Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-04-26
IN EGYPT.
Many Interesting Sights Witnessed
in the Course OF Il Journey
mp the Nile.

tween which points I now am, annie
some Of the grandest remains oftha
ponderous and bold architecture,
which has justly made the ancieni
Egyptians renowned In all ages
Even in this day Of steam, me
chanism and powerful appliances
the foremost engineers, architect.
and capitalists Of the civilized world
would be puzzled or non-plussed Il
called upon to erect edifices like
those erected thousands Of years age
in the land OF the Pharaohs. Im'
agine blocks Of granite or porphyry
from sixty TO ninetyfeet or more long,
by eight or nine square, a block OF
granite seventy-eight feet in every
direction, or statue, also Of granite,
Of which l can give only the fol-
lowing dimensions Twenty six
feet broad between the shoulders,
fifty-four feet around the chest, thir-
teen feet from the shoulder 10 the
elbow. This is the image Of Osy-
mandias (Memnon or SesOstrisl.
a description Of EdfOu consists in
the delineation Of an Insignificant,
dirty Arab village, full of flies and
bad OdOrs, in the midst Of which,
with sweeping majesty, tower two
pyramidal prOphyla, whose floors
are far below the actual level OF the
soil, and whose truncated SUBMITS
overlook the adjacent minaTei, VIII
lage and miserable huts perched
upon the neighbOring broad mound
of ruins which still conceal monu-
ments Of past eyes, which only crop
out a little here and there at pres
ent. The prophylon which forms
the portico Of the chief temple is de-
clared to be one of the most impOs-
ing monuments eXtant of Egyptian
architecture.
Each OF the sides is 100 feet in
length and 100 in height. Many OF
the figures sculptLned upon it in
bas-relief are 80 feet high, executed
in a lively and spirited style. In no
part Of Egypt are more gigantic
sculptures found upon a building
than on the walls Of the greater
Temple Of Edfou, where are whole
professions ofdeities, personages, pa
geants and rows Of caTtOuches or
heiroglyphics retain the original
lustre Of green, red and yellow pig
ments, placed upon them, like en-
amel, Thousands or years ago. Tne
architecture is vast and bold, the
execution precise and neat in the
extreme, but no where is anything
seen which could induce the thought
that the Egyptians Of old knew
anything Of the principle Of the
arch o. keystone. Had they known
how to build an arch, 1000 years ago
would have witnessed mammoth
bridges spanning the Nile.
In contemplating the ornamental
ton Of this and similar edifices, we
gaze with strange curiosity upon
those partial and cOntrastei pictures
ofreal life which we call hieTOglyph
les, and which are intended to
explain the why's and wherefores
that come 10 the mind while Scrut-
iDizing = host Of priests Iaylng
divine hCnoIs, or offerings, 70 the
scaTabRus orbeetle which Is upon an
altar; or the mystical Specification
Of Typhon the repalsive genius Of
evil, who often presides here in the
vast Temple Columbus.
The grottOes Of Eleithias further
down the Nile are extremely
interesting. In the paintings with
which the walls are covered are ex-
tensive illustrations Of the habits.
pursuits and modes OF living, Of the
ancient Egyptians. II tnis respect
they surpass anything yet found
along the Nile, As most monuments
Of the sort, and those Of Thebes
even, are confined TO the higher
ceremonies Of the religion and
hopes Of the next life.
Before explaining the nature Of
these paintings, l viii remark
something which applies TO all
Egyptian pictorial art. Ancienty
the pTineiples OF perspective were
unknown 10y the subjects OF the
Pharaohs, and as a consequence one
who views these paintings (other-
wise elegantly exeCuted) must not
expect to find anything Ike modern
paintings, almost true 10 nature,
like photographs, but has TO accus-
tom his or her eyes to conventional
lied pictures, objects or poses. For
instance, as tables formerly in
Egypt had only one central leg.
such table is uniformly represent
ed in these paintings Is the follow
ing capital letter, - !" the vertical
stroke representing the leg and the
horizontal the cut of the table
board and rim. If, for example, the
arts. wished to picture a table full
Of fi.id and bowls Of fruit, etc, an
enOr. NOus "T- is made, and above
this, as if in the air, are seen n leg
Of mutton, dressed ducks. geese,
loaves Of bread, etc, and
to figure bowls they would
place small half moons (crescentsl
or some things like a small capital
''U," meaning pot, in which fruits
Or liquids are made TO appear. After
The eye has accustomed itself TO this
species Of pictorial Interpretation, we
see a whole array Of Illustrations Of
rustic life. Here a man
and wife, richly dressed, preside az
! feast Of many sueculent things !
9ividly rendered. On the floor near
hem big monkey regales himself 4
rom 4 basket Of beautiful black |
grapes. a slave in leopard's hide ]
various dishes to the guests |
who are seated in rows. Farther /
long are musicians; a woman plays |
/ harp not unlike that OF our day, |
md dancing women, ike the AL /
nebs of the present Orient, comfort l
themselves strangely. In another /
Gene the master goes out to visit his
ields and labOrers. Here we are
hown how grain and corn are
ioed, plowed, sowed, rolled,
capped, gathered, winuowed, baked, /
urned out as bread and bis |
.uits, and embarked on Nile boats,
which singular enough have square
ais; whereas not n single one is
low to be seen on the Nile like IL.
This alone would prove that
Inciently the Egyptians under
TODD navigation better than their
noGern representatives Farther
long We see a flrmyard full Of
water bufialos, cows, sheep, goats.
uses, etc. Next comes the vintage
md the manner Of treading the
,raPes, and the process Of wine
Fishermen are next OBJ
erved catching fish with nets and
alting the same; water fowl appear
Ilso; and further along is a thanks
living feast, with offerings to Ger
ain doubtful gods. The men are
lainted red and the women yellow.
,robably because the artists did not
nov how to use the paints cor
ectly or had not those which could
'e mixed. Sometimes one feels almost
aimed at the trouble in which the
rtist must have found himself when
TO allot the colons. Thus,