S. Menna so that when the Copties perceived them they knew not what to say By this we may judge that this Church hath not been built by the Optick Rules of Art and that only by chance these Shadows have appeared and been taken notice of This Apparition continues three days following in which time there is such a great concourse of People that one is ready to be stifled I perceived that they did call every Saint according to their devotion and respect without order And when they saw some Shadows upon the Wall which had a relation with those Saints that are painted in their Churches they cry out for joy in their Language Selam lak Kaddis Filan I salute you ô Saint N. N. To this they add an Hymn proper to the Saint and Prayers tying upon the Wall some little crosses of Wax Of all the Saints that their Church worships I have heard none called upon but the blessed Virgin S. George S. Menna and S. Porter On this Festival day all the Arabians thereabouts meet here out of an ancient Custome to be treated for three days with the Revenues of this Church When I was there they could make up near five hundred Horse and five hundred Foot The Horse-men were Armed with a Lance the Foot-men with a Club upon their Shoulders pointed with Iron This Custome of feeding the Arabians thereabouts is very ancient it comes from their pretending to be the Lords of the Country round about where this Church is built and therefore for this consideration they hinder not the Christians as they are able from coming to this Festival Therefore the Epitrope or Treasurer of the Church hath care to provide all things needful for their entertainment He kill'd that year seven young Cows two every day He provided for them Rice Bread and Barly for their Cattel He had a care also to send for Cooks and all Implements necessary for a Kitchin so that the Arabians had nothing else to do here but to eat and drink and divert themselves Twice every every day these Arabians performed their War-like Exercises to shew their jolly humor and to give sport to the Assembly The Horse-men played at Girit or the Dart by casting it to one another riding one against another and fencing therewith with much dexterity The Footmen likewise skirmish'd one against another very pleasantly with their great Staves The third day of this Festival the Arabians have nothing given them but a Dinner as soon as they have eaten it they are to depart so that if two hours after any of them was found there and that the Beys Lieutenant hath any knowledge of him he will cause him to be punish'd either by the Purse or a Bastinado so that none have liberty to stay there that day but Christians whom the Epitrope treats in the same manner as he doth the Arabians I was one of the chief Persons invited the Treasurer entertained me under his own tent with an extraordinary Banquet only Wine was wanting and Spoons Forks Knives and Napkins were not used The Meat was to be torn in pieces between the Fingers according to the Custome of the Country Afterwards out of the Tent a long Skin of Leather was spread upon the ground for the ordinary People where they were very well treated I shall finish this Relation with an advice to all Francs that intend to see this Festival They ought to take the same Way as we have done because it is the easiest the most commodious and the less dangerous Let them get a good Tent for there are no Lodgings but in the open Air Let them carry Wine Strong-waters Meat Hens Bread and other things for nourishment during the Festival Let them also carry with them the Furniture of the Table a Carpet a Cushion to sit upon and some Coverlets for their conveniency and to appear handsomly Water and Wood are here plenty There is Fish also to be sold for the Fisher-men of Nilus that is near adjoining bring hither a great deal I was provided with all these things therefore I appeared very decently There is here no danger of being robb'd for the Lieutenant of the Bey of Mohelle is also at this Festival with a good Guard of Spahins to prevent Disorders Quarrels and Robberies which might happen among rude and barbarous People So that in this place one may be with as much safety as at Cairo in a House Upon this account there happen'd a pleasant Accident a poor Arabian had taken from a Christian a handful of Barly to give it to his Ass he was taken upon the Fact The Christians immediately dragg'd him with a great noise to the Beys Lieutenant to have him punish'd Whiles they were leading him a great Tumult of People ran to see him some upbraided him with his boldness and impudency to steal without apprehending the punishment of the Saints that appear'd in their Church and did so many great Miracles another ask'd him whether he did not fear that God would punish him At which words he answer'd Ane Baaref rabbene that is What do I know that there is a God or I know not what is God This caused me to wonder both at the Copties settled perswasion of the real Apparition of their Saints and at the ignorance of the Arabians seeing that some of them know not that there is a God At last this Wretch was shut up in a Cage and I know not what happen'd to him afterwards It is time to prepare to depart when the Company withdraws it self and if one desires to return to Cairo by another way one may go by Land to Brullos from thence to Rosetta by this means one may go through the lower part of Delta a curious Journy which I never heard that any Franc hath made But in case any danger is likely to be in this way one may go from Gemiane to Great Mohelle where the ways are full of People and from thence one may go by Land to Cairo and see all the Antiquities that be in Mohelle and all along the wav I went away on Wednesday morning when every one was departing and returned to Cairo the same way that I came because the other ways seem'd to be dangerous I arrived at Cairo the 20th of the same Month eleven days after my departure The Representation of this Church is in the Cabinet of Monsieur C. On the 27th of May I went to visit the Patriarch of the Copties called Muallim Mattaos or Master Matthew whom I had seen in my first Voyage I intreated him to give me a Letter to recommend me to the Monasteries of Saint Macarius whither I intended to go which he granted me very willingly The 30th of this Month a Bey of Constantinople arrived at Cairo bound for the Island of Suaquen scituated in the Red-Sea where he was to Govern as Pacha At the same time came Don Pietro an Abyssin whom I had known at Rome and who had given me the Manuscripts of the Synods
