Western Desert Oases

Scattered through the expanses of the Western Desert, the oases dot the sea of sand and rock like little green archipelagos. Hot and cold springs, groves of oranges and dates, rice paddies, and fields of watermelons and cucumbers flourish astonishingly amidst the imposing desert. Though the Bedouin and Egyptian fellaheen who dwell beside the robust fields greet strangers with comforting hospitality, this is an adventure for the rugged. Getting around is more difficult than along the Nile and tourist facilities are token gestures at best.

The series of oases sprinkled throughout the Sahara-Kharga, Dakhla, Farafra, and Bahariya-marks the trail of a prehistoric branch of the Nile. A flow of water from the Sudan supposedly replenished the aquifers annually. This bounty of water has been an impetus for development in crowded and largely water-starved Egypt. In 1958, the government released studies that showed considerable stores of water below the desert floor, accessible with new techniques of drilling deeper wells.