DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.6553#0018
4
APPENDIX.
against the Arabs, who built near it the first mosque, and Fostat
the first Arab city, which were erected in Egypt. It is now called
Old Cairo, and has a -port, chiefly used by vessels coming down
the river.
NOMOS APHRODITOPOLITIS.
This district commenced immediately above Old Cairo.
Taiia Noub, which in Coptic signifies " the place of gold,"
is now known by the Arabic name of Atar el Nebbi (traces of
the Prophet). It is mentioned by the early Arab authors, and
seems to be connected with Venus Aurea, now called Gezeeret
el Daliab,— a place in the Memphite nome, on the opposite side
of the river.
Troja, now Tourah, supposed by Strabo to have been built
by the Trojan captives carried off by Menelaus, is situated at the
foot of a mountain, called by Pliny and by Ptolemy Troici
Lapidis Mons, and mentioned by Herodotus to have supplied the
stones for the erection of the Pyramids. It is composed of
compact limestone, which has formed the casing of the exterior,
and the linings of the passages and of the apartments in most
of these buildings. The mountain is at present known by the
name of Mokattam (the hewn), on account of the extensive
quarries which were worked in it by the antient Egyptians, and
which seem to have been abandoned since the time of the Pto-
lemies till 1838, when a railroad was made, by the direction of
Mahomet Ali, from the quarries to the river.-1
Scenas Mandras was, by the " Itinerary," twelve miles from
Babylon, and, according to the " Notitia," a military post.
Under the Emperor Leo I. it was the see of a bishop. It seems
to have been called in Coptic Alban, and is now Hello wan. The
town was either rebuilt, or restored, by Abd el Azeez Ebn Merwan
(a ruler of Egypt), who made it his residence, and adorned it
with gardens. The adjacent land is very fertile.
Aphroditopolis (by the Egyptians called Ipih, or Petfieh,
and now Atfeh, is stated, in the " Notitia," to be a military post,
and in the " Itinerary," to be thirty-two miles distant from
Babylon); according to Strabo, and to other authors, it was
3 This work was executed by Sir. Perring, who, in carrying the level
to the river, discovered several nntient tombs, which contained bodies
wrapped in yellow woollen cloth, similar to that found in the Third Pyramid
of Gizeh. See further account of these quarries.
APPENDIX.
against the Arabs, who built near it the first mosque, and Fostat
the first Arab city, which were erected in Egypt. It is now called
Old Cairo, and has a -port, chiefly used by vessels coming down
the river.
NOMOS APHRODITOPOLITIS.
This district commenced immediately above Old Cairo.
Taiia Noub, which in Coptic signifies " the place of gold,"
is now known by the Arabic name of Atar el Nebbi (traces of
the Prophet). It is mentioned by the early Arab authors, and
seems to be connected with Venus Aurea, now called Gezeeret
el Daliab,— a place in the Memphite nome, on the opposite side
of the river.
Troja, now Tourah, supposed by Strabo to have been built
by the Trojan captives carried off by Menelaus, is situated at the
foot of a mountain, called by Pliny and by Ptolemy Troici
Lapidis Mons, and mentioned by Herodotus to have supplied the
stones for the erection of the Pyramids. It is composed of
compact limestone, which has formed the casing of the exterior,
and the linings of the passages and of the apartments in most
of these buildings. The mountain is at present known by the
name of Mokattam (the hewn), on account of the extensive
quarries which were worked in it by the antient Egyptians, and
which seem to have been abandoned since the time of the Pto-
lemies till 1838, when a railroad was made, by the direction of
Mahomet Ali, from the quarries to the river.-1
Scenas Mandras was, by the " Itinerary," twelve miles from
Babylon, and, according to the " Notitia," a military post.
Under the Emperor Leo I. it was the see of a bishop. It seems
to have been called in Coptic Alban, and is now Hello wan. The
town was either rebuilt, or restored, by Abd el Azeez Ebn Merwan
(a ruler of Egypt), who made it his residence, and adorned it
with gardens. The adjacent land is very fertile.
Aphroditopolis (by the Egyptians called Ipih, or Petfieh,
and now Atfeh, is stated, in the " Notitia," to be a military post,
and in the " Itinerary," to be thirty-two miles distant from
Babylon); according to Strabo, and to other authors, it was
3 This work was executed by Sir. Perring, who, in carrying the level
to the river, discovered several nntient tombs, which contained bodies
wrapped in yellow woollen cloth, similar to that found in the Third Pyramid
of Gizeh. See further account of these quarries.