this place a Stone which as the Copties believe hath been sanctified with the steps of our blessed Saviour The religious Francs sometimes say Mass here In the third separation is another Stone sanctified also by our Saviour's footsteps In the Cave I remember not well in which separation is to be seen the Epitaph of a Gentleman of Europe buried there about two hundred and seventy five years ago in Gothick Letters but the Stone is plac'd upside-down through the ignorance of the Mason as I believe this is the Epitaph Hic jacet Nobilis Petrus Louys IX Neapollonies qui obiit M. CCCC.II die XI Februarii Next to this Church I visited that of our blessed Lady in the Street called Darb ittáka It is very small and very obscure Out of this Church I saw a little round Stone of black Marble lying upon the ground about it were graven small Hieroglyphick Letters At a little distance from this Church through an Alley is to be seen the remains of a Persian Temple called in Arab. Kobbet il fo rs or the Temple of the Persians which Artaxerxes Ochus King of Persia caus'd to be built in honour of the Fire and though the Ruines are but small they discover yet that this Temple was heretofore very stately In the inside about the Walls are to be seen several standings or holes as high as a Man in which it is probable they plac'd their Idols I saw next the Church of Mary Girges or of S. George which is in the same Street called Darb ittáka or the Street of the Window It is very ancient and of a mean beauty At the entrance on the right hand is to be seen the Body of Amba Bissúra Bishop and Martyr with his Epitaph in Arabick which I could not place here because the Printer had not the Characters Next to this Church I went to see the Monasteries of the Nuns amongst the Copties called Dér il benát or the Monastery of the Maids which was built as they say by a King called Alexander but it is a place so filthy and stinking that I could not stay there any time The last Church that I saw in this Castle was that of the Monastery of S. George of the religious Greeks In this Church is to be seen an Image of this Saint that as they say hath the Power to heal and cure Fools This Monastery also is very ugly and filthy Churches and Monasteries in the Patriarch's Quarters IN the Quarters of the Patriarch named in Arab. Haret il Bátrak a Suburb of it self on this side of Cassr Isscémma is the Church of Mary Moncure It is very great high and built with very strong Walls In this Church the Patriarch of the Copties is chosen and consecrated It hath been ruinated by the Mahometans and turn'd into a Store-house of Sugar-Canes It continued so to the days of the Patriarch Ephrem who in the Reign of Meez le din alla having transported the Mountain called Gebel il mocáttam which now stands behind the Castle of Cairo to prove the truth of his Religion and that of the Turks and Jews to be false got an Order from him to the Court of Beit il mal or Treasure of the Goods of the deceased that out of this Treasure this Church should be re-built with all the Apartments that are round about and all the little Churches that are above it Which was accordingly performed as may be seen in the History of the Patriarch's of Macrizi Mekkin an Arabian Historian confirms this Relation and ascribes this Miracle to this Saint as he saith in his History Vádeh ibn Régia a Noble Man amongst the Mahometans who turned Christian a little while after being very thirsty at Mecha he pray'd to this Saint that he might be carryed into this Church because at that time the River Nilus running close by he might there quench his violent thirst This Saint carried him immediately into this Church in one Night a way that the Caravan cannot perform in less than eight and thirty or forty days At the entrance into this Church on the left hand is the Cave where dwelt heretofore Amba Bersum il Erián or Saint Bersum the naked which was before the abode of a Serpent that did much hurt to the Inhabitants round about In the Walls are to be seen the holes where he hid himself but as soon as the Saint was enter'd in to do Penance the Serpent cast it self at his feet to do him homage and afterwards it never hurt any body In this Cave is a little Altar to say Mass A little above this same Church there is four or five small Churches which I had liberty to see the night of the Festival of the Epiphany of the Copties in the Year 1673. I staid there to see the Ceremony they observe in dipping themselves in the Water in remembrance of Christ's Baptism The Reader may in the sequel of this Journal see this described in the Month of January 1673. Near this Church is that of Amba Scinúde or of Saint Sennodius but the Turks have shut it to draw from the Copties a sum of Money therefore I could not see it When I was out of the Patriarch's Quarters I went straight to Cairo to see the other Churches and Monasteries that are thereabout when I was come as far as the Bridge called Kantaret iggibs or the Plaister'd Bridge I turn'd to my right hand and when I was past the heaps of Ruines and Rubbish that are there I came to the Monastery of Mary Mina or S. Menna which is an Hospital rather for poor old Men than a Monastery Within the Walls of this Monastery are three Churches one belongs to the Copties the other to the Armenians and the third to the Syrians but it is a filthy place and the Churches arc but dark A Journey to the City of Fiúm THE Province of Fiúm hath been always esteem'd one of the most excellent of al◠Egypt because of its fruitful Fields of its grea◠Riches of its pleasant Gardens which are the rarest of all this Kingdom and because of many wonderful things that are there I had so great a desire to travel in it that I thought I had seen nothing if I did not see this Country also And because Egypt is such a Country that one cannot travel in it all the year and in every season for sometimes you are hinder'd by the excessive heats that burn and scorch your bodies sometimes by the overflowing of Nilus that bury all the Fields under water and sometimes because the Arabians are scattered about the ways and when these inconveniencies don't hinder the Casciefs or Governours sometimes are wont to fright Travellers for commonly they be little Tyrants who live by extortion and oppression of the persons that have the unhappiness to fall into their hands Therefore to accomplish this Journey with more safety I waited for the Vintage of Fiúm for then the ways are full of persons that carry
