RUINS OF THEBES. 
161 
are vaulted in a peculiar manner, and the hiero- 
glyphics accurately engraved* The inhabitants 
of this district are a ferocious race, dark in their 
complexion, and different in their features from 
the other Egyptians, while the greater part of 
them, like the ancient Troglodytes, inhabit the 
caverns of the mountains. When Browne visited 
Kourna, a female inquired, Are you afraid of 
" crocodiles ?" and added laconically, *' We are 
crocodiles a denomination which applies 
accurately to the inhabitants of all the villages of 
the Thebaid. The ruins on the western bank of 
the Nile are not only less entire, but piled in 
greater disorder than on the eastern side of the 
river. The most entire are the Memnonium, or 
palace of Memnon, the palace of Medinet-Abu, 
and two colossal statues, celebrated for their pro- 
digious height. Some of the columns of the 
Memnonium are still about forty feet high, and 
ten in diameter. In one of the courts are frag- 
ments of an immense statue, one of the feet of 
which is entire, and almost eleven feet long. A 
colossal statue of granite, of smaller proportions, 
placed at one of the gates, exhibits an admirable 
specimen of Egyptian sculpture. The body is 
black, but the head is formed of rose-coloured 
granite. The peristyle of the palace of Medi- 
* Browne's Travels in Africa, p. 138, 
VOL. II, L 
