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UPPEE EGYPT: 
 
 ITS PEOPLE AND ITS PRODUCTS. 
 
 A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MANNERS, CUSTOMS, SUPERSTITIONS, AND OCCUPATIONS OF 
 
 THE PEOPLE OF THE NILE VALLEY, THE DESERT, AND THE RED SEA COAST, 
 
 WITH SKETCHES OF THE NATURAL HISTORY AND GEOLOGY. . 
 
 BY 
 
 C. B. KLUNZINGEE, M.D., 
 
 Formerly Egyptian Sanitary Physician at Koseir, on the Red Sea ; Member of the Gesellschaf t 
 , far Erdkunde zu Berlin, &c. &c. 
 
 WITH A PREFATORY NOTICE 
 BY DK. GEORG SCHWEINFURTH, 
 
 Author of " The Heart of Africa." 
 
 NEW YOEK: 
 SCEIBNEE, AEMSTKONG, & CO. 
 
 1878. 
 

AUTHOE'S PEEPACE. 
 
 Mighty is the stream of literature which since ancient times, 
 but especially in modern times, has flowed over the wonderful 
 land of the sacred Nile, but we are still far from being able 
 to boast of possessing a complete knowledge of even Egypt 
 proper. For the truth and accuracy of his descriptions of 
 its modern inhabitants Lane still remains unequalled, but 
 he has almost exclusively confined himself to the people of 
 the capital; on the subject of country life, and especially on 
 Upper Egypt, we possess merely the reports of travellers. 
 In the whole of Upper Egypt only a few Europeans have 
 hitherto settled, and these are almost exclusively Greek 
 traders, who are not in a position to utilize their experiences 
 by giving them to the world; still less is this to be expected 
 of the natives themselves. Accurate observations and judg- 
 ments cannot be attained by a bird's-eye view, but only by 
 living on terms of intimacy with the people as one of them- 
 selves (like Lane), gradually getting acquainted with their 
 manners, customs, and religious observances, and especially 
 their language, and for this a fixed abode and much time, 
 study, and self-denial are necessary. 
 
 When in 1863 I left Europe with the special object of 
 making zoological investigations and collections on the Eed 
 Sea, I resolved not to confine my observations to animals, 
 but to become acquainted with my whole surroundings, for, 
 
 ivJ162891 
 
IV AUTHOR S PREFACE. 
 
 as Humboldt says, one can only enjoy what one understands. 
 Since that time, from 1863 to 1869, and, with a break of a 
 few years spent in Europe, from 1872 to 1875, I lived at 
 the little Upper Egyptian seaport of Koseir on the Red 
 Sea, as sanitary or quarantine doctor, appointed by the 
 Egyptian government, but was also much occupied both 
 on private and official business in the neighbouring portion 
 of the Nile valley, corresponding to the ancient Thebaid, 
 and the present Tnudiriyeh of Keneh. As an inhabitant for 
 many years of a small town, where, so to speak, I formed 
 one of a family, as a doctor and government official, and as 
 a naturalist, I had ample opportunities for thoroughly 
 studying the language, and for becoming acquainted with 
 the country and the people, while Europeans who dwell in 
 the capital find it very difficult to pass beyond their own 
 circles and enter those of the native inhabitants. 
 
 My lengthened experiences and observations I have now 
 set forth in this book, and have attempted to clothe them 
 in a dress that will have some attractions for the public. 
 I have not adopted the plan of giving a descriptive account 
 of my travels, since the personality of the writer always 
 obtrudes itself in that form of composition, but have taken 
 the inquirer by the hand, and thus we pass together from 
 scene to scene. The comparison of the modern Egyptians 
 with the ancient appears to me specially interesting, the 
 more so as the inhabitants of Upper Egypt have preserved 
 the ancient type and many customs with remarkable purity. 
 The reader, therefore, may always have Wilkinson's Ancient 
 Egyptians at his hand. 
 
 Portions of the present work were originally published 
 in periodicals, such as "Ausland," Westermann's "Monats- 
 
NOTE BY THE PUBLISHERS. V 
 
 hefte," and the " Zeitschrift fur Erdkunde/' but these. por- 
 tions have been revised and greatly enlarged by observations 
 made during my second stay in Egypt; other chapters are 
 entirely new. 
 
 C. B. KLUNZINGER 
 
 Berlin, November, 1876. 
 
 NOTE BY THE PUBLISHERS. 
 
 This translation of Dr. Klunziger's Work has been prepared 
 by arrangement with the author, and with his active co-oper- 
 ation and assistance. It is illustrated by additional engrav- 
 ings after his own sketches, which do not appear in the 
 German edition. The Work has met with a very cordial 
 reception in Germany, where the press has bestowed upon it 
 the warmest encomiums. 
 
 Glasgow, October, 1877. 
 
PEE FACE 
 
 BY DE. GEOEG SCHWEINFUETH. 
 
 KiNDKED intellectual tendencies and a like interest in science 
 brought myself and the author of this work together in Cairo 
 thirteen years ago, and in a short time united us by the bonds 
 of a lasting friendship. When we first met in the city of 
 the Caliphs, I, a novice on African soil, had still to make my 
 primary studies, while the German physician and naturalist, 
 whom I hunted up in an out-of-the-way Arabic quarter, was 
 already far advanced in the language and in the knowledge 
 of the manners and customs of the people. 
 
 While others who had come to appropriate one thing or 
 another from the foreign world, unwilling to resign the home 
 comforts of hotel-life, allowed this world to pass before their 
 eyes as if on the stage of a theatre, and left chance to deter- 
 mine whither and how far their intellectual feelers should 
 extend. Dr. Klunzinger, as formerly Burkhard, "the son of 
 the Lutheran," and Lane of blessed memory, lived entirely 
 among the believing heirs of paradise. In modern times the 
 life of Europeans in the East has generally assumed such a 
 form, that one may have lived his twenty years in Egypt 
 without knowing much more about the country and the 
 people than may be found set down in any one of a hundred 
 books in which chamber students describe to us things they 
 have never seen. To this class of people my friend did not 
 belong. When I found him as above mentioned, in his house 
 of unbumed bricks, diligently practising among the poor, 
 surrounded by blind and lame from whose lips issued many 
 
Vm PKEFACE BY DR. SCHWEINFURTH. 
 
 a blessing on the self-sacrificing and disinterested friend of 
 man, while from the hands of others he received as his fee 
 zoological materials for his studies, I found a companion to 
 look up to, a model on whom to gaze with admiration. 
 
 Some months after my first meeting with the author, when 
 I had begun those travels which were to lead me in the course 
 of years from regions little known to others altogether un- 
 explored, I arrived at that secluded seaport where my friend 
 had meantime settled as sanitary physician. On three dif- 
 ferent occasions I was hospitably received in his house, and 
 passed many weeks by his side, introduced by an incom- 
 parable teacher into the Arabic world, and at the same time 
 made acquainted with the secrets of that subterranean 
 wonder- world, the corals. For many years after that did 
 my friend labour devotedly in this remote corner of the 
 globe on behalf of science and for the good of suffering 
 humanity. The inhabitants of Koseir still preserve towards 
 him the most grateful remembrance, and a brilliant testimony 
 to the love and respect which he was able to gain among 
 them was given by the elders of this town, when in a special 
 petition they prayed the supreme sanitary authorities to 
 renominate him as physician on his return as a private 
 individual after a few years' absence in Europe. 
 
 Solitary and without companionship in his researches, but 
 by no means turning his back with self-sufficiency upon what 
 society he could avail himself of, mean although the garb 
 might be in which it showed itself, and far from puffing him- 
 self up with the pride of being "the only living man among 
 shades," he lived here a man among men. Among fishermen 
 and mariners, among pilgrims and camel-drivers, among 
 petty dealers and lowly scribes, our friend of humanity has 
 sacrificed the best years of his life. The man of learning, 
 the naturalist above all, whose ideal everywhere is nature, 
 can never degenerate in the wilderness. 
 
 If some of us view with disgust the life of the upper and 
 
PKEFACE BY DE. SCHWEINFURTH. IX 
 
 highest classes among the modern Egyptians, the cause is 
 not far to seek. All their thoughts and actions centre on 
 the vile greed of money and shameless bondage to Mammon; 
 things which cannot find an equivalent in hard cash are 
 beyond the pale of their understanding. Here we see men 
 without character, without national feeling, without con- 
 science, from cowardice as incapable of crime as from mean- 
 spiritedness they are incapable of any noble action. But we 
 should be guilty of manifest injustice in judging of the 
 character of the people were we to allow our disgust for a 
 class to set us against the whole. If the poor appear covet- 
 ous, the oppressed cowardly, that by no means proves that 
 in the totality of their good qualities they might not be 
 placed far above us Europeans, who under a less favourable 
 sky enjoy immensely more favourable social conditions. But 
 in order to hold the balance quite true we must always, in 
 forming our judgments, keep in mind to compare like with 
 like; and in this most observers fail, for it is as a rule the 
 fortunate lot of our middle classes that they have before their 
 e^^es when they venture to describe the manners and customs 
 of the common people of Egypt. Such writers have often 
 indeed no thorough knowledge of our own working classes. 
 In fact, however, the Fellahin are only to be compared with 
 the dregs of our lowest social strata, and looked at from this 
 point of view, they cannot but appear to us worthy of ad- 
 miration. Deprived of almost all means of self-cultivation, 
 and without any pattern of morality above them worthy of 
 being imitated, they grow up quite like savages; nevertheless, 
 we see them excelling in several virtues which only the 
 wisest among us practise, and that only with an effort. 
 Their life is the most regular and orderly possible, and they 
 are the most courteous and mannerly people in the world. 
 
 Apart from his intimacy with a large number of people 
 belonging to the middle and lower classes in various parts 
 of Egypt, the author naturally enjoyed also special privileges 
 
X PREFACE BY DR. SCHWEINFURTH. 
 
 as government physician. It is part of the diagnostic pene- 
 tration of a doctor to be able to sound the depths of the 
 human heart. Such knowledge and experience as may be 
 thus obtained ought not to remain the property of one man. 
 As early as my first visit I recommended my friend to cul- 
 tivate the field of Egyptian manners and customs so long 
 lying fallow, advising him to take Lane as his model, and 
 produce an appendix to the Bsedeker of the future. 
 
 My wishes have been fulfilled. Egypt, too, has now got 
 its Bsedeker, a guide through the ancient land of wonders 
 that put3 all previous guide-books quite in the shade, and 
 Klunzinger's descriptions will in future be an indispensable 
 addition to the library of every Nile tourist, however small 
 it may be. 
 
 More than forty years have elapsed since Edward Lane 
 gave his Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians 
 to the world. His descriptions are unsurpassed; they have 
 acquired indeed in the course of years a certain reputation 
 of classicality, and the best proof of the impossibility of 
 superseding them is the circumstance that no author has 
 ventured to follow his footsteps by an independent path. 
 
 Great, however, is the number of works which have ap- 
 peared within the period mentioned, having for their subject 
 the land of Egypt and its people. "Whole ranges of volumes 
 have been entirely filled with court histories and palace 
 intrigues of the time of Mehemed Ali, narrated often by 
 people who themselves had come to ruin in the empty show 
 and bustle of the world of the great. Then came fantastically 
 tricked out romances and gossipy anecdotes dished up in the 
 hotels of Cairo, these productions appearing as " Secrets of 
 Egypt," and running through the world as cheap railway 
 reading. A flood of cursory Eecollections of Travel, in which 
 experiences during a three months' voyage by dahabiyeh 
 were related — or even less than this — alternated with "svorks 
 on special subjects written by hands possessed both of know- 
 
PEEFACE BY DR. SCHWEINFURTH. XI 
 
 ledge and skill. The German literature of travel has no 
 reason to be ashamed so far as concerns the latter class, 
 and works such as those of a Von Kremer, a Liitke, or a 
 Stephan have enjoyed a favourable reception in the widest 
 circles; yet, in the study of popular customs, none of these 
 could pretend to rival the descriptions of a man who, like 
 Dr. Klunzinger, has devoted so much time and industry 
 to this subject, and whose knowledge of the Arabic language 
 of every-day life has rarely been equalled in Egypt itself.^ 
 
 The present work, which, even in its external form and 
 its arrangement of matter, is throughout new and peculiar, 
 is indeed to be recommended as a gift to the inquiring public, 
 and as filling up a still remaining blank in our knowledge 
 of modern Egypt. Lane, however trustworthy and complete 
 his descriptions may be, concerned himself in the main with 
 such conditions of life as exist in a large town only. A weak 
 point in his work is its insufficient description of the Egyp- 
 tian Christians. His field of observation was the old and 
 splendid city of the Caliphs, with the innumerable festivals 
 and the pleasure-loving populace of an absolute monarch's 
 capital. ^gypto-Arabic manners and customs are in Klun- 
 zinger's sketches clothed in a slighter garb, but the pictures 
 appear all the more plain and natural. 
 
 It is not the author's way to obtrude himself upon his 
 readers as a censor of morals, to draw judgments and con- 
 clusions from the relations he describes where the actual 
 facts enable any one to form a judgment for himself. And 
 he has done well in avoiding this dangerous rock, seeing the 
 ideas of men are as multiform as their heads. At least he 
 escapes in this way the scornful remark of the stay-at-home 
 wiseacre who would tell him that there is no reason for cen- 
 sure, if one who has spent the best years of his life among 
 
 ^ Dr. Klunzinger is preparing for immediate publication an extensive work 
 on the common Arabic idiom employed in Egypt. 
 
XU PREFACE BY DR. SCHWEINFURTH. 
 
 people at such a stage of civilization shows himself but 
 little practised in logical thinking. 
 
 The author's chief endeavour was that the facts should 
 speak. A soul overflowing with poetry will perhaps miss 
 the descriptions of nature which are usually employed as 
 the setting for a picture of manners, and if so also the idyllic 
 atmosphere with which our writers, often infected with the 
 " world-pain," or some other superstition, think they enliven 
 their descriptions. In the matter-of-fact eyes of an investi- 
 gator, such as a physician or zoologist, the All has no 
 permanence; as his scalpel separates the fibres of the most 
 mysterious tissues in which the unconscious life pulses, so 
 his microscope throws light on a world of riddles of which 
 the common eye has no idea. I congratulate my friend that 
 he has not fallen into the mistake of his contemporaries, 
 namely, of ascribing to his characters too refined, and per- 
 haps altogether imaginary feelings, such as in their lowly 
 sphere of life, and in the fight and struggle for a subsistence, 
 they could not find time to have. Let others copy him — 
 and how easy will it now be to patch up a novel with Egyp- 
 tian local colouring by copying such a model. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 FOUR DAYS IN A COUNTRY TOWN. 
 
 First Day. — General Survey, 1. Entrance into a Town — The Houses, 3.. 
 Street Traffic— Donkey boys, 5. The Great Man, 8. The Bazar, 9. In- 
 dustrial Survey, 11. Survey of the People, 16. Dress, 17. Types of the 
 Market, 20. A Street Quarrel, 23. The Market and the Women, 23. A 
 Coffee-house, 24. Greek Tavern, 27. Native Beer-shops, 28. Dancing 
 Girls, 30. Night and its Accompaniments, 32. 
 
 Second Day. — Weekly Market, 33. A Slave Market. — Slavery, 34. Chance 
 Meeting with Women, 40. Visit to the Interior of a House, 42. (The 
 Courtyard, 42. The Kitchen, 43. Rooms on the Courtyard, 44. The Re- 
 ception-room, 45. Taking Coffee, 47. The Terrace, 48. The Harem, 48.) 
 Ancient Egyptian Dwelling-house, 49. Summons to a Sick Woman, 49. 
 Revelations, 50. A Dinner, 54. Bill of Fare, 59. After Dinner, 60. 
 
 Third Day.— A Public Office, 61. Coptic Scribes, 62. Officials of the Prov- 
 inces, 64. Taxes and other Burdens, 67. Official Procedure, 71. The 
 Country Judge, 75. The Hakim Pasha, 80. A Coptic Meal during a 
 Fast, 83. 
 
 Fourth Day.— The Coptic Church and the Copts, 85. The Bath, 91. The 
 Dogs, 94. Boys and Girls at Play, 95. School, 97. A Mosque, 98. A 
 Saint's Mausoleum, 103. A Burial-place, 105. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 TRAVELLINa BY LAND AND RIVER. 
 
 Preparations, 107. The Embarkation, 108. A Voyage on the Nile, 111. 
 Eating and Drinking on Board, 116. A Journey by Land, 117. An Inn^ 
 118. A Village, 120. The Country in the Circle of the Year, 125. The 
 Overflow of the Nile, 125. After the Inundation, 129. The Egyptian 
 Calendar, 130. The Time of the Small and of the Great Sun, 133. Cham- 
 asin and Early Summer, 133. Summer Culture, 134, Water-Raising 
 Apparatus, 135. A Water-wheel, 136. Harvest, 138. A Palm Grove, 
 139. A Garden, 140. Field and Garden Plants, 142. The Gardens and 
 Cultivated Plants of the Ancients, 143. The Wild Plants, 144. The 
 Animal World, 145. Monuments of Antiquity, 155. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 WORKING DAYS AND HOLIDAYS, DAYS OF JUBILEE AND DAYS OF 
 MOURNING. 
 
 Working-day Life of the Common People, 158. Life of the Women, 161. The 
 Family, 166. Friday, 171. Ramadan, 171. The Great and the Little 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 Feast, 176. Feast of the Saints, 178. Easter Week, 182. The Night of the 
 Drop, 184. The Nerus Day, 184. Birth-day Ceremonies, 185. Ceremonies 
 Preliminary to Family Festivals, 187. Religious Entertainments, 191. 
 Entertainments of the Women, 193. Circumcision, 194. Marriage, 195. 
 Funeral Ceremonies, 199. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE DESERT. 
 
 1. Ride Through the Desert. — Point of Departure, 204. The Camel, 205. 
 
 Provender, 208. Loading and Saddling, 209. Mounting, 212. Caravan 
 Donkeys, 214. On the March, 215. Camping at Night, 218. The Mor- 
 ning Camp, 220. Day March, 221. Marching at Night, 225. The Littoral 
 Slope of the Mountains, 228. 
 
 2. The Nature of the Desert. — Configuration of the Mountains, 229. Rain 
 
 and Rain-water Streams, 230. Geological Constitution, 233. Springs, 235. 
 Vegetation, 237. The Animals of the Desert, 240. The Naturalist in the 
 Desert, 246. 
 
 3. Inhabitants of the Desert. — History of the Desert, 248. The Ababdeh, 
 250. Dress of the Ababdeh, 252. Of the Ababdeh in General, 254. 
 Dwellings and Household Matters, 256. A Life of Hunger, 258. Employ- 
 ments,. 259. Intellectual Qualities and Capacities, 262. Language, 263. 
 Religion, 264. Family Life, 265. Wedding Festivities, 266. Funerals, 267. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ON THE RED SEA. 
 
 The Red Sea, 268. The Desert Shore, 269. Ancient Settlements and Sea-port 
 Towns, 270. History of the Sea-port of Koseir, 271. The Town, 277. 
 Population, 277. The Markets, 278. The Water, 281. Industry, 282. 
 The " Courts" and the Trade, 283. Custom-house, 285. The Government 
 Grain-store, 286. The Port, 288. The Mole, 289. Arrival and Departure 
 of Vessels, 290. The Vessels of the Red Sea, 292. The Ship's Company, 
 295. Navigation, 298. Use of the Compass and Stars, 300. Mariner's 
 Calendar, 301. Traffic, 303. Fishermen, 303. Preparation of the Fish, 
 307. Other Marine Animals Made Use of, 308. The Pearl Fishery, 310. 
 The Coast Bedouins, 315. The Pilgrimage to Meccah, 318. Quarantine, 328. 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 THE NATURAL TREASURES OF THE RED SEA. 
 
 The Tropical Sea— Ebb and Flow, 334. On the Shore, 335. Preparing for a 
 Visit to the Reef, 340. The Reef, 341. Outer Shore Zone, 342. The Inner 
 Shore or Sea-grass Zone, 345. The Division into Zones, 348. Stylophora 
 or Coralline Zone, 348. Joys and Sorrows of the Naturalist, 349. The 
 Inhabitants of the Stylophora Zone, 352. Life in the Pools, 353. A Noc- 
 turnal Visit to the Reef, 356. A Block of Stone, 356. Reef Pools, 358. 
 Fish of the Pools, 360. Fauna of the Stylophora Bushes, 361. Transition 
 or Prsecoral Region, 362. Coral Zone Proper, or Surf Zone, 363. Fauna 
 of the Surf Zone, 364. The Inhabitants of the Corals, 366. The Coral 
 Slope, 367. The Corals, 370. The Fishes, 373. 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XV 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 POPULAR BELIEFS AND SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
 The Ginn, 382. The Man of Science and the Magicians, 383. The Magic- 
 books, 385. The Compact with Iron and Lead, 385. Receipt for Summon- 
 ing Spirits, 386. A Love-charm, 387. The Magic Mirror, 387. Other 
 Magical Rites, 388. Fear of Spirits, 389. Talismans, 390. The Envious 
 Eye, 391. The People of Blessing. The Saints, 392, States of Ecstasy, 
 394. The Sar, 395. Popular Medicine, 397. The Animals in Popular 
 Belief, 400. Alchemy, 403. Religio -astronomical Fantasies, 404. Astro- 
 logy, 405. Geomantists and Gypsies, 406. The Future, 406. The Day of 
 Judgment, 407. 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAOE 
 
 Koseir, looking over the Market-place, .... Frontispiece. 
 
 The Caravanserai of Bir Amber, 204 
 
 Koseir from the Sea, 276' 
 
 Travelling Dervishes and Free Negro of Darfur, 326 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT. 
 
 Manfalut, on the Nile, xvi 
 
 Shop of a Retail Dealer, 10 
 
 A Borer of Pipe Stems, . .12 
 
 Woman and Child of Upper Egypt, 53 
 
 Coptic Scribe, 63 
 
 Mausoleum of a Saint, 104 
 
 Pigeon-houses, 120 
 
 Dancing-girl, 189 
 
 Camel's Saddle, 210 
 
 An Ababdeh Man, 251 
 
 Ababdeh Boys, 252 
 
 Ababdeh "Woman, . 253 
 
 Ababdeh Tent, 257 
 
 Ababdeh Tobacco Pipes, 267 
 
 Mariner's Lute, 297 
 
 Black Fisherman making Thread with the Spindle, .... 305 
 Native Fisherman spinning Twine, . . . , . . . .305 
 
 Vessel used in the Pearl-fishery, 310 
 
 Tent of Coast-Bedouins, 316 
 
 FeUah Pilgrims at Koseir, . . . 320 
 
Manfalut, on the Nile. 
 
UPPER EGYPT 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 FOUE DAYS IN A COUNTEY TOWN. 
 
 FIUST DAY. 
 
 We are standing upon a mound of rubbish entirely destitute 
 of vegetation, above us the deep blue cloudless vault of 
 heaven ; a gentle north wind guards us from being scorched 
 by the glowing rays of a vertical sun; so dry and transparent 
 is the atmosphere that the eye can wander unimpeded to the 
 distant horizon, and take in every detail of the surrounding 
 landscape. Verdant crops, interspersed at intervals by groves 
 of palm-trees, clothe the level valley that stretches away to- 
 wards the north ; and through it a large river pursues its wind- 
 incr course, lendinor moisture and fertilization to the arid soil. 
 Eastwards and westwards the green valley is bounded — the 
 line of separation being sharply defined — by the bare, yellow- 
 ish-gray desert, which sometimes loses itself in gently rising 
 plateaus over which the eye cannot reach, sometimes termin- 
 ates suddenly in precipitous rocky hills. 
 
 At our feet lies a confused and labyrinthine collection of 
 houses forming a considerable town. The houses, built of 
 crude unburnt bricks, are mostly one story high, flat-roofed 
 pierced with few apertures for light, and often growing nar- 
 rower towards the top in the antique style. Amidst these rise 
 a number of tall minarets, large cupolas with their vaulted 
 roofs, and neat quadrangular battlemented towers, the last 
 having their walls pierced with numerous holes in which 
 the pigeons carry on their busy traffic, while the grayish 
 
:^'c/'r',' ''^'^ ''''''' UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 clay-colour of the houses is richly relieved by the perennial 
 green of the palms and other trees interspersed among 
 them. Most of the buildings show signs of decay, and 
 a considerable portion of the town is in ruins. With 
 difficulty we make out streets and thoroughfares in this laby- 
 rinth, the houses, standing apart from each other, and being 
 arranged in rows; and here and there larcjer areas are left 
 free from buildings. In these open spaces we next observe 
 the thronorinof and movement of human traffic like the 
 globules in the capillary blood-vessels. 
 
 In the general murmur arising from this mass of human 
 dwellings the ear can distinguish the harsh barking of 
 numerous dogs, the trumpet-like and painful bray of asses, 
 the angry roar of stubborn camels, the shouts and calls of 
 street-boys at play, and the warnings of the scampering 
 donkey-boys; while from the markets rise the ceaseless cries 
 of the brokers and petty dealers, from the battlements of the 
 towers the clear voice of the muezzin calling to prayer, and 
 now and again we catch also the quavering strains of some 
 love-sick youth, or the feast- enlivening notes of a pipe with 
 an accompaniment of drums and clapping of hands. 
 
 No rumble of carriages is heard as in the busy North ; tall 
 chimneys have not yet gained the victory over the towers 
 of palaces, temples, and pigeon-houses; the voices of nien 
 and animals are not yet drowned by the buzz of machinery, 
 or the knocking and hammering of manufacturing industry. 
 
 In a shady grove in front of the town a man with a 
 full beard and expressive features is seriously and quietly 
 spreading a carpet on the ground ; his head is covered with 
 a large roll of linen, the turban ; his body, bronzed of a deep 
 brown colour, is enveloped in a full toga with wide sleeves, 
 reaching down to his feet; he takes off his red slippers, steps 
 devoutly and composedly on the carpet, turns his face towards 
 the south-east according to an invariable rule, and prostrates 
 himself before the Almighty. In another spot sits or squats 
 a son of the country, who in contemplative mood imbibes 
 from a long pipe and a tiny cup the permitted luxuries of 
 tobacco and coffee. Round the walls of the house before us 
 
ENTRANCE INTO THE CITY. 3 
 
 a ghost like being steals, the whole figure from the crown of 
 the head to the feet — which are alone visible — carefully 
 enveloped in a wide mantle, which falls in numerous folds; 
 we are told that it is one of the fair sex. 
 
 We have seen enough, even though we had been carried 
 away by a genie in the darkness of night and set down here 
 on this mound of debris, to let us know that we are standing 
 before a town in the Mohammedan East, far away from Cen- 
 tral Europe, much farther even for the imagination to reach 
 than the land of the West beyond the Atlantic. We are 
 on the classic soil of the primeval Nile, far up in the south of 
 Egypt, where the Mercury of the nineteenth century has 
 indeed begun already to stretch out his wire feelers, where 
 lie goes and comes occasionally with his steam-pinioned sandals 
 on road and liquid highway, leading after him the narrow- 
 trousered bearers of civilization, but where he does not yet 
 feel himself at home, and where the people rejoice in their 
 aboriginal state of existence. 
 
 ENTRANCE INTO A TOWN— THE HOUSES 
 
 We descend and make our way towards the confused 
 mass of houses. No lampart surrounds the town, but the 
 outermost houses form a close barrier, in which here a 
 regular archway, there an open street, there again a narrow 
 doorway affords an entrance, or a ruinous building forms 
 a breach which no one thinks of building up. The best 
 way is to follow the raised causeway, wliich winds along 
 towards the town, and during the time when the river is 
 high and the country around covered with water, conducts 
 the passenger without danger into the midst of the houses. 
 The street into which we enter is not much broader than the 
 causeway, which barely allows two riders to pass. It leads 
 us gradually onwards, widening and narrowing, twisting and 
 turning, sinking and rising. The walls of the houses display 
 little of geometrical accuracy ; the line of direction is often 
 broken and bent, though each individual house has an approxi- 
 mately rectangular type. 
 
4 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 In such a provincial town the houses are seldom of more 
 than one story; nothing meets the gaze but a bare gray wall 
 of clay, seldom plastered, and often common to a whole stretch 
 of houses. Very different are the houses here from those of 
 Cairo, with their numerous projecting windows; here we see 
 little externally but a few small air-holes, and even these are 
 mostly closed by a wooden lattice. In this way the inte- 
 rior is shut off and secluded from the outer world. Air and 
 light enter the rooms from the court-yard, which is entirely 
 surrounded by the house. The wall is constructed of rough un- 
 burned bricks of a lono^ish rectangular form, such as those used 
 by the ancient Egyptians for tlieir private dwellings, and then 
 always stamped with the government mark. These bricks, 
 still called by their ancient name tub, are a material suited 
 only for rainless districts such as this ; a heavy rain of some 
 duration would soon convert a town so built into a ruinous 
 heap, a convincing proof that the climate of Upper Egypt in 
 ancient times was quite as dry as at the present. 
 
 Two things, however, arrest attention — the gateway of the 
 house and the pigeon-tower, which adjoins or surmounts so 
 many of the buildings. The sides and top of the gateway must 
 possess a certain amount of solidity, which is secured by the 
 use of squared stones, burned bricks, and cross-beams, and ad- 
 vantage is taken of these to produce at the same time some- 
 thing of architectural ornament, by the interchange of colours 
 and a kind of mosaic arrangement. Less success is attained 
 when attempts at painting or sculpture are made, the Arabic 
 artist only succeeding in producing hideous childish cari- 
 catures. The Hadj, that is, one who has made a pilgrimage 
 to Mecca, is fond of distinguishing his house by such bizarre 
 gate-paintings. Among the ancient Egyptians also the pil- 
 grimage to a temple was an exploit that was painted on tlie 
 houses. To neutralize the glance of the envious it is common 
 to put quotations from the Koran over the entrance to the 
 house; and to turn aside the evil-eye, a stuffed monster, 
 such as a crocodile, or it may be an aloe plant, is often fixed 
 above the entrance. The ancient Egyptians were likewise 
 in the habit of putting inscriptions and symbols of good 
 
PIGEON- TOWERS, STREET TRAFFIC. O 
 
 omen in the same place. In the middle of the large gate, 
 which is only opened to admit objects of large size, there is 
 usually a small door through which persons and the smaller 
 animals pass out and in. 
 
 The pigeon-towers, which are either placed in groups on 
 the tops of the houses, or rise singly by themselves, now in 
 the shape of cubes, now narrowing towards the top, after the 
 style of the ancient temples, form a large — often indeed the 
 largest — portion of tlie buildings. They give to the houses 
 of the towns and villages of Upper Egypt a characteristic and 
 distinguished appearance. Chimneys are wholly wanting, 
 and in their stead are erected on the tops of many houses 
 short sloping structures of boards projecting above the roof, 
 and having a vertical side open towards the north, to catch 
 the cooling wind and afford a shade; such was also the 
 practice among the ancient Egyptians. 
 
 STREET TRAFFIC — DONKEY-BOYS. 
 
 In the provincial town the Old World and the New have 
 not yet, as in the capital, come into dangerous collision. 
 Here none of that hurried driving and running is seen, 
 none of those carriages that whirl noisily along, and may 
 have bumped the back of the pedestrian before he has 
 had time to distinguish the warning cries of the driver. 
 Everything proceeds at a measured pace; and if, at any 
 time when lost in thouglit, a person suddenly feels the grinning 
 jaws of a camel in his neck, or a donkey running lightly 
 along treads on his heels, he has always time to step aside, 
 if the circumspect beasts do not do so of themselves. The 
 nearer we approach the chief centre of traffic — the market- 
 place — the greater grows the bustle. A push, a kick, 
 or a collision with some one of our fellow-men, demon- 
 strates to us the existence of a non-ego. Behind us we 
 hear youthful voices shouting nearer and nearer to our ear, 
 and warning us to take care of our back, our legs, our head, 
 and whatever about us is liable to be broken. These are 
 the famous donkey-boys, who, themselves running behind. 
 
b UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 are driving a company of riders at a gallop through the bust- 
 ling crowds and narrow streets to the place of their destina- 
 tion. The somewhat sluggish disposition of their long-eared 
 charges is animated by continued cudgelling, or if the blows 
 fall harmlessly on a hide rendered callous V.y long custom, 
 a stick is driven into their sores, which are thus continually 
 kept open. At the same time plenty of abuse is poured 
 out upon the animal, the favourite epithets "son of a dog," 
 ''son of a Christian," "son of a Jew," being followed by a 
 prolonged emphatic "Ha, Ha" such as only a genuine Arab 
 is able to produce, and then by a strong push against the 
 lean hind-quarters of the beast, which is thus driven forwards 
 and sideways. The bold notion comes into our head that 
 we will also mount a donkey; but the donkey-boys that have 
 their stand hard by are quicker than the thought. Already 
 half a dozen have surrounded us before we have made u|) 
 our mind. Rescue or flight is no longer possible; a speedy 
 choice alone remains. An angry glance around, a stick 
 brandished threateningly, and the quarrelling, scuffling 
 crowd around our person is scattered, towards which result 
 the boy of our selection has effectively contributed. 
 
 The donkey- driver, throughout the whole of Egypt, is the 
 same brazen-faced poltroon, but at the same time a really 
 good-natured fellow so soon as one has become better 
 acquainted with him. In the provinces of the interior he 
 has fewer opportunities for cultivating his linguistic talent 
 than in the capital; here he does not address us in the 
 rich Alexandrian mosaic language of the lingua franca — 
 "Nigi ya onusyo, voulez ride good esel, un abrico theyih, 
 bono," which means "shall we come, oh sir; will you ride 
 good donkey, a donkey good good." The donkey-boys are 
 wonderfully quick at detecting the nationality of a travellei*, 
 and when offering their donkeys for hire regularly call them 
 — of course only for the occasion — by the name of some pub- 
 lic man belonging to the same country as the stranger. An 
 Englishman accordingly may find himself urged to accept 
 the services of "John Bright" as a German would be offered 
 those of " Bismarck." 
 
DONKEY-BOYS. 7 
 
 Well, we are now firmly seated, and shoot forwards with 
 hanging reins, but require to be constantly on the alert to 
 preserve our equilibrium, since the vis a tergo of the cudgel- 
 wielder falls now to right, now to left, and the latter end of 
 the beast we bestride always turns suddenly and instinctively 
 to tlie opposite side to that on which the blows fall. Scarcely 
 has our donkey begun to trip along in his not uncomfortable 
 trot when a general stoppage of the current of traflSc in the 
 street brings him to a sudden halt. A camel that carries 
 upon his ribs a load projecting at each side like a pair of 
 expanded wings has failed to keep right in the middle when 
 turning the coiner at a bend of the street, allowing space only 
 for the width of his own body, and so has struck against 
 the corner. He has accordingly to be pulled back for some 
 paces, and gradualh^ led into the middle of the street. 
 Immediately after the removal of this obstacle, and when 
 traffic has again begun to circulate, we see a laden donkey 
 lying on the ground at another corner; it has been the 
 same with him as with the camel, but the collision with 
 the corner has disturbed the equilibrium of the excessive 
 load upon his back, and his burden being out of all pro- 
 portion to his strength he has not been able to keep his feet. 
 
 Annoyed at the continual stoppages we dismount, and 
 prefer to rely upon our own personal agility. We thrust 
 a few copper coins into the hand of the donkey-boy, who 
 is always discontented when he has to deal with a Frank, 
 and besides what he ought to get always insists upon Back- 
 shish^, that gratuity of so many significations, the name of 
 which continues to haunt a stranger who has been in 
 Egypt. According to humour and disposition, and in order 
 to avoid a row, we satisfy the impudent demand either by 
 giving something more or by making a threatening move- 
 ment with our uplifted stick. A native who knows the 
 charges gives him half what we have given; the youngster 
 kisses the gift thankfully, and, without looking how much it 
 
 ^ This word is Persian, and is generally used in addressing Europeans only; it 
 seems also to have entered the country with the Europeans, since at the French 
 period the natives still used the words Fdda, Fdda, in begging. 
 
O UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 is, thrusts it into his bosom, into the folds of his turban, or 
 into his ear. The European, however, must at all times and 
 in all places pay too much ; but on the other hand, lie is an 
 object of the most abject outward respect throughout all 
 Egypt, on account of his ability to pay, his power, his energy 
 and acknowledged cleverness, less perhaps in virtue of his 
 moral superiority. 
 
 THE GREAT MAN. 
 
 What is the meaning of this? Those who were walking 
 rapidly stop and remain still, whoever was sitting stands 
 up, pipes or cigarettes are taken from the mouth, animated 
 conversation ceases, scolding and quarrelling are at an end, the 
 parties bending their heads and remaining motionless, groups 
 step aside, and right and left a wall of people is formed. Out 
 of the multitude that parts on either side springs a swift-footed 
 light-clad young fellow, with dress tucked high up, holding a 
 rod in his hand; this is the avarit-courier. After him, and 
 seated high on horseback, or on a snow-white ass of noble 
 ra:ce, as tall as a horse, trots a wide-trousered Turk^ followed 
 by a crowd of heavily-armed Turkish police-soldiers panting 
 after him, and a number of domestics and slaves. The great 
 man, after the manner of Islam, first graciously salutes the 
 citizens standing rooted in reverence on either side of him, 
 while they bending low raise dust from the ground as a 
 mark of their subjection, and carry it to their mouths to kiss, 
 testifying to the sincerity of their respect by laying their 
 liand on their forehead and their heart. This Turk of high 
 rank is the Mudir, the head man of the province. The pomp, 
 without which he never stirs from his house, is the passion 
 and necessity of the race to which he belongs, and clothes 
 him at the same time, to the eyes of the people, in the precious 
 nimbus of majesty. 
 
 * In modern times, however, officials of high rank must appear in a suit of 
 ]iJuropean black. 
 
THE BAZAR. 
 
 THE BAZAR. 
 
 We follow the human current for a few steps farther and 
 reach the centre of traffic, the market, or as the European 
 and Turk, but seldom the Arab, are wont to call it, the 
 bazar. The wide open spaces of the town are only intended 
 for shady hours and on certain days of the week for the 
 sale of provisions, the retail trade on the other hand goes on 
 in the narrow streets, where the shops are situated. In these 
 streets there is a continual twilight either from the closeness 
 of the houses to each other or from an awning stretched above 
 from side to side, so that the hottest periods of the day or year 
 can here be passed in comfort. The shops consist of rows of low- 
 roofed cells formed in the ground story of dwelling-houses, or 
 situated in special long, low buildings. We have heard a great 
 deal of the splendid bazars of the luxurious East, and there 
 was perhaps some excuse for our ancestors waxing enthusiastic 
 over them at a time when European industry and Europe 
 generally was far behind the wealthy East in the production 
 of costly merchandise; but at the present day a bazar, even 
 in Ihe larger towns of Upper Egypt, appears poor and in- 
 significant when compared with the handsome shops of Europe. 
 The Arab dealer is perhaps not altogether in the wrong in 
 not giving to his little shop the splendid exterior which 
 consumes a considerable part of the capital required to start 
 the business, and behind which often enough hollow-eyed 
 bankruptcy lies in wait. The finest and richest native shop in 
 one of the towns of Upper Egypt is, as a rule, inferior in out- 
 ward appearance to a petty retail-shop in the outskirts of a 
 European town, or even to the booth that a wandering trader 
 takes round with him to country fairs. In the provinces it con- 
 sists at best of a quadrangular chamber, raised some feet above 
 the level of the street, only high enough to let a person 
 stand upright, so that prayers maj^ be duly performed in it, 
 and usually measuring less in the other dimensions. The 
 few goods that are kept in stock are piled up openly on some 
 rough shelves or benches in the back part. Some pieces of 
 
10 
 
 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 cloth and finery hang from the upper half of the door, which 
 half is raised so as to project in the manner of a roof, while 
 the lower half is let down, or is extended outwards table- 
 wise in order to add to the surface of the shop-floor. Here 
 and there also a case with a glass top displays a variety of 
 small ornamental wares. Larore bills and tickets need not be 
 
 o 
 
 looked for here; while few can read a written announcement 
 
 Shop of a Retail Dealer. 
 
 what is in the shop can be seen by any one. The only pieces 
 of writing that are stuck up are passages from the Koran. 
 An outspread carpet and a few cushions are all that the 
 easy-going shopkeeper requires in the way of comfort, and 
 there he sits with his legs crossed, a long pipe or a paper 
 cigarette in his mouth, and waits for purchasers in silent 
 dignity. Another, who cares still less for show, drags his 
 wares day after day out of the dark store-room behind into 
 the doorless hole of a shop, fills his straw baskets with them, 
 
INDUSTRIAL SURVEY. 11 
 
 and sets them out for show upon old boxes or crates made 
 of palm twigs, while lighter goods flutter picturesquely from 
 extended cords and poles. 
 
 INDUSTRIAL SURVEY. 
 
 The workshops of the artisans differ little from the booths 
 of the shopkeepers, and the occupations of these people are 
 carried on in full publicity. By a very ancient rule the 
 market people arrange themselves generally according to 
 trades and guilds ; but in the provinces, where the division 
 of labour is not so well marked, this system is carried out 
 to a less extent than in the capital. This arrangement does 
 not seem to be prejudicial to the individual society. From 
 the quiet district of the grocery and drug shops one can pass 
 to the noisy quarters occupied by the tinsmiths and copper- 
 smiths; from the savoury hearths of the cooks to the vile 
 holes of the tanners. Let us make the round of the indus- 
 trial establishments. At the present day any one who un- 
 dertakes a journey of investigation with the view of adopt- 
 ing from the industries of foreign peoples anything that may 
 be advantageous for his native land, will certainly turn' his 
 steps last to that country from which, in former times, the 
 first light of civilization shone over the world. Still an in- 
 dustrial inspection is here by no means devoid of interest, 
 seeing that we find, beyond doubt, a picture of the handi- 
 crafts practised by the venerable fathers of the human race, 
 and very often living images of the ancient Egyptian fore- 
 fathers themselves. The principle that prevails throughout 
 the industries of the modern Egyptians is to produce from 
 chefip readily procured materials articles that "will do," with- 
 out regard to durability, accuracy, and taste. 
 
 We halt in astonishment before the stall of a workman 
 who is using a strange kind of boring-tool. Holding in one 
 hand a bow something like a fiddle bow, the string of which 
 he has twisted round an upright rod, he gives the rod a 
 rapid circular movement by urging the bow backwards and 
 forwards. In this way a piece of iron wire projecting above 
 
12 
 
 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 the rod, and having a lancet-like point, cuts its way deeper 
 and deeper into the heart of a reed which he holds down on 
 the top of it with his other hand. With a few strokes, which 
 produce a scratching, rattling sound, he produces an excellent 
 tube for a tobacco-pipe. Beside him sits an assistant or bro- 
 ther, the turner. The whole of his portable apparatus consists 
 in afoot-board, with two small boards rising perpendicularly 
 from it, between which the object to be turned, be it wood, 
 bone, or amber, is firmly fixed by means of projecting pins. 
 By the bow in his right hand this object is made to revolve 
 on its axis, while his left hand applies the sharp steel chisel 
 
 A Borer of Pipe Stems. 
 
 that cuts the object smooth. The apparatus is steadied by 
 planting the naked right foot upon two cross-bars, the left 
 upon the foot-board. 
 
 The cabinet-maker or carpenter — in Arabic there is but 
 one name for both, neggdr — has neither a bench, nor in 
 general a vice. What would be the use of such an expensive 
 appliance? He squats upon the board that he is to plane 
 and hew, supports his log with his foot, or in the case of finer 
 work takes the object between the second and the great toe 
 of his prehensile foot, as the ancient Egyptians did; his teeth 
 even serve instead of a tool. Instead of a rule he is gene- 
 rally satisfied with a cord or a palm twig, on which he 
 
INDUSTRIAL SURVEY. 13 
 
 marks his measurements, and for a pair of compasses he uses 
 a cord with a piece of wire stuck through it as a centre. 
 His boring tool resembles the instrument of the pipemaker, 
 and like it dates from ancient Egyptian times. It is a piece 
 of iron wire with one of its ends flattened to a lancet shape, 
 inserted in a wooden cylinder. The upper end of the wire 
 enters into a hollow knob, which in most cases consists of 
 a doom-nut (the fruit of the doom-palm). The cylinder is 
 made to revolve by the bow already mentioned. The mani- 
 pulation of this boring-brace in the hands of the Arabic 
 artisan seems easy and playful; the unaccustomed Frank 
 prefers a gimlet. The chief tool of the carpenter is the small 
 axe, in the use of which he displays great dexterity. 
 
 The tinsmith, tlie locksmith, and the silversmith use a 
 remarkable kind of bellows. A little heap of earth is pierced 
 by a piece of an old gun barrel, one end of which is directed 
 towards the fire, this consisting of a little heap of coals kept 
 together by a few loose stones. The bellows part consists of 
 a goatskin, probably an old water skin, of a conical form, 
 ending in a point, which is attached to the other extremity 
 of the tube. In the posterior part of the skin is cut a trans- 
 verse slit, the edges of which are strengthened by slips of 
 wood. In the back of the stall squats the plump-cheeked 
 apprentice boy, who with the fingers of one hand works the 
 valve of the bellows, raising it so as to open the slit, and then 
 depressing it so as to close it, when the air, being expelled, 
 passes under the heap of earth through the tube and acts 
 upon the fire. 
 
 The bellows of the blacksmith is somewhat more com- 
 plicated. Behind a sloping wall of boards are two large 
 cylindrical leather bags, strengthened by a number of wooden 
 hoops, and both closed posteriorly by a wooden bottom, with 
 an air-hole and with a valve. By a very simple arrangement 
 — namely, several wooden bars fastened perpendicularly to 
 the wooden bottom of the bellows, and having a kind of hinge 
 movement on a foot-board below by means of an iron ring 
 — the two air-holders are alternately made to take in and give 
 out air through the backward and forward motion given to 
 
14 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 them by a young fellow standing upon tlie foot-board. The 
 air-bags converge, and terminate first in two separate tubes, 
 then in one common one, and the air-current is directed upon 
 the front part of the hearth, which consists of an earthen mound 
 surrounded with rough stones. The Arabic Vulcan has on 
 his raggedest clothes, or it may be is bare to the thighs on 
 account of the heat. The ceiling of the roomy smithy is 
 festooned with hanging rags or fragments of straw matting, 
 for it is his belief that elegance of appointments does not 
 help work forward. A knotty undressed piece of wood, as it 
 grew from the soil, contents him for a handle to his hammer 
 as well as if it were of the most finished kind. 
 
 We cast a glance into the open booths of the tailors, shoe- 
 makers, saddlers, lacemakers, tinsmiths, coppersmiths or 
 braziers, the mat and basket weavers, and enter the more 
 retired and half-open premises of the tanners, indigo-dyers, 
 weavers, bakers, and potters. A bed-cover maker is loosen- 
 ing into a fleecy mass, with the tightened string of a bow- 
 shaped instrument, a quantity of old cotton which has become 
 lumpy. The silver and gold smith melts down the fine gold 
 of old zechins and Austrian ducats as well as the silver 
 mixed with tin of the Maria Theresa dollars, and manufac- 
 tures from them very handsome and highly prized trinkets 
 Vjy the help of some matrices, a si mple conical bio w- pipe, pincers, 
 and hammer. The fondness of the Egyptian women for gold 
 and silver ornaments enables such a goldsmith to do a thriving 
 trade in every small town. The manufacture of glass, which 
 had its native country in ancient Egypt and not in Phoenicia, 
 and here was once so famous, has greatly declined, and now 
 only a few wretched productions are turned out Almost all 
 goods made of glass, as well as of porcelain, even the coffee- 
 cups in such general use, and which are scarcely to be had in 
 Europe, are now brought from the land of the Franks. The 
 manufacture of pottery, on the other hand, in some places of 
 Upper Egypt, as Keneh, Balas, Siout, is in a very flourishing 
 state, the processes scarcely differing from those employed in 
 Europe. The products are a porous, unglazed ware, and the 
 vessels still have the same shapes as those depicted in the 
 
INDUSTRIAL SURVEY. 15 
 
 ancient Egyptian tombs. The large handled jars of Balas, 
 named after that villao-e, are fastened toojether into rafts and 
 by this means are transported by water. 
 
 We observe also the dexterity of the barber, here as else- 
 where always loquacious. He scrapes bare all craniums that 
 come under his hands, and has, therefore, acquired a quite 
 astounding facility in shaving; his customer complacently 
 views his maornified features in the concave mirror which is 
 
 o 
 
 held before him by its handle. A patient may here get 
 himself cupped, the barber making cruciform incisions with 
 his razor on any affected part, and the cup being formed of a 
 conical-shaped horn with a leather valve at top, from which 
 the air is sucked by the mouth so as to make the blood 
 flow freely. 
 
 In the mill, located in the lower part of a house, we see a 
 horse walking round in a circle ; he carries a rough trunk of a 
 tree on his neck, and with it sets in motion a cylinder,'a toothed 
 wheel, and a millstone. The latter receives the grain from a 
 hopper, and lower down the flour and bran, ground and mixed 
 together, stream out. We learn that the wind-mills formerl}^ 
 introduced by the French, and still visible at a distance on 
 many an elevation, do not generally succeed, and that the 
 "steam flour," that is, the fine flour of the steam-mills, already 
 enjoys a continually increasing sale. Much flour is also 
 made in the houses by means of a hand-ndll, the basis of 
 which is also the millstone. It always demands great 
 strength, and the grinding is done by strong female slaves, 
 or by women of the lowest ranks. The work begins at the first 
 dawn of day; and the women are fond of joining in grinding 
 parties, at which they sing peculiar monotonous grinding- 
 songs, and keep hands and tongues both going. 
 
 A kafaz-maker manufactures from the fresh twigs of the 
 date-palm a multitude of cheap articles in basket-work, such 
 as bedsteads, chairs, benches, cages, and crates for all kinds 
 of brittle wares, as glass, clay pitchers, &c. From the pre- 
 vailing scarcit}^ of wood, palm twigs are very serviceable for 
 this purpose. These articles, however, have the unfortunate 
 peculiarity of furnishing excellent lurking-places for bugs. 
 
16 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 The Egyptian artisan is dexterous and quick at learning. 
 He excites astonishment indeed when we consider the rude- 
 ness of his implements. It can at once be told, however, 
 whether an article has been made by an Arab or a European. 
 The natives know this very well themselves, and have a keen 
 sense of their own inferiority in such matters. An Arab 
 chair never stands quite firm on its feet, a table or a door 
 is always a little off the truth, a trunk or box always 
 gapes about the lid, a tin-case has always the joints smeared 
 with solder, the corners too sharp, or has a small hole some- 
 whei'e. 
 
 The native artisan learns from his childhood onwards; so 
 soon as he can walk and speak he passes the greater part of 
 the day in his father's workshop, and helps or hinders as 
 much as he can. The son becomes apprentice as a matter of 
 course, then journeyman, and lastly his father's successor in 
 business. When a man has no son he buys himself a slave 
 and teaches him his trade. As soon as the young fellow is 
 as far advanced as his father he is master of his trade; to 
 wish to know more would be presumption. If the master 
 becomes old and feeble he is supported by the gratitude of 
 his apprentices and sons. 
 
 We may add that every one can drive what trade he 
 pleases, since industrial freedom has always prevailed in the 
 Mohammedan East. Among the ancient Egyptians, on the 
 other hand, trades were rigidly exclusive ; no artisan could, 
 on peril, of punishment, encroach upon the trade of another, 
 and the son always followed the calling of the ftxther. 
 
 SURVEY OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Having become acquainted with the general features of 
 bazar life, let us step aside and enter some shop or other in 
 order that we may quietl}^, and at leisure, observe how the 
 current of street life flows on. The owner gives us a friendly 
 invitation to seat ourselves beside him on the shop-bench, 
 quickly orders refreshments from the neighbouring coffee- 
 house, and offers us a chibouk. Man after man crosses the open 
 
DRESS. 17 
 
 doorway as we gaze ; our thoughts begin to become dreamy, 
 we see passing bodily before us all the figures that stirred our 
 enthusiasm in our youthful days when we read the Arabic 
 stories of the Thousand and One Nights. There is Ali Baba, 
 who discovered the cave of the Forty Thieves ; there the old 
 cobbler Baba Mustafa ; there the merchant Ali Chuge, who 
 concealed his money in olives ; there the fortunate Aladdin, who 
 found the wonderful lamp; there are they all, the Hassans, 
 the Hossens, the Ibrahims, the Ahmeds. It is more than 
 ten hundred years since Harun er Rashid rustled past ; many 
 a thing is changed in the great world since ; no mighty Khalif 
 rules any longer over the faithful; but the people, at least 
 those who speak the Arabic language and profess the religion 
 of Islam, do not differ notably in speech, dress, and habits 
 from the type of their ancestors. We shall even go farther. 
 Let us pick out at random a man belonging to the common 
 ])eople of Upper Egypt and divest him of his modern outer 
 dress (loose shirt and turban), let us strip him of his un- 
 doubtedly thick varnish of Mohammedanism, or it may be 
 of Christianity, take from him his pipe, his coffee, and his 
 beard, and there stands before us a genuine native of Kemi. 
 He will be sure to exhibit the same slim yet strong limbs, 
 the broad chest, the same type of face with its broad cheeks, 
 projecting lips, wide nostrils, and almond eyes; also the same 
 solid shaven head, and in spite of all the buffets of Fate, at 
 bottom the same inherited nature. In Upper Egypt, too, we 
 find, lastly, a multitude of individual customs and usages 
 dating from the great Pharaonic period^ which have partly 
 been transmitted directly by tradition, and partly have become 
 naturalized in Islam indirectly through Judaism. 
 
 DRESS. 
 
 In his dress the oriental does not allow himself to be 
 tyra,nnized over by the despotism of fashion; taste has the 
 fullest play subject to certain unchangeable rules. It is only 
 the higher officials, from the head clerk and the doctor 
 upwards, who require in modern times, even in the provinces, 
 
18 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 to follow the dictates of a higher will, and provide them- 
 selves with a black Europseo-Turkish suit (with a standing 
 collar on the coat), this being regarded as the basis of all 
 civilization. The man of the lower ranks in the towns wears 
 a kind of loose shirt or blouse of cotton reaching to the feet, or 
 somewhat shorter, with or oftener without a girdle. Under- 
 neath this he has a kind of short, light drawers, or only a 
 thigh-cloth round his middle. The shirt is only laid aside 
 when the wearer is engaged in hard, wet, or dirty work. 
 The ancients were still less particular about this matter ; the 
 workman, the warrior, even the king in the heat of battle 
 exposed himself with nothing on but a short loin-cloth or 
 apron. The well-formed hairy breast is seen through the 
 broad triangular opening in the front of the shirt, or is 
 concealed by a bright-coloured, striped waistcoat, which is 
 put on under, or even over it. The colour of the shirt 
 that is worn by the black natives of Soudan and the light- 
 tinted Bedouins is white; but the thrifty Egyptian of the 
 towns, who is never in a hurry to change his linen, more 
 prudently wears generally a blue one. The peasant of 
 Upper Egypt, on the other hand, wears even in summer a 
 wide, coarse woollen shirt of a brown colour — a mark by 
 which he may be at once recognized — and his sleeves, which 
 are wide enough to admit the body of a man, hang down 
 almost to his ankles. Countryman as well as townsman, when 
 he goes afield, always carries with him his niilayeh, a kind of 
 plaid or shawl of a striped pattern, fringed at both ends, and 
 worn round the shoulders. This article of dress serves for 
 many different purposes, being used to keep its owner warm 
 in winter, as a cushion for his head when lying down, as a 
 carpet, as a screen from the sun, as a wrapper to put pur- 
 chases into, as receptacle for provender, and as a table-cloth. 
 The feet, hardened by early practice, are bare, or are 
 covered with bright-red leather slippers, generally somewhat 
 peaked in front, or sometimes sandals are used. Stockings 
 or boots, as being obstructive to the practice of religion, are 
 little worn; the head is all the more carefully attended too. 
 Youths and many of the labouring class must be contented 
 
DRESS. 19 
 
 witli a white cap of cotton stuff fitting closely to the head, 
 and leaving the ears free. Youths of a more advanced age 
 or higher standing wear above this a red cap of fine cloth, 
 called tarhush, in Turkish fez (those of European cloth 
 are not liked by the natives), from which hangs down 
 a bold tassel of blue silk. The tarbush or fez is usually 
 bought only once in a lifetime, or descends by inheritance 
 from generation to generation, till no trace of its original 
 colour remains. Grown up men wear besides the fez the 
 turban, which is usually white or red; among the descen- 
 dants of the Prophet green, among the Kopts black or 
 blue. The turban, which ma}^ be regarded as the symbol of 
 Islam, consists of a piece of gauzy material of immense 
 length wound round and round the fez a great many times. 
 It forms a picturesque and imposing but somewhat heavy 
 head-dress. Some Fellahs, as well as the dervishes, wear 
 a thick felt cap of the form of an inverted flower-pot or 
 of a sugar loaf. The Bedouin of the East, and many of 
 the inhabitants of the towns, have bright-coloured cloths, 
 often of silk, fluttering about their head and shoulders as 
 a protection against the sun and weather. In the stormy 
 days of winter the native is concerned before everything 
 about the protection of his bare shaved head, since, in spite 
 of the turban, it is only about his head and neck that he seems 
 to feel the cold, his lower extremities being left naked as 
 usual. The winter mantle of black, or white, or striped 
 woollen cloth is then drawn over the head, or only the hood, 
 which is attached to the mantle above. The long striped 
 kaftan, which hangs loosely from the neck down to the 
 heels, and is confined by a Tripoli silk or cashmere girdle, 
 belongs to the better classes. Above it is worn a wide- 
 armed blue-black garment like a toga. The elegant Arab 
 gentleman puts on above the costly and brightly-striped 
 silken kaftan, a coat of fine cloth, simpl}'- but generally 
 brightly coloured, open in front, as long as the body, and 
 mostly of a very simple cut. The Turk, with all who aflect 
 the title of Eflendi, flings himself into a jacket, and those 
 wide many-folded trousers, the superfluous cloth of which 
 
20 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 dangles coquettishly like a sack behind. In his girdle the 
 warlike Turk sticks daggers and pistols, the peaceful "son 
 of an Arab" (so the Egyptian calls himself, Arab meaning 
 Bedouin) an ink-bottle. There is a comfortable dress worn, 
 especially by semi-orientals, such as Levantines, Jews, or 
 Syrians, and even regarded as fashionable on the street and 
 in the reception-room, consisting in a combination of the 
 kaftan (usually a simple white one) with the Turkish jacket 
 or the European coat, and when this is worn the turban 
 must give way to the tarbush. The official also, so soon 
 as his position allows, and especially in summer, exchanges 
 his uncomfortable uniform for this easy suit, under which 
 drawers alone are worn. Arabs even of good position do 
 not recognize the value of proper underclothing ; they wash 
 and bathe much, and carefully ; but their shirt consists of a 
 flimsy, semi-transparent, gauzy material, which is ill- adapted 
 for absorbing the perspiration. The costume worn by the 
 ancient Egj^ptians, so far as we can judge from the figures in 
 outline shown in their paintings, was considerably different 
 from that of the present day. The common people wore, 
 as already mentioned, only a cloth round the loins, or a 
 short coat reaching to the knees, and on their heads (bare- 
 shaven like their cheeks) a close-fitting cap like that still in 
 use ; those of higher rank had a longer coat, with a fringed 
 skirt hanging in many folds, and confined round the thighs 
 by a girdle, and above this again a wide woollen mantle, 
 similar to that now worn by the people of Marocco. They 
 wore a wig on their heads, and a carefully trimmed beard 
 on their chin, while they had no shoes, but only sandals. 
 
 TYPES OF THE MAKKET. 
 
 The loudest voice to be heard in the chorus of market 
 people is that of the broker or auctioneer. Unweariedly he 
 runs up and down, right and left, through the market, lifting 
 up his arm to show off his wares, consisting, for example, of a 
 carpet, a pistol, or an amber mouth-piece for a pipe, which 
 he is commissioned to sell for some invisible owner. Formerly 
 
TYPES OF THE MARKET. 21 
 
 one might see a slave disposed of in this manner. A would-be 
 purchaser at one end of the market calls out, "A hundred 
 piasters." "A hundred piasters," he shouts, and runs down 
 to the lower end of the market-place, where another buyer 
 has offered 99f piasters, in order that the latter may know 
 the advance. Some one in the middle now offers lOOj, and 
 again he runs up and down proclaiming the new price. For 
 his trouble he receives 1 nieyti or 1 para per piaster, that is, 
 one-fortieth of the selling price. He is the lion of the market, 
 all listen to him, he knows everything and everybody, and 
 no small part of the traffic passes through his hands. The 
 merchant himself makes use of the brokers when he wishes 
 to dispose of his goods quickly ; or the latter may buy at a 
 low price the goods of a person who is pressed for money, in 
 order to sell them at a profit when an opportunity offers. 
 When he has important sales on hand the broker goes through 
 all the town, visiting the coffee-houses, warehouses, inns, and 
 other places of public resort, knocks at the doors of private 
 houses, and even penetrates within the sacred precincts of the 
 harem. His rivals in trade work hard against him, but the 
 strongest voice and the greatest cunning gain the day. 
 
 In the second rank comes the cry of the pedlars, who sell 
 nick-nacks on their own account. The pedlars consist mostly 
 of children with lucifer-matches, cigarette papers, fruits, and 
 sweets. The stationary dealers, and even the substantial 
 merchants, also find it necessary from time to time, publicly 
 and by word of mouth, to make known to the crowd passing 
 the existence and excellence of their wares. This they do in 
 stereotyped, laconic phrases, which are often in rhyme, and 
 frequently quite poetical, and are chanted to a melody set 
 apart for each class of goods. These cries lose their charm when 
 translated, for example: Ya tin ya aid es salatin — "Figs, the 
 food of sultans;" or as the seller of liquorice juice cries, ''Oh, 
 refresher of the body;" and so on. In a corner sit some 
 money-changers beside a mone}^ box jingling their dollars. 
 Scribes are to be seen everywhere, mostly Christian Kopts, 
 who try to derive a livelihood from the ignorance of the 
 people; even the higher class merchants make use of their 
 
22 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 services for their calculations, partly because they feel they 
 are not equal to the task themselves, partly because it is 
 considered the correct thing to keep a clerk. 
 
 Water-carriers, with earthen water-jar on their backs, are 
 always ready to present the refreshing fluid in a brazen cup 
 such as the ancient Egyptians used, and very often gratis, 
 being engaged by some pious institution. The clinking 
 together of two of these cups is a regular element in the hub- 
 bub of the market. Another kind of water-carrier bears on 
 his back a large leathern bag with stumps projecting from 
 it which vividly recall the form of the goat, its former owner. 
 From the opening of the neck he squirts the water over the 
 dusty street. To sprinkle smaller areas, such as the floor of 
 a room, water is taken into the mouth and spirted out again, 
 so that the sprinkler resembles the figure of a triton on a 
 fountain. 
 
 A porter skips groaning along the market with a huge chest 
 weighing more than a hundredweight on his back; he believes 
 he makes the work easier by skipping. Heavier burdens 
 are sometimes carried upon two wooden staves connected by 
 cords crossing between them ; this mode requires four men, 
 who sing to keep time as they bound along. Everything is 
 carried, and that mostly on the back, partly by men, partly 
 by beasts of bui'den ; wheeled carriages are not met with in 
 any country town. The ancients made much use of car- 
 riages, but, as appeal's, only for war and the chase. Lighter 
 burdens, such as w^ater-jars, were carried by them attached 
 to bars of wood laid across the neck and shoulders, an equal 
 weight being hung at either end, whereas now they are 
 carried on the head or shoulders. 
 
 Numerous beggars, mostly blind, steer boldly and safely 
 through the stormy billows of street and market, feeling their 
 way with their stick, and asking the reward of their poverty 
 in words almost of command, though only indirectly addressed 
 to the people, such as — "I ask of God the price of a loaf of 
 bread;" or, "I am the guest of God and of the Prophet, 
 oh God that givest abundantly ! " Others stand in one spot 
 and chant melodiously from morning to night a passage 
 
A STREET- QUARREL. 23 
 
 which they have learned by heart from the Koran in the 
 expressive old Arabic tongue. A few lunatics or imbeciles, 
 filthy and with only a few rags to cover their nakedness, 
 wander restlessly np and down. Kobody disturbs them in 
 their aimless occupation; and whoever attracts a friendly 
 glance from them thinks himself lucky. For they are con- 
 sidered saints, favourites of God, and their blessing works 
 wonders. 
 
 A STREET QUARREL. 
 
 A crowd suddenly collects. Some persons have come to 
 words about an insignificant matter of business, and the 
 afiair soon degenerates into an open quarrel. Offensive 
 words are used, gradually rising to the highest pitch of 
 opprobrium, such spicy expressions as, ''son of a dog," ''brood 
 of the Pharaohs," "infidel," "son of a monk," "pimp," "mon- 
 grel," "accurst be your father, your beard, your mother's 
 womb," "may the grave seize you," "mischief upon you," 
 follow one after another. A bloody issue seems unavoid- 
 able, and no police are to be seen, when an old man passing 
 by, a sheikh, steps solemnly within the circle, and the parties 
 separate respectfully. He makes them tell him the cause 
 and history of the quarrel, and passes sentence or calms 
 the contesting parties with the words ma *alesh (never 
 mind), and in a few moments the deadly enemies embrace 
 each other, and after kissing the old man's forehead, or his 
 hand, or the hem of his garment, march away hand in hand. 
 Such a result, of course, does not always happen, but happens 
 often enough. 
 
 THE MARKET AND THE WOMEN. 
 
 But what has become of the other sex all this time? Woe 
 to her who should dare, however closely muffled up, to set 
 foot in any part of the public market ; she would lose her 
 good name for ever. Even the charmers that flutter past 
 from time to time, and belong to a class who set but little 
 
24 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 store by a good name, here find it necessary for decency's sake 
 to veil themselves partially. Only here and there a solitary 
 old peasant woman, who has lost all her charms, wanders 
 unveiled. The strictness with which the fair sex are treated 
 in public increases in direct proportion as we approach the 
 sacred land of the Prophet, in saying so, however, we do not 
 mean to say anything as to the strictness of the people's morals. 
 The farther north we go the more these phantoms swarm, 
 especially in the chief towns; indeed they sit there (veiled of 
 course) like ordinary merchants in their shops. 
 
 A COFFEE-HOUSE. 
 
 The tumult allayed we proceed on our wanderings again, 
 and find ourselves before a caf^. The places so called, which 
 correspond still less than the shops to Frankish ideas of ele- 
 gance and comfort, may be found in abundance in every small 
 town and village. In style they range from the simple straw 
 covered shed to the spacious pillared saloon not altogether 
 devoid of architectural ornamentation, especially when they 
 are owned by well-to-do private persons, or belong to a 
 mosque. Elegant waiters, showily-dressed barmaids, glitter- 
 ing wall mirrors, are not to be seen. Even the carpet, the 
 basis of all oriental comfort, has disappeared, and in its 
 stead simple straw mats are spread upon the earthen floor, 
 or on the seats of clay and stone. Or one may seat himself 
 in front of the shop and next the street upon a seat made 
 of palm twigs, or upon a clumsy chair woven basket- 
 fashion. It savours somewhat of mauvais ton to visit 
 a common cafe, and the guests belong chiefly to the lower 
 classes; still for our good money we may venture upon one 
 draught. For a few paras we receive a tiny cupful of the 
 bitter muddy beverage. The native almost always drinks 
 unsweetened coflfee ; the sugar is said to take away or lessen 
 the exhilarating eflfect of the beverao^e. If we ask for coflee 
 "alia Franka" we are not likely to get a cup of coflTee with 
 milk, or brandy, such a mixture is to a native quite incon- 
 ceivable, but merely black coffee with a small lump of 
 
A COFFEE-HOUSE. 25 
 
 sugar in it. The landlord of the coffee-house is always thrown 
 into a state of excitement by such an order, and has to send 
 some of his satellites expressly to the market for the lump of 
 sugar. For the future it will be better to follow the example 
 of some of the natives who have got a sweet tooth and carry 
 always a bit of sugar in, our pocket to sweeten the bitter cup 
 for ourselves when we pay a visit to a cafe. Since such a 
 cafe could not afford a clerk or book-keeper, and as the pro- 
 prietor himself belongs to the lowest ranks, and cannot write, 
 he marks up each man's score with strokes upon the wall, 
 using coffee-grounds instead of ink. The house itself is 
 not exactly dirty, but the landlord always is so, since he 
 sits at the fire in the middle of tlie room like the stoker of 
 an engine. A large pot with hot water is always on the 
 fire; a panikin, either without a cover or with a fragmentary 
 one, serves to make ready any single order. The beverage 
 prepared is excellent in spite of the fact that much of 
 the aroma has escaped through the holes in the lid. Mokha 
 is near, and chicory almost unknown. Roasted chickpeas 
 are the common substitute with the thrifty, and they do 
 not taste badly, especially when a few cloves are added, 
 as is often done, to improve the flavour. The crushing 
 of the roasted coffee-beans with a heavy pestle, which reduces 
 them to a fine flour, such as coffee-mills never produce, no 
 doubt contributes essentially to the satisfactory extraction 
 of all the elements in the cofl'ee. Coflee-grinding or rather 
 pounding forms a distinct trade. At every blow of the long 
 and heavy pestle, wielded in the two hands, the workman 
 emits a loud groan from his chest. 
 
 The frequenters of the coffee-house, as already stated, are 
 of the poorer sort, such as artisans, petty shop-keepers, 
 attendants on public ofiices, Turkish soldiers, seldom a 
 peasant. The civilian prefers the floor, and despises the 
 chair standing beside him, leaving it to the more honourable 
 customers, the Turkish soldiers to wit. One man finds it 
 exceedingly comfortable to assume a crouching position 
 intermediate between sitting and standing, with his knees 
 much bent, so that his hams come within a few inches of the 
 
26 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 floor, but do not touch it; another in a similar position sup- 
 ports himself on the floor with his legs bent and his arms 
 clasped round them; a third sits with his legs crossed in the 
 well-known position in which tailors sit. This, as well as 
 the squatting position on the floor, was common among the 
 ancient Egyptians, and is a genuine oriental custom. They, 
 however, were fonder of sitting upon chairs and tasteful 
 fauteuils, and were likewise accustomed to sit resting upon 
 one knee, a practice which is never observed now, possibly 
 for religious reasons, since it is held that one ought to kneel 
 and prostrate himself before God alone. In the one hand 
 the guest holds the small cup containing the hot coffee, tasting 
 and sipping the beverage, in the other the long pipe stem 
 with the broad smooth amber mouth-piece to his mouth. 
 Here a customer has laid himself down on his side, resting 
 his head upon his elbow, the feet carelessly stretched out, 
 there another has sunk into a deep slumber. Over there is 
 a group of domino players lying on their bellies; in the back- 
 ground a rakish fellow may be noticed dallying with a 
 hetsera. 
 
 From time to time a peculiar gurgling, bubbling sound is 
 heard; it proceeds from the nargileh or hookah, a kind of 
 tobacco-pipe which has scarcely established itself anywhere 
 but in the East. A person who gives himself up to this enjoy- 
 ment smokes from the chest. The smoke from the tobacco 
 rises with a slight noise through the water in the hollow of 
 a cocoa-nut, and being thus purified is sucked through the 
 tube or stem, which is either flexible or made of a reed. It 
 'penetrates deep into the lungs of the smoker, and only a small 
 portion issues from the chest again in the next expiration. It 
 may be suspected that many, indeed most, of those who smoke 
 'the hookah put into their pipes, in addition to the innocent 
 Persian tobacco, a little pill of hashish, the well-known nar- 
 cotic prepared from Indian hemp. The peculiar odour wafted 
 from the cafe betrays this unmistakably. The keeping of 
 hashish has, to be sure, been again forbidden lately; generally, 
 however, such ordinances are strictly enforced only for a short 
 time after they are promulgated. Already a few may per- 
 
GREEK TAVERN. 27 
 
 haps have smoked themselves into a state of the most rap- 
 turous happiness, yet the intoxication is of a mild and good- 
 natured, often humorously loquacious kind, and is mainly 
 characterized by mental delusions. On the whole there reigns 
 in these resorts of the common people a stillness and gravity 
 peculiar to the oriental. Here are never heard the wild 
 shouting and noise which issue from the beer-shops and pot- 
 houses of the "civilized" world. Unintentionally we have 
 fallen into conversation with a neighbour who proves talka- 
 tive. We have to smoke a pipe alternately with our friend, 
 receiving it with the mouth-piece wet from his lips; but finally 
 break off the conversation, as the good nature of our comrade 
 threatens to degenerate into unblushing inquiries regarding 
 our person and concerns. 
 
 GREEK TAVERN. 
 
 In most Eg3^ptian towns, large and small, even in the 
 remotest provinces, shopkeepers are to be found, almost 
 exclusively of the Greek nation, who sell some European 
 or Levantine commodities, such as olives, olive-oil, cheese, 
 preserved fruits, gunpowder, toys, and nick-nacks, but 
 especially spirituous liquors. These goods being much in 
 request their shops become taverns. We enter one of them. 
 It is a dark dirfcy place, with necessarily more room in it than 
 in an Arab shop, since it has to serve as store as well, and 
 barrels, boxes, and bags lie heaped in wild confusion. Arab 
 comfort is discarded, and European has not yet taken its place; 
 we find very few seats for the guests, and still fewer tables — 
 the counter excepted. The owner wears the Grseco-Turkish 
 costume, with long blue trousers of coarse linen, or he may 
 have procured a European dress, in which, however, the 
 former barbarian still remains. An orthodox Mohammedan 
 will not use a glass in which there has been a drop of spirits 
 until it has been cleaned with the utmost care, and, though 
 lying on a sick-bed, will refuse a medicine in which he scents 
 a few drops of an alcoholic tincture, since indulgence in alco- 
 holic liquors is one of the most awful offences possible; it is 
 
28 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 natural, therefore, that he should view with horror the estab- 
 lishment of such a tippling-house in the provinces, as yet but 
 little contaminated by the Franks, and look down with the 
 deepest contempt upon the person starting it, even though little 
 else could be brought against the character of the latter. One 
 may often hear abusive expressions testifying to this feeling, 
 the epithet "tavern-keeper" figuring along with "pimp" and 
 " hashish-smoker." Were a Mohammedan to start a spirit- 
 shop he would soon be compelled by his fellow-believers 
 to give it up. This "disreputable" occupation is left to 
 Christians, and almost exclusively to (> reeks. But we by 
 no means intend to say that the Moslimin always abstain 
 from spirituous liquors. On the contrary, they are extremely 
 ready to learn to drink them, and soon surpass their teachers 
 the Christians. Where the teacher sips a few glasses the 
 follower of the Prophet swallows as many bottles of strong 
 spirit, and the charm of forbidden indulgence leads directly 
 to unbridled and vicious excess. One after another becomes 
 a prey to the habit, as the steady rise of new drink-shops 
 and the prosperity of their owners show: to be sure the 
 taverns are never found full, for people are ashamed to show 
 themselves there openly, so the guest slinks into a corner and 
 sits down, or he makes a number of successive visits, in 
 order to refresh the thirst of the inner man. So much 
 the more drink is carried outside, especially to places 
 which will presently be mentioned. The liquors to be had 
 are mostly grain - spirit mixed with mastic and aniseed, 
 and therefore becoming turbid when diluted with water; 
 more seldom a Greek red wine, also cognac, burgundy (at 
 least so the labels on the bottles say), and even champagne. 
 The dear and mostly soured beer of Europe is not much 
 thought of 
 
 NATIVE BEER-SHOPS. 
 
 The common people, including the peasantry, more fre- 
 quently drink a native beer (hilza^, which is sold in very 
 primitive reed-huts in towns and villages, and in the time of 
 
NATIVE BEEK- SHOPS. 29 
 
 harvest also in the field. The beer-seller, generally a Nubian, 
 serves his guests by pouring it out of a large cauldron into 
 a wooden dish which passes from mouth to mouth. This 
 beer is made from malt, and is a milky, acidulous, half fer- 
 mented, and therefore non-intoxicating mash, resembling the 
 German "white beer;" it is one of the luxuries that are not 
 forbidden. Still these shops often present a very lively scene; 
 playing and singing are heard in them, and daughters of Eve 
 of doubtful character may be seen going out and in. The 
 women also drink this beer at their peculiar curative meet- 
 ings, when they put themselves into an ecstasy, in the so- 
 called sar. (See Chap. VII.). The beer of the ancient Egyptians, 
 called zythus, was intoxicating, like that which is still so 
 largely drunk in the Soudan and Abyssinia. On the whole, 
 however, the drinking of alcoholic liquors is rare among the 
 temperate and thrifty people of Egypt, in so far as the Moham- 
 medans areconcerned, while the native Christians, almost with- 
 out exception, are greatly addicted to this indulgence. The 
 peasant knows almost nothing of this luxury, and is therefore 
 preserved from much evil. *' Wine has many good qualities," 
 says the Prophet in the Koran, "but also many bad;" indeed, 
 as even the faithful relate, Mohammed himself is said at one 
 period to have sometimes got tipsy, and on one such occa- 
 sion to have stabbed his beloved teacher. Hence the strict 
 prohibition. The common people of Islam indeed are dis- 
 tinguished from the same class in western countries essen- 
 tially by their temperance and sobriety, and through the 
 absence of drunkenness, by less rudeness, and a certain staid 
 and dignified air. The very considerable portion of their 
 income that western people, even the temperate among them, 
 expend upon their gullets, keeping body and soul together 
 only with the '"necessaries," the Moslim expends on the 
 maintenance of a family, and though drinking only water, 
 he finds himself as healthy, strong, and capable of the severest 
 labours as the workman of the North with his constant crav- 
 ing for stimulants. And this craving, when it has established 
 itself, is not less powerful in the warm South than in the cold 
 North. Indulgence in opium, and still more in hashish, 
 
30 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 however much the custom is reprobated, is more widely spread 
 among the Moslimin, and that too in the class that have to 
 represent the religion, namely, the Kadis, the Ulemas, and 
 the Dervishes. The ancient Egyptians, as is well known, 
 were very fond of wine, and it was not uncommon even 
 for women to get tipsy. 
 
 DANCING GIRLS. 
 
 From the dram-shops to the quarter where live the frail 
 sisters of the dancing profession is but a step — both actually 
 and mentally. The occupants of both work into each other's 
 hands; neither thrives without -the other. Under the influ- 
 ence of alcoholic liquors a man forgets the considerations 
 and scruples that actuate him at other times, and falls into 
 the arms of the tempting siren beside him ; once under the 
 power of his hetsera he sends for bottle after bottle, and it 
 becomes an easy matter for her to induce her companion, 
 intoxicated by drink and sensual desires, to sacrifice his ready 
 money. These dancing girls, an Egyptian institution from 
 the earliest, even from Pharaonic times, ply their trade in 
 large numbers in all the towns of Upper Egypt, both great 
 and small, especiall}^ since they were expelled the capital. 
 They boast to be descended from Barmek, the well-known 
 favourite of the Khalif Harun er Rashid; according to some 
 they are genuine gipsies; but with such loose morals as theirs 
 purity of race is out of the question, and their ranks are 
 certainly recruited from the rest of the population. They 
 are called Ghawtizi (sing. Ghazie), a name said to be derived 
 from the fact that they sported before (?) the Ghus, as the 
 old Mamelukes are called. Many writers speak of them as 
 Almeh, but these are singing girls of somewhat better fame. 
 They are not tolerated near the houses of respectable citizens, 
 but certain streets or quarters are assigned to them, which, 
 it must be stated, are often the very ones most frequented. 
 Their trade is not wholly put a stop to, both because they 
 are employed to dance at feasts, and because the wise Arab 
 regards them as "a protection for the women," that is, they 
 
DANCING GlELS. 31 
 
 serve to keep the rakes from running after "the forbidden 
 ones/' the harim or virtuous women. 
 
 Discarding scruples let us wander through the head- 
 quarters of this tolerated immorality, and, selecting afternoon 
 as the best time, let us seize an opportunity seldom occurring 
 of admiring the charms of the Egyptian female world in all 
 its splendour and adornment, for otherwise the few muffled 
 figures seen would scarcely lead us to imagine it existed. 
 Here, then, we are met at once by three ladies, the highest 
 of their class. Classically wide and pleasingly coloured 
 upper garments of silk flutter around them, and a narrow, 
 closely- fitting gown, with narrow sleeves, and made of 
 costly materials, falls perpendicularly from the thigh to a 
 few inches above the ankles, so as to display the bright- 
 coloured baggy trousers, followed by a shoe of glazed leather, 
 or a yellow slipper. The whole person from head to foot 
 is hung and bedizened with gold ornaments, so that such 
 a dancing girl is rendered thereby really a very valuable 
 object. Though poor little girls only a few years ago they 
 have made, in their line, such a skilful use of their charms 
 and advantages that they can now show themselves off in 
 this costly guise, and their money-box is perhaps better filled 
 than that of many a merchant, or even a Turkish pasha. 
 The first of the three graces is full, robust, strong as an oak, 
 with Semitic- Arabic lengthened profile; the second, small, 
 pale, and slender, is built in the famous full-moon style of the 
 Arabic fables; the third, dark almost as a Moor, is modelled 
 after the broad- cheeked sphinx type (the Egyptian sphinxes 
 are said, however, to represent male beings) of the Fellah 
 women, the direct descendants of the ancient Egyptian 
 women. 
 
 We hasten away, for already we hear their peacock-voices 
 and vulgar language which destroy the illusion. We work 
 our way successfully through among the siren- voices of all 
 the fair ones, whose skin varies in colour from the deepest 
 black through coffee and nut brown to clear lead colour, but 
 is never so fair as that which belongs to the blue-eyed, rosy- 
 cheeked blonde. We rather admire their purple mantles. 
 
32 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 their yellow trousers, and emerald jackets, than are attracted 
 by the fineness of their features. Convinced of the ugliness 
 of the greater number, we endeavour to escape from the 
 scene of their activity. 
 
 All at once a hideous fury holds her Medusa-head right 
 before us; our footsteps thus arrested, we stand staring at 
 her, hair on end. The woman, a member of the same trade 
 ab-eady in the late autumn of her ^^ears but unable to believe 
 in the loss of her charms, has attempted to smear a second 
 youth upon her clieeks by reddening them with cinnabar; 
 while on nose, brow, cheeks, lips, and chin, a great number 
 of round black spots of colour show themselves very dis- 
 tinctly. Her thin hair, which is either her own simply 
 smoothed down or may be false, shows here and there a clot 
 of grease not yet melted ; the rancid smell is smothered in the 
 strong odour of a kind of musky perfume that exhales from 
 the surface of her skin. And thus she cowers b}'" her door- 
 step, puffing thick clouds from a long pipe, in the company 
 of her gray-haired mother, who sucks away at her hookah. 
 
 With horror we turn away from her allurements and look 
 to the other side of the street. There our glances light on a 
 pretty childish face that smiles towards us. Fancying we 
 have found innocence at last, we nod in a friendly manner. 
 The dark-skinned maiden darts towards us and clings to us; 
 we soon learn that she is an Abyssinian slave, lately pur- 
 chased by a Ghawazi mother. But imagine our astonish- 
 ment when we see and hear, as we must, how this lovely 
 young thing four feet in height, and scarcely nine years of 
 age, points to her little room, and with a bold smirk makes 
 known her desire to receive us there. The class of dancing 
 girls, now when the slave-trade is being abolished, is more 
 generally than ever recruited by purchase from among such 
 young Galla maidens. 
 
 NIGHT AND ITS ACCOMPANIMENTS. 
 
 Meantime it has become dark, and we betake ourselves to 
 our domicile, musing on the plasticity of the human soul. 
 
WEEKLY MARKET. 33 
 
 A nocturnal walk offers us little. The streets are deserted 
 as soon as the last rays of daylight have disappeared, except 
 at full moon and during Ramadan. Whoever now walks 
 out carries a glass or paper lantern, otherwise he runs the 
 risk of beinof taken bv a nio^ht watchman to the nearest 
 watch-house. Here and there perhaps a fruit- seller still 
 stands, endeavouring by the scanty light of an oil-lamp to 
 dispose of his fast decaying wares at any price they will 
 bring; or we come upon some peaceful citizens of the poorer 
 class conversing together as they lie stretched out on the 
 dust in some open space. From a neighbouring dram-shop 
 some late topers raise a sound of mirth or quarrelling. The 
 last glimmer of human intercourse dies out round the above- 
 described grottoes of Aphrodite and Terpsichore. 
 
 SECOND DAY. 
 
 WEEKLY MARKET. 
 
 The Moslem is a child of the day. Unlimited dominion 
 over the dismal night he gladly leaves to the dogs, the owls, 
 and the ghosts. But no sooner can a black thread be distin- 
 guished from a white than activity reigns everywhere, and 
 the rising sun already sees the tide of public life in full 
 sweep. 
 
 We too rise early and proceed to a pretty large open space. 
 Here there is an unusual crowd of brown-skinned country 
 people bustling about. It is the weekl}'- market. The sellers, 
 many of them having their wives along wdth them, sit on 
 the ground, with the products of the fertile soil before them — 
 a soil which gives two or three crops in the year, and does 
 not cease to bear even in winter. Thus there is no lack of 
 fresh vegetables all the year through, though there is much 
 to be desired on the score of variety. Their wares are stowed 
 in baskets, or are heaped upon their shawls, which are spread 
 on the ground for the purpose. According to the commodity 
 
84 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 tliey sell their goods by the piece, or they have them parcelled 
 out into little heaps, or weigh them on home-made scales, 
 using stones previously weighed to serve as weights. Country 
 pedlars sit there too, who try to attract the rustics by offering 
 trinkets of little value, pocket-knives, &c. There are not 
 wanting also geomantists, soothsayers, amulet- writers, and so 
 forth. 
 
 A SLAVE MARKET. — SLAVERY. 
 
 In a corner of the square, beside the cattle-market, we 
 observe a group of raven-black, scantily-clad children of both 
 sexes; they are slaves exposed for sale. In. the capital and 
 its neighbourhood the slave-trade has of course been greatly 
 curtailed in recent times through the vigilance of the higher 
 authorities, and the inhabitants themselves are now chary of 
 buying slaves, as they have no longer any recourse when they 
 run away, since every slave on reporting himself to the police 
 becomes at once free. From time to time whole caravans of 
 slaves are confiscated, and the slaves escorted to the capital, 
 where the government takes charge of them. The boys, as 
 soon as they become strong enough, are generalty turned into 
 soldiers, though some of them are distributed as domestic ser- 
 vants, and a few of the cleverer sent to the government schools. 
 The girls are also sent into service. But as there is nothing 
 more certain to bring a foreign bird to an unhappy end than 
 suddenly giving it its freedom in a foreign land, so too for 
 these slaves freedom is not the best lot, as long as they are 
 unaccustomed to it. A male or female slave is to his or her 
 master always a valuable which he guards and takes care of; 
 the free servant is not to be depended on, and stands in a 
 looser relationship towards his master. He is no longer fed, 
 but must himself struggle for his bread in a country of whose 
 language he is quite ignorant. In the present transition 
 state of matters mere anti-slavery societies, or societies 
 having for their object solely the rescue of men from slavery, 
 are not sufficient; humane societies should be formed for 
 the purpose of sending back to their native lands those who 
 
A SLAVE MARKET. 35 
 
 have just been made free, a task which in those days, when the 
 interior of Africa is becoming more and more accessible, can 
 at any rate be partly accomplished, although at a great 
 expenditure of time and trouble. 
 
 In Upper Egypt the slave-trade on the whole still remains 
 pretty much as of old. The public sale of slaves in the 
 market-place has by no means entirely ceased, although 
 sales are no longer so extensive as formerly. The govern- 
 ment officials themselves lend a hand when an escaped slave 
 is to be tracked out, and more than that, it is an open secret 
 that the native Christian or Mohammedan consular agents 
 of European powers often invest their money in the slave- 
 trade, though not under their own names ! In the ordinances 
 which are issued for the purpose of putting a stop to this 
 traffic, and which are renewed from time to time, permission 
 is given for people of respectability and position to purchase 
 one or several slaves for domestic service. But so long as 
 slaves can be bought so long will they also be sold. 
 
 The slave-dealers have ordinarily their depots in the public 
 hostelries. We intimate our intention to make a purchase, and 
 are conducted into the court of such an establishment. There 
 we find some Sauahli girls, with skins of a deep-brown colour, 
 occupied in pounding in a large wooden vessel the kind of 
 grain called ducJin, which forms the basis of the Soudan 
 bread, and wdiich has been brought by their masters from 
 their native lands. They do not much concern themselves to 
 cover the nude portions of their persons, which are already 
 pretty fully developed. A smaller negro girl wears nothing 
 else than a girdle of tufts. A carefully veiled Abys- 
 sinian miss is brought before us, a Galla girl, the noblest of 
 all coloured races ; the owner points to her graceful limbs, 
 uncovers her agreeable brown face with its large speaking 
 eyes, and is prepared for all the investigations of the pur- 
 chaser. He next opens the mouth of a little Moor who is 
 among them that his white teeth may be inspected, and draws 
 our attention to his plump and firm thighs. The prices 
 mentioned to us are: for a male slave of black race £8 to 
 £14, and for a female £12 to £16; for a male Abyssinian or 
 
36 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 Galla (of brown colour) £16 to £20, for a female of the same 
 race £18 to £26; for a white Circassian woman not less than 
 £100 to £200. Slaves are valued most highly some years 
 before or at puberty, when they are still pliant, and "their 
 brain is not yet dry." 
 
 Are these creatures really so unfortunate? An account of 
 their lives as given by some of themselves will show. A 
 child in a tropical village in an evil hour, when darkness has- 
 come on, removes to the distance of a few steps from the hut 
 of its parents. Suddenly it finds itself seized by a strong 
 hand, a gag is thrust into its mouth to prevent it from crying 
 out, and away it is carried on the shoulders of a man for 
 many miles in the dark. It is taken into a house and food 
 and drink set before it, but it refuses these and cries for its 
 mother. Grief, anxiety, and fatigue struggle for the posses- 
 sion of the poor little creature ; the last conquers, and the 
 child falls into a profound slumber. It awakes, finds the hut 
 like that of its parents and hears the language of its village, 
 though the faces are strange. A swarm of youngsters of every 
 age, forming part of the body of stolen children here 
 assembled, gathers round and makes friendly advances to 
 the new comer; there is no lack of food and drink, there 
 is no work to do, and in a short time the child, being still 
 at an age when feeling is not yet deep, forgets its home 
 and parents. The stealing of children is, however, a mild 
 form of procuring slaves; far worse are those well-known 
 forays or razzias, which often assume the appearance of open 
 warfare, when bands of armed slave-dealers surprise whole 
 villages, carry into slavery women, children, every one who 
 is worth the trouble, and tear asunder all family ties. 
 
 The period of rest does not last long. The full complement 
 of slaves being made up they are dragged over hill and dale, 
 field, and desert ; the mule, the horse, the ox, and the camel 
 alternately assist them on their journey; they are con- 
 veyed down a swollen mountain stream in a crowded boat; 
 tropical heat and torrents of rain vie with each other in 
 their assaults upon their tender, ill-protected bodies; one 
 child after another is attacked by fever, the sick and the 
 
SLAVERY. 37 
 
 liealtliy lie huddled together; the dead are buried in the 
 sand; ceaselessly the caravan moves onwards. Some rashly 
 make a desperate attempt at flight, but are immediately 
 caught, and, being beaten and bound, are dragged still 
 onwards. The girls, however small they are, are sacrificed 
 to the lust of their drivers, so that an unviolated female 
 slave is a great rarity. At last they reach a town. The 
 captives are shut up in confinement, from which they are 
 brought out fettered at night for a promenade; on the 
 market day they are sold by public auction, the would-be 
 purchasers feeling their limbs, making them leap about, and 
 opening their mouths as if it were a horse market. The 
 highest bidder gets the goods that please him, singly or in 
 groups. The companions in misfortune, who have become 
 friends on the journey, separate in tears; though in the more 
 civilized localities the Mohammedan slave-dealer commonly 
 avoids parting brothers and sisters, parents and children. 
 The new owner acts pretty much like the old one: he gives 
 the slave children plenty of food for a time till they have 
 recovered from the fatigues of the journey, and then sells 
 them; and so they pass from master to master, and from 
 place to place, or they are fattened in the same house for 
 years and left without work — especially the girls. This and 
 the tedium of their position have both a moral and a physical 
 eflect, the girls develop early, and now is the time to sell 
 them at the highest price. Indeed they are eager for this 
 themselves, and lay warm dough upon their bosoms, which 
 is said to hasten the swelling of the breasts. Meanwhile 
 they are also civilized, that is, they are made to veil them- 
 selves and not appear forward; they must learn to believe 
 in Islam, Mohammedan names are bestowed upon them, 
 •and all trace of their native ideas as far as possible swept 
 ^way. 
 
 The semi-mature maiden is now sold, and if she is merely 
 brown and of good race, if she is, for instance, a Galla or 
 Abyssinian, her lot is generally by no means hard. If a man 
 in good circumstance takes a fancy to her, she shows no 
 reluctance, since she is not therebj^ dishonoured, but proud 
 
38 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 of playing the part of a wife or siti; Ler owner provides her 
 with clothes, ornaments, and sweets to her heart's content, 
 gives her male and female servants, allows her the manage- 
 ment of the house, nay, often neglects or puts away through 
 his passion for her his own wedded wife. And their little 
 ladyships know how to play their part very well, and are 
 fond of acting the tyrant. They are ambitious enough, but 
 their love is mostly deep and ardent; they are faithful, tidy, 
 domesticated, and have fine sensibilities. They are there- 
 fore preferred by many to the native women. Their position 
 is by no means that of a mistress, since, on the one hand, no 
 stigma of immorality attaches to it, though the free women 
 are accustomed to despise a woman who is merely a slave ; 
 and on the other hand, as soon as they become mothers, 
 they are free, or at least cannot be sold. While in certain 
 countries the gallant is wont to make himself scarce when 
 he perceives that his victim is enceinte, or as soon as his 
 child is born, here such a result serves as a closer bond of 
 connection, for the Moslem is not allowed to deny or to sell 
 his own children. Such a slave has even this advantage 
 over a free women, that she cannot be divorced and sent 
 away, seeing that she has no relatives. It is not rare for a 
 female slave who has presented her master with a child, 
 especially with a boy, to be raised to the position of actual 
 wife. 
 
 Of course fortune does not smile thus upon every female 
 slave, especially if she has the ill luck to be plain or black, 
 to belong to one of the inferior races, or to prove unfruitfuL 
 Then she passes often from hand to hand, she has to allow 
 the finery that has been presented to her to be torn from her 
 person — calamity hard to bear — when it is not sold along 
 with her, and she sinks, with the decrease of her charms and 
 her price together, lower and lower in the scale of society. 
 Or, as we have already seen, the slave girl is bought by a pro- 
 curess, who gives her an education according to her own taste. 
 By far the greater number of slave women, most at least 
 of the true negresses, are employed as domestic servants, and 
 the highest position they attain is the dominion of the kitchen. 
 
SLAVERY. 39 
 
 If their behaviour is good their master gets them a black 
 husband, and any children that may spring from this black 
 marriage become the vendible property of the slave-raiser — 
 of course with this restriction, that the family must be sold 
 together. It is the rule, however, for such a family to remain, 
 and to wish to remain, for life in a household, constituting the 
 serving element in it perhaps for several generations. 
 
 The male slaves enjoy a brilliant career more seldom than 
 the girls. When they fall into the hands of masters who are 
 in a good position they are generally well fed and dressed, 
 and often look down with scorn upon men who are free, but 
 are also hungry and ragged; still they are nothing but ser- 
 vants who may be sold at any time, and have not their future 
 in their own hands. Many, however, gain the full confidence 
 of their masters, transact commercial and other business for 
 them, and frequently inherit all their property. Slaves are 
 often set at liberty, an act recommended as praiseworthy by 
 the Prophet, and when liberated they generally receive a gift 
 of some kind. Such persons usually retain all their lives a 
 kind of dutiful feeling towards the family to which they 
 have belonged, and often prefer to remain in the house 
 of their masters though free. Slaves are seldom ill treated 
 in these parts, and punishment is rarely greater than what 
 is deemed necessary to train them. In the patriarchal 
 Mohammedan system the slave has more the position of a 
 member of the family (whose duty, of course, is merely to 
 serve), and an injury to the slave is an injury to the family. 
 But there are exceptions, and cruel masters may be found 
 who are more liberal with their whip than with their 
 bread, and who kick the poor slaves and load them with 
 heavy fetters to prevent them from running away. On the 
 other hand, there exists that excellent law of the Koran, that 
 a discontented slave may demand before a court that he shall 
 be sold. Their treatment is less harsh too for the reason 
 that they may become dangerous, or, as not seldom happens, 
 may commit suicide, whereby the slaves themselves lose little, 
 but entail a loss upon their owners. 
 
 The white slaves, male and female, are the best off. They 
 
40 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 are now almost exclusively of Circassian race (formerly they 
 were often Greeks). On account of their price they come into 
 the hands only of the rich. The males (Mamelukes) often 
 receive a superior education from their masters, are treated 
 like sons, and generally pass comfortable lives. A considerable 
 number of the higher officials at present acting in Egypt were 
 once such slaves. They frequently receive in marriage the 
 daughters of their masters; indeed it sometimes happens that 
 a father purchases a good-looking Mameluke for a daughter 
 lie has got to marry, and makes him his son-in-law. 
 
 The white slave women are an essential ornament of the 
 harem of the great. They are said to be ambitious of power 
 and fond of finery. The colour of the skin, in this country 
 as elsewhere, is generally regarded as pointing to superiority 
 of race even among the natives themselves. But there is no 
 such thing as contempt for a dark skin, whether free or in 
 slavery. That would be contrary to religion ; besides, the 
 population is already so commonly dark skinned that it 
 would have to despise itself 
 
 CHANCE MEETING WITH WOMEN. 
 
 We now step aside into a dark and narrow lane. Our way 
 twists and turns, so that in its course it follows all the points 
 of the compass. Without plan or guide we fearlessly wander 
 about in the labyrinth. Pistol and dagger we may allow 
 quietly to rest in our pocket ; the poor people who have settled 
 here have none of the Grseco- Alexandrian bandit proclivi- 
 ties about them. They are rather inclined to suspect us of 
 such a character, timidly retiring from us, while the little 
 children regard us with mistrust and terror, and run off 
 screaming. 
 
 After a time the street forks, and we turn to the left by way 
 of experiment. An invisible female voice issuing from a house 
 suspiciously asks us what we want. We find we are caught 
 in a cut de sac and turn back. We now come upon a crea- 
 ture entirely enveloped in a large brown or striped gray 
 cloth, and as our glance lights upon it it darts in at an open 
 
CHANCE MEETING WITH WOMEN. 41 
 
 door. Another creature of the same kind that does not at 
 once find a place of refuge squeezes itself close to a wall till 
 we have passed by, drawing the cloth together firmly over its 
 face. Turning a corner we suddenly come upon a third, and 
 catch a glimpse of the face, but quick as lightning its head 
 is shrouded in its mantle. Wishing to act with propriety we 
 behave as if we had observed nothing, and turn aside to let 
 it pass. After a few minutes both of us — we and this being 
 — seized with curiosity, turn round at the same moment; 
 our eyes again meet, and the two large black beaming orbs 
 betray to us tliat under the uneasy covering a heart warm 
 as our own is beating, perhaps beating for us. Wherefore 
 then this fear, this flight, this anxiety; what crime have we 
 committed; are we robbers or enemies; are we hunters laying 
 our plans to catch the gentle gazelle ? Modesty will have 
 it so ; we are men, and unbelievers to boot, and the creature 
 we have just seen is a woman. We meet quite a drove of such 
 modest walking suits of clothes, who lay their heads together, 
 like cows before a wolf, and form square against us with their 
 backs. The veil which the bolder ladies of the capital wear, 
 and which allows the eye, the mirror of the heart, to be seen, 
 is not worn by the fair sex in the provincial town, and they 
 have always their hands ready at both sides of the slit in 
 front of the face, in order that they may at once conceal their 
 features with their outer wrapper in times of danger, that is, 
 when a man's form becomes visible. A woman that does not do 
 this is certainl}'- of doubtful character, or else we have become 
 intimately acquainted with her, and have seen her fully on 
 some former occasion as in attending her medically, in 
 which case veiling before us is no longer thought of It is 
 not the case that good-looking women are ready to let 
 themselves be seen, while old ones, on the contrary, when 
 neither dangerous nor likely to run any danger, are not so 
 particular. 
 
 We were surprised at the walking suits of clothes, but we 
 now light upon one riding. The ladies of the East are still as 
 good equestrians as formerly in the time of the Virgin Mary, 
 and sit so firm and secure on the saddle of their donkeys, 
 
42 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 or 
 
 with stirrups buckled high up, that the business of sucklin 
 is never interrupted even while they are riding. The eastern 
 lady, unlike the European lady, has no scruple about riding 
 with legs astride. These respectable women are rarely met 
 with in the principal streets, and never in the markets, but 
 chiefl}^ in the minor streets. In other countries a state of 
 matters the reverse of this may be remarked. 
 
 VISIT TO THE INTERIOR OF A HOUSE. 
 
 We meet a well-dressed native gentleman with whom we 
 are acquainted, and are soon engaged in a discursive conver- 
 sation with him, whicli it seems desirable to carry farther 
 undisturbed and in comfort. Tefaddal ("If you please"), 
 he says to us, shaking and rattling the bar of a gigantic 
 wooden lock on the door of a handsome house. We hesitate 
 to accept his abrupt invitation to dine with him, but the 
 adherent of the Bedouin religion is in earnest. While we 
 stand hesitating, he takes us kindly by the hand a^id half 
 pulls us over the threshold of the small middle door, that is 
 just opened from behind. "Your faces! Cover yourselves!" 
 he calls out, gently detaining us, and clapping his hands, as 
 he enters alone the sanctuary of the house. We hear some 
 half-uttered cries of fear, whimpering children's voices, 
 whispered scolding, and smothered giggling. In a few 
 minutes the inmates of the harem, thus taken by surprise, 
 have fled to their hiding places, and our host invites us to 
 step into the interior of the house, now no longer debarred to 
 us. He might, in accordance with custom, have preferred to 
 order soft carpets to be spread for his guest on the stone 
 bench, or floor of the entrance hall, without disturbing his 
 family. We follow him, and passing along the narrow lobby 
 and round a corner that prevented us from seeing farther 
 enter a spacious courtyard. 
 