medled with any but the poor and that of the richer fort scarce four hundred were dead This causeth me to speak a word of Father Elzear of Nants a very worthy Person and his Comrade Father Portais both of the Capuchin Order and zealous Missionaries whom this Plague carried away The first was buried out of the City Cairo in a Field where the poor Copies are buried for whose Conversion he was intended To honour the Memory of his Vertues there is an Epitaph in Arab. and Latin upon a little Stone fixed upon his Grave and because I was well acquainted with him in my first Voyage which I made into Egypt by the Orders and Commands of Ernest Duke of Saxa-Gota in the Year 1664. I went to see his Grave and to repeat for the repose of his Soul and as a Testimony of my remembrance and esteem of his rare Qualities the Prayer De profundis A Journy to Gemiane WHen the time was come that the Copties observe the Festival of the Aparitions of the Saints at Gemiane because I had not seen it in my first Voyage I went from Cairo on Monday the 9th of May with a Servant of Monsieur de Tiger named Leonard that could Paint very well with several Copties who came in our Company because they had nothing to discharge the expence of this Journy We went aboard at Boulac and set sail for the Town of Mansoura where we landed the 12th of the same Month. The next day we left Mansoura taking a Boat for Diast a little Village scituate upon the West-side of Niltus for here all Travellers that go to Gemiane from Cairo are wont to land It stands about four hours journying from Mansoura At our landing we left our Boat and went by Land to Bossat inossára a little Mile distant from the River in the Land we spent there the Night and lodg'din the Church of S. George with several other Copties whom we found there who were bound also as well as we for Gemiane The 14th day very early we proceeded on towards the third branch of Nilus which begins as I have already said in the Description of this River at Sciobret il Yemen which it hath pass'd near the Town of Mohelle KebÃre or Great Mohelle and near Gemiane it discharges it self into the Sea at Brullos We march'd on into the Country and when we came to this Branch of the River we found several Boats ready to carry us with the Current to Gemiane where we landed about the Evening not without suffering many crosses and inconveniences because the Master of the Boat an Arabian was a wicked Rogue Gemiane is a famous Church of the Copties built in a large Champain very even and boundless to the Eye but very unfruitful in the Province of Garbie in the Isle of Delta It stands near the place where was anciently the City Degue called by the Copties Tekebi On the West it hath the Great Mohelle on the East the Branch of the River that enters into the Sea at Brullos and on the North the Mediteranean Sea This Church hath five and twenty Arches or Isles that yield at a distance a very beautiful Prospect though they be not in order nor equal in bigness The Church within is not yet finish'd and there is but one Chappel whited with Lime namely that where the supposed Apparition happens there is also but one Altar as in all other Churches of the Levant All the Iles or Arches serve to adorn the Church and to give light to it for in every one there is a Window and in some two The Chappel where the Apparition happens is on the North-side on the right hand as one enters in and over against the Door During three days I examin'd this Apparition and the causes from whence it proceeds as exactly as I could possibly and found it to be nothing else but the reflection of the Objects that went by the Church at a convenient distance which being carried into the Chappel by the Air through the two Windows that give light It represents over against upon the Wall the Shadow which is like the Object that goes by For Example when a Horse-man goes by there is to be seen upon the Wall in a confused manner a Shadow of a Man on Horse-back If it be a Woman that hath a Child in her Arms one may see the Shadow of that appearance and so is it with all other things Now the People being superstitious and of a dull apprehension not knowing how this happens fancy that the Saints appear to them They know and distinguish them according as they are painted in their Churches For Example when they see the Shadow that represents a Cavalier they say that it is S. George for the Copties as well as the other People of the East represent him as a Man on Horse-back killing a Dragon When they see a Woman carrying of an Infant in her Arms they say that it is the blessed Virgin because they see her thus represented in the Pictures of their Churches When they see the Shadow of a Man on foot of a reddish colour they say that it is S. Menna because they paint him with a red Habit. They distinguish the other Saints in the same manner They are so much bewitch'd with the fancy of the reality of these Apparitions that if any Person should offer to deny it he would be in danger to be knock'd on the head It is in vain to answer that the Shadows that appear in this Chappel cannot be formed by the reflection of the Objects because the Windows through which they come in are at the North-side of the Church which never enjoys the Sun-shine and that therefore they be true and real Apparitions To this I reply that it is not needful that the Church be enlighten'd on that side but it is sufficient that the Objects that pass by be enlighten'd Now if the Church had the light of the Sun on that side the brightness of the light would discover too plainly the Shadows and would take away all causes of admiration If any will say that some ingenious Person amongst them hath built this Chappel according to the Rules of the Optick Art to deceive the People with these Apparitions I desire him to take notice that the Copties are so ignorant that they know not what this Art is This Chappel as the other Churches hath been built in this manner without any design to cozen the World therefore this Reflection which they name Apparition of the Saints hath been discover'd by chance Experience hath taught me this in other Churches which have not been builded no more than this to deceive the World with vain Apparitions I have taken notice of it in the Church Bossat inossára where I was on the 13th of the same Month in the company of some Copties that were going to Gemiane There I saw the same Shadows which two days after at Gemiane they called S. George the Virgin Mary and
