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32-729: In antiquity the city was in the Thebaid , the capital of the Nomos Ombites , on the east bank of the Nile ; latitude 24° 6' north. Ombos was a garrison town under every dynasty of Egypt as well as the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Roman Egypt , and was celebrated for the magnificence of its temples and its hereditary feud with the people of Dendera . Ombos was the first city below Aswan at which any remarkable remains of antiquity occur. The Nile, indeed, at this portion of its course,

64-773: A few instances), dry summers, though summers are not typically as hot as hot desert climates. Unlike hot desert climates, cold desert climates tend to feature cold, dry winters. Snow tends to be rare in regions with this climate. The Gobi Desert in northern China and Mongolia is one example of a cold desert. Though hot in the summer, it shares the freezing winters of the rest of Inner Asia . Summers in South America's Atacama Desert are mild, with only slight temperature variations between seasons. Cold desert climates are typically found at higher altitudes than hot desert climates and are usually drier than hot desert climates. Cold desert climates are typically located in temperate zones in

96-598: A lively description of a fight, of which he was an eye-witness, between the Ombitae and the inhabitants of Dendera, who were hunters of the crocodile. On this occasion the men of Ombos had the worst of it; and one of their number, having stumbled in his flight, was caught and eaten by the Denderites. The satirist, however, has represented Ombos as nearer to Dendera than it actually is, these towns, in fact, being nearly 100 miles (160 km) from each other. The Roman coins of

128-538: A new $ 700m 100 MW (130,000 hp) solar power plant near the city were unveiled by the Egyptian government. 24°28′N 32°57′E  /  24.467°N 32.950°E  / 24.467; 32.950 Thebaid The Thebaid or Thebais ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Θηβαΐς , Thēbaïs ) was a region in ancient Egypt , comprising the 13 southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt , from Abydos to Aswan . The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximity to

160-410: A total of just 16 mm (0.63 in) of rainfall was measured. To determine whether a location has an arid climate, the precipitation threshold is determined. The precipitation threshold (in millimetres) involves first multiplying the average annual temperature in °C by 20, then adding 280 if 70% or more of the total precipitation is in the high-sun summer half of the year (April through September in

192-443: A wall of brick. This was part of a temple built by Thutmose III in honor of the crocodile-headed god Sobek . The monarch is represented on tress, the doorjambs, holding the measuring reed and chisel, the emblems of construction, and in the act of dedicating the temple. The Ptolemaic portions of the larger temple present an exception to an almost universal rule in Egyptian architecture. It has no propylon or dromos in front of it, and

224-479: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Ancient Rome –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This geography of Egypt article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Desert climate#Hot desert climates The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification BWh and BWk ) is a dry climate sub-type in which there

256-459: Is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation . The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert climates are dry and hold little moisture, quickly evaporating the already little rainfall they receive. Covering 14.2% of Earth's land area, hot deserts are the second-most common type of climate on Earth after the Polar climate . There are two variations of a desert climate according to

288-625: Is known for certain to be rainless, in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, the average annual rainfall over 17 years was only 5 millimetres (0.20 in). Some locations in the Sahara Desert such as Kufra , Libya , record an even drier 0.86 mm (0.034 in) of rainfall annually. The official weather station in Death Valley , United States reports 60 mm (2.4 in) annually, but in 40 months between 1931 and 1934

320-550: Is seen in sections of Africa and Arabia . During colder periods of the year, night-time temperatures can drop to freezing or below due to the exceptional radiation loss under the clear skies. However, temperatures rarely drop far below freezing under the hot subtype. Hot desert climates can be found in the deserts of North Africa such as the wide Sahara Desert , the Libyan Desert or the Nubian Desert ; deserts of

352-953: The Horn of Africa such as the Danakil Desert or the Grand Bara Desert ; deserts of Southern Africa such as the Namib Desert or the Kalahari Desert ; deserts of West Asia such as the Arabian Desert , or the Syrian Desert ; deserts of South Asia such as Dasht-e Lut and Dasht-e Kavir of Iran or the Thar Desert of India and Pakistan; deserts of the United States and Mexico such as

