Up the Nile, and home again. A handbook for travellers and a travel-book for the library. (1862) (14577376990)

Identifier: upnilehomeagainh00fair (find matches)
Title: Up the Nile, and home again. A handbook for travellers and a travel-book for the library.
Year: 1862 (1860s)
Authors: Fairholt, F. W. (Frederick William), 1814-1866
Subjects:
Publisher: London, Chapman and Hall
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress



Text Appearing Before Image:
Rounding thisrock Assouan appears on the rising ground to theleft; in advance is a picturesque ruin stretchinginto the water, with a series of arches, sometimescalled Roman, but more probably the remains ofmediaeval baths. Above the town, granite rockstower up crowned with ruins, the view being boundedby the Isle of Elephantine to the right, with itsgreen palm groves, and ruined walls, once the sub-structure of temples on the quay. The most fan-tastic forms are taken by the rocks and boulders ofdark granite, which start out of the river on allsides, and appear to form a gate of rock in front ofthe harbour. The ancient writers have noted thesingular effect produced by these fantastic and con-fused masses of stone, which give a peculiar cha-racter to the scenery of far Syene/ the boundaryof ancient Egypt, and the city of Juvenals banish-ment. Plate XIX. represents that part of the town oppo-site which boats are usually moored. The rockscrossing the stream have hieroglyphic inscriptions
Text Appearing After Image:
EDFOr TO ASSOUAN. 883 cut upon them, and others are seen in those abovethe water and in the midst of the gardens of thetown. The arches alluded to above are just beyondthese. The houses of the town are much hiddenby trees. When our boat was placed here, there wasstationed immediately in front of us the nativedahabeah, depicted in the sketchy and on board of it anegro who was conveying a young Xubian lion fromDon^ola to Cairo ; it was about the size of a Xew-foundland dog, and very much attached to its keeper,rubbing about his head and body like a cat, andallowing him to carry it in his arms, and makeit play all kinds of antics as he held it by arope. During the day it was fastened to the slopingbank, in the sun, and gave a very tropical aspect tothe scene. The large group of trading boats nearthis told also of inner Africa and the far south; forthe sailors were busy with the merchantmen in un-loading the camels, who had brought spices, gums,senna, and elephants teeth, from Dongola, Se