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Oasis - Egypt
 
 
Tourist information

 

El-Kharga:

Research has found that the Oasis has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and that there was once a huge lake here, on which man and animals used to live around it, when it was dried they moved to the Nile valley. Evidences show that Dakhla there were remains dating to the Old Kingdom have been found. The archaeological remains unearthed at 'Ayn Asil in the last twenty years suggest that this oasis must have played an important role under the sixth Dynasty of the Egyptian kings. Placed at the junction between the track called Darb el-Tawil, leading directly to Middle Egypt, and the two caravan routes which via Kharga gave access to a number of tracks to Upper Egypt, 'Ayn Asil was originally a small square fortified enclosure. During the reign of Pepi II, the Governors of the oasis built a large palace and obtained the permission to erect small sanctuaries for themselves.

Western desert sightseeingHowever, the palace was eventually destroyed by the fire, then it became abandoned, but then was reconstructed & restored again during the beginning of the Intermediate period in some places of the building. It retained some wooden elements like doors or columns, that collapsed and burned on the spot.

It is worth visiting that area as the exposed area of the palace is quite striking. Even though over 4,000 years have passed since it was last built, but the thick mud-brick walls, clay floors and limestone column bases still give a very good impression of what the building must have looked like. There was also found a large necropolis, called Qila el-Dabba, clearly distinguished by the presence of seven large mastabas, massive rectangular mud-brick superstructures that covered the tombs of the local Governors.
Several ancient cemeteries have been found in Dakhla, and it is evident that the area was occupied continuously up to the Roman period, when the Oasis seems to have been heavily populated and intensely cultivated. Hundreds of Roman wells still survive. The most impressive remains of this period are to be found at Amheida, a large settlement half-covered by sand surrounded by an extensive necropolis.
The capital, Mut, named after the ancient goddess Mut, goddess of fertility and prosperous.

El-Dakhla:

There are several historical sites in Kharga the capital of the New Valley . In these sites, lot of tools used in pre-dynastic period were found, as well as some Mokharbashat or engravings dated to the Old Kingdom, some in Mount El Tayer near Kharga and some in El-Ghobary road connecting Kharga with Dakhla, Funeral paintings of the 2nd Dynasty were also discovered, as they portray heads of campaigns from Thebes or Abidos for the purpose of inspection of the oases and keeping their security.

Western desert white sandKharga used to be connected to the Nile Valley through several caravan roads coming from Abidos, Luxor and Darb Dosh.

In addition, There was Darb El-Arabaen connecting Egypt 's Assuit with Sudan 's Darfor. It was also called Darb El-Wahat (Oases) and has been mentioned in a lot of the Old Kingdom engravings.

Kharga and Dakhla were also connected with two roads, one is El-Ghobary which is currently used as motorcar road, the other is Ein Amor going through the hill area north to the oases.
In the Kharga oases, there are a lot of important monuments and historical sites. Some of the most interesting of its temples are: Hebes, Ghoweta, Nadhora, Zayan and Dosh; all built with sand stone of walls covered by several engravings.
Also in Kharga, there are some remnants of forts and military posts, as well as castles, like Langa, Mouneira and Dosh. As for the most prominent Christian monuments, it is El-Bagawat cemetery and next to it traces of the Ein Saaf houses are found.

Farafrah Oasis:

Farafra was mentioned in the Ancient Egyptian documents, especially since the 10th Dynasty in the 21st Century BC, by the name of "Taa-hat" meaning the land of the cow. It was also mentioned in the texts on the occasional raids of tribes. Al-wadi al gadid oasesIn the center of Farafra there are the remnants of a palace built of clay, with several other plain tombs of rocks, remnants of a Roman temple at the area of Ein Bess, as well as other tombs and some relics near the Farafra palace.  

The area of the of western desert is a perfect place for safari, & desert hiking. Not to mention, the area of White Desert near El-Farafra which has fossil formations created by nature in such splendid shapes, some of which take man shape and some take animal's, while the entire area is clad in white color. Water wells exhibit another source of beauty and attraction, as they diversify between monumental, like the famous Roman, and hot-mineral water springs utilized in treating diseases. Pools, also, are scattering everywhere, namely the pool of the ducks in Boulak; a 300-feddan pool of migrant birds west El-Farafra along with many other wonderful pools. In Henus valley east El-Farafra, there is vast area for tourism of adventures and Safari, as palm oases and Roman wells spread, let alone, wild life teeming with kinds of foxes and dears. 160 km away from El-Farafra exists one of the most famous caves.

 
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