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| Elephantine
and Philae Islands |
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Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 4, p. 226. |
On the Island of
Elephantine
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Before Aswān is reached the Nile is divided into two streams by the island of
Elephantinź, of which it is usual to remark that nothing could be more lovely or
verdant. Honesty, however, compels us to admit that these epithets belong rather
to the eternal fitness of things than to the particular facts of the case. In
any other land but this, where everything is parched and burnt, Elephantinź
would be called a barren brown baked little island, saved from decided ugliness
by a few patches of green and a picturesque belt of palms . . . .In Egypt,
however, it is difficult for the traveller to preserve his mental balance and
judge unromantically, and Elephantinź has acquired a factitious charm by a sort
of reflected enthusiasm. (Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 4, pp. 222-23.) |
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The Approach to Philae |
Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 4, p. 230. |
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At length we reach the river again; but now
we are above the Cataract. A boat is ready and
assistance is clamorously proffered, and we
row across to Philę. The approach to the
island is very beautiful. On either hand great
bare shining rocks, black and grey, tower
against the sky, while between them, through
an opening, appears the little island, with
palms in the foreground, and the
well-preserved pylon of the Temple of Isis
rising out of the green . . . .Its position
is, indeed, almost unrivalled, and there is
nothing in Philę so beautiful as the view from
the summit of the larger pylon. The girdling
hills that bound the prospect on all sides,
the sweep of placid water running under the
palms, the savage rocks beyond, all lend an
enchantment to the scene which the memories of
the island's history serve to enhance.
(Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 4, pp.
230-31.) |
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Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 4,
facing p. 221. |
Philae |
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Philę does not indeed belong to the great days
when a Thothmes or a Rameses conquered distant
nations and commemorated his deeds on the
walls of his temples. It is the work of
Ptolemies and Cęsars. But its associations are
more important than its architecture. "It
shared with Abydos and some other places the
reputation of being the burial-place of Osiris.
It was called 'the Holy Island.' Its very soil
was sacred. None might land upon its shores,
or even approach them too nearly, without
permission. To obtain that permission and
perform the pilgrimage to the tomb of the god,
was to the pious Egyptian what the Mekka
pilgrimage is to the pious Mussulman of
to-day. The most solemn oath to which he could
give utterance was 'By him who sleeps in Philę.'"
(Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 4, pp.
231-233.) |
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General View of Philae, Taken from Bibbeh |
Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 4, p. 228. |
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"At length, however, there must have come a
day when for the last time the tomb of the god
was crowned with flowers and the 'Lamentations
of Isis' were recited on the threshold of the
sanctuary. And there must have been another
day when the cross was carried in triumph up
those painted colonnade; and the first
Christian mass was chanted in the precincts of
the heathen.-A small basilica was built at the
lower end of the island, the portico of the
great temple was converted into a chapel and
dedicated to St. Stephen. 'This good work,'
says a Greek inscription traced by some
monkish hand of the period, 'was done by the
well-beloved of God, the Abbot Bishop
Theodore.'-The little basilica, we may be
sure, had a cluster of mud huts upon the roof,
and I fancy that the abbot and his monks
installed themselves in that row of cells in
the east side of the great colonnade, where
the priests of Isis dwelt before them."
(Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 4, pp.
233-234.) |
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See
Nile River,
Flooding of
the Nile River,
Water in Egypt,
or
Giza
Pyramids and Sphinx |
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