THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 247 



of the port in deep water. Yambo, corruptly called Imbo, 

 is an ancient city, now dwindled to a paultry village. Ptolemy 

 calls it Iambia Vicus, or the village Yambia; a proof it was 

 of no great importance in his time. But after the conqueft 

 of Egypt under Sultan Selim, it became a valuable nation, 

 for fupplying their conquefls in Arabia, with warlike ftores, 

 from Suez, and for the importation of wheat from Egypt to 

 their garrifons, and the holy places of Mecca and Medina. 

 On this account, a large caftle was built there by Sinan Ba- 

 fha ; for the ancient Yambo of Ptolemy is not that which is 

 called fo at this day. It is fix miles farther fouth ; and is 

 called Yambo el Nachel, or, Yambo among the palm-trees,' 

 a great quantity of ground being there covered with this 

 fort of plantation. 



Yambo, in the language of the country, fignifies a foun- 

 tain or fpring, a very copious one of excellent water being 

 found there among the date trees, and it is one of the na- 

 tions of the Emir Hadje in going to, and coming from Mec- 

 ca. The advantage of the port, however, which the other 

 has not, and the prote&ion of the caftle, have carried tra- 

 ding veflels to the modern Yambo, where there is no water, 

 but what is brought from pools dug on purpofe to receive 

 the rain when it falls. 



There are two hundred janiflaries in the caftle, the def- 

 cendents of thofe brought thither by Sinan Bafha ; who 

 have fucceeded their fathers, in the way I have obferved they 

 did at Syene, and, indeed, in all the conquefls in Arabia, 

 and Egypt, The inhabitants of Yambo are defervedly reck- 



4 oned 



