El Kharga, the chief village of the oasis, containing about 4,500 inhabitants, is situated in a broad belt of cultivated lands and palm-groves running centrally down the depression from the southern extremity of Jebel Têr. The village consists of a picturesque compact conglomeration of houses, built of sun-dried bricks, and of every shape and size. The streets meander in a very remarkable manner, and are to a large extent in partial or total darkness, owing to their being for the most part roofed over and covered by upper storeys. Without the aid of a guide it is almost impossible to find one’s way through the intricacies of the underground passages, though no fears need be entertained on the score of being in any way molested, the inhabitants being most peaceably inclined. In some parts of the village the streets are actually cut through the solid rock. They are generally clean and cool even on the hottest and dustiest of days, and as a rule the few wayfarers one meets scuttle like startled rabbits into the dark recesses on either side, from the depths of which, and through chinks in the wooden doors and windows, they can gape in safety at the unwonted spectacle of European visitors. [Illustration: A STREET IN KHARGA.] [Illustration: KHARGA VILLAGE.] Viewed from the outside, say from the ridge of sand which hems in the village on the east side, one sees a vast array of walls, surmounted by screens of dried palm-branches, bound together to form compact hedges affording protection and privacy to those portions of the houses open to the sky. Two minarets rise above the general level, while all around are palm-groves and gardens, with the open desert rising to the western horizon. Almost the whole of the population is engaged in agriculture, and as in some cases the wells are situated far from the village, many of the peasants daily ride considerable distances to and fro on their sturdy but diminutive donkeys. There are two or three small shops in the village, but nothing in the nature of bazaars, the chief business transacted being the retailing of Nile Valley goods, such as drapery and groceries. The native women are adepts at basket- and mat-making, and mention must not be omitted of the very attractive spherical baskets made of palm-leaves and fibre, ornamented with coloured wools, and manufactured in every conceivable size and design. Pretty circular trays are made from the same substances; in fact, the number of uses to which the waste materials from the date- and doum-palms can be put is little short of marvellous.