Bahariya Oasis (, "the Northern Oases") is a depression and a naturally rich

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentWestern Desert of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. It is approximately 370 km away from

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. The roughly oval valley extends from northeast to southwest, has a length of 94 km, a maximum width of 42 km and covers an area of about 2000 km². The valley is surrounded by mountains and has numerous springs. Located in

Giza Governorate Giza ( ') is one of the Subdivisions of Egypt#Governorates, governorates of Egypt. It is in the center of the country, situated mostly on the west bank of the Nile River opposite Cairo. Its capital is the city of Giza. It includes a stretch of ...

, the main

economic sector One classical breakdown of economic activity distinguishes three sectors: * Primary: involves the retrieval and production of raw materials, such as corn, coal, wood or iron. Miners, farmers and fishermen are all workers in the primary sect ...

s are agriculture,

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

mining, and tourism. The main agricultural products are

guava Guava ( ), also known as the 'guava-pear', is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava '' Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), nativ ...

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

s, dates, and

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

Names

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

, the oasis had two names. The name 'ḏsḏs' (''Djesdjes'') is first mentioned on a scarab dating back to the Middle Kingdom. In the

New Kingdom New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, this name is rarely found, although it does appear for example in the Temple of

Luxor Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 263,109 in 2020, with an area of approximately and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. It is among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited c ...

and in the account of King

Kamose Kamose was the last king of the Thebes, Egypt, Theban Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt, Seventeenth Dynasty at the end of the Second Intermediate Period. Kamose is usually ascribed a reign of three years (his highest attested regnal year), although s ...

, who occupied the oasis during the war against the

Hyksos The Hyksos (; Egyptian language, Egyptian ''wikt:ḥqꜣ, ḥqꜣ(w)-wikt:ḫꜣst, ḫꜣswt'', Egyptological pronunciation: ''heqau khasut'', "ruler(s) of foreign lands"), in modern Egyptology, are the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt ( ...

. From the

25th Dynasty The Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXV, alternatively 25th Dynasty or Dynasty 25), also known as the Nubian Dynasty, the Kushite Empire, the Black Pharaohs, or the Napatans, after their capital Napata, was the last dynasty of t ...

it was almost the only name used. Another name ''wḥꜣt mḥtt'' ("the Northern Oasis") was almost exclusively used in the New Kingdom; it appears for instance on the local grave of Amenhotep, and is found again in the list of oasis in the Temple at

Edfu Edfu (, , , ; also spelt Idfu, or in modern French as Edfou) is an Egyptian city, located on the west bank of the Nile River between Esna and Aswan, with a population of approximately 60,000 people. Edfu is the site of the Ptolemaic Temple of H ...

. From 45 CE, the depression was known in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

as ''Oasis parva'' (Small Oasis). The Greek historian

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

called it the "Second Oasis", and the 5th century CE historian

Olympiodorus of Thebes Olympiodorus of Thebes (; born c. 380, fl. c. 412–425 AD) was a Roman historian, poet, philosopher and diplomat of the early fifth century. He produced a ''History'' in twenty-two volumes, written in Greek, dedicated to the Emperor Theodosius II, ...

called it "the Third Oasis". In Coptic times, it was known as the "Oasis of

Oxyrhynchus Oxyrhynchus ( ; , ; ; ), also known by its modern name Al-Bahnasa (), is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo in Minya Governorate. It is also an important archaeological site. Since the late 19th century, t ...

" ( ''Diwah Ēmbemdje'') or ''Tast(s)'' (), which is derived from Ancient Egyptian ''ḏsḏs''. After the Islamization of Egypt, it was called the Oasis of ''Bahnasa'', "Oasis of Oxyrhynchus". The modern name is , ''al-Wāḥāt al-Baḥriyya'' meaning "the Northern Oasis”. The southern part of the depression around El Heiz apparently never had a separate name.

Towns

Bahariya consists of many villages, of which El Bawiti is the largest and the administrative center. Qasr is el-Bawiti's neighboring/twin village. To the east, about ten kilometers away are the villages of Mandishah and el-Zabu. A smaller village called el-'Aguz lies between El Bawiti and Mandishah. Harrah, the easternmost village, is a few kilometers east of Mandishah and el-Zabu. El Heiz, also called El-Hayez, is the southernmost village, but it may not always be considered as part of Bahariya because it is so far from the rest of the villages, about fifty kilometers south of El Bawiti. There is an oasis at El-Hayez where mummies have been found on which genetic studies have been conducted.