 The Courtyard. — This open, airy space, and the half- 
 covered-in sheds and porticoes (sufa) open on the side next it, 
 serve, at least among the middle and lower classes of the pro- 
 vincial population, as the general family-room. Here both 
 
VISIT TO THE INTERIOR OF A HOUSE. 43 
 
 women and clnldren, in company with sheep, goats, fowls, and 
 pigeons, spend the greater part of their time, not troubling 
 themselves about the common belief, according to Avhich they 
 pass a monotonous existence imprisoned in the harem. Here 
 the wife who has to work takes her meals along with her 
 children, eating the^scraps which her husband — and his friends 
 if he has had guests — has left over; here is the sitting-room 
 for the female gossips of the town; here the merry daughters 
 and their playmates sing their songs to the accompaniment 
 of the inevitable darahuka (a kind of small drum). Among 
 the richer class the date-palm or something green is planted 
 in the courtyard where possible. 
 
 The Kitchen. — One of the side rooms is occupied by the 
 kitchen, which is almost wall-less towards the court. The 
 fireplace is either built of clay, the favourite form being that 
 of a low stair with holes containing the fire let into the top; 
 or all the needs of the household are satisfied year after year 
 by a fireplace of loose stones such as one might improvise in 
 the open air when travelling. The fire must be low, since the 
 women squat before it when cooking, as standing is highly 
 unpleasant to them. The use of any kind of stove does not 
 seem to be appreciated anywhere. In cooking, a copper 
 pot, without a handle, or an earthenware saucepan, is used, 
 and these vessels do not appear very secure as they sit half 
 on half oflT the fire. Only a portion of the fire above the 
 gradually rising heap of ashes touches the pot and slowly 
 cooks the victuals, a large square-shaped fan being used to 
 make it burn more briskly; the rest of the fire crackles mer- 
 rily up without having any useful eflfect, and escapes outside 
 by a small opening in the roof, which is formed of reeds and 
 beams, black with soot, but apparently incombustible. The 
 kitchen utensils, the plates and other dishes of tinned copper, 
 wood, or earthenware; the iron pans, the wooden spoons and 
 ladles, lie scattered over the earthen floor of the kitchen; or 
 the earthen kneading trough, and the copper washing tub, 
 in shape like a gigantic plate, have been placed over them in 
 order to preserve them from being meddled with by the 
 sportive goats and pigeons. Those utensils not intended for 
 
44* UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 immediate use are placed upon an open shelf, or put away in 
 a picturesque clay cupboard. The turbid muddy water of the 
 Nile is kept in a tall cylindrical vessel of clay hung upon a 
 frame, rounded buckets of wood or leather, or tin-plate mugs 
 being dipped into this vessel when necessary; sometimes 
 also it is kept in large narrow-mouthed heavy pitchers with 
 handles (balas). A small portion trickles pure and clear, 
 drop by drop, through the pores of the cylindrical clay vessel 
 into a vessel placed below it, in which, if the whole does not 
 stand in a close wooden box, ants, centipedes, perhaps also 
 lizards and serpents, refresh and bathe themselves. The 
 drinking water is poured into porous vessels of clay, in which 
 it is cooled by the rapid evaporation that takes place from 
 the dryness of the air. Water for washing is drawn up by 
 a rope and bucket from wells in the court of no great depth, 
 and always brackish. After it has been used for washing 
 utensils, or for cleansing the person, it is either poured out in 
 the court, the soil of which soon absorbs it, or it is carried 
 off by a deep narrow funnel-shaped sink. 
 
 Rooms on the Court- yard. — In the middle of the court 
 rise cylindrical structures of clay, usually having rounded 
 dome-shaped tops. These are intended for a pigeon-house, a 
 house for fowls, an oven, a corn-store, or a pantry. The rooms 
 situated on the ground-floor in the irregular mass of build- 
 ings surrounding the court, and which are almost devoid of 
 windows, serve for magazines, or in winter for warm sitting 
 and sleeping rooms. In the clothes-room the articles of dress 
 liang openly upon cords, or are shut up in green boxes along 
 with the ornaments and valuables. Wardrobes and chests of 
 drawers are scarcely to be found, though wall-presses with 
 doors are sometimes met with. In these rooms, therefore, the 
 greatest disorder usually reigns. One of the rooms opening 
 on the court, cleaner, more spacious, and better lighted than 
 the others, and usually fitted up with some elegance, is the 
 mcmdara, in which many receive their guests; it is thought 
 preferable, however, to have this room in an outer court, sepa- 
 rate from the inner one where the women are. In the warm 
 but dark sitting-room opening to the court the family circle 
 
VISIT TO THE INTERIOR OF A HOUSE. 45 
 
 gathers in the winter evenings before the open brazier, in 
 the dim light of a cup- shaped hanging lamp of glass, or of a 
 small shallow lamp of antique shape supplied with viscid, 
 sooty oil, and standing in a niche of the wall blackened by 
 its smoke. In recent times, however, petroleum has been 
 extensively introduced. The sleeping rooms are almost en- 
 tirely without windows, or if there are a few slits b}^ way of 
 window they are papered over in order to keep out the cold 
 night air. The sleepers lie upon a portion of the earthen 
 floor at the side of the room purposely raised above the rest, 
 and on which a straw mat and a carpet are spread, or less 
 frequently upon a wicker-work bedstead of palm branches; 
 such bedsteads, however, are quite useless in summer on 
 account of the multitudes of bugs they harbour. Mosquito 
 curtains and European bedsteads of iron are sometimes found 
 in the houses of the wealthy. The sleeper keeps half his 
 clothes on, and in summer, therefore, requires no covering; 
 in the colder nights he draws his ordinary wrapper (piilayeh) 
 over him, in winter he adds a woollen coverlet and a heavy 
 quilted cotton one besides. So soon as the spring sun shines 
 into these dark rooms their human occupants desert them to 
 sleep in airier apartments or in the open air, and, wakening 
 from their winter sleep, the army of bugs, flies, mosquitoes, 
 fleas, lice, sugar- mites, ants, cockroaches, black beetles, 
 scorpions, serpents, geckos, rats, and mice celebrate their 
 entry. 
 
 The Reception-room. — Having cast upon all these sur- 
 roundings a passing glance, we observe the restless and sus- 
 picious looks of the hospitable lord of the harem, who cannot 
 attribute our survey to mere curiosity, and at his earnest 
 invitation we mount the stair, which is jammed in between 
 the walls, and consists of high steps covered with wood. We 
 enter a well-lighted and spacious saloon, the ka'a, called also 
 tdbaJca, as being in the first story, the salamlih of the Turks. 
 The floor consists of slabs of stone, or of a mass of clay and 
 sand smoothed on the surface and hardened almost to the con- 
 sistency of m'arble. The walls are white-washed or show an 
 earthy surftice, have numerous niches, and are adorned with 
 
46 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 a few verses of the Koran framed and glazed, here and there 
 also with sheets of pictures of Arabic or Frankish production. 
 The ceiling is composed of longitudinal and transverse layers 
 of the midribs of palm fronds, with a coating of clay and lime 
 above, and is supported by rough palm stems stretched across 
 and bending downwards a considerable distance into the 
 room. In the houses of wealthier persons we find an artistic 
 panelled ceiling of mosaic. We are glad to observe there is 
 no glass in the windows, and much prefer the cool air stream- 
 ing in through the unglazed apertures, or conveyed down 
 through the roof by the ventilator above. When it becomes 
 too cool we have simply to close the shutters on the side next 
 the wind. 
 
 Across the far end of the room runs a low bench of stone 
 or clay projecting several feet. Over the mattress that covers 
 it, and is stuffed with wool or cotton, is spread a bright- 
 coloured cloth or a carpet hanging down in folds in front. 
 The cushions, which are of the same material and colour, but 
 without any breach of propriety may be different, lie at fixed 
 intervals free and resting against the wall, and thus the 
 famous divan is formed. On the floor along the sides of the 
 room a splendid Persian carpet is spread over a straw mat, 
 and on it next the wall are laid cushions on which to recline. 
 No other furniture or utensils are here except some water- 
 coolers on window ledges, shelves, or niches in the wall, and 
 religious manuscripts with black, red, and gold letters. Our 
 host invites us to seat ourselves beside him on the divan, but 
 we cannot succeed in finding a comfortable position, since 
 the cushion behind lies too far backwards. To try to touch 
 the cushion with our back and then stretch our legs straight 
 out does not seem either becoming or convenient; the 
 best we can do is to lay a cushion at our side and rest the 
 forearm upon it. Our oriental friend looks with a smile 
 upon our straining trousers and our cumbersome boots, while 
 he himself, taking off his slippers, steps upon the soft couch, 
 and crossing his legs, seats himself at tlie very back of the 
 divan with the wall cushions to support him behind. In his 
 hand he holds a fan, that is, a flat piece of straw-plait with a 
 
VISIT TO THE INTERIOR OF A HOUSE. 47 
 
 handle, and with this he fans himself and drives away the 
 flies, the great plague of southern countries. 
 
 Taking Coffee. — A servant, a slave, or an obedient son 
 enters, and with his left hand on his heart hands us the 
 pipe of ceremony, the stem of which is five feet long, richly 
 adorned with silk and silver-wire, and hung with tassels. The 
 tiny dish of red clay at the lower end of the stem, that forms 
 the pipe bowl, is already filled above the brim with fine cut 
 Syrian tobacco, mixed perhaps with the raw green tobacco of 
 the country; a live coal carried with a pair of tongs or in the 
 hollow of the bare hand sets the narcotic in a glow (if the 
 careful attendant himself has not already set the pipe agoing), 
 we place to our lips the costly amber mouth-piece, smooth as 
 glass and almost large enough to fill the mouth, and ''blow 
 a cloud" with all the dignity of an oriental. In a little the 
 attendants again appear, halting respectfully at the door of the 
 chamber. One carries a tray, in the middle of which there is 
 a coffee-pot, picturesquely surrounded with minute porcelain 
 cups without handles, placed in as many small stands of brass 
 or filigree, shaped like egg-cups. The second attendant pours 
 the black-coloured beverage into the cups, the third takes hold 
 of the metallic support which receives the cup and hastens 
 to us with it. We grasp the elegant apparatus carefully with 
 our fingers, but as we hold it up before our eyes and turn it 
 round and round admiringly, the law of the conduction of 
 heat is more and more feelingly brought home to us through 
 the metal support. The heat at last becomes so great, that we 
 give our hand a jerk and spill a little of the boiling hot 
 liquid which fills the cup to the very brim, and if we had not 
 the presence of mind to change our fingers alternately we 
 should run the risk of burning our hand, breaking the cup, 
 and staining our clothes, the divan, and the floor. When we 
 succeed in sipping the remainder, our mouth being now more 
 inured to the heat, and as we and our host exchange ex- 
 pressions of thanks by mutual movements of the hand to 
 the forehead and mouth, the attendant takes the cup from 
 us, covering it with his hand, and retires backwards to the 
 door without turning his face away from us. 
 
48 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 In the meantime dinner has been got ready, having been 
 delayed at little in order that some more fowls should be 
 roasted, and various additions made to the ordinary meal, 
 in honour of the unexpected guest. But of the meal we shall 
 treat elsewhere. 
 
 The Terrace. — After dinner our host conducts us up to 
 the terrace or j9^a?/orm, which is half roofed in, seldom 
 entirely roofless, open towards the north, and surrounded by 
 walls. We express our desire to mount to the flat and en- 
 tirely open roof above in order fully to enjoy the prospect ; but 
 with this wish he does not compl}'-, as he might thereby incur 
 the displeasure of his suspicious neighbours, whose harem 
 might thus be exposed to our view. Besides, there is no stair 
 leading up to it. We content ourselves, therefore, with the 
 view from the terrace. Here in winter some little sunny and 
 sheltered spot may always be found where the limbs stiffened 
 with the morning frost may be warmed and strengthened in 
 the sun as he gradually rises in the heavens. Here the inhabi- 
 tants withdraw in summer, and enjoy their siesta under the 
 shade of the roof, and fanned by the cool north wind. And 
 in summer nights, after the toil and trouble of the day, what 
 can be more agreeable than to stretch oner's self out here on 
 the soft couch of carpets, under the starry splendour of the 
 southern sky, with a loving wife and merry crowd of children 
 around, and to sink into the land of dreams with pleasing 
 thoughts of the delights of earthly existence. 
 
 The Harem. — There are not many upper rooms, but they 
 are more pleasant and spacious than the holes of rooms on the 
 ground floor. No second stair leads to a higher story. Those 
 closely-grated windows that look into the court opposite to 
 us conceal no doubt many of the secrets of the harem ; the 
 occupants have certainly ascended from the court and observed 
 us, but we try in vain to obtain a sight of anything except 
 darkness through the narrow openings between the crossed 
 bars. A private stair leads from the court to these apartments 
 to which no stranger can have access. 
 
 The plan of the houses is naturally very different accord- 
 
SUMMONS TO A SICK WOMAN. 49 
 
 ing to the taste and the means of the owner or builder. The 
 above arrangement is in general the rule in these parts. 
 The use to which the different apartments are put also varies 
 according to taste and the season of the year ; at one time the 
 door room, at another the mandara, at another the tabaka 
 or the sufa, opening to the court being used as reception 
 room; while others allow no male guests into the house, but 
 entertain them in their warehouse, situated elsewhere. 
 
 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN DWELLING-HOUSE. 
 
 A general survey of the house and its arrangements 
 reminds us how closely the plan corresponds with that of 
 an ancient Egyptian dwelling-house. That, too, had a general 
 wall of unburned bricks, a court, court-room or mandara, 
 store-room, and other chambers round the court, folding 
 doors with wooden lock, ventilator on the roof, rooms in the 
 first story, and grated windows. But the ancient Egyptians 
 had more taste and more artistic feeling than the moderns. 
 They did not, like the middle classes of the present day, con- 
 tent themselves with bare walls, but applied ornament every- 
 where, painted all the walls, and were fond of decorative fur- 
 niture. Guests received on entering a small cup of wine 
 instead of coffee, and instead of the pipe a nosegay. 
 
 SUMMONS TO A SICK WOMAN. 
 
 In the meantime the neighbourhood has become aware of 
 the presence of a Frank. In the eyes of the common people 
 every Frank is still a doctor. A neighbour comes to our 
 host and begs him to use his good offices with us "for some 
 medicine to his "house," that is, his wife. We ask to see the 
 patient first, to which he demurs, but latterly consents. We 
 are fortunately not without some skill in the art of ^sculapius, 
 and gladly embrace this single opportunity allowed us of 
 becoming more closely acquainted with " the forbidden ones" 
 without incurring any risk. 
 
 The patient has already gone through a variety of cures; 
 
50 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 she has had to swallow the ink of many verses of the Koran; 
 she has been be-read, be-written, be-danced, fumigated, dis- 
 enchanted, rubbed, and worked all over, till the master of the 
 house has resolved as a last desperate step to call the doctor. 
 All the way to the house we have to listen to encomiums on 
 the true art of medicine and on our own kindness and wisdom, 
 for the oriental is a master of flattery and compliment. 
 We enter after the inmates have been made aware of the 
 sight that is to be presented to them. The court is filled 
 with a great crowd of women who have come out of sympathy 
 to check and shorten with the gift of eloquence the patient's 
 attack of fever. All that we see, however, is a lot of bundles 
 of clothes lying together, and resembling a bird's-eye view of 
 a crowd of people holding up umbrellas. We march on to 
 our examination, and find the patient, who is veiled, lying in 
 an open apartment next the court. Her hand has to be 
 almost forcibly drawn forward to let us feel her pulse, and 
 it is only after our repeated request, which is supported by 
 the master of the house, that a very foul tongue is protruded 
 through a slit in the robe enveloping her, which is otherwise 
 quite close. The slit is shifted when the cheek, the eye, the 
 forehead, the other half of the face, has to be examined, in 
 order that the whole countenance may not be shown. When 
 we ask the patient how she feels the answer sounds like the 
 oracle of a sibyl from the recesses of a closed temple. 
 
 REVELATIONS. 
 
 At last one of the cloths in the heap opens out wider and 
 wider; a frightful face, above whose brow there projects a 
 tuft of hair dyed with henna of a bright fox-red, but showing 
 also in parts its natural silver-gray colour, looks boldly round, 
 and thereupon the old woman begins in a shrill screeching 
 voice the endless story of her sufferings. Soon the younger 
 generation also acquire sufficient courage to uncover here a 
 hand, there an eye or a foot, only to withdraw them, however, 
 with the slightest movement on our part. But gradually 
 we inspire more confidence; our medical utterances afford 
 
REVELATIONS. 51 
 
 consolation and hope ; the figures uncover themselves more 
 completely, and for a longer period; two coal-black eyes are 
 fastened upon us, each encircled by a black ring produced 
 by painting the rims of the eyelids with antimony, the eyes 
 themselves large and fiery, but with a somewhat squinting 
 look on account of a spot on the pupil. The large eye is 
 the strong point with Egyptian women, but also the weak 
 point, as it is commonly affected with some disease or marked 
 by some defect. The blackening of the eyelids was a general 
 custom among the ancient Egyptians also, not only with the 
 women, but even, as is still sometimes the case, with the men. 
 The well-shaped and not too small mouth of the beauty 
 now regarding us smiles upon us with innocent frankness. 
 The covering for the head, made of a coloured woollen 
 stuff of light texture, over which Egyptian women throw 
 before going out the mantle which is in universal use, has 
 meanwhile become loose, and has to be again tightly wrapped 
 round the hair, ears, neck, and upper part of the breast, so 
 that the oval countenance, the hair above the forehead, and 
 the side-lock alone remain visible. During this process of 
 rearrangement we catch a glimpse of that which oriental 
 women keep concealed with the most sensitive delicacy, 
 namely, the hair that crowns the head, with the numerous 
 slender tresses, black as the plumage of the raven, that flow 
 down on all sides. The coiffure of the women of ancient 
 Egypt was exactly similar to this ; even the side-lock was 
 not wanting. The locks behind are allowed to hang freely 
 down the back, and are tied at the extremities with long 
 cords of red silk adorned with spangles and gold coins. 
 Curiously shaped trinkets of gold, precious stones, or pearls 
 depend from the ears; golden arrows and combs are stuck in 
 the hair, which, where it meets the brow and sides of the face, 
 is fringed with a row of ducats, sequins, little bells, and 
 flakes of pure gold prettily wrought into the most singular 
 forms. An oriental woman is thus somewhat expensive in 
 her ornaments, for she disdains to wear sham trinkets. 
 These ornaments are procured in times of prosperity before 
 or after her marriage, and are worn all her life as unemployed 
 
52 . UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 capital yielding no interest. In seasons of misfortune the- 
 woman may pawn them, but she never sells them unless 
 reduced to the utmost need. As they last her whole life 
 they are ultimately cheaper than the fashionable gewgaws of 
 European cities that are destined to be cast aside at the end 
 of a few months. The breasts are covered, but hardly concealed 
 by a chemise of transparent gauze. Over this the women wear 
 a narrow-sleeved garment, which fits tightly round the body, 
 being fastened in front by a close series of silken knots reach- 
 ing from beneath the breasts downwards, and which falls in 
 folds straight from the hips to the feet. (See cut of Dancing Girl 
 in Chap, ill.) Oriental women are fortunately unacquainted 
 with the confining instrument called a corset, and are still 
 so backward in civilization as to be unable to appreciate a 
 waist of wasp-like tenuity. The legs are encased in a wide 
 sort of drawers, which are fastened under the knee, but are 
 continued down to below the edge of the frock, between which 
 and the feet they move about in a rather picturesque manner. 
 This style of drawers is not, however, in universal use. 
 Instead of them a kind with legs gradually tapering towards 
 the foot is often worn. In addition to the close-fitting dress 
 above described, the women belonging to the towns of Upper 
 Egypt (see the accompanying cut) wear a loose garment of 
 light cotton of a blue colour, or with bright blue stripes and 
 sometimes embroidered. This garment has no sleeves, but on 
 each side there is a long slit extending from the shoulder 
 nearly to the bottom of the robe, so that the arms can be 
 uncovered at any time. In the hot summer months the under 
 garments are too tight for comfort, and this loose robe and 
 the drawers are all that are worn in the house. Often, in- 
 deed, the drawers are forgotten, and the arm being carelessly 
 lifted, the woman's whole profile from the shoulder to the- 
 ankles is disclosed to view. These women, while careful to 
 conceal their charms out of doors, are careless on this matter 
 inside the house, where they think they do not need to mind 
 who sees them. It is therefore advisable that warning should 
 be given before a stranger enters the house. 
 
 The feet have either no covering at all to prevent one 
 
REVELATIONS. 53 
 
 from admiring their beauty, or they have their natural 
 nimbleness impeded by clumsy slippers. Silver clasps, with 
 little bells attached to them, are worn round the ankles. 
 Bracelets of pure gold or silver are worn on the wrists, and 
 «till more commonly on the upper arms. Numerous rings, 
 
 -'■^4c, 
 
 Woman and Child of Upper Egypt. 
 
 •either with or without stones, deck the fingers, but the fore- 
 finger, with which they attest their faith, is always kept 
 free of them. The shocking nose-ring is not intended, as 
 with the camel, to serve as a means of keeping the wearer 
 in check, but the women themselves desire it from their 
 husbands as a charming ornament. Lastly, we manage to 
 see many other proofs of an abnormal taste in the form of 
 temporary as well as indelible skin-painting on the face, 
 hands, feet, and other parts of the body. 
 
 A number of little light-footed girls run about in the court. 
 They are dressed like their elders, except that the innocence 
 of their youth spares them the infliction of' the heavy outer 
 mantle. Already, however, they begin like their maturer 
 
54 UPPER ?:gypt. 
 
 sisters to practise concealment with the corners of their 
 head-covering, and even the youngest of them could not be 
 induced to expose her head to view completely. 
 
 A child which seems too old to be still receiving suck has 
 firmly fastened on the open breast of his tender mother.^ A 
 thick cape keeps the cold air from his head, which is thus 
 early concealed from view. Sequins and ducats are clustered 
 on his brow, and there are little packets on his breast con- 
 taining precious spells to thwart the baneful look of the 
 envious. 
 
 On leaving, according to traditional practice in the case of 
 a medical visit, we are treated to sherbet, that is, a sweet 
 liquor made from the juice of fruit and water, and served in 
 a crystal cup. This we drain at one draught, as expected 
 by the servant, who attends with a fringed cloth which he 
 holds underneath while we are drinking, and with which we 
 afterwards wipe our mouths (exactly as among the ancient 
 Egyptians). We also receive perhaps a handkerchief em« 
 broidered by some fair hand, but as a rule nothing else, unless 
 it may be some trifle wrapped up in the handkerchief 
 
 A DINNER. 
 
 Meantime evening has come on, and we return to our 
 dwelling; for we must keep ourselves in readiness for the 
 dinner that a well-to-do citizen intends giving this evening 
 in celebration of some such event as a betrothal, a circum- 
 cision, or a wedding, and to which we, as being among the 
 persons of most distinction, have received an invitation in 
 the course of the day. The host comes in person to our 
 residence, for it is his duty to conduct the guests to his 
 house. The reception-room is already filled with a con- 
 siderable number of people, who have settled themselves 
 down on the richly carpeted floor in front of the cushions 
 placed against the wall. 
 
 All present rise up to welcome the newly arrived guest, 
 
 ^ According to the injunction of the Prophet children must be suckled for 
 two years. 
 
A DINNER. 55 
 
 and after we have adjusted ourselves to our satisfaction on 
 the carpet, so far as that is possible, and have cleared our 
 throat, we receive a separate salutation from each of the 
 other guests, which greetings must severally be returned along 
 with a movement of the hand to the forehead, mouth, and 
 heart to give emphasis to our replies. We are asked regarding 
 our health, and we do the like. The inquiries follow one 
 after another in stereotyped and often very ingenious phrases, 
 which imply a bosom friendship that has lasted for years, 
 but which, at the same time, have no other result than that 
 nobody receives any enlightenment as to the health of the 
 other, for the answer is always an expression of thanks or 
 a blessing, and nothing more. After a good deal of time has 
 been spent in such compliments and ceremonies we begin to 
 talk. From the weather, of which there is in this region, 
 properly speaking, none at all, or which, at least, only 
 changes from cold to warm or warm to cold, we pass to the 
 prices of articles of food and other commodities. We express 
 our opinions upon individuals, all the more gently and flatter- 
 ingly the nearer the persons spoken of happen to be, relate 
 stories and adventures, astonishing feats and tales about ghosts, 
 criticize the government with a surprising freedom of speech, 
 and propound rather sweeping and, in truth, horrible political 
 schemes. The conversation is agreeable, at the same time 
 polite and ceremonious, lively, fanciful and eloquent, with a 
 certain picturesque circumstantiality, a frequent use of 
 similes and comparisons to make the speaker's meaning 
 clearer; often with a degree of pathos and demonstrativeness 
 of gesture, which contrast strikingly with the apparent apathy 
 that the Egyptians preserve on other occasions. In short, 
 the conversation at such parties is often in the highest degree 
 brilliant and intelligent in spite of the amount of ignorance 
 it betrays, and the superstition, fanaticism, and fatalism which 
 are seen in every action and breathe in every word. 
 
 During this talk that precedes dinner the guests make use 
 of nothing to invigorate or stimulate the physical system, 
 except perhaps a mouthful of cold water, a little coffee, 
 and tobacco, which last each smoker brings rolled up in 
 
56 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 a fine woollen or silken pouch along with his pipe. The 
 rising vapours, the sound of frying and similar noises in the 
 kitchen, the running hither and thither of the servants, the 
 whisperings of the host, and other signs, indicate that the 
 affair is not going to end with the small cup of coffee that had 
 been promised us either by word of mouth or by means of a 
 note of invitation. Soon the large lamp which rests in the 
 middle of the hall on a polygonal stand with four or eight 
 feet (among the ancients only one foot) is removed, and the 
 stand is covered with an enormous circular tray or plate of 
 metal (usually tinned copper, and there are usually engraved 
 on it some arabesques and pentagrams). A basket con- 
 taining round flat cakes cut in two sufficient in number to 
 satisfy a company of twice the size if they were to get 
 nothing but bread and water, is now brought in, and the 
 cakes are placed round the tray, which is not covered with a 
 table-cloth. Living caryatids of the male sex hold lamps high 
 above the heads of the guests; a cup-bearer passes round, 
 carrying a water-bottle on his arm ; there is also a servant 
 whose duty it is to sweep away the vermin. The guests 
 arrange themselves on a carpet round the tray, usually in 
 companies of from ten to twelve, never thirteen. If the com- 
 pany is too large for one table similar arrangements are made 
 in other parts of the room as may be required. A servant 
 goes round to each guest with a vessel of water, and all wash 
 their hands, or at least have water poured over the tips of the 
 fingers of their right hand. They all then lay their napkins 
 across their knees, and turn up their right sleeve. The left 
 hand hangs down by the side, and is kept dry for use in 
 drinking or for other incidental purposes. 
 
 To-day the dinner is Turkish (alia turka), that is, one 
 viand is brought in after the other. The menu is a long one. 
 Were the dinner after the Arabic fashion, according to which 
 all the viands are laid on the table at once, so that the guests 
 may help themselves at pleasure, there would not be room 
 for the great variety of dishes. A large bowl of soup being 
 served, the host, after squeezing into it the juice of some 
 green lemons or citrons the size of walnuts, and pronouncing 
 
A DINNER. 57 
 
 the word "bismillah" (in the name of God), dips his wooden 
 spoon into the bowl, and is followed by all the other guests. 
 In traversing: the distance between the common dish and 
 the mouth many a drop and solid fragment fall upon the 
 table and the cakes of bread. In the well- spiced soup 
 lips a bit of boiled meat or a fowl, which the master 
 of the house now takes out, and offers in pieces to his 
 guests. They show, however, no great relish for it; for 
 already a colossal breast of mutton stuffed with chopped 
 flesh, onions, rice, raisins, almonds, and hazel-nuts, is beheld 
 in the hands of a servant in the background. Scarcely is it 
 placed on the metal plate when all the twelve guests fall 
 upon it with their right hands. Each tears off a piece of 
 the flesh, which has been first boiled soft and then roasted. 
 Where it is found rather tough two guests sitting opposite 
 one another begin pulling at the same piece until it gives 
 way. In a few minutes the breast-bone is stripped of flesh, 
 and the precious stuffing lies dispersed over the dish from 
 which the diners convey it to their mouths by means of 
 wooden spoons. This practice of all eating out of one dish 
 in common, and using the hands in doing so, usually 
 appears to Europeans one of the most barbarous usages 
 of the East. Yet the same practice was followed by the 
 ancient Egyptians, who were a people of refined and formal 
 manners, as well as by the Jews. To the Oriental, on the 
 other hand, it seems barbarous in Europeans not to wash 
 their hands before and after eating, although the utmost care 
 and nicety are often insufficient to prevent them from being 
 greased. 
 
 The breast of mutton serves as a foundation, and is followed 
 by a number of trifles, such as vegetables of different sorts, 
 and onion sauces with small pieces of flesh, usually, as among 
 the ancients, small leo^s of mutton with the bone. These 
 are brought in on small plates, and each guest takes what 
 he can get either by dipping a piece of bread into the dish, or 
 by forming a sort of pincers with his piece of bread, so as to 
 be able to seize on some of the solider contents of the dish. 
 Some farinaceous article, roasted maccaroni, vermicelli, or 
 
58 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 pastry now appears. We have already seen perhaps six 
 different dishes. Our appetite is quenched, and after the 
 farinaceous course we should like to rise ; but we have not 
 even yet reached the beginning of the middle of the ban- 
 quet. Dish still follows dish, butcher-meat alternating with 
 farinaceous preparations. The master of the house offers 
 us, with exclamations of delight, a fowl's leg prepared with 
 quite extraordinar}^ skill. The other guests also encourage 
 us to eat, offering choice morsels to us as well as to one 
 another; but the climax is reached with the sweet tart 
 (sanieh baJddua). The whole of the worshipful circle of 
 gourmands salute its entrj^ with a delighted Ah I How 
 wonderfully does it lie imbedded in the deep pie-dish. The 
 use of knives to cut it up is forbidden, but the host digs out 
 a great hole with his fingers, whereupon all the guests plunge 
 in their fingers at the breach and tear out fragments of the 
 firmly baked composition, until the whole artistic structure 
 falls in ruins. The ancient Egyptians adopted at their feasts 
 another way to remind the feasters in all seriousness of the 
 transitoriness of everything earthly. At this stage of the 
 feast servants used to drag round the room the image of a 
 mummy. 
 
 We have now struggled on to about the middle of the 
 banquet. The small plates again appear, and gratify our 
 palate with a continually ascending scale of excellence and 
 sweetness. Greatly do we regret having so soon spoiled our 
 appetite. We are becoming giddy with our exertions, but 
 we are not yet at the end; for a huge, massive, and juicy 
 roast still remains to be vanquished. Even experienced 
 guests, who have prepared themselves for the sumptuous 
 repast by fasting from early morning, and have cautiously 
 climbed up step by step, sit despairing and exhausted before 
 this object of Titanic magnitude. The company at last hasten 
 towards the close of the repast. Several plates now offered 
 are mercilessly rejected, and the pilau of steamed rice, which 
 invariably concludes the feast, is placed on the table along 
 with a cooling sweet rose-scented jelly. To crown the whole 
 the guests now take a good supply of this delicate prepar- 
 
BILL OF FARE. 59 
 
 ation into their well-crammed paunches, and then each after 
 the other rises with a "Thank God" (which serves as a grace 
 after meat as the "bismillah" does for a grace before meat), 
 and makes his way as quickly as j)ossible to the washing- 
 vessel. The host is the last to rise, as he was the first to 
 make the attack. 
 
 The foundation of the feast is always mutton. The 
 animals are slaughtered for the purpose on the day of the 
 entertainment, not the day before, and if possible in the 
 house itself in spite of the prohibition of the government. 
 No important feast can be held without animals being 
 specially slaughtered for the occasion, for the consumption 
 of flesh is then so considerable. By the ancient Egyp- 
 tians mutton was not relished, perhaps was not eaten at 
 all; and their numerous flocks of sheep were kept chiefly 
 for the wool. Beef and the flesh of geese, which at the 
 present day are but slightly esteemed, formed in ancient 
 times the basis of the Egyptian banquets, which were then 
 at least as lavish and frequent as they are now. At the 
 grander entertainments now-a-days a turkey appears on 
 the table instead of a goose. 
 
 BILL OF FARE. 
 
 We cannot omit to furnish our readers with the entire 
 menu of our feast. 
 
 1. Eice soup. 
 
 2. Dol'a mahshi: stuffed breast of mutton. (See above.) 
 
 3. B^mieh bur^ni: the bamieh fruit {Hibiscus escule^ita) boiled and 
 roasted entire with flesh and a great deal of clarified butter. 
 
 4. Kauirma (Turkish) : roast meat with whole onions. 
 
 5. Wdrak mahshi. In making this dish vine or cabbage leaves are 
 filled with pounded leaves of the same sort, minced meat, onions, rice, 
 and pepper, and fried with clarified butter. 
 
 6. Kunafa or vermicelli. A dough of water and flour not very tenacious 
 is pressed through a perforated mould, which forms it into worm- 
 like threads. It is then fried with clarified butter, then sugar and 
 dripping are sprinkled over it, and lastly it is boiled above a coal fire. 
 
 7. Moluchieh. This is a mucilaginous vegetable resembling spinage, 
 and is prepared for the table by boiling with flesh-meat. 
 
60 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 8. Kuf ta or meat-dumplings. Minced roast-meat, rice, and onions are 
 made into little balls and fried with clarified butter. 
 
 9. Bating^n ktita: tomatoes boiled with flesh. 
 
 10. S6mak makli: fish baked in oil. 
 
 11. Sambtisek. Dough made with water and flour is rolled out into 
 round flat cakes, on which is placed minced roast-meat with rice; half 
 the dough is then folded over, and the edges are pressed together. The 
 whole is cooked by baking. 
 
 12. Kabab: small pieces of flesh roasted on a spit. 
 
 13. Jachni: roast-meat with onion sauce or made into a ragout. 
 
 14. Faktis mahshi. The soft contents of the fakus fruit, which is of 
 the gourd family, are taken out of the shell or rind and mixed with 
 minced meat and the other ingredients mentioned in no. 5, and then 
 replaced, when the whole is boiled. 
 
 15. Bating^n iswud mucharrat. The black batingan fruit (fruit of 
 the egg-plant) is cut into small pieces, and added with onions to broiled 
 meat and boiled. 
 
 16. Sanleh baklaua or sweet tart. (See above.) A number of flour 
 cakes are placed in the dish, and between each pair is spread a layer 
 of butter. Honey is spread on the top one, and the whole is baked in 
 ^n oven. 
 
 17. Salk: beet boiled with flesh. 
 
 18. "Milk-rice:" rice and milk with some water and clarified butter 
 boiled, to which are afterwards added sugar and rose-water. 
 
 19. Mumb^r mahshi: pieces of intestine filled with the mixture 
 already mentioned more than once and boiled. 
 
 20. Kabab bi dema: meat roasted on a spit with a plain sauce. 
 
 21. Ful achdar: green horsebeans (both pod and kernels) boiled with 
 flesh. 
 
 22. Ldhma muhdmmara: a large roasted joint. (See above.) 
 
 23. Baltisa: sweet jelly; sugar boiled with water and farina, to 
 which honey and rose-water are added while cooling. Almonds are 
 afterwards stuck in the jelly. (See above.) 
 
 24. Kus mufalfal, Turkish pil<1,u: steamed rice saturated with clarified 
 butter. (See above.) 
 
 AFTER DINNER. 
 
 The Mussulman washes himself only with pure running 
 water, and does not splash about in a basin. A servant 
 pours water upon the hands of the guest from a large metal 
 vessel having a spout, and generally of an elegant shape. 
 The dirty water falls down into a large metal bason, having 
 a broad rim and a perforated bottom, through which the 
 water passes into a cavity at its base. These utensils are 
 exactly like those which were in use among the ancient 
 
AFTER DINNER. 61 
 
 Egyptians. Much soap is employed, but they do not use it 
 properly, for they allow the lather to be washed off the hands 
 before it has time to act upon the skin. The mouth is next 
 carefully cleansed inside and outside, and all this goes on 
 quite openly in the dining-room. The unused cakes are 
 now collected, and the numerous crumbs on the table and 
 floor are carefully gathered up. Bread is reckoned by the 
 Mohammedan a sacred gift of God, which should not be 
 wasted; and if he finds a small piece of bread anywhere 
 on the ground he picks it up and kisses the hand in which 
 he holds it. Last of all, the metal table is removed. 
 
 The company, who, without any breach of propriety, give 
 frequent indications of satiety by loud eructations, again 
 take their places on the carpet before the wall- cushions, and 
 conversation is resumed under the influence of the chibouk. 
 The attendants now have their turn for dining (of these there 
 is no small number, inasmuch as each of the guests brings 
 along with him his own servants, slaves, and dependants), 
 and during their dinner no one disturbs them except for some 
 pressing need. At last, when the servants have satisfied 
 themselves, coffee is brought in; and from this time the 
 company have no more peace, for they all begin to feel uneasy 
 in the stomach. The most important of the guests gives the 
 signal for breaking up. All seek for their slippers, which 
 lie about at the threshold of the door, and depart to their 
 homes overburdened in stomach but with brain quite clear. 
 Each guest is preceded by a servant carrying a large lantern, 
 and is accompanied on his way by the host, for every step 
 taken for the sake of a guest is accounted a step in the ascent 
 to paradise. 
 
 A PUBLIC- OFFICE. 
 
 The duties of those who have to provide for the people's 
 weal and woe begin with the bustle of trade and other 
 business at an early hour of the morning. Already the 
 
62 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 tierce-looking bands of Turkish police stand armed to the 
 teeth at the open gate in the wall of the extensive seraglio 
 (which, be it noted, signifies a palace or official residence, not 
 a harem). Only a few drunken fellows, overcome by the 
 hashish or liquor of the preceding evening, still lie snorting 
 on their palm- twig couches or stretched out on the stone-bench 
 in the portico. No one hinders us from entering the spacious 
 court, which is surrounded by the plain white- washed irregular 
 buildings of the palace (Mudirieh). Some very old sycamores, 
 dating, like the palace itself, from the time of the Mamelukes, 
 spread a broad shadow which is very grateful during the 
 hot hours of the da}^ Under the protection of their foliage 
 the head of the province is accustomed to transact his busi- 
 ness when he finds the air of the court hall too oppressive. 
 
 COPTIC SCRIBES. 
 
 A man arrayed in a voluminous black toga with wide flow- 
 ing sleeves, his face well covered with hair, a black turban on 
 his head, and an ink-stand of massive silver in the girdle 
 of his caftan, hurries past us with a friendly greeting. 
 We take him to be a Christian priest wearing his official 
 robes and ornaments; but what is he doing in a secular court 
 of the Moslem rulers? We feel drawn to the man b}^ his 
 courteous demeanour, and make his acquaintance. We soon 
 learn that he is ''of our kindred," for we certainly believe like 
 him in the Messiah, read the gospel, and abhor the false 
 prophet Mohammed and his accursed brood. Our remark, 
 that to the Christian all men are brothers meets with no 
 acceptance, and turns the conversation to another topic. 
 We are informed that he is not a priest, but belongs 
 to the strictly exclusive guild of Coptic scribes. He con- 
 ducts us with every mark of politeness into the scribes' 
 hall, where we find a number of our ''kindred" of this 
 class. He bids us be seated, hands us a chibouk, and causes 
 U3 to be supplied with a few small cups of the coffee of the 
 seraglio. These scribes sit cross-leofged on the sfround or on 
 a stone-bench. In front of them lies the desk, which is 
 
COPTIC SCRIBES. 63 
 
 more used for holding documents than as a support in writing. 
 One of them now opens the lid of his club-shaped ink- vessel, 
 from the long tubular part of which he draws out his broad - 
 pointed reed-pen. After trimming his pen he begins to 
 
 Coptic Scribe. 
 
 paint thick lines on the long narrow strip of paper that he 
 holds up freely in his left hand without any other support. 
 The pen is dipped with remarkable frequency into the ink- 
 vessel, which has an absorbent flap that gives out sufficient ink 
 to impart strength to the letters, but not so much as to make 
 a blot. The strip of paper has frequently to be adjusted for the 
 convenience of writing, in consequence of which it becomes 
 a good deal folded and crumpled. 
 
 The Coptic scribe is a master of style, and, while he has 
 almost entirely lost the language of his own race, no genuine 
 Moslem Arab excels him in the employment of the language 
 imposed upon his ancestors. The official style is somewhat 
 diffuse and archaic. . There is no lack of expressions like 
 "seeing that," "inasmuch as," and of labyrinthically involved 
 phrases. It forms the connecting-link between the old 
 language of the Koran and the dialect of the people. The 
 ancient Egyptians in like manner used to write, for example, 
 in drawing up treaties, with an extremely precise and formal 
 circumstantiality. 
 
 Another scribe is employed in transferring some official 
 
64 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 letters to his large folio, which he finds it more convenient 
 to rest on his knees than on the writing-desk before him. 
 A brother official or a private assistant, who is his pupil, and 
 who is likewise a Copt and of his own family (strangers, and 
 especially Mussulmans, are not admitted into the caste of 
 scribes), reads out to him in a drawling sing-song the prosaic 
 contents of the letters, with all the titles, names, and numbers, 
 his head and upper part of his body swaying all the while 
 backwards and forwards with a rhythmical regularity. A 
 fellah stands before a group of idle scribes, wlio are deep 
 in some conversation that has no connection with their official 
 duties. He timidly requests that the document he carries in 
 his hand should be attended to. He receives neither a word 
 nor a look in answer, and becomes more urgent. ''Be off! 
 We have no time just now." The unfortunate peasant then 
 bares his shaven head, and with a heavy heart rummages about 
 in the folds of his turban, which usually serves as a purse, 
 opens a knot with his teeth, and places a silver coin in the 
 half-open hand of Master Gerges (George), who eagerly seizes 
 it. Now the business goes on like clock-work. The paper 
 is passed from desk to desk, from room to room, from 
 one official to another, until it is covered with seals and 
 scribblings. The cashier, usually a Mussulman, opens his 
 coffer and pays the amount due to the peasant. A small 
 sum, however, wanders into the private chest of the treasurer, 
 which the countrymen silently beholds with rueful astonish- 
 ment. 
 
 OFFICIALS OF THE PROVINCES. 
 
 Our new acquaintance the scribe favours us with a variety 
 of information regarding the business of his office. The 
 higher and highest circles we here pass over, confining 
 ourselves to the provinces. Each province is subject to a 
 governor, with extensive powers, called a Mudir, who cor- 
 responds to the *'nomarch" of ancient times. Administra- 
 tion, finance, the royal domains, the armed forces of the 
 district, and to a certain extent also the judicial proceedings, 
 
OFFICIALS OF THE PROVINCES. 65 
 
 are in his hands ; but the Damocles sword of mightier over- 
 seers, and still more of informers, hangs over his head, and 
 frequent changes of these officials are made with the view of 
 checking abuses. 
 
 A provincial court of justice according to present arrange- 
 ments, which have come into force at a comparatively 
 recent date, is composed of the kadi, who merely gives his 
 opinion in accordance with the laws of the Koran, and of some 
 of the leading citizens, who act as assessors. No trace of 
 legal learning is to be looked for in these officials; although 
 since the introduction of the present organization of courts 
 of justice, an attempt is being made to train up some of the 
 natives to be real jurists, who are to give their decisions 
 according to the French code. The presidency of the court 
 belongs of right to the Mudir ; but his whole attention is taken 
 up with the collection of the taxes and the management of 
 the vice-regal estates. Neither citizen nor peasant places 
 any confidence in the fairness of the judgments of these 
 courts; though the government does all it can to provide 
 for the security of the people and the punishment of the 
 offenders. 
 
 The large province (Mudirieh) is divided into several smaller 
 administrative districts, the heads of which are entirely under 
 the control of the governor of the province. The towns are 
 governed by their own prefects of police, who stand either 
 directly under the Mudir or under the heads of the districts. 
 The communes likewise have their own petty magistrates. 
 These are chosen from among the inhabitants of the several 
 communes which they preside over. Their dignity, accord- 
 ing to the old patriarchal system, is mostly hereditary, but 
 also depends upon property; for they are bound to answer 
 for their charge with their life and their whole estate. In 
 the towns, where there are royal officers, the local mayor, if 
 there is one at all, has hardly any voice in the management 
 of aifairs. In the communes the local magistrates are the 
 only persons with official authority. Trade and industry 
 have their guild-masters, with whom alone the government 
 has any dealings. In the towns where trade is active it 
 
 5 
 
66 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 is usually the merchant's sheikh who plays the part of 
 mayor. 
 
 All the more important officers of government, who have 
 any administrative duties, have the right of "sealing." They 
 are always Turks, or at least 'abdelaui, that is, natives of 
 the country with Turkish blood in their veins. This rule, 
 however, does not apply to the more innocent departments of 
 government, especially those for which some little scientific 
 knowledge is requisite, such as medicine, architecture, and 
 engineering. These Turks thus form a privileged aristocracy. 
 A large proportion of the higher officials consist of liberated 
 white, mostly Circassian, slaves (Mamelukes). But the Coptic 
 scribes, the living law-books of the province, the masters of the 
 " uzul" (tradition), constitute, although not possessing the right 
 of the seal, the soul of official life. For those Turks and descen- 
 dants of Turks and slaves have passed through no school of law, 
 and being mostly taken from the army or the fleet, and from 
 the higher circles of society generally, they have little incli- 
 nation and little leisure to occupy themselves in their new 
 position with deep studies. They acquire a certain know- 
 ledge of their duties by practice, and get along as best they 
 can, trustinof either to their own unlearned instinct or to the 
 counsel of their omniscient scribes. There are many ad van - 
 taores but far more disadvantages connected with this state 
 of matters, and hence, in quite recent times, there has been 
 a steady endeavour on the part of the supreme government 
 to have a regular system of official training introduced. The 
 progress of business, where the affair takes its regular course, 
 and is not settled by some arbitrary and, so to speak, in- 
 stinctive declaration of Turkish law, is very slow, and in 
 modern as was the case in ancient Egypt there is a great, 
 a very great, expenditure of ink. 
 
 Some years ago an attempt was even made to replace the 
 Turkish officials from the Mudir down to the gendarmerie by 
 native Egyptians. But the experiment did not succeed. 
 The new officials displayed no energy, and showed them- 
 selves accessible to all sorts of private influences. The 
 administration of justice and the maintenance of order 
 
TAXES AND OTHER BURDENS. 67 
 
 suffered. The natives of the country were soon indeed the 
 loudest in their complaints. They had no respect for one of 
 their own sort, a "Fellah;" and a return was therefore speedily 
 made to the old system of Turkish governors. Even the 
 native soldier is unable to secure respect for his authority 
 in the same degree as the violent Turk, and is not adapted 
 for his most important duty, that of enforcing the payment 
 of taxes. 
 
 TAXES AND OTHER BURDENS. 
 
 The Fellah has been habituated from the earliest times 
 to the bearing of all sorts of burdens. The load of taxation 
 increases from year to year. The old taxes are retained 
 and sometimes increased, and new ones are devised under 
 the most various shapes and designations. The nineteenth 
 century is in this respect also, and not in Egypt only, the 
 age of inventions. Years ago it was thought that the 
 milk must soon dry up, but the Fellah is an inexhaustible 
 milch-cow. As in every country, there is in the first place 
 a land tax, here amounting to from 70 to 100 Egyptian 
 piastres on the acre of farm-land (100 government piastres 
 are equal to about 22 shillings, and one piastre accordingly 
 to something more than 2\d.). This tax is leviable on a 
 larger or smaller area, according to the extent of the inun- 
 dations of the river. Further, there is a pretty moderate 
 trade or income tax, which is fixed for each individual by 
 a council of government officers and natives having the 
 necessary experience; for no reliance can be placed upon the 
 declaration of the person taxed. The large number of palms 
 in the Nile valley makes the pahn-tax of 20 piastres for 
 ever}^ fruit-bearing date-palm a very productive one. Boats 
 employed on the Nile pay from 100 to 700 piastres. Every- 
 thing brought to market is liable to a duty of from 2 to 9 
 per cent, of its value, in addition to which weighing dues 
 of from 1 to 2 piastres per cwt. have to be paid, whether the 
 article be capable of being weighed or not. Even firewood 
 and cattle are subject to these dues. In the case of cattle 
 
68 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 there are likewise slaughter-house dues of from 4 to 10 
 piastres per head, even when there is no slaughter-house. 
 Among the ancient Egyptians also the same practice was 
 in vogue of weighing everything in public, and there were 
 special clerks whose duty was to mark down the particulars. 
 Cattle-owners pay 3^ piastres for small cattle, and from 10 to 
 20 for large, among which asses have latterly been reckoned. 
 Fisheries are in some cases leased out, in other cases the 
 fishermen have to hand over at least a fourth of the proceeds 
 to the government. Salt also is leased out ; but as the lessees 
 found that it did not pay, since the people found that they 
 could procure salt cheaper from the desert and the sea, this 
 article is now distributed among the inhabitants at a fixed 
 price per head. Tobacco, which a short time ago was duty 
 free, is now highly taxed. The plaintiff" in an action has to 
 pay a few piastres before being allowed to state his case; 
 and 20 piastres must be paid before a petition in writing is 
 received. The house-owner contributes to the government 
 a month's rent annually. Quite recently the burden of tax- 
 ation has been increased to the general consternation by the 
 imposition of a poll-tax of 45, 30, or 15 piastres, according 
 to the supposed means of the tax-payer. In answer to our 
 inquiries the scribe estimated (in 1868) that his province, 
 which has about 200,000 inhabitants, yields annually from 
 67,000 to 83,000 purses (a purse is 500 piastres, or about 
 ^ye guineas), from which about 10,000 purses have to be 
 deducted on account of the cost of collection. The palm-tax 
 yields 7000, the land-tax 40,000 to 50,000, the trade and 
 income tax 4000, the fisheries' tax 250, the market-tax 500, 
 and the tax on the Nile boats 12,000 purses. The figures 
 may now indeed be very different, since, as already mentioned, 
 many new taxes have been imposed since that date, while 
 on the other hand the steadily increasing stagnation of trade 
 may have had the effect of bringing about a reduction in the 
 yield of each tax. 
 
 Still more oppressive than the number and amount of the 
 taxes, is the irregular manner in which they are levied. As a 
 rule indeed they are collected gradually, and every month a 
 
TAXES AND OTHER BURDENS. 69 
 
 steamer appears to convey the sums raised, less the amount 
 required to defray the provincial expenditure, to the central 
 treasury; but this treasury is subject to frequent and sudden 
 ebbs, and in such cases has to be replenished in a few days. 
 The governors of the provinces then receive the command to 
 pay into the treasury within so many days a certain and often 
 a pretty large sum of money; and if any of the governors or 
 mudirs is thought to be of too mild a temper to take steps of 
 the necessary severity a successor is often sent along with the 
 order for the special purpose of carrying it into force. This 
 new governor then makes a tour through the province 
 with his scribes and other officers, and with the utmost 
 politeness ''requests" the richer citizens to make advances, 
 which they are obliged to do even if they should have to 
 borrow the money at high interest from Greek usurers, while 
 the poorer tax-payers are compelled to pay at once the sums 
 due for the whole year; and whoever is in arrears, and is still 
 not ready to pay, is treated to the lash. This instrument, 
 although abolished by law, is on such occasions rigorously 
 wielded till late in the night. The grain that the farmer is now 
 obliged to sell to pay his taxes in these circumstances sinks 
 for some days considerably in price, greatly to the advantage 
 of the corn-buyers. The truth is that even in ordinary times 
 the balance of state revenue and expenditure could not be 
 maintained without the aid of the kurhdg or scourge of hippo- 
 potamus hide. The Fellah (and it was the same among the 
 ancient Egyptians, at least in later times) will rather be beaten 
 till the blood flows than voluntarily pay the detested taxes to 
 the government; and he boasts of this as an act of heroism. 
 Not unfrequently, after getting all the flesh of his body made 
 tender by repeated scourging, he slowly drops the money de- 
 manded of him out of his mouth, where he had concealed it. An 
 extortionate system of taxation has been the order of the day 
 in the land of the Nile from the earliest times; but wliile 
 formerly the sums extorted only went to benefit the rulers, 
 now it must be confessed a large share of them is expended 
 for the good of the country. The peasant, to be sure, is 
 unable to see of what use the schools are, and scarcely appre- 
 
70 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 ciates the value of the new canals, bridges, and railways. 
 His children and children's children will get the benefit of 
 them; he knows only the suffering that he has to undergo to 
 meet the demands of the government. 
 
 Forced labour, people in Egypt say, is quite as indis- 
 pensable as the kurbag. It also is formally abolished, but 
 is nevertheless maintained even more actively than ever. 
 To be sure the services exacted by the government ought by 
 law to be paid for by the government officials. For carrying 
 goods through the desert, for example, the camel-driver receives 
 the medium pay current at the time. But the country people, 
 who are from time to time levied en masse and forced to labour 
 on public works, assert that they receive either none at all or 
 very little of the pay due them, which passes through the 
 hands of the government officers and the village mayors. 
 Without resorting to compulsion, or paying excessively high 
 wages, the government could not get labourers for public 
 works, for the peasant and the labourer carefully avoid as 
 much as tliey can all connection with the government. Those 
 who can read and write are declared to be exempt from 
 liability to forced labour, at least in their own persons. 
 
 The officials also have to bear a large share of the burdens 
 of the state. The pay of the lower grades is in itself very 
 small, and is calculated according to the wants of a time 
 tliat is now past. It is out of all proportion to the great 
 increase in price of the necessaries of life since the introduction 
 of the cotton cultivation, an increase so great that Egypt is 
 now one of the dearest countries in the earth to live in. 
 The happy times of Mohammed Ali, when one could get a 
 whole handful of eggs and fowls for a few paras, are gone. To 
 take a few examples of the rates of official pay, the keeper 
 of a prison receives 75 piastres (that is, about 16s. Qd.) 
 a montn, an hospital attendant 100 piastres, an ordinary 
 scribe 200 to 400 piastres, an officer of the rank of a lieu- 
 tenant, for example an ordinary doctor, an architect, an 
 assistant, 500 piastres (a purse), an officer of the rank of a 
 captain {yus bdscha) a purse and a half, one of the rank of 
 a chief captain (sakolaghdsi) three purses, a lieutenant-colonel 
 
OFFICIAL PROCEDUliE. 71 
 
 (Jcaimakdm) five purses. Fi'om this grade upwards salaries 
 rapidly increase. An officer of the rank of a bey or colonel, 
 for example the mudir, has from 8 to 10 purses, a pasha 
 15 to 20 purses monthly. While in other countries schemes 
 were devised for increasing official salaries as the prices 
 of necessaries became higher, in this country a resolution 
 was suddenly come to a few years ago to reduce salaries 
 by a fifth, a reduction still in force, so that a government 
 servant who formerly received 1500 piastres now receives 
 only 1200. This measure, however, does not apply to the 
 lower grades of government servants receiving a salary of 
 500 piastres or less. The government officers are not even 
 exempt from the poll-tax recently imposed. A day's salar}^ 
 is regularly deducted from their monthly pay. The copper- 
 tax, which was levied for a considerable time, and which 
 consisted in paying a tenth of their salary in almost worthless 
 copper piastres, is now at last abolished. 
 
 From time to time an attempt is also made to reduce the 
 number of the officials, especially the inferior ones; and when 
 this is done those whose services the government thinks it 
 can dispense with are simply discharged with nothing more 
 than the hope of the next permanent appointment that may 
 become vacant. Only the privileged Turks often receive 
 in such cases compensation in the form of an allotment of 
 lands. But these measures are in reality more impolitic than 
 cruel; for, as a general rule, the official during his term of 
 office lays past his salary to form a permanent capital, de- 
 fraying his current expenses "from without." 
 
 OFFICIAL PROCEDURE. 
 
 The head of the province is generally absent on a tour of 
 inspection through his long district, or visiting the royal 
 sugar-refineries and domains, and his deputy, the "wekil," 
 despatches the ordinary business. We get ourselves intro- 
 duced to him through a suitable medium. He receives us 
 in a manner at once courtly and proud. His strongly 
 marked features and the clear colour of his skin betray 
 
72 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 the Turk; a certain want of polish in his behaviour and the 
 fluency of his Arabic reveal a large admixture of native 
 Egyptian blood. He is sitting in his official room or divan 
 on the richly cushioned couch or sofa (divan in the narrower 
 sense). He sips coffee, which is included in the charges of 
 the court, takes a cigarette from his box, or has the gilded 
 chibouk brought to him. Some privileged persons, among 
 them several priests, have seated themselves on the divan at 
 some distance from him; less highly honoured persons sit 
 cross-legged on the carpets that are laid on the floor next 
 the walls. No furniture enlivens the clean and well-kept 
 hall. The windows are hung with costly curtains adorned 
 with elegant tassels. On ledges all round the hall lie a few 
 books, among which there is a book of laws of the time of 
 the great Mohammed Ali, which perhaps has never been 
 opened, and also without fail a copy of the Koran. 
 
 The chief of the scribes, the Bashkatib, Master Hanna 
 (John) enters, and brings under his arm a great heap of 
 official documents just drawn up. With a frowning look 
 the man of authority snatches the papers out of the hand of 
 the accomplished scribe who stands before him with his head 
 hanging down. He makes as if he were reading and could 
 read the writing, which swims before his eyes, and dipping the 
 tip of his finger in the ink- vessel which the chief scribe holds 
 up before him he applies it to the surface of the silver seal on 
 which his name is engraved, and stamps therewith all the 
 documents in succession. Twenty documents are despatched 
 in this way before the learned scribe could have read out 
 live lines. He throws down one after the other before the 
 author, who patiently picks them up, and retires with a 
 profound and silent obeisance. In this way is shown before 
 the public the mighty difference that there is between the 
 exalted Turk and the Christian scribe. In private, however, 
 there is a perfect understanding between the two. 
 
 There is always a great bustle in the court of the Mudirieh, 
 especially in the morning hours. Here the parties to a suit 
 sit squatting on the ground awaiting the decision of the court. 
 There a criminal is handed up in fetters, and is cast into the 
 
OFFICIAL PROCEDURE. 73 
 
 dark dungeon. At another spot some who have to receive 
 paynients wait for days till the scribes find the necessary 
 leisure for the purpose. In the same court deeds of surrender 
 and leases are prepared ; and here also the mudir or wekil 
 keeps a supply of camels. 
 
 Gradually the court becomes more and more crowded with 
 brown-skinned and brown-mantled country people. The 
 village mayors and village patriarchs (sheikhs) are summoned 
 into the divan. With a deep obeisance they go through the 
 usual form of lifting dust from the smooth marble floor and 
 pressing it to their lips as a mark of respect. In these coun- 
 tries, however, the Mussulman never, except in extreme cases, 
 prostrates himself before his ruler. That sign of reverence 
 is reserved for the Almighty. A decree is read, and the 
 people are required to signify their assent to it, and bind them- 
 selves to obey it. " Right willingly," answer the honourable 
 village mayors with one voice, "as your excellency commands; 
 we are thy slaves and the slaves of our sovereign; nothing but 
 good comes from thee; thy opinion is our opinion." "Then 
 seal the document," says the governor; and the heads of the 
 communes, one after the other, give their brass seal to the 
 scribe, who smears it with ink, and fills the sheet with their 
 important names. When the sheikh has sealed, the villager 
 does so likewise, although he has only a faint glimmering of 
 what it is that he has pledged himself to. In the country, 
 where very few can write, the seal takes the place of a signa- 
 ture. To lend a person a seal is a mark of the highest confidence. 
 When an official has lost his seal and has to provide himself 
 with another, the fact is made known by public notices. Official 
 seals, properly so called, are not in use except for stamped paper, 
 and where doors have to be sealed up on behalf of the govern- 
 ment. For example, on the occasion of a death a large official 
 seal made of clay and chopped straw is placed on the door of 
 the house where the deceased person lived, and similar seals 
 are placed on the doors of the government magazines every 
 evening, as was customary also among the ancient Egyptians. 
 
 We are now about to quit the buildings in which the busi- 
 ness of the state is carried on, but remain a little longer to 
 
74 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 cast a glance at the ecclesiastical court, in which the hadi, the 
 representative of the clergy, assisted by advisers well versed 
 in the Mohammedan Scriptures (muftis or ulema), dissolves 
 ill-made marriages, arranges the inheritance of deceased 
 persons, administers oaths, and now and then in difficult 
 cases gives the benefit of his opinion to the secular court. 
 On the whole, however, all that he has saved from the ruins 
 of his former splendour is a certain moral influence among 
 his religious brethren, an influence that is daily declining. 
 His role is in fact now almost confined to that of a notary, 
 "Par ordre du moufti" is a phrase that has become of no 
 effect, unless by mufti a pasha is understood. 
 
 By and by we see the government post darting past us, in 
 the form of an express runner, with a little bell at his foot or 
 on his stick, and a knapsack, which he carries to the next post- 
 station, where he is relieved of it by another runner. Many a 
 piece of intelligence is brought by these nimble-footed men, 
 before the snaiFs post of the electric telegraph has worked its 
 way through the intermediate stationsfilled witha set of young 
 officials whose chief occupation is to dream and loiter away 
 their time. The postal system is now organized on a Euro- 
 pean plan even in Upper Egypt. Where there are as yet no 
 railways the functionaries are Arabs. Scrupulous punctualitj^ 
 has never been the leading virtue of the natives, and an 
 Arab post-office of the kind we are now speaking of is not 
 exactly a model institution. In recent years there has been 
 much improvement, although even orders and decorations are 
 occasionally lost. Ordinary people make but little use of the 
 government postal service. They prefer to trust their letters, 
 which are written on ribbon-shaped strips of paper and then 
 rolled up, to some chance visitor to the place for which they 
 are destined. In this way their transmission costs nothing. 
 There is never any hurry, and the people are afraid the 
 government might learn their secrets. On this account the 
 Egyptian post-office always works at a loss. 
 
 A company of regular troops marches out at the gate of 
 the seraglio, preceded by a band of fifers. The light, slim- 
 built beardless youths, among whom many negro heads with 
 
THE COUNTRY JUDGE. 75 
 
 ivory teeth are conspicuous, are dressed in loose trousers, 
 like those worn by the Zouaves, fastened high on the body, 
 a short military coat made of ticking, and a red cap vrith a 
 tassel to it, a uniform which suits them admirably. A 
 squadron of irregular Turkish cavalry (Bashi Bazouks), ride 
 into their barracks, headed by their aristocratic commander 
 seated on the gold-fringed housing of his high-bred horse. 
 Their wild countenances, their motley self-chosen dresses, their 
 arms, bearing, and character — everything about them in short, 
 betrays almost unbridled license. Their commander is their 
 patriarch. He has himself raised them, and has to maintain 
 them out of the funds placed at his disposal for the purpose. 
 They lead a restless, wandering life. 
 
 THE COUNTRY JUDGE. 
 
 Less important actions and cases arising out of trifling 
 disorders in the town come before the police or town prefect's 
 court, which lies in a different part of the town from that of 
 the mudir. Nevertheless its proceedings are always influenced 
 and restrained by the authority of this powerful functionary, 
 and Turkish justice is not here to be seen in its peculiar and 
 original features as it is in a small country town where the 
 local judge is absolute. We will therefore travel in spirit 
 for a few hours to the divan of such a local judge or hakim. 
 His portrait essentially resembles that which we have given 
 of the wekil of the mudir. In his court we have the oppor- 
 tunity of witnessing the following scenes. 
 
 A loud wrangling is heard on the stairs. Two lads, with 
 rolling eyes, and looking as if they would like to transfix 
 each other, are dragged in by the police. One of them shows 
 his torn shirt and bloody nose. 
 
 "What do you want, you fellows?'' cries the tyrant on the 
 divan. 
 
 The accuser all at once empties his overcharged heart before 
 the assembled divan or j udicial assembly. Nobody understands 
 him. The accused interrupts him long before he has finished 
 his little speech. A storm of abuse breaks out between the 
 
76 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 I 
 
 disputing parties. The police and soldiers do their best to 
 quiet them by advice as well as by blows; the judge com- 
 mands, nobody hears; the air is rent with intermingled 
 Arabic and Turkish phrases. Witnesses are called, and these 
 make the chaos complete. At last quietness is obtained. The 
 judge asks the accused: 
 
 "Did you strike anyone?" 
 
 "No, I did nothing. Nothing has happened at all.'' 
 
 "And that nose?" asks the judge. 
 
 "God knows all," replies the accused. 
 
 "Bring the cord; bind him, the liar, the pimp!" 
 
 "Thus was it fore-ordained for me by Fate; I submit." 
 
 As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, the poor sinner lays 
 himself flat on his face on the floor of the court. The police tie 
 his legs with an apparatus which they have had in readiness. 
 Two pieces of wood keep the ankles together, and two exe- 
 cutioners armed with scourges of hippopotamus hide deal 
 out terrible strokes on the uplifted soles of the prisoner's 
 feet. An anxious stillness prevails in the room, interrupted 
 by the regular smack of the whips, and by the tortured man's 
 supplications, which become always more urgent and penitent. 
 He appeals to the grace of the prophet, then to that of some 
 saint, next to the heart of the judge's little son and the sweet 
 mildness of his wife (Jaardak, ya sitt el hey). But there 
 is no mercy, until at last a word from one of those present 
 makes the rigorous judge aware that a severe enough punish- 
 ment has been inflicted. The poor wretch is carried away 
 like a corpse. 
 
 "The other now; that brawler, that dog!" 
 
 The accuser meets with the same fate at the hands of 
 justice as the accused, but being of a stronger constitu- 
 tion shrinks away unassisted, resolved never again to go to 
 law. 
 
 Not only the hippopotamus-hide scourge, but corporal 
 punishment generally, has been legally abolished for a 
 considerable time, though only upon paper. The ancient 
 Egyptians likewise resorted freely to beating as the most 
 effective means of carrying out the ends of justice. To judge 
 
THE COUNTRY JUDGE. 77 
 
 from the monuments they made use of a rod for the purpose, 
 applying it to the hips, not to the soles of the feet. Even 
 women were not spared the bastinado, but in their case 
 the strokes were laid on the back, and they received them 
 sitting. The practice of inflicting blows on the soles of the 
 feet was probably brought by the Turks from Asia; and it 
 is not so cruel as it looks; for the sole of the foot of a man 
 belonging to the lower classes is almost as hard and thick as 
 the sole of a shoe. It must be admitted, however, that a 
 man occasionally dies while undergoing this punishment. 
 
 A case such as that above described, in which both accuser 
 and accused are punished, does not indeed form the rule (for 
 if it did no one would ever be an accuser); yet it is by no 
 means rare. The very common practice of interceding for 
 some offender with the words, m«, alesh (do nothing), 
 inattention to which is taken by the interceders as a personal 
 insult, is one of the weak sides of justice, and often makes 
 every law illusory. 
 
 Another accuser appears, his case being that some women 
 of the neighbourhood have ill-treated his wife. The accused, 
 namely, these women's husbands, who, while the female war 
 had been raging, were quietly and peacefully attending to 
 their work in the town or the fields, now warmly take the 
 part of their wives, who remain at home anxiously awaiting 
 the decision of the judge. For only in exceptionally grave 
 cases are women required to appear personally in court. A 
 hot wordy warfare arises between the accuser and the 
 accused as champions of their respective wives, but is 
 speedily and energetically stopped by the judge, who orders 
 the husbands of the offenders, or it may be, as in the last 
 case, both accusers and accused, to receive one after the other 
 a sufficient number of strokes on the soles of the feet, and 
 then dismisses them with the warning that for the future 
 they keep their wives better in check. The private conse- 
 quences of this procedure in the apartments of the harem 
 may be left to the reader's imagination. 
 
 The parties that have thus far been dealt with are com- 
 mon peasants, who are only to be kept in order by the cudgel. 
 
78 UPPEK EGYPT. 
 
 But now persons of position appear. The grown-up son of 
 one of the leading merchants, and at the same time of a 
 sherif or descendant of the prophet, has knocked out with 
 his fist some of the teeth of a highly respected citizen of the 
 town, who appears as accuser. The man in power listens to 
 the important case witli severe gravity. He scratches him- 
 self behind the ears, strokes his whiskers and beard, invests 
 his figure in impenetrable clouds of tobacco-smoke, and calls 
 for his scribe. What's to be done? According to law or 
 tradition {uzvbl) a record of the case must be taken. Dozens 
 of messengers and police-officers traverse the town in all 
 directions. The court is gradually filled with the venerable 
 and patriarchal forms of the muftis, the oldest of the citizens, 
 the leading traders, the native or foreign representatives of 
 other powers or consular agents, the dignitaries of the bureau- 
 cracy, the commanders of the armed forces. Silently the 
 exalted assembly hears the accusation. The accused denies 
 the charge, or stammers out a few words in defence. 
 (Advocates there are none.) The father of the youth repre- 
 sents to his petulant son the whole extent of his manifest 
 guilt, and taking hold of his own silvered beard asks him 
 how he could bring such sorrow upon his old father. The 
 son remains dutifully silent, and looks shamefaced upon the 
 ground. Nevertheless, the father attempts the defence of 
 his son with all the animation and dexterity he is capable 
 of. The party of the accused make some remarks. The 
 persons present sometimes give tokens of their approval of 
 what the speakers say. The record becomes rather lengthy. 
 A physician is called and gives his opinion on so serious a 
 case. 
 
 "To prison with the offender!" is the decision of the judge, 
 which resounds through the hall. 
 
 *'My son sent to prison, the son of a sherif? I will become 
 surety for my son." 
 
 An anxious silence follows. The judge hesitates. Civil 
 justice demands the punishment of the wrong-doer without 
 respect of persons. Personal and religious considerations 
 and patriarchal laws do not allow of any disrespect to an 
 
THE COUNTRY JUDGE. 79 
 
 honourable descendant of the Prophet. A pause occurs. 
 Those present sip a little coffee out of small cups, and 
 make a few observations for the general good about the 
 weather and the time of day. Some go out and in, and 
 occasionally the clink of coins is heard. The kadi, the 
 ecclesiastical judge, who in truth has no say in the matter, 
 now puts in his word: 
 
 "Firstof allafatiha!" 
 
 All those present thereupon, with uplifted hands, solemnly 
 utter the prayer of prayers, ending with an earnest Amen. 
 Then the kadi goes on to say: 
 
 ''Serious things have taken place; but God is the all- 
 pardoning, the all-merciful. The prosecution of the action 
 would lead to incalculable consequences. Accusers and 
 accused will become reconciled; I pledge myself to that. 
 For your part, your grace, desist now; God will reward 
 
 you." 
 
 But the civil judge will not yet yield, and hurls reproaches 
 and accusations against the unapproachable sherif He, for 
 his part, throws in a number of taunting observations. Little 
 is wanting to make the parties begin fighting again. The 
 kadi now stands up with all the dignity of his person and 
 office and requests the civil judge for his sake at least to 
 grant pardon to the offender. To this solicitation the pious 
 judge, the strength of whose moral resistance has already 
 been broken at anyrate, at length yields. The parties, wlio 
 are already prepared for this, become reconciled. The record 
 of the case, along with the opinion of the physician, is 
 solemnly torn in pieces, and the scene closes with a round 
 of embraces, a cup of sweet coffee specially prepared and 
 flavoured with cloves, and a fatiha. 
 
 Many civil judges, it is true, use much less ceremony with 
 a sherif or a kadi, and decide strictly without respect of 
 persons; but with all their uprightness these are precisely 
 the judges who are most unpopular. To show partiality 
 and indulgence in particular cases is a practice which has 
 passed into the flesh and blood of the people to such an 
 extent that the inexorably just judge passes for a tyrant, a 
 
80 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 "bad man," while the epithet of "good" (ragel theyih) is 
 9,pplied to one of more yielding nature, even when his 
 indulgence may be purchased with gold. Among the ancient 
 Egyptians rectitude and deep seriousness characterized the 
 administration of justice, and that was the firmest support 
 of their long-lived empire. 
 
 THE HAKlM PASHA. 
 
 We now pay a visit to the Hakim pasha, or, if you like, 
 the chief official doctor, who has to look after the physical 
 well-being of the province. We find him in the hospital in 
 the midst of his medical duties with his sleeves turned up 
 and wearing an apron. By his dress he seems a Turkish 
 effendi, but otherwise he is body and soul a true son of 
 Egypt. The year or two's training he has had under Euro- 
 pean teachers, or even perhaps in some famous alma mater 
 of Europe, has caused many a seed of medical science to 
 germinate greatly to the benefit of the suffering in his father- 
 land, but has not shaken the foundation of the character he 
 has inherited from his ancestors or influenced his most deeply 
 rooted ideas. The endeavours of the government of Mohammed 
 Ali and of the present government to fit the youth for their 
 callings by the institution of a superior class of schools cannot 
 be too highly appreciated. But the way in which these efforts 
 are carried out must be pronounced a failure, for all that these 
 schools supply is a slight professional training. The minds of 
 the learners are not prepared by a course of study in literature 
 and philosophy, and hence they do not possess any genuine 
 cultivation or tendency towards independent thinking. After 
 being received by the doctor with the most engaging affability 
 we accompany him through the airy rooms, where the patients, 
 almost exclusively soldiers and prisoners, lie on their tolerably 
 clean and tidy iron beds. A numerous body of attendants, 
 all native soldiers who have served their time, wearing white 
 or blue blouses, such as are worn by the people generally, 
 follow his steps. The chief attendant, with a club-shaped 
 ink-vessel like that already spoken of under his arm, stands 
 
THE HAKlM PASHA. 81 
 
 ready to commit to writing the instructions of the physician 
 as soon as they are uttered, holding his reed-pen always wet 
 with ink above the prescription paper, and making movements 
 with his hand as if he were writing. Another attendant 
 carries the metal boxes with the ointments used in bandamng, 
 and a casket containing the plasters, lint, spatulas, and scissors. 
 The junior surgeon and the apothecary catch up every word 
 and observe every gesture of their chief. The Arab iEscu- 
 lapius goes round the beds of his charges, now all gravity 
 and solemnity, now overflowing with humour, and always 
 spicing his remarks with a plentiful dose of sparkling exple- 
 tives (in which, however, there is not, as among Europeans, 
 any profane mention of sacred things). The knife is swiftly 
 passed through bleeding human flesh, and no such costly 
 anaesthetic as chloroform is employed to relieve the pain. 
 Inflammatory swellings are never soothed by the application 
 of leeches, but streams of venous blood save the life of the 
 inhabitants of the south. The denunciations of certain path- 
 ologists against the medicina crudelis find no echo on the 
 hot soil of Africa. 
 
 While the doctor retires to his private room to write out 
 for some court of justice the opinion that he is officially 
 required to give on some case, we accompany the apothecary 
 into a small room, which contains the principal collection of 
 drugs and medicines in the province, whence all the state- 
 appointed physicians, male as well as female, in the sub- 
 districts receive their supplies. For as male physicians 
 are not readily permitted to attend on women and children, 
 there are some women who pass through a course of 
 medicine and midwifery (though not a very extensive one) 
 at the medical school at Cairo, and are then distributed 
 through the provinces to treat those whom men are not 
 allowed to visit. In this sort of emancipation, therefore, 
 Egypt is already in advance of most western countries. 
 By these arrangements those who are afflicted with diseases 
 have always medical aid within their reach, and that free 
 of cost. Even medicines are supplied by the government 
 gratis, the doctors merely having to keep a register of what 
 
 6 
 
82 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 they give out.^ Truly a humane idea worthy of "the great 
 pasha "2 who conceived it. Yet the peasant flies with 
 horror from the offered hand and throws himself into the 
 arms of the amulet writers, dealers in charms, soothsayers, 
 saints, fumigators, spice-mongers, and stroking-women. The 
 fatalist does nothing but quietly awaits the result. Those 
 who have some glimmering of intelligence do indeed go 
 to the doctor, but ask from him by name the medicine they 
 want, for they know all about medicine themselves. They 
 are already acquainted, for example, with carbonate of soda 
 and yoduT el potassa (iodide of potassium). And when they 
 do leave it to the doctor to prescribe they will never take 
 any medicine unless they are first satisfied as to the names 
 and proportionate weights of the ingredients of which the 
 mixture is composed, and so suspicious are they that they 
 often insist upon the doctor himself trying it first. A patient 
 of this description is standing at this very moment at the 
 apothecary's counter. He stirs the witches' broth round 
 and round, murmuring the while a hisrriillah er-rahmdn er- 
 raMm ("in the name of God"), and at last with a look of 
 valiant resolution empties it at a single draught down his 
 throat. The native prefers, however, to get the separate 
 ingredients of a mixture from the apothecary and mix them 
 for himself at home. Purgatives are very commonly used 
 among the people, emetics and clysters very little. In their 
 own native trained doctors they have very little confidence. 
 But a Frank travelling through the country, whether he be 
 a medical man or not, is always a wonder-worker in the 
 medical art, and is asked to cure the blind, lame, impotent, 
 and all sorts of incurable — though seldom curable — persons. 
 In pathology those of the common people who interest them- 
 selves at all in medicine render homage, like the old Arab 
 physicians, to vague theories such as those of Galen. Thus 
 peas are said to be "hot," coflfee dries up the brain, a pain 
 proceeds either from the blood or from cold (in which latter 
 case it is to be quite differently treated), &c. 
 
 ^ This last provision has, however, recently been abolished. 
 ^ So Mohammed Ali is generally called. 
 
A COPTIC MEAL DURING A FAST. 83 
 
 The fact that these humane efforts of civilization in medi- 
 cine do not succeed is not entirely the fault of the dark 
 superstition in which the people are buried. The central 
 repository of drugs, and still more the supplies that are drawn 
 therefrom by the district physicians, are very deficient both 
 in quantity and quality. The doctor must select for his 
 patients medicines that he happens to have. When the 
 rhubarb is done the patients' bowels are always loosened with 
 Epsom salts. Many doctors, too, have no conception of the 
 humanity naturally belonging to their profession. Their 
 whole aim is to make money. They are ill-paid, and cannot 
 make money in the honourable practice of their profession, 
 since they are required by law to give their services free, and 
 in fact no one will consent to pay them. They accordingly 
 abuse their official authority, which is by no means limited. 
 The doctor has to watch over the sanitation of his districts, 
 and to see to the condition of all articles of food ; on his deci- 
 sion often depends that of the judge; and the unprofessional 
 man, however high he may be above the doctor in rank, in 
 many cases cannot interfere. This powerful official has the key 
 of the people's treasury, and he will use it unless he has the 
 necessary moral restraint, whose place no babbling of prayers, 
 washings, and prostrations before the Deity will supply. 
 Thus it happens, that, although they are not wanting in 
 outward marks of respect to a hakim pasha, the medical pro- 
 fession is utterly detested by the people, and the provisions 
 made for the maintenance of public health, by which their 
 old habits are interfered with, are regarded by them merely 
 as a mode of extortion devised by the Franks. They fear 
 the hospital almost more than death ; and hence its inmates, 
 as already said, consist only of those who are there under 
 compulsion — soldiers, prisoners, and pilgrims found half dead 
 on the roads. 
 
 A COPTIC MEAL DURING A FAST. 
 
 We spend the evening in the house of a Coptic scribe, with 
 whom we have made acquaintance in the morning in the 
 
84 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 mudirieli. He invited us to become his guest, but gave the 
 invitation in a very hesitating manner; for it happens to be 
 a period of fasting, which it is during nearly half the year. 
 Before every one of the greater festivals (Christmas, Easter, 
 the feast of the apostles, the assumption of the Virgin) there 
 is a fast of several weeks, in addition to which every Wed- 
 nesday and Friday is a fast-day. On our entering the house 
 the females are warned and got out of sight as in the house of 
 the Moslems. We must seat ourselves either in the reception- 
 room or on the terrace or verandah on a carpet on the floor, 
 where some guests of the same race and religion as our host 
 have already settled themselves. The proceedings are pretty 
 much the same as those we formerly witnessed in the house 
 of the Moslem ; but the stomach is not immediately satisfied, 
 being treated for several hours with date -spirit, which we 
 get to drink in small bottles like medicine bottles. Our thirst 
 is kept alive by all sorts of provocatives, such as roasted 
 chick-peas or maize, salted tirmis (or lupines), hazel-nuts, 
 and sweetmeats, while we smoke and talk. The conversa- 
 tion turns chiefly on religion, which in the East takes the 
 place of politics. 
 
 The preparation of the liquor just mentioned, to which one 
 must be accustomed before one can like it, may be taken as 
 a characteristic example of Arab industry, and we shall there- 
 fore stop to give an account of it. After the dates have lain 
 in a suitable quantity of water for weeks, during which 
 period they have been stirred several times every day, and 
 have thus undergone the process of fermentation, the result- 
 ing liquor is distilled. An ordinary copper caldron with a 
 narrow mouth forms the retort, which stands on a few stones 
 placed round the fire. The head of the still is formed by a 
 large earthenware jar, such as is used for carrying water, a 
 so-called balds, the handles of which have been sawn oflf, and 
 which has been cut away at the mouth so as to fit that of 
 the caldron exactly. Towards the top a round hole has been 
 pierced in the side of the jar, and in this hole a straight 
 hollow piece of dry sugar-cane is inserted horizontally instead 
 of the ordinary worm. Near the extremity this horizontal 
 
A COPTIC MEAL DURING A FAST. 85 
 
 piece is intersected by a similar vertical piece, the lower 
 end of which enters the receiver, which is a copper vessel 
 of moderate height closed at the top by a pad. The 
 receiver is kept cool by being placed in a wide vessel sunk 
 in the earth and filled with cold water which is constantly 
 renewed. The gaps and joints are stopped with rags and 
 dough. The pieces of cane especially are wound round with 
 rags several times. A great deal of the spirit of course 
 escapes. The joints cannot be often enough cemented. 
 There is always some new hole out of which the spirit bursts, 
 not unfrequently taking fire in so doing. 
 
 At last, when the guests have imbibed a suflScient quantity 
 of the spirit, and feel themselves in the happy state of mind 
 and body which they call kef, the eatables are served. They 
 consist of steamed marsh-beans, lentils, preserved olives, a 
 syrup of sesamum, fish, and several sweetmeats, fruits, and 
 vegetables, such as radishes (the leaves of which are preferred 
 to the rather insipid root), raw purple-red carrots, and what- 
 ever other green vegetables the season produces. But all 
 animal food except fish, and even such animal products as 
 butter, milk, and eggs, are rigorously eschewed. Soon after 
 the meal is over the party breaks up, having consumed a 
 great part of the evening with gossiping and disputing, in the 
 course of which the standpoint of most of those who took 
 part in the discussion had become far from clear. We return 
 to our abode in the opposite condition to that in which we 
 had left the Moslem's feast the evening before — with empty 
 stomach but overburdened brain. 
 
 FOTJRTH DAY. 
 THE COPTIC CHURCH AND THE COPTS. 
 
 Sunday morning has just dawned. A number of men 
 exactly resembling the now familiar scribes, being dressed 
 in dark-coloured clothes, and mostly wearing a black turban 
 
86 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 on their head, and also a considerable number of closely- 
 veiled women as well as children, are streaming into a narrow 
 lane. In that lane stands a plain building in Gothic or Byzan- 
 tine style, not with a lofty tower but with a modest ridge- 
 turret. We follow. No one hinders the Frank, the fellow- 
 Christian, from entering; indeed, the entrance is not closed 
 even against a Mussulman, although it is closed against a Jew. 
 We are in the Coptic church. The interior is simple, not in 
 any respect overloaded with ornament. In the choir, within 
 an area which the congregation is forbidden to encroach on, 
 stands the high altar with the image of the Virgin, and some 
 tapers and missals. The aisles each terminate in a smaller 
 altar consecrated to some saint, and are adorned with a few oil- 
 paintings brought from Europe. The congregation occupy the 
 nave and the forepart of the choir, which is separated from the 
 other part by a latticed partition. They sit cross-legged 
 man to man on straw mats laid on the floor. Some are in 
 Sunday dress, some not. All keep their heads covered, and 
 most of them take off their shoes. From the gallery over the 
 door of entrance we hear women's voices, and the still shriller 
 voices of little children. In front of the gallery is a lattice 
 to prevent the occupants of it from being seen, as the devo- 
 tions of those below might thereby be disturbed. 
 
 The mass has begun. Among the congregation in the fore- 
 part of the choir are some of the inferior clergy dressed like 
 the rest of the people. These stand at a reading-desk, and 
 with furious rapidity read the gospels of the day in a sort of 
 chanting style, first in the old Coptic language, which is still 
 kept up for that purpose, and then in Arabic with a com- 
 mentary for the edification of the people. Meanwhile a man 
 goes round the congregation and distributes the host in the 
 form of small loaves of white unleavened bread stamped with 
 a cross, each person receiving one. A priest of very reverend 
 aspect with a long silvery beard, which suits a priest so well, 
 and wearing an embroidered white chasuble, now rises and 
 goes through some operations in the most holy place beside 
 the high altar, and then reads something to the people. The 
 boys of the choir strike large metal disks or cymbals together. 
 
THE COPTIC CHUllCH AND THE COPTS. 87 
 
 making a great noise, which has, however, a very solemn 
 effect. At the same time they as well as the congregation 
 sing a psalm in a subdued tone and in rather quick time. 
 The priest arrayed in a long gown raises the crucifix or pyx 
 in sight of the people, and every one bows and crosses him- 
 self to the beat of the cymbals. Towards the close of the 
 mass, the symbolism of which we must admit that we did 
 not understand, the congregation rise up and crowd round 
 the priest, who lays his hands with a blessing on the head of 
 every one, not excepting us strangers. The Christian brethren 
 give their hands to one another, and after having lasted about 
 an hour and a half the service is over. 
 
 The Coptic Church, a heretical oflTshoot, as is well known, 
 of the Greek, formed in the fifth century under the emperor 
 Marcianus after the Council of Chalcedon, also called the 
 Monophysite or Jacobite Church, is found only in Egypt, 
 Abyssinia, and to a smaller extent in Syria. It has preserved 
 many echoes or relics of ancient Christianity, perhaps more 
 than other churches. It has maintained itself to the present 
 day in spite of the most bitter persecutions carried on through 
 many centuries. Millions of Copts have indeed gradually 
 passed over to Islam; but those who have remained faithful 
 compel our esteem by the firmness of their faith and by their 
 endurance. The church is entirely independent of the state, 
 and is subject to a patriarch, who is likewise head of the 
 Abyssinian Church. Formerly the Mohammedan rulers 
 attempted to force their submission by oppression, but they 
 never made any direct efforts to convert them. But now 
 there is no greater example of toleration to be seen anywhere 
 than that which is exhibited at least on the part of the govern- 
 ment in all these lands as far as the Nile reaches. And even 
 the individual Mussulman is at least outwardly remarkably 
 tolerant, and never carries on religious conversations with a 
 proselytizing tendency. As long as an unbeliever keeps him- 
 self on a proper social footing with a Moslem he is his friend 
 and fellow-citizen. In daily intercourse the religious distinc- 
 tion is hardly noticeable. If, however, the unbeliever renders 
 himself guilty of any offence he incurs a double disgrace. 
 
88 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 The poison of slumbering fanaticism breaks out, and the 
 offender is not only called a scoundrel, but also has the name 
 of unbeliever thrown at him in contumely; precisely as among 
 Christians and Jews in the civilized West. In disputes among 
 native Christians of a purely ecclesiastical nature, for example 
 those connected with marriage, priest, kadi, and governor 
 may be seen sitting amicably together on the judicial bench. 
 The kadi gives the benefit of his wisdom and experience 
 towards the settlement of the question, the priest pronounces 
 the decision of the court, and the governor executes it. 
 
 The Coptic priests, whose dress does not differ from that 
 of the laymen, but is always, including the turban, of a dark 
 colour, actually live in apostolic poverty, having no regular- 
 salary, and being entirely dependent for support upon their 
 congregation. Articles of food are sent to their house, and 
 they get a little money on occasion of baptisms, marriages, 
 and funerals. Like the Moslem kadi, they have various judi- 
 cial functions to discharge, especially in connection with 
 marriages and inheritances. The want of money makes them 
 very ready to accept equivocal presents, and they are easily 
 induced by such a gift to remit a few penances, which usually 
 consist in prayer and fasting. In Cairo, so at least it is gene- 
 rally asserted, many of them act the part of match-makers, 
 betrothing Coptic girls, though not without the consent of 
 their parents, after the manner of the Moslems, b}'' proclama- 
 tion, which is totally contrary to their laws. The Copts 
 show great respect to their priests, outwardly at any rate. 
 They kiss their hands to them ; but at bottom they seem to 
 hold many of the priests in very little esteem, no doubt on 
 account of such malpractices as that above mentioned. There 
 is a seminary for Christian priests, but of the higher theo- 
 logical knowledge, or even of general culture, there is no trace, 
 hardly even among the bishops. Intending priests may be 
 married before they are consecrated ; but after their conse- 
 cration, if their first wife dies, they are not allowed to marry 
 again. The higher clergy are required to remain unmarried. 
 
 The Copts read the gospels, which, like the Mussulmans with 
 the Koran, they also outwardly hold in great reverence, and by 
 
THE COPTIC CHURCH AND THE COPTS. 89 
 
 which they swear. They baptize children by iramersion, 
 have monasteries, and practise auricular confession and wor- 
 ship of the Virgin. The chief expression of their Christianity 
 consists in fasting. The pope is their detestation. Besides a 
 faint resemblance in feature, and many customs still prevalent 
 among the Egyptians generally, the Copt, the true descen- 
 dant of the great nation of the Retu, has inherited little from 
 his remote forefathers. In f\ict he turns yellow when we 
 tell him about the splendour and magnificence of the land of 
 Kemi, of the quadriune God Amun, and the deeds wrought 
 by the son of the sun. He knows the idolatrous and accursed 
 race of the children of Pharaoh only from the opprobrious 
 epithets which his enemies the Moslems bestow upon him, 
 and from the representations inspired by national hatred 
 given of them by the lawgiver of the Jews. The bad repute 
 in which the excellent and high-minded Ketu stand among 
 the Moslems can be explained only by the degenerate effemi- 
 nacy of their descendants at the time of Mohammed. Even 
 the reproach of idolatry is at bottom not altogether justified; 
 for there is no doubt that we must distinguish between the 
 deep philosophic religion of the initiated and the symbolical 
 idol and animal worship, which barbarous form of religion 
 was inculcated by the hierarchy on the common people. In 
 the ancient Egyptian religion there was in fact only one God; 
 the others were merely attributes or energies of the one, 
 though each had his own emblems. 
 
 As for the modern Copt, he has become from head to foot, 
 in manners, language, and spirit, a Moslem, however un- 
 willing he may be to recognize the fact. His dress is like 
 that of the rest of the people, except that he prefers darker 
 materials. The black turban, formerly the brand of the 
 Christians (who were obliged to wear a black or blue turban 
 to distinguish them from the Moslems), is now voluntarily 
 and gladly worn by them, and especially by the Coptic scribes 
 as a badge of honour. The Copt smiles at the Moslem, who, 
 in going through his prayers, turns his face towards Mecca, 
 while he himself with his face turned to Jerusalem mumbles 
 out psalms by the yard in a regular paternoster gallop. 
 
90 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 Unabashed he pollutes the virgin air of the Mohammedan 
 great month of Ramadan with clouds of smoke from his pipe, 
 but crucifies his own flesh during three quarters of the year 
 with the scanty juices of vegetable, fluviatile, and marine 
 aliments. Like the Moslem and the Jew, he has a horror of 
 blood and swine's flesh, ^ but in addition has an equal abhor- 
 rence of camel's flesh, which the Bedouin Mohammed per- 
 mitted. He clings with excessive tenacity to the privileges 
 he enjoys in the case of his favourite spirit. He never tastes 
 his evening meal until his mind is clouded by the vapours of 
 this water of life, which he prepares for himself from dates. 
 To this spirit alone he owes the rotundity of his body, and 
 perhaps the existence of his race, which would otherwise have 
 died out long ago under the regimen of pease, beans, and fish 
 without fat or butter, which form almost his .whole diet 
 during the seasons of fasting.. For the noble juice of the 
 grape the descendant of the ancient Egyptians has no taste. 
 The vine is much cultivated in Egypt, and the grapes are 
 excellent, but are only used for eating. All the wine used 
 in the country is imported, and the quantity consumed by 
 the natives is very insignificant. The drinking of spirits is 
 a characteristic sign of the degradation of the descendants of 
 the wine-loving Retu. 
 
 The Kopt as a good Christian must live till his death a 
 strict monogamist, but, like the Moslem, is allowed to taste 
 the joys of married life in early youth. His spouse is gene- 
 rally chosen for him by his father from among his own near 
 relations, and when he has married her he closely secludes 
 her from the male world without. Like the early Christians, 
 he loves to pray in domestic association with his fellow- 
 Christians, and seals the prayer with a fraternal pressure of 
 
 ^ By one religion or another pretty nearly all domestic animals are forbidden; 
 thus the cow is forbidden by the Hindus, and was so by the ancient Egyptians, 
 who also apparently interdicted the sheep; the Abyssinians interdict the goose. 
 Among the ancient Egyptians the swine was- entirely forbidden as an article of 
 food only to the priests; the other orders ate it, at least occasionally, as at the 
 sacrifice of Typho. This animal was, however, thoroughly despised. Swine- 
 herds were not permitted to enter a temple, and no one having a different 
 employment would marry one of their daughters. 
 
THE BATH. 91 
 
 the hand. He does not readily allow his Christian brethren, 
 to whatever confession they may belong, to suffer want ; but 
 his love for his neighbour is generally confined to those who 
 own the name of Christian. In proof of his Christianity he 
 will often turn up his sleeves, and show a blue cross indelibly 
 tatooed upon his arm. The Kopt is fanatical, servile, and 
 avaricious, but more accessible to enlightenment than the 
 Koran-bound Moslem. 
 
 As the missionaries scattered over Egypt accomplish vir- 
 tually nothing with the Moslems, who are too firm in their 
 faith to yield to such efiforts, they have long turned their 
 eyes on the wandering Koptic sheep, and Catholics and Pro- 
 testants vie with one another in attempts to gain them over. 
 The former had at one time some success, since the adoption 
 of the Catholic faith brought them at least the moral support 
 of a Catholic foreign power, namely Austria. In quite recent 
 times, however, the Protestants have been making a great 
 stir, and they have many avowed and still more secret ad- 
 herents. The remission of fasting, a practice which causes 
 so many Kopts to suflfer from stomach complaints, may have 
 not a little to do with this success. The Protestant mission 
 is an organization of the American Methodists ; but the work 
 is chiefly carried on by a native converted Kopt (belouging 
 to Kus), who is a successful reformer, and knows how to 
 convince his fellow-countrymen and inspire them with enthus- 
 iasm. The sect which calls itself Protestant spread so rapidly, 
 that the Koptic patriarch was compelled to interfere, and the 
 Protestant agitator was condemned with the help of the 
 government to be deported to Fazogl, the Egyptian Cayenne, 
 and would actually have been sent there had not the 
 American consul exerted himself in his favour. In some 
 districts the Protestant zeal that fired a portion of the people 
 led them even to plunder the ancient Coptic mother church, 
 and the Moslem government had to restore order. 
 
 THE BATH. 
 
 After hearing the Sunday morning mass in the Coptic 
 Church we determine to have a bath. We walk through a 
 
92 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 few lanes and stop at a door, surmounted by a projecting 
 pediment, painted in rather childish style in a variety of 
 colours. We pass from the street into a large hall, where the 
 proprietor of the bath receives us sitting upon his divan. The 
 hall serves as the office of the bath, for dr^dng linen, and for 
 dressing and undressing in. The master of the bath points 
 us to a platform at the side, covered with straw mats, where 
 we exchange our clothes for a bathing costume, which consists 
 in a cloth put round the loins, with the addition perhaps of 
 a bathing turban. An attendant similarly attired gives us 
 liis hand to lead us through a dark passage, along whose 
 wet polished marble floor, smooth and slippery as ice, we 
 have no little difficulty in tottering with our naked feet. 
 This passage conducts us to the steaming -room, where the 
 sultry vapour, that rises from a hot fountain bubbling up in 
 the middle of a large marble octagon, condenses on the cooler 
 dome-shaped roof of the hall, and descends in drops. Light 
 is admitted by a number of small openings in the roof closed 
 with glass. "We seat ourselves on the octagon, and observe 
 the bathers who pass in succession. We have already had 
 sufficient opportunity on the public streets of noticing the 
 great breadth of the upper part of their bodies and the slen- 
 derness of their limbs, but we have never had the chance 
 of seeing them without a head-covering of some sort. The 
 men who are now moving about in the bathing establishment, 
 however, are mostly bare-headed. A bald head has been an 
 object of timid reverence on our part ever since the prophet 
 Elisha caused the children who reviled him to be consumed 
 by bears, and we accordingly pay due respect to the old 
 bald-headed bathers. But most of these bald heads seem 
 to possess abundance of vital force, and have a youthful 
 often child-like appearance. Here comes one whose head is 
 crowned by a luxuriant tuft of hair on the summit; here is 
 another from the upper part of whose brow spring two long 
 horns like those of the lawgiver of the Jews; this one 
 wears a tuft of hair in front like Peter, that one has only 
 the back part of his head overgrown with a shaggy covering ; 
 in short, locks of hair may be allowed to grow at any point 
 
THE BATH. 93 
 
 of the skull that the wearer pleases, but never over the 
 v^^hole skull, for that would stamp a man as an unbe- 
 liever. All this is the result of the tonsure, recommended 
 by the forethought of the prophet for the sake of cleanliness, 
 but not invented by him, since the original inhabitants of 
 the land of Kemi always had their heads shaved smooth. 
 In modern Egypt the men shave the hair off their whole 
 body except the face, which is seldom shaved at all even by 
 the peasants. The women keep their hair. In a room adjoin- 
 ing there is a small pond where one can stand breast-deep in 
 water and parboil his limbs in company with the lame, the 
 leprous, and the syphilitic. We, however, are led by another 
 attendant into a dark ante-chamber and subjected to a tedious 
 purifying process. One attendant first pulls at our limbs as 
 if he wished to tear them off. We hear with alarm all our 
 joints crack, yet we feel the operation so pleasant that we 
 calmly let him proceed. Our flesh is then firmly stroked, 
 kneaded, and worked. A douche of hot water now wets the 
 whole surface of our body, and with such suddenness that 
 the heart and breathing are checked. Thereupon the attend- 
 ant, enveloping his hand in a sort of bag-shaped glove made 
 of coarse cloth, begins to stroke us all over, thoroughly 
 cleansing the pores of impurities, which become rolled up 
 into spindle-shaped and cylindrical masses and fall down to 
 the floor. We look with astonishment upon the heaps of 
 refuse with which our skin was loaded. After the body has 
 been soaped from head to foot, and played upon by streams 
 of hot water, the shampooer leaves us to our fate, and we 
 quit the scouring-room cleaner than marble. The steaming- 
 room, on first entering which we were like to suffocate, now 
 seems to us like an ice-cellar, and after getting a short dry 
 cloak thrown round us by the attendant who conducted us 
 into this room, we hurry, shivering and with chattering 
 teeth, into the still colder outer room. A young man 
 receives us in the dressing-room, and rubs us for a con- 
 siderable time with dry warm cloths, an operation which 
 we find very agreeable. Meanwhile we enjoy our pipe and 
 sip a small cup of coffee. Finally we dress, pay the master 
 
&4 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 of the bath his fee, and give a trifle to every one who has 
 rendered any services to our body. 
 
 THE DOGS. 
 
 After our bath we make the best of our way into the fresh 
 air, and ascend one of the many eminences outside the town 
 which have been formed by the gradual accumulation of the re- 
 fuse carried thither. In Upper Egypt those eminences near the 
 towns are the homes of the dogs, which seldom venture into 
 the streets except by night, while they remain both night 
 and day in the larger towns of Lower Egypt, the members 
 of each family strictly confining themselves to their own 
 locality, and clearing the streets from filth. These dirty 
 jackal-like and mostly ugly red-haired animals, which have 
 neither property nor master to guard, evidently look upon 
 our appearance, which is very unexpected, as boding no good 
 to them. Their first feeling is one of cowardly fear, mani- 
 fested by the way in which their tails curl down between 
 their legs, and then by the manner in which they sneak 
 round about us in an arc of a circle, while they steadily 
 eye us with a look of distrust. When they are beyond 
 the reach of any immediate danger they set up a hoarse 
 yelping and a most disagreeable barking. These sounds 
 communicate themselves to the families of dogs on the 
 next eminences of the same kind, and spread in ever widen- 
 ing circles, proclaiming to the whole town that something 
 extraordinary must have taken place, and the din returns 
 to our suffering ears like a hundred- voiced echo. The dog, 
 the faithful friend of man, has degenerated in the towns of 
 the East to a cowardly misanthrope, and we cannot blame 
 him for it when we consider the numerous little attentions 
 that the Mohammedan in his zeal against uncleanliness has 
 bestowed on him, and which have resulted in the limping 
 legs, the broken ribs, and ulcerated skins to be seen every- 
 where. A few bitten noses and torn ears must be laid to 
 the account of the exclusiveness which these creatures exhibit 
 among themselves. Woe to the dog whicli a roving spirit, 
 
BOYS AND GIRLS AT PLAY. 95 
 
 hunger, or any other impulse has brought among the inhos- 
 pitable members of a neighbouring pack. Among the ancient 
 Egyptians the dog met with an entirely opposite treatment. 
 In those times he was highly esteemed, and in some places 
 was worshipped. Mummies of dogs have been found at 
 Lycopolis, near Siout. Cats enjoy a certain, consideration 
 even at the present day. 
 
 In our peregrination we pass a place where building is 
 going on. A large number of people, mostly quite naked 
 boys and half-naked girls, but also men and poor women 
 pretty well advanced in years, are engaged in carrying 
 earth and stones from one place to another. An overseer 
 is set over each division of these labourers, and goes about 
 with an uplifted rod in his hand keeping his gang dili- 
 gently at work by word and deed. But that is hardly 
 necessary, for the loud never-ending song which old and 
 young sing to their work, a song embracing a comparatively 
 small number of notes, with a regularly recurring refrain, 
 and accompanied by clapping of the hands, is in itself suffi- 
 cient to maintain their activity. Every division sings in its 
 own way, and so they go on humming and bustling like a 
 swarm of bees. Loads are carried in baskets on the head or 
 shoulders, often also upon a sort of tray which they hold in 
 front pretty high on the body grasping the outer edge with 
 their hands which are bent well back. Similar scenes down 
 to the minutest details are represented on the pictures of the 
 ancient Egyptians. 
 
 BOYS AND GIRLS AT PLAY. 
 
