Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/308

 Wod-Medineh, or Wold-Medineh, which after Senâr became the capital of the Egyptian provinces, was also a town densely populated in its double capacity as a garrison and trade centre. It is conveniently situated, standing nearly at the junction of the north-western Abyssinian rivers with the Bahr-el-Azraq, whilst

close above it is the mouth of the Dender, swollen by the waters of the Khôr Mahara and the Khôr El-Atshan; still nearer, but below the town, is the confluence of the Rahad, like the Dender navigable for eighty days in the year. The village, situated at the very mouth in the "Isle of Isles" (Jezirat el-Jeziret), has taken the name of Abû-Ahraz, or "Father of the Acacias," a term which is also frequently given to the river Rahad itself, the Shimfah of the Abyssinians.

At some distance from the river, near the ruins of the village of Arbaji,