392 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



train in history from the Holy 

 City to Cairo, it seemed as if 

 a significant step had been 

 taken in the onward march of 

 civilization." 



Notwithstanding the great 

 demands on it during the war, 

 when military trains ran from 

 Cairo to the farthest bounda- 

 ries of Syria, the system held 

 up very well. Its distances in 

 Egypt are not very great. 

 Cairo is only T30 miles from 

 Alexandria and 236 miles from 

 Assiut ; the more important 

 commercial towns, such as 

 Tanta, Benha, Zagazig, and 

 Damanhur, are all in the Nile 

 Delta. 



HOW EGYPT PROFITED BY THE 

 WAR 



Egypt profited greatly from 

 the war. The British army 

 poured out vast sums for 

 camels, mules, grain, and sup- 

 plies, and thousands of Egyp- 

 tian laborers and artisans were 

 paid war-time wages. As a 

 half-way station between East 

 and West, Egypt became the 

 clearing-house for troop-ships 

 from the Seven Seas. 



After the evacuation of 

 Gallipoli, a whole army came 

 to Egypt to rest and reequip. 

 Vast hordes came, also, from 

 Australia, New Zealand, and 

 India, to organize and train. 



The dry, clear desert air 

 and open spaces made of 

 Egypt an ideal training ground 

 for flying-men, and for months 

 the planes of daring students 

 from the world's outposts split 

 the sky above the Pyramids 

 and the Sphinx, and hovered 

 over the old battleground of 

 Tel-el-Kebir. 



Fugitives of all races fled 

 thither — some are still there — 

 from beyond the Jordan, and 

 German colonists from Jerusa- 

 lem and Jaffa were taken there 

 and interned. In Egypt, also, 

 were housed the thousands of 



