Near
The West End Of Wady Mousa Are The Remains Of A Stately Edifice, Of
Which Part Of The Wall Is Still Standing; The Inhabitants Call It Kaszr
Bent Faraoun (Arabic), Or The Palace Of Pharaoh’S Daughter.
In my way I
had entered several sepulchres, to the surprise of my guide, but when he
saw me turn out of the footpath towards the Kaszr, he exclaimed:
“I see
now clearly that you are an infidel, who have some particular business
amongst the ruins of the city of your forefathers; but depend upon it
that we shall not suffer you to take out a single para of all the
treasures hidden therein, for they are in our territory, and belong to
us.” I replied that it was mere curiosity, which prompted me to look at
the ancient works, and that I had no other view in coming here, than to
sacrifice to Haroun; but he was not easily persuaded, and I did not
think it prudent to irritate him by too close an inspection of the
palace, as it might have led him to declare, on our return, his belief
that I had found treasures, which might have led to a search of my
person and to the detection of my journal, which would most certainly
have been taken from me, as a book of magic. It is very unfortunate for
European travellers that the idea of treasures being hidden in ancient
edifices is so strongly rooted in the minds of the Arabs and Turks; nor
are they satisfied with watching all the stranger’s steps; they believe
that it is sufficient for a true magician to have seen and observed the
spot where treasures are hidden (of which he is supposed to be already
informed by the
[p.429] old books of the infidels who lived on the spot) in order to be
able afterwards, at his ease, to command the guardian of the treasure to
set the whole before him. It was of no avail to tell them to follow me
and see whether I searched for money. Their reply was, “of course you
will not dare to take it out before us, but we know that if you are a
skilful magician you will order it to follow you through the air to
whatever place you please.” If the traveller takes the dimensions of a
building or a column, they are persuaded that it is a magical
proceeding. Even the most liberal minded Turks of Syria reason in the
same manner, and the more travellers they see, the stronger is their
conviction that their object is to search for treasures, “Maou delayl”
(Arabic), “he has indications of treasure with him,” is an expression I
have heard a hundred times.
On the rising ground to the left of the rivulet, just opposite to the
Kaszr Bent Faraoun, are the ruins of a temple, with one column yet
standing to which the Arabs have given the name of Zob Faraoun (Arabic),
i.e. hasta virilis Pharaonis; it is about thirty feet high and composed
of more than a dozen pieces.
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