Abstract of a Thermometrical Register, kept at Alexandria, in N. lat. 31° 13', outdoor temperature, in the shade, for one whole year.
| Months | Means | Extremes | |||||||||
| Mean temperature. | Mean daily variation | Mean maximum. | Mean minimum. | Mean temperature at 8 A.M. | Mean temperature at noon. | Difference of mean temperature of each successive month. | Extreme daily variation. | Extreme monthly variation. | Extreme maximum. | Extreme minimum | |
| January | 59.5 | 8.0 | 63.5 | 55.5 | 57.6 | 61.0 | 3.0 | 8 | 13 | 66 | 53 |
| February | 59.5 | 6.0 | 62.5 | 56.5 | 57.4 | 60.6 | 0.0 | 9 | 10 | 66 | 56 |
| March | 64.7 | 10.5 | 70.0 | 59.5 | 61.1 | 63.6 | 5.2 | 5 | 13 | 72 | 59 |
| April | 69.0 | 12.0 | 75.0 | 63.0 | 66.4 | 69.2 | 4.3 | 12 | 15 | 77 | 62 |
| May | 74.7 | 16.5 | 83.0 | 66.5 | 71.7 | 74.6 | 5.7 | 13 | 22 | 88 | 66 |
| June | 77.0 | 9.0 | 81.5 | 72.5 | 74.6 | 77.3 | 2.3 | 5 | 14 | 85 | 71 |
| July | 82.5 | 4.5 | 82.5 | 78.0 | 78.5 | 80.7 | 5.5 | 5 | 8 | 85 | 77 |
| August | 81.2 | 7.5 | 85.0 | 77.5 | 79.5 | 80.6 | 1.3 | 6 | 10 | 87 | 77 |
| September | 79.6 | 6.5 | 83.0 | 76.5 | 78.4 | 80.1 | 1.5 | 8 | 9 | 84 | 75 |
| October | 76.7 | 7.5 | 80.5 | 73.0 | 76.1 | 77.8 | 3.0 | 8 | 9 | 81 | 72 |
| November | 68.7 | 12.5 | 75.0 | 62.5 | 66.3 | 71.6 | 8.0 | 12 | 18 | 76 | 58 |
| December | 60.7 | 17.5 | 69.5 | 52.0 | 58.5 | 64.3 | 8.0 | 20 | 25 | 71 | 46 |
| Annual Means and Extremes | 71.1 | 9.8 | 75.9 | 66.0 | 68.8 | 71.7 | 3.9 | 20 | 25 | 88 | 46 |
The seasons of the year to which the foregoing Table refers, it may be well to explain, were peculiarly moderate, the Thermometrical range varying less than in ordinary seasons.
The average heat at Cairo will exceed that at Alexandria by about 10 degrees all the year round. This is accounted for by the prevailing sea-breeze at Alexandria. The atmosphere at the latter is peculiarly humid; at the former peculiarly dry and elastic. Rains prevail in December and January; they are very rare at Cairo.
The luggage is conveyed to Suez on dromedaries, and, as these animals travel slowly, those who do not desire to proceed to Suez by the first division of carriages across the desert, will have sufficient time to visit the lions of Cairo, which consist of the citadel, the palace, the mint, the petrified forest, the Rhoda garden (chiefly botanical), the Pyramids of Gizeh, and the Pacha's palace and gardens at Shubra; or they may indulge in a bath, a luxury thus described in an article in the Asiatic Journal, by Mr. Stocqueler:—
"A bath at Cairo, after a voyage, is an agrémen which few will deny themselves. It is neither as elaborate nor as effective an affair as a Persian bath, but, like Mercutio's wound, 'it will do.' The soft coir, or fibrous matter, which is used instead of flannel or the hair-glove, is not by any means as efficacious as the latter in removing the sodden matter, or papier maché, which covers the human cuticle. Then there is neither shampooing, nor joint-cracking, nor mustachio-dyeing; nevertheless, it is pleasant to get into hot water after a month's exclusion from the indulgence, even though some of the accessories to the hummaum be wanting."
Of the manner in which the ascent of the Pyramids is made, the following sketch furnishes an accurate description:—
THE ASCENT OF THE PYRAMIDS.
A recent writer, describing this laborious operation, speaks of it thus:—"It is advisable, if bent on mounting to the summit, to disencumber yourself of all but your shirt and a pair of loose trousers; for the journey upwards must be taken rapidly, and cannot easily be accomplished with warm and tight clothing. A couple of Arabs leap on to the stones immediately above you, and offer you each a hand, while a third follows, to give you an impetus from behind, and catch you, in case of a slip. Up you go, panting and toiling, step after step (each three feet in height) and stopping occasionally to take breath, and receive the cheering congratulations of your rude guide—good, good, Inglese, berry good! and then, with an impatient grin and extended hand, 'Baksheesh!'"