A pilgrimage to the temples and tombs of Egypt, Nubia, and ...

342 STABL ANTAR.
into the solid rock, which are supposed to have
been devoted to the mummies of wolves ; hence
probaby the name of Lycopolis, by which E'Siout
was known in the time of the ancients.
The road to Stabl Antar is rugged and difficult
of access in the latter part, but our wonderful
donkeys stepped up the craggy path like gazelles
at last, when we reached a very formidable look-
ing ascent, the two Saises, who had never quitted
my side, lifted me from my saddle before I knew
what they were about, and carried me between
them into the temple. The view from these
heights is enchanting; the environs of E'Siout
are charming, and the town itself, with its nume-
rous minarets and orange gardens, forms a
beautiful object in the scene. Besides, E'Siout
is, after Cairo, the most considerable town in
Egypt, as we afterwards found when we rode
through its spacious and populous bazaars ; and
although there is no architecture to be seen in
it comparable to that of Cairo, where every street
is a picture, yet there are very nice looking
detached houses surrounded by gardens, which
give an idea of ease and comfort rarely to be met
with in this half-barbarous country.
At one o'clock we had terminated our sight-
seeing, and we found Reis Ali very anxious to
;