Wilmington journal., 1874-07-17

Its total length is about 450 feet
| The breadth of the propylon, $50
feet, and the towers 115. A propylon
is the great gate at the entrance of
| Egyptian temples. It consists of a
| lofty gate between two towers in the
| form of truncated pyramids, and ris-
| ing far above the gate itself. In front
of the propylon is an avennc of
sphynxes, all facing each other in
pairs. The whole presents & most inn
posing appearance. Tho great court
yard of the temple of Edfol with its
magnificent colonade is very grand.
In the inner temple is found an i'm
mense shrine made of one block of
granite of the finest polish. The usut
profusion of hieroglyphics is found in
every part of this temple, with a great
variety of gods and goddesses, bear
ing heads of animals, such as lions,
rams, ,jackals, snakes, ibis, wolves, each
being an emblem of some mysterious
diety. The outer walls of the temple
are covered with bas-relief represent
ting scenes of Egyptian life, and as re-
markable for the freshness of the cary
ing as for the badness of the drawing.
1t is really astonishing that people,
so advanced in architecture and other
arts, should have been such very bad
draughtsmen, and their statues are as
bad as their pictures. Among the
scenes represented here are numerous
fishing and hunting sketches craven
deep into the walls and utterly defiant
of perspective and proportion. One
of them which is very often repeated
on the walls represents ahunter stand
ing in crescent shaped boat, not as
long as the hunter is high. The water
is represented by parallel curved lines.
The hunter has just thrown his har
poon and it has pierced,a hippopotamus
at the bottom of the water, but the ami
NAL is just about the size of the hun
ter's hand, and in proportion, is more
like a rat than hippo-though there
can be no doubt that he is intended
for the latter. The temple of Edfou
is of Ptolemaic construction and dates
back 250years B. G. One of the most
striking hyeroglyphics [ saw IN
it is the Egyptian symbol of goodness.
1t consists of heart sJlrmounted by
cross with two horizontal bars instead
of one, the higher being little
shorter than the lower. It resembles
very much n Christian emblem, but
there is no doubt of its being used by
the Egyptians centuries before the
Christian era.
Just opposite Edfou is great steam
pump, which serves to irrigate vast
surface of land. The plain expands
greatly on each side of the river, and
from the top of the propylin of Edfou,
to which we ascended, the view is
magnificent. The land was covered
with luxuriant crops of tobacco, cot
ton, cane, dourah, &C., extending to
the hills on each side. A great guam
tity of cattle and sheep were also to
be seen in every direction, and the
ever present palm trees added their
charm to the scenery. Close by the
quarters of the engineer in charge Of
the pump is q most beautiful garden,
abundantly watered, and containing q
prOfusiOn of flowers, whose fragrance
could be perceived far out on the
river. Besides there were trees of
many kinds, lemon, orange, pomegran-
ate, fig, palm, vines and even pear and
apple trees, though the climate is IN
favorable TO tho latter.
In my next [ will describe my visit
to Thebes, Luxor and karnak, and to
the tombs of the Kings and the CO.
lossl of Memonn
Yours truly, G..