CHAPTER IV.. * * * * *

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TOPOGRAPHY OF THE OASIS.

As already mentioned in the Introduction, Baharia Oasis is a large natural excavation in the Libyan Desert plateau. Previously existing maps frequently indicate this depression as being open towards the east, but one of the results of the survey expedition has been to show that such a representation is erroneous, Baharia differing from the southern oases in being entirely surrounded by an escarpment, for the most part steep and difficult of ascent. In plan the oasis is of highly irregular outline, more particularly on its western side; but the general shape of the excavation is that of a large oval, with its major axis running north-east and south-west, and with a narrow blunt pointed extension at each end. The extreme length (N.E.-S.W.) is about 94 kilometres, and its greatest width, measured at right angles to its length, some 42 kilometres. The average depth from the general desert plateau-level to the floor of the excavation is rather less than a hundred metres. Thus, though commonly called the “little oasis” in contradistinction to the still larger areas of Farafra, Kharga and Dakhla, Baharia is of considerable size, covering in all over 1,800 square kilometres. Within the excavation, and rising up from its floor, in some cases to a greater height than the bounding scarps, are numerous hills, the larger generally having flat tops and the smaller ones being more or less conical. The cultivated lands, which lie almost entirely around the villages in the north part of the oasis, bear only a very small ratio to the entire oasis-area, probably not exceeding in all, including palm-groves, 11 square kilometres; the remainder of the floor is, however, by no means absolutely waterless or totally devoid of vegetation, as numerous springs exist in certain areas, outside the cultivation-limits, and desert grasses and scrub cover considerable tracts; extensive salines, now mostly nearly dried up, are found in some localities.

It will be convenient to consider the topography of the oasis under the following principal heads:—

1. The bounding escarpments;

2. The hills within the oasis;

3. The floor of the oasis, including the villages, hamlets and springs.

I.—The Bounding escarpments.—At the most northerly point of the oasis is a narrow extension some 4½ kilometres wide, enclosing a large black hill, Jebel Horabi. The portion of the scarp, or wall, which bounds this extension is lower and less steep than that further south, as the level of the oasis-floor rises considerably towards the hill just mentioned. The roads from Feshn, Maghagha and the Fayum enter at the north-east point of the extension; the descent is easy, the fall from the plateau into the oasis-area being about 70 metres, with a further drop of some 30 metres just after passing Jebel Horabi. At this latitude the depression opens out considerably, the escarpment on the one side trending to the south-west, while that on the other side turns a little east of south; about 8 kilometres further on there is a sudden widening of the excavation, the scarps retreating respectively east and west, so that before the latitude of the villages is reached the oasis has a width of some 28 kilometres. Between the latitude of the villages and Ain el Haiss a marked difference in the two scarps is noticeable; both curve round so as to enclose a wide oval area, but while that on the east side shows a comparatively smooth outline, broken only by a few small projecting headlands and gullies, the western bounding wall displays a highly irregular shape, long irregular tongues of plateau being separated by wide or narrow “bays.”

On the east side, the most considerable irregularity is near Ain Gelid; south-east of this spring the road from Minia enters down a gently-falling open sandy gully, with a long square-ended tongue of plateau to the south of it. Further south two other roads, perhaps branches of the one just mentioned, enter by smaller gullies; the scarp here has become much less formidable than further north, and the top of the plateau is covered with countless small conical hills of white chalk. Near the north end of the large hill-mass E.N.E. of Ain el Haiss, the eastern scarp almost disappears, the oasis-floor having risen considerably; it becomes more marked further on, and continues to the south, though of no great height, with limestone ridges at its foot. Just south of the large hill-mass referred to, the lower limestone ridges unite so as to form a regular escarpment, which continues southward as the limiting-wall of the oasis, the upper scarp now forming the edge of a higher plateau about a kilometre away from the oasis-edge. The two escarpments run almost parallel, one forming a step above the other, to the south end of the oasis; the lower one, forming the oasis-wall proper, is much more considerable than the upper, and the edge of the upper one is frequently broken into hills. Small chalk-hills continue to cover the upper plateau.

