'Araj, Al-

‘araj, al-, Small oasis on the road that joins the oasis of Siwa, west of Alexandria, to bawit in the oasis of al-Bahariyyah, about 65 miles (100 km) from Siwa. A. Fakhry thinks that the ancient tombs that he excavated there preserve traces of paintings of the Christian period, which would indicate that they must have been occupied by hermits (Fakhry, 1939, p. 614; 1973-1976, Vol. 1). However, A. de Cosson, who had written earlier, advanced an opposing opinion (1937, pp. 226-29).