west, till they end close on the banks of the Nile about Turra.
The Nile here is about a quarter of a mile broad; and there cannot be the smallest doubt, in any person disposed to be convinced, that this is by very far [1] the narrowest part of Egypt yet seen. For it certainly wants of half-a-mile between the foot of the mountain and the Libyan shore, which cannot be said of any other part of Egypt we had yet come to; and it cannot be better described than it is by [2] Herodotus; and "again, opposite to the Arabian side, is another stony mountain of Egypt towards Libya, covered with sand, where are the Pyramids."
As this, and many other circumstances to be repeated in the sequel, must naturally awaken the attention of the traveller to look for the ancient city of Memphis here, I left our boat at Shekh Atman, accompanied by the Arabs, pointing nearly south. We entered a large and thick wood of palm-trees, whose greatest extension seemed to be south by east. We continued in this course till we came to one, and then to several large villages, all built among the plantation of date-trees, so as scarce to be seen from the shore.
These villages are called Metrahenny, a word from the etymology of which I can derive no information, and leaving the river, we continued due west to the plantation that is called Mohannan, which, as far as I know, has no signification either.
