distant from Djessr Beni Yakoub, a bridge over the Jordan to the
south of the lake Samachonitis. From thence I descended to the
shore of the Lake of Tabarya (Tiberias), visited Tabarya, and its
neighbouring districts, ascended Mount Tabor, and tarried a few days
at Nazareth. I met here a couple of petty merchants from Szalt,
a castle in the mountains of Balka, which I had not been able to
see during my late tour, and which lies on the road I had pointed
out to myself for passing into the Egyptian deserts. I joined their
caravan; after eight hours march, we descended into the valley of the
Jordan, called El Ghor, near Bysan (Scythopolis); crossed the river,
and continued along its verdant banks for about ten hours, until we
reached the river Zerka (Jabbok), near the place where it empties
itself into the Jordan. Turning then to our left, we ascended the
eastern chain, formerly part of the district of Balka, and arrived at
Szalt, two long days journey from Nazareth. The inhabitants of Szalt
are entirely independent of the Turkish government; they cultivate
the ground for a considerable distance round their habitations,
and part of them live the whole year round in tents, to watch their
harvest and to pasture their cattle. Many ruined places and mountains
in the district of Balka preserve the names of the Old Testament,
and elucidate the topography of the provinces that fell to the
share of the tribes of Gad and Reuben. Szalt is at present the only
inhabited place in the Balka, but numerous Arab tribes pasture
there their camels and sheep. I visited from thence the ruins of
Aman or Philadelphia, five hours and a half distant from Szalt. They
are situated in a valley on both sides of a rivulet, which empties
itself into the Zerka. A large amphitheatre is the most remarkable of
these ruins, which are much decayed, and in every respect inferior
to those of Djerash. At four or five hours south-east of Aman,
are the ruins of Om Erresas and El Kotif, which I could not see,
but which, according to report, are more considerable than those
of Philadelphia. The want of communication between Szalt and the
southern countries delayed my departure for upwards of a week; I
found at last a guide, and we reached Kerek in two days and a half,
after having passed the deep beds of the torrents El Wale and El
Modjeb, which I suppose to be the Nahaliel and Arnon. The Modjeb
divides the district of Balka from that of Kerek, as it formerly
divided the Moabites from the Amorites. The ruins of Eleale, Hesebon,
Meon, Medaba, Dibon, Arver,[7] all situated on the north side of the
Arnon, still subsist to illustrate the history of the Beni Israel. To
the south of the wild torrent Modjeb I found the considerable ruins
of Rabbat Moab, and, three hours distant from them, the town of
Kerek, situated at about twelve hours distance to the east of the
southern extremity of the Dead Sea. Kerek is an important position,
and its chief is a leading character in the affairs of the deserts
of southern Syria; he commands about 1200 match-locks, which are
the terror of the neighbouring Arab tribes. About 200 families
of Greek Christians, of whom one third have entirely embraced the
nomade life, live here distinguished only from their Arab brethren
by the sign of the cross. The treachery of the Shikh of Kerek, to
whom I had been particularly recommended by a grandee of Damascus,
obliged me to stay at Kerek above twenty days. After having annoyed
me in different ways, he permitted me to accompany him southward,
as he had himself business in the mountains of Djebal, a district
which is divided from that of Kerek by the deep bed of the torrent
El Ansa or El Kahary, eight hours distant from Kerek. We remained
for ten days in the villages to the north and south of El Ansa,
which are inhabited by Arabs, who have become cultivators, and
who sell the produce of their fields to the Bedouins. The Shikh
having finished his business, left me at Beszeyra, a village about
sixteen hours south of Kerek, to shift for myself, after having
maliciously recommended me to the care of a Bedouin, with whose
character he must have been acquainted, and who nearly stripped me
of the remainder of my money. I encountered here many difficulties,
was obliged to walk from one encampment to another, until I found at
last a Bedouin, who engaged to carry me to Egypt. In his company I
continued southward, in the mountains of Shera, which are divided to
the north from Djebal by the broad valley called Ghoseyr, at about
five hours distance from Beszeyra. The chief place in Djebal is
Tafyle, and in Shera the castle of Shobak. This chain of mountains
is a continuation of the eastern Syrian chain, which begins with the
Anti-Libanus, joins the Djebel el Shikh, forms the valley of Ghor,
and borders the Dead Sea. The valley of Ghor is continued to the
south of the Dead Sea; at about sixteen hours distance from the
