SUEZ CANAL.SUEZ CANAL.
Lack of general care and cleanliness is believed to be the chief cause of the disease. The strange apathy of the people, no doubt, has some influence in spreading the disease; for they seem to accept blindness as one of the decrees of Fate.
The world may well be proud of man's triumph over the forces of nature, upon viewing the Suez Canal. The construction of it was a scheme from the time of the greatest antiquity. It was left for France with her enterprise and science to achieve this brilliant victory over nature, and to add fame to her name through the accomplishment of so wonderful a feat.
It is an undisputed fact, that in the days of ancient history the Red Sea and the Mediterranean were indirectly connected by a canal. We can with no certainty, however, fix the date of its construction. Some writers place the date as far back as six hundred years before Christ.
The subject remains wrapped in mystery. Aristotle and Pliny ascribe its construction to a half-mythical personage. Some writers believe the Persian king, Darius, was its constructer. Others ascribe it to the Ptolemies, so that the originator and maker remain unknown.
Such a canal did exist. It began about a mile and a half from Suez, and extended in a northwesterly direction, through a remarkable series of natural depressions, to ancient Bubastis on the eastern branch of the Nile.
The canal was ninety-two miles long. Sixty miles of this extent had been cut through by the labor of man. The width varied from one hundred and eight to one hundred and sixty-five feet, the depth was fifteen feet. Pliny, an ancient writer, declared it to have been thirty feet deep.
History does not state how long the canal was used. It finally became choked with sand deposits andremained unused until the second centurya.d., when it was cleared for navigation.
Again, in course of time, it became practically useless from sand deposits. It remained in this condition till the conquest of Egypt by Amron. He had it reopened and named it "The Canal of the Prince of the Faithful."
It remained open for nearly a century. In 767a.d.the sands again conquered, and in this condition it was left till the invasion of Egypt by Napoleon Bonaparte. The attention of modern Europe was then directed to it. A number of engineers were employed to survey it and report upon it; but no result followed their report.
The subject continued to agitate the public mind from time to time; yet no definite action took place till 1847, when France, England, and Austria sent commissioners for the purpose of ascertaining accurately the difference in level of the two seas, the Red and the Mediterranean.
Their report was somewhat astonishing. Instead of a difference of thirty feet in level, as had been previously reported, the seas were found to have precisely the same level. One strong difference was noted, namely, a tide of six and a half feet at one end, and one and a half at the other.
In 1853 an examination was made, but the results remained unchanged. Various plans were projected. One commissioner, who did not believe it possible to construct a canal, proposed a railroad from Cairo to Suez. Some years later such a railroad was opened to the public. It was devoted to the overland transportation of the British, Indian, and Australian mails.
France, in her energy, was not satisfied with the report of the English commissioner, and later caused to be published in a prominent journal, a plan to connect the two seas by way of Alexandria and a point some six miles below Suez.
In the year 1854 Count de Lesseps, a well-known member of the French representatives in Egypt, attracted the attention of the public by the originality of his plans. Two years later he obtained from the Pacha the exclusive right to construct a ship canal from Tyneh to Suez.
Count de Lesseps' plan differed from all previous ones, for he purposed cutting directly through the isthmus to Suez, rather than to follow an oblique course and to connect the canal with the Nile.
The great masterpiece of his plan was to construct two harbors, one at either end of the canal, Tyneh and Suez.
On the Mediterranean Sea he purposed carrying the harbor five miles out from land. This he deemed necessary in order to obtain depth enough to float a ship drawing twenty-three feet of water. Any natural harbor he knew would be obstructed by the vast quantities of mud and sand brought down annually by the Nile in its passage to the sea.
As many as thirty million cubic feet are thus carried down annually, to be driven by the prevailing winds along the shore in an easterly direction down towards the southern coast line of Palestine.
Count de Lesseps calculated that to construct such a harbor as he wished would require from three to twelvemillion cubic yards of stone. Herein lay the great difficulty; for there were no large stone quarries except at a great distance from Tyneh.
De Lesseps planned to carry the pier at Suez three miles out from land. He foresaw many difficulties before he could hope to see his plan completed, yet these difficulties did not seem to him so insurmountable as those on the Mediterranean Sea.
Naturally, his project met with much opposition; but finally public opinion declared the plan, with some modifications, to be practical, and that the construction of such a canal would be profitable to commerce. A company was formed and at the end of five years the canal, at its Mediterranean entrance at Port Said in the eastern portion of the Delta, was finished.
From Port Said the canal had to cross about twenty miles of Lake Menzaleh, a shallow body of salt water, which in general appearance strongly suggested the lagoons of Venice. Beyond the lake much more labor had to be expended, owing to the varying height of the land above sea level. Some twenty-two miles of ground, varying in height from thirty to eighty feet, had to be cut through.
The work of excavation was most laborious, owing to the nature of the soil, which was often mixed with clay. The vast quantities of sand seemed endless, even with the aid of dredging machines and elevators, in excavating a canal as wide as that proposed—three hundred and twenty-seven feet.
When the Bitter Lake region was reached the work of excavation was no longer necessary, but much laborhad to be expended in making an embankment for the better security of the canal.
