Chapter VI: 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.

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.

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.