Between the villages of Kharga and Gennâh, along a north and south belt lying somewhat to the east and on the downthrow side of the fault, are a number of wells whose waters are almost invariably more or less charged with ochre and alkaline salts. In some cases the proportion of dissolved salts is sufficiently great to render the water unfit for either drinking or irrigation, and even where it can be used for the latter purpose, ochre is deposited to such an extent as to bind the soil into a hard cake. The occurrence appears to be due to the geological position of the wells in this tract, where, owing to the beds being let down by the fault, the purple shales form the floor of the depression; it is perhaps from these beds that the waters derive their abnormally high contents of ferric oxide and other salts.
A PTOLEMAIC TEMPLE, QASR EL GHUATA.
DOUM-PALMS NEAR QASR EL GHUATA.
The wells near Qasr el Ghuâta are of similar nature, and thick banks of ochre have been deposited along their channels. I recollect on one occasion using the water of Ain el Ghuâta for making tea, and being considerably surprised at the inky blackness of the resulting liquid, although, in spite of the colour and a markedly ferruginous taste, the brew was not undrinkable.
Near the ruins of Qasr Zaiyan, and southward as far as the village of Bulaq, the country takes on quite a different aspect, owing to the numerous scrub-covered areas, dotted everywhere with semi-wild doum-palms. Doums thrive in very poor soil, and appear to be self-sown; they are to my mind far more graceful and picturesque than the ordinary date-palms, from which they differ in many important respects. The trunk of a well-grown doum-palm is forked, not once, but many times, the different stems preserving a considerable amount of symmetry; the branches, which are covered with the most atrocious hooks, terminate in sharp-pointed, serrated fan-shaped leaves. The fruit consists of bunches of hard nuts, and can be eaten either in its raw condition or after being ground into meal and cooked; most persons, however, except perhaps confirmed nut-eating vegetarians, would decline it in either state. Although the country throughout which the doum-palms abound appears to be more or less deserted, every tree has its owner among the inhabitants of the nearest village.
Bulaq, distant 25 kilometres from Kharga, has a population of 1,016, and is the centre of the mat and ‘zambile’ trade. The zambile is an open wide-mouthed basket which is used in every part of Egypt, and practically replaces the wheelbarrow of western lands. Formerly only small quantities were made for export, but the natives have not been slow to take advantage of the railway, and truck-loads of these baskets may now be frequently seen on the trains. The Bulaq varieties of mats and baskets are mostly made from the leaf of the doum-palm.
The village, bounded on three sides by sand and open desert, with the palm-groves and cultivated lands to the east, cannot be said to be particularly attractive. A few kilometres to the south is the tomb of Sheikh Khalid Ibn el Walîd, a large, square, whitewashed building surmounted by a dome.