el Uali_, _Osman Bey Hassan_, and another, whose name I did not
learn. They are very poor and dejected, in consequence of their
long exclusion from the government. Hassan Bey has about thirty
Mamlûks with him; the rest only eight or ten each. Their whole
revenues are drawn from the country near Isna and Assuân, which
is but unproductive. Passed one night at Isna, and thence proceeded
towards _Edfû_.
The people here have a superstition concerning crocodiles similar to
that entertained in the West Indies; they say there is a king of them,
who resides near Isna, and who has ears, but no tail; and he possesses
an uncommon regal quality, that of doing no harm (“the king can do
no wrong”). Some are bold enough to assert that they have seen him.
28th Oct. Near a village called Hillal, observed reliques of an
antient town; part of two small Egyptian temples, and a statue of
less than the human size, in a kneeling posture, but broken off
above the knees; the feet and legs remaining entire. The place has
been surrounded by a thick wall of unburned brick, but of what date
it is now impossible to determine.
The following day, a little shower fell in the morning; the only
instance I met with of rain in Upper Egypt. Arrived at Edfû, and
inspected a gate or portico, and a small Egyptian temple adjoining.
30th. Passed by _Gebel-el-Silsili_, the chained mountain, where,
in antient times, a chain was passed across the Nile. Here are some
sculptures in the rock, which is of hard free-stone, not of granite,
as Norden mentions by mistake.
Same day sailed by _Kûm-Ombû_, literally the heap or ruins of
Ombos. Saw there the temple described by the traveller just mentioned.
On the following day arrived at _Assuân_, the antient Syene. The
remains of antiquity are here few, and some seem rather of Roman
than Egyptian fabric. Even the modern town is almost in ruins, and
contains very few houses and inhabitants; it is chiefly supported by
a small duty upon dates, passing from Ibrîm to Kahira. Near Assûan
may be still seen the tombs of the Mamlûks who fled from Selim on
his invasion of Egypt. They are now very ruinous.
Some remains of antiquity are yet visible in the isle opposite Syene,
antiently called Elephantine[25]. The Arabs use one as an inclosure
for cattle. A statue of granite also appears, holding a lituus in
each hand. It is remarkable that many of the present inhabitants of
this island have the negro countenance, hair, and person.
About three hours walk from Assûan is the _cataract_, in Ar. _Shelal_,
more properly _rapides_, being merely an easy descent of the river among
numerous isles and rocks of granite, which obstruct the current. Far from
deafening the spectator, the noise is hardly audible.
Near the cataract I observed some black rocks; but whether of
basaltes, or any other substance, the distance prevented me from
distinguishing. It is well known that many of the antient statues
and engraved stones found in Egypt are of that material, but it is
believed to have been drawn from Abyssinia. I observed no quarries of
basaltes either in Egypt or the other parts of Africa which I visited.
At Assûan I remained three days, contriving, if possible, to pursue
my route up the Nile. But a war having arisen between the Mamlûks
of Upper Egypt and the Cashef of Ibrîm, no one was suffered to pass
from Egypt to Nubia. The caravans had all been stopped for many
months, and not even a camel could be procured. At Kahira I could
attain no previous knowlege of this war having originated with the
fugitive Beys.
With deep regret for the disappointment in my earnest wish of
proceeding to Abyssinia by this route, I was constrained to abandon
all hope for that season, and to think of returning.
Left Assûan the 4th of November 1792, and proceeding rapidly down
the Nile, arrived at Ghenné on the 7th.
CHAP. X.
JOURNEY TO COSSÎR ON THE RED SEA.