 At a little open space near by we hear the confused shouts 
 and cries of boys at play. Some bold warriors, holding u{) 
 one foot and hopping on the other, try to knock each otlier 
 down, and in order to play at this game they have taken off 
 their only garment, a blue shirt, and bound it round their 
 loins. Before long a weakling is thrown down, and kissing 
 the ground, raises a frightful cry and begins to abuse his con- 
 queror worse than Thersites. The latter in retaliation makes 
 
96 UPPEK EGYPT. 
 
 violent clutches at the only tuft of hair that has been left on 
 
 the boy's shaved head, from wliich his cap has fallen during 
 
 the scuffle. At last the boy gets free and runs off, casting all 
 
 sorts of opprobrious epithets, among which that of ''bastard" 
 
 is never wantinor at his antaofonist, and his father and forc- 
 es' O ' 
 
 fathers. 
 
 Here also some boys have laid themselves down on the dusty 
 ground, on which they have improvised a dranght-board by 
 drawing lines at right angles to one another, and are playing 
 a game like draughts with stones picked up from the street 
 for men. The men are called Moslim and Nusrani (Christian), 
 and these names are always cried aloud. Others drive a ball 
 by means of a club, or mounted on each other's backs play the 
 ball-game of which the ancient Egyptians, and especially the 
 Egyptian women, were so fond. Some are chasing a humble 
 bee, setting off crackers, or firing small pocket-pistols. Some 
 animal just caught, for example, a prickly fish, or, it may 
 be a dog, is dragged along the ground with some life still in 
 it, and is beaten to death amid loud cries of yistdhel! (it 
 deserves it). The same cry is heard on the evening before 
 the slaughter of any large animal, such as a camel or a buffalo, 
 which is always an event in small places. The seller or 
 slaughterer marches with his beast through the whole village 
 followed by a band of boys, sometimes paid for the purpose, 
 sometimes not, crying out incessantly yistdhel ! which in this 
 case is equivalent to : ''it is good value." The buyers can thus 
 see with their own eyes, while the animal is still alive, whether 
 its flesh is sound and fat. 
 
 Another group of boys are engaged in the imitation of 
 those well-known religious gymnastic exercises, called Zik7\ 
 A choir of little songsters, who are not yet fully able to speak 
 their words correctly, sing with a loud voice and rapt expres- 
 sion in honour of the Prophet, repeating the phrase: "la illah 
 ill allah, Mohammed l{r)asul allah" A diminutive pair of 
 human beings still at the very entrance of life, and wearing 
 the innocent and simple dress of paradise, where man and 
 beast still lived a quiet life at peace with one another, roll 
 themselves on their mother earth in silent enjoyment; for 
 
SCHOOL. 97 
 
 numberless flies have found an undisturbed resting-place on 
 their oily countenances and little watery eyes. The little 
 children are playing with a "bride," that is, a doll scarcely 
 bearing any resemblance to the human form, with shells, a 
 clay camel, and the like. But there are not many kinds of 
 toys in the children's hands, for they are considered as articles 
 of luxury, and as such indeed toys are pretty good standards 
 of civilization. 
 
 As soon as we are observed by the boys, they begin chirp- 
 ing in our ears Bakshish yd chauageh. In vain we try not 
 to hear them. The further off we remove, the more the little 
 fellows feel themselves out of our reach, all the louder and 
 more general do their demands become, and they now also 
 bestow upon us the title of "Nusrani" (Christian), and every 
 epithet that rhymes with that appellative. 
 
 SCHOOL. 
 
 We continue our wanderings through the streets and lanes 
 of the town, expecting to fall in with other interesting scenes 
 characteristic of the East, and before long a horrible confused 
 noise arising from boys' voices and proceeding from a small 
 house like a chapel forces itself on our ears. We put our head in 
 at the open door, and see a worthy schoolmaster sitting with a 
 cane in his hand in the midst of his scholars on the floor of the 
 school-room, which is bare of furniture. All stages of boy- 
 hood are represented, from that at which the lisp and stammer 
 of childhood are scarcely given up to that at which the youth 
 becomes a man. One of the crowd, holding up a wooden or 
 metal tablet close in front of him, is practising himself in 
 reading aloud the venerable basis of all science, the alphabet, 
 which the master has written out for him with large strokes; 
 another makes his first attempts in writing ; a third, more 
 advanced, is reading or rather singing from the "pre-eminent 
 book,'' the Koran, and accompanies his reading with an ener- 
 getic oscillation of the upper part of the body. The master 
 assists the efforts of every individual scholar with his superior 
 knowledge, and not rarely also with the weight of his cane. 
 
98 • UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 Nor does he lose sight of the general body of scholars, for his 
 cane comes down with the speed of lightning on the knuckles 
 of some inattentive boys, who were carrying on all sorts of 
 games behind his back. An assistant, chosen from among 
 his best pupils, aids him to the best of his ability in the prac- 
 tice of his pedagogic calling, instructs the younger ones with 
 a manifest consciousness of his own importance, and makes 
 no scruples about letting those who have been placed under 
 his charge feel the weight of the cane intrusted to him. In 
 the case of one of the learners the customary blows on the 
 various members of the body have no effect, and, like the 
 offender in the court of justice, he is stretched out upon the 
 floor by his fellow- pupils, who act with great readiness the 
 part of officers to their master, and is treated to the bastinado. 
 From sunrise till the evening call the schoolmaster is re- 
 quired to keep his pupils employed, allowing, however, a 
 suitable period for relaxation at the time of the morning and 
 mid- day meals. Every Thursday morning there is a public 
 examination, during which the teacher remains a passive 
 observer, and leaves the entire management of the school to 
 his youthful assistant. The teacher receives a weekly fee of 
 one piastre for every pupil. Friday is always a holiday. If 
 the pupil after several years' schooling is able to drone off a 
 few chapters of the Koran, the happy father is satisfied, the 
 skilful teacher receives from him a few crowns as an honorary 
 recompense for his labours, and the learned son leaves the 
 school for ever. The high fees obtained by the numerous 
 professional scribes shows how far from general, and how 
 imperfect is the education of the people. It hardly needs to 
 be mentioned that the teachers cannot live on the insigni- 
 ficant fee that they get from their pupils. They accordingly 
 take upon themselves various other functions, such as those 
 of text-writers, public readers of the Koran, hymn-singers, 
 and attendants at the shrines of the saints. 
 
 A MOSQUE. 
 
 High in air above us there sounds a wonderful melody. It 
 is the call to prayer, an institution peculiar to Mohammedan 
 
A MOSQUE. 99 
 
 countries. On the parapet of a tower which rises like a pillar 
 from the midst of the dense mass of houses, we see the Muezzin, 
 the functionary who warns believers to bow themselves in 
 adoration before the "highest and only God, and Mohammed 
 is his prophet/' We allow ourselves to be carried along by 
 the streams of people who are now proceeding from all quar- 
 ters in the direction in which the cry was heard, and we soon 
 find ourselves before the temple. 
 
 Although we cannot here expect the majestic splendour of 
 one of the mosques of the caliphs in the capital, yet we feel 
 attracted by the peculiar taste of the modern Arabic architect. 
 On the simple basis of a wall built with square-cut stones, 
 he has employed all those artistic devices on which his reli- 
 gion, prohibiting the imitation of anything having life,^ per- 
 mits him to exercise his creative ideas; namely, mosaics, 
 arabesques, geometrical figures, and alphabetical writing All 
 these modes of decoration are lavishly employed, sometimes 
 with elegance sometimes altogether tastelessly, on every part 
 of the walls, but more especially on the portals and windows, 
 which here, where there is no harem to hide, can be made 
 more numerous. In making these openings the builder is not 
 content with carrying out a single system, but forms a new 
 style by the simultaneous use of all figures in which a wall 
 can be imagined to be regularly pierced. The curve of the ass's 
 back is seen in familiar juxtaposition with the camel's hump; 
 the horse-shoe of the Moor appears in amicable alliance with 
 the round arch of the Byzantine; the pointed arch soars aloft 
 alongside of prosaic rectilinears. Points, lines, triangles, 
 rhombuses, polygons, circles, arcs, undulations, and zigzags 
 in all colours are chaotically distributed over the walls. The 
 natural freedom of the Arabic writing has furnished the 
 means of producing true works of art in the form of inscrip- 
 tions, which are scattered over every part of the edifice. 
 
 ^ A rigid Mussulman cannot easily be induced to have his portrait painted, 
 or to get himself photographed; it is only those who have come in contact vsrith 
 Europeans who have no scruples on that score. The view of the Prophet is that 
 in painting anything having life something is abstracted from the soul of the 
 object portrayed. 
 
100 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 High above on the flat roof numerous generations of cupolas 
 sprout round the great mother dome. 
 
 However marvellous and fantastic the outside shell of the 
 temple may be, the interior is just as simple and puritanically 
 devoid of ornament. In its essential features it differs so 
 little from that of a Christian basilica that one is led to 
 ask whether the founders of Islam, who displayed as little 
 original genius for art as the Vandals, did not get their 
 mosques built by conquered renegades. The high altar, 
 where the Mohammedan lay-priest celebrates mass on 
 Fridays, has becQme a wooden table supported by a few 
 pillars. The pulpit has been retained. Instead of the blas- 
 phemous crucifix the eyes of the congregation are diverted 
 to the niche in the wall, behind which lies Mecca. Besides 
 these furnishings and a few framed inscriptions on the walls 
 the interior spaces contain nothing but the invisible spirit of 
 God. The old Arabic style of building has nothing in com- 
 mon with the ancient Egyptian. At the most a few columns 
 of ancient temples are occasionally inserted in the more 
 modern structures. According to some art critics the funda- 
 mental idea of the mosque is the Bedouin tent, and that of 
 the arabesques the texture of a carpet. 
 
 We have the audacity to slink into the interior and 
 place ourselves behind a pillar, and this we have accomplished 
 by slipping a piece of silver into the hand of the door-keeper, 
 who wished to preserve the sanctuary from being trodden 
 by the unclean Frank. On another occasion we obtain 
 entrance through meeting with a friend who closes the eyes 
 of his fanatical feUow-believers by observing that at the 
 bottom of our heart we are a Moslem. In any case we 
 have, in common with the Moslems themselves, to take off 
 our shoes. 
 
 Before prayer the Moslem must always carefully wash 
 with running water all those parts of his body liable to 
 become polluted by contact with the outer world; though it 
 may be that he does not always at the same time purify his 
 heart, which the washing symbolically represents. The priests 
 of the ancient Egyptians were almost as particular in this 
 
A MOSQUE. "''>'' ^ ^ ,,' i ^ ' , ; Jip jL\ 
 
 respect, being likewise accustomed to perform religious ablu- 
 tions several times a day. 
 
 By the time the last notes of the chant of the crier on the 
 minaret have died away the whole congregation has arranged 
 itself in rows before the Lord of hosts, with naked feet but 
 covered heads. Each one visibly fills his soul with a purpose 
 of devotion, energetically throwing aside for this solemn 
 moment all joys and sorrows, all the hate and love belonging 
 to earthly life. Under the guidance of an imam they then 
 go through a series of observances, consisting in bending the 
 body, falling on the knees, kissing the ground, turning the 
 head, and performing a number of movements with their 
 arms, hands, and fingers with all the precision of soldiers exer- 
 cising, and all according to fixed regulations, in which the 
 ambassador of God has been able to declare with accuracy 
 what movements of the foot and hand, and what particular 
 arrangement of the fingers, are most pleasing to God in any 
 operation that has to be performed. As in the Christian 
 Church the boys in the choir heighten the solemnity of the 
 chief ceremonies of the mass by the sounding of cymbals; in 
 the Mohammedan service the minaret- crier, who has by this 
 time descended from his elevated station, sings out the ex- 
 alted names of God and the Prophet, which from time to 
 time are uttered in a loud voice by the otherwise silent 
 worshippers. At the conclusion of the fatha, the Moham- 
 medan paternoster, the whole congregation join in a pro- 
 longed Amen, which is pronounced in a low tone, and has 
 a very impressive effect. Finally, after the worshipper has 
 discharged the devotional duties common to all, he kneels 
 upon the ground and lays the wants of his own heart before 
 his creator, his mediator Mohammed, and Mohammed's holy 
 family, and as he does this he holds his hands outstretched 
 as if on them he had written his wants and were thence 
 reading them off! All these ceremonies are performed with- 
 out the assistance of any priest. Even the sermon on Fridays 
 is delivered by a layman, it may be an artisan. In the 
 Christian sense of the word Islam has no clergy, unless this 
 name is given to the ulema and the kadis or ecclesiastical 
 
^i (4^ ■''''''"'''''' ' UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 judges, who have studied theology. It is in fact the 
 grandest thing in Islam, that its strength lies not in the 
 hierarchy but in the people. 
 
 As if awakening from a long and beautiful dream, in which 
 he believed himself to have seen the face of God, the Moslem 
 at the end of the hour of prayer takes leave of the spiritual 
 world and the angels who stood at his side, wipes his face 
 with his hands, and steps out into the world of every-day life, 
 proud to be adorned with the dust of the mosque which has 
 stuck to his moist brow as he kissed the earth. Those who 
 cannot so easily set their minds at rest find their way out of 
 their difficulties by means of their rosary, as Theseus made 
 his escape from the labyrinth with the help of a clue of thread. 
 They mutter some unintelligible verses, and counting off one 
 knot after another they pour out their feelings thirty-three 
 times in honour of the glory of God (subhan allah), thirty- 
 three times they render to him praise and thanks (el hamdu 
 lillah), thirty-three times they acknowledge his supreme 
 greatness (allahu akhar), and with the ninety-ninth knot 
 they have once more happily arrived on this side of exis- 
 tence, and pursue their good or evil ways exactly according 
 to their old proclivities. 
 
 But scarcely has the sun begun to descend in the heavens 
 when the crier again ascends the minaret, and everything 
 follows in the same order as in the morning; and the same 
 is the case also when the last streak of day has disappeared 
 and the vault of heaven is sprinkled over with stars. The 
 Moslem thus prays at the first dawning of the day, as soon as 
 a white thread can be distinguished from a black, again at 
 mid-day when the sun has reached the culmination of his daily 
 course, and again at evening when the length of a man's shadow 
 is equal to the height of his body. It is no slight labour that 
 Islam exacts of her followers. Their prayers may, however, 
 be performed in their own houses, on the street, or wherever 
 the worshippers may be, for God is everywhere. It is also free 
 to the Moslem to give himself up to prayer at any time in 
 the interval between one hour of prayer and another. The 
 Moslem does not care to pray in the stillness of his chamber. 
 
A saint's mausoleum. 103 
 
 He prefers publicity and the companionship of his brethren 
 at these exercises. In this way he gains not a little as a pious 
 man in the esteem of his fellow citizens. 
 
 A saint's mausoleum. 
 
 We again seek the open air, and are met by a band of 
 men, who hurry past us laughing, disputing, and singing. 
 Suddenly one cries out: '^A Fatha to our lord Abdallah," 
 and all stop before the lattice-window of a chapel. The 
 noisy band is converted into a group of pious worshippers 
 holding their hands before their faces. After a minute's 
 pause they proceed on their way with the same boisterous 
 noise as before. The sacred edifice, resembling in its funda- 
 mental conception the mausoleum of Hadrian, is built of 
 stone or clay, and is in the form of a cube surmounted by an 
 octagon terminating in a cupola. On each of the four corners 
 of the cubical portion is erected a small tower or minaret, 
 and the finial of the dome is crowned by a crescent moon, 
 lying so that the points are turned upwards. The half- 
 moon is never used, for it has lost interest for the adherents 
 of Islam, and there is not even a name for it in the language. 
 Nor is it the imaginary new moon of the calendar, but the 
 newly risen narrow sickle-shaped strip as it first shows itself 
 after th6 beginning of each lunar month, which is the symbol 
 of Islam and the badge of its rulers. The appearance of this 
 on the western horizon every believer watches month by 
 month like his Sabsean forefathers in order to obtain from 
 it, or at least by means of that sign, prosperity and bliss. 
 The buildings already mentioned form the whole of the 
 sanctuary, unless perhaps there is an open court adjoining with 
 a number of outbuildings, and surrounded by a quadrangu- 
 lar wall. On the flat roof of these outbuildings we observe 
 a frame made up of wooden bars, which, on the annual festival 
 of the saintly patron of the mausoleum is carried in procession 
 splendidly arrayed, and is called a mdhmel. We boldly enter 
 in at the gate. A few nods suffice to dispel the scruples of 
 the guardian of the sacred spot; and in a short time, in con- 
 
104j 
 
 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 sequence of the singular indulgence displayed to us^ even the 
 mysterious domed hall is trodden by our Christian feet after 
 they have been deprived of their unclean covering. A large 
 stone carved in the form of a sarcophagus takes up the greater 
 part of the narrow space. The stone is covered with a brightr 
 
 Mausoleum of a Saint. 
 
 green or red cloth with inscriptions embroidered on it in gold 
 and silver, and with banners of a similar colour and similarly 
 inscribed stuck round it. The walls are filled with pictorial 
 representations of the holy places of Islam, including the city 
 of David. In this picture-gallery red, green, and yellow are 
 the most prominent colours. There is also no want of silver 
 leaf and Dutch gold. Mount Sinai and other sacred moun- 
 tains as depicted resemble a mound erected by white ants. 
 The minarets make one think of gibbets. The sacred 
 temples appear like tables, and their domes like balls rolling 
 on the upper edges of the tables. The palms are like 
 
A BURIAL PLACE. 105 
 
 branched candlesticks; hell, paradise, and the river of life 
 like the card of a compass. 
 
 In the corner of the sanctuary stands a wax candle as long 
 and thick as an elephant's tusk. Beside it gapes a crocodile's 
 mouth, while the rib of a gigantic fish menaces visitors like 
 a drawn sword. Attached to the roof are a number of inter- 
 lacing cords, and from these as from the branches of a 
 Christmas-tree are suspended various glass lamps, little ships, 
 ostrich eggs (which were also hung up in their temples and 
 sanctuaries by the ancient Egyptians), but above all num- 
 berless little bundles of sacred earth from Mecca carefully 
 wrapped up in sugar-loaf form. 
 
 We quit the most holy place, and take a look at the court 
 and all that belongs to. it, the niches for prayer, and the 
 graves of the favoured dead, who must sleep in this conse- 
 crated earth a more blessed sleep than the common herd who 
 people the graveyard without; and in passing out we cast a 
 parting glance at the little room, from which we hear the 
 sound of the strokes of a schoolmaster's cane and the cries of 
 his young pupils. For schools and other foundations are often 
 connected with these spots. But who was the great man 
 to whom such a mausoleum has been built, and such rever- 
 ence is paid ? He was, according to Mohammedan ideas, a 
 saint, who was endowed by God during his life (or perhaps 
 only after his death) with miraculous powers as a compen- 
 sation for his weak intellect, and who is accordingly regarded 
 as a "favourite of God." In godless Europe, except in some 
 districts such as Switzerland, where the idiots enjoy a high 
 degree of respect, individuals of this class are called fools and 
 imbeciles. 
 
 A BURIAL-PLACE. 
 
 Not far from this sanctuary, on the border of the desert, 
 on the dividing line between living nature and dead, is the 
 place allotted to those who have passed from life to death. 
 No wall incloses the wide field, which is rather to be called 
 a city of the dead than a graveyard. For, beside the mounds 
 
106 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 of earth and low flat gravestones, many considerable struc- 
 tures rise into the air; mausoleums, chapels, and mosques for 
 the numerous miracle-working saints and other estimable 
 God-favoured men, and in addition to these buildings a 
 number of dwelling-houses where mourning families spend 
 some days and nights, especially at the time of the great feasts 
 beside the resting-place of their beloved dead. No living 
 green thing, no fragrant flower, adorns the grave in the desert. 
 Instead of a wreath a palm branch stuck in the grave in those 
 days of mourning bespeaks a pure love and faith unconquered 
 by death itself 
 
 The army of the dead of all times and of all countries in 
 which the language of the Koran is heard, is marshalled 
 by the Prophet in orderly array, ready to stand armed in the 
 faith before the Judge of the other world. The dead champion 
 of Islam always lies with his head inclined to the right in such 
 a manner that his face looks towards Mecca, the town which 
 stands at the centre of the earth, and of all earths, that is, of 
 all the heaventy bodies. The Egyptian, Turk, and Moghrebin 
 look to the south-east; the Tartar looks to the south; the 
 Indian to the west; the inhabitant of Sudan to the east. All 
 grave-stones are laid in the same direction, and to show 
 that the corpse has had the proper position given to it, the spot 
 beneatli which the head lies is marked by some external sign, 
 for example, a turban carved in stone, an upright stone, slab, 
 or merely a heap of stones, some wands stuck in the ground, 
 and so forth, and often the place of the feet is correspondingly 
 indicated. As if to make up for the want of a coflin,^ the 
 grave-stone is made in the form of one. It is oblong in form, 
 and has a rounded or sharp-edged longitudinal ridge for men, 
 and a longitudinal depression for women. The inscription, 
 which gives some details regarding the person lying beneath, 
 concludes with an invitation to pray a fatha over him: 
 
 For his sake a Fatha ! 
 
 ^ The corpse is not inclosed in a coffin, but is placed in a kind of vault cut in 
 the side of the grave at bottom. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 TKAYELLING BY LAND AND EIVEE. 
 
 PEEPARATIONS. 
 
 In order to make a journey of a few days in the valley of 
 the Upper Nile, one requires something more than the quarter 
 of an hour between resolve and starting that is sufficient for 
 an active German gymnast, who is about to set out on a tour 
 in the provinces of the Fatherland, and at the end of that 
 brief space of time stands ready for the tramp with his travel- 
 ling wallet by his side, and two or three thalers in his pocket; 
 setting out in such a way one can go as a begging- pilgrim, 
 and knock at the door of every farm-house on the road. 
 Here there are no houses of reception or entertainment where 
 a man can have for his money a furnished room, a bed, food, 
 and drink. Such a thing is quite foreign to the ideas of 
 Islam and its Bedouin hospitality. An Arabic inn in the 
 European sense is not found even in the largest towns. Estab- 
 lishments of this kind present nothing but an empty room, 
 the traveller having to provide his own food and bed. In 
 such circumstances a journey by land must take another form 
 than in the land of the Franks — even the smallest assumes 
 more or less of the character of an expedition. 
 
 Since the termination of our journey lies in the narrow 
 Nile-valley of Upper Egypt (in the Thebais, in the first 
 place, or district of the city of Thebes of old renown, corre- 
 sponding to the present mudirieh of Keneh), and since this 
 valley is nowhere broader than from 5 to 10 miles, and 
 consequently no part of it far from the river, the most con- 
 venient and common mode of travel is by water. We have 
 no hopes of a steamer, as these stop only at the larger towns, 
 and have no certain times for arriving and departing. To 
 hire a vessel for ourselves, since there is not a large company 
 of us, would be very expensive, and we would also like to 
 
108 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 take for once a trip in tlie same way as the native citizen. 
 We proceed accordingly to the landing-place to see if we can 
 secure a passage, and soon find a well-laden craft that is to 
 sail "to-morrow if it please God." We hasten home and 
 hastily collect such things as are absolutely necessary, namely, 
 a carpet, cushions, coverings, bread and biscuit, clarified 
 butter, flesh, cheese, onions, salt, coflTee, spirits or wine, pease, 
 rice, dates, and fresh fruits, wood or coals, tobacco, and also 
 cooking, eating, and smoking utensils, with the necessary 
 bags, chests, and boxes. 
 
 THE EMBARKATION. 
 
 We get our baggage on board by earliest morn, with the 
 assistance of a pack-donkey, but do not find the master of 
 the vessel, who does not turn up by noon even, nor yet till 
 late in the day. At last, however, he does make his appear- 
 ance, and coolly meets our angry remonstrances with his, 
 ''Never mind; to-morrow if God pleases." But as we cannot 
 start next day we determine to look out for another oppor- 
 tunity, and have our baggage again brought ashore. Vessel 
 after vessel sails past in mid-stream, and call as we may they 
 steer proudly onward with swelling sail, taking advantage of 
 the favourable wind. At last we succeed in catching a small 
 bark without a cabin, to which we gladly transfer ourselves 
 and our belongings, and endeavour to make ourselves com- 
 fortable and at home by spreading our carpet beneath us, or 
 by digging out an abode in the piled-up cargo of corn or dates, 
 protecting ourselves against the rays of the sun by following 
 the shadow of the huge sail, or by constructing a tent of 
 rugs, wrappers, and spare sails. 
 
 The above means of travelling is only a make-shift; the 
 Arabic public that make long voyages use the dahabiyeh, a 
 vessel with a cabin. These vessels are constructed on the 
 model of a floating house; but the house, which is built to rest 
 upon the ship's bottom, does not occupy the middle, as it 
 appears in fancy drawings of Noah's ark, nor as it did in the 
 ships of the ancient Egyptians (which, strangely enough, have 
 
THE EMBARKATION. 109 
 
 no resemblance to those of the present time, not even in the 
 sail); it occupies the after half of the vessel. As a forty days' 
 or even a single hour's rain is in these regions and in these 
 days an improbability a ridged roof can easily be dispensed 
 with, and accordingly the roof of the house takes the form of 
 an open platform. The fore-part of the vessel carries the 
 rigging, the simple mast, the slender yard swinging round its 
 top, and the huge trapezoidal sail, which, during a stoppage 
 of any length, is fastened round the yard in undulating 
 folds. The communication with the platform and the beaked 
 stern is effected by a plank that is placed like the scaffold 
 used in rough-casting a house, running externally along the 
 flanks of the cabin, from which a single false step would pre- 
 cipitate a person into the stream. During the voyage the 
 captain of the vessel stations himself aft upon the platform 
 with the long tiller in his hand, so that he can keep his 
 eye on the crew while they are occupied about the rigging 
 in the forepart of the vessel below. The crew are the 
 more ready to obey his commands from the fact that he 
 usually combines the dignity of captain with that of head 
 of the family, those under his direction being generally 
 his brothers, cousins, children, and grand-children. For the 
 smaller class of vessels of this kind a crew of three or four 
 men is considered sufficient, in cases of difficulty the friendly 
 aid of the passengers being called in and immediately given, 
 partly from self-interest, partly because the bargain is so 
 made at starting. 
 
 The more fortunate among mortals when travelling in the 
 cradle-country of mankind make use of saloon- vessels built 
 on the same principle, but much more handsomely fitted up. 
 These vessels alone deserve the name of dahabiyeh, that is, 
 "little golden ship" (though the name may also be derived 
 from sahah, to go or move). In these the dingy cabins are con- 
 verted into fine saloons, fitted up with everything which the 
 luxurious son of northern civilization has accustomed himself 
 to require; the platform has become a pavilion, on which the 
 consumptive foreigner from a colder clime drinks greedily 
 into his damaged lungs the air warmed by the winter sun 
 
110 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 of the south, while in spite of wind and tide a crew of rowers 
 urges the light galley to any point it is desired to reach. 
 
 The public has little opportunity for availing itself of the 
 results achieved in this age of steam, since a regular river 
 passenger service is not yet organized. An attempt was 
 indeed made some years ago to set agoing such a scheme by 
 the Viceregal River Steam Navigation Co. of the day. The 
 fare charged was small, viz. about four shillings per day, or 
 what was the same thing, per mudirieh. But even that was too 
 much for the common people, who continued to sail as before 
 in their slow-moving dahabiyeh along with their baggage, 
 which they cannot let out of their sight, so suspicious are 
 they, while they do not know the value of time. Accordingly 
 the company, like the post-office, worked at a loss on account 
 of not being sufficiently patronized by the public, and soon 
 gave up its regular passages. The principles of political 
 economy are unknown in Egypt, and there was no thought 
 of persevering in spite of loss. At present regular trips are 
 made by the Nile steamers only during the winter months 
 for the rich travellers from Europe. Still the river is con- 
 tinually navigated by a great many steamers, which are em- 
 ployed for government purposes, and receive occasional passen- 
 gers. The crew, including the captain and engine-driver, is 
 entirely composed of natives, who have emancipated them- 
 selves from their teachers in a gratifying manner, yet not 
 without a previous mingling of the Anglo-Frankish and the 
 Arabic element. This is seen in the narrow Frankish trousers 
 and bare feet of the sailors, in the European uniform com- 
 bined with the general unbuttoned state and red slippers of 
 the captain, and in the Anglo-Arabic words of command, such 
 as "stop," ''halfy speed," ''turn head," fcc, which an un- 
 initiated scribe could never unriddle. 
 
 All kinds of craft navigate the Nile besides these — larger 
 and smaller cargo boats without cabins, great black tow-boats 
 forming long lines behind the steamers, ferry-boats, hshing- 
 boats, and rafts consisting of clay jars with handles fastened 
 together; at the present day, however, the light and portable 
 papyrus boats, once so celebrated, are no longer seen. 
 
A VOYAGE ON THE NILE. Ill 
 
 A VOYAGE ON THE NILE. 
 
 Thus we glide over the stream of streams. It is the height 
 of summer, the period when the fresh north wind that then 
 prevails drives the little vessel with bellying sail southwards 
 through the flood now swollen with tropic rains. We revel 
 in contemplation of the landscapes that fly past us and rivet 
 our attention less by richness and brilliancy than by their 
 strange solemnity. Bare steep banks of soft clay with beau- 
 tifully regular strata alternate with gentler slopes, now 
 clothed in a uniform manner with sown plants, now pro- 
 ducing in separate clusters a natural growth of herbs which 
 serve as pasture. At one time the steep bank is on the 
 right at another on the left side, or, as the native always 
 expresses himself, on the east or the west side; it is always 
 at the point where the strongest current is, and may change 
 with this in the course of time. The steep bank, with the 
 land next adjoining it, always stands high and dry above the 
 river and the inundated country, even when the river is at 
 its highest, and is picturesquely dotted with palm groves, 
 often also with towns and villages; but where it is not pro- 
 tected by blocks and dams of stone it is always in danger 
 of being undermined and washed away by the summer flood. 
 The valley-bottom is everywhere arable land ; it usually ex- 
 hibits a level surface, though on the outer edge towards the 
 desert it is generally somewhat depressed. From the surface of 
 the stream, however, the eye cannot reach far beyond the bank, 
 the more distant stretches being hidden by herbaceous stems, 
 trees, and bushes. From the evergreen surface of the valley, 
 which is rich in cultivated fields but without meadows, rise 
 on elevated points many small scattered palm groves, and 
 behind these we may usually conjecture human habitations 
 to exist, a farm, a village, or a small town. We make the 
 same conjecture when a great number of vessels have brought 
 to at any place, and the slender daughters and sturdy wives 
 of the peasantry are going up and down the steep pathway 
 on the bank, balancing the heavy earthen jars on their heads. 
 They form along with the bathing buffaloes, and the shadoof 
 
112 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 men raisinor water from the river, the inevitable fio^ures in 
 every Nile landscape. 
 
 The river god, periodically causing his waters to overflow, 
 has permitted few of the Egyptian founders of cities to settle 
 immediately beside his bed. The greater number of the 
 eminences that rise above the level of the valley, and 
 stubbornly withdraw themselves from his annual bounties, 
 are generally artificial, and are as a rule only sufficient to 
 serve as sites for farms, villages, and hamlets; the roots of a 
 town of any. size, a town that would have occupied a great 
 part of the comparatively small area of cultivable soil, had 
 only the ever dry desert soil wherein to develop. Still the 
 town-dweller, though thus repelled, has dug for the period 
 of inundation a channel which conducts the sweet flood, with 
 all that therein lives and moves, quietly and safely into the 
 very heart of the town, so that for a few months he may draw 
 from it refreshment and new strength, like the poor desert 
 plant from the single shower of winter. For the remainder 
 of the year he must send crowds of porters and beasts of 
 burden in order to avail himself of the boon conveyed by 
 the distant stream. 
 
 As we proceed our attention is forcibly attracted to the 
 banks of sand or clay in the stream and at the edge of it, 
 which, now when the summer is at its height, are becoming 
 more and more covered by the water, while in winter and 
 early summer they lie bare in great stretches. They form a 
 rendezvous for innumerable water-fowl, from the pelican, 
 the crane, the heron and the marabout, down to the lapwing 
 and sandpiper. In the midst of these the great vulture, the 
 little vulture, and the raven feed peaceably together on some 
 piece of stranded carrion. Nor is it impossible for us to see 
 there the sacred crocodile sunning himself The countryman, 
 however, is not deterred by that fact from planting the banks 
 with melons and cucumbers as soon as the water withdraws 
 and leaves them uncovered. 
 
 At the edge of the valley on both sides, now at some 
 distance, now abutting perpendicularly on the river, rise the 
 mountains, a term equivalent to desert, whitish-gray, treeless. 
 
A VOYAGE ON THE NILE. 113 
 
 without verdure, almost without soil. These mountains, 
 which are calcareous in composition, belong on both sides of 
 the valley to the tertiary formation; at Assouan (Syene), 
 in the southern part of Egypt, they first become formed of 
 primary rocks, especially syenite. High up, the precipitous 
 rocky walls are often penetrated by great numbers of regular 
 quadrangular holes like windows, along with natural clefts 
 and crevices, where now only the creatures of the air fly in and 
 out. But, strange fact ! man in the form of mummies has dwelt 
 here for thousands of 3^ears, and has selected these inaccessible 
 tombs as eternal resting-places, here at least deeming himself 
 safe from the profane investigations of treasure-digging 
 Epigoni. But in many places at the foot of these desert 
 mountains temple -palaces with splendid pillared halls, 
 gigantic statues, richly painted and sculptured walls extend 
 afar, bearing noble testimony to the mighty minds of the 
 primeval dwellers in the land. Another and intellectually 
 poorer time has built churches and convents on and with their 
 ruins; while above them stand mud heaps hollowed out to 
 serve as the dwellings of the race of modern Troglodytes. 
 Thousands of years are thus piled above each other. 
 
 Not less pleasure and delight are experienced, especially 
 in a clear still night with the moon at full, when the stream 
 is high, and the vessel glides downwards assisted by the 
 splashing stroke of the oars, accompanied with the peaceful 
 sound of the monotonous songs of the crew. Among the 
 passengers or the crew an accomplished singer may always 
 be found to lead, beginning either with a popular song or 
 one improvised by himself for the occasion, and being followed 
 after every verse by the chorus of the rowers. The songs 
 are such as the following: — 
 
 " I entered your garden, best beloved, 
 
 And wished to pluck dates. 
 By the thorn of the ripe, ah, the ripe fruit, dearest child, 
 Was my finger wounded." 
 
 Or, 
 
 "I enter the garden, 
 
 And the rose shadowed me. 
 
114? UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 Oh, my mistress, lead me about 
 
 And be gracious to me. 
 Oh leave me no longer alone and forsaken." 
 
 Less poetic is the song, 
 
 "The gardener has been confined because he has stolen pomegranates," 
 
 and the invocation of saints, such as 
 
 "Oh, God! oh man of Damanhur, &c." 
 
 With or without sense, varied or the same for hours, the 
 song soon causes a kind of intoxicated excitement which 
 kindles a sort of demonic energy in the rowers, so that the 
 power of poetry acts like that of steam. Between whiles 
 a disciple of Clio with enviable eloquence, such as is here 
 naturally cultivated among people of all ranks, narrates his 
 adventures or all kinds of drolleries and tales for the com- 
 mon entertainment. Many also, while themselves out of 
 reach in mid-stream, find a lively source of amusement in 
 hurling at the boat-men, the peasants, and especially the 
 water-raisers ashore, a flood of the choicest abuse in which 
 the Arabic language is so rich, while these send back every 
 epithet with cent, per cent, interest — all in mere harmless 
 humour, forming a scene quite similar to those amusing 
 colloquies between the students and the miners of the Black 
 Forest in the Neckarhalde at Tubingen. Similar contests are 
 related to have taken place among the ancient Egyptian 
 women when on the pilgrimage to Bubastis. 
 
 The Nile voyage is quite different during winter and early 
 summer, when the feeble waters glide languidly along and 
 not a breath of air moves, or what wind there is is contrary 
 and unsteady and idly sports with the flapping sail. Against 
 this state of matters nothing avails but the unspeakable 
 patience of the Mussulman with his trust in Providence. 
 Fired with the thousand-fold repetition of the name of Allah 
 and his prophet (Ya Muhammed, sdla'ale, '*0h, Mohammed, 
 pray to him"), the crew drag by a long rope the floating burden, 
 marching along the pathless bank with its endless windings, 
 through the bushes and over the hollow projecting ledges of 
 
A VOYAGE ON THE NILE. 115 
 
 the clayey slope that are hurled downwards by the slightest 
 footstep, and stopped by the cuttings made in the bank for irri- 
 gation purposes, while still the wished-for point that seemed 
 so near is far from being reached. Contrary winds may 
 compel them to bring to for days, even for weeks, at a desert 
 part of the bank, far from civilization and exposed to the 
 attacks of robbers. And when at last a good strong breeze 
 takes pity on the traveller the pilot steers the vessel right 
 upon a sand-bank, from which it cannot be got afloat 
 again till the boatmen have been heaving at it for hours 
 with their Titan shoulders to the rhythmic accompaniment 
 of their Eleza, ya eleza. 
 
 The genial winter's sun quickly accomplishes his short 
 course, and already the day's work that has advanced the 
 vessel so little is at an end. Darkness, and even in these 
 latitudes a very sensible degi'ee of cold, drives everybody to 
 some lurking place, in which, cowering under his mantle or 
 rug, he sleeps through the long winter night till roused by 
 the nipping frost of morning. Whoever has hired the after 
 cabin is the most fortunate, for although it is little suited 
 to freedom of movement it yet affords a close shelter; the 
 youngsters, who have crept into the hold under the deck, 
 between the bales of goods, and among rats and mice, are 
 likewise not badly off'; but the man that has taken up his 
 quarters upon the narrow wooden bench of the main cabin 
 is indeed to be commiserated. The folded wraps beneath 
 him soon slide gradually outwards, drawing his body with 
 them; and no sooner does he fall asleep than he has to start 
 up again as his centre of gravity reaches the edge of the 
 bench. At the same time the warm covering slips offj and 
 the icy wind blows through the holes and crevices that are 
 never wanting in the half broken window-shutters right 
 upon his naked members. Only the native peasant and the 
 Berberin or Nubian, indifferent alike to the glowing heat or 
 the winter's frost, is able, enveloped in his plush, to fall 
 asleep on the open deck or platform. At the period of early 
 summer, when the south and west winds prevail (Nau and 
 Samum), a voyage on the Nile is torture by day on account 
 
116 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 of the oppressive heat and the contrary winds, by night on 
 account of the vermin and the frightful row that the rats 
 and mice kick up. Whoever, therefore, can manage it takes 
 his trip at the height of summer when the Nile is highest. 
 
 EATING AND DRINKING ON BOARD. 
 
 Amid such observations, considerations, and recollections, 
 from which a general impression remains to us of the mono- 
 tonous character of the landscape, the fauna and flora, and 
 the people, time passes on, and hunger begins to make itself 
 felt. One man begins to empty his sack, in which he had 
 stowed away his provisions, and now every one is called by 
 name and urgently invited to join him. It is easy to see 
 that the invitation is a serious matter for him, even though 
 his store were only spread out for the first time. On the 
 other hand, there is a common understanding that those first 
 invited ask their former host to join them at another time, 
 namely, when his provender is all gone; or every one contri- 
 butes something to the common meal in the manner of a 
 picnic. Thus the whole company eat together or in groups, 
 but never alone, that would be un- Arabic. By this hospitable 
 practice a certain brotherliness is soon developed among those 
 on board; differences of rank cease, and intimacies are formed 
 that last perhaps for years. To have eaten salt and bread 
 together is sufficient ground for avoiding or terminating 
 quarrels. To be sure an excellent field is thus afforded to 
 parasites, who flourish greatly in this country; and, on the 
 other hand, the prudent host prefers to keep costly dainties 
 at home. Any one who wishes to cook sets his sauce-pan on 
 the clay vessel full of earth that serves as the caboose and 
 stands in the fore part of the vessel. But when the vessel is 
 moored to the bank, as is done in the evening, every mess 
 does its cooking ashore, gathering dry reeds, stems of plants, 
 and brushwood, and often plundering the neighbouring fields 
 of their fruits and vegetables to supplement their meal. 
 
 Feeling thirsty, we let down a pitcher with a cord into the 
 stream. Before we set it to our lips, however, aU kinds of 
 
A JOUKNEY BY LAND. 117 
 
 considerations crowd upon us: the water is turbid and muddy; 
 we have already by means of the microscope detected in it 
 animalcula, small Crustacea, and minute worms; we have seen 
 cattle bathing in it, and men washing their bodies and their 
 clothes above our vessel, and emptying various matters into 
 the stream; the carcass of an ox is floating past with a 
 raven standing on it and pecking it; and such ingredients have 
 been received by the stream from the whole of the immense 
 country above. Shall we drink a mixture of the filth of the 
 whole of North Africa ! We venture; the Son of the Sun has 
 done so before us, and all his sons continue to do so up to the 
 present day, and are quite healthy notwithstanding. And 
 indeed it is pure nectar; the soft cool water so refreshes us 
 that we quite agree with the natives of the country, especially 
 those from the desert, who consider a draught of Nile- water 
 one of the greatest blessings the world can give. 
 
 A JOURNEY BY LAND. 
 
 In taking a trip entirely by land one has the advantage 
 of not being dependent upon the wind and the humour of 
 the crew, and of often being able to take a shorter route to 
 his destination, though a land journey certainly has the dis- 
 advantage of being more fatiguing. From the condition of the 
 roads the only means of travel are beasts for riding and for 
 carrying burdens, i.e. either camels, asses, horses, or mules. 
 A person can only go short distances on foot from the neces- 
 sity of always having baggage with him. Broad highways 
 there are none in this region, and of course no carriages, 
 scarcely even a donkey-cart here and there. However suit- 
 able the camel may be for riding in the desert, riding on it 
 in the cultivated Nile valley is not pleasant. Sitting aloft 
 on a camel, we move along the narrow path on the bank 
 which scarcely allows two such animals to pass, certainly not 
 if they are carrying loads. One beast tries to get before 
 another in front of it, or we are met by a herd of these or 
 other animals. The camel on which we are riding is pushed 
 close to the edge of the path, where there is a steep slope or 
 
118 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 a deep hole. Perhaps we have to take a still narrower field- 
 path which suddenly strikes off right across the fields, down 
 the slope of the embankment, over a clay field dried into 
 great lumps, or over a wet and slippery patch of mire. Here 
 there is a rivulet, at which the beast would fain drink, there 
 a tree, a corn-field, or a bush, towards which it greedily 
 stretches its neck. 
 
 The smaller and lighter donkey, with its nimble trot, is 
 much better suited for this district. No path is too narrow 
 for it, no way too steep, and it can be guided by the rein 
 without any driver. A good Nile donkey trots and gallops 
 for miles; it is distinguished from the mountain and pack- 
 donkey as the dromedary or riding camel from the common 
 camel. The ass is by far the most common and agreeable 
 means of communication in the whole of the Egyptian por- 
 tion of the Nile valley; hardly the poorest peasant cares to 
 go on foot. People of higher rank ride higher, using a white 
 ass of the genuine Arabic race of Nejd, a mule, or a horse. 
 The ox or the buffalo is not yet commonly used for riding, 
 as in the Soudan, though here peasant boys and even peasant 
 women have begun to ride them to the field or to the water- 
 ing-place. 
 
 When travelling by land it is customary to take a siesta 
 during the day under some shady tree or grove where there 
 is water; at night the practice is as described below. It is 
 seldom that any one ventures to make a lonely night march, 
 or to camp out by night in the fields, as is the custom in the 
 desert, where there is no danger; this would give robbers and 
 murderers too good a chance, and even would not be free from 
 danger on account of the dogs roaming about everywhere 
 and guarding the fields and farms. 
 
 AN INN. 
 
 At last we reach, if we have travelled by water, the haven 
 of our destination; we disembark, while the vessel we have 
 chanced to catch sails farther on. We load our baggage on 
 the back of a donkey or a porter, such as may be found at 
 
AN INN. 119 
 
 all the more important landing-places, and ride to the nearest 
 chief place. There we take up our quarters in the public 
 lodging-house (caravanserai, Arabic Wehdleh) if there is one. 
 It is merely a place of shelter, where one can get a roof to 
 cover him and protect him from the terrors of night. All 
 thought of finding in it comfort even approximating to what 
 may be found in a regular Frankish inn we have long ago 
 discarded. The furniture sufficient for a night's lodging 
 according to Arabic notions we have ourselves brought with 
 us, namely, a carpet, a cushion, a rug or mantle. The 
 caravanserai has a spacious court round which, on the ground 
 floor and the upper story, are a number of rooms; these are 
 small and entirely without windows, having only a door 
 which opens on the court, or in the upper story on the gallery 
 which runs round the court. Before the large main door, 
 and with an out-look on the street, sits the doorkeeper, or the 
 goodman of the house here serves out coffee for his guests or 
 any one who may come, coffee, in addition to water, being 
 the only refreshment to be expected in this establishment. 
 For our table we have ourselves to cater, and either try the 
 productions of the dirty cook in the market, or make our 
 servant prepare a simple meal with the materials contained 
 in our travelling-bag, our fire-place being formed with two 
 or three stones in a sheltered spot in the court-yard, or in 
 the gallery. At nightfall we seek our rest on a carpet 
 spread out in the open gallery, or if it is winter, withdraw 
 into our little room. 
 
 Such lodgmg-houses exist only in the towns and larger 
 market villages. If we find none such we must have recourse 
 to the friendship of some acquaintance, or to some one to 
 whom we are recommended, or we encamp, under the pro- 
 tection of the village guardians, on an open place in front of 
 the houses. If we do not wish to do that, especially when 
 it is winter, we knock boldly at the door of the village 
 magistrate. Without being exactly an innkeeper, he is 
 bound to receive strangers, he has almost every day to 
 entertain various kinds of officials, providing food for them 
 and their beasts, and he is not allowed to ask anything for 
 
120 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 SO doing. However, he takes care afterwards to repay him- 
 self with the moneys that his servants often receive from the 
 guests (the officials as a rule give nothing), and takes what 
 meat, fowls, eggs, &c., he requires now from one member of 
 his village flock now from another, and thus prudently shares 
 the burden of quartering strangers. 
 
 A VILLAGE. 
 
 After dismounting somewhere and drinking some coffee, 
 either as a ceremony of our reception or for refreshment, we 
 take a tour through the village. While even in the town 
 the lines of direction of the streets are not very correct, in 
 the village there is in this matter perfect freedom. The 
 better houses of the country people differ little from the 
 buildings that the provincial town offers; they are clay-built 
 blocks, one-story high, without windows, and pierced with 
 
 Pigeon Houses. 
 
 only a few holes for light, often narrowing towards the top 
 in the ancient style; upon them, or beside them, frequently 
 rise small quadrangular battlemented towers serving as 
 pigeon houses. The house of the common Fellah degenerates 
 gradually to the most wretched mud-hole, compared with 
 which a nest of termites is a work of art. The Fellah does 
 not use shaped bricks of dried clay, which give to a structure 
 a neat regular appearance and sufficient stability for this 
 
A VILLAGE. 121 
 
 rainless district, but he kneads for himself a hovel out of the 
 clay left by the Nile in every hollow, mixed with some cut 
 straw. A room is thus formed, which may be entered by 
 creeping through a hole. It is covered over with reeds, straw 
 mats, and rags. Round it he then builds a wall of clay 
 about as high as a man, which incloses a yard. Cylindrical 
 hollow spaces (sllmaa) are let into the wall at intervals and 
 serve for keeping grain, which is poured into them from above; 
 these were also in use among the ancient Egyptians. Other 
 similar cavities serve as a pigeon house, a fowl house, an 
 oven, and a cupboard, or the same purposes are served by 
 certain columnar structures with dome-shaped tops, which 
 stand detached in the middle of the court-yard. In particular 
 there is seldom wanting a thick pillar about 5 feet high, 
 having on the top a large round platter- shaped disk of clay 
 with a high border round the outer edge, similar to a pillar 
 with its capital. 
 
 That is the fundamental plan; when carried farther the 
 walled-in farm-building is divided into several portions, 
 such as stables, sheds, places for the poultry, especially the 
 pigeons and a comparatively small portion added for the 
 people. Commonly only a small part of the house is covered; 
 the roofed portion being for. winter, while in summer nothing 
 but the blue vault of heaven is over people, cattle, and grain. 
 On the roof and the crenellations of the walls promenade 
 the dogs, which in the village have become domestic animals, 
 though only in like degree with the cats; the relationship 
 between man and the village dog is still very cold. The 
 village dog is not quite wild and masterless like the town 
 dog, but the master of the house throws him some scraps, 
 for the sake of which the dog remains beside the house, 
 watches the field, barks at the stranger, and guards the 
 house from sudden attacks. Besides the common red-haired 
 dog the Erment dog, a fine long-woolled race, with a thick 
 head and similar to our sheep-dog, is not uncommon in our 
 district. It was formerly introduced by the French con- 
 querors, and is one of the few institutions that have kept 
 their ground since their time. In walking through the fields 
 
122 UPPEK EGYPT. 
 
 a person has to be on his guard against these dogs, which 
 often gather in a pack to attack a strange intruder. 
 
 The village is inhabited by the Fellah^ that is, countryman, 
 and here in Upper Egypt by a variety almost as dark as an 
 Ethiopian, which has remained, comparatively speaking, very 
 little affected by the international race-crossings through 
 which the people of the Pharaohs has gradually passed. The 
 dress of the peasant of Upper Egypt is no longer the blue 
 cotton shirt of the inhabitant of the lower country, which at 
 most serves him for an under garment; but a wide robe of 
 brown unbleached woollen stuff, the sleeves of which, wide 
 enough to admit his w^hole body, hang down almost to his 
 ankles. This race is very well formed, almost always spare 
 and at the same time muscular and full of endurance. The 
 youth of both sexes have as a rule agreeable and even 
 elegant forms. To be sure old age comes on early, and a 
 maiden is not to be blamed if she prefers a beardless young 
 fellow as a husband, or a man if he courts, when he can, a 
 mere girl. The women of many places are celebrated far 
 and wide for their good looks; those of Balas for instance, 
 where the well-known large earthen pitchers for carrying 
 water — the baldseh^SLre made. Indeed a slim, brown Fellah 
 girl, twelve to fifteen years of age, and just arrived at puberty, 
 dozens of whom stroll every evening from the village to the 
 river for water, is really a charming sight, as she balances 
 upon her head with rare dexterity and grace the above- 
 mentioned balds, with its convex bottom and eccentric 
 centre of gravity, carrying herself along lightly on her naked 
 feet, unhampered by anything in the shape of a shoe. To 
 be sure the figure is seen to less advantage under the brown 
 woollen dress, the hulalieh, than under the thin light-blue 
 cotton shift of the Fellah women of the lower country; the 
 veil too that floats down over the back, or the kerchief, is 
 apt to be drawn over the face at the sight of a man, or at 
 least a corner of it is taken into the mouth. But still a 
 finely rounded arm adorned with bracelets is often visible 
 up to the shoulder, supporting from time to time the pitcher 
 on the head, and the greater number do not think of aping the 
 
A VILLAGE. 123 
 
 "forbidden ones," as those of the towns must, by concealing 
 their faces. Golden ear-rings, silver nose-rings, a string of 
 beads of small value or of gold coins, a silver band on the 
 upper arm, tattooing of a blue colour on the face, arms, and 
 hands are the ornaments that even the poorer peasant women 
 would not like to denj^ herself In later life those Graces 
 usually became frightfully ugl}^; the nose-ring, the painting, 
 the now unsparing exhibition of the naked skin, heighten 
 the shocking sight. The full beard of the man, which early 
 becomes grizzled, covers and conceals the wrinkled features 
 of age and gives him the venerable appearance of the sheikh. 
 The Fellah, at least of the poorer class, is almost exclusively 
 a vegetarian, and pastures his tongue mostly on coarse, heavy, 
 and raw substances.^ To his black millet-bread or his cakes of 
 unleavened flour he eats salt, caraway, garlic, onions, and 
 other vegetables, raw and uncooked, by preference, and in 
 addition the many kinds of fruits he possesses, especially 
 dates and melons. With his sharp teeth he eats into the 
 rind of the doom-nut and the stems of the sugar-cane, which 
 lacerate the gums of a person unaccustomed to them and 
 make them bleed, and he chews grain and legumes slightly 
 roasted, maize, beans, chick-peas, and half ripe wheat. He 
 does not allow himself many dainties; any of this sort that 
 he has, such as milk, eggs, fowls, pigeons, or cattle, he sells, 
 though on a few days of the year, at family or religious 
 feasts, when impelled by religion, he does allow himself the 
 indulgence of a good piece of mutton. Spirituous liquors he 
 never tastes. It is only with tobacco that he is not niggardly. 
 A wife and family too are quite indispensable to him, he 
 would rather starve, and aUow those dependent on him to 
 starve also, than remain unmarried. From the political pres- 
 sure weighing him down, he cannot easily raise himself from 
 his condition of poverty, and from indolence he has no great 
 
 ^ The people are fond of telling the story of a Fellah whom Napoleon I. is 
 said to have taken with him, and who became a celebrated general. Becoming 
 sick he tried all the doctors in Europe in vain. At last he returned to Egypt, 
 and meeting one of the friends of his youth told him of his sufferings. This 
 friend advised him to fall back upon his old Fellah diet, and lo and behold, 
 after a short time he completely recovered ! 
 
124 , UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 desire to do so (most of the Fellahs are mere day labourers 
 or tenants, not land-owners) ; yet from his contentment and 
 domesticity he is always merry, he chats, jokes, and sings, is 
 healthy, and incredibly efficient and assiduous in working. 
 
 The Fellah people are everywhere held in the lowest 
 estimation as a degenerate race; indeed they apply to them- 
 selves the degrading names of "brood of the Pharaohs" and 
 "Fellah." Poverty of course breeds dirt; in an earthen 
 burrow which has to shelter a numerous family, which has a 
 roof consisting of rags, which stands in a court-yard where all 
 kinds of domestic animals and children mingle pell-mell, and 
 which at the same time serves as sitting-room and bed-room, as 
 kitchen, dining-room, and stable, it is not to be expected that 
 wall and floor should shine, the dishes glance, and every utensil 
 be in its proper place. The curious visitor will probably find 
 the external walls thickly plastered with cow-dung, which 
 serves as fuel for baking and cooking; pot-bellied, blear-eyed, 
 naked children, with flies and mosquitos swarming upon 
 them, are creeping about; the women in scanty clothing are 
 catching the vermin on themselves, while the men and boys 
 of the house are stretched on the ground clothed in the 
 single woollen garment that serves them for both a summer 
 and a winter dress. 
 
 A general view of the village shows us sights of the same 
 kind. In spite of all the oft-repeated sanitary ordinances 
 carrion of many kinds still lies about the village or floats in 
 pools and canals; the Nile is still regarded as the most suit- 
 able burying-place for cattle; refuse and rubbish, with inter- 
 mingled animal remains, have accumulated till they form 
 veritable mountains round the village, and the hollows between 
 have been selected as cess-pools for the commune, the houses 
 never possessing such conveniences. 
 
 However, let us recall to mind the filthy yards and rooms, 
 the dung-heaps and puddles, the streets only passable with tall 
 boots, the glazed coat sleeves and leather hose innocent of 
 washing, the natural timidity at water of the inhabitant of 
 an out-of-the way village in our own country; let us reflect 
 that animal refuse in the land of Egypt is quickly consumed 
 
THE OVERFLOW OF THE NILE. 125 
 
 by hungry dogs, vultures, and insects, and then completely 
 and quickly dried up in the dry hot atmosphere; that, farther, 
 the Fellah, as a Moslem, washes himself five times a day, and 
 in addition has from time to time to take a bath, and the 
 comparison may prove to be entirely in favour of the poor 
 decried Fellah. 
 
 In many respects we must give the Fellah even a high 
 place. Though belonging to the very lowest rank, he knows 
 how to conduct himself with propriety, almost with polish, in 
 society; he may be often rough, but he is never rude and 
 boorish, a main reason for this being that he never gets drunk. 
 Compliments flow from his eloquent tongue till they verge 
 on flattery and falsehood. He is entertaining, witty, full of 
 fancy, good-humoured in ordinary intercourse, and if at all 
 well treated; but he is mendacious, deceitful, avaricious, fond 
 of begging, and even thievish, when there is any question of 
 yneuTti and tuumi. Patiently, like the camel, he bears the 
 burden laid upon him; but if it seems too heavy he becomes 
 stubborn and self-willed, until he has received a due number 
 of official blows upon the soles of his feet, whereupon he 
 immediately becomes obedient again and bends slavishly 
 before his Turkish master, his superior in energy. Such 
 endurance and stubbornness are also said to have been quali- 
 ties of his ancestors at least in later times. 
 
 THE COUNTRY IN THE CIRCLE OF THE YEAR. 
 
 The appearance of the country, like that of its inhabitants, 
 is for a visitor from the North new and strange, quite differ- 
 ent indeed from that of any other on the face of the earth, 
 and varying radically according to the season of the year. 
 The seasons, spring, summer, autumn, winter, are here almost 
 entirely astronomical conceptions; this division and succession 
 is not known to agriculture, scarcely to language, or at least 
 in another sense. Let us follow the year in its course. 
 
 THE OVERFLOW OF THE NILE. 
 
 According to the most ancient Egyptian mode of reckoning 
 — and Islam, with its lunar months, quite impracticable for 
 
126 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 agriculture, has not been able to effect anything against 
 this arrangement — the year begins on the 1st of the Coptic 
 month Tut, corresponding to the 11th of September, when the 
 Nile is at its highest. The land of Egypt is now a fresh- 
 water archipelago, and the waters cover the ground like the 
 winter snow in the North, spreading their blessing over the 
 greater portion of the fields. The swollen stream has flowed 
 over them, but not destructively, man having tamed the wild 
 element for thousands of years. The great main artery, full to 
 overflowing, pours its nourishing fluid into large, deep, lateral 
 canals constructed by the hand of man, which reach to near, 
 the edge of the desert, and sometimes return with a bend to 
 the main channel, taking advantage of the fall of the valley. 
 At intervals the canals are crossed by dams, behind which the 
 water collects and flows through sluices down upon the 
 adjacent land. When the land lying behind the first dam 
 has been sufficiently covered by the overflow from the river, 
 an opening is made in this dam, the water then runs along 
 the canal to the next dam, overflows the district belonging 
 to it, and so on and on. If the river does not rise sufficiently 
 high, as is the case in many years, the water scarcely reaches 
 the remotest parts of the valley, which accordingly remain 
 for this year dry and fallow. The water is not allowed to 
 touch those fields upon which a crop is still standing till after 
 harvest. When the river falls the fertilizing water is still 
 retained for some time on the field by damming it up. 
 
 Scattered over the inundated country there are a number 
 of elevated points, which experience has proved to be above 
 the reach of the water; these remain like islands rising above 
 the great lake, and are used as sites for human habitations, 
 and for growing such productions as cannot endure an inun- 
 dation. In order that they may be still more secure, they 
 are surrounded with an earthen dyke, especially the gardens, 
 which the owners would be sorry to see overflowed. Such 
 elevated points may either be alluvial formations dating from 
 the original formation of the Nile valley, or are partly formed 
 artificially by piling up rubbish. 
 
 At these times communication is often possible only by 
 
THE OVERFLOW OF THE NILE. 127 
 
 boats and rafts; the principal places, however, are connected 
 by earthen causeways, which, directing their course according 
 to the configuration of the ground, have usually extensive 
 windings, and cause the traveller upon terra firma to take 
 ver}^ roundabout roads. It sometimes happens, too, that 
 the flood advances rapidly with great force and in extra- 
 ordinary volume; the dyke, which is nowhere strengthened 
 by stonework, is broken through at some point of least resis- 
 tance, the land beyond, which was intended to be kept dry, 
 is overflowed, and the communication is interrupted. This 
 happens almost every year at individual points, and in many 
 years, as in 1863, 1869, and 1874, much mischief is thereby 
 occasioned. 
 
 The period of high water is the crisis for the country. The 
 people are in a state of excitement, and, ''How much has the 
 Nile risen to-day?" is the daily question of every one who 
 thinks about the future. For, if the overflow is too scanty, a 
 multitude of fields remain uncultivable and fallow, as so much 
 added to the neighbouring desert, and the consequence is 
 scarcity, if not actual famine. If, on the other hand, it is too 
 abundant, then it is almost impossible to keep the element 
 within bounds, and great damage is everywhere caused by 
 the bursting of dykes, the devastation of cultivated land, the 
 laying under water of dwellings, the washing away of em- 
 bankments, and the drowning of cattle and human beings. 
 On these occasions there are a multitude of hydraulic 
 engineers, if we may call them so, provincial ofi[icials of all 
 kinds, high and low, magistrates, burgesses, and peasants, 
 constantly on their legs, examining whether the dams and 
 sluices are in good order, and if any rupture occurs the people 
 are forced to set to work. Even the animals are in an excited 
 state. The cattle must be driven from the low grounds over 
 which the water is spreading; the wild animals, such as mice 
 and the like, have to leave their holes and find new ones on 
 higher ground; the creeping creatures, such as lizards, insects, 
 and worms, take refuge where the water has not yet reached, 
 but at last are drowned. The grain-eating birds, especially 
 the pigeons, can no longer procure their food, and migrate to 
 
128 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 the desert and the great caravan route; while the water- 
 birds now find their food abundant in the waters, in which 
 swarm innumerable frogs, fish, and water- insects, and they 
 arrive in crowds. 
 
 If, however, the river god has filled his horn of plenty 
 exactly to the brim, and the fact of its having done so has 
 become clear by New-year's or Nerus day, everybody is 
 in a state of joyful excitement, "fantasies" are indulged 
 in as well as the pleasures of masquerading, and whoever 
 can so arrange it now gets married.^ For after this time 
 scarcely a moment injurious to the harvest need be feared. 
 The countryman has now more rest than at other seasons, 
 and has time for festivities. At this time the ancient 
 Egyptians also indulged in all sorts of sports and pastimes, 
 and held great annual feasts, such as that of Hermes 
 or Thot, on the 19th of the month of Tut, which was 
 sacred to him. Along with the water an agreeable coolness 
 has been diffused over the land, previously glowing with 
 tropical heat; the oppressive Samoom of summer yields before 
 a cool north wind; it is the "Nile-autumn," the most agree- 
 able season in the land of Egypt. The vessels move about 
 more than at other times, and the voyages are considerably 
 shortened, up stream by the force of the strong north wind, 
 which seldom intermits, down stream by the strong current. 
 Desert towns become river ports, and the products of the 
 country can be loaded and unloaded outside and inside of 
 their gates. Lastly, that the measure of delights may be full, 
 the Nile water, that drink divine, is cooler and more palatable, 
 although more turbid than before, and dates, melons, pome- 
 granates, lemons, cucumbers, and all kinds of fruits have just 
 become ripe. Accordingly, now is the time when any one 
 who can recruit his health once a year does so, by enjoying 
 a change of air, or taking a course of bathing in the open 
 water or in the public steam-baths, or by trying the fruit- 
 cure. 
 
 According to the common opinion the Nile now remains 
 
 ^ For the three days' rule of Abu Nerus, see Chap. III., The Nerus Day. 
 
AFTER THE INUNDATION. 129 
 
 standing at its height, neither rising nor falling, till the 
 Christian festival of the invention of the cross (end of Sep- 
 tember). Even the Mohammedan countryman in this case 
 follows the Christian in reckoning by the cross — at other 
 times so reviled. 
 
 AFTER THE INUNDATION. 
 
 Although even during the inundation the operations of 
 agricultijre do not stand quite still, since the fields not 
 reached by the flood must be continually watered arti- 
 ficially, yet the labour mainly begins only after the Nile 
 has withdrawn, and the fields begin to dry. The plough 
 in the first place has to turn up the soft and clayey 
 soil, which is covered with a fresh layer of clay and deeply 
 sodden with water. The implements of agriculture, still 
 more than those employed in handicrafts, have preserved 
 their primitive character, most of them being exactly the 
 same as those employed by the ancient Egyptians; with the 
 plough that is completely the case. This instrument, which 
 is quite without wheels, is formed essentially of two pieces 
 of timber meeting at an obtuse angle, the lower piece termi- 
 nating in the share, which is of a rounded wedge shape and 
 shod with iron, seldom entirely of this metal, while the upper 
 or hinder piece rises obliquely, forming the stilt. From the 
 opening of the angle rises the beam, which is fastened to the 
 plough at its extremity directly, and farther up by means of 
 a perpendicular timber. At the fore end of the beam a long 
 cross-bar is let in or attached, and this, lying over the 
 necks of the oxen, and fastened to them on each side by 
 pieces of wood hanging down, or by cords, forms the yoke. 
 The different parts are by no means neatly jointed, cut, 
 and turned, but are mostly made of rough branches just 
 as they grew, with all their knots and bends, clinched 
 together, or merely tied with cords of palm-bast. Place 
 behind this the brown-coloured Fellah, having his bald 
 head covered with a skull-cap, and the upper part of his body 
 or the whole of it bare, except for the loin-cloth;^ and place 
 
 ■^ The loin-cloth, often only in the form of a piece of cloth drawn through 
 
130 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 in front the team, either oxen, asses, buffaloes, horses, or some- 
 times though more rarely camels, or it may be a camel on 
 one side, a buffalo on the other, and then we have a true 
 picture of the primeval ploughman. The implement sufhces 
 for the soft, slimy, stoneless soil, in which it draws only very 
 superficial furrows, and no one thinks of improving it. For 
 many fields the hoe alone is sufficient. 
 
 The ploughing is followed by the sowing, and the harrow- 
 ing or smoothing of the soil, the latter being usually accom- 
 plished by causing draught cattle to drag a palm branch over 
 the surface, more seldom by a toothed roller. The ancients 
 drove swine and other beasts to the fields when the seed was 
 put in. The manuring of the soil has been excellently per- 
 formed already by the overflowing river; the dark rich soil 
 comes chiefl}^ from the mountains of Abyssinia by the Blue 
 River, the White River contributing little. Only a few cul- 
 tivated plants require a special manuring, for which pigeons' 
 dung is the kind chiefly used. 
 
 Thus gradually does the year wear round to winter, that 
 is, the time when the human body often experiences, espe- 
 cially at night before and at sunrise, a very sensible degree 
 of cold, even in the most southerly parts of Upper Egypt; 
 when a person is glad to take a seat beside the brazier, and 
 wrap himself up in warm coverings (since the temperature 
 often falls to 39° Fahr.); but when the growth of plants, upon 
 the soil thoroughly penetrated by moisture, is most luxuriant, 
 and the Nile valley at its greenest. Every month there is 
 something to sow as well as to gather in, and accordingly 
 always something fresh to eat. 
 
 THE EGYPTIAN CALENDAR. 
 
 The Arabic calendar for Egypt, little known among us, 
 supplies a variety of interesting information relating to 
 
 between the thighs, is fastened to a leathern thong, which, being plaited by the 
 hand of a woman, serves as a talisman for masculine vigour, and is worn by 
 every peasant. Such an article was also worn by the ancient Egyptians, judg- 
 ing from representations. 
 
THE EGYPTIAN CALENDAR. 131 
 
 aofriculture, and we give a short extract from it. The 
 Mohammedan, Coptic, Greek, Frankish, and even Jewish 
 feasts and systems of reckoning the months, all which are 
 conscientiously and harmoniously set down in it side by 
 side, as well as the astronomical information regarding the 
 sun's position and the length of the day, we omit, but we do 
 not leave out the scattered sanitary recommendations. The 
 times given for sowing and reaping are more suitable for 
 Lower Egypt; Upper Egypt is ten to fourteen days earlier 
 on the average.^ 
 
 September. 15. Cotton harvest (little cotton is planted in Upper 
 Egypt). 16. Dew begins to fall. 17. Pomegranates sown. 19. Olive 
 gathering (in Lower Egypt). 20. Time of Limunes (or small Egyptian 
 citrons). 21. Dates (also as early as August). 24. Pomegranates. 27. 
 Fresh fruits, best kind of food. 29. Eat tunke {terid, that is, bread 
 in broth made with meat). 
 
 October. 1. Good is it to glance towards the clouds (?). 8. The 
 fruit (the bamujeh fruit) ripens (?). 9. (Sowing oF clover, which gives 
 three or four crops; in Upper Egypt instead of it the chickling vetch and 
 liquorice vetch are more commonly sown as fodder and pasture plants). 
 10. (Maize harvest.) 15. Eice harvest (only in Lower Egypt). 16. 
 End of high water in the Nile. 18. Drink cooling drinks (juice of 
 fruits?). 23. Flax sown. 25. Wheat sown (also barley). 26. Avoid 
 sleeping in the open air. 27. Beginning of morning coolness. 
 
 November. 2. Do not drink at night. 5. Roses. 7. Violets sown. 
 16. SajSfron gathered. 17. Rain. 18. South winds. Drink warm 
 water fasting. 21. Durra harvest (autumn crop, which stood during 
 the inundation). 24. Horses pastured. 25. The whole night becomes 
 cold (in the course of November most of the winter crops are sown — 
 lentils, chick-peas, wheat, barley, beans, peas, lupines, safflower, lettuce, 
 flax, pop^y, winter durra). 
 
 December. 1. Caraway, anise, black cummin sown. Time of the 
 black crabs. 4. Olive-pressing. 5. Eat everything hot. 10. (First 
 cutting of clover.) 11. Insects perish, serpents and mosquitos disappear. 
 15. Sugar-cane ripe. (Winter melon sown.) 16. Drink nothing out 
 of open vessels for three nights. 17. The ants penetrate deep into the 
 ground. 18. Vapours rise from the soil (mist). 23. First frost. 25. 
 Late wheat sown. 29. Vines pruned. 
 
 January. 3. Avoid eating fowls. 11. Tobacco sown. Strong 
 cold. 10. (Chickling vetch and liquorice vetch cut or eaten off). 17. 
 Baptismal feast. Greatest cold of winter (called baptism-cold; at this 
 time the Christians in their pious zeal take a cold plunge-bath). The 
 Nile water becomes sweet and clear. 18. The depths of the earth 
 
 ■^ The statements in parenthesis are taken from other sources. 
 
132 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 become warm. 22. Eat hot (that is, heating) articles of food (such as 
 legumes). 28. Last severe cold. 
 
 February. 1. The sap rises in the stems ; cattle in heat. 3. Plums 
 sown; trees planted. 10. Young lambs. 13. The cold is broken. 16. 
 Violets. 18-20. The little sun (see below). 21. Birds pair. 22. 
 Young cucumbers. 25. Avoid sitting in the sun. 
 
 March. 2. Water-fowl in great multitudes. 10. Indian cotton (and 
 rice) sown; silk-worms gathered (all this only in Lower Egypt). 10. 
 (Barley harvest.) 12. Locusts develop. 14. Sesame sown. 17. Violent 
 hurricanes and whirlwinds. 18. Swallows. 20. Large sun (see below). 
 24. Sugar-cane sown; (winter melons ripe). 25. Egyptian cotton sown. 
 Flax reaped. 26. North winds. 29. Caraway sown. 30. Eat the 
 flesh of goats and fowls. 
 
 April. 1. Avoid eating cheese. 5. Time for blood-letting. 6. Trees 
 in blossom (dates in blossom; summer durra and indigo sown). 8. 
 Time for purging. 10. (Wheat harvest in Upper Egypt.) 12. The 
 almonds form fruits. 16. Colds prevail. 17. First harvest in Cairo. 20. 
 Preserve roses. 29. Easter Monday; beginning of Chamasin (Easter 
 varies, however). 
 
 May. 2. Henna sown. 4. Make use of acids. 6. Strong gusts of 
 wind from the north. 7. Blood-letting, and blood purifying drinks. 
 11. (Summer) cucumbers sown. 12. Late wheat harvest. 14. Avoid 
 salted meats. 17. (Summer) durra sown in Upper Egypt. 21. Poppy 
 heads gathered. . 22. Falling of manna and quails (?). 22. Safflower 
 blossoms gathered. 27. Beginning of the strong heat. Sirius sets. 31. 
 Time of apricots. 
 
 June. 1. The sap of the trees begins to diminish. 2. According 
 to Hippocrates medical treatment should be avoided for 75 days from 
 this time. 5. End of the "Nile-burning" (drought). 7. Rice sown. 8. 
 The Nile water changes. 9. Rise of the Pleiades {Tureya). 10. Great 
 heat in men's bodies. 11. The soil becomes cracked. 14. Stinking 
 miasmata. 15. Honey taken from the hives. 16. Drink no water 
 from the Nile for 15 days. 16-17. Night of the drop (see below). 19. 
 First grapes. 20. Water melons. 22. Strongest heat. 23. The Nile 
 begins to rise. 24. Bathe in cold water. 25. Use tamarinds. 26. 
 Press juice from unripe grapes (husum). 27. Use acids. 29. Peaches 
 and plums. 30. Last time for sowing sesame . 
 
 July. 3. The height of the Nile proclaimed. 4. Avoid purgatives. 
 5. The locusts perish. 7. The Nile becomes rapid. 9. Rather strong north 
 winds. 10. Chief time for honey. 11. The air becomes temperate. 
 14. Maismata and fleas vanish; the plague ceases where it prevails. 
 19. Strong winds. 20. Mustard seed gathered; (summer durra harvest). 
 21. Samoom winds for forty days. 25. Eye complaints common. 26. 
 Avoid washing clothes for seven days. 27. Grapes, figs. 28. Black 
 cummin. 29. Grape-must. 
 
 August. 1. Summer melons. 3. Sirius rises. 9. Radish sown; 
 cotton picking. 10. Pistachio-nut ripe. 12. First of the pomegranates. 
 
CHAMASIN AND EARLY SUMMER. 133 
 
 15. (Autumn durra sown.) 17. Beware of the stings of insects. 18. 
 The leaves of the trees changed. 19. Avoid eating sweets; garlic and 
 onions sown. 20. Weaning of the domestic animals. 24. Yermin, 
 mosquitos. 25. Morning coolness; young lambs. 29. Drink thick 
 curdled milk; avoid the warm bath. 31. Kape-sowing; Fish-fry; Drink 
 less water. 
 
 THE TIME OF THE SMALL AND OF THE GREAT SUN. 
 
 The general seed time, the short and verdant period 
 of winter, follows, then, the period of inundation. Already 
 by the 19th-20th of February, four weeks before spring 
 begins astronomically speaking, the cold is broken by the 
 approach of the "small sun," and judging from one's sensa- 
 tions, spring is begun. The name robi'a (spring) means 
 literally "pasture," just as the German Wonnemonat (May) 
 is properly Weidemonat ("pasture-month"), and under this 
 title the native of Upper Egypt includes a part of January 
 and the whole of February, when all the cattle are allowed 
 to pasture for some weeks upon clover and vetches, and are 
 only in exceptional cases, and usually against the wish of the 
 owner, made to do any work. On the 20th-21st March 
 appears the "great sun," which forms the dividing point 
 between the winter and the summer half-year, the time fol- 
 lowing it being looked upon as belonging to summer. The 
 period "between the suns," that is, between the little and the 
 great sun, is important for gardening operations; whatever 
 has to be set or planted is then put into the ground. 
 
 CHAMASIN AND EARLY SUMMER. 
 
 In April, at a time which varies, but does not agree with 
 the Gregorian reckoning, occurs the Easter of the Copts, an 
 important point in reckoning among natives of every faith. 
 With Easter-monday, on which everybody goes abroad in 
 order "to smell the good air," begins the dreaded season of 
 chamasin. By that term they do not understand, at least 
 in Upper Egypt, a certain kind of wind, but the fifty days 
 between Easter and Pentecost, when unwholesome winds, 
 especially south winds, prevail, and diseases commonly invade 
 
134 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 the country. This and the period immediately succeeding it, 
 the dry and hot early summer, when also the Nile has least 
 water, are for Egypt the gloomiest times. Towards the 
 summer solstice the rise of the Nile begins to be noticeable, 
 accompanied by an agreeable and healthy coolness, north 
 winds becoming at the same time more and more frequent. 
 But some time before this, according to the popular belief, on 
 the night of the 16th-17th June, a "drop" has fallen into 
 the Nile and impregnated it, thus gradually producing high 
 water. The period during and after the inundation is among 
 the healthiest and most agreeable, although one would natu- 
 rally suppose the contrary, and there are, in Upper Egypt at 
 least, no intermitting fevers. In July and August a hot west 
 wind called samoom or scvmwm (poison-wind) often blows. 
 
 SUMMER CULTURE. 
 
 Agriculture does not stand still in the dry warm summer; 
 on the contrary, the countryman now really works for the 
 first time; this is the period of summer culture, after which 
 comes the short period of autumn culture during the inun- 
 dation, when a few fields from which the overflowing Nile is 
 kept back are made to grow durra and maize, and in Lower 
 Egypt also cotton and rice. The work at this time consists 
 chiefly in irrigation. The field that is artificially watered 
 gives two, often three, harvests in the year, the land that is 
 merely overflowed only one. In Upper Egypt the latter 
 forms by far the greater portion and remains fallow in summer, 
 but in recompense the crops, especially the wheat, are much 
 better and more highly prized than those in Lower Egypt, 
 where the greater number of the fields are made to bear crops 
 in summer also. In order to water all these fields once more 
 much labour, money, and above all much water, is necessary, 
 which in Upper Egypt is hard to be got. When it can be 
 managed, however, it is managed, and such fields as can 
 be subjected to an irrigation of both kinds are the best and 
 dearest. Fields that are watered entirely by artificial means 
 serve chiefly as gardens or grounds for growing vegetables. 
 
WATER-RAISING APPARATUS. 135 
 
 WATER-RAISING APPARATUS. 
 
 The methods and machines for irrigation most commonly 
 used in Upper Egypt are the well-known water-wheel, and 
 especially the shadoof or water-raising apparatus, to which 
 in Lower Egypt, where the water does not require to be raised 
 so high, the swinging basket and a kind of chambered wheel 
 are added — all instruments of ingenious simplicity that fulfil 
 their object very well. Large and skilfully constructed 
 pumping apparatus exist only in the plantations of the pashas, 
 the people will have nothing to do with them ; if a private 
 person ventures upon any of these novelties he is sure to let 
 it stand again in a few months and return to his old practice, 
 since something will soon become broken or choked up, and 
 no one can be found for hundreds of miles who is able to put it 
 to rights. The shadoof, as it is still constructed, the Fellahs 
 received from their forefathers, the people of the Pharaohs. 
 In the soft and steep bank of the river, or of a canal, a number 
 of trenches, with terraces behind them, are dug above each 
 other, the number depending on the height of the bank; at 
 the top a reservoir is constructed, the bottom of which is 
 often strengthened by layers of reeds or palm stems. The 
 principle of tlie apparatus for raising the water is similar to 
 that of a draw-well, perhaps still more practical. On the 
 upper ends of two pillars formed of rough palm stems, or more 
 commonly of clay, a cross-beam is firmly attached, and under 
 the middle of this a long beam is balanced by means of a 
 cord-and-bar joint (so that it may move freely up and down). 
 Behind, that is, at the shorter end, the end farther from the 
 river, this beam terminates in a colossal ball of clay; from 
 the other end hangs a palm twig, to the lower extremity of 
 which a bucket, usually of leather, is fastened. It is the duty 
 of the labourers standing on the terraces to fill the bucket 
 in the lowest basin and to empty the contents into the next 
 above it ; the bucket is raised by the weight of the clay ball 
 on the arm of the lever, and the workman has only to guide 
 it. Thus even in ancient times did men discover how to save 
 labour by mechanical means. 
 
136 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 Having reached the highest basin, the water flows by a 
 small channel on to the border channels of the fields that are 
 to be watered. 
 
 When the river rises one terrace after another is swept 
 away, and when it sinks again as many new ones are con- 
 structed every year. 
 
 The motive power in these water-raising apparatus is a 
 class of men called "fathers of the shadoof," who in classical 
 brown nakedness enliven at intervals the banks of the Nile, 
 and every now and then utter shrill and plaintive cries, while 
 the beams groan and the buckets splash. 
 
 A WATER-WHEEL. 
 
 The water-wheel is a far more complicated apparatus, and 
 appears not to have been known to the ancient Egyptians, 
 or only in later times. In Upper Egypt it is almost solely 
 used for gardens. The chief condition for the existence of 
 such a wheel is a well that contains spring water all the year 
 round at a certain depth, and that may be the case some 
 distance out in the desert. Such water, like all in Egypt 
 obtained by digging, is always brackish, often scarcely drink- 
 able. Two small walls standing opposite each other carry a 
 large undressed palm stem lying across them. This forms 
 the upper support, while several pieces of timber form the 
 lower support of a vertical wooden cylinder pointed at both 
 ends, and made to revolve by means of oxen or other animals 
 yoked to a pole projecting from it either horizontally or 
 obliquely. The cylinder turns a toothed- wheel of wood which 
 is immovably attached to it below, and this turns a second 
 toothed-wheel sunk deeply into .the ground, the lengthened 
 subterranean axis of this latter wheel ao^ain driving: round 
 the water-wheel proper. On the water-wheel is laid a so-called 
 endless cord which below dips into the water. To the cord 
 at short intervals clay pitchers are attached, and so ingeni- 
 ously disposed that they fill themselves with water in the 
 well below, and then being carried up and over the top of 
 the wheel empty themselves one after the other into the 
 
A WATER-WHEEL. 137 
 
 reservoir standing there, the empty pitchers going down the 
 other side again. The driving beam, which projects from the 
 cylinder, and has at the outer end diverging pieces of wood 
 forming a seat for the driver, often comfortably padded, 
 is now pulled round in a perpetual circle by the animal 
 attached to the draught-tree. In order to prevent the beast 
 from diverging from the circular course, its head is also sepa- 
 rately attached to the main cylinder by a cord or yoke, and 
 for a similar purpose, or to prevent giddiness, its eyes are 
 tied up. The animal — an ox, a cow, a horse, seldom a camel 
 or an ass — once set in motion revolves, like a planet, in its 
 strictly defined orbit, so long as the vis a tergo, namely, the 
 voice of the driver or the lash, or still more commonly the 
 goad, continues. The work proceeds with the greatest brisk- 
 ness when the driver, commonly a naked Fellah boy, seats 
 himself on the above-mentioned frame, and going round him- 
 self with the machine keeps his team on its mettle. At the 
 same time there is a collateral duty that he performs; when- 
 ever the beast he is driving is about to drop its excrement 
 the boy catches it in his hand and lays the collected material 
 beside the course. This is done less perhaps to keep the 
 course clean than to get a supply of the important fuel that 
 is formed by the dried dung of cattle, and cakes of this 
 material are abundantly plastered on the little walls in order 
 to dry. 
 
 The water thus raised is collected in a basin, and thence 
 conveyed by a small channel to the land, which may be laid 
 under water by means of a net- work of capillaries drawn at 
 right angles, and surrounding small square fields lying at a 
 lower level. The whole site occupied by the water-wheel is 
 always shaded by an arbour, or by a sycamore, and such spots 
 are among the most delightful that are to be found in this 
 country. The tree (formerly sacred), the arbour, the shade, 
 the splashing water of the well spreading coolness and fresh- 
 ness around, often the only water to be had for a long dis- 
 tance, and therefore supplying men, cattle, birds, and all 
 kinds of creeping things, as well as the vegetable kingdom, 
 the cattle quietly treading their circular course, the pleasing 
 
138 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 clack of the toothed-wheels, and sounding above all, the 
 friction-music of the revolving cylinder, now harshly groan- 
 ing and creaking, now playing in impure but often in pure 
 concord — all these taken together excite the feeling of a deep 
 idyllic peace. 
 
 HARVEST. 
 
 The chief time for the corn harvest is April and May. 
 Then young and old, accompanied by beasts of burden and 
 other domestic animals, proceed to the field, though the 
 women, having chiefly the household matters to attend to, are 
 less often seen there. The stalks are cut below by the sickle, 
 or pulled up by the roots. The cattle brought with them 
 then scatter themselves over the shorn fields, as also the poor 
 people for the purpose of gleaning, while the farmer piles up 
 his bundles of ears into a great heap in the middle of the 
 field. There the wheat lies till there is time to subject it to 
 farther operations. The ancient Egyptian, in place of thrash- 
 ing his corn, which he cut at the top below the ears, had it 
 trodden out by cattle. That plan is but seldom employed 
 now, and thrashing is quite unknown. The separation of 
 the ears and the husking of the corn are much more com- 
 monly effected by the norag, that is, a kind of waggon with 
 cutting iron wheels, which, mounted by a peasant and drawn 
 by cattle, goes round and round the heap of sheaves in a path 
 strewed with corn-stalks, and chops ears and stalks into 
 innumerable small pieces. These pieces being dexterously 
 thrown up and winnowed in a breeze of wind, in the manner 
 practised also by the ancients, the heavy grain separates from 
 the chaff* and chopped stalks, which are lighter and therefore 
 fly farther. A farther sifting is finally carried out by the corn 
 sieve, which allows the grain only to pass through. It is not 
 to be wondered at that after this process impurities of many 
 kinds remain among the grain, and the ordinary market grain 
 consists, besides the grain, of a considerable mixture of chopped 
 straw, lumps of clay, pieces of weed, and pellets of dung, all of 
 which go to make up the measure, and it must be subjected to 
 
A PALM- GROVE. 139 
 
 the industry of the women at home before grinding or baking 
 is to be thought of The grain is put into sacks and baskets, 
 the chopped straw (long straw is scarcely to be had in Egypt) 
 into net- work bags, and carried by asses and camels to the 
 barns in the village. 
 
 A PALM- GROVE. 
 
 We long to escape from the open field and obtain rest, shade, 
 and a draught of forest air. '' Forest — what is that ? " the native 
 asks us with astonishment. He understands the word (Jiersh) no 
 more than, as we have seen above, he understands spring 
 {rohi'a) or meadow (merg). None of these are to be met with in 
 the land of Egypt. But instead we have something far finer, we 
 think — the palm, crowned the queen of trees, and whole palm- 
 groves. To wander under palms appeared to us from ^^outh 
 up the highest pleasure of the tropic world. We sought for 
 rest; but instead of a soft grassy carpet we find in the grove a 
 clayey soil dried, cracked, and dusty, or if watered, muddy, 
 with scrubby, prickly bushes, and dry and thirsty weeds. 
 We wished for shade; but the shadow cast by the lofty slender 
 stem of the palm-tree is scarcely so broad as our body with 
 arms and legs kept close together, and whoever lies down in 
 this position is again in a quarter of an hour fully exposed to 
 the rays of the never-halting sun; the individual stems stand 
 too far apart for their shadows to meet together; the covering 
 afforded by the crown of leaves proudly waving at a dizzy 
 height above is of no avail on account of the distance, and 
 the few loose feathery fronds that form it let through a thou- 
 sand beams of light. We wished to breathe pure air; a palm 
 has nothing aromatic about it; stem and leaves are dry and 
 stiff*; when we breathe we cannot avoid inhaling the dust 
 that is suspended in the air of Egypt, that here in the grove 
 has settled down more thickly on the pale green leaves and 
 twigs, and now when the least breath of air stirs falls down 
 on our heads and clothes, and even enters the lungs. How 
 much more poetical, then, than a palm-grove is a pine-grove, 
 which in other respects has some resemblance to it! There 
 
140 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 are many, too, perhaps even more, who are enthusiastic about 
 the date-tree. Its usefulness in all circumstances we must 
 admit. Its stem, either whole or split longitudinally, serves 
 for beams, but the timber is of no farther use in building, nor 
 is it esteemed as fire- wood. The ribs {gerid) of the branches 
 or fronds are much employed in all kinds of wicker-work, for 
 lining the ceilings of rooms, in inlaying and mosaic work; the 
 leaves are woven into mats and baskets, and used also as 
 brooms; the bast furnished by the sheaths of the leaves is 
 made into cords and matting, and serves also instead of bath- 
 sponges for cleaning the body. The broad ends of the leaf- 
 stalks, split up into their component fibres, are also used as 
 brooms. The fruit forms an important article of food; its 
 sweetness even enables it to take the place of sugar; and a 
 spirit is distilled from it. Lastly, by piercing into the heart 
 of the crown, palm- wine is obtained, but the death of the 
 tree is the result. 
 
 A GARDEN. 
 
 We do not here mean to speak of the fine gardens of many 
 pashas and Europeans in the capital, where plants of the 
 temperate and torrid zones of the Old and the New World, 
 tended by Frankish gardeners, display in charming array 
 their rich perennial verdure, flourishing in the open air 
 under a mild sky and in fertile soil; it is of the gardens 
 of the country people that we shall speak, and these afibrd 
 scarcely more satisfaction than a palm-grove, and also differ 
 but little from one, since here also, in these areas, surrounded 
 by a mud- wall and watered by a water-wheel, it is the useful 
 palm that forms the most prominent and striking object. 
 To be sure fruit and foliage trees, which closely occupy the 
 intermediate spaces, give shade, coolness, and an atmosphere 
 smacking more of vegetation, but the poetic charm of 
 blossoming flowers is wanting. For flowers the Egyptian 
 countryman has no feeling, he thinks only on dry utility. 
 In this respect the ancient Egyptians were much more 
 poetical, as are at the present day the Moslems of other 
 
A GAKDEN. 141 
 
 regions. The laying out of the whole, too, is as a rule con- 
 fused; it is scarcely traversed by a path, and the visitor has 
 often literally to bore his way through the thick shrubbery 
 and prickly undergrowth. The rose is the favourite flower; 
 but one does not see many attempts at cultivating either 
 this or other plants so as to produce varieties or fuller and 
 finer flowers. Other plants cultivated are jasmine, rosemary, 
 mignonette, mint, and sesbania, and the people have a special 
 fancy for basil. Besides these the garden always oflers a 
 rich variety of vegetables that bear the stamp of the South, 
 and is therefore well worth visiting. 
 
 Alongside of the dioecious date-palm stands the doom-palm, 
 remarkable for its repeated dichotomous branchings, and for its 
 edible fruit resembling a cocoa-nut ; it is called Cucifera The- 
 baica, because the Thebais is its head-quarters, beyond which 
 (that is, beyond lat.27°N.)itneverextendsnorthward. Genuine 
 acacia trees of several species, with highly ornamental feathery 
 leaves, and rather a low stem, from which oozes the well-known 
 gum Arabic, some of them with very astringent fruits, com- 
 monly used in tanning, form dense thorny thickets or groves 
 that cannot be approached. Among other trees we do not 
 fail to remark the stately Labbach acacia {Alhizzia lebbak), 
 first introduced from the East Indies under Mohammed Ali, 
 the myrtle, a willow, and the St. John's bread tree. Of the 
 pine tribe only the cypress can be made to spring from the 
 southern soil; while on the other hand the tamarisks, their 
 representatives, flourish luxuriantly. The Hegelig tree 
 (Balanites), a native of the South, also thrives, and the 
 Tamar-henna (Lawsonia), which produces the henna pig- 
 ment in so common use here; while the tropical banana 
 sometimes brings its fruit-cones, the finest of all fruits, to 
 the condition of luscious ripeness. Quite at home here is 
 the Zizyphus spince Christi, with its miniature apples; the 
 pomegranate-tree, and the wild fig-tree or sycamore, the 
 stateliest tree of this zone. The real fig-tree produces only 
 a middling kind of fig, the citron-tree only a small citron of 
 the size of a walnut, the orange-tree only a green and not very 
 sweet orange. It is too hot here also for the olive, the mul- 
 
1-12 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 berry, and the Indian fig {Cactus opuntia), which as far 
 south as Middle Egypt thrive well enough. Apples, pears, 
 quinces, peaches, plums, damsons, belong to a colder zone, 
 and though often planted the trees do no good. The kindly 
 vine, however, has spread even as far as this, and is much 
 cultivated in the gardens in the form of arbours; its sweet 
 and abundant berries are merely eaten, scarcely ever con- 
 verted into wine — not even by the Christians, who prefer to 
 get drunk on date- spirit. 
 
 FIELD AND GARDEN PLANTS. 
 
 The vegetables most common in gardens are the harifiiyeli 
 (Hibiscus esculentus, one of the mallow tribe) and the 
 molucMyeh {Corchorus olitorius, a tiliaceous plant, tasting 
 somewhat like spinage), kulkds {Arum Coloeasia, with a 
 taste like that of a potato), the egg-plant {Solanuon melon- 
 gena) and paradise apples {Solanimi lycopersicu7)i); while 
 Solarium tuberosum, that is, the potato, is not planted at all 
 in Upper Egypt, and in Lower Egypt only here and there, 
 as, e.g., at Alexandria. It is brought almost entirely from 
 abroad, is dear, does not keep well, and therefore is little 
 used in Egypt. There are also turnips, mangolds, purslane, 
 spinage, mallows, cabbage, celery, carrots (a purple-red kind), 
 sorrel, rockets, beet, lettuce (eaten raw or cooked, seldom 
 with vinegar as a salad), lastly, radishes (a peculiar kind, of 
 which as a rule the leaves only, and not the small sharp root, 
 are eaten), onions, garlic, cives, parsley, cress, and mustard. 
 Of plants for seasoning there ai"e caraway, coriander, anise, 
 dill, fennel, black cummin, and red pepper. Our district is 
 specially favoured as regards plants of the order Cucurbi- 
 tacese. There are no fewer than five kinds of those cooling: 
 fruits the melons, which enable us easily to put up with the 
 absence of many other kinds of fruits, cucumbers from dwarf 
 to giant size, gourds that may be made excellent vegetables 
 with plenty of cooking, often of extravagant form and 
 dimensions. 
 
 The following are mainly cultivated in fields: of the cereals, 
 
(JARDENS AND CULTIVATED PLANTS OF THE ANCIENTS. 148 
 
 wheat, barley (but not oats), durra, maize, seldom the Soudan 
 millet (duchn) and Indian millet; in Lower Egypt, rice; of 
 legumes, lentils, beans, chickpeas, lupines (tirmis), lubias, 
 and several other kindred legumes; of green fodder, clover, 
 fenugreek, lucerne, and chickling vetches. Farther, of dye- 
 plants, indigo, henna (mostly shrubby), safflower, saffron, 
 madder; of oil-plants, rape, lettuce, castor-oil plant, sesame, 
 safflower, poppy; of fibrous plants, flax, hemp, cotton (more 
 in Lower Egypt); of narcotic plants, tobacco, hemp, poppy 
 (but opium and hashish are mostly imported from abroad); 
 lastly, the sugar-cane, partly for the preparation of sugar, 
 partly (a smaller kind) for eating. 
 
 THE GARDENS AND CULTIVATED PLANTS OF THE ANCIENTS. 
 
 The ancient Egyptians bestowed much attention upon 
 their gardens. These contained flowers in the richest abund- 
 ance, partly growing in the ground, partly in pots standing in 
 the beds near the garden walks. The larger gardens included 
 alleys lined with trees of various kinds, parks for game and 
 poultry, special kitchen -gardens, arboretums, and vineyards. 
 In the last the vines, which were formerly much more exten- 
 sively grown, were trained on bowers or trellises; in 
 gathering the grapes, if we can trust to the representations, 
 apes were made use of, whose dexterit}^ in such matters, 
 though unquestionable, must have been of rather hazardous 
 application. Instead of employing the water-wheel, the 
 ancients conducted abundance of water from the Nile by 
 special canals, and usually constructed ponds and lakes in 
 the gardens to serve not only for irrigation, but for sailing 
 and fishing. 
 
 The cultivated plants of ancient Egypt were in great part 
 those of to-day. Not the smallest difference can be detected 
 between the fruits and plants found on the oldest monuments 
 and those of the present time. Many were employed and 
 cultivated to a greater extent than now, as the castor-oil 
 plant; of some, as the lotus and papyrus, which were once so 
 famous, the native at the present day hardly knows the 
 
144 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 name. The lotus, like the Egyptian fig-tree, was a sacred 
 plant; its blossom was esteemed the most beautiful of flowers, 
 and its root-stock and seeds were used as food; of papyrus 
 all kinds of plaited work were made, such as mats, curtains, 
 ropes, sails, and light canoes, while its spongy pith, besides 
 being eaten, was used for making paper. Other plants were 
 not introduced till later, some only in modern times; among 
 them we may specify cotton (already mentioned by Pliny), 
 the sugar-cane (in the time of the Caliphs), rice, indigo, 
 tobacco, and maize. 
 
 THE WILD PLANTS. 
 
 In our rural wanderings we take care to examine and col- 
 lect also the plants growing wild. Here we find very few of 
 those with which, in our tours in the Fatherland in former 
 times, we filled our vasculum, since we have already left 
 "Linne's, and even Decandqlle's kingdom" behind us, and now 
 stand in that of Forskal and Delile, in the sub-tropical zone 
 of palms and myrtles. We find very little, however, of any 
 kind, less than in most other parts of the world, scarcely 
 more than in the desert, and what we do obtain is dry, rigid, 
 bulky, prickly, hairy, and downy, so that it is ill suited for 
 the herbarium. The scarcity of wood in the country is so 
 great that dung forms the chief fuel, and all goods which can 
 be so treated are packed in crates formed of palm branches 
 instead of boxes and cases, while timber is little used in 
 building. A large proportion of the timber used for building, 
 even for ships, has to be imported from abroad. The whole 
 known flora of Egypt, inclusive of the deserts belonging to 
 it, comprises 1140 species, of which again 400 at least belong 
 to the strip of coast on the Mediterranean. In floral wealth, 
 therefore, Egypt will not compare at all with any district of 
 equal size belonging to the temperate or tropical zones. In 
 this country, wherever there is a spot where a wild plant can 
 grow, especially where the soil is watered, there forthwith 
 comes the countryman and sows a crop on it, extirpating the 
 wild plants as so many weeds. There are here only two soils 
 
THE ANIMAL WOKLD. 145 
 
 — the cultivated clay-soil and that of the desert. In the 
 desert the plants grow almost exclusively in the valleys, since 
 the slopes of the hills, with the exception of a few water- 
 courses, are devoid of soil or moisture. In this country there 
 are none of the plants whose habitat is rocks, alpine heights, 
 woods, moors, meadows, mounds of debris, swamps, and lakes, 
 since such localities either do not exist or do not enjoy shade 
 and permanent water. Consequently there remain only the 
 fields, whether cultivated or fallow, steep and uncultivated 
 river margins, hedgerows, the river, and the bed of an inun- 
 dation canal. In such places there springs up of course a 
 considerable number of plants, but even then only in a scat- 
 tered fashion, never forming a continuous covering. Not 
 even the grasses, which appear in tolerable variety, unite to 
 form a carpet of verdure; there are therefore no meadows, 
 which elsewhere lend such a charm to the landscape, the 
 only substitute for them being the clover-fields, which serve 
 as pastures, and the corn-fields so long as they are green. 
 The leaves of the plants in the dry, glowing, dusty atmosphere 
 never attain that fresh rich green which so delights the eye, 
 and even the flowers want for the most part the deep fiery 
 colours. Perennial plants, and especially the trees, are ever- 
 green; they have no period of rest, and between the falling 
 leaves of last year new ones already sprout again in January. 
 Mosses, ferns, fungi, and cryptogams in general are extremely 
 few. In the wild-growing flora orchids are entirely wanting. 
 The clayey valley of the Nile possesses some, though not 
 many, of the wild plants in common with the desert, and it 
 has been observed that such plants as in the desert send out 
 long fibrous roots in order to imbibe the scanty, deeply-seated, 
 and widely-spread moisture, when settled in a moist and 
 cultivated soil acquire shorter roots and become more tender, 
 so that even biennials turn into annuals. 
 
 THE ANIMAL WORLD. 
 
 We have still to glance briefly at the fauna that is to be 
 met with in Egypt. The remarkable form of the camel, the 
 
 10 
 
146 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 most important domestic animal of modem Egypt, we see 
 everywhere in large numbers and performing the most diverse 
 functions; still more numerous is the useful ass, once sacred 
 to Typho, not held in high esteem, but belonging to an 
 excellent race. Compared with it the horse plays, we may 
 almost say, a subordinate part. The latter is used for riding 
 by a very few personages of the highest rank, or it drives 
 the mill, but rarely draws the plough. The common Egyp- 
 tian country horse has not much in common with the cele- 
 brated Arab; it is rather heavy, gallops well, trots little, but 
 is said to have good powers of endurance. Many horses also 
 are imported from Arabia, Syria, Nubia, Darfur, Barbary, 
 and Europe. The mule is much employed for carrying loads, 
 as also the horse and the ass. 
 
 Not long ago Egypt was rich in cattle, but the epidemic 
 of 1863 and the following years, which still continues to rage, 
 has almost entirely annihilated the old long-horned race 
 represented on the monuments. The imported foreign cattle, 
 the ox of Soudan and European races, become acclimatized 
 with difficulty; the Indian and African zebu, likewise intro- 
 duced, which even the ancient Egyptians employed, is, in 
 the opinion of the country people, ill suited to the agricultural 
 labours of this region, consisting, so far as cattle are concerned, 
 in ploughing, and turning the water-wheel and the norag. 
 Fortunately the grayish-black buffalo, which loves a kind of 
 amphibious life, has been spared by the disease, as likewise 
 the camel, and it forms a substitute for the ox, being strong 
 though rather slow to work, and yielding rich and good milk, 
 nourishing but somewhat coarse and tough flesh, and strong 
 leather. The flesh and milk of the camel are little esteemed. 
 Neither buffalo nor camel is represented by the ancients. 
 Flesh meat is mainly furnished by the Nile sheep, which 
 belongs to the fat-tailed race, and is mostly of a dark-brown 
 colour, with thick wool and a tuft on the head. When the 
 poorer classes eat flesh it is that of the goat. Both animals 
 were once sacred. The so called Egyptian goat proper, with 
 the long ears and the curved nose, is oftener seen in Lower 
 Egj^pt. The unclean swine, once an emblem of Typho, may 
 
THE ANIMAL WORLD. 147 
 
 be heard grunting at most in the stye of a Roman Catholic 
 monk or a Greek tavern keeper. The strict prohibition of 
 its flesh by Moses and Mohammed is based, however, more 
 on a prejudice borrowed from the ancient Egyptians than 
 on superior wisdom, since the Europeans in Cairo and Alex- 
 andria, and the Greeks in Upper Egypt, partake of it with- 
 out bad effects, and the natives themselves eat the fattest 
 mutton even in the hot season. Besides, pork was eaten by 
 the ancient Egyptians at least once a year, when sacrificing 
 to Typho. 
 
