^8 TRAVELS IN UPPER 



lievcd the monotony of the reddish pray of the 

 others. The b;.zavs, or phices for the resort of 

 inerehants, are very well arranged; the crowds 

 which frequent them announce an extensive j)o- 

 pulation, and some activity in commerce. The ex- 

 chequer has cstabhshcd there, for loaded vessels, a 

 taXj which is the more easily levied, as the Nile is 

 not very broad in this part. There is here a ma^ 

 nufactory of earthen vessels called hardacks, in 

 which the water acquires that coolness so neces- 

 sary in a scorching climate where you have fre- 

 quently occasion to quench your thirst. The 

 clay of which they are formed is dug from the 

 environs, and they are a very profitable branch of 

 industry to M'miet. 



Pillars of granite broken and overthrown, others 

 standing, and heaps of rubbish, indicate that 

 Minlel occupies the place of a more ancient city, 

 but tlierc is a diversity of opinion respecting its 

 name. Some have pretended that this was the site 

 of HermopoUs, doubtless Hermopolis the Great, a 

 cclebva^cd city distinguished thus from two others 

 of the same name formerly existing in Egypt. 

 Others arc of opinion that these ruins are those of 

 Cynofolls where the dog vv'as worshipped ; finally, 

 Mr. Bruce loo'fcs on M'miet as the ancient Philae, 

 However this may be, the modern city is nearly 

 fifty leagues distant from that of Cairo. 



Two 



