. EGYPT. 



khamseen, that is, the hot winds of the desert. They are of such extreme heat and aridity, that 

 no animated body, exposed to them, can withstand their pernicious influence. During the 3 

 days of the southern blast, the streets are deserted ; and woe to the traveler, whom this wind 

 surprises, remote from slieiter ; when it exceeds 3 days, it is insupportable. Very frequently, 

 the inhabitants are almost blinded with drifts of sand ; but these evils are, in a great measure, 

 remedied, by the rising and overflowing of the Nile. 



7. Canals. Egypt contains a great number of canals, many of v.'hich are only adapted for 

 purposes of irrigation. The principal canals of navigation, nre Joseph^ s Canal, about 100 miles 

 in length, and from 50 to 300 feet broad ; the Canal of Clenpalra, recently restored, under the 

 name of the Mahmoud Canal^ connecting the Nile with the Mediterranean, at Alexandria, 48 

 miles long, but so unskilfully constructed, as to be already choked with mud ; and the Abu Me- 

 neggy Canal, passing from the Nile to the sea, on the northeast, about 100 miles in length. 



8. Towns. Cairo, or Kahira, in a sandy plain, on the banks of the Nile, is a large town, 

 of the most irregular construction. The streets are so narrow, that the balconies of the oppo- 

 site houses often touch each other, and many of them are roofed quite over. A part of the 

 town is annually inundated. The houses are, in general, built of mud and bricks, of 2 or 3 

 stories high, and, being without windows on the street side, they present a gloomy appearance. 

 Those of the public dignitaries, have a basement of stone, each layer of which is painted red, 

 or green, and each story is provided with a balcony. In the basement story, is a large hall, 



■ where the master gives audience, and also another hall, paved with marble, and supplied with sofas 

 and Jcfs d^eau. A great number of mosques, many of which are elegantly decorated with ara- 

 besques, and light and rich minarets ; 1,200 coffee-houses ; 31 bathing-houses, remarkable for 

 their size or ornaments ; the vast cisterns, or reservoirs, containing a supply of water, for the 

 people, many of which are adorned with marble colonnades, and bronze balustrades, and have 

 schools attached to them, &c., deserve notice. Cairo is the centre of an extensive traffic be- 

 tween Asia and Africa, and contains about 300,000 inhabitants. The viceroy resides, gener- 

 ally, at Slioubra, a little village in ihe vicinity, where he has built a splendid palace, with fine 

 gardens. 



A little higher up the river, are the ruins of the ancient Memphis, once the capital of Egypt, 

 and the centre of Egyptian wealth, commerce, and art. 



Alexandria stands upon the Mediterranean, and has a double harbor. Its site is a narrow 

 neck of land, between lake Mareotis and the sea. It communicates with the western arm of 

 the Nile, by a canal. This city was founded by Alexander the Great, and soon rose to wealth 

 and greatness. It was the capital of the Ptolemies, and, for science and litei ature, was second 

 only to Rome. It contained, at one time, 600,000 inhabitants. After its capture, by the Sa- 

 racens, it began to decline, and the discovery of the passage to India, by the Cape of Good 

 Hope, destroyed its commercial importance. At present, it consists of narrow, crooked, and 

 dirty streets, and is surrounded by a high stone wall. It has considerable commerce, and its 

 markets are well supplied. Population, 25,000. The remains of ancient art, in Alexandria, 

 are not of Egyptian, but of Grecian or Roman origin, and, in comparison with the pyramids, 

 are quite modern. What is called Pompey's Pillar, is a Corinthian column of porphyry, about 

 120 feet high, of uncertain origin ; Cleopatra's Needle, is an obelisk of granite, about 64 feet 

 in length, and covered with hieroglyphics. 



Roscita stands on a branch of the Nile, 4 miles from its mouth. It is completely environed 

 in groves of orange, sycamore, date, banana, and other trees. The city has a considerable 

 trade, and upwards of 50 caravanserais. Population, 10,000. Damietta is situated between 

 the eastern branch of the Nile and tl-ie lake of Menzaleh, 10 miles from the sea. The houses 

 are all white, and are built in a crescent, around a bend of the river. The appearance of the 

 town is beautifully picturesque, and the country in the neighborhood is the most fertile and 

 best cultivated in Egypt. Here are vast magazines of rice, belonging to the government. 

 The commerce of the place is very active. Population, 25,000. Suez, on the shore of the 

 isthmus of that name, on the Red Sea, has a large trade with Arabia, by caravans and vessels. 

 It is surrounded by a sandy desert. Population, 5,000. 



Ascending the Nile, from Cairo, we come to Medinet el Fayoum, the ancient Arsinoe, with 

 12,000 inhabitants, and connected with the river by a canal. Siout, remarkable for its sepul- 

 chral grottoes, is a considerable town, with 20,000 inhabitants, from which the caravans of 

 Nubia and Nigritia start. Esne, with 4,000 inhabitants, is the rendezvous of Sennaar and Dar 

 fur caravans. Assouen, the ancient Syenr^ is the last town in Egypt, as you ascend the Nile 



