r^ Ac-''^ n l&M i(S\ < g ^ I ^^,OFCALIP0%. ^OFCAilFO/?,(A x^ ^ ^ iu!^i i ^11 rtiil mnv3jo->^ 'HSAHrrrr' ^ § llBRARYQ^, ^WEUNIVER5//; ^V^OHNCElfj-^ Sa3AINn3WV ><.OFCALIF0% Tti I ^.QFCALIPO/?^ ^WEUNIVERS/A Hmmo/:, AWEUNIVER^/^ vvlOSANCElfj^ i/0dnV3-:!O^ ^TiiaONYSOl^'^ "^a^AiNn-awv^ -^llIBRARYQr^ ^.{/ojnvDJo'f^ [iFCAllFO^^ ?Anvaan-# ^\\^EUNIVER% ^lOSANCElfj^^ ^OFCALIFO/JV > ^iLIBRARYO/^ ^UlBRARYQr^ ,^WEUNIVER% Si Sa3AINn]Wv ^,OFCAIIFO/?^ ^^'^ v>:lOSANCElfx> I ^^tllBRARY^?/. ^//n-nivi-jQ^ TRAVELS IN EGYPT, ARABIA PETRilA AND THE HOLY LAND. BY THE REV. STEPHEN OLIN, D.D., PRESIDENT OF THE WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY. WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS ON STEEL, IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. NEW-YORK: HARPER & BR6T ITERS, 82 CLIFF- STREET. 184 3. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1843, by Harper & Brothers, In the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New-York. v. I PREFACE When I embarked at Trieste for Athens, in Novem- ber, 1839, my health was so feeble and precarious as to render it doubtful whether I should be able to extend my tour beyond a visit to some of the maritime parts of Greece, and I had certainly little expectation of record- ing, much less of publishing, the events of the voyage. Change of scene, however, and sea air, acted so favour- ably upon my shattered nerves, that I had not been three days out of port before I began to amuse myself with keeping a brief diary of the passing incidents. The pleasure of using my pen, to which I had been a stran- ger for the three previous years, led me to continue the practice, and on my arrival in Athens my notes were spread over several pages. Fifteen days on horseback among the mountains and valleys of the Morea and Con- tinental Greece so much improved my strength and pros- pects, that I resolved to keep a regular journal of the events and observations of each day, so far as circum- 11 PREFACE. stances would permit. This plan I was enabled to fol- low, with some slight interruptions, from that time to the termination of my tour in the East. It will be perceived that I had no opportunity for the prosecution of any course of study chosen with especial reference to the objects of this journey. My general reading had made me acquainted with the history of Egypt and Palestine, and some attention to the antiqui- ties and literature of the Bible had rendered me some- what familiar with Oriental manners and customs. Of the several books of travels in these interesting regions which had recently appeared I had not been an inatten- tive reader, yet many occasions arose in the course of my tour in which I felt the want of a more intimate ac- quaintance with the researches of scholars and antiqua- rians. These literary deficiencies will, I trust, be chiefly apparent to the reader in the omission or very cursory treatment of several topics on which the title-page of these volumes confessedly authorizes him to expect more full and satisfactory information. In writing of the an- tiquities of Egypt, for instance, I have said almost no- thing of the hieroglyphic inscriptions, upon which several travellers bestow a regard nearly exclusive, and which, in the view of one class of readers, constitute precisely the most important subject of inquiry embraced within the range of my tour. Without being insensible to the value of this branch of antiquarian study, I did not feel myself competent to form or express opinions which are something worse than valueless except when they are the result of protracted and careful investigations, such as the mere traveller has no opportunity to make. I have adopt- ed a similar course with regard to the startling chronolo- gical questions and conclusions to which the partial and PREFACE. m unsatisfactory progress hitherto made in the study of Egyptian antiquities has given rise. On other points equally difficult, and still more the subjects of controversy among learned men, I have not hesitated to express my opinions with the utmost freedom, because, as it seemed to me, these topics do not belong exclusively to the ju- risdiction of scholars and antiquarians. It were presump- tion to pronounce upon the age of the Temple of Carnac, or upon the import of the mythological symbols sculptured or painted in the Tombs of the Kings, without having de- voted years of patient observation and study to subjects so recondite and obscure ; yet a man of much humbler pretensions, who has traversed the Desert with an observ- ing eye and the Bible in his hand, may very properly form his own conclusions as to the place of the crossing of the Red Sea, or the route pursued by the Israelites in their w^ay to Sinai and Palestine. I solicit the attention of the reader to another remark upon a kindred topic. It will be seen that I do not pre- tend to give a full account of the manners, and customs, and religious opinions of the present inhabitants of the several countries to which my visits were extended. Numerous instances and facts which fell under my own eye I have faithfully recorded, but I have generally refrained from making any statements on these subjects not derived from personal observation or inquiry. It would have been easy to swell and enrich these pages with much valuable in- formation derived from the only authentic sources, from writers skilled in the prevailing languages, and made fa- miliar by long residence with usages which they profess to describe, yet it did not suit my purpose to avail my- self of these resources. The reader who requires greater fulness of details can refer to the original works j and I IV PREFACE. rather prefer to maintain, as far as possible, in his pres- ence, the character of an eyewitness of the truth of what is here offered to his perusal. It w^as with a view to this cardinal purpose that, using the meager guide-books to which I had access merely as convenient catalogues of the objects to which the travel- ler's attention should be chiefly directed, I have constant- ly endeavoured to describe by recording the impressions derived from my own examinations and reflections. I have not found it practicable to adhere to this purpose with perfect uniformity, but I have taken care that the reader shall be able to detect every deviation from it without difficulty. I wish to confine this remark to my descriptions of material objects. In referring to opinions and historical facts I have not found it practicable, nor have I thought it important, to be equally scrupulous. In thus relying exclusively upon my own observations and inquiries, the results of which were always recorded upon the spot, I lay no claim to originality beyond what belongs to every independent observer, nor have I at- tempted or desired to avoid a general concurrence with the statements of former writers. In countries so little civilized, and so bare of all the creations of wealth and refinement as those treated of in these volumes, the same objects occur to every traveller, and are likely to have place in all books of travel ; and the tourist who, ambi- tious of the praise of originality, refrains from describing what has been described, and well described, by those who have gone before him, will have little to offer either for the instruction or amusement of his readers. I have felt no wish to avoid the beaten track, satisfied that it is the easy and natural way to such objects as possess the highest interest and importance 3 and I have assumed in PREFACE. V my title-page the responsibility of giving to such as may take me for a guide, a true account, so far as I am able, of all I deem most worthy of their attention, along the routes which I pursued. In carrying out this design, I cannot flatter myself with • having always satisfied the wishes of the reader, for I have very often fallen below my own. Many doubtful questions of utility or of mere taste must unavoidably occur in the prosecution of such an undertaking : it is not always easy to determine w^iat space should be given to a particular topic ; what amount of detail may be best adapted to produce a clear or full impression ; how much of consideration or argument may be due to a prevalent theory or an ingenious hypothesis. Such questions are of perpetual occurrence ; and the writer who would nei- ther prose nor dogmatize, having no guide but his own discretion, is likely to be charged often, and sometimes justly, wuth both. I have in nothing felt these difficulties more than in my attempts to describe ancient monu- ments. In most instances I have consulted brevity, as most likely to be agreeable to the reader j in. others, where the object possesses great intrinsic or historical in- terest, or where complication of plan and multiplicity of parts are involved — as they are in some of the remains of the massive Egyptian architecture — I have ventured, too far, perhaps, on one or two occasions, upon greater prolixity. For these offences against the taste or conve- nience of the reader, if in a few instances they are found to exist, I solicit his indulgence ; and I beg him to be- lieve that I was not always able to perceive a middle course between omitting all intelligible notice of some highly interesting monuments, and of enumerating so many of their particular features as might convey to the VI PREFACE. mind a pretty full conception of them, though at the risk of beinsf tedious, or even obscure. I am sure no one will be disposed to regard as intolerable an inconve- nience which may be avoided with no greater trouble than that of turning over some twenty or thirty of these pages unread. I have adopted the form of a journal, giving incidents and objects in the order both of time and place in which they actually presented themselves to my notice. I am not insensible to the advantages of a more exact and scientific method, but I thought this better adapted, upon the whole, to the simple and unpretending character to which alone this work aspires. No inconsiderable por- tion of these pages is given to the reader precisely as they were written out amid the scenes which they de- scribe : in the cabin of the rude boat in which I naviga- ted the Nile ; in the tent which gave me shelter in the Desert 3 and in my lodgings in the Holy City. I have not chosen to remodel this part of my materials; for, highly as I appreciate the ornaments of writing, I had neither strength nor time to give to such objects, nor was I quite satisfied that a more pains-taking elaboration would not detract something from the more important qualities of vivacity and truthfulness. In those parts of the work which are more especially devoted to events and objects met with in journeying, the order of time is the most obvious as well as natural principle of associa- tion ; and it is here, if anywhere, that the frequent re- currence of dates and daily incidents is likely to become tiresome or distasteful. In treating of scenes more crowd- ed with curious or important objects, where the observa- tions of an hour supply the materials of a chapter, the order of place more naturally becomes the ostensible PREFACE. VU bond of connexion, and the diurnal character, however closely adhered to in the arrangement of facts, is likely to be little noticed by the reader. Enough has probably been said of the occasion of this work, and of the manner and maxims followed in its preparation. I am not unmindful that graver matter is involved in the question which will naturally arise in several quarters, why such a work should be written at all ? why another book of travels should be thrown upon the burdened market, on regions already so fully explo- red, and with regard to which our reading public is abundantly supplied with information so ample and va- rious, so recent and authentic ? A sufficient answer to this inquiry might perhaps be derived from the terms in which it is proposed. The eagerness with which so many works on Egypt and Palestine have lately been received by our American pubhc, evinces the profound and gener- al interest with which these subjects are regarded, and is likely to be welcomed as an encouraging omen by the tourist who comes forward with a fresh offering. The new candidate for favour might also rest his expectations of moderate success upon some speciality of object or manner, in virtue of which he might hope to minister to a class of tastes and wants not so fully satisfied by other writers who treat of the same general topics with equal or greater ability. One of our American travellers, whose work has obtained an unexampled popularity on both sides of the Atlantic, has known how to throw the charms of romance upon the dreary track of the Desert, and to blend amusing personal adventure with graphic and truth- ful descriptions of interesting objects, to an extent that leaves the general reader little to desire, except, perhaps, somewhat more of exactness and fulness in details. A VIU PREFACE. still later traveller has entitled himself to the gratitude of biblical scholars and of the religious public by his Bibli- cal Researches, a work at once rich in the fruits of exten- sive erudition, and in the reports of faithful and shrewd observation. After enjoying favourable opportunities for forming an opinion upon the subject, I bear a willing tes- timony to the high and peculiar merits of both these au- thors : of Mr. Stephens, whose interesting sketches and amusing incidents have done more than any other work to awaken extensively the curiosity of the public ; and of Dr. Robinson, who has contributed so largely to its gratification. I have thought, however, that there may still be a numerous and intelligent class of readers, seri- ous in their tastes and practical in their objects, who are prepared to receive a report less enlivened by humour and incident, and quite destitute of pretensions to critical, philological, and antiquarian learning, but which shall yet exhibit, in a simple, perspicuous style, a pretty full narrative of whatever meets the eye of the traveller in these interesting regions, whether in the form of their natural features or ancient monuments, or in the charac- ter, pursuits, and present condition of the inhabitants. I am free to avow that these volumes would not have appeared, but for a hope that they may gain access to readers beyond the sphere of what is currently denomina- ted the reading public : of those whose leisure or tastes, and professional habits, lead them to peruse all new books, or all belonging to certain departments of literature or science. I by no means undervalue the opinions of this most respectable class, which includes the natural and influential arbiters of literary merit and* the dispensers of literary reputation ; but such persons are already suffi- ciently provided for, and any new work upon the subjects PREFACE. IX under consideration which does not possess some special claim on the score of critical and learned research — a claim that is likely to restrict its adaptation to profession- al readers — must find its principal sphere of usefulness in a circulation more strictly popular. Peculiarities of man- ner, or in his relations to society, will sometimes enable a writer, otherwise of no high pretensions, to cross the circumference of the fashionable literary circle and ad- dress a new audience ; and it is about in proportion to its success in attaining to such a career that a new book of travels in Egypt, Arabia Petraea, and Palestine, can be regarded as really useful to the public. With this one condition in its favour, a book of travels is commonly a good book, and it must grossly violate either truth or good taste to counteract its natural and ordinary tendencies. "Whether considered in reference to the intellectual tastes and habits produced or fostered by this species of read- ing, or to the practical worth of the knowledge w^hich it imparts, or to the doubtful or pernicious character of the lighter literature which, so far as it goes, it is likely to supersede, every simple and true account of foreign coun- tries, of their physical or moral peculiarities, manners, institutions, and historical monuments, and of their intel- lectual and economical condition, brings a valuable con- tribution to the best interests of education, good morals, and public happiness. More than all this may be claimed in behalf of an unexceptionable book of Oriental travels. It has a reli- gious character. It is a' commentary upon the Bible, whose divine teachings derive from no other source il- lustrations so pleasing, so truly popular, and so effective. It has been pointedly remarked, and w^ith more truth than usually comports with the brevity of an apothegm, that PREFACE. " nothing changes in the East." The natural features and productions of these regions are essentially the same after the revolutions of ages ; and the occupations, modes of living, manners, and dispositions of the Fellah, the Bedouin, and the modern Syrian, offer so many points of striking resemblance to those of the patriarchs and their Jewish descendants, as would, in the absence of histori- cal information on the subject, lead to the belief of their common origin. To introduce the reader to a familiar and intimate acquaintance with these objects, is little less than to naturalize him in the Holy Land, and to place him on a noble vantage-ground for more fully under- standing God's Word. Travellers in the East feel and acknowledge the inspiration of the scenes that surround them, and yield up their last doubt to the demonstrations everywhere addressed to their senses. I cannot think it even possible for any man of intelligence and observing habits to cross the Desert and dwell a week in Jerusalem, without being fully satisfied, on the evidence thus obtain- ed, of the authenticity of the Holy Scriptures, whatever he may resolve to think of their inspiration. A measure of this convincing influence may reasonably be expected to at- tend the perusal of a faithful account of such objects and scenes by an eyewitness ; and it is with a hope of con- tributing in some humble degree to the better understand- ing and higher appreciation of the Divine Oracles, that these pages are now offered to the public. Considera- tions of a less elevated character may have operated un- perceived, but this, I am sure, has been my controlling motive. A number of years devoted to the Christian ministry, and to the instruction of youth in several differ- ent states, have given me a pretty extensive acquaintance with the religious community of this country j and sev- PREFACE. XI eral friends, for whose opinions I entertain the highest respect, have induced me to hope that this journal of my Eastern tour may be favourably received by many to whom I have become known, personally or by reputation, in these interesting relations. They think a way may thus be opened for the introduction of useful knowledge into many families ; that a considerable circle of youth may be reached by salutary influences ; and that a book on such subjects, and recommended by such recollections, may perhaps be made welcome in several libraries of Bi- ble-classes and Sabbath-schools. This would, indeed, be a good reward of my labours. It would quite satisfy my highest ambition if the scanty fruits of a season of weakness and affliction might thus be consecrated to in- terests dear, above all others, to my heart. The reader will not infer, from the strain of these re- marks, that this professes to be a religious work. It is merely a book of travels that is offered to his perusal, embracing only the usual topics of such a performance ; a plain description of the objects, and a true record of the incidents, which I met with in my journey. As such it must accomplish, if it accomplish at all, the good to which it is devoutly consecrated in my hopes and prayers. It is, perhaps, necessary to subjoin a word of explana- tion in reference to the delay which has occurred in the publication. On the night of the day of my arrival in the United States, I had a return of a malignant disease contracted among the fens of the Danube. For more than a year afterward 1 was wholly disabled for literary as well as other pursuits 3. the manuscript journal of my tour, meantime, remaining undisturbed in my portfolio. I had, indeed, quite abandoned the idea of publishing, when, at the request of my friend, the Rev. Dr. Peck, I undertook Xll PREFACE. to revise a few pages for the religious periodical published under his able supervision. This was in the end of No- vember, 1841. Increasing health enabled me to prose- cute this labour with less difficulty than I had anticipated, and I returned to my original intention of preparing my entire journal foi«the press. From that time to the com- pletion of my task, about the same period of the ensuing year, I was able, with only a few interruptions, to devote three or four hours daily to this agreeable occupation. The reader will probably infer from the first paragraph of this introduction, what I ought, perhaps, to advise him of more directly, that I was induced to leave my native country, and, finally, to extend my tour to the Levant, by other motives than those of mere literary curiosity. A long residence in the Southern States, and arduous pro- fessional duties, persevered in when my health was no longer adequate to the task of performing them, had quite undermined my constitution, and left no hope of recovery but in absolute repose from all labour and responsibility. It was with the design of securing this object more eifect- ually than could be done amid the associations and ex- citements of home, that, in the spring of 1837, 1 sailed for Havre, broken and exhausted by protracted sickness, and with only the faintest prospect of ever returning to look again upon the land of my birth. I remained more than a year in Paris, deriving no benefit from the best medical advice which that capital afforded, and hovering continually upon the borders of the grave. I was ac- companied, however, by a beloved and honoured wife, herself in the vigour and bloom of health, and every way fitted to be the minister of the richest earthly blessings which it has pleased God to confer upon me. Rarely endowed with the talent of doing good and communica- PREFACE. xiii ting happiness, and a bright example of the conjugal vir- tues — patient, indefatigable, inventive ; full of cheerful- ness and hope, and courage, and faith, she was the angel of ray sick-room, who watched by my restless pillow day and night during these dreary months, anticipating and satisfying the wants of my situation with a skill and un- tiring assiduity which strong affection alone can inspire and sustain. It is not surprising, perhaps, that under the Divine blessing upon auspices so benign, I passed successfully through this trying crisis. The ensuing autumn, and the winter of 1838-39, were spent in a visit to London, a journey through Belgium and France, and a residence of three months in Rome, all rendered doubly delightful by the sense of returning health, and by the presence, and ardent and intelligent participation of one to whom I was so much indebted for this unspeakable blessing. We proceeded to the South of Italy in the end of March, where my dear wife was al- most immediately seized with a wasting disease, which proved fatal on the eighth day of May. I buried her in a small Protestant cemetery in the romantic environs of Naples, about a mile from the city. It was under the pressure of this overwhelming calamity that I first resolv- ed on visiting the East, chiefly with the hope of finding, m the vicissitudes of travel, and in communing with scenes consecrated by great events, some relief from pain- ful reminiscences, which I felt would be rather aggrava- ted than assuaged by an early return to the society of mourning relatives. It was well for me, I think, that I devoted myself to this pilgrimage, even though the reader shall derive neither amusement nor instruction from the memorials of it which are spread before him in XIV PREFACE. these pages. I confide in his indulgence of this over- flowing of sorrowful recollections. In inviting him to accompany me in my wanderings, I thought he might feel some interest in knowing why I went abroad, and I could not refrain, on so fit an occasion, from offering a tribute of affection to the memory of an endeared friend, whose lovely image has everywhere come up afresh be- fore me, to sadden my return to the broken social and religious circles once adorned by her virtues and accom- plishments. The accompanying map has been prepared by Mr. Catherwood, an eminent artist, already well known to the American public, who has himself travelled over a large part of the route embraced in this work. The illustra- tions are also from his original designs, with the excep- tion of two kindly furnished me by Mr. Formsby, an Eng- lish gentleman and amateur artist, my fellow-traveller through the Desert, and one borrowed from Laborde. I take this occasion for expressing my devout gratitude to God, who so graciously guided and protected me in my journieys by sea and land, who has more recently given me strength for this hasty preparation of my mate- rials to meet the public eye, and, beyond all my expecta- tions, has restored me again to an interesting field of ac- tive, and, as I hope, useful employment. Stephen Olin. Wesleyan University, Nov. 1843, CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAPTER I. Embarcation.— Departure from Athens.— Fellow-passengers.— Voyage to Syra.— Delay.— Commercial Importance of Syra.— Harbour.— Public Ed- ifices. — Ship-building. — Situation of Syra. — New and old Town. — Im- posing View. — Visit to the Shore. — The Contrast. — Description of the Houses and Streets. — Nuisances. — Trade. — Schools. — Voyage to Alex- andria. — Greek Islands. — Their general Appearance, Productions, and Climate. — Fine Weather. — The Lycurgus. — Etiquette of a Ship of War. —National Prejudices Page 13 CHAPTER H. First View of Alexandria. — Description of its Site. — The Pharos. — Ras el Tyn. — The New Harbour. — The Old Harbour. — Progress of hberal Opinions. — The Pacha's Palaces. — Windmills. — Pompey's Pillar. — Tur- co-Egyptian Fleet. — The Crescent. — Instructive Moral. — The Landing. — First Greeting of the Donkey Boys. — Streets. — Bazar. — Mohammed- an Shops and Tradesmen. — Aspect of the Crowd. — Merchandise. — Style of Building.— Houses of the Poor. — The Frank Quarter. — Ibrahim Pa- cha. — Public Edifices. — Arsenals, Warehouses, &c. — Villas. — Population of Alexandria. — Trade. — Revival of Prosperity. — Canal. — Advantages of its Position. — Walls of the City. — Fortifications . . . . 18 CHAPTER UL Site and Remains of the Ancient City. — Fragments and Accumulations. — Ancient Arches. — Reservoirs. — Present Supply of Water. — Excavations and their Object.— Monuments. — Pompey's Pillar : its Shaft and Pedes- tal. — Ambition of Visiters. — Interference of the Government. — Misno- mer. — Cleopatra's Needle. — Dimensions. — Preservation. — The Cata- combs. — Probable Origin. — Cleopatra's Baths. — Funeral Processions. — Fubhc Mourners. — Their Grief — Conjugal Disciplme. — Opinions of an Arab.— Visit to the Pa/ace.— View of the Pacha. — Audience-room.— Dress and Person of Mohammed Ali. — His Ministers and other high Of- ficers.— Their Origin and Career.— A purchase of Circassian Boys . 26 A 11 ' CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. Hotels in Alexandria and the East.— Coffee-houses.— Preparation for a Voyage to Cairo.— Sharpers.— Advice to Travellers.- Departure for Ca- iro. — Voyage to Atfeh. — Canal of Mahmoudieh. — Rapid Construction. — Great Mortality. — Route of the Canal. — Lake Mareotis. — Lake Madieh. — Ancient Fertility of the Precincts of Alexandria. — The Delta. — The Wheat-crop. — Egyptian Canal Packet-boat. — Unskilfulness of the Sail- ors. — Incidents. — Camels. — Enghsh Consul. — Grants of Land to For- eigners. — Tenure of Land. — Oppression of the Fellahs. — Pohcy of the Pacha. — Privileges of the new Proprietors. — Mr. Larkin's Improvements. — Prejudices and Suspicions of the Fellahs. — New Products and Imple- ments. — Youthful Labourers. — Sea Island Cotton. — Statistics. — Anec- dote. — Summary Courtship and Wholesale Marriage. — A Singular Re- quest. — Atfeh. — Frank Agent and his Boat. — Our Fellow-passenger. — Vermin. — Navigation of the Nile. — Mohammedan Tombs and Beggars. — ^Walks on Shore. — Egyptian Agriculture. — Crops. — Alarm of the Fel- lahs. — Persian Wheels. — Irrigation. — Plough. — Oxen. — Villages. — Cot- tages. — Furniture. — Dress of the Fellahs. — Gross Habits. — Wild Fowl. — Domestic Animals. — Adverse Winds. — A Man Overboard. — Narrow Es- cape. — First Sight of the Pyramids. — Completion of the Voyage and Ar- rival at Cairo Page 35 CHAPTER V. Sojourn in Cairo. — Lodgings and Maimer of Living. — Situation of Cairo. — The Nile.— The Delta.— The Valley of Egypt.— Cairo in the Natural Centre. — Walls. — Citadel, Old and New. — Commanding View. — The Palace. — Garden. — New Mosque. — Joseph's Hall. — Joseph's Well. — Massacre of the Mamelukes. — The Pacha's Apology. — Slave-market. — Nubians. — Negroes. — Streets of Cairo. — Jews' Quarter. — Dryness of the Atmosphere. — Filth. — Scavengers. — Fuel. — Style of Building. — Awn- ings. — Bazars. — Building Materials. — ^Windows. — Rude Workmanship. — Gates, — Police. — ^Mosques. — Minarets. — Population. — Singular Fact 55 CHAPTER VI. Artificial Mountains. — Great Nuisance. — Their Removal. — Environs of Ca- iro. — Plain of the Nile. — Fertility. — Villas. — Irrigation. — The Desert. — Necropohs.— Common Graves.— Cemetery of the Mamelukes.— Tombs of the Caliphs.— Sepulchral Mosques.— The Melancholy Fate of Egypt. — Question of Taste.— Excursion to HeUopolis.— Description of the Route. —Site of Hehopolis.— The OUfehsk.- Other Remains.— Ruined WaU.— A Sacred Garden.— Tradition.— Miracles.— Venerable Tree.— Petrified Forest.— Palace at Shoubra.—Esbekieh.— Residence of Napoleon.— No- ble Sycamores.— The Porter.— The Garden.— Kiosk.— Immense Bath.— Jnvssnile Artists, — The Palace 66 CONTENTS. lU CHAPTER VII. Visit to the Pyramids. — The Route. — Desert Reclaimed. — Plantations and other Improvements of Ibrahim Pacha. — Improbable Hypothesis. — En- croachments of the Desert: their Extent, and probable Results. — Old Cairo. — Trade. — Granaries of Joseph. — Aqueducts. — Ghizeh. — Island of Rhoda. — Kilometer. — Gardens. — Ride across the Plain. — Fellahs. — Im- portunity for Employment. — View of the Pyramids. — Reception. — Situ- ation. — Dimensions. — Love of Fame. — Interior. — Entrance. — Passages. — King's Chamber. — Sarcophagus. — Bad Air. — Laborious Progress. — Im- agination. — Ascent of the Pyramid of Cheops. — Escort. — Smaller P3rra- mids. — NecropoUs. — Mausolea. — Mummy Pits. — Human Remains. — Other Sepulchral Monuments. — Inscriptions. — Extent of this Cemetery. — Question about the Object of the PjTamids. — Not Temples or Treasu- ries; but Tombs. — Reverence for the Dead. — Site of Memphis. — Large Stones. — The Sphinx. — Labours of CavagUa .... Page 78 CHAPTER Vni. Visit to the Lunatic Asylum. — Situation. — Detestable Management. — Don- keys. — Donkey Boys. — Their Character and Habits. — Skill in Languages. — Competition. — Gains. — Precocity. — Advancement. — Thronged Streets. ■ — Smoking.— Pipes. — An Official and liis Suite. — Progress in the Crowd. — Market-day. — Aspect of the Throng. — The Arabs. — Copts. — Nubians. . — Negroes. — Bedouins. — Franks. — Condition and Character of the Copts. — Benefits of Christianity. — Bigotry. — Armenians. — The Mohammedans, — Growing Skepticism. — Zeal of the Populace. — Call to Prayer. — Reli- gious Fidehty. — Remissness of Christians. — Of Protestants. — Prostra- tions. — Publicity. — God acknowledged. — Predestiaation. — Religion of Boatmen. — Mohammedan Clergy. — Schools. — El Azhar. — Mosques. — Respect for the Poor. — Amusements. — Charities. — Fountains. — Asylum for Cats. — Dogs, — Egyptian Women.— Veils. — Riding-dress. — Tattoo- ing. — Painting. — Precocity. — Ornaments. — Blindness. — Its Causes. — Mutilations. — One-eyed Corps. — Pubhc Labourers. — Police. — Dread and Hatred of the Viceroy, — Oppressions, — Missionary Eiforts. — The Wes- leyans. — American Missionaries in Egypt, — English Mission and Schools. — Restoration of the Jews 91 CHAPTER IX. Preparations for a Voyage up the Nile. — Scarcity of Boats. — Delays. — De- scription of a Nile Boat. — ViUany. — Appeal to the Police. — Embargo. — Rumour of War. — Annoyances. — Embarcation at Old Cairo. — Change of Servants. — Outfit. — Prospects. — Fine Weather. — PjTamids of Aboukir. — Sakkara and Dashour.— A wild Goose.— Our Rais and Crew.— Head Winds.— Walk on the Shore.— Climate.— A Night Scene.— Professional Dancers.— The false Pyramid.— Rain.— Wild Fowl.— Sporting.— Un- pleasant Incident.— Beni Souef.—Bucksheesh.— Formalities in Dining; IV CONTENTS. — Egyptian Indolence. — Luxuriant Vegetation.— Arab Navigation.— Primitive mode of Irrigation.— Jebbel Tayr.— Coptic Monastery.— Feata in the Water.— Begging.— Fields of Mustard.— Onions.— Petty Thefts. •—Minyeh.— Arab Villages.— Mounds of Rubbish.— Palm-trees.— Upward Navigation. — Ingratitude. — Sugar Manufactories. — Mountains. — Offering at the Tomb of a Saint.— Difficulties with the Rais.— Acacia-trees. — Siout.— Fertile Plain.— A vigilant Sentinel.— Mild Winter. —Vandalism of the Pacha,— Village.— Mosque.— School. — Mussulman Charity.— A Crocodile. — Gigeh. — Beautiful Mountains.— Trouble.— Nubian Sail- ors Page 121 CHAPTER X. Walk on Shore.— Curiosity of the Fellahs.— Low Prices.— Doura.— Croco- diles.— Buff"aloes.— Domestic Animals.— Tardy Progress.— Rural Villa- ges.— Dogs.— Water Carriers.- Early Devotions.— Idleness and Disgust- ing Habits of the People.— Pigeon-houses and Pigeons.— Interior of an Arab Cottage.— Gheneh.— Valley of Coseir.— Overland Route to India.— In- teresting Manufactures. — Arraignment of the Rais. — An impartial Judge. —•Aspect of the Country.— Cultivation.— The Palm-tree.— Its manifold Uses.— Thebaid Palm.— Encroachments of the Desert.— Cowardice of the Boatmen.— The African Wind.— Singular Appearance.- The Ameri- ean Flag . ... 153 CHAPTER XL Thebes.— Situation.— Luxor.— Frank Boats.— Roman Pier, — Temple. — Propylon.— Obehsk.— Colossal Statues.— Sculpture.— Portico.— Colon- nades. — Adytum. — Accumulations. — Village within the Temple,— Church.— Mulilations.—Material.— Progressive Plan.— Voyage to Assou- an.— Valley of the Nile.— Cotton Fields.— Egyptian Cotton.— Irrigation. — Esneh. — Roman Pier. — Castle. — Ancient Temple. — Architecture. — Ornaments.— The Interior.— Columns.— Zodiac— Bold Conjecture. — Study of Hieroglyphics. — Age of this Temple. — Obstructions. — Delay. — Mutual Distrusts. — Aspect of the Country. — Holy Tombs. — Benefit of Contrast,— Ruins.— Night at Edfou.— Frank Boat.— National PecuUari- ties. — Arab Salutations. — A courteous Sailor. — Soil and Products. — Til- lage. — Sand. — Induration of the Soil. — Appearance of the Crops. — Meet- ing with a Countryman. — Jebel Silsily. — Quarries. — Adverse Wind. — Nautical Skill of our Crew.— Energy of the Rais.— Medical Treatment. — Unmerited Honour. — Temple of Quora Ombos. — Description. — Effect of Egyptian Architecture 165 CONTENTS. Y CHAPTER XII. Arrival at the Cataracts.— Syene.— Situation.— Remains.— Saracen Walls and Towers. — Mosque. — Tombs. — Island of Elephantina. — Cultivation. — Ruins. — Roman Bulwark. — Remains of Temple. — Inhabitants. — Visit to the Island of Philae. — Excessive Heat. — Route. — Nubian Villages and Nubians. — Ornaments and Dress. — Customs. — Language. — Slave Mer- chants.— Dongola Boat.— Philae.— River Wall.— Temple of Isis.— Column and Greek Inscription. — Long Colonnade. — Statues. — Propylon. — Sculp- ture. — Portico. — Apartments. — Splendid Tomb. — Ruins. — Irregular Ar- chitecture. — Misguided Zeal. — Aquatic Amusements. — Ticklish Craft. — More Feats in the Water. — The Cataract. — Descent and Ascent of Boats. — ^Wild Scenery. — Physical Changes. — Singular Forms, Situation, and Composition of the Rocks. — Ancient Quarries. — Sarcophagus. — Immense Obelisk. — Method of Quarrying. — PenteUcus. — Assouan. — Aspect, — Buildings. — Population. — Bazars. — Female Ornament. — Fine Situation. —Scene at the Boat.— Emoluments of Office .... Page 187 CHAPTER XIII. Return Voyage.— Agreeable Anticipations.— Reflections.— Downward Nav- igation of the Nile.— Nile Boat.— The Crew.— Sailor Absent.— Delay .— Negotiations.— A happy Prisoner.— Knavery.— Fine View of the Tem- ple of Ombos.— Hadjar Silsily.— Sandstone Quarries.— Their Form and great Extent. — Processes of Quarrying. — Towering Walls. — Stairs. — Christians. — Curious Fact. — Grottoes. — Antiquity. — View of the Quarries. —Edfou.— Limekilns.— Dogs.— Boys.— Funeral Dance.— Music— Temple of Edfou.— Splendid Propylon.— Present Uses of the Temple.— Fine Col- onnade. — Inscriptions. — Accumulations. — Aerial Village. — Descent into the Temple.— Dimensions.— Base Idolatry.— The Town.— Houses.— Ruins of ApoUonopolis Magna. — A Mutiny Quelled. — El Kab. — Ancient Town. —Brick Walls.— Their Entireness and Antiquity.— The Grottoes of Ei- lithya. — Tombs. — Inscriptions and Representations. — Agricultural and Domestic Scenes. — Ancient Manners. — Musical Instruments. — Other Views.— Rude Sculpture.— Ruined Temple.— Skepticism.— The Fate of Pharaoh.— Second Visit to Esneh.— The Zodiac— African Wind.— A hot Day.— Return to Thebes— Frank Boats.— A Frank . . .204 CHAPTER XIV. Sunday.— Present State of the Site of Thebes.— Antiquity of Thebes.— Magnificence of its Ruins.— Difficulty of describing them.— Drawings. — Long Avenue of Sphinxes.— Vestiges.— A Sphinx.— Great Number of other Statues.— Approaches to the Temple of Carnac— Smaller Tem- ples.— Beautiful Gateway.— Large Propylon.— Temple of Isis.— Dimen- sions, &c. — Second Approach. — Three fallen Temples. — Statuary. — Propyla and open Courts.