_Inducements and danger — Route — Account of Cossîr — Commerce
— Return by another route — Granite rocks and antient road —
Marble quarries — Pretended canal — Earthen ware of Ghenné —
Murder of two Greeks, and subsequent report of the writer’s death._
Arriving on my return at Ghenné (غنه), I could not resist the
impulse of curiosity excited by the late descriptions of curious
marbles, &c. which had been found in that route. It was not difficult
to find the means of passing, though the Bedouins then infested the
road; but I determined to take nothing that could be of importance to
lose, not intending to stay long at Cossîr. For which indeed there
was another motive—An English vessel, commanded, as was said,
by a Captain Mitchell, having three or four years before moored
there, a quarrel had arisen between them and the natives about
a supply of water, which is a commodity furnished at Cossîr not
without extreme difficulty. From a violent contention blows ensued,
and the Captain thought himself justified in firing on the town: in
consequence several individuals were killed, it is said there that
they amounted to fourteen, and much damage done. The natives were
exceedingly exasperated, and swore to sacrifice the first Englishman
that should fall into their hands. I however conceived it possible
to pass undiscovered; and so in fact it happened. Having agreed with
an Arab for two dromedaries and a man, also mounted on a dromedary,
for all which I was to pay fifteen mahbûbs, I left Ghenné at one
in the morning of 8th November 1792, and travelling diligently,
arrived at Cossîr on the 11th before sun-rise. We took the most
northern route, which is not that apparently which Bruce travelled,
(and which seems to be the longest by two or three hours,) as being
the least frequented by robbers. Our course on the first day occupied
twelve hours, the second fifteen, and the third thirteen hours; in
all about forty hours. The principal inhabitants of Cossîr came
successively to compliment us on our arrival. They all scanned me with
an eye of suspicion, and the more so as I could not yet speak the Arabic
fluently. But none so much as an old Sherîf, a considerable man in the
place, who having travelled to Mecca, Constantinople, Bakdad, and other
parts of the Turkish empire, had become acquainted with the various
orders of men, and acquired an intuitive discrimination of character
which very few in that country possess. After the common salutations had
passed, “Are you not a Frank?” said he.—“No,” replied I.—“But of Frank
origin?”—“No,” said I, “I am a Georgian by birth, but have passed so
short a time in Constantinople, that I believe I cannot speak Turkish
much better than I do Arabic;” (for I knew he spoke a little, and was
beginning to address me in that language.) My servant then joined the
conversation, and I escaped discovery. The dress, and apparently the
language of the people of Cossîr, approach more to those of the Eastern
shore of the Arabian gulph, than to those of the Egyptians. They are
armed with the _Jembîa_, a crooked knife, often not less than a yard
long, and commonly a lance. Indeed they altogether appear rather
settlers from the opposite shore than native Egyptians. The commerce in
coffee here is not inconsiderable. Formerly all Upper Egypt was supplied
with coffee by way of Suez and Kahira, but the Beys having laid a very
heavy duty on that commodity, the inhabitants began to import from
Cossîr for themselves, whence they are now supplied with the best
coffee, and at a cheaper rate than from Suez. The town is provided
with excellent fish, and pepper and other spices are brought there
free of duty. Some Abyssinian slaves, transported from Jidda, are
landed there and carried to Kahira, but in very small number. While
I was there, a beautiful girl, of about fifteen, was sold for an
hundred mahbûbs, or about 30l. sterling. There is no plenty of
provisions at Cossîr, there being no cultivable land near the
town. Even the butter they use there is brought from Arabia. The
only good water they have is supplied by the Bedouins from Terfowi,
which is at the distance of three hours. If any quarrel ensue with
them about the price, the town is compelled to use brackish water. We
paid twenty-five medines for the _ghirbé_ of fresh water. I observed
but two vessels lying in the road, and these were lately arrived from
Jidda. The houses in Cossîr are built of clay, and the number of
inhabitants settled there is very small, though the strangers, who
are continually passing and repassing, augment them prodigiously. I
could observe no remain of antiquity within the limits of Cossîr,
and it was not then possible to stray to a distance from it. Finding
the resentment of the people as strong as ever against the Franks,
in consequence of what had happened between them and the English
vessel in 1786, I thought it most advisable to hasten my departure,
though otherwise inclined to have made some excursions by sea,
as to the emerald mine, _maadden ezzummerud_, &c.
13th Nov. at 7½ hours A.M. we left Cossîr, and proceeding by
the strait road, apparently that which Bruce travelled, on the
15th, about five P.M. arrived at the village called Bîr-Ambar,
having met a caravan coming from Ghenné the second day on the
road. The morning of the 16th at sun-rise we proceeded to Ghenné,
which is distant about three hours, having slept at Bîr-Ambar in
the house of a villager, who was very civil and hospitable. There
was an officer at Cossîr, who belonged to the Cashef of Kenné,
but he seemed to have very little authority with the people, being
there only to collect the customs.