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384-407: The Köppen climate classification : a hot desert climate ( BWh ), and a cold desert climate ( BWk ). To delineate "hot desert climates" from "cold desert climates", a mean annual temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) is used as an isotherm so that a location with a BW type climate with the appropriate temperature above this isotherm is classified as "hot arid subtype" ( BW h ), and a location with

416-804: The Mojave Desert , the Sonoran Desert or the Chihuahuan Desert ; deserts of Australia such as the Simpson Desert or the Great Victoria Desert and many other regions. In Europe , the hot desert climate can only be found on southeastern coast of Spain as well as small inland parts of southeastern, especially parts of the Tabernas Desert . Hot deserts are lands of extremes: most of them are among

448-593: The Northern Hemisphere , or October through March in the Southern), or 140 if 30–70% of the total precipitation is received during the applicable period, or 0 if less than 30% of the total precipitation is so received there. If the area's annual precipitation is less than half the threshold (50%), it is classified as a BW (desert climate), while 50–100% of the threshold results in a semi-arid climate. Hot desert climates ( BWh ) are typically found under

480-583: The Southwestern United States , northern Mexico , sections of southeastern Spain , the coast of Peru , and Chile . This makes hot deserts present in every continent except Antarctica. At the time of high sun (summer), scorching, desiccating heat prevails. Hot-month average temperatures are normally between 29 and 35 °C (84 and 95 °F), and midday readings of 43–46 °C (109–115 °F) are common. The world's absolute heat records, over 50 °C (122 °F), are generally in

512-501: The subtropical ridge in the lower middle latitudes or the subtropics , often between 20° and 33° north and south latitudes. In these locations, stable descending air and high pressure aloft clear clouds and create hot, arid conditions with intense sunshine. Hot desert climates are found across vast areas of North Africa , West Asia , northwestern parts of the Indian Subcontinent , southwestern Africa, interior Australia,

544-652: The 30s and 40s latitudes, usually in the leeward rain shadow of high mountains, restricting precipitation from the westerly winds. An example of this is the Patagonian Desert in Argentina, bounded by the Andes ranges to its west. In the case of Central Asia, mountains restrict precipitation from the eastern monsoon . The Kyzyl Kum , Taklamakan and Katpana Desert deserts of Central Asia are other significant examples of BWk climates. The Ladakh region and

576-469: The Ombite nome exhibit the crocodile and the effigy of the crocodile-headed god Sobek. In Kom Ombo there is a rare engraved image of what is thought to be the first representation of medical instruments for performing surgery , including scalpels , curettes , forceps , dilator , scissors and medicine bottles dating from the days of Roman Egypt. At this site there is another Nilometer used to measure

608-714: The ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes ( Luxor ). During the Ancient Egyptian dynasties this region was dominated by Thebes and its priesthood at the temple of Amun at Karnak . In Ptolemaic Egypt , the Thebaid formed a single administrative district under the Epistrategos of Thebes, who was also responsible for overseeing navigation in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean . The capital of Ptolemaic Thebaid

640-524: The appropriate temperature below the isotherm is classified as "cold arid subtype" ( BW k ). Most desert/arid climates receive between 25 and 200 mm (1 and 8 in) of rainfall annually, although some of the most consistently hot areas of Central Australia , the Sahel and Guajira Peninsula can be, due to extreme potential evapotranspiration , classed as arid with the annual rainfall as high as 430 millimetres or 17 inches. Although no part of Earth

672-994: The city of Leh in the Great Himalayas in India also have a cold desert climate. In North America, the cold desert climate occurs in the drier parts of the Great Basin Desert and the Bighorn Basin in Big Horn and Washakie County in Wyoming . The Hautes Plaines , located in the northeastern section of Morocco and in Algeria , is another prominent example of a cold desert climate. In Europe , this climate only occurs in some inland parts of southeastern Spain, such as in Lorca . Polar climate desert areas in

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704-599: The hot deserts, where the heat potential can be the highest on the planet. This includes the record of 56.7 °C (134.1 °F) in Death Valley , which is currently considered the highest temperature recorded on Earth . Some deserts in the tropics consistently experience very high temperatures all year long, even during wintertime. These locations feature some of the highest annual average temperatures recorded on Earth, exceeding 30 °C (86 °F), up to nearly 35 °C (95 °F) in Dallol, Ethiopia . This last feature

