168 
DESCRIPTIONS OF EGYPT. 
ed prodigious numbers of people to celebrate the 
festivals of the goddess. Sebennytus, the modern 
Semenud, from which a branch of the Nile former- 
ly derived its name, is situated below Busiris ; but 
both these ancient cities are eclipsed by the mo- 
dern Mehalla, the capital of Garbie. To the west 
of Sebennytus is a large mound, covered with ruins, 
which D'Anville supposes to mark the site of the 
city Isis. Among the ruins, the remains of a mag- 
nificent temple of Isis are remarkable for the puri- 
ty of taste which they display, and the elegance of 
their sculptures. Mansura is situated at the sepa- 
ration of the Mendesian branch of the Nile from 
that of Damietta. It was originally an intrenched 
camp of the Arabs, when they besieged Damietta,* 
and was rendered illustrious by the misfortunes of 
the crusaders under St Louis. Damietta, the em- 
porium of commerce between Egypt and Syria, is 
situated on the Phatmetic branch of the Nile, and, 
according to Niebuhr, in N. L. 31° 25'. The 
city is without walls, and is built in the form of a 
crescent, on the winding bank of the river, at the 
distance of six miles from the sea. The adjacent 
country on both sides of the Nile is beautiful and 
fertile, though it participates- in the tameness of 
Egyptian scenery. The exuberant soil produces^ 
* Abulfedse Descript. ^Sgypt. p. 51. Vid. D'Herbelot^ 
Bibl. Orient, ad Verb. Mansoura. 