The road we travelled in going to Cossîr, as well as that we took
in returning, have both something in them very remarkable. The rough
and lofty rocks of granite and porphyry with which it is on all
sides environed have a magnificent and terrific appearance; and the
road between them, which is almost level throughout, gives the idea
of immense labour in cutting it. All these circumstances concur in
testifying the importance Cossîr must once have had as a port. In
the route we took in going, at certain distances on the highest
rocks is observable a succession of small structures, formed with
uncemented stones, and which, by the marks of fire within them, seem
to have served as signals. These are numerous, but they are too rude
to enable one to fix any time for their erection. They appear to me
to be pretty antient. The red granite is in vast quantities, and the
chain of rocks consisting of that substance appears to extend itself
in a North and South direction. Huge rocks of porphyry, both red and
green, are distinguishable, and, as appears, more of it in the road
we pursued in going, than in that by which we returned. I observed
veins of alabaster in both, but particularly in returning. The _verde
antico_ it was long before I could discover; at length I found it,
in returning, by the signs Bruce had described. In short, this route
unfolds a treasure of marbles that astonishes the beholder, and
demonstrates, that on any future occasion the quarries may be again
wrought, and modern architecture equal that of the best ages of Greece
or Rome as to richness and durability of ornament, if ever it shall
in justness of proportion, simplicity of taste, or unity of parts
in one sublime whole, which indeed seems sufficiently problematical.
The immense excavations in these rocks, which greatly contribute
in many places to facilitate the road, are abundantly sufficient
to supply any quantity of these marbles that is any where known
to exist. And it was more convenient to bring them thence, than
from any other part of Egypt, to the Southward, or by a long land
carriage from Arabia Petræa and the neighbourhood of Mount Sinai:
yet, as the stones were to be carried some way by land, perhaps
a day’s journey at least, it was necessary to have a road more
level and easy, than could have been required for the passage of
less ponderous and cumbrous materials. Whether observation of the
fact, without reflecting enough on the probable cause, might have
given rise to the report respecting a canal communicating in this
quarter between the Nile and the Arabian gulf, or whether it was
the effect of misunderstanding the antient writers on the subject,
is unimportant; such an idea has prevailed, and it is countenanced by
some intelligent authors. In frequenting the places, and not wholly
unimpressed by this thought, I have never yet been able to persuade
myself that such a canal had existed, or could have been formed. There
are no marks, in either of the roads I passed, of water having ever
flowed there, and the level of the road, after leaving the river,
is much higher than that of the river itself. But the level of the
river is certainly not lower than in former ages, and the water,
if ever it flowed there, must have flowed from the Nile to the sea,
and not from the sea to the Nile.—The conclusion is obvious.
The coloquintida, cœlocynth, abounds near _Bîrambar_, and between
it and Ghenné. The natives scarcely think it worth gathering,
so low is the price in Kahira. At Ghenné is a manufactory of the
best _bardaks_, _kullé_, earthen bottles, and jugs for water. They
are made of a fine blue or bluish white clay; very thin and light,
not too much baked, of a pretty shape and convenient size. Something
of the same kind is made in other places, but none so much esteemed
as those of Ghenné. The fabric is in few hands, but great numbers
are made. They sell for double the price at Kahira which they fetch
here. Large jars are also constructed, which are called _hamâm_, or
bath. These too are very elegantly formed, and both by filtration
purify and cool the water, in a greater degree than might be
imagined. The people of the country however drink the water that
remains within, not that which has passed through the jar or bottle.
On going to Cossîr, I had sent my baggage forward to Assiût. Nothing
remained therefore but to find a small boat, on my return to Ghenné,
in which to be conveyed to Assiût. This offered itself on the second
day, and two Derwîshes were my companions in that journey, one of
them a very intelligent man. We stopped at all the principal towns,
but without any new occurrence, and reached Assiût on the 21st.
I remained in that city till the 30th, when we set sail for Kahira, or
rather trusted ourselves to the current, the wind blowing constantly
from North-west. I stopped a night at Benesoef, intending to have
passed thence to Feiume: but finding it not easy to meet with a
conveyance, declined that journey, and arrived in Kahira on the 8th
of December.
