 CHAPTER 11 OF A VISIT TO THE HOLY LAND, EGYPT AND ITALY PART II By Ida L. Pfeiffer. During my stay here I made an excursion to the grotto, said to be the scene of St. George's combat with the dragon. This grotto is situate to the right of the road near the quarantine house. The ride thither offers many fine views, but the grotto itself is not worth seeing. Frequently in the evening I went to visit an Arab family, when I would sit upon the top of the tower and enjoy the sight of the beautiful sunset. A very strong military force was posted at Beirut, consisting entirely of Arnaz. They had pitched their tents outside the town, which thus wore the appearance of a camp. Many of these towns do not contain barracks, and, as the soldiers are not here quartered in private houses, they are compelled to Bivouac in the open field. The bazaar is very large and straggling. On one occasion I had the misfortune to lose myself among its numerous lanes, from which it took me some time to extricate myself. I had an opportunity of seeing many of the articles of merchandise and an immense number of shops, but none which contained anything very remarkable. Once more I found how prone people are to exaggerate. I had been warned to abstain from walking in the streets, and above all to avoid venturing into the bazaar. I neglected both pieces of advice and walked out once or twice every day during my stay, without once meeting with an adventure of any kind. I had already been at Beirut ten long, long days, and still no opportunity offered of getting to Alexandria. But at the end of June the worthy artist Sattler, whose acquaintance I had made at Constantinople, arrived here. He found me out and proposed that I should travel to Damascus with Count Berkthold, a French gentleman by the name of De Rousseau, and himself, instead of wasting my time here. This proposition was a welcome one to me, for I ardently desired to be released from my fowl's nest. My arrangements were soon completed, for I took nothing with me except some linen and a mattress, which were packed on my horse's back. At one o'clock in the afternoon we were all assembled before the door of Monsieur Bassisse's inn, and an hour later we were in our saddles hastening toward the town gate. At first we rode through a deep sea of sand surrounding the town, but soon we reached the beautiful valley which lies stretched at the foot of the Antilibinus, and afterwards proceeded towards the range by pleasant paths, shaded by pine woods and mulberry plantations. But now the ascent of the magnificent Antilibinus becomes steeper and more dangerous as we advanced on rocky paths, often scarcely afoot in bread, and frequently crossed by fishers and brooklets. Some time elapsed before I could quite subdue my fear and could deliver myself wholly up to the delight of contemplating these grand scenes, so completely new to us Europeans, leaving my horse, which planted its feet firmly and without once stumbling among the blocks of stone lying loosely on each other, to carry me as its instinct directed, for these horses are exceedingly careful being well used to these dangerous roads. We could not help laughing heartily at our French companion, who could not screw up his courage sufficiently to remain on his horse at the very dangerous points. At first he always dismounted when we came to such a spot, but at length he grew weary of eternally mounting and dismounting, and conquered his fear, particularly when he observed that we depended so entirely on the sagacity of our steeds, and gave ourselves completely up to the contemplation of the mountains around us. It is impossible adequately to describe the incomparable forms of this mountain range. The giant rocks, piled one above the other, glow with the richest colors, lovely green valleys lie scattered between, while numerous villages are seen, sometimes standing isolated on the rocks, and at others peering forth from among the deep shade of the olive and mulberry trees. The sun sinking into the sea-shot its last rays through the clear, pure air towards the highest peaks of the mighty rocks, everything united to form a picture which, when once seen, can never be forgotten. The tints of the rocky masses are peculiarly remarkable, exhibiting not only the primary colors, but many gradations, such as bluish-green, violet, etc. Many rocks were covered with a red coating resembling cinnabar, in several places we found small veins of pure sulfur, and each moment something new and wonderful met our gaze. The five hours which we occupied in riding from Beirut to the village of El-Helmson passed like five minutes. The con of El-Helmson was already occupied by a caravan bringing wares and fruit from Damascus, so that we had nothing for it but to raise our tent and encamp beneath it. July 2. The rising sun found us prepared for departure, and soon we had reached an eclivity from once we enjoyed a magnificent view. Before us rose the lofty peaks of Lebanon and Antilabanus, partly covered with snow, while behind us the mountains, rich in vineyards, olive plantations, and pine-woods, stretched downward to the seashore. We had mounted to such a height that the clouds soaring above the sea and the town of Beirut lay far beneath us, surrounding the city from our gaze. Vineyards are very common on these mountains. The vines do not, however, cling round trees for support, nor are they trained up poles as in Austria. We grow almost wild, the stem shooting upwards to a short distance from the ground, towards which the vine then bends. The wine made on these mountains is of excellent quality, rather sweet in flavor, of a golden yellow color and exceedingly fiery. We continued to climb, without experiencing much inconvenience from the heat, up a fearful dizzy path, over rocks and stones and past frightful chasms. Our leathern bottles were here useless to us, for we had no lack of water, from every crevice in the rocks a clear, crystal flood gushed forth, in which the gorgeously colored masses of stone were beautifully mirrored. After a very fatiguing ride of five hours, we at length reached the ridge of the Antilabanus, where we found a con and allowed ourselves an hour's rest. The view from this point is very splendid. The two loftiest mountain ridges of Lebanon and Antilabanus enclose between them a valley, which may be about six miles long, and ten or twelve broad. On our way across the mountains brow and down into this picturesque valley, through which we journeyed for some miles to the village of Machdelencher, in the neighborhood of which place we pitched our tents. It is, of course, seldom that a European woman is seen in these regions, and thus I seemed to be quite a spectacle to the inhabitants. At every place where we halted many women and children would gather round me, busily feeling my dress, putting on my straw hat, and looking at me from all sides, while they endeavored to converse with me by signs. If they happened to have anything eatable at hand, such as cucumbers, fruits, or articles of that description, they never failed to offer them with the greatest good nature, and seemed highly rejoiced when I accepted some. On the present evening several of these people were assembled round me, and I had the opportunity of noticing the costume of this mountain tribe. Accepting the headdress it is the same as that worn throughout all Palestine, and indeed in the whole of Syria, the women have blue gowns and the men white blouses, wide trousers, and a sash. The headdress of the woman is very original, but does not look remarkably becoming. They wear on their foreheads a tin horn, more than a foot in length, and over this a white handkerchief, fastened at the back, and hanging down in folds. This rule, however, only applies to the wealthier portion of the community, which is here limited enough. The poorer women wear a much smaller horn. Over which they display an exceedingly dingy handkerchief. During working hours they ordinarily divest themselves of these ornaments, as they would render it impossible to carry loads on the head. The rich inhabitants of the mountains, both male and female, dress in the oriental fashion, but the women still retain the horn, which is then made of silver. The village of Max-Dalen-Schubert, the village of Max-Dalen-Schubert, the village of Max-Dalen-Schubert is built of clay huts thatched with straw. I saw many goats and horned cattle, and a good store of corn lay piled up before the doors. We were assured that the roads through the mountain inhabited by the Druzes and Maronites were very unsafe, and we were strongly urged to take an escort with us. But as we met caravans almost every hour, we considered this an unnecessary precaution, and arrived safely without adventure of any kind at Damascus. July 3. This morning we rode, at first, over a very good road, till at length we came upon a ravine, which seemed hardly to afford us room to pass. Closer and more closely yet did the rocky masses approach each other, as we passed amongst the loose shingle over the dry bed of a river. Frequently the space hardly admitted of our stepping aside to allow the caravans we met to pass us. Sometimes we thought, after having painfully labored through a ravine of this kind, that we should emerge into the open field, but each time it was only to enter a wilder and more deserted past. So we proceeded for some hours till the rocky masses changed to heaps of sand, and every trace of vegetation disappeared. At length we climbed the last hill and Damascus, the vaunted city of the east lay before us. It is certainly a striking sight when, escaping from the inhospitable domains of the mountain and the sand hill, we see stretched at our feet a great and luxuriant valley, forming in the freshness of its vegetation a singular contrast to the desert region all around. In this valley, amid gardens and trees innumerable, extends the town, with its pretty mosques and slender lofty minarets. But I was far from finding the scene so charming that I could have exclaimed with other travelers this is the most beautyous spot on earth. The plain in which Damascus lies runs at the foot of the Antilebinus as far as the mountain of Shake, and is shut in on three sides by sand hills of an incomparably dreary appearance. On the fourth side the plain loses itself in the sandy desert. This valley is exceedingly well watered by springs descending from all the mountains, which we could not, however, see on our approach, but no river exists here. The water rushes forth but to disappear beneath the sand, and displays its richness only in the town and its immediate neighborhood. From the hill, once we had obtained the first view of Damascus, we have still a good two miles to ride before we reach the plantations. These are large gardens of mish-mish, walnut, pomegranate, orange and lemon trees, fenced in with clay walls, traversed by long broad streets, and watered by bubbling brooks. For a long time we journeyed on in the shade of these fruitful woods, till at length we entered the town through a large gate. Our enthusiastic conceptions of this renowned city were more and more toned down as we continued to advance. The houses in Damascus are almost all built of earth and clay, and many ugly wooden gables and heavy window frames give a disagreeable ponderous air to the whole. Damascus is divided into several parts by gates, which are closed soon after sunset. We passed through a number of these gates, and also through the greater portion of the Bazaar on our road to the Franciscan convent. We had this day accomplished a journey of more than twenty-four miles in a temperature of thirty-five degrees to thirty-six degrees rimmer, and had suffered much from the scorching wind which came laden with particles of dust. Our faces were so brown that we might easily have been taken for descendants of the Bedouins. This was the only day that I felt my eyes affected by the glare. Although we were much fatigued on arriving at the convent, the first thing we did after cleansing ourselves from dust and washing our burning eyes was to hasten to the French and English consuls, so eager were we to see the interior of some of these clay huts. A low door brought us into a passage leading into a large yard. We could have fancied ourselves transported by magic to the scene of one of the fantastic Arabian nights, for all the glory of the east seemed spread before our delighted gaze. In the midst of the courtyard which was paved with large stones, a large reservoir with a sparkling fountain spread a delightful coolness around. Orange and lemon trees dipped their golden fruit into the crystal flood, while at the sides flower beds filled with fragrant roses, balsams, oleanders, etc., extended to the stairs leading to the reception room. Everything seemed to have been done so that it could contribute to ornament this lofty, enlarged apartment which opened into the courtyard. Swelling to vans, covered with the richest stuffs, lined