THE SOUTHERN VILLAGES
Ain Girm Meshîm — Agûl el Douma — The Southern Villages —
Jaja and Dakhakhin — Intermittent Flow and Geyser-like Action of
Wells — Ain Dakhakhin — Fruit Gardens — Raised Cultivated
Terraces formed of Wind-blown Materials — Gradual Elevation of
Wells — Ancient Village of Dakhakhin — Ain Bergis — Beris
Village — Ain el Hushi — Block-Houses and Dervishes — Maks
Bahari — Method Employed in Cleaning out Wells — Ain Bella —
Encroachment of Dunes — Dush — The most Southern Wells of the
Oasis — Nakhail.
After leaving the wells belonging to Bulaq the traveller has
to cross a stretch of desert about 40 kilometres in width before
reaching the first well and cultivated land of the southern group of
villages. On this expanse water is only found in one locality—at
Ain Girm Meshîm, a pool with a very small flow. There is little
doubt that this was at one time a very good well, as traces of
irrigating channels extend outwards to a considerable distance;
moreover, a large salt-pan is still visible to the west, and this
could only have been formed at a time when there was far more water
running to waste than at present. The immediate neighbourhood is
picturesquely dotted with doum-palms, some of those near the well
being magnificent trees.
Agûl el Douma, lying 17 kilometres south-west of Ain Girm Meshîm,
on the opposite (west) side of the belt of dunes, is a place which,
previous to my inspection, had probably never been visited by
Europeans, although known to a few of the Bedawin. Surface-water
can be obtained by digging to a depth of a few feet near one of the
doums. The place, marked by a small area of scrub and a doum-palm or
two, was formerly used to some extent by Arabs carrying contraband
from the south, as by watering here they were able to pass through
the oasis unobserved.
The most northerly of the southern villages are Jaja and Dakhakhin,
but 6 kilometres to the north lies an isolated group of doum-palms,
known as Ain el Douma. At the present time the place is uninhabited,
the old well being completely sanded-up, though water may be
obtained by digging out the centre. Both north and south of Ain el
Douma occur smooth plains of alluvial clay, in the latter direction
extending to the villages of Dakhakhin and Jaja.
Jaja is visible from a distance of many kilometres on account
of a thick clump of dark green acacias, growing on the summit of
an eminence. Dakhakhin, on the other hand, is hidden, being on the
south side of a sandy hill covered with short scrub only. A low-lying
portion of the alluvial-covered plain separates the two villages,
which are situated close together on an east and west line.
At Jaja there are scattered doums and a number of acacias, as well
as a small dense grove of date-palms, altogether a goodly number
of trees. The well is a broad and deep pool surrounded by vertical
walls of brown clay, representing the material from time to time
thrown out during the process of cleaning. Large bubbles of gas are
generally to be seen rising intermittently to the surface, while at
times the pool becomes perfectly still, except for the occasional
small bubbles which continue to rise at different points. Then
follows a strong flow from the actual bore (situated near the south
side of the pool), the water boiling up and breaking the surface
with considerable force and noise, which may continue for several
minutes before everything becomes quiet again. In all probability
the markedly intermittent flow is due to the temporary blocking
of the bore-hole by the sediment forming the bottom of the pool,
the mud being from time to time forced back by the accumulating
pressure of the water and gas below. The temperature of the water
was found to be 86° F., and the yield was stated to amount to 1½
qirats, or about 35 to 40 gallons a minute.
Dakhakhin is charmingly situated on the southern slope of an
eminence, alongside a dingle, prettily wooded with tamarisk and
doum-palms. The well is on the north side, and higher up than the
village. One of the irrigating channels, cut out near the bottom of
the western slope, follows the winding of the dingle to a thick clump
of date-palms near the mouth. Higher up, alongside the village, the
water in another channel races down the hill in a series of little
runs and falls, the stream threading its way through fruit-gardens
containing date-palms and vines, fig, mulberry, and apricot trees,
as well as pomegranates and bananas.
Ain Dakhakhin is a huge pool when full, though at times, when the
retaining bank on the south side is cut, a large part of its sandy
bed is exposed. The flow, taxed, I believe, as 3½ qirats (110 to
120 gallons per minute), varies at different times of the year,
and depends to a considerable extent on the amount of sediment in
the pool. Cleaning is periodically undertaken, in order to remove
the sand which drifts in from the north side in large quantities.
