The Simoom in the Desert by David Roberts, R.A., signed with the name of the artist. From The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, & Nubia, 1855-56. Hathi Trust Digital Library online version of a copy in the Research Library of the Getty Institute. A simoom is a hot, dry, dusty wind blowing in the desert.
(continued from previous page 11) "....I was one of the first party who went away & our destination was Korosko a place between Assouan & Wady Halfa. We were not a large party six all told an officer corporal & 4 men. We left Boulak el Dahrue...
Part II Page 12
...by train for Assouet were (where?) we were to take the mail boat for Assouan & after a long and weary day of travelling we reached Assouet about 11 p.m. We passed the great Pyramids on our way up by train and the appearance of these although generally shown to be perfectly straight at its sides are on the other hand a rugged pile of stone work of immense proportions. I am unabled to describe them as fully as I would like to as during my stay in Cairo I did not go to see them although many of my friends did. I do not mind telling you the reason of this & briefly it was because we (were?) working every day of the week whilst in Cairo & as we only had Sundays to ourselves I did not care to go on Sundays, but most of our men who did go used to go about 4 or 5 together. They would hire a carriage & a pair for the day & take some provisions & spend the day there...The Pyramids are several miles...
Part II Page 13
...from Cairo so that it is necessary to have a day for it. So now we will resume our journey up the Nile. Having arrived at Assouet we made our way in the darkness to the landing place where we found the steamer waiting for us which proved to be a stern wheeler & in addition to being the mail boat she was used for ordinary passenger traffic. We got on board & took up our berth on the elevated deck without covering of any kind and was glad to lay down there notwithstanding we were laying head to head with the native passengers...on the following day we were permitted to see a little of the country through which we were passing for we travelled all night & not very fast...The country that is to say the fertile land after passing Cairo draws in very narrow & especially so after leaving Assouet in places not more than a few yards whilst...
Part II Page 14
...at others in may be about 1/4 mile wide & as the natives have to cultivate this ground & they generally grow 2 crops of corn a year & rain is a very scarce thing there they have to raise the water from the river by artificial means for irrigation purposes, which means is of a very primitive character...There are two systems by which they raise the water for irrigation purposes. One being a peculiar kind of water wheel & oxen & the other by manual labour. In all their labour the Egyptians generally accompany themselves with a song. We passed several villages & town(s) on the journey...Notably Luxor, noted for its fine specimens of ruined temples. There is also a monastry (sic) here & I think a station of the American Missionary Society...Edfu is another village where (there) is a fine old ruined temple. We were privalaged (sic) to stop & land here for 2 hours & we visited the temple & was greatly struck with the faded...
Part II Page 15
...beautiful architecture & the greatness of some of the stones used in building, one measuring 7 ft X 3ft 6in. & I cannot say how thick & it was placed at the top of the building. After 5 days we arrived at Assouan having travelled nearly 300 miles by rail and about 500 miles by water...near Assouan we saw a very fine specimen of Egyptian art in the shape of stone cutting & carving. I refer to a very fine temple with just a small entrance door-way cut & carved out on the face of an almost perpendicular cliff. This temple itself of course is within the doorway and is actually hewen (sic) out of the solid rock a work which must have taken a very considerable length of time & skill....(in pencil) for I am told that the carving within is very fine. On reaching Assouan our time was so limited that we had only time to load the baggage...
Part II Page 16 (difficult to read)
...off the train for transport over the rapids (?) after crossing whilst we (continued?) our journey by an old steamer without incident to Korosko taking (?) days."
At this point in the manuscript the narrative gets a little confusing as Charles switched from pen back to pencil. I went back and looked at the small notebook he wrote his original Part II in and found several pages that had edits and notations. As far as I can tell, this was how Charles originally wanted to describe his voyage to Korosko on the old steamer, but he edited out the details for his re-write in pen. These pages are faded and difficult to read.
Small Notebook
(4th line) "...After 5 days we arrived at Assouan having travelled nearly 300 miles by rail & about 500 by water. We had not time to look around Assouan on our upward journey but crossed by rail the length of land by which the river is impeded by the first cataract a distance of six (?) miles. At the other end we again took to the river & this time joined the vessel that served for a mail boat, an old paddle...
