t
Cataract and 551 m. S. of Cairo by rail. Three miles farther south, at
Shellal, the Egyptian railway terminates. Korosko, 118 m. by river above
Assuan, is a small place notable as the northern terminus of the caravan
route from the Sudan across the Nubian desert. Since the building of the
railway--which starts 96 m. higher up, at Wadi Halfa--to Khartum, this
route is little used, and Korosko has lost what importance it had.

_Ancient Cities and Monuments._--Many of the modern cities of Egypt are
built on the sites of ancient cities, and they generally contain some
monuments of the time of the Pharaohs, Greeks or Romans. The sites of
other ancient cities now in complete ruin may be indicated. Memphis, the
Pharaonic capital, was on the west bank of the Nile, some 14 m. above
Cairo, and Heliopolis lay some 5 m. N.N.E. of Cairo. The pyramids of
Giza or Gizeh, on the edge of the desert, 8 m. west of Cairo, are the
largest of the many pyramids and other monuments, including the famous
Sphinx, built in the neighbourhood of Memphis. The site of Thebes has
already been indicated. Syene stood near to where the town of Assuan now
is; opposite, on an island in the Nile, are scanty ruins of the city of
Elephantine, and a little above, on another island, is the temple of
Philae. The ancient Coptos (Keft) is represented by the village of Kuft,
between Luxor and Kena. A few miles north of Kena is Dendera, with a
famous temple. The ruins of Abydos, one of the oldest places in Egypt,
are 8 m. S.W. of Balliana, a small town in Girga mudiria. The ruined
temples of Abu Simbel are on the west side of the Nile, 56 m. above
Korosko. On the Red Sea, south of Kosseir, are the ruins of Myos Hormos
and Berenice. Of the ancient cities in the Delta there are remains,
among others, of Sais, Iseum, Tanis, Bubastis, Onion, Sebennytus,
Pithom, Pelusium, and of the Greek cities Naucratis and Daphnae. There
are, besides the more ancient cities and monuments, a number of Coptic
towns, monasteries and churches in almost every part of Egypt, dating
from the early centuries of Christianity. The monasteries, or _ders_,
are generally fort-like buildings and are often built in the desert.
Tombs of Mahommedan saints are also numerous, and are often placed on
the summit of the cliffs overlooking the Nile. The traveller in Egypt
thus views, side by side with the activities of the present day, where
occident and orient meet and clash, memorials of every race and
c