The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part Fourth: Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey to Egypt and the Holy LandKnox, Thomas Wallace
General
The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part Fourth: Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey to Egypt and the Holy Land
Knox, Thomas Wallace
Egypt -- Description and travel -- Juvenile literature; Palestine -- Description and travel -- Juvenile literature
Pompey's Pillar is a single shaft of red granite, seventy feet high and
about ten in diameter, standing on a broad base and crowned with a
capital, the whole rising a hundred feet from the ground. It is supposed
that a statue once stood on the top, and there are some old pictures of
Alexandria where a statue appears on the pillar.
Frank and Fred wanted to climb to the top of the column, but were unable
to see how they could do so, as there is no ladder or stairway, and the
shaft is polished like a pane of glass.
The Doctor told them it had been twice ascended in the present
century--once by an enterprising woman, and once by a party of sailors.
In each case a kite was flown so that it came against the top of the
pillar, then the string was used to draw up a cord, the cord drew up a
rope, and the rope drew up a ladder. The ascent is easy enough when the
ladder is properly secured, but it trembles so much that a steady head
and strong hand are requisite to insure safety.
After seeing the pillar the three visitors wandered through the bazaars,
which repeated, on a small scale, the sights of the bazaars of Cairo.
They spent an hour or more in the great square in the centre of the
city, where there are several rows of shade-trees and some bronze
statues, and they visited two or three private gardens, which were very
pretty, and contained rare varieties of plants. They went to the
celebrated "Pharos," which is one of the earliest light-houses ever
known to mariners, and was built by Ptolemy Philadelphus at enormous
expense. It is said to have been a square building of white marble in
several stories, each smaller than the one below it. A winding road led
to the top, and, according to history, Cleopatra once drove a pair of
horses to the summit, and then drove them down again. The name of the
"Pharos" is perpetuated in the French word for light-house (_phare_),
but very little of the ancient structure exists to-day. It is still
maintained as a light-house, and is a welcome sight to ships seeking the
harbor of Alexandria.
At an early hour the next morning a procession left the door of the
hotel and proceeded in the direction of the harbor. It was composed as
follows:
Frank Bassett and Fred Bronson mounted on donkeys, and attended by the
drivers of the little beasts.
Doctor Bronson similarly mounted and escorted.
A servant from the hotel superintending the transportation of the
baggage of the trio on the backs of a couple of Arab porters.
A miscellaneous array of beggars, peddlers, and their kindred, shouting
for backsheesh.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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