From Jebel Horabi, at the extreme north end of the depression, the western wall, or escarpment, trends in a general direction of 30° south of west for about 20 kilometres before it turns and runs some 5 kilometres south, forming the prominent headland about 2½ kilometres north-west of El Qasr. This cliff, probably the boldest part of the whole oasis-wall, attains a height of some 175 metres above the lowest part of the floor of the depression. It is steep throughout and the only practicable passes to the plateau above are through occasional gullies, in which the slopes are of easier gradient. The main caravan road from El Qasr and Bawitti to Mogara and Alexandria gains the plateau by the long narrow gully 6½ kilometres N.N.W. of El Qasr. To the south of the headland, 2½ kilometres north-west of El Qasr, the escarpment runs back and forms a remarkable narrow bay, running east and west, with an average width of only 4 kilometres, and extending some 18 kilometres west of El Qasr. This indentation is separated from a much larger opening to the south by a long narrow promontory, or tongue of plateau, barely a kilometre wide in places. The extreme point of this tongue is 9 kilometres south-west of Bawitti.

The large bay to the south is bounded on the north by the usual steep wall of rock, but this becomes much less prominent at the western extremity, where the escarpment is low and easily accessible to camels. A few kilometres out to the west is another escarpment of white chalk trending irregularly in a N.N.E. and S.S.W. direction. An old road, probably joining the main caravan road from Bawitti to Siwa further west, runs up this bay and on to the plateau beyond. Numerous large and small hills occur within the bay. The southern cliff, formed of dark brown or black ferruginous sandstones, is remarkably irregular, and quite different in appearance and weathering from the northern wall. The promontory to the south of this bay juts out boldly into the oasis-area. Further south the escarpment recedes and runs in the most irregular manner some 25 kilometres south-west, several times retreating to form well-marked indentations in the general line of cliff; it afterwards trends 15 kilometres south-east up to the prominent corner 4 kilometres west of Ain el Haiss. A road from Ain el Haiss to Siwa reaches the escarpment 15 kilometres north-west of the spring, passing up a gully of easy gradient to the plateau. About 7 kilometres further on the chalk escarpment, already mentioned, is seen running N.N.E. and S.S.W.

About the latitude of Ain el Haiss the east and west escarpments approach each other considerably, the width of the depression narrowing from some 36 to about 15 kilometres. This narrowing continues, though more gradually, to the southern extremity, where the width is only 4 kilometres. The western side, south of Ain el Haiss, is formed of three separate scarps, one behind the other, the outermost being that of white chalk which has already been referred to. On the east a second scarp of less height is found behind the lower. The height of the main scarp above the oasis floor at the southern end of the oasis is about 80 metres.

At the extreme south the main road from Baharia to Farafra ascends up an easy gradient to the plateau above the lowest escarpment, the others being crossed further to the south.

The Hills within the Oasis-excavation.—The most striking feature in the topography of Baharia Oasis is the large number of hills within the area. These hills impede the view, so that from very few points on the low ground can any extended outlook be obtained, and they give to Baharia an appearance entirely different from that which characterises the other Egyptian oases. For the most part these hills have a black aspect, due to the nature of the rocks (ferruginous quartzites and dolerite) capping them; a few are reddish (ferruginous sandstone and ochreous clay); others again are white (limestone).

The most strongly-marked group of hills is that extending in a nearly straight north-easterly direction a few kilometres south of the villages. Forming a prolongation of the long tongue of the west scarp already mentioned, this line of hills almost cuts the oasis in two. The largest hill of the range, Jebel Hefhuf, a narrow, ridge-like hill of limestone, has a black appearance at its northern end, being here composed of dolerite; the others capped entirely by brown limestone and partly swathed in accumulations of blown sand are of lighter aspect. They rise to a height of some 130 metres above the level of the villages.

The large, dark, dolerite-capped hill between El Qasr-Bawitti and Zubbo-Mandisha (Jebel Mandisha) divides the two main cultivated tracts of the oasis from each other, the road from Mandisha to El Qasr passing over its southern end. A similar mass is Jebel Mayesra, the large triangular hill north of Jebel Mandisha; the blackness of Jebel Horabi, in the north end of the oasis, is, on the other hand, due not to eruptive rocks but to the presence of iron ore in considerable quantity.

