or highlands, of the Arabs; the latter to their Wustání, or midlands; but the Sâíd, according to the more ancient Arabian geographers,' comprehended all the country above Fostát, as the Ríf did all below it. The Delta of the Greeks and Egyptians did not, strictly speaking, extend beyond the outer branches of the Nile; but the Ríf of the Arabs comprehends all the lowlands of Egypt between Alexandria and Colzum. PHYSICAL PECULIARITIES. The mountains which form so picturesque a boundary to the great Mountains. valley of the Nile are remarkable not only in their general aspects but in their productions. From them, under the Pharaohs, the Ptolemies, and the Antonines, were drawn the materials not only for the stupendous monuments which still make Egypt a land of wonders, but also for many of the public buildings in Italy, the remains of which attest the genius of the artists, and the munificence of the Emperors. About the 24th degree of north latitude, a granite chain closes in on each side of the river, so as to wear the appearance of having been rent by the stream which forces its way through fragments of rock. Hence the almost innumerable islands to the north of Philæ as far as Aswán. The Cataracts, a little to the south of that town, are nothing more than rapids, which might be produced by a mere contraction of the bed of the stream. The bold, but wild Cataracts. and gloomy precipices which here overhang the stream, as well as the roar of its waters rushing through a multitude of channels, (for even when the inundation is at its height there are twenty large islands in the midst of the river,)2 were well calculated to work upon the In 24° 8' 6" N. Quarries. imagination of the early inhabitants. Their belief that Osiris remained buried in those abysses,1 as long as the stream was confined within its banks, but rose from the grave to scatter his blessings over the land, as soon as the accumulated waters were poured forth on all sides, was fostered, if not created, by the physical peculiarities of this overawing and desolate region. The granite or southern district extends from Phile to Aswán, and is formed, for the most part, by rocks of syenite or Oriental granite, in which the quarries may yet be seen, from which the ancients drew the stupendous masses required for their colossal statues and obelisks. Between Aswán and Esnà, is the sandstone, or middle district, which supplied slabs In 25° 19′ 39' for most of the temples; and beyond it, the northern or calcareous district stretches to the southern angle of the Delta. This last chain of hills furnished not only the solid part of the Pyramids, but materials also for many public buildings long since destroyed, because they proved excellent stores of lime and stone for the Arabs and other barbarians by whom Egypt has been desolated for so many centuries. The quarries of Philæ, Elephantiné, and Syené, produced the beautiful oriental, or rose-coloured granite, called Syenites by Pliny, from the city near which it abounded, but differing from the Syenite of modern geologists. Two-thirds of its mass is a species of felspar, varying in colour from a pale pink to a brick-red, the remainder consists of mica with a metallic lustre, and translucent quartz. Sometimes it also contains a small quantity of hornblende, and it then becomes the Syenite of geology. It is called Thebaic-stone by Pliny, from the frequency of its occurrence in the monuments at Thebes, not from any quarries of it in that neighbourhood. Valley of the On each side of the river below Aswán, (Syene,) steep, abrupt, sandstone cliffs, presenting a continued line of ancient quarries, hem in the stream; and the valley, which opens gradually, closes again at the distance of 12 leagues, (about 36 geographical miles,) where it is reduced to one-fourth of its former width, and lofty walls of rock on each side barely leave a passage for the water. Below these narrows, the valley gradually widens, but the eastern bank continues to present one uninterrupted, perpendicular wall, while on the west there is a gradual, and generally an easy ascent to the Desert. Another contraction of the valley occurs about 56 geographical miles lower down, ten miles to the north of Esnà, where the rock does not leave even a footpath near the river, and the traveller by land must make a considerable circuit in order to reach the third place where the hills again recede. Nile. At Denderah, (Téntyris,) 12 leagues north of Thebes, the Nile, again hemmed in by the hills, turns nearly at right angles, and runs directly from east to west, as far as the site of Abydus. Near the latter place, the Libyan chain begins to bend toward the west; and the 1 Creuzer Symbolik, i. 266. Hist. Nat. xxxvi. 8. descent from the Desert becomes so gradual, that the country is on that side much exposed to clouds of sand, by which it would have been overwhelmed long since, but for the canal called Bahr Yusuf, (Joseph's River,) which secures the irrigation of the land between itself and the Nile, and thus prevents the further encroachment of the Desert.1 Here the Sâíd, or upper division of Egypt, terminates, and the Wustáni or middle region, extending as far as the fork of the Delta, commences. The more the valley of the Nile gains in width, and its western mountains lose in height, the greater is the danger from its proximity to the Libyan Desert, (El Sahrà.) That remarkable portion of Africa is, for the most part, covered with sand, or very fine gravel, the minuter particles of which are, at certain seasons, carried by tempestuous gales over a great extent of country. N. Beyond Bení Suweïf, the Libyan chain of hills again closes in In 29° 9′ 12′′ towards