The Bahr Yussef ( ar, بحر يوسف; "the waterway of Joseph") is a canal which connects the
Nile River
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...
with
Fayyum
Faiyum ( ar, الفيوم ' , borrowed from cop, ̀Ⲫⲓⲟⲙ or Ⲫⲓⲱⲙ ' from egy, pꜣ ym "the Sea, Lake") is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum ...
in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
.
In ancient times it was called Tomis () by the Greeks which was derived from its Egyptian name ''Tm.t'' "ending canal" and was still in use after
the Arab conquest, translated into Arabic as al-Manhi ().
It was also known as "the Great canal" () or "the canal of
Moeris". The modern Arabic name refers to the prophet
Yusuf
Yusuf ( ar, يوسف ') is a male name of Arabic origin meaning "God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning "YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name ...
, the Quranic counterpart of the Biblical
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
.
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
Lake Moeris ( grc, Μοῖρις, genitive Μοίριδος) is an ancient lake in the northwest of the Faiyum Oasis, southwest of Cairo, Egypt. In prehistory, it was a freshwater lake, with an area estimated to vary between and .
It persists ...
. 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
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
.
The Bahr Yussef still exists today, feeding water northwards into the
Birket Qarun, parallel with the Nile.
See also
+
Sakoula DNC
Sakoula Project is a building project located at Sakoula, Minya governorate, Egypt. An improvement and rehabilitation of Sakoula Regulator on Bahr Yussef
The Bahr Yussef ( ar, بحر يوسف; "the waterway of Joseph") is a canal which connects ...
References
Canals in Egypt
Faiyum
Faiyum Governorate
River bifurcations
{{Egypt-geo-stub