 Of the existence of the half-wild jackal-like dog, wdiich, 
 like the jackal, was once sacred, and at Lycopolis was em- 
 balmed in multitudes, we have already had occasion to con- 
 vince ourselves. The cat, whose progenitor is believed to be 
 the Felis Qnaniculata of Upper Egypt and Nubia, leads a 
 very dainty and thievish life, and is also half wild. It is 
 much preferred to the dog by the adherents of Islam, and is 
 also to some extent regarded with superstitious awe and 
 therefore well treated, the ginns or spirits being supposed 
 frequently to make use of it as form and medium. The 
 ancient Egyptians held it as sacred. The striped hyaena is 
 not at all uncommon, both in the desert and among the ruins 
 and quarries on the edge of the Nile valley; it is only at 
 night that it visits inhabited districts in search of carrion. 
 The jackal (Canis aureus), called in Upper Egypt dih, 
 which means strictly wolf, also frequents the borders of the 
 desert, but always in the neighbourhood of inhabited locali- 
 ties; during the night and before daybreak its ''hideous 
 howl" is heard in concert with the not very different barking 
 of the country people's dogs, whose duty it is to guard the 
 farms against the predatory excursions of the jackal, which 
 is not contented with carrion, but is still fonder of poultry, 
 lambs, and goats. The Nile fox also (Canis Niloticus) is fond 
 of poultry; but it is most successfully hunted in the gardens, 
 especially at the time when the grapes are ripe. In the 
 western desert it is represented by the little-eared fox or 
 fennec, in the eastern by the Canis famelicus, which is 
 similar to it. Of beasts of prey there are also sometimes 
 
148 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 found the swamp-lynx, the wild cat (Felis maniculata), 
 several other species of jackal (Canis r)iesomelas and C.varie- 
 gatus), the genet and the zorilla {Bhahdogale mustelina). 
 The Pharaoh's rat or ichneumon belongs, like the wild boar, 
 to Lower Egypt. Of the antelopes that inhabit the desert 
 the gazelle {Antilope dorcas), which also occasionally ap- 
 proaches the Nile, is the most common; this very clean little 
 animal is not seldom kept in a tame state by the inhabitants. 
 The hare {Lepus jEgyptiacus) is common in the Nile valley 
 and in the desert, especially in tamarind groves. It is not 
 hunted, and the genuine Mohammedan despises its flesh. 
 The dwellers on the Nile, in general, are no great sportsmen, 
 although there are here no restrictions. There are, however, 
 some professional hunters, especially hunters of the hysena, 
 commonly Bedouins. Among the ancient Egyptians hunting 
 was a favourite amusement. Hedgehogs are not uncommon, 
 but the porcupine, which is figured on the monuments, is no 
 longer to be met with. The once sacred hippopotamus too 
 has long been driven from Egypt proper; that he still exists, 
 however, in the neighbouring countries in the Upper Nile is 
 made feelingly manifest by the judicial lash which is pre- 
 pared from his hide and is in common use. 
 
 Besides the innumerable mice and rats that infest the 
 dwelling-houses, ships, and store-houses, large thick-headed 
 field-mice frequent the fields and earthen dykes, and in many 
 quarters are esteemed as dainties b}^ the peasants. A shrew, 
 which was deemed sacred by the ancients, also occurs. Grot- 
 toes, old temples, and tombs are haunted by bats of many 
 genera and species, and in fabulous numbers; one of the most 
 interesting is the date-eating, but not blood-sucking, vampyre 
 (Pteropus JEgyptiacus). 
 
 Monkeys, which were sacred animals among the ancients, 
 are nowhere found wild in Egypt proper, though they may 
 be seen often enough in the possession of professional monkey 
 tamers; a "right man" would have nothing to do with mon- 
 keys, as they bring ill-luck upon a house, or at any rate 
 disorder and uncleanliness. Indeed there are scarcely any 
 other animals kept but gazelles, as no advantage is derived 
 
THE ANIMAL WORLD. 149 
 
 from them. It is only the great pashas in the capital that 
 care to keep lions and such like in their courts. The large 
 animals of Soudan (giraffes, antelopes, ostriches) are often 
 met with durinor the time of high water in late summer and 
 autumn on the vessels of the Soudan traders (gelldh), who 
 sell them in Cairo. 
 
 Of the 360 species of birds the greater number are old 
 acquaintances from Europe. In the hot, dry, early summer 
 this class of animals is almost entirely absent, and on a hot 
 summer's noon the few that are left conceal themselves and 
 become dumb. Even the shore-birds are mostly identical 
 with European species, though they are also to some extent 
 distinctly Egyptian, or at least African species. Among 
 birds of prey we may mention the great white-headed and 
 eared vulture, the little vulture, some species of eagles and 
 falcons (especially the little kestrel and several noble falcons, 
 which are still employed in falconry as they were among us 
 in the middle ages),^ the kite that may be heard everywhere, 
 and several owls. Of scansorial birds there are the lark- 
 heeled and the crested cuckoo, while woodpeckers are absent; 
 of Clamatores there are several peculiar goat-suckers and 
 swifts (of the latter a Cypselus parvus frequents the region of 
 the doom-palm), the hoopoe, which is common in all Egypt, 
 also bee-eaters and a kingfisher; of the order of singing birds (in 
 the wider sense) there are the hooded crow (?), while the great 
 black Noah's raven (Gorvus umhrinus) belongs to the desert; 
 also the crested lark, the sparrow, which is here common, a 
 butcher-bird, peculiar species of swallows, the wagtail; and 
 of singing birds proper, the Egyptian nightingale and the 
 stone-chat; but on the whole the singing of birds is not heard 
 in Egypt, as the birds that pass through or winter in the 
 country do not sing in the winter season. Of the partridge 
 tribe the cackling sand-grouse occurs in the Nile valley, bat 
 is more common in the desert ; quails are only birds of pas- 
 sage. Native wading birds (exclusive of those frequenting 
 the lakes of Lower Egypt) are the curlew, the cattle-ibis 
 
 ^ A falcon was sacred to the sun-god Ka. 
 
150 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 (Buhulcus ibis), which always marches after herds of cattle at 
 pasture, and was formerly sacred, the two egrets, the crested 
 lapwing, the Egyptian plover (the celebrated trochilus of the 
 ancients), and the marabout; lastly, of water-birds that belong 
 to Egypt there are the Nile goose, and several gulls and sea- 
 swallows. On the other hand, the country becomes in winter 
 the rendezvous of a considerable number of the large and 
 active tribe of birds. Those that migrate come from the North 
 to the land of Egypt, almost the only possible highway to 
 the interior of Africa, in order either to pass the winter here 
 or to go still farther south, and again pass through in the 
 end of winter. As soon also as the Nile has spread itself over 
 the fields, the water and marsh birds of the Mediterranean 
 and the lakes of Lower Egypt visit Upper Egypt in immense 
 flocks. 
 
 Of the poultry tribe fowls and pigeons in particular are 
 kept. The rearing of the former is facilitated by the hatching 
 stoves, which were known even in the time of the ancients; 
 for the latter dwellings, often more roomy and elegant than 
 those of the people, are everywhere provided, and in these 
 they dwell in immense numbers, both the tame particoloured 
 or white breeds, and the bluish-coloured wild breeds, to 
 which we may add the elegant turtle-doves, also abundant. 
 Geese, ducks, and turkeys, here called malta-cocks, are less 
 numerous. 
 
 The brilliant birds of the torrid zone remain within the 
 tropic, which does not touch Egypt proper at all. Some few 
 of them, however, during the tropical rains, that is to say, in 
 early summer, migrate northwards, but here only reach the 
 south of Egypt; among these are the sacred ibis, the tantalus, 
 and an African honey-sucker. 
 
 •The Reptilia are represented by some remarkable genera 
 and species. The Nile crocodile, though it has become scarce, 
 is still found in Upper Egypt, and every year demands some 
 human victims. A lizard, which from its Arabic name of 
 waran has been called the warning-lizard (monitor), and 
 which resembles, though smaller, the crocodile, to whose eggs 
 it is very destructive, may not unfrequently be seen roaming 
 
THE ANIMAL WORLD. 151 
 
 about the sloping banks of the river and its canals; the moun- 
 tain waran {Psanvniosauros), on the other hand, belongs to 
 the desert. Of tortoises and turtles there occurs in Egypt, 
 in the Nile, a fine river-turtle {Trionyx Niloticus). Gaily- 
 coloured lizards may be seen everywhere sunning themselves 
 on banks, and into the lower part of the wall of almost every 
 house the slippery seine, which was formerly used in medi- 
 cine, has penetrated. On the walls of rooms glide and squeak 
 the small nocturnal geckos, the pilfering but otherwise harm- 
 less ** fathers of leprosy." Here and there upon trees the 
 chameleon, so celebrated for its change of colours, may be 
 observed, while the ground agamas and harduns, which are 
 sometimes prettily coloured, several feet long, and with long 
 ringed tails, prefer the desert. 
 
 Egypt has been since early times renowned as a land of ser- 
 pents. There are about twenty poisonous and non-poisonous 
 species. As in the days of Moses there are still at the pre- 
 sent day a considerable number of serpent-charmers. If any 
 one wishes to collect serpents he must have recourse to these 
 people, who display great skill in discovering these creatures 
 and enticing them out of their lurking places. The serpents 
 with which these Psylli give their exhibitions, and which 
 consist chiefly of the once sacred African cobra {Naja haje), 
 are always deprived of their poison fangs. The horned viper, 
 which is also very poisonous, is oftenest represented by the 
 ancients. 
 
 In the stagnant waters left behind by the inundation 
 millions of frogs and toads are developed every year; as the 
 land dries they all perish except a few that remain to keep 
 up the race, having either taken up their quarters in a spot 
 that continues moist, or penetrated to a deeper and moister 
 stratum of the soil. Salamanders are entirely absent. 
 
 Among the most highly-prized gifts of the bounteous Nile 
 are its fishes. These are mostly peculiar forms, having little 
 affinity with the fishes of European waters, but more with 
 those of other African rivers, for example, the Senegal. The 
 number of species hitherto found in the Nile over its whole 
 course amounts to about eighty. Their geographical dis- 
 
152 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 tribution is very interesting. Seventeen species are found in 
 the lower Nile, that is, below the cataracts. Among these are 
 some unmistakably Mediterranean fish which periodically 
 migrate up the river from the sea, such as several mullets 
 {mugil), the Twait shad (Clupea finta) , and the eel; they are 
 naturally most common in Lower Egypt. From the former 
 the Arabian cured herrings (fezich) are chiefly prepared. 
 Thirty-six species have been found in the upper and lower 
 Nile; in the latter many occur only at the time of the inun- 
 dation. Nineteen species are characteristic of the upper Nile, 
 of which eight also occur in the west African rivers, and are 
 genuine tropical forms. Altogether the Nile has twenty-six 
 species in common with West Africa, but with East Africa only 
 five or six. In the lower Nile, besides the above-mentioned 
 Mediterranean forms, there are representatives of the family 
 of the perches, of the carps, and in especial richness of 
 the sheat-fishes, to which also the electric Malapterurus or 
 thunder-fish belongs; also of the purely tropical family of the 
 Characinje and Chromidse, and of the Mormyridse, which are 
 confined to Africa. The Polypterus hichir, one of the few 
 living representatives of the ganoid fishes so numerous in the 
 ancient world, is an interesting species, as is also the balloon- 
 fish {Tetrodon Fahaca), a marine form occurring in the Indian 
 Ocean and the Red Sea, but not in the Mediterranean. 
 During the overflow the fishes, which are now pretty numer- 
 ous, swim into all the canals and over the inundated surfaces. 
 When the water begins to dry the poor creatures cannot get 
 back, and a great part of the young fry, like that of the frogs, 
 perishes; they are now taken in immense numbers, with very 
 little trouble, even by children. The ancient Eg3^ptians were 
 very well acquainted with the fish, as with animals generall}^; 
 and many Nile fishes, as also those of the neighbouring Red 
 Sea, are very cleverly represented either in paintings or sculp- 
 tures, particularly such as were sacred, the Oxyrhynchus for 
 instance, with its remarkable snout, the Lepidotus (probably 
 a barbel), the Phagrus or eel, and the Latus, which is per- 
 haps the Malapterurus. 
 
 Of the innumerable race of insects Egypt exhibits a great 
 
THE ANIMAL WORLD. 153 
 
 many South European forms, but also some that are specifi- 
 cally African, especially in Upper Egypt. The country is 
 remarkably poor in large butterflies, but it possesses those 
 citizens of the world the painted-ladies. Small moths are 
 much more abundant, and at night swarm about a light. 
 Among the beetles, which also are not very numerous, the 
 commonest are the black beetles and dung-beetles. The 
 best known is the sacred ball-rolling beetle (Ateuchus sacer), 
 the Scarabceus of the ancients, which w^as so often represented 
 by the ancient Egyptians on monuments and on gems. The 
 ball that it forms is in the almost pantheistic mythology of 
 Egypt compared with the matter of the world, which is 
 also regarded as a ball. The principle of light and of the 
 creative power of nature, the Chepera, whose symbol is the 
 same beetle, and that too always in connection with the 
 sun's disk, places in this world the germs of being and of 
 light, as the beetle lays its eggs in its ball. The divinity 
 Ptah, that is, the formative and quickening power, gives to 
 these germs form, and produces the structure of the heavens 
 and the earth. There are also beetles of very splendid 
 appearance (Buprestis), sand- beetles (Cicindela), beetles 
 that love putrefaction (Hister, Bermestes), and during the 
 overflow numerous water-beetles. 
 
 The wasp-like or hymenopterous insects appear in fine 
 large forms. The Egyptian bee is a mere variety of our 
 own, and has also already been introduced into Europe. 
 The ancient Egyptians were celebrated bee-keepers, but api- 
 culture is now of little importance. The inhabitants eat a 
 great deal of '"honey" to be sure, but it is the "black honey'' 
 or molasses of the sugar-cane; "white" honey is mostly im- 
 ported from Arabia, and is dear. The bee-keepers are said 
 to convey their hives by boats and camels to suitable localities, 
 even into other provinces; and after the period of gathering 
 is over to bring them home again. To this order of insects 
 belong also the ants, which contrive to gain entrance into 
 all houses; and articles of food, sugar in particular, must be 
 hermetically sealed, hung up, or protected by a circuit of 
 water. 
 
154 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 Of the Orthoptera locusts have proved a scourge'to Egypt 
 from the most ancient times, having been the eighth of the 
 ten plagues in the time of Moses; among the most trouble- 
 some vermin are cockroaches, including the American in 
 addition to native species. 
 
 Among neuropterous insects there abound everywhere on 
 the Nile and canals ephemera and beautiful dragon-flies, 
 especially a red-coloured species. Termites also belong to 
 this region, but it is hardly their proper habitat, and they 
 are not dangerous. 
 
 The Diptera or two- winged flies play an important part, 
 there being several hundred species known. The common 
 house-fly is nowhere bolder than here, and adds a decided 
 element of unpleasantness to a residence otherwise so agree- 
 able in this warm country. Equally annoying is the mos- 
 quito (Culex), more, perhaps, through the nocturnal hum of 
 its multitudes, which almost drives the novice to despair as 
 he attempts to sleep than through the smart and soreness pro- 
 duced by its sting. At certain periods all pools of stagnant 
 water are full of its worm-like larvae, and they swarm also 
 in drinking-water, which must be strained through a cloth 
 before drinking, the common people managing this by placing 
 their coat-sleeve between their lips and the pitcher. 
 
 More than enough of other vermin also exist in the land 
 of palms — such as fleas, bugs, and lice in all known forms. 
 To these must be added also scorpions, tarantulas, and cen- 
 tipedes, and those scourges of the cattle, gad-flies and ticks. 
 
 Among Crustacese, instead of our crayfish, there occur in 
 the Nile several kinds of crabs (Telphusa); and we found in 
 the Thebais multitudes of a kind of shrimp (Palemon), a 
 genus which otherwise is found only in the sea or in the 
 lower course of the river. At the time of the overflow a 
 multitude of minute crustaceans are developed in cavities 
 that are gradually filled by the percolation of the Nile water, 
 such as Phyllopoda, water-fleas, and soldier-crabs, with 
 Rotifera and Infusoria. In a few weeks, on the drying of 
 the soil, they disappear again,- apparently without leaving 
 a trace behind. 
 
MONUMENTS OF ANTIQUITY. 155 
 
 Lastly, fresh- water bivalves also are absent, while fresh- 
 water univalves and Annelida (among these latter the Egyptian 
 leech), though they do occur, are not found in any great 
 variety of forms. We were already struck with the mono- 
 tonous character of the country; the same characteristic runs 
 through its fauna and flora, which display a remarkable 
 poverty of species in almost all classes. 
 
 MONUMENTS OF ANTIQUITY. 
 
 We have approached the desert; before us lies a field of 
 ruins. Half-dressed blocks of stone, shattered colossi and 
 their members, fallen pillars, walls deeply embedded in debris 
 there lie sown; everything transportable has been scattered 
 through all the world. But here and there there still stand 
 high and sublime the most wonderful architectural monu- 
 ments of a noble and hoar antiquity, reaching back thousands 
 of years. Many are even yet so well preserved that we can 
 trace the plan, and by putting together this and that ruin 
 gain an accurate picture of the former condition of the whole. 
 The buildings we find are almost without exception works 
 of piety. Of private buildings, even of royal palaces, hardly 
 any now exist; they were built of materials easily destroyed, 
 the former indeed of dried clay in the form of bricks. The 
 dwellings of the eternal gods, however, and of the dead, are 
 so strongly built that even the barbarians were not able to 
 master them completely, though their rudeness and zeal for 
 destruction were almost as grand as the art and the construc- 
 tive skill of those who erected them. 
 
 We shall not enter upon particulars, we shall relate nothing 
 farther of the hundreds of sphinxes which form the entrances 
 to the temples, of the gigantic monolithic statues of polished 
 granite standing or sitting like guardians of the sanctuary; 
 of the graceful high-soaring obelisks, the gate-towers or 
 pylons towering over all; of the pillared courts and halls, 
 sometimes with no fewer than thirty-six columns 70 feet 
 high and 37 feet round, and hewn from a single block; and 
 lastly, of the building in the rear forming the holy of holies, 
 
156 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 where stood in mystery the image of the god. And what 
 we have just mentioned is only a scheme, a system of a 
 temple. As many as four such systems may lie behind one 
 another, and the great whole, a temple city, is surrounded 
 by a w^ide inclosure-wall. No description, no painting, 
 can reproduce the overpowering impression that these build- 
 ings, matched by no others on the earth, produce upon even 
 the most uncultivated spectator. The people themselves 
 ascribe them to the ginns or to the people of Pharaoh, who, 
 like the ancestors of the human race from Adam and Noah 
 down to Abraham, are assumed to have had a stature above 
 what men now have. Others think that the fathers of the 
 Franks once lived here, and that the reason why the Franks 
 visit these cities so often is that they may look upon the 
 native country and the works of their ancestors. The Franks 
 alone are believed by them capable of producing works of 
 such grandeur. 
 
 However, it is not merely the colossal in size, but also the 
 tastefulness in style — the buildings of all kinds narrowing 
 to the top, the columns far from clumsy notwithstanding 
 their thickness — as well as the almost inconceivable care and 
 industry displayed in the execution of details (almost all the 
 surfaces of the walls, towers, and pillars being entirely covered 
 with painted or sculptured figures), that compel our admira- 
 tion. No doubt these sculptures and paintings do not alto- 
 gether please us. We expect more from an artist than cari- 
 catures and lay-figures. We are reminded of the antediluvian 
 saurian dragons, the megatheriums, and all those attempts 
 of the 'prentice hand of Nature, in some respects incomplete 
 and generally colossal. The figures impress us as being hor- 
 ribly stifi", showing no natural power, formed on one model, 
 and drawn without any knowledge of perspective. 
 
 But if we get over our original aversion, if we consider 
 the narrow limits that were imposed upon the talented 
 artists by the hierarchy, that power which raises rude peoples 
 but keeps down those that have raised themselves; if we go 
 more deeply into the study of those artistic productions; if 
 we turn our eyes with toleration from tliat which is un- 
 
MONUMENTS OF ANTIQUITY. 157 
 
 beautiful, we shall still find much that is beautiful, but 
 especially much that is true, and that is the reason why these 
 things have so great a historical value. By means of these 
 representations, in connection with the hieroglyphics now 
 generally deciphered with ease by the learned, and with the 
 assistance of a few truth-loving historians of antiquity, espe- 
 cially Herodotus, we know ancient Egypt, particularly as 
 regards the development of its civilization, better than we 
 know many peoples now living, even better perhaps than the 
 people living on the Nile at the present day. 
 
 Still finer and more distinct do we find the pictures and 
 scenes in the sepulchral chambers where the colours have 
 not faded and become obliterated, but are as bright as if 
 painted yesterday. There we meet also with the men of 
 ancient Egypt and many animals in bodily form as mummies, 
 as well as vegetable products and implements of all kinds 
 which had been put into the tomb along with the dead. 
 Although these are met with in the sepulchral chambers 
 accessible to all, they do not lie open to inspection like the 
 wall-paintings, the statues, and the buildings; they must first 
 be found or dug up, or bought from the natives and Euro- 
 peans that drive a trade in them; the finest specimens are to 
 be seen in the national collections in the capitals of Europe, 
 and within very recent times also a splendid collection has 
 been formed at Cairo (Bulak) by the Egyptian government, 
 which now wishes to carry on this new kind of treasure- 
 digging alone, and has forbidden all private persons to engage 
 in it, though naturally without success. Such tombs are 
 exemplified above all by the pyramids, the loftiest, the oldest, 
 the most enduring of all the architectural structures erected 
 by man. They are nowhere to be met with, however, in 
 Upper Egypt proper — only in Middle Egypt, and again far 
 up on the banks of the Nile in ancient Ethiopia. 
 
 Thus do we finish our wanderinra in the wonderful 
 
 o 
 
 Thebais, and return to the point from whence we set out, 
 rich in observations on the country, on its natural phenomena, 
 and on its inhabitants both of to-day and of former times. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 WORKING DAYS AND HOLIDAYS, 
 DAYS OF JUBILEE AND DAYS OF MOURNING. 
 
 WORKING-DAY LIFE OF THE COMMON PEOPLE. 
 
 In Upper Egypt the life of the ordinary inhabitant of the 
 towns is passed in a simple and uniform manner. Before 
 sunrise he leaves his couch, performs the morning ablutions 
 enjoined by his religion, and repeats his early pra^^er. To 
 say his morning prayer after sunrise is forbidden by the 
 ordinances of his religion, and to allow the sun to rise above 
 one's slumbering head is universally regarded as prejudicial 
 to health. He then drinks his cup of coifee and smokes his 
 pipe, either at home or in the public coffee-house. His 
 breakfast, which he takes after his coffee (though sometimes 
 before it), consists of the remains of his meal of the previous 
 evening, or of cakes and milk, or for a trifle he procures from 
 the market the ever ready national dish oiful, that is, stewed 
 beans. He then engages in his vocations, buys, sells, writes, 
 works, or moves about, all in the most comfortable, quiet, 
 and deliberate manner. "What is not done to-day may be 
 to-morrow " — in good Arabic, hohra in shah Allah (to-morrow 
 if God please) — stands written on his forehead in large letters. 
 The most urgent affairs leave alwaj^s a quarter of an hour 
 free in which to gossip with acquaintances over coffee and a 
 pipe, be it in retail-shop, workshop, or ofiice. And if many 
 acquaintances turn up the more numerous grow these quar- 
 ters-of-an-hour. Now and again he has no work, or no desire 
 to do it, and then he drags himself from one friend to the 
 other. Bread for himself and his family will no doubt turn 
 up; rohinna Jcerim — "the Lord is gracious (or liberal);" it is 
 but little he requires, and in case of necessity his soft-hearted 
 neighbour will not allow him to go supperless to bed. Even 
 before the mid-day call of the muezzin from the minaret, he 
 
WORKING-DAY LIFE OF THE COMMON PEOPLE. 159 
 
 lias made his preparations for the hour of prayer, and after 
 the performance of his devotions he returns home and enjoys 
 his simple dinner. This consists for the most part only of 
 bread with fruits or with white country cheese, milk, salt 
 fish, or molasses (the so-called black honey). 
 
 He takes care not to make his mid- day sleep too short, 
 especially in the long warm days of summer, and he lies 
 down in his house or in his shop, in the cafe, or in any shady 
 spot in the open air; at this time the streets and markets 
 become deserted. Not till well through the afternoon does 
 he again move, when he begins the second portion of the 
 day as he did the first, with ablutions, prayers, and coffee, 
 afterwards bestirring himself with some energy to make up 
 during the remainder of the day for the time he has dreamed 
 and trifled away. For this remainder is but short, and with 
 the last rays of the setting sun the call from the minaret is 
 again heard, the trader shuts his shop, the workman flings 
 by his tool, the scholar, the writer, and the man of learning 
 shut their books. This dawdling habit, which, in the pro- 
 vince, at least, is the rule, is not, however, solely the result 
 of indolence, but arises more from the fact that little trade 
 or industry exists, and the want of a regular weekly day of 
 rest is also not without blame. The natives when necessary 
 often display the greatest ardour and even steady persever- 
 ance. 
 
 The cultivation of the fields allows the countryman less 
 leisure for the dolce far niente, but even he does not over- 
 work himself From the mellowness and fertility of the 
 soil his labour is light enough when compared with that of 
 a northern peasant, and chiefly consists in the artificial 
 watering of the land, effected mostly by the labour of young 
 people or of cattle. When he can the countryman also takes 
 his hours of idleness, and sleeps, and gossips, and sings. He 
 too is never in a hurry. This slowness of action, intimately 
 connected as it is with fatalism, is as intolerable to a Euro- 
 pean who is in haste, as it is beneficial to one who wishes to 
 rest a little from the hurry and scurry of the West. 
 
 After his evening devotions the dweller in the town moves 
 
160 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 homeward to his house, where his supper is already awaiting 
 him. At this meal, which is generally the principal meal of 
 the day, he quite acts the gourmand. His wife brings it to 
 him on a round wooden board elevated on pieces of wood or 
 short feet (tahlieh) ; among richer people a shield-like metal 
 plate (sanieh) is used instead. The basis of the meal is bread 
 made of wheat or millet flour, or hot unleavened cakes — of 
 which he devours incredible quantities — baked over a fire of 
 dung. His wife has also boiled or fried for him a fish with 
 onions and oil, or there lies in the pot a young pigeon or a 
 fowl, the juice of which tastes excellently when the cakes are 
 dipped in it. Sometimes also a small piece of mutton, bufialo, 
 camel, or goat flesh has been procured, with which the 
 soaked bamiyehs or the viscous-juiced, spinach-like moluchieh 
 are cooked. These, however, are the more expensive viands, 
 and in the evening also people on ordinary occasions are 
 satisfied with the ful, which has become so much a national 
 dish, and which (beans in general), according to Herodotus, 
 was forbidden to the ancient Egyptians, or at least to the 
 priests, and hence also to the Pythagoreans. Other dishes 
 are such as lentils boiled in water without flesh, ful with 
 moluchieh, a thick flour paste, coarsely ground barley or 
 wheat, a cake made with butter, an omelet, fruit, roasted 
 grain, salt, and caraway, and especially raw onions. All 
 these except ful were also eaten by the ancient Egyptians, 
 with the addition of papyrus and lotus. The consumption 
 of lentils was so general that Strabo believed that the num- 
 mulites of the mountains were the fossilized remains of the 
 lentils used by the labourers. Whenever it is possible two 
 or three kinds of dishes must be on the table, and the inha- 
 bitant of the town tastes of them indiscriminately, taking 
 a piece now from this, now from that. 
 
 After the evening meal our citizen either remains at home 
 enjoying a dignified ease in his harem, or he takes up his 
 position before his house, stretched out in the dust of the 
 street, or squatting amidst a knot of peaceful neighbours; less 
 frequently he visits the cafe again, or calls on a friend in his 
 house or court-yard if he has a friend able and ready to 
 
LIFE OF THE WOMEN. 161 
 
 gather his friends around him for a social meeting in the 
 evenino^. The lio-ht of the moon and stars suffices, or if in 
 winter they must retreat into tlie dark chamber, the weak 
 glimmer of an oil-lamp. In this country nothing is known 
 of nocturnal labours either of hand or head even among the 
 learned, and the many blind and blear-eyed people that here 
 wander about have not contracted their ailments through 
 overstraining their eyes. As to-day is, so is to-morrow, and 
 the most momentous events passing in the great world here 
 make on most people no impression whatever. For it is only 
 a very few that receive a newspaper, and still fewer under- 
 stand it, partly because its language is too fine, and there- 
 fore not suited to the mass, partly because the necessary 
 previous knowledge of every kind is absent. Among the 
 ancient Egyptians the common people, such as artisans, were 
 forbidden under severe penalties to mingle in politics. It is 
 only the most urgent necessity that causes the citizen to take 
 a journey, and when he does travel he makes a pilgrimage 
 to Meccah, or, at most, goes to some other country in which 
 Islam prevails. For in the land of the Franks something 
 would every instant come into collision with his ideas and 
 customs; he would have to eat, if not swine's flesh, yet dishes 
 in which swine's fat forms an ingredient; he would have to 
 eat carrion (that is, the flesh of animals strangled, and not 
 slaughtered with an invocation to God); he would not have 
 the proper conditions for the performance of his religious 
 duties, such as his ablutions and prayer five times a day, nor 
 any mosque or muezzin. If he ever happens to have been 
 in Europe, or even in a town in which the Frankish mode of 
 life prevails, he never ceases to tell his countrymen of the 
 ridiculous and preposterous things he saw there, of course 
 not without admitting that there was much good also, 
 especially if there be a Frank among his audience. The 
 ancient Egyptians had a still stronger prejudice and fana- 
 ticism against foreign people and foreign things. 
 
 LIFE OF THE WOMEN. 
 
 Though the members of the opposite sex certainly do not 
 
 11 
 
162 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 groan and languish under the burden of their daily labours, 
 yet they do not, as the common descriptions of harem life 
 lead us to believe, recline the live-long day on the soft divan 
 enjoying the dolce far niente, adorned with gold and jewels, 
 smoking, and supporting upon the yielding pillow those arms 
 that indolence makes so plump, while the eunuchs and female 
 slaves stand before them watching their every sign, and 
 anxious to spare them the slightest movement. Such sloth- 
 ful dames may indeed be found here and there in the harems 
 of the great, but are not confined to this country. People 
 fall again and again into the mistake of comparing the life 
 of the women of our middle ranks with that of those that 
 occupy the harems of the great! The care of house and 
 family lies much more heavily upon the women here, and 
 there is enough to attend to even if, being assisted by female 
 slaves, as is the case in the higher ranks, they have not to 
 put to their hands themselves, and confine themselves only 
 to giving orders. Cooking, baking, sewing, embroidering, 
 washing, and scouring must be carried on, and children must 
 be attended to here as well as elsewhere — there is no reading 
 nor pianoforte playing, however. 
 
 Before sunrise women and children are already awake and 
 moving, many indeed under cover of the dark gra}^ dawn pro- 
 ceed to the river to bathe and wash themselves. The toilette, 
 however, is not usually the first thing that demands attention; 
 the kitchen must first be attended to in order to let the hus- 
 band away to his occupation. A complete toilette including 
 combing and plaiting of the hair is not in many cases indulged 
 in every day even among ladies of the better class. In this 
 way time and trouble are spared, but a certain class of vermin 
 are left almost unmolested, and establish themselves often so 
 firmly among the black locks of the Eastern beauties that 
 they cannot be extirpated notwithstanding the raids that are 
 made upon them from time to time — even with the application 
 of gray mercurial ointment. As a rule the toilette is associ- 
 ated with a bath, to which praiseworthy enjoyment high and 
 low are attached, whether it be taken in the public bathing 
 establishment, in the river, the sea, or at home by means of 
 
LIFE OF THE WOMEN. 16-3 
 
 a, shallow tub, and by pouring warm water over the body 
 and scrubbing it with soap and date bast. In the public 
 baths certain hours or days are set apart for the fair sex, 
 and here many women spend half days bathing, adorning 
 themselves, smoking, and gossiping. At these times no male, 
 not even a eunuch would dare to set foot in the apart- 
 ments. 
 
 In other respects also the women are by no means robbed 
 of social pleasures. They visit each other often enough, if 
 possible early in the morning, and are wont to remain half 
 a day, a whole day, or even several days, though both parties 
 may be in the same town. They smoke, drink coffee (the 
 latter being less in use among the women than among the 
 men — the opposite to what holds good among the Franks), 
 gossip, show their ornaments and finery, tell stories and 
 wonderful tales, sew, embroider (but do not knit), sing and 
 dance, or better, make some one sing and dance before them 
 (since a well-conducted lady ought neither to be seen nor 
 heard, and therefore should not sing), laugh and make merry 
 — in short the harem so greatly pitied elsewhere enjoy life, 
 but on the sole condition, that no man be present! They 
 are less often allowed to take a walk in the open air; some — 
 and this is considered a great virtue — never leave the house 
 after their marriage. Their lady friends come to visit them 
 instead, and as almost every house in these regions has its 
 court-yard or a terrace, women are by no means kept out of the 
 open air. Moslim women are generally excused from the 
 burdensome prayers of the men, and pious or even hypocri- 
 tical women are in the Moslim female world a great rarity; 
 indeed they scarcely know the most important doctrines of 
 their religion. Piety in them is even looked upon with 
 dislike. 
 
 At mid-day the husband always eats alone, or with his 
 boys or guests. Immediately afterwards, however, the wife 
 again comes into honour since her lord likes to enjoy his siesta 
 in the chambers of the harem. After sunset no respectable 
 woman must show herself outside the house, even though 
 veiled and attended, and now, or some hours later, the husband 
 
164; UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 again repairs to the sacred apartments of those denied to all 
 but himself. 
 
 In the feeling of the Moslim the harems are not citadels 
 of jealous}^, in which the husband keeps penned up a con- 
 siderable flock of luxurious indolent beauties. This represen- 
 tation, so current in the land of the Franks, is spurned by 
 the Oriental with indignation. The women's apartments are 
 rather places sacred and inviolable, where the harim (sin- 
 gular hurmie; harem is meaningless), that is "the prohibited," 
 the women, the faTnily, and therefore the husband's dearest 
 treasure must be guarded from profane glances and frivolous 
 influences. As above remarked, they are by no means im- 
 prisoned, with the exception perhaps of the women of the 
 highest ranks, they are merely kept and brought up, so that 
 they may shut themselves ofi* by their veils both in the home 
 and outside from all strange men; among themselves they 
 enjoy the freest intercourse. Such a harem existed already 
 among the ancient Greeks under the less hostilely regarded 
 name of gynaikeion, and even yet the Greek w^omen are not 
 completely emancipated, and are very strictly looked after. 
 Besides, the native Christian women, at least in Upper Egypt, 
 are even more than those of the Moslim ''prohibited." 
 Among the ancient Egyptians, however, they were very free, 
 and went unveiled. In consequence of being thus shut up 
 the oriental women have almost come to form a separate caste, 
 whose laws the men have to respect. This caste has its 
 female sheikhs, for which dignity the midwives and bathing 
 women in particular are selected, has its medical art, its 
 songs and music, its fashions, almost its own language indeed, 
 at least so far as expressions are concerned, and unlimited 
 rule over the little children belonojinor to it. From the round 
 of its meetings even the master of the house is inexorably 
 excluded. Of course, according to the law, the woman is the 
 servant of the man; she has not the right to sit at a common 
 table with her husband; on the street he shyly avoids his 
 veiled spouse; she is even treated by religion as an object 
 of pollution, contact with which demands a full bath before 
 the believer can again perform his devotions; and when men- 
 
LIFE OF THE WOMEN. 165 
 
 tion is made of her it is usually accompanied, as in the case 
 of other unclean things, with a "saving your presence" (essak 
 Allah, literally "God honour you"); with regard to inherit- 
 ance she is regarded as only a half person; she is generally 
 excluded from the mosque, and as a rule is not required to 
 pray, or to know more than is necessary for housekeeping. 
 Still, in the lands of Islam, as well as in the rest of the world, 
 the weaker sex has subjected the stronger in certain fields. 
 Here, too, there are plenty of men who are under petticoat 
 government. The wife is significantly called sitt, that is, 
 "mistress," and even the husband calls her so. The wife has 
 €ven duties to perform towards the outer world in so far as 
 she has to manage the housekeeping. When, in the absence 
 of her husband a guest has to be entertained, meals are served 
 up in the name of the wife through her servants or children, 
 she inquires after the name and health of the guest, but she 
 herself does not appear. 
 
 Her sphere of activity is entirely limited to the house, and 
 she fulfils her mission with all the more contentment that 
 the pleasures of the great world are unknown to her. She 
 is not unsusceptible to the attractions of dress and finery — 
 her sex makes this a matter of course — but she has only her 
 husband and her female friends to shine before, and that sets 
 ■a natural limit to her desires. Her longings do not go beyond 
 her state of half freedom, to which she is accustomed from 
 her youth up, seclusion is not regarded by her as a restraint 
 imposed by the tj^rannical men, but as a precept of morality, 
 and a sudden edict of emancipation would at once arouse in 
 the harem itself as much indignation and resistance as a 
 tightening of the reins among the ladies of civilization. It 
 is not to be denied that only in the garden of freedom can a 
 healthy plant thrive, and come to maturity and produce fruit 
 a thousand fold. The greenhouse plant never feels the storm, 
 but it remains weakly and droops at the slightest breath 
 of unaccustomed air that gains entrance from the outside 
 by some crevice. Yet experience teaches that a goodly number 
 of those open-air garden plants cannot stand their freedom, 
 and perish if they do not receive strict attention and care. 
 
166 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 THE FAMILY. 
 
 Mohammed's dictum regarding wine is also true of love^ 
 it has many good sides, but also a great many and even more 
 that are bad and dangerous. The Prophet has therefore cut 
 Cupid's wings as well as he could; by the armour of conceal- 
 ment he protected the sexes from the swiftly wounding 
 arrow of the god, and granted to his faithful believers the 
 joys of domestic love in full, perhaps in too full, measure so 
 soon, and to as great an extent as they could do homage to 
 them. Matches are made early, and love's thirst is usually 
 quenched in an orderly and legitimate manner. Fallen 
 virgins, illegitimate children, bachelors, and old maids hardly 
 exist in Mohammedan countries, although there are perhaps 
 more unfaithful wives and husbands, and especially wives 
 who have gone astray and been divorced, than elsewhere. 
 Existinor rep'ulations render it difficult for these faithless 
 members of both sexes to meet directly; but this is managed 
 by the herd of procurers and procuresses, who are compara- 
 tively numerous in the East, though held in the deepest 
 contempt. "Women contrive to meet their gallants, even 
 though shut up in a box," says the Oriental himself in a very 
 common proverb, as well as in many a tale. Adultery com- 
 mitted by a woman was punished with drowning down to a 
 short time ago; among the ancient Egyptians by cutting off the 
 nose. But the Mussulman is proud with regard to the above- 
 mentioned state of matters, and listens with scorn to the 
 statistical revelations made by the states of the West, which 
 suffer from all kinds of moral sores no less than the more 
 dignified "sick man." 
 
 Nothing shall here be said in approval of polygamy, but 
 to those who have had lengthened opportunities for watching 
 its effects it does not appear as a rule so black as Western 
 imagination is accustomed at a distance to paint it A 
 thorough panegyric would perhaps show that it even possesses 
 some advantages on moral grounds; and in the West also it 
 certainly exists in some social circles. In the East it has pre- 
 vailed from the earliest times, from the Bedouin to the king^ 
 
THE FAMILY. 167 
 
 even among the patterns of Godfearingness in all times and 
 all countries. Though a man has several wives, that is not 
 a proof of his unbridled sensuality. A man often takes an 
 additional wife because his first one has not presented him 
 with the heirs he longs for — sons in particular — as was the case 
 with the Prophet himself; or matrimonial relationships have 
 become impossible through illness, old age or incompatibility. 
 And it always testifies to some tenderness of feeling when 
 the husband will not put away his first wife or the mother 
 of his children. This step, easy as the law makes it, is resorted 
 to only in exceptional cases, especially if the children are 
 still alive. The great ease with which divorce may be 
 effected is a much weaker side of Mohammedanism, and 
 there are of course a considerable number of dissolute fellows 
 who take advantage of this and do not fill their houses with 
 expensive, scolding, legitimate wives (the number of whom 
 cannot exceed four), but indulge their passions by a change 
 of wares, be they free or slaves. Some men get as far as a 
 fifth wife without ever having had more than one at a time. 
 This does not lower a man in the estimation of the people, if 
 he does not do anything not permitted by religion, though 
 it will be easily understood that such a person is often unsuc- 
 cessful in his wooings. - Any one may keep as many female 
 slaves as he pleases; if one of them has presented him 
 with children, however, the excellent custom that prevails 
 demands that he shall not sell her, still less her children, who 
 according to the law are in all respects legitimate. The 
 father must always maintain the children that any divorced 
 wife has had to him. The question of expense, therefore, 
 forms a beneficial check upon licentiousness, and from this 
 and other reasons it is very common among the higher 
 classes, and among the middle and lower classes almost the 
 rule, for a man to live his whole life long with only a single 
 wife. Unfortunately no statistics are to be had relating to 
 these matters, since the state does not concern itself about 
 matrimonial affairs; these are attended to by the ecclesias- 
 tical judge or kadi. 
 
 In divorce cases this functionary, after some weak attempts 
 
168 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 at reconciliation, has always to give effect to the expressed 
 wish of the husband. The wife also can press for a divorce, 
 and is not, therefore, devoid of all rights; but in this case, 
 besides losing her maintenance, she also, as a rule, loses the 
 jointure that would otherwise fall to be paid to her by the 
 husband as stipulated in the marriage contract. The divorce 
 cannot be judicially forced from the husband, he must say 
 the words ''Thou art repudiated," and if he will not do so he 
 has to give his wife a het sher 'ai, that is, a separate dwelling 
 and maintenance; it is a kind of divorce a mensa et thoro. 
 During the continuance of this relationship the woman can- 
 not marry again, though of course the husband can. But 
 during the proceedings, with which a multitude of laymen, 
 both summoned and unsummoned, mix themselves up, the 
 husband often becomes morally pliant, or is induced by cun- 
 ning to utter the words, whereupon the case at once comes 
 to an end. The phrase "thou art repudiated" is fatally 
 momentous, the mere utterance of it, even in the heat of a 
 quarrel, results in separation, and "thrice repudiated" even 
 in complete divorce (see below). If a person writes these 
 words down and in joke asks a Mohammedan to read them, 
 he absolutely refuses to read them aloud. The asseveration 
 "by repudiation," or stronger "by threefold repudiation," is 
 equivalent to a solemn oath. The greater number of disputes 
 in cases of matrimonial separation arise on account of the 
 children, whom neither the father nor mother would like to 
 part with. They, together with the matter of expense, are 
 what unites most closely the bonds of marriage, otherwise 
 so loose. Up to a certain age, which differs among the 
 various so-called sects of Mohammedans — among the Hana- 
 fites, for instance, being the seventh year, among the Shafaites 
 the second — the child remains witli its mother, while the 
 father pays for its support, and in return has the right of 
 seeing it as often as he wishes. Henceforth the father, if he 
 has satisfactorily supported it hitherto, can take the child 
 altogether to himself, and he usually does so if it is a boy. 
 
 The divorced wife returns to her parents, who generally 
 soon succeed in lindinof another settlement for her. In a 
 
THE FAMILY. 169 
 
 great many cases the separation is only temporary, the hus- 
 band' and wife make up their quarrel and come together 
 again without any farther formalities than the consent of the 
 kadi. When the severest form of divorce has been pronounced, 
 however, namely, with the formula of threefold repudiation, 
 a reunion becomes not such an easy matter. For such cases 
 there exists the well known and peculiar law of the mostahill 
 (literally "permission-maker"). A third person has formally 
 to marry the divorced woman and put her away again, where- 
 upon the husband can again take back his fdrmer wife. Men 
 who are endowed with the minimum of personal advantages 
 are usually selected to act as these middle men, and they are 
 paid for their welcome services. Cases of this sort are cer- 
 tainly rare, being considered disgraceful It sometimes hap- 
 pens also that the pair joined in this momentary marriage 
 take each other's fanc}^, the intermediary will not give up 
 the woman joined to him, and no power can tear them 
 asunder if they do not wish it. The law just mentioned is 
 said to be founded on the awakening of jealousy. 
 
 The man of the middle and lower ranks who has more 
 than one wife usually has his harem, with children and 
 attendants, in different houses, or in different portions of the 
 same house specially constructed for the purpose; and in order 
 to give satisfaction to all parties, a good polygamous husband 
 eats and sleeps in regular alternation, the one day in tlie 
 house of one wife, the next in that of another. These look 
 upon themselves as relatives, and from time to time pay each 
 other at least ceremonial visits. Indeed there are a great 
 many examples of several wives living together peacefuHy, 
 obediently, and free from jealousy. Of quarrels arising from 
 jealousy much less is heard than one would have beforehand 
 assumed. By his supreme powers the husband maintains 
 order, and jealousy frequently takes even the form of a 
 praiseworthy struggle how each wife may appear more ami- 
 able in the eyes of her husband than her rivals. Most 
 women give up from the first the idea of requiring their 
 husband to remain true to them, and jealous women are even 
 laughed at by their female friends. The ideal romantic love 
 
170 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 is never felt by the Oriental; he condemns it, and knows 
 only the natural sensual love, and the noblest and most 
 practical, the love of a husband, often very true and deep. 
 Among the ancient Egyptians monogamy alone seems to 
 have been practised; on the other hand marriages between 
 brothers and sisters were allowed. 
 
 To the modern Egyptians, the monogamous Copts, as well 
 as the polygamous Mohammedans, kind-hearted and full of 
 feeling as they are, livel}^ family affections are not to be 
 denied. The niembers of a family usually cling tenderly to 
 each other; to them a foreign country is equivalent to misery, 
 and a lengthy separation a misfortune. Veneration is deeply, 
 to us as it often seems almost tyrannically, impressed upon 
 children. In the presence of a father it would be disrespectful 
 to smoke, to sit, and to speak more than is necessary. If 
 there are guests the son does not eat with them but serves, 
 it is only by the special desire of a guest that he joins the 
 party. The younger brother has to behave in a similar 
 manner towards his elder. Where circumstances permit, and 
 especially therefore in the country, all the members of the 
 family up to old age inhabit a common dwelling, living in 
 patriarchal style. The old father or mother, no longer able 
 to work, lives with the vigorous son, and free from care 
 awaits the end; and additional children, instead of being 
 looked on as a burden, are welcomed by parents as a blessing 
 from Heaven, which thus bestows on them so many additional 
 supporters. Living the simple and temperate life they do, 
 great ages are common; according to the statements of the 
 people 90 to 100 years are no rarity, but these reports are 
 not to be depended on, since scarcely anybody knows the day 
 or even the year of his birth. Early marriages being the rule, 
 generations follow each other so rapidly that it is not rare for 
 the great-great-grandfather to see his great-great-grandson. 
 
 The idyllic patriarchal life of union is on the whole the 
 rule, but there are also many exceptions. Here as elsewhere 
 there are cruel mothers, shrews, ungrateful children, brothers 
 at deadly enmity, scolding mothers-in-law, husbands that 
 beat their wives, wives that beat their husbands. 
 
RAMADAN. 171 
 
 FRIDAY. 
 
 The week is over, and on the eve of Friday the muezzin^ 
 proclaims, by a variation in words and melody, the day of 
 the Lord, which begins at this hour, and consequently on 
 Thursday evening. But neither now nor yet next morning 
 does any change in the physiognomy of the working day 
 manifest itself The retail-dealer sits in his shop, the artisan 
 knocks and hammers, the broker shouts, the countryman 
 brings his fruits as at other times, it is but a very few that 
 have even changed their clothes. Towards mid-day the 
 muezzin calls repeatedly, not as at other times only once, 
 and now the town assumes a remarkably deserted appear- 
 ance, in the streets and market-places only idle boys make a 
 stir, the whole grown-up male population hurry to the 
 mosques. Here, sitting in rows upon the ground, the con- 
 gregation listen to the exhortations of the uneducated lay- 
 preacher in the pulpit, who but a short time ago sat in his 
 shop and wove or worked at his trade of tailor or carpenter, 
 while the attendants on a platform chant formulas in con- 
 firmation of his words. A short half hour and the whole 
 service, tlie sermon of the preacher, his official supplication, 
 and the genuflections of the worshippers, are at an end. The 
 remainder of the day is also devoted to ordinary occupations, 
 the Prophet having so permitted. Only the schools and the 
 public offices remain closed. 
 
 As with the Friday so with many other days held sacred 
 by the Mohammedans; the uninitiated is often made aware 
 of them only by means of slices of bread and butter, which 
 a friendly neighbour sends to the house, or, as at the Ashoora, 
 by a kind of cosmopolitan cake, consisting of flour, wheat, 
 barley, walnuts, hazel-nuts, raisins, rose-perfume, cinnamon, 
 ginger, and all other possible fruits and spices. 
 
 RAMADAN. 
 
 But now comes the month of fasting — the sacred Ramadan. 
 On the evening of the day preceding the first of this month 
 
172 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 the people begin to be in an active and excited state. 
 Numerous groups collect in the open spaces and scan the 
 western horizon to see if they can discover the new moon; 
 since it is only on the testimony of a Moslim that he has 
 seen the new moon — though he may be a man of no account 
 whatever — that the festival can begin. Even the most accu- 
 rate astronomical calculation, so far as this is possible, has 
 not the same authorit}^ The rising and setting of the new 
 as well as of the full moon are not regulated exactly by those 
 of the sun, since the synodic or lunar month contains 29 days, 
 12 hours, and 44 minutes, and the time of conjunction, when 
 moon, earth, and sun are in a right line, happens at very dif- 
 ferent hours of the day in different months. The time at 
 which the new moon, so eagerly looked for by the Moham- 
 medans, first reappears after astronomical new-moon also 
 depends upon the season of the year ; it is seen earliest in 
 the spring months, for reasons depending upon the position 
 of the moon's path relatively to that of the sun. An astro- 
 nomer says that he has not seen the moon earlier than forty 
 hours after nor later than twenty-seven hours before the 
 astronomical new-moon, but that by a combination of all 
 favourable circumstances this may even happen within 
 twenty-four hours, and travellers maintain that they have 
 seen the old moon on the morning and the new moon on the 
 eveninof of the same dav. To these considerations one is led 
 who every year looks on, while the Moslimin thus eagerly 
 and for the most part uselessly watch the heavens. Since 
 the official calendar pays no attention to this important 
 method of determining Ramadan, it simply gives, now to one 
 month, now to another, thirty or twenty-nine days in order to 
 make up the total of 354. Accordingly, when the first of 
 Ramadan occurs in the calendar, it is by no means certain 
 whether at the same time the new moon is visible. The 
 more scientific among the heads of the province often actually 
 cause the fast to be altered a day till the moon is perfectly 
 visible in the evening sky. When Ramadan falls in winter, 
 at which season the sky is often clouded, and in high lati- 
 tudes, where it is gloom}^ for weeks at a time, the determina- 
 
RAMADAN. 173 
 
 tion of Ramadan is attended with still greater difficulties. 
 In modern times, however, the inhabitants of the province 
 are informed by telegraph from the capital, when the new 
 moon became visible there, and that generally at a time before 
 even the most sharp-sighted among the country people could 
 descry anything. 
 
 So soon as it is believed to be certain that the new moon 
 has appeared, in towns where there are cannon a loud report 
 proclaims the commencement of the fast, and from this moment 
 the Moslim becomes quite a changed man. Henceforward 
 he leads more of a nocturnal life. In the morning during 
 the fast only a few persons belonging to the lowest classes 
 are seen, as in the large towns of Europe; porters, water- 
 carriers, day-labourers, ass and camel drivers, go to their 
 occupations; the children, who are not expected to fast, and 
 the infidels have possession of the streets; the markets and 
 cafes are deserted, the shops and offices shut. Gradually a 
 person here and there rises, and, with eyelids weighed down 
 by sleep, crawls languidly along, and the shops begin to open. 
 Such things as are absolutely necessary are bought, but trade 
 remains extremely dull, and when a person asks to see some 
 goods the shop-keeper sulkily lays aside the Koran, which 
 he had been conning over to himself aloud, moving his head 
 to and fro, and scarcely deigns to give the customer a single 
 glance. ''• When ye fast, be not as the hypocrites of a sad 
 countenance; for they disfigure their faces, that they may 
 appear unto men to fast" (Mat. vi. 16). 
 
 In the forenoon nature makes herself felt as being deprived 
 of her proper night's rest; from noon onwards hunger and 
 thirst also demand to be appeased. Not a bite, not a sup, 
 not an odour must enter the body that is clad in the armour 
 of fasting. The most exquisite dainties would not be able 
 to seduce a fasting Moslim. When he passes an infidel who 
 is smoking he carefully shuts both mouth and nose, and it is 
 not many years yet since any one who dared to smoke before 
 a fasting Moslim would have suflfered for it. Unless he is 
 very unwell (and then he is freed from fasting) a Moham- 
 medan takes no medicine during the day, he even refuses to 
 
174 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 allow an eye-lotion to be dropped upon his sore eyes, and the 
 doctor may as well desist at once from attempting a regular 
 treatment during this month. Anointing the head, bathing, 
 cleaning out the ears, and even looking into a mirror, are 
 also considered sinful by some. It need scarcely be men- 
 tioned that matrimonial duties, were it even a kiss, are ex- 
 cluded from the labours of the day. Perjury, stealing, and 
 lying are trifles compared with the deadly sin of cooling the 
 parched tongue with a single drop of water during a day in 
 Ramadan. Eamadan is the touch-stone of the true Moslim, 
 and there are very few who openly at least venture to break 
 the fast. Even the women, who know nothing more of their 
 religion than the words Mohammed, paradise, hell-fire, and 
 unbelievers, fast likewise (though not in all places); if their 
 menses intervene, however, they become unclean, and fasting 
 then becomes sinful. A person who is sick and travelling 
 does not require to fast, and can make up for lost time on 
 another occasion. 
 
 The nearer evening approaches the more does the traffic 
 on the street increase. It is comical to see the eagerness 
 with which the faster awaits the minute that allows him 
 again the wished- for refreshment. One man, for instance, may 
 be seen standing with a live coal held above the newly-filled 
 bowl of his pipe, another holds a piece of date-bread or a cup 
 of coffee an inch from his mouth. The cannon roars, and the 
 dainty is at once bolted. As the thunder of the cannon clears 
 off* the clouds from the face of the sky, so does it cheer up 
 the gloomy lenten- visages of the sons of Islam. The streets 
 again become empty, since at home there is already an abun- 
 dant repast prepared; of fat mutton, and many other varieties 
 of dishes, of spices, and sweets of all kinds, there is abun- 
 dance at the tables of the rich; while the man of the lower 
 classes, who can seldom afford to buy meat at other seasons 
 of the year, has been saving up for months in order to give 
 himself the gratification of a good evening "breakfast" dur- 
 ing Ramadan. It is a good custom among the rich to have a 
 guest at this meal, and one is often taken in off" the street. 
 Nor does the poor beggar at this time go empty away. 
 
RAMADAN. 175 
 
 Thus strengthened it is possible for the Moslim in his 
 nocturnal devotions to perform the twenty systems of 
 reverential bendings (ruh'a) novs^ demanded instead of the 
 usual three. On tlie streets there is not to be sure a surging 
 of people up and down, and there are also but a few of the 
 dealers or artisans' shops opened, but a bustle and traffic at 
 other times unusual on the street at night may still be noticed; 
 numerous sellers of fruits, and especially of confectionery, 
 have lighted up their stations, and, till far into the night, 
 cry their wares, now so largely patronised by young and 
 old; the cafes are all well attended, and if one pleases he can 
 now get here besides the black bitter coffee sweetened coffee 
 or a cup of ginger water with sugar, and sometimes also 
 sherbet of rose-water, tamarinds, raisins, St. John's bread, 
 or, lastly, a drop of liquorice j nice. A ''poet" relates to the 
 by-standers the deeds of the hero Abuset or Antar, some- 
 times bursting out into song, and accompanying himself by 
 scraping on a one stringed fiddle. In another cafe a master 
 of music twangs with all the rapidity of a virtuoso the 
 innumerable treble strings of a kind of guitar, and draws 
 from it those weak jingling tones which recall to us our boy- 
 hood and the time when we received our first music lessons 
 on the dingy-keyed piano of a country schoolmaster. There 
 the guests listen to a story-teller; with voluble tongue and 
 poetic verse he describes the enchanted princes and princesses, 
 the excursions of the disguised Haroun al Rashid and his 
 viziers, the man-eating monsters, the Jewish enchanters, which 
 form the material for every one of those tales, the number 
 of which is far more than 1001. The narrative is extempore 
 — purely from memory. 
 
 In the houses matters proceed in the same way or even with 
 more liveliness. Everybody who has a house to offer ''pre- 
 pares a couch'' (ijfrish) in order to receive guests, and treats 
 them to coffee. On such evenings the merriest humour pre- 
 vails, and at no time the whole year through does the 
 Moslim appear in such a hearty vein as on the nights of 
 Ramadan. He goes from one house to another and makes 
 a round of calls upon his friends and acquaintances. In 
 
176 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 order to add life to an entertainment gentlemen often send 
 for singers, instrumentalists, and dancers, the last of whom 
 are generally in great request on the evenings of this month. 
 The religious element is represented by a schoolmaster who 
 recites the Koran in another room, and who is expressly 
 hired for the month, or an educated slave or a son may 
 perform this office. Other feasts, such as circumcisions 
 or marriages, are never celebrated in the sacred month. 
 Sittings of the courts are commonly held and the more 
 important official business performed at night. It is not till 
 towards midnight that quietness prevails ; the muezzin calls, 
 and soon after, a cry is heard and a warning shot sounds over 
 the town intimating that it is time to prepare for the last 
 meal. If any person has failed to notice this he is warned 
 by individuals who about this time wander /singly through 
 the town from house to house beating a drum. The " viml- 
 meal " consists of the remains of the principal meal warmed 
 up, or of meat fried with butter and articles made of flour, 
 such as are at other times prepared for breakfast. Two hours 
 after the boom of the cannon is again heard, the fast has to 
 begin and along with it the same routine. Such is the 
 sacred month of Ramadan, the great month of fasting and 
 also of feasting, for which the women during the following 
 month sing songs of regret as if for a loved one departed. 
 
 THE GREAT AND THE LITTLE FEAST. 
 
 In the three following days of the next month, Shaual, the 
 "Little Feast," the "Little Bairam" of the Turks, is cele- 
 brated. It begins, as every day does, in the evening. The 
 women have made ready bread and butter and sugar-cakes, 
 the men dress themselves in their best, and the barbers 
 are occupied till late at night in attending to their cus- 
 tomers. On this evening three cannon shots proclaim that 
 the fast has now come to an end. After supper every- 
 body goes early to bed, but before sunrise all the men are in 
 the mosque offering up their feast-day prayers, and listening 
 to the feast-day sermon, which does not last much longer 
 
THE GREAT AND THE LITTLE FEAST. 177 
 
 than the Friday's ceremony. This day's breakfast, the first 
 for a month, consists, if possible, of fresh or salted fish, with 
 all kinds of fruits and delicacies, in order that the body may 
 be gradually accustomed to its usual course of life. People 
 appear in their holiday clothes, and the shops are shut. On 
 this day shirts covered with a year's dirt are exchanged 
 for brand-new garments even among the poorest, gay silken 
 stuffs infold those parts and members of the body that were 
 previously exposed, costly cloths flutter round the head, and 
 the cheerful colours of the bright red, bright yellow, green, 
 and blue coats show vividly in the morning sun. The little 
 girls, who are allowed to run about the streets and markets 
 only on rare occasions, on this day flutter about like brilliant 
 butterflies through the whole town, in their fire- red clothes, 
 their faces carefully painted and touched up, and their persons 
 hung with ornaments of gold and silver. A nameless joy 
 beams in and from out the heart of everybody. No longer 
 is there any enemy, any hateful unbeliever; high and low 
 are all one, the whole citizens embrace each other — liberty, 
 equality, fraternity. A round of visits is made from house 
 to house; officials and people of the higher ranks give a very 
 imposing reception, and everybody wishes everybody else a 
 happy new year, though the new year will not come for three 
 months yet. After the visitor has embraced his host round 
 the neck, bending over his right and his left shoulder, cofifee, 
 and sherbet are brought, or the half-fermented native beer 
 made from barley, and called huza. Everybody serving 
 another in any capacity on this day receives from his master 
 a money present or at least a new garment. The women 
 also adorn themselves and hold receptions for each other, but 
 this is done to a greater extent on the following day, as they 
 have too much to do on the first day in preparing liquors 
 for the male guests. Any other kind of work is out of the 
 question. The remaining portion of such holidays passes 
 quietly, the chief times of the day being proclaimed by the 
 reports of a cannon as well as by the muezzin. As early, 
 however, as the second day of the feast some persons who 
 are eager after business open their shops and buy and sell ; 
 
 12 
 
178 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 while those who have lost some one dear to them recall him 
 or her to their thoughts, proceed to the cemetery (especially 
 the women), stick a palm branch into the grave mound, dis- 
 tribute pastry and alms, and even pass the night there with 
 their family. 
 
 The other feast follows three months after. It is called the 
 Great Feast or Feast of Offering, and lasts for four days, but 
 is really the smaller feast. The baking, cannon-firing, receiving 
 of visitors, embracing, congratulating, and dressing go on as 
 at the little feast; the festive gaiety is, however, dulled, and 
 is not so universal as after the Kamadan. The chief ceremony 
 on this occasion is the eating of "offering flesh" in memory 
 of the offering of Abraham. Every believer must have his 
 piece of meat on this day, and anyone who cannot procure 
 it for himself receives it from his richer neighbours, each of 
 whom offers a sheep for every member of his family. The 
 native Christians abstain from flesh on this day out of 
 opposition. This is the most brilliant period of the pil- 
 grimage in Mecca. 
 
 FEAST OF THE SAINTS. 
 
 In the middle of the month Shaaban, which precedes 
 Ramadan, is celebrated the great annual jubilee (a kind of 
 wakes), when every town that can claim to have had a saint 
 of any note, having chosen him as its patron, honours his 
 memory by some kind of festive demonstration — the saint 
 having been a man gifted by God with miraculous power, 
 not necessarily on account of great piety, but oftener as a 
 compensation for harmless and innocent imbecility. The 
 ancient Egyptians also had their patrons and protectors, 
 namely, special divinities or forms and varieties of such for 
 particular cities. In Upper Egypt the chief festival is that 
 of the Sheikh Abder-Kahim at Keneh; it is for Upper Egypt 
 what the celebrated fair at Tantah is for Lower Egypt. The 
 latter is evidently a continuation of the ancient Egyptian feast 
 of Diana at Bubastis, or is analogous to it. From the beginning 
 of the month onwards some bustle prevails round the temple 
 
FEAST OF THE SAINTS. 179 
 
 or mausoleum of the sheikh, as the saint is called, booths and 
 tents are erected, and the spot where he is buried is crowded 
 with devout visitors. At night the halls of the mausoleum 
 are lighted up, all the lamps above the tomb being lighted; 
 the citizens crowd to the spot, listen to the reading of the 
 Koran, and give themselves up to the intoxication of the 
 zikVy a kind of religious dance which will be described after- 
 wards. Coffee and sherbet are served out in the booths, and 
 dancing-girls, singers, and instrumental performers attract 
 the people, the stalls of the dealers in fruits and confectionery- 
 extend far into the city; all the shopkeepers have provided 
 large supplies of goods; foreign traders expose their commodi- 
 ties; the festival assumes the appearance of a fair. The 
 nearer the feast the greater the throng of people that assem- 
 bles from far and near. Every hour brings more new-comers, 
 many of whom advance in solemn procession, horsemen and 
 flags in front, with drums, musical instruments, and women 
 behind, who express in a melancholy chant their longing 
 regards towards the sainted sheikh, or utter quavers of joy. 
 The flags and the sheep that are dragged along in the pro- 
 cession are intended as offerings for the saint, in fulfilment 
 of a vow made for a prayer granted in the course of the year. 
 When the attendants of the sheikh, as sacrificial priests, have 
 taken as much as they want, the remainder is divided among 
 the struggling people. 
 
 At the place where the festival is held boys and youths 
 amuse themselves on a large swing, the smaller and the girls 
 enjoy a kind of see-saw; on the level unused area of the 
 graveyard the equestrian performers go through their man- 
 oeuvres. Clad in a wide flowing blouse, with the sleeves thrown 
 far back, their feet planted on the broad flat stirrups, as they 
 sit in their saddles that rise into a high pommel before and 
 behind, holding upright in their hands a long pole, these 
 performers ride at full speed, one after the other, from one 
 row of people to the opposite. They display their dexterity 
 by suddenly stopping their flying horses when close beside 
 the frightened crowd, in accomplishing which their pole 
 serves as a support, and by raising the dust in clouds causes 
 
180 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 their daring to be visible to a distance. The people on the 
 festival ground take up their positions in a number of circles, 
 in the centre of which performers of all sorts show them- 
 selves. Here a silver-haired wise woman or female sheikh 
 sings rousing religious hymns; there the listening people get 
 stories of genii and of heroes told to them; here the monkey- 
 keeper puts his red-buttocked baboon through his perform- 
 ances, making him show "the maiden's sleep and that of the 
 old wife, the walk of the thief," &c.; there a group of impro- 
 visators are bawling and clapping their hands, ready at a 
 moment's notice to make a verse for and upon every new 
 comer. Elsewhere a buffoon is giving amusement by his 
 gestures in theatrical representations, and his wit, which is 
 coarse, generally obscene, and exceedingly personal. A jug- 
 gler stuffs his mouth full of cotton and draws out endless 
 ribbons instead. These he winds up together, then shuts them 
 into his magical box, opens the box, and discovers it to be 
 empty. He then summons the magic spirit to his assistance by 
 blowing a large shell (generally that of Tritonium variega- 
 tum), opening the box again and a large serpent crawls out of 
 it. In the meantime he goes through all sorts of antics with his 
 boys and assistants. One of these robs him, but the thief is 
 discovered and condemned to death. The juggler bares the 
 culprit's belly, into which he forcibly thrusts a dagger, and 
 in order that death may be certain, he withdraws and inserts 
 it several times. A stream of blood spurts out, and the per- 
 formance is too real and horrible for some spectators. The 
 corpse is covered up, the magic shell is blown, the spirit 
 awakes the boy, who gradually moves his limbs, and soon 
 jumps about as merry as before. The handle of the dagger, 
 as the police have learned, is hollow, and the blade is pushed 
 up into it when brought into contact with the skin, while at- 
 the same time a bladder applied to the dagger gives out a 
 stream of blood-red beet-root juice. 
 
 On the morning of the festival itself, as upon all the great 
 general festivals of Islam, town and people are decorated and 
 dressed out, work is entirely at a stand-still, and the throng 
 upon the main streets leading to the tomb of the saint is 
 
FEAST OF THE SAINTS. 181 
 
 immense. The town contains twice or thrice as many 
 strangers as inhabitants, and these are all on foot. Camels 
 behung with coloured cloths, ribbons, carpets, and bells, carry 
 the mahmel or "ark" of the tutelary saint, which is covered 
 with the grave-cloth embroidered in gold and silver; the 
 main part of this mahmel, a quadrangular wooden frame with 
 s. pyramidal top, may be seen at other times on the roof of 
 the sheikh's building. The anniversary of other saints is 
 also occasionally celebrated at the same time, and each has 
 his mahmel. These processions have an unmistakable simi- 
 larity to those that took place at the clothing of the statues 
 of the ancient Egyptian deities. When the camels are col- 
 lected the procession starts. The advanced guard is formed 
 by a large number of swift camels, whose riders, sitting upon 
 rich housings, and themselves decked with gay garments, 
 gallop backwards and forwards and display their dexterity. 
 Others show their horses' action, while boys strive to get 
 their donkeys to gallop. Pipers and kettle- drummers head 
 the procession itself (it is only the military that have drums 
 and trumpets proper), then comes the chorus of day and night 
 watchmen, followed by the Turkish soldiers and police-officials 
 in full regimentals. This armed body keeps up a perpetual 
 •fire, loading their old-fashioned guns and pistols to the 
 muzzle. In their midst rides the governor of the province 
 or his representative on a richly caparisoned steed, the pro- 
 cession being joined also, when possible, by a squadron of 
 Bashi Bazouks or irregular troops, and a company of regular 
 troops of the line. The camels with the mahmels, each led 
 by a man, form the middle of the festal procession. Under 
 the frames of the mahmels peep out boys and girls who have 
 been elevated to this blessed seat, either in virtue of their 
 rank, or by the recommendations of their fathers. Before 
 €very camel a body of men dance and sing pious odes, hymns 
 and verses of the Koran; gay flags consecrated to the sheikh 
 are carried alongside of the camel. Behind follow more 
 musicians, and after them dancing-girls, who are indispens- 
 able even to such pious solemnities, and are believed not to 
 have a disturbing effect upon the devotion appropriate to 
 
182 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 the festival. Upon a wheeled conveyance, and adorned with 
 flags and ribbons, a small boat is pulled along, the property 
 of the saint, and at other times hung up in his mausoleum. 
 In it he is said to have from time to time made journeys by 
 sea and river. The end of the procession is formed by camels 
 bearing huge kettle-drums, which the rider belabours with a 
 mighty drum-stick. Behind these, lastly, comes the crowd 
 of people extending as far as the eye can reach. Thus they 
 march away, often to some spot leagues distant in the desert, 
 and after making the round of the town appear before the 
 serail of the governor. This solemn moment, which does not 
 take place till towards evening, is proclaimed by the thunder 
 of ordnance. At some places the firing takes place at the 
 start of the procession. With the replacing of the arks in 
 the temple of their sainted owners the festivities come to an 
 end, and next morning all the people are again in their 
 working clothes. 
 
 EASTER WEEK. 
 
 It is remarkable that the bigoted Mohammedans celebrate, 
 at least in Egypt, some days in common with the native 
 Christians^ though certainly in a peculiar and by no means 
 Christian manner. To these belong especially the dsijs about 
 Easter. On Palm Sunday (had el chus) the women bind palm 
 twigs round their heads and fingers. On the Monday fol- 
 lowing people eat fagus (a kind of cucumber) along with 
 caraway; on Tuesday, whey with onions, this day being ac- 
 cordingly called " whey and onion day " (^yum el mish u el 
 basal). The Wednesday is universally known by the name 
 of Job's Wednesday (arha Ayuh). On this day the plant 
 ghuhera (Inula arahica?) said to Job in his illness, "Wash 
 thyself with my juice, and thou wilt recover;" he did recover, 
 and on this day it is customary for all the Egyptians to wash 
 themselves with the ghargharah Ayuh. Maunday Thursday 
 has become " pea-Thursday." Good Friday is called among 
 the Mohammedans, "cake and butter Friday" (guma'a el 
 mafruJca), cakes spread with butter and honey being the 
 
EASTEE WEEK. 183 
 
 special dainty on this day. Saturday is named "the Sabbath 
 of the light/' from the celebrated sacred fire, which on this 
 day bursts forth in the Greek Church of the Sepulchre at 
 Jerusalem, and on this account the Christian brethren there 
 annually get up a spectacle, which often terminates in deadly 
 blows and renders the intervention of the Turkish, and con- 
 sequently Mohammedan soldiery necessary. On this day 
 the Mohammedan faithful strengthen their eyes with eye- 
 powders; everybody has a vein opened, or gets himself cupped, 
 a custom which prevails in many places in the West also, and 
 in Egypt, Mohammedan as it is, coloured Easter eggs are 
 also eaten. People take hishh, that is, a decoction of wheat 
 with sourmilk, boil it with eggs, and stick it with the 
 coloured shells of the eggs above the doors to adorn the 
 entrance for all time coming and ward off spirits. On Easter 
 Sunday the "great feast of the Christians" (^id en-nusdra) 
 these hold a grand reception, with sherbet and holiday gifts, 
 the Mohammedans in a friendly and neighbourly way call 
 upon the Christians as the latter did upon them during 
 Bairam. The Easter Monday of the Copts, whose festivals 
 are settled by the Greek calendar, is the universal spring 
 festival for the adherents of both religions. The night before 
 onions, beans, and a bouquet of roses are laid under the bed- 
 cushions and slept upon. On Easter Monday the onions are 
 crushed and stuck with some water on the door; the beans 
 are stuck on the bar, and the roses are used as a nosegay. 
 At the first streak of daylight everybody moves abroad, this 
 being the day of shimm en-nezim, that is, "air-smelling," or 
 more poetically "sipping the zephyr." People go to the 
 gardens or other attractive spots, and pass, if possible, the 
 whole day there. At the most-frequented places sellers of 
 coffee, sherbet, buza, and cooked meats establish them- 
 selves. A company of friends may take an Easter lamb with 
 them, kill it at the rendezvous they have selected, and pre- 
 pare tanuT, that is, they cut up the meat in several pieces 
 and bake it in an improvised earth-oven; or they make 
 shauirma, that is, the whole lamb with the skin and hair on 
 is placed on a spit and roasted at the fire.' The day is spent 
 
184 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 in conversation, ball playing, and gymnastic exercises, and 
 those whose conscience allows it smell the contents of their 
 dram-bottle as well as the fresh air and roast meat. Health 
 must be inhaled to-day since the five days' period of terror, 
 the time of the chamasin, is now at hand. A serpent then 
 wanders over the earth and infects the atmosphere with its 
 poisonous breath, leaving behind small-pox, plague, cholera 
 ("the yellow wind"), and all other varieties of disease. The 
 curse is not removed till Whitsuntide dissolves it. 
 
 THE NIGHT OF THE DROP. 
 
 On the I7th of June a "drop" falls (according to the 
 ancients a tear of Isis) into the decreasing waters of the Nile, 
 and impregnates the wonderful stream. Its effect is soon 
 after observed in the dirtier colour of the water, then in its 
 more rapid flow, and lastly in its increase and overflow. On 
 this day, or on the night, the "night of the drop," young and 
 old flock to the banks of the blessed stream. 
 
 THE NERUS DAY. 
 
 On the 10th September, the first day of the Coptic solar 
 year, the river has reached to about its highest point, and on 
 this day — the nerils, the people give themselves up to the 
 pleasures of the carnival. For three days it is all up with 
 the rule of the Turks; every little town chooses for itself in 
 its own way, and from its own midst, a ruler (ahu nevus), 
 who has a towering fool's cap set upon his head, and a long 
 spectral beard of flax fastened to his chin, and is clothed in 
 a peculiar garment. With a long sceptre in his hand, and 
 followed by a crowd of correspondingly -dressed bailiffs, 
 hangmen, and scribes, he promenades the streets and turns 
 his steps straight to the hall of the chief magistrate. Every 
 one bends before him, the guards at the door make way, the 
 governor of the province or of the town has the humour to 
 let himself be ousted, while the new dignitary seats himself 
 on his throne and holds a most rigorous criminal investiga- 
 
BIRTH-DAY CEREMONIES. 185 
 
 tion, from which even the displaced functionar}'- and his 
 abettors do not escape. The hangman's assistant of yesterday 
 is sentenced to be hanged, the bastinadoer to be beaten, the 
 bashkatib or chief secretary to imprisonment, immense taxes 
 are imposed, and all decisions are set down on a sheet of 
 paper. There is no pardon for the condemned unless on the 
 payment of a few piasters as backshish. Thus they move 
 from house to house, the taxes being levied in the form of 
 backshish. Three days does the capricious rule of the 
 ephemeral tyrant last; at length he, that is his dress, is con- 
 demned to death by burning, and from the ashes creeps out 
 the slavish Fellah. In the times of good-natured Moham- 
 med Ali the abu nerus is said to have ventured even to ap- 
 proach his throne, but the harmless jest has now fallen a good 
 deal out of practice. The ancients also celebrated feasts when 
 the Nile was at its height, in the month of Tut, as, for in- 
 stance, that of Hermes on the 19th of this month. The 
 anniversary of the opening of the canal is kept only at Cairo. 
 
 BIRTH-DAY CEREMONIES. 
 
 The monotony of the work-day life of the Mohammedan, 
 interrupted by no Sunday, is richly and agreeably varied by 
 domestic ceremonies and observances. However thrifty or 
 niggardly he usually is, on such occasions he spares no 
 expense. 
 
 When the time comes that a child is to see the light the 
 midwife makes her appearance with her seat, and displays 
 the greatest activity on behalf of her suffering charge; female 
 relatives and neighbours also come in crowds to encourage 
 and advise. It is often sought to lighten the difficult task by 
 hanging opium about the mother, or making her eat the drug- 
 The newly-born child is merely dried, not washed, and imme- 
 diately laid upon a corn sieve; beside its head lies the knife 
 with which the umbilical cord has been cut, and corn is 
 scattered round about. This procedure is intended to drive 
 away the karina, that is, the child's evil brother or sister from 
 the spirit realm that always makes its appearance and tor- 
 
186 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 ments the poor child of humanity till it sickens and falls 
 into convulsions, which are therefore also called karina (see 
 chap. vii.). Immediately after the birth the mother receives 
 melted butter with honey and fenugreek, and instead of 
 fasting she must daily eat at least a fowl or a good piece of 
 meat, which her female friends and neighbours give her. On 
 the sixth day the mother in her turn sends these a plate of 
 hishh (decoction of wheat and sour milk) as a sign that they 
 are invited for the following day. Above the head of the 
 sleeping child is placed on this night a pitcher, hung with 
 gold coins and lighted with tapers, the pitcher being long- 
 necked {dor ah) in the case of boys, short-necked (Jculleh) in 
 that of girls. 
 
 On the morning of the seventh day (yum es-suhil'a) the 
 house is filled with female visitors. The child is placed upon 
 a sieve, tapers are fixed upon metal plates and on the point 
 of a sword, and the child is carried in procession through the 
 whole house, while the midwife scatters hissle, that is, wheat, 
 barley, pease, and salt as provender for the wicked spirits. 
 The child is shaken in the sieve, being thereby believed to 
 lose fear for the rest of its life, and its eyes are held up to 
 the sun to sharpen them. The cymbals and small drums, 
 the singing and trilling of the women, make the outer world 
 acquainted with the joy within the house. The guests present 
 the mother and midwife with money and gold, for which 
 they distribute parched chick-peas, St. John's bread, and 
 walnuts. 
 
 But the father must also keep the seventh day as a festival, 
 especially if the child is a boy, though in many cases he does 
 not dare up till this time to look upon his own child, since 
 he might possibly, and quite against his will, do some harm 
 to his tender offspring by a glance of his eye. He invites 
 his friends to a feast, and entertains them with Koran reading, 
 zikrs, and similar pious amusements, or sends for instrumental 
 players, singers, and dancing-girls. The son is brought in a 
 sieve and shown to the guests, who rejoice with the father, 
 and perhaps also leave some gifts. A plate of candy-sugar 
 is now sent to the kadi or some other theologian; he sucks 
 
CEREMONIES PRELIMINARY TO FAMILY FESTIVALS. 187 
 
 it, and lets the sweet fluid trickle from his consecrated month 
 into that of the child, and ''gives him the name out of his 
 mouth." This is accordingly a kind of baptism. It is well 
 known that among the Moslim, as among the native Chris- 
 tians, and till lately among the Jews of the West, only per- 
 sonal (and not family) names are used even in public life. For 
 distinction the personal name of one's father is joined to one's 
 own name, as Mohammed Soliman, that is, Mohammed, son of 
 Soliman. Many have of course a surname, but it is generally 
 personal, as for instance, the Bald, the One-eyed, the Falcon, 
 and so forth, and only in rare cases is retained as a family 
 name. In recent times the desire of acquiring a family name 
 is showing itself, especially among government ofiicials. This 
 custom has of course the advantage that it leaves no room 
 for pride of noble or patrician descent. Only the descendants 
 of the prophets, the sherifs, of whom there are millions, pride 
 themselves on their birth, and generally marry only among 
 themselves. Still more the Bedouin, who is said to be able 
 to repeat his pedigree in personal names alone up to Abraham 
 and Adam, like the genealogies in the Bible, and who knows 
 the pedigree of his horse equally well. 
 
 On the fortieth day after childbirth the mother goes with 
 the child to the bath, and gets forty dishfuls of water poured 
 over her head if her offspring is a boy, and thirty-nine if it is 
 a girl. The child also is now bathed for the first time, and 
 mother and child are now clean and purified. 
 
 CEREMONIES PRELIMINARY TO FAMILY FESTIVALS. 
 
 The more important family festivals, as a circumcision or 
 a marriage, are often preceded by a whole round of prelimi- 
 nary ceremonies that last for weeks, or even months, and take 
 place every evening. The master of the house prides himself 
 in giving a feast that will be long spoken of Every evening 
 he gathers together his friends in his hospitable dwelling, and 
 provides for them amusements and entertainments of every 
 form and kind. At present chess, draughts, dominoes, and 
 other games are played, but not for money, or at most for a 
 
188 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 trifle, since games of chance are strictly forbidden by the 
 Mohammedan religion, as well as wine and fermented liquors 
 generally. The loser is often jeered, and has his forehead 
 stamped with his own seal as a mark of disgrace; but if he 
 then beats his opponent the latter has to wipe off the mark 
 with his own robe, and is marked by the other. 
 
 Next day a grand Fantasie is held (a general name given 
 by the Arabs to an entertainment where anything merry is 
 to be seen or heard) in the form of a dance with music and 
 sino^ing. Such an entertainment has little resemblance to a 
 Frankish ball, which has accordingly preserved its own 
 special name of balo. In the court, or the space in front of the 
 house, even though this be the street, carpets and straw mats 
 are spread, benches are placed, and many-branched candel- 
 abra and brilliant paper lanterns or oil-lamps with coloured 
 water are suspended above the scene of the nocturnal festivi- 
 ties. Soon after night-prayer everybody flocks to the spot, 
 high and low, young and old, invited and uninvited. A number 
 of dancing-girls step up. They take off their street mantles 
 and display themselves in their richest attire, from the gold- 
 embroidered skull-cap, and gold trinkets round the neck and 
 over the heart, to the silken bows upon the polished boots ; 
 but on such a public occasion there is no impropriety. The 
 dancing-girls of the ancient Egyptians appear to have worn 
 a very transparent dress; they also are often represented as 
 quite naked; even the short skirts of the modern ballet-girl 
 are seen in some representations. The hair of our dancing- 
 girls smoothed, oiled, and plaited, their dotted faces, their 
 rich and gaudy dresses — all is faultless. The childish forms 
 seem to have become filled out, the haggard faces under the 
 mystic half light of the illumined darkness and the effects of 
 the "Joseph's beauty" (rouge) have recovered their youthful 
 freshness; the really pretty have become charming. The 
 orchestra has already taken up its position on the ground; 
 some gray-bearded fathers are strumming on the two strings 
 of their spindle-shaped fiddles; a jolly musician blows the 
 reed-clarionet; matrons with buckram voices sing to plaintive 
 tunes, beat hand kettle-drums and swing cymbals or tarn- 
 
CEREMONIES PEELIMINARY TO FAMILY FESTIVALS. 18D 
 
 bourines with jingling metal plates attached. Or a genuine 
 young singing-girl (an almeh) has been sent for, often also a 
 singing-boy. With elevated necks they rise up to the highest 
 regions of the tenor, always despising, however, the feminine 
 region of the falsetto voice; anon they let their voices sink 
 deeper and deeper with the most delicate swells and modula- 
 tions, but seldom venture down into the bass voice. All 
 sing together in the same key; harmony is unknown, mono- 
 logues and recitative choruses being generally sung. Rapid 
 shading is strictly avoided, and, accordingly, the Arab derives 
 no pleasure from European music, regarding it as disagreeable 
 and ridiculous, or at best remains indifferent to it, as some- 
 thing foreign. From time to time modulations occur which 
 suspend the expected close. The sound now dies away like 
 the stroke of a bell trembling through the stormy air. A 
 sudden outburst of ecstasy begins a new period, the most de- 
 lightful sounds of which are uttered through the nose. Allah ! 
 Allah I shout the people in rapturous enthusiasm, and the 
 singing-girls, encouraged by the 
 applause, sing still more delight- 
 fully, the kettle-drums and other 
 instruments become louder and 
 stormier. 
 
 At such moments rise the 
 dancing -girls, the celebrated 
 bayaderes of Egypt, commonly 
 called ghawdzi (not almeh, which 
 means a singing-girl). Only a 
 few of these form an artistic con- 
 ception of their parts, and re- 
 present in pantomime the com- 
 mon history of a love affair — 
 pursuit, coyness at first, victory, 
 and lastly, entire self-abandon- 
 ment. Their much-admired dances are, however, generally 
 quite inartistic, having no regular figures, no keeping of time, 
 no combined movements. In dancing the girl skips backwards 
 and forwards before the spectators, raises the arms, clatters 
 
 Dancing-girl. 
 
190 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 the inevitable castanets (like the crotali of the ancients), 
 and casts around coquettish glances. Whatever of art is 
 displayed consists in movements of the trunk and hips — im- 
 possible to imitate — the limbs being almost at rest. Occasion- 
 ally the girl moves slowly round in a circle, gives a slight 
 hop, perhaps swings a sword, and sinks gradually to the 
 ground balancing a small cup on her forehead, or whirls her- 
 self round sitting on a narrow-mouthed pitcher. Yet the 
 public are enthusiastic to the highest degree about those 
 female performers, a popularity which no doubt they owe 
 more to their affability than to their artistic skill, since they 
 joke with everybody and everybody with them without any 
 embarrassment. But dancing is given up entirely to them, 
 and if any one were to catch them round the waist, ala 
 Franka, and dance round in a galop with them, he would 
 bring abuse and disgrace on himself, and would be set down 
 as crazy. It is a modern and Frankish custom for members 
 of both sexes to dance together in close contact, and such 
 a practice was also unknown to classical antiquity. The 
 Oriental loves dancing and music, but seldom cultivates them 
 in person, getting people who practise these arts as their 
 profession to perform for his entertainment; and their pro- 
 fession is never held in esteem, but is regarded as degrading, 
 like that of an actor in the Frankish middle ages. For 
 a grown-up man of the better class to sing by himself, or 
 merely to join in with others, or even to amuse himself on a 
 musical instrument, is regarded as undignified, and still more 
 for ladies. At such fantasies the representatives of religion, 
 the kadis and ulema, do not fail to be present, and laugh 
 heartily even at obscenities. The priests of ancient Egypt, 
 as also the severe Socrates, saw no harm in having music 
 and dancing in their houses; they even practised music them- 
 selves. The higher ranks did not dance and sing themselves, 
 but hired professional dancing-girls and musical performers 
 as at the present day. Among the Greeks music and dancing 
 were in high esteem, and formed a part of education — even 
 the gods themselves danced. 
 
 The performance of the chauel or male dancer is not much 
 
I 
 
 EELIGIOUS ENTERTAINMENTS. 191 
 
 of an improvement on that of the female dancer. Clothed 
 and tricked out like a dancing-girl, he goes through the same 
 kind of motions on another evening to the delight of the 
 spectators. Sometimes he also plays on some instrument, 
 and sings as well; he blows his bagpipes full of wind, and 
 while it escapes melodiously from the holes of the tubes 
 under the play of his fingers he strikes up his ear-piercing 
 song, which is followed by the hip-dance — a threefold artistic 
 effect produced all at once. This class of hermaphrodites, 
 the product of the luxurious East, also resemble the dancing- 
 girls in their abandoned morals. 
 
 RELIGIOUS ENTERTAINMENTS. 
 
 In this round of festivities entertainments of a religious 
 kind must not be absent, and they are commonly, on these 
 and other occasions, the only ones that are held. They are 
 not called fantasies; it is considered very far wrong in an}^ 
 one to call them so. The chatmeh or public reading of the 
 whole Koran at one spell begins at vespers. From that until 
 night, and from night-prayers to next morning, the whole of 
 the Koran is gabbled over by school-masters, corpse- washers, 
 and other similar functionaries who can read. The readers 
 of the Koran speak and sing in the paternoster style, in a 
 tone as if cajoling themselves and God, and breathlessly 
 hurrying to the end; the words, nevertheless, have an impos- 
 ing effect through the emphatic and melodious expression in 
 which they are clothed, and the greater the more mystical 
 they are. The guests, illumined by the blessing arising from 
 the sound of the divine words, converse about all kinds of 
 worldly matters. Indeed they do not generally understand 
 the meaning of the words any more than the readers, and 
 perhaps often the author himself They do not wish to 
 understand, since the truth of the Koran is raised above all 
 doubts, and to reflect on its meaning, and especially to criti- 
 cise it, like the feilosufi, were worthy of hell fire. The Koran 
 contains mingled together dreamy unintelligible passages, 
 platitudes, repetitions, contradictions, unexpected digressions. 
 
192 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 curses and threatenings against unbelievers, but often also 
 deeply moral ideas and regulations, and wonderful poetry. 
 The statutes of the Koran, the religion of Islam, are apt to 
 lead adherents of the faith to hypocrisy and fanaticism, and 
 interpose the barrier of fatalism and superstition to effort 
 and progress (this, however, is contested by enlightened 
 Mohammedans); but this religion, more, perhaps, than any 
 other, has acted as a bond of union, has formed and united 
 nations together, an,d has been able to preserve the old patri- 
 archal virtues up to the present day, of which respect for old 
 age, hospitality, and to some extent also female virtue, are 
 tlie most to be commended. 
 
 Another religious reading is the mulid, that is, the gene- 
 alogy of the Prophet, in which the forefathers of the latter, 
 from Adam onwards, are enumerated and their praises 
 sunof. 
 
 Among the favourite devotional observances are those well- 
 known religious gymnastical exercises called zikr. Those 
 taking part in them form a circle or a line. At one end the 
 leader (munshed) of the singing seats himself, and sings an 
 ode, which at one time is deeply poetical and religious, at 
 another, through images and similes, like the Song of Solomon, 
 becomes lascivious and indeed obscene. The people sit with 
 their legs crossed, and keep time to the melody of the singer 
 with an uninterrupted ''Allah," at first slow, solemn, in a 
 deep bass, turning the head alternately right and left. Gra- 
 dually the time and the movement of the head become 
 quicker, the upper part of the body takes part in the move- 
 ments of the head, the "Allah" becomes an "A A Allah." 
 They then assume a kneeling posture and move the body 
 madly about, still keeping time, however, and each like 
 his neighbour. In the third stage the company of pious 
 gymnasts rise to their feet, and their movements become 
 more and more frantic. They pant, they moan, they groan, 
 their voices sound hoarser, they stutter, they yelp out, "Ha, 
 Ha, Allah," and thus for hours the frenzy continues. One or 
 other of them is now sure to drop, becoming giddy, or being 
 attacked by spasms and convulsions. This, however, attracts 
 
ENTERTAINMENTS OF THE WOMEN. 193 
 
 little attention, since the person possessed or ''disguised" 
 (melhils) will recover of himself, or if it lasts too long, some- 
 body shouts into his ear the Mohammedan confession of faith. 
 As soon as he can repeat it in his turn the evil spirit leaves 
 him, and he is again an ordinary man as before. 
 
 ENTERTAINMENTS OF THE WOMEN. 
 
 While during the weeks before a circumcision or a mar- 
 riage the men are thus spending the nights in pleasures and 
 amusements, the women also get up fantasieh in their own 
 manner among themselves. They meet together every day 
 (seldom by night) in the house where the entertainments are 
 given, where they sing, beat the darabuka or hand-drum and 
 the tambourine, and dance too, it may be, like the professional 
 dancing-girls, rattling their castanets. This for the most 
 part, however, is only done by women of the lower ranks, 
 those of the higher listen and look on. Men must not be 
 spectators, not even the master of the house. The profes- 
 sional singers (almeJi), more virtuous than the dancing-girls, 
 generally exhibit their powers only in the harem, and the 
 men listen to their charming songs through the latticed 
 windows of the women's apartments. 
 
 On the occasion of festivities among people of lower rank, 
 especially country people, a man, on the other hand, may 
 witness a public dance of women, veils, however, being worn. 
 The scene is the court-yard or other open space. Late at 
 night, after the evening prayer, the male spectators who choose 
 to come seat themselves in a circle or semicircle, a fire being 
 kept burning near by in order to heat coffee, to furnish lights 
 for pipes, and occasionally to dry the kettle-drums rendered 
 damp by the night-dew. On one side of the circle stand, 
 thronging closely together, the ballad singers or improvvisa- 
 tori, who at the command of a leader repeat for hours on end 
 a verse manufactured by himself, always in the same melody, 
 for instance: — 
 
 "She (the loved one) has made me a cap 
 
 Handsome as the castle of Mohammed All." 
 
 13 
 
194 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 They also clap their hands, beat the kettle-drums, make 
 gestures and movements of all kinds, wag their heads about, 
 jump, stoop down, but do not move from the spot. At the 
 same time female forms, completely veiled and enveloped in 
 an outer robe, enter the circle and dance, but in their dancing 
 also there is no violent galloping about, nor even hopping, 
 but they move with varying paces, run sideways, backwards 
 and forwards, wriggle, bend, and turn round slowly. The 
 pantomimic motions are made with their hands, their faces 
 not being available for the purpose. The row of singers 
 appears especially to take pleasure in the movements of the 
 dancers, catching up all their bendings and gestures, and 
 repeating them. One woman steps into the circle while 
 another vanishes, or several dance together at the same time, 
 but never in harmony with each other. A spectator now 
 passes through the circle, hurries up to one of the dancers, 
 who has particularly pleased him, and twines a handkerchief 
 round her, in which he has knotted several coins. The more 
 actively and coquettishly the veiled damsel dances, the more 
 admirers she gains, and she may leave the scene hung with 
 handkerchiefs. After some time the unfolded and emptied 
 handkerchief is unexpectedly flung to its owner by the lady, 
 who again appears on the scene, and who has been able to 
 find out, even in the darkness of night, who it was that 
 decorated her and made her the present. 
 
 On this occasion a dance which has a half warlike char- 
 acter is also executed specially for the men. The dancer is 
 armed with a sword or a long cudgel, which, hopping and 
 springing, bending and wheeling, he swings as gracefully as 
 possible, with pantomimic and gently threatening movements 
 towards the spectators. Or perhaps two dancers enter the 
 circle, and with similar movements engage in mock combat. 
 
 CIRCUMCISION. 
 
 On the evening before the great day of Circumcision, the 
 "night of the henna," the women assemble. The henna 
 leaves are kneaded into a dough or paste, which is set in 
 
MAKRIAGE. 195 
 
 pieces on a tray, a taper being stuck on every piece. The 
 women move through the house in procession to an accom- 
 paniment of singing, trilling, and kettle-drum playing, the 
 boy who is the occasion of the festival behind the henna 
 tray. The mother and the singing-girls receive presents, the 
 boy has a piece of the henna-paste tied into the hollow of his 
 hand, the assembled women do the same for themselves, and 
 all awake next morning with brownish-red palms. 
 
 On the day of the circumcision itself, the boy, who is now 
 ^ve to ten years old, is dressed in a new and costly garment, 
 a Cashmere shawl, or it may be a woman's robe (perhaps as 
 a sign that up to this time he has belonged to the harem), a 
 gold-embroidered woman's cap is placed on his head, he is 
 mounted on a horse, and rides in grand procession accompanied 
 by musical instruments round the town. In the evening 
 there is great feasting in his parent's house. Next morning, 
 or on the evening after the procession, the barber performs 
 the circumcision with a razor, an operation customary even 
 among the ancient Egyptians. By it the boy becomes clean, 
 and capable of performing religious exercises, of praying and 
 entering the mosque ; this religious act is, therefore, in some 
 respects analogous to the Christian rite of confirmation. 
 
 The circumcision of girls is performed privately, and may 
 be guessed to have taken place when, on a customary day, 
 girls in red holiday-clothes swarm about on the streets. 
 
 . MARRIAGE. 
 
 As in the case of circumcision, the preparations for a mar- 
 riage, in the shape of domestic entertainments and ceremonies, 
 commence months before. As soon as a son exhibits the first 
 signs of puberty his parents think of providing him with a 
 wife. In opposition to the views of other peoples these mar- 
 riages of children are considered very healthy and judicious 
 throughout the East, even among the Christians. The parents 
 justly believe that they thus provide for the well-being of 
 their children. Long before puberty, which follows in their 
 twelfth or fourteenth year, or still earlier, all the girls are given 
 
196 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 away, that is, are arranged to marry some boy or other, and 
 as soon as both arrive -at puberty they are married. Men 
 marry as a rule from their fifteenth to their eighteenth year. 
 These early marriages appear to have by no means a degene- 
 rating influence upon the race, but on the contrary a benefi- 
 cial one, the marriages being, with few exceptions, fruitful 
 and happy, and the women being not so liable to be attacked 
 with female ailments,'such as chlorosis, hysteria, and nervous 
 weakness. The same principles are applied also in the case 
 of tlie domestic animals. 
 
 In a learned treatise by a modern Arabic physician who 
 studied in Europe it is maintained, however, that for the men 
 of his country the age of eighteen to twenty, for the women 
 of sixteen, is the most suitable. The main consideration 
 relative to early marriages, the bread question, is regarded by 
 the Oriental only as of secondary importance, he only thinks 
 of it when he is hungry. So long as the son is still too young 
 the father provides for the maintenance of him and his family, 
 when he is old enough he earns his daily bread himself, and 
 when the father grows old the son in turn provides for him. 
 
 When their young son wishes to have a wife the father and 
 mother set out in quest of a bride for him ; by the latter the 
 bath is often selected for this purpose, and her sober reason 
 often brings more suitable pairs together than the impulses 
 of the heart. Both young people have also to acquiesce in 
 the arrangement, they cannot be forced, and the marriage is 
 not valid until on the "uncovering and unveiling" the pair 
 feel a mutual pleasure ; but at this age a refusal is rare, and 
 in case of after disillusion the marriage may be easily dis- 
 solved on either side. The search for a bride is generally 
 quite unnecessary, as in two-thirds of the cases it has been 
 previously settled that the young fellow is to marry his female 
 cousin, and if he has none, more distant relations are applied 
 to, and lastly strangers. If these marriages of cousins had 
 really such a prejudicial effect upon a race as they are usually 
 represented to have it must have been long ago noticed in 
 Egypt; its inhabitants, however, show no inferiority either 
 from a physical or an intellectual point of view. The low 
 
MARRIAGE. 197 
 
 rank tliey hold in the intellectual world is not a consequence 
 of want of understanding, but of want of knowledge; it is a 
 consequence of their stagnating religion, and of the hostility 
 of former governments to enlightenment. Besides being for- 
 bidden between very near relatives, marriage is also forbidden 
 between such as have been suckled at the same breast. 
 Among the ancient Egyptians, as already mentioned, mar- 
 riages were permitted even between brothers and sisters. 
 
 At the preliminary betrothal the marriage contract is made 
 between the fathers or guardians on both sides. The father 
 agrees to pay to the father-in-law of his son a certain sum, 
 and part of this is paid at once, the other part is always tied 
 up and settled upon the wife in case she should happen to be 
 divorced. These payments, however, must not be understood as 
 if the parents were simply selling their daughter; the "bride's 
 treasure" is in most cases spent on clothes and ornaments for 
 the bride, and the bridegroom often gives these directly in- 
 stead of money. And the bride who brings nothing to her 
 husband except her person, lays up for herself from this 
 bride's treasure a fund for cases of misfortune. If the wife 
 has any independent means she does not share it with her 
 husband — it remains her personal property. In the East, 
 accordingly, mercenary marriages — so incompatible with 
 manly dignity — are unknown. 
 
 On the evening of the wedding-day is held the marriage 
 banquet, on which great sums are often expended by the 
 more wealthy. Everybody in the place is invited to the house 
 of the bride's parents ; whole hecatombs (this is often literally 
 correct) of sheep are slaughtered and devoured with a rapidity 
 that has become proverbial, and with the most voracious 
 appetite. Only the very poorest confine themselves to invit- 
 ing none but the members of their intimate family circle. 
 
 In the course of the day the bride and bridegroom frequently 
 take a bath, to which they often proceed in grand procession. 
 In other cases the bridegroom, when evening has come, takes 
 off his clothes in front of the house before the gaping crowds, 
 and has his whole body soaped and bathed by the barber. The 
 chief festivity does not take place, however, until nightfall. 
 
198 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 Under the red glow of crackling pitch torches, amid the unme- 
 lodious noise of copper hand-drums, the joyful toot of a double 
 reed-pipe, and the hymns chanted by the schoolmasters and 
 other pillars of the faith, followed by half the inhabitants of 
 the town, the bridegroom walks from night prayer in the 
 mosque to his own dwelling. Here the procession halts. The 
 singers form a ring and sing around the hero of the wedding, 
 for whom the marriage torches form an illumination. A trans- 
 parent vernal down is springing on his full smooth cheeks, 
 his stature gives hope that he will grow for some years still, 
 his voice as it is heard now and then sounds childishly deli- 
 cate, or struggles painfully with the voice of manhood. The 
 immature form of the youth is clothed in a coat of scarlet 
 cloth, for the first time the manly turban rises on his head, 
 and by his side hangs the marriage sword. Solemnly, seriously, 
 and slowly he paces onwards in the midst of a few of his 
 companions. The procession halts before this or that house, 
 and the chief personages and musicians are regaled with 
 sweetened coffee and sherbet, musket shots sound in the still- 
 ness of night, till at last his father's house is reached. Hither 
 the bride has already come in another direction from the 
 house of her parents, from the crown of her head to the sole 
 of her foot enveloped in a Cashmere shawl, which, like the 
 red coat of the bridegroom, is generally borrowed for this day 
 only. She is embraced, and almost carried by two wives, 
 and followed by a crowd of women and girls uttering cries of 
 joy. The house of feasting is lighted up outside with gay 
 lamps and lanterns, and here the people amuse themselves with 
 the dancing-girls, singers, and buffoons, or, if more seriously 
 disposed, listen to the mysterious words of the Koran, or tire 
 themselves out in zikrs, while the bridegroom mounts to the 
 chambers of the women, and lifts the veil of her who has been 
 chosen for him, and whom he has never yet seen, unless, tor- 
 mented by impatience, he has already, on the occasion of the 
 procession from the mosque, gone through this momentous 
 proceeding in the house of the bride. There she stands before 
 him, the little, tender, lovely maiden, her eyes deeply black- 
 ened with kohl, her hands coloured red, her face dotted over 
 
FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 199 
 
 with beauty-spots, her tender limbs can scarcely support all 
 her heavy ornaments of gold and silver, her armlets, bracelets, 
 anklets, crown, hair-chains, and other trinkets. The silken 
 jacket falls smoothly over her breast, that scarcely as yet 
 shows any swelling. The doll-bride blushes in childish 
 modesty, and, instead of her husband, not seldom wishes — 
 her playthings. He, however, intimates to her, in the name 
 of God, the all-merciful, that he has become her husband. If 
 the bridegroom has had reason to be satisfied with his bride, 
 the women who have been in attendance on the pair utter 
 cries of pleasure, and the joy passes through the whole house, 
 and extends to the people collected below. Ceremonies very 
 similar were customary in the middle ages also among our 
 German forefathers. 
 
