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.
