DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14563#0122
A SUGAR FACTORY.
01
town. Opposite, the Arabian mountains rear their cream-
colored leafless masses along the shore, while in the rear
perspective looms the Lybian chain along the western des-
ert. As you approach the town, a bend of the river brings
rt into the crown of an arch that rests upon the mountains,
while the water multiplies its palms and minarets like a
quivering mirror of molten silver. I remember no view
that approaches it so nearly as that of Bellevue, in Iowa,
°n the Upper Mississippi. There is the same lay of the
land and of the town, and the same graceful sweep of the
river, but while the bluffs there are verdant, the mountains
he re are bare; and on the other hand, at Bellevue are
wanting the minarets and the palms. After all, there is
but one Nile. But the interior of Bellevue, though it is a
town of recent growth in the far West, presents an aspect
of neatness, of comfort, of thrift, which is wholly wanting
in any village on the Nile.
Minieh, however, exhibits more of these features than
most Egyptian towns. Many of its houses facing the river
are of burnt brick, two stories high, with roofs, glass win-
dows, and balconies; and in the suburbs are a few resi-
dences that would not disgrace the banks of the Connecticut,
■^ut these belong to European residents and to government
officials. The rest of the town exhibits the usual appear-
ance of a narrow, tortuous bazaar, and little crooked lanes
ot one story mud-brick huts. Minieh has one feature that
gives it interest at the expense of picturesqueness. Two
tall, well-built chimneys, one of which, in the form of a
hexagon, is as beautiful as a brick chimney can be made —
point out the site of a great steam sugar manufactory which
the Pasha has established at this place. The adjacent fields
ai'e planted with sugar-cane, which is watered by means of
a steam forcing-pump at the river. The cane" grows luxu-
riantly, and the sugar made from it is of an excellent
01
town. Opposite, the Arabian mountains rear their cream-
colored leafless masses along the shore, while in the rear
perspective looms the Lybian chain along the western des-
ert. As you approach the town, a bend of the river brings
rt into the crown of an arch that rests upon the mountains,
while the water multiplies its palms and minarets like a
quivering mirror of molten silver. I remember no view
that approaches it so nearly as that of Bellevue, in Iowa,
°n the Upper Mississippi. There is the same lay of the
land and of the town, and the same graceful sweep of the
river, but while the bluffs there are verdant, the mountains
he re are bare; and on the other hand, at Bellevue are
wanting the minarets and the palms. After all, there is
but one Nile. But the interior of Bellevue, though it is a
town of recent growth in the far West, presents an aspect
of neatness, of comfort, of thrift, which is wholly wanting
in any village on the Nile.
Minieh, however, exhibits more of these features than
most Egyptian towns. Many of its houses facing the river
are of burnt brick, two stories high, with roofs, glass win-
dows, and balconies; and in the suburbs are a few resi-
dences that would not disgrace the banks of the Connecticut,
■^ut these belong to European residents and to government
officials. The rest of the town exhibits the usual appear-
ance of a narrow, tortuous bazaar, and little crooked lanes
ot one story mud-brick huts. Minieh has one feature that
gives it interest at the expense of picturesqueness. Two
tall, well-built chimneys, one of which, in the form of a
hexagon, is as beautiful as a brick chimney can be made —
point out the site of a great steam sugar manufactory which
the Pasha has established at this place. The adjacent fields
ai'e planted with sugar-cane, which is watered by means of
a steam forcing-pump at the river. The cane" grows luxu-
riantly, and the sugar made from it is of an excellent