 Early on the morning after this "night of access" there is 
 much congratulation in the house of feasting; the guests 
 receive coffee, and are sprinkled with rose-water, which they 
 rub on their hair, their beards, faces, and hands. The ancient 
 Egyptians used to anoint themselves with ointments, but 
 this is no longer practised. On this day the bridegroom 
 takes a walk in the open air in his red coat with some of his 
 comrades and sings pious songs; for three days or more he 
 goes about without engaging in any occupation, and at this 
 time displays an extraordinarily serious mien. 
 
 A man that marries a second time invites only his nearer 
 relatives and friends, or a scribe, to the betrothal feast in his 
 house. Thereupon the marriage contract is drawn up, the 
 dowry paid, a prayer uttered, and he has now free access to 
 his betrothed. 
 
 FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 
 
 A shrill cry, as loud as the female falsetto can produce, 
 pierces the air, first one, then another, then several, then 
 ever so many. A soul has departed. The cry was the wail 
 of sorrow uttered by the women concerned, and at the same 
 time the signal which brings up crowds of women to lament 
 along with them. On the street, before the house of mourn- 
 
200 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 ing, a long row of straw mats and carpets is laid, on which 
 sit many men silently smoking their chibooks. Some men 
 and boys, connections of the departed, run to and fro on the 
 street uttering cries of grief and covering their faces with 
 their hands. "Oh, my father," they cry (or ''mother," 
 "brother," &c., as the case may be), "Oh, my sorrow, my 
 death; oh, despair; oh, my strength; oh, camel of my house" 
 (camel as a symbol of strength or support). Friends show 
 their sympathy and attempt to give consolation, but even men, 
 at other times so undemonstrative, weep loudly and give 
 themselves up to grief What, then, is to be expected of the 
 women, with their more easily excited feelings? They put on 
 the dirtiest dark-blue dresses they can find, loosen their hair, 
 and display their breasts, smear these and their faces with 
 filth, pluck out their hair and tear their own flesh in a frenzy 
 of grief All order ceases, the loud outcry is raised again and 
 again by the mourn ing- women hired for the purpose, and 
 those who come to give consolation and show their sympathy 
 go beyond the real mourners and join the hundred- voiced 
 chorus. It was customary among the ancient Egyptians, 
 and also among the Jews, to indulge in these loud lamenta- 
 tions, to smear themselves with filth, and to hire mourning- 
 women. The Prophet strictly forbade it, but the Egyptian 
 women will not let themselves be deprived of these ancestral 
 methods of expressing their grief 
 
 Scarcely have the eyes of the beloved dead been closed 
 and his head turned towards Meccah, when preparations are 
 begun for getting the corpse out of the house. The ancient 
 Egyptians, on the other hand, retained the body at least 
 seventy days in the house for the purpose of embalming it, 
 before it was placed in the tomb. All the former repose and 
 dignity of the Oriental are now gone; beside the dead body 
 are found only loud despair and headlong haste. The doctor 
 or corpse-inspector is first sent for before waiting for the first 
 traces of the phenomena of death, and he must give permis- 
 sion for the burial of the body while it is yet warm. Other 
 messengers have already purchased the linen for the shroud, 
 while outside, the grave-digger is already preparing the last 
 
FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 201 
 
 abode. The corpse-washer goes to work with the utmost 
 care; he washes the body up and down, repeatedly cleaning 
 out all external openings, including the nose and ears, and 
 stops them with cotton; cotton is placed even between the 
 toes and fingers and under the armpits. After the body is 
 dried with equal care it is enveloped in the linen cloth, which 
 has meantime been sewed together, and in such a way that 
 no part of the dead is now visible. It is then laid on a bier 
 without a coffin (it is only the Christians that hastily put a 
 coffin together), and a green or red pall is spread over it. 
 After a benediction has been said over it in the mosque, it is 
 carried to the graveyard. 
 
 Hither the dead are borne at a rapid pace, those at least 
 that were Mohammedans. With a haste and hurry that 
 nothing can check the funeral procession rolls along, amid 
 the murmur of la ilah ill allah, in order to carry the bier 
 from the city of the living to the city of the dead. The 
 advanced guard is formed by some blind and poor people 
 and petty scribes, perhaps also some boys as a kind of choris- 
 ters, and some flag-bearers. The bier is borne by four men, 
 friends of the deceased, who are relieved by others of his 
 friends, and thus the rapid march does not meet with the 
 slightest interruption. A long procession of mourners and 
 sympathizers follows, all in their ordinary working-day 
 blouses, the relatives in the oldest and filthiest possible. 
 Several portly well-to-do gentlemen pant behind, or have got 
 themselves mounted upon trotting asses. By the side or at 
 the end of the procession follows the wailing chorus of women, 
 who on this day show remarkably little of their usual strict- 
 ness in veiling themselves. 
 
 Having reached its destination, the corpse, wrapped only 
 in its white shroud, is taken from the bier and let down 
 without a coffin into a perpendicular excavation. During 
 this proceeding, if the corpse is that of a female her former 
 street mantle is held spread out over her in order to keep 
 off longing glances — under such circumstances little to be 
 expected. It is not the perpendicular excavation, however, 
 that receives the dead body, which, being protected by no 
 
202 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 coffin, would be crushed by the clods of earth heaped over it. 
 This excavation serves only as the entrance to a roomy 
 earthen vault, hollowed out alongside of it, in which the 
 body is placed, and is thus protected as well as if in a coffin. 
 The entrance to the lateral vault is then built up with bricks, 
 and during this lengthy operation the people standing around 
 sing the melodious song "God pardon the Mohammedan men 
 and Mohammedan women, the believing men and believing 
 women" (allahu mughfir el moslimin u el moslimat u el 
 mumenin u el mumenat). One of the scribes, an imam, a 
 schoolmaster, or the corpse- washer, delivers himself of a short 
 stereotyped funeral discourse, in which the deceased — who is 
 no doubt straining his ears to listen — is instructed as to what 
 he is to answer at the examination he will have to undergo 
 in the coming night. Once more the confession of the Mo- 
 hammedan faith is impressed upon him. For there come to 
 test him two angels of horrid aspect, Nakir and Munkir by 
 name, and torment him soul and body if he does not stand 
 on the firm basis of Islam. Lastly, those present whisper 
 the fatha, and amid loud invocations to the gracious and all- 
 merciful One, clod after clod is flung by them into the grave. 
 The male members of the family who act as mourners place 
 themselves in a row, receive the consolatory words and hand- 
 shaking of the people who have come along with them, and 
 every one hastens to the place whence he has come. 
 
 In the night we hear behind the walls of the house of 
 mourning the shrieking of women, now wound off in the 
 trochees of a machine in action, anon in the dactyls of 
 the steam-horse thundering along at full speed, or breaking 
 up into the indefinite clack of a mill. Briskly is the kettle- 
 drum beaten, and high up, from time to time, like a rocket, 
 rises a shriek from a hundred throats. The earth gives out 
 a hollow sound from the stamping of the feet of the filth- 
 liesmeared women. It sounds like an ungovernable outburst 
 of joy and revelry; it is the corpse dance, through which the 
 wife gives vent to her stormy grief 
 
 The men, however, pass the ''night of loneliness" with 
 their friends and neighbours before the house or in a neigh- 
 
FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 203 
 
 bouring conrfc-yard, drinking coffee and enveloped in clouds 
 of tobacco-smoke. At the entrance or exit of a sympathizing 
 neighbour, though he has merely come to sip a small cupful 
 of coffee, the mourners rise and are addressed with such cus- 
 tomary phrases of consolation as, ''Such is life; but you are 
 still alive yourself.'' General and individual conversations 
 go on, in which some of the mourners take an active part, 
 while others, bathed in tears, sit dumb in a corner. In an 
 adjoining room lean schoolmasters occupy themselves with 
 chanting the ''book that cannot be doubted," or murmur a 
 three-thousand-fold "Allah," in order to induce God to pity 
 the poor soul of him who has gone to his rest. This mourn- 
 ing reception with coffee lasts for three days if the deceased 
 was grown up, and the near relatives and friends remain 
 together even during the night and take a common meal. 
 
 On the following days we hear in the house of mourning 
 such a sorrowful, slow, monotonous song of lamentation, 
 uttered in a low tone by a company of women, and mingled 
 with weeping and sobbing, that it thrills painfully through 
 bone and marrow. Thus for years does a mother or wife 
 bewail one whom she has loved and lost, on certain days of 
 the week, or on certain days of the year consecrated to the 
 memory of the dead, collecting her female friends, relatives, 
 and neighbours, and especially practised mourning women, 
 in order to relieve her sorrowful heart, and to have the vir- 
 tues of the deceased duly sung; while the men gather round 
 them a company of their friends and cause the Koran to be 
 read in memory of their lost ones. Among the ancient 
 Egyptians similar mourning hymns were sung during the 
 period of seventy days that the body was being embalmed. 
 The great festivals also do not pass without visits being made 
 to the graves of dear ones, as we have seen above. 
 
 Thus does Islam honour its dead. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE DESEKT. 
 
 I. — HIDE THlROUail THE DESERT. 
 POINT OF DEPARTURE. 
 
 We take leave of what is called the Nile valley, the long 
 evergreen oasis bounded on both sides by extensive deserts, 
 in order to proceed eastwards to the desert tracts of the 
 Egypto-Arabic mountain ranges on the coast. We have 
 immediately in our eye that much-frequented caravan route, 
 which, starting from some place in the Thebes district of 
 Upper Egypt, intersects those mountains, following the course 
 of their transverse valleys in an almost due easterly direction 
 without any considerable ascent, and terminates in Koseir. 
 In order to collect our energies for the exertions that await 
 us, we enjoy a siesta under the overshadowing roof of acacias 
 and sycamores in front of the caravanserai of the principal 
 departure station Bir Amber; once more we moisten our 
 palate with the sweet soft water of the Nile; we make a pre- 
 liminary repast on the gifts of the valley, milk, pigeons, and 
 fruit, and listen to the hundredfold twitter of the birds perch- 
 ing on the branches of the trees. The caravanserai is a 
 building in the true modern Arabic style (see ch. i. p. 96), 
 not without taste, crowned with cupolas and possessing 
 colonnades and chambers. Like the ordinary caravanserais, 
 called " wekalehs," it belongs to no one, but was built by the 
 celebrated old Ibrahim Pasha for the general benefit, espe- 
 cially for the pilgrims to Meccah, who frequent this route so 
 much. In winter it is sometimes used to sleep in; but in 
 summer people avoid its neglected and almost ruinous cham- 
 bers on account of the serpents and lizards that take up their 
 abode in them, and prefer to sleep in the open air. 
 
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THE CAMEL. 205 
 
 THE CAMEL. 
 
 There is a great deal of stir and bustle in the front court. 
 The famous ship of the desert, the one-humped camel, to 
 which we have henceforth to trust ourselves entirel}^, is being 
 prepared for its voyage through the desert. This vessel, 
 which is as unpoetical as it is much sung in verse, offers much 
 for observation aijd reflection ; and we cannot refrain from 
 adding our observations on this singular animal to the many- 
 delineations that travellers have given of it. Its skull nearly 
 always points exactly horizontally out into the wide world 
 towards the distant goal. At the top its small erect ape-like 
 ears stand beside the small cranium. Its eyes, at the side of 
 the skull, stare earnestly, or even, as Brehm will have it, 
 stupidly out of their cavities, surrounded by the protruding 
 edges of the bones and overshadowed by high shaggy eye- 
 brows. The fore-part of the crest of the head forms a long 
 nose like that of a ram, the nostrils of which unite at a sharp 
 angle. A long, broad, bearded upper lip half-divided in the 
 middle and sloping downwards in front and at the sides, a 
 loosely pendent but extremely mobile under lip, between 
 which opens a slavering mouth well furnished with broad 
 yellowish teeth, complete the very far from pleasing picture 
 of a camel's head. The long, arched, slender, and yet power- 
 ful and very flexible neck, compressed at the sides and below, 
 and adorned above with a woolly mane, cannot be called ugly. 
 The fore-feet appear almost too weak to support the weight 
 of the body when the centre of gravity is brought forward as 
 the animal leans to the front in striding along under a heavy 
 load; but a broad, soft, elastic sole, formed by the partial union 
 of two thick toes, provides for security. The abdominal line 
 rises steadily towards the hinder part of the animal from the 
 great wart or lump on the breast; the dorsal line forms several 
 undulations in front, culminates in the well-known single 
 hump of fat, and then descends to the rump, from which 
 there hangs down a short compressed tail like that of a cow, 
 rather sparingly clothed with tufts of hair on the sides and 
 at the end. At the lower back part of the rump a longish, 
 
206 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 smooth, ugly fold of flesli with parallel edges, the hip or 
 thigh flesh, depends on either side, gradually diminishing in 
 size when it reaches the lower part of the leg. This latter 
 stiff' member runs out into a very projecting heel, which is 
 followed by a rather short ankle-bone, and then by the soft 
 spongy sole. 
 
 The skin of the animal is covered with a kind of wool, 
 which is longer or shorter according to the part of the body 
 on which it grows ; but as a rule it is shorn smooth, and 
 nearly always scarred and burned, for burning with a red- 
 hot iron is the universal remedy with the Bedouins and 
 peasants for man and beast. The colour varies from whitish 
 and reddish gray to brown and brown-black. A well-formed 
 hump, the singular ornament of the Camelus dromedarius, 
 is to be seen only in very young animals, and those which 
 have been allowed to browse for a considerable time and 
 have borne no burdens. The hard work which the animal 
 is obliged to perform from an early age, from the time when 
 it ceases to suck, the pressure of the burden which acts directly 
 on the hump soon wears away the fat to which the hump 
 owes its roundness, and there remains little more than a 
 gristly and not very high swelling. 
 
 When in heat the male animal — which, like other domestic 
 animals, such as the horse and the ass, is in these regions 
 seldom castrated — acquires a peculiar coating of scales on 
 the rump, called samdh. It is now uncommonly strong 
 and unmanageable, but still continues to work and be made 
 use of Better known is the throat bladder, a blue and 
 red fleshy mass which the male camel when under the sexual 
 impulse emits from his mouth from time to time, by-and-by 
 sucking it in again. This vesicular mass is an inflatable 
 doubling of the palatal skin, or an anterior soft palate; its 
 physiological purpose is still uncertain.^ Everything is alike 
 peculiar about the camel, and God the Lord himself, as the 
 Moslim says, on reviewing his works after the creation, was 
 
 ^ The statement of Pliny, "camelus retro mingit, ergo retro coit," which con- 
 tinued to be repeated up to recent times, rests on mere conjecture. Observa- 
 tion proves the truth of the first part of it, the contrary of the second. 
 
THE CAMEL. 1^07 
 
 greatly surprised at this creature he had made. But in every 
 part of its design and structure the animal seems as if ex- 
 pressly created for the purpose to which it is applied, as a 
 machine for traversing the deserts. We shall not attempt, 
 in opposition to its assailant Brehm, to wash the creature 
 morally clean ; but we admire in it contentment, sedateness, 
 strength, endurance, steadiness, and in spite of occasional 
 stubbornness, great patience and manageableness — a com- 
 bination of qualities that no other animal displays, cer- 
 tainly not the ass or the mule, not to speak of the horse or 
 the ox. 
 
 We soon begin to have a liking for this mongrel breed 
 between ass and ox, and pat in a kindly way the body of 
 one of these animals. But it suddenly turns its neck upon 
 us, utters a short, angry, bellowing sound, and shows its open 
 mouth. It does not care for the attentions of man, like the 
 horse, and declines to be troubled in any way apart from its 
 toils, as it also, on its part, when unprovoked, does not attack 
 the human race. We remark with compassion how this animal, 
 on the whole so peaceable, is tormented, and has its blood 
 sucked by all kinds of small enemies. Gnats and gadflies 
 swarm about its skin, especially round the eyes, gadfly larvse 
 burrow in its nose, its frontal sinuses, and nasal fossae, and it 
 endeavours to get rid of these from time to time by snorting 
 and rubbing its muzzle on the body of a neighbour. To the 
 anus whole colonies of blood-sucking bloated ticks have 
 attached themselves, which the all too insufiicient tail vainly 
 attempts to brush off*. 
 
 It is well known that in the ancient Egyptian paintings 
 and sculptures (with the exception of the Memnon columns?) 
 the camel has never been found represented, nor is it men- 
 tioned by the Greek writers of Egypt; from which it has 
 been concluded that this animal, now so common in Egypt 
 in a domesticated state, was then unknown in the country. 
 But we learn from the sacred writings that Abraham had 
 camels during his stay in Egypt, or received such from the 
 king (Gen. xii. 16),and it is also objected that other domestic 
 animals, fowls for example, are never found represented, and 
 
208 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 pigeons, which exist in such numbers, but seldom, while 
 geese, on the other hand, are frequently figured. 
 
 We amuse ourselves, while resting in the forecourt of the 
 caravanserai, with the proceedings of a frolicsome and very 
 long-legged sucking camel, which is to be allowed to travel 
 with us, but, of course, unloaded. It has not yet become 
 acquainted with the serious business of life, it runs along at 
 a flying trot, its fat hump swaying and waggling to and fro 
 at a great rate, strikes out with its straddling hind legs in 
 youthful wantonness, utters a youthful bellow, and then 
 returns to the four-nippled udder of its mother. At a dizzy 
 height on the naked hump of a hegin, that is, a camel which 
 can jump well, a boy sits laughing, as if on a divan, without 
 support or saddle, having only the legs slightly pressed 
 against the shoulder of the animal, and in his hand a cord 
 which is fastened halterwise round the head and muzzle. 
 Trotting, seldom galloping, the dromedary measures the 
 ground, gliding onwards in long flying strides so gently and 
 with so little shock, that, as the Arabs say, at this pace a 
 person might sip a cup of coflee on its back. As a rule, how- 
 ever, the rider sits on a riding-saddle, and besides the halter, 
 if the animal is very wild, a ring is often passed through its 
 nose to ensure its obedience to the rein. 
 
 PROVENDER. 
 
 Chopped straw is laid down as food, whereupon the mem- 
 bers of the herd hasten from all sides and crouch in a regular 
 circle round the heaps of straw. But those are far better 
 satisfied who get a bag of nitrogenous beans fastened to their 
 heads, covering their muzzles up to the eyes. They have 
 now no longer either eye or ear for the external world; they 
 are altogether wrapped up in their bag, the toothsome con- 
 tents of which they quickly convey into their mouths with 
 their soft prehensile lips. The strong jaws worked to and 
 fro soon convert the hard beans into a pulp, which is then 
 passed through the wonderful cells and folds of the stomach 
 (which has only three compartments), and through the long 
 
LOADING AND SADDLING. 209 
 
 intestines of this ruminant. Straw and beans, with the 
 exception of a few plants which are found in the desert by 
 the way, are year after year the only nourishment of the 
 camel of Upper Egypt. Only in "spring," that is to say in 
 January and February, the camel is sent for a few weeks to 
 pasture in the meadows of the Nile valley, to feed on clover 
 and the herbage of the chick-pea. For grass and hay do not 
 exist in the land of Egypt. Eest and the green-fodder cure 
 exercise a great influence, the outlines become rounded, the 
 hump again swells out, the limbs become stronger, and these 
 creatures, after such a new birth, again become fit for the 
 service of man. If not allowed thus to recruit themselves, 
 connoisseurs tell us they soon break down, and in pasture- 
 time the owner of a camel is very unwilling to let out his 
 camel even though a high price is paid for the hire. The 
 camels of the Bedouins do not get beans, and such as are 
 brought into the valley of the Nile have first to accustom 
 themselves to this food. 
 
 After eating their fill the camels are taken to drink at a 
 trough or water-course. They lower their long necks to the 
 ground, the neck now making a straight line with the head, 
 the water is sucked in with a loud noise, and is seen rising 
 in large waves through the sloping column formed by the 
 neck till it reaches the stomach, while the water in the vessel 
 is visibly lowered with every gulp. 
 
 LOADING AND SADDLING. 
 
 The beast would now prefer to walk about free and un- 
 laden, or to chew its cud in quietness, and it is by no means 
 pleased when it is driven in between two bags or bales of 
 goods lying there all duly packed. It makes its discontent 
 known by bellowing repeatedly, but it obeys orders though 
 it could easily crush the orderer. What is evidently most 
 disagreeable to it is the moment of kneeling down; even 
 when food lies before it it does not do this without some 
 delay. A mere croaking guttural sound is the signal with 
 which a person, even a young child, compels the huge animal 
 
 14 
 
210 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 to kneel down before him, and if this does not follow imme- 
 diately he enforces his order by pulling down its head with 
 the loose end of the halter. The stubborn beast, while ex- 
 pressing its displeasure by bellowing, looks once more at the 
 path, places its fore-legs properly, and making up its mind in 
 despair, falls at last on the callosities of its knees, that is, of 
 its carpal or wrist joints. The hind-legs, which are still 
 upright, are also slowly and carefully brought into position, 
 but the hinder quarters do not drop suddenly, the knee 
 proper, which is situated high up and close to the body, and 
 is also furnished with a callosity, being simply much bent 
 and allowed to sink. Some slight movements of adjustment 
 now follow; the fore-legs are pushed forward, the elbows 
 bent, the fore-arm (lower part of the leg) pushed inwards, 
 the tarsi of the hinder limbs are drawn under the body. In 
 this way the animal, which has now become quieter, crouches 
 on the ground, touching it, too, with only a few points, and 
 these protected with thick callosities; the centre of gravity 
 rests on the large chest callosity. 
 
 In loading the camel the first thing is to put on the saddle, 
 hauiyeh. This is a wonderful thing, not less strange than 
 the camel itself. It consists of a sausage or 
 sack shaped pad, of coarse sacking or alfa- 
 grass cloth, stuffed with chopped straw, and 
 bent into a horse-shoe shape, the camel's hump 
 resting in the hollow between. It is close be- 
 hind; in front it is held together by a primi- 
 tive, but ingenious, compressing apparatus of 
 Camel's Saddle, woodcn bars. This consists of two narrow 
 transverse boards, meeting above at an anorle, 
 there being two pairs of these, one behind the other, at a short 
 distance apart. Both these angular pieces are supported and 
 kept in their places by a longitudinal bar on each side running 
 along the upper border of the pads, and touching the boards. 
 Holes are pierced in the boards, and thin bars and strings 
 passed through from the board on one side to that on the 
 other, these cross pieces both serving to keep the boards 
 together, and also preventing the longitudinal bars from 
 
LOADING AND SADDLING. 211 
 
 slipping upwards. The saddle is only attached to the beast 
 by a crupper, otherwise it is free, not even a girth being 
 considered necessarj^, since the hump prevents it from 
 shifting. 
 
 The load, which is fastened over the saddle by cords, must 
 be accurately balanced, that is the first condition, otherwise 
 the beast will soon be worn out. The shape of the load is 
 second in importance, its weight third. A strong camel can 
 carry about ten Arabian hundredweights several days in 
 succession; the ordinary load is three or four. While it is 
 being loaded the camel repeatedly looks round with an angry 
 bellow to see what is being done to it behind. A person who 
 is riding seats himself on the pad saddle, which he makes 
 more comfortable, especially at the place where the wooden 
 apparatus is, by spreading over it his mantle, a mattress, or 
 a carpet, the universal couch of the rainless East. These 
 serve him also as a bed when encamping. 
 
 Whoever does not consider this sufficient, either as not 
 being sufficiently comfortable or for other reasons, gets a pal- 
 anquin (shebriyeh) made, a longish, quadrangular frame, 
 somewhat like a bed, formed of a few rough longitudinal and 
 transverse bars, with sides and bottom formed of netting. 
 This is laid right across the camel's back, and in the middle 
 fastened to the saddle, projecting freely on either side. It is 
 capable of receiving a whole family, provided that the weight 
 is the same on both sides. It is generally taken advantage 
 of only by women, for whom also a kind of awning is erected 
 above it by means of some palm-branches, a cloth being 
 stretched over these to render the occupants invisible, and 
 protect them from the rays of the sun. There are several 
 other kinds of sedans, for example the shukduf, a kind of 
 chair, of which a camel carries two, one hanging at each side; 
 the tahtrudn, which swings freely between two camels, one 
 behind the other; these are, however, seldom employed on 
 this route. We get on best when we seat ourselves merely 
 on the above-mentioned carpet-covered saddle. The chief 
 necessaries of travel, that is to say, food and cooking appli- 
 ances, we pack in a basket or box, or in a kind of saddle-bags 
 
212 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 (churg) specially made for travelling by camel, and consisting 
 of two large strongly -woven bags tied in the middle, 
 hanging down on each side of the camel, and often richly 
 ornamented with tassels. 
 
 We leave the camel-driver with whom we have concluded 
 the travelling agreement to provide the water. He hangs a 
 goat-skin on a camel, and, when drinking-water is required, 
 pours it out of this into a round wooden cup or a tin dish, 
 which he presents to his client seated high on his camel's back. 
 Such drinking vessels, however, are inconvenient, as they 
 can only be used when one is standing still; \^hen in motion 
 a very narrow necked vessel must be employed to drink 
 from. The best is the so-called semsemiyeh, a leather bottle 
 with a tube for sucking. At the watering-stations the bottle 
 is always refilled. 
 
 If we wish to travel with great rapidity, and are not afraid 
 of the cost, we hire a hegin, that is, a running or trotting 
 camel, which carries a saddle similar to that of a horse, with 
 a high pommel before and behind, so that it becomes almost 
 impossible to fall off during the smooth yet rapid trot. In 
 this way a five days' journey may be accomplished in one or 
 at most two days, presupposing practice in camel-riding, ac- 
 quaintance with the route or companions, and water and 
 fodder stations. This mode of travelling is here very uncom- 
 mon, being used at most among Bedouins; riding on horse- 
 back is still more so, and carriages are scarcely used at all in 
 travelling. 
 
 MOUNTING. 
 
 We are invited to mount the ship of the desert. There 
 are several methods of doing this, each of which has its diffi- 
 culties. The most plausible appears to be to mount while the 
 animal is still crouching on the ground. But we take very 
 good care not to attempt that alone, since, long before we 
 could seat ourselves properly, whenever it felt our weight in 
 mounting, the camel would rise suddenly and fling us back- 
 wards and sideways. Any one who is accustomed to riding 
 
MOUNTING. 2J3 
 
 on a camel knows that quite well, and is able to seat himself 
 Urmly at once. We uneducated folks, however, while mount- 
 ing and gradually trying to settle ourselves in our seat, cause 
 the driver to tread upon the fore-feet of the still squatting 
 camel so as to keep them from moving, or to tie them, 
 and fix one hand upon the bar of the compressing appa- 
 ratus that projects before the saddle, pressing the other upon 
 the hinder part of the saddle. It is only in this way that 
 we can prepare ourselves for all the changes of our centre of 
 gravity that we have to undergo. We give the driver a 
 signal to release the animal, and our body is now swung in 
 rapid succession backwards, forwards, and again backwards. 
 For the animal first springs up with the lower part of the 
 fore-leg (it is far more willing to do this than to kneel), then 
 brings its hind-feet, on the stretch, into play, and rears 
 itself at last quite upright, while it now raises the lowest 
 portion of its forelegs and stands upon the sole. 
 
 We now find ourselves high above the ground, higher than 
 we have ever ridden before; we shudder when we think upon 
 our helpless condition. If the animal were to become refrac- 
 tory what could we do? We sit far too high to be able to 
 steady ourselves with the calves of the legs as in riding on 
 horseback. If we sit astride upon the broad saddle, our soles 
 scarcely touch the ribs; if we seat ourselves, as is the common 
 plan, with our feet dangling down over the neck or over the 
 side of the animal, our position is indeed more comfortable 
 but is less secure should the awkward case occur in which 
 both saddle and rider are flung off by the violent movements 
 of the camel. The bridle is of no use, since the cord brought 
 round its nose has little influence on the beast however hard 
 it is pulled. The Moslim merely cries, ''The name of God on 
 you" (bisTnallah *alek), when it turns restive or refractory. 
 Such misbehaviour on the part of the animal is fortunately 
 rare, however; were it not soother means of subduing it would 
 have been discovered before now. During its ordinary run- 
 ning pace we are in the greatest security. 
 
 We find that the angular projections of the wooden part of 
 tlie saddle on which any part of the body rests are still in- 
 
214 UPPER EGYPT 
 
 sufficiently padded, so that we cannot endure to ride for a 
 quarter of an hour, and have to request the driver to let us 
 dismount. He warns us to stick on firmly as in mounting, 
 since the backward and forward shakings are the same, only 
 they occur in reverse order. We can also dismount from a 
 standing camel by grasping the projecting bar of the saddle 
 with one hand and sliding down by means of the other on 
 the sloping hindneck. On remounting, after our seat has 
 been improved, we employ the second method for a change. 
 The camel stands, we grasp with one hand that important 
 saddle-bar, the driver forms one step with his back or his 
 hand, the hollow of the animal's neck forms a second, and 
 this being reached we climb as gracefully as we can into the 
 saddle. It is certainly still better to emancipate one's self 
 entirely from the driver, to compel the camel to lower 
 its neck, and to get the knee upon this by swinging one's 
 self up with one hand on the saddle-bar, whereupon the 
 animal itself raises both neck and rider, who can now obtain 
 fall possession of his seat. During the latter operation, how- 
 ever, the animal is again on the march, which makes turning 
 one's self somewhat difficult. A person should likewise learn 
 to make the animal let him down when travelling alone, and 
 how to bring it to the trot, and also how to dismount when 
 on the march. But this belongs to the higher branches of 
 the riding art ; we are glad if we can mount and dismount in 
 any manner without damage. 
 
 CARAVAN DONKEYS. 
 
 Should riding on camel-back not prove to our taste we " 
 have at our command the asses of the desert, of which con- 
 siderable numbers always accompany and complete the cara- 
 vans. In spite of their tender feet they are able to drag 
 about a hundredweight over hill and dale without breaking 
 down. With their short steps they have enough to do to 
 keep up with the long-legged camel. It would be difficult 
 to get the sluggish animal to go farther alone; but it follows 
 the caravan cheerfully. It would be wholly in vain to try 
 
ON THE MARCH. 215 
 
 to get a good trot or a gallop out of these caravan don- 
 keys — which stand in the same relation to the riding donkeys 
 of the Nile valley as the load-carrying camel to the trotting 
 camel — unless they should have remained till they were some 
 distance behind the caravan. Between camels and donkeys 
 there are many resemblances in structure, nature, and char- 
 acter, and they live together pretty sympathetically. 
 
 ON THE MARCH. 
 
 The caravan, consisting of from a dozen or two up to 50 
 or 100 camels, at last gets seriously on the march. The 
 drivers like to go in company, less for security, since in this 
 desert there is nothino^ to fear, than for convenience and 
 society. They help each other in loading and unloading, re- 
 lieve each other in driving, and at other times mount. What 
 one has not taken with him another perhaps has; the animals 
 themselves are in better humour and spirits, and run better; 
 several strong good camels give the time in running, and 
 none will remain behind. The drivers on this route are 
 mostly Fellahs of Upper Egypt or Ababdeh Bedouins, partly 
 the owners of the animals themselves, partly mere servants 
 or slaves. The march generally continues the whole day 
 without a rest; the stilted gait of the walking machine ap- 
 pears slow and sluggish — a pedestrian at a good walking 
 pace easily goes far ahead of the caravan — but it is telling, 
 uniform, and continuous, and if a person lags behind for any 
 reason he soon sees the caravan far ahead of him, and has 
 hard work to overtake it. 
 
 The fertile soil soon ceases, for it just reaches as far as the 
 overflow of last harvest extended; it is only exceptionally 
 that here and there some small gardens like oases are met 
 with, in the desert certainly, but not far from the cultivated 
 surface, and fed by a deep well, in which the subsoil water 
 collects. Before us lies a widely-extended terrace land, which 
 rises almost imperceptibly. Small undulating hills cross it 
 transversely and longitudinally. This region is apparently 
 devoid of all organic life; wherever the eye turns there is 
 
216 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 nothing but hopeless gray. Only in a few depressions be- 
 tween the hills, where the water of the winter's rain (which 
 generally falls only once) has collected and formed a torrent, 
 a small plant or a bush grows here and there, amid sheets of 
 clay neatly collected and left behind it by the stream. We 
 look backwards, and already see stretching far below us the 
 valley of the Nile and the mountains on the west of the 
 valley, there forming the beginning of the Libyan desert; 
 before us we see distant grayish-white ranges of limestone 
 mountains running in all directions, with valleys between 
 them, which imagination might clothe with rich verdure and 
 smiling homesteads, since in the distance they assume exactly 
 the appearance of the fruitful fields of a mountainous region 
 in a happier clime. 
 
 The soil on which we are marching is not loose sand, but 
 very solid gravel and limestone. We have not to do with a 
 sandy desert here. A light dust-cloud can scarcely be raised 
 by a storm, and the heavy drift sand immediately collects 
 again at various spots under the protection of the hills. The 
 path taken by our caravan is little inferior in firmness and 
 solidity to a regularly-constructed road, and since it is gene- 
 rally level, might be traversed without special difficulty even 
 by a velocipede. The steps of the camels have marked out 
 many lines of ruts, each the breadth of a foot, which wind 
 along it longitudinally, and between which are so many raised 
 lines of loose and seldom trodden gravel. Camels prefer 
 to move along the beaten track, and the firmness of the ruts 
 increases with the amount of the traffic. Nothing else is 
 done to keep up the road; wdiat it is it is in itself Project- 
 ing stones no one thinks of removing. The animal, whose 
 centre of gravity the load now throws forward on the fore- 
 legs, runs down smaller and gentler slopes at first slowly 
 and cautiously, but strikes into a trot for a few steps before 
 reaching the bottom of the declivity — a serious matter for 
 the rider and for wares easily broken. Gullies cut by moun- 
 tain torrents run abruptly across the road, forming sharp 
 breaks which cause the camels to stumble. It crosses these 
 with lumbering lootsteps, and always at the risk of a broken 
 
ON THE MARCH. 217 
 
 leg. It is only suited for the level ground. At difficult 
 points it turns aside of itself On the whole, however, a fall 
 is a rare occurrence. Pashas, who like to ride in carriages, 
 as was formerly the custom during their pilgrimages, no 
 longer use this route at the present day; some English ladies 
 have themselves carried by natives in palanquins the whole 
 long road. 
 
 On this advanced terrace the landscape offers little that is 
 interesting. Instead of it we amuse ourselves with the inex- 
 haustible study of the camel, including its shadow, which 
 changes with every movement and every hour; with the 
 rustic but eloquent language, and the rude but kindly char- 
 acter of the drivers, whose cudgels fall far oftener upon the 
 donkeys than upon the faithful, or at least not unduly labour- 
 shirking, camels; and with their fresh but somewhat mono- 
 tonous mountain songs, general^ religious in character; we 
 interchange with them a short, deep-bowled desert pipe, 
 which is filled with the coarse country tobacco, and is lighted 
 by means of durrah pith with flint and steel. We have also 
 enough to do with ourselves. That infernal apparatus on the 
 saddle makes itself increasingly felt in spite of all bolstering, 
 we sink deeper and deeper in our seat, the upper part of our 
 body is swayed forcibly backwards and forwards with every 
 advance of the ship of the desert, a movement which, to be 
 sure, brings on nothing of the dizziness of ^ea-sickness, but 
 is generally not long in giving the novice pains in the back. 
 We at last become tired of riding, and take to walking for 
 a stretch as a refreshing change. 
 
 Meanwhile the caravan has reached a spot of a brown or 
 dark-yellow appearance, where the tread of the camels on the 
 compact, hardened, and smooth en ed soil becomes almost 
 inaudible, and a peculiar and often pungent smell becomes 
 perceptible. This is a urinariuni (mahwala). The animals 
 lialt of themselves, or at a clacking cracking sound made by 
 the drivers, and add their contribution to the keeping up of 
 the peculiar soil. By these remarkable spots, which recur at 
 tolerably equal intervals, and therefore serve as excellent 
 milestones, the drivers and Bedouins reckon their journeys, 
 
218 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 and they are accordingly of some importance to travellers in 
 the desert. 
 
 CAMPING AT NIGHT. 
 
 The caravans do not halt at mid-day, as unloading and 
 loading gives too much trouble to the drivers; both man and 
 beast must therefore make their breakfast last till evening. 
 Luncheon or a drink of water may be taken while sitting on 
 camel-back on the march; accordingly the journey proceeds 
 with little interruption from morning till evening. The 
 shadows become longer, the mountains and the horizon 
 assume a ruddy hue, and the caravan begins to think of its 
 quarters for the night, so that supper and the camp may be 
 prepared before daylight is gone. The camels, too, are 
 obviously tired out; they often look round about and begin 
 to pick up and eat the balls of dung dropped by their brothers. 
 In this operation the drivers now vie with them, but they 
 select only the older and drier to serve as fuel. The caravan 
 turns aside from the path and seeks out some soft and quiet 
 spot sheltered from the wind. 
 
 We dismount, get our carpet and head-cushion spread on 
 the soft dry soil, and lie down immediately with great satis- 
 faction ; for our back is in want of the support we have long 
 had to dispense with, and we can now stretch and move our 
 legs at our leisure. The carpet, or it may be only the soft 
 sand of the camp, is, to one who travels by the ship of the 
 desert, like the land to the sea-sick traveller by sea. In this 
 condition a drop of brandy is a very healthy medicine in hot 
 or cold weather, and quickly dispels all fatigue. Not less 
 effective is a cup of tea or coffee, but these take some time to 
 prepare. If we have no servant the driver readily attends 
 to us, but as soon as he has made our couch ready he leaves 
 us in the lurch in order to look after his beasts. Making 
 them lie down one after the other, he removes their loads. 
 They do not lie down of themselves, and if not attended to 
 would prefer to run about with their loads in search of pas- 
 ture. They are now fed in the way we have alread}^ described. 
 
CAJklPING AT NIGHT. 219 
 
 In the evening only the bag of beans is usually given them, 
 while in the morning they are allowed to fill their bellies 
 with chopped straw. They get water when any is to be 
 had. In order to keep them from straying in search of pas- 
 ture one of their fore-legs is tied up, so that they can only 
 move by hopping along. The donkeys have both their fore- 
 legs tied together. It is only now that the driver thinks of 
 us and of himself. He is our guest and we his, for in. the 
 freedom of the desert there is no distinction of ranks, and 
 Bedouin law prevails. The fire is either made with brush- 
 wood brought with us or picked up by the way, or with dried 
 camel's dung, which gives a very good coal fire. So soon as 
 it is ablaze coffee is made, and afterwards some simple dish 
 is cooked, generally lentils, since Esau's time the favourite 
 food of the desert, and to it we eat the biscuits we have 
 brought with us, that is, toasted ordinary bread softened in 
 water. If we think cooking is too roundabout a process, we 
 content ourselves with hard-boiled eggs, dates, date-bread, 
 cheese, or still better, pigeons, fowls, or butcher-meat roasted 
 at home. The drivers always like to have something warm; 
 they take out of their sacks a wooden dish, each gives his 
 contribution of flour, they knead a lump of simple unleavened 
 dough, spread it over a gridiron, lay this above the glowing 
 camel's dung, generally directly, but sometimes with an iron 
 plate between, and cover it above with another plate. In 
 this way is made the desert-cake, the hurs, the chief and 
 favourite food of the drivers. These now take their meal in 
 common, inviting everybody around, travellers and Bedouins, 
 to share with them, and we too have to try the toothsome 
 piece of pastry and pretend to like it. On the remains of 
 the dung fire we place once more a cofiee-pot, and cause the 
 bitter Mocha to be served out to our hosts. 
 
 Meanwhile it has become dark, one star after another 
 breaks through the darkness, and soon — so short is twilight 
 in these latitudes — the vault of heaven stretches in its full 
 untroubled splendour above the camp. The company light 
 their pipes and chat aw^ay, sitting in the well known favourite 
 squatting position. When it is cold the groups draw more 
 
220 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 closely together, and crouch around the oft-poked fire of 
 dung. Everybody then lies down among his baggage on the 
 sand, or on the ever-serviceable cotton-plush, which to-day 
 has already been used as a plaid, a head-covering, a fodder- 
 cloth, a sack, and a basket, and now becomes a carpet or a 
 coverlet. For the cold nights of winter one would do well 
 to provide himself with a heavy cotton and also a woollen 
 cover. A tent is seldom used for these short distances; 
 carrying it, pitching and taking down is considered too 
 troublesome by the people. As a protection from the bois- 
 terous winds of winter, a barrier is constructed with bales of 
 goods or bags, and at night a person draws the coverlet over 
 his head, the glare of the sun is kept off by forming a kind 
 of awning with the ever-present wrapping cloth. No one 
 gives his personal safety a thought, the whole caravan scarcely 
 possesses a single firearm. For in this desert, or, at least, in 
 this part of it, there are no robbers nor murderers, not even 
 thieves, unless belonging to the company. Attacks by hyenas 
 or otlier wild animals inhabiting the mountains are unheard 
 of Only when the camp is made in the neighbourhood of 
 human dwellings one has to take care that the thievish dogs, 
 or even the sheep and goats, do not get at the stores, since 
 at unguarded moments they snap up bread, &c., though 
 lying beside us and even under our pillows. Thus the whole 
 caravan, both men and beasts, soon sink into a deep and 
 well-earned slumber. 
 
 THE MORNING CAMP. 
 
 The coolness of the morning breeze, which ceases soon after 
 the morning star rises above the mountain, arouses the 
 sleepers. Packing is quickly finished and the camp broken 
 up; the morning camp, which to the camel-driver appears 
 indispensable, partly because the animals must be fed, partly 
 because he must take his own breakfast, will be held at the 
 neighbouring water-station. On the eastern horizon appears 
 a glimmer that becomes brighter and brighter, forms become 
 more distinct, the tops of the mountains are illuuiined, as 
 
DAY MARCH. 221 
 
 the sun rises we bear a barking, and immediately afterwards 
 we distinguish Imman abodes, the dog, the man, and the 
 water. None of these four objects, in the desert at least, is 
 to be thouojht of without the others. 
 
 The caravan leaders otherwise do not pay much attention 
 to stations; the caravan marches from morning to evening, 
 and passes the night at whatever spot it may have arrived at 
 about sunset, human dwellings are even avoided on account 
 of the dogs. Water is drawn at the watering places in pass- 
 ing, the skins are filled and the camels watered standing. 
 The desert village Laketa, however, is not so lightly regarded 
 as a station. There fowls, pigeons, sheep, and goats are to be 
 had, and also company besides the villagers, as several cara- 
 vans are always met with here, either resting from their 
 journey or strengthening themselves for a fresh one; fruits 
 and vegetables, brought by the caravans, may often be 
 obtained from them. At the same time, on the return journey 
 to the Nile valley, when the main portion of the difficult 
 road has been traversed, the traveller treats himself to a little 
 good eating here, cooks for himself at least some pigeons, and 
 the richer individuals make a present of a sheep to their 
 companj^ 
 
 DAY MARCH. 
 
 We are again seated aloft on the camel-divan; we see 
 before us wide flat tracts, bounded by a transverse chain. 
 One crown of hills after the other bounds the horizon, a new 
 one always succeeds, showing so near through the clear air, 
 though by the measure of reality so far removed. There too, 
 at the distance of a quarter or half a league, lies a lake, there 
 follows another and again another, a whole system of lakes, 
 some of them even fringed with palms. But everyone knows 
 that they are mere illusions of the malicious, mocking devil, 
 they are the hahr esh sheithan, while the man of science calls 
 such atmospheric reflections a kind of fata morgana, in 
 which the ground plays the part of the silvering of a mirror, 
 and the strata of air immediately above it that of the reflecting 
 glass. 
 
222 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 The sun rises higher and higher. Were we in regions a 
 little farther to the south it would send its rays perpendicu- 
 larly down upon our heads at mid-day in summer. We see 
 and feel the twenty-sixth parallel of latitude. The glare of 
 the sunlight on the clear gray ground dazzles the eye, which 
 requires a pair of desert spectacles to subdue the glare. Tlie 
 atmosphere is extremely rare and dry, not sultry, but in this 
 district as a rule there are no air-currents of any force, and, 
 accordingly, the sun's rays act with full power upon terrestrial 
 objects, and among these in the first place on our noses, faces, 
 and the backs of our hands. After a j ourney in the desert these 
 parts are always at least reddened and browned, even at 
 the cool season. If, however, parts of the body less accus- 
 tomed to the light are exposed, even for a short time, to the 
 glare of the sun, as for instance when the trousers slip up in 
 riding, an erythema is caused, and, in an aggravated form, an 
 outbreak of a multitude of little watery pustules, accompany- 
 ing a burning eczema that gives us plenty to do for some days, 
 not to mention the peeling off of the sunburned skin for 
 weeks after. The skin is the more tender the clearer it is. 
 One would expect the opposite, seeing that a burning-glass 
 does not light a paper cigarette. And yet the Fellah, the 
 Bedouin of this desert (the Abadi), and the Moor, exposes 
 the whole of the dusky surface of his body to the burning sun 
 without inconvenience. This must be nothing"'.but the effect 
 of custom. According to the oriental custom, taught by experi- 
 ence and also adopted by Europeans, the head must be the 
 more thickly covered the higher the temperature is, and if it is 
 uncovered, even for an instant, a person unaccustomed to such 
 exposure is immediately liable to the severe phenomena of sun- 
 stroke — fainting, headache, excited circulation, somnolence, 
 extreme feebleness, and not seldom even instant death. The 
 Abadi wears no cap on his curly head either in summer or 
 winter, and even on the smooth-shaved poll of the Fellah, who 
 often cultivates his field in summer bareheaded, the glowing 
 sunbeams beat without effect. In such warm days, with the 
 thermometer at 76 J° F. in the shade, a journey in the desert 
 is of course no pleasure, and unless people have urgent busi- 
 
DAY MARCH. 223 
 
 ness they put off their journeys till a cooler season of the 
 year, autumn and spring by preference. It appears a very 
 feasible plan then to march at night and camp during the 
 da}^ But this plan has also this great disadvantage, that 
 from morning till evening a shady spot can scarcely anywhere 
 be found. If a person buries himself among bales of goods, 
 or keeps inside a tent, he excludes, along with the sun, such 
 slight currents of air as there may be, and at last prefers to 
 seat himself again on his camel, covering head, hands, and 
 all other parts as well as possible, and holding up his white 
 umbrella lined with green. 
 
 But the samum or poison-wind also blows frequently in 
 these regions at the hot season of the year. In the afternoon 
 the wind generally veers round and blows from the west — 
 from the Sahara and the Libyan deserts. The atmosphere, 
 previously so clear, becomes darkened, impregnated as it were 
 with atoms of sand, the sky has a grayish appearance, the 
 sun looks like a yellowish -pale or reddish disk; one sand 
 cloud after another rolls up, lashes the traveller turned towards 
 it in the face, and rubs his eyes till they are sore. While 
 the air of the desert in its dryness was previously so agi-ee- 
 able and healthy, the glowing samum renders the body dry, 
 relaxes the limbs, and produces a prickling of the nerves 
 like that caused by electricity; the traveller feels he cannot go 
 farther, and camps. The samum that came on, now gently, 
 now roaring and storming, generally ceases after a few hours, 
 and air and sky again become clear. This peculiar west 
 wind breaks on the middle mountains, into the valleys of 
 which it hardly penetrates, and it scarcely ever reaches the 
 maritime border of the mountains and the sea. 
 
 We are now somewhat more than 20 leagues from the 
 Nile valley. The country we have hitherto crossed has been 
 a great, almost level terrace-land, the soil being gravel or 
 limestone. Sandstone now makes its appearance, and the 
 hills and mountains come more closely together and begin to 
 form the sides of valleys, while with these at last some vege- 
 tation appears, hitherto wholly absent. The sandstone, which 
 is yellowish or reddish in colour, rises -sometimes from the 
 
224 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 valley bottoms in lofty, isolated, quadrangular rocks, water- 
 worn on all sides; such a rock among others is the so-called 
 Maiden's Castle (Kasr el bandt). But soon dark, lofty, steep 
 mountain masses show themselves and seem to bar the way. 
 We can no longer march so straight onwards as before, a deep 
 narrow valley winds through the hard rock which belongs to 
 the primeval mountains. Bare rocks show themselves every- 
 where, torn with wild ravines and chasms, the mountain 
 walls are covered with loose blocks, both large and small, but 
 with no soil. These threaten to crush the traveller; a number 
 of them have indeed fallen down into the valley and lie right 
 in the path. At the entrance to this valley, beside the caravan 
 route, is a cistern, the well called Hamamat; there are several 
 such on the road, and a good many among the mountains. 
 They are generally deep, built-up wells, from which the water 
 is drawn up by leathern buckets, or a stair leads down to them, 
 a structure of which a son of the country longing for cool- 
 ness not infrequently makes use to descend to bathe in the 
 cool basin below, from which others obtain their water for 
 drinking and cooking. Along the whole road, but especially 
 in this valley, antiquities belonging to the ancient Egyptian 
 and the Greek periods are seen. 
 
 The route that the caravan takes lies on the whole in a 
 single transverse valley from the Nile to the sea, and of such 
 there are several to choose from. Here a multitude of cara- 
 vans are daily encountered, embracing from one or two 
 animals up to hundreds, and generally carrying nothing but 
 corn from the highly-favoured Nile valley to the sea-port, 
 the corn being thence exported to Arabia, which is poor in 
 this commodity. It is difficult, however, to cross the water- 
 shed, which there forms a high valley 4 or 5 miles in length, 
 sinking at both ends in the form of a steep rocky ravine. For 
 a camel to cross such passes is just within the bounds of pos- 
 sibility. The camel is at home only on level ground; at such 
 places it is apt to stumble, though it attempts with its natural 
 caution to find a suitable spot on which to plant its every 
 footstep; at places that appear to it very difficult it often 
 stands helpless, till the driver leads it over by the bridle. 
 
MARCHING AT NIGHT. 225 
 
 To go up a slope, however, is a much easier matter for it than 
 to go down one. Slipping, falling, and broken bones are hj 
 no means rare in such circumstances, and it is always better 
 to dismount both for our own sake and that of the animal. 
 Animals that have fallen and broken some of their bones are 
 left lying on the spot; some fodder is given to them, and they 
 are handed over to the care of the neighbouring Bedouins 
 until they have recovered, or till the butcher who has bought 
 them for a trifle arrives from the next town. At such spots 
 are found a multitude of stones and cairns erected by human 
 hands; these are mementos of their presence set up by the 
 passing pilgrims. 
 
 Thus we wander onwards in the mountains; narrow valleys 
 and ravines alternate with opener areas more resembling 
 plains; lofty mountains several thousand feet high, with 
 chains of hills formed of debris; absolutely desert tracts, with 
 oasis-like spots and steppes nourished by a visible or in- 
 visible well. Here is no longer the waste loneliness of the 
 plantless outer terrace; the geologist admires the variety and 
 the structure of the primary rocks everywhere laid bare, the 
 botanist plucks the small and ephemeral plants, the zoologist 
 hunts and collects, as well as it can be done on the march, 
 the antiquary inspects the ruins and deciphers the inscrip- 
 tions. 
 
 MARCHING AT NIGHT. 
 
 Still, these mountains are but a desert, and we strive 
 to get out of them as soon as possible. We arrange with 
 the leaders of our caravan to make a journey by night, 
 and having pitched our night-camp at some suitable place, 
 we break up about midnight and move along by the dark 
 mountain heights. It is not pitch dark, the starlight of the 
 southern sky shining through the transparent atmosphere 
 lights up the path sufficiently to prevent us from making any 
 false step, although the ruts or trodden paths appear to us 
 to wind deceitfully up and down. The camels go faster in 
 the cool night air than by day, and the casual highway fodder, 
 as yet invisible, does not distract their thoughts. For hours 
 
 16 
 
226 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 on end we hear nothing but the gentle tread of the soft soles 
 of our animals, and at times a "Hi!" from the watchful 
 driver, and the thwack of a cudgel on some of the donkeys, 
 which cannot follow the quicker night pace of the camels. Our 
 eyes and thoughts are forcibly drawn from the terrestrial 
 desert lying invisible around us to the infinite region of the 
 spheres of light. We find again the constellations of the 
 North from the polar star and the Bears to the brilliant Orion, 
 and discover now too the great Scorpion in its whole length, 
 the Southern Crown, and still just above the horizon Canopus. 
 The driver, like every Egyptian, is an accomplished astro- 
 nomer; but the names he gives to the constellations and his 
 manner of grouping the figures often vary from those depicted 
 on European maps of the stars. 
 
 From the stars our thoughts wander to the countries of 
 that more northern region to which we belong; we recall to 
 mind the blessings derived from the superior cultivation of 
 the soil, the flourishing state of art and science, the mighty- 
 advances made by commerce and industry, the order in civil 
 and political life, the power and the riches of the nations, 
 lastly, the power of public opinion, fighting on the side of 
 justice and morality. Directly the contrary of all this is 
 what we see in Mohammedan states. But we find that 
 amidst the blessings of civilization there swarm all kinds of 
 gnawing cancerous sores and examples of glaring wretched- 
 ness; and the Frank is by no means justified in always look- 
 ing down upon the Oriental as the sick man. The Moslim 
 is essentially a natural man guided by faith in his religion, 
 which, when rightly interpreted, is as capable of giving him 
 the stamp of a good man as any other. That art and science 
 can flourish also on the soil of Islam history shows, and that 
 a Mussulman, who is a true believer, is not necessarily a 
 fanatic, any one may convince himself who has an intimate 
 knowledge of both country and people. To be sure, as things 
 are at present Islam is numbed and petrified, and aU high 
 effort is wanting to its believers. 
 
 Moreover, as the Frank looks down upon the Oriental on 
 account of his ignorance, so does the Oriental look down 
 
MARCHING AT NIGHT. 227 
 
 upon the Frank on account of a multitude of customs that to 
 him appear strange, ridiculous, undignified, even indecent, 
 and the Oriental is not so far wrong; indeed, the Frank who 
 has become orientalized in his ways latterly laughs at him- 
 self for many things that he formerly did, and thought 
 natural and matters of course. The Oriental detests above 
 everything the emancipation of women, which he stigmatizes 
 as indecent, shameless, and immoral; in his eyes a ball is an 
 act by which the husband calmly allows his wife, the father 
 his daughter, to revel in the arms of a stranger. Indulgence 
 in wine and spirits is the other chief symptom in which the 
 Moslim believes he detects civilization. The Frank also 
 appears to him as unclean, because he uses as food pork, 
 blood, and carrion, that is, the flesh of animals that have been 
 strangled, not properly slaughtered, and because he does not 
 wash or bathe before meals, nor generally after them, nor in 
 connection with his devotions, and not a great deal at other 
 times; from the throne of his dignity, clad in his long flowing 
 robes, he criticises the goings on of the army of Frankish 
 fops, their cravats, their stiff" collars, their kid gloves, their 
 chimney-pot hats, their tight trousers, their dress and other 
 coats, the many different forms of their beards ("the Franks 
 have no dignity in their beards"), and such like. And none 
 of the strange fashions of the women escape him, any more 
 than their falseness, unnaturalness, and want of taste. 
 
 It is the scum swimming on the top that first meets the 
 eyes of the novice, and in indignation he pours out the whole 
 un tasted contents of the proffered cup of civilization, or he him- 
 self becomes the victim of this scum. He is only too ready to 
 adopt the vices of the Frank without giving up his own and 
 adopting the virtues of his model. Since, in Egypt at least, 
 it is attempted to introduce forcibly a kind of superficial 
 civilization from the top downwards, the people will soon 
 degenerate if the healthy kernel which exists in the Mosliras 
 does not exercise a counteractive eflfect until at last true 
 civilization, which is unceasingly spreading, shall pave a way 
 for itself. 
 
 All at once we awake from the wild improbable dreams to 
 
228 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 which the rocking gait of our steed has lulled us; we have 
 slipped down a little and lost our balance. It is a wise pro- 
 vision of nature that in such cases the sleeper awakes just 
 before the crisis. We hold on by something or other, fear 
 seems to have quite dispelled sleep, and we rejoice that we 
 are still far from the miseries of civilization, of which we have 
 been dreaming in the ever free, unsullied desert. But in a 
 few minutes, through the constant action of our cradle, we 
 again fall asleep, to start up suddenly as before. In this pain- 
 ful intermediate state between sleeping and waking, which 
 often means as much as between death and life — for many a 
 man has ere now met his death by sleeping on his camel, or, 
 at least, has fallen and broken his limbs — we look with envy 
 upon our native companions, the drivers, who, placed aloft, 
 snore for hours on end in the most perpendicular positions, 
 their feet hanging down on one side, their head on the other, 
 right across the camel. The camels march on instinctively, 
 even when the driver has fallen asleep; but sometimes one 
 of them, often the very one that carries the sleeper, remains 
 standing, and it may happen that when we come to look 
 around us we find ourselves quite alone in the wilderness, 
 and neither shouts nor the report of a gun can reach the ear 
 of the guide who has fallen asleep and been left leagues 
 behind us. As a rule, however, a person joins a whole cara- 
 van, and then the driver who is keeping watch has to march 
 behind on foot. 
 
 THE LITTORAL SLOPE OF THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 The night march has helped our progress, and by the time 
 it is day we have reached the littoral slope of the mountains. 
 The air, the soil, the water, the rocks, the structure of the 
 mountain, and to some extent also the animals, plants, and 
 people, change their character. A fresh, pure sea breeze 
 blows from the north, or, laden with clouds and moisture, 
 the warm and oppressive south-east wind (Asidb), which, 
 along with the always pleasant north wind and the cold 
 north-east (masri), rules the winter half-year, and which is 
 
CONFIGUKATION OF THE MOUNTAINS. 229 
 
 kept from reaching the Nile valley by the intervening moun- 
 tains, as the samum from the west has its progress eastwards 
 arrested. The springs that here and there occur have a very 
 bitter taste, and sometimes give out a smell like that of sul- 
 phuretted hydrogen. In places the soil appears loose, crusty, 
 yellowish, moist, as it were, spongy, and impregnated with 
 a saline fluid. A bitter, perennial rivulet, the Ambiga, makes 
 a vain attempt to trickle farther down into the valley, and 
 gives a verdant existence to a grove of rushes, but after a 
 few days' rain becomes a raging, devastating stream. 
 
 Already at a distance the most striking feature of this 
 littoral portion of the mountains is the long-stretching ridges 
 of white limestone hills which rise youthfully between and 
 among the dark and ancient primary rocks. The heart of 
 the traveller, fatigued with his long journey through the 
 desert, beats high when he sees them, since his goal, the sea, 
 must be near. 
 
 From the bare hill-terrace that spreads out before us we 
 perceive on the eastern horizon a bluish-black band which 
 separates the earth from the clear blue vault of heaven. The 
 camel accelerates his pace as we march down a valley of no 
 great slope, that of the Ambagi. This opens out more and 
 more, we hear behind the last hills a roaring and booming, 
 and at last we stand before a town, the seaport of Koseir, 
 and on the shore of the eternal sea, after traversing a stretch 
 of 43 leagues, to accomplish which the caravans require four 
 or ^ve days on the *'up journey," that is, when going 
 from the interior to the sea, and three or four on the "down 
 journey," from the sea to the Nile valley. 
 
 II.— THE NATIJIIE OF THE DESEHT. 
 
 CONFIGUKATION OF THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 The mountain mass which we have crossed is apparently 
 a confused agglomeration of mountains and valleys where no 
 brook nor river affords a safe guide. But abundant traces of 
 
230 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 the action of water compensate for this want, and it is gener- 
 ally easy to trace out the river and valley systems, even if 
 the region is not traversed on those rare days after winter 
 rains when the rivers really exist. Channels are seen on the 
 sides of mountains, traces of brooks, of waterfalls, beds of 
 rivers, some of them streams with wide valleys of embouchure. 
 Nay, along the very summit of the mountain mass runs a 
 regular water-shed, from which the waters must run either 
 westwards into the Nile valley, or eastwards into the Red 
 Sea. 
 
 RAIN AND RAINWATER-STREAMS. 
 
 During summer the sky is almost always entirely blue and 
 cloudless; at the winter season, however, the tops of the moun- 
 tains are often enveloped in clouds, especially after moist 
 south and south-east winds. Then the sonl of every dweller 
 in the desert is filled with new hope; if the clouds become 
 denser and blacker, the children march about with white 
 streamers and shout, Ya Allah idina sel, ehna 'ahida/c u el 
 cher hi idak, that is, ''Dear God, give us a rain stream; we 
 are thy servants, and blessing is in thy hand.'' The women 
 and girls make a cross-shaped frame with two pieces of timber, 
 put a shirt and a veil on it, and carry this figure about in 
 houses and courts with singing and trilling. Hitherto the 
 dweller in the desert town (Koseir) has had to get his fresh 
 water brought in skins a distance of several days' journey, 
 from springs in the mountains, and paid dear for it. But now 
 he hopes to be able to obtain the precious liquid himself before 
 his own door, and to fill his store vessels with a supply for 
 months to come; the Bedouin hopes that the mountain wells 
 will be filled, that pasture will be procured, and the dead- 
 lying desert revivified. But very often these hopes are 
 cheated; the north wind, that rules everything, begins to 
 blow, and in a moment the sky is again clear and blue. Two, 
 three, even four years may pass without the aqueous vapour 
 falling in a bounteous rain. Still the attempt of the southern 
 sky to pour out rain is often successful, once at least on an 
 average in every winter, and then it often does its duty in 
 
KAIN AND KAINWATER-STREAMS. 231 
 
 superabundant measure. In the midst of incessant thunder 
 and lightning, as if a dozen storms had joined together, the 
 rain pours down, being often mixed with heavy hailstones. 
 The flat roofs of the houses of the desert city, which houses 
 are built of unburned bricks made without chopped straw, 
 give way "like sugar;" if they are not in good condition the 
 water makes a hole through the ceiling, and in a short time 
 the room, the terrace, the court-yard are converted into a 
 lake, the streets become lagoons, filth-swamps, and streams, 
 which sap the foundations of the houses, so that some fall 
 at once or after a few days. In the mountains the Bedouin 
 flees with his tent and all his belongings to the more ele- 
 vated points of the valleys or to the hills. The caravans, 
 thoroughly drenched, must come to a halt, and do not reach 
 their destination without difficulty and danger, caused by the 
 slippery ground, here and there converted into a torrent, or 
 only after a very circuitous route. 
 
 Fortunately, however, these downpours do not last long, 
 and now old and young march out of the town to look at the 
 river that has filled the valley, many also, particularly the 
 women, to bathe in the cool stream, not seldom to the danger 
 of their lives. All who have strength enough, men, women, 
 and children, convey the newly fallen fresh water in pitchers 
 or skins into the houses; all the donkeys and camels are 
 loaded, and the water caravans from the mountains find their 
 labour lost, and, emptying out the mountain water they have 
 carried so far, set to work in the river with the rest. For it is 
 only a short time that the water of the rain-torrent remains 
 fresh; in a few days, when the flow ceases, it absorbs salt and 
 bitter elements from the soil, but the great bulk of the stream 
 falls uselessly into the sea, instead of being stored up in cis- 
 terns. 
 
 At other times the clouds discharge themselves at a greater 
 distance among the mountains, and in the town, on the sea- 
 coast, only lightning is seen and thunder heard. Then perhaps 
 a Bedouin will come into the town the next day with the 
 strange information that ''the river is coming." If only 
 a small quantity of rain falls it is immediately drunk up 
 
232 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 by the thirsty soil of the desert; if, however, it is greater, and 
 the spot where the fall took place is also not very distant or 
 very limited, the surface water gathers into rivulets, the larger 
 valleys receive all the waters of their tributary valleys, and 
 thus the whole is finally collected into a mighty stream in 
 the main valley, down which it rolls like an outflow of lava, 
 when the slope is small often very slowly. But on many 
 occasions also the rain that follows falls on the other side of 
 the watershed, on the Nile side, in which case the thirsty 
 towns on the Eed Sea and the dwellers in the Nile valley 
 are equally annoyed. For the stream of fresh water then 
 carries devastation over the laboriously tilled fields of the 
 Nile peasant, who requires no other river than his Nile. In 
 the Nile valley itself showers are far more seldom than in 
 the mountains. 
 
 The valleys of the eastern slope of our mountain mass 
 stand in the closest relationship to the sea-ports on the Red 
 Sea, which are directly the result of the former. For in 
 these regions the sea is fringed along the coast by a coral- 
 reef, called a coast reef Now, as is well known, fresh water 
 kills the coral animals. Accordingly, where large masses of 
 fresh water enter the sea, the coral polyps cannot continue 
 their labours, and thus arise the sher7}i, or reef-openings which 
 form these ports. As a rule the size of the shenn is in direct 
 proportion to the magnitude of the respective valley system. 
 Of course the stream that at present so seldom flows down 
 these valleys, is not sufiicient to account for the formation of 
 the sherm, scarcely for its maintenance. We must go back 
 to earlier times, when more permanent or more frequent 
 streams flowed through, and, to some extent, formed the val- 
 leys. That this must have been the case is testified by the 
 alluvial tracts, the heaps of gravel and pebbles transported 
 by water, and the water-worn rocks, phenomena visible 
 everywhere on a large scale. Under present circumstances, 
 when at most a rivulet is formed only once a year for a few 
 days, a thousand years would produce an equal result to that 
 produced by a permanent stream in three years, in rounding 
 off and wearing away the hard rocks of the mountains, and 
 
GEOLOGICAL CONSTITUTION. 233 
 
 in accumulating such masses of debris. Similar observations 
 made in the neighbouring desert of Sinai, so similar to ours, 
 perhaps admit of the inference that such an abundance of 
 water continued down even to historic times, seeing that the 
 Israelites were able to maintain themselves several years 
 round Mount Sinai, while at present only a few Bedouins roam 
 there. Our desert also, as numerous remains inform us (see 
 below), was formerly much more thickly inhabited. This 
 mountain region is, therefore, essentially an erosion desert. 
 
 GEOLOGICAL CONSTITUTION. 
 
 The constitution of the surface, in its individual features, 
 naturally depends upon the geological formation. In the 
 west, towards the Nile valley, we have tertiary nummulite 
 limestone; here the desert has the character of a plateau- 
 desert, like that of the Libyan desert, of which it forms 
 merely a continuation, separated by the Nile valley. This 
 formation is followed on the east by a sandstone, which 
 appears to belong to the "Nubian sandstone," one of the 
 latest members of the tertiary formation. The middle, the 
 heart of the mountain system, is occupied mainly by dull- 
 looking primary rock, consisting of diorites (green-stones), 
 diorite-breccias, and black or green-stone porphyries; with 
 these are often intermingled very beautiful red-coloured 
 granites and porphyries, and massive highly-coloured veins 
 and lodes everywhere permeate the dark rock. The chief 
 masses, those on which the others, so to speak, rest, are mainly 
 composed of such granite, gneiss being less common. They 
 rise to a height of 400 feet. These rocks are nowhere covered, 
 as in other countries, with a layer of humus; but the geologist 
 is not allowed to behold Earth in all her nakedness, since the 
 superficial layer is generally traversed to such an extent with 
 fissures, often of considerable depth, that it is not easy to 
 break off a fragment the size of the fist showing a fresh frac- 
 ture on all sides, while in ascending a mountain, from the 
 crumbling of the surface, a firm footing cannot be obtained. 
 In other districts, where much rain falls, this disintegrated 
 
234 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 rough-casting is washed away; here it remains, and the 
 whole of the mountains look as if burned by the sun. The 
 rocks in some ravines, where there are permanent waterfalls, 
 do not show these fissures; they are firm, hard, and smooth 
 as marble, since the water can take eflfect here. 
 
 It is not till towards the Ked Sea that chains of stratified 
 limestone mountains again appear, but they often advance 
 far into the ancient mountains. They are mostly long 
 straight mountain ridges, consisting of pure limestone or 
 dolomite, and containing numerous flint nodules interspersed. 
 The fossils show them to be genuine members of the cretaceous 
 system. In the valleys isolated masses of sandstone occur 
 along with them, often showing the action of water all round 
 them, devoid of fossils and pretty rich in iron. The nearer we 
 approach the sea the more readily do we find in these lime- 
 stone ridges organic remains of animals that still live in the 
 Ked Sea; the transition from the chalk through the tertiary 
 fwhich, however, here exhibits no trace of nummulites) to the 
 modern period is thus, therefore, quite gradual. The interior 
 crystalline mountain mass always stood out as dry land. The 
 Red Sea has existed at least since the cretaceous epoch, and 
 has withdrawn into its present limits quite gradually, and 
 this withdrawal is still going on, as every one who has dwelt 
 long on the coast knows, the fact being proved by many har- 
 bours, which, though celebrated in antiquity, are now dry 
 land. Shells which are also found in the sea, for example, 
 the well-known large Tridacna, are often found in earthy 
 layers unpetrified, as if they had been just cast up by the 
 sea, but upon mountain-spurs hundreds of feet above it. 
 
 Many parts of the limestone mountains, especially of the 
 latest formation, are in process of transition to gypsum, and 
 this is perhaps a consequence of the decay of the animal sub- 
 stances; the gypsum is found in all valleys that lead from the 
 sea to the mountains, even large mountains and mountain 
 groups are converted into gypsum. Other parts have a ten- 
 dency to crumble into the form of dust, such as may be seen 
 on walls built of bricks containing iron-pyrites; these soils, 
 which are everywhere found in the neighbourhood of the sea. 
 
SPRINGS. 235 
 
 are called by the Arabs zabach. The cause is evidently the 
 attraction of moisture by the salts contained in the stone. 
 The salt often separates in thick crusts and layers as moun- 
 tain salt, which is often dug for, since other salt, even sea salt, 
 is difficult to procure on account of certain government regu- 
 lations. Other useful minerals are not worked in these moun- 
 tains at the present day. From many traces as well as his- 
 torical notices, however, we learn that they were worked in 
 ancient times, in those of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and 
 Romans, and even the Arabs (in the fifteenth century); there 
 were silver, gold, and copper mines, and in antiquity the 
 emerald mines farther to the south were highly renowned, 
 though they are now unproductive. In the neighbourhood 
 of these, in the '*lead mountain," some lead-glance is found, 
 but not in sufficient quantity to be worked. In digging for 
 these treasures in the deserts the great obstacle is the diffi- 
 culty of communicating with the outer world, and the want 
 of water and fuel. That was also the reason, combined with 
 the small quantity to be obtained, why the working of the 
 sulphur mines, which lie farther north at Gimse opposite Tor, 
 and southwards in Range, did not pay. Coal has often been 
 searched for, but coal proper is entirely absent, and if any- 
 thing of the nature of coal is ever found it will be lignite. 
 Petroleum is found close to the sea, near the above-men- 
 tioned sulphur diggings at Gimse, on the Gebel Set or Oil 
 Mountain. The ancients employed stones from these moun- 
 tains in making columns, sarcophagi, sphinxes, fcc, which, 
 in the neighbouring ruins of Thebes, still excite wonder, 
 being transported there by methods still unexplained; espe- 
 cially the diorite-breccias from the valley of Hamamat (see 
 above), the so-called verde antico, also dark green-stones and 
 red porphyries and granite. That this valley was once a busy 
 scene of life is evidenced by the numerous ruins and ancient 
 Egyptian sculptures hewn in the rocks. 
 
 SPRINGS. 
 
 As in other regions in forming their settlements men fol- 
 lowed the course of the rivers, so here in the desert mountains 
 
236 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 tlie springs or wells have become points of attraction, round 
 which the nomadic inhabitants erect their huts until they 
 dry up. The caravans prefer to halt in the neighbourhood 
 of the wells; the town's people must get their water from 
 them; they form the natural rendezvous of all the higher and 
 lower animals that live in the desert. Vegetation also is usually 
 more luxuriant than elsewhere at these moist spots, and ac- 
 cordingly these wells are the natural centres of life in the 
 desert. The rain which from time to time moistens the 
 mountains, is fortunately not all carried by the river to the 
 sea; a considerable portion penetrates the soil, maintains itself 
 there for a long time, and supplies moisture to the roots of the 
 plants, and to the germs that are slumbering everywhere 
 around. Another portion of the water penetrates deeper, and 
 here and there appears again of its own accord as a spring, or 
 is brought to light by digging an adit or a deep well. In order 
 to collect and retain the water of the deep spring the well is 
 then lined and built up. Cisterns, in the sense of rain-water 
 being directed into a pit and kept there for years, do not exist 
 in this desert. Immediately after rain has fallen these wells 
 are naturally richer in water, many soon dry up, but some 
 hold out for several years, even though they do not receive 
 any addition from new rain. At certain places the springs 
 are so rich in water that they form permanent brooks, which, 
 however, lose themselves in the sand after a short course; 
 others precipitate themselves over rocks in the form of water- 
 falls in wild and romantic ravines. These wells might be 
 increased at will. On the great caravan route from Kene to 
 Koseir, which thirty years ago was also tlie overland route 
 to India, the English constructed a number of well-built 
 wells, but these unfortunately are not kept in repair. 
 
 The quality of the water in the desert wells is, to be sure, 
 generally none of the best; in the neighbourhood of the coasts, 
 where limestone and dolomite prevail, it is brackish or bitter, 
 often scarcely drinkable, in the diorite formation it becomes 
 more drinkable, but always contains some magnesia, so that 
 it is not very suitable for washing and cooking. Pure water 
 springs only from the granite, the gneiss, and the diorite- 
 
VEGETATION. 237 
 
 breccias. But this also soon putrefies when carried in skins, 
 and can only be purified again by allowing it to stand for 
 several weeks in jars. Oases, in the sense of cultivated spots 
 in the middle of the desert, do not exist in our district, but 
 they might perhaps be produced in many places, and thus a 
 part of the desert brought under cultivation. At Koseir, 
 where the soil on the coast is poor and saline, a garden was 
 laid out many years ago, and date-palms, tamarisks, Nile 
 acacias, and in rain years many kinds of vegetables, thrive in. 
 it, though not very luxuriantly. The same would be much 
 more easily accomplished on the better soil of the interior of 
 the desert, if a person were only to be at the expense and 
 trouble of sinking a deep and abundant well, and cultivating 
 the soil by its means. Water exists wherever plants are found, 
 and the trees and shrubs scattered everywhere do not perish 
 even after several years of drought. 
 
 VEGETATION. 
 
 Our desert is by no means a perfect desert, that is, a tract 
 utterly devoid of vegetation, like a great part of the Sahara; 
 on the contrary, after an abundant rain the valleys are con- 
 verted into verdant pasture-steppes. As early as January, 
 or even earlier, a few weeks after the winter rain, green herbs 
 and bushes sprout in every hollow, in every ravine, in every 
 valley, while the old perennial plants put forth new leaves 
 and flowers. The flora is at its finest from February to April, 
 but after this the sub-tropical sun burns up one plant after 
 the other, and in summer only the deeper-rooted trees and 
 shrubs remain. The western plateau-like portion of our 
 desert, however, in vegetation as well as in appearance, 
 more resembles the Libyan desert, and is very poor in 
 plants. 
 
 By far the most common desert plant of this region is the 
 zilla (the desert-thorn), a small shrub with blossoms like 
 those of a radish; it is this chiefly which from a distance 
 gives the valleys the appearance of green meadows. While 
 the ass, so highly renowned as a thistle-eater, prudently holds 
 
238 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 aloof from this thorny bush, the thick-tongued camel takes 
 the highest pleasure in chewing large quantities of the tongue- 
 pricking shrub without losing a drop of blood; it even swal- 
 lows the strong prickles of the acacia with delight. If a 
 caravan, after a long march, arrives at such a zilla-steppe, 
 all order is at once lost, the camels begin tearing at the 
 bushes and mind nothing else, and the only remedy is to 
 muzzle them with muzzles of cord. The dry zilla, called 
 dris or hay, is also eaten by the camel like straw; it gives 
 good brushwood for fire-lighting, the dry bushes catching 
 tire very readily, and by kindling them we can easil}?- form 
 a picture of a steppe-fire. 
 
 In many places the broom-like march (Leptadenia jpyro- 
 technica) grows, a bush with long twigs and generally leaf- 
 less, and which is also readily eaten by camels. The zygo- 
 phyllums are very common desert plants; they are excessively 
 salt, and are eaten only by the hungriest Bedouin camels. 
 Though growing in the driest years and in the driest spots, 
 strange to say, these plants are exceedingly succulent; yet 
 dew can have nothing to do with their nourishment, as 
 scarcely any dew falls in the desert. The Cleome, whose 
 leaves exhibit considerable resin-glands on long hairs, is 
 noticeable from its growing in the form of small hemispherical 
 bushes, as round as if cut with a pair of shears, and from its 
 strong aromatic smell, which, being disagreeable to the natives, 
 has procured it the name of "stinking." It is disliked by all 
 the domestic animals. In rainy years there are abundance 
 of pasture-plants, such as the Leobordia, a highly-prized 
 labiate plant, the scented composite plants Pulicaria and 
 Brochia, the rough Forskalea and Anchusa, a scentless Reseda, 
 (fee. The elegant astringent Lotus arahicus is regarded, 
 whether justly or unjustly, as forming a poisonous food for 
 sheep and goats, which nevertheless eat it. Shady, murmur- 
 ing tamarisk groves, enlivened with birds and insects, and 
 consisting of hundreds of trees, astonish the traveller at all 
 seasons of the year in the grayest and most lonely wilderness; 
 and where the soil is saturated with moisture by purling 
 streamlets, that last all the year round, or lagunes of sea- 
 
VEGETATION. 239 
 
 water, the eye is gladdened by spreading meadows of green 
 rushes. 
 
 Medicinal plants also spring from the soil, especially the 
 bitter colocynth, which everywhere creeps along on the borders 
 and slopes of valleys, with its cucumber- like stems, which 
 bear large numbers of smooth round fruits like apples, at first 
 green and then yellow. The native inhabitants have a great 
 fear of this purgative lying so close at hand; they scarcely 
 touch the apples, since these make the hand bitter, and do 
 not care to use them as a medicine; while the Bedouin fills 
 the rind of the fruit with milk, and drinks the milk next day 
 as a laxative. Senna, a plant having a considerable papilion- 
 aceous blossom with large wings, is common, but not here in 
 sufficient quantity for collection, as it is farther south and in 
 Arabia. The aromatic Artemisia (a species of wormwood) 
 also belongs to the quarter, as well as the Calotropis tree, with 
 its corrosive milky juice, and a shrub, the Dcemia cordata, 
 to which, where it has connected itself with a saint (the 
 sheikh Shatli, on the western border of the desert near 
 Esneh), pilgrims make journeys of many days' length, from 
 east and west, in order to rub their limbs with it. 
 
 Edible fruits also are not quite absent from the flora of the 
 desert, but the date-palm is no longer found wild anywhere 
 here, though in many places it has become wild (in the Wady 
 Gemal). In place of it the hegelig-tree (Balanites) offers in 
 many places its date-like fruits, a fig-tree (Ficus pseudocarica) 
 grows on the slopes of many of the mountains, but not on 
 their bare and waterless tops, as the wonder-loving fancy of 
 the natives of the towns believes. The juic}^ green caper- 
 bush bears fruits that combine sweetness with the taste of 
 mustard, but a person has to avoid fruits that are not ripe 
 and soft, and also the rind of the fruit, in order to remain 
 within the limits of the agreeable. The traveller in the 
 desert finds the agreeable acidity of the sorrel very refreshing, 
 as also the berries of the thorny Lycium, of the trailing Och- 
 radenus, and of the Nitraria, the latter a coast shrub; the 
 longing palate also does not despise the chewing of the buds 
 of the above-mentioned widely-spread Tnarch, which, like 
 
240 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 cheny stalks, taste of prussic acid, nor does it disdain the 
 milky fruits of the Glossonema, both plants belonging to the 
 family of the Asclepiadacese, which produces many other 
 poisons besides. 
 
 The coast flora of the desert, which requires the saline 
 vapour of the sea, is peculiar. A celebrated plant is the 
 shora (Avicennia oflciTialis), which forms large dense groves 
 in the sea, these being laid bare only at very low ebb. Ships 
 are laden with its wood, which is used as fuel, and mauy 
 camels live altogether upon its laurel-like leaves. At many 
 places the coast is widely covered with bushes of the above- 
 mentioned Nitraria, of the Salicornia, Statice, Suseda, and 
 Cyperus, which, collecting the drift-sand, stand always upon 
 a sand-hill formed by themselves. Some of these afford alka- 
 line ashes. 
 
 The desert flora is certainly not rich, but one can soon col- 
 lect in favourable years a herbarium of 100 to 150 species. 
 Altogether 600 species are reckoned as belonging to the 
 Egyptian deserts. They belong, in part, to families which are 
 quite foreign to us northerners, and we find forms for which 
 we look in vain in the Nile valley. In addition to the uni- 
 versally distributed families of the Graminese, Compositse, 
 Cruciferae, Labiatse, Papilionacese, fcc, the foreign families of 
 the Mimosacese, Moringacese, Zygophyllacese, Balanitacese, 
 Capparidacese, Avicenniacese, Asclepiadacese, Salvadoracese, 
 and Amarantacese make their appearance, to which, in the 
 northern portion of the desert, Mesembryanthemacese are 
 also to be added, Eanunculacese and Orchidacese are entirely 
 wanting, and Umbelliferse almost entirely. Fungi and mosses 
 are rare. Some plants that are annuals in the Nile valley 
 have to extend their roots in the desert in order to reach the 
 aqueous stratum, and thus become perennial (see p. 145). 
 
 THE ANIMALS OF THE DESERT. 
 
 In spite of the difficult conditions of existence, a consider- 
 able number of animals of various classes have chosen our 
 desert as their home. Where plants are, insects are sure to 
 
THE ANIMALS OF THE DESERT. 241 
 
 be found. They are hunted with most success on warm, 
 calm, and sunny days in the spring, which begins as early as 
 January. White and gay-coloured butterflies (Colias, Pieris, 
 and even our common painted- lady), in company with bees, 
 wasps, and flies, flutter about the flowers, the individuals 
 often being in immense numbers, but the species being few; 
 they contribute essentially to increase the idyllic effect of the 
 quiet valleys. The pretty red and white marked Euprepia 
 pulchra, a widely-spread southern form, which has even been 
 found in the south of Germany, also often shows itself Much 
 more abundant are the little butterflies, on plants and about 
 rocks, in the crevices of which they conceal themselves, but 
 especially at night round the lanterns and the open fires. 
 The caterpillar of the sack-spinner (Psyche) sticks to the 
 acacia-trees, in its slender envelope shaped like a horn of 
 plenty; another with a very short stumpy dwelling is found 
 on the tamarisks. 
 
 The Hymenoptera are well represented. Large handsome 
 wasps or hornets (Vespa, Eumenes) leave and enter their 
 nests (which are stuck to rocks) and fly long distances to 
 drink at the springs; wild bees hum about the bushes in 
 blossom, especially the zilla and Leptadenise, and slender sand- 
 wasps busy themselves in the sand and around the flowers. 
 Ants attack the unpacked stores ; their nests everywhere 
 undermine the caravan road, and, like the holes of the jerboas, 
 cause the camels to stumble. There are not many dipterous 
 insects, but those that do exist are all the more troublesome; 
 the common house-fly follows man and beast to the very heart 
 of the deserts; mosquitos swarm in the larval form in all 
 waters, and those that have wings sing round and sting the 
 travellers camped by night round the wells. A flesh-fly flies 
 continually round the camel, probably on account of the 
 galled places, which are seldom absent. The fly most common 
 on plants is the wasp-like but harmless hoverer-fly (Syr- 
 phus). 
 
 The Neuroptera, whose larvse live generally in the water, 
 are represented by numerous and beautiful forms. The 
 dragon-flies often swarm in the greatest multitudes, like 
 
 16 
 
242 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 locusts, and often miles away from water. In many rocky 
 basins with clear water the well-known case-inhabiting larvse 
 
 o 
 
 of the caddis-flies (Phryganese) are also found. 
 
 The desert is a highly favourable field for the Orthop terse, 
 especially for locusts. These are found everywhere, and the 
 whole year round. In certain years, and in early summer, a 
 large species (Acridium peregrinuTn) resembling the wander- 
 ing locust, but distinct from it, appears in immense multi- 
 tudes that destroy everything; in other years it appears, like 
 our cockchafer, in smaller numbers, without, however, being 
 entirely absent. Crickets (especially Gryllus bimaculatus) in 
 the summer nights or in late spring chirp in such numbers 
 that one might imagine that every stone was singing. The 
 starved-looking Empusa and the predatory praying-insect 
 (Mantis), called by the Arabs the Prophet's mare, may be 
 shaken off bushes. 
 
 Hemiptera (bugs, &c.), large and small, are found on and 
 under bushes and trees. The genus Centrotus is represented 
 by insects very common on acacias, on which they stick 
 firmly and look like thorns. 
 
 Many spiders are found on bushes, especially oh the above- 
 mentioned aromatic Cleome, others hop over the surface of 
 the water; there is also a pretty large bird-spider. One of 
 the most common insects of the desert is the camel's tick 
 (Ixodes dromedarii); at every season of the year it runs about 
 upon the ground, especially under bushes, and attaches itself 
 to the anus of the camels as they lie at rest; here it sucks 
 itself full of blood, and then has the appearance of a seed of 
 the castor-oil plant. The poisonous tick (Argas) is also found. 
 In waters the red water-mite may be seen swimming about. 
 Numerous large scorpions live under stones and bushes in the 
 desert, as also in dwellings; and in limestone reefs, especially 
 on the coast, the small book scorpions. 
 
 Among the beetles there is a black beetle (Adesmia cothur- 
 nata) more noticeable than any other; this is the merry- 
 andrew of the desert, often turning itself over, with its some- 
 what disproportionately long legs, in the air, and it always 
 keeps its back dusty; on account of its quiet and peaceable 
 
THE ANIMALS OF THE DESERT. 243 
 
 life with the scorpions the natives call it the ''scorpion's 
 servant/' Cicindelas {C. aulica and G. circumdata) hop 'about 
 in wet sandy places; and in brackish pools sport water-beetles 
 of considerable size. There are a large number of other 
 coleopterous insects, including Buprestidse, Carabidse, Longi- 
 cornes, Weevils, &c. 
 
 Of the large class of Crustacea, which is so richly developed 
 in the Red Sea., there live in the waters of the mountains, 
 especially after rain, only small Branchiopoda (Daphnia, 
 Branchipus, Limnadia), Lophyropoda (Cypris), and on the 
 moist earth in groves of rushes Amphipoda (Orchestia) leap 
 about. The MoUusca are represented in this part of the 
 mountains only by a small water-snail, the cosmopolitan 
 Melania fasciolata; of land-snails, so common in the desert 
 near Cairo, there is no trace. 
 
 Of reptiles there are plenty of serpents, venomous and 
 non- venomous, small and very large, but it is difficult to col- 
 lect them, as the Bedouins of this desert are afraid of them, 
 and there are here no serpent charmers, who are so useful to 
 the zoologist. Small lizards (Eremias, Acanthodactylus) are 
 uncommonly numerous; ground-agamas (Agama Sinaites), 
 Mastigures(Uromastix), and the mountain-monitor (Psammo- 
 saurus) also occur; and geckos (Stenodactylus, Ptyodactylus) 
 glide over moist rocky walls and the sides of cisterns. 
 
 Among the birds the great-eared vulture (Vultur auricu- 
 laris) reigns supreme; he wings his way upwards ''in the eye 
 of the sun," and often swoops down in dozens where a large 
 supply of carrion, such as a fallen camel, is lying. The small 
 vulture (Gathartes percnopterus) is much more common; in 
 the desert town it in some respects occupies the place that 
 the stork holds in parts of the European continent. No one 
 thinks of injuring this harmless and useful sanitary agent, 
 who keeps shore and mountain clear of putrefaction. His 
 favourite post in the town is the highest point of the mina- 
 rets, to which, like the weather-cock on a church steeple, he 
 gives a picturesque termination. He is by no means shy, 
 but does not venture into the streets of the town. Falcons 
 and owls are constant residents in the deserts, and the osprey 
 
244 UPPEE EGYPT. 
 
 (Pandion haliaetus), that lies in wait for the fishes of the 
 sea, also shows himself in the mountains. The bird that 
 forms a figure in every desert picture, however, is the 
 "Noah's raven," which Noah sent out of the ark. It is a 
 large deep-black raven, similar to the common raven, but a 
 different species — the Corvus umhrinus. In the Nile valley 
 (see Chap. III.) it shows itself but seldom. It is not to be 
 shot with impunity, for it is the ''uncle" of the black 
 Sudanese, and these demand for their slaughtered relative 
 the indispensable blood-money. (See Chap, vii.) Other char- 
 acteristic desert birds are the rock-hen (Ammoperdix Ifayi), 
 the sand-grouse {Pterocles exustus), the desert larks (Ammo- 
 manes deserti and Calandritis maeroptera), and the stone- 
 chats (especially Saxicola leucocephala and Isahellina). 
 Wagtails are found at every well, swallows (Cotyle ohsoleta 
 and Hirundo rustica) flit through the tamarisk groves, the 
 common hoopoe may be seen in the very heart of the desert. 
 The rock-pigeon (Golumha livia, var. Schim^peri) nestles in 
 the rocks above the caravan-road, and arrives in great 
 numbers from the Nile valley when this is inundated. The 
 courser (Gursorius Isahellinus) is half a desert half a shore 
 bird; like many other desert-birds and desert-animals gener- 
 ally, it is ''desert coloured," that is, grayish-yellow or isabel- 
 coloured. In winter the sea-shore is enlivened by a multi- 
 tude of water-birds, among them also flamingoes and giant 
 herons. A fine bird's song is not to be heard in the desert, 
 only the twitter of the stone-chats, the peep of the larks, the 
 croak of the raven, the scream of the birds of prey, and at 
 night the eerie hoot of the owls. 
 
 The largest and most formidable among the carnivorous 
 mammalia is the hyena (Hycena striata). It is not nearly so 
 bad, however, as its cry and its appearance; a case of its 
 attacking and mangling men, or even children, is scarcely 
 heard of; since, fortunately, cowardice and a depraved taste 
 have, so to speak, been bestowed upon this wild beast, which 
 might rival the tiger. It prefers carrion to anything else, and 
 when this is not to be had it extends its nocturnal peregrina- 
 tions to the sea, and breaks open shells for itself The native 
 
THE ANIMALS OF THE DESERT. 245 
 
 inhabitants universally regard it as a wicked enchanter 
 metamorphosed, and its flesh, hair, and teeth, are things for 
 which there is a great demand. The lynx (Felis chaus), which 
 pursues the gazelle, and hisses at its enemies, is less common. 
 
 A small species of fox, the Canis famelicus, almost white, 
 with a red stripe down its back, and with large ears, is by far 
 the most common carnivorous animal. It forms a connect- 
 ing link between the common fox and the still more elegant 
 iennec, which represents it in the Libyan desert. Both belong 
 t(j the sub-genus Megalotus, while the Nile fox is quite dif- 
 ferent. The fishermen that catch fish on the coast and salt 
 and dry them ashore are never tired complaining of the auda- 
 city of these animals, which steal their fish and provisions, 
 though they do not venture into the town. Like the other 
 Carnivora mentioned, this fox spends a nocturnal life. Foxes 
 kept in confinement are morose during the day; they either 
 disregard altogether the food that is set before them, or their 
 pupils contracting to a perpendicular slit do not enable them 
 to see it properly, so that they have to sniff" in order to con- 
 vince themselves of its presence. By day even ducks, fowls, 
 and cats have the boldness to snap up the food of a fox before 
 his very mouth. By night, however, such captive foxes 
 always make a frightful uproar; a fox that had got loose 
 at night was once caught as he had just seized by the neck 
 a duck that had stolen from him during the day. The eyes 
 shine at night like balls of fire. In this country also the fox 
 passes as the very type of all cunning, and fables similar to 
 those in which our Renard figures are in the mouths of all, 
 the part played by him being usually that of a kadi or judge. 
 
 The jackal only occurs on the border of the desert next to 
 the Nile valley. The hare also (Lepus cegyptiacus or ahys- 
 sinicus ?) passes the active part of its existence chiefly in the 
 night; its droppings are found in great abundance, especially 
 in tamarisk groves. The elegant jerboas and sand-mice 
 (Haltomys and Meriones) dwell in burrows that run obliquely 
 into the ground, and by them and the ants the caravan 
 roads are everywhere undermined; they come out mostly by 
 night and gather the camels' dung. A pretty little animal, 
 
246 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 but one very difficult to catch, is the daman or Hyrax. 
 The only antelope that occurs is the graceful and beautiful- 
 eyed gazelle (Antilope dorcas), which is common; it browses 
 by day on bushes, and seems not to despise the thorny zilla. 
 It is not till we go farther south that more species of ante- 
 lopes begin to appear. The Steinbok (Capra heden) is not 
 uncommon, but the Bedouins of this desert have not the 
 courage and the dexterity to hunt it, while the Sinai Bedouins 
 produce specimens to order. On level ground it is said to be 
 easily captured; but when there is danger it makes imme- 
 diately for the sides of the mountains, where it dexterously 
 clambers about, and can only with difficulty be reached. 
 
 Among domestic mammals the one-humped camel plays 
 the chief role in the desert; the ass accompanies every caravan 
 as sack-carrier; the horse is not employed. Sheep and goats 
 are kept and pastured by all the Bedouins. All Bedouin 
 settlements have dogs, which are generally red-haired and 
 make faithful guardians. 
 
 THE NATUEALIST IN THE DESEET. 
 
 We have crossed the desert from west to east, but must 
 restlessly continue to wander, in order to reach our distant 
 goal as soon as we can. But we now perceive how rich in 
 natural treasures it is, and these must be sought for and col- 
 lected on special scientific tours. It were best, of course, if 
 in such unexplored regions as our desert still continues to be 
 the division of labour could be introduced, the geographer 
 observing exclusively his routes, the geologist his stones, &c. 
 But when one is alone he has to turn his attention to every- 
 thing, and that also has its charm; and ifc is more easily 
 accomplished in the desert than elsewhere, since there is not 
 a confusing and overwhelming number of objects to be 
 observed. Thus regions apparently so wearisome and mono- 
 tonous become a field of perpetual activity, and, so far as 
 results are concerned, of rich enjoyment. Here the route 
 must be laid down with chronometer and compass; there is 
 a plant which has never been seen or collected before; there 
 
THE NATUKALIST IN THE DESERT. 247 
 
 we see a quadruped or a bird that call the gun into opera- 
 tion, a bush that must be shaken for insects, a swarm of 
 insects, a lizard that must be caught with the hoop-net, a 
 peculiar mountain formation, or a layer rich in fossils, where 
 hammer and chisel have to work; or a sketch is to be drawn 
 of a landscape, a Bedouin, or a tent. Lastly, as there is not 
 time on the march to make observations of any completeness, 
 it may be recommended as an excellent plan to select cer- 
 tain places as central points, from which one can at leisure 
 investigate the surrounding country, now for one scientific 
 object, now for another. The best season for this region is 
 the spring, from the middle of February, or even from 
 Januar}^, to the middle of April. Above all, years are to be 
 selected in which life has been awaked by rain. In addition 
 to all this labour, baggage must be prepared, which is as 
 necessary to the shortest tour as to a great expedition. For, 
 however simply one lives, he will require large supplies of 
 provisions for himself and servants, water-skins, a cooking 
 apparatus, wrappings and a carpet for the night, and a camel 
 to carry the whole. As driver and guide an Ababdeh Bedouin 
 is hired, who may also act as attendant and assist in collect- 
 ing; it is still better if one has a special servant who under- 
 stands hunting and collecting, and can set the traps. The 
 investigator had better walk the greatest portion of the way 
 on foot, since it is not easy to make observations on camel- 
 back, still less to write. At intervals he will get tired out, 
 and then he can rest on the back of the camel. 
 
 As one of the most widely useful implements for a journey 
 in the desert, the butterfly hoop-net cannot be too highly 
 praised. Besides its original purpose, namely, for catching 
 winged insects, it may also be used to receive them when 
 shaken from a bush, as a net for water- animals, serpents, and 
 lizards; also as a sunshade, and thrown over the head as a 
 protection for the eyes against the strong glare, against sand- 
 storms, and against bitter winds, at night as a mosquito net, 
 in drinking wormy and muddy water as a strainer, also as a 
 sack for provisions that require sifting (lentils, for instance), 
 and as a flagstaff for the scattered company. Lastly, it lends 
 
248 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 the traveller the nimbus of a pious pilgrim, since these ar« 
 in the custom of hanging out white pennons behind their 
 seat on the camel. 
 
 The day's labours being over, towards evening a spot is 
 selected for the camp, after which supper is cooked and eaten 
 with huge appetite. After supper the company seat them- 
 selves in a circle under the wonderful star-bespangled heavens, 
 or in the moonlight, warming themselves at the fire when it 
 is cold, and now, puffing away at his pipe, one man retails 
 all the wonderful stories he has, another strikes up a song, 
 the Bedouin blows his shepherd's flute, or executes a war- 
 dance for our amusement. 
 
 III.— INHABITANTS Oin THE DESEHT. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE DESERT. 
 
 These mountains were inhabited and visited by men from 
 the very earliest times. This is attested by monuments, in- 
 scriptions, and antiquities of various kinds, as well as by the 
 accounts of the ancient geographical and other writers (Strabo, 
 Ptolemy, Diodorus, Agatharchides, Pliny). The inscrip- 
 tions at Hamamat (see above) go back to more than 2000 
 years before our era (sixty-fifth dynasty); Eamses III. of the 
 twentieth dynasty (thirteenth century B.C.) opened here a 
 new road by which the treasures of India and Arabia (the 
 land of Pan) were brought by way of Koptos to Egypt. 
 Under Ramses IV. 8368 labourers and officials (among them 
 also Hebrews) were daily employed in the ''Bechen," that is, 
 the modern mountains of Hamamat, in quarrying the fine 
 stone of the locality for the works of art at Thebes, perhaps 
 also in mines, and they were supplied with provisions from 
 the Nile valley, the provisions being drawn in carriages by 
 oxen (so that there were no camels!). We find here, too, 
 inscriptions of later date containing the names of the Persian 
 kings. These mountain roads became of still greater import- 
 
HISTORY OF THE DESERT. 249 
 
 ance in the time of the Ptolemies — to some extent also of the 
 Romans — when the great emporia of the Red Sea, Philoteras, 
 My OS Hormos, and Leucos Portos, were in their glory. The 
 stone camping-places standing at intervals, constructed of 
 rough blocks without mortar, as well as the watch-towers on 
 the mountain peaks, probably belong to this period, although 
 inscriptions seem to be wanting. The ancient Greeks called 
 these erections hydreumata, the Arabs call them weJcalat en- 
 nusara, that is, ''caravans of the Christians." Many such 
 are found also in other localities in the mountains, especially 
 at watering-places; a number of these ruins are probably to 
 be regarded as camping-places of miners. In any case, this 
 desert was very much frequented in these ancient times. In 
 the later times of the Ptolemies, when Berenice became the 
 principal port, the chief route ran more towards the south, 
 also, however, terminating at Koptos. In the early times of 
 Islam, too, the route for both trade and pilgrims ran more 
 southwards, to the once important place Aidab, near Suakin; 
 in the eighth century of the Hejra (fourteenth after Christ) 
 this road was entirely given up on account of the plundering 
 of the caravans by the Bedouins, and this caused the downfall 
 of Kus, where the road terminated, and which rose to import- 
 ance in place of Koptos or Koft. The Kene-Koseir route 
 next rose into notice, especially since the conquest of Egypt 
 by the Turks in the sixteenth century. The French held 
 this road in their possession for several years. In the time 
 of Mohammed Ali it was much frequented by pilgrims, and 
 by caravans with corn for export; at this time it w^as also 
 the overland route for the English to India. After the open- 
 ing of the railway to Suez, and that of the Suez Canal, the 
 importance of the road has continued to decrease, and now 
 it is scarcely used except by pilgrims from Upper Egypt to 
 Meccah, and a few corn caravans. We must also add that 
 the caravan route above described is not the only one; on the 
 contrary, the mountains are intersected by a number of such, 
 all more or less frequented, and generally following the valleys 
 and easier passes, not to mention a number of smaller foot- 
 paths and bridle-paths. 
 
250 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 THE ABABDEH. 
 
 The inhabitants properly belonging to our desert are 
 Nomads or Bedouins; they call tliemselves Abdhdeh (sing. 
 Ahddi). This name occurs very early; the inhabitants of 
 the coast range on the western shore of the Eed Sea (corre- 
 sponding to the locality at present inhabited by the Ababdeh), 
 being named Gehadei even by Pliny (a.d. 70). The nomadic 
 peoples inhabiting these coast mountains south to Ethiopia 
 are also called Blemyes or Troglodytes by the ancient geogra- 
 phers, those dwelling on the sea, in particular, being named 
 Ichthyophagi. The old Arabian geographers and historians, 
 such as MakrizijCall them Bedya, a name which, as Bugaites, 
 even occurs in an ancient Roman inscription, and at the 
 present day is especially applied to the Bisharin, a race 
 closely allied to the Ababdeh, and dwelling south from the 
 tropic. These peoples accordingly have inhabited the same 
 country from the earliest times. The Ababdeh themselves 
 maintain that they are descended from the Gin, that is, a 
 kind of mountain-spirits, the statement probably being the 
 same as if they called themselves autochthones. 
 
 In appearance, manners and customs, and dress, they are 
 entirely distinct from the Semitic Arabs proper who inhabit 
 the northern portion of the desert, from Syria and the penin- 
 sula of Sinai to the southern borders of Middle Egypt. 
 These are here called Mdasa (also Atuni or Hauaddt), and 
 exhibit the genuine Semitic- Arabic type — a clear, pale colour 
 of skin, thin, somewhat longish face with non-projecting 
 cheek-bones, broad and lofty forehead, thin and sharply cut 
 nose, strongly curved eyebrows, small mouth and small lips. 
 They shave their heads, wear a turban or a parti-coloured 
 head-cloth, never go naked, and possess firearms and short 
 swords. 
 
 The Ababdeh, however, who in former times lived in con- 
 stant feud with these Maasa, have a skin varying in colour 
 from deep-brown to black, along with an almost Europfeo- 
 German expression of countenance, and are, generally speak- 
 ing, a race possessed of extraordinary beauty and noble forms. 
 
THE ABABDEH. 
 
 251 
 
 An Ababdeh Man. 
 