— Colossal Statues.— Vandahsm.— Third, or Western Approach.— Avenue of Spliinxes.— Immense Propylon.— View A2 VI CONTENTS. of the Ruins.— Geographical Table.— First Court of the Temple.— Side Chapel. — Sohtarj' Column. — Fragments. — Colossi. — Great Portico.— Dimensions and Number of Columns. — Roof. — Windows. — Ornaments. — Ruinous Courts. — Obehsks. — Statuary. — Peculiarity of this Temple, — Truncated Obehsks.— Sanctuary.— Its exquisite Workmanship and Beau- ty.— Its Freshness.— Excellence of Eg>-ptian Architecture.— Other Apart- ments of the Temple.— Statues.— Colonnades.— Gateway.— Dimensions and Magnificence. — Grand Combination of Temples. — ^Walls. — Ancient Habitations.— Profusion of Sculpture.— War Scenes upon the Walls.— Interesting Inscription. — Artificial Lakes. — Antiquity of the Temple of Camac— Thebes, west of the Nile.— Village of Gomou.— Sepulchral DweUings Page 225 CHAPTER XV. Visit to the Tombs of the Kings.— A Ride on Horseback.— A Cicerone.— Faults of the Genus. — A Blunder. — Description of the Route. — Marine ShellsupontheMountain.— Situation of the Tombs.— General Description. — Entrances. — Long Corridors. — Interior. — Tomb of Belzoni. — Dimen- sions. — Descent. — Grotesque Ornaments. — Grand Discover)^ of Belzoni. — Ancient Painting. — Sketches. — Cartoons of Raphael. — Processions. — The Four Races of Men. — Royal Chamber. — Sarcophagus. — Character of the Painting. — Dimensions of several Tombs. — Bruce's Tomb. — Corridor. — Side Chambers. — Interesting Paintings. — Musical Instruments. — Agricul- tural Scene. — A Kitchen. — Furniture. — Injustice done to Bruce. — Viola- tion of the Tombs of the Kings. — Their Design. — Monuments west of the River. — Their Situation. — Grand Design. — Temple in Gomou. — Another ruinous Temple. — Broken Statues. — Memnonium.— Approach. — Ruin- ous Propylon. — Fine View. — Battle Scenes. — Columns. — Statues. — Bro- ken Colossus of Rameses. — Its Dimensions. — Ancient Bricks. — The Vo- cal Memnon. — Curious Testimonies. — Description of the two Colossi. — Architectural Remains near the Memnon. — Medinet Habou. — Great Ex- tent of Ruins. — Entrance of the smaller Temple. — Church. — Pavilion. —Sculpture.— Great Temple —Unique Pillars:— Scenes on the Walls. — Sea Fight. — Prisoners. — Barbarous Custom. — Hunt. — Other Temples. — Tombs. — Their Appearance and Number. — Construction. — Inhabited. — Additions. — Fine Situation. — Ancient Paintings. — Vast Excavations. — Vandahsm.— Representations of Ancient Manners. — Their Historical Value. — Relique Hunters. — Desecration of the Tombs — Counterfeit An- tiques. — Tact. — Visit to Carnac by Moonhght. — Thebes and its Monu- ments. — Universal Desolation. — Genius of the Ancient Egyptians. — Their Wealth and Civilization. — Probable Character of their Government. — Antiquity, Extent, and Population of Thebes. — Resources. — Decline and Ruin.— Nebuchadnezzar.— Cambyses.-Lathyras .... 243 CONTENTS. Vll CHAPTER XVI. Descent of the Nile. — Gheneh. — Cotton Factory. — Trade Bazar. — Bad Mor- als. — Females in PubUc. — Attempts at Reform. — Frank Visiters. — Visit to Dendera.— Site of Tentyra.— Gateway.— Plain of Dendera.— Cattle.— Broad-tailed Sheep.— The Temple.— Its Age and present Condition.— Typhonium. — Gow. — Meeting with a Fellow-countryman. — A Pelican. — Visit to Siout, — Causeway and Bridge. — Canal.— Interior of the City. — Slave Trade. — Fertility of this Region.— Lycopolis.— Tombs in the Mount- ain. — Detestable Traffic. — Antinoe. — Ruins. — Grottoes of Beni Hassan. — Their Form.-^Paintings. — Scenes from the Lives of the Ancient Egyp- tians. — Female Amusements. — Ancient Statues. — Visit to the Ruins of ■Memphis. — Modern Village.— Forest of Palm-trees. — Mounds. — Their Appearance.— Fragments. — Excavations.— Colossal Statue.— Antiquity of Memphis. — Its Desolation foretold Page 274 CHAPTER XVH. Return to Cairo. — Tediousness of the downward Voyage. — Preparation for a Journey through the Desert. — First Ride upon a Camel. — Favourable Result. — Dragomen. — Contract for Camels. — Bedouin Customs. — Diplo- matic Forms. — Turkish Coins. — Bazars and Workshops in Cairo. — Bread, Mills. — Bakers. — Caution of Tradesmen. — Regulations of Trade. — Func- tions of the Sheik. — Apprentices. — Unskilfulness of Mechanics. — Sad- lery. — Tanners. — Tailors. — Clumsy Instruments and Workmanship. — Mechanical Genius of the Fellahs. — Timber. — Egyptian Cooks. — Excel- lence of Egyptian Coffee.^Their Mode of preparing it, — Pipe-making. — Syrian and Egyptian Tobacco. — Water-pots. — Water of the Nile. — Scent- ed Vessels. — Water-carriers. — Bottles. — Spinners. — Weavers. — Govern- ment Monopolies 288 CHAPTER XVHI. The Government of Mohammed Ali. — Opposite Opinions. — Great Talents of the Pacha. — Difficulties and Success. — His Reforms. — Internal Ad- ministration. — Civil Divisions of Egypt. — Moudyrs. — Mamoors. — Nazirs. — Their Functions. — Higher Officers Foreigners. — Their Fidelity to the Pacha and Oppression of the People. — Tyranny of Native Officers. — Universal Dread of the Pacha. — Frank Courtesy. — Security of Travel- lers. — Wrongs of the Fellahs. — Their Abjectness. — Conduct of Travel- lers. — Judiciary. — Bribery and Perjury Universal. — Military System of Egypt. — Albanian Soldiers. — Negro Troops. — Col. Seve. — Mameluke Officers and Camp at Assouan. — Frightful Mortality among the Black Troops. — Impressment of the Fellahs. — The Egyptian Army. — Statistics. — Pressure upon the Country. — Armies of Europe. — The Conscription and its Abuses.— Desperation of the People.— The Fellahs good Soldiers. —Immunities of the Army.— Uniform.— The Pacha's Schools a Part of Vm CONTENTS. his Military System.— Branches taught— Primary Schools.— Their Plan and Objects. — Opposition of the Parents. — Character of the Eleves. — European Officers.— Tariff of Pay.— The French in Egypt.— Solyman Pacha.— Manufactures.— Pohcy of the Pacha.— Losses.— The Causes.— Patriotic Eflfusion. — Decline of Agriculture. — Financial Talents of Mo- hammed Ali.— His Revenue.— Its Sources.— Land Tax.— The Pacha the sole Proprietor. — High Taxes. — Various Impositions. — Misconduct of the Publicans.— Anecdote. — Monopolies. — Enormous Taxation. — Collection of the Revenue.— The Bastinado.— Stupid Obstinacy of the Fellahs.— Legal Process. — Opinion of Mohammed AU's Government. — EflFects of his Reforms and Improvements. — Selfishness of his Pohcy. — His Learn- ed Men. — DemoraUzationof the People. — Intemperance. — Ibrahim Pacha. — Rapid Progress in Vice. — Influence of Innovation on the Opinions of the People.— Contempt for Christianity.— Causes.— Prospective Advan- tages Page 299 CHAPTER XIX. Journey from Cairo to Suez.— Departure from Cairo.— The Tour fashion- able and interesting. — Reasons for attempting it. — Fellow-travellers. — The first Encampment.— Delay.— Tricks.— Our Caravan.— Petty Theft. — Outfit for the Journey. — A Company of Ishmaelites. — African Boy. — A Night in the Desert.— Habits of the Arabs.— The Road.— Route to In- dia. — Caravansaries. — Waymarks. — Soil of the Desert. — Marine Petrifac- tions. — Petrified Timber. — Egyptian Agates. — Mountains. — Salt. — Trees and Shrubs.— High Winds.— The Mirage.— Wells.— Habits of the Camel. — Arrival at Suez. — The Plain of Suez. — Ruins of Kolsum. — Description of the Modem Town.— Population. — Harbour. — Walls. — Hotel. — Com- mercial Importance and Prospects. — Projected Improvements. — Raihoad. — Canal. — The Ancient Canal. — The Bazar. — Passage of the Red Sea by the Israehtes. — The Place. — Doubts. — Niebuhr's Opinion. — Situation of the Land of Goshen. — Route to the Sea. — Retrograde Movement. — Ne- cessity of a Miracle. — Its Objects. — Passage at Suez. — Arguments in its Favour. — Objections. — Lower Passage at Bedea. — Reasons for adopting Shaw's Opinion. — The Scripture Account. — The "East Wind." — More Objections. — The greater Miracle the more probable. — The Pass at Be- dea. — Mr. Leider's Opinion. — Meaning of the Arab Names . . 327 CHAPTER XX. Journey from Suez to Sinai. — Sail on the Red Sea to the Wells of Moses. — The Asiatic Shore. — Character of the Plain. — Incrustation of Salt. — Ayoun Mousa. — Gardens- — Tradition. — Fountain of Naba. — Reinforce- ment.— The Bedouins.— Mode of TraveUing.— Time-saving Expedients, —Morning Walks.— Plain of El Ahta.— The Red Sea.— Beautiful Illu- sion. — Vale of Bedea. — Wady Waradan. — Definition. — The Pastures of the Desert.— The Camel's Food.— The Plain of Waradan.— Jebel el CONTENTS. IX Raha. — Ain Howara. — The Mara of Moses. — Proofs. — Description of the Bitter Fountain.— The Power of IncreduUty.— The Tree that healed the Water. — Philosophy. — The Opinion of a Sailor. — Another Bitter Fount- ain.— Wady Gerundel.— Wells.— Palm-trees.— Shrubbery.— The Well- of the Desert. — Wady Gerundel the Elim of Exodus. — Mineralogists. — Limestone Mountains. — Wady Usita. — Singular Appearance of the Mountains. — Description of this Part of the Desert. — Vegetation. — Wady Thali.— Wady Shubaka.— Wady Tarba.— Route of the Israelites.— Di- rect Road to Sinai. — Wady Humar. — Salt. — A Casualty. — Sandstone Mountains.— A Luxury. — Water of the Nile. — Temperance of the Be- douins. — Domestic Habits. — Dress. — Sandy Plain. — Jebel Tih. — Bedouin Cemeteries. — Religious Habits of the Arabs. — Granite Mountains. — An interesting Valley. — Character of the Mountains. — Variety of Colours. — Porphyry. — Wady el Boork. — A Massive Tripod. — Mysterious Inscrip- tions. — Singular Aspect of the Granite Cliffs. — View of Jebel Sherbal. — Description of our Route. — Porphyry Strata.— Approach to Sinai. — Mount- ain Pass. — Nuked Howa. — First View of Mount Sinai. — Its Appearance. — Emotions. — Arrival at the Convent of St. Catherine. — Mode of Admis- sion. — Letters. — Irksome Delay. — Ungracious Reception. — Retrospect. — Our Bedouin Guides. — Their good Conduct. — Their high Spirit. — Hon- esty. — Sheik Salah. — The Towarahs. — Their Poverty. — Domestic Ani- mals. — Food. — Trade and Occupations. — Their Love of the Desert. — The Journey of the Israelites. — Desolateness of the Region. — Absolute Steril- ity. — The Miracles of Moses necessary. — Subsistence of their Flocks. — Names. — Want of Guide Books. — The Bible. — Ignorance of the Bedouins Page 351 CHAPTER XXL Mount Sinai. — Ascent. — Egress from the Convent. — Garden of the Con- vent. — Artificial Steps. — Obstructions. — Mountain Springs. — Chapel of the Virgin. — Monkish Legends. — Gates. — View. — Valley of the Cjrpress. — Verdure. — Chapel of Elias. — Portrait. — The Ascent. — Low Tempera- ture.— Summit of Sinai.— Church and Mosque.— Grotto.— Legend of the Monks. — Noble View. — General Character and Aspect of the Sinai Mountains. — Wild and various Forms. — Colours. — Their awful Sublim- ity. — A fit Theatre for Divine Manifestations. — Station of Moses during the Battle with the Amalekites.— Camel's Track.— The Sinai of the Monks not the Sinai of Moses.— Horeb.— Jebel Sooksafa.— Wady el Ra- ha.— Wady Sheik.— The Camp of the Israelites.— Ascent of Sooksafa. —Ignorance of the Bedouins and Monks.— Difficulties of the Ascent.— Character of the Mountain.— Perilous Situation.— The Summit of Sook- safa.— Reasons for believing Sooksafa to be the true Sinai.— Lord Lind- say's Opinion.— Objections to it.— His Objections to Sooksafa.— The Dec- alogue on Mount Sinai.— Descent from the Mountain.— Impassable Ra- vines.— Unsuccessftil Attempts to reach the Valley.— Anxious Moments. X CONTENTS. — Imprudence. — Return to the Convent. — Jebel Mennagia. — Its Elevation and General Character. — Valley of Rephidim. — Jebel Mennagia not the true Sinai. — Wady el Deir. — Traditionary Objects around Jebel Sook- safa. — Description of the Convent. — Romantic Situation. — The Build- ings. — Charities of the Monks. — Their Bread. — Arab Servants. — Interior of the Convent. — Corridors. — Chambers. — Style of Workmanship. — Tour of the Convent. — The Chapels. — Doubtful Interpretation. — Le- gends. — The Mosque. — Its Origin. — The Church, its Origin, Ornaments, and Traditions. — St. Catherine. — Library. — Wolf, the Missionary. — Unique Cemetery. — The Monks. — Their Ignorance and Indolence. — In- fluence upon the Bedouins. — Their Hospitahty. — Ill-disguised Cupidity.— Prices. — Arak. — Drunken Servants. — Gardens of the Convent. — Mechan- ical Skill of the Monks. — Influence of the Monastic Life. — Monkish Tra- ditions.— The Rock of Horeb.— The Valley of Rephidim.— Probably near to Sinai. — Sinai and Horeb. — Springs on Mount Sinai. — Geographical Position. — Number and Mode of Life of the Monks . . . Page 384 CHAPTER XXII. Journey from Sinai to Acaba. — Preparations. — Meager Resources of the Convent. — Crowd of Bedouins. — Confusion. — Gratuities. — Impositions. — Departure from the Convent. — Encampment in Wady Sheik. — Our Car- avan. — Twahb. — Rumours of Danger. — Policy of the Alouins. — Unex- pected Storm. — A Magnificent Scene. — Uproar in the Camp. — Bloodless Battle. — Bedouin Usages. — Camp in Wady Tahfi. — Negotiations with TwaUb. — Envy of the Sheiks. — Aspect of the Desert. — Wady Germanina. — Sandstone Mountains. — Laborious Progress. — High Temperature. — WadyMegara. — Acacias. — Wady el Ain. — Large Trees. — Ruins. — Fount- ain of El Ain. — Bad Water. — Sutferingfrom Thirst. — Improved Health. — Bedouins. — Desolate Regions. — Interesting Mountain Pass. — Geological Curiosity. — Singular Formation of the Sandstone Mountain. — Incrusted Pebbles. — Wady Souana. — Geological Phenomena. — Wady Shubaka. — Ignorance of our Guides. — Aspect of the Desert. — Ain Shara. — Wady Tih. — The Mountains. — Wady el Sata. — Thirst. — Excessive Heat. — Hadji Route from Cairo to Mecca. — Wild Scenery. — Descent to the Gulf of Acaba. — Granite Mountains. — Simple Monuments. — Palm-trees* — Arrival at Acaba ' . 420 CHAPTER XXni. Situation of Acaba.— The Castle.— The Town.— Population.— Trade.— Ne- gotiations with Hussein. — His Caution and Tact. — Exorbitant Demands. — Aid of the Egyptian Governor. — Threats. — Hussein. — Sea-bathing.— Difficulties. — Departure of the Tow aras.— Payment in Advance. — A new Thought. — Dishonesty of Hussein.— Sheik of Wady Mousa. — Farther Im- positions.— Power of the Sheik.— The Governor of Acaba.— Ezion Geber CONTENTS. XI ad Elo. — Ailanth. — Water. — Meeting with an American. — Disadvantage of large Parties. — Safety in the Desert. — Diversity of Objects and Tastes* — Departure for Petra. — The Alouins and their Manners. — Wady Araba. — Opinion of Burckhardt. — Mountains. — The Weather. — Thirst, and brack- ish Water. — Disappointment. — Wady Gerundel. — Ruins. — Vices of a hungry Camel. — Geological Phenomena. — Description of Wady Araba. — Journeys of the Israelites. — Wady Araba not the ancient Channel of the Jordan. — Proof — We leave Wady Araba. — Good Water. — Farther Noti- ces of the Valley. — Bedouin Tents. — Oasis. — Extensive View. — Com- parative Elevation of the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Dead Sea. — Mountain Formations. — Route to Petra. — Curious Forms of the Rocks. — View of Mount Hor. — Arrival in Petra . . Pase 437 TRAVELS EGYPT, ARABIA PETRyEA, AND PALESTINE. CHAPTER I. Embarcation.— Departure from Athens.— Fellow-passengers.— Voyage to Syra. — Delay. — Commercial importance of Syra. — Harbour. — Public Ed- ifices. — Ship-building. — Situation of Syra. — New and old Town. — Im- posing View. — Visit to the Shore. — The Contrast.-— Description of the Houses and Streets. — Nuisances. — Trade. — Schools. — Voyage to Alex- andria. — Greek Islands. — Their general Appearance, Productions, and Climate.— Fine Weather.— The Lycurgus-— Etiquette of a Ship of War. — National Prejudices. I SAILED from the Piraeus, the beautiful harbour of ancient as well as of modem Athens, for Alexandria, on the 19th day of December, 1839, on board the French steamship Lycurgus. Mr. Cooley and his lady, of New- York, with whom I had made a tour in Greece, were my fellow-pas- sengers. The voyage to Syra was made during the night, and afforded us no opportunity to view the coast of Attica, and the islands of Zea and Thermia, the Ceos and Cythnos of the ancient Greeks, between which our course lay. We reached Syra, after a sail of eleven hours, at nine o'clock in the morning. There we were detained until Sunday, De- cember 22, waiting for the French mails, which, however, did not arrive, the steamboat from Malta by which they were expected having, from some cause, been detained. This delay gave us an opportunity to visit the city of Syra. It consists of an old and new town, the latter having grown into importance since the commencement of the Greek rev- olution. The exposure of commercial enterprises, upon Vol. I.— B 14 SYRA — IMPORTANCE — SITUATION. Continental Greece, to the vicissitudes of this savage war, attracted trade to the islands, and Syra profited more largely, perhaps, than any other by these calamities. It has con- tinued to prosper to the present time, and its position upon the great thoroughfare from Western Europe to the Levant will probably secure to it a permanent importance. Steamboats from Trieste, Marseilles, Alexandria, and Constantinople meet here to exchange passengers, mails, and merchandise. It is the most populous as well as the most commercial city in Greece. The harbour is ample and commodious. A new custom- house and lazaretto have been erected upon a large scale, and of solid and handsome architecture. Considerable ac- tivity is apparent along the wharf, and I counted twenty new ships, several very fine ones, upon the stocks. Upon the whole, this town has more visible commercial prosper- ity than any other place in the kingdom! The situation of Syra is striking and beautiful. An am- phitheatre of mountains embraces a small valley of uneven surface, variegated with small hills. The modern and commercial part of Syra is built here, covering the beach, and extending back upon the rising ground, which has just elevation enough to present the houses distinctly to the view of a spectator on a vessel entering the harbour. Be- yond the new town there is a tract of unoccupied ground, about a quarter of a mile wide, also of such elevation as to be distinctly seen from the harbour. Beyond this strip of land, which, though rocky and barren, is terraced and cul- tivated, rises a lofty conical hill, upon the upper declivity of which, and apparently around the whole circumference, the old Venitian town is built. The lofty summit of the mount is crowned with the pal- ace of the Catholic bishop. The houses are all plastered with lime, and of dazzling whiteness. I have seldom seen a more picturesque and lovely sight. So much for Syra as VISIT TO THE SHORE. 