the walls, which tastefully ornamented with mirrors and painted and sculptured arabesques, and further decked with mosaic and gilding displayed a magnificence of which I could not have formed a conception. In the foreground of this fairy apartment a jet of water shot upwards from a marble basin. The floor was also of marble, forming beautiful pictures in the most varied colors, and over the whole scene was spread that charm so peculiar to the orientals, a charm combining the tasteful with the rich and gorgeous. The apartment in which the women dwell well, and where they received their more confidential visitors, are of similar to the one I have just described, except that they are smaller, less richly furnished, and completely open in front. The remaining apartments also look into the courtyard, they are simply, but comfortably and prettily arranged. All the houses of the orientals are similar to this one, except that the apartments of the women open into another courtyard than those of the men. We, feminine and admiring everything to our hearts content, we return to our hospitable convent. This evening the clerical gentleman entertained us. A tolerably nice meal, with wine and good bread, restored our exhausted energies to a certain extent. At Beirut we were quite alarmed at the warnings we received concerning the numbers of certain creeping things we should find here in the bedsteads. I therefore betook myself to bed with many qualms and misgivings, but I slept undisturbed, both on this night and on the following one. End of Section 22 Section 23 Of a Visit to the Holy Land This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Chapter 12 Of a Visit to the Holy Land, Egypt and Italy Part 1 by Ida L. Pfeiffer July 4th. Damascus is one of the most ancient cities of the East, but yet we see no ruins, a proof that no grand buildings ever existed here, and that therefore the houses, as they became old and useless, were replaced by new ones. Today we visited the seat of all the ridges, the Great Bazaar. It is mostly covered in, but only with beams and straw mats. On both sides are rows of wooden booths containing all kinds of articles, but a great preponderance of eatables, which are sold at an extraordinarily cheap rate. We found the mish-mish particularly good. As in Constantinople the rarest and most costly of the wares are not exposed for sale, but must be sought for in closed storehouses. The booths look like inferior hucksters' shops, and each merchant is seen sitting in the midst of his goods. We passed hastily through the Bazaar in order to reach the Great Mosque, situate in the midst of it. As we were forbidden, however, not only to enter the Mosque, but even the courtyard, we were obliged to content ourselves with wondering at the immense portals, and stealing furtive glances at the interior of the open space beyond. The Mosque was originally a Christian church, and legend tells that St. George was decapitated here. The con, also situate in the midst of the Bazaar, is similarly fine, and is said to be the best in all the East. The high and boldly arched portal is covered with marble, and enriched with beautiful sculptures. The interior forms a vast rotunda, surrounded by galleries divided from each other, and furnished with writing tables for the use of the merchants. Below in the hall the bails and chests are piled up, and at the side are apartments for traveling dealers. The greater portion of the building is covered with marble. Altogether marble seems to be much sought after at Damascus. Everything that passes for beautiful or valuable is either entirely composed of this stone, or at least is inlaid with it. Thus a pretty fountain in a little square near the Bazaar is made of marble, and a coffee house opposite the fountain, the largest and most frequented of any in Damascus, is ornamented with a few small marble pillars. But all these women accepting the great bathing house would be far less praised and looked at if they stood in a better neighborhood. As is the case, however, they shine forth nobly forth from among the clay houses of Damascus. In the afternoon we visited the grotto of St. Paul, lying immediately outside the town. On the ramparts we were shown the place where the apostle is said to have leaped from the wall on horseback, reaching the ground of the refuge from his enemies in the neighboring grotto, which is said to have closed behind him by Miracle, and not to have opened again until his persecutors had ceased their pursuit. At present nothing is to be seen of this grotto, excepting a small stone archway, like that of a bridge. Tombs of modern date consisting of vaults covered with large blocks of stone are very numerous near this grotto. We paid several more visits of inner arrangement and decoration, varying, of course, in different houses. We were always served with coffee, sherbet, and argile. And in the houses of the Turks a dreary conversation was carried on through the medium of an interpreter. Walks in places of amusement there are none. The number of Frank's resident here is too small to call for a place of general recreation, and the Turk never feels a want of this shelter slowly from the bath to the coffee house, and there to kill his time with the help of a pipe and a cup of coffee, staring vacantly on the ground before him. Although the coffee houses are more frequented than any other buildings in the east, they are often miserable sheds, being all small and generally built only of wood. The inhabitants of Damascus wear the usual oriental garb, but as a rule I thought them better down. Some of the women are veiled, but others go abroad with their faces uncovered. I saw here some very attractive countenances, and an unusual number of lovely children's heads looked at me from all sides with an inquisitive smile. In reference to religious matters these people seem very fanatical. They particularly dislike strangers. For instance, the painter S. wished to make sketches of the Khan, the fountain, and a interesting objects or views. For this purpose he sat down before the great coffee-house to begin with the fountain, but scarcely had he opened his portfolio before a crowd of curious idlers had gathered around him, who as soon as they saw his intention began to annoy him in every possible way. They pushed the children who stood near against him so that he received a shock every moment and was hindered in his drawing. As he continued to work in spite of their rudeness several Turks came stood directly before the painter to prevent him seeing the fountain. On his still continuing to persevere they began to spit upon him. It was now high time to be gone, and so Mr. S. hastily gathered his materials together and turned it apart. Then the rage of the rabble broke noisily forth. They followed the artist yelling and screaming and even threw a few stones at him. Luckily he succeeded in reaching our convent unharmed. Mr. S. had been allowed to draw without opposition at Constantinople, Brusa, Ephesus, and several other cities of the east, but here he was obliged to flee, such as the disposition of these people whom many describe as being so friendly. The following morning at sunrise Mr. S. betook himself to the terrace of the convent to make a sketch of the town. Here, too, he was discovered, but luckily not until he had been at work some hours, and had almost completed his task, so that as soon as the first stone came flying towards him he was able quietly to evacuate the field. July 5. In Damascus we met Count Zishi, who had arrived there with his servants a few days before ourselves, and intended continuing his journey to Baobak today. Count Zishi's original intention had been to make an excursion from this place to the celebrated town of Palmyra, an undertaking which would have occupied ten days. He therefore applied to the Pasha for a sufficient escort for his excursion. The request was, however, refused, the Pasha observing that he had ceased for some time to allow travelers to undertake this dangerous journey, as until now all strangers has been plundered by the wandering Arabs, and in some instances men had even been murdered. The Pasha added that it was not in his power to furnish so large an escort as would be required to render this journey safe, by allowing the travelers to resist all aggressions. After receiving this answer, Count Zishi communicated with some Bedouin chiefs, who could not guarantee a safe journey, but nevertheless required six thousand piastras for accompanying him. Thus it became necessary to give up the idea altogether, and to proceed instead to Baobak and to the heights of Lebanon. At the hour of noon we rode out of the Gate of Damascus in company with Count Zishi. The thermometer stood at forty degrees rimmer. Our procession presented quite a splendid appearance, for the Pasha had sent a guard of honor to escort the Count to Baobak, to testify his respect for a relation of Prince M. At first our way led through a portion of the Bazaar. Afterwards we reached a large and splendid street which traverses the entire city, and is said to be more than four miles in length. It is so broad that three carriages can pass each other with ease, without annoyance to the pedestrians. It is a pity that this street, which is probably the finest in the whole kingdom, should be so little used, for carriages are not seen here any more than in the remaining portion of Syria. Scarcely have we quitted this road before we are riding through gardens and meadows, among which the country houses of the citizens lie scattered here and there. On this side of the city springs also gush forth and water the fresh groves slowly swarred. A stone bridge of a very simple construction led us across the largest stream in the neighborhood, the Barata, which is, however, neither so broad nor so full of water as the Jordan. But soon we had left these smiling scenes behind us and were wending our way towards the lonely desert. We passed several sepulchres, a number of which lie scattered over the sandy hills and plains around us. On the summit of one monument was pointed out to us with the assertion that it was the grave of Abraham. We now rode for hours over flats, hills and ridges of sand and loose stone, and this day's journey was as fatiguing as that of our arrival at Damascus. From twelve o'clock at noon until about five in the evening we continued our journey through this wilderness, suffering lamentably from the heat. But now the wilderness was passed and suddenly a picture so lovely and unfolded itself before our gaze that we could have fancied ourselves transported to the romantic veils of Switzerland. A valley enriched with every charm of nature and shut in by gigantic rocks of marvelous and fantastic forms opened at our feet. A mountain torrent gushed from rock to rock, foaming and chafing among mighty blocks of stone, which, hurled from above, had here found their resting place. A natural rocky bridge led across the roaring flood. Many a friendly hut, the inhabitants of which looked forth with stealthy curiosity upon the strange visitors, lay half hidden between the lofty walls. And so our way continued, valley lay bordered on valley, and the little river which ran bubbling by the roadside led us past gardens and villages through a region of surpassing loveliness to the great village of Zaddeni, where we at length halted after an uninterrupted ride within hours and a half. The escort which accompanied us consisted of twelve men, with a superior and a petty officer. These troopers looked very picturesque, when, as we traveled along the level road, they went through some small maneuvers for our amusement, rushing along on their swift steeds and attacking each other, one party flying across the plain, and the other pursuing them as victors. The character of these children of nature was a very amiable one. They behaved toward us in an exceedingly friendly and courteous manner, bringing us fruit and water whenever they could procure them, leading us carefully by the safest roads and showing us as much attention as any European could have done. But their idea of mine and thine does not always appear to be very clearly defined. Once, for instance, we passed through fields in which grew a plant resembling our pea on a reduced scale. Each plant contained several pods, and each pod two peas. Our escort picked a large quantity, ate the fruit with an appearance of great relish, and very politely gave us a share of their prize. I found these peas less tender and eatable than those of my own country, and returned them to the soldier who had offered them to me, observing at the same time that I would rather have had mish-mish. On hearing this he immediately galloped off, and shortly afterwards returned with a whole cargo of mish-mish and little apples, which had probably been borrowed for an indefinite period from one of the neighboring gardens. I mentioned these little circumstances as they appeared to