The huge hill-mass near the east scarp, north of the latitude of Ain el Haiss, is of blackened sandstone, like most of the hills near it; some of those west of it are, however, white, owing to a capping of limestone, and these stand out in striking contrast to the others. No purpose would be served by a detailed description of the smaller hills; their positions will be evident from the map (Plate I), and except in the case of the larger ones, there is a great monotony of form, nearly all the smaller hills being conical. One of the most striking conical hills is seen near the west scarp in lat. 28° 26′ N. (10 kilometres north-east from El Qasr); this, however, is a limestone-capped hill, thus differing from the numerous cones in the south part of the oasis, which are mostly capped by hard dark ferruginous quartzites and sandstones.

The Floor of the Oasis.—The lowest part of the oasis-floor appears to be in the neighbourhood of El Qasr, where the altitude above sea-level is about 113 metres. Mandisha lies somewhat higher, and the hamlet of Harra, with the springs Ain Gelid and Ain Haswi lie on a level tract some 134 metres above sea-level. Ain el Haiss, according to the Survey’s barometric comparisons with Cairo, has an altitude of 156 metres above sea; as Jordan’s determination, however, gave only 122 metres, there is some little uncertainty about the actual altitude of this point. As might be expected, the lowest parts of the oasis-floor are those where springs abound; in the neighbourhood of the hills and escarpments there is always a gradual upward slope towards the bases of the hills and plateau. The major part of the oasis-floor is flat or gently undulating ground of sandstones and clays, strewn with fragments of rock derived from the hills; large areas, however, are overgrown with grasses and scattered bushes, notably to the north and west of the villages, in the neighbourhood of Ain Gelid, south-east of Jebel Hefhuf, and in the vicinity of Ain el Haiss; while other extensive tracts north of the villages, as well as south-east of Mandisha and between Harra and Ain Gelid, are covered by salty marshes, now partly dried up. The white salty crusts on the ground at these places give them a striking appearance, like a slightly rough glittering sheet of water. The tracts north of Zubbo and near Harra still contain much water and salty sludge; travelling over them needs great caution, as the dry crust will often support the weight of a man, while a camel sinks through into the soft mire beneath. Sand-accumulations do not cover such large tracts in Baharia as in the southern oases; there are, however, some small dunes around the cultivated lands of Mandisha and Zubbo, as well as on some of the hill-sides; the dunes support a scanty growth of tamarisk-bushes.

The principal villages of Baharia are four in number, all situated near together in the north part of the oasis in N. lat. 28° 21′ to 28° 22′. They are separated into two groups by a large hill (Jebel Mandisha), El Qasr and Bawitti lying to the west, and Mandisha and Zubbo to the east. The Government officials reside at Bawitti and El Qasr. According to the last census, the population of the oasis in 1897 was 6,081 divided among the four villages as follows:—

El Qasr 1.712

Bawitti 1.713

Mandisha 1.798

Zubbo 858

The males slightly outnumber the opposite sex.

The villages are small uninteresting collections of mud hovels, surrounded by gardens, palm-groves, and cultivated lands. Besides the cultivated tracts existing close around the villages, there are others at points more or less distant from them, tilled by men from the villages. Such are seen, for instance, west of Zubbo; at Ain Bayum, a spring with a small cultivated area, among the sand-dunes 4½ kilometres north-east of Zubbo, where a clump of date-palms forms a conspicuous landmark; Ain Sini and Ain Murun, 7 kilometres north-east of El Qasr; also some small tracts west of, and a large area south-west of, Bawitti. Ain Auena, El Ayun, and other points marked on Ascherson’s map, are probably within this last area. Taking the whole cultivated land, inclusive of palm-groves, at 11 sq. kilometres, the area per individual of population works out to about 0·43 feddans; this figure is somewhat lower than Kharga (0·56 feddan) and considerably less than that of Dakhla (1·49). While Kharga exports practically nothing, Baharia does a considerable export trade with the Nile Valley, principally in dates, although not on so large a scale as Dakhla.

