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Edwards, Amelia B.
A thousand miles up the Nile — New York, [1888]

DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4393#0251

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KOROSKO TO ABOV SIMBKL. 233

Arabic land is too valuable in Nubia for either the living to
dwell upon it or the dead to be buried in it.

At Ibritn—a sort of ruined Ehrenbreitstein on the top
of a grand precipice overhanging the river—we touched for
only a few minutes, in order to buy a very small shaggy
sheep which had been brought down to the landing-place
for sale. But for the breeze that happened just then to
be blowing we should have liked to climb the rock and see
the view and the ruins—which are part modern, part
Turkish, part Roman, and little, if at all, Egyptian.

Thero are also some sculptured and painted grottoes to
be seen in the southern face of the mountain. They are,
however, too difficult of access to be attempted by ladies.
Alfred, who went ashore after quail, was drawn up to them
by ropes, but found them to much defaced as to be
scarcely worth the trouble of a visit.

We were now only thirty-four miles from Abou Simbel;
but making slow progress and impatiently counting every
foot of the way. The heat at times was great, frequent
and fitful spells of Khamsin wind alternating with a hot
calm that tried the trackers sorely. Still we pushed for-
ward, a.few miles at a time, till by and by the flat-topped
cliffs dropped out of sight and were again succeeded by vol-
canic peaks, some of which looked loftier than any of
those about Dakkeh or Korosko.

-Chen the palms ceased and the belt of cultivated land
narrowed to a thread of green between the rocks and the
Water's edge; and at last there came an evening when we
only wanted breeze enough to double two or three more
bends in the river.

" Is it to be Abou Simbel to-night?" we asked for the
twentieth time before going down to dinner.

To which Rei's Hassan replied: "Aiwah" ("certainly'*).

But the pilot shook his head and added: " Bukra" ("' to-
morrow ").

When we came up again the moon had risen but the
breeze had dropped. Still we moved, impelled by a breath
so faint that one could scarcely feel it. Presently even
this failed. The sail collapsed; the pilot steered for the
bank; the captain gave word to go aloft—when a sudden
pulf from the north changed our fortunes and sent us out
again with a well-filled sail into the middle of the river.

None of us, I think, will be likely to forget the sustained
 
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