At the southern end of the Bitter Lake region the work of cutting was again resumed as far as Suez, some thirty miles. This was, perhaps, as difficult a task as any that had to be accomplished. So difficult was it that the width of the canal was here reduced quite a little from that at first planned.
About the middle of March, 1869, the waters of the Mediterranean were successfully conducted into the Bitter Lake. Early in the fall of the same year Count de Lesseps had the well-earned satisfaction of making a steamer trip the entire length of the canal in about fifteen hours.
Thus had the skill and the energy of the French nation overcome the doubts and the objections of the English as to the practicability and possibility of so stupendous a piece of work.
It was a day of triumph when a formal notice of the public opening of the canal, throughout its entire length, was issued by Count de Lesseps in November, 1869. Several of the royal heads of Europe were invited to attend. The Emperor of Austria and the Empress Eugénie were among those present.
November 18, the imperial yachtL'Aigle, of France, with a fleet of forty vessels, made the passage of the first part of the canal to Ismailia in about eight hours and a half. At Ismailia the fleet was met by four vessels recently arrived from the southern terminus of the canal at Suez. The whole fleet set sail for Suez November 19, reaching the Red Sea two days later.
Examination of the canal proved that the water was never less than twenty feet in its most shallow parts. The usual depth was not less than twenty-five feet. The canal is now open to navigation for vessels from all nations. The usual time of transit is fifteen hours. The total cost of this great achievement of mechanical skill was about sixty million dollars.
The opening of the canal had naturally a great influence upon Suez. Formerly it was but an insignificant little town built upon a small corner of land near the northern arm of the Gulf of Suez. A railway connected it with Cairo some seventy-six miles distant. The town was walled on all sides except that facing the harbor. This harbor was rather an insignificant one, though it had a fairly good quay. Great improvements have been made. French and English houses and various offices and warehouses have been erected in different localities, which lend an air of thrift and enterprise to the town. The shops, or bazaars, have become much more pretentious, and furnish such supplies as clarified butter from Sinai, and fowls, grains, and vegetables from an Egyptian province.
The town, in spite of its improvements, is not attractive. There is little to please the eye in the wastes of burning sand that stretch out on every side. Rain is seen so seldom here as to seem almost a phenomenon. Sometimes intervals of more than three years elapse between the rainfalls.
It is rather interesting, in considering the changes that have taken place in the conditions of the earth's surface, to read that, in the opinion of many learnedmen, the Isthmus of Suez, though now only a dreary waste of sand, contained, at some remote time, the far-famed land of Goshen. Accounts of its fertility have been handed down to us from antiquity.
As we approach nearer the vicinity of the Nile we find, about fourteen miles north of Belbeys, the ruins of the ancient city Bubastis, the Pi-beseth of the Scriptures, the Tel Basta of modern times.
The name Bubastis is said to have been derived from that of the Egyptian goddess. It is related, that upon the flight of the gods into Egypt, Diana Bubastis changed herself into a cat. Since then these animals have been held sacred.
Historians give interesting accounts of festivals held at Bubastis in honor of the goddess. It was the custom to embalm all cats that died and send them to the sacred city to be buried.
At the present time there is no trace of these unique tombs, but the memory clings to these ancient sacred rites rather tenaciously, and many of the present customs may be traced back to them. It but serves to show the influence of superstition even in the light of modern days.
It cannot be denied that some of these customs may be regarded, however, in the light of kindness to animals. Not so very many years ago quite a large sum of money was bequeathed in Cairo for the support of homeless and friendless cats.
Until within comparatively a few years pilgrimages were made to Mecca. Each caravan had for its leader an old woman who was accompanied by a number ofcats. In all honor, she was named "The mother of cats."
Even at the present time a man laden with cats accompanies each band of pilgrims to Mecca—a relic of the old time ceremony, which doubtless grew out of the custom of carrying the embalmed bodies of cats to Bubastis.
Herodotus tells us that the temple of the goddess at Bubastis was considered one of the most beautiful of all the Egyptian temples, and that it was the custom of the people in his age to make annual pilgrimages to it.
Nothing remains now of the former beauty of the temple. A few stones of the purest and finest grade of red granite are the only relics of its past splendor.
There are some ruins and mounds which, doubtless, are remains of what were once brick houses, and specimens of ancient pottery.
Cairo is situated at the head of the Delta of the Nile, where the river emerges from among the hills and makes its course through the alluvial plain formed by the annual deposits of silt. Its name, in the Arabic tongue, signifies "The victorious capital."
Below Cairo the Delta spreads out in the form of a half-opened fan to its broadened base on the Mediterranean Sea.
Standing at the citadel, which occupies the highest ground in the city, we may from this elevation perceive the dividing line between the barren sandy hills of the desert and the well-watered fertile plains of the Nile basin. Spread out before us is a royal panorama of city, river, plain, and hill.
Just across the river we behold the pyramids of Gizeh rising toward the east, together with the Great Pyramid, which is next in size, and another much smaller. Close by is the Sphinx, but we cannot discern it at this distance.