 All travellers give great prominence to this impression, 
 which is certainly heightened by the long waving hair of 
 the head, whereas elsewhere in these 
 regions only heads rendered artificially 
 Laid are to be seen.. The Ababdeh are 
 dolichocephalic and orthognathous ; the 
 face is a fine oval, not so long as among 
 the Arabs, the eyes large and fiery, the 
 mouth and lips neither large nor small, 
 the nose straight and rather short, broad 
 and blunt, than long. The neck is long 
 and thin, the ear small and roundish, 
 the hair naturally straight or curled, but 
 not woolly ; it is artificially twisted into 
 cork-screw ringlets, and worn long and 
 uncovered. In these peculiarities they 
 agree with the Bisharin, Nubians, and 
 Abyssinians, who dwell farther to the 
 south, and to whom also the general name of Ethiopians is 
 given; they are not to be confounded with the negroes, from 
 whom they are as different as from the Arabs and Egyp- 
 tians. The Bisharin very closely resemble them, but are 
 somewhat more prognathous, as well as more muscular, 
 and have also a fiercer expression than the slim and gentle 
 Ababdeh ; they wear their hair also, but shave the mous- 
 tache, while the Ababdeh let it stand. The Bisharin and 
 Ababdeh are very closely related, and along with some other 
 races dwelling farther to the south are classed together as 
 -Bedya." 
 
 The long black hair, which is twisted into large curls like 
 those which the painters give to Christ, or. plaited into braids, 
 flows down to the shoulders and back, while on the front part 
 of the head a short and very curly tuft projects. The hair is 
 the pride of the Ababdeh youth and man, and the object of 
 the most careful, even effeminate attention, as is easily seen 
 by the curling-pin stuck in the hair behind or at the side. 
 This is also evidenced by white lumps and smears of grease, 
 which, not being properly rubbed in, appears between the 
 
252 
 
 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 raven-black plaits, and is often carried in such quantities 
 that the hair seems as if powdered. A small soapstone cup. 
 
 Ababdeh Boys. 
 
 in which the by no means odorous pomade is worked up, is 
 indispensable to the travelling-bag of an Abadi. This luxu- 
 riant crop of hair he always wears without 
 i^y ^^y covering, as well in the glare of the sub- 
 
 ■ ^ tropical summer sun as in the chill storms 
 
 of winter. The Bisharin, the Abyssinians, 
 and a portion of the Nubians have the 
 same practice. The heads of very small boys 
 are first prepared by the razor, small tufts 
 being left for the later national adornment. 
 Sometimes the excessive increase of vermin 
 renders it necessary to give up the orna- 
 Smaii Ababdeh Boy. meut of mauhood for a time, and the gray- 
 beard must cover his baldness with a quil- 
 ted cap of linen. 
 
 DRESS OF THE ABABDEH. 
 
 For clothes the Abadi wears besides the loin-cloth a long 
 white coat or shirt (never blue as among the Fellahin), and 
 in Avinter perhaps also a light coloured and generally striped 
 woollen mantle. When he becomes too hot or uncomfortable 
 
DKESS OF THE ABABDEH. 
 
 253 
 
 These weapons are 
 
 he even wanders through his lonely rocky valleys without a 
 coat, quite naked. His naked body is protected from the heat 
 of the sun by the brownness of his skin, wliich is generally 
 smeared with fat for the purpose, but still more by custom, 
 since he generally passes his childhood in perfect nudity. In 
 other respects he has already, both in dress and customs, 
 adopted much from the Fellahin; the Ababdeh of former 
 times, like the Bisharin of the present day, wandered about 
 half naked, clothed only with a leathern apron and wrapper, 
 and without a shirt. The male Abadi is also fond of 
 wearing a ring in his ear. He walks either barefooted, his 
 feet being insensible to the stones, or in sandals; in his hand 
 he often carries a lance; round his upper left arm a short 
 knife stuck in a sheath is always fastened; and sometimes 
 also he girds on a long straight sword. He seldom carries a 
 shield now-a-days and never a gun. 
 more for show than for actual com- 
 bat; he likes to appear as warlike as 
 his forefathers. At the present day, 
 however, perfect peace and security 
 have long prevailed in his country. 
 Occasionally he may also kill some 
 game, but the noble art of the hunts- 
 man is by no means his forte. 
 
 The women clothe themselves with 
 a white cloth drawn under one or 
 both armpits, so that one or both 
 shoulders and the arms remain free, 
 and over this a large outer wrapper, 
 also generally white, which can con- 
 ceal the whole form; in winter, in- 
 stead of this a mantle of brown 
 woollen stuff is also worn, as among 
 the female peasantry of the Nile 
 
 valley. They plait the hair from the crown down into 
 many rows of plaits, the foremost of which, in front of the 
 ear, has more freedom of movement than the others. Like 
 all other women they believe that they are not attractive 
 
 Ababdeh Woman. 
 
254 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 without ornaments; they wear ear-rings, necklaces, buckles 
 on arms and feet, and above all the inevitable nose-ring, like 
 their camels, an ornament they consider charming. Instead 
 of gold, silver, and pearls, however, their poverty compels 
 them to limit their ornaments to brass, coloured glass, and 
 shells. The smaller girls often wear the raad or girdle 
 round the loins, as is customary among the negresses, and 
 nothing else, except that round their head and neck they 
 hang white shells and glass beads, which show wonderfully 
 against their nut-brown skin. An almost idyllic scene meets 
 the eyes of the traveller when, in wandering over these 
 mountains, he suddenly, in some lonely valley, comes upon a 
 few boys and girls of the Ababdeh in their almost paradisiac 
 nakedness tending their she'ep and goats. Though shy at 
 first they soon gain confidence, and give the best information 
 regarding the road and every little plant. Among the 
 Ababdeh women, classically fine, elegant, and slender figures 
 are often seen, seldom bulky, but in old age usually as lean 
 as a rake, and on overcoming their first shyness they allow 
 themselves to be looked at and spoken to, and they are less 
 fond of playing bo-peep than the women of the cultivated 
 regions and the towns. 
 
 OF THE ABABDEH IN GENERAL. 
 
 The country that the Ababdeh possess is the mountain 
 desert between the Nile valley and the Eed Sea, as far as it 
 corresponds to Upper Egypt, accordingly from the latitude of 
 the town of Siout to the Cataracts of the Nile or the tropic. 
 They are also, however, scattered over the Nubian desert 
 to near the Soudan, and in the Nile valley itself a number 
 of them have settled in villages of their own and practise 
 agriculture. The whole number of this people may amount 
 to 30,000. They are under a chief of their own race, who 
 again nominates the sheiks for the principal localities. The 
 dignity of chief is hereditary in one family according to 
 patriarchal law, that is, it passes to the eldest of the family; 
 the sheiks nominated are quite dependent on him and may 
 
OF THE ABABDEH IN GENERAL. 255 
 
 be deposed. The grand sheik is a vassal of the Viceroy of 
 Egypt, but has no tribute to pay; on the contrary, he receives 
 something, viz. a certain share of the road dues, which the 
 Egyptian government levies on the caravans. 
 
 Internal quarrels among the Ababdeh are arranged by the 
 family elders, by those under-sheiks, or by the gi-and sheik. 
 The Egyptian government takes no part in them, nor does 
 it raise any taxes or levy soldiers among the Ababdeh. On 
 the other hand, the prince must pledge his life and property 
 for the security of the desert roads; he must when required 
 provide camels and guides for payment, but sometimes also 
 without it, and he is bound to live in the Nile valley; he is 
 thus to be considered as a kind of hostage. This hostage 
 system 'was first introduced here and among other subjected 
 Bedouin peoples hy the great Mohammed Ali, and it has 
 kept its ground. The consequence of this permanent state 
 of war is profound peace and absolute security in these 
 inhospitable tracts. Before his time these and all other 
 Bedouins were much dreaded robbers; during antiquity and 
 the whole of the middle ages they made inroads from time 
 to time into the cultivated territories, and the merchants and 
 pilgrims (as late even as the time of Burkhard) only ventured 
 to pass through the desert when armed and collected in large 
 caravans. All this is now quite different, and now even 
 articles that have been lost may be recovered on giving 
 intimation to an Ababdeh sheik. 
 
 An example of how desert justice is administered is told 
 as having occurred within the last few years. A camel which 
 had strayed from some caravan and was laden with fruit 
 was found by a Bedouin in the Nubian desert, the important 
 trade routes in which are also intrusted to the Ababdeh. As 
 in duty bound he immediately brought it to the nearest 
 station, uninjured, with all its load on its back, but not 
 without peeping in to see what was in the sack it carried. 
 This was noticed, and the Bedouin was condemned to death 
 for his curiosit}^, "for," said the sheik, "if there had been 
 gold in the sack you would have stolen it and not brought 
 back the camel." 
 
256 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 The Ababdeh prince must also, however, have something 
 to live on, the more so that he is no longer externally a 
 Bedouin, but has become entirely Egyptian. A regular 
 system of taxation cannot be carried out among nomads, and 
 accordingly the Abadi must contribute a considerable mite 
 for his chiefs from everything that he brings to market and 
 from payments that he receives for his services as guide, for 
 conveying goods by his camels, &c. Even that seems not to 
 be sufficient, since from time to time a sheik of the second or 
 third rank, on commission from the patriarch- prince, under- 
 takes a little trip to the chief settlements of the Ababdeh 
 and into the desert, and the good shepherd carries away with 
 him whatever seems to him good among the possessions of 
 his flock, such as camels, sheep, or goats, and also lays claim 
 to be honourably and hospitably received by those of the 
 same rank as himself The approach of such an expensive 
 visit or razzia is, to be sure, soon well known throughout the 
 mountains, and the Bedouin withdraws with all his goods into 
 the interior, so that the sheik only finds abandoned stations. 
 At such times no Abadi is seen far or near, in the markets no 
 sheep, no wood, no fodder is to be obtained; occasionally, 
 however, some ignorant Bedouin or other, or one who has 
 been urged by necessity, is laid hold of, and he must pay for 
 the others. 
 
 DWELLINGS AND HOUSEHOLD MATTERS. 
 
 The Ababdeh have no tents, but only huts, and these of 
 the most wretched sort. These con*sist of a few poles, round 
 and over which old straw mats are stretched to form the walls 
 and roof, which is generally sloping. The whole is of a 
 longish quadrangular form, one of the long sides, namely that 
 turned away from the road, being open or partially closed by 
 a hanging piece of cloth, and forming the door. The internal 
 space is generally only two or three paces long and about four 
 feet high, so that a person can onty sit or lie inside; but indeed, 
 the inhabitants of these regions generally cannot imagine 
 that there is any pleasure or domestic comfort in standing. 
 
DWELLINGS AND HOUSEHOLD MATTERS. 257 
 
 Into this the family creep, for in every hut there is room for 
 a pair to live comfortably, together with a swarm of children. 
 An Ababdeh settlement generally numbers only four to eight 
 
 Ababdeh Tent. 
 
 such huts, with as many families. It is only in a few settle- 
 ments, such as the desert village of Laketa (see above), which 
 contains about fifty dwellings, in the villages of the Nile 
 valley, in the Ababdeh suburb of Koseir, the inhabitants of 
 which have partially given up their nomadic life, that we see 
 hole-like houses of clay or rough stones, in the style of those 
 of the Nile peasantry. Many dwell also at times in natural 
 caves, and are therefore "Troglodytes," as the ancients called 
 them. Dwelling in these caves is here somewhat dangerous 
 on account of the serpents. In the caves are found remains, 
 such as cinders, ashes, blackened stones, &c., which generally 
 show them to have been tenanted, at least temporarily, by 
 men. The caravans often stop at these for their siesta, and 
 perform their cooking in the inside, whence the sun and wind 
 are excluded. It is possible that if excavations of sufficient 
 depth were made traces of the ancient Troglodytes might be 
 found. 
 
 Other household appliances are quite in keeping with the 
 wretched abodes. They consist of a few cooking utensils of 
 clay or soap-stone, skins for water and milk, leathern buckets, 
 drinking-cups of wood, a wooden or leathern bowl for eating 
 out of, a few grinding stones, a straw mat or a coarse woollen 
 carpet, and, for a fire-place, a few stones picked up at random. 
 Everything has the provisional, nomadic character. For 
 cutting they make use only of an iron knife; they do not 
 
 17 
 
258 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 use flint (of which their limestone mountains are so full) 
 for this purpose, employing it only to strike fire. 
 
 A LIFE OF HUNGER. 
 
 The food of the Ababdeh is chiefly milk and durra. The 
 latter they enjoy either raw or roasted, or in the form of 
 unleavened cakes baked on a glowing fire of camels' dung. 
 The few fruits that the desert affords are also made the most 
 of. They seldom allow themselves to indulge in flesh meat, 
 since they sell their cattle, and are not great hands at hunting 
 Any wild animals that they can get hold of, however, they 
 consider dainties, including hyenas, hares, jerboas, foxes, and 
 gazelles. Those dwelling on the coast live chiefly on fish and 
 molluscs. The better 'sorts of these ,they sell fresh or dried, 
 and content themselves with those that are despised by other 
 people, and are always easily caught, even in the time of 
 storms; coffer-fish, sea-eels, rays, globe-fish, wrasses, crabs, 
 and polyps. The ground round an inhabited or a deserted 
 Ababdeh dwelling is always covered with the remains of these, 
 especially with the heads of the globe-fish (Tetrodon), which 
 are considered very poisonous, and are therefore always 
 thrown away. These denizens of the sea are generally simply 
 roasted on the open fire. Yet the Ababdeh are not in such a 
 wretched state as were the ancient Ichthyophagi, according 
 to Strabo. "These," he says, "roast the fish at the sun, and 
 tread the roasted flesh into cakes; the back-bones, however, 
 they gather together, and when they cannot fish, as for 
 instance during storms, they eat these bones stamped into 
 cakes; the fresh bones they suck. And when they suffer 
 from thirst, they travel with their houses journeys of some 
 days' duration to the wells, and flinging themselves on the 
 ground gulp down the water like cattle till their bellies are 
 swollen like drums." 
 
 The modern Ichthyophagi or coast Ababdeh catch their 
 fish generally with a spear, on reefs laid bare at ebb tide; 
 some also catch them with nets, especially the ring-net; they 
 do not know how to use the hook and line. They do not 
 
EMPLOYMENTS. 259 
 
 possess any kind of vessels, not even fishing-boats, and on 
 the whole are not fond of venturing on the sea. Their terri- 
 tory is altogether on terra firmay including the coast reef. 
 Their neighbours, the Bishariyeh, on whose coast are many 
 islands, make use of a raft in order to reach them. 
 
 Such being their scanty fare it is not to be wondered at 
 that the Abadi is always hungry. When a caravan is 
 doing its cooking some son of the desert always makes his 
 appearance, having smelled it from a distance. He does not 
 beg, but regards the persons eating with such a dog-like and 
 piteous air that they cannot but invite him to partake, espe- 
 cially the Moslim, who when he eats can never allow a 
 stranger to stand without giving him an invitation. And 
 when the camp is pitched beside an Ababdeh settlement the 
 least signal brings the hungry and naked Bedouin children 
 bounding up, who, with amusing eagerness, stuflf their 
 mouths with the left pieces of bread and meat offered 
 them, and for which they never beg. As soon as the camp 
 breaks up hungry creatures of the desert of all classes forth- 
 with fall upon what it has left; the children of men vie with 
 the dogs in gathering the bones and crumbs, with the sheep 
 in scraping together the straw, with the pigeons in picking 
 up the grains of corn, with the ravens in making use of the 
 balls of dung. The Ababdeh are also able to use, as their 
 daily beverage, the worst water, a pure solution of Epsom 
 salts, when good water is too distant. 
 
 EMPLOYMENTS. 
 
 The chief employment of the Ababdeh is flock-keeping and 
 camel- driving. They keep camels, goats, and sheep, but never 
 horses or cattle. Some also possess an ass, and they all have 
 a dog. Pasture is only available for a time, when winter 
 rains have fallen, and called the vegetable germs into life; in 
 the dry season, and in dry 3^ ears, the herdsman must often 
 make long journeys in the mountains in order to find pasture; 
 nay he must then diminish his herd, and is even obliged to 
 hire himself out for a time in the Nile valley as an agricul- 
 
260 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 tural or other labourer. But when his desert valleys are 
 once more verdant he is sure to return again to his beloved 
 fatherland. The value of the plants of the desert as nutri- 
 ment is certainly small, and, accordingly, the cattle of the 
 Ababdeh, like the people themselves, are lean and hungry, 
 notwithstanding that they browse continually the whole day 
 and the night too. In making a journey with an Ababdeh 
 camel, one would require to take into consideration the delay _ 
 caused by its almost constant eating. The water caravans 
 from Koseir to a well 10 leagues distant require about thirty 
 hours, those of the Ababdeh from two to three days. The 
 Ababdeh camels pass no bush without stripping it, and they 
 are not disturbed in doing so, since they get nothing else to 
 eat, while the camels of the Fellahin in journeying through 
 the desert, besides being allowed a little pasture, are always 
 fed at camping time with straw and the nourishing beans. 
 The Abadi at most scatters before his camels a sackful of dry 
 zilla stems which he has collected in the course of the day on 
 the route. The camels of the Ababdeh are, therefore, always 
 lean, and not adapted for carrying heavy loads, but for the 
 same reason they are excellent and celebrated runners. A 
 good running camel, over which it is the custom to hang a 
 splendid sheepskin as housings, and a double saddle-bag with 
 long tassels, performs a journey of 40 leagues in twenty to 
 thirty hours, including the necessary stoppages. All the 
 Ababdeh are excellent dromedary riders. 
 
 Some of the Ababdeh that live on the coast are called 
 Shora Ababdeh; they have settled at one of the well-known 
 shora groves (see p. 240), that grow in and close to the sea, 
 and their camels and other live-stock feed the whole year 
 round almost entirely on the leaves of this tree, while they 
 themselves cut it down and sell its timber. Like the other 
 coast Ababdeh they also catch great multitudes of fish of 
 medium size, especially parrot-fish, cut them up, salt them, 
 and sell them. Fish so prepared form a not unimportant 
 article of trade. Ababdeh who live a more settled life also 
 keep pigeons and fowls. 
 
 The Ababdeh derive their livelihood from converting the 
 
EMPLOYMENTS. 261 
 
 products of their country into money, as well as from stock 
 rearing; in particular, they supply excellent fuel in the shape 
 of timber, brushwood, camel's dung, and excellent charcoal 
 made by themselves from acacia wood; they are therefore 
 also charcoal burners. They also collect fodder-plants and 
 medicinal herbs, such as senna leaves, colocynth, a kind of 
 wormwood, and gum Arabic on the acacias so common in the 
 desert. Others support themselves by carrying water on 
 camels or asses. In Koseir for every camel-load of water, 
 which consists of six goatskins, and which, as already men- 
 tioned, occupies them three days, they receive, according to 
 the market price, which varies with circumstances, from 
 Is. 6d. to 6s. 
 
 The people dwelling on the Nile are now more frequently 
 employed than the Ababdeh as camel-drivers in large cara- 
 vans, but according to the accounts of travellers the Ababdeh 
 seem formerly to have mainly conducted the traffic. Some 
 live close to the caravan route, and besides keeping stock, 
 earn something from the services of various kinds which they 
 render to caravans passing by or camping near, fetching 
 water, branches, and wood, watering the camels, loading and 
 unloading, &;c. For these services they receive from the 
 camel-drivers a few handfuls of corn or durra. They are 
 also placed here as road- watchers, and are said to receive 
 payment for this duty from their chief, but they do not appear 
 to get much. If there is a cessation of the traffic (which 
 consists on their roads chiefly in the export of corn from 
 Egypt), even the road-guards break up their huts and remove 
 somewhere else. A few Ababdeh are attached as dromedary 
 riders to the stations of the carpenters who have to keep the 
 desert-telegraphs in repair. For these carpenters the govern- 
 ment has already erected stone-dwellings of a somewhat more 
 solid character. Lastly, many live as camel-drivers in the 
 service of others as masters, or they accompany through the 
 desert herds of cattle bought up by merchants, or are fisher- 
 men and shell-gatherers by profession. A considerable num- 
 ber, as already mentioned, have settled in the Nile valley 
 •and practise agriculture. There also they prefer to stick to 
 
262 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 each other, building villages for themselves, and not mixing 
 readily with the Fellahin. 
 
 Their trade with the settled country is carried on by 
 money, but among themselves more by barter; the women 
 in the interior accordingly scarcely know the value of money, 
 and when one wishes anything from them, such as wood or 
 milk, they do not give it though offered a great deal of 
 money, but readily give it for a piece of bread, some corn, or 
 a piece of cloth. 
 
 INTELLECTUAL QUALITIES AND CAPACITIES. 
 
 As the Ababdeh, looking at their bodily characteristics, 
 are a well-built race but bear the stamp of hunger, so also 
 from the mental point of view they are, like most races living 
 in a state of nature, very intelligent within the circle of their 
 wants and conceptions, but at the same time ''poor spirited" 
 (faJcir), as the Egyptian expresses himself, that is, in the good 
 sense of the word, not stupid, but well disposed and harmless. 
 According to the accounts of older travellers (Burkhard, 
 Bruce) they were formerly the opposite, being represented as 
 "dishonourable, faithless, vicious.'' Either they were con- 
 founded with the Bisharin, to whom these three words apply 
 only too well, or it is only since that time that their character 
 has been so much improved. More recent travellers cannot 
 sufficiently praise them as peaceable, honourable people, 
 rather too shy and timid. Considering their poverty they 
 are not to be blamed if they eagerly lay hold of a gift offered 
 them, but they do not beg. Their country is as yet too little 
 traversed and corrupted by Europeans, who accustom the 
 natives to beggary, as the Fellahin are accustomed to back- 
 shish. That they do not, like other Bedouins, practise hos- 
 pitality towards strangers is not to be wondered at, since 
 they have scarcely the barest necessaries of life for themselves. 
 If misfortune has thrown in their way a person who has lost 
 himself or been shipwrecked, and wlio in want of food and 
 assistance has been forced to have recourse to them, they do 
 not certainly rob or murder him, but they give him nothing 
 
LANGUAGE. 268 
 
 to eat unless he has money in his pocket or can give certain 
 promise of payment. When, on the other hand, a man of 
 rank belonging to their tribe comes to them, pride and honour 
 demand that a member of their herd shall be offered up to 
 show their regard for him; nay, if the guest comes exactly at 
 the time when a sheep has been killed for the family, yet a 
 second must fall for him — the guest. 
 
 The Abadi has a most accurate knowledge of his country 
 and its products; he knows every little plant and every 
 animal by name, and all the paths for a wide circuit round; 
 and their skill in following a trail is celebrated and is really 
 extraordinary. In the arid desert, where there is no drift 
 sand, the trail remains impressed for a long time on the 
 ground. An animal that has run off, a man that has fled or 
 lost his way, is sure to be brought back by the Ababdeh in a 
 short time; wild beasts are pursued up to their holes; even 
 in inhabited cities they can point out the trail. A few 
 Ababdeh specially skilled in this art are even kept in the 
 pay of the government in order, in case of a crime, to track 
 out the perpetrators, and the results are often wonderful. 
 The people even relate that the parties really guilty have 
 been found by a comparison of the footsteps of a large number 
 of accused persons. 
 
 Arts and manufactures there are naturally none among 
 these Bedouins, except that rude utensils are made, and ves- 
 sels carved out of soap-stone, serpentine, and wood. 
 
 'Sickness is left to the healing power of nature, or treated 
 with herbs growing in the desert. Of small-pox these 
 Bedouins have such a horror that they pitilessly expose per- 
 sons affected with this disease, and only throw to them every 
 day the necessary food and drink until they die or recover. 
 
 LANGUAGE. 
 
 The language of the Ababdeh, strange to say, is the Arabic. 
 When they speak with strangers they always — even the 
 children — express themselves very well in Arabic. Among 
 themselves, however, they speak a jargon almost unintelli- 
 
264 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 gible to strangers. Many words and expressions in it are 
 decidedly Arabic, although twisted about so as to be unre- 
 cognizable; others, however, as well as many names of places, 
 seem to belong to a language of their own, which may be a 
 branch of the Bedya tongue spoken b}?- the Bisharin, so closely 
 allied to them. Strangely enough they make their language 
 a matter of secrecy; the Abadi cannot be brought to speak 
 of it. The singing or interrogatory tone, which the Ababdeh 
 always employ when speaking, is peculiar. It is also reported 
 that the Ababdeh sheiks have a kind of secret language, 
 which, how^ever, is a modern invention; it is said to be formed 
 by the insertion of the consonants k and r into words already 
 in use; for example, they turn the Arabic yom, day, into ar- 
 kelyerho'in, gebely mountain, into gerkeherkel, just as when 
 boys we made a kind of artificial language for ourselves by 
 inserting rf between syllables, as gorafold for gold, &c. 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 The religion of the Ababdeh is the Mohammedan, but little 
 more than nominally so, its rules being very loosely observed. 
 These dwellers in the desert, indeed, never perform the first 
 duty of. the Moslim, the well-known prayer in a bending 
 attitude. Even those living among other Mohammedans 
 seldom go to the mosque. A pilgrimage by an Abadi is almost 
 unheard of As already mentioned he eats without religious 
 scruples very unclean meats, such as foxes, mice, and hyenas, 
 ])ut only if they have been duly slaughtered beforehand. 
 For him to fast at Ramadan, as will be understood from what 
 we have said above, is a thing impossible. If an Abadi is 
 asked whether he is a Mohammedan, he often answers, "No; 
 I am an Abadi," of course meaning this more in a national 
 sense, and in contradistinction to Arabs and Fellahin. Some 
 make themselves known in confidential conversation as free- 
 thinkers, and hold that at death everything is over; but they 
 openly reckon themselves among the believers of the Prophet. 
 Their chiefs, who always live among the Moslimin, are gene- 
 rally even bigoted adherents of the Prophet. They have also 
 
FAMILY LIFE. 265 
 
 adopted many usages from the Moslimin, and accordingly 
 there are saints, whose tombs are distinguished with pen- 
 nants, and they practise circumcision, divorce, earlj^ marriage, 
 and polygamy like other Moslimin. Some even rig them- 
 selves out with a rosary, which, however, serves rather for 
 a tooth-pick than for counting off their prayers. For it must 
 be mentioned that to the rosary is attached a piece of wood 
 from a branch of a tree growing in the mountains (Salvadora 
 persica), which is highly thought of as furnishing excellent 
 tooth- cleaners. An implement of this kind (misvak) is well 
 known to have been among the objects left by the Prophet, 
 and this explains its position on the rosary. While the 
 orthodox Moslim is always superstitious this is not the case 
 with the Abadi, at least he does not believe in spirits, and 
 makes game of the camel-drivers of the Nile valley, who do 
 not venture to encamp by night in a desert valley which is 
 reputed "uncanny." The Abadi fearlessly wanders quite 
 alone both by day and by night in tracks where there are 
 no men, but a Moslim would not venture to do so. For this 
 reason the Moslimin accuse the Ababdeh of practising the 
 black art; they are said to be able when at a distance to bring 
 moving objects to a stand-still, their glance is said to be very 
 dangerous, fee, but this the Ababdeh themselves will by no 
 means allow. 
 
 FAMILY LIFE. 
 
 The family life is not essentially different from that of the 
 Moslimin, since, as already mentioned, they have the same 
 laws and usages, including early marriage, divorce, and poly- 
 gamy. The last, on account of its expensiveness, is seldom 
 practised except by the sheiks. The violation of the mar- 
 riage vows, so rare among the Bedouins, sometimes occurs; 
 the Troglodytes who love in secret meet each other in the 
 stillness of night, in lonely mountain gorges and caves miles 
 away from any human dwelling. This, however, is a risk to 
 run all the greater that the injured party is sure, by means 
 of his skill in tracking, to discover the betrayer. On the 
 
266 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 caravan route and on the outskirts of the larger villages there 
 are even a few Ababdeh prostitutes. 
 
 When a woman has been married she must never see her 
 own mother afterwards. The young husband always removes 
 far away from the parental family of his bride, chiefly in 
 order to avoid his Tnother-in-law. This fear of a mother- 
 in-law is spread among many peoples; it may be traced 
 throughout the whole of Africa, America, and Australia, and 
 perhaps naturally arises from the relationship itself, being ex- 
 pressed also in our proverb, ''Mother-in-law — tiger-mother," 
 or "Devil's lining."^ Among the Ababdeh, too, the brothers 
 and nearest relatives of the wife must not eat with her after 
 the marriage. 
 
 WEDDING FESTIVITIES. 
 
 When a young Abadi is about to marry, which he is 
 always allowed to do whenever the first down appears on 
 his cheeks, for a week before the marriage, at least in the 
 larger settlements, preliminary festivities are carried on every 
 night, without the Koran, but with drums, singing, and 
 hand- clapping. Here the Ababdeh execute their weapon 
 dance in full equipment, that is, naked and armed with 
 shield, lance, and sword. A dancer or two warriors step 
 into the circle, swing their spears, and make a number of 
 leaps and bounds; the dance is much more violent than the 
 similar dance of the Egyptians, with its studied grace. The 
 dancer often rushes at a spectator, and giving a loud shout 
 makes a thrust at his breast with his lance or sword, to 
 which the latter gives for answer, "Abadi." The former 
 then retires. According to the statements of travellers, 
 others sing a national song, in which they praise the bold 
 and celebrate the Ababdeh race, while joy, fear, suffering, or 
 anger is depicted in the features of the spectator. Others, 
 using a double- toned reed flute, play for hours on end tunes 
 impossible to imitate; or the dance of veiled women, already 
 
 ^ Schwiegermutter — Tigermutter oder Teufehunterfutter, 
 
FUNERALS. 
 
 267 
 
 described (Chap. ill. p. 193), is executed, the whole being 
 done in the darkness of night, only very partially dispelled 
 by an open fire, at which the drums are oc- 
 casionally dried when they become wet with 
 the dew. Round the fire sit the sedater men 
 and smoke their serpentine pipes, which have 
 the form of a short tube bent at a right 
 angle and without a wooden stem, or are of 
 the usual form of a pipe, with a heavy mas- 
 sive bowl of serpentine. 
 
 FUNERALS. 
 
 When the last hour of an Abadi has struck 
 loud lamentations resound throuMi the 
 mountains; tlie body is buried with usages 
 similar to those practised by the Moslimin, ^^.i^^eh Tobacco pipes. 
 and over the grave stones are heaped up, 
 some of the higher of them pointing towards Meccah. The 
 ancient Troglodytes are said to have thrown stones at their 
 corpses, laughing and rejoicing all the while, till they were 
 covered from view, and then to have set a goat's horn on 
 the top. 
 
CHAPTEK Y. 
 
 ON THE BED SEA. 
 
 THE RED SEA. 
 
 The waters of the sea are murmuring against the sandy- 
 shore of the wide bay that penetrates westwards; towards 
 the south-west the foremost billows of the open sea strike 
 with greater power, advancing in long rolling swells. At a 
 greater distance towards the south the shore surf ceases, and 
 as far as the eye can reach, a streak of foam separates the 
 deep dark sea from a lighter, shallow coast lagoon, which is 
 almost dry at ebb-tide. On the north of the bay, which is 
 open towards the east, another similar lagoon is seen, soon 
 disappearing from sight behind the northern hills. A dull, 
 hollow, thunderous booming and roaring, in which the listen- 
 ing ear imagines that it can from time to time distinguish a 
 singing and whispering, called by the natives " the weeping 
 of the sea," mixed with the howling of the north wind, 
 brings to us from that quarter intelligence of the wild war of 
 the waves against the firm land. The bottom of the lagoons 
 just mentioned is a coral bank and the bay an opening in 
 the same, a natural harbour. We are standing on the west 
 shore of the Red Sea at 26° N. lat., in Koseir, the sea-port 
 town of Upper Egypt. 
 
 Until a recent period the Red Sea was known to the 
 public at large almost entirely through the tragical death of 
 the Jew-persecuting Pharaoh, and it is only within the past 
 few years — since the opening of the Suez Canal — that it has 
 had the honour of being again in the mouths of all. " But 
 why is this sea called 'red?'" is the question commonly 
 suggested when the sea is mentioned. The inhabitant of 
 the desert finds an answer when the sun rises in his dull- 
 gray morning robes; the reappearance of the rising day-star 
 awakens on the top of the waves and ripples a millionfold. 
 
THE DESERT SHORE. 269 
 
 glancing and glittering, and the rambler on the shore now 
 sees his shadow doubled, it being produced by the sun him- 
 self and again by his equally brilliant image in the sea. The 
 higher the sun rises the deeper becomes the blue of the 
 waters, changing from royal blue to slate blue, and in places 
 where there are underlying rocks all at once to grayish- 
 green. As the sun sinks, late in the afternoon and onwards, 
 the blue becomes paler, rising to sky blue, and with sunset 
 loses itself in a white or sometimes rosy-tinted surface. At 
 night it is black like other terrestrial objects, and only the 
 stars seem to bathe in it. The full moon throws a long 
 narrow silvery trail of light across the waters to the horizon. 
 At night, when the water is disturbed by a stick or an oar, 
 the drops, which contain decomposing animal substances, 
 glitter like sparks of fire; or some swimming creature gleams 
 spectrally in the nocturnal water; while a similar general 
 luminosity of the watery mass, the "sea-light," is here a rare 
 occurrence. 
 
 The cause of the name is by some assigned to a microscopic 
 alga (Trichodesmium erythrceum, Ehrenberg), which some- 
 times communicates a blood-red colour to certain stretches of 
 the sea; or to red mountains on the coast; but these are only 
 local and limited occurrences. The coast mountains are gener- 
 ally white. The corals of the reef are mostly brown, yellowish, 
 or bluish, the red ones being less numerous; lastly, among 
 the fishes, Crustacea, &c., there are only a few that are red. 
 There is, therefore, hardly anything that is red connected 
 with the "Red Sea, and the name was probably chosen 
 capriciously by the ancients, or by way of lucus a non 
 lucendo. 
 
 THE DESERT SHORE. 
 
 The shore and country adjoining it, often for miles into the 
 interior, is a howling wilderness, with an arid or saline 
 and friable soil, here and there covered with white salt 
 flowers, as if with snow or hoar-frost; the subsoil water is 
 brackish and bitter, almost undrinkable. There is scarcely 
 
270 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 any vegetation except a few salt plants. It is not till we 
 approach the mountains that the soil of the valleys becomes 
 capable of sending up herbage after rain. A more desolate 
 strip of coast is hardly anywhere to be found unless on the 
 shore of the Sahara or the Arctic Ocean. " Oh wherefore 
 then is the water of the ocean not fresh!" with childish 
 peevishness exclaims the wanderer on the boundaries of the 
 desert of land and water; "into what luxuriant fields might 
 not these subtropical shores be converted!" 
 
 ANCIENT SETTLEMENTS AND SEA-PORT TOWNS. 
 
 Here one would think that a human being could no more 
 get on than on the waterless moon. And yet man is here; 
 to this locality too has he been brought by the struggle for 
 life. Round the wells and springs in the mountains he has 
 settled as a herdsman, passing a wretched existence, and to 
 the coast has he come as an ichthyophagist, a fisherman, a 
 mariner, a trader. Even the peoples of antiquity had 
 populous towns here, the entrepot of an active trade carried 
 on by Egypt with Arabia and India. In the time of the 
 Ptolemies there were, beginning at Suez, the ancient Clysma, 
 and going south: 1, Philoteras, probably at the bottom of 
 the bay of Gimse and on the Wady Enned; 2, Myos 
 Hormos, or Portus Magnus, probably on the bay of Abu 
 Somer; 3, Leukos Limen, perhaps the present Old Koseir; 
 4, Nechosia, at Eas Moghek; 5, Berenice, the chief trading 
 town, at Eas Benas. But they flourished only for a short 
 time, one town rising as the other sank, partly because the 
 trade took a new route or ceased altogether, partly because 
 the harbours became sanded up or left by the sea (see 
 Chap. IV. p. 234), or were reduced to small dimensions by 
 the ceaseless operations of the coral polyps. The towns then 
 fell into ruins or vanished without leaving a trace. In the 
 first centuries of Mohammedanism the only point of import- 
 ance on the coast was the port of Aidab, in the neighbour- 
 hood of Suakin, opposite Jeddah, where the pilgrims took 
 ship from Africa for Arabia. 
 
HISTORY OF THE SEA-PORT OF KOSEIR. 271 
 
 HISTORY OF THE SEA-PORT OF KOSEIR. 
 
 The Turkish conqueror of Egypt, Sultan Selim III., appears 
 to have been the first who again directed the route for trade 
 and pilgrims to the Egyptian coast: at least he built a small 
 fortress, the modern Koseir, principally for a protection 
 against the Bedouins, erecting others of the same kind also 
 on the east coast, in Moilah and Wudj for example. But no 
 inhabited town arose under the protection of this fortress, 
 Koseir being only a periodical trading- place. The road 
 through the desert was so dangerous, on account of the plun- 
 dering Bedouins, that only large caravans could venture to 
 pass through it. The merchants attached themselves to the 
 pilgrim caravans, and crossed the sea with the pilgrims as 
 well in going as in coming; the Arabic merchants, chiefly 
 belonging to Yemba, at this time transacted their business 
 in Koseir, and then returned home. There were only a few 
 houses standing inhabited by people from Yemba. In this 
 condition the place was found by the French on their conquest 
 of Egypt; as a point of strategic importance they kept it 
 garrisoned during the three years (1798-1801) that they 
 possessed Egypt, and cannon and mortars still remain orna- 
 mented with the Jacobin cap and republican inscriptions of 
 the year III. 
 
 Koseir first became a permanent settlement of importance 
 under Mohammed Ali, and under the favour of this pasha 
 soon rose to a flourishing position. The fact of its having a 
 comparatively good harbour, at least for smaller vessels, in 
 a situation that could be reached from the Nile valley more 
 easily and in a shorter time than any other port, and enjoying 
 a climate celebrated as being temperate and healthy, appeared 
 to justify the selection, notwithstanding the want of fresh 
 water. The viceroy was, as he still is, bound by treaty to pay 
 a portion of his annual tribute to the Porte in the form of 
 deliveries of grain for Arabia, with which the Sultan, on his 
 part, had to supply the Turkish soldiers and officials there, the 
 chiefs of the Bedouins, who would not allow the caravans to 
 pass unmolested through their territories unless on this con- 
 
272 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 dition, and the sheriis or descendants of the Prophet. These 
 deliveries, called dachire, consisted of about 180,000 ardeb 
 annually — wheat, barley, beans, lentils, and also oil, biscuits, 
 and the like. Koseir was selected as the place where these were 
 to be collected. At that time, when there was no railway, Suez 
 was as difficult to reach from the fertile regions as Koseir; 
 from it a long and dangerous sea voyage had first to be made 
 to the Arabian ports of Yemba and Jeddah, and the com of 
 Upper Egypt was better and cheaper than that of the Delta. 
 The distance by sea from Koseir was considerably shorter, 
 and through the energetic measures of the viceroy, who 
 had effected treaties with the Bedouins, the desert route had 
 been rendered quite safe. The hope of deriving a large profit 
 from the transport of this grain as well as from the then 
 flourishing private trade, and from the passage annually of a 
 large number of pilgrims to Meccah, as well as certain privi- 
 leges specially granted to the place (freedom from military 
 service and direct taxation), soon attracted a multitude of 
 people both from the neighbouring valley of the Nile and 
 from the Hedjaz, especially Yemba, Thus in a short time 
 (in the first thirty years of the present century) Koseir 
 acquired a settled population of 6000 to 8000 souls. It 
 obtained the title of bander, meaning pretty much the same 
 as ''good town" or ''good trading-town," and had a governor 
 of its own {Muhdfiz) of the rank of a bey, who was directly 
 dependent on the central government at Cairo, as those of 
 other sea-ports, Alexandria for example, still are. Corre- 
 spondence with the central government was partly carried on 
 by messengers mounted on dromedaries, who set out at least 
 once a week, and, taking the most direct route, traversed the 
 desert in five days, partly by a system of towers and sema- 
 phores running through the Nile valley to Cairo. At this 
 time there were at Koseir about sixty persons employed by 
 government, including, besides the governor, a port-captain, 
 a doctor, two superintendents of police and customs, three over- 
 seers for the gi-ain-store (shuna), nine Coptic clerks, eighteen 
 soldiers, with two corporals, for the fort, hospital-superin- 
 tendent and male attendants, custom-house officers, &;c. Every 
 
HISTOEY OF THE SEA-PORT OF KOSEIR. 273 
 
 montli these received as pay sixty-four purses (1 purse=500 
 piastres = about £5), the governor alone claiming sixteen 
 purses. Extensive public buildings arose for the government, 
 the customs, and the grain depot. The citadel was repaired and 
 additions made to it, a quay faced with stone and a wooden 
 mole projecting into the harbour were built. The inhabi- 
 tants on their side filled up a portion of the beach and built 
 houses, mosques, and the bazaar. The prosperity of the place 
 increased to an unusual degree; almost all the trade between 
 Egypt and Arabia went through Koseir, every year there 
 passed about 30,000 pilgrims (12,000 going to Meccah, 18,000 
 returning), and among them many men of rank and wealth 
 from the whole Mohammedan world. Numerous inns served 
 for the reception of these pilgrims, though the greater number 
 of them encamped in the open air or in tents; all round the 
 town a still larger town of tents was pitched. The passage 
 of this multitude of people, who could leave Koseir only by 
 ship or camel, occupied nearly nine months of the year. If 
 it is considered also that every day several hundreds, nay 
 thousands of camels arrived from the Nile valley, that another 
 hundred or two brought water from the mountains and were 
 quartered in the neighbourhood, and also that the Ababdeh 
 settlement outside the town numbered about 200 persons, a 
 conception may be formed of how busy a scene the town and 
 environs must have been. Entertainment and atnusement 
 were also provided for; there were thirty coffee-houses, three 
 spirit shops, and more than fifty dancing-girls, who inhabited 
 a special quarter of the town. At that time, too, the over- 
 land route for the English to India passed through Koseir, 
 and twice a month Anglo-Indian steamers entered the har- 
 bour and brought numerous European travellers who, from 
 Koseir to Keneh in the Nile valley, rode on camels, or, per- 
 haps (especially the ladies), had themselves carried this dis- 
 tance in palanquins, a journey of four or ^\e days. For 
 these steamers a coal depot was formed. An English, a 
 French, an Austrian, and a Persian consul — all natives of the 
 country — looked after the interests of the travellers belonging 
 to the country represented by each. 
 
 18 
 
274 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 Hundreds of vessels entered the harbour every month; for 
 the transport of the contributions of grain, and perhaps also 
 for certain warlike purposes, the Egyptian government itself 
 possessed seven large three-masted vessels of European build, 
 of from 4000 to 7000 ardeb burden, with European captains 
 and officers, as well as eleven one-masted vessels of Arabic 
 build; but even these were not sufficient, and had to be always 
 supplemented by many ships hired from private persons. 
 
 Under Abbas Pasha, and up to the beginning of the govern- 
 ment of Said, Koseir still continued to flourish. An English 
 company undertook to lay a submarine telegraph to India, 
 and in the Eed Sea it was to run along the west coast. At 
 Suez, Koseir, Suakin, Massowa, and Aden stations were esta- 
 blished, with four or five Europeans attached to each. After 
 steamers had become less common at Koseir, in consequence 
 of the establishment of the overland route to India by way of 
 Suez, they were again often seen, being partly engaged in 
 the laying of the cable, partly in bringing supplies for the 
 employees, who were allowed to want for nothing belonging 
 to English comfort. These well-paid individuals also spent 
 their money freely and brought no little life into the town — 
 a subject spoken of long after. While these Englishmen were 
 staying at Koseir, the massacre of the Christians at Jeddah 
 took place in 1858. A war-steamer sent by the English 
 government for the purposes of observation and giving secu- 
 rity to its subjects created a panic; but in peaceful Koseir 
 there was nothing to avenge. The telegraph soon began to 
 cease to work; when a thorough inspection of it was made, 
 the cable was found to be damaged throughout; the coral 
 rocks had chafed it; and after scarcely two years the tele- 
 graph was entirely given up. 
 
 The severest blow, however, and one from which it has 
 not yet recovered, was received by Koseir in the same year (?) 
 — the railway between Cairo and Suez was completed. By 
 this means the traffic, including the pilgrims, was almost 
 entirely removed to Suez, for which Said Pasha had as great 
 a favour as Mohammed Pasha had had for Koseir; aU kinds 
 of advantages were granted to it, the Meccah pilgrims must 
 
HISTORY OF THE SEA-POET OF KOSEIR. 275 
 
 go by way of Suez to make the line pay, and the dacMre 
 were managed at Suez. It thus happened that Koseir was 
 deserted by the greater number of its inhabitants almost at 
 once, and it sunk more quickly than it had risen. 
 
 Koseir only retained the grain trade with the Hedjaz, 
 which, however, was of some importance, and suiScient to 
 prolong the life of the town. The profit from the pilgrims 
 became rather negative than positive, as with the exception of 
 a few persons from Upper Egypt it was generally none but 
 begging pilgrims that took this route, over the whole of 
 which they could beg. The number of the government 
 employees was greatly diminished, that of the inhabitants 
 sank to 1500, whole streets were deserted and fell into ruins. 
 But still more blows fell. The year 1864 was a year of 
 scarcit}^ and in order in some degree to lessen this the export 
 of grain was strictly prohibited by an edict of Ismail Pasha. 
 For the town this was a mortal injury. The prohibition was 
 so sudden and unexpected that a large quantity of grain had 
 been already stored up. A deputation of merchants to the 
 government received the answer that of the 11,000 ardeb of 
 grain found to be in the town (in any case, therefore, a con- 
 siderable quantity) 8000 might be exported, as the corn could 
 not be taken back again to the Nile valley; 8000 were to 
 remain in the place in order to support the inhabitants for 
 six months. 
 
 After the year of scarcity the trade again went on, but no 
 longer as formerly. The prices of grain, like the prices in 
 Egypt generally, were no longer so low as formerly, and the 
 cost of transport and customs dues made them still higher 
 for the opposite coast. 
 
 Hitherto Father Nile had almost exclusively supplied arid 
 Arabia with corn; but now also the Euphrates and Tigris, 
 even the Indus and Volga, began a dangerous rivalry. By 
 the steamers, which, since the opening of the Suez Canal, 
 traverse the Bed Sea in great and increasing numbers, grain 
 can now be brought to the Arabian sea-ports from the distant 
 but cheap countries on the above-named fertile streams at a 
 lower rate than is possible for the Egyptians. Occasionally, 
 
276 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 in years of extraordinary abundance, or when high prices rule 
 in these countries, a short time of improvement is again 
 induced, but after those injuries formerly received mainly at 
 the hands of the government, the town is now in the condi- 
 tion of a sick person wasting awiiy through some internal 
 complaint; it can neither live nor die, but every year becomes 
 worse and weaker, and will hardly as such last more than 
 half a score years. The government has, to be sure, given it 
 a strengthening medicine by causing the dachire to be again 
 exported from Koseir, after finding that the Suez route was 
 too expensive; but the contribution now amounts to only 
 24,000 ardeb, far from sufficient to bring about any improve- 
 ment. The remaining trade, exclusive of the grain trade, is 
 also too insignificant to keep up the town; and while the 
 sources of income are drying up, taxes are enormously in- 
 creasing; provisions, being generally brought from a distance, 
 are usually higher than in the Nile valley, to which must be 
 added the cost of water, amounting for a considerable house- 
 hold to from Is. Qd. to 6s. a day. At present, therefore, every- 
 body is now leaving his native town, formerly so dear, and 
 the population can now scarcely amoiant to more than 800. 
 
 The history of the town of Koseir, as we received it from 
 the mouths of natives, we have given in some detail, partly 
 because it is not uninteresting in itself, partly because it 
 shows what an ephemeral existence the waterless sea-ports on 
 the Red Sea have and always had. 
 
 Even Suez is not secure against a blow to its prosperity, 
 in spite of its canal. Some time ago the project was brought 
 forward of bringing the traffic, which merely passes Egypt 
 through the canal, and brings nothing to the country, more 
 into the country itself, and on the Egyptian west coast of the 
 Red Sea a good harbour which could be easily provided with 
 fresh water was sought for. The harbour was then to be con- 
 nected by a railway with another railway to be constructed 
 in the Nile valley, and it was hoped that at least a portion 
 of the trade with India would be attracted to this quicker 
 route, much in the same way as the route to Egypt via Brin- 
 disi is often preferred to that via Marseilles or Trieste. All 
 
mMmim,ii/Miii,i& « 
 
POPULATION. 277 
 
 these advantages, it was believed, were to be found in the 
 good harbour of the anciently celebrated town of Berenice, 
 but the project was quite given up. 
 
 Perhaps recourse may once more be had to the unfortunate 
 town of Koseir, which, though it neither has a good harbour 
 nor yet fresh water, possesses the advantage of being near 
 the Nile valley, and of being connected with this by a road 
 along which a railway might easily be constructed. A good 
 harbour would be found at Shurum, 18 or 19 miles farther 
 south, and the want of water might be remedied by cisterns. 
 If a more active race than the indolent unenterprising native 
 Moslimin inhabited these regions, town after town might now 
 perhaps rise even on these barren shores, as in the time of the 
 Greeks, and in the adjacent desert garden after garden might 
 perhaps be made by the digging of wells. The town of 
 Koseir has at present produced at least one garden, though, 
 certainly, this cannot be called luxuriant. 
 
 THE TOWN. 
 
 The picture of our sea-port town essentially resembles that 
 which we have already drawn of a provincial town of Upper 
 Egypt (see Chap. I.), but many Arabic elements from the 
 Hedjaz also present themselves. Here also the houses are 
 generally of one story and built of sun-dried bricks, and 
 they stand in straight rows, the streets being remarkably 
 clean. A few handsome government buildings of stone, some 
 mosques and sheik-cupolas, rise above the other houses, and 
 the whole is commanded by a citadel occupying a consider- 
 able area, but of no use for modern warfare. On Sundays 
 and feast-days many flags are hoisted. In the foreground 
 lies the bay with the shipping, in the back-ground rise pic- 
 turesquely the mountains of the desert. 
 
 POPULATION. 
 
 The population, as in other sea-ports, is remarkable for the 
 diversity of races it exhibits, while here also there is a still 
 
278 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 more striking diversity of colours. The chief body consists 
 of the free proud offspring of sacred Arabia, who for the 
 sake of gain have bowed themselves under the rigorous 
 sceptre of Egypt, and have accustomed themselves to behave 
 like the submissive slaves of the land of the Pharaohs. These 
 ''Yembauiyeh," or Bedouins, as they like to be called, still 
 continue to look proudly down upon the Fellahin. They 
 love to clothe themselves in bright and gay-coloured attire 
 instead of the blue blouse of the Fellah; round their heads 
 they wind a bright-coloured cloth which hangs down over 
 their shoulders behind ; their naked feet carry thick sandals. 
 These Yembauiyeh are generally connected with the shipping, 
 especially as owners, captains, and sailors. The Egyptians 
 are more important numerically; they are the petty traders, 
 artisans, and porters, though many are also excellent sailors, 
 or have become merchants and ship-owners. The greater 
 number have come from Upper Egypt, only the younger 
 having been born in the place. There are also a number of 
 Copts among them. Of genuine Turks there are only the 
 governor and a few officials; the half-dozen soldiers in garri- 
 son are of Turkish descent, but have been born in the place 
 and are quite Arabified. 
 
 The negro slaves form an essential constituent in the popu- 
 lation, acting mostly as sailors. To these are to be added — 
 besides the deep-brown Upper Egyptians — the almost black 
 Ababdeh, so that the prevailing shade of colour among the 
 people of this place is very dusky. In keeping with the 
 etiquette of the neighbouring holy land, the women here are 
 more strict than elsewhere in closely veiling themselves. 
 When ladies of position arrive by sea they are not put ashore 
 until late at night, and also when they come from the desert 
 they choose the night for their arrival if possible. Men whose 
 business takes them to both shores of the sea alternately like 
 to keep a legitimate wife on each side. 
 
 THE MARKETS. 
 
 In the town we have a bazaar in which the retail dealers, 
 in their primitive booths, sell the products of three quarters 
 
THE MARKETS. 279 
 
 of the globe, and of the Red Sea to boot, such as coffee, frank- 
 incense, pepper, ginger, rice, tobacco for the hookah, crushed 
 dates in skins, cocoa-nuts, fancy wooden boxes, and textile 
 fabrics from the East; oil, sugar, rice, dried dates, tobacco, 
 pipe- bowls, camel travelling-bags, shoes, wooden utensils, and 
 fruits from the Nile valley; textile fabrics, cigar-paper, 
 lucifer-matches, tapers, tin, metal plates, and porcelain dishes 
 from Europe; plaited-leather thongs, leather pouches, confec- 
 tionery, bread and biscuit as industrial products of the town 
 itself; and, lastly, dried fish, dried molluscs, the opercula of 
 molluscs, cuttle-fish bones, porcelain shells (Cyprsea), shells of 
 the pearl-mussel, and other shells from the sea. Here too 
 the broker runs up and down the market with all kinds of 
 auction- wares : clothing, amber mouth-pieces for pipes, car- 
 pets, chairs, goats, sheep, asses, and camels. Large objects for 
 auction, such as boxes, trunks, and other furniture, are exposed 
 in different parts of the market-place, and if they cannot be 
 sold they remain all night under the charge of the night- 
 watchmen that sleep there. In the fish-market the strange 
 forms and brilliant colouring of the Red Sea fish are exhibited 
 as they hang in bunches by means of a cord of alfa grass 
 drawn through their gill-openings; the large ones lie on straw- 
 mats waiting till they are cut up with the hatchet and sold 
 in pieces, while the parts that are not eaten, such as the 
 entrails, gills, and ovaries, are flung to the cats, multitudes 
 of which always collect here. In the fruit-market the parched 
 inhabitants struggle for the fresh fruits and vegetables which 
 the camel-drivers bring from the Nile valley, and are pre- 
 vented from plundering only by the switch of a police-soldier. 
 The cargo is generally sold to the retail dealer that offers 
 most, after the doctor, who has been summoned for the pur- 
 pose, or his agents, as overseers of the markets, have passed 
 the goods as not being injurious to health, this being soon 
 managed if a few first-fruits are presented for their families, 
 either gratis or at a low price. Any objections on the part 
 of the police or the "sheik of the vegetables" are also removed 
 in this manner. Many citizens, however, in their longing 
 for green food, set out very early and go a long distance to 
 
280 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 meet the expected camels, getting their wants supplied on 
 the spot. In the cattle-market are exhibited various varieties 
 of sheep descended from the fat- tailed breed; the brown- 
 wooled shaggy-headed Nile sheep, the lean sheep of the 
 Ababdeh, and the long-legged, smooth-haired Arab sheep, 
 transported from Arabia by sea, besides the goats of these 
 regions, all of them with large ears. A portion of them are 
 immediatel}'- slaughtered on the beach, which is employed 
 as a slaughter-house, by a transverse cut across the throat, in 
 the name of God the all-merciful, according to the rules of the 
 Koran, sea water being plentifully poured over them; others 
 are previously kept and fed in the yards of the corn-dealers, 
 in order to give milk and produce progeny. The latter object 
 is promoted by the public he-goat, who has the market-place 
 allotted to him as his home; here he remains day and night 
 in the midst of the numerous consorts provided for him, and 
 forms an essential feature in the scene. From the sellers of 
 the high-priced drinking water, who set their commodity 
 before them in casks, compassionate souls buy for him the 
 delicious refreshment; but his food he procures for himself, 
 penetrating into the court-yards of the corn-dealers, plunder- 
 ing the baskets" of the children that sell bread, or biting 
 unnoticed a hole in a skin containing dates. He even contrives 
 to find entrance into the government grain warehouse by 
 means of his commanding walk and stately horns. The wood- 
 market is provided by the Ababdeh with the excellent wood 
 of the acacia and other trees of the desert, as well as with 
 wood charcoal, and by ships with the same articles from the 
 opposite shore, or with shora-wood. A very cheap fuel, and 
 one in general use, is also brought hither by the Bedouins, 
 viz., balls of camels' dung in sacks, collected on the caravan 
 roads; they also occasionally bring all kinds of desert plants 
 as fodder for cattle. At other times the cattle kept in the 
 town receive the bran arising from the grinding of grain, 
 barley, among the grain-dealers also wheat, and always beans, 
 without which they do not thrive; the latter take the place 
 that oats occupy in other regions. 
 
THE WATER. 281 
 
 THE WATEE. 
 
 The peculiarity of our desert town is the water market. 
 Every morning arrives a stately water caravan with a supply 
 for the wants of the citizen from the springs and wells of the 
 desert. The better springs are from 8 to 10 leagues distant. 
 Each camel carries six tanned goatskins, which are always 
 rubbed with oil after being used in order to keep them from 
 cracking with the heat of the sun on the up journey. This 
 gives to the newly brought water that disagreeable flavour 
 which has made the water of Koseir famous, and causes it to 
 appear undrinkable to the new comer; we must also mention 
 the impurities and insect larvae that are always found in the 
 basins of springs, and when the water is carelessly filled 
 enter along with it into the skins. For this reason the water 
 becomes putrid in a few days and still more undrinkable. 
 All attempts at purifying it, even filtering and throwing in 
 live coals, are of no avail, though, perhaps, allowing it to 
 stand for several weeks in large reservoirs would have this 
 eflfect. The water is brought partly by Bedouins, partly by 
 inhabitants of the town itself, who make that their special 
 trade. They require at least two nights and one day, the 
 Bedouins three days. Some of the townspeople who have a 
 large household keep special camels for carrying the water. 
 The water being dear, a full goat-skin, which is by no means 
 large, always costs from half a franc to 2 francs ; it is dearer 
 than usual at the pasture season, when the camels are sent 
 into the Nile valley and only those of the Bedouins remain, 
 and also at the time when many pilgrims are in the town. 
 Government oflicials get their water paid for or delivered by 
 the government; several water camels are at the orders of 
 the governor. The poorer people provide themselves with 
 water from less remote springs, but these are all saline, bitter, 
 and hard. The domestic animals are watered with water 
 from springs in the closest proximity to the town; this water 
 is still worse, and is just drinkable for human beings only 
 for a few months after a fall of rain. The soil is then turned 
 up to the depth of a few feet, and the water collecting in the 
 
282 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 trenches is carried by women and girls into the houses 
 in clay pitchers with handles, as on the Nile. The joyful 
 excitement among the townspeople after a plentiful fall of 
 rain that produces a river has already been described in 
 Chap. IV. p. 231. There has been much talk for years about 
 the construction of a cistern; everybody considers the scheme 
 decidedly necessary and even profitable, but from the utter 
 want of enterprise nobody will contribute the money for it. 
 A good cistern, which would have to be well cemented and 
 plastered in order to keep the water sweet, would, in any 
 case, cost a large sum of money; and all sorts of apprehensions 
 stand in the way, such as of the possible drying up of the 
 water after several rainless years, and the damaging of the 
 cement thereby, of competition, of its being forcibly seized 
 by the government if the enterprise should turn out to be 
 profitable, and the like, and the desire was always cherished 
 that the government should take the matter in hand. So 
 the project was always shelved, to be brought again upon the 
 carpet every winter when the stream of rain-water once more 
 ran unprofitably into the sea. Now when the town is lying 
 almost at the last gasp there is no longer any hope of such 
 a work being carried out. Others were enthusiastic about 
 an aqueduct from the mountains, and petitioned the govern- 
 ment for it, but naturally in vain. The production of fresh- 
 water from sea -water by distillation, as is done by the 
 government at the Egyptian village of El-Wudj on the 
 opposite coast of Arabia, where the pilgrims must submit to 
 quarantine, obtains least approval; the Moslim will not 
 readily look upon such an artificial product as a true gift 
 of God, and will only drink it when forced. 
 
 INDUSTRY. 
 
 Manufactures are limited to articles the most indispensable 
 for household use and for navigation, the division of labour 
 being carried to a very small extent. There is here a shoe- 
 maker, or rather a cobbler, who is at the same time a tannei* 
 and a leather-sack maker; a few blacksmiths who work 
 
THE ''courts" and THE TRADE. 283 
 
 chiefly for the shipping ; a locksmith who understands gun- 
 making thoroughly, and is also a corpse- washer and Koran- 
 reciter; a turner and pipe- borer, who, when his business as 
 grain merchant allows him a few spare hours, drives his 
 original trade; a joiner or general worker in wood, who, when 
 business is dull, does not think it beneath his dignity to split 
 wood; a number of ship- carpenters; a house-builder, who is 
 also a stone-cutter, a mason, a bricklayer, and a plasterer, 
 and makes room-floors of sand and earth; a tinsmith, who is 
 also a tinker and a coppersmith; and so forth. At the pilgrim 
 season workmen of various other trades gather here, such as 
 cutlers, cover-makers, lace-workers, tailors, shoemakers, &c.; 
 these find employment for a few weeks and thus procure 
 means for carrying them farther on their journey. In addi- 
 tion to the manual occupation he may be engaged in, every- 
 body with a few dollars capital does a little bit of trading; he 
 travels in the Nile valley or to Arabia, and buys a few goods, 
 such as cloth, utensils, fruits, live stock, and sells them in the 
 needy desert-town; even the "fortress-commandant'^ or cor- 
 poral takes every year a furlough-trip to Cairo and brings 
 back with him various kinds of w^ares, which have always 
 a rapid sale. 
 
 The ordinary citizen passes a large part of his time in the 
 coffee-house, which also serves as an exchange for the mer- 
 cantile class. Here important affairs are arranged; here the 
 ship-master engages his crew, while others play, sleep, or 
 smoke their hookahs in quiet satisfaction. Greek dram- 
 shops, on the other hand, have not been able to maintain 
 their ground since the glory of the town passed away; in the 
 little town no one has the courage publicly to appear such • 
 a sinner as the drinker of spirituous liquor is considered 
 to be. 
 
 THE "courts" and THE TRADE. 
 
 No little activity manifests itself when the trade is being 
 carried on in the "courts," the magazines of the wholesale 
 dealers or grain-dealers. These are partly independent mer- 
 chants, w^ho have their business friends, their partners, or 
 
284? UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 agents in the Nile valley and the sea-ports of Arabia; but the 
 greater number are only agents of Arabic or Egyptian mer- 
 chants on the Nile. The camel-drivers so soon as they arrive 
 call at one court after another with samples of their goods, 
 especially grain, carrying these in a knot of their shawl or 
 their turban, or in a little bag for the purpose; others who 
 have brought corn on the order of a partner, show the person 
 addressed a sealed packet, also containing a sample and a 
 letter. When the business has been concluded, or everything 
 found correct, the camels that have been waiting outside the 
 town are brought in, the grain is poured out on the smoothly 
 cemented floor of the court and measured. The caravans 
 generally remain over night at a well some miles from the 
 town, which they enter at early morning; all day long busi- 
 ness is transacted, and in the evening the caravans start on 
 the return journey, intending to reach the same well again. 
 The treasure-heaps of grain are now prepared for shipment, 
 being remeasured and filled into sacks of coarse canvas or 
 alfa-grass. If a vessel is ready the sacks of corn are placed 
 upon a handrbarrow, consisting of two beams with cross- 
 pieces, and carried by four men singing and tripping along 
 to the custom-house, and thence to the mole, from which it 
 is taken off by a large boat and conveyed on board the ship. 
 But, besides grain, there are also a number of other articles 
 of trade, which, when exported or imported, pass through the 
 courts. Several frequently unite together in one business, 
 but only in the form of partnerships, not of large companies; 
 in these concerns either every member is active, and con- 
 tributes money as well, or the one contributes the money 
 and the other carries on the business, so that in the calcula- 
 tion of profit and loss the capital reckons as one factor, the 
 personal activity in the business as the other. Others prefer 
 to have agents or brokers, and the latter receive about 2 per 
 cent, of the profits. The taking of interest being forbidden 
 by their religion is not practised hy the natives in their deal- 
 ings with each other; the role of usurer, however, has been 
 assum^ed by Europeans and Greeks, at least in the Nile valley, 
 and they take a high rate of interest (2 to 5 per cent, monthly). 
 
CUSTOM-HOUSE. 285 
 
 They now lend only upon personal security, since they have 
 learned by experience that otherwise the money is certain 
 to be lost; mortgages upon land are not recognized by the 
 government, at least not willingly, as by this means all the 
 land might soon come into the possession of the Europeans. 
 On the whole pretty sound principles prevail in the commer- 
 cial transactions of the native inhabitants with each other, 
 and the percentage of European swindlers would probably be 
 far higher than that of Arab swindlers. 
 
 CUSTOM-HOUSE. 
 
 Goods exported and imported are strictly examined in the 
 custom-house, especially the former, which have here to pay 
 the customs dues, while on the latter the dues have generally 
 already been levied in the Turkish sea-ports of Arabia, and 
 if a clearance sheet obtained there is brought with them 
 nothing more is demanded in the vassal-land of Egypt. On 
 all goods an ad valorem duty of 8 per cent, has to be paid; for 
 some, such as common tobacco and nargileh tobacco, far 
 more, up indeed to 80 per cent. In the case of grain that is 
 being exported every twelfth sack, selected at pleasure by 
 the inspector, is opened, and its contents poured out and 
 measured by the measurer appointed. There is generally 
 found to be a surplus over the stated quantity, and this is 
 immediately swept off to assist in keeping the custom-house 
 officials spruce and in maintaining their families and domestic 
 animals. The goods have to go through a series of examina- 
 tions and investigations by the various customs officials — 
 measurers, weighers, enumerators, valuators, inspectors, clerks, 
 and collectors of dues. The governor has the general super- 
 vision. How far these publicans are also sinners we leave 
 to the conjecture of the reader; who may easily imagine also 
 that on such a length of uninhabited and unwatched coast 
 smuggling cannot be prevented. 
 
 The exports consist chiefly of grain and leguminous fruits, 
 wheat, barley, millet, beans, lentils, chickpeas, also onions, 
 eggs, fowls, and molasses. Most of these goods go to Jeddah 
 
286 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 and Yemba, also the places still belonging to Egypt on the 
 opposite coast of Arabia, viz. Wudj, Moilah, Debba. The 
 imports are much more unimportant than the exports, 
 most vessels returning empty. The number of the articles 
 imported, however, is much greater. The principal are coffee 
 (the most important of all), carpets, spices (such as pepper, 
 cinnamon, cloves, and ginger), essential oils, frankincense, 
 myrrh, mastic, gum Arabic, henna, tamarinds, indigo, nargileh 
 tobacco, cocoa-nuts, rice, cotton, and silk stuffs, and house- 
 hold furniture and utensils. All these are brought chiefly 
 from Jeddah, which is the emporium for all the products of 
 the East, from Arabia and Persia to India and China. From 
 Yemba come — dates in skins, honey, hides, grease, and also 
 sheep and camels; from the places on the opposite coast, sheep, 
 goats, camels, grease, wood, coal, and salt, though the last is 
 strictly prohibited. Asses and horses are sometimes brought 
 from Nejd. Lastly, the pearl-oyster shells, which the Be- 
 douins of the Egyptian coast bring in their vessels, must also 
 pay duty here, and these form an important article. Slaves 
 are scarcely ever brought into the country by this route now, 
 A short time ago, when the grain trade was carried on, the 
 customs dues are said to have amounted to about £5000 
 annually, to which must be added the tax for the road to the 
 Nile valley, amounting to £2000 (?). The latter tax is levied 
 for the security of the road, which the chiefs of the Ababdeh 
 have to guarantee, and therefore receive about one-eighth of 
 the money raised. Special officials are appointed for the 
 collection of the road-tax. 
 
 THE GOVERNMENT GRAIN- STORE. 
 
 There is much activity in the large court surrounded by 
 high stone walls of the shilna or government grain-store, in 
 which the clacMre (see p. 272) are stored. At many places in 
 the Nile valley there are also many similar grain magazines, 
 at which the peasants of the Nile can deliver their tribute in 
 kind. From these the government draws its supplies for the 
 military, &;c., or it sells the corn; a portion of this, however, 
 
 'M 
 
THE GOVERNMENT GRAIN-STORE. 287 
 
 goes to make up those consignments of grain that, as already 
 mentioned, are sent to the "sacred land," and a multitude of 
 camel-drivers have to convey it to the granary at Koseir, 
 either being paid directly for their services or by a remission 
 of taxes. Every driver receives a written statement of the 
 quantity of grain delivered to him, and a sealed sample to 
 show the quality. In the granary the corn is now poured 
 into boxes of a basin or sand-glass shape, from which it runs 
 by a small aperture into the measure of the grain measurer; 
 like the dictating scribe, with whom we have already become 
 acquainted (see Chap. i. p. 63), this functionary proclaims, in 
 a peculiar monotonous melody, the numbers he obtains from 
 his measurements. These must agree with those on the 
 invoice given by the granary officials in the Kile valley; but 
 they often do not agree, and the matter does not terminate 
 without much noise and wrangling. The grain measured off 
 is carried into the corners of the warehouse, where it rises 
 gradually into great mountains to the tops of which the 
 carriers ascend at every round by means of boards planted 
 against their sides. The stored grain is now conveyed to the 
 vessels, into the holds of which it is poured loose till they are 
 full to the gunwale. No one is in the granary during the 
 night, and the great door is sealed every evening with a large 
 seal of clay. The superintendent is responsible for the quan- 
 tity in the store between the time he leaves and the time he 
 enters. When the grain has been conveyed by ship to Hedjaz, 
 it is there measured afresh and compared with the sealed 
 sample sent along with it — so that there is check upon check, 
 and yet every grain of corn that has reached its destination 
 would have plenty to tell of brothers lost, one after the other. 
 It is not very easy to convict the camel-driver of putting a 
 few handfuls of earth into each sack and taking out the same 
 quantity of corn; and if he has a bad conscience he knows 
 how to make the corn-measurer keep quiet, who, by a cer- 
 tain method of placing the measure and other dodges, has it 
 in his power to make the grain turn out more or less. It is 
 a common saying that the grain-measurer may heap up trea- 
 sures in this world, but will never attain a high place in para- 
 
288 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 dise. The ship-master, too, is not readily detected if, on the 
 high sea, or even while in port, he allows his vessel to ship 
 a sea or two so as to wet the cargo and cause the grain to 
 swell. When subsequently measured, it will still be of the 
 full bulk, but will contain fewer grains. From the surplus 
 produced by thus levjdng such small requisitions or large 
 quantities, many a person supports himself and his household 
 the whole year round. The pigeons, too, cannot be altogether 
 prevented from the more innocent thefts committed by them 
 on the corn-heaps early in the morning. In storms many a 
 bushel has to be thrown overboard from the deeply-laden 
 vessel, and then the whole crew has to swear that this was 
 done from necessity. Oaths are readily taken by the Mos- 
 limin, if they square with their interest, and the storm need 
 not have been a very severe one. 
 
 THE PORT. 
 
 The harbour is a wide bay open towards the east, or rather 
 a sherm, that is, an opening in a coral reef stretching along 
 the coast and connected with it, not separated by an atoll. 
 This openiog is wider than in the case of other sherms, which 
 generally occur at intervals of a few miles and afford direct 
 access and shelter for small vessels. The entrance is perfectly 
 safe, and not rendered dangerous by rocks that are near the sur- 
 face, though always covered by water. The harbour is avail- 
 able as such, however, only in the northern part of the bay, 
 where it is deeper, and is protected against the north winds, 
 which prevail by far the greater part of the year, by a coral 
 reef running out in the form of a curve. Towards the south 
 the bay becomes shallow through the accumulation of sand, 
 and as no dredging-machine is employed the sanding up goes 
 on year after year. The larger sized European sailing vessels 
 and steamers cannot venture into the sheltered space behind 
 the reef, and must anchor at a considerable distance out in 
 the roadstead, exposed to the violence of the sea. Accord- 
 ingly they prefer not to visit the port at all, especially as they 
 are not attracted by commercial advantages. Even the Egyp- 
 
THE MOLE. 289 
 
 tian mail and other steamers do not touch at Koseir, though 
 they regularly visit the other ports of the sea, Suez, Jeddah, 
 Suakin, and Massowah. Other steamers that call occasionally 
 have generally met with some accident, or are brought by 
 the want of coals. 
 
 Against east and south-east winds, which very often blow 
 in winter, the harbour is quite unprotected. The bay, at 
 other times so peaceful, now throws up high waves, washes 
 the soil away where it consists merely of shot rubbish, makes 
 breaches in the stone walls, and damages the wooden mole, 
 while wave after wave rolls up over the bank of sand that 
 forms the beach, and leaves a salt lagoon to remain until it 
 dries up and forms a white streak of salt. The vessels pitch 
 and roll in a dangerous manner, and, snapping their cables, 
 run aground and go to pieces in the shallow harbour, or 
 perhaps come into collision and smash each other. On such 
 occasions it is by no means uncommon for the greater number 
 of the vessels in the harbour to be wrecked. The whole shore 
 is then strewed with grain and fragments of wreck. One can 
 foretell the approach of such a wind by the rise of a small 
 white cloud in the eastern horizon, after a period of almost 
 perfect calm. A slight breeze, gradually increasing in strength, 
 then rises, the suspicious little cloud approaches with aston- 
 ishing rapidity, and in a brief space a raging, howling tempest 
 prevails. With the noise of the wind are mingled the shouts 
 of the sailors, who must be at their posts in order to secure 
 the anchor and keep everything in order; while above all are 
 heard the orders of the shipmasters and the cries of the 
 women, anxious about those at sea belonging to them. 
 
 THE MOLE. 
 
 The wooden mole running out into the sea is always an 
 animated scene. It is supported on wooden piles that are 
 perpetually eaten into by the ship- worm, and always require 
 renewal from time to time. Kecently the government refused 
 to repair it, or any public building of the province, and the 
 consequence was that the half of the mole was carried away 
 
 19 
 
290 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 by an easterly storm. The fishing vessels and passenger- 
 boats lie beside the mole; on it boys angle for the fishes that 
 swim in multitudes between the piles; here the ship-owner 
 watches from a distance the labours of his people, while others 
 take here their siesta, fanned by the cool breeze. Everything 
 that comes and goes by sea has to pass the mole, where the 
 custom-house officers examine with a searching look every 
 passer-b}^ Goods to be shipped are brought from the custom- 
 house to the mole, and thence are conveyed by boat to the 
 vessel, those to be landed going through the reverse process. 
 
 ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE OF VESSELS. 
 
 Much animation is exhibited when vessels are arriving or 
 departing. This always forms an event. As soon as a vessel 
 appears in sight, the fact is announced by the boys with a 
 loud Hariyeh ! Hariyeh ! Others then look in the direction 
 indicated, and if they can confirm the report they join in the 
 cry. The news is thus carried through the whole town, and 
 forthwith on the roofs or terraces of the houses appear female 
 figures, the relatives of mariners or passengers expected. 
 Arming themselves with telescopes the merchants or ship- 
 owners proceed to the beach or to neighbouring heights in 
 order that they may find out, as soon as possible, what ship 
 it is that is approaching. On the entrance of a vessel an 
 inquisitive crowd always collects on the mole, but they 
 require to exercise their patience for a little. The sanitary 
 officers must first take a boat and go on board the vessel to 
 inspect it. At no time do the inhabitants show greater 
 respect to the sanitary officials than at such moments, when 
 it is a question of discharge or quarantine. If on account of 
 the suspicious illness of a single individual the vessel is 
 ordered by the sanitary officers to go into quarantine, or if the 
 higher authorities have ordered quarantine to be enforced in 
 the case of all vessels whatsoever, then communication with the 
 vessel is prohibited, a quarantine watchman is put on board, 
 the sanitary agent takes possession of all letters and papers, 
 fumigates them and pierces tliem through and through accord- 
 
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE OF VESSELS. 291 
 
 ing to the professional practice, and finally distributes 
 them. If pratique is given, a custom-house officer must go 
 on board and inspect the goods before anyone can land. 
 AVhen the letters, which are rolled up like ribbons, have 
 been distributed, there may be seen stretching along the 
 mole, and up into the town, a whole host of readers, whose 
 countenances and gestures plainly tell whether their busi- 
 ness affairs are in a satisfactory state or not. The sailors 
 and passengers hasten to their houses, after submitting to the 
 embraces of all their acquaintances on the way, and appear 
 in public several hours later dressed in their best clothes. 
 The more important of them, however, are followed even into 
 their houses; they have scarcely time to speak to their fami- 
 lies, still less to wash themselves and change their clothes. 
 Their reception-room is immediately filled with a crowd of 
 people who come to pay their respects and hear the news, and 
 who are treated to coffee. People arriving after a journey 
 through the desert have also to hold such a reception, how- 
 ever fatigued they may be, such being the etiquette; they 
 have not to pay visits themselves. Some time after the 
 arrival of the vessel, generally the next day, the ship is 
 unloaded. Perhaps a few camels have been brought by the 
 vessel, the poor beasts being tied up in the hold so tightly 
 as often to stiffen their necks. These are now pulled up by 
 ropes and pulleys and let down into the water, and half-swim- 
 ming half-wading they have to find the way ashore them- 
 selves. 
 
 The departure of a vessel is accompanied with a like amount 
 of ceremony. Vessels that are about to cross to the opposite 
 shore always set sail in the forenoon, never in the afternoon 
 or evening. When the ship's papers are all in order, in 
 particular when a declaration that he will not desert has been 
 written for every sailor, and when also a bill of health has 
 been drawn up, the vessel is boarded by a deputation from 
 the governor, and by the sanitary officers in company with 
 the owner, and other persons who wish to see their friends 
 off. The papers are now handed to the captain, who gives 
 a gratuity to the officials. Intimate friends and relations 
 
292 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 embrace each other, exchange affectionate farewells, oftenj 
 with tears, and beg each other's forgiveness in case either hm^ 
 offended the other by word or deed. When people are setting 
 out for the Nile valley also, it is the regular thing for their 
 friends to accompany them for some distance, and take an affec- 
 tionate leave of them. At last those that intend to remain, 
 re-enter their boat, wishing everybody a good voyage, the 
 great sail is unfurled, a fatha is uttered, and the vessel now 
 sails rapidly out to the open sea, followed by the gazes and 
 good-wishes of the women, who assemble on the beach that 
 they may also witness the departure of those belonging to 
 them. 
 
 THE VESSELS OF THE RED SEA. 
 
 The native vessels trading in this sea have something anti- 
 quated and bizarre in their appearance. They are usually 
 disproportionately short; the hinder part is remarkably broad 
 and high, terminating abruptly in a sloping stern, and con- 
 taining the cabin, which, being only between 5 and 6 feet 
 in height, scarcely permits one to stand upright, and is not 
 provided with berths or any kind of furniture. Behind, and 
 sometimes also in the sides, the cabin has a few open air-holes; 
 towards the forepart of the ship it is quite open or provided 
 with a door, but the entrance is generally so encumbered 
 with bales of goods that only a small aperture is left. The 
 women and children are packed into the cabin, it being 
 thought better to expose them to all the horrors of sea-sick- 
 ness — which in this close stuffy hole is sure to attack them — 
 than to the gaze of the crew and passengers. The roof of the 
 cabin, or the hinder-deck, forms an open platform elevated 
 high above the rest of the vessel, and is called in Arabic 
 huTsi, that is, seat or stage. As is also the case in the Nile 
 vessels, this is the station of the steersman, who overlooks 
 the whole ship, and governs the helm by means of a long 
 lever projecting towards him. In a box before him, and 
 lighted by an oil lamp, swings the antiquated compass, of 
 Frankish origin but with Arabic improvements, and with 
 stars in place of the points on the card. The after-deck 
 
THE VESSELS OF THE RED SEA. 293 
 
 is also the best place for the passengers, since in these 
 regions it is most agreeable to live in the open air. The sea 
 breeze tempers the scorching heat of the sun, which may also 
 be avoided by awnings, and in winter sufficient warmth may 
 be obtained by the use of woollen wrappings, the sea breeze 
 at this season rendering the cold less severe. The large space 
 amidships is without a deck, and when the vessel is empt}'^ — 
 as it usually is on the return voyage from Arabia — communi- 
 cation fore and aft is only maintained by means of planks, 
 carelessly laid down lengthwise and crosswise, which cannot 
 be traversed without danger, at least by the inexperienced. 
 There is less danger when the vessel has a full load of grain 
 in sacks or lying loose; but the vessel then rises only a few 
 feet above the surface of the water, and, when the sea is high, 
 the waves break over her, and drench both crew and cargo. 
 The prow of the vessel always terminates in a curiously- 
 twisted beak of varying length. The fore-part is covered 
 with a short deck, on which the fire-place is situated, an 
 •earthen vessel or wooden box filled with clay serving for a 
 grate. A sailor or ship-boy, who knows something about 
 cookery, here cooks the daily food of the crew — the bruised 
 barley and lentils — in a large narrow-mouthed copper kettle, 
 and bakes the thin cakes of unleavened flour. The drinking- 
 water is kept in a large quadrangular wooden trough. When 
 water collects in the bottom of the vessel it is simply baled 
 out, there being no pump. One man passes on the baling 
 pitcher to the other, and the uppermost empties it into a 
 wooden gutter laid crosswise over the ship. 
 
 The huge triangular or trapezoidal sail is hoisted on the 
 mast by means of a system of pulleys. Whenever the sail is 
 to be braced round, the ropes which are attached to the mast 
 and impede the movement of the yard have to be unfastened, 
 while the sail is let down a little. During this operation, 
 which is quite different from that practised on board the 
 Nile boats,' the weight of the sail causes the vessel to heel 
 over dangerously to one side, especially if a strong gust of 
 wind has suddenly come on. Larger vessels have also a 
 smaller auxiliary sail at the fore-end of the hinder-deck. The 
 
294? UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 flag is attached either to a rope belonging to the small hinder- 
 mast, or to the top of the mainmast. The flag used is the 
 Turkish — a white crescent and a few stars on a red ground. 
 Vessels belonging to sherifs or descendants of the Prophet 
 have the right to carry a green flag. The numerous native 
 consular agents of foreign powers may show, and indeed are 
 bound to show, on their house the flag of the country they 
 represent, but for some time their vessels have been strictly 
 prohibited from carrying it, "since they do not know the 
 usages of the sea." 
 
 The greater part of the materials for the Red Sea vessels 
 are brought from Jeddah and "India/' the latter name as 
 used by the Arabic seamen of these regions comprising also 
 Yemen. The ropes and cables are made of palm and cocoa- 
 nut fibre, the anchors never having chain cables. Teak, from 
 "India," is the timber most highly prized in shipbuilding, 
 and forms the planking of the vessels. It is very strong, and 
 is said by its bitterness to prevent the attacks of the ship- 
 worm, which is here very destructive. Partly on account of 
 the ravages of this creature, partly to renew the water-tight 
 coating, vessels are careened every five months at least, and 
 are smeared with grease and lime, or sandarac and oil, and 
 thoroughly caulked with raw cotton. From time to time also 
 vessels are painted with a variety of angular figures, streaks, 
 and stripes in order to improve their appearance, the colours 
 used being chiefly white, black, and red. The after portion 
 of the vessel in particular is the part thus decorated. Oak 
 and pine from Syria and Greece are also used in ship- 
 building. 
 
 The vessels receive different names according to their form 
 and size. These names are quite different from the Arabic 
 designation of vessels commonly used in the Mediterranean; 
 some of them do not sound like Arabic at all, and might, 
 perhaps, be traced back to Indian or Frankish roots. Range 
 or gauge is the name of a large vessel with a capacity of 
 over 3000 ardeb,^ and having a long beak; dhow is the name 
 
 • ' ' . •'I ardeb = 5 Englisli bushels, and corresponds to 8 l:ele. . . , . ,. ; 
 
THE ship's company. 295 
 
 of a similar vessel with a very large stern; a haghleh is similar 
 but wants the beak. The most common form is called sam- 
 huh; it is somewhat smaller and has a short beak. Katera 
 is a smaller vessel, such as is used in the coasting trade and 
 the pearl fishery; feluka is a ship's boat, gurdi, a fishing- 
 boat, eshkif (French esquif), a cargo-boat for harbour service, 
 hu7'i, a canoe made out of the trunk of a tree. 
 
 THE ship's company. 
 
 The captain of the vessel, reyis or nachude, has only to 
 attend to matters of administration. He is responsible for 
 order being kept in the vessel and for the money required 
 in managing it, he has to account to the harbour-police 
 and the sanitary authorities when required to do so; but 
 of seamanship he is often quite ignorant. The son or a 
 relative of the owner may hold this post, or the owner 
 himself when he accompanies the vessel. The professional 
 shipmaster is the steersman (ruhan), but generally the 
 steersman and the captain are one and the same person. 
 The crew (taifa) is generally numerous relatively to the size 
 of the vessel, since the defective equipment must be counter- 
 balanced by the number of the men. The common number 
 is from six to ten, but larger vessels may have eighteen or 
 twenty; among these, however, are generally a few passengers 
 who have got themselves booked as sailors in order to avoid 
 the numerous formalities and expenses imposed by the autho- 
 rities. Over the common sailors is placed a mate or boat- 
 swain (mokaddim), and under them are one or several ship- 
 boys. The sailors are either free natives of the sea-ports on 
 the east and west coasts, with some Egyptian Fellahin among 
 them, or black slaves either belonging to the owner or hired 
 from some one else. Their dexterity is wonderful, especially 
 that of the blacks. Having nothing on but a cloth round 
 the loins and a quilted skull-cap, they leap with truly 
 monkey-like agility and ease over the planks that serve as 
 gangways above the hold; with a spring or two they scamper 
 up the mast, seizing a rope with their hands and pressing 
 
296 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 their feet against another near it; they even practise the still 
 more monkey-like habit of seizing the latter with their big 
 toe. In addition to this quadrumanous faculty, the black 
 monkey-like race of men are distinguished by their long 
 arms, slender feet, small calves, projecting jaws, low forehead, 
 and flat nose, as well as by their fondness for bellowing and 
 grinning ; but the Semites likewise, and, as the sculptures of 
 the ancient Egyptians show, the Hamites also adopted to 
 some extent this quadrumanous habit. Unlike the European 
 sailors, whose strong point is said not to be swimming, the 
 Arabic sailors are as much at home in the water as on ship- 
 board. Not having first to take off their clothes they are at 
 all times ready to jump into the water (which is always com- 
 paratively warm here) in order to stop a leak, or to dive 
 down and put the anchor to rights, or to swim ashore though 
 the vessel is a considerable distance from land; and it is said 
 that when in quarantine they frequently visit their relatives 
 at home under cover of night. 
 
 It is pleasant to see and hear them at their work, as they 
 always lighten their toils with singing when engaged in any 
 common task. When rowing they sing, like the mariners of 
 the Nile, but the words and the airs are different. If the 
 sail is to be hoisted, for instance, a leader will begin by sing- 
 ing, in the highest falsetto he can produce from his throat, 
 a meaningless word or two, such as moluchiyeh (the spinach- 
 like plant already mentioned), and at once the chorus of sea- 
 men at work follows with '-moluchiyeh^in the deepest bass, 
 giving the sail a heave up at the same time. The same thing 
 may be seen when a ship is to be launched, an operation 
 which always requires a large number of men, since there is 
 no machinery for the purpose. Such scenes exactly resemble 
 the transporting of colossal figures as depicted on the ancient 
 monuments. There an overseer may be seen posted at some 
 elevated point and giving his orders by clapping his hands, 
 hundreds of naked workmen tug at the ropes in order to 
 bring forwards the sledge upon which the colossus is placed, 
 and among the ancients, too, the work always went on with 
 singing. When, however, a work of considerable magnitude 
 
THE SHIPS COMPANY. 
 
 297 
 
 is finished, saj^, for instance, that a ship has been built, or 
 that a vessel has safely landed after a long and perilous voy- 
 age, or that pratique has been received after some days' 
 quarantine, then the naked and many-coloured chorus of 
 sailors execute a fantasie. The strange quavering falsetto 
 of the leader is again heard, the chorus chimes in with a 
 hoarse, Tartarean, hollow, roaring voice, one or two of the 
 sailors beat the small sieve-like hand-drums, another prepares 
 with a mallet one of the skins of his drum while he strikes the 
 other with his hand in order to leave no means of producing 
 music unemployed; the rest grin, and dance, and clap their 
 hands. The artists are able to continue for hours on end with 
 the same aria. This certainly innocent ftmtasie is too bar- 
 barous to have been an invention of the Arabic sailors, who, 
 however, join in it with as much hearti- 
 ness as if it were their national song ; it 
 can only have come from the land of the 
 bellowing blacks, but seems to have been 
 used on this sea for hundreds of years, 
 and is likely to continue for as long. In 
 moments of leisure, especially on quiet 
 moonlight nights, the sailor takes his 
 lute {tuinhara), an instrument to be 
 found on board ever}^ vessel, and sings 
 and plays the peculiar languishing Ara- 
 bic airs, surrounded by a crowd who 
 earnestly listen or join in themselves. 
 The lute consists of a hemispherical body, which was origi- 
 nallv a drinkin^r vessel or a melon, havino' a skin stretched 
 across it, and two diverging bars projecting from it and 
 united at their ends by a cross-bar. To this several strings of 
 gut, generally five, are attached; these converge towards the 
 lower part of the body, to which they are attached, and in 
 the middle of which rises a bridge, as in the violin, to keep 
 them tight. The entire instrument is made by the sailor 
 himself. 
 
 Mariner's Lute. 
 
208 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 NAVIGATION. 
 
 The native vessels in the Red Sea are almost exclusively 
 employed in the coasting trade. It is only vessels of a cer- 
 tain size and tonnage (about 800 ardeb) that venture to take 
 the open sea and cross from one shore to the other. But such 
 a voyage is always a risk; the mariner waits for a favourable 
 wind before venturing on it, and it often lasts eight days, 
 and sometimes as much as fourteen. No Moslim sets any 
 value on time, however. Vessels always try to make the 
 opposite coast as soon as possible, and to select the shortest 
 run, keeping well inshore for the rest of their voyage, at 
 some distance from the coast reef, to be sure, but always in 
 sight of land. They regularly pass the night in one of the 
 numerous harbours or sherms. With a favourable wind the 
 opposite coast comes in sight in the course of the next day 
 after setting sail, or if the nearest point of the opposite coast 
 is to be reached, the port of destination being, for instance, 
 El Wudj, then land may be seen early in the morning of the 
 next day, that is, in about twenty hours. Vessels sailing 
 from Koseir to Jeddah or Yemba usually endeavour to make 
 the island of Gebel Hassan. The voyage from Koseir to 
 Jeddah usually occupies from six to twelve days, from Koseir 
 to Yemba three to five. The return voyage lasts much 
 longer, since in summer north and north-east winds almost 
 constantly prevail in this part of the sea, becoming less vio- 
 lent, or ceasing to blow altogether only after it is well through 
 the afternoon; in winter they are often interrupted by south- 
 east and east winds. The return voyage from Jeddah to 
 Koseir therefore occupies from sixteen to forty days, from 
 Yemba twelve to twenty-five, from El Wudj three to ten. 
 As the last-named port lies a little further to the south than 
 Koseir vessels have to work their way northwards along the 
 coast for several days in order to get the north wind to take 
 tliem across to Koseir. From Suez to Koseir is a voyage of 
 tliree to eight days, from Koseir to Suez of as many weeks. 
 This prevalence of the north wind (at the mouth of the sea it 
 gives place to the south wind), combined with the numerous 
 
NAVIGATION. 299 
 
 reefs and currents, is one of the chief impediments to naviga- 
 tion on the Red Sea, renderinor it almost nnnaviojable for 
 large sailing vessels, which always go round the Cape of Good 
 Hope, notwithstanding the opening of the Suez Canal. These 
 obstacles can only be overcome by steamers and the smaller 
 Arabic sailing vessels. The ancients always started on their 
 voyages in the summer months and returned in winter when 
 the winds are more changeable and favourable. Like other 
 seas the Red Sea is also subject to storms. They are fewest 
 in summer and most common in the beginning of winter, 
 especially in November. Storms from the north often last a 
 fortnight, those from the east and south-east only a few days. 
 In a violent storm the captain does not hesitate too long be- 
 fore causing part of the cargo to be thrown overboard in oider 
 to lighten the vessel, vessels being generally overloaded and 
 sunk almost to the water's edge. Native vessels are very 
 liable to meet with this misfortune, and the owner of the 
 goods, like a good Moslim, after a few lamentations, resigns 
 himself to his fate. Marine insurance is unknown. Amonof 
 the citizens, accordingly, there are many ups and downs of 
 fortune. When the ship is thus lightened, and after the large 
 sail is furled, it pitches about and drifts with the waves; )»ut 
 there is generally time to take refuge in some sherm or other. 
 If, however, the danger of sinking is too great; if a leak can- 
 not even be stopped up with a flour-bag — a tried and ap- 
 proved method; if, as is very often the case, there is no boat 
 on board; and if, lastly, there is no time to build a raft, then 
 the bold skipper, after calculating the draught of his vessel and 
 the height of the breakers, in despair steers straight for the 
 coral reef, which is always flat and with shallow water above, 
 and runs his vessel aground on it. The vessel must now go 
 to pieces; but it is almost high and dry. The men jump 
 from the wreck, and at once, or after swimming towards the 
 land, get a firm footing in the still water on the reef But 
 this does not always happen; some even maintain that it is 
 impossible. However, it is very rare in this sea for Arabic 
 vessels to founder with all their crew, and so far as bare life 
 is concerned there is more safetv in a sambuk, miserable as 
 
.300 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 it appears, than in a fine European steamer, constructed and 
 fitted up in the most substantial manner. 
 
 USE OF THE COMPASS AND STARS. 
 
 The larger vessels generally carry a compass, having stars 
 marked on the card as already mentioned; but the steersman 
 does not make much use of it, and mere coasters that never 
 cross the sea, but always keep to the same side of it, have 
 no compass at all. The mariner, so ignorant generally as not 
 to be able to read, directs his course much better by the stars 
 themselves, which are seldom obscured by clouds; and since 
 lie usually remains near the shore, and sails only by da}^, 
 except when crossing the sea, the mountains form excellent 
 landmarks. Local knowledge is therefore his chief requisite. 
 In this quarter practical astronomy generally speaking plays 
 an important part in seamanship. Besides the north star 
 there are also certain other guiding stars. A vessel's course 
 is to be directed to a point directly south-east, for instance. 
 Well, the Scorpion rises here, and accordingly the mariner 
 keeps this constellation continually in his eye, even after it 
 is high in the heavens. The compass-card also is marked in 
 accordance with this system. It is divided into thirty- two 
 segments by lines drawn through the centre, the chief of 
 which passes through the north and south points, and sepa- 
 rates the right or eastern half of the circle from the left or 
 western. On the former are marked the points of rising, on 
 the latter the points of setting. Another important line 
 passes through the east and west points, marking the rising 
 and setting points of the sun at the equinoxes. Then come 
 the names of the following stars, going from north to south: 
 — 1, Gah or the north star; 2, Farkad or the Little Bear; 3, 
 JS^adsh or the Great Bear; 4, Naha, corresponding to Cassio- 
 peia; 5, Ayuh or Capella; 6, El Udkaa, corresponding to the 
 Lyre; 7, Lahemir or Semdk, Bootes; 8, Tureya, the Pleiades. 
 Then follows the east point and the southern constellations: 
 — 9, Gauza or Ozi, Orion; 10, Mirsam, Sirius; 11, Eldil, 
 An tares in Scorpio; 12, Akrab, Scorpio; 13, Hamaren (?); 
 
mariner's calendar. 301 
 
 14, Suhel, Canopus; 15, Sindibar (?) ; 16, Kiith, the south 
 polar star. The two last are not to be seen outside the tropical 
 zone. The stars of the zodiac that do not correspond with 
 those just mentioned are known only by the learned. 
 
 mariner's calendar. 
 
 In calculations relating to the seasons of the year, and the 
 winds that are so regular in this quarter, the Arab mariners 
 also go by the stars. Their usual calendar, which perhaps 
 has never before been written down, is as follows: — 
 
 1. Fn nadm es-sogheyer or RobeJ, "the little sun," corresponding to the 
 20th or 21st of February. No skipper will set sail on this day, but will 
 wait for the strong winds, the Husumdt, that blow about this time. In 
 the time "between the suns" a calm called Haudl prevails, though it is 
 varied by south-east winds called asieb. At the end of this period, or 
 at the beginning of the following, strong winds blow for some days, 
 receiving their name from the constellation El 'Aua that rises at this 
 time. This constellation is said to be one of the twelve resting-points 
 {mensil) of the moon according to the Mohammedan theory. 
 
 2. En nadm el Kehir, also called "the great sun," the vernal equinox, 
 that is, the 20th or 21st March, is regarded as the beginning of summer. 
 The thirty or forty days following bring alternately calms and strong 
 gusts of wind, chafkat en-nadm; there are also high tides at this time. 
 
 3. BufUn et-tureya, that is, the setting of the Pleiades. Orion and 
 Sirius also set about the same time, that is, towards the end of April. 
 This period lasts for forty or fifty days, and is called also Arhaintet es-sef, 
 or the forty days of summer; it corresponds to the period known as 
 Chamasin in the Nile valley. It is characterized by frequent calms and 
 south-east winds. 
 
 4. Modelli and Mogelli, literally, "the sinking" and "the brightness 
 giving," an expression originating in the Nile valley. At this time the 
 date twigs sink, while the fruits are forming, and the latter soon become 
 brightly coloured. This period begins with the reappearance of the 
 Pleiades (3d June). Moderately strong north winds blow at this time, 
 and sometimes hot west winds (the simoom), especially in the mountains. 
 The latter, however, are rare on the coast, being intercepted by the 
 mountains. 
 
 5. Tuiba, that is, the Hyades, and Kuvd^n, the horns or foremost stars 
 in Orion, now rise, that is to say, about the beginning of July. North 
 winds prevail for twenty days. Then the whole of Orion appears, and 
 there is about a fortnight of calms; this period is called Gezaui, and is 
 much taken advantage of by the pearl-fishers. 
 
 6. Time of the Great Bear or Wain {Nadsh) and of Sirius, correspond- 
 
302 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 ing to our August and the dog-days. North winds generally blow, 
 though there are a few calm days between the rising of the third and 
 fourth stars of the Wain, while Canopus {Suhel) shows himself. This 
 period is divided into several, named according to the stars of the "Wain 
 that rise in succession, el auelteti, that is, the two first, being followed by 
 the periods of Su/iSl, and er-raha, that is, the rise of the fourth star. 
 
 7. The remaining stars of the Great Bear, that is, those of its "tail,'' 
 follow in due order. jEI Chdmis, the fifth star, brings a calm and great 
 heat. The rising of the sixth star, Es-sadis, corresponds with the Nerus 
 day or beginning of the Coptic year (11th September), and brings on a 
 few days of brisk, or often stormy, north winds. The seventh star 
 brings a calm, Haual es-saba, that lasts for about a fortnight. This 
 seventh period corresponds nearly to our September. During the whole 
 two months governed by the Great Bear there are very low ebb-tides; 
 according to the proverb, as the Nile rises the sea falls. 
 
 8. Time of KaMa (?), corresponding to the beginning of October. 
 North winds generally prevail at this time. 
 
 9. Time of Lahimir, that is, Bootes, a portion of October and a portion 
 of November, the time of the setting (?) of the star just mentioned, 
 which is dreaded as a mischievous divinity. At this time sudden and 
 irregular storms, especially from the east, often burst forth after periods 
 of perfect calm. Thunder and rain are also frequent. 
 
 10. El Akrahiyeh. The Scorpion now appears, and after this period 
 of seven days follows the Arbaintet esh-shita, or the forty days of winter, 
 with frequent calms and moist south-east winds. It occupies part of 
 November and part of December, and has a character similar to the 
 Arbainiyeh of summer. 
 
 11. Time of the Nasr and Nusir, that is, of the Lyre and Eagle, in 
 December and January. This is the chief winter season; cold cutting 
 north-west winds {Masrlyeh) now blow, alternating with milder but 
 often stormy north winds. 
 
 12. Es-sdada (?) begins on the 18th January, the day of the "baptis- 
 mal feast" of the Copts, well known as the coldest day of the year. The 
 winds at this period are irregular, the north and cold north-west being 
 the most common. 
 
 Acquaintance with these periods, which the experience of 
 mariners has established, is, perhaps, not without practical 
 value, even although the dates do not always coincide with 
 the phenomena actually observed. Besides the winds the 
 mariner has also to contend with powerful currents that defy 
 calculation; this greatly increases the difficulty of navigating 
 the Red Sea. The currents are called r)iedds, properly the 
 name for "flood," and it is common to speak of a onedd 
 yeradni and a medd shdmi, that is, a current towards tlie 
 
FISHERMEN. 303 
 
 south or Yemen, and one towards the north or Syria. They 
 are always changing. There are also currents from east to 
 west and vice versa, 
 
 TRAFFIC. 
 
 The following table, taken from the books of the sanitary 
 office, shows the amount of shipping that entered the port of 
 Koseir in the year 1863-64, when trade had not sunk so low 
 as it has since done: — 
 
 Vessels under 1000 kele (at ^th of an ardeb), . 180 
 Vessels of 1000 to 4000 Me, . . . . 154 
 
 Vessels of 4000 to 12,000 kele, .... 79 
 
 Total, .... 413 
 
 Of these 74 came from Yemba, 84 from Jeddah, 64 from 
 El Wudj, 7 from Suez, 5 from Moilah. Of small craft 123 
 came from Gueh, 21 from Safaga, 13 from Abu Munkar, 
 5 from Ras Benas, 3 from Suakin, 2 from Gebel Hassan, 
 2 from Gimse, and 1 from each of the" following places — 
 Wadi Gemal, Jafatineh, Tor, Lassat, Umm Muhammed, Tuer, 
 Sheikh Hamed, Gad umm Mohammed, Shurum, Debah. 
 The number of passengers, including pilgrims, was 5954. 
 
 FISHERMEN. 
 
