The Bahariya Oasis is a depression and a naturally abundant oasis in Egypt’s Western Desert (Arabic: , romanized: El-Wt El-Barya, “the Northern Oases”). Cairo is about 370 kilometers away. The roughly oval valley is around 2000 km2 in size, extends from northeast to southwest, and has a length of 94 km and a maximum width of 42 km.
The valley features many springs and is bordered by mountains. The three primary economic sectors in Giza Governorate are agriculture, iron ore mining, and tourism. Guavas, mangoes, dates, and olives are the principal agricultural commodities.
Hieroglyphics from Egypt
There were two names for the oasis in ancient Egypt. The word “ss” appears for the first time on a scarab from the Middle Kingdom. This name is uncommon in the New Kingdom, though it can be found, for instance, in the Luxor Temple and in King Kamose’s account of his occupation of the oasis during the Hyksos War. Since the 25th Dynasty, it has been nearly exclusively used. In the New Kingdom, the term “the Northern Oasis” (also known as wt mtt) was virtually always used; it may be seen, for example, on the local Amenhotep tomb and in a list of oasis in the Temple at Edfu.
The depression’s Latin name, Oasis parva, dates back to 45 CE (Small Oasis). It is referred to as the “Second Oasis” by the Greek historian Strabo (63 BCE–23 CE), and the “Third Oasis” by the Theban historian Olympiodorus (5th century CE). It was referred to in Coptic times as the “Oasis of Oxyrhynchus” and Coptic: , romanized as Tast(s), which is derived from the Ancient Egyptian letter ss. It was known as the Oasis of Bahnasa, or “Oasis of Oxyrhynchus,” after the arrival of Islam.
The contemporary name is , al-Wt al-Bariyya, which translates to “the Northern Oasis.” It appears that the southern region of the depression at El Heiz has never had a unique name.
The town of Bahariya is made up of a number of settlements, the largest and most important of which is El Bawiti. El-twin Bawiti’s or nearby village is Qasr. The towns of Mandishah and el-Zabu are 10 kilometers to the east. Between El Bawiti and Mandishah, a minor settlement known as el-‘Aguz can be found. A few miles to the east of Mandishah and el-Zabu is the village with the easternmost location, Harrah. The southernmost settlement, El Heiz, also known as El-Hayez, is about fifty kilometers south of El Bawiti, but it may not always be regarded as a part of Bahariya due to its distance from the other communities. Mummies have been discovered at El-Hayez where genetic research has been done on them.
History
Despite intermittent archaeological evidence, the depression has been inhabited since the Neolithic. An ancient hunter-gatherer community at El Heiz was discovered, complete with grindstones, arrowheads, scrapers, chisels, and ostrich eggshells. A Czech team led by Miroslav Bárta found an Old Kingdom hamlet near Qrat el-Abya. Records found in el-Harrah and on rocks date as far back as the Middle Kingdom. The Amenhotep tomb known as Huy was built near Qarat Hilwah at the conclusion of the 18th dynasty. The depression flourished both culturally and economically in the 26th dynasty. The chapels in ‘Ain el-Muftilla, the tombs in Qarat Qasr Salim and Qarat esh-Sheikh Subi, and the location of Qasr ‘Allam can all be used to learn more about this.
The Greco-Roman era was a prosperous time. In Qasr el-Miqisba (‘Ain et-Tibniya), there is a temple to Alexander the Great that is in ruins. Some Egyptologists think Alexander traveled in Bahariya on his way back from the Siwa Oasis’s oracle of Ammon. The Valley of the Golden Mummies Greco-Roman necropolis, discovered in 1995, began to be excavated in 1999. From this location, excavations have uncovered about thirty-four tombs. At Qarat el-Toub, a sizable military fort was built during the Roman era.
A Roman-era mummy was discovered at the Bahariya Oasis cemetery in el-Harrah in the spring of 2010. Three feet tall and coated in plaster, the female mummy’s decorations resembled Roman clothing and jewelry. Archaeologists also discovered 14 Greco-Roman tombs, anthropoid masks, clay and glass utensils, coins, and a female mummy. The tomb has a distinctive design with stairways and corridors, and according to Mahmoud Affifi, director of Cairo and Giza Antiquities, it might date to 300 BC. This discovery was made as a result of excavation work for a youth facility.
19 buildings and a church carved into the bedrock from the fifth century CE were found by archaeologists in 2019. Greek religious inscriptions were used as decorations in the church. Archaeologists found a structure in 2021 that contained the ruins of three churches and monks’ cells from the fifth century CE.
The Baharia Military Railway was constructed to offer access to the oasis during World War I. An asphalt road linking Bahariya and Cairo was completed in the early 1970s. In addition to making Cairo more accessible, the new road also brought with it electricity, automobiles, television, phone lines, and, more recently, internet. Since the road was built, there has been a significant rise in the movement of people and ideas between Bahariya and Cairo. Additionally, as heard on television and in music, the language of the Wat people has changed as a result of the Cairo dialect.
Culture and people
The descendants of the ancient inhabitants of the oasis, old tribes with ties to western Egypt and eastern Libya, the north coast, and other people from the Nile Valley who came to dwell in the oasis, are known as the people of the oasis or the Wat people (literally, “of the oasis” in Arabic).
Muslims make up the bulk of the Wat population in Bahariya. In Bahariya, there are some mosques. Islam has a significant impact on the social surroundings of the oasis.
The Wat people place great importance on traditional music. At social events—especially weddings—flute, drum, and the simsimeyya (a harp-like instrument) are played. In addition to new songs being created, traditional songs sung in a rural way are passed down from generation to generation. The inhabitants of the oasis can now easily access music from Cairo, the wider Middle East, and other regions of the world.
Economy
Despite the iron ore business at Bahariya now giving many Wahati people jobs, agriculture is still a significant source of income for the Wahati people. Due to the antiquities (tombs, mummies, and other items have been found there) and the stunning desert surroundings, there has recently been an increase in tourism to the oasis. Adventure desert tours are led by Wahati and foreign guides from Bahariya to the nearby White and Black deserts, as well as occasionally to Siwa or the southern oases. For the residents, tourism has become a new and significant source of revenue, and it has given the oasis a global profile.
Fossils
Paralititan stromeri’s first caudal vertebra at the Egyptian Geological Museum.
Dinosaurs like Carcharodontosaurus and Bahariasaurus, which is a dinosaur name for “Bahariya lizard,” have been discovered in the Bahariya Formation, which dates back roughly 95 million years. Although the type specimen of the enormous theropod, Bahariasaurus, was destroyed in 1944 during World War II, Ernst Stromer first described it in 1934. The Paralititan stromeri, a sauropod dinosaur, was found in 2000 by an American research team led by Joshua Smith.
Volcanic activity was present in the area between the Bahariya and Farafra depressions during the Jurassic Period. The environment also includes some hills composed of barite or calcite crystals, as well as golden limestone boulders that have served as sanctuaries for animals like rams, gazelles, and white foxes.
A 98-million-year-old Spinosaurus species was found in Bahariya Oasis in June 2022. It was discovered in 2016 and measured about 20 feet (6.1 m) in length.