(b.)—MAKS, viâ MURRA, KASSABA and SHEB, to SELIMA.

(Lieut.-Col. Colvile, July, 1884; Captain Lyons, February, 1894; Officers Egyptian Army, Spring of 1894, &c.)

Place.Miles.Hours(Inter-mediate).Description.
Inter-mediate.Total from Assiut.
H.M.
Maks, from Assiut—189—
Kasr Argi or Ein El Kasr2191035A small rocky mound, with a ruin; near itis a good spring. Another mound, with spring and ruin, also bearsthe same name.
Garid Abu Baian11202317A rocky granite hill, about 150 feethigh, on E. of road. The road, which up to this point has beenalong a broad, shallow valley, with a bed of firm gravel, nowenters for a few miles hills of very deep sand, across which thereis no track.
J. Wagif (J. Harif)26½228½90Meaning “stopping place.” A solitarymound of rock 80 feet high. It appears to have been used as asignal station, there being remains of a fire on the summit. Stoneroadmarks and several graves. One day trotting from here to eitherBeris or Bir Murr.
Jebel Mishersha (Um Shersha)8236½—Shersha = Xerxes. Ancient Persianoutpost, possibly water. Long, low cliff on E. of road. Smallhillocks 4 miles further on, close to road and opposite S. end ofShersha, are called Gara El Maghatia.
Jebel El Magazan11247½—Hillock on road where merchandise used tobe left.
El Garun11½259—Two little knolls; a road to S.W.branches off to Darfur, according to Arabs.
Three miles further on begins a lowlimestone plateau, which extends up to and beyond Bir Murra. Thislimestone is the only landmark for the wells, as no high hills arevisible near.
Bir Murra72661615Two large holes, each 3 to 4 feet deep.Plenty of water, rather salt, but camels will drink it. Jebel elMurra is a narrow, ridge-shaped hill, 80 feet high, overlooking thewells. Colvile says:—“It is a promontory 3 miles N. of the wells,and running out of the low range of hills on the E. of the road. Itis easily to be recognised by a conical rock, balanced on its apex,on the top of a small mound.”
Kassaba673332510A group of dom palms, water 7 feet down,bitter and nitrous. Approach from N. by a narrow gorge down thesandstone cliff (120 feet high), which bounds the wells also on theW.; E, and S. the ground is open.
From Kassaba a road leads in a S.E.direction over ridges for 25 miles to the wells of Nakhla, whencethe road continues for a further 79 miles to the Nile, oppositeHalfa.
(Nakhla)———Nakhla or Saafi, is so termed from a palmtree on a small, sandy, grass knoll which overlooks the wells.Surrounding this knoll is a narrow valley, about 80 yards broad, tothe E. and S. Throughout this valley water can be obtained bydigging at a depth of from 3½ to 5 feet. The water does not run invery rapidly, but the earth is so light that the well can be dugvery rapidly, filling to about 9 inches in six hours; water goodand abundant (February). In the S. there is rising ground with aslight command. To the E. the ground rises slightly, but is lowerthan the date palm hill. To the N.E. there is a lofty sand hill, ata distance from the date palm hill of over 1,200 yards.
Blockhouse, built 1894 (nowunoccupied).
(The Sheb District)———Kassaba forms the apex of the triangularSheb district, which holds numerous wells, the names of which areoften confused. The western side of the triangle is formed by arange of sandstone cliffs, running S.W., along the base of whichthe Arbaïn road continues from Kassaba to Sheb. The base of thetriangle is the road from Sheb to Nakhla, and the centre is an openplain.
Shebba[36] (or Abu Dom?)1534865A district coveredwith low sand hills, and studded with dom palms. Water is said tobe obtainable by digging in most parts of it; that at the N. end isbad. A well at the southern end gives a good and plentiful supply.There are three patches of camel grazing in the district, eachpatch being about sufficient for 400 camels for one day. From herea road branches off gradually to the S.W. to the wells of Terfawi(Id Koraim, or Abu Taraf), 8 miles on, lying in a broad valley,under the cliff above mentioned. Good water 3 feet below thesurface. Forty old palms and numerous smaller ones, and two dompalms, no grazing. This Terfawi road is often used as analternative branch of the Arbaïn road, and rejoins it further S.Terfawi to Beris is reckoned at five days. There appears to be adirect road from Terfawi to Lagia, five days over level groundcovered with stones.
Terfawi———
Sheb10358—A blockhouse was built here in 1894 toguard against raids by the Dervishes, and was attacked on Jan. 8,1895. Water slightly brackish, but plenty of it; a little grazing.Road from here N.W. to Terfawi, 5½ miles. Road E. to Nakhla, 40miles, contains wells or underground water at El Haad, 5, Sederi,5, Bir Suleiman, 13, and Bir Hasab el Gabu, 9 miles intermediate.From Sheb the roads lead S., over easy ground for the most part, tothe oasis of Selima.
Selima824402745Named after a legendary Amazon Princess(?). A small oasis, commanded on all sides by rocky hills, those onthe N. being considerably higher and steeper. The water, obtainedfrom numerous wells about 2 feet deep, is sufficient for a force of1,000 men. It has a strong sulphurous taste and smell. The oasis isuninhabited, but is occasionally visited by the neighbouring tribesfor the sake of the salt and dates which are found there. The saltlies in beds covered by 1 to 3 feet of sand, and has to be brokenout.
There are some 2,000 fruit-bearing datepalms, but these are at present choked in a thick undergrowth.Dates very good.
There is plenty of grazing.
From Selima a road leads in a S.E.direction for 80 miles to Sagiet El Abd, on the Nile. No water onthe way.
For further description of this oasis,vide Part I., Chap. IX., [pp. 202-3.]

