Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-25
TWO ANCIENT CITIES
Where Heliopolis and Mem
phis Once Stood.
GLORY LONG PASSED
PoPULAR TRADITIoM REGARDING
JOSEPH AND NARY.
The Step Pyramid and the Tomb Of the
Bulls-Recovery Of Valuable Col
lections Of Jewels.
BY WILLIAM E.. CURTIS.

Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star and
Chicago Record Herald.
CAIRO, December 26. 1903.
About five miles south of Cairo is the viii
lage Of Matariyeh, built upon part Of the
site of the ancient city of T4eliopolis, where
are a tree and sprig of great interest to
all who believe in the Christian religion
because Of possibly true tradition that
Joseph, Mary and the Christ child lived
near them during their exile in Egypt. 1t
is certainly not true that the present ragged
old sycamore was growing at that time, for
botanists agree that it cannot be more than
two or three hundred years old, but springs
do not grow old, and they cannot be moved
and this is the only sweet water spring or
well for long distance. 1t is now used by
the villagers for drinking and cooking
water, and the surplus for irrigation, and
is surrounded by a platform of heavy ma
sonry. where the women and girls come
twice day with big jars of red pottery
and petroleum cans on their heads and take
home the family supply.
We do not know and none can tell. where
the holy family went or where they stopped
but it is not only possible but probable that
they came to this place and found plenty
of Jews to offer them hospitality. A local
tradition makes this their residence for
about three years. while Joseph worked at
his trade as carpenter in the ancient scrip
tural city of On, or Heliopolis as 1T Is bet
ter known in history, for it had large
population of Jews. descended from the
eleven sons of Jacob, and Joseph, their
brother, who married the daughter OF the
high priest of the great temple. Jesus was
descended from one of Joseph's brothers,
who settled here with the rest of the fam
lily when Jacob came down to 1--we under the
care of his great and powerful son. For
this is the land of Goshen of the Bible, and
bc ISraolitpS did not leave EgyDt at the
exodus The spring and the tree belong to
the Greeks who have church near by
and little monastery
The Site Of Heiopolis.
All that remains of the ancient city of
Heliopolis is a single obelisk, one OF the
only two that remain in Egypt. All the rest
have been taken away and now stand IN
Rome, Paris, London. New York and other
cities The other is at Karnak. $50 miles up
the Nile. Nearly all of them were given
away by the Khedfve Ismai1, who did not
hesitate to rob his own country ana people'
and even proposed to tear down the pyra.
mids for building material. He presented
the holy tree and spring to the Empress
Eugene of France on the occasion OF the
opening of the Suez canal She accepted
them graeiously, but left them in the care
of the Greek priests, as they were beNore,
and have since remained. He presented the
obelisk at Heliopols to somebody else, L
have forgotten VINO Dut SoiIcUOuy eoo SSih-
sib1e to attempt to carry 1t away
HeEopolis a name which means the city
of the sun is called On in Genesis, and is
referred to as ''The House of the sun IN
the Mnevis Bull, sacred to ''Ra, the great
sun god of the ancient Egyptians, whose
temple was the largest and the wealth1est
In Egypt and supported thousand priests
Connected with it was the oldest, perhaps
the first. university in the world. and many
believe that the art of writing and the
alphabet were invented there we know
almost positively that 1T was the birthplace
or rather the original nursery of mathe-
matics Algebra, geometry, trigonomelrY
and calculus were developed If not actually
invented here. This was the home of Eucru
and it was where he worked out his prob
lens.
This city was destroyed by Cambeses, the
Persian, who looted the temple, massacred
the priests and laid the town in ruins. some
ancient authors say that colony of priest
" fugitives from here found their way to
Syria and built the great city temples at
Baalbec, which was also called Heliopolis.
and now in many respects rival the COLI
scum, the Acropolis of Athens, the great
Egyptian temples of Karnak as among the
most imposing ruins in the world.
An Ostrich Farm.
About half mile from Heliopolis is an
ostrich farm where about 400 birds are kept
in eorrals and pens for breeding purposes
and double their number almost every year.
The young birds are sold to zoos in every
country, being shipped from Alexandria by
steamer when they are between two and
three years old. We saw ostriches of all
sizes and ages, some splendid looking mon
sters as big as gfraffes and tiny little in
fants who came out of their shells oaly
few weeks ago. The old story about the
ostrich producing it's young by dropping an
egg in the desert and covering it up with
sand may do for school children, but It is
not believed down here. The manager of
the Cairo ranch says that the mother birds
sit ON their eggs just like ordinary fowls
and take care of their young with equal
solicitude. And 1 noticed when we APP
preached pen In which a female osrrica
was setting the male bird looked very
them rushed at US fiercely when the gate
was opened. nor would they calm down
until the keeper had convinced them that
we meant no harm.
Memphis Heap Of Rubbish.
The ancient City of Memphis. the first
capital of Egypt, and for centuries the
largest, the greatest and most magnificent
assemblage of human habitatiens known to
men, is now heap of rubbish, scattered
over an area Of several square miles and
partially covered by the most beautiful
groves of palms l ever saw. Acres and
acres of brick, some broken. some still
gether, show where the palaces and tenn
pies stood; but most Of the stone has been
hauled away for building. material and the
ruins have been searched again and again
by the Arabs for treasure. until now II is
difficult to trace the streets,
According to Heroditus Memphis was
built by Menes, the first Of the human kings
of Egypt, who turned the course Of the Nile
nearly 1909 years ago in order to secure
suitable site. But whether Menes built the
town or not, 1t is quite certain that 1t was
the first capital of Egypt and the fnscrip-
ttpns upon the pyramids and the walls of
the tombs around II tell as of its magnifi-
cence. Ft%was known in the early DAYS as
the 'white-walled city, and, according to
Dtodorus. the walls were thirteen miles
long In the year 1909 B. c., when the
worship of Apis, the sacred bull, originated
Memphis had reached degree of SPLEEN
dor that was not surpassed elsewhere for
many centuries.
The Statue Of Rameses.
Rameses the great. who was the most
progressive. audacious and powerful of all
the Pharaohs, set up here q magnificent