The Roads connecting the Oasis of Baharia with the Nile Valley and other Oases.
The roads traversed by the Survey parties between Baharia and other places are three in number, viz., from near Maghagha and from Minia in the Nile Valley, and from Baharia to Farafra Oasis. Other well-known routes run from the Fayum, from Bahnessa, Samalut (Ascherson) and Delga, in the Nile Valley, from Alexandria, via Mogara, and from Siwa (Jordan, Cailliaud). The Survey’s return traverse to Minia from the south end of Baharia did not follow any defined road, but kept on the open plateau on a course computed from the known positions of the points of departure and destination.[17]
Road from Feshn and Maghagha to Baharia.The road from Feshn and Maghagha to Baharia leaves the edge of the Nile Valley cultivation at Qasr el Lamlum Bey, which bears 51½° west of true north from Maghagha railway station, and is distant 15·4 kilometres. From this point the road is well-defined and easily followed right into the oasis. In the following description the distances are given from the edge of the Nile Valley cultivation.
The road at first leads over a strip of drift sand, half a kilometre broad, with short prickly scrub, passing a white mosque on the left and then turning off somewhat to a direction 26° south of west, and continuing in a straight line for 15 kilometres over an undulating gravelly plain. The high prominent cliffs, about 7 or 8 kilometres to the north-west, are the flanks of Jebel Muailla, and a valley known as Wadi Muailla leads through them to the Wadi Rayan in the Fayum depression.[18] At 19 kilometres the valley scarp, with a number of isolated peaks, is approached on the right, while ridges and low mounds form the plain below, well-marked lines of drainage running from here in a south-east direction towards the cultivation. At 23 kilometres the scarp runs back, enclosing a large bay, across which the road runs and ascends to the plateau beyond at 27·8 kilometres. Numerous isolated parallel sand-dunes in the form of small ridges are seen running out into the bay from the cliff at the far end, all lying slightly west of north and east of south, or parallel to the normal wind direction.
The escarpment bounding the Nile Valley at this point is only some 15 metres in height, being thus quite insignificant compared with the cliffs on the east side. The plateau here was found to be about 140 metres above the cultivation, the road having risen gradually throughout. The latter continues for about 1½ kilometres across the strip of plateau when it again descends, making a slight detour to the left for easy descent. It then continues 9° south of west, slightly winding, over gravelly undulating ground. At 31-32 kilometres a line of low hills is passed on the right, while a dark well-marked range lies 6-7 kilometres to the left.
A ridge of sandstone, known as Jebel el Ghudda, is passed on the right at 45 kilometres, from the end of which a small dune runs out; beyond, the plain resumes its monotonous undulating character, a low ridge being crossed at 61 kilometres. There, the road, consisting of a number of more or less parallel well-marked narrow paths worn by camels, which have a somewhat general habit of marching in line one behind the other, changes its direction to 36° south of west, falling gradually in level until a patch of scrub is reached 6½ kilometres further on. This scrub was dead at the time of the visit, and furnished a useful supply of fuel. From this point the course is 7° south of west (true), which direction is maintained for the next 42 kilometres over a remarkably monotonous undulating gravel-covered desert, the typical “serir” of the Arabs. At 92 and 93½ kilometres some more patches of dead scrub were passed on the right, while logs of silicified wood were noticed strewing the plain on the left. An Arab grave was met with at 96 kilometres, while skeletons of camels lie about near the roadside at frequent intervals; at 110 kilometres the eye of the traveller is relieved by a small grove of green thorny flat-topped acacia trees (Acacia nilotica, or “sunt” of the Arabs) with a patch of coarse grass; four gazelle (probably Gazella dorcas) were observed browsing on the scrub here.
The course now continues 12½° south of west, over gently undulating gravelly “serir”, until the eastern scarp of El Bahr is reached at 125 kilometres from the cultivation of the Nile Valley. The “serir” or undulating gravelly type of desert then ceases.
El Bahr is a depression, some 60-70 metres deep, cut out in white limestone rocks; its breadth at the point crossed by the road was 8 kilometres. Within it are several high prominent hills, one of which near the centre on the left side of the road is called Jebel Gar Marzak. The bottom of the depression was quite green with vegetation; sufficient water is said to fall every year to keep these plants alive, and in 1894 rain is said to have fallen to such an extent that a pool of considerable size was formed; the silt deposited by this is plainly visible at the present time. A good deal of blown sand occurs within the depression. El Bahr evidently corresponds to the Bahr Bela Ma, (river without water) figured on some authors’ maps, which has been frequently but erroneously referred to as an old river-course; although this idea was shown to be untenable by Zittel[19] and Ascherson[20] it has subsequently been maintained by non-scientific writers. No traces of any river deposit occur in the depression, which consists simply of a series of unconnected depressions, eroded by wind-borne sand.[21]
The track leaves the depression at 134 kilometres, rising over heavy sand; it then continues 3° north of west. The character of the desert has now completely changed, and instead of the smooth undulating gravelly “serir,” its surface is rough and hummocky, being formed of hard bare limestone, cut up into sharp knobs and grooved into furrows by the powerful action of wind-borne sand; it resembles closely the surface of the rough open sea. This type of desert is spoken of as “kharafish” by the Arabs. While the “serir” forms an ideal surface for travelling over, the “kharafish” is the worst imaginable, the innumerable hillocks necessitating incessant small deviations, while the hard rough surface is in some places very troublesome to camels; moreover, an extensive view is out of the question and no tracks are visible on the surface, so that the road is easily lost except where marked by frequent cairns built of loose stones.