Bahr Yussef
The Bahr Yussef (
Fayyum in Egypt
.
In ancient times it was called Tomis (
Ancient Greek: διῶρυξ Μεγάλη) or "the canal of Moeris".[3] The modern Arabic name refers to the prophet Yusuf, the Quranic counterpart of the biblical Joseph.[2]
In prehistoric times, the canal was a natural offshoot of the Nile which created a lake to the west during high floods. Beginning with the
12th dynasty, the waterway was enlarged and the Fayyum was developed to enlarge Lake Moeris. The canal was built into the natural incline of the valley, creating a channel 15 km long and 5 m deep that sloped into the Fayyum depression. The canal was controlled by the Ha-Uar Dam
, which was actually two dams that regulated the flow into the lake and out of the Nile. As the surrounding area changed at about 230 BC, the Bahr Yussef eventually became neglected, leaving most of Lake Moeris to dry up creating the depression that exists today and the modern province of Al Fayyum.
During the medieval period, the canal was still a major communication axis to connect Fayyum to Cairo.[4]
The Bahr Yussef still exists today, feeding water northwards into the
Birket Qarun
, parallel with the Nile.
See also
References
- Arabicword Bahr literally means "sea", not "river", which would be "Nahr").
- ^ a b Peust, Carsten (2010). Die Toponyme vorarabischen Ursprungs im modernen Ägypten. Göttingen. p. 103.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "TM Places". www.trismegistos.org. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- S2CID 238100373.
29°14′29″N 30°55′00″E / 29.241473°N 30.916729°E
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