me to be characteristic. On the one hand Mr. S. had been threatened with the fate of St. Stephen for wishing to make a few sketches, and yet on the other these people were so kind and so ready to oblige. This region produces an abundance of fruit and is particularly rich in mish-mish or apricots. The finest of these are dried while those which are over-ripe or half-decade are boiled to a pulp in large pots, and afterwards spread to dry on long smooth boards in the form of cakes, about half an inch in thickness. These cakes which look like coarse brown leather are afterwards folded up and form together with the dried mish-mish a staple article of commerce which is exported far and wide. In Constantinople and even in Serbia I saw cakes of this description which came from these parts. The Turks are particularly fond of taking this dried pulp with them on their journeys. They cut it into little pieces which they afterwards leave for several hours in a cup of water to dissolve. It then forms a really aromatic and refreshing drink which they partake of with bread. From Damascus to Baalbek is a ride for fourteen hours. Count Zishi wished to be in Baalbek by the next day at noon. We therefore had but a short night's rest. The night was so mild and beautiful that we did not want the tents at all but lay down on the bank of a streamlet beneath the shade of a large tree. For a long time sleep refused to visit us, for our encampment was opposite to a coffee-house where a great hubbub was kept up until a very late hour. Small caravans were continually waiting or departing, and so there was no chance of rest. At length we dropped quietly asleep from very weariness to be awakened a few hours afterwards to start once more on our arduous journey. July 6. We rode without halting for eight hours, sometimes through pleasant valleys at others over barren, unvarying regions, upon and between the heights of the Antilebanus. At the hour of noon we reached the last hill and Heliopolis or Baalbek, the city of the sun, lay stretched before us. We entered a valley shut in by the highest snow-covered peaks of Lebanon and Antilebanus more than six miles in breadth and fourteen or sixteen miles long belonging to Kalos, Syria. Many travelers praise this veil as one of the most beautiful in all Syria. It certainly deserves the title of the most remarkable valley. For accepting at Thieves and Palmyra we may search in vain for the grand antique ruins which are here met with. The title of the most beautiful does not, according to my idea, appertain to it. The mountains around are desert and bare. The immeasurable plain is sparingly cultivated and still more thinly peopled. With the exception of the town of Baalbek which has arisen from the ruins of the ancient city, not a village nor hut is to be seen. The corn, which still partly covered the fields, looked stunted and poor. The beds of the streams were dry and the grass was burnt up. The majestic ruins which become visible directly the brow of the last hill is gained, a tone in a measure for these drawbacks, but we were not satisfied for we had expected to see much more than met our gaze. We wended our way along stony paths past several quarries towards the ruins. On reaching these quarries we dismounted to obtain a closer view of them. On the right hand one lies a colossal block of stone, cut and shaped on all sides. It is sixty feet in length, eighteen in breadth, and thirteen in diameter. This giant block was probably intended to form part of the Cyclops Wall surrounding the temple of the sun, for we afterwards noticed several stones of equal length in breadth among the ruins. Another to the left side of the road was remarkable for several grottoes and fragments of rocks picturectly grouped. We had sent our horses onto the convent and now hastened towards the ruined temples. At the foot of a little eclivity a wall rose lofty and majestic. It was constructed of colossal blocks of rock which seemed to rest firmly upon each other by their own weight, without requiring the aid of mortar. Three of these stones were exactly the size of one we had seen in the quarry. Many appeared to be sixty feet in length and broad and thick in proportion. This is the Cyclops Wall surrounding the hill on which the temples stand. A difficult path over piled up fragments of marble and pieces of rock and rubbish serves as a natural rampart against the intrusion of camels and horses and this circumstance alone has prevented these sanctuaries of the heathen deities from being converted into dirty stables. End of section twenty-three Section twenty-four of a visit to the Holy Land. This is the LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Chapter twelve of a visit to the Holy Land Egypt and Italy part two by Ida L. Pfeiffer When we once passed the obstruction, delight and wonder arrested our footsteps. For some moments our glances wandered irresolutely from point to point We could fix our attention on nothing so great was the number of beauties surrounding us. Splendid architecture, arches rising boldly into the air, supported on lofty pillars, everything war and air so severely classic and yet all was gorgeously elegant and at the same time perfectly tasteful. At first we reviewed everything in a very hasty manner, for our impulse hurried us along and we wished to take in everything that we wanted. Afterwards we began a new and more deliberate survey. As we enter a large open courtyard our eye is caught by numerous pieces of marble and fragments of columns, some of the latter resting tastefully on sculptured plinths. Almost everything here is prostrate covered with rubbish and broken fragments, but yet all looks grand and majestic in its ruin. We next enter a second in a larger courtyard, above two hundred paces in length and about a hundred in breadth. Round the walls are niches cut in marble and ornamented with the prettiest air-basques. These niches were probably occupied in former times by statues of the numerous heathen gods. Behind these are little cells, the dwellings of the priests and in the foreground rise six Corinthian pillars, the only trace left of the great temple of the sun. These six pillars which have hitherto bed defiance to time, devastation, and earthquakes are supposed to be the loftiest and most magnificent in the world. Nearly seventy feet in height each pillar a rocky colossus resting on a basement twenty-seven feet high covered with excellent workmanship, a masterpiece of ancient architecture they tower above the cyclops wall and look far away into the distance, giant monuments of the Horry past. How vast this temple must originally have been is shown by the remaining pedestals from which the pillars have fallen and lay strewed around in weather-stained fragments. I counted twenty such pedestals along the length of the temple and ten across its breadth. The lesser temple separated from the greater merely by a wall lies deeper and more sheltered from the wind and weather. Consequently it is in better preservation. A covered hall resting on pillars fifty feet in height has rounded this temple. Statues of gods and heroes beautifully sculptured in marble and surrounded by arabesques deck the lofty arches of this corridor. The pillars consist of three pieces fastened together with such amazing strength that when the last earthquake threw down a column it did not break but fell with its top buried in the earth where it is seen leaning its majestic height against a hill. From this hall we pass through a splendid portal into the interior of the temple sanctuary. An eagle with outspread wings overshadows the upper part of the gate which is thirty feet in height by twenty in breadth. The two sides are enriched with small figures prettily executed in a tastefully carved border of flowers, fruit, ears of corn and arabesques. This portal is in very good preservation accepting that the keystone has slipped from its place and hangs threateningly over the entrance to the terror of all who pass beneath. But we entered and afterwards returned unhurt and many will yet pass unharmed like ourselves beneath the loose stones. We shall have returned to dust while the pendant mass will still see generation after generation roll on. This lesser temple would not look small by any means were it not for its colossal neighbor. On side nine and on the other side six pillars are still erect beside several pedestals from which the pillars have fallen. Walls, niches, everything around us in fact is of marble enriched with sculptured work of every kind. The sanctuary of the sun is separated from the nave of the temple by a row of pillars. Most of them prostrate. To judge from what remains of both these temples they must originally have been decorated with profuse splendor. The costly of statues and ball reliefs sculptured in stone resembling marble once filled the niches and halls. The remains of tasteful ornaments and arabesques bear witness to the luxury which once existed here. The only fault seems to have been a redundancy of decoration. A subterranean vaulted passage 250 paces in length and 30 in breadth traverses this temple. In the midst of this walk a colossal head is shewn out of the rocky ceiling representing probably some hero of antiquity. This place is now converted into a stable for horses and camels. The little brook litany winds round the foot of the hill on which these ruins stand. We had been cautioned at Damascus to abstain from wandering alone among these temples, but our interest in all we saw was so great that we forgot the warning into our fears and hastened to and fro without the least protection. We spent several hours here exploring every corner and meeting no one but a few curious inhabitants who wished to see the newly arrived Franks. Her S even wandered through the ruins at night quite alone without meeting an adventure of any kind. I am almost inclined to think that travelers sometimes detail attacks by robbers and dangers which they have not experienced in order to render their narratives more interesting. My journey was a very long one through very dangerous regions. On some occasions I traveled alone with only one Arab servant, and yet nothing serious ever happened to me. Heliopolis is in such a ruined state that no estimate can be formed of the pristine size and splendor of this celebrated town. Accepting the two temples of the sun and a very small building in their vicinity built in a circular form and richly covered with sculpture and arabests, and a few broken pillars, not a trace of the ancient city remains. The present town of Baalbek is partly built on the site occupied by its predecessor. It lies to the right of the temples and consists of a heap of small, wretched looking houses and huts. The largest buildings in the place are the convent and the barracks. The latter of these presents an exceedingly ridiculous appearance. Fragments of ancient pillars, statues, freezes, etc., having been collected from all sides and put together to form a modern building according to Turkish notions of taste. We were received into the convent but could command no further accommodation than an empty room and a few straw mats. Our attendant brought us pilau, the everyday dish of the east, but today he surprised us with a boiled fowl, buried beneath a heap of the Turkish fair. Count Zishi added a few bottles of excellent wine from Lebanon to the feast and so we sat down to dinner without tables or chairs, as Mary as mortals need desire to be. Here as in most other eastern towns I had only to step out on the terrace roof of the house to cause a crowd of old and young to collect, eager to see a Frankish woman in the costume of her country. Whoever wishes to create a sensation without possessing either genius or talent has only to but take himself without loss of time to the east and he will have his ambition gratified to the fullest extent. But whoever has a great objection to being as I have will easily understand that I reckoned this among the greatest inconveniences of my journey. July 7 At five o'clock in the morning we again mounted our horses and rode for three hours through an immense plane where nothing was to be seen but scattered columns toward the foremost promontaries of the Lebanon range. The road towards the heights was sufficiently good and easy. We were a little disturbed by the heat and brooks caused by the thawing of snow fields afforded us most grateful refreshment. In the middle of the day we took an hour's nap under the shady trees beside a gushing stream. Then we proceeded to climb the heights. As we journeyed onwards the trees became fewer and farther between until at length no soil was left in which they could grow. The way was so confined by chasms and abysses on the one side and walls of rock on the other that there was scarcely room for a horse to pass. Suddenly a loud voice before us cried, HALT! Startled by the sound we looked up to find that the call came from a soldier who was