A few miles farther to the south rise the pyramids of Sakkarah, which are nearly as impressive as the others. They are near the site of the ancient city of Memphis.
As we look down upon the city of Cairo, we perceive a hundred or more minarets pointing upwards to the sky. On the outskirts of the city the desolate hills rise to a considerable height. It is here that the hills on either side approach each other so closely as to narrow the valley between them to a width of but five miles.
The citadel of Cairo was built by the famous Saladin in the twelfth century; he took the stones with which to build it from the small pyramids of Gizeh. It stands at the southeast corner of the city, which it seems to crown. The imposing effect of the citadel would be much greater, did not the barren hill in the rear tower over it, thus dwarfing its height.
The citadel is well worthy of description. It is really a small town containing several objects of interest. The old palace of Saladin is no longer in existence. On its former site stands the rich and imposing mosque ofMohammed Ali. It is of modern construction, built after the style of the mosques of Constantinople. So lofty and airy is its interior that the effect is most pleasing.
The court is paved with square blocks of white marble. Cloisters, supported by columns of alabaster, surround it on three sides. The interior of the mosque is also of alabaster and is surmounted by a lofty dome supported on four massive square pillars. Unlike many of the mosques of Cairo, this mosque is clean and well kept.
The old mosque—for centuries the royal mosque of Cairo—still stands in the center of the citadel. It is, however, in an advanced state of decay and ruin. Near by is St. Joseph's Well, some two hundred and ninety feet deep. Tradition says that the well, which was built by the ancient Egyptians, was, when discovered by Saladin, nearly choked with sand, which he caused to be removed.
The well is about twelve feet square. A gently sloping staircase on the outside descends to the level of the bottom of the well, which is said to be at the level of the Nile. This staircase is no longer used. Travelers, by payment of a small fee, have the privilege of looking at it.
To reach the well we must be willing to wade through deep sand, and to slide down a steep incline some forty feet, before we can hope to gaze down into the illustrious hole. Probably no vertical shaft was ever so impressive as this.
Cairo contains nearly three hundred mosques, theminarets of which are not only the most beautiful, but the most imposing of any the traveler sees in the Mohammedan world.
To one standing in the citadel, the city presents some of the most striking and picturesque views to be found in the East. Looking beyond the mosques and their towering minarets, some built of alternate layers of red and white stone, we behold the graves of the califs, the white mountains of Mohattan, the gigantic pyramids, the fertile plain of the Nile, and the dreary stretch of the desert.
The life history of Egypt lies before us, and we have but to read the interesting pages of the past, open to our view.
The city of Cairo was founded in 969. It was for ten generations under the rule of the Fatimite califs of Africa, who came from Kairon bringing the bones of their ancestors with them.
Towards the close of the twelfth century Saladin usurped the government.
In the middle of the thirteenth century a descendant of Saladin was deposed. Cairo then remained, until the early part of the sixteenth century, under the government of a line of Mameluke kings, when it was stormed by Sultan Selim.
Under the new rule, Cairo became somewhat European in its character. The ambition of the khedive was to make his capital into a Paris of the East.
A STREET SCENE IN CAIRO.A STREET SCENE IN CAIRO.
Cairo still retains, however, many features strongly suggestive of Arabic origin. We find still its labyrinth of narrow lanes, its flat-roofed houses without chimneys, or windows, its large bazaars, in which all kinds of Oriental ware are exposed for sale, and its forests of minarets.
The narrow streets are in many places arched over; the bazaars are dark and gloomy, and the houses are built of variegated brick with interlinings of wood.
The city is divided into different quarters; one being appropriated to the Turks, one to the Christians, one to the Jews, etc.,—each separated from the adjoining one by a strong gate at the end of the streets. These gates are closed at night and are guarded by a porter, who opens them when any one wishes to pass out.
The great bulk of the population of Cairo consists of Arabs. Their ancestors were the original conquerors of the land. The ruling class of the city now consists of Turks. The tradesmen and the cultivators of the soil are all of Arabic ancestry. Then, too, we find the Copts, descendants of the ancient Egyptians, the original lords of the soil. Jews, Syrians, Africans, and Europeans make up the residue of the population.
As we pass through the streets of Cairo, we cannot fail to notice the great number of blind persons among those who throng these narrow thoroughfares. Here, as in other parts of Egypt, ophthalmia is prevalent.
It has been stated that out of every four Egyptians there will be found one blind man, another with only one eye, another blear-eyed, and one with perfect sight. The intensity of the light does not seem to cause this blindness. It seems due, rather, to the great amount of dust and to a general want of cleanliness from infancy.
Another cause, too, is assigned for this misfortune. As far back as the days of Mohammed, fathers looked forward with dread to the time when their sons would be obliged to enter military service.
Many a father, to avert this fate for his children, preferred to destroy their eyesight in infancy, or to injure the eyes by cutting the pupils, rather than to see his sons claimed as soldiers when they had reached manhood.
About a mile beyond the walls of the city are the tombs of the califs. These are magnificent, imposing buildings, and may be considered beautiful specimens of Arabian architecture.
The public gardens of the city are also an attractive feature, consisting, as they do, of groves of orange, citron, and palms, intermingled with vines.
