nations are less familiar: yet it would appear, that this usage
is more evidently founded on physical causes, and is more clearly a
matter of convenience, than the circumcision of males, as it seems not
to have been ordained by the precept of any inspired legislator. A
practice so widely diffused, it may be said, was hardly invented
but to remedy some inconvenience commensurate in its extent. But,
if so, how happens it that one race of idolatrous negroes, near
Fûr, has a habit of extracting two or more of the front teeth of
children before puberty? That it is customary with another race,
in the same quarter, to file the teeth to a point[52]? that other
nations cut open a second mouth? and innumerable other singularities
which prevail among savages, and are as little to be reduced to any
principle of convenience or utility.
This excision is termed in Arabic _Chafadh_ خفض, and the person
who performs it خافضة. It consists in cutting off the clitoris
a little before the period of puberty, or at about the age of eight
or nine years[53].
Strabo is apparently the first who mentions this custom, which is
nevertheless undoubtedly very antient. Lib. xvii.
—και τα παιδια περιτεμνειν, και τα θηλεα εκτεμνειν, &c.
By the terms very well marking the distinction between this operation
and the circumcision of males.
The Mohammedans of Egypt conceive it to have no connexion with their
religious creed. Similar are said to be the sentiments of the Christians
of Habbesh. In Dar-Fûr many women, particularly among the Arabs, never
undergo excision: yet it has not been my fate to see or hear of any of
those κλειτοριδες μεγαλαι which are supposed to have brought it into
vogue.
Thirteen or fourteen young females underwent خفض in an house where
I was. It was performed by a woman, and some of them complained
much of the pain, both at and after it. They were prevented from
locomotion, but permitted to eat meat. The parts were washed every
twelve hours with warm water, which profuse suppuration rendered
necessary. At the end of eight days the greater part were in a
condition to walk, and liberated from their confinement. Three or
four of them remained under restraint till the thirteenth day.
It often happens that another operation accompanies that of excision,
which is not, like the latter, practised in Egypt, viz. producing
an artificial impediment to the vagina, with a view to prevent
coition. This happens most frequently in the case of slaves, whose
value would be diminished by impregnation, or even by the necessary
result of coition, though unaccompanied by conception. But it is also
adopted towards girls who are free; the impulse being too strong
to be counteracted by any less firm impediment. This operation,
like the former, is performed at all ages from eight to sixteen,
but commonly from eleven to twelve; nor are they who undergo it
always virgins. In some the parts are more easily formed to cohere
than in others. There are cases in which the barrier becomes so firm,
that the embrace cannot be received but by the previous application
of a sharp instrument[54].
Among some tribes of blacks, there exists a practice of piercing the
skin in certain forms by way of ornament.—Each of the punctures
leaves an indelible scar, as distinctive as colour, which is not
used. This practice, which is of the same description as that of
some of the South-sea islands, is used on the face, breast, loins, &c.
The blacks who are castrated for the use of Kahira or Constantinople,
undergo that operation in the Upper Egypt, before their arrival at
the former; some families, there resident, having the hereditary
exercise of this antient practice.
The numbers which undergo it are not very considerable, and it is
fatal only to a very small proportion of them.
Those slaves which are emasculated for the exclusive use of the
Fûrian monarch suffer within his palace.
CHAP. XXII.
FINAL DEPARTURE FROM KAHIRA, AND JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM.
_Voyage down the Nile to Damiatt — Vegetation — Papyrus —
Commerce — Cruelty of the Mamlûk government — Voyage to Yaffé
— Description of Yaffé — Rama — Jerusalem — Mendicants —
Tombs of the kings — Bethlehem — Agriculture — Naplosa —
Samaria — Mount Tabor._
Having engaged a _canjia_, or small boat, to sail down the Nile from
Kahira to Damiatt, I departed on Friday the 2d of December 1796. No
occurrences worthy of particular commemoration happened during this
little voyage, but we passed several towns of considerable note,
among which may be mentioned Mansûra, remarkable for the defeat
of St. Louis; a circumstance preserved in the name which denotes,
_The place of victory_. Its condition is flourishing, owing to its
being a station on the road between Kahira and Damiatt; and it was
then governed by a Cashef deputed by Ibrahim Bey. The mosques amount
to seven, which is the only circumstance I can offer relative to
its population, my stay there having been only for a few hours.