15 seen from the steamboat. We were desirous of enjoying a nearer view of a scene so enchanting, and lost no time, af- ter the boat came to anchor, and we had attended to the requisite formalities at the health-office, in visiting the shore. No deception was ever more complete than that which these wretched, whitewashed habitations — I should rather say dens — had produced upon our vision. Hardly any of the houses are more than one story high. In front they are of one story, while the rear wall is nearly or quite on a level with the earth. Many of them are hardly ten feet square, and nearly all are without floors. The roofs are flat, and covered with earth. The streets, if so they may be called, are scarcely two yards wide. They perpetually change their direction, making right or acute angles almost at the corner of every house. They are not paved. Where the rock permits, a gutter has been formed by the action of the rains and of the slops thrown from the houses. The filth is inconceivable, and equalled only by that of the inte- rior of the houses, of which we had a good view, as the doors Avere mostly open. The streets were, in many places, rendered nearly impassable by the swine tied before the doors, of which I saw more in Syra than all Greece be- sides. This description applies to by far the largest part of the city. A small section of it is built in a better style. Some respectable houses are seen near the shore. One street exhibits an active business. Several grocery estab- lishments, especially, are extensive and well supplied. We saw a number of bookstores and stalls, and in one instance, a range of large new buildings, with marble fronts, occupied by tradesmen. The most interesting features of the city are its commercial activity and its schools. With a popu- lation of 20,000 inhabitants, it has 2000 children in a course of education. The most considerable of these institutions was founded by the Rev. Mr. Robertson, a missionary from the United States. It is conducted at present by an Eng- 16 VOYAGE TO EGYPT. lish clergyman, and is, we were informed, in a flourisliing condition. We left Syra after a delay of more than two days. Our direction was eastward for twenty-five or thirty miles, when we turned towards the south, and sailed through the chan- nel that separates the islands of Naxia and Paros. These islands, as well as Syic'd, Andros, Tenos, Mycone, and the multitude of smaller ones which we passed in our voyage from Athens to Egypt, present nothing to the eye but bare precipitous rocks, which rise abruptly out of the sea, and shoot up into mountains of considerable elevation. They, however, imbosom many small valleys, which are well peo- pled, and fertile in currants, vines, and the other agricul- tural products of Greece. This information I derived from Mr. Perdicaris, United States consul at Athens, an in- telligent Greek gentleman, who was our fellow-passenger, and who spent the previous summer in the island of Andros. The climate is salubrious, and it is resorted to for health, during the warm season, from Athens and other parts of Continental Greece. Our voyage from Syra to Alexandria was truly delightful. The weather was fine, the sea calm and unruffled. The Lycurgus was a boat of the first class, with elegant and ample acconmiodations. These steamers are regular ships of war in the French navy, and have the advantage of the good order and exact discipline for which the public ves- sels of this nation are now distinguished, and which, I ap- prehend, in case of another conflict with a maritime power, would be found to give to this branch of the national force of France an efficiency for which it has not been greatly distinguished in its disastrous conflicts with the navy of Great Britain. The Lycurgus mounted two large and four smaller guns, and had a complement of perhaps thirty men, a captain- commandant, a first, second, and third lieutenant, a sur- geon, &c. AN INCIDENT. 17 A slight incident occurred early in the voyage, charac- teristic of the French, which did not lead us to expect all the pleasure that we afterward realized. In returning on board after our reconnoisance of Syra, the small boat from which we were climbing up the sides of the Lycurgus was tossed about by the agitation of the waves, which beat against the side of the ship with considerable violence, and made our transit difficult as well as hazardous. This pro- duced some huri^ and flutter of spirits, and we hastenedy upon deck without noticing the respectful salutations of the officers and crew, with which, as we soon learned, it is customary to greet gentlemen and ladies coming on board. This was certainly a little awkward, but the cause of the oversight was apparent enough. The captain followed us to the cabin, and, with a gravity worthy of a more serious occasion, made us acquainted with the well-established custom. We apologized in due form, and were agreeably disappointed in finding him, in all our subsequent acquaint- ance, a gentleman of easy and unaffected dignity, and ami- able deportment. I never made a more agreeable voyage ; and I shall long remember the good ship Lycurgus and her gentlemanly commander with peculiar pleasure. I had previously made a number of voyages upon the Mediterra- nean, all of which were memorable for bad weather, sea- sickness, and indifferent fare and accommodations. Here everything was propitious. The deep blue sky was not obscured by a single cloud, day or night ; and the tempera- ture was delightfully soft and agreeable. It was, indeed, a luxury to breathe the air, and promenade the clean, broad deck, which was as steady as a parlour. Our fare was but too good; and the cabin, berths, staterooms, and beds per- fectly fresh and clean. I afterward heard many complamts, chiefly from English travellers, of the French steamboats in the Levant, and of the Lycurgus in particular. The offi- cers were said to be rude and overbearing, the servants in- B 18 VIEW OF ALEXANDRIA. attentive, the fare bad, the beds and table dirty and ill kept. All of this is so much at variance with my own experience, that I am compelled to make some allowance for national prejudices, which, after twenty-five years of peace and friendly intercourse, still exist in the minds of many Eng- lishmen to such an extent as to render them quite blind to all the evidences of civilization and good-breeding that may chance to be exhibited by their French neighbours. They are especially slow to perceive that Frenchmen sometimes practise the virtues of cleanliness and good cookery. CHAPTER II. First View of Alexandria. — Description of its Site. — The Pharos. — Ras el Tyn. — The New Harbour. — The Old Harbour. — Progress of liberal Opinions. — The Pacha's Palaces. — Windmills. — Pompey's Pillar. — Tur- co-Egyptian Fleet. — The Crescent. — Instructive Moral. — The Landing. — First Greeting of the Donkey Boys. — Streets. — Bazar. — Mohammed- an Shops and Tradesmen. — Aspect of the Crowd. — Merchandise. — Style of Building. — Houses of the Poor. — The Frank Quarter. — Ibrahim Pa- cha.* — Pubhc Edifices. — Arsenals, Warehouses, &c. — Villas. — Population of Alexandria. — Trade. — Re\dval of Prosperity. — Canal. — Advantages of its Position. — Walls of the City. — Fortifications. I ROSE very early on the morning of the 25th of Decem- ber, and found the Lycurgus at rest off Alexandria, waiting for daylight to enter the harbour. We were in Africa. The city of Alexander and the Ptolemies, renowned through so many ages for its commerce and wealth, its arts and literature, rose before us at the distance of less than one mile ; and the low, sandy shore of Egypt, the maritime bor- der of the Delta, stretched out to the right and left till its dim outline was lost in the distant horizon. The present city of Alexandria is built chiefly upon a THE HARBOUR. 19 neck of land extending into the sea to the peninsula or long bank of sand which lies nearly parallel with the shore, distant half a mile or more, and forms the two ports. The celebrated Pharos of the age of the Ptolemies was situated near the eastern termination of this peninsula. Its site is occupied by a Turkish fort, Avhich commands the entrance to the old port, east of the city. At the western extremity of the peninsula is Ras el Tyn, the Cape of Figs, around which is the winding and difficult passage that leads into the new port. This noble harbour, which is capacious and secure at all seasons, and possesses sufficient depth of wa- ter for the largest ships, is at present almost exclusively used. The old harbour is much exposed in bad weather, and only admits the smallest class of vessels. Before the reign of the present pacha, the ships of all Christian nations were confined to this dangerous roadstead, and none but the faithful were allowed ingress into the western port. This humiliating distinction is now abolished. We entered the harbour a little after sunrise. The splendid new palace, or, rather, palaces of Mohammed All, were on our left upon the Ras el Tyn. They consist of the residence proper of the pacha, a separate edifice for his harem, and a third, designed, it is said, for the entertain- ment of strangers of high birth or office who may visit Egj'pt. On our right the shore was covered with wind- mills, to the number of perhaps 150 or 200. They are cir- cular buildings, constructed of white stone, and employed by the pacha, who built them, for manufacturing flour for the army and navy, and other public establishments. From their position they are striking objects. Such a city of windmills is nowhere else to be seen, except at Lille, where 400 are employed in making oil. Pompey's Pillar is a mile or more from the beach, but in approaching the harboiu" it seems to stand among these windmills. Farther out at sea it is a noted landmark for sailors, towering high 20 TURCO-EGYPTIAN FLEET. above all other objects. We anchored nearly half a mile from the city, and in going ashore in a small boat, passed through the Turkish fleet, recently surrendered to the Pa- cha of Eg}^pt by the stupendous treachery of the Ottoman admiral. The Egyptian fleet was moored in company with the Turkish, though occupying an outer position, apparent- ly with a view to greater security, and to prevent the pos- sible loss of a prize so noble in itself, though so basely won. The whole consisted of not less than sixty vessels of war. Twenty were ships of the line, including several of 140 and 120 guns, and about as many were large frigates. They were manned by nearly 40,000 sailors : the Turkish ships, it is said, mostly by Greeks ; the Egyptian by sable Nubians. The decks appeared crowded with men, the small boats were darting in all directions, and nothing could be more lively and picturesque than this martial assemblage of va- rious dialects, colours, and costumes. Nearly all the ships appeared to be new, and, to an unprofessional eye, none could be of more beautiful architecture or in finer condi- tion. The Egyptian fleet has been constructed under the superintendence of French engineers ; the Turkish ships by Mr. Rhodes, a citizen of the United States. These have been pronounced by the most competent judges to be unsur- passed by any specimens of naval architecture in existence. Such is the opinion expressed by Commodore Porter. I saw here, for the first time, the Turkish crescent, so long the terror of Europe, and the successful antagonist of the Cross upon so many bloody fields. I saw it now, the dis- honoured flag of a fallen empire, ignominiously betrayed into the hands of a rebellious vassal. The sight was in- structive : it was historical and prophetic. The combined fleet, which constituted the grandest display of maritime power I have anywhere seen, so fully engaged my atten- tion that I bestowed little observation upon other objects ; but I do not think there were many merchant vessels in the harbour. GOING ASHORE. 21 The history of the betrayal of the Turkish fleet and its consequences, teaches an impressive lesson to unprincipled ambition. At the time of my arrival in Egypt, Mohammed Ali was exulting in the good fortune which, without an effort on his part beyond the agency of cunning and gold, had delivered into his hands the whole maritime power of the sultan, and laid open the Ottoman empire to his disci- plined and superior armies. This splendid success, how- ever, was the precursor of ruin. It awakened all Europe to the extent and profligacy of his designs, and the danger- ous energy of his character ; and in a few short months the world has seen him stripped of his conquests, and reduced to his original condition of a vassal and tributary to the grand seignor. We had no sooner reached the land than a score of don- keys and their drivers rushed towards us from all quarters, and we were nearly trampled under their feet, as well as stunned with loud vociferations, before we were able, with the aid of a young Irishman connected with one of the hotels, to engage as many of these indispensable animals as were necessary to carry us through the narrow, muddy streets, to the quarter of the city inhabited by the Franks. Walking is quite out of the question with all who have any objection to being covered with mud, and jostled and trod- den upon by loaded camels. One of these huge animals kneeled down upon the beach alongside our boat, and wait- ed patiently till our baggage was piled upon his back and bound with ropes. We then set off for our hotel, urging our way through dense crowds, whose strange looks and costumes assured us that we were at length among a race of men unlike any- thing we had seen before. We passed though the bazar, which I perambulated twice more in the course of the day. The streets are very narrow, and appear much more so from projecting casements on either side, which nearly meet. 22 STREETS, SHOPS, AND TRADESMEN. The gloom is increased by awnings of boards, and some- times of palm-leaves, extending across the street, and form- ing a kind of roof, which excludes the rays of the sun, with- out, however, being so well constructed as to shed rain. The goods are exhibited for sale in stalls of very inconsid- erable dimensions, open in front, and even with the street. The seller commonly sits cross-legged within, upon a mat or carpet. The customer does not enter the stall, for which there is not often sufficient room, but stands in the street while he examines the article which he wishes to purchase and negotiates the price. When not engaged, the merchant commonly has a long pipe in his mouth, with the bowl rest- ing on the ground. Clad in a long, flowing robe, which is confined just above the hips with a broad silken girdle of the most showy colours, his head adorned with a huge white or scarlet turban, his legs uncovered almost to the knee, his feet also bare, or in red or yellow slippers, he sits listless and at ease. He makes no demonstrations of eagerness to sell his wares : he eyes you coldly — you are apt to think contemptuously, as you pass. He smokes de- liberately and incessantly, and now and then strokes his long beard, which falls down upon the bosom. An endless train of camels, laden with immense leathern bags full of water, building materials, sacks of flour, barrels of sugar, and eveiything which in other regions is trans- ported in carts, fills the narrow street, threatening to over- turn you and your diminutive steed. A host of donkeys and their drivers ; women, their legs bare to the knee, but with their faces carefully veiled ; a promiscuous crowd of men of all colours and all costumes — gorgeous, fantastic, wretched, many of them nearly naked — with their loud, confused din of outcries and vociferations, form a scene that is quite indescribable. One's head soon grows dizzy with the strange sights and strange sounds. The bazars contain a profusion of fruits and vegetables : MERCHANDISE HOUSES. 23 dates, figs, oranges, and all the delicious products of the East. I observed large quantities of confectionary, which had the appearance of being very good. The supply of tobacco and pipes is incredibly large, as it needs must be to meet the demands of a people who all smoke all the day long. Many shops were tolerably well supplied with wool- len and cotton goods, hardware, &;c. Groceries, especially sugar, coffee, and salt, are government monopolies, which do not appear so freely in the market. They are sold at prices fixed by the pacha, and under his special direction. The houses of the native population are built of brick or stone. They have no pretensions to architectural beauty, and they exhibit a gloomy appearance, from the small num- ber of windows on the street. I speak here of dwellings of the better sort. The habitations of the poor, which con- stitute a large proportion of the whole, are of a very infe- rior description. They are rudely built of stone and bricks dug up from the ruins of Old Alexandria. In height they seldom exceed six or eight feet, nor should I think their di- mensions in length and width above eight or ten feet. The doors are three feet or three feet and a half high. The roof is flat, and formed by a sort of plaster, apparently a composition of mud and gravel. The walls are usually daubed with some kind of mortar, though they are often left even without this bad cement, and strongly resemble the stone walls of a badly-managed New-England farm. The better sort of Europeans inhabit a separate part of the city, denominated the Franks' Quarter. The houses here are generally elegant and well built, upon broad, airy streets and squares. A number of these edifices are immense quadrangles three or four stories high, with long galleries running around the interior court, to which the teeming pop- ulation of these huge piles ascend by flights of stairs rising from, the enclosed area, and thus arrive at their respective apartments. This combination of many dwellings in one 24 PUBLIC EDIFICES. vast edifice gives to this part of the city an air of amplitude and magnificence that is quite imposing. Ibrahim Pacha, son to the viceroy of Egj'pt, has built a number of houses or palaces of this description, which are let to a multitude of tenants, chiefly foreigners. He follows, in this instance, the example of his father, in combining the functions and gains of a thriving man of business with those of a ruler. Several very good public edifices, ornamental to the city, have been erected by the reigning pacha. The arsenals and palaces upon the Ras el Tyn, as well as several exten- sive hospitals and manufactories, are structures of this de- scription. He has also built a number of warehouses to se- cure the cotton, wheat, and other products of the agricultu- ral industry of the nation, nearly all of which pass into his hands. The barracks and other edifices connected with the military and marine service are also numerous and ex- tensive. I was agreeably surprised, in my rides outside of the city, to see a number of tasteful country seats, with gar- dens well enclosed, and planted with ornamental and fruit- trees. Palm and orange trees especially are abundant. The villas are of recent construction, and indicate, I would fain hope, some progress in wealth and civilization among this degraded people. Alexandria now contains 40,000 inhabitants, not including in the enumeration persons connected with the army and navy, who amount to nearly as many more. It engrosses, at present, the whole foreign commerce of Egypt, with the exception of an inconsiderable trade in rice still carried on by Rosetta and Damietta. It has risen rapidly into impor- tance under the renovating and creative genius of Moham- med Ali. Forty years ago it was in ruins, without wealth or trade. From being, next to Rome, the most magnificent city in the world, as it was under the emperors, and even to the time of its falling under the dominion of the Sara- cens, it had declined, by the beginning of the present cen- RETURNING PROSPERITY. 