Cairo may be called the seat of learning in the East. It is celebrated for its eminent professors, particularly those of Mohammedan theology and law.
Attached to the mosque of Ezher is a university, or college, with quite a large Oriental library. Grammar, arithmetic, algebra, rhetoric, and other branches are taught in the university; while lectures on logic, theology, law, and the articles of the Koran are delivered there.
Students from all parts of the Mohammedan world congregate to the number of two thousand to receive this instruction, which is free to all. The professors draw no regular salary, but are dependent upon presents from the wealthy and upon what they may receive from private pupils.
In addition to the university there are several schools where grammar, arithmetic, and penmanship are taught. There are still others which are devoted to the arts and sciences, and to engineering. At Abou Zabel is the school of anatomy, medicine, and surgery.
The Arabic language is spoken at Cairo. Although it is not of the purest form, yet it is far superior to that spoken in Syria.
The manners and customs of the population of Cairo may serve as types of those of the cultured people in the various parts of the Mohammedan world. Serious attention is paid not only to the smallest details of social life, but special regard is had to the many precepts of their religion.
Perhaps in no way are the Mohammedan observances more strictly adhered to, and the religious institutions more rigidly enforced, than in the rearing and in the education of children.
In the most trivial matters religious precepts and rules direct the management of the young child. The first duty of the Mohammedan parent is to see that the babe is wrapped in clean white linen. If this cannot be obtained, any other color may be used, provided it be not yellow.
After the babe has been wrapped in linen, it is theduty of some male to utter the summons to prayer in its ear. This custom is followed religiously by all good Mohammedans in remembrance of the act of the Prophet at the birth of El Hasan.
It is the custom to chant the Mohammedan summons to prayer from the minarets of the mosques just before the service.
It is to this effect: "God is most great!" repeated four times. "I testify that there is no deity like God!" twice in succession. "I testify that Mohammed is God's apostle!"—"Come to prayer!"—"Come to security!"—"God is most great!" each repeated twice in succession, followed by the closing sentence, "There is no deity but God!"
In former times it was usual for a father to give a grand feast of seven days' duration when a little son was born. The gift of a little daughter was not regarded as an occasion for so much rejoicing.
The general custom of modern times is to give an entertainment when the child is seven days old. The mother receives the guests, exhibits the young child to them, and accepts presents of gold or silver coins. These are usually intended as ornaments for the child's headdress. In the evening the father usually entertains his friends in honor of the young child.
The Mohammedan children are most carefully reared, and from their earliest years are taught to show the greatest respect to their fathers. A most tender relation exists between father and child in spite of the ceremonious greetings they exchange.
Each morning the child greets his father by imprintinga kiss upon the hand. He then stands before him in an attitude of respect, covering his left hand with his right while he awaits directions, or until he receives permission to go. Often, however, when he has kissed his father's hand, he is taken affectionately upon his lap. After the days of his babyhood have passed the well-trained boy is seldom allowed to sit when in the presence of his father.
The natives of all Mohammedan countries are very fond of their children, yet they do not mourn for them to any great extent after the death of the little ones.
This feeling of resignation comes from a religious belief that children who die at an early age are able to intercede for their parents and obtain for them blessings greater than any that can be enjoyed in this world.
There is a popular belief in the promise of the Prophet, that all infant children of true believers shall, on the great judgment day, when the dead shall rise again, refuse to enter into Paradise unless their parents can go too. Then, in answer to their prayers and petitions, the gates of Paradise will be opened to all true Mohammedans.
Just as soon as a son is old enough to understand instruction, his father begins to teach him the most important rules of conduct. One of his first lessons is as follows:—the father places some food before his son and orders him to take it in his right hand. On no account can he employ the left hand, which must be reserved for menial services.
He is then trained to say, "In the name of God," as he commences to eat what is before him. He is also instructed not to hurry nor to spill any of his food, while it is impressed upon his mind that on no account is he to eat too much.
In addition to the instruction he receives in table manners, he is admonished not to be covetous nor miserly. He is forbidden to spit in the presence of others, or to commit any other rudeness. He is warned against talking too much, turning his back upon any one, standing in a slovenly position, and speaking evil against any one.
The obligations of the father are most binding. He must keep his child from evil companions, teach him the Koran, and all necessary religious and special observances and ordinances. He must give him instruction in the arts of swimming and archery, and see that he is taught some useful trade, as a protection against poverty. In addition, he must counsel him to show respect to his mother, and to endure patiently and submissively the corrections and punishments of his teachers.
Before a boy is old enough to go to school he has to submit to a religious rite which is observed with much pomp and with sumptuous feasts.
Before the observance of this rite, the boy, if he belong to the higher or middle class, is usually paraded about the neighborhood near his father's home, gayly attired, generally in the dress and ornaments of a female, with a boy's turban upon the head.
Accompanied by a group of his female friends andrelatives, who follow behind the horse upon which he is mounted, he rides about, preceded by a band of musicians to herald his coming.
Rich gifts are bestowed upon the young lad by the great men and merchants, till the storehouses and magazines of the household are filled to overflowing with various supplies, as rice, honey, sugar, coffee.
