E G Y P T. 
Sf>3 
Jofepli. Dc Maillett, and bifiiop Pococke, indeed, have 
afligned it to a grand vizier of fnltan Mahomet, the fon 
of Calaun, whofe name was Jofeph ; and Shaw, from 
conjecture merely, fuppofes it to have been effected by 
the Babylonians. The exadl date of the work, and'the 
reafon of the name, are here clearly afcertained ; and 
both are evidently to be referred to that .Saladin Jofeph 
Ebn Job. who was cotemporary with, and the patron 
of, Abdollatiph.” 
The aquedudt which brings water from old Cairo to 
the cattle, by a route of 160 fathoms, would be a work, 
of art worth celebrating, if in its courfe it was not ren. 
dered faulty by many imperfections. The caftle is built 
without plan, or any real ftrength ; the only remarkable 
room in it is the hall of the divan, in which the beys af- 
femble, and which is often the fcene of angry debates 
and bloody ftrife in this contentious government. Jofeph’s 
palace, i.e, the palace of Saladin, is planned in a fine 
ftile ; and we here fee with admiration the life which the 
Arabian architects have made of the antique fragments, 
which they have incorporated in their own works, and 
the ingenuity which they have fhewn in occafionally mix¬ 
ing with them ornaments of their own invention. The 
minarets and the tombs are the only buildings which pre- 
ferve the Arabian ftile in any degree of purity ; and if 
they do not prefent that appearance of full fecurity, 
which is the perfection of architecture, at leaft they 
gratify the eye by a richnefs of ornament, which does not 
degenerate into heavinefs, and a fymmetry of parts com¬ 
bined with fo much elegance, as to remove all idea of 
meannefs and poverty of ftile. The cemetery, or bury- 
ing-place, of the mamalukes, is an example of this : in 
quitting the rubbith of Cairo, the ftranger is aftonifhed 
to fee a diftriCt all built of white marble, where edifices 
railed on columns, and terminated by domes, or by painted, 
carved, and gilt, palanquins, form a cheerful and invit¬ 
ing picture ; trees alone are wanting to render this fune¬ 
real retreat a delightful fpot ; fo that it would feem as if 
the muffulmans, who banilh gaiety from their houfes 
when alive, wifhed to bury it with them in the tomb. 
Bulak, or Bouluc, is the port of Cairo, which forms a 
fuburb extending a mile below the city. Here all the 
merchandize from Lower Egypt, and the provifions from 
Upper Egypt, are difeharged. In the corn-market, the 
grain is expofed to fale in large heaps, as unladen from 
the barks. Oppolite is the village of Embabey, which 
acquired celebrity from being the fcene of the battle of 
the pyramids. The ifle of Rhoda, or Gardens, Hands 
oppolite the cafile, and is a molt delightful fpot. At 
the extreme point is the mekkias or nilometer, which is 
a graduated column ereCted for the purpofe of fheiving 
the degrees of the increufe of the Nile. Looking down 
from the difhmt hills upon the various appendages of 
Gizeh, Old Cairo, Bulak, Rhoda, the cemetery of they 
caliphs, and the mofques and minarets proceeding from 
the gardens on the banks of the river, the whole gives 
to Grand Cairo a noble and magnificent appearance ; but, 
as we approach, the illulion vanifhes and dilappointment 
enfues. See the article Cairo, vol. iii. p. 600. 
A few miles below Cairo, leaving the ruins of the an¬ 
cient Heliopolis, or city of the fun, to the eaftward, the 
Nile divides itfelf into two principal branches ; the one 
leading to Damietta, called the Pelufian branch, on the 
right ; the other to Rofetta and Alexandria, called the 
Canopic branch, on the left; thus forming the elevation 
or point of the Delta. In this advantageous and delight¬ 
ful duration, the French had projefted to build a new 
city, as the grand metropolis and depot of Lower Egypt. 
Damietta is the ancient Thamiatis, whofe bay or road is 
now the great eallern mouth of the Nile, contiguous to 
the north-weftern extremity of Lake Menzaleh, and about 
feventy miles from the point of the Delta. (See the arti¬ 
cle Damietta, vol. v. p. 575.) At the other extre¬ 
mity of Lake Menzaleh, within an ample bay of the Me¬ 
diterranean, Hood the ancient Pelufium or key of Egypt, 
now in ruins. On or near its feite is built the modern 
Tineh, a'<out fifty miles from Cairo. The Canopic 
branch, which difembogues at Rofetta, to the weftwardof 
Lake Brulos, or Bourlos, forms the great weftern rn'outh 
of the Nile ; and from it runs the canal of Alexandria. 
