Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Petraea, and the Holy Land Volume 1 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1843 Excerpt: ...those who have gone before them. In the centre of the village, almost buried by the accumulation of sand from the desert and the ruins of Arab huts, is another magnificent temple. The street is upon a EGYPTIAN CHRISTIANS. 123 I level with the roof, and a hole has been dug between two columns, so as to give entrance to the interior. The traveller has by this time lost the wonder and indignation at the barbarity of converting the wonderful remains of Egyptian skill and labour to the meanest uses; and, descending between the excavated columns, finds himself, without any feeling of surprise, in a large cleared space, filled with grain, earthen jars, and Arabs. The gigantic columns, with their lotus-leaved capitals, are familiar things; but, among the devices on the ceiling, his wandering eye is fixed by certain mysterious characters, which have been called the signs of the zodiac, and from which speculators in science have calculated that the temple was built more than six thousand years ago, before the time assigned by the Mosaic account as the beginning of the world. But this little town contains objects of more interest than the ruin of a heathen temple; for here, among the bigoted followers of Mohammed, dwell fifty or sixty Christian families.; being the last in Egypt, and standing on the very outposts of the Christian world. They exhibited, however, a melancholy picture of the religion they profess. The priest was a swarthy, scowling Arab, and, as Paul said, looked more like a robber than a pastor. He followed us for bucksheesh, and, attended by a crowd of boys, we went to the house of the bishop. This bishop, as he is styled by courtesy, is a miserable-looking old man; he told us he had charge of the two churches at Esneh, and of all the Christians in the...