escorting a woman afflicted with the plague from a village where she had been the first victim of the terrible disease to another where it was raging fearfully. It was impossible to turn aside so the soldier had no recourse but to drag the sick woman some paces up this deep rocky and then we had to pass close by her. The soldier called out to us to cover our mouths and noses. He himself had anointed the lower part of his face with tar as a preventative against contagion. This was the first plague-stricken person I had seen and as we were compelled to pass close by her I had an opportunity of observing the unfortunate creature closely. She was bound on an ass, appeared, resigned to her fate and turned her eyes on us with an aspect of indifference. I could see no trace of the terrible disease except a yellow appearance of the face. The soldier who accompanied her seemed as cool and indifferent as though he were walking beside a person in perfect health. As the plague prevailed to a considerable extent throughout the valleys of the Lebanon we were frequently obliged to go some distance out of our way to avoid the villages affected with the scourge. We usually encamped for the night in the open fields, far from any habitation. On the whole long distance from Balbec to the cedars of Lebanon we found not a human habitation accepting a little shepherd's hut near the mountains. Not more than a mile and a half from the heights we came upon small fields of snow. Several of our attendance dismounted and began a snowballing match, a wintry scene which reminded me of my fatherland. Although we were traveling on snow the temperature was so mild that not one of our party put on a cloak. We could not imagine how it was possible for snow to exist in such a high temperature. The thermometer stood at nine degrees rimmer. A fatiguing and dangerous ride of five hours at length brought us from the foot to the highest point of Mount Lebanon. Here for the first time we can see the magnitude and the peculiar construction of the range. Steep walls of rock with isolated villages scattered here and there like beehives and built on natural rocky terraces rise on all sides. Deep valleys lie between, contrasting beautifully in their verdant freshness with the bare rocky barriers. Farther on lie stretched elevated plateaus with cows and goats feeding at intervals and in the remote distance glitters a mighty stripe of bluish green encircling the landscape like a broad girdle. This is the Mediterranean. On the flat extended coast several places can be distinguished among which the most remarkable is Tripoli. On the right the grove of cedars lay at our feet. For a long time we stood on this spot and turned and turned again for fear of losing any part of the gigantic panorama. On one side of the mountain range with its valleys, rocks and gorges on the other side the immense plain of Calocira on a verge of which the ruins of the Sun Temple were visible glittering in the noon tide rays. Then we climbed downwards and upwards then downwards once more through ravines and over rocks along a frightful path to a little grove of the far famed cedars of Lebanon. In this direction the peculiar pointed formation which constitutes the principal charm of these mountains once more predominate. The celebrated grove of cedars is distant about two miles and a half from the summit of Lebanon. It consisted between five and six hundred trees. About twenty of these are very aged and five peculiarly large and five specimens are said to exist in the days of Solomon. One tree is more than twenty-five feet in circumference. At about five feet from the ground it divides into four portions and forms as many good-sized trunks. For more than an hour we rested beneath these ancient monuments of the vegetable world. The setting sun warned us to depart speedily, for our destination for the night was above three miles away and it was not prudent to travel on these fearful paths in the darkness. Our party here separated. Count Zishi proceeded with his attendance to Huma while the rest of us spent our course towards Tripoli. After a hardy leave taking one company turned to the right and the other to the left. We had hardly held on our way for half an hour before one of the loveliest valleys I have ever beheld opened at our feet. Immense and lofty walls of rock, of the most varied and fantastic shapes, surrounded this fairy veil on all sides, in the foreground rose a gigantic table-rock on which was built a beautiful village with a church smiling in the midst. Suddenly the sound of chimes was born upwards towards us on the still-clear air. They were the first I had heard in Syria. I cannot describe the feeling of delicious emotion this familiar sound caused in me. The Turkish government everywhere prohibits the ringing of bells, but here, on the mountains, among the free marinates, everything is free. The sound of church bells is a simple, earnest music for Christian ears, too intimately associated with the usages of our religion to be heard with indifference. Here, so far from my native country, they appeared like links in the mysterious chain which binds the Christians of all countries in one unity. I felt, as it were, nearer to my hearth and to my dear ones who were, perhaps, at the same moment listening to similar sounds and thinking of the distant wanderer. The road leading into this valley was fearfully steep. We were obliged to make a considerable detour around the lovely village of Bishari for the plague was raging there which made it forbidden ground for us. Some distance beyond the village was our camp beside a small stream. This night we suffered much from cold and damp. The inhabitants of Bishari paid us a visit for the purpose of demanding bakshis. We had considerable difficulty in getting rid of them and were obliged almost to beat them off with sticks to escape from their contagious touch. The practice of begging is universal in the East. So soon as an inhabitant comes in sight he is sure to be holding out his hand. This is where poverty is everywhere apparent. We cannot wonder at this importunity but we are justly surprised when we find it in these fruitful valleys which offer everything that man can require. Where the inhabitants are well clothed and where their stone dwellings look cheerful and commodious. Where corn, the grapevine, the fig and mulberry tree and even the valuable potato plant which cannot flourish throughout the greater part of Syria on account of the heat and stony soil and abundance. Every spot of earth is carefully cultivated and turned to the best account so that I could have fancied myself among the industrious German peasantry and yet these free people beg and steal quite as much as the Bedouins and Arabs. We were obliged to keep a sharp watch on everything. My riding whip was stolen almost before my very eyes and one of the gentlemen had his pocket picked of his handkerchief. Our march today had been very fatiguing. We had ridden for eleven hours and the greater part of the road had been very bad. The night brought us but little relaxation for our cloaks did not sufficiently protect us from the cold. End of Section 24 Section 25 of a visit to the Holy Land This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Section 23 of a visit to the Holy Land Egypt and Italy Part 1 by Ida L. Pfeiffer July 8 Today we quitted our cold hard couch at six o'clock in the morning and traveled agreeably for two hours through this romantic valley which appeared almost at every step in a new aspect of increased beauty. Above the village a foaming stream bursts from the mighty rocks in a beautiful waterfall, and then vanishes imperceptibly among the windings of the ravine. Brooks, similar to this one but smaller, leapt from the mountains round about. On the rocky peaks we seem to behold ruined castles and towers but discover with astonishment as we approach nearer that what we supposed to be ruins are delusive pictures formed by the wonderful masses of rock grouped one above the other in the most fantastic forms. In the depths on the one side grottos upon grottos are seen, some with their entrances half concealed, others with gigantic portals above which the wild rocks tower high. On the other a rich soil is spread in the form of terraces on the rocky cliffs forming a lovely picture of refreshing vegetation. Had I been a painter it would have been difficult to tear me away from the contemplation of these regions. Below the greater waterfall there is a narrow stone bridge without balustrades or railings leads across a deep ravine through which the stream rushes foaming to the Apaches sore. After having once crossed we enter upon a more inhabited tract of country and travel on between rows of houses and gardens but many of the houses stood empty the inhabitants having fled into the fields and there erected huts of branches of trees to escape the plague. The real inhabitants of these mountains are strong people, gifted with a determined will. They cannot easily be brought under a foreign yoke but are ready to defend their liberty to the death among the natural strongholds of their rocky passes. Their religion resembles that of the Christians and their priests are permitted to marry. The women do not wear veils but I saw few such handsome countenances among them as I have frequently observed in the Tyrell. In the first range of Lebanon, in the direction of Kalasira, many Druzes are found, besides a few tribes of Mutualis. The former inclined to the Christian faith, while the latter are generally termed calf worshippers. They practice their religion so secretly that nothing certain is known concerning it. The general supposition is, however, that they worship their deity under the form of a calf. Our way led onwards for about six miles from Bishare through the beautiful valleys of the Lebanon. Then the smiling nature changed, and we were again wandering through sterile regions. The heat, too, became very oppressive, but everything would have been born cheerfully had there not been an invalid among us. Herr Sattler had felt rather unwell on the previous day. Today he grew so much worse that he could not keep his seat in his saddle and fell to the ground half insensible. Luckily we found a cistern not far off and near it some trees beneath which we made a bed of cloaks for our sick friend. A little water mixed with a few drops of strong vinegar restored him to consciousness. After the lapse of an hour the patient was indeed able to resume his journey, but lassitude, headache, and feverish shivering still remained, and we had a ride of many hours before us ere we could reach our resting place for the night. From every hill we climbed the ocean to be seen at so short a distance that we thought an hour's journeying must bring us there. But each time another mountain thrust itself between which it was necessary to climb. So it went on for many hours to let length we reached a small valley with a lofty, isolated mass of rock in the midst, crowned by a ruined castle. The approach to this stronghold was by a flight of stairs cut in the rock. From this point our journey lay at least over a better road between meadows and fruit trees to the little town which we reached at nightfall. We had a long and weary search before we could obtain for our sick comrade even a room destitute of every appearance of comfort. Poor, hair-sattler, more dead than alive, was compelled after a ride of thirteen hours to take up his lodging on the hard ground. The room was perfectly bare, the windows were broken, and the door would not lock. We were feigned to search for a few boards, with which we closed up the windows, that the sick man might at least be sheltered from the current of air. I then prepared him a dish of rice with vinegar. This was the only refreshment we were able to procure. The rest of us lay down in the yard, but the anxiety we felt concerning our sick friend prevented us from sleeping much. He exhibited every symptom of the plague. In this short time his countenance was quite changed. Violent headaches and exhaustion prevented him from moving, and the burning heat added the pangs of thirst to his other hills. As we had been travelling for the last day and a half through regions where the pestilence prevailed, it appeared but too probable that hair-sattler had been attacked by it. Luckily the patient himself had not any idea of the kind, and we took a special care that he should not read our anxiety in our countenances. July 9th. Heaven be praised. Hair-sattler was better today, though too weak to continue his journey. As we had, thus, some time on our hands, the French gentleman and I resolved to embark in a boat to witness the operations of fishing for sponges by which a number of the poor inhabitants of the Syrian coast gained their livelihood. A fisherman wrote us about half a mile out to sea till he came to a place where he hoped to find something. Here he emerged to plummet in the sea to sound