The huge hill-mass near the east scarp, north of the latitude of Ain el Haiss, is of blackened sandstone, like most of the hills near it; some of those west of it are, however, white, owing to a capping of limestone, and these stand out in striking contrast to the others. No purpose would be served by a detailed description of the smaller hills; their positions will be evident from the map ([Plate I]), and except in the case of the larger ones, there is a great monotony of form, nearly all the smaller hills being conical. One of the most striking conical hills is seen near the west scarp in lat. 28° 26′ N. (10 kilometres north-east from El Qasr); this, however, is a limestone-capped hill, thus differing from the numerous cones in the south part of the oasis, which are mostly capped by hard dark ferruginous quartzites and sandstones.
The Floor of the Oasis.—The lowest part of the oasis-floor appears to be in the neighbourhood of El Qasr, where the altitude above sea-level is about 113 metres. Mandisha lies somewhat higher, and the hamlet of Harra, with the springs Ain Gelid and Ain Haswi lie on a level tract some 134 metres above sea-level. Ain el Haiss, according to the Survey’s barometric comparisons with Cairo, has an altitude of 156 metres above sea; as Jordan’s determination, however, gave only 122 metres, there is some little uncertainty about the actual altitude of this point. As might be expected, the lowest parts of the oasis-floor are those where springs abound; in the neighbourhood of the hills and escarpments there is always a gradual upward slope towards the bases of the hills and plateau. The major part of the oasis-floor is flat or gently undulating ground of sandstones and clays, strewn with fragments of rock derived from the hills; large areas, however, are overgrown with grasses and scattered bushes, notably to the north and west of the villages, in the neighbourhood of Ain Gelid, south-east of Jebel Hefhuf, and in the vicinity of Ain el Haiss; while other extensive tracts north of the villages, as well as south-east of Mandisha and between Harra and Ain Gelid, are covered by salty marshes, now partly dried up. The white salty crusts on the ground at these places give them a striking appearance, like a slightly rough glittering sheet of water. The tracts north of Zubbo and near Harra still contain much water and salty sludge; travelling over them needs great caution, as the dry crust will often support the weight of a man, while a camel sinks through into the soft mire beneath. Sand-accumulations do not cover such large tracts in Baharia as in the southern oases; there are, however, some small dunes around the cultivated lands of Mandisha and Zubbo, as well as on some of the hill-sides; the dunes support a scanty growth of tamarisk-bushes.
The principal villages of Baharia are four in number, all situated near together in the north part of the oasis in N. lat. 28° 21′ to 28° 22′. They are separated into two groups by a large hill (Jebel Mandisha), El Qasr and Bawitti lying to the west, and Mandisha and Zubbo to the east. The Government officials reside at Bawitti and El Qasr. According to the last census,[31] the population of the oasis in 1897 was 6,081 divided among the four villages as follows:—
| El Qasr | 1.712 |
| Bawitti | 1.713 |
| Mandisha | 1.798 |
| Zubbo | 858[32] |
The males slightly outnumber the opposite sex.
The villages are small uninteresting collections of mud hovels, surrounded by gardens, palm-groves, and cultivated lands. Besides the cultivated tracts existing close around the villages, there are others at points more or less distant from them, tilled by men from the villages. Such are seen, for instance, west of Zubbo; at Ain Bayum, a spring with a small cultivated area, among the sand-dunes 4½ kilometres north-east of Zubbo, where a clump of date-palms forms a conspicuous landmark; Ain Sini and Ain Murun, 7 kilometres north-east of El Qasr; also some small tracts west of, and a large area south-west of, Bawitti. Ain Auena, El Ayun, and other points marked on Ascherson’s map, are probably within this last area. Taking the whole cultivated land, inclusive of palm-groves, at 11 sq. kilometres, the area per individual of population works out to about 0·43 feddans; this figure is somewhat lower than Kharga (0·56 feddan) and considerably less than that of Dakhla (1·49). While Kharga exports practically nothing, Baharia does a considerable export trade with the Nile Valley, principally in dates, although not on so large a scale as Dakhla.
In and near the villages springs are extremely numerous; the water is met with at shallow depths, and does not require, as in Kharga and Dakhla, deep-bored wells. It is led from its sources along underground aqueducts, which date from the Roman occupation; a description of these will be found in the chapter on antiquities ([p. 73-80]). No attempt was made by the survey to map or number the wells and springs within the vicinity of the villages; they are mostly concealed in the palm-groves and gardens. The water is slightly ferruginous, and frequently warm, bubbles of carbon dioxide rising with it. At Bawitti, the largest spring is cold, but one close by it is warm, although none approach the high temperature of the Dakhla wells. One of the principal sources of water in Mandisha, is a well, situated near the cemetery, 7 metres deep and timbered with palm trunks; the temperature of the water is 26° C. (air 12° C.), and when freshly drawn it is turbid with bubbles of carbon dioxide.[33]
The process of cleaning out wells and boring fresh ones in Baharia is done with a very simple apparatus, an iron jumper about 1½ metres in length, 5 centimetres diameter, worked by a rope passing through an eye at one end, being the only boring-tool used. Cleaning out wells is carried on by this tool in conjunction with the “fass” (a sort of blunt adze used universally for digging operations in Egypt) and a rude basket-apparatus for the removal of sand and sludge. The upper part of the hole having been excavated by the “fass,” the jumper is worked by hand, no tripod or other frame being erected; the sludge is raised by a small basket of plaited grass, fitted on to the lower end of the jumper, lowered into the hole by a rope, the sand settling in the basket after jumping the iron tool, with the basket attached, within the well. The hole is generally made 75 centimetres diameter, and sinking is said to go on at the rate of ⅓ metre per hour, ten men being employed, who relieve each other. It does not appear, however, that this apparatus is capable of sinking new wells, being only used for cleaning out old ones; most of the water used is derived from ancient Roman adits.
The water from a single spring often supplies several land-owners; the usual method of distribution is by means of a wooden weir, in the upper edge of which rectangular notches are cut, each individual being entitled to the water which flows through a certain number of notches. As a rule, the springs are banked up at night, so that the water accumulates in a large pool near, and is allowed to run on to the fields in the daytime.
Taxation in Baharia and Farafra is based on the land cultivated and not, as in Kharga and Dakhla, on the water. Date-palms, are taxed 15 milliemes per annum. The numbers of trees at the 1897 assessment were, apricots, 4,863; olives, 5,370; palms, 93,000, or about fifteen of the latter per inhabitant.[34] The great article of produce in the oasis is therefore dates, and at the date-gathering season the inhabitants are busily employed in gathering, drying and packing the fruit for export to the Nile Valley. Three-fourths of the whole date production are exported. The dates are of excellent quality, and find a ready sale, the villages of the oasis being crowded with camels and traders from the valley each November. A camel-load of dates, packed in two plaited-grass bags, is bought in the oasis for 500 milliemes, and is said to be sold in the Nile Valley for four times that sum, so that the Beduin, to whom the trading is almost wholly confined, even allowing for difficulties of transport, make a good profit.