K'lllAM. 



KOTPT. 



bitter ssJta. Here an the springs of PlUlna, SaitUktitt, and Stdlii*, 

 miserable villages, not frequented as watering-places ; bat water from the 

 Brings to which they give name U evaporated, and the aalU that remain 

 are exported in Urn quantities. To the north of Brux, and at the foot 

 of the Ergebg*U\e large Cistordn oca vent of Oiseg. 8cUa<*m- 

 tnl.l, or ScUaggemwaU, 20 mile* E. from Eger, in a valley screened by 

 forwt-clad offiihooU of the Boamerwalde, and near the left bank of the 

 Topi, hat about 3000 inhabitant*, who manufacture woollen cloth, 

 pnmalain, and tin and pewter ware, and work in the neighbouring tin- 

 lai Tktrtntmiladt, a strongly fortified town, built by the emperor 

 Joeeph II. in the midst of the moraaMa at the junction of the Eger 

 with the Elbe, ha* a population of nbout 1500, exclusive of the mili- 

 tary. The defence* of the place are very strong ; the country round 

 it can be inundated by means of sluice*. The situation however is 

 nnhealth v. Tt-jJii:, the famous watering-place, is noticed in a separate 

 article. [Tbrun.] 



EOHAlf. [SOKRKT.l 



EGHIN. [ARMENIA.] 



EORKMONT. (CtMi.rm.AKD.] 



EORIP06. [ECBOU.J 



EOTAO-ALTAI MOUNTAINS. [ALTAI MotTNTAWB.] 



KiiYPT, AND EGYPTIANS. Egypt (Mia- or Miiraim in Hebrew, 

 M<ur in Arabic, and Ckamt or Ckttnt in Coptic) ia within the limits of 

 Africa, though bordering on Ana. It is bounded N. by the Mediter- 

 ranean ; E. by the little river of El-Arish, on the borders of Palestine 

 and the Syrian or Arabian Desert, which extends from the Mediter- 

 ranean to the Gulf of Suez, and thence southward by the west coast 

 of the Red Sea ; and W. by the Libyan Desert. Egypt Proper is 

 merely the long narrow valley of the Nile, below the rapids or 

 cataracts of Assouan, the ancient Syene, which have been regarded as 

 the southern boundary from the oldest time. But the political limits 

 of Egypt have extended both in ancient and modern times further 

 south along the Valley of the Nile into the country known by the 

 general name of Nubia, and in modern times over the western desert 

 as far a* the Oases, and the eastern country to the Red Sea. The 

 length of Egypt from the cataracts of Syene, 24 3' N. lat., to the 

 most northern point of the Delta on the Mediterranean, 31 37' N. lat., 

 Measures on the map about 600 English miles ; but the length of the 

 cultivated part* of Kgypt, or the Valley of the Nile, is, including the 

 Delta, at least a hundred miles more. The Valley of the Nile and the 

 Delta are the only parto, excepting the Oases, where there is a settled 

 population. We may therefore consider Egypt under each of these 

 four great divisions:!. The Valley of the Nile; 2. The Delta; 

 8. The Western Desert and the Oases therein inclosed; 4. The Eastern 

 country towards the Red Sea. 



1. Valley of tlu Nile. The Nile coming from Nubia runs through 

 a deep and narrow valley sunk between two ridges of rocky hills, 

 which rise in some places more than 1000 feet above the level of the 

 river. The breadth of the valley varies considerably, but it is seldom 

 more than 10 miles, and in many places, especially in Upper Egypt, it 

 is not two mile*, including the breadth of the river, which varies from 

 8000 to 4000 feet. In its course within Egypt the Nile contains 

 numerous islands. From Assouan to Selseleh a distance of about 

 40 miles, the river runs nearly in the middle of the valley, leaving 

 little cultivable land on each side. As we advance northward the 

 western ridge recedes from the river, so as to leave a space of several 

 mile* between the left bank and the foot of the hills, while the east 

 chain keeps closer to the corresponding or right bonk of the Nile. 

