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which they brought down with them, and thus the soil of Egypt was gradually built up. Near Esna begins the layer of sandstone, which extends southward, and covers nearly the whole of Nubia, and rests ultimately on crystalline rock.

The part of Egypt which lies to the north of the point where the Nile divides itself into two branches resembles in shape a lotus flower, or a triangle standing on its apex, and because of its similarity to the fourth letter of their alphabet, the Greeks called it Delta,

The Delta is formed of a deep layer of mud and sand, which rests upon the yellow quartz sands, and gravels and stiff clay, which were laid down by the sea in prehistoric times. The area of the Delta is about 14,500 square miles.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Port

Said

DELTA

ROSETTA BRANCH

DAMIETTA BRANCH

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The Delta of Egypt.

The Oases of Egypt are seven in number, and all are situated in the Western Desert. Their names are: 1. Oasis of Siwah or Jupiter Ammon; 2. Oasis of Baḥarîyah, i.e., the Northern Oasis; 3. The Oasis of Farâfrah, the Ta-ahet of the Egyptians; 4. The Oasis of Dâkhlah, ie, the "Inner" Oasis, the Tchesti of the Egyptians; 5. The Oasis of Khârgah, i.e., the "Outer Oasis," the Uaht-rest or "Southern Oasis" of the Egyptians; 6. The Oasis of Dailah, to the west of Farâfrah; 7. The Oasis of Kûrkûr, to the west of Aswân.

The principal Lakes of Egypt are: 1. Birkat al-Kurûn, a long, narrow lake lying to the north-west of the Province of the Fayyûm, and formerly believed to be a part of the Lake Moeris described by Herodotus; 2. The Natron Lakes, which lie in the Natron Valley, to the northwest of Cairo; from these the Egyptians obtained salt and various forms of soda, which were used for making incense, and in embalming the dead; 3. Lake Menzâlah, Lake Bûrlûs, Lake Edkû, Lake Abukîr, now almost reclaimed, and Lake Mareotis; all these are in the Delta. Lake Timsaḥ (ie., Crocodile Lake) and the Bitter Lakes, which were originally mere swamps, came into existence with the making of the Suez Canal,

The Fayyum which was in ancient times regarded as one of the Oases, is nothing more than a deep depression scooped out of the limestone, on which are layers of loams and marls covered over by Nile mud. The district was called by the Egyptians "Ta-she," or "Land of the Lake"; at the present time it has an area of about 850 square miles, and is watered by a branch of the Nile called the "Bahr Yûsuf," which flows into it through an opening in the mountains on the west bank of the Nile. The Bahr Yûsuf, or "River of Joseph," is not called after the name of the

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The Entrance to the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings at Thebes.

patriarch Joseph, but that of some Muhammadan ruler. It is not a canal as was once supposed, but an arm of the Nile, which, however, needs clearing out periodically. In the Fayyûm lay the large body of water to which Herodotus gave the name of Lake Moeris. He believed that this Lake had been constructed artificially, but modern irrigation. authorities in Egypt have come to the conclusion that the mass of water which he saw and thought was a lake was merely the result of the Nile flood, or inundation, and that there never was a Lake Moeris.

Deserts. On each side of the Valley of the Nile lies a vast desert, That on the east is called the Arabian Desert,

or Red Sea Desert, and that on the west the Libyan Desert. The influence of the latter on the climate of Egypt is very great, as for six months of the year the prevailing wind blows from the west. At many places in the Eastern and Western Deserts there are long stretches of sand scores of miles in length, and immense tracts covered with layers of loose pebbles and stone, and the general effect is desolate in the extreme. The hills which skirt the deserts along the Valley of the Nile are usually quite low, but at certain points they rise to the height of a few hundred feet. Nothing grows on them, and more bare and inhospitable places cannot be imagined. The accompanying illustration gives a good idea of the general appearance of the stone hills on the Nile. In the fore-ground are masses of broken stone, sand, rocks, etc., and these stretch back to a gap in the range of hills just below the letter A, whence, between steep rocks, a rough road winds in and out along the dreary valley which contains the sepulchres of the great kings of the XVIIIth, XIXth and later dynasties. Under the light of a full moon the Valley is full of weird beauty, but in the day-time the heat in it resembles that of a furnace.

