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PDF Economics 4Th Edition N Gregory Mankiw Mark P Taylor Ebook Full Chapter
PDF Economics 4Th Edition N Gregory Mankiw Mark P Taylor Ebook Full Chapter
PDF Economics 4Th Edition N Gregory Mankiw Mark P Taylor Ebook Full Chapter
Gregory
Mankiw & Mark P. Taylor
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treasure such as this, is it to be wondered that the natives of Egypt
spend so much time in looking for them?
Treasure hunting must be a most fascinating pursuit. But it is
seldom a remunerative one. Still it is a curious fact that peridots used
formerly to be known in the trade as “Esna peridots,” which rather
points to the fact that they were brought in to be marketed in that
town, perhaps by the road alluded to in this book.
When I broached the subject of Zerzura to the ’omda of Rashida,
he said he did not know of any place called the Der el Banat
(convent of the girls), but the old name of the Der Abu Madi was, he
said, the “der el Seba’a banat” (convent of the seven girls), and that
there was supposed to be a book and a mirror buried somewhere
near there. By following the directions contained in the book, and
then looking in the mirror the way to Zerzura would, he said, appear.
He told me—I don’t guarantee his veracity—that three years
before, while he was staying in an hotel in Egypt, a waiter had come
up to him and asked him if he were not the ’omda of Rashida. On
hearing that he was, he told him that he wanted to go to the “Der el
Seba’a Banat,” as he had read in a book of treasure that seven
hundred cubits to the north of the Der, there were three mastabas
round a round hill, and that under each of them was buried a pan of
large gold coins called gurban. He then showed him a specimen
which the ’omda said was very old, larger than a five-piastre piece
and very thick and heavy. The waiter told him he had found the coin
in the Nile Valley by following the directions given in his book of
treasure, and offered, if he would go into partnership with him, to
give him half of anything they found.
The ’omda had apparently refused this offer, and started digging
on his own account; but having failed to find the treasure, he was
very anxious for me to go into partnership with him, and said that by
combining our instructions we ought to be able to find something. I
was not, however, sufficiently sanguine as to the result to feel
justified in entertaining his offer—still three pans full of gurban. . . !
After a night spent at Rashida we started for Qasr Dakhl, stopping
on our way to visit Budkhulu, a poor little place with but a scanty
water supply. Like Rashida it lies close to the cliff that bounds the
oasis; but being situated at a considerably higher level than either
Qasr Dakhl or Rashida, the number of modern wells sunk in these
two districts are said by the inhabitants to have greatly diminished
their water supply. Its ’omda was only noted for his drunken habits.
On leaving Budkhulu we rode past the little hamlet of Uftaima, and
soon afterwards entered a stretch of soft sandy ground, a mile or two
in width, beyond which we could see Qasr Dakhl with its palms and
fields. This is the biggest town in the oasis, and is said by its
inhabitants to produce the richest dates in Egypt.
Approached from the south-east, Qasr Dakhl looked a singularly
picturesque and fertile place. The view of it from this side, across a
reed-grown pool, reflecting the palm plantation with the village and
blue scarp in the background, was one of the prettiest to be seen in
the oasis.
The Gate of Qalamun.
The houses all join up to form a continuous wall as a defence against raids, having
palm leaf hedges round some of the roof tops. (p. 48).
The ’Omda of Rashida and his Family.
The natives spend a great deal of their time on the flat house tops. Note the painted
decoration of the wall in the background and the open work crest of the walls. (p.
50).
Just before entering the town, we passed the Bir el Hamia, one of
the chief wells of the district, and the one from which most of the
drinking water of Qasr Dakhl is drawn. The water from the well,
effervescing strongly, rushed from beneath a stone platform that had
been built over its mouth into a large clear pool, in which a number of
the inhabitants were bathing as we passed, the water from this well
being hot, is considered to have medicinal properties. It is said to
have formerly been much hotter than at present; it is even stated that
eggs could be boiled in it.
The ’omda invited the whole party to lunch with him, and an
excellent lunch it proved to be. The sheykhs of this village claim to
be descended from the Qoreish tribe of Arabia, to which the prophet,
Mohammed, belonged, and state that they settled in the oasis about
A.D. 1500. They give themselves no small airs in consequence.
For a long time nothing happened. Then loud cries for help,
followed by the most piercing and blood-curdling shrieks were heard
coming from the temple, and they knew that the talisman must be
working, and guessed that the afrit was getting the worst of it.
Nothing more happened for some time. Then they heard a
crackling sound, followed by dense clouds of black smoke arising
from the temple. The crackling sound and the smoke continued for
some time, and then Rohlfs emerged from the temple, looking very
pleased and smiling, announced that he had found the treasure at
last, and invited them all to come and see it.
They all trooped in and found that he had discovered the opening
to the treasure chamber, which was a trap-door covering a flight of
steps that led down into a vault that was filled with gold and silver
and diamonds and treasure of all kinds, and Rohlfs was very
pleased.
Then they looked for the black man, but could not see him. At last,
in another part of the temple, one of them discovered the glowing
embers of an enormous fire, and in it were the charred skull and
some bones—the black man had been sacrificed by Rohlfs to
propitiate the afrit!
Several of the men present concurred in this story. None of them,
though they were living in Qasr Dakhl, had been present on the
occasion; but they had heard of it, and everybody in the oasis knew
about it.
They did not quite know what had happened to the treasure, but
Rohlfs had a very large caravan with him, and all the camels were
loaded when he left, so they supposed he took it all away with him.
All this was told with the utmost gravity, and with considerable
detail, and they all unquestionably believed the story themselves. Yet
it was all supposed to have happened close to their own village, and
many of them were not only living at the time, but must have been
young men and not children. They, none of them, thought any the
worse of Rohlfs for this sacrifice—in fact they seemed to think all the
better of him for having overcome the afrit.
CHAPTER V