THE CITADEL.--THE TOMBS OF THE CALIPHS.--THE NILOMETER.--THE ROSETTA
STONE.
[Illustration: THE CITADEL, CAIRO, WITH MOSQUE OF MOHAMMED ALI.]
Doctor Bronson told his young friends that the finest general view of
Cairo, and the surrounding region, was from the Citadel, at the southern
end of the city. They went there several times, generally a little while
before sunset, and the impression they received is well described in the
following letter from Frank to his mother:
[Illustration: VIEW FROM THE CITADEL, CAIRO.]
".... The view from the hill where the Citadel stands has been called
the finest in the world, or certainly one of the finest, and in all our
travels we do not remember anything that can surpass it. We stood on the
platform of the Mosque of Mohammed Ali, and had the great city of Cairo
spread at our feet. Immediately below us was an open square, with groups
of people and camels moving slowly about. Just beyond was the beautiful
Mosque of Sultan Hassan, and beyond the mosque was the plain covered
with cupolas and flat roofs, seamed with streets and avenues, dotted
with waving palm-trees, and revealing open spaces here and there, to
give diversity to the picture. Beyond the city was the bright green of
the rich Valley of the Nile. In front of us was the famous old river of
Egypt, like a broad, irregular belt of silver, reflecting the light of
the setting sun, and forming a sharp contrast with the land through
which it flows. Across the green fields, which were stippled with the
white walls of palaces or dotted with the brown villages of the
peasants, our gaze rested on the yellow desert, backed by the Libyan
mountains which form the western horizon. From the edge of the desert
the great pyramids rose in all their grandeur, and it was not difficult
for us to realize their enormous proportions. From other points the
pyramids had appeared to be almost on a level with the valley of the
river, but as we viewed them from the Citadel we could see that they
stood on a rocky platform fully a hundred feet in height.
"Doctor Bronson says every traveller should make his plans so as to come
often to the Citadel, and there can be no better time for the view than
at sunset. In the morning there is liable to be a haze on the landscape,
and at noon there is too much glare of light, especially when the eye is
turned toward the desert. At sunset the colors of the Egyptian sky are
at their best. You may have wondered sometimes, when looking at pictures
of Egypt, whether there is really as much color as the artists give us.
We can assure you that no painting we have yet seen is at all
exaggerated, and if you could have a sunset view from the Citadel of
Cairo you would fully agree with us.
"The Citadel was built by the great conqueror Saladin, and stone for its
construction was brought from the pyramids and from the ruins of
Memphis, a few miles farther up the river. The spot was not wisely
chosen, as the hill is commanded by a higher one just back of it. On
this latter hill Mohammed Ali placed his cannons, and compelled the
surrender of the Citadel, and consequently of Cairo. There are two roads
leading up to the Citadel, one a broad carriage-way, and the other a
narrow lane. We went by one and came by the other. In the latter--the
narrow lane--the guide showed us a spot which has an historic interest,
and perhaps you would like to hear about it:
"There was a body of soldiers in Egypt called the Mamelukes, and they
ruled the country for several centuries. They chose the governors of the
provinces, and could place one of their number on the throne at any time
they wished; in fact, they controlled the country, and the nominal ruler
was obliged to do as they wished. When Napoleon came here in 1798 they
fought him in the famous Battle of the Pyramids, and were defeated; many
of them were killed, and others fled to Upper Egypt, but enough
remained to give trouble. When Mohammed Ali came to Egypt, after the
French had been driven out by the English, the Mamelukes made him
understand that he could do nothing without them. He soon determined to
do something with them, and get rid of their interference.