The wind, which was high during our excursion to Cossîr, and
afterwards on the Nile, contained such penetrating cold, that, on
coming to Assiût, I found myself affected strongly with a fever. A
large dose of James’s powder however removed it.
A short time before my arrival at Ghenné, two Greeks, who were
going to seek their fortune, as they reported, in Habbesh, came
to Kous. The one had a small supply of money, of which the other
was destitute—Words arose between them, and some good friend
advised them to have recourse to the Cashef of the place to settle
their difference. This officer, who was a young man, and noted for
the violence of his character, heard their respective narratives,
and then, finding that money was the cause of their disagreement,
terminated the hopes of the one, and the fears of the other, by an
order for the instant death of both.
The report, in reaching Kahira, was charged with various circumstances
of aggravation, and even the persons of the sufferers were changed. It
was there said, that the Frank who was in Saïd was one of the two
massacred, and the Cashef’s master was among the number of those who
had been deceived. _Keid Aga_, in whose department Kous was situated,
sent word of this event, accompanied with a suitable comment, and,
as was said, an offer of any reasonable reparation, to the Austrian
Consul, the only one resident in Kahira. The latter had forwarded
it to the British Consul at Alexandria, when I arrived at Kahira
in time personally to contradict it. The death of the two Greeks,
it was said, remained unnoticed.
CHAP. XI.
OCCURRENCES AT KAHIRA.
_Arrival of the Pasha — Death of Hassan Bey — Decline of the
French factory in Kahira — Expulsion of the Maronite Christians
from the Custom-house — Riot among the Galiongîs — Obstruction
of the canal of Menûf — Supply of fish in the pools of Kahira
— Expedition of Achmet Aga, &c._
On the 13th October 1796, the newly-appointed Pasha made his entrance
into the city, in a manner more public than has been usual for some
years. His name is Bekîr: he is a Pasha of three _tôk_ or tails,
and was formerly Grand Wizîr. The procession consisted of, first,
the great officers of the city, and among them the Janizary aga, then
some bostangîs, two and two. Several of the Beys, superbly mounted,
two and two, preceded and followed by a body of Mamlûks. Twelve
fine led horses, richly caparisoned. The band of music belonging to
the Pasha. The tails, the officers and servants of his house-hold;
and lastly, the Pasha himself.
Neither Ibrahim nor Murad Bey was present. They both afterwards
made their visit of ceremony, when, as usual, nothing remarkable
passed. After a convenient interval, Bekîr Pasha sent to the
_Shech-el-Belad_ and _Defterdâr_, desiring them to meet him
to consider of providing the usual Chasné for Constantinople,
which he said for some time had been greatly in arrear. The former
replied, that all which related to the public revenue was under the
management of his brother Murad; and that he (Ibrahim) only concerned
himself with the city, and its internal government. The latter gave
for answer, that he had long since turned his attention from public
affairs to his personal ease and security; that he was now poor, and
become a farmer, cultivating wheat and beans. He contented himself
with referring the Pasha to the younger Beys, who, he said, shared
between them all the public authority. The next message was directed
to Mohammed Bey Elfi, Ibrahim Bey el Sogheir, and other of the younger
Senjiaks. They replied, that if the Pasha sought for money, all their
treasures were buried in _Kara-meidân_[26], and he had nothing more
to do than to meet them there, to become possessed of a part of them.
The Mamlûks commonly exercise on Monday and Friday in each week, at
a place called Mustabé, between Kahira and Misr-el-attiké. Here
they shoot at a mark, and throw the _jerîd_. The Beys are
often spectators, and sometimes actors. It was on one of these
occasions that Hassan Bey, who had been formerly a slave of Ibrahim
_Shech-el-Belad_, and in whom the latter placed much confidence, being
present, a mamlûk of his train, having attempted to discharge his
fusil, which missed fire, threw it on his shoulder, and rode off, to
make way for others. In passing the Bey, the powder, which was damp,
having taken fire, the piece went off, and lodged the contents in the
breast of the Bey. He fell, and immediately expired. The slave fled,
but it was not supposed any notice would be taken of what was merely
accidental, however unfortunate. To fill up the number, Murzûk,
son of Ibrahim Bey, was promoted by his father’s interest.
