ese
again present new features to the traveller, for, unlike many we have
seen below the cataract, these Nubian dwellings are well built, the
mud walls being neatly smoothed and often painted. The roofs are
peculiar, being in the form of well-constructed semicircular arches,
all of mud, and in many cases the tops of the outside walls are
adorned by a kind of balustrade of open brickwork.

Half hidden among the rocks the native house has often the appearance
of some temple pylon, and seems to fit the landscape in a peculiar
way, for no form of building harmonizes so well with the Egyptian
scenery as the temple. Whether or not the native unconsciously copies
the ancient structure I cannot say, but anyone visiting Egypt must
often be struck by the resemblance, particularly when, as is often the
case, the little house is surmounted by pigeon-cotes, which in form
are so like the temple towers.

Like their homes, the inhabitants of Nubia also differ from those of
Egypt proper, for they are Berbers and more of the Arab type,
handsome, and with regular features and ruddy in complexion, while
many of the small children, who, excepting for a few strings of beads,
run about naked, are extremely beautiful. There is one curious fact
about these villages which no one could fail to notice, for while
there are always plenty of women and children to be seen, there are no
_men_, and though practically there is no cultivation, food appears to
be abundant!

The reason is that these people are so nice in character and generally
so trustworthy, that the men are all employed in Cairo and elsewhere
as domestic servants, or "syces,"[6] and though they themselves may
not see their homes for years, their wages are good, and so they are
able to send food and clothing in plenty to their families.

[Footnote 6: Grooms.]

As we ascend the river and approach the limit of the stored water, the
banks again become fertile, for here the water is simply maintained at
flood-level, and has not had the same disastrous effect as lower down
the valley. Here the scenery is very striking; bold rocks jut out from
the beautiful golden sand-drifts which often pour into the river
itself, or in sharp contrast terminate in the brilliant line of green
which fringes the banks. All around, their ruggedness softened in the
warm light, are the curious, conical mountains of Nubia, and on the
eastern side large groves of palms, green fields, and water-wheels
make up as