Sifté and Miet Ghrammer are on the same route, about half way
between Kahira and Mansûra, and situated on opposite banks of the
Nile. Both are towns of the second order, and abounding with people,
chiefly Mohammedans, very few Copts residing there. The river is here
narrow but deep, not exceeding three hundred yards in breadth; and it
may not be improper to remark in general concerning that celebrated
stream, that its greatest breadth, when free from inundation, may be
estimated at seven hundred yards, or something more than one third
of a mile. Where narrowest, the distance between the banks may be
one hundred yards. The depth from three to twenty-four feet.
That channel of the Nile which extends from Kahira to Damiatt is
in general free from windings, and is interspersed with a few small
islands.
There are several populous towns in the Delta, of which Mehallé-el-Kebîr
is the chief. In point of population it is said to be equal to Damiatt.
The next in consideration are probably Semmenûd and Menûf.
To form a general idea of the Delta, the reader may conceive a
vast plain, intersected in all directions, by minute channels,
(the canal of Menûf being almost the only important stream,) by
which and by pumps the interstices are watered, and brought to the
utmost fertility. As to real inundation on the rise of the Nile, that
must be regarded as confined to a small space bordering on the sea.
On the 5th of the same month I arrived at Damiatt. This noted port
presents an agreeable aspect on the first approach from the South,
the town being built somewhat in the form of a crescent on a gentle
bend of the river, and being surrounded with cultivated lands,
which extend to the large lake called Manzalé. The distance from
the sea is about six miles, and there is a bar across the Nile,
so that vessels are obliged to have part of their cargo sent after
them in small boats, and put on board after they have past the bar.
Damiatt is blessed with a soil almost unrivalled, and exuberant
in orange and lemon trees, and other rich vegetation of the East,
which would present an appearance very striking to a traveller
accustomed to an English winter. Nor were my emotions unpleasant
at here beholding, for the first time, the celebrated _Papyrus_,
pushing its green spikes through the mud of the adjacent ditches[55].
This plant formerly abounded so much in the vicinity of Damiatt,
that it was profaned, so to speak, in the fabrication of sleeping
mats, which were transported to different parts of Lower Egypt. But
of late years, by the sacred ignorance and supine neglect of
the Mamlûks, who regard themselves as merely tenants for life,
and delapidate at will this noble domain, the channel of the Nile,
which ought to flow to Damiatt, pursuing the straiter course offered
to it by the canal of Menûf, deserted its bed, and left access to
the sea-water. Hence the plants of papyrus, as well as the other
vegetables, were deprived of the prolific influence of the Nile,
and expired in the noxious effluvia of a marine marsh. I was told by
an European there, who had resided between thirty and forty years,
that the papyrus used to attain the height of eight, nine, or more
feet. The stem was about an inch or more in diameter; and of such
substance as to serve my informer and his son for walking-sticks.
The gardens of Damiatt contain some mulberry trees and plantains. The
_Tethymalus_, wart-weed, is found there in great quantity. Scammony
is not uncommon. The East side of the river, from Damiatt to the
North extremity of the coast, consists of sand hills, and most part
of the way is lined with reeds.
Among the crops of Lower Egypt in particular must not be forgotten
the Lucerne, _Birsîm_, which grows with surprising luxuriance.
Damiatt is vivified by a considerable trade, being the depôt
between Egypt and Syria, and the mart of all the productions of the
Delta; exporting particularly rice and flax to Syria, and importing
cotton in return, which is manufactured there and in other parts of
Egypt. Its European commerce is very inconsiderable: some Venetian
and Ragusan vessels bring small cargoes of cochineal, and other
commodities. Formerly there were several French merchants, but their
usual misconduct with regard to the sex occasioned their expulsion.
