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Talk:Bahariya Oasis

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correct coordinates:

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... are:

| lat_d = 28 | lat_m = 20 | lat_s = 59.51 | lat_NS = N | long_d = 28 | long_m = 51 | long_s = 56.36 | long_EW = E


somehow the geobox frame was broken when I entered it so I leave it to someone else to make the correction —Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.209.28.233 (talk) 17:06, 5 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Why northern?

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Why would al-Wahat al-Bahariyah mean 'the NORTHERN Oases'? No convenient alternative translation jumps to mind, but surely something relating to the sea (al-bahr) or to the River Nile, which is known as Bahr al-Nil in Egypt. The Oasis of Faiyum for instance is both further north and nearer to the river. On the other hand during the Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom the oasis was called Wḥ3.t mḥty.t , meaning the Northern Oasis. Is it something to do with al-Buhayrah (the lake)? Though I am not sure I have heard of a lake there. Ducky59 (talk) 14:21, 13 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The translation "northern" is correct. البحري means both sea, big lake or northern -- you will find this meaning in all good dictionaries. The last one is used mostly in Egypt instead of شمالي (shimali) at many places. As seen by the Egyptians the Mediterranean Sea is the northernmost place in Egypt; that's why the second meaning "northern". Another well-known place is for instance ad-Dayr al-Bahri, the Northern Monastery, at the Thebes west bank. Bahriya is the northern-most of the four settled depressions or oases (Kharga, Dakhla, Farafra); Faiyum is quite different, because it is an artificial, and not a natural oasis. There are no lakes or canals in Bahriya which can by named as bahr, only as buhaira, "small lake" -- and these lakes are modern. They are to small to be a name for a place. The distance to the Mediterranean Sea or to the Nile river is about 400 km -- to big for naming. --RolandUnger (talk) 20:05, 13 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]