varying heights. The ruins at Semneh and Kummeh are of considerable interest from many points of view, and especially because they represent buildings which were primarily fortresses of of great strength. The two buildings, that of Semneh on the left bank, and that of Kummeh on the east ARGIN 2 nd Cataract WADY HALFA BATH AL-HAGAR DAL PHEN SUARDA DONCOLA CARGO ISLAND CEBBEN BERTI Abu Hamed Sth Cataract OMDURMAN KHARTUM BLUE NILE ABGA ISLAND SENNAR bank of the Nile, occupied posi- 3rd Cataract KERMA The traveller now finds himself journeying through the mountainous district called the Batn al-Hagar, i.e., the "Stone Belly," and a DANA ALCHAZAL LADO BO NILE FASHODA SOBAT BEDDEN VER Abu Haraz more terrible desert it would be difficult to find; blackened rocks and bright yellow sand meet the eye in every direction, and the heat and glare in the afternoon even in the winter months are very fierce. The next station on the line is Mughrât Wells, about 6 miles from the river, and 44 miles from Wâdî Ḥalfah; about seven miles further on is the Ambukûl Road Station, and 14 miles more bring us to Ambukûl Wells Station, 64 miles from Wâdi Ḥalfah. Here died "Roddy" Owen, of cholera, in July, 1896; on his tombstone in the desert was inscribed, "Under the shadow of the sword is Paradise." At 'Ukmeh in the Cataract, 20 miles from Ambukûl, and 2 miles north of Akasheh, is a sulphur spring. At Akasheh, 88 miles from Wâdî, Ḥalfah, an action was fought between 240 of the Egyptian Cavalry and the Dervishes, on May 1st, 1896; the Egyptians routed the Dervish force of 1,300 men, 300 of whom were mounted, and killed 18 and wounded 80. At Ferket, 103 miles from Wâdi Ḥalfah, a famous battle was fought on June 7th, 1896. The Sirdar (Lord Kitchener) attacked the Dervishes at 5 a.m., killed and wounded about 1,000 of them, including 40 amîrs, or chiefs, and took 500 prisoners, his own loss being 20 killed and 80 wounded; the battle was over in two hours. The Second Cataract begins at Ferket. At Kôsheh, 109 miles from Wâdî Ḥalfah, died Captain Fenwick and Surgeon-Captain Trask, of cholera, in July, 1896. On the Island of Sai, about 130 miles. from Wâdî Ḥalfah, are the remains of a small temple with inscriptions of Thothmes III. and Amenophis II., and a number of gray granite pillars from a Coptic church, on which are cut the Coptic cross. At the north end of the island, on the east bank, are the ruins of the Temple of Amarah. The foundations are of brick, but the columns, eight in number, are of sandstone, and are 3 feet in diameter. The temple measured about 54 feet by 30 feet, and the doorway, which had a column on each side, was 19 feet wide. It was built by an Ethiopian king whose pyramid tomb is at Meroë, on the top of the hill behind Bakrawîyeh. Six miles further south is Sedênga, where there are the ruins of a temple built by Amenophis III., and a broken statue. A little to the north, on the east bank of the Nile, is Suarda, which became the Sirdar's advanced outpost after the Battle of Ferket. Six miles to the south of Sedênga is Gebel Dûsh (Doshe), a mass of sandstone in which was hewn a tomb in the reign of Thothmes III. ; the spot is extremely picturesque. One mile further south is Soleb, near which are the remains of a large and magnificent temple which was built by Amenophis III.; they are the best preserved ruins of a temple and undoubtedly the most interesting of all the ancient Egyptian remains south of Semneh. The Egyptian name of the city of Soleb was and the temple wwwww Menen-en-khá-en-maāt mn 08 was built there to commemorate the king's victories over the Nubians, many of the names of the tribes of which are found inscribed on its walls. The temple was approached through two pylons. The court between the two pylons measured about 70 ft. by 45 ft., and contained six columns; the second pylon, 167 ft. wide, was approached by steps. The second court measured about 90 ft. by 113 ft., and a colonnade ran round all four sides; the columns, 28 in number, are 6 feet in diameter. The sanctuary was approached through two hypostyle halls, the second of which measured 78 ft. by 113 ft., and contained 32 columns 5 feet in diameter. Almost opposite the railway "triangle" at