DESCRIPTIONS OF EGYPT. 
147 
constructed, which connected the Red Sea with 
the Mediterranean. As the loose and sandy soil 
of the isthmus rendered it impracticable to form a 
permanent canal across its narrowest part on the 
western side, they availed themselves of the navi- 
gable channel of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, 
which they ascended towards the head of the Del- 
ta. On the eastern side, a canal was conducted 
from the gulf of Suez to the Pelusiac channel, 
from which it derived a stream of water. This 
was probably the river Ptolemaeus of Pliny, that 
passed by Arsinoe, and was denominated Cleopa- 
tris by Strabo. From the circuitous direction of 
this line of inland navigation, the voyage, accord- 
ing to Herodotus, occupied the space of four days. 
The canal seems never to have continued perma- 
nently open for any considerable space of time, 
but to have been restored at intervals by different 
princes ; and hence a confusion, in the various re- 
lations of historians, has been produced. Cairo, 
the capital of Egypt, which the natives denominate 
Misr, the Mistress of the World, and Misr with- 
out an equal, is situated on the eastern side of the 
Nile, which it touches by its suburbs Fostat and 
Bulac. Though the extent of Cairo, its vast po- 
pulation, and the diversity of dress, language, man- 
ners, and features which its inhabitants exhibit, 
cannot fail to produce a powerful impression upon 
the mind of an European j yet this impression 
