422 



JOURNAL RELATING TO NUBIA. 



Turks. The whole town lies amongst palm-trees ; is built without 

 regularity, and bears marks of the ravages of war. The houses are 

 formed in squares of mud of one story high ; the roofs are of palm- 

 branches laid flat. On passing through it the night before, I found 

 that the inhabitants were lying on the outside of their doors, in the 

 open air on mats, each containing five or six persons. 



Having taken leave of the Aga, we returned homewards by the 

 water-side, which was lined by rocks of considerable height, some- 

 times close to the river, sometimes retiring and leaving room for 

 cultivation. I observed on some of them many hieroglyphic charac- 

 ters well cut, generally having the figure of some animal in the 

 centre over the inscription. I arrived at Deir in the evening, and 

 after receiving a visit from the little Cashief, I descended the river 

 with the stream. The boat was now prepared for rowing, and was 

 stripped of its masts and sails ; the boatmen keeping time to their 

 oars in a loud hoarse song. 



May 27. — We arrived at Seboo, where I landed, to examine the 

 remains of the temple there. The sand of the desart has almost 

 covered the portico and court in front. It consists of two pyramidal 

 moles facing the east ; they are not more than thirty feet above the 

 sand ; their front is in length ninety feet ; the gateway six in width, 

 and twenty in height. A cornice and torus surround the moles, and 

 the upper part of the gateway, which is twelve feet thick, and opens 

 to a court almost filled with sand, in front of the portico, whose roof 

 appears to be formed from the rock. It is oined to the moles by a 

 colonnade of three square pillars on each side, on the front of which 

 are disfigured statues in high relief half buried in the sand. The 

 entablature of this colonnade is of single stones from pillar to pillar, 

 twelve feet long, four broad, and three deep. On these and on the 

 walls are hieroglyphics and representations of a deity receiving offer- 

 ings, a subject very common in Egyptian sculpture. Two rows of 

 sphinxes led to the temple. The first was placed at about fifty 

 paces from the front. There are five remaining uncovered with 

 sand ; three of these are seen in full length above the ground, and 



