month, grapes, cherries, and almonds are ripe; and encumbers, gourds, pease, beans, and lentils; and various pot-herbs, as purslain, asparagus, lettuce, corianders, succory, coleworts, &c. The gardens and orchards are watered by means of trenches filled from the Nile. After passing Cairo, this great river divides into four branches, one of which runs by Damietta, sometimes called Caphtor. The second runs near the city of Rosir or Rosetta, not far from Alexandria. The third passes by Asmon, a very large city on the eastern borders of Egypt. Near these great branches, there are many cities, castles, and towns, to which people travel partly by land, and partly by water. No country in the world can be compared to this for the multitude of inhabitants; and the whole land is plain, fruitful, and stored with good things. Old Misraim is two league distant from New Misraim, or Cairo; but the old city is now desolate, having many ruins of walls and houses, and not a few remains of the granaries and storehouses, built by Joseph, are still to be seen. In the same place, there is an artificial pillar, built by art of magic, the like of which is not in all the land. On the outside of the city, there are the remains of an ancient synagogue, which bears the name of our teacher Moses, and to preserve its ruins, an old minister of the disciples of the wise men [31], is maintained at this place, who is styled Schech Albounetzar, or father of the watch. The ruins of Old Misraim extend about four miles.