 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 May 1999 Issue No. 429 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
 |
 |
|
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 May 1999 Issue No. 429
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
|
|
|
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Books Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Egypt's ancient gateway
By Samir NaoumOnce one of the Mediterranean's most important ports, today's Al-Farma offers a different bounty to the spices, silks and goods that were shipped there centuries ago. Now it attracts visitors who are more interested in sightseeing and archaeological discoveries than buying trade items.
Situated about 20 kilometres to the east of Port Said, ancient Pelusiam was the point where the easternmost branch of the Nile met the Mediterranean in ancient times. It was an important port, a fertile area renowned for the quality of its fruit and a recreational spot of considerable repute.
Now the ancient course has dried up and the area around Al-Farma is of purely archaeological interest. But as one wanders around and finds a ruin here and a column there, history can be mentally bridged and it is possible to visualise the Mediterranean seaport which preceded Alexandria as a leading trading centre and where a great fort once protected Egypt's eastern border.
I approached Al-Farma via Ismailia where, in the Ismailia Museum, you can find monuments from the ancient Pelus (from which Pelusiam is derived). A bronze statue of the god Horus wearing the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt caught my eye, as did a porcelain statue of the god Amun with two upright feathers on his head and a sceptre in his hands. These dated back to the reign of Ramses II.
After crossing the Suez Canal we drove in a north-easterly direction. A chain of hills nearly 10 metres high and three kilometres long was our destination. This is where a series of churches (the Churches Hill as they are popularly known) have been identified. Five have already been excavated and a search is under way for Greek, Latin and Arabic manuscripts that might cast more light on the early Christian period.
A joint Egyptian-Swiss mission has been excavating the area since 1990. The team has identified the church of Saint Abu-Makhous. The Sorbonne-educated Egyptian archaeologist, Mohamed Abdel Dayem, is digging in this area for the church known as Tal Al-Makhzan (the 'storage hill'). This was the church I had set out to visit.
Its two-part structure is quite complex. The west wing was designated for prayers, while the eastern (known as the Rotunda) was where religious ceremonies were held. From excavations so far carried out it seems certain that a large square portion of the ruin below ground level probably constituted the main body of the church.
The structures that are visible above ground include a square-shaped hall containing the sacred altar to the east and two vaulted stairways with domes on top. They formed part of the original building and contained the coffins of saints. I was told that none belonged to Abu-Makhous and that the search continues.
A stairway to the north of the church was pointed out to me, with part of the original floor still in place. A baptismal font shaped like a cross was found to the north-west. It is lined with white marble and decorated with splendid coloured mosaics.
From there we went to the Rotunda, so called because of its two round-shaped walls. On the top of the inner wall there were marble columns which may have supported a gable-shaped ceiling, or perhaps one of the entrances to the church.
To the north were chambers, perhaps service rooms attached to the church. The architectural elements of the ruins have been strengthened and some restoration has been carried out.
Ancient Pelusiam once boasted a great fortress, 40 by 200 metres in size, with its four towers constructed of red bricks. Little remains today, but it is clear from surviving evidence that the walls were five metres thick in some places and that some of its columns were made of granite. It became a key position during the second Persian invasion of Egypt in 343BC. Egyptian and Greek warriors pitched their tents nearby and valiantly defended the fortress until forced, by superior numbers and expertise, to surrender. It remained under Persian control until Alexander the Great arrived in 332BC.
