144 
DESCRIPTIONS OF EGYPT. 
to have been the most considerable ; and, by its 
waters, fertilized the sandy districts which border on 
the Red Sea, Assuming an eastern direction at the 
head of the Delta, its stream, descending to the 
sea, supplied numerous canals ; but, through a long 
series of ages, it has been gradually becoming 
shallow. Except at the period of the inundation, 
it has now lost the appearance of a river ; and the 
green districts of Goshen, in ancient times so 
abundant in pasturage, are converted into parched 
and sterile wastes. The principal towns in the 
eastern part of the Sharkie are Belbeis and Sala- 
hia, the first of which contains about five thousand 
inhabitants, and the other is supposed to exceed 
it in population. Suez, from which the narrow 
isthmus that connects Asia with Africa derives its 
name, is situated in N. lat. 30° 2', near the extre- 
mity of that shallow gulf in which the Red Sea 
terminates. Though the emporium of Arabian 
commerce, the difficulty of procuring subsistence 
has prevented it from attaining importance as a 
city, and reduced it to a mere military sta- 
tion. It is supplied with water from a brackish 
spring on the Arabian coast, situated at the 
distance of three hours' journey, in the small Oa- 
sis of Honareb. Fuel, and every kind of pro- 
visions, are brought from the fertile districts of 
Egypt. The gradual retrocession of the sea, 
which has rendered the harbours accessible only 
