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DESCRIPTIVE TEXT:
CAIRO (Arabic Misr-al-Ka-hira, or simply Misr), the capital of modern
Egypt and the niost populous city in Africa, on the Nile, 11 m. S. of
the apex of the Delta, in 30 ~ N. and 31 21 E. It is 130 m. S.E. of
Alexandria, and 148 E. of Suez by rail, though only 84 m. from the last-named
port by the overland route across the desert, in use before the opening
of the Suez Canal. Cairo occupies a length of 5 m. on the east bank
of the Nile, stretching north from the old Roman fortress of Babylon,
and covers an area of about 8 sq. m. It is built partly on the alluvial
plain of the Nile valley and partly on the rocky slopes of the Mokattam
hills, which rise 550 ft. above the town. The citadel,
which is built on a spur of the Mokattam hills, occupies the S.E. angle
of the city. The prospect from the ramparts of this fortress is one
of striking picturesqueness and beauty. Below lies the city with its
ancient walls and lofty towers, its gardens and squares, its palaces
and its mosques, with their delicately-carved domes and minarets covered
with fantastic tracery, the port of Bulak, the gardens and palace of
Shubra, the broad river studded with islands, the valley of the Nile
dotted with groups of trees, with the pyramids on the north horizon,
and on the east the barren cliffs, backed by a waste of sand. Since
the middle of the 19th century the city has more than doubled in size
and, population. The newer quarters, situated near the river, are laid
out in the fashion of French cities, but the eastern parts of the town
retain, almost unimpaired, their Oriental aspect, and in scores of narrow,
tortuous streets, and busy bazaars it is easy to forget that there has
been any change from the Cairo of medieval times. Here the line of fortifications
still marks the eastern limits of the city, though on the north large
districts have grown up beyond the walls. Neither on the south nor towards
the river are there any fortifications left.
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