E g y p t :
CiTUS.;
Coauuerce.
Climate.
petrej gunpowder, red and yellow leather, and; particularly linen' made
of the; fine Egyptian flax. 1 To the N,. E. of the city are gardens arid'vMaS
of the great; but the.meuntain is nFwhkesfcalearfeous'fariH-ftone,• and
dëftitutè .of verdure.1 -On Friday a mofkwitheut the wallsds:frt%u$btéd
by the ladies as a pilgrimage of pleafure. - There are light h’da'tK^ike
Venetian gondolas, ufed on the.incréafé ©f the Nile: and amorigfihe
amnfements are dancing girls, arid rope dancers; \ fhe- chief fgamesribeing
(Aefs, and Polilh drafts. On folemn occafions fireworks are exhibited;
Next: in confequence are Alexandria, Rdfetta or Rafchid, and D&miata.
Upper Egypt no longer boafts of a Thebes; and evemSirgi,formerly
the capital of this part, begins to decline. 5
t Egypt iy ,no longer th® centre of oriental trade, ‘hor the granary of
Rome, yet the delta ftill exports great quantities of riëê ; and Upper
Egypt fupplies feme cargoes Of wheat. Flax is' fent 'td Syria, and
coffee, and black flakes, to Conftantinople. Other articles éfeémmétce
nre already enumerated in the defcription of Cairo. Alexandria was the
chief feat of European trade, which'thènëe paffed by RafehidtO^Gailro.
Particular exports were faffranonandfenna , and about eight hundred
bales of European broad cloth were imported. The %ade-bf D’amiata
is of final! eonfequence.
The climate bf Egypt Is weB known to be peculiar,-rain Bfelng a
©oft uncomnion phenomenon. The béat is alfd èxbrefed^parÜc#aVly
from March to November; while rile cool feafon or a kind fèf Hfóïfng
extends through the other months.5 Yet the chief malady feems td;be
a weaknefs of the eyes, and blindnefe is very common in Egypt. ®§&ne
fuppofe that this proceeds from the extreme heat and want? dUfainRo
that the airTTs continually impregnated with very fine duff jk and phe
foil abounding in nitre,, the effed is the more acrimonious. The habit
of fleeping in the open air, upon the terraces, expofed to thenodufrial
dews, may however be regarded as the chief caufé; arid when the dif-
eafe appears it is increafed by the fplendour of the fun, refleded from
the white houfes, and the pale fand of the deferts. The plantation of
trees and lhrubs, wherever it can be effected j and the univerfal intro-
* Volney, i, 67.
dudion
WmÊÊÊÈmË:
dudion öFgreënApam’t; i'n^fëMe" meafirie: obviate' this calamity,
whleh%ppear^të^a$®wferi*uriknbwfeitëHMéancieiit inhabitants':' but?the
cfhifffpr e c a u t r erniflia^aanffc ffeepkig in the open
air^" arid*the ttfe%f-fiibfe»®l^t^^a®Hhè Eiplarid ers-'weartag ai n ft the glare
of %he' fnfo'w .tóignTOMo^b^tfaliftary^ll The1! pëftftfeüce has been, errone-
’o'ufly fütppöfiSttblorigndatie“iifrdlfi(fRth.iopla,iiwbere it is quite unknown^
arid* iri‘*Eg^pt it is* fupp'©ffedi td' bë~;always-' imported from-'Gomffanti-
lisjpfei Th'e extremë 'heÉ:|ip@ps' it herrij as fjsffi dually as^’the cold in
other êoftriiries. I
-*1 Thé géhêrl$'ft$?ë'’ê£ thé- éötiritry’-'VarieS i’tv^Mèiiêijlar - regions, battiS
btherwifé rather5 flat*Énd 'uniformr '■‘ AféxVndHa is'i i'rifü’Iafed ha. the de-
fèrt-, while the ^dë!fa4 prëfdrits £kV‘Mx'{lriant ■ tfSgëtau©#, a'nd inundated
ïnefflows5. Thë cöriftant repetition4 of-'tRerpalin aridWhef aaté ‘tr'ê'4sj3te!-
eómes • tedious ; but around R'afdfid^ffhe »d^arigéf^ovbs Jprefent"Sn
!Sgreeable variety. Öf far the-'greater part ëUÉgypfc the ifpè^uFtbat.
of a narrow fertile*Vale^ pervaded by the Nile, and bounded .on; either
$me by barren rocks and'mountains. -'The towns,*'- andidriltivatioln/t are
“fehiéfly on the eaftérnbankbèhin'd which are vaft# ranges, qf mountains
extending to the Arabian'gulf, ahaUnding'witnlm'arble. Énd porphyry,
bift alm&ft deflitute of'water, arid on^'inhahited byi Bedouins.4 Acrofs
-thefë rrioUntairis is* a folitary road to Coffeir unhhë Red' S®ab* -On.the
weft- the hills lead to* a vaft faady defert, where are the two Oafes, 'a
namê applied ’#3 ftflaiicfs fituatëd- in’ ‘fend: The appearance 0$ E|*ypt,
'UrfetW tfiê rnriudation of the Nile, has been- 'dtefcribe'd' rather poetically
than hiftoricUly, the pi&ure-Ö»iy applying tó parisjof-the debar; wtófe
Slather diftridl ‘ t?fterérlafe 'fomè cènalSj-Mt' the llnds’. are %8feM.lly
watered by machines. Accordingtri'a-lateHi^avellei “-the tp^f-ifetfferal
is fb rich as fo feijuire no manure. Ill is a*pure black mould, free from
. ffèries, and of a very tenkcióus' and' ’•uitdiïèïrs* riatuit,.- When-left Uncultivated
I' have obférveff fiffüres, arffing-?from- the extreme'heat1, ef
which a fpear of fix feel coul'd not reith-tHri bbWrnï^ 1 ,ffeffifC&iro ro
Affuan, or Syene, a diftarice- óf aBoüt; 3pcr milês, 'the banks, exeept
Where- rocks appear,'preferit no native plant; bttt rife as itwere in fteps;
7 33
C limate.
Face of tKe
Country.