Antinoupolis in 1843 – the traveller John H. Allan

The English traveller John H. Allan went up the Nile, and published his account, with drawings, in 1843, under the name A Pictorial Tour in the Mediterranean (online here).

Coming back down the Nile from Nubia, he visited Antinoe or Antinoupolis, and included a sketch:

John H. Allan. Antinoe. 1843
John H. Allan. Antinoe. 1843

He wrote as follows:

January 31st. – Sheik Abadeh, site of the ancient Antinoe, founded by the Emperor Hadrian.  A walk the village brought us to the remains of a colonnade of granite pillars without capitals. At the back of heaps of rubbish containing many architectural remains we saw a large enclosure said to be the ancient Hippodrome. The direction of its streets is still to be traced running in a regular manner, and judging from the fragments, it must have been a city of great magnificence. A large portion of the ruins were used in constructing the Pasha’s sugar manufactory at Al Rairamoun, on the opposite side of the river, amongst large plantations of sugar cane.

I wonder what became of the granite columns?

Share

Leave a Reply