The next station reached is Abû Tisht, with 2,751 inhabitants, and the next Farshût, with 17,237 inhabitants, 368 miles from Cairo, on the west bank of the river. Between Abû Tisht and Farshût is Muwaşlat al-Khârgah, or Khârgah Junction, where the traveller starts for the Great Oasis. The narrow-gauge railway (2 feet 6 inches) is seen right-hand side of the main line on going south. At Nag' Ḥamâdî, with 5,047 inhabitants, 373 miles from Cairo, is the iron railway bridge, 1,362 feet in length, across the Nile.

on the

Kasr as-Sayyâd, or "the hunter's castle," with 11,118 inhabitants, 376 miles from Cairo, on the east bank of the river, marks the site of the ancient Chenoboskion, i.e., the "Goosepen," or place where geese were kept in large numbers and fattened for market. The Copts call the town Shenesêt, which is probably a corruption of some old Egyptian name, meaning the place where geese were fattened. The town is famous in Coptic annals as the place where Pachomius (he died about A.D. 349, aged 57 years) embraced Christianity, and a few miles to the south of it stood the great monastery of Tabenna, which he founded. In the neighbourhood are a number of interesting tombs of the Early Empire. Passing the stations at Al-Dab'îh, and Fâw Ķiblî, with 11,346 inhabitants, at mile 387 from Cairo Dishna, with 11,443 inhabitants, is reached.

Kanâ (locally called "Ginâ"), with about 22,958 inhabitants, 405 miles from Cairo, on the east bank of the river, is the capital of the province of the same name. This city is famous for its dates and the trade which it carries on in the porous ware drinking bottles, which are made here in myriads. The Arabic name for this kind of bottle is "ķullah,", which is commonly

called gullah; its plural is either kulal, or kilâl,' or

Denderah.

قلال

A short distance from the river, on the west bank, a little to the north of the village of Denderah, stands the Temple of Denderah, which marks the site of the classical Tentyra or Tentyris, where the goddess Hathor was worshipped. During the Middle Empire great quantities of flax and linen fabrics were produced at Tentyra, and it gained some reputation thereby.

In very ancient times Khufu, or Cheops, a king of the IVth dynasty, founded "a temple here, but it seems never to have become of much importance, probably because it lay so

close to the famous shrines of Abydos and Thebes. The wonderfully preserved temple now standing there is probably but little older than the beginning of our era; indeed, it cannot,

in any case, be older than the time of the later Ptolemies: hence it must be considered as the architectural product of a time when the ancient Egyptian traditions of sculpture were already dead and nearly forgotten. It is, however, a majestic monument, and worthy of careful examination. Strabo says (Bk. xvii, ch. i, 44) of this town and its inhabitants: "Next to "Abydos is the city Tentyra, where the crocodile is held “in peculiar abhorrence, and is regarded as the most odious of "all animals. For the other Egyptians, although acquainted with "its mischievous disposition, and hostility towards the human race, yet worship it, and abstain from doing it harm. But the

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people of Tentyra track and destroy it in every way. Some, "however, as they say of the Psyllians of Cyrenæa, possess a "certain natural antipathy to snakes, and the people of Tentyra "have the same dislike to crocodiles, yet they suffer no injury "from them, but dive and cross the river when no other person "ventures to do so. When crocodiles were brought to Rome to "be exhibited, they were attended by some of the Tentyritæ. "A reservoir was made for them with a sort of stage on one of "the sides, to form a basking place for them on coming out of "the water, and these persons went into the water, drew them in a net to the place where they might sun themselves and be "exhibited, and then dragged them back again to the reservoir. "The people of Tentyra worship Venus. At the back of the "fane of Venus is a temple of Isis; then follow what are called "Typhoneia, and the canal leading to Coptos, a city common "both to the Egyptians and Arabians." (Falconer's translation.)

On the walls and on various other parts of the temples are the names of several of the Roman Emperors; the famous portraits of Cleopatra and Cæsarion her son are on the end wall of the exterior. Passing along a dromos for about 250 feet the portico, A, supported by 24 Hathor-headed columns, arranged in six rows, is reached. Leaving this hall by the doorway facing the entrance, the visitor arrives in a second hall, B, having six Hathor-headed columns and three small chambers on each side. The chambers held the priestly apparel and stores of the temple. The two chambers, c and D, have smaller chambers on the right and left, E was the sanctuary, and in F the emblem of the god worshipped in the temple was placed. From a room on each side of ca staircase led up to the roof. On the ceiling of the portico is the famous 66 Zodiac, ," which was thought to have been made in