Even as far back as the period of my arrival in Egypt, the French
nation complained loudly of the treatment it received from the
Beys. Forty or fifty days scarcely elapsed without some new demand
for money, which it was understood was never likely to be repaid. Add
to this, their commerce was daily decreasing, and no fixed tarif
had they been able to establish with the farmer of the customs,
for the reception of their goods.
When the war commenced, a consul was newly arrived at Alexandria,
and he came to Kahira; but it was to little purpose that he fixed
himself there for the protection of trade, when the thoughts of the
French government were engrossed by other objects, and they could
neither support nor supply their factories.
Affairs continued nearly in the same state till this time, Nov. 1796,
when the Consul, _Magallon_, has obtained leave from his government
to quit Kahira, and to reside entirely at Alexandria, which is
obviously a place of greater security, and more prompt escape,
if they have any shipping in the port. The merchants must indeed
divide their profits with their agents in Kahira, but in all other
respects have ameliorated their condition. At this time there remain
only three French commercial houses in Kahira, and a physician. The
remainder of the nation is at Alexandria, to the amount perhaps of
ten or twelve families.
Nov. 1796. A change has lately taken place in the custom-house here,
and at Alexandria and Damiatt, with which the Christians are much
displeased. The duties for many years had been farmed to Jews,
whose gains and sufferings were both in the extreme. During the
last twenty years they have been in the hands of Damascene or other
Syrian Christians, whose numbers and wealth have in that period
increased. Their mutual jealousies and incessant quarrels were of
great benefit to the ruling Beys, who took care to fleece each party
alternately, and teach them a wisdom by dear-bought experience,
which, however, they were not always able to learn.
Their most solemn asseverations would have led any person uninformed
on the subject to imagine, that their whole nation was continually a
loser by its bargain with the Beys. But their gains were in reality
so vast, that certain secrets, developed by their infidelity to
each other, led Murad Bey, in whose jurisdiction the customs were,
to imagine that the having the collection of them in his own
hands would be a material addition to his revenue. For once his
determination accorded with the public good: the plurality of the
Kahirine merchants being better contented with the new mode than the
old one. The Christians were removed, and spared the sufferings of
which they had long so loudly complained. But how vain are human
wishes! This novel regulation was scarcely put in force, and the
collection of the import and export duties thrown into the hands
of Mohammedans, who were immediately responsible for the receipts
of their office to the Bey, than the Syrian Christians came forward
with very lucrative proposals, if they might be allowed to hope, that
the right of farming the customs would be a second time transferred
to them. Murad, whose intellect is clear, though constitution, past
sufferings, and indifference as to the future, have rendered him
absolutely sensual, whose profuseness had left him no option as to
the means of gain, but who had yet spirit to scorn the baseness of
these parasites, on the offer of some conditional presents of great
value, contumeliously dismissed the deputation from his presence. The
customs therefore continued in the hands of Mohammedans, and the
Christians were reduced to despair.
The Christian merchants of Syria, established here, make such a
prodigal and ostentatious display of wealth, that it lessens our
wonder at the extortions of the Beys. At one of their weddings,
five hundred chickens were served up every day, and other articles
in proportion. This fête lasted ten successive days. The presents to
the singers were said to have amounted to fourteen hundred mahbûbs.
A riot happened between the _Galiongîs_, or sailors, (mostly
Christians,) belonging to Murad Bey, and the Mamlûks. Murad had
dismissed a naval officer, beloved by the Galiongîs, and their
discontent joined with the constant jealousy of the Mamlûks to
create a disturbance, in which about seventy lives were lost, and
the city was shut up for several days.
Nov. 1796. The waters of the Nile having almost abandoned the Eastern
branch, which leads to Damiatt, pursuing the more direct course
of the canal of Menûf, after a neglect of many years, it became
necessary to apply a remedy. Accordingly, Murad Bey commanded his
engineer, Achmed, to undertake this duty. After encountering some
difficulties, the purpose was at length effected by driving piles,
and the river resumed its former course.