BOOK V. XI. 63-xii. 65 



the sckoenus as 30 furlongs, which makes the length 

 150 miles, and they give the same figure for the 

 breadth. 



There are also many considerable towns in the Townsof 

 region of the lower parts of the Nile, especially those °^"^ " ' ^' 

 that have given their names to the mouths of the 

 river, though not all of these are named after towns — 

 for we find that there are twelve of them, besides 

 four raore that the natives call ' false mouths ' — but 

 the seven best known are the Canopic mouth nearest 

 to Alexandria and then the Bolbitine, Sebennytic, 

 Phatnitic, Mendesic, Tanitic, and last the Pelusiac. 

 Besides the towns that give their names to the 

 mouths there are Butos, Pharbaethos, Leontopolis, 

 Atliribis, the Town of Isis, Busiris, Cynopohs, 

 Aphrodite's Town, Sais, and Naucratis, after which 

 some people give the name of Naucratitic to the 

 mouth called by others the Heracleotic, and mention 

 it instead of the Canopic mouth wliich is next to it. 



XII. Beyond the Pelusiac mouth of the Nile is Arahia. 

 Arabia," extending to the Red Sea and to the 

 Arabia known by the siu-name of Happy * and 

 famous for its perfumes and its wealth. This bears 

 the names of the Cattabancs, Esbonitae and Scenitae*^ 

 tribes of Arabs ; its soil is barren except where it 

 adjoins the frontier of Syria, and its only remark- 

 able feature is the El Kas mountain. The Arabian 

 tribe of the Canchlei adjoin those mentioned on 

 the east and that of the Cedrei on the south, and 

 both of these in tlieir turn adjoin the Nabataei. 

 The two gulfs of the Red Sea where it converges on 

 Kgypt are called the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of 

 Akaba ; between tlie two towns of Akaba and 

 Guzzah, which is on the Mcditerrancan, thcre is a 



269 



