The Nile as a Sanatorium. 7 



Girgeh is the next town of importance, and here the 

 changes the river has made in its bed are curiously apparent. 

 When Pococke visited it, in the early part of the last century, 

 it was a quarter of a mile from the stream that now yearly 

 washes a portion of the town away. Long lines of buildings, 

 sapped at then muddy foundations, hang ominously over the 

 banks, to fall at the next inundation. 



Crocodiles may now be occasionally seen, lying in the sun 

 on sand-banks or low rocks, looking like great slugs, and 

 apparently unconscious of travellers. It is, however, extremely 

 difficult to get near one of them. They crawl lazily into the 

 water as the party approaches within gun-shot distance ; to kill 

 them is very difficult, as they have few vulnerable points ; if 

 they be wounded, they sink into the river, and go very far away 

 to die. As Nile travelling has increased, so has their caution ; 

 they were never bold, except at a sudden advantage. 



From Girgeh to Keneh, a distance of sixty-four miles, the 

 river again assumes a tedious monotony. Keneh is a lively 

 town, pleasantly placed amid verdant fields. It is the great 

 gathering- place for pilgrimages to Mecca. Opposite, at a 

 distance of some five miles, stands the half-buried temple of 

 Dendera. The road to it is over rough ground, sometimes 

 partly tangled by coarse desert grass. It is the first important 

 building of ancient date that courts the traveller's attention 

 after the Pyramids are passed. Nothing more perfect exists on 

 the banks of the Nile, or will better reward a visit. 



A grand chain of mountains, with outlines of a more 

 picturesque character than usual, bounds the cultivated land on 

 the African side of the river. It is generally about one day's 

 journey from Keneh to Negadeh. This latter place is remark- 

 able as one of the earliest towns where Christians congregated 

 in any number, and where they still live unmolested. A large 

 monastery stands in a garden adjoining the river. About ten 

 years ago it was calculated that this town contained about 

 3000 Christians, and not more than 500 Mahommedans. A 

 brisk trade is carried on in the manufacture of the coloured 

 cotton wrappers, used like the Scottish plaid by the native 

 inhabitants. The town has the look of a strongly fortified 

 place, from the abundance of tall towers that encircle it ; these 

 are, however, very peaceful erections for the breeding of vast 

 flocks of pigeons, bringing an income to its inhabitants. The 

 place altogether is a good specimen of an Egyptian town ; it is 

 enclosed by earthen walls, and shut in at night by heavy 

 wooden doors ; these open upon narrow lanes, from which 

 others diverge ; the whole interior being a labyrinth of gloomy 

 dusty passages, where all kinds of refuse festers in the heat, 

 uncared about. The Orientals are incapable of comprehending 