 From the mariner to the fisherman is but a step. In 
 moments of leisure, and in the evening, when he comes close 
 in-shore, the mariner casts his line, and tries to procure in 
 this way an addition to his scanty supper. The fisherman, 
 when he sails out to sea in his boat, must be acquainted with 
 the elements at least of the mariner's craft ; and when he is 
 the owner of a boat of considerable size he makes longer and 
 shorter runs along the coast, carries millet to the Bedouins, 
 and returns with a boat-load of fish and pearl-oysters. The 
 fisherman who fishes in his boat in the bay, and not far from 
 the shore, contents himself with a stone for an anchor; instead 
 of using a sail he rows. If, however, the wind is too enticing, 
 he sometimes erects an oar as a mast, and, pulling off his 
 
304 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 shirfc, extends it as a sail; or he may take a small sail along 
 with him. With this he often ventures far out into the open 
 sea. His longest voyages on the coast are made by preference 
 towards the north, and he works his way northward be- 
 taking advantage of a calm or a south wind, and also of 
 night, when the sea is generally quieter than by day, so that, 
 having reached his destination, he may be able to return 
 quickly by the aid of the north wind. He does not care to 
 sail to the south, because the prevailing north wind renders 
 his return difficult or too uncertain. Accustomed to the 
 duties of a sailor, the fisherman occasionally engages himself 
 in this capacity on board a large vessel, in order to repair his 
 finances, which his calling of fisherman alone does not keep 
 in a very flourishing condition. For as the tax on fish is 
 high he has to give up to the government a third of what 
 he obtains by the sale of what he catches ; in stormy times, 
 too, he has often to remain in enforced idleness for weeks 
 on end; and if he does make a large catch the profit he 
 derives from it is not very great, fish being cheap in the small 
 town, especially during calm weather, when everybody catches 
 fish for himself, and the demand of the inhabitants is soon 
 supplied. The fishermen also maintain that there is not 
 now the same abundance of fish as formerly. Except for the 
 tax referred to, fishing is free to every one who understands 
 the business. Everybody, as a boy, has practised the angler's 
 art once in his lifetime, and even in riper years the well-to-do 
 citizen, who at other times has nothing in his head but buying 
 and selling, or it may be the soldier, will sometimes feel a 
 longing come over him to cast a line once more. Accordingly 
 he takes up his post on the mole, or in a boat in the 
 harbour, or on the edge of the coral reef, and sets to work. 
 On the reef there may often be seen, especially when the 
 lowness of the tide allows ready access, whole rows of fishers 
 of all ages, complexions, and conditions, amateurs and profes- 
 sionals, in the costume of Neptune, that is to say, having a 
 cloth round the loins and one round the head, the latter 
 being the blue shirt of which they have divested their 
 bodies. 
 
FISHERMEN. 
 
 SOI 
 
 When the fishing is interrupted by storms at sea the 
 fisherman spins thread for nets and 
 lines, using a conical spindle which 
 he causes to revolve by rolling it 
 on his knee. 
 
 In spinning stronger cords he 
 uses for spools two longish pieces 
 of wood with a small cross-piece 
 at top. Sitting on the ground he 
 twirls one spool with his right 
 hand while he holds the other 
 with the sole of his right foot, the 
 thread passing through and up 
 between the great and the second 
 toe. Round the knee, which is 
 bent at riorht anojles, the thread 
 is several times wound. With 
 the left hand the fisherman twists 
 the two strands together. The 
 twine for his nets is spun in this 
 way. 
 
 The usual method of fishing practised by the towns-people 
 
 Black Fisherman making Thread 
 with the Spindle. 
 
 JP^ 
 
 Native Fisherman spinning Twine. 
 
 is with hooks and lines, the cast being made by the hand 
 
 20 
 
306 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 alone without the assistance of a rod; the fish-eating Bedouins, 
 however, use the spear. The bait attached to the hooks 
 consists of fishes of various sizes, or morsels of fish, crabs, 
 worms, sea-weed, &c., according to the kind that are being 
 angled for. As many fishes only seize living prey, the fishes 
 that are to serve as bait for them are taken alive in a basket, 
 which hangs over the side of the boat and dips into the water; 
 and if they are dead, an attempt is made by rowing rapidly 
 to deceive the predacious fishes by giving the bait a plausible 
 appearance of life. Some fishes can only be caught by night, 
 but the usual time is early in the morning, when the sea is 
 generally calmer than at other times. The fisherman is afoot 
 even before the morning- star in order first to provide his bait 
 and then to catch the right fish with it. Nets are much less 
 frequently employed, the kinds used being the casting-net, 
 ring-net, and trammel-net, but only in shallow water — in the 
 harbour or on the reef A hoop-net, such as is often used in 
 rivers, is useless in the transparent water of the sea. When 
 the splendidly-coloured, fishes are seen swimming about in 
 multitudes near the slope of the coral-bank, a person is apt 
 to think that he has only to plunge in his net, but he would 
 find that no fish will enter it. Besides this, a hoop-net or a 
 trammel would soon get entangled among the shrub-like and 
 branching corals. When the fishermen discover in the harbour 
 some spot which is much frequented by a slioal of fish they 
 spread a net between their boats, while some proceed to attack 
 the shoal, and try to drive the fishes against the net by 
 throwing stones at them, hissing, and making a noise. The 
 casting-net is generally employed from the shore. Stooping 
 down close to the ground the fisherman lies in wait for a 
 shoal of fish swimming towards the shore, then leaps quickly 
 into the water and throws the net, which is loaded with 
 pieces of lead, towards the fish, so as to make it entirely 
 envelop them. The ring-net is set upon the reef The fishes 
 that swim towards the shore when the tide is rising turn 
 back towards the deep water again when it is falling, and in 
 this way pass into the labyrinth, the entrance of which is 
 turned towards the land; entangling themselves in its mazy 
 
PREPAEATION OF THE FISH. SO? 
 
 folds they soon fall a prey to the fisherman. The beautiful and 
 large parrot-fishes, in particular, are caught in this way, and 
 being cut open, salted, and dried, become a commercial article. 
 Some fishes are also caught by a basket with a funnel-shaped 
 entrance projecting inwards above, and which allows the fish 
 to get in, but prevents them from finding their way out. 
 The basket is baited inside, generally with dough, and then 
 set at some particular spot. 
 
 The larger marine animals, such as dolphins and the 
 remarkable "mermaids" or "sirens," are caught by the har- 
 poon, but people do not care much to kill the dolphins because 
 they appear such amiable animals, and groan in a human sort 
 of way. The sirens are cetaceous animals of moderate size, 
 whose teeth are prized as ivory, and their thick hide as 
 leather for sandals. According to some commentators the 
 Jewish ark of the covenant is said to have been made of the 
 hide of this animal. The preferable way is to take them by 
 a large strong net, and to watch until they pay their nocturnal 
 visits to the clefts and ravines of the coral-reef, where they 
 browse like cattle upon the marine herbage. As soon as one 
 has entered a narrow gully the entrance is blocked by a 
 net. Feeling itself imprisoned, the beast plunges about, but 
 entangles itself more and more in the net, in which it is now 
 drawn towards the reef When brought within reach it is 
 beaten to death, or, according to the more common practice, 
 drowned, for being a mammal it requires to come to the 
 surface every now and then to breathe, and dies if forcibly 
 kept too long under water. But these animals are exceed- 
 ingly shy and wary, and not many people understand how to 
 capture them. 
 
 PREPARATION OF THE FISH. 
 
 A common method of cooking fish is simply to fry them 
 in oil; another method is to roast a whole fish on the open 
 fire without oil or fat, or the fishes may be boiled with onions 
 (called seyadiyeh or fisherman's food) either with or without 
 rice, but they are never simply boiled in water. The flesh 
 
n08 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 of the larger fishes is also chopped up and made into dump- 
 lings {kufta), or with the addition of onions and garlic into 
 fish sausages (semak mahohi). The smaller fishes, as sardines, 
 are packed up in layers with salt and kept until they have 
 become quite tainted; when in this state they are highly 
 prized by many and considered very wholesome and ap- 
 petizing food. Fish that have been dried and salted are 
 either boiled or are eaten raw, when they are as hard as stone. 
 Fishes that have peculiar shapes, such as globe-fish, sharks, 
 rays, and eels, are an abomination to the inhabitant of the 
 town, who can easily get other sorts; the ichthyophagous 
 Bedouin, on the other hand, prefers these as being cheaper 
 and sells the dearer sort. The flesh of the sea-cow, being 
 that of a mammal, rather resembles beef than fish, and is 
 readily eaten by the Moslimin although it has not been 
 slaughtered secundum artem. For, says the doctor of the law, 
 everything that comes out of the sea is fish, and may law- 
 fully be eaten without being slaughtered in the proper way. 
 The flesh of dolphins and turtles is similarly treated. Most 
 fishes collect in shoals at the spawning season, and are then 
 taken in multitudes, especially a number of those of the 
 mackerel and tunny kind. They often come in such vast 
 shoals that a Greek, for instance, who understood better how 
 to catch and cure them might drive a thriving trade. The 
 native of the country knows no other method of preserving 
 them than the rude methods of drying and salting already 
 mentioned. 
 
 OTHER MARINE ANIMALS MADE USE OF. 
 
 The Eed Sea is very rich in invertebrate animals, but of 
 this class of products it is only the pearl-oyster and the black 
 coral that are made any use of, except now and again by a 
 European naturalist, or perhaps a wandering Greek trader. 
 The natives seldom trouble their heads about such things. The 
 only marine animals used as food are the gigantic Tridacna, 
 large molluscs of the genus Stromhus, and others of that of 
 Pteroceras. These are gathered on the reef by Bedouin 
 
OTHER MARINE ANIMALS MADE USE OF. 309 
 
 women, who boil and eat them themselves, or sell them to the 
 merchants of the place, and thus they reach the Nile valley. 
 It is only the bodies of the animals boiled and dried that are 
 met with as articles of commerce, and very indigestible these 
 fleshy lumps are. The eating of any others of the invertebrate 
 animals uncooked, such as oysters, mussels, sea-urchins (the 
 ovaries of), limpets, cuttle-fishes, crabs, and even the lobster 
 elsewhere so highly esteemed, is regarded by the Moham- 
 medans, and generally also by the Christians of the place, as 
 a barbarous practice, and one of which only the unclean 
 Frank is capable, while the flesh of hyenas — slaughtered in 
 accordance with the rules on the Koran — is eaten without 
 remark. However, these opinions or prejudices regarding 
 the value of animal foods are mostly of a local nature, crabs, 
 and even the man-murdering shark, being eaten every day 
 at other places on this sea; just as in the Nile valley field 
 mice are at some places looked upon as dainties (they were 
 so also among the Komans), while at others their flesh is 
 regarded with disgust. 
 
 To pay money for mere rarities is considered ridiculous by 
 the inhabitants, though the pilgrims purchase some pretty 
 shells as souvenirs, namely, porcelain shells {Gy'prcea), oliva 
 shells, cone shells (Conus), and the beautiful Pharaoh's shell 
 {Monodonta Pharaonis). The well-known Triton's-horn 
 shell is blown as a horn by jugglers and merry- andrews, as 
 well as used for holding water, the shells of the CyjJrcea 
 anulus are commonly used as counters in games, the valves 
 of the tiger's tongue shell (Lucina tigerina) as castanets 
 for girls. Large quantities of the Columbella mendicaria are 
 collected on the reef — generally by Bedouin children — and 
 being sold to the merchants of the place are sent in bagfuls to 
 the Soudan, where they are used for necklaces, and have a 
 money value. In this quarter shells are worn as ornaments 
 only by children, especially little Bedouin girls; but they are 
 frequently hung about children, and animals also, as amulets. 
 The opercula of univalves are of some commercial importance, 
 being burned by way of incense when spells and incantations 
 for summoning spirits are employed, the smell being supposed 
 
310 
 
 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 to attract them. The thick chalky operculum of the round- 
 mouthed shell (Turho) is laid upon scorpion stings. Sponges 
 also are articles of trade, but their quality is inferior, and they 
 cannot compete with those of the Mediterranean. They are 
 gathered on the reef, and are then washed and macerated by 
 being buried for some time in the sand. The use of the 
 sponge, however, is unknown in Egypt, the inner bark of the 
 palm being employed instead. The red organ-coral is some- 
 times collected by Greeks; it is said to serve as a colouring 
 material for painting houses. Blocks of the kind of coral 
 that forms reefs are frequently used as building material in 
 the coast- towns, as it is easier to carry them from the sea 
 than to transport stones from the mountains. 
 
 THE PEARL-FISHERY. 
 The pearl-fishery is an industry of some considerable im- 
 
 Vessel used in the Pearl-fishery. 
 
 portance. It is not a government monopoly, being free to 
 every one, but on the goods being landed the customary 
 import duty of 8 per cent, on the value must be paid; a cer- 
 tificate to this eiFect is then given, and must be shown when 
 
THE PEARL-FISHERY. 311 
 
 the goods are taken to Cairo and otlier important marts as 
 well as when shipped at Alexandria for exportation to Europe. 
 The pearl-fishery is almost exclusively carried on by Arabic 
 Bedouins, who have settled at various parts of the coast as 
 well on the African as on the Asiatic side. The chief place 
 where the trade in pearl shells and pearls is carried on is 
 Jeddah ; but Koseir also is not without importance in this 
 respect. 
 
 In the middle of March or beginning of April, when the 
 atmosphere and the sea have become sufficiently warm to 
 allow of diving being carried on, the Bedouins start with 
 their light barks and a number of hu7ns or canoes, and pro- 
 ceed north and south to places which they know to be pro- 
 ductive. The crews mainly consist of black slaves, three or 
 four to each vessel, the owner, and another Bedouin or two, 
 also going along with them in order to superintend and direct 
 The vessel takes shelter in one of the numerous sherms or 
 harbours. The divers seat themselves in the canoes, which, 
 being easily capsized, cannot carry more than two men; but 
 they are skilfully managed with the oar, which terminates in 
 a circular plate. For diving and navigating the canoe, the 
 one thing needful is calm water. Those engaged in the busi- 
 ness accordingly take advantage of the periods marked as 
 calm in the calendar already given. The first and chief 
 fishing season is from the middle of March to the end of May 
 — En-nadm el kebir and DufiXn et-tureya. In the windy 
 periods following the vessels return and disembark their 
 take, which is mostly sold at once. The second fishing season 
 is the calm period Gezdui in the end of July, and that of 
 Nadsh in August; the third is the time of Lahemir in October. 
 The last two are very far behind the first in productiveness. 
 In the winter months the fishery ceases altogether. The 
 best time of the day is the quiet early morning. The diver 
 in his canoe then peers down into the depths, and perhaps 
 assists his vision by dropping a little oil on the surface 
 of the water — hence these vessels always carry a supply 
 of oil with them. The pearl shells {Meleagrina margari- 
 tifera) are found between the corals, to which they are 
 
312 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 attached by their byssus, the smaller sized ones also on 
 the reef, the larger in deep water on the slope of the 
 reef, and in front of it. They have accordingly to be 
 brought to the surface by diving, in which these Bedouins, 
 and more particularly their black slaves, displa}^ an extra- 
 ordinary dexterity, using no apparatus. As soon as the diver 
 spies a shell he leaps into the water, swims downwards head 
 foremost, tears off the shell, and swims up again with his 
 booty in his hand. When the shell is situated at a great 
 depth he often hangs a weight to his feet in order to get down 
 more quickly; this he throws off immediately he is at the 
 bottom, and he either swims up himself or is drawn up by 
 the cord attached to the weight. These divers render the 
 greatest services in recovering packets of money and other 
 articles that have been lost through shipwrecks, they can 
 even employ the crow-bar at the bottom of the sea to enable 
 them to get things out of narrow crevices in the rocks or 
 similar positions, when the spot where they have sunk is in 
 some degree known. 
 
 But to attain this skill they must practise diving from 
 their youth up. The Bedouins are too fond of their comfort 
 to dive themselves, and therefore train their slaves to it, 
 whom they buy when boys and often treat with great cruelty 
 until they learn. The slave, while still new to the work, 
 will be shown a shell at the bottom and told to fetch it. If 
 he does not bring it up he is beaten, bound, and flogged, his 
 life is even threatened, and his scanty food is his only reward 
 when he brings up the most valuable shells. The pearl- 
 fishery in which slaves are thus employed is in a highly 
 flourishing state, but it exhibits one of the worst aspects of 
 slavery, and one which it is time steps were taken to abolish. 
 
 The shells when collected are exposed to the sun, when 
 the animals soon die and the valves open. The fleshy tissue 
 is now detached and carefully examined to see if it contains 
 any pearls. The valves are next separated from each other 
 and heaped up singly on board the vessel; for this reason it 
 is seldom that a fine and complete specimen of a pearl oyster 
 is met with. A good pearl is always a rarity, and it would 
 
THE PEARL-FISHERY. 313 
 
 not pay to fish for pearls alone if mother-of-pearl were not 
 at the same time obtained. The Bedouins know the value 
 of pearls only too well — they can often be bought cheaper in 
 Europe. Here, however, they may sometimes be got at a 
 low price in an underhand way, the slaves having secreted 
 them and sold them behind their masters' backs. The yellow 
 pearls, which are more highly prized in the East than in 
 Europe, are said to belong to a different species of oj^ster 
 — the Meleagrina cocca. The genus Tridacna also produces 
 pearls, but these are ill-coloured and worthless. The very 
 small pearls are pulverized by the natives and used as eye- 
 powder. 
 
 A rational method of proceeding is not to be expected of 
 the Bedouins. Thus they take quite young shells as well as 
 old ones, since all add to the weight and bring money; and 
 though one person were inclined to leave the smaller ones in 
 order to let them grow larger by next year, he might be sure 
 that some one else would take them in the interval. It is no 
 wonder then that they are now obtained in smaller quantities 
 than formerly, while the demand for them has increased. It 
 is extremely rare for the divers to meet with injuries from 
 the attacks of large fish. The hammer-headed shark and the 
 saw-fish are most dreaded. 
 
 When diving cannot be carried on on account of the wind, 
 the Bedouin occupies the time in fishing with the ring-net on 
 the reef, the fish being salted and dried in the manner already 
 alluded to. Such salted fish always form a portion of the 
 cargo of a vessel engaged in the pearl-fishery. Turtle-fishing 
 is also carried on as an accessory occupation, the kind chiefly 
 caught being the Chelonia imbricata, which affords the valu- 
 able tortoise-shell; sirens also are harpooned and eaten. 
 
 The Bedouins sell their pearl-shells to the native merchants 
 and other inhabitants of the towns, who follow them to their 
 settlements, so great is the demand for their goods. Some 
 of them have a regular contract with a merchant, who is 
 called their aonil, and who advances money to them, sup- 
 plies them with rice, corn, &c., looks after their business 
 matters in the town, provides lodging for them when there, 
 
314 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 and so forth, while they hand him over at a low rate all the 
 shells they get. The merchant sends the goods on camels to 
 the Nile, and then down this river to his agent in Cairo, or 
 he brings them there himself, where they are bought up by 
 European wholesale dealers. The Bedouins sell them at so 
 much the hundred or the thousand, but in Cairo they are 
 sold by weight. Three sorts are distinguished in commerce: — 
 the large old moghds, which have the layers of mother-of- 
 pearl very thick, especially near the hinge; those of medium 
 size; and those of small size (adcla); a few very small ones 
 are thrown in with every hundred. Of the larger-sized sort 
 one to three double shells weigh an oha (that is alDOut 24- lbs ); 
 in 1874, when there was a great demand, the olca cost 12 to 
 15 government piastres according to size, that is to say, 
 2s. Qd. to 3s. Many of the shells have worm-holes bored 
 through and through them, and are worthless. In other 
 cases certain boring worms (?) have made a lodgment under 
 the uppermost layer of the shell, penetrating from the border 
 inwards, and producing a slight elevation which is known as 
 the "water." This imperfection is of little consequence, as 
 no perforation is made through the shell. If the mollusc has 
 been dead for a considerable time the shell loses its mother- 
 of-pearl, becomes of a dull chalky appearance, and is worth- 
 less. Among the ordinary pearl shells there is generally 
 found another sort with a bluish border; this belongs to a 
 different species, the already mentioned Meleagrina cocca 
 (Arabic bulbul). It always remains small, and affords a 
 mother-of-pearl that is of little use. 
 
 The black coral {yusr), which belongs to the genus Anti- 
 pathes, is also obtained by diving, but with greater difficulty 
 than the pearl-oyster, as it is usually situated in very deep 
 water, and is so firmly attached that it requires to be sawn 
 off. The fleshy coating of this shrubby animal-plant is 
 stripped off, and the black, ebony-like, horny axis is converted 
 by native turners into rosaries, mouthpieces for pipes, and 
 the like, and is rather high-priced. The red coral is not met 
 with in this sea. 
 
THE COAST BEDOUINS. 315 
 
 THE COAST BEDOUINS. 
 
 The coast Bedouins, of whom mention has repeatedly been 
 made, are genuine Semites, pure Arabs, who, coming from 
 Arabia, have settled at several places on the African coast of 
 the Ked Sea. These settlements, which are likewise ports 
 for their light vessels, are called Gueh and Safageli, one and 
 two days' journey northwards from Koseir. They seem to 
 have existed onty for two or three generations, the oldest 
 inhabitants saying that they crossed over from Arabia with 
 their fathers. There are three tribes— Absi (plural Abs), 
 Asmi (plural Anasim), and Ireni (plural Irenat) — which 
 prefer to live apart though they are not at enmity with each 
 other, and even sometimes intermarry. The cause of their 
 emigration from Arabia seems to have had something sus- 
 picious about it, since the Bedouins of Arabia call them 
 "refuse" (in Arabic achass min el arah); still they continue 
 to keep up a friendly intercourse with the Bedouins of the 
 Arabian coast, who have similar settlements there (Gebel 
 Hasan for instance), and occupy themselves in the same way. 
 Their dialect is a genuine Bedouin dialect of Arabic. To the 
 Ababdeh Bedouins, however, they remain strangers; and 
 intermixture with them through marriage is never thought 
 of, though they sometimes take wives from Koseir. 
 
 These Bedouins are exclusively engaged in seafaring pur- 
 suits on the coast, especially in pearl -fishing. Their habits 
 are no longer nomadic, they do not even keep camels, but 
 hire them when necessarj^ from the Ababdeh. At most they 
 have a few sheep and goats, but these they do not take out 
 to pasture, but keep them and feed them at home. Their 
 country is the sea and the coast, and they are still so far 
 nomads in that they are absent from home a great part of 
 the year. In the winter months, however, they return to 
 their native tents at Gueh or Safageh, where their families 
 have meantime been keeping guard. In winter they occupy 
 themselves in selling their pearl shells, and in felling and 
 conveying in their vessels to the market at Koseir the shora- 
 wood which grows luxuriantly in the neighbourhood of their 
 
316 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 settlements. It is strange that, although they are skilful in 
 catching the larger marine animals, such as sirens, turtles, &;c., 
 they are so poor hands at angling for fish that the Ababdeh 
 in their neighbourhood, and even fishermen from Koseir, 
 catch fish and sell them to them in exchange for corn, while 
 the stranger who hopes to regale himself there with fish is 
 disappointed. In modern times, when so many steamers 
 have been wrecked on the innumerable reefs of the Red Sea, 
 or have had to throw cargo overboard, the wreckage thrown 
 up on the beach has been a rich source of income to these 
 Bedouins. Through this and the fishery for pearl shells, 
 which in recent years have risen immensely in price, these 
 Bedouins have become very wealthy, and the goldsmith at 
 Koseir finds his time more than taken up in manufacturing 
 gold and silver ornaments for their women. 
 
 The chief food of these Bedouins is not millet, as among 
 the Ababdeh, but rice. Of this unleavened cakes are made, 
 either with or without fat; baking, properly so called, they 
 
 Tent of Coast Bedouins. 
 
 do not understand. They also indulge in flesh meat more 
 frequently, and altogether do not live in such a miserable 
 manner as the Ababdeh. Notwithstanding that they have 
 adopted sucli a settled mode of life they live like their fore- 
 fathers exclusively in tents, but these are far better, cleaner, 
 and more habitable than the tents of the Ababdeh. The per- 
 pendicular side- walls and the sloping roof which are formed of 
 a firm woollen stufi*, are supported by posts and stretched by 
 cords. Every tent has several divisions, the divan, in which 
 the men meet, being strictly separated from the harim or 
 chamber of the women. 
 
 The Bedouin of the coast exercises the genuine Arabic 
 
THE COAST BEDOUmS. 317 
 
 hospitality. After the usual lengthy greeting coffee is 
 brought for the guest as a first refreshment; but it would 
 not be good manners to serve up the liquor ready made, the 
 custom being to bring the beans raw, roast them, pound 
 them, pour them into the pot, and boil them before the eyes 
 of the guest, so that he may be convinced that the operation 
 is properly performed. 
 
 After some time a luncheon, consisting, perhaps, of rice or 
 sugared pancake, is served up, and is eaten of course in 
 company with the host, who dips into the dish, or the leather 
 vessel serving as dish, along with his guest. When a visit 
 has lasted for some time, however, the guest, especially if he is 
 somewhat of a strano^er, is no longer hindered from consum- 
 ing his own provisions, and the host, though on his own 
 ground, is very glad to receive some coffee or tobacco from 
 the stranger. 
 
 The guest sleeps in the divan of the tent, in which in cold 
 weather he may have for companions the slaves, sheep, and 
 goats of his host; the. latter sleeps in his harim, which is 
 separated from the rest of the tent by a curtain. 
 
 Safageh has about thirty, Gueh about fifty tents, so .that 
 since each tent stands for a family the population of the 
 former may be estimated at 100 to 150 persons, of the latter 
 at 150 to 200. A considerable number of these consist of 
 slaves, but the Arabs never mingle with the black race. 
 
 These coast Bedouins are skilful navigators, the experience 
 of years making them acquainted with all the reefs on their* 
 portion of the coast, that is to say, between Ras Benas and 
 Gimsheh; they are, therefore, much sought for as pilots. 
 
 Between both their settlements and Koseir there is also a 
 rather active traffic by land. The Bedouins often come by 
 land to Koseir when they have business matters to arrange, 
 and the people of Koseir give them wheat, rice, fat, and 
 molasses in exchange for their pearl shells or the plundered 
 goods of steamers. It is only large consignments that are 
 sent by sea. 
 
 Administratively the coast Bedouins of Gueh are under 
 the jurisdiction of the sheik of the Ababdeh at Koseir, while 
 
318 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 those of Safageh are under the sheik of the Gimsheh-Ababdeh. 
 Quarrels among each other, however, they settle themselves, 
 and endeavour to avoid contact with the government as 
 much as possible. When the latter adopts any regulation 
 that does not please them they "go on strike," that is, they 
 cease to bring in goods, or remove to another part of the 
 coast where they are out of reach. We need hardly mention 
 that they do not practise any art or industry, and no one in 
 both settlements can even read or write. They celebrate 
 their marriages with an amount of ceremony that always 
 attracts guests from Koseir. The women are kept out of 
 sight, at least before strangers. The dress of the men is a 
 white or 3^ellow shirt, their heads being covered with a large 
 brightly-coloured cloth, which is picturesquely fastened with 
 a woollen cord. The women wear mantles of white cotton 
 or dark woollen cloth. 
 
 THE PILGRIMAGE TO MECCAH. 
 
 Ramadan is over, and men of all zones of the pious world 
 of Islam make themselves ready to set out on a pilgrimage 
 to the sacred, but by all reports very sinful city of Meccah, 
 the centre of the world and of all worlds; for it very closely 
 concerns the soul's health so to do. A tiny branch of the 
 great stream that annually pours towards that point also 
 touches our little sea-port town. As already mentioned 
 this tributary was formerly of much greater volume; it 
 now brings only a few hundreds or thousands of pilgrims. 
 The main stream, however, does not seem to have become 
 weaker either through want of faith or through the numerous 
 sanitary obstacles interposed to its disease-pregnant course. 
 The number of pilgrims that every year climb Arafat is said 
 to amount to at least a hundred thousand, and if there are 
 fewer 'than this the number is made up by angels in the 
 guise of pilgrims! But even the pilgrimage, this grand 
 institution of Islam, has not been able to withdraw itself 
 from the influence of the age of steam. The well-to-do 
 pilgrim, instead of traversing huge deserts in the midst of 
 
THE PILGRIMAGE TO MECCAH. 31 9 
 
 dangers and difficulties, and voyaging in a small sailing 
 vessel for a month or more on the treacherous sea, can now 
 have himself conveyed safely and comfortably on the wings 
 of steam, so as to arrive close to his destination in a few 
 days after leaving his native land, and the facilities for his 
 return are equally great. The old routes are followed only 
 by those who remain true to the old traditions, by those, 
 therefore, who go in solemn procession from Cairo and 
 Damascus through the desert, bearing with them the arks or 
 Tnahmel, by those, also, who are afraid of the sea, and by 
 those for whom the land journey is the shortest and most 
 natural. Among people possessed of means the natives of 
 Upper Egypt are now almost the only persons who take the 
 route by Koseir and Jeddah, in addition to the pilgrims 
 who cannot or will not pay the expensive steamer fares, and 
 above all the mendicant pilgrims. At the time when the 
 pilgrims are going or returning Koseir is tilled with foreign 
 figures, who have to encamp here for a time and await an 
 opportunity for proceeding farther. On the outward journey 
 vessels must be hired, passports vised, and clean bills of 
 health obtained, the baggage must pass the custom-house, 
 and a favourable wind has to be waited for. All this may 
 occupy several weeks, and meantime all those arriving from 
 the desert gradually assemble here. When the " great pil- 
 grimage" occurs, that is, when the climbing of Mount Arafat 
 falls on a Friday, which, according to the Mohammedan 
 method of reckoning by lunar years, happens only every 
 eleven years, the number of pilgrims assembling in the town 
 is even yet considerable, since the pilgrimage is then con- 
 sidered specially blessed and the number of pilgrims is much 
 larger than, in other years. The town is now, as formerly, 
 converted into a great pilgrim camp. On the return journey, 
 also, the crowding is often great when a number of vessels 
 arrive at once and there are not enough camels to carry the 
 pilgrims farther. On such occasions there is often a scarcity 
 both of water and provisions. 
 
 At these times there is a wonderful medley of races in the 
 town. Here is the thrifty Fellah for instance; he loves to 
 
320 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 travel along with his whole family — wife, mother, grand- 
 mother, child, and child's child, down to the infant at the 
 breast, all accompany him. With the exception of his 
 house and land, which he leaves to be attended to by his 
 brother, cousin, or neighbours, he takes the whole of his 
 goods with him. His wife cooks his edibles for him, which 
 are the produce of his own fields and are carried with him in 
 
 Fellah Pilgrims at Koseir. 
 
 sacks; for the provisions of the market he never longs: they 
 cost money. He also takes his own camels and fodder along 
 with him if possible, one of them carrying his whole family 
 in a kind of frame fastened across its hump; he builds his 
 grain bags round about him in the manner of a tent, and thus 
 avoids paying for lodgings; he does everything for himself, 
 and thus the expense of the journey is to him by no means 
 extraordinary. The Fellah pilgrim has usually enough for 
 the needs of the journey, and does not beg unless he has 
 lost his money by the way or travels as a dervish. His 
 
THE PILGRIMAGE TO MECCAH. 321 
 
 behaviour is generally decorous. Until late in the night the 
 Fellah women incessantly fill the town with a peculiar 
 monotonous pilgrim song expressive of their longing after 
 the Prophet and the holy places. 
 
 More simple in style is the Takruri or free negro from 
 Darfur, Kordofan, and Takru, from the heart of the Soudan, 
 and the farthest west where Islam prevails. He has seized his 
 pilgrim staff earlier than the other pilgrims, years ago indeed, 
 and wanders towards the rising sun almost naked, without 
 money, without baggage, and on foot. He receives his daily 
 bread from the gracious God, that is, he begs, or he hires 
 himself out for some time as a labourer. Thus he moves 
 slowly onwards farther and farther, always on foot; even the 
 long and arid desert does not frighten him in his strength 
 and health that nothing can impair. Others travel in com- 
 panies accompanied by their wives, who, like the gypsies, 
 carry their children in a sack on their backs. Thus they 
 march into the town, singing their la ilah ill Allah to a 
 Soudan melody, and the women quavering a Soudan air. 
 The first visit they make is usually to the governor, who 
 assigns, them the court of a mosque as the place of their 
 sojourn. They have also had for a long time an agent among 
 the citizens of the town, a "sultan" who attends to them, 
 and in return receives from each a small tribute. These 
 blacks all beg, create a great deal of disturbance, and not 
 unfrequently rise against the authorities. At night they 
 amuse themselves in the fore -court of the mosque with 
 strange dances, which have something of a religious character 
 and correspond to the zikrs of the Arabs, but appear to be a 
 combination of the old heathen dances with these. The black 
 ladies, who by no means seek to conceal their charms, also 
 take part in it and mingle their quavers in the barbaric airs 
 of the Soudan. On such evenings there are always a few 
 who fall into convulsions, for the devil is always inclined to 
 take possession of the bodies of the blacks. The domesticated 
 black slaves of the town also execute wild Soudanic dances 
 from time to time, in which they rage, stamp, bellow, and 
 beat drums, but all in harmlessness. Eich people do not 
 
 21 
 
322 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 come so often from the Soudan, especially from Darfur. 
 Suakin is the chief place where the Soudanese take ship 
 to go across. The Moghrebins, that is, the inhabitants of 
 North-west Africa, who have strayed here from Marocco, 
 Tunis, Tripoli, and the Sahara, are also a crew of sordid 
 beggars. The classically handsome figures of the Bedouins 
 of Algeria are less seldom seen, with their clear skins, their 
 blaziijg eyes, their sharply-cut profile, their white woollen 
 mantles, and their hoods closely wrapped round their heads. 
 Their government (the French) does not allow them to wander 
 without means into the wide world to become a burden upon 
 their fellow-men; on the outward journey it is said they have 
 to leave a portion of their travelling money at the French 
 consulate in Egypt, in order that they may have something 
 to fall back upon on their homeward journey. The barbaric 
 governments of the other Mohammedan provinces of North- 
 west Africa have never thought of such a thing. The pil- 
 grims from these regions set out either without means or 
 take an insuflScient sum with them, which is spent on the 
 way or at an}?- rate at the gold-absorbing holy places, and if 
 not all spent still on their way back they generally live by 
 begging. Besides begging many of the Moghrebins make 
 something by conjuring, writing curative mottoes and talis- 
 mans, prophesying, astrology, and other mystic arts. In 
 these matters the greatest confidence has long been placed in 
 a "Moghrebi;" it is only the learned Fellati of the Soudan, 
 ''whose hand-writing is blessed" that can rival him. These 
 Moghrebins are a quarrelsome, dangerous, and disorderly 
 crew, dreaded by other people, and difficult to keep within 
 bounds. Their devotional exercises or zikrs are still more 
 barbarous than those of the negroes; the pious frenzy to 
 which they excite themselves when practising them is not 
 always harmless; and it sometimes happens that, in open day 
 and in the public street, they seize a lamb, tear it to pieces 
 with their teeth like beasts before it is quite dead, devour 
 the still palpitating heart, drink the warm blood, and chew 
 the tough fibres of the raw meat ! 
 ' Besides these main contingents, the misery of all the rest 
 
THE PILGRIMAGE TO MECCAH. 323 
 
 of the Mohammedan east meets here ; the Turk, still proud 
 in his poverty, the broad- cheeked, thin-lipped Tartar or 
 Daghestani, the Bokharian, the "Suleimani," or East-Iran- 
 ian (?), the well-bred and talkative Syrian, the native of 
 Mesopotamia (Aerak), the Caramanian or Anatolian, even 
 the meagre brown-skinned Mohammedan Hindu, but seldom 
 the heretical Persian. The Persians have, however, a consul at 
 Koseir, who every Friday hoists the Persian flag. It is only 
 the Persians who are regarded as heretics, being Shiites, all 
 the other peoples are orthodox, and the Mussulman, looking 
 at the state of matters among the Christians, is extraordi- 
 narily proud of this uniformity of faith, though certainly it 
 has not always existed in the lands of Islam. 
 
 Many of these pilgrims, whose route should be quite dif- 
 ferent, come this way in order to make a pilgrimage to Jeru- 
 salem, the third sacred place of pilgrimage; this is often done, 
 for instance, by the Christian inhabitants of Abyssinia and 
 the Jews of Yemen. Others, however, are simply carried 
 away by the stream, and come here without being able to say 
 why and wherefore. Gay and well supplied with money at 
 their departure, they land like a wreck cast up on the shore. 
 Their travelling companions, protectors, or relatives have been 
 lost in the crowd and confusion, or have been carried off by 
 death, and those left behind now attach themselves to some 
 band or other, in order that they may be able to continue 
 their journey, even though it be by a round-about way. The 
 fatigues undergone, the over-crowding, the dirt, exposure, 
 hunger, thirst, and sunstroke every year cause a number of 
 diseases, particularly dysentery, typhus, intermittent fever, 
 and virulent ulcers, often also deadly epidemics to which 
 many thousands succumb. It has been estimated that the 
 number of persons who have died on the pilgrimage since the 
 beginning of Mohammedanism is equal to the whole number 
 of Moslimin at present living (200,000,000 ?). The sick and 
 the aged are often cruelly left behind in the burning desert 
 by their own people, and die of hunger and . thirst with no 
 one near them. The great pilgrim caravan moves pitilessly 
 onwards, and whoever remains behind is plundered by the 
 
824 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 Bedouins, who are always lying in wait. But the Moslim 
 who dies on the pilgrimage thinks little of death, being sure 
 that he will immediately enter paradise. 
 
 When the holy places have been visited, the pilgrims who 
 have money return home by steamer or with the pilgrim- 
 caravan; those who are to go by way of Koseir embark in 
 native sailing vessels at one of the Arabian sea-ports, such 
 as Jeddah, Yemba, or Wudj. There the begging pilgrims 
 also gather in crowds, and the respective governments compel 
 every vessel that sets sail to take on board a quantum of this 
 troublesome crew. These pilgrim- vessels are truly a wretched 
 sight, no better than a slave vessel. A comparatively small 
 vessel will carry 80 to 120 persons; men, women, and children, 
 the sick and the healthy, animals and goods, are all packed 
 and jumbled together in a disgusting manner, and the voyage 
 in this confined space often lasts for several weeks. No 
 wonder that death always reaps a rich harvest here. The 
 dead are thrown overboard as soon as possible. The govern- 
 ment provides the begging pilgrims with a supply of food 
 enough to keep them from starvation, namely, biscuit or 
 black bread simply dried, and during the whole of the long 
 voyage they have nothing but this to live on, unless such of 
 the passengers as are better off contribute something from 
 their stores. 
 
 Arrived at the port of Koseir these wretched begging 
 pilgrims, half starved and parched with thirst, pour through 
 the streets and lanes of the town, and importunately demand 
 an alms, knocking at the doors almost in a threatening 
 manner. At the same time they sing a begging formula they 
 have learned, some of them accompanying themselves on a 
 primitive lute or dancing in their wonderful tattered costumes* 
 and holding in their hand their bread-bag or a water-vesseh 
 such as a cocoa-nut shell. They pass the night in the street, 
 on the floor of a mosque, or in some ruinous shop. The sick 
 lie down there too, and receive food and drink from compas- 
 sionate souls. It is only when they are reduced to extremities 
 that they make up their minds to allow themselves to be 
 taken to the hospital, where they are cared for, and receive 
 
THE PILGRIMAGE TO MECCAH. 825 
 
 more suitable food and medicine; many have to be brought 
 there by force. 
 
 But all the begging pilgrims are not really so poor. Many 
 ■of them may be very well-to-do citizens at home, but here 
 they act the begging pilgrim, partly from avarice, partly to 
 pass themselves off for persons of superior holiness. When an 
 inspection is made by the custom-house officers, or when one 
 of these begging pilgrims has died, it is by no means rare for 
 s, roll of fine gold pieces to 1be found in his wallet, or sewed 
 up in his clothes, or even in a bag between his thighs, though 
 he had previouslj^ affirmed his poverty with the most solemn 
 oaths. At the same time he will be clad in the filthiest rags, 
 he will hunger and starve along with his companions for 
 weeks, till reduced to a skeleton, will allow himself to be fed 
 ^nd carried gratis by the government, and will live the whole 
 journey by begging. 
 
 The authorities never think of checking these parasitical 
 on-hangers on the body of pilgrims, they rather encourage 
 them. To be sure there is a clause in the sanitary regulations 
 according to which the authorities can forbid the departure of 
 persons entirely unprovided with means; but, like most ordi- 
 nances that do not refer to money and taxation, it exists only on 
 paper. Such begging pilgrims are not sent back before setting 
 sail, but are imposed upon the first and most convenient 
 vessel in order that the town may be rid of them as soon as 
 possible. On the return journey, if they are put in quarantine, 
 they are supplied with food and water; on the journey through 
 the desert to the Nile valley they are handed over in half- 
 dozens to the camel-drivers so that they may ride by turns, 
 <ind for this the government pays the camel-drivers, giving 
 the pilgrims also a supply of biscuit to take along with them. 
 The sick are cared for in the hospital free. Sometimes, when 
 the public health seems to demand it, and in order to guard 
 a,gainst epidemics, the government sends steamers of its own 
 to fetch these beggars from the Holy Land, and to convey 
 them through the Suez Canal to their own countries. 
 
 A strange class of men are every year to be met with 
 among the crowd of pilgrims of all nations; these are the 
 
326 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 travelling dervishes. Travelling, and making pilgrimages in 
 particular, is their profession. They are always alone, with- 
 out family and without companions. Many appear regularly 
 every year at the time of the pilgrimage, and continue to do 
 so all their lives. A few of them are learned men, and are 
 often taken under protection and kept for weeks and months 
 by wealthy and God-fearing individuals with a thirst for 
 knowledge, till they go to some other place to receive similar 
 treatment. Others are a kind of mendicant monks, who- 
 dress themselves in bizarre costumes, for example, a mantle 
 consisting of an immense number of many coloured patches- 
 sewed together, with a towering head-covering or a cap some- 
 thing like a Jacobin's cap. A great many let the hair of their 
 head grow long in order to distinguish them from other 
 Moslimin, and wear a patriarchal beard; many go almost 
 naked. They also exhibit some strange customs and peculi- 
 arities. For instance, one of them will run up and down the 
 streets without uttering a word and without any object; 
 another carries a club and beats his breast with it; a third from 
 time to time shouts out the confession of faith, or the call to- 
 prayer, or a chapter of the Koran; a fourth, without any reason, 
 from time to time works himself into an ecstasy (as in the zikrs) 
 by repeating the name of Allah a thousand times, while he 
 foams at the mouth and his eyes water; a fifth leads a crowd 
 of children through the streets, with a flag in his hand, shout- 
 ing out something or other which the children repeat in 
 chorus. Many act the buffoon, and play all sorts of foolish 
 pranks, but always in their sacred dresses. They do not take 
 money, but only food and drink, in which they are very 
 moderate; some of them gnaw bones they find on the street, 
 and invite the passers-by to share with them. These persons 
 venture to take great liberties, since they have a reputation 
 for sanctity, and are regarded as valis. They seat themselves- 
 boldly in the place of honour in the divan of the rich, and 
 high and low eagerly seek their blessing. Since they enjoy the 
 special grace of God, God has denied them in this world the 
 ordinary human reason, they are therefore without sin, and 
 will be favoured in the next world; moreover, they can work 
 
p ;. 
 *^^ > > 
 
THE PILGKIMAGE TO MECCAH. 327 
 
 miracles even in this world or after their death. Generally 
 speaking they do no one any harm, though their jokes are 
 sometimes disagreeable enough. These men would afford an 
 interesting study for a doctor of the insane. Their condition 
 is that of a peculiar, harmless lunacy, or partial simplicity, 
 perhaps caused by long-continued ecstacies. Some also are 
 possibly mere pretenders. 
 
 The pilgrim season, however, does not bring merely sorrow 
 and wretchedness; there is no want of amusements and sights 
 worth seeing. It is very interesting to watch the crowd of 
 people collected from all the zones of the earth, to note their 
 behaviour and their dresses, to listen to their narratives and 
 adventures, to go through the inns and the areas now con- 
 verted into encampments, in doing which we may have an 
 opportunity of looking more deeply into the large oriental 
 eyes of many a foreign child of the fair sex; for when on the 
 journey they are not so strict in veiling themselves. 
 
 We examine also the foreign utensils and goods which 
 come to light under the inspection of the customs- officers, or 
 which the pilgrim sells for a trifle through the broker — if he 
 does not act as auctioneer himself — in order that he may be 
 enabled to continue his journey. Here we may see weapons, 
 books, perfumed woods, pieces of black coral, and rosaries 
 made of it or of aloes wood, leathern and metal vessels filled 
 with water from the famous Zemzem well, sheets of pictures 
 giving views of the holy places, packets of sacred earth from 
 Meccah or Medinah, dates from the tomb of the Prophet, 
 toothpicks and other relics. Lastly, there meet here jugglers, 
 athletes, musicians, male and female dancers, snake-charmers, 
 conjurors, astrologers, story-tellers, poets, learned men and 
 soothsayers, retail-dealers, and all kinds of handicraftsmen 
 of all sorts and all countries. By working at their trades 
 and occupations these earn at least enough to pay the ex- 
 penses of the journey, while they at the same time obtain 
 the blessing that belongs to those who have made the 
 pilgrimage. 
 
328 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 QUARANTINE. 
 
 Closely connected with the pilgrimage is the institution 
 called quarantine. In the Egyptian ports of the Red Sea 
 there were quarantine officers long ago, every vessel had to 
 subject itself to a sanitary inspection, and in the time of epi- 
 demics, such as cholera, typhas, or small-pox, universal quar- 
 antine was imposed. But sanitary arrangements on the 
 whole were incomplete, on the opposite coast people would 
 hear nothing of sanitation, and certificates were never exhi- 
 bited. Then came the cholera year 1865. Conveyed from 
 India its source, and brought into fermentation by the huge 
 multitude of people that were then engaged in the ''great 
 pilgrimage," the disease spread quickly over the whole world 
 in spite of quarantine. It was brought to Suez by returning 
 pilgrims, and thence travelled northwards, especially to the 
 countries on the Mediterranean, as well as southwards by 
 way of the Nile valley as far as the Soudan. After this evil 
 year an international sanitary congress was held, as is well 
 known, at Constantinople, for the purpose of consulting as 
 to what measures should be adopted for guarding against 
 and preventing the further progress of the devastating disease. 
 An important resolution of this conference to compel the 
 pilgrims to travel by land should have been put in force the 
 following year, since the cholera again broke out among the 
 pilgrims, although with less virulence. But the quarantine 
 establishments were then defective in their organization, and 
 that led to great confusion. The Egyptian sanitary authori- 
 ties on the African coasts were strictly commanded to compel 
 every pilgrim vessel to sheer off and withdraw to Tor on the 
 Sinaitic peninsula, in order to undergo a quarantine there. 
 To support this command a division of Turkish Bashi Bazouks 
 was sent to Koseir. Whether the order to sail to Tor did 
 not reach the vessels leaving the Turco-Arabic sea-ports, 
 where a portion of them had already undergone a four weeks' 
 quarantine, or whether they intentionally evaded it, we cannot 
 say, but at all events one day eight pilgrim vessels appeared 
 at once in the harbour of Koseir, crammed with more than 
 
QUARANTINE. 329 
 
 800 moneyless and starving human beings, a great many of 
 them sick. With the passengers in this shocking state sailing 
 immediately to Tor was out of the question, a brief space 
 must at least be granted in order to provide them with a 
 supply of provisions necessary for a voyage which, in the face 
 of the prevailing north winds, might occupy three or more 
 weeks. The total prohibition against landing was also broken 
 through. But the pilgrims would have nothing to do with 
 Tor, they would remain here, however long they should be 
 kept in quarantine. Wringing their hands some of them 
 begged for compassion, the others threatened. The provisions 
 which were being put on board in view of the voyage ordered 
 were partly thrown into the sea. When at last the captains 
 were earnestly entreated to set sail, a general pilgrim-revolu- 
 tion arose; the pilgrims bound the sailors who were willing 
 to obey, beat the captains, cut the ropes, took possession of 
 the boats with the intention of landing, or jumped into 
 the water to swim ashore. But the beach was already 
 occupied by soldiers and watchmen, and the pilgrims who 
 attempted to land were driven back. The authorities, how- 
 ever, saw the impossibility of executing the command of the 
 government. To use firearms against pious pilgrims seemed 
 a doubtful proceeding. And who could hinder such desperate 
 men from landing at one of the uninhabited sherms, and 
 returning by land or penetrating through the mountains into 
 the Nile valley. 
 
 It was accordingly resolved to send a special messenger by 
 dromedary to the nearest provincial town, and thence to 
 telegraph the state of matters to the government in Cairo 
 and Alexandria. This resolution gave hope and comfort to 
 the pilgrims, who now remained quietly waiting. But the 
 capital is a long way off in spite of the telegraph. The pilgrims 
 had in the meantime to get their food and drink, and the 
 latter especially was difficult to provide, while the supply 
 of biscuits was soon exhausted, particularly as the number of 
 I)ilgrims soon rose to 1300 by fresh arrivals of vessels every 
 day. During the whole of this time the town was in arms, 
 tliere was a constant dread lest the pilgrims should quit their 
 
330 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 large fleet and force their way into the town, soldiers and 
 workmen kept guard night and day on the beach, keeping 
 watch-fires burning and loudly challenging each other to 
 give the watchword. At last — after thirteen weary days — 
 the message was received that the pilgrims were to be allowed 
 to land, but in quarantine, the proper quarantine to be held 
 at Bir Amber, on the borders of the Nile valley, whither 
 they were to be brought in travelling quarantine under an 
 escort of soldiers. In the circumstances this intelligence 
 naturally caused great joy. The pilgrims were now at least 
 allowed to leave their prisons, the vessels, for the dry land. 
 A week was still required, however, before all the pilgrims 
 could be conveyed away by camels, and the difficulty of pro- 
 viding food, and particularly drink, caused fresh revolutionary 
 scenes every day. Besides this, more than seventy sick 
 persons — the most of them suflfering from dysentery — lay 
 scattered around polluting the air, while fresh cases of illness 
 were being caused by the piercing rays of the sun above and 
 the burning sand beneath, for the quarantine place is only 
 fenced round with ropes and poles, straw huts having been 
 provided only for the officials and the sick, and that not 
 without difficulty. 
 
 Gradually sanitary arrangements grew to be better organ- 
 ized. Instead of the distant Tor the Egyptian sea-port El 
 Wudj, situated on the Arabian coast, was chosen as being in 
 every respect the most suitable quarantine place for all pil- 
 grims, both those returning with the great caravan by land, 
 and those going by sailing-vessels or steamers to Suez and 
 Koseir. Every year during the time of the return of the 
 pilgrims, quarantine is now held there for about two months 
 after the Great Beiram, a special quarantine commission being 
 sent there by the Egyptian government. If cholera is not 
 prevalent it lasts only five days as a quarantine of observa- 
 tion; should a suspicious case of sickness occur it is prolonged. 
 No vessel that leaves an Arabic harbour, not even the Euro- 
 pean steamers, is admitted at this time into the Egj^ptian 
 harbours of Suez and Koseir if they have not passed through 
 quarantine at El Wudj. At other times also, if a suspicious 
 
QUAEANTINE. 331 
 
 illness is notified from Arabia, quarantine is established there; 
 thus, in 1874, when cases of the plague were said to have 
 occurred in the country of Asir, and near Meccah, not at the 
 pilgrim season, although most people denied the correctness 
 of the report, vessels had for months to undergo quarantine 
 for three weeks. According to circumstances vessels may be 
 ordered for security to pass through a short subsequent quar- 
 antine in the Egyptian ports, or they may be discharged at 
 once after a regular inspection by a medical man. At all the 
 principal ports on the Red Sea there are now permanent 
 sanitary officers who grant regular certificates, and the pilgrim 
 caravans are accompanied by government doctors (of course 
 Mohammedans), who have to send in reports on the general 
 state of health of those under their care to the supreme sani- 
 tary authorities, and to take measures in serious cases. Since 
 the terrible time experienced in 1865 Meccah itself has had 
 a certain sanitary organization; numerous channels, for 
 instance, are said to have been dug in order to carry away 
 the blood and other remains of the sacrificed animals, the 
 heaps of such matters having formerly polluted the air. 
 
 Will now the cholera and other epidemics be prevented in 
 future from spreading by these important regulations? That 
 an epidemic may be confined by quarantine regulations within 
 a cordon or the walls of a lazaretto, that the methods of pro- 
 cedure prescribed, such as fumigating goods and papers with 
 aromatic substances, or keeping at the distance of a gunshot 
 from infected persons, are of great value there is very good 
 reason to believe, especially in the case of cholera, which, by 
 means of excrementitious matters, is capable of acting at some 
 distance. But to carry out the system a number of quarantine 
 officials and doctors are required, all of whom are exposed to 
 the infection, which is also liable to be conveyed by provision 
 sellers or by gossipping friends, not to mention the numerous 
 possibilities of contagion through the carelessness or corrup- 
 tion of those appointed to see the regulations strictly carried 
 out, and the repugnance of the fatalistic Arabs, physicians 
 included, against all regulations of the kind. The only 
 perfect safeguard against contagion would therefore be to 
 
332 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 prevent all communication whatever between a vessel and 
 the shore, but of course this is impossible. On land it has 
 been found decidedly advantageous to have several quaran- 
 tine stations, all of which must be passed through, one after 
 the other. The utility of this was proved some years ago 
 when the cholera, in a virulent form, was spreading from 
 the Soudan towards Upper Egypt; it was stopped at a third 
 quarantine cordon on the southern frontier of Upper Egypt 
 and did not invade the country itself The detection of the 
 disease by the medical men is also a matter of no small 
 difficulty. It is not easy to perceive that a person is suffer- 
 ing from choleraic diarrhoea in its early stage, or to detect 
 the beginnings of any disease the instant a vessel arrives 
 and is inspected, particularly as the new-comers do every- 
 thing in their power to avoid being recognized as ill and 
 forced to go into quarantine. At the decisive moment a 
 sick person will put on a cheerful air however ill he feels, he 
 will even cut capers, and will chew a morsel put into his 
 mouth as if he had a ravenous appetite; he considers it, in 
 short, a patriotic duty to deceive the doctor and save his 
 companions from quarantine. There is no use in putting 
 questions, for the answers are certain to be false. To feel 
 pulse and skin is not allowed, and the general appearance 
 and tongue are the sole remaining criteria. A certain 
 diagnosis, therefore, is only possible in cases of admitted 
 illness. 
 
 Still the value of quarantine stations is not to be denied ; 
 they impede the movements and render slower the progress 
 of those who carry the disease, which gradually becomes less 
 and less virulent, while by the isolation of those attacked, 
 which can only be brought about by a quarantine, so many 
 sources of disease are kept apart from the general body. But 
 quarantine inflicts severe wounds upon trade and navigation; 
 even in the case of the small native vessels the fees that fall 
 to be paid through a single quarantine often amount to as 
 much as 100 francs, a large percentage of the total returns 
 of a voyage. Of course quarantine causes the government 
 also a great deal of expense, which is far from being covered 
 
QUARANTINE. • 833 
 
 by the fees. But why should the inhabitants of the mari- 
 time districts, whom it is sought to protect, be exempted, 
 and the expenses fall upon the travellers and mariners already 
 sufficiently annoyed by quarantine? If the expenses of quar- 
 antine were to be paid by a general tax on the country, the 
 amount falling upon each individual would be very small. 
 By the abolition of the quarantine fees many an incentive 
 to corruption would be removed and the regulations more 
 strictly observed, for the Egyptian does not dread loss of 
 time but expense. But as things are, quarantine is univer- 
 sally regarded as an institution for taxation and extortion, 
 and no one believes that it is of any real value in preventing 
 the spread of epidemics. 
 
CHAPTER YI. 
 
 THE NATUKAL TKEASUEES OF THE 
 EED SEA. 
 
 The arm of sea which springs from the great Indian Ocean 
 and bears the name of Red Sea or Arabian Gulf is a genuine 
 tropical sea, although it stretches northwards far beyond the 
 tropic. Though it is separated from the Mediterranean Sea 
 only by the isthmus of Suez, in the character of its animal 
 life it is sharply distinguished from the former sea, and only 
 a few cosmopolitan forms are common to both, a proof that 
 in recent epochs at least there has been no communication 
 between the two. Recently this neck of land has been cut 
 through by the strong hand of man and the waters of the 
 north have been wedded to those of the south. Perhaps a 
 certain emigration and immigration of the animals of both 
 seas may take place in time, but from their union up to the 
 present time nothing of consequence on this subject has been 
 made known. The conditions of life in both seas are still 
 very different, and the canal lying between offers many hin- 
 drances. 
 
 We get up betimes in the morning in order to observe, in 
 all its freshness, the active life that prevails in the warm 
 and briny deep. And this is a very easy matter for us; we 
 do not need to wade in mud and sand up to the middle, nor 
 do we require Moses' rod to lay the sea dry; we simply wait 
 until the moon passes over our heads or that of our antipodes. 
 At such times the sea sinks a yard or sometimes two, and 
 we can reach almost dryshod the rocky surface of the fring- 
 ing or coast reef, which here, as a rule, is not separated 
 from the shore by a lagoon. Over this we may venture a 
 long way, as far as the edge, indeed, where the breakers are 
 raging, without fear of being swallowed up like Pharaoh and 
 his host by the billows of the returning flood. 
 
ON THE SHORE. 335 
 
 The naturalist will do best to choose the summer months, 
 especially those of the late summer. " When the Nile rises 
 the sea falls," says the inhabitant of these parts. During 
 this time, that is to say, especially before and at the autumnal 
 equinox, the surface of the sea is at its lowest level at ebb 
 tide. During the winter, on the other hand, from October 
 to the vernal equinox, the sea never sinks far enough (except 
 about the New-year) to expose the whole surface of the reef, 
 though this is frequently the case in summer. This lowness 
 of level, which is also noticeable at high water, may be a 
 consequence of certain currents, or of the north winds that 
 almost exclusively prevail at this time, and drive the waves 
 southwards; it may partly also be due to evaporation, the 
 sea being closely shut iu by burning coasts, and having a dry 
 and heated atmosphere above it. 
 
 ON THE SHORE. 
 
 The sea is still standing like a shallow lake above the 
 surface of the reef, which, with a breadth of about a hundred 
 paces, extends far along the shore; the powerless waves, 
 their strength being broken on the slope of the reef, beat 
 against the fearfully desolate sandy or rocky shore. The natur- 
 alist, however, finds it by no means so desolate; numerous 
 bones of vertebrate animals, bleached shells, and branches of 
 coral lie about, and these he picks up as he chips them out of 
 the rocks into which the might of the eternal elements has 
 baked them. He has no intention of adding these weather- 
 worn and broken specimens to his collection, he wishes to 
 compare them with others which he will obtain fresh and 
 uninjured from the sea. Perhaps some of the forms may no 
 longer exist as living forms, and in this case they must 
 remain in the collection as evidence of the former existence 
 of an extinct species. The shore on which we are wandering 
 is under the influence of puzzling forces; it is rising while 
 the sea is withdrawing, as already mentioned in Chap. IV. 
 p. 234. The geologist calls this phenomenon "the secular 
 elevation of the land.'^ 
 
336 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 But also liviDg children of the sea display their activity on 
 the aiid coast. We never tire of watching the comic behaviour 
 of the sand or mouse-crabs (Ocypoda), which run about in 
 immense numbers on the sandy beach, especially on summer 
 evenings. Beyond tide-mark, and often a considerable dis- 
 tance from the sea, but never so far as that the sand below is 
 not moist, they dig burrows of the size of their bodies. They 
 do not take long journeys by land like the West Indian land 
 crabs {Gecarcinus). The holes penetrate for 3 or 4 feet either 
 obliquely or in any direction, and are inhabited by a single 
 crab, or by a pair of the same or of different sexes. The sand 
 that falls down as the animal is dirano^ is carried out between 
 one of the nippers and an anterior foot, in which operation 
 the hairbrush existing on the second pair of feet may be of 
 service, the other side is left free and enables the animal to 
 crawl out of the hole. On reaching the entrance the crab 
 flings the sand to some little distance from the hole with a 
 sudden jerk, and having performed its toilet by cleaning its 
 jaws with its arms, as with a tooth-brush, slips back again 
 into its dwelling. After an interval it reappears and acts in 
 the same manner. The sand cast out gradually rises into a 
 pyramid a span high, which the active crab climbs with each 
 new parcel of sand, and dexterously forms the top into a fine 
 point. A field containing a thousand of such pyramids gives 
 ample testimony to this activity. Every act is carefully 
 weighed and considered beforehand. When it comes out of 
 its hole it remains standing, the feet on one side still within 
 the threshold of its domicile; it then elevates its wary club- 
 shaped eyes, assures itself of the state of matters in the 
 vicinity, and if convinced of the absence of every dangei", 
 continues its work. The observer must, therefore, remain 
 quite still at a little distance. It is not very easy to get hold 
 of this shy and light-footed crab. It perceives us long before 
 we can get near it, and scuttles off with inconceivable rapidity, 
 always keeping one side foremost, towards its well-known 
 dwelling; into this, however, it does not at once disappear, 
 but remains on the threshold to take a survey, and having 
 maliciously allowed the enemy to come quite close to it dives 
 
ON THE SHOEE. 387 
 
 in at the last moment with the quickness of lightning. If 
 we come upon it and intercept it when on one of its excur- 
 sions, and at a distance from its hole, it eludes us by a 
 hundred turns and crafty movements, running on occasion 
 almost as well forward as sideways, and always making for 
 the sea, by the waves of which it allows itself to be carried 
 away, and in an instant has disappeared under the sandy 
 bottom or in some hole in the rocks. If we prevent this by 
 driving it away from the sea, it presses itself in despair in 
 among the sand, throws a covering of sand over itself, and 
 our eyes can often no longer distinguish the dull yellowish- 
 gray carapace of the crab from the similarly coloured sand. 
 We may find it again, however, and think there is no escape 
 for it this time; but if we incautiously seize it we shall in 
 all probability have to fling it from us, with a lively feeling 
 of the effects of its sharp and powerful nippers on our fingers, 
 so that after all we may ourselves give it its liberty. The sim- 
 plest way is to throw a cloth over it, and this we do when, after 
 some hard work, we dig it out of its deep hole in the sand. 
 
 The rock crabs {Grapsus), swarms of which enliven the 
 shady rocks, walls, and stones near and in the sea, are no less 
 clever. They are also very swift runners, but their forte is 
 climbing and hiding. It is a trifle to them to clamber up 
 and down perpendicular rocky walls 50 feet high, provided 
 these have inequalities enough in which to insert their 
 pointed claws and spiny feet. They also make game of the 
 crab hunter, allowing him to lay his hand over them, but 
 when he attempts to grasp them, suddenly darting off* to hide 
 in the nearest crevice. When they are caught it is somewhat 
 difficult to tear them away from their position, and to avoid 
 letting the hand be injured by their sharp claws. There is 
 less reason to fear a pinch from their nippers, which are blunt 
 and spoonshaped. It is advisable to use a cloth in laying 
 hold of them too. 
 
 A hermit-crab, by name Coenobita rugosus, is an important 
 inhabitant of the coast. It might lay claim to be considered 
 sacred, since, like the vulture, it clears the coast of carrion; 
 but it is also an audacious thief, and with the utmost effront- 
 
388 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 ery takes advantage of every unguarded moment in order 
 to attack the stores of the traveller. Its number is legion. 
 We hear behind a stone or rock a mysterious, rustling, clat- 
 tering sound. Stepping up to the spot we perceive a fish or 
 some other unfortunate creature of the deep, half reduced to 
 a skeleton, and closely covered with a great number of uni- 
 valve shells of all shapes and sizes, but chiefly the round- 
 mouthed shell (Turbo radiatus). Everything is as still as a 
 mouse, and if we lift up or move the putrefying carcass all 
 the shells fall off. Some of them are fresh and clean, but the 
 majority are worn, damaged, and discoloured; in many of 
 them we notice a little round hole. Picking one up we see 
 that the mouth is tightly closed by the operculum, and think- 
 ing that it will suit our collection we keep it in our hand 
 and continue our investigation. In a little we feel a scratch- 
 ing and pinching in our hand; we open it, but see nothing 
 except the shell with its aperture tightly closed. But we 
 now notice some peculiarities about the operculum, and soon 
 find that it is no operculum at all, but the claws and anterior 
 parts of a crustacean — a pale-coloured crab with long feelers, 
 bulbous eyes, and well- sized nippers, but with only two loco- 
 motive feet visible on either side. We endeavour to rescue 
 it from its prison, but it draws itself back and remains 
 motionless again in its chamber. The last joints of its feet 
 and its nippers close together so as to form a smooth surface 
 shutting up the aperture. We try to pull the animal out, 
 but it will let its head and feet remain in our fingers rather 
 than allow us to get possession of the soft and sheUess 
 hinder-part of its body, which is only brought to light by 
 smashing the shell. The animal can be made to crawl entirely 
 out by putting it in a liquid which is disagreeable to it, 
 such as putrid sea-water, or by the somewhat cruel joke of 
 heating the shell with a live coal or a cigar. As a rule it 
 lives in its shell like Diogenes in his tub (it is sometimes 
 called the Diogenes crab), runs about with it, not actively to 
 be sure, but unweariedly, and even climbs rocks, walls, and 
 trees. It often goes a long distance from the coast, and like 
 the mouse-crab, digs for itself holes in the ground. These 
 
ON THE SHORE. 339 
 
 holes are shallow, being only about half a foot deep, and are 
 not left open like those of the crab just mentioned. The 
 fishermen, who use it for bait, discover its dwelling by a cir- 
 cular or horse-shoe shaped linear depression round a little 
 heap of loose sand or round a flat sandy surface. In selecting 
 a shell as an abode in which it can protect its soft and easily 
 injured tail, the crab seems to prefer those of which the 
 original inhabitants have perished by some external cause, 
 such as the piercing of the shell by other animals — a faculty 
 possessed by many molluscs and annelids. This explains 
 why so many of the dwellings inhabited by the hermit-crabs 
 have holes in them. 
 
 Another hermit-crab is the black and yellow striped Cli- 
 hanarius signatus, which also occurs in immense numbers. 
 It also leaves the water to feed on putrefying substances with 
 the previous species; but as it requires more moisture it does 
 not go beyond the shore, nor does it dig holes for itself. It 
 cannot place its feet so as to closely shut the aperture of its 
 shell. It is not so large as the other species. Very young 
 specimens inhabit the tiniest shells, especially the needle shells 
 (Cerithium), and it does not despise worm tubes and other 
 habitable articles. This species inhabits the reef up to the 
 immediate vicinity of the surf, and is here one of the most 
 abundant animals; it conceals itself among stones, and at 
 spots which are first laid bare at ebb-tide, but still afford 
 shade and moisture. 
 
 If we stir up the sand on the beach within flood-mark we 
 shall be sure to find at the depth of a few inches some species 
 of mollusc, such as the Cytherea arahica, with its many mark- 
 ings, or the Mesodesma glahratum, called by the natives 
 *' sea-egg." Under stones creeps a little flat crab, the thorax 
 of which is marked with all shades from milk white to raven 
 black. Once discovered, it does not know how to rescue itself 
 like its relative and associate the grapsus and the little Boto 
 sulcatus. In these localities, which, though wet, have yet a 
 suflSciency of air, land-slaters and millepeds live a kind of 
 amphibious life along with water-slaters, and molluscs, and 
 salt-water worms. Flat-worms (Planaria) glide rapidly over 
 
340 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 the rock, and when cut in pieces each begins a separate life 
 as lively as before. There lie a transparent white holothuria 
 (Synapta), and an inextricable tangle of thread- worms {Bor- 
 Ictsia, Meckelia, Nemertes). Where the soil of the beach is 
 muddy, long, many- jointed rose-red sea-scolopendras wriggle; 
 these are sought by the fisherman as bait for his hooks. 
 Thousands of sea-fleas {Orchestia) hop out when we disturb 
 the sea- weed on the beach or turn up the damp sand ; they 
 are as active as the little guests that derive their food from 
 our bodies, and to bring a dozen of them together is a work 
 of much patience and circumspection. 
 
 Until the reef is entirely uncovered with w^ater we may 
 contemplate the winged inhabitants of the air and water, 
 who find their food (perhaps also their drink) in the briny 
 deep. Only a few of them are permanent residents; in order 
 to get a drink of fresh water they must fly a long distance 
 into the mountains. Most of them are birds of passage, or 
 perform at least local migrations. The flocks increase in 
 spring and autumn, when the birds seek a more congenial 
 climate. Then appear all kinds of plovers, snipes, herons, and 
 water-hens, also ducks, cormorants, gannets, gulls, and sea- 
 swallows. They are generally the same species as are found 
 in the north in summer; but some are peculiar to these 
 regions, or are more southerly forms, such as the courser 
 (half a desert, half a shore bird), the giant heron, and the 
 gulls and sea-swallows belonging to the Red Sea. The migra- 
 tions last the whole winter through. In summer, on the 
 other hand, bird-life in this region of the sea almost entirely 
 ceases, the only birds remaining being the fishing eagle and 
 a few plovers and sandpipers; even gulls, sea-swallows, and 
 herons disappear. The vulture is a permanent shore-bird. 
 The hysena and the dog are nocturnal visitors to the shore 
 and the reef. 
 
 PREPARING FOR A VISIT TO THE REEF. 
 
 The waters have begun to withdraw, the outermost shore- 
 zone of the reef becomes passable, and we prepare to set foot 
 
THE EEEF. 341 
 
 on it. We could get on very well with boots, by choosing the 
 higher and drier spots, and perhaps under favourable condi- 
 tions might reach the edge of the reef next the sea without 
 wetting more than our soles; but the sea- water, when assisted 
 by the jagged surface of the rock, has a very destructive effect 
 upon leather. Even water-boots of Russian leather are not 
 to be recommended, as they soon burst and shrink ; nor are 
 the best patent soles of any service. Besides, who could 
 repair this foreign foot-covering here? It is best then to 
 follow the custom of the country, and put on sandals of a 
 kind of leather prepared for holding water, and called zem- 
 zemiyeh. We also wind a piece of cloth turbanwise round 
 the tasselled cap to prevent the rays of the sun from causing 
 sun-stroke. In other respects we have no need to fear the 
 heat; the sea- wind fans us and keeps us cool, becoming 
 stronger the higher the sun rises; in this warm zone, indeed, 
 the mid-day hours in summer cannot be spent more coolly 
 and agreeably anywhere than on the reef and in the sea. 
 We have an attendant with us carrying a basket divided 
 into compartments, and containing tin cases of different sizes, 
 a good steel hammer, and a steel chisel, also perhaps some 
 hoop and other nets and a pair of pincers. 
 
 THE EEEF. 
 
 Thus equipped we wander over the jagged rocky surface 
 of the shore zone. A glance on the dark- coloured rock, which 
 here is generally bare, teaches us that it is no ordinary rock, 
 but a conglomerate formed of lime, shells, worm-tubes, and 
 especially coral blocks, like the rocks that we saw from the 
 land projecting towards the shore. The reef, a so-called 
 coast-reef, commences immediately at the shore-line and ex- 
 tends seawards for 200 to 400 paces, presenting on the whole 
 a flat surface, and running along the shore for miles without 
 a break except opposite the entrance of some valley, which 
 formerly brought down fresh water and sometimes does so 
 still. When more closely examined, however, some differ- 
 ences of level present themselves. A slight elevation of the 
 
842 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 shore zone is generally noticeable, the consequence of which is 
 that it is the portion first left dry when the tide is going out 
 and last covered when the tide comes in. The main surface, 
 which at ebb-tide is laid bare at once, besides presenting 
 various projections and irregularities, embraces a number of 
 larger and smaller depressions, the bottom of which becomes 
 filled with sand, and in these hollows the w^ater is retained 
 even at ebb-tide, forming pools that receive the name of 
 kalaua from the Arabs. Only in the shallowest depressions 
 does the water evaporate. At ebb-tide, then, the reef presents 
 the appearance of a net- work with lagunes as meshes, or when 
 they communicate with each other, and are very numerous, 
 a kind of archipelago is formed. At spots here and there 
 large blocks of stone, similar to erratic blocks, rise from the 
 surface of the reef. These are regarded by the common 
 people as "petrified vessels." They are continuous with the 
 surface of the reef, and consist of the same kind of rock as 
 this and as the rocks on the shore. Other blocks are loose, 
 not joined on to the rock below, and are moved about by the 
 violence of the waves. In other respects the surface of the 
 reef is, generally speaking, level. The formation of the reef 
 surface is only to be explained by the hypothesis that the 
 secular elevation of the land withdrew the coral polyps next 
 the shore from their natural conditions of life, thus causing 
 them to die out, while next the sea the formation of the coral 
 was still continued. In the Ked Sea, accordingly, this reef- 
 formation is not brought about, as Darwin and Dana claim 
 to have shown in the case of the islands of the Pacific, by the 
 sinking, bat on the contrary by the elevation of the sea 
 bottom. 
 
 OUTER SHORE ZONE. 
 
 The outermost zone of the reef, as remarked above, enjoys 
 the refreshing influence of the cool sea- water only for a few 
 hours. In summer, therefore, the water in the small shallow 
 pools becomes so hot at low tide as to compel the sudden 
 withdrawal of the naked foot. On several days of the year 
 high water can scarcely be noticed at all, the reef remains 
 
OUTER SHORE ZO^E. 343 
 
 dry for one or two days, and this occurs, as a rule, once in 
 winter and once in summer. When this takes place the 
 temperature of the water in the pools becomes so high in 
 summer and so low in winter that the animals living in them, 
 fish in particular, die in great numbers. Some kinds ot 
 worms that are never seen at other times now come out of 
 their deep lurking places in the sand and die on the surface. 
 In this zone thrive gasteropodous molluscs of the genus 
 Nerita, species of which are found also in brackish and in 
 fresh water. One species {Nevita polita) has always a 
 smooth and polished surface, that of another (N'. alhicilla), 
 which exposes itself more to the sun and air, has generally a 
 weather-worn appearance. The holes and crevices in the 
 porous rock afford welcome hiding-places to the beckoning- 
 crab {Gelasimus tetragonon). Its dwelling is here and not 
 on the beach. It does not dig holes in the sand as is said to 
 be the habit of the Brazilian species {G. vocans), but the 
 sand that accumulates in its rocky dwelling through the rise 
 of the tide is rejected in the form of small round balls as 
 soon as the water withdraws again. It is not a particularly 
 quick runner, and therefore cautiously remains in the neigh- 
 bourhood of its abode. Its eyes are supported on long foot- 
 stalks. The full-grown males carry an enormous nipping- 
 claw compared with the animal's size and that of the other 
 claw; the young ones have it of more moderate dimensions. 
 The females have two small nipping-claws both of the same 
 size. It is often said that they block up the entrance of their 
 hole with this large claw, but this is not correct, as they 
 almost always hold it before them when crawling in. A pair 
 are generally found in the hole. When running the males 
 have a habit of holding their claw aloft, or of keeping it 
 before them like a boxer on guard, the powerful nippers 
 always ready to pinch. It is this position that has gained 
 for it the name of beckoning-crab. 
 
 A similar skulking mode of life is practised by the large- 
 eyed crabs (Macrophthalmus) and the Chlorodius Edwardsii, 
 which is common aU over the reef, but especially here. The 
 latter varies greatly in its colouring, and often has a cross 
 
.344< UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 and other figures painted on its back. Small black mussels 
 {Mytilus variabilis) are attached by their beard (byssus) to 
 the coral rock, and surround the pools and clefts in the rock 
 like a wreath. As their valves gape slightly the fine green 
 edge of their mantle may be seen. Under the stones and in 
 the pools are found a multitude of periwinkles (LittOrind), 
 and large and small needle-shells (Cerithium), together with 
 Nerita, as well as the hermit-crab that takes possession of 
 their shells (Clihanarius). On ridges of the reef that have 
 become dry and warm a Purpura, known as the horse-chest- 
 nut shell (Purpura hippocastanum), crawls about with the 
 others just mentioned, while limpets (Patella variegata) and 
 chitons as long as the finger (Chiton spiniger) have attached 
 themselves by suction to the rock, surrounded by little balls 
 of dirt formed by them. When taken by surprise they may 
 easily be detached by a flat instrument and used as food (at 
 least the Patella); but if the danger is noticed in time they 
 stick so close that they cannot be removed without rupturing 
 their bodies, unless a chisel is used and they are chipped off 
 along with the piece of rock below them. The chitons roll 
 themselves up like wood-lice after being detached. These 
 two sorts of molluscs are not altogether condemned to one 
 spot, they can crawl, though certainly not much more quickly 
 than a plant grows. Being exposed to the rays of the sun 
 and other influences, their shells have generally a coarse and 
 worn surface, like the Nerita alhicilla. 
 
 In the sandy pools we may observe, after the water has 
 run off, a multitude of little hills with a crater-like hole in 
 the top, from which at intervals a jet of water shoots; fine 
 threads enveloped in sand radiate from all sides of the crater, 
 and even from the sides of the hill, but they are only observed 
 when they are being withdrawn. Occasionally a thick fleshy 
 thread is projected from the crater. On digging into the 
 hillock we find tubes winding about in many directions and 
 formed of particles of sand and fragments of shells. The 
 inhabitant of these is a tube- worm (Terehella)\ it withdraws 
 so deeply into the sand that it can scarcely be got Jiold of. 
 Oat of one hole, in front of which there is an eddy in the 
 
THE INNER SHORE OR SEA-GRASS ZONE. 845 
 
 water, we notice, after a little observation, a crab peering 
 and waving its upper feelers; in another, out of which a 
 stream of water is forced, we see the long feelers and the 
 nippers of a small long-tailed crab, an Alpheus. Holes with 
 small round balls in front of them belong, as already men- 
 tioned, to the beckoning-crab. Many little hillocks of sand 
 are surrounded by a multitude of small sand-cylinders; these 
 are the frasfments of a loner round sand column which is forced 
 out at intervals through a hole in the hillock, like vermicelli 
 from the tube in which it is formed; the author of this 
 phenomenon cannot be laid hold of. There lies a smooth 
 sheet of sand rolled up in a spiral form; after drying it 
 crumbles at the slightest shock; it is the spawn of a species 
 of Natica. The delicate thread-like algae (Phycoseris reticu- 
 lata) of the pools are covered with myriads of the spat of 
 Cerithiums, Patellas, and other molluscs. The bright-green 
 fronds of the Phycoseris swarm with the lively-coloured, 
 almost microscopical, Cyclops. Almost the only fish found 
 here during the ebb are young gobies and sea-leapers (Salarias), 
 and the remarkable Cyprinodon dispar, belonging to the 
 fresh-water family of the toothed-carps (Cyprinodontidce). 
 The male and female of the latter appear to be quite different 
 fishes. When the pools threaten to dry up these fishes slip 
 under stones and into crevices of the rock, or work their way 
 over a piece of dry ground into hollows better filled with 
 water. Here flourish also in many inlets of the sea thickets of 
 the laurel-like shora shrub (Avicennia officinalis, see p. 240). 
 But on the whole this part of the shore zone is poor in forms, 
 and the animals that do exist withdraw from the investigator 
 into the unfathomable clefts of the hard rock which lies 
 below the slight deposit of sand that covers the bottom of 
 the pools, and somewhat annoyed we proceed a little farther 
 towards the sea. 
 
 THE INNER SHORE OR SEA-GRASS ZONE. 
 
 The pools among the rocks, which are either bare or 
 covered with a blackish and red mucilaginous sea- weed, are 
 now filled with greater quantities of sand, and on this soil 
 
346 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 grow green phanerogamous grasses of the family of the 
 Naiadese (Halodule australis, Halophila ovata and stipu- 
 lacea, and Cymodocea ciliata). By stripping the hand 
 through them a person may fill it with the very small but 
 pretty shells of the Neritina Rangiana. Here creep and 
 feed sea-hares (Aplysia), pleurobranchs (Pleurohranchus), 
 bubble-shells (Bulla physis and B. ampulla), the gigantic 
 conical Dolabella, all sorts of sea-lemons (Doris), and other 
 nudibranchiates (Eolis). A number of species of wing-shells 
 (Stromhidce) knock against each other in hopping about; one 
 of the commonest is Stromhus gibherulus, white, with a 
 beautiful carmine-red mouth. It is found thrown up in 
 quantities on the beach. The allied finger-shell {Pteroceras 
 bryonia) is almost a foot long, and its flesh is boiled and 
 eaten. These Strombi cannot crawl, they can only hop by 
 planting and suddenly extending the slender arm-like and 
 very protrusible foot, which is furnished with a toothed and 
 claw-like operculum. By this method of locomotion the 
 animal can turn its shell round at pleasure, and hop forwards, 
 backwards, and sideways. 
 
 Among the grasses small shrimp-like crabs — the trans- 
 parent Palsemon, green Hippolyte, and almost microscopical 
 Mysis — swim about. A species of shy-crab (Calappa) skulks 
 along the sandy bottom and conceals itself under a slight 
 covering of sand, pushing itself in sideways or backwards. 
 Similar habits are displayed by the swimming crabs {Lupea, 
 Tlialamita, Portunus, Matuta). They are common enough 
 also near the shore in the sandy and muddy bay forming 
 the port, and conceal themselves under stones and mud. 
 They are good runners, swimmers, diggers, and climbers, and 
 can, in addition, escape from their pursuers by stirring up 
 the mud and rendering the water turbid, an artifice which 
 enables them to hide themselves or swim from the spot 
 without being noticed. The rare grayish-green Lupea 
 Tranqueharica is one of the largest crabs of this sea. Deep 
 in the sand of the grassy pools, their byssus attached to the 
 underlying rock, the brittle Pinnae hide themselves, one 
 species (Pinna nigrind) reaching a length of 2 feet. In these 
 
THE INNER SHORE OR SEA-GRASS ZONE. 847 
 
 are found the celebrated Pinnotheres or pinna-guard, a little 
 crustacean, which, in former times, when poets and singers 
 rode upon dolphins, carefully guarded the entrance to the 
 house of the blind pinna, but has now sunk to the level of a 
 despicable parasite. If we clear out the sandy pools we find, 
 besides various kinds of worms, a multitude of shells of the 
 genera Tellina and Lucina come to light, though generally 
 only the empty valves; the living shells are down in the 
 cool depths. The rare watering-pot shell (Aspergillum) also 
 lives here, as well as a peculiar annelid that hides itself in a 
 conical tube. We had expected to find more bivalves here, 
 but beyond the ones just mentioned and those named before, 
 some Yenus-shells (Gytherea), ark-shells (Area), heart-shells 
 (Gardita), and the like, there are not many regular bivalves 
 in this sea. Both in number of species and of individuals 
 this section stands far below the univalves or snails; the 
 greater number of its forms belong to the Monomya, Heter- 
 omya, and Dimya with unequal valves. 
 
 On the rocky projections of the reef between the pools sit 
 large numbers of limpets, chitons, and all the shore molluscs. 
 Leaving the grassy pools the pear-shells {Pirula), large-sized 
 navel- shells (Natica), sharp-pointed needle-shells (Terehra), 
 in numerous species, and the hoop-net shells (Wassa), which 
 can creep quickly for a snail, enjoy the sun and air. The 
 majority of the clefts and crevices have been taken possession 
 of by gray, brown, and black serpent-stars {Ophiocoma erina- 
 ceus and scolopendrina). They have some of their arms or 
 rays at rest and extended to the upper surface of the rock, 
 which is covered with a thin layer of water, while they sit with 
 the others twined up together in the hole; or their arms are 
 stretched out from the hole and rest in the numerous gaps 
 in the rock. It is only when they feel themselves seized 
 that they withdraw their arms, pressing these pliant and 
 prickly appendages more and more firmly to the rock w^ithin 
 the more their assailant pulls, till at last, instead of the body 
 of the animal, a few fragments of its broken arms come 
 away in the hands of the astonished star-fish hunter. Since 
 they are constantly liable to the attacks of fishermen (for 
 
348 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 bait), fish, and otlier enemies, some of their rays are generally 
 broken, or they exhibit various other marks of injury. The 
 lost members soon sprout and grow again, but the new 
 portions remain for some time not fully developed and 
 brighter in colour than the articulations nearest the body 
 disk. A collector who wishes complete Ophiuras must 
 carefully pull the disk-formed body itself, or hew the animals 
 out of the rock, or surprise them when detached and bathing 
 themselves in the water. 
 
 Side by side with the serpent-stars star-shaped egg-urchins 
 {Echinometra lucunter) peep out of narrow holes. When it 
 depresses its prickles voluntarily this animal can easily slip 
 out and in, like a vessel that lowers its mast when passing 
 under a bridge. When it is violently pulled, however, it 
 elevates its pretty strong prickles so as to make it even more 
 than fill the hole, and all attempts to move it are useless, 
 especially as the prickles, which are not very hard or sharp, 
 do not afford a good grasp for the hand. These animals 
 would seem often to bore holes in the rock for themselves. 
 
 THE DIVISION INTO ZONES. 
 
 Our division of the reef, from the shore seawards, into 
 zones that correspond to various depths or horizons is not 
 an arbitrary one. Here, to be sure, as in nature generally, 
 there are no abrupt transitions. In different districts some 
 one or other of the zones may be hardly represented at all or 
 may preponderate over the others, and the inhabitants of one 
 zone often extend into others. But these zones force them- 
 selves upon the notice of the explorer again and again; each 
 has its own peculiar character and its prevailing species. 
 New forms appear in the second zone that were not met with 
 in the first; forms that have already occurred become rarer 
 or vanish altogether; the external aspect changes. 
 
 STYLOPHORA OR CORALLINE ZONK 
 
 We have passed through the shore zone, and have found 
 an outer girdle, followed immediately by the subdivision of 
 
JOYS AND SORROWS OF THE NATURALIST. 349 
 
 the sea- grass pools. The genera prevailing here we have 
 seen to be Clibanarius, Gelasimus, Nerita, Litorina, Strombus 
 and Pirula. The second chief zone begins with a moss-like 
 alga which covers the rock, and forms, with the sand retained 
 in the midst of its fronds, a soft covering which is far more 
 comfortable for the feet than the sharp ridges of the shore 
 zone. The pools are deeper and larger, filled wdtli pure 
 transparent water, and resembling wells. A characteristic 
 feature is the occurrence of corallines, and the first appear- 
 ance of corals, the earliest forms of the latter appearing in 
 the branchy Stylophora. Everything that lives here loves 
 pure, fresh, and not too hot water, which is not apt to be 
 much disturbed. At many points this portion of the reef is 
 somewhat higher than the shore zone, and wide stretches of 
 it are almost entirely clear of water at every low tide, the only 
 water remaining being that in the deep pools or wells. This 
 elevation probably arises from tlie fact that the surf waves, 
 already broken on the slope of the reef, are able to throw the 
 foremost portion of their water up here and deposit their sand. 
 In other places this zone lies lower, and even at low tide 
 extends for the most part as a lake until close to the shore. 
 But also in this case there generally remains behind the surf 
 of the outer slope a higher surface which assures the quiet- 
 ness of this zone, and in spite of difference of appearance the 
 moss-like Algse, the Corallines, the Stylophorae, and the forms 
 to be mentioned below, at once tell us where we are. This 
 portion of the reef we call the Stylophora zone. It may cor- 
 respond to the quiet lagoons behind the reefs of the Pacific 
 Ocean. 
 
 JOYS AND SORROWS OF THE NATURALIST. 
 
 The fauna and flora of the portion of the reef occupied by 
 this coralline zone are exceedingly rich. For years one may 
 make an excursion to this zone at every low tide, may wander 
 over its soft surface, turn over and shatter the stones in the 
 wells and the blocks of coral broken off the slope of the reef by 
 the violence of the surf, strip off the Algse, smash the living 
 polypites, empty out sandy holes, and try to catch the fish; 
 
350 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 something new will always be found. If a person, believing 
 he has exhausted one district, examines another and more dis- 
 tant district, he will see essentially the same things. There is 
 no use, therefore, in going very far, since the good things lie so 
 near, but still the toil and trouble of larger excursions are not 
 quite unrewarded. The naturalist is more easily satisfied 
 than the treasure-seeker; the latter, on finding after a long 
 search an old copper coin, throws it away in a rage, but the 
 former, if he finds to-day a single species previously unknown 
 to him, carries it home quite contented. During his investi- 
 gations he will also have collected in his phials some species 
 previously known to him, but rare; he will have made some 
 new observation, or cleared up some phenomenon about which 
 he was previously in the dark. His realm is boundless. 
 To-day the fishes obtain the most of his attention, to-morrow 
 he prefers the crustaceans; at one time he studies the mollusca, 
 at another the annelida; and, lo! in the very cavity that he has 
 examined a hundred times he finds some entirely new members 
 of that kingdom to which to-day he has specially devoted him- 
 self But what he takes with him he must always study 
 thoroughly at home; he must know what he has, and what may 
 still remain to be got, otherwise he will not distinguish nearly 
 allied animals, but let them lie: an unscientific person, there- 
 fore, one who does not study, will never make a good collector. 
 It would be very agreeable to be a specialist on this teeming 
 sea, to devote one's whole life, as European naturalists do, to 
 a small section of the boundless empire of Nature; but in 
 truth the feelings rebel against this, and the strictest deter- 
 mination in this direction brought from the clear-headed 
 North melts away amid the magnificence and variety of the 
 tropic sea. Who could disregard this Doris so beautifully 
 coloured, or simply put it in spirits without investigation in 
 order to investigate the habits of a worm ? Who could refuse 
 a remarkably formed fish which a fisherman brings, and 
 which, possibly, has never been seen by naturalists, simply 
 because he is studying the Crustacea alone? The fauna of 
 this sea, although brought to light by many distinguished 
 naturalists, is not yet, so to speak, ripe for one who is purely 
 
JOYS AND SORROWS OF THE NATURALIST. 351 
 
 a specialist. Here the naturalist collects everything that 
 comes into his hands, though paying more attention to those 
 classes in which he is specially interested, and which are 
 most richly represented, and he leaves it for time to decide 
 when his labours are to be finished. Accordingly the natur- 
 alist remains banished for years, not merely for months, if he 
 can prevail on himself to spend so much of his existence among 
 the semi-barbarous inhabitants of these uncultivated tracts. 
 
 No occupation is free from its disagreeable concomitants, 
 and the harmless role of the naturalist is no exception to 
 the rule. Long rambles on the jagged surface of the reef, 
 some excoriations of the skin, a sun-burned nose, an often 
 very painful erythema on the naked arms and feet, exposed 
 at once to both sun and salt-water, an involuntary bath, 
 uncomfortable postures in investigating and observing, are 
 trifles that the naturalist makes no account of A gigantic 
 eel, of serpentine aspect, that endeavours to bite his fingers 
 and toes, a crab that pinches him with its claws till the blood 
 comes, a fish that hovers round his naked feet and is provided 
 with a half-poisonous sting, are bugbears that prove their 
 reality but do not disturb his composure. But sometimes 
 his patience and endurance are sorely tried. For example, 
 on a warm summer afternoon the naturalist, after hammering 
 and grubbing for hours on the reef, returns heavily laden 
 to his house, and finds on his threshold a crowd of children 
 who offer him the marine wonders that they have found to- 
 day in greater numbers than at other times, while fishermen 
 bring him some remarkable fishes. This very day the whole 
 has, if possible, to be carefully examined, determined, taken 
 note of, separated, washed, prepared, placed in spirits, or pro- 
 bably skinned and drawn, for in the aquarium the half would 
 either eat each other or die and become putrid. Scarcely, how- 
 ever, is he begun when some other urgent business turns up, 
 or a loquacious friend finds it necessary to waste his time, and 
 to his chagrin he is interrupted in his self-imposed task. Or 
 it may happen that he examines his treasure-chamber and 
 observes with despair that cats, dogs, mice, and insects have 
 taken anything but a benevolent interest in his collection. 
 
352 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 Sometimes the out-door labours of the naturalist are alto- 
 gether interrupted, as on the short, gloomy, and stormy days 
 of winter when the ebb-tide uncovers as a rule only the 
 highest projections of the reef, against which the stormy 
 winds dash the waves; when the storm ripples the surface 
 of the lagoons and wells, and the eye cannot penetrate their 
 depths. It is not without an effort that the foot is now 
 planted in the cool, not to say chilly water, and an arm that 
 has been dipped shivers in the winter's breeze. Even the 
 native fisherman avoids entering the sea that is now so re- 
 duced in temperature, and angles either on the shore or from 
 a boat; or giving up all thoughts of catching fish, he mends 
 his damaged nets at home. At such times the naturalist 
 also must either give himself up to idleness, or examine, 
 study, and arrange his collections, and see to the packing 
 of them, this last and most difficult labour. And such days 
 of leisure extend to weeks and months, until the sun rising 
 higher in the heavens calms the sea and warms its waters. 
 
 THE INHABITANTS OF THE STYLOPHORA ZONE. 
 
 But we are standing in the Stylophora region. The above- 
 mentioned serpent-stars now spring forth in greater luxuri- 
 ance than ever from every crevice; on the dry ridges of the 
 reef living and extinct clam-shells are immured in the rock, 
 their coarse shells, which resemble their mother soil, giving 
 one rather the idea of chance-formed nodules than of organ- 
 ized beings. The Clihanarius signatus here gives place to 
 a green-spotted hermit-crab, which now becomes the leading 
 crustacean. The Neritas are now replaced by the pearly 
 Pharaoh's shell (Monodonta Pharaonis), the most charming 
 of this sea, and by elegant Columbellas or pigeon-shells, of 
 which a black and yellow striped species (C. mendicaria) is 
 collected for the market in order to be imported into the 
 Soudan (see p. 300). Limpets and chitons, and the horse- 
 chestnut shell are still everywhere to be met with here. 
 In shallow pools the swelling tentacles of a sea-anemone 
 (Gereus) of considerable size display themselves, the rest of 
 
LIFE IN THE POOLS. S53 
 
 the animal being generally invisible. If an attempt is made 
 to seize it it withdraws itself quickly, and is fonnd only 
 at some depth, and after the surrounding sand and stones 
 have been removed. It can only be obtained uninjured when 
 it has fixed itself upon stones lying loose in the sand, and not 
 upon the surface of the rock. In many of the smaller water 
 holes another slender Actinia (Heptaktis), similar to the Ed- 
 wardsia, stands upright and displays its starry crown; it 
 withdraws itself even deeper, and is still more difficult to dig 
 out of its narrow hole. 
 
 LIFE IN THE POOLS. 
 
 We lift up a stone that lies loose in one of the well-like 
 pools. How it teems with life both externally and inter- 
 nally! Over its surface move quickly great numbers of the 
 pretty univalves known as Stomatellse, with their varying 
 markings and colours; we saw these also in the sea-grass 
 pools of the previous zone. Here sit also highly coloured 
 sea-lemons (Doris), with their branchy waving anal bran- 
 chiae, yellowish red Pleurobranchi, small five-lobed disc-stars 
 (Asteriscus), needle-shells {Cerithiuon), pigeon-shells {Colum- 
 hella), tower-shells (Pleurotoma), and so-called shore-shells 
 (Eulima, Rissoa) ; among bivalves may be seen small wing- 
 shells (Avicula), pouch-shells {Perna), and young pearl- 
 shells (Meleagrina), as well as ark-shells (Area) and mussels, 
 attached by their byssus, and everywhere oysters are attached 
 to and growing on the rock, sometimes planted one above 
 another. The latter are generally too small to be worth 
 the trouble of picking them off and eating them. Besides, 
 the native-born inhabitants consider oyster- eating as a bar- 
 barous practice. The old pearl-shells, with their celebrated 
 oriental pearls, occur at greater depths, and are obtained, as 
 already mentioned, by diving. 
 
 And the porous interior of the stone, which may often be 
 broken up by the hand ! Not an opening in it but is occu- 
 pied. The most important and preponderating tenant here 
 also is the serpent-star (Ophiocoma erinaceus). It rapidly 
 
354 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 detaches itself from its lurking-place when this is broken into, 
 allows itself to fall, and creeps into the first suitable hole it 
 can find. This species is associated here with another species, 
 the Ophiocoma Valencice, somewhat more slender and spotted 
 with green, and with a very small reddish scaly-star (Ophio- 
 lepis). Green or brown spotted grasshopper crabs (Gono- 
 dactylus gonagva), the length of one's finger, make their 
 appearance, but draw back and make haste to get out of the 
 way as soon as the explorer notices them. They run quickly 
 on the dry land, are adepts at hiding themselves, and if they 
 fall into the water they paddle away, shooting rapidly along 
 by a series of jerks. When they are seized they bend them- 
 selves round, make their large nipping claws fly out from 
 their body with an audible noise, and dig them into the 
 fingers of their persecutor, who lets go his boot}?" more from 
 astonishment than pain. Of similar habits are the already- 
 mentioned small long- tailed crabs {Alplieus), the species of 
 which are very numerous, and generally have fixed abodes. 
 On the stones here the Alpheus Edwardsii is the prevailing 
 form. The joints that bend inwards the disproportionately 
 large nipping claws are very tender, and the latter are de- 
 tached with the slightest pull; in catching the animals, there- 
 fore, they are not to be laid hold of by these. 
 
 In the blocks of stone there also conceal themselves those 
 small or middle-sized crustaceans in which the Red Sea is 
 so rich, belonging to the genera Zozymus, Actsea, Actseodes, 
 Pilodius, Actumnus, Chlorodius, Pilumnus, &c. The most 
 common among them are the hairy ActcBa hirsutissima and 
 Actceodes tomentosus. Motionless sponges, lively coloured 
 simple and compound ascidians, and the cell-colonies of the 
 Bryozoa form with corallines and nullipores brightly coloured 
 coverings, disguises, and ornaments. The tiny mussel-like 
 or coin-shaped calcareous shells of the Rhizopoda or Fora- 
 minifera, of which a considerable proportion of the sea-sand 
 consists, cover the surfaces of the stone like white points or 
 dots, while the little tubes of the tube- worms (Serpula) form 
 wavy streaks on it; the serpentine dwellings of the worm- 
 shells (Vermetus) penetrate the block in all directions. In 
 
LIFE IN THE POOLS. 35 
 
 the smallest vacancies and passages of the labyrinth An- 
 nelidas, Sipunculidse, and Nemertinse have established them- 
 selves, whether by simply crawling into holes already existing 
 or excavating them in the stone for themselves. 
 
 Some worms, such as Clymene and Terebella, build their 
 dwellings by cementing together fragments of bivalve shells, 
 grains of sand, and shells of foraminifera, and retain posses- 
 sion of these until their dwellings are destroyed by violence. 
 Others, the predaceous worms, namely, employ the holes 
 merely as hiding-places, and seek their prey abroad. A worm 
 of considerable size often met with (Notopygus) at the least 
 touch brings into play its stings, which resemble silky tufts; 
 these bore with their barbed points into the skin of the 
 person touching it, and produce. a sharp stinging pain. Flat 
 annulose worms with ''wings," or imbricated worms of a 
 brick red or green colour (Polynoe), attach themselves to the 
 stones as if by the force of suction, like the limpets. A large 
 round rose-coloured annelid (Dasybranchus) lies in the rock 
 wound up in a clew, and almost always gives off pieces of its 
 body when it is pulled or even disturbed, like the ribbon- 
 worms {Neraertes). Still more sensitive are the nimble Syllis, 
 each joint of which gives out in the darkness, and often even 
 in the daytime, a splendid green or blue light. Like the 
 flat- worms (Planarida), these live when divided into pieces, 
 each piece commencing a separate existence. 
 
 The upper surface of the rocks in these pools is generally 
 covered with shaggy sea-weed, among which live small 
 amphipodous crustaceans, as well as crabs with remarkable 
 beaked carapaces belonging to such genera as Mensethius, 
 Pisa, Cyclax, Huenia, &c. The uneven or hairy surface of 
 the carapace and feet of these forms is covered with a flour- 
 ishing growth of sea-weed or grasses, or if clean and smooth 
 it takes on the colour of the plants among which these crabs 
 live, and in one and the same species will vary from dai-k- 
 brown to emerald-green. From the sand that lies scattered 
 among the sea-weeds project crabs (Micippe) of a hideous 
 form and grayish colour, scarcely to be recognized as living 
 creatures, — so ugly, indeed, that in an aesthetic system of clas- 
 
356 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 sification they would be at the bottom of the scale when 
 compared with other representatives of the animal kingdom. 
 These animals that take on an appearance assimilating them 
 to their surroundings are surpassed in cunning by the woolly 
 crab (Dromia), which covers the naked parts of its somewhat 
 hairy back with a piece of sponge bent into shape or a frond 
 of sea-weed which the far extended hind-foot has constantly 
 to keep in position, and thus the animal deceives its greedy 
 enemies by counterfeiting the appearance of an object which 
 they do not use as food. 
 
 A NOCTURNAL VISIT TO THE REEF. 
 
 A nocturnal promenade on the reef at ebb-tide, when the 
 stick stirs up a thousand sparks in the pools, and every foot- 
 step leaves a phosphorous track behind, is truly a wonderful 
 experience. This phosphorescence is mainly due to the 
 destruction of worms or gelatinous animals of a very low 
 organization (N'octiluca), and doubtless also to scattered par- 
 ticles of animal matter of various kinds in a state of decay. 
 When the surface of the sea is thickly covered with such 
 animalcula over a considerable area the celebrated "lumino- 
 sity of the sea" is produced. It is well known that when it 
 is filtered, and the animalcules thus removed, the sea-water 
 is no longer luminous. Here and there, too, at a greater or 
 lesser depth, slowly swims a large luminous body which 
 proves to be a medusa ; the great cat-like eyes of the Pria- 
 can thus also gleam upwards; and large shining balls probably 
 belonging to the corals appear. 
 
 A BLOCK OF STONE. 
 
 A huge block of stone which has been detached by mighty 
 storm- waves or by the hand of man from the region of the 
 reef-slope, and has been rolled into this quieter zone, rests in a 
 slight depression of the reef, the edges of which now afibrd 
 it a secure support. Its upper surface, only occasionally 
 washed by the waves at high water, rises naked, gray, and 
 
A BLOCK OF STONE. 857 
 
 dry above the surface. On this surface needle-shells, shore- 
 shells {Euliraa, Rissoa), and tiny hermit-crabs sun themselves, 
 and the small but active rock-crab (Nautilograpsus minutus) 
 clambers about. The last occurs in the greatest abundance 
 over the whole of this zone where it is laid dry, popping out 
 of one hole and into another; it is the representative here of 
 the larger Grapsus of the shore. If we examine the holes 
 and crevices of the block that still remain under water, a few 
 small fishes dart out, chiefly belonging to the families of blen- 
 nies and gobies (Salarias, Blennius, Gobius, Eleotris), while 
 small and often strangely-shaped long-tailed decapods also 
 hop into the light of day {Palcemon, Lysmata, Hippolyte, 
 Athanas). The sides of the crevices are behung with hairy 
 trumpet-shells (Tritonium pileare), frog-shells (Ranella), 
 sea-ears (Haliotis), small sea-cucumbers {Holothuria and 
 Sporadipus), and ark-shells (Area)-, here, too, may be ob- 
 tained in particular abundance the inexhaustible sea-lemons 
 (Doris), already mentioned repeatedly. Oysters, ascidians, 
 and sponges cover and colour the walls of the clefts. One 
 after another certain bodies let themselves fall down into 
 the water; these are the inevitable serpent-stars (Ophio- 
 €oma erinaceus), which are also accompanied by certain 
 other species (Ophiocoma elegans and Valencice), by a scaly 
 serpent-star (Ophiolepis Cincta), the already-mentioned egg- 
 urchin (JSchinometra), and common apple-like sea-urchins 
 {Echinus) either white or brightly coloured. If we roll the 
 stone over we will often find, in addition to the above-men- 
 tioned creatures, some very large-sized lobsters (Palinurus). 
 The latter, however, are best caught at night when they 
 leave their lurking-places. Such stones also afibrd a hiding- 
 place for the brownish -red octopus or sea-polyp, which, when 
 discovered, swims off* at once, and if the danger is imminent 
 discolours the water with its ink. It is not easy to master 
 this powerful and slippery creature; it is almost impossible 
 to bear the clinging of its sucking arms to the skin. Under 
 the block we are sure to find also some beautiful though 
 common porcelain-shells (Cyprcea). Of these there are in 
 this sea more than a dozen species, from the large marketable 
 
;j58 upper EGYPT. 
 
