Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/481



Siut, more than any other Egyptian town, maintains direct relations with the oases, which are develope<l in a vast crescent parallel with the bend of the Nile sweeping round from the south to tho west and north-west. The "Great" or "Southern" Oasis, known also as that of Khargeh, although the largest, is no longer tho most populous, but still enjoys some importance as a station for the caravans from Dar-Fôr. Its capital, whose site has never been shifted throughout historic times, has preserved a temple of Ammon built during the reign of Darius,

"Son of Isis and Osiris." An avenue of pylons leads to the sanctuary, whose bas-reliefs present an extraordinary variety of historical and other figures. In this respect the temple of Darius is altogether unique.

All tho surrounding cliffs are pierced with sepulchral chambers, in which Christian tombs are very numerous. The oasis of Beris, more to the south, has also preserved an Egyptian temple dating from the Roman period. Round about the present oasis are scattered many ruins, showing that the cultivated lands formerly covered a far greater extent than is now the case. All these tracts might be reclaimed by clearing out the choked-up wells, and draining the soil where the water used in irrigating the rice-fields in some places forms unhealthy