Part 3 (2/2)

The Sphinx is now much injured: and the sand drifts so fast from the desert that the s.p.a.ce where excavations have been made is soon filled again. Yet, defaced and half-buried as it is, it is grand beyond description. The ”Father of Terrors,” as the Arabs call him, is majestic in his mighty repose. There he crouches, guardian of the solitary desert and its solemn tombs. Thousands of years have rolled over his head, yet there he still sits on his lonely throne amid his silent court. There as long as the world lasts he will abide; grand, silent monarch of the desert!

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE SPHINX.]

It was long before we could tear ourselves away from the majestic Sphinx. But at last Mohammed warned us that if we wished to reach Cairo before nightfall, we must no longer delay. We remounted our donkeys. But though we rode at a quick pace, the sun was already setting before we reached our hotel.

Our first thought the next day was to find out all we could about the Sphinx. We searched our books of Eastern travel, and from them we found that the Sphinx originally supported a small temple between its paws.

The walls consisted of three tablets, the top of one of which yet remains. The middle one was of granite, and represented Thothmes the Fourth making an offering to the Sphinx. He lived about fourteen hundred and ten years before the birth of Christ.

The side walls were of limestone. They, too, were sculptured, and represented offerings made by Rameses the Great, He lived in the year thirteen hundred and eleven before the birth of our Lord.

There was an inclosure in front of this temple, bounded by a low wall, which stretched from one paw of the Sphinx to the other. The s.p.a.ce inclosed between it and the temple was about fifty feet. There was an altar for sacrifice in front of the steps leading to the temple.

In front of the wall was a wide paved s.p.a.ce, from which two large flights of steps went up to a paved road. This road led to the plain, and had a brick wall on each side to protect it from the sand.

The approach must have been very grand. A man coming by it would first be on a level with the breast of the Sphinx, and would have a full view of the altar and temple below. Then, as he went down the roadway, the Sphinx would seem to rise higher and higher, till he must have felt himself quite a pigmy, looking up at the vast figure.

The children were, like ourselves, very much interested in these accounts of the Sphinx, which their father had collected for us.

”Has any one besides Colonel Howard Vyse tried to clear away the sand?”

Hugh asked.

”Yes, Mr. Salt and Signor Caviglia excavated the upper portion and all the front of the figure. Colonel Howard Vyse continued what they had begun.”

CHAPTER VI.

THE MOSQUES.

This day was to be given to seeing the mosques in Cairo. We set off early, and went first to see the mosque of Sultan Ha.s.san. This is thought to be one of the most beautiful specimens of Arabian architecture in Cairo.

It was built in the fourteenth century, and the blocks of stone for it were brought from the Great Pyramid, of which these were the casing-stones. Inside, the mosque was beautiful. Rows of coloured gla.s.s lamps hung from the walls; some were especial curiosities, for they were the finest early gla.s.s-work of their kind. The arches also are fine, and so are some of the ornaments of the roof.

One sight was pointed out which made us shudder. This was the dark stain of Sultan Ha.s.san's blood on the pavement. He was murdered in the mosque by his Mamelukes. His tomb is just in the middle of the inner inclosure.

On it we saw a copy of the Mohammedan holy book, the Koran. It was splendidly illuminated in gold and colours. The sultan's tomb was once covered with a rich embroidered covering, but this was faded and moth-eaten when we saw it. The marble pavement, too, was broken in many places.

The mosque of Sultan Ha.s.san has always been famed for its beauty. It is said that the sultan cut off the head of the architect, that he might never build another as beautiful.

From the mosque of Sultan Ha.s.san we went to the mosque of Sultan Tuloon.

It was built about the year 879 after the birth of our Lord, and is said to be the oldest mosque in Cairo. It has double rows of handsome pointed arches. There is a fine view from the chief minaret. Our guide told us that it even excels that from the citadel. But the staircase is spiral, is outside, and in rather a ruinous state.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MOSQUE.]

On reaching the second gallery, some of us became faint-hearted and stayed to rest. Even from it the view was a grand one; but those who went to the top said that we had really seen nothing in comparison.

Lucy was tired and giddy when we came down, so some of us went home with her while the rest went to see the mosque of El Gh.o.r.ee.

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