extremity of the Dead Sea, its name is changed into that of Araba,
and it runs in almost a straight line, declining somewhat to the
west, as far as Akaba, at the extremity of the eastern branch of the
Red Sea. The existence of this valley appears to have been unknown
to ancient as well as modern geographers, although it is a very
remarkable feature in the geography of Syria, and Arabia Petræa,
and is still more interesting for its productions. In this valley
the manna is still found; it drops from the sprigs of several trees,
but principally from the Gharrab; it is collected by the Arabs,
who make cakes of it, and who eat it with butter; they call it Assai
Beyrouk, or the honey of Beyrouk. Indigo, gum arabic, the silk tree
called Asheyr, whose fruit encloses a white silky substance, of which
the Arabs twist their matches, grow in this valley. It is inhabited
near the Dead Sea in summer-time by a few Bedouin peasants only, but
during the winter months it becomes the meeting place of upwards of
a dozen powerful Arab tribes. It is probable that the trade between
Jerusalem and the Red Sea was carried on through this valley. The
caravan, loaded at Eziongeber with the treasures of Ophir, might,
after a march of six or seven days, deposit its loads in the
warehouses of Solomon. This valley deserves to be thoroughly known;
its examination will lead to many interesting discoveries and would
be one of the most important objects of a Palestine traveller. At
the distance of a two long days journey north-east from Akaba, is
a rivulet and valley in the Djebel Shera, on the east side of the
Araba, called Wady Mousa. This place is very interesting for its
antiquities and the remains of an ancient city, which I conjecture
to be Petra, the capital of Arabia Petræa, a place which, as far
as I know, no European traveller has ever visited. In the red sand
stone of which the valley is composed, are upwards of two hundred
and fifty sepulchres entirely cut out of the rock, the greater
part of them with Grecian ornaments. There is a mausoleum in the
shape of a temple, of colossal dimensions, likewise cut out of the
rock, with all its apartments, its vestibule, peristyle, &c. It is
a most beautiful specimen of Grecian architecture, and in perfect
preservation. There are other mausolea with obelisks, apparently in
the Egyptian style, a whole amphitheatre cut out of the rock with
the remains of a palace and of several temples. Upon the summit of
the mountain which closes the narrow valley on its western side,
is the tomb of Haroun (Aaron, brother of Moses). It is held in
great veneration by the Arabs. (If I recollect right, there is a
passage in Eusebius, in which he says that the tomb of Aaron was
situated near Petra.) The information of Pliny and Strabo upon the
site of Petra, agree with the position of Wady Mousa. I regretted
most sensibly that I was not in circumstances that admitted of
my observing these antiquities in all their details, but it was
necessary for my safety not to inspire the Arabs with suspicions
that might probably have impeded the progress of my journey, for I
was an unprotected stranger, known to be a townsman, and thus an
object of constant curiosity to the Bedouins, who watched all my
steps in order to know why I had preferred that road to Egypt, to
the shorter one along the Mediterranean coast. It was the intention
of my guide to conduct me to Akaba, where we might hope to meet with
some caravan for Egypt. On our way to Akaba we were however informed
that a few Arabs were preparing to cross the desert direct to Cairo,
and I preferred that route, because I had reason to apprehend some
disagreeable adventures at Akaba, where the Pasha of Egypt keeps a
garrison to watch the Wahabi. His officers I knew to be extremely
jealous of Arabian as well as Syrian strangers, and I had nothing
with me by which I might have proved the nature of my business in
these remote districts, nor even my Frank origin. We therefore joined
the caravan of Arabs Allowein, who were carrying a few camels to the
Cairo market. We crossed the valley of Araba, ascended on the other
side of it the barren mountains of Beyane, and entered the desert
called El Ty, which is the most barren and horrid tract of country
I have ever seen; black flints cover the chalky or sandy ground,
which in most places is without any vegetation. The tree which
produces the gum arabic grows in some spots: and the tamarisk is
met with here and there, but the scarcity of water forbids much
extent of vegetation, and the hungry camels are obliged to go
in the evening for whole hours out of the road in order to find
some withered shrubs upon which to feed. During ten days forced
marches, we passed only four springs or wells, of which one only,
at about eight hours east of Suez, was of sweet water. The others
were brackish and sulphureous. We passed at a short distance to
the north of Suez, and arrived at Cairo by the pilgrim road.