 Gyprcea pantherina or pantber-shell, to the small Cyprcea 
 trivia. With these the cone-shells {Conns), which are found 
 from a line to a span in length, vie in variety, and in some 
 cases also in beauty. Provided with a strong shell these 
 sluggish animals withstand the assaults of the waves as well 
 as attacks from other quarters. They love the hottest water, 
 and therefore seldom conceal themselves at low tide, but lie 
 exposed and almost motionless in small shallow depressions 
 in the sand. 
 
 REEF-POOLS. 
 
 Let us give up work for a time, and gaze quietly into one 
 of the 2 to 4 feet deep pools or wells. The circular edges of 
 these are overgrown with algae of all kinds — flat and crust- 
 like, high and bushy, soft and watery, cartilaginous, or hard 
 as a stone, green, brown, and reddish, moss-like or fern-like, 
 fruit-bearing and fruitless. Here and there sprouts the coral 
 known as Stylophora, yellowish-brown or reddish in colour, 
 in many cases small and slender, but forming stronger and 
 broader stony bushes the nearer it approaches the breakers 
 and the open sea. While in the cells of the upper branches 
 life is exuberant, and new matter is rapidly formed, the coral 
 animals die out gradually towards the root, and dark, dirty 
 algae and corallines cover the extinct generations like a wind- 
 ing-sheet. Between the walls of the pools we see zigzags and 
 waves, some of them a span and a half long, blue, green, or 
 spotted with bright brown, gleaming out in a wonderful 
 mantier from beneath the water ; they belong to the mantle of 
 the large Tridacna, which, fixed in some crevice of the rock, 
 opens its valves very readily. Half hidden under the over- 
 hanging walls of the pools lie deep-black gleaming spheres, 
 from which radiate lances a span long and as fine as a needle, 
 while between these appear sky-blue gleaming lines and points 
 running perpendicularly over the surface of the sphere. Above, 
 at one of the poles of the sphere, a black club with a cinnabar- 
 red extremity turns round. This is the diadem sea-urchin {Bia- 
 dema Savignyi), and the revolving club its rectum. Raised 
 and enlarged by the transparent covering of water above 
 
EEEF-POOLS. 359 
 
 it, tins creature affords, with all these attractions, as beauti- 
 ful a sight as its pointed, brittle spines, with their almost 
 microscopical circle of prickles, produce violent burning pains 
 when they have penetrated the skin of the fingers. The long 
 spines remain always under water, and accordingly the body 
 lies at a certain depth. Unfortunately the spines fall on 
 drying, and are very difficult to keep uninjured, so that these 
 animals are little adapted to transportation. The bottom of 
 the pool is covered with loose stones of various sizes with sand 
 between, and here, too, there sometimes rise phanerogamous 
 grasses, algae, and corals. This is where the sea-urchins 
 (Echinodermata) are found in greatest abundance. Here, 
 stretched out openly, lies comfortably at rest, a sea-cucumber 
 (Holothuria vagahunda) which appears black, but, as the stain 
 on the fingers that touch it testifies, is in reality purplish-black; 
 it is surrounded by grains of sand either single or closely adher- 
 ing together, and grows to the length of two spans. Another 
 and still larger Holothuria, with great yellow lateral spots, 
 from its plasticity appears quite a prodigy, in turns assuming 
 a sausage shape or that of a disc or loaf of bread. All these 
 holothurias are disposed to commit suicide; as soon as they are 
 withdrawn from their usual conditions of life they force their 
 intestines out at their anal opening, diffusing at the same 
 time a rank disagreeable smell, or they divest themselves of 
 their epidermis only, a proceeding which brings about their 
 dissolution with equal rapidity. The black species of holo- 
 thurias are so rigid and motionless that they are readily con- 
 founded with the species of bathing sponge that occurs here, 
 which is quite black in its fresh state, and assumes all possible 
 forms. The sponges of commerce are yellowish or gray in 
 colour because they have been subjected to repeated washings 
 and bleachings. Here we see also the Synapta, which at one 
 time resembles a water-skin filled with water, at another 
 hanks in its body at intervals, so as to make it resemble the 
 large intestine in man, and according to the extent of the 
 contraction it subjects itself to, appears as a wide bag the 
 length of one's arm, or as a thin cord. When touched by the 
 fingers its upper surface clings disagreeably to the skin, by 
 
860 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 means of little anchor-shaped projections. It can cover itself 
 up with sand and rubbish on occasion. In its company are 
 found also various kinds of beautiful echinodermata, in. some 
 cases lying exposed, in others under stones or in crevices of 
 the rock; we may mention the ''bride of the sea" or the 
 comb-star (Asteropecten), the sea- turban (Cidaris), the shield- 
 urchin (Clypeaster), and the warty-star (Acrocladia mamil- 
 lata), as well as the Ophidiaster Ehrenhergi, which, from 
 the abortion of individual arms, often assumes singular 
 shapes, and the Scytaster, which is of a beautiful scarlet 
 colour, like the star of some order of knighthood, but unfor- 
 tunately soon fades. 
 
 FISH OF THE POOLS. 
 
 As in the shore zone the fish in these pools still continue 
 to consist chiefly of gobies and blennies. These fish are very 
 cautious and cunning, and on the approach of any person 
 conceal themselves immediately. It is only when one 
 approaches slowly and seats himself quietly that they allow 
 themselves to be looked at, as they nibble and feed upon the 
 sea-weed, or half swimming half leaping dart this way and 
 that on the surface of the water, sometimes also slipping into 
 crevices and worm-holes, and roguishly showing their heads 
 peeping out; while, at the last extremity of danger, as we 
 have seen in the case of various other animals, they spring 
 out of their pool and scramble somehow over the dry ground 
 into another. The short arm-like and stunted ventral fins 
 may stand these leaping fishes in good stead when they 
 engage in such gymnastic feats. The best leaper is the 
 Sidarias tridactylus. In these pools we also meet with 
 several of the finely-coloured coral-fish of the family of the 
 ctenoid-scaled labroid or wrasse-like fishes {Lahroideiy 
 Ctenoidei, or Pomacentridce), especially young Glyphisodons, 
 gray or black and yellow striped, and the small golden 
 Colibri among fishes, the Glyphisodon antjerius, with its 
 gleaming blue or green dorsal stripe. These small fishes are 
 shy and difficult to catch. Small silvery fishes, scarcely an 
 
FAUNA OF THE STYLOPHOKA BUSHES. 361 
 
 inch in length (ATyxus), keep circling about constantly at the 
 surface of the water, and rival in brilliance the ripples that 
 glance under the rays of the sun. Here we see a serpent- 
 like creature winding through the pool and hiding itself in a 
 crevice, from which it peeps out after a little with its long- 
 snouted head, and gives a steady gaze. It is no serpent, 
 however, only an eel, but the pet aversion of the reef-fisher- 
 man for all that. From pure enmity the natives condemn 
 to death every individual they meet with; to eat them they 
 could never bring themselves. These creatures can also 
 wriggle their way very well over dry ground. 
 
 FAUNA OF THE STYLOPHOEA BUSHES. 
 
 A piece of work still remains to be done, one of the most 
 profitable of all the labours that can be carried on on the reef, 
 viz. to disentangle and break down the corals known by the 
 name of Stylophora. The spaces between the branches and 
 twigs of these are selected as places of abode by marine crea- 
 tures of all kinds, but more particularly by small crabs and 
 other crustaceans. Besides many of the sorts that we have 
 already noted as inhabiting the stones of the pools (such as 
 Gonodactylus, Alpheus, Actsea, Zozymus, Chlorodius, besides 
 Columbella, Cerithium, small Cones, Ascidians, and sponges) 
 there lives here a peculiar and characteristic fauna which can 
 be met with scarcely anywhere else. It consists chiefly of 
 certain species of small square-shelled crabs belonging to the 
 genus Trapezia, which cling so closely with their claws to 
 the branches of the corals, or climb about among them so 
 cleverly that a person can get hold of them only by breaking 
 down the corals. Here also sits the slimy and sluggish 
 crab Cymo, which adheres still more firmly to the corals. 
 The observer will seldom miss the small long-tailed crabs, 
 Harpilius, Palsemon, Athanas, the fantastically ornamented 
 Hippolyte, and especially a bright red Alpheus. Here also 
 the small univalve Purpura madreporarum makes for itself 
 a small protuberance, on which it sits closely adhering. The 
 serpent-stars so often mentioned (Ophiocoma erinaceus and 
 
o62 TIPPER EGYPT. 
 
 Scolopendrina) are here remarkably rare; instead of these 
 we find in abundance the black and yellow Ophiocoma ele- 
 gans, and the green Ophiocoma Valencice. If we lift up one 
 of these bushes quickly and let the brittle mass fall on the 
 ground and break in pieces, a multitude of small fishes are 
 sure to hop out, such as Eleotris and Gobiosoma, and the 
 Gohius ecJdnocephaluSj which is a form very characteristic of 
 these bushes. It is not an easy matter to get one's hands on 
 all these little creatures at the right time and in the right 
 place, especially the crabs. Unless caution is employed the 
 collector will see with sorrow that these have suffered the 
 loss of an arm or a feeler. When the branches of the corals 
 are broken, in the central mass of a great many, indeed the 
 most of them, a flattish cavity is seen, which a date-shell fills 
 so completely as to have but very little room to move. Only 
 a comparatively small aperture leads from the outside into 
 this strange abode. 
 
 TRANSITION OR PRJil-CORAL REGION. 
 
 We move across the reef a little farther in the direction of 
 the sea, and enter upon a region which bears to the Stylophora 
 zone the same relationship as the sea-grass zone to the shore 
 zone, that is, it is a transition district. Its external appear- 
 ance is still essentially the same, only this region is almost 
 always covered by the sea, and can only be walked upon at 
 the very low tides of the after-summer. The water is in 
 greater commotion, and serves as the fresh source of an active 
 coral-life; the waves of the surf reach as far as this, but their 
 strength is already broken on the edge of the reef The 
 Stylophora corals continue to prevail universally, and thrive 
 still better than nearer the land. The other corallines gen- 
 erally form layers, spheres, and protuberances, which, like 
 a frieze, adorn the borders of the pools that now become 
 deeper and deeper, or they grow up from the bottom of the 
 pools, or spring here and there from the upper surface of the 
 reef To this region belong many star-corals (Helidstrcea, 
 Solenastrcea, Leptastrcea), mesh-corals (Porites), honey-comb 
 
CORAL ZONE PROPER OR SURF ZONE. 863 
 
 corals (Favia), brain-corals (Mceandrina), many millepore 
 corals (Millepora), and the well-known organ-pipe coral 
 (Tuhipora), with its purplish-red stone pipes. The rest of 
 the fauna of this region is characterized by a mingling of the 
 fauna of the previous with that of the following zone. 
 
 CORAL ZONE PROPER OR SURF ZONE. 
 
 The appearance and conformation of the reef now show a 
 remarkable change. The ground is now to some extent con- 
 verted into a slippery sea- weed steppe, and the naked feet, as 
 they slip among the luxuriant vegetation, are everywhere 
 threatened by the sharp edges of the apertures of the worm- 
 shells, the tubes of which grow as it were in a piece with the 
 rock. Among the plants we are struck by a sea- weed that 
 gleams with a blue colour; but when it is withdrawn from 
 the water the gleaminor ceases, and, like most other sea- weeds, 
 it appears brown. The pools now become deeper, and often 
 form abysses with overhanging edges, to the bottom of 
 which the eye cannot penetrate. These abysses have often 
 subterranean communications with one another and the open 
 sea, and this portion of the reef for the most part manifests 
 itself as the rocky covering of a grand system of caves open- 
 ing to the upper world by clefts and circular crater-like holes. 
 The swell and heaving of the open sea, though broken to some 
 extent, is continued through these ocean caves, and produces 
 in the openings of the rock an alternate rise and fall of the 
 water at regular intervals, combined with a frightful hollow 
 gurgling and hissing. When the sea is at rest, however, the 
 water in these dreadful abysses also remains at rest, and from 
 some secure stand-point on the reef the eye can penetrate 
 unimpeded far down into the transparent depths. Nowhere 
 can one contemplate the life of the corals and what belongs to 
 it more quietly and comfortably than here, although he has to 
 lie on his belly — a trifling matter for the naturalist — and hold 
 his magnifying-glass at the point of his nose above a coral bush. 
 Such days, however, when the tide is so low as to lay the 
 reef quite bare even to the outer edge, and when the wind 
 
S64 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 at the same time is still, are extremely rare, and do not occur 
 even once a year. In order to examine the coral world on 
 the large scale it is better to make use of a boat. For the 
 present we only remark that on the accessible portion of the 
 surf zone the madrepore coral has become the prevailing coral, 
 without, however, completely crushing out the Stylophora, 
 and we take advantage of the time during which the reef is 
 uncovered to investigate the remaining fauna. 
 
 FAUNA OF THE SURF ZONE. 
 
 The serpent-star (Ophiocoma erinaceus) has now entirely 
 disappeared, and instead of it we find curling about among 
 the rocks the already-mentioned Ophiocoona Valencice and 
 other genera of serpent- stars, such as Ophiothrix and Ophio- 
 nyx. The green-spotted hermit-crab is still also found, but 
 never the Glihanarius signatus. On the other hand, many 
 miniature species of this genus of the Paguri are common. 
 A giant species (Pagurus tinctor) is often found in large 
 univalve shells, such as the tun-shell (Boliurti) or the triton's 
 horn (Tritoniurji), on the outside of which there is regularly 
 seated a certain kind of sea-anemone {Adamsia), sometimes 
 in large numbers, while between the anemones are frequently 
 shells of the family Capuloidye. Here, therefore, we see a 
 colony of several different creatures living together. Between 
 the two regular inhabitants of these shells there is a remark- 
 able bond of connection. With regard to the northern species 
 Mr. Gosse has made the interesting discovery that the crab 
 lifts with its nipping claws the sea-anemone on to the shells 
 in which it wishes to live, so that the latter animal must be 
 of service to it in some respect or other, though we do not 
 yet know in what. The sea-anemone seems to make use of 
 its dwelling-place as a means of locomotion, so that it may 
 be carried to places w^here there is food both for it and the 
 crab, or may also, so to speak, enjoy change of air; the crab, 
 on the other hand, may allow the actinia to catch parasites 
 that would annoy it, though this certainly remains to be 
 proved. The Adamsia cannot live free, however, and is found 
 
FAUNA OF THE SURF ZONE. 365 
 
 sometimes on stones, though less frequently than on the 
 shells inhabited by the hermit-crab. At small depths and in 
 clefts lie large and small species of the genera Ricinula, Fas- 
 ciolaria, Turbinella (chank-shells), Turbo and Trochus (angu- 
 lar and round-mouthed top-shells), all with thick shells which, 
 without protection, set at nought the breakers. A large and 
 beautiful blue arcuated crab (Zozymus ceneus) is common 
 here, exposing itself without protection to the wash of the 
 surf. The higher rocks, which on the retiring of the waves 
 are periodically exposed to the air, are often covered with a 
 multitude of sea-acorns {Balanus), Under the covering of 
 sea-weed new forms of pointed crabs conceal themselves 
 {Gyclax, Stenocinops, Pseudomicippe). Over crevices in the 
 rock gigantic sea-anemones, such as Biscosoona giganteuim, 
 spread themselves out along with the social Thalassianthus 
 aster; it is only with difficulty that they can be extracted 
 from the rock. The rare gigantic annelid, Eunice gigantea, 
 here occasionally shows itself, rapidly crawling out of sight 
 again like a serpent, and the collector considers it quite a 
 master-stroke to lay hands on it before it disappears into its 
 unfathomable hiding-places. 
 
 The best spots for the collector here also are under stones 
 and between the branches of the corals. Loose stones that 
 would only require to be turned over in order to get at the 
 booty beneath are not found here at all, being hurled back 
 to the Stylophora zone by the force of the waves, or flung 
 into the depths of the rocky chasms. To be sure numerous 
 blocks of stone with masses of living and growing coral lie 
 mingled together in wild confusion, but all are solidly attached 
 to the rock and to one another, no doubt by the action of 
 the superabundant calcareous elements contained in the sea- 
 water, which supplies the material of which the coral rocks 
 are built. The attachment at first is often only a loose one, 
 many holes and crevices, remaining between the block and 
 the rock beneath, and furnishing shelter for a multitude of 
 living beings whose tender bodies could not withstand the 
 unbroken force of the waves. Here is the home of a multi- 
 tude of small round crabs, generally of different species and 
 
S66 UPPEK EGYPT. 
 
 genera from those inhabiting the preceding zones. New 
 annelids of changing hues, and various genera allied to the 
 shrimps now make their appearance. Sometimes by the 
 removal of the blocks a narrow cleft is disclosed, the sides of 
 which are closely covered and overgrown with moss-like 
 Bryozoa, mossy sea-firs (Sertularice), small polyp-colonies of 
 chalky or leathery consistence (Coenopsammia and Cilicia 
 being of the former description, Zoanthus and Polyzoa of the 
 latter), a small red Gorgonia (Mopsia Erythrcea), small social 
 actinias, sponges, and ascidians. Oysters, ark-shells, and 
 thorny-oysters {Spondylus) have also attached themselves 
 to the walls, and here have taken refuge the delicate feather- 
 stars which live free but do not swim. 
 
 THE INHABITANTS OF THE COKALS. 
 
 The fauna for which the Stylophora corals afford hiding- 
 places is not much altered here, and with it that of the bushy 
 cup-star corals (Pocillopora) agrees. Similar, but still with 
 distinct characteristics, is the madrepore coral (Madrepora). 
 Instead of the quadrangular-shaped crabs {Trapezia) we find 
 here the similar genus Tetralia; the shrimp-like crustaceans 
 are also represented by different but allied genera. Between 
 the branches of the fragile bush-corals (Xenia) a small crab 
 of the genus Camptonyx is seldom absent. The massy corals 
 are not well suited for hiding-places, but nevertheless a 
 number of creatures of very diverse forms have obtained a 
 lodgment in their interior. To these belong^ the Mao^ilus, 
 which prefers for its abode certain star-corals (Leptastrcea) 
 and mseandrine corals {Godoria), and along with these is 
 already found in the transition zone. The young Magilus, a 
 grayish dome-shaped shell, lies loose in a smooth dome-shaped 
 cavity not much below the surface of the coral colony, like 
 the date-shell in the Stylophora, and this cavity communi- 
 cates with the surface, where the coral-stars open, by means 
 of a small hole or narrow canal. The older ones, such as are 
 seen in particular in the mseandrine corals, lie deeper, and 
 through the solid substance of the mass, from the shell 
 
THE CORAL SLOPE. 367 
 
 proper to the surface, a thick tube variously bent and twisted 
 extends. This tube also lies loosely in its canal; it is very 
 brittle, and difficult to procure whole by breaking up the 
 coral rock. After the animal has once penetrated the coral, 
 accordingly, no farther boring takes place, it simply adds to 
 its tube according as the surface of the coral rises, and as the 
 shell grows larger the hole in which it lies also enlarges. 
 
 Another parasite on, or at least dweller in, the coral is an 
 abnormally-shaped crab, by name Cryptochirus, which not 
 long ago was brought into notice by Heller. It ensconces 
 itself, like the worm-shell (Vermetus), in a short cylindrical 
 tube made by itself, and penetrating perpendicularly from the 
 surface of the coral. Its similarity with the worm-shell is all 
 the greater from the fact that the shield-formed head of the 
 crab forms externally a kind of operculum closing the aper- 
 ture. Its abodes are almost always observed in the rounded 
 masses of coral, whether it be that it chooses these, or that it 
 disturbs the life of the corals in its vicinity, and so pro- 
 duces this rounded conformation. 
 
 The dwelling of a Serpula of considerable size is similar ; 
 but the latter penetrates much deeper into the rock, and is 
 found in bushy and massive corals. The living animal forms 
 a beautiful sight when, protruding the anterior part of its 
 body, it bathes its brightly-coloured spiral gills or branchiae 
 ill the water. In radiate corals (especially Goniastroea) a 
 cirrhipede of the genus Pyrgoma has imbedded the tubular 
 portion of its shell; the upper portion forms elliptic warts 
 Avhich much resemble the stars of the corals. 
 
 THE CORAL SLOPE. 
 
 In order to inspect the realm of corals and the treasures of 
 the deep sea leisurely and at our ease, though our glance 
 must be somewhat unsteady, we step on board a boat and 
 proceed to the reef The sea must be perfectly quiet, other- 
 wise no boatman would be so rash as to voluntarily steer his 
 craft towards the breakers of the reef, and the surface must 
 be as smooth as a mirror, the least ripple rendering it impos- 
 
368 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 sible to see down into the depths. The lower the tide is too, 
 the better objects are seen, and it will contribute to the same 
 result if a little oil is poured on the surface. 
 
 The line of the declivity runs on the whole pretty nearly 
 parallel to the shore; where the latter exhibits an indentation 
 of any size there is also a corresponding one in the slope-line. 
 At particular points, to be sure, there is not such a close cor- 
 respondence, the breadth of the reef varying between 200 
 and 400 paces. The slope-line also is much more winding 
 and indented. Where the reef is interrupted by a harbour, 
 the slope-line forms a bend so as to almost reach the shore, 
 while the slope gradually diminishes in depth and coral life 
 ceases. The slope is at some points steep and precipitous, 
 perhaps even forms an overhanging cliff, at other points it 
 sinks gradually, or in the form of terraces, towards the open 
 sea. The depth of the water, measuring from the surface of 
 the reef, may average from 5 to 8 fathoms, so that the eye 
 can generally perceive the sandy bottom immediately in 
 front of the reef; the bottom rapidly sinks, however, and at 
 the distance of a few paces from the reef seawards we see 
 only what for the eye are blue unfathomable depths. 
 
 This slope, then, like the staging of a greenhouse, is entirety 
 covered with those brightly-coloured many-formed animal 
 growths which we call corals, or, to speak more correctly, it 
 entirely consists of these or their remains, bare and lifeless 
 blocks on which new generations begin to build, while around 
 them swarm and browse the coral fishes, so distinguished for 
 splendour of colouring and strangeness of form. "As hum- 
 ming-birds sport around the plants of the tropics, so also small 
 fishes, scarcely an inch in length and never growing larger, 
 but resplendent with gold, silver, purple, and azure, sport 
 around the flower-like corals, on the leaf-like prehensile arms 
 of which feed beautifully tinted shell-less and strangely-shaped 
 snails (jEolidce), like the caterpillars and garden-snails on the 
 leaves of plants.''^ All this is enveloped in the magic mantle 
 of the transparent briny flood, which, by peculiar effects of 
 refraction, raises and magnifies the distant forms, and lends 
 ^Ehrenberg Ueber die KorallenbdnJce, 1832. 
 
THE CORAL SLOPE. 369 
 
 them colours so deceptive that, when taken from the water, 
 they can scarcely be recognized. We feel drawn downwards 
 as it were by a mysterious power towards these objects, appa- 
 rently so near, yet rendered by the foreign element so distant 
 and unattainable, and we gaze dreamily into the depths, sunk 
 in nameless feelings and dim impressions regarding fairy 
 beings flitting about in the gardens of some marine paradise. 
 Against such ideas even the Arabian fisherman, unsentimental 
 as he is, is not quite proof; apart from the elephantine "sea- 
 maiden" (Halicore cetacea), which can be caught and skinned, 
 for him, too, there are below the waters charming genii who 
 are eager to marry human beings, though, to be sure, only 
 when the latter have mortified themselves for months previ- 
 ously with unsalted bread and water, so as to give to their 
 flesh and blood a half-ethereal character. 
 
 The naturalist, however, cannot allow himself to be allured 
 by dreams and phantasies; he insists upon seizing and taking 
 to pieces those forms to which the water lends such an indis- 
 tinct and magical effect. He wishes he had a diving bell and a 
 diving helmet in order that he might get down to tl^e bottom 
 at once, and he would fain catch the flshes with a net. But 
 the former appliances are unknown here, and the water is 
 too clear and the bottom too uneven and treacherous. The 
 gallant divers, however, that sit in the boat are able to fulfil 
 every desire, quickly bringing up the corals to which they 
 are directed by a stick or by description, and by means of 
 baited hooks catching one after another the finny denizens of 
 the deep. They use hooks of various sizes, and different 
 kinds of bait, such as small fishes, or morsels of fisli, worms, 
 serpent-stars, pieces of crabs or other shell-fish, and algse, 
 according to the size and likings of the fish. It requires a 
 practised eye to distinguish the corals on the spot where they 
 grow ; it is indeed difficult, and often scarcely possible, with 
 the microscope to make out the species at home and by the 
 study table. If the divers are left to their own choice, they 
 will be sure to bring a limited number of species, but of these 
 as great a number of examples as possible. The same species 
 often exhibits very different external forms and colours, and 
 
 24 
 
870 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 vice versa, different species often exhibit the same general 
 forms and colours. In catching fish much depends upon the 
 appetites of the fish, but the fisherman knows the tastes of 
 the several fishes, and can pretty accurately determine before- 
 hand what fish will take such and such a bait. 
 
 THE CORALS. 
 
 In multiplicity of species and forms, and in the number of 
 its individual colonies, the great genus of crown-corals (Ma- 
 drepora) characterizes before all others the outer slope of the 
 coral reef. The colour of the animals and their dwellings 
 varies generally from dark brown to yellowish and greenish, 
 the points of the branches being usually conspicuous from 
 their lighter shade, which sometimes passes into bluish and 
 rose-red. The coral structures or colonies assume sometimes 
 the appearance of a sward of grass, stems comparatively low, 
 and with few branches rising in tufts above the general flat 
 surface; sometimes they resemble a net- work of leaves and 
 grass with a rounded or gyrate periphery, the branches and 
 twigs uniting to form a much broken surface; or, lastly, they 
 grow to a considerable height, with a bushy or tree-like form. 
 Of these three typical forms, the first is found especially 
 on the higher part of the reef, the species of the second 
 often cover large areas on the slope and form tabular pro- 
 minences and terraces, the third form belongs mainly to the 
 deep water. Many such madrepore trees reach a height of 
 three or four feet, some form bushes, which, growing in great 
 numbers beside each other on the bottom in front of the slope, 
 appear like extensive woods or steppes. The thistle-like 
 bushes of the Seriatopora, with its delicate and much inter- 
 woven stems, have a habit similar to the latter. 
 
 But these loose and brittle corals, in regard to which we 
 cannot but wonder how they withstand the force of the 
 breakers, are not proper rock-building corals. The blocks of 
 which the reef is built are produced by the massive forms, 
 and in particular by the mesh-corals (Porites), which are 
 consolidated together into huge bluish, brown, or black 
 
THE CORALS. 371 
 
 spheres, bosses, and columns, and to the meandrine or brain 
 corals [Leptoria, Coeloria), which have polyps with shim- 
 mering green flesh, and which fringe the prominences of the 
 reef in rounded wavy masses. Rocks are formed also by the 
 great family of the star-corals (Astrcea), which form convex 
 expansions, and also balls and bosses. The stars or openings 
 of the individual animals have a certain size according to the 
 species, from the large Acanthastrsea and Prionastrsea to the 
 elegant Goniastrgea and peculiar Astrgea. The flat crusts of 
 the flat Montipora shimmer in light, yellow and violet colours. 
 The urchin-coral {Echinopora) spreads itself out as a half free 
 crust, or as an undulating brown or yellow table, with a very 
 rough surface, the substance rising here and there into knobs 
 and pillars. The solid Hydnophora grows similarly and ex- 
 hibits a bench-like appearance. The millepore corals {Mille- 
 pora), called by the natives ''fire- corals'' from the sharp 
 stinging nettle-like pain they cause, and classed by some 
 among the Medusae, sometimes rise in the form of upright, 
 thick, abruptly terminating tables and walls, or they form 
 variously-shaped crusts on worm-tubes, shells, &c., or lying 
 free they form themselves into knotty protuberances. Some, 
 lastly, rise in the form of thin net-like plates, which readily fly . 
 in pieces and terminate above in 3^et more fragile twigs. One 
 of the most beautiful corals, and one that at once attracts 
 notice on account of its cherry-red colour, is the cup-star 
 coral (Pocillojpora), which grows mainly on the upper part 
 of the slope, and generally in tufts, though also forming beds. 
 The colour belongs to the stony structure, though only to its 
 extremities, like the blue colour of the madrepores; the lower 
 portion and the polyps themselves are brown. The Stylo- 
 phora still continues to be well represented on the upper part 
 of the slope alongside of the Pocillopora, and, like it, varies 
 from a brownish to a rose-red colour. Besides those men- 
 tioned there are many other corals, which, from their small- 
 ness or scarcity, however, are of subordinate importance in 
 the formation of the reef; such are the Coenopsammia, which 
 forms a little tree, sometimes of a deep black at other times 
 of a blackish-green appearance, the mushroom corals (Fungia), 
 
372 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 which are attached only in earliest youth, and afterwards lie 
 free on the ground, sometimes having a flat round body 
 (Fungia patella), sometimes having a lengthened elliptical 
 shape with a longitudinal furrow, and then assuming the 
 deceptive appearance of a petrified roll of bread {Fungia 
 Fhrenhergi, Herpetholitha). The sight of rosy-rayed and 
 pretty rare Galasea always excites joy and admiration in the 
 discoverer. At a great depth grows the well-known black 
 coral (Antipathes), a six-rayed sclerobasic coral. In the Red 
 Sea there are but few representatives of the numerous 
 family of the eight-rayed sclerobasic corals so richly repre- 
 sented elsewhere, especially in American seas, and to which 
 the well-known red coral belongs. While the reef is so 
 thickly overgrown with algse up to the line where it sinks 
 into the surf zone, vegetable life appears to cease altogether 
 when we approach the deep water. Instead of plants leathery 
 corals or Alcyonaria now flourish luxuriantly, and by an 
 ignorant observer would be at once mistaken for them. The 
 polyps of these, however, generally project considerably, and 
 are easily noticed; they are distinguished from the animals 
 of most other corals by possessing eight rays and as many 
 feathery tentacles, while other polyps have generally only 
 six rays. The colour of these animals changes very remark- 
 ably according as they expand or contract themselves, and 
 a person might easily think that a colony or bank when dis- 
 turbed belonged to quite a diflferent species from the same 
 when not so disturbed. From particles of lime interspersed 
 throughout their entire tissue, some of these "flesh corals'' 
 possess a leathery consistence, as is the case with the cork- 
 corals (Alcyonium), while in others the calcareous particles 
 are reduced to a minimum, and the stems remain almost soft 
 {Xenia, Sympodium). The Ammothsea is a coral that has 
 a remarkably plant-like aj^pearance, often forming lofty stalks 
 and bearing "catkins." 
 
THE FISHES. 373 
 
 THE FISHES. 
 
 The Red Sea is extraordinarily rich in fishes, the number 
 of species at present known amounting to about 520.^ They 
 are most plentiful on the slope of the coral reef. Whether 
 there are real coral-eating fishes is still doubtful ; the hard 
 substance of the corals at least can only be nibbled at, and 
 the soft animals withdraw into their cells on the slightest 
 disturbance. Many fishes eat plants, others subsist on the 
 numerous worms and molluscs that live here, or on decaying 
 animal matter; the greater number are predaceous, and eat 
 other fishes. The slope of the reef, with its crevices and deep 
 pools, affords admirable hiding-places, and since the locality 
 exhibits a number of bright colours, the fishes do so likewise, 
 according to a law which generally prevails in nature (that 
 of mimicry), although not without many exceptions. 
 
 In splendour of colour and diversity of form the fishes of 
 the coral region do not yield to the most brilliant birds. As 
 among birds the parrot takes the first rank for brilliant plum- 
 age, so among fishes the same rank is taken by the parrot-fish 
 (Scarus), the jaws of which have a remarkable resemblance 
 to the beak of a parrot. It is rivalled by the remaining 
 members of the great family of the wrasses (Labroidei), espe- 
 cially^ by the rainbow-fish (Julis), as also by the squami- 
 pennes with their disk-like forms, their very small mouths, 
 and their delicate teeth, the most remarkable of these forms 
 being the genera of the brittle-teethed fishes (Ghcetodon), the 
 opercular-spine fishes (Holacanthus), the whip-thong fishes 
 (Heniochus); we must also add the sea-surgeon {Acanthurns), 
 the unicorn thorn tail {Naseus), with its sharp tail-spine, the 
 trigger-fish {Batistes), and lastly, the elegant, though gener- 
 ally small, Pomacentridse, the humming-birds among the 
 fishes. These fishes are for the most part comparatively poor 
 swimmers, and do not venture far from the slope of the reef, 
 being also met with frequently in the deeper pools on its 
 
 ^ See on this subject my complete "Synopsis of the Fishes of the Red Sea"' in 
 the Transactions of the Imperial lioi/al Zoological and Botanical Society/ of 
 Vienna, 1870-71. 
 
374 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 surface. Many fishes of the sea-bream family (Sparoids) also 
 love to frequent the slope, though less exclusively, and their 
 colours are commonly not so brilliant. The nearly allied 
 fishes of the genus Csesio, which swim about in shoals in 
 front of the slope, at once attract the spectator's notice by 
 their beautiful sky-blue colour. 
 
 The predaceous species among, these coral-fishes are the 
 perches {Percidce), especially the saw-perches (Serranus), so 
 numerous in species and so rich in colouring, the notched- 
 perches {Diaco2:)e), and the thorn-perches {Myripristis), that 
 generally lead a nocturnal life, the toothed-perches (Friacan- 
 thus), the spiny-gilled perches (Holocentrum), and the Chilo- 
 dipterus. The sea-eels (Murcena) show themselves more on 
 the reef itself and in the pools; a gigantic species, Murcena 
 Javanica, reaches a length of 6 J feet or more, and occurs 
 also on the slope. 
 
 Among the inhabitants of the reef surface, in the zone of 
 the breakers, are the repulsive-looking mailed-cheeked fishes 
 {Cataphracta), such as the dragon-head (Scorpcena), and the 
 most hideous of all fishes the Synanceia. They lie here 
 motionless and hidden between stones and grass, and as they 
 can imitate the colour of their abodes in the most surprising 
 manner, the invader of their haunts is often not aware of 
 their presence until, having set his foot on them, they sud- 
 denly start up and inflict on him very painful wounds with 
 their spines. The stings of the Synanceia, at least, are almost 
 as painful as those inflicted by the scorpion. This hideous 
 creature has usually the points of its dorsal spines concealed 
 under a thick skin like the claws of a cat. It can volun- 
 tarily withdraw this skin, however, whereupon, according to 
 the fishermen, a milky drop exudes, a kind of eating poison^ 
 which makes the wound so painful. One of the finest sights 
 in this sea is afibrded by the winged-fish {Pterois), when it 
 swims about in a pool or creek with its large brilliant and 
 delicate fins. But care must be taken not to let it touch the 
 naked skin, as the sharp and slender dorsal spines form 
 weapons capable of inflicting very severe wounds. 
 
 The balloon-fish (Tetrodon), -which generally occur in bays. 
 
THE FISHES. 875 
 
 are also remarkable creatures. When danger threatens they 
 quickly rise to the surface of the water, in doing which 
 they are assisted by their large swimming-bladder, and 
 here they gulp up air with a certain noise. The air passes 
 through the gullet into a sack (an extension of the perito- 
 neum), which lies between the peritoneum and the skin, and 
 in ordinary circumstances is in a state of collapse; as the 
 sack becomes inflated the fish thereby gradually assumes the 
 form of a sphere, which floats on the surface of the water like 
 an inflated bladder. The back being the heavier portion 
 turns undermost with the belly above it. The surface of the 
 sphere is almost everywhere closely beset with prickles, 
 which this procedure causes to stand stiff* and erect. In the 
 case of the urchin-fish (Diodon) these prickles are very large 
 and strong. In this state these fishes have no active means 
 of defence; they can no longer swim at pleasure, since their 
 fins have become withdrawn, and they are altogether at the 
 mercy of the waves. But as the hedgehog among mammalia 
 is safe against attacks when curled up in a ball, so, too, these 
 piscine hedgehogs are protected by their spiny armour, the 
 more so that a bladder when swimming is by no means easy 
 to lay hold of even though unprotected by spines. Accord- 
 ing to the magnitude of the danger they inflate themselves 
 much or little, and when they are very greatly disturbed 
 their bodies swell almost to bursting. When the danger is 
 over they let out the air gradually and with some noise, and 
 then they resume the appearance of an ordinary fish and 
 swim away. All the species are not equally inflatable, how- 
 ever. The beak of these fishes bas some resemblance to that 
 of a parrot, but while the bite of the latter is comparatively 
 harmless, these globe-fish bite severely whatever comes into 
 their neighbourhood. Their heads are looked upon as very 
 poisonous, even for cats, while the rest of their bodies are 
 much eaten, at least by the ichthyophagous Bedouins. Their 
 bite is not poisonous, nor are there any other poisonous fishes 
 in this sea, though several, when eaten at certain times, cause 
 pains and purging, as, for example, a mackerel {Scomber 
 Kanagurta), which otherwise is not bad eating. 
 
376 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 The trunk-fisbes or coffer-fishes (Ostracion) have a form 
 which apparently marks them off from all other fishes. They 
 possess a hard, rigid, and box-like coat of mail, composed of 
 separate polygonal plates joined together, and out of this 
 only the fins, the mouth, and the tail project as movable 
 extremities. Accordingly they swim very badly, and may 
 be even taken with the hand. A closer examination of their 
 structure, however, shows the greatest similarity with the 
 globe-fishes. The bases of the spines of the latter have, in 
 the case of the coffer-fishes, become broadened out into the 
 form of simple plates, and are grown together, while the 
 spines have diminished in size or disappeared altogether. 
 
 Other strange forms which swim about in the creeks and 
 pools are the tobacco-pipe fishes (Fistularia), the sea-needles 
 (Syngnathus), and the well-known, though here rather rare, 
 sea-horses (Hippocampus), 
 
 Rays and small sharks may sometimes be met with on the 
 surface of the reef, though mainly as casual visitors. Colossal 
 specimens of the former are sometimes thrown up dead on 
 the shore, of which the genera Cephaloptera and Ceratoptera 
 may be mentioned. Such a monster of the deep is also the 
 so-called swimming-head or sun-fish (Orthagorisciis), which 
 is closely allied to the globe-fish. 
 
 The sea-grass meadows (Gisua of the Arabs), which we have 
 already often mentioned, and which are met with partly in 
 depressions in the surface of the reef, partly on the bottom 
 of the sea (especially in harbours), afford concealment to a 
 special class of fishes, many of which are distinguished by 
 possessing a green colour. To these belong several sea-needles 
 (Gastrotokeus), the knife-fishes (Amphisile), several of the sea- 
 bream family, especially Lethrinus, the Percis, young broad- 
 fish (Platax), and some of the genus Diagramma. 
 
 On a sandy bottom in front of and on the reef, as well as 
 on the bottom of the harbour, live the flat-fishes (Pleuronec- 
 tidce), or, as they are here called, the Moses-fishes, half 
 covered over and generally lying quietly in wait for their 
 prey; along with these we also find the flat-heads {Platy- 
 cephalus), which belong to the mailed-cheeks; and, lastly, 
 
THE FISHES. 377 
 
 rays, especially the Torpedo, which gives slight electric shocks. 
 These ground fishes have this in common, that they are flat, 
 and have the under surface, or, as in the case of the Pleuro- 
 nectidse, one of the sides, pale and colourless. It is only the 
 Gerresoyena, which sometimes, though rarely, makes a trench 
 in the sand with one of its sides, that has scales gleaming like 
 silver all over its body. 
 
 A number of species of fishes are always on the move. 
 The shoals of these are met with in the harbour and on the 
 reef, but do not go far out into the open sea. At high-water 
 they swim over the reef towards the shore, always making 
 for the shallows, probably from fear of the predaceous fishes, 
 and at low-water they return to the harbour, if they have 
 not allowed themselves to be imprisoned in the pools by the 
 receding tide. Such wandering fishes are the barbels, the 
 mullets, the members of the genera Gerres, Therapon, and 
 Pristipoma, and these are accompanied, especially at night, 
 by some of the coral fishes, such as the parrot-fish, and 
 several of the genera Chrysophrys. They are mostly good 
 swimmers. 
 
 The open sea also is not poor in fishes, though by no means 
 so ricli as the reef region. They are all excellent swimmers, 
 able to make long journeys, and accordingly have generally 
 a wide geographical distribution. Many of them are not only 
 spread over the whole of the Indian Ocean, and as far as 
 Japan and Australia — which is also the case with many of the 
 previously-mentioned fishes, even the coral fishes proper — but 
 also over the Atlantic Ocean to the American coasts, and into 
 the Pacific Ocean. Some few are even found in the North Sea 
 and in the Mediterranean. These strong-swimmers are almost 
 all of a monotonous colour, which becomes paler on the belly; 
 and members of the same species, though inhabiting regions 
 widely separated, differ from each other in no respect, not 
 even by a mere shade, while the reef-fish proper generally 
 exhibit race differences at least in colouring. 
 
 The fishes, and the fauna generally, of the East Afiican 
 coasts and islands, up to the Mozambique, are most closely 
 connected with those of the Red Sea, as well in the number 
 
378 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 of species possessed in common as in similarity of colouring, 
 while farther towards the East the species and races gradually 
 become more and more different. Of the 520 species of fishes 
 found in the Red Sea 140 are known from this sea alone up 
 to the present time; 26 are common to it with the East 
 African sea, while the remainder, that is the greater number, 
 are spread over the Indian Ocean, and as far as Japan and 
 Australia. In the Atlantic Ocean, also, live 19 species, being 
 confined chiefly to the tropical portion of it; only 7 are found 
 in the Mediterranean. Of the latter one species (Caranx 
 trachuTUs) is a citizen of the world, being found from Eng- 
 land to New Zealand; the others belong to the above-men- 
 tioned strong-swimmers or fishes of the high sea, namely, the 
 well-known pilot-fish (Naucrates ductor), the remora {Eclie- 
 neis naucrates), the coryphene or dolphin (Coryphcena hip- 
 puTus), the hammer-headed shark (^Zygoma malleus), the 
 long-nosed shark (Lamna Spallanzani), and the smooth 
 hound (Mustelus). 
 
 The fishes of the open sea belong chiefly to the families of 
 .the mackerels and tunnies (Scomheridce), the mackerel-pikes 
 ( Scomber esocidce), the arrow-pikes ( Sphyrcenidce), the 
 sharks, and the herrings {Clup)eidce). Among the first may 
 be mentioned the scad {Garanx), remarkable for the number 
 of species it presents; these are predatory fishes, and prey 
 especially on herrings and allied fishes, the periodical shoals 
 of which they follow, like them appearing periodically. The 
 tunny-fishes proper do not make their appearance here in 
 shoals of any size, but the single individuals are often of 
 large size. A remarkable fish, closely allied to the tunny, is 
 the large and rather rare sail-fish (Histiophorus), the sword- 
 fish of this sea. It has an extraordinarily high dorsal fin, and 
 laying itself on its side, and forming an arch about 1 2 feet 
 wide, it is able to make several leaps to the height of 3 or 4 
 feet above the surface of the sea. Other leaping-fishes are 
 mackerel -pikes {Scomheresocidce), the half- beaks (Hemi- 
 ramphus), the mullets and the herring-like Chirocentrus, 
 while the flying-fish proper (Exocoetus), by means of its large 
 and wing-like pectoral fins, can support itself in the air for 
 
THE FISHES. 3 7 9" 
 
 considerable distances. The flying- gurnards (Dactylopterus) 
 have not yet been observed in the Ked Sea, but, on the other 
 hand, a fish which is here met with, viz. the Apistus Israeli- 
 taruTYh, closely allied to the scorpion-fish or dragon-head 
 (Scorpcena), is capable of flying, according to Ehrenberg's 
 observation. The sail-fish or fan-fish (Pterois), formerly 
 mentioned, has pectoral and ventral fins so large as to 
 resemble wings, and some persons have believed it able ta 
 fly, but this is not the case, as its fins are too delicately 
 constructed. It is strange to see how shoals of these leaping 
 and flying fishes suddenly leap from the water and take the 
 same direction, all rising together, as if at the word of com- 
 mand, or as if impelled by the same external influence, the 
 same thought and will. This community of feeling is, gener- 
 ally speaking, peculiar to fishes that move about in shoals. 
 
 The pilot-fishes (Naucrates), as is well known, swarm 
 around the sharks, greedy as these are for most sorts of 
 animal food, without the latter doing them any injury, and 
 in company with the sharks they often follow ships for long 
 distances. By means of the sucking-disc which it has on its 
 head and shoulders, and which is nothing else than a modified 
 dorsal fin, the remora (Echeneis) attaches itself to the skin 
 of' a shark, and often to the bottom of a vessel, and thus 
 travels over the whole world. Herrings and sardines appear 
 periodically and in great shoals, and are always accompanied 
 by a multitude of fishes of prey. They are generally small, 
 though some allied forms (Alhida, Chanops, and Elops) grow 
 to a large size, and these occur in both the Indies without it 
 being possible to make a specific distinction between them. 
 All the fishes mentioned are strong-swimmers, travel far out 
 into the open sea, and are found also in the harbours, but 
 only a few of them seem to care for living on the reef Here 
 the perches ply their predatory trade. 
 
 Some fishes remain almost always close below the surface 
 of the water, as the sea-pike or garfish, and the half-beak 
 (Hemiramphus); others love only shallow water, or keep at 
 a moderate depth ; while others again only feel comfortable 
 at a great depth, and seldom make their appearance above. 
 
380 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 This diversity of habit depends upon the species, and often 
 upon the age of the fishes. Many species are never met 
 with except of a large size, as is the case with species of 
 Serranus, Plectropoma, Diacope, Holocentrum, Sphserodon, 
 Pagrus, Dentex, Aphareus, Sphyrgena, Thynnus, Caranx; 
 such species may pass their youth in localities where they can- 
 not be caught by the hook, probably in deep water. Some 
 species retire to greater depths as they grow old, while the 
 younger ones are met with nearer the surface; this is the case 
 with several of the genus Serranus. The fishes that are 
 hooked at great depths present this peculiarity, that their 
 bodies are distended, and their throat and sesophagus forced 
 forward to their mouths. This is evidently a result of the 
 diminished pressure on the gases of the body, and analogous 
 to the swelling up of a frog under the air-pump. When the 
 fish voluntarily comes up it can gradually restore the equili- 
 brium by means of its swimming-bladder. The lower animals 
 that live at great depths have their water- vascular system, 
 or something corresponding, as a means of equalizing the pres- 
 sure. Many fishes that live deep down "in the purple dark- 
 ness" have, strange to say, a bright red colour, while other 
 similar species and individuals that live higher are darker and 
 grayer, or are brightly coloured. Besides the locality they live 
 in (the coral reef or the open sea), sex has some influence on 
 their colours; this probably accounts for the striking diver- 
 sities of colouring exhibited by some of the parrot-fishes and 
 rainbow-fishes, which do not have the slightest difference in 
 form; but too few observations have been made, and the sex 
 cannot be easily detected except at spawning time. At this 
 time some of them, as in the genus Caranx, show more 
 lively colours, afterwards becoming lean and gray. On this 
 subject also further observations are desirable. 
 
 Many fishes sliow themselves only at night, and these night- 
 fishes, as well as those living at a great depth, have generally 
 large eyes. There are, to be sure, large-eyed day-fishes also. 
 The "eye-fish" (Priacanthus hamrur) has two very large 
 eyes, with wide cloudy-looking pupils which, when it is alive, 
 shine in the dark like the eyes of a cat. To the luminous 
 
THE FISHES. 381 
 
 fishes belong the genera Scopelus, Maurolicus, Astronesthes. 
 They have peculiar round corpuscles or glands in their bodies, 
 and these often gleam like precious stones, amethyst, for 
 instance, and are said to be luminous at night. A consider- 
 able number of Red Sea fishes produce sounds, and especially 
 when they are taken out of the water. 
 
 But we have already ventured with our frail boat too far 
 in the billowy open sea with its cruel sharks and saw-fish, 
 its companies of sportive dolphins, its sirens, and its gigantic 
 turtles; we might come too near a gigantic sperm-whale, and 
 accordingly we prefer to return to the quiet harbour. There 
 we may, perhaps, have the good luck, rare in this sea, to 
 catch some of the Medusse or a chain of Salpse, which creatures 
 sometimes cover the surface of the water in the harbour, 
 generally about once in two years, and especially after east 
 and south-east winds. Or we may catch some of those 
 gleaming sepias that swim with a succession of jerks. If we 
 dip into the sea a fine-meshed net, such as is used for catching 
 butterflies, and drop what it retains into a glass of sea- water, 
 we shall be sure to find various minute creatures, such as 
 Polycystina, Infusoria, and larval forms. If we have a trawl- 
 net we may let it down and hoist a sail, and then we shall, 
 no doubt, catch some of the rare inhabitants of the bottom 
 The trawl-net cannot be much employed here, however; it 
 soon becomes frayed and torn on the rocky bottom of the 
 harbour, and still more on that of the sea in the neighbour- 
 hood of the coral reef, where also the depth is generally too 
 great. 
 
 We finish our labours by collecting a few gnats that were 
 dancing above the water, some of the sea-runners (Halohates) 
 that run about upon the surface of the sea, sand-beetles 
 (Cicindelce) on the sandy shore, and tiny spring- tails (Podurce) 
 under stones in the water; these assure us of the existence 
 here of the insect world, so sparely represented in the sea, 
 where the numerous varieties of crustaceans take its place. 
 Thus we return to land laden with the treasures of all the 
 zoological kingdoms^ from the mammals to the Protozoa. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 POPULAR BELIEFS AND SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
 In the ancient wonderland of Egypt, according to the 
 •almost unanimous testimony of its inhabitants, there are still 
 at the present day wonders upon wonders; and phenomena 
 from the region of the supersensual, which extends without 
 any obvious boundary from the dominion of faith to that of 
 superstition and folly, are still of daily occurrence. At the 
 present day it is generally considered superfluous to treat 
 of these matters, but whoever has had an opportunity of 
 mixing with the Moslimin for only a short time will admit 
 how deeply penetrated by superstition the whole people are, 
 and how they cannot really he understood unless by one 
 who has a knowledge, not only of their religious beliefs, 
 but also of their superstitions. 
 
 THE GINN. 
 
 Like the other countries of Islam (so the Koran teaches) 
 Egypt is inhabited by a vast number of ginn or spirits 
 (genii) in addition to the ordinary human race. These ginn 
 are not spirits of the dead that have to "walk," as in other 
 regions, but a distinct kind of beings, a sort of cobolds or 
 elves, beings intermediate between angels and men. Like 
 men they are born, grow up, become old, and die; they are 
 male or female, black or white, high and low, free and slaves, 
 Moslimin and Christian; they have each a personal name; 
 there are among them kingdoms and governments, with 
 rulers corresponding; in short, they are exactly parallel to 
 mankind, from whom they are distinguished only by the 
 want of flesh and blood, and by reaching a great age, namely, 
 300 years or more. To the human race they stand in the 
 closest relationship. Every child of man has a companion 
 belonging to the realm of the ginn, who is born at the same 
 
THE MAN OF SCIENCE AND THE MAGICIANS. 383 
 
 hour with him, and attends him as his o^uardian anofel, but 
 more frequently makes him the victim of malicious tricks, 
 nay, even renders him sick and causes his death. This com- 
 panion, the karina, is female in the case of a male child and 
 vice versa; and when the child dies of spasms or the like 
 while still receiving suck from its mother, it is generally the 
 karina that kills it. Even in the official registers of deaths 
 kept by the physicians the karina was till lately a regular 
 variety of disease, exactly corresponding to our convulsions. 
 As people grow up these companions lose more and more 
 their influence over them, and latterly they only visit their 
 human mates now and again when the latter are asleep. 
 
 Usually these beings are invisible, but they can assume 
 all kinds of intangible and shadowy forms, with the outlines 
 of persons, animals, and monsters, and as such they appear 
 to many people. When a proper view is obtained of them 
 they may at once be distinguished by their perpendicular 
 eye. Many of the inhabitants of the country, indeed the 
 majority of them, have experienced such encounters, and can 
 tell gruesome stories about the '* afrit" exactly similar to our 
 ghost- stories. If any one wishes to be sure of seeing these 
 beings he must impart to his material earthly fleshy nature 
 a kind of half ethereal strain by preparations for months 
 beforehand, by mortifications, and fasts, and by eating nothing 
 but unsalted bread and water. 
 
 THE MAN OF SCIENCE AND THE MAGICIANS. 
 
 The "man of science" is able to call up these beings, to 
 drive them away, and to make them do his bidding by in- 
 voking them by name,^ by reading certain chapters of the 
 Koran (especially the Kurzi) a certain number of times — 
 perhaps several thousand times — by writing down mysteri- 
 ously arranged letters, figures, words, and numbers (taken 
 from the so-called Ahged). This science, although not recom- 
 mended by the Prophet, is cultivated throughout the whole 
 
 ^ These names generally sound unlike Arabic, and may afford the philologist 
 not uninteresting hints regarding the origin of this "science." 
 
884 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 of the Mohammedan world by a great number of men, and 
 also by women. The Moghrebins or Moors and the Fellatah 
 of Soudan are reputed the most learned and skilful in it- 
 They draw their knowledge from tradition or from written 
 books, which form a great body of occult literature ; in scope, 
 importance, and popular esteem only the religious literature 
 proper can vie with it. By the instrumentality of the ginn, 
 the ''servants of the secret," or by the knowledge, however 
 gained, of one of the ''secret names of God/' those acquainted 
 with occult lore can perform all sorts of miraculous feats, 
 though it is very remarkable that they are generally as poor 
 as beggars. Poverty, however, we are told, is in many cases 
 the essential condition in a compact with a genie, in others 
 celibacy, or such like self-denial. With regard to some, how- 
 ever, it is maintained that, although genuine men, they are 
 formally married to a ginnee or female ginn, and perform 
 their wonders by means of this wife, who is invisible to other 
 people; they themselves, of course, do not admit this. 
 
 Men are sometimes met with who spend a great deal of 
 money, though nobody knows how they procure it. Such 
 persons are also said to have a compact with a ginnee, who 
 supplies them with money. A few years ago a mysterious 
 Mohammedan gentleman of this kind travelled about in 
 Egypt, calling himself the Seyid Abd er- rah man el Adaros 
 from India. He sailed up the Nile with a vessel and a large 
 retinue, had a medical attendant of his own, and intended 
 to travel in the Soudan. Travelling without a definite object 
 is something extraordinary among the Mohammedans, and 
 accordingly he attracted a great deal of notice, especially as 
 he worked wonders, and was very open-handed. Eye-wit- 
 nesses asserted and swore that he could take pieces of money 
 from below his carpet whenever he wished, that he could with 
 a breath change silver coins into gold ones, salt into sugar, 
 &c. This was quite enough, he was denounced to the govern- 
 ment as a magician, and the authorities courteously requested 
 him, instead of going to the Soudan, to change his route to the 
 nearest sea-port (Koseir), and there embark for some other 
 country, supplying him at the same time with an escort. 
 
THE COMPACT WITH IRON AND LEAD. 385 
 
 These people maintain that they practise only the higher 
 and innocent kind of magic, and that their ginns are good, 
 and not given to commit evil deeds, such as robbery and 
 murder, while the "magicians" are in alliance with devilish 
 beings, wicked ginns. The good ginns, who are all Moslimin, 
 serve Moslimin only. Such Christians and Jews as practise 
 magic are able to do so only by the assistance of the evil and 
 degraded ginns or devils (sheitan). These unbelievers, on 
 the other hand, charge the Mohammedans with enchantment 
 and exorcise their genii with psalms. "Let a Christian 
 beware of calling up a Moslim ginn," is the warning given 
 by an old authority, "the ginn will revenge himself for this 
 affront and immediately put his summoner to death." 
 
 Maskat is regarded as the home and native country of 
 magic. There at the present day men are still changed into 
 animals, especially donkeys and apes, as in the times of the 
 Caliphs and in the Thousand and One Nights. 
 
 THE MAGIC-BOOKS. 
 
 The written books of magic teach how a person must pro- 
 ceed in order to gain any one's affections, to awake at will, 
 to unloose chains, to bring back a fugitive, to keep a wife 
 from faithlessness, to meet with any one, to keep birds away 
 from crops, to cause the belly of a thief to swell up ( ! ), to 
 make a man or an ox run after him; but above all, to discover 
 buried treasures, to find out a thief, to summon up ginns, or 
 to find pieces of gold under one's pillow. In these books 
 there are also a multitude of receipts against sickness in 
 general, and against headache, restlessness, terror, wakeful- 
 ness, fever, stoppage of milk both among women and animals, 
 and scald-head in particular, as well as against serpents, scor- 
 pions, bugs, and other vermin, and for and against pregnancy. 
 
 THE COMPACT WITH IRON AND LEAD. 
 
 The triumph of this science, however, is due to the "com- 
 pact with iron and lead," and we believe that we have earned 
 
386 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 for ourselves the eternal gratitude of war-tormented mankind 
 in copying it out of the magic-book and preserving it for the 
 good of both friend and foe. Since every one will make haste 
 to wear this talisman on his breast, henceforth no sword will 
 cut or pierce, and no bullet penetrate, and the golden age has 
 arrived. The celebrated Ibrahim Pasha, as any of his sub- 
 jects will testify, came out of every battle uninjured, and 
 reached an advanced age through wearing such a talisman, 
 and the head of one of the ringleaders in the massacre of the 
 Christians at Jeddah could not be struck off until a talisman 
 that he had sewn under the skin of his arm was removed. 
 The following receipts occur among many others. 
 
 RECEIPT FOR SUMMONING SPIRITS. 
 
 Fast seven days, and let body and clothes be clean. Read 
 first the chapter of the Koran called "the angel," to the word 
 Jiazir, fourteen times after the night prayer; then pray with 
 four genuflexions, uttering the fatha seven times at each 
 genuflexion, and when in the seventh night you have read 
 that chapter fourteen times, ask of God what you wish to 
 receive. One of the spirits, who are the servants of this 
 chapter, will now appear, and will give you information as 
 to the treasure, and how you may get possession of it. 
 
 " And if you wish to see still more of the wonderful powers 
 of this chapter, fast seven days in a lonely place, and take 
 incense with you, such as benzoin, aloes-wood, mastic, and 
 odoriferous wood from Soudan, and read the chapter 1001 
 times in the seven days — a certain number of readings, namely, 
 for every one of the five daily prayers. That is the secret, 
 and you will see indescribable wonders, drums will be beaten 
 beside you, and flags hoisted over your head, and you will 
 see spirits full of light and of beautiful and benign aspect. 
 Enter into friendship with some of these, and they will show 
 you treasures and reveal to you secret knowledge, and will 
 initiate you into the mysteries of religion." 
 
 An interesting and characteristic remark was made b}^ one 
 of our acquaintances, who asserted that he had undergone 
 
THE MAGIC MIRROR. 387 
 
 such a course of self-mortification and spirit-seeking; he said 
 he really saw all kinds of horrible forms in his magic circle, 
 hut he saw them also ivhen his eyes were shut; at last he got 
 quite terrified and left the place. 
 
 A LOVE-CHARM. 
 
 " On a Wednesday after the vesper prayer, and when your 
 shadow measures twenty paces, write the following formula 
 (chdtim) with rose-water and sesame water on paper or parch- 
 ment. Roll this up and throw it on the ground. Then write 
 the formula on the palm of the left hand and fumigate with 
 mastic, benzoin, and coriander. Say over the chapters, 
 Amran and Ichlds, while your hand is held above the 
 smoke, and then pick up the talisman from the ground. 
 Touch your body with it, and that of the person on whom 
 you have designs. Hang it to the members of your right 
 side, and you will see something wonderful; God's protection 
 is with thee. But use the talisman only for what is lawful I" 
 
 The formula consists of certain words written so as to form 
 a hollow square with words also written across the corners. 
 Inclosed within the square on each side are the words hil 
 hdk ansilnah u bit hdk nesil, that is, "in right (not unallowed) 
 we have made him (the spirit) descend, and in right he de- 
 scended." The words Gabrail, Mikail, Israfil, Israil, the 
 names of the four archangels, are written so as to form the 
 sides of the square; across the corners are Abu bekr, Omr, 
 Otman, Ali, the four chief companions of the Prophet. Out- 
 side the square on each side is Biduh, the name of a ginn, 
 which is very often written on the addresses of letters, or else 
 the corresponding numbers of the Abged, 2468. 
 
 THE MAGIC MIRROR. 
 
 The magic mirror is much employed. A ''pure" innocent 
 bo}?- (not more than twelve years of age) is directed to look 
 into a cup filled with water and inscribed with texts, while 
 under his cap is stuck a paper, also with writing on it, so as 
 
388 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 to hang over bis forehead; he is also fumigated with incense, 
 while sentences are murmured by the conjuror. After a little 
 time, when the boy is asked what he sees, he says that he 
 sees persons moving in the water, as if in a mirror. The 
 conjuror orders the boy to lay certain commands on the spirit, 
 as for instance to set up a tent, or to bring coffee and pipes. 
 All this is done at once. The conjuror asks the inquisitive 
 spectators to name any person whom they wish to appear on 
 the scene, and some name is mentioned, no matter whether 
 the person is living or dead. The boy commands the spirit 
 to bring him. In a few seconds he is present, and the boy 
 proceeds to describe him. The description, however, accord- 
 ing to our own observation, is always quite wide of the mark. 
 The boy excuses himself by saying that the person brought 
 before him will not come right into the middle, and always 
 remains half in the shade; but at other times he sees the 
 persons really and in motion. When a theft is committed 
 the magic mirror is also sometimes questioned, as we our- 
 selves were witnesses on one occasion. (This is called clavh 
 el mandel.) The accusations of the boy fell upon a person 
 who was afterwards proved to be quite innocent, but whom 
 the boy, as it appeared, designedly charged with the crime 
 out of malevolence. For this reason such experiments, for- 
 merly much in vogue, were strictly prohibited by the govern- 
 ment, though they are still practised. 
 
 OTHER MAGICAL RITES. 
 
 Another magical rite is that of the revolving pitcher. Into 
 a pitcher filled with water are murmured certain magic for- 
 mulae. Two persons, sitting opposite each other, hold the 
 pitcher lightly with the fingers and the thumb, and after 
 some time it begins to turn either towards the right or 
 towards the left, giving an affirmative answer in the former, 
 a negative in the latter case. This reminds us of table-turn- 
 ing, and also of the key which turns when held by two people, 
 who have a very slight grasp of it, or when it is hung between 
 two books, &c. The latter experiment succeeds as well when 
 
FEAR OF SPIRITS. 389 
 
 performed to the accompaniment of a merry song as to that 
 of a pious psalm. 
 
 A proceeding similar to that of table-turning is often prac- 
 tised by the Egyptians. Those engaged in it squat round a 
 man who stretches himself out on the ground as if dead; they 
 join hands, and each two sitting opposite each other lay the 
 hands or the points of the fingers under the man. Every one 
 then whispers to his neighbour er rdgel ^nidt, that is, "the 
 man is dead." After a little time it is said that though the 
 parties have only their fingers placed beneath the man they 
 can raise him from the ground. It is said that other heavy 
 weights may be easily lifted in this way also — an application 
 of force which, in spite of faith, has not yet been adopted in 
 practical life. 
 
 From this species of magic we must distinguish the natural 
 magic (zini), which acts by natural means and sleight of 
 hand, but differs from the ordinary art of the juggler. A 
 master of this art, we are told, was able so to deceive the 
 senses of his audience that he appeared to go in at a camel's 
 mouth and come out at its other end. Another, however, is 
 said to have played a trick upon him, and made use of means 
 to counteract the delusion, so that the spectators saw him 
 really passing along by the side of the camel. 
 
 FEAR OF SPIRITS. 
 
 Yery few of the inhabitants of the country display much 
 eagerness to come to close quarters with the spirits, but all 
 firmly believe in them. Nobody ventures, therefore, to live 
 in a house alone, to go out alone late at night, or to remain 
 alone in a room at night; and when the husband wishes to 
 go out in the evening to visit his friends, the wife takes 
 refuge with her neighbours or relatives if she has no children 
 or servants. It is only the night-watchmen, sextons, and 
 soldiers whom familiarity relieves from the fear of the 
 spirits, though certainly not from belief in them. On Friday, 
 the Mohammedan Sabbath, the spirits are particularly fond 
 of stationing themselves on the thresholds of doors and gates, 
 
390 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 and nobody will then venture to remain at such spots. It is 
 not considered as permissible to sweep out a house at night, 
 since a ginn might be struck and injured, and so induced to 
 revenge himself. For similar reasons people do not care to 
 have anything to do with cats, as these may be ginns in dis- 
 guise. A Moslim is never heard whistling a tune or any- 
 thing else, especially at night, since the spirits are attracted 
 by whistling. The respect with which the people regard the 
 ginns is evidenced by the exclamation, in universal use, "with 
 permission, ye blessed ones," when a person enters any room 
 or pours out water. The intention is to attract the attention 
 of the ginns, and warn them to get out of the way, so that 
 nothing may happen to them. 
 
 TALISMANS. 
 
 For the most part, however, people try to protect them- 
 selves against these beings, as causing sickness; and popular 
 medicine is based almost entirely upon this view. Whoever 
 feels himself unwell gets a schoolmaster, a scribe, or any other 
 person who has a ''blessed hand" to read a chapter or some 
 verses from the Koran over him, and the seat of the disease 
 in particular; or he gets such a verse written down on a piece 
 of paper, and, tying it up in a little leather bag, perhaps sew- 
 ing it in, attaches it to his person. He may also get a text 
 written w^ith ink in a plate or other dish, when, having 
 washed off the writing with water, he drinks up the nauseous 
 inky mixture, and sometimes recovers. If this religious cure 
 proves of no avail he has recourse to magic. There is scarcely 
 a town, scarcely even a small village, in which there is not one 
 "doctor" at least who professes this art, and who, for a trifle, 
 will write out a valuable talisman for the invalid, after having 
 first determined whether the sickness proceeds from spirits, 
 from the evil eye, from God, or from some material cause. 
 Most people do not allow matters to go so far, but wear 
 themselves, and make their children wear from the first day 
 of their existence, one or more amulets against all evil influ- 
 ences in general. 
 
THE ENVIOUS EYE. 391 
 
 THE ENVIOUS EYE. 
 
 In working mischief the evil eye competes closely with 
 the ginns. Many men go about who are by no means sor- 
 cerers, and who have eyes like other people, but ''empty, 
 hollow." They cannot bear to see anything fine in the 
 hands of another, and their envy falls with a blighting effect 
 upon any creature they admire, which suddenly or gradually 
 becomes ill, or meets with some accident, and often dies. 
 This power of throwing an evil glance upon anything is by 
 no means always voluntary, for even a father may cause the 
 death of his own child by looking upon it with admiration! 
 It would be impossible to quote all the proofs that the people 
 bring forward in favour of this theory. If a she-goat retains 
 its milk somebody will at once remember that an old woman 
 (in other countries called a witch, a conception which is almost 
 entirely unknown among Mohammedans) went out of the 
 house a little ago; if an object that has not been put in a 
 secure position falls down, the accident is caused by the eye 
 of some person who covets it. The envious person can cause 
 the dates to fall from his neighbour's trees, or even bring 
 down the birds in the air. A great number of the customs 
 of the people are directed against this secret danger. The 
 dirty state in which children are kept, the usages of hospi- 
 talit37- to some extent, such as the urgent invitation to a 
 person present to partake of a repast served up, the practice 
 of carefully concealing provisions while they are being carried 
 home, the readiness with which an object is handed to the 
 person that admires it, are based on this view; even the 
 seclusion in which women are kept is the result, not merely 
 of Mohammed's commands or of idle jealousy, but arises from 
 the fear lest the evil eye may injure the beloved beings. 
 Texts from the Koran and talismans are employed with 
 success against the effects of the ''ej^e," also both before and 
 after its influence falls. "When a person wishes to express 
 admiration without causing injury the words of praise are 
 concluded with the name of God — ma sha Allah. 
 
392 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 THE PEOPLE OF BLESSING. THE SAINTS. 
 
 In opposition to these envious people, to these goblins and 
 devilish magicians, there are fortunately men of such a char- 
 acter that they spread around them good luck and blessing ; 
 they are known as the ahl el baraka (people of blessing). 
 These consist of the sheikhs or saints, especially silly, childish, 
 crazy people, as well as ascetics and hermits. Most of them 
 have no occupation, but live on alms, which they do not 
 require to ask, since every one considers it to his interest 
 and advantage to bestow something upon them and receive 
 a blessing in return. Others support themselves by some 
 occupation, and do not appear different from other people, 
 but they belong to a family of blessing. Respect is paid to 
 them as to a sherif or a man of position, and they are saluted 
 with a kiss on the head and hand. These saints are usually 
 harmless creatures who do no harm to anybody, and whom 
 no one thinks of injuring. They presume upon this, and do 
 many things that an ordinary man would not venture to do. 
 Sometimes they offend against police regulations, but they 
 are allowed to do as they please, their displeasure being 
 dreaded as much as their blessing is sought for. The people 
 believe in their power of working miracles. Such a saint, 
 we are told, was caught breaking into a shop and was appre- 
 hended by the police and placed in confinement. Next 
 morning, as a punishment for this forcible detention, every 
 one of the officials awoke with an eruption over his whole 
 body. Another saint set fire to the shop of a merchant. All 
 the goods were burned, but the blessing of the wrong-doer 
 enabled him in a few months to acquire three or four times 
 as much as he had lost. An extraordinary personage of this 
 kind, an old man, the celebrated Sheikh Selim, sits quite 
 naked, year after year, at a certain spot on the bank of the 
 Nile in Upper Egypt, and lives on the voluntary tribute of 
 the passing mariners If they give him nothing his curse 
 arrests their vessel on its course, even though it be a steamer, 
 and farther progress is impossible till the saint's tribute is 
 paid. Another possesses the gift of omniscience, and will 
 
THE PEOPLE OF BLESSING. THE SAINTS. 393 
 
 answer a stranger accurately as to tlie latter's previous life, 
 his name, and his family, though be never saw him before. 
 Still greater is their miraculous power after death. The body 
 of such saints, when on its way to its last resting-place, has 
 such a mysterious power on those that carry the bier that 
 they can do nothing of themselves, but are compelled to 
 follow a certain route, and bur}^ the saint in whatever spot 
 he may choose. An old negro slave in Koseir, well known 
 for his long, harmless, pious life, having died towards even- 
 ing, would not, on any account, have himself buried the same 
 evening, and the bearers, in spite of all their shouting of 
 la Hall ill A llah, could not bring the corpse to the graveyard. 
 It remained, therefore, all night in the house (though the 
 people do not like to keep a corpse a night), watched by a 
 multitude of people praying. Next morning also it could 
 not be buried for a long time ; the blessed dead compelled 
 the bearers to 2:0 throuorh all the streets of the town, till at 
 last, on the recommendation of the more enlightened gover- 
 nor, the higher officials carried the bier to the grave; even 
 the Turkish soldiers could not accomplish it. The whole 
 town was in uproar. The Mohammedans say the angels 
 exercise this coercive power, the Christians believe it is the 
 devil. Deceit or practical joking is not always to be surmised 
 in such cases; on the occasion just mentioned almost the 
 whole male population tried what they could do, and among 
 them many staid and serious men. It is the firm belief of 
 these people that the deceased saint or the angels cause the 
 pressure, and then they feel it too. Even in Cairo such 
 occurrences are common as well as in the other parts of the 
 country. Among the ancient Egyptians also the processions 
 of the images of their deities did not direct themselves at 
 pleasure, but by divine inspiration. 
 
 After burial the saint appears in a dream to some well-to-do 
 persons and commands them to build a tomb for him, where- 
 upon he gives them an effectual means for the cure of their 
 diseases. When he obtains a temple wonder follows upon 
 wonder. People stream to the spot to perform their vows, 
 their wishes are granted, and offerings are brought, of which 
 
394 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 the worthy sacrificial priest or saint's attendant (neJdh) 
 claims a half or a quarter, the rest being distributed among 
 the poor. From gifts made to it the tomb gradually acquires 
 costly ornaments, and a great j ubilee is celebrated every year. 
 In short, the worship of saints has gradually risen into im- 
 portance, and now is not behind what is practised in tlie 
 Christian-Catholic Church. It is unknown to the Koran, 
 and therefore the Mohammedan Puritans, the Wehabites of 
 Arabia, would have it expunged from the pure religion of 
 Mohammed along with much else. It is very gratifying to 
 some to stand in the odour of sanctity, to be honoured and 
 feasted by everybody. Such prophets move from place to 
 place, getting their former wondrous works proclaimed 
 abroad, and playing the quack and mountebank. One of 
 these men, whose father is said to have been able to satisfy 
 a whole assembly with a meal that had been served up for 
 himself alone, had the impudence to swindle some £7, 10^-. 
 out of a man who wished to have children, under the pretext 
 that this preliminary outlay was necessary to procure drugs, 
 whereupon the favoured of God set sail with the next ship 
 and was never seen again. 
 
 STATES OF ECSTASY. 
 
 Among the Mohammedans, and perhaps throughout the 
 East, it has always been an everyday occurrence for people 
 to fall into a state of ecstasy. Such states are also ascribed 
 to the ginns, who take possession of a person, transform his 
 appearance or "ride" him, and speak and act through him. 
 In the nature of all peoples lies an irresistible tendency 
 towards intoxication, and if wine or spirits are strictly for- 
 bidden, as among the Mohammedans, they induce this state 
 by means of opium and hashish, or if their religious scruples 
 cause them to reject these also, they intoxicate themselves 
 with religion itself The religious dances or zihrs, of which 
 we have repeatedly spoken, seem to have been invented for 
 this purpose. After these exercises, which are accompanied 
 by much flinging about of the head and body, and by in- 
 
THE SAR. 395 
 
 numerable repetitions of the name of Allah, it is a common 
 occurrence for one or two to fall into an ecstasy. As in the 
 case of alcoholic intoxication one will be in high good humour, 
 another dull and silent, a third quite frantic. Those pos- 
 sessed in this way foam at the mouth, while laboriously per- 
 sisting in trying to stammer out the name of Allah ; at last 
 they fall to the ground in a swoon, or remain standing as 
 stiff and rigid as a pillar, or they rush frantically about and 
 strike at whatever comes in their way. Certain dervishes 
 are said on such occasions even to eat fire, glass, and serpents. 
 The Soudanese are the most addicted to these strange per- 
 formances; in their leisure hours they know of no better 
 amusement than putting themselves into a state of ecstasy 
 by songs and dances which have always a religious basis. 
 They set some store by the reputation of quickly working 
 themselves into this condition. Though here and there one 
 or two may succeed in becoming really possessed, others 
 merely pretend to be so, and accordingly it happens, that 
 when the police appear upon the scene, the whole of those 
 who immediately before were lying rigid and in ecstasy at 
 once start up and take to their heels. 
 
 This ecstatic intoxication has no ulterior consequences. 
 Those possessed awake either of themselves or are roused by 
 the call la ilah ill Allah Mohammed rasul Allah, and they 
 then appear as if nothing had happened. Many of the saints 
 that are seen wandering about may have contracted their 
 imbecility through their repeated ecstasies, and people of this 
 sort are more disposed than others to fall down during these 
 pious exercises. 
 
 THE SAR. 
 
 Amonoj the women zikrs are not indulp^ed in, but the ten- 
 dency to ecstasies is even much greater among the more 
 nervous sex, and to gratify this inclination they have adopted a 
 practice which is said to have been introduced by Abyssinian 
 female slaves, and which gradually spread to such an extent 
 that the government felt itself called upon to forbid it 
 Nevertheless, it is still common among high and low, espe- 
 
396 UPPER p:gypt. 
 
 cially in Upper Egypt. The sch\ a certain ginn, is the power- 
 ful genie of sickness, who throws himself upon the women 
 by preference. Whenever a woman is affected by any illness, 
 the causes of which are not as clear as day, the sar is blamed 
 — *aleha es-sdr. It is immediately made known that the sar 
 is at so-and-so's house to-day, but the day must be a Satur- 
 day, or a Tuesday, or a Thursday. A multitude of women 
 and girls stream to the house of the sick person, and are 
 treated to buza, the half- fermented Arab beer, the favourite 
 drink of the Abyssinians, and to tripe. Songs are now sung, 
 and drums beaten, and the sar-dance is danced — the women 
 placing themselves in a squatting posture, or with their limbs 
 bent under them, and rocking the upper parts of their bodies 
 and their heads this way and that, as is done in the zikrs. Some 
 of them are soon seized with the frenzy, and leap frantically 
 about. All the proceedings are under the superintendence 
 of the shecha of the sar, who is a person well known for her 
 tendency towards ecstatic states, and generally a slave, and 
 who earns a good deal of money in this way. When she, as 
 well as others, is in a state of ecstasy she is asked as to the 
 means to be employed to remove the disease. The cure 
 always consists in a simple thick silver finger-ring without 
 a stone, sometimes also bracelets and anklets, and as soon as 
 the greedy sar is satisfied with this the sickness is said to 
 cease. So great is the faith in this remedy that many spend 
 their last penny to procure these silver ornaments, and in 
 entertaining their numerous female visitors. 
 
 Like the tarantella dance of the middle ages, the s^r is 
 contagious. One woman after another in the company rises 
 up and seems to begin dancing involuntarily, and boys and 
 even men, who are sometimes admitted to these orgies, are 
 aff*ected in the same way. The features of some become 
 altered, they slap their own faces, knock their heads against 
 the wall, weep, howl, and try to strangle themselves, being 
 difficult to restrain; they also give themselves out for other 
 persons, for saints, and especially for the sar himself. They 
 may be asked what it is they wish, and may be shown a 
 silver ring, some henna paste, or buza. They fix a furious 
 
POPULAR MEDICINE. 397 
 
 glance "upon them, seize them suddenly with wild haste, put 
 on the ring, clutch the henna-paste in their hand, or drink 
 buza. With this as a rule the sar is satisfied and appeased, 
 the party possessed wipes off the perspiration, and now 
 speaks quietly and reasonably as before. On a day appointed 
 for the sar the attack is often repeated, ending as at first 
 when the person's wish is gratified, and that is often strange 
 enough. 
 
 These states are not pretended, that is clear — why indeed 
 should the parties beat and often seriously injure themselves? 
 They are cases of acute delirium, of ecstasy. The spiritualist 
 will call these persons mediums, the believer in animal mag- 
 netism will say they are "magnetized." We remember read- 
 ing in the report of a doctor attached to the English Abys- 
 sinian expedition that a girl suddenly conceived the idea that 
 she was a wolf and ran off at such a rate that no one could 
 catch her till at last she found a bone. This she devoured 
 with the eagerness of a hungry wolf, whereupon she instantly 
 returned to her senses. This case is quite similar to that of 
 our sar- possessed women, and Abyssinia is the native country 
 of the sar. 
 
 POPULAR MEDICINE. 
 
 Since all diseases cannot be cured by talismans, reading, 
 dancing, and vows, an extensive system of popular medicine 
 has developed itself side by side with these, which is based 
 upon more tangible remedies. That a number of these are 
 effective enough is not to be denied, and they agree prett}^ 
 well with those that experience has taught physicians. For 
 example, zinc or alum is a chief ingredient in all eye powders, 
 compounds of lead in drugs applied to wounds and eczema, 
 as well as astringent vegetable substances, especially fenu- 
 greek {Trigonella foenum-grcecum). Among those much 
 used are *^good oil," that is, olive-oil (used as a lotion in 
 rheumatism and skin diseases), fennel, coriander, caraway 
 ("corn of blessing"), mallows, mint, opium, saltpetre, sal- 
 ammoniac, sulphur, green and blue vitriol, and litharge; as 
 purgatives are used, epsom salts, senna leaves, tamarinds. 
 
398 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 rhubarb, scammony, and gamboge, the native colocynth being 
 less frequently employed and considered dangerous. As 
 already mentioned, the Bedouins fill the rind of the last- 
 mentioned in the evening with milk, which they drink in 
 the morning. Bleeding with the lancet is common, as well 
 as cupping by means of the razor and the horn, setons made 
 of the chick-pea, the actual cautery, to cure a headache for 
 instance (perhaps performed by a hot nail), boiling oil for 
 fresh wounds, the seeds of the fenugreek for ulcers, the warm 
 steam-batli in rheumatism, syphilis, and skin diseases; the 
 use of the leech is less common, and the native leech {Bdella 
 nilotica) causes painful wounds. "When there is a pain on 
 the left side blood must be taken from the left arm. Veins 
 are also opened in the hand, the foot, and even the nose. 
 
 The majority of the medicines, however, are grossly empiri- 
 cal, and tliey contain the most absurd ingredients. Animal 
 matters, some of which formerly flourished also in our materia 
 inedica, are very common, such as a goat's bile, dogs' and 
 monkeys' dung, black-beetles, pearls, the bones of dogs and 
 fishes, lizards, mummies, and the opercula of univalve shells, 
 and all these either raw or boiled, baked or burned as 
 incense. Many vegetable matters from all countries, and 
 often with very unintelligible names, are also held in high 
 repute for their curative properties. We give a few recipes: 
 Burned dogs' bones, along with copperas and ox-gall, are good 
 for piles, if the mixture is applied with a little saliva. Another 
 specific for the same disease consists of black-beetles baked in 
 oil, the hard covers, the head, and the intestines being then 
 removed, and again softened in oil over a gentle fire. These 
 black-beetles are looked upon as a universal panacea. Thus 
 the soft white substance found in the inside of these insects, 
 the flesh indeed, is rubbed on the eyes, and puts away spots 
 on the cornea that are not yet hardened. It is good also 
 against night-blindness. Similarly prepared scarabsei (Ateu- 
 chus sacer) inserted in the ear along with a little cotton, and 
 blown out a day or two after by the pressure of the air of 
 expiration expelled with closed mouth and nose, are considered 
 an excellent remedy for difficulty of hearing. The following 
 
POPULAR MEDICINE. 399 
 
 is a recipe to enable women to become fat: Take some black- 
 beetles, burn them and grind them down, add beef fat, sesame 
 oil and rtiufetta, that is a mixture of all the various wares 
 sold by grocers, boil the whole together, and drink a cupful 
 of the liquor every day. Earwigs are driven away by 
 sprinkling onion juice (a very plausible remedy). A good 
 preventive against abortion is for the woman to carry at the 
 small of her back a small scorpion and a little piece of amber 
 tied up together in a little bag ; pearls or red coral may also 
 be used instead. Women that do not wish to become preg- 
 nant must take fasting three mouthfuls of the powder of 
 burned porcelain shells {Cyprcea). When a hair of the e^^e- 
 lids grows inwards, it is pulled out with a pair of tweezers, 
 and the spot is rubbed with a fly, the head of which has been 
 pulled off", or with St. John's-bread powder made into a paste 
 with oil. "No hairs will afterwards grow tliere." Eczema 
 of the head or other parts is put away by aloes dissolved in 
 vinegar, and well rubbed in. Ginger, preserved or unpre- 
 served, is used as an aphrodisiac, as well as ambergris (a fatty 
 waxy-like substance found in the intestines and bladder of 
 the sperm whale, and sometimes floating on the sea) and 
 honey, or cinnamon and carrot or radish seed boiled with 
 honey, also the gall of a raven, and burned Tridacna shells 
 with honey. To cure a scorpion's sting a piece of garlic is 
 rubbed on the place, or the dirt from the ear of an ass; 
 another common cure is to lay on the wound a polished gem, 
 as jasper, ruby, or turquoise, or the operculum of a Trochus 
 shell, or some remarkable coin, these things being said to 
 adhere to the spot which has been stung. Others maintain 
 that they are caused to adhere by rubbing with an ass's hoof 
 These gems have a high repute for their curative properties 
 generally, and are often sold at high prices. The difierent 
 varieties are credited each with special effects, and have as 
 many names; thus the jaspers with red spots, and marblings 
 that look like spots and streaks of blood, stanch blood. The 
 bezoar-stone (a concretion found in the stomach of various 
 animals, ruminants in particular) serves as an antidote to all 
 poisons, that of serpents included. The bezoar-stones from 
 
400 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 apes are in most repute. A cup made of rhinoceros horn also 
 counteracts the effects of any poison that may happen to be 
 drunk. 
 
 THE ANIMALS IN POPULAR BELIEF. 
 
 The frequent employment of animal substances as medica- 
 ments or talismans arises to a great extent from the belief in 
 a metamorphosis, not allied to the Indian or Pythagorean 
 transmigration of souls, which is quite foreign to Mohamme- 
 danism, but caused by magic. Many common stories of this 
 kind may pass for myths or fables among the people them- 
 selves, but many are firmly believed by the majority. 
 
 While in the scientific circles of our more civilized countries 
 man is held to be an ape modified by natural selection and 
 time, among the Egyptians of the present day the ape is a 
 metamorphosed man. The baboon, it is generallj^ maintained 
 and believed, v^as a wicked fellow who stole the Prophet's 
 red shoes, and hid them behind him under his coat. The 
 prophet noticed it, however, and uttered this curse over 
 him: "Thief, may your form become a caricature of that of 
 man, and may your buttocks, above which my shoes are 
 hanging, be coloured red like them for all time coming, in 
 memory of your evil deed." For the Moslims in general, the 
 world properly begins only with the Prophet, and no one 
 thinks whether the baboon existed previously, though it is 
 frequently figured on the Egyptian monuments. To keep an 
 ape in the house " is not good," it brings ill luck. Ape's dung, 
 however, is a valuable ingredient in many medicines. 
 
 The hyena is generally regarded as a vile enchanter, trans- 
 formed by the anger of God ; and for this very reason its 
 hair, teeth, skin, and flesh possess miraculous powers. The 
 animal having been slaughtered according to the rules of the 
 Koran (such a slaughtered animal is always a rarity, however), 
 the flesh is sold in the market, and goes ofl" rapidly, and at a 
 good price; the ulema, who are at the head of religion, are 
 the chief lovers of it. It imparts strength, especially masculine 
 strength. Lying on a hyena's skin drives away pains in the 
 back. The teeth also are highly esteemed, and are used as 
 
THE ANIMALS IN POPULAR BELIEF. 401 
 
 amulets for young and old. The tufts of hair from the mane 
 are particularly prized, and whoever has a skin requires to 
 guard it well from the covetous multitude, for the possession 
 of this hair secures love and faithfulness on the part of a 
 husband or wife, as well as the favour of the great. 
 
 Tlie cunning of the fox has caused thousands of wonderful 
 stories to pass current regarding him, but these are not believed, 
 being regarded as fables. In the stories Master Heynard 
 generally plays the role of a kadi. One story may be given as 
 a specimen:; — A man is carrying a basket of fowls to market. 
 A fox who is anxious to get at the fowls lays himself down 
 on the road and pretends to be dead. The man with the 
 fowls is surprised, but passes on. Somewhat farther on the 
 man finds a second fox lying dead, and farther on again a 
 third. " Now/' thinks the man, " three fox skins are worth 
 the trouble of taking with me to sell," so he sets down his 
 basket and goes back to pick up the foxes. Of course he 
 finds nothing, and when he gets back to his basket the 
 fowls have disappeared. 
 
 Like the hyenas, other animals also, especially injurious 
 animals, are looked upon as transformed villains — serpents, 
 scorpions, and the large pinching ants {My r mica) for instance. 
 The serpent charmer makes a business of enticing out serpents 
 concealed somewhere in houses, and summons them in the 
 name of some of the patriarchs, as Adam, Enoch (Edris), 
 Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, and even David and Christ, but he 
 does not fail to bring along with him a basket containing 
 serpents. Scorpions are brought to a standstill with the cry 
 homdr, that is ass, so as to let themselves be killed. People 
 may have themselves rendered proof against the poison of 
 scorpions and serpents through the initiated, but after this 
 they must never kill one. An Abyssinian slave once brought 
 us a scorpion in his hand, and on being told to do so dropped it 
 into spirits himself After some days the same slave was stung 
 by a scorpion and wanted to get spirits of sal ammoniac. He 
 had broken the conditions laid down. 
 
 Another sort of transformation is that which produced the 
 flat fishes. Moses was once cooking a fish, and when it had 
 
 26 
 
402 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 been broiled till it was brown on one side, the fire or the oil 
 gave out and Moses angrily threw the fish into the sea 
 where although it had been half broiled, it came to life again, 
 and its descendants have preserved up to the present day the 
 same peculiar appearance, being white or colourless on one 
 side and coloured on the other. In Constantinople a similar 
 story is told of the flat fishes there, but in this case the actor 
 was the Sultan Mohammed II., the conqueror of Stamboul. 
 
 To certain animals instincts and senses are ascribed for 
 things that the human senses do not take cognizance of; for 
 instance, at the time of the rising of the Tureya or Pleiades, 
 the camel is said to see this constellation before it is visible 
 to human eyes, and at this time (beginning of June) it is 
 said not to lie down in any other direction than with its head 
 towards the east. Fishes also are said to see this constellation 
 first. 
 
 While some animals, namely, those that are mischievous or 
 held to be so, and those that are regarded as game, are pursued 
 and killed upon every opportunity, and others, such as the 
 dog or the swine, are regarded with the deepest contempt as 
 unclean, and are kept as far from the person as possible, 
 the purposeless slaughter of harmless animals is generally 
 regarded as a sin. On one occasion when we were preparing 
 specimens for our collection, and had flung away some worms 
 and other marine animals as useless, a Turk, rude enough 
 otherwise, carefully picked them up and carried them back 
 to their native element. By strictly orthodox theologians 
 the formation of a collection of animals is condemned; for 
 them natural history is not a science but a mere amusement. 
 To shoot the useful and harmless vultures is looked upon as 
 a piece of great barbarity. 
 
 But the person who kills the great black raven or raven 
 of the desert {Corvus umhrinvs) does not get ofl" unpunished. 
 This bird, called Noah's raven, as being the bird that he sent 
 out of the ark and that did not return, is the uncle of the 
 blacks, the Soudanese. On one occasion a hunter had been 
 commissioned by us to procure a raven, which he did, and 
 after carefully barring the door, proceeded to pull it out Avith 
 
ALCHEMY. 403 
 
 the utmost caution from the pocket of his coat. The aflfair 
 had got wind, however, and we began to hear the sound of 
 kettle-drums, accompanied by shrill cries, coming nearer and 
 nearer to the house. In a short time the whole crew of the 
 blacks were outside the door. For a long period the black 
 Soudan slaves have formed a union for semi-religious semi- 
 national entertainments. They now began drumming, clap- 
 ping their hands, bellowing and yelling, and also performed 
 a dance, in which the dancers had girdles of goats' horns. 
 On our asking the president or sheikh of the blacks what 
 was the matter, he replied in a friendly, but serious and 
 decided tone, tliat blood-money must be paid, their ''uncle," 
 who from time to time brought them news of their relatives 
 far separated from them in the Soudan, had been killed, and 
 we ourselves were morally his murderers. The hired mur- 
 derer in the meantime had fled, but was soon discovered and 
 brought back to the house. We gave them a few coppers^ 
 believing the affair settled, and went on with the skinning 
 of the bird. But the noise before the house, the lamentations 
 for the dead, and the dance in his honour became more and 
 more demonstrative; their uncle was worth more blood-money. 
 At last, after long negotiations with the sheikh, who, from 
 his solemn manner of conducting the business, appeared to 
 be really in earnest, we were let off* for three francs. Their 
 uncle's body, minus the skin, was handed over to the horde, 
 and being laid in a bier covered with coloured cloths, was 
 solemnly carried to the graveyard, accompanied with flags 
 and shouts of la ill A llah, as if it were some person's funeral, 
 and finally was formally interred. The kadi himself having 
 shot a raven was once treated in a similar way. At first he 
 would pay nothing, but the blacks walled up his house-door, 
 and at last he gave the blood-money demanded. Even a 
 pasha at Jeddah is said to have been forced to pay blood- 
 money. 
 
 ALCHEMY. 
 
 Alchemy, or the art of making gold from substances of 
 little value, is intimately connected with popular medicine. 
 
404 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 There are still people who occupy themselves with it, but 
 none of them have as yet made their fortunes. 
 
 EELIGIO-ASTRONOMICAL FANTASIES. 
 
 Astrology is practised to a much greater extent. The 
 astronomical conceptions of the people, and even of the 
 educated, are those of the Prophet, and if any attempt is 
 made to impress them with others, they shake their heads 
 proudly or incredulously. The unfortunate sun still continues 
 to revolve every day from east to west round the earth, 
 which is of a disc-shape, and surrounded by a circular moun- 
 tain inhabited by the ginn (Mount Kaf). Above it lie seven 
 heavens and paradise, through which flow precious brooks of 
 water; here the believers lead a life of rapturous bliss in the 
 company of the virgin houris, ''whose large black eyes 
 resemble pearls that are yet concealed in their shells.'' These 
 and the boys of paradise present them with cups of precious 
 wine, ''which neither causes headache nor clouds the reason." 
 On the other hand unbelievers, condemned by anticipation 
 from the beginning of the world, will suffer deep down in 
 the fire of hell, howling and gnashing their teeth, and only 
 when they have led ^ pious life are the pains of hell some- 
 what lessened. The sun and moon have their abode in the 
 fifth heaven; in the course of their revolutions they rest at 
 certain stations (mensil). In the uppermost of the seven 
 heavens God sits upon a throne held by four archangels, 
 namely, Israfil, Gabrail, Michail, and Israil. 
 
 Under these according to the secret books are the following 
 great angels of heaven: — Zemzemail, Kasfeail, Zarfeail, Ran- 
 geail. The following rule over the earth: — Moshab, Murra, 
 Ahmar, Baragan, Shamharish, Zaubaa, and Maimun. They 
 take the government in turn, each ruling one day of the 
 week; on Saturday, the unlucky day, the ruler is the malig- 
 nant Maimun, Among the ancient Egyptians also Saturday 
 was the day of Typhon, or the evil principle. Each of these 
 angels has as many attendants as the Abged can get num- 
 bers out of their names; Moshab, for instance, has 747. 
 
ASTEOLOGY. 405 
 
 Other angels or kings of the ginn (melek) are — Leltahtilin, 
 Mahtahtilin, Kahtahtilin, Fahtahtilin, Nahtahtilin, Gelhatah- 
 tilin, Lamakfengel — the last being the greatest. The initial 
 letters of the otliers give the name of the last. 
 
 A certain angel or king of the ginn is called Meitataru; 
 he dwells in one of the seven heavens. When incense is 
 burned on the earth he smells it, and waving his rod, he 
 commands his subjects to attend to the matter and stand at 
 the service of the person offering the incense. Another, like 
 the Christian ginn- king Kim, is attracted by the smell of the 
 opercula of shells burned as incense. 
 
 Falling stars are wicked angels or devils hurled down by 
 God. It is they who teach men the black art, the evil kind 
 of magic. Accordingly it is a matter of duty for every be- 
 liever to say, when he sees a shooting star, "I take refuge 
 with God from the stoned devil." 
 
 ASTROLOGY. 
 
 The ever visible splendour of the tropical or subtropical 
 starry firmament is a powerful inducement to its study. The 
 stars also serve people in general as a nocturnal clock; to the 
 traveller, and especially the mariner, they serve as guides. 
 As in these latitudes the winds have a very regular course, 
 corresponding to the season of the year, and the stars show 
 what season it is, the seaman is perhaps right when he is 
 afraid of such and such a star in a certain position (Lahemir, 
 for instance, when in the west at evening), and looks upon it 
 as an unlucky star, while he considers others lucky stars. 
 Such views, however, lead gradually to the fantastic domain 
 of astrology, and there are few who would venture to deny 
 the influence of the stars upon the fate of mankind. Both 
 Christians and Mohammedans occupy themselves with astro- 
 logy. A special literature teaches how to detect this in- 
 fluence, one of the books among others being "the true and 
 accurate book of the renowned Greek (?) philosopher, Abu 
 Moshaer, the great astronomer." More important for this 
 science, however, than the knowledge of the starry vault is 
 
406 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 that of the Abged. Every letter of the alphabet corresponds 
 to a certain number; B, biduh, for example, corresponds to 
 2468, but the letters are not arranged as at present, not A, 
 B, T, Th, &c., but A, B, G, D (hence Abged). 
 
 There are twelve constellations for men and twelve for 
 women. The Abged number of the name of the man on whose 
 behalf astrology is to be consulted has to be found, together 
 with the name of his mother. From this number subtract 
 1212, and if the remainder is 1, the Ram is his constellation 
 and his planet Mars; his temperament, therefore, is the san- 
 guineous. If 2 is the remainder, his constellation is the 
 Bull and his planet Venus; his temperament is "earthy," that 
 is, phlegmatic; and so on. This art teaches also to know 
 whether a sick person will die, whether something lost will 
 be found, an affair turn out well, or what will be the general 
 course of the coming year. Many earn their bread by making 
 such calculations, and there is no lack of believers even among 
 the higher ranks; numbers of people allow themselves to be 
 guided in matters of the highest importance by these astro- 
 logers and calculators, who often have the effi'ontery to take 
 a sum of money in advance, and when the time arrives for 
 the fulfilment of their prophecy they are far enough away. 
 
 GEOMANTISTS AND GYPSIES. 
 
 Geomantists, who practise the darh er-ra7nl, are generally 
 Soudanese. At every yearly market may be seen a few of 
 these black and half-naked prophets squatting on the ground, 
 making holes and lines in the sand, throwing upon these a 
 few stones as dice, and predicting therefrom for a few coppers 
 the future joys and sorrows of the people. Gypsy women, 
 too, may be seen sitting there, telling fortunes in their usual 
 manner by the lines on the palm of the hand, or by shells, 
 which here serve instead of a pack of cards. 
 
 THE FUTURE. 
 
 Of all prophecies those of the Prophet are the most import- 
 ant. They are not openly set forth in "the perspicuous book," 
 
DAY OF JUDGMENT. 407 
 
 but the wise understand how to extract them from it, and 
 everyone knows and believes in them, Islam will complete 
 a thousand but not thousands of years (el elf u la el uMf) ; 
 others say not twelve hundred years. We are now at 1292 
 after the flight (or emigration, as the Mohammedans will have 
 it that Hejra should be translated). Accordingly the world 
 must soon come to an end, and the signs of this are always 
 increasing, witness the railways, telegraphs, and balloons, 
 and the ever-increasing preponderance of the Franks and 
 Frankish ideas. Towards the end of this period the world 
 will be in a sad condition — sovereigns w411 make war against 
 each other, there will be great dearth, unbelief and profligacy 
 will prevail. The hordes of the king of Abyssinia will descend 
 from their mountains, and will subdue the sacred land of 
 Islam and Egypt. The Mohammedan world accordingly 
 watched with the most lively interest the last Abyssinian 
 wars with England and Egypt. The sultan will be driven 
 out of Constantinople, and will take refuge in Egypt. Then 
 comes the Muhdi^ (Reneg of the Koran?); from his Abged 
 number (4253) he should be already born. The Muhdi, a 
 kind of Messias, will be sprung of an obscure family in Yemen, 
 but will raise himself by his abilities, not, however till his 
 fortieth year, and will soon acquire dominion over the whole 
 world. During his reign Mohammedans and Christians will 
 be reconciled, and all men will share their goods like brothers. 
 An antichrist will, however, appear, and attempt to sow mis- 
 trust and dissension, but will be slain by Christ, who will now 
 come upon the scene. After this the Moslimin will all die of 
 plague and other diseases, and only Christians remain alive. 
 These finally die also, and the earth is no longer inhabited by 
 men. 
 
 DAY OF JUDGMENT. 
 
 At the end of all things the archangel Israil blows his 
 trumpet, and the whole earth becomes a firm and level field. A 
 
 ^ A false Muhdi who gained many adherents, and in a short time set all Egypt 
 in an uproar, was shot about ten years ago. He was the Hag Theyib of Gau 
 in Upper Egypt. 
 
408 UPPER EGYPT. 
 
 rain falls which causes the remains of the dead of all times and 
 peoples to begin to grow, like the seeds of a plant. As soon 
 as the bodies are again formed, all human souls, who from the 
 time of their death had been collected in a well at Jerusalem, ^ 
 rise and reanimate their respective bodies, and the day of 
 judgment comes. The judgment, as we are assured by 
 authorities on the subject, will be held at Damietta in 
 Egypt! 
 
 ' Regarding the abode of the souls between death and resurrection there are 
 various views. 
 
 END. 
 
 OLASGOW: W. G. BLACKIE ANP CO., TRINTERS. VII.LAFIEIJ5. 
 
 4 
 
CORRECTIONS. 
 
 Page 96. Line 15 from top: for "chasing a humble-bee," read "driving a 
 humming-top." 
 „ 114. Line 15 from bottom: for "miners," read "raftsmen." 
 „ 131. Line 18 from top: for "bamujeh," read "bamiyeh." 
 „ 141. Delete line 23 from top. 
 „ 144. Line 17 from top: delete " Forskal and." 
 „ „ Line 18 from top : delete " and myrtles." 
 „ 151. Line 7 from top : after "seine," insert '* {Gongylus ocellatus)," and delete 
 
 "which was formerly used in medicine." 
 „ 172. Line 5 from bottom: for "scientific," read " conscientious." 
 „ 182. Line 7 from bottom : for ''Inula arahica f ' read "Pulicaria inuloides.'" 
 „ 184. Line 4 from top; for "five," read "fifty." 
 „ 204. Line 8 from bottom: for "like," read "unlike." 
 „ 229. Line 7 from top : for " Ambiga," read " Ambagi." 
 „ 233. Line 9 from bottom : for " 400," read " 4000." 
 „ 250. Line 12 from top: for " Bedya" read " Bedja."" 
 „ 287. Line 14 from bottom: for "he," read "it." 
 „ 588. Middle: for "atoll," read "lagoon." 
 „ 301. Line 12 from top: for "for," read " till after." 
 
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