The chief characteristic of Egypt is the great river Nile, which has in all ages been the source of the life and prosperity of its inhabitants, and the principal highway of the country. The Egyptians of the early Dynastic Period had no exact knowledge about the true source of the river. In their hymns to the Nile-god they described him as the "hidden one," and "unseen," and his "secret places" are said to be "unknown." The river over which he presided formed a part of the great celestial river, or ocean, upon which sailed the boats of the Sun-god daily. This river surrounded the whole earth, from which, however, it was separated by a range of mountains. On one portion of this river was placed the throne of Osiris, according to a legend, and close by was the opening in the range of mountains through which an arm of the celestial river flowed into the earth. The place where the Nile appeared on earth was believed to be situated in the First Cataract, and in late times the Nile was said to rise there, between two mountains which were near the Island of Elephantine and the Island of Philae. Herodotus gives the names of these mountains as Krôphi" and "Môphi," and their originals have probably been found in the old Egyptian "Qer-Hapi" and "Mu-Hapi"; these names mean "Cavern of Ḥāpi" and " Water of Ḥāpi " respectively.

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The underground caverns, or "storehouses of the Nile,"

The Fayyûm which was in ancient times regarded as one of the Oases, is nothing more than a deep depression scooped out of the limestone, on which are layers of loams and marls covered over by Nile mud. The district was called by the Egyptians "Ta-she," or "Land of the Lake"; at the present time it has an area of about 850 square miles, and is watered by a branch of the Nile called the "Bahr Yûsuf," which flows into it through an opening in the mountains on the west bank of the Nile. The Bahr Yûsuf, or "River of Joseph," is not called after the name of the

[merged small][graphic]

The Entrance to the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings at Thebes.

patriarch Joseph, but that of some Muhammadan ruler. It is not a canal as was once supposed, but an arm of the Nile, which, however, needs clearing out periodically. In the Fayyûm lay the large body of water to which Herodotus gave the name of Lake Moeris. He believed that this Lake had been constructed artificially, but modern irrigation authorities in Egypt have come to the conclusion that the mass of water which he saw and thought was a lake was merely the result of the Nile flood, or inundation, and that there never was a Lake Moeris.

Deserts. On each side of the Valley of the Nile lies a vast desert. That on the east is called the Arabian Desert,

or Red Sea Desert, and that on the west the Libyan Desert. The influence of the latter on the climate of Egypt is very great, as for six months of the year the prevailing wind blows from the west. At many places in the Eastern and Western Deserts there are long stretches of sand scores of miles in length, and immense tracts covered with layers of loose pebbles and stone, and the general effect is desolate in the extreme. The hills which skirt the deserts along the Valley of the Nile are usually quite low, but at certain points they rise to the height of a few hundred feet. Nothing grows on them, and more bare and inhospitable places cannot be imagined. The accompanying illustration gives a good idea of the general appearance of the stone hills on the Nile. In the fore-ground are masses of broken stone, sand, rocks, etc., and these stretch back to a gap in the range of hills just below the letter A, whence, between steep rocks, a rough road winds in and out along the dreary valley which contains the sepulchres of the great kings of the XVIIIth, XIXth and later dynasties. Under the light of a full moon the Valley is full of weird beauty, but in the day-time the heat in it resembles that of a furnace.

The chief characteristic of Egypt is the great river Nile, which has in all ages been the source of the life and prosperity of its inhabitants, and the principal highway of the country. The Egyptians of the early Dynastic Period had no exact knowledge about the true source of the river. In their hymns to the Nile-god they described him as the "hidden one," and "unseen," and his "secret places" are said to be "unknown." The river over which he presided formed a part of the great celestial river, or ocean, upon which sailed the boats of the Sun-god daily. This river surrounded the whole earth, from which, however, it was separated by a range of mountains. On one portion of this river was placed the throne of Osiris, according to a legend, and close by was the opening in the range of mountains through which an arm of the celestial river flowed into the earth. The place where the Nile appeared on earth was believed to be situated in the First Cataract, and in late times the Nile was said to rise there, between two mountains which were near the Island of Elephantine and the Island of Philae. Herodotus gives the names of these mountains as "Krôphi" and "Môphi," and their originals have probably been found in the old Egyptian "Qer-Hapi" and "Mu-Hapi"; these names mean "Cavern of Ḥapi" and "Water of Ḥāpi" respectively.

The underground caverns, or "storehouses of the Nile,"

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