 North of Keneh the river forms a great bend to the west and north- 

 west as far as Minyeh (28 8' N. lat), near which it reaches its western- 

 most point, which is about 120 miles to the west of the longitude of 

 Keneh ; it then inclines again to the north-east a few miles beyond 

 Benisouef, after which it assumes a course nearly due north to the 

 apex of the Delta. From Farshout, half way between Keneh and 

 Oirgeh, a canal runs parallel to and west of the coune of the Nile 

 under the different names of Moye Souhadj, Bahr Joussouf, Ac., for 

 about 250 miles to Benisouef, where an opening in the western ridge 

 allows a branch of it to pass into the district of Faioum, which it 

 irriKnte* and fertilises. Its surplus waters then flow into the Birket- 

 cl K-roun, the ancient Moeris Lake. [BiRKET-ia-KKROux; FAIOUM.] 

 Another branch of the Bahr Joumouf continues to follow the course 

 of the Nile northward as far as the Delta. The Bahr Joussouf from 

 Ashmounrin to Benisouef runs at the distance of 3 to miles from 

 the river ; the wettern ridge being here from 8 to 10 miles, and near 

 BenUourf 15 miles, distant from the Nile. The banks of the Bahr 

 Jousnouf, like those of the Nile, are raised higher than the rest 

 of the valley. Consequently between the canal and the Nile 

 there Is a kind of depression. On the other or west side of the canal 

 is a strip of cultivated land as far as the inundation or artificial 

 irrigation extends, beyond which and to the foot of the ridge is a 

 strip of sand, light and drifting in the neighbourhood of the culti- 

 vate! ground, and coarser and mixed with pebbles near the base of 

 tli- hills Consequently the cultivable land along the banks of the 

 Nil>-, both to the east and to the west of the river, by no means 

 occupies the whole breadth of the valley. The Bahr Joussouf appears 

 to be the same as the Oxyrhyuchus Canal of ancient times, which 

 Btrabo, while sailing along it, mistook for the Nile itself, on account 

 of its magnitude. North of Benisouef the western range, the height 



of which becomes less and less as it advance* northward, again 

 approaches the river near Sakkarah, and forma in the neighbourhood 

 of Jiseh a kind of natural terrace, on which the great pyramids stand. 

 The ridge then continues to skirt the western or Rosetta branch of 

 the river as far as the neighbourhood of the Canal Bahireh, which 

 once communicated with the Lake Mareotis. The ridge heru inclines 

 to the west, and joins the hills which skirt the valley of the Natron 

 lakes, [HAHR-BKLA-MA.] 



The eastern range leaves the banks of the Nile at a higher or more 

 southern point than the west ridge. From Mount Mokattem, near 

 Cairo, it turns off abruptly to the east, and under the name of 

 Jebel Attaka runs to the Red Sea, near Suez. North of it the 

 sands of the desert of Suez spread close to the eastern skirts of the 

 Delta. 



The general character of the western ridge which borders the 

 Valley of the Nile is a limestone formation which contains numerous 

 fossil shells. The great pyramid is built of this kind of stone. In 

 the neighbourhood of Esneh, in Upper Egypt, a sandstone formation 

 commences, alternating with limestone, but the mountains contain 

 also slate and quartz of various colours. The great slabs used in the 

 construction of the temples of Egypt, with the exception of those of 

 the Delta, were of sandstone, as well as many of the sculptures or 

 statues. In the neighbourhood of Selseleh are extensive quarries of 

 sandstone. 