its depth, and on finding that something was to be gained here he dived downwards, armed with a knife to cut the sponges he expected to find from the rocks. And after remaining below the surface for two or three minutes, reappeared with his booty. When first loosened from the rocks, these sponges are usually full of shells and small stones, which give them a very strong and disagreeable smell. They require to be thoroughly cleansed from dirt and well washed with seawater before being put into fresh. After our little water-party, we sallied forth to see the town which is very prettily situated among plantations of mulberry trees in the vicinity of the sea coast. The women here are not only unveiled, but frequently where their necks bear, we saw some of them working in their gardens and washing linen, they were half undressed. We visited the bazaar intending to purchase a few eggs and cucumbers for our dinner, and some oranges for our convalescent friend. But we could not obtain any, and moderate as our wishes were, it was out of our power to gratify them. By the afternoon Herr Sattler had so far regained his strength that he could venture to undertake a short journey of ten miles to the little town of Javel. This stage was less difficult for our worthy invalid from the fact that the road lay pleasantly across a fruitful plain skirting the sea, while a cool sea breeze took away the oppressiveness of the heat. The majestic Lebanon bounded the distant view on the left, and several convents on the foremost chain of mountains looked down upon the broad veil. We seemed to have but just mounted our horses when we already described the castle of the town to which we were bound rising above its walls, and soon after halted at a large con in its immediate neighborhood. There were rooms here in plenty, but all were empty and the unglazed windows could not even be closed by shutters. Houses of entertainment of this description barely shielded the traveller from the weather. We took possession of a large entrance hall for our night's quarters, and made ourselves as comfortable as we could. Count Berksholt and I walked into the town of Javel, Biblis. This place is, as I have already mentioned, surrounded by a wall. It also contains a small bazaar, but we did not find much to buy. The majority of dwellings are built in gardens of mulberry trees. The castle lies rather high, and is still in the condition to which it was reduced after the siege by the English in 1840. The side-fronting the ocean has sustained most damage. This castle is now uninhabited, but some of the lower rooms are converted into stables. Not far off we found some fragments of ancient pillars, and amphitheater is said to have once stood here. July 10th. Today, Herr Sattler had quite his health, so that we could again commence our journey, according to custom, early in the morning. Our road lay continually by the seashore. The views were always picturesque and beautiful, as on the way from Bertram to Javel, but today we had the additional luxury of frequently coming upon Brooks, which flowed from the neighboring Lebanon, and of passing springs bursting forth near the seashore, one indeed so close to the sea that the waves continually dashed forward. After riding forward for four hours we reached the so-called Dogs River, the greatest and deepest on the whole journey. This stream also has its origin in the heights of the Lebanon, and after a short course falls into the neighboring sea. At the entrance of the valley where the Dogs River flowed lay a simple con. Here we made halt to rest for an hour. Generally we got nothing to eat during the day, as we seldom or never had a cottage. Even when we came upon a house, there was rarely anything to be had but coffee. We were therefore the more astonished to find here fresh figs, cucumbers, buttermilk and wine, things which in Syria make a feast for the Gods. We reveled in this unwanted perfusion, and afterwards rode into the valley, which smiled upon us in verdant luxuriousness. This veil cannot be more than five or six hundred feet in breath. On either side high walls rise towering up, and on the left we see the ruins of an aqueduct quite overgrown with ivy. This aqueduct is seven or eight hundred paces in length, and extends as far as the spot where the Dogs River rushes over rocks and stones forming not a lofty, but yet a fine waterfall. Just below this fall a bridge of Roman architecture, supported boldly on rocky buttresses, unites the two shores. The road to this bridge is by a broad range of stone stairs, upon which our good Syrian horses carried us in perfect safety, both upwards and downwards. It was a fearful, dizzy road. The river derives its name from a stone lying near it, which is said to resemble a dog in form. Stones and pieces of rock, against which the stream rushed foaming, we saw in plenty, but none in which we could discover any resemblance to a dog. Perhaps the contour has been destroyed by the action of the wind and weather. Scarcely had we crossed this dangerous bridge when the road wound sharply round a rock in the small but blooming valley, and we journeyed towards the heights of almost perpendicular rocks, and past abysses that overhung the sea. The rocky mountains we were now climbing jets far out into the sea, and forms a pass towards the territory of Beirut, which a handful of men might easily hold against an army. Such a pass may that of Thermopylae have been, and had these mountaineers but a Leonidas they would certainly not be far behind the ancient Spartans. A Latin inscription on a massive stone slab, and higher up four niches, two of which contained statues, while the others display a similar inscription, seemed to indicate that the Romans had already known and appreciated the importance of this pass. Unfortunately, both statues and writing were so much injured by the all-destroying hand of time that only a man learned it in these matters could have deciphered their meaning. In our party there was no one equal to such a task. We rode on for another half-hour, after which the path led downwards into the territory of Beirut, and we rode quietly and comfortably by the seaside towards this city. Mulberry trees and vineyards bloomed around us, country houses lay half hidden between, and convents crowned the lower peaks of the Lebanon, which on this side displays only naked rocks the majority of a bluish-gray color. At a little distance from Beirut we came upon a second giant bridge, similar to that over the Dog's River. Broad staircases, on which four or five horsemen could conveniently ride a breast, led upwards and downwards. The steps are so steep and lie so far apart that it seems almost incredible that the poor horses should be able to ascend and descend upon them. We looked down from a dizzy height, not upon a river, but upon a dry riverbed. At five o'clock in the evening we arrived safely at Beirut, and thus ended our excursion to the lovely and incomparable city of the east, to the world renowned ruin, and to the venerable grove of cedars. Our tour had occupied ten days. The distance was about one hundred and eighty miles, namely, from Beirut to Damascus about sixty, from Damascus to Baalbek forty, and from Baalbek across the Lebanon to Beirut about eighty miles. Of four-footed beasts, amphibious creatures, birds, or insects we had seen nothing. Count Berktold caught a chameleon which unfortunately affected its escape from its prison a few days afterward. At night we frequently heard the howling of jackals but never experienced any annoyance from them. We had not to complain of the attacks of insects but suffered much from the dreadful heat, besides being frequently obliged to endure hunger and thirst. The thermometer one day rose to forty degrees. End of Section Twenty-Five Section Twenty-Six of a Visit to the Holy Land. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Chapter Thirteen of A Visit to the Holy Land, Egypt and Italy, Part Two by Ida L. Pfeiffer In Beirut I once more put up at the house of the kind French lady. The first piece of news I heard was that I had arrived twenty-four hours too late, and had thus missed the English packet-boat. This was a most annoying circumstance for the boat in question only starts for Nigeria once a month, on the eighth or ninth, and at other times is a great chance of an opportunity of journeying thither can be found. On the very next day I hastened to the Austrian Consulate and begged the Vice Consul, Herr See, to let me know when a ship was about to start for Egypt and also to engage a place for me. I was told that a Greek vessel would start for that country in two or three days, but these two or three days grew into nineteen. Never shall I forget what I had to endure in Beirut. When I could no longer bear the state of things at night in the Noah's Ark of my good Pauline, I used to creep through the window onto a terrace and sleep there, but was obliged each time to retire to my room before daybreak lest I should be discovered. It is said that misfortune seldom happens singly, and my case was not an exception to the rule. One night I must have caught cold, for in the morning when I hastened back to my prison and lay down on the bed to recover from the effects of my stone couch I experienced such an acute pain in my back and hips that I was unable to rise. It happened to be a Sunday morning, a day on which my kind Pauline did not come to the house, as there was no school to keep, and so I lay for twenty-four hours in the greatest pain without help, unable even to obtain a drop of water. I was totally unable to drag myself to the floor or to the place where the water jug stood. The next day I am thankful to say I felt somewhat better, my Pauline also came and prepared me some mutton broth. By the fourth day I was once more up and had almost recovered from the attack. Journey from Beirut to Cairo in Alexandria. It was not until the twenty-eighth of July that a Greek brig set sail for Alexandria. At ten o'clock in the evening I betook myself on board, and the next morning at two we weighed anchor. Never have I bid adieu to any place with so much joy as I felt on leaving the town of Beirut. My only regret was the parting from my kind Pauline. I had met many good people during my journey, but she was certainly one of the best. Unhappily my cruel fate was not yet weary of pursuing me, and in my experience I fully realized the old proverb of out of the frying pan into the fire. On this vessel, and during the time we had to keep in quarantine in Alexandria, I was almost worse off than during my stay in Beirut. It is necessary in dealing with the captain of a vessel of this description to have a written contract for everything, stating, for instance, where he is to land and how long he may stay at each place, etc. I mentioned this fact at the consulate, and begged the gentleman to do what was necessary, but they assured me the captain was known of honor, and that the precaution I wished to take would be quite superfluous. Upon this assumption I placed myself fearlessly in the hands of the man, but scarcely had we lost sight of land when he frankly declared that there were not sufficient provisions in water on board to allow of all proceeding to Alexandria, but that he must make for the harbor of Limassol and Cyprus. I was exceedingly angry at this bare-faced fraud, and at the loss of time it would occasion me, and I heard all the opposition I could. But nothing would avail me, I had no written contract, and the rest of the company offered no active resistance, so to Cyprus we went. A voyage in an ordinary sailing vessel, which is not a packet vote, is as weary some a thing as can be well conceived. The lower portion of the ship is generally so crammed with merchandise that the deck alone remains for the passengers. This was the case on the present occasion. I was obliged to remain continually on deck, during the daytime, when I had only my umbrella to shield me from the piercing rays of the sun, at night when the dews fell so heavily that after an hour my cloak would be quite wet through, in cold and stormy weather. They did not even spread a piece of sailcloth by way of an awning. This state of things continued for ten days and eleven nights, during which time I had not even an opportunity to change my clothes. This was a double hardship, for if there is a place above all others where cleanliness becomes imperative to comfort, it is certainly on board a Greek ship, the generality of which are exceedingly dirty and disgusting. The company I found did not make amends for the accommodation. The only Europeans on board were two young men who had received some unimportant situation in a quarantine office from the Turkish government. The behaviour of both was conceited, stupid, and with terribly vulgar. Then there were four students from Alexandria who boarded at Beirut and were going home to spend the vacation, good-natured, but much neglected lads of