Neither in Ain Jaja nor Ain Dakhakhin is there any trace of wooden
casing similar to that with which the ancient wells of Northern
Kharga are so commonly lined. This bears out the conclusion to
which I was led on other grounds—that the original outlets were
many metres lower than at present, on the level of the surrounding
plain, in fact. The eminences of Jaja and Dakhakhin appear to have
been formed almost entirely by the gradual accumulation of blown
sand and clay-dust, compacted and held together by vegetation. The
material is swept by the prevalent winds from the clay plains and
sandy deserts lying to the north, and deposited on the cultivated
lands, owing to the presence thereon of water and vegetation. Its
deposition is encouraged by the peasants, as the admixture of sand
and clay forms a loam of suitable texture for agricultural purposes,
and is regarded as having considerable fertilizing value.
[Illustration: AIN DAKHAKHIN.]
There is little doubt that originally nearly all the wells
in Southern Kharga had their outlets on the same level as the
plain. Owing to the periodical deposition of wind-borne materials,
the cultivated lands have gradually risen, until at the present day
they form, in the majority of cases, terraces standing well above the
general level. This continual raising of the land has necessitated
a corresponding elevation of the wells, with the result that the
wooden linings originally put into the bores have been completely
lost sight of. Instead of issuing from a clean, unobstructed hole,
the water has now to force its way upwards through a great mass of
sandy mud, and before it can be utilized it has to rise to a much
higher level than formerly. Little wonder, then, that the flows
of the majority of these wells have very much decreased, with
the consequence that the cultivated tracts are much smaller than
of old. In more than one case the outlet of a well had, in modern
times, risen to such a height that the discharge had become reduced
to a mere trickle. Twenty or twenty-five years ago, for instance,
Ain Dakhakhin was on the summit of an eminence which, by the slow
accumulation of sand and clay, had reached a height of 30 metres
above the surrounding plain. Remedial measures were then taken by
the inhabitants, and its level reduced by between 8 and 9 metres,
the present level of the well and highest fields being 23 metres
above the plain.
The height of a cultivated terrace above the general level of the
plain on which the well was originally sunk affords some measure
of its antiquity. It is difficult, however, in the absence of
observations extending over a number of years, to estimate what the
general rate of accumulation may have been. It would, moreover,
vary greatly with local conditions, but if an average rate of a
centimetre a year be assumed, the age of Ain Dakhakhin is indicated
as being something over 3,000 years.
The ancient Dakhakhin lies a kilometre to the S.S.E., and,
when inhabited, must have been as ugly as the modern village is
pleasing. When the diminution of the flow of Ain Dakhakhin became
serious, the people migrated to their present location, so as to be
near the well and under the shelter of the hill. The ruins are only
slightly above the level of the plain, but cover an area many times
greater than that occupied by the modern village. This circumstance
alone shows how insignificant is the present flow compared with
what it must once have been.
The most northerly of the group of wells in the neighbourhood of
Beris is Ain Bergis, situated on the south side of a broad platform
of sandy lacustrine beds. In this case there is a containing bank
across the valley below the well, but at the time of my visit it
was cut, so that the bottom of the pool was exposed. The latter
consisted of a circular basin of soft sediment, through which muddy
water was oozing and bursting in small shoots, suggesting an action
in many respects analogous to that of geysers and mud-volcanoes. The
natives informed me that the basin takes two days and nights to
fill after the bank has been closed.
Between Ain Bergis and Dakhakhin stretches a continuous plain of
alluvial clay, amounting to several thousands of acres. In its
present state this heavy clay land is not regarded as of much value
for cultivation, but in the event of new wells being sunk it could
be lightened and improved by allowing and encouraging the deposition
of blown sand and dust—by following, in fact, the practice which
from time immemorial has been in vogue in this district.
The best wells in the neighbourhood of Beris are Johar, Foq el
Doum, and El Hushi, the last named yielding 6 qirats, the others 9
each. The remaining wells in the district give from 2 to 4 qirats. In
situation and appearance the Beris wells do not differ essentially
from those already described, so that we may pass on to a brief
notice of the village.
Nothing of particular interest is to be met with in Beris, the chief
village of the southern part of the oasis. It is rather exposed,
and many of the streets are consequently dusty; in fact some of
those on the north side are deep in blown sand. Thick groves of
date-palms enclose the village on the east and south sides, but
not on the north. The cultivated lands lie partly to the north
and partly to the south-east, but are ineffectual in protecting
the village from the dust-laden northerly winds, except to a small
extent when the fields are under full crops. The village well is
Ain el Hushi, a large bubbling pool some 15 metres in diameter,
situated in the palm-groves immediately south of the village.