Players and performers of various kinds are engaged to amuse the public. Often at some of the more pretentious entertainments a recital of the entire Koran is given. At others a dance is given by male and female performers in the courtyard before the mansion, or in the street before the doorway.
Very few children of Arab parentage receive much instruction in literature. Instances are rare where they receive even the rudiments of any of the higher sciences. Every town, however, has numerous schools; even the most moderate-sized village can usually boast of one school at least.
The schools of the towns are generally attached to the mosque and other public buildings. Most of these structures and the schools connected with them—like that attached to the mosque of Ezher here in Cairo—have been endowed by princes, men of rank, and wealthy tradesmen.
The schoolmaster's duties are light. Generally he teaches his pupils nothing more than to read the Koran and to recite the whole of it by heart.
After a pupil has committed the first chapter of the sacred book to memory, he learns the rest of the chapters in inverse order. This is done to simplify the task,as the chapters generally decrease in length towards the end of the book. Hence, he learns on the principle of taking the easiest lessons first. Instruction in writing and arithmetic he usually receives from another master.
One more duty the Arab father has to perform, and one which he deems most important, when his son has arrived at a proper age, which is considered by some to be twenty years. It is the custom of the father to select then a suitable wife for his son.
It is an old saying among the Arabs, "When a son has attained the age of twenty-five years, his father, if able, should marry him, and then take his hand and say, 'I have disciplined thee, and taught thee, and married thee; I now seek refuge with God from thy mischief in the present world and in the next.'"
The girls of an Arab family are seldom taught even reading. Although admission to the schools where the boys are under instruction is allowed, yet very few parents permit their girls to get any benefit from this privilege. They prefer, rather, to give them such literary instruction as they wish, by employing a learned woman to teach them at home.
The duties of such a teacher are to instruct her pupils in the forms of prayer, and to teach them to repeat by heart a few chapters from the Koran.
Instances are rare where the whole book is committed to memory; for parents are instructed not to give their daughters a full knowledge of the laws of the Koran.
Needlework is to some extent taught to the daughters of an Arab household, but it is not a common custom. In the poorer families the daughters frequentlybusy themselves with the spindle and many learn to weave.
In the families of the higher and middle classes the daughters are taught to embroider and to do other ornamental work. This is taught to them at home, or in special schools.
Formerly, singing and playing upon the lute were considered necessary accomplishments for the daughters of wealthy Arabs. Now, however, such performances are confined to professionals, or to the slaves of the royal household.
It is very rare now that any musical instrument, other than a species of drum or a tambourine, is ever seen in the hands of an Arab lady. These instruments are used largely by the ladies of the wealthy households and are beaten by the fingers.
In many households the mothers bestow much care in teaching their daughters to acquire a fine gait and elegant carriage, as well as various little details of deportment, to render them attractive and pleasing in the eyes of others.
Those of you who were so fortunate as to visit the World's Fair at Chicago doubtless remember the representation of the streets of Cairo. Not the least among its many unique features was the facsimile of a wedding procession.
Very slowly such a procession wends its way, headed by the quaint musicians, who, with lutes, tambourines, flutes, clarionets, and the peculiar drum of the Arabs, make the air hideous with their so-called music.
The married women, following behind, look like bats,arrayed as they are in long black silk wrappers. Behind them, wrapped in white veils, come the young friends of the bride, and at last the bride herself, so carefully enveloped in a red cashmere shawl that not a feature can be seen, and but the barest outline of her figure. Her only ornament is a costly gold coronet.
She is accompanied by two relatives, who with much dignity walk on each side of her. A canopy of bright red material, supported on four poles, waves over her, and richly embroidered scarfs hang from it or flutter in the breeze. More musicians bring up the rear.
From time to time the procession halts in order to afford what is considered a rich treat for eye and ear to the people who dwell upon the streets through which the procession passes.
It is the custom of the Arab women to go heavily veiled, in order that their features may be hidden from mankind. When the young bridegroom receives his bride from her family, it is his privilege to lift her veil as he utters the words, "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!" For the first time, usually, he now beholds the face of the bride, who, with eyes modestly downcast, stands before him.
The life of a young wife is not an enviable one, for she but leaves the seclusion of her father's home for the still closer seclusion of her husband's, where, surrounded by her women slaves, she passes the time in a monotonous routine.
The slaves of an Arab household are, many of them, fairly educated and possess some little knowledge of sewing. In the wealthy households many of the slaveshave been taught to sing and to dance, or have been trained to repeat lyric poetry for the entertainment and amusement of their owners.
In every Arab household the women's apartments are set off from the others; for it is part of the Mohammedan religion that women shall lead a life of seclusion, surrounded only by their children and female slaves.
The duties of these slaves are not laborious, though they may be monotonous. They consist mostly in waiting upon and serving their mistresses, who have scarcely more liberty than they. The negro slaves are a decided contrast to the white slaves, and are employed mainly in the kitchen and other domestic apartments.