25 tury, into a wretched Arab village of 7000 or 8000 inhab- itants. It had even lost the advantage of its position, by the disuse and final obstruction of the canal by which it communicated with the Nile and the interior of Egypt. It was thus completely isolated upon the verge of the great Libyan Desert, and no longer able to profit by the exuberant fertility with which the annual inundation so richly endows the valley of the Nile. The canal of Mah- moudieh, incomparably the most valuable of Mohammed Ali's improvements, has restored to Alexandria her lost in- tercourse, not only with Cairo and Upper Egypt, but with Arabia and India, and she now bids fair to regain a consid- erable share of her ancient commercial importance. Hers is the only safe harbour upon the whole Mediterranean coast, stretching from Mount Lebanon almost to the Straits of Gibraltar. It is the natural emporium of the commerce which, in better days, may be expected to spring up be- tween Asia and Africa, and is directly upon the ancient thoroughfare between Europe and the Indies. With such advantages, it would seem that nothing but untoward polit- ical events is likely to check the tide of prosperity which is beginning to revisit this interesting city. Alexandria is surrounded by a high wall, the work of the Saracens, and built about 600 years ago. It had fallen into a ruinous condition, and has been thoroughly repaired by the present pacha. Several forts have also been erected to de- fend the city from attacks by land, and the approaches from the sea are also guarded by strong fortifications. Only a small part of the area enclosed by the walls is occupied with buildings. The rest is covered with ruins, inter- spersed with a few verdant spots cultivated as gardens. Vol. I.— C 26 ANCIENT ALEXANDRIA. CHAPTER III. Site and Remains of the Ancient City. — Fragments and Accumulations. — Ancient Arches. — Reservoirs. — Present Supply of Water. — Excavations and their Object. — Monuments. — Pompey's Pillar : its Shaft and Pedes- tal. — Ambition of Visiters. — Interference of the Government. — Misno- mer. — Cleopatra's Needle. — Dimensions. — Preservation. — The Cata- combs. — Probable Origin. — Cleopatra's Baths. — Funeral Processions. — Public Mourners. — Their Grief — Conjugal Discipline. — Opinions of an Arab. — Visit to the Palace. — View of the Pacha. — Audience-room.— Dress and Person of Mohammed Ali. — His Ministers and other high Of- ficers. — Their Origin and Career. — A purchase of Circassian Boys. The present city of Alexandria occupies a small part only of the site of the ancient, the ruins of which extend to a great distance south and east of the modern town. The traveller to Rosetta is in the midst of them for nearly four miles. They consist of hillocks and mounds, rising in some instances thirty or even fifty feet above the original surface, formed of the rubbish of ancient buildings, and increased by accumulations of sand. At the first view they seem to be only sandbanks, gradually formed from the sea and the des- ert. Fragments of stone, however, of plaster and terra- cotta, are seen even upon the surface, and extensive re- mains of stone and brick structures are soon found by ex- cavations. These seem not to be made for any other pur- pose than to obtain materials for new constructions. These ancient stones, which are calcareous, are also burned into lime. A very large proportion of the existing houses and walls have evidently been built out of these ruins. The site of the ancient city was very little elevated above the level of the sea. The houses were built upon arches of brick, many of which remain entire, and are found at the depth of from twenty-five to thirty feet. These arches an- swered the double purpose of foundations for houses and reservoirs for the water of the Nile, which was conducted MONUMENTS. 27 into them in the time of the inundation. They contained a year's supply for all the wants of the city. Many ancient cisterns are still employed for the same purpose. The water, however, no longer flows into them through the old aqueducts, which have all been choked with rubbish or de- stroyed. It is brought from the canal on the backs of cam- els, at the season of the inundation, when the reservoirs are filled for the year, and it is drawn out for use by wells sunk through the rubbish. The excavations for building materials seem at present to be carried on to a great extent, induced by the rather ex- tensive improvements now in progress. Fine blocks of marble are frequently discovered, and many fragments of noble granite pillars are seen lying on the surface or half buried in the rubbish, which have been brought to light by these random researches. A more systematic and scientific examination would unquestionably lead to valuable discov- eries. Perhaps it would throw new light upon the history of the arts in Egypt and the world. Such investigations, however, are not to be expected under tne present govern- ment, which is incapable of acting upon the high motives that animate the scholar and antiquary in their pursuits. Of all the splendid monuments which are known to have adorned ancient Alexandria, only a few remain. Of these, Pompey's Pillar and Cleopatra's Needle are the most im- portant, and for their preservation we are indebted to their own solidity and massiveness, which have enabled them to resist the Vandalism of barbarians, and the cupidity of learn- ed and civilized Europe. The shaft of Pompey's Pillar, which consists of a single piece of red granite, is 73 feet in length by 27 feet 8 inch- es in circumference. The entire height of the monument, including pedestal and capital, is 98 feet 9 inches. The diameter of the top of the capital is 16 feet 6 inches.* The * Wilkinson's Topography of Thebes, p. 289. 28 poiMpey's pillar. pedestal is about 15 feet square by 12 in height. The capital is of a grayish stone, apparently of bad workman- ship, and a good deal corroded by time. The pillar it- self, with the exception of some injury near the base, re- tains its primitive integrity. The pedestal consists of sev- eral sorts of stone, the largest blocks of which are of the same kind of red granite with the shaft. It has been clum- sily repaired, and deformed with a daubing of mortar to stop the interstices between the stones. It has a ruinous ap- pearance, and at first sight some wonder is felt that it is able to support the immense weight of the pillar. This beautiful monument is much defaced by the names of travellers inscribed upon it, mostly in a very clumsy manner, with paints of all hues. Its great elevation, one would think, should have secured the upper portions of it from these memorials of low ambition ; but a cord, it seems, was sent over the top attached to a flying kite, by which a ladder of ropes was raised, that gave access to these aspi- ring visiters. It was a fashion with many travellers to write letters to their friends from this lofty pinnacle, and epistles are seen in several books dated on the top of Pom- pey's Pillar. Others held convivial parties there, consist- ing of ladies as well as gentlemen. Some inconveniences which grew out of this practice led the government to pro- hibit all persons from ascending to the top of the monu- ment. Every one who sees this stupendous mass of stone in its present position, inquires how it was brought from the distant quarry and planted upon its pedestal. Such ques- tions often occur in viewing the monuments of this peculiar country. They have never been satisfactorily answered. This should be called Diocletian's Pillar, having been rear- ed in honour of that emperor. Cleopatra's Needle is an obelisk of the same species of red granite with Pompey's Pillar, and doubtless from the same quarry at Syene. This monument is ascribed to m\ nl'i niti inii m CI, 'K tj) FAT iaA;S .^^ 1', ih; 1;) ;i .. •!■; . fOhi-lisks nl Alcxaruln;..) ///V ^-'A'. ^/'/ &• lUUVniKHS , N K\V YOltK Cleopatra's needle. 29 Thotmes III., who reigned B.C. 1495. It was first reared in Heliopolis.* It is eight feet square at its base, or, rath- er, at the surface of the earth which has accumulated around the base, to what height is not known. Another obelisk of the same dimensions lies upon the ground at a small distance from the first : the length of this is 62 feet. Both are monoliths, and stood at the entrance of a magnif- icent temple. Several attempts have been made to trans- port the prostrate mass to Europe. It has been disinterred for this purpose, having been covered w4th rubbish to a considerable depth. This monument belongs to England. The one which is yet standing has been presented by the pacha, as we were told, to the King of France. These obelisks are much more massive than those which were transported to Rome by the emperors, or that which has recently been reared in the Place de Concorde at Paris ; a circumstance that may prevent their deportation, and pre- serve to Egypt two of the most precious relics of its an- cient civilization. Cleopatra's Needle is within the walls of the city. Pompey's Pillar is a short distance beyond them, in a southwest direction. We rode on donkeys to the Catacombs, which are close to the sea, two miles south of the city. They are formed by excavations in the calcareous rock, of which the shore is here composed, and seem to have been of great extent. The entrance to most of them is quite obstructed with sand. We penetrated the interior of the most accessible with con- siderable difficulty. It is an extensive gallery, from which several passages diverge to the right and left, which are now choked up with earth and rubbish. This gallery ter- minates in a kind of circular temple, with a beautiful and well-proportioned dome. In the sides of this apartment are three deep alcoves, not unlike the chapels of a Catholic church, each of which has three recesses, one on either * Wilkinson's Thebes, p. 288. C2 30 CATACOMBS — FUNERALS. hand, and another in the rear wall, designed, no doubt, for the reception of human bodies. Over the entrance of this rotunda are Doric ornaments, which leave little doubt that it is a work not more ancient than the foundation of the city. Probably the excavations were originally made to procure building stone, and subse- quently formed into cemeteries for the dead. Near the Catacombs, in the direction of the city, are other excavations, into which the waves of the sea rush with considerable force. They are called, it is not easy to conjecture for what reason, Cleopatra's Baths. If baths at all, they were confined and inconvenient ; more likely to have been used by the plebeian multitude than by the lux- urious mistress of Antony. On our way to visit the Catacombs we encountered two funeral processions. The first was that of a small child. The body, in this instance, was deposited in a basket, and carried upon the shoulder by a man who preceded the rest of the company. A number of persons, perhaps a dozen men and women, followed in rather a disorderly manner, looking about with the utmost unconcern, but chanting in mournful strains. The other funeral was much more nu- merously attended. The body, which was that of an adult person, was carried by four bearers upon a bier. There was no coffin, none being used in burying the dead in this country ; instead of which, the corpse was dressed in grave- clothes, and covered with a large shawl. It was borne with the head foremost. A number of shabby-looking men went before the bier in a sort of straggling procession, chanting as they advanced. It was followed by a train of perhaps twenty or thirty women, who were veiled, and clothed in white. Their dress and whole appearance were poor and mean, leaving one to conclude that the profession of mourn- er, to which they belonged, is not lucrative. They are said not to get more than one piaster— less than five cents CONJUGAL AFFECTION. 31 — per day. They sang a dirge in very melancholy and piercing tones, and their attitudes and gesticulations were those of vehement and overpowering grief. They tore their loose, disordered hair, and smote their breasts vi^ith frantic violence, carefully avoiding, however, the infliction of serious injury, by staying their convulsive hands before they quite reached the head or bosom. The rending of the garments was done with similar violence, but with the same harmless results. A number of them carried in their hands blue handkerchiefs or strips of cloth, which they alternately stretched across the shoulders or back of the neck, and then raised with both hands high above the head, jerking them with much apparent violence, though the worthless rags resisted their efforts and received no damage. These funeral trains were going from the mosque, where religious ceremonies had been performed, to the cemetery outside of the city. This was all ludicrous enough. Another exhibition, equally characteristic of the manners of the country, which we met with in the same excursion, was much more se- rious. We were stopped by a large crowd, which quite filled the street near one of the public warehouses. I heard heavy blows, followed by piercing cries, in the midst of the throng of rather shabby-looking people. Urging on my donkey to the spot, I saw an athletic man inflicting merci- less blows upon a female with a heavy stick. She cried out piteously, but without any effect. The crowd looked on with interest and apparent satisfaction, and no one at- tempted to interfere. I inquired of the young Arab whom we had employed as a dragoman what was the meaning of this outrage. He answered, with an air of great indiffer- ence, in his bad English, " It is an Arab man licking his woman." I asked him if this was a common practice. He answered, " Yes ; the wife do bad, and the Arab lick 'em." I afterward learned that this sort of domestic discipline is 32 VISIT TO THE PALACE. universal in this country. No one supposes it is wrong, or tliat the conjugal relation can exist on better terms. A Eu- ropean lady, resident in Alexandria, who happened to be with us at the time, informed us that she had lately inquired of a favourite servant after the health of his wife. Very well, he said — ^better than common the last two days, since he had given her a good flogging. She told him that Eng- lishmen did not whip their wives. He replied it was in- dispensable to whip Arab women, otherwise their husbands could not live with them ; they were not like Frank women. We were, of course, anxious to see Mohammed Ali, and the Danish consul, who acts for the American consul, Mr. Gliddon, now living in Cairo, had agreed to present us. He sent us a notice, however, before the hour appointed, that he was ill, and unable to keep his appointment. It was too late to make other arrangements, and we went to the palace in company with two English gentlemen, one of them belong- ing to the marine service of the pacha, wdth the hope of ob- taining at least a glimpse of his highness, and we were grat- ified with the sight of this remarkable man, though not ad- mitted to the honoiur of an audience. He was in his public reception-room, a splendid apartment, with marble floors, and a lofty, painted ceiling. A very sumptuous chaniJelier hung in the centre, and a broad divan, covered with crimson vel- vet and deeply fringed with silk, extended around three sides of the room. We entered an antechamber, or, rather, a vast hall, which was open to all, also paved with large squares of marble, and furnished with a fine chandelier and a divan, but of less costly materials. A large door, leading into the audience-room, stood open, and gave us a good view of the pacha, who stood at the lower end of the apart- ment, conversing with his prime minister. There might be thirty or forty persons present, all standing, and engaged occasionally in conversation among themselves, and inter- changing now and then a brief word with their chief. THE PACHA. 33 These were his ministers, the officers of his household, and the chief functionaries of the army and navy. Several Franks, employes of his highness, entered and departed during our stay. Mohammed Ali was dressed like his ministers and mili- tary officers. He wore a high red cap without the tur- ban. Several persons present wore the turban around the cap, leaving the upper part only and the tassel in sight. His loose Turkish trousers, of blue cloth, extended to the knee, below which they fitted close to the leg and ankle, and were ornamented with rows of buttons reaching about half way to the knee. His stockings were of white cot- ton, and his sharp-pointed slippers of red morocco. The outside dress was a gown or tunic of black silk, hanging below the knee, open before, and very loose. His enor- mous sleeves were open from the wrist nearly to the elbow, and swung loosely. Under this tunic was a close-sleeved jacket of splendid colours, and richly embroidered before. A sumptuous variegated girdle was wound several times about the body, just above the hips, and carelessly tied. He wore a cimeter, as did all the high personages present. In person the pacha is perhaps below the middle stature, rather thick set, though not corpulent. He has an ample forehead, though I could discover nothing remarkable in its development. His nose is rather large and prominent, the mouth small. His beard, which is perfectly white, hangs down upon his bosom, and, though rather thin and scanty for an Oriental prince, it gives him, in the eyes of one a little accustomed to Turkish visages, a venerable air. His eyes are dark and piercing, and planted deep in their sock- ets. I was too remote to catch their peculiar expression. Everybody seemed at ease in his presence. They ad- dressed him without ceremony; and the whole spectacle had a practical air beyond what I expected to see. I looked upon Mohammed Ali with a more lively regard than I have 3 34 COURT OF THE PACHA. usually felt on beholding the monarchs of more civilized and powerful countries. I experienced a measure of the same peculiar interest in seeing the distinguished men of his court. Their history li,as in it much of the same ro- mantic incident and vicissitude. With veiy few exceptions, they were slaves originally brought from Georgia and Circas- sia, and bought in early boyhood by the pacha. They were carefully educated for the public service, and then promoted to such mihtary or civil posts as they were thought quali- fied to fill. There they had ample opportunities for the dis- play of talent and zeal, under the watchful eye of their mas- ter. Those who distinguished themselves were promptly promoted to high offices, where their pay and appointments are upon a very liberal scale, it being the policy of the pa- cha to reward the services of his high officers very munifi- cently. The common soldier and sailor, and the labourer, are left to feel the pressure of his system. Those who merit promotion by good conduct have much reason to be satisfied, and are said to be strongly attached to the inter- ests of the pacha. The practice of educating Circassian slaves is still con- tinued, though it is no longer the exclusive policy. A gen- tleman of high respectability told me that he saw, only a few days previous to our visit, twenty-tluree boys presented for sale to the pacha, who purchased them in his presence. I have seldom seen such a number of noble-looking men as those who surrounded the viceroy at the time of our call at the palace. HOTELS IN ALEXANDRIA. 