312 Sketch of a Journey through Nubia and North Ethiopia. [May 1, 



pot, may be met willi at the lioiises of 

 the Sheich-el-boled, f m;iyor of a village,) 

 ill which Iheir wives prepare Iheir 

 coflee, wliich is sometimes f^iven Id 

 them hy travellers. On such grand 

 occasions tlic Kaim-mekama, (that is, 

 the soldier commanding the village in 

 the name of the pacha,) together witli 

 the most iatimiUe friends, are invited, 

 who, dressed out in their shirts, show, 

 in tli(;ir prond demeanour, the value of 

 such a distinction. 



Two loan-lies beyond Koshtamhe is 

 tlie beautiful temple of the aneicnt 

 town of Pselcis, Psclcha, or Pselche) 

 now called Dacke. 'i'liis truly fmel 

 cflifico was dedicated to Taut, the Mer- 

 cury of ancient Egypt, which may be 

 traced from the numerous iiiscri|>tions 

 on the moles. The bas-reliefs are 

 equally beautiful with those of Dendera; 

 though we may trace three epochs in 

 the anhitcctnre of this temple, as well 

 as in its ornaments. It may be sup- 

 posed tiiat the sanctuary was built first, 

 and that the other parts were added 

 subseipicntly. Two high moles, yet 

 rough iu the inside, contain a great 

 number of small apartments, whicli 

 were probably inhabited by the priests. 

 They formed, subsequently, a refuge for 

 monks, wiio sought consolation in their 

 siifi'crings from the sign of the holy cross, 

 whinh they engraved in them. The 

 temple must have served as a Christian 

 cluiri li, which may be supposed from 

 till! plaster with wliich the mythological 

 figures aie covered. A wall, four feet 

 high, surrounds the whole edifice. 



On the right banks of the Nile,- 

 beyond Dacke, are seen the ruins of an 

 ancient city, whose walls of uuburnt 

 tiles are tolerably thick and high. This 

 place is called Kubban, probably the 

 ancient Metacoinpso, situated on the 

 borders of Egypt and .Ethiopia- A 

 small Nubian village, w itii low huts, lies 

 close to these ruins. The Nile, which, 

 from t'le cataracts of Syene to Kosh- 

 tatnbe, lies nearly along the meridian, 

 bends here considerably to the south- 

 west. Wadi Kosii has preserved its 

 ancient name of Kosie, as well as the 

 ruins of the temple which once adorned 

 this city. Another temple, small and 

 xmcovered, is found iu Wadi-BItieli- 

 arrage ; and, according to the inscrip- 

 tion, bad been dedicated to Serapis. 



The walls within are surrounded by 

 a colonnade, but the pillars are without 

 capitals, the building having never been 

 finished ; but every thing indicates, that 

 it was an edifice raised by Greeks, 



They 



bian, heive-; but, under the age of five or 

 six, they do not even tolerate (his 

 encumbrance. Daughters of licli pa- 

 rents have their fringes ornamented 

 with bells and small shells, which are 

 obtained from the Bcdo\mK( Bcsfiarjti), 

 who wander between the Red Sea and 

 the Nile, for dates. The men, in gene- 

 ral, wear nothing but a white linen 

 apron, tied on the back. Sometimes 

 their slender bodies arc adorned by a 

 woollen shawl, aitificially thrown over 

 the shoulders, and forming a fine con- 

 trast with their black skins. The fea- 

 tures of the Nubians are rather regular ; 

 they are very dinerent from the negroes, 

 allliongh m:iny of them have the aji- 

 pcaiance of monkeys. These people 

 show, unintentionally, in every motion 

 and attitude of the body, a natural 

 nobleness and pride, almost unattain- 

 able even by our best artists. A white 

 linen cap, called in Egypt tahee, covers 

 their head ; however, they in general 

 wear their long hair curled, in the shape 

 of a broad frizzled periwig, plaiting it 

 in the centre of the head in thin tresses, 

 wliich hang down on both sides. Tliey 

 employ for this purpose a very gUifi- 

 iious kind of pomatum, made of a fat 

 species of clay mixed with oil. When 

 melted by the sun, this pomatum dif- 

 fuses a beavy sinell. The tresses are 

 longer with women, hanging down on 

 both sides of the face like fringes. 

 Married women dress like tiiose of 

 Egyjit. The cloth they use is generally 

 of a dark brown colour. Poverty 

 clothed in this stylo, in rags, has a more 

 liideous appearance thmi usual. All 

 the Nubians, but especially the women, 

 wear untler the left shoulder leather 

 purses containing amulets. The ob- 

 jects of luxury are very scanty with 

 boih sexes. The women wear bracelets 

 of blue beads round their wrists, and 

 sometimes round their ancles ; a copper 

 ring, with some bits of glass, through 

 their nose, and a bead neckla(^e. If 

 one of them can afford two additional 

 lings through the nose, and two large 

 copper ear-dropa, she considers herself 

 peculiarly favoured. A woman so 

 lichly adorned, going in tlie morning 

 with a vessel on her head to the Nile, 

 would excite the bitterest envv among 

 her companions. The men wear a 

 smooth copper ring in the left ear. 

 Small pipes, filled with green tobacco, 

 grown by themselves, form their kife, or 

 the highest sum of happiness known to 

 the indolent nations of the I'-ast. 

 Sometimes a cup, and an old coflee- 