Most of the slaves are well treated and lead happy and contented lives, since they can have no conception of a free, unfettered life such as the humblest tiller of the soil may enjoy when he lives in the land where the "red, white, and blue" floats in the air, a symbol of liberty to all who claim its protection.
On the opposite side of the river from Cairo, about three miles southwest, lies the village of Gizeh. It is situated not far from the boundary of middle Egypt just where the line of the great pyramids begins.
The neighborhood about Gizeh is somewhat noted, for it has twice been associated with the fate of Egyptin decisive battles—in 969a.d.with the Fatimite army, and in 1798 with the French army under Bonaparte.
Ancient Gizeh was adorned with beautiful palaces and magnificent mosques. It was once a favorite resort for the merchants of Cairo, when they wished to be set free from the cares of a business life. Nothing remains now on the ancient site but a mere village. Piles of rubbish are all that mark the spot where magnificent buildings once stood.
One ancient custom still prevails in modern Gizeh, the process of hatching eggs in ovens. This custom has descended from the time of the Pharaohs.
Stretching north and south for many miles between the verdant valley of the Nile and the Libyan desert beyond, at an elevation of one hundred feet above the level of the Nile, rises a barren plateau, lying at a distance of about ten miles west of Memphis and running parallel with the river.
To the ancient kings of Egypt this rocky ridge, beneath which theSun, the chief deity of the Egyptians, appeared to sink to rest, seemed the most fitting site upon which to build their tombs. Sitting in their palace at Memphis and viewing this western plateau, they could but meditate upon the time when their sun of life should sink and they be called to the abode of the Gods.
It was the custom to hew out chambers in the rocks on the sides of the hilly ridge, in which to place the bodies of the common dead. The king, who had reigned over his subjects in life, felt it but a fittingmonument to his memory that his sepulcher should be of the most magnificent proportions.
The royal sarcophagus was usually placed in a spacious chamber under a grand monument of stones. Little by little the heap began to take more definite shape under the hands of the builders, until it assumed the immovable form and severe aspect of a pyramid.
Gradually the structure became more and more regular in the character of its interior and in the outline of its exterior, till it finally stood sharply defined against the sky, the pride of the builders and the marvel of future ages.
It is said by one authority that there were about seventy of these pyramids erected along the plateau west of Memphis, between Abu Roash and Dashur. Among them were some especially noted for their size and magnificence.
According to an ancient writer, the usages and customs of the Egyptians were directly opposite to those of other nations. It was the custom for the women to be employed in business and trade, while the men stayed at home to spin and attend to domestic affairs. This gave rise to the extraordinary law by which the daughters, not the sons, were obliged to provide for their parents.
In carrying burdens, the men bore them upon the head, the women upon the shoulder. Bread was kneaded with the feet, and mortar mixed with the hands. In all other countries the cattle were separated from the members of the household, but in Egypt men and beasts dwelt together.
According to this author, the Egyptians were the first to assert the immortality of the soul. They believed that the soul, after the corruption of the body, entered some animal, and by a continuous change passed successively into the different kinds of creatures belonging to the air, earth, and water. After a lapse of three thousand years it again dwelt in a human body.
The utmost care was employed to preserve the body as long as possible, that the soul might be obliged to continue with it. As the body was thus cared for, or embalmed, no labor nor cost was spared in building the sepulchers, which were termedeternal mansions. Their houses were built with much less care and expense, for they considered them but inns where men abode as travelers for a few years.
Many of the embalmed bodies, or mummies, have been brought from Egypt and placed in national museums. Some of the coffins in which they lie are very thick. They are generally of sycamore, which does not decay so easily as some wood. Some are of stone, others of cloth pasted together, making them very strong.
The top of the coffin is usually cut into the shape of a head, with a face resembling a woman's painted on it. Some of these coffins are handsomely marked with hieroglyphics. The body of the coffin is plain, with a broad pedestal at the lower end on which it can rest in an upright position.
The embalmed body appears wrapped in a shroud of linen upon which are fastened many linen scrolls painted with sacred characters. The face is coveredwith a headpiece of linen fitted with plaster. On this the countenance of the deceased is represented in gold.
The whole body is swathed with linen bands with great neatness and skill. There cannot be less than one thousand yards of these linen bands upon a single body.
The great pyramids of Gizeh have a situation on a hill six miles west of the Nile and at a distance of ninety miles from the Mediterranean Sea. They are three in number.
There is a fine highway, built at some elevation above the plain and shaded by acacia trees, running from Cairo to these pyramids, a distance of about eight miles. As we cross the river by means of a modern iron bridge, we behold from the center of it a series of most beautiful pictures.
The Nile, even at its lowest stage, impresses us as a noble river. It is the longest river of the eastern continent, and is exceeded in length only by the Amazon and the Mississippi. True, the volume of its waters is doubtless exceeded by that of several others, since the amount is diminished by the light rainfall and the narrow watershed of the latter half of the course.
Gazing at the Nile, we can but reflect upon what it has done and what it now does for Egypt, and we realize that its flood is one of the greatest blessings, if not one of the greatest wonders in the world.
