_{Written by Julia Schulz}

Biography

Countess Ida von Hahn-Hahn (see fig. 1) was a German author born in Tressow, on June 22, 1805. After divorcing her wealthy cousin Count Friedrich Hahn in 1829, Countess von Hahn-Hahn began travelling throughout Europe and the “Orient”. Her journeys of the latter were being described in a series of letters which she sent to her family from abroad. The letters were published in three volumes as “Oriental letters”¹ in 1844 of which the third book contains her journey through Egypt.²

After she had converted to Roman Catholicism and entered a convent in 1850 Countess von Hahn-Hahn dedicated her later life and work to the Church of Rome until her death on January 12, 1880, in Mainz.³

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Aswan and Philae

In a letter to her mother dating from January 13, 1844, von Hahn-Hahn recounts her journey towards Southern Egypt. She reports how they departed Fustat on December 19 and arrived at the First Cataract after almost four weeks on the Nile the day before.⁴ She mentions that Aswan, approximately 2700 years before our time, was located at the northern tropic, but that it lost this position over time, due to the gradual shift of the obliquity of the ecliptic.⁵

Von Hahn-Hahn describes Aswan as beautifully situated on the eastern riverbank. She mentions, moreover, that the modern and the old Arab town were built upon Roman and more ancient Egyptian remains on a hill by the river and that the unburned bricks which were used for building the Arab town persist in oddly shaped piles of rubble: “Das Gemäuer sieht aus wie von Riesenfaust zerkrallt, oder selbst wie starre graue Krallen die aufwärts drohen.”⁶

Like many travelers also von Hahn-Hahn shows special interest in the granite quarries of Aswan which produced the red granite favored in antiquity. In relation to that we are informed about Elephantine’s small “Schwesterinsel”⁷ (sister-island) called Bidsha⁸ located opposite of Philae where according to von Hahn-Hahn the regional rose granite, also used for a gateway in Elephantine, originates from: “[…] und auf der kleinen Insel Bidsha, Philae gegenüber, wird der noch zehnmal schönere Rosengranit gefunden, von dem auf Elephantine ein Thor, als Überbleibsel früherer Herrlichkeit prangt”.⁹ Philae and Bidsha also present the next destinations for the countess and her company:

“Die Insel Philae vom Nil umgeben, geschirmt und getragen, ist eine köstliche Reliquie aus Ägyptens großer Ptolemäer-Zeit. Auf Bidsha stehen noch ein Paar Säulen zwischen denen einige Familien sich eingenistet haben mit ihren Schwalbennestern von Wohnungen; und eine Granitstatue sitzt da ohne Kopf.“¹⁰

Philae, so Countess von Hahn-Hahn, is covered in debris and enclosed by a wall which was once supposed to protect the “sacred island” against the waters of the Nile: “Eine Mauer steigt aus dem Nil auf, und schützte das geweihte Eiland gegen die Zerstörungen des Wassers; sie steht an manchen Stellen noch; […]“.¹¹ The temple remains are in her opinion in good condition because there are no modern settlements on the island itself. The countess mentions an obelisk at the landing place by the river, a double pylon, long porticoes, and temple halls:

“Philae aber mit seinem doppelten Pylonenpaar, mit den langen säulengetragenen Portiken, welche sie verbinden und zu ihnen führen, mit den verschiedenen Tempelsälen, die zuerst hell und frei sind und dann, je näher dem Innersten, dem Allerheiligsten, immer dunkler und geschlossener werden – Philae könnte noch jetzt [sic], wenn man den Schutt wegräumte, Einiges ergänzte und den grandiosen Aufgang vom Nil bei dem Obelisken herstellte, die Mysterien der großen Göttin feiern sehen, welcher dieser Tempel geweiht war.“¹²

The travelers continue their journey by land until Messid where they embark a boat to Wadi Halfa. They had to exchange the crew since the dangerous cliffs and currents of the Cataracts require skilled navigators in order not to shipwreck.¹³ Messid functioned at that time as a port for everything that went to Wadi Halfa and from there deeper into Africa by caravans. Aswan on the other hand was the hub for transport in the direction of Cairo. The merchandise had to be brought from Messid to Aswan by camels because of the strong currents around the First Cataract:

“Die Katarakten sind für Handelsschiffe eine große Störung, denn es ist zu kostbar und zu unsicher sie hindurch zu schaffen. Transporte zu Wasser von Wadi Halfa nach Kairo müssen in Messid aus- und in Assuan wieder eingeschifft werden, nachdem Kameele [sic] sie von einem Hafen zum andern geschafft haben.“¹⁴

A French merchant, established in Aswan, who just arrived with his own caravan of 46 camels from Dongola, tells von Hahn-Hahn that gold dust, elephant’s tusk and ostrich feathers are the main export products brought out from inner Africa. He, on the other hand, imports all kind of European merchandise like fabrics, equipment, glass and bronze jewelry.¹⁵

Sources

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