736-444: The hottest, the driest, and the sunniest places on Earth because of nearly constant high pressure; the almost permanent removal of low-pressure systems, dynamic fronts, and atmospheric disturbances; sinking air motion; dry atmosphere near the surface and aloft; the exacerbated exposure to the sun where solar angles are always high makes this desert inhospitable to most species. Cold desert climates ( BWk ) usually feature hot (or warm in

768-556: The level of the river waters. On the opposite side of the Nile was a suburb of Ombos, called Contra-Ombos. The city was the seat of a bishop during Late Antiquity . Two bishops of Omboi are known by name, Silbanos (before 402) and Verses (402). Under the name Ombi, it is included in the Catholic Church 's list of titular sees . Karol Wojtyła (the future Pope John Paul II ) was titular bishop of Ombi from 1958 until 1963, when he

800-463: The portico has an uneven number of columns, in all fifteen, arranged in a triple row. Of these columns, thirteen are still erect. As there are two principal entrances, the temple would seem to be two united in one, strengthening the supposition that it was the Pantheon of the Ombite nome. On a cornice above the doorway of one of the adyta, there is a Greek inscription, recording the erection, or perhaps

832-506: The restoration of the sekos by Ptolemy VI Philometor and his sister-wife Cleopatra II , 180-145 BCE. The hill on which the Ombite temples stand has been considerably excavated at its base by the river, which here strongly inclines to the Arabian bank. The crocodile was held in especial honor by the people of Ombos; and in the adjacent catacombs are occasionally found mummies of the sacred animal. Juvenal, in his 15th satire , has given

864-403: The southern half with its capital at Thebes, and Lower or Nearer ( Latin : Thebais Inferior , Greek : Θηβαΐς Ἐγγίστη , Thēbaïs Engistē ), comprising the northern half with capital at Ptolemais . Around the 5th century, since it was a desert , the Thebaid became a place of retreat of a number of Christian hermits , and was the birthplace of Pachomius . In Christian art , the Thebaid

896-538: Was Ptolemais Hermiou , a Hellenistic colony on the Nile which served as the center of royal political and economic control in Upper Egypt . During the Roman Empire , Diocletian created the province of Thebais , guarded by the legions I Maximiana Thebanorum and II Flavia Constantia . This was later divided into Upper ( Latin : Thebais Superior , Greek : Ἄνω Θηβαΐς , Anō Thēbaïs ), comprising

928-444: Was appointed Archbishop of Kraków . The Köppen climate classification classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh). Today, irrigated sugarcane and cereal account for most of the agricultural industry. Most of the 60,000 villagers are native Egyptians, although there is a large population of Nubians , including many Magyarabs who were displaced from their land upon the creation of Lake Nasser . In 2010, plans to construct

960-467: Was dedicated to Haroeris and the other deities of the Ombite nome by the soldiers quartered there. The smaller temple to the northwest was sacred to the goddess Isis . Both, indeed, are of an imposing architecture, and still retain the brilliant colors with which their builders adorned them. However, they are from the Ptolemaic Kingdom, with the exception of a doorway of sandstone, built into

992-461: Was ill-suited to a dense population in antiquity. It runs between steep and narrow banks of sandstone, and deposits but little of its fertilizing slime upon the dreary and barren shores. There are two temples at Ombos, constructed of the stone obtained from the neighboring quarries of Hagar Silsilah. The more magnificent of two stands upon the top of a sandy hill, and appears to have been a species of Pantheon, since, according to extant inscriptions, it

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1024-541: Was represented as a place with numerous monks. Ancient episcopal sees of Thebais Prima (Thebaid I) listed in the Annuario Pontificio as Catholic titular sees : Ancient episcopal sees of Thebais Secunda (Thebaid II) listed in the Annuario Pontificio as Catholic titular sees : Anatole France 's novel, Thaïs , opens on a monastic and ascetic community along the Nile, in Thebaid. This article about subjects relating to Ancient Egypt

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