Euphrates somewhat north of that place. There have been various temporary extensions of this line both to the east and to the north, but there is no satisfactory physical boundary corresponding either to the present administrative line or to former political lines, although various possibilities have been suggested. The further north the line is moved the greater is the wedge of Syrian territory between Asia Minor and Mesopotamia, and the larger is the Turkish-speaking territory included in Syria. It must also be remembered that Alexandretta is now the port of western Mesopotamia, and it will be to the interest of any power established there to have access to the Mediterranean secured.
In the south the boundary between Egypt and Syria, settled in 1906, follows an arbitrary line drawn from slightly west of Rafa on the Mediterranean to slightly east of Taba, south of Akaba, on the Red Sea. The boundary is completed by a line starting south of Akaba and running north—eastwards towards Ma'an and the depression of El-Jafar, separating the vilayet of Damascus from the vilayet of the Hejaz.
In modern usage the expression Palestine has no precise meaning, but it is best taken as being equivalent to southern Syria. When defined in accordance with geographical and political conditions, the drawing of the northern boundary alone presents any special difficulty. On the west side of Jordan the Litani (Nahr el-Kasimie) is a definite physical limit from its western bend to its mouth, and the boundary may then be completed from the bend of the Litani eastward to the Jordan or may follow the northern limit of the kaza of the Merj Ayun.
The amount of country east of the Jordan that may be reckoned to Palestine depends chiefly on the political situation of Damascus. If Damascus itself be associated with southern Syria the difficulty disappears, as all that portion of the centre of Syria that lies to the east of Jebel esh-Sharki may easily be separated from northern Syria and associated with Pales-
