All to the south, in this desert, are vast numbers of Pyramids; as far as I could discern, all of clay, some so distant as to appear just in the horizon.
Having gained the western edge of the palm-trees at Mohannan, we have a fair view of the Pyramids at Geeza, which lie in a direction nearly S.W. As far as I can compute the distance, I think about nine miles, and as near as it was possible to judge by sight, Metrahenny, Geeza, and the center of the three Pyramids, made an Isosceles triangle, or nearly so.
I asked the Arab what he thought of the distance? whether it was farthest to Geeza, or the Pyramids? He said, they were sowah, sowah, just alike, he believed; from Metrahenny to the Pyramids perhaps might be farthest, but he would much sooner go it, than along the coast to Geeza, because he should be interrupted by meeting with water.
All to the west and south of Mohannan, we saw great mounds and heaps of rubbish, and calishes that were not of any length, but were lined with stone, covered and choked up in many places with earth.
We saw three large granite pillars S.W. of Mohannan, and a piece of a broken chest or cistern of granite; but no obelisks, or stones with hieroglyphics, and we thought the greatest part of the ruins seemed to point that way, or more southerly.
These, our conductor said, were the ruins of Mimf, the ancient seat of the Pharaohs kings of Egypt, that there wasanother
