The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1906-10-24
EGYPT BEING MODERNIzED
REAL LAND OF THE PHARAOHs
WILL SOON BE OF THE PAST.
The Screech of the Locomotive Whls-
tie Now Echoes Through the
Valley of the Nile.

valley Oh tlic NhC'
If one wishes to see Egypt, the
real Egypt of the Pharaohs and the
Khalifs, one must do so soon, says
writer, for today the land Of nlys-
tic charms and tempted wonders IN
which the history of the world was
Graded uncounted ages ago is I'M
dergoing transformation so won
derful and so swift that another de-
cade of the present feverish march
of progress" will surely spoil the
splendid picture for all time.
Seven thousand years of a Won
drous ancient civilization which
knew no equal in all the world have
left a chain of titantic temples all
the way from ancient Heliopolis TO
the mysterious land of the Soudan,
far to the southwark of Wady Halta,
like a peerless string of mighty
pearls a Thousand miles in length.
set in the glorious emerald of the
Valley of the Nile. But ruined tenn
pies and tombs alone remain to tell
of the pristine glories of the ancient
land of Khem. Gone are the mighty
cities of this wondrous valley. Gone
are the great caravans of stately
camels with their swaying burdens
of priceless oriental freight. The
screech of the locomotive now ech-
oes through the Nile valley. Tele-
graph poles stalk in endless process
sion along the crest of the L1byan
mountains, ever in sight from our
Nile boat as we journey from Cairo
to the First Cataract. Electric
lights shine across the ripping wa
tiers of the historic stream as we an
Choir at night opposite some third
rate Arab town of Upper Egypt; and
even the tombs of the Kings, those
stupendous sepulchers of Egypt's
mighty pharaohs of thirty centuries
ago, have been strung with wires
and are now lighted with electricity,
Thebes, the great city of Anon,
has vanished from the earth. Stu
pendous ruins alone today mark the
site of this wondrous city of hun
dred gates. which even the Greek
Homer described with amazement.
The desert sands sweep over the
broken ruins of temples, tombs and
splendid palaces of that far distant
age of the Pharaohs. Yellow lizards
crawl among the broken stones. The
crested hoopoe fits among the lone
Nv ruins. and monstrous bats inhabit
them by night. The primitive mud
huts of the fellahin are huddled I'M
der the shadows of the most splen-
did of these ancient temples, Whlle
about their stately gateways play
broods of coffee-colored children, the
destined future citizens of this dead
nation in a dying land.
At the first cataract of the ME,
the highest engineering skill or the
goth century has accomplished
work so stupendous as to deserve a
high place among the wonders or
the modern world; but the great
Barage of Assouan, although a Won
derful example of modern engineer
ing. and destined to reclaim mil
lions of fertile acres from the desert
lands. is vet a potent factor IN the
sad but sure transformation of the
Nile valley. The tempted Isle OF
Philae, loveliest gem of all this his
toric land, is doomed to destruction
bv the increased overflow at the time
of the annual inundatiOn; the water
rises since the completion Of the
great dam almost to the top OF the
superb temple of Isis, and that love
Hest of Egyptian shrines known as
"Pharaoh's Bed" During the period
of the inundation one may now pad
die about in a boat among the
carved lotus capitals of that splendid
colonnade where, last in all this land
of Khem, the gods of ancient Egypt
were revered Below the cataract
a great tourist hotel has been built,
and at night the electric lights from
its windows shine across the waters
of the ancient stream, even to the
historic Isle Of Elephantine.
The same touch of the 20th cen
fury is felt throughout the Valley OF
the Nile. Thebes and Memphis, the
mighty capitals of the ancient Egyp-
tlans, gave way in time to 'AleXan-
dria. the capital of the Greeks, whose
glory waned in turn with the as
tendency of the crescent, and Cairo,
the city of the Khalifs, became the
Arab capital.
HARVIE'S LATEST Spell.