Egypt and the Sûdân; handbook for travellers . 91 ).; see p. 15). The present name ol tlie [lillar is due tothe medi;eval belief that it marked the tomb of Poinpey the Great. —To the N. of tlie pillar is an anoient water-basin, to the S. are twosphinxes of red granite. About 55 yds. to the W. of Pompeys Pillar are iXm SublervaneanPassages of the Serapeum (p. 14; of little interest). We descend by atlitiUt of wooden steps into an open court, from the N. and S. corners ofwhich lonii passages are cut into the rock, with small niches of un-known purport. Continuing to follow tlie Rue do la Colo
Egypt and the Sûdân; handbook for travellers . 91 ).; see p. 15). The present name ol tlie [lillar is due tothe medi;eval belief that it marked the tomb of Poinpey the Great. —To the N. of tlie pillar is an anoient water-basin, to the S. are twosphinxes of red granite. About 55 yds. to the W. of Pompeys Pillar are iXm SublervaneanPassages of the Serapeum (p. 14; of little interest). We descend by atlitiUt of wooden steps into an open court, from the N. and S. corners ofwhich lonii passages are cut into the rock, with small niches of un-known purport. Continuing to follow tlie Rue do la Colonne Pompee and its pro-longation, the Rue Karmous, a little farther, and then diverging tothe right by the Rue Bab el-Melouk, we pass the small mosque oftianii cl-Miri and reach the entrance (PI. E.; F, 8) to the — ^Catacombs of Kom esh-Shuk&fa (Pi. F, 8; iiill of potsherds),lying on the 8. slope of a hill crowned by an abandoned fort and. now used as a quarry (open 8 till sunset; adm. 5 pias., June-Sept. 3 pias,; combination-ticket, see p. 21). This burial-ground,discovered in 1900, is the most important in Alexandria and prob-ably dates from the 2nd cent. A. D.; it is an admirable example of thecharacteristic Alexandrian fusion of the Egyptian and Grseco-Romanstyles. -Modern flights of steps on the side of the hill lead to the oldentrance, which has been restored. The chambers lie in severalstories one above another. The main chambers seem to have belong-ed to an Egyptian grandee, while round about are the smaller andsimpler vaults of his suite and dependents. The exploration of theinterior is facilitated by wooden bridges and electric light. A WrxDiNc; \si-; (PI. A), with a large ciicular light-shaft,descends into two stories of thicatacouib, the lower of which isgenerally under water; near the top of the staircase is a Sarco- 18 fioute 2. ALEXANDRIA. Cataroinhs. PHAGUS Chambek (R) ot later construction.
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