| General physical sketch of Egypt—Lower Egypt—The Nile—The valleys of the Nile—Soil and cultivation—Annual inundation of Lower Egypt by the Nile—Gradual rise and decrease of the river—Use of the water for drinking—Rapidity of the current, and navigation of the river | [52] |
LETTER VI.
| Physical sketch of Egypt, continued—Climate of Egypt—Heat—Infrequency of rain—Prevalence of northwesterly winds—Other winds—Khamáseen winds—The Samoom—Whirling pillars of sand—The ‘saráb,’ or mirage—Irrigation of the fields—Physical and agricultural calendar of Egypt for each month of the year | [59] |
LETTER VII.
| The Ramadán, or month of abstinence—Severity of the fasting—Imposing effect of the night-call to prayer by the Mueddins—Meals at night during the Ramadán—Oppressive heat, and annoyance occasioned by insects and vermin—Flies, musquitoes, bugs, fleas, rats, lizards, spiders, scorpions—Extraordinary storm of wind—Unusual rise of the Nile—Murrain among the cattle | [70] |
LETTER VIII.
| Danger in travelling through the streets of Cairo—Prejudice against Europeans, and oppressive treatment of Christians and Jews—Procession of the Mahmal, preparatory to the departure of the great caravan of pilgrims for Mekkah—Origin of the ceremony of the Mahmal | [76] |
LETTER IX.
| General appearance of Cairo—Narrowness of the ‘shárës,’ or great thoroughfare-streets, and inconveniences of transit through them—Costume of the inhabitants, as seen in the streets—Shops—‘Darbs,’ or by-streets—‘Sooks,’ or markets—Kháns—Khán El-Khaleelee—‘Wekáleh-el-Gellábeh,’ or market of the slave-merchants—Quarters of the Jews, Greeks, Copts, and Franks—Vacant spaces, lakes, cemeteries, and gardens of the city—‘El-Khaleeg,’ the canal which traverses the city—General description of the mosques | [81] |
LETTER X.