Of an antient round building, called the Tower of St. Louis, which
was standing in Niebuhr’s time, and which till of late existed at
Damiatt, nothing now remains but a piece of brick wall, which was on
the outside of the foss, and of which the mortar is no less hard than
the brick. The remainder of the materials were applied by Mohammed
Bey Abu-dhahab to the structure, which his fear of the Russians
induced him to erect at a great expense, at the extremity of the
shore. It was not sufficient to build this fort on the firm ground,
nearest the mouth of the river; he chose to lay the foundation in
the sand and mud, at the extreme point of land on the eastern side;
and though now from the strength of the foundation a part remains,
much has fallen, and the rest is surrounded by, and under water.
There are two mounts of ruins near the Eastern extremity of the town,
on the most Northern of which is a piece of brick wall remarkably
strong, which is reported to have been part of an ancient castle. From
this elevation is seen the field of battle between the Christians
and Saracens, in which St. Louis was, according to the Arabs, taken
prisoner. It is called the _field of blood_, as the conflict is
represented as having been so obstinate, that the earth and water
were stained with blood for a considerable time after.
There is nothing farther worthy of remark in this town, except
two mosques. One of them is a rich foundation of the same nature
as the _Jama-el-Azher_, which it is said maintains five or six
hundred poor shechs, many of whom are blind or paralytic. The other
is an old and famous mosque, which has been raised, as is said,
on the ruins of a Christian church, part of which is reported to
exist under the building. Even the mosque itself is now deserted,
and in a great measure fallen to ruin; the door which leads to the
passage below is bricked up, so that I could make no observations
on that part. The mosque is spacious, and contains a great number
of marble columns. I observed, however, only one of porphyry,
and one of red granite. The rest are of common blue and white, and
yellow and white marble; one of the latter is reported to have the
virtue of curing the jaundice; and for this purpose the poor people
affected with this disorder scrape it and drink the powder, which
is in such repute that a considerable cavity may be observed in the
column. Another fine porphyry column I was told was lately carried
away by a Mokaddem of the Bey, employed in collecting his rents
here, for the purpose of forming a tomb for himself. The population
of Damiatt may be partly conceived from the number of its mosques,
which are supposed to be fourteen. There is also a Greek convent, in
which strangers are lodged, there being no caravanserai in the place.
The lake _Manzalé_ is of very considerable extent, being somewhat
more than thirty miles in length, and is navigated by a number of
small vessels employed in fishing, and in carrying the people to
and from the islands. The fish called _Bûri_, a kind of mullet,
particularly abounds; it is salted and dried at Damiatt, whence it is
conveyed through the Lower Egypt and Syria, and even to Cyprus. It
affords an insipid and insalubrious meal; yet is much used by
the common people, especially by the Christians in their frequent
fasts. The desert islands interspersed in the lake are haunted by
numbers of aquatic birds, which migrate thither in autumn and winter:
they are ensnared in nets, and furnish a livelihood to many of the
lower class of the people, who sell them in the markets. The water
of this lake is brackish, but not very salt. Where the most easterly
branch of the Nile fell into it, still remain some ruins of the
antient city of Tanis, which I had not an opportunity of visiting.
A circumstance had recently occurred, tending to paint the character
of the people under the Mamlûk government. A Cashef, but not of the
highest order, under Murad Bey, who had been disgraced a short time
before, retired to Damiatt to avoid his master’s anger. He had
not long resided there, when, having heard more favourable tidings,
he made an inquiry for some person, capable of exchanging for him a
sum in Turkish money, for the like in that of Europe current in the
country. Accordingly three Jews were found who promised to supply him
according to his desire. They went round the city, and borrowed much
in addition to what they already possessed, and at length carried to
the Cashef to the amount of between five and six thousand patackes. He
was no sooner furnished with the money, than he directed the Jews
to be murdered, and his boats being ready, caused their bodies to
be packed in baskets, and put into a small boat of his train. He
then set off for Kahira. On arriving at a village a little way up
the river, the baskets were disembarked, and he ordered them to be
safely lodged till further directions should be given. It was some
time before the villagers took notice of the packages, or dared to
open them in the absence of the owner. But at length having observed
a quantity of blood near one of them, and entertaining suspicions,
they opened the three, and news were immediately carried to Damiatt
that the three Jews had been found in this condition. Those under
whose cognizance such accidents are, made a memorial of the whole
affair to Murad Bey. He replied only by loud laughter, saying,
“Are they not three dogs? There is an end of them.”
