Part 8

29th.—This day we arrived at the village named El Kalabshe. At the foot of a rock, and facing the river, stand the ruins of a temple, which certainly must have been of later date than any other in Nubia; for it appeared to me to have been thrown down by violence, as I did not see that decay in its materials, which I have observed in other edifices; and what remained standing clearly proved, that time had had nothing to do with the destruction of it. On the water-side, before the temple, is a landing-place, which leads straight to the propylæon, as the gate of this does to the portico. The propylæon is in good preservation, but the portico is quite destroyed. There are two columns, and one pedestal, on each side of the door into the pronaos. They are joined by a wall raised to nearly half their height, which proves the late period when this temple was erected, as such a wall is clearly seen in all other temples of later date; and I would not hesitate to say, that Tentyra, Philoe, Edfou, and this temple, were erected by the Ptolemies: for though there is great similitude in all the Egyptian edifices, yet there is a certain elegance in the forms of the more recent, that distinguishes them from the older massy and enormous works; whence they appear to me to have been executed by Egyptians under the direction of Greeks. The pronaos and the cella are detached from the main wall all round; the intermediate space forms a gallery, so as to leave them isolated from the rest of the wall. The roof has fallen down, except a small portion on the chamber behind the adytum, in the wall of which there are several cells, merely large enough to contain a single person in each. They must have been either prisons for men, or places for the sacred animals. There are groups of figures on the walls of the cella, which retain their colours remarkably well; better indeed than in any other temple in Egypt; which I think is another proof of its being of later date than many others. As we entered this temple immediately on our landing, there were none of the people at its door: but when we were coming out, we found a great number of natives assembled at the entrance of the propylæon; and as we attempted to pass through it, they closed it entirely, and demanded money. They were all armed with spears, shields, halberts, &c. I told them that I would not be forced to part with money thus; but if they would let us pass, I would do what I thought proper. I did not allow them time to reflect, but immediately walked forward, staring them in the face, and no one touched us. When on the outside, I gave them a bakshis, and told them, I was ready to give them a farther present, if they would bring me some antiquities. This they did, and I bought several tombstones with Greek inscriptions.

They took us to see a smaller temple, a quarter of a mile distant; and we passed a great deal of rubbish and stones, which indicate the ruins of an ancient town, extending about a mile. Mr. Burckhardt says, this seems to have been the town of Talmis. The quantity of pottery in the ruins is all of Greek manufacture; scarcely any thing Egyptian is found among them: but if this be not sufficient evidence that the town was built by the Greeks, I can produce an incontrovertible proof that the temple was a place of their worship. It was only a few months previous to our arrival there, that one of the natives, raising a stone among the ruins of the temple, saw a piece of metal. He did not know what it was; but as whatever is found in the ruins the natives always suspect to be gold, he took this to be so. Not being certain of it, however, he communicated his discovery to others, who immediately claimed a share of it, and of course a scuffle ensued. Some time after, the circumstance came to the ears of Ibrahim Bashaw, or his soldiers at Assouan, who did not fail to take possession of it, on their first tour to collect the Miri in that country. The piece turned out to be a golden lamp of Grecian form, with part of a chain attached to it. It was sent to Cairo, and I believe money was made of it. This will prove two points; one, that the temple was used by the Greeks; and the other, that it was destroyed by violence; for if the temple had fallen gradually by decay, the lamp would not have been left there, to be buried under the ruins. The small temple we saw cut out of the rock, I think, is considerably older than this, and of a construction more conformable with the others of that country.

On the south of the large temple stands the village, which consists of a few huts built of earth and of stones from the ruins. Near the temple I observed an ancient wall, parallel with the front of it, and having several divisions, apparently the habitations of the priests. The country round has a pleasing aspect, owing to the groups of palm-trees, and their contrast with the barren rocks every where else; but the cultivated grounds are very scanty. Behind the mountain are valleys with some acacia trees, of which the natives make charcoal: when the Nile is at its height, they make rafts of the same wood; and the charcoal, put into sacks fabricated of palm leaves, or of a kind of rush, is conveyed on them to Cairo for sale; dhourra, salt, and tobacco, being brought back in return.

We arrived on the same day at Garba Dandour, where are the ruins of a small temple, consisting only of a pronaos and two chambers in the front. There is a small portal, and a species of platform, which extends from the propylæon to the river, one hundred feet long and fifty wide. This could not have been built as a landing-place, as there are no marks of stairs any where. The inner apartments have a few hieroglyphics, and two columns. The rocks here are pretty close to the water, and for some miles without a spot of cultivated land.