"He sent invitations for the chiefs--four hundred and seventy in all--to
come to the Citadel on the first day of March, 1811, to a grand banquet,
where they would discuss the plans for a campaign into Nubia. They came
at the appointed hour, and assembled in the narrow lane I told you of,
waiting for the upper gate to open. When they were all in the lane the
lower gate was shut, and there they were in a trap! Then the Albanian
soldiers of Mohammed Ali began to fire on the Mamelukes from the
loop-holes and the top of the walls. All were killed except one man,
Enim Bey, who made his horse leap through a gap in the wall. The horse
was killed by the fall, but his rider's life was saved. This was the end
of the power of the Mamelukes in Egypt.
"Fred says Mohammed Ali reminds him of the Spanish warrior who said, on
his death-bed,
"'I leave no enemies behind me; I've shot them all!'
"The mosque, which was begun by Mohammed Ali and finished by his
successors, is on the site of the palace erected by Saladin. It is built
of alabaster, from the quarries up the Nile, and though faulty in many
points of its architecture, is an interesting structure. It is sometimes
called the 'Alabaster Mosque,' and as we went through it our admiration
was excited by the richness of the materials of which it is composed.
The tomb of Mohammed Ali is in one corner of the building, and is
surrounded with a handsome railing, but there is nothing remarkable
about the tomb itself. Close by the mosque is the palace; but it is in a
half-ruined condition, and contains only a few rooms worth visiting.
"We went to Joseph's Well, which is a shaft nearly three hundred feet
deep in the limestone rock; the tradition is that it is the well into
which Joseph was cast by his brethren, but it probably gets its name
from 'Yoosef,' which was the other name of Saladin the Conqueror. There
was a well here when Saladin built the Citadel, but it was choked with
sand, and the great ruler ordered it to be cleared out and made useful.
It is probable that the well was originally made by the ancient
Egyptians, and, if so, it may be the one into which Joseph was cast by
his brethren. There is a sakkieh for raising water in this well, but it
is of little importance at present, as the Citadel is now supplied by
means of a steam-pump."
[Illustration: THE TOMBS OF THE CALIPHS.]
From the Citadel our friends went to "the Tombs of the Caliphs," which
extend along the east side of the city, and are conveniently reached by
the Bab-el-Nasr. They are supposed to be the burial-places of the
caliphs or sultans who ruled from the thirteenth to the sixteenth
century. Some of them are or were magnificent structures, while others
are comparatively plain in appearance. Down to the beginning of this
century they had large revenues for keeping them in repair, and were
guarded by the descendants of the sheiks and their followers, who had
charge of them during their days of glory. Their revenues were taken
away by Mohammed Ali, and since the time of that ruthless despot the
custodians of the tombs have lived by what they could beg from visitors.
Beyond the Citadel is a similar necropolis, called "the Tombs of the
Mamelukes."
Evidently the buildings were erected, in most instances, without regard
to cost, and before they began to decay they were to be ranked among the
triumphs of Moslem architecture. Some of the domes and minarets are
still magnificent, particularly those marking the resting-place of
Sultan Barkuk and Keit Bey. The latter is considered the finest of all,
and is the one most frequently drawn or painted by artists.
[Illustration: THE TOMB OF KEIT BEY.]
The boys paid a second visit to the tomb of Keit Bey, and carried along
their sketching materials. They found the architecture more difficult to
represent than they had supposed, and Frank made two or three attempts
at the graceful minaret before he succeeded in satisfying himself. The
minaret is one of the finest in Cairo; it rises from a corner of the
building, and has three stages or balconies, which diminish as they
approach the top. The summit is shaped like a pear, and is usually
disfigured with poles, from which flags are hung on days of festivals.
The dome bears a marked resemblance to that of the Taj Mahal at Agra, in
India, and terminates in a sharp spire instead of the conventional
half-moon that generally surmounts a Moslem edifice. While Frank was
busy with the structure, Fred made a sketch of several camels that were
halted in front of the famous mausoleum, and the work of the two youths
was afterward united into a single picture.