It must not be omitted that at Damiatt there is a considerable
manufactory of cotton and linen clothes, for the use of the baths
and other domestic purposes.
On the 19th of January 1797, I embarked on board a little merchant
vessel, trading to the coast of Syria, and commanded by an Arab. Owing
to the stormy weather, and the unskilfulness of the mariners, no
small danger was incurred in the voyage, and we were constrained to
throw overboard a part of the cargo, which consisted in rice and
raw hides. Another vessel, which sailed in company, was lost that
same night.
After a navigation of five days, I arrived at Yaffé. The first land
we had discovered was the mountain of Ghaza.
Yaffé presents an object rather extraordinary in the Levant, a good
wharf. The situation of the town is so unequal, that the streets
are paved in steps. The air, formerly deemed insalubrious, has,
by the draining of some adjacent marshes, been rendered perfectly
healthy; but, on the other hand, the extensive groves of orange and
lemon trees, which adorned the vicinity, have been destroyed in the
sieges undertaken by Ali Bey and his successor Mohammed Abu-dhahab,
the latter of which was particularly destructive; the Mamlûks
having used these trees for firing. The government is now mild,
and the population, gradually increasing, may be estimated at six
or seven thousand souls. It is walled, and has two principal gates
and a smaller one; the latter and one of the former yet remain; the
other is shut up. Yaffé is commanded by an eminence on the North,
within musket-shot, where Ali Bey pitched his camp. Though there be
a small river in the proximity, water is scarce, being carried by
the women: one of the governors engaged to remedy the inconvenience,
but was strangled by order of Jezzâr, Pasha of Damascus, before he
could accomplish his purpose.
Ships cannot come up to the wharf, and there is no port, nor even
secure place of anchorage. The commerce is inconsiderable, being
solely with Egypt, and with a few pilgrims who pass to and from
Jerusalem. Yaffé is governed by an officer appointed by the Porte.
There are three small convents of Christians, Armenian, Greek,
and Roman-catholic, and a few Jews. When the French, about 1790,
were banished by Jezzâr Pasha from his government, several retired
to Jaffé, where their consul died the winter before I arrived.
It shall be only farther remarked, that the houses in Jaffé are
neatly built with stone, and that considerable quantities of coral
are found in the adjacent sea.
Having hired two mules for myself and a Cypriote servant, I proceeded
to Rama, distant about three hours. I had previously taken care to
get permission from the agent of the convent at Yaffé to travel to
Jerusalem, a precaution here necessary to prevent any disturbance
from the Arabs.
At Rama there is a spacious and strongly built convent of the
Franciscan order, a commodious edifice, and kept in excellent
repair. The town is pleasantly situated, and in a good soil. In
its vicinity I observed some antient groves of olive trees. Between
Yaffé and Rama seven villages appear in sight.
Having left Rama early in the morning of the ensuing day, we entered
the gate of Jerusalem about sun-set. The ground between Rama and
Jerusalem is rugged, mountainous, and barren. My servant having
loitered behind, was seized by some Arabs, thrown from his mule,
and pillaged.
I must confess the first aspect of Jerusalem did not gratify my
expectation. On ascending a hill distant about three miles, this
celebrated city arose to view, seated on an eminence, but surrounded
by others of greater height; and its walls, which remain tolerably
perfect, form the chief object in the approach. They are constructed
of a reddish stone. As the day was extremely cold, and snow began
to fall, the prospect was not so interesting as it might have proved
at a more favourable season.
It is unnecessary to dwell on the description of a city trivial in
innumerable books of travels, but a few miscellaneous remarks shall
be made as they happen to arise.
Mendicants perfectly swarm in the place, allured by the hope of
alms from the piety of the pilgrims. The religious of _Terra Santa_
retain great power, and there is one manufacture that flourishes in
the utmost vigour, namely that of reliques, crucifixes inlaid with
mother of pearl, chaplets, and the like. Yet the church of the holy
sepulchre is so much neglected, that the snow fell into the middle;
the beams, said to be cedar, are falling, and the whole roof is in
a ruinous state.
