One Of These By The Breach Of The Mountains On The
Egyptian Coast 17 Leagues Above Toro, And 11 Short
Of Suez; and the
other by the end of the nook or bay on which Suez stands; as at this
Place the hills on both sides end, and all the land remains quite plain
and low, without hillocks or any other impediment. This second appears
to me to be much more convenient for so great a work than the other,
because the land is very low, the distance shorter, and there is a haven
at Suez. All the rest of the coast is lined by great and high mountains
of hard rock. Hence Suez must be the place to which Cleopatra commanded
the ships to be brought across the isthmus, a thing of such great labour
that shortness was of most material importance: Here likewise for the
same reason must have been the trench or canal from the Nile to the Red
Sea; more especially as all the coast from Toro upwards is waste, and
without any port till we come to Suez.
During all the time which we spent between Toro and Suez, the heaven was
constantly overcast with thick black clouds, which seemed contrary to
the usual nature of Egypt; as all concur in saying that it never rains
in that country, and that the heavens are never obscured by clouds or
vapours: But perhaps the sea raises these clouds at this place, and
farther inland the sky might be clear; as we often see in Portugal that
we have clear pleasant weather at Lisbon, while at Cintra only four
leagues distant, there are great clouds mists and rain.
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