THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 91 



=**#E3«^ 



CHAP. V. 



Voyage to Upper Egypt continued — Afhmouncin ', Rnins there — Gaiva Jvi- 

 becr Ruins — Mr Norden mtjlaken — Achmiin — Convent of Catholics 

 — Dcndcra — Magnificent Ruins — Adventure "with a Saint there. 



THE Rais's curiofity made him attempt to prevail with 

 me to land at Reremont, three miles and a half off, juft 

 a-head of us ; this I underftood was a Coptic Chriftian town, 

 and many of Shekh Abade's people were Chriftians alfo. I 

 thought them too near to have any thing to do with either 

 of them. At Reremont there are a great number of Perfian 

 wheels, to draw the Avater for the fugar canes, which be- 

 long to Chriftians. The water thus brought up from the 

 river runs down to the plantations, below or behind the 

 town, after being emptied on the banks above ; a proof that 

 here the defcent from the mountains is not an optic fallacy, 

 as Dr Shaw fays. 



We paired Afhmounein, probably the ancient Latopolis, a 

 large town, which gives the name to the province, where 

 there are magnificent ruins of Egyptian architecture ; and 

 after that we came to Melawe, larger, better built, and bet- 

 ter inhabited than Afhmounein, the reiidence of the Ca- 

 chefT. Mahomet Aga was there at that time with troops' 

 from Cairo, he had taken Miniet, and, by the friendihip 



M 2 of 



