To-day, however, something is known of these.
The streets of Egyptian cities were usually laid out regularly, but they
were so narrow that, except in the principal ones, two chariots could
scarcely pass. This narrowness of the streets, which is frequently
observed in the ancient Arab cities, and which has been so long
maintained in all hot countries, had the advantage of securing shade at
all times on one side of the street. The buildings along the street were
ordinarily separated from each other by alleys; they were rarely more
than two stories high, except in such large cities as Thebes, where they
sometimes reached four and even five stories. The houses were so
arranged as to meet the demands of the climate. A court often preceded
the apartments which were disposed along both sides of a long corridor.
In other cases the rooms occupied three sides of the court; or oftener
still the court was surrounded on all sides by the different structures.
The ground-floor was reserved for the stables; it was used also for
storing the corn, and it contained the kitchen and the cellar. The
family occupied the upper stories. Above the whole was a terrace where
they could enjoy the cool air and even pass the night, when the heat was
excessive. Sometimes the terrace was protected by a light roof supported
by slender wooden columns. There were but few windows, so as to keep the
sun out as far as possible, and such as there were were placed nearly at
the top of the rooms.
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