The influential and more opulent inhabitants of the village, _e. g._ the sheikhs or the djelabis, possess, in addition to the houses we have already described, a hut built in a quadrangular form and called “rakuba:” they are more spacious than the common dwellings, and are furnished with two entrances to admit of a freer circulation of air, but are not tenantable during the rainy season on account of the extreme lightness with which they are constructed. This description of public building serves the purpose of a place of abode for travellers, and is certainly preferable to the dark and hot tukkoli, which are built rather for the rainy season than for the dry and hot weather, during which period the people live more in the open air. In Bari and Lobeid, where many Turks and Dongolavi reside who look more to comfort, several spacious residences are to be met with, constructed on the principle of those observed in all Egyptian towns. The houses at Bari are more substantially built than those at Lobeid, which are, literally speaking, made of sand. An European architect would be much puzzled to erect a house of this description, if he were shown the material only. It consists of wood and sand; but as the swallows build their nests with very slight material, which, however, in time becomes as firm as stone, in like manner houses are constructed at Lobeid which, although they will not last for ever, resist the inclemencies of the weather for a great length of time, and afford the occupant a secure place of shelter.