76 M. Tanta (Buffet; Hôt. Khédivial, etc.; Brit. cons. agent, E. Erba; pop. 80,000), capital of the province of Gharbîyeh, between the Rosetta and Damietta arms (p. [418]), possesses a palace of the Khedive and an unfinished mosque of Seiyid el-Bedawi, a popular Egyptian saint, born at Fez (12th cent.). The great August fair (el-Mûlid el-Kebîr; ‘the great mûlid’, or nativity of the saint) is often attended by half-a-million persons, including a number of European merchants.
Farther on we pass several cotton-cleaning mills, evidencing the prosperity of this region, and then cross the Damietta Arm.
101 M. Benha (Buffet), junction of the Port Said (see below) and Suez lines, is noted for its fruit. 120½ M. Kalyûb (or Qualioub).
The Libyan hills become more prominent; so also the Mokattam Hills (p. [443]) and the citadel with the slender minarets of the mosque of Mohammed Ali (p. [454]). Gardens and villas appear. On the left are the site of ancient Heliopolis (p. [459]; obelisk not visible), Matarîyeh with its sycamores, Kubbeh, the residence of the Khedive, and the suburb of Abbâsîyeh (p. [459]).
130 M. Cairo (chief station), see p. [439].
Port Said, see p. [436]. The Cairo line at first skirts the W. bank of the Suez Canal (p. [437]). On the right lies Lake Menzaleh.
Beyond (28 M.) El-Kantara (‘the bridge’), the isthmus between lakes Menzaleh and Balah, traversed by the time-honoured military and caravan route from Egypt to Syria, we cross the bed of the latter lake, now largely drained.
We next cross El-Gisr (‘the barrier’), a hill 52 ft. high, between lakes Balah and Timsâh (‘crocodile’), once the most serious obstacle in the way of the canal.
49 M. Ismaîlîya, or Ismaïlia (Buffet; pop. 7000), junction for Suez, a quiet little town on the N. bank of Lake Timsâh.