DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4669#0154
THE NILE VALLEY 127
He spoke of the Delta, where the Greeks possessed
a city,* half-way between the present sites of Alex-
andria and Cairo, which had been granted to them
by Amasis, or Ahmes II., in the sixth century B.C.
That Egypt is "the gift of the Nile" must be
equally apparent " to all who have only the com-
mon powers of observation " who ascend the river.
From the Mediterranean to the most southern limit
of their voyage the country is entirely formed by
the alluvial deposit The Nile Valley is formed by
two mountain ranges which vary considerably in
distance from each other, being at times many miles
apart The greatest breadth of the cultivated portion
in Egypt is from fifteen to thirty miles, in Nubia
from five to ten miles, but the soil throughout is of
the same fine alluvial character, in many places
several feet in depth. Villages with palm-groves are
dotted about, and canals for conveying the water to
the limits of the cultivated area are cut throughout
the land. The altitude of the mountain ranges varies
very considerably. The western chain rises to a
height of about 250 feet above the sea near Cairo,
and forms a commanding position for the Tyramids
of Ghi/.eh. Its elevation increases towards the south,
and attains a height of 1,500 feet at Assiout, after
which it subsides, but rises again to considerable
heights in the mountains of Western Thebes. The
limestone, of which the range consists as far as
Esneh, gives place to the Nubian sandstone, which
is crossed at Assouan by volcanic rocks of syenite,
diorite, &c, and form the boundaries between the
countries of Egypt and Nubia.
There is a sculpture which shows the Nile issuing
vpt Exploration Fund. »oL iii.. NankratU.
He spoke of the Delta, where the Greeks possessed
a city,* half-way between the present sites of Alex-
andria and Cairo, which had been granted to them
by Amasis, or Ahmes II., in the sixth century B.C.
That Egypt is "the gift of the Nile" must be
equally apparent " to all who have only the com-
mon powers of observation " who ascend the river.
From the Mediterranean to the most southern limit
of their voyage the country is entirely formed by
the alluvial deposit The Nile Valley is formed by
two mountain ranges which vary considerably in
distance from each other, being at times many miles
apart The greatest breadth of the cultivated portion
in Egypt is from fifteen to thirty miles, in Nubia
from five to ten miles, but the soil throughout is of
the same fine alluvial character, in many places
several feet in depth. Villages with palm-groves are
dotted about, and canals for conveying the water to
the limits of the cultivated area are cut throughout
the land. The altitude of the mountain ranges varies
very considerably. The western chain rises to a
height of about 250 feet above the sea near Cairo,
and forms a commanding position for the Tyramids
of Ghi/.eh. Its elevation increases towards the south,
and attains a height of 1,500 feet at Assiout, after
which it subsides, but rises again to considerable
heights in the mountains of Western Thebes. The
limestone, of which the range consists as far as
Esneh, gives place to the Nubian sandstone, which
is crossed at Assouan by volcanic rocks of syenite,
diorite, &c, and form the boundaries between the
countries of Egypt and Nubia.
There is a sculpture which shows the Nile issuing
vpt Exploration Fund. »oL iii.. NankratU.