In and near the villages springs are extremely numerous; the water is met with at shallow depths, and does not require, as in Kharga and Dakhla, deep-bored wells. It is led from its sources along underground aqueducts, which date from the Roman occupation; a description of these will be found in the chapter on antiquities (p. 73-80). No attempt was made by the survey to map or number the wells and springs within the vicinity of the villages; they are mostly concealed in the palm-groves and gardens. The water is slightly ferruginous, and frequently warm, bubbles of carbon dioxide rising with it. At Bawitti, the largest spring is cold, but one close by it is warm, although none approach the high temperature of the Dakhla wells. One of the principal sources of water in Mandisha, is a well, situated near the cemetery, 7 metres deep and timbered with palm trunks; the temperature of the water is 26° C. (air 12° C.), and when freshly drawn it is turbid with bubbles of carbon dioxide.

The process of cleaning out wells and boring fresh ones in Baharia is done with a very simple apparatus, an iron jumper about 1½ metres in length, 5 centimetres diameter, worked by a rope passing through an eye at one end, being the only boring-tool used. Cleaning out wells is carried on by this tool in conjunction with the “fass” (a sort of blunt adze used universally for digging operations in Egypt) and a rude basket-apparatus for the removal of sand and sludge. The upper part of the hole having been excavated by the “fass,” the jumper is worked by hand, no tripod or other frame being erected; the sludge is raised by a small basket of plaited grass, fitted on to the lower end of the jumper, lowered into the hole by a rope, the sand settling in the basket after jumping the iron tool, with the basket attached, within the well. The hole is generally made 75 centimetres diameter, and sinking is said to go on at the rate of ⅓ metre per hour, ten men being employed, who relieve each other. It does not appear, however, that this apparatus is capable of sinking new wells, being only used for cleaning out old ones; most of the water used is derived from ancient Roman adits.

The water from a single spring often supplies several land-owners; the usual method of distribution is by means of a wooden weir, in the upper edge of which rectangular notches are cut, each individual being entitled to the water which flows through a certain number of notches. As a rule, the springs are banked up at night, so that the water accumulates in a large pool near, and is allowed to run on to the fields in the daytime.

Taxation in Baharia and Farafra is based on the land cultivated and not, as in Kharga and Dakhla, on the water. Date-palms, are taxed 15 milliemes per annum. The numbers of trees at the 1897 assessment were, apricots, 4,863; olives, 5,370; palms, 93,000, or about fifteen of the latter per inhabitant. The great article of produce in the oasis is therefore dates, and at the date-gathering season the inhabitants are busily employed in gathering, drying and packing the fruit for export to the Nile Valley. Three-fourths of the whole date production are exported. The dates are of excellent quality, and find a ready sale, the villages of the oasis being crowded with camels and traders from the valley each November. A camel-load of dates, packed in two plaited-grass bags, is bought in the oasis for 500 milliemes, and is said to be sold in the Nile Valley for four times that sum, so that the Beduin, to whom the trading is almost wholly confined, even allowing for difficulties of transport, make a good profit.

Though dates are the only fruit exported, olives, apricots, grapes, pomegranates, oranges, lemons, and figs are grown in great numbers, and about 600 feddans are cultivated with rice, wheat and barley crops. Clover is sown after the rice crop is gathered. The area of land cultivated for cereals is said to be slowly diminishing year by year, having been 900 feddans fifteen years ago; the decrease is put down to a diminished yield from the springs, owing to their becoming sanded and choked up, but for this the inhabitants are themselves largely to blame, as they do not take sufficient measures to keep the wells free. It may be that water has been diverted to the palm-groves, these furnishing the saleable article. It will be apparent, from the figures already given, that palm-groves cover the greater portion of the irrigated land around the villages.

The public health of the oasis is far from good. Though free from the opthalmia which is so prevalent in the Nile Valley, the inhabitants suffer much from fevers and gastric disorders, and according to the Government doctor virulent epidemics of small-pox occasionally visit the place. The low standard of health is partly attributable to the bad quality of the water, but is probably highly aggravated by the swampy ground found in many localities. It is also noticeable that no trouble is taken to protect the drinking-water from contamination.