with the Waters of Nilus The Mahometans say that it proceeds from the Well Bi r issimsim which is at Mecha a famous Well because of a pretended Miracle of Mahomet But this is a Fable invented by some of their Sciechs to obtain more credit to their Prophet for Mecha is distant from Cairo one and thirty days journy as the Caravan makes them therefore it is impossible that a Well should be in Egypt proceeding from a Sourse at such a distance After that we had eaten in the resting place and drank of this good Water out of devotion we went into the Garden where heretofore the Balm trees were Planted which yielded Balm only when they stood in this place and were watered with the Water of the miraculous Well One may read my Book upon this Subject called The Church of Alexandria where many remarkable things may be found very curious concerning these Trees and this Well In this Garden was heretofore to be seen the Sicamore-tree which as the Copties say split in two miraculously to hide our Lord Jesus Christ and his most holy Mother when the Souldiers of Herod pursued him They say that when they hid themselves in this opening of the Sicamore they saved themselves from the Souldiers violence by the favour of a Spiders Web that covered them suddenly and appeared very old though it was made in an instant by a Miracle so that that they imagin'd not that any Person could be hid within much less the Persons whom they were seeking The Franciscans of the Holy Land that dwell at Cairo dispute with the Keepers of this Garden the possession of this Tree and say that it fell down with old age in the year 1656. and that they gather'd then up the pieces which they keep carefully in their place of Relicks I have seen them there The Gardiners yet shew in this Garden a Stump which I have seen which they say are the remains of this Sicamore But this dispute concerns me not much neither do I think that I should oblige those Fathers to maintain their interest in this case that is so trivial When we had seen this Sicamore we went out of the Garden to see the Needle which is out of the Village planted in the open Field where stood anciently the City Heliopolis This Needle is not equally square for there are two sides larger than the others The largest are each of six Foot and the narrowest of five and a half There be but few Characters graven upon it but they be yet to be read and those that are graven in one side are also in the three others It is of a red Stone as all other Needles that I have seen in Egypt Planted upon the ground without any Basis to stand upon Near this Needle is a square Stone of an extraordinary bigness which seems to have been the Basis of some great Pillar but it is worn on the sides therefore I neglected to take the measure of it In this Field Sultan Selim encamp'd with his Army when he engaged in a Fight with Sultan Cajed Bey the last King of the Mammelucs some of the Trenches of his Camp are yet to be seen I went next alone from Má-Tarea to MÃnied Sored another Village hard by on the West-side to see a miraculous Image of the blessed Virgin which the Copties keep in their Church of which I have read a Miracle in an Abyssin Manuscript which I found in the Monastery of Koskam near Momfallot in the middle Egypt at my first Voyage into Egypt As soon as I had seen it I return'd to Cairo The 17th of July Saturday Night I went to the Monastery of S. Michael scituated out of the Old Cairo at the East-side about half an hours riding on Horse-back in the Field called in Arab. Birket siech Ombarek or the Lake of the blessed Sciech where I spent the Night to hear Mass for the Copties say it ordinarily after Midnight The next day I return'd back to my Lodging and saw in my passage all the Churches and Monasteries of the Copties which are in Old Cairo leaving on our left hand the three Churches which are in Babylon Massr which was heretofore part of Old Cairo but is now totally destroyed I began my visit by the Churches that are in Cassr Isscémma Churches and Monasteries of Cassr Isscémma THE first was that of Maállaca It is a very ancient Church stately and very clear and I may say that it is the most beautiful that the Copties have in Egypt It is the Metropolis in which the Patriarch performs his first Divine Service The Copties bought it of Amru ibn il Ass as may appear by the Contract written upon the Walls of this Church with the Hand of this Prince who curseth there all the Mahometans that shall offer to take it from them There be five Heikels or Chappels in a rank but separated the one from the other with little Grates of Wood so that five Masses may be read at once and the Priests need not interrupt one another At the entry of this Church a little Image is to be seen at the right hand upon one of the Pillars which Image the Copties say spoke to S. Ephrem one of their Patriarchs to comfort him in his affliction when Meéz le din alla the Califf commanded him to transport Mount Gebel il mocáttam which now stands behind the Castle of Cairo from one place to another to prove the truth of his Religion because our Saviour Christ saith in the Gospel If you had faith as a Grain of Mustard-seed you should say to this Mountain remove thence to yonder place and it shall remove and nothing shall be impossible unto you He threatned him therefore that if he did not remove it that he would destroy all his Nation as a People that professed a false Religion and that deserved not to live amongst them that were Believers Because this Image spoke then to their Patriarch to comfort him and assure him that he should remove the Mountain in spight of the Jews who had anger'd this Califf against them they highly respect it Next to Maállaca I went to visit Sancta Barba where as my leader told me the Body of this Saint rests at the left hand of the Chappel This Church is great and very light and therefore seems to me to be the most pleasant of all the rest There be also three Chappels in a rank I saw next the Church of Saint Sergius which was built as Said ibn Patrik saith in his History by a Coptie a Secretary to Abd ilaziz ibn Meruán a Califf of Egypt Under this Church is to be seen a Cave in which as the Copties hold by Tradition Christ with his most blessed Mother have lived a while It is divided into three Angles or Parts by little Pillars In the first at the entrance is the Baptismal Font of the Copties At the bottom of the middle separation is a place in the Wall and in