The mountain range on the eastern Hide differs in some respects in 

 its geological character from the western ridge, and it generally rise* 

 more abruptly, and often close to the edge of the river. From Mount 

 Mokattem, near Cairo, the limestone extends southward, though with 

 many interruptions, as far as on the western side of the Nile. But basalt, 

 serpentine, and granite appear to commence earlier, and to charac- 

 terise the eastern more stongly than the western side. Near Assouan 

 the granite alternates with the decomposed sandstone, exhibiting an 

 irregular and broken appearance, which has sometimes been couip.u il 

 to a ruin. On the east side of the Nile, near Assouan, scattered wbout 

 the foot of the mountains, and occasionally close to the river, are 

 those extensive granite quarries which furnished the ancient Egyptians 

 with materials for their colossal statues and obelisks. 



2. The Delta. The Nile issuing from the valley a few miles north 

 of Cairo, enters the wide low plain which, from its triangular form and 

 its resemblance to the letter A, received from the Oreeks the name 

 of the Delta. The river divides into two branches, that of Kosetta, 

 or old Canopic, and that of Domiat, or Phatnitic. The figure of the 

 Delta is now determined by these two branches, although the culti- 

 tivated plain known by that name extends east and west, as far as 

 the sandy desert on each side. In ancient times the triangle of the 

 Delta was much more obtuse at its apex, as its right side was formed 

 by the Pelusiac branch, which, detaching itself from the Nile higher 

 up than the Damiat branch, 8owed to Pelusium, at the eastern extre- 

 mity of Lake Menzaleh. This branch is now in great measure clioki I 

 up, though it still serves partly for the purpose of irrigation. West of 

 the Pelusiac branch the Moes Canal corresponds with the Tauitic 

 or Saitic branch of the ancients, and the Menzaleh Canal with the 

 Mendeeian branch ; they both enter Lake Menzaleh, a vast salt m 

 40 miles long, which communicates with the sea by several in 

 Between the Diur.iat and the Kosetta branch are numerous canal*, 

 large and small, intersecting the country in every dir.-rt.ioii. Along 

 the sea-coast is another salt lake or marsh, called Burlos, communi- 

 cating with the pea by an outlet, which is probably the same as the 

 Sebcnnytic mouth of the ancient geographers. Proceeding westward 

 we meet with the Kosetta, or Bolbitine, mouth, which with that of 

 Damiat are now the only two entrances from the sea into th. 

 and they are accessible only to small vessels. The Nile at Rosetta is 

 1800 feet wide, and at Daraiat 800 feet. West of Rosetta, a salt 

 marsh, called Lake Etko, has been formed, which communicates on 

 one side with the Nile, and on the other with the sea or Al'ouk 

 by an outlet which corresponds to the old Canopic mouth. West of 

 Lake Etko is the Lake of Aboukir, which likewise oonimuiiu-.-iti-* wild 

 the sea, and is divided from Lake Mareotis to the south-we.-t ..r it l.y 

 an isthmus, along which passes the canal of Alexandria, which was 

 restored by Mehetnet Ali and is now known as the Mahmncliv. -ii 

 Canal. [ALEXANDRIA; HIKKET-EL-MAHIOUT.] This canal was used 

 for the conveyance of passengers by the overland route to Indiii. 

 the month of this canal at Atfeh the passengers proceed along the Nile 

 toll, .iilak, the port of Cairo, in steamboats constructed for the service; 

 and thence across the desert in caravans to Suez. A railway is now 

 in course of construction mainly for the overland service, which is 

 intended to connect Alexandria with Suez. 



The greatest breadth of the Delta, or cultivated plain of Lower 

 Knypt, is about 80 miles from east to west; it* length from >!,.- 

 bifurcation of the river to the sea is about 90 miles. The im 

 of the country, which is covered with fields, orchards, and plantations, 

 exhibits different aspects according to the various seasons. The rise 

 of the Nile occasioned by the periodical rains of Central Africa, begins 

 in June about the summer solstice, and it continues to increase till 

 September, overflowing the lowlands along its course. The Delta tin M 

 looks like an immense marsh, interspersed with numerous islands, with 

 villages, towns, and plantations of trees just above the water. Should 

 the Nile rise a few feet above its customary elevation, the inundation 



