[Gutenberg 32720] • What We Saw in Egypt

Excerpt: ...then to the spot where Moses is said to have been found by Pharaoh's daughter. We could picture the cradle of bulrushes floating on the still waters; the royal princess coming down with maidens to bathe, the anxious Miriam watching with eager eyes to see what would be the fate of her baby-brother. Hugh and Lucy both said that it made the Bible seem much more real to them, now that they were in the very land where so many of God's wonders of old were wrought. We all felt it so, as we looked at the spot where Moses was preserved in his babyhood, while floating in his cradle in the very waters which afterwards at his word, by God's command, were turned into blood. Our next expedition was to the tombs of the Mameluke kings. We rode through a not very interesting part of Cairo to the "Bab-el-Nasr," or "Gate of Victory." The tombs stand at a short distance from Cairo, on the edge of the desert. Each has its mosque, with dome and minarets. In one, called El Kait Bey, there is the print of a man's foot on the marble slab. This is said to be the footprint of "the Prophet" Mohammed. It is within a covered enclosure which is open at the sides. The Arabs show their respect for it by touching it reverently with their hands, which they kiss afterwards. THE FINDING OF MOSES. Another beautiful tomb is El Berbook. It has been faced with red and white stones, many of which are still left. There is an open corridor on the first floor. The entrance-hall leads into the large court of the mosque, in which there once was a fountain. It has long ceased to play, and the ornaments are all in ruin. The dome was richly ornamented. The door to it was locked, and we could only peep through some holes at the beauties within. We next went to the tomb and mosque of Ahd Bey. The pavements, the windows, the grand arch, the ornamentation, all were beautiful. And the thought that the great Mameluke sultans, in whose honour these were wrought, made us silent. These palaces were not for...