An early day was devoted to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities at
Boulak, a suburb of Cairo, and practically a part of the city. An
excursion was made to Old Cairo, and from there by ferry to the island
of Rhoda. On the latter is the famous Nilometer, or instrument for
measuring the depth of water in the Nile; it is a square well, connected
with the river, so that the water can freely rise and fall within it. In
the centre of the well is a stone column, marked like a scale, with the
old Arabic measures: the _dra_, or ell, was the unit of measurement, and
was 21-1/8 inches in length, divided into 24 _kirat_. The height of the
column is 17 ells, or about 30 feet, and the Nile at its lowest point
covers about 7 ells of this length. When the water mounts to 15-2/8 ells
the river is considered full, and the whole valley of the Lower Nile can
be inundated. The embankments that restrain the water are then cut with
a great many ceremonies, and the prospect of an abundant harvest causes
general rejoicing.
Doctor Bronson explained to the youths that the taxation each year was
based on the height of the water at the inundation, and the Nilometer
was the official evidence of the condition of the river. Inscriptions on
some of the monuments show that the ceremonies of cutting the banks were
established as early as the fourteenth century before the Christian
era, and the taxation was based on the height of water in ancient times
as at present. The Nilometer was exclusively in charge of the priests,
and the people were not allowed to see it. It was the object of the
authorities to tax the people as heavily as possible, and there is good
reason to believe that the priests made false statements concerning the
height of the water, and no one could contradict them. The Arab and
Turkish rulers did the same thing, and the practice is continued to the
present time; at the period of the inundation the Nilometer is closed to
the public, and every one must depend upon the figures of the officer in
charge. As he owes his position to the government, it is pretty certain
that he does what the government desires, and reports the river at the
highest figure whether it is so or not.
The guide pointed out the spot at the end of the island where the infant
Moses was found by the daughter of Pharaoh. The boys thought the place
was pretty enough for the historical event to have occurred there, but
were in some doubt as to the correctness of the guide's information.
[Illustration: THE FERRY AT OLD CAIRO.]
Before the construction of the bridge over the Nile the principal
crossing of the river was by the ferry at Old Cairo. At present it is
not so much in use; but there is yet a considerable business transacted
there, and the stranger will generally find a crowd of men and camels
waiting to be taken to the other side.
The evening previous to the visit to the museum at Boulak was devoted to
a study of the history of ancient Egypt, so that the youths would have
an understanding of the interesting collection of antiquities in that
establishment. At the Doctor's suggestion Frank and Fred wrote a brief
account of what they had learned, and placed it on the pages of their
journal. Here is what they prepared:
[Illustration: THE DRESS OF AN EGYPTIAN KING. FORM OF CROWN AND APRONS.]
"The history of ancient Egypt is full of interest, and has been a
subject of a great deal of study by many learned writers. Herodotus, who
has been called 'the father of history,' and flourished in the fifth
century before the Christian era, was the first of these writers, and
some of the discoveries of the present time have been based on his
records. Another Greek writer, Manetho, lived two centuries later than
Herodotus, but, unfortunately, the greater part of his works have not
come down to us. A large part of the history of ancient Egypt has been
obtained from the inscriptions on the walls of the temples and tombs,
and from the writings upon papyrus scrolls, and the linen in which
mummies were rolled. In modern times there have been many explorers and
writers who have devoted years of study to the subject, and consequently
we know more of ancient Egypt than of any other country of antiquity. If
you wish to know more than we can tell you now about the people that
lived here four thousand years ago, we refer you to the works of
Wilkinson, Poole, Mariette, Lepsius, Belzoni, Bunsen, Brugsch, and many
others. There are books enough on Egypt to keep you busy a whole year,
and perhaps two years, just to read them through. We are reading 'The
Ancient Egyptians,' by Sir Gardner Wilkinson, and find it very
interesting.
[Illustration: MENES.]
