ir rocky
base, lead the mind to dwell upon the mighty deeds of ancient days. The
forest of waving palm-trees, around Saccara, stretches away to the
south-west, shading the mounds of earth which cover the remains of the
vast city of Memphis, in comparison to which London would appear but a
secondary town: for if we may judge from the line of pyramids from Giseh
to Dashour, which formed the necropolis of Memphis, and the various
mounds and dykes and ancient remains which extend along the margin of
the Nile for nearly six-and-thirty miles, the extreme length of London
being barely eight, and of Paris not much more than four, Memphis must
have been larger than London, Paris, and ancient Rome, all united; and
judging from the description which Herodotus has given us of the
enormous size of the temples and buildings, which are now entirely
washed away, in consequence of their having been built on the alluvial
plain, which is every year inundated by the waters of the Nile, Memphis
in its glory must have exceeded any modern city, as much as the Pyramids
exceed any mausoleum which has been erected since those days.

The tombs of the Caliphs, as they are called, although most of them are
the burial-place of the Mameluke Sultans of Egypt, are magnificent and
imposing buildings. Many of them consist of a mosque built round a
court, to which is attached a great hall with a dome, under which is
placed the Sultan's tomb. These beautiful specimens of Arabian
architecture form a considerable town or city of the dead, on the east
and south sides of Cairo, about a mile beyond the walls. I was
astonished at their exceeding beauty and magnificence. Most of them
were built during the two centuries preceding the conquest of Egypt, by
Sultan Selim, in 1517, who tortured the last of the Mameluke Sultans,
Toman Bey, and hung him with a rope, which is yet to be seen dangling
over the gate called Bab Zuweyleh, in front of which criminals are still
executed.

The mausoleum of Sultan Bergook is a triumph of Saracenic architecture.

The minarets of these tombs are most richly ornamented with tracery,
sculpture, and variegated marbles. The walls of many of them are built
in alternate layers of red and white or black and white marble. The dome
of the tomb of Kaitbay is of stone, sculptured all over with an
arabesque pattern; and there are several other domes in different
mosques at Cairo equally richly ornamented. I have met with none
comparable to