fourteen or fifteen years who seemed particularly partial to the society of the sailors and were always talking, playing, or quarreling with them. The remainder of the company consisted of a rich Arab family, with several male and female Negro slaves, and a very few poor people. And in such society I was to pass a weary time. Many will say that this was a good opportunity for obtaining an insight into the customs and behaviour of these people, but I would gladly have declined the opportunity, for it requires an almost angelic patience to bear such a complication of evils with equanimity. Among the Arabs and the lower classes of Greeks, moreover, everything possessed by one member of the community is looked upon as public property. A knife, a pair of scissors, a drinking-glass, or any other small article, is taken from its owner without permission, and is given back after use without being cleaned. On the mat, the carpet, or the mattress, which you have brought on board as bedding, a Negro and his master will lie down, and whenever a vacant space is left, someone is sure to stand or lie down. Take what precautions you may, it is impossible to avoid your person and garments infested by certain very disgusting, parasitical creatures. One day I cleaned my teeth with a toothbrush. One of the Greek sailors noticing what I was about came towards me, and when I laid the brush down for an instant, took it up. I thought he only wished to examine it, but no, he did exactly as I had done, and after cleansing his teeth returned me my brush, expressing himself entirely satisfied with it. The diet on board a vessel of this kind is also exceedingly bad. For dinner we have pilau, stale cheese, and onions. In the evening we get anchovies, olives, stale cheese again, and ship biscuit instead of bread. These appetizing dishes are placed in a tray on the ground, round which the captains, of whom there are frequently two or three, the mate and those passengers who have not come furnished with provisions of their own take their places. I cannot take part in these entertainments, for I had brought a few live-fowls besides some rice, butter, dried bread and coffee, and prepared my own meals. The voyage in one of these agreeable ships is certainly not very dear, if we do not take the discomforts and privations into account, but these I cannot really estimate at too high a price. For the voyage to Alexandria, a distance of two thousand sea miles, I took provisions with me cost thirty more, thus the entire journey came only to ninety piastras. In general the wind was very unfavorable, so that we frequently cruised about for whole nights, and awoke in the morning to find ourselves in almost the same position we had occupied the previous evening. This is one of the most disagreeable impressions, and one which can scarcely be described, to be continually driving and driving ahead of your journey. To my shame I must confess that I sometimes shed tears of regret and annoyance. My fellow passengers could not at all understand why I was so impatient, for with their constitutional indolence they were quite indifferent as to whether they spent their time for a week or a fortnight longer in smoking, sleeping and idling on board, or on shore, whether they were carried to Cyprus or Alexandria. This is the territory that we landed at Limassol. This place contains pretty houses, some of which are even provided with slatted roofs, and resemble European habitations. Here for the first time since my departure from Constantinople I saw a vehicle. It was not, however, a coach, but simply a wooden two-wheeled cart, and is used to transport stones, earth, and merchandise. The region around Limassol is barren in the extreme, almost like that of Cyprus, except that the mountains here are much nearer. We stayed in this port the whole of the day, and now I learned for the first time that the captain had not put in here so much on account of scarcity of provisions, as because he wanted to take in wine and endeavor to take in passengers. Of the latter, however, none presented themselves. The wine is very cheap. I bought a bottle containing about three pints for a piastra. As soon as our worthy captain gave out that he wished to call it Damietta. My patience was at length exhausted. I called him a cheat and insisted that he should bend his course to no other port than to Alexandria, otherwise I should have been brought before a judge if it cost me a hundred piastras. This remonstrance produced so much effect upon the captain that he promised me not to cast anchor anywhere else, and marvelous to relate he kept his word. One other circumstance occurred during this journey which is interesting as furnishing a sample of the heroism of the modern Greeks. On the fifth of August about noon our sailors discovered a two-masted ship in the distance, which altered her course immediately on perceiving our vessel and came sailing toward us. It was at once concluded by all that this ship must be a pirate. Else why did she alter her course and give chase to us? The circumstance was indeed singular, yet these maritime heroes ought to have been used to all kinds of adventures and not at once to have feared the worst. Particularly as, so far as I'm aware, the pirate's trade is very nearly broken up. And attempts of this kind are unprecedented, at least in these regions. A painter like Hogarth should have been on board our ship to mark the expression of fear and cowardice depicted on the several countenances. It was wonderful to behold how the poor captains ran from one end of the ship to the other travelers together into a heap, recommending us to sit still and keep silence, how they then hurried away and ran to and fro making signs and gestures while the pale sailors tumbled after them with scared faces ringing their hands. Anyone who had not witnessed the scene would think this description exaggerated. What would the Grecian heroes of antiquity say if they could throw a glance upon their gallant descendants? Instead of arming themselves by their stations, the men ran about in the greatest confusion. We were in this enviable state when the dreaded pirate came within gunshot and the reason of her approach turned out to be that her compass was broken. The whole scene at once changed as though a beneficent fairy had waved her hand. The captains instantly recovered their dignity, the sailors embraced and jumped about like children, and we poor travelers were released from endurance and permitted to take part in the friendly interview of the two heroic crews. The captain who had spoken to us asked our gallant leader in what latitude we were, and hearing that we were sailing to Alexandria requested that a lantern should be hung at the main miss sail, at which you might look as a guiding star. With the exception of Cyprus we had seen no land during all our weary journey. We could only judge when we arrived in the neighborhood of Damietta by the altered color of the sea. As far as the eye could reach the beautiful dark blue wave had turned to the color of the yellow Nile. From these tokens I could judge of the magnitude and volume of that river which at this season of the year increases greatly and had already been rising for two months. August 7th. At eight o'clock in the morning we safely reached the quay of Alexandria. End of Section 26 Section 27 of a visit to the Holy Land. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Chapter 14 of a visit to the Holy Land Egypt and Italy Part 1 by Ida L. Pfeiffer At first we could only perceive the tops of mass, behind which low objects seemed to be hiding as they rose from the sea. In a little time a whole forest of mass appeared, while the objects were in the shape of houses peering forth amongst them. At length the land itself could be distinguished from the surrounding ocean and we discerned hills, shrubberies and gardens in the vicinity of the town, the appearance of which is not calculated to delight the traveler. For a large desert region of sand girdles both city and gardens giving an air of dreariness to the whole scene. We cast anchor between the lighthouse and the new hospital. We waited to approach and carry us to the wished-for shore. We came from the land of the plague to enter another region afflicted with the same scourge, and yet we were compelled to keep quarantine for the Egyptians asserted that the Syrian plague was more malignant than the variety of the disease raging among them. Thus a compulsory quarantine is always enforced in these regions, a circumstance alike prejudicial to visitors, commerce and shipping. We were trembling to hear how long a period of banishment in the hospital should be awarded us. At length came a little skiff bringing two guardians, servants of the hospital, and with them the news that we must remain in the hospital ten days from the period of our entrance, but that we could not disembark today as it was Sunday. Accepting at the arrival of the English packet boats, the officials have no time to examine vessels on Sundays or holidays, a truly significant improvement. Why could not an officer be appointed for these days to take care of the poor travelers? Why should fifty persons suffer for the convenience of one and be deprived of their liberty for an extra day? We came from Beirut furnished with a texture at certificate of health by the government, besides the voucher of our personal appearance, and yet we were condemned to a lengthened imprisonment. But Mohammed Ali is far more mighty than the Sultan in Constantinople. He commands, and what can we do but obey and submit to his superior power? From the deck of our ship I obtained a view of the city and the desert region around. The town seems tolerably spacious and is built quite in European style. Of the Turkish town, which lies in the background, we can distinguish nothing. The proper harbor, situate at the opposite side of the city is also invisible, and its elevation can only be discerned from the forest of mass that towers upwards. The eye is principally caught by two high sand hills, on one side of which stands Fort Napoleon, while the other is surmounted by several cannon. The foreground is occupied by rocky ridges of moderate elevation, flanked on one side by the lighthouse and on the other by the new quarantine buildings. The old quarantine house lies opposite to the new one. In several places we notice plantations of date palms, which make a very agreeable impression on the European as their appearance is quite new to him. August 8. At seven o'clock this morning we disembarked and were delivered with bag and baggage at the quarantine house. I now trod a new quarter of the globe, Africa. When I sit calmly down to think of the past, I frequently wonder how it was that my courage and perseverance never once left me while I followed out my project by step. This only serves to convince me that, if the resolution be firm, things can be achieved which would appear almost impossible. I had expected to find neither comfort nor pleasure in the quarantine house and unfortunately I had judged but too well. The courtyard into which we were shown was closely locked and furnished on all sides with wooden bars. The rooms displayed only four bare walls with windows guarded in the same manner. It is customary to quarter several persons in the same room and then each pays a share of the expense. I requested a separate apartment which one can also have but of course at a higher charge. Such a thing as a chair, a table, or a piece of furniture was quite out of the question. Whoever wishes to enjoy such a luxury must apply by letter to an innkeeper of the town who lends anything of the kind but at an enormously high rate. Diet must be obtained in the same way. In the quarantine establishment there is no host. Everything must be procured from without. An innkeeper generally demands between thirty and forty piestras per diem for supper and dinner. This I considered a little too exorbitant and therefore ordered a few articles of food through one of the keepers. He promised to provide everything punctually but I fear he cannot have understood me for I waited in vain and during the whole of the first day had nothing to eat. On the second day my appetite was quite ravenous and I did not know what to do. I betook myself to the room of the Arab family who had come in the same ship with me and were therefore also in quarantine. I asked for a piece of bread for which I offered to pay but the kind woman not only gave me bread but pressed upon me a share of all the provisions she was preparing for her family and would not be to accept any remuneration. On the contrary she explained to me by signs that I was to come to her whenever I wanted anything. It was not until the evening of the second day that, perceiving it was hopeless to expect anything from my stupid messenger, I applied to the chief superintendent of the hospital who came every evening at sunset to examine us and to lock us