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PYRAMIDS OF GIZAH.

CHAPTER V.

Visit to the Pyramids of Gizah-Old Cairo-Island of Roda-The Sphynx -Pyramid Cheops-Examination of its Interior-Ascent to its TopMagnificent View-Descent-Oppressive Attention of the Arabs-Catacombs.

As the steamer from Alexandria was expected hourly, on the arrival of which my English friend was to embark for India, he was anxious, before leaving, that I should accompany him on a visit to the pyramids, the two largest of which are situated about eight miles from Cairo. Without waiting to take a view of the city, we set out on the morning of the 20th of December, mounted on donkeys and accompanied by a guide, for the purpose of visiting those vast monuments of antiquity, ranked among the world's wonders. Threading narrow and crowded streets for a long distance, we at length passed out of the city by a gate on the west side. Our course lay direct to Old Cairo, which is situated on the banks of the Nile, distant from the wall of the present city about three miles. It is now but a small place, and has in its suburbs many ruins. Near Old Cairo is the small island of Roda, where, according to tradition, Pharoah's daughter found the infant Moses. This little island is one of the prettiest spots around Cairo. On it is a large fine palace, belonging to Ibrahim Pacha, and other buildings, which show to good advantage. The gardens on this island are spacious and highly cultivated. At the south end is the ancient Nilometer, which has stood there for centuries, marking the rise and fall of the Nile during its annual overflowings.

At Old Cairo we crossed the river in a ferry-boat,

to Gizah. This is a considerable town on the west bank of the Nile. Here we again mounted our donkeys and set off on a full gallop, desiring to lose as little time as possible by the way. The pyramids are situated five miles west of Gizah, on the edge of the Lybian Desert. They are in fair view as you pass out of the town, and do not appear to be one half of that distance. On our way we passed the villages of Conesse and El Goboor. At the latter the pyramids would seem not more than half a mile off, when, in reality, the distance is all of two miles. A short distance east of the largest pyramid, is the village of El Cafera.

Approaching the pyramids from a south-east direction, we came first to the Sphynx. This stands about eighty rods from the pyramid Cheops, and directly in the midst of an enormous sand-bank. The ground rises from it towards the desert in two directions; consequently the sands have been drifting upon it for thousands of years. It presents the upper part of a human image, cut out of a solid block of granite. Such are the vast dimensions of the part still visible. that the whole image, could it be extricated from the sand, doubtless would greatly astonish the beholder. Only the head, neck, shoulders, and breast are to be seen. The face is now considerably marred, the nose being quite broken off. Originally its countenance must have been very natural, mild, and intelligent. It stands as if looking towards the rising sun, and as a guardian genius in the midst of mighty sepulchres. When it was sculptured-who was the artist—or what was the certainty of its design—are all wholly lost in the vast labyrinth of its

age. It, however, stands as an enduring monument of ancient art, and shows that sculpture flourished in Egypt to an astonishing state of perfection, ere the science of letters was known.

From the Sphynx we ascended the sand eminence to the largest pyramid, called Cheops. This enormous pile covers over eleven acres of land, and is exactly square at its base, the sides perfectly matching to the four cardinal points. The stones of which it is constructed, are of vast dimensions, and are placed in layers one above another. Each layer is placed farther inward, say the distance generally of about three feet and a half; thus forming steps to ascend upon. It tapers in this regular manner, from all its sides. Some of the layers, however, are thicker than others, some being not more than eighteen inches, and some more than three feet. In this form the pyramid rises, till the summit is contracted to a square space of about twenty feet. Indeed, the top bears the appearance of having once ascended higher; as, from its broken state, stones appear to have been thrown off. The whole rises to the enormous height of nearly five hundred feet, and appears to be entirely solid stone and cement, with the exception of the small cavity which I shall presently describe. I was not in a situation to measure its exact height, but the best of authors set it down as above stated. The number of layers of stone from bottom to top, is two hundred and six, making just so many steps. The whole pile is supposed to contain about six million cubic feet of stone.

Our guide first led us to the entrance, which is on the north side; and recommended us to explore the

INTERIOR OF CHEOPS.

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interior first. A crowd of ragged Arabs were gathered at the place, each struggling to have something to do with conducting us. We charged our guide to admit but four with us; but a fifth got in. We had two lights with us. The entrance begins at the sixteenth step. It is a passage of three feet and a half square, descending at an angle of twenty-seven degrees. Its sides and covering are of polished granite. This descent extends straight forward ninety-two feet, keeping a person in an extreme stooping posture all the way. Here the passage turns to the right, winding upwards to a steep ascent of eight or nine feet. At the termination of this, the passage becomes five feet high for the distance of about one hundred feet, ascending continually till you arrive at a kind of landing-place. Directly to the right of this, something like a trench in the wall discovers itself, into which you are permitted to look as into a dark chasm. It is called the Well. Beyond this, the explorer moves through a long level passage, and arrives at what is called the Queen's Chamber. This is a room seventeen feet long, fourteen wide, and twelve high. Its sides and covering are of polished granite. A short distance beyond this is another opening, into which I did not enter, as it is partly filled with fallen stones, and contains nothing of very peculiar interest. The Queen's Chamber was empty, except that numerous bats, of enormous size, were flying about in it.

Leaving this room, and passing immediately back the way we came, about eighty feet, we turned to the right and commenced ascending an inclined plane of smooth granite, of about one hundred and twenty feet in length. The first part of this ascent is diffi

cult, as you have to advance on a narrow strip of granite, with slight holes cut for steps, while at your side is a chasm deepening as you rise. You at length step on solid footing, and have a clear passage the rest of the way, at the termination of which you enter the King's Chamber. This is about thirty-seven feet long, seventeen wide, and twenty high. The walls of this room are of polished sironite or red granite, each stone extending from the floor to the ceiling. The ceiling is of nine large slabs of granite, extending from wall to wall. At one end of this chamber stands a sarcophagus. This is also of granite, and must have been chiselled out of a solid block. Its present appearance is that of a large stone chest, seven feet and a half long, three feet three inches wide, and three and a half deep. Whether it ever contained a human body, is wholly uncertain. If it ever did, there is no trace of it now. It will be remarked by the reader that the size of this sarcophagus is such that it could not have been conveyed through the entrance of the pyramid to this room, after the whole pile was completed. It consequently must have been placed where it is now seen, at the time the pyramid was building. That the pyramid was designed for the sepulchre of some great king, is most probable; and that this room was designed as the place for depositing his body, is equally probable. The difficult, narrow, steep, and even dangerous passage to it, was obviously designed for its security, that the sepulchre might not be easily found to be ravaged or pillaged.

The King's Chamber is the termination of research, as all beyond that appears to be solid rock