As one goes up the river visiting these strange monuments, he finds at
the first cataract of the Nile an imposing object of modern interest.
This is the dam at Assouan, one of the greatest feats of engineering in
the world. The dam, which was completed in 1902, is a mile and a quarter
long. It holds back the waters of the Nile, and supplies the reservoir,
from which the waters are led into irrigation canals. The benefits of
this great dam are felt from its location at the first cataract all
through the farms and fields that skirt the Nile clear to the delta, six
hundred miles below. It has made acres fertile that had been barren.
It also, of course, has relieved the burden of the poor workmen at the
shadoofs who dipped water for irrigation. Moreover, the dam has improved
the conditions of transportation on the Nile; for it has disposed of
the first cataract, where boats formerly had to be pulled through the
rapids by men. Now the vessels go into a canal, and are conveniently and
promptly lifted up through four locks to the level of the upper Nile.
The visitor should not leave Egypt till he has seen Philæ, with its
beautiful temples, ruined walls, and colonnades. It is a sight for
artists to draw and for us to dream of,--Philæ apparently afloat; for now
the Nile water has penetrated the halls of its temples and surrounded its
beautiful columns.
On returning from the upper Nile a visitor should go to the new National
Museum at Cairo. He may have visited this interesting place before he
took the Nile trip; but he will know more on his return. The valuable
collection of Egyptian antiquities there in the museum will mean more
to him. Months could be spent with profit in this building. It contains
one of the richest and most interesting collections of historic remains
in the world--the result of years of exploration, excavation, and the
intelligent study of eminent scholars. There before you are the relics of
ancient Egypt. There are the statues, mummies, and other antiquities that
the government has collected. In them you may read the history of ancient
Egypt and learn to appreciate the life, literature, and art of Pharaoh's
time.
[Illustration: THE ISLAND OF PHILÆ
This picture shows the beauty of Philæ before the waters of the Nile rose
about it. Since the building of the great dam at Assouan the temples of
Philæ are half under water.]
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SUPPLEMENTARY READING.--"Modern Egypt and Thebes," Sir Gardiner
Wilkinson; "A Thousand Miles Up the Nile," A. B. Edwards; "Egypt," S.
Lane-Poole; "A History of Egypt from the Earliest Times to the Persian
Conquest," J. H. Breasted; "A Short History of Ancient Egypt," P. E.
Newberry and J. Garstang; "The Empire of the Ptolemies," J. P. Mahaffy;
"Egypt in the Nineteenth Century," D. A. Cameron; "Modern Egypt," Lord
Cromer.
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