Solidly-built rectangular mud-brick buildings are found alongside
most of the larger wells in the Beris district, and a modern
visitor would have some difficulty in guessing to what use they
could ever have been put. They were, as a matter of fact, erected
by the Egyptian Government during the time of the Dervish raids,
to serve as block-houses for the garrisons maintained in the oasis
for the purpose of protecting the wells and villages. During this
period several notables and petty officials in this and the oasis of
Dakhla were carried off by the Dervishes into captivity in the Sudan.
Maks Bahari, the next place to the south, is a tiny little hamlet
on the southern slope of a sandy eminence, with extensive clay lands
studded with numerous doum-palms, but without water to irrigate more
than a small portion of these. The village well is on the south
side, and yields about 80 gallons per minute. As usual, it forms
a pool contained by a bank, the latter being cut periodically to
allow of the well being cleared of sediment.
After the winter crops are harvested in the spring, it appears
to be the general practice for the cultivators to pay special
attention to their water-supply. The retaining banks are cut and
the water allowed to drain off at the lowest level possible, the
wells being sometimes left in this condition for several months,
so that they gradually clean themselves with a minimum of trouble
to their owners. The mud, exposed on the sides of the basin,
continually slides downwards into the central pool, and is carried
away in suspension by the outflowing water.
Drift sand has been very destructive in the neighbourhood of Maks
Bahari. At Ain Bella, 2½ kilometres to the N.N.W., there are at
present only a few acres under cultivation, but the tract anciently
tilled is seen in the eroded remnants of an alluvial platform to
the north and north-east; this is now a deeply-grooved and ridged
hummocky area of loam, full of dead palm-stubs, with rootlets
ramifying in every direction. The original terrace appears to
have extended far to the north, the portion now remaining being
composed of alternating layers of sand and clay, dipping steeply
to the south. At the present day many of the cultivated terraces
are not only being gradually raised by the continual deposition
of wind-borne materials, but are being extended horizontally,
owing to the constant additions of layers of sand and clay-dust
to the steeply-inclined southern or lee faces. In many respects
the growth of these terraces is analogous to that of sand-dunes,
though, unlike the latter, the northern portions of the terraces
are practically stationary.
At one time or another many wells existed to the west, but are
now buried in the dunes, their former presence being testified
by isolated exposures of arable land and by occasional trees and
bushes. The dunes, following their natural S.S.E. course in the
direction of the prevailing winds, seem to be still encroaching on
the belt of country occupied by the existing wells and cultivated
lands, and it is probably only a matter of time, perhaps a few
hundred years, before they blot out the whole of the south part of
the oasis. The sand speedily envelops any settlements which are
abandoned, as nothing encourages the formation of dunes to such
an extent as vegetation, and this nearly always abounds in the
neighbourhood of the wells.
There is little to commend itself to notice at Maks Qibli, the
southern of the two hamlets of the same name; there are scattered
doums, several groves of date-palms, and small patches of cultivation
irrigated by isolated wells, all on high ground. Here, as elsewhere
in this part of the country, much land has gone out of cultivation,
though it must be mentioned that the villagers are rather progressive
in planting trees and maintaining small vegetable gardens.
Dush lies out of the main line of villages, being 10 kilometres east
of Maks Qibli, not far from the eastern wall of the oasis. It is
a pretty little place, with small clumps of palms, and two white
Sheikhs’ tombs on the north side. Ain el Burrda, the big well
immediately alongside the village, ceased flowing about three years
ago, to the great grief of the inhabitants, who now have to carry
their water from Ain el Karm, itself barely running. Fortunately,
the great Ain Johar, situated to the south but irrigating land
to the north, continues to discharge with unabated vigour. More
conspicuous than the village is the ancient Qasr Dush, occupying
the summit of a small hill to the east. This will be noticed later.
[Illustration: DUSH VILLAGE.]
The wells attached to the hamlets of Dush and Maks mark the limits
of the oasis to the south. The most southerly running well of any
importance is Ain el Qasr, though Ain Zaha el Din, still farther
to the south, just trickles, and irrigates a tiny area of not more
than a few square metres. Ain Mabrûka, a kilometre south of the
last-mentioned well, is overgrown with green weed, and surrounded
by a patch of tamarisk, short prickly scrub, and two or three wild
palms. This is the most southerly point at which exposed water
is to be seen, though in the midst of a large area of scrub still
farther to the south a sanded-up well of the name of Ain el Terfai
is reported to exist.
The scrub-covered area of Ain el Terfai is about 25 kilometres
south of Beris. To the south the surface gradually rises, and is
absolutely devoid of vegetation, the oasis-depression having given
way to the true desert. The next available water is at a place called
Nakhail, 60 kilometres to the S.S.E.; the water there is good, but
only exists in small quantities, obtainable in one or two spots by
digging to a depth of a couple of metres.