ABSTRACT
Scattered across the great plateau of the Libyan desert, which rises 91-121 m above sea level, are the Egyptian oases. The first of these, usually considered to be part of the Nile Valley, takes the shape of an oval basin on the west of the valley and is surrounded by the Libyan hills. It lies some 64 km south of the old capital of Memphis, and today is known as the province of Fayoum. In antiquity, it was praised for its scenery, its fertility, and its cultivation, for it had an abundance of trees and plants. In Classical times, Strabo noted that richly productive olive trees grew there. The cause of this fertility was two-fold; first a number of springs of water fed the oasis and secondly, the Bahr Yusef, an arm of the Nile, flows into the Fayoum basin from the south-east through a narrow opening in the desert hills, near Lahun. It then branches out into numerous channels, providing abundant water for the area. The Bahr Yusef also feeds the great lake of the oasis which was of such importance in antiquity.
