CHAPTER VII.

THE LAND OF GOSHEN—ANCIENT CANALS—SUEZ—HOWLING DERVISHES—ECLIPSE OF THE MOON AND STRANGE BEHAVIOUR OF NATIVES—LEAVE SUEZ—WHERE THE ISRAELITES CROSSED THE RED SEA—PASS MOUNT SINAI—CORAL REEFS ABUNDANT.

Our next move was on to Suez by rail, a day’s journey through another very interesting portion of Egypt, the land of Goshen, the home of the Israelites for 430 years. A good deal of country near the line of railway is now under good cultivation, supplied by the Sweet Water Canal. The earliest attempt that we are acquainted with to construct a canal was by Rameses the Great. It was between 50 and 60 miles in length, and left the Nile at Bubastis, reaching into the neighbourhood of Lake Timsah. Upon it Rameses built his two treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses near Ismailia,[93] mentioned in the 1st chapter of Exodus, and there is little doubt that the Israelites, who were then in bondage, laboured at these cities, and the canal 3,000 years ago. It is probable also that the canal dated far back beyond this time, for the Egyptians had been great in canal making 1,000 years or more before then. One of the greatest marks of Rameses was the covering the whole of Egypt with a net-work of waterways in connection with the river. They served a double purpose—they greatly extended the supply of water and the area of cultivation, and were invaluable for defensive purposes. Many centuries after this Pharaoh Necho took this canal in hand 500 or 600 years B.C. He undertook to adapt it for navigation and prolong it to the head of the Arabian Gulf. He is the only Egyptian monarch whose name appears connected with maritime enterprise, and he was so zealous as to perfect the formation of a ship canal connecting the Nile with the Red Sea. He carried the great work as far as the Bitter Lakes, and then abandoned it, warned by an oracle to desist, after expending the lives of 120,000 fellahs. Herodotus actually saw the docks, which as a part of the plan, he had constructed on the Red Sea. One conqueror succeeded another, and the works got neglected and the canal choked up. The Romans again carried on extensive repairs[94] and alterations, but on the downfall of the Roman Empire anarchy and confusion prevailed, and all public works were allowed to fall into dilapidation. The canals were choked up, and remained unnavigable till the Arab conquest of Egypt. Under the vigorous administration of Amrou they were re-opened, and corn and other provisions were conveyed along them for the use of Mecca, Medina, and other Arabian towns. A very great deal could be said about their ancient canals, but I have only time to glance en passant at a little of the ancient history of the places I passed by. In the evening we arrived at Suez, 76 miles east of Cairo. There is very little to interest or amuse at Suez, but here we were obliged to remain for nearly a week by reason of stoppages in the canal, which are frequent. The day after our arrival we took donkey rides down the Mole, which is 850 yards long, to see after our provisions, tents, &c., which Mr. James and his friends had got together for our campaigning in the Soudan. We found them, and there sure enough was a stambouk (a native boat something like a fishing smack) not only full but piled up with everything that we could possibly require, and the collecting of which must have necessitated a great deal of forethought. Two days after our arrival, Mr. J. B. Colvin, of Monkham’s Hall, Waltham Abbey,[95] arrived by steamer from Australia, to join us, thus completing the party. During our stay here there happened to be an eclipse of the moon. This appeared to have a very disturbing influence on the native element, as I should think that every tom-tom in Suez was called into requisition and incessantly beaten all over the town during the eclipse to drive away the evil spirits. If it did not succeed I have no hesitation in saying that all the good spirits (ourselves) would very soon have vanished if we could. We had ample time to explore the town both by day and night, and amuse ourselves as well as we could by donkey rides down the Mole, boating, fishing and bathing, but whilst bathing we were careful not to go far from shore for a header or remain in long, as sharks are so plentiful in the Red Sea. One evening, two or three of us were wandering about at night and heard strange noises issuing from a small building. We were sufficiently inquisitive to go up a narrow passage to ascertain the cause. There we found about a dozen very dirty howling dervishes in the odour of sanctity (a decidedly strong odour we thought) performing their senseless and absurd mode of worship with great energy. They were in a dirty room, having a damp, uneven, earthen floor, the dimensions of which were about 7 feet high, 7 feet wide, and perhaps 10[96] feet long. Very little light or air could find its way in. The weather was very hot, and the sudoriferous glands of these unsavoury gentry were in an abnormal state of activity. Need I say that we remained here a very short time? We were all thoroughly tired of Suez, and anxious to get on to Souakin, but unfortunately, amongst all the steamers blocked in the Suez Canal, we could not hear of a single one bound for Souakin. The Agra, a British India steamer, was bound for Jeddah, on the opposite coast, so Mr. James telegraphed to London, asking the Company to let us be taken to Souakin. They acceded to the request. Accordingly, on the 8th December, we got on board, unloaded the stambouk, and started off for Souakin, the port of Nubia, and indeed of Central Africa, since made historical by our slaughter of thousands of Arabs in that neighbourhood. The places of interest pointed out to us on the Red Sea coast were Moses’ Well, Mount Sinai, and the spot where the Israelites crossed. Here the arm of the sea is 12 miles wide, and just here Pi-hahiroth before Baal-zephon is the one and only opening in the mountains. Here one million and a half of the Israelites—men, women, and children—passed through in the night, whilst the army of Egypt pursued them. After a most agreeable but very warm voyage (90° F. in the shade) of 3? days we reached Souakin. During our last day at sea Captain Smith was very careful in his navigation, as the Red Sea, particularly in that last day’s voyage, abounds in coral-reefs.

[97]

LANDING PLACE AT SOU?KIN.