We proceeded on to Garba Merieh, and early the next morning landed at Gyrshe. This temple is partly hewn out of a rock, which rises perpendicularly, facing the east, a quarter of a mile from the river. In our way to it we crossed the ruins of a small ancient town. I observed the fragments of four lions, probably sphinxes, which stood before the temple; and a mutilated statue, apparently of a woman. The portico consists of five pilasters on each side of the door, of mason work, each of which has a striking figure before it, I believe representing Hermes. In the front of the portico are four columns, formed of several blocks of stone: the pronaos is hewn out of the rock, and has three square pillars on each side, in a line from the entrance into the cella. In front of each of these pillars stands a colossal figure, about eighteen feet high, elevated four feet above the ground. We may here see how the sculpture of primitive ages differs from that of the more modern school. The figure of these colossi indicates that the artist meant to represent men; but this is all: their legs are mere shapeless columns, and their bodies out of all proportion: their faces are as bad as the artist could make them from the model of an Ethiopian: they have the usual mitres on their heads; and are adorned on the lower part of their bodies with curious appendages, not unlike the tobacco pouches used among the Highlanders; though I hope no one will suppose, that I mean to suggest a comparison between the two nations. The place is blackened with smoke, I presume from the fires made by the natives. Behind the pillars are several niches cut in the rock, but all mutilated. In the cella are two small chambers, one on each side, cut also in the rock; and at the end two lateral doors leading into smaller apartments, independent of the adytum. In the wall at the end of this are four figures seated, as large as life, and an altar before them, as I have seen in other places, without hieroglyphics or any inscription. The floor is in many places dug up, I suppose by the Barabra or other nations, in search of treasure. The natives of this place are rather rough in their manners, but were easily satisfied with a piece of soap, a pipe of tobacco, and a few paras. Here we bought some gargadan, a grain of the size of a small shot, which the Nubians use as coffee. It is a good substitute where no coffee is to be had, and is much cheaper. A little above this place is a dangerous passage of the Nile, a chain of rocks running across the river, and making it very alarming, when the waters are low; but as they were now high, we passed without danger. The country here still continues quite barren.

In the afternoon of the next day we arrived at Dakke (see Plate 21). The mountains at this place stretch far from the Nile, and leave a spacious plain, which no doubt has been formerly cultivated, but is now covered with sand. A stratum of vegetable mould is visible, three feet under the sand on the banks of the Nile. The temple stands about a hundred yards from the river, and has a very elegant appearance. There are no hieroglyphics on the outside wall, but the interior is adorned with beautiful figures in basso relievo: it has a pronaos, an adytum, and a cella. On the west side of the adytum is a small staircase which leads to the top of the temple; and on the east a small chamber, with figures uncommonly well executed: the walls of the cella are well covered with religious processions. In the lower part I observed several figures, not unlike hermaphrodites. From the cella a door in a line with the first entrance leads into an area, formed by a wall which surrounds the edifice, except in front. On the east side of the exterior wall is a door, which leads to a passage across the temple, that separates the pronaos from the adytum. The temple faces the north, and at the distance of forty-eight feet is a propylæon, with the gateway facing the entrance to the pronaos. The isolated situation of this edifice renders it still more graceful to the eyes of the traveller, as it is entirely free from any other building near it. On the propylæon are several Egyptian, Coptic, and Greek inscriptions, one of which is as follows:

ΔΟΜΙΣΙΟϹΑΡΡΙΛΝΟϹ ϹΤΡΑΤΙϹΠεΙΡΗςΙΤΟΥΡΑΝ, ΦΗΛΙΚΟΚΑΙΔΟΜΙΤΙ ΟΥΙΟϹΜΟΥϹΥΝΤωΠΑΝΓΑ ΟΙΚωΠΡΟϹεΚΥΝΗΟΛ ΦεΟΝΜεΓΙϹΤΟΝεΡΜΗ ΚΑΔΡΙΑΝΟΥΚΑΙϹΑΡΟϹ ΤΟΥΚΥΡΙΟΥΤΥΒΙΙΗ

We continued our voyage, and arrived in the afternoon at Meharraka, or Offelina, where stand the ruins of a small Egyptian temple, but evidently built by the Greeks. It consists of only a single portico, forty-two feet long and twenty-five wide, with a row of columns round the two sides and the back. On the right is a winding staircase, the only one I recollect having seen in any temple in Egypt or Nubia. The columns are fourteen in all. It has served as a Christian chapel, as is shown by many figures of the apostles which remain perfect on the walls; but on close examination I observed clearly the Egyptian figures under the saints. The main entrance is closed by an altar, no doubt built by the Copts or Greeks at the Christian epoch. The wall facing the south is fallen down, but the stones still adhere to each other. On one of them I saw the fragment following of an inscription.