History

The depression has been populated since the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

, although archaeological evidence is not continuous. In El Heiz, a prehistoric settlement site of

hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...

s was found with remains of grindstones, arrowheads, scrapers, chisels, and ostrich eggshells. In Qārat el-Abyaḍ, a Czech team led by Miroslav Bárta discovered a settlement of the Old Kingdom.Nevine El-Aref:
The tale of a city
', report of the Al-Ahram Weekly of August 9, 2007. Rock inscriptions in el-Harrah and other records date to the Middle Kingdom and upwards.Giddy, Lisa L.: ''Egyptian Oases : Bahariya, Dakhla, Farafra and Kharga During Pharaonic Times'', Warminster: Aris & Phillips Ltd., 1987, pp. 15 sq., 40–44, 62–64, 66, 95, 146–149, 161–163.Castel, Georges ; Tallet, Pierre: ''Les inscriptions d’El-Harra, oasis de Bahareya'', in: ''Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale (BIFAO)'', vol. 101 (2001), pp. 99–136, 612 sq. The tomb of Amenhotep called Huy was erected in Qarat Hilwah at the end of the 18th dynasty.Siclen III, Charles Cornell van: ''Wall scenes from the tomb of Amenhotep (Huy) governor of Bahria Oasis'', San Antonio, Texas: VanSiclen, 1981. In the 26th dynasty, the depression was culturally and economically flourishing. This can be learned from the chapels in 'Ain el-Muftilla, the tombs in Qārat Qasr Salim and Qarat esh-Sheikh Subi,Fakhry, ''op. cit.'' and the site of Qasr 'Allam.Colin, Frédéric: ''Qasr Allam : a Twenty-Sixth Dynasty settlement'', in: ''Egyptian archaeology : the bulletin of the Egypt Exploration Society'', , vol. 24 (2004), pp. 30–33. The Greco-Roman period was a time of prosperity. There is the ruin of a temple dedicated to Ammon by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

located in Qasr el-Miqisba ('Ain et-Tibniya). It is believed by some Egyptologists that Alexander passed through Bahariya while returning from the oracle of Ammon at

Siwa Oasis The Siwa Oasis ( ) is an urban oasis in Egypt. It is situated between the Qattara Depression and the Great Sand Sea in the Western Desert (Egypt), Western Desert, east of the Egypt–Libya border and from the Egyptian capital city of Cairo. I ...

.Fakhry, Ahmed: ''Baḥria Oasis'', vol. II. Cairo: Government Press, 1950, pp. 41–47, 85, figs. 29 ap 30, 71, plates XXIV–XXXV, XLIV.B. Excavations of the Greco-Roman

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

found in 1995Associated Press: ''Zweitausend Jahre alte Mumien in ägyptischer Oase entdeckt'', in: ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'', Nr. 132, 1995, Friday, 09.06.1995, p. 11. and known as the Valley of the Golden Mummies began in 1999. Approximately thirty-four tombs have been excavated from this area. In Roman times, a big military fort was erected at Qarat el-Toub.Colin, Frédéric; Laisney, Damien; Marchand, Sylvie: ''Qaret el-Toub : un fort romain et une nécropole pharaonique. Prospection archéologique dans l’oasis de Baḥariya 1999'', in: ''Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale (BIFAO)'', vol. 100 (2000), pp. 145–192. In the spring of 2010, a Roman-era mummy was unearthed in a Bahariya Oasis cemetery in el-Harrah. The female mummy was 3 feet tall and covered with plaster decorated to resemble Roman dress and jewellery. In addition to the female mummy, archaeologists found clay and glass vessels, coins, anthropoid masks and fourteen Greco-Roman tombs. Director of Cairo and Giza Antiquities Mahmoud Affifi, the archaeologist who led the dig, said the tomb has a unique design with stairways and corridors, and could date to 300 BC. This find came as a result of excavation work for the construction of a youth center.Nevine El-Aref:
In the sands of time
', report of

Al-Ahram Weekly ''Al-Ahram Weekly'' is an English-language weekly broadsheet printed by the Al-Ahram Publishing House in Cairo, Egypt. History and profile ''Al Ahram Weekly'' was established in 1991 by the ''Al-Ahram'' newspaper, which also runs a French-langu ...

of April 29, 2010. In 2019, archaeologists discovered 19 structures and a church carved into the bedrock from the fifth century CE. The church was decorated with religious inscriptions in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

.Ancient Christian ruins discovered in Egypt
/ref> In 2021, archaeologists discovered a complex with the ruins of three churches and monks cells date back to the fifth century CE. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the Baharia Military Railway was built to provide access to the oasis. In the early 1970s, an asphalt road connecting Bahariya to Cairo was finished. With the new road came electricity, cars, television, phone lines, a more accessible route to Cairo, and, more recently, internet. The spread of people and ideas between Bahariya and Cairo has increased dramatically since the road was constructed. Also, the language of the Waḥātī people has changed under the influence of the Cairo dialect, as heard on television and in music.Bliss, Frank: ''Oasenleben : die ägyptischen Oasen Bahriya und Farafra in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart'', Bonn: Politischer Arbeitskreis Schulen (PAS), 2006, (Beiträge zur Kulturkunde; 23), .