the Arabians il Tarik il Kihli the upper way and the other il Tarik il bahri the under way in respect of this Village from whence they set out The under way is the shortest the most frequented and that which the Caravan takes keeping upon the bank of the River for a while and when one leaves it the way turns at the right hand into the Wilderness to a place called Gibei There is the first Well which Nature hath digged deep in a firm Rock into which the Rain-water runs which Water is white as Milk and sweeter than that of Nilus About a days Journey farther is another at the left hand of the High-way at the foot of a high Mountain called Gebel il cheleil but its Water is noisome and green and the Weâ—â— is full of Canes A little farther is another very well known to Travellers because it is near the Dwelling of a famous Arabian called Eid il beidavi but the Caravan never goes thither but when they want Water because it stands from the High-way at a distance Therefore when they are furnished with Water at the second Well they pass at the left hand streight to the Monastery The upper way leads from Beiha towards the South-East and after a day and a halfs travelling it goes to the East In this way are neither Waters nor Trees nor Houses nor Grass therefore it is needful to make good Provision of Water at Beiha for the whole Journey Therefore knowing this before I took at Beiha a Camel purposely to carry Water and four others for me and my followers the Abyssin the Coptie and Idris my Blackamoor Besides these I took with me five Arabians armed with Lances to go on foot and take charge of the Camels and to protect us if perchance any Robbers should have assaulted us so that we were in all ten in number and five Camels When we had got all that was needful for the Voyage we went from Beiha on Friday the 30th of September about three a Clock in the Afternoon Though the under way was the shortest and the most frequented yet we chose the upper way that we might not meet with the Arabians the declared Enemies of those that conducted us When we had travelled four days through a boundless Plain of Sand which was not moveable but hard and full of sharp cutting stones that cut as so many Razors we arrived at last through a thousand turnings to the Monastery the third day of October The Monastery of S. Anthony which includes another anciently peopled by the Abyssins and now totally ruinated is in the Wilderness now called in Arab. Gebel Araba or the Mountain of Carts because heretofore Provisions were carried thither upon Carts and not upon Camels as now It is built upon the decline of the Mount Colzim at its Eastern end which reaches from East to South It appears like a long Square and the Front of the Monastery which stretches from North-East to North looks against another Mountain called Gebel il Cheleil of which I shall speak hereafter It is incompassed in with an high Mountain but feeble and unable to make any resistance for it is old and built with Bricks dried in the Sun There is no Gate to the Monastery one enters in by a Pulley Men and Beasts are all drawn up over the Wall It hath a large Circuit about six hundred Fiddans or two thousand four hundred Acres within the Walls The Monks of the Levant dwell not together in the same Cells as those of Europe but every one hath a little House or Cell to himself and these Cells are more or less beautiful and convenient according as the Country hath experienced the cruelty of the Turks Therefore the Monasteries of the Levant and chiefly those of the Archipelago are like so many great Towns or Castles because of their Walls Turrets and number of houses that are within but the Monasteries of Egypt have nothing of that splendour because the Mahometans have been here more cruel than in any other Country subject to them Nevertheless this Monastery is like those of Greece for it is surrounded with Walls In the middle is a Dungeon and round about many Houses where the Monks live but in regard it has been destroyed long ago by the Arabians it hath remain'd in that condition threescore and ten years The Copties who have lost under the tyranny of the Mahometans all their strength and power could never yet restore it to its former estate Therefore the Cells now are very little and poor of yellowish Earth without Timber Plaister Order or Symmetry they are so low that a man may easily reach up to the top with his hand therefore the Monks cannot well stand upright there is a little light that enters in through holes in the wall about a foot long the doors are so low that one must stoop low to go in that which is most commodious is that they have all flat roofs for the Monks to take the air at night when the Sun is gone and to sleep when they please Their dining-place is very dirty and obscure There is for Strangers a place of it self large and decent with two other Chambers hard by to put their Goods and Cloaths and a little Kitchin The Gardens are very large and great and considerable because of the Herbs and Fruits that they bring forth One might make of them the most pleasant Gardens of the World because of their convenient scituations for they lie shelving with beautiful Plains There are two small Vines that yield a sort of White-wine very delightful They use it in saying of Mass and in treating Strangers of Quality that come thither In this Monastery is a great quantity of fresh water as clear as Crystal but very salt It runs from the Mount Colzim near by in little streams under the Walls into the Gardens where they receive it in places made on purpose They drink it and make other uses of it It is not very wholesome chiefly for those that are not accustomed to it for the Niter that infects it causeth Bladders to rise under the Skin and torments such as drink of it with itching as I have found by experience Here are three Churches the chief is that of S. Anthony it is little but very ancient and as the Monks told me it is the same that S. Anthony built and the only thing of the Monastery that hath escap'd the rage of the Arabians Within are Pictures of many Saints painted in an antick and simple fashion The smoak of the Frankincense that is burnt there at Divine Service hath made them appear as black as a Chimney Near this Church is another dedicated to S. Peter and S. Paul within a little Tower and one Bell about a foot and a half in Diameter serves to call the Monks to the Service of God and to their other imployments There is no other Bell in all Egypt The third Church is in the Garden dedicated