the north-east, and forms the northern boundary of the large basin between Derút-el-sheríf and Atfih; but at El Iláhún, to the north-west of the first of those places, it is broken by one of the many transverse valleys, and thus opens a passage into the province of Fayyúm. Beyond that vale, which is merely a large bay or sinuosity in the border of these mountains, they approach the river with a steeper declivity, and have a nearly level summit, overlooking the country below. This table-land, between the Nile and Fayyúm, was chosen for the site of the Pyramids. On its northwestern side, the hills shelve off in that direction, and terminate in the cliffs and promontories which mark the coast of ancient Cyren aïca. The eastern or Arabian chain has generally more transverse ögn và breaks and ravines, is more lofty and rugged, and comes closer to Açaßixa. the river than the hills on the opposite side. The northern part of it is called El Mocattam, (the hewn,) probably from the quarries formed in its sides; and is connected by several inferior ranges with the mountains of Arabia Petræa. Each of these chains, as has been already observed, is intersected by valleys running from east to west; those on the right side of the river leading to the Red Sea, and those on the left to the Oases. Of the former, those best known are the valley of Coséïr, and that of the Wanderings of the children of Israel, the first being the most frequented road between the Upper Egypt and the sea; and the other the route probably followed by the Israelites on their return to the promised land. But besides these, there are five or six others at present known, and several, probably, unexplored. The name Nile seems connected with the Indian term Nilas,― Nile. black. The native appellation was Yeor,2 which signifies a channel or stream, and was specially given to the one river of the kingdom. The Hebrew name, Sihor, sometimes employed in Scripture to denote the Nile, is expressive of its dark and turbid waters. This river, 1 Girard, loc. cit. p. 189. 2 Exod. i. 22. 3 Isa. xxiii. 3. Sources of revered as a god, possesses many interesting features, which formed Et septemgemini turbant trepida ostia Nili, The same poet describes the river in Æn. 1. ix. 31: Aut pingui flumine Nilus, Cum refluit campis, et jam se condidit alveo. The Nile, when it has flowed back from the fields with its fertilizing stream, and now has buried itself in its own channel. Dionysius Periegetes, speaking of the Nile, says— “Υδατί πιαίνων λιπὰρον πέδον "Αιγυπτοιο. Fructifying the delightful land of Egypt with its stream, Eschylus says too Όσην πλατύς, Νεῖλος ἀρδεύει χθόνα. Eschy. Prom. 853. Again, in the Persæ, ̓Αλλως δ' ὁ μέγας και πολυθρέμμων Νεῖλος ἔπεμψεν v. 33. And others whom the mighty and much-nourishing Nile had sent. Μηδ' ἔτι Νεῖλε προχοὰς σέβωμεν ἔμνοις. 1032. We shall no more worship the mouths of the Nile with hymns. Upon the banks of this fertile river grew the papyrus, a kind of reed, from the flags of which paper was afterwards made, and which was called byblus. Nondum flumineas Memphis contexere byblos Memphis did not yet know how to fashion the watery byblus.-Lucan. 1 Herod. II. 90. Quaque pharetratæ vicinia Persidis urget, Et diversa ruens septem discurrit in ora Usque coloratis amnis devexus ab Indis.”—Georg. iv. 290. "And where the stream from India's swarthy sons Close on the verge of quiver'd Persia runs, Broods o'er green Egypt with dark wave of mud, Lucretius is more lucky in his safe conjecture, "Ille ex æstiferâ parti venit amnis, ab Austro, Full from the South, from realms of torrid heat,- The labours and Nile. Modern travellers have been more successful. researches of Bruce, Russegger, Rüppell, Werne, and others, have not been without their reward. Two distinct streams have been discovered, which flow into the Upper Nile, the one of which, usually termed the Blue Nile, has been traced to a considerable distance, but the sources of the other, named the White Nile, remains unexplored. Herodotus vainly attempts to explain the cause of the inundations Rise of the of this river. According to him the periodical deluge commences about the end of June, and continues until the end of September; it then gradually decreases. The height of the inundation is estimated by Pliny at sixteen cubits; but it sometimes rose only twelve cubits, at other times more than sixteen. The day on which this event took place was always considered by the Egyptians as auspicious; and the overflowing of the river diffused joy and gladness throughout the whole community. The Emperor Julian, in common with the Egyptians, considered the god Serapis as the cause of this phenomenon. Modern research speaks more minutely and truly on the periodical Annual increase of the Nile. At Caïro, the river begins to rise early in overflow. July, in consequence of the periodical rains in Central Africa; at first, almost imperceptibly, but soon with a continually increasing rapidity. By the middle of August it has reached half of its greatest height, which it attains usually in the last days of September. It then appears stationary for about a fortnight, but by the 10th of November has sunk to half its altitude. From that period it subsides very slowly till the middle of the following May; and its water becomes extremely pure, clear, and agreeable to the taste. The depth, at the period of its greatest altitude, may be estimated at 7-419 metres, (24 feet nearly,) or 13 cubits 17 inches, according to the Nile metre at Caïro; but 14 cubits according to that at Elephantiné, which is graduated by an ancient Greek scale. It was suspected by Niebuhr, but ascertained by the French, [E. O. H.] C |