On thecoaft, between thefe two Eft-mentioned towns, is 
fituated the port and bay .of Aboukir. The whole coun¬ 
try embraced by thefe two great arms of the Nile, pre- 
fenting an elongated triangle fimilar to the fourth letter 
of the Greek alphabet, is thence called Delta ; but this 
name cannot be of higher antiquity than the era of the 
Grecian fovercignty. 
The ancients divided Lower Egypt into three pro¬ 
vinces ; thefe were, Phacufa or Ar .bia ; Bubaftus ; and 
Heliopolis, whole capital was the On of the feriptures, 
fo famous for its temple and religious rites, and whofe 
inhabitants are reported to have been the wifelt of the 
Egyptians. The temple is faid to have been very mag¬ 
nificent : and its original name was Ain Shems, or Beth- 
Shemefli, ‘ the fountain of the fun from whence the 
whole province received its name, being called at dif¬ 
ferent periods Ain, Aven, and On. Bubaftus was fi- 
tuated to the eaft of this, and renowned alfo for its mag¬ 
nificent temple, which was dedicated to the goddefs Be- 
ftieh or Beftiet, the Aflt/zK aypi a., or Diana agreftis, of the ■ 
Greeks and Romans. This nome and the chief city of 
it are the Phibefetb of the feriptures : and they are often 
mentioned in conjunction with On or Heliopolis, which 
was next in fituation. The third great province was the 
nome of Arabia ; fo called, not becaufe it was in Arabia, 
which it was not, but from tire Arabian fnepherds, who 
had formerly fettled in thefe parts, and held them for 
many years. The true Arabian nome was the land of 
Goflien, of the feriptures, called by the Seventy Tzco-ift. 
te? ApaCia?. This divilion was probably anterior to the 
complete formation of the Delta. 
Rofetta is the ancient Ralchid ; and the branch of the 
Nile on which it Hands is alfo called the Bolbitine branch, 
from the city of Bolbitinum, the ruins of which are near 
its mouth, and have fince formed the tower and con¬ 
vent of Abu-Mandur. Leo Africanus fays, that Rafchid 
was built by a governor of Egypt, during tire empire of 
the caliphs. He does not mention, however, the name 
of the caliph in whofe reign it was built, nor tlie time 
of its foundation. Rofetta is a place of conftderable com¬ 
merce, but contains nothing curious. Its ancient cir- 
cumvallation implies, that it was once larger than it is at 
prefent. Its original compafs is afcertained by the fand- 
banks by which it is covered from weft to fouth. 
A few leagues to the weflward of Rofetta, is Lake Ma. 
hadie, called alfo Lake Aboukir, which feparates the 
plain of the defert from the peninfula, at the extremity 
of which Aboukir is built. This-deep and extenfive lake 
was only a remnant of the ancient Canopic branch, which 
the Nile has abandoned ; but in the year 1778, the ftone 
pier which had been creeled before its mouth, was fud- 
denly broken down by the fury of the waves, and the 
water ruthing in with impetuofity, deftroyed feveral vil¬ 
lages, and thus recently formed the lake Mahadie. This 
encroachment, Hill daily gaining ground, threatens even¬ 
tually to deftroy the ifthmus which attaches Aboukir to 
the main land. The Arabian princes began to ftrengthen 
the pier or mound, but it was never finilhed ; and there¬ 
fore yielded to the efforts of the waves, impelled during 
a part of the year by the northerly winds. At prefent 
there are no other remains of their work than two piers, 
one on each bank. 
But lake Edko, feparated from lake Mahadie only by 
a narrow fpace of ground towards the eaft, is of ftill more 
recent date, having been formed during the overflowing 
of the Nile in 1800, The dam of the canal of Derout 
having been broken down, the waters of the river found a- 
ready paftage, flowed copioufly into the low grounds, and 
opened themfelves a communication with the lea into the 
bay of Aboukir, When the Nile retired to its bed, the 