The first employment of Mr. Burckhardt upon his arrival at Cairo,
was to draw up a detailed account of his journey from Damascus,
which he soon afterwards transmitted to the Association.
There happened at the moment of his arrival, to be a small caravan
on the point of returning from Cairo, into some of the northern
countries of the Great Desert. This was precisely the route in which
it was intended that Mr. Burckhardt should commence his travels,
towards the countries of the Niger: the Committee nevertheless
perfectly approved of the determination of their traveller,
not to risk his own hopes and those of the Association upon
such a precarious prospect of success, as this caravan would have
afforded. Unless an opportunity offered in every respect favourable,
it was not desired that he should enter upon his undertaking,
until a residence of several months in Egypt had made him familiar
with a dialect and with a system of manners, and of policy differing
considerably from those to which he had been accustomed in Syria. It
was far from the wish of the Committee, that he should leap over
such an important step in that preparatory course of experience
which had been thought advisable for him; and nothing was more to
be avoided than the hazarding of his personal safety, together with
that of the success of his mission, by the irretrievable imprudence
of an ill prepared and hasty departure from Egypt.
His own sentiments upon this subject are conveyed to the Secretary
of the Association in a letter from Cairo, which announces also
his intention of undertaking a journey into Nubia. Of this letter
the following is an extract.
_Cairo, Nov. 13th,_ 1812.
There will be no opportunity of proceding into Africa by the road to
Fezzan, before next year. A small caravan of Twatees[8] from Augila
was at Cairo at the moment of my arrival, and left it three weeks
afterwards; but it would not have been advisable for me to have made
any attempt to accompany it. I should hardly have had time to prepare
for setting out with them; I knew no body to whom to address myself
for introduction to the caravan; I had no funds to equip myself;
and I was as yet too little acquainted with the Egyptian and African
world to suppose that I should be able to take my measures in such a
way as to remain undiscovered. I am moreover extremely averse to any
hasty steps; they are the ruin of the traveller’s health as well
as of his plans; and a hasty proceeding it would have been to set
out upon such a journey, without having recovered from the fatigues
of the former one, and without being in the least acquainted with
the people, to whom I was to have intrusted my fortunes.
The delay thus occasioned in my Fezzan expedition, I shall endeavour
to make profitable to African geography, in another quarter. I
mean to set out next month, by land, for Upper Egypt, as soon as
the state of the Nile renders the voyage practicable. I shall push
on beyond the first cataract, and follow the course of the river
by the second and third cataract, towards Dóngola. That country,
farther up than Derr, has never been visited by any travellers;
yet I am informed by many of the natives, that the borders of the
river are full of ancient temples and other antiquities; resembling
those of Luxor, and the Isle of Philæ. The present tranquil state
of Egypt renders such a voyage of much less danger than it might
have been during the whole of the last century; for the Pasha is
completely master of the country, and is in friendly intercourse
with the princes of Nubia. Were it not for the Mamlouks who have
settled at Dóngola, and taken possession of the country, I might
hope to reach that point. But I shall not expose myself to their
treachery, and shall be contented with approaching to within a
journey of five or six days from Dóngola, and with making perhaps
some lateral excursions into the Nubian desert. This journey will,
I hope, make me acquainted with the character of the Negroe nations,
and of those who traffic for slaves, and will thus facilitate my
travels in the interior of the continent. It will take me about five
months to perform this tour. The Fezzan caravan is not expected to
arrive till June next, I shall therefore be in full time to join
it after my return to Cairo.
