Barki

Arab; Barqi; Bedouin; Dernawi (from the town of Derna); Maryuti; Libyan; Mariouti.

It is short-legged and smaller than any of the other Egyptian indigenous sheep breed, standing about 65 cm at the shoulder (Epstein, 1971). This breed is adapted to the desert area where food is scarce except for the short rainy seasons when pastures are lush (Mason, 1967).

The breed extends from west of Alexandria to the eastern provinces of Libya.

The present-day population of this breed is believed to have derived from the Derna, Cyrenaica, in the coastal strip of western desert of Egypt, where they are called Barki or Dernawi (from the town of Derna); the name Barki was derived from the term Barqa, the adjacent north-eastern region of Libya. It is bred by Bedouin in the Maryut coast region and is practically identical with the fat-tailed sheep of Libya (Mason, 1967; Epstein, 1971).