Murzuk is not inhabited by wealthy merchants. It is not so much the seat of a large commerce, as it is a place of transit.
CHAPTER LXXX.
THE PORT OF EGYPT.
Alexandria has aptly been called the "doorway of Africa," for it is the port through which the continent has been entered for centuries.
Leaving Europe on a luxurious steamer, and possessing the necessary passport, we shall find the port of Alexandria an easy step from the comforts of European life to the picturesque features of that in Africa.
As we view the city of Alexandria from the harbor, it does not present a specially imposing appearance. Built upon a level plain it offers no great attraction to the eye, unless it be a double row of windmills, which stretch to either hand. Looking either to the right or left as far as the eye can distinguish them, they may be seen diminishing in the perspective of the dim distance, and ceaselessly turning.
In strong contrast to these humble sentinels rises an imposing column, a relic of old Roman days. Still there is little to indicate the former grandeur of the famed city whose ancient glories have disappeared.
The modern city of Alexandria does not occupy the exact site of the ancient one, but in a great measure is built upon the mole, Heptastadium. This, by means of alluvial deposits, has broadened into quite an extensive neck of land between the two harbors.
The eastern harbor is called the New Port; the western is spoken of as the Old Port. All the largest steamers enter the eastern harbor; hence the stranger from a European port first steps foot upon African soil at the eastern quay.