DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5073#0068
NUBIA.
57
The small, but pretty Temple of Amada was the nest
. at which we stopped; it is situated on the western hank,
and commands a remarkably pretty landscape, and is
in itself more picturesque than most of the ruins of
Egypt: the sculptures are very lively and interesting,
and in some places very fresh; but the little Temple is
more than half buried in the sand. The next day a
very high wind kept us moored to the bank — the only
day on which we had imperfect weather in Xubia; but
we found amusement in watching the brown children
and girls who came down with butter and dates for sale :
they were very shy, and screamed frightfully if ever we
went near enough to pretend to touch them ; but at any
reasonably safe distance they would stand for an hour,
even the tiniest of them, shouting " Baksheesh, bak-
sheesh ! " We went on in the night, but the wind con-
tinued to blow, and our old tub of a boat rolled so
much, that — I grieve to say •— we were both sea-sick !
Koofideena (or Maharraka) occupied us the next
morning; an unfinished Temple, looking still as if fresh
from the hands of the builders, with its half-carved
capitals, yet now in ruins: it is very pretty and worth
seeing, though almost without sculptures, and not to be
compared with the noble ruin of Dakkeh, which we
explored in the afternoon. Here there is a fine view
from the summit of the great pylon, I believe, but sucli
a splendid mirage spread all around us during our stay
that we never rightly distinguished between the truth
and the pretty fable : the Temple itself is one of the
most interesting. Then came Garf Hosseyn — a coarse
travestie of Abou Simbil, nearly passing the " one step "
from the sublime to the ridiculous: the clumsy giants,
who are fast crumbling away here, bear little resem-
blance to the majestic figures in the other, reminding
57
The small, but pretty Temple of Amada was the nest
. at which we stopped; it is situated on the western hank,
and commands a remarkably pretty landscape, and is
in itself more picturesque than most of the ruins of
Egypt: the sculptures are very lively and interesting,
and in some places very fresh; but the little Temple is
more than half buried in the sand. The next day a
very high wind kept us moored to the bank — the only
day on which we had imperfect weather in Xubia; but
we found amusement in watching the brown children
and girls who came down with butter and dates for sale :
they were very shy, and screamed frightfully if ever we
went near enough to pretend to touch them ; but at any
reasonably safe distance they would stand for an hour,
even the tiniest of them, shouting " Baksheesh, bak-
sheesh ! " We went on in the night, but the wind con-
tinued to blow, and our old tub of a boat rolled so
much, that — I grieve to say •— we were both sea-sick !
Koofideena (or Maharraka) occupied us the next
morning; an unfinished Temple, looking still as if fresh
from the hands of the builders, with its half-carved
capitals, yet now in ruins: it is very pretty and worth
seeing, though almost without sculptures, and not to be
compared with the noble ruin of Dakkeh, which we
explored in the afternoon. Here there is a fine view
from the summit of the great pylon, I believe, but sucli
a splendid mirage spread all around us during our stay
that we never rightly distinguished between the truth
and the pretty fable : the Temple itself is one of the
most interesting. Then came Garf Hosseyn — a coarse
travestie of Abou Simbil, nearly passing the " one step "
from the sublime to the ridiculous: the clumsy giants,
who are fast crumbling away here, bear little resem-
blance to the majestic figures in the other, reminding