We cross the bridge, and the road we follow leads to the western hills, on the northern extremity of which stand the pyramids of Gizeh, at an elevation of one hundred feet above the sea. The whole of this regionwas, from the earliest period, one of the cemeteries of old Memphis, which was the residence of the ancient Egyptian kings.
The largest and most ancient of the pyramids was built by Khufu. Within the solemn stillness of the chambers of the pyramid of Khufu the stone coffin which contained the royal mummy was placed. Upon the walls was sculptured the story of the dead king's deeds. A stone sealed the passage leading to these silent chambers. Three hundred and sixty thousand men were employed for twenty years in building this pyramid.
Another of these pyramids, Cheops, was built by the brother and successor of Khufu. It is constructed of huge blocks of red granite upon a vast ledge of hard limestone rock. This ledge is one hundred and thirty-seven feet above the level of the Nile.
History states that the pyramid was originally built in layers which formed steps. These were covered either with marble or alabaster, making a fine smooth surface. The footprints of Time have removed this outer covering, and the foundation steps, once rough, are now worn smooth by the feet of travelers. Cheops covers an area of thirteen acres.
The pyramid has a length of seven hundred and fifty-seven feet on each side. Originally it stood four hundred and eighty feet high; twenty feet have, however been removed.
Two hundred and six steps, or layers of stone, lead to the top, a tedious climb, requiring almost as much courage and zeal as to scale the Alps. The ascent isusually made from one of the corners by winding back and forth over the angle in a zigzag direction.
It is not safe to attempt to make the ascent without suitable guides, for one soon becomes dizzy and helpless. A little girl carrying a jar of water usually accompanies the traveler, who frequently finds it necessary to avail himself of her proffered services. The descent is less dangerous but quite as exciting, for the guides, taking the traveler by the hand, leap down the steps at a merry rate. It is with a feeling of relief, no doubt, that the traveler finds himself standing on mother earth again.
The third pyramid was built by Menkera, a successor of Khufu. In the central vault the mummy of Menkera was found. The sarcophagus, in which it lies, is of blue basalt, and contains the following description, "Osiris, King Menkera, ever-living one. Thy mother Nut is outstretched over thee; in her name of the mystery of the sky may she deify thee and destroy thy enemies, King Menkera, ever-living one."
According to accounts handed down from the Egyptian priests, the immense masses of stone used in the construction of the pyramids were brought from Arabia. They were put into place by building up huge mounds of earth beneath them, and allowing them to slide into position, as if from an inclined plane. It is certain that stone such as was used in the pyramids is not to be found within many miles of these structures.
Various reasons have been assigned for the building of the pyramids other than that they were intended as burial places for kings.
Some writers believe that their dimensions were meant for the basis of a system of weights and measures. Some have discovered a geometrical design in the construction, and believe that they were intended for teaching astronomy. Others argue, that only a "divine origin, plan, and purpose could account for the wonderful skill and hidden mysteries of the great monuments."
The wonderful Sphinx of Egypt is supposed to have been planned by the monarch Khafra.
"This great image stands north of the second pyramid of Gizeh. The effigy is the symbolical form of the godHarmachu, meaning Horus the Resplendent, to whom the adjacent temple was dedicated.
"The figure is hewn out of the solid rock. It has the body of a crouching lion and the head of a man capped and bearded. It is one hundred and ninety feet high.
"Between the paws, which are extended to a distance of fifty feet, is a monumental stone bearing the name of Khafra, who is said to have dedicated the image. The shoulders are thirty-six feet in breadth. The head measures from top to chin twenty-eight feet and six inches.
"The drifting sands of centuries have fallen around the mighty effigy, until only the solemn visage, looking out towards the Nile, and a small part of the shoulders and back remain above the level of the desert."
About ten miles northeast of Cairo lie a few crumbled stones and a single obelisk; these are all that remain of the ancient city of Heliopolis. This obelisk, the oldest in Egypt, was erected by the second king of the fourth dynasty, about two hundred years before the dawn of the Christian era.
Heliopolis was not only a famous city of the ancient world, but it was the seat of learning as well. One of its greatest attractions was the Temple of the Sun, possibly the most celebrated building in Egypt.
This temple has been described as standing in an area which measured a mile in length and half a mile in width. The approach to it was by an avenue lined with colossal sphinxes.
The ride to Heliopolis will take us through a growing suburb where a large number of beautiful houses have quite recently been erected. The road then emerges into a highly cultivated plain. This was once barren sand, but is now nourished and fertilized by the waters of the Nile, which have been carried to it.
We pass at intervals extensive buildings, a military school, numbers of old tombs, an astronomical observatory where the calculations are made for the yearly Mohammedan almanac, the palace of Zafforan, built by the late khedive for his mother, and also the palace occupied by the present khedive. This is situated in the midst of a fine plantation.
Just before reaching Heliopolis we dismount to step aside into a garden where stands an ancient sycamore tree, under whose shade the Holy Family is said to have rested on their flight into Egypt. This tree, which is crooked and gnarled, has its trunk and limbs covered with names, which travelers have cut in the bark.
So zealous have thoughtless travelers been to secure mementoes, that the owner of the tree has been obliged to fence it in, so that it might not be carried away in chips by the desecrating hands of would-be worshippers.
