Bible Encyclopedias
Wadi Halfa

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

Search for…

Enter query below:

or

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Prev Entry
Wadi

Next Entry
Wafer

Resource Toolbox

Print Article

Or Halfa, a town of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, in 21° 55' N., 31° 19' E., on the right bank of the Nile, 5 m. S. of the northern frontier of the Sudan. It is the chief town of the Haifa mudiria, is 770 m. S. of Cairo by rail and steamer, and 575 m. N.N.W. of Khartum by rail. Some 6 m. above the town is the second cataract, and on the west bank of the Nile opposite Halfa are the ruins of the ancient Egyptian city of Buhen (Bohon). Haifa is the northern terminus of the Sudan railway and the southern terminus of a steamboat service on the Nile, which, running to Shellal (Assuan), connects there with the Egyptian railways.

Wadi Haifa is a general designation including the native village of that name, the camp, founded by the British in 1884 as their base in the operations for the relief of General Gordon, and the civil cantonment established at the same time. This cantonment occupies the site of a Nubian village, and round it has grown a thriving town, at first named Taufikia, but now called Haifa. It has a population (1907) of about 3000. The camp is 12 m. S. of Haifa. Here are the barracks, officers' quarters, railway works, and an esplanade along the river front. The village of Wadi Haifa is 3 m. S. of the camp.