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362 
ers; but Herodotus informs us that he viewed every 
room in the upper part, in which lie found fufficient to 
engage his attention and to fill him wi h affonilhment. 
Innumerable exits by different paffages and infinite re¬ 
turns, afforded a thoufand occafions of wonder, while his 
condudfor led him from a fp'acious hall to a chamber, 
from thence to a private cabinet, and then through other 
paffages that led to the more fumptuous rooms, where 
the roofs and walls were completely incruffed with fine 
marble, and adorned with exquifire fculptures. The 
halls were furrounded with beautiful polifhed columns, 
and at the termination of the ! hyrinth ftood a pyramid 
of two hundred and forty feet high, decorated with large 
figures of.various animals. Other writers have afferted 
that this edifice was fmiate in the midft of an immenfe 
fquare, and completely furrounded with buildings; that 
the porch was of Parian marble, 'lie floors paved with 
vafl flags, and the roof appearing like a canopy of ftone^ 
that the interior confided of the temples of feveral dei¬ 
ties, and galleries that were adorned with a profufion of 
exquifite pillars, images of the gods, and coloffal flatties 
of the kings; that the paffiges were fo numerous and in¬ 
tricate as to render a guide indifpenfably neceflary, and 
that feveral of the rooms were fo conffructed, that a noife 
like that of thunder reverberated through them on open¬ 
ing the doors. Such is the general defeription of this 
wonderful Aruchire; a confiderable part of the ruins of 
■which, it is faid, may yet be feen at the fouthern extre¬ 
mity of the lake Moeris, and thirty miles diftant from 
the ruins of Arfinoe. M. Pauw, however, is of opinion, 
that there is no certainty of tliofe being the remains of it. 
The lake Moeris or Bathen, called by the Turks Birket- 
el-Kerun, is a vafl lake inland, in the province of Feyyum 
or Arfinoe. Herodotus pronounces this lake the nobleft 
and mod wonderful of all the works of the Egyptian 
kings. The .ancients deferibed it as meafuring 3600 fta- 
dia in circumference ; but modern travellers agree that 
its breadth does not exceed half a league ; that it is about 
a day’s journey in length, and that its circumference is 
about twelve or fifteen leagues, which will be found dif¬ 
fidently prodigious, when we confider that it was formed 
by human labour, as appeared from two pyramids, which, 
in the time of Herodotus, raifed their heads to the height 
of three, hundred feet above water in the centre of the 
lake. This lake in the deepeft part has fifty fathom wa¬ 
ter : it flretclies from north to fouth, and is fed by water 
from the Nile by means of a channel cut for that pur- 
pofe. Its conflrudion is attributed to a king of Egypt 
called Mceris, who formed his great defign for the pur- 
pofe of corredling the irregularities of the Nile, either by 
preventing the itagnation of the water in other places to 
the detriment of the lands, or by preferving an ample 
fupply when the river failed in its ufual prolific inunda¬ 
tions. An ifle, of about one league in circumference, 
may be dill feen in the middle of this lake; but no vef- 
tiges are difcernible of the two pyramids which formerly 
ftood here; though feveral ruins of tombs and temples 
have been dilcovered, with large figures of men and 
animals. 
