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

870 PYRAMIDS OF SAKKARA.
Sakkara are scjfrcely worth the trouble of visit-
ing, were it not for the interest of the site they
occupy, and the splendid view they command
of the whole line of pyramids,—those of Dashour
to the south ; those of Ghizeh, to the north ; and
in the far distance, on the spur of the Mokattam
hills, the citadel of Cairo,-—beautiful assemblage
of the old glories of the Pharaohs, and of the
more graceful, but less durable, creations of the
Caliphs !
There are some fine tombs at Sakkara, and
we effected a descent into one of them ; and
found in its various chambers a profusion of hie-
roglyphics, in the very best style of art, and in
perfect preservation. But you will easily per-
ceive, from the tame tone of my letter, that T
saw nothing in the whole place to excite my en-
thusiasm, or even my admiration, with the excep-
tion of a beautiful sarcophagus, lying in a hollow,
at a short distance from the base of one of the
pyramids, which was exhumed three years ago,
and looks as fresh as if it had been made yester-
day. It is of slate-stone, of a very dark grey
colour, and is covered with hieroglyphics ; the
lid lies a few paces from it, and is already so far
buried in the sand that our guides were obliged
to remove the soil to enable us to see it. This