35 CHAPTER IV. Hotels in Alexandria and the East. — Coffee-houses. — Preparation for a Voyage to Cairo. — Sharpers. — Advice to Travellers. — Departure for Ca- iro. — Voyage to Atfeh. — Canal of Mahmoudieh. — Rapid Construction. — Great Mortality. — Route of the Canal. — Lake Mareotis. — Lake Madieh. — Ancient Fertility of the Precincts of Alexandria. — The Delta. — The Wheat-crop. — Egyptian Canal Packet-boat. — Unskilfulness of the Sail- ors. — Incidents.— Camels. — English Consul. — Grants of Land to For- eigners. — Tenure of Land. — Oppression of the Fellahs. — PoUcy of the Pacha. — Privileges of the new Proprietors. — Mr. Larkin's Improvements. — Prejudices and Suspicions of the Fellahs. — New Products and Imple- ments. — Youthful Labourers. — Sea Island Cotton. — Statistics. — Anec- dote. — Summary Courtsliip and Wholesale Marriage. — A Singular Re- quest. — Atfeh. — Frank Agent and his Boat. — Our Fellow-passenger. — Vermin. — Navigation of the Nile. — Mohammedan Tombs and Beggars, — Walks on Shore. — Egyptian Agriculture. — Crops. — Alarm of the Fel- lahs. — Persian Wheels. — Irrigation. — Plough. — Oxen. — Villages. — Cot- tages. — Furniture. — Dress of the Fellahs. — Gross Habits. — Wild Fowl. — Domestic Animals. — Adverse Winds. — A Man Overboard. — Narrow Es- cape. — First Sight of the Pyramids. — Completion of the Voyage and Ar- rival at Cairo. During our stay in Alexandria I lodged at Key's hotel, which is situated upon the great square in the Frank Quar- ter. The location is convenient and agreeable, and this hotel is probably as good as any other in the city. The traveller, however, who visits the Levant must not expect anything in the way of accommodations equal to even third- rate houses in Europe and the United States. A want of cleanliness, which pervades everything, is the great evil. The sleeping rooms are decidedly bad, and badly kept, and the table is invariably supplied with inferior articles of food, indifferently cooked and served up. The Frank coffee- houses which I visited are worse than the hotels — disgust- ingly filthy, and provided with the meanest fare. I did not enter any of the Turkish establishments, which are very 36 PREPARATIONS. numerous, and probably better, at least in the essential arti- cle of coffee. Fortunately, it is only in Alexandria and Cairo that the traveller meets with such annoyances. Beyond the walls of these two cities there are no hotels, good or bad, and he is left to supply himself as well as he is able with lodging, shelter, food, and attendance. It is customary for persons about to proceed up the Nile to Middle and Upper Egypt, to hire servants and lay in provisions, cooking utensils, bed- ding, &c,, at Alexandria. There are a number of Frank shops where everything necessary for the voyage is kept on sale, and the stranger is likely to be welcomed, even before he sets his foot upon the shore, by a number of obliging persons, who know far better than he does himself what he will need upon his long journey, and who are anxious to lead him to the only shop where his wants can be supplied. We purchased a small outfit of Mr. , an Englishman, upon his informing us that nothing of the kind could be got in Cairo, or any part of Egypt above Alexandria. We found, on our arrival at Cairo, that this same gentleman had an agent there, who sells precisely the same articles, and, far- ther, that he had exacted from us at least fifty per cent, more than articles equally good cost in the bazars of Cairo. Travellers ought to pay no attention to the representations of these sharks, however respectable and plausible in ap- pearance. The first care should be to engage a trustwor- thy dragoman, with whose aid they may purchase whatever they desire in the bazars, with the double advantage of ma- king a considerable saving in prices, and of getting a good lesson upon the customs and manners of the people. We hired two servants in Alexandria to accompany us up the river : Selim, who speaks English, French, and Ital- ian very imperfectly indeed, but well enough to answer our purpose, at twelve dollars per month. He was to act as in- terpreter, cook, and general servant. The other man, whom CANAL OF MAMOUDIEH. 37 we engaged at six dollars per month, was to act under his orders as an assistant. Having completed the arrangements for our journey to Cairo, we left Alexandria December 28, and embarked in a packet-boat which plies between Alex* andria and Atfeh, upon the Canal of Mamoudieh, so called in honour of the late sultan. We accomplished this part of our voyage in one day, having arrived at Atfeh a little after dark. This canal is forty-eight miles long, fifteen feet deep, and always ninety, often two hundred feet wide. The region being perfectly level, there was no occasion for locks. This is one of the improvements for which Egypt is most indebted to Mohammed Ali. It was effected, however, like too many of his enterprises, without regard to the suf- ferings and injustice which it might inflict on the people. When the route had been surveyed and the undertaking re- solved upon, a levy was made, almost en masse, of more than 200,000 fellahs, as the peasantry of Egypt are called, who were summarily dragged from their homes and employ- ments to labour for the public. In six weeks the excava- tions were completed, but 20,000 persons, some accounts say 40,000, had been swept away by diseases produced by incessant labour and exposure in a malignant climate. The canal commences about two miles from Alexandria, close to Lake Mareotis, along the shore of which it runs for several miles. On the opposite side, and at a short distance, is Lake Madieh, which stretches northward to the Mediter- ranean Sea, from which it receives its supply of salt water. These two lakes approach so near each other as to leave, in some places, little more ground than was necessary for the construction of the canal. During the invasion of Egypt by the English, they formed a channel through this isthmus, by which Lake Mareotis was filled with salt water, and many tracts of arable land, as well as a number of villages, were inundated. The sea- water, which greatly aggravated Vol. I.— D 38 AGRICULTURE. the previous insalubrity of Alexandria and its vicinity, has been shut out by the present pacha, and Lake Mareotis has been restored to its former condition of a vast lagoon, par- tially covered with fresh water in the rainy season, but dry during the greater part of the year. A few cultivated spots are seen near the city, along the shore of the lake and ca- nal, but, for the most part, the region is buried in sand, and really forms a part of the great Libyan Desert. When an- cient Alexandria stretched from its double harbour to Lake Mareotis, these shores were famed for gardens and vine- yards. After proceeding two hours or more through low, marshy grounds and lagoons, at this season mostly dry, we entered the rich, alluvial lands of the Delta. We were at once in the midst of green fields. The soil is of a dark chocolate colour, very adhesive when wet, and of great depth. The earth excavated from the canal, and lying on either side of it in immense heaps, is a rich mould, and uniform in its ap- pearance. The peasants were now engaged in sowing wheat. The season began some weeks before, and much of the land was covered with young wheat, which shoots forth from the earth with surprising vigour and rapidity. A great deal of the land in the neighbourhood of the canal is tilled in rice. This is inferior to that of Carolina — why, it is not easy to conjecture, as the situation is favourable for irrigation, and the soil, as well as climate, are as favourable as possible. We travelled in a boat drawn by horses — I doubt not the only one in Egypt or in Africa. It plies between Alexan- dria and Atfeh, nominally three times in a week, but without much regularity, and, I fear, with but little encouragement. This enterprise has been got up by a company of Franks. It is a very commodious conveyance, equal to the ordinary packets on our canals. Breakfast and dinner are supplied on board, in the European style, though at an enormous PACKET-BOAT CAMELS. 39 price. There were but few passengers, and we were told by a gentleman concerned that it was a losing business. The boat is managed by Arabs, who certainly conduct ev- erything in their department in the clumsiest manner. So simple an affair as meeting a boat, of which many were on their way to Alexandria, was attended with infinite bustle, and even some hazard. Instead of permitting the towline to drop into the water and pass under the keel, as is the practice on our canals, or of loosing it from the boat and al- lowing it to drag by, our barbarian crew always contrived to catch the approaching vessel under the prow or by the mast. If light, it was turned about with violence, and in danger of being capsized or sunk. If of sufficient size to present some resistance, our horses were dragged into the canal. Every man was then on the alert, which was chiefly manifested by loud vociferations from all points. The usual remedy was to disengage the horses as soon as possible. This was the fruitful source of new disasters. The traces were short, so that the swingle-tree always fell upon the horses' heels. Some of them took no notice of this, but stopped till things were set right ; others kicked with the utmost violence, precipitating the Arab riders from their backs into the canal, or down the opposite side of the em- bankment. Many times the horses ran away at their ut- most speed, and only stopped at the next station-house, of- ten several miles ahead. We passed during the day a long train of camels, with their packsaddles and drivers, which were proceeding along the towpath of the canal to one of the pacha's villages for winter-quarters. They belonged to the government. I counted 140, forming a train full a mile in length, upon the right bank of the canal. During this part of the voyage we had the company of Mr. Larking, British consul in Alexandria. He has resided in Egypt for many years, and is well acquainted with the 40 ENGLISH CONSUL — POLICY OF THE PACHA. present condition of the country, as well as its past history. I derived some interesting facts from this intelligent and affable gentleman, which I shall here present to the reader. He has received several grants of land from the pacha within the last two or three years, embracing, in the whole, about 5000 acres, and several villages, with their inhabi- tants, who are transferred with the soil. This is a new feature in the policy of the pacha, which, it is to be hoped, will lead to valuable improvements. Several Europeans have obtained similar grants, which, however, are not be- stowed indiscriminately, but only upon persons known to Mohammed Ali, and who enjoy his confidence. Grants are also readily made to Turks and other subjects of the vice- roy, but these show but little taste for agricultural enter- prises, and are not inclined to put their capital in a form so tangible as are the implements, livestock, and products of tillage. A large part of the soil of Egypt belongs to the pacha, and from time immemorial it has appertained to the sovereign authority. For the use of it the cultivator pays a fixed amount, commonly a share of the crop. It may, how- ever, be paid in money. This was the ancient usage, and it is still the legal system, though in point of fact it has de- generated into one much more irregular and oppressive. The whole product of the country is, with very slight ex- ceptions, at the disposition of the government, and the cul- tivator only retains of the fruit of his industry barely enough to support existence. This deplorable result of a system which certainly is neither paternal nor wise at best, is produced in the following manner. Large and irrespon- sible powers are given to the superintendents of the finan- ces for collecting the pacha's rents, which may amount to from $1 50 to $2 50 per acre ; a heavy imposition, when the price of commodities is considered. These powers are universally and shamefully abused. The amount levied by the government is the smallest part of the contribution ex- OrPRESSION. 41 acted from the peasant. The higher agents of the treasury- appropriate large sums to themselves ; and the collectors, who come in contact with the people, and upon whom, in their several spheres, the absolute authority of their supe- riors is devolved, always contrive to share in the plunder of the unhappy peasantry. It is not from occasional dis- honesty that the people suffer. Peculation is universal among the officers of government. The tenant is, of course, unable to meet demands which are multiplied and augment- ed till the most unlimited cupidity can find nothing more to plunder. He usually stands, therefore, in his accounts with the tax-gatherer, a debtor to the government, not only for the current year, but for the arrears of former years. The whole product of the land thus becomes subject to the disposal of the pacha. Something must, however, be left for the subsistence of the cultivator, and he must be sup- plied with seed for new agricultural operations. These he has from the government upon a credit, which perpetuates this stupendous system of grinding oppression, and of ab- ject, hopeless poverty. If in any instance a village or an individual, by means of uncommon efforts or of an abundant harvest, has succeeded for once in paying all claims, they are held responsible for some delinquency in their neigh- bours. The next village, or another peasant, has not paid, and the urgent demands of the government must be satis- fied. Thus all stimulus to industry is destroyed, and the whole agricultural population is depressed to one level of absolute and helpless poverty. If there is a pair of oxen, a cow, or a camel, or any other property in the shape of stock on the land, they belong to the government, having been alienated by the process I have described, and they are left as a loan with the peasant, to increase his taxes, and to produce the means of future exactions. Such is the actual condition of the agriculture of Egypt. This is the relation of the cultivator to the government. It D2 42 GOOD INTENTIONS. is often represented tliat Mohammed Ali has adopted this system from choice, wishing to engross all the agriculture and trade of the country in his own person. I was assured, on the contrary, on the best authority, that he regrets this ruinous state of things, without knowing how to apply the remedy ; not, perhaps, through any very tender concern at the sufferings of the peasantry, but because the vices of the system are becoming apparent, in the diminution of agricul- tural products, and a consequent falling off of the revenue. He speaks freely of the distress of the people and the mis- conduct of the tax-gatherers, but thinks the evil too deeply rooted to be removed or even encountered at present, when great political questions engross his attention, and the ne- cessity of keeping up large expenditures is imperative. When his relations with Turkey and Europe shall be fixed on a satisfactory basis, he hopes to reduce his expensive establishments, and provide for the permanent prosperity of the country. I have been assured by two European gen- tlemen who have the best means of becoming acquaint- ed with the sentiments of this singular potentate, that he is very sensible of the imperfections of his internal ad- ministration, and is very desirous of finding a remedy for them. It is in accordance with these views that he has granted lands to a number of Franks within the last year or two, and he observes the progress of their new modes of managing the soil and the peasantry with lively interest. No other condition is annexed to these grants than the payment to the pacha of the annual land-tax. Beyond this the government has no pecuniary claim, either upon the land or the peasantry, who by this arrangement are at once relieved from the endless exactions and oppressions of the tax-gatherer. They are responsible for their rent to the new landlord, and it is hardly possible that they should not be gainers by a change which, at the worst, gives them one instead of a host of oppressors. Everything depends upon SYSTEM OF MR. L . 