Small Notebook
....wheel vessel that I should say had done a considerable amount of service in days gone by, for we found .....(the rest of the page is faded and not quite readable, but I think he expounds on how bad their mode of travel was)...
Small Notebook
...taken by the crew. So we preferred to live & (diet?) on deck preferring that to going below with the rats. It was only 2 days & nights thus we were to be on her so we put the best side outward & as there was nothing of note & interest we agreed to make the best of it and eventually reached Korosko our destination for the time being..." (to be continued...)
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Map of Ancient Egypt. The journey to Korosko begins.
https://www.ancient-egypt-online.com/ancient-egypt-maps.html
Charles King spent three months in Cairo, fulfilling his duties as a soldier everyday but Sunday. He was most likely there through mid December of 1884 and was most likely engaged in planning and training activities in preparation for the push up the Nile.
He was then ready to travel with his small detachment from Cairo, leaving the port of Boulak el Dahrue (Bulak) to travel first to Assouet (Asyut) by train and then on to Assouan (Aswan) by stern wheeler. From Assouan he had a short train trip to bypass the first Nile cataract, and then boarded an old steamer for Korosko. He was assigned to help build accommodations for the incoming troops there.
In Edward M. Spiers The Gordon Relief Expedition (The Victorian Soldier in Africa) 30 July 2018, he describes how the expeditionary force travelled slowly up the Nile by rail and by Thomas Cook Steamers. Charles King travelled by a mail steamer that was most likely very similar to the one pictured. These steamers were under contract to the Egyptian government to carry mail, government officials and military officials. This publicity flyer was from 1890-92. http://www.paddlesteamers.info/Egypt%20Historical.htm
Meanwhile, the advance column of Canadians and the whaler boats had been making their way up the Nile, having reached the first cataract by November. The remainder of the column followed in boats, by foot, by horse or by camel. December 30th saw the start of the Camel Corps across the Nubian Desert. The Victorian Soldier in Africa Manchester University Press 2018
The trip from Assouan to Korosko was on an "old paddle wheel vessel" that was infested with rats, but otherwise uneventful.
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What did Charles King see on his trip up the Nile?......
Victorians scaling the Great Pyramid of Giza. "A rugged pile of stonework of immense proportions". Victorian tourists were allowed to climb the Pyramids and even take pieces of rock home with them, something not allowed now. Charles saw the Great Pyramids from a distance on the train.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-4223852/Vintage-photos-Victorian-tourists-Egypt-s-pyramids.html
There are many temples along the Nile River, and it is hard to say exactly what temples Charles saw and visited. It is a shame he did not have more time to sightsee on his way to Korosko, but he was, after all, a Royal Engineer with the British Army and had a mission to complete. The Victorian "Egyptomania" craze which had begun in the early 1800's was on the increase around this time. Popular travel companies transformed Egypt into the ultimate tourist destination. The Nile cruise had been created....
https://www.epoch-magazine.com/post/the-curse-of-the-victorians-in-egypt-tourists-on-the-nile
A modern map of the major Egyptian temples from Luxor to Aswan; stops you might make today if you were on a Nile cruise......
https://historiacruises.com/en/itineraries
A portion of the Great Temple, Luxor, signed and dated 1857 by Francis Frith. The sand was still being excavated from around the ruins.
Frith, Francis. Egypt and Palestine. 2 vols. London: James S. Virtue, 1858-1859. Hathi Trust Digital Library online version of a copy at the Getty Research Institute. Web. 3 August 2020.
Temple of Edfu. Charles King stopped here for two hours.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Temple_Edfou_Egypte.jpg
Kom Ombo Temple. Charles may have seen this from the steamer on his way up the Nile.
By Olaf Tausch - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=84219951
The Philae Temple in its original location. The first Aswan dam was built in 1898 and began to threaten the temple when the water level rose. With the building of the High Dam in 1960 plans began to relocate the complex in order to save it from complete inundation. It now sits on the tiny island of Philae, south of Aswan.
https://www.journeytoegypt.com/en/discover-egypt/philae-temple-aswan
First Cataract of the Nile...Library of Congress
- Good, Frank Mason, 1839-1928, photographer. Between 1850-1860.
https://egyptcitytours.com/hotel/karim-nile-steamer-cruise/
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