ΝΗ^{LL} VΙϹΙΗRΟΥΝ^L _c_ΤΤ_c_ ΤΙωΤΟΥΚΑΙΤωΝϵ_t_-ϹϵΒϵϹ ΤΑΤωΝϜΟΝϵωΝΚΑΙϜ-ΑΙΟΥ Υ WΙΚΓΟΥΑΑϵΑΦϹΥΚΝ ΑΟΙΤϜωΝΑΑϵΑΦΙΙ

A few paces to the east stands part of another temple, on which is the figure of Isis, dressed in the Greek costume, sitting under a tree. Before her stands the figure of Orus, in the act of offering to his mother. In a niche further to the east is the figure of the Egyptian Isis; and in another small niche above are a Greek priest and priestess, and the Egyptian Priapus. A greater proof than this I never saw of the religion of the Egyptian and Greek nations united (see Plate 29). On the south of this temple is a large pedestal of granite, formed by three steps, which appears to have been erected for the purpose of supporting some large statue or obelisk.

We proceeded with a fair wind to Wowobat; and the next day, the 31st of August, brought us to Seboua. On our landing, the first thing that attracted my notice was a propylæon, at a small distance from the Nile; in the middle of which interval are two standing figures eleven feet high. These form the entrance to an avenue of sphinxes with lions’ bodies and men’s heads, that leads to the propylæon, which is much decayed. There is the usual entrance or gateway into the pronaos, at each side of which are five pillars, with figures in the front of each, not unlike those in the pronaos at Medinet Aboo. The wind has accumulated a great quantity of sand, which has not only covered the court, but closed the entrance to the adytum and the cella. From what I could discover, after a close examination from the top part of this temple, it deserved to be opened; but as my principal views were bent on other objects, which I thought of greater importance, we continued our voyage towards Deir. The country here is very barren, and few habitations are to be seen any where.

Next day we arrived at Korosko. A few miles above this place the Nile turns towards the north-west six miles, and as the wind blew mostly from that quarter, we had it right against us, besides a very strong current, for the Nile was nearly at its height. Though the day was very hot, the night was exceedingly cold, considering the climate we were in. At this place we found it very difficult to advance, for the wind still continued strong ahead, and the sailors could not track the boat by ropes on the shore, as the bank was covered with thorns and acacia trees, so that it took us two days to reach the territory of Deir, where the river resumes its course again to the south. From the trees I have mentioned we gathered a little gum-arabic; and the Reis of the boat caught some cameleons, which we intended to keep alive. They feed on flies and boiled rice, and drink water; but they do not agree together in confinement, for they bit off the tails and legs of each other. If put into the water, they swell like bladders, and swim faster than they can crawl on the ground. They generally live on palm-trees, and descend in the evening to drink. We caught about thirty, but they all gradually died. I saw a female full of eggs, of the size of large peas, eighteen in number, all attached to the matrix.

The 5th of September brought us to Deir, the great capital of Lower Nubia. The town consists of several groups of houses, built of earth intermixed with stones. They are in general not higher than eight or ten feet, a few excepted, which are the habitations of the Cacheffs of the country. The town is close to the water-side. At the foot of the sloping and rocky hill is a small temple; but I could not venture to go to see it, as I observed we were closely watched. I went immediately to Hassan Cacheff, who received me with an air of suspicion, and wanted to know our business. I told him, that we ascended the Nile merely to seek for antiquities, and that we wished to proceed as far as the Shellal, or second cataract. This he said was impossible, for the people in the upper country were at war with each other. He then ordered his mat to be brought to him, seated himself close before the door of his house, and invited me to sit also. The first question he put to me was, if I had any coffee. I replied we had a little on board for our own use, but that he was welcome to half of it. He next asked for soap, and I made the same reply. Then he inquired if we had any tobacco. I told him we had but a few pipes, and we would smoke it together; with which he was exceedingly pleased. The next question was, if I had any powder. To which I answered, that I had very little, and could not spare any. At this he laughed, and put his hand on my shoulder, saying, “You are English, and can make powder wherever you go.” I was glad that he thought so, and deemed it prudent to leave him with this impression; but I told him I did not come there either to make powder or to waste any. By this time my Janizary had brought me some tobacco from on board; so we began to smoke; and coffee of gargadan was served; but, notwithstanding this, he said my sailors would not advance any farther, for they were afraid to go into the upper country. I told him, that if he gave me a letter to his brother Osseyn, we should be out of any danger. I then showed him the letter of Calil Bey at Esne to his brother: on which he observed, that this letter did not mention where I was going. Perceiving that the affair was likely to proceed very dilatorily, I frankly told him, if he meant to let me pursue my journey, I would make him a very handsome present of a fine looking-glass, some soap, and some coffee; on the contrary, if I were to return, he would lose all, and incur the displeasure of the Bey of Esne besides. His reply was, “We will talk of this to-morrow.” So I returned to our boat without any positive answer.