43 the character of the proprietor, who succeeds, in effect, to all the powers of which the agents of the treasury have been divested. He has even a civil and criminal jurisdiction over the people who occupy his estate. Mr. L ap- plied to the magistrates on the occurrence of some disorder in his villages. They refused to interfere, and informed him that his powers were ample and exclusive over his own people. He subsequently established tribunals for the trial of causes and the punishment of offenders. He often sits himself as judge, in order to give as much solemnity as possible to the proceedings, and one of the janizaries of the consulate then officiates as executive officer. Petty thefts are the offences of most frequent occurrence. After having assumed the payment of all dues to the gov- ernment, and thus fully released his people from all inter- ference from the tax-gatherer, Mr. L settled the rela- tion between tenant and landlord on an intelligible and per- manent basis. He furnishes the necessary livestock and implements of husbandry, and receives one half of the pro- duce. All things considered, this is a liberal arrangement, highly advantageous to the cultivator. The cruel oppres- sions of the former system have, however, left a deep impres- sion upon the minds of the peasantry, which is no slight hin- derance to the introduction of meliorations. Mr. L was met, in his attempts at improvement, with uniform distrust, and his benevolent plans were opposed as parts of a new and far-reaching scheme of personal aggrandizement. Much of the land, though of the greatest fertility, was uncultivated, and had been so for centuries. When the fellahs were urged to plough a larger field, they uniformly declined, al- leging that it was useless, as they could, by no possibility, secure more than a bare subsistence. When told that by increasing their exertions they might get more money and accumulate wealth, they were incredulous, and said they should only earn money for the men in office, who would 44 OBSTACLES. not fail to come and rob them whenever their condition should be visibly improved. These objections, which are affecting comments upon the tyranny under which these poor people have groaned for ages, were gradually over- come by persuasion, kindness, and authority, and a large proportion of waste land has been brought into cultivation. The rest was to be sown during the current winter. Con- siderable difficulty was experienced in attempting to intro- duce better management and improved implements. The peasants excavate with a pickaxe, though the earth is soft and very favourable to the use of the spade. In making a ditch, one man stands at the bottom, loosens the soil with the pickaxe, and scrapes it into a basket. He then hands it to a second, stationed upon the verge, who pours it upon the earth at his feet. Ten men, in this way, could not per- form the work of one skilful labourer. The earth excavated from the gi*eat canal was removed in this way in baskets, carried upon the heads of the fellahs. Mr. L could not, however, induce his people to use the spade. In order to demonstrate its superiority, he worked with it himself, and explained the advantage of removing the soil by a single operation from its bed to the side of the ditch. All would not do, though he offered double wages to those labourers who would consent to adopt the new instrument. Not one accepted his proposal. They feared some hidden design, and, besides, why should they deviate from a mode of oper- ation so ancient in their country ? More time and a longer experience of the benevolent intentions of their new land- lord will no doubt overcome greater obstacles than this. Mr. L has ordered carts and ploughs from England. The former are unknown here, though no part of the world is more favourable to their use than the alluvial plains of the Nile. Camels and donkeys are the beasts of burden. The sheaves of wheat are piled upon their backs to be transported to the threshing-floor, which, in a climate that IMPROVEMENTS. 45 patclies vegetation to a crisp in the time of harvest, must be attended with great waste. The Egyptian plough is a clumsy, primitive contrivance, leaving room enough for im- provement. The peasants on Mr. L 's estate have be- gun to appreciate the advantages of their new position, and make evident advances in industry. Those of several of the neighbouring villages have applied to him, with many entreaties, to become the proprietor of their farms, and to extend to them the benefits of his protection. He is at present engaged in building on his new estate, and employs several hundred people in this Avay. He pays, on an aver- age, less than one piaster per day for labour. I observed a great many girls and boys, ten or twelve years of age, as well as men, at work on his improvements. They receive the same wages as the adults, and are even more valuable labourers in all but the heaviest work. They are more cheerful and active, not having yet learned, as their parents have, from bitter experience, that their condition is not likely to be made better by toil, and that the savings of indus- try only invite robbery and oppression. Mr. L^ is in- troducing olive plantations, as well as several other new species of agricultural products, upon his estate. This fact is interesting, not only as an economical improvement, but as showing his confidence in the permanency of the gov- ernment and in the safety of property. Some attempts have been made to obtain the seed of the Sea Island cotton, to which the soil and climate of Egypt seem adapted, but liith- erto without success. Once a quantity of seed was ob- tained, but none of it vegetated upon being planted, and this fact, together with the failure of many applications made through American merchants to obtain the means of natu- ralizing this valuable plant in Egypt, has produced the im- pression that our countrymen wish to monopolize its growth. I assured Mr. L that no such illiberal spirit dishonour- ed the Carolina planter, and I hope to furnish him with pal- 46 STATISTICS — LIBERAL GIFT. pable evidence of tlie erroneous impressions wHcli liave prevailed upon this subject. As it is very difficult to obtain authentic statistical in- formation with regard to this country, I set down here the result of two or three inquiries which I addressed to Mr. Larking. He thinks the pacha's army may consist of 180,000 men, his revenue of jC4,000,000 sterling. Mr. Waghorn, who has also much knowledge of Egypt and its public affairs, estimates the former at 220,000, the latter at jC6,000,000. The agricultural products of Egypt are di- minishing. Mr. L related an anecdote illustrative of the char- acter of Mohammed Ali and of the manners of the country. He received it from a bey, who himself obtained a wife by the method which the story describes. About three years since the pacha's health declined, and he resorted to the ad- vice of his physicians. They recommended a suitable regi- men, and, among other things, the greatest moderation in his pleasures. He soon afterward resolved to reduce his ha- rem, and to dispose of the supernumerary inmates of it among the officers of his court and army. In pursuance of this design, he ordered all the unmarried men who were of sufficient merit and rank to receive this token of his fa- vour, to assemble at an appointed hour in the garden of one of his palaces. They were advised of his gracious inten- tions, and properly arranged for the mode of procedure which had been chosen as most favourable to a judicious selection of husbands for the fair brides. The old lady who had the care of the harem, from a position where she was concealed from view, examined the physiognomy and port of each of the assembled bachelors, and, without farther cer- emony, wrote down the name of the lady whom she thought best suited to a man of such developments. The assembly was then dismissed, and each man, on going to his house, received his bride. This honour w^as not without its dis- THE HAREM. 4*3 advantages, since, if it should unaccountably happen that a man was not exactly suited in his new wife, he was de- prived of the distinguishing privilege of other Mussulmen. He had taken her for better or for worse, as no prudent courtier would incur the displeasure of the pacha by divor- cing a wife received under such circumstances. The pacha has now only three wives, who are elderly women, and have little influence over him. He seldom visits his harem ; and, what seems unnatural enough, according to our mode of thinking, the old ladies, who enjoy the distinguished honour of having been retained by him when the rest were dis- posed of in the manner above described, use all their influ- ence to induce him to replenish his harem with, young women. He is not disposed to comply with their request, and often speaks of his improved health and comfort under the present arrangement. The women married to the cour- tiers were not his«principal wives, but properly concubines, always inferior to those who enjoy the dignity of wife. These, among other prerogatives, have the management of the younger women of the harem. The mother of Ibrahim Pacha was retained. Mohammed Ali gave a liberal dower with each of the discarded women. We reached Atfeh, the terminus of the canal, at the end of a very interesting day. The night, which was excess- ively dark, had already closed upon us, and the rain fell in torrents. We slept on board the boat which brought us from Alexandria, and rose early in the morning to make preparations for proceeding on our voyage up the Nile, which we were now to enter. Passenorers and cargo must be transhipped at thi§ point, as the canal does not enter the river, but stops a short distance from its western bank. We had a letter of introduction from Mr. Waghorn to his agent resident here, who readily engaged to procure us a boat, which he succeeded in doing in a short time. As he as- sured us it was a first-rate vessel, we made no difliculty of 48 A ROGUE OTHER ANNOYANCES. paying the high price of 350 piasters, though 200 or 250 is the usual hire. Having shifted our baggage and stores on board, we set sail about 9 A.M. Atfeh is a large village, with a population, I should con- jecture, of not less than 5000, but wretchedly built of mud and sun-dried bricks. The narrow, filthy streets were rendered nearly impassable by deep mud, v/hich had been diluted into a thin, adhesive mortar by the copious rains, and the trampling of the men and beasts employed in load- ing and unloading the numerous boats. This disagreeable place must rise to some importance, from its position at a point where the immense agricultural products of Egypt are all transhipped in their way to market. We soon discovered that our obliging Frank friend to whom we had brought the letter of introduction had im- posed upon us shamefully in furnishing the boat. We were entitled to its exclusive occupancy, but found he had given us a fellow-passenger in the person of a filthy, dis- gusting old Jew, who seemed to be the prey of loathsome disease. He took a position just in front of us, where he was always in sight, environed with his outfit of old clothes, dirty quilts and mattresses, onions, bread, curds, &c., form- ing, together with his doleful chanting, such a collection as no man tolerably endowed with the five senses would vol- untarily endure in his neighbourhood. We ordered him ashore as an intruder, but he refused to go, claiming a right on board at least as good as ours, and affirming that he had paid his passage to the Frank agent. This the rais or cap- tain also attested, and the most we could obtain was his removal to a less conspicuous and more distant position. We also found that our vessel was, by the same authority, deeply laden with merchandise, which not only retarded its speed, but ensured the presence of a superabundance of the several species of vermin which are naturalized in this land of plagues. Our cabin literally swarmed with cockroaches TOMBS. 49 and other insects, which blackened the ceiling, and cover- ed every article of bedding, clothing, and food by thousands. After many vain attempts to rid om*selves of these annoy- ances, we gradually learned a lesson of endurance and res- ignation, which we subsequently found many occasions to practice. Boats upon the Nile are propelled by sails. The wind begins to blow from the north, at this season, about 8 or 9 o'clock in the morning, and dies away at sunset. It blows from the south during the night, when navigators upward bound are compelled to lie by, and moor their vessels under the bank of the river. The day after leaving Atfeh, December 30th, we passed a considerable to\vn upon the bank of the river, near which was the tomb of a canonized sheik. A number of the people collected on the shore as we approached, and, fol- lowing the boat, begged for bread and money. They wore green turbans, and their whole appearance was very supe- rior to that of the peasants we had previously seen. I in- quired of our dragoman if these people were driven to beg by want, and learned that they do it as a religious duty. They solicit alms in the name of the saint, of all boatmen, and promise to obtain his intercessions with the Prophet that the voyage of those who give may be prosperous. We subsequently saw many of these tombs, which are all simi- lar in their construction, being small quadrangular buildings hardly more than 10 or 15 feet square, built of white stone, or bricks plastered or whitewashed, and surmounted with a dome. They are commonly just outside of the village, but sometimes within it. We were always told, on inquiry, that these were tombs of holy sheiks. I frequently landed and walked on the shore to observe the farms and modes of agriculture. Nothing can exceed the fertility of the soil. It is of a chocolate colour, as is also the water of the Nile at this season. The principal Vol. I.— E 4 50 CROPS — PERSIAN WHEEL — PLOUGH. crop is wheat, now recently sown and being sown. There were also fields of cotton, beans, clover, flax, and Indian com. I saw some men near a small village employed in husking corn, and, on approaching them, found the grain to be of very inferior size and quality. It resembles the refuse of the New-England crop. We tried at this village to buy some fowls, of which we saw a great many, but the peo- ple said they had none for sale. They seemed afraid, and retired when we approached them. Selim said our pres- ence alarmed them, as they thought we would take their property without paying for it, as the employes of the gov- ernment are accustomed to do. I had many opportunities of examining the macliines em- ployed by the fellahs to raise water for the irrigation of their fields. A pit or well is sunk near the river, in the highest part of the bank. The water which flows in from the river is raised to the surface by a wheel, commonly turned by a buffalo, upon the principle of a horsemill in the United States. Upon this wheel is a band reaching to the bottom of the well, to which are attached a great number of earthen jars, that fill as they successively reach the wa- ter by the revolutions of the wheel, and are emptied into a cistern as they are brought to the surface of the earth. From this cistern, commonly made of clay, the water is conducted in shallow trenches to the field where it is want- ed. Lands which are inundated by the Nile want irriga- ting in the dry season to enable them to bear a second crop, and this is indispensable when the ground lies too high to be reached by the annual flood. The Egyptian plough is a simple implement, consisting of a long beam which reaches the yoke, one handle, a kind of double mouldboard that divides the furrow, and turns it on both sides, with a clumsy iron point. It is always drawn by oxen. These are tall, with short horns and long legs, straight and lean. They are very active, and seem to *ARAB VILLAGES, HOUSES, AND DRESS. 51 be serviceable. The yoke is straight, and from two to three yards in length. The banks of the Nile are studded with villages, mostly situated close to the river, upon elevations which are not covered by the inundations. These mounds or hillocks are evidently artificial, and are probably but the accumulations made by former villages, demolished by the action of the river or of the seasons. The cottages are built of bricks dried in the sun, usually containing an intermixture of straw, to make the cohesion stronger. They are, almost without exception, only one story high, have usually but one room, a clay floor, a roof of palm-leaves or straw plastered over with mud. As to furniture, I saw nothing but a few earth- en jars, and sometimes an old mat. In some of these hov- els there is a narrow, low platform raised upon two or three sides to sit and sleep upon, but more frequently I did not see any such convenience, the mud floor serving for both of these purposes. These villages appear ruinous, many cottages, though still occupied, having a side or one corner demolished by the weather. The streets or lanes are only of sufficient width to allow a man or donkey to pass. The filth within and without is beyond all concep- tion. The dress of the peasants is simple, consisting only of a shirt of coarse cotton reaching a little below the knees. Some of them wear a second garment of the same form and dimensions over the first. This is of coloured cotton, com- monly blue. Sometimes it is made of a very coarse brown woollen stufiT, which is much worn by the boatmen as an overcoat. Almost every man has a red cap, with at least a long strip of coarse cotton, commonly a very cheap cotton shawl, twisted around it by way of a turban. The head is closely shaved, with the exception of a tuft of hair upon the crown, and a cap of white cotton is usually worn under the red, below which a narrow border of it is commonly seen. Shoes of any sort are unconmion. 52 HABITS OF THE FELLAHS. Nothing at first struck us so disagreeably as the utter inattention of these people to those rules of propriety and modesty which, in all civilized countries, and even among barbarians. Nature herself seems to have ordained, so that they are obeyed instinctively. The fellahs seem not to be endowed with a sense of shame. Our sailors, as well as the people whom we saw along the banks of the Nile, raised their clothes as high as their arms, or threw them off entirely, whenever it was convenient either for the purpose of wading to the shore, for climbing into the boat, or for any other purpose . The presence of countrywomen, or of Frank ladies and gentlemen, operated no restraint upon them. I never entered a village without meeting the most disgusting spectacles. Even in the streets of Alexandria I was per- petually shocked with exhibitions which in other countries are not obtruded upon the public eye. We saw multitudes of wild-fowl, especially ducks and geese, during our voyage to Cairo. They appeared in im- mense flocks, and were, no doubt, visitants from colder re- gions, come to winter upon the abundant cornfields of Egypt. I observed very few sheep or goats, and cows are not numerous, though in some places droves of cattle, to the number of forty or fifty, were grazing near the river, tied to stakes driven into the ground. Donkeys and camels — the former mostly for the saddle, but used also to transport light articles ; the latter always as beasts of burden — abound in this part of Egypt. Everything is piled upon them which employs carts and wagons elsewhere. We were much baffled by changes of the wind, which usually blows with great regularity from the north in the daytime, and in the opposite direction during the night. On the third day from Atfeh it became more settled, and we had a strong breeze from the north, which enabled us to prose- cute our voyage several hours after sunset. I was sitting upon the after-deck, near the helmsman, where I spent many A MAN OVERBOARD. 