Dalgo, about 150 miles from Wâdî Ḥalfah, on the west bank of the Nile, lie the ruins of the Temple of Sesebi, which bear inscriptions of Seti I., about B.C. 1370. On the Island of Tombos, near Kerma, and on the banks of the river, at the head of the Third Cataract, 201 miles from Wâdî Ḥalfah, are gray granite quarries, in one of which the two statues, now lying on the Island of Arkaw (Argo), were quarried; nearly 70 years ago Mr. Hoskins saw lying here a broken statue of the same material 12 feet long. Al-Hafir, about six miles to the south of Kerma, on the left bank of the river, is famous in Anglo-Egyptian annals as the scene of the action between the Egyptian artillery and gunboats and the Dervishes on September 19, 1896. The Dervishes had made along the river a long line of shelter trenches, with loopholed mud walls, and they had five small guns, which were well worked by ex-gunners of the Egyptian army. The Sirdar's gunboats, Tamaai, Abu Klea, and Metammeh, attacked the forts; the Egyptian artillery kept up a strong fire, but it was the fire from three batteries of artillery and a Maxim battery, which were landed on the Island of Artaghasi, that silenced the Dervish guns. On the Island of Arkaw, which is about 20 miles long, are two gray granite statues, which, together with the pedestals, must have stood about 24 feet high; they seem not to have been finished. One is broken, and the other has lost part of an arm. Lepsius assigned the statues to the Hyksos period, but this is clearly impossible; and there is no reason for doubting that they belong to the period when the Nubian kingdom of Napata or of Meroë was flourishing. From their positions it appears that they were set up in front of the temple, the ruins of which lie close by, after the manner of the colossal statues of kings that were placed before the pylons of temples in Egypt. The temple which stood on this island must have been of considerable size. On the right bank of the Nile, near Arkaw, at Karmân, are the ruins of a very large town, and in the necropolis are the remains of two rectangular mud brick tombs which, in Lepsius' day, measured 150 × 66 × 40 feet, and 132 × 66 × 40 feet respectively; they are called Dafûfa and Karmân. Al-Urdî, or New Donkola, a little over 60 miles from Kerma, on the west bank of the Nile, was re-occupied by Egyptian troops on September 23, 1896. In the western desert, at no great distance from the town, are large quantities of salt deposit. During the revolt of the Mahdi this town, under the rule of Mustafa Yawir, who doubted the divinity of the Mahdi, remained loyal for a long time, and its people actually defeated the Dervishes at Ķûrta (Korti); finally, however, it was compelled to submit to the rebel, and the loss of the Donkola Province was a serious blow to Egypt. The town was large and prosperous, but, like every place which fell under Dervish rule, was destroyed. Old Donkola is situated on the east bank of the Nile, and is 155 miles from Kerma. At the present time it is simply a deserted town, filled with the ruins of mud-brick houses, and containing about 30 able-bodied men. The people belonging to it usually live on a little island in the Nile close by, and on the western bank. It is built on a rocky height overlooking the river and the Eastern Desert, and has always been of great strategic importance, from its commanding position. The current is very strong here, and the steamer in which the writer passed it in September, 1897, with difficulty made one mile in an hour. A fine stele, dated in the 8th year of the Nubian king N ̊stasenen which was found here some years www ago, proves that the town was of considerable size and importance long before the Christian era began, and in the second half of the sixth century A.D. the Christian king Silko, who defeated the Blemmyes, adopted the town as his capital. Abu Salîh describes it as a large city, and says that it contains many churches, and large houses, and wide streets. The king's house is lofty, with several domes of red brick, and resembles the buildings in Al-'Irâk; and this novelty was introduced by Raphael, who was king of Nubia A.H. 392, i.e., A.D. 1002." The Nubians are said |