The obelisk at Heliopolis is the only object of interest. It is built of red granite, and stands sixty-six and one-half feet above the pavement on which it rests. Its base is rather more than six feet square. The inscription, which is alike on all four sides, is in large hieroglyphics. The lines are as sharply defined as if cut but yesterday. The pavement upon which the obelisk stands is about six feet below the level of the surrounding plain.
Strabo described the city as standing on a raised site; hence it is apparent that both the river and the alluvial plain have been raised to a considerable extent during the last two thousand years.
Very few of the Egyptian obelisks are to be found on their original sites. Some have been removed to Rome and Alexandria, others transported to places at still greater distances. Cleopatra's Needle, in Central Park, New York City, was brought to America in 1885, at great expense and with much difficulty, from its site under Egyptian skies. It was a gift to the United States from the Khedive of Egypt.
Its counterpart, a gift to England, lay prostrate inthe sands of Alexandria for many years, but was finally taken to London and placed on the banks of the Thames. Curious hieroglyphics upon it prove that it was originally in the Temple of the Sun, at Heliopolis.
Heliopolis was renowned for its fine literature, its beautiful temples, and its great priesthood. It was the University City, and was to Egypt what Cambridge is to England.
Starting out by carriage from Heliopolis, we soon are beyond its limits and in the open country. At once we are transported to the customs of Bible times. Nothing seems to have changed in the space of four thousand years. Here are the hewers of wood, the drawers of water, and the old mode of plowing the soil and of threshing the grain.
On all sides we notice the great fertility of the soil. Work and water seem the only agents lacking to render the country the garden of the world in the course of a few years.
Heliopolis was at one time counted among the wonders of the world. Little remains of its former glory. Gone are the avenues of sphinxes, the groves of statues, and the renowned Temple of the Sun. One solitary obelisk—the sheik of obelisks, the Egyptians call it—remains just where hands which now rest from all labor placed it four thousand years ago.
The hands which planted Mary's tree have long since crumbled and mingled with the dust of eighteen hundred years, yet the tree, of immense size, still stands, and is likely to live for centuries.
We cannot leave Egypt without having viewed themagnificent ruins of Thebes, the ancient capital of Upper Egypt. Both at Thebes and Karnac we may behold the glories of ancient ruins. Imagination finds it difficult to picture the beauties of the ancient palaces and halls when they were in their early splendor.
"Thebes must have been the greatest and most magnificent city in Egypt. Almost as old as the flood, situated in a fertile valley, where it expanded to a vast and splendid amphitheater, and adorning both banks of the Nile, it was, in extent, wealth, and architectural glory, the flower and crown of ancient civilization."
Homer sang the praises of its hundred gates nearly a thousand years before Christ. Some of the sacred prophets speak of it as containing a "multitude" of people. We cannot gaze on its wondrous ruins, nor linger among its splendid mausoleums of kings and princes, without receiving lasting impressions of its former grandeur and beauty.
The Thebes of the present and of the past come before the imagination in sharp contrast, and we find it difficult to reconcile the ever present fact of Arab filth and squalor with visions of former glory.
We vainly wish for some magic wand that could cause this ancient city to stand again as in the days of its early magnificence. It may not be. Both Thebes and Karnac are too remote from the path of commerce, too far removed from the great trade centers, in too close proximity to the burning sands of the desert, for us ever to hope to see them restored to the ranks of modern life, moved by its spirit of progress.
About a mile and a half north of Luxor we find theruins of Karnac. This was the grandest temple in Egypt, possibly in the whole world. We have but to visit it in the early evening to enjoy as glorious a sunset as mortals could desire. Who shall say what varied scenes, what gorgeous pageants, what centuries of glory and of ruin the great sun has looked upon in past ages!
We shall find it hard to give any adequate description of Karnac. Its magnitude and beauty bewilder and delight us. Its marvelous array of gates, towers, columns, obelisks, and statues astonish and enchant us.
How shall we describe a temple of such magnificent proportions! If we include its various halls and apartments, it measures twelve hundred feet in length and about five hundred feet in width. Its massive walls seem like palisades, its immense pillars like forests. Avenues lead to it from each point of the compass. Double rows of colossal sphinxes cut from gray, red, and black granite are ranged for miles along many of these avenues.
Each monarch in his reign enlarged the proportions of the temple from those which it had reached under his predecessors, whom he was anxious to excel, till the temple is said to have finally occupied seventy-five acres.
In the grand hall we find over a hundred columns still standing. They measure from nine to twelve feet in diameter; many of them are over sixty feet in height.
These columns are covered with hieroglyphical sculptures and paintings, in which the coloring is still brilliant, notwithstanding the centuries that have elapsed since they first saw the light of day. Many of these sculptures and paintings depict scenes recorded in sacred history.
Chronicles of the storied past, these realistic groups depict many a stray chapter in the life history of the old Egyptian kings and their captive hosts. Lost in meditation, we stand before these silent verifiers of the records of sacred history, and with grateful hearts acknowledge the blessings of home and country and the advantages to be derived from an enlightened century, rich in science, philanthropy, and Christianity.