foot of this Mountain In this place our Bark ran in the Sand and when the Boat-men were not able to free her the Janissaries that were with us forced all the other Travellers and Christians with Cudgels to leap over into the water to help them As soon as it was freed we proceeded on in our way and we began to discover the Caves of the Mountain which are at the East of Nilus and a little after the Mount of Birds called in Arabick Gebel Teir which is so equal from the top to the bottom about half a mile that it looks like a strait Wall built by hand rather than a Rock made thus by Nature which is a very delightful sight to Travellers The water of Nilus washes a great deal of it On the top of this Mountain is the Monastery of the Copties called Deir il baccur and a little further several Caves and the ruines if an Ancient Town Tuesday night we were in sight of Minie but our Vessel ran a-ground once more in the Banks of Sand so that the Boat-men could not free it before night and there it stopt till next day Wednesday in the morning whiles our Boat-men were busie in freeing the Boat I went to see the City of Minie scituate on the West of Nilus belonging to the Cascieflik of Behnese I went also into the Mosques without fear because I was cloathed in a Turkish Habit. When our Boat-men had freed the Bark they drew her up to Minie for we sail'd upwards there I went on board to go towards Melave About an hours sailing from Minie we began to discover on the top of the Mountain which lies at the East the Caves This in my judgment is the beginning of the Country of Thebes They are to be seen along the Mountain as far as Momfallot I counted four and thirty in a rank but the Mouths of the Caves were stopped up with Earth that was fallen in The same day about three a Clock in the Afternoon we pass'd by the Ruines of the Ancient City Insine leaving it at our left hand and at night we went to lie before Melave We sailed away on Thursday morning the second of March and we saw in our way many Caves in the Mountain which is at the East At Noon we left the great Channel of Nilus because there was but little water and we enter'd into one of its Branches which makes an Island by meeting again with the great Stream We pass'd before the Mouth of the River of Joseph of which I have spoken sufficiently in the description of Fium Friday morning the third day of the month we landed at Momfallot where I lodged in an House called Ocalet Emir Otman or the dwelling of Prince Otman which is in the Market-place It is an old dwelling much decayed and though there is another more beautiful and more commodious I would not lodge in it that I might not suffer the affronts of the Jamssaries and Spahins who lodg'd there and who would have insulted over me had they known me to be a Franc. Momfallot the abode of the Cascief of the Province is a very great and beautiful Town of Egypt scituate upon the banks of Nilus on the West-side in the middle Egypt There is made much Linen-cloth A great many Christian Copties live here but they have no Church The name of this Town signifies in Arabick the Exile of Lot because a certain Lot was banish'd thither by his Brother an ancient King of Egypt as the Copties say Over against on the other side of Nilus are the signs of an ancient Town I could never understand the name From Cairo to Benesuef there are two days journeys by Land and by water sometimes more sometimes less according to the wind from Benesuef to Minie are three days journeys by Land from Minie to Melave is a little days journey from Melave to Momfallot is a little more than a days journey chiefly when the Horse is not good and from Momfallot one may go and dine at Siut if one takes the morning In the Province of Momfallot they reckon one and fifty Towns six and thirty at the West side of Nilus and fifteen at the East which agrees not with the Relation of James Albert of Egypt who reckons up two hundred and seventeen In this he is mistaken Here are one and twenty Churches or Monasteries eleven at the West-side of Nilus namely Moharrak with that of the Abyssins near by The Church of the Angel Gabriel at Buk That of S. Theodore at Timsahte That of S. George at Ballot That of the Arch-Angel Raphael at Tetelie That of S. Philothea at Nemire That of the Arch-Angels Gabriel and Raphael at Benekelb That of S. Mercurius at Gauli That of the holy Virgin at Meessera That of S. John of Heraclea at Om il Kossur There are twelve at the East-side of Nilus namely the Church of S. Theodore Martyr S. John's Son at Bossra The Monastery of S. Menna sirnamed Thoumatourgos at The Church of the holy Virgin at and another at Maabde The Church of Mary Poctor at Gebravi another of the same Saint at Fadda That of the blessed Virgin at Bene mohammed That of S. George at Bene morr and three that are at Ibnub il hammam namely the Monastery of the blessed Virgin the Church of S. John the Baptist and that of Abufam il ghindi The 7th day of this Month I went about seven a Clock in the morning for Siut where I arrived about noon These are the Villages in the way 1. Mandara where several Ruines remain that bespeak it to have been a great Town 2. Hantaca 3. Gauli where are to be seen some ancient Ruines and an old Bridge to give passage to the River Nilus when it overflows the Country 4. Negghe where the Caravan commonly rests that comes from Dungala when it goes towards Cairo 5. Benehsein and a little further Coum Benehsein where is to be seen the Tomb of one called Sciech Iscander 6. Mongabat that new which is a very good Town at the West of Nilus and at the foot of the Mountain hard by old Mongabat but now ruinated At last we came to Siut which lies South-South-East from Momfallot When I was arrived at Siut I took two Chambers in the House called Occalet il hammam or the Bathing-house so named because it is over against a Publick Bathe and though it be but little it is pleasant and commodious A few days after I craved acquaintance with the Bishop of the City called Amba Joannes he is a very honest Man of a good life He made me know a certain Coptie named Muallim Athanasius the only Man of all the upper Egypt that understood his natural Tongue that is the Copties but I could not benefit my self much by him because he was deaf and about fourscore years of age nevertheless I had the satisfaction to behold that Man with whom the Copties Language will be utterly loft Siut called in