53 hours every day, to enjoy a view of the lovely green fields, which were not visible from any other part of the boat, as well as to avoid the annoyances of the cabin. The sailors were asleep, and everything quiet in the boat, when I was suddenly startled by a loud splash in the water just behind me. The alarm was given that a man had fallen overboard. He had gone to sleep upon the deck near me, and rolled into the river like a log. A scene of indescribable confu- sion ensued, which, little accustomed as we were to the dis- orderly and boisterous manner in whigh everything is done by these people, gave us great anxiety and alarm. The boat, which was under a press of sail, was run directly to land. The sailors called aloud to the man in the water, who at length answered from a gi-eat distance below, having been rapidly borne along by the strong current, while we had been ascending the stream with still greater velocity. They ran along the bank till they were opposite to him, and swam to his relief, carrying an oar to aid in supporting him to the shore. We had soon the pleasure of seeing him safe on board. The poor fellow had resigned himself to his fate, after making some ineffectual efforts to turn out of the cur- rent towards the bank. He said he had commended him- self to Allah, and was waiting for death, when his ship- mates came to his rescue. There was, perhaps, more ap- parent than real danger, as these people are amphibious, and about as much in their element when in the river as on the land. I was not yet acquainted with their aquatic habits, and was truly thankful when I saw the poor fellow safe. Upon rising early on the morning of the first of January, I first saw the PjTamids, still far to the south. They appear- ed at that distance to be of no great elevation, and so ex- actly answered to the views given in books of travels, that I seemed to have seen them often. In a few hours more we had completed our voyage. We landed on the left bank of the Nile, near Shoubra, four miles E2 54 ARRIVAL IN CAIRO. from Cairo, being unable to reach Boulak, the usual point of debarcation. The river makes a sudden bend here, and was agitated by a violent wind. Shoubra is only a small village — indeed, it is a mere landing-place, within a little more than a quarter of a mile of the palace of the Pacha of Egypt, where he chiefly resides. The road to Cairo passes through the alluvial plain, here well cultivated in wheat, gardens, and clover, now of a deep luxuriant gi'een. We proceeded along a broad avenue of venerable syca- mores, whose spreading branches meet over the head of the traveller, and form an immense and impervious cano- py of foliage. The way was thronged with camels, and donkeys, and persons on foot, all denoting the neighbour- hood of a populous city. This bustling scene, as well as the opening view of Cairo, said to be striking when ap- proached from this quarter, was nearly lost to us on account of the clouds of dust that darkened the air, and, in spite of all precautions, nearly blinded us. We were too much en- gaged in protecting our eyes and lungs against this intoler- able nuisance to attend to anything else. I saw, however, a number of fine villas, enclosed in extensive and well- planted gardens. We entered the city through the princi- pal square, which had rather the appearance of a waste field, and took lodgings in the Frank Quarter, at Munday's hotel. LODGINGS. 65 CHAPTER V. Sojourn in Cairo. — Lodgings and Manner of Living. — Situation of Cairo. — The Nile.— The Delta.— The Valley of Egypt.— Cairo in the Natural Centre. — Walls. — Citadel, Old and New. — Commanding View. — The Palace. — Garden. — New Mosque. — Joseph's Hall. — Joseph's Well. — Massacre of the Mamelukes. — The Pacha's Apology. — Slave-market. — Nubians. — Negroes. — Streets of Cairo. — Jews' Quarter. — Dryness of the Atmosphere. — Filth. — Scavengers. — Fuel. — Style of Building. — Awn- ings. — Bazars. — Building Materials. — Windows. — Rude Workmanship. — Gates. — Police. — Mosques. — Minarets. — Population. — Smgular Fact. We remained in Cairo nearly three weeks, busily em- ployed in visiting the various objects interesting to a trav- eller, vv^hich are concentrated in this city and its environs in greater numbers than upon any other point in Egypt. After remaining a short time in the hotel, we hired a large house, furnished partly in Turkish and partly in European style, for which we paid only one dollar per day. Here we soon found ourselves very comfortable, and free to pros- ecute our inquiries. The great irregularity of meals, and other interruptions at the hotel, had so broken up our time as effectually to interfere with any plan of operations. Our servants now purchased provisions in the bazars, where they are abundant, though not all of the best quality. The mut- ton is decidedly good, fowls only tolerable. Eggs are very abundant as well as cheap. Bread is cheap, but of very in- ferior quality. By adding our travelling outfit of kitchen utensils and table furniture to the stock which we found in the house, we had a tolerable supply for our rather coarse style of cooking and housekeeping. Grand Cairo is nearly three miles east of the Nile, and about twelve south of the upper or southern termination of the Delta. There the river is divided into two channels, through which its waters flow into the Mediterranean, one 56 SITUATION OF CAIRO. diverging to the northwest, the other to the northeast, thus giving a triangular form to the alhivial region below. The base of this triangle, which is about 150 miles in length, rests upon the Mediterranean, and forms the northern bound- ary of Egj'pt. From a point on the shore midway between Rosetta and Damietta, which is situated near the two prin- cipal mouths of the Nile, to the bifurcation of the river below Cairo, the distance is about 100 miles. Here the fertile valley of the Nile is contracted to a dozen miles in width. At Cairo it is still narrower, and hence to the fron- tiers of Nubia, a distance of nearly 500 miles, its average wddth is about six miles. This narrow vale, which, seen from the Pyi-amids or some other commanding position, ap- pears itself but a broad river, follows all the sinuosities of the Nile through its entire length. It is bounded on the east and west by chains of mountains, which also conform so exactly to the devious course of the river, that they seem, no less than the alluvial plain that lies between them, to have been fashioned by its inundations. Beyond these mountains are vast deserts, stretching on the east to the Red Sea, and on the west to the interior of Africa. Such are the dimensions and form of Egypt, the same in ancient and modern times, for they are physically unchangeable. The area of this celebrated country is barely equal to one third of the State of New- York. Grand Cairo, it will be perceived by a glance upon a map, occupies the natural centre of Egypt. The metrop- olis has always been in this neighbourhood. Heliopolis was only five miles below, and the site of Memphis is not more than ten miles above the present capital. The posi- tion commands the approaches to Upper Egypt, and is upon the direct and natural thorouglifare between the Mediter- ranean and the Red Sea. Cairo is built chiefly upon the alluvial plain of the Nile, hut the eastern part of the city rests upon the lower decliv- THE JCITADEL. 57 ity of Mount Mokattam, a part of the long range which separates Egypt from the Desert of the Red Sea. It was formerly encompassed with a wall, which is attributed to Saladin. This enclosure still bounds the city on the east and south. The remainder of it is much dilapidated, and is included in the heart of the town, which at present ex- tends far beyond these ancient defences on its north and west sides. My first visit was paid to the Citadel, which is built upon the declivity of the mountain. It commands the city, but is itself overlooked by higher elevations which rise immediate- ly beyond it. It would be incapable of withstanding a reg- ular attack from without, but is quite sufficient to guard the town against a surprise, and, what is more important, to keep its population in awe. Formerly there were two citadels, the old and new. Both were united by the French when masters of Egypt, and now form but one fortress. The ascent from the lower part of the city is practicable by donkeys. The road, for a considerable distance, is cut out of the solid rock. The walls of this fortress are built in the most substantial man- ner, of hewn stone, and may be 40 or 50 feet high. On the south I should tliink them considerably more than 100 feet. On this side is a terrace which overlooks the city, and com- mands an extensive and splendid view, embracing Cairo with its mosques and minarets, Boulak, Old Cairo, the Nile, and the green fields and groves of palm-trees that, as far as the eye can reach, adorn its banks. Beyond the river are seen the site of ancient Memphis, covered with a forest of palm-trees, the Pyramids of Ghizeh, and the Libyan Mount- ains, which interpose between the Great Desert and the vale of Egypt. The palace occupied by Mohammed Ali as a town resi- dence is south of this terrace. A small garden intervenes between it and the point of view just indicated. This is an 58 THE PALACE. irregular edifice like the citadel, partly ancient, and partly built by its present owner. Several rooms are yet in the occupancy of the workmen, and the whole is, of course, seen to disadvantage. A number of apartments, into which we were readily admitted in the absence of the pacha, are ex- tensive and elegant. They are paved with large squares of white marble. The ceiling, painted in bad taste, is lofty, and the furniture elegant, consisting of large French mir- rors, splendid chandeliers suspended in the centres of the rooms, broad divans covered with rich silks or broadcloths, and deeply fringed with twisted silk of the most showy col- ours. One large room was covered with a sumptuous Per- sian carpet of signal beauty. Others were furnished with the best Turkey carpets. One splendid marble room had a fountain in the centre, profusely ornamented with showy but clumsily-executed sculpture. The attendant turned a faucet, and these sculptured figures discharged from their mouths four or five streams of clear water into the marble basin. It is, no doubt, a cool and delightful summer apart- ment. We also saw the pacha's bath, richly but unskilful- ly ornamented with marble. The small gardens belonging to the palace contain a variety of trees, shrubs, and flower- ing plants. They struck me as stiffly laid out, but it was delightful to stand in the midst of beautiful flowers on the second of January. At a little distance from the palace the pacha is erecting a splendid mosque, which is. to eclipse all the existing reli- gious edifices in this city of mosques. It is in a state of considerable adv'ancement, and a vast quantity of material is on the spot, consisting of blocks of wrought stone and marble, and a multitude of fine columns, partly antiques, and many new ones. As yet it has neither minaret nor dome. It is a quadrangle of great extent, like most of the large mosques, enclosing a court open to the sky. The exterior is of hewn stone, and of very solid, massive construction. MOSQUE — Joseph's well. 59 The interior consists of galleries running round the court, supported by long rows of fine marble columns. The wor- shippers perform their devotions under the galleries as well as in the whole enclosure, which is all holy ground. In this equable climate, where rain seldom falls, no inconve- nience is felt from want of a roof, and the exposure of an open colonnade. The noblest edifices of Greece are known to have been similarly exposed. This mosque occupies, in part at least, the site of an ancient and very splendid edi- fice, by some travellers called Joseph's Hall. It has long been dilapidated and nearly in ruins, and now a consider- able portion of it is demolished. Still several of the noble monolith columns of red granite which supported this state- ly edifice remain standing, and fully sustain the accounts of its former magnificence. The Hall was the work of the famous Saladin : the pillars were certainly taken from the temples and other structures of the ancient Egyptians. Joseph's Well is another stupendous monument, ascribed also to Saladin or YusufF, but is more probably the work of the ancient Egy^ptlans. It is excavated through the rock on which the citadel is built, 270 feet, to the level of the water in the Nile, which filters into it through the porous soil of the intervening region. It is oblong rather than cir- cular, the longest diameter being about forty feet. It is de- scended by a winding staircase exterior to the well, from which it is separated by a wall of the solid rock, which was left from one to two feet thick. There are windows in this wall, through which the light that enters at the top of the well passes into the staircase, and enables the visiter to pursue his difficult, and still rather dark walk along this low and spiral declivity. At the depth of about 180 feet an alcove is excavated in the rock. Here a buff'alo is stationed, and turns a wheel, on the same plan with those employed in irrigation, which raises the water from the depths below, emptying it from the earthen jars 60 SLAUGHTER OF THE MAMELUKES. appended to the band, into a reservoir excavated in the side of the well, upon the same level with the wheel. Another similar machine, at the top of the well, brings the water from this cistern to another on the surfacis of the earth, from which its brackish streams are distributed through the gar- dens and other establishments in the citadel. In case of a siege it would be the only resource of the garrison. It is not much used at present for drinking. Near the lower wheel is the mouth of a subterranean passage, of what ex- tent and for what purpose formed I know not, but my guide assured me it was the tomb of the patriarch Joseph ! We inquired for that part of the citadel where the Mam- elukes were assassinated by order of Mohammed Ali. Our guide pointed to a defile in one of the approaches, enclosed with walls of immense height, which was signalized by this dark tragedy. The unsuspecting victims were invited to be present at a military fete, given on the occasion of in- vesting the pacha's son with the command of the army about to be sent against the Wahabees in Arabia. The gate by which they entered the fatal defile was closed behind them, and the Albanian soldiers, who were posted upon the ram parts above, shot them down with musketry. Nearly 600 men were killed in the citadel, and a similar fate was soon visited upon the smaller bands of this brave but seditious corps, stationed in the pro\T.ncial towns. Mohammed Ali pretends to have had ample proof that the Mamelukes were fomenting a new plot against his government and life, and justifies this atrocious measure by the urgent necessities of his situation. I was informed by gentlemen who had fre- quently conversed with him upon this dark part of his ear- lier histoiy, that he speaks of it without reserve or delicacy. He says it was a controversy of life and death between him and the Mamelukes, and that he only anticipated their de- signs by superior address and activity. He is, perhaps, en- titled to be judged in this transaction by the moral code of THE SLAVE-MARKET. 61 the East, where treachery and assassination have always been the most common methods of obtaining and preserving political power. I paid an early visit to the slave-market of Cairo, which is always regarded one of the curiosities of the city. The buildings present nothing remarkable. They are quadran- gular, and of no great extent. The market-place is the open square enclosed by this dirty, ruinous structure. The slaves are in foul, dark rooms, that open into the court on all sides. There is likewise, on the second story, an open gal- lery, looking into the same court, where slaves are also ex- hibited. It is a ruinous, gloomy place. There may have been forty or fifty slaves present, mostly boys and girls from eight to ten years of age. About one half of them were Nubians. Their complexion was that of a very dark mu- latto ; their teeth were white and regular, and the expression mild and agreeable. I saw no sales, but was told that these boys commonly bring from $100 to $200. Several of the females wore ornaments of shining metal on their necks and arms, and upon the hair. They laughed, and ap- peared Ywy cheerful. The rest were less prepossessing in their appearance. They had coal-black skins, and short, curly hair, with all the other characteristics of the negro race. They were disgustingly filthy, though several fe- males wore a profusion of trinkets, and had their coarse woolly hair filled with grease, and twisted into very small tufts, that hung down on either side of the head. The whole had the appearance of a fringe of small snakes, and was a disgusting sight. Most of them were sufficiently clad in coarse dirty cot- tons ; one or two children, perhaps a dozen yeaie old, were nearly naked. The price of the negroes, who are from the interior part of Africa, and real savages, is about half that of the Nubians. Cairo is pervaded in different directions by several long Vol. I.— F 62 THE STREETS. thoroughfares, which, though neither wide nor direct, an- swer the purposes of intercommunication between the dif- ferent parts of the city. With these exceptions, the streets are all short and crooked, laid out without any system, and often terminating abruptly against walls and other struc- tures. They are all narrow — few are ten feet wide. The average width may be six feet, while many do not exceed three. In the Jews' Quarter, here, as elsewhere, the worst part of the city, the streets are so narrow that it is difficult to walk in them. It is impossible to pass a loaded donkey without stepping into a door or some other recess. These dark lanes are crowded with the descendants of Jacob, who have the appearance of abject poverty and degradation. The few shops which I saw in this quarter were of the worst description, dark and dirty, with only the most beg- garly supply of the meanest articles. I have learned, upon inquiry, that there is much real, and, according to the cus- tom of the East, more apparent poverty among the Jews in this city. A few of them have property, and are in respect- able business. None of the streets are paved. There is, however, no mud, the dryness of the atmosphere absorbing all moisture. Dust is the greatest annoyance. It rises in clouds, and fills the air whenever the slightest wind blows. It enters the houses, and covers clothes, furniture, and food. I was ad- vised to wear a veil as a protection to the eyes, but the mi- nute particles of sand still found a way to my lungs in un- diminished abundance. Cairo cannot be called a clean city, yet I saw nothing to authorize the representations of travellers who speak of it as the dirtiest place in the world. It is less so than any of the towns in Greece — than Naples or Rome. I could mention cities in the north of Europe with which it might bear a favourable comparison in this respect. Its exemp- tion from excessive filth is probably due more to the cli- HOUSES OF CAIRO. 63 mate, which is too dry to admit of mud or putrefaction, than to any proper attention of the police. I did not see scavengers at work, as in other towns. The children and old women gathering manure, which they place in baskets carried on the head, are the only functionaries of this sort who came under my observation, and these were chiefly employed in the suburbs and entrances of the town. The dung of camels, donkeys,