ws or
tasteful designs. As has been said, the principal feature of Khanyunis
is its Kala (see sketch), which abuts on a broad place or square, the
left side of which still shows traces of a former enclosure. On either
side of the entrance is a hall, with a fragment of a pedestal. That on
the left contains the modest dwelling of the governor, who lives quite
alone here, with but one servant. The Kala, which is 850 years old, once
formed a square, at the corners of which were circular towers, with oval
cupolas, and three embrasures. The two front towers only now remain, the
back wall having been quite destroyed, and the once enclosed square is
now filled with a wild confusion of wretched houses, half in ruins,
which serve the soldiers as a place of habitation. In the centre of the
front side is a gate with loopholes within the pointed arch, above
which is a Moorish frieze crowned with lilies. On both sides of the
gate, and on the broad front wall, are pyramidical battlements with
tapering ends. Inside the archway is an inscription of Sultan Bargut of
Cairo, and either side is ornamented with a lion, rudely sculptured in
relief. Arabic inscriptions are cut in the walls on both sides of the
gate, and in the gateway itself; no regard having been paid to keeping
within the stone rows. To the right of the gate, within the Kala, rises
the octagonal minaret of the mosque, from which is obtained a fine view
of the ruinous interior, with its labyrinth of dilapidated houses, as
well as of the whole village. From here four roads can be seen diverging
from Khanyunis, namely the El Harish road, the road leading to Suez
_via_ Akaba, the Benishaela road, and lastly, the Gaza road. At the
entrances to these roads are grouped the houses of the village. Raising
our eyes towards the horizon we saw the yellow sand-hills which bound
the plantations towards the sea, strikingly contrasting with the bright
green trees, and on the other side the rich verdant plain stretching
away towards Gaza, which may be discerned in the distance. The numerous
prickly-pear bushes surrounding the village on the Gaza side are a
conspicuous feature in the landscape.

We now descended to complete our inspection of the Kala. In the interior
the mosque, with its oval dome, has almost gone to ruin; but the fine
though simple marble pulpit still stands in good preservation. In the
midst of the ruins, which have a somewhat picturesque appearance, is a
house in a very da