The Armenian convent is elegant, and so extensive as to present
accommodation for no less than a thousand pilgrims.
During twelve or thirteen days a very deep snow lay upon the
ground. The catholic convent has a large subterraneous cistern, into
which the snow, melting from the roof and other parts, is conveyed,
and supplies the monks with water for a great portion of the year.
The best view of Jerusalem is from the Mount of Olives, on the East
of the city. In front is the chief mosque, which contains, according
to the tradition of the Mohammedans, the body of Solomon. From
the same mount may be discovered, in a clear day, the _Dead sea_,
nearly South-east, reflecting a whitish gleam. The intervening region
appears very rocky.
The _tombs of the kings_, so denominated, are worthy of remark, being
of Grecian sculpture on a hard rock. There are several ornaments
on the sarcophagi of foliage and flowers, and each apartment is
secured with a massive panneled door of stone. Great ravages have
been made here in search of treasure. These tombs have probably been
constructed in the time of Herod and his successors kings of Judea.
A very considerable part of the inhabitants is Christian, between
whom and the Muslims there exists all that infernal hatred which
two divinely revealed religions can alone inspire.
At about the distance of two hours, or six miles, stands Bethlehem, in
a country happy in soil, air, and water. The latter is conveyed in a
low aqueduct or stone channel, which formerly passed to Jerusalem. The
_fons signatus_ is an exuberant spring: it is received successively
by three large cisterns, one of which is well preserved. In coming
from the cisterns, and at a small distance is seen what is termed
the _deliciæ Solomonis_, a beautiful rivulet which flows murmuring
down the valley, and waters in its course some gardens of excellent
soil. The brinks of this brook are adorned with a variety of
herbage. Olives, vines, and fig trees flourish abundantly in the
neighbourhood. The olive trees are daily decreasing in number, as
they are sacrificed to the personal enmities of the inhabitants,
who meanly seek revenge by sawing down in the night those that
belong to their adversaries. As this tree is of slow growth, it is
seldom replaced. Such is the charity of Christians in the cradle of
Christianity. A more pleasing object arises in the convent here,
which contains under one roof the different tenets of Latins,
Armenians, and Greeks.
About the same distance from Jerusalem, towards the wilderness, is
the convent of St. John, situated in the midst of a romantic country,
studded with vines and olive trees. In the village of St. John and
its district the Mohammedans form the greater part of the population.
The mode of agriculture here pursued may be worthy of observation. As
the country abounds in abrupt inequalities, little walls are erected,
which support the soil, and form narrow terraces. Small ploughs
are used drawn by oxen; and it requires no slight dexterity in the
driver to turn his plough, and avoid damaging the walls. The soil
thus secured is extremely favourable to cultivation. The breed of
black cattle is in general diminutive. Horses are few in number,
and asses resembling the European are chiefly used for travelling.
We may safely estimate the present population of Jerusalem at from
eighteen to twenty thousand. It is governed by an Aga, appointed
by the Pasha of Damascus; but he is allowed so few troops, that all
Palestine may be regarded as in the power of the Arabs. The Christian
women, who abound in Jerusalem, wear white veils, as a distinction
from the Mohammedan, who wear other colours. Arabic is the general
language, except among the Armenians and Greeks.
I left Jerusalem in the commencement of Ramadan, 2d of March
1797. After an uncommonly severe winter, the spring was now
begun. Having rode about three hours, we arrived at Beruth, where we
passed the night; and the following day, about three in the afternoon,
reached Naplosa or _Nablûs_. This capital of the district called
Samaria is populous. The site is remarkable and picturesque, being
between two hills, upon one of which is the castle.
The adjacent country in general is fertile in vines and mulberry
trees, though rather mountainous. Naplosa has several mosques,
and carries on a considerable traffic with Damascus and the coast:
there is also a cotton manufacture. Jews abound of the Samaritan
heresy; but the inhabitants are very hostile to Christians, who
have no establishments here. The town is in fact governed by the
chief inhabitants, though a nominal deputy be appointed by the Pasha
of Damascus.