in our rooms. I ordered my provisions of him and from this time forward always to this time. The keepers were all Arabs and not one of them could understand or speak any language but their own. This is also a truly Egyptian arrangement. I think that in an establishment of this kind where travelers from all parts of the world are assembled it would at least be advisable to have a person who understands Italian if he cannot speak it. An individual of this kind could easily be obtained at least but particularly at Alexandria and Cairo that many people are to be met with even among the lowest classes who understand and can speak it. The supply of water is also very badly managed. Every morning immediately after sunrise a few skins of water are brought for the purpose of cleaning the cooking utensils. At nine o'clock in the morning and five in the afternoon a few camels came laden with skins of fresh water which are emptied into two stone pots in the courtyard. Then all fill their cooking and drinking vessels but in such an untidy way that I felt not the slightest inclination to drink. One man was ladling out the water with a dirty pot while another dabbled in the tank with his filthy hands and some even put their dirty feet on the run and washed them so that some of the water ran back into the tank. This receptacle is moreover never cleaned so that dirt accumulates upon dirt in the way to obtain clear water as by filtering it. On the second day of my residence here I was exceedingly surprised to observe that the courtyard, the staircases, the rooms, etc. were being cleaned and swept with particular care. The mystery was soon solved. The commissioner appeared with a great stick and paused at the threshold of the door to see that the linen, clothes, etc. were hung up to air. The books opened and the letters or papers suspended by strings. No idea can be formed of the stupid nervous fear of this commissioner. For instance, on passing through the first room on his way to my apartment he saw the stalk of a bunch of grapes lying on the ground. With fearful haste he thrust this trifling object aside with his stick for fear his foot should strike against it in passing and as he went continually held his stick in rest to keep us plagues struck people at a respectful distance. On the seventh day of our incarceration we were all sent to our rooms at nine o'clock in the morning. Doors and windows were then locked and great chafing dishes were brought and a dreadful odor of brimstone, herbs, burnt feathers, and other ingredients filled the air. After we had been compelled to endure this stifling atmosphere for four or five minutes the windows and doors were once more opened. A person of a consumptive habit could scarcely have survived this inhuman ordeal. On the same day the men were drawn up in a row to undergo an examination by the doctor. The old gentleman entered the room with a spyglass in one hand and a stick in the other to review the troop. Every man had to strike himself a blow on the chest and another in the side. If he could do this without feeling pain it was considered a sign of health because the plague spots appear first on these parts of the body. On the same day the women were led into a large room where a great tune was waiting for us to put us through a similar ceremony. Neither men nor women are, however, required to undress. A few hours later we were summoned to the iron grating which separated us from the disinfected people. On the farther side were seated several officers to whom we paid the fee for our rooms and the keepers. The charge was very trifling. My room with attendance only cost me three piastras per diem. But how gladly would every man pay a higher price if he could only have a table and a few chairs in his apartment and an attendant who understood what was said to him. So far as cleanliness is concerned there is nothing to complain of. The rooms, the staircases, and the courtyard were kept very neatly and the ladder was even profusely watered twice a day. We were knotted all annoyed by insects and were but little incommodated by the heat. In the sun the temperature never exceeded thirty-three degrees and in the shade the greatest heat was twenty-two degrees rimmer. August seventeenth. At seven o'clock this morning our cage was at length opened. Now all the world rushed in, friends and relations of the voyagers, ambassadors from innkeepers, porters, and donkey drivers, all were merry and joyous, for everyone found a friend or an acquaintance, and only I stood alone and friendless, for nobody hastened towards me or even took an interest in me, but the envoys the innkeepers, the porters, and donkey drivers, cruel generation that they were, quarreled and hustled each other for the possession of the solitary one. I collected my baggage, mounted a donkey, and rode to the Columbia, one of the best ends in Alexandria. Swerving a little from the direct road I passed Cleopatra's Needles, two obelisks of granite, one of which is still erect, while the other lies prostrate in the sand at a short distance. We rode through a miserable, poverty-stricken village, the huts were built of stones, but were so small and low that we can hardly understand how a man can stand upright in them. The doors were so low that we had to stoop considerably in entering. I could not discover any signs of windows, and this wretched village lay within the bounds of the city and even within the walls, which enclose such an immense space that they not only comprise Alexandria itself, but several small villages besides numerous country houses and a few shrubberies and cemeteries. In this village I saw many women with yellowish brown countenances. They looked wretched and dirty, and were all clothed in long blue garments sitting before their doors at work or nursing children. These women were employed in basket-making and in picking-horn. I did not notice any men, they were probably employed in the fields. I now rode forward across the sandy plain on which the whole of Alexandria is built, and suddenly, without having passed through any street, found myself in the great square. I can scarcely describe the astonishment I felt at the scene before me. Everywhere I saw large, beautiful houses with lofty gates, regular windows and balconies, like European dwellings, equipages as graceful and beautiful as any that can be found in the great cities of Europe, rolled to and fro amid the busy crowd of men of various nations. Franks, in the costume of their country, were distinguished among the turbans and fezcaps of the Orientals, and tall women in their blue gowns wandered amidst the half-naked forms of the Arabs and Bedouins. Here a negro was running with an argulé behind his master who trotted along on his noble horse. There Frankish or Egyptian ladies were to be seen mounted on asses. Coming from the dreary monotony of the quarantine house this sight made a peculiar impression upon me. Scarcely had I arrived at the hotel before I hastened to the Austrian consulate where Herr von El, the government counselor, received me very kindly. I begged this gentleman to let me know what would be the first opportunity for me to continue my journey to Cairo. I did not wish to take passage on board an English steamboat, as the charge on this vessel for the short distance of about four hundred sea miles is five pounds. The counselor was polite enough to procure me a berth on board an Arabian bark, which was to start from at Faye the same evening. I also learned at the consulate that Herr Sattler, the painter, had arrived by the packet boat a few days previously and was now at the old quarantine house. I rode out in company with a gentleman to visit him and was glad to find him looking very well. He was just returning from his journey to Palestine. I found through the arrangements in the old quarantine building rather more comfortable than those in the new. The establishment is moreover nearer the town so that it is easier to obtain the necessities of life. On my return my companion was so kind as to conduct me through the greater portion of the Turkish town which appeared to be better built and more neatly kept than any city of the Turks I had yet seen. The bazaar is not handsome. It consists of wooden booths and most ordinary articles of merchandise. On the same day that I quitted the quarantine house I rode in the evening to the Nile canal which is twenty-four feet broad and about twenty-six miles long. A number of vessels lay there on one of which a place had been taken for me, the smaller division of the cabin, as far as at Faye for the sum of fifteen piestras. I at once took possession of my birth, made my arrangements for the night and for the following day and waited hour after hour till we should depart. Late in the night I was at length told that we could not set out tonight at all. To pack up my things again and to set off to walk to the Inn a distance of two miles and to return next morning would have been a rather laborious proceeding, I therefore resolved to remain on board and sat down among the Arabs and Bedouins to eat my frugal supper which consisted of cold provisions. Next day I was told every half hour to depart immediately and each time I was again disappointed. Hervon L. had wished to supply me with wine and provisions for the passage, but as I had calculated upon being in at Faye to-day at noon I had declined his offer with many thanks. But now I had no provisions I could not venture into the town on account of the distance and found it quite impossible to make the sailors understand that they were to bring me some bread and baked fish at length hunger compelled me to venture out alone I pushed through the crowd who looked at me curiously but suffered me to pass un molested and bought some provisions. In Alexandria I procured beef and beef soup for the first time since my departure from Smyrna. In Alexandria and throughout the whole of Egypt the white bread is very delicious. At four in the afternoon we at length set sail. The time had passed rapidly enough with me for there was a great deal of bustle around this canal. Barks came and departed, took in or discharged cargo. Long processions of camels moved to and fro with their drivers to fetch and carry goods. The soldiers passed by to the sound of military music to exercise in the neighboring square. There was continually something new to see, so that when four o'clock arrived I could not imagine what had become of the time. With the exception of the crew I was the only person on board. These vessels are long and narrow and are fitted up with a cabin and an awning. The cabin is divided into two little rooms. The first and larger of these contains two little windows on each side. The second and smaller one is often only six feet long by five feet broad. The space under the awning is appropriated to the poorer class of passengers and to the servants. It is necessary to take on board, besides stove, wood for fuel, kitchen utensils and articles of this kind and a supply of water. The water of the Nile is indeed very good and thoroughly tasteless so that it is universally drunken Alexandria, Cairo and elsewhere but it is very turbid and of a yellowish color so that it must be filtered to render it clear and pure. Thus it happens that even on the river we are obliged to take water with us. Handsome country houses with gardens skirt the sides of the canal. The finest of these belongs to Appasha, the son-in-law of Mehmet Ali. As we passed this palace I saw the Egyptian Napoleon for the first time. He is a very little old man with a long snow-white beard. His eyes and his gestures are very animated. Several Europeans stood around him and a number of servants, some of them clothed in Greek, others in Turkish costume. In the avenue his carriage was waiting, a splendid double-seated vehicle with four beautiful horses harnessed in the English style. The Franks are favorably disposed towards this despot whose subjects cherish a very opposite feeling. His government is very lenient to Christians while the Muslims are obliged to bend their necks beneath a yoke of iron slavery. This view of villas and gardens only lasts for two hours at the most. Afterwards we continue our journey to Atefe through a uniform and unsatisfactory region of sandy hills and plains. On the right we pass the Merotic Sea and on both sides lie villages of a very wretched appearance. End of Section 27 Section 28 of a visit to the Holy Land This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Section 24 of a visit to the Holy Land Egypt and Italy Part 2 by Ida L. Pfeiffer August 19th At eleven in the four noon we reached Atefe and had therefore traveled about one hundred and eighty sea miles in sixteen hours. Atefe is a very small town or rather a mere heap of stones. The landing places were always the scene of my chief troubles. It was seldom that I could find a Frank of the bystanders before I succeeded in finding one who could speak