Christian Era many Christians in Egypt were driven to flee from persecution to Khârgah,* where, according to an ancient tradition preserved among the Ethiopians, St. Bartholomew preached the Gospel. Khârgah was a place of banishment, and many dignitaries of state, both civil and ecclesiastical, were deported thither. Nestorius was sent there in banishment, but curiously enough was rescued by a company of the Blemmyes from the Northern Sûdân, who conveyed him back to Egypt, where, however, he soon after died. With the bishops and others who were banished to Khârgah went many well-to-do folk, and by the end of the IVth century there were several monastic institutions there and churches, and the Christians were to a certain extent allowed to worship God in their own way. The size and importance of the Christian settlement is proved by the fine, large, crude-brick tombs which are still to be seen there on the hill to the west of the railway line, about one mile to the north of the temple of Darius. In the second half of the VIIth century Islâm was brought to the Oasis, but the Arabs allowed the halting places on the plateau to fall into decay, and little by little Khârgah became cut off from Egypt.

The first modern traveller to visit Khârgah was Poncet, who left Asyût on October 2, 1698. He says:

"From that very Day we enter'd a frightful Desart. These "Desarts are extremely dangerous, because the Sands being moving "are rais'd by the least Wind which darken the Air, and falling "afterwards in Clouds, Passengers are often buried in them, or at "least lose the Route which they ought to keep. We Arrived on the "6th of October at Heloane; 'Tis a pretty large Borough, and the last "that is under the Grand Signior's Jurisdiction. There is a Garrison "in it of 500 Janisaries and 300 Spahi's under the Command of an "Officer whom in that Country they call Kashift Heloane is very "pleasant, and answers fully its Name, which signifies a Country of "Sweetness. Here are to be seen a great number of Gardens "water'd with Brooks, and a World of Palm-trees, which preserve a continual Verdure. Coloquintida is to be found there, and all "the fields are fill'd with Senna, which grows upon a Shrub, about "three Foot High. This Drug which is so much Esteem'd in Europe, is of no use in the Country hereabouts. The Inhabitants "of Heloane in their Illnesses, make only use of the Root of Ezula, "which for a whole Night they infuse in Milk, and take the day "after, having first strain'd it thro' a Sieve. This Medicine is very Violent, but 'tis what they like and commend very much. The

*

The word used is a¶h: “Al-Wâh,” i.e., the Oasis.

+ I.e., Kashif, à, plur. Kashafa.

"Ezula is a thick Tree, the Blossom of which is blue; it grows into “a sort of Ball, of an Oval Figure, full of Cotton, of which the “People of that Country make pretty fine_Cloth. We rested four Days at Heloane to take in Water and Provisions; for we were "to pass thro' a Desart, where there was neither Brook nor "Fountain. The Heat is so excessive, and the sands of these Desarts so burning, that there is no marching barefoot, without having "one's Feet extremely swell'd. Nevertheless the Nights are Cold "enough, which Occasions troublesome Distempers in those who "Travel thro' that Country, unless they take great Precautions.” (A voyage to Ethiopia made in the year 1698, 1699, and 1700, London, 1709.)

The next important travellers to Khârgah were W. G. Browne (1792-1798) and F. Cailliaud (1815-1818), who published many drawings of the antiquities there. They were followed by Drovetti (1818), Sir A. Edmondstone (1818), Wilkinson (1835), Hoskins (1836), Schweinfurth (1874), Rohlfs (1875), Jordan (1876), Brugsch (1878), etc. In 1894 Captain H. G. Lyons published an account of his investigations at Khârgah, and, as Director of Surveys in Egypt, he caused a full scientific investigation of the Oases to be made by Dr. J. Ball and Mr. H. J. Llewellyn Beadnell. The results of their surveys have been published in a series of volumes of the greatest importance, and their works will remain standard authorities on the physical history of the Oases for many years to come.

Geology. The depression which forms the Oasis of Khârgah is about 115 miles long, and from 12 to 50 miles wide. On the east side are the hills called Jabal Ghannîmah, and Jabal Umm al-Ghannaim, and nearly halfway across are Jabal Têr and Jabal Tarîf. The greater part of the floor of the Oasis is formed of sandstone, and above this come red shales, limestone strata, grey shales, and chalk. According to Mr. Beadnell the total thickness of the exposed strata is about 1,350 feet; the water-bearing sandstone is about 700 feet below the surface. This authority states (An Egyptian Oasis, p. 50) that the Oases "are deep and extensive depressions or hollows cut "down nearly to sea-level through the generally horizontal rocks "forming the Libyan Desert Plateaux, and appear to owe their origin in great measure to the differential effects of subaerial "denudation acting on rock masses of varying hardness and "composition." The height of Khârgah village above the sea is given by Jordan as 68 metres, by Cailliaud 104 and 118 metres, by Ball 86 metres, and by Beadnell 58 metres.

"LL

The People.-The inhabitants of Khârgah differ in many respects from the Egyptians. They are of moderate height and

of less robust stature, and their features are not so strongly marked. Their skin is lighter in colour, their faces more oval, and their eyes are softer, and larger, seemingly. They are

An underground street in the town of Khârgah.

gentle in manner, courteous, and civil, but the men move quietly, even languidly, a characteristic due probably to malaria, which is very prevalent in the Oasis. They appear to be of