Avaris (/ˈævərᵻs/; Egyptian: ḥw.t wr.t, Budge notation: Hut-waret, Greek: Αὔαρις, Auaris) was the capital of Egypt under the Hyksos. It was located at modern Tell el-Dab'a in the northeastern region of the Nile Delta, at the juncture of the 8th, 14th, 19th and 20th Nomes. As the main course of the Nile migrated eastward, its position at the hub of Egypt's delta emporia made it a major administrative capital of the Hyksos and other traders. It was occupied from about 1783 to 1550 BC, or from the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt through the second intermediate until its destruction by Ahmose I, the first Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. The name in the Egyptian language of the 2nd millennium BCE was probably pronounced *Ḥaʔat-Wūrat 'Great House' and denotes the capital of an administrative division of the land. Today, the name Hawara survives, referring to the site at the entrance to Faiyum. Alternatively, Clement of Alexandria referred to the name of this city as "Athyria".
In 1885, the Swiss Édouard Naville started the first excavations in the area around Tell-el-Daba. Between 1941 and 1942, Labib Habachi, an Egyptian Egyptologist first forwarded the idea that the site could be identified with Avaris. Between 1966 and 1969 and since 1975, the site has been excavated by the Austrian Archaeological Institute. Using radar imaging technology, its scientists could identify in 2010 the outline of the city including streets, houses, a port, and a side arm of the River Nile passing through the city.
The cuckoo is a pretty bird, she sings as she flies
She brings us the tidings and tells us no lies
She feeds on the pretty flowers in the spring of the year
And sings of my false love in a voice true and clear
A-walkin' and a-talkin', a-walkin' goes I
To meet my false lover and hear him deny
But if I'm forsaken, I have not fore sworned
And he surely mistaken to think I shall mourn
For I can love little and I can love long
And I can love a sweetheart 'til a new one comes along
I can hug him, I can kiss him and prove my heart kind
And turn my back on him and likewise my mind
A-walkin' and a-talkin', a-walkin' goes I
To meet with my true love, we'll meet by and by
To walk and talk together it's all my delight