Italian and give me the information I required. I requested to be taken at once to the Austrian Consulate where this difficulty was usually removed. This was also the case here. The consul immediately sent to inquire how I could best get to Cairo and offered me a room in his house in the meantime. A ship was soon found for Atefe is a harbor of some importance. The canal joins the Nile at this place and as larger vessels are used on the stream itself all goods are trans shipped here so that barks are continually starting for Alexandria and Cairo. In a few hours I was obliged to re-embark and had only time to provide myself with provisions and a supply of water and to partake of a sumptuous dinner at the consuls whose hospitality was doubly grateful to me as I had fasted the previous day. The chief compartment of the cabin had been to me at an expense of one hundred piestras. On embarking, however, I found that this place had been so filled with goods that hardly a vacant space remained for the poor occupant. I at once hastened back to the consulate and complained of the captain whereupon the consul sent for that worthy and desired him to clear my cabin and to refrain from annoying me during the voyage if he wished to be paid on our arrival at Cairo. This command was strictly obeyed by the nation I was left in undisturbed possession of my birth. At two in the afternoon I once more set sail alone in the company of Arabs and Bedouins. I would counsel any one who can only make this journey to Cairo once in his lifetime to do it at the end of August or the beginning of September. A more lovely picture and one more peculiar in its character can scarcely be imagined. In many places the plane is covered as far as the eye can trace by the sea. It can scarcely be called a river in its immense expanse. And everywhere little islands are seen rising from the waters, covered with villages surrounded by date palms and other trees, while in the background the high-masted boats with their pyramidical sails are gliding to and fro. Numbers of sheep, goats and poultry cover the hills and near the shore the heads of the dark grey buffaloes which are here found in large herds pier forth on the water. These creatures are fond of immersing their bodies in the cool flood, where they stand gazing at the passing ships. Here and there little plantations of twenty to thirty trees are seen which appear as the ground is completely overflowed to be growing out of the Nile. The water here is much more muddy and of a darker color than in the canal between Adfe and Alexandria. The sailors pour this water into great iron vessels to give it to settle and become clearer. This is, however, of little use, for it remains almost as muddy as the river. Notwithstanding this circumstance, however, this Nile water is not at all prejudicial to health. On the contrary, the inhabitants of the valley assert that they possess the best and wholesomest water in the world. The Franks are accustomed, as I have already stated, to take filtered water with them. When the supply becomes exhausted they have only to put a few kernels of apricots or almonds chopped small into a vessel of Nile water to render it tolerably clear within the space of five or six hours. I learnt this art from an Arab woman during my voyage on the Nile. The population of the region around the Nile must be very considerable for the village is almost to join each other. The ground consists everywhere of sand and only becomes fruitful through the mud which the Nile leaves behind after its inundation. Thus the luxuriant vegetation here only commences after the waters of the Nile have retired. The villages cannot be called handsome as the houses are mostly built of earth and clay or of bricks made of the Nile mud. Man, the crown of creation, does not appear to advantage here. The poverty, the want of cleanliness, and rude, savage state of the people cannot be witnessed without a feeling of painful emotion. The dress of the women consists of a long blue garment and the men wear nothing but a shirt reaching to the knee. Some of the women veil their faces but others do not. I was astonished at the difference between the fine, strongly built men and the ugly, disgusting women and neglected children. In general the latter present a most lamentable appearance with faces covered with scabs and sores on which a quantity of flies are continually settling. In spite of the oppressive heat I remained nearly the whole day seated on the roof of my cabin enjoying the landscape and gazing at the moving panorama to my heart's content. The company on board could be called good or bad bad because there was not a soul present to whom I could impart my feelings and sentiments on the marvels of nature around me good because all but particularly the Arab women who occupied the little cabin in the four part of the vessel were very good-natured and attentive to me. They wished me to accept a share of everything they possessed and gave me a portion of each of their dishes which generally consisted either of pilau, beans or cucumbers and which I did not find palatable. When they drank coffee in the morning the first cup was always handed to me. In return I gave them some of my provisions all of which they liked accepting the coffee which had milk in it. When we landed at a village I was required by signs if I wished for anything. I wanted some milk, eggs and bread but did not know how to ask for them in Arabic. I therefore had recourse to drawing, for instance. I made a portrait of a cow gave an Arab woman a bottle and some money and made signs to her to milk the cow and fill my bottle. In the same way I drew a hen and some eggs beside her pointed to the hen with a shake of my head and then to the eggs with a nod counting on the woman's fingers how many she was to bring me. In this way I could always manage to get on by limiting my wants as such objects as I could represent by drawings. When they brought me the milk and I explained to the Arab woman by signs that after she had finished cooking I wished to have the use of the fire to prepare my milk and eggs she immediately took off her pot from the fire and compelled me in spite of all her monstresses to cook my dinner first. I was so proud to obtain a better view of the landscape the best place was immediately vacated on my behalf and in short they all behaved in such a courteous and obliging way that these uncultivated people might have put to shame many a civilized European. They certainly however requested a few favors of me which I am ashamed to say it cost me a great effort to grant. For instance the oldest among them begged permission to sleep in my apartment as they only wished a small cabin while I had the larger one all to myself. Then they performed their devotions even to the preliminary washing of face and feet in my cabin this I permitted as I was more on deck than below. At first these women called me Mary imagining probably that every Christian lady must bear the name of the Virgin. I told them my baptismal name which they accurately remembered they told me theirs in return which I very soon forgot. I mention this trifling circumstance because I afterwards was frequently surprised at the retentive memory of these people during my journey through the desert towards the Red Sea. August 21st. Although I felt solitary among all the voyagers on the bark these two days passed swiftly and agreeably away. The flatter the land grew the broader did the lordly river become. The villages increased in size and the huts mostly resembling both with a number of doves roosting on its apex were an appearance of greater comfort. Mosques and large country houses presently appeared and in short the nearer we approached towards Cairo the more distinct became these indications of affluence. The sand hills appeared less frequently though on the route between Atfe and Cairo I still saw five or six large barren places which had quite the look of deserts. Once the wind blew directly towards us from one of these burning wastes with such an oppressive influence that I could easily imagine how dreadful the hot winds chamseir must be and I no longer wondered at the continual instances of blindness among the poor inhabitants of these regions. The heat is unendurable and the fine dust and heated particles of sand which are carried into the air by these winds cannot fail to cause inflammation of the eyes. Hours of masonry on the tops of which telegraphs have been fixed are seen at intervals along the road between Alexandria and Cairo. Our vessel was unfortunate enough to strike several times on standbanks besides getting entangled among the shallows a circumstance of frequent occurrence during the time that the Nile is rising. On these occasions I could not sufficiently admire the strength, agility and hard working perseverance of our sailors who were obliged to jump overboard and push off the ship with poles and afterwards were repeatedly compelled to drag it for half an hour together through shallow places. These people are also very expert at climbing. They could ascend without rat lines to the very tops of the slanting mats and take in or unloose the sails. I could not repress a shutter on seeing these poor creatures hanging betweenst earth and heaven so far above me that they appeared like dwarves. I could not understand while they cling to the mast with the other. I do not think that a better or more active, agile and temperate race of sailors exist than these. Their fare consists of bread or ship biscuit in the morning with sometimes a raw cucumber, a piece of cheese or a handful of dates in addition. For dinner they have the same diet and for supper they have a dish of warm beans or a kind of broth or pilau. They are nothing but nile water. During the period of the inundation the river is twice as full of vessels as at other times. When the river is swollen the only method of communication is by boats. On the last day of this expedition a most beautiful spectacle awaited me. The delta, here the mighty Nile which irrigates the whole country with the hundreds of canals cut from its banks through every region, divides itself into two principal branches one of which falls into the sea at Rosetta and the other at Damietta. If the separate arms of the river could be compared to seas how much more does its united vastness merit the appellation? When I was thus carried away by the beauty and grandeur of nature when I thus saw myself placed in the midst of a new and interesting scenes it would appear to me incredible how people can exist possessing in abundance the gifts of riches, health and leisure time and yet without a taste for traveling. The petty comforts of life and enjoyments of luxury are indeed worth more in the eyes of some than the opportunity of contemplating the exalted beauties of nature or the monuments of history and of gaining information concerning the manners and customs of foreign nations. Although I was at times very badly situated and had to encounter more hardships and disagreeables than fall to the lot of many a man I would be thankful that I had had resolution given me to continue my wanderings whenever one of these grand spectacles opened itself before me. What indeed are the entertainments of a large town compared to the delta of the Nile and many similar scenes? The pure and perfect enjoyment afforded by the contemplation of the beauty of nature is not for a moment to be found in the ballroom or the theatre and all the ease and luxury in the world should not buy from me my recollections of this journey. Not far from the delta we can behold the Libyan desert, of which we afterwards never entirely lose sight, though we sometimes approach and sometimes recede from it. I became conscious of certain dark objects in the far distance. They developed themselves more and more, and at length I recognize in them the wonder-buildings of ancient times, the pyramids, far behind them rises the chain of mountains, or rather the Makatam. Evening was closing in when we at length arrived at Balook, the harbor of Cairo. If we could have landed at once, I might perhaps have reached the town itself this evening. As the harbor is, however, always overcrowded with vessels, the captain is often compelled to wait for an hour before he can find a place to moor his craft. By the time I could disembark it had already grown quite dark and the town gates were shut. I was thus obliged to pass the night on board. The journey from Adfe to Cairo had occupied two days and a half. This passage had been one of the most interesting, although the heat became more and more oppressive, and the burning winds of the desert were sometimes wafted over to us. The highest temperatures at mid-day was thirty-six degrees, and in the shade from twenty-four degrees to twenty-five degrees reamer. The sky was far less beautiful and clear than in Syria. It was here frequently overcast with white clouds. End of section twenty-eight.