Six miles before Maufalouat, at El Hareib, are ruins of an old town in a ravine, in which are dog and cat mummies.
Near Maabdeh, opposite Maufalouat, are crocodile mummy-pits, difficult of access and dangerous.
E'Siout, the capital of the Said, and standing on the site of Lycopolis, merits a visit. The gardens are celebrated. Visit the grottoes in the mountain, if it be only to enjoy the beautiful view, which is, perhaps, unequalled in Egypt. The mummies of the wolf are occasionally found.
The remains of the splendid temple of Antaopolis have been sapped and carried away by the stream. A few stones only serve to point out its site at Gau (right bank).
Right bank. Shekh Eredi, where a Moslem saint, transformed into the form of a serpent, still performs very wonderful cures upon those who can pay. Some small grottoes on the left bank. To the west, Loohag, near the corner of the mountain, are remains of Athribi. Inscription in stone, in a ruined temple. Grottoes in the mountain.
To the west of this is the white monastery, Deira-bow Sehwoodee. It has very much the appearance of an Egyptian temple, having a cornice and tomb, and is supposed to have been founded by the Empress Helena. Like the other Deirs, it is inhabited by Christian peasants.
Right bank. At Ekhmin, nearly opposite Loohag, are remains of Panopolis. A large mass of stone contains a Greek inscription of the temple of Pan.
Left bank. Menshie, eight miles beyond Ekhmin, remains of a stone quarry. Ptolemais Hermii.
Left bank. Abydus, three hours' ride from Girgeh, and two hours from Bellianeh. Take donkeys at Girgeh and send the boat on to Bellianeh. When last at Abydus, I was entertained for the night at the "Deir," to the north or north-west of the village. The most remarkable monument is what Strabo has described as a "Memnonium," a very singular building, consisting of several parallel arches or arcades, leading, he says, to a tank, now concealed. The arches are _not_ masonic, but cut out of large masses of stone and it is this circumstance which has, in a great measure, given rise to the error, as to the arch not having existed previous to the Augustan era. The building was begun by Osirien, the father of Sesostris, and finished by his son.