DAQAHLIYAH, AD-

muhafazah (governorate), northeastern Nile Delta, Lower Egypt, bordering on the Mediterranean Sea. Its triangular area, with the point to the south, is traversed by the Damietta Branch of the Nile. Its name, an Arabicized form of the Coptic Tkehli, comes from the small village of Daqahlah, southwest of Damietta. Its area is 1,340 square miles (3,471 square km); the capital and largest town is al-Mansurah (see Mansurah, al-). Ad-Daqahliyah was created a political unit under the Fatimid caliphs (late 11th century AD), and it has, with brief exceptions, survived as such to the present, though with many changes in its boundaries. Toward the south, ad-Daqahliyah takes in part of the very fertile middle delta land, but in the northeast it borders the saline al-Manzilah Lake, from which about 140,000 acres (57,000 hectares) have been reclaimed for agricultural use. There are additional land reclamation projects under way. The flat countryside has many irrigation ditches and canals, the most important of which is as-Saghir Canal. While northern ad-Daqahliyah is a prime rice-growing centre of Egypt, in the southern and central regions of the muhafazah, cotton is more prevalent. Other crops include corn (maize), wheat, and berseem (clover). Principal industries are based on agricultural production; they include cotton ginning, flour and rice milling, and oil pressing. Al-Mansurah has diversified manufactures. There are textile mills at Mit Ghamr. Commercial fishing along the coasts has declined since the opening of the Aswan High Dam, but fishing on the salt lake remains economically important. In 1974 a major natural gas field at Abu Madi in the northern part of the governorate started production. It provides energy for industries in the area, including a fertilizer plant at Talkha. Principal towns are al-Mansurah, al-Matariyah, al-Manzilah, Mit Ghamr, and as-Sinbillawayn. An institute affiliated with al-Azhar University at Cairo is located in al-Mansurah, and southwest of the city is Samannud, site of the ancient city of Sebennytus. Part of ad-Daqahliyah was detached in 1955 to form Dumyat (Damietta) muhafazah. Pop. (1986 est.) 3,540,000.