VIEW ON THE NILE. ISLE OF RHODA, AND FERRY 
OF GHEEZEH. 
The Island of Rhoda lies off the shore about a mile from Cairo, and is reached from 
the city through olive-grounds which were planted by Mehemet Ali. The gardens 
of the island were rendered beautiful by Ibrahim Pasha, and are now so luxuriant in 
vegetation that its appearance to voyagers who descend the river from the south is 
hailed almost with the pleasure that an oasis is welcomed by the traveller in the 
Desert. A visit to Rhoda is one of the pleasure excursions of the Caireens, who 
visit these gardens to enjoy a spot so fresh and beautiful. 
The island is nearly opposite to Old Cairo or Fostat, and near to the principal 
ferry of the Nile at Gheezeh. It owes its name to the abundance and beauty of the 
roses which are profusely cultivated there, everywhere clustering, and as they overhang 
the walls, they offer one of the greatest charms of this agreeable island, filling the 
eye with their beauty, and the air with their fragrance. 
These gardens belonged to Ibrahim Pasha, and were laid out under the direction 
of Mr. Trail, a Scotchman, who was sent to Egypt for this object by the Horticultural 
Society of London. Walks through borders and masses of myrtle lead among groves 
of orange and pomegranate trees in full bearing, and trellisses of vines. Fountains 
surrounded and gratefully shaded by cypresses ; and the trees and fruits of the 
East, bananas and date-palms, mingle with the mulberry and the laburnum of the 
West, and all offer fragrance and freshness at every turn, whilst canals for irrigation 
everywhere wind and distribute their fertilising effects. Sometimes, however, extra¬ 
ordinary rises of the Nile have carried destruction for a time to these beautiful 
gardens. 
There is an interesting tradition that it was on this island, always chosen by the 
princes of Egypt for its beauty and retirement, that the mother of Moses placed him, 
among the bulrushes on the banks, and where he was found by Thermuthis, the 
daughter of Pharaoh. The localities of these biblical traditions give intense interest 
to the visits made in these lands; but there are travellers who, in the mere spirit of 
contradiction, boast of a scepticism which is weaker than belief. 
In our view the spectator looks up the river; the pyramids in the distance are 
those of Saccara. The busy and bustling scene near the great ferry is full of animation; 
picturesque boats lie near, and everywhere groups of Turks, Arabs, and Nubians, 
present subjects for the pencil of the artist. The tower of the Nilometer or Mekyas, 
within which is enclosed, in a deep walled square well or basin, the pillar by which 
the rise of the Nile is measured, is situated at the southern extremity of the island, 
on the spot marked by tradition as that where Moses was found in the bulrushes. 
The water stagnates within it, except at the season of high tide, and the whole building 
bears the appearance of dilapidation and decay, like all other buildings in Egypt, 