People and culture

The people of the oasis, or the ''Waḥātī'' people (meaning "of the oasis" in Arabic), are the descendants of the ancient people who inhabited the oasis, ancient tribes with connection to western Egypt and eastern Libya, and the north coast, and other people from the Nile Valley who came to settle in the oasis. The majority of Waḥātī people in Bahariya are Muslims. There are some mosques in Bahariya. The nature of social settings in the oasis is highly influenced by Islam. Traditional music is very important to the Waḥātī people. Flutes, drums, and the simsimeyya (a harp-like instrument) are played at social gatherings, particularly at weddings. Traditional songs sung in rural style are passed down from generation to generation, and new songs are invented as well. Music from

, the greater

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and other parts of the world are now easily accessible to the people of the oasis. Bahariya used to be a major center for Coptic Christians. However, most of the Oasis converted to Islam centuries ago. Copts that live in Bahariya today are largely new transplants from the Nile Valley. The traditional dress of women in Bahariya is called Magaddil (braids) after the striped pattern of the embroidery. There was also a dress that was lightly embroidered, with a border of telli embroidery around the neck that was made separately and sewn onto the dress. In recent times these have largely been phased out by floral print dresses.

Economy

Agriculture is still an important source of income, though now the iron ore industry close to Bahariya provides jobs for many Wahati people. Recently there has also been an increase in tourism to the oasis because of antiquities (tombs, mummies and other artifacts have been discovered there), and because of the beautiful surrounding deserts. Wahati and foreign guides lead adventure desert tours based out of Bahariya to the surrounding

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

and

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

deserts, and sometimes to Siwa or the southern oases. Tourism is a new and important source of income for locals, and it has brought an international presence to the oasis.

Fossils

'' Tameryraptor'' and ''

Bahariasaurus ''Bahariasaurus'' (meaning " Bahariya lizard") is an enigmatic genus of large theropod dinosaur. The genus contains a single species, ''Bahariasaurus ingens'', which was found in North African rock layers dating to the Cenomanian age of the Lat ...

'' (meaning "Bahariya lizard") as well as the holotype specimen of the famous ''

Spinosaurus ''Spinosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of large spinosaurid theropod dinosaurs that lived in what now is North Africa during the Cenomanian faunal stage, stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 100 to 94 annum, million year ...

'' are dinosaurs which have been found in the

Bahariya Formation The Bahariya Formation (also transcribed as Baharija Formation) is a List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Egypt, fossiliferous Formation (stratigraphy), geologic formation dating back to the early Cenomanian, which outcrops within the Baha ...

, which date to about 95 million years ago. ''Bahariasaurus'' was a huge theropod and was described by Ernst Stromer in 1934,Stromer, E.: ''Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen Prof. E. Stromers in den Wüsten Ägyptens : II. Wirbeltierreste der Baharîje-Stufe (unterstes Cenoman). 13. Dinosauria'', in: ''Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Abteilung, Neue Folge'', vol. 22 (1934), pp. 1–79. however the type specimen was destroyed during World War II in 1944. In 2000, an American scientific team conducted by Joshua Smith found the remains of

sauropod Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their b ...

dinosaur, '' Paralititan stromeri''.Smith, Joshua et al.: ''A Giant sauropod dinosaur from an Upper Cretaceous mangrove deposit in Egypt'', in: ''Science'', vol. 292,5522 (2001), pp. 1704–1706. The region between the Bahariya and Farafra depressions used to have volcanic activity during the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

Period. In addition, the landscape contains some hills made of

barite Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate (Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), ...

calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...

crystals, and also golden limestone

boulders In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

which became a sanctuary for species, such as white foxes, gazelles and rams. In June 2022, paleontologists reported the discovery of a 98-million-year-old type of abelisaurid in Bahariya Oasis, which was around in length and initially found in 2016.

Climate

Notes

References

* Fakhry, Ahmed. ''Bahria Oasis'', Cairo: Government Press, 1942–1950 (2 volumes). * Fakhry, Ahmed. ''The oases of Egypt. Vol. II: Bahrīyah and Farafra Oases'', Cairo: The American Univ. in Cairo Pr., 1974, reprinted 2003. * Hawass, Zahi A. ''Valley of the golden mummies : the greatest Egyptian discovery since Tutankhamen'', London: Virgin, 2000.

External links

Baḥrīya on Wikivoyage
{{Coord, 28, 21, 05.36, N, 28, 51, 44.55, E, display=title Populated places in Giza Governorate Oases of Egypt Western Desert (Egypt)