Greek Lycopolis is one of the most famous Towns of the Upper Egypt scituate at the foot of a barren Mountain that stands on the West-side about half a league from Nilus The Town is great and populous full of Christian Copties who may be about five hundred Caraches or Masters of Families that pay Tribute They have there a Bishop and a poor Church dedicated to the Abbot Der whose Body with that of his Sister Erazi a reputed Saint with his Brother also rests at Emsciul which is a Village belonging to Ischmunein In Siut are wrought the best Linen Cloaths of all Egyppt It is the chief Town of the Province and the abode of a Cascief These are the Churches and Monasteries of Christian Copties that are in this Province The Church of Doronke dedicated to the three Children of Babylon cast into the Furnace The Monastery of the blessed Virgin scituate upon a Mountain that is behind this Village The Church of Rife dedicated to Mary Colte The Monastery of the blessed Virgin behind this Village upon the same Mountain That of Sauvie dedicated to Athanasius The Church of Doveine dedicated to S. John the Baptist but now there is nothing remaining of this Church but the Altar in the open Air. The Church of Bagur dedicated to S. Claudius That of Cateia dedicated to S. Philothea That of Sciothe dedicated to S. Moncure but it is now ruinated Upon the Mountain that is near Siut on the West-side amongst a great many Caves cut in the Rock there is one made like a Stable therefore the People call it by the name of il Stabl or the Stable It is so large that a thousand Horse-men may easily draw up Battel in it I have not seen it though I had a great desire for no body would venture to lead me thither for fear of the Casciefs displeasure who is afraid that some body should carry away the Treasures that are said to be hid there A Voyage to Tahta MVnday the 13th of this Month I went from Siut with the Bishop of the Town leaving my Men till my return for Tahta which is another City of the Upper Egypt about two little days Journey from Siut towards the South At our left hand we left the Ruines of the ancient Town Scioth named by the Copties 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 next Rife a considerable Town at our right hand next Muscie where the Copties had anciently a Church dedicated to Mary Poctor Sciu taking its name from the City of Sciu which was next to Abnub but now ruinated At three of the Clock in the Afternoon we arrived at Doveine where we continued two days because the Bishop of Sciut was to consecrate there an Altar This Village owes its beginning to Tuh Bekerim a Village near adjoining whereof there appears not now the least sign This is the cause A Gentlewoman of this place called Vdeine having built a Church out of Tuh Bekerim to the honour of S. John Baptist many of the Inhabitants caused Houses to be built near this Church so by degrees the number of People increasing more and more they left Tuh Bekerim empty and the place where this Church was built became a Village which they called after the name of the Gentlewoman Vdeine and now corruptly Doveine This Church was afterwards overthrown by the Doveider a Branch of Nilus artificially made which washed the Walls now there remains nothing but the Altar upon which the Bishop says Mass after a re-consecration Over against Doveine upon the side of the Mountain Westerly there are to be seen the Relicks of two ancient Towns one was named Bablu and the other Billu they are near together I had an intent to see them but the Bishop of Siut disswaded me Wednesday the 15th of this Month we went from Doveine towards Tahta near the Ruines of the ancient Town Abutig called by the Copties 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 scituate upon the Banks of Nilus there is a Cascief dwells there 2. We passed by Necheile a Village upon the side of the same River where were a great many Copties 3. The Ruines of the ancient Town Sitfe called in the Arabian Books Sedafe 4. The Ruines of Amba Biscioi 5. Other Mountains of Ruines called Kimam Selamun which we left at our right hand 6. Temeh which was anciently a Town but now is but a poor Village The Christian Copties that live here make a certain sort of black Searge indifferent sine which Persons of Quality and the Clergy of the Copties wear Out of the Town they have a Church dedicated to Amba Fam il Aussimi or to the Abbot Fam of Anssim but it is pitiful There is in this Village a Cascief When we had well rested our selves at Temeh in the House of a poor Christian we went on our way passing first by a Village called Coum il arab over against Kau il Kubbara which is at the East-side of Nilus anciently a very beautiful Town called by the Copties 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where the Bishop of Siut told me is yet to be seen the Ruines of a beautiful Church of the ancient Egyptians We went next to Meschta a pretty good Town and next to Sciahrota afterwards we went upon Mountains of Ruines of a Town called Abvaitg Next night we lay at Sciech zein Iddin a poor Village inhabited by Copties and Moors very miserable Thursday morning the 16th of the Month the day observed by the Copties in remembrance of the Invention of the holy Cross we went to Nezelet issciehid a little Village full of Coptier all Dyers Heretofore in this place was a Church dedicated to S. Cyriack but it is now down and there remains nothing but the Altar in the open Air. This day the Bishop of Siut made some young Men Deacons and when Mass and the Ordination was ended we went to Tahta a great Town near to this Village where we lodged at the House of one Muallim Petrus a Coptie an honest and rich Man A Voyage to the White Monastery SAturday the 18th of this Month I went very early from Tahta towards the famous Monastery of S. Sennodius sirnamed the White about a good days Journey from Tahta The Bishop of Siut gave me one of his Arabians named Havaras to guide me At the going out of the Town I met with a kind of a Janissary called Seimen who received no Sallary from the Grand Seignior but lived by the orders of the Casciefs he was sitting in the High-way where we were to pass his Musquet upon his shoulder a Cutlass at his side and ready to march When we drew near him he came to us and stopt me bluntly telling me that I must alight I was much surprised with this affront and vexed that without cause I was to lose my Beast I seem'd to be resolved not to alight we continued a pretty while to dispute together till I saw him lift up his Hatchet which he wore at his Girdle to cleave my head in two