(c.)—SELIMA to LAGIA.

(Lieut. Stuart Wortley, July, 1884; Captain H. Hodgson, 1901, 1903, &c.)

Place.Miles.Description.
Inter-mediate.Total from Assiut.
Selima, from Assiut—440On leaving Selima the track, well definedby camel skeletons, goes in a westerly direction for 6 miles overhard sand, after which it turns S.W.; small conical hills to W. for30 miles. Occasional camel skeletons, but no track. Succession ofrocky ridges.
33473High conical hill to W. Extensive view.All hills crossed are steep on the N. side, and slope gradually tothe S. (This is reversed at Selima and Lagia.) Going rocky andbad.
J. Hadada and J. Hamadia24497Pass between these two hills, J. Hadadato the E. Low ranges of hills, running S.E. and N.W.
40537Descend into hard sandy plain, extendingfor 20 miles. Country then becomes very rocky and difficult forcamels; no track discernible. Range of sand hills to W. called J.Ruhilat.
J. Gabra, a round-topped hill, rising outof valley called Lagia, seen from a distance of 35 miles. Roaddescends by a gorge of deep sand into the valley 10 miles long and1 mile broad, running E. and W.
Lagia (Kebir)43580[37]Water about 4 miles from the gorge. Threewells filled with sand water, water has to be cleared, or freshwell opened, otherwise it gets bad. Water good in itself. Novegetation; water 6 feet below surface; country barren; petrifiedwood abundant. Several tracks cross here.
Captain Hodgson states:—
At Lagia Kebir, or Agar, are fiveor six pans of water, good and near the surface, springing fromsimilar soil to Lagia the Less, but not so abundant. The wells liein an open plain, no vegetation near except about six or ten smalltrees about 3½ miles to W., giving a little feeding for camels. Tothe N. the plain is shut in by a steep rocky ridge of hills, andthe road to Selima Wells lies across it. On reaching summit ofridge there is only a stretch of rock and stones to be seen. Arabsstate it is the road to Selima and there is no grazing.
In the event of not finding a water panopen, the water lies some 20 yards S. of a low clump of dateseedlings, the only ones in the valley. There are some black rocksin the plain, on the track from Bir Sultan, which lie 2,700 yards(by range-finder) from the abovementioned dates, and at an angle of228° from them.
(Lagia Amran)——Lagia the Less, lying 12½ miles E.S.E. ofLagia Kebir, also called Amran from the colour of the ground, liesin a plain about 5 miles wide, surrounded entirely by rocky hills;there are only two entrances through encircling hills that are easymarching. Water lies within a foot of the surface and is veryplentiful; ground consists of red clay with drifts of sand, theArabs say there was formerly no sand, and that during the last fewyears it is gradually covering the ground, probably owing to dryseasons.
(Lagia bil Hêt)——Some bushes half a mile from the water.At a distance of one day’s journey to the E. of Lagia there is saidto be a well, called Lagia bil Hêt, on account of a Roman wallbuilt close by (?) (Omar et Tunsi).
To the S. the road to Bir Sultan liesacross an open plain and is easy going. The tracks spreadconsiderably.
An oasis is reported to lie 4 days’journey in a S.W. direction, containing date trees, which isvisited at date harvest time by the Bedai tribe. The water is saidto be bad. Except for the above, the guides say they have noknowledge of any water to the W. of Lagia, and that there is noroad with a direction of N. and S. lying to the W. of Lagia. Theroad Lagia Kebir to Dongola is 166 miles in a S.E. direction: 7days’ march.

(d.) LAGIA, viâ BIR SULTAN, to EL FASHER.

Captain H. Hodgson, Browne, and Natives.

Very little is known of this, the southern half of the Arbaïn road, and no European (since Browne, 1793, who left no record of any value) seems ever to have traversed it south of Bir Sultan.

From Lagia to Bir Sultan is 5[38] days’ going over easy country.