18 



of the canals by means of a traveling- winch. On the east bank of the 

 channel, about 500 feet above the entrance of the inlet gates of the 

 Saheliyeh Canal, is a waste gate which discharges surplus water into a 

 channel connecting with the Nile. The Dalgawi regulator has two 

 o-ates, each nearlv 1< > feet wide. The Bahr Yusef has five, the Dirutieh 

 has three, the Ibrainiia has seven, and the entrance regulator of the 

 Saheliyeh Canal has two gates. The wasteway has live gates. The 

 latter, as well as the regulators of the two large canals, are supplied 

 with locks which permit the passage of such boats as are employed on 

 these waterways. 



The Ibraimia Canal will henceforth be supplied at all times of the 

 year from the new headworks at Assiut, which have been built in 

 conjunction with the reservoir work at Assuan and the diverting dam 

 at the former place. The latter structures are described elsewhere in 

 this report. 



The farming country liecomes narrower as one ascends the river 

 from Assiut. No perennial irrigation is practiced above Assiut except 

 on the lands lying near the Nile, which are served l)y water-raising 

 devices of various kinds. The Arabian desert breaks otf abruptly on 

 the eastern l)ank of the river in many places, and the principal areas 

 of farminir lands are found on the western side of the river. 



Large sugar plantations are common, and at the principal towns 

 sugar mills are in operation. Light railways have been built through- 

 out Egypt wherever demand for transportation facilities warrants the 

 outlay. These are narrow-gage roads, and the rolling stock is of the 

 lightest. 



The Sohag Canal, which was probably once a channel ot the river, 

 irrigates a large area between Assiut and the town of Sohag during 

 the Hood of the Nile. In the winter it lies high and dry, while the 

 adjoining farms are green, as a result of inundation. At Dendera, 

 farther up the river, where ruins of the celebrated temple bearing the 

 same name have been found, the agricultural lands showed that a sea- 

 son of adequate water supply had been enjoyed. The temple was 

 nearly l)uried by the crumbling nuid bricks of a village which grew 

 up about it, and has only recently been thoroughly excavated. The 

 farming lands reach to the base of the temple, and during the flood 

 season the water almost touches its foundation. The giant temple of 

 Amnion at Karnak was originally surrounded by a high embankment; 

 but this has been destroyed in places, so that now during the flood 

 water stands to a considerable depth around it. The ruins cover an 

 area 1,o<M) feet long and 400 feet wide, not counting some of the 

 smaller and less important structures. The farms extend to the orig- 

 inal protecting wall of earth. Between Karnak and Luxor can be 

 seen an escape gate which is opened to permit the water of the basin 

 to flow back into the Nile as high water recedes. Across the river the 



