GENERAL VIEW OF THE ISLAND OF PHILiE, NUBIA. 
Phim is at the head, and is the most eastern of the group of islands and rocks which 
form the First Cataract of the Nile; and the traveller who has ascended the river 
and reached Philse, has passed this dangerous navigation and entered Nubia. Philse 
is known to the natives as Giesirel el Berbe el Ghassir—the Island of ruined Temples. 
“ It is,” says Roberts, “ a paradise in the midst of desolation. Its ruins, even at a 
distance, are more picturesque than any that I have seen. To me it brought recollections 
of my fatherland—I know not why: I thought of the first descent upon Roslin Castle; 
though there are no points of resemblance, except, perhaps, in the high and barren 
rocks, which nearly surround Philse, to remind me of Scotland.” 
This view embraces the whole of Philse from the neighbouring island of Bigge, 
taken from a spot on the high rocks near some ruins. Its length is about five or 
six hundred yards. War burton describes the whole island as not being more than 
fifty acres in size, hut as richer, perhaps, in objects of interest than any spot of 
similar extent in the world. The prospect extends over an assemblage of temples, 
and the islet, amidst rich verdure, is strewn with marble wrought into every beautiful 
form known to ancient art; over prostrate columns palms are waving, mingled with the 
foliage and blossoms of the acacia. Around the island flows the clear, bright river, 
and on its brink lies the old Temple of Osiris, now called Pharaoh’s Bed; beyond the 
river green patches dispute the surface with the drifts of desert sands, palms, rocks, 
and villages; beyond all, and darkly encircling this paradise, rises the rugged chain 
of Hemmeceuta, or Golden Mountains. 
The Island of Philse was esteemed the most sacred place in the dominions of Egypt. 
Here their mythological legends placed the tomb of Osiris; and when they swore— 
by him who slept in Philae,—they gave their oath its greatest solemnity. The island 
at large was consecrated to the great triad—Osiris, Isis, and Horus; but the principal 
temple is supposed to have been dedicated to Isis. Walls and embankments of great 
strength have been built on the rocky shores of the island, forming strong defences 
against the river, or an enemy, and presenting a larger levelled surface for its sacred 
structures. The principal water-gate is seen on the left, which leads to the inclosure. 
Mr. Hay, it is said, has discovered a subfluvial tunnel or passage between Philse 
and Bigge, composed of well-constructed masonry, into which the entrance from Philse 
led by a shaft found in the ruins of the Great Temple. 
The Island of Philse was the boundary of the conquests of the French army in 
Egypt. Desaix, who commanded the first division, pursued the Mamlouks beyond 
the Cataract, and left an inscription on the doorway of the great pylon at the end of 
the avenue to record the event: it bears date the “13 Yentose, 3 Mars, An 7 de la 
Republique, de Jes. Chr. 1799.” How is that no Englishman, with the scribbling 