"The first King of Egypt that we know about was Menes, who founded the
City of Memphis. There is a difference of opinion among the writers as
to the date when he existed; Wilkinson, Poole, and others say he lived
about 2700 B.C., Bunsen says it was 3623 B.C., and Mariette thinks it
was 5004 B.C. The reason why they make this difference is because some
of them believe the dynasties, or families of kings, of ancient Egypt
succeeded one another, while others believe some of them ruled at the
same time in different parts of the country. The difference between the
'successive' and the 'contemporaneous' theories, when you add up the
periods of all the dynasties, is more than two thousand years. Down to
the seventeenth dynasty the figures are uncertain; from the seventeenth
to the twenty-first it is agreed that the dynasties were successive, but
there is some difference about their dates; while from the twenty-first
dynasty to the Christian era there is no dispute.
"Perhaps this is dry reading; if so, you had better go over it
carefully, and then skip.
"Whether King Menes lived seven or five thousand years ago makes very
little difference to us, and probably to him, as he is dead now. To
avoid confusion we will take the theory of Wilkinson, and suppose it was
only five thousand years ago that the first dynasty began. That will
seem more neighborly, and bring us so near to Menes that we can almost
imagine we knew him personally. Just think of it--only five thousand
years ago!
"Some of the dynasties of ancient Egypt lasted two hundred years and
more, while others were much less, the shortest dynasty being seventy
days. During the fourth dynasty, which lasted two hundred years, the
Pyramids of Gizeh were built (about 2400 B.C.). In the twelfth dynasty
many monuments and temples were erected, and many of the famous tombs
were made; Abraham, and afterward Joseph, came to Egypt, and several
important events of Egyptian history belong to this dynasty. The
eighteenth dynasty lasted nearly two hundred and fifty years (in the
sixteenth, fifteenth, and fourteenth centuries B.C.), and was the most
brilliant of all the periods of ancient Egypt. Thebes and other cities
were in the height of their glory, the armies made great conquests, the
temples at Karnak and Thebes were built, and the obelisks that are
to-day the wonder of the world were brought from Syene, and erected
where they could attest the power of the rulers of the land. The
inscriptions on the monuments say that during the reign of Thothmes
III., one of the kings of the eighteenth dynasty, 'Egypt placed her
frontier where she pleased.'
[Illustration: RAMESES II., FROM AN INSCRIPTION.]
"During the nineteenth dynasty one king, Rameses II. (or 'The Great'),
reigned sixty-seven years, and left many monuments that remain to this
day. One of his predecessors in the same dynasty, Sethi I., built
several magnificent temples, and made the first canal from the Nile to
the Red Sea. The flight of the Israelites from bondage occurred in this
dynasty during the reign of Meneptah. He is generally known in history
as the Pharaoh of the Exodus; and it is well to explain here that
Pharaoh was the Egyptian word for 'king,' and is properly prefixed to
the name of the ruler. The Egyptians would say 'Pharaoh Rameses,'
'Pharaoh Necho,' and the like, just as we say 'King George,' or 'King
Charles.'
[Illustration: MENEPTAH, THE SUPPOSED PHARAOH OF THE EXODUS.]
"In the twenty-seventh dynasty Egypt was taken by the Persians, and held
by them one hundred and twenty years. Then the Egyptians made a
successful rebellion, and drove out their oppressors till the
thirty-first dynasty, when the Persians came back again. In the
thirty-second dynasty (332 B.C.) Alexander the Great conquered Egypt,
and founded Alexandria. The Greeks ruled the country for three hundred
years, till the time of Cleopatra, at the beginning of the Christian era
(thirty-fourth dynasty), when it became a Roman province, and what is
called 'Ancient Egypt' came to an end. As we are not concerned now with
modern Egypt, we will close our historical record and take breath."
With this brief outline of the history of ancient Egypt in their minds
the boys were able to make an intelligent observation of the museum at
Boulak. On their way thither the Doctor gave them a history of the
Museum which owed its existence to the labors of Mariette Bey.[5]
[5] It was the good fortune of the author of this volume to form the
acquaintance of Mariette Bey in Egypt, in 1874, and to meet him again in
Paris a few years later. The death of this eminent archæologist is
greatly regretted by all students of the history of ancient Egypt.