Besides the four principal villages already mentioned, small settlements exist at Mandisha Aguza, 2 kilometres east by south from Mandisha; at Harra, a tiny hamlet 14 kilometres east of Mandisha; at Ain Jafarra, 6 kilometres south of Mandisha; and at Ain el Haiss, in the south part of the oasis. The populations, etc., of these outlying settlements are included in the figures given above for the chief villages.

Mandisha Aguza consists of a group of mud dwellings aggregated round a low sandstone eminence, surrounded by a small cultivated tract. Ascherson records that in 1876 the inhabitants still spoke the Siwa dialect among themselves. Cailliaud had already remarked in 1820 that the spot was peopled by colonists from Siwa. Harra consists of about half a dozen hovels, sheltering a population which cannot exceed fifty, with several springs and palm-groves, and a small tract of cultivated land. The principal spring is marked by a large pool of clear water, about 40 metres in diameter, lying in a slight depression to the south of the houses; the water has a temperature of 24° C. (hotter than the air). There is plenty of water at this place, and more can easily be got by digging to a small depth.

At Ain Jafarra there is only one house, tenanted by a single family. At least two springs exist here, one being near the house and the other at a distance of some 700 metres to the east; the water from the latter spring is led by a long canal to the small palm-grove and patch of cultivated land near the house. The water, though somewhat saline, is drinkable.

Ain el Haiss is an important point on the road from the villages of Baharia to Farafra. It lies some 40 kilometres S.S.W. from Bawitti, in about lat. 28° 2′ N., long. 28° 39′ E. of G. It is a small settlement, being tenanted at the time of survey by only three or four men. There are two springs, one at a higher level than the other. The upper spring is close to the house occupied by the inhabitants; the water, which has a temperature of 15°.6 C. (i.e. 3° warmer than the air at the time of measurement) is collected into a shallow muddy pool, surrounded by a mud dam, whence it flows westward on to the fields. The lower spring forms a pool of about 400 square metres in extent, the temperature of the water here being 14° C. It is situated about 400 metres south-west of the one just described, and like it serves for irrigation. Rice was the crop growing at the time of our visit. The total irrigated area at Ain el Haiss is about 60 or 70 feddans, and there are only a few palms. Besides the house there is a sheikhs’ tomb, which is an object of veneration in the oasis, a small walled-in garden, and a large ruin; the last named will be described among the antiquities of the oasis. Another small cultivated tract, some 15 or 20 feddans in extent, with at least one spring, exists about 3 kilometres north-west of Ain el Haiss. According to Jordan there are two springs here, named Ain Hassab and Ain el Gharb, owned in 1874 by the Kadi of El Qasr, but the place is usually spoken of as Ain el Haiss el Bahari.

East of Ain el Haiss are two considerable patches of cultivated land which were mapped from the east scarp, and thus not examined by the survey. Of these, the most northerly one is situated about 9 kilometres east of Ain el Haiss; according to Ascherson it bears the name of Tablemun, and its principal spring had a temperature of 27° C. The ruins of a Coptic village existing here show that the place was inhabited in early times. It lies some 5 kilometres S.S.W. from Tablemun, and about 7 kilometres E.S.E. from Ain el Haiss, and thus forms the most southerly cultivated spot in the oasis. Both these localities were reported by our men, sent there to obtain water, to be untenanted; the lands are doubtless cultivated by men sent from Ain el Haiss or from the villages for the purpose. A long line of sand-dunes and scrub runs S.S.W., hiding these places from a traveller approaching from Ain el Haiss.

Besides the springs at the inhabited spots above described, and those used for irrigated lands more or less near to them, there are numerous outlying springs, which, while not serving for irrigation, are important as localities where water may be obtained. The chief of these are Ain Gelid, on the road from Minia and Samalut, 3½ kilometres south-east of Harra; Ain Haswi, 9½ kilometres due south of Harra, to which two roads from the east scarp converge; Ain Beled, 7 kilometres west of Bawitti; and Ain Khaman, half-way between Ain el Haiss and the south point of the oasis. The water at Ain Khaman is said to be bitter and the spring is apparently frequently sanded-up and difficult to find, so that travellers to Farafra should take in their supplies at Ain el Haiss.

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