34 
into Suez, amidst shouts of joy, and the firing of guns. 
I took up my residence in a house which had been 
prepared for me. 
Suez is a small town, falling into ruins. The inhabi- 
tants consist of about five hundred Mussulmen, and 
about thirty Christians. 
The position of Suez, at the extremity of the Red 
Sea, makes it the key of Lower Egypt, upon that 
coast. The port is extremely bad. The ships, called 
daos, that navigate the Red Sea, cannot enter but at 
high water, and after they have been unloaded. The 
real port is situated at half a league distance towards 
the south, upon the coast of Africa. It is deep enough 
for large frigates. 
The Red Sea at Suez is at most only two miles 
broad at high water; and when the sea is out the dis- 
tance is reduced two thirds. Upon the shore is a quay 
almost entirely composed of shells, which is very con- 
venient for embarkation. 
The streets are regular, without pavement; and the 
ground is sandy. The houses are falling into ruins. 
The public market is tolerably well supplied with cer- 
tain articles, which arrive generally by sea, from the 
shores of Arabia and Africa. The Wadi-tor, and the 
Djebel-tor, or Mount Sinai, furnish Suez with good 
fruit and vegetables. The re- union of the fleets and 
caravans occasions a considerable quantity of specie to 
circulate here; a continual stimulus to the activity of 
the inhabitants, who are all without exception mer- 
chants, traders, or street porters. 
There is no fresh water in the city, except that which 
is brought from afar. El-bir-Suez, or the wells of Sue'z, 
the water of which is brackish, are a league and a 
quarter distant upon the road to Cairo. El Aayon 