[Illustration: THE NAME OF EGYPT IN HIEROGLYPHICS.]
"In the early half of this century," said the Doctor, "many of the tombs
of the ancient Egyptians were explored, and their contents carried away
to the museums of Europe. In 1850 the French Government sent an officer,
Auguste Edouard Mariette, to examine the ruins of Memphis. His mission
was successful, as he discovered the Serapeum, or tombs of the Sacred
Bulls, and opened one of the principal temples of the long-ruined city.
In 1856 the Egyptian Government appointed him Director of the Department
for the Preservation of Egyptian Antiquities, with the title of Bey, and
gave him a liberal allowance of money for carrying on his work. Through
his efforts an order was made forbidding the exportation of antiquities,
and establishing a museum near Cairo for their preservation. So much has
been found that the museum at Boulak has been filled, and a new and
larger building has been erected on the opposite side of the Nile, to
which the collection will be transferred. Many interesting discoveries
have been made, and every year reveals something new. Much light has
been thrown on the history of ancient Egypt, and many questions that
were formerly matters of dispute have been set at rest. It is safe to
say that we have learned more about ancient Egypt through the labors of
Mariette Bey than through those of all other explorers combined, with
the possible exception of Champollion."
[Illustration: PTOLEMY IN HIEROGLYPHICS.]
Frank asked who Champollion was, and what he discovered.
"I know," said Fred; "he discovered the Rosetta Stone, and told what was
written on it."
[Illustration: THE ROSETTA STONE, WITH SPECIMEN LINES FROM THE
INSCRIPTION.]
"He did not discover the Rosetta Stone," the Doctor answered, "but he
translated it. The stone was found at Rosetta, in 1799, by a French
engineer, and when the English came to Egypt they sent it to the British
Museum. It was a slab, with an inscription upon it in three languages.
"Previous to that time nobody could make anything out of the Egyptian
hieroglyphics; there were plenty of them, but no one was able to read a
syllable, or even a letter. A key was wanted, and Champollion found it
in the Rosetta Stone.
"The inscription was in three languages, one of them being Greek, and
the other two the hieroglyphic and demotic, or common language of the
ancient Egyptians. The Greek inscription proved to be a decree of one of
the Ptolemies, about the beginning of the Christian era. The name of the
king occurred several times, and Champollion observed that certain
characters appeared at about the same intervals in the hieroglyphic and
demotic versions as the royal title in the Greek. With this as a
starting-point he went to work and built up a grammar and dictionary of
the language of ancient Egypt. He found the key that had been missing
for nearly two thousand years--the key to unlock the mysteries of the
language of the people who built the pyramids and the great temples at
Thebes.
"It is no wonder that the Rosetta Stone is considered one of the most
precious treasures of the British Museum, and that the name of
Champollion is revered by every student of history.
"I cannot give you a better definition of the forms of writing among the
Egyptians than by quoting the words of Mr. Prime. 'There were,' he
says, 'three styles of manuscript and sculpture--hieroglyphic, hieratic,
and demotic. The first was a language of complete pictures, the second
of outlines derived from the first, and the third was the character for
the people--a species of running-hand derived from the others. The first
was the style of the monumental sculptures; the second of the priestly
writings; the third was for the ordinary transactions of the people.'
[Illustration: SPECIMENS OF THE THREE FORMS OF WRITING USED BY THE
EGYPTIANS.]
"And here," said the Doctor, as he opened a book and exhibited a page
with some characters upon it, "we have specimens of the three languages,
one taken from the walls of a temple, and the other two from rolls of
papyrus."
The boys looked at the printed page, and readily distinguished the
difference between the three kinds of writing. While they were
discussing its curious features the carriage halted in front of the
entrance to the museum, and the dialogue was suspended.
[Illustration: DEDICATION OF THE PYLON OF A TEMPLE.]