Gizeh, which is confidered as part of the feite of an¬ 
cient Memphis, is a large ftraggling town, where Bona¬ 
parte erected founderies and manufactories of arms, am¬ 
munition, &c. It has little of antiquity about it, except 
the pyramids. Here is a palace, which was the refidence 
of Mourad Bey, elegantly furnifhed, and fituated at the 
extremity of an orange grove, by which all its apartments 
are richly perfumed. Here the oriental luxuries exhibit 
their charms, and fill the fenfes with voluptuous plea- 
lure. We do not here find, indeed, tliofe long alleys 
which are the pride of the French gardens, nor the tafte- 
ful ferpentine walks of the Englifh, where health and 
appetite are the reward of the exercife required to liirvey 
them; but in the eaft, where indolent repofe forms one 
of the chief luxuries, the tents or kiolks are pitched un¬ 
der the thick brandies of a duller of fycamores, and open 
at pleafure upon a fine lawn and fragrant underwood of 
oratige and jelfamine. To this,is added the voluptuous 
pleafure of enjoyments dill but imperfectly known to 
11s, but which we may eafily conceive ; fuch, for inftance, 
as to be attended by young Oaves, who unite to elegance 
of form gentle and carefling manners ; to be'indolently 
flretched on vafl and downy carpets, ftrewed with cufhions, 
in company with fome favourite beauty, breathing per¬ 
fumes, and intoxicated with defires ; to receive fherbet 
from the hands of a young damfel, whole languithing 
eyes exprefs the contentment of willing obedience, and 
not the conftraint of fervitude. Surrounded with Hiefe 
delights, the burning African need not envy the inhabi¬ 
tant of Europe ; and man may find luippincfs wherever 
there is beauty and grace, whether in the gardens of 
Trianon, or repofed on the banks of the Nile. Gizeh is 
fituated on the wefiern fide of this river, and nearly op- 
pofite Cairo, having the ifland of Rhoda, or Rotidah, 
almolt in the center between both. The communication 
is by a bridge of pontoons on each fide the ifland, one of 
which communicates with Gizeh, the other with Cairo, 
at fort Ibrahim, The old town of Kahira, Forftah, or 
Forflat, is fituated a little above, and more in a line with 
Gizeh. 
Modern Cairo, or the City of Victory, falls much be¬ 
low the expectation of every European traveller, who 
has read of “ the fuperb town, the holy city, the delight 
of the imagination, greateft among the great, whofe fplen- 
dour and opulence made the prophet fmile for thus 
the eaftern people deferibe it. We indeed fee a nume¬ 
rous population, and a vafl extent of buildings, but not 
a Angle handfome ftreet, nor one fine monument. The 
palaces of the beys, &c. in this town, are all furrounded 
by walls, which render the llreets gloomy inflead of en¬ 
livening them ; and the miferable habitations of the poor 
add to the afflicting view of extreme poverty. However, 
within thefe' fortified places much of convenience and 
luxury is to be found ; they are adorned with handfome 
marble baths, and, fragrant vapour-ftoves, with mofaic 
faloons, in the middle of which are bafons and fountains 
of water, large divans compofed of tufted carpets, raifed 
beds covered with rich Aiks', and-furrounded with mag¬ 
nificent cufhions, which generally fill three fides of each 
room. The windows, however, when there are any, 
never open ; and the light principally comes in through 
a dome in the center of the ceiling. 
There are fome remarkable edifices at Cairo, fuch as the 
palace of Jofeph, the well of Jofeph, the granaries of 
Jofeph ; all of which have been promifcuoufly referred 
to the high antiquity of the patriarch Jofeph, the fteward 
or minifier of Pluiroah. Were this the cafe, Cairo fhould 
be as ancient as Memphis ; whereas the flruCturesof that 
city are built of ruins more ancient than the edifices them- 
felves ; and they all bear the general marksof the mufful- 
man architecture of thefe regions. Dr. White, profeflbr 
of Arabic in the univerfity of Oxford, in his tranfiation 
of the celebrated Arab hiflorian Abdollatipb, publiflied 
in 1800, has been enabled fatisfadlorily to corredt the 
above errors, into which travellers of confiderable emi¬ 
nence have fallen. “ Abdollatipb informs us that, in 
the reign of Saladin, (whofe proper title was Salak-el-din 
JcJ'cph Eon Job,) Caracufh, one of his officers, built the 
wall which furrounds Foflat and Cairo, and the fpace 
between them, together with the caftle ; and that he alfo 
formed two wells within the cafile, of wonderful con- 
ftruction. Though Abdollatipb here ufes fhe dual num¬ 
ber, yet there is in fait but one well,' divided into two 
diliindl parts ; there being a refting place at the depth of 
146 feet, to which the water is firft drawn up by a wheel, 
which is there fixed, and worked by buffaloes ; and it is 
afterwards raifed to the furface by the operation of a fe¬ 
cund wheel of a fimilar nature. This well has always 
been known under the name of Jofeph’s Well ; and the 
appellation has miffed Paul Lucas, and almoft all our 
modern hifforians, to attribute the work to the patriarch 
z Jofeph. 