which is the only thing there to be noted All the rest was so far from satisfying my Curiosity that I beheld nothing but Ruines and misery But that I might not lose altogether my labour in climbing up to the Mountain I went to see the Caves that were near My Guide led me into one as high as a Man on horseback so extraordinary large that without hyperbole a thousand Horse might there draw up in Battel array which caused me to wonder not a little As soon as we were out of this large Cave my Guide led me into another hard by larger than the former when I was within about two hundred paces he told me to hearken to a certain place of the Wall at the left hand as one goes in Use no doubt had made him take notice of this place for I saw no sign outward to cause one to mind it I drew near to listen and I heard behind the Wall the noise as of a Wind-mill so distinct that I marvelled greatly only the noise seem'd to come from far I wonder'd the more when he told me that behind this Rock there was no empty place nor passage for the Air to make this noise which has continued during the memory of Man All Persons of whom I inquir'd for the cause of this Wonder told me nothing else but that it was a Talisman and that there was some hidden Treasure A little further towards the South upon the same Mountain are to be seen the Ruines of an ancient Monastery dedicated to S. Severus Patriarch of Antioch whom the Copties reverence as a Saint because he maintain'd the Doctrine of Dioscorus their Patriarch whose opinions they follow The Bishop of Siut told me that heretofore three hundred and threescore Monks inhabited in this Monastery who employed themselves in seeking for the Philosopher Stone and in the works of Chymistry an excellent Employment for such as have left the World and forsaken their Riches My return from Siut to Momfallot THE 26th of March I return'd to Momfallot with an intent to take Boat for Girge and continue my Travels farther I enter'd into the Town about noon as soon as I was in my former Lodging a Man of my acquaintance gave me notice that the Christians of that place those very Persons to whom I had been recommended by their Patriarch had accused me to the Cascief and told him that I was a rich Franc who made it my business to run up and down the Land to discover where the Treasures were hid to inform the King of France who intended to come and Conquer Egypt This Friend said also that the Cascief had commanded to take me where ever I should be found This wicked news made me think upon a retreat and at that time there was no conveniency to go by Water to Girge and because the Cascief might have sooner taken me on that side his Jurisdiction reaching a great way I went back to Melave because his Dominion was but narrow thitherward I took that way to return to Cairo the place of my ordinary abode whither I went by Land for I had been by Water before At our going out of Momfallot we went by Om il Cossur a Village where great Mountains of Ruines are to he seen We left next at our left hand the signs of the ancient Town Cossie which is called by the Greek Authors Apollonopolis We went by Sennabo next which is a very good and populous Town We saw Biblau Bamib and after Sun set we came to Tarut Isscerif a great Village where we were entertained gratis by an Arabian Lord who keeps an House of Hospitality called in that Tongue Beit diafe to lodge Strangers that will stay there a night with their Beasts He entertains them at his own charge The next day the 28th of the Month after that I had returned thanks to my Benefactor I went streight to Melave At our going out of Tarut Isscerif I went through the Channel of Joseph's River on foot for there it begins I went next to Tanuf a Village where some Ruines are yet to be seen and about noon we were at Melave where I lodged at the Occale or Inn that is near the Market-place at the West-side of the Town near the great Mosque and because the upper Chambers were all taken up by Turks I was obliged to lodge in a very low Room where I met with many inconveniences because it was near the Door at the passage of all comers and goers Wednesday the 29th of the Month the Turks begin the Feast called Eid il dehie or the Easter of the Victims for they use to kill Sheep during this Festival and give the Flesh to the Poor for Gods sake This Festival continues three days during which time the Copties buy no Victuals from the Mahometans nor Bread Wine Flesh Coffee nor Water By this they discover their abhorrency of that Religion for thereby they shun all occasions of communicating with them At Melave I got acquaintance with an Arch-Priest of that place called Nassr alla He was the honestest civilest and ablest Man that I ever knew of that Nation There are about seven hundred Caraches or Heads that pay Tribute They have there a Church dedicaced to S. Michael which is but little poor and obscure The River Nilus swallowed up heretofore the ancient Melave and now the River runs in the place where that Town stood The Town now is built in another place where was anciently a Wood that was a retreat for Robbers A Voyage into the Lower Thebes I Was loth to return to Cairo without seeing the Country of the Lower Thebes or at least a part of it seeing that I was so near it I resolved therefore to follow the advice of my Friend the Arch-Priest and to go to the Monastery of Abuhennis il Kessir or of S. John the little whereof he was Governour scituate near the ancient Town Insine on the East-side of Nilus about an hours travelling from Melave to see the Rarities thereabouts Saturday the first of April I went from Melave to this Monastery and the next day being our Easter-Sunday I got a Guide to lead me upon the Mountain which is behind on the East-side to see the Caves of the ancient Hermites that are round about and near to the Town which have given to it the name of Thebes as we shall see in the following discourse I went into many of these Caves that were all very large I saw nothing worthy of notice but in some certain Crosses graven in the Rock and upon the Walls of one I saw two Angels holding up with their hands a Cross in the Air. The only thing that pleas'd me among these Caves was a Monastery with a Church all cut in a firm Rock The Vault of the Church was smooth and the Paving very even The Walls were painted in an antick fashion with the Histories of the New Testament with Images of Hermites and Saints whose names were