precisely like puddles of water after
a rain: at other places whole acres seemed covered with water, and
on several occasions, it was round the roots of trees; which seemed
growing out of it. I had, on one or two occasions, seen the same as
I came up the Nile. At a considerable village on the western side
of the river, just below where the sands come in so near the river,
our boat stopped, and while the captain and part of the crew went
into the village, I ascended the bank, and walked to a place at a
little distance that was more elevated than the other parts of the
plain. It gave me a fine view of the face of the country; but I was
surprised to see, towards the north-west, an extensive portion,
as far as the eye could reach, that appeared a lake of water. In
several places there were clusters of palms growing out of it. I had
not seen on any map a lake marked in that place, nor had I heard of
any such thing. I wondered if it could be the mirage; the appearance
was so perfectly like water, that it was hard to believe it could
be anything else. On returning to the bank, I inquired of some one
if it was water that I had seen, and was assured that there was no
water in that direction, but that it was a curious appearance in
the air. I will leave it to the philosopher to explain this matter.
The ruins of what is said to be ancient Heliopolis lie but a short
distance from Cairo; we did not, however, visit them; the remains
above ground are so few, as hardly to repay the trouble of a ride to
them. The sandy deserts are to the east and south of Cairo, and the
whole way from that city to Suez on the Red Sea, a distance of about
sixty miles, is a cheerless waste of barren sand. The remains of an
old canal can be traced, it is said, most of the way from the Nile,
a little south of Cairo, to Suez, and it is supposed that it might
be reopened. Much has lately been said about the Pasha's making a
railroad from Cairo to that point, and I was assured some materials
for that purpose were brought from England; but nothing as yet has
been done, and probably years will pass before the plan is carried
into effect.
We had several pleasant interviews with the mission families at
Cairo; less, however, than we had hoped, and would have had, but
for the sickness of some of their number. They are mostly Germans,
in the employ of the Church Missionary Society. Their attention is
principally, but not exclusively, directed to the Christian sects
in the country. Miss H. has lately, at the special invitation of
the Pasha, opened a school in the harem, and is giving instruction
to the females of the Pasha's family. Thus far it has been well
received; what may be its result, time alone will show. About the
time we reached Cairo, several of the missionaries of the Church
Missionary Society, who had for some years been labouring in
Abyssinia, returned from that country. Some difficulty had arisen,
growing out of the intrigues of persons unfriendly to them, which
made it advisable for them, for a time at least, to leave that
country. It was hoped that before long they would be able to return
and resume their labours.
The Pasha has a number of schools at this place, and various
manufactories and establishments, which no doubt are doing good.
Whether the good will equal what has been expected from them, may
be doubted. His improvements and innovations are certainly tending
to produce changes in the Moslem manners, habits, and modes of
thinking, which will in part remove the obstacles in the way of
introducing the gospel among them; "but he meaneth not so, neither
does his heart think so." While the great body of the Egyptians
are Moslems, there are a number of the Christian sects to be found
here--as the Armenians, Greeks, Copts, Latins, and perhaps some
others. The state of all these sects is much like what it is through
the East--the life and power of the gospel is not known. The Church
Missionary Society have for many years maintained a mission at
Grand Cairo; they have distributed the Scriptures and other books,
published at their mission press at Malta--conducted schools--talked
and preached to the people. Their success has been but moderate. At
present, their schools are in a pretty prosperous condition, and
their field of usefulness seems more encouraging.
Grand Cairo is much the largest town in Egypt, but its precise
population is not known. A fire broke out in the Frank quarter, (the
place where most of the Franks live,) a few days before we arrived,
and destroyed several hundred houses and much property.
The Copts have a curious custom about making their Patriarch. He is
always taken from a particular monastic establishment. When chosen,
he refuses to serve, and they literally beat him until he gives his
consent. The Abyssinians receive their Patriarch from Egypt; and
after having been chosen, and even gone into Abyssinia, he will
refuse to serve, and deny that he is the person sent to be their
Patriarch, until they give him a sound drubbing, when he will agree
to receive the office. There is a strange mixture of childish folly
and weakness in such a practice.
I was much struck with the immense numbers of water-carriers,
employed in bringing water from the Nile; some to deal out to
individuals by the cupful, some to sell to families by the load, and
others to water the streets before the houses of their employers.
There were hundreds, and possibly thousands, thus employed. The
common goat-skins, taken off nearly whole, and sewed up, excepting
a small place, was the usual vessel. This they generally carried
on their backs, but some used donkeys, and others had camels, with
enormous leather bags, made much like saddle-bags, that would carry
a barrel or more of water.
The range of the thermometer at Alexandria was from 74° to 76°.
There was great uniformity, except when a sherack prevailed, which
raised it several degrees. We had one while in the lazaretta,
which covered us with dust, and increased the heat six or eight
degrees; it did not last long. As we ascended the river, there was
a considerable rise of the thermometer; and at this place it stands
from 92° to 94°; and it is not so warm now, I am told, as is usual
at this season.