Ibrim is built upon an insulated rocky hill, just above the river, and is surrounded by barren mountains entirely incapable of cultivation, on the tops of which are many ancient tombs of Turkish saints. The houses are constructed of loose sand-stone, as is the modern wall which surrounds the town. On the west side are some remains of the ancient wall; this had been built of hewn stones cemented together with great neatness: the stones are rather small. It appeared to me to be an erection of the Lower Empire. Within the area of the town are the remains of two public buildings, probably Greek churches, built in the same style as the ancient wall. The castle is about fifteen minutes walk in circumference. A small gray granite column was the only remnant of antiquity it contained. The castle of Ibrim, with its territory, which commences half an hour south of Derr, and extends as far as Tosko,[24] is in the hands of the Aga of Ibrim, who is independent of the governors of Nubia; the inhabitants being thus freed from taxes, and paying nothing to their own Aga, had in the course of years acquired, by the annual sale of their dates, great wealth both in money and cattle; but the Mamelouks, in their retreat last year, destroyed in a few weeks the fruits of a century. They took from the Wady Ibrim about twelve hundred cows, all the sheep and goats, imprisoned the most respectable people, for whose ransom they received upwards of 100,000 Spanish dollars; and on their departure, put the Aga to death; their men having eaten up or destroyed all the provisions they could meet with. This scene of pillage, was followed by a dreadful famine, as I have already mentioned.[25] The people of Ibrim are often at war with the governors of Nubia, and although comparatively few in number, are a match for the latter; being all well provided with fire arms. They are white, compared with the Nubians, and still retain the features of their ancestors, the Bosnian soldiers who were sent to garrison Ibrim by the great Sultan Selym. They all dress in coarse linen gowns, and most of them wear something like a turban: “We are Turks,” they say, “and not Noubas.” As they are not under absolute subjection to their Aga, and independant of every other power, quarrels are very frequent among them. They have a hereditary Kady: blood is revenged by blood; no commutation in money being accepted for it when death ensues; but all wounds have their stated fines, according to the parts of the body upon which they are inflicted. A similar law prevails among the Syrian Bedouins. When a Turk of Ibrim marries, he presents his wife with a wedding dress, and gives her besides, a written bond for three or four hundred piastres, half of which sum is paid to her in case of a divorce. Divorces, however, are very rare. At a wedding a cow or a calf is killed; for to eat mutton upon such an occasion would be a great scandal to the spouse.