Early in the morning I went to him again. When he asked me for the looking-glass, I replied, that it was ready, if he gave me the letter to his brother at Farras, which at last he did. Previous to our departure from Cairo, I took occasion to obtain all the information possible concerning the country of Nubia, from the natives who came to that city with dates and charcoal; and from them I learned, that a looking-glass and a few Venetian beads would be equal there to silver plate and pearls. Accordingly we took a good stock with us, though I was not certain of entering Nubia. The looking-glass I gave the Cacheff was twelve inches long and ten broad, and was the largest the people there had ever seen. It made a great impression on them. Many, who never came down as far as Assouan, had not seen a looking-glass before, and it astonished them greatly. The Cacheff was never tired of admiring his bear-like face; and all his attendants behind him strove to get a peep at their own chocolate beauty, laughing, and much pleased with it. The Cacheff gave it, not without fear, to one of them, with a strict charge to be careful not to break it.—On my way to our boat I met a very old man, who knew Baram Cacheff, the tyrant of Deir in the time of Norden. He said, that Baram died in his bed, but all his descendants were slain by the Mamelukes; and that he was a boy when Baram died.

We left Deir about noon; and a few hours brought us to Hafee, where the river flows from the south-west. The country all the way from Deir to this place is tolerably productive of dhourra and dates, and furnishes also a great deal of cotton, which is gathered, and sent to Cairo. The sugar-cane is not cultivated here, which I know not whether to attribute to the laziness of the natives, or to the country being too hot for that plant; but I am inclined to think the former is the real cause.

Proceeding onward, we came to Ibrim. This place stands on a high rock, nearly perpendicular, and forming the bank of the Nile. The town is surrounded by a wall of sun-baked bricks. The houses are all in a ruined state, having been uninhabited ever since the Mamelukes made it their abode on their retreat to Dongola (see Plate 27). Close to the water-side are several chambers, not unlike sepulchres, hewn out of the rock; some of which have been painted, apparently by the Greeks, and retain their colour remarkably well. The cultivated land on the south side of the river in some parts extends not more than two hundred yards in width; but it is thickly set with palm-trees, producing dates, which are esteemed the best in Egypt, and in which the Nubians carry on a considerable trade. The northern bank is quite barren, except a few date and acacia trees.

In my voyage from Ibrim to the second cataract I must entreat the reader’s indulgence. I noted down the names of all the villages we passed, as they were given to me; and thus I lay them before the public, as I am not aware, that they have been yet described by any traveller. Messrs. Legh and Smelt, who were the first to penetrate to any extent up this country by water, did not proceed beyond Ibrim; and Norden has given a correct account of all the villages and districts he passed only as far as Deir. Above a league above Ibrim we came to the village of Vady Shubak on the east, and Mosmos on the west. The country on the east continued to be covered with dates as far as Bostan, but on the west it is quite a desert. From Toske we saw several rocks in the plain toward the east, which resembled so many pyramids of various sizes; and I should not wonder if these suggested to the Egyptians the first idea of this form. Some of them appear to be about two hundred feet high.

We went on shore at Ermyne, on the west of the river. The banks here are covered with the thorny acacia, tamarisks, and palm-trees, and some cultivated ground. Next day we saw the island of Hogos. On this island are the ruins of an ancient tower, which must have commanded the whole Nile, as the river is not very wide here, and the island is exactly in the centre of it. The blocks of stone are not so large as those in the temples in Egypt, but they are well connected together. After this we reached Formundy, a district extending on both sides of the Nile as far as Saregg. At Formundy the river turns to the north-east, for two leagues only; but we had as much trouble to pass this place as we had at Korosko, the current and wind being both against us.

I cannot omit mentioning the hard labour these Barabra boatmen had on this occasion. They were continually in the water; and, though good swimmers, they had great trouble in wading against the current to pull the rope from under the trees, which cover the banks in such a manner, that it is impossible to track it along on the shore. They are a people living very hardly, and eat any thing. They chew the rock salt, or natron, mixed with tobacco, putting the mixture between the front teeth and the lower lip. The natron is found in several parts of Egypt, and is one of their articles of trade. The Laplanders are said to be very filthy in their food, and I am sure these people are not unlike them in that respect. When we killed a sheep, I had sometimes the pleasure of seeing the entrails opened, pieces of which, dipped once into the water, were eaten by them raw. The head and feet, with the skin on, wool, hoofs, and all, were put into a pot, which is never washed, to be half-boiled, when they drank the broth, and devoured the rest.

We fastened our bark to the shore in the district of Formundy, and I mounted a high rock, to have a view of the country round. I found, on the west of the Nile, an extensive plain, with low, isolated hills, in the form of sugar-loaves, covered with black, smooth stones, something approaching to basalt. Some of the stones are about five feet in length. The country is every where barren; there are only a few date-trees near the water.