The first part of the intended journey, which Mr. Burckhardt here
announces, was performed to the exact amount of his expectations,
but his “lateral excursion into the Nubian desert” was much
more extensive than his most sanguine hopes had anticipated, for
he succeeded in penetrating to the banks of the Astaboras; and
from thence crossed the desert to Souakin on the shore of the Red
Sea. This and the former journey along the Nile towards Dóngola,
were the only travels in the unexplored regions of the interior of
Africa, which he was destined to accomplish, but they led to a tour
in Arabia, which was productive of information not less interesting,
and scarcely less original than that which he collected in his
Nubian journeys.
No less than two years and an half were spent in these travels,
and in a long residence in Upper Egypt, during the interval which
occurred between his two Nubian journeys; but no opportunity of
forwarding the main object, of penetrating into the interior of
Africa in the intended direction, was lost by the delay, as no
caravan departed from Egypt to the westward during the whole period
of his absence from Cairo.
As Mr. Burckhardt’s description of his two journeys to Nubia
forms the subject of the present volume, it will be unnecessary
to detain the reader with the outline or abridgement of them,
which his letters contained: it will be sufficient to insert a few
extracts from those letters, for the sake of connecting the several
occurrences of his travels in their order of time.
The first letter which the Association received from their traveller;
after his departure from Cairo, was dated from Esne, in Upper Egypt,
soon after his return from his first journey into Nubia.
_Extract of a letter from Esne, May 2nd,_ 1813.
I am returned to this place from a journey up the Nile, which has
carried me into the vicinity of Dóngola. In my last letter from
Cairo, I informed you of my projects relative to this excursion,
and I am now happy to say, that I have succeeded almost to the
full extent of my wishes. I left Cairo on the 11th of January,
accompanied by a trusty servant, a native of Siout. We were
both mounted upon asses which, besides our persons, carried
the little baggage I thought necessary to take with me. I was
furnished with the strongest letters of recommendation to all the
governors of Upper Egypt, besides which, Mohammed Aly Pasha had
given me a private letter of introduction to his son Ibrahim Beg,
who commands in Upper Egypt. I was, however, so lucky as never
to have occasion to make use of these letters; nothing unpleasant
occurred to me during my route through Egypt, and when such is the
case it is always better to keep clear of Turkish governors. The
canals of Egypt were dried up; I therefore prosecuted my journey
without any difficulty along the Nile’s western bank, sometimes
crossing over to the opposite side; and I arrived after twelve
days at Siout, having seen on my way the southern pyramids, and
the antiquities of Beni Hassan, Shikh Abade and Ashmouneyn. It had
been my intention to make from Siout an excursion into the Great
Oasis, which is not thoroughly known yet. Several circumstances
impeded my project; I should however have persisted had I not been
informed that the Siwah people are continually visiting the Oasis,
and I should not like to be afterwards recognised by them on my
way to Fezzan. I remained ten days at Siout, and continued then
my journey southwards; visiting on my way Gaou, Akhmym, Farshiout,
Dendera, Kenne, and Goft; and after four days stay at the different
villages, situated within the precincts of Thebes, I arrived at Esne
sixteen days after having left Siout. Esne is the last place of
note in Upper Egypt, it was therefore here that I was to make the
necessary preparations for my journey into Nubia. (...) I arrived
at Assouan on the 22nd of February. The Aga of Assouan procured
me a guide up to Derr, the chief place in Nubia. (...) It took me
four days and an half to reach Derr, which is about one hundred
and forty miles distant from Assouan. About fifty miles below that
place I fell in with two English gentlemen, Messrs. Legh and Smelt,
who had been up to Ibrim and were returning to Assouan, on board a
small ship they had hired there. I had already had the pleasure of
seeing them at Cairo and at Siout. (...) After three days journey
from Ibrim (which is only five hours distant from Derr), I reached
the second cataract at Wady Halfa. From thence in three days more
Sukkot, in travelling along the mountainous district called Batn el
Hadjar. (...) I passed the large island called Say, and from thence,
at the end of two days more, arrived at Tinareh, a small castle,
the chief place in the country of Mahass, which I calculate to be
at four hundred and thirty, or four hundred and fifty miles above
Assouan. (The above mentioned distances are dromedary’s days of
thirty miles each.) From Tinareh to the northern limits of Dóngola
are two and a half days journey. (...) I returned by the same way
to Sukkot, swam here my camels across the river, in order to see
the western bank, which I continued to follow until I again crossed
to the eastern bank, a few miles above Philæ.
I returned to Assouan on the 31st of March, seventeen days after
my departure from Tinareh, and thirty-five days after my setting
out from Assouan; during which time I had only allowed myself a
single half day’s rest at Derr. So far my personal story through
Nubia. The enclosed journal contains my observations during the
journey; I must solicit your indulgence for the rude manner in
which it is written. It is certainly not as I wish it to be, nor
as it should have been, had I been at my leisure and ease. It has
been written in a miserable court-yard, on the side of my camel,
under the influence of the hot Kamsin winds, which now reign in
Upper Egypt. I have suffered also from a strong inflammation in my
left eye, which has become still worse by writing, and which makes
writing painful to me.
I have been now for these last three weeks at Esne, waiting for
the departure of a Sennaar caravan, which is to set out in a few
days from Daraou, about sixty miles south of this place, whither
I shall without delay proceed. For I have conceived the project of
making a journey on that side of Africa, before I begin my western
tour. I wish to visit the shores of the Astapus or Astaboras, on my
way from Gous towards Massuah; which harbour I should thus reach by
a northern road, different from that of Bruce. The road from Egypt
to Gous is perfectly safe. I am well recommended to the people
in power at Gous and Damer; from whence there is a practicable
road eastward into Abyssinia. It is not my intention to make any
stay in Abyssinia whatever; not holding myself at all qualified
for travels in those parts; but up to the frontiers of Abyssinia
Arabic is spoken, and wherever that is the case I hope to be able
to penetrate with some advantage to science. From Massuah I shall
proceed to Djidda, or to Mokka, and return without delay, by land,
along the eastern shore of the Red Sea, to Cairo. I hope to be in
Cairo again in ten months. If I supposed that this journey presented
great risks I should not undertake it; for I wish to expose myself
to hazards only on the western side of Africa, but there is only a
distance of twenty days (from Gous to Massuah), which presents any
difficulties; of these twenty days, fourteen (from Gous to Taka)
are by caravan routes; there remain six days from Taka to Massuah,
where it will be necessary to join the Bedouins, in order to have
any security on the road. Travelling in Arabia, few parts excepted,
is as safe as travelling in Egypt; and it will not be less so to me,
as I shall have recommendations to all the officers of Mohammed Aly
who garrison the cities of the Hedjaz, since the complete defeat of
the Wahabis, who have retired to their native seats in the Nedjed. I
repeat to you that I look with confidence upon the success of my
projected journey. As to health, I am in the perfect enjoyment of
it, my eye excepted, which I hope will be cured by the pure air of
the desert. According to the directions I have given I hope to find
money supplies either at Mokka or at Djidda. I proceed from hence,
as a Derwish, having nothing with me but a camel, some provisions,
and about four guineas in sequins, hidden in my woollen cloak. This
will carry me, I hope, as far as Massuah, where, in case of need,
a free passage is easily obtained from the charity of the Turkish
merchants.
I cannot help feeling some apprehensions lest this project should not
meet with the entire approbation of the Committee: as it will defer
again for a twelvemonth my grand journey. As for myself, as long as
I have any vigour of mind and body left, I shall look upon time as
a very secondary consideration, and subservient only to objects of
science; and I am indifferent to what extent my absence from Europe
is prolonged, provided my final object of visiting as much of the
unknown countries of Soudan as I possibly can, is obtained. If I am
not to be tired with respect to time it is hardly to be supposed that
my employers should; but other considerations may certainly make
them desire a more prompt conclusion of my journey. And for this
reason I am extremely anxious to know what opinion they entertain
